Murder in the Adirondacks:An American Tragedy Revisited is a must read. It captures and holds a readers attention while teaching them alittle bit about Central New York History. Through the book, a reader begins to "meet" the parties who were involved in this historic case, which was played out so many years ago. And then after getting to know the people, the reader is captivated by the trial and the events which surrounded Mr. Gillette's life immideatly after the verdict. All in all, a great read. I escpecially loved it as a Cortland County resident.

This is a great book about the Chester Gillette murder case of 1906. Gillette took his girlfriend up to Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks and drowned her. He was later tried and executed. His story was turned into the novel 'An American Tragedy' and several movies. I am reading 'American Tragedy' now and it's interesting to see the parallels between the actual case and the fictionalized story.

I had thought I was well acquainted with the case but discovered many errors in my previous readings after reading this book. The author dispelled many myths about the case, but did not attempt to prove any position without solid facts. Recommend it to my fellow amateur "criminiologists."

I finally found an affordable copy. This book was well
worth it. Read it with an open mind. Brandons observations cross the barrier that most of us are raised in,i.e. the four walls and a roof theory, and that there is no boogy monster or anything under the bed. But once you look outside that box you can see a marvelous scintilating ever changing perhaps not-understandable world out there. A lot of people can't handle the idea that this might be the way the world is. Even scientists that are supposely trained to be open minded consistently ignore or skew data that doesn't fit in the grid.It doesn't surprise me that his books languish in obscurity, just as do many of the things he writes about. Find his two books if you can.

I found a copy of this book in a bookstore in Hopewell, Ohio, as my wife and I were heading to Maryhill, Washington, to see the replica of Stonehenge there, and since Jim Brandon's _Weird America_ was our guide on that journey, I was exceedingly pleased to find another of his works, quite by chance. On my first reading of this, the second and last published work by Jim Brandon (at least under that pseudonym), I was disappointed. _Weird America_ is a guide to places of mystery in the United States, but Brandon hinted constantly that underneath these strange phenomena were forces as yet undefined and inexplicable.

_The Rebirth of Pan_ builds on that idea, postulating that modern scientists and journalists exclude too many factors in their efforts to present a consistent account of events, and ignore larger patterns in so doing. These patterns, such as the tendency of catastrophes and paranormal phenomena to occur in the vicinity of trailer parks, the frequent proximity of enigmas to reservoirs, mines, and caves, and the recurrence of the number 23 in disasters, accidents, and Fortean events, all indicate to Brandon that the earth is speaking to us, however unintelligibly. Brandon is not certain what the earth is trying to say to us: perhaps that our actions are out of balance with the universe, and dangerous to ourselves and the earth itself: the UFOs, biologically impossible monsters and spook lights which appear at nuclear plants and military installations could be warnings to quit playing with the biosphere. His interpretation of structures which have been classified as being of Indian origin by mainstream archeologists surpasses strange: he posits that there is no real proof that they were made by humans, and that in fact they are probably manifestations of the earth spirit. He goes so far as to suggest that on occasions life may generate spontaneously out of these earth mounds, like the various homunculi of alchemy, and that fossils are not records of past life, but future life developing out of stone. The other chapters in the book are similar in spirit and structure, hinting that we need a new science, a science that would recognize these data of the damned.

Brandon speaks in Charles Fort's tongue, pointing out the feebleness and foibles of modern science, but with a different intention and spirit. Fort was more concerned with obfuscating issues than clarifying them, writing science fiction disguised as hypothesis. To paraphrase Le Guin's comment on James Branch Cabell, Fort doesn't believe in his dreamworld, but he doesn't believe in our science, either. Brandon, in contrast, very much believes in the world he has created in his books. If read as a scientific alternative to modern archaeology, biology, and other such schools of thought, _Rebirth of Pan_ is disappointing, but Brandon is a master of disguise. Like the alchemists of old, whose true aim--the perfect union of a man and a woman--was hidden behind their supposed goal of turning base metals into gold and silver, Brandon masks his mythopoeic intentions with scientific language. If the first chapter fails as a revision of biology, for example, it succeeds beautifully as a hymn to Pan, an invocation to the earth spirit who appears now not as the goat-legged god of Arcadia, but as a foul smelling apelike giant with glowing eyes who lurks in lover's lanes, creating a sense of panic in ardent youngsters in the backseats of automobiles. Brandon not only reclassifies these creatures as paranormal rather than biological, as many other writers have done, but places them in an esoteric context which makes apparent their rich symbolism.

Brandon continues in a similar vein throughout the work, which is ultimately a paean to the spirit "coiling and roiling in the bowels of the earth, radiating out from the mouths of caves, flashing and grinding like a slow-motion lightning along fault lines, sprinkling out with the water from springs, pulsing like heartbeats along certain barely recognized runways across the land." He reinterprets current events in terms of old stories forgotten by the ever-optimistic Joseph Campbell, who saw mythology as therapy for our modern age, a way to lay to rest the Jungian Shadow. Brandon, in contrast, does not anywhere suggest a way out of our dilemma: we always have been, and always will be, haunted by these monsters of the id. The dark intentions and voyeurism of Keel's Men in Black are almost comforting, compared to the idea that the earth and its spirits are gibbering god-idiots, sentient, speaking to us urgently, out of great need and concern, but without being able to make themselves understood.

"The Rebirth of Pan: Hidden Faces of the American Earth Spirit," by Jim Brandon (Firebird Press, 1983, first US edition. 228 page paperback) OOP.

Anyone seeking out the works of Jim Brandon knows it is a frustrating, lengthy and confusing search, indeed. There are a couple of reasons for this: The first being that Brandon's books are long, long out-of-print and are thus rather scarce. The second reason is that "Jim Brandon" was merely the author's nom de plume in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a pseudonym which he discarded long ago. His true (or current) identity is William Grimstad, a skeptical compiler of rather controversial data, who has seemingly left a bad taste in many publishers' mouths; in truth, Grimstad is doing the same thing he always did, which oftentimes includes stepping on the toes of his politically correct critics (and publishers). For these reasons, and perhaps others, you may run into a brick wall in your search for "Jim Brandon" and his works. Call it a "conspiracy," if you will--I'm sure Brandon/Grimstad would love it.

"The Rebirth of Pan: Hidden Faces of the American Earth Spirit," is a 1983 companion to Brandon's 1978 book, "Weird America: A Guide to Places of Mystery in the United States." Instead of teasing the reader with his guide book of many oddities in many locations all across the country (as he did in Weird America), Brandon's "Rebirth of Pan" goes into much greater detail on weird archeological finds, etc., and proposes that the Earth itself may be alive--that maybe some/much paranormal activity can be attributed to "the American earth spirit." Essentially, he says that the ancient notion of Pan (god of Nature) may be real, and that perhaps weird archeological finds, monsters (such as Bigfoot), etc., may be "creations" due to earth stresses, intended to communicate or to teach us something--perhaps that Pan is alive? This is somewhat reminiscent of James Lovelock's "Gaia" theory, with a paranormal twist.

Not all of Brandon's arguments hold water, but they are interesting and point toward the need for further serious study. As in other Brandon works, the author addresses scientific heresies, gathers together his improbable and controversial data, and invites the reader to draw his/her own conclusions--which, in my opinion, demands much more reader participation than the "read-and-memorize" dogma of conventional education. Indeed, I applaud Jim Brandon/William Grimstad in this and his other works for challenging us to THINK, for a change.

Don't think this is a book for Arkansas Razorback fans alone. This story walks way beyond the Arkansas border and outside the sports arena into the worlds of mass appeal. Sports lovers, not known for being your more veracious readers, will be surprised when the book's end comes easily and quickly. Young people will be inspired by the story of hard work and dedication. Mothers and grandmothers will be touched by the family relationships portrayed so well. No one will close the final chapter without a box of kleenex handy.
Read this book. As you see life through the eyes of a champion, life will never look the same again!

This book is a very touching story of a young man who showed that anything can be acheived with hard work and determination, even for those who dont necessarily "fit-in" with the popular crowd. And it also shows how fragile and how quickly life can be taken away from us. Also, for anyone who is familiar with Arkansas Razorback football, it would be an especially good read.

Brandon Burlsworth came from humble beginnings, born and raised by his mother in the small town of Harrison, Arkansas. A shy, quirky, kid who wasn't the most coordinated nor the most popular boy in school, Brandon relied on his faith and determination to prove everyone wrong. He worked his way into becoming an All-State high-school football player. Wanting to become a Razorback all his life but not getting a scholarship, Brandon refused other offers and walked-on at the University of Arkansas, later earning himself a starting role for 3 years. At the end of his collegiate carrer, Brandon became an All-American lineman and the only football player in Arkansas history to earn a Bachelors and Masters degrees before they finished playing football. Being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL, Brandon was tragically killed in an auto accident on his way to church, just a few days after being drafted.

It does have many Christian references and messages as well.

I am fortunate to have gone to school with Brandon Burlsworth for 4 years. Although, I was never a close friend, I watched all the Razorback football games his senior year, just to see him. We were all fascinated watching him play. I wanted to ask him for an autograph, but always thought he might think it was stupid for a classmate to ask for one. After reading this wonderfully written book about his life, I realize, it was me who lost out never going up to talk to him. I cannot say enough good things about this book and how it just grabbed my heart and kept me reading. After reading this, it may change your life and your thoughts.. Brandon was so well loved around here in Harrison, and around the world. We know he is in Heaven looking down on us. Everyone should have this book to read when they are down. Brandon brought meaning to life... and you will see that in this book.

I enjoyed this book. I found it hard to put down. It is clear and concise and the author does a wonderful job in arguing his case. A nice book with great insight into the history of Baseball

Maybe I'm a bit biased, because I am a contributor to this book, but I found this book both highly entertaining and informational. Like, who knew that Jackie Robinson wasn't the first African-American player in the majors? Or that baseball wasn't really invvented in Cooperstown, N.Y.? Or that the Babe wasn't really calling that infamous home run? All these myths are exploded and painstakingly researched (by yours truly) and tell a riveting story of baseball. I highly recommend this book to any diehard baseball and/or trivia fans.

I've owned this book since 1974 and continue to read it every few years. What an imagination! The author skillfully and intelligently combines a resourceful young American actress with the Cliffs of Moher, archaeology and the ancient Irish legends, a few classic literary references, a network of violence, old-fashioned romance with a down-to-earth hero, a pair of hardworking well-educated Irish dreamers and one truly great Irish wolfhound.

From the back cover- "She came to a land of fearful legends and terrifying reality. Young American actress Grania Kirk was in flight from a disasterous love affair when she came to the homeland of her Irish ancestors - and to the legendary Cliffs of Moher, where ancient evil was said to live eternally between the howling winds above and the crashing seas below.

It was in this wild and desolate place that a chance meeting with a handsome stranger, and a thoughtless surrender to an irresistably romantic impulse, suddenly plunged Grania into a nightmare of danger in a strife-torn land of violence and intrigue, where life was cheap and love could be a deadly lie..."

This is absolutely in the great tradition of Mary Stewart! Find it if you can.

It is well worth reading, it's one of the best. It is romantic and Irish and a great adventure. You will fall in love with Ireland and it's history. I don't want to spoil any of the plot. If you like Mary Stewart you will love this book.

This third installment of the Dark Horse, Godzilla series is easily the best. The comic is well drawn and the characters are fleshed out; plus, it pays fitting homeage to the orginal Godzilla movies. In it, Godzilla encounters a variety of bizarre creatures and alien beings. He also gets moved through time by a mad scientist. Full of wild plot twists and high quality art, Godzilla: Past Present Future is likely to be enjoyed by Godzilla fans of all ages.

A great collection of some of Dark Horse's Godzilla comics. In these comics, Godzilla battles the Black Hole aliens' (from "GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA" [1974] and "TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA" [1975]) mechacial-spider; some giant hunters from outer space; and runs amok through time.

I laughed, I cried! There is so much in this book! Good advice, humor, perfect not just for grads but for kids just heading off to college who wonder just what they can expect. pretty motivating and inspirational. Great collection!

A funny and uplifting collection by interesting people. There were plenty of times I laughed out loud and felt inspired. I only wish I'd had one of these folks speak at my graduation!

After bemusing the possible dynamics of the aforementioned literary work, there is a possible conundrum between the civilities of modern progressive ideology and past marxo-realism. This fixates itself by properly realigning the over-stated political asylums of post-regressive truism. A parallel universe then exists between confounded pluralism and unfounded singularities of cognition. This then beckons the ponderance of man's own independence of separate dualities. A sort of presupposition, if you will. To be or not to be, that is in essence all.

For anyone who, like me, wasn't able to go to college and finds themselves a little clueless at parties when people start talking about politics, history and the like, this book is great. Several concepts are explained in ways that make you want to learn even more about them. The only thing I didn't like so much is the title, because it makes me feel like I have to "hide" the book because I don't want friends to see it on my bookshelf and know I'm cheating! It's not so much that I want to impress people as I don't want to sound like a complete idiot, but still, the title is good cause it caught my attention, and they DO give some great advice for how to handle yourself in a group discussion at a party, etc. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel a little more confident in discussions about cultural topics and the like.

Various types of non-stationarities are common in time series data from financial markets. This requires a guide for selecting among numerous tools to deal with the non-stationarity. A unified treatment of filters like this book is a great help since it provides a fast and rigorous introduction.

Chapter 2 is on the general linear filtering theory with cleverly designed applications for illustrative purposes. "Optimum Linear Estimation" is the focus of Chapter 3 in which the Wiener Filter and the Kalman Filters among others are studied. Chapter 4 is on Discrete Wavelet Transforms and provides applications like filtering intraday seasonality in FX market and an examination of the relation between money growth and inflation. Long memory processes with seasonal components are analyzed using wavelets in Chapter 5. Denoising of economics and financial time series is the topic of Chapter 6. The decomposition of variance across different frequency bands as well as the cross-covariance between two time-series at different scales is covered in Chapter 7. Finally, Chapter 8 is on artificial neural networks in which both an introduction to the concept and some design issues with appropriate model selection criteria are provided.

Discussison of these relatively advanced topics is very simple and clear without sacrificing important details. Highly recommended.

The book is a wonderful reference in that it brings together various filtering methods. It is an excellent introduction to the topic, clearly written and easy to understand. The text does not assume a high-level math background. Further, unlike the various books which simply provide the theory but include very few or no applications at all, this book by Gencay, Selcuk, and Whitcher has many applications that help you get the right picture.

All I can say is wow!, what an incredible book. We have had problems with our 22 year old daughter for years and this book has really helped put things into perspective. Understanding family of origin has made us realize why. This is really not a book review, but a testimonial that this book has really helped our family. We wish it had been out many more years ago. However, we were hoping to get a copy for our grown daughter, but it is out of print. I can't believe that! I hope "Learning to Say No, Establishing Healthy Bounderies" will be printed again (and again and again). It is a worthwhile book that everyone should read.

For those trapped in family origin of codependence, you really need to read this book. My eyes were opened for the first time. I found that the book had to be read in segments because, I had to deal with many unresolve issues as I read the book. The author did an excellent job of presenting the information. I only wish I could order more books for my family. Hopefully the book will be republished soon. I have tried to order at least three books, have loaned mine to several people, and feel it is the most amazing book. I have been freed.