Average customer rating:
- The Virgin in the Ice
- Cold comforts
- The Hawk vs the Lion--a Secret kept even from Hugh!
- Cadfael at his best
- First-rate Mediaeval thriller and murder mystery
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Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Ellis Peters
Manufacturer: Mysterious Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 British Detectives
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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General
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Historical
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Series
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Peters, Ellis
| ( P )
| Authors, A-Z
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0446404284 |
Customer Reviews:
The Virgin in the Ice.......2006-11-10
It's 1139 and winter in Worcester on the border between England and Wales. Two orphans in the charge of a Benedictine nun fleeing the internecine war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda have disappeared into a blizzard. Enter a mysterious stranger (gasp!) in search of them and Brother Cadfael temporarily abandons the cloister to take up again the sword of the crusader he once was to go in aid. A you-are-there setting, unexpected plot turns, and characters minimally drawn for maximum effect, Ellis Peters ends The Virgin in the Ice with the best sword fight since Captain Blood: "Now have ado with a man!"
This is my favorite of the Brother Cadfael series, but more, reading these novels is a twenty-lesson tutorial in writing superbly to formula. There is always murder most foul, young lovers in peril, repulsive villains, confounded authorities, and Cadfael triumphant, and it all works, every time.
Cold comforts.......2006-02-05
In the severe winter of 1139, the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud is still in progress with refugees fleeing from the sacked city of Worcester, and marauding bands of robbers taking advantage of the situation and preying on the weak. At Bromfield Abbey, 20 miles from the Shrewsbury Abbey home of Brother Cadfael, a visitng monk has been savagely beaten and left for dead. As his condition worsened, the Abbot sends for Cadfael with his greater knowledge of defence wounds and their treatment. Deputy Sherriff Hugh Beringar has also been informed that the two teenaged children of a nobleman are missing, en route to the safety of the Abbey, accompanied by a young nun. After listening to the feverish ravings of the sick monk, Cadfael searches for and finds the body of the nun, frozen in a pond. Hugh and his men hack the block of ice containing the body, free and upon the ice thawing, Cadfael finds that the nun has been savagely raped and smothered. The young missing travellers are found and, in his methodical fashion,Cadfael, with his knowledge of affairs of the heart and awareness of human failings, helps to unravel several mysteries which beset the teenagers, as well as unravellling a mystery of his own former life as a crusader. It's a simple read of an age in which violence is no stranger to everyday life, and where the powerful hold sway over the lives of the ordinary people.
The Hawk vs the Lion--a Secret kept even from Hugh!.......2003-01-30
SPOILER WARNING: Do not read this review unless you have read Pilgrim of Hate or Brother Cadfael's Penance! Unlike Brother Cadfael, who hugs his precious secret and private joy to his thankful breast, I can restrain my "pen" only with the greatest difficulty. I want to publish the news abroad, but also have an obligation not to spoil the thrill of future discovery for readers who will follow.
All Ellis Peters' movels in this fabulous series offer excellent mysteries per se; indeed, many offer overlapping crimes by multiple malefactors. Yet to my medievally-inclined mind, the most satisfying are those novels which reveal more fascinating details or penetrating insight into the psyche and active past of our favorite monk-turned-sleuth. For Cadfael has been a soldier, sailor, sinner and Crusader--in his own unabashed words--in late 12th century Wales, England and the Holy Land. After 40 years of lusty living in the World, he willingly gave up arms forever, to take up the cowl and honor the cross.
But the cream of Peters' novels are those in which we meet the special characters do dear to Cadfael: his Saint, his best friend, Hugh, his lost amours and now...? What a joy for readers who have grown to love and respect this dedicated monk, as he gradually reveals his personal journey into a past not so dead after all! Peters makes a great case for mixed marriage in VIRGIN, as she does for the role of a faithful mistress in LEPER. Guilty men believe they see the ghosts of their victims here, as in BONES. The murderer thinks he can slip in an extra crime amid the general carnage, as in ONE CORPSE, but luckily for justice, Brother Cadfael does not permit these foul deeds to remain unnoticed on go unpunished. Vengeance may belong to the Lord, but Cadfael hovers nearby to provide a helping hand when necessary. Don't keep your curiosity frozen in a shroud of ice along with the unnamed virgin; read this wonderful mystery and be enlightened--not to mention--superbly entertained!
Cadfael at his best.......2002-11-18
In Ellis Peters sixth Brother Cadfael chronicle a headstrong young woman, Ermina Hugonin, her younger brother, Yves and a nun flee Worcester and head towards Shrubbery as Maude's forces overpower Stephens in the 12th century. They never arrive, concerning Cadfael and the local Sheriff. After being called to Bromfield to nurse a fellow monk to health Cadfael begins to discover the mystery of their disappearance.
As is her usual style Ellis Peters makes quick work of capturing the readers interest and deftly furnishes the setting with appropriate details of twelfth century life. In this chronicle especially we learn of the dangers and uncertainties created by the great civil war between Maude and Stephen.
With each book I grow fonder of Brother Cadfael, the former warrior who has become a monk. Cadfael, because of his early life experiences has a great understanding of human nature and is slow to condemn those who fail to achieve perfection. He is constantly nurturing and makes an effort to safeguard those younger and weaker than he. In The Virgin in the Ice, Cadfael truly excels and comes into his own. We see him as both an active participant in the events and one who is able to analyze and understand human nature and thus is able to unwind the mystery.
For anyone who is fond of Medieval Mystery the Brother Cadfael Chronicles shouldn't be missed and this is one of the better.
First-rate Mediaeval thriller and murder mystery.......2001-11-20
This sixth in the series of tales of Brother Cadfael is less obviously a whodunit and much more of a thriller or twelfth century adventure story. It is set in the English Marches, amidst the chaos ensuing from the sacking of Worcester by supporters of the Empress Maud against King Stephen in November 1139. The action takes place in Ludlow (mid-way between Cadfael's normal haunts of Shrewsbury, and the beleaguered city of Worcester) where our hero is ostensibly nursing back to health a Benedictine brother who has seemingly been waylaid by a band of outlaws, stripped and left for dead.
Whilst in Ludlow, Cadfael also finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a party of three young persons missing after the attacks on Worcester and known to be heading for Shrewsbury, at which destination they have failed to arrive. With a bitter freeze and the winter's first snows on hand, there are grave concerns for their safety and well-being. One of the three is subsequently found dead - obviously killed and dumped in a watery (now icy) grave on the very night that the good monk's patient was attacked.
Unlike many another Cadfael tale, this one moves along with a gripping sense of urgency and with a fair amount of tension and excitement building gradually as things proceed. It contains Ellis Peters' usual meticulous attention to both historical and narrative detail and constitutes as riveting - and entertaining - a story as you are likely to find. As always, Cadfael is aware of details overlooked by others and never once loses sight of the smaller issues that are wont to become subsumed into the larger, weightier ones. He (and the regular reader) is provided with an unlooked-for reward in this volume, too.
This book has to be one of the very best of the Cadfael Chronicles and is unreservedly recommended for lovers of the genre. Its story line stands somewhat apart from others in the series, making it fairly unimportant where it is read in the sequence.
Average customer rating:
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The Virgin in the Ice
Manufacturer: Futura
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HX5HEO |
Product Description
This book is recorded on 7 cassettes/9,25 hours and is a library edition. "Out of the encasing, glassy stillnesss a pale, pearly oval stared up at him with open eyes. Small, delicate hands had floated briefly before the frost took hold, and hovered open at her sides, a little upraised as if in appeal. The white of her body and the white of the torn shift which was all she wore seemed to Cadfael to be smirched by some soiling colour at the breast, but so faintly that too intent staring caused the mark to shift and fade. The Face was fragile, delicate, young," As if stiked by foreign winds, the dying coals of civil war flared to full blaze in the autumn of 1139, a sharp contrast to the winter chill that threatened to lay its hand, at amy moment, upon the city of Worcester and its besieged citizens. The abbey's infirmary was filled with the injured, as well as the homeless and destitute, and it was whispered about the corridors that the region's outlying border towns were under similiar threat from brutal raiders hoping to profit from the general lawlessness and confusion. "in a land at war with itself,", mused Cadfael to Brother Edmund, "you may take it as certain that order breaks down, and savagery breaks out." Amid the uncertainty and peril of the monent, two noble children make their escape, headed for Shrewsbury and safe haven. But for reasons no one can fathom, the young fugitives never reach their destination. Cadfael must find them before they, to, become casualties of a blood war
Average customer rating:
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VIRGIN ICE CREAM.: An article from: Skeptic (Altadena, CA)
Manufacturer: Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
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Philosophy
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Philosophy
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ASIN: B0008IY2WQ
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Skeptic (Altadena, CA), published by Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine on January 1, 2000. The length of the article is 769 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: VIRGIN ICE CREAM.
Publication:
Skeptic (Altadena, CA) (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2000
Publisher: Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine
Volume: 8
Issue: 1
Page: 16
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Product Description
10 massmarket paperbacks Medieval Mysteries with Brother Cadfael - St. Peter's Fair - Dead Man's Ransom - Rose Rent - Morbid Taste for Bones - One Corpse Too Many - Raven in the Foregate - Excellent Mystery - Virgin in th
Book Description
This new collection assembles some of the rarest fantasy and horror stories from the pen of Clark Ashton Smith. Included are "The White Sybil," "Chinoiserie," "The Raja and the Tiger," "The Justice of the Elephant," "The Kiss of Zoraida," "The Ghoul," "Something New," "The Malay Krise," "The Ghost of Mohammed Din," "The Mirror in the Hall of Ebony," "The Mahout," "The Primal City," "The Hunters from Beyond," "The Passing of Aphrodite," "The Tale of Sir John Maundeville," and "The Light from Beyond."
Customer Reviews:
Clark Ashton Smith.......2007-03-21
I looked for CAS many years ago, even asking the publishers, but couldn't find anything. I'm just greatful someone took an interest in this great fantasy artist & brought him back! Thanks.
Magic as usual..........2007-01-11
In this book you will find the following short stories:
The white sybil
The raja and the tiger
The justice of the elephant
The kiss of Zoraida
The ghoul
Something New
The malay krise
The ghost of Mohammed Din
The mirror in the hall of ebony
The mahout
The primal city
The hunters from beyond
The passing of Aphrodite
The tale of Sir John Maundeville
The light from beyond
Those shorts blends horror , arabian night ,action stories( à la Kipling ) and a lot of poetry. worth reading.But it is not his best stories.
Amazon.com
About 60 million Americans have high blood pressure, which increases their risk of heart disease. The two best ways to lower blood pressure without medication are lowering sodium in your diet and controlling your weight. The American Heart Association cookbooks always help you reduce the fat in your diet--now this one helps you reduce the sodium, too.
Don't think that reducing sodium means your food will be boring and tasteless. The American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook shows you how to use herbs, spices, and in some cases, spirits to keep your dishes flavorful. Learn how to make ingredient substitutions so that you can adapt your favorite recipes--"seasoning blends" like Herb Seasoning, Lemon Herb Seasoning, Salad Herb Blend, or Chili Powder Blend instead of salt, for example. The 175 recipes include modifications of familiar favorites, such as Tuna Macaroni Casserole, Arroz con Pollo, Beef Stroganoff, and Meat Loaf. There are also intriguing new recipes, such as Fish Steaks with Thyme, and Chicken with Yogurt-Cilantro Sauce. There are also sauces, soups, snacks, and salads. Thirty dessert recipes give you healthier versions of all your old favorites, including Peanut Butter Cookies, Fudge, Cherry Pie, Vanilla Pudding, and, of course, Chocolate Cake. All recipes include nutritional information: calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat (total, saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated), cholesterol, sodium, potassium, and calcium. --Joan Price
Book Description
America's most trusted authority on heart-healthy eating presents its classic low-salt cookbook, revised and expanded with 50 brand-new recipes.
Millions of health-conscious Americans want to reduce their sodium intake, and the American Heart Association offers a delicious way to do just that. Encompassing everything from appetizers and soups to entrées and desserts, the American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook, Second Edition, is a wonderful collection of more than 200 scrumptious low-salt — and, of course, low-fat — recipes.
Whether you're in the mood for a revised classic or an up-to-the-minute future favorite, you'll find just the thing to please your palate. The latest dietary information and tips on substituting ingredients, avoiding hidden sodium, and dining out will help you stick to your low-sodium way of eating — and enjoy it.
If you're one of the 50 million Americans with high blood pressure or one of nearly 5 million who suffer from congestive heart failure, reducing the sodium in your diet and controlling your body weight are two of the best things you can do to help manage these conditions. A must-have for sodium-watchers, this book shows you how to accomplish your goals without sacrificing style or flavor.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Great!!.......2007-08-27
The recipes are great & provide lots of ways to avoid salt. Quick shipping and great product!!
Very good!!!!.......2007-07-08
Just as expected. All the healthy recIpes I wanted. Mailed on time too.
Nice seller.
Eat to Live.......2007-06-09
Eating healthy doesn't always make mealtime boring. You could serve this food to your family and they wouldn't even know! Don't wait until you have health problems to eat right, eat right and STAY well!
AHA Low Salt Cookbook.......2007-05-24
Recipes are good enough to serve the whole family with no complaints!
Might want to tone down the chili powder, though...
Gift for my parents.......2007-03-27
This was a gift for my parents after my dad had a heart attack and then found out he was diabetic. They enjoy the book because not only does it have good recipes, but it gives a break down of the nutritional value of each recipe. So you will know the exact amount of carbs, fats, sodium, etc you are consuming with each recipe. Something very important to a heart condition/diabetic patient.
Book Description
Uncorked is the first book to quench our curiosity about the inner workings of one of the world's most popular drinks. Prized for its freshness, vitality, and sensuality, champagne is a wine of great complexity. Mysteries aplenty gush forth with the popping of that cork. Just what is that fizz? Can you judge champagne quality by how big the bubbles are, by how long they last, by how they behave before they fade? Why exactly does serving champagne in a long-stemmed flute prolong both the chill and the effervescence?
Through lively prose and a wealth of state-of-the-art, high-speed photos, this book unlocks the door to the mystery of what champagne effervescence is really all about. Gérard Liger-Belair provides an unprecedented close-up view of the beauty in the bubbles--images that look surprisingly like lovely flowers, geometric patterns, even galaxies as they rise through the glass and then burst forth on the surface. He fully illustrates: how bubbles form not on the glass itself but are instead "born" out of debris stuck on the glass wall; how they rise; and how they burst--the most picturesque and functional stage of the bubble's fleeting life.
Uncorked also provides a colorful history of champagne, tells us how it is made, and asks: could global warming spell its demise? Bubbly may tickle the nose, but this book tackles what the nose and the naked eye cannot--the spectacular science of that which gives champagne its charm and gives us our pleasure.
Customer Reviews:
A MUST for Chanpagne Lovers.......2006-11-27
EVERYTHING you've ever wanted to know about champagne and its bubbles. Why they form, how they form where they do, why they change size as they near the surface, what happens when they reach the surface. High speed, micro photography at its best.
Stick to the Science.......2005-09-10
A short review for a short book -- the science is fascinating; unfortunately the author mixes his knowledge of science with his lack of knowledge about wine. While I share his love of Champagne, some of M. Liger-Belair's other vinous statements are either not based on fact or are based on opinion -- that would be welcome whether I agreed with his opinions or not, if it didn't confuse the original thesis, which is, "this is a book about the science of bubbles." Still, this book is worth reading if only for the terrific, entertaining foreward. Cheers.
A Good Book about my Favorite Drink.......2005-06-23
The problem with Champagne, at least for me, is that it tends to disappear too fast. That was also the problem with this book. It reads too fast. Before I knew it the pleasure was behind me. Uncorked starts with the history of this famous drink, including the revelation that Dom Pierre Perignon was originally told by the Pope and other powers to get those lousy bubbles out of the white wine. Then the members of the Royal Court at Versailles under Louis XIV began to appreciate the bubbles. So, after years of fruitless labor trying to get the bubbles out of the wine, at the end of the seventeenth century, Dom was ordered to reverse his efforts and devise methods to increase the bubbling in the wine, which, incidentally, he did. After history, we have a chapter on making Champagne: pretty standard stuff. But if you don't know it yet, learn it here so at the next dinner you can talk with authority. Next comes the most informative chapter: A Flute or Goblet? Which is better? Those of you who know Champagne know the answer. And those of you who don't know Champagne can find the correct answer here. The amazing thing for me is that I knew the answer, but I didn't understand the scientific reasons why flute was better. Science is always right and here we find no exception. The last few chapters then talk in extenso about bubbles and as this is the essence of Chamapgne, the discussion is well worth the effort expended in studying the science of Champagne bubbles and the photographs that illustrate that science. Just as a book has a beginning, a middle, and an end, a bubble has a birth, a rise, and a burst. This book didn't make me want to go out an read more about Champagne, but it did make me want to go out and drink some more and while drinking I shall appreciate the remarkable history and science that goes into this fine drink.
Illustrated history of a champagne bubble.......2005-01-24
Uncorked : the science of champagne or how all to learn on this festive and sparkling beverage so much appreciated throughout the world?
In a very pleasant prose to read, the author : Gerard Liger-Belair, an associate professor in Physical Sciences at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne and consultant for the research department of Moet & Chandon, describes elegantly and for the first time the fragile and transitory life of a champagne bubble from its birth to its burst on the surface. Furthermore superb and fascinating black and white photographs permit to visualize what the naked eye cannot perceive like the formation of geometrical structures in the shape of flowers or dynamics of the bubbles such galaxies at the liquid surface. This book is a real concentrate of knowledge combining with brilliance history, science and art. Here is a physicist in love with bubbles and phenomenon of effervescence which makes the dynamics of fluids attractive! I think that Uncorked is a remarkable tool for popularisation, accessible to the greatest number and Gerard Liger-Belair, a professor that any student would dream to have. Never again you will look at a champagne flute in the same way!
A lover of champagne
Customer Reviews:
Dolphin lovers will love this!.......2003-06-14
I'm a 14 year old girl, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love dolphins, and I wanted to learn more about them without being fed a bunch of information like a textbook. Instead, Dolphin Chronicles presents lots of information in textbook form. By the time you get to the end, you'll have a much greater understanding of dolphin training, their lifestyles in captivity and in the wild, and the life of a person working with dolphins without ever realizing you were even learning anything! It's great that this book can be so easy to read and comprehend with so much info packed inside. I totally recommend it to anyone who would like to understand the dolphin world better!
If you're really interested in dolphins, this is the book..........2000-01-26
the best book on dolphins I've read. Deals not only with science, but the emotional aspect of working with dolphins. A must read if interested in the field....
This is the best book I've EVER read!.......1999-01-22
Carol Howard has a unique talent and way of combining love, compassion, sorrow, humor, and a vast amount of knowledge in 294 pages. Never have I learned so much about a book as I did from Dolphin Chronicles. My ultimate dream is to study these strange and magnificent creatures of the sea, as well as whales. I received Dolphin Chronicles as a Christmas gift from my Grandparents, and I must say that it was my favorite gift of all! In the past, I have read about 5 or 6 books about Cetaceans (by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and other authors) and have gotton extremely bored halfway through the material, simply because it was so dry and was lacking the compassion Carol so rightly illustrates! I would recommend this book to anyone. I am planning on researching more of Carol Howard's work wherever it may be. If anyone can clue me in as to the fastest and cheapest ways of finding it, Please feel free to e-mail me your information. Thank you. :-) P.S. If Carol Howard or anyone who knows Mrs. Howard reads this review, I would like to know her e-mail address if possible to personally thank her for producing such a wonderful and moving book. Thanks for your cooperation. --"May your life be like the Dolphin, calm and peaceful waters."
The best first hand account I have ever read!.......1998-12-25
This is the best first hand experience I have ever read on dolphins! I do marine mammal rescues and have a deep love and respect for dolphins and our oceans. Carol Howard's experience is one that I feel I have experienced first hand. Excellent writing. It helps us realize the need to know more about dolphins and their brilliance but also to respect their need to be free in our oceans.
The best book I've read on dolphins in a LONG time!!.......1997-01-23
Dolphin Chronicles is a wonderful story about Carol J. Howard's adventure with dolphins. Her book was so well-written that I felt like I was actually participating in her events. I am only thirteen years old but it the best book I have read in my life. I now want to be a marine biologist and dedicate my life to researching and caring for dolphins. Thank you Carol for writing such a wonderful book
Average customer rating:
- Dolphins are amazing!
- Riveting River Dolphins
- Heart & Mind Opening Dolphin Encounter Stories For All Ages
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The Chronicles of the Savannah River Dolphins
Muriel Lindsay
Manufacturer: Star Publish
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1932993819 |
Book Description
Chronicles of the Savannah River Dolphins is a collection of stories of Muriel Lindsay's up close and personal interactions with the Savannah River dolphins from her kayak and from in the water as well. These encounters occurred over a period of four years. The book includes pictures of dolphins Muriel has come to know and some thoughts about the human/dolphin connection that is so ancient and so significant. Included are interviews with those who work on the sea with the dolphins as their constant companions.
Customer Reviews:
Dolphins are amazing!.......2007-09-13
I found this book charming, magical and educational! It was wonderful to read about Muriel's special first-hand encounters with the dolphins. I have a new respect for the intelligence of dolphins and the endless possibilities that dolphins and humans may experience together. This book is for children as well as adults.
Riveting River Dolphins .......2007-09-12
Prepare to be entranced, educated and enthralled by Muriel Lindsay's marvelous little book. You need not be a nature lover or a dolphin fan in order to be captivated by the true stories Muriel tells. The anatomy of the book is reader friendly. You can pick it up when you have only a few leisure minutes to read and immerse yourself in a real life encounter between dolphin and human. In a short couple of pages a reader can have her heart strings plucked with the joy of communion , the sorrow of man's ignorance, the sacredness of unconditional love and acceptance.
I think this is a book for all ages; it is a book for those who respect nature and humanity's relationship to it , as well a book for those who have not yet begun to consider how interwoven all of life is that shares Planet Earth.
Muriel's style is forthright and genuine. There is a lovely naivete that lights up the pages when she describes first encounters and discovers new dolphin behaviors.
I highly recommend this book. Yolanda Zigarmi Martin, author of Gifts Remembering The Now.
Heart & Mind Opening Dolphin Encounter Stories For All Ages.......2007-09-12
Lindsay is the real deal! She has obviously "taken the plunge" to actually get to KNOW some dolphins on a personal (even intimate), up-close basis -- and not in some artificial "Sea World" type environment, but in her dolphin friend's own natural habitat.
For anyone who has been curious about dolphins and inclined to take them seriously as "equal to, just different from" us humans, these brief stories will fascinate you and warm your heart.
Average customer rating:
- Good story, great writing
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The Dolphin Chronicle
Norm Kohn
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1424160715
Release Date: 2007-01-22 |
Book Description
Peter Jamison and his son Charlie have boarded their sailboat and cast off into the unknown on an odyssey of adventure and self-discovery. On their journey, they are tested by the uncertainties of nature, the threats of drug-related violence, the mysteries of unexpected love, and the siren's call of salvation. As they head toward Miami, unexplained events multiply. Who are the distressed voices on the radio, and who sent the armed men in the high-speed boat? Is the mysterious, seductive woman in Jamison's arms a delusion or an angel, and where is she leading him? As Jamison records his revelations in a journal he dubs “The Dolphin Chronicle,” father and son are drawn through an unfolding array of challenges toward the shocking culmination of their quest.
Customer Reviews:
Good story, great writing.......2007-08-04
Shaken and faced with his own mortality, Peter Jamison takes a hard look at his life, clearly sees that something is missing, and realizes it's time to discover what that something is. He leaves his wife and his partnership at an Atlanta advertising agency behind and embarks on a sailboat called September Song with his son Charlie. As they follow the Atlantic coast through the languidness of the Low Country and into the tropical waters of South Florida, father and son will be tested by the fickle uncertainties of Mother Nature, as well as human nature.
The Dolphin Chronicle is the second published novel of Atlanta author Norm Kohn. Pure storytelling magic, it is a beautifully written work of bright, lyrical prose, with compelling plot lines and thought-provoking themes. Although it is fictional, the travelogue aspect of the book is partly autobiographical, inspired by a sailing trip Kohn took with his own son through the waters of the southeastern Atlantic coast. From his personal experience springs vivid imagery of the sights, sounds, sensations and settings his characters encounter:
"The orchestra of the night began a hesitant overture: a gust of wind in the rigging, a nightbird's call somewhere out in the dark sea of cordgrass, the wissss of a dolphin sounding along the edge of the creek. Peace settled over Broad Creek, South Carolina, which is just off the Cooper River, just off Calibogue Sound, just off the Atlantic Ocean and, on this particular evening, just off the edge of the world," writes Kohn.
It's passages like this that make the book a natural choice for anyone endlessly fascinated with the majesty and power of the sea; the aquatic creatures that ride its tides; or the dauntless men and women who navigate and plumb its depths. Unlike some boat stories, this one never gets bogged down in the technical aspects of sailing.
Action and drama are introduced with a light hand, even as the author weaves in sub-plots of greed and betrayal, second chances at love, and international drug smuggling. For the most part the story unfolds in present time, without lengthy exposition. Yet occasional short bursts of back-story provide fascinating glimpses of the characters' pasts, as Kohn shows us how we're shaped by forces we can't always control in the game of life - and that by the time we realize what we've become, it may be too late to find salvation. Even the least sympathetic characters come off as profoundly and sadly human, including Bobo and Hink, mismatched misfits from wildly disparate backgrounds. The pair find solace in each other's company, spending their days diving for sunken treasure near cleanly picked shipwrecks, until they find themselves tragically ensnared in the web of organized crime.
Less prominent characters are introduced without fanfare, but become instantly memorable. All contribute in small ways to both plot and thematic development as their paths cross in serendipitous or unfortunate ways. The friendship between taxi driver Johnny Dash and police officer Billy Sparks is pleasantly reminiscent of Ernie and Bert, the cabbie and cop duo made famous in the classic Capra film "It's A Wonderful Life."
The sailing odyssey continues. Events unfold, and some of them seem to signal trouble in Jamison's and Charlie's personal paradise: a red Corvette explodes in a marina parking lot, urgent voices call for coast guard assistance on the ship's radio. Yet as September Song becomes home and Jamison leaves his carefully constructed world behind, his mind seems to embark on its own journey of heightened awareness. Without deadlines and commitments, priorities rearrange themselves. When the ship's GPS device fails, Jamison is reminded that man once navigated by an intuitive connection to the stars, rather than by the lines on a chart. He doesn't know it yet, but he is journeying between the left and right hemispheres of his brain, struggling to reconcile that which is learned and calculated with all that is primal and instinctive. This is the theme he develops in a stream-of-consciousness journal, beginning with the lesson his artist mother taught him at her drawing board, her supple wrist creating fluid arcs across the page: there are no straight lines in nature. There are just seven journal entries sprinkled throughout the book and some readers may find them esoteric or disruptive; yet it's the philosophical themes explored within these musings that make this book great literature.
And it's through these inner revelations, plus a series of external events, that Jamison ultimately realizes what most of us never do - that it is never too late to choose wonder over reason, to follow fluid dreams that have long been held captive by straight thinking. Like Ann Patchett's bestselling novel "Bel Canto," this is a book that explores the precarious balancing act between creativity and logic, and how it contributes to satisfaction in life.
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The seven fat years: Chronicles of Wall Street (Dolphin books)
John Brooks
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0007EWUOI |
Average customer rating:
- A fun read with a unique plot.
- Recommended!
- TO READ OR NOT TO READ...THAT IS THE QUESTION
- Delphinus Chronicles, Audio CD
- A MUST READ
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The Delphinus Chronicles (Unabridged)
R. G. Roane
Manufacturer: audible.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Download
Borland Delphi
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ASIN: B000J3OT9G |
Product Description
A student project spirals into a torrent of unintended consequences when their supercomputer mistakenly learns to communicate with the dolphins at an aquatic theme park.
Download Description
Students at a small college in Southern California program their supercomputer to learn languages on its own, but the school is adjacent to an aquatic amusement park and the computer mistakenly learns to communicate with the world's dolphin population. The dolphins ultimately reveal explosive information about the true origins of mankind, which falls into the wrong hands and sets off a chain of events that threaten to unravel society as we know it.
Customer Reviews:
A fun read with a unique plot. .......2007-02-17
A fun read with a unique plot.
Recommended!.......2004-03-29
A story with a fascinating premise and a more-than-adequate construction (as far as light entertainment goes), "The Delphinus Chronicles" was an enjoyable and entertaining experience. For those of you considering the audiobook, the confluence of Helen Lisanti's narration, sound editing, and Kennedy Smith's music made the book come alive in a way that seems greater than the sum of its parts.
TO READ OR NOT TO READ...THAT IS THE QUESTION.......2004-03-26
Professor Ross Erricson and his computer research team from Cabrillo University near San Diego, California, have won a grand prize: Simon. A cognizant supercomputer with the ability to learn. Simon is installed at the University in a small, dungeon-like basement where Ross and his cohorts have decided to see if the computer can learn the English language (anyone who knows anything about language knows that English is EXTREMELY difficult to learn).
What Ross and his eager band of computer enthusiasts hadn't counted on, though, was how sensitive Simon could be. One of the walls in the computer basement abuts against a large holding tank for dolphins. And before Professor Erricson and his team can begin to see how intelligent their new computer is, Simon begins to communicate with the clicking and whistling dolphins. And what Simon learns and passes on to Ross and his team is startling. Too much so for this reader.
Being a lover of fiction, one has to suspend belief when you're reading a novel. But not totally. For instance, in this novel:
First, you'd have to believe that Professor Erricson and his rag-tag team could win this supercomputer over such colleges as Yale and Harvard. Not impossible.
Second, you'd have to believe that - after winning the competition - they'd be allowed to store this incredibly expensive and delicate piece of computing hardware in a damp, dank basement. Okay.
Thirdly, you'd have to believe that dolphins understand and communicate using the same spatial terms humans do (time in years, distance in feet or miles, names of places, etc.). Umm...okay.
...
...
...
Okay, I've gone on far enough with this tangent. Some of you may be asking, "So why three stars?" Mainly because I have the audio version of this book. The audio version is done exceptionally well. Professional sounding, good voice-overs and special sound effects add to the enjoyment of the storytelling; I listened to this during a long trip I was taking. But even with these fine qualities, the glaring unbelievability of the story smacked me in the face (or mind, if you prefer).
The initial flow of the book was well done (thus the three star review). We had character development and plot points all lined up. Nicely done. But by the time we get 3/4 of the way through, many characters fall away, new one's are introduced (quite distracting), and old plot threads are left dangling while new one's are thrust upon us. Some serious editing help might have been beneficial here.
The one question that lingered in my mind when I finished listening to this audio CD was, "Would I have been able to finish reading this if I'd picked up a printed copy?" I still question myself on that but am not brave enough to purchase the book, too. Still, if you like books on tape (or CD), you might enjoy this book during a long car trip.
C rating.
Delphinus Chronicles, Audio CD.......2004-01-27
> Ross and his staff at a tiny San Diego community college, are stunned
> to be the unexpected recipients of the world's most sophisticated
> computer, one with the capability to "learn".
>
> Installing the computer in a basement of the college, the team programs
> it carefully with their work on language learning. Since the basement
> wall abuts the dolphin tank of the Sea World-type park next door, they
> soon learn that the machine is "talking" to the dolphins through the
> tank wall. And what they're communcating is astonishing. Dolphins have
> for centuries been keeping in their collective consciousness, mapping
> information of the entire ocean floor of the planet.
>
> The discovery leads to adventure, mystery and intrigue as the
> researchers begin quietly searching for shipwrecks and treasures long
> lost on the ocean floors, and various baddies begin to learn of their
> efforts and attempt, variously, sabotage of the computer and theft of
> its findings.
>
> Delphinus Chronicles is a fun, complex, yet fast read. It will be an
> enjoyable yarn for anyone from teen age and up, who enjoys mystery,
> adventure, or science fiction.
>
> Production values: The reader, Helen Brindle Lisanti, at first seemed
> an odd choice given that most of the characters driving the plot are
> men. I'm afraid I cling to the notion that male characters are best
> represented by male readers. However, Lisanti is a wonderful reader and
> carried both narration and a long list of characters well.
>
> The production also has music placed strategically at various plot
> points and chapter endings. A good idea, and the music placements are
> well-chosen since the plot often carries us back historically to events
> such as shipwrecks when they were happening. However, on my little car
> CD player, the music overrrode the narration to such an extent that I
> couldn't hear Lisanti over it. I had trouble hearing Lisanti at most
> times, and had to turn up the volume to nearly full power in the car to
> catch some of her lower cadences. I'm not sure what the cause of this
> is, but it needs fixing for audio readers to hear the book without
> distraction.
>
> Again, a thoroughly fun and enjoyable book. I really liked the plot and
> action.
>
> Tina Vierra
>
> __________________________________
A MUST READ.......2004-01-25
"The Delphinus Chronicles has restored my faith in reading for enjoyment. It offers something for all readers. There's adventure, technology, mystery, science-fiction, and even a bit of romance. The perfect balance of each of these themes without losing sight of the plot reflects the authors true literary brilliance. This book was written with such creativity it's impossible to put down. The thing I liked best about this book was getting to the end, and thinking "Wow, I didn't expect that". The ability to keep the reader guessing is an art very few authors have mastered. READ THIS BOOK!!!"
Average customer rating:
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Here Come the Brides
Ellen Jackson
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Non-religious
| Holidays & Festivals
| People & Places
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ASIN: 0802784690 |
Average customer rating:
- wedding traditions Here comes the bride
- Everything You Wanted To Know About Wedding Traditions!
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Wedding Traditions: Here Comes the Bride
Joanne Dubbs Ball , and
Caroline Torem-Craig
Manufacturer: Antique Trader Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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ASIN: 0930625633 |
Customer Reviews:
wedding traditions Here comes the bride.......2005-06-22
Wonderful book showcasing period weddings thru the ages!!!
I am on page 78,79,85!!!
Everything You Wanted To Know About Wedding Traditions!.......1999-11-04
A beautiful, colorful 164 page library volume that pays tribute to every detail of this important day. Full of wonderful photos, drawings, old ads, and history. Covers rituals, superstitions, dowries, matchmaking, romance, pomp and circumstance, historical and socially prominent unions, the silver service, romance in the military, couture and fashion brides at century's end. Wonderful to browse through, and to learn from. Makes a great gift for the bride too.
Book Description
Every gardener loves perennials. Buy them and plant them, and most will flourish and even expand year after year. But in addition to reliability, perennials offer gardeners a wonderful opportunity to make a stunning visual statement in their home landscapes--if you know how to combine and arrange them. In The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer, Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra, two top garden writers and teachers, offer fun, organized, and--most important--attainable advice on how to create gorgeous gardens using these beloved plants.
Cohen and Ondra walk the gardener step-by-step through the process of creating new gardens, as well as of bringing new life to gardens that have lost their luster. They explain how to pick perennials that suit the site by making the most of plant color, shape, size, and texture and how to create eye-catching plant combinations. Beautiful illustrations accompany the new garden plans, and stunning photographs capture how Cohen and Ondra have redesigned their own gardens. Throughout the book a lively dialogue between Cohen and Ondra encourages readers to experiment and to create their own satisfying designs.
The authors also offer down-to-earth design solutions for 20 specific types of gardens, including everything from a minimum maintenance garden to a more complex container garden, from planting a formal border to indulging in the controlled chaos of a cottage garden.
Whether you are breaking ground for a new garden, or revitalizing an existing bed, The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer can help every gardener achieve great results--year after year.
Customer Reviews:
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!.......2005-12-13
After seeing this book recommended as one of the year's best by "Fine Gardening" and seeing it as the #3 selection on Amazon . Com for bestsellers I bought the book. Both authors have been in the horticulture field for a combination of over 45 years and it shows. I Googled them. Stephanie Cohen has won some very prestigious awards from both professional groups and garden groups. Her co-author ,
Nancy Ondra, worked as a gardening editor as well as writing numerous top selling books. I liked there use of the newest and latest perennials. I liked the authenticity of using real gardens and the befores and afters.The photos are great. I liked the time-saving tips. The chart of flowers on the back of the book is a winner. However, the best thing about this book is the humor-I love it! Hurrah for a gardening book that shows real people wrote it!
Very busy.............2005-12-12
I bought a half dozen new garden books for myself for winter reading, and including THE PERENNIAL GARDENER'S DESIGN PRIMER by Cohen and Johnson. I have felt I got my money's worth with the others, but found myself disappointed with this book. In time, I may come to appreciate it more, but if I was a new gardener, I would find it overwhelming. Too often, when we are filled with knowledge, we are tempted to share it, and too often, others cannot hear, let alone digest it. This book appears to be one of those efforts where everything but the kitchen sink was tossed in. To say these gals are knowledgeable is an understatement. I am surprised the book made it past the editor's desk. Undoubtedly, she fell asleep.
Oh there are some great photos by Rob Cardillo. For me, the best shot is the boot of a station wagon filled with plants. But the authors soon tell the reader that admiring this scene is a "no-no" How often have you gone nuts at the nursery and filled your car with plants then stood and appreciated the arrangement you made? When you got the plants home and planted them, did they look so nice the next year? The authors suggest that planning your garden on the fly can lead to disaster, and well it might, but I am of the "organic" school and I believe you can move plants if you don't like the arrangement at a later date. These gals are into control big time, however. They want you to draw the design (or better...hire a designer), and then follow your design to the letter. They even designed a "cottage garden" if you can believe that, although it comes out looking like knot garden to my eye. If I did what they suggest I would tie myself in knots. The best arrangements I have "created" are serendipitous choices nature made using the seeds tossed off by my perennials and accidental juxtapositions of plants from seeds dropped by the birds.
The next time you are tempted to undertake garden design, check this book out of the library. You will soon be singing, `Tis a joy to be simple.....
Great Design Manual.......2005-11-18
I have purchased many Garden design books. I want something to just give me an idea and Ill go from there. This book does just that. The color ideas, what to plant with what. Has detailed sketched designs as well as many photographs of actual flower beds.
The quick reference Planning Chart has to be one of my favorite things about the book.
Would I buy it again? yes, I think I would
Great book!.......2005-10-17
I am a Master Gardener, and I love this book. The design ideas are very helpful, there are beautiful color photos and interesting sidebars throughout. I'm reading it cover to cover, not only using it as a reference book.
Love it!.......2005-09-05
Haven't really had much time to read this, but I DID "paw through" it, and it looks even better than expected!
Average customer rating:
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Andre Poitiers 4 Shops: 4 Shops : Zeitgenossisches Interior Design = Contemporary Interior Design
Manufacturer: Prestel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
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| Architects, A-Z
| Architecture
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| Interior Design
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ASIN: 3791325515 |
Book Description
Presents an innovative series of shops designed by Andre Poitiers for the bakery chain Dat Backhus.
Average customer rating:
|
Champ Fleury
Geofroy Tory
Manufacturer: Octavo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
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ASIN: 1891788868 |
Book Description
Ostensibly a formal treatise on letters and letterforms, Geofroy Tory's Champ Fleury is a marvelously personal work that reveals much about the experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of the prototypical Renaissance man. Taken literally, champ fleury means "flowery fields"; written as a single word, it is an old French idiom for "paradise." Tory clearly chose the title to connote the variety of ideas rooted in his everyday experience as a scholar, editor, scribe, illuminator, and bookseller. Tory's analysis of letters, for instance, was not limited to their construction and visual presentation, but also included larger issues of language and literature. This Octavo Edition includes a commentary, bibliographical notes, and complete images of the original 1529 work and of the 1927 translation designed by Bruce Rogers. Commentary by Kay Amert.
Average customer rating:
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Another America: The Politics of Race and Blame
Kofi Buenor Hadjor
Manufacturer: South End Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0896085155 |
Books:
- When Last I Died (Rue Morgue Vintage Mystery)
- When We Practice to Deceive
- Who Let That Killer In The House? (A Thoroughly Southern Mystery)
- Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (Mystery Masters)
- A Cool Breeze on the Underground (A Neal Carey Mystery)
- A Cotswold Killing
- A Distinction Of Blood: A Mystery of Georgian England
- A Fatal Thaw (Kate Shugak Mystery)
- A Fugitive Truth: An Emma Fielding Mystery (Emma Fielding Mysteries)
- A Minister's Ghost: A Fever Devilin Mystery (Fever Devlin)
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