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Customer Reviews (9)

Psycho-Dramas
Busted Flush continues the adventures of next generation of Wild Cards, with a few of the originals in pivotal roles. All of them are survivors of the deadly alien Joker virus that triggers strange deformities and powerful abilities, and most of whom work for various governments as authorized superheroes or weapons. It's set in a 10 degree variant universe, wherein American Hero is a Survivor-style show for testing/recruiting new Wild Cards, the U.S. President is named Kennedy, the Attorney General is Hilary Rodham, and fuel from the Mideast costs 300 dollars a barrel, so not many people are driving cars; and evidently our politicians are still clueless and ineffective, because no one is producing ethanol from hemp.If only Arizona could send Leslie Fish to the Senate.
The "Double Helix" pieces are by Melinda Snodgrass, who wrote The Edge of Reason last year.Teleporting hermaphrodite British Interpol ace Noel leads a duplicitous life as a double-agent. As assassin Bahir, he spies on/works for/sabotages the United Arab Emirate's Prince Siraj, the man who sets the prices on oil.As Lilith, she spies on/works for/sabotages the Committee, the organization which directs superhero activities of Aces on this side of the pond. Lilith is sexy and snarky; Bahir is by turn respectful and flippant with authority figures; but Noel is trying to cope with a dying dad and accumulated self-loathing.
"Could, Would, Shoulda," penned by Caroline Spector, follows the activities of Bubbles, who has PTSD from her rescue work in Egypt and a troubled relationship with her girlfriend, but still has the heart to visit young jokers and aces kept in hospitals or other holding facilities.She befriends a Wild Card named Niobe, after the Greek queen who grieved inconsolably for the death of all her 14 children. Niobe births fully activated Wild Cards every time she breeds, but all her children die in a matter of days.
Niobe also shares the "Political Science" storyline with 13 year old Blake, who mysteriously survived a nuclear explosion in a two-bit, played-out oil town in Texas.Blake's reaction to the Joker virus is just emerging, and when it proves to be out of control, he's slated for termination.Niobe and her children bust Blake out, but they inadvertently release some of the most dangerous criminal Jokers on the planet, and the Committee sends some of its finest to clean up the ensuing mess. Ian Tregellis and Walton Simons write this story arc, and John Jos. Miller gets to tell more of it in "Mortality's Strong Hand."
"Just Cause," by Carrie Vaughn, follows Committee members Ana, Kate, and Tinker, who specialize in mitigating natural disasters.Kate is involved in a romantic triangle with her boss, John "Fortune" Tipton-Clarke, and fellow Ace Michael, aka Drummer Boy, who gets his own storyline in "Dirge in a Major Key" by Stephen Leigh.
Kevin Andrew Murphy's "The Tears of Nephritus" follows the senior Ace, Ellen, who can channel the memories and abilities of others if she has something of theirs to hold onto. Too bad for Ellen - she's in love with a ghost.
Victor Milan writes the other sections, giving each its own title.These are the darkest, since his focus is the politics of genocide and power plays, featuring the seemingly indestructible shadow Ace, The Radical.


George Martin edited but did not actually write any of the storylines that are woven together to make up Busted Flush, which I will only forgive if he is working on another Tuff Voyaging story.That being said, his touch at the helm is sure, and the actual authors do this series fantastic justice. It's the literary equivalent of The Traveling Willburys

Well worth a look
I would suggest that you find some way to start at the beginning with the Wildcards it is a big and expansive set of anthologies this is #19 in a set if I remember correctly.Speaking for myself I always have one problem with the books the series is so large and the cast of characters so expansive I have trouble remembering who is who and where the action is going.Still they read very quickly and the read is entertaining.I think its great that the group of authors going Wildcards has managed to keep it going for so many years.

Busted Flush is royal
Delivers that old Martin magic with wild abilities and personal conflicts well-pooled in the "Wild Cards" tradition.

back in the swing
As a longtime WildCards fan (since 1987) this latest entry, the nineteenth in the series, is a pretty solid part two to the Committee trilogy and a decent introduction to the fictional world as a whole.

If you're curious about the series and the other 17 books seem daunting, give this and Inside Straight a try. You don't have to know anything other than the background info about the wildcard virus (explained at length in other reviews here) and the fact that the idealistic 20-somethings that make up the Committee have to live in the shadow of aces past.

Most compelling to me is the drive of these kids to use their abilities for the betterment of man and the exhausting realization they're coming to that you can't save the world from every disaster. It's a sacrifice that's beginning to take its toll on their united vision and I'm excited to see Suicide Kings follow this out to what feels like a catastrophic conclusion. As with all the other books in this series, the characters are strong, memorable and well-served by their respective authors.

As I told a friend of mine, this is what Heroes wishes it was.

Adequate addition
Busted Flush is an adequate addition to the Wild Cards fold.At times better, and at times worse than its predecessor, Busted Flush continues the story of a UN sponsored Committee of super powered Aces, fighting trouble around the globe.The bad news is that most of the scenes with the Committee fall flat.Wild Cards has always kept the traditionally super heroic at arms length.Their world had a few traditional superheroes but they were never central characters.The Committee and its Aces are much more superheroic than normal for Wild Cards, and that tends to fail here.

The best scenes are the ones with non-Committee members.Melinda Snodgrass turns in an enjoyable turn here and manages to redeem a character who I had loathed in the last book by showing his inner demons.Victor Milan returns with the best installment in the book, following Capn Trips alter ego The Radical as he fights a bloody war in Africa.Of the new characters there's only one that really interesting.We get a new Joker named Genetrix, who manages to be an effective and touching character despite the ludicrous surroundings in which they've put her. ... Read more

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A sparkling, lively record of a remarkableauthor/publisher relationship.Ever mercurial in temperament, an idealist who struggled financially to meet his material needs, Henry Miller for decades relied on his publisher James Laughlin's generosity and expert editorial advice. Although Miller's letters decried the conservatism of American book publishing and were often suspicious in tone, Miller nevertheless admired and trusted Laughlin with intimate details about his work and his personal life. The resulting correspondence, spanning from 1935 to 1979, shortly before Miller's death on June 7, 1980, is a remarkable, uncensored record of the ideas and intentions behind many of the author's most provocative literary endeavors.
... Read more

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In Bartholomew's garden there's an old apple tree, which he loves. He loves swinging from its branches, hugging it tight when it rains and helping Little Black Kitten down from it with George when she climbs too high! But best of all, Bartholomew likes counting the red apples which George shakes from the tree! On every page of this lovely story book, the old apple tree has an increasing number of bright, red apples among the green. A brightly coloured margin to the side shows the number clearly in digits, words and a neat row of red apples - until the end, when George has baked all the apples into a pie and there are none left! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Toddler goes nuts for this book
It's hard to explain just how much my 1.5 year old daughter loves this book.She insists on us reading it 5-6 times a day, jumping up and down with delight at the apples, and the numbers, and the little black kitten.

The illustrations are elegant and simple, easy for a child to understand.The characters are really well developed.I have read some earlier versions of the Bartholomew bear series, and the drawings were not as refined as they are here.

We originally borrowed this from the library but had to buy a copy because I'm afraid my daughter's heart would break if it were to disappear.Since this book arrived in our home, she's asked for "apples" instead of just "books" every night, and every morning for that matter.

Great book. ... Read more

Product Description
George Herbert's "Holy Patterns": Reforming Individuals in Community explores Herbert's understanding of full individuality in community. Living communities depend upon imagined histories and futures. Like his mother Lady Magdalen Danvers and her friend John Donne, and unlike many of his Anglican contemporaries, Herbert imagined significant continuity with the pre-Reformation past; that imagination was tied to a prophetic imagining of the future triumph of Christ's universal and apostolic church. Herbert's project was to 'purify' a unified national church from within, this purification taking place through lives lived communally in self-scrutiny, self-regulation, sacrifice, and loving service. Such 'holy patterns' of living were imagined as leading to the purification of the whole church, the spread of the Gospel, human advancement through what we would call scientific knowledge, and international peace. ... Read more

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This special limited edition is a collection of remarks and essays by the Presidents of the United States from 1789 to 1989. ... Read more

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The author presents an intimate scrapbook replete with anecdotes, photographs, letters, and comedy routines recording her thirty-year relationship with Burns, which began when she was only eighteen and he was seventy-one. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Just Wonderful
Oh, what a wonderful, lovely, loving little book by Melissa Miller. I had loved George Burns and Gracie Allen since I was a child, and continued to follow George right up to the end. This was the absolute last book about George Burns left that I hadn't read and was a bit suspicious, no matter how many nice things he'd said about Ms. Miller. She's about 4 years younger than me and initially reminded me of a number of young women I knew in the San Fernando Valley in the 60's, star-struck, shallow and generally very untalented. I had also seen them on television and was outraged anyone would try to replace Gracie. Boy was I wrong! She is a loving, sincere, caring individual with a mind of her own (a very good mind Melissa no matter what you've said), and deeply aware of life and those around her. She was a young woman who loved George Burns as well as Gracie did I believe.

The book also gave me, once again, proof that George Burns and the great, great Jack Benny were the two finest men who ever graced the stage or screen. Being able to read about George's private live with Melissa was the final and best ending to my reading of his life. Melissa, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and God bless you for how well you loved and cared for my hero.

Creepy Scary Stuff
Now I understand why my teacher was so demented

Itz the best book I've read yet
really fascinating... Didn't fall asleep once....Must read.... find the food stuff of George burns..and my teacher.......LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL

A gift to "God"
Melissa Miller's account of her life with her "G.B." is right on. Her love for George leaps right off the page.As a friend of George, Miss Miller has the sweetness of the man down pat. Thank you Lisa for anhonest account of a fine man and one of our centuries great entertainers.To parphrase George, "Love IT Kid!"So did I.

Robert HoweOakdale,CA Scripts360@aol.com

I was a participant in the Kids NextDoor in l968
I was a member of the group Lisa mentions, "The Kids Next Door", back in 1968; I think I may even see my teenaged face in the shadows in one photograph taken of she and George Burns at the Palmer House in Chicago.George had us on the floor laughing backstage, night after night, with hisanecdotes about his friendship with Jack Benny and his practicaljokes...Melissa Miller has contributed a warm, touching and delightful bookto the Burns legacy; I recommend it to everyone who loved this legendarycomic actor. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1914Original Publisher: G.P. Putnam's SonsSubjects: Literary Criticism / PoetryPoetry / GeneralPoetry / American / GeneralSocial Science / Women's StudiesNotes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free.Excerpt: AIRYou know a man may have an air about him.... Yes, and that which puffs up, makes a swell, is bad air. -- No good air in gas!The Little Twin Tramps, nI., 2.AIR, KEEN AND BRIGHTEvery atom of air is as keen and as bright as a dart of a Cupid to tingle one's blood to a glow and make one in love with all things. The Ranch Girl, n.AlmsWhat most men want the most, I think, is being let alone; and money enough to buy the privilege..... Then give us money..... Give you money? -- A true man wants not alms but aid. The Little Twin Tramps, In., 3.Alone (see Companionship, Lonely, and Self- Conquest)How sad, when thoughts, proud once to roam,Abused and bruised, came mourning homeWith their young ardor overthrown!How sad is life that lives alone!There was a time, when, brave and bare,The little hands, all soft and spare,Claspt all, and hoped that love was there;Not gloved in fear, claspt every thing,With every rose to grasp a sting;Then dropt it, sad and suffering.And what are now those thoughts about?Oh, they have turn'd from deed to doubt:They work within, if not without.A Life in Song: Doubting, VIn. In life or death, knights crowned at heaven's highthrone,Pass up through paths where each must move alone.Midnight in a City Park.Within himself when fierce the fight is waged,Oh, who can aid the purpose thus engaged!The soul, unheard, in darkness and alone,Can never share a contest all its own.W... ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, and mostly edited by George R. R. Martin.

While most of the books are made up of individual short stories, they generally focus on a central theme or event. There were also several longer storylines which run through several of the books. Some volumes use the format of a mosaic novel. This involved several writers writing individual story lines which were then edited together into one novel length story. Finally, some volumes are a complete novel written by a single author.

Wild Cards was inspired by superhero comics, and many of the authors play with the conventions of the medium, while some characters are based on existing heroes (for example, Jetboy was modeled on the Hillman Periodicals' character Airboy). Many of the original authors were also inspired by a long-running Albuquerque, New Mexico campaign of the role-playing game Superworld, gamemastered by George R. R. Martin, and many modeled their characters on their in-game persona. There are certain broad classes of characters in the Wild Cards universe of superhero novels started by George R. R. Martin.

Aces: To be classified as an Ace, the person must still be basically human in appearance and generally be able to "pass" in society as normal people--as opposed to the physical mutations affecting those known as Jokers, resulting in various physical deformities or debilitating conditions. Certain individuals with both powers and physical alterations are still considered Aces, such as the celebrity Ace known as Peregrine, who despite having a pair of feathered wings growing from her shoulder blades is otherwise physically attractive in appearance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A building stone for Cognitive Science and for NLP
As you will be able to read in the new Foreword by Donald Broadbent of the University of Oxford, this book has had a major impact on psychology and helped achieve the switch to cognitive psychology.This book triggered much of the research that lead to Ulric Neisser's book "Cognitive Psychology". The five stars I gave are related to the importance of this book - when reading this book in 2001, without taking this background into account, I would still rate it 4 stars.

This book argues that our behavior is guided by our plans.People move from sub-goal to sub-goal until their purposes are achieved. A basic concept to explain that is the feedback loop which comes from engineering and is know as the TOTE model inside the NLP community. When NLPers try to model a person's strategy (e.g. for taking a decision), they are in fact looking for the basic building blocks of the TOTE. This books contains a chapter on "Plans for Speaking", showing the link between Miller and Chomsky, another father of modern cogintive science (and NLP).

Of course, if you just want to grasp the basic concept, there is no need to read this book given that many books that are linked to practical applications of cogitive science (such as NLP) will include the model.For instance, the first part of the third chapter of my book "7 Steps on Emotional Intelligence" is built around on the TOTE model.

I consider this book a "must" for any scolar of cognitive science in general and of NLP in particular that wants some background on their domain.

Patrick E.C. Merlevede, MSc -- co-author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence" ... Read more

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The Christian life is a journey not just spiritually but also physically and experientially. As global travel becomes more accessible, new opportunities arise for these journeys to be spiritually significant. You may find yourself in historic places where Christian faith shaped entire civilizations. And you may realize that you too are being changed—from a tourist to a pilgrim.Christian George recovers the ancient spiritual practice of pilgrimage, in which travel to sacred sites leads to the transformation of the soul. In engaging narratives of his worldwide voyages, he follows in the footsteps of spiritual pilgrims from across the centuries, from Luther in Wartburg to Spurgeon in England. His travels to landmark places from Iona to Assisi give him not only a better understanding of his Christian heritage, but also of God's inner work in pilgrims throughout history and today.Come with Christian as he breaks bread with Benedictines in Ireland and worships with the Taizé community in France. Experience the transforming power of spiritual pilgrimage. And discover what it means to be a pilgrim as you follow God wherever he leads. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Excellent book!
This book is a very good book! The author takes you on many journeys with him, and he does an excellent job of painting word pictures in such a way that you can easily picture the scenes and feel like you're right there with him! I would definitely recommend this book whether you're someone who loves traveling, a Christian wanting to do better in their journey, or just anyone looking for a fun, casual read.

Fascinating!
I enjoyed every aspect of this book!It appealed to my love of travel, as well as my desire to grow in my faith.I loved how Christian was able to tell interesting stories about fascinating places, and, at the same time, provide inspirational insights into his personal journey of faith.I cannot wait to read his future books!

History Aflame
After reading this book, you will want to visit the sites mentioned within this volume. The incredible detail given makes the reader feel like he's actually therevisiting the site with the author, as opposed to some frommer's travel guide where the site is listed and what happened there. Instead, George goes through the historical significance in a gentle way and slams the inevitable arugement of "what does this have to do with me?" by presenting theological applications and impact. If the chief end of man is to Glorify God and enjoy Him forever, (westminster cat. - shorter confession), then are we not to understand that this faith we have is not formed in some mental vacuum? Church history can be an intimate expression of praise and joy unto the Lord. Thanks to George for NOT letting this pass us by.

A passionate, personal account
Mr. George does a great job of including history and personal experiences without giving either short shrift.His theology (somewhat different than mine) is clear without being overwhelming.
Buy this book if you are considering traveling to any of the many sites he covers (are they extend beyond the usual pilgrimage sites).

An adventure in Christian history and faith
This book is a treasure trove and a lens through which the sites of Christian history are illumined and brought to life.Characters from Augustine to Luther, from Benedict to Brother Roger, from Bunyan to Spurgeon speak and teach and preach, and we are placed in their company and allowed to listen and respond.Christian George is a master story teller, a word smith, a winsome companion along the road of Christian lore and legend, of history and mystery.He takes us by the hand with gusto and clear vision of his destination and abates all fears in the traveler by showing us his own vulnerability and subtle trepidation in the face of topography and divine presence.This book is both an invitation to go and see the way George does with his colorful, poetic, humorous perspective and a model for delving into the history of our Christian faith in the places of the heart.I recommend this book highly as a personal adventure in pilgrimage or for group exploration.Not only inveterate travelers or church history buffs, but also those whose faith has grown stale due to lacking circulation and exercise will find their muscles toned and their heart beat accelerated by these stories and testimonies spanning two thousand years of faith. ... Read more