A good sign that a poet is talented: Richard Wilbur writes the introduction to your first collection. Tim Murphy is different from the Formalist poets. Murphy has masted the short line--the dimeter or trimeter. Murphy's poems are metrically sound, without being sing-song. More often than not his rhymes are original and flow with the poem. And though the short line is often used for light verse, Murphy shows that it can be powerful when used seriously. Murphy's poems are the poems of the farmer (a highly educated and well-read farmer) and are easily accessible. The few poems that are of longer line length are also well done, showing that Murphy can write in pentameter as well. I didn't like the final section as much, titled "Early Poems" which I'm guessing he wrote in his youth. The poems are classical in nature and subject, their line lengths are longer, and though they are good, I think can see them as the poems he wrote while trying to find his voice. And I'm glad he did, because it is a strong voice. These poems are a joy to read, and I look forward to reading his new book. (My favorite poems: "The Peg-leg Pig", "Jasper Lake", "Lonesome Peak", "The Quarrel" and "A Dog Young and Old")

"Brevity is the soul of wit," said Polonius. In the poems of Timothy Murphy it is that and so much more-mockery, tenderness, dread, humor, despair, charm, bitter wisdom, and serious whimsy. The compression of Murphy's art-short poems with short lines propelled by meter and rhyme-leaves no space for false moves or stylistic awkwardness. Each poem is pure muscle and breath molded to its task and exulting in its motion. And despite the short format, Murphy by turns unleashes and restrains an aural playfulness that delights in whole mouthfuls of sound. His engagement with life equals his engagement with language. The Deed of Gift, his first full-length book of poems, published at age 47 after a life grounded in the stark realities of farming in North Dakota, is divided into four parts: I. Farming All Night, about that way of life and the view of nature it compels; II. Je Me Souviens, with its poems each steeped in a sense of place ranging from the Arctic to Martinique; III. The Gift of Hera, in large part a meditation on the art of writing: IV. Father of the Man, an exploration of family and home; V. Early Poems, revealing that Murphy started as a witty and energetic classicist, educated to the hilt and wise in the ways of books. The theme of homosexuality that appears here in a flashy 3rd person voice reappears sparingly in the later poems in his own deeper, unforgettable 1st person. Every poem in this book is perfectly achieved. Marvel at the art of it.

Timothy Murphy is one of my favorite living poets. He writes short, clear, accessible lyrics in meter and rhyme, most of them about the trials of farm life and prairie living. (But you don't have to be a farmer to appreciate them -- I live in New York City.) They are full of intensity and pathos. He has that magical ability to paint a vivid picture with just a few words. I would liken his writing to Emily Dickinson, but it doesn't have Dickinson's idiosyncracies. In my opinion, he is one of the best poets writing today. Please e-mail me a for a link where some of Murphy's poems can be viewed, and then come back and buy this book!

First, I would have given this book 5 stars if the final confrontation with the Dutchman had lasted longer. I think this was the shortest battle Purcell ever had.

James Mullaney had been laying the groundwork for this story quite some time and did an excellent job of bringing it together. It's interesting to look back over the first 129 novels and see how far both the storylines and characters have developed.

Finally, anyone who has ever read the series needs to pick up this book. It definitely marks the beginning of a new era. I can only hope that the next author to pick up this series cares about the characters enough to bring them to life as vividly as Jim has done.

If you like the destroyer books then you will love this book. One of the greatest Warren Murphy has ever writen.

This is a book only a true fan of the series could write. It has EVERYTHING that has made the series so great over the decades. Jim is really wrapping things up before he leaves the series. Remo has ascended to #1 honcho of the house. Chiun has a new lease on life thanks to the Great Wang (sounds like soft core porn!) Shiva and Remo come to terms (pretty much.)

There's even more. The Dutchman. A mad russian monk. Chiun and the Queen of England?!? A look inside the people of Sinanju. Ingrates.

Buy the book. Buy several copies.

Two ancient Sinanju super-villians are paired up in this one. The elemental forces of the planet and the bleeding edge of technology. The last time they both used successfully was a mid-80s book, THE SKY IS FALLING and that one is even mentioned in this novel.

AIR RAID is a far superior installment, combining the history and the future of the series. There is plenty of action. Chiun has a number of one-liners.

What? Do you want more? There are several action sequences that have never been performed by either Remo and Chiun in this one. Several. All because of the recent technological advances in recent years have made this all possible. And for all of the Dr. Smith fans out there, as in recent books from the current series author, he is more involved in this one.

Four stars: Good, fresh stuff here. I thought Amanda was a false note, though. And the Prick reference was a bit forced, as was the whole concert thing. Rang a little hollow. And of course, something that has been in place since the late 80s has been kicked away. I've been waiting for that development for a very long time because that was my first Destroyer novel. The author has yet again, demonstrated a full and complete supremacy of the series. It's moving along again.

Poor Remo. He is finally ready for the title of Reigning Master, when Chiun throws another trial his way. Remo must do a good deed for a stranger. Not as easy as it sounds. We also hearken back to the earlier days of the series, when the females in peril had 38dd's and were in constant danger of crying themselves to death. Chiun begins to show his age, and Remo is actually starting to act his - a little. The Dutchman is ready for his encore, Chiun is ready to retire - suffice to say that a LOT is going on. You'll really like this book - one of the better in the series. Unless you're a fan of the "billions and billions of stars" guy.

Written by a college professor, the book talks about his experiences teaching and interacting with students. It's about the personal interaction, rather than about course material, syllabi, etc. The book consists almost wholly of anecdotes about particular students. The writing is intimate and very readable. It draws the reader in. Probably almost any teacher would resonate with some of the stories--like the one about the student who takes the time to write you a little personal letter about how awful your class was, how awful you are, and how you made them hate _____ (subject of class). These are balanced, of course, by the ones who say you were the best teacher, etc. Students, too, could profit from reading this book, to see the perspective of the teacher, and how teachers feel about them, from close up.

Susan and I were just sitting here checking on the availability of one of our favorite books and we see that this is out of print. Woe, woe! We only own one copy between us and that's been lent to someone who hasn't returned it. This is a book about the love of teaching and its challenges. It delights and nourishes all those who teach or want to teach.

This elfquest readers collection book does not focus on the elves we all adore, Cutter, Leetah, Ember, Scouter, Skywise, etc. Instead it concentrates on the elves who remained in the sea. Like Winnowill, they had gills but were mostly the same as the other elves. Not a best read, it was slightly boring at times.

I as you may already know am a complete fan of all yhe elfquest books and comics. This is as good as any of her other peices of work with a livly story and great characters.

Destroyer fans will love some of the exciting new developments in this latest Destroyer book - I know I did.

Will poor ancient Dr. Smith finally be able to retire? And if so will he be going to his final reward or will he be off to Florida with his lovely bride to sip cocktails and complain about Marx Brothers movies? I think not! But still a certain CIA analyst looks set to take over CURE if President Clinton's final scheme works out.

The Mafia is getting involved in the stock market. Now the ordinary man in the street can buy shares in "Raffair", a front for the syndicate. The outgoing president (Clinton) has been getting information on the Mafia's new plans from a brainy CIA agent named Mark Howard, who has the ability to draw inspired conclusions and see connections in disparate events. Howard is also becoming aware of some kind of secret agency, namely, CURE. CURE's aging head, Harold Smith, is also aware of Howard and is keeping tabs on his research. Is Howard being secretly groomed as Smith's successor?

Several Mafia characters from previous novels make an appearance in this book. One of them recognizes Remo during a plane trip, tracks him down, and takes revenge. This sends Remo and Chiun on a full-scale rampage against the mysterious Raffair. What exactly are the Mafia's plans for Raffair? Who is truely behind it? And WHO are the mysterious assasins attacking Remo at every turn? Are they agents of Raffair or some other group?

This novel takes place during the last week of Clinton's term. It was wild reading it in close to "real time". The author has a field day tearing Bill and Hillary to shreads. For instance: Hillary has trained the first Cat and first Dog to attack Bill whenever they see him. If you love Clinton and have no sense of humor you are going to HATE this book!

All in all, a very enjoyable read. The banter between the Master of Sinanju and the pale piece of pig's ear (Remo) is wonderful. Especially when Chiun discovers the joys of country music. Four out of Five stars.

Great story and it looks like a new beginning for CURE. The aging Emperor Smith has been given an assistant who has some powers of his own. The author is really setting things up for the future of the Destroyer. The plot is a good one with Remo and Chiun being followed and attacked all around the country.

It's good to see The Robotic Mr. Gordons back, one of this series best villians. Story moved right along, some funny stuff as well.

Wildly uneven, but creative 125th entry into the Destroyer series, once again pitting Remo and Chiun against their most prolific enemy. The author does a great job breathing new life into what could have been a typical entry. He also does an amazing job with continuity and incorporating detail from previous entries.

The action is good, but some of the characterization is not the greatest. I did not believe nor enjoy the NASA threat. The coincidences also were a bit much. And I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read the series. For the hardcore to the casual readers of the series, this is another critical novel to read with the positives far outweighing the negatives.

The best so far by the newest author..... Mr. Gordons is back. The Dutchman is almost back. Remo is officially Reigning Master. Elize Roote (#118's foe) is back - and it's the first face off of two of Sinanju's greatest adversaries - Roote vs Mr. Gordons . Jim has packed so much into this book it's almost dizzying. O.J gets whacked. Stephen King gets lampooned. Back in #18 when we first met Mr. Gordons , Chiun plays with a model airplane, then kills someone with it. In #125, its a model rocket ship. In #18, Remo tries to fry Mr. Gordons with a rocket engine. In #125 it's a Space Shuttle engine. Smith's apprentice (Mark Howard) is coming into his own, just as Chiun's apprentice (the white thing) has ascended to Reigning Master. Mr. Gordons survives once again.

this book has some good action and references to the things that have transpired in the past i appreciate that remo is getting to be a more physical master and that chiun is becoming more involved in the business of killing. poor dr. smith keeps on ticking no matter how close to death he becomes. the author is obviously heading in a direction of independence from murphy and sapirs dream for the series but unfortunately the dr. is a mortal and not of sinanju and sooner or later he will pass on to the big gray suit closet in the sky. the development of this series is at a crucial pivotal point that the writer must painfully be aware of the loyalty the fans are to all of the characters good and evil there were a few loose ends prior to all the bad attempts at continuity of the series may those authors rest in peace and never quit their day jobs. i am currently about half way thru #114 and so far character development and story plot seem to be holding up if the current author does read this i implore you to read this series from book1 all the way through to 114 at least 3 times to truly understand what has been accoplished by murphy and sapir.

The Empire Dreams is a very compelling tale which weaves a stunning plot much in the style of recent gems like "The Triumph and the Glory" or "Black Notice", or even books of a more techno-thriller bent like "The Devil's Teardrop." Four stars from me, the only weakness was a lack of effective plotting.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot was not overly complex, but not overly simple either. Sure, the villains were thin, but so what? I loved the idea of the WWII planes being used, and I also loved the fact taht we got to see Smitty kick some butt! I fear for the ol' guy...It's obvious the way Mullaney's writing him that he's on his last legs. I do, however, also look on that with some excitement, curious to see how things will pan out if Smith dies. The Destroyer is once again in good hands!

As a long-time Destroyer fan, I was so disappointed with this book. It read like a formula book with one cheap pun strung after another. The classic Destroyer is campy, yes, but not ALL THE TIME! They poked fun. They would not make poorly concealed references to every well known personality in Hollywood, and no, I am not a fan of Quentin Tarantino. Thankfully, most other Destroyer novels do not read like a comedian during a dry spell. Chiun comes off as nothing more than a petulant, ignorant old man. I should think that after 119 books they could show that he's a little deeper than that. This book gives no sense of the relationship between Remo and Chiun. Chiun might be the crotchety old uncle everyone avoids sitting next to at Christmas, for all the affection that is shown by him and to him. If this is your first Destroyer novel, try again. If not, then you can appreciate the one thing that remains true in this novel: the names haven't changed. Too harsh? When I have such high expectations? I think not.

Another excellent book! Chiun's in Hollywood making the movie of his dreams or so he thinks and Remo is trying to stop killers and the master minds behind a plot to make a summer block buster real. The book has the humor and action we've come to expect and love in the Desroyer series. Another hearty thumbs up!

Remo. Chiun. Hollywood. Disaster movies will never be the same!

I loved this book. Very funny situations and characters. After years or trying Chiun finally gets his movie made! But since this is the Destroyer things never work out like they should. Chiun strutting around Hollywood in his movie costume is one of the funniest scenes in all the recent books. Worth the price of admission!

Great fun to read. Five stars.

A fine book for Intranet development - a seriously flawed effort for Internet work. All material is covered using VB script, which is utterly worthless if your trying to develop a site that works with both Navigator and MSIE. Though you can complete every task discussed in this book with either VB or JavaScript, the authors summarily dismiss JavaScript. Don't purchase this book if you plan to develop sites that work across the browser divide!

The reader from Raleigh, NC obviously didn't read the title of the book before purchasing. This is an "IE4" book, not a Netscape, or any other third-rate browser book. If you want cross-browser support, than DON'T buy a book that is named "IE4 Programming".

I though that this book gave decent coverage and was worth the $.

I appreciate the authors' simple style--direct-to-the-point in simple English (unlike the abstract prose used by experienced programmers who lack the gift of of sharing information in simple terms). The book has lots of examples and screen shots, and with generous lists of properties, methods and events. The indices at the back of the book serves as a reference when done with the entire book. This book is a must in every Web programmer's library.