Resources Books

Very good collection of Stellent Content Server. Only reason i gave 4 star instead of 5 is that sometimes it is hard to find stuff you are looking for. I have this book for about 18 months now and i have used it so many times both during new development as well as fixing some bugs.

Now that Stellent is bought by Oracle and not knowing how oracle will integrate Stellent CMS with other oracle products, I would suggest hold off buying it, if you are looking for a long term value. If you looking for only short term use, go ahead and buy it.

brian did a great job of getting right to the matter at hand with excellent real world examples.

I only wish this book was written two years ago. However, it is a very well written book with a good layout and great examples. At last many questions that I did not know to ask have now been answered.

Way to go Brain!

Well written, easy to understand and use, congratulations on a truly useful tool. I have worked with Stellent for many years, and have this book next to my keyboard at all times! Bex has always provided clear answers for the user group, but this provides a clear direction no matter what you need to do with your Stellent system.

Kudos!

If you do any customization to a Stellent Content Server or want a detailed over-view of what can be done to a Content Server, then this book is for you. Both developers and managers could benefit from this book. It's easy to explain what needs to be done or what you are asking for, once you know what can be done within the Content Server.

Finding information is easy in the book and Bex's example are clear cut and to the point.

The book was written at the end of the dot com era, perhaps as a reaction against the intense high-tech stress undergone by many people. It is now 5 years later, but the text is still relevant. After all, while the dot com era is now clearly seen as overly inflated, the technology did not go away after the crash. In fact, it has continued to improve, and no doubt the stress levels are still present for many people.

So the book's advice about maintaining a balance between your professional and social lives is very germane. It is also worth keeping in mind, when, and not if, another cycle of high technology frenzy spins up.

It was great finding a book that offered helpful suggestions in a very readable style to the problem of staying in touch without getting overwelmed by our high-tech world. Best of all was the insightful nature of the book. The distinction between balance and congruence was so important. The authors recognized the reality of human spirituality and the blows it can suffer in our wired world. A fine book for anyone who has caught the wave of techno-communication but still wants to stay sane.

The frantic pace of our world is overwhelming. Technology is able to keep us connected 24/7 and many of us have allowed it to invade every minute of our lives. No wonder we experience personal systems overload! This book really delivers what is implied in its title Dot Calm. We are all seeking to balance our work, home, family, community....you name it. Dinnocenzo and Swegan have done their research and offer practical advice on how to discover and reconnect with what is important. We can choose a better way and this book guides us in that process. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to reclaim their life.

Just as Ms Dinnocenzo introduced me to sanity and organization trying to be a telecommter in a wired world in her 101 Tips for Telecommuters, I realized a missing piece. And I found it in Dot.Calm. She explained problems that I could not put into words. But the best part of the book was her and Rick's four specific solutions for dealing with technology when you must be able to communicate with others you don't see. She addresses the real human problems in this techno world. Now I feel like a survivor who can communicate successfully and make money doing so!

I can not count the number of products and services that have come my way heralded with much hype and false promises of their value to the user. That's been especially true of self-help guides. You know the ones that promise you'll be a changed person, if only you buy the book and implement its recommendations. Well, at long last one of those books delivered on the promise. The foreword states that "you'll find these pages to be filled with practical, how-to advice .... step-by-step formulas for finding ...and keeping balance in your life." As a poster child for the insanity of the wired world, I really did not know how to break out of the strangle hold it had on my life. It became easier and easier to rationalize absolutely crazy behaviors related to my out- of- balance existence. The authors of Dot Calm were surely writing about me or so it seemed. I expect many of its readers will feel the same identification with the analysis of being over-connected, over-worked,over-scheduled, over-informed and ultimately OVERWHELMED. It's a book you'll read in one sitting and then reread many times as you take back control over your life. Thanks to the authors for delivering on their promise.

Reading this book gave me a great peace of mind. I'm an environmental scientist, but I wanted to inspire people to reconnect with the world around them before focusing on objective science (which Orr claims, and I agree, is not really objective, but an objective method to verify and support subjective perspectives and passions).

He lists everything that is wrong and what needs to be corrected. A good follow-up book or study would be if someone took his advice to a school or set of schools and set up a curriculuum after his suggestions and measured how students responded.

David W. Orr is chair of the environmental studies program at Oberlin College in Ohio and is most often credited with coining the word "ecoliteracy" (similar to the renown biologist Garrett Hardin's "ecolacy") to describe the very important study and understanding of ecology and natural resource processes. He is also credited with the simple, but profound statement, "When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves."

No wonder then that Prof. Orr is well suited to write on the importance of ecoliteracy being incorporated into all educational systems for a more balanced perspective of reality.
Contemporary education, Orr says "...emphasizes theories, not values; abstraction rather than consciousness; neat answers instead of questions; and technical efficiency over conscience." (p 8) and, "As a result, after 12 or 16 or 20 years of education, most students graduate without any broad, integrated sense of the unity of things." (p 11)

"This is not an argument against education but rather an argument for the type of education that prepares people for lives and livelihoods suited to a planet with a biosphere that operates by the laws of ecology and thermodynamics." (p 27)

"Intelligence would lead us...to protect biological diversity, but for reasons that go beyond the calculation of self-interest. The surest sign of maturity of intelligence is the evolution of biocentric wisdom, by which I mean the capacity to nurture and shelter life-a fitting standard for a species calling itself homo sapiens." (p52)

"...I propose a different ranking system for colleges based on whether or not the institution and it's graduates move the world in more sustainable directions. Does four years at a particular institution instill knowledge, love, and competence toward the natural world or indifference and ignorance? Are the graduates of this or that college suited for a responsible life on a planet with a biosphere? This is an admittedly difficult, but not impossible, task."

A sense of "biophilia", as the renown sociobiologist, E.O. Wilson has described as that innate feeling of connectedness to a biological world where our roots and sustenance lie, is critical for developing a deep sense of respect and care of our world. Biophilia and it's antithesis, biophobia are well covered in chapter 20.

"We need an ecological concept of citizenship roots in the understanding that activities that erode soils, waste resources, pollute, destroy biological diversity, and degrade the beauty of landscapes are forms of theft from the commonwealth as surely as bank robbery. Ecological vandalism undermines future prosperity and democracy alike." (p 168)
"The first bit of conventional wisdom denies the importance of place and environment in favor of global vandalism masquerading as progress." (p 160)

Indeed, and a deep understanding of natural life-support systems would help mend that twisted perception of reality. David Orr has very well delineated the educational path here to creating graduates with a sense of awe and respect for the fragile, but life-supporting planet they live on.

David Orr exquisitely puts into words a need for an environmental ethos in the classroom. As a high school teacher, I have long-intuited his insights about how to bring daily connections to students about the natural world that we inhabit. He is deeply passionate, articulate and practical. I'd love to see school boards, administrations, faculty and students alike be exposed to his clear thinking and real suggestions. He brings urgency without bringing despair.

This is a very important book that should be read by all politicians, educators, and citizens of Earth. David Orr gives clear examples and ideas for making the radical changes we need to undo some of the damage that we have done to the planet. You will be inspired and moved if you read this book.

first off, as promised by the reseller, the book was in great condition.

as for the contents of the book, it's a fantastic read if you are interested in the root of the sustainability movement. that is to say the foundations and meaning of our educational system which as critical public good, is in dire need of a re-examination.

I thought the book was a very informative and practical account as well as very well produced and edited.

Thanks!

This is where I started when I began exploring of building my house underground. What bothers me is so much cement. I like Mike Oehler better. Check him out too and decide for yourself.

This is the so called "holy book" for building an earth sheltered home. Definitely should have started 20 years ago but it is needed for today's building needs. Energy efficient - low cost ( pretty labor intensive ) Awesome to build. Have a five year plan.

An excellent reference for those who are interested in Earth Bermed and Earth Sheltered houses. His attention to detail in the excavation and foundation chapters is worth the price of the book alone. Especially when there is a lack of in depth internet resources available for those wishing to build their own earth sheltered house. Although this book deserves the 5 stars for fulfilling its basic promise, I wish he had devoted some time to discussing plumbing for a simple structure. But overall, he gives this reader 90% of the information necessary to start a small sized earth bermed house.

If you are looking to have an earth roof, you will need to purchase his other book "Timber Framing" where he goes into rich detail the structural engineering requirements of load and tension and compression. With these 2 books, you should be able to complete rough plans for a structural engineer to review and stamp with little or none modifications.

Also, for those searching for energy efficient stoves, I recommend aprovecho.org's institutional rocket stove or Ianto Evans Rocket Stove which are both 300% more efficient than traditional wood stoves.

On a conclusionary note. I priced out timber framing members for the roof section of a square 30'x30' roof and it came out to over $9000 in timber alone ( not including the tongue & groove planking). Compare that to a traditional 8/12 pitch roof somewhere in the $3000 price range for rafters, ridge, and plywood. Put a metal roof on that and you should be good for over 30 years atleast. Sure the earth roof is better for the ecosystem and eye but a regular roof allows placement of rainwater collection, solartubes and solar heaters/panels as well. For the cost conscious, I have come to the conclusion that a traditional roof that is superinsulated along with the earth berming techniques in this book will allow people to have their own energy efficient house for less than they think.

This is a great book! If you really wanted to build your own earth-sheltered home you could certainly do it using the information presented here (though a wiser course would be to pick up more sources). Thanks to this book and "The New Ecological Home", building our own home with environmentally conscious materials and possibly earth bermed or sheltered is high on our list of priorities. There is only one complaint I have about many books of this variety. They tend to cover difficulties with things like building code and location very lightly.

Building code and location are going to be huge factors in building an earth sheltered structure, especially one made with fewer traditional modern building materials. Difficulties with local regulations or inflexible inspectors/building comissions may prevent you from being able to build in the area you want. This may drive an individual to build in locations further away from urban centers where they might work. Commuting is no fun; and if you wanted to look at it from an environmental standpoint commuting a greater distance to work, grocery market or schools has just raised your carbon footprint and negated some of the savings your earth sheltered home has created.

I would highly recommend that individuals check local code thoroughly and choose a location suitable to their daily needs such as work or other social necessities before building. One need not build out of logs and plaster to have an earth sheltered home, though I understand that the point of this book is to have an affordable home and avoiding expensive modern materials. Take a bigger picture of what you are trying to accomplish; if you are purchasing this book it is somewhat safe to assume you are concerned about the environment. Please also consider materials used. Rob Roy's excellent use of modern materials such as rubber membranes and concrete block are high in initial cost to produce, environmentally speaking, but last longer and provide more benefit to long term savings such as insulative qualities and maintenance costs than lesser materials might. A lot of other earth-sheltered builders advocate natural materials to a fault, they have people using composting toilets and straw-bale homes. While effective in an environmental sense, they are not attractive to the average person. Rob Roy's book moves in a positive direction by using modern materials with environmentally conscious construction to create a home that just about anybody would like to live in.

A Gotta Have book even if you are not calling yourself a Dummie but planning on starting an eBay business in your home. Great reference for the experienced eBayer.

This is an excellent resourve for anyone who is considering doing business on eBay. In addition, the seller was very prompt in sending the material.

The author stresses that a degree of understanding Ebay is assumed. So, if you are an Ebay newby, buy another book. Also, its primarily for those who are starting an Ebay business--if you are just selling your old trains or something similiar, buy another book. If you are starting a Ebay business, it has some pretty good suggestions.

I'm not kidding. THere are several ideas in here that will save you tons of time AND money! I share concepts in this book with members of our eBay discussion group almost every month! GREAT IDEAS. REad about saving on insurance, shipping, and more.

This is a great book, because you can always learn something new to put into practice. It's not just for Dummies!! It can help eBay users of all levels.

This book is OK but for the beginner trying to get the most for your money in explanation of precious gemstones, I don't really recommend this book a necessity for right away. You can enter it to your reference library at a later time. It is a good book but doesn't have enough details needed at first for identifications.

Where to begin? Photos, interesting facts, chemical compositions, broad range of stones!!!! The perfect reference for jewelers, libraries, hobbyists, homeschoolers- and to all you crystal/light workers, here is an awesome way to get a view of the crystals mentioned in the text-only guidebooks. See the Rocks & Minerals guide also.

I took out this book in the middle of fourth grade. I loved it so much I kept it till the end of the year. Then I took it out again in fifth grade, along with the Moths and Butterflies book from the same series. These books are wonderful tools for projects, assignments, or just plain fun! I'm planning on buying this book soon once I earn enough money. (I'm broke T_T)

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS AND THIS BOOK HAS TERRIFIC PICTURES AND VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE DESCRIPTIONS. EVERYTHING THAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUBJECT IS ANSWERED IN THIS BOOK. THERE'S A VISUAL GUIDE TO OVER 130 GEMSTONE VARIETIES AND A COLOR KEY FOR EVERY GEMSTONE. THERE ARE SO MANY INTERESTING BITS OF INFORMATION HERE THAT THE READER GETS A COURSE IN HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, SCIENCE AND FOLKLORE. FOR INSTANCE, THE CUSTOM OF WEARING BIRTHSTONE JEWELRY STARTED IN 18TH CENTURY POLAND; THE MASK OF TUTANKHAMEN WAS MADE OF LAPIS FROM AFGHANISTAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL PINK MORGANITE WAS NAMED AFTER J.P. MORGAN. THIS IS A SUPER REFERENCE BOOK!

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK CALLY HALL PERSONALY FOR SUCH A EXCELLENT WORK ON GEMSTONES. THE WORK CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN WORDS. I AM A JEWELLER AS WELL AS GEMOLOGIST, GOT QUIET IMPRESSED WITH SUCH PIECE OF ART.

G'day,

This seminal tome is a great shelf and operational ally to those works produced by Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Masanobu Fukuoka & P.A. Yeomans etc. Allan Savory's grazing techniques are revolutionary and are a perfect antidote to rising atmospheric CO2 levels, as the regenerative development of healthy functional ecosystems, especially grassland, are the most cost-effect and potent means of reversing this trend and its associated impacts, which include runaway desertification....among many other assaults on the carbon bank...

Decision making processes are what this book is really about though and it is life changing in that respect....and simply so as the process is easy to use and as thoroughly considered as it needs to be. In the "Great Retrofit", as I like to call it, of our human effected landscapes (which is most of the biosphere), adoption of these processes together with Mollisonian & Holmgrenian Permaculture Ethics & Principles, Fukuoka's philosophy, and Yeomans' techniques would cause to make a "paradigm" shift in the state of the world, its landscapes and organisms, and indeed humanity.

Very interesting tome that is overwhelming because it changlenges all of the mindsets that one generally has concerning land management. The book has sections that are good for everyone, not just the land manager, and should be skimmed by anyone who cares about this planet and wants to make a difference.

I found the entire book very interesting, in that it talked in great detail about low-rainfall, brittle environments. These environments are hardly covered in most science books. Nevertheless, I expected to read more about the details of running livestock succesfully on these brittle environments. I am looking forward to further, more specific publications from Mr. Savory.

Don't missunderstand me. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and would highly reccomend it to anyone who lives off the land and who is in close contact with nature.

AW

This is a book could be beneficial to anyone ... from individuals, to families, to cooperations, to farmers/ranchers, to governments.

Go to his webiste *holistic management dot com* for some of the most enlightening truth about the environement and our responsibility and what ACTUALLY WORKS in saving and preserving the environment. You will many Ah-Ha moments.

A very empowering book as well as you write out your QUALITY OF LIFE statement, your forms of production and your future resource base. An empowring book because it deals with really getting at the root and working towards a solution no matter who is involved.

If you want to solve problems and live with purpose and actually make a difference towards a sustainable civilization .. This book is at the top of the list.
AND.. It is just plain interesting !! Thank you Mr. Savory.

Sustainability has become the central drama of our time, yet within the sustainability movement there is a huge conflict. It isn't the environmentalists against the dam builders this time--it is between those who see nature mainly as a domain, reserve, or area, and those who see nature as a process. Both sides largely agree that there is a serious ecological crisis, we are on the brink, and that humanity needs to change its ways. But there is an enormous disagreement on the problem, and on the prescription.

For the majority of writers on sustainability, the causes of our crisis are greed, overpopulation, consumption, development, and multinational corporations. For them, sustainability is a modern, industrial-era problem. The solutions are political: shift power from the wrong people and organizations to the right people and organizations, or quit logging, grazing, or using chemicals.

Savory's book shows, in convincing and elegant detail, that those who concentrate on shifting ideology or politics to move toward sustainability are just rearranging the deck chairs. The backlash and the revenge of unintended consequences will continue. If we are serious about this, we must change our decision framework. The way we make decisions, which is usually unconscious and habitual, is the key factor. Savory and Butterfield show us how this works, from start to finish.

this is the best book i ever read, even though it has the part about the icky racoon!

There are already some very thorough reviews on this book, but I just had to share how much my 7 year old daughter and I loved this book. Our cat was a rescued feral kitten, so this is an issue close to our hearts. This book does a great job of talking in language my 7 year old could understand, yet I never felt like the issues were "dumbed" down for kids. I look forward to reading more of Anderson's books.

Eleven-year-old star student, Sunita Patel, has longed to share her home with a cat for as long as she can remember. She wants nothing more than to wake up to a furry friend every morning, and bask in the sound of a feline purring. But, alas, her mother, Dr. Patel, refuses to make Sunita's dreams come true. An orthopedist, Dr. Patel is frightened of cats, and doesn't want to share a home with one. Luckily, Sunita receives her fill of feline love by volunteering at Dr. Mac's Place - a veterinary clinic that treats animals of all shapes and sizes. At Dr. Mac's Place, Sunita works alongside four other animal-obsessed friends - Brenna, Maggie, David, and Zoe. While each and every day at Dr. Mac's Place is full of laughter and tears, Sunita finds herself more attached to the case at hand, than any other previous cases she has seen in the past. When Dr. Mac's cat, Socrates, disappears after a cat fight, the vet volunteers begin a search to locate the beloved orange boy, only to stumble upon a place called Cat Land. Cat Land is located in a wooded area of a local neighborhood, where cats of all walks of life have taken up residence in an abandoned boxcar. Noted as a feral cat colony, Sunita is convinced that, with a little love and attention, these cats can live healthy, happy lives in homes with humans. But Cat Land is in danger. Local residents have become fed up with the overpopulation of wild cats, and are frightened of the oft-times aloof creatures. So, taking matters into their own hands, they contact Animal Control, and plan on having each and every one of the animals captured and destroyed. Sunita is devastated to learn this news, and is determined to find justice for these felines. Putting her head together with Dr. Mac, the two come up with a plan to use a widely-effective program called TVSR - Treat, Vaccinate, Spay, and Release. Sunita is thrilled to have the chance to help these homeless animals. But before the program is even well underway, tragedy strikes when Sunita attempts to tame one of the wild cats, and ends up in the hospital. With Sunita sick, she believes that the cats are destined for tragedy, unless she can convince her parents, as well as her neighbors, to have a little compassion, and save these cats before it's too late.

As an animal lover, I have found myself absolutely falling in love with Laure Halse Anderson's VET VOLUNTEERS series. And, after reading FIGHT FOR LIFE, I decided that Sunita was certainly my favorite character out of each of the five volunteers. So I was thrilled to learn that HOMELESS was predominately about her. Anderson has painted a more in-depth picture of Sunita within HOMELESS. While, in FIGHT FOR LIFE, we learned a bit about her character; in this installment, readers have the opportunity to get inside her head, so to speak. We have the chance to see what an intelligent, smart individual she is; and get a close up view of her compassion and determination. The fact that Anderson gives us the opportunity to learn more about Sunita's family life, and learn why she is so crazy about cats only adds to the story. As with FIGHT FOR LIFE, Anderson has targeted a very important issue surrounding animals today: pet overpopulation. However, she also provides readers with facts about feral cats, and gives us the chance to learn more about programs that are being used throughout the country to help feral cats survive and thrive in the wild, without producing more offspring. Anderson continues to shed light on serious issues regarding animals that many authors are too intimidated to touch. And, by providing this information within such an interesting, fun series of books, she gives readers the chance to want to make a difference in the world for animals today, and gives us the information we need to be pro-active in society. The article she provides at the end of the story - told in Dr. J.J. Mackenzie's voice - is interesting, and sheds some light on what cats mean when they purr, knead, and so much more. This article is a fun addition to the tale, and provides an interesting conclusion to the story. A sequel that leaves you purring.

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

When Sunita finds a group of cats in a neighbborhood, she becomes determined to domesticate them, despite warnings that these cats are not domestic cats but feral cats--cats that have been allowed to grow wild and of which have come into contact with very few humans. Sunita convinces Dr. Mac of the Wild at Heart Clinic to take the cats to fix them, give them shots, and check them for illnesses, since the alternative is that the Animal Control people come and take them and euthanize them. But Sunita learns, finally that you can't domesticate a feral cat after she gets bitten and has to undergo rabies shots herself. But trouble comes when her plan to send the treated cats back to the wild backfires. The nieghbors don't want the cats at all--even if they have been treated so they cannot breed or carry rabies. Was Sunita's plan in vain? Another good book in the Wild At Heart series. I thought that this one was better than the first one.

I think this was one out of the series that was one of the most exciting books. It's about Maggie's friend, Sunita Patel. Sunita loves cats. She works as a vet volunteer at Dr. Mac's clinic. One day Sunita and her friends are walking home from school and they come across an open field with a ton of cats walking around. One of the cats are feral and hurt. They take him to Dr. Mac. The only trouble is, the two kids that were feeding the cats before Sunita got here is that their mother is raving mad about the kids being around feral cats. Sunita must persuade the kids mom that not all cats are bad. Will Sunita change her mind after she is bitten by one? Find out in Homeless.

This is a great feat - to take such a complex situation as a disfunctional church and explain clearly and simply the dynamics that may be at play. A few things I thought were very helpful:
* a discussion of the brain's capacity to function at different levels according to stress and anxiety levels
* the nature of anxiety and its role in a family system/congregational system (particularly when shared around)
* ways to reduce anxiety so that we can function at our problem-solving best
* the role of pain in moving us forward in better directions

So much of what has happened in my past and present congregations was resolved in me by reading this book. It is helping improve my leadership greatly.

I would hightly recommend this book because it gets the the heart of the issue about how conflict develops between church members as a result of our family background. Steinke gives practical insight into our own ways of looking at church situations through the lens of the family systems theory. Even though it is a short book it is packed with good things and definitely a must read, especially for church leaders.

I was the pastor of a troubled church and was relocated after 20 months. This book provided me with much understanding of the dynamics of church life. I wished I had it when dealing with my struggles. Now that I am in a new church, I am writing a thesis based on my former church using this book and others to do a case study.
A great read for clergy and lay alike.

Murray Bowen caused a stir in the fields of psychitry and psychotherapy when he suggested that families were emotional systems, and that only by stdying the system could one begin to understand the behavior of individuals within the system. Now that his ideas have gained wider acceptance, many thinkers in this field, like pastor and psychologist Peter L. Stienke, have begun to explore the application of systems theory in other contexts. This book presents an excellent introduction to systems theory in the context of a church or synagogue congregation, which function as their own emotional systems much like extended families. Steinke does an excellnt job of introducing systems theory for pastors, church leaders, and others who may want to better understand the way that emotional reactivity influences not just individual congregants, but the whole congregation. Those who have little background in this area will find Stienke's book clear and approachable.

Peter Steinke is a Lutheran pastor and director of the Interfaith Pastoral Counseling Center in suburban Chicago. His career has been one of studying and advising the dynamics of disfunctional churches and counseling pastors who have been hurt by said churches. "How Your Church Family Works" is an introduction to systems theory as it relates to interpersonal dynamics within a church and has been very helpful for this reader.

Steinke begins by introducing the concept of systems--that every unit in a system effects and is effected by every other unit in that system. He then covers how systems work--always seeking to remain stable, even if that stability harms most or all the people in that system. He then moves into a discussion of forces that stabilize or change a system (anxiety, closeness, etc.). Finally, after weaving theory and example to the point that the reader has a fuller understanding of systems theory, Steinke shows how individuals within a system can effect change for the better.

The overriding theme in in "How Your Church Family Works" can be "knowledge is power." Steinke accurately describes the "tunnel vision," the pressure to conform to others' idea of what your role in a system should be, and the tendency of people within a system to focus on other people in that system and blame them. However, through understanding systems, the way they work, their flaws, and how to be an angent of change, one can make an ineffecient, stifling system a productive, nurturing system. They key is knowledge and "big picture" thinking, and defining one's self.

In all, this book has been incredibly helpful as I continue to reflect upon my experiences at a church with a dangerously crushing emotional system. Steinke's book empowers one to be agents of positive change in situations that may be difficult to understand, let alone control. Highly recommended.

A self-described "working class intellectual" with a passion for collecting jazz records and a "flunky gig" as a file clerk in a VA hospital, Harvey Pekar pioneered the literary comic genre. His long-running series American Splendor portrays not caped superheroes with bulging muscles, but the everyday life of an ordinary guy in Cleveland. Pekar's autobiographical vignettes are introspective, honest, and often funny, candidly revealing his flaws and failures as he pushes on heroically in pursuit of love, companionship, and creative fulfillment.

Pekar's realistic dialogue (the characters speak in different dialects, which helps you "hear" them in your head) accompanies a wide range of art styles by a number of comic artists, from the quirkiness of R. Crumb to the stark realism of Greg Budgett and Gary Dumm and the meticulous, photographic detail of Gerry Shamray. One thing about Crumb, though. Granted, he draws everyone in an exaggerated manner, but his African-American characters seem a little reminiscent of (racist) late 19th-early 20th century caricatures with exaggerated features.

For me, this book was a great introduction to an addictive series. Chock full of amusing anecdotes and musings on everything from race relations in Cleveland to the joy of a good pair of shoes, it's a slice of life in comic book form.

I've been a fan of Harvey Pekar's work for over fifteen years. The first time I ever read his self-published comix, American Splendor, I was impressed by its examination of everyday life. His self-effacing humor grows on those who want more than mainstream comics starring spandex-clad teens with superpowers. Compared with Pekar, Spidey has it easy.

I was happy when this movie tie-in release of his early collected work was published. The everyday brilliance of the real life interactions between Pekar and his friends, co-workers and loved ones merit more attention by discerning readers. It would behoove anyone who cares about the comix medium to claim a copy for their personal reading enjoyment. This volume is not for collectors, but for fans of alternative graphic literature who want more meat and potatoes rather than the visual eye candy of more mainstream publishers.

Pekar has been described as a "working class intellectual" (The Comics Journal), and this label is respectfully accurate. He comes from a generation who grew up devouring a culture that had more respect for intelligence than is common today. Instead of just mourning this trend, Pekar rebels from it in true beatnik fashion. His long-time association with R. Crumb (who drew the very first American Splendor story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story") attracted other artists within Cleveland as well as from other locations as the series has progressed.

The everyday heroism of Pekar working a civil service job in order to create his vision of the potential of graphic literature comes through in every page of this collection. I am glad that there are other collections and issues of American Splendor that are available. It would be grand if future generations of comix fans could gravitate around the work that Pekar has never tired from creating. Even at the worst of his lymphoma and chemo treatments, he has never quit observing and relating the drama of everyday life.

i own i think every american splendor collection book there is, and this one is my favorite. there's a few in particular that really blow me away (the one with pekar wondering around a park, reflecting on his past marriage, his present, and whether there is a God is spectacular). there are a wide variety of artists, from the goofy robert crumb drawings to more serious ones. there are certainly weak points IMO, but not as much as in the other collections. while "the quitter" is his most consistent i've read so far, there's no replacement for finding a really cool comic collection like this and reading through it, finding a bunch of random pekar stories and seeing which ones you enjoy best.

American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar is the largest published collection of the comic series, containing the complete text of American Splendor and More American Splendor. With an introduction by R. Crumb and art by Kevin Brown, Gregory Budgett, Sean Carroll, Sue Cavey, R. Crumb, Gary Drumm, Val Materick, and Gerry Shamray this is 320 pages of a classic American comic.

Pekar's work is a cerebral approach to the comic medium. Many of the panels have no dialog and only illustrate the external while the text reveals the thought stream of Pekar's mind. His ability to portray the inner workings of his thoughts, in a humorous and sympathetic manner, is the key to the success of his writings. The comic is a working class version of Seinfeld with a populist self-made intellectual as the leading character. Yet there is a Existentialist angst to this work that puts it in a class by itself.

This collection of Pekar writings from the 1970s and 80s was issued on the heels of the film "American Splendor," and it collects some of the best of Pekar's earlier work. Although not exclusively chronological, the presentation of the material gives a good idea of Pekar's life from his post-high school days through his meeting and marrying Joyce Brabner. (For a strictly chronological memoir, see Pekar's recent The Quitter.)

In the later Pekar work, the centerpiece of much of it is Pekar's obsessive-compulsive anxiety. But a lot of this work focuses on what might be described as Pekar's existential anxiety: his terrible loneliness, his anger and alienation, his dark reflections on the meaning of life, his desire for recognition, his regret over wasted opportunities and adolescent hubris, and his worries about future contingencies (financial security, illness and death, old age). The Pekar who comes through in these pages isn't the lovable crank of the film. Rather, the person who comes through is the outsider, a self-educated man, extremely knowledgeable in literature and music, who disdains a "normal" lifestyle and seeks freedom through nonconformity. Perhaps the finest single piece Pekar has ever written, "I'll be Forty-three on Friday (How I'm Living Now)" speaks to all this. The collection's lead story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story," in which Pekar winds up asking "Who IS Harvey Pekar?" is a perfect set-up.

Of course, there are also lighter moments in this collection. Mr. Boats (wonderfully illustrated by R. Crumb) appears here a couple of times, and he's always good for a bit of gently funny homespun wisdom. "Mrs. Roosevelt and the Young Queen of Greece" and "On the Corner: A Sequel, June 1976" are touching pieces about the bittersweetness of memory. And the penultimate story in the collection, "Common Sense," would make even a dyed-in-the-wool misanthrope love humanity.

Highly recommended.