award-winning social issues columnist, author of 16 books, university professor of journalism
<p>When Jessica Bryant pesters her wealthy parents to allow her to have a dog as a pet, the answer is a resounding "No"; but they soon come to regret their decision when thier home is broken into one evening whilst they are out and their daughter kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers, in the form of four seedy and incompetent characters wearing Disneyland-type masks, take her hostage and keep her incarcerated in a place from which there appears to be no escape. However, they reckon without the resourcefulness of our heroine, and the courage of a wonderful stray dog who comes to her aid and whom she names 'Murdo'. And so begins an exciting and humurous accounting of the couples' adventures together as they consistently foil and outwit the abductors whilst on the run together.<br /> This is a lovely story of the friendship between a girl and a dog, bringing out themes of responsibility, camaraderie, redemption, salvation and self-sacrifice. It includes some wonderful dialogue sequences as Jessica teaches her new four-legged friend how to communicate with her, with additional delightful conversations between the animals when a rabbit and a sparrow join forces with them in an effort to outwit the kidnappers and restore Jessica safely back to her parents' home. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in -.5in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><strong><span style="font-size:12.5pt;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span> </span></span></strong><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#0000FF;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Outrageous and irreverent, but always on target. Better than most of what passes as commentary in the daily press.” </span><em><span style="color:#0000FF;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><font size="3">—Donald Bird, professor and former chair, journalism, Long Island University</font></span></em></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#0000FF;font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#339966;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Insightful, readable and tightly written.” </span><span style="color:#339966;font-family:'Times New Roman';"><font size="3">—<em>R. Thomas Berner, professor emeritus and former journalism head, Penn State</em></font></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;font-family:Verdana;"></span></p><p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#993366;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Walter Brasch is both refreshingly irreverent and irreverently fresh. Little escapes his attention. This is a book about the media, politics, government, war, political incorrectness, religion, the injustice system, the health industry and other corporations, Miss America and, yes, sex and beer. He ties these subjects together under a double-barreled heading of the foibles and strengths of American society. His approach is both biting criticism and healthy respect, both creative imagination and deep understanding. Most of all, <em>Sex and the Single Beer Can </em>is a plea for a better media and a better place in which to live. . . . Because it is broad in its scope, it’s also suitable for a variety of journalism/mass communication classes either as a primary or secondary text. It could add important perspectives to classes in ethics, media management, media economics, media and society, media criticism and a variety of other subjects of journalistic interest.” </span><font size="3"><span>—<em>Ralph Izard, former associate dean, Manship School of Journalism, Louisiana State University; professor emeritus and former director, Scripps School of Journalism, The Ohio University<br /></em></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Verdana;"><font color="#000000"><span> </span><span> </span></font></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><span style="font-size:12.5pt;color:#FF0000;font-family:'Times New Roman';">“Effective and powerful. In Dave Barryesque fashion, Brasch weaves sights, sounds, feelings, and attitudes into clever, playful, entertaining essays. Brasch provides an excellent guide for students trying to learn the art of writing. For a teacher, this collection offers models of tone, dialogue, description, narrative voice, and point of view.”—<em> Beverley Pitts, president, University of Indianapolis; forrmer provost and professor of journalism, Ball State University</em></span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><br /></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt -.25in;"><strong><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:Verdana;"></span></strong></p><p><br /> </p>