This is the eighth time that Mr. McManus has put together a collection of his humorous experiences from childhood, through his early days as a manipulator of truth at a public relations agency, and of course more recent forays as the intrepid guide and indomitable leader of a variety of outings. This is the fourth collection of his stories that I have read, and I believe that leaves me with 8 to still enjoy. One of the remaining books is done with his sister who is generally known in these books as the, "Troll", and that volume is to have dozens of variations for recipes on, "whatchucalit stew".

It would be unfair to say that there is no familiarity in these stories as I read the 4th collection. There is a great difference between familiarity and repetition, and the author is not guilty of the latter. What is becoming familiar are the friends of his childhood through to the present day with names that would make Dickens proud were he alive and writing in 20th Century Idaho. These characters are based upon real people that he has mercifully disguised, as how many people would want the moniker Rancid Crabtree, with all the attendant implications?

These stories are innocent, honest, and without anything that would keep them on a coffee table for any member of household to read. Even his first kiss in the back of a friend's car, that is a stretch to call a kiss, would be comfortable in a G rated Disney film. His stories may primarily take place in his, "Gothic Idaho", and other states in the West and Pacific Northwest, but they translate to everyone's childhood to some degree, and are pure reading enjoyment, completely without pretense or prevarication.

tasteful, and completely obnoxious. Out of the four books of his that I have read [ The night the bear ate goombaw, they shoot canoes... Fine and pleasant... and this one] This is the funniest one in my opinion. If you liked any of his other books, You gotta like this one. They are all a collection of the same kind of stories, except his latest book. They are all short and simple and run along the same lines. Male stupidity, outdoor troubles, childhood memories of embarassment and goofy adventures. If you grew up in the country especially, you will probably slap your knee after every paragraph. Pat McManus is the Diabolical genius of humorous writing. This guy ruins me for anybody else who writes something with only the intention of being funny. And I don't mind at all. I'm willing to be spoiled by such great writing. Anybody who knows a troop of crazy eccentric characters from their own childhood or right now, will identify with crazy eddie muldoon and Melba Peachbottom. Yeah that's right, Melba.... Peach... Bottom. I'm sure he changes the names with names like that and His friends girlfriend Velveeta.

The best part of his writing is letting him rope you in to actually believing a conversation or interaction and then realizing that you just even if only for a second bought into the most ridiculous thing, and he knew you would all along. Feeling stupid and flat out tricked is the funniest part of reading these books. Some of the people and thoughts, couldn't even be made up by THIS guy, so you have to believe some of it. And once you believe some of it, he's got you set up right where he wants you, IT'S GREAT. If you appreciate good humor and take things all in fun, or need a laugh after a horrifying camping trip, you should definetely buy this book or any other Pat book. You can just expect the same hilarious thing with most of the other ones, because they're all short funny stories. My cheeks hurt from smiling and my ''Funnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!'' muscle hurts from laughing. Get it.

Warning!!! This book could cause divorce!! I was reading in bed with my wife trying to sleap and while holding in the laughter the bed was shaking so hard the neighbors gave me a wink and told my wife she looked like she needed rest..... If you enjoy/endure the outdoors you can relate to this book and will not be able to put it down.

This book was one of the most enjoyable books that I've read all year! Patrick Dennis created the most interesting, risque, fun, and suprising character with Auntie Mame. This book was a fast, easy, and enjoyable read to say the least. This is my first Patrick Dennis book and I have to say that before I even finished it, I had already went out and bought the sequel. For anyone who wants a little adventure in their reading, this is the book for you.

Patrick Dennis' famous "Auntie Mame" has so many incarnations that it can be hard to keep track. In the 1950s there was a famous stage version and still more famous film version, both starring the illustrious Rosalind Russell; in the 1960s there was an extremely popular stage musical starring Angela Lansbury and then a critically disasterous screen musical starring Lucille Ball. But this is the first, the original: AUNTIE MAME, one the 1950s' most talked-about books, a true runaway bestseller and one of the great classics of American humor.

The episodic book concerns an orphaned child, Patrick Dennis, who is sent to live with an aunt he has never before seen in 1920s New York--and the aunt is Mame Dennis, a fast-living, intellectually sharp, and decidedly eccentric woman beset by both the fads and fashions of the day and the money and social connections with which to indulge them. Although time has rather blunted the actual way in which Patrick Dennis writes (his framing device of a magazine article is more than a little tiresome), it certainly has not blunted the character herself: madcap Mame runs riot through the roaring twenties, goes through largely self-induced hysteria during the Depression, works for the boys during World War II, and along the way gets involves in art movements, theatrical performances, fox hunts, Southern country society, war orphans, a wealthy husband, an Irish poet, a college lover, and most famously her beloved nephew's unfortunate engagement to the shallow and snobbish Gloria Upson. Each comic disaster is more memorable than the last, and Mame herself lingers in the mind as an inspiration to live life to the fullest no matter the consequences.

Fans of the Rosalind Russell film version will quickly realize that Russell has captured the character perfectly; the book, however, is at once less structured and considerably broader than the Russell playscript and film. Very episodic and considered quite riske for its time, it contains a number of adventures (such as Mame's seduction of one of Patrick's college friends or her introduction of Patrick to the Maddox sisters) that never made it to any performance version. Both fans of the various plays and films and even the completely uninitiated will adore meeting the sparkling original, certainly one of the greatest comic creations in 20th Century literature. AUNTIE MAME deserves a special place on the shelf of any one who enjoys a range of humor that runs from sly giggles to screaming laughter. Strongly recommended.

Auntie Mame was first published almost fifty years ago, and although clearly describing times 75 long past (the book sees Mame through the twenties, the Depression and the War,) it is still charming, witty and absolutely hilarious. Far, far better than the embarassing movie starring Lucille Ball that was made from the book.
The story is told in the first person by Patrick Dennis who is adopted in 1928 by his Auntie Mame after being orphaned. Although a flapper enjoying New York society in the Roaring Twenties, Mame makes Patrick an integral part of her life, in her own inimitable and quite irrepressible way.

Unlike most post-War fiction, I think this book more than stands up to the passage of time. Perhaps because Patrick looks back at his childhood, which, even in 1955 (when the book was written) was part of the far distant past, the story is fun, rather than dated. And, certainly, contemporaneous readers have no trouble identifying with the excesses of the twenties, the financial desperation of the thirties or the terrors of the wartime forties.
This book is fun and a good, enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.

This book covers equivalent ground to U.S. M.B.A. texts, though the examples (which are good) focus on European situations. The balance between theory and practice is excellent, with some fine information about markets as they work in the real world. The book is clearly set out and represents fine value for money. My only reservation (and reason for witholding the fifth star)is that the book dates from 1993 and could do with some updating in a new edition, such as the effect of the Euro on the European markets.

This was the first Dorothy L. Sayers books I read and it took me FOREVER to read it. Not that it's a long book, it's just extremely confusing. One of the things I like about mysteries is trying to figure out whodunit, and with this book that was practically impossible. One of the other reviewers used the phrase "incessant clutter" and I have to agree with them.
On the other hand, the idea was good. An artist dies, and six people absolutely hate him. Five are red herrings. Also, Wimsey is a rather likeable character, so I give it two stars. Definitely not my favorite mystery book.

At her best, Dorothy Sayers was able to juggle a complex writing style, complex characters, and complex plot to tremendous effect--and such novels as GAUDY NIGHT and BUSMAN'S HONEYMOON have remained landmarks of the murder mystery genre for well over sixty years. But some of Sayers' work has a tendency toward incessant clutter--and no where is that more apparent than in this 1931 novel, which finds Lord Peter investigating a suspicious death in Scotland.

The plot of THE FIVE RED HERRINGS begins with some promise: the victim is a man despised by virtually everyone in town, so no one is greatly shocked when his body is found in a creek at the bottom of a ravine. But the story soon acquires a mechanical feeling: of six possible suspects, HALF are unexpectedly and mysteriously out of town--and tracking them down allows Sayers to indulge her love of time-tables and train schedules to the nth degree. It makes for some very dry narrative indeed. At the same time, Sayers attempts to duplicate the Scottish accent of the locals on the page itself, and the result is page after page of phonetic spellings and oddly placed aphostrophes. It is more than a little off-putting.

In spite of these drawbacks, the book does have its graces, chiefly in Sayers' knack for turning a witty phrase and in her ever-developing portrait of Lord Peter Wimsey. And to do Sayers justice, the gimmicky plot and the emphasis on time-tables, etc. is rather typical of 1920s and 1930s murder mysteries. Such books often have a great deal of period charm, but frankly, THE FIVE RED HERRINGS is not among them. Die-hard Sayers fans will certainly want to read this novel, and many will get a good degree of pleasure from it... but newcomers to Dorothy Sayers' work should start with one of her later successes, and I specifically recommend MURDER MUST ADVERTISE to them instead.

This is not the place to start reading the Lord Wimsey books--it is clear that Dorothy Sayers was trying a more complex plot with The Five Red Herrings. Read the books in order and you will better appreciate this effort. It should be remembered that Sayers was not a simple little mystery writer--she was a complex, multi-talented writer who would be expected to stretch the genre.

This book does not bring anything to who is looking for insights on how to apply good architectural principles to the design of a system. Do not loose your time with this book, you'll find it empty, boring and also out of date ! Sorry for the authors !