F Books

This is an easy-to-read account of the sinking of the supership Shinano, just out of the Tokyo Bay shipyards, in the final days of WWII, by a U.S. submarine. The action goes back-and-forth between the U.S. captain who authored the book, and the Japanese officers, whose accounts he later researched. Learn about the cat-and-mouse game of the submariners' war in this book. Not overly technical, I read it in three days of light reading. Worth your time and your money!

This is a great story about the lucky fate of a U.S. Sub trying to "catch" its prize; a Jap Aircraft Carrier that was so big & secret it was not found in their ship's enemy ID book. The book covers both sides of the story. For me, the book was hard to put down. I would buy this book again!

Originally published under the title "Shinano"

For my money, this is the very best book about US submarines in World War II.

Well researched, it tells the story of the sinking of the Japanese super-carrier Shinano from the viewpoints of both the attacking submarine (USS Archer-fish) and its huge prey, which is desperately trying to avoid any conflict at all during its maiden/shake down voyage.

You are put on the bridges of both vessels - and inside the minds of both commanders - in alternating chapters as the time line of the engagement unfolds. This unique perspective allows the reader to clearly see each move and counter move in a deadly chess match carried out in the ocean south of Tokyo Bay.

Although not delving too deeply into the technical aspects of each vessel's capabilities and tactics, Enright and Ryan are able to give the reader understandable insight into how these capabilities and associated weaknesses constrain and affect the outcome of this contest at each stage of its progress.

But it is the intellectual and emotional aspects of the two combatants that ultimately determines the success and failure on each side. Critical decisions by both parties, which seem logical based upon the assumptions made from their individual perspectives, are seen in the narrative to sometimes be, perceptually and in reality, costly errors of judgement. Some are fatal, some are correctable.

Captain Enright, being the submarine commander, opens his soul to the reader, showing how his previous experiences and failures provided him with the determination to persevere and overcome his doubts and tactical errors while stalking his opponent. It is this perseverence that allows the Archer-fish to doggedly stay on the very ragged edge of pursuit, until finally the Shinao makes a combination of moves that just barely allows Enright to get into the perfect position to make an attack.

On the Japanese side, the authors were able to utilize their extensive research to also "get into the head" of the Shinano's commander (Captain Toshio Abe). Here the pressures of being responsible for the care of Japan's crowning naval achievement, the largest aircraft carrier built during the war, combined with the stress of over three years of continuous tough naval conflict , took their toll. Captain Abe's judgement was understandably clouded by these pressures, and the book clearly describes how key assumptions made by him led to the tactical mistakes that provided the slender opening through which the Archer-fish was able to slip into an attack position. Most critical of these was his steadfast belief that he was beset by an entire "wolfpack" of U.S. submarines. In Abe's haste to escape the dangers he perceived coming from many fronts, he stumbled right into the path of the single Archer-fish.

Neat stuff ! The details make for fascinating reading.

In addition, the book also does an excellent job of addressing the interesting background information concerning the decision to convert the Shinano from a "Yamato" class battle ship to a carrier, and the many hurdles and extreme secrecy associated with her construction.

Also well done is the heart rendering personal accounts of the survivors of the sinking of the Shinano. These sailors exhibit the extreme bravery and concern for humanity in times of disaster that one comes to expect of sailors from any nation.

This book is truly an equisite jewel hidden under an avalanch of submarine related WWII novels and personal accounts. This one is special.

This is a great story about the lucky fate of a U.S. Sub trying to "catch" its prize; a Jap Air Craft Carrier that was so big & secret it was not found in their ship's ID book. The book covers both sides of the story. For me, the book was hard to put down. I would buy this book again!

Sea Assault is war writing at its finest. In this World War II tale we follow the American sub Archer-Fischer and her tentative skipper, Captain Joseph F. Enright, on her hunt and discovery of Japan's new secret weapon, a 72,000-ton aircraft carrier. What ensues is likened to a high stakes chess game scattered across the throes of the south Pacific.
The book alternates point of view every other chapter. One chapter is written in the first person by its author, Captain Enright. The other point of view is told using Japanese sources and follows the carrier's skipper, Japanese Captain Abe.
As the Archer-Fish tracks, then closes in and subsequently engages the huge carrier, the Shinano, you vicariously experience this all from the vantage point of your chair.
For example:
"All of us could now hear the sharp sounds of the destroyer's propellers as she headed our way. When dropped to a keel depth of 62-feet, we would have about 10 feet between Archer-Fish's upper periscope support and the destroyer's keel. The Japanese war ship churned closer. The noise of its propellers increased in volume as she whipped through the water ... The destroyer rolling the water right above us. The beat of the big propellers so close was breathtaking. She thundered overhead like a locomotive. The whole submarine vibrated and rolled from the shock waves..."
Not only was the sinking of the carrier, the Shining, an epic event, but its telling her makes it an epic read. Highly recommended.

This is the book that got me interested in Atlantis almost twenty-five years ago. Mr. Muck backs his ideas and theories with solid evidence that whetted my appetite for anything Atlantis oriented. It's a "must read" for anyone who is interested in the subject, especially since it's based on provable History, Archeology, Science, and Mythology, and not "iffy" ideas. It was added long ago to my personal library.

It's not even a close call. This is easily the best book ever written on Atlantis. Speculation is kept to a minimum while scientific analysis prevails. Muck surveys ocean currents, plant and animal distributions and geological evidence and concldues that there is no other scientific explanation available---there must have been a large island or small continet in the Atlantic that has disappeared.

Muck provides ample conjecture and speculation (most of which holds up much better than other Atlantean theorists). The concepts utilized in his argument are plausible; the belief in an advanced civilization wiped out with little trace is just as plausible, if by nature or said civilization's own hand. It's probably best to leave the decision whether this is fact, truth, or myth to each reader. As a poster on a wise (if odd) character's wall simply read: "I want to believe."

A very interesting book for those interested in the legend of Atlantis. All of Mr. Muck's ideas are very intuitive and certainly can't be disputed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in both Atlantis and theories of very early history.

If you read any one book on the topic of Atlantis, this should be it. It's a scholarly work that covers scientific ground that no one else even thinks to tackle. In particular, the late Dr. Muck's discussion of the Gulf Stream and climatologic evidence is persuasive. (It should be tested against the hypothesis of a polar axial shift to ensure validity with regard to location of currents vis a vis the Gulf Stream. His same ideas and techniques applied to Siberia could add further weight to the axial displacement hypothesis as well, or refute it.) More recent evidence about the astronomic event that shattered a small comet or asteroid into over half a million pieces, crossed North America from Alaska and crashed into the Sargasso Sea during the correct time frame (as evidenced by the "Carolina Bays") fully supports Muck's thesis and lends greater credibility to it. This out of print book should be reissued!

I found this book to be very informative on a topic - Agribusiness - that most people ignore. It appears to be well researched and assembled from start to finish regarding the Multinational Corporations cornering of the global GMO market and insulating themselves from the eventual resistance from consumers....as Kissinger stated, if you control the food - you control the people.

This book seems at first glance to be primarily about genetically modified organisms (GMO), but is actually a frightening history of the power elite's largely successful attempt to gain control over food and food production. In the last 50 years food has gone from being an agricultural product grown by small farmers, to being a national security concern, to now being a weaponized commodity under the control of a few corporate owners.

Mr. Engdahl lays out his case in a methodical, scholarly, yet riveting manner, much as he did in A Century Of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order. He begins with the GMO Revolution launched by a few powerful corporations, aided and abetted by a cooperative USA government. He then explores the birth of "agribusiness" and the oxymoronic Green Revolution. He monitors the revolving door between corporate advocates of GMO and government officials charged with policing food safety. The Rockefeller brothers' roles in these machinations are painstakingly revealed.

The eugenics movement -- very popular in early to mid-20th century USA until the Nazis lowered its public acceptance -- is shown to be alive and well under the new guises of genetics and molecular biology. I was more surprised by this than anything else in the book, but Mr. Engdahl proves this point beyond dispute. Along these lines, the only part of the book that I felt needed more explanation was the role of Darwinism, actually neo-Darwinism, in molecular biology. One could almost be left with the impression that a belief in evolution has led to the abuses of molecular biology in genetic manipulation. Once Mr. Engdahl got that far into the discussion, I wish that he had made a brief mention of the symbiogenesis interpretation of evolution now challenging the neo-Darwinists, e.g., in the books by Lynn Margulis. (Acquiring Genomes: The Theory of the Origins of the Species is one good example.) I'm not a scientist, but I would tend to think that a subscriber to the symbiogenesis interpretation would be less likely to want to create Frankenfoods.

What motivates the Genetic Manipulators, huge profits and control over the world's food production? As usual with the power elite, it's not just about the money, it's about power and control, but with a particular goal in mind. That goal is an elitist Utopia; a modern world much as it is, only with a whole lot fewer people, especially poor dark-skinned people who live in resource rich places like Africa, South America and parts of Asia. Complete control over food production is one of the primary means to this end, ethno-specific diseases being another. I had read this assertion before, but regarded it as the rantings of right-wing loonies until I read this book.

Mr. Engdahl is a regular contributor to on-line journals on the topic of geopolitics.

This is my first Amazon.com book review and it is this book, Seeds of Destruction, that finally moved me to write such a review.

I have purchased literally thousands of dollars worth of books from Amazon.com alone and I find this book, Seeds of Destruction, is THE most important book I have come across.

I haven't read the entire book yet, but from what I have read so far (especially the chapter on Argentina), this is one of THE most important and timely books of the past 100 years and this new century.

There are only a few books that are worth their weight in gold and this book by F. William Engdahl is one of them. This work will be remembered as a "signature service" to humanity (a term used in the intelligence world to denote exceptional work).

What a priceless work of research and documentation (some 17 years of hard research) into the heart of absolute Evil that is masquerading behind this GMO movement--the veritable cancer that is metastasizing upon the Earth body--and that has been behind the so-called eugenics movement since 1913. But this book is much more than GMO. It is about the people behind the GMO and eugenics movement and why they are doing what they are doing.

If you really care about your children, your family, and the survival of the human race and of planet earth, then you must first buy and read this book, and then buy 10 more copies as I did and give them to all your friends and family members.

Tell them that this book might save their lives.

I have said this many times, "Knowledge is only a seed, only illumined action produces fruits!' This book is that vital seed without which we are looking toward to some really dire eventualities.

William Engdahl's new book, like his 'Century of War' book of a few years ago gives the layman like myself an understand of complex subjects that is rare with authors dealing with complex subjects. This is such a readable book. It is a great investigation into one of the most important issues of our times: The attempts by a few powerful groups to control the world's food supply. This book made me angry and worried for the future of our food supply and our future as a free (sort of) people. How dare our government leaders allow this !
Every person who cares about where their food comes from,truth in labeling, nutrition, health and affordable access to food supplies NEEDS to know this information. Is there a more important issue? What is more important than water, air and food ? The political agenda of food control, so well explained in this book, is more than a little chilling.

Seeds of Destruction should be read widely and it's information talked about by everyone. As a mother trying to feed my family healthy, nutritious meals everyday, this information is invaluable. Thank you Mr. Engdahl for this well written book! Maybe I'll read it to my children at night so they'll grow up knowing who the boogie men are!
Lori "The Rogue Reader Mom" Arizona

This is an excellent book that explains the threat of GMO foods.
Very good research.

Farley Mowat ,The Dean of the Canadian outdoor Writers, at the top of his form. If you've ever wondered what it was like to work on an Ocean going Tug Boat this is the book for you. Mr. Mowat uses his wartime experience and makes the men and vessels seem to have a life of their own. It's all done in a style that make putting this book down next to impossible. Be sure to have a turtleneck sweater and a steaming mug of Grog available because as you read this account of Maritime Tug's out of Canada you'll be chilled to the bone but kept warm by rapidly turning pages.

Farley Mowat had already written a book titled "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float," so he could very easily have called this volume, "The Ship Who Wouldn't Sink."

"The Serpent's Coil" is a companion book to "Grey Seas Under" and continues the story of ocean-going salvage tug operations in the Atlantic. "Grey Seas Under" chronicled the adventures of the tugboat `Foundation Franklin' before and during World War II. "The Serpent's Coil" takes place after the war and tells the tale of ships battered by the consuming fury of not one but three hurricanes (the "serpent's coil" of the title) in the autumn of 1948.

The author blends mystery, life-and-death adventure, and humor in his tale of rescue and salvage operations on `the Great Western Ocean.' The mystery centers around the disappearance of so many ex-wartime Liberty freighters in mid-ocean. Most of them were in ballast when they vanished, and it was assumed but never proven that shifting ballast caused the freighters to turn turtle and sink so rapidly that no message could be transmitted on the `how' or `why' of their plight.

`Leicester' was an ex-Liberty freighter fitted out in peace-time rig, newly under the command of Captain Hamish Lawson. He met his ship for the first time while she was taking ballast---"a sludge of sand and gravel dredged from the bottom of the [Thames]"---in preparation for a voyage to New York. Lawson had originally been scheduled to take command of another ex-Liberty freighter (called Sam-ships by the sailors, because they were built for the wartime Lend Lease program by `Uncle Sam'), but the `Samkey' had disappeared on route to Cuba. "'Leicester' was the twin sister to `Samkey'; built in the same yards, to the identical design. The only difference was that she was younger by a year..."

Captain Lawson's freighter was halfway between Ireland and Nova Scotia on the Great Circle route to New York when the first storm struck. `Leicester' rolled more than her Master liked, but she weathered the gale easily enough. His main worry was the ship's malfunctioning radio, without which he couldn't receive weather reports or transmit his own position. The Atlantic was not a good place to be in the middle of the hurricane season, without a radio.

Sure enough on the morning of September 14th, the crew of the `Leicester' found themselves sailing under another threatening sky:

"Lawson watched the ominous black arch [of the hurricane bar] for a quarter of an hour, and even during this short interval it seemed to grow, humping up from the horizon, spreading east and west. Above it, and around the hemisphere of sky, the high clouds were thickening, growing more opaque. A light, aimless breeze that seemed to come erratically from every point of the compass had begun to play about the ship. Lawson noticed that there were no gulls or other seabirds anywhere in sight."

The Sam-ship tried to dodge the hurricane, but it was much too late for such maneuvers. Within the hour, `Leicester' found herself enmeshed in the roaring hell of "The Serpent's Coil."

Mowat certainly knows how to tell a suspenseful sea story! The rest of his book describes the travails of `Leicester' as she founders but does not sink amidst the coils of the first hurricane. Her adventures afterward are entwined with those of the salvage and rescue tugs, `Foundation Lillian' and `Foundation Josephine,' plus another, even more savage hurricane that struck while the Sam-ship lay helplessly at what was supposed to be a safe mooring.

"The Serpent's Coil" and its even more exciting companion, "Grey Seas Under" are gripping testaments to the daring and skill of Canada's master seamen. Even the sections of these books that were strictly concerned with salvage operations kept me reading ahead at full steam.

i was given this book in 1964 and started reading it at about 9pm and didn`t finish until 5am. i`ve never forgotten it and thought i would see if it was still in print and wow! they are still printing it. (in 2001) i reread it and it is still one of the most exciting books and timeless..both men and women will like it. read it and enjoy, marti

What a story! The ads on the back state this to be the predecessor of the Perfect Storm. I don't think that is the case but the story is great. The Leicester leaves London, and rides out two hurricanes. At the end of the second hurricane-the ballast shifts and the ship takes on a terrible list. The crew rides out the hurricane on her, and then hails two other freighters and abandons ship. The ship then travels on a southerly direction until spotted by a salvage tug. This and another salvage tug take Leicester to Bermuda where she endures another hurricane and is beached with the salvage tug. The last chapter details the salvage of both the ship and tug. This was indeed the ship that wouldn't sink.
This is a nice little story that will keep the reader's interest.
A Perfect Storm is so much more dramatic that I wouldn't rate this book as highly as that. It is an interesting read.

True account of North Atlantic deep sea salvage.Men and equipment routinely battle impossible odds and harrowing conditions to save stricken ships. Reads like fiction.

Ellen Feld brings us the delightful story of an intrepid foal named Shadow, who has fantasies of life beyond her pasture fence. This wonderful adventure comes alive with illustrations by the talented Jeanne Mellin. Both author and artist have a terrific way of enticing a reader, not to mention capturing the inimitable spirit of the Morgan horse. Two hoofs up!

My daughter loves these books and looks forward to each new edition. Any young lady would be happy to receive a copy. The books descriptions are so vivid, one can place themselves right into the story.

Author Ellen Feld and artist Jeanne Mellin present Shadow The Curious Morgan Horse, the latest in an award-wining series of children's books. Shadow The Curious Morgan Horse is a picturebook with warm color illustrations and a fair amount of text, especially suited for young horse lovers who are almost ready to make the transition to chapter books. When Shadow's curiosity leads her to explore the woods beyond her pasture, she encounters a wonderful variety of forest animals, but what is she to do when she becomes lost? A new canine friend saves the day in this gentle adventure recommended for young horse lovers.

Once again, author Ellen Feld relates a wonderful story. My grandchildren are 6 and 8, have their own horse, and were totally enthralled with the little Morgan foal "Shadow" and her escapades. The writing is large and easy for young readers to read and the illustrations are colorful and eye catching. A must have for every child in this age group!

D.Boies

My grandchildren love this book. The illustrations are beautiful, the story wonderful. This is a great book for parents (or grandparents) to read to 4- 6 year old children, and it's also a great read for 7 and 8 year olds on their own. Short sentences and paragraphs hold the children's attention, and the story is delightful. A great buy!

Ed Prichard was called "the brightest of our generation" by no less than Katherine Graham. He was Felix Frankfurer's first law clerk, and served ably and brilliantly in the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.

Then came 1948. In Texas, Lyndon Johnson won a Senatorial election, as the saying goes, by the votes of 49 dead Mexicans. That same year, Prichard helped stuff ballot boxes in his home county, Bourbon County, Kentucky, for a forgettable Senate candidate who had the election locked up anyway. But, hounded by J. Edgar Hoover for his "socialist" views (such as championing civil rights for blacks and an eight hour work day, with a decent minimum wage), Prichard, not Johnson, went to prison and was disbarred.

This short, but imminently well researched book is his story, recounting all his sparkling brilliance, the arrogance that helped bring him down, and his ultimate redemption as the father of the education reform movement in Kentucky. This is an elegantly written and masterfully documented history from a first rate young historian. The biggest revelation is the story of J. Edgar Hoover's targeting of Prichard, which was gleaned from declassified documents, and never previously reported.

If this book teaches us that we are all flawed, it also teaches that we are all capable of redemption. This is one of the finest biographies I have ever read.

Edward F. Prichard, Jr.'s life makes for high drama; this excellent biography makes for engrossing and informative reading. "Prich" was yet another of the terribly bright Frankfurter students at Harvard Law School in the late 1930's who gravitated to Washington, first as a Supreme Court clerk to Frankfurter, and later with involvement in New Deal and wartime public service. The Greek chorus appears when Prichard returns to his home state of Kentucky to practice law. The book superbly recounts his conviction in connection with a 1948 vote-tampering scandal, his incarceration, and his eventual return to the practice of law and a role as respected educational reformer in Kentucky. Unfortunately, serious illness inflicted near blindness and other frailties which ultimately caused an early death at the age of 69. The reader can only sit back and wonder as to why one with such unlimited promise and talents chose the course he did. Nonetheless, as the book traces Prich's life, it provides an fascinating perspective on Harvard Law, Frankfurter, the wartime FDR administration, the early presidency of Truman, and the rise of the super lawyer-lobbyists such as Thomas Corcoran. One's time is well invested in reading this volume.

This book tells well of a brilliant student, high in the ranks of his class at harvard Law, law clerk to Justice Frankfurter, holding responsible positions in the Government in wartime Washington, who by an unbelievably reckless and stupid act destroyed his career, then , after years of struggle redeemed himself before his death in 1984. This is a most worthwhile read for anyone interested in the law or in Kentucky politics,or in the shakers and movers in Washington in the 1940s.

Who would of thought that here in the third millennium we would still take time to read about Ed Prichard, whose life story will be linked through eternity with a third rate felony-and a blundering, ham-handed felony at that? Prichard is dead more than 20 years now, as are almost all those who loved and hated him. He never held public office-indeed, more generally, never came close to fulfilling the promise of his admirers. Why would anyone care?

To this question, it is possible to give an uncharitable reply. Kentucky, one might say, is a place with more past than future. To dwell on a footnote may be read as saying: we almost amounted to something, we could have been a contender.

And yet, and yet. And yet we have the testimony of the best and the brightest that Prich himself was the best and the brightest; if not as an actor, perhaps as a thinker and certainly as a talker.. Indeed, I had the privilege to observe Prich in what might be called his rehabilitation phase: the early 60s when his friends were trying to ease him back from obloquy and exile onto the political stage. I will add my testimony to those of legions who swore that Prichard in full spate was simply the greatest three-ring oratorical circus of which a simple country boy might dream, his whooshes of insight keeping easy company with his flashes of savage wit. No wonder he won the affection of Felix Frankfurter, of Phil Graham, of-good heavens, is this true?-of Sir Isaiah Berlin.

Indeed: Berlin was once his roommate and like so many was stunned and horrified when Prich was convicted by a Kentucky jury The details are there Tracy Campbell's account, along with a great deal else one may have remembered or forgotten about the politics of Kentucky in the last Century. Campbell tells it all earnestly and unflinchingly, and a strangely compelling story it remains.

Is there a larger context for Prich's story? Probably not a great one, but by a stretch, you could fit it into more general story of the history of the New Deal. It was here, after all, that Prich occupied center stage: as the brilliant young scamp who enchanted Felix Frankfurter, and who put himself at the elbow of Robert Jackson, of Fred Vinson, of Jimmie Byrnes (although both Jackson and Byrnes stayed aloof, and even Vinson saw Prich's limits). One can, at least with caution, take Prich as a kind of symbol for what was right and wrong with those years: the brilliance, the optimism, the energy, together with an overlarge dose of self-admiration, bordering on downright narcissism. Prich was, after all, as dazzling as they say he was. But he was an appalling abuser of friendship, a serial shirker of duties, and at best no more than a mediocre husband and father. Even after he started taking fees from the strip miners, he never really paid his taxes. Indeed, one of the remarkable parts of the Prich story is the way so many people were taken in by him-not merely by his skills at rhetoric and dialectic (which were indisputable) but by the notion that these virtues somehow translated into political gravitas.

Campbell does a conscientious job of surveying the evidence surrounding Prichard's pivotal bout with ballot-stuffing in 1948. Laudably, he hesitates to draw any grand conclusions. I will indulge myself a bit more. Prich came back to Kentucky touted as the next governor, senator, president-offices to which (says Campbell), absent his "lapse" he "would certainly" have risen. But by Campell's own testimony, this is nonsense. Campbell himself says that Prich "had not the ambition or the personality for such posts." Quite right: probably nobody knew this better than Prich himself. His friends saw him as the next Roosevelt; he knew he was closer to Peter Pan. By sticking his hand in a ballot box, he relieved himself of all these impositions: he may have left his friends bewildered and disappointed, but he gave himself the freedom to remain forever young.

In this accessible, informative biography, Campbell presents the tragic story of one of the brightest stars on the 20th century American political scene. A man of acknowledged genius, fragile ego, and an almost childlike attitude, Prichard was seen by many as the most gifted and promising of the new generation of liberal politicians that arose out of the New Deal. Though his hopes for political office were ended by J. Edgar Hoover's irrational vendetta against him, Campbell makes it clear that the person who ultimately brought about Prichard's downfall was Prichard himself. This is an excellent book about the lofty heights and tragic depths that a man could sink to, and I highly recommend it to any history buff or political wonk.

Really a very interesting read. Picked this up shortly after Ford died and it was really interesting to see his final thoughts on this most controversial period in American history. The ultimate truth may never be known, but with Ford being the last member of the Warren Commission, this beautiful volume will stand as the last comment on the subject from that committee. Proud to have it in my collection.

This book features many never-before-seen photos from the Kennedy Presidential Library as well as a new introduction from President Gerald Ford. I found this new foreword very fascinating. He went into great detail about many of the misconceptions abou the Warren Commission and was quite candid. He mentioned many names of people who are currently in high offices in the U.S. Government.
The quality of this book is amazing and it tops anything the Easton Press has ever done!

I have this book on my coffee table--it is one of my proudest possessions. Having lived through Watergate's dreadful aftermath, I am glad to see this great President's life-contributions documented in such a beautiful manner. When history handed off to him, Jerry did not drop the ball.

I straddle the fence on whether I believe the lone gunman theory that was the conclusion of the Warren Commission, but there's no equivocation about my admiration for this beautiful leatherbound, gilt-edged edition which includes a new Foreword by President Gerald Ford. Also, while I disagree with Ford's pardoning of Nixon, there's no denying the historical importance of the work he did on the Warren Commission, and it's safe to assume that his new material in this edition will represent his final public thoughts on the JFK assassination.

In September 1964, Chief Justice Earl Warren handed a thick book to President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House. That heavy tome was the final "Warren Commission Report" regarding the investigation into the November 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The seven-member Warren Commission panel (plus its staff of counsel members and legal staff), in a nearly ten-month probe into the circumstances surrounding the murder of JFK, arrived at a conclusion which has divided America ever since -- they concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald, by himself, had fired all of the bullets that struck down and killed President Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.

A vast majority of people vehemently disagree with these WC findings. I, however, am not a member of that majority. Lee Harvey Oswald was indeed, in my opinion, the sole gunman that day in Dallas. The physical evidence (as well as the circumstantial evidence) that is currently in the official record tells me that Oswald was most certainly the murderer of America's 35th President.

And when virtually ALL of the hard, PHYSICAL evidence in a criminal case leans one way and supports one single conclusion, reaching an opposite conclusion (as most conspiracy theorists have done with respect to the evidence in the JFK case) -- i.e., that Oswald is totally INNOCENT of the two murders he was charged with on 11/22/63 (both JFK's and police officer J.D. Tippit's as well) -- defies all logic and reasoned thinking.

Like most things in life, the John Kennedy murder case can be reduced (in most areas within it) to common sense and the hard, documented physical evidence, and we all know where the latter leads -- right straight into the two guns of one Lee Harvey Oswald (his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle plus his revolver, the latter which was used to kill Officer Tippit). Plus, the "common sense" part of that equation leads directly to Lee Oswald and his weaponry as well. And "common sense" would tell anybody that Oswald is guilty.

I was thinking recently about the following quote by author-attorney-LNer Vincent Bugliosi (I think a lot about his comments, because they make so much "sense" of the "common" variety).....

"Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President Kennedy. The evidence is absolutely overwhelming that he carried out the tragic shooting all by himself. In fact, you could throw 80 percent of the evidence against him out the window and there would still be more than enough left to convince any reasonable person of his sole role in the crime." -- Vince Bugliosi

.....And then, just for the sake of illustrating the validity of the above-mentioned statement made by Mr. Bugliosi, I went about the task of tossing out certain pieces of evidence that lead toward Oswald's guilt in both the JFK and Tippit murders.....and I came to the conclusion, after stripping away several "LHO Is Guilty" items, that the following two things prove Lee Harvey Oswald guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (or at least they prove his guilt beyond all of my personal "reasonable doubt")......

1.) Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle was positively the weapon that was used to assassinate President Kennedy and wound Texas Governor John Connally. (With said weapon being found inside the building where Oswald was definitely located at 12:30 PM on November 22, 1963, when both of these men were wounded by rifle fire.)

2.) Oswald was seen carrying a bulky paper package into his place of employment at the Texas School Book Depository Building on the morning of 11/22/63, and Oswald (beyond a reasonable doubt) lied about the contents of this package to a co-worker.*

* = As an extension to #2 above --- We KNOW Oswald lied about the "curtain rods" based on the following:

A.) No "curtain rods" were found anywhere within the Book Depository after the assassination.

B.) Oswald definitely did not carry any package inside his roominghouse at 1026 N. Beckley Avenue when he arrived back home just prior to 1:00 PM on the afternoon of the assassination.

A and B above add up to the inescapable fact that: No "curtain rods" were in that paper package on 11/22/63.

Adding #1 to #2 above, all by themselves, with nothing else in evidence but those items, makes Oswald a guilty assassin.

Now, when you start adding in the wealth of ADDITIONAL physical and circumstantial evidence against Oswald -- his guilt is then proven not beyond just a "reasonable" doubt...but it's proven beyond any SPECK of a doubt.**

** = Things like: Oswald's prints on a paper bag IN THE SNIPER'S NEST; which was a paper bag that perfectly matches the type of bag that co-worker Wesley Frazier said Oswald carried into the Depository building at 8:00 AM on November 22nd. (With a nicely-incriminating "right palmprint" of Oswald's later discovered by the police in the VERY SPOT on that bag which equates PERFECTLY with the precise way Frazier said Oswald carried the bag in his right hand! That's a very important point, IMO, and is undeniably-strong physical evidence of Oswald's guilt.)

Plus there are these additional items: Eyewitness Howard Brennan's positive IDing of Oswald as a gunman in the Sniper's Nest window. .... The Tippit murder that was unquestionably committed by Oswald. .... The fingerprints of Oswald located on the rifle, plus his prints located on multiple boxes DEEP WITHIN THE SNIPER'S NEST. .... Oswald having no verifiable alibi for the precise time when President Kennedy was being gunned down on Elm Street at 12:30 PM on 11/22/63. .... Oswald dashing out of the TSBD at approximately 12:33 PM, just minutes after a U.S. President had been shot within yards of Oswald's workplace. .... And Oswald's other lies he told to the police after his arrest (apart from the obvious large lie re. the curtain rods).

But it all starts with the basic points brought out by #1 and #2 above. The evidence (and Oswald's OWN words and actions) tell a reasonable person that Lee H. Oswald was guilty as ever-lovin' sin of two murders in 1963, and there's nothing any CTer (or anybody else on the planet) can do or say to change that basic of all facts.

The conspiracists will continue to try to set Oswald free, of course, like always. But the more a reasonable person examines the evidence (and applies just a small dose of ordinary common sense to these facts in evidence), the more hollow, shallow, and inept all those pro-conspiracy arguments become.

This is a wonderful book. I bought it for my mom for Christmas. She read it in 2 days then passed it on to me. I, too, read it in 2 days. It is a quick read with a phenomenal message. Reading about how the author dealt with his intense anger at God over the death of his son showed me that God is definitely big enough to handle all of our emotions. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is experiencing a tragic loss. And, although I, personally, have not suffered such a tragedy, I still found this an extremely helpful book in learning to trust GOD with ALL my feelings and finding my strength and comfort in Him.

The author not only relates his experiences as a parent but as a pastor also. The book is good to use as a gift to parents who have lost a child and also to a pastor, chaplain or other person who counsels those in times of grief.

In Smith's book, he shares the story of his 17 year old son's death and his response to the death. The book is gripping and emotional.

Dr. Smith gives people permission to be angry with God and to express that anger. He makes anger over loss seem acceptable by showing that God was angry when Jesus died. Expressing anger to God is vital for healing and for keeping the relationship with God vibrant.

The book outlines a few strategies for dealing with loss and for assisting those who are dealing with loss.

I highly recommend this book to all pastors and counsellors. Those who have experienced a significant loss may also find the book helpful.

Having lost our precious 18 yr old son Jacob who was a solid christian young man. And then to read this book I could have been reading about my own son! A Pastor writes this story and it is honest and so very accurate of the deep pain and anger at God that is so normal for any parent who suddenly loses a child. But to have a Pastor tell it makes it feel easier for me to say, " Yes, I am angry and I feel betrayed and where are you God? " God is a big God and can take our anger and can heal us and that is what this author reminds us, as he shares his vivid account of his own precious son.

I am from Huntington, WV and I have met Dr. Smith, author of this book. It is a book for everyone, not just for those people who have lost a child. He assures parents who have lost a child that they will walk again, but always with a limp. If you have ever asked the question, "Why did God let this happen?", then read this book. A very spiritual book.....a true story written by a minister that all of a sudden found himself very angry with God....and how God gave him the strength to heal. But just as important, it is about the choices that a person must make in order to heal himself.

Soccer For Everyone by recreational soccer expert and coach Rudy Yakzan is a simple, practical introduction, primer, and resource of valuable advice on how to play the worldwide famous sport of soccer. Individual chapters offer tips, tricks, and techniques for better goalkeeping, defense, tactics, maintaining fitness, specific roles of the soccer team positions, and much more. Black-and-white photographs highlight this guide, which gives its practical instructions in simple terms easily accessible to soccer players of all experience levels. Covering every and all aspects of play including goalkeeping, defense, midfield strategies, team tactics, advanced skills, physically fitness, and coaching tips, Soccer For Everyone is an ideal text for Physical Education soccer programs.

This book helped me understand soccer much better so I can help my kids! Real easy to understand all the concepts!

This is definitely not a very technical work, but the author is pretty good at explaining everything real simply. It is an excellent introduction to the sport, and the author is obviously well versed in all aspects of soccer.

This book is unique in that it doesn't cover one or two subjects like so many other soccer books, but it tackles (no pun intended!) all the aspects of soccer. This makes for excellent reading, especially for parents and beginners. It isn't a highly technical work, but real good stuff for the right audience!

This is an excellent book. I bought it to learn a little more about the sport of soccer. I have been watching soccer on TV for the past couple of years along with playing in occasional pick up games. I felt that I needed more information to truly get the most enjoyment out of my activity. This book delivered for me. It breaks everything down to the basics and then builds from there. The first chapter starts with such fundamentals as passing, kicking, dribbling, and heading. The next chapter leads you into the different positions on the field. Various strategies, styles, and training techniques are discussed for each specific position and subcategory of that position. Real world examples are given to show that there is more than one style or body type that can play, say outside midfield or central defense. The next chapter examines the different kicks, throw-ins, and defensive tactics along with team play philosophies. These first three chapters were the reason that I purchased the book. I found myself reading into the late hours of the night. The author writes with a great deal of respect for the sport of soccer. This combined with the many pictures and diagrams made for a real page-turner. The last half of the book delves into more advanced skills and techniques. It also discusses coaching advice, fitness, and practice drills. I will have to do a few rereads to get the most out of these chapters. I surely got my money's worth and would recommend it to any one looking to gain more knowledge about the many intricacies of this great sport.

I've admired Fitzgerald all my life and regard his work as singularly underrated as time goes on. He was a brilliant and witty writer who could turn a phrase as well as any American author of the 20th century. This biography is the best I've ever read on Fitzgerald. It's particularly strong in the depiction of his gaudy, booze-soaked life with Zelda, especially when they were ex-pats living in France. Bruccoli really draws the reader in with deft descriptions of their marital rows, woes, break-ups and innumerable reconcilations. I was happy to see that their daughter, Scottie, was also illuminated so brilliantly.

The material on Sheila Graham, Scott's lover in Hollywood, was also intriguing. Graham's own book about Scott is a great read, but the author brings out elements to the story which Graham omitted. I was genuinely sad when Scott dies and the narrative concludes. The debauchery, booze and high times of the Flapper era are all here. This is a highly recommended, beautifully tribute to one of the great writers of the past 100 years.

I am a writer, and first took out the book suffering from similar problems to Fitzgerald's at the beginning of his career, hoping to get some guidence. Reading it, I was struck by the profundity of the advice on writing he gave his daughter Scottie, which is copied in excerpts. I felt like I was getting the same benefits he gave her, and I also got the sense that he would want this. He meant what he had learned to be accessable to everyone; in a way, it was what his life was based around. Then, I got a good deal out of the analyses the biographer devotes to transcibing the process Fitzgerald went through in mapping out each of his extaordinary novels- I took notes I'll keep for ever. I only wish I could find a source like this on my other favorite writers. I'll have to appeal to Amazon's reccomendations for advice.

I bought this book and read it before reading any of the works of F. Scott Fitgerald.

The book opens with an interesting literary hook as we follow the last few hours in the life of Fitzgerald on December 21, 1940. He is an unemployed screen writer living in Hollywood at the apartment of his companion Sheilah Graham. On the previous day, he had symptoms of a heart problem. That morning on the 21st, he was working on "The Last Tycoon." He was sitting in a chair, stood up, grasped the mantlepiece, collapsed, and died at age 44.

That book is one of seemingly dozens of short stories on F. Scott, Zelda his wife, and others. The book is not a seamless story but is a chronoligcal collection of short - almost disconnected - stories about his life and works.

It is an excellent reference book to consult as you read the works of Fitzgerald. I found the book on its own too dry with too many facts and it gives no idea of what the writing was like. It was not until I read "This Side of Paradise" did I understand what all the fuss was about with F. Scott Fitzgerald, and it was at that point the present biography came to life. For example, I quote a passage from Chapter 2 of Book I, as Amory sits on the steps of his dorm at Princeton after his first day on campus:

"Now, far down the shadowy line of University Place a white-clad phalanx broke the gloom, and marching figures, white-shirted, white-trousered, swung rhythmically up the street, with linked arms and heads thrown back:

"Going back-going back,
Going-back-to-Nas-sau-Hall,
Going back-going back-
To the-Best-Old-Place-of-All.
Going back-going back,
From all-this-earth-ly-ball,
We'll-clear-the-track-as-we-go-back-
Going-back-to-Nas-sau-Hall!"

Amory closed his eyes as the ghostly procession drew near. The song soared so high that all dropped out except the tenors, who bore the melody triumphantly past the danger-point and relinquished it to the fantastic chorus. Then Amory opened his eyes, half afraid that sight would spoil the rich illusion of harmony."

One learns more about Fitgerald's writing from that passage than the entire biography.

Having said the above, this is a fact filled reference book that acts as a wondeful guide and supplement to the F. Scott's life and the background for the works. There are many photographs and other documents among the 61 short chapters. I especially liked the ledger notes that were kept by Fitzgerald that clearly outline the characters and plot details for the books. Bruccoli has included a huge notes section and appendix at the back of the book, about 100 illustrations, plus many more documents. I have read many interpretations of "Tender is the Night" but it is a lot clearer when you actually read the author's own notes as produced here in the present biography.

Highly recommend: excellent collection of short stories and documents.

This is an excellent biography, full of a great wealth of detail. In truth, Fitzgerald is a pretty easy biographical subject, because his fiction was so closely based on his own life and experiences and because he wrote so many letters and kept such detailed notebooks and ledgers accounting for his own life. He also had relationships with many people (Zelda, other writers, etc.) who left behind many accounts of him. Still, Bruccoli does an extremely thorough job and the book is very well-written.

I would give it five stars except for an extremely irritating tendency Bruccoli has to be dismissive of almost all of Fitzgerald's short stories. Bruccoli is way too arrogant about pronouncing dozens of the stories F. Scott wrote as being "minor," or "disappointing," or even "embarrassing," while reserving his praise for a select few, such as "May Day" and "The Rich Boy." Personally, having read every one of FSF's currently collected short stories (well over 100 in all), I don't rate "May Day" or "The Rich Boy" very highly, but I love lots and lots of the "commercial" ones Bruccoli dismisses. I think he should leave the assessment of which stories are good up to the reader. Bruccoli's literary analysis -- of Fitzgerald's novels -- is outstanding, but the short stories should not be so dismissed (even if Scott himself at times dismissed them and hated having to write them to earn money).

I am an absolute diehard fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, both his life and his literature. So, I knew when I purchased this book I was bound to scrutinize its every nook and cranny. Well, my scrutiny proved to be a wasted effort. Without question, Matthew Bruccoli is the number one Fitzgerald scholar in the country, and after reading this biography, it is impossible to question why.
Bruccoli covers every aspect of Fitzgerald's life and includes several bits of correspondence to really give readers a look inside Fitzgerald's thinking. --Perhaps my favorite thing about the book is that it does not sentimentalize the author (which I myself have a habit of doing). Fitzgerald is spelled out here in all his glory, yet, we also get to see his unflattering side...paranoia, arrogance, unharnessed alcoholism, and downright neurosis.
F Scott Fitzgerald was a brilliant man whose life became legend. It is my humble opinion that Bruccoli has written the most thorough and best possible biography. Simply put, the read is fascinating. It might be 600 pages, but you will fly through it. It is "never dry" (like Fitzgerald :)) and always entertaining. For Fitzgerald fanatics like myself, this book is a must, but I am convinced that anyone who takes to "human interest" stories would find themselves engulfed in its pages.
Also recommended: "The Romantic Egoists"...a scrapbook collection put together concerning the lives of the Fitzgeralds. It is packed with pictures and is a wonderful companion to the biography. It was also published by Bruccoli.