I read this book in '98. So I had to read the note I always put on the first page. It's my own little rating system. Included is the date and a short description. I gave this book a good, meaning a B if I was grading a school kids assignment. So I have just re-read a portion of the book. Compton does paint with his words and you will see the river, mts.,trees, people and story just as if you were there. His stories move along in grand fashion. You'll feel as if you are on the shipping wagons riding right thru a Sioux village. You might even feel the breeze as an arrow shot from a Sioux warriors' bow has just past by your ear. You will like Comptons' stories if you like the west and all it has to offer.

Ralph Compton does it again. A great novel about the West, as seen through the eyes of Dutch Siringo, and his tougher-than-leather teamsters. I have read all of Compton's books and consider his work to be among the best of the Western novelists. I was saddened to hear of his passing and regret that he is no longer alive to give us pleasure in book form as he has so many times done. "Adios, Pardner"

I highly recommend this fast paced, entertaining book of instrigue and suspense! Can't wait for more by this great new author!

As a serious aficionado of the mystery, intrigue, espionage genre (Jack Higgins being my favorite), I was quite impressed by this book. In my estimation, the complexity of the plot, depth of the characters and the excellent story telling ability of the rookie author would contribute greatly to the success of this page-turner. I must also mention that Ralph Lee is a former coworker and a good friend of mine - therefore, my friend's success is very gratifying. Keep it up Ralph - I'll call you

This book provides an excellent background for new precision farming students/users. It is centered around building knowledge about how precision farming works, and how it can be applied. THIS BOOK IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE THAT ALREADY HAVE A THOROUGH BACKGROUND IN PRECISION FARMING. I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU SEEK A MORE ADVANCED, TECHNICAL REFERENCE.

For anyone with an interest in precision farming but has only gained knowledge through magazine articles or talks on the subject, understanding this text can give a good foundation and insight for future learning on the subject. From the text, one can learn about the satellite system used in global positioning, remote sensing techniques, monitors aboard combines, sprayers and planters and computer communications in a modern farm production system. Finest attention to detail and sound decisions for maximum profitability is what precision farming is ultimately about. With an understanding and ability to apply the knowledge, opportunity awaits. This book is a starting point. I also believe that this book would work well as a supplemental text for a college or vocational agriculture course geared toward the subject.

Knowing nothing about The Domesday mysteries, or Edward Marston, I purchased this because of my fascination with the time period and my interest in murder mysteries. This satisfied both. Not only is it a very good mystery in its own right, but Marston does an excellent job of portraying the period. I would recommend this to any mystery lover. You will find the setting to be enchanting!

The Ravens of Blackwater is the second entry of Edward Marston's Domesday Books. Marston has a good sense of his period and focuses on the tensions between Saxons and Normans that dominated the time of William the Conqueror. He also has a well-researched feel for medieval legalities, church practice, and the blood-thirstiness underlying social relationships. All these qualities come together in a good mystery with a suspenseful ending.

St Joan is one of Brecht's less well-known plays. Set in Chicago, it is the story of Joan Dark and is the modern version of the biblical story, Joan of Arc. Joan is a leader of a religious group, the Black Straw Hats. Throughout the play, she preaches to common-folk and the "meat kings" of Chigago, namely Mauler, Cridle and Lennox. Although criticised, her support for the needy is much appeciated. The play consists of lots of monologues, linked by short sections of dialogue. Joan uses biblical phrases and terms in her preaching such as "Oh ye of little faith" and words like "ordain" and "salvation". The structure of this play makes it ideal to be used for monolgues, after a bit of editing.

This play, one of Brecht's best if least known, is perhaps the first postmodern classic. It combines the dramaturgy of a tragedy and a comedy and a passion play. It makes an attempt (years before todays financial tv programs) to make the market and its affairs excitingly dramatic. This new translation by Ralph Manheim, arguably Brecht's most accomplished translator, does much to save the text from earlier mistranslations. This year (2001) there will be an all star performance of the new translation in Chicago, the city in whose Stockyards and at whose Board of Trade the Play was originally set. This could be the seminal Brecht performance of the year!

John Gielgud as Holmes! Orson Welles as Moriarty! How could a Holmes lover resist buying this collection? I spent six pleasant hours reliving the Holmes saga. I went with Holmes and Watson from the foggy streets of London to the English countryside to the Reichenbach Falls where Holmes and Moriarty fought their last battle. Radio plays stimulate the mind to a a degree that television never can, and these stories served up mental stimulation of the first order. As good as "A Baker's Street Dozen" is, though, it doesn't quite measure up to the quality of the BBC series starring Clive Merrison as Holmes. Gielgud is undoubtedly the better actor, but Merrison is the better Holmes.

Despite the fact that Gielgud doesn't capture Holmes' energy as well as Merrison, "A Baker's Street Dozen" is superb listening. It would make an excellent addition to any mystery lover's audio library.

One minor quibble: I can't understand why they renamed three of the stories. "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton" became "The Blackmailer;" "The Adventure of the Golden Pince Nez" became "The Yoxley Case;" and "The Adventure of the Dying Detective" became "Rare Disease." In each case, Conan Doyle's choice of titles was superior.

I am very pleased with "A Baker's Street Dozen." It is so wonderful to listen to these stories and let the power of your imagination create the scenes described by the many wonderful tales. The only flaw I would like to see the publishers correct is that the stories do not seem to follow a chronological order. The fifth tale, "The Final Problem," is an account of Sherlock Holmes' final adventure. However, you still have 7 more tales to go through! Place these stories in chronological order and you will have a flawless product.

"Soul of the Sky" is fresh rain amidst the usual smorgasbord of weather textbooks and technical guides. Exploring the personal side of the weather, "Soul of the Sky" is a compilation of well written stories of human interaction with the weather. As a stormchaser myself, I particularly enjoyed "Only a Storm", an essay by Robert Henson about life under the moody skies of Tornado Alley.

The stories in this book will bring back memories of storms you have weathered throughout your life. And if you've never experienced some of nature's harshest weather, you'll get a real feel for it after reading this book. It was quite a fascinating read.

Can the author and editor really have mis-spelled Organizational?

There is much new in the latest edition of Ralph Stacey's management text. Of special merit is his challenge to those interested in understanding human organizations as complex adaptive systems to remember that these organizations are comprised of humans, not computer agents or ants. He asks us to be wary of simplistic transfers of complexity principles into the management domain. He then offers the theory of "relationship psychology" as an alternative and explores its implications for understanding the mind and healthy, creative organizational dynamics, putting the human back in the complex adaptive, or as he suggests, responsive, system.

Ralph Stacey has done more than any other management theorist to examine the intersection of complexity science and organizational thinking. He has been intelligently, provocative and challenging all along and has helped this intersection advance. You'll always want to stay in touch with what he is saying.

Then Major Peters produced an interesting work on the counterdrug effort, an effort that the US still remains commited to throughout Latin America. It is evident that when you sort through the fictional relationships established in the book, the complexity of providing these nations support from multiple levels of the US Gov. This is a task too large for any single agency or individual. What Mr Peters fails to paint is the total INABILITY of the US military ever taking an active part in any counterdrug effort, restrictions driven by US Law. The US Govt assists in many ways, but the problem remains that drugs have NOT been recognbized for the WMD they represent to America. In the end, US power and capabilities often appear handcuffed by a multiple groups of drug dealers made up of a mix of wise businessmen, political and military associates, and thugs, otherwise known as terrorist organizations.

This book is Ralph Peters' best work, period! War in 2020 got me bogged down in technical doodads and gadgets, not so with this offering. This book even examines the tense relationship between the military and how the press spins its coverage. ( Over dinner in one instance). It does so without EVER slowing down its pace, and you'll want to read it again like me. As a matter of fact you may read it thrice...now where is my copy....? Geron L- a reader

The beautiful cloud formation on the cover of this text is the only photograph encountered in 408 pages of pedestrian academic confession regarding research that is helpful for persons studying fantasy-prone personality syndrome, perhaps, but useless for those with inquiring minds who want to know...

...if there is a connection between crop circle formations and supposed alien-contact, ...how physical objects can manifest before the eyes of several (fantasy-prone) individuals at once, ...the spiritual significance of the UFO-encounter phenomenon at a time when "the shift of the Ages" is in progress.

There is a stunning lack of curiosity here--a profound narrowness of mind which elevates pragmatic (and psychological) comprehension while excluding a wholistic evaluation. It simply isn't true, for example, that there isn't evidence of UFOs (or ooparts) in earlier centuries. The excuse that the authors haven't experienced the "faith" required to believe in aliens is lame. And their failure to return to the framing question which begins the work in an epilogue, begs the question, "Isn't this simply evidence of the 'publish or perish' syndrome?"

What this text does, it does well. But it doesn't do what we want an exploration of "the mysteries" to do! The subtitle is betrayed from the get go. Buyer beware, indeed.

These 2 men know their stuff! The best book I've read on UFOs in 10-years. The authors provide a detailed social, historical and political context for a number of UFO waves throughout history, using incredible detail that I have never seen before in a UFO book. They make a strong case for the psycho-social genesis of UFO waves, yet also show a remarkable depth of understanding and sympathy with witnesses. The many sketches of UFOs from the last century and early this century are excellent. While I have read widely on UFOs, much of the historical detail about early UFO waves and sketches, I'd never seen nor heard of before. This would be a good book for the peron who thinks they know it all on UFOs--there is a tremendous wealth of knowledge here.