After I read A Sudden Death at the Norfolk Cafe and Dead South, I wasn't sure if I'd bother to read Death's a Beach. I wasn't crazy about the first two books in the Sister Cecile series. However, this is the best of the three books. Good characters. Interesting situations. Held my interest all the way through.

I have just encountered another woman detective, in Death's a Beach. Author Winona Sullivan follows her P.I. nun into her second [and not last, I hope] case, where she is operating from a home for senior nuns and other seniors. The scenes and action come alive, showing the Everglades, Miami Beach, the gangsters, a sympathetic Miccosukee policeman, and another not-so-honest policeman. I was particularly drawn to the teenage ward of Sister Cecile and Jim Cypress, the Miccosukee 'good-cop.' The relationships and mutual understanding among the likeable and not-likeable characters were skillfully developed.

i was looking for a book on this subject, the writer the publisher, it all looked perfect. but the book is soooo boring, after reaching a long way into the book you waste your time on artists rooms and clubs!! really! then when we finally start, it is like for ever, the process seems so slow... the book ofcourse is full of the writers own sketches which might not appeal to every one. what you might find here, at this price, you'll find for sure in more cheaper and more focused more useful books. i wouldn't recommend it personally.

Chip Sulivan's step by step instruction guides the reader to see the underlying structure in each of his renderings. This insight reviels an efficient method of organizing profesional quality landscape plans. His more informal sketchs show how to quickly get a feel for site illustration.

As a landscape design professional, I recomend this book to my peers and to those new to rendering the landscape. I am confident that after studying this text, anyone would be able to better comunicate their designs.

An interesting collection of actual articles regarding base ball, primarily from newspapers and magazines. At times, the style of writing can get wordy. Still there is good information about the beginings of the game.

"Early Innings" is a fascinating compendium of 19th century baseball articles that allows the reader to sense what people of that era experienced as baseball etched its way into the national consciousness. It can serve as a tremendous resource for evaluating why and how the game gained the popularity to inspire volumes of poetry and music during a key period of America's growth. It begins with the media's first subtle mention of baseball in the 1820s through the game's aristocratic infancy, its truly American transformation to professionalism and through the murky waters of labor strife in the 1890s. For students of the modern game, "Early Innings" provides some vivid 19th century parallels to what is ailing baseball today. Keep in mind that the reading could be tedious if the reader does not have a firm interest in baseball's history and development

GURPS: Bestiary is a collection of monsters, beasts, and animal companions that will enhance any campaign.

Although the format of the book might take a little getting used to, since the animals are not in complete alphabetic order, but presented in related sections, once you get past this small hurdle, you'll wonder why other books don't do it.

Starting with "Creatures of the Wild", it gives GURPS game stats for over 99 animals that you might find on Earth today. Then, in "Domestic Animals", it continues with over 14 more creatures that man has managed to tame. In "Vermin", there are over 10 creatures that can liven up times when you can't think of anything else to do to characters in your game. In "Prehistoric Animals" there are over 40 more, and not just limited to the usual dinosaurs either. In "Mythical and Legendary Creatures", there are stats for 17 more creatures, some of which you may not have ever heard of before. In "Speculative Creatures", there are 12 more really unusual animals.

And that's only half of the book. The other half is dedicated to Game Mastering animals, hunting and trapping, creating animals, and finally, a section which allows you to create animal non-player (and possibly even player) characters which includes some templates for samples of creatures used as NPC's.

At the back of the book is a master chart for all of the animals presented, plus a guide for what habitat those creatures would normally be found in, plus a comprehensive master index.

There's a total of over 200 creatures to use in games. Those familiar with GURPS will find this a good reference source for any genre, and those not familiar with GURPS will find that conversion to whatever system you normally use is not difficult.

I'd recommend this to anyone who uses GURPS book regularly, whether you are an experienced GURPS GM or someone who prefers to use Steve Jackson's books as reference material for their own favorite systems.

this book was an excellent source of info on creatures that are revered in myth i like the way it gives biological type discripions then lore on the beasts very good

George Sullivan has created a very readable and fairly accurate book here. It suffers from a few errors, one of which is so glaring that it calls into question how thoroughly the book was checked or edited. This obvious error is related to the illustration on page 24, which is purported to be a drawing of William Clark's from his journal. In fact, it is not from the journals and was not drawn by Clark. The only accurate information in the book regarding this illustration is that it is credited to be among the collections of the American Philosophical Society Library. The picture on page 24 was actually drawn by Charles Willson Peale; is APS item 917.3 L58 Misc. VII, and can be viewed on-line at www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/landc/fisher.jpg.

Other historical inaccuracies include his description of a pirogue (page 29); his claim (on page 35) that roasted beaver tongue was a favorite food (he apparently meant roasted beaver tail, or perhaps buffalo tongue); and, on page 75, where he claims that "In the Shoshone camp, Lewis met Cameahwait, the Shoshone chief." Actually, Cameahwait was among the sixty mounted warriors who came racing out at full speed to protect their people from these unknown strangers.

Still, all in all, it is a fine book and is certainly a better choice for children than the competing book by Kathryn Lasky entitled "The Journal of Augustus Pelletier : The Lewis and Clark Expedition." Lasky's book contains much fiction; is not well and obviously marked as such, and presents a very misleading picture to its youthful readers.

We just finished a week long, very intense study of Lewis and Clark. This was the book we used as a textbook. Neither the students nor I could put it down. They begged to read just one more chapter every time. The special education aide who comes in during reading even took the book home with her so she wouldn't miss anything. If you want to get kids excited about history, these "In Their Own Words" books by George Sullivan will do it!

A very good book, marred (unfortunately) by a touch of ingratitude. Sullivan's work rests entirely on a foundation built by Leo Strauss forty years before. Yet she only mentions Strauss to upbraid him--for an error which he did not commit!

Still, this book leaves no doubt as to Machiavelli's fundamental judgement of Christianity, and explains the point well and in detail. And, unlike Strauss, it is fairly easy to understand.

A very good book, scarred (unfortunately) by a touch of ingratitude. Sullivan's work rests entirely on a foundation built by Leo Strauss forty years before. Yet she only mentions Strauss to upbraid him--for an error which he did not commit! Still, this book leaves no doubt as to Machiavelli's fundamental judgement of Christianity, and explains the point well and in detail. And, unlike Strauss, it is fairly easy to understand.

This book is great! It provides ready made reproducibles for a wide variety of work to be included in a portfolio. I love it!

This book is VERY helpful, but the title does not reflect that it is for K-3 teachers. I really liked the information it presented and the reproducibles are GREAT. Included are lists of primary reading and writing skills that were invaluable in assessing beginning and emergent readers. THis is a must have for primary educators using performance-based and portfolio assessment in the classroom!

The first thing I noticed when I received this book was how short it was - just over 200 pages. Now, I know the quality of a work can't be determined by size, but Thomas Sullivan really didn't give himself enough room to pull off what he was trying to do. All of the characters (including the protagonist) were underdeveloped and the whole plot seemed rushed - 12 murders in 200 pages. It's a quick and easy read, not to mention entertaining, but I wouldn't recommend buying the Hardcover version.

One thing I did like about the novel was Sullivan's style. His writing is very concise and his descriptions are full of wonderful similes. I only wish he had put more effort into the work as it had potential to be great.

This was an "on the edge of your seat can't put it down" book!! I haven't enjoyed one like this since The Shining!

This book takes an unusual path to the usual results in optimization. Though refreshing in some ways, the standard results--Kuhn-Tucker conditions for non-convex programs--are not achieved until the last chapter. Little of the preceeding six chapters can be skipped without ruining this development! D.M. Greig, by comparison, develops this result in her first chapter, in a book at a comparable level. With Peressini et al, you sink weeks into learning restricted convex programs; an interesting niche, but one best studied once the main results are in hand.

I am a graduate student, working on a PhD in Optimization (nonlinear programming). This book provides an excellent first exposure to the field of nonlinear programming. It is full of "easily visualizable" 2 or 3 dimensional examples, which greatly aid in the development of strong intuition. Although the intended level of this book is the advanced undergraduate level, it serves as a very thorough and useful companion to any graduate text. This book almost single-handedly helped me pass my qualifying exam in optimization, mostly because it "made all of the pieces fit together."

I heartily recommend it to _anyone_ interested in learning about nonlinear programming.

My Husband, My Babies by Debra Salonen (A Harlequin Superromance)

This is my second Harlequin Super Romance by Debra Salonen, and I am finding her books a pleasure to read. MY HUSBAND, MY BABIES isn't the greatest title in the world, but the story I found was very fitting with the Christmas Spirit. Jenny Sullivan O'Neal is one of three sisters: Triplets, to be exact! She is married to a wonderfully funny and charming man, Josh. They are happily married, but the only thing that keeps them from being complete is the fact that they did not have children. Josh had testicular cancer as a young teen, and because of it, he could not have children. Josh, who was always the one that was the take-charge person and always had a plan, decides that his brother Sam would be the sperm donor, and thus, Jenny gets pregnant.

The story takes a tragic turn when Josh's cancer returns in full force, and Jenny is left to care for the newborn twins. And there to help her, is Sam.

I found this book a very fast paced read, with a lot of interesting plot twists. Don't be turned off by the title! This was probably one of the best romances I have read this year. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Growing up as a triplet left Jenny O'Neal with a special bond with her sisters, though they call her "Jenny Perfect" because she always does everything right. Jenny and her husband Josh are expecting twins, however because of health reasons his brother Sam served as the surrogate father.

When Josh dies, Jenny feels all alone as she gives birth to fraternal twins. Sam helps Jenny through her mourning by bringing her and her babies onto his ranch. As they spend time together raising the children, Sam and Jenny begin to fall in love. However, neither one of them can deal with this new emotion as Josh's death remains raw and his memory too positive for either person to tread down that path.

MY HUSBAND, MY BABIES is a tearjerker romance that will leave readers weeping an ocean of teardrops for the lead couple. The story line never goes too soapy due to the interactions of the strong cast that stops any player from going over the edge. The lead couple is a delight as they try to ignore their feelings out of love and respect for the late Josh. The secondary characters to include memories of Josh make possible for the audience to see the soul wrenching that Sam and Jenny deal with as they search for new beginnings. Debra Salonen provides a strong relationship drama that leads to immense pressure to match the quality of this tale with the other novels starring sisters Andrea and Kristin.

Harriet Klausner