This set contains two now out of print audio books: "Four Card Draw" and "The Turkey Feather Riders." All three are well done with a great cast of characters and special effects. The audio is crisp and clear, easily heard in an automobile's noisy environment.

Four Card Draw. Louis L'Amour starts this audio volume with a short discourse on period books about the old west. "Four Card Draw" is told first person by Allen Ring, a gambler who wins the Red Rock Ranch in Arizona. He is told the ranch is haunted by someone who was murdered there. That someone was one of the three Haslet brothers, owners of a neighboring ranch, who are out for revenge. Allen walks right into the middle of a frying pan and ends up fighting for his life!

Riding For The Brand. Jed Asberry wins a poker game only to find himself robbed by the angry losers. They dump him in the desert with no clothes, left to die. Days later, on his last legs, he stumbles across three recently killed people (two men and a woman)... in the middle of the desert. Taking clothes, guns, and papers from one of the men, Jed becomes Micheal Latch. Micheal was on his way to inherit a ranch, so Jed decides to assume this role. He finds himself up to his neck in serious shooting trouble as someone else is willing to murder to get the property!

The Turkey Feather Riders. Louis L'Amour starts this story by giving a short discourse on cowboys and the cattle business as it was in the 1860's through 1880's (and now). Jim Sandefer is the forman for a New Mexico ranch. His boss, Grey Bowen, makes a sudden visit (after years of being away) with his daughter, Elaine, and some new guests: Rose and Lee Martin. Grey wants to marry Rose, but Jim discovers that she and her son are up to something that doesn't smell right! Then the shooting begins!

Well worth the purchase price. Run Time: 180 minutes.

These are absolute gems, and whenever I see someone reading John Cheever or Raymond Carver I tell them to put those overrated hacks away and to check out John O'Hara.

I purchased this book to include in my library and to serve as a reference for lectures. I have found this book to be a superior guide for gaining the basic knowledge of the important topics in toxicology, without too much information. I very much enjoy all of the Secrets Series books that I have purchased (about 10 of them so far), but have found this one to be one of the best of the bunch. The concise nature of the various topics is put together very well and has many interesting "extra tidbits" that are great as "Did you know" facts for lectures. All major and many less common medications and environmental toxicities are covered. Definitely a great choice for the home or office library.

A Useful Art: Essays and Radio Scripts on American Design, by Louis Zukofsky, is an invaluable chronicle of a major American poet's engagement with this country's indigenous tradition of design. In 1936, the Federal Arts Project (a division of the WPA) hired Louis Zukofsky, along with many others, to prepare a compendium of information on traditional American crafts. The Index of American Design aimed to define original U.S. culture at a time when interest in handicrafts had just begun to emerge. These previously unpublished essays and radio scripts are scrupulously researched investigations of various American handicrafts: the topics they cover include ironwork, tin ware, furniture maker Duncan Phyfe and friendship quilts. They also reflect Zukofsky's sense of the poem as a crafted object and his attempt to reconcile the labor theory of value with aesthetic production. This book, which can be seen in the context of kindred work by William Carlos William (In the American Grain) and Ezra Pound (Guide to Kulchur), will be of special interest to readers of 20th-century poetry, cultural critics, social historians, and scholars of design. The book was edited by and has an introduction by Kenneth Sherwood; the afterword is by John Taggart.

This is a new, updated version of the book originally published by Eerdmans in 1996 (which is out of print) and now available from FaithWalk Publishing. An incredible amount of research went into this book. In easy to understand language it provides reasons for the decline in the mainline church and then gives several ways that a local church or even a denomination can address the issues causing the decline. Not only does this book deal with today's challenges, it also gives an historical context on what led to the problems in the first place. A good place to start when looking for ways to grow the church. Fascinating reading for pastors and lay people alike.

I picked up this book because the intro on the back cover sounded good and I've liked almost every L'amour book I've read. Its written in a first person narrative as though he was sitting across from you on the couch telling the story.

The first half of the book is terrific, following his escape from England. We learn of his thirst to be out in the wild open spaces of the newly discovered America, he is falsy accused and is running from the law collecting people to join him as he describes the new beginnings they can have in the New World. Its very tightly written (though I think his escape from prison was way too easy) and you really love the character.

Once the group got to America things changed. In an effort to show the WHOLE life of Barnabas the whole story changes, now we have 50 years of history in 100 pages. So the narrative changes from a day-by-day upbeat story where friends are joining the group to a list of significant events, usually where one of the group dies from an indian raid. It becomes a series of "we built a fort", "xxx died in an indian raid", "the fort burned down", "we went down to sea and traded our skins for supplies", "yyyy died in an indian raid", "we built another fort", etc.

I didn't like the ending either, I think the whole story basically got pretty depressing towards the end with all the group dying or leaving to go off and do other things. All the next generation were grown up and strong but we don't have the emotional connection with them that we did with the first group.

to the far blue mountains was an excellent story of Barnabas Sackett and his enormous will to survive. I read this book for a history class, but ended up enjoying it very much.

Barnabas Sackett is the hero in the best novel I've ever laid eyes on. This one is superb.I especially enjoyed the uncertainty of what would happen next. His journey to America and back is full of unexpected surprises. Jenny J.

I loved this book. If you are looking for a book that shows you sites deep inside the long lost mansions of 5th avenue, then this is your book. Read it from cover to cover or just skim through the pages over and over again. These photos tell a million stories, from the caen stone interiors to the triple mansions' immense proportions and details to the lives of the architects themselves. This is a great book!

This book is a great look at the stories of all the houses the Vanderbilts purchased or created with their spetacular wealth- and also some of the fascinating stories of the eccentric family members behind the houses. The book is filled with rare photographs and stories of all the Vanderbilt castles.

I found the book to be very entertaining- a must have if you're interested in the Vanderbilt family or the Gilded Age in general.

If that Library Journal reviewer read more than just the Introduction, which contains a couple of typos, he'd have realized this book tells more about the Vanderbilts and their world than any other book on the subject. Obviously, he didn't. It's a great read.

Dumas is deservedly famous for his intricate and engrossing novels, and The Three Musketeers is certainly no exception. As far as classics go, this one is among the most fun that you'll ever read.

The novel follows the protagonist D'Artagnan as he tries to join the French king's elite bodyguard unit, the Musketeers. D'Artagnan befriends three current Musketeers (Porthos, Athos and Aramis) and what follows is a fast-paced literary romp as the four friends share a series of swashbuckling adventures in 17th century France. The plot is full of twists and turns but is cleverly developed and believable. Dumas expertly develops the characters, engaging the reader as the characters experience war, love and just about everything in between.

The edition I'm reviewing (the Illustrated Junior Library version) is highly abridged (300 pages vs over 600 pages) and has many beautiful illustrations, making an already fun novel even more accessible for young readers.

You know, this book is quite the most irresistable book anyone could ever have read. If you haven't read it, please read it. The paces are fast, the plot is fine, and the charators are cool. Really. I've always liked Athos the best, then it's d'Artagnan. This is the best of the Three Musketeers trilogy, and if you read this book, you better go read Twenty Years After. It's just as exciting as The Three Musketeers. You know, does any of you like Lady de Winter? I actually likes her a lot. She's so beautiful and intelligent, though she's, like, cold-blooded. I'm pretty saddened to find her murdered by my favorite d'Artgnan and Athos, of course, and Aramis, Prothos, Lord de Winter, and the executor. Anyway, I think anyone who haven't read this book should read it, or YOU HAVE LIVED FOR NO MEANS!! Admit it (at least, I've admitted it for a million of times since I picked up The Three Musketeers), ALEXANDRE DUMAS IS THE BEST WRITER EVER IN HUMAN HISTORY!!!! You do agree, do you not? ^O^

Catherine Lee

THere is a reason that classics are regarded as classics: they are timeless and very fun to read, often more fun than you would imagine. THis is a long book, 900 pages in the French version, but I sliced through so fast that I was sorry when it ended.

The plot outline is simple. The four musketeers - for there really are four - want to help the queen in her love for Lord Buckingham of England. All the rest is intrigue and adventure related to that. But the episodes are so funny, the chemistry between the characters so subtle and realistic, that it makes for a truly great read. Indeed, the characters of the musketeers are so well drawn, their inter-relations so complex, that a film or even a miniseries simply cannot do it justice. The glimpses at historical personnages is also fascinating, from Richelieu to Louis XIII. Finally, you get a flavor for the Paris of that epoch, just after the religious wars.

Highly recommended.

The previous editions of this book contained a lot of reference information and illustrations for both novice and experienced home carpenter. This edition has changed the emphasis to students primarily, with larger type but less specific reference material such as hanging doors, special framing problems, etc. Disappointing.

This book shows anyone the technical aspects of home construction in very clear terms. The formulas are excellent for figuring the costs of a project. The format is very simple to learn and the tests at the end of each chapter summarize the material well.

This is *the* book, wheither you are a novice or a master carpenter! It contains plenty of helpful and informative charts, diagrams, pictures and examples - how to calculate materials and costs, board feet, compares different materials and specifies the applications. It starts from the basics of hand tools and power tools with clear instructions their use, maintenance, and even some repair. You're guided from planning and preparing the building site all the way to completion of construction. I didn't see where anything was left out. My father was a building contractor for 56 years. This book is like having his knowledge at my fingertips!

I just finished reading John Polkinghorne's "The Faith of a Physicist." I really liked it. Maybe because I'm a fellow physicist, the book really resonated with me. It was by far the most intelligent argument for orthodox Christianity I've read so far.

Refreshingly for someone advocating orthodox Christianity, Polkinghorne is not a fundamentalist, a Biblical literalist or a creationist, for he does not believe the Bible is inerrant (that's good or I'd stop reading him) and he also believes in a kind of universalism (he thinks everyone can go to heaven but that some sort of spiritual purification takes place in some cases (Hitler, etc.) and no one is forced to go to heaven against their will). He also believes in all the well-established findings of science (while rejecting the reductionistic and materialistic metaphysics which some scientists advocate). For example, he believes in the 15 billion year old universe and evolution. He see God working behind cosmic and biological evolution, but he rightfully rejects any kind of "God of the Gaps". He also rejects the Deistic God of the Enlightenment. He argues for the personal God of Christianity, as opposed to the "lowest common denomenator" God of many philosophers and religious pluralists.

The format of the book is that he goes through the Nicene Creed line by line (one line per chapter) and defends it in light of our modern understanding of science, psychology and history. This guy is a brilliant and well-respected physicist and he said nothing in the whole book I would object to as a scientist. He is articulate, rational and coherent throughout. Obviously, all positions on God / ultimate reality involve metaphysical and theological speculations. Even if such speculations are coherent and rational, it does not mean they are right. But he argues that all such speculations are grounded in hard evidence and some speculations fit the evidence better than others. Partially for this reason, he calls himself an inclusivist as opposed to a religious pluralist. He thinks anyone sincerely searching for the truth will not be denied full benefits upon death, but he thinks the resurrection of Jesus really happened and refuses to deny that to accommodate a full religious pluralism like the one John Hick advocates. (Polkinghorne says: One can't deny what one regards as the truth even in an effort to be tolerant. Reality is what it is. For example, almost all scientists currently believe the earth is over 4 billion years old. To deny that for the sake of young-earth creationist would be wrong, even if it reduces conflict and tension. Both can't be right. One must use the evidence as it presents itself and infer to the best explanation.) So in his opinion Christianity (orthodox Christianity) is the best way, but not the only way.

Even if you don't agree with all of his conclusions, I think you'll find this book very thought provoking and intelligent. I plan to read more of his books in the future. I also recommend books by Ian Barbour and Arthur Peacocke on this subject, although they advocate a more process theology and panentheistic point-of-view which Polkinghorne disagrees with. In my opinion, anyone serious about the current dialog between science and religion needs to read these three authors at a minimum.

I agree that the materialist, the atheist and the strict fundamentalist will find much to dispute about this book. The latter being said, Polkinghorne is actually far more orthodox in his theology than many modern academic theologians. For believing Christians who are uncomfortable rejecting either orthodox science or orthodox Christianity, this book provides many fascinating insights. If you need to believe that God does not exist or that he created the world in six 24-hour days, you won't be happy with this book. A final caveat. The reading is challenging. However, Polkinghorne provides a short glossary of scientific and theological terms. This book is more accessible to the general reader than his most recent work "Belief in God in an Age of Science."

Be prepared for some serious challenges to your mind in reading this book. The author is both a physicist and an Anglican priest who explains his view of the relationship between science and religion and the role of faith. He does not argue that science proves that God is real but argues strongly that scientific understanding of the universe leaves ample room for a God who intercedes in the Universe, controls it and will bring a good end. Rigorously reasonable, it is sure to offend doctrinaire persons from atheists to fundamentalists but presents a good framework for people seeking to reconcile the claims of science and religion.