This book was actually published by IllumiNet Press, not Last Gasp of San Francisco, as Amazon.com's page indicates. Amazon.com's correction form does not include a category to correct publisher information, so I am communicating this information this way. Ron Bonds, who ran IllumiNet Press, died last April under very strange circumstances. I think it's important that he be given credit for getting this book out, along with the many other books he published, particularly those written by my friend and writing partner Jim Keith, who also died under strange circumstances.

Kenn has carefully researched previous "facts" about the Maury Island UFO incident and has, in some areas, corrected the historical mis-record; he has shed new light on the mysterious main characters, especially the chameleon-like Fred Lee Crisman. What emerges is a fascinating retro look at one of ufology's earliest jump-starters, with numerous sidetracks into the murky world of government security agencies, the mafia, and Jim Garrison's (in) famous JFK assassination probe. Backing up his investigation, Kenn has provided a generous, detailed appendix documenting much of the seemingly incredible aspects of both the story and the intriguing main players. Although the author appears to lean in the direction of UFO's possibly being highly advanced secret aircraft, ET proponents would be foolish to overlook the ramifications suggested here. What emerges is a chilling dissection of the complex, phantom machinations of the human hierarchy and, particularly, the psyche of those "soldiers" sent into the field to carry them out against the "enemy" -- the masses. This is not just another UFO book, drearily recounting tread-worn sighting reports, or screaming that space aliens are inter-breeding with us. We don't need to be alien hybrids to be a weird, darkly dangerous species; a few chapters of Kenn's work is proof enough for virtually anyone. I loved it!

I was picking through this book, one of Kenn Thomas' typically pithy works (his hallmark is extensive citations of primary materials), getting typically perturbed at many of the covert shenanigans performed by various government (and other) entities. I put the book down, and an hour later came back to find my eight year old son had picked it up and was totally engrossed in it. His eyes were big when he looked up and said in a very serious voice, "Dad, this book is GREAT!" I said, "yes, it is son, yes it is ..."

"It is, in a sense, a prose AENEID, written with so much economy and constraint that the reader is only aware at the end that he has been following the wanderings of a hero." -Andrew Nelson Lytle, New Republic (1934)

A minor classic that is too often overlooked. The pure aesthetic beauty and simplicity of Gordon's language is a revelation.

This highly regarded but not widely known masterpiece chronicles the life of Aleck Maury from his earliest forays into opossum hunting and flyfishing to his latter days of quail hunting and fishing in old age. His lifelong quest of excellence in the field conflicts with his commitments to family and social responsibility. The novel is based on the author's father. Ms. Gordon was the wife of Allen Tate, the noted literary critic and poet. The Agrarian context and concerns of Tate are evident in her work, though her writings are unique. She shows herself here and in her other novels to be a master of her craft.

After flipping through the pages of this book, I was on a mission like a thing posessed in search of flan rings, which the author lists as a "must have" to make his tarts. The tarts are so visually appealing, I had to find out for myself if they tasted anywhere near as good as they looked. I found four flan rings- at a rediculous $9 per four-inch ring. I couldn't see buying eight, which is the number that one recipe of pastry makes. But the results were worth it!! I tried two recipes. The first was a fully baked tart shell filled with ricotta cheese and topped with fresh berries. The second was a tart baked with almond cream and fresh cherries (my substitution for plum slices which the recipe called for). The cherry tarts looked like something I'd buy from a pastry shop- just gorgeous. The shells have a great short-bread like flavor and a much nicer crumb than many tart recipes. However, what they make up for in flavor, they lack somewhat in durability. They are somewhat fragile. Mr. Rubin's instructions are excellent, and though the first time through takes time and patience, it was not difficult. Anyone comfortable with pastry should have no trouble with the shells. The down side is the practicality. If you need many tarts at one time, the flan rings are expensive. I was able to fashion rings out of foil and shape the tarts with a foil ring inside a stainless steal ring. Once the pastry is shaped and trimmed, just slip the stainless steal ring off and the foil will hold perfectly fine for baking. The pastry dough handles easily, but the sharp rims of traditional tart pans will cut through it and ruin it before you have a chance to shape it.

New York Times Aug 18. Food Section featured a splendid summer picnic menu. All recipes were included except Maury Rubin's Blueberry-Coconut Tarts. New Yorkers get them at City Bakery. What's a Bostonian to do? Get Maury's book which does have this recipe and many more. Best of all, he gives very easy to follow directions on making the dough. Many of the tarts are made with fresh fruit. The color photos of each tart are very helpful and inspirational to me. Love this book.

This book, althought not the easiest recipes to prepare, certainly it has the most delicious. Maury's lemon curd and tart shells are the only recipes I ever use when I want a show stopping, delectable dessert for my restaurant or home entertaining. Please, Maury, come out with volumn 2.

Having sailed for 40 years, I came across an old edition of this gem written in the 30's and was astounded by the economy of prose, yet the depth of feeling created by its author.

It is a deceptively simple story, but packed with thoughts and observations which are thoroughly relevant today. And it is written in a style which came BEFORE the present supermediatic hyperbolic overstatement that characterizes most of what we read and hear today.

It is an excellent gift, and an inspirational work, even if you are never planning to cross an ocean. It is in a word, a classic. (And it is wonderful to think about how these places actually were in the thirties, and to listen to proper nautical language and vocabulary which has been washed away by the advent of the jet plane and skidoo.. Bon voyage!

I suspect this is THE book that inspired otherwise sane and sensible people to abandon their career, family and fortune in order to sail off to the South Pacific.

The Saga of Cimba is a masterwork. I find this book as compelling, captivating, and yes even mesmerizing, now as when I first read it many years ago. It is one of very, very few which I can always re-read with unwavering pleasure and delight. Richard Maury has crafted a volume as close to perfect in terms of making the essential -nesses of cruising in small sail boats clear to the reader as any I have ever found. It's facinating to me that right through to the last page he never tells of himself, and only word sketches his alternating sailing companions very briefly. Cimba herself is the main character and Maury never loses sight of that fact. The Saga of Cimba is a book filled with the unpretentious magic of greatness.

While watching the hit war movie, "Saving Private Ryan," I had a vivid flash memory of a book I had read a few months ago. It was "China Spy" by Maury and Janet Allen. The linkage should not have surprised me. The hero of the Allen book isn't fiction ... he was a young Irish-American paratrooper who fought bravely and ... like Steven Spielberg's fictional Private Ryan, survived the blood bath of WWII in Europe. Unlike Private Ryan, the idealistic Private McDermott of Yonkers, NY joined the CIA after the war and went to China as a businessman-spy. Betrayed by his bride and arrested by the Chinese Communists as he was walking up the gangplank of a a U.S.-bound steamship to come home, the young man is imprisoned. The Chinese communists want him to sign a confession for propaganda purposes. He refuses. Other prisoners who "confess" to spy charges are released. But this young patriot refuses to betray his country. He is tortured for years and finally dies from the brutal treatment. Other westerners imprisoned at the same time recall how this young real life hero underwent horrible torture rather than betray his country. A cynic can argue, "why die for reasons that are out of date a few decades later?" A thoughtful American citizen can counter, "If and when history thrusts you or me in the meatgrinder of a battlefield or the horror of an enemy prison, you will find out who you really are ... even if the world forgets you.

Every perceptive person should read "China Spy." The tragic irony of the death of a now-forgotten young hero deserves to be remembered amid the box office buzz of a excellently-crafted cinematic tale. "China Spy" is the reality of one man's terrible choice and sacrifice. "Saving Private Ryan" is a war monument on film, emblematic of the sacrifice of millions of men. Today the Cold War is history and China is one of America's favorite trading partners. I thank the Allens for their "China Spy" They remembered ... and now so will their readers.

The saga of Hugh Francis Redmond is a modern Greek tradegy- a silently heroic figure trapped by the fates in a struggle over which he has no understanding or control. Magnifiently written with the best descritpion of young soldiers going into battle I've ever read. Maury Allen is never maudlin and yet the impact of his writing puts the reader at the scene with clear sharp details which tap the strongest emotions. A must for anyone interested in the human dynamics of wartime and the mysteries of modern politics.

Great Book....even though the CRAZY PROFESSOR I HAD USED 15 of the essays and some poems. THE ESSAYS WERE INTERESTING AND FUN.

This book provides a good range of diverse materials for a teacher in a first year English course. There are multiple genres and themes, a section of famous paintings for discussions (useful for discussions on literature and art), among other helpful features. The Conscious Reader is an antidote to readers which have the same standard writing for student use.

This book is a must for anyone who is SERIOUS about their health and the health of their loved ones. Thanks Doctors Anderson and Breecher! I particularly enjoyed reading "Maury's Diary" on page 206. Your advice on melatonin has given me the restful sleep I've been missing for years. Keep up the good work

This book clearly explains what antioxidants are and what they do to protect health (and how they do it). Dr. Anderson promises and appears to deliver a disease-reversal program that targets those with specific illnesses. These well-credentialed authors take the mystery out of what antioxidants and amounts to take. They do this by tailoring their recommendations to 3 possible health states: Good health that you want to maintain; Good health but risk factors such as diabetes or other genetic illnesses in your family, and lastly, poor health or chronic illness. Naturally those that are sick are counseled to consider taking a wider variety of antioxidants, including Melatonin. Regardless of the title, the authors don't believe antioxidants are "magic bullets," however they do believe antioxidant supplemenTS, coupled with other health-enhancing steps (the Program promised in the title), will help stave off or moderate diseases including cancer, cardiovascular ailments, and diabetes. The authors back their recommendations by citing and explaining numerous, current studies. Publisher's Weekly, in a review,pointed out that the book's glossary "is particularly useful." It is good, but I especially appreciated the recommendations about soy protein and other phytochemicals. It's worth the money

I very highly recommend, the sheet music to Yeston and Kopit's "Phantom." It's hauntingly beautiful to play as well as sing. It deserves all the stars it can get. They are divine songs, that stay with you.

In a project started, interestingly, before Webber's famous version, Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit have created a very real Phantom. In giving us a more human Phantom, they also gave us truly wonderful music - uplifting at some times, humorous at others, heartfelt and haunting throughout. My favorite musical, and my favorite work to perform. Singing the part of Erik is a tenor's dream.

Maury's life, rising from the humble origins of a farming family in Virginia and then Tennessee, to a career as an internationally renowned scientist, is quite interesting, and generally well told by author Chester Hearn. Most scientists would feel their careers were a success if they made a few contributions to their area of science. Maury's genius invented two whole sciences: oceanography and marine astronomy. He significantly improved navigation by finding "tracks in the sea," the patterns which numerous currents and winds follow all over the globe. Perhaps because he sided with the Confederacy in the Civil War, he became a relatively obscure figure. Since he had an enduring influence on the human race's knowledge of the oceans, he deserves to be better known. This book will help, and is well worth reading.

This is a great book for anyone with an interest in or passion for sailing, navigation, mapping and charting or who holds an interest in the challenges of early explorers.

I found Klein's fantastic first volume on the history of the Union Pacific in the library of a neighboring town. Klein's history covers both the difficulties encountered in building the railroad and the financial/political scheming that went on back east in New York and Washington. After reading Klein's book, particularly with respect to the fraud and politicing, that one fully understands why railroads were feared and government regulation instituted. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad and/or early US railroad history. (PS: I also found Volume II to be an excellent continuation of Klein's work.)

Professor Klein deals with the turbulent early years with a grace and style not often seen in business history. I had the unique experiance of reading these books in the reverse order, ten years apart, but nothing was lacking in Volume One. Particularly sensitive treatment of the Gould years, and a very cohesive and in depth analysis of the Credit Mobilier fiasco. Klein writes very well; a strong point when dealing with high finance. Great book.