Product Description
Collectors of both advertising memorabilia and thermometers will be thrilled with this all new price guide devoted completely to advertising thermometers. Arranged by category, the book includes soda pop (Coca-Cola, 7-Up, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, Barq's Root Beer, Sunkist), restaurant, cigarette and snuff, all types of businesses, from insurance companies to funeral homes, food products, gasoline, dairy, and hundreds of miscellaneous advertising thermometers. Readers will view over 400 color photos of all typs of thermometers - glass, bubble, mirror, and more.2001 values. AUTHORBIO: Advertising and promotional items have always fascinated Curtis Merritt. When he first began collecting, he mainly dealt with old advertising distillery jugs and signs. It wasn't long before he was also interested in advertising thermometers and the colors and graphics used on them. He decided to put together a price guide, Advertising Thermometers, published in 2001. REVIEW: This book is compiled from some of the largest collections of advertising thermometers in the country. Organized by category, including agriculture, beverage, food, healthcare, industry, tobacco, and miscellaneous, each thermometer is given a size, date, and current collector value. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beautiful Little Book For Ad Thermometer Collectors !!
This is a brand new year 2001 book with more than 400 large, full color, sharp photos of every type of advertising thermometer.Values are year 2001.There's not a lot of text in this softbound, small format book, but it's loaded with beautiful pictures of this popular collectible.Major topics include:agriculture, automotive, beverage, food, funeral and ambulance, healthcare, industry, and tobacco.The smaller size makes it handy to take with you when you shop for these items.Collectors will find it of value. ... Read more

Product Description
Merritt Sher is widely regarded as one of America's leading entrepreneurs and real estate innovators. His advice on entrepreneurial skill building has been featured in leading magazines, newspapers and business text books. 10 Birds With 1 Stone is an enjoyable look into Sher's highly successful business philosophy. Organized into 52 insightful "philosophical snippits", this book will prove to be extremely useful for those considering starting up or improving a business. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Beautiful book!
This book is not only well written and inspiring but also beautifully designed! The illustrations are so sleek and simple. The whole look of this book is gorgeous! Very easy read and great gift!

Great book
This book really inspired me. There is a lot of good advice in this brief book, whether you are an artist or a professional. This book makes me want to create and evolve.

My New Bible
First of all, I know Merritt.He is an amazing mentor and creative spirit.If Merritt turns his high beam on your business you are truly enlightened.Now, since most of you don't know Merritt, you can now carry his wisdom in your pocket.I can not tell you how inspiring this small book of wisdom is because I am still discovering the depth of it's potential.
As a bit of a business book junkie I find that many books are a lot of words written about very little.Many are just long-winded consultant ads.This book is the opposite.It is very little said about a whole MBA course.Each word and thought are honed to perfection and the answer to every business dilemma is there.Start at the beginning, middle or end, I guarantee you will find JUST what you needed to hear.

Thanks Merritt for your generosity in sharing your vast experience in business and in life.We will do well to listen. ... Read more

Product Description
Attempting to save her kingdom from sea raiders, Cait nea Sholto finds herself the captive of Norseman Michael Langssonn, who is on a quest for revenge against a man he later discovers to be his own long-lost twin brother. ... Read more

Product Description
These thirteen essays explore a crucial historical question that has been notoriously hard to pin down: To what extent, and by what means, does a society's technology determine its political, social, economic, and cultural forms?Karl Marx launched the modern debate on determinism with his provocative remark that "the hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist," and a classic article by Robert Heilbroner (reprinted here) renewed the debate within the context of the history of technology. This book clarifies the debate and carries it forward.Marx's position has become embedded in our culture, in the form of constant reminders as to how our fast-changing technologies will alter our lives. Yet historians who have looked closely at where technologies really come from generally support the proposition that technologies are not autonomous but are social products, susceptible to democratic controls. The issue is crucial for democratic theory. These essays tackle it head-on, offering a deep look at all the shadings of determinism and assessing determinist models in a wide variety of historical contexts.Contributors: Bruce Bimber. Richard W. Bulliet. Robert L. Heilbroner. Thomas P. Hughes. Leo Marx. Thomas J. Misa. Peter C. Perdue. Philip Scranton. Merritt Roe Smith. Michael L. Smith. John M. Staudenmaier. Rosalind Williams. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice balanced collection of essays
Great collection of ssays from both sides of the fence backed of with concrete examples. Good book for a class touching on the subject.

The Machines Rule (Or Do They?)
This collection of essays purportedly addresses the philosophical theory of technological determinism - the belief that human behavior and culture is driven by technology and its unintended (or intended) consequences. Of course, the theory has many nuances and permutations, which are explored in depth by the various writers here. The book starts off with fine introductions to the topic, particularly the opening essay by Merritt Roe Smith and the seminal "Do Machines Make History?" by Robert Heilbroner. Unfortunately the book then descends into standard turgid theoretical obfuscations of dubious usefulness to anyone other than each professor's immediate colleagues. Examples include the standard academic exercise of reinterpreting the ideas of earlier thinkers and calling the results a new theory (Bruce Bimber, Thomas Mina), or forcing existing theories together and taking credit for the resulting "breakthrough" (Rosalind Williams, Leo Marx). Another running issue in this book is a lack of distinction among technology, progress, and modernity, as can be seen in the otherwise fascinating historical report by Michael L. Smith. And as usual for academic books that collect essays by various professors, everybody repeats the basic tenets of the theory at issue before embarking on their particular interpretation or example of interest. One benefit of this book is that the editors (both in their introduction and through the essay selection process) do not try to nail down a particular position on the many nuances of technological determinism, which is healthy for purposes of discussion. Regardless, little is accomplished by the writers except esoteric reinterpretations and feeble grasps for significance. [~doomsdayer520~]

gives perspective on technological change
This book is a fascinating summary of a centuries long debate in history. Can the development of technology shape large scale historical trends in a society? The essays in the book are as timely now as when it first came out ten years ago. While the authors talk about the general sweep of technology, across history,it lets readers possibly get some perspective on the changes currently underway.

From reading this book, you may get the sense that maybe our age isnot unique in experiencing vast technological changes. Whichever side you come down on, in the book's debate, you might now look with scepticism on claims that our age is unique in this regard. Unless of course you go with the Extropians and their siren call of an approaching singularity. ... Read more

Product Description
Sy Jacob Cope has always lived a free, adventurous life with no thought about love. But when his carefree lifestyle puts him in the temporary care of Pamela Brooks, their head-butting quickly turns to passionate kisses, and Sy must contemplate whether life without love is worth living. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

From Back Cover
UNTAMABLE. IRRESISTIBLE. MAVERICK.

Playboy Symon Cope's motto had always been "Don't fence me in." So now that the sexy Montana man was stuck on his family's ranch, he was more cantankerous than ever. His kinfolk's only recourse was to call in the cavalry... a.k.a. Miss Pamela Brook. And though the brooding Big Sky bachelor was sorely tempted to succumb to this feisty female's charms, he knew giving in meant getting hitched. For his passion for Pamela ran so deep, she could lead him anywhere... even down the wedding aisle!

A good read
Reading this book was a delight after reading such drivel as Diana Palmer. The story follows an adventurous man, Sy Cope and his therapist, who was at odds at first. The author refused to let the characters to argue like children but she laid the background so that the readers could understand both points of view which were very valid. He didn't want a woman to see him at his most vulnerable and she only wanted to help. These obstacles were overcome with time and you could see how the characters matured and see their emotions change towards each other, which was refreshing. Many times lately the stories I have read have the characters fall in love and you don't why. The sexual tension was there and when they finally consumated, as a reader I felt the time was right...not that the author was simply throwing it in because it was required. All in all a wonderful story with a realistic, beautiful ending. I would recommend it.

Spoiled brat.
This book's Amazon page has an editoral review.I tried to like this book, but it was just annoying at times.It reminded me of another story like this, but the therapist had been abused and didn't like to be touched--I can't remember the author though.This guy, Symon was a whining, spoiled brat and Pamela is just too perky.One of first things she does it put him on a low-fat diet--that annoyed me right off.He's lost weight and she decides the first battle in his physical therapy treatment is going to be his diet!Why not get him interested in his treatment and then worry about his food.Doesn't anyone eat real food any more?Why is low-fat fiber filled food supposed to save the world. ... Read more

Product Description
Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Filmmaking documents this rich history, showing what it meant to be "independent" in the 1930s and what it means today. Author Greg Merritt distinguishes between indie and semi-indie productions, explores the genres represented under the independent umbrella, and addresses the question of what makes a movie independent -- its "spirit" or the budget backing the production. From one-reel flicks at the turn of the century to the blockbusters of the '90s, Celluloid Mavericks takes readers on a fascinating tour of the industry. 50 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

my fave film book
This book blew me away.I love the way it covers the whole spectrum of indie film, not just "art" but "exploitation" as well.The story of how these films came to be against great odds makes for great reading.I learned something knew on every page.Highly recommended for fans of non-Hollywood films.

Excellent book
This was a very good read, masterfully told and researched.This is the only book that tells the COMPLETE history of indie movies.Highly recommended.

THE BEST BOOK ON THE TOPIC
This is the best book ever written on independent film.I wish I could give it move than 5 stars, because Celluloid Mavericks is a pure pleasure to read: witty, informative and always extremely entertaining.No otherbook comes close to its breadth and detail, especially in regards to thepreviously uncharted territory between 1896 and 1960.This is my all-timefavorite film book, well deserving of its many raves reviews.

"Indispensible book, as entertaining as it is informed"
from the New York Press 3-29-2000 - copyright Matt Zoller Seitz

Merritt's book covers a century's worth of off-center cinema,including 1890s nickelodeons, 1940s chitlin-circuit black films, SamFuller's genre-busting work in the 50s and 60s, blaxploitation and hardcoreporn in the 70s and the Sundance wave of the 80s and 90s.The central ideaof free spirits bucking the system unifies waht might have been a too-broadhistorical text, and Merritt's tart wit enlivens the fact-packed narrative. His prose isn't merely amusing; it's lovingly polished, a real pleasure toread.He's honest enough to admit that most 70s blaxploitation films weregarbabe, "rarely as much fun as their posters or soundtracks." He coins a wonderful new phrase to describe the hillbilly flicks thatflooded rural drive-ins around the same time: "Whitezploitation." He describes Tom Laughlin's "Billy Jack" as a movie aboutpacifists who "come to worship a man of violence," and declares,"the real hoot is seeing the messiah take off his boots and kick thegrins off rednecks."

This isn't one of those fuzzy, ruminative bookswhere the author writes whatever strikes his fancy and crams it into abulging thematic suitcase after the fact.The preface carefully defines"independent" to mean any movie "financed and producedcompletely autonomous of all studios," and "semi-indie" as amovie that received studio funding at some point.The definitions castcertain well-known American films in a fresh light.I didn't know, forexample, that the Oscar-winning "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"didn't get a dime's worth of funding from any studio.

Chapter tochapter and page for page, "Celluloid Mavericks" is anindespensable book, as entertaining as it is informed.

A VERY GOOD BOOK
This was a great read.Very well-written.It covered more than any other film book.I especially liked the exploitation stuff and how it mixed with art films: the yin and yang of indie cinema. ... Read more

Product Description
A volume which presents information from the standpoints of symptoms and underlying diseases. New technical advances in imaging have led to the replacement of 50 new images. Child abuse, neuro-rehabilitation, paraneoplastic syndromes and mitochondrial diseases are covered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A review for residents
This book is a great first textbook for neurology residents. Igave it only 4 stars because Bradley covers more material, but it iseasier to read than Adam and Victor or Goetz and Pappert. Very well written and with great pictures.END ... Read more

Product Description
The fifth edition of this well-known reference source, containing nearly 50 percent new material, offers engineers, architects, contractors, and other building professionals a concise, autoritative guide to every facet of modern building design and construction. This essential guide presents step-by-step descriptions of building design and construction techniques, offers numerous good practice suggestions, and proposes many ideas for saving time and money in design and construction tasks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Depending on your region
Excellent reference book for various building products but mostly applies to the western region and not the middle East building standards.

The 6th Edition vs the 7th Edition
I'm a big fan of this 6th edition. It is one of those "go to" resources -- containing a ton of information, intelligently organized, with hundreds of useful illustrations. 4.7 pounds!

Suggestion: click on the image and look at the Table of Contents. That will tell you a lot.

A must have for the "used" price!
$15 for a used hardback and $3 for paperback? Heck it's worth that if the only thing you use it for is as a paperweight.

More info than a person could ever use. Great when you're working on specs or construction drawings, especially outside your field of expertise.

A must have for the "used" price!
$15 for a used hardback and $3 for paperback? Heck it's worth that if the only thing you use it for is as a paperweight.

More info than a person could ever use. Great when you're working on specs or construction drawings, especially outside your field of expertise. ... Read more

Product Description
Deep beneath the frozen tundra lies a secret. Hidden for millennia, its discovery forever alters the lives of a group of scientists, forcing them to face their greatest fears, and throwing them into a fight for their very survival. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Couldn't put it down!
This is a great read... couldn't put it down.I read it once, and then read it again.I've passed it on to my friends.This book really gets you thinking, too, and that's what books are all about!Thanks, Andy!

A great read
I really enjoyed this book. You may wonder why I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Unfortunately there were several inconsistancies in the geological time frames and in man's timeline and their intersections with various events in the book. Other than that, everything was well thought out and I found the pace of the book excellent. With a few tweaks I would easily give this a 5 star review.

Couldn't put it down
I love the idea that is presented in this book.It was well thought out, researched, and described.It was very easy to read and I found myself having a hard time putting it down.I will be passing it on!

Excellent story
Both my 16-yr old and I just finished reading this book.It was very exciting and kept us both interested throughout.The concept is interesting ... finding Eden under a frozen glacier in the middle of Siberia?Hmmm.But the author makes it plausible enough to keep us reading to find out what happens next.We were impressed by the number of areas that this new author describes in detail and with apparent knowledge ... must be alot of research, a very smart author, or someone with a real gift of blarney.Whichever it is, he made me a believer.I agree with a previous reviewer that it would make a good movie.Hopefully, Andy Merritt will write more books.We'll be looking forward to them.In the meantime, not only a good first effort, but a great effort in any case.

Awesome Story
I'm not much of a reader, so when I find a book I can't put down it is a rarity.I have to say though, Eden kept my attention to the very end.Getting to know the characters and their interactions with each other, following their adventure as it took each exciting turn and then bringing all the pieces together at the end--this book has it all.I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get lost in a great book!Thanks Andy! ... Read more

Product Description
Examining interactions between Native Americans and whites in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania, Jane Merritt traces the emergence of race as the defining difference between these neighbors on the frontier.

Before 1755, Indian and white communities in Pennsylvania shared a certain amount of interdependence. They traded skills and resources and found a common enemy in the colonial authorities, including the powerful Six Nations, who attempted to control them and the land they inhabited. Using innovative research in German Moravian records, among other sources, Merritt explores the cultural practices, social needs, gender dynamics, economic exigencies, and political forces that brought Native Americans and Euramericans together in the first half of the eighteenth century.

But as Merritt demonstrates, the tolerance and even cooperation that once marked relations between Indians and whites collapsed during the Seven Years' War. By the 1760s, as the white population increased, a stronger, nationalist identity emerged among both white and Indian populations, each calling for new territorial and political boundaries to separate their communities. Differences between Indians and whites--whether political, economic, social, religious, or ethnic--became increasingly characterized in racial terms, and the resulting animosity left an enduring legacy in Pennsylvania's colonial history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Critical addition to the literature on this topic
Jane Merritt makes an excellent addition to the discussion of Indians in the Mid-Atlantic region during the age of empire.This is a complex topic and Merritt does an excellent job of sorting it out. On that note this is a complex topic and this is not a book a novice in the subject would want to start with.It assumes knowledge of the Iroquois and the covenant chain as well as the Seven Years war.(See my other reviews for suggestions on those topics).

Merritt's book analyzes a variety of cross sections of Delaware Indian culture and their relation with Pennsylvania's (Quakers, proprietors, and frontiersman), Iroquois, and the French.She looks at the role of language, women and religion and how these each affected the relationships between the various groups.Utilizing sources from local to state level she is able to get at a large cross section that allows for significant corroboration.Unlike many where there is an Indian view and a colonial view in this case there we have a variety of colonial sources since they each represented a different viewpoint.The book chronologically covers the famed Walking Purchase during the time of William Penn to the conclusion of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) and how it shaped the frontier.The idea that Indians and colonists lived at a crossroads where trade dictated interactions are thoroughly explored.For those who want to gain a greater understanding of the Mid-Atlantic world in colonial times you cannot go wrong with this book.

A good reference on pre-independence America 1700-1763
Jane Merritt gives an inside expose, on the clash of cultures in the Mid-Atlantic frontier(Delaware,Pennsylvania,Virginia etc.). The early relationship between a young Colonel George Washington of England and the Delawares is highlighted. The initial interaction between Washington and the Delawares, was poor. This lead to early military defeats to the French. The dynamics of the 7 years war, which changed the harmony of this region dramatically, is examined.

The odd antagonistic relationship between the Delawares and the Iroquois 6 Nations is analyzed to the fullest. It appears the Iroquois sold Delaware land inappropriately (walking purchase Treaty). You will gain insight into famous chiefs such as Delaware chief Shingas and chief Teedyuscung.

The shrewd business dealings of the European settlers is analyzed. You are made aware how simple semantics could misconstrue entire Treaties and agreements. Overall this book does a good job in clarifying, certain key points, in a very complex period, in American history. ... Read more

Product Description
Disclosing new factual material about the Watergate scandal, this provocative exposé of the famed break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972, reveals that the burglars were set up, and explains how our historical consciousness has been altered to obscure the truth. Written by a confidential informant, this never-before-told story rewrites the accepted truth of the scandal that rocked the political world and the entire nation, while taking readers on a behind the scenes tour of a major criminal investigation. Drilling down to the core level of the political nightmare, shocking acts of manipulation and deceit are uncovered as new light is shed on the players and puppet masters behind the event that led to the one and only presidential resignation in U.S. history. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (8)

Read me says the book
About the time you realize that you don't have a clue about what will happen next (and you can't wait to find out), you realize the song playing in your head is "What a long strange trip it's been".

Mediocre Fiction
Why was this book in the non-fiction section at the library? I can understand changing the names of people but counties? There is no Siletz County, Oregon. Why not make up the state too? As fiction there leaves a lot to be desired. The back jacket says"truth is stranger than fiction". Either write non-fiction with names changed to protect identities or write a compelling novel. This is neither.

Wonderfully entertaining story
Bill Merritt has written a wonderfully entertaining fable about young lawyers learning the ropes, a delightful cast of society's castaways, buried treasure and even a little bit of science.

Because Merritt casts himself as the central character, it is necessary to remember that this is fiction - or at least Merritt says so: "Author's note: This book isn't journalism. It is filled with made-up individuals, composite characters, and descriptions that do not match anything in the real world. If you think something in here is about you, it isn't. And, if you think you are going to make a big deal out of it, I've got plenty more on you that doesn't appear in the book, so think again."

Within a few pages, of course, you'll have forgotten the warning, so compelling is Merritt's first-person narrative. The characters are compelling and believable.

There's Thaddeus Silk, now deceased, who hires Merritt as an associate in his small, highly suspect law office. Silk's death from natural causes brings in the police, an aggressive DA, the bar association disciplinary committee and others. Thaddeus, it seems, had long been suspected of a variety of nefarious dealings, including fencing a long rumored Spanish treasure that had been buried on Oregon's cost.

Merritt provides a fascinating recounting of the legends of Neahkahnie Mountain where, it is said, a treasure is buried. Along the way, Merritt also provides an unexpected explanation of trade winds and the history of Spanish trade a few centuries ago. Utterly unexpected, these facts provide both elements of the main plot and an unusual backstory. Good work, indeed.

When Thaddeus Silk shuffles off the mortal coil, Merritt is left the task of picking up the pieces of his mentor's practice. There's Grady Jackson, seemingly a harmlessly befuddled treasure hunter who, in his youth, had been a heroic soldier. Jolene, the office receptionist, was hired by Thaddeus on a work-release program after Thaddeus had bungled her case. Her boyfriend Tail Pipe lives largely on another planet. Abby Birdsong is an aging hippy with a marijuana possession charge against her that just keeps getting bigger.

Soon Merritt himself is facing indictment by an aggressive DA.

The story has plenty of twists and turns as Merritt, still a young and inexperienced lawyer, makes his way through one predicament after another. In terms of handling humor, Merritt is an ace. His storytelling flows smoothly, anchoring your sympathy to Merritt as the subject and eliciting boos and catcalls for the evil guys (who really aren't all that evil: just kind of dumb).

It would be unfair to detail the story to any extent. Take my word for it: there's not a dull page in the book. There's also no sex, no immediate gore, no cliffhangers: just out-of-the-ordinary situations with some pretty oddball characters.

Summer's almost here; the weather's getting nicer: this is the perfect beach read.

Jerry

or maybe a one...
i have a couple of problems with this book.but we'll get to them later.

there is an awful lot to like about this book. the characters are quirky and fun. the writing is breezy and entertaining. there are multiple twists and turns that are (usually) resolved in some outrageously funny way. and the ending was (to me)unexpected and intriguing.

a really good read for an airport or beach.

so what problems did i have? well, the first is minor. i found this book in the non-fiction section. it clearly is not that. there was an "author's note" on the copyright page that, if given a little more prominence, handled the issue. or publish as a work of fiction. either one.

the other problem is much more serious.

one anecdote intregal to the story is the "tale of the soldier who wouldn't make his bed." (strangely, it is important to the story).

it is also plagarised. in 1956, leo rosten wrote "captain neuman m.d.". chapter seven is entitled "the happiest man in the world". and is the story of colby clay, a soldier who wouldn't make his bed. now,i'm not a lawyer. i don't even play one on tv.

but i'm pretty certain that taking a chapter from someone else's work without attribution is considered a no-no in polite society.

so if you just want an entertaining couple of hours, read this book. it's fun.

if you think that plagarism is something that should be discouraged, i'd pass.

Funny, well-told story!
The introduction at the La Jolla bookstore said it all: cross between John Berendt and Ken Kesey, or carl Hiassen and Vince Bugliosi -- or as he put it, reminiscent of Mark Twain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Kincaid Bride~ Montana Mavericks
I have purchased several of the Montana Mavericks series through the years.They are books that hold your interest and are fun to read.They are written in such a fashion that I feel like I know right where they are in the great state of Montana.I have traveled around the Yellowstone area quite a bit and truly love the landscape and aroma of the area. It's fun to read a fiction story with the setting being of a familiar setting. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Confirmed Bachelor Meets His Match
This is another of the Texas Cattleman's Club series and is Jason's story.He is assigned to watch spitfire Meredith who goes full force after the Club's suspected villan.Fearing she will hurt their investigation, they try to keep her under house arrest only to find out she is not simpering miss and can't be kept down.I like Meredith because she is a real match for Jason.When the tables turn, and she is targeted for violence, Jason's Protective nature goes into overdrive.Good story.

A Tense and Satisfying Romantic Thriller
The exclusive members of the Cattleman's Club in Royal, Texas suspect they have a rat name Dorian in their midst, one who they believe may have committed murder and framed his half brother for the crime. To complicate matters, the dirty, rotten, scoundrel, who they have let into their club, complains he is being harassed. Then the harasser, a petit bundle of femine fury, storms into the club in a very unlady like manner, full of invective.

The members persuade Jason Windover, one of their own who has not recently falling victim to marriage, to keep this meddling woman out of their affairs. They figure he is the best among them for this task, because one, he is ex-CIA and more than competent and two, he has sworn that he'll never marry. He wants nothing more than a brief fling here and there.

Then he catches beautiful Meredith Silver slashing Dorian's tires. Rather than arrest her and involve the club's business with scandal, he takes her home and finds out that she'd been harassing Dorian because he'd promised to marry her younger sister, then he broke her heart and fled town with her life's savings. This intrigues Jason even as he's intrigued with Meredith, however the killer isn't amused by their getting together and he blows up Jason's home, our hero and heroine barely escape with their lives.

Now Jason is starting to get upset, he's starting to feel very protective of Meredith as well in this romance that is a sure fire bet to keep you burning the midnight oil. Five stars from me for this one.

A Harlequin Dreamers Review by Vesta Irene ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Didn't really like the characters
From the back cover:

Defender of justice...

It was hard enough for Eleanor Hunt to get men to take her seriously in sophisticated Chicago--it was going to be impossible in Blissful, Kansas! These cowboys couldn't believe she was a real attorney, here to try a cattle rustling case. They just looked her up and down and grinned. Especially that Bradley Smith. The man worked for her father and he still had the audacity to stare at her with those lust-filled green eyes. Every time she turned around, he was trying to trap her in his strong embrace. Worst of all, she was starting to enjoy it! Eleanor knew better than to mistake passion for love...but this man made her yearn for both!

Pursuer of passion...

Bradley Smith never met a woman who took herself as seriously as Miss Eleanor Hunt. Her beautiful blue eyes shone with determination; her delicious red lips were set in a no-nonsense frown; her ever-so-proper clothing tamed her luscious curves like fashionable armor. But underneath it all was a vibrant, desireable woman and Bradley was looking forward to discover--and uncovering--her. He would worship every inch of her delectable flesh, feel those war lips surrendering to his own, and see her eyes soften with the seductive glow of sweet, wild love.

And my review:

I have to cut this book some slack--it was published in 1989, and romance writing was different then. Romance were more long, drawn-out sagas than today's to-the-point romances. The sexual tension was often heavy-handed and the main focus of the novel was sex. Unfortunately, that means that many romances of that era don't age well, and this is one of them.

I felt that this book was too long, for one thing. While I like long, substantial reads, I don't like it when they feel padded. I felt that there was too much emphasis on descriptions of food and clothing and the weather, etc, etc. While there needs to be some to set the stage (especially in historical novels), too much tends to slow down the flow of the story.

I also felt that the romance/attraction aspect was too rushed. The instant, intense lust (and mutual hatred) between the hero and heroine felt a little forced. I found the hero really arrogant, and oversexed. The way he was constantly undressing the heroine with his eyes bothered me, and I wanted her to slap his face. I felt as if there wasn't much substance to the man, apart from flying hormones. I don't think that a guy being drop-dead gorgeous is reason enough to be with him.

The heroine's character was in conflict with herself. One minute, she wants to be an independent woman, and to be treated exactly the same as a man. Then the next second she wants the hero to protect her like a delicate flower. Well, which is it? Was she strong and independent, or weak and in need of protection and guidance? Was she mature and grown up, or young and childish? The heroine was constantly flip-flopping between the two extremes. I felt as if the author didn't really know which direction she wanted to go with the character. It made it really hard to identify with her or cheer for her. And her constant childish knee-jerk tantrums really got on my nerves after a while. I probably would have liked the heroine more if she had been more cool and collected.

If I'd read this when I was first starting to read romance, I probably would have loved it. But after 15 years of reading romance, I'm much pickier about my reading material. I think this book would be fine if you have nothing else to read, but there are better romances out there. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first of three pathbreaking volumes that will constitute a wide-ranging analytical guide to the world's approximately 5,000 languages. The volumes are written for both linguists and general readers, and this first volume in particular assumes no background in linguistics. A postscript prepared for this paperback edition takes research data to 1990. The book is illustrated with 21 maps. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ruhlen starts well, but goes downhill
This book has many virtues, or at least its first few chapters do.There is probably no other book which presents such a clear and detailed history of the attempts at classifying languages into families, both the successful attempts and the unsuccessful ones (though Ruhlen seldom acknowledges any unsuccessful ones).The reader will find a great deal of useful information here on this enterprise, information which is hard to find elsewhere.

However, as is well known, Ruhlen has a number of large and dangerous bees in his bonnet, and those bees gradually take over the book.By chapter 7, real linguistics has been left behind, and we read only about Ruhlen's bees.

The huge shortcoming is Ruhlen's willingness to accept, in a wholly uncritical manner, just about every speculative mega-grouping of languages which has ever been proposed.This weakness appears in the earlier chapters, as Ruhlen unhesitatingly acceptsa series of increasingly dubious "families', like Uralic-Yukaghir, North Caucasian, Khoisan, Austric, and Indo-Pacific.It comes to a head in chapter 6, where Ruhlen wholeheartedly endorses the vast but shriekingly speculative "Amerind" family proposed by Joseph Greenberg.Chapter 6 is by far the poorest of the first six chapters, and the reader will find much better information on the classification of American languages in Lyle Campbell's American Indian Languages (Oxford, 1997).

Then, from chapter 7 onward, Ruhlen's bees take over entirely, and the book falls apart.Ruhlen's familiar lack of understanding of linguistic methodology comes to the fore, and he descends into increasingly ridiculous claims about method and about results.True, he notes the hostility of professional linguists to the speculations he defends, but he fails to tell the reader anything much about the powerful reasons for that hostility, and he attempts to present the objections as resulting from little more than bad temper and supposed incompetence.

Ruhlen's profound lack of understanding of the formidable difficulties involved in relating any languages at all reaches a nadir on page 383, where he draws a preposterous parallel with biological classification, suggesting that identifying a language family is a task on a par with recognizing a class of butterflies. He should have pursued this analogy: he might have found out just how difficult and controversial biological classification really is.

As always, Ruhlen wants the reader to believe that languages can be successfully classified by the mere collection of miscellaneous resemblances -- which they cannot, as every professional linguist knows all too well.Waving away the laws of probability, he assures us breezily, on pages 255-256, that chance resemblances among languages are unlikely, and that they can be dismissed from consideration.But anybody who who has looked carefully at a few languages knows that chance resemblances are enormously frequent and statistically unavoidable: we have only a few speech sounds with which to construct thousands and thousands of words in every language, and chance resemblances are always with us.Consider English 'much' and Spanish 'mucho' ('much'), which are unrelated, or Italian 'due' ('two') and Malay 'dua' ('two'), which are unrelated, or Basque 'elkar' ('each other') and Dutch 'elkaar' ('each other'), which are unrelated.

Impervious to criticism, Ruhlen ventures to classify all the world's languages into just a few "families": 17 on page 258, and then only 12 on page 390.Readers should be aware that these "families" are, in most cases, no more than Ruhlen's pipe-dreams.Real linguists recognize well over 300 established families, and reducing that number by even one is an almost Herculean enterprise, requiring vast amounts of painstaking work.But Ruhlen doesn't believe in hard work; he believes only in collecting miscellaneous lookalikes from the pages of bilingual dictionaries.For Ruhlen, comparative linguistics is a trivial task, requiring no training, no experience, and no knowledge of the languages being classified, and he advocates ignorance over knowledge.

There are a few irritations even in the sensible sections, such as Ruhlen's (acknowledged) eccentric use of 'Indo-Hittite' for what the rest of the world calls 'Indo-European' -- a use which may bewilder innocent readers.

In sum, this book is a largely reliable source of information on the history of attempts at classification.But Ruhlen's grandiose conclusions, and indeed everything after chapter 6, is best ignored: it's fantasy, no more.

Larry

Approach with caution!
This is a useful work if approached with caution and taken with a grain of salt. There are two camps of comparative linguists: the clumpers and the splitters. Ruhlen is an extreme example of a clumper, placing languages into families based on tenuous evidence. He is also an excellent writer and an enthusiastic cheerleader. This has led some amateurs into accepting what is a marginal position among professional linguists. This does not mean that he is wrong, but that he should not necessarily be taken at face value.

Regardless of this, his tables are immensely helpful, so long as the reader is aware of which parts are established and which are more speculative.

Caveat lector.

BRILLIANT, AN OPUS MAGNUM!
This opus magnum (first of three volumes that will ultimately constitute aguide to the world's languages) addresses the genetic classification oflanguages. I'm not a trained linguistic but have a passionate interest inhistorical linguistics and I found this book easy to digest andilluminating. For a state-of-the-art reference work on classification,there is no equivalent! In each language family, the author traces thehistory of classification within that group and concludes with the verylatest research. Each chapter has its own exhaustive bibliography and thereis a bibliographic update. The book is illustrated with 21 helpful mapsindicating the geographical spread of language families whilst countlesstables and figures support the text. There are personal name, languagegroup and language indexes plus a detailed Complete Classificationcomprising 77 pages. The last chapter, Postscript 1991, is the mostfascinating of all since here the author discusses long-range comparisons,Nostratic/Eurasiatic, Amerind, Dene-Caucasian, human genetics as per thework of Cavalli-Sforza (Fig. 9.2: Comparison of the genetic tree andlinguistic phyla). I highly recommended this work to all who are interestedin linguistics, anthropology and the history of the human race.

Classification of languages
A very good book that does a lot of hard work in classifying an extremely large number of languages.

The author blindly assumes evolution as fact, and for this, I am disappointed. But, what to expect from secularscientists? The material is still valid.

YOU MUST HAVE THIS ONE
You must have this book if you are a linguistics or anthropology major.It lists most of the world's languages and the book has an easy to read classification of them. ... Read more