From the moment I received the book, I could not put it down.My wife had purchased it for me. After just a few pages I thought the author had studied my records of my twelve years in the Navy, except for a few things it seemed like my life over again.Pat surely did his homework on this book, I know that it was only a novel, but a lot was things that could or did happen. I am a Korean and Vietnam vet. and saw things happened just like it was written, kudos to you Pat, keep up the good work.Please write more and inform me when you do.

From first page to last, Boatswain's Mate is one helluva read, driven by a super powered engine fueled with testosterone, adrenaline and patriotism. To say this book is a keeper doesn't begin to cover it. Pat Johnston writes in first person and does it in a superbly masculine style, with gusto. Everything is documented so realistically, I had trouble believing it was fiction.

Jake Rickmeyer flees a drunken, abusive step-father and joins the Navy in 1944 at age 16. The Navy is an ideal home for Jake. He loves the sea and everything it stands for, including the ideals of serving home and country. His career spans World War Two, Korea, the Cuban missile crisis, two tours in Viet Nam, and Black Ops for the CIA. The reader sees each action through Jake's eyes as he serves aboard destroyers, cruisers, amphibious ships, and anything else the Navy throws at him. Jake is the best of the best in everything he does, from rigging for a stormy ocean to piloting through murky Vietnamese rivers, to pleasing females every chance he gets in foreign ports. Along the way he makes some influential friends who give him a leg up in rank. Such boosts are always more than earned.

Life aboard ship is described lovingly: "...the cooks baking tomorrow's bread, the comforting smell of cigarette smoke and coffee...the smell of men, machinery, fuel oil, grease and paint in every pore of her." Jake's women, also, add to his persona. A failed marriage that gets a second chance in later life, unrequited love,[unhappy-motivated]foreign women all help define Jake as a man, a patriot, a warrior, an often decorated man of courage, a typical American male giving his best and grieving the death of friends in battle. Jake has no political agenda, no deep hidden philosophy except to be a man and gut it out no matter what. He takes in stride rescuing fallen flyers in frigid oceans, covering night landings on enemy held beaches, and gunning after kamikaze planes that fill the sky like wasps.

Be prepared to wave the American flag in spirit as you read this rouser of a book. Pat Johnston's writing is powerful, visceral, as he communicates duty and honor. And don't be surprised at the chilling end to Boatswain's Mate. Somehow I doubt that Jake Rickmeyer was. This book is for mature adults, not children or young adolescents. I recommend it.

In the Book "Boatswain's Mate" by Pat Johnston, Jake Rickmeyer didn't spend a lot of time hanging around the fo'c'sle, swapping sea stories about their ground takle with the other Bo's'ns... He was out and about making things happen in three wars. I received a recommendation for the book through the USS STODDARD (DD-566) Reunion Association, a WW II Destroyer that supported the type of missions Jake participated in, especially in the Vietnam era. Read the book and loved it! ... I'll leave you hanging to see the outcome of this very warm, homey book. Excellent writing, great style. I look forward to future productions from Pat Johnston.

This book is charming with the old moral story of "it is best to be yourself". The art is great but since the story mostly involves 2 iguanas lazing around and talking, there really was not a chance for Mark to apply his wonderful upbeat inventive artwork. But if you want grand fun, check out other books that are illustrated by the illustrator of this book. He even writes some of his books too. Try, "the secret shortcut", "the lost and found", a recent great book "One Halloween Night", "Pigsty" (great at convincing anyone they should have a clean room), "No moon, no milk", "what I did on my summer vacation", and "the baby tamer". The best of all for over the top inventiveness is "the flying dragon room".

3-8 yrs. Children will enjoy this story of Tom and Dom, two Iguana brothers who contemplate such issues as whether or not to eat bugs, their realization that they are dinosaurs, and having friends. They speak english with occasional spanish words reflecting their locale & habitat. A funny story.

Hurray for Tom and Dom! I really love reading this book aloud. Tom and Dom are such great characters I wish that Tony Johnston would write another Iguana brothers book. With illustrations by Mark Teague, of course.

I have browsed a copy of this book in an animation gallery and was impressed by the work within - certainly a marvellous way to explore the drawings that make up these films.

Let's hope Disney continue this series and quickly release Glen Keane's awesome character sketches and pencil development from 'Beauty and the Beast'! That is what I'm *really* waiting for!

Bambi is a nice drama of real life. It states how life goes. It shows that sometimes you have to go on without your parents that they wont always be there. It also states that your friends & loved one's can be there to lean on & help you get on your feet again. If you're looking for a good book to explain life to kids then this is it. It is a good book to start conversations about life to little kids as well.

This fine addition to the Disney Sketchbook series has many of the wonderful sketches done by Disney's animation department for Bambi, including many pieces from the storyboards, and several sketches of scenes that never made it into the final film. Artists that would like to study the Disney style of drawing and animation should find this volume a terrific addition to their collection despite its rather high price. As a student of art, and a fan of the Disney style, I highly recommend any of these books for your library.

Why do authors feel compelled to stretch out their books to inordinate lengths? There are some books -- "War and Peace" -- that deserve long, lengthy treatment. Others are just padded -- and that applies to "Carry the Wind." The novel is 700 pages long. It would be better if the author had cut it back to 400-450 pages.

Well, amidst this over-wordy novel is a good story and a lot of authentic information about the days of the Mountain Men -- ca. 1832 -- perhaps the most heroic and adventurous, although unwashed, characters in American history. The novel is worth reading for its description of buffalo hunts, Indian fights and homely crafts like moccasin making, beaver skinning, etc. I especially enjoyed the author's description of the Battle of Pierre's Hole, a real event.

The plot of "Carry the Wind" is pretty basic. Young man (Josiah Paddock) gets in trouble and runs away to the mountains where he meets old trapper (only 38 years old!) "Scratch" also known as Titus Bass. Old trapper initiates young man into the ways of the Mountain Men. The ending is pretty exciting although too drawn out by half. I admire the author more for his research and dedication to authenticity than I do his merits as a novelist.

Carry The Wind introduces the reader to grizzled mountain man Titus "Scratch" Bass who befriends young Josiah Paddock. Johnston weaves a detailed saga of the encounters of these two in the rough western country of 1831 North America. The novel is fantastically researched and character development is sensational. Johnston's knowledge of mountain man survival and Native American customs and language borders on scholarly and is worth the read for this fact alone.

I really enjoyed being transported to the era of the mountain men, quite a drift away from tradional Westerns. My only negative comment is that the novel seems to drag at times, especially when Bass and Paddock are travelling between plot lines, and as such is a bit too long-winded. Perhaps Johnston intended for the reader to feel the slowness and isolation of the mountain men when travelling from Point A to B. Regardless, Carry The Wind is an excellent work, especially considering this was Johnston's first work (the author sadly passed away last year).

I plan on reading Johnston's "mountain men" works as well as his other titles as well. Overall, Carry The Wind is a great historical read if you have the time and interest in this period of American History.

Equal to any if not the best book I have ever read. A unique gift and presentation by the author.

A detailed and well documented trip through the mind of a great leader. An 18th century gentleman caught up in the burden of a 19th century conflict. Symonds shows how Johnston agonized through the days with Hood in the west, avoiding decisions that may have had a marked impact on the eventual outcome of the war in the west. Johnston's feud with Jefferson Davis is also well covered and it is clear that Johnston became so engrossed with this struggle that one cannot help but wonder if things in April, 1865, might have been very different had these two men cooperated rather than bickered with each other. Johnston's relationship with his classmate, Lee, is covered lightly, although the jealously in Johnston's heart sneaks through. The only reason I did not give the book five stars is the brief treatment of Johnston's early life - probably due to a lack of source material - and his life following the war. The treatment of this latter period seems rushed. All in all, an excellent history and an insightful look at a often unfairly maligned warrior. ...But, I'm prejudiced.

Symonds presents a well-balanced account of Johnston the man, the soldier, and the friend and husband. This book is interesting, not overly complex and contains as much detail of Johnston's life as one would require to render an objective opinion of Johnston.

Not until I read this book did I understand the impact that Johnston's leadership had on the Confederate army's achievements and set-backs during the Civil War. Johnston could be cautious in his execution of battle plans and overly sensitive to criticism of his leadership and the strategic use of his army. However, Johnston understood that winning battles against numerically superior odds required picking the right circumstances in which to use his men. Johnston's first priority as a soldier was always the well-being of his men. The book also explores in depth the antipathy that Johnston and Jefferson Davis shared toward each other, indeed for a lifetime. This biography provides an easy-to-read account of all significant events in the life of Joe Johnston.

This is an excellent, well written, un-biased look at the life and military carrier of Joseph E. Johnston. I now better understand Johnston's strategies, and the numerous problems between himself and President Davis. I must read to better understand the war in the western theater of operations.

I found this story very well written and very interesting as an historical novel. I do feel however, that the author made it much longer than need be. The main and most maddening flaw I found in the book was probably not the authors fault, but was the fault of the publisher. The senopsis of the story on the back cover clearly lead one to believe that it was a story about a trapper (Titus Bass) searching for his family after they were kidnapped by Blackfoot Indians. It turns out however that out of 558 pages and 34 chapters, only one chapter (chapter 25) is devoted to the kidnapping and search of Titus's family. I feel that was very missleading and I now wonder what to expect from his other books. Chris Stone

I won't take up a whole lot of space except to say that Terry Johnston is just a treasure. He is always historically authentic, as good as the best of Elmer Kelton or Kirby Jonas, and in my opinion better than Louis L'Amour, with his bullet proof characters. You can believe the things Titus Bass did. There were, after all, some very tough people alive back then. But he wasn't superman, and he wasn't perfect. Anything by Johnston is a good bet! This is no exception.

As rendevous re-enactors, we have found Johnston's works to be just truly amazing in their accuracy. We have purchased every book he has put out and we still keep looking for the next one! Had to have them shipped special while living overseas. A true master of the word and history of the West. Good on ya Terry - keep on writing! The Armstrong Clan

I took one of the Active Isolated Stretching classes here in NYC and I can tell you the book is better than the class itself. Buy the book, follow the instructions and you will be ripping off the benefits of this stretching technique.

The book was recommended to me by an ultra-marathoner who was on the verge of giving up running prior to employing the methods in this book. As an avid runner myself, that was enough for me to buy it and give it a try.

I have not stretched on a daily basis since getting this book. But, I have employed the methods prior to running. In fact, I refuse to run without having utilized the leg routines. For the first time in 20 years I am able to run without pain.

Aaron Mattes started formulating Active Isolated Stretching almost
thirty years ago and in his new books he thanks others for capably
teaching his method. The difference between the founder and the
students is Mr. Mattes constantly strives for improvement and the
subtle changes in positioning and protocol in these latest works bear
this out. I'm a nationally certified personal trainer specializing in
stretching and strengthening. Over the past several years of using the
Mattes Method, I've had clients get relief from chronic pain caused by
numerous conditions. They have defied prognosis and have recovered to
lead lives of normalcy once again. My clients have amazed their Dr.s,
even at the Mayo Clinic. Do I get these results 100% of the time? Of
course not. But these kinds of results are typical for me using Active
Isolated Stretching. The information in the first dozen pages lay out
the scientific and medical basis for the common sense approach of the
Mattes Method. His references are sound and accepted. Mr. Mattes
politely refutes some of the "traditional" stretching styles
and backs his with physiological laws. I've worked with NCAA
champions, a couple of Big Ten Athletes of the Year and even Medaled
Olympians who will attest to the effectiveness of the Mattes Method. I
have several colleagues throughout the states and abroad achieving
similar successes. This book delivers the over 200,000 hours of
clinical and field experience that has brought Aaron Mattes
international attention and acclaim. The book should be on every
physical therapist desk and in every massage school library. My wife
has anklyosing spondylitis and her hip replacements are both over
17yrs. old. The Mattes Method saved her from a return to a wheel chair
over 8yrs. ago. You can email me at rayfritz@mgoblue.com

A richly drawn journey through the World of Two Moons, this collection of stories spanning thousands of years is a fine addition to the ever unfolding ElfQuest saga. "The Blood of Ten Chiefs" gives us an all too brief glimpse into the lives of the wolfriders before the familiar days of Cutter and his family. Like the best of the ElfQuest tales, these stories are well written, beautifully drawn and easily capture emotions without the need for excess dialogue and narration. The change in styles from story to story, artist to artist, can be distracting at first, but after the first few pages the reader is fully involved and captivated by each artist's unique vision of these wonderful elves and their magical world. Wendi Pini's creative absence, so terribly and painfully obvious in many of the other recent entries in the series, in no way diminishes this collection which features some of the finest work of the "guest" artists I have yet seen.

The stories are varied in style and scope, ranging from the visually stunning "Colors" which tells the epic tale of Timmorn and his struggle to reconcile his elfin and wolf heritage, to the whimsical and innocent "At the Oak's Root" which tells of a young Tanner and his misfit "wolf"-friend who is not a wolf at all.

Taken together the stories serve as an engaging glimpse at the legendary Ten Chiefs. Newcomers to ElfQuest should probably save this collection for last, as the stories assume that the reader comes to them with a full and comfortable command of World of Two Moons and its inhabitants.

In the twenty-one years since Wendy and Richard Pini introduced the graphic series "Elfquest", many readers have been curious about the background of Cutter and his Wolfrider tribe. The Pinis took a first step toward answering these questions by endorsing a fantasy-novel series, "The Blood of Ten Chiefs", which appeared throughout the 1980s; this collection of short prose stories brought to light major events in the lives of the chieftains who lived in the 10,000 years before we meet the elves for the first time. From 1993 to 1995, the spirit - and some of the substance - of these tales was brought into a new EQ graphic serial, "Blood of Ten Chiefs"; the first nine issues retold stories from the prose-books, the last eleven were original tales created specially for this new series. Book 9b reprints issues 1 to 7, and 10-11 (a two-part story).

In these episodes published here the storytelling is always of quality, and two of the tales - "Colors" (issue 1) and "The Broken Circle" (issues 10-11) are among the most memorable and significant in the series. "Colors" is the visual version of Richard Pini's tale about the struggle of the half-wolf Timmorn, the first Wolfrider chieftain, to reconcile the elfin and lupine sides of his soul. The difficulty of illustrating states of mind is handled beautifully here; profound as the prose is, the drawing is even more eloquent, particularly in the last few pages. Even the coloring-work, though reprinted only in black-and-white, yet adds to the total effect (a pleasant surprise in almost all the issues here is the graceful transfer of these originally colorized drawings). No issue in BoTC was less than solid, but this debut issue remains the best of the series.

Other stories include another carryover from the novels, "The Phantom of the Berry Patch" - a tale about the young Bearclaw (the father of Cutter); the grim, disturbing "Swift-Spear", an account of Two-Spear's madness and his resulting campaign against the humans; and the last story in this volume, "The Broken Circle", about young Skywise's discovery of a great relic of the High Ones, ancestors of the elves - and the havoc it wreaks with him and his tribe. Drawn in a completely different style from that of "Colors", it too is ambitious, far-reaching and thought-provoking - with a more unsettling conclusion.

The series - and this book - are, by design, a literary and artistic grab-bag, with contributions from several different artists, but the level of inspiration is high all around; about the only flaw is a certain blockiness of pencil-work in two of the stories ("Swift-Spear" admittedly being one of those two). As I have said, the art has transferred very well to this lower-price format (not always the case with other volumes in the EQ Reader's Collection).

To summarize: if the "Blood of Ten Chiefs" book had been a mere history of a tribe of elves, it would have been much less interesting. But because it focuses on the major events in the chiefs' lives - and, through them, illuminates their characters and times - these stories will bear repeated reading. Recommended.

I really enjoy Elf Quest comics, but they don't tell you much about what life was like before Cutter's tribe. This book provides you with exelent, well written background information, and detailed drawings of the elves and the incredible world of two moons. It tells you different stories about all the ten cheiftens that came before cutter.

I found this book to be trite and poorly written. It did not allow for good character development. The "players" were stereotyped. The topography and general situation of the Big Bend were inaccurate and exaggerated. (I speak as one who lives here and has hiked the trail described.) But I do not usually read "romances". This may be pleasant reading for those who enjoy this type of literature.

I recently started rereading the books in this series, and found that even the second time around The Texan captured my heart. It's a little farfetched with the story primarily one of good guys chasing bads, the couple trapped in a desert location (Big Bend) and forced to depend on each other... But Johnston tells the story with warmth and heart. This is the second book in the series, The Cowboy was the first and The Loner is the third. Although it is helpful to have read the first before reading the third, it's not essential - you'll probably want to read it anyway after you finish this one!

This was my first time reading Joan Johnston book. Once I finished it I ran out and bought The Cowboy which I also recommend. Keep up the good work.

Die-hard fans will find this a necessary purchase even if a little redundant. The strips, which offer the highlights of April's life from birth to age ten, have all been previously published, but there is new commentary and a wistful nostalgia that will have strong appeal to those who have been following the characters in this comic-verite for so many years.

This book is a well done review of the life of a little girl and his family as seen on your daily newspaper on the last 10 years. The life of April and her family is quite real and fun. The dynamics of the family as a group of individuals is resumed in an extraordinary way.

For those who already knew April and her family is a very pleasant book, like a family book full of memories. For those how are new to this family its a great chance to enter on this universe.

One can't take a comic completely seriously, even if you're a fan like me. Even so, "All About April" is a wonderful retrospective of a character that is very realistic and charming.

Too many of these reviews have focused on how "bratty" April is, and how "babyish" her speach is. Obviously, these folks either haven't children of their own, never been around children for any length of time, or read the strip as long as I have. Children are, for a lack of a better word, brats. They can be mean, babyish, cruel, and vicious. They are also wonderful, loving, caring and intelligent. April is all these things. She's spoiled by her parents, but also disciplined when she does wrong. She's babyish on occasions, but very wise on others. She was vindictive to Jeremy, but it was the only way for her to strike back. And she didn't abandon him when he needed someone, like most adults would have in her place.

All in all, April has been a great balance for "For Better or For Worse." "All About April" is a wonderful retrospective on her and, when added to "Remembering Farley" and "The Lives Behind The Lines," gives us a better picture of the creative process in Johnston's world. I can't wait for the retrospectives on Michael, Elizabeth, and even Elly and John. I hope they'll be done, at least.