His real appeal is not racing or mystery however, it is his ability to create characters who are admirable, honorable and self-reliant. If you're looking for troubled, self-loathers who "somehow" overcome their weakness and become unwilling and unwitting heroes, don't look here. Francis' heroes revel in their abilities to withstand evil, overcome it, and end up smiling in spite of it all.

Kudos once again for Dick Francis and Dead Cert!

Dick Francis is an excellent author because he is a master at combining three elements into his novels. Horses:), danger and mystery, and romance. If anybody reading this reveiw has never read a DF novel, please do so, you won't regret it!

Get this book and go over the principles until the truth really sinks down into your spirit. Then find some like-minded, faith-filled believers and get into fellowship with them. It could save your life one day! And even if you never get sick, you'll be even more convinced of God's goodness and mercy and tender love, not just for all mankind, but for YOU.

I knew the book was a few hundred years old and was more or less expecting some datedness in the description of religious practice and in the writing style. What took me completely by surprise was how USEFUL de Sales' advice still remains. He was, as already mentioned, a gentle, wise and thankfully down-to-earth spiritual director. He did not expect over-night transformations and did not advise extreme measures in the spiritual journey. His writing is encouraging and immediately applicable.

When my husband was worried about dryness in prayer, I found the section in this book dealing with spiritual dryness and read it to him. He, although not much of a reader before then, immediately grabbed the book, read the section again himself, and told me that was exactly what he had been experiencing. He has taken permanent possession of the book (to my delight), and has gained a lot of reassurance and practical wisdom from it.

This is an excellent book for persons just embarking on a deeper spiritual life. Once you adjust to the vocabulary he uses, you will understand why Saint Francis de Sales was considered one of the best spiritual directors of his day, and is considered one of the Doctors of the Church. I wouldn't be surprised if, like so many other readers, you find yourself growing downright fond of him.

-- Sherry Sontag, co-author of Blind Man's Bluff - The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage.

-- Sherry Sontag, co-author of Blind Man's Bluff - The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage.

-- Sherry Sontag, co-author of Blind Man's Bluff - The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage.

The homes in "Feng Shui Revealed" are gorgeous and beautifully decorated, not exactly "How to improve your suburban tract house". For anyone who loves architecture, design, and has a good foundation in the fundamentals of feng shui, this book is a delight.

This book tells the story of a village and the marines and militia who defended it during the Vietnam War. It is filled with first hand accounts of fast paced fire-fights and battalion-sized battles. The action is riveting, and the story is endearing and heart-wrenching. A squad of marines and platoon of PF militia men fight night-after-night against local guerillas, and at times, VC main force battalions. The Americans become members of the village, eat in families' homes, play with their children, attend weddings, funerals, and holiday festivities. Their emotional ties hearten them, motivate them, and ultimately betray them.

The book was written by Francis J. West, a marine officer and RAND Corporation researcher sent to the village in the late 1960's to study its marine defenders. The marine squad -- seldom numbering more than a dozen -- was known throughout the Marine Corps. It encountered communist units more often than any other unit in the Corps; its members often fought twenty to thirty engagements a month, more than most U.S. battalions.

I've recommended this book to several men in the military, including my brother, a captian in the 10th SF group. All of them, in turn, recommended it to their friends, commanders, and subordinates.

"The Village" is as good as "Bravo Two Zero," "A Bright Shining Lie," and "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young." You won't put this book down until you're finished, and then, you'll read it again and again and give copies to your friends for Christmas.

Disorderly Knights made me laugh so hard, especially Lymond's early escapade with not a small number of sheep. Knights made me cringe during Lymond's terrible beating (particularly since he had known this torture as a galley slave). And, Knights took my breath away with its exciting, brilliantly staged climax with Gabriel.

Captain Mark Lang is very close to Cosgrove and is determined to find him and bring him home. Accompanying him are the men in his unit, THE PEPPER DOGS. They all come from New York and their families are all close friends. When an official rescue attempt fails, the men go it alone. Deliberately ignoring orders and prepared to take the consequences, their exploits are being broadcasted on to the net with pictures and text turning them into real American heroes. Politically and diplomatically their country doesn't know what to do with them but even the hard-liners hope they will make it back to safety.

BING WEST has written an exciting techno-thriller that is in the same class as the works of Dale Brown and Tom Clancy. The men that comprise THE PEPPERDOGS are true heroes because they do the right thing in searching of their friend even though they have to go outside legal channels to do it. There is so much action in this novel that the reader will want to finish in one sitting to find out if everyone makes it back alive.

Harriet Klausner