Nothing can be said or written about life but this book certainly comes close. Not only it captured the reader realization of the subtle life we might experience, this book will make you think about what important to one's life.

TAKE MY BREATH AWAY! These stories are wonderfully erotic! My boyfriend and I used to read them to each other as we went to bed. Definite buy!

I really enjoyed these gay erotic fantasy stories about pornstars. Bruce Wayne has gathered together 15 erotic writers to share their stories about what pornstars do after hours and behind the scenes. Represented here are writers; Jim Buck, Vic Howell, Michael Lassell, David MacMillan, and others. I especially enjoyed "Two Big Thumbs Up" and "Brother Act." Whether these stories are fantasy or reality makes no difference, they're great for late night or a quick read anytime. Looking forward to the next volume.

Shippey's books provides a fine summary of issues that one faces when drafting international contracts. However, her contract models are not practical and thorough. If you try to use this book to write your own contracts, you will get screwed.

"A Short Course in International Contracts" showed itself a very good help to beginning understand the 'Lex Mercatoria', in the following aspects: a- negociation e role of attorney; b- Incoterms and other trade terms and c- importance of knowing cultural differences around the world. As a law student, I've found the Mrs.Shippey's book a valious tool for my essay, which is necessary to graduation title.

I've been looking for this book for years. I consult and train on international purchasing, and I really like this book.

First of all, the author shares a lot of my opinions. She understands the cultural influences on contracting, recognizes that a contract isn't going to solve problems if you pick the wrong supplier or customer, and believes in keeping contracts short and simple.

Second, she writes both her sample contracts and the text of the book clearly and persuasively. The style is infinitely better than any predecessor books on the topic.

And finally, she hits the key issues where international contracts differ from domestic...Incoterms, CISG, exchange rates changing, and the importance of face to face contact in negotiation.

I really enjoyed this book. My summer school students really had a lot of fun reading this book.

I recommend it for all young readers.

The Dolphin Adventure gave me a feeling of peace and deep joy. It is a story about the possibilities for connection inherent in our individual lives and decisions. How do you get connected? Grover's story says this comes from observing, deciding and then doing the thing that connects you. In the story, the diver's attentiveness, decision to act and willingness to persevere created a connection that impacted all lives for the rest of their lives. This is my all-time favorite book. It is sweet, simple and profound.

The book has outstanding photos, and a decent text--More detail than in a field manual, but not as much as in (for instance) the Sibley book on bird behavior. Unfortunately, it focuses on birds of the Northern Prairie--Canada, Montana, and the Dakotas mostly. This is shown via a map near the front of the book, but not mentioned on the front or back cover.
The big strength of the book is the photos. Excellent photos. I enjoy the book, even though the region is not my preferred one.

Wayne Lynch is intoxicated with the beauty and mystery of the prairie and its denizens. He is a first rate science writer with a subtle sense of humor and a world class bird photographer to boot. I love all his books but this is one of the best. I highly recommend it to all nature lovers as a rare treat; it is so much more than just another bird book. I predict it will become a classic of the genre.

If you, like me, have gotten your impressions of Vietnam and the Vietnam War mostly through American movies, the American press, American books, etc., this anthology of short stories can be a worthwhile way of exposing yourself to other perspectives.

I don't mean to imply that most Americans have encountered only pro-American and pro-war propaganda. Quite the contrary. Actually a lot of the popular movies and such about the Vietnam War present the American role in that country quite negatively. But whether the Americans are the heroes or the villains, they're still the main focus. The Vietnamese typically are portrayed as a mysterious "Other," who serve merely as extras in a drama about complex, flesh and blood, American persons.

Half of the stories in this anthology are written from the Vietnamese perspective. Even within that, of course, there are countless sub-perspectives. The reader is given the opportunity to see the war through the eyes of Vietnamese men, women, civilians, soldiers, those allied with the Americans, those battling against the Americans, those who stayed in Vietnam after the war, those who left, etc. I definitely appreciated that.

Having said that, I can only give this book 2-3 stars, because only a handful of the stories, a handful of the scenes, drew me in or seemed particularly memorable. I felt myself forcing my way through a lot of the book. I am not a literary critic, and I fully admit that this is merely a subjective reaction on my part, so I would urge people to give the book a chance and draw their own conclusions. The stories only made a deep connection with me quite infrequently and I have to give an honest rating based on that, but others might find themselves affected quite differently.

I suppose one could find fault with the tendency of the stories to present the characters just a little too sympathetically. You'll find very few "bad guys" in here. Presumably those would be the American politicians, generals, etc., and they're left out of these stories almost completely. Instead, the stories focus on the Vietnamese, and on the type of powerless Americans whom we are supposed to more or less relieve of responsibility for the evils of the war-the grunt during the war and the veteran back home afterwards. And these characters are mostly presented in a way that conveys the message that if you really understood their circumstances and what went into the things they did, you wouldn't condemn these folks. Not all that objectionable a sentiment certainly, but still, I wouldn't have minded stories with just a little more bite, even at the cost of some of the reconciliation and healing.

The layout of the book is rather interesting, and serves to make the point of the authors clear. Each section of the collection is prefaced by a part of a poem that illuminates the struggles victims on both sides of the war faced. The anthology is also organized in a form that alternates between American and Vietnamese short stories. The plight that the Vietnamese people faced during the Vietname war is often overshadowed by America's turmoil, and it is helpful to see both sides of the coin. Some very formidable Vietnamese authors are included in the anthology, so it is also a helpful way to introduce oneself to Vietnamese literature. I think that the book is very worthwhile, and it makes an interesting attempt at healing the scar which divides two nations.

"Stunning in both scope and content..." --Publishers Weekly

"Karlin has established a reputation as a superb prose stylist. His uncanny ability to examine the human condition by juxtaposing historical periods and tracing the dramatic impact of one person's history on other characters and consequent events has won him praise...This excellent novel is highly recommended..."
--Multicultural Perspectives

"A superb collection." --Kirkus Reviews

I have read the first two (now out of print) books in this series, and found them most enjoyable in the hard boiled style set in the mid-west. This one I was enjoying even more than the other two I had read, until about three quarters through it seemed like a different writer took over and the plot entered the twilight zone of the bazzar. While the book is very well written, when the James Bond In Porno Land takes over, it loses the otherwise well designed atmospheric hard boiled style. I wondered why this fourth in the series wasn't published by a mainstream publisher, and this may have been the reason -- too outlandish and incredible at the end for a small town, lake side resort town in Wisconsin. And speaking of the end, the story does seem to stop rather abruptly, without a resolution of some loose ends. What the author does with the plot could have been much more effective with suggestion rather than the detail that makes it seem almost cartoonish. But I like the writing and the style in general of this series and would buy another sequel just to revisit Joe Hannibal in the small town settings of the midwest.

During the early days of the Clinton Administration, Rockford, Illinois widow Lorna Stark suffers conscience tremors over a murder case. She hires private investigator Joe Hannibal to prove that Billy Lawton is not guilty of killing Viet Nam war hero and popular businessman Aaron Broderick. Lorna admits that at the time of the murder, she was having sex with Billy in a Lake Crescent, Wisconsin motel. She prefers to avoid the humiliating publicity, but agrees to step forward if Joe fails to prove Billy could not have committed the crime. However Billy not only confessed, he voluntarily surrendered to the police before a crime was reported, which, Joe asks, if he did not do it how did he know?

Joe learns from Billy's court appointed lawyer that anyone helping the confessor could face consequences from an angry community, but the sleuth makes inquiries anyway. Though Billy refuses to see him, Joe believes someone is either coercing a confession or he is covering the tracks of the real killer, but to prove it without his client being raked over the coals appears hopeless.

AND FLESH AND BLOOD SO CHEAP is a fine private investigative tale that is superb when Joe runs up against barriers while making tiny progress. When the case turns into a life and death thriller, fans will appreciate Wayne D. Dundee's talent, but also feel that a classic style open and shut mystery hit a detour. Joe is fun as he is hard-boiled yet salivates over the women involved in his investigation. Though probably difficult to find, genre fans will want to seek out other works by Mr. Dundee.

Harriet Klausner

This is a richly detailed bibliography of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. (Keep that in mind-- this is not a bibliography of Tolkien criticism or scholarship-- only of Tolkien's own works). Each edition of each work is described in careful detail-- subtle distinctions in the cover, title page, etc. are noted as are variations in spelling, typography, errata and corrections. To be honest, I'm not sure how relevant this work is for the average Tolkien fan-- or even for the Tolkien scholar. It will certainly be useful for book collectors, used/rare booksellers, book appraisers, and others who are interested in the book itself as a physical object)-- but I think there's very little of interest here fans interested in broadening their understanding of Tolkien's fiction or for scholars interested in writing about it. Because of its very limited, very specific utility, I can't really justify a high rating for this. Don't get me wrong-- for what it is, it's thorough and quite excellent. But, I just don't think it's all that *useful* of a book to anyone but a small handful of bibliophiles

Although this rather pricey work is intended for booksellers, collectors, and librarians rather than for the general public, I believe that just about anyone who is interested in the writing and production of Tolkien's great works will find much here that is both informative and interesting.