Rash Books

Succeeding in school is a tough life, there is much to complain about and regret. There is homework and stern teachers that make you stay quiet and still and keep you from enjoying yourself. However, as the stories in this collection demonstrate, sometimes having your complaints answered is as bad as having a genuine Midas touch. Written at the level of the late elementary school student and full of situations that can generate giggles while also being serious, these are modern fables. They point out to young people that you must be careful what you wish for as if it is granted your next wish may be to undo the first one.

Book is outstanding for working with elementary students.
It arrived in perfect condition and in a timely manner.

These are good stories about the classroom at the end of the hall. I enjoyed the characters like the Homework Gnome and Dilly-Dally, the Doodles. It's easy to read and not preachy at all.

Hurrah for another Douglas Evans book about the Classroom at the End of the Hall! These stories are even better than the first. this was the best book I've read this year. My favorite story was The Homework Gnome because I hate homework like Hari. I also thought the Chatterbox was very funny.

Our teacher read us Classroom at the End of the Hall by Douglas Evans which is the prequel to this book. I thought it was very funny, but Math Rashes is even funnier. The students in this book sound like students in my fifth-grade class. I like the Chatterbox, The Pencil Grinder and the Homework Gnome. All teachers should definately read this book their class!

Libraries catering to system administrators will find LINUX FIREWALLS an essential acquisition, discussing the technical aspects of the iptables firewall and Netfilter built into the Linux application. Examples of firewall log analysis, policies, network authorization processes and more compliment chapters that include Perl and C code pieces to help keep a network secure. The result is a fine pick for any programmer's library.

Do you have any familiarity with TCP/IP networking concepts and Linux system administration? If you do, then this book is for you. Author Michael Rash, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that concentrates on network attacks--detecting them and responding to them.

Rash, begins with an introduction to packet filtering with iptables, including kernal build specifics and iptables administration. Then, the author shows the types of attacks that exist in the network layer and what you can do about them. Next, he illustrates classes of application layer attacks that iptables can be made to detect, and introduces you to the iptables string match extension. The author also discusses installation and configuration of psad, and shows you why it is important to listen to the stories that iptables logs have to tell. He continues by introducing you to advanced psad functionality, including integrated passive OS fingerprinting, Snort signature detection via packet headers, verbose status information, and Dshield reporting. Then, the author discusses the culmination of the attack detection and mitigation strategies that are possible with iptables. Next, he compares and contrasts two passive authorization mechanisms: port knocking and SPA. The author continues by showing you how to install and make use of fwknop together with iptables to maintain a default-drop stance against all unauthenicated and unauthorized attempts to connect to your SSH daemon. Finally, the author wraps up with some graphical representations of iptables log data.

This most excellent book takes on a highly applied approach. In other words, after reading this book, you will be armed with a strong working knowledge of how network attacks are detected and dealth with via iptables.

Make no mistake, this book is on what it says it's about "Attack Detection and Response with iptables, psad, and fwsnort" it contains very little information about setting up iptables to block unwanted external traffic.

HOWEVER setting up iptables (in the basic sense) doesn't require an entire book. Sure there are whole books on that topic but there is no need for a 300 page book on it, that just seems to be the size computer books have to be in order to get published. Which means other books on iptables are probably going to about 250 pages of fluff.

Incidentally this book actually only spends about the first 35 pages describing that, the remainder is fantastic, useful, well written information about doing the things that make iptables truly useful. "detection and response" ACTIVELY securing your system.

In addition to being comprehensive and useful this book happens to be well written, far better than most technical books.

If you're thinking about buying a book on Linux firewalls, make it this one, but if you're not already familiar with iptables expect to read the first 35 pages, then a couple online tutorials and then come back to this book.

When I bought "Linux Firewalls" I was expecting a good book because I already knew that the work of Michael Rash is excellent. However, I expected the traditional Iptables handbook that looks more like a "man page". Surprisingly I found that the book was much better than that. Instead of detailing every single feature of the Iptables infrastructure, Michael Rash explains how Iptables can be used as a powerful (and free) Intrusion Detection/Prevention System. To achieve that, Rash presents three open source tools developed by himself: psad, an iptables-based port scan detector, fwsnort, a tool that translates snort rules into iptables sentences, and fwknop, a Port Knocking and SPA authentication system.

The book is very practical. It's amazing how everything is presented so clearly and with such useful examples. The author first introduces the potential threats that are associated with the Network Layer, Transport Layer and Application Layer (I loved those chapters). Then he starts discussing the detection of malicious attackers that try to break into the system. Finally he presents active response mechanisms against attackers and ways to secure the whole system with additional layers of security.

The book is great if what you want is to secure your Linux system using IPtables and the open source tools developed by Rash. Rash is an expert on firewalls and intrusion detection systems. If you follow his suggestions you'll build a very secure system. Firewall enthusiasts and TCP/IP fans will also enjoy reading the book because its written by a geek and its written for geeks. However, if you are looking for an Iptables handbook, you are looking for a theoretical book about Firewalls or you want to use other tools than the ones presented in the book, then "Linux Firewalls" may not be the best option for you.

Disclaimer: I wrote the foreword for this book, so obviously I am biased. However, I am not financially compensated for this book's success.

In the foreword I note that Linux Firewalls is a "great book." As a FreeBSD user, Linux Firewalls is good enough to make me consider using Linux in certain circumstances! Mike's book is exceptionally clear, organized, concise, and actionable. You should be able to read it and implement everything you find by following his examples. You will not only learn tools and techniques, but you will be able to appreciate Mike's keen defensive insights.

The majority of the world's digital security professionals focus on defense, because offense is left to the bad guys, police, and military. I welcome books like Linux Firewalls that bring real defensive tools and techniques to the masses in a form that can be digested and deployed for minimum cost and effort.

One of the main reasons Linux Firewalls is a great book is that Mike Rash is an excellent writer. I've read (or tried to read) plenty of books that seemed to offer helpful content, but the author had no clue how to deliver that content in a readable manner. Linux Firewalls makes learning network security an enjoyable experience. Mike is exceptionally detail-oriented (see the RST vs RST ACK issue on p 63 and elsewhere) and he often cites sources and additional references. Linux Firewalls very nicely integrates sample network traffic to make numerous points; Ch 11 has several great examples. The sections on Fwsnort even improved my understanding of Snort itself.

The bottom line is that if you are a user of non-Microsoft operating systems (Linux, BSD, etc.) and you want to know how Linux can help defend your network, you will enjoy reading Linux Firewalls.

Rash by Pete Hautman is a great futuristic adventure that is impossible to quit reading. In this book the United States government has legislated safety in every aspect of life.

There were so many laws concerning safety that you could not even run track without wearing all kinds of silly pads and liners to prevent scrapes and chafing. You were required to take medicine called Levoular to slow your reflexes and give you more time to think about your actions. Is this what our society will be like one day?

Bo Marsten comes from a family with the genes of a temper problem, and as you can imagine it would be very hard to live in an environment like this with this kind of problem. Because of various events involving him getting in trouble he is forced to work at a Mc Donald's Pizza factory in Canada (which has now been annexed by the country) instead of going to prison.

While at the factory he made the Goldshirts football team. Now it is illegal to play football. There is no way for him to back out of playing but why would he want to? There is no way to get caught, because the head of the factory started up the team. And players also get some extra privileges. This is a funny part about the book and a great reason to read it.

One of the really amusing parts of the story is when the factory head, also the coach, talks about "destroying" the Red shirt team at the rival Coca Cola plant nearby. He says this so many times that it reminds you how opposite from society this guy really is. Beside from being in a jail kind of environment this sounds like a very fun place to be, if you were a Goldshirt. Although Bo was a Goldshirt he still wanted to find a way back to his old life.

Read the book to find out what happens next. Why would anybody not want to read this book? It is full of entertainment, funny, not hard to read, and a taste of hopefully what our future will not be.

Dystopia. It's the opposite of Utopia. It's a futuristic world where best intentions bring horrific results. And our protagonist, Bo Marsten, is stuck in one in the year 2074 in a country called the United Safer States of America (USSA), where just about everything with a whiff of danger is illegal.

But don't be fooled, especially if you are a teenage boy who likes football better than reading. This is really a football book, plain and simple, because football is illegal in the USSA, and when Bo gets sent to prison in the Canadian tundra for his violent temper (punching high school classmates -- not to mention calling them names -- is illegal, you see), he winds up on the warden's special "gold shirts" football team.

Turns out, Bo Marsten likes football. He likes hitting and running like the wind to avoid GETTING hit. The wrinkle here is that the football field at his prison is fenced in so that the polar bears of the tundra don't get in, and if the ball goes over the fence, then you have to go get it -- before the bear gets you, that is.

RASH is a bit predictable, but this is a small matter considering its strength is its fast-paced plot tailor-made for reluctant reading boys who love sports (and especially football). The heart of the book is the middle section, at the tundra prison, where you will meet wonderful characters like the warden, Elwin Hammer, a beefy menace who calls his charges "nails" (to be hammered into place if they act up, you see). Then there's Bo's 300-pound roomie, Rhino. His special play is the "nose dozer," where you give Rhino the ball and let him slowly gain momentum while opposing players try to tackle him. Lastly, there are the Bears. And I don't mean the kind from Chicago.

The beginning high school scenes and the anti-climactic final section are not as thrilling as the heart of the book, but that won't deter young readers. Trust me when I say that there's less "rash" and more "dash" to this book -- as in, the dash of a fullback heading upfield for a touchdown while an opposing prison football team gives pursuit. If you're a boy who likes football, check this book out. If you're a parent or teacher of a boy who likes football (but not reading so much), check this book out FOR him. You (and he) won't be disappointed.

this was a great book it's funny to hear an idea of what the future will be like and what the people living in the future think of our lives right now. Great book by Pete hautman looking foward to reading more of his books

Hautman's Godless remains one of my favorite teen books, and this one is almost as good. Like many other great science fiction novels, this is social commentary in disguise: Hautman conjures up a sinister future world that has taken some of our current obsessions to extremes, yielding nightmarish results. While I usually think the age recommendations for fiction are too low, the recommendation for this one is too high: middle schoolers will enjoy this book too.

Bo Marsten is living in the tail end of this century in the "USSA", a place where beer and french fries are outlawed, a good percent of the population is on a Ritalin-like drug, sports can only be played with maximum protective clothing, and manual labor is performed by people arrested for "rage" crimes. Bo's speech and action will seem like a normal teen's to the reader, but he winds up incarcerated for fighting with a classmate over a girl (using his fists, not weapons). He is placed in a work camp run by McDonald's and set in the frigid wilds of Canada. Like "Holes," the wardens are corrupt, the other inmates aggressive, and the environment punishing. Bo manages to become part of an elite group of boys who play football, the old-fashioned kind that is outlawed in the rest of the country. Meanwhile, an A1 program that Bo created in school has mutated and acquired a "life" of its own. The creation, called a web ghost, may just be able to spring Bo from his sentence early.

The book is an original, thought-provoking read. Just a decade ago, kids didn't wear bicycle helmets; could mandatory law be possible in the future? The only flaw is that apart from Bo and the A1, there is minimal character development. In "Holes" the relationship between Stanley and Zero helped give Stanley's character more depth. I also wanted more backstory on Bo. Had he really always had a bad temper, or did it develop when he became a teenager? Did the government/school do other things besides prescribe meds for people who were potential discipline problems?
How did he deal with his father leaving the first time? But I guess those questions were outside the scope of the book.

Ron Rash's Raising the Dead focuses on the theme of loss, both on a personal and on a community wide scale. The poems read like chapters within a longer work of fiction, telling the story of the Jocassee Valley community which is set to be flooded by the power company. These poems deal with the land itself, the connection of the people to their homes, and with the horrible situation of having to "raise the dead" from their original graves to relocate them before the valley is completely flooded. These poems are haunting and wonderfully written, but the most powerful poems in the collection deal with Rash's own personal grief over the death of his cousin. These bittersweet poems simultaneously reminisce about carefree days spent with his cousin and mourn his loss. I am sure that everyone who reads this collection will find at least one poem they cannot forget; for me, that poem is "The Debt." My first reading of this poem brought me to tears, and I am still haunted by the imagery and emotion bound within its slight 20-line frame. Focusing on Rash's aunt and uncle as they select the coffin for their son's funeral, this poem chronicles the sacrifices parents make for their children. One of the most heartbreaking things anyone can imagine is the death of a child, and the willingness of this couple to break their backs in their fields for years to pay for the best possible coffin for their son is an amazing testimony to love which knows no bounds. Rash is an amazing author, whether he is writing fiction or poetry. His ability to focus on complex emotions within the tight confines of his favored seven-syllable line poetry makes him a true master of his craft. Although largely defined as an Appalachian author, this collection of Rash's poetry speaks to everyone who has experienced loss and is truly a treasure of modern poetry.

Ron Rash crafts his work carefully, and a tight, lyric rhythm is the result. Each poem is a masterpiece and rings with honesty and clarity. Because he is a poet, Rash's prose also rings with a rhythmic lilt. He is a fantastic writer, whatever genre of his you choose to read. Gathering Stones

Ron Rash is an up-and-coming Southern writer. Content and language captures the South of today and yesterday. Quick reading with both the humorous and serious mixed in such a fashion that the reader wants to get to the next page, the next scenerio, the outcome. I have several of his works and they are all terrific.

Raising the Dead, Ron Rash

This book, both inside and out, is a work of art, equal to and even surpassing the others Iris has done. I opened it as soon as it arrived, knowing Ron Rash and Iris and knowing that this would be a once-in-a lifetime experience, and it was--and is.
To begin with, the book is physically beautiful, the cover design an invitation, even an enticement into the poems themselves. After reading the poems, one is drawn back to the cover, realizing the profound implications of the photo. Even the colors chosen complement the content of the book.
Ron's poems are so provocative and so keenly crafted that one reading is never enough. The images are so strong that they take the reader by the throat and heart right through the experience and emotion of the poem, and then the image echoes like a song repeating and repeating itself both awake and in dreams. I will never get over "Under Jocassee" and "Whippoorwill" and "Speckled Trout" and "Brightleaf" and "At Reid Hartley's Junkyard" and ....
Ron's poems are so moving that one can read only one or two poems at a time. Almost every piece is so rich with implication and surprise that it's like reading a powerful short story, like having lightning strike right in your own backyard.
I will be using many of the poems in Raising the Dead not only in poetry workshops as examples of the BEST in contemporary poetry but also in my bereavement counseling and medical ethics group sessions.
Wow! What a treasure!
In short, this book not only enriches but deeply affects--changes--the reader's life. What more could a poet or a publisher or a reader desire?

In RAISING THE DEAD, Ron Rash not only raises the bar for himself but also for anyone else that chooses to write Appalachain-based verse. As in AMONG THE BELIEVERS, this poet demonstrates an uncanny ability to create rhythmic short lines (seven syllables).

Rash closes a poem as well as anyone writing today. As a result, the ghosts in these poems, of the Jocassee Valley and its aqua-burial and of the revisited ancestors and historical figures will haunt the reader beyond the pages of the book.

Finally, what sets Rash apart from many of his contemporaries is his ability to recognize and to develop valid poetic topics. There is nothing superficial, superfluous, or forced in the pages of this volume. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is a FANTASTIC children's book (easily the most creative ABC book I've ever run across)! The rhymes are funny and well thought out, and the illustrations have an amazing retro spy feel. This book is dark and funny at the same time, and the illustrations are worth a long second look. I can't wait to read this book to a storytime group!!

I am *not* Andy Rash's cousin or any relation at all, but I *still* think his latest book is an absolute delight! I have a professional review posted at www.planetesme.com/dontmiss.html, but I wanted to say from a personal perspective, when I read this book aloud in the classroom, every turned page was met with laughter, groans of "cooool!" and plenty of "Wow!" The artwork is so hip and the rhymes are really creative. Even though the theme is action-packed, the level of violence stays PG. The spy dance party at the end complete with fedora-wearing record-scratching DJ was a HOOT! When I was done sharing the book with classes, boys dove after my copy like tigers on a t-bone. This book taps into what kids want to read here and now, with a finger on the pulse of the reluctant reader. It is my own son's new favorite book. If your family enjoys The Spy Kids movies, Rocky and Bullwinkle or any of the Pink Panther stuff, you've got to add this title to your shelves! I also love Andy Rash's collection of subversive verse _The Robots are Coming_, which has become one of our standard gifts for boys turning eight. Can't to see what this offbeat talent will offer up next!

Okay, I'll 'fess up -- I might be slightly biased because Andy's my cousin. Nepotism aside, this is just a great book. It's funny in the same way Andy is and engages the reader in the story. The illustrations are amazing and perfectly suited to the text. Although now he's all grown up, as they say, Andy still has the ability to see life through the eyes of a child, and his work always connects with children and adults alike. Great job, "cuz".

The images are fantastic and the agent rhymes are the perfect mix of humor and wit so both kids and adults will love this book. I loved turning each page to see what the next agent was up to! I'm buying this book for all my little cousins.

I bought this book without realizing it was a book of poetry. I then compounded my error by taking it on vacation with me. When I opened it and found it was poetry, I thought the start of my vacation was ruined.

Until now, I've avoided poetry like the plague, but when I gave in and forced myself to read it I was moved, touched, and taught by Rash's great poems. Not a bad one in the bunch.

I really, really look forward to reading the two other books I bought of his at the same time: Chemistry and Other Stories and a novel, The World Made Straight.

Even if you think you don't like poetry, you'll love this book.

Wayland Stallard

This chilling collection of poems takes us back to a wonderful place. A childhood of mill houses, cotton fields,and cotton mills. A place where a man would burn his lungs and lose his soul. These tragic poems by my boyhood friend Ron Rash allow me to see where I came from and how far I have to go.I encourage everyone with a soul to buy this book..

Ron Rash has invoked the memories of my childhood, the town I left so long ago, and the memories of friends and their families. I was immediately transported to the envrirons of Chester, SC and put in touch with the people I knew growing up.

If you grew up in any one of the small southern mill villages, this book will be your transportation to the past. If you were not so fortunate, this book will paint you an accurate portrait of the times and people.

For the uninitiated, "Eureka" is pronounced you-RICK-er (accent on the middle syllable)or, at least that's how my Daddy (Southerners of my generatuion always call their male parent Daddy)always pronounced it,

Congratulations Ron, you have a winner!

Rash's work really deserves a larger audience. He has a command of language and image sadly lacking in too many contemporary poets, and he has a compassion for his subject matter that is even rarer.

Rash's work is neither too personal nor esoteric. He is concerned with recording, in verse, the lives of men and women who would otherwise be forgotten. His subject matter is COMMUNITY, as one would expect from a Southerner. In this case he writes of the Carolina millworkers in the early part of the twenthieth century who literally turned their lives off to the cotton mill bosses and submitted themselves to lives of heat, early hours, drunken sprees, boredom, and lint-inflicted disease and death.

In many ways EUREKA MILL is a novel in verse. Rash certainly has a novelist's eye for detail, nuance, characterization, and place. And there are also great affinities to the Twelve Southerner's I'LL TAKE MY STAND. EUREKA MILL provides a kind of verse correlative for the essays in that classic work. Mass industrialism has forced people off the land and out of the lives they have known for generations and has left them with...what? Alienation, bitterness, and early death.

A powerful volume, worthy of a wider readership.

I picked this book up and could not put it down. I read almost all types of books. Mysteries are my favorite. This book combines romance, mystery and keeps you up until your eyes cross and you have to go to sleep, but first thing in the morning pick it up and start reading again. I can't wait for the sequel.

I confess that I have not read this book - BUT FULLY INTEND TO! I just want to express my admiration for this author who took some writing classes as a "senior citizen" and then wrote this book as a result. She is certainly an inspiration.

Ms. Fleming did a wonderful job in writing "The Pink Irish Rose" It was solid storytelling with compelling characters. Her characters set your pulses pounding with her tales of true love and grand adventure. It is a classic story of alluring love in the mountains of North Carolina. I've been to North Carolina, and as I was reading the book, I could picture myself in the adventure. I had a hard time putting the book down. I couldn't wait to finish it. Looking forward to reading more of her books.

I tend to not like romance novels because they are usually the same format with no real substance. However this author really gives you some things to think about as she unfolds the story. The issues addressed in it's pages are relevant and common, but not addressed by many of her contemporaries. And while the twists are alluded to throughout the book they are not completely given away. This is a terrific book to unwind with yet not disconnect your brain from.

This book will inspire any resident of the nation's capital to see what they've missed. If you've seen it all, this can only enrich your experiences.

I loved this book. I live in Washington half of the year and this book was great on telling you the things that make DC what it is. It is a short read and I suggest to anyone who like those story behind the scene.

A book for the people who live in the Washington, DC area and want to see the city from a new and funny angle. Great book to give to history buffs.

You can buy and read all the other cartoon collectible toy books ever published, but you won't find as many characters or as many figural toys represented in this guide. It is an excellent collection of so many obscure characters, as well as all the major ones. If you collect cartoon toys, especially figural ones, don't pass this one up. It also includes nearly every vinyl figure the company Dakin has every produced. A must for the Dakin collector.

Somebody needs to get the word out about this book. Rash, who is also a fine poet, now establishes himself as one of the best new southern fiction writers. Rising to the top in this crowded field is not such an easy task, but this collection of heartfelt, challenging and sometimes disturbing stories should be the drawstring that brings his star up from the well.

Imaginative and yet often grimly realistic, stories like "Dangerous Love" where a young woman falls in love with a carnival knife thrower and "Overtime" where David Thompson makes a tragic appearance as "Cedric" are sure to move the reader.

The fact that Rash has in his life straddled the line between his blue collar roots and his academic destiny is clear in this work. While some of the writing might remind one of Larry Brown, the physical violence of Brown's work is substituted for here by a more subtle violence of the heart. I highly recommend this collection and look forward to whatever might be next.