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A collection of mystery tales starring cats features the writing of mystery masters Lilian Jackson Braun, Ellis Peters, Dorothy L. Sayers, P. G. Wodehouse, and ten others. ... Read more

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Throughout his tenure as a registry clerk with the Immigration Division of Ellis Island, Augustus F. Sherman systematically photographed more than 200 families, groups, and individuals while they were being held by customs for special investigations. This volume collects and provides an essential revaluation of Sherman's striking portraits, which predate August Sander's cataloging efforts by several years. A historical document of unprecedented worth, Augustus F. Sherman: Ellis Island Portraits includes almost one-hundred portraits taken from 1904 through 1920. The subjects are frequently dressed in elaborate national costumes or folk dress, emphasizing the variety and richness of the cultural heritage that came together to form the United States. Romanian shepherds, German stowaways, Russian vegetarians, Greek priests, and Ghanaian women in elaborately patterned dresses, are treated with equal gravitas. The resulting body of work presents a unique and powerful picture of the stream of immigrants who came through Ellis Island.In its time, the material contributed to the larger project of ethnographic categorization and typology typical of the early twentieth century, much as Edward S. Curtis's portraits romanticized the "last Indians" or John Thomson's "Street Life in London" identified and codified social class in the late 1800s. Though originally taken for his own personal study, Sherman's work appeared in the public eye as illustrations for publications with titles such as "Alien or American," and hung on the walls of the custom offices as cautionary or exemplary models of the new American species.In this book, Peter Mesenhöller, Research Associate with the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum of Anthropology in Cologne, Germany, provides new critical context and analysis of this rich collection, but also addresses the individual images as powerful, engaging photographs created by a master portraitist. The publication is accompanied by a traveling exhibition that will open at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in the summer of 2005.New York: Ellis Island Immigration Museum, 6/1/05-9/6/06Essay by Peter Mesenholler.Hardcover, 9.5 x 10.75 in./144 pgs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Click in Time
Augustus F. Sherman's book of many portraits is a glimpse into 15 years of daily life at Ellis Island.Due to his office position at Ellis Island, Sherman had both time(remember these shots took a long time to set up and take) and opportunity to capture the many interesting clients Ellis Island served.

If you are looking for a portrait of your grandmother/father who came through Elllis Island, this is probably not the book you will find them in.

Rather, these portraits focus on immigrants wearing unusual native clothing/costumes; religious or military outfits; large family groups; ethnic groups; and even those suffering from congenital birth defects.Included also is a group of deportees whose crimes range from anarchy to being a stowaway.

Sherman sort to take as many photographs as possible in natural light,so the reader sees children playing in the Ellis Island "playground"- located on the roof; or a group of ladies from the Caribbean standing on the front "lawn"; a family from Africa; and much more.

A delightful glimpse at Ellis Island's early history - one wishes there were many more photographs the reader could view.

An outstanding presentation of historical portrait photography
Augustus F. Sherman worked as a clerk with the Immigration Bureau of Ellis Island, photographing over two hundred families, groups and individuals as they passed through customs. Augustus F. Sherman: Ellis Island Portraits 1905-20 represents the first published collection of his work, featuring a hundred of his best photos of peoples from cultures around the world. A historical essay by Peter Mesenholler places the period of time and photos in perspective, providing both a critical analysis of Sherman's work and this collection, and lending important background to the portraits. An outstanding presentation of historical portrait photography.

A fascinating insight
into what it must have been like to go through the process on Ellis Island. I had visited Ellis Island earlier this year,on a trip to New York and was struck by the atmosphere and history. The photographs in this book catch the essence of this landmark and the diversity of the people. There is also an explanation of the process that the individuals had to go through before being allowed to enter the US.

Welcome to America- at the beginning of the last century
Augustus F. Sherman was simply doing his job when from 1904 to 1920 he photographed the individual arrivals of multiple nationalities at Ellis Island.It was his duty to document those new immigrants who were detained for further investigation before they were allowed to step onto the Great Hope that was America.But what resulted from this duty is a portfolio of portraits of world peoples that is as tender and as touching as any ever captured by professional famous photographers!

According to essayist Peter Mesenholler, Sherman was interested in anthropological documentation of the different physical characteristics of these Eastern, Western and Southern European proud folk.He captured the inherent pride of origin of these people who often donned their finest native folk costumes as they entered New York harbor. Sherman was sensitive to the psyches of his 'sitters', knowing that in addition to the overwhelming urge to enter America, the Land of Dreams, each of these people brought with them the memories both sad and happy of their native lands, 'heroes' if you will who were brave enough to leave their roots and aspire to higher dreams and goals.

These one hundred portraits are some of the more wrenchingly beautiful from this important time of mass immigration into America, images of the folk who would comprise the melting pot that we so cherish as our national treasure.All of this art is gained by the honest eye of a non-professional photographer who took the interest and care to pass along that rarefied moment of our country's history.And there is much to be learned from slowly perusing the faces and honest captions of these important photographs.

The quality of the reproductions in sepia-toned presentation is superb as is the accompanying wise essay by Peter Mesenholler.There are few books of photography that can be more widely acclaimed than this.Very highly recommended.Grady Harp, July 05 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not for beginners, but one of the best structuralist commentaries available
Ellis focuses on the parallelism in the Gospel of John. In doing so, P.F. Ellis has shown that the entire Gospel of John is structured according to an A:B:C:B':A' chiasm or pattern of concentric parallelism. The conceptual center or focus of the Gospel is chapter 6, which is again a tri-fold parallel account around the central panel of the miraculous crossing of the sea and Jesus decaling, "I am he." Whether the "New Exodus" motif is everything Ellis envisions, I can't quite see.But that the other parallelism is there, it is plain. Undestand the whole of the book is enhanced significantly... something that I don't often say about commentaries.

Chiastic analysis of biblical texts serves multiple purposes. In the case of the Fourth Gospel, it demonstrates the integrity and the unity of the text. The structure alone explains several "problem" areas which have often been discussed in various commentaries.The structural outline provided will enable the reader to discern the "literal sense" (or better, the LITERARY sense) of the Gospel, the meaning intended by the biblical author, since such a commentary is built around the very words and and linguistic structure of the Gospel itself.

Best is the focus on Jesus as the Bread of Life.While the reader might sift through a few catholic terms and view points on occasion. On the whole, you will never sense Ellis Catholic heritage... just good solid Biblical insights (much like another great Catholic theologian: Raymond Brown.

Five stars and then some. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an anthology of some of the contemporary leading British and American crime writers who have contributed stories on a wide-range of settings and sleuths. It should appeal to fans of historical and modern crime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

What a story!
Ellis Peters was a great storyteller, and this book is a fine example of her wonderful work.The story is about a missing cellist from an English traveling orchestra.The cellist has been missing for 13 years, but events happen that bring his story to the forefront.The story is set in the Austrian Alps, and George Felse and his wonderful wife Bunty are there trying to figure out a mystery.This old disappearance seems to be linked to some modern day crimes, and George wants to follow the thread until he uncovers the long-hidden secret.The book is packed with action, and it will keep you guessing until the end.Ms. Peters knew how to pace a plot to keep her readers quickly turning the pages.Her characterizations are also flawless.If you love the Brother Cadfael series like I do, I suggest that you read the George Felse series as well.

A good novel, not just "accident, suicide, or murder"
Across the heath to war I fare
The great green heath so broad and bare
For there, where the splendid trumpets blare and thunder
There is my house, my house the green turf under.

Such is the closing stanza of Maggie Tressider's personal translation of "Where the Splendid Trumpets Blow", made when she first began learning her concert repetoire. Contraltos, as her friend and colleague Tom Lovell is wont to say in his more sour moods, are liable to find themselves expected to sing a lot of Mahler.

Sharing the driving en route to a concert in Liverpool, Maggie hits a patch of slick clay at forty, and the last thing she's aware of is her own voice, lamenting "My God, what have I done, I've killed Tom." Even upon awakening in the Royal Hospital in Comerbourne after nearly dying in surgery, and being assured that Tom escaped with only a mild concussion, Maggie is filled with a foreboding shaken loose by the shock of the accident. Her surgeon, a great admirer of her music, persuades her to confide in him, as one artist to another who wishes to keep his work from being wasted. She's haunted by the feeling, too foggy to be quite a memory, that at some time, she failed someone so badly that he died.

Her surgeon (meaning to tactfully steer her onto a therapist's couch), suggests, "Suppose someone else, someone who makes a job of that kind of thing, took over the stone-turning for you?" And Maggie grasps the idea with both hands - and gets him to put her in touch with a good private detective.

Enter Francis Killian, a battered Korean War veteran, who mostly takes on impersonal investigations involving lots of paper: research for writers, tracing witnesses, searching records for lost details. Noting that Maggie always speaks of her victim as 'he', Francis begins combing through her past for the great turning points of her life, and looking for any young men she might have associated with before immersing herself completely in her concert career. Her serious study began with Dr. Paul Fredericks; as one of his star pupils, she accompanied some of his twice-yearly European tours ('Freddy's Circus'). And on her last such trip, there was one difference: Bernarda Eliot Felse, rather than Freddy's sister, served as chaperone.

Enter Bunty Felse and her husband Inspector George Felse. Bunty had noticed a change in Maggie on the trip, turning her back on everything in life but music. And one troublesome young cellist, Robert 'Robin' Aylwin, walked out on the Circus in Austria - left the hotel, the Goldener Hirsch, and never returned. A hotel in a little town at the exact center of a lot of illegal activity along several borders, including another of George's missing person cases. And George, as a professional stone-turner who *hates* loose ends, suggests a little vacation, to see if Francis flips over the right stone to answer everyone's questions.

Did Maggie have anything to do with Robin's fate? Or could he himself have flipped over the wrong rock one summer night, and turned up something deadly?

Bunty has a larger role in this volume than in some of the cases set earlier in the Felse marriage. Their son, Dominic 'and his Tossa' are away in Yugoslavia (possibly _The Piper on the Mountain_) and don't enter into the story. Maggie Tressider, the woman with an archangel's voice whose face carries more force than any photograph can convey, dominates the story, however. After her ranks Francis, who's being forced to feel again after so much digging through her emotional history, looking for someone who could have made her feel so guilty. The supporting players are also very well drawn: surgeon Gilbert Rice; Friedl, an otherwise beautiful woman cursed with a harelip, one of the family who runs the hotel; and who can forget the platoons of drunken Austrian wedding guests infesting the hotel late in the story, getting in *everyone's* way as a search is undertaken. :)

A "read once only" book
This is the second in the Inspector Felse series. Unfortunately Ellis Peters has written pages that are full of descriptions of emotional trauma and "angst" of the protagonists as well as waxing lyrical withmetaphysical insights. There is no doubt that characters need to be3-dimensional,as well as scenes and situations to have reality andflavour, but Ellis Peters seems to have over-done it. Readers can skimthrough some of the more esoteric paragraphs without losing the thread.Despite this, the book does have suspense, a good plot and enough action tohook in the reader and, of course, a surprise ending. Having read it, Idon't really want to read it again.

Very Good!
I like romances, I like mysteries, I like the combination of the two.This is both mystery and romance, light on the romance, even light on the mystery until you're drawn in and trapped.Ellis Peters's description andprose move the story along unobtrusively yet with no stalls.A touch abovethe usual. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Recommended
This is a charming collection of short contemporary mysteries by Ellis Peters, best known for her medieval Brother Cadfael stories. All of the selections (which range from the 1950s to 1990s) are extremely good and display a command of the English language, a sense of plot and style, and a delicate touch in characterization that is far too rare today. Some are straight British country procedurals, some romance-mysteries, and there are also a few experimental pieces. Influences include Conan Doyle and Dorothy Sayers, but the stories are uniquely Peter's own. ... Read more

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Ellis Peters reveals the history of the people and places of the Marches, describing their story of claim and counter-claim, Welsh risings and English attacks. ... Read more

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When Alf picked up the hitch-hiker, he seemed perfect as a stand-in for the horrific crime Alf was about to commit. But by luck William is saved from Alf's plan and someone else is killed in his place, this leads to a tangle of mistaken identity and an unsolved bank robbery from many years ago. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Light-hearted mystery
I picked up this book on vacation several years ago because the author's name sounded familiar, and it instantly became one of my favorites! The characters are warm and believable, and the plot is a perfect mixture ofsurprise and predictability. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoysmysteries with happy endings. It will make you smile.

A very good read
I enjoyed this book enormously.The plot is tight and well-crafted, and the characters are engaging, well-drawn, and well-developed.The main character develops (in about 48 hours) from a green, but clever, boy, intoa charming, intelligent, young man, with a clear idea of who he is, andwhat he seeks in life.There's a rather sweet love-story, interesting badguys, and a suspenseful crime story.A real pleasure--even if it doesn'tinclude any of our old friends, Peters's familiar continuing characters.Igot it from the library, and I'm trying to find a copy.I wish someonewould re-publish it--I recommend it .

An excellent mystery
I like all of Ellis Peters books, but this one tends to be better than most.The way she builds her plot and characters makes me surprised tofind that nobody else has wanted to write a review about this book.It isvery, very, good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Excellent book
This wonderful book, with several good photos, portrays the whole Ellis Island story very well. It brings out the scope of feelings and experiences the immigrants underwent in trying to enter a new homeland. The eagerness, hopes, fears, anxieties, confusion, drive, and oftendesperate feelings involved in coming to America from so many countries from around the world is shown clearly in the factual text, diaries, interviews, and telling photos of the faces of the hopefuls.

Virginia E Thompson
I loved reading about each persons journey and struggle for a better life. I did not want the book to end and would put it down frequently to save each story for a different day.I plan to pick it up again in the future and re-read it.It was well written and the author did a good job of sharing the immigrants experiences.
It takes a lot of courage, confidence and optomism to leave everything behind and cross a great ocean in search of a better life. Americans can only feel pride in their forfathers and thankful for their journeys. Americans need to read stories like this to remember to appreciate and not take for granted the life they have today

Part Two - Ireland - Joseph McGrath
I am still reading this fascinating and informative book.
So far I give it 4 stars.
I am writing to make a small correction to information on page 110.
The store in Portland, Maine listed as "Portius Mitchell" is
actually "Porteous Mitchell" which was located at 522 Congress St.
The Porteous building still stands and houses the Maine College of Art.
"Porteous Mitchell & Braun" dept. store opened in 1904.

Great book....except
I work for the National Park Service and we hold the tapes and transcripts to the original interviews from which Mr. Coan based this book.After reading hundreds of these interviews in their orginal form, I can tell you that Mr. Coan has done a great job finding the most interesting ones out of the thousands or interviews of Ellis Island immigrants conducted by the Park Service. Most of the interviews are boring, but Mr. Coan has spared you from the headache of reading those. He has also done a nice job editing the interviews into a cohesive readable piece.In the orginal the person might start telling a story, then get off on a tangent and finish the story later in the interview.Mr. Coan has spared the reader that agony as well.He did do one very odd, and I find annoying thing.For some reason he has altered the original names of some of the immigrants, while keeping others, such as Manny Steen intact.I am not sure why he did that since all of the people interviewed gave the government the rights to make their interview part of the public domain.In changing the names of some of the immigrants he has denied families for years to come the joy of coming upong their ancestor's story in print.Still, there are some amazing stories hidden among the thousands of boring immigration stories and Mr. Coan has brought them out obsurity.Sadly the federal government is in no hurry to get these stories out to the public, so it is up to authors and editors such as Peter Coan to do it.Thank you Mr. Coan for wading through the vast volumes of interviews and bringing these inspiring stories out in the open where they can influence us all.

Grampa
My grandfather is in this book! (Manny Steen from Ireland) He would have been thrilled - but I don't believe he ever saw it. He died the year this was published. He had interviews in other Ellis Island books and his voice is the voice of Ireland at Ellis Island. It's sad, but the publishers didn't even send him copies of the books. As others have pointed out in their reviews, many of these people are between 80 and 100 and can't exactly zip over to the bookstore for a copy. (And he definitely wasn't online!) So, if any publishers read this, please keep that in mind. They give their story, at least give them a book! MY grampa would have liked a book signing party, too!! :-) ... Read more

Product Description
The need for an evidence base for nursing practice is widely accepted. However, what evidence is and how nurses might appraise and apply it to their practice is still a matter of some debate, which can leave the novice nurse feeling confused. This book uses clear language to help the reader develop skills in the identification, appraisal and application of evidence for nursing practice. It guides the reader in the development of underpinning skills such as reflection, critical thinking and research which allow the nurse to make sense of all the different forms of information and evidence that influence practice. ... Read more