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Heart of the Sea: The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy #3 (Irish Trilogy)

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My Favorite Trilogy
Love all of Nora's romance books
Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy by Nora Roberts
Jewels of the Sun
Wonderful...I loved it!

Heart of the Sea: The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy #3 (Irish Trilogy)
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Jove
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Tears of the Moon: The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy #2 (Irish Trilogy)
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ASIN: 0515128554
Release Date: 2000-12-05

Amazon.com

Bestselling author Nora Roberts has another classic on her hands with Heart of the Sea. This final installment in Roberts's faerie tale trilogy returns readers to Ardmore, Ireland, where the Gallagher family's pub is the heart of the community. Passionate and beautiful, Darcy Gallagher works as a waitress in the family pub while looking for a way to achieve the glamorous lifestyle to which she would like to become accustomed. Enter wealthy American builder Trevor Magee, whose Irish roots have drawn him back to the childhood home of his grandfather to build a theater. As Darcy and Trevor revel in the heated sexual attraction that flares between them, neither believes that they are the final key to end an ancient spell that separated Carrick the Faerie Prince and his human lady love, Gwen. But Ireland is a magic place, where the faeries dance among mere mortals and love blossoms under starry skies. Let veteran storyteller Nora Roberts transport you to the Emerald Isle, home of the little people and overwhelming passion. --Alison Trinkle

Book Description

Nora Roberts brings her acclaimed Irish trilogy to a close with this tale of a woman whose dreams of riches lead her to the heart's greatest treasure.

Download Description

The conclusion to the enchanting Irish trilogy.

Customer Reviews:

My Favorite Trilogy.......2007-06-01

I was recently introduced to Nora Roberts through her In the Garden Trilogy, which I only enjoyed two of the three. Since then, I have jumped head first into reading her books and have experienced quite a few enjoyable reads, both through individual books and trilogies. On a whim, I picked up these three books and, within days, I was finished with the third book. This would have to be my favorite of all her series and by the end of the third book, I was wishing that I hadn't gone through them so fast. The Gallagher family was a blast to read and I enjoyed everything from their family dynamic, to their pub and also the Irish setting. I've already passed them off to a co-worker and am looking forward to reading them again. Roberts also made me fall in love with Ireland through her wonderfully described setting and Irish tales. Highly recommended reading!

Love all of Nora's romance books.......2007-02-25

You can never go wrong with a Nora Roberts romance novel and this is just one more great one in the list.

Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy by Nora Roberts.......2007-02-16

Do you believe in fairies? Do you have a fondness for the Emerald Isle? Do you believe in true love? You will after reading this enchanting trilogy by Nora Roberts. Thank goodness I purchased all three books at the same time as I couldn't wait for the pages to turn. The characters are so endearing, I often felt that I was inside Gallagher's pub or walking with them over the green hills of Ireland on a "soft" day.

Jewels of the Sun.......2007-02-07

If you love Nora Roberts then, you will not be disappointed

Wonderful...I loved it!.......2006-11-03

Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors. I loved this Trilogy, it's one of my favorites...the stories interlocked with each other perfectly. This story was the perfect ending for the tale of the Gallaghers!

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors

Average customer rating:

A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew
A Last-Minute Tribute
A Missing Piece of History
USS Houston Went Down with All Hands
Make Room For Another Samuel Eliot Morison Award

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors
James D. Hornfischer
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0553803905
Release Date: 2006-10-31

Book Description

"Son, we’re going to Hell."

The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death.

Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home.

In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail.

Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true.

Customer Reviews:

A good telling of the USS Houston and her crew.......2007-06-18

Ship of Ghosts is Mr. Hornfischer telling of the USS Houston and her crew during WWII. The USS Houston, known as the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast (because of how many times the Japanese reported her sunk) was the flagship of the US Asiatic Fleet. In WWII she was responsible for holding and delaying the Japanese in taking Indonesia. Any ways, Mr. Hornfischer opens by telling us the early pre-war history of the USS Houston, how she was used by FDR as his yacht, and the history of the gentlemen whom Mr. Hornfischer interviewed.

After telling us about the pre-war years, Mr. Hornfisher jumps into the action of the Battle of the Java Sea and Sunda Strait. This is then followed by telling us about the crews time as POW's and working on the "Death Railway". Most of this book deals with their experience as POW's (btw, the crew of the HMAS Perth has coverage in this book, not as much as the USS Houston, but it is recognized. Also, Mr. Hornfischer cover the men of the 2nd battalion, 131st Field Artillery). In the chapters dealing with the men being prisoners of war we learn about the poor conditions they kept in and how terrible it was working in Burma on the railway (interestingly, the conditions in Thailand were worse). An interesting fact the Mr. Hornfischer points out several times is how the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai poorly represented the conditions the men served under.

Rating wise this book was very easy for me. A solid 4.5 stars. While Mr. Hornfischer did a commendable job telling us about the crew, I had two problems. First, was his book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors was more solidly written than this one. There I felt as if I was there, this time I had someone telling me of the tale. My primary reason though for only 4.5 stars is that I'd read The Ghost That Died at Sunda Strait(by W.G. Winslow, a true 5 star book). Since I can't leave this as a half star I need to round the number. If I hadn't read Mr. Winslow's book prior, I might round up, however since I've read his book, this one gets rounded down. Sorry Mr. Hornfischer. A very good book though! It complements Mr. Winslow's nicely and picks up where Mr. Winslow chose to leave off. A very good job!

A Last-Minute Tribute.......2007-04-26

With America's WW II veterans dying at the rate of 1,500 a day, we are clearly into "the last lap". Therefore, Jim Hornfischer's excellent treatment of the cruiser Houston comes none too soon. His taut narrative actually involves two stories between the covers of one book: the ship's early combat in the Pacific and the surviving crew members' 3 1/2 year struggle for survival ashore.

There's a lesson for other researchers and authors: "the greatest generation" is fading fast, and its memories are fading even faster. Now is the time to grab the tape recorder or notepad and get the remaining veterans' stories while they are still accessible.

A Missing Piece of History.......2007-04-09

Americans generally think they know about world War II if they know about Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Front, and the Pacific War from the perspective of island hopping coming from the east side of the Pacific. What we usually overlook is the war in Southeast Asia. John Hornfischer has written what might be two books, one about the nearly-solo fight of an isloated ship in the face of the Japanese onslsught in 1942, and the other about the unbelievable suffering of prisoners of war in Japanese prison camps building the Thailand-Burma Railroad - familiar to most of us from the sanitized version seen in the movie, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The writing is good (though not overly great); but it is the content that makes this one of the best books written about World War II, the early struggle to give ground only very dearly, the suffering enduured by our soldiers, and finally the failure to meet the real needs of soldiers trying to readjust to society after three years of captivity.

USS Houston Went Down with All Hands.......2007-03-29

The USS Houston was launched in 1927 after an intense campaign led by the Houston mayor and other city leaders to have their city's name painted on the hull of the heavy cruiser. In the 1930s, the Houston charmed FDR and she became his favorite private fishing vessel until the outbreak of World War II.

The cruiser was stationed in the Dutch East Indies when the attack on Pearl Harbor came, and shortly afterward, she was made the flagship of the Navy's Asiatic Fleet. Early in 1942, the Houston was involved in a fierce naval battle off the coast of Java. Austin writer, James D. Hornfischer understands naval warfare and puts that knowledge to compelling use in his brilliant descriptions of the chaos of that final battle.

The Houston and an Australian ship stumbled onto a Japanese invasion fleet. Overwhelmingly outnumbered, both put up a stalwart fight, with the Australian ship being the first to succumb. The Houston soldiered on, but mauled by torpedo hits and intense fire from Japanese naval guns, the Houston finally rolled onto her side and collapsed into the sea. Only 368 of the crew would eventually be rounded up by the Japanese. The rest of the 1,168 men she carried, including the captain, went down with their ship.

The second half of the book deals with the plight of the Houston survivors, who were joined in captivity by the "Lost Battalion," an artillery unit of the 36th Texas Division captured when the Dutch surrendered Java to the Japanese.

Fate was especially cruel to the men held captive in the Pacific theater. Many of the Houston and Lost Battalion survivors were sent to Burma, forced to work on the Death Railway made famous in the 1957 movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai." However, the horror and suffering faced by these POWs bears little resemblance to the jaunty whistling workers depicted in that film. Many of the Houston survivors met death from starvation, from jungle diseases or ulcerating wounds, or from the brutal beatings administered regularly by prison guards. Still others were killed late in the war by Allied bombing raids on the railway. Of the 368 men who survived the Houston's sinking, only 291 made it home.

An appendix at the back of the book gives a roll call of the dead. The Oral History Program at the University of North Texas in Denton is the repository of recorded memories of the veterans of the Houston and Lost Battalion. And the University of Houston is the keeper of the archives of the Cruiser Houston Collection. Still more on the ship can be found at [...] and at [...]

In both his Introduction and in the final chapter, the author reminds us that the numbers of our World War II veterans are fast dwindling. "They are running short on birthdays," as Hornfischer puts it. Now is the time to tell their remaining stories while they are still with us to set the record straight. With "Ship of Ghosts" he has done exactly that. It is a dense book packed with heroism, reckless bravery, heartbreaking tragedy, and fine, often lyrical, writing.

Make Room For Another Samuel Eliot Morison Award.......2007-03-15

First Hornfischer does tribute to the crews of the DDs, DEs and CVEs holding Samar Strait during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Now he writes of the even less known USS Houston and her crew. This is a story long overdue for a book. I had trouble getting through parts of the book because my eyes got bleary with moisture. The courage, sacrifice and determination shown by the Houston survivors and their comrades of the Lost Battalion is inspiring. It is sad that so few of them remain. Another reviewer mentioned the cruiser action off Savo Island in August, 1942. Mr. Hornfischer would be the ideal author for a book telling that story.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone

Average customer rating:

new movie
Light Is Rising
Wonderful, wonderful series
DiRS: Box Set
beautiful

The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone
Susan Cooper
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0020425651

Amazon.com

Joined by destiny, the lives of the Drew children, Will Stanton, and a boy named Bran weave together in an exquisite, sometimes terrifying tapestry of mystery and quests. In the five-title series of novels known as The Dark Is Rising Sequence, these children pit the power of good against the evil forces of Dark in a timeless and dangerous battle that includes crystal swords, golden grails, and a silver-eyed dog that can see the wind. Susan Cooper's highly acclaimed fantasy novels, steeped in Celtic and Welsh legends, have won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal and the Newbery Honor. Now all five paperback volumes have been collected in one smart boxed set. These classic fantasies, complex and multifaceted, should not be missed, by child or adult. The set includes Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark Is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

Customer Reviews:

new movie.......2007-05-18

I remember reading this series years ago and since then I have always thought that it would make a great movie and guess what someone else thought so as well. IMDB is reporting that this movie is in production and will be released in October 2007. I am very excited about this and I am really wishing and hoping that they translate it well to the big screen. I have since lost my books but I have just purchased this set to read all the books again and relive my youth again.

Light Is Rising.......2007-05-12

The series as a whole is great. if you have never read them before but enjoy other great fantasy such as Harry Potter, the Forgotten Realms, or even the Lord Of The Rings these are a must read. they have been great books for the last 35 years or so and will continue to be great books 50 years from now.

Wonderful, wonderful series.......2007-05-06

This series is my son's absolute FAVORITE. He's 8 and I recently decided to introduce him to the books, and he ate them up. He said he likes how the bad people aren't always perfect, and he likes the way the Drew siblings work together in OVER SEA, UNDER STONE and again in GREENWICH and SILVER ON THE TREE. I'm pretty sure that he didn't understand all the symbolism in THE DARK IS RISING, though he liked it and made up his own belt of rings as a result.

This series is really wonderful, and I agree with other reviewers - it should be better known. It's mythical elements mix well with the action scenes. Plus, it's very well written and edited - creating really unique and interesting characters.

I'm sort of judicious with my 5 star ratings, but this one definitely deserved it. Pick them up - you won't be disappointed.

DiRS: Box Set.......2007-03-04

I love these books, and I was glad to see that they were now available in a box set!

beautiful .......2007-01-18

This series is better than C.S.Lewis' Narnia, Rowling's Potter-verse or Lloyd Alexander's Prydain. Susan Cooper writes about the real (although dated at this point) world and ordinary people who are brave, comical or tragic without becoming exaggerations. Her magical characters or creatures are awesome, but never overpower or overshadow her real people, so the stories stay very human. And she writes so beautifully about things that are actually beautiful. The stories are full of the beauty of music, the natural world and objects people make as art and architecture or ordinary things. The dogs are even beautiful. I was heartbroken by the ending the first time I read the series, and refused to go back to the books for a very long time. But now I've read my copies so many times the fall apart and I need to replace them.

Average customer rating:

Not Harry Potter, but an engaging journey
The Terrific Sea of Trolls
The Sea of Trolls
A fun read and fairly accurate
cornwall central sixth grader

The Sea of Trolls
Nancy Farmer
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689867468

Amazon.com

Three time Newbery honor author Nancy Farmer's epic fantasy, The Sea of Trolls, is gigantic in every way. There are big Vikings and bigger trolls. There are big themes--hope, despair, life and death. At a substantial 450+ pages, the sheer size of this hefty tome is impressive. But, like all of Farmer's fine work, the large scale has room for enormous quantities of heart and humor. At the center of this massive adventure is a small Saxon boy named Jack, who's never been much good at anything until the Bard of his medieval village makes him an apprentice. Then, just as Jack is learning to tap into and control his power, he is kidnapped (along with his little sister, Lucy) and taken to the court of King Ivar the Boneless and his half troll queen Frith. When one of Jack's amateur spells causes the evil queen's beautiful hair to fall out, he is forced to undertake a dangerous quest across the Sea of Trolls to make things right, or suffer the consequences--the sacrifice of his beloved sister to Frith's patron goddess, Freya. Along the way Jack faces everything from giant golden troll-bears to man-eating spiders, yet each frightening encounter brings wisdom and understanding to the budding young Bard. No quester who enters these pages with Jack will go away unsatisfied. Farmer's skillful melding of history, mythology, and humor, is reminiscent of both Tamora Pierce and Terry Pratchett's medieval fantasies, and will no doubt be HUGELY enjoyed by fantasy readers of all ages. --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

Jack was eleven when the berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. "It seems that things are stirring across the water," the Bard had warned. "Ships are being built, swords are being forged."

"Is that bad?" Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen berserkers.

"Of course. People don't make ships and swords unless they intend to use them."

The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings.

Award-winner Nancy Farmer has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than "Just say no to pillaging."

Download Description

"Jack was eleven when the berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. ""It seems that things are stirring across the water,"" the Bard had warned. ""Ships are being built, swords are being forged."" ""Is that bad?"" Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen berserkers. ""Of course. People don't make ships and swords unless they intend to use them."" The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. With a crow named Bold Heart for mysterious company, they are swept up into an adventure-quest that follows in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings. Other threats include a willful mother Dragon, a giant spider, and a troll-boar with a surprising personality -- to say nothing of Ivar the Boneless and his wife, Queen Frith, a shape-shifting half-troll, and several eight foot tall, orange-haired, full-time trolls. But in stories by award-winner Nancy Farmer, appearances do deceive. She has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than ""Just say no to pillaging."" "

Customer Reviews:

Not Harry Potter, but an engaging journey.......2007-06-20

I found Sea of Trolls fascinating. I have to preface this by saying I'm not a fantasy adventure or whatever this genre is fan. I wasn't too enthusiastic about reading it, but I was totally taken in by all the details about life in this time as well as the fantasy elements. Other readers of this genre may have anticipated a lot of the turns that were new to me. I agree with the one-star reveiwer who mentioned how violent it was. Certainly it is true to the era which I imagine was a great deal more violent than Farmer depicted. I was aware, especially at the beginning that the language was somewhat simplistic, but as I read I got accustomed to that. This does have a lot of the characteristics of Harry Potter, but this books is not as rich and imaginative as Potter. I've been reading a lot of young adult books this summer in preparation for a class I will teach. This was one of the most enjoyable and satisfying. If other novels by Nancy Farmer are better, I certainly would like to try those.

The Terrific Sea of Trolls.......2007-04-12

The Terrific Sea of Trolls

The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer is an adventurous book that I would recommend to kids ten and up. Over the next few months Jack and his sister Lucy will be enslaved by a fierce warrior named Olaf one-brow and his adopted daughter Thorgil. Jack, Thorgil, and Olaf set off to Jotunheim and encounter a troll bear, a dragon, a troll boar, a crow named Bold Heart, a giant spider, a troll queen, and TROLLS! This book reminds me of a kid version of The lord of the Rings.
Thorgil was born from a thrall (servant) named Alison. Thorgil's father was the greatest berserker ever to live. When Thorgrim (thorgil's father) died he was put on his ship with his wife (that was still alive) and the ship sailed away while it was on fire. Before Thorgrim died he gave Thorgil to the second greatest warrior Olaf one-brow. Jack was born from a middle class family that lives on a farm. His family and the rest of the town has to take care of an old barb nicknamed the Dragon Tongue. The Dragon Tongue was thrown off a boat and floated 50 miles to Jack village.
You should read this book even if you are a slow reader because all in all, it is one of the best books I have ever read.

The Sea of Trolls.......2007-03-22

This was a fun book to read. There is a lot of Norwegian mythology embedded in it, with many surprises along the way. Anyone who enjoys fantasy adventure will enjoy this book.

A fun read and fairly accurate.......2007-03-12

I commend Nancy for writting a young adult novel with a Viking theme. Certainly she did her research and I would say was about 90% accurate for most of the book. Some historical facts were embellished on for drama. One has to keep in mind that this book focuses on a very narrow aspect of the Viking culture, the Berserkers. And in that does not represent the whole sum of the Vikings (who were not all a bunch of mindless brutes).

I'm 28 and I enjoyed the book. It flowed fairly well and was an easy read. I sometimes I had to stretch my imagination to visualize a place Nancy was describing, as it could be a little vague.

It is worth reading.

cornwall central sixth grader.......2007-03-08

I am a sixth grader from Cornwall Central Schools. Nancy Farmer is on a roll, coming out with the book The Sea of Trolls. This book is appealing to many different types of readers: historical, fantasy, action-adventure, and mythological. This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. The characters are kind and compassionate making me feel cheerful and secure, and in a blink of an eye the characters turn crazy and lethal, leaving me feeling frightened and vulnerable. This book is absolutely fantastic! It tells the story of a boy who lives in a Saxon village with his mom, dad, and sister. He must learn to adapt in a different world filled of magic and ludicrous berserkers.
The book's detailed writing does a tremendous job of describing what is happening, and puts a picture in your mind about what is going on. Even when you finish reading this book you will still be thinking about it. If someone asked me to recommend a book I would recommend, Nancy Farmer's master piece The Sea of Trolls!

T.Y

Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships (64pp)

Average customer rating:

Left me wanting more.
Young people need modern heroes - Robert Ballard is real.
A look at lost liners you never even knew about
Pretty Good Little Book
Great pictures and text

Ghost Liners: Exploring the World's Greatest Lost Ships (64pp)
Robert Ballard , and Rick Archbold
Manufacturer: Little, Brown Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316080209

Customer Reviews:

Left me wanting more........2005-03-27

Personally, I rate Dr Ballard's books; The Discovery of the Titanic, Lost ships of Guadalcanal, Return to Midway and Exploring the Lusitania as some of the finest works on the subject of shipwrecks ever to have been published. On this occasion, however, I am left with a feeling of disappointment at finding such a thin book.

Perhaps anything short of the discovery of another Titanic would always be a disappointment to some - but let us examine the content. Firstly, we have 5 of the world's greatest ever shipwrecks; Titanic, Empress of Ireland, Lusitania, Britannic and Andrea Doria. Each of these vessels was a great ship in it's own right and their like will never be seen again. Indeed, entire books have been written about each of them - by this author and by others. As with all great shipwreck stories, there is always an element of mystery - arguments for and against the mine versus torpedo theory for example. Those arguments, in addition to all the many other elements of the overall picture, must always be fully presented and reasoned in order to allow readers to draw their own conclusions.

In this book, the text, photography and excellent (as always) illustrations by Ken Marschall are confined to 56 pages. Quite frankly, that is not enough room for any single great shipwreck - let alone five! Easy to see why I was left wanting more.

NM

Young people need modern heroes - Robert Ballard is real........2003-12-01

Robert Ballard is one of the few genuine adventurer - hero models available to young people of the 21st Century. He is is incapable of being boring. He's somehow interesting even when he's talking about a can of paint. He has manifold unquestioned achievements, both scientific and spectacular in the public eye. His flair for photography and for commissioning or selecting exciting paintings of underwater scenes is unparalleled. His feeling for developing memorable themes, in this case lost ships, is gripping for both adults who allow their imaginations to seized by large events effectively told, as well as children.

At times one hears unjustified carping from scientists at Ballard's role as a popularizer. At others, not unreasonable arguments are raised that some of his books don't offer enough credit to others. I have known Ballard from the time of his PhD dissertation at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and onwards. I prefer to interpret Ballard's telling of major stories with simplifications as part of his ability to reach and affect large audiences, including young people who have become one of his major targets and goals in later life. Kids simply don't have the life experience and maturity to weigh all nuances of complex phenomena like scientific and exploration discovery.

Ballard has made extraordinary efforts with his Jason outreach programs to enliven science education for school children, facilitating realtime "exploration" opportunities to hundreds of thousands of young people. Ballard has a sense of personal ethics (refreshing in a "me" generation), being reluctant, for example, to allow souvenirs to be retrieved from the Titanic and other wrecks. Even though one can argue scientific and other value for such retrieval, I attribute to him sense of purpose and principle along with other unusual qualities as a person and author.

A look at lost liners you never even knew about.......2003-02-14

I accidentally ordered this children's book from my son's school book fair, but I really love it. I wanted the book Lost Liners also by Bob Ballard. The paintings in Ghost Liners are wonderful and the narrative is interesting and also sad at times. I didn't even know about many of the other sea disasters. My son did read the book, but I'm the one who enjoyed it the most. The haunting illustrations are, themselves, worth the price of the book.

Pretty Good Little Book.......2000-03-23

This was a pretty good little book for the money. However, it was largely a slimmed-down version of Lost Liners, which I highly recommend. Some new pictures were featured, but much of it was rehash.

Great pictures and text.......1999-11-20

Awesome pictures! Ken Marschall did a wonderful job with the illustrations, and the photographs were nice, too. The text explained clealy what had happened to each ship, and the controversy about some of them. I really learned something from this book.

Vampire Hunter D Volume 7: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part One (Vampire Hunter D)

Average customer rating:

I have a soft spot for this series.
Mysterious and Haunting

Vampire Hunter D Volume 7: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part One (Vampire Hunter D)
Hideyuki Kikuchi , and Yoshitaka Amano
Manufacturer: Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Vampire Hunter D Volume 6: Pilgrimage of the Sacred (Vampire Hunter D)
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Vampire Hunter D Volume 8: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part Two
Vampire Hunter D Volume 4: Tale Of The Dead Town (Vampire Hunter D)
Vampire Hunter D Volume 3: Demon Deathchase (Vampire Hunter D)

ASIN: 1595821074

Book Description

Even a reluctant hero can’t refuse the last request of a beautiful woman. On her deathbed, a mortally wounded woman gives Vampire Hunter D a strange gem and asks him to deliver the priceless stone to her sister, in a far-off, North Sea fishing village. D’s journey is made ever more perilous by a series of scoundrels and rogues hired by the woman’s murderer — they’ll stop at nothing to claim the jewel. Will they catch him? Hideyuki Kikuchi’s crackling narrative and Yoshitaka Amano’s imaginative artwork make this a must-read entry in the series.

Customer Reviews:

I have a soft spot for this series........2007-06-22

Like all the Vampire Hunter D books, this is set in the year 12090AD. The incredibly handsome and beautiful D again comes across a nubile teenage girl who manages to gain his services and become her protector. There are the usual bad guys with superhuman powers who arent able to match D in looks, knowledge, or fighting skill. All in all, a pretty formula type of book.

But I liked it :)

As this is Book 7 in the series, I assume you are aware that this book is an English translation of the original written in Japanese in the 1980's. Because of this, the sentence structure and wording is a bit, let us say, wonky?

But I think it gives the series a bit of charm and uniqueness. Whatever the reason, I like it and this book is a good fantasy read.

I'm looking forwards to the next one!

Mysterious and Haunting.......2007-06-10

This is the first part of the first of the two-volume Vampire Hunter D tales (according the afterward by the author, there are currently two other double volume tales), this book floats along at a leisurely pace with no real push toward resolution, which may frustrate some readers.

There is really no coquette in this particular novel, for even though D does encounter and become employed by the older sister (Su-In) of the "beautiful girl" of the book's tagline; she lacks the helplessness and desperation that marks so many of the other distressed damsels.

The primary themes of this installment are nostalgia and destiny. The nobility in this book are mourned by Su-In as beautiful monsters who were never really much different than humans, even for all their violence and genetic dabbling. She looks back on the past with the wistful longing-loathing with which we often associate with Victorian England.

I'm very much looking forward to the resolution of this story, which will be relased in September, if the back of the book is at all reliable.

Average customer rating:

Seashore
Donald M. Silver , and Patricia Wynne
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Coral Reef
Pond
One Small Square: Woods
One Small Square, The Night Sky
Backyard

ASIN: 0070579288

Book Description

From sandy beaches to rocky cliffs, the place where the land meets the sea is an amazing habitat. While exploring at the shore or reading at home, children ages 7 and up will be astonished by the richness and variety of creatures at the water's edge. Beautifully illustrated, with a picture reference and glossary, Seashore is just one volume from the critically acclaimed One Small Square series of hands-on science books, now available in paperback.

Average customer rating:

Unique
If you like Neil Gaiman, if you liked Riddley Walker ...
Fishboy
"Stir the soup -- don't let it burn"
A trip worth taking

Fishboy
Mark Richard
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Charity
The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
Extinction Journals
The Pugilist at Rest: Stories

ASIN: 0385425686
Release Date: 1994-05-01

Book Description

In the brilliant idiom of a modern Melville or Conrad, an odyssey of discovery by a bold and outrageous talent--the PEN/Hemingway Award--winning author of The Ice At The Bottom Of The World.

Customer Reviews:

Unique.......2006-06-10

I purchased this book at a used book sale, and had it on my nightstand for two years before I picked it up. When I finally read it, I fell in love with it. I passed it on to my boyfriend -- who's no big fan of fiction -- and he read it, then read it again immediately. I have since purchased probably ten copies of the book. I have a first edition, a signed first edition, a reading copy, and the rest have been purchased for gifts. I am an avid reader, but I'm pretty certain I've bought more copies of this book than any other book. It's a very different kind of book, but I'd recommend it to just about anyone. Anyone who's up for an adventure of a book. "You's all mine, Fishboy."

If you like Neil Gaiman, if you liked Riddley Walker ..........2003-03-13

This book catches you from the first sentence/ paragraph and doesn't let go. All rules are off in this book from grammar to linear plot. This is not at all irritating. It's refreshing that Richard assumes that the reader is clever enough to keep up. This is easily one of the best books I've read in years. It has been 3-4 years since I last read it, but I still have lucid memories of passages. Too bad Richard doesn't publish more.

Fishboy.......2003-01-12

Whoa! Like a cross between William Burroughs' "The Western Lands" and Amos Tutuola's "My Life In The Bush of Ghosts." Surely Mark Richard's "Fishboy" is on that level of mastery.
It took me about two months of casual reading to get through this short (227 pages) book but it was worth it. Getting lost in this book is part of the journey, as you'll soon discover. Eloquent chaos and heart wrenching beauty. But not for linear readers!

"Stir the soup -- don't let it burn".......2002-05-19

The above advice is given to our humble narrator, Fishboy, from the mouth of a 'rumored cook' on board a ship at sea. Fishboy has seen the cook's predecessor cleaved in two with an axe by a sailor who was angry about the food he and his shipmates had been served. Fishboy decides that he most likely doesn't want to become a cook.

Author Mark Richard has definitely stirred the literary soup in FISHBOY, his debut novel. There's a quote on the back cover from a review in ESQUIRE: "An eloquent fever dream, a tale told headlong in the language of incantation" -- and that 'fever dream' description fits this work to a 't'.

As I read my way through this ghost story, a fable replete with inner fables, I felt like I had been dunked into a boiling pot of Herman Melville and William S. Burroughs, illustrated by S. Clay Wilson (those of you who remember his 'perverted pirates' underground comix of the 60s will cringe at this reference), with the film directed by David Lynch. Richard's story bubbles and seethes -- he evidently relishes giving the reader the feeling of being unstuck in both time and place, for there are characters and images in this novel that are plucked from sundry eras and locations, stirred up into an intelligent, interesting, albeit not always appetizing stew. This is a world turned topsy-turvy, reflecting 'reality' like a cracked mirror.

Richard's metaphors are sometimes staggeringly beautiful and captivating -- the sea turned to shorebound landscape with mountains of waves, the land turned to ocean by the rolling tide of subterranean upheavals. Consider this short sample from p.163: 'A loose timber from the sun's sunken wreckage floated up and was dawn on the water. In its cool red light you could see how the waters around us were disturbed from beneath. Globes of old air rose to the surface and shattered, spritzing blooms of kicked-up mud. Mobs of waves rushed crowded swells, slapping faces and knocking caps off to the wind.' Whew.

The narrator of the story -- we know him only as Fishboy -- starts his tale by telling us (from p.1): 'I began as a boy, as a human-being boy, a boy who fled to sea, a boy with a whistling lisp and the silken-tipped fingers of another class. A boy with put-away memories of bedclothes bound tight about the head, knocked by a hammering fist; the smell of cigar and show leather and the weighted burlap bag, thrown from a car into a side-road swamp.' The odyssey he undertakes is a fantastic, circular one -- and he views it with an extremely limited perspective, realting the events that occur with both sheltered naivitee and blinding insight.

The novel is sub-titled 'a ghost story' -- and that it is, although it is unlike any ghost story you are likely to have come across. Richard has imbued this work with a 'graspable' surreality -- and I'm not sure if it's the reader or the story who is doing the grasping. This is an unusual, highly unsettling read.

A trip worth taking.......2002-02-03

This book serves as a parable and fable. It is a strange world which Fishboy lives in, and the beautiful way the book is written will no doubt lead to strange dreams, as it did with me.

Average customer rating:

One of the best books i have EVER read!
Lovely
It touched my heart
Love conquers all
GREAT!!!!!!!

Seven Tears into the Sea
Terri Farley
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Phantom Stallion #23: Gypsy Gold (Phantom Stallion)
Phantom Stallion #21: Dawn Runner (Phantom Stallion)
Phantom Stallion #19: Secret Star (Phantom Stallion)
Phantom Stallion #20: Blue Wings (Phantom Stallion)
Phantom Stallion #24: Run Away Home (Phantom Stallion)

ASIN: 0689864426

Book Description

Beckon the sea,
I'll come to thee....
Shed seven tears,

perchance seven years....

At the age of ten, Gwen Cooke had a strange encounter with a boy with dark, slightly tilted eyes. He came to her on the beach, whispered strange words in her ear, and then disappeared. Shortly thereafter, her family moved away from their seaside home and Gwen never saw the boy again.

Now seventeen, Gwen is returning to her childhood home. Her nana asked her to come. But Gwen knows it's time to go back for another reason: She yearns for the sea. Perhaps the sea itself is calling to her. Perhaps the memory of the boy and his haunting words are drawing her back to the place they met. Perhaps it's time for her to face her destiny.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best books i have EVER read! .......2007-06-06

This was a really, really, really good book! i am a lover of horse books, so i usually dont read a book unless it has something to do with horses, but when i first saw the cover of this wonderful book, i knew it had something special about it. but if you're a fan of Terri Farley's PHANTOM STALLION books, you may/may not like this book. if you are a die-hard lover of books about horses, you probably wont like this book since it has NOTHING to do with horses at all. but if you like a bit of fantasy, romance and myth, you'll just love this book. Both ways, you should really get it. The reason i gave it four out of five stars, though, is becouse it is a bit predictable, like other people said. but you probably wont guess the beautiful ending, though. All in all, it's a great book and you should read it.

Lovely.......2007-02-05

I've never read the 'Phantom Stallions' series, but after reading this, I *definitely* think Farley should end it and start writing more things like *this*. Seven Tears was a lovely description of what happens when reality coincides with myth, and I found it to be much more than just an 'enjoyable read'.

It touched my heart.......2006-08-03

It was so beautifully writtent that I will never look at the sea the same ever agian. It makes you question your own heart and what you would do if you were in Gwen's position. I couldn't put it down since I read the first page.

Love conquers all.......2006-05-20

Seven Tears into the Sea was fantasy and real life mixed together.Gwen Cooke comes to stay with her grandmother over the summer but learns much more than she expected. Mirage Point, where she's staying, is where a mysterious past awaits her arrival. Her fears are replaced with love when she meets a boy from her past who sweeps her off her feet. Who is He? Why has he come back to this place? Seven tears in the sea will tell.It was beautifully written and I hope she writes many more.

GREAT!!!!!!!.......2006-05-09

This book was very good! It has romance and mystery in it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great read!!!!!!!

Zack Files 11: How to Speak to Dolphins in Three Easy Lessons (Zack Files)

Average customer rating:

Talking to dolphins is fun!

Zack Files 11: How to Speak to Dolphins in Three Easy Lessons (Zack Files)
Dan Greenburg
Manufacturer: Grosset & Dunlap
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0448417367

Customer Reviews:

Talking to dolphins is fun!.......2002-08-29

"How to Speak Dolphin in Three Easy Lessons," by Dan Greenburg, is #11 in the "Zack Files" series of short novels for young readers. The book is illustrated by Jack E. Davis. In this installment, our hero Zack is vacationing in Florida with his dad, and discovers that he (Zack, that is) has the ability to communicate telepathically with dolphins. Before the story is over, he must solve a mystery involving the marine mammals.

This book strikes just the right balance of paranormal fantasy, silly humor, and mystery. Greenburg gets extra points for incorporating the classic board game Scrabble into the story!

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