Finding Buck McHenry

By Danny

Imagine that you were on a baseball team with no coach and the worst team then you'll love Finding Buck McHenry by Alfred Slote.
Jason has a decision to make is worrying about baseball cards or about Little League. Jason is a normal character not looking for much but a coach for his Little League team. About a couple of later he finds a coach named Buck McHenry and a sponsor and a couple of good key players. Now there team is unstoppable. A hit here and there puts the team in the championship. In the championship Jason needs on more hit to drive in the runner at third for the winning run but dose he get it you will have to read it to find out what happens to Jason and the miracle team of Little League.
This book is a fictional book and an excellent choice to read for a book. So if you like baseball and some adventure (when finding coach and championship) then pick up a copy of Finding Buck McHenry by Alfred Slote.

Jason Ross loves the game of baseball, but he loves collecting baseball cards even more. When he is cut from his Little League team and forced to play on the new expansion team (made up of rejects), he is devastated. Then Jason notices an interesting coincidence: the life story (and name!) of local school custodian Mack Henry appears to be eerily similar to that of Negro League legend Buck McHenry. Mack Henry does know a lot about the game, and Jason gets him to be the coach of the new team. Amazingly, Mack then admits to being the star pitcher! However, we learn later on that all is not right with his story, and with a sportscaster preparing to do a major show on the situation, time is running out to set the record straight. The plot of "Finding Buck McHenry" is a bit of a stretch, but for the most part, the book is enjoyable. This is a very emotional story that can also teach you some life lessons, and a little history as well. Young baseball fans and non-fans alike will definitely get something out of this book.

I can feel it in my bones, this old Negro League book touched me like a jagged bolt of lightning! This heart- wrenching novel is a dramatic masterpiece. It made me feel good because I can really relate to Buck. I know that when I was being chased down the street by someone who thought I was Mickey Mantle, I was just as upset as Buck. In fact, it brought me to tears because Buck was not a real person and I could not talk to him about our similarities. The closest I could get to Buck McHenry was talking to the picture of him on this extraordinary novel. Watching the movie, starring Ossie Davis as Buck, is the highlight of every day. I watch it religously at 12:24pm and 7:02pm, and sometimes at 3:46am when I've got Buck on the mind. He is truly the biggest inspiration in my life. Jason (hottie) Ross believes the school janitor is an old negro league player with a scar like a jagged bolt of lighting, from a scrape with the law, on his leg. I could feel it in my bones that Jason would find the scar shaped like a jagged bolt of lightning on the old Negro Leauge player. Jason, Kim and Aaron alone make up the team "Sluggers", coached by who is thought to ba an Old Negro League player. However, we will not ruin the ending of this story, like Bridget (you know who you are) did for me. Thanks a lot! :( One thing I can tell you about the end of the movie is there is an exciting cheer from a crowd screaming: BUCK! MACK! BUCK! MACK! This gets my heart racing, causing me to take my medication, every time. There are also humorous supporting characters such as the baseball card shop man who says: "Since when did I become an adult! " This line gets me reaching for my medication every time! I am so crazy about this movie! In fact, all my clothes have the 4 which the newscasters wear embroidered onto them! I recently visited the town in which they filmed this movie and took the sign welcoming me to the city. It is now hanging above my bed where I can view it every night. I would recommend this book and the movie to anyone because it is wonderful, inspirational and a joy to read or watch again and again and again. It has made me believe in myself, that yes, I can be just like Buck! Buck McHenry is my hero, and the hero of anyone who will take the time to read this book.

Half of this book is about famous paleontologists, what dinosaurs are, and how they became extinct. The next half has at least 80 pictures and paintings of different species of dinosaurs, and a description of their characteristics and how they live. I would especially recommend it to 11 and 12 year olds who know their dinosaurs. WARNING: This is not a little kid's book. It does contain A LOT of information. It has at least a page on each species of dinosaur, but I think it should go into even more detail on these amazing animals.

We used this book to get a complete overview of these wonderful creatures. The book is large sized and has wonderful color pictures. The text is easy to read for ages 9 and up and can be read aloud to younger kids, so the book works for whole families. There are all sorts of hands on projects, great little pieces about some famous dinosaur excavators and dinosaur moments in history. Of course all the information about how the shape of the continents took place, how fossils are made, the geological time, etc. is there and complete. We were really impressed with the ease in which we could gather information from the book.

I got this book as a gift. From the first page, I knew that I liked it! The detailed pictures show texture and are colorful. It is easy to read and understand. On each page there are different boxes with crafts you can do and interesting facts. (for example, some small carnivore dinosaurs ate their young when they were starving.)

I use this book for research in school and when I write stories. I have read it many times and it seems like it's new every time! If you know any kids that like to read and like dinosaurs, this is a book for them. There are exciting and surprising things on every page!

I recently bought this book for my 3 year old based on the reviews here. True, I found the pictures very cute, BUT this book is not at all helpful if you are looking to provide answers to your child. Thanks, but I'd rather not confuse my son further by teaching him that "babies come from hospitals".

This is a fabulous book with wonderful and funny pictures... I have a 4 year old and a 6 year old and they cannot get enough of these beautiful hand tinted black and white photos. It is full of surprises and is sure to make you smile. The last page of the book has a place for you to add your childs own picture and her own birth information. That way they become a part of the whimsical story too. This book does not actually explain to children where babies come from but I feel its exactly what my girls need to know right now. I highly recommend this book and I don't think that anyone who buys it will be disappointed.

Every time my 6 year old grandson visits, the first thing he wants to do is to look at the book. He loves it. The pictures are outstanding.

This book is a good starting point for anyone interested in the homes built in the 1920-1930's. The plans are small, but do give you an idea of the basic setup.

This is a reprint of a house plan catalog from 1925; originally, it was the catalog of the Harris, McHenry & Baker Co., a lumber company. These books from Dover are exact reprints of original plan books from the turn of the century (1880-1925, roughly - this book is one of the latest years in the series). Dover adds little or no modern explanations, just presenting the catalog as it was. So when one looks to review these books, one isn't really judging the modern-day publisher, or editing, or writing. To judge the books, one has to compare each one to others of its kind, and then to decide whether the material in it is thorough and complete according to the standards of its time. Since there are several dozen of these catalogs published by Dover, we have the basis for such a comparison.

This particular homes catalog has several unusual elements to it which make it worth adding to a collection. For starters, almost all of the houses are illustrated with photographs, rather than drawings, so we are seeing actual, finished models of the houses. The photographs include some things we'd be unlikely to see in a drawing or artist's rendering, for example, the photo of the Webster model shows the driveway, and the garage with carriage-house type doors behind the house. And the Kingston shows a car in the driveway - just the rear of the car, I couldn't identify the make or model, but it is neat to see a nice middle-class house with a car, something we couldn't take for granted in earlier years.

Some plan books have no text except the price listings and how to order; others have entire sections of articles, or extensive suggestions as to furnishings, colors to finish the house in, etc. This book falls in between those extremes as to amount of text, but what's actually written for each house, although short, is quite unusual. The company is apparently trying to push social engineering along with new homes. For example, here's the text accompanying the photo of the Van Buren model: "Clean men, both of hand and heart, are invariably the product of happy home unions. It is around the harmonious hearthstone where the glow of mutual interest and understanding temper the finer senses that men mould character of sterling worth. It would be a violation of a natural law if homes in The Van Buren class should produce other than men of clean purpose." And here's the text for the Dumont Duplex: "The Dumont cannot be surpassed as a double house, and will make homes of exceptional advantages and refinements for those whose experience and education have taught them the value of good fellowship and neighborly kindness. Learning to co-operate with our fellow creatures is the secret of overcoming selfishness and all of its poisoning effects upon our better selves." Well! Is that the best reason for living in multi-family housing you've ever heard?

This book is late enough into the century that we can take interior bathrooms for granted; the 1920's are quite modern compared to 15 years earlier. A plan book from 1912, for example, still has half the houses without indoor baths, and many not wired for electricity. On the other hand, there are not yet garages featured automatically with the houses, and the kitchen stoves still need a chimney vented to the outside. I greatly enjoy comparing books from a few years apart, to see the progress being made. Many of the houses have the "built-in" features that became popular in the teens: built-in fold-down ironing boards, breakfast nooks with built-in bench seating, laundry chutes from upstairs to downstairs, built-in bookcases next to the fireplace or between the living room and dining room.

There are quite a few houses that seem ahead of their time as to modern features. The Van Buren has two bathrooms upstairs, one for the master bedroom and the other for all the other bedrooms. Both bathrooms have both a bathtub and a shower stall. In fact, looking at the floor plan for the Van Buren, one could imagine living in it today fairly easily, with just the addition of a bit more kitchen counter space. The Chesterfield, likewise, is a house I'd love to live in, with not only two full bathrooms, but built-in bookcases downstairs, and built0in window seats upstairs in the bedrooms, a walk-through pantry with more built-in cabinets than most, and beautiful balconies. The Webster has a "radio room" off the dining room - presumably for the hobbyist! It also has a downstairs powder room as well as the usual upstairs bathroom. The Westhaven offers a dumbwaiter to the basement (presumably where there is storage), a separate laundry room, a downstairs washroom with both toilet and a double sink and an upstairs bathroom, as well as a sewing room, a clothes chute, an indoor refrigerator instead of an ice box that has to be near the back door, and a waste-burner disposal. (Remember, this is before we were worried about air pollution! A waste burner was very modern then!) Most of the houses still have the refrigerators situated right by the back door, still assuming the need for ice delivery, and many with slots for milk delivery as well, but there were the first few real refrigerators, as well as real washing machines, at this time, and this company appears to be forward thinking enough to have designed houses for these brand-new conveniences.

In summary: a must for continuity from "old" houses to "modern" and also for the unusual text which will keep you amused.

This faithful reproduction of a 1920's home plans catalogue offers a wide range of plans covering many different styles and house sizes.

Each page provides a photograph or rendering of the house exterior, a floor plan including dimensions, and a "unique" promotional blurb which shows how times have changed!

On the downside, all homes are shown in black and white and there are no interior views to indicate finishings, accessories or furniture for those who are looking for a restoration resource book. The last few pages, however, do include sections on possible additions, garage styles and renderings of interior and exterior doors.

The author leads you through Adobe's history, advantages, varieties and mythology. Photographs from around the world illustrate Adobe buildings from ancient times to today's current structures. Often associated with luxury homes, Adobe houses come in all price ranges.

Well-organized, the book guides you on a tour of a dozen New Mexico famous buildings such as Taos Pueblo. It takes you to Peru, Bolivia and the middle East to examine Adobe's place in a variety of cultures. Personally photographed by the author, the many photos illustrate the versatility in its use, design and complexity.

The task of housing this planet's six billion people is a growing problem. One solution is using the dirt beneath our feet as material. Adobe is baked by the sun, requires unskilled labor and last for centuries. Half of the homes on Earth are built of earth ... more than any other material. The book is interesting to read and increases awareness of this often overlooked solution to World housing.

- Adobe has been used throughout the world for centuries. Why then is it no longer favored in the borderlands? Perhaps we've taken this "global treasure" for granted, or worse, thought it too old-fashioned for the present century. This book is an excellent introduction to material of adobe itself and the cultures of people who used adobe to create shelter. This is a book with practical sensibilities; after all, it was funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development.

An unusual approach to explore the roots of simple earthen architecture. The similarities found in many parts of the world are clearly illustrated with photos. It offers solutions for ecologically sensitive housing that is available to all.

This book is for the individual who wants to and is able to build his/her own home. The details are geared towards someone who is already familiar with building techniques and jargon. If you're planning to design your own adobe home but have a contractor do the actually building of it, you probably don't need to know this much and will be overwhelmed by the information provided.

This book is easy to read and understand when the author explains adobe and rammed earth buildings. The book seems to be a bit more focused on the details of adobe brick making which is great if that is what you want. The rammed earth sections are very informative but lack some of the construction details. I would have liked to have seen more detailed decriptions with better drawings of forms, for example. The author also has several table having containg soil composition that was a bit too technical for practical use. Overall,I believe this book is well worth the money for an introduction to adobe and rammed earth buildings. Additional books would be needed to learn enough to build one yourself though.

Girlfriend Gatherings is a small inspirational book jam-packed with information on how to connect with people you have known over the years as well as creative ways to cultivate new friendships. Her contents page is your guide. McHenry's detailed instructions tell how she and some high school friends renewed their friendships over a Mexican Brunch and how they have stayed in touch every since. She tells how to put on sparkling family reunions which includes several ways to record your eldest family members. NOTE:See the story starters for sharing family memories. Other great enclosures: how to do a high tea at Christmas time, create an E-mail newsletter, a round-robin stay in touch letter, a friendship getaway. If you do not have the time to be creative with your girlfriend gatherings take advantage of the already organized plans in this book.

This book is a superb biographical women's history resource. It offers biographical sketches of a number of American women in a variety of fields, from abolitionists to socialites. Spans from early U.S. history to the 1980s. Goes beyond the usual selection of political activists. Highly recommended addition to the women's study reference shelf.

It is apparent that Mr. McHenry knows Naval and shipboard procedures. He goes to great lengths to let the reader know that he is up on procedures to the point of tedium. The first half of the book was boring and repetitive. The second half was better but some of the religious discussions came out of the blue and seemed out of place. This would be a book best checked from the library.

From naval ships to protocal and chapter to chapter, Mr. McHenry's, "Code Name:Antidote," had me excitedly flipping through the pages of this engrossing Navy Thriller with eager anticipation. I thought the story was very believable, reminded me a little of some earlier works of Clancy.

Great story.I went looking for another of his books after 9/11 and the recent anthrax attacks. Hope to see another soon.

Full of good basic information. You quickly realize that unless you are a builder, you will not be able to build it yourself but that you will at least have some knowledge to help you make decisions about the process, and to oversee and talk with your builder intelligently. Very few pictures, no house plans. Does include basic information to help you draw your own plan.