Wells, Ken

Average customer rating:

Amazing, unique book
Love this book
A loving, thoughtprovoking way to wait for your baby's birth

Miracle of Life
Ken Gire , Mary C. Wells , and Judy Gire
Manufacturer: Zondervan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0310549604

Book Description

This unique weekly devotional for expectant mothers, complete with meditations, Bible readings, pages to keep a journal, and award-winning in utero photographs by Lennart Nilsson, has the added feature of being the eventual gift from mother to child, to chronicle the time spent in loving preparation for the baby's arrival..

Customer Reviews:

Amazing, unique book.......2002-12-27

My mom gave me this book recently to celebrate my pregnancy with her first grandchild. I love reading about my baby's development each week, and it's wonderful to have a weekly page to write my thoughts, feelings, or prayers. The pictures are breathtaking, and the scripture quotes and prayers are perfect. This book is even more special to us because Dr. Wells is the obstetrician who delivered me 25 years ago! :)

Love this book.......2000-07-31

This book was given to me as a gift when I was pregnant with my first child. It is a beautifully written book that will inspire any mother-to-be. The prayers and quotes in the book are wonderful meditations for expectant moms. The photos are amazing. They let you see in utero what the baby looks like during it's development at many different stages. The journal pages allow you to record your thoughts and feelings about your pregnancy each week. This is a must have book for any expectant mom. It makes a great gift!

A loving, thoughtprovoking way to wait for your baby's birth.......1998-10-11

I throughly am appreciating this book as I wait for my child to be born. The photos are beautiful and help me visualize my child growing daily. Each week's fetal development is wonderfully described through combining the actual anatomical facts with an acknowledgment of God's hand in this amazing process. The prayer each week touches my heart. This book helps me slow down for just a moment to hear God's Spirit working to ready my life for my child. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is at all amazed by this miracle of life: growing a baby within her womb.

Average customer rating:

Fabulous Book!
Good book, but "Junior's Leg" was better...also, check out the website www.bayoubro.com
Louisiana coming-of-age debut novel; wonderful
Best Novel I've Read in Ages!
A PO' WHITE BOY WINS OUT

Meely LaBauve
Ken Wells
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 037575816X
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Book Description

Fifteen-year-old Meely LaBauve is growing up on Catahoula Bayou and living by his wits. Not since Huck Finn rafted down the Mississippi has there been a coming-of-age story like this, told in such an utterly authentic unlettered American voice. From a charming encounter with first love in the Canciennes' corn patch to an adventurous paddle through wild and timeless places little explored, Ken Wells has cooked up a zesty gumbo of a book--rich, poignant, and often hilarious.

* An American Library Association/YALSA best book of the year

Download Description

Now in paperback comes the zesty Cajun coming-of-age novel that introduces "one of the most compelling voices in fiction of the last decade" (Los Angeles Times). An American Library Association/YALSA best book of the year.

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Book!.......2007-01-04

This is the first in a series of three books and one of my favorite books ever. It is not to be missed!

Good book, but "Junior's Leg" was better...also, check out the website www.bayoubro.com.......2005-10-17

Anyone out there trying to remember the Big Easy the way it was, before the anger of Mother Nature rained down on Louisiana like a story out of the Bible, "Meely LaBauve" is a good way to start. This first part of a trilogy by Ken Wells is set in the good ole' Bayou, long before the devastation of the elements tainted its once rich and sought-after mystique. Within these pages you will find detailed depictions of wild swampland, varied cultures, small town simplicity and gumbo the way it's supposed to be cooked - and eaten. Written in "down home" Cajun prose from the first-person view of our young protagonist Meely, this expert first novel sends you back in time, to an unvarnished place, during a long dead era. Way back when the mere mention of New Orleans brought to mind syncopated musical sounds instead of hurricanes, floods and carnage.

Meely LaBauve is a highly likable fifteen year-old boy who lives with his widower father in a broken down shack out in the Bayou. Well, he sometimes lives with his father, as the man is often away living the life of a rolling stone, leaving his young son to raise and take care of himself. The absence of any form of paternal guidance has made Meely very self-reliant and a little too mature for his age. He has little interest in school, hunts for his own food and drinks coffee like it's going out of style. Truant and filled with what he calls "the wild Injun," you would think that Meely would have turned into a bad kid like many inner city children left to fend for themselves in a harsh and unforgiving world. But, according to Logan LaBauve, his father, Meely was blessed with the good smarts of his dead mother and is thereby perfectly suited to making a way for himself. All by his lonesome.

Strangely enough, Logan is a very amicable character in his own right. He isn't leaving his son alone to feed himself, he isn't mistreating his son with neglect and he isn't being a bad role model when he comes home at night with the local tart, wasted. Logan sees Meely as being far smarter than himself when he was his son's age and regards the young man as an equal, if not better. Throughout the book, you will notice that these two very different beings are more like friends than father and son. Reading on, it becomes hard to dislike Logan for this approach. When was the last time you bought your friend groceries? Told your friend that it was time to go to bed? It's a strange relationship and I bought it hook, line and sinker, mostly because I have no idea what it is like to live with the means and/or limitations that they were dealing with. Either way, Meely pretty much talks to us, often quoting his father's phrases about life. It's obvious that he idolizes his father but knows that he will never be more than a friend to him. I felt for Meely here and there when he says, paraphrasing, "Daddy done give up on jail. Done give up on paying the 'lectric bill too. That's okay, but I shore would like some cold water now and again."

Meely's main nemesis, Junior Guidry, is a terrible young man. A bully and a sadist in every sense of the words. Stocky and powerful, Junior hates Meely and is always salivating at the chance to beat the boy to a pulp. You know the guy. He's that kid in school that, no matter how lame or how cool you were, he was there to take you down. He's also one of the reasons why Meely never goes to school. But, moreover, he's the reason Meely is arrested and thrown in jail. Yes, this innocent little story about a small man living off the fat of the land and minding his own business turns hard into a big "to do" about race, lies and intentional cruelty. Meely will have to deal with harsh things. Things that no young boy should witness. Any more and I would be giving away the best parts of the story.

So, give "Meely LaBauve" a shot. It's worth it. And when you're done, check out the next installment, "Junior's Leg," where the reprehensible Junior Guidry gets his own story some fifteen years later. It's even better! If you hated Junior in the first installment, you will have a hard time hating him as an adult. It's great! The whole trilogy is a hoot, culminating with "Logan's Storm," which backtracks a bit, becoming a sequel to the first book. Happy reading and may God have mercy on Louisiana.

Louisiana coming-of-age debut novel; wonderful.......2003-07-18

There aren't too many of these around: a Cajun coming of age novel. In fact, I'll bet this is the only one, and it's a winner. Just made for reading aloud (especially to a young teenage son), the story is told in first person by a 13yo kid who lives in a falling-down (literally) shack back in a Louisiana bayou with his usually absent gator-hunting, kindly, nearly-always-drunk, renegade father who never recovered from his wife's death 8 yrs earlier during childbirth. The sexual initiation scene with Cassie in the middle of a field is unrivaled. Somebody needs to make a movie of this book!

Best Novel I've Read in Ages!.......2003-01-05

I loved this novel. Got a copy of Meely LaBauve from my brother last week, down in Mazatlan. He said it was "really good."
He was right and then some. A satisfying, funny, fun read, its different and compelling.
I think what I like best is that after reading this book I was left with the urge to read all the rest of the books by author,Ken Wells. There are some authors I love, Isaac Singer, Elmore Leonard, and a few others, and I know I'll read another book by Mr. Wells.
When just now I looked up the book here on Amazon.com, I was surprised and disappointed that it was ranked where it was. This book ought to be a run away bestseller, really. It would make a good movie too. Unless you're really uptight (sexually) you'll enjoy this book. Heck, even if you are uptight, read it anyways, you'll still like it.

A PO' WHITE BOY WINS OUT.......2002-06-29

This is a delightful, easy-to-read novel that has a great insight to the society of the have-nots in the deep South. The main character, Meely, is a 14 yr. old that gets by primaily due to his own wits. There is a very interesting part, toward the end, where Meely is asked to identify a corpse. The results of this are hilarious and problem-solving. Believe everyone should like this story; 'tis a dandy.

Prototypes: The History of the Imsa Gtp Series

Average customer rating:

The ENDURANCE racer Bible

Prototypes: The History of the Imsa Gtp Series
J. A. Martin , and Ken Wells
Manufacturer: David Bull Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classic Cars | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Racing | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Automotive | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1893618013

Customer Reviews:

The ENDURANCE racer Bible.......2002-11-28

Best example of the fantastic history of this form of racing...I was too young to attend most of these events but can get the sense of the history that was made by these incredible machines.

Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America

Average customer rating:

Tasty!
The Cheap American Pale Lager of Beer Books
Entertaining look at Beer Culture
You Can Kick Back With This Book...
Beer Snobs: This Book Is For You!

Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America
Ken Wells
Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Beer | Drinks & Beverages | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 074323278X

Book Description

Do beer yeast rustlers really exist? Who patented the Beer Goddess? How can you tell a Beer Geek from a Beer Nazi? Where exactly is Beervana? Does Big Beer hate Little Beer?

Ken Wells, a novelist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and longtime Wall Street Journal writer, answers these questions and more by bringing a keen eye and prodigious reportage to the people and passions that have propelled beer into America's favorite alcoholic beverage and the beer industry into a $75 billion commercial juggernaut, not to mention a potent force in American culture.

Travels with Barley is a lively, literate tour through the precincts of the beer makers, sellers, drinkers, and thinkers who collectively drive the mighty River of Beer onward. The heart of the book is a journey along the Mississippi River, from Minnesota to Louisiana, in a quixotic search for the Perfect Beer Joint -- a journey that turns out to be the perfect pretext for viewing America through the prism of a beer glass. Along the river, you'll visit the beer bar once owned by the brewer Al Capone, glide by The World's Largest Six Pack, and check into Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel to plumb the surprisingly controversial question of whether Elvis actually drank beer. But the trip also includes numerous detours up quirky tributaries, among them: a visit to an Extreme Beer maker in Delaware with ambitions to make 50-proof brew, a look at the murky world of beer yeast rustlers in California, and a journey to the portals of ultimate beer power at the Anheuser-Busch plant in St. Louis, where making the grade as a Clydesdale draft horse is harder than you might imagine. Entertaining, enlightening, and written with Wells's trademark verve, Travels with Barley is a perfect gift -- not just for America's 84 million beer enthusiasts, but for all discerning readers of flavorful nonfiction.

Customer Reviews:

Tasty!.......2006-01-23

Wells is the first person to attempt this kind of beer book and I think he succeeds wonderfully. Neophites can learn a lot about beer and the craft brew movement (not to mention a nicely delivered short history of beer in the world and America) and the beer savvy will like his chapters on Extreme Beer, yeast rustlers and a home brewing contest. Meanwhile, if you like travelogue there's lot of tasty stuff in there. The first chapter on a "beer spill" at a legendary Florida beach bar is funny and informative and Wells' trip down the Mississippi River in search of the perfect beer joint is a nice ride. Perusing the reviewer before me who declared the book "awful" I can't help but think: it's not that Wells can't write. It's that some reviewers can't read!

The Cheap American Pale Lager of Beer Books.......2005-12-25

Simply awful. Though author Ken Wells may not have succeeded in finding "the perfect beer joint" (as the "premise" of this book seems to have been), he certainly succeeded in writing an awful book about a delightful subject.

Travels with Barley is uninspired, aimless, uninteresting, and and pointless. I gave the book a very generous 2 stars only because I found the chapter on "yeast rustling" very interesting -- it would have made a very good newpaper feature article, as very few of the chapters in the books might have. This collection of mediocre newspaper articles is mashed up into one barely readable book.

If you know little to absolutely nothing about beer but would like to learn a little or buy a nice gift for a beer lover, then DO NOT buy Travels with Barley (stick with one of Michael Jackson's books [not the King of P--, the Beer Writer]).

Entertaining look at Beer Culture.......2005-12-09

Even though it was stated that a goal of this book was to find a perfect beer joint, the true essence of this book (as the TITLE depicts) is to show Beer Culture in America.
It is an entertaining read spotted with humor. I don't think Ken demonizes the American Lager Style and, in fact, drinks his share of those industrial beers along his journey. But he does prove that there's far more being brewed in the US than tasteless yellow beer.
This book is great for anyone who enjoys beer, whether you're a beer geek, brewer, beer judge, or just occasional sipper.

You Can Kick Back With This Book..........2005-08-19

This is not a perfect effort but Wells has written a damned fine book that I think will go down as a beer classic. First of all, he's obviously a good reporter and an honest broker and he does a remarkable job of synthesizng beer's place in both contemporary and historical America. Second, contrary to a statement or two by some reviewers below, Wells is NOT a beer snob and in fact takes pains to explain why Bud got to be so popular and lager came to rule the beer world; he does both without being dismissive of lager or lager drinkers. As a beer geek myself I probably would have liked to have seen a little less travel writing and a little more attention paid to craft beer. But his chapters on yeast and yeast smuggling, home brew competitions and what he calls Extreme Beer are excellent and, by the way, first-class magazine journalism.

Beer Snobs: This Book Is For You!.......2005-07-05

Although this book is occasionally informative and interesting, Ken Wells devotes way too way much ink expressing contempt for anyone who dares to like American lagers. There is more than enough room in the beer world for lager fans and Hopheads to coexist.

Average customer rating:

Ginger or Mary Ann? Mary Ann!! Definitely
Better than Betty Crocker!
Dawn Wells and MaryAnn Summers Together
Great recipes, great stories.
Mary Ann is the coolest. And man can she cook!!

Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook
Dawn Wells , Ken Beck , and Jim Clark
Manufacturer: Rutledge Hill Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1558532455

Book Description

For thirty years the "Gilligan's Island" television show has reached generations through syndication making it one of history's highest-rated shows, and for thirty years Mary Ann has tempted us with her island delicacies. Now, Dawn Wells, the actress and real life Mary Ann, has come out with Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook. "This book is more than a collection of recipes. It's a trip back to the pop culture of the 1960s," says the Milwaukee Journal.

Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook is a compilation of recipes collected over the years by Dawn Wells (Mary Ann), several recipes contributed by her fellow cast members, as well as "an entertaining melange of trivia and inside stuff," says the Youngstown Vindicator. The recipes from Mary Ann's Cookbook will tantalize the most fickle castaway, "but the real treats are the memories and anecdotes Wells has stirred into the book's pages," says the Atlanta Constitution. So whether your looking for a tropical delight or just want to be delighted by past memories, check out Mary Ann's Gilligan's Island Cookbook.

Customer Reviews:

Ginger or Mary Ann? Mary Ann!! Definitely.......2006-12-15

This cookbook is super! Try the Double Vision Banana Pie!! It's fun and easy to make AND it's super delicious!!

Better than Betty Crocker!.......2002-09-01

Viewers, I know Betty Crocker Cookbook has been around for a very long time; long before I knew how to say Betty Crocker, but when I first discovered MaryAnn's Cookbook, I was living in Cali, and I had to order the Cookbook thru a major Bookstore. Upon reciept of the Cookbook, I started with the Meatloaf by the Professor...It is the best I've ever had; now don't get me wrong I do enjoy making meatloaf the ole fashion way, but that recipe will leave you coming back for more. So I relocated to the South, and left my Cookbook with a relative to use, unfortunately, I never got it back, so I contacted every Bookstore in this town, and everyone is sold out, or can't order the Cookbook. So, I saw on the Amazon.com that I could order the Cookbook, and I've always been reluctant about putting my CC number online, so I sent a MO in to the address listed on Amazon, and to no avail, my MO was lost in the shuffle, I went belistic, so I am now forced to put my CC online in order to get the Maryann Cookbook, and I will tell each and everyone out there, if you've tried the rest, then you MUST try Maryann Cookbook, it is the BEST. It's worth losing the money from the MO and having to go another route to get my Maryann Cookbook. God only knows, I wish I could have ordered the Cookbook from Maryann herself, then I know I would have long recieved my Cookbook by now. Again its worth it!!

Dawn Wells and MaryAnn Summers Together.......1999-09-09

Not only does this book have some great recipes, but Dawn has done a masterful job of both blending and separating the fictional characters of Mary Ann and the real- life Dawn Wells through the various anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout the book. A must have for every Dawn Wells fan.

Great recipes, great stories........1999-08-22

Every recipe I've tried in this book has been wonderful! There are Gilligan-themed recipes, favorite recipes of cast members, and Dawn Wells' own family recipes, along with an interesting story about her family's history in cooking! (Naturally, there is a plethora of coconut-cream pie recipes as well!!)

Between the recipes are fascinating behind-the-scenes stories about the cast members, Gilligan trivia, and bits of script from the series.

Mary Ann is the coolest. And man can she cook!!.......1998-07-18

Thanks, Dawn, for keeping Gilligan's Island and "Mary Ann" alive. Can't wait for the sequel! Have any good brownie recipes? :)

Floating Off the Page: The Best Stories from The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column" (Wall Street Journal Book)

Average customer rating:

Nothing Heavy
News Stories Of Lasting Quality and Value
Informative and Funny
Interesting to read and useful as a gift
a good mix of stories

Floating Off the Page: The Best Stories from The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column" (Wall Street Journal Book)

Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Journalism | Writing | Reference | Subjects | Books

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My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere

ASIN: 074322664X

Book Description

On any given day, millions of Wall Street Journal readers put aside the serious business and economic news of the day to focus first on the paper's middle column (a.k.a. the A-hed), a virtual sound-bubble for light literary fare -- a short story, a tall tale, an old yarn, a series of vignettes, and other unexpected delights that seem to "float off the page." In this first-ever compendium of middle-column pieces, you'll find an eclectic selection of writings, from the outlandish to the oddly enlightening. Read about:

• one man's attempt to translate the Bible into Klingon

• sheep orthodontics, pet-freezing, and toad-smoking

• being hip in Cairo, modeling at auto shows, piano-throwing

• the fate of mail destined for the World Trade Center after 9/11

• the plight of oiled otters in Prince William Sound

...and much, much more. Edited by 20-year Journal veteran Ken Wells, and with a foreword by Liar's Poker author Michael Lewis, Floating Off the Page is the perfect elixir for fans of innovative prose in all its forms and function.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing Heavy.......2003-12-06

For those who enjoy good journalistic writing, these stories are like eating a box of chocolates. Reading one or two a day can be a real treat. Reading a half dozen at a time may leave a saccharine aftertaste.

Editorial arrangement of the stories in topical groups is reasonable enough, but the editor plays coy with the date of composition, putting it at the end of the essay. It's as if the topics are so airy, it makes little difference whether they're true in the recent past or forty years ago. Enjoy the writing, chuckle over the odd characters profiled, don't take the book too seriously.

News Stories Of Lasting Quality and Value.......2003-11-09

Most daily journalism is written, edited and published under strict deadline pressure, and is as perishable as the newsprint it's printed on. But there are exceptions. Give a talented reporter freedom of time and subject matter, and sometimes the result can soar close to, if not actually achieve, the quality of literature. Some great examples of this are collected in "Floating Off the Page."

The Wall Street Journal is primarily known as a financial newspaper. But since 1941, the middle column of its front page has been devoted to a feature on just about any subject under the sun. What happened to the mail destined for the World Trade Center after 9/11? Why were people attempting to translate the Bible into Klingon--and why was there a dispute over how to do this? Why was a man trying to develop a non-flatulent bean? This is only a quick sampling of some of the stories to be found in this offbeat, entertaining, informative volume.

Some of these pieces are truly timeless, though most represent a snapshot of a past moment; all are worth another look. Keep it by your bedside or in your bathroom or carry it with you on your next trip. You'll find it a great one to browse and dip into again and again.--William C. Hall

Informative and Funny.......2003-06-23

Admittedly, I knew very little about the Middle Column of the Wall Street Journal before reading this book. Now, I might just have to get a subscription to WSJ! The stories unfold as if they are the creation of some short story writer. Would you ever think that getting a hole-in-one in golf could be a bad thing? Well, in Japan, it is....in a way. And if you think that Stephen King writes a lot of books, wait until you hear about the man who holds the world record. A lot of the stuff you will learn from this book is mainly to entertain friends, but it's just as entertaining as reading a novel. Plus, you will get a perspective of how people thought 25 years ago and just how right they were. The only thing preventing the book from getting 5 stars is that it might be a tad bit on the "long" side and the editor attempts to group the stories by content. Personally, I would have rather had it completely mixed up because one of the chapters is a bit "dry." All in all, a great read that will have you smiling quite a bit.

Interesting to read and useful as a gift.......2003-02-19

A few times a year we need a gift for someone whose tastes and interests are not well known to us. After perusing the many brief essays that make up this book, I know this will be a choice we'll use again and again.

First, the editor chose widely among dates available, resulting in a selection that includes not only material from the past decade, but studies that reach into the early sixties. It is intriguing to play a little game whilst reading each story: what decade is it? Sometimes you'll win; sometimes the answer will have you scratching your head for a while.

Second, the range of topics is virtually encyclopedic: from the academic ("The Art of the Perfectly Awful", a writing contest), to the esoteric ("The Bean of His Existence", about improving the quality of beans), to the banal ("Naked Assumptions", about nudist prudists), to the frankly bizarre ("Bear Hunting Is Hard on Wives"). There is much here you do not know about; there is probably plenty you have never heard of before.

Finally, some of the material is side-splittingly funny, some is thought provoking, and some is frankly poignant. This is far from being a one-note book; it invokes a full range of emotion whilst it ranges across time, geography, and subjects. This makes it a good gift for yourself or, for that matter, nearly anyone.

a good mix of stories.......2002-11-06

Some of them a extremely funny, a few quite serious. This book makes an excellent airplane read and shows off the wit of the WSJ's writers.

Herd on the Street: Animal Stories from The Wall Street Journal (Wall Street Journal Book)

Average customer rating:

Ireally liked it
Beyond bulls and bears

Herd on the Street: Animal Stories from The Wall Street Journal (Wall Street Journal Book)

Manufacturer: Free Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0743254201

Book Description

For more than sixty years, The Wall Street Journal has prided itself not just on its serious journalism, but also on the whimsical and arcane stories that amuse and delight its readers. In that regard, animal stories have proven to be the most beloved of all. Now, veteran Journal reporter and Page One editor Ken Wells gathers the finest, funniest, and most fascinating of these animal tales in one exceptional book.

Here are lighthearted, witty stories of breakthroughs in goldfish surgery, the untiring efforts of British animal lovers who guide lovesick toads across dangerous motorways, and the quest to tame doggy anxieties by prescribing the human pacifier Prozac. Other pieces reflect on mankind's impact on the animal kingdom: a close-up look at the nascent fish-rights movement, the retirement of U.S. Air Force chimpanzees that once soared through space, and ongoing scientific efforts to defeat that most hardy enemy -- the cockroach.

Each of these fifty-odd stories -- from the outlandish to the poignant -- exemplifies the superb feature writing that makes The Wall Street Journal one of America's best-written newspapers. This charming and utterly captivating collection will be a joy not only to animal lovers, but to all those who appreciate artful storytelling by writers who are obviously having a wonderful time spinning the tales.

Customer Reviews:

Ireally liked it.......2005-07-29

My dad is in the story on page 43. I get to go to work to help him catch the animals out of peoples houses. It is alot of work and sometimes dangerous but I get to learn alot about animals.

Beyond bulls and bears.......2004-02-06

No matter the state of the economy, the weakness of the markets, or the dudgeon of the editorial page, there's always one part of The Wall Street Journal that brings a smile -- the center column on the front page known in our household as the "nut box." "Herd on the Street" collects the best of a special genre of nut box stories, the ones about animals.

From dogs and cats to roaches, sturgeons, and Punxsutawney Phil, most every corner of the animal kingdom is represented here. The essays are almost uniformly well written, entertaining, and sometimes even educational. More than a few are laugh-out-loud funny, some are quite memorable, and one at least is unexpectedly poignant -- a contribution by slain WSJ reporter Daniel Pearl.

Animal lovers might well find themselves sitting down and reading this title from end to end. And certainly, people who otherwise have no sympathy with or interest in the Journal will find this worth the read. It would make a fine book to keep by your bed, or in a guest bedroom, for an end-of-the-evening treat before resting up in readiness for what The Street may throw at you in the morning.

Junior's Leg: A Novel
Average customer rating:

Yippee! Another book in the Meely LaBauve trilogy

bawdy, engaging bayou reprobate reluctantly redeems himself

Funny and raw!

...

What a great read!

Junior's Leg: A Novel
Ken Wells
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Logan's Storm: A Novel

Meely LaBauve

Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America

About Alice

Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

ASIN: 0375760326
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Book Description

Fifteen years after he tormented fellow students at Catahoula Bayou School, Junior Guidry is broke, drunk, one-legged, and living in a wreck of a trailer on the edge of a snake-infested swamp. He's survived an oil-rig accident that would've killed most men but, with the help of a good lawyer, made him rich instead. But he's squandered his fortune on drink, blackjack, womanizing, and brawling, leaving a wake of wrecked cars and friendships, not to mention lost or stolen wooden legs. Then the mysterious Iris Mary Parfait enters his life. She's on the run from a tragic childhood and a bad, bad man. When news reaches Junior that a bar owner with Mob connections has posted a $100,000 bounty on Iris's head because she knows too much about him, Junior realizes he could regain his fortune—but at what cost?

Narrated in Junior's unvarnished voice, Junior's Leg takes the reader on a singular journey through the mind of a troubled man. It is at turns unsettling, ribald, sexy, and poignant—a bold stroke of storytelling that ultimately plumbs the possibilities of love and redemption, even for as unlikely a candidate as Junior.

From the Hardcover edition.

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"One of the most compelling voices in fiction of the last decade" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) takes readers back to the bayou in this darkly hilarious tale of a bully, his comeuppance, and his one last chance at redemption.

Customer Reviews:

Yippee! Another book in the Meely LaBauve trilogy.......2003-08-30

Junior Guidry, the creepy bully from Meely LaBauve (2000), takes the lead in this book, which takes place 15 after ML ended. Now sporting a wooden leg, Junior is more despicable than ever, a drunk who finds himself taken on as 'a cause' by Iris Mary Parfait. Herself on the run from the law after she killed a dude in self-defense, she starts trying to get Junior to mend his ways. When he discovers he can get some cash by turning her in - but realizes he might be falling in love with her - things get mighty complicated.
Full of Cajun dialect, humor, honest, and most of all compassion, Junior's Leg is a worthy step-brother book to Meely LaBauve.

bawdy, engaging bayou reprobate reluctantly redeems himself.......2003-02-07

In his debut novel "Meely LaBauve," Ken Wells established himself as an affectionate and wryly observant chronicler of life in bayou Louisiana. His sequel, "Junior's Leg" is nothing less than extraordinary. Capturing the essence of this distinctive culture through language and razor-sharp characterization, Wells not only creates a larger-than-life protagonist, but infuses his story with genuine compassion, grief and wisdom. His protagonist, a drunken, ill-educated, perpetually sexually aroused reprobate, Junior Guidry, grapples with issues of identity, purpose and love without even knowing it. Junior easily captures the heart of his audience; his rough-hewn sense of humor, his abject acceptance of all the crud life seems to throw at him, his utter shock at discovering his heart -- all his perilous, skewed attempts at understanding his predicaments reveal a bayou everyman.

Mr. Wells is wise enough to allow Junior to tell his own story in his own words, and Wells gracefully incorporates the patois of the spoken word, the incredibly rich idioms of the bayou, and the sharp, spicy tang that a storyteller utilizes to make events into fable. On the surface, "Junior's Leg" is an incredibly funny story, but, just below, where the gators and snakes live, resides a serious commentary about dissolution, despair and despondency. It is one of the delightful paradoxes of the novel that its protagonist, so thoroughly stupid and self-destructive, discovers the ability to redefine himself in spite of (or perhaps because of) alcoholism, lack of education and prejudice.

In this sense, "Junior's Leg" joins hands with the greatest coming-of-age novels of our national experience. It doesn't matter that its protagonist has already reached, and long sense passed, the age of adulthood. The wreckage of Junior's life, movingly recounted in his own words, becomes the prelude to the pivotal event of the novel: his accidental encounter with an albino woman with a tattered, burdened past. The confluence of her virtue with his vinegar, her hope with his despair, her confidence with his fatalism result in a powerful, compelling story.

"Junior's Leg" affirms all that is noble about our American character. Its author, Ken Wells, writes with the best type of convictions: that common people may instruct us to great truths, that language can delight and elevate, that ironic humor and wry laughter may well be the best antidotes to sadness and loneliness.

Funny and raw!.......2002-11-01

Junior is a real (curse word) but I'll be darned if he isn't one of the funniest characters I've ever read. Written in Cajun drawal, Wells' book is a real feast. My only problem with it is, the ending seemed like it didn't know how it wanted to come together. Trying this, failing it - throwing that in, missing the mark - until finally, a culmination that just should have come earlier than it did. I understand that Junior appears in some other books written by Wells and I plan to check them out.

..........2002-10-24

Junior is the meanest person in the Bayou. Foul mouthed with a foul attitude, life can just about get swallowed by the shark who ate his leg as far as Junior is concerned. Until Iris Mary breaks into his trailer. She thinks it is abandoned until she sees Junior crumpled up in a drunken slup. She cleans up Junior and the trailer, throws up all the bottles of liquor and makes gumbo. She is on the run from the law, and Junior is on the run from life. When the law catches up to them, you will not be able to put this book down. I stayed up all night to see how it would turn out and I was not disappointed.
This book mad me laugh out loud in certain places. And I found myself holding my breath in suspense in others. If you don't read this book you will be sorry because it is well worth the read.

What a great read!.......2002-05-02

Ken Wells has done it again! Meely LaBauve was a good book, espcecially for someone originally from La. But Junior's Leg is even better. I've known lots of people like Junior, who never seem to be able to grow up. I've often wondered if life ever did make them mature. With this book, I've seen it happen. Poor Junior has had a rough life, but everything that happens is his own fault. The character is gross, but funny at the same time. Iris Mary is a little too good to be true, but she is exactly what Junior needs in his miserable life. This book had me laughing out loud, and brought back so many memories from my youth in Louisiana. At one point Junior describes a mobile home park as a "trailer court". That's a term that was very common back then, but that politically correct people no longer use.
If you want a book that is funny, thought-provoking, tough, and tender, read this one. You won't regret it!!!!!!

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Ken Wells does it again.
Logan's Storm is a Whole lot of Fun!
feisty everyman serves as fitting capstone to Cajun trilogy
It's not Meely LaBauve, but it's good, good, good.
Dwelling place for the Soul

Logan's Storm: A Novel
Ken Wells
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Junior's Leg: A Novel
Meely LaBauve
Travels with Barley: A Journey Through Beer Culture in America

ASIN: 0375760679
Release Date: 2003-07-08

Book Description

The capstone of Ken Wells’s acclaimed Catahoula Bayou trilogy, Logan’s Storm tracks the epic journey of Logan LaBauve as he flees corrupt cops while trying to lead Chilly Cox—the teenager whose “crime” was rescuing Logan’s son, Meely, from a racist bully—to safety. But dodging two-footed predators deep in the Cajun backwaters turns out to be the easy part. As Logan, accompanied by a newfound love interest, heads to Florida to lie low, a killer hurricane springs from the Gulf—and lives are suddenly on the line. Wells writes with Twain’s flair for adventure and Welty’s sense of place, making Logan’s Storm a trip through the heart and soul of a singular American character.

Customer Reviews:

Ken Wells does it again........2005-12-09

"Logan's Storm," the last in the Wells' bayou trilogy delivers on a scale that its predecessor, "Meely LaBauve" doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the first novel about Logan's self-reliant little boy, but "Storm" and the piece before it, "Junior's Leg" are far more interesting. Perhaps I just prefer to read more adult literature.

Wells does a strange thing here. He tells the story of Meely LaBauve with the first book, leaving it open for a sequel. Then he jumps fifteen years into the future with the ongoing adventures of Meely's high school adversary, the reprehensible Junior Guidry. Now, we have an exemplary road movie starring Meely's rolling stone daddy, Logan, which takes place during the middle of the first book. Sound strange? Yeah, I thought so.

The book picks up right as Logan and his young "partner in crime," Chilly Cox have to leave an injured Meely by the side of the rode to deal with the police, while they escape into the night swamp. It's a precarious situation. They decided that Meely would probably get off easy, but Logan and his running mate would no doubt fry. The cops despise Logan anyway and Chilly is a giant black kid who dared to defend himself against the racist white cop, Junior's uncle. Logan tells us his side of the story and we understand, even if we didn't read "Meely," that they were framed.

That was tough to explain. Hope you got it all.

The first hundred pages or so, Logan is really, really an impressive swamprat. A natural hunter and trapper, Logan navigates swampland and fills us in on important nuances about the wildlife, why he does what he's is doing while cohabitating with them, and what he's going to do next. It's like a super-exciting episode of "Wild Discovery," and "Crocodile Hunter." Logan and Chilly spent most of the book crusing around in their canoe and trying to find something to eat.

They meet some interesting characters along the way, like Annie Ancelet, the only woman Logan has really taken to since his wife died years before. And Harris the cabbage salesman is a real hoot to read about and a good friend to our two boys.

Eventually, Logan and Chilly make it up to Mississippi and shack up with Chilly's black relatives. It's a nice existence for awhile, but Logan wants to see his son again before going down and taking a job in Florida. He takes off after a few months with Chilly's family and heads back to the bayou.

There is a scene in "Meely LaBauve" where Logan and his boy find each other for a short time and catch up a bit. It's a great scene, almost exactly played out in both novels, but from the title character's point of view. Very clever.

On his way to Florida, Logan looks up Annie one more time. She offers to take him to his new job when they get news of a terrible storm on the way. They get caught up in it and it almost never ends. Together, they face tornados, hurricanes and a small tsunami. Riveting reading that has its ups and downs in the last 100 pages. That's why it doesn't get five stars. That, and the strange opening that connects the first book. It can confuse some people.

If I were to cast this film, Billy Bob Thornton as Logan and Rob Brown as Chilly. Maybe Gina Gershon as Annie. Lucas Till from "Walk the Line" would be a great Meely.

Logan's Storm is a Whole lot of Fun!.......2004-01-20

I read Logan's Storm on a long plane ride last week and enjoyed it very much. This book continues where the other two of Ken Wells' Cajun books leave off, but it is the story of the dad this time, and his adventures.
For anyone who has never read anything by Ken Wells, I think you have a treat in store for you. My brother first discovered this writer about a year ago when he read Meely Labauve. He passed the book on to me; I loved it, gave it to my wife and she loved it too. We then bought and read the next one, Junior's Leg, a real hoot! Tons of fun, some serious laughs in Junior's Leg.
I'm a writer myself (Allergy-free Gardening, Safe Sex in the Garden, etc.) and I love to find new authors whose material is terrific. This is how I feel about Ken Wells and his writing. It is fresh, lively, different, touching, sometimes profound, never preachy, and completely colorful. I keep waiting to see his books make it to the bestseller lists....they deserve to be there, and I think it is just a matter of time. Too good to pass up. Check this book out!

feisty everyman serves as fitting capstone to Cajun trilogy.......2003-12-17

We have long enjoyed defining the American character through our literary heroes. We prefer rough-hewn men, resolute in their own vision of the world, often at odds stuffy conformity, comfortable with their reprobate attitude. Huck Finn exemplifies this allegiance to the rebellious, misunderstood, action-based hero. It matters little if this figure has stretched or broken the law; his illegal behavior usually results from altercations with ignorant, small-minded or prejudiced authority figures. Beneath an exterior of illiteracy or deceptively simple manners reside an elemental decency, a profound dignity and an abiding optimism about the human condition.

The perceptive author Ken Wells understands our perpetual hunger for these larger-than-life heroes, and his final installment of the Catahoula Bayou trilogy, "Logan's Storm," satisfies our appetite. Logan LaBauve, already erroneously pronounced dead as a result of avenging his son's abuse at the hands of a racist cop, confronts nature, faces down bad guys and even finds room in his broken heart to open himself up to the possibilities of love. Logan, through dialogue and action, reminds us of the best aspects of our quest to become genuinely self-made. His unceasing and unflinching confrontation with life's exigencies, messes and hopes serves as a cock-eyed model for even polished urbanites. This man lives large, loves life and doesn't hesitate to squeeze living for all that it's worth.

"Logan's Storm" is actually less a novel than it is three extended vignettes. Each vignette serves as a means through which Logan's character is tested, fortified and sublimely altered. What results is a bayou character who is a loyal friend, savvy con-artist, expert storyteller and redoubtable champion of little old ladies and stricken children in distress. This swamp superman throws out Cajun metaphors with the same grace he demonstrates when he teases a meal out of bayou critters. He knows exactly how much bilge he can safely swallow from adversaries and precisely when to strike back. Though Ken Wells moves his story with breathtaking confidence, he never forgets why the reader will rapidly turn each page.

Unfortunately, the last two vignettes don't carry the power and promise of the first. We first meet Logan during his sojourn in a dangerous swamp, on the lam from prejudiced officers who'd like nothing better than to lay their hands on not only Logan, but his son's African-American friend Chilly. The author paints a lush and absorbing physical and emotional protrait of two men struggling for survival under extreme circumstances. The second vignette borrows heavily from Mark Twain, in both style and content. Here Logan outwits a professorial villain, whose flowery elocution masks a pathetically craven heart. This melodramatic chestnut of outlaws outfoxing other outlaws is saved only by Wells' love of his characters, his engaging use of Cajun patois and his keen sense of irony. The final vignette, featuring an overpowering hurricane, blows itself out from predictablility. It is as if the author himself became exhuasted from the excesses of his own writing.

"Logan's Storm" is cause, however, for rejoicing. Its author, Ken Wells relishes spinning a good tale and is a marvelous scene setter. Logan LeBauve, podnah, will happily find his own niche in our national pantheon of authentic American heroes.

It's not Meely LaBauve, but it's good, good, good........2003-09-02

Logan's Storm is the third and final book in the Meely LaBauve trilogy. It is set in the time immediately after the original offering ended, and it opens with his hilarious and ne'er-do-well father , Logan, on the run (duh - to readers of the original, this will require no explanation) from the law with a black teenager. Love is in the offing when Logan meets up with Annie Ancelet, who has all sorts of ideas for evading the lawmen.
Logan's storm is an affectionate and endearing character study, full of humor and adventure.

Dwelling place for the Soul.......2003-01-29

An unexpected surprise and joy, well scripted and paced, this book has got to be made into a movie. A Cajun adventure of the heart, with unsophisticated but never crude characters, and a story about not giving up on love. These characters are real people, middle-aged (like me), who love, sweat, fear, laugh, and connive. Logan is a 40 something widower, and single father, who has turned to the swamp for solace and escape, only to find deliverance of a kind he never expected, nor will you. He is a swamp fox, both agile and deliberate, depending on whether he is dealing with insane, depraved, or violent situations, as the need arises. I loved this book.

Book Description

SPANISH EDITION. Here is a series of weekly meditations for the expectant mother, which includes how the baby is developing at various stages. The mother is encouraged to pray for the child and keep a diary during pregnancy.

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