Charles Grant is the best writer you never heard of. Black Oak #2, although it is a bit perplexing at times, has its moments. Grant uses his classic Oxrun Station charm to give the novel some muscel. Dark-winged women stalk from the sky in exhilirating suspense. Only question I have is where did the entities come from?

If Charles Grant dies soon I'm going to kill him! Words cannot explain just how addictive this series of books is going to become for me. Its like watching the X-files back when its was going from good to great. There is a lot more than meets the eye in the mystery of this small town, someone (or THING? ) is playing with Ethan Proctor, does it have to do with the murder in Atlantic City? Or the disappearance of that girl so many years ago? One thing is for certain, we are going to have to wait a little while longer to find out. So when is the next one, I cannot wait!

With Black Oak, award-winning author Charles Grant is clearly creating something that works better as a series than a bunch of individual novels. While not a serialized novel like King's Green Mile, readers will get more out of The Hush of Dark Wings if they've read the previous volume (and presumably still more when the next installment comes out). It should come as no surprise that the reader is coming in on an ongoing story; the book is clearly labeled #2 on the cover and spine, and "Episode Two" inside. Having said that, while The Hush of Dark Wings does pick up on elements from Genesis, and parts of this book appear to carry over into the next installment, the main story does begin and end in this volume. Additionally, the story opens with a "Previously in Black Oak" recap of the important events from Genesis (a lesson more series should learn), and ends with a "Next, in Black Oak" teaser, letting us know that the author knows he didn't explain everything, and that's by choice, not sloppiness.

While The Hush of Dark Wings has the same overall tone as the first book, the plot is considerably less complex. At one point, the characters even realize how little time has passed over the course of the story. The book serves primarily as an introduction for (presumably) new regular Vivian Chambers. We also learn more about how the mysterious Ethan Proctor works and how he thinks, if not much more about his background. The paranormal mystery is weird and creepy, with some particularly vivid and graphic scenes. Graphic, that is, in the Charles Grant sense, where he gives the reader just enough information that you imagine something truly gruesome, without being spoon-fed all the gory details.

It's easy to make comparisons to X-Files, and I'm sure this series, like Chet Williamson's Searchers trilogy, owes its existence to that TV series' popularity. What makes Black Oak distinct is its varied cast of characters. Grant manages to create vivid personalities who come to life in front of the reader. I find myself looking forward to the next installment, not only to find out what happens next, but also to spend more time with these people and learn more about them. The Black Oak books may be quick reads, but they're a lot of fun, and may be one of the best TV series in print.

Something primordial exists in swimming for those willing to recognize it, perhaps some residue of an ancestral species instinct to the sea, a subliminal memory of submergence in the amniotic sac, or the proffered suspension of temporal consciousness in its weightless rhythms. Sprawson explores this allure in athletics and in literature. Most central to his study are the Romantic poets obsession with swimming and water-- among them Goethe, Shelley, Swinburne, Pushkin, Poe and especially Byron who was a formidable marathon swimmer in his own right.

The Romantic ideal was closely associated with Classical notions of the body and nature, and its notion of hero was intertwined with this. Hellenism held a special thrall over the Romantic period. This was the impetus to Byron's swimming of the Hellespont, and to a tragic sub text to his and other lives as they were swept up in naive movements or misadventure (Byron died in a Greek rebellion against the Turks). Swimming was seen as a dissent from the priggish, sanctimonious, imposed to something pure, original, regenerative through nature.

But there was an impulse to self annihilation as well. Some were smashed on rocks, or gripped by undertows or had their health broken by cold water and over exertion. Fitness was not the prevailing motivation; swimming was muse, cave, judge. Its influence continued into the 20th Century, In Jack London's 'Martin Eden', John Cheever's 'the Swimmer" or Yukio Mishima's seduction by Byron's hedonistic fantasies, it again cast down verdicts of elevation, dissolution and destruction.

I was drawn to this book by an Australian broadcast on swimming during the Sydney Olympics, amongst which was excerpts from this book and an interview with Jon Konrads, the 1500 Meter Olympic Champion of 1960, who had returned to swimming in late middle age after decades of absence. In it he found a cerebral tonic, albeit at a much slower pace-- an invigoration, relaxation and something spiritually satisfying, even more so now than in his Olympic form. This is a worth while read for anyone interested in the sport and pastime. Even for the most pedestrian of lappers, it is an invitation to glide in eddies of imagination, sublimely cognizant of and refining the stroke, seeking some mysterious grace. There swimming provides an elixir of meditation and inspiration-- for those that it does not consume.

Sprawson is an avid swimmer and diver who interpolates his own aquatic feats among a flood of anecdotes from Homer through Fitzgerald. The book combines memoir with literary references and a short history of swimming to explore, as the author states in his thesis, "the peculiar psychology of the swimmer and his feel for the water."

Australian champion Annette Kellerman associated swimming with the ability to face the unknown in life, thus seeing it as a symbol of the adventurer and explorer. Her belief that "swimming cultivates imagination" perhaps accounts for the occurrence of water as both theme and setting in numerous paintings, poems, and songs. Writers in particular, many of them compulsive swimmers, noted the influence of water in their work and in their lives: water is best (Pindar); "clear, light, of high value and desirable" (Homer); a way of measuring the decline of Rome (Juvenal); enticing and difficult to leave (Arnold); a craving lust (Swinburne); "a delight only comparable to love" (Valery); a symbol of youth and revolt against civilization (Rupert Brooke); akin to philosophical thinking (Wittgenstein); the only relief from ennui (Byron); like opium addiction (DeQuincey); innocence, boyhood, and a release from introspection (Clough); a return to the pastoral, pagan world of Greek mythology (Goethe); and the symbol of one man against the elements (Jack London).

Sprawson himself notes that many swimmers suffer "like Narcissus, from a form of autism, a self-encapsulation in an isolated world, a morbid self-admiration, an absorption in fantasy." As his examples accrue, Sprawson gives us that sense of discovering something profound in what previously seemed so common and obvious.

This is an odd, surprisingly enjoyable book. It's the only book I've read about swimming. It's the only book I've read that follows swimming as a theme in literary and cultural history. Although it appears to be the sort of book aimed at grad students, who will drool over its obsessiveness and allusions, it should find a home among many other readers.

I have this book in an italian translation and I would love to read it in the original language. The book in intelligent, accurate and gives you the right idea that underlines the love of generations of great men for the water. Water as adventure, water as duel and meditation, water as gathering matter and sense of life. Episodes and tales to think about, a book that pushes you straight to the closest lake, seaside or swimming pool. Makes you understand as, sometimes, the most valuable and exciting things are not hidden in the deep and dark forest but are easily available and are just waiting to be discovered.

This is a collection of dozens of folktales culled from the Gullah tradition. They are mostly from the mid to later part of the 19th century from the coastal lowlands area of Georgia. The hundred + year-old tales are transcribed in a dialect, but they shouldn't be considered authentic renditions of the Gullah creolized language. The book has a great introduction that explains how Jones came to compile the work and write other books on a range of subjects. The dialect of the stories take a while to understand, but the glossary at the end of the book helps explain unfamiliar words. The stories are really good ones, and it is great to see this important book in print.

A must for study of the Gullah culture of the Southern Atlantic states. It is wonderful that the University of Georgia press reprinted Jones's 1888 collection.

The World War II exploits of the 332nd Fighter Group--the first all-black unit in the US Army Air Forces--is a fascinating story on several levels. The pilots of the 332nd fought long and hard in the skies over North Africa, Italy, and Central Europe. They racked up an impressive record of enemy aircraft shot down, ground targets destroyed and--on the bomber-escort missions they often flew--friendly planes brought home safely. They also paved the way for the integration of the armed forces, and of American society generally, by showing that blacks could handle the stress of battle and the demands of high-performance airplanes just as well as whites. In a world where many (most?) whites saw blacks as innately inferior, the Tuskegee Airmen proved otherwise.

This book is a dense, detailed, information-packed history of the 332nd during and immediately after the war. It's a valuable source on a vital topic, and I'm glad it's out there.

That doesn't, however, make it a great book.

The style, for close to 400 pages, is choppy and unpolished with only a vague suggestion of a strong narrative line. Context is spotty at best, and technical terms sometimes go unexplained. The typography is idiosyncratic, and the inexplicable rendering of nicknames in italics and ranks, abbreviated, in ALL CAPS is distracting in a book where names come thick and fast. The type face itself is ugly, and the reproduction of many of the pictures is substandard. The index consists almost solely of personal names, which makes it intensely frustrating to use if you're not already intimately familiar with the story. To look up an incident in which two members of the 332nd sank a German destroyer, you have to know what their names were . . . no entry for "destroyer," or "strafing," or "naval vessels."

If there were other books out there that provide the sheer volume of facts about the subject that this one does, I'd give it about a star-and-a-half. There aren't, but there ought to be. The 332nd was noted for its professionalism; it deserves a more professionally-done history. Until that book gets written, though, this one (flaws and all) is essential.

In baseball, Jackie Robinson's impact can never be overstated. What he did for the game is immeasurable. In the world of aviation African Americans owe a debt of thanks to a group of men called "The Tuskegee Airmen". Their contributions to aviation are just as immeasurable.

Francis takes the reader back to the time when blacks in the army were living under Order 9981 from President Truman. Francis's gives you the triumphs and failures and brings it to life through each page. This read was truly remarkable.

This is the second book I have read on the Tuskegee Airmen, the first being a biography of Charles F. McGee, and for the second time I was moved by how this group of Officers and enlisted personnel worked through segregation to ensure the civil rights of those to follow.

Army life today, and the African American who serve with honor, can thank the men of this book for what they have. This nation owes a debt of thanks that can never be expressed enough. I am truly thankful to have had the opportunity to read this wonderful book.

This is a great Christie story and the final Poirot tale (despite the fact that it obviously takes place before "Curtain" it was published afterward). Despite the fact that it was originally a play and is therefore limited in location (most of it takes place in one room), it still comes across as good. The major complaint I have is that the murderer is revealed in the first cassette by telling what they do. On the stage as this was originally intended to be presented, the action would have been subtle amongst the other things happening on stage at the time and most folks probably would have missed it, but presented as this audiobook the action is trumpeted loudly and the rest of the time you're just waiting for the ending to come. The cat and mouse game Poirot plays with the killer is good and I can just imagine the theatre-goers holding their breath at that final exchange, but the rest of the book just doesn't cut it. Still, if you keep in mind that it was originally intended for the stage (and I think Ms. Christie would have omitted that telling detail if SHE had written it as a book) you can see where it would have been a smash hit.

As a contributor to this book, I strongly disagree with the assessment from Kirkus Reviews. Yes, there is much here we've heard before (but that doesn't mean it isn't worth saying--and hearing--again.) Then, too, there is a range of perspectives in this book--from the conservative to the liberal--that is greater than Kirkus acknowledges. Some writers see racism as black men's greatest enemy; others call for us to take more responsibility for our own lives. "Black Men Speaking" is a worthy companion to Don Belton's "Speak My Name," and essential reading for anyone who cares about black America.

This book told about Charles Drew and how he achived what he did. It also told about his childhood and his family.Ithink young belivers should read this book.It will help!!!

Charles Chestnutt's A Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories told by a former slave named Julius to a White couple who have recently moved to the South. Written at the turn of the century, Chestnutt was addressing a primarily White audience who were recovering from Reconstruction and were fond of plantation-style literature which looked upon slavery with nostalgia. On the surface, the author seems to be catering to the nostalgic pre-Civil War idea, but in actuality, Julius' stories have a much deeper moral which reveal a harsh and terrible way of life for Blacks of the time. Mixed with elements of magic and conjuring, Julius' seems to be telling fanciful fairy tales, but with a closer look, one realizes that Chestnutt has no fondness or nostalgia for the times of slavery. This is a well-written and thought-provoking book and it is an important novel of America's history.

This is a sound history of U.S. Navy night operations from the beginning to the present. Along the way, the reader picks up a lot of carrier lore that applies equally to day operations. What distinguishes this book from the usual Naval Institute Press study is that Mr. Brown was one of the aviators that he's writing about. Where he can, he gives first-person recollections, and throughout the book he relies heavily on interviews with fellow aviators.

This book is particularly helpful when researching obscure topics related to African-American civil rights, such as court cases and individuals and organizations which do not get as much "air time" as their more famous counterparts. In that sense, the book is a must for all African-American history collections.