ER Books

anyone who is a fan of er should have this book. the author did wonderful(accurate) research.Anything you have ever wanted to know about a main characters (including their birthyears) are in this book. the episode reviews are great, the have the major storylines plus any other minor storylines. this ios a great accuarate book.

This book is loaded with inaccuracies, speculation, made up facts,and errors that the author obviously didn't research. Character names are wrong, random facts are made up (i.e. birth dates for major characters) and episode synopses contain incorrect information. The author didn't do his homework. I wish I could get a refund.

The ER Uofficial Guide book was very informative and interesting to read. Since it was actually written in the U.K., it wasn't completely accurate--I noted a few minor mistakes. For instance, they made Abby's last name Myczenski instead of Wyczenski, or they made an error in the Season headings on the tops of the pages. They at least spelled all the actors' names correctly, though they could have re-edited the actual character guide. There also could have been some more recent pictures--Season 7, 8. Anyway, the episode guide was precise and expressed the main points in each episode. I loved it--you won't regret buying this guide if you are a true ER fan.

Having never watched ER on NBC, I got hooked on it a year or so ago when TNT started showing 2 reruns back to back each weekday morning. I was lucky to find this book shortly thereafter. This was good for several reasons. First, it gave me cast bios (past and present), episode summaries, and main storylines to help catch me up. Second, it highlights key events that you might otherwise miss if you blink. This is helpful to me since I watch when I get home from work and am sometimes not watching too closely as I prepare for bed. With the help of this book, I was paying close attention and now know how Carter ended up with Dr. Greene's stethoscope. Since this unofficial guide only covers seasons 1-8, I can only hope that Mark Jones is readying the next volume to this award winning show.

I am a die-hard ER fan and was very satisfied when i read this book. The first part of the book deals with the main characters in the present, then the main former characters, and lastly the supporting cast, with trivia at the end of each major character.

The second part deals with episode reviews and season overviews. It notes the main events of each season with "one to watch" episodes picked out. Each episode is explained in detail, and the "one to watch" episodes have an extra paragraph explaining the aspects that make it a "one to watch."

The book also has awesome photos of cast past and present

This book is exceptional! I've read the reviews several times over and have learned a lot that i didn't already know. It is full of ACCURATE information(for those of you who wrote reviews before me), and very accountable facts noted in the episodes. I would reccomend this book to any die-hard ER fan like me!!

This is not a review of this book, but a review of one of the book's reviews. The stars are directed at it.

Robert Moore asserts that Thompson was somehow nearsighted when he believed that the second golden age of television was on a decline. I'll admit that that is a nearsighted view to take, but I'll challenge Moore once again to defend the current glut of "acclaimed television". To compare "The Sopranos" to "Hill Street Blues" is like comparing stale meatloaf to a filet minion. "Hill Street Blues" is one of the finest crafted series ever created for television. Sure, it suffers from formula, and from some cornpone theatrics. But while "The Sopranos", perhaps nobly, aims for "art", it fails at being well-crafted. It supplants ambiguity and nihilistic cynicism for actual drama, and in doing so casts the worst insult at its audience - boredom. "Hill Street" is always entertaining and engaging, if sometimes contrived. Art or not, "The Sopranos" is simply poorly-crafted, overrated TV, and is incredibly banal in its execution.

Further, I'll challenge the assertion that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is great television. It has its moments, and it bends convention (always a plus). But the reason for the incredible number of academic papers written on its behalf has to do with the fact that college kids are nerds, geeks, and dorks. I know - I'm one too. I was even an English major. But I don't write about my geekdom to impress scholars. In fact I don't write about it at all, otherwise my desk would be filled with papers on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", a show I enjoyed tremendously and feel at least on par with "Buffy", possibly superior. Do I care to push my interests into an "academic" community? Do I give a rat's a** to "convert" anyone to my side? No. I simply enjoy the show.

I write this in all earnestness, because I'm a dramatist and I take my craft seriously. As such, I can say this - there is not a single series on television right now that I would be proud to write for. Not one. I think back to the years of "Homicide", "L.A. Law", "Picket Fences", "Murder One", "St. Elsewhere", and, yes, "Hill Street Blues", and think, "Where did the real TV go?" "Veronica Mars", "Dead Like Me" and "Smallville" don't cut it for me, and they certainly don't belong in any discussion about true quality drama.

I do believe that there will one day be a third "Golden Age" of Television (maybe even not *on* television). As a writer, I plan to be at the forefront. But I do fear it may still be a long ways off.

This book is great at enhancing the viewing pleasure of classic TV shows now coming out on DVD. I read this book after viewing the first season of Hill Street Blues and the first three seasons of Moonlighting. I loved reading this and learned a lot about my favorite TV shows.

It's all too easy to assume that simply because we vegetate in front of the TV all day, that we have some kind of understanding of its history and how it works. This book summarises the importance of several landmark shows of the 1980s and 1990s, helping to show how a few select producers (chiefly refugees from The Mary Tyler Moore Show) were able to transform the quality of television, at least for a while. Note that the shows are discussed in their American context -- British viewers may be surprised to hear that anything was innovative about the "MASH without the laughter track", because MASH was always broadcast in the UK without a laughter track. But for placing the history of American TV in its natural home habitat, this remains an important and interesting introduction to quality television.

The title of this book is provocative but something of a serious misnomer. Robert J. Thompson points out early on that the original "Golden Age of Television" took place in the Fifties and was built on the variety shows like "Texaco Star Theater" and "Your Show of Shows," the anthology dramas like "Playhouse 90" and "Studio One," and, of course, "I Love Lucy." Thompson also acknowledges that in the Seventies the situation comedy reached its "literate peak" with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "All in the Family," and "M*A*S*H." However, the argument for "Television's Second Golden Age: From 'Hill Street Blues' to 'ER'" covers a period from HSB's debute in 1981 to the present, where "ER" continues to be one of the top dramas on television. That is a period of more than two decades and while Thompson devotes a chapter to "The Second Golden Age of Television: "Cagney & Lacy," "Moonlighting," "L.A. Law," "thirtysomething," and "China Beach," essentially focusing on the Eighties, it is hard to say that the following decade, with "Twin Peaks," "Northern Exposure," "Picket Fences," "NYPD Blue," "Law & Order," "Homicide," "The X-Files," "Chicago Hope," and "ER" was not at least as strong (feel free to add to the list). Even if we are talking about the first decade of the 21st century we have "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "24," "The Practice," "Ally McBeal" and short-lived series like "My So Called Life" and "Once and Again" (and that is without dipping over to HBO and talking about "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," and the rest of their kind), all of which speak to quality dramatic programming.

That is why in the final analysis I see Thompson's argument as being not so much for a specific time period of great television, but rather advancing the proposition that the hour-long dramatic television series is the chief art form of the medium (yes, even more so than the situation comedy). I would even extend this argument to the mini-series, from "Roots" and "Shogun" to "War and Remembrance" and "Lonesome Dove," because the guiding principle of the extended narrative form remains the common denominator. "24" takes the idea of season-long story arc a unique extreme, but "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" did all of its complete seasons have a first-half story arc (e.g., Spike & Dru in Season 2) that then merged with a second-half story arc (e.g., the return of Angelus) that provided a framework for all of the individual episodes. Then there was "Murder One," which rather successfully devoted an entire season to one sensational murder trial. When a series loses its driving story arc, as when Dave and Maddie consummated their love on "Moonlighting," or when what was supposed to be the hook becomes the line and sinker as well, as when the question of who killed Laura Palmer ultimately derailed "Twin Peaks," the demise of the show simply affirms the principle in the negative.

Thompson's starting point is January 1981 when prime-time television was about to make a sudden and dramatic turn towards quality because of "Hill Street Blues," the show that Steven Bocho did not want to make and that nobody wanted to watch, but which became "television's first true masterpiece." However, Thompson argues that it was "St. Elsewhere" that was "TV's greatest show, ever" (having to do with key notions of "intertextuality" and "self-reflexivity"). Ultimately he is not defining a particular time period (especially since the "golden age" in question is clearly not over), but explaining why in the "vast wasteland" that Newton Minnow bemoaned so many years ago "quality" television is flourishing in terms of hour-long dramatic programming. Within that context Thompson clearly makes his case for much of the best television ever made having appeared on the networks since 1980. The book is half critical evaluation of these programs and half insider's tour looking at the decision-making process as well as the social, economic, and artistic forces that ended up revolutionizing the medium. Thompson also more than adequately proves he knows his television history, which is necessary to help convince those of us who are true students of the medium. Consequently, the fact that the title of this book is not a fair representation of its most significant claim, is not to be held against the author, because he has made in public an argument I have been making in private (okay, in class as well), for several years.

This excellent book on the development of what is widely known as Quality TV remains one of the finest books published in the field of television studies. Although television has now been around for sixty years, good writing about television shows has only developed in the past twenty years. Not that there wasn't a great deal of writing about television before then; it is merely that most writing was about the medium of television in a somewhat sociological/anthropological mode rather than in a textual analysis mode. Many earlier television scholars were as or more apt to write about the interaction of shows and commercials embedded within them as the shows themselves. In fact, prior to the last fifteen years it is difficult to find many writers who wrote directly about the shows as artistic productions.

The book's greatest strength is in its identification of the qualities that make up quality television shows and the discussion of the development of a series of shows in the eighties and early nineties that encapsulated those qualities. These parts of the book are very, very good indeed and one will be hard pressed to find better discussions of why HILL STREET BLUES, ST. ELSEWHERE, and MOONLIGHTING were great shows. The lead-up chapters that detail the pre-history of quality TV are also outstanding. Most of my review is going to argue with several of Thompson's points, but I want to be explicit that one of the virtues of a good book is that it makes you want to argue with it. Ludwig Wittgenstein told one of his students that a mark of a great book was that it made you want to throw it across a room and yell at it. I think Thompson is very wrong at several points, but he is wrong in important ways, and a reader can learn a great deal by debating Thompson as he or she reads.

One of the parts I want to argue with he is characterization of what counts as a Quality TV show. I'm not quite sure he is correct in dismissing, for instance, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, as a quality TV show. I guess my complaint is that Thompson wants to establish a genre, one that would exclude unrealistic shows such as STAR TREK. But what of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER? This is very widely considered to be one of the truly great series of the past decade. Several of the television critics he quotes with approval--in particular David Bianculli and Ken Tucker--were both passionate admirers of BUFFY, lavishing praise on the show unequaled by any other show. Furthermore, Thompson seems to view the way that shows are received on college campuses as a mark of a show's quality. No show comes anywhere close to BUFFY in the way that it has been received by the academic community. In fact, academic papers on BUFFY come close to matching all papers written on all other shows combined in the past ten years. Yet, Thompson clearly states that two marks of quality shows are that they tend to win awards and that they are realistic. BUFFY received vast critical acclaim (and its reputation seems to grow with each passing year), but much to the consternation of the critics that praised it, it failed to receive any Emmys (apart from some minor ones) or even major nominations. And while it was a hybrid show (a blend of fantasy, drama, comedy, romance, and teen genres), one of the marks of a quality show as identified by Thompson, it was a show about vampires, which would clearly seem to violate the realism rule. Perhaps Thompson would have adjusted his criteria with the appearance of BUFFY (and perhaps he already has). My point is that the criteria of quality TV as outlined by Thompson describes no necessary or sufficient conditions, but more in the way of the "family resemblances" of which Wittgenstein (to refer to him again) wrote in his work. There are qualities that shows tend to have, though some will lack. But I suggest the "realism" criterion should be jettisoned entirely.

The book's greatest flaw is in more or less assuming that the age of quality television had ended. In fact, the group of shows that came after this book went to press far surpasses in literateness and intelligence the group of shows Thompson focuses on. If you watch an episode of THE SOPRANOS and then watch an episode of HILL STREET BLUES, you will immediately be struck by how much more complex and intelligent the former is. I recently started rewatching MOONLIGHTING and doing so confirmed how far television has come since that show, both in intellectual complexity and in production quality. The latter is an important point since as Thompson points out MOONLIGHTING was one of the most expensive shows ever produced. But my main point is this: I'll take THE X-FILES, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, THE SOPRANOS, FARSCAPE, SIX FEET UNDER, ANGEL, THE GILMORE GIRLS, DEAD LIKE ME, THE SHIELD, OZ, FIREFLY, SMALLVILLE, LOST, DEADWOOD, WONDERFALLS, THE WEST WING, ALIAS, 24, and VERONICA MARS over Thompson's group of shows any day.

I should note that in the final chapter Thompson does express some hope that the age of quality television has not ended, but there is definitely an overarching "rise and fall" tone to the book as a whole. The fact that he bizarrely finds such shows as TWIN PEAKS and NORTHERN EXPOSURE as harbingers that quality TV has pretty much exhausted its possibilities shows this. Thompson may hope that the era of quality TV is not over, but it is pretty clear that he fears that it is.

How did Thompson get it so wrong? I think the answer comes from his assessment of the effect that TWIN PEAKS had on television. Late in the book he writes, "TWIN PEAKS had an overall negative effect on quality drama." This is an absurd statement and I think it stems from Thompson's missing the overall effect that TWIN PEAKS had on television narrative. Although Thompson writes penetratingly and insightfully about most of the shows he takes up, he neglects one aspect of television that TWIN PEAKS changed. Thompson was a contributor to a book on the soap opera entitled WORLDS WITHOUT END: THE ART AND HISTORY OF THE SOAP OPERA. One thing all of the shows Thompson writes about except TWIN PEAKS is that none of them is structured around a master narrative. ST. ELSEWHERE and HILL STREET BLUES might contain six or seven or more lesser story arcs, but there isn't a real overarching story. There is a sense in which none of these shows is about anything in particular. The closest would be MOONLIGHTING with the ongoing flirtation between David and Maddie. What Thompson misses is that TWIN PEAKS introduced for the first time into a series an overarching master narrative. Although the show itself failed to produce a compelling long story arc in its second and disastrous season, the notion of a show being structured around a very long central story had been introduced. The first show that would profit from this would be THE X-FILES, with its seasons-long narrative dealing with alien colonization. The form would first be perfected in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER with each of its seven seasons structured primarily around a single main narrative, although there were also a host of smaller arcs as well, some extending over several seasons. This narrative form has been taken to its logical extreme by LOST, which will in the course of its currently projected six seasons tell a single story, very much the way an epic novel would. A substantial number of the shows that I list in the previous paragraph have absorbed the formal structures developed by TWIN PEAKS, THE X-FILES, and BUFFY.

In fact, while Thompson was lamenting what he imagined to be end of television's second golden age, what he was writing about was a group of shows that laid the foundation for an even better group of shows in the nineties and our decade. I have searched to see what Thompson has written since the publication of this book to see if he has repented of his own prophecies, but without success. It is quite possible that Thompson disapproves, but hopefully he has been delighted that television not only did not regress to standards of a previous age, but has actually continued to improve.

The book is out of date in other ways as well. For instance, Thompson speculates that the reason the hour-long drama was fading from the airwaves (a fading away that turned out not to occur) was its poor performance in syndication. This is true, but Thompson was writing before the advent of the DVD and one thing that we have learned is that hour long shows excel on DVD. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER has dramatically out performed on DVD most half-hour shows (as well as most hour long shows) that out did it in ratings during that show's seven-year run. LOST with its enormously complex plot, has done exceptionally well on DVD. The economics of DVD packaging is still being worked out, but in conjunction with syndication quality shows have a economic life that continues to make them viable in the industry.

Despite my disagreements with the book, this remains essential reading for anyone interested in the development of television in the past twenty-five years. Unlike Thompson, I remain optimistic about the future of quality TV. I have had my heart broken by a number of asinine cancellations (especially on FOX, where I have had to witness the demise of such great shows as WONDERFALLS, FIREFLY, and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT). I suffer a bit in reading this book about how networks would stick with shows that were doing poorly in ratings to develop and promote them. That happens so rarely now, though I am delighted that the new CW network has stuck with VERONICA MARS, a ratings failure despite being one of the most critically acclaimed shows on TV. But as excellent as the book is, it remains a cautionary tale about prognostication. The unstated theme of the book seems to be the rise and decline of quality TV, whereas actual history has proclaimed the rise and further rise of it.

"Humanity's Edge" is a collection of short stories that share a common theme; survival. Each story is incredibly different, and their plots involve everything from cloning to just trying to have a decent dinner. However different their plots may be, the theme of survival resonates through just the same. Some of the stories are rather bleak and grim; taking place in a future where its not safe to be outside due to toxic levels of gas in the air, others are a bit more uplifting. Many of these survival stories also involve acts of kindess, which serves to renew a reader's hope in humans as a species.

"Humanity's Edge" contains 13 stories, and each of them will make you stop and think. Many of them will make you ponder over what it means to actually be human. The book is a page turner, and one of the better short story collections I've read.

Humanity's Edge is a collection of thirteen Science Fiction short stories that will keep you thinking.

I am going to focus on my favorite story out of all the shorts in this book. It was called Double Trouble.

A young man just seventeen years old, visits a local lawyer to inquire how to sue his father. The young man believes he was subject to child endangerment and child abuse.

The lawyer noticed something not quite right about the young client. It seemed he suffered from Parkinson's; but he was only a child there was no way he could have an older person's disease. After assuring the young man he had no case until he became of the legal age, twenty one, there was nothing that could be done.

When the young man revealed that he was cloned at birth, that automatically got the greedy lawyers attention. Cloning was illegal and a large reward was offered for information regarding the law breakers. The lawyer convinced his client to let him use this information to prosecute the young man's father. The lawyer saw dollar signs at that moment hoping to use the reward money to pick up his slow practise.

The young man hoping to wreak revenge on his father, actually brought the punishment on himself as well. Because the lawyer planned on turning the young man in as well in hopes of a larger reward.

Ms. Wilhite's short stories are each different in their own way, but come together as one book beautifully.
The only faults I have are that a couple of the stories were too short for my taste, but had definite possibilities if they had went on for a few more pages. Also I referred to the above characters as young man and lawyer; there were no names given and I think that takes away from the story a bit.

Ms. Wilhite will keep you turning the pages with her out of this world writing style. Humanity's Edge receives 3 hearts.

Everyone loves 'father,' but how does it happen that there is only one parent? And why are there so many tunnels when so few 'children' remain? When one of the children investigates, she discovers that 'father' has been hiding too many secrets. A religious 'cult' seems to attract bad luck, yet it has truly loyal members--more secrets? A plan to control earthquakes backfires, and all of Earth is gradually becoming uninhabitable. After disaster, humans learn that they aren't the only intelligent species--will they be the dominant one? Resistance to disease may help--but it might be worse than death. A twist of birth results in premature brilliance, but premature aging as well. Telepaths battle for survival--and for dominance. Colonists to a new world wonder if they really are alone. Cyborgs battle bio-engineered creche-born--can humans even claim a part of the future? Engineered geniuses solve humanity's problems, but their own bodies are ticking time bombs. An experiment leads to a strange ability that comes only with someone else's death. Suicide becomes an artistic statement. Meat and burning charcoal become crimes.

In HUMANITY'S EDGE, author Tamara Wilhite creates an intriguing series of speculations. The stories are connected thematically as White explores what it means to be a human, and how humanity may change under the stresses it is certain to find itself falling under.

The stories collected in HUMANITY'S EDGE are well written and Wilhite asks intriguing questions. I think that the short story format worked against White, however. These stories are too important, and the questions White asks are too real to be summed up with the little end-twists that are the basic tool of the short story writer. I certainly found a lot to enjoy in HUMANITY'S EDGE, but I also felt like something was missing.

New Beginnings
Arista lives on the ice covered planet Aden and has to remain within the protective dome-like structure. She experiences a episodes of déjà vu, an issue that will eventually go away. At least, so says her father. But when she starts doing research within the computer files and checks out the abandoned tunnels and labs within their structure, Arista discovers that all on Aden isn't what it seems.

Church of the Called
Investigator Samuel Burke shows up at the compound of the Church of the Called, investigating the ranting accusations of an attempted robber. Little did Samuel know that the church would prove to be anything but the stereotypically crazy cult.

Breathing Room
A series of intentionally set mini earthquakes set off a cataclysm of volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes that wiped out most of the earth's populace. Those remaining fight for survival, but some are better equipped than others for the battle.

Survival of the Fittest
It's a different, colder world. Raina was driving home one evening when she accidentally hits a man. But is he a man, or something more?

Banking on Hope
A futuristic lab technician is asked to do something not only illegal, but dangerous. Will it end up costing him his life as well?

Double Trouble
A young man talks to an attorney about wanting to sue his father for being born. Is it possible to blame a parent for living?

The Hunter and The Hunted
An outlaw psychic attempts to help a stranger who seems to be psychic like her. But the man quickly reveals he is no ordinary psychic. He soon learns that she is no ordinary psychic either.

The Ghost of Tedjai
The planet Tedjai is a primitive, unforgiving world, complete with native beings that don't like humans and have killed them, if found to be a threat. When Renada Dumont takes in a stranger after a fight at the trading post, she learns he isn't what he seems to be.

Moment of Humanity
When humanoids and cyborgs are in a bitter battle for control of the land, a moment of truce occurs between two enemies that could possibly be the start of peace.

Cathedral
It's a world where some people are purposefully genetically altered, not only to be strong of body, but quick of mind. One such genius decides, after a short visit to a cathedral, that she wants her life to mean something.

Denny
An accident at a local physics lab takes hold of a young man, and his life will never be the same.

Gone in a Flash
Suicide is now legal and two family members argue over its validity as a life choice.

Kyoto Plus Ten
When grilling becomes illegal, a man will resort to anything for a burger.

Humanity's Edge is an interesting, and at times, morbidly fascinating, anthology of short stories of a futuristic existence, and humanity's experiences with technology and life. Tamara Wilhite could very well be channeling Rod Serling with her propensity for writing The Twilight Zone type plots of humankind at its oddest. New Beginnings was perhaps the most engaging of all stories, while several others were a close second. Each story is, in its own way, very thought provoking of our lives in the future and the technology that will bring us there.

Bella March of Fallen Angel Reviews

This book makes you think about the future and where we are going. Very thought provoking. Would be great material for the "Twilight Zone". Short stories so you can read for a while, put it down and then read some more. Would make great screen plays for possible movies.

This is the type of book you can read in an afternoon or a plane ride. I really like the anecdotes and the feel. I also understanding nursing in the ER much better, which I think is good for the profession. However, I don't feel that I ever got to know the author as well as I wanted to. Also, one of the final chapters just doesn't seem to fit at all with the rest of the book, as if the author wrote it separately and just stuffed it in. The anecdotes sound a bit sanitized at times, not the brutal emotion I read about in blogs by ER nurses. Spelling and grammar don't always match (`Beth#1' early on becomes `Beth one' later).

As a fellow nursing student myself, working in an ICU Step-Down as an intern, interested in ED work after graduation, and a male... I liked the book only due to the fact that there really is not anything else written from this point of view in this area of practice. Nursing needs more literature written by nurses about nursing, both written for the nursing professional audience and for public understanding of such a complex job... but not in the same book. Unfortunately, this book's writing and grammer are really bad. It's not well organized and skips between layperson descriptions and medically-trained references without layperson explainations. I would perhaps recommend it to people in my similar situation, but not anyone else... maybe if the price were $2.50, but not for $16 with shipping. Sorry for the poor review. I do very much appriciate the work nonetheless. Please keep up the writting, though, since everything is rough in the beginning.

I have read several books by physicians recounting their careers, but this is the first book that I have read written by a nurse recounting his career so far. I was not disappointed.

I found this book to be an excellent read. It is in part accounts of patient encounters over 4 years and then the author's insights into all of this. He has the ability to bring you into each episode so that you can both see it and feel the emotions experienced. In his 4 years experience he pretty well covered the field as far as the variety of things seen in a busy medium sized city emergency room.

Not only does he paint the pictures of the events he lived through, the author was able to have the reader look into the souls of the individuals involved, both patients and nurses, and perhaps us physicians.

One difference between physicians and nurses, it seems that nursing brings a person closer to the patient. The only thing that may be closer is being a husband or family care-giver to someone who is sick, a role which many of us may have to take.

I have felt that one of the keys for success for a physician is to both respect and listen to the nursing staff that he or she works with.

Again I commend the author that he took time and effort to put his experiences and feelings into print. We are all better off for his efforts.

Attention fellow SN's, especially those second or third career changers.

Recently, I had the privilege of exchanging correspondence via my Blog with a former IT Refugee turned ED Nurse. This gentleman actually had the gumption to write a book about it; Bravo!

I read it in a matter of days, in between studying for my last Micro Exam (can you say Oy Vey!). Turns out, this was not just another RN facts and data book, nor was it another tale of and RN on the job. This book provides a practical, well-rounded, and somewhat unique perspective; a former Systems Analyst, Father, and second-career ED RN. This is a memoir told from the heart.

From the beginning, Nurse Colwell shares his experiences from making the decision to become an RN, to his first day on the job, until his very difficult decision to leave the ED for another department. Even more intriguing is his depiction of other RN's and Doctor's in the ER. He tells us of the strong bond fellow ED Doctors, Nurses, and Techs all have in this "Front-Line" RN position.

The relationships are what I personally found most interesting in the book. It is comforting to know this fellowship exists and that we, and newly minted RN's, will not (for the most part) be asked to stand alone through any difficult moment throughout our careers.

I recommend this book to ALL SN's as it gives us a glimpse of what's to come, from a very practical and well-rounded perspective.

Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Pat Colwell became an RN at the age of 45 after 20 years working with computers. He went to work in an ER and soon realized that it was the relationships with his coworkers combined with a strong faith in God that helped him through the difficult times.

I have never been an ER nurse. After reading Pat's book I came away with a very clear picture of what an ER nurse goes through on a daily basis. The emotional impact of dealing with constant trauma and death took its toll and he eventually had to leave.

The book is not all gloom and doom. He describes some very funny incidents involving metal rings and camp stoves as well as occasions when the other staff had reason to tease him.

He does not emphasis the life and death drama of the ER as much as he does the support and encouragement he received from other nurses and the doctors. In a world where nurses are said to "eat their young" it is refreshing to see someone do the opposite.

This book is a mixture of assorted thoughts and have nothing to do with Islam or real practical life and humankinds every day issues.

I met Shaykh Taner this past weekend. It was my first real exposure to Sufism. The perspective offered by Shaykh Taner is wonderfully down-to-earth. I have spent the past 15 years of my life building my own understanding of "the truth" as I perceived it and based on my own experiences. Shaykh Taner's explanation of his beliefs was so close to my own that it was breathtaking. I don't foresee myself ever becoming a practicing Muslim. But I found a lot of truth in the Islamic principles as Shaykh Taner explained them. I will always value the time I spent with Shaykh Taner and I look forward to spending more time with him in the future.

After talking with him, I had to purchase the book. I wanted to be able to sit down and take an in-depth look at what this man has to say. I am now about 1/3 of the way through the book and am still finding it to be both enjoyable and enlightening. After having met many close-minded "holy men", Shaykh Taner's openness (and open-mindedness) is refreshing. In the several hours I was with him, I never got the impression that he was trying to "convert" me. He was simply sharing the truth as he perceives it (in his words, "as he has recevied it from Allah"). He lays it on the table. Whether we pick it up or not is entirely up to us and he makes no judgements on our choice (that is up to Allah).

He's not a man who's been cloistered and hidden from reality. He has lived in and survived dangerous times. He explains things from a perspective which is firmly rooted in reality.

"Enlightening" is the only way I can describe the information he passed on in person and in this book. It's not as if he's trying to persuade people to see things his way ... he simply shines a light on what is and leaves it up to the individual to accept it or deny it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone ... regardless of their religious background. Whether you accept it or not, it will definitely make you think.

Sincerely, Mike

I really enjoyed reading this little gem. In a way, it reminds me of Thich Nhat Hanh in that it asks the reader to suspend their busy mental flow and just bask in the message. As a reader who often reads more complex material, this is a pleasant change of pace.

My only complaint is the targeting of the audience, which sometimes feels a bit condescending. The author conveys a universal message that need not be qualified. Regardless of ones own beliefs, there is quite a lot to be learned here about Sufism, Islam, Arabic and life itself. But most of all, it is rejuvenating.

The author assumes no knowledge on the part of the reader, and the book serves as an excellent introduction to the wide field of sufism. As the book itself says, it is aimed primarily at the western reader and should open up the awareness of this target audience to the interplay of forces beyond the immediate domain of existence.
At a time when humanity is facing great threats from within itself, the book serves as a useful reminder that we can return to the spiritual essence within ourselves by denying our own selfish motives and reaching outwards to the service of humanity, for it is only by helping others and seeking the guidance of a 'sufi master' that we can realize our true purpose in life.

In The Sun Will Rise In The West: The Holy Trail, Shaykh Taner Ansari dispels common myths and presents Sufism as a modern day reality. It presents an unprecedented, truly comprehensive written exposition of Sufism's core teachings in English and is written in a style that is accessible to Americans. Previously this body of knowledge remained either hidden within the oral teachings of the order or locked inside rare Turkish or Arabic texts, never before translated into English. Shaykh Taner's book provides American readers with a unique opportunity to gain a fresh view of the basis of the Islamic faith told from the Sufi perspective.

The Sun Will Rise In The West offers a thought provoking compendium of the entire system of Sufi knowledge, including the larger cosmological perspective. It describes the Sufi understanding of the structure of the universe, the relationship between matter and energy and the Sufi theory of consciousness. The book provides numerous examples and comparisons between Sufism and other knowledge systems such as physics, energy medicine and the Kabbalah. The material is well written and told with a lively sense of humor.

Eric Enck is the kind of person most writers wish they could. His imagination is drawn into every page and every character with such deep, and sometimes dark, thoughts it will literarly send you for a spin.
This is, without a doubt, one of the best vampire novels to come along in years.
Eric Enck is one of a kind.
You'll love this!

Joseph McGee, author of In the Wake of the Night, Phil's Place, Darkness Won't Rest: Phils Place II and Snow Hill (June 2008).

Usually I am very tolerant regarding first books by new authors, they may have some more typos, the writing might not be as impressive yet, or the story is not too elaborate. But this book takes the cake - it is a real treasure trove full of typos and the worst grammar which makes your eyes and brain hurt. Commas are sprinkled over the pages like confetti, sentences miss some basic parts like the verb or noun - take a red pencil to the book and you could simply hatch each page completely.

Not to mention the story, which - once you learn how to make sense of the author's senseless babble - starts out promising, but then hurries to loose theme and reason to detailed but senseless descriptions of blood and gore. I don't mind some good hardcore horror, but the author sacrificed the whole story to his splatter orgy.

Want some examples? Ok, here we go. To lift the mood, here is my favorite funny typo:
"...the perforation of the vampire's heart with a steak."

Another nice and subtle one is the description of taking a person's head of: "decapitating the head from the body" or "decapitating the head from the shoulders". Without this saying the same thing twice over I never would have known the meaning of the word decapitation.

Some flaws in the story: at the beginning, the local police is glad that the FBI is taking over the investigation of the gruesome murders, but at the end the sheriff rants about their unnecessary interference.

...below may contain spoilers...
What annoyed me most: when the vampire learns that his daugher was kidnapped by the killer, what does he do? Race through town to find and rescue her, maybe locate her by some telepathic bond or something? No, of course not - instead he starts a killing spree, going from house to house, murdering each human in the whole town, and taking all the time in the world doing it. Maybe the scent of blood befuddled his mind so much he simply forgot about his beloved daughter?! No wonder she is long dead by the time he finds her.

This is a bone chilling horror author that at times managed to make me sick at my stomach.

Brenda was pretty normal up until the day her father, John, kicked her mother, Sylvia, in the stomach causing a miscarriage. Then John walks into her room on a drunken night and rapes her, never even offering apologies. That is when the voices started in her head, commanding her to kill and drink the blood of the victims. It would protect her mother from the every day beatings of her good for nothing father, as well as help transform her into the vampire she fantasizes about.

The VIOLATOR was on a killing spree, murdering adults and children alike. One kill was just never enough it always wanted more. The blood of babies tasted especially sweet so when the Violator killed and ate little Billy; his blood was ecstasy.

But one day after numerous killings the Violator makes the worst mistake of its life. Killing an innocent girl with a vampire for a father; is not a good idea by any means. Especially when the vampire wants to seek revenge on the murderer of his only child. The Violator was trapped with no where to run and no one to help because the whole town of Carper Falls had died that night by the hands of a raging Vampire.

When Brenda thought she was getting closer to eternal life by each kill, she really had no idea how close she was living to death. Just right across the street.

Mr. Enck is an amazing story teller. This story was masterfully written and had each detail printed to the bone. I will never forget reading this book. It actually kept me awake at night thinking that this could actually happen. The Violator could be some kid right up the street from me. I have to award Mr. Enck 5 bloody hearts, because I loved this book. Also I'm afraid if I don't there's gonna be a man with scary silver eyes knocking on my door.

...Twisted.

What a mind fu*k this book was...there were seriously parts of the book where I had to put it down and stop reading because it was making me feel ill...and other times where I was so repulsed that I wanted to throw the book across the room...or better yet, burn it. Yet each time, I picked it back up...sort of like when you pass a car accident and you can't help but stare at the dead or bleeding bodies in the road...I was repulsed by parts of this book, yet I wanted to keep reading...

The story is that of Brenda Dejour, a strangely twisted, mentally unhealthy young college student. Brenda's homelife has been far from ideal--her father is a raging mean alcoholic, whose number one passtime is beating and raping both his wife and his daughter. As a result of the abuse, Brenda goes slightly crazy.

Brenda's home town of Carper Falls, Maryland is completely shocked by its recent events. Normally a safe, small and quiet town, teenagers and children are suddenly being brutally killed. The causes of death get more disturbing with each murder; bodies being drained of blood, body parts severed and eaten, its really rather gruesome. The police and most of the townspeople are at a loss, and know little other than the name they've created for the murdering monster "The Violator."

The story, as I mentioned, is very gruesome and twisted...yet its an intoxicating one. If you're anything like me you won't be able to walk away from it, until you are able to understand the whys, and feel there is some resolution to it all.

The book is put out by a small publishing company, Bluphi'er Publishing, and there are a lot of typos, grammatical errors and spelling errors; a few of the errors I got hung up on, unable to move past them, but that's probably just the English teacher in me cringing. Most of the errors are trivial and your mind will compensate and fix them as you read, so you may not even notice them. Other than that, I have no complaints with the book.

I actually would like to read more of Eric Enck's work.

Once my stomach has settled that is.

This is a really wild and weird bit of sci fi stuff! It's definitely NOT for the average reader. There's every kind of android, robot, space alien, earth colonist, and situation you can imagine. Not at all for the squeemish. I started to read it, and couldn't put it down! It's especially good for those of us who are over 18. So if bizarre and totally out there type of science fiction appeals to your tastes.... this one's for you! (It certainly was for me). I loved it! Thanks. Linda.

Jeffrey Redmond's "The Er-Dan Stories" is his follow up to the Chronicles of Er-Da series. In this book he has the same planet of Er-Da now colonized by earthlings. And oh my! what they do to that planet! If you think we've messed things up here on Earth, just wait til you read what we do to that planet.

Redmond offers a wide variety of stories, with realistic and believable characters. He has them interact in bizarre ways with a wide variety of aliens and androids. There's wars,

riots, and destruction. And right in the middle of the incredible mess there's games of golf and visits to a local library.

The Er-Dan Stories offers everything for all tastes. There's love, hate, sex, romance, violence, murder, fun, adventure, humor, and everything else to make the colonists from Earth feel right at home. A thousand years in the future, in a distant part of the Galaxy, things are the same as here and now.

Except, of course, for the all powerful control of The

Imperium.....

You will find this book a good enough read. There's something in it for everyone. Even if you're not really a sci fi fan, the stories are still entertaining, and even a little bit educational. The author explains that he wants to educate others most of all. Overall, despite the gory parts, I enjoyed the book.

I just wonder where he got all those abnormal ideas from.

In the late 1700's a King fell in love with a mistress named Gabriella, he gave her a beautiful stone encased inside of a locket. When the king discovered Gabriella sleeping with another man he had both of them killed for the betrayal. The stone is said to reach into its owners heart, bringing to life their deepest desire.

Nicole Valentine lived a life of abuse from her mother and neglect from her father. Her mother found one reason to kick her out of the house for good and she did just that, convincing Nicole's father that she had betrayed him. Nicole was left to find her own way in the world at such a young age, who knew she would turn out to be a successful journalist.

Returning home after eleven years seemed foreign to Nicole; but she had to be there for the reading of her father's will. Her father died of prostate cancer, so it seemed fitting that he left his entire fortune to The Fight For Cancer Foundation. That infuriated her mother, but not nearly as much as what was left to Nicole.

Detective Bay Dalton was paid to seduce Nicole and find the whereabouts of the locket, it was never in the deal to fall in love with her. Investigating this case seemed to be full of secrets; Nicole's birth mother was not the evil mother she lived with all those years, and her birth father was actually her uncle.

Everyone wanted to get their hands on the Lady Gabriella, no matter whose life was at stake. When Bay was shot, Nicole only thought the worst. There was no way the man she loved would come walking to her ever again. Is there a happy ending to this story? When all the secrets start to leak out it all begins to make sense to Nicole. Her whole life had been a lie.

Ms. Smith's novel Lady Gabriella was a joy to read, it was full of mystery, romance, and a couple of unexpected twists. It seemed odd for me to believe that the Detective could behave the way he did toward a client in the beginning. He should have tried to earn her trust first instead of trying to seduce her the very moment they met. I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good read. 4 Hearts is the perfect rating for Lady Gabriella.

Review for Lady Gabriella by Jimmy D. Gillentine.


I enjoyed this book. Donnette Smith has written a very good little romance/mystery here. The story is about a young woman name Nicole Valentine learning that she has inherited a very valuable locket called the Lady Gabriella. But the mystery surrounding her strange past with her family soon has her trying to find out answers that she needs answering. This leads her to the private investigator Bay Dalton. I really liked the character Bay, any man that can put a move on a woman that quick has my respect. What soon follows is a well-plotted romance/mystery that will keep the reader guessing and trying to figure out what is going on. Donnette has mixed in just enough love and crime to make this blood and guts horror writer smile when he got to the end of the book. If you like crime or mystery/romance please take a look at this book. You will be very entertained.

**** Four Stars as I rate books.

The Littles are a family of tiny people, only a couple of inches tall. They're just like you and me, except for that they have furry tails. While living in the spaces between the walls of the Biggs, a normal-sized family, they always seem to run into some kind of trouble, and this book is no exception. There's a mysterious critter that seems to be running around the house, but no Little can get a bead on exactly what it is. A dangerous refrigerator and a housecat present some special challenges. And the entire time, a storm is brewing, a storm so big that it might threaten the Little's very existence.

These are terrific little books for children, primarily because they're just so much fun to read. The Littles have to deal with a lot of problems that come about, not only because of their size, but because they don't have the types of support services that a larger community provides. In many ways, they're like a pioneer family on the strange frontier of a giant house.

Author Peterson has taken full advantage of this situation, and the obstacles they encounter are always imaginatively presented and thrillingly solved. The characters employ good problem-solving techniques for the problems at hand.

Don't let the mediocre movies about tiny people (the Borrowers, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Stuart Little) dampen your enthusiasm for this concept. Peterson's creations are more imaginative and better done than any of those films.

This book is that follows the true Littles story. This is very helpful for those children who need to read small amounts and retain the information for reivews, etc. Our school (a Christian school) promotes this series as one that the children can read not only from an academic standpoint, but also from a interesting perspective for the children.

This particular book also teached the children about weather - effects, results, and what action to take.

I hope all who purchase it for their children enjoy it.

I bought this for my son-in-law. It is a book of short stories by a Christian ER doctor. Some were very interesting; some were not so much.

Warm and witty, this eclectic collection of stories, poems, and essays immerse the reader in the life of an emergency physician in rural South Carolina. Although there is plenty here to cause medical personnel to chuckle, there's moments of laughter and pensiveness that many will be able to identify with: watching over sleeping children, coping with fears, driving down country roads. Highly recommended.