This is a big, beautiful book portraying the works of an architect who strived not to design monuments with a signature style, but instead create wonderful places that fit their landscape. The book chronicles twenty of Turnbull's projects beginning with the Sea Ranch Condominium (with MLTW) and ending with Turnbull and his wife's own weekend retreat, Teviot Springs Vineyard. All but one of the projects (Sea Ranch Athletic Club)are residential, which reflects the nature of Turnbull's career. The book contains essays by Mary Griffen (Turnbull's wife and business partner), William Stout, Mitchell Schwarzer, and Donlyn Lyndon. Turnbull's buildings contain innate beauty, sensitivity to site, and the ability to bring common, conventional construction to a high art. Morley Baer's black and white photography is powerful and captures the wonderful subtleties in Turnbull's sometines simple and conventional structures that are truly "GOOD" architecture.

One of the best horror films ever made and truly deserving the acolade classic.The book brings to light all the infomation any film buff would need to satisfy their thist for behind the scenes details.From the eary concepts to final shooting schedule, how the orginal makeup designs were brought about to interveiws with cast members and the man who actually wrote the script.Great behind the scences photographs from the great Jack P. Pierce's lost scrap books (when is Douglas Norwine going to publish that book about Pierce)to the orginal film score, an absolute delight to read and treasure.

In the many chroniclings of the history of the Golden Age of Horror, women have always been horribly short shrifted. Tomes have been written about Karloff and Lugosi. Even directors Whale and Browning have enjoyed volumes written on their lives and films. But aside from an occasional story on Elsa's turn as the Monster's "mate", or Carroll Borland's life-long infatuation with Lugosi, the history of women in our genre is pitifully lacking. Until now. Author Gregory Mank takes a huge step to rectify this situation by shining a well-deserved and much-overdue light (torch?) on the women whose contributions to the early horror classics have been both overlooked and under-appreciated for far too long. Concentrating on the classics of the 30s, Elsa Lanchester, Helen Chandler, Gloria Stuart, Carroll Borland, Fay Wray, Zita Johann and even high-pitched screamer Una O'Connor, join a long, dis- tinguished list of actresses who have their lives and careers presented to us by Mank. Each artist receives a mini-bio, which includes stage and screen appearances. Of particular interest (and a highlight of the book) is a detailed and engaging look into each actresses' "signature" horror film, revealing dates, salaries, production notes and stories of co-stars and directors. Punctuated into this are insights and other information provided by research done by the author or the reminiscences of the subject herself. These wonderful personal

anecdotes were culled from interviews with Mank by a surprising (to this reviewer) number of the actresses who were (and some who happily still are) with us at the time of the author's research. Mank's skill lies in pretty much allowing each subject's life to tell its own story. So doing, each actress takes on a new life for the reader, a life whose existence had previously only been hinted at. They emerge from being known as simply labels: "the victim", the "hapless heroine" or "the monster" to be revealed as real flesh and blood women. Women who are intelligent, opinionated, witty, hard-working and passionate. Not merely characters... but three-dimensional character actresses. A wonderful and deserving achievement indeed. With this book (and a companion volume, which chronicles our favorite ladies of the 40s), Mank adds yet again to his already formidable legacy as THE chronicler of the Golden Age of Horror, this time adding the heretofore missing point-of-view (and warmth) of the distaff players. Always an interesting read, generously illustrated with many wonderful (and unique?) photos, this book is well worth the (usual) hefty McFarland price tag, and is an essential addition to any classic horror film buff's collection.

Gregory William Mank, who earlier has profiled Lugosi and Karloff, turns his considerable writing skills and knowledge to the distaff side this time, profiling such disparate talents as Maria Ouspenskaya and Louise Currie. Mr. Mank manages to bring the reader back to the mad-cap days at Universal and RKO with an authoritative yet never dull narrative that is peppered with asides from his large cast. This marvellous book concludes with a survey among well-known authorities of the genre to nominate the decade's best performance by an actress/supporting actress in a horror film: Allow this reader to add his choise: Frances Dee as the gutsy "I" of "I Walk With a Zombie."

This wonderful book is a prove that spirit has its reserved place on world history and in the mind of whose want to live a honrable live code. Not a mere historical report but a sensive demonstration of respect by a life-style

Translator William Scott Wilson offers us something unique with this book, first published in 1982 by Ohara. I can't recall any other source which includes this many specific writings on bushido (the warrior-gentleman's path)--there are 12 documents in this book, all written by different members of the warrior classes, dating from the 13th century (Hojo Shigetoki's "Message of Master Gokurakuji") to the 17th century (Kuroda Nagamasa's "Notes on Regulations").

These writings aren't what many of us 21st century martial artists have been conditioned to expect. I found more homespun advice and common sense relative to the era these men lived in than the stereotypical talk of honor and giri (duty). Much of this advice is still sound today. An example taken from the 700+ year old "Message of Master Gokurakuji" by Hojo Shigatoki:

"One should not talk about the faults of others, even as a joke. For even though one may think of it as a joke, to others it may be embarrassing, and this is a bad mistake. If one would joke, he should joke about things that are pleasurable to others. One should have restraint and deep sympathy in all things" (page 42-43)

Throughout the course of Wilson's translation, it is clear to see that the Samurai (serving warriors) were a people to whom consideration of others, polite manners and conduct were important. This volume offers a nice change from the linear austerity of the "Hagakure", which for many years along with Musashi's "Book of Five Spheres" has been one of the only widely available books which set the tone for how we modern day folks think of Samurai. In "Ideals of the Samurai", not only are many of the writings centuries apart, but they are from different families and different geographical areas of Japan. If you're curious about how the "old heads" ~really~ lived and what they thought about, this work is a must.

Unlike the many books on bushido I have bought, this is a collection of short writings translated with no interpretation, other than an introduction. There are no great descriptions of great battles fought. The passages tend toward the more mundane business of being a feudal lord. Several are 'last statements' which gives you insight as to what the Samurai really wanted to be remembered for. And you will remember the quotable word bites. There are several B&W reproductions of paintings of the authors.

The subtitle is both an accurate and concise summary - and typical of the rest of the book. "A best practice approach to build quality data models"

This book is excellent. The subject matter is advanced but still easy to read and understand. The examples used in the book are varied and excellent illustrations of the problems discussed in the book. Many of the examples remind me of similar data modeling errors I have seen in my experience and give excellent methods of correcting the mistakes. I highly reccomend this book for the data modeler who is ready to go to the more advanced conecpts. (You must know basic data modeling concepts to understand this book, such as how to read diagrams, basic terminology, etc.)

This book is not a database book, nor does it try to be that. For anyone who understands the role of logical data modelling, this book will prove to be a valuable addition to your professional bookshelf. It is filled with detailed examples of good & bad models, along with analyses that list the pros & cons of each approach. I'd recommend this to any intelligent professional who is moving into the data architect role, along with experienced modellers who are looking for analyses of data modelling implications.

Very elegantly written, this book covers the research process in detail. I think this book is so important, unless a researcher for 20 years, everyone involved in research must master this book carefully, re-reading it several times if necessary. The authors do an excellent job of condensing in this book what would be learned in 20 years of research with trial and error techniques.

This is a great book on writing a research report, useful for both beginners and seasoned researchers. It walks you through all the phases of your research project, starting from picking up your topic, through the actual research, note-taking, to writing up your findings, down to sentence level structure and style. For me a most useful part of the book was the beginning: finding a topic, defining your research problem, qualifying it, and determining your warrants; especially revealing was the relationship between your research problem and a wider body of theory, and how you must be explicit about your "warrants" to make a real contribution to "knowledge" or to "solving a practical problem." Even though I had read many other books on writing such as "The Clockwork Muse" or "Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day" none was as explicit as this one on how to combine both Research and Writing (the other books assume that writing a research project entails a progressive, smooth process: you pick a topic, you research it, and you write up your conclusions/findings), nothing farther from the truth; as I learned from painful experience and as was made explicit by this book, to my relief, a research project is a dynamic process in which research and writing go together; they complement and reinforce each other. This book teaches you just how to do this and it was the greatest lesson I learned.

This book will fill in all the gaps about research that your professors assume you already know. Clear and concise, it lays out best practice for this essential scholarly skill without academic hyperbole. It's also oddly reassuring in its tone. The writers/professors admit that they've made some embarrassing mistakes in their own research -- and have lived to tell the tale. They emphasize that good research skills are not necessarily innate, but that they can be learned and applied. Just an invaluable resource - highly recommend this book!

"On A Street Called Easy, in a Cottage called Joye" is an easy and entertaining read, with short chapters perfect for the ride on the subway, or a break between tasks. A close parallel to "A Year In Provence", which is referenced by the authors, the story is essentially a humorous take on the gentry's lament "you can't get good help these days", but the biggest difference is that while "A Year..." is heavily slanted towards food, "A Street..." is almost entirely about the travails of renovating a wreck. It is after all, set in the deep (if it ain't fried, it ain't cooked)south, this is NOT Provence.
The "true" story follows its two, pullitzer prize winning authors as they leave their dark, viewless, Manhattan condo and set out for Aiken, S.C., where they've bought(for quite a bit less than the original million+ asking price) a sixty room mansion built in 1897 by WC Whitney, as the gilded age began to flicker to a close. Through neglect, the house is an absolute mess. The crew hired to bring it back to its glory is pretty much a mess as well. From the holdover-joint-toking hippie that makes off with the only, working-order copper piping to sell for scrap, to the tile man who wants to be paid for time he'd requested to hang out (doing nothing)while the tile arrived, to the maid who spends all day dusting 3 rooms, only to be discovered sleeping whenever the bosses are away. You can't leave this crew a for a second, as they discover towards the end, in a scene that will leave wine lovers heart broken. The problem is, as with "A year in Provence", the owners seem to have a bottomless pocketbook, and always seem to have a check to write to cover whatever goes wrong. And EVERYTHING goes wrong. This eventually takes away from the believability, especially when combined with the patience of Job that the two men seem to display, endlessly, towards what are essentially ne'er do wells and lowlifes posing as contractors. Ah, well. You do learn a bit about the Whitneys, the house in its better days, Aiken in its better days, and the more recent days. All in all a worthwhile read.

Can you begin to imagine two authors of brutal true crime stories, undertaking a project such as remodeling an old 60 room mansion? And can you believe their moving from their home in Manhatten to Aiken, SC? They write of their trials and tribulations, in such a manner, you wipe tears of joy and tears of frustration and sorrow for them. And all the time the reconstruction and renovations are taking place, they are constantly meeting friends and neighbors; while they are trying to hire someone for this project or that project. You celebrate with them over each accomplishment. By the time they finish the renovations, you can 'hear' the music filtering through the wing of the home where all of the parties will be held. Such excitement in the air. I am fortunate enough to live close to this location and took a trip over and found Joye Cottage! Absolutely breathtaking.... wish I could tour the inside.

I was given the BOOK version of this several years ago by a dear friend and honestly, I have read and re-read this book several times. The first time that I got it, I actually read it out loud to my husband while we were working on our own version of "Joy Cottage." We both roared with laughter!

Having moved to the South from the West Coast, I understood totally what Mr. White-Smith encountered! From Irish Travelers to the local restaurant that produces vegetables that have had every last trace of nutritional content boiled out of them, collard greens, fat back and fat light (it is vital that you know the difference: one is used to light fires and one is put in with your collards!),pepper sauce, sweet tea (cavities be damned!) to Moon Pies, Krispy Kremes, speech from people that you swear aren't speaking English, painters that can't paint, roofers that drink way too much, Nandina, Magnolias and Smilack at Christmas (I hope that I spelling the last one correctly!) and on and on and on. If you live in the South (especially if you are a transplant) and most especially if you live in or have redone an old house, this is the book for you!

As I said, I have re-read this book several times and I still find myself laughing hysterically. It is a great book that I am terribly sorry is out of print. Until it comes back into its second printing, the audio version will suffice. I wish they would do a "Part II" version...

A MUST read!

LIfe on the Color Line was about a child who grew up with the knowledge of thinking that he was white but was really black. He experienced several difficulties throughout his life because of this. Gregory Williams was forced to choose between black and white friends. Gregory's father was in the picture but never really set any good examples and his mother left him at a young age. Growing up with someone else being the mother figure in his life was very difficult for him. Miss Dora treated him and his brother as though they were her own flesh and blood. Even with all the bad experiences and wrong decision making, in the end Gregory completed the novel with a very successful life. He became married, had two children of his own and had a degree in law. I did not give the book 5 stars because throughout the book it talked about his brother's life as well as his. Towards the end of the book, they never spoke on how he became blind in very much detail or how his life ended like they talked about with Gregory.

Very few people in America could have imagined a life like Greg Williams had. His life and experiences were so unique that there couldn't have been a more appropriate title than "Life on the Color Line." The blatant racism he encounters all through his childhood and teenage years while trying to just grow-up and be a normal kid is something that American should be ashamed of when remembering this time in our history. Anyone that thinks racism wasn't THAT bad back then should read this book, reading about his perspective should definitely change their mind.

Greg started growing up as a young white boy in Virginia. His life was pretty normal for him and his "white" family at that time. His father successfully passed as white, even though he had black blood running through his veins. He had a couple of successful business ventures, the most notable of which was a booming cafe/diner, which of course adherred to the laws of segregation. Greg's mother was white in the true sense of the term, and she seemed to care for her children deeply as any mother should.

Everything was perfect for Greg and his family until misfortune hits and the veil is pulled off the charade of his father's false life. In a poetic justice type of moment the father's life in Virginia is devastated and shaken literally back to his roots. It looks initially like Greg and his brother Mike will stay with their mother in Virginia, but they have to tag along with their father back to Indiana where all 3 of their lives are changed forever.

Back in Muncie, Indiana, the book almost splits into 3 separate interesting stories: Greg's life, his brother Mike's life, and the father's. Their struggles bring a new meaning to tough times. Greg and his brother now have to blend into the black community which isn't easy, all while they are summarily rejected by the white community, and most painful of all an apparent rejection by their mother.

There are a lot of negatives in their lives now dealing with their living situation, and ... people which are almost laughable. One situation that stands out are the two school officals that get upset at his expressing any interest in white girls, but then the same people are angry when he is marching with a black girl during graduation. However, through all the negativity there is one person that shows how powerful Christian love can be as she adopts them and tries to keep them on the right path.

Greg and Mike's experiences and ongoing fight with racism hardly let you put the book down. I couldn't wait to see how they were going to handle each new situation. Once in a while there is a true story comes along that rivals any fiction, this is one of them!

This is one of those stories that stay with you, long after you read it. It is a book that everyone should read - no matter his or her age or background. Gregory Howard Williams writes a riveting story of his childhood experience, when society sees him as a White, then black person.

The personalities in this memoir are touching, from Williams's father who was unable to deal with demons of his own, to the author and the rest of his family. Most especially, I loved reading about Miss Dora, the elderly woman who opened her heart and home to the author and his brother and played an important part in helping Mr. Williams become successful despite all the odds against him.

Gregory Howard Williams has led a harsh, mesmerizing, sorrowful, incredible, yet triumphant life on the color line.

Fafa Demasio