LeVar Burton Books

This book enlightened me and really got to me, much more than I expected. I was delighted to read about the life of a 102-year old african american man from the south, as I am a 30-something white woman from MT. He has a lot to teach us, and a lot to remind us of and has a way of doing so that makes us thankful for what we have. George Dawson is a gem and I am pleased that someone took the time to put his story on paper. What a great book!

Even though this book was published six years ago, the message of "Life is so good" is timeless. It is a window into a world that we are all a part of, but some of us rarely see. Truly memorable! Dawson sees literacy as an incredible gift and he in turn gives the reader numerous ones in return.

Richard Glaubman's "Life Is So Good" is a real comeuppance for anyone whose outlook towards life runs along the lines of "I wish I had done X, but I'm too old to start now." Here's a man, George Dawson, who learned how to read at age 98. As a USA Today review aptly summarizes, "Dawson has become a literary hero, a testament to the power of perseverance." First-time author Glaubman expertly fleshes out Larry Bingham's award-winning 1998 Fort Worth Star-Telegram short story.

Dawson's tales of life in the Jim Crow-era South, his unquenchable work ethic, and his travels throughout North America make for compelling reading. Here is a man who was never given a shot to read when he was younger - economic circumstances forced him into full-time manual labor at a very early age. Despite significant hardship, his optimism and sense of self-worth never waver. The title really sums it up well here. Glaubman's final words from Dawson are "Life is so good and it gets better every day."

As other reviewers have noted, Chapter 1 of this book could stand alone as among the best short stories you'll ever read.

I like the memoir because George Dawson never gave up his dream to read and write. George was born in the late 1800's. His parents were not slaves, but his grandparents were once slaves. George was raised in Texas. His family was poor, and he never attended school. Georges started working at a very young age, drawing water from the well each morning for the house. George worked alongside his father in the fields. The work was hard, so was their life. They had to watch what they said and went in fear of the K.K.K. Twelve year old George went to work, and stayed with a white family to help out at home. His cousins came to live with his family because their parents died, so George was needed at home. George left home at twenty-one and worked in Tennessee building levees. It was two years before he returned back home.

Life is So Good is a story about George Dawson's dreams of receiving mail, learning to read and write at the age of ninety-eight, and his work ethic. I can relate to George's hard work and his work ethic. I beleive in hard work and doing it right the first time.

This book is sad and tells of struggles he had to go through. It is not easy reading at first because the chapters jumped around. But overall, it is a good book to read.

"Life is good just like it is"(233). "Don't worry about what someone else thinks. Just do the right thing and take pride in yourself"(214). The owner of this optimistic way of thinking toward life was George Dawson, the grandson of an African American slave, who worked hard his whole life but was illiterate until he turned 98 years old. From the time George Dawson was a young boy, he learned the importance of hard work from his father and gave up going to school to help raise his younger siblings since he was the oldest son of five children. Dawson felt that school was only for children, and he was never aware of adult education classes until he attended an ABE (Adult Basic Education) program. He was ashamed of his illiteracy, but no one around him knew it, not even his children, until Dawson told them. When signing a sheet, he had to mark his name with an X.

Dawson grew up in South, Texas, where there was a prevalence of strong racial discrimination. As a grandson of an African American slave, he suffered social injustices his whole life, including racism and poverty, but his cheerful view of life was the key to his mental and physical health. Dawson's wholesome life philosophy despite a racist society was transmitted to him from his father who taught him how to get along or deal with white people without friction; this was a realistic and functional survival skill. However, throughout the book, strong racism was well represented in every story and left me feeling sad and angry.

Nevertheless, their family worked hard so they could make enough to feed the family. Moreover, he left home to travel and work for about nine years here and there, not only inside the USA, but also in Canada and Mexico. These experiences away from home let him become acquainted with the ways of the world. During his lifetime, Dawson did not waste his time and tried as best as he could in any situation and he did not lose his warm heart nor fall into any misbehaviors under difficult circumstances.

He married four times and had seven children, but he sent all his children to college; for his life, he had always valued the importance of education. He had lived in three different centuries, from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century. His life's journey in education as a member of the labor class and minority is a prime example of the American history of adult education in the 20th century. Interestingly, he traced back in memory to important social events or movements by looking at old photos or listening to past historical stories. Because he could not read the newspaper, he received the news from other people or the radio. His excellent memory enabled him to become literate in an ABE program at the age of 98 years old.

All through the book, I learned many actual philosophies of life. I thought that every ethnic group has its own specific life style, but I am reminded that the basic philosophy of life is not different between different races or classes; Dawson said that "...Every colored man had the same talk with his children: how to get along, how to survive in this world" (202). His philosophy was that, "A man is born to die. You got to keep that in mind and don't do no wrong" (257). This thinking was not new, but hearing these advices have produced a profound sense of meaning for me. He also said that, "You have no right to judge another human being,"(12) and "People forget that a picture ain't made from just one color. Life ain't all good or all bad"(233). He did not complain toward social injustices but kept his composure illustrated by his ability to keep calm. For example, when he was gardening for a white woman, he refused to eat a meal she served when he discovered she provided the same food to her dog.

However, I think that many parts of his optimistic perspectives towards social inequality were influenced by his illiteracy and non formal educational background. Without education, he was unable to articulate his human rights and desire for social reform. Criticisms directed towards social injustice were out of his realm of concern.
"I want for people not to worry so much. Life ain't going to be perfect, but things will work out" (246). "I guess the heat doesn't bother you people. You're fortunate that you can just keep working"(209). These positive thoughts were the cause of his long life; this book was published when he was 101 years old.

The school started at nine, but he got up by five-thirty and made his lunch, packed his books, and went over his schoolwork. He had always gone to school early and had not ever been late for three years since he began to attend the adult education program. When he turned one hundred years old, Dawson could read on a third-grade level.
I would definitely recommend this great book for any student over ten-year old children to let them know the importance of education, the value of literacy, and the sadness of a distorted social and racist environment. I also would like to recommend it to older generations who have been afraid of learning something at their age. I already handed this book to my teen-aged child with a brief explanation.

Those of us who are literate and highly educated people do not know the difficulties of illiteracy, but it is a shameful secret for many illiterate people. I think that illiteracy is mentally as debilitating as poverty. As a non-native English speaker, I have a similar sense of shame in many situations as Dawson might have had; this feeling is well synthesized into the story. This easy to read, meaningful, and impressive book kept me reading non-stop from the beginning to the end.
"Life is so good and it gets better every day" (260). I always would like to remember this philosophy of life.

After reading several excellent reviews of this book, I purchased it for
my nepbew's birthday. I have not read the book myself since I lived through that period.

It was a year of Fire and also the year of Grace for Jackie Robinson!! It is an amazing book to read about a great person who changed history and loves baseball!! It is more than just baseball and it has so many things to show that shaped Jackie's life so much. It is also spiritual and emotional book that leaves you to become a stronger person to make a great difference in the world.

I really liked this book and normally I dont like reading. Ijust wanted to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I think Jackie Robinson is a vary good romodel because no matter what, you should never give up. Because Jackie never gave up he ended up being one of the best baseball players to ever play the game. But most of all he broke the color code for all professional sports.

This biography does an outstanding job of giving an overview of Robinson's life and times, from his early, awnry but talented years in Pasadena, through UCLA, then the military, and then the Brooklyn Dodgers and beyond. It paints a picture of a strong willed gentleman with enormous pride, dedicated to his family, and dedicated to the idea of racial integration and equality. The influences of his mother on his early, somewhat (understandably) confrontational character, that allowed him to ultimately be the individual who paired with Branch Rickey to integrate "America's Pastime" are clearly laid out.

Some reviewers have faulted the author for not being more interpretive of Robinson's politics - specifically, that he was a Nixon supporter in 1960 and a Rockefeller supporter in 1968 (while also being a strong supporter of Civil Rights, active in almost every civil rights organization) and Humphrey supporter as well. I think the book lays out all the facts for the reader to see for themselves. Robinson's coming of age - in an era when a Dixiecrat from a Jim Crow state (LBJ) led the passage of the Civil Rights Act - was a time of a shifting political landscape that didn't settle out until near his death (he also broke badly with Nixon later in Nixon's career). The Republican party's mantra of self-reliance, and Robinson's determination to succeed in business in the same way he did in sports, made his attraction to the party not a big leap; the alienation of this country's African American establishment from big business was not a pre-ordained fact in the time Robinson lived.

Finally, Robinson's own family struggles were also a reflection of the confusing and troubling times in which he lived.

Robinson died too young for us all. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it..

i'm not particularly interested in baseball, but i am particularly interested in American history from the human perspective. i could have read a much more dry account of the turmoils that dominated American race relations throughout the middle of the 20th century, but instead i've read this fascinating account of those terrible, backward days from the perspective of a true pioneer, Mr. Jackie Robinson.

of course he is looked back on now as a symbol, a mythological figure. i always knew peripherally of Jackie as the same thing most people do: the first black man to play major league baseball, a step forward & up in the painful struggle of the times. but this book presents him as a human being, a fallible man who lived most of his life not on the baseball field, but in a relentless pursuit of his ideals and desire for a better life for himself and everyone around him.

the reviewer before me questions the biographer's lack of judgement of Robinson. i am curious as to why he feels Rampersad should insert his own analysis; the biography presents analyses of Robinson by many of Robinson's contemporaries, and then presents the recorded facts available to clarify incidents & statements. yes, this is an intensely personal biography, perhaps too personal in places. it is very much centered on Jackie's private correspondences. it is absolutely told from Robinson's persepctive, as best can be reconstructed from his widow Rachel & the papers he left behind, but it feels very honest, not at all like an airbrushed bit of hero-polishing. it is in places very blunt about Jackie's shortcomings as observed by his peers & contemporaries.

before i stretch this out any longer, i'll just say that this is the most engrossing biography i can ever recall having read. it's an account of a fascinating life in an amazingly recent time, in an America that seems so long ago but is still discouragingly recent. readers will learn not just about Jackie Robinson, but about two American eras as well.

My son's school selected this book as the topic of an optional schoolwide discussion. My son is 6 years old. In retrospect, if I had paid a bit more attention to the subject matter, I might not have chosen to participate this year. However, up until the last third of the book, the family deals with situations that are typical of many families--sibling relations, friction between older children and parents, being a nerd at school, learning how to be a friend. Mr. Curtis' writing and Mr. Burton's reading are magic together. My son and I listened to this book on a long car trip, and at one point, when Kenny, the narrator, "makes up" with a friend, I heard him fall back against the back seat with a grateful "whew!"



My husband listened to the last part of the book with my son, so I can't speak to his immediate reaction. However, over the next few weeks, we had several conversations about race relations, which made me grateful that the book had opened the door to discussion. Some families at school did feel that some language was inappropriate for young children but frankly I'm not sure it is any worse than what they hear on TV or at school.

The Watsons are a weird family. It's about a family who has a son thats a deliquent of Juvenile. He bullied kids around and he loved to pick on the main character (his little brother) Kenneth. It's at the point where they have to drive the kid to Grandma Sands house to put him in disipline. The over book is extremely wonderful although there are some intense parts. I encourage all of you to read it.

The Watsons Go to Birmingham was a wonderful treat to listen to. It was funny and contained historical information as well.

Our 12 year old son has proven to do 100% better on all reading projects if he has audio backup to the book he needs to do for school. We found that the audio helps him better his reading skills and overcome some of his dyslexia by doing his reading assignments this way. His teachers are so proud of how he has turn his challange around so well. It sure makes him feel much more a successful reading in getting things done now. All on time as well!!! We had a difficult time finding this CD and other items he has needed in stores. So we hit the Amazon site and have made out just great so far. I am so thankful sor this site for all 3 of our children. We have never had a problem finding the items we need. Thank you Amazon!!!

This CD set is great- the reader is expressive, funny and totally gets the mood of the book. The book itself is both hilarious and surprisingly deep and is not to be missed for anyone, especially young adults. I use this CD to assist struggling readers in the classroom, but all of my students' eyes light up when they see me move towards the CD player!

The Watson Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Copyright 1995
Fry Reading Level: 7th grade
Pages: 210
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

The author builds up anticipation of the much-expected trip of the Watson family to Birmingham, Alabama. The first half of the book allows the reader to become familiar with the family. Curtis uses humor to engage the reader and provide a highly positive tone about the African American family that lives in Flint, Michigan. The dynamics of the family appear to be usual. There are the parents, one from Flint and the other from Birmingham. The two brothers Kenny (the narrator) and Byron have an interesting love-hate relationship. Kenny is cross-eyed but very bright and respected by teachers at their school. Byron is the "King" of the school, yet he is in danger of repeating grades. Although Byron is the coolest guy in the school this reputation does not affect the relationship of Kenny and the other children. Kenny remains the smart boy with the eye problem that teases his older brother when he has an opportunity to win that upward battle. Joetta is the smallest Watson. Her personality is determined and strong even as she challenges her mother about burning Byron's fingers because he has a pyromaniac period in the household. The relationships between each family member is revealed as the parents, determined to save their wayward son- Byron, plan a trip to Birmingham to show their children how the world really works for African Americans.
The book is an easy-read for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The book is not recommended to teach structure or correct grammar. There are some words that are intentionally mis-spelled to help with the tone of the author and the mood of the book. When the family uses southern slang and encounters that when they arrive in Birmingham the grammar is really bad. Students should be aware of the figurative language that is used in the book, as well as the humorous purposes of certain phrases. Foul language and cursing is used in the book particularly with Byron and his mischievous friend Buphead. It is not encouraged to have younger readers use this book due to the certain level of maturity necessary to accept the language and its purpose- to entertain.
This book is highly recommended. The author uses vocabulary and imagery to humor and entertain the reader. A shift does take place when the family arrives in Birmingham and the children notice the differences between Michigan and Alabama. The church in the black community is blown up; an active hate crime against the African American community. The author captures the dynamic of the African American family well and portrays positive and caring relationships between the parents and the children throughout the novel.

Outstanding book that discusses a black family making visit to Birmingham. The book is REALLY humorous and engaging. The book touched on the tragedy of the four little girls who died needlessly in Birmingham. I was thinking that the book would have discussed more racism in Flint. Racism in this country was everywhere and not just in the South. It amazes me that the Watson family never experienced any racial bigotry in Flint. Sundown towns were towns were if you were black, you had to be inside before the sun went down. If not, a person could be lynched for being outside. The book celebrates family and the tight structure of family.

Good one!A+****

Thank you so much for such timely shipping and worry free ordering.
Robin Hoeppner

The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963 is a book you can stick to like peanut butter and jelly!
This incredible novel is all set in Alabama. But the Watsons take a trip to the city of Birmingham, where their grandmother (Wilonas mother) lives.
These characters that are starred in this comedy story. There's Kenny, Byron, Joetta, Daniel (dad), and Wilona (mom). Well let me tell you a little more about the "Weird Watsons."
First there's Kenny. He's the middle child. He's the one who gets messed with by his big bad brother Byron. He is also a very sharp kid. But I guess not so smart if he always falls for his retched schemes.
Then there's Byron he's the really obnoxious one. And the thing I loved how the author makes him so real, I mean Byron thinks he's such a cool kid to even sit by his family. It's just like a typical thirteen year old.
Next there's Joetta the small sweet one, not much to sat though.
After its mom and dad. Wilona and Daniel Watson. They are the lucky parents with these kids.
You know the thing I love about this book the most is how C.P.C puts "in memory of" and these little girls' names that died in the church bombing. With also reminds me that's the main event in this awesome story!
But if you want to know more about this than go out and READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

The novel The watsons go to Birmingham-1963 by:Christopher Paul Curtis was a fantastic book!!! At first when I saw the book I thought it was going to be boring, and make me fall asleep. Then when I started to read it I didn't want to put it down! You could realy tell why it won the Newberry Honor Award. I could relate some of the characters. Like Byron and Joetta. The best part of the story was when Byron got his toung stuch to the rearview mirror. I wanted to burst out laughing. From my point of view I know you would love this book. This book was so good I am praying that there will be a sequal. Sam D. 3rd Period

excellent choice if you want to know the true story. it is amazing how well written (for a musician) it is and how Miles remembered things with an awesome precission.

Although conventional wisdom may indicate a pathway to genius as a strait line, point A (prodigy) to point B (fame and renown), it's actually one motherf****er of a zigzag. It ain't a matter of black and white neither, although Miles Davis would have you believe that he was in the middle of a race war conducted at his expense where his climb to glory was clouded behind a storm of white critics, corporate America and the perceptions of white Americans (he became the highest paid jazz performer in history). The picture that does come to focus is one of focused dedication, unique intelligence and an astonishing series of musical visions which carry a young dentist's son from East St. Louis to worldwide fame.

Miles takes us on his journey in his own colorful vernacular from day one to the year before his death, a rare, delectible treat in an autobio. Redacted are specific musical methods and cumbursome jazz theory, but the discussion is generous in his crediting others who have come in and out of his bands and contributed to the music he made: Gil Evans, John Coltrane, Dizzy, Bird, Shorter, Hancock, even his own nephew, who he eventually fires. The man is not the loner one might think and thrives in the company of musicians and artists but sadly succombs to the artist's best friend: drug dealers.

His mistrust of the world around him was exacerbated by prodigious drug use and sad realizations of who got what for the art form he helped create. Elvis is tossed aside, "lazy white musicians" performing crap, but he's at his most loquacious when describing his visions of a musical chart for his art and his heartfelt recollection of collaborators gone by, many lost to the same drugs in which he wallowed, many white. The language goes into full bloom as he recounts the many women he either married, had children with or simply bedded. He claims to have never gone after another band member's lady, but anyone else was fair game.

What makes Miles, the book, most appealing is his humanity, his stark feelings on his fellow man and the insight one gets from hearing a smart guy tell his tale of an artist's circuitous journey to legend. Not once do you hear a dishonest note and we're party to a vibrant blueprint that now, after his passing, makes me Kind of Blue.

Not enough can be said about the Music of Miles Davis and it's impact for the rest of time. This book will give any Jazz fan an insight into a fabulous era in Jazz as well as it's evolution. I absolutely love all of his music, the Bands that he put together over the years, and the Musicians that he literally discovered who went on to infamy. But I have to be honest, I just wish that there was a little more to the man in regards to human qualities.

MILES reads like a discography with transcribed, unedited interviews; however, a few fantastic observations manage to show up. For example:

"'Bird of the Cool' became a collector's item, I think, out of a reaction to Bird and Dizzy's music. Bird and Diz play this hip, real fast thing, and if you weren't a fast listener, you couldn't catch the humor or the feeling in their music. Their musical sound wasn't sweet, and it didn't have harmonic lines that you could easily hum out on the street with your girlfriend trying to get over with a kiss. Bebop didn't have the humanity of Duke Ellington. It didn't even have that recognizable thing. Bird and Diz were great, fantastic, challenging--but they weren't sweet. But 'Birth of the Cool' was different because you could hear everything and hum it also."

MILES could have been 200 pages shorter and only focused on Davis' thoughts about music--perhaps as a musical memoir?--and it would have said a whole lot more.

Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe *****


Miles Davis has always been a fasinating character to me so when I realized that there was an autobiography of him I tracked it down and bought it. While and after I read the book I didn't know what to think. I mean it is not your typical autobiography. It doesn't talk about most of the stuff you would expect him to talk about and when he does talk about it it's very brief and not in depth in the slightest, but at the same time it is still very interesting. The drug addiction, the women, the violence, the racism, everything the man went through is here. Not much is said about his children how ever, I'm not sure if that is purposeful or not but he does say that his sons are "screw ups" so it is all possible that he just didn't give to nothings about them, though when he briefly mentions his daughter he seems very proud of her. So all in all Miles is a great and interesting tale of one of the most important, original, and influential musicians of all time.

My only complaints are that Miles comes across as an ego maniac though he claims he is not several times in the book. The other one is that Miles Davis is one of the biggest and most racist men in all of history. Everything he says about being treated like nothing because he is black is the same way they he treated white people and the saddest part was that he couldn't even see that he was doing it. He claimed that blacks did everything better and white people stole everything. I will admit white people steal a lot, whites are essentially the `vultures of culture' but blacks did not invent everything, whites, Mexicans, and every other race invented things, and just because some one was influenced by it doesn't mean they copied it like he claims. Also just because someone invented something does not mean they do it the best, to even say that applies prejudice. It depends on the person not what color they are. As a musician Miles is killer, but as a person he really just sucked.

So if you can get past this then Miles is a great and interesting read.

I haven't quite finished the book yet but I am impressed at how well the book is written. Martin Luther King,jr. is one of the most memorable historic figures in history and this book eloquently accomplishes portraying him as such.

THIS BOOK WILL INSPIRE YOU TO DO GOOD. ITS VERY INSPIRATIONAL. A GREAT MAN WHO DIED TO YOUNG LIKE SO MANY OTHERS. KING NEVER WAS ABLE TO WRITE HIS OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. THIS AUTHOR TOOK ALL THE INFO AVAILABLE TO HIM TO CREATE THIS PHENOMENAL BOOK. AFTER THIS BOOK I FELT I COULD DO ANYTHING. ITS JUST SO INSPIRING. I WOULD BUY IT IF I WERE YOU. SEE YA.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The style of prose used by Dr. King is very easy to follow and flows very well. The book is also an inspiring example of how civil disobedience can change the world.

I also am glad that he did not sneeze. (If you read the book you will know the context of this statement).

The only reason that I did not give the book a 5 star rating is I thought that the editor could have added an addendum or chapter on the end of the book concerning the assassination of Dr King and how this affected the rest of the Civil Rights movement and the rest of the country as a whole.

But I would definetely recommend this book.

I was excited to receive this book for my birthday, as I'd admired Martin Luther King Jr for a few years, but had to admit I didn't know much about him, or exactly what sacrifices he made. Although famous all over the world, he is probably not the first thing on the mind of most white Australian twenty-something females!



Basically, I knew of the 'I Have A Dream' speech and a few other wonderful quotes of his that I'd read on monuments dedicated to his journey that I photographed in Denver, Colorado. Other than this I felt a bit of a fraud for proclaiming to hero worship this man I knew so little about.



This book outlined the dedication that MLK had to the cause, along with the 'intellectual underpinnings of his wisdom' as one reviewer put it. This deeply intellectual angle made it a struggle at times for me to get through, but much like the uphill battle against racism, it was a journey well worth taking.



The last chapter was extremely sad and beautfully summed up the dedication to Christ and good that MLK worked tirelessly towards. This man was a true Christian in every sense of the word, tearing down at the cynicism I have built up towards Christianity over the years.



Martin Luther King Jr is a wonderful example to even intend to follow, one of God's most loyal children, and someone that I truly admire and respect.



Amen!

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very brave man, an unyielding pacifist---and a radical leftist who greatly damaged the United States. He literally argued that his own country carried out a racist and imperialist war against the Vietnamese. MLK believed in affirmative action programs and socialism. He pushed the myth that right-wing conservatives assassinated John F. Kennedy instead of the committed Communist, Lee Harvey Oswald (Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of John F. Kennedy Shattered American Liberalism). And no, you don't have to take my word for it. Clayborne Carson has put together the hard evidence. King was also a plagiarist who didn't hesitate to steal other authors' writings. Nonetheless, we know for sure that these essays were at least approved by him. Many people who read MLK's approved texts for the first time will be appalled. This is especially true for those who reject the morally relativistic notion that a few lies on behalf of a noble cause can ever be justified.

There is another book you should read. Theodore Pappas released his own meticulously researched Plagiarism and The Culture War : The Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Other Prominent Americans only a few months earlier than Carson's. It turns out that MLK's PhD was not earned. At best, he was a pseudointellectual. Hard core left-wingers like Stanley Levinson and Andrew Young took full advantage of his shallowness. Americans need to learn the truth about Rev. King. The fact that these two books were published roughly ten years ago is not relevant. You should put them on your must read list for 2008. Truth is always more valuable than even the most well meaning deceptions.

Outstanding work by Michael Jan! As always he delivers an excellent story and makes the characters believeable! A MUST READ!

A good book, which follows the episode closely, with some additional scenes. The audio version even features an intorduction and conclusion from Levar Burton. A must for all ST:TNG book fans!

A good book. The chemistry between Scott and TNG crew is a wonderful pleasure.

Star Trek The Next Generation "Relics" is the superb novelization of one of the most beloved episodes from the series spectacular sixth season. The story and teleplay, written by Ron Moore deserves a high amount of praise as he found a wonderful way to write a modern STNG episode and bring "Scotty" forward into the twenty fourth century.

The decision to have Star Trek fiction's most prolific author, Michael Jan Friedman, write the novelization of this poignant episode was a perfect one. "Relics" is his first novelization of an episode and, as he does with his original stories, he does a marvelous job.

As most novelizations go, the important part is adding a little bit more flavor to an already brilliant episode by bringing forth the characters thoughts and throwing in some "between the scenes on the screen" scenes. All of which, Michael Jan Friedman does with perfection in "Relics."

The cover art for "Relics" is, unfortunately, pretty much the standard fare for Star Trek novels with Scotty and LaForge pictures and the original Enterprise herself, which does add a little bit of "something different" to a Star Trek The Next Generation novel.

From the very first episode of Star Trek The Next Generation in which we saw an aged but still vital, one hundred and forty plus year old Dr. McCoy strolling down the hallways on the Enterprise NCC 1701-D with Data escorting him, many fans were wondering which, if any, characters from The Original Series would be making guest appearances. With the fifth season episode "Unification" and Leonard Nimoy's exceptionally well written and performed return to Star Trek as Spock, the fans of the genre were satiated for the moment but still hungry for more. I still vividly remember the barely containable excitement I experienced upon seeing the preview for the following weeks episode and seeing that James Doohan would be making a guest appearance and he would be bringing Scotty, one of Star Treks most beloved characters, into the twenty fourth century. Now it was time for the "how."

The premise:

Captain Picard and crew are headed to their latest mission when they receive a distress signal from the USS Jenolen which is a ship that has been reported missing for seventy five years. Upon coming out of warp they also encounter gravimetric distortions. As they move in they discover one of the most intriguing objects ever written into one of their episodes, a Dyson's Sphere. The Dyson's Sphere is a real theoretical proposal, proposed by Freeman Dyson in which a civilization could harvest an astronomical amount of resources and build a sphere around a star and live within this sphere.

Captain Picard sends Riker, Worf and LaForge over to the Jenolen and they soon discover that the transporter has been locked into a diagnostic cycle and there's a pattern in the buffer. LaForge runs the cycle through and standing there on the transporter pad is a Starfleet legend in one Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott!

As the story progresses, Scotty is suffering the anxiety of feeling obsolete and in the way as he tries to be helpful but only serves to annoy LaForge while he's attempting to carry out the mission given to him by Captain Picard.

What follows from there is not only one of the best episodes ever written and produced for the series but one of the best novelizations written within the Star Trek fiction genre. For those that read Star Trek novels but don't bother too much with the novelizations, they should try this one as Michael Jan Friedman does a superb job with this story and I highly recommend this novel for your Star Trek library! {ssintrepid}

This novel is an adaptation of an episode in the "Next Generation" television show. It is well-written, and any flaws in it are not truly the fault of the author, Michael Jan Friedman, but rather of Ron Moore, the writer of the teleplay for the episode it was based on.

My primary objection, perhaps surprisingly, is not the method of justifying (or even the very fact of) the existence of the character of Montgomery Scott nearly a hundred years after the original Star Trek series; I found myself willing and able to suspend disbelief for that concept. No, what I found troubling and implausible was the characterization of Mr. Scott, and his inability to recognize what he knew, and what he didn't, and to avoid being a danger to everyone when let loose in an engine room.

The man was no fool, and perfectly aware that technology had changed while he'd been "away". And he'd plenty of experience examining unfamiliar, superior technology. He'd not have made the stupid mistakes he was portrayed as making. Nor would he have failed to understand that a chief engineer can't be interrupted while on duty. The entire concept, essential to the story, was an insult to the character. Other than that flaw in characterization, the story was good, and it was a pleasure to see Scotty back in action. I just wish that the creator of the story had had more respect for the character.

Oh my God! This book was so boring. I would have rather watched grass grow. The characters were not likable at all. I found myself cheering when Timothy died. There are many dessciptions of Phillip clutched to Timothy's naked body. So many of these referances that my friends and I started calling it "The Gay". The racial thing wasn't that big a deal. Like OMG!! Phillip dosen't like black people, now he does! I'm shaking from the experiance. DON'T READ IT.

My favorite book is The Cay. The author is Theodore Taylor. The reason why I like this book is because it's all about adventure, and you never know what will happen next. My favorite part is when Phillip gets hit in the head, and when he looks at the sun too long, and he realizes he is blind. The author wrote very good details about what happened to Phillip and Timothy on the cay. I would recommend The Cay to anyone who likes adventure. When I read The Cay I never wanted to stop reading it. It has so many adventures, and things in it. You will never want to stop reading it too.

I like the book The Cay because it is adventure. The book is about a boy named Phillip that goes on a ship with his family and then the ship gets sunk. The next thing he knows is that he is on a rubber raft with a African American man named Timothy. He goes on an island and Timothy dies by a hurricane. But Phillip survives because Timothy risked his life to save Phillips life. Phillip survived on the cay by fishing with the poles that Timothy made for him before he died. Later on he heard a airplane and then set a fire to get the planes attention. Then he put sea grapes in the fire that started smoke and later he was rescued by a ship. I recommend this book for children that are 9 or older. And that is why I like this book because it is a adventure.

In the book "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor, a blind young boy gets shipwrecked on an island, after his ship got torpedoed during world war two. His only hope for survival being a West Indian man, and a cat.
The Cay is a great book that's very realistic and always keeps you thinking. It tells you about a West Indian named Timothy, a blind boy named Phillip, and a cat named Stew, and how they struggle to survive.
Phillip and his mother leave the island of Curacao on a ship headed for Florida because of the war. The ship gets torpedoed and Phillip and his mother are separated. Phillip is hit by the boom of the ship and is knocked out then becomes blind. When he awakes he is told he's in the middle of the ocean floating nowhere with a West Indian Man, and a Cat. After days they float onto a deserted island where they will have to fight to survive.
In this book the author gives Timothy an accent. His accent really puts you into his shoes but also is hard to read at times.
I give this book a nine point five out of ten because it keeps you on your toes and makes you want to keep reading. I definitely recommend The Cay it's a great book.

In the book, The Cay by Theodor Taylor, an eleven year old boy named Phillip gets ship wrecked and gets a very bad crack on his head. He soon wakes up on a raft in the middle of the Carribean With and old man named Timothy and a cat named Stew Cat. Later Phillip becomes blind as they slowly drift to a small cay. In this book Phillip learns to see people for who they are and not for the color of their skin.

This is an amazing book that teaches people to see other people for who they are and not for the color of their skin, how they look, or how the dress.

Phillip lives on the island of curaco during world war two and German U boats are suspected to come and attack the small Island at any moment. His Mother gets worried about what will happen to the island and everyone on it. They soon board a Boat the Hato and start sailing to florida where they would get of and get on a train going to Norfolk Virginia where they would stay untill the war ended. Everything soon twisted as the hato is ship wrecked by a torpido. Phillip falls in the water, gets hit on the head, and is sepperated from his mother. He soon wakes up on a small raft with an old west Indian man named Timothy, a cat named stew cat and a horrible crack on his head. He falls back asleep and wakes up blind as they are slowly coming upon a small cay where they get of and build a small hut to live in as they wait for a schooner or plane to pass by.

There are a couple of things that really make this book realistic interesting and all out exciting to read. Here are some of them. Timothy's accent really gives his voice a certan tone to the reader if they read out loud or even to their self. Also Phillip's blindness makes the book more interesting too because he would just see timothy for the color of his skin and not for who he really was. It also gave him the task of learning how to do things while being blind. The Cay was also in the devils mouth so no boats past and there was no one that lived on the cay.

This book is very discriptive and has a lot of small things that add to the book. I recommend this book to any one willing to feel like they are right there on the cay living with Timothy, Phillip, and Stew cat and on that adventure with them, and to any one who wonders what it is like to live on an island stranded with no communication waitind for someone to pass.

I was happy that this book was given to me as I would have been a little upset if i actually paid for it. For starters what makes for a good fiction is when the author is capable of setting the scene, given the story depth and just as importantly, good character development. Unfortunately this story lacks both. The scene could have taken place in Mr. Redfields living room and it would not have made much of a difference since the reader never gets a "feel" for Tibet, "Shambhala", or its suroundings. I understand that it is in James Redfields best interest to put his "insights" into fictional form, sort of a safe zone since they lack originality and are at best a naive attempt at delivering his "message". A true evangelist for the "new age". Page 225 from the Celestine Prophecy- ""But what about money?" I asked. "I can't believe that people will voluntarily reduce there incomes." Oh we wont have to Dobson said. "The Manuscript says our income will remain stable because of the people given us money for the insights we provide." Well I think this says it all.

James Redfield has a unique way of delivering prophetic truths in his works. The Celestine Prophecy is a a book every human being should read. There is more to life than the old 9-5 and materialism. Perhaps our politicians & world leaders would learn from this book!
The evolution of one's soul & mind is a terrible gift to lose!
Monique F Lis

Must read - logical sequence to Celestine Prophecy and Tenth Insight. Just helps to raise your own spiritual knowledge. Excellent!

A wonderful book. A must have for all Celestine prophecy readers. Really gives you a lot to think about. Opens your mind.

James Redfield continues to offer further spiritual insights after writing The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision (Celestine Prophecy)which are two fabulous books on spiritual adventure and transformation.

This book is the Eleventh Insight and takes place in Tibet and we are offered a glimpse of a spiritual worldview that holds harmony between people and nature and where spirituality guides all aspects of life. It isn't something you do on certain days but it is lived in daily interactions. Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives is also another wonderful book.

All these books offer a vision for a new world based on higher spiritual principles. A current book that furthers the spiritual vision is called Nexus: A Neo Novel. We can share in its insights and let our friends know about it. Through these inspiring books we can change lives.

This history of Jazz is not only one of the best reads but with the addition of all the pictures this book is such a great insight to our culture not only for music lovers but all of society. A tuely remarkable book.

This is a very well-written, entertaining and informative book, and I learned a great deal while reading it and enjoying the many beautiful pictures. However, the last four decades of jazz are compressed into the last chapter, and some omissions (like George Shearing!) are inexplicable. Overall, this is a great introduction to jazz, but be aware of the shortcomings.

I brought this for a class and it is one of the few books I continue to read afterword. This is an excellent book.

If you've seen the PBS miniseries "Ken Burns: Jazz" you'll know exactly what you are getting into.

This oversized, photograph-laden text concentrates almost exclusively on two periods of Jazz' history - the 1920s variety and Swing. These were also Jazz' glory days as million-selling popular music and it's impossible to look at the photos in this book without also marvelling at the wonderful cityscapes and beautiful vintage fashions. There was a stylish classiness about the look of the 1930s and 1940s that still towers over almost anything since. Immersing yourself in these photographs and listening to some choice Jazz CDs from the era is the next best thing to a time machine.

This book is also a labor of love for both Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, two equally important but very different titans in Jazz of this time period. I love the music of both men, and the huge sections devoted in each chapter to both of them is a welcome antidote to the relative lack of attention they currently receive in other media nowadays.

Why I have I given this book a mediocre rating?

Ken Burns is a historian, which means that his interests lie primarily in the past. Burns focuses almost exclusively on pre-1950s Jazz. This would not be such a bad thing if the book ended the story with, perhaps, the end of the Korean War. Burns, however, makes an attempt to cover the more modern era in Jazz to disasterous result. The development of Jazz guitar is largely ignored (Wes Montgomery, where are you?), fusion is distained, smooth jazz is dismissed as aural wallpaper, non-American jazz players are barely mentioned (except for Django Reinhardt), and Marsalis is glorified to a point that even he must find embarassing. These flaws, while they probably accurately reflect Burns' personal taste, present a very skewed - possibly damaging - image to a jazz neophyte.

Ken Burns also devoted almost all his career to exploring black-white race relations. While this is a particularly American way to explore a largely American artform, it's also a very limiting one. Jazz of the period cannot be discussed without understanding mid-century Black American culture, but Jazz by definition transcends all our human smallness. Time and time again, Burns veers away from telling truly interesting and appropriate stories about the content of jam sessions to remind us of how segregated American society was. This gets very old very quickly and if this material had been edited there would have been more room to cover more Jazz greats - such as Montgomery, Count Basie, George Benson - in far more detail. Jazz itself should be the primary focus to an introductory primer such as this.

I purchased this book at a steep discount and keep it on my coffeetable. It's a great book if you are nostalgic, and it's a nice introduction to Jazz as long as you are aware of Ken Burns' biases. If you really want to learn more about Jazz, you're going to have to dig deeper, find a knowledgeable and supportive CD store, and explore this beautiful world in alternate ways.

I really liked this book because it gave great detail to the Founding Giants of Jazz. I get disapointed with books that try to be all things to all people and end up just skiming over everything. I like that this book went in-depth with the most popular artists. To try to fully cover the "Complete History of Jazz" would take about 10,000 pages of similairly over-sized books broken into about 20 volumes. Critics I have read on this page do a lot of name dropping to show off some knowledge. Perhaps they should write a book or two on the subject; I would love to read such a book. "Fusion: The Complete Evolution" would be a great volume in the above mentioned theoretical 10,000 pager, but most people have no interest in fusion. If you start going into Anthony Braxton's complex sheet music you are just going to loose people. This book sticks to the popular art form which is an evolution of sorts on it's own. An evolution of popular music and the evolution of the "musician's music" are two different things. I think the authors gave people what they wanted with this book. The REALITY of publishing a book like this is that it has to have broad appeal. You just aren't going to get funding to do a book that spends 25 pages on an extremely talented yet popularly obscure artist. This book is great for the novice or for the more educated jazz historian who wants to read some great stories and see some great photo's even if many of them are "common jazz knowledge" and repeats. (The story of Armstrong running into Oliver while selling tomatoes is a classic. I hadn't heard that one.) It is not as comprehensive with the modern era but I feel that it is proportional to the popularity of Jazz. If you want a complete Jazz history, you will need a library of about 100 books. This book should be in that library.