K Books

"If he desired to know about automobiles, he would, without question, study diligently about automobiles. If his wife desired to be a gourmet cook, she'd certainly study the art of cooking, perhaps even attending a cooking class. Yet, it never seems as obvious to him that if he wants to live in love, he must spend at least as much time as the auto mechanic or the gourmet in studying love." ~ Leo Buscaglia from "Love"

I smile as I type these words--just having Buscaglia's book, "Love," open in front of me is enough to make me happy. :)

Seriously. This is hands down one of my favorite books. I've purchased at least 250 copies of it. We used to give it away to all of our partners at my last business [...] and I used to bring a copy with me to nearly every business lunch I had. (I'm a little wacky like that. :)

I have no doubt you'll fall in Love with "Love" as well. By the end of reading it, you'll wish you could give Leo Buscaglia--a former Professor of Love at USC--a big ol' hug.

This is an amzing book to read for all time . Regardless of time ,place & seasons - it is amazing . Leo Buscaglia is one of the brilliant author of all time , an amazing poet of love & an instrument of LIVING & GROWING with LOVE . He is exactly right when he said : IF LOVE IS THE ANSWER WHAT IS THE QUESTION? From the beginning , I learned & read all his books , I cannot stop thinking about what the good & important phrases I ahve learned from him . He inspired me to live , to love & to grow with highest respect of LOVING everyone without any expectation in return . He is one of the KEY of my good & honest relationship to all . His book & all his writing are inspiration of my whole being . I will never forget the person who introduced me to read his books since 1987 , from then on She became the greatest inspiration of my life .
Leo B. is amazing . He can moved everyone to understand LOVE as the reason of our existence . I compared him to DALAI LLAMA of Love & Spiritual inspiration of all seasons . Thank you LEO B. for bringing your words & wisdom into my life .

With highest respect to you & your writings ,

Noel F. Cruz
University of Cambridge Teaching Hospital
Cambridge , England

This book is one that everyone who is in a relationship..or has children.. should read and pass on to their friends.

This book has been in my library for years. I have given copies for gifts many times, I wish I knew how many. The information in this book is so very important for everyone and written in such a way that it can be easily read and understood by everyone. Should be required reading in every high school and university.
I have read other Buscaglia books and found them all to be well written and filled with beneficial content.
Thanks for the opportunity to review a winner.

Everyone should read,no make that study Leo's books. This book opened my eyes and softened my heart. Anyone who reads it with an open mind will find themselves transformed. I am someone who grew up VERY ANGRY. My anger caused me problems upon problems and was a contributing factor in the breakup of my first marriage. When I hit rock bottom and knew things had to change, it was then that I came across a worn, slightly abuse copy of a book at a second hand store. The Title on it was simply "LOVE". Don't misunderstand me, I am far from free from my anger. Yet, those who know me will tell you how much I have changed. I feel Leo books, DVD's (I have several), and tapes have been a major factor in that change. I recommend ALL items by Leo Buscaglia.

Leo talks not only about loving others, but loving yourself. Love your face, even if your nose doesn't quite match the rest of your face. Love yourself for who you are, no matter who that may be. It's the funny and odd things about us that sometimes makes us the most loveable. So, buy this book and, if your paying attention to what is said in it, learn to laugh, hug, cry (yes, even grown men can cry), and fall in love with this rollercoster we call life.

I was looking for a book so that my granddaughter could get a sense of how truly blessed she is to grow up in this century. I am not an avid reader and this was the first book I have read in a long time. The book was only 214 pages but painted a vivid picture of the life and times during the 30's. I read the book in 2 days and loved every word. Being one of the first blacks in a field that has been predomanently white for decades, I too was wrongly accused of doing things and suffered unjust conquenceses. Bravo to the author, please put this on your must read list.

This is a nice book to buy your child if you want to enlighten them on the way of life that existed long before their time where they can appreciate the resources and choices that are available to them in in this generation.

As a grammar-fiend, I must say that this book is really lacking. I realise it was written in the vernacular for a purpose, but really, after only 4 pages I found continuing to read the monstrous grammar painful. This book is practically a guide to how to speak as if one never had any schooling.

If I could've given this book 10 stars, I would've. I'ma 19 year old inner city black male--that said, I was on the verge of tears while reading parts of this novel, and crying isn't something regarded as "ok" to do where I come from (or for guys period). Emotionally maturation is a must when reading this. TRUST! This is my first review of any book. I've never felt so compelled to write one, to ask people "Hey you ever read a book called Billy?" The book is excellent, and I highly recommend it. And as far as the "grammar fiend" review up above--the dialect in the book is reflecting Southern talk from the 1930's and it only adds to the book, it captures the time period beautifully. Please (future readers) dont let that become an obstacle!! (And after the first 5-10 pages you get used to it)

1937. Mississippi. Two teenage girls. Two young boys, ages ten and twelve. A fight ensues and one of the girls ends up dead. The community is outraged and more interested in revenge than justice. Why? The girls are white and the boys are black. Should that matter? Regardless, it does. French unapologetically drops the reader right into the times with all its prejudices glaring. It's impossible to avoid an emotional reaction to Billy. The grief of the families' losses, Billy's confusion about what's happening to him as well as what happened during the fight, and the blatant racism all serve to make the reader question whether things have really changed since 1937 or whether all that racism really just boiling under the surface searching for any excuse to break free.

Brain Quest is a series of books written and designed to help children learn the basic skills needed to grow and thrive in the classroom. This particular guide, the Brain Quest Pre- K Workbook, is a very helpful, very useful guide that teaches pre- kindergarten age children some of the important skills they need to know before they launch into kindergarten and eventually into grade school. This book, like the others in the Brain Quest series, offers separate sections that cover many important areas of curriculum; from the alphabet to letter pronunciation with both verbal and visual exercises to expand a child's knowledge and skill.

Brain Quest is a series of books I am very familiar with but I never got the chance to completely put them to the test until I got hold of this book, for Pre- Kindergarten. My little ones are very close to the kindergarten age and I assumed there would be useful material in this guide to serve as a prelude to school. And now that I have used the Brain Quest Pre-K Workbook with my little ones, I can say the book has succeeded with flying colors. Before I even showed it to my girls, I looked through all of the pages and I was very impressed with what I saw. Not only are there plenty of exercises, but the exercises approach learning from many different angles. There are visual exercises, verbal exercises, and drawing exercises to make sure that children know more than just one dimension of the learning process.

Among the sections in the Brain Quest Pre- K Workbook, the first section, which covers the alphabet, is the longest. I suppose that learning the alphabet is very fundamental for kindergarteners and this book wastes no time making sure that kids know their ABC's. Letter recognition is the first exercise in the book, followed by exercises that teach youngsters how to draw each letter, both upper and lower case. I like this section for the way it teaches. First, it offers two examples of each upper and lower case letter with dashed lines and numbers/arrows that indicate each stroke of a pen/pencil needed to create the letter. Young students are asked to trace these two letters first, to get practice. Then, they are given several opportunities to draw each letter. Using a red dot as the starting point, young children will have no problem figuring out how to create the letters of the alphabet completely on their own. Some will require more practice than others, but all children will get the hang of it at some point and will be able to draw each letter with ease.

Because the alphabet section is so long, there is little remaining space for the other sections and some of these other sections are a little shorter than I would like. The Science section, for example, is very short and it doesn't delve into the world of science very much, with most of its pages talking about animals, the human body, clothing, and food. This isn't very much, but I have to keep reminding myself that Brain Quest Pre- K Workbook is intended for children between the ages of three and five. Science isn't a critical subject for kindergarteners, so it makes sense that only a small amount of coverage is given to this topic.

Taken as a whole, Brain Quest Pre- K Workbook is an excellent learning tool that teaches kids the basics from multiple angles for a well- rounded learning experience. Kids will love the interactive nature of this book, its coloring sections, the pages that depict animals, etc. It is a book that is almost certain to improve learning and interest in learning, making Brain Quest Pre- K Workbook an excellent learning guide that covers all of the most important learning material for a child getting ready to enter kindergarten in the next one to two years.

"Brain Quest Workbook Pre-K" is only one of the many great Brain Quest products by Workman Publishing. This book is an outstanding workbook for Pre-K kids. The curriculum covers everything needed for Pre-K, including ABC's, 123's, shapes, colors and much more.

I love the alphabet chart that is included in the back of the book. It is perfect to hang on your fridge, in your child's room, play area, or any place they will see it often. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without stickers, and Brain Quest does not disappoint the kids--there are plenty!

Another great product by Brain Quest is the card game for preschoolers,Brain Quest Preschool (Brain Quest). Any Brain Quest item would make a great gift.

The BrainQuest PreK Workbook is jam-packed with colorful, educational fun for your preschooler. The workbook has over 300 pages of full-color activities, a pull-out alphabet poster for your wall and two full pages of reward stickers.

The workbook activities are grouped topically by ABCs, 123s, Phonics, Vocabulary, Shapes and Colors, Sorting and Matching, My World, Science, Fun and Games and Extras.

ABC activities include writing the uppercase and lowercase letters, matching uppercase and lowercase letters, and an alphabet song game.

123s activities include counting exercises, writing the numbers, and number identification.

Phonics activities include handwriting practice, cirling pictures that begin with a certain letter sound and matching exercises.

The Vocabulary section teaches words like big/small, open/closed and stop/go.

The Shapes and Colors section has fun activities like coloring a rainbow. The rainbow exercise was my daughter's favorite in this section!

The Sorting and Matching section asks your child to pick out items that are the same or items that are different. It also asks the child to identify where things belong (for example, does a book belong in a bookcase or does a banana belong in a bookcase).

The My World section asks your child to think about their home environment. Draw a picture of your favorite thing to do at home. What things belong on the kitchen table?

The Science section is perfectly tailored to the preschool age group. They ask the children to identify where certain animals live. They ask the children to circle things that are living vs things that are not living. It introduces concepts like habitat.

The Fun and Games section was my daugher's immediate favorite. There were easy mazes and pages for coloring.

A terrific workbook for home use. It is a great resource to reinforce the concepts that your child is learning in preschool in a fun, easy to use way.

Brainquest Workbooks are a true workbook with pages that are designed to be torn out.

The workbook is designed as a supplement to go along with what your child is learning in school and is great for parents to use at home.

There are six Brainquest Workbooks in the series and each one is designed for a different age ranging from Pre-K through 4th grade.

The contents are excellent and are broken down into color-coded sections which include ABCs, 123s, Phonics, Vocabulary, Shapes and Colors, Sorting and Matching, My World, Science, Fun and Games and a section of extras which include stickers, an ABC poster, an award certificate and flash cards.

The content itself is fun, colorful and interesting. It brought back memories from school for me. I sat down with my boys and they were completely fascinated with the pictures in the workbook and wanted me to read more and more to them.

I recommend highly and plan on purchasing the rest in the series as my sons enter each school grade.

Whether a child is in preschool or staying at home in preparation for kindergarten, Brain Quest's PreK workbook will prove a valuable and fun tool. The book starts helping kids learn both colors and letters together (by instructing them to color letters a certain color), it moves onto covering simple numbers, some basic phonics and very simple reading basics, shapes, and some basic science. I would expect that most kids would have a difficult time with some of the exercises. Even the most intelligent will be midly pushed and some late bloomers may be overwhelmed, but under the oversight of a patient teacher or parent, a child will emerge with improved critical thinking skills, knowledge of alphabets, colors, and shapes, and maybe even be able to read some very basic basic words using phonetic concepts.

What I love about this book is the way Dorothy Sayers manages to interweave a complex mystery story with the gentle story of the beginning of a marriage. This book is funny, tender, and occasionally sad. It brings all the threads of the earlier Lord Peter/Harriet Vane books together. This book is my favourite of the Lord Peter books, along with Gaudy Night.

Loved this story of Peter & Harriet at the beginning of their married life. Will never forget the solution, it's imprinted in my mind.

A mystery, a love story, a classic work of literature.

After many years, Peter and Harriet marry. Those who have loved them are overjoyed (a feeling readers of earlier Sayers novels share). But murder follows the detective and his author bride-- a body is found on their honeymoon.

I love this book because of what Dorothy Sayers has to say about love between friends and equals. You will care about every character in this wonderful book and appreciate her portrait of life in pre-World War II England.

Others have covered the ground of the story itself pretty well so I'll try to add something new.
I liked "The Unpleasantness at the Belonna Club" and "Whose Body?" somewhat better than this title.... BUT this one is really still just a SUPER classic English murder mystery. The inclusion of Harriet Vane (mystery-writing wife of Lord Peter Wimsey), into the Wimsey series was, in my opinion, a big plus. She really gives Wimsey someone to play off of, in addition to the ever-present and loyal Bunter, Wimsey's astute right-hand man.
This work precedes "Thrones, Dominations," which was an incomplete manuscript by Sayers at the time of her death and was finished by Jill Paton Walsh, who did a superb job of tying up this worthwhile project. (I recommend that you read the two works sequentially!)
So, I highly recommend this fine mystery to all fans of the genre -- it's at least equivalent in pleasure value to Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

This entry in the Lord Peter Whimsey/Harriet Vane series is a little unusual because it has more humor than usual. You get to see a more light hearted Lord Peter, at least until the murder. Agatha Christi concentrates a little more on the relations between Lord Peter and Harriet, starting just after thier engagement and continuing through the honeymoon. You will have to sit through a lot of letter and journal reading in the beginning, but it is worth wading through for the background. A delightful story.

A comprehensive story of a less well known battlefield of World War II. Some confusion over the repetition of numerical regiments, but all-in-all good reading.

Field Marshall Slim was ordered from Iraq to Burma to take command of the front in the upcoming Burma debacle. Under Wavell first, and Auchinlek later, he retreated with the Commonwealth armies into India, and later on led the allied armies into victory against the Japanese forces.
His writing is clear, concise, and he does not spare himself from criticism, Often after describing an order he gave, or wished he had given, he will go on to explain how his plan was a mistake, and how he should have done it instead. This is precious insight on the mind of the commander. In many first person war stories, we are told what happened, but not why, and when errors are committed, there is always a lot of blame sharing. Here it is different. Slim tells you what he did wrong, when, and why. This is refreshing.
He shows great respect for his enemy, and describes the enemy's gallant attacks and heroic defenses with respect and appreciation for the heroism of the Japanese soldier. He does not fail to condemm the Japanese war crimes.
He exhibits great wit in describing the different attitudes of the Indian, Sikh and Gurkha soldiers. In one instance, after a Japanese attack in Inphal, some Gurkhas had been ordered to bury the enemy bodies. One of these wasn't dead yet, so the Gurkha trooper gets ready to cut the enemy's head off with his Kukri knife; a British officer tells him "Don't kill him!", and the Gurkha answers "But sir, we can't bury him alive!" Episodes like this give a great sense of realism and "being there" to the whole story.
The best book I've read to date on the Burma front.

I have always heard that Defeat into Victory - Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 by William Slim was an excellent book for military leaders and planners. Despite this, I was resistant to reading this book for several years. Field-Marshal Slim, after all, was a failure. He failed to stop the Japanese advance in Burma and took a shockingly long time to retake Burma.

After finally reading this book, I must admit I was wrong. This book is useful on at least four levels. First, it is a good read on a little known part of World War II. Even if one is knowledgeable about General Stilwell's experience in the China Burma India (CBI) Theater, this highly focused work will provides new and interesting insights on that theater of war. Second, Field-Marshal Slim was forced by circumstances to be very creative is his tactics, techniques, and procedures. It is useful to see how many of these ideas were adopted in modern militaries and how many still might have value. Third, Field-Marshal Slim has some very specific and interesting "lessons learned" spelled out in the last section of his book. Fourth, leadership as applied in combat, in a bizarre multi-cultural environment, and in the disease ridden tropics might be useful for both current military folks and those in business.

It was a surprise to learn about the relatively large number of troops involved in the Burma campaign. Like most Americans, my image is of a few aviation and engineering units and that the bulk of the fighting, to the extent there was any, was done by Chinese units and a handful of "special forces/commando" units. It was insightful to read about the difficulties in mixing the militaries of different nations. The British attempt, largely successful, at outsourcing the fighting to Indian and West African units was meaningful as well.

The use of helicopters and air mobile brigades was one of the many innovations that Field Marshal Slim implemented. The development of riverine forces was also interesting and potentially worth study since the U S Navy has decided to reintroduce such forces based on lessons learned from Iraq.

From page 535 - 551, Field Marshal Slim offers some specific lessons learned based on the Burma campaign. The only area where I think he is less than intellectually honest is his discussion on "Special Forces". Field Marshal Slim rejects the usefulness of special forces, but if one reviews his actual campaign, he seems to be inclined to argue the usefulness of small groups of elite forces that act as enablers of larger amounts of indigenous troops. Likewise, he is adamantly against commando and amphibious troops as "special". His argument is that all troops should be trained to do these types of things though perhaps not to the level that so called special forces are trained to.

Finally, Field Marshal Slim managed to survive in a complex and bizarre multinational environment. It seems as if the United States might be in such situations in the future. Indeed, NATO forces in Afghanistan and Multi-National Forces in Iraq are - while different in detail - much the same in terms of the diplomatic and relationship building that is required of senior military officers.

This is a solid book for a variety of reasons. I highly recommend it.

Field Marshall Slim, Viscount of Burma, never lets us forget that it is the soldiers in the field that win battles: not politicians in their ivory towers, or generals in their bunkers far behind the action. Slim's theory is that politicians give guidelines for the campaign, and generals provide the training and backup so that the soldiers can get on with their business. He should, when possible, not get in the soldiers way.
This is a marvellous account of how the Commonwealth managed to stem the Japanese tide in South-East Asia. The main part of the book describes how he managed to restore morale and discipline in the army that was so humiliatingly defeated in 1943. That part should be compulsory reading at any management school. His solution was simple: he accepted that the defeat was due to faulty planning of the general staff. He then set out to provide training and equipment to the front-line troops. Since he commanded a multi-ethnic international army, he saw that every unit was supplied according to its own special needs. He even put his own staff on half-rations if any field unit lacked provisions - which usually quickly solved the problem!
As few generals and politicians he understood that war is about individuals and small units - they just add up to something bigger.
Slim could really write, the book is full of small anecdotes and self-ironic humour. When he writes about the actions it is af we were really there in the midst of it.
Finally, and most importantly: the book is totally devoid of any racism or demeaning of the enemy, it is incredibly respectful of his own native soldiers and of the Japanese enemy.

Field Marshal Slim's excellent memoire of the fighting against the Japanese in Burma and India during 1942-1945 is remarkable on at least two counts. First, the Allied armies were badly beaten and hustled unceremoniously out of Burma in 1942, yet reorganized in time to defend India and went on to liberate Burma in 1945. This feat was all the more remarkable for being fought over some of the most rugged jungle and mountain terrain in the world, under often horrendous weather conditions, at the distant end of the Allied supply lines. Second, Slim's account is exceptionally candid with respect to his leadership, to include mistakes made (his and others), to his opinions of his allies and opponents, and to the political wrangling that goes on in any coalition military effort.

The China-Burma-India Theater of World War II did not include large numbers of American ground forces, and has therefore been left largely in the shadows of the fighting in Europe and the Pacific theater. However, the Allied forces inflicted a massive military defeat on the Japanese Army under extraordinarily difficult conditions; there is much to learn from the common sense, improvisational approach employed by Slim in planning and organizing his campaigns.

Slim arrived in the theater as a brand new corps commander just at the start of the Japanese invasion. His efforts to cobble together a defense were repeatedly overturned by the relentless Japanese attack and by the scarcity of resources. Slim managed to extract his forces and in successive positions as corps and army commander, rebuilt them into the force that went back into Burma. Slim's account is comprehensive, even exhaustive, describing both the operational-level planning and administrative support and much of the tactical level fighting in the jungles. His high regard for his multi-national army, composed of British, Gurkha, Indian, Chinese, and American forces, and his care for their morale is evident throughout his account.

"Defeat Into Victory" is a long read at over 550 pages; the casual reader may be overwhelmed by the length and level of detail. The student of military art without prior background in the China-Burma-India theater may have some challenge putting Slim's account into proper context. The limited selection of maps are a bit difficult to read but enable the reader to follow the course of the campaigns.

This book is very highly recommended to the student of the military art looking for a very readable account of the Allied campaigns in Burma. Those who persist to the end will be rewarded by Slim's retrospective on the fighting in Burma and the surprisingly modern conclusions he draws from the experience.

Wonderful - the shots were amazing. I really enjoyed just leafing through the book and let the visions just wash over me.

From the elephant up to the insect, from the cayman up to the seal every animal looks us in the eyes deeply. "Less than the human being: - the monkey follows in the system of zoology according to an immense ravine. If one, however, once wanted to organize the animals after her bliss, cosiness etc., then some people would come to stand anyway apparently under the miller donkeys and hounds ... ", 250 years ago the nature scientist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg already wrote. However, he did not have a camera yet to hand to cover this. Frans Lanting, however, shows us the determination with which snow geese and ibisses, penguins or zebras are away to something, shows us her family care and the dignity of animals in liberty - at times, when more and more people feel caught - a book which reminds us that "upright walking"- that synonymous of the philosophers for courage and self-respect - that you can make it true even on all four paws...

Frans Lanting does it again in Eye To Eye--a brilliant collection of intimate portraits and daily activities of various animals. Like Jungles, it's a book that no natural photographer should be without. When you can see the individual hairs in a courgar's fur coat, it makes you kind of wonder what it would be like to be that close to one.
Looking at Lanting's work is always like looking through a book of artwork, as if he is the Picasso of photography and we are looking through his masterpieces.

Wow !!! How can anyone get so close?!

These photographs are stunning. The talent of Frans Lanting oozes from these pages.

There is a closeness to the subjects here that borders on the intimate. In some cases, one wonders how he actually managed to get the shot.

The focussing and exposure is spot on and the composition is perfect.

I have tried to follow this type of photography and I am only too aware of how difficult it is to obtain these sorts of images.

I take my hat off to Frans Lanting. This is a brilliant work. A completely unique approach to wildlife photography. His behind the scenes narrative to the shots is illuminating.

This book is a valuable reference for all nature photographers. Sensational !

Frans Lanting is one of the great wildlife photographers of the world. He has published many books showing wild animals but "Eye to Eye" is certainly one of his most famous. It consists of dramatically close-up photographs of animals, always concentrating on the eyes of the subject.

The book is divided into three parts: "One on One" shows photographs of single animals, often so close that the frame is filled completely with just the animal's eyes. "Two by Two" usually shows pairs of animals, although there are occasional shots of larger groups. Often the pictures are of mother and child, or mates, but a few shots show conflict. "All in All" shows shots of larger groups of animals. The book also contains a two page section called "Behind the Camera" in which Lanting discusses his photographic philosophy but provides few hints that will allow others to copy his style. Finally, perhaps because the text of the main sessions is limited to species name, there is a section of thumbnails with a brief statement concerning the picture. I found this section to be particularly inadequate since I often said to myself "How did he do that?" but got no help in finding an answer.

These are amazing pictures, primarily because Lanting has managed to get so close to his subjects. In a few pictures we can see that that is a result of enlarging and cropping, but in most cases the pictures are sharp enough so that so that we realize he was really close to the animals. Moreover, with a few exceptions, these are not captive animals. I for one would not like to take a picture of a wild lion at a distance of twenty feet. At least one critic has suggested that this book raised the bar for all wildlife photographers, forcing them to get closer to their subjects, and placing more stress upon photographers and subject.

There are moments of great intimacy, particularly in the "Two by Two" section, where the pictures of parent and child tug at our heartstrings. It's hard not to see human characteristics in these photos. The book also benefits from its layout, grouping its subjects by actions. Thus there are pictures of a huge flock of butterflies followed by pictures of ibises, penguins, snow geese, zebras and elephants all purposefully on the move to some destination. I also particularly enjoyed facing pictures of a lion and a leopard, moving toward the centerfold in mirror image.

These are great photographs because the photographer got so close to his subjects. But they are also mostly documentary. Few of the pictures rise to the level where the form rather than the subject makes them art, although I was particularly struck by a picture of Oryxes carefully treading their way across the Namibian sand dunes. But when I compare Lanting's photographs to the work of other wildlife photographers like Art Wolfe, I can see the difference. The pictures in Wolfe's "The Living Wild" show each animal in its environment, where Wolfe was better able to concentrate on the composition of his subjects to create a more artful picture.

Not withstanding this quibble, "Eye to Eye" is a great book, and readers are unlikely to soon forget these close encounters with the other living inhabitants of our planet.

Volume two of Le Proust's great work is a sensual delight. Part One (of Vol.2), by and large, is more about Swann's family and, of course, the agonizing and philosophizing in regard to "getting over" Miss Gilberte. There is much less about the narrator's family which ran the course throughout SWANN'S WAY. Stylistically, BUDDING GROVE is an absolute wonder. We are once again treated to the narrator's philosophies on life's ups and downs (how's that for a summation?). Once he gets to the fictitious seaside town of Balbec, the book surges--taking on the proverbial "life of its own". The reader is in the hotel room with him...and on the beach...and on the boardwalk, etc. It was a joy to see how Proust/Moncrieff would occasionally work in "street talk" with the mainstay of aureate and lyrical prose: a woman in Balbec is described as having "yellow hair and six inches of paint on her face and a carriage which reeked of harlot a mile away..." Delicious. Priceless.

I cannot imagine trying to read Proust's Everest of a novel until I've had enough life experience to be able to identify with his insights. How on earth was a man who died young and was confined to a bed for so many years able to learn so much about life and common human experience, emotion and perception? I don't know how, but I thank God that he was.

For modern readers, Proust is definitely an acquired taste that rewards patience. I never thought reading the works of one author would make those of others seem so much easier to read. But such is the case with Proust. Nevertheless, one shouldn't regard his writing as therapy or medicine; it may read like self help at times, with its frequent use of the first-person plural, but it is a story first of all. His writing is just more detailed and insightful than that of all but a handful of modern novelists.

Within a Budding Grove is a primer on patience and perception, one that will probably make you a better reader, perhaps a better writer, and certainly a more interesting human being. Struggle on patiently. You will get used to the labyrinthine sentences, paragraphs that run on for pages, and gargantuan chapters (if they can be called that) that don't really begin or end anywhere tidy. Eventually, you will likely come to enjoy it.

My only criticism: at times one does get annoyed by the slow pacing. For instance, I knew that this is the volume that introduces the reader to Albertine. But it did take about 600 pages for the narrator to meet her! That said, there are plenty of tasty morsels along the way. Read it, not so much for the simple story or the minutely detailed descriptions, but for the numerous insights and the astounding wisdom.

Montcrief's translation, is the quintisential Proust. The, beautiful, florid prose is reminiscent of a time and a place that no longer exists, and captures the French aristocracy in the advent of WWI -- full of old-world trappings, yet abounding with subtle reminders of the globalization that was to follow. Proust's style and vision are directed admirably towards his artistic goal of appreciating art through sublimation, and express his idea that a true understanding of art comes first through appreciation, and then expression through a medium. This volume is full of Proust's own philosiphies on art, life and the people who abound in both. His observations, pointed and amusing, keep this volume relevant. Considering the wave of expatriate and existentialist writers who propogated Paris after the Great War, this book is truly the last in a line of works that view life in a grand, sweeping and elegant manner. Within a Budding Grove brought Proust fame and acclaim in his own time, and in ours can be seen as a masterpiece reflecting a time past, yet glimsping assiduously into the future. For those "in search of lost time" this is truly a great read.

How can anyone summarize even a single volume of Proust's massive six volume novel? Within a Budding Grove (sometimes translated as In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower) is the second installment of In Search of Last Time. We find the narrator perhaps marginally older on vacation with his grandmother living in a luxurious hotel in Balbec off the coast. This volume, paired with the first (Swann's Way), is really the introduction to the work entire if you can believe it. In it, the narrator perhaps matures slightly; he cultivates his keen awareness of art, meets new people, and ultimately falls out of love with Gilberte and falls in love with Albertine. His relationship with his grandmother is certainly expanded, and the reader comes to learn that the narrator is not merely motivated by a trivial pursuit of pleasure and bourgeois charm. He is in fact, a truly full human being, complete with fear, love, desire, and ambition. He meets one of my favorite characters in the whole book, the impressionist painter Elstir, a character clearly based Monet, Manet, Pissaro, and others. He introduces the narrator to Albertine through his paintings, and teaches him about the joys of life and art. There are some passages in this section of the book (the latter half) which I just can't resist from quoting,

"I could never have believed that I should now be dreaming of a sea which was no more than a whitish vapour that had lost both consistency and colour. But of such a sea Elstir, like the people who sat musing on board those vessels drowsy with the heat, had felt so intensely the enchantment that he had succeeded in transcribing, in fixing for all time upon his canvas, the imperceptible ebb of the tide, the throb of one happy moment; and at the sight of this magic portrait, one could think of nothing else than to range the wide world, seeking to recapture the vanished day in its instantaneous, slumbering beauty" (pg. 657).

also (how French is this?),

"For a convalescent who rests all day long in the flower-garden or an orchard, a scent of flowers or fruit does not more completely pervade the thousand trifles that compose his idle hours than did for me that colour, that fragrance in search of which my eyes kept straying towards the girls, and the sweetness of which finally became incorporated in me. So it is that grapes sweeten in the sun. And by their slow continuity these simple little games had gradually wrought in me also, as in those who do nothing else all day but lie outstretched by the sea, breathing the salt air and sunning themselves, a relaxation, a blissful smile, a vague dazzlement that had spread from brain to eyes" (pg. 669).

I certainly cannot add any insights into the greatness and profundity of this work which has not already been said by Edmund Wilson or Vladimir Nabokov. Within a Budding Grove is a deeply felt, beautiful and fleeting segment of one of the finest novels of the last century, I urge you to read it.

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This is a great copy of Vol. 2 of A la recherche du temps perdu [In Search of Lost Time].
Each volume in the septrology may be read individually as an independent novel.
This is, of course, the very best translation available in English; probably the very best that will ever be available in English: certainly the next best thing to reading the original French.

NOTE: Proust is not quick reading, and one who tries to read him too quickly will just as quickly lose the tread of the narrative.
This text has its own time scale, and the reader must adjust his/herself to the text--not the other way around.
In this stream of consciousness narrative, the narrator (/author) digresses as he speaks (/thinks): he digresses, digresses, digresses; and then, he returns, returns, returns to the point where he began. One has to follow his line of thought: this is the art and beauty of the text.

Proust's achievement is one of the greatest edifices of Western art, perhaps comparable only to Wagner's Ring cycle.
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GUTTER is by one of the rawest Urban Lit books that's representing Street Lit and wrapped up 2008 w/out a doubt. With Gutter comes a true life education in the world of the Crips and Bloods. Drama, suspense, pain, danger, shouting, smiling, crying.....is sure to shake up these emotions and combine true hard reality. Gutter comes back in this sequel and puts in what he does best "work" but now he's on the West Coast getting things in order and taking care of "bidnezz". The East Coast is up in shambles and it's raining Major Blood and he's bringing the heat and keeping it gangsta and repping for the West Coast bloods. If you haven't read Gangsta, I would highly recommend you do and then pick up the sequel Gutter, because the drama continues and you don't won't to miss a beat. I promise you will get a valid glimpse of East Coast vs. West Coast and the way each coast represent, it becomes incredibly frightening that the gang life is captured in true form. I'm sorry to say if this one goes to the big screen, it should be thought out w/a serious decision w/estreem caution, because it sure will rock america and stir up controversy in each coast for years to come. This is a book that establishes Kwan as an author to follow, applaud, rank him as a high professional w/the pen game, and stripe him as one of the kings of Street Lit. Take your stand, Kwan is here!!!

This was my first Kwan book and I really enjoyed it. Fast paced and a lot of action which kept me interested. Now I'm going to check out his others. Hope I like them just as much!

Street Great sequel! I hated that Gutter had to die like Loc, however, those are the streets! K'Wan keep on writing. I would love to see what happens with the little cousin.

Before reading "Gutter" I had to read "Gangsta" again because it came out so long ago.A lot of sequels are not worth the wait it takes for them to come out & hit the streets.Not "Gutter" it's a sequel well worth the wait it took for it to come out,K'wan as always has done it again because his book game cant be touched.Good story line combined with strong character developement are the 2 things that a lot of these other urban authors are lacking but not K'wan as always he brings that fire and gives it to you raw.Lou-loc can rest in peace because his boy Gutter and the mighty crip nation settled the score big time.For all of you who have read "Gangsta" you owe it to yourself & K'wan to read the sequel "Gutter" you wont be disapointed,Don B from "Hood Rat & Still Hood" made a small cameo appearance to proove this.That's it for now,I just started reading "Bitch 3" so many books so little time.

Gutter; what more can I say; K'Wan really out did himself; I was upset to see Gutter perish at the end, however Lou-Loc would have done the same for Gutter's seed! Peace and Blessings...

Practical and accessible information that anyone can understand and apply. Mr. Freshman illustates his points in a way that makes his points clear even to a beginner. It's a must-read for anyone who is looking to venture into this area.

Sam Freshman has an amazing ability to communicate so much with an economy of words even the "freshman" real estate buff can appreciate. His book and his wisdom are worth every penny and more.

Throw out all the your get rich quick guides! This book explains in simple and easy to understand language the preparation, execution, and practices that must be taken to become successful in the field. I truly believe this book, if properly followed, can make anybody who reads it substantial amounts of money.

Samuel Freshman's "Principles of Real Estate Syndication" covers the syndication process and all related issues from A to Z. The book is extremely informative and a must for anyone who wants to get into the syndication business... and even for those who already are. It is clearly written and concise... the exhibits are especially helpful.

Whether you're an experienced real estate investor, an aspiring real estate investor or simply interested in learning how to generate wealth through the art of real estate syndication, this book is a must-read. The author of this book, Samuel K. Freshman, is speaking from experience when he sets out the blue print for making money through real estate investment and syndication. His no-nonsense, non-hyped and practical writing style and advise makes this book an easy and interesting read. If you are serious about making money in real estate, read this book.

The first time I heard about this book was when I watched the movie, a really good movie. I was really impressed about the feelings and experiences of the characters. I know Danielle Steel is a good writer; I really love this book... At the end, I almost cry because the end was very sentimental and depth.

I read this book over 10 yrs ago and it is one of the few I have actually read more than once.

This earlier book of Danielle Steele's is one of my favorites. The main character is an interesting and strong woman. The story is filled with suspense, danger and of course, romance.

I love this book!!!!!!!!! This is my all time favorite book.
Buy this book you will not regret it.

While Steel's books may not hold high literary status, her books are popular, and reading The Ring is one of her best efforts.

Steel, through her well honed writing skills, takes the female character through several love relationships starting with a character that she learned to love against all odds. Her love of a German Nazi solider, and her love of another, finally leads to finding the greatest love of her life. Read the book and you'll find out how love does endure through all situations and finally wins out. One of her best books.