Enduring Great Lakes: A Natural History Book

Book Description

Is your boat ready to go cruising?

Just about every sailboat—used and new—can make a good cruiser, but only if the hull-deck structure, rig, and systems meet certain standards. Spurr’s Guide to Upgrading Your Cruising Sailboat tells you what those standards are, and gives you all the help you need to refurbish and upgrade every structure, surface, fitting, and system on your boat—stem to stern, project by project.

This all-in-one guide leads you step by step to a seaworthy, crew-friendly boat with top-notch cruising performance. Not only will you learn what to look for when you buy a new or used boat, you'll also learn how to reinforce your boat’s hull and structural components, redesign and replace rigging, upgrade electrical systems, and much more. Special features include:

A detailed survey of 70 used and new fiberglass sailboats best suited to offshore sailing
Gear and equipment recommendations by brand name
Construction details and other essential features of a strong, safe cruising boat
How to make critical repairs to the deck, hull, bulkheads, blisters, and portlights

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding all around sail book.......2007-07-31

Dan is the expert in boat know-how. This guide is great for all sailors as it includes project ideas and tips from simple to complex things that are on your boat.

I have read just about every one of Dan's book and this is the BEST. I have many sailor friends whom also live and die by this book.

A MUST HAVE

Don't Go Offshore Without It.......2006-04-20

Some books that you read just come across with the ring of truth. This one does. I think that this is best explained by referring to one short example. On page 60 he reports that he noticed rust stains on the rudder of his boat. Upon finding out that the rudder had a mild steel web in the middle he decided to rebuild it. After all, you really don't want the rudder coming apart half way across the ocean.

He spends the next couple of pages showing what he did in rebuilding the rudder. After it was finished a friend came by and showed him a rudder that was much easier to make from scratch rather than go through this whole process.

This says to me that first he knows what he is doing in repairing the rudder, and second that he is not ashamed to admit that sometimes he can still learn things.

This kind of attitude is carried throughout the book. Instead of a lot of publicity photographs supplied by manufacturers, he has taken most of the pictures himself. It is clear from the variety of the pictures, that he has 'been there, done that.'

I also liked his comments on what he calls 'Good Old Boats.' Most of us can't afford the prices of new boats, and his comments about some of the older boats he considers suitable for offshore sailing.

All in all, don't plan a long trip without reading this book first.

Average customer rating:

Excellent.

Building your nonfiction story

Finally, something that makes sense to me

Powerful and practical medicine....

THE best book on feature writing

Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction
Jon Franklin
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Academic & Commercial | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
Nonfiction | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Pedagogy | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Based on The Wall Street Journal Guide

The New New Journalism: Conversations with America's Best Nonfiction Writers on Their Craft

Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction

Writing Creative Nonfiction: Instruction and Insights from Teachers of the Associated Writing Programs

Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University

ASIN: 0452272955

Amazon.com

One of Ludwig Miës van der Rohe's favorite aphorisms was that "God is in the details." Jon Franklin would beg to differ. A pretty turn of phrase is no use at all, says he, if you don't have a firm structure on which to hang it. Franklin pioneered the field of creative nonfiction by applying fiction's classical complication-resolution form to standard nonfiction (specifically to news stories, most of which, he states, are generally "endings without beginnings attached"). Instead of focusing on style, grammar, and word use, as do many books on writing, Writing for Story provides a rigorous lesson in building a nonfiction story (short or long) that has structural integrity. Franklin advocates starting with an outline, writing the climax first, and engaging in other grueling tasks that seem like hard work because they are.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent........2007-01-26

I bought this book for me, and I bought a copy for a friend. I like books that can actually demonstrate the lessons they profess, and the lessons here are clear. Jon Franklin includes two stories he won Pulitzer prizes for, and theyre excellent examples of what he's teaching the rest of us to do.

The book wont teach you everything you need to learn about writing. It wont teach you a lot about writing. But it will teach you how to make your stories interesting...or as interesting as they can be. And if a story is compelling, readers will gladly endure grammatical errors, and spelling errors, and punctuation glitches. There are other books that cover the grammar and spelling and punctuation. Few books address how to make what you write interesting. This one does. This book isnt Business Writing 101.

Building your nonfiction story.......2007-01-17

Mr. Franklin starts with two short nonfiction stories that he uses as canvases for painting his techniques. He describes the essential elements of a salable story and provides a fundamental structure for building and supporting the story. After teaching you how to transpose your story idea into rough copy, he shows you how to "polish" your rough copy until it shines.

Finally, something that makes sense to me.......2006-08-12

After several tries with other well-reputed books, this is the first that has truly conveyed to me a clear understanding of how to write for story. Indeed, when I read this for the first time, I found it difficult at times to focus on Franklin's words, finding myself pulled away by story ideas crystalizing for me as never before.

It may be that my technical background renders his methodical approach, liberally sprinkled with engaging anecdote and warm humor, particularly transparent and memorable, when the words of others yielded little real insight.

If you seek understanding of - a solid 'feel' to - an approach to storytelling that facilitates the construction of engaging and memorable tales, then this book might work as well for you as it does for me. If, though, you view organized thought as antithetical to creativity, then you might not find this work so appealing.

Powerful and practical medicine...........2006-05-02

This is an atypical book on writing, which focuses on something that man has been doing since language was invented -- telling engaging stories. The concepts are simple and powerful, but the application of them is not! I found that this book has helped me to improve my writing and appreciate other people's writing. Jon Franklin is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who honed his skills in the writing trenches rather than in a classroom. At times, what he has to say is bitter medicine, but reading your finished product will be worth the effort.

I at times found Jon Franklin's tone a bit offensive. Sometimes, he came across as a "know it all" or that his way was the only way. In other words, he seemed a bit rigid and perhaps even arrogant. However, the advice is sound and I must admit that after trying the techniques, I can see why he encourages (pushes!) so hard for the writing principles he obviously believes in and that have made him very successful.

THE best book on feature writing.......2005-05-08

This wonderful book changed my writing life. I wish that I could say that I have lived up to Jon Franklin's writing advice, but at best I have aspired to live up to the advice Jon Franklin shares in WRITING FOR STORY. I first read this is 1988 and have periodically re-read it since then. For nonfiction feature writers, this book is on a par with Strunk & White. Highly recommended.

While I was in the middle of writing "NIGHTMARE IN WICHITA: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler" I re-read WRITING FOR STORY. Perhaps I followed Franklin's advice to an adequate degree because in 2005 my book placed as high as number 4 on the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list (for paperback nonfiction).

The criticsms of the negative reviewers appear to me to have little or no merit. In my experience, successful writers treat this book as gold. Writers of kindred spirit can read WRITING FOR STORY for pure enjoyment, often nodding one's head in recognition of similar experience.

If, besides WRITING FOR STORY, you are looking for an additional book on writing feature stories, I recommend FOLLOW THE STORY by James B. Stewart.

If you are ready to go beyond feature writing, Franklin's SHOCK-TRAUMA is a living example of how to write a book-length nonfiction narrative following the feature-writing advice in WRITING FOR STORY.

Bravo, Jon Franklin, and thank you.

Robert Beattie
Wichita, Kansas

Book Description

Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles's crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic.

Download Description

While adolescence is never easy, during wartime its difficulty is more pronounced.

This story of a boy's growing up and floating between identities is filled with moral dilemma.

Customer Reviews:

A study of humans.......2007-10-17

I'm in my 40's and I've only now read this book. My wife and I were in a book store and, surprised that I had not read it, she pulled it from the shelf and bought it for me. I'm glad I read it now because I think a lot of it would have been lost on me had I read it as an assigned book in high school.

This book is about humans and their nature. The nature that can transform small bits of angst and doubt into tragedy on a grand scale. The two main characters are prep school roommates and best friends. However, Gene still fills gaps in their relationship with suspicion and insecurity, leading to an irreversible horror that he spends the remainder of the book coming to grips with. I think every human grapples with this same weakness. For most of us, luckily, we learn these lessons in small ways from our own lives and we safely learn them from novels like this where the effects are grave and permanent.

I'll bet there is someone in your life that you do not understand. And rather than confronting that gap in an open and honest way, you are instead nurturing a suspicion of ill will on their part. Don't be like Gene. Don't shake that person from the tree. Talk to them. Be honest and open. You might not get to an ideal place but you will avoid the dark breakdown of the sorts found in this novel.

You are a human and, therefore, this novel, this unflinching study of human nature, should be part of your curriculum.

Reading between the Lines.......2007-10-15

I first read the book when I was 16 and, frankly, quite a bit went over my head. It didn't help that I was learning English at the time and that the language of Shakespeare is not my native tongue.

My second reading was last week. I'm in my forties now and got a lot more out of the book. There are things said and unsaid, motives known and motives inferred, that deliver the full power of meaning to this masterpiece. It is rare that a writer shows such respect for the reader as to trust that one will be able to read between the lines. I don't much recommend this book for young readers, who typically lack the experience and perspective necessary to appreciate this book.

While the story had a powerful impact on me when I was 16, I could not quite make out why the story had made such an impact.

Fast forward to two days ago, when I finished my second reading. The effect of the novel differed by an order of magnitude. This is truly a masterpiece. Having an adult's mind and experience this time allowed me to glean much meaning. I found it especially interesting that I could infer Finny's thoughts and motivations with great clarity. This is a remarkable accomplishment by the author when one considers that the novel is told entirely from the first-person perspective of Gene, the protagonist.

The story is as powerful as ever and its message is universal. Perhaps the historical setting and the cultural conventions of the time leave the modern reader at some loss, but then again the very point of fiction is for us to live in another's skin, if only for a while.

Just because the novel involves teenagers does not mean that this should be the intended audience.

Surprisingly enjoyable! a good quick read........2007-09-01

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles.

In the summer of 1942 Gene Forrester attends the summer session of Devon a private school in New England. Gene's friend Phineas (Finny) decides it would be a good idea to jump from a tree overhanging a river on campus. A tree used to simulate jumping from a war ship by the seniors. Finny talks Gene into jumping as well. Gene as always goes along with Finny's idea........

This book was surprisingly enjoyable. The story is told from Gene's point of view as he goes through his last year of school while contemplating life, his friendship with Finny and others as well as the war which overhangs everything and everyone. The book isn't full of action and adventure per say but Knowles writing style is very engrossing and will keep you turning pages.

The good: The easiest way to sum it up is to say the writing. The style made for a completely enjoyable read. The characters all have a real feel to them. The ongoing description of the school was done well enough that it might be considered one of the characters as well.

The bad: Nothing memorable

Overall: A great read. Pick it up and give it a try.

family favorite.......2007-07-18

This novel has become a new favorite in our family, we have all read it.

A simple but striking story; it should make you uncomfortable .......2007-07-08

The story of Gene an' Finny is peppered with so much irreversible psychological harm being committed that it is impossible to not feel uncomfortable as the story unfolds. One boy is a lively free spirit while the other is being driven down a path to adulthood without stopping to appreciate the joy of the last years of real peace. World War II is looming an' the story is all the more troubling because of this disenchantment with mankind's determination to destroy each other so present in these boys, while knowing that "the war to end all wars" was really anything but; that the cycle of violence as akin to superiority, to racism, to sectarianism, all aspects of the idea of one nationalism over another, was only going to escalate an' grow more deadly; an' that the lines between who was right an' wrong, good or bad, in these wars would begin blurring rapidly. If it was ever there in the first place.

What happens between the two boys in this story could constantly be reinterpreted, whether it was premeditated an' malicious, or an unintentional act that simply weighed too heavily on the conscience to accept as an accident. An' the eternal question I constantly posed to myself being whether where the story ends up places the fault on a young boy regardless of the aforementioned uncertainty of the act's intent.

I could read this again and be enveloped by this feeling as though it were fresh. Maybe because in the time since I've read it I've never resolved the moral question here. And probably never will. Cheers to the late Mr. Knowles for tackling something pure an' human in a universal way. One of the seminal reading experiences of my life.

Tom Stoppard: Plays 3: A Separate Peace, Teeth, Another Moon Called Earth, Neutral Ground, Professional Foul, Squaring the Circle (Faber Contemporary Classics)

Average customer rating:

Stoppard Collection

Tom Stoppard: Plays 3: A Separate Peace, Teeth, Another Moon Called Earth, Neutral Ground, Professional Foul, Squaring the Circle (Faber Contemporary Classics)
Tom Stoppard
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0571194281

Book Description

Plays Three:
A Separate Peace
Teeth
Another Moon Called Earth
Neutral Ground
Professional Foul
Squaring the Circle

Introduced by the author, this third collection of plays written by Tom Stoppard contains his television plays, written between 1965 and 1984. They show that Stoppard's writing for the small screen is comparable to his more celebrated stage work, as the masterly and timely Professional Foul demonstrates. In his introduction the author briefly describes how the pieces came to be written and the circumstances of their original production.

Customer Reviews:

Stoppard Collection.......2000-10-11

Stoppard is a wonderful playwright, but these are not some of his best plays. The collection is good, but I recommend buying some of his better plays even though they're not in an easy format like this, simply because it's better worth your money. If you already own those, however, this book will make a fine addition to your collection.

Average customer rating:

A Separate Peace
John Knowles
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

ASIN: B000CD1SW4

Reliable Partners: How Democracies Have Made a Separate Peace

Average customer rating:

Good theory but not a page turner
Agree to disagree

Reliable Partners: How Democracies Have Made a Separate Peace
Charles Lipson
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

War & Peace | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Democracy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0691122776

Book Description

Democracies often go to war but almost never against each other. Indeed, "the democratic peace" has become a catchphrase among scholars and even U.S. Presidents. But why do democracies avoid fighting each other? Reliable Partners offers the first systematic and definitive explanation. Examining decades of research and speculation on the subject and testing this against the history of relations between democracies over the last two centuries, Charles Lipson concludes that constitutional democracies have a "contracting advantage"--a unique ability to settle conflicts with each other by durable agreements. In so doing he forcefully counters realist claims that a regime's character is irrelevant to war and peace. Lipson argues that because democracies are confident their bargains will stick, they can negotiate effective settlements with each other rather than incur the great costs of war.

Why are democracies more reliable partners? Because their politics are uniquely open to outside scrutiny and facilitate long-term commitments. They cannot easily bluff, deceive, or launch surprise attacks. While this transparency weakens their bargaining position, it also makes their promises more credible--and more durable, for democracies are generally stable. Their leaders are constrained by constitutional rules, independent officials, and the political costs of abandoning public commitments. All this allows for solid bargains between democracies. When democracies contemplate breaking their agreements, their open debate gives partners advance notice and a chance to protect themselves. Hence agreements among democracies are less risky than those with nondemocratic states. Setting rigorous analysis in friendly, vigorous prose, Reliable Partners resolves longstanding questions about the democratic peace and highlights important new findings about democracies in world politics, from rivalries to alliances. Above all, it shows conclusively that democracies are uniquely adapted to seal enduring bargains with each other and thus avoid the blight of war.

Customer Reviews:

Good theory but not a page turner.......2005-03-13

Lipson lays out a compelling argument for the contracting advantage of democracies leading to more peaceful relations among them. Contrary to a previous review, he does present good reasons why elected leaders can't just toss everything their predecessors did out the window (e.g. constitutional constraints, reciprocality, etc.) and explains that, even when they manage to, the public debate has given other states fair warning to adjust policy. That said, the overall quality of the writing could have been a bit better, being on the dry, repetitive side, and he would have done well to get another proofreader. Just don't expect this to be one of those books you can't put down.

Agree to disagree.......2005-02-17

I think the previous reviewer just has an ax to grind about democratic peace theory in general. I do not agree in everything "Good Time Charlie" Lipson says, but I do think that his argument is solid, original, and worth a closer look.

Average customer rating:

A Separate Peace
John Knowles
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Average customer rating:

Psychological Thriller
a very boring and pointless book
A Separate Peace does not deserve a separate kind of praise
How else can you explain...
A masterpiece!

A Separate Peace (Cliffs Notes)

Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Notes | Education | Reference | Subjects | Books

Study Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0822011832

Customer Reviews:

Psychological Thriller.......2001-12-12

A number of reviewers have called this book long, slow, and boring. Well that's either beacuse they must not enjoy reading too much, or because they're too young to understand the true meaning of the book. It does not have much action in it, but it's very deep, and gets you thinking. If you like a powerful, provocative, psychological novel, then this one is for you. It is for people that would enjoy reading about the incredible complexities of humanity. Great book!!

a very boring and pointless book.......2001-05-23

first off i think this book is very very boring.the book has some good points but if your thinkin of reading this book for entertainment then you better think twice. if it wasn't for having to read it in school i would have ditched this book when i read the first page. yeah it makes you think but i think that the author was being a little to lazy and jus wrote a bunch of crap that you have to try to fit together. This book is not good at all!

A Separate Peace does not deserve a separate kind of praise.......2001-03-31

We had to read 'A Separate Peace' as an English II project. The book started out so slow, that if I wasn't being made to read, I would have abandoned it right away. It is slow, and really has no point. It is also disappointing in the end. I do not suggest this book if you are lookning for and kind of stimulation-intellectual or otherwise.

How else can you explain..........2000-03-15

How else can you explain the way people feel during the war, trying not to believe it's there? John Knowles, in my opinion, has done the best job of explaining the unique characteristics each person adopts during a major turning point in world history. With deep insight on human personality and emotion, the themes astounded me with its truth and relative simplicity. A definite five star if you like the heavy stuff!

A masterpiece!.......1999-12-17

I believe that some people have had the same experience as Gene and Finny. The author makes a great connnection to wars and makes people see that war is not with someone else, it's inside you. So, are you constructing your Maginot Lines, too?

Average customer rating:

A Separate Peace
JOHN KNOWLES
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

A Separate Peace

ASIN: B000E5HFRC

Average customer rating:

A Separate Peace
John Knowles
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Readings on a Separate Peace (The Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to American Literature)

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Readings on a Separate Peace (The Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to American Literature)

Manufacturer: Greenhaven Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Literary Criticism & Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Teen Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 1565108272

Average customer rating:

A Separate Peace
John Knowles
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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