Guess I have to do some more research!

Cyril: It's some time since I downloaded the database, and I can't remember all the details. I think it's in UTF-8 format.

I have just downloaded the database onto my Windows machine (sorry, no Unix, nor MySQL) intending to load it into Paradox. I found a lot of (to me) strange character combinations, standing for accented characters, etc. I have laboriously converted them -- except for the '%%' in the Notes file -- but I wondered if there was some standard conversion routine that would work in Windows?

Second question - What should I do about errors which I find?

Cyril

Has anyone got admin rights to delete the link spams, or to add some way to block the posting of them?

The mysql database dump worked nicely, after a minor change to the create table statement for the version I was using (4.0.15 I think) for linux.

Nice work with that!

Hello, perhaps I'm being blind, but I cannot seem to figure out a way to get the numbers of SF books published in a particular year. I'm trying to get this information so I can see how well it correlates with Worldcon attendance since 1950. The quick search by year does give the number of matches and I could use the advanced search and then count the number of results, but both seem to be less than ideal.

Mishalak
at gmail and elsewhere.

Let me introduce a resource that you all may be interested in. But first let try to establish some credibility. I work in the Office of Research of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, inc. You can check us out at : www.oclc.org. Some of you may actually work for us, as there are many Sci Fi readers in our organization. If you go to the site you'll see we are a non profit, you can also check us out on Wikipedia, or Google.

The resource I'm hoping you'll check out is called FictionFinder and can be found at http://fictionfinder.oclc.org . What you see there is the splash page with Alice. go in and try it out. A new interface is about to be installed in the next week or so, so your experience may vary. Also note that this is a prototype system and may or may not be up, although availability has been good.

Note also that we are currently only providing access to books/printed material at this point. Let me know what you think at thompson@oclc.org

Eric,

"The Postman" is definitely not the other book I was thinking of. It could be the one from Nourse, "The Fourth Horseman", although I can't seem to find a synopsis of the book anywhere.

Does the cornucopia of knowledge known as Sally know the synopsis, or where to get it, or by chance have the book? ::grin::

The Barnes and Noble website has a fairly decent browsing function, but it's still somewhat difficult to narrow down to what you're really looking for. I'll see if I can't do a bit more research myself now that I've got a starting point.

Jeff

The Missuz -- or Sally, as she likes to be known -- thinks the other book might be "The Fourth Horseman" by Alan E. Nourse.

"The Postman" might also qualify, if I recall your earlier message correctly. The disease was a bio-weapon, or a bio-weapon made people susceptible to disease, or a bio-weapon made people susceptible to a bio-weapon disease, or ... (Guess you're not the only one who needs to re-read books from years ago.)

Is there a list of post-apocalypse SF books somewhere? There used to be a collection of such lists -- alternate history, time travel, etc. -- but I don't recall where it was or what it was called.

I guess you could give google a list of titles in a category, and see what pages turn up with all of them. At least some of them will be lists of books in that category, right? -Eric

I think that's the book! I believe I might have been mixing up another book's plot with this one, as far as some sort of plague is concerned. Hmmm, wonder what book that was?! ::grin::

In any case, thanks Rick, Eric and the missuz for the help, much appreciated!

Jeff

Here's what my wife found. Could this be it? -Eric

Wolf and Iron by Gordon R. Dickson

Review by School Library Journal
The U. S. has been devastated by worldwide financial collapse. Civilization as readers know it has disappeared. Marauding bands are terrorizing the countryside, killing and looting. Jeremy Bellamy Walthers' goal is to cross 2,000 miles of ravaged countryside to reach the security of his brother's Montana ranch. En route he befriends a wolf who becomes a partner and companion via verbal and nonverbal communication. The story deals with Jeremy's interaction with the wolf and the other human survivors of the economic collapse. Dickson has created another superior novel; it's colorful, well written, and peopled with well-developed, multidimensional characters. The wolf is especially fascinating. YAs who have cut their teeth on such works as George's Julie of the Wolves (Harper, 1972) or Mowatt's Never Cry Wolf (Little, 1963) will enjoy this survival story in sci/fi clothing. --John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Review: Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

It could be -- if I'm remembering the title right -- "Wolf and Iron". Or something like that. Been a while since I read it, and I don't recall the author. Someone who has been well-known for quite a while, but I'm drawing a blank on who. Probably not Poul Anderson, but someone of that generation, or a bit younger.

I'll check with The Missuz, and see if she remembers it better than I do. Maybe she can give and/or correct the details, so you have something useful to go by.