Richard S. Wheeler's Skye's West: Rendezvous and his character Barnaby Skye...eh, make that Mister Skye! offers a reading treat for anyone who wants something out of the ordinary with their adventures.
Besides providing a good story Wheeler's writing is grown-up good as it leads us into an historical realm and offers a well- crafted look, convincing dialogue, and characters who breathe.
It's easy to see why Wheeler has won the SPUR Award for his western writing and easy enough for a reader to be spurred on with his stories.
There's only a handful of talented writers in this genre out there and Wheeler is one of them.

This is a good read, with a lot of historical facts mixed in with the fiction. It describes life in the wilderness of the Northwest in what is now the United States, and the struggles people faced just to survive. Has a good story line and keeps your interest. This is the first of the Barnaby West novels I have read and I would like to read more books about this character, if I could just figure out which one I should read next. I can't find anything that gives me any indication of which book in the series comes next.

From the time that Skye deserts the British vessel holding him captive to his meeting with the mountain men and Indians, I was held captive and felt as if I took each step into this new world with him. Mr. Wheelers use of historical facts and people, ie: the Hudson Bay company, Jim Bridger etc. just added to the overall effect of the story. I feel as tho I have gained a little more insight into the way the early trappers lived and faced death on a daily basis.

I will look forward to reading his previous novels on Mister Skye -i backward order to see just where he went from this point on. Anyone who enjoys the historical novel will enjoy this one. Thanks for a trip into the past!

This is an exellent work on typology of German bayonet of that period. Well researched and illustrated, great paper, well bound. I consider it a must for any bayonet collector. Great job by a fellow collector!

This is an example of an excellent work, profuse black & white color photographs and, illustrations, many references and prices of market. I have the book # 260/500 signed by the author.

Excellent reference book! However, in the copy I purchased pages 129 through 160 have been left out of the book. In their place, pages 1 through 32 are repeated. What a disappointment. My copy is also numbered and signed by the author.

"Stranger to the Game" can be enjoyed on at least two different levels. On one level, fans get all the details they need about Gibson and his journey with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-1975: the early struggles with racist manager Solly Hemus; Gibson's relationship with catcher Tim McCarver; lessons learned by the Cards in their strong run at the pennant in 1963, and the fruits of those lessons in '64; the frustrating seasons of 1965 and '66; the powerhouse Cards of '67 and '68, punctuated by what might have been the greatest pitching performance of all time in 1968, by the author; and the gradual decline of both Gibson's skills and the Cards. The early years of Gibson's life in Omaha, Neb. are interesting, too -- the influence of his older brother; the things he learned from playing basketball, etc.

But the book also offers some fascinating insights on what it means to be as fierce a competitor as Gibson was. On the field, especially when combined with great talent and intellect, it's a very powerful positive. But in so many other areas -- dealing with the press, trying to get and maintain other jobs in baseball after retirement, coping with the foolish things people do in everyday life, and perhaps even marriage -- it has been a detriment to Gibson. Several times in the book, he is appalled that people see him as "the meanest man to play baseball" (in the words of one fan who approached him in public). It doesn't make sense to him that people would fail to see that his angry demeanor on the mound, and when dealing with most opposing players off it, were designed for a very specific effect, one that made absolute sense in the context of his profession. Even within the limits of the diamond, people sometimes forget that while Gibson hit 90 batters with pitches, Don Drysdale hit 154, and Jim Bunning hit 160.

The racial element of course serves to underscore this misunderstanding, in Gibson's view. Those determined to see a black man as threatening are that much more likely to be unable to separate job-specific toughness with a person's normal everyday persona. This, as much or more than anything else, has kept Gibson on the periphery of baseball since his retirement.

Throughout sports, one of the key issues confronting any athlete is how, and when, to turn off the mindset he or she must cultivate for the playing field. In some ways, a competitve approach to life in general is certainly desirable, as so many of our daily struggles are battles, to one degree or another. Gibson portrays himself as being able to flip this switch on or off, depending on the situation. Others disagree.

Several years after "Stranger to the Game" was published, Gibson, at 66, had a physical altercation with a motorist (can there be any doubt who won?) who cut him off in traffic. The incident suggests that Gibson's competitive fires, perhaps combined with the machismo so intertwined with competition for most male athletes, still rage as intensely as ever.

What haunted me about "Stranger to the Game" is that I think there should be more room, both in baseball and outside of it, for someone who takes Gibson's approach to things.

Bob Gibson was the greatest pitcher I remember from when I was a young fan. My father, a man unbelievably tight with a dollar, bet on only one pitcher: the great Gibson. This book is a great autobiography and should be read by all baseball players whether they be a pitcher or a hitter. His mental approach to the game was unmatched, similar, I think, to Bill Russell of the Celtics or Jackie Robinson. I think Gibson, at his best, was the greatest pitcher for one game in MLB's history. He is unquestionably on the all-time competitor team.

Mr. Gibson reminds us of the good things about baseball the way it was and scolds the game for its shortcomings. His musings on what it takes to make a man and a game using memories of his career are especially poignent in light of the game baseball has become. Kudos to Mr. Gibson, an intelligent, articulate man whose umcompromising principles are an example to our children as to what a hero ought to be

I really took to this book when I was assigned to read it for my new job in pediatric clinic. It has many tools you can use to create your own triage guidelines. The tools apply to a nurse serving any population, from pediatrics to adults, occupational health to obstetrics. I found the writing to be concise and to the point. Nurse managers and educators, you should definitely consider this book for your telephone triage orientation program. I work for a military installation and I have to tell you as an insider that a practically congressional committee considered all the triage theory books there were, and chose this ONE. I can see why.

As an educator, it is important to provide historical information on a new subject, along with clear scenarios and critiques. This book allows a nurse, new to the field of telephone triage to understand the relationship of the nurse to patient, elicit the most informative information, and how to categorize information appropriately. The book provides the basis for telephone triage, no matter what the local requirements or conditions. I have used this boook for over 2 years in education of nurses to telphone triage and recommend that it belong as a resource in every call-center!

This textbook has become a standard reference at triage call centers across the U.S. A *must* read for either the new triage nurse or an experienced one.

This is the kind of book in which you can experience new to you western authors, without buying and reading an entire novel by each author. And in this book you will meet some of the best.

the story woolies was really cool. I liked all the stories but that one was particuliarly good. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys western stories.

This is a great compilation of western stories that stir and catch your attention. Robert J. Randisi has put together a wonderful volume that I can go back to anytime and re-read with pleasure the many authors who have used their different talents and imaginations on paper. For instance, one of my favorite (although it is hard to chose a favorite in this book) is "Cast-Iron Star" where a young man rides into town, asks, or rather insists, that he get the job of County Marshal, and vows to bring a gang to an end. He doesn't want a tin star, because interspersed into this story is little bylines about how his dad had shot a man right through a tin star. This story has a marvelous twist and I don't want to reveal it, so that all might enjoy it, but I will say that you will be thrilled by this book. Many of the other short stories are also great, such as "Fugitive Book", "Woolies", "Law West of Lonetree", "Maintaine Le Droit", about a Mountie, "Anna and the Players", etc. Another thing about this book is that in "Woolies" and "Law West of Lonetree", the authors use black cowboys as their central theme, and I think that is is great to see this more and more in westerns coming out now. But even more than that, I like how Robert Randisi introduces the authors and I am amazed about how few of them I was aware of. But now I am and will be on the lookout for titles by these individual authors who contributed to this great book. You will thoroughly enjoy it!

Although a little weak with maps of the whole region(Carcarsonne and surrounding areas were for some reason left out completely), the guide is a fascinating journey with great tidbits and helpful hints. Restaurants guide and touring tips were particularly helpful and our sampling indicated that the author knew his material well.

The Cote d'Azur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. As such, I was not expecting to find a guidebook which would add much to what has, over time, become common knowledge about the region (beautiful people, chic casinos, jet setting etc). David Burke's book, however, was a revelation. The author has obviously done his research, producing a guide which is short on cliche and long on detail and other useful information. Burke has tried to point the reader to the lesser-known delights of the Cote d'Azur, while at the same time not neglecting the old favourites. I presume that the same is true for the other regions covered in the guide. This is a book for romantics and explorers alike.

David Burke guides the traveller from Monaco to Perpignan. My trip remained inscribed in the Cote D'Azur. I stayed near Fayence, in the mountains an hour north Cannes for 10 days. I was able to visit many of the areas Burke reviewed and always found his reviews to be accurate. One excellent restaurant in Nice he recommended was Merenda a "tiny hole-in-the-wall" run by chef Dominique Le Stanc who left his post at the Michelin 2-star Le Chantecler. Throughout all of the towns he reviews he points you out to little treasures like Merenda.

The local histories and photographs got me started on my trip well before I left New York. The anticipation carried over into an eagerness to explore the country side. I'll be going back to Provence and Lanquedoc with this book in hand.

Ed Watz's book 'Wheeler & Woolsey' is a superb film history of a great and sadly forgotten movie comedy team. This volume evokes the golden days of both Vaudeville and Hollywood, as we follow the rise and sad fall of Wheeler & Woolsey. Mr. Watz also sets straight the historical record that the boys were second only to the great Laurel & Hardy in the 1930's and certainly ahead of their rivals the Marx Bros., the Ritz Bros., and the Three Stooges! Readers of this book will want to go out and see the films of Wheeler & Woolsey. Watz's book is a lost treasure.

This "sleeper" book, which I picked up because of my curiosity about the subjects (they are appearing regularly on the Turner Classic Movies station) is a revelation. Positively one of the best researched and entertaining books about a comedy team from the movies' golden age, the 1930s. To watch Wheeler & Woolsey is to understand what vaudeville-type comedy is (was) all about. Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey have been overlooked in favor of teams like the Marx Bros. or the 3 Stooges. This book corrects that oversight. It is also a highly readable accounts of Hollywood politics behind the scenes at some of the major studios. If you're a fan of vintage movie comedy, get this book.

Wheeler and Woolsey were second to Laurel and Hardy in the heart's of movie going audiences of the 1930's. Since then, however, their star has faded and their acomplishments have been relegated to footnote status in the history of the golden age of comedy. Thanks to Edward Watz, Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey are alive and kicking again in a definitive history of the lovable pair and their films. Exhaustingly researched and lovingly executed, the book chronicles the career ups and downs of the most unjustifiably forgotten comedians in the history of show business. Personal biographies are included, as well as detailed accounts of all of their features and short subjects. Long time leading lady Dorothy Lee lends her first hand account of the way things happend with a refreshingly candid foreward. She also shares her memories of each of the films that she participated in with a fascinating view that only an insider could relate. The later years are chronicled in the final chapter, featuring accounts of Bert Wheeler's career after the untimely death of his partner. All in all, this book ranks along side the superlative Laurel and Hardy, The Magic Behind The Movies, and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, as one of the most enjoyable and informative demonstration's of film history as can be expected. If you love film comedy, you should not be without this book.

Jennie Wiley is a direct descendent of mine through Hezekiah Sellards and I have heard stories told about her. However, I never thought there was a book about her. Although I have not purchased the book yet I still rate it a 5 for obvious reasons.

I have a copy of this book that is copied off an old copy machine. I was so happy to find copies of the real book. I am also a very distant relative of Jenny Wiley. It will be great to pass these books on to family members. What a great find.

It has been quite a few years since I read this book. My grandmother owned it. I thought it was a very good book. It hit close to home to me, because Jennie Wiley is my seventh great-grandmother. Reading this book brought me close to my family history. I was able to learn more about how life was back then and the things that happened. I plan to buy my own copy, so that I can share the story with my children.

This is so much fun! Your imagination is incredible. I read through it and was almost dreading the end because I feared it would be the predictable boy (frog) falls in love with girl (faerie) scenario. I was thrilled and delighted at the unexpected twist you put on things! Thank you for such a fun and enjoyable read!

This children's story was delightful! It was full of neat descriptions about Hickem Tod's unusual world. The artwork was stunning -- it really brought the characters to life. The author read it at our local elementary school and the children giggled at the ending. It's a treasure!

Mr. Wheeler has clearly shown his flair for colorful characters and fantastic imagery. Both have been masterfully joined with a good moral and a surprise ending that delights kids and adults alike. Let's hope that this promising new author will not remain in _silence_!

Characters that seem real and believable. A story that works out the characters' problems in due course without forcing actions on them. And it was sheer pleasure to read a book set in Ireland that didn't make everyone in it out to be dark, dirty, horrible, mean, or viscious. Too many of such books that I've read - whether fiction or nonfiction - seem to want all of the Irish, especially the clergy and religious, to be nothing but bad news.

Alice Taylor has outdone herself again. This book retains your interest at all times and it is very hard to put down till you are done. You need not be of Irish heritage to enjoy this book. Once you start, you cannot stop!

the characters in this story are well-developed. events are well-paced and not rushed but Taylor doesn't include any unnecessary details. one is drawn into the lives of this people in this beautiful Irish village/town without being subjected by sappiness or overemotion.