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Small Press Bookwatch

Volume 2, Number 6 June 2003 Home | SPBW Index

Table of Contents

Reviewer's Choice Parenting Shelf Biography Shelf
Fiction Shelf    


Reviewer's Choice

Read This; It's Funny!!
Carl E. Knox, compiler
Our Computer Guy, Inc.
2000 N.E. 42nd Ave., Ste. 101, Portland, OR 97213
0972844503 $22.95 www.laughableemail.com

Read This; It's Funny!!: A Laughable E-mail Collection is a compendium of humorous jokes, puns, lists, and stories sent by email, about everything from work and family to sports and holidays. Each individual page contains a different chuckle-inducing gag, and an accompanying floppy disc contains copies of the laughs for one's computer. Enhanced with an accompanying computer disk, Read This; It's Funny!! is a truly engaging and eclectic collection of wry online humor.

Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War
Robert L. Cantrell
Center For Advantage
PO Box 42049, Arlington, VA 22204
0972291407 $14.95 www.centerforadvantage.com

Robert L. Cantrell's Understanding Sun Tzu On The Art Of War contains both the complete translated text of Sun Tzu's enduring classic on battle strategy, and a modern-day interpretation packed with advice on leadership, learning to keep one's intentions a secret from one's opponents, leveraging advantages as the key to victory, and a great deal more. An excellent resource for anyone seeking self-improvement through internalizing Sun Tzu's wisdom, Understanding Sun Tzu on the Art of War is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading of the highest order.

Values of the Wise
Jason Merchey
Infinity Publishing.com
519 West Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA 194041-1413
074141399X $24.95 www.valuesofthewise.com www.amazon.com

Compiled by Jason Merchey, Values Of The Wise: Profound & Witty Words Of Wisdom From The Greatest Minds is an engaging collection of brief yet insightful words of wisdom, wit, and reflection from thousands of noted writers, acclaimed celebrities, insightful philosophers, and influential politicians. More than 2,750 quotations fill the pages of this impressive compilation which is especially recommended for public speakers seeking keen-minded comments for all themes and occasions. "An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral" - Clarence Darrow

Powerful Partnering
E. L. Hollenberg, M.D.
Xulon Press
11350 Random Hill Center, Suite 800, Fairfax, VA 22030
1931232865 $16.95 www.XulonPress.com

Powerful Partnering: With Words I Never Learned In Medical School by family practice physician E. L. Hollenberg is a unique and informative "self-help" guide that blends medical and psychological wisdom for those readers seeking to improve their creativity, skills in conflict resolution, control over stress, and much, much more. Simple emotional and behavioral processes that anyone can follow to improve their quality of life abound in this excellent and refreshing resource are the hallmark of this truly "reader friendly" guide which is further enhanced with a glossary of definitions for terms and terminology used by Dr. Hollenberg.


The Parenting Shelf

The Wedding Was Great But... When Does Chuck Leave?
Charles H. Lund
Adams-Bachman Publishing
1490 E. Ganymede Dr., Oro Valley, AZ 85737
0972794107 $12.95 1-866-234-4626

The Wedding Was Great But... When Does Chuck Leave? is the personal testimony of Charles H. Lund, who, as a stepfather, found that he had to deal with issues he and his family had arising concerning his divorce, his remarriage, his relationship to his stepson, and the household dynamics when his biological son from his first marriage joined his new family. A revealing and insightful story of family strife, the importance of patience and understanding, and even the aid of a professional counselor in dealing with thorny issues and helping one help all one's children through rough times, The Wedding Was Great But.... is very highly recommended -- especially for those having to cope with their own "blended family" relationships.

Parenting: The Highest Calling
James E. Maggart
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
0595269591 $14.95 www.iuniverse.com

Parenting: The Highest Calling by parenting and family expert James E. Maggart is a guideline book written especially for those who aspire to becoming truly effective and loving parents. Parenting: The Highest Calling offers sound principles upon which to build spiritual, physical, mental, and social fitness in children, and teach them the crucial importance embracing God. Parenting: The Highest Calling is enhanced with a brief yet passionate, highly readable, and easy-to-follow pointer guide broadly covering the topics of teaching young adults what they need to know. If you aspire to successfully parenting children in a world of often counter-productive technologies and social stresses, then give a careful reading to James Maggart's Parenting: The Highest Calling.


The Biography Shelf

My Tropic Isle
E. J. Banfield
Dixon-Price Publishing
9105 Leprechaun Lane, Kingston, WA 98346
1929516223 $16.99 dixonprice.com

E. J. Banfield's My Tropic Isle presents the writings of an erudite individual in frail health, who had retired to a tropical island near Australia in 1895. An avowed disciple of Thoreau, Banfield personally observed and experienced the wonder and complexity in nature. This in turn, brought an enduring joy to his life, and motivated him to lobby the government to declare his beloved island (and others near it) as "Reserves for the Protection and Preservation of Native Birds." A thoughtful account sure to resonate with the hearts of nature lovers everywhere, My Tropic Isle is a welcome addition to the growing library of Nature Conservation literature.

God Gave Us A Promise
Phillip Wolf
PublishAmerica
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1591296331 $19.95 www.publishamerica.com

God Gave Us A Promise: The Story of a Little Fighter by Phillip Wolf is the candid and intimate testimony of his own family when an infant son was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Their son's diagnosis changed their lives as the cruel realities of this devastating condition forced them to trust in love, God's faith, and the essence of human compassion to survive the difficult choices ahead. A powerful and profoundly moving remembrance, God Gave Us A Promise is remarkable and recommended reading.

People Farm
Steve Susoyev
Moving Finger Press
369 Jersey Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-3709
0972722505 $18.00 www.peoplefarm.com

Steve Susoyev's People Farm is the memoir of a participant in a early Aquarian Age "therapy cult" and a "human relations laboratory" which degenerated and deteriorated into patterns of sexual abuse, corruption, and psychopathy. Names and even the models of vehicles have been changed, but the raw, gut-wrenching power of this personal and eyewitness testimony shows through clearly as a warning to the seductive embrace of overly close-knit and controlling groups. A compelling tell-all which is very hard to put down, People Farm is especially recommended reading for anyone (including their families and friends) who finds themselves tempted by a cult community.

Eagle Rock
Lake Pylant Monhollon
Reflection Publishing
1 Hendrick Drive, Abilene, TX 79602
0971214212 $14.95 1-915-692-9651

Lake Pylant Monhollon's Eagle Rock: The Memoirs Of A Little Girl 1941-45 is a nostalgic memoir of a simpler life and time. Quaint black-and-white silhouette-drawings by George Ann Brock nicely embellish this warmhearted remembrance of a wonderful childhood and an era when possessions were not necessarily seen as the key to all happiness. Eagle Rock is commended as an especially well written and refreshing read.

Chez Dogs
Frank Palescandolo
iUniverse
2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100, Lincoln, NE 68512
059526848X $11.95 www.iuniverse.com

Chez Dogs is the personal memoir of Frank Palescandolo, an extraordinary dog lover who shares with the reader his thoughts on the unique canine personalities that he befriended in and about the Coney Island restaurant his parents owned while he was growing up. A wry, gentle account of humorous anecdotes, pet foibles, and treasured memories, Chez Dogs is recommended reading as a nostalgic glimpse into a yesteryear childhood with canine companions, visitors, and passers-through.

Legacy Of Love
Arun Gandhi
North Bay Books
PO Box 21234, El Sobrante, CA 94820
097252004X $15.00 www.northbaybooks.com

Written by Arun Gandhi (the fifth grandson of the great spiritual and political leader Mahatma Gandhi), Legacy Of Love: My Education In The Path Of Nonviolence is an autobiographical account of one man's struggle to understand, cope with, and learn to peacefully resist social injustice in all of its forms. Born in 1934 in South Africa, Gandhi and his family were subjected to the wrongs of apartheid while he was growing up. In Legacy of Love, his reflections on the profound power of truth, morality, and the spiritual meaning of nonviolent resistance fill the pages with meaningful and insightful testimony.


The Fiction Shelf

Men With Women
Joseph Hullett
Aventine Press
45 East Flower Street, Suite 236, Chula Vista, Ca 91910-7631
159330014X $12.95 1-949-636-1274 www.answerpub.com

Men With Women is a collection of thirteen short-stories by award-winning playwright Joseph Hullett. The individual pieces comprising this outstanding anthology include: The Girl in the Red 'Vette; Outside Mombasa; He Rarely Thought of Her At All; Grunion Hunt; Something Borrowed, Something Blue; Father's Day; Gift of the Maggie; Tattoos; Friends; Rhapsody; End Zone; True Believer; And All Ye Need. Written around the core theme of relationships and the flaws within the male heart, Men With Women offers both a unique look into human nature and a thought-provoking experience in the ups and downs of male-female romantic interactions.

Blast Man Standing
Robert V. Spelleri
Absey & Company, Inc.
23011 Northcrest Drive, Spring, TX 77389
1888842423 $24.95 1-888-412-2739

Blast Man Standing is a thrilling, techno-terrorism drama by Robert V. Spelleri that kicks off with a nighttime ambush and escalates into a desperate battle as Tom Malone struggles to save his family and his own life. An action-packed saga rife with looming threats and sudden twists, Blast Man Standing is deftly written, attention engaging, thoroughly entertaining read.

Waiting For The 400: A Northwoods Noir
Kyle Marffin
The Design Image Group, Inc.
PO Box 2325, Darien, IL 60561
1891946145 $15.95 www.designimagegroup.com

Set in the spring of 1955, Waiting For The 400: A Northwoods Noir by Kyle Marffin is a steamy novel of dangerous women, misguided men, and deals in black shadows with deadly consequences. Deftly written with the dank mystique of classic noir, Waiting For The 400 irresistibly draws the reader into the story with sensual thrills and danger lurking in the shadows.

Sherlock Holmes: A Duel With The Devil (sbw/mystery)
Roger Jaynes
Breese Books Ltd.
Marygleen McCombs Books Publicity (publicity)
164 Kensington Park Road, London, W11 2ER, England
0947533753 $7.95 www.sherlockholmes.co.uk

Deftly written by Roger Jaynes, Sherlock Holmes: A Duel With The Devil is a truly fascinating novel about the life-and-death struggles between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective hero and his eternal arch nemesis, Professor Moriarty, a mathematical genius gone homicidally mad. Told from Dr. Watson's point of view, this thoroughly engaging and quite faithful pastiche presents a terrible duel between Holmes and Moriarty for "the very heart and moral soul of London." An engagingly read which written with a love for and a close eye upon the original Doyle stories, Sherlock Holmes: A Duel With The Devil is also available in a hardcover edition (0947533850, $19.95).

The Memoirs of Christina Morris
Stella Sole
TurnKey Press
2525 West Anderson Lane, Suite 540, Austin, TX 78757
0972380604 $17.95 www.turnkeypress.com

The Memoirs Of Christina Morris is a superbly crafted novel by Stella Sole which is written in the style of a memoir. In 1943, Christina Morris is a London woman who has committed high treason and has been sentenced to execution - yet her death is postponed because she is pregnant, and her unborn child is deemed innocent. The prisoner's caretaker urges her to write her memoirs, and so unfolds a harrowing tale of love, the crushing press of a war machine, the depths of betrayal, and the essence of the human spirit for good or bad. The Memoirs Of Christina Morris is an especially reflective and intensely compelling story.

Death Is Not Always The Winner
David Landau
Pureplay Press
c/o Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicists
2525 West Anderson Lane, Suite 540, Austin, TX 78757
0971436606 $15.00 www.cubanovel.com

Death Is Not Always The Winner by publisher, radio broadcaster, and foreign policy expert David Landau is an original novel about Cuba and the United States during the implacable reign of Fidel Castro's. Based on true historical events, and deftly written with a keen eye toward Cuban hearts and minds, Death Is Not Always The Winner accurately and engagingly portrays complex political machinations and the individual lives that are all too often destroyed in the eternal struggle for power and influence. Highly recommended reading!

Never To Love
Mary Ann Carman
Publish America
PO Box 151 Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1592864449 $19.95 www.publishamerica.com

Never To Love is a powerful love story and an original medieval era fantasy novel by Mary Ann Carman. A prince and a witch find their paths star-crossed in a land torn apart by war and malicious sorcery. A sweeping, rapturous tale of passion, revenge, and the desperate quest to save a kingdom, Never To Love is especially commended to the attention of both historical fiction fans and fantasy enthusiasts.

The Rose Of York: Love And War
Sandra Worth
NovelBooks, Inc.
PO Box 661, Douglas, MA 01516
1591051290 $17.95 novelbooksinc.com

The Rose Of York: Love And War is a historical novel by Sandra Worth and set in Yorkist England from 1460 to 1485. Expounding an historically epic of honor and love during the time of the Wars of the Roses, The Rose Of York is both dramatic and evocative in its portrayal of struggling souls making the best choices they can in an unjust world. A deftly written, reader engaging, thoroughly entertaining and enthusiastically recommended historical novel which documents its author as a gifted literary talent.


James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
phone: 1-608-835-7937
e-mail: mbr@execpc.com
e-mail: mwbookrevw@aol.com
http://www.midwestbookreview.com


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