Jan Adkins

As did Mr. Adkins himself, the hero works for the National Geographic magazine as an art director. An article he is working on about powerful defense systems leads to murder and danger to people near him. Fortunately he has a longstanding friend from the KGB to help him as he battles foes who may or may not be part of our government. There is a sex scene, which I guess is there to show that he can write one. One sentence was amusing; other than that, it seemed unnecessary. There are some interesting ways to kill people.
I'm a big fan of his picture books, which end up in the children's section of libraries, but can be appreciated even more by adults.… (more)

While the dust cover has the subheading "a primer of woodcraft," the title page doesn't. As the first words show, this is not a book written for preschoolers, although I first saw this book in the children's section of my local public library.
The main text in a largish serif font introduces the topic, while a smaller, italicized san-serif font goes into more detail and explains how to use the hand tools of a toolchest.

While there is much to learn and be impressed by in the body of the book, what I remembered most was the beginning page where you could write your name: it had the quote from Hamlet---"I am but mad north-north-west; when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw."---with a picture of saw with a hawk-like handle. Not remembering who the author was, it took me years to find a copy of the book.… (more)

Drawings and descriptions of big trucks and other heavy equipment. The final page warns that these machines "can be dangerous as well as wonderful . . . it depends on the men and women who use them. If the people who use them are quick and greedy, the big machines will destroy. If the people are patient and thoughtful, the machines will build. Heavy equipment has no mind of its own."

The concluding message is similar to my understanding of what Norbert Wiener said in God and Golem about people being ultimately responsible for the actions of the machines they create.… (more)