Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent History of Gardiner, Maine
Shettleworth and Smith's collaboration has produced a gem. The depth of knowledge of Maine's state historian and Gardiner's librarian/historian is clearly evident. The wealth of photographs bring the town's past to life.The causes of Gardiner's recent economic downturn are briefly covered withan objective eye.

Images of America - Gardner Maine
This is a book of photographic images of a beautiful past. The South Gardner Historical Society has carefully selected over 200 photos to trace the development of this city over the years. The quality and subject matter of the pictures is outstanding. If you are an avid historian orgeneaologist, this book is for you. ... Read more

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A text on business strategy and policy, organized around a strategic planning framework, describing various theories and how an appropriate strategy is chosen, implemented and controlled. There is an accompanying casebook and Expert System software. Ancillary package available upon adoption. ... Read more

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Dr. Silvester Gardiner was an extraordinary individual, both in his time and through the lens of history. Born in 1708, he was the first New Englander to receive a medical education in Europe. But his entrepreneurial leanings soon eclipsed his medical practice, and he invested with other Boston merchants in a million-and-a-half-acre tract of land in Maine, known as the Kennebec Purchase.

In telling his story, biographer Olivia Coolidge traces the early settlement of Maine, from the first settlers struggling to survive bitter winters in crude huts, to the gradual establishment of trade, sawmills, gristmills, and other commerce, then attempts to increase the population with immigrants and instill civilization through the firm hands of religion, government, and Dr. Gardiner.This outstanding biography paints a vivid portrait, lively with detail, of a dynamic man and his imprint on the Kennebec River Valley.

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Maine Genealogical Society Special Pub No. 1. By Danny D. Smith. 106 pp, frontispiece,surname index. Soft cover. 1985. MGS. ... Read more

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The story of one of the great heroic figures of the 20th century—a young Swedish aristocrat who saved 100,000 Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust before mysteriously disappearing into the Soviet Gulag. ... Read more

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An intimate portrait of the slow disintegration of a family documents the ordeal of everyone close to rapist and murderer Richard Daniel Starrett--the epitome of the all-American boy--who confessed to a two-year rampage attacking young women. Reprint. K. PW. Amazon.com Review
The setting is the progressive South United States of the 80s,where education and hard work offer hope for the good life--untilmental illness brings tragedy. This is an unusual true-crime bookbecause it's neither a whodunit, nor a manhunt, nor an account of atrial. Instead, it's a character study of a sadistic sexual predatorwho is all too human in his desperate need for love, and of his familymembers who need, just as desperately, to believe that their love forhim will make them whole again. Authors Steven Naifeh and GregoryWhite Smith are adept at teasing out the many-layered subtleties ofthe criminal mind. Here they create a thought-provoking portrait byalternating passages from the well-educated killer's own diary, withthe unfolding narrative of how the revelations of his crimes areaffecting his family. It includes a surprising twist, and a powerfulscene of confrontation near the end. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

A mother's perspective on her killer son
After reading the first three chapters of this book I ended up skipping
through the rest of it just to get the basic details of who and why Danny killed and molested so many young girls. I found the book to be mostly a ones sided perspective from his mother. She sounded like she was making excuses for her son's horrific deeds. The book kept jumping back and forth between victims and time line of events. I found myself having to re-read the beginning several times just to remember in what sequence the events occured. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they were totally bored and needed some quick entertainment.

I Guess I'm the "Black Sheep"
First I responded to Paul C's review, thinking that he misread the book. But then I read all the other reviews and I guess I am the only one who read this book differently - NOT as a book to create sympathy for Danny or his mother, but as a book that shows you never know who is capable of what; i.e. even "golden boys" can "snap." We saw it with Scott Peterson, and we see it today on the Oxygen network with its show, "Snapped!" We see it every day.
I'll re-post my comment to Paul's review below:

Paul, I think you are misreading this book. You say: "We're supposed to feel empathy for Gerry Starret as she learns that her jailed son no longer has unlimited access to reading material; that he isn't eating and looks shrunken, "like a cadaver"; that he's been threatened in jail; that prison is too loud, and so forth."

I say: I think that the authors focused so much on Gerry's reactions to the ordeal because (1) she is the mother of the victim and (2) she liked to talk. And rather than feel sympathy or empathy for the woman, I felt her thoughts and words illustrated her never-ending DENIAL and served to show that she was OFF HER ROCKER in her persuit of maintaining the semblance of a "perfect" family, she literally could not deal with what Danny was accussed of doing. In other words, she's almost as messed up in the head as her son was.

Secondly, even the investigators and psychiatrists and psychologists, like Dr. Storms at the end, admitted that they thought Danny was B.S'ing them about his supposed other personality. There is no doubt that there is something wrong with the guy - seriously, disturbingly wrong. But we also know he is HIGHLY intelligent and HIGHLY manipulative and narcissistic.

I don't think the point of the book was to generate sympathy for Danny's family. I think the point of the book was to try to answer the question "HOW does a 'golden boy' committ such horrendous crimes, and why?" Questions that were never answered, because nobody really knows. In other words, the book produces fear because ANYBODY can be a secret psycho is essentially what it's getting at. And as we've seen with Scott Peterson, we know that just because someone is a 'golden boy' doesn't mean he's not capable of murder.

Poor, Pititful Gerry Starrett and Her Perfect Son
I am an avid reader of true crime, but this is the worst specimen of such that I have ever seen.This book focuses not so much on the crimes committed but how this serial kidnapper & rapist, once murderer, was treated so poorly behind bars.And the second story of this book focuses on how his mother worked dilligently to right those wrongs. The kidnapped, raped and murdered victims are but backdrops to this 400 page whine about the injustices suffered by the accused.This is the first work I have read by these authors and will most definitely be my last.Steven Naifeh & Gregory White Smith:Get out of the trime crime writing profession...leave it to the true professionals like Ann Rule, Corey Mitchell & Steve Jackson.

Last but not least, I must say this:many, many times we hear the accused blame negligent mothers, domineering mothers, or absentee fathers.Most times, I personally feel that this is one more attempt at ridding themselves of personal responsibility for their actions; more specifically, their choices.However, after reading this book I firmly believe that Danny Starret was the result of a over-worrisome, over-indulgent mother that, with her high-falutin' attitude, thought that her family was above evil doings. The statement that shook me the most was when discussing his case with defense attorney Bud Siemon, she made the statement "Danny is basically a good boy-"That one statement sums up the attitude of Gerry Starrett and her "perfect son."

Could This Be your Neighbor?
The authors of this book have researched this book very thoroughly, and their style of writing is excellent.They compare and contrast the views of both the main characters that leave the reader wanting to learn more.This is a page-turner book in which you don't want to put down until it's finished.

the victim was my cousin
That's right the victim Jeannie was my cousin.We went to the beach together several times when we were kids.Now I am 32 and finally found out the previously unspeakable (in my family) details through this book. We are the same age born one month apart. I was 15 at the time the murder happened.

We were very close friends, so it was interesting reading about her.Even if it was from the killer's viewpoint.It brought back a lot of memories. For example, she liked peach wine coolers, pringles chips, her favorites, just as the killer said.You could tell she was trying to please the killer with the lies she told him, typical for victims with the Hearst-like syndrome she developed after the trauma of being abducted from her home.

The last reviewer was mistaken when he said Chrissy was murdered, and the book never says she was.Also the reviewer before that didn't read the book well either, Starrett clearly admitted he killed Jeannie.She did not kill herself.There were two bullets in her chest, so how could she have killed herself anyway?

Anyhow, I knew her very well and she was a spunky young woman.Wild and crazy and a lot of fun.Had a lot of potential.Didn't have fear of anything, and like many teenagers believed she was invincible.She was brave and mentally strong. Once she got to know him, she never dreamed he would actually kill her.

The book didn't say how much she hated the name Jean and only used it in the "runaway" note to give clues for someone to find her.She also spelled letters in her name backwards which she normally never would have done.I knew her writing, as she wrote a lot. After her disapearance, the FBI called and interviewed all her friends, including me, looking for her.

True she could have escaped if she hadn't been so ballsy and if she hadn't had that "no one can hurt me" attitude.But I remember at that age I had the same attitude so I can't blame her.

What I find disturbing is the mother's lack of compassion for the family members of the victims.She wouldn't even provide a picture of her son to help in the search.Even if he had been innocent she still should have provided the photo to help investigators. The mother was so wrapped up in protecting her grown son that she lost sight of the fact that several girls were abused and one was killed. And throughout the book she seems to want people to feel sorry for her.How would she have felt if one of her children had been killed?She didn't bother to consider this.All she cared about was whether her murderer son would go to the death chamber, or whether he had adequate prison conditions.She should have been more concerned helping authorities throughout the case. If she wanted to do the right thing.But she was too selfish to help.

It is sad how the killer keeps making excuses for himself.He may have had brain damage from his childhood injuries, but lots of people, including myself had an untreated concussion as a child from a car accident, and I didn't grow up to be a criminal!He is a sadistic calculated rapist and murderer.Something went wrong in his brain but that does not mean he should be declared too ill to be executed.

I see Jeannie's parents (it's acutally her stepdad who raised her)usually once every year.After she died, they gave me a favorite trinket of hers which I still have to this day. They didn't have any other children.

She did want to become a lawyer as the book says, and I have no doubt she was more than smart enough.Too bad she didn't get the chance. She was also one of my best friends and it sure would be nice to have her around.We would have finished growing up together.I never had a large family, and most of the family I do have I am not close with.Those are other reasons why Jeannie was important to me. After we found out she was dead I was severly depressed.My grades got a lot worse and I acted out as a teenager, getting myself into a lot of trouble.Some of it I would have gotton into anyway and some I would not have. I can only imagine if it affected me so much how it affected her parents. It would be interesting to have a book from the victim's perspective, to compare.

Due to politics and the legal system this man was not put to death like he should have been.However, from the book Starrett seemed to dislike living in prison so perhaps his 10 life sentences will be a fate worse than death.I hope so. Even if he is "suffering" then at least, lucky for him, he gets to live out a full life unlike Jeannie who didn't have the chance. I can tell you his suffering in prison, of which he and his mother complain, will never equal the amount of suffering Jeannie's family has endured outside of prison.
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Gardiner's manufacturing and transportation advantages during the first half of the 20th century created one of the strongest local economies in the state. The city seal, adopted in 1849 when Gardiner became a city, flawlessly depicts the characteristics that shaped the community. Featured prominently on the seal is a river with falls to power manufacturing. A vessel represents transportation and trade, while an idealized city in the background reveals prosperous factories and commercial buildings. At the top is a lofty church tower, representative of the many churches in the city. Gardiner features many never-before-published postcards from the collections of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. ... Read more

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From the Griffin house to yours—a one-of-a-kind guide to enjoying the most wonderful freakin' time of the year!

Customer Reviews (2)

It was very funny
To quote my husband "it was a very funny book"It's a good gift for a Family Guy fan.

Merry Freakin' Christmas
Let's be practical here: In the actual series itself, Peter Griffin does not have the attention span to write a full book.However, for the sake of argument we'll assume that he does - and this Guide, which is written almost entirely in Peter's voice, reflects the fact that he does tend to ramble and go off on tangents.In other words, if you're not a fan of random humor, you won't enjoy this book.

That said, however, fans of Family Guy will find this hilarious and a worthy addition to their collection of holiday books.It covers everything: Christmas specials (which somehow detracts into burning an image of Halle Berry's breasts into the screen), decorations (stay away from Quagmire's house) and Christmases past (Lois promises she won't go crazy this year).The book also features guest essay from nearly every Quahog resident and member of the Griffin family, which are all very well-done and in character.There are also festive pictures straight out of the TV show and many humorous side notes from Peter.Any fan of the TV show will truly appreciate the work that has gone into this.

One last warning: In case it's not evident from the descriptors above, this book is not for children.The humor is very raunchy and very adult, so give the kiddos something else to keep them occupied (I recommend "A Peanuts Christmas").But if you watch the TV show regularly and consider yourself a fan, then this is the ultimate holiday buy.As Peter would say, "Freakin' Sweet!" ... Read more

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Chapters: Pete Shelley, Barry Adamson, Steve Garvey, Howard Devoto, Steve Diggle, Mike Joyce, John Maher, Garth Smith, Danny Farrant, Tony Barber. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 46. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish, 17 April 1955 in Leigh, Lancashire) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best-known as the leader of Buzzcocks. His stage name is a combination of his real first name and the name he would have been given had he been born female. Shelley was born to Margaret and John McNeish at 48 Milton Street, Leigh. Margaret was an ex-mill worker in the town, while John was a fitter at the nearby Astley Green Colliery. He has a younger brother, Gary. Buzzcocks were formed by Shelley and Howard Devoto after the two met at Bolton Institute of Technology (now the University of Bolton) in 1975 and subsequently travelled to London to see The Sex Pistols. Buzzcocks debuted in 1976 in Manchester, opening for the Sex Pistols. In 1977, Buzzcocks released their first EP, Spiral Scratch, on their own independent label, New Hormones. When Devoto left the group shortly afterwards, Shelley took over as lead vocalist and chief songwriter. The band went on to create such quintessential punk/new wave singles of the period as "Orgasm Addict", "What Do I Get?", and "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" along with three LPs: Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978), Love Bites (1978), and A Different Kind of Tension (1979). Difficulties with their record company and a dispute with Virgin Publishing over the UK release of their greatest hits record, Singles Going Steady, brought Buzzcocks to a halt in 1981. Shelley's debut album Sky Yen was recorded in 1974 but remained unheard until March 1980 when it was released on 12" vinyl on ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=849454 ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Danny Smithis an executive producer, writer and voiceactor on the American animated television series Family Guy. He has been with the show since its inception andthroughout the years has contributed many episodes,such as "Holy Crap", "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz","Chitty Chitty Death Bang" and the Christmas themed episode, "A Very Special Family Guy Freakin'Christmas". ... Read more