If you are a dedicated follower of Holmes'adventures you will want to own this pastiche....just because. The plot is as acceptable as any; the bad guy is very bad and Holmes' manages to neutralize him with customary aplomb. The very real resonance with events throughout the world today is another strong plus. There are, however, two items disturbing enough that they are worthy of note. The first is a less than complete command of Watson's narrative voice. There are a number of sections wherein the voice has the ring of the late twentieth century rather than the late nineteenth. I noticed this trait more in this imitation than in any of the others which I have read thus far. More disturbing for this reader were some errors in proofreading/spelling which disturb the mood of urbane intellect which is a hallmark of Doyle's creation. Use of the substandard "alright" in this context in not acceptable; how could no one have caught it? Similarly, use of "taught" when "taut" is meant is hard to understand.

"The Giant Rat of Sumatra" is a delightful little book suitable for a quick dose of Holmes. Why not have some fun with the concept of Doyle's "lost" manuscripts? I found the author's treatment of this idea entertaining and thought provoking. The presentation of Holmes' brother is particularly refreshing and I was amused by his assistance to Holmes throughout the tale.

It would be a mistake to approach this clever little adventure with a Holmesian purist's zeal looking to pounce on any perceived lack of faithfulness to the originals; I say relax and enjoy a timely tale of hatred of civilization with authentic renderings of some of our most beloved companions.

The attractive cover matches the exotic sense of adventure suggested in the title, while the subdued "period" illustrations appropriately punctuate and supplement the text.

As a gift from a friend, it was a fine companion for a short bit of post-holiday relaxation by the fire.

This book features Mycroft quite a bit, which I like. The story's title, "The Giant Rat Of Sumatra" comes from one of the many cases that Doyle mentioned in passing. These always drove his readers nuts, because we always wanted more stories about Holmes. The adventure keeps moving toward a confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and a young nemesis that Moriarty had once wanted as a protégé. The author has also taken a cue from Doyle's mention of Sumatra and worked a volcanic fact into his story. In actual history (the 1880s), a volcano called Krakatoa, which lies a few miles off Sumatra, blew up in a massive explosion, affecting worldwide weather for about a year. There is, admittedly, a little Jules Verne science fiction here, but I personally prefer this format over having a Holmes that rings false; i.e. a Holmes convenient enough to be embroiled in the kind of sex-infused tales that some authors know drive today's fiction market, or that subject him to the kind of impossible domestic situations that Doyle (despite his occasional graphicness, or even the morality implied in "The Cardboard Box"), would hardly have imagined.
I'm also glad the villain isn't overly psychologized so that I 'understand' him. Doyle never bothered a lot with overexplaning his characters, and this makes his stories appealing. With Doyle, good guys are good guys, and bad guys are bad guys. And when a good guy like Holmes has a bad fault, it isn't explained away. Holmes is an addict because he's bored, not because of some submerged lingering childhood psychosis that needs explaining so that I excuse his addition. Similarly, the best villains in Doyle are not excused, and do not excite sympathy; consequently we have a lot of fun loathing nasty guys like Charles Augustus Milverton, Baron Gruner, and Rodger Baskerville. So I'm relieved to find the characters in "The Giant Rat" (this title proves to be a double entendre for Moriarty), pigeonholed so that I can relax, and react to them faithfully. All in all, the author has made a definite attempt at keeping Doyle's Holmes intact, helped partly by the author's occasional humor, but mostly by the eerily-close imitation of cadence and phrase so identified with the original Doyle stories. If the villain is more thinly veiled than I would have liked, it's apparently because the tale is more of an adventure than a mystery. Four-and-a-half stars, then, for this fault, but given a choice between four and 5, I'll take the latter.

This book provides a ton of pictures for the reader, as well as it gives some insight about the goaltenders that are photographed. While it is so extensive, I feel it is too extensive, covering almost every netminder that has been in the NHL since the 1980's. I would like to have seen just some of the better players over the years, not just the HOF players, but perhaps a few less than were put in.

Also, the pictures are of average quality. Brodeur does have some phenominal shots of goalies over the years, but these pictures are not art quality, rather documentary. I would like to see a book that focuses on the art of goaltending and the people behind it rather than a somewhat plain approach than was taken here. Nonetheless, it still sits on my coffeetable and starts a conversation or two.

This is a fantastic hockey book for one reason: the photography! Because it is translated from French, some of the text is choppy and although provides good background, does not go into great detail. Trust me, though. You won't want this book for what is written on the pages, but for the pictures that capture some the great moments of the world's most exclusive union: hockey goaltenders.

Denis Brodeur has photographed the Montreal Canadiens for several decades, so all of the pictures were taken at The Forum and a few at the Molson Centre(Bill Ranford). It is no secret that Denis' son, Martin is one of the finest goaltenders in the game, and the father pays his son a nice tribute in the book.

This book a must-have for any hockey fanatic and features photographs of goaltenders hard to find anywhere. Where else will you find Gilles Gilbert, Daniel Bouchard, Rick Wamsley and other lesser-known, but succesful netminders in the same book? Brodeur's photos have captured the spirit and flamboyance of the position and is a tribute to everyone who has ever put on the pads and gone "between the pipes" in the great game of hockey.

If you want info on all the goalies(just about), this is the book you are looking for. It's great because it shows how much style has changed. From styles of play to styles of mask and equipment. For each goalie it has a brief paragraph or more on his carrer. It's a great book.

This anthology of thematic studies is a mixed bag. The scholarship represents one of the latest and most interesting trends in Civil War scholarship, local area studies. As such, some of the work here will be of interest only to scholars focusing on those regions.

Some of the articles are interesting and of value, but a few lack scholarly objectivity. I noticed that in several cases sources had been chosen strangely, with presumably honest and reliable Unionist primary sources contrasted to the silliest possible early 20th century Lost Cause historians; why not compare Unionist primary documents to Confederate ones? In general, as is common with articles of this sort, there's a lot of stating the theme and sometimes a dearth of actual conclusions. Particularly annoying was the study of the Unionist rhetoric of violence in West Virginia -- a fascinating topic if the author had thought to actually analyze the writings and speeches to which he refers, but he scarcely even quotes them.

Two studies of the East Tennessee region stood out as useful, and Fellman's article was intriguing although I'm not sure I understand his theory of subjective analysis.

Like most works of this type, this is useful if treated with a due amount of caution.

The essays in "Guerrillas, Unionists, and Violence on the Confederate Home Front" run the gamut from the stodgy and academic to enlightening and exciting. For the most part, the various authors do a good job of uncovering dissent and pockets of Unionist sentiment throughout the South and examining the role such discontent played in the downfall of the Confederacy. They also note how home-front sentiment shifted over the course of the war.

Among the stronger essays are Noel C. Fisher's look at Unionism in East Tennessee before, during and after the Civil War and Victoria E. Bynum's look at the "Free State of Jones," a South Mississippi county that was a hotbed of Union sympathizers. Other essays cover dissent in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.

What is not generally realized is that a great deal of Civil War violence occurred well behind the conventional battlefields and pitted some of the most intense and atrocious violence on the Confederate home front as families and neighbors engaged in bloody struggles with each other for control. In Guerrillas, Unionists, And Violence On The Confederate Home Front, Daniel Sutherland has gathered eleven essays by noted Civil War scholars and historians in exploration of the complexities of fratricidal conflict and how it impacted on communities, homes, and families. This is a seminal, ground breaking contribution that is a much needed, long overdue, impressive contribution to the growing body of Civil War studies and literature.

I am a small business owner and on a budget (who isn't?) but this book didn't fill all of the gaps for me. It offers some great ideas, but it is not the only book you should read when you are marketing your business. I also just read Guerrilla PR by Michael Levine and I feel that I have a better grasp of marketing because of it.

Kremer and McComas have compiled a solid, if not impressive, collection of various strategies for how to get the word out and differentiate yourself from your competitors, who are trying to do the exact same thing.

Unlike Michael Levine's Guerrilla PR Wired, though, Kremer and McComas have written for the small to medium sized business. The title says Low-Impact, not No-Impact. Make sure your Marketing budget has more than just the price of the book before getting it.

I recently picked out John Kremer's High-Impact Marketing on a Low-Impact Budget randomly from the library shelf where all the other marketing books are perched. I think anyone who has read the book doesn't want anyone else to know it's secrets! I made the decision to purchase it before I finished reading the first chapter. I consider it an excellent find as it a helpful resource book and a must for anyone looking to sharpen their marketing skills.

This is the third of a series of novels Stashower has written in which Harry Houdini and his brother Dash tackle the solutions to "impossible" murders. If you're new to the series, I might mention that Houdini himself functions largely as comic relief, parading
a giant ego as he propounds a series of preposterous "solutions" that parody roughly contemporary detective literature, while his brother Dash acts quietly behind the scenes to solve the crime. In every novel, Houdini, despite his mental shortcomings and giant ego, steps in to save a life with his exceptional physical prowess.

It's usually good fun and a good read, but for some reason in this latest outing, things fall apart badly about 3/4 of the way through, and the ending is almost a slap in the reader's face, with a completely preposterous "solution" to the mystery of a murderous spirit apparition, and so many loose ends that the main and most interesting character, Lucius Craig, is as much a mystery finally as he was initially. Even the nature of the relation between Craig and his "daughter," although it is the subject of considerable innuendo during the unfolding of the story, is not explored--- and even worse, the "daughter," out of the blue and apparently as an afterthought, turns out to be in the novel's last couple of pages a person who will be one of Houdini's greatest real-life antagonists.

You see Harry and Dash here just before the end of the 19th Century, with Harry struggling, not so much to break into the big time, as to break into show business at any level. But if you know anything about the real Houdini, it may come as a shock to have his mother speaking fluent, colloquial english to newspaper reporters! Much of Stashower's research is good and thorough, especially as regards the "inside" of the spiritualism racket--- still going strong more than a century after the days in which this novel is set. But while I can recommend the previous two novels in the series, I have some serious reservations about this entry.

I'm a big fan of Daniel Stashower's "Harry Houdini Mysteries", but I have to confess that I enjoyed his previous book, THE FLOATING LADY MURDER, more than this latest entry. Oh there's still some good stuff here, and I do think this book would greatly appeal to fans of Sherlock Holmes (as Houdini seems more Holmesain in this adventure than ever). But here's hoping that Stashower returns Harry to the unique and colorful world of turn-of-the-century showbiz in the next adventure, and leaves the drawing room murders to Holmes.

I've read all the books in Stashower's Houdini series, and this is the best!

The Houdini character is well-defined -- a showman and egotist, but lovable -- as he tries to play Sherlock Holmes, but inevitably finds himself lacking. Only his persistence and belief in himself pulls himself through. His brother also manages to keep things on track, chronicling the events, much as Watson did for Holmes.

The action is fast paced, the characters rich in detail. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The mystery is intriguing and the final revelation is doubly amazing when it is revealed that 19th century technology was advanced enough to actually make the solution plausible (I won't spoil the ending).

Get this book! You won't be disappointed!

even with the book, i feel like its too much of a maze for us.. we might have to get a lawyer after all.

I bought this book and even though I used a lawyer it was great. I totally understood everything to expect and it did not seem so confusing. I really liked seeing what the forms are. The info about mediation would have helped me a lot if I ordered the book before we went to the lawyer. The advice about custody was so right.

This book was so helpful. It explained the laws and my alternatives. Even though I ended up getting an attorney because my case was really complicated and nasty, I used the book to answer questions that came up. Being able to look at the forms in the book really helped me to understand what my attorney was doing

The Moriah's Landing series continues in "Howling in the Darkness" by B.J. Daniels. This is a story whose success depends on the reader's expectations. Those looking for a good police procedural type story should be pleased. Those wanting a good gothic and paranormal flavored story may be disappointed.

Undercover FBI agent Jonah Ries returns to his hometown of Moriah's Landing to investigate the disappearance of a fellow agent in the town. There he meets P.I. Kat Ridgemont. Years ago, Kat's mother was murdered by a serial killer who struck in Moriah's Landing and was never caught. As soon as he meets her, Jonah knows Kat is in danger. Can he protect her and himself from the dangers that are after them both?

As a procedural detective story, "Howling in the Darkness" is strong. In terms of her mystery plotting, this is Daniels's best book in over a year, since "The Agent's Secret Child." There are several different storylines all happening at once, with Jonah's investigation, Kat's danger, and her own investigations into several of her cases. All these storylines develop and finally intersect. There's a real plot here with some meat to it. Mystery readers should enjoy trying to figure out how everything is connected. This approach also allows Daniels to do something Amanda Stevens didn't do last month in book one, "Secret Sanctuary." She gives us a real sense of the town of Moriah's Landing and all the relationships and secrets between the townspeople. That's part of the charm of a small town setting, seeing how everyone is connected and the little dramas between them. Daniels makes Moriah's Landing and its townspeople seem vivid.

As the modern gothic the cover promises, "Howling in the Darkness" disappoints. This is really only a regular Intrigue with a few paranormal elements thrown on top. They could easily be removed and the basic story would be the same. For instance, Jonah is given a hint of supernatural power but it is barely defined and a small part of the story. Unlike Amanda Stevens last month, Daniels is not an author who is natural for this kind of story. She may have been in her early books, like the wonderful gothic-influenced "Undercover Christmas." Ever since, her storytelling "voice" has become light and breezy, which is the exact opposite of the kind of tone a gothic or paranormal needs. She keeps mentioning the creeping fog and threatening shadows but it isn't enough to create a convincing atmosphere. It doesn't feel authentic. The way Jonah and Kat meet, where he pretends to be the blind date she met online, is an example of how wrong the tone is. It's "cute," even a little "funny." That's what Daniels's readers will expect from her (especially if they read the blind date scene that started "Love at First Sight"). But that's not dark, suspenseful or remotely gothic, and no matter how much creeping fog Daniels throws on top of it, it's never going to be. What "Howling in the Darkness" is missing is the darkness. There are some authors who can really make the reader feel how dark and scary the story is, like Amanda Stevens, Jenna Ryan and others. Daniels is not one of them. She excels at lighter, even humorous romantic suspense, and she keeps this one that way instead of as dark as it needs to be to be convincing.

The romance is also underwhelming. It moves slowly and is not very developed. In the first half of the book I don't think Kat and Jonah spend more than 15 pages together. They're both so busy investigating their separate storylines. They do spend more time together in the second half. Until then, the romance is barely present. This adds to the sense that this is more a procedural than a gothic romance.

"Howling in the Darkness" is ably told with well-crafted scenes and good characters. It's a solid procedural tale. It's also not much of a modern gothic.

Courtesy of Love Romances

Jonah Ries is an FBI Agent, working undercover to solve a mystery. Someone in Moriah's Landing has been ordering illegal medical supplies, rumored to be needed by a secret society of scientists dating back to the 1600s. He has tried to find out what happened to the agent who was originally on the case, until he disappeared.

Katherine "Kat" Ridgemont is a native of Moriah's Landing, and the local private investigator. She also happens to be haunted by her mother's murder 20 years ago, a victim of a serial killer who was never found. Kat bears more than a passing resemblance to her mother. As the anniversary of her death approaches, Kat starts to have a recurring nightmare from her childhood, and starts to feel as though something is about to happen.

From the moment Jonah stumbles into Kat's office and is mistaken for her blind date, they are attracted to each other. Jonah has a secret though, and he is sure Kat would want nothing to do with him if she knew what it was. Something evil is after Kat, and Jonah senses it, knowing he will do whatever is necessary to protect her. If he can't Kat will fall victim to the same fate as her mother did.

This second installment in the Moriah's Landing miniseries for the most part does not disappoint. It is a stand alone book from the rest of the series, but reading all four together and in order, will help one to understand the underlying mystery throughout. The readers get to pay a return visit to some interesting characters from the first book, as well as get introduced to some new ones.

Also, a little more is revealed about the story of Claire, which was introduced in the beginning. Claire is, in fact, probably one of the most intriguing characters of the series, as one journeys along with her as she re-enters the world and tries to remember what happened to her five years before.

Kat and Jonah are wonderful together, balancing each other's faults and strengths, so they are all the stronger for it, together. One thing that is never fully explained however, is why suddenly Kat's nightmares from childhood come back when they do. Many reasons are given for why that is the case, but it is hard to understand why this did not happen in past years on the anniversary of her mother's death. One is led to believe it is partially due to the string of recent murders in the town, hinting at a return serial killer, but if that is the case, one might think her memories would have started to surface after Claire's abduction when they were in college together.

In spite of that, the story sucks the reader in and will have one eager to finally get the answers to the mysteries surrounding Moriah's Landing. It also nicely sets up the next story in the series, SCARLET VOWS, which was released in May 2002. Read all four for the full tale. One will enjoy the complexities of each as an individual story, and all of them as a whole.

This is book 2 of a 4 book continuity series entitle Moriah's Landing. Book one is "Secret Sanctuary" by Amanda Stevens (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 650). Book three is "Scarlet Vows" by Dani Sinclair (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 658). The final book is "Behind the Veil" by Joanna Wayne (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 662). This romance series is suppose to be classic gothic fantasy set in a modern day New England town. I enjoyed these books. I hate to say more, since I don't want to give anything away ;-)

The book I Knew Two Who Said Moo by Judi Barrett was a good book for the most part. It would be a good book for children that are younger. But if you were over the age of 7 this book probably would not be a good one for you. It is a book about counting and rhyming. She starts with the number 1 and goes to the number ten. She writes a couple of sentences on each page and the last word in every sentence rhymes with the number that you are reading. There is really no Plot to the book except that it shows younger children hoe to count and rhyming words. It is actually an amusing book but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people that aren't within the ages of 2-7.

I got this book because my husband loves to go around the house and make rhymes like these: "Hey Hon is dinner done? Or should I run and get a bun oh you have one? hey, there's my son!" This can be a normal conversation in our household. So I knew that he would love to read this book to our 14 month old son. And he does. What's more the illustrations are beautiful. My son will sit and turn page after page till he gets to the end of the book, then he'll turn page after page backwards. This will keep him occupied for 15 minutes at a time. An added bonus: the pages are a heavy stock paper and so far they've survived without any tears. I give it four stars because I wish it was longer (it only goes up to the number 10)

Judi Barrett and Daniel Moreton have collaborated on a marvelous book of counting, rhyming and matching that will mesmerize pre-schoolers with its humor and detail. Each silly, imaginative riddle, that rhymes with its page number, ("I noticed six, All holding picks, Trying to mix, A pile of bricks...") is illustrated with busy, vibrant artwork and youngsters will love to solve the easy riddles and find all the numbers and characters that correspond to the poem. Terrific for little ones just learning to count and rhyme, I Knew Two Who Said Moo is a winner kids won't be able to put down.

This book seems to be a marketing effort.
There's nothing really new, and no new concept.
It may be of some interest if you know nothing about Risk Management. If you are not a begginer, it's a waste of money and time.

Many corporate officers deal with risk, from treasurers and risk managers to CFOs. But since each department faces risks of a different type, risk management in many cases is an ad hoc affair. Prakash Shimpi's vision of integrated risk management not only consolidates the risk-management practices of an entire firm, but also blends capital management and risk management into a single, cohesive framework. This framework is the centerpiece of Shimpi's book, which also provides readers with a comprehensive look at current risk-management practices, old and new tools for managing risk, and likely future developments in the field. While the topic at hand is complex and built of often-unfamiliar jargon, Shimpi manages to present the material in an accessible and engaging manner that will satisfy financial experts but won't intimidate novices. We [...] recommend this book not only to the obvious audience of risk managers, treasurers and c-level executives, but also to mid-level managers and students, who will need an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the topic as risk management becomes an ever-larger component of basic corporate strategy.

The intersection of theory and practice. A perfect introduction to the theory of risk management to business managers.

To have this book labeled Paperback edition of the original SUPERB hardcover book without qualification is a little bit too much for me.

Even at a quarter of the price, this 4 1/2 inch book is nothing compared to the original edition.

And still I don't regret having it, because it reminds me of the big hardcover book...

Because we are in the process of designing and building a Zen Danish (as we call it) new home I purchased this wonderful book in order to get some specific ideas. Of special interest are the similarities between the Danish and Japanese styles that we love.

What amazed me is this book was published in the 80's yet I swear this book looks like it is a 2003 or futuristic publication that is timeless and well worth the hefty price of the book.

The section on Small Spaces is excellent and a chapter I would recommend for anyone who is looking to build either a small yet open home for one or two, or the second home in the mountains or sear the seashore.

I love the section on lofts and how they can be made to be classy, and not cluttered. And the whole chapter on craftsmanship which is actually what makes a Zen style living area so wonderful to me. Beginning on page 100 I gained some excellent ideas for our new garden and wisdom on how to have just the right amount of plant life and a koi pond to make the outside a part of ones living environment, rather than the grass and other high maintenance yards the average American has.

It is a book I find myself picking up every few days, reading a few pages and getting new ideas I can actually use.

This has got to be one of the best "Style" Books ever published. Excellent examples of architecture, beautiful interior design, and superb photography. Just the right juxtaposition of traditional and modern. Each of the major sections has both Japanese and Western Styles. Normally this would not mix, had it been contrived, but all of the examples in the book are real houses where people live and work. No Architectural Digest type of Houses that look artificial and posed are to be found in this book. My favorites are the tranditional Japanese houses of which there really great examples. This book can give you hundreds of ideas for decorating your house tastefully. The photography really does justice to these houses and the subtle aesthetics of the Japanese Style.

I collect "Style Books", and this has long been one of my favorites. I have had this book for over ten years and still look at it from time to time.

I would like to point out that the other review for this book below refers to a Miniature version of this book, and is probably a misunderstanding of some sort.