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I purchased this item for my 12 year old daughter for Christmas. She received other flashy and expensive gifts but this was one of her top favorite gifts!! It is a great outlet source for writing thoughts and feelings while reading others as well.

It is great to have a place to write down all that you are feeling, and it gives you little clues so that you can write down things that you are not even necessarily thinking of at that moment in time.

This book did absolutly nothing for me. Just a boring thing to write in, which I haven't.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: Journal, was one of the most moving books I have read. It's directed towards adolescents, and deals with issues every adolescent girl faces. It's a blend of stories, quotes, poems, and spaces to write your thoughts. This book has many different sections such as: family, love and kindness, learning lessons, and though stuff. My favorite section, however, is "loving yourself". This book gave me a chance to deal with issues and see that I'm not the only girl whom faces such issues. Chicken Soup is a book that I am able to pick up at any time if I need some inspiration on a situation, or some reassurance. Other issues helpful to me were on drinking, self-esteem, eating disorders, and how to deal with my past. The best part about this book is that a lot of it is compiled with texts written by teenage authors. There are spaces for friends to write about you, and spaces for you to express how you feel about certain things. Chicken Soup allowed me to realize I was not the only girl who had experienced some of the feelings that I did. After reading this book I knew I wasn't alone! I do highly reccomend this book to any teenage girl. Adolescence is a hard time to get through, and many girls need inspiration. You do not have to read the book cover to cover; you can pick it up any time and read whatever section you desire.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: Journal, was one of the most moving books I have read. It is directed towards adolescents, and deals with issues every adolescent girl faces. It's a blend of stories, quotes, poems, and spaces to write your thoughts. This book has many different sections such as: family, learning lessons, love and kindness, and tough stuff. My favorite section, however, is "loving yourself". This book gave me a chance to deal with issues and see that I am not the only girl whom faces such issues. Chicken Soup is a book that I am able to pick up and at any time if I need some inspiration, help, or reassurance. Other issues helpful to me were on drinking, self-esteem, eating disorders, and how to deal with my past. Another good part about this book is that a lot of it is compiled with texts written by teenage authors. There are spaces for friends to write about you, and spaces for you to express how you feel on certain issues. Chicken Soup allowed me to realize I was not the only girl who had experienced some of the feelings I did. After reading this book I knew I wasn't alone! I do highly recommend this book to any teenage girl. Adolescence is a hard time to get through, and many girls need inspiration. You do not have to read the book cover to cover; you can pick it up any time and read whatever section you desire.

Even before starting to read The Lost Teachings I felt the importance it would have in my life. In different ways I had been searching for the truth about what's going on with the Earth and how I'm playing a role in it. It being all to easy to say there's nothing I can do to change the way things will go; let's live on. My view has altered fully.
Reading the book made me eager to go on, since it often made me feel like being there; kind of I've lived this sensations before. This combined with stories of all lifetimes, long ago as well as recently, made it very easy to read and made it have a big impact on my life, an impact I never could forsee when I started it. Feeling back though I do remember the deep feeling about this book being good for me in my search for the truth. Finding this truth has had a big impact on me since. a life of Unselfish Love walking my path following the Universal Law. Starting to give more than ask. Feeling the importance of this impact on my life makes me happy to reread the book over and over, discovering it again and again, rediscovering myself again and again following my path. For everybody who's searching his own path in this roalercoaster world I strongly advise reading this book. I feel sure it will have the same effect on you as it has on me and my life in this loving World.

When reading the book for the first time, I was "blown away" so to speak. Not only because of their amazing ancient history, but because I had an experience I never had before. I had the feeling I already knew their teachings somehow and while reading, I felt it was truth.
For almost a year now, I have been applying their teachings about the simple Universal Laws that govern this Universe and using the self-improvement meditation techniques described in their book. But most importantly, I'm working on manifesting in my life, the very essence of their teachings - Unselfish Love. And my life has already changed in a profoundly positive way.
Loving other people Unselfishly has also been called the Golden Rule. An old concept (and it is often overlooked) but I, as the Children of the Law of One, believe it is the most important spiritual teaching in the world. All good people can agree with me if I say "this world needs a lot more love" and I would recommend anyone who agrees with this and thinks the Golden Rule is a good thing, to read this book.

This book helped me to under stand the Bible better. I loved this book

I have felt the intense experiences of Jon while reading the book and still do after finishing the book and reading in it again and again.
The book is written in a straight and readable way, handing over universal messages that touch the inner being of 'spiritual searchers' or perhaps those who simply read out of interest.
The book is containing the A-Z ("Atlantis to Zen Buddhism") of Real spirituality, and methods to improve one's life via spiritual practice, or how to change one's life and by doing so also have a positive effect on others automaticaly.
Reading the book will have a deep impact on any searcher and person that seeks to live in a sane society, and is truley a revolution in presenting great and yet basic concepts in the most logical and straight forward way.
This book may be just what you were looking for, answering fundamental questions you carry around with you through life.

if you are curious as to the cause, nature and origin of the critical state of disharmony on our planet, The Children of The Law of One & The Lost Teachings of Atlantis by (the now late) Jon Peniel is the most comprehensive, informative and authentically true book i've found on The Matter.

with humor and aplomb the CLO & LAT explained everything to me about "life" as we know and experience it in/on the extant (3D five sense reality) incarnated plane of existence we live/operate in/on. the CLO & LAT also caused me see, literally and figuratively, The Light -- especially understanding, appreciating and coming to terms with the fact that we are indeed spiritual beings having a human experience (as opposed to human beings having a spiritual experience or even human beings having a human experience).

if you are wanting to know the origins of our being here, how things "devolved", why things are the way they are in our world/plane of existence today, how they got this way -- the details and history of how the whole "mess" started, who/what is responsible, what's gonna happen next/how the "mess" is going to be "cleaned" up, what needs to be done, how to better yourself and live life so as to be an exemplar for others, etc. -- essentially all of life's mysteries and questions explained -- then this is The Book for you.

an excellent companion book imho, Fallen Angels and the Origins of Evil: Why Church Fathers Suppressed the Book of Enoch and Its Startling Revelations, is Most Congruent and dovetails very well with the CLO & LAT teachings on what Went Wrong and what's gonna happen to Right Things.

"The Divine Plan of the Ages" was written in 1886 by Charles Taze Russell, one of the innovative religious thinkers to step forward in the United States during the 19th century. Other examples would include Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy and Ellen G. White. Russell founded the Bible Students, a movement that much later developed into the Jehovah's Witnesses. However, the Witnesses have abandoned many of Russell's original ideas, so this edition of "The Divine Plan" is not published by the Watchtower Society, but by a independent group of Russelites in Canada. Amazon customers should note that this is only the first volume in a seven-volume work, known as "Studies in the Scriptures". The entire set is available at another product page.

Russell's ideas are really to complex to be commented upon in a short review. Only the bearest out-line of "The Divine Plan of the Ages" is possible here. Anyone who reads the Bible is immidiately struck by real or apparent contradictions, for instance between the Old Testament and the New Testament, or between the Pauline epistles and Revelation. Russell attempts to harmonize the various end-time scenarios with each other, creating a fascinating synthesis of his own. His main idea is that God have offered different kinds of salvation to different categories of people. Jesus came to gather a small minority of really devout followers, who would be willing to sacrifice their humanity to follow him completely. These will be transformed into mighty spirit beings at the Second Advent, seated in Heaven next to Jesus, from where they would rule the world. The majority of Christians, however, while justified by faith in Jesus, will never reach such a high level of perfection. They will be resurrected to an earthly existence during the Millenium. Russell imagined that the Millenium wouldn't be completely perfect. Mortality and evil would still exist, but at a much smaller scale than today, since society would be ruled by the resurrected saints of the Old Testament, and ultimately by Jesus himself. Esentially, the Millenium is a kind of benign theocracy. Thus, Russell harmonizes the more spiritual Kingdom of God of the Gospels with the more political Kingdom of Revelation or the Old Testament, by declaring that they are both true.

One of Russell's more innovative ideas was the notion that all humans, living or dead, would be given a "second chance" during the Millenium. In this way, he solved the vexing problem of the unsaved millions of humans, who according to traditional Christian belief go straight to Hell, for no other fault than never hearing the message of the Gospel. In Russell's scenario, all humans are resurrected during the millenial reign of Christ, and put on probation. If they refuse to accept the Gospel message even then, they will eventually be destroyed. Thus, Russell was not a strict Universalist, but his scenario nevertheless allows for more people to be saved than, say, Calvinism.

Other ideas usually associated with Russell are also expounded in this book. Russell denied the existence of Hell and an immortal soul, no doubt because of a literal reading of the Old Testament, some would say over-literal. He believed that the resurrection of Jesus was spiritual. Jesus rose from the grave as a spirit-being, not as a human. This idea, anathema to "traditional" Christians, explains the curious appearences and disappearences of the resurrected Jesus recorded in the Gospels. Also, Russell points to Paul's statements about "heavenly bodies" as proof of his contention. He is not unsympathetic to the plight of the workers, and occasionally lashes out against giant corporations, predicting sharpened class struggles and even socialist revolutions. However, Russell eventually recommends his followers to abstain from politics, instead concentrating on spreading the Gospel and live moral lives. Russell was also a Christian Zionist, believing that Israel would become the most prominent nation on Earth during the Millenium. While it would be a Christian Israel, in other writings he explicitly rejected attempts by Christians to convert the Jews, instead supporting a return to Orthodox Judaism. The rationale behind this is not explained in "The Divine Plan of the Ages". Russell's failed prophecy about the Millenium commencing in 1914 is not included in this work either, but belongs to the second volume. However, the curious idea that God has a body, and is hence limited in space, although omnipotent in power, is mentioned.

Some of these ideas sound vaguely familiar, probably because we associate them with the Jehovah's Witnesses. Others sound odd to us, since the Witnesses rejected them during their amazing expansion through-out the world. In a sense, Russell is the least known of the innovative religious founders of 19th America. Reading this book fills a gap.

A absolute must read , if you want to know the God of Justice and not the God of Just Us.

This book abolutely opened my eyes to the incredible Plan God has as revealed in the Bible! The author lays out beautifully how God has different periods of time which progress toward the blessing of all mankind. There are so many good people today who are not Christians, but the DIVINE PLAN explains everybody will actually have their first real opportunity to choose God when Satan is out of the way in God's Kingdom. Everybody is already praying for His will to be done "on earth as it is in heaven." But this book explains how that will work. And it explains how all the evil in the world is not because God doesn't have enough power or love to stop it. It gives scriptures for everything. It makes so much sense!

This book is the only one that accurately and harmoniously presents the truth of the Scriptures. It lives up to its title, "The Divine Plan of the Ages". It answers all reasonable questions on the Scriptures. A must have and a must read.

It is truly a vindication of the character of God.

As an explanation of the problem of evil, this book is the best ever written. C.S. Lewis made a valiant attempt in The Problem of Pain, but his book is an apologetic of discredited Christian traditions, and as Amazon reviews demonstrate, is unsatisfying at an emotional level.

The Jewish answer is famous, too: "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." It's conclusion: there are some things even God can't do.

The Divine Plan of the Ages, which was written in the 1880s, was a seminal work that, as Progress and Poverty by Henry George did to the world of economics, turned the religious world upside down. It was considered so subversive that bookstores refused to sell it, and churches organized book-burning parties to destroy it. It's a credit to our day that Amazon carries this book, which has been almost entirely promoted for the last 120 years by people who love the Bible, whose lives were changed for the good by the powerful insights contained in this book.

If you're a Christian who, say, wonders about the controversy between Calvinism and Arminianism, this book is for you.

If you're a missionary who feels like you are trying to sweep back the tide with a broom, this book will revive your faith.

If you're a skeptic who has become disillusioned with the answers offered by Christian apologists, you'll discover that the Bible is more harmonious than you ever dreamed, and the reasonable prospects for the future of mankind are brighter than even Christians have dared to hope.

I read this book at the age of 17 and it changed my life forever, leading me to receive Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life. More than that, it unlocked the simple, Biblical keys that present a victorious gospel, a fair and just God, and a balanced view of what's happening in the global village today.

I am a woman, and can't imagine what it would be like to be in the Vietnam War. Karlson puts you there, right in the heart of the heart of it all! Dark and Light, Beauty and Truth, Tears and Fears. It is All here. You will be touched by the courage it took Karlson to act from what is right and the influence that those actions had. This book will touch you deeply to the Light of your Being. I promise!

Fall to Grace is absolutely riveting in its intensity. I have not been able to put it down. I give it six thumbs up. Congratulations on a vividly crafted work!

Karlson does an amazing job of combining spirituality, sex, and adventure. I never would have thought the CIA would have done some of the stuff he talks about...but it's persuasive. The sex scenes with Vietnamese girls are not to be missed. And the spiritual experiences suggest possibilities beyond our ordinary understanding. It goes from the depths of depravity to the heights of wisdom. The full range of humanity is in between What more do you want?

Fall To Grace awakened my soul to the healing that unconditional love can bring to all humanity if we will choose to give up our wars and recognize that the enemy is within us.

Eric Karlson's struggles and ultimate triumphs are presented throughout "Fall To Grace" with engaging detail, brutal honesty and a surprising innocence; I have read few tales which simultaneously disturbed and inspired me as this one has. I cried through the chapters detailing the author's drug addictions, empty family life, and witnessing of unspeakable atrocities; I felt a powerful calm and inner-peace as I read the pages telling of his courageous anti-war protests and profound spiritual transformation; throughout, I cheered on Karlson as he accepted the challenge to better not only his personal situation, but also the life of every person he encountered. Above all, "Fall to Grace" reinforced for me the dangers of complacency and the strength of the determined individual.

Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a just sensationalist, glamorized account of sex, drugs and war; rather, it is a very real and sharp journey through personal and political conflicts, told in a straight-forward manner that makes the reader feel as if he is right there. Evolving from the darkest of circumstances into an enlightened state of awareness, Karlson's experiences represent both the best and the worst aspects of the human condition.

This book comes with my highest recommendation. It definitely deserves a re-read (and will get one, once I have gotten it back from a friend who insisted on borrowing it!).

Best photography book about we human beings covering pictures about love, marriage,birth,childhood, growing up, work, getting along, war, and old age.
It is truly well done and my favourite for myself and to give as a gift to someone you care about, who is interested in humanity.

Great book! I grew up with it, and rediscovered it just now. Wonderful!!

This is my favorite book. I purchased it when I was 18, and loved black and white photography. I am now 65, and still see the same basic beauty in the photographs. It's not about the 1950's, or showing American culture. It shows how universal and similiar all people of all races and cultures are. It shows young children playing, people falling in love, weddings, births, hard work, wars, death, grieving, and even hope from various people and countries from our planet Earth. One family. One people. This is a collection of love, not about a specific time, or place, or our differences. This is a book that shows our skin colors, clothes, and countries may change; but we are all the same.

I am so glad Family of Man is still available. I would also suggest that in conjunction with this book, you offer Family of Women, and Family of Children.

I first found this book at Foyle's in London, about 35 years ago, and it struck me. Since then, I bought five copies of the Family of Man, but no one remained in my home, because ever I felt the need to give this book to someone I loved or trusted.
What is making this book so precious to me?
First the idea itself of collecting pictures from the whole world (remember, when Steichen launched his project, the Cold War and the related hysteria was at its peak). This to demonstrate that all the human beings have to pass through the same events in their life: birth, growth, education, emotions, work, love, children, reflection, death. This apparently trivial concept leads to a conclusion by far less trivial: we all do belong to one family, our species, the humans (by the way, this thinking had not so great success in the past, nor the present seems to be more benevolent).
The Family of Man is exactly the visual demonstration of such a concept, by comparing the same events as viewed from different geographic and cultural perspectives, by means of photos from renowned or unknown photographers (of course, the pictures from the US are prevailing in numbers for logistics and statistical reasons: it was by far more simple for an US photographer to even simply receive the news of the Steichen project than for a photographer in Rwanda or in the USSR).
Steichen and his assistants made an impressive selection, shortlisting 503 pictures from the over 2 million they received. By the way, Steichen was a photographer, and his selection also considered the aesthetic side of the question: most of the pictures selected simply are wonderful.
The result is this book. I think no one on this planet can miss it, because The Family of Man is representative of a large part of our culture and on our very nature.
To give an example, in my opinion this book is at the same emotional and rational level as Homer's Odyssey, Dante's Divine Comedy, Melville's Moby Dick, primo Levi's If this is a Man, or the ancient Greek lyrics, to quote some comparisons.
I hope it will continue to be published; we, the humans, desperately need it.

Great help during my support group for Fibromyalcia. I learned some of my symptoms and why. Not that there are any cures. However, some suggestions.

Thank you,

Cindy Connor

I purchased this book for a friend of mine, recently. I had all ready bought it and it's companion book about 4 years ago. My friend was absolutely amazed at the "right on" words of Dr. Starlanyl on the FMS and CMP. She also was taken in by the easy to understand material. There was so much she had validated..she couldn't put the book down for a couple of days! It doesn't take the pain away..but it sure helps to know it "isn't all in your head"!!!

Dr. Starlanyl was way ahead of her time when she wrote this book. I actually read this in 2006 after 4 months of extremely painful and useless chiropractic "treatments." Frustrated and in severe pain, I picked up this book and learned a few things I didn't already know. The main one being the difference between Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Trigger point therapy (TPT) is used to treat MPS and my FMS exacerbates the MPS. But now I had found a new treatment that actually allowed me to move again. Before TPT: Vacuuming would leave me in a knotted mess with severe low back pain and full-blown FMS flare. After TPT: Now when vacuuming pretty much feel only the exhaustion of FMS and a slight tension. And this has lasted a year! I am so thankful.

Definitely give this book a read and her other book. Check out my reviews for other helpful FMS books.

Update 01/08: This book is still one of the best out there. I use self-TPT still and plan on seeking a practitioner.

Exceptional book helps everyone who has this depliating disease. A must have I think .. glad i got it

Regardless if you have this condition, know someone that has the condition, if your going to work/or do work in a clinical setting, YOU MUST OWN THIS BOOK!! I'm a recently retired Federal Clinical Social Worker who regrets not owning this book sooner. If your a librarian, do your clients a favor, PURCHASE THIS BOOK!! I plan to purchase this book for my PAIN CLINIC TEAM at the Veterans Hospital. Anyone knowing a veteran, military person, or a dependent of such should take a look at this book. Military people, past & present, take a body beating from the constant physical demands. This, in the long run, will effect you. Please, read the symptoms & be honset with yourself when doing so. There is no gain with pain if you don't acquire the needed help to manage it. It also doesn't make you less a person to admit your smart enough to accept help when needed. I was in the Marine Corps from 84 to 90. I didn't begin to feel the symptoms till 1999. I worked for the Veterans Hospital from 1994 til I medically retired in 2006. What is known as the Persian Gulf Syndrome is Fibromyalgia!!!! You need not have been in the Gulf to get this condition!!! Please, consider what I've typed & help another with the knowledge you will acquire from this wonderful MUST HAVE book.

This book Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever; is about a girl named Melissa and her struggle with getting leukemia again. Jory is Melissa's best friend and she throws a party at the beach for Melissa, because she was one of the finalists for a National Merit Scholarship. It is at this party that Jory finds out Melissa's Leukemia is back. The first time Melissa was able to have chemo therapy but this time Melissa has to have a bone marrow transplant and her brother is the bone marrow donor. For a long time Melissa is sick after receiving the bone marrow. To help pay for the medical bills Melissa's best friend Jory has a carnival and calls it Melissa Austin Day, all the money raised and donated on that day goes towards paying the medical bills. Also Jory is able to get her parents (who are rich) to get their friends to donate money to Melissa's family. Later the bone marrow ends up taking and then Melissa gets sick from meningitis.
I liked this book because it is sad and touching how Jory is such a good friend to help Melissa's family by raising money to help pay the medical bills. If I was ever sick I hope my friends would care enough to do the same for my family. It shows me how bad thing happen to good people even when they don't deserve to have this happen to them.
There is not anything that I did not like about this book. I found it a very fast reading book and hard to put down.
The author of this book, Lurlene McDaniel, is one of my favorite authors. I like her books because they are touching and have a lot to do with people with illnesses and real life issues.

What a great book Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever is! It is the sequel to Too Young To Die. I recommend that you read Too Young To Die first, in order to understand better this one. This book is about two best friends, Jory and Melissa, and about Melissa fighting with leukemia. It is really a very sad story, it almost made my cry! I felt as if I knew Melissa myself and I was watching her suffering leukemia and the bone marrow transplant. I wish I had a friend like that, who would always be with me, no matter what! And I really liked the way Michael (Melissa's brother) and Jory's relationship ended being much better in the end.

Have you ever stopped and thought life is too short so enjoy it? If you have not you need to read the book called Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever by Lurlene McDaniel. The reason why you should read it is because it proves we get so wrapped up with school and jobs. That we hardly ever stop and give thanks for the time we have now.

A girl named Jory found out life was to short. Jory Delaney's best friend since 5th grade Melissa Austin found out 1year ago when she was 16 that she had leukemia a type of cancer. It changed Melissa's life and Jory's. Melissa started chemo and it caused her to start loosing hair, she had to stay out of the sun and she had to be careful not get way to excited. It also caused her to start loosing weight and caused her to loose her skin color and became really pail. She ended up getting better then it turned and she got worse. She ended up having to go to the hospital again. Do you want to know more? If so, read the book and you'll find out the rest of the story.

It's through this experience and loss that Jory came to realize you should live life to its fullest because you really don't know how long you got to live. Make sure thought that you are safe because you could be the one that causes it to end sooner that it should.

Sometimes the things we see and experience through life teaches us the importance of life. That is why I thank Lurlene McDaniel for teaching me the importance of life in the book Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever. Not only Jory gets to experience that lesson but its like your right there experiencing it too.

This is a great book for middle school and high school students, also older people, because we all experience a type of loss and wonder what could we have done to make it better for them. We also all need to learn the lesson of life and respect our life before it's all gone because you only get to experience it once.

In Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever, Lurlene McDaniel tells a heart-felt story of a teenage girl who is struggling with cancer.
Melissa finds out early in the story that her leukemia, which has been in remission for two years has relapsed. Jory, Melissa's best friend promises to help her have the best senior year ever, because of all the stress and pain in Melissa's life. Melissa's older brother, Michael, who is also Jory's life long crush, is asked to donate bone marrow to Melissa, because that is her only hope. Soon after, Melissa becomes well and in a couple of days, the doctors say she will be able to go home. Jory goes to visit her two days later, only to find that Melissa has caught a fever and that her body is rejecting the bone marrow. At school, a boy named Lyle tries to help Jory with all the sorrow of her sick friend. Eventually, Jory falls in love with Lyle, but still has feelings for Michael. Will Jory find true love? Will Melissa overcome cancer? To find out, read Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever.
I highly recommend this book to any girl ages 12-112 that enjoys romance and drama novels. It is an amazing book and I promise that if you read it, you won't be disappointed.

Goodbye Doesn¡¦t Mean Forever
By: Lurlene McDaniel
Reviewed by: J. Ku
Period: 1

This book is continued from the book Too Young to Die. In this book, Melissa has a relapse and needs to get back into remission. The doctors say, ¡§For a person to get into remission the second is harder.¡¨ The doctors recommended that Melissa try a bone marrow transplant. Since they needed to find a compatible donor, they said that a sibling would be the best donor. So then took some bone marrow from Michael, and sure enough, their bone marrow was compatible. Not long after that, they put Melissa into isolation. They needed to get rid of all her bone marrow and put Michael¡¦s bone marrow in her body. When people came to visit her, they had to be careful and not bring in any germs because her immune system couldn¡¦t fight off germs. Her brother¡¦s marrow was working fine, but then Melissa got a fever. It was either an infection or a sign or rejection for the transplant.

I like this book because it was exciting to learn about medical technology. I learned about things I never would have wanted to learn about. This book teaches friends not to give up on each other. Melissa always trusted Jory. Jory always did what she could to help Melissa. They depended on each other whenever they needed help. ¡§Melissa needs blood will you help me?¡¨ They never gave up on each other, even when Melissa died, Jory always knew that Melissa would still be there to help her, even if she couldn¡¦t help Melissa.

I dislike this book because this book I was very sad and Melissa died. When you read about people suffering makes you feel bad. I wanted to change the whole story and make it have a happy ending. I didn¡¦t like it when the doctors gave Melissa bad news about her leukemia.

My favorite part of the book was when Jory held a carnival and called it Melissa Austin Day. I really liked that part because not only Jory was doing it for a good cause, everyone was having fun. They raised a lot of money, and a lot of people donated blood to Melissa. I think that it is wonderful to have a friend that does these things for you.

Michael Shapiro does a superb job not only of capturing the excitement of the Brooklyn Dodgers' last pennant-winning season but also of explaining just what the Dodgers meant to so many Brooklynites. Set against the background of the Walter O'Malley-Robert Moses negotiations that would determine the fate of the Dodgers, Shapiro provides logical proof that it was not O'Malley's intention to move the ballclub but that Moses kept making a fool of him to the point where remaining in Brooklyn would have been rather humiliating for O'Malley.

Though never elected to any office, Robert Moses was the most powerful official in New York City in the late 1950s. His power was further enhanced by the fact that the Mayor at that time, Robert F. Wagner Jr. was both lazy and indifferent, and would not have gone far in politics except for the fact that his namesake father was a very popular U.S. senator. If O'Malley was going to get the land and permits to build a new ballpark, he was going to have to go through Moses and Moses couldn't have cared less as to what became of the Dodgers.

O'Malley tired desperately to be taken seriously by Moses and the NYC politicians to where he even had the Dodgers play seven "home" games in Jersey City in 1956. In the end, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, not because O'Malley plotted to take them there but because L.A. politicians eagerly and actively courted O'Malley to move to their city while their New York counterparts, especially Moses, gave him the brush-off.

O'Malley wanted to build a ballpark at the junction of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, where multiple subway lines and the Long Island Railroad converge. Moses at first wanted O'Malley to build a ballpark in a hard-to-reach part of Bedford-Stuyvesant and later proposed having the city build a ballpark on the site of what is now Shea Stadium. Anyone familiar with Brooklyn knows that if you're riding the subway, it's easier to get to Yankee Stadium from Brooklyn than to go out to Flushing Meadows, where Shea Stadium is.

In any case Los Angeles made O'malley an offer he couldn't refuse--300 acres in the heart of the city, where multiple freeways converge. New York officials made no effort to compete as Brooklyn didn't count for much in their eyes. When the Mets were created a few years later there was no question in their minds that they should represent New York and use the orange "NY" logo formerly used by the New York Giants, rather than the Brooklyn Dodgers' "B."

50 years have now passed since the Dodgers moved, and Walter O'Malley has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The ballpark he built and paid for (which opened in 1962) remains one of the most beautiful and popular in major league baseball. Shea Stadium, on the other hand, built by Robert Moses with taxpayers' money and opened in 1964, will soon be torn down. What is more, New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner is currently trying to arrange to move his NBA basketball team to that same junction in Brooklyn that O'Malley originally wanted.

Michael Shapiro is an excellent writer and his book is highly recommended!

This book probably doesn't get the sales or the attention it deserves, because the title and the cover make it look as if it's intended just for baseball junkies. But it's far more than that. In just 332 pages, Shapiro tells four stories:

1. The story of the National League pennant race in 1956.
2. The story of why the Dodgers (and therefore the Giants as well) decided to move to California in 1958.
3. The social, demographic, and economic changes that Brooklyn (and, by extension, much of urban America) experienced in the post-World War II era.
4. Thumbnail sketches of the personal lives of the core players in the Brooklyn Dodger lineup from 1947 through 1956.

None of these four themes is given short shrift. Furthermore, Shapiro has organized this book beautifully. He seems to have done a perfect job in choosing exactly where to break the narrative of the Dodgers' wins and losses, and insert a section about the changing character of a neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Not only that, but Shapiro's writing is superb. Here is his account of the last pitch of the last Dodger game of the regular season - a game they had to win in order to clinch the championship, with Dodger Don Bessent pitching to Pittsburgh's Hank Foiles:

*****
Don Bessent went into his windup. The last thing he thought before releasing the ball was, he later said, "Tight, keep it tight."

Hank Foiles swung. The next thing he heard was the thud of the ball in Roy Campanella's mitt.
*****

You don't have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book. You just have to enjoy good writing and a wonderful story, wonderfully told.

I have long been interested in the old Brooklyn Dodgers, having read multiple books on the subject. This is among the best. First of all, it is an excellent read. There is plenty of baseball included in its pages, and the Dodgers teams of the 50s were always interesting. But I learned much more than I expected from this book about the politics that led to the team's move to California. It's too bad the franchise couldn't have remained in Brooklyn, but the reasons they left were different than I would have imagined. The book also paints the picture of a post-World War II New York that was rapidly changing. As a lover of baseball, history and baseball history, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Wow. First let me say that I'm not a Brooklyn resident or a Dodger fan and picked this book up without knowing anything about it. The book turned out to be one of the best baseball books I've read in quite some time.

I was drawn into the book immediately. It is clear in the Prologue that Shapiro is a very good writer and that the book is as much about the fifties and Brooklyn as it is about a pennant race. The book is enjoyable on both fronts.

Shapiro does a great job of weaving a portrait of the changes going on in Brooklyn in the mid-fifties and giving younger readers a good idea of what it was like to grow up in that era. It is clear that Shapiro has done quite a bit of research and I think the reader really gets a good look into the personalities of the players and other characters in the story.

Any fan of baseball history will do himself a favor in buying this book. It truly deserves more acclaim than it has received.

THE LAST GOOD SEASON, by Michael Shapiro, earns itself a provisional rating of FIVE STARS in my mind, based primarily on the quality of the writing (which is uniformly excellent) and the depth of the research (which, within limits, is exhaustive). Yet the book deserves, like Roger Maris' "61*", to be only a qualified ***(**) success.

Much of that qualification comes from Shapiro's heavily touted and slanted thesis that Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley was not responsible for the Dodgers' departure from Brooklyn in 1957, after Robert Moses refused to build a replacement for the aging Ebbets Field.

Shapiro's grasp of the facts regarding Brooklyn is somewhat fuzzy. He says, "Jews went to Midwood [High School], poor blacks to Jefferson." Yet in the Dodger era, Brownsville was predominantly (70%) Jewish. It was not until later that Brownsville became a black neighborhood. Shapiro waxes rhapsodic about Midwood (his childhood home?) but slights the rest of Brooklyn. He admits that by the time he became aware of the Dodgers they were gone. Ironically enough, even while granting O'Malley absolution in absentia he makes and supports every argument as to why the man did not deserve it.

Shapiro blames, among other things, "white flight" for the Dodgers' relocation, but then argues that fans come in all colors. It's as if, in pardoning O'Malley, he is trying to convince us of something he really doesn't believe himself.

According to Shapiro, "Robert Moses is the bad guy in this story." This is an incredibly strong statement, particularly since Shapiro admits in many places that O'Malley was mendacious, that he was arrogant, that his plans for a new Buckminster Fuller-styled stadium seemed, at best, to be for public consumption only (O'Malley stole the scale model from the actual designer, Billy Kleinsasser, and used it without permission or recompense at public events), that he dealt with player and staff salaries in increments of hundreds and thousands of dollars not hundreds OF thousands of dollars (i.e., star pitcher Preacher Roe claims his highest Dodger salary was a paltry $28,000.00 in 1955), that he did not understand the "Little People" who were Dodger fans, that he once (as a youngster) traded a stack of Dodger baseball cards for one Giants' Christy Mathewson, that he fined employees who mentioned Branch Rickey's name in his presence, and, in short, that he was not really a fan of the team he owned.

Shapiro wants to paint horns on Robert Moses' head, and in some sense they do belong there, but not necessarily in the sense that Shapiro would prefer. Like the Master Builders of Ancient Egypt he had virtually unlimited power in his sphere. The ironically-named Moses was a man with a vision for New York, and he set about creating that vision of shining, rising buildings (such as Lincoln Center), vast bridges (the Throgs Neck, the Whitestone, The Triborough, and the frighteningly huge Verrazano are all his), and endless parkways (as a sampling, the Cross Island, the Belt, the Northern State, the Southern State, the Meadowbrook and the Wantagh) linking New York City and its expanding suburbs in a net of urban development. Yet this visionary had pathological flaws. Monomaniacal in his sphere, he had no compunction about unilaterally razing hundreds of city blocks, evicting tens of thousands, and altering the neighborhoods and neighborhood patterns of New York without a thought. Such changes brought other, unanticipated changes---the "through" expressways of The Bronx relegated it to a kind of backwater status accelerating its descent into slum conditions, and Moses' chopping up of neighborhoods in Brooklyn balkanized the Borough into a patchwork of disconnected rich and poor enclaves. Moses was more successful on sparsely-settled Long Island and in Westchester, where his road network created rather than changed demographic patterns.

When these two prima donnas met head-to-head, they treated each other with barely-concealed contempt. Although Moses was at first favorably disposed to a new stadium in downtown Brooklyn, this agreement soured within days. Without access to O'Malley's papers (which he was refused by the O'Malley family), the reason for this sudden souring is unknown, and ripe for speculation. Moses pressed, at first, for a new stadium in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a declining neighborhood; O'Malley refused. Moses promised him a new stadium in Flushing Meadow, Queens (the future Shea); again, O'Malley refused, declaring that the team was to remain in Brooklyn---he countered with an offer to build in Brooklyn, on the site of a ramshackle meat market. Moses refused to condemn the property (a first for him).

This bickering was never about questions of civic-mindedness, fan appreciation, nor humanitarianism. This was strictly a personal issue between the two men that affected millions of people.

While this was going on, the 1956 Dodgers struggled successfully through their World Champion season. Shapiro's snapshot of the team is far more detailed than his portrait of the politics, and is a joy to read. Shapiro is at his best as he describes the dynamic tensions that existed between the various Dodgers, the great negotiator of personalities, Pee Wee Reese, and their fanbase. It is clear that Ebbets Field was no longer a suitable home, at least without major modifications. Parking was very poor, a serious concern in the emerging era of the suburban commuter fan; the stadium itself needed to be revamped, the plumbing fixed, the seating rearranged. Still, Ebbets Field was only 45 years old, and was a solid structure, despite its flaws.

If O'Malley was indeed "desperate to stay in Brooklyn" as Shapiro posits, then why weren't his efforts directed toward staying? Why was he engaged in a stalemated battle of wills with Moses over a new stadium? Perhaps O'Malley simply wasn't "desperate" enough. Certainly, Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park still stand in less than desirable locations, but they draw dedicated fans nonetheless. Had O'Malley spent a part of his considerable fortune buying up some surrounding properties and building a parking complex, and then incrementally improved Ebbets Field with better seating and new amenities, the Dodger fanbase would have continued to travel to Flatbush.

O'Malley did not do this. He wanted land, and a lot of it, on the cheap---had Moses condemned the meat market, O'Malley would have bought the property for pennies on the dollar, a very attractive possibility to a man who squeezed a penny hard enough to put a permanent wave in Lincoln's beard. Los Angeles offered him that and he jumped, literally across a continent, to get it, taking his team about as far from Brooklyn as it was possible to go in his desperation to stay. Yet, if he'd REALLY wanted to stay, Flushing Meadow beckoned. And despite the fact that Flushing is not Brooklyn, the New York football Giants play in New Jersey's Meadowlands and still remain a New York team (the O'Malley-inspired move of the baseball Giants from Manhattan to San Francisco is another issue). In 1957, many of Brooklyn's fans were Long Island transplants, and more would be as time passed. Queens, while not the best of all possible worlds, would have been a convenient waypoint for fans from the old and new neighborhoods.

For that matter, had either O'Malley or Moses given a damn about Brooklyn, they would have cooperated in building a new stadium and reinvigorating Brooklyn. Neither cared to.

"Walter O'Malley was not a bad man. He was devoted to his wife and his children loved him," Shapiro points out. That's nice to know. But O'Malley was also an S.O.B. in business. The two are not mutually exclusive. "Only a sentimental man," Shapiro writes, "would have stayed." Maybe so. But the Dodgers and the Dodger fanbase needed a sentimental man, they needed a fellow fan, they needed a man who loved the team and who loved Brooklyn. What they had was Walter O'Malley, who saw the team merely as a moneymaking concern. O'Malley's actions speak for themselves, regardless of Shapiro's revisionism. And if O'Malley was "not unique" among team owners but merely "so obvious" about his profit motives, the blame is still his for eroding the spirit of The Game, and beginning the slide to where we are today in baseball with its overly mobile nonentity franchises, bloated payrolls, stars on steroids, cupidity and stupidity, and fan disinterest.

In the face of necessity, sentiment oft-times does not serve. But in circumstances of choice, such as faced by the Dodgers, sentiment can be a hedge against callousness.

What O'Malley (and Moses) failed to grasp is that a ball team is more than an agglomeration of men in uniform standing around in an open field. He (they) failed to grasp that a baseball game is more than just nine innings and a cold toting of runs, hits, and errors. It is a conversation at a water cooler, a friendly argument over lunch, an invitation to meet at the ballpark on Saturday afternoon for dogs and beer and a chance to see The Duke of Flatbush. It is a sense of neighborliness, a sense of pride, and was---still is---an important part of Brooklyn's special identity.

As Roger Kahn says in The Boys of Summer, "In the best of all possible worlds the Dodgers would be in Brooklyn and Los Angeles would have the Mets."

That's as it should have been.

i found all three books in this trilogy fascinating. it was a painless way to learn about the french revolution, napolean and josephine's lives, and a multitude of other historical facts. the books moved very quickly and from the time i picked up the first one i was hooked!

I don't need to repeat what eveyone else seems to be stating in their reviews of this book and the entire Josephine trilogy; the story flows from start to finish.

I very highly recommend this book!

A perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy. Gulland has clearly done her research and France comes alive through the eyes of Josephine Bonaparte. Compassionate, kind and well-loved in France, Josephine also gives us a very intimate and sympathetic insight to Napoleon Bonaparte. I enjoyed this whole series and would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the French Revolution, the French Republic and the rise of Napoleon. It is engrossing, humorous and heart-rending. Highly recommended.

While this book stands out on it's own merits, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice if you didn't read the first two books in the trilogy first ('The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.' and 'Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe'). This is probably my favorite group of books and everyone I have let borrow them feels the same. All are well-written and easy reading (as well as interesting history). I am only sorry that Sandra Gulland hasn't written any other books...yet. I keep hoping.

I can't express how much I loved this wonderful novel. The most accurate adjective I can think of would be 'interesting'. This book was soooo interesting. Gulland's attention to detail is absolutely meticulous. She used over 400 sources in the writing of this trilogy. I learned so much--not only about Napoleon and Josephine, but also of other historical figures of that time. I also found the daily life of the aristocracy not only fascinating but also exhausting.

Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine Beauharnais are some of the most intriguing characters in history. Their story is so compelling and Gulland does a wonderful job of presenting it. Her 'Josephine' trilogy tells the story of Marie-Josephe-Rose Tascher (Beauharnais Bonaparte) who was born on the French Caribbean island of Martinique in 1763. She died, as she was still known, as the Empress Josephine at her beloved Malmaison in Paris in 1814. THE LAST GREAT DANCE ON EARTH begins in March 1800 at the Tuileries Palace in Paris and ends at her death. But, Gulland has a special treat for her readers. She ties up all the loose ends by telling us what happens to all the characters in her novel. I loved that! In fact, I was taking a tour a couple of weeks ago in St. Augustine, Florida and the guide told us that this is where Napoleon Bonaparte's brother came to....I now know that it was Jerome. The author also has a chronology with detailed accounts and dates of events in the last fourteen years of Josephine's life. Gulland also used actual letters of the pair in this book. And again, the pages are peppered with footnotes that add credence to this story.

In book three we're treated to more of the deep and abiding friendship of Josephine and Napoleon. The love they had for each other is legendary. Napoleon was a wonderful father to Hortense and Eugene and they also adored him. But Josephine had to put up with her horrid in-laws, their jealousy and constant designs of destroying her marriage, their lies and the constant undermining--geesh, she was more patient than I could have been. They eventually succeeded. Despite going through horrible and archaic treatments for infertility, Josephine could not conceive. As we all know, Napoleon divorced her in order to gain an heir. Even then, they continued their friendship and love.

I have been mesmerized with Napoleon and Josephine since visiting the Lourve for the first time as a college freshman and falling in love with David's "The Coronation of Napoleon." Then, after visiting the famous, albeit headless statue of the former Empress at her birthplace in Martinique, my curiosity became insatiable. We learned that Josephine's head was cut off because she influenced her husband to reinstate slavery. I was hoping to read an explanation in these novels but it was never mentioned (although Martinico is mentioned quite often). Which comes to another point: Gulland mentions that researching the lives of Napoleon and Josephine is addictive; I've already bought two more books, maybe I'll find the answer to my question!

I recently took a trip to NYC and I got this and a few other maps in advance to get to know the layout of the land. This is an excellent, detailed close-up map. It would be especially helpful for those who are moving to NYC or are there on a long trip.

If your new to visiting New York or you have been there before, this is great to have on you. I found a copy at my local library, wanted one for my trip, no one else had any in stock. Needed it in a week and Amazon delivered in two days. This is a great book, it has everything you need.

In this city, knowing EXACTLY where you're going is valuable because we are on foot most of the time: it's important to be able to plan what subway and/or bus combination it will take to get to a destination without extra walking/trudging about the city aimlessly.

Having every single major building number marked on this street atlas is also helpful as I am not the type that does the "formulas" found in the tourists' books to determine cross streets based on building numbers.

I have lived in NYC over 5 years and am astounded by the value this little book has. Buy it so you know where you're going in NYC!

I purchased this earlier this year, just prior to my trip to New York City.
It was really handy, especially considering it's size.
It's really easy to read, and it makes using the subway simple.

The street numbering is also very handy.

I bought this weeks before my vacation in NYC and it helped in my planning - AND it was invaluable during my stay. The bus maps were highly useful (tourists: take the buses, it's a great way to get from point a to point b) and having the building called out is great. The varying levels of detail are also great. I can't say enough good things about this book. Also, everyone I have shown this book to (both tourists and native New Yorkers) loves it.