Danger on Midnight River: World of Adventure Series, Book 6 (World of Adventure)

Customer Reviews:

Danger on midnight river.......2005-12-15

Daniel took last look at his bedroom. He grabbed his suitcase and his sleeping bag his mother work days at the coner cafe in town. it took them a year to save up enough money to send Daniel to Eagle nest in the Premonition Moutains. Daniel didnt want to the camp. His dad died in the Rocky mountains with his uncle smitty. There is a bigstorm while they are driving and the wind almost blew them off the road. Branches clawed at his face. The current yanked his legs under neath the tree. Daniel held on with what strength he had but he kept going and going and he finally made his way up to the tree.

Cameron's Review.......2005-04-08

Have you ever been thrown into a river in a car when it is sinking? Well Daniel has in Danger on Midnight River by Gary Paulson. Daniel is with some of the boys from his school. Although he does not like them, he still helps them on their adventure. If you want to find out if Daniel survives you will have to read the book Danger on Midnight River.
The age group for this book is between 10 & 12. This book is very adventurous, and it is also helpful for camping. One of the weak points in this book is the ending. And one of the strong points is the crash.

Danger on Midnight River.......2002-04-24

Danger on Midnight River by Gary Paulsen is an adventure story. Daniel was a strong swimmer, but the swift-moving current was too much for him. It was all he could do to keep his head above the surging waves. A couple of times he thought he heard someone yelling. But for now he had his own problemes. The river was freezing cold and it offered no way out

Review of Danger On Midnight River.......2002-04-24

Danger On Midnight River by Gary Paulsen is a world of adventure book .
Danger On Midnight River is about when a character named Daniel helps save his worst enemies because they make fun of Daniel. This book is very interesting ,and could probably help you in daily life today. Also, this book made me want to read the next chapter, the next chapter, and the next chapter. So, if you like adventure books, this would be the book for you. Read this book to find out what happens to Daniel and his worst enemies. By: Nicole Smith

Danger on Midnight River.......2002-04-24

I like Danger on Midnight River by Gary Paulsen. It was a good adventure story. I liked it because it was realistic and made me think of my life. You see, Daniel (the main character) did not want to go to camp, but he got in the van anyways. Did Danny end up at camp or did he end up somewhere else? Read this adventure story to find out!

Average customer rating:

Lost in the Dark
Can't get his facts straight
Erratic
Midnight Darkness
Heart of Darkness - Schmart of Darkness

Midnight Sun
Elwood Reid
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0385497369
Release Date: 2000-09-05

Amazon.com

Penzler Pick, September 2000: When the Alaska oil boom was in full swing in the late '60s and early '70s, everyone from college students to drifters found their way up north with dreams of working on the pipeline. The work was grueling, but it was a great way to get rich quick. The boom has ended, but the way of life lingers on for the few unable to give up the life of working for six months before heading south for the rest of the year.

In Midnight Sun, Jack and his buddy, Burke, are two of the guys for whom Alaska still exerts a strong pull. When the book opens, they are building houses on an army base. Jack has worked hauling lumber and honing his carpentry skills to get to the point of what he calls "underwhelming mediocrity." On the weekends he and Burke drive north on roads owned by oil companies or the government and fish for salmon and grayling.

Before Jack heads south to Texas, Burke has one more adventure to propose. An acquaintance of his, Duke, is seriously ill and would like to see his daughter Penny again. She was wooed away by a cult some years before, and Duke will pay Jack and Burke $10,000 to rescue her, but they must trek into the interior to bring her out. Jack reluctantly agrees, and the two men battle the Alaskan wilderness, quite unprepared for the harsh conditions and the wildlife they encounter along the way. When they finally reach the camp and locate Penny, they find that their troubles are just beginning. The group she is with is much more than a new millennium cult, and it will take all of Jack and Burke's mediocre skills to survive and bring Penny home.

Elwood Reid has crafted an adventure thriller that explores a unique aspect of American life. He is a master at conveying a way of life in its death throes, the rootlessness of Jack and Burke, and the tawdriness of a boomtown gone flat. --Otto Penzler

Book Description

Elwood Reid's ferocious story of two tough-talking drifters forced to confront their vulnerability in the Alaskan wilderness cements his reputation as the bard of the working man.

Looking for thrills and some easy money, two itinerant construction workers, Jack and Burke, agree to help a desperate father rescue his daughter from a strange millennial cult for a fee of ten thousand dollars.  Their quest takes them into the most dangerous territory on the continent--the dark woods of Alaska.  Woefully unprepared for the deadly harshness of the land, and dreadfully uninformed as to the pervasiveness of the cult's hold on its members, they quickly descend into a violent struggle for their lives.

Jack and Burke swiftly and excruciatingly learn that their rescue-the-girl mission is anything but a walk in the woods for a large chunk of money.  Face to face with the disfigured cult leader, they discover that the stakes are much higher, involving a deadly grizzly bear and large amounts of newly mined gold.  Jack, initially less confident than the hard-ass Burke, finds himself assuming control of the expedition as they move deeper and deeper into the bush and every decision becomes a question of life or death.

A relentless yet complex tale, Midnight Sun explores how men react to the most extreme conditions and the basest of human behavior--the choices they make when the rules of civilization no longer apply and what, in a world steeped in darkness and isolation, they discover about themselves and one another.

Reviews for his previous books trumpeted Reid's extraordinary ability to portray the lives of working-class men.  In this new novel, Reid takes on a much larger canvas and demonstrates the full extent of his artistic powers.

Customer Reviews:

Lost in the Dark.......2006-06-17

Elwood Reid once lived in Alaska or so says the blurb on the back of the cover. He now lives in New York. This is almost an automatic formula for a "getting away from boring Continental society to the wonderful, unexplored North" novel. And sure enough, Reid gives us a story that sounded better than it really was.

Ignore the dialogue (particularly in the first half of the book) where the two main characters talk like incoherent 12 year olds who have just discovered the "F" word along with big brother's supply of Playboys and weed in the closet. If you make it past the semi-literate conversations, the story picks up. Our heroes -Jack (narrator) and buddy Burke - are drifters who take odd jobs, get drunk, bed anything with a skirt and talk like anarchists from Dumb & Dumber. One day Duke walks up and offers money if they will rescue daughter Penny from a cult deep in mid-Alaska. They head on up after flipping the bird to a former boss - real mature behaviour.

The second half of the book takes place at the camp, a sort of cultish backwoods hippie place where folks live in squalor, work like dogs, screw likie rabbits and have a funny way of running into a ferocious bear when trying to leave. Oh, there is also gold being mined at the camp - an action that has nothing to do with the so-called "philosophy" of the place which seems to be Conquer Your Fears Through Work. The mystery deepens when several members including daughter Penny insist they want to stay. Our heroes get separated and then we discover that Burke is not who he seems and (shock!) has other than altruistic motives in making the journey. The action toward the end raced to a conclusion where all was semi-resolved. You know the end - Penny escapes with Jack who is wiser if not richer for his venture up North.

Can't get his facts straight.......2004-12-06

As an Alaskan, I expect an author writing about Alaska to at least get the details correct. Reid has his protagonists travelling up the Dalton Highway, and then somehow ending up near Circle. A cursory glance at any map of Alaska would indicate that this makes no sense. The book is filled with many errors of this type. Well, at least as far a pg. 40, which is where I gave up on this awful tome.

Erratic.......2002-07-03

This book starts out with great promise only to quickly lose its way. Main character Jack and his buddy Burke, out of work journeyman carpenters, agree to venture to the wildest parts of Alaska to fetch back a daughter from an isolated commune or cult for her dying father. Or so it seems.

Soon enough, Jack can trust no one, and things get chilly. Winter's always looming in this book, and that's handled well by the author, as are the vivid scenery and sounds of a landscape bracing for the cold.

However, for much of the novel the northern camp itself is simply way too big a plot device. So much time is spent in so small a place, it's impossible not to wonder at the obvious: Why can't these people figure out who to trust and who not to? Why is it so hard for Jack to do something, anything? Why isn't the cult leader more convincingly charming or downright nasty? Why can't Jack, just once, wise up that something's rotten in Alaska?

Everything's just too slow, despite some genuinely nice writing. Nature (capital N) has its moments, but it's too clumsy overall to take its own place among the novel's odd playoff-sized roster of characters. Still, it's hard to shake the feeling this is Reid's first real stab at mystery writing, and a couple more tries to work out the kinks of plotting and the need for true suspense and he'll be skating down the river.

Midnight Darkness.......2001-07-13

A riveting read... a cross between "Heart of Darkness" and John Fowles' "The Magus." It captures the feeling of full-time daylight in Alaska in Summer very well, which is a mindframe that is hard to explain if you've never experienced it.

Mike Zinsley, author of The Rapture of the Deep

Heart of Darkness - Schmart of Darkness.......2001-01-09

I'm getting a little tired of hearing people say this is Reid's version of "Heart of Darkness." That implies (at least to me) as if Reid's book is less than Conrad's, when in reality - it is more. It's vibrant, entertaining, realistic.

The only comment I'll have to the negative is that I recently finished Reid's short story collection - What Salmon Know. Reid packs so much energy into those short tales that Midnight Sun is almost a watered down version of Reid at his best, as it would be impossible for him to pack so much power into every line of a book this size.

Book Description

This is a passionate and vivid account of traveling within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest and most pristine wilderness region in the United States.

Customer Reviews:

a passionate plea for wilderness preservation of the ANWR.......2001-06-30

The book jacket states the book is a passionate and vivid account of her trips into the ANWR, and it certainly is that. Having been in many of the same places, and even flown with some of the same people, I can make an immediate connection with her book. This book is a first person account, not a naturalist documentation. Some of her trials and tribulations make for very interesting reading, and makes one glad sometimes that they did not have to trek in some of the places. Her account of some of her hiking in the rugged Romanzof mountains sent chills up my spine. A weakness perhaps is after almost each description, she states what is at risk by allowing drilling. Sometimes that gets in the way of the journey. However, the last section of the book outlines the history of the preservation attempts, and the very real dangers of oil development to such an unspoiled wilderness. This book is a personal account and not a detail as to the intricate inter-relationships among the flora and fauna, and it was not meant to be. I enjoyed the book for what it is, and that is a personal story. I wished she had described in a bit more detail her time in the arctic when the colors started to appear as fall approached. Having been along the Jago River in the 1002 lands at the height of the fall colors, it is something that cannot be imagined in advance. One can never believe such a landscape of apparent green can take on so many colors. A perfect companion book to this would be that of E. C. Pielou, A Naturalists Guide to the Arctic. With Pielou's book, one can gain a fuller understanding of the tricks of light in the arctic, and the interdependency of the animals with the plantlife. Oil company executives will not like this book. Most others will enjoy reading her accounts.

A Remarkable Journey into ANWR.......2001-03-06

I love Debbie Miller's book Midnight Wilderness about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Her journal writings, with detailed land references, eloquently paint a portrait of this pristine area and how unique and beautiful this remote land is. I enjoyed reading about all the animals and birds that live and migrate there every year, and about the people who depend on this area. This book educates us on the oil development controversy and why it is vital we continue to fight in protecting this special land for now and future generations. This book is truly the ultimate reference book for the Arctic Refuge and I highly recommend it to all.

Superb Account of Wilderness Adventure.......2001-03-02

Debbie Miller draws from her journal and from her heart as she recounts her explorations of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the last great wilderness area left in the United States. Few people have actually stepped foot on this northeast corner of Alaska, but by reading the words of Miller, one can be transported to this rare and magical place. The book, written primarily during the 1980s and updated in the current edition, is informative and inspiring. She effectively intersperses relevant historical and scientific facts with her own personal observations and love for the region.

Awe-inspiring account of America's Far North.......2001-01-31

I have just read Midnight Wilderness and found it to be a compelling account of the mystery and majesty of America's Far North. The authors transports the reader to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge enabling our mind's eye to experience vicariously the splendor of its fauna and flora. As I put this book down, I see the awesome Porcupine Caribou herd thundering across the summertime coastal plain, semipalmated sandpipers, musk-oxen, Dall sheep, wolves, Pacific loons, Lapland longspurs, snowy owls, tundra swans, and arctic foxes. Now more clearly than ever before I see the connections between and among the Arctic's wild and pristine physical and living communities. And, I feel compelled as never before to add my voice to those of the many others who understand why this awe-inspiring wilderness that is unequalled anywhere else on earth should be protected and preserved for future generations.

An big disappointment!.......2000-12-23

I am planning a trip to the ANWR Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and I hoped to gain insight about the region from the experiences of another. I expected to read about the wonders of the ANWR. What I found was a book that was full of negative advertisements to save the ANWR. Debbie Miller definitely is passionate about the ANWR and her book is the story of her crusade to save it. When she does tell of her journeys throughout the ANWR her story becomes sidetracked by her save the ANWR chant. The book fell short of my expectations.

Average customer rating:

Annoyingly predictable
Absolutely loved this book and the author
Midnight Sun is a winner
good quick read
1/2 Stars - Good, but Forgettable

Midnight Sun
Kat Martin
Manufacturer: Wheeler Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1587244543

Customer Reviews:

Annoyingly predictable.......2006-01-04

Kat's book could've been A LOT better. I don't know what happened. I wanted to throw this thing away even half way thru the book. It was so annoyingly predictable, I wanted to scream. Hope the others are a Lot better. I couldn't even relate to the characters in this one. This was VERY poorly written; I mean, the ending was the best part cuz the story was over.

Absolutely loved this book and the author.......2005-02-10

This was the first book I read by Kat Martin, but it was not the last. After reading it, almost a year ago, I have purchased almost all of her books. I love the variety of topics and locations she covers in all of her books. This book in particular was nice because it dealt with current day and was believable.

Midnight Sun is a winner.......2003-07-26

Charity Sinclair has decided that she needs to do something anything to bring some excitement into her life. She has had a life long fascination with the Yukon and the Gold Rush Era. Charity buys herself a claim and off to the Yukon she goes. Call Hawkins, her neighbor wants his peace and quiet back. Besides the noise involved with mining for the gold, there is the intense attraction he fells for Charity. Call came to the Yukon to hide from a painful past but Charity is chipping away at the wall he has built around his heart. But there is something sinister from Call's past is making its presence felt. It's threatening their newfound relationship. This book is fast paced, edgy and oh so sexy. Kat Martin has written another wonderful book.

good quick read.......2003-07-04

This was not Kat Martin's best book, but it was entertaining. The plot moved quickly, but at times very predictable. Good for a plane ride, or vacation reading. Easy to put down and come back to later. Worth picking up to read.

1/2 Stars - Good, but Forgettable.......2003-06-18

Really old romance book premise. If you are a fan of Kat Martin, I would read Hot Rain. This is good and entertaining, but it is total mind candy. It goes fast, and you forget it equally quickly. I read this last night, and I already had to review it a bit to remember the plot line.

Charity is bored w/her life, and decides to move to the Yukon to prospect for Gold for 6 mos. She thinks this will give her what she feels she has been missing before she finds the guy to settle down with and have a family. She wants a grand adventure 1st. There is some talk of her 2 sisters looking for the same thing, so we may see their stories in the future.

When she goes to the Yukon, she conveniently bought a plot of land right next to a brooding tall gorgeous guy w/attitude (sound familiar?). Anyway this guy doesn't want her there, but wants her, and also convient, happens to be a retired billionaire. (I really could have handled a millionaire) Of course you can not tell it by the way he lives, he is obviously comfortable, but not to that extent. He is also way moody, (what billionaire isn't) and goes back and forth with the way he feels about Charity.

She is not a wimp, and after finding out that he had sex w/someone before he had her, she makes him sweat it out for 2 weeks, before he get back in her "good graces". Can we say who cares if he got a hummer from someone before they were?

Anyway, it is o.k. KM tries to liven the plot w/a neat little twist of this guy who is trying to kill them, so there are a lot of accidents. Hoky, but a good read. I have not read this much of a romance in awhile, and it was a nice change of pace, but I could not read too many in a row. Overall, this book is a good time filler, and well written.

Average customer rating:

A must own book for every instructor!

An essential book for the dedicated teacher

A must read for any serious Martial Artist

The first book about instruction in martial arts- but...

Informatively instructive & very strongly recomended manual

Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory and Communication Techniques In the Dojo
Lawrence A. Kane
Manufacturer: YMAA Publication Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Martial Arts | Individual Sports | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Physical Education | Education Theory | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School

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Teaching Martial Arts: The Way of the Master

ASIN: 159439024X

Book Description

Incorporates lesson plan development, discusses instructional implications of learning style differences, and demonstrated how to foster an environment conducive to learning.

Customer Reviews:

A must own book for every instructor!.......2007-05-22

I recently had the opportunity to read one of Lawrence A. Kane's books entitled, "Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory and Communication Techniques in the Dojo" and found it to be a fantastic book for anyone involved in the teaching of students and not just those involved in the martial arts. This book is a fantastic source for reference material concerning the art of teaching, and yes, I do feel that teaching is an art form.

The approach Lawrence takes in this book is simple, yet loaded with an abundance of information that shows you various methods that you can easily incorporate into your own particular style of teaching regardless of what the particular subject is. I can almost guarantee you that if you purchase this book and study it for a few weeks, and then start applying the information that you have learned, that you will see a notable improvement in your own teaching ability, while at the same time see a marked improvement in your students.

When I first read this book, I identified with a lot of the mistakes that Lawrence mentioned concerning my own teaching style especially when I first started teaching students a little over 20 years ago. Although it is imperative that we as individuals make our own mistakes, it is not that easy or desirable to make mistakes when you are responsible for the development of another individual. Although Lawrence's focus is on teaching the martial arts, a lot of what he tells you could also be used when teaching your own children. However, you would have to modify your teaching method a bit.

The following is a brief review of each of the six chapters in this book and what there main focus is on.

Chapter One: Understanding Learning Style Differences

In this chapter, Lawrence delves into the different types of personalities that an instructor will undoubtedly find in his students, as well as, how to tailor your teaching style to best suit each individual personality type. He also delves into the use of the five senses in order to enhance your teaching ability so that your students not only retain more information, but also enjoy the lessons being taught.

The five senses are; seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, and smelling. Although it isn't practical to employ the use of all five in every lesson plan, you should try and devise a few that you could use once every month or so. I used a similar approach once teaching a group of law enforcement officers and the response I received was very encouraging. It works so use it.

Chapter Two: Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Tool to Understand Student Predilections

This particular chapter is quite complex, yet Lawrence makes is all seem rather simple with his easy to understand explanation of the various personality types and how they are best suited to learn and retain information. In this section, Lawrence supplies you with some very good resource material to have your own personality tested in order to determine what type of personality you have and what method of teaching is more conducive to your ability to learn.

Chapter 3: Applications of the Six Teaching Styles to Martial Arts

The six teaching styles discussed in this section are; modeling, lecturing, cooperative performance, independent performance, knowledge capture, and role reversal.

Lawrence describes in detail each one of these teaching styles and provides good examples of when to teach that particular method and how to apply it to the teaching of the martial arts.

Chapter 4: Fostering a Positive Learning Environment

In my humble opinion there is one section in this chapter that perhaps says it all when it comes to the ability to teach another person, and that is the attitude of the teacher.

This was the single most important thing that jumped out at me when I read this book. Although there is tons of useful information provided within the pages of this book, none of it is going to be worth the proverbial hill of beans without the proper attitude being displayed by the teacher.

Etiquette or respect for oneself and others is so vitally important not only to the learning environment, but also the living environment where we have to co-exist with so many different people from a vast array of backgrounds and cultures.

Another great subject that Lawrence brings up in this section is the importance of a solid emotional and physical environment in which to teach your students. The one undeniable single factor that is prevalent in everything that Lawrence discusses is the teacher. He or she is the one who will make or break a class and/or the students in it. You can have the most exciting subject and something that you are hugely passionate about become the most boring and painful experience if the teacher is horrible. Or you can take the most boring subject and make it interesting if the teacher is passionate and knowledgeable about how to get his/her information across to the students.

Along with a lot more information on the role of the teacher, Lawrence also spends some time going over some very solid information on how to find the martial art and martial arts school that is best suited for you.

Chapter 5: Developing and Implementing Lesson Plans for the Dojo

This section covers not only how to devise, refine and implement a lesson plan, but also how to adapt when the plan you have is not working. It also covers a lot of really solid information on the martial arts itself and the various nuances that are prevalent within it.
Lawrence also has a lot of really solid useful information concerning the martial arts and their use in a self-defense situation. He gives a couple of really good examples from his own personal experience that shows what may be a preferable way to handle a situation rather than resorting to physical means. Although one must always keep in mind that no two situations are going to be identical and what may work well in one situation may not work well in another.

Chapter 6: Conclusion/Stages of Teaching

This section is rather brief as I am sure the author intended and merely goes over that which he has discussed in the previous chapters. However, there are some very good tidbits of information included here and in the next 40+ pages.

This book, like all of Lawrence's books, is filled with solid useful information concerning whatever subject he has written about. There is much that can be learned from them and I highly recommend that you purchase them and study the information contained in each one of his books.

Shawn Kovacich, martial artist/author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

An essential book for the dedicated teacher.......2006-08-15

A good teacher should also be a good student, if they hope to convey and assist the development of correct principles in others. I believe that pertains not only Martial Arts, but to any aspect of life. The challenge, is understanding that not all students learn, process, or retain information the same way (regardless of age).

Lawrence Kane has created a tool for those serious about imparting knowledge to their students in ways they can understand...and excel. The valuable information in this book is essential to those of us who truly care about what (and who) we teach.

A highly recommended book.

A must read for any serious Martial Artist.......2006-07-08

Excellent, Excellent Book. Great insights for using proven teaching methods and applying it to Martial Arts.
Also other cool stuff!!

The first book about instruction in martial arts- but..........2006-06-29

For me this book is a little too heavy- too scientific - I'm teaching children most of the time - This book will enrich our knowledge beyond instructions - I like this book but I think I need to read and read again to catch the idea and use it in my class.

Informatively instructive & very strongly recomended manual.......2005-02-08

Their are many martial arts books outlining the basics of about any martial art you could wish to learn, but Lawrence A. Kane's Martial Arts Instruction: Applying Educational Theory And Communication Techniques In The Dojo is different from the rest. Lawrence A. Kane is a man who has taught and created martial arts classes and business seminars, and who focuses on the teacher of martial arts as much as the technique. Readers will lern just how to motivate and retain students, optimize time, and adjust to individual learning styles and talents using Martial Arts Instruction: is an informatively instructive and very strongly recomended manual.

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