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yeas the most popular book on sir winston but mistakes are in it and volume three will appear after a 20 years break .

William Manchester is a tremendous writer. A man like Churchill deserved to have his biography writted by a writer as gifted as him.
I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting, not only to learn much about the great man Churchill, but also to have their mind expanded and stretched by excellent literature like this. There are not many people writing like this today, sadly enough.
This is not an easy read, in fact most people will do well to have a dictionary near by - but it is worth it. Drink deeply and you will learn so much more than you would have thought possible about the world from the late 19th century up through WWII.
Drink it up! 6 stars.

The finest biography of Churchill (and one of the best biographies of anyone else) ever written. Manchester is unequaled in providing a balanced, thorough and readable product. Only down side is that he died before completing the third and final book on Churchill.

This is a very good analysis of Churchill, a thorough and colorfull portrait of a man I consider to be the greatest man of the 20th century. I have only two complaints, first I would have liked to have known more about his life with his wife and children. I also would have liked to have known what he thought of the Lusitania sinking. Not only does Manchester say nothing about Churchill's role in this business but the word Lusitania is not mentioned at all in nearly 2000 pages. Very strange. The letters of Churchill point out the chivalrousness and romantic nature that the public has not seen. All in all - very good and well worth a good read.

This fully lives up to its reputation as perhaps the best biography ever written. Manchester does a peerless, masterful job filling in the background colors and giving a complete picture of Churchill from a young man into his early fifties. As Manchester emphasizes, this background was essentially the decline and fall of the British Empire and the aristocracy who ran it. Manchester's main point, that Churchill was a Victorian who also lived in the twentieth century, is brilliantly made. Churchill himself is presented in all his perplexing, influriating splendor: an impetuous, charming, ambitious genius who all too often jumped out of the plane without a parachute. If you wish to know why he was rejected by the British people at the polls just after his greatest triumph (and job done) this fascinating volume of his early triumphs and memorable failures is indispensible (answer: they needed his boistrous energy in war but they didn't trust him in peace

One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel

Audrey Hepburn loved her children and all the children of the world...Sean honors his mother...we all honor his mother...a mother to so many...indeed...an elegant spirit...

The photos here are lovingly chosen by her son, and the entire book is an absolute joy.

This book was pleasant and thoughtful, as is its subject. Though admittedly the writing was far less enchanting than I would have expected; I like to think it was kept simple to further emphasize the simplicity and sincerity of Audrey herself. This book did not add any revelation for the reader about her life; but instead, allowed for a glance at Audrey Hepburn's everyday existence. I was constantly amazed at how strong and genuine her character when faced with life's sometimes complicated decisions. This book shows Audrey as a person who effortlessly put others before herself, and seemed to never question her sense of what is right.

Even the idea of such simplicity has become a fairytale in our lives, and it is so refreshing to read about someone who was capable of remaining so solidly pure, that I cannot help but read a little more. One need only look to her work with UNICEF to know how first-rate she truly was.

She has allways been one of my favorite stars.The book has a beautifull
lay-out and is a pleasure to read.Lots of photographs never seen before
and beautifull passages about her work for Unicef and what a wonderful mother she was.I can highly recommend this book.

Bought this as a gift for my daughter as she is a fan and thought that the personal insights were revealing and poignant.

Begnini's account of a father who makes the ultimate sacrifice for his son is beautiful, touching, and, at times, comedic. Family Pick.

Life Is Beautiful the movie concerns the triumph of the human spirit over the horrors and attracities committed against the european jews during the holocaust. It shows the extraordinary lengths that people will go to protect the ones they love. Although the film is set during the holocaust, the film is about compassion and love and desperate forcade one man must invent to firstly protect his son and secondly spare his mental anguish. As a result of having watched this film, I have realised that life is precious and life can be a living hell. Somehow though, life is still beautiful.

One has to admit, Miramax makes a lot of darn good movies, from SLING BLADE to GOOD WILL HUNTING. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is another great movie. In fact, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL is one of the best movies of 1998. However, this is not the movie. This is only the screenplay. Sure you have all the lines that are in the film and a few pictures, but that's it. Frankly, if you haven't seen the film, I wouldn't recommend you reading or buying this: the words on a printed page are nothing like the movie. However, if you've seen the film you're probably a fan and it might be worth your while.

Guido, the central character in Life is Beautiful, is one of the most poignant characters in literature. He chooses to create an illusionary world for his son so that Giosue will survive the horrific conditions in a concentration camp. It becomes clear to the reader that Guido makes a decision as soon as he and Giouse are taken to the camp that he will, if necessary, go so far as to sacrifice his own life for his son's strength and survival. The theme of unconditional love transcending pain, horror, and incomprehensible ignorance is the ultimate message of the book. And, if anything, the reader empathizes even more with victims of the Holocaust because of Guido's presentation of his experiences. There is no "making fun" of the Holocaust in this book; there is only a celebration of love and the beauty of life. Everyone should read it and watch the movie!

This is an insult to the intelligence of anyone that has any knowledge of the history of WW2 and the events of the Holocaust. I guess the allied forces should have invaded Normandy with a bunch of pies, rubber noses and floppy shoes. Sometimes clowns simply don't have a role to play and this is one of those situations. Benigni bringing up the name of Primo Levi was an insult to all of Levi's philosophical attempts to explain what happened to him and Europe's Jews.

Granted, it's more of a guide to life for people that have had their lives turned upside down by falling into a vat of toxic waste, but a guide to life nonetheless. More importantly, you no longer have to bother jamming a DVD into your DVD player (or a tape into your tape player if you want to watch it the way it was intended to be watched), because you can just pick up the book and read the words. Yee haw.

when i was in the fourth grade i talk my mom into renting the toxic avenger and that may be the reason iam a film maker today. and the novel is a must own if your a fan of this movie it adds so much more to the back ground of the story and after you read it the next time you watch the movie you will like it more ( if thats possible) do Lloyd and your self a favor and buy it

I think that Lloyd is a very talented and gifted writer. He also is a very nice guy. I think anyone that buys this will be very pleased and very glad they made this purchase. I loved it. Great work!

Lloyd Kaufman is at it again. Only this time he's leaving the imagination part up to the fans which if your a Toxic Avenger fan your gonna have one helluva time with this novel! This book is brilliant, not only does it provide a novelization of the legendary film, alot of pressing questions are answered. Tromatons? Tromaville? Its all in here. READ IT SUCKA!!!!!!

This is one of the most exciting books to come out in recent memory, with his irreverant off-the-wall humor, Lloyd Kaufman has rocked the literary world with The Toxic Avenger: The Novel. I got this book after reading Make Your Own Damn Movie, which I picked up since I'm a huge fan of Lloyd Kaufman's truly independent cinema, and I can say, everyone who enjoys positive things about the world should pick up this book. Seriously, it was a quick read yet I go back to it again and again. It's like reliving the movie-in print!

Also, if you get a chance, see other films in the Troma collection. I personally can't wait for Poultryguest to come out, but my favorite is still Terror Firmer, or maybe Tromeo & Juliet.

Hi, how are you all? Well I know this book is wonderful! Acually i never read the book charmed but i did read the book so little time, which is by the same author. That was a very good book. So if that was a good book that she wote then this should be good also. The book is very intersting and tells you alot of information and some good heads up and tips. Kids my age would like the book, i would belive..... I might not be giving alot of information right now but the more information you want is right inside the book. So i would suggest to read the book and i think you will injoy it! I also think Charmed is a good book to read too.!.!.!.!.! Well i hope i at least helped you out a little bit. And i hope you read BOTH books because reading is good for you , and just enjoy them! Thank you for taking your time out to read this.

I have a penchant for time-travel stories, as they are striking, interesting, not to mention compelling. This book is inevitably one of them. Phoebe being abducted into past by a time-demon during the times of the Salem Witch Trials was huge (amazing)!! I'm not going to reveal details of the story, but what I don't get is that how on earth could the Charmed Ones use their powers in the past, and how the Law of no coincidences is oblivious to the author.


But as this is not the tv show, I suppose authors are able to use their imagination freely. My fave bit of this book is how Piper and Prue was under the evil influence of the root tea Prudence drank, given by Hugh, and they acquired amazing powers, which included being "evil" themselves and coming in handy to rescue their sister. I especially like the fact that Prudence did not succumb to the tainted root tea to nearly kill her own descendant, as the power of good always prevails!!! Also, its nice to involve the Charmed Ones' ancestor to this book, as readers somewhat know more about certain witches from the Warren line. Rosalind Noonan did a good job portraying each sister's characters, and how all their different and unique personalities combined together can pack a huge wallop. True to the series, with dry humour added and the Power of Three situation makes Whispers from the Past all the more enjoyable. And the fact that poor Phoebe, despite "stuck playing cinderella", she was determined to stay focused on the path to solving the problem, is also rather warmth-evoking.

In a nutshell: If you like Charmed, there's no doubt you will like this book. Not as excellent as Soul of the Bride, but close. One of my all-time faves. Well worth it!!!

Finally, a Phoebe episode [well book] that any Charmed fan can get behind. It's a time travel piece and a family get-together. Need I say more?

Fantastic addition to the Charmed series :) Not as good as 'Soul of the Bride' but up there with the best of the books.

I always love a good time-travel story if it's: 1) Well-Written, 2) Believeable. This book gets it on both counts.

The evil piper/prue angle was kinda amusing *ducks* The new powers they got were awesome too (though Piper's was kind of an extension on her stopping tme power)

This book does have a couple errors (Girls using their powers in the past to get home) but considering these books aren't written as fast as the series is ('least most of them seem that way)... we need to give the author's a break. We can't expect them to keep up with the pace/storylines of the show.

Considering SOME of the storylines 'Charmed' has taken, maybe the creators should look to some of these books for plot ideas.

I hope Miss Noonan puts in another contribution to the Charmed series again sometime.

This was the very first Charmed book I read and it was solid. I have now watched every episode of every season and there were no holes in it. I love all episodes that the sisters go back in time or forward or relive memories etc. If you are like me, then you will love this book too!

Everything!

The Star Trek Deep Space Nine Companion is an "absolute must" for any DS9er or Star Trek fan. I owned this book for several years and would occasionally read about specific episodes. But this summer, I decided to watch every episode and then read what the author wrote about it. Now, I know why it's called a companion.

The book supplies, what I believe to be, an appropriate amount of information to introduce the reader to (or remind them about) the show and then continues with a behind the scenes "peek" from the perspective of the writers, directors, cast members and crew. Frequently, the author reveals the inspiration of the episode. And it is a very common occurrence to learn that the finished product was not always what the writers originally imagined. Without saying it, the author conveys all the hard work, patience and persistence associated with each episode and a glimpse into the Star Trek universe.

The companion contains numerous quotes from the writers, actors and directors. Included are their assessments of whether they considered the episode to be good, great, or not-so-great. The opinions and experiences of the guest stars, supporting cast members and even the stunt guys are also included. And the author delays revealing the back-story until the very end of a story arc, on those occasions when a particular story spans several episodes, to prevent the reader from getting too much information. Special treats include "close ups" on secondary characters, maps of Bajor, drawings and pictures of artifacts used in the show. Even a pronunciation guide for one of the episode titles is included.

This book is the perfect complement to the series. It's more than an episode guide. Future Star Trek companions will find this book to be a tough act to follow. I highly recommend it!

Love this in my Star Trek collection. Helps you to remember all of the great episodes of this series.

This book really set the standard for me for what a companion book for a TV show should be. A nice essay on the shows creation, lenghy season overviews, detailed synopsis' for each episode, and at least a couple pages (note these are big pages) of behind the scenes information on every single episode. With all due respect to a previous reviewer I don't understand how one could say there isn't enough behind the scenes information. This book is basically everything you could ever want to know about the TV show Star Trek Deep Space Nine. I now only buy companion books that follow a similar format. For anyone who likes DS9 this is the book to own.

This book is just too good for words - I actually was a little stunned to see it existed, and when I received it, I could not have been more pleased with the content. In-depth articles on each episode, illustrated by nice B&W photos and great interviews with cast and crew up and down the list.

Definitely NOT for the casual fan, but for those rare DS9 fans among the Trek fan base, this is the one.

Also, for those of you who enjoy the current "Galactica" series, this is a good window into how Ron Moore learned to write serialized, relevant sci-fi. If anything, this show is superior in many ways to "Galactica," if only by allowing a few rays of light to shine through the perpetual gloom.

Only complaint, and a very minor one: no interviews with either Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat, nose-to-nose the best villain in Trek, along with Khan and Q) or Cirroc Lofton.

I'll just add to the heaps of praise for this massive work covering the complete Deep Space Nine series. The plot of every episode is described in detail, as one would expect, but this volume goes much further, devoting a great deal of text on each episode and season, primarily offering points of view from the writers, story editors, producers, directors, and other production staff, and occasionally from the actors. What's especially great, aside from all the detail that fans salivate over, is that everyone involved with the production is generally pretty candid about what does and doesn't work, so the less-inpsired episodes aren't subjected to faux praise for the sake of selling DVDs.

It's not flawless, however. Too much detail is sometimes given about how a story evolved into what finally aired, whereas there are often other questions about plot and character development, or lack thereof, that would've been more compelling to read. Also, there are spoilers in some of the behind-the-scenes info that could've been better disguised; it makes it difficult to share the book with someone who is watching the series for the first time. Those are small nits to pick, though. No other Trek episode guide comes anywhere near the level of depth and quality of this one, and I can't recommend it highly enough to fans of the series, even those who don't consider DS9 their favorite part of the ST franchise.

I probably would have liked this book a little more if I had read it before I read Ravished; it just seemed like a rehash of that book, only in a medieval setting instead of nineteenth century.

Also, the purple prose bordered on the silly side at times, making it hard to read with a straight face.

this book is fun to read. one of the only medeival books written by amanda quick.high in action.

This is definitely my favorite AQ novel. I won't go into a breakdown of the book, but I will say that besides enjoying the story, I learned more about how life was during that time.

A great read for any Medival novel or Amanda Quick fan!

I love these 1-title books from Amanda Quick. I know they are not a series, but each book has some similarities, but she always keeps it fresh!

I cannot believe all of the 5 and 4 star ratings for this book! I couldn't wait for it to end. Very formula and hoaky dialogue. If this is any indication of how Amanda Quick writes her best-selling novels, I think I'll pass up the next opportunity to read another. The purple prose was forced and ridiculous. If this was supposed to be a satire or comedy, it missed the mark and just came across as incredibly stupid.

"He found the valley that divided the luscious hillocks and followed its course to the hot spring that awaited him." (The words of Hugh the Relentless.)--Even though this is a medievil romance--way too hoaky.

"A cold, ghostly wind wafted from the dark corridor. It carried before it the promise of doom." (this is describing Hugh entering a dark cave and Alice, the heroine senses his presence by mental telepathy or something. OH PLEASE!

"Hugh was vengeance incarnate, a dark wind that would sweep all before it."

And these ridiculous passages were easy to find--they're everywhere in this book.

I say don't bother with this one.

This book is one of the best books about the fire service I have ever read. I hung onto each and every word. It was though I was there sometimes.

During the tumultuous period of the 60s when author Dennis Smith wrote Report From Engine Company 82, the book was a cry for help from exhausted, frustrated men. Men who cleaned up in the aftermath of other exhausted and frustrated inhabitants of a society stretched to the breaking point.

As I type this, a younger firefighter in a comfortable, air-conditioned fire station among a population that by-and-large respects my profession, it's easy to forget the sacrifice of our past brothers who unceasingly fought fires, city hall and the population they served, until they had forged the modern fire service.

It's an important book for new firefighters to learn how the iron men of old did the job. And for the general reader it's a testament to both a volatile period in our nation's history, and to the timeless strength and courage by which good men have always worked to keep back the chaos of barbarism and destruction.

I spent 10 years in the fire service in both engine and truck companys. While I have many memories and stories to tell, the author, Dennis Smith, sums up the life of a fire fighter in an urban environment about as well as can be possibly told. Trying to balance the unpleasantries and sadness against the satisfaction of saving a life or helping a family overcome one of life's most agonizing moments is very well portrayed in this book. This is what a fire fighter's life is about folks. There is no other book that I can remember that tells it any better than this. If you're thinking of a career in a big city fire department or for that matter, if you're even thinking of becoming a volunteer fire fighter this book is a must!

I first read this book 20+ years ago, when I was under 20 years of age myself but streetwise from being the "wheels" (with a driver's license and a car) for various escapades all over Chicago in my raucous, hard-partying and utterly politically incorrect youth. Many aspects of "Report From Engine Co. 82" stuck with me through the years, and I've re-read it several times. Now I'm 40 and an ER RN in a Chicago hospital where we see more than our share of the extraordinarily dysfunctional lives of the people who live in poverty in the neighborhoods that surround our hospital -- the type of job and environment Smith portrays so well in "Report From Engine Co. 82."

"Report From Engine Co. 82." tells truths about the nearly inescapable poverty and illiteracy of people scraping by in lives that are marginalized in every possible way because they don't -- can't -- really care for themselves appropriately because they don't even know how. Poverty isn't what it used to be -- but it's still as screwed up as it was in Smith's first book. Most of our ER visits aren't really emergencies, just as most of the calls Company 82 responded to weren't emergencies, either. Nowadays, people call 911; when "Report" was written, that 911 system didn't exist yet. But not much has changed since then, in terms of what the firefighters/paramedics respond to and bring to the ER.

Most of the "emergencies" he sees are not emergencies. The non-emergencies, combined with the real emergencies, portray the dangerous and unthinking way poor people live through a combination of lack of resources, lack of experience with the "straight" world, lack of common sense, and minute-by-minute survival thinking. Most of these emergencies and non-emergencies are easily prevented -- if people had common sense, proper parenting, and a normal instinct for self-preservation.

These qualities, however, are surprisingly hard to come by in poverty, and this is what Smith dramatizes. The heroin overdoses. The stupid kids doing stupid things because they are constantly left unattended and to their own devices. Kids who shoot themselves in the thigh or foot -- or worse -- "playing" with guns. Fires that kill children because space heaters provide the heat slumlords refuse to provide in their code-violating buildings. The incipient hatred and distrust poor minority neighborhoods have of the white emergency personnel and firefighters who respond to their calls. The huge cultural gaps that make true communication and understanding so difficult -- even when you're both the same race and both speaking English.

What Smith accurately portrays is the way poverty-stricken people "live in the now" -- people whose entire lives are spent with no real financial or material stability or security. These are people for whom the concept of saving money for the future is impossible, either as a concept or a reality. People for whom making an appointment days or weeks in the future, and actually remembering to get to the appointment, is nearly impossible. Their main mode of thought is: what do I need to do now, what do I want to do now, what do I need or want to do in the next five minutes. This inability to think about and plan for the future is endemic, as is the inability to prioritize that which really matters -- one suspects because most of these people realize on some level they have no future that truly matters to the rest of society, and they're incapable of living as the rest of the "straight" world lives because they never have, didn't grow up with it, and don't know the language of living that life, let alone the mindset.

These are the people and children who have no insurance, no health care, no glasses when their vision is bad, no braces or dental care when their teeth are bad; who never use birth control (to prevent pregnancy OR to prevent disease transmission). People who don't understand why it's inappropriate to come to the ER with an upper respiratory infection and get pissed off when they wait hours for care while higher priority, higher-acuity patients (in respiratory distress, cardiac arrest, heart attacks, asthma attacks, and overdose, etc.) are taken before they are.

Conversely, these are also the people who shun health care until they are so sick they can no longer avoid it, and discover they have cancer... Cancer that could have been prevented or at least treated, often saving their lives, had they ever had regular health care -- but who are now consigned to an inevitable death they will blame on the healthcare providers who couldn't save them because they were at a stage beyond saving or treating in any way other than palliative.

Smith's New York is NOT the New York of Sex And The City. This is the New York of the infants whose welfare mothers don't immunize them, but have the latest, most expensive coats and boots because conspicuous consumption is how they live: you show how much money you have by wearing all that your money has bought you (rather than doing the far less glamorous but sensible things more responsible people, whose children were WANTED rather than accidental, do). The New York of the kids having kids who have kids, all of whom have never known proper parenting, nutrition, or health care. The overdoses. The children who come in with accidental poisonings or burns from household chemicals because no one was watching them. The attempted suicides with anything and everything -- cold medicine, knives, guns, illegal drugs. The kids raised by siblings because the parent is completely incapable, if they're even around, with or without the additional problems of substance use/abuse, addiction, or domestic abuse. The families which are largely single-parent families -- and where the parental figure may be an elder sibling, aunt or cousin who cares more for the children than their biological parent(s) does or is capable of doing.

This is also the world of the terrified illegal immigrants who wait so long to call for help because they're afraid of INS (now ICE) and deportation; by the time they do, they're often too sick to save. The penniless old people whose pensions don't cover their living expenses and who don't call for help because they're terrified of being discharged from the hospital to a nursing home and losing what little autonomy and material security they have left. The fractured families (with utterly dysfunctional dynamics) who interfere with the paramedics' jobs -- as well as the tight-knit families who are rich only in love for one another. The people who refuse help they desperately need because they fear and distrust the paramedics and firemen trying to help them, and because their healthcare illiteracy is such that they have no idea what is necessary to save their lives, and so refuse or avoid medical treatment that could stop problems in stages when they're still treatable. The mothers who speak no English, who superstitiously fear that emergency treatment will kill their children, yet who are so desperate to save their babies, they don't know what else to do, because all home remedies have now failed. The endless numbers of people who let their prescriptions run out or try to save money by taking less than the prescribed doses and then have severe health problems that wouldn't happen if they bought and took their meds as prescribed -- but who, for multiple reasons, can't and/or don't. The people who beg not to be brought to the hospital because "people DIE in the hospital" -- people who don't understand that their neighbors and family members who died in the hospital, died because they waited far too long to call for help, and were therefore were beyond saving when they finally got to a hospital.

Anyone who works in public service as a fireman, cop, nurse, social worker, or psych intake worker in a big city -- and in poverty-stricken, crime- and drug-infested suburbs and rural communities -- can relate to Smith's book. For everyone who majored in something else, this book opens a door and exposes the lives of people you don't even know exist, people you don't acknowledge when you're forced to share a bus or train with them during rush hour (or who you intentionally avoid by driving in your own car, despite the expense of gas, insurance, and time spent on the commute): the people who don't work, or the people who work wage-slave jobs like janitor, maid, fast-food worker, security guard, who can barely pay their bills or care for their children with what little they make -- or who blow it all on liquor and/or drugs and/or gambling (or all three) to escape the miserable hopelessness of their lives. The kids who have the latest "stuff" -- whether it's the shiny ten speed bicycles Smith writes about, or today's video games and cell phone/mp3 player/cameras -- but whose parents can't or won't give them what they really need: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a stable environment from which to emerge every day to deal with the life-endangering risks of walking to and attending public schools that do little more than babysit and warehouse kids whose futures include teen pregnancy (and the late-term, life-threatening miscarriages that go with total lack of prenatal care, with or without drug use), repeated incarceration, and shorter-than-average lifespans due to the daily likelihood of violence in their communities and their lives.

Smith's portrayal of this kind of poverty is not pretty but it is not unsympathetic -- there are glimpses of beauty and hope, mostly in the young women and children who haven't yet been ruined by their surroundings. Smith tempers it all with a matter-of-fact acceptance that although it is his job to care for these people, he may never really understand them because he's now too removed from that life, and he takes on faith that they possess human qualities they often fail to demonstrate. But some do show their humanity, and those are the people he does it for.

Smith does an excellent job of portraying the paradox that the job of these firefighters and paramedics is to help and save these people, which by its nature includes finding them WORTH helping and saving, at the same time as they move and live as far away from these neighborhoods and the associated poverty, crime and drug problems as they possibly can. This is not merely a racial difference. There are plenty of black and Latino paramedics, cops, firefighters, nurses and doctors who straddle the gulf (some might say 'minefield') between their class and the class of the people they help, in circumstances that are at best trying and at worst nearly impossible to help them transcend for any sustained length of time.

Smith portrays the sympathetic detachment required to know that this is what you do, all day, every day you work, with only the hope that one or two out of ten people will actually genuinely and sincerely thank you for what you do or have done for them -- which is that elusive reward you get, one that can make it all seem worth it when it happens -- and to hope that when you show up and give this of yourself on every shift, there might be one kid or teen who sees what you're doing, who still has enough time ahead of them to see this glimpse into another world... A world it is just *barely* possible for them to enter given enough determination, education, mentoring and drive, and sadly also given enough instinct to discard much of what they learn in their families about how they THINK the world works, versus how the world REALLY works for the more educated and better-off people who run it.

The fact that Smith can show all this without denigrating an entire class of people -- does, in fact, portray them with humanity and the grace one occasionally sees in these circumstances -- is because he also recognizes that he is not that far removed from the kind of poverty he sees on the job (he grew up poor, too). He recognizes and accepts that he is that kid who admired firemen as a boy and saw a different world -- he is that kid who made the leap to the next class up, to the working class and blue collar as opposed to poverty-stricken. He understands the dysfunction -- the drinking, the drugs, the abuse -- that occurs in the neighborhoods Co. 82 responds to because it occurred in his neighborhood, his family, his poverty, while he was growing up.

This understanding that few "get out" -- and that he was one of the lucky few -- underscores with sympathy his otherwise stark portrayal of the job of a NYC fireman in the 70s when NYC was not a desirable place to live and people did their best to escape "the city" as soon as their financial circumstances permitted it.

The uncensored version of this book (which is the one I've read multiple times) also shows the bizarre split someone who works as a fireman/paramedic, nurse, or doctor must negotiate within themselves -- the intimate knowledge you have of the bodies of the people you must save, which is merely part of your job but which you can't really talk about to any family member or lover who isn't in one of these fields. I don't mean merely intimacy with people's genitals -- though there is that, such as the way the Smith describes heroin overdoses getting icebags put under their testicles (negative stimulus, designed to bring unresponsive, unconscious people back to responsiveness and consciousness). I mean the intimacy of seeing people stripped of their modesty and dignity, voluntarily (prostitutes) or involuntarily (the terribly sick), whose personal space and body integrity you must necessarily invade, often in less-than-respectful or diplomatic ways because there is no time for those niceties when someone is dying and you're trying to save them. People who don't work in these fields can never really understand how you can be unaffected by the nudity, exposure and/or intimate knowledge you have of these total strangers, and the disinterest or casual attitude with which you greet what would shock most everyone else.

And, of course, you're not unaffected by this knowledge. Sometimes you're disturbed, or someone or something sticks in your mind -- the things you've seen or had to do -- and is recalled in inappropriate moments with your loved ones. You're not unaffected, you're just emotionally calloused or you compartmentalize it, in order to repeatedly perpetrate and endure this violation of the boundaries between strangers and its inherent power imbalance: you, as the emergency personnel, never have to reveal any of these intimacies to your patients... but they must necessarily, willingly or not, reveal them to you. This includes the mentally ill and the hopelessly drug-addled or dopesick (or both, combined) -- sometimes the most disturbing intimacy of all: the insides of their heads and their distorted, sometimes frighteningly unhinged, perceptions of the world around them.

Before anyone decides to dedicate their lives to becoming a firefighter, they would be wise to start their research here. Some 30+ years after it was first published, this book still shows remarkable insight into the lives, struggles, and emotions of a professional firefighter. When I started on the road to becoming a firefighter, being a volunteer and reading Dennis Smith books asserted in my mind that my life would be wasted doing anything else. For others, this may convince you that the job is not for you. It isn't for everyone. Either way, this is a very enjoyable read and worth the time and money for anyone, not just firemen and wannabe's.

Series book. The large, readable print makes this good for children to read.

Summary
Frog and Toad are friends who share life together. I love the "To Do List," which includes "Wake up." Lobel wrote and illustrated more than 70 books. This book received a Newberry Honor Award.

Illustrations
I love the fresh and pleasant green and brown pictures, as did my children.

When Frog and Toad saw a snake, the snake said, "Hi,lunch!" Frog and Toad ran away.
Toad made cookies and Frog said, "They got will power." Toad made a list then when he got to Frog's house, Toad said, "We have to take a walk." They went on a walk. Suddenly, Toad's list blew away.

My daughter's nursery is decked out in Frogs, so the discovery of these books made them books we had to consider. They are fun and the illustrations are grest. At eleven months she is too young to read them herself, but we read them to her - and she enjoys them. The stories are simple with a central theme - do good for others, treat your friends with respect, help your firends when they need help, laugh, and aporach life with adventure. These are great virtues to instill in young minds. If the books were made in cardboard stock, Teah would be even more happy with them - as it is she frequently grabs one of them when it's time for her bedtime story - and great bedtime stories they are. By the time she starts to read she will know the stories by heart, but that's ok - fond memeories of bedtime stories like these should help her build a lifelong interest in reading on her own.

The Frog and Toad books were favorites of my daughters when they were young. I often give them to young friends, and was very happy to share them most recently with my two year old grandson

Learn the value of friendship with one of the most delightful duos in all of children's storytelling! Perfect bedtime stories or beginner's reading books, kids love the animorphed amphibians and funny adventures. Buy one and you'll have to get them all!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

The book has great pictures and very detailed if you know someone who loves Sta Wars movies would love this book..

My son is using this book as a reference for his drawing class and we all find it very helpful. There are facts here which are quite detailed and wondered how the author know all these stuff! Anyway, we love the book!

This Book has a lot of glear crisp pictures in it. Since I make Star Wars movie props (Lightsaber hilts, Helmets, Costumes) this book helped a lot. darth vader lightsaber is totally sweet and the moment I saw it in the book I said I gotta make that, so right now I'm in the process of making his and many others.
Again this is a great book so please don't hesitate a second. buy it!

RYAN J.

This guide was accurate, except for one thing: Solah is Padme's sister, and Jobal is her mother. This book portrays it as the other way around. But otherwise, a good reference book for the best movie ever!

This is the best book for any fan of the movies. It explains things you'll never learn about on screen. From their weapons, to their clothes and why they need and have them, it makes sense of things that don't make sense. Good book!