I read The Master of Ballantrae quite recently and I think it is an awesome book. James Durie (the Master) is such a wicked man, but seems to charm (most) everybody. He is such a round character. He torments his poor brother Henry Durie and Henry suffers in silence. Only Mr. Mackellar knows of Henry's sufferings. The Master makes the book so colorful. It's full of adventure, romance, sorrow, and revenge. I highly recommend this book, because it was so interesting and kept you wondering what would happen next. I am sure it will capture your attention as it did mine.

I saw the Errol Flynn movie,which I found rather disappointing. I was assuming, however, that the book was a faithful adaptation of the movie. Be forewarned: it is most definitely not! This is not the kind of superficial swashbuckler you might assume. It is a dark and compelling book about the nature of evil and its manifestation in the person of James Durie, the Master of Ballantrae. The Master sets out to destroy everyone and everything he cannot control or manipulate, including (and especially)his own family. Without summarizing the book, I would offer this to anyone interested in a compelling plot, complex characters and just plain good writing. Stevenson is overlooked, and it's a shame, because he is an excellent writer, a writer in the best sense of the word. Read it and enjoy it!

Wild Grows the Heather in Devon is thought provoking, eloquant and superbly written. I have highlighted most of the book. Many of the prayers written, I have taken as my own. Excellent intelligent reading!

All of the books written by Robert Thayer convey the true beauty of Acadia National Park. Robert is an outstanding photographer/ author and is an inspiration for my own work. I have seen many slides of Roberts work and I am always impressed. I give this book my highest recommendation for any person interested in learning about Acadia, nature, wildlife, and especially photography. He also has 3 other books available on Amazon.com of an equal caliber.

After throughly reading this book through 3 times I have come to the conclusion it is a wonderful book full of useful information. The pictures alone are beautifuly taken giving reason enough to purchase this book. Also Mr Thayer is an excellent chemistry teacher and I hope after reviewing this comment he will raise our grades

An excellent overall introduction to Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island. Good overview of geology and natural and cultural history. Provides up-to-date information on roads and hiking trails. A wonderful guide or souvenir of the Acadian experience.

This book is very insightful on both, aspects of tourism and travel, as well as the financial affects that tourism can play on a country's economy. The authors seem to know what they're talking about and they're very good at relaying their knowledge to their readers in a concise way.

This text provides a great overview of the tourism industry, from what tourism is to its organization to the theories that help fomulate such a diverse industry. This book should be studied by every student studying tourism.

This book offers a fusion of theory and practical advice that is directly relevant to managers - an area where many current tourism texts fall short. It is both strategic and tactical, providing readers with a broad overview of the tourism environment as well as implementable ideas for improving business performance. I have read and enjoyed the original version by McIntosh, and the new insights from Ritchie and Goeldner add new depth to an already exceptional read.

Look around. You'll find no book in the field as thorough and well written as this.

My review title sums up the overall flavor of the book, that being a "black comedy," but the humor is the result of Stevenson's uncanny ability to weave ever changing plot twists into the overall story itself without ever losing a sense of continuity.

Joseph Finsbury is a character whose heart may be in the right place but his head never is. Constantly preoccupied with trivial intellectual pursuits, he allows his leather business to go heavily into debt to the brink of ruin. Having raised his two nephews, John and Morris, since the death of their father, the news of the loss of their fortune to Joseph Finsbury's malfeasance lays the ground work for all that is to come.

Morris, who is shrewd and extremely self-centered, is given the ailing leather business as consolation. But Morris counts on Joseph winning the tontine to make him whole. A tontine is a scheme where participants pay an equal amount of money into a kitty and the last one living gets it all.

The three are involved in a train wreck and the assumed body of Joseph Fisbury is found by Morris and John who hatch a plan to first hide the body and then ship it back to their home in Bloomsbury, London, where they will pretend Joseph is still alive; which he needs to be to keep their claim to the tontine intact. It is during shipment that its' destination is changed as a sort of practical joke and mayhem ensues shortly thereafter.

The bulk of the story essentially has people coming home and finding a dead man in their house whom they've never seen before, dead or alive, and who definitely wasn't there when they left. The problem then is obvious; What to do with the body? It is here that Stevenson is ulra-creative with the solutions these poor unfortunate souls come up with long before Bernie ever had two losers over for the weekend.

I found myself laughing several times throughout the book, which is only about 150 pages of text, and always eager to pick it up again to see where poor "Joseph" would end up next and who would get him. This is one of Stevenson's less familiar works but also one of his best. Buy it, read it, tell a friend. You'll be glad you did and so will they.

We don't usually think of RLS as a comic writer, but a story-teller ofswashbuckling romances like Kidnapped and Treasure Island. ButThe Wrong Box is comedy in the grand manner: eccentric characters,a wonderfully convoluted plot, settings that range from railway trainwrecks through moldering houseboats, barrels, boxes, and a grand pianothat have bodies in them (actually, the same body), plus a charming romance. It also contains some of Stevenson's finest descriptive writing -- vivid,dramatic, and funny. Miss Haseltine's description of how she will firethe revolver she bought as self-protection is worth the price of the book.Who can forget a novel in which the young solictor Gideon Forsyth is trying to write an opera in the key of seven sharps called "Orange Pekoe-- Orange Pekoe" while hiding on a houseboat?But no more spoilers, if that was a spoiler. If you read or saw "ColdComfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons -- or even if not -- you'll love "The Wrong Box."Very highly recommended.

[submitted on behalf of G. Franco Mattioli, Milan]

If you have some heart problems, it is better to avoid this book. You might have the same reactions that Rudyard Kipling had on this reading: laugh and fast heart-beating.

Practically it is impossible to touch this subject without been absorbed through the mirror as Alice and in the same time to be happy to be different. Morris Finsbury, the "great Vance", uncle Joseph, Miss Hazeltine, Gideon, the uncle "Wooden Spoon", William Dent, Bloomsbury, Victoria Station, are surely coincidental with your world, parents, neighbors, your TV characters and other people you know. Never a virtual Country (this 18th Century England) was so similar to the Country in which you are leaving now.

But this vivid Victorian picture is penetrating in your mind as ever before.

The other problem you will encounter is that of ever putting this very addicting book down. You will read and read it again to search the hidden treasure left in this Island on which only few elected spirits are claimed to wreck being happy of doing it.

Much needed corrective to the overhyped and overblown theories about Blitzkrieg. As brilliant as the German operational plan was, Colonel Doughty does a remarkable job in showing that only hard fighting by well-trained infantry and engineers at the sharp end allowed the plan to bear fruit. A great cautionary script for anyone tempted to put all their eggs in either the maneuver or firepower baskets exclusively.

Colonel Doughty has gone where no one has before; the company-size struggle for the Marfee Heights. While E. Store's 1PZ gives a good timeline and points of reference, Doughty describes each block- house. The French officers are named, either in their infamy or heroic efforts.

On a broader scale, Doughty compares doctrines. "Combat-activness" is examined as a motivator in small-level combat; the place that wars are really won.

There are directions and other info for finding and visiting lighthouses. They do not always show all lights for a given area. The photos are all color. I own 3 of these books. There are not many other guide books out there so if you are looking for guide books these are good to have...

I am a lighthouse lover and this book is the best refence book for lighthouses of California. It leaves very little out and is quick and easy to read. Perfect for the coffe table or bedside table. I recommend this whole line of lighthouse books to everyone.

In The Footsteps Of Robert E. Lee by Civil War history buff Clint Johnson is both a comprehensive travel guide to many historical sites connected to the Civil War Southern general Robert E. Lee, as well as a collection of stories that reveal the importance each site had with regard to Lee's character. From Harpers Ferry in West Virginia to the famous court house at Appomattox, In The Footsteps Of Robert E. Lee is a comprehensive, "user friendly" guidebook filled with the most fascinating bits of historical trivia. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the career of this amazingly skilled Civil War general and memorable historical figure.

Armchair historians and civil war enthusiasts, it's again time to arise from your La-Z-Boy recliners and hit the Civil War trail. This time you will follow in the footsteps of Marse Roberts from his birth through his early days in the army to visiting the White House in 1869 when he payed a brief visit to President Grant.

With 11 states, Washington D.C. and the brief inclusion of sites in Mexico you will need to spend several weeks going from site to site. However, the author breaks down the trips by state and gives excellent directions that will keep even the novice historian from loosing his way. You will be taken to several larger, well-known sites in West Virginia and Virginia as well as many smaller sites within these states and distant states such as Texas, Missouri and Florida.

Many have been to Sharpsburg, Manassas or perhaps South Mountain but it's doubtful that few have made it Stratford Hall where Lee was born. Therefore, it's fitting that the book starts out at Stratford Hall and gives brief insight into the life and lack of homeownership by Lee. From his birth in 1807 to his death in 1870, he never owned a single place of residence. He slept at his parents' home, army barracks, his wife's inherited house, and several homes borrowed from individuals during and after the war. He never paid out of pocket for any property on which he resided.

The research within these pages is top notch and gives the reader some excellent side bar material to whet his or her appetite for more on Robert E. Lee. The descriptions are concise and to the point and give just enough detail to allow the reader to understand how the specific location played a key role in shaping young Lee or perhaps how it effected his overall battle strategy in his later years. The accounts are well done and not overly detailed giving the average reader a nice foundation for a beginning study on Lee. The chapters are well laid out, state by state, but in order to keep this data from filling several volumes it does not include every little site associated with Lee. Not to worry, the author chose wisely and the selected material flows quite nice.

In going through this work the reader will enjoy his or her journey into Lee's past with stops along the way at several key historic areas. This is not a paperback for the hard-nosed historian, but well-done research for those interested in following in "The Footsteps of Robert E. Lee". Mr. Johnson has done it again and I highly recommend this book!

BOOK REVIEW – By Capt. Ron Yoli

Capt. Frank Mundus: MONSTER MAN – Master Hunter of the Deep By Robert F. Boggs Abery Publishing Company - © 1976 & 2001

It has been 25 years since the first edition of Monster Man; and with the new 25th anniversary edition of this high seas - adventure-laden, yet hysterically funny book, a new generation of readers can now revel in the wild antics of the legendary Montauk, N.Y. based shark hunter, Capt. Frank Mundus.

Recounting the vast assortment of loonies that chartered his Cricket II over three decades in search of the largest predators of the deep blue sea - SHARKS - including the infamous Great White shark, you will find yourself completely unable to set this book aside once you read Capt. Frank’s two page preface to this “fresh off the press” edition.

All of us, even individuals that were not yet born at the time of its release in 1975, have either seen or at least heard of the blockbuster movie, JAWS, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw as the gruff, yet loveable Capt. Quint , skipper of the ORCA. By the way, the ORCA as seen in the film just so happens to be a virtually identical replica of Capt. Frank’s Cricket II

What many of us still don’t realize is that the character of Capt. Quint was actually based on Montauk’s legendary charter boat skipper, Frank Mundus. The film is based on the best selling novel, JAWS, authored by Peter Benchley.

If you are a fan of the movie, this book will make you understand the endless similarities between Capt. Quint and the “very real” Capt. Frank Mundus. However, in my opinion, this book is far more interesting - as every word in this book is fact, and not Hollywood fiction!

On page 211, you’ll find that Benchley interviewed Mundus for Newsweek magazine ten years before JAWS was released, and a year before its release, Benchley was aboard Frank’s Cricket II while filming an episode of The American Sportsman.

Monster Man is a book to be enjoyed by both fisherman and non-fisherman alike. Written in four parts, author Robert F. Boggs brilliantly transfers Capt. Frank’s exciting shark fishing career to the printed page. Frank Borth’s comedic illustrations throughout the book, coupled with Bogg’s infectious style of writing, bring this “non-fiction” account of the legendary captain’s experiences to life.

Monster Man covers the career of Capt. Mundus from his early days in 1943 through 1976. As many fishermen know, Frank was, and remains till this day, one of the most colorful and controversial characters that ever graced the docks of Montauk. With one big toe painted green, and one big toe painted red (so he “jokingly” would not forget the starboard side of the boat from the port side) Frank literally captured the hearts of millions worldwide.

Frank Mundus is the undeniable “King of Sportfishing for Sharks”, and has appeared on numerous television programs over the years, including, Late Night with David Letterman, Good Morning America, Larry King Tonight, and ABC’s Wide World Of Sports to name just a small few.

Frank’s endless practical jokes and pranks aboard his Cricket II throughout his career will have you reeling with knee-slapping, heart-felt laughter. My personal favorite is the time Frank was returning to port in a pea soup dense fog; Frank and his mate broke out a hammer and saw, and started banging nails and sawing old lumber they had brought on board so that following boats would believe they were too close to the beach.

Thinking that they heard the sounds of house construction, and not wishing to wash up on the beach, the other captains changed course quickly, circled endlessly, and pondered their own navigational skills for awhile. These captains were of course quite embarrassed to say the least, when word quickly spread through town of how they were duped into their confusing predicament!

Capt. Mundus is not only credited with pioneering the concept and various techniques of shark fishing for sport; Frank was also instrumental in helping to initiate the first shark-tagging programs for scientific research, along with government marine biologist, Jack Casey, in the early 1960’s.

In addition, Frank was also the first to reveal to marine biologists that sharks apparently did not ever carry any form of cancer. He was initially ridiculed for this finding by many members of the “scientific community”, but eventually proven absolutely correct in his observations by marine biologist, Eugenie Clark.

Capt. Frank has been retired since 1991, and now resides in Hawaii with his wife, Jenny, and pet wild boar, 350 pound “Arnie”. This is a book to hand down from generation to generation – especially for those “fishing fanatics” in your extended family!

Capt. Ron Yoli

Anyone who enjoys the water, sharks, Jaws, adventure and getting a good laugh will enjoy this quick and highly entertaining read. It's filled with interesting, funny and punchy stories about the day in and day out adventures of Mundus and his "idiots". It can be read in just a sitting or two but the nice thing about it is that you can pick it up and put it down at your leisure. The "short story" concept allows for "reading in 10 minute snipets" if thats all you have. Highly recommended from this lover of Blues, Striper and all the calssic "fish story" books.

Growing up in this section of New Orleans, I was pleasantly surprised to see several homes of my childhood friends. No other city in the U.S. has such distinct and diverse neighborhood architecture. Another great volume in a GREAT series.

This volume in the N.O. Architecture series by the Friends of the Cabildo is, in my opinion, the best of the entire series. Perhaps it is because this is the section of the city in which I spend most of my time, a place to which I've become rather attached. Anyone who enjoys architecture will probably like this book, not just New Orleanians.

This book is basically another in a long line of coaster thrill books designed to prolong the excitement of riding these amusement park behemoths. This latest book is tastefully done and includes the requisite history with lots of familiar and some rediscovered photos and prints of old timers. A few of the newer beasts are included with enticing views of riders being turned in spine tingling directions. Coker's text is well written. This book has enough new stuff to warrant it's inclusion in your coaster book library.

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in roller coasters. It includes history of roller coasters, wooden roller coasters, steel roller coasters, and extreme machienes. It also has great pictures. Take my advice, this book is great!

Roller Coaster is colorful and informative history of roller coasters by Robert Coker covers early models in an introductory chapter than focuses on the heart of the topic: innovations in roller coaster models and modern coaster innovations. The colorful coverage provides a solid, appealing leisure read which should attract a wide audience of those young at heart.