The Sand Pebbles is an immensely rich and readbable book. Set in the early early 20th century on the inland rivers and lakes of China, the book shows gunboat diplomacy on the eve of revolution in China. The lives of sailors, officers, missionaries, coolies, and revolutionaries intertwine in a complex drama filled with action towards what some may see as a tragic ending. But in the tragedy, a country is born. This is excellent reading material.

Some of the appeal for me comes in identifying with Jake Holman. Where Jake begins with a love of machinery and an empowering mastery of it, I suppose to some part I originally felt the same way about computers and software. Jake transcends this, albeit tragically, in the book. Will you?

I'm very glad to see this one back in print. From their name, I'm guessing the new publisher is one of those that caters to students of military and naval history. Certainly the other reviewers seem to focus on McKenna's depiction of the lives of men serving on a U.S. Navy river gunboat in the 1920s.

And indeed this aspect of The Sand Pebbles is very well done. The whole book is worth reading just for one finely-crafted scene where the other sailors bet a foul-mouthed messmate he can't tell a story without cursing. He wins the bet, but on his own terms.

But there's more to this book then the lives a few seamen. It's about their interaction with the strange, wonderful Chinese civilization around them. And with China itself, which is, in a sense, the most important character in the book.

McKenna motivates this action by centering the book around an intelligent but half-educated hero, a rebellious man who joined the Navy to stay out of jail, and who transferred to the river patrol to escape from the hierarchy and rituals of ocean-going ships. Lacking his shipmates' contempt for the Chinese, he becomes fascinated with their lives and culture. This fascinatation become the source of many complicated interactions between him, his shipmates, and the Chinese, leading to friendship, love, conflict, and tragedy.

Another fascinating character is the boat's skipper, an aging Lieutenant Junior Grade. On one level, he is off-balance martinet, overly fond of military ritual, striving to achieve a strange personal state of grace -- with disasterous results. But he's also a keen observer of the events and people around him, and his inner conversations about them make for compelling reading.

Most people know this story from the Steve McQueen movie, which reduced all the complexity of McKenna's story to Vietnam-era historical guilt tripping. A pity, because this book contains much insight about the interaction between China and the west, an interaction to often reduced to simple political cliches.

The Sand Pebbles is the story of a small ship, on a small river deep in the heart of China. Unknown by most of the rest of the world but home to the crew of the ship. McKenna, a former Asiatic Fleet Sailor, describes life in the river gunboats of the 1920s with an accuracy and authenticity that is amazing. I could almost feel the heat of the engines and the aromas from the galley.

The book is a study of men in the Navy. They are far from the public eye, doing a job deemed essential by someone in Washington. They are essentially feared by the Chinese and despised by the American missionaries they come into contact with. It must have been a brutal emotional duty to carry out. Yet many men loved it. They spent their careers on the rivers and retired there when their time was up in the Navy.

Jake Holman, the central figure, is not better or worse than most other Sailors of that time. His motivation for joining the Navy were "...Army, Navy or reform school..." and so into the Navy he went. He is a competent machinest mate but has few real people skills. He is a loner on the outskirts of the Navy world. He has bounced from ship to ship and has now reached the end of the line. But even Holman makes friends in the ship as he tries to adapt to his surroundings.

It is an interesting look at the gunboat navy. The crew did military duties and drills but the day to day ship's husbandry were done by Chinese men. Is it any wonder the crew loved China duty once they got there.

One might say that the conclusion of the book is confusing and leaves you feeling troubled. Well it fits with the mission of the gunboat sailors and I think is perfect. Antiimperialists may condem the book and the subject but it was a real part of the American Navy and deserves to be remembered and respected.

The frantic pace of our world is overwhelming. Technology is able to keep us connected 24/7 and many of us have allowed it to invade every minute of our lives. No wonder we experience personal systems overload! This book really delivers what is implied in its title Dot Calm. We are all seeking to balance our work, home, family, community....you name it. Dinnocenzo and Swegan have done their research and offer practical advice on how to discover and reconnect with what is important. We can choose a better way and this book guides us in that process. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to reclaim their life.

An injection of humanity and sanity into the high tech frenzy many of us call work. While focusing on the technologically driven professional this well-written work identifies the struggles we ALL have in managing work and career while seeking to make time for our families and loved ones. Laid out in a problem-solution format, this easy to read yet deeply thoughtful book first explains the expectations and behaviors that contribute to our stress before offering both practical solutions and ways to implement them. Touching "testimonies" of the struggles and victories others have experienced are laced throughout the book. I have found that many such books either deal with the "philosophical" issues of balance in life, or tend to be endless lists of "techniques" for regaining control of life. Dot Calm is a well-balanced mix. A book you will need to reread and reflect on to mine its depths while it offers very practical and doable ideas for taking your life back from work. Be careful! This book could be an epiphany for you. It was for me, I highly recommend it.

It was the title that first caught my attention. The book lived up to my expectations. I found Dot Calm to be an easy, entertaining read with which I could identify. The real beauty of the book is it's action-orientation. You read about the issues (eg, overwired, overworked, information overload) and then learn how real people are successfully dealing with them. The authors outline practical ways to balance family/work time in this "information age". We may never return to the pace of life found in Mayberry, but Dot Calm puts you on the right road.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book. There is no other way to describe it. Hardcore "Myst" and "Riven" fans will be holding onto this one for a long time to come. Being a fellow fan, I can guarantee that this is one book that won't be sitting out on a picnic table during a garage sale.

This book goes in-depth and behind the scenes as it pertains to the making of "Myst" and "Riven." This book came out before "Myst III: Exile," so fans looking for information on that title will not find it here. You get everything you could ever want to know from this book - early sketches of concepts you see in the games; the development of Cyan Studios; the man and machine behind the music; how real people were seamlessly integrated into computer worlds; there is so much information in this book regarding the "Myst" and "Riven" phenomenon that it's mind boggling.

The pictures in this book are, what can I say, gorgeous. There is one particular page dedicated to the Sunners in "Riven" that is stunning. It's not in the game, but it's just the most beautiful image. The whole book is presented so majestically; neither Gehn nor Atrus could have made it better themselves.

One thing to take into account that I did not know about until I had gotten it: the book size is BIG. It is not that same size as "Myst: The Book of Atrus," for example. It is probably three or four times as big. But that just makes it more beautiful to look at.

In short, this book is a must-have for all "Myst" and "Riven" enthusiasts. Anyone wanting a little background on arguably the best-selling computer games of all time would love to have this book. It gives you way more than you could ever think of.

"From Myst to Riven" will not disappoint.

Most computer games don't much for me. I'm not into shoot-'em-ups, and I learned back in the days of the original ADVENTURE and ZORK that I wasn't that great at puzzle-solving. Oh the other hand, I've been playing MYST and RIVEN regularly for years, even though I haven't solved that many of the puzzles. I'm what this author calls a "tourist," a player who just likes to wander about the Ages of these games and gawk at the exquisite artwork and music, and marvel at the fantastic realism the design team has managed to put into their worlds. This book brings all that out in some detail, describing how Rand and Robyn Miller came up with the basic ideas, how Richard Vander Wende turned all their plans on their heads and made the game the masterpiece that it is, how even the sounds you hear are apt to be clues (I never knew that!), and -- above all -- how none of the team let themselves be hurried in their quest for something as close to perfection as they could manage. Like Tolkien, they even invented a detailed language for the D'ni. Amazing stuff.

This gigantic book features stunning full page renders of key scenes from Riven, as well as various high resolution screencaptures. It also takes you through the entire process of making Riven, from the completion of Myst to the completion of Riven. It shows you how the story was developed (and additional bits to the story), how the stunning photo-realistic graphics were acheived, how the sound was done, how the design and visual look came about. In the background, it tracks Cyan's rise from a small company in a garage into one of the most profitable independent game designers in the world. Being a fan of the whole Myst universe and of computer technology in general, I absolutely love this book. I have it on my coffee table. While I have other things to attend to, my guests can flip through it until I have time to sit down. The process that went into making Riven was enormous and complex, and I salute Mr. Kadrey for getting down into words.

I found this book, a lovely little story about courtship the old-fashioned way, quite delightful. It's a wonderful peek into a young girl's joy and anguish as she first experiences love-and the resulting hard decisions she must make about her future. You'll especially enjoy the emotion-filled letters from Miss Cornett's beau, Patton Caudill. This love struck young man's amorous letters would melt the heart of any young lady, even one being pushed by father to spurn this suitor's advances.

Compiling great-grandfather's love letters in book is woman's tribute to her ancestors. Cathlynn Richard Dodson knew little of her great-grandmother, possessed the same heart-shaped face as hers, and even less of her great-grandfather, who died before her birth. Her desire to understand their story and where she came from sent her searching for answers a decade ago - from genealogy records in Dallas to the Appalachians. Eventually, the trail led her to the courtship letters that Samuel Patton Caudill penned to his "Darling Dora." These "missives" became the foundation for Ms. Dodson's novella, Miss Cornett's Courtship, set in Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains in 1904. From letters that were too fragile to handle, Ms. Dodson's mother transcribed them for her daughter. The resulting self-published book mixes her great-grandfather's heartfelt, old-fashioned letters with a somewhat fictionalized story line. The plot is no more complicated than a paperback romance novel - boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back - but the letters are the real prize. In a syntax long out of use, Patton's words are romantically overwrought by today's standards. But in the context of the time, they're charming. Such as this plea: "Say dear, how many moons must rise and set ere I can claim you as my own and my arms may entwine that supple waist, my eyes look squarely into yours and a love be exchanged between us that will remain unsevered through all eternity . . ." A 25-year-old Patton wrote this from his home in Whitesburg, Ky., to Dora, six years his junior, in Poor Fork, Ky. After reading the letters, Ms. Dodson knew a story lay in their words. The problem was, she knew so little about her great-grandparents. From her own visits as a youth, Ms. Dodson recalled an independent, gray-haired woman who spoke little and made brown-sugar candy. Her diminutive frame hardly looked strong enough to hold the cast-iron skillet slightly off the heat while she stirred the concoction. Her heart-shaped face was still evident, but her doe eyes were covered with thick-framed glasses. This image of her great-grandmother gave precious little insight into the coming-of-age woman captured in her 1905 wedding photograph, where the bride and groom stand shoulder to shoulder: she in her high-collar blouse and he with his Clark Gable ears poking out. Her great-grandfather was even more of a mystery. Because he died from a heart attack in his 40s, she couldn't find a living family member who remembered him. Patton had no more form than his flat images on the black-and-white stills. Ms. Dodson's journey to piece together her family story had begun long before learning of the letters. Every day, she'd spend her lunch hour in the genealogy department in the downtown Dallas Public Library, where she worked in the late '80s. Here, she'd search census and cemetery records to trace her family tree and to find the Kentucky cousins, whom she had heard about growing up but never met. She hoped they could tell her something about her great-grandparents and other family members. Then she placed an ad in the Harlan Daily Enterprise, which was the closest newspaper to the town where her great-grandmother grew up. A cousin responded with a letter. After several correspondences, Ms. Dodson and her mother traveled to Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains - to the valley cradled by Pine and Big Black peaks where Patton courted Miss Dora. She learned of the white mules, which pulled a flat-bed wagon carried Dora and her sisters over the hills for the education that her father insisted on. They visited the family cemetery and the home site where Dora grew up. Nothing remained of the two-story Victorian home with its wraparound porch and swing. Next door had once been her parents' store, which sold general merchandise, dry goods, groceries, shoes, stock feed, lumber and caskets. After returning home, her mother remembered about the faded courtship letters with the 2-cent George Washington stamps. The story of her maternal great-grandparents was now beginning to fill in. Still, when Ms. Dodson sat down to write Miss Cornett's Courtship, she knew time had claimed far too many details to create a truly nonfiction work. To reconstruct the story, Ms. Dodson used family memories and added a few might-have-beens. For example, no one knew where the couple met, but because Dora's father was very involved in church, Ms. Dodson felt they probably met in the chapel on Sunday morning. So that's how she wrote it. "The book was my way of creating a history for both of them since I didn't really know them," Ms. Dodson says. Letters mentioned socials they were to attend, and an apparent misunderstanding where Dora must have accused him of being a "naughty flatterer." Not knowing what a "naughty flatterer" meant, Ms. Dodson decided it could mean another woman had been in the picture. Since he mentioned a cousin Polly, who had given him a kiss (a Hershey's Kiss), Polly became the other woman and the incident with the chocolate was added. "I'm fascinated by where fact becomes fiction," says Ms. Dodson. Among the letters' most endearing moments was when Patton fretted about approaching her father for her hand. He chastised himself for having run away at his first attempt. About his second try, he proudly wrote: "I didn't back down the second time, did I dear? Your Papa's answer pleased me so well I haven't ceased thanking him yet." The first copy of the book, hand-bound, was a Mother's Day present from Ms. Dodson to her mother. After several requests, she made copies for other family members. It's based on a true story." Her mother has commented, "I know that must be just how it happened." Ms. Dodson says that when Dora, who lived until age 83, was asked why she never remarried after Patton died, she responded: " 'If I did, then I'd have to take care of him.' I tried to have that independence come through in the book."

I enjoyed the book very much. The actual love letters from Patton to Dora are charming, and it's a beautiful story of hope and growth for the two main characters. Miss Cornett's Courtship is like a sweeter and better version of the Bridges of Maddison County.

I love New Orleans and everything about it! My husband and I go there regularly, so when we bought a new house in December, I wanted to really decorate the interior of some of the rooms "New Orleans Style". When searching on Amazon, I found this book with pictures of some homes in NOLA interiors. I found this book to be very helpful as far as decorating and choosing Nawlins' colors for my house. Not to mention the fact that it gives me a "quick fix" for New Orleans when I can't be there in person!

As a frequent visitor and sometimes resident of NOLA, I had never found a book that truly captured the local heart of the city and its people...until I received this book. It is a feast for the eyes with its glorious photos. Similarly, its writing--done by a New Orleanian--is refreshing and honest. Everyone I know in New Orleans owns a copy of this book. I love it. I revisit it freqently. It never bores me.

This book has great interior pictures of some glorious New Orleans homes. Unfortunately when I've been there, I didn't have the opportunity to go inside to see the many interior styles. This book gives me the opportunity to see the beauty inside, that I've only been able to view from outside. Great book for those of us who love and appreciate the city!

I was looking for a good overview book of the Vietnam War and this really fit the bill. The author put together a well thought out, easy to read and well-written book that does a good job of giving the reader the high points. The author was a solder in the combat and spent a number of years in the military so he has an authoritative position to speak from. He does a great job of keeping the book away from being overly laden with military jargon or the Rambo style of combat writing. The book is focused on the American effort and thus skims the pre U.S. troop entry into the war. If you are looking for a deeper history on the start of the war with the French or the overall American involvement in Asia then this book will disappoint.

The treatment he gave to the major battles was good. He presented an easy to follow account of the battle, what lead up to it and the outcome. He also touched on some of what was happening back home with the politics, but only briefly. I think the most interesting parts of the book for me was the details of the air war, more specifically how the bombing kept escalating and then the final bombing push by Nixon. My only complaint with the book is that it was an overview that was a bit too light on the facts for me. The book was only 270 pages long, and book size do not necessary determine quality, this book could have been a little bit more in-depth. It seemed to me that to get a better understanding a few more pages could have been added without the overview turning into a in depth study.

I decided to read Dave Palmer's "Summons of the Trumpet" to try fill the gap in my knowledge of the Vietnam War.

A friend of mine whom graduated from West Point had to read this book as a part of his core readings.
(Palmer is a three star general and was superintendant of West Point when my friend was there). So when he told me that, I got a bit concerned that maybe the writing style of this book would be "slightly over my head". But to the authors credit, General Palmer strikes an almost prefect balance between technical jargon, military expressions, and personal anecdotes. This makes " Summons of the Trumpet" an easy, enjoyable read, even for the lay reader like myself. (Every now and then I felt that it would have been useful to have better knowledge of the military language, but all in all I was able to follow without any problems..)

This book is truly an excellent historical overview over what happened and why. General Palmer tracks the history of the American engagement in Vietnam. He focuses on the military strategy, and in an unbiased and detailed way he describes the war step by step. How things started, what the war was fought for, how it was fought, the victories the US won, and why it ended the way it did.

I had very little knowledge about the start of the conflict, and why US got involved in the first place. I was completely fascinated by Palmer's writing, and it really was impossible for me to put the book down. I was looking forward to going home from work, as the hour commute back and forth to work is my "reading-time".

"Summons of the Trumpet" gave me a deeper insight into a war I knew very little about. I know for sure that I will cite this book in the future.

I couldn't recommend it higher. Great read!

I highly enjoyed reading this book on the Vietnam War. So much in fact that I have read it more than once. It is easy to read and concentrates on military strategy. Those looking for a book relating to social and cultural upheaval in the States during the war will be disappointed since there is very little of that. This book is a purely political and military history. Not all of his comments may be welcome to some readers. He believes, for instance, that the U.S. could have won the war but politics and flawed strategy and tactics resulted in the U.S. withdrawing from South Vietnam.

If you want a multitude of pictures and a fair discussion of the tomb's discovery and the objects found in it, then this is an excellent book. We used this in a grad/undergrad level seminar I took back at Columbia University because it is so detailed on the tomb and its discovery. However, when it comes to information about Tutankhanum himself there are only 20 pages that look at his life and the historical context of his life, most of that is spent on his family and the dynasty he is part of. 20 pages out of 200+?! This is why I'm giving this book only 4 stars -- the cover and the summary offered by the book itself suggests the book has three parts and this first one is barely there.

This was Howard Carter's initial description of the newly unearthed tomb of Tutenkhamen, and having read "The Complete Tutenkhamen" I'm inclined to make the same observation. For the first few hours the text of this book will be impossible to read, because the pictures are so arresting. My personal favorite is something that looks like a painted statute but, we are told, was a domestic a clothes-horse: if so, it's possibly the most beautiful mannequin ever designed. Virtually the entire inventory of Tut's tomb is dissected, with separate chapters devoted to each antechamber. We are treated, as well, to an account of Howard Carter's (and Lord Caernavon's) legendary pursuits, and explosion of the "Tut's Curse" canard. A great mix of good history and real eye candy.

I had been interested for year in the tomb of Tutankamun, and sad at the lack of information on the tomb. In this book, there is both a general introduction to both who the king was, when he reigned, and what he probably did during his reign. This is the followed up with an introdction to the the discovery of the tome, the problems that Carter hads at the time, and then the cleaning of the tomb. The majority of the rest of the book is about the tomb contents itself, with many modern photo`s of the treasures. As Carter never got around to publishing the details of the dig, this is the closest thing to what he might have achieved. Highly recommended, well worth the price.

I read this book years ago but I can still remember it to be one of the best true crime books I have ever read, and I have read alot of them. I often wonder what became of the killers, Chuck and Marlene. One can only imagine. These two teenagers were definately evil and I can't imagine how they could live with themselves. The author should definately write another book on how these two wound up.

i first read this book a long time ago after lending it from my local library .
It took me a long time to find a copy of my own (i wasn't on the net then)
It is one of the best true crime stories ever
Marlene Olive was truly manipulating and would have chuck running in circles .
Once i pick up this book i'm unable to put it down until i've read it from cover to cover .
Ive read it many times and i think you will too ,and like me ,you'll probably be itching to know where Marlene and Chuck are now

I first read this book back in the 70;s and it really hit home.I know first hand how a girl can effect ones life and how things can get out of control.This book should be required reading for all high schoolers to let them see what can happen in just a few short minutes that can cost you the rest of your life.I would love to know what has happened to chuck and marlene.

Imagine if you were given the chance to ask God all the questions you ever had and that He would answer you directly and plainly - This is the truth. Alot of people are groping in the dark - what is the truth / what is the correct doctrine / is the Bible true? Well here's a person who had that chance of conversing with Jesus, and wouldn't you be interested in what Jesus has to say? This book will settle alot your mental and spiritual debates as it did for me. Most authors of NDEs only talk about their experience plus their opinions.This book will tie the NDE where it belongs - back to the Bible. To all Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, etc., Jesus has a message for all of us, do not harden your heart and mind, but be open to God's voice. He wants all of you to hear what He has to say by reading this wonderful book.

Thank you Dr. Eby for sharing this amazing experience to us. I thank God for using you.I pray that many more people around the world will be able to read this book.God bless you all.

This book is phenomenol. I have reread it several times in less than a year, and will continue to enjoy rereading it through my life. Each time I get something new. If I had one book to give showing what heaven and hell are really like, this would be it. The reason is because not only is the author, a former professor and obstetrician, highly credible, but his experience in both heaven and hell go into great detail and explanation over what he encountered. I have read all of Dr. Eby's books, but this one goes into the richest detail concerning his trip to heaven following a serious injury, and then, five years later, the equally fascinating journey he took to hell on the command of Jesus, not during a near-death experience, but while Dr. Eby had been in the middle of a group tour in Israel, inside of Lazarus' Tomb. The descriptions of heaven are wonderful and uplifting, while the glimpse of hell is chilling. This book is definitely worth the money.

I AM READING THIS BOOK FOR THE 4TH TIME! I FEEL EMPTY WHEN I DON'T READ SOME PASSAGES FROM IT WEEKLY. I'VE HEARD AND READ MANY AFTER DEATH STORIES. I FEEL DR. EBY'S IS THE MOST CREDIBLE BECAUSE MOST DOCTORS THINK THEY ARE GOD. HE WAS HUMBLED BY HIS EXPERIENCE AND REMAINS SO TODAY. I WAS EVEN COMPELLED TO WRITE HIM BECAUSE HIS MESSAGE FROM GOD CHANGED MY LIFE. IT'S STRANGE THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE I SHARED THIS BOOK WITH, DO NOT SEEM TO BE AS AFFECTED BY IT AS I AM! THE HOLY SPIRIT LET ME KNOW SOME BELIEVERS ARE MORE MATURE IN THE LORD THAN OTHERS!

This book is clearly a labor of love, but it really helped me understand why Dr Bach insisted "Keep it simple". Sure, every emotion is catalogued here, and every essence described, but the fact that there are hundreds of essences that are not clearly differentiated makes choosing more, not less difficult. After spending 3 fevered days on this book, do you know what I did? Went back with relief and renewed appreciation to my little Bach pamphlet and colored wheel, and selected a few essences, trusting that they would heal me. Less is more, when it comes to flower essences.

I bought this book and I was not disapointed. I own serveral flower essence books, but this one is the best and the one I cannot do without. It cross references every emotion from feeling disconnected to Mother Earth to Anger to Problems connecting with your father. You name it, it's cross referenced here. The book is timeless and modern at the same time. It has a great introduction on flower essences, the whys and wheretofores, and explains each English (bach) & North American essence in detail and with care and insight. It is a privilage to own this book.

I read this book front to cover. It's a great reference book on Flower Essences, both English and North American, but the discriptions on the actions of each flower are new information on how spirit issues can effect the emotions and the body. I had never read any psychological work that took this perspective and I found it very useful and tremendously insightful. Even if you don't choose to buy the flower remedies, the analysis of the problems and possible causes are often enough to motivate the spirit toward change. Additionally, I'm greatful to the Company who produces these remedies, as they include local flowers to the U.S.A. Dr. Bach said "the cure to your disease lies in your own back yard", yet all that the Bach Flowers offers is from Europe. FES has all the North Amercian Flowers discribed in the book and in flower remedies. I particularly enjoyed looking up my Grandmothers favorot flowers and reading about the issues they assist in. I found that often they spoke to a long term family dynamics that existed for 3 generations, the flower preferrences were the intuitive attempt at my grandmothers cure. It's fun to look up your favorot flowers, and see what issues you may be working on. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in flower remedies, spiritual/emotional issues or thier connection to plant energies. The book is extremely well written and organized. Thanks :-)