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I just like Brink's stories! It is mostly difficult to have a break once you have started to read his book.

Ben Du Toit teaches history and geography in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the period of the height of the youth riots in the township of Soweto. At Ben's school, Gordon Ngubene, a native, is a cleaner and he occasionally does little chores for Ben. When Ben sees that Jonathan, Gordon's son, is showing signs of intelligence and diligence, he decides to partly finance his education. One day however, Jonathan takes part in a demonstration which ends up in a violent riot and is arrested by the police. A few weeks later, after a harrowing quest through countless offices, Ben and Gordon are informed that Jonathan died "of natural causes" while in detention.
Due to the mystery surrounding his son's death, Gordon gives up his job in order to devote himself entirely to the enquiries which have become an obsession with him. Both the Special Branch and the Security Police are annoyed about Gordon's insistence and soon enough Gordon is arrested. After numerous attempts to try to trace Gordon and speak to him, Ben and Gordon's wife Emily are told by the spokesman of the Security Police that Gordon apparently committed suicide by hanging himself with strips torn from his blanket.
But Ben Du Toit senses that the official explanations for both Jonathan's and Gordon's deaths are just a pretext for poorly disguised murders and so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts investigating.
Mr Brink's novel is a harrowing account of a solitary man's fight against all the atrocities of the Apartheid. During this dark period in the history of South Africa, a white man had to be a real hero to fight for the right of the Afrikaners. The author beautifully captures the fact that Ben has to fight not only the resentment of the people of the other race, but also that of the people belonging to his own race - his family for a start. The descriptions of the townships of Johannesburg, particularly that of Soweto, are breathtaking in their accuracy and poignancy.

Brinks sketches the life of a idealistic man - Ben du Toit that lives his life in Apartheid South Africa on the brink of normalcy until the mysterious death of a black American friend and his son points to government involvement. As du Toit becomes obsessed with discovering the truth he becomes the symbol of Afrikaner conscience struggling to cope with the conflict and alienation that this crusade against Apartheid causes. With Apartheid being woven into the Afrikaner concept of nationhood and religion Ben finds himself not only in conflict with his family or the government but with his own history and ultimately with his own identity and even his soul. du Toit becomes a classical Afrikaner in his stubborn steadfast refusal to sway from his course , irrespective of the consequences, that he believes to be the only just and morally acceptable one.

He painfully exposes the moral vacuum of Apartheid and how it alienates not just du Toit from himself and his family but ultimately the Afrikaner from their fellow South Africans, as well as their own ideas of justice and morality.

The original Afrikaans language edition packs a powerful punch and is beautiful to read. English translation loses a bit of impact and fails to capture the finesse of the master writer in his mother tongue but is never the less worth burning the midnight oil for. It should however be noted that the story is dated and not a balanced portrayal of South Africa, Afrikaners or Apartheid.

Good fiction but not a historical treatise of Apartheid as some reviewers seem to think.

During the 1970's in South Africa, several protests were happening against the apartheid acts and the education of African natives to speak Afrikaans, instead of their chosen language. In Andre Brink's brilliant novel, A Dry White Season, he presents the brutality of the African struggle for freedom from the white leaders by telling the story of one man's effort to clear his black friend's name. When Gordon Ngubene, a janitor at the local school in Johannesburg, finds his son dead without a clue of what happened, he asks his colleague Ben Dutoit for financial help and support. After certain inquiries were developed on Gordon's behalf for his son, Jonathan, he is arrested by the police and is marked by his own "suicide". However once Ben begins to unfold the evidence that leads to what truly happened, he is caught in a jungle of lies, danger, and an atrocious form of racism.

Ben Dutoit was a simple man content with his mediocre life based on his wife, two daughters, and his teaching. Although the Special Branch had become more involved in the town where he lived, he purely continued throughout his basic routine day in and day out. Once Gordon is told by the Security Police that his son has died of "natural causes" while in a severe detention for publicly protesting, it seems that he will stop at nothing to figure out what had occurred the night of Jonathan's death. "If it was me, all right. But he is my child and I must know. God is my witness today: I cannot stop before I know what happened to him and where they buried him. His body belongs to me. It is my son's body."(Pg.49 A Dry White Season). Throughout this time period, whites naturally assumed themselves superior to that of the African race, and ruthless acts were brought upon the blacks daily. Brink vividly described the numerous cruelties aimed at the "inferior race" due to such instinctive racism. The author conjures the understanding of the reader to see how simple it would be for Ben to turn a blind eye on Gordon's tragedy. Yet after Gordon is accused of strangling himself by tying bits of torn blanket together, Ben is convinced that it was torture that killed the prisoner, and Ben just cannot let the case go with injustice. One can sense just how stubborn Ben truly is regarding the truth of his friend's alleged murder, mainly because of the emotions depicted by Brink that the reader can pick up on. Assembling as much evidence against the Special Branch's summary of Gordon's arrest, with the help of taxi driver and informational guide Stanley, Ben attempts to prove that the police are sadistic liars that have crossed the line of racism and have entered a territory of the highest form of hatred. Publicity of his "Negro loving" efforts have provoked such racists to seek ways to harm Ben and his family, such as sending bombs in the mail and shooting through his windows at night. I simply cannot comprehend the motive of someone to physically or mentally abuse another for their own views. However nothing could frighten him from completing what he had started in the first place, not even the terrifying Captain Stolz who had threatened him many times during the case. The thorough detail Brink constructed to picture the startling police officer was amazing, admitting a very clear idea of just how alarming this character must have been. Aware of his immense caution in his own case, he presented one of his old college friends with pieces of information in order to write a biography of Ben Dutoit. Two weeks later, Ben was killed in a hit and run car accident, but fortunately for him, his story would not be left untold. I personally found myself having to read certain paragraphs repeatedly in order to really grasp what was happening in all of the excitement, which I appreciated from the author. The plot was persistently heart pumping, giving off the effect that South Africa's horrifying and unfair history was not given the deliberate attention it deserved.

Before this misfortune had happened, Ben had been conceived as having a rather introverted personality, spending most of his time alone playing chess in his den. However the demand for real facts about what had definitely taken place seemed to have changed his behavior. Suddenly Ben was actually offering his true opinions back to those that he would not dare before, such as Captain Stolz, no matter how harsh or unsettling. After this unexpected alteration, Ben began to become more aware of his surroundings, more observant of his daily routines that he had developed into over the years. The author made sure to explain Ben's strange emotions in noticing things in his life that seemed unfit to him. "All at once this is what seemed foreign to him: not what he had seen in the course of the long bewildering afternoon, but this. His garden, with the sprinkler on the lawn. His house, with white walls, and orange tiled roof, and windows and rounded stoop. His wife appearing in the front door. As if he'd never seen it before in his life."(Pg.99 A Dry White Season). If you take a considerable amount of time to glance at your own life, as I have done from the direction of this book, you perceive things that might belong to you, though they might seem impossible to be yours. The process is difficult to explain, until you try to complete it yourself. Brink wrote the character as if his own qualities were shifting along to the varied events of Gordon's death case. The author seemed to have used Ben's life as symbolism of how one moment could alter anyone's life as they know it. A calamity such as this could happen to anyone, even I, and this thought makes me wonder. How would the way I act now be changed?

The Soweto protests of the 1970's in South Africa led to many empty lots filled with tear-gas, public shootings, and violent massacres of black citizens. In the novel A Dry White Season, Andre Brink tells the tale of one honorable man that knew too much information for his own good at a time era like his generation, which guided him into a vast land of moral corruption. Ben Dutoit's story has captivated my imagination, gripped my heart, crossed my frustrations, and stirred my tears. This book has taught me, as well as numerous other readers as well, to follow your instincts and never let justice go unserved. "Perhaps all one can really hope for, all I am entitled to, is no more than this: to write it down. To report what I know. So that it will not be possible for any man ever to say again: I knew nothing about it. (Pg.316 A Dry White Season).

i read this while i was a high school student and i can honestly say it has been one of the few books that have made an impact on the way i view society. read it! you'll love it!

This is one of those books.
Unfortunately shorter than War and Peace or Brothers Kam... , something Cyrillic. We need more from this author. She is someone who has the wit to spit in the eye of the inevitable. You wouldn't mind striking up a conversation with her in the line at the DMV or waiting for that express elevator. If you guys have any pull, use it for our advantage. Please. This is a funny, insightful, useful book.

This book has more of a comical approach to the apocalpse.It was an alright read but don't be looking for good info on survival.This is a fun read not a serious one.

Funny as hell, no funnier than that; funny as underwater basket weaving.

Ahhh, Meghann Marco, it must be crazy being around you. So the end of the world is coming (and it will come) so what are you going to do? Well, Meghann has given us some options based on knowledge-stealing from friends like 'Smart Neighbor', her own research, and piles of Apocalyptic movie scenarios. While this book isn't dead serious, it still provides some actual information yet in a highly humorous way. What do we have to look forward to - here ya go:
1. The False Utopia where culture, emotions, and reproduction are controlled by the 'higher ups'. How to break free of those mind controlling drugs they have you on and how to hide your freewill so as not to be captured and 'recycled'. You learn how to tell if you're in a dreamworld and how to avoid the simulacrum robot replacement initiatives.

Some at the movie references: The Island, Matrix, Clockwork Orange, Total Recall, Equilibrium, Stepdford Wives.

2. Neo-Medieval World and how it's brought about through natural disasters (super volcanos, greenhouse effect, ice age, meteor strike), pandemic disease, robot revolution, and the massive co-ordinated animal uprising. You learn how to survive in the apocalyptic wasteland (remember Wardrobe, Firepower, and proper choosing of your Vehicle & Pet). How to become the Warlord. Converting your car to use alternate fuels. Some notes on zombies and how to make antiserums (along with who to save - hotness is a factor). And dealing with massive severe climate change.

Look to movies like Mad Max, Army of Darkness, 12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes, Terminator, Back to the Future, 28 Days Later.

3. Advanced Technological Dystopia where computers and robots infest our world. What to do to become the heroic detective and how to talk in 'cityspeak'. Being the Hacker and how to dress for it. How to tell if someone is a replicant and clone (and using it to your advantage). Dealing with extra-terrestrials and robot uprisings.

Movies: Terminator, A.I., Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Mars Attacks, They Live, and Alien.

4. Lastly, Tips for saving the world such as how to stop the alien invasion, assembling the proper ecclectic group of people to save the world, beating the massive co-ordinated animal uprising, and dealing with giant insects and other mutants of radiation.

Meghann gives us a great book to show how we can outwit and survive those less knowledgeable people that live down the street. Big influences on Mad Max movies, Matrix, & Blade Runner. Also, Meghann wants to make sure that anyone should be saving Jude Law for her (or George Clooney as a back up). She appreciates the undefined wisdom of Biff Tannen and most importantly... do whatever you need to to get a 1974 Ford Falcon 'V8 Interceptor' and you will be sure to survive.

- Do houseguests constantly complain that you've got nothing interesting to read in the bathroom?
- Do friends complain that waiting impatiently for you (as you try on your 33rd successive outfit while getting ready to go to the club) is boring because your coffee table contains only archaic episodes of the Onion and a few unpaid cable bills* to read?
- Are you constantly searching for 'light' or 'light-hearted' reading material that won't suck you in to a plot-line and refuse to let you get to sleep until 5 minutes before your alarm goes off?

Then go get yourself a copy of Field Guide to the Apocalypse : Movie Survival Skills for the End of the World by Meghann Marco

Most of the people I choose to spend my Saturday nights gaming, watching movies or even just socializing with, probably could have written this book. I probably could have written this book. You probably could've written this book** -- if we weren't so busy whiling our time away reading and writing things like Amazon.com Reviews instead, that is.

But thank heavens that Meghann Marco did - because it needed to be written!! And she definitely did it justice. Don't believe me without thumbing through it yourself? Go read a few excerpts.

It's a delightful little book - and if you keep it on the coffeetable, or in the W.C., it will amuse the crap out of you*** - presuming you have at least a passing knowledge of post-apocalyptic movies. It's good to be familiar with just about any Charlton Heston after-the-end-of-civilization movie (Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green, Omega Man...) It's good to know any Kubrick 'futurism' movies (2001, Dr. Strangelove...) It's good to know some of the more popular Philip K. Dick stories-adapted-to-movies (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...) It doesn't hurt to have a healthy knowledge of the Classic-Sci-Fi-novel-turned-movies (1984, Farenheit 451, Brave New World...) in order to get a lot of the 'Cognoscenti' references. But even if your only familiarity is a brush with Logan's Run or the Matrix movies, you'll still enjoy the humor.

Honestly, this isn't deep, meaningful literature. It's not groundbreaking - there are a slew of similar books on the same subjects, including those limited to just one genre of PA society (zombies, comets, asteroids, wastelands...)
But it IS damn funny... and it's definitely worth the cover price.

Even if nobody else ever stays in your post-apocalypticesque bathroom long enough to find out why you kept laughing so hard while you were in there!


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* Which at least explains why they aren't watching pay-per-view adult movies on your TV instead
** An assumption, given that you're literate enough to have gotten this far and clearly have at least a passing interest in the subject matter - or you wouldn't have kept reading
*** The pun was unintentional when I wrote it, but then it amused me, so I left it in due to vanity (did you catch that one?) and because I can (can! hah... another bad restroom pun! I crack me up - not as much as the book does, but you get what you pay for)

Fluke tells the tale of an abandoned dog named Fluke that has past life memories of being a man, a man that was evidently murdered. Fluke then goes on an odyssey to find his home, his family, and his killer. Getting there alternates between funny and frightening. Herbert shows genuine skill as a fantasist here and I wish it was a talent that he tried explore more often, as this is his best novel.

This book is a delightful and wondrous tale told by a writer who is best known by his forays into the Horror Genre.Author James Hebert abandons his usual ghosts and scares and takes the reader on a marvellous journey through the eyes of a dog , Fluke who was once a man in a previous life. In this book we see Fluke trying desperately to regain his life as a man as he goes on a journey to find his Human Family.Read this book and then give it to your children to read as it is a enchanting story for young and old.

This is a surprise. With Herbert, you usually got a gore-fest, and when I started reading this book about a man who finds himself in a dog's body, I imagined there would be lurid descriptions of dogs ripping apart other living things, probably humans. Far from it. This book is as cleverly written and as skilfully told as anything by Richard Matheson or Jonathan Aycliffe, and I do not make such comparisons lightly. `Fluke' describes the dog's (told in the first person-or should that be in the first dog?) quest to discover his previous humanness. It is a journey both of discovery and self-awareness. Herbert vividly describes what it (probably) feels like to be a dog, capturing the world of smells and canine desires; and the lingering sense of his previous humanity that propels him to discover who he was before he became a dog. The ending is moving without being sentimental. An unusual and satisfying book and one that I can fully recommend.

This book is as beautiful, moving, riveting, and profound as its film version, and explains further the concept of reincarnation. A man returns to life on Earth as a dog...trying desperately to adjust to his new life, he is constantly beset by confusing flashbacks to his former life as a man. Why is he one of the few who remember? And should he go back home to find his human family? These questions and more are answered in "Fluke."

I've read this book many times and still find it fascinating; it's written simply but beautifully, in language anyone can appreciate fully. The author obviously has a vivid mind and understands how the world looks through a dog's eyes; or perhaps he has been a dog in past lives. I know that I have. I highly recommend this lovely, exciting adventure.

It was a dog's life for Fluke the puppy until the images that had been haunting his canine mind came into sharp focus - he wasn't supposed to be a dog, he was actually a MAN! How had he ended up in this furry body? What of his wife, his child? What of HIM? Soon, though, the truth came - he the man had died, and had been reincartnated as a dog. And the visions hinted that he had been murdered! This begins a quest as Fluke sets out to his old town, determined to deliver out justice to whoever murdered him...An excellent book and a personal favorite of mine. But the best part of all was Fluke. He remained at all times a dog, even though he had human intelligence and memories, rather than some bizarre mix of human and animal that all too many books have. Fluke's friend Rumbo is also an enjoyable character, even if he did have a passion for crime. One of the best, well-written and beautiful stories I have ever read.

If you ever found Cooper handsome, this book certain has many photos to entertain and foster this thought.

The hardcover is a must! The narrative inside is perhaps average but if you supplement the book with a bio novel on Cooper you'll certainly feel its well worth the expense. Buy, buy, buy

Well, let me start with what beautiful tribute this book is to her father. Maria Cooper's book is beautiful, but too many of the pictures look posed (Hollywood style). And the pictures that are actually not posed say more in body language about a family that clearly protects the Cooper family image. These people are beautiful, but they are too perfect: clothes, hair, makeup, you know it's all there. One picture I found fascinating, is of the three of them on a beach facing the ocean. Maria and her mom on the left, and further away is Gary Cooper and his body language is quite clear. Hmmm, that definitely was a candid shot. And if anyone is really looking, the beautiful Maria seems to be the glue that kept that family together. There is a gorgeous shot of the three of them in their ski clothes in an old house. Rocky with little makeup is quite beautiful, but Maria and her Dad are the ones in sync in this picture. I don't know, but these pictures show a definite strain in the family relationship far more than I ever realized. With friends, the pictures are happier. I am a fan of Gary Cooper's and always will be. And the fact, that he adored his beloved daughter and she adored him is clearly seen in this book. Maria Cooper shows us a Gary Cooper I have already seen in other pictures other people have taken of him. There really isn't a lot of hugging, and touching, and birthday parties, water fights, and family occasions, events, like most people and other stars have of their lives while children are growing up. I would love to have seen a picture of Mr. Cooper in his overalls in his garden (he was an avid gardener), teaching Maria to do things, showing her how to ride a horse, acting goofy.. Maria Cooper is quite lovely, and this book is wonderful to look at, but I don't really feel anything but a little sadness that she didn't show us more candid and "real" photographs about of her Dad and the family. There was a great deal more to this man than meets the eye. I didn't get too much of a glimpse into that.

The cover photograph, of Gary Cooper spoon-feeding ice-cream to his daughter on the streets of "Hadleyville," is a poignant clue to what follows. Maria Cooper was a girl who lived a very rarified life, and she lets us take a delicious peek at it.

This is a great book for initial insight into Gary Cooper by his daughter. It is very obvious she adored her father. The book is very informative about the personal life of "Coope" with many wonderful pictures, however, the book is more images than writing. The details are only touched on. If you are a Gary Cooper & you want many unseen pictures, this is the book for you...

In a day and age when the children of "the stars" write the most deplorable books about their parents, this book is a wonderfully tender tribute to a true hero. Absolutely refreshing.

I bought the book as a gift for a friend. It arrived in good condition, although it took a little while to get here. It appears to be amusing for those who like Star Trek.

Able to remove an appendix with one hand tied behind his back, The Doctor is also able to write an engaging book with tongue firmly pressed into his holographic cheek. While more "truthful" than Leslie Nielson's A Liar's Autobiography, The Hologram's Handbook is similar in tone and manner, told by a person who is rarely able to look beyond the mirror. The Doctor tells us organics just how things really are, and how they should be. Everything we love about The Doctor is here - from the biting sarcasm to the Data-esque desire to experience humanity. If you're like me and think The Doctor was the best (and perhaps the only truly great) part of Voyager, then this one is a must read.

If your a fan of Voyager and you loved watching the episodes that pertained to the Doctor aboard then you will just love reading this book. It is funny, witty and just down right enjoyable. A must read for any Star Trek fan.

A brilliant and witty piece of Star Trek writing, possibly the wittiest piece of Star Trek writing I've ever read.

Robert Picardo catches the essence of Voyager's EMH, our beloved Doctor, in a way that only he could. Witty, insightful and thought provoking are all words that perfectly describe this book.

I couldn't put it down, Picardo's writing is so smooth it's like listening to the Doctor himself talking. And not only does he provide insightful views on his character, but also some views about life in general, which are recurrent themes throughout all the centuries portrayed on Star Trek.

And, unlike the show, this book gives equal credit to pre-Scorpion and post-Scorpion time periods, and the Doctor speaks of both Kes and Seven of Nine fondly.

However, the book wasn't perfect. While Picardo covers the Doctor's views on some of the major characters nicely, I felt that he failed to provide enough insight into his relationships with the other characters on Voyager, particularly Neelix and Harry Kim.

Another low point of the book me was his continued references to Lt. Joe Carey, a recurring guest star on Voyager. In one early episode, Carey was abrasive to the Doctor, and Picardo has played that out to the extreme here, often saying he didn't like Carey. I found that to be a little rough, Carey eventually died on an away mission for Voyager, and to speak ill of a dead crewmember like that doesn't cut it in my book.

I would also have liked to have read more about the Doctor's experiences in the Delta Quadrant, and not just about personal relationships. The Doctor remained active and onboard the ship during most of the alien takeovers, and more often than not entire episodes were devoted to his adventures. Wouldn't these sorts of experiences have shaped his views on life a little? He watched as Suder struggled to contain his violence, watched as the Hirogen tortured the bodies of Voyager crewmembers, and countless other such experiences. Wouldn't these sort have things changed him? Perhaps he held a grudge against the Hirogen? Or detested the way the Vidiians used their medical science to harm others? Little to no attention was paid to these in the book, and I didn't like that. Those sort of experiences deserved a chapter at least, but Picardo paid no attention to them.

But that being said, the book was excellent, and provided great insight into the Doctor's character.

A must read if you are a Voyager fan.

Robert Picardo opens his Foreword to the book asking "Do you often feel you are the only intelligent one in a universe of idiots?" Brannon Braga, one of the executive producers of "Star Trek: Voyager," has something else to say in his introduction, that the book is "a hundred page cry for help."

All joking aside though, "The Hologram's Handbook" is truly a revealing insight into the chacter of The Doctor from "Voyager." Robert Picardo goes completely in character to write this missive that includes information on everything from "the pros and cons of hololife" to "the program upgrade of kings."

Throughout, the book is written in The Doctor's style, assured of his own superiority and yet enriched for the experiences he has had with his friends and even family. The book provides the expected background on The Doctor as well as adventures that had never been previously be revealed. The book contains images from "Star Trek: Voyager" throughout, as well as cartoon caricatures which The Doctor seems to abhor, but says his publisher felt it would help him to not appear elitist.

If you wish to know more about The Doctor, then pick up "The Hologram's Handbook" today. Or, if you're a holographic reader who hopes to improve your well-being and social skills, simply download it onto the nearest padd and prepare to be enlightened.

Bought this as a gift and never got to read it personally, however, was told it was a great book. Marv's a legend, and any Bills fan should take a read, capturing those "glory years" of the Bills.

Extremely hokey and a tad bit hurried through the end, but a pretty good book covering his life of football. *Mr. Levy really needs to lay off the use of superlatives as almost every player or team he has coached was the greatest at one particular thing or another. Also, I don't think Mr. Levy intended that the descriptions he has written regarding his locker room motivational speeches were to betray the fact that the players most likely considered the gravely serious war metaphors that he was constantly drawing on as a little too serious to be applied to a football game. No wonder why they consistently fell silent as he left them to contemplate his words. I can hear in my mind a player asking another "Like, we're playing a game here, right?" as Marv proudly leaves the locker room. Marv comes off as a classy guy hoping to coach again. I hope he gets his wish.

If one were to look outside of one's immediate family for a role model, Marv Levy would be a wise choice. Marv Levy is not all about football, although he has spent most of his adult life in one capacity or another in the game. His body of work is as a human being, caring for his players and family. In this era when books usually have some axe to grind against those who "done someone wrong," Levy seldom has a bad word about anyone, and any are usually absolved before the end of the paragraph. His book details his life, the good times and bad, the celebrations and defeats, and the fights and absolutions. He is a unique man who has written and interesting and worthwhile book about his experiences, written in a positive light about incidents that helped him grow as a man and a leader. For those looking for a good football book, an inspirational book or inpiration of life, read Marv's book. It's well worth it.

[Four of Four stars] Marv Levy of Chicago
and Iowa is sort of the Red Auerbach of
Pro Football. A journeyman, who maintained
his class and sense of humour which is not
just soundbytes in NFL films clips.

Mr Burns does us an injustice below in his
review by criticising the very fine Montreal
Alouettes of the CFL, but CFL fans will love
the chapters on our favorite League, particu-
larly, "My Grey Cup Runneth Over". The only
knock that one can have on Levy, and it's a
slight one, is that he hung too long onto
Kelly at QB (Frank Reich should have started
one of those Super Bowls) and Thurman (fumbles)
Thomas, who was simply an overrated player.

One spot in Marv's fine book, he maintains one
of the hardest things he ever had to do was
keep lightning quick Steve Tasker (one-time
Kansas Jayhawk) on the bench! Tasker, like Levy
is a class act who deserves to be in the NFL
Hall-of-Fame and could have been one of the
greatest RBs or WRs of alltime. Marv, as bad
as the NFL is getting even having you back in
the League at 81, again with the Bills (this
time at G.M.) is a breath of fresh air. Thanks
for all the memories. Your dad and my granddad
chewed a lot of the same turf in World War I.

Recent history has been kind to Marv Levy as the magnificence of having won four consecutive AFC Conference championships is now replacing the earlier bitter pill of lost Superbowls. Marv Levy has become the ceremonial uncle of professional football today. He is to pro football what George Foreman is to pro boxing, the friendly enduring face of a brutal sport.

This is a campfire book, a grown-up bedtime story about a bright young lad from Chicago, one of those lucky folks who got paid to do what he liked. It is a tale remarkably devoid of rancor or regrets but rather a mixture of self-deprecating humor, a bit of self-serving forgetfulness, colorful characters, and the pleasures of the jocular world of organized football. In his preface Levy advises us that his writing style is the re-creation of the pleasures of his memory. Take away the Kansas City Chiefs and he would have had the perfect life.

But before arriving at Kansas City, there were the minor matters of World War II, college, and building a resume. Levy entered the Army Air Corps with the help of a friend who, shall we say, understated Levy's vision impairment. When this problem was later detected, Levy was scratched from pilot training and spent much of the war in Florida as a weather observer. After the war, already in possession of a bachelor's degree from Coe College, Levy began his much heralded graduate work at Harvard. In truth he opted out of the law school in three weeks, choosing instead to earn a masters in history and collecting inspiring anecdotes for use in the Buffalo Bills' locker room years later.

Levy had abandoned law school because of his desire to coach football. After a stint as assistant coach back at Coe for the mighty "Kohawks," Levy over the next fifteen years crafted a highly respectable resume of work as head coach of generally mid-range college football teams, primarily New Mexico, California, and William & Mary. It was a stunning upset of the nation's number one team, Navy, by an undermanned William and Mary crew in 1967 that brought Levy to the attention of NFL, and eventually to the staff of George Allen in Washington as special teams coach.

Levy could not help but be influenced by his Redskins boss. Allen referred to his defensive linemen as "rushers," benched the popular pass-happy Sonny Jurgensen for the workmanlike Billy Kilmer, and played for the least mistakes. A running offense, a veteran opportunistic defense, and juiced up special teams play were his trademarks. Allen seems to have taken to Levy because of the latter's own imaginative thinking about the critical nature of special teams' play, which comprises about 30% of an average NFL game. Moreover, Levy could not have missed how Allen cultivated an image and played the psychological card adroitly.

Levy, a man not without ambition, was anxious to run his own ship, and in 1973 became the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. Once the flagship of the Canadian Football League, the Alouettes were an artistic, aesthetic, and organizational shipwreck, bedeviled by an atrocious stadium, poor attendance, and impossible weather. Levy guided Montreal to the Grey Cup final in his first year and a league championship the following season. His five successful campaigns in Canada brought an invitation to come back south of the border and take the reins of the young Kansas City Chiefs.

In many ways the Chiefs Levy inherited in 1978 were very much like the present day Chiefs-a potent offense with a porous defense. He also inherited an overbearing club president, Jack Steadman, who did not understand Levy's priority of drafting for defense [Art Still, Mike Bell, Gary Spani, among others], nor his coach's penchant for a tough ground game a la his contemporary "Ground Chuck" Knox. Perhaps reflecting the thinking of his old mentor George Allen, Levy believed that an adequate quarterback could direct the Chiefs, as Billy Kilmer had in Washington. At Kansas City Levy inherited the aging QB Mike Livingston and drafted Clemson's Steve Fuller. Steadman--and Lamar Hunt himself-- created what was probably an unnecessary controversy in their criticisms of the quarterbacking position, a situation aggravated by the arrival of yet another QB, the gunslinger Bill Kenney.

The Chiefs improved, and the defense became stellar, but neither Hunt, Steadman, nor many of the fans were satisfied with a .500 team. Released from the Chiefs in 1982, Levy would always remember how a meddlesome front office and instability at the quarterback position could undermine an otherwise flawless rebuilding program. Thus, when Levy accepted the Buffalo Bills' call in midseason 1986, it is no coincidence that he had already over the years cultivated friendships with owner Ralph Wilson and his executive staff of Bill Polian and John Butler, and that the quarterback situation was quite stable under the maturing Jim Kelly. Clearly a unity of respect and purpose among all levels of Buffalo management marked Levy's years with the Bills and allowed the team to focus entirely on drafting, development, and execution.

Levy assumes that most readers know of the exploits of the Bills in their glory years, and as a rule he paints with a broad red, white, and blue brush. As a history major himself, he has forgotten or omitted some situations that still intrigue knowledgeable observers: his protest of Cincinnati's no huddle offense to the NFL Commissioner prior to the 1988 AFC Championship [a style of play which, ironically, would become the hallmark of the Bills, the K-Gun] or Thurman Thomas's missing helmet episode at the opening of the 1992 Superbowl. But there is self-revelation as well. Levy was over 60 when hired by the Bills; he admits that he had begun to doubt whether he would ever coach again. How could he know then that his best days were yet to come?

Nightmare U.S.A. is an extremely informative and well written book. The author keeps it fun throughout by putting a sense of love into his work. I found, as I read through this hefty tome, a true feeling of 'being there' watching the films that are presented. I'm looking forward to the next installment. All in all, a wonderful read for those interested in the study of exploitation films.

So great a book I bought two one for my business partner and one for me!

I've written a longer, more extensive review for Film Threat, but I'm going to do another one here because I believe this book belongs on the shelves of every horror/exploitation fan, film buff and film journalist. Yes, it is expensive, but it's also a 500+ page oversized hardcover with color and black and white photos (many from filmmakers' personal collections), movie reviews and interviews (many with directors who have never spoken about their films publicly before). As I said in my previous review, this is probably the best film book of the decade.

If exploitation films are your cup of tea, you need this book. Period. At some point this should become some sort of mandatory college text book, as it is not only a history in filmmaking that is rarely covered by more "serious" journalists, it's also a crash course on filmmaking.

Once you read this incredible book, which will cause you arms to fall off if you try to do it in one sitting, you'll be thrilled to know it's only the first volume (the second one, according to the author, is scheduled for 2010). And you thought things couldn't get any better.

Simply put, you aren't a fan of exploitation/horror if you don't have this book in your library.

Price:
I've talked to many people that feel the price is a bit steep and I agree the book isn't cheap. It is however 500 pages filled with interviews, pictures (everywhere), and essays. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger's The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised size wise but about horror films. I mean the book is no joke and there could be an exploitation horror film made about a serial killer who uses this heavy book as his weapon, that's how big it is. I felt the price was well worth it as a horror fan and film lover in general.

For those of you who aren't the biggest readers:
Basically, all you have to do is read section I The Exploitation Independents which is the history of American independent exploitation films during 1970-85 and goes from page 11-48. After you start reading you'll want to keep going and after that it's basically a reference book with essays and reviews, so you could read up on a particular film. What I'd do is either read up on a film I found prior to watching it or after I watched it to learn more.

THE BOOK:
Stephen Thrower appears to know film even though he made a rule to not include reviews on classics, foreign, and studio made films, he still makes tons of compare and contrast references to classics and mentions great directors such as Bergman and Fellini. I highly recommend this book to horror and film fans, my friends in everyday life not so much but I think my horror Amazon friends will love it, specifically reviewer Clint Bronson. Clint has crazy knowledge on horror and from my readings of his reviews 1970s imparticular which, after much thought, is the best decade for horror hands down. Be sure to check out Clint's reviews as well.

Section I- As I mentioned details the history of the exploitation film from 1970-85
Here is how Thrower breaks down section I and the history, this was a great read.
The roots and the Godfather of gore H.G Lewis.
Romero and the Modern Horror Pantheon
Critical Responses to Exploitation Cinema
Drive in Massacres
42nd Street Monsters
Serial Killers
Psycho-Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est?
Slashers- J'adore
When Blood Is Not Enough
Torture
R ape
It Came from the Stars/Swamp/Bushes/Caves
Things That Go Bump in the Night - One of my favorite avenues of horror being the ghost story. Thrower is honest in this area saying a bigger budget with good acting helps this area of horror.
Art of Perversity-Horror and Incoherence
Decline-Carpenter, Hooper, Romero, Craven
Hollywood Trash

Section II
Essays on Films and Filmmakers
This goes from 73-373 and like I said at this point it's a reference book. You can skip around read films that interest you and as you see others go back to the book and read up.

Section III
Reviews
118 Additional reviews. These are done in a shorter format then the essays above.

Section IV
Appendices and Index
Including an exploitation independent checklist Horror, 1970-85
A Bibliography
Index

I actually learned about this book in a non horror magazine Film Comment which gave it very high praise as well.

If anyone wants to know if a particular director or film they like is talked about in the book feel free to ask.

Being somewhat obsessed with the period and films covered in this mammoth tome I can unreservedly say that reading this was a religious experience for me. The amount of research gone into this project is extraordinary and the enthusiasm author Thrower has for forgotten gems like THE CANDY SNATCHERS, DEATH BED, BOARDING HOUSE and others is truly infectious. Not since Mike Weldon's original PSYCHOTRONIC came out in the early 80s have I been this giddy about a movie book.

Part 2 is announced in the back of the book which means the good times keep coming.

Glatzer has an exceptional talent. She has writing experience that smacks you in the face with its authenticity. She says, "Writers block is really more a case of opportunity knocking and you having your radio tuned up too loudly to hear it." (p. 10) and then goes on to explain how you might benefit from the big WB.

Glatzers's book sets an example for writers because it is fresh, carefully crafted, and entertaining. There are, to be sure, other books that address writer's block but this one is far more fun and less dogmatic than most. These are the fraternal twins that let this volume fill a much-needed niche in advice books for writers.
----------------------------
Reviewed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. ...

If you've ever found yourself staring at a blank page all day, or doing mundane chores over again just to avoid that lost feeling, then you've experienced writer's block. And Jenna Glatzer says, "That's good news - it means you're a writer!" Even highly successful writers can't avoid this problem, it's like failure, it happens and we learn from it. What's more important, is that you learn how to manage it.

I believe all writers should now celebrate, because Jenna has written a humorous and practical guide that is chock full of tricks of the trade, versatile tools, and writer's block busting exercises that tackle this problem from all angles.

It's worth more than a quick read, I plan to keep my copy close by so I can refer to it when those 'moments' happen, and more importantly, I consider most of her strategies to be a proactive way to increase my creativity and amount that I write.

I interviewed Jenna Glatzer on "The Inside Success Show" and was captivated by her charm and wit. She's dedicated and a great example of how to proactively manage problems, not just hide from them.

Here's some other things I learned from Jenna:
** How Jenna Glatzer went from art to acting, and then finally found her creative outlet in a professional writing career!
** What determines when an idea isn't going to work (in advance)
** Why you need to rid yourself of myths and rules to write well.
** How to apply relaxation techniques to get back into "the flow"

** What 3 things you can do optimize your performance as a writer
** And much, much more ...

Whether you're a professional writer needing to jump-start your creativity, a college student needing to meet your deadlines, or a business person who needs to increase output, I believe you will find this book rewarding.

Randy (Dr. Proactive) Gilbert, Host of The Inside Success Show (TheInsideSuccessShow.com) and best-selling author of "Success Bound"

I'm buying a copy for each of my clients for Christmas. It helped me break out of the block, so I know first hand that this is a gem to share! Editors: I suggest you do the same for your clients!

The heroine waits for you to guide her through the perilous, emotionally charged journey upon which you have started her. Nothing! Absolutely nothing comes to mind. You are as blank as the page that stares back at you. Deadlines loom overhead and time just keeps on ticking by. Crossing your fingers, you begin to pick up where you left off. It's just that simple, right? Wrong - you stop as suddenly as you start. Nothing! Perhaps you should do something else to take your mind off of everything for a few minutes. Suddenly you remember the last time you took "a little break" but it took you weeks to get started again. Where is she? Where is the muse that helped you get this far? Abandoned now, alone with the blank pages, panic sets in as you realize that you have it. You have caught that dreaded writer's disease. You have writer's block. What do you do now?

Just grab a copy of Jenna Glatzer's OUTWITTING WRITER' S BLOCK AND OTHER PROBLEMS OF THE PEN. As an experienced, published writer, Glatzer understands the frustration of having a blank page glare at you. Not only does she understand the frustrations that plague a writer, she has developed a comprehensive and easy to follow guide that offers a multitude of ways to combat the enemies of the creative process.

Glazter wants the writer to understand that a block is nothing to panic about. She considers it an occupational hazard that even the greats have to conquer. Glatzer lets the writer know that hope is not lost when the page continues to remain blank because there are many effective ways of slaying the beast. In each chapter the writer is encouraged to stay one step ahead of the game by examining reasons why writer's block may rear its ugly head. Exploring the psychological causes of a block such as anxiety, self-doubt, along with unreasonable expectations, Glatzer engages the writer to battle the enemy within first. Included with each chapter are creative writing prompts to help get the creative juices flowing once more.

OUTWITTING WRITER'S BLOCK AND OTHER PROBLEMS OF THE PEN is a witty and inspiring way of tackling troublesome roadblocks writers are sure to encounter. From exposing the psychological reasons behind roadblocks to effective ways of eradicating these problems, Glatzer offers encouraging and motivating words to help the writer to write. So whether you are just a novice looking to get that first manuscript completed or an established veteran who needs a little encouragement this is one book no writer should be without.

Reviewed by L. Raven James
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Glatzer's entertaining writing style not only pokes fun at the dreaded "writer's block," but offers advice on other writing topics such as: how to find ideas, how to handle self-doubt and deadlines. Through her clever use of humor and seasoned with personal and other writing anecdotes, she demystifies and offers excellent advice on how to outwit this bane of writers everywhere.

For example, under a section entitled "Where to Get Ideas," Glatzer writes: "Another myth is that great ideas are supposed to just come to writers. Like we're all just walking around, minding our own business when wham! A great idea falls out of the heavens and lands in our brains. I, on the other hand, am idea-challenged. The idea fairy rarely visits my home without my asking. I have to invite her, cajole her, and then sometimes bang her over the head with a stick and drag her unconscious body into my abode without my neighbors calling the police. My muse is my mortgage."

Her book, her advice and her writing style will inspire writers everywhere not to give up -- no matter what. Her book is also one that writers will return to again and again if not for advice and support then for a great pick-me-up when the writing gets tough.

I am an in-house attorney for a film production company. This book is a great resource to point you in the right direction in many respects: reminders of what terms various contracts/agreements should contain, the different types of agreements common to the film industry, copyright information ... just to name a few items. Money well spent for a very focused look at legal aspects to the film industry.

This book helps anyone who wants to do or is doing anything in entertainment be on top of their game. I carry this book with me, along with my bible (that says a lot about the book right there!) I read it every chance I get and learn so much more as a Writer/Producer, about the legalities and expectations of each member of a production team. This book is necessary for a business minded person. Crowell educates the readers in the basics of entertainment law, however he does not use language that only an attorney or judge can comprehend. He breaks concepts down in bite size pieces. I have gained a better understanding of what needs to happen in pre, pro. and post production of a film and will make sure that the many areas in film making get the attention and documentation that it needs because of this book.

This book is so useful, I don't know where to begin. It's well-structured, well-researched, and I don't know where I'd be without it. The author has so much useful information, and puts it in a way a filmmaker, who doesn't speak legalese, can understand. This book gets a very high recommendation from me for sure.

Having the hindsight of producing several movies, I wish I had read this book much earlier. ANY filmmaker would benefit from reading this book as early in their career as possible and then keeping it on their shelf as an invaluable reference tool to return to again and again.

This review is specifically directed to aspiring professional screenwriters: GET THIS BOOK.

(Note I did not say "buy" this book, since, if you truly are an aspiring professional screenwriter, you're probably sucking your own body lint for food and live under a bush overlooking the Santa Monica pier.)

Yes, do whatever you have to do. Beg, borrow, steal...pawn...get this book. You've already read your Sun Tzu:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt."

Hollywood was built on exploiting talent, and specifically exploiting writers. It's time we (YOU!) writers start preparing for the business side of things because gosh knows the other guys are plenty prepared already. Reading this book will make you realize three things.

1. Actually getting your great little/big screenplay made will be incredibly complicated, even if you're just selling it to someone who already knows what they're doing.

2. There are ways to make your script more attractive for producers/distributers and more lucrative for you.

3. Thom Crowell is an informative and entertaining scribe.

I had a friend of mine in negotiations with a major studio executive. True story. Wrote a little script called "Balls, No Balls II." Guy tried to get my buddy to sign a contract without an NDA. My buddy stood up, whipped out his Pocket Lawyer and KA-BLAW! Smacked that suit right in the mouth! "You want my high concept? I WILL be signing that NDA!"

Hmmm, actually this never happened. But at least I know what an NDA is now. Do you? Oh, you don't? GET THIS BOOK!

And yes, AMAZON, you do offer a very reasonable price. I suppose buying it isn't out of the question.

Sabrinas Aunts apply her for a Summer camp consellor job. They put her down as having many other jobs alike elsewhere which is a lie. So welcome the highest consellor theyve ever had. So shes put in charge of cabin 13- the troublemakers cabin. But when they get too much she puts them under an obedience spell. Can she keep it up though when they are losing every competition?

Sabrina's lonely. Harvey's away to Europe with his Mum + Dad and Libby's flanting it in France.So her aunts zap a counselor résumé that makes her sound brilliant. So Sabrina and stowaway Salem are off 2 Camp Bearclaw.Then there's the bad news. She get cabin 13. the trouble-maker cabin.So food fights and running aways are a daily occurous.But so Sabrina finally loses her temper and cast a spell to make her camper act like angels. But her campers are 2 good. Can Sabrina win the Tug of War competition? And can she remove the spell? Read and find out!

This was definetly one of the best Sabrina books. It wascreative and funny. I really liked it a lot, and if you read it, youshould like it too.

ive read about 15 of the sabrina books and this is my favorite it even beats showdown at the mall. Its so good like all of john vornholt's books, as my favorite buffy the vampire slayer book is 'coyote moon' also written by john vornholt hes a great orthor. i think what makes the book good is it has comedy,romance,fun ect all in one book also its easy to relate to if you have been to summer camp. This is definatley my favorite and ive read many.

This is THE best Sabrina book of them all. Sabrina uses herwit, diplomacy and just a little magic to tame the wildest bunch ofkids at her summer camp. If you like Sabrina, read this book first.