Books with author R. P. Harris

A vicious murder. A fearsome suspect. A deadly conspiracy. They did not count on the Shadow Wolf.Ragnar Skyggesson, called Grimfang, is both an exile and one of the legendary Twiceborn. After the grave spit him out, he found himself alone and adrift, a man without honour or purpose. He plumbed the depths of his character in a city famed for depravity and greed until a good friend helped him find his way again. Now, that woman needs his help; there has been a murder, a slow and vicious affair, and all signs point to an Assassin. There is no one else willing to face such a deadly foe, no one else to champion the dead, none save Grimfang, who fears not the Nightblades.But in the city of Myrrhn nothing is ever as it seems. There are few innocents in a place where everything is for sale, and even fewer peaceful endings.Come ruin! Come glory! Come courage and red joy. THE WOLF-TIME IS NOW!

There is simply no other book like this one on the market. One reason may be that a market scarcely exists for the secrets that baseball’s greatest hitters (or “strikers,” or “stickers”) brought to their craft over a century ago. Like other sports, and like our culture generally, baseball coaches and gurus have invested heavily in the notion of progress. Today is better than yesterday (goes the dogma) in every way, thanks to technology, training, and medical advances. A lot of that notion is true: some of it is bunk.“Players are stronger and healthier today.” True; so why do they strike out one out of every three trips to the plate? “Because pitchers are throwing much harder.” Generally speaking, yes; but the mound is also lower, the hitting background is better, batters wear helmets and body armor, and a zero-tolerance exists for knockdown pitches. Tris Speaker fanned 13 times in 674 plate appearances during the 1920 campaign while batting .388 and leading the league (for the fifth of eight seasons) with 50 doubles. Who performs at that rate today, even in Little League?John Harris believes in the value of historical research and scientific method—and he also entertains a skepticism of our blind, arrogant faith in the present’s superiority to the past. Convinced that yesteryear’s batsmen must have done at least some things better (precisely because they amassed such dazzling numbers while being less healthy and less tutored), he has invested years in reverse-engineering the swing that preceded Babe Ruth and the “live ball.” No single type of swing existed back then, it turns out; in fact, hitting featured a vast diversity of styles compared to the modern game. Nevertheless, certain tendencies can be isolated (front-foot hitting, shifting in the box, choking and hand-spreading, etc.). To judge by casual explanations offered of (for instance) the Georgia Peach's three-inch hand spread, today’s color commentators and technical analysts haven’t a clue about what was going on with Ty Cobb or Honus Wagner. As for baseball historians, they can tell you about Ed Delahanty’s drinking problem or Fred Clarke’s eye for the girls... but most of them have no interest whatever in how their subject gripped a bat.Dr. Harris corrects many such oversights, insofar as is humanly possibly over a century later and with little more than grainy still photos to go on. True students of the game will be shocked--and perhaps delighted--by how many potentially game-changing tips he has managed to uncover for the next generation of hitters... if any risk-takers emerge among the crop, that is.

Writing 'The Wanderer' was the most fun I've had writing a children's book. Living in several different countries and visiting many more has helped mold a more universal perspective that I hope will be visible in the writing. Hopefully you will enjoy not only the new direction of the poems, but the new illustrations as well. Thanks again for your support!

To be wanted . . . In the backwoods of the Okefenokee swamp lies an unmapped and isolated island named by the superstitious peoples who first settled there. Now Heks Island is populated by a community of social outcasts , independent thinkers, and others with a reason for disdaining society in early 1900’s. Sixteen years ago a very young mother moved away leaving one newborn twin with Dr. Ben Bouvier, and Lena is left to wonder why her mother abandoned her. In her quest to overcome hex-induced blindness, Lena must develop her wiccan skills while she seeks to find her mother, for only magick, love and forgiveness will allow her to regain her sightA similarly orphaned bobcat acting as her advisor and seeing Guide, as well as newfound love and a mysterious traveling evangelist, combine for an adventure that results in so much more than Lena ever bargained for.

Golf is fun but what is really fun is to hear kids laugh out loud as you share with them a hardheaded golf ball's story. This may be the funniest golf book ever written and that is the unbiased opinion of the author. It is not a one-time read. Children love it so much that it will become their favorite golf book and more than likely want you to say the "Chip words" the next time you take them to driving range. Share it and make some happy memories. It is also a great gift idea for that frustrated golfer who needs a little help keeping golf fun.