This is True®
by Randy Cassingham

Randy Cassingham's Bonzer Web Sites of the Week: Recognizing Interesting Sites that are Beyond the Microsoft/AOL-Time Warner/Media Megalith

Pictures of Pennies

No, this isn't the one that shows how big a stack of a million (etc.) pennies would be. Rather, this one uses pennies to create interesting stacks, created by a civil engineering student. Bridges, towers, and more. If he can get a stack of pennies piled up that high, I think he'll be pretty good at building real bridges and such. Glue? No way! That'd be cheating!

From This is True for 5 March 2006

Suggestions for further reading:

The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 (Guide Book o...
By: R. S. Yeoman
List Price: $14.95
Amazon Price: $10.17
Editorial Review:
THE OFFICIAL RED BOOK® A Guide Book of United States Coins enters its 62nd year with no sign of slowing down! Americans nationwide look to this one-volume library to tell them how rare their coins are and how much they re worth. Collectors rely on it for its full-color photographs and detailed technical data. The Red Book covers the history and values of colonial and early American coins, half cents through silver dollars and gold, commemoratives, Proof and Mint sets, errors, Civil War tokens, territorial gold, state quarters, Presidential dollars, and other U.S. coins, with practical essays on grading, investing, auctions, and more. Pricing for more than 6,000 individual coins More than 700 full color photographs Updated values, mintages, and auction records Expanded coverage of commemoratives, sets, and other coins New state quarters and Presidential dollars
 
State Series Quarters Collector Map (State Series)
List Price: $7.99
Amazon Price: $7.99
Editorial Review:
This is the State Series Quarters Collector Map by Whitman®. FEATURES: A beautiful, 4-color, oversized 3-fold folder with snap latch. Color-coded map of the United States will showcase one of each state quarter design. Each coin opening located on the map has the state's logo. Educational details of each state including their statehood date, capital, state bird, flower, etc. Made in the USA! INCLUDES: (1) Folder SPECS: Folded Size: 12.5"" x 13.5"" Open Size: 37.5"" x 13.5"" kr11/6/06
 
Fifty State Commemorative Quarter Folder: Deluxe Edition 1999-2008
By: Whitman Coin Book and SuppliesWhitman Coin
List Price: $6.99
Amazon Price: $6.99
Editorial Review:
Whitman Brand folder holds State Series Quarters 1999-2008 both Philadelphia and Denver Mints. 120 openings.
 
The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual
List Price: $15.00
Amazon Price: $10.20
Editorial Review:
When the U.S. military invaded Iraq, it lacked a common understanding of the problems inherent in counterinsurgency campaigns. It had neither studied them, nor developed doctrine and tactics to deal with them. It is fair to say that in 2003, most Army officers knew more about the U.S. Civil War than they did about counterinsurgency.

The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual was written to fill that void. The result of unprecedented collaboration among top U.S. military experts, scholars, and practitioners in the field, the manual espouses an approach to combat that emphasizes constant adaptation and learning, the importance of decentralized decision-making, the need to understand local politics and customs, and the key role of intelligence in winning the support of the population. The manual also emphasizes the paradoxical and often counterintuitive nature of counterinsurgency operations: sometimes the more you protect your forces, the less secure you are; sometimes the more force you use, the less effective it is; sometimes doing nothing is the best reaction.

An new introduction by Sarah Sewall, director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, places the manual in critical and historical perspective, explaining the significance and potential impact of this revolutionary challenge to conventional U.S. military doctrine.
An attempt by our military to redefine itself in the aftermath of 9/11 and the new world of international terrorism, The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual will play a vital role in American military campaigns for years to come.

The University of Chicago Press will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to the Fisher House Foundation, a private-public partnership that supports the families of America’s injured servicemen. To learn more about the Fisher House Foundation, visit www.fisherhouse.org.
(20070729)
 
1st to Die: A Novel
By: James Patterson
List Price: $7.99
Amazon Price: $7.99
Editorial Review:
The Women's Murder Club pits four San Francisco women professionals against a serial killer who's stalking and murdering newlyweds in bestselling author James Patterson's newest thriller. Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector who's just gotten some very bad news. She deals with it by immersing herself in her newest case and soliciting the personal as well as professional support of her closest friend, who happens to be the city's medical examiner. The two women, along with an ambitious and sympathetic reporter and an assistant DA, form an unlikely alliance, pooling their information and bypassing the chain of command in an engaging, suspenseful story whose gruesome setup is vintage Patterson.

"What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" the killer muses to himself early in the narrative. "Am I capable of doing it? Do I have what it takes?" Answering his own question, he embarks on a murderous spree that takes him from the bridal suite in a Nob Hill hotel to a honeymoon destination in the Napa Valley and thence to a wedding reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Dispatching his victims on the happiest day of their lives, he purposefully leaves enough clues for his distaff trackers to discover his identity and put him behind bars. But just when the women think they've got the case all wrapped up, the killer turns the tables on them in a bloody denouement that even the most discerning reader won't see coming. Patterson, author of the popular Alex Cross mysteries, promises future adventures for the Women's Murder Club, which may give him an opportunity to develop his heroines' characters more completely and win new fans among those who prefer their detectives in high heels and lipstick. --Jane AdamsThe Women's Murder Club pits four San Francisco women professionalsagainst a serial killer who's stalking and murdering newlyweds in bestsellingauthor James Patterson's newest thriller. Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspectorwho's just gotten some very bad news. She deals with it by immersing herself inher newest case and soliciting the personal as well as professional support ofher closest friend, who happens to be the city's medical examiner. The twowomen, along with an ambitious and sympathetic reporter and an assistant DA,form an unlikely alliance, pooling their information and bypassing the chain ofcommand in an engaging, suspenseful story whose gruesome setup is vintagePatterson. "What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" the killer muses to himselfearly in the narrative. "Am I capable of doing it? Do I have what it takes?"Answering his own question, he embarks on a murderous spree that takes him fromthe bridal suite in a Nob Hill hotel to a honeymoon destination in the NapaValley and thence to a wedding reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame andMuseum in Cleveland, Ohio. Dispatching his victims on the happiest day of theirlives, he purposefully leaves enough clues for his distaff trackers to discoverhis identity and put him behind bars. But just when the women think they've gotthe case all wrapped up, the killer turns the tables on them in a bloodydenouement that even the most discerning reader won't see coming. Patterson,author of the popular Alex Cross mysteries, promises future adventures for theWomen's Murder Club, which may give him an opportunity to develop his heroines'characters more completely and win new fans among those who prefer theirdetectives in high heels and lipstick. --Jane AdamsFour women--four friends--share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle. But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving each other a hand. The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered--before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong. Full of the breathtaking drama and unforgettable emotions for which James Patterson is famous, 1st to Die is the start of a blazingly fast-paced and sensationally entertaining new series of crime thrillers.


 
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