The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company (Great Lakes Books Publication)

Book Description

Following in the footsteps of the fictional Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams, writer Rob Trucks traveled the country in search of modern Moonlight Grahams - former pitchers whose major league careers lasted less than fifty innings. Cup of Coffee collects Trucks's conversations with eighteen of these men - what they went through to reach the major leagues, why they didn't stay, and what they saw, heard, and learned along the way.

These are stories of success and failure, accomplishment and disappointment, heartbreak and fulfillment, all while rubbing shoulders with baseball legends on the national pastime's greatest stage. Cup of Coffee speaks not only to baseball aficionados, but students of the human condition as well.

Customer Reviews:

Finally know the real story!.......2006-07-27

My dad is one of the ball players featured in this book. My 3 siblings and myself always knew our dad played professional baseball back in the 60's, but we never really knew "the story". We would ask questions, but dad never really shared too much. He said it was his job. It was fun while it lasted. I really enjoyed reading the interview Rob Trucks did with my dad. I learned a lot about my own father's past and success and disappointments with baseball. I also enjoyed reading the other stories included in the book. Thank you Rob Trucks for putting my fahter's story into print!

Great bedtime read.......2004-02-11

Simply, I loved this book. I would read one bio each night before bed and found it (the individual bio) to be the perfect length, basically what Poe had in mind when he said a short story should be read in one sitting. I think readers make a mistake when they try to read this in one sitting. It should be read, in my opinion, more like a collection of short stories or a book of poetry, one ballplayer at time.

It's a lovely book, paced leisurely and calmly like the game it depicts. I mean, really, what's up with the reviewer who complains about the length. He's probably in favor of time limits on games and no extra innings too. This book, like the players and the subject it covers, should be read slowly, with the rhythms, the quiet passion and sudden moments of insight, that define America's game.

In sum, take your time and enjoy the ride. You'll be glad you did.

Good Book that Could Have been Great.......2003-05-24

18 bittersweet tales of careers doomed by bad timing, bad luck and in some cases just plain bad play.

A welcome reminder that even those who play at sports highest levels are, at the end of the day, just plain Joes (and Janes).

The tales here are worthwhile and often touching (such as the pitcher who used his signing bonus to pay for running water for his family) but the author decided to serve merely as a court reporter providing near verbatim transcripts of the interviews. This makes the reader wade through unecessary pages of exhanges punctuated by "yes" and "no" answers. This slows the overall flow of the book to a snail's pace at times reducing impact and enjoyment of the book. In short, it's a subperb 200 page book that unfortunately goes on for 400+ pages.

The author/stenographer would have been well served to read and follow the example set by Lawrence Ritter in his classic "The Glory of Their Times" -- still the Gold Standard for baseball oral histories.

And what about the story of Larry Yount, the best "short career" story ever. Was introduced as pitcher(thereby registering officially as a player) pulled a muscle during his warm up pitches, was pulled before facing a batter and never made it back to the Bigs. Plus he was Robin Yount's brother. Now that's a story!

Good read, despite..........2003-05-18

I enjoyed the book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about the "average joe baseball player". However, the tense it was written in is positively annoying and makes it hard to read some of the time. Instead of writing how real people would talk, like, "So when you were in high school, what types of pitches were you throwing?" he writes, "You're in high school. What types of pitches are you now throwing?" It's written as if you're in a hypnotherapy session and you're regressing your memories.

Bottom line: Good book. Get a real editor.

A must read!.......2003-04-17

If you like stories about average people with big dreams, and you like baseball, this book is a perfect read. The book is written interview-style, and Rob Trucks asks the players questions that tell stories from the heart. There is a piece of inspiration in each story. I recommend this book to student athletes who are serious about their sports.

Book Description

After two failed marriages, Sydney Sanders is burned out on love. L.C. Hackett is a Grammy-winning rock star with a stalled career and raging hormones. The two women meet at a party in Malibu, and sparks fly. Sydney is exhilarated by the passion she finds in the arms of another woman, and L.C. finds in Sydney the muse she has been looking for to inspire her music. But can Sydney overcome her fear of love, especially of loving another woman, and what is the secret L.C. harbors that prevents her from expressing her love fully? A breathtaking love story that explores the power of being true to oneself.

Sharon Stone has been a sports feature writer and bureau chief-columnist for The Tampa Tribune.

Customer Reviews:

Not a Classic, but Still Good.......2005-02-23

Novelist Sydney Sanders is invited to a party by one of her fans. Little does she know the love of her life, a woman no less, is waiting there for her. That woman is L.C. Hackett, a rock star who hasn't won a grammy in several years and is trying to get back on top. This reader enjoyed the story, but won't spend the time to read it again. The romance was great and most of us would love to have a relationship like theirs, but nothing really happened in the book. Sure, there were angst and issues surrounding making two lives one, but the story was bland and unexciting. It almost seemed like a "day in the life" of these two women instead of an exciting new relationship.

Recommended for when you're in a melancholy mood and don't have anything better to do... accompanied with a cold beer and a bag of chips. This one only takes a few hours from start to finish.

Best love story I've read.......2004-11-28

This was definitely the best love story I've ever read. It was so real it makes me wonder if this Sharon Stone didn't have a fling with kd lang and wrote one of those thinly-veiled fiction based on fact stories. Sydney's reason for falling for this flawed character is clearly stated in several places throughout the book. She's simply helping another woman evolve emotionally and break through some barriers from her past. She can do this because she already has accomplished this before the two met and realizes how important it is to take care of regrets while you have the chance. One thing I noticed was how these two opposites eventually fit so well together, like yin and yang. Their differences were what drew them to each other, but as they get to know each other, they find those differences are also similarities: like when they're talking about how men have treated them L.C. says "men are mean to me because they don't like my body... they're mean to you because they do." And this was a great behind the scenes look at a rock star's life. It was like being a fly on the wall. It was part National Inquirer and part great literature... something for everyone. A great read!

Very average.......2004-09-25

I found this book to be very average. The character who played the rock star did not come off as a very sympathetic or likable person. I also could not figure out why her new girlfriend (a successful writer) loved her so much. Overall I found this story not very compelling. The loves scenes were not even good.

Average customer rating:

very "official" information

The Sharon Stone Story
Michael Munn
Manufacturer: Robson Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Actors & Actresses | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1861050941

Customer Reviews:

very "official" information.......1998-09-30

it was the first book l read about this actress.Although it gives much information about her childhood,her movies and,partly,her life that information is nothing more than "official".l mean that Michael Munn does not give more "juicy" information about her,does not talk about some unknown sides of her character,something about which most of her fans would like to know.Also,Munn avoids to talk or,better,to write about scandals and rumours having to do with Stone.She can't be that perfect!I may be the biggest Sharon Stone fan in the world,but some times we have to be objective!

A Change of Plans: Women's Stories of Hemorrhagic Stroke

Average customer rating:

A Change of Plans: Women's Stories of Hemorrhagic Stroke
Sharon Dale Stone
Manufacturer: Sumach Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Nervous System | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Book Description

A Change of Plans is a collection of eleven narratives by women who have experienced hemorraghic strokes. The author herself experienced a stroke as a young girl. As she recovered and grew into adulthood, she thought deeply about the silence that has surrounded her experience and the psychic trauma she wasn't allowed to talk about. She also wondered about other women who had suffered strokes. Those who share their voices in this collection do so openly and movingly, telling about their experiences, recoveries and how the strokes helped shape their lives.

Average customer rating:

Basic knowledge of Sharon Stone

SHARON STONE STORY
DOUGLAS THOMPSON
Manufacturer: TIME WARNER PAPERBACKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0751510629

Customer Reviews:

Basic knowledge of Sharon Stone.......1999-05-21

Didn't read yet completely . . . want to see the rest ... thanks ! Mike McCoy

Average customer rating:

a funny book

Good Concise Primer For Dominatrixes...and the Men Who Love Them

Very meaningful and touching book

Intense & Full of Power.

A WASTE OF TIME

I Was a Teenage Dominatrix: A Memoir
Shawna Kenney
Manufacturer: Last Gasp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sex Instruction | Sex | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Mistress Ruby Ties It Together: A Dominatrix Takes On Sex, Power, and the Secret Lives of Upstanding Citizens

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ASIN: 0867195304

Amazon.com

"You can only blame your parents for so much," says Shawna Kenney in her breezy memoir, I Was a Teenage Dominatrix, quickly disassociating herself from the common stereotype of the sex worker as a desperate victim of a male-dominated culture. Indeed, while Kenney's career choice may be shocking to some, her affable, conversational style reveals how an intelligent college student, short on cash, finds dominatrix work a viable way of making ends meet--there's no sex, it's great money, and there's plenty of time for homework.

After guiding readers through a largely uneventful childhood and rebellious adolescence, Kenney ranges through a wide collection of professional anecdotes that are by turns hilarious, downright disgusting, and even poignant. Cranky from having to wear uncomfortable stiletto heels, for instance, Kenney finds a creative way to gain relief: "'Remove my shoes, you stupid slut,' I ordered.... From then on I was the barefoot dominatrix. I'm sure high heels were designed by some man, anyway." Many of the most unusual clients, however, are those who aren't interested in heels or bullwhips--they pay just to talk. "My wife died twelve years ago," sobs one client. "I haven't been this close to a woman since." Another, a cross-dresser from Argentina, only wants acceptance: "I come from a country where it is very important to be macho. To be like me is a disgrace." Along the way, Kenney reveals keen insight into what goes on behind the closed doors of so-called "normal" people and gains greater understanding of her own attitudes toward friends and romance. With the conspiratorial tone of a best girlfriend conversing over coffee, she shares moments of laughter and tears (as well as a few other bodily fluids), but never once resorts to pure shock or self-pity. Those seeking a morality tale of how the "bad" girl gets her comeuppance should look elsewhere. This is a refreshing, honest portrait of a young woman determined to make something of herself on her own terms. --Ginger Dzerk

Book Description

The true story of a young woman who funded herself through college in the States by working as a dominatrix -- a sassy, graphic and extraordinary memoir. Shawna Kenney is now a freelance writer and photographer, and lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews:

a funny book.......2006-10-18

This book takes you on a fun ride through a personal experience with a subject many consider to be taboo. It describes the "industry" and it's participants in a very humanistic way. It also gives a complete picture without gratuitous perversion. A quick read but any more would be overkill. Good plane book.

Good Concise Primer For Dominatrixes...and the Men Who Love Them.......2006-06-16

I read this book in two days flat. I wanted to know how one gets started in the whole BDSM thing professionally. Having read this, I know how truly screwed up some men are. This book was humorous, scary, endearing and very real. Do not read it if you are overly sensitive or have a weak stomach. DO read it if you are considering going into the business. She doesn't knock it or praise it, she just describes it...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Very meaningful and touching book.......2006-05-24

Shawna Keeney tells a wonderful story of a young woman doing some pretty bizarre things to make a move up the socio-economic scale in an America where such things can happen. She also nibbles at the edges of an idea that she provided a service that is of real value as it seems a large number of men have not resolved some of the issues of childhood and transference from mother to lover.

Spanking is an act of mother love done to teach the very young in situations where words won't work, time is of the essence and she needs to reinforce her authority. In the past boys moved their focus from mother to young, pretty female teachers all of whom were armed with paddles put into use daily. Many such teachers felt a boy's education was incomplete until he had taken ten swats from someone in high heels. It worked very well until Dr. Spock came along and put child rearing in a tailspin from which it did not recover, but crashed and burned.

Shawn's story is exciting, but far more important than its' text would seem to imply. It deserves serious study as does the entire world of the dominitrix. They are clearly onto something.

Intense & Full of Power........2006-03-09

To honestly enjoy this book, you need to first appreciate Kenney's writing style. It isn't prissy, or overly feminine, but rather is a fantastic reflection of who this woman is as a person. It's a very intense read and almost impossible to put down. I bought her book out of curiosity, and when I read it, I loved it. This is not a book for everyone, but if you're curious about the slightly darker, kinkier side to things--read this book!

A WASTE OF TIME.......2005-12-08

Where should I start? The list of how horrible this book is unimaginable. I am not talking about the subject matter either. I am talking about how bad this book is.
This had to have been self published. I can not think why any publishing house would actually waste money on publishing this book. It was written like a high school term paper. Very amateurish. I am not saying that I know all there is to know about alternate lifestyles, but there are things that just do not jibe right in this book. If anything it should be filed under fiction, very uncredible.
Luckily, I only paid three dollars for this dretch. I would not reccomend this to anyone. The only reason it got one star is because Amazon does not have any lower rating than that, but if they did it would definitly get it.
Do not waste your time on this book. If this sort of thing is your thing I am sure there are thousands of books on Amazon that are much better than this book.

Product Description

Written for advanced programmers who use C and C++, the second edition of this popular technical guide illustrates and clarifies real-world driver programming issues for current versions of Microsoft Windows. The author offers a solid overview of the Wind

Amazon.com

Written for advanced C/C++ programmers, Walter Oney's Programming the Microsoft Windows Driver Model is a technically astute and clearly presented guide to writing custom Windows 2000 device drivers.

The author's command of the details of the new Windows Driver Model (WDM) standard is what makes this book such a clear success. (Because the WDM is rich in kernel and system services, the trick is often knowing how to use what's available rather than doing everything yourself.) The author presents a solid overview of the WDM architecture and breaks down the process of writing custom device drivers into manageable pieces, from the basics of loading device drivers to creating and processing I/O request packets. The book is very good at exposing kernel system calls, design principles, and programming techniques (such as managing synchronization and handling errors). There are also "nerd alerts" that point out extremely technical material.

This book shows you what you'll need to create WDM drivers that cooperate fully with Windows 2000 (and Windows 98). Features like Plug and Play (PnP), Windows power management, and the new Windows Management Instrumentation (WDM) standard get full attention here. There is plenty of sample code (plus a custom Visual C++ AppWizard that generates skeleton code for a default WDM driver) to get you started. Examples for working with the S5933 PCI chip set (and other simple hardware) let you see WDM drivers in action.

The process of writing device drivers certainly has changed from the early days of DOS. But armed with this handy and thorough book, C/C++ programmers can successfully create drivers for custom hardware that take full advantage of all the features of the powerful new WDM standard. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Windows Driver Model (WDM) overview and driver structure; kernel mode; physical filter, function and bus drivers; loading device drivers (DDs); driver objects; Windows 98 compatibility; kernel mode programming basics; error handling; memory management; synchronization; interrupt request levels, kernel synchronization objects, I/O request packets (IRPs), completion routines, plug and play (PnP) basics, reading and writing data, direct memory access (DMA) transfers, power management, error logging, watchdog timers, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Universal Serial Bus (USB): bulk transfer and isochronous pipes; installing DDs: INF files, property pages, and Registry keys.

Customer Reviews:

A Must Have.......2006-07-01

I've been working on Linux kernel driver for sometime and recently started porting my driver to Windows platform, which is totally new to me. I started by going through DDK online manual for over a month, during which I spent a ton of energy trying to find the Windows counterparts of the functions I'm using in Linux driver. Then I came across this book, which is saving me a lot.

That's right, this book is no newbie one, but it is definitley well-written, organized, and neat if compared to "Linux Device Driver 3rd", if you happen to have one.

Strongly recommend this book if you are a serious DDK writter. And BTW, use this book with DDK online manual intensively.

Expecting the 3rd edition!

Great book for my needs given my experience........2004-04-08

Oney's book provided the right overview and explanations I needed to get up to speed. I didn't expect a man to pop out of his book and do the work for me. Most any serious development is never done by the purchase of a book alone.

I do recall certain areas where I mumbled a little, where I'd wished he'd elaborated and/or expanded a little more, but this is meant only to hint at a slight criticism.

Oney's book was used in helping to produce successful results for real-world commercial software development. Thanks Mr. Oney!

Be careful.......2004-02-17

I am borrowing a copy of this book at work, and I agree with the other reviewers that its helpful, and it doesnt "talk down"

But it can get quite rambly, the IO Request Chapter is a great example of this.

That being said I actually tried to include his DEVQUEUE in my driver code im using at work...Ive been programming for 10+ years so im not a slouch.

Problems:
1) C code written using C++ rules. This is annoying.
2) Doesn't compile at tighter warning levels...LOTS of warnings
3) Bug in DEVQUEUE initialization sent me on an IRP goosechase for good part of a day, and YES I did download his code service packs first. Watch out for stallcount being initialized to 1, StartNextPacket will refuse to run unless you change this to zero.

Success Story.......2003-04-25

This book was a valuable resource for my successful driver development project.

For newbie's, the book is a great companion to the DDK. The text provides simple and concise sample code. The examples on the CD-ROM are a great way to start exploring driver programming concepts using a kernel debugger. The DDK samples are far too complicated for understanding the fundamentals, so use the book to get started and then the DDK samples will be much easier to comprehend.

I recommend that you read through the entire book at a high enough level that you don't get caught up in the details. Next, find the chapter and sample driver that is most appropriate for your task and get started. Throughout the rest of development, you'll reference various parts of the book to understand the details and avoid the hidden pitfalls in kernel mode programming.

For experts, the book provides comprehensive treatment of the topic. It's full of tips and suggestions based on real-world experience. Many of the driver components on the CD-ROM can be integrated into real drivers in order to reduce development time and complexity. If you are creating a production driver that you intend to ship to real customers, the book will also provide you many options for creating a top-notch user experience during the install process. WHQL and driver security issues are addressed as well.

The author updates the CD-ROM sources in service packs located on the web site. These updates are based on his continuing work and feedback from readers.

Hard going.......2003-03-10

This book is written in an extremely hard to read style, with long and convoluted sentences.

The writing style is almost unbearably boring. It you thought Hardy's "Return of the Native" was too fast paced, this is the book for you!

It also tends to explain the micro details without clearly explaining how it all fits together. In this respect, it almost assumes you have read and understood the Device Driver Kits, although the reader will be generally looking for help getting started with the DDKs.

There also seem to be a lot of omissions, in that it does not do a very good job of getting you started. Want to write a winmodem driver? This book gives you no idea where to start.

Having said all that, you probably need this book if you are writing a WDM driver. It does have a lot of useful information and tips. However it assumes you are a guru already.

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