V Books

GREAT MANGA!!!!
I'm in my twenties and this is one of the best mangas

I first started reading Mars when it was published in the shoujo manga magazine Smile, it stuck out to me but when Smile stopped printing in July 02' I didn't pick up on any of the series they put out there. Then about four years later I looked back on them with my best friend and Mars was the one that recaptured my interest. Since I own the first two books from Smile, I picked the third copy at Borders and I have continued to collect them (up to volume six now). Considering that it had been almost half a decade until I reread this series, it's saying something that I would still enjoy it so much (even more so now).

This particular volume starts going more in depth with Rei's twin brother Sei who had committed suicide when they were in Junior High. Oddly, Kira seems to share some very eerie similarities with him which raises some more serious questions. It also takes place as Rei is motorcycle racing in Suzuka and Kira is completing her painting of him. One of my favorites quotes is from Rei's friend Kyoko (a fellow motorcycle racer) when she says "Watching Rei's riding makes you realize that racing was made for men. Of course there's the physical strength aspect but our minds are structured differently. The instict to fight is purely male."

Mars is a manga worth picking up because although it may seem like a simple "good girl bad boy" love story, they're many powerful observations about life that transcend the romance itself, and great characters that keep the romance interesting. Awesome read.

Just getting hooked off Maralade Boy, I thought that was the greatest book in the world, then I saw an advertisement on Mars.I thought it was quite interesting , so I said I wanted to get it. As lucky as it might sound , I was in the library when I saw Mars 1& 2 .Well I might have taken both of them but I knew my friend wanted one.After I read 1 & 2 , I was hooked but not as much as my friend .She ordered numbers 3,4,5,and 6. Right now she's waiting for 7,8,9,10,and 11.So do think someone would buy the whole series if it wasn't good? Well think again it's a great manga , perhaps the best.If you like romance and relationships I think you'll like it it even has action too.Also if you LOVE motorcycles there will be alot of it because Rei likes motorcycles.

Great! Emotional and moving. You really do fall in love with Rei and Kira. They're very real and the artwork is great.

Mars is a beautiful story of a bad boy and a good girl who alter eachother's lives. The two main characters are recovering from tragedies in their past, and sharing those haunting memories with eachother, they begin to escape the ghosts that shadow them and begin with a fresh start that they share together. I've never read a better series of graphic novels. This is one that I think anyone could enjoy. The characters are wonderfully created, and the art unique. It is a story that I will never forget.

I bought part I a few years ago. I am an economist interested in using examples from biology to explain and model commercial markets, more as a hobby than as a professional. I recently worked on Lotka-Volterra predator prey models and competitive models (a grey squirrel competing a brown squirrel out of business). I hope to find patterns in time series that are similar to patterns in economic time series. Book I covers this but most of the subject is in book II. With help of the Mathematica package I played with the examples in the book and it worked fine. It is a high level mathematical book and although the approach is pragmatic and well written, this book is primarily written for specialized mathematicians which I am not. However I like these two books very much just because of the mathematical depth. Normally the author decides how deep I will dig into matters, here I can decide myself.

This product was in fabulous condition and was shipped quickly--I recommend the company to all.

A few decades ago mathematical biology consisted mostly of evolutionary and predator-prey models. This has changed dramatically in recent years with the advent of computational biology and gene sequencing projects. The applications of mathematics to biology are now exploding and this book is an excellent example of that. The book could best be described as the application of nonlinear dynamical systems and reaction-diffusion partial differential equations to biology structures and processes. Readers with background in these areas of mathematics will find their ideas applied beautifully in this book. The best sections of the book for me were the discussions of synchronized insect emergence, models of testosterone secretion control, insect dispersal models, calcium waves on amphibian eggs, mammalian coat patterns, models of hallucination patterns in the brain, and modeling the transmission dynamics of HIV. Numerous exercises end each chapter, and the mathematical algorithms can easily be coded in Mathematica or some other high level language. This is a fine addition to the literature on mathematical biology and for the price it is a real bargain.

Many reviews here are about the old edition of Mathematical Biology (the softcover one volume, 2nd ed). Recently J.D. Murray split the second edition in two hardcover volumes. Volume 1 discusses mainly models that use Ordinary Differential Equation, while slightly more complicated Math is required for Volume 2. These new books have added topics (modelling of marital interaction, temperature-dependent sex determination, wolf territoriality, etc). While sometimes the model is still very simple and in its inital stages (e.g. marital interaction model), the books show how much biology and applied mathematics intersect, and they make very interesting read.
There is a certain lack of analysis of the nonlinear cases, so for those who need examples of amplitude equations, different ways of perturbing a linear model, these books are not so good. These books might be too complicated for a bio person with not much mathematical background, but it is very accessible to those with some math background, and are certainly easy for Math or Physics people who want to know more applications to biology.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although a tough read, it is well worth your time and effort. The sections on spots and stripe formation are excellent and quite interesting. An excellent book!

This well-written book is a rare objective outside-in view of women in the early Latter Day Saint church.

I have just discovered Vardis Fisher. His books should be preserved. He is one of the few GREATS. I have read several books on the Donner party - both fiction and non-fiction. "The Mothers" is the BEST of all I have read. I look forward to reading more of Vardis Fisher's book if and when I can find them.

I found "The Mothers", a chillingly can't put it down book. It shows the extremes a mother will go to for her children in desperate conditions. It is the Mothers who save the encampment. It is a well written book, that I enjoyed for its story line and historical contend.

I read this book many years ago. It is the only book I have read that I was thirsty when they were thirsty, cold when they were, hungry along with them. It is a marvellously well written book you can't put down as you follow the Donner Party over the desert and into the mountain pass, to be stranded by heavy snow storms, building shelters covered with the hides from the cattle. The courage of the MOTHERS as they hoarded what little food they had for their children, in the end cooking the roofs off their shelters to feed them, while they waited and hoped that the ones that were walking out would be able to get help to come to their rescue. It is a courageous but sad tale of the strengths of women when they are put to the test of life. I lost my book on loaning it to another reader, and for a number of years tried to find a copy without any luck. This winter I was able to obtain a 1943 copy though Amazon.com. It still gives me the same feelings as it did years ago. A great insight to the lenghts a mother will go for her children and family.

I found "The Mothers", a chillingly can't put it down book. It shows the extremes a mother will go to for her children in desperate conditions. It is the Mothers who save the encampment. It is a well written book, that I enjoyed for its story line and historical contend.

This book is solidly grounded in theoretical and analytical rationales. Yet, it presents a counterintuitive conclusion: Sanctions and boycotts do not work. We may have wasted our time pressuring multinationals that operated in South Africa, and now in Burma, Iraq and Israel. A must read to understand the dynamics of global power and how multinationals stave off controls.

This book takes an academic view of the theory behind multunational corporations.

Strengths: It skilfully questions some of the basic assumptions behind the modern theory of the multinational -- as the author illustrates these assumptions permeate all our other global theories but do not have predictive validity. It also tackles a very important social issue, whether our methods to influence multinational corporations work. Did they work in South Africa? The author very convincingly proves that they did not.

Weaknesses: Some of the weaknesses are inescapable in a scholarly work. The detailed quantitative analysis and data may be skipped (as the author indicates) by policy-makers. However, a large chapter deals with this issue. Also, although the author extends her theory of multinational corporations as chameleons from South Africa to other hotspots such as Myanmar (Burma) and Nike, I would have liked her to tackle some social questions: such as whether our pressuring multinational corporations to leave South Africa extended white economic domination in the country. This question and others of its ilk are probably politically incorrect, or beyond the book's already large scope, and the author skirts them. Consquently, this book leaves you thinking -- and that may be what a good book should do.

All in all a very comprehensive, systematic and courageous look at the assumptions, theories and institutions that shape global society.

Five stars!

This book uses a crafeully built theoretical framework to show why US sanctions did not work in South Africa and are unlikely to work any where else. An important piece of research!

Probably the best review of multinational corporations, why they enter and leave host states on the market today. A must read for anyone either doing research on multinationals or interested in the effects of globalization.

The scholarly literature on multinational corporations is very weak when it comes to explaining why multinationals leave. This is the focus of this book. After one of the best reviews EVER on research regarding the multinational corporation, the author presents a very detailed study on why they left South Africa. The implications for this study extend to anyone who wants to know why multinationals leave -- or anyone who wants to influence whether they stay or leave! Excellent and highly recommended

The book is useful for those who begin studying CFD methods in heat transfer and fluid flows. It has been a standard for several years.

This book is a wonderful way to understand the fundamental concepts behind techniques such as the SIMPLE algorithm. Patankar begins in one dimension, expands his approach, and presents the results very clearly. His physical insights are very well presented, and his narrative style is easy to read. One may much more profitably read the recent literature in this area after having examined Patankar's text.

This is the best CFD book I ever read !! And it should be your first CFD book too. It's easy, short, concise and correct.

It doesn't have extensive coverage or any advanced topic like most of recent CFD book get. But the way it shines is that the author (one of the founders of recent CFD field) spent that much time discussing how to discritizing and evaluating the simplest form of commonly used pde eqations and boundary conditions. No advanced math involved, it's all simple algebra.

Everytime when I start a new problem and write down the discritized eqation, I double checked it using what I learned from the book before I input it into the computer. It just worked.

There's no magic in CFD, but this book is like a magic to me.

This is extraordinarily well-written for anyone who knows a little bit about heat transfer, mass transfer, or fluid flow and wants to write a mathematical model to perform calculations in 1D, 2D or 3D. (Also works for electromagnetic equations of the same form--used it for my doctoral thesis.) It's very practically oriented, with clear explanations and good diagrams showing how the grid layout translates into code.

This is one of the ground breaking texts. I purchased a copy on the recommendation of a collegue (who has worked in the field for a while) when I started in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

I found the book a little bit difficult to get into. Having spent more time working through CFD problems, it all now makes sense - although I would recommend beginners to find something else more recent (such as An introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The finite volume method by Versteeg & Malalasekera) that has some of the more recent developments in the field.

It is still an invaluable reference to have on your bookshelf as it covers the fundamentals of CFD.

These cards are well printed, with clear Hebrew fonts. The cues to various [Christian Hebrew] textbooks may be useful; the OT wordcount cues are definitely helpful. Two problems limit the usefulness:
lack of an index sheet for those of use who need to find cards out of the order they were numbered in, and the cards 'flip' sideways rather than over.
They outshine the Vis-ed series because the Hebrew font is more readable, and the order is more practical for students who use a modern textbook. If you need and will use vocab cards, these are the ones to buy.

These were purchases for a friend. He was thrilled to receive them and has said they are very valuable.

Just got them today! And I realize how desperately I needed a memory study tool like this. Perfect.

Last year I attempted to learn Hebrew on my own vollition without these cards. This year I actually have learned the Vocabulary. Though they are strangely organized at first you can easily place them in better order with their numbering system. Very good purchase.

Do you want to learn biblical hebrew ? buy thoses card.
PO FAURE ( France)

In addition you can buy an interlinear bible and the Main concordance of Mr Strong ( i. e. Strong main concordance )

Andy Runton, Owly: Just a Little Blue (Top Shelf, 2005)

Owly and Wormy find themselves besieged by a pair of blue jays. In order to mollify them, Owly builds a nesting box, but they reject it in favor of the dead hollow tree they've been nesting in. All is well, if uneasy, until a big storm hits the valley, destroying the tree and causing one of the jays' babies to go missing. Once again, Andy Runton has done a fantastic job of conveying a world of feeling in very simple drawings; Owly is a great series for all ages and, as Runton says on his website, for people who think they don't like comics. If you haven't discovered Owly yet, it's definitely worth searching out. ****

There isn't much to be said that hasn't been said before. Owly offers a stimulating "read" for anybody interested in giving their cynicism the night off. Oh, and it's probably a good kids' title too. =)

We have the 1st 3 Owly books, and my 4 year old daughter loves to "read" it to her 2 year old sister, who asks for it every day and night. They even play Owly games at the playground. Very sweet.

So booklist says grades 3 to 5, and instincts say "for kids and maybe young girls" but I can't help but love Owly. I bought this book for both my daughter and wife and I swear I almost shed a tear while reading it.

Especially for kids, it teaches an important lesson about friendship and sacrifice, as Owly and his little companion give up something they love to try to help a little forest friend out. Even when rebuffed they still try to do the right thing and help. OF COURSE everything turns out well in the end and everyone learns a little lesson about how to be a good friend. And somehow it manages not to be too corny or silly.

This book is perfect for ANYONE with a heart and I'm sure Mr. Runton's next book will be just as beautiful. I plan on buying it the day it comes out!

...these books are incredible. I literally started crying.

I truly enjoy reading the classics. However some classics must be translated. Some translations loose meaning since you can not translate word for word. Only the meanings can be translated and with the evolving English language sometimes words can have skewed definitions. John Ciardi is the best Dante translator I have read. Signet has done a good job at this price point. The Devine comedy is a book set that will expand your understanding on many uncannonized ideas. The Inferno (Signet Classics)The Paradiso (Signet Classics)The Purgatorio (Signet Classics)

Dante travels through the heavens growing ever closer to the source of all things, God. He learns a host of things from the spirits there who want to give nothing but love to Dante, to God, and to adore God. It is their pleasure to help Dante. For example, towards the end of the poem he learns about Adam and how long he abided in the Garden (the one from the end of Purgatorio and from which they begin their last journey in the Paradiso).

In order to experience some of the things in the heavens Dante needs to go way beyond normal human perception. The experience of heaven is so great that apparently all that he relates to us about it is but a shadow of how he saw it. It's experience is stamped forever on his heart, but Dante says its detail dissipates. I think of it like when you have a dream that you remember always, but the details do not necessarily stick in your mind though it is imprinted there nevertheless.

To me Dante seems to have guided his audience on a mystic journey. Whether he was a mystic or not I'm not clear on, but like other poets he reveals to us the truth of things.

Travel to the most light-forbidden spot on Earth.

Wait for night to fall. . .

Look up at the sky. . .

and count the stars.

That's how many stars I'd give John Ciardi's wonderful translation of Dante's Paradiso (indeed, the whole trilogy, but especially this)!

When reading this book it's almost impossible I'd say to not feel the same sense of awe as Dante does as he beholds the splendors of Heaven. This book makes you feel uplifted, upbeat, almost as if you're being catapulted through the Heavens right alongside Dante himself.

Of course, to get the full effect from reading this book you have to understand most of what goes on. And that is where the John Ciardi translation really shines. Just as Beatrice is Dante's guide, so is John Ciardi your guide through Heaven.

The Divine Comedy was written in the 1300's and how many people can honestly say that they understand Italian politics and history from that time period? Maybe Umberto Eco does (of "The Name of the Rose" fame), but that's a huge minority. But fear not, for every Canto opens with a short summary of what is about to be revealed next to Dante. One need not worry about this summary spoiling the story, either, as there really are no plot twists in The Paradiso. Although I have to admit that the last scene involving Dante and Beatrice was a bit shocking (to Dante, too) and even managed to form a few tears in my eyes.

After the summary there is the Canto itself and what I like most about this is how everything rhymes (ABA ABA, etc.) and still is rather easy to read. This text is uninterrupted, which is great if you happen to be an advanced reader of Dante and don't want to stumble into little numbers next to words referring you to footnotes all the time.

Again though, not many of us can say we're "Advanced readers of Dante", so for those of us in that crowd each Canto is finished with a healthy amount of footnotes that do an excellent job of explaining the politics and history in simple terms. You very well might still finish the Canto not understanding everything 100%, but you'll be much better off than if you tried to understand everything on your own. Think of it as Cliff's Notes already built into the book itself. Wonderful idea!

If you're still wondering if you should read this book, don't.

Trust me.

Everything is better in Paradise.

Translators, according to the Italian proverb are traitors.
There is no way around it, something is always lost in the
leap from one language to another. You can consult a modern
'adaptation' of Shakespeare to get the feel of what has to
be surrendered.

John Ciardi decided to keep the original rhyme scheme: 'aba'
in which the poem is divided into groups of three lines of
which the first and third rhyme. In Italian, this is fairly
easy, in English a great deal more difficult.
So in order to keep the feel of the tercets (as they're called)
Ciardi sometimes had to stray a bit from the literal
meaning. Nothing vital is lost, but the specialist will
surely find some points to dispute.
For the rest of us, this is a first-rate view into a world
we can barely otherwise imagine. Ciardi's notes and glosses
on the cantos are breezy, illuminating and approachable.

There are other, more correct translations- Mandelbaum's
is first among them -that might be better for the specialist
or the student of the Italian Language. I notice, however,
that when I want to spend a pleasant few moments in the
Poet's company that this is the translation I usually reach
for.

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and
bang BANG: A Novel ISBN 9781601640005

+++++

(Note: this review is for the book "The Paradiso" translated by John Ciardi and published by Signet Classics in 2001.)

In book one containing part one (or "canticle" one) of Dante Alighieri's (1265 to 1321) three part "The Divine Comedy" entitled "The Inferno," a journey of spiritual enlightenment is begun by Dante by descending into Hell and discovering the reasons for eternal suffering of souls. In book two containing part two entitled "The Purgatorio," Dante ascends the mountain of Purgatory where there is purification of sin. In this book (book three), Dante ascends to Heaven to experience "the Love that moves the Sun and the other stars."

Dante begins this part of his journey by stating the following:

"Whatever portion time
still leaves me of the treasure of that kingdom
shall now become the subject of my rhyme."

Dante is saying that in the time left to him, the subject of this part of his "rhyme" or poem will be "that kingdom" of heavenly Paradise.

There is an introduction by Professor John Freccero. (We are not told what university he's associated with.) He does a good job of highlighting key aspects of this poem.

The late John Ciardi, former poet and professor at Rutgers and Harvard universities, translated this poem from its original 1300's Italian into English. He states that he has translated this poem for one major reason: for "the pleasure of a beginning student reading in translation." The poem's translation, he admits, is not over-scholarly. Scholars and purists may thus not appreciate Ciardi's translation. I, however, enjoyed his rhyming translation.

Dante's heavenly Paradise is based on an Earth-centered model of nine spheres (individually called "heavens"). Going outward from the Earth, they are as follows:

(1) the Moon
(2) Mercury
(3) Venus
(4) the Sun
(5) Mars
(6) Jupiter
(7) Saturn
(8) the Fixed Stars
(9) Primum Mobile (Prime Mover)

The Prime Mover is the sphere that contains the divine power to move these heavenly bodies. Beyond the Prime Mover is the Empyrean (pronounced "Em-pi-reen"). The Empyrean is God's realm of pure light and is Dante's final destination.

Thus, this heavenly paradise that Dante travels through consists of ten parts that comprise thirty-three episodes (or "cantos").

Unlike parts one and two, Dante takes the majority of this final journey with his guide and former love Beatrice. Along the way, the travelers and the reader encounter such things as biblical figures and references, philosophers, people of Dante's time, legends, saints, and angels.

As with parts one and two, this part is a narrative poem whose greatest strength lies in the fact it does not so much narrate as dramatize its episodes. It is a visual work that sparks your imagination.

Ciardi's mini-summary in italics before each episode gives the reader a glimpse of what to expect in a particular episode. His (foot)notes at the end of each episode highlight our understanding of key passages within each. For me, Ciardi's mini-summaries and notes that accompany each episode are the cornerstone to understanding what Dante was attempting to convey. As well, Dante can be challenging and tedious to read at times. These mini-summaries and notes help the reader meet the challenge and overcome the tedium.

There are three illustrations in this book. They increase the understanding of and add another visual dimension to the poem.

I should mention the impressive art on the cover of this book. It has a reproduction of the 1825 painting by William Blake showing Dante in the Empyrean. It has a river called the River of Light. Dante is shown drinking from this river.

It is possible to read this part without reading the first two parts. However, to experience the full impact of this part, I would recommend reading the first two parts first before reading this part.

The only noticeable problem I had with this book is that it did not have a diagram of the heavenly Paradise to help the reader know beforehand where this journey was going. The first two parts have these helpful diagrams.

Finally, as I mentioned, this is a very imaginative poem. Thus, I recommend "The Dore Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy" (1976) by Gustave Dore. This book will add another vivid visual dimension to the poem.

In conclusion, don't miss this final phase of Dante's amazing journey. This brilliant translation allows the reader to experience what Dante was attempting to convey when he wrote this poem almost seven centuries ago!!

(published 2001; acknowledgements of translator; introduction; 33 cantos; poem, canto mini-summaries, and canto (foot)notes comprise 345 pages; 3 illustrations)

+++++

Porque, jugando jugando, los obliga a perfeccionar su capacidad verbal CON LOS TRABALENGUAS.

Using riddles and tounge twisters fun for both child and parent while helping the child to boost reading,memory skills and inteligence creative thinking as they try to solve the meanings of the riddles.I suggest giving this as a gift to those who home school or for summer reading fun. The child won't be aware that they are learning because this is fun, LOL!!!

enhance psychomotor capabilities of a child, to speed the development of his/her intelligence, to strenghten his memory and to have him happy !
INCREDIBLE !

Es un libro importantísimo para que los niños desarrollen mejor su lenguaje. Mi hijo Peter de siete años tenía problemas para hablar bien, sin embargo descubrí que al repetir y repetir trabalenguas, que es algo muy divertido, se ejercita la lengua logrando facilitar el habla.

Sin querer encontré en este maravilloso libro que mi hijo desarrollara mejor su lenguaje de una forma muy divertida. Además es un libro educativo y de gran ayuda no sólo para los niños, sino también para los adolescentes y hasta los adultos. ¡COMPRUÉBALO!, ya que es importante que los niños se sientan seguros de sí mismos en cuanto empiezan a hablar, porque la mayoría de adolescentes o adultos que tienen alguna deficiencia al hablar son tímidos e inseguros, trata de evitar que tus hijos tengan esos sentimientos negativos.
Es por eso que te recomiendo este libro que es un apoyo muy importante para este tipo de problemas. y Practica TRABALENGUAS

4 a 14 años!
Ûtil para el desarrollo de su lenguaje y tambièn para su socializaciòn

Another excellent compendium of early Americana and social history as illustrated in the E. C. Segar Thimble Theatre comic pages. Nothing sanitised or homogenised about this. A must for the Popeye enthusiast. A delight on any coffee table or bedside stand.

I am a danish cartoonist/illustrator, and my style is on the funny side.
When I was a kid in the 50's I came to know some of the original Segar strips from some books an aunt of mine had in her shelf. That I never forgot. I have often returned to Popeye, and have exposed my son to him as well. When he was about 5 years old, he was a huge fan of the old black and white animated movies, and I had to paint an anchor on his arms every morning before he went to kindergarden. I gave him a small corn pipe as well, and he went around like Popeye in the movies, with his arms out to the side. And on day his teacher came and said: "I think he has a problem with his eyes, maybe you should take him to a doctor." But I could tell her, that it was just because he was playing Popeye, walking around with his right eye closed.
After my childhood came many frustrating years, where the only Popeye cartoons were the ones Segars successors made, and they were just a faint copy of the masters work. It was a seldom thing to fall over one of Segars original works.
So how can I describe how happy I was when Fantagraphics began this project. I bought the first volume, and could hardly wait for the next. I will follow this project to the very end.
I have noticed that the drawing style has rubbed off on my own style in the later years, and I love the humor.
Segar's original Popeye cartoons are a milestone in comic book history!!!

For someone raised on early 20th century comics, the series this book is volume 2 in is a real treasure. Elzie Chris Segar was a comic genius on a par with Carl Barks, Mort Walker, and Charles Schultz. His original newspaper Popeye comics are some of the greatest created. Stories are original and ludicrously inventive and the humor is top of the line. It's not for everyone, but connoisseurs of really great comics will have to have this.

Volume one featured the world's first introduction to Popeye. In this volume the character of Popeye continues to take shape. As the book progresses Castor Oyl slowly fades from the scene until Popeye and Olive are left standing as the undisputed centerpieces of Elzie Segar's Thimble Theater. Popeye's physical appearance improves significantly bringing him much closer to his traditional look particularly in his chin which looked kind of droopy in the first volume.

You can sense a bit of a moral dilemma on the part of Segar. On the one hand the humor of Popeye revolves around his violent nature and inhuman ability to take and deliver punishment. On the other hand Segar clearly wants to make Popeye a likable even admirable character. His solution seemed to be to always add at least a hint of obnoxiousness to everyone he punches so that one can make an argument that the recipient of Popeye's punishment had it coming to them. Although this means that Popeye's neighborhood (never referred to as Sweethaven as far as I've seen) is packed with men itching for a fight. Every once in awhile Popeye socks someone for no good reason like an American Indian who Popeye assumes might try and scalp him. In this case Olive Oyl acts as the voice of reason telling Popeye it's wrong to abuse American Indians. This also seems to be a way for Segar to let people know that he is aware that some of Popeye's actions are morally dubious. In this volume Popeye becomes an almost Mother Theresa type humanitarian, opening up a one-way bank using a $25,000 the reward he received. He ends up giving out money to the poor until he's left with nothing for himself. This seems to be a continuing theme with him repeatedly using money he earns to help out the poor. Popeye has also become a hero and protector of children and in one comic Popeye tries to help a small boy learn to fight. He does this by punching out random men walking down the street.

Volume 2 features some famous firsts. The first appearances of Wimpy and Roughhouse and the first time Popeye is shown powering up with spinach. It's difficult for me to express how much I loved these comics. Elzie Segar's Popeye is a surprisingly multidimensional character compared to his later incarnations. At one point, after a particularly harsh verbal barrage from Olive, Popeye slaps her to the ground. It's a shocking moment even more so because earlier in the book Popeye had financially assisted a woman who had been battered by her husband. When Olive scolds him for the slap Popeye replies, `I yam what I yam' but in that instant with his head held low he might as well have said, `I can't help what I yam'. Quite a difference from the cardboard hero he became as the years went by. Where else would you find a cartoon character wrestle with his own penchant for violence or later express such honest and heartfelt love for a girl?

Volume one was five star material but volume two is even better. I never would have expected a comic over seventy five years old to be this edgy and legitimately funny. It's also amazing how much Elzie Segar's drawings improve over a very short period of time. There is one strip in particular that had me laughing hard. Popeye has gotten himself involved in a war and, in one of his last appearances; Castor Oyl tells Popeye that King Blozo wants to see him immediately. Suddenly a cannonball flies up and smacks Popeye in the rear sending him sailing like a rag doll through the air, through a pole, through the castle wall landing him at the king's feet. Castor says something like, "It wasn't THAT urgent". The visual of Popeye sailing through the air is absolutely hilarious and the punch line was perfect

If you're reading this review you're likely debating whether you should get this book and if you're debating let me assure you, you should. The only downside is we have to wait until fall 2008 to get the next volume.

E. C. Segar was a comic genius, but just how great a genius becomes clear as you read his Popeye stories in this beautifully reproduced new series from Fantagraphics. Popeye himself is one of the most fascinating and complex characters in American fiction, a tender-hearted ruffian who clobbers not just big thugs but also puny bystanders, and yet somehow never seems the least bit like a bully. Popeye was still taking shape in Popeye Vol. 1: "I Yam What I Yam" (Popeye), but he's completely present in the new book, and now it's the turn of supporting characters like Roughhouse and Wimpy--Segar's second-greatest comic creation--to emerge before our eyes. I hope these wonderful books are getting the support they deserve. Their only drawback is that it's a year between volumes.