John Steffler is a writer with very poetic prose and a wonderful sense of physical and emotional scenery. This novel, about the Afterlife of explorer, George Cartwright, is in it's own category, and it is the beginning of a new tradition of writers. The narrative is engaging and the scenery beautifully set on Newfoundland and Labrador. I highly recommend this novel for it's intensity and depth.

The name Stieglitz conjures up many images that helped define modern photography. With his publications of Camera Notes and Camera Work, numerous awards, and a tenacious drive to promote photography as a serious art, Alfred Stieglitz shaped our awareness of photography like no other. Although earlier photographs such as The Steerage, The Hand of Man, Spring Showers, The Terminal and others are indelibly linked to Stieglitz, it is his later work that is just as important to this oeuvre. With the publication of "Stieglitz at Lake George" we see a man content with his craft, to the point where some of the images have a snapshot quality, like vacation pictures taken by a master seer. The images show Stieglitz relaxed yet still in control, as he records the surroundings at Lake George. Both formal and informal, the portraits taken of O'Keeffe are some of Stieglitz's strongest depictions of the artist. Ellen Koeniger and Rebecca Strand elicit both playful and erotic poses for the camera, while others are photographed chatting, playing, or simply wandering around the grounds of Lake George. Many will see the photographs in direct contrast to Stieglitz's urban images. Although this is apparent in most of the photographs, the images of poplar trees stand out like the skyscrapers Stieglitz photographed later in his career. Even the elegant automobile found on the last page is clearly an urban image - a reminder that eventually one must leave Lake George and its quiet calm, for the city further down the road.

Art, history, religion, alchemy - these and more are the tantalizing ingredients with which John David North creates a singular work. "The Ambassadors' Secret" is a look at Hans Holbein's painting of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve, two important 27-year-old Frenchmen who were in London in 1533. Even on the surface of things, this portrait is an unusual work: the two Ambassadors stand at either side of a curious collection of bric-a-brac that seems to be the real focus of the painting. North shows us how these items can be interpreted to determine a number of things, such as the date on which the two men are depicted (April 11th, 1533 - Good Friday). He discusses the nature and significance of the rhomboid shape at the men's feet, a geometrically perfect distortion of a human skull. Was the artist merely showing off by throwing in such a diabolically complex element, or was the skull meant to be a comment on the fleeting nature of life compared to the higher forces (time, the elements, religion) alluded to by the knickknacks on the shelves? Why is one string on the lute broken? Why does the painting suggest so many multiples of 3, even the men's ages, 3 x 3 x 3? Possible answers to these and many other questions are addressed by North, and once you've read this book, you will delight in looking at the painting again and seeing all the things you overlooked whenever you first encountered it.

Whether you approach this book for serious inquiry into an obviously intentional riddle, or just for entertaining scholarly conjecture about the intent of one of history's great painters, you are sure to enjoy it.

Middleton, Shaw, Fortney and Lynch. If you haven't had the opportunity to attend a workshop that they are giving that should be a priority. If you can't fit it into your schedule or budget this book is the next best thing to working side by side with them. If you have had the opportunity, then American Vision will serve as an economical reinforcement of the lessons that they present in their workshops. The book is easy to read, and the photos...well they serve as a constant reminder that "anyone" can take good nature photographs.

In 1954, twenty years before she won the prestigious Newbery Medal for her classic JULIE OF THE WOLVES, Jean Craighead George wrote several stories with her husband, John George. Each book was focused on a certain wild animal--VULPES, THE RED FOX; VISON, THE MINK; MASKED PROWLER: THE STORY OF A RACCOON; MEPH, THE PET SKUNK; and DIPPER OF COPPER CREEK. These are all classic animal stories by two expert writers and naturalists, although since the '50's Ms. George has been receiving more credit for the books--apparently she did most of the work while her husband contributed details, and back then the man's name was traditionally printed on a book before his female co-author's. [....] All of the stories are written with pretty much the same plot--a wild animal tries to survive in the woods, hunting, raising young, and living with its fellow creatures. But I found BUBO to be a slightly different read. It has fewer humans than the other books, which I liked (I thought the ones in MASKED PROWLER and VULPES were rather distracting and monotonous). Also, the other characters, besides the owls, are more focused on. There is a noticeable chapter in the book when the owls are not mentioned at all--instead the story turns to the titmice, cardinals, and other songbirds of the forest--and readers may grow tired of this. Otherwise, the story revolves around a pair of great horned owls--Bubo and his mate Black Talon. Together the "bird-tigers" of the forest prowl their territory and drive the other creatures, like the songbirds and mice, into terrified submission. They try to raise several broods of young, but the forces of nature continually stand in their way. Will Bubo and Black Talon ever raise successful young? Who will survive under their bird reign of terror? These questions are posed with drama and accuracy. If you love and want to know more about our common American birds, if you are thrilled to hear the hooting of an owl at night, read this book. It should be on any Audubon Society member's reading list. Whether you're young or old, you're sure to enjoy the Georges' compelling nature stories. Also check out Jean Craighead George's more than eighty books--THE EPIC ADVENTURES OF JULIE AND HER WOLVES; THE MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN TRILOGY; THE THIRTEEN MOONS SERIES; and her recent publications such as HOW TO TALK TO YOUR DOG; THE ONE DAY. . .series; MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT--the list goes on and on, and so does the endless number of wild and fascinating creatures on our planet.

This book is a right start on obtaining ideas and a foundation to proceed for further studies and progress in the practice of General Constractor's Test.

An intesting book about the story of the narrow minded puritans fighting back against the british army ,once a great powerful one. A great book espescilly when the army are made out to be fools. A well written book of life in 1777.

His goal for Texans to take "renewed personal responsibility" for their lives was one he took on for himself. Although a lot of the material here can be found in other sources, this is is a very current biography, ending just before Bush's defeat of Senator McCain in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. Wukovits traces W's life from childhood until then using quotes from family, friends, fellow business people, and government officials. Not a white-washed account, the negatives as well as the positives of his life are treated fairly objectively. Black and white photos, notes, index, and a list of works for further reading are included.

Anyone that needed reminding of the romanticism that this county was founded with should read Henry Cabot Lodge's biography of George Washington.