We used this fine collection of essays in a college course called "Wilderness Writing" where we camped, hiked, snowshoed, skiied, mtn. biked, etc and then wrote essays about our experiences. This book was the cornerstone of our class. It is chok full of the best essays on the world around us. When I have time to read I find myself coming back to this collection again and again. It is the finest collection of nature essays I've read. I still find myself going to it to help me teach my first-year college writing course. This is a keeper!

PLOT IN A NUTSHELL: Upright, hardworking-but-poor orphan Ted Scott dreams of a career in aviation while he toils away at his menial job in the mammoth plant of the Devally-Hipson Aero Corporation. His foster father, Eben Browning, was swindled by Brewster Gale, so Ted beats up both of Gale's obnoxious sons a couple of times (An act repeated in most of the other stories as well. You'd think they'd learn to steer clear of Ted!). He then impresses/saves a couple of rich (and apparently very lonely) businessmen, Walter Hapworth and Paul Monet, who wine and dine him and then send him to flying school. After a series of aerial adventures both at school and in the service of the Post Office, one of the rich guys builds him a plane, Ted makes a grueling solo flight to Paris and becomes a world famous hero.
THE END

Comments: The Ted Scott series was written to cash in on the aviation craze that swept the nation after "Lucky Lindy" made his famous flight. This story is so close to recounting that flight and Ted Scott so closely resembles Charles Lindbergh, it's a wonder Lindy didn't sue for royalties!
The Syndicate must have had it's ghosts working overtime on this volume, since it hit the stands not long after Lindy landed in Paris! Aviation stories had become a staple for "Boys" series' starting not long after Wilbur & Orville made the first flight, however, there were several other aviation series started around this time (Andy Lane, Slim Tyler, Randy Starr among others) but, for my money, the Ted Scott series is superior to them all.
This story is well written (surprisingly so, considering the fact that it was rushed into print). It carries the reader along with the right blend of action, adventure and a bit of mystery. I don't know if kids back then were smarter but the prose is certainly superior to that which is written to the same age group today.
Ted is a likable hero; loyal, brave, intelligent and self-effacing to a fault and, despite the fact that Ted has amazingly bad luck in the air, his adventures aren't too improbable.

NIGHTWING: ROUGH JUSTICE kicks off the second collection of DC Comics' NIGHTWING series with a bang, a wild, hallucinatory ride through Nightwing's mind as the Scarecrow tries to use his fear toxins to unhinge the super hero. It continues with the same, high-energy, Hong Kong action flick style that makes this comic so great.

But that's not all! What really makes the Nightwing series tick, and ROUGH JUSTICE is as good at it as any of the Nightwing collections, is the characterization. The relationship Nightwing has with Batman, Barbara Gordon and the others in his life is the glue that keeps the series together.

There are so many wonderful story elements in this volume that the best recommendation I can give you is to buy it and find out for yourself! If you love super hero comics and wild, over-the-top action, illustrated by the best in the comics biz, you'll love NIGHTWING: ROUGH JUSTICE. It's a great sequel to the first book in the series, NIGHTWING: A KNIGHT IN BLUDHAVEN, and reads like a complete collection of short stories. Don't miss it!

After the extended storyline in "A Knight in Bludhaven", "Rough Justice" gives us more guest stars and expands the cast of characters as well as giving the reader a breather with some self-contained stories. Chuck Dixon's greatest strength is to tell one-two issue stories, so that new readers can jump in, as well as use these stories to expand on subplots and the ongoing trials and tribulations of Nightwing. I loved the additions to the supporting cast and the new car is pretty fun to watch in action. A worthy sequel to the "Knight of Bludhaven" but enjoyable for a new reader as well.

If you read my previous review of Nightwing: A Night in Bludhaven, you know how I stand. I've read every issue so far and haven't been disappointed yet. You won't be either. I say, buy any Nightwing trade paperback that comes out.

Needing an aesthetic fix I picked this book up one day simply for the art and after reading I was not disapointed either by the writing. Chuck Dixon is a great writer and along with Scot McDaniels pencils it makes this book a must have.

Nightwing is a spin off character from the Batman franchise. He's the first Robin, Dick Grayson, all grown up now and his own man. He goes to a Bludhaven an industrial city sent by his mentor/Father Batman to solve a crime. In the process Nightwing decides to stay in Bludhaven because he can make a difference as well as get away from under the shadow of Batman.

I like Nightwing a lot. He's likable, smart,kind,confident and sexy.the type of guy every girl dreams of having for a boyfriend (or husband). Nightwing is constantly being hit on by women in his books and not without reason. For male comic book readers he has more of a realistic kind of masculinity, none of the overbearing machismo, which is what makes him so popular with male readers.

Nightwing is supposed to be his own character in his own right. But frankly I think that he's DC's answer to Spiderman. I find the two characters very similar except for the fact that Nightwing has no superpowers and he's a bit more confident than Spider-man in his real life. Unlike Batman (or Spider-man) Nightwing does not do what he does because he feels it's his responsibility to make the world right. He does what he does because its the right thing to do.

Anyway this is a very good book one of the better books in DC's arsenal because it has a lot of action and the character, unlike Batman really does have a life when he's not in costume. I love the character so much that even though I have the four TPB I also collected the entire run in single print. Its that good. I would also recomend the second TPB Rough Justice as the art work is a bit more sexy and hard edged. TPB 3& 4 Love and Bullets and a Darker Shade of Justice are a bit more cartoony. But the writing is good all around

{Major spoilers} 21 dead men have ended up in gotham, so batman sends nightwing to check it out. when he gets there he finds out that black mask wants to take control of bludhavan. during the first fight he finally gets that stupid ponytail cut off. he then finds out about the police force. he then goes on a quest to find out who killed the gangsters and who wants to take bludhavan from angle marin, the former kingpin of bludhavan. very nice.

heros: batman, nightwing, oracle, robin, clancy, flash, impulse {mentioned}.

villans: blockbuster, chief redhorn, black mask, deadly soames, lady vic.

hero/villans: tad ryerstad.

This is the best spin-off saga in the Batman mythos that I have read, in my honest opinion!
It's about Dick Grayson, who was once the Dark Knight's vigilante sidekick, Robin. But, because of their differences and internal conflicts with one another, Batman and Robin went their separate ways, and Dick Grayson went from the vigilante sidekick, Robin, and assumed the identity of a new vigilante just about as rough and as vicious as Batman himself, Nightwing!
In this first volme of the "Nightwing Series", Batman orders Nightwing to investigate the brutal and grotesque murder of over twenty gangsters belonging to a Chinese Mafia. Nightwing is charged with finding out who is the culprit of this hideous and insidious crime, and has to go deep into the city of Bludhaven's underworld to find out.
No Batman fan should miss this great spinoff in the Batman mythos that is filled with action, intrigue, and dark mystery.
I myself can't wait to buy the next volumes in the Nightwing series!!

I found this book to be very poorly written and unsatisfactory. It contained lots of bad algorithms and poor coding. Much of the code was unusable and the methods explained were very simple. I could have done without it to be honest. Avoid this book if you want to learn how to program properly

Im not an advaced programmer, but reading some parts... I learned a lot of good things. I couldnt describe them here, but i will implement them on the future projects ahead. Things that I think are essential to the industry grade programmer and to becoming one.
The material was delivered clearly, not necessarily simple... but it is clear. The book is worth all my hard saved money... and im glad to have it, and its fun to read too...

When seeking a reference, most experienced programmers will rather buy a reference that focuses more on the advanced issues than the language concepts itself. Mainly because almost all decent compilers come with extensive help files that cover most of what the programmers might need regarding the language itself. This book doesn't explain much about C, but instead uses C as a tool to explain some very useful issues that are crucial to almost all advanced programmers.

The book wastes no space on trivial stuff like how to open your compiler or use a non-standard C function. Instead, it goes directly into what's important, explaining the concepts and giving concrete examples where appropriate, all using ANSI C.

Since most of the issues aren't dependant on the implementation schemes, almost any advanced programmer would benefit from this book, even if he/she is not programming in C (assuming advanced knowledge of C, of course). The only exceptions are the topics that talk about the ANSI C rules and code organization and optimization. The only disadvantage here is that this book doesn't cover object oriented concepts, but that's not a surprise of course as the book is titled "C Unleashed." But still for anything else other than that, this could be a great help even to C++ programmers.

The book chapters have been written by more than 10 experienced programmers, 6 of them are really good, which makes each chapter standalone as a small tutorial on some issue. The writing style of Richard Heathfield and many of the co-authors is very nice to read and clear to understand. Some parts, of course, do not have that nice writing style, but throughout the book, the technical information is very clear and easy to comprehend.

I wouldn't recommend this book to any new programmers. But for the more advanced ones, this is something they would want to check.

-Mokhtar M. Khorshid

The 'Year One' story has become commonplace in comics today, and far too often the writers attempt to retell or update the character's origin, failing in the attempt. (For a perfect example of this see 'Spider-Man: Chapter One.' Better yet, don't.) This story evades that trap entirely and turns into a great character study of the boy who would become Nightwing and his relationship with his shadowy father-figure.

Chuck Dixon, between his work on Robin, Nightwing and the Birds of Prey, has got to be the most successful writer of Batman's 'family' there ever was. In this book he teams with Scott Beatty to craft a tale not of the origin of Dick Grayson's Robin, but of his early adventures after he already secured the job. It shows off a new villain, makes it clear that things were not as easy as it would seem, and showcases the precarious nature of the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in a fashion as good or better than any I've ever seen.

Dixon and Beatty also fill in a few blanks along the way. In encounters with later Robins -- Jason Todd and Tim Drake -- we learn that the criminal Two-Face was obsessed with Batman's junior partner. This story shows off how that began. We get to see a lot of the lamer villains -- the Mad Hatter in particular, in a far creepier light than usual. We even get some good character moments between Robin and then-Captain Jim Gordon, who is one of the best supporting characters in the history of comics.

All in all, a really good book for the Batman or Nightwing fan.

The "Year One" story has become commonplace in comics today, and far too often the writers attempt to retell or update the character's origin, failing in the attempt. (For a perfect example of this see "Spider-Man: Chapter One." Better yet, don't.) This story evades that trap entirely and turns into a great character study of the boy who would become Nightwing and his relationship with his shadowy father-figure.

Chuck Dixon, between his work on Robin, Nightwing and the Birds of Prey, has got to be the most successful writer of Batman's "family" there ever was. In this book he teams with Scott Beatty to craft a tale not of the origin of Dick Grayson's Robin, but of his early adventures after he already secured the job. It shows off a new villain, makes it clear that things were not as easy as it would seem, and showcases the precarious nature of the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in a fashion as good or better than any I've ever seen.

Dixon and Beatty also fill in a few blanks along the way. In encounters with later Robins -- Jason Todd and Tim Drake -- we learn that the criminal Two-Face was obsessed with Batman's junior partner. This story shows off how that began. We get to see a lot of the lamer villains -- the Mad Hatter in particular, in a far creepier light than usual. We even get some good character moments between Robin and then-Captain Jim Gordon, who is one of the best supporting characters in the history of comics.

All in all, a really good book for the Batman or Nightwing fan.

Picking up where "Batman: Year 3" left off, we see Robin as he
begins his career as the sidekick after months of training under the master. You get the villians - Hatter, Mr. Freeze, Shrike, and Joker(briefly). And above all, Two-Face, who's savagery comes through in living color.
Alfred, the narrarator, is perhaps the best supporting character here. His feelings, fears and hopes perfectly accentuate the story. The retro art is first rate, echoing a bit of Ditko and Dick Sprang as well as Tim Sale, Mazzuchelli and Miller. With the glut of Bat-books, this may have been easy to overlook, but it's very much worth the time and money.

It's hard to really give this book much credit on charecterization, when there is hardly any. The Nightwing/Huntress relationship (if that;s what it was) never goes anywhere. We see Dick Grayson fight crime but we get little insight into his feelings and motivations.

If you love Nightwing you wont be disapointed!

Nightwing is one of the best monthly books out there. This third volume collects some memorable stories, when Dixon and McDaniel were really hitting their stride. Dixon portrays Nightwing as the very definition of a hero, while McDaniel's artwork is both moody and frantic. While this wonderful team may not be doing the series anymore, here's a collection of some of their best work for fans to treasure.

For some reason, my last review didn't show up, so apologies for the shorter on.

Definitely a must-read for any Nightwing fans.

Nightwing continues to come into his own as a hero, even as he's pulled by his ties to Batman. The strongest segment of this compilation is definitely the retaking of Blackgate, which includes the seemingly obligatory "Dick Grayson, this is your life" flashback series (this one, however, is thankfully light on the self-doubt that plagues our hero). Seeing Oracle in acition is worth the price of admission all on its own. The only caveat I'd add is that if you're not familiar with the events in Gotham (the quake, No Man's Land) and the players involved, it might get a bit confusing.

Less strong are the Double Dare and police academy storylines. DOuble Dare, while interesting enough, seemed a bit too cotton-candy in the midst of the other storylines, and while the idea of Dick going to the academy is interesting, it doesn't get nearly enough page time to be more than almost an afterthought.

The continuing intrigue of of the Bludhaven PD is shaping up nicely, and Blockbuster's new storyline almost makes you feel sorry for the big guy.

Overall, definitely worth acquiring.

I'm obsessed with Nightwing. Keep that in mind as you read this.

The adventures of the man who was Robin and is now Nightwing continue to provide solid entertainment. The ongoing storyline of Blockbuster takes an interesting turn here, one that almost has you feeling sorry for the man (well, maybe for his mother). Dick's decision to join the police force gets it's follow through, although not a lot of page time as of yet. The usual players their appearances: Babs (interesting stuff there), Huntress(ditto), Clancy, Tad (who seems to have learned little in the way of caution from his shooting), and, of course, the Bat.

Batman's appearance leads to what is certainly the best storyline in the compilattion: the retaking of Blackgate. It includes the seemingly required trip down memory lane, although this time with thankfully little of the self-doubt that plagues earlier storylines.

Meanwhile, in Bludhaven, things are brewing nicely towards some larger plot.

If anything cost this issue a star, it was the Double Dare segment. Don't get me wrong: I liked the ladies just fine. But sandwiched between a visit from Superman and the retaking of Blackgate, their hijinks seemed a little fluffy to me.

Definitely a must-own for Nightwing fans!

After reading the two previous JLA story arcs from Mark Waid, which proceed this one, ("Tower of Babel" and "Divided We Fall"), I decided to pick up "Terror Incognita". I really enjoyed Mark Waids writing in "Tower" and "Divided", and although I feel that "Terror Incognita" slips a notch when compared to "Tower" and "Divided", it is still a solid book. Without giving too much of the story away, this run of the JLA is about the return of the White Martians who the JLA had faced earlier and defeated, The White Martians have induced toxins in the earths air which change the oxygen levels in the atmoshpere thereby making combustion impossible, in other words, no fire, which is a martians only weekness. They then create a plan to use all the pychics on earth to improve their mental abilities and control the universe without ever having to leave the earth which they have made fireproof. It feels like your basic "Alien Invasion" type of story, but there is so much more to it than that, also it was great to see Mark include "The Phantom Zone" and Krypto the superdog in his story. all in all a good read, but not quite as good as the superior "Tower of Babel" and "Divided We Fall". Definitely worth the money.

DC has reissued Batman: Contagion in the wake of it's mega-successful No Man's Land collections, and it serves as a good reminder of just WHY the Batman books needed to be shaken up so drastically in the first place...

Contagion revolves around an outbreak of "The Clench", a fictional Ebola offshoot, in Gotham City. Batman and company attempt to contain the spread of the Disease, while trying to track down a trio of survivors of a previous Clench outbreak, with the hope of synthesizing a cure/vaccine from their blood.

The book is very choppy, especially the first chapter, which appears to be heavily trimmed from it's original presentation in Batman: Shadow of the Bat. DC hasn't taken any steps to make their collections new-reader friendly, either, which could be a very big mistake. Longtime readers will know Oracle, Azrael, Nightwing, The Huntress, etc.; A new reader browsing this in a store would no doubt put the book right back on the shelf. The story has a few compelling moments, but for the most part it seems unnecessarily padded. Did we really need the Native American tracker? What did Biis contribute to the story? The writing is average at best; Most of the stories in Contagion were written by people who had long since overstayed their welcome on the Bat-books, such as Doug Moench & Alan Grant; The art ranges from okay to sub-par; Kelley Jones' chapter seems especially ugly thanks to poor color reproduction which mars his intricate pencils. The ultimate revelation of who is behind the spread of The Clench is sure to be a head-scratcher to new readers, since no background at all is offered to explain who these people are and what their motives are. DC really needs to get on the ball with their trade-paperback program; Preaching to the Choir is nice, but they need to try for new converts. Junk like Contagion is NOT the way to expand their readership......

In this history you can see a different Batman, one that found something he cant't fight. There was a virus and he can not trap it or take it to the justice. You can see a different Batman, not necesesary a dark one but a human,a man. I enjoyed it a lot!

I cannot believe why some people do not like "Contagion". Like Knightfall, Knightquest, KnightsEnd, Prodigal, and Cataclysm & No Man's Land, "Contagion" is an awesome book. It has Poison Ivy (drool), Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Huntress, Azrael, Catwoman, Oracle, Commissioner Gordon, the Penguin, and many other supporting characters like Alfred and Ariana.