Peter Gallagher Books

SEA AND POISON by Shusaku Endo

Reading Shusaku Endo's Sea and Poison was such a delightful experience I was reluctant to close the book. Granted, it is sad to read about cruel and heartless experiments on living human beings but that is not what the book is about. From the vantage point of Japanese/Christian culture Endo courageously shines his compassionate light into the dark crevices of our souls and makes us confront our own demons nesting there. In doing so he helps us become better persons. Robert Wright in his often quoted The Moral Animal points out that "Human beings are a species splendid in their array of moral equipment, tragic in their propensity to misuse it, and pathetic in their constitutional ignorance of the misuse." Endo does us a service by diminishing our "constitutional ignorance of the misuse" [of our moral equipment]"

Endo traces the inner development of his characters with such a deep understanding of the human condition that I was astounded and moved to tears and joy. He placed two aspiring medical doctors, Toda and Sugura in a University hospital in southern Japan now seemingly under the control of the military establishment. The end of the Japanese/American war was quickly approaching. Daily bombing of the nearby city flattened the city and killed thousands of civilians and gave rise to implacable hatred directed towards two enemy airmen the military captured and brought to the hospital for experiments to determine how much could be surgically removed from a person before the person died. Toda and Sugura are assigned to assist the chief medical doctor who controls the future of the two aspiring doctors. Endo explores how Toda and Sugura deal with the conflicting demands of society, the medical establishment the nation and their conscious. Endo gently opens a window into their souls and allows us to witness the mighty clash between the demands of self preservation and the importuning of their conscious.

Endo writes so evocatively, with such elegance and grace and without a trace of judgment or preaching it was like reading a book length haiku. I recommend that the readers read Bushido the Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe, (it's in the public domain and several sources allow a free download). Reading Inazo gave me a deeper and broader understanding of Endo's perspective and I intend to return to reading his books.

My compliments to the reviewers who have contributed to the further publicity of this harrowing and psychologically complex novel, an exploration of those who have denounced their spirituality in exchange for social acceptance, and the consequences they have to suffer. I would like to just add one side note. There is an excellent film adaptation of SEA AND POISON, directed by Kumai Kei in 1986. Because of the controversial subject matter, no major studio would finance the film and it took Kumai years to finish it. (It would certainly not be made in today's Japan, considering the strength of revisionists and glorifiers of the imperial past) This movie has also been nearly completely neglected in the US, no doubt due to its unflinching realism, thoroughly unexotic visuals and political content, something we do not expect from the country mostly known to us through bubblehead animation, Power Rangers and Godzilla. Please do seek it out, if you have wherewithal to do so, and show it to as many Americans (and Chinese, etc.) as you can. I believe the US distrubtor in 1987 was Gates Films.

Obedience to authority and power leads people to harm others, and not being able to resist authority of someone higher is human weakenss. It seems that the Intern named Toda is the one Endo wanted to emphasize upon. The charactor of Toda remainds me of Albert Camus's "The Stranger," and Dostoevsky's "Devils," and it can also be related to other charactors Endo draws in his other novels. Can people feel guilty without punishment of the society? What is morality? What is "right" and "wrong" in such an absurd world like today?

There is a sequel to The Sea and Poison. I do not believe that it is published in the United States, but it is about Dr. Suguro's later life. People judge him and punish him under the name of "democracy" and its "justice." Dr. Suguro ends up hanging himself. Can people judge and punish others? If judging and blaming are the meaning of justice, how does it differ from what is unjust?

I am Japanese, and I personally think that Endo is the best writer from our country. I strongly recommend all his work to Americans.

This short, dark, psychologically gripping novel is an indictment of militarism and its corrupting effect on the individual and society. The old, the young, the innocent, the pure of heart, caregivers, families, traditions, institutions - all will be degraded if not destroyed by it. It is, for me, Endo's most important and accessible work; it is also that rare thing, a Japanese artist's unsparing summation of the worthlessness and hideousness of The Fifteen Year War.

Edmund Burke would have agreed with Endo's novel "The Sea and Poison". Although a short novel, it is one that delves into some very deep issues about morality and the ethics of passively accepting evil in one's presence.

Contrary to another review, "The Sea and Poison" is not based on the activities of Unit 731 in Manchuria at all. The novel is based on the vivisection of 8 B29 crewmen at Fukuoka Imperial University. These experiments involved removal of lung tissue, puncturing hearts and other experiments, while the airmen were alive. None survived the experiments.

Returning to the novel, Endo focuses on a medical intern, Suguro, and his friend Toda. Both characters represent very different responses to the proposal to vivisect the airmen. Toda feels no guilt or remorse, and has no issue with taking part. It is not even matter of justifying it to hinmself: he just has little response in his conscience. Suguro, on the other hand, is flooded with doubt, ethical problems, and his own conscience. Shown to be a basically kind man, the novel reinforces Burke's suggestion that all evil needs is for good men to do nothing.

A burning look into the morality of the passive, "The Sea and Poison" will challenge and provoke. Despite its brevity, it packs a punch, and will leave you thinking for long after you have turned the last page. As usual, Endo has written a fantastic novel with real weight.

Gary Gallagher has written/edited a number of books on the Civil War. This book is an edited volume, focusing on several aspects of the sanguinary battle at Antietam, fought in 1962. All told, there are ten essays in this volume, with Gallagher contributing the lead essay. As with all edited volumes, some of the works may not be up to the same standards as others. But, overall, this is a useful volume. It might best be used by reading it alongside one of the better histories of the battler, such as Stephen Sears' "Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam." Let's take a look at some of the essays to illustrate what the book is about. . . .

Gallagher begins the book with an essay on how the south saw the aftermath of the battle. He notes that, in the final analysis, southerners were more likely than not to see Antietam as a plus for the cause. In the aftermath of the Peninsula successes of General Robert E. Lee and the remarkable victory by the Confederate forces at Second Manassas, this was seen as the denouement of a stretch of marvelous fighting by the Army of Northern Virginia.

Brooks Simpson authored a more positive than usual account of Union General George McClellan's leadership at Antietam. McClellan was often accused of "the slows," because of his seeming inability to fight aggressively. Simpson argues that some of McClellan's arguments made sense, such as logistical problems associated with the movement of the Army of the Potomac toward Antietam.

The last chapter is a nice counterpoint, examining how Antietam was used by the Army for training/education before World War I. This battle was one example used at the Army War College to prepare officers for command. They would go over maps and scenarios (e.g., what if McClellan had hurried toward Antietam after finding Lee's orders as opposed to his rather movements). The students and teachers were pretty much unanimous in concluding that McClellan had not generaled his forces very well--up to Antietam and at the battle site itself.

Other chapters speak to addition key issues, such as: how poorly supplied Confederate forces were, the Confederate cavalry's and artillery's role in protecting the Confederate flank, the action at Bloody Lane, and the ineptitude of Confederate artillery chief William Pendleton.

For those interested generally in Civil War history and, specifically, the battle at Antietam, this will be a welcome volume. While there is some unevenness across the chapters, all in all this is a solid volume.

Early in September, 1862, Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River into Maryland in what became the Confederacy's first invasion of the North. General McClellan received command of the Union troops following the disaster of Second Manassas. In a daring move, Lee divided his army in an attempt to capture Harpers Ferry, and McClellan had the good fortune to recover Special Order No 191 detailing the movements of the Confederate units. McClellan pressed forward, albeit cautiously, and the result was the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862, the bloodiest single day in American history. Following the battle, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Antietam, rather than the more famous Battle of Gettysburg, is increasingly regarded as the pivotal moment of the Civil War.

The Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam have provoked no end of controversy. This excellent collection, "The Antietam Campaign", edited by Gary Gallagher, consists of ten essays by as many different students of the Civil War examining in detail various aspects of the Antietam campaign. The essays are thoughtful and provocative and will cause the reader to rethink commonly held assumptions about Lee's first invasion. The book is part of a series edited by Gallagher titled "Military Campaigns of the Civil War".

Various aspects of the Battle itself are examined in three essays in the volume. Robert E.L. Krick's article, "Defending Lee's Flank" explores the role of Confederate artillery in holding off the initial Union attacks early in the morning on the Confederate left in the vicinity of Dunkers' Church and the infamous Cornfield. Robert K. Krick's essay takes a close look at the Union's attack on the center of the Confederate line on what has become known as the Bloody Lane. Lesley Gordon's "All Who Went into that Battle were Heroes" is an essay in history and memory. It examines the fate of the 16th Connecticut, a unit of green volunteers, which had the unenviable task late in the battle of meeting a counter-attack by A.P. Hill's troops, after Union General Burnside had finally crossed "Burnside's Bridge" and was pressing the Confederate Army to cut-off its line of retreat.

An additional essay in the collection, "We didn't know what on Earth to do with him" by Peter Carmichael covers a little-known aspect of the Maryland campaign. A small component of Union troops attacked the rear of the Confederate Army of September 19, 1862 in an attempt to harass the retreat. Confederate artillerist "Parson" Pendelton failed to hold the line, but the small Union force was, even so, rebuffed with great loss. Carmichael, as are most scholars, is highly critical of Pendelton's role at Antietam and in the War.

The remaining six essays in the collection offer broader views of matters related to the Maryland campaign. Three essays focus on the Confederacy. Gallager's own essay, "The Net Result of the Campaign was in our Favor" explores Confederate reactions immediately after the battle. Confederates looked to the capture of Harpers Ferry, the victory at Shepherdstown, and the hard draw at Antietam as evidence of their Army's prowess, and were motivated to continue the long, hard fighting of the Civil War. Keith Bohannon's essay, "Dirty Ragged, and Ill-Provided for is, together with the essay by Carol Reardon, the finest in the collection as it explores the difficulties faced by Lee's Army resulting from lack of supplies of basics, such as shoes, rations, and ammunition, as a result of the South's inadequate logistical system. In "Maryland, Our Maryland", Brooks Simpson examines Confederate hopes that the Maryland campaign would bring the Bay State into the Confederacy. It examines the strong efforts President Lincoln made to hold Maryland for the Union. Simpson concludes that the Confederate failure to rally Maryland to its cause worked as a defining moment for Southern identity in the conflict.

Two essays take a close look at the Union side of the line. Brooks Simpson's "General McClellan's Bodyguard" challenges the view held by many students of the battle that McClellan was at fault for not pressing the attack on September 18. Simpson maintains that McClellan did about as well as could have been expected under the circumstances. Scott Hartwig's essay, "Who would not be a Soldier" compliments Simpson's in that Hartwig looks closely at the composition of the Union Army that McClellan led to meet Lee. Much of this Army consisted of raw recruits who had not had basic training, learned to march, or even to fire a weapon. These troops swelled the size of McClellan's Army but proved a liability in the heat of battle.

The final essay in the volume, "From Antietam to Argonne" by Carol Reardon takes a close look at Antietam from the standpoint of the United States War College and its studies of the battle prior to WW I. Students were given detailed summaries of the actions in the Antietam campaign and, in addition, toured the battlefield. They were asked to comment on the command decisions of Lee and McClellan, as well as subordinate officers, and on the performance of the troops on both sides. The results, as Reardon explains them, were fascinating and provide a searching look at the campaign and its leaders. For me, Reardon's essay was the highlight of an excellent volume.

This collection illuminates greatly the Antietam Campaign and shows how much can be gained by careful scholarship and the willingness to rethink received opinions. Readers coming to this book will benefit by a strong prior background in the Civil War and by a basic familiarity with the Battle of Antietam, as can be gained in works by James McPherson, Steven Sears, or James Murfin.

Robin Friedman

Just like previous reviewers, I agree that this book is a fine addition to the on-going series about the Military Campaigns of the Civil War. This installment about the Battle of Antietam is particularly strong because of the quality of scholarship included and the distinguished group of historians that Gallagher gathered for this edition.

Each author includes an interesting essay that details a specific aspect of the battle. Some examples of topics that are covered include: the supply challenge the Confederacy faced, how new Union recruits reacted to the carnage of Antietam, the role Confederate artillery played, and why McClellan failed to pursue Lee after the battle. I found that every essay presented a compelling argument and really offer the reader a detailed analysis that you will not find in other books about the battle.

As always, this type of book is not aimed at telling the history of what happened at Antietam. If you are looking for a general narrative of the battle - this is not the right book. On the other hand, it is designed for those who are somewhat familiar with the battle and are looking for the most current research from a find group of historians. I highly recommend the book for people who fall into this category. It will greatly enhance your understanding of key aspects that affected the battle which has been the bloodiest day in US military history.

Similar to past works of Gallagher's, this book contains invididual chapters written by popular Civil War historians keying in on battle concerns, myths, strategies and political concepts during the campaign. I really enjoyed reading William Blair's chapter on how Marylanders caught in the middle of political unrest viewed the campaign and Lee's invasion. Brooks Simpson's chapter on how the Army of the Potomac was McClellan's bodyguard according to Lincoln really made me understand the political frustrations the Lincoln party had in regards to McClellan's slow moving and cautious approach to battle. Keith Bohannon's view on Confederate logistical problems was very informative and really brought forth information as to Lee's reasons for invading the north and also his retreat.

These chapters are just some of the great amount of information brought together in a very fine book. I would recommend this book to someone who has already read a book on the battle itself before reading this one. This book contains some fighting information but isn't one for coverage on the entire battle. It is one for understanding political unrest, commander motivations, strategies and little unknown and sometimes unclear myths that surround the entire campaign in September 1862. 5 STARS!!!

Once again, Gary W. Gallagher has compiled a wonderful collection of essays in this latest volume of the Military Campaigns of the Civil War Series. Each chapter or essay focuses on a different aspect of the campaign and is written by a different author. This allows for a new perspective on the campaign with each chapter. Among the topics covered by the various essayists are Confederate perception of Antietam as a victory or defeat, Confederate logistics, Confederate artillery, the use of the Antietam battlefield as a classroom for military leaders in the 20th century, the impact of new recruits on the Army of Potomac's effectiveness, and the experiences of individual units.

All of the essays are well-written and contain wonderful insights into their selected aspects of the campaign. Due to the focus of the series on military events, other important issues related to Antietam are only briefly mentioned. Most notably, issues related to emancipation and foreign intervention are mentioned in passing. This, however, is a result of the decision by the editor and the press (University of North Carolina Press) to focus on military aspects. Despite this weakness, I would highly recommend this and all other books in the Military Campaigns of the Civil War series to anyone with an interest in the Civil War.

I was delighted to find out that not only were F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories being narrated on audio cassette, but that one of the performers was none other than Robert Sean Leonard. Scottie is by far one of my favorite American authors. It takes an incredible talent to condemn the life you live in your literature, and when I think how he strived for excellence but fell victim to society, I can't help but pity him. His writing is so delicious to read as well. He has such wonderful similies and metaphors, and is so descriptive I can taste the wine, feel the rain and see the stars. The Jazz Age is one of my favorite time periods and F. Scott Fitzgerald captures it perfectly. You see the glittering side but then the glitter gets tarnished as it must. What is even better about this audio is that one of the narrators is none other than my favorite actor, Robert Sean Leonard (better known as Neal in Dead Poets Society and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing among other films). His voice is wonderful to listen to, even if you're not a fan of his acting. It's perfectly clear and flowing and it reminds you of listening to your parents reading you a bedtime story. The tape itself leaves you feeling as if you've been on an emotional rollercoaster. There's a nice beginning, then it peaks with conflict, the resolution, and then the end finishes as calmly as it started. Yet you've gained something from it. Fitzgerald has some incredibly phenomenal themes in his work. The odd part is that I usually don't like getting audio books, but I certainly reccomend this audio of The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald" It's worth every penny.

Surely an icon in the annals of American literature, F. Scott Fitzgerald produced a body of work which epitomized the Roaring Twenties. It has been said that his dominant influences were "aspiration, literature, Princeton, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, and alcohol." Nonetheless, his writing possesses an urgency, a bite, unrivaled by his peers.

Collected in this superb audio are nine of his early stories performed by accomplished actors. Broadway/film actress Blythe Danner reads "Bernice Bobs Her Hair," a narrative inspired by a lengthy letter Fitzgerald wrote to his younger sister, Annabel, in which he offered advice on how she could become popular with boys.

"The Jelly-Bean," read by Dylan Baker, takes place in Georgia. Fitzgerald credits his wife for her expertise in helping him write a portion of this tale involving crap shooting, saying "as a Southern girl" she was an expert at this endeavor.

The talented Peter Gallagher reads "Head and Shoulders," the first of Fitzgerald's story to appear in The Saturday Evening Post.

Also found in the collection are "The Diamond As Big As The Ritz," "Dalyrimple Goes Wrong," "The Ice Palace," "Benediction," "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," and "May Day."

This is an exemplary combination of memorable prose and oral presentation, a remarkable listening experience.

I first became acquainted and fell in love with the work of F.Scott Fitzgerald when I read a hardback copy of The Great Gatsby in my early 20s. Since then, I have read Tender Is The Night and This Side of Paradise, so when I discovered this collection of stories by my literary hero, I floated up to the cieling. My favorites include The Diamond As Big As The Ritz and Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and anyone who has not already been introduced to Fitzgerald, either in English class at school or while browsing in a local bookstore, it's not too late to change your mind, and it is my sincere hope that you will love this man's work as much as I do!

Let nobody fool you with adjectives about Cheever's fictional voice -- elegant, supple, crisp, resonant. Yeah it's all that, but if you have not encountered him before, you will be thinking in other terms -- unsparing, discomforting, perhaps even unforgiving. But listen to all these discs through, arranged from early stories to later -- through a variety of fine professional voices ending with Cheever's own refined rasp, for the last two stories -- before you make any judgments. It ought to take you several sittings; one story at a time may be all you can take. But by the end, you will likely want to eventually hear them all through, again.

Cheever, along with the somewhat younger John Updike, was thought of as the basic social chronicler in the short story form of his generation in post World War 2 years. That is somewhat misleading; the background for both is Protestant, or post-Protestant, east coast, upper middle class and aspiring higher. The two of them became known for what was called "the New Yorker story," which in itself will tell you a lot.

In Dante's Hell upon entry, a demon named Minos winds his tail the precise number of times to figure exactly how deep to drop you down to your earned level of damnation. A similar process happens very early in a Cheever story. A character, or the narrative voice itself, pitilessly fixes all others, in their sphere of vision, based upon the smallest nuance of voice inflection, diction, style of car or dwelling, choice of school, favorite drink, clothes or shoes. They are thus immediately damned in this world, and in a Hell particularly Calvinist (according to Cheever himself), without appeal except, perhaps, eventually to the reader's sympathy. Which some will gain, some not. In any event, they will still be wearing the same shoes at the end, of which fact Cheever will be certain to remind you.

In the early pieces, Cheever is a little uncertain on paper, a little jokey or cute but always entertaining and fascinating. Then he cools out real fast, and delivers stuff as good as the best of his predecessors in this genre, John O'Hara and F. Scott Fitzgerald. From then on his batting average is about as consistent as Lou Gehrig, too; the human toll of his endeavor is discreetly kept from the reader but apparently sounded in his personal life. State of the art performances by a catlike Merle Streep, the great Ed Hermann, serious Peter Gallagher, jovial George Plimpton, witty Blythe Danner move you soundly and at an even pace through all this material. But for all the pain in his voice, it is tremendously beatutiful when Cheever's own voice finally breaks surface on the last disc, in a clearly angry yet unbelievably controlled fit of passion, reading The Death of Justina -- a full frontal assault on modern corporate nonsense and social pretense. I certainly had never heard anything like it. Finally, a shade or two cooled off, Cheever closes the set with a reading of his mythic standard, The Swimmer.

Not for the feint-hearted, this mature set is as good as audio books get.

This audio-set collects 12 of Cheever's finest stories and recruits wonderful readers, including Meryl Streep, who is fantastic. Cheever has a gift for ripping the cover off of everyday life and getting at the emotional core. Many of the stories pack an emotional punch at the end as the reader gains a sudden and almost blinding insight into the emotional core of the lead character. The first and last stories of the collection ("The Enormous Radio" and "The Swimmer") are especially good at this. Some stories are funny -- like the "Chaste Clarissa" -- but most would have to be classified as "downers." Perhaps it is this dark edge that keeps Cheever from achieving some of the heights that Chekhov scaled.

Still, Cheever is at the top of the hierarchy of great American short story writers, along with writers like Sherwood Anderson and Hemingway. He's a little bit better at the short-story craft that any of his contemporaries.

George Plimpton is probably the only reader in this collection who will grate on you. Everyone else is absolutely great. My hats off to the publisher.

A great addition to the Campaigns of the Civil War series, and proof that there is always something fresh to say about any historical subject. I especially liked the essay concerning Lee's personnel moves in the wake of The Wilderness; it's becoming increasingly politically incorrect to praise Marse Robert. Also, the essay on the fighting at the Bloody Angle is a wonderful piece of microhistory. The maps are excellent. As with the rest of the series, a must- read for the hardened Civil War student.

Gallagher hits homeruns with this wonderful series of books on the critical campaigns of the CW. Not a continuous retelling but Gallagher and company get into specifics of the campaign through separate essays that allow greater detail on controversies, personnel, mistakes, and many subjects that prior to this were limited in detail. An example is Krick the Younger's detailed essay on the little known battle of Yellow Tavern that cost Jeb Steuart his life. The other essays all offer new detail and great insight. I was particularly fascinated by Gallagher's own essay on Lee's grappling with command erosion through the loss of Longstreet, Ewell's collapse and Hill's physical erosion. Show's Lee as a great commander much like a coach that loses star players but still manages a great game. All the essays are excellent by Matter, Reardon, Blair, Rhea and Carmichael but Krick senior's feature on the Mule Shoe exhibits great detail on one of the most horrid portions of any battle of the CW involving endless hours of close up fighting in the salient. The fighting involves trench warfare, attacking and shooting from just a few feet apart, hand to hand combat, continuous rain and a continuing of a struggle with death that seemed to have no end. After you read Krick's Mule Shoe, you recognize how the war changed dramatically from Bull Run to an incredible desperate struggle of all out war. Read closely Krick senior's dig at Longstreet who was not present after being shot down in the wilderness. Krick, a legendary critic of Longstreet, cannot leave him alone even in his absence.

This will be brief, but I want to be clear. Gallagher's book is a significant and positive digression from the "Dominant discourse". She is able to intellectually examine the oppressive nature of the bell curve and other tired psychological pedantics and move the discussion into a positive and critical constructivist critique.

This is a must read for any professor of Ed Psyc. It is guaranteed to move you off the Piaget-driven dime and into 21st Century conversations about the nature of being human.

These brief personal essays and excerpts are brilliant, to be appreciated like any other work of art or selection of music. I purchased this to enjoy Spalding Gray and Marion Winik, and eneded up finding a whole host of other wonderful writers whose books I can now enjoy. Funny, poignant and sometimes deep, these 'first words' (read by the authors) entertained me and my husband on a long drive -- and sent me to my local library for more. Thanks, writers!

Simply the best book on comparative West European politics. Organised by theme rather than country; but does not just cover the 'big' countries as most texts do. Excellent.

This lady has a blog where she says things like that:

"You might be wondering...does Heather have a boyfriend? Well, yes I do (he's a hottie, too, from my Looking for Hotties blog)";
"I like to party, drink and have a good time. Does this sound weird coming from a youth minister" [Yes definitely];
"On a retreat recently (with amazingly holy Catholic young women!) [what is a holy Catholic young woman?], I said something that shocked me - I told them I was looking for a hot guy in my life."

And this one is really shocking:
Wouldn't it be great if all wedding gowns of white contained a pure vessel, ready to receive their true love for the first time - both spiritually and physically? Wouldn't it be great if every bride could honestly say, "Fill me with everything that you are - I purely desire to receive and love you for eternity"?

This girl talks by the devil to the youth!

As a youth minister, I am aware that very few teens really understand the virtue of chastity; they tend to think that the Christian position on the topic of sexuality is simply 'don't do it'. In this book, Gallagher and Vlahutin clearly articulate the many reasons WHY we should live this virtue of chastity. Anyone who reads this book with an open mind will, I believe, become convinced that God's plan for our sexuality is for our good and makes sense. I recommend this book on many different levels - a great gift for teens as they struggle through the turbulent adolescent years, a welcome addition to any library (secular or religious), and a must read for parents - since in my work I have found that very few parents understand the virtue of chastity, and therefore find it nearly impossible to articulate a message of sexual purity to their teens.

I used A Case for Chastity with my high school juniors and they really enjoyed a new perspective that's contrary to our culture. They read the book and then we had many lively class discussions about chastity. It helped all of them to reconsider what it means to love love someone. Many of them seriously considered chastity for the first time. Others said it confirmed their decision to live chastely. Almost every students said they would recommend it to a peer. I would definitely recommend this book for teachers to use in the classroom, or for any teenager.

I highly recommend this book not only to people who are unsure about chastity but those who already have chosen it because of its positive encouragement. Through reading this book and the personal stories, I am ready to take on the challenge of living true and full chastity. I will definitely be buying two more copies for my seventh grade male cousins!

Besides the fact that one of the authors was my college roommate...

Having known Pete, this book shows that the authors preach what they practice. Pete gave me this same advice when we were in college together and my marriage is better off for knowing him.

This book is also refreshingly faithful to the teachings of the Magesterium. (Thanks, Pete and Heather.)

Probably the best part of this book is all the testimonials that Pete and Heather compiled. This shows, in the words of teens themselves, what kind of impact chastity can have in the lives of real people. Their testimony along with countless others, bears witness that chastity is possible!

To paraphrase Chesterton, chastity hasn't been tried and found wanting. It has been wanted and found trying.

Be a part of the generation that shows that chastity is the only way to true freedom!

I just finished it 5 minutes ago and my reaction is WOW! Very rarely do I ever read a book in one sitting. Not only that, but this is a genre that I normally wouldn't even consider reading. Like many other reviewers I had the pleasure to meet Peter on Venice beach. As a fellow author, "Our Life on the Run"..., Peter was gracious enough to exchange book for book. Peter, you did a terrific job keeping me glued to this tale. My favorite character was Dura...and I just couldn't believe what happened to her. You did an excellent job building your characters, keeping me in suspense, and....well, I'll reserve any comments on the ending other than it was unexpectedly good. Highly recommended suspense thriller.

This weekend as we strolled around Venice Ca. weaving in and out amongst the street painters and hustle magicians, we suddenly came across an energetic young writer selling his brave wares to the crowd-- Books to those more widely attuned to A.D.D. fascinations? Really?-- Wow. We were compelled to stop.

I bought 'The Little White Trip' that Saturday and I've just finished it. I found it to be an intriguing and very solid first novel from a writer who not only completed a book that I can identify will entertain the masses ( as it did me) but who's talent I'm also happily watching, anticipating what it will do when it further unfolds and blooms.

Within this first book I especially enjoyed the first section, the insight Peter brought, revealing his characters to his audience, the little parts of human interaction that really bring you {the reader} within the thoughts and mindset of the different personalities. How their reactions to little things work, the dynamics.

{ The scene outside the bowling alley, with the 2 blondes and the hot brunette, sticks out to me at the moment.} He has an enviable ability to recognize and accurately describe common/real everyday human interaction. Kind, cruel, or neither, he employs wit well and it comes across crystal and clear. It assured a sturdiness to my read, and a spark to the story that spanked of solid voice and style...

...Which isn't saying that I didn't also (highly) enjoy the overall plot! A very interesting and evolving stage! Almost like two novels for the price of one.


So, Peter,
Its 3.15 am Monday, I've just finished and I'm inspired. A big thank you!
When you write another ill buy n read for sure. I can't wait to see how you stretch out into your talent. Till then, I wish your mind n pen great inspiration and speed. :)


Ivy

CA

This book is most excellent. After all it begins with a simple relateable journey of some kids finishing high school and beginning an epic adventure in the mountains only to be thwarted by mysterious circumstances. The author show's a preference to plot twists and interesting characters that follow the reader past the expiration of the book. It includes all of the elements and is highly comparable to average teenagers (minus a few details)

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend who enjoys fast-paced and stimulating literature.

After years of being force fed tastless books through the public education system i lost most of my desire to read. I am so glad that I can across Peter's book "Little White Trip" because it revived the long lost part of me that truley loves to read! It only took me two days to finish the book [which is speaking wonders for me] because it was difficult to pry it from my hands, and when i did manage to step away from the book it was ALL i could think about! I hope that you buy this book and experiance the adventure that Peter has created for you, and support this new author in his quest for well diserved fame.

I got this book for christmas- it came in a great package, and I'm so glad to have a 1st printing, signed edition. Gallagher has an excellent sense of narrative, and the book kept me in my room reading for hours until I was done ! I'd recommend it to anybody who likes mysteries- this one has a great twist!