2005 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market) Review

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(More customer reviews)Every year Writer's Digest Books comes out with a new set of guides for writers, each containing updated entries and new articles. This particular guide is directed at fiction writers only; unlike in the more general Writer's Market, here literary journals publishing only poetry and magazines publishing only nonfiction are excluded, making it easier for fiction writers to navigate.
Although the author interviews and craft articles are interesting, the market entries are the most valuable. Changes in editorial staff, focus, and the demise/birth of new markets every year necessitate buying each year's edition. Beginning writers will need to carefully read "The Business of Fiction Writing" while experienced writers will bypass most of the front matter to get right to the listings. Not all magazines and book publishers are listed here since the guide requires the cooperation of the publishers, but the compilation is extensive enough for most writers.
The 2005 edition contains interviews with novelist Margaret Atwood, anthology editor Shannon Ravenel, literary editor Jill Adams, and graphic novelist David Mack. Of particular interest is a piece titled "Premiere Voices", where four authors, including The Kite Runner's Khaled Hosseini, describe their different paths to publication. Articles addressing individual genres (romance , mystery, sci-fi, horror, etc.), self-promotion, and craft and technique round out the front matter.
As a published novelist and short story writer, I find the yearly listings mostly helpful for the placement of short fiction. Novelists would do better to get an agent first (see 2005 Guide to Literary Agents) unless they believe their fiction is better suited to a smaller press, in which case the listings here would be extremely helpful. Writers are advised to read each entry carefully to determine compatibility with their own writing.
Highly recommended for writers trying to publish their fiction.

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For nearly 25 years, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market has been the only directory of its kind exclusively for fiction writers - no other resource provides as many listings devoted specifically to the craft of story. Inside this edition, readers will find: 2,000 updated listings (both paying and non-paying), with 350 listings new to this edition, including literary agents and journals, online and consumer magazines, book publishers and small presses; Expert advice from a spectrum of fiction writers, including Margaret Atwood, James Alexander Thom (Follow the River), horror writer Douglass Clegg, romance writer Debbie Macomber, mystery writer T. Jefferson Parker, and more; Graphic novelist David Mack on the art and business of publishing graphic novels and submission information on this emerging form; Helpful resources listing conferences, workshops and writing programmes; Any writer crafting any kind of fiction needs this essential resource.

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Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey into Manhood and Back Again Review

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(More customer reviews)I was lured by the title/cover photo....I was hooked by the synopsis and thought this would make a diverting read. I knew I would laugh at Ms. Vincent's exploits and adventures, what I was completely unprepared for was the sense of sadness that overcame me as I finished 'Self-Made Man'.
In her guise as "Ned", the author explores such bastions of manhood as strip-clubs, the world of dating women, a monastery and a men's support group. Her experiences are intriguing as well as entertaining and will make most people think about how men and women are perceived by each other.
I think this book should be required reading for any woman who is currently married, engaged to or in a relationship with a man. It made me seriously examine my attitudes towards men and my perceptions of their behavior. It underscores so sublimely the need for men and women to HONESTLY communicate with each other...on ALL levels.
The most telling point for me was when the author was at the men's support group retreat, when the members drew their heros & some drew Atlas holding up the world.
Read this book with an open mind, whether you are male or female and you will see there is more to it than just a cool stunt just for its own sake. I hope people will pick it up and give it a chance.

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Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion Review

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(More customer reviews)Everything You Know About God Is Wrong is a crushing indictment of popular misconceptions about religious belief. Composed of a wide variety of articles, each by a different author and attacking a different "sacred cow", Everything You Know About Religion denounces hypocrisies, outright criminal behavior perpetrated in the name of religion, horrific statements from the Bible and more. While some articles are written by freethinkers or nonbelievers and reveal a decidedly atheistic perspective, others are by believers seeking reform, justice, or a better understanding of various negative aspects of different religions. Indeed, the introduction remarks that "no contributor necessarily agrees with the other contributors... inclusion is not an indication of collusion." The articles range from "Sandman" author Neil Gaiman's graphically illustrated, adults-only comic of the soul-destroying Biblical story of Judges chapter 19 (in which a host turns over his daughter and his guest's concubine to be gang raped and murdered, in order to protect the guest); to the under reported tale of Magdalene Asylums run by the Irish Catholic Church that used women for profitable slave labor, for alleged prostitution or adultery, being victims of rape, or simply looking too pretty; to the merciless feudal virtual slavery inflicted by the temple theocracy upon the serfs of Buddhist Tibet prior to the Chinese occupation (runaway serfs would often be blinded, have their noses or tongues cut off, or be amputated); the story of a man who believes in Judaism and his struggle to engage in a public dialogue about Judaism and Israel, only to be shut out by Institutional Judaism; and much more. Highly recommended

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In the new mega-anthology from best-selling editor Russ Kick, more than fifty writers, reporters, and researchers invade the inner sanctum for an unrestrained look at the wild and wooly world of organized belief.

Richard Dawkins shows us the strange, scary properties of religion; Neil Gaiman turns a biblical atrocity story into a comic (that almost sent a publisher to prison); Erik Davis looks at what happens when religion and California collide; Mike Dash eyes stigmatics; Douglas Rushkoff exposes the trouble with Judaism; Paul Krassner reveals his "Confessions of an Atheist"; and best-selling lexicographer Jonathon Green interprets the language of religious prejudice.

Among the dozens of other articles and essays, you\'ll find: a sweeping look at classical composers and Great American Songbook writers who were unbelievers, such as Irving Berlin, creator of "God Bless America"; the definitive explanation of why America is not a Christian nation; the bizarre, Catholic-fundamentalist books by Mel Gibson\'s father; eye-popping photos of bizarre religious objects and ceremonies, including snake-handlers and pot-smoking children; the thinly veiled anti-Semitism in the Left Behind novels; an extract from the rare, suppressed book The Sex Life of Brigham Young; and rarely seen anti-religious writings from Mark Twain and H.G. Wells.

Further topics include exorcisms, religious curses, Wicca, the Church of John Coltrane, crimes by clergy, death without God, Christian sex manuals, the "ex-gay" movement, failed prophecies, bizarre theology, religious bowling, atheist rock and roll, "how to be a good Christian," an entertaining look at the best (and worst) books on religion, and much more.

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Diverse Communities: The Problem with Social Capital Review

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(More customer reviews)Finally a critique of the social capital concept that brings Bourdieu to bare on the significance of social closure for reprodicing inequality.

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Diverse Communities is a critique of Robert Putnam's social capital thesis, re-examined from the perspective of women and cultural minorities in America over the last century. Barbara Arneil argues that the idyllic communities of the past were less positive than Putnam envisions and that the current 'collapse' in participation is better understood as change rather than decline. Arneil suggests that the changes in American civil society in the last half century are not so much the result of generational change or television as the unleashing of powerful economic, social and cultural forces that, despite leading to division and distrust within American society, also contributed to greater justice for women and cultural minorities. She concludes by proposing that the lessons learned from this fuller history of American civil society provide the normative foundation to enumerate the principles of justice by which diverse communities might be governed in the twenty-first century.

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Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Review

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(More customer reviews)Putnam's commentary on modern American life is frightening at best.
I read Putnam's article by the same title in college and it left a lasting imprint because it crystalized my feeling that Americans are no longer involving themselves in civic and community life. His new book expounds on this depressing thesis and explains, in tremendous detail how Americans no longer value civic engagement or regard relationships with neighbors as worthwhile. He cites declines in participation in public clubs such as the Shriners and Elks clubs as well as more informal social gatherings like poker playing and family dinners. Using statistics and time diaries he plots indicators of civic engagement from its peak in the early 1960's and its subsequent decline thereafter. The greatest casualty throughout this transformation is in social capital, a term which predates Putnam and describes the emotional and practical benefits of personal relationship.
Putnam shows that civic clubs that have shown growth in membership since the 1960's have mostly been in massive national organizations whose membership is nothing more than people on mailing lists who pay an annual fee. Furthermore, religious organizations, whose members participate in their communities at greater rates than non church goers, are beginning to change their focus from civic participation to only tending to the needs of their church members.
The affects of this disengagement have impacted our health, democracy and safety. Putnams points out an axiomatic principle that as people associate with one another in various capacities, whether it be at the kitchen table, the sidewalk, the card club or the PTA, people form relationships that provide a pool of friends who can be relied upon when time are hard, the dog needs to be walked, or the poor elderly woman next door needs her home painted. Each relationship is an asset, the accumulation of which can be called one's "social capital."
Putnam does not place the blame for this on one source, but cites the entrance of women into the workforce, high levels of divorce, and urban sprawl among others as possible contributors. His most damning remarks are reserved for television. According to Putnam, no single technology has had such a damaging effect on America's civic and personal relationships. I enjoyed his attack on TV on a personal level because I decided 5 years ago to throw away my television and have never looked back.
Certainly, Putnam's concerns are not new. He admits to this and provides the reader with an excellent look at the Progressive Era when American's decided to solve the vexing problems of an industialized urban society by forming civic clubs and actively involving themselves in their community.
This is not a particularly fun book to read. In summary, it details how Americans have become spectators on life. The recent success of "reality based" television programs only illustrates how we have traded the potential richness of personal relationships for a false reality on our television screens. Life is about personal relationships, and it is sad to see how Americans have avoided these relationships.
Putnam is not all gloom and doom. As with everything, hope abounds. After reading this book, one should only be encouraged to find ways to involve himself or herself in their communities and invite the neighbors over for a BBQ. This is an important social commentary, and I encourage all to read it.

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Rip Van Winkle (Illustrated Stories for Children) Review

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(More customer reviews)Washington Irving's 'Rip Van Winkle' originally appeared in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (1819) alongside another evocative piece of Americana, 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,' a wondrous story equally set in Irving's beloved Hudson River Valley. Though not as multilayered as its longer and slightly more well known fellow, 'Rip Van Winkle' also has long roots in Old World folklore, which is appropriate, since The Sketch Book was the first book by an American writer to be taken seriously by the European audiences that then set the standard in the West. Like the earlier A Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809), 'Rip Van Winkle' is playfully attributed to Dutch antiquarian "Diedrich Knickerbocker," the most famous and certainly the most charming of several personae Irving adopted as an author.
Written in simple but gorgeously visionary language, 'Rip Van Winkle' is the story of the lazy but warm spirited farmer, who, in an effort to escape the "petticoat despotism" of his "termagant" wife, flees for an afternoon's hunting in the lonely, autumnal Catskill Mountains. Accompanied only by Wolf, his faithful but equally harassed dog, Rip is surprised when he notices an odd figure approaching through the wilderness and calling out his name. The "short, square built old fellow with thick bushy hair and a grizzled beard" is carrying a "stout keg," and gestures to Van Winkle to assist him with his burden.
Taking up the "flagon," Rip hesitantly follows the little man into an isolated ravine, and thus steps unknowingly into fairyland; there he finds himself confronted by a solemn and outlandishly dressed party of dwarfs playing at ninepins. Bewildered, Rip pours out the beverage for the assemblage, but can't resist taking a drink himself. Awaking on the mountainside, Van Winkle, finding Wolf gone and a badly rusted gun at his side, returns to town, where he discovers his home in ruins, his wife dead, his children grown to adulthood, the land of his birth now an independent nation freed from the yoke of the British, and himself a stranger to the villagers, who stare at his tattered clothing and exceptionally long facial hair. After making bewildered inquiries, he comes to accept that twenty years have passed.
As a humble, good hearted, and mild tempered dreamer, Rip is an archetypal fairytale hero, though the only dragon slain is Dame Van Winkle, and she accidentally, by the passage of time itself. Like kindred spirit Ichabod Crane, Rip is not an absolute novice when it comes to the fantastic, for he has enjoyed telling the village children who love him "long stories about ghosts, witches, and Indians."
As in traditional Celtic fairy lore, in which eating or drinking while visiting fairyland is often punished with permanent residency there, Rip had made the honest mistake of partaking of fairy foodstuffs, and thus pays an unintended price for doing so. For Celtic fairy lore also featured multiple variations on the theme of fairy time; one minute of perceived human time might be seven years of fairy time, and a man spending a happy week dancing in fairyland might discover that one hundred years or more has past on earth upon his return. Whether dwarfs, elves, boggarts, or fairies, Irving's little people are first cousins to many of the mythological beings of European mythology. Interestingly, like the literally "solitary" fairies of Ireland and Scotland, who were brusque of manner at best and never seen in groups (as were the far more gregarious "trooping" fairies), the little men Rip holds audience with "maintain the gravest faces, the most mysterious silence," and thus represent "the most melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed."
But Irving, who deftly places his story in the historical setting of pre-Revolutionary America, also shrewdly offers his audience other interpretations for Van Winkle's strange mountain encounter. Though narrator Diedrich Knickerbocker acknowledges early that the Catskills are "fairy mountains," one character, sage Peter Vanderdonk, explains that it was the dead "Hendrick Hudson" himself, who returns with his crew every twenty years "to keep a guardian eye on the river," whom Rip encountered, while the postscript indeterminably discusses a variety of Indian spirits, including the Manitou, who haunt the region. One fact entirely overlooked by scholars everywhere is that American literature was born in the daimonic, a tradition begun by Irving but enthusiastically continued by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe.
Like most of Irving's work, at present Rip Van Winkle is a grossly underappreciated piece of pure Americana; certainly American literature could have gotten off to a much worst beginning than it did than with its gallant, optimistic, and uncynical founder. For Rip, despite the precariousness of his experience, learns to accept his fate and settles into a comfortable old age as a venerated member of his community. Not that very long ago, there was a time in America when, taking a direct cue from the story itself, some of America's young schoolchildren were fancifully taught that thunder was not the result of lightning, but merely the echo of the elves' occasional game of mountain bowling.
This definitive edition, first published in 1905, features over fifty genuinely "mesmerizing" though somber watercolor illustrations by British master Arthur Rackham, which perfectly suit Irving's text and will captivate both adults and children alike.


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Legal Environment of Business (5th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)Book is fine, It took almost a month until I got the book no email went out telling me when it was shipped. I was getting a little worried when I got into the third week of class and it wasn't here yet.

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This is the only textbook that helps students develop a thorough understanding of the legal environment of business and enhances their ability to engage in critical thinking and ethical analysis. The legal environment of business is thoroughly treated in an extremely reader-friendly manner; various topics include: the American legal system, dispute resolution, constitutional principles, cyberlaw, white-collar crime, contracts, sales, product and service liability, the law of property, agency law, labor-management relations, environmental law, securities trading and issuance, antitrust laws, and debtor-creditor relations. An excellent desk reference for the legal departments of any business, this book also provides an interesting read for anyone interested in business and ethics.

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Amber Brown Sees Red Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a seventh grader from Michigan and I read Amber Brown Sees Red for a book report project. I think evey student from ages nine to thirteeen should read the book. It's a story about a girl named Amber Brown who's dealing with school, friends, and family. Amber's parents are divorced and she lives with her mom and her mom's fiancee' Max. Her father lives in Paris , France, and he's moving back to the U.S. Whenever Amber's dad calls, her mom has to talk to him first and they always fight. Amber doesn't know how to get them to stop fighting and listen to her. When her father moves back, she will be living with him part time because of shared custody, but she feels split. Amber is getting so mad shes seeing "red."

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The Best American Sports Writing 1999 Review

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(More customer reviews)If you've liked previous editions, you'll enjoy this one, too. Same formula, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of human-interest stories from the sports world. Choosing a favorite or two is tough, but I love the bittersweet ones, such as about one of baseball's great "bonus baby" players who never panned out, or about the insane distance bicycle racer.
I'm delighted to see an article from a blog breaking through the "print barrier" in the series. I'm a little disappointed that so many stories came from the NY Times, as well as a couple of plain things from the Washington Post. A little more edge and a little less conventionality has been nice in other editions.

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Earl Anthony's Championship Bowling Review

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(More customer reviews)Earl Anthony was the greatest bowler of all time, in my opinion. He won 41 P.B.A. titles, 2 A.B.C. Masters titles, and 7 Senior Tour titles. Ranking second is Walter Ray Williams, Jr. So let Anthony teach you how to bowl. This book was written by a lefthander, but a lot of the negatives of the pictures were flipped so it appears that Anthony is bowling right-handed.
I received Earl Anthony's Championship Bowling for Christmas in 1984. Great book. With co-author Dawson Taylor, Anthony teaches the basics - footwork, timing, armswing, release, follow-through, and the mental game. He also teaches spare shooting, including split making. Specifically, Anthony talks about The Seven Fundamentals of Championship Bowling - relaxation, rhythm and timing, squareness to the line and ability to hit the target, correct ball fit and ball balance, application of squeeze action, consistent wrist action and full follow-through, and speed control. I learned a lot by reading this book. The secret to bowling well is fundamentals, believe me. Not some fancy bowling ball with a half ounce of side weight or some fancy wrist device. FUNDAMENTALS. He also talks about how to correct faults in your game, how to practice, and one of my favorite topics of all - THE ETIQUETTE OF BOWLING. Yes, that's right - PROPER ETIQUETTE. How many of you serious bowlers out there have been DISTRACTED by people who don't know proper bowling etiquette? You know what I mean - you're practicing and you're on the approach ready to take your first step and some idiot on the lane next to you runs up there with total disregard for you and distracts you, forcing you to step off the approach and start your routine all over again. And the saddest thing of all is that this idiot doesn't even know that they distracted you. They're totally oblivious to it. It happens to every bowler. When this happens to me, I almost turn into Marshall Holman. It drives me NUTS. Holman is one of the greatest bowlers of all time and a fierce competitor and I don't blame him one bit for all the times he got distracted on television. I can relate to it.
So there.....this chapter makes Earl Anthony's Championship Bowling a COMPLETE book that really is all you need to learn how to bowl and improve your game. Myself, I'm a self-taught bowler with an unorthodox style (almost a carbon copy of Holman's game), but I periodically refer back to this book whenever I'm in a little slump or just need a refresher course. I highly recommend this great book.

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Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862 (The American Civil War) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a fine piece of old-school history: rich, objective, and thorough. Mr. Gott's writing is excellent and the story is fresh. The book is heavy on content, which I found satisfying, and the absence of leftist mythology and psychobabble is a reminder that there are still good historians out there. (Read McPherson if you want a discussion of Southern "paternalism" or Stonewall Jackon's psychological profile.)
As with most Civil War narratives, the story offers entertainment value in its own right. The collection of personalities includes inept Confederate generals, smarmy politicians and rugged country boys doing the soldiering. The unusual genesis of the Union army's river fleet is explored. Further, the battles followed a fascinating course unforeseen by either side. Fort Henry, for instance, was being abandoned by Confederate forces when it was attacked by Grant and his supporting gunboats. The resulting "defeat" at Henry was caused as much by floodwaters as by Union tactics.
Yet as the title suggests, the real story here is how the battles for Henry and Donelson shaped the events that followed. Gott never releases this theme; indeed, it is woven into his exploration of the battle from the very first page to the last. Gott's perspective as a professional battle historian is reflected in his emphasis on thorough analysis. Again, satisfying. He doesn't miss much. This book is a compelling drama for a reader interested in something deeper than the standard casual treatment of our country's bloodiest war.

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With the collapse of the Confederate defences at Forts Henry and Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, the entire Tennessee Valley was open to Union invasion and control. These Northern victories set up the 1864 Atlanta Campaign that cut the Confederacy in two. Had Confederate planning and leadership been better, no one can say what difference it might have made to the Civil War in the West and the outcome of the war itself.

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