I have for years enjoyed your writing and one week ago was awarded a copy of "Glove Stories" for Christmas. I read a selection here and there but today, I read "Mom" and even though there's no crying in baseball, I cried.

I cried because as I read the promise you made to your late father, it reminded me of the bond my father and I share.

My father is a baseball umpire. American Legion, high school, local college, whatever. He's there to call the games. And no matter what kind of day he was having, no matter what his mood, he always had time for my
queries of baseball, without exception. Baseball has always been there for my dad and I, but it wasn't until I read your story that it dawned on me just how powerful that bond is.

I'm here in Rochester, NY, with a foot of snow on the ground but after I read "Mom", I looked out my window and did not see snow. I saw green grass, I saw the dust of my father sweeping clean home plate and I heard him complete baseball-diamond air with a called third strike. "Sell the call,
Bob. Sell it." That's the baseball advice he gave me and it's the advice I apply to all walks of my life.

I am a young sports journalist myself. Your writing has struck me as the type by which to be educated and influenced. So a hearty thanks to you, Mr. Kindred. For not
only have you given me a standard to shoot for as a writer, you have reminded me of exactly why this child's game can bring a grown man to tears.

I'm a resident of Sydney, Australia where we don't even have a baseball league anymore, but I've long been a fan of the game (well, all the way back to 1992 when I saw the Blue Jays and the Athletics play in Oakland on my first day overseas as a 20 year old). Since that time, I've grown to love baseball, both the game itself and the intersection of baseball history with the cultural and social development of America.

Given those interests, you can imagine that I immensely enjoyed this book. Glove Stories proved to me again that there is no substitute for great stories beautifully and subtly told.

What an awesome collection of baseball writings! This book is THE standard for writing about the sport of baseball!! Dave takes a humorous, yet gentle approach to the sport he loves. His style of writing will make you love it even more. He covers alot of different subjects--Negro Leagues--the physics of a baseball hitting a bat--baseball funnies [my favorite is the guy sliding into 2nd headfirst with hotdogs stuck inside his uniform]--and baseball greats like Jackie Robinson, Nolan Ryan and even Pete Rose. This book will make you chuckle, and it will make you cry, so be prepared. This reminds me why people have kids: to teach them how to play baseball!! You won't be sorry you bought this book.

This collection brings together the best images of this photographer. His work stands out from his contemporaries with thier unique, groundbreaking style. You can tell he inspired people like Avedon. His work is timeless, not date at all. If you like fashion photography from the mid-twentieth century, you'll love this book!

Before commenting on this book, you should be aware that it contains many nude images that would be "R" rated if they were contained in a motion picture.

John Rawlings took fashion photography in a whole new direction. In the 1930s when he began, the predominate style used lots of shadow and darkness to present a sense of haunting mystery. That style was also great for covering up flaws in the subject. Around 1940, John Rawlings began creating fascinating modern fashion shots that look like they might have been made just yesterday. In these images, he makes light, reflections, and color even more interesting than the darkness and shadow ever were in black-and-white. In doing so, he is remarkably effective in "keeping the photographer out of the picture."

His career was a most distinguished and prolific one. Mr. Rawlings was responsible for over 200 covers of Vogue and Glamour. These images captured a unique "chic sophistication" that you will recognize and appreciate seeing again. He also produced a series of famous Clairol ads, and published two books of nudes (some of which are reproduced here). He is one of the rare photographers from that period who was top-notch in both black-and-white and color.

Some of his best work involved making cigarette smoking by women seem more glamorous. It was hard for me not to wince which I saw those photographs.

The book opens with a poem that reflects the work published here:

"At just that crux of time when she is made

So beautiful that she or time must fade."

In the case of many of these works, it is hard to avoid feeling that time faded rather than the images of the women. The photography moves beyond the styles of the day into a timeless sense of beauty and culture.

The images are well chosen to be appealing to an audience today. The quality of paper and reproduction are both superb. The essays and background material are excellent.

....

After you have enjoyed these images, think about the meaning you attribute to the poses these women assume. What are they thinking? How much of a role do you think they played in selecting the poses? What is sophistication in fashion? Mr. Rawlings's impressive work will undoubtedly give you new dimensions for answering these questions.

Let the light show you the way!

I was very impressed by the high quality of this book. It is very well edited and the choice of pictures is just right! You can tell that the author did a lot of research and was able to come up with interesting facts about John Rawlings the man and the photographer. I also enjoyed very much reading about the innovative photographic techniques that Rawlings used. This book is certainly a lesson to all photographers and anyone who is sensitive to beauty.

Whether you are interested in the history of a particular RAF fighter squadron, a certain type of airplane or if you want to know who was where at any given moment, this book provides at least a part of the answer. And the good news is that it is still for sale -at least I saw it yesterday in my favorite shop near Shiphol- and in an updated version as well. This blockbuster will cost you some money, but when you do a bit of research in the RAF history you'll see that you spent your money well buying this one. If you still have money left be sure to buy the companion volume as well, Bomber squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft. I have both and used them for the last 24 years with great pleasure. The British publisher is Macdonald & Jane's, in case your shop won't stock the US edition.

This book is loads of fun to the NFL enthusiast. All eras of the NFL are included (from the 1930's to the present day) as well as all positions (except kickers and punters -- I guess none of them were among the top 100 players). Each entry gets a full two pages -- one a beautiful full-color picture and one a page-long description of that player's special talents and accomplishments. Each player also gets a "Top 10 list" -- a list by a colleague or coach of the best players, most intense players, smartest players, etc. -- including that individual.

The selection and ranking of players was as unbiased as possible. The editors began with 300 names, which they then reduced to 100, and from which each selected his top ten players, without ranking them. After tabulating the results, the editors then ranked the top 10. Then the voters selected their next 15 players, compared notes, and ranked numbers 11-25. They did this with 26-50, 51-75, and 76-100. Is the book still subjective? Undoubtably. You can't objectively compare linemen to running backs to receivers to quarterbacks and objectively identify the overall best players. But the editors did their best to be objective.

The top 10, in order from #1, are Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Otto Graham, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, and Bob Lilly. I would give this book 5 stars, except that John Elway only comes in at #16, which IMHO is about 15 slots too low (but that shows you where I grew up :-) (Also, Bronco fans should be sure to look on the last 2 pages for an extra special treat.)

All in all, this is a fun book about some great football players. Whether or not you agree with the rankings, you gotta admit: all of the top 100 were/are great players!

How do you go about picking the greatest 100 football players of all time? There are going to be agreements about who should be on it, and lots of disagreements about who should or shouldn't be on it. This book tackles an extremely difficult job and comes out a winner. Whether or not you agree with all the choices here, you have to admit they picked some damn good ones.

Each page contains pics and a bio on the player. They list Jim Brown as number 1. Funny how just the other night I was in a local sports bar, and a man sitting next to me said "Jim Brown was the greatest player I ever saw." Obviously, this book agrees with my "friend." In fact, the book's forword is written by Brown.

In addition to TSN's Top 100 players listed in numercial order, there's also a "timeline" of when these players were active. Also listed are TSN's all-decade teams. Leafing through the pages brought back memories of players I have watched and enjoyed, and of players whose exploits I only read about years after their careers ended.

So do you agree with all the choices in this book? The only way to find out is to buy it and judge for yourself. I guarantee it's well worth the money.

I Enjoyed this Book but Lists aren't Important.Cuz you can never say who would rule any given Time Period.I think all People Selected are Winners.of Course their are some who didn't make the list and therefor they should be acknowledged as well.

Apothecary John Rawlings attends the St. James Palace knighting of his friend and collegue Sir John Fielding thinking that all will be pomp and circumstance. Instead, one of the new knights falls to his death from the stairs. A terrible accident? Rawlings suspects that someone might have given the knight a push. Together with Fielding, Rawlings sets off through the upper crust of Georgian England society to find the truth. There is no lack of suspects. George Goward might have been knighted for his charity, but he left enemies everywhere. No one who knew him much regrets his death. Yet, Rawlings knows his job and the veniality of the victim doesn't impact that.

Author Deryn Lake has obviously researched the Georgian period and blends plenty of fun historical tidbits into her story. The gardens, champagne breakfasts, and love affairs of the period all ring true. Lake uses a wealth of historical characters to add authenticity and that spark of recognition to her story, starting with Fielding himself, the founder of the Bow Street Runners (beloved in regency romance) and of modern policing.

An interesting historical period and a clever crime are important ingredients in a mystery. Rawlings, himself, however, is less than sympathetic as a character. He is barely tolerant of his newly pregnant wife, condescending to her wish to mingle with society, ignoring her for days at a time while he runs about his detecting, and openly lusting over other women. Lake also brings in a bit too much coincidence--distracting the reader from the story.

Honestly, this is one of the worst books I ever bought. Since I has already been programming with Java, but not with Applets, I was told to for a new project. I got the book cheap in an auction, but finally it wasn't the schnappchen I had hoped. This book is somehow about the web, somehow about Java, somehow about browsers, somehow about search engines. It is not about applet programming. 40 pages out of 370 cover only the very very basics and did not even reach the deepness of SUN's tutorial. I gave it away to a school student learning Java but he brougth it back.

Absolutely empty book. I even have nothing to say about it. I would rate it 0 stars if it were in option. Links point primarily on JavaSoft.com and Netscape.com. To make this review not so empty as the book is, I would recommend "Just Java 1.2" by Piter Van Der Linden. Best for beginners, intermediate level, C++ & Delphi programmers.

Probably only "Dummy" series could be simplier Very easy code examples, however you won't be able to use this code in your proj-s - it's for demo only.