I've been a big Civil War buff for years, and usually I am wary of fiction, but Glory in the Name is my kind of Civil War fiction! The book is very well researched and historically accurate - historical mistakes put me right off a book, but I didn't find them here. Best of all, the action is fast and unrelenting,and the characters, especially Hironymous Taylor, pull you right in. I agree with what Bernard Cornwell wrote - the best Civil War noel I have read!

This book is an excellent resource for both the practitioner and the researcher with an interest in occupational stress. As a stress researcher, I have referred to this book many times and my questions are almost always answered. In addition, it has an unusally extensive reference listing that covers virtually the entire spectrum of academic literature in the field of occupational stress. This book adds real value.

Many people are interested in dirt. People who clean cars are interested in dirt. The nice people at Proctor & Gamble are very intereted in dirt. But perhaps the most interested of all are farmers who spend much of their time thinking about dirt, putting things in dirt and taking things out of the dirt. Sometimes they don't take enough things out of the dirt or the wrong things grow in the dirt, so they have to add more stuff to the dirt to make it more productive. This is often fertilizer except in Arkansas where they use tobacco juice. In less robust economies (read, those not served by Archer Daniels) fertilizer is often based on human or animal wastes. In those societies this cyclical cycle is called survival. Here in the United States of America it is called Organic Farming and one should expect to pay a pretty price for it. As a matter of fact, the other day, I was in the Wild Oats Market near where I live and they were charging this gosh-awful price f! or something called organic bananas. Now, I like organic foods as much as the next guy, but let's face it, paying over $1 per pound for organic bananas is nuts. (Hmmm. I didn't even really mix my metaphor). Back in 1967 when I was working as a porter at the old A&P warehouse, we had to unload freight cars of bananas and put them into a special room to ripen them. And we couldn't care less back then if it was organic or not. A banana was a banana and aside from those we would swipe when we were hungry, our greatest concern was not getting bitten by a spider or one of those gigantic roaches that would stowaway on the banana boats. As long as the banana is not too mushy and someone doesn't try to fool me by substituting a plantain, I don't really care what they put around the roots. But I digress.

Tisdale's book is considered the definitive treatise on Soils and Fertilization. It is the standard text at really fine Aggie schools in this great land of ours and if you ! are really in to gardening, farming or just want to know mo! re about fertilizer than anyone else in your social set or in your chapter of Future Farmers of America, or 4-H. (Do you know that there are many active chapters of 4-H in New York City and its environs?) So, help rocket Tisdale's fifth edition out of its doldrums as the 125,000th most sought after title at Amazon.com. He is a lot more informative than Tom Clancy or Tony Robbins and he writes better too. Buy buying this and giving it to your friends as a Christmas gift it may move it up to become the 90,000th most popular title at AmazonDotCom (who came up with that clunky name, Borzos? Couldn't you name it after your mother, or maybe come up with something poetic like ArchonsOfColophon.com?)

To be honest with all you gentle readers, I don't much admire War novels, nor do I stand by the title of my review. Generally, I believe War is truly Hell.

But last Winter, in the grips of a bout of quasi-depression-for-teens following a move to the most FLAT province in Canada, I truly thought I was in Hell. An e-mail friend suggested Catch-22 to use up edgy cabin-fever time. Now, let it be known that my attention span for most novels dwindles quickly, especially if the book is slow to pick up. While significantly slower to get 'into' than most of the writing I chase, Catch-22 sucked me in, like Alice down the rabbit hole. It is sharply funny, engaging, and chock full of delightful characters. The main character is a thinker; a young man disheartened by war and his own mortality. His name is Yossarian, and since reading this novel, he has stood out in my mind as being one of the most...sculpted... characters in the history of literature.

Put simply, this book is a satire about World War 2. Coming from a kid sickened by the very idea of war, I can say that this book is worth whatever bills you have to fork over for it. It's not about war, per se, but more about the human condition. In addition, it made me laugh a few times, something that only a few other works of fiction have ever been successful in accomplishing. I finished this book feeling oddly... renewed. If you're looking for something 'new' (or, so old it's new) and engaging, I heartily recommend 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller.

catch-22 is the best novel to come out of the second world war, and plausibly the greatest american novel of the twentieth century. heller's career as a writer was somewhat over-shadowed by this pyrotechnic debut. his prose here is as insane as the subject-matter, he uses a whirling style that lifts you in and out of scenes in a non-linear fashion that suits the helter-skelter emotional experience of the war the book describes.

catch-22 concerns one captain yossarian and his attempts to get out of bombing raids. yossarian doesn't really care about the good guys versus bad guys aspect of battle. as far as he is concerned everyone is out to kill him and he must survive no matter what.

the novel is genuinely hilarious. there is a great joke on every page, but heller also has the ability to turn on a sixpence. one moment the reader is crying at some piece of head-twisting anti-logic, the next the reader is crying at some horror... and then back again.

when i first read it, i at one point had to slam it shut and throw it on the floor, so emotionally involved was i in the death of a character... but i immediately picked it up again, because it is utterly gripping.

if you are a first-timer, i warn you you will be shocked, you will be incredulous, you will laugh like an idiot whilst you're commuting. but above all you'll be dazzled by a genuine slice of real genius.

Joseph Heller has written a book of such broad scope, such immense power and such depth, that the reader is absolutely entranced to every page.

It takes place on a fictional island during World War II, revolving around a group of bizarre, truly individual characters that are slowly going mad. Catch-22 basically means a 'lose-lose situation'. Each of these men get caught up in the insanity, the beaurocracy and hypocracy of the war that they are trapped on the island, prisoners of the military rather than the war. Despite whatever they try, the just can't get out: Catch-22. The author articulates the isolation of the island into an excellent backdrop for a brilliant character study.

There's Yossarian, the main character, who is gradually descending into madness. There's Milo Minderbinder, the cold-hearted entrepreneur who is using the war to generate revenue and who bombed his own base so the Germans would pay him. Also, there's Colonel Cathcart who is so focused on getting a promotion that he volunteers his bombardiers for the most dangerous of missions, just to impress the general. There's Chaplain R.O. Shipman, who is losing his mind and his faith, and there's Hungry Joe, whose terrifying nightmares make him scream and swear in his sleep, causing the entire squadron to lose sleep. These are just some of the many characters in the book who are revealed through tantalising vignettes.

The writing in the book is truly masterful; the author commands a strong grip of English vocabulary. The plot moves along in illogical, chronologically incorrect sequences, making for a very unique reading experience. There is little violence or language: the author generates tension from the psychological aspect of the story.

This is an exemplary book, which should be studied in English Literature classes, rather than books such as 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstien', or 'The Great Gatsby'. It is tense, hilarious, black, cynical, satirical and formless. An absolutely brilliant character study.

Nelson is developing his talents as an author of historical fiction. It's good to see a writer who actually improves as he goes along.

Indicative of this improvement is the amount of historical detail given in this book, the second in the Brethren of the Coast series. Largely about the slave trade, The Blackbirder reveals the depth of the author's research into African cultures of the period.

Ex-pirate Marlowe should by rights be a fascinating character, but he lacks depth -- not merely because he's a rather shallow person, which he is, but because Nelson hasn't developed him sufficiently. He has a certain blank quality. James, the other main character here, is better drawn, but still not quite exemplary. Secondary characters, such as Marlowe's wife and her rakish ally Billy, aren't bad, but aren't fantastic either -- I'd say overall that characterization is a bit of a weakness here, though not disastrously so.

The plot, as one expects with Nelson, is an exciting one -- I don't find the themes here as interesting as his battles-at-sea books, but other readers may well prefer them. I did find my suspension of disbelief faltering at one point, when a psychotic racist tries to imprison Marlowe's freed workers: either they're free, and he would have to have a warrant, or they're slaves, and he's stealing property, and either way, that element didn't quite work for me. Overall, though, the story is fast-paced, enjoyable and holds the reader's attention well.

A premonition - and suddenly the comfortable world of Marlowe is turned on its head.
King James, the freed slave, slaughters the crew of a slave ship in a fit of passion, and to save face and reputation, Marlowe has to run him down and bring him to justice. Meanwhile, his sworn enemy is intent on destroying all that Marlowe holds dear ...

This sets the scene for another gripping tale in the same vein as 'The Guardship' - the same flowing prose and command of language endows this book with the mark of a master storyteller coming into his stride. Many threads, at sea and at home, combine to make this a thrilling, un-put-downable period story.
As the tale unfolds, we are taken into the minds of the protagonists, taking a glimpse behind the facade that each one has created, seeing the tale from several different perspectives, each with its own ideals and agenda, making us more and more involved in this wonderful complex story.

Even better than 'The Guardship' - and that's saying something. *****
Look out for 'The Pirate Round', book 3 in the series.

The quality of Nelson's writing improves measurably with every book. Here he balances a complicated three part plot masterfully right up to the inexorable end. He obviously has done extensive research on the historical and geographic details. While dealing with some strong subject matter he yet maintains a level that would be fully acceptable to a bright junior high school reader and certainly anyone older. I have come to regard these later works as on a par with Patrick O'B!

When you read Nelson's Biddlecomb books you cannot help but see the obvious influence O'Brian's Aubrey/MAturin series have had on his writing. The sole reason I purchased the first book was because it said, "Nelson writes with the eagerness of a young man sailing his first command - Patrick O'Brian," on the cover. Having read all of O'Brians books (with the exception of his Picasso biography) I thought that if he endorsed it then it was worth reading. A lot of the book is predictable and at times it is very hard to believe that Biddlecomb gets in and out of so many immpossible situations. The more I read the more I started to think that O'Brian's praise may have been intended as a stinging commentary. Read the quote again and you will see what I mean. If you like this genre then I think you will enjoy Nelson's work. My biggest complaint is that Nelson ends the five book trilogy (yes, that right) without any discussion of some of his most endearing and interesting characters.

This is a 3 star book with some 4 star parts.

When you thought it couldn't get any better, Mr.Nelson pulls out all the stops for the finale.
Isaac and two privateers are en route for Philadelphia to take command of 'Falmouth', when they encounter a British man-o'war; what should have been a fairly easy victory is turned into resounding defeat, as the privateers decamp at the first taste of hot metal - leaving Isaac at the mercy of the bigger ship with the weather-gauge. He has no option but to beach his beloved boat, rather than be captured, especially as his sworn enemy Smeaton is aboard.

All the characters are fully-formed now and we reap the benefit of understanding their actions and their foibles; I think Smeaton is excellently portrayed - the aristo with a chip on both shoulders and an obsession with finishing Isaac off - he is pivotal in this gripping 'factional' tale of how the British were forced to abandon the occupation of Philadelphia.

Again we see Isaac's headstrong character take over and cause him trouble, as he loses two boats in quick succession (though not entirely his fault) and almost loses his wife and his life in the protracted vendetta with Smeaton.
The sub-plot of rescuing and fitting-out the 'Foulmouth' is a great counter to Isaac's stranding and attempt to find her, as the two plots run side by side, interspersed with Smeaton's gradual descent into mania.

Although this appears to be the last in the 'Revolution at Sea' saga, I suspect that there is more to come before Isaac is finished with the British - at least I hope for more...

I have enjoyed all of James Nelson's books in the Isaac Biddlecomb series, but this one is the best by far. Nelson's skill at characterization is in full force here. He creates believable, riviting people put in often impossible situations and reacting the way real people will. It is just not right to say the British are portrayed as evil - they get the same even treatment that the Americans do - not good, not bad, just people. On top of that, the plot moves at break-neck speed. Great reading! Though the first three books say "Trilogy" the last two say "Saga". Nelson's web site says he hopes to finish the Biddlecomb series some day, and I certainly hope he does! Also don't miss Nelson's Marlowe novels, starting with The Guardship.

Biddlecomb is an interesting character as are many of the others through the book. The setting and action are very well done. The action and plotting and the narrow escapes kept the pages turning. Compared to Hornblower, Bilotho, Aubrey characters, Biddlecomb is rather meek at times, but he is developing into a heroic figure. The English are portrayed as the tryants that they were at that time. The sea battles and descriptions of the sailing are excellent. The only drawback I found was far too many nautical terms that weren't explained as Alexander Kent does. Nevertheless, a top notch historical adventure. I own the next two books and look forward to reading them. Perhaps another series set in the War of 1812 or the Civil War would be in order. Sail on!

For those who can't get enough of Nautical Fiction or Historical Fiction of the American Revolution, James Nelson has come to the rescue. Nelson in his first novel puts plot above character (the opposite of O'Brian), but there is a decidedly American flair to his work. For those of us who live in New England, we can feel the winter chill and see the deep blue winter sky of Rhode Island. The work is more like the novels of Kenneth Roberts. The action is fast paced. There are no naturalists pursuing arcane beetles, no duets coming from the Captain's Quarters. What there is, is a good sea story from the age of sail. If the map of Narragansett Bay in the front of the book is not adequate, than the serious history buffs should get out their charts.

A string of unfortunate events propel Isaac Biddlecomb from captain of a merchant ship, to wanted smuggler, to foremast jack, then - the ultimate degradation - pressed into service in the enemy's Navy, aboard a hell-ship run by incompetent tyrants. Hopes of escape in Barbados are thwarted by a farcical attempt at anchoring, the subsequent disgrace tipping the unstable Captain over the brink into madness.

In parallel, all the elements are coming together for mutiny, both at sea and in the American colonies; this is 1775, just over a year after the Boston Tea Party, and the British blockades and harrying of shipping are stretching tempers to the limit.

Biddlecomb finds himself a key player in the run up to the struggle for American Independance
Mr.Nelson does a fine job of weaving the threads of this story into a fine yarn, with plenty of historical facts to back it up. The characters are well-drawn and believable, the writing flows and the action sequences are so vividly detailed, one almost feels like part of the crew.

This is book 1 of a 5-part saga, which promises great things. There is action and plot twists right up to the last page, I couldn't put it down.
The author has also thoughtfully included a glossary of naval terms for those readers unfamiliar with the jargon.*****

Although this book contains some of the good qualities of earlier Nelson books (yes, ships do collide, several times), I found it a little disappointing.

Marlowe, short of cash, tries to take a shipload of tobacco to London ahead of the convoy. This backfires when an old enemy from his pirate days recognizes him. Fleeing to Madagascar, Marlowe goes back on the account, but becomes embroiled in the politics of the island.

I wish that there had been more description of the setting in this book. Madagascar, a fascinating environment full of many unique species, comes across as generic "jungle". There's not a single lemur to be seen.

I also felt that some plot elements never were worked out. Marlowe, in an exciting scene, rescues some stranded sailors. But these men play no unique part in the action afterward. Likewise, Honeyman, who keeps verging on antagonism but then proving himself loyal, would seem to have more interesting possibilities -- we never learn what motivates him.

The end, a kill-'em-all battle scene, works very well. Overall, I wonder if the author's heart wasn't quite in this story; it just doesn't have the structural strength and attention to detail I've seen from Nelson in the past. However, I'd still say it's worth reading.

This book concludes the author's trilogy about his pirate or as he puts it his Brethren of the Coast series. It is a good sea adventure story. This was a good time for the author to end, or at least it seems he is ending, the adventures of Thomas Marlow the protagonist in this series of books. Unlike fictional sea adventure heroes Hornblower and Bolitho whose series of books were continued on the basis of their promotions in the ranks of British officers to face new challenges, Marlow the former pirate had no such future. His story was due to end soon.
This book has Marlow, facing a bad market for tobacco from his plantation taking a chance to make some money for himself and his neighbors with a cargo of tobacco to beat other shipments to England. But he loses that cargo because of an old pirate enemy and decides to try his luck as a privateer in the Indian ocean preying on richly laden cargo ships. Again his bad luck holds when he runs into another one of his old pirate enemies who rules an island in that area. And the book concludes with a fight to the finish between Marlow and his two enemies. It is a close thing for Marlow and he loses his trusted friend and advisor in the battle. But Marlow and his wife survive and now is a good time for the author to allow them to live every happily after.
I now look forward to a new sea going adventurer by the author in a new series.

I have read all of the Brethren of the Coast books (and most of Nelson's Biddlecomb books) and enjoyed then all a great deal, but this one is the best so far. Nelson is terrific at creating dangerous madmen, and the characters in Pirate Round are beleivable and terrifying. This is real edge of the seat writing, with the usual atention to historical detail and the kind of sea writing that can onlycome from a former blue water sailor. A great book, you will love it!

This book provides a very simple and clear layout of Organizational Behavior. The headings and bold words make it easy to understand what is important and necessary for comprehension. The current issues and real life examples also make this book user friendly. However, the multiple use of models in this book can be somewhat confusing. The chapters are somewhat lengthy packing a lot of informatin in. I also feel that this book gives over-detailed definitions of words that can be much simpler defined. Overall this book does a good job of engaging the reader in the material at hand. The review sessions at the end of each chapter were very helpful and a definate bonus to help the reader learn necessary information. If anyone is unclear of what organizational behavoir is then they sould deffinately check out this book.

This is an excellent book if you are interesting in learning all about organizational behavior. It's easy to read and follow. It's very well-organized and well-written, chapter by chapter. The main points are clearly emphasized, with key definitions on the side of each page. There are specific things I appreciated about the book. First, I found the real life examples throughout the chapters to be very useful in helping me grasp the material. Specifically, the "Thinking ahead" and the "Looking back" sections helped me apply the information to the real world. Also the "Organizational Reality" sections gave useful company examples on the main points of the chapter. Secondly, I appreciated the abundance of diagrams and images throughout the book. Often, books are well written, but lack in the area of diagrams and images. This book, however, supplies ample amount of figures, diagrams, charts, and images to help me better understand the main concepts of the book. Finally, I found the "Chapter Summary" of each chapter useful in helping me understand the main points of each chapter. It recapped the main points of each chapter clearly and concisely. There really isn't a whole lot I disliked about the book. At times, I did feel that some less important points were drawn out too much. That some of the "Challenges" and other figures and digrams were a bit confusing. In any respect, this is a great book for anyone interested in Organizational Behavior. I highly suggest it for anyne going into business.

I really enjoyed reading this book. There are not many textbooks that I would say this about. I think I enjoyed this book so much because of the way in which it was written. It is very easy to understand and is complemented with numerous figures and tables. Also, the Realities sections helped to relate what we were actually learning in class, to the real world. I think that the definitions along the side of the page were extremely helpful, as well as the page number listed beside the vocabulary word at the back of the chapters. Something else that I appreciated about this book was the Learning Objectives. At the beginning of the chapters, it lists the concepts you should know after reading the chapter. You can then try and answer them on your own, and check with the chapter summary in the back (which covers the same concepts) to measure your mastery of the skills. Overall, I think that this textbook is good, and is ideal in teaching an introduction course to Organizational Behavior.

This is an entertaining book, fast-moving once it gets under way; not what I'd call great literature, but a fun read.

The Guardship is the story of Thomas Marlowe, a planter in eighteenth-century Virginia, who is trying to establish himself in colonial high society. Unknown to the people around him, he has a sinister past. When he's put in command of the ship intended to protect the colonists and their shipping from pirates, his past comes back to haunt him.

The book starts a little slowly, but gains momentum fast; the plot is an exciting one with plenty to hold the reader's interest. There's nothing artistic about the writing style, but in places it is quite vivid. While the characters could have been better drawn, they were adequate, and I found myself caring about their fates. Setting is a weakness, though; one gets little idea of what the Chesapeake Bay landscapes and seascapes look like, nor does Nelson incorporate the kind of small, fascinating details of daily life, weaponry, and so on that really first-class historical fiction authors do. However, he's very good at pirates. His pirates are truly scary, and the pirates' leader, LeRois, is perhaps the best-characterized person in the book.

I recommend this as a reasonably undemanding but entertaining book, comparable, in terms of plot and action, to some of Cornwell's work.

I stumbled across this book in my local library, having never heard of the author before. I was soon entranced by the terrific story in the unusual (for me) setting.

I'm afraid, much as many writing experts feel that a great novel needs well rounded characters who develop with the story, give me some slightly more cardboard characters any day! Villianous villians, strong heroes, fiesty females ... all set in an exciting cliff-hanger story - these will hold my attention!

To my way of thinking, the style of this book was akin to a sea-going version of my favourite Bernard Cornwall "Sharpe" series of books.

I only wish that, down here far away from the Virginia Tidewater, our library stocked the many other titles that Nelson seems to have written! They already carry all the well-known British naval authors, so maybe a bit of arm-twisting will get them to add this American series!

The Guardship is a great book! Fast paced and with a real feel for the time period, full of detail that gives it a tone of authenticity. The characters are recognizable humans, but are well clear of cliches. Some people have critized Nelson for not being Patrick O'Brian. Well, he's not. His books are much faster paced, more "page turners". To fault Nelson for not being O'Brian is like saying O'Brian is no good because he is not Melville. The Guardships stands well on its own and I look forward to the rest of the series. If you like a good sea story, you will love this book!