Prose Books

Some art is ephemeral and I find that sad. I suspect that Abby Banks does too. Punk House provides a window into a world that most people will never see in person -- in many ways as mysterious and remote as the Serengeti. Photography is all about access and Ms. Banks was able to get access to 42 homes across the country populated by a an insular and distinct group of people. Her photos are stark and beautiful, the layout simple and attractive -- and the result is all visual, as thick as a Sears catalog. The sad thing about Punk House is that most of these places probably won't exist next year -- it is an ephemeral culture. In photographing them, Ms. Banks has saved some bit of what they were in a style true to the subjects, with great care, and with obvious love. Punk House would have made an incredible zine but it would have been impossible to produce.

You'll be hard pressed to find a real negative reaction to this book. Even supposed "critiques" such as the previous review admit that the content of the book is amazing. This alone should suffice as reason to buy the book. As to the allegations stated under the heading "What We Do Is Secret: For a Reason" I have every reason to believe that they are almost totally unfounded. Having known the author throughout the process of traveling and collecting photographs for the book, I can safely attest that she did everything under the sun to obtain permission from the subjects (a process that took months) and approached the topic with utmost sincerity.
A recent book tour (that took the author through many anarchist book stores,house shows, and food not bombs feedings) revealed how many people were not only satisfied with the work but also grateful that someone had taken the time and labor to document punk house culture in a tasteful and nonexploitive manner.
If this book has truly made a lot of people angry, I certainly haven't met them. Nor have I come across any "Beware of Corporate Zinester" bulletins. Perhaps its because most people who've read the book recognize it for what it is; an honest portrait of a unique cultural lifestyle. My guess is that these people have learned enough from 8 years of Karl Rove than to rely on unfounded accusations and "facts by implication".
Don't Believe the Hype!!! The book is the Real Deal!!!

It seems this book has made a lot of people pretty angry. I lived at one of the houses in this book and nobody remembers actually giving permission to use these images in this coffee table book. People, places, and works of art all are printed without giving any context, attribution, or discription. And, of course, it doesn't help matters that it was published by a for-profit corporate publisher. If my housemates had known this, they probably would have not only shown the author the door, but also most likely wheatpasted some sort of "Watch-Out For This Corporate Fake Zinester" flyers all around town like Abby Banks was some sort of convicted sex offender or something. Probably not deservered, but that's what would have happened....

Other people who had their houses featured in this book have expressed similar concerns/feelings/resentments. In fact, some of these people are quite pissed. I suggest you don't bring this topic up at a house show, food not bombs feeding, or the anarachist book fair.

I know getting release forms might not be very punk and maybe not getting permission is actually more anarchy than I'm used to. But I doubt the publisher has the same views on their intellectual property. (I just checked... they require you get their written permission before using the images they own. So much for the golden rule...)

However, despite all that, I bought this book and think it's pretty good. I don't even mind that a picture of me (a picture of a picture, actually. Taken in my kitchen when I wasn't home...) is in it and nobody asked if that was alright. Image quality could be a little better on some of the photos, but the book works as a whole, especially capturing the empheral feel of the punk house moment/movement.

Or something like that. Er, I mean, whatever.

I don't usually write reviews on Amazon, but I wanted to say something about this book.
I found Punk House to be one of the most beautiful, colorful depictions of punk life that I've seen outside of the zine world. Living in and visiting some of these houses, they certainly don't feel as vibrantly alive as Abby Banks' photography makes them appear. I was looking over one photo of dirty dishes with a vegan cookbook,mostly torn apart from overuse, and it made me fall in love with the punks again (not that I ever fell out of love, but like you would a lover who you see in a new light after years of relationship).
So much heart is captured in this book, and so much life. Fleeting life.
It says somewhere in these pages that 90% of the houses photographed are now gone. Maybe not the house itself, but the people inside and what made it a punk house in the first place-punks.
So few think to document their lives, thinking that they'll remember or that there will always be time to take pictures. Then, as the years go by, they find that they'd wished they'd at least had a few momentos of a time gone by. Abby Banks took the pictures for us and presented them in a tasteful manner, with permission of those featured, that captures an ongoing moment, a piece of our history, and a slice of life that is usually marginalized at best.
Punks don't need to see their pictures in print to know they matter. But it doesn't hurt sometimes. Hassled by the power structures that make our lives somewhat on the fringe, we need few reminders that much about our way of life is fleeting.
I lived in one of the houses featured in this book and had no fewer than 50 roommates over 8 years (not including a dozen or so dogs, 4 cats, mice (some as pets and some living in the walls). Some of the people who lived in our house are in other countries now, some became ex-punks before our eyes, some moved on to other houses, and others simply moved on with their lives. Memories are good, but photos are more clear.
However, few took pictures or thought much about the unique moment they were living in. That's why Abby Banks' book is so important. It's somewhere between a yearbook, anthropological study, and a beautifully illustrated history book.
Everyone I have talked to, including many of those that were featured in this book that live in the houses featured, had nothing but praise for this work.
Criticism from within the elite statospheres of anarcho-punk are certain to come, mainly because of how professional this book looks and because it documents something that some may feel protective of. But I have to say that the professional feel takes little away from how beautiful these photos are. It is not overdone and feels mostly like it was made by punks, which is was. While feeling protective of our culture is understandable, I feel that the fact that Banks documented a piece of our history is worth the very slight "intrusion" into our dirty laundry (literally) to show us realistically portrayed in all of our beauty.
We're smart, well read, active, and political. All of that is captured here. From the books we're reading to the people we're seeing. And, not to mention, we look good! No use shying away from it. Punk, not only are good people (as Thurston Moore says in his introduction), but we look good. From the dirtiest crust lord to the musician with guitar, we look good.
This book is a celebration of punk culture for once done by a punk. Not by some corporate jerk trying to make a buck off of us, or some has been aged ex-punk who happened to have glory years at the right time-later to become an accountant and come back to punk when it's profitable. This done by a punk, of punks, and inside their homes. I think that means a lot.
I highly recommend Punk House to punks and those interested in our culture. Abby Banks Rules!
Stay punk.

Abbie Banks came to my house and took photos of it and put it in the book she is the real deal. She did her dishes when she stayed over and even helped cook. Oi!

These meditations on sexual intimacy, memories of love & desire, the passage of daily and historical time, color, place, and language are both devastatingly beautiful and raw in their emotion. St. John deals in abstractions, but I would not call him an abstract poet. Perhaps you could call it invention, perhaps it is metaphor or alchemy - he is toying with the line between the concrete and the abstract. _The Red Leaves of Night_ begs the question of when a detail - the color of a woman's clothing or the tune she hums - is concrete and when it becomes a mere thought, an abstraction. Ultimately, St. John suggests that concrete and abstract are two sides of the same coin - that every word and every object has the potential to be (or to signify) both, though that potential is neither neutral nor safe.

David St. John's "The Red Leaves of Night" is a must-read for all lovers of sensual, intellectual, and entertaining poetry. St. John's use of language is simply elegant while his descriptions are vivid and tangible enough to transform the text into a picture book. As he writes in the poem "Music", "It became my passion to explain everything/ With music even the randomness of starlight or death" we as readers plead for more lessons because we know he is speaking the truth! David St. John's collection is a modern example of what poetry is and what it can truly be!

This book was gorgeous. I immediately slid into his perception of places and relationships; his tone and language flowed well and were easy to follow, including everything from contractions in "Nocturnes & Aubades" to a faintly antiquated tone in "Troubadour." The naked body does not inhibit him, either; his descriptions mythologize the natural beauty of the nude. Also, in a contemporary sense, his choice to leave out punctuation for several poems is brave, for he does it well. I only wish I could form poems as lovely as his. Even though the title poem leads the reader "to some newly solitary / & distant home," the journey there is worth it.

I found David St John's The Red Leaves of Night to be a captivating and stimulating read - both in its thematic sophistication and elegance of language. St John shows a capacity for precise and economic use of language which results in a clarity which fully reveals the strength of his poetic imagery. This strength manifests most clearly in the many sensual metaphors which he uses to describe the human body. These wonderful images accumulate throughout the collection and their highly visual nature makes the poems come alive with images of the naked bodies which populate the text. The poems impressed me with their thematic sophistication, the clarity with which they expressed ideas, the intimacy of their detail and the honest nakedness of the subject matter. The Red Leaves of Night is a collection of immediate, passionate and powerful poetry.

St. John is one of our masters, and The Red Leaves of Night is a gift to all readers of poetry who believe in the power of language to enact desire, embody mystery, and restore wonder. The sequence of Aubades and Nocturnes is dazzling; the final section of the book is very nearly transporting.

Buzzati has a gift for writing allegory and fun-to-read tales. This slim book provides lots of entertainment and insight. It offers fun and insight for all ages. I compare it to Hans Christian Andersen or maybe Ovid. My complaint is the price. This book is out-of-print; why hasn't the publisher kept it in print? At the moment of this writing, this novel costs $45 for a 120 page book; surely, this is not reasonable.

"Deep inside Tibet a native guide offered to accompany me if by chance I wanted to see the walls of the city of Anagoor. I looked at the map, but there was no city of Anagoor." Thus begins Dino Buzzati's "Walls of Anagoor". Buzzati was a journalist and so he writes very succinct sentences which have a matter of fact feel to them. His stories are quite often no more than 4-5 pages long and even though his stories often veer into the uncharted terrain of human desire and fantasy you feel like you are reading a newspaper article and so the events and the characters actions seem perfectly plausible, perfectly within the realm of the possible, even ordinary. And that is Buzzati's style: to make the extraordinary sound ordinary. Even though they are each very short the stories are impossible to paraphrase because Buzzati chooses each phrase so carefully that paraphrasing would be misrepresenting his stories. He might be compared to Kafka but Buzzati writes like no one else. Generally speaking if you categorize Buzzati he would fit in with Kafka or Camus or Borges and if you are familiar with those writers and you come to Buzzati you will be reminded in subtle ways of those others but you will also notice important differences. Kafka often used fantasy in a negative way--to emphasize the dehumanizing nature of modern life. Buzzati uses fantasy to allow his characters a bit of release from the everday world. Even if the fantasy proves to be only an illusion Buzzati shows how people use fantasy to cope with existence. In this way he is not nearly as bleak as Kafka can sometimes be. Buzzati has a lighter touch than Kafka or Camus. You don't get that heavy sense of dread in Buzzati that you get with Camus, instead you get a sense of reality as something that each individual must construct for themselves and no reality is complete without an element of fantasy. Buzzati seems aware that just as children need to to be told stories which challenge their imaginations and allow them to wonder so too do adults need the same thing otherwise existence becomes dull and pointless. Thus when the unnamed protaganist in "The Walls of Anagoor" hears from his guide of a place which may or may not exist he has no choice, he must go.

There are 23 stories in this collection involving everything from Einstein making a deal with death to allow him to continue working on his theories to girls falling from buildings just for fun to a crew who decides to go on building the Eiffel tower until they have risen so high they can see the Alps. O and one particularly brilliant story about a beloved doctor whose death inspires an investigation that he may not have been who he says he was -- an investigation which grows and reveals that perhaps no one is who they say they are.

Buzzatti's terrifying, often self referential surreal tales of disappointed human expectation and the futility of most human hope strike an uncomfortable chord in all but the dullest reader. In the tradition of Beckett or Kafka (with a little Marquez), Buzzatti employs the fantastic in the service of philosophy. Unlikely situations abound (such as the one in which each prisoner serving a life sentence is given the opportunity to make a speech to the public which, depending on the crowd's reaction, will set him free or keep him imprisoned for life) and in some of stories the name "Dino" is even used directly, as though the author were writing directly about himself. Buzzatti is also obsessed with the Devil (who, in the peron of a dark angel of death, gives Albert Einstein the congrats for his groundbreaking work.) This is great stuff, an odd mix of the nihilistic and the imaginative.

Why don't more people read Buzzati? Perhaps because he's always associated with Camus, whose philosopy-laden novels are forced on all students. Buzzati is existential, but he's a much better storyteller than anyone else burdened with the "existential" label. Restless Nights is a great collection of short stories that should have won awards for its publisher. There are touches of the surreal here, but his style is too clear and concise to fit in with Breton et al. There are many sci-fi and Twilight Zone effects as well, yet with a more profound and, yes, existential, theme. Think of this as Kafka with a good sense of plot, as if Franz were forced to write half-hour tv scripts. I consider this one a classic. Much better than the other DB collections.

This collection of stories by the versatile Italian writer, Dino Buzzati, bears a curious resemblance to the stories of Jorge Luis Borges. Borges's argument - and Buzzati's - appears to be with the nature of man.

Like Borges, Mr. Buzzati employs a relative simplicity of language to reveal and conceal the circularity and ineluctability of time and destiny. The longest story in the collection, ''Barnabo of the Mountains'', deals with the fate of a young man who funks his duty as forester and then lives on to the critical moment of reprise, only to discover that the honor he sought to recover has been absorbed in the undifferentiated wholeness of experience.

Another Borgesian device is the assumption that people and events are as well known to the reader as they are to the author. ''The inventor, the famous Aldo Cristofari'' is an invented inventor introduced with an air of universal familiarity.

Preoccupied chiefly with conscience and social decorum, the 14 tales could be described as parables, being short on narrative and long on moral suggestion. A middle-aged man flirts dangerously with the fantasies of childhood. Another story proposes that human imagination has as much to do with reality as any case-hardened fact. A story about a literary doppelg"anger once again demonstrates that one must be careful what one wishes for. And so on...

This is a great book. Well written and an easy read. I think this book would be great for all ages, teen and up, who likes a good mystery. The animals communicate with each other and with other animals throughout the stories. You definately want to read the books in order, though. One story refers to the ones before it. All in all, I'm glad I bought them and am looking forward to finishing this one and getting the next book of 3 stories in the series.

the first three mrs murphy storys all in one edition at a bargin price

In "Wish You Were Here", we meet Mary Minor Haristeen (aka Harry) and Mrs. Murphy (a tiger cat) and Tee Tucker (a Welsh corgi). Harry is recently divorced and a postmistress in Crozet, Virginia a very small town. She has grown up there, and finds it difficult adjusting to life as a divorcee' in such a small town. Half of the town is on her side, the other half on the side of her ex, Fair Haristeen, a beloved local vet. It also doesn't help that Harry is constantly seeing Boom Boom Craycroft, the other woman who broke up her marriage. But working in the town's post office with her pets each day does offer its own diversions. One such diversion is reading post cards...something Harry has always done. When 2 prominent business people are killed after receiving graveyard postcards reading "wish you were here", Harry realizes there is a pattern to the killing. And when a good friend receives one, Harry springs into action to stop the killer in his/her tracks.

In "Rest In Pieces", the animals once again play a huge role in solving a murder. The main character, Mary Minor Haristeen (aka Harry), along with her two animal friends Mrs. Murphy (a gray tiger cat) and Tucker (a corgi) lead the way. When newcomer, Blair Bainbridge, rolls into town a lot of folks in Crozet, Virginia believe that trouble rolled in with him. The handsome bachelor turns many female heads, and Harry tries to convince herself that she has sworn off men since her divorce. When pieces of a dead body are found on Blair's property, tongues start to wag. And when more pieces of the body are discovered during the Harvest Ball, a tragic event from Blair's past comes back to haunt him. Has this "Yankee" brought murder to this sleepy small-town?

Having just finished reading the first book in the series, I admit it was much easier for me to follow the dialogue between the animals in this second installment. At first, I had a difficult time following the discussions between the animals, as it adds to the already large cast of characters. However, I adore the way the animals speak to one another! Their antics are charming, and I find that it adds a lot to this great series.

The mystery had me guessing until the end. Normally, I am able to figure out the mysteries pretty quickly (as many cozies give a lot of clues), but I was surprised at the ending. This is a great series, and I look forward to reading the extensive collection of books by this author (and Sneaky Pie, of course!).

In "Murder at Monticello", a body has been discovered in the slave quarters of the home of Thomas Jefferson. Since Jefferson has been dead for 170 years, it is impossible to question him about the man found dead from a blow to the dead. And when another recently murdered body is discovered, it becomes apparent that someone wants the secrets that have been buried with the body to remain so. Coming into question is the practice of slavery, and the descendants of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had been rumored to have fathered a child by one of his slaves, and it appears that the man found murdered may have been also been involved with one of the slaves. The citizens of Crozet band together to prove that their beloved Jefferson had nothing to do with the murder or cover-up, and while doing so they unearth secrets that have been hidden in the town for over a century.

I have become a big fan of this series, and enjoy the banter between the animals. The relationships between the members of the town have been evolving, and I like the way that Harry is loved and embraced by the people who have known her all of her life. She works hard, cares for her animals, and genuinely cares for the town and its residents. I look forward to future books in the series, and am hopeful to see more of Blair as a potential love interest for Harry.

If you like the KoKo and Yum Yum series by Lilian Jackson Braun, give this book a try. Enjoy!

Oh gosh, I don't even know how to start. I picked up Claws and Effect, a later book in the series, at my school's library last year and within minutes of starting it I was gobbling it up! I mean, murder, southern gentry, small-town gossip, and talking animals!!!! HOW GREAT CAN LIFE GET!? AND the dog is a CORGI *I am a considerably HUGE corgi fan* Written with wit and whimsy, Rita Mae Brown is my third favorite author. I am currently finishing "Murder She Meowed" (I read them all out of order) and it is my favorite Mrs. Murphy mystery yet!!! Hilarious! A MUST READ!!!

This is a great introduction to the Sneaky Pie Brown series, especially if you are like me and absolutely HAVE to read a series in order. These are really fun, quick reads. The cats and dog have some serious attitude, and the citizens of Crozet, VA are people you would want for neighbors and friends, other than the odd murderer inhabiting the tiny town. To a certain extent, these stories are similar to that old show Murder, She Wrote, because you just wonder how Harry constantly becomes involved in murder investigations in an otherwise peaceful town. You would think people would start avoiding her to save their own lives. I only gave it four stars because the mysteries are too easy to figure out!

I highly recommend this book, and I'm a cop. Which basically means I'm not that bright, and even I could comprehend this book.

Asimov is easy to read and understand. He takes complicated issues, and simplifies them. He possess a brilliant mind, and views the world from a different perspective than most other humans. As I read this collection of essays, I found myself time and time again saying, "that's so true, why didn't I think of that". It's an enlightening book, a good read, and it's cheap.

I highly recommend it.

In agreement with the rest of the reviews to date, Asimov is very good at showing people how creative thinking and logical reasoning can be applied to various topics. This man has had a large influence in my life through his books on science fiction, and science facts. He was wiser than most, and very skilled at teaching.
He was an atheist however, and so some of his viewpoints especially in the first part of this book, could rub a religious person the wrong way. It does no harm to hear another's viewpoint however, if not to learn something new, then to at least bolster up why you feel differently about certain issue's. His book covers many different subjects, and so if you enjoy reading and flexing your mental muscle by having your mind rove about on different topics, then you are sure to find many of his essays, very interesting.

Isaac Asimov was probably the best person ever to write science fiction. He was also one of the best people to ever write science fact. His death in 1992 was a great loss to the world.

This book provides a good look into how Isaac Asimov thought about various issues. With all the problems in the world, the views of Asimov might help to make the world a bit more logical place if we pay attention to him.

No intelligent person needs to be told (surely?) that Isaac Asimov's name on a book is a guarantee of excellence. And most are aware that Asimov's science essays (62 in this collection) cover the multitude and variety of subjects that Robert Heinlein had in mind when he coined the word "synthesist." So instead of trying to gild fine gold or paint the lily, I will simply reproduce Asimov's words on three of the issues he discusses.
On religious doublethink: "If there is an earthquake and a thousand people die, and one person is uncovered in a ruined house, unhurt, the Moral Majority types cry, 'A miracle!' and fall to their knees in gratitude. And the thousand who died, whose deaths, indeed, were necessary to convert the one surviver into a miracle, what of them?"
On overpopulation: "Motherhood is a privilege that we must literally ration, for children, if produced indiscriminately, will be the death of the human race; and any woman who deliberately has more than two children is committing a crime against humanity."
On skepticism: "I believe evidence. I believe observation, measurement and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild or ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be."
Other topics to which Asimov devotes essays include resurrected gods, creationism's demand to be taught in public schools, argument from consensus, scientific illiteracy in politics, sexual equality, pollution, and hyperspace ("There is no evidence for its existence").
Want to encourage your offspring to pursue a career in science? Buy them this book.
(see my unabridged review in A Humanist in the Bible Belt.)

The late Dr. Asimov's clear wit and wisdom is taken to bear here on fools and the future. He begins by excoriating "Religious Radicals," in harsh liberal prose that seems rather outdated today. (For instance, there is a chapter called "The Reagan Doctrine" that pokes fun at tactics Ronald Reagan used in battling the Soviet empire.) Other chapters are also dated, including several chapters on environmental predictions that are informed by distinctly Malthusian notions of supply shortages. (To wit, "And in the mad scramble for food on your part and on the part of billions of others, the people of eath will further damage the world they live in and will begin to fight each other over scraps.") Still, Asimov writes lucidly on science in a number of historical and opinion pieces, which are carefully reasoned. Five essays at the book's end give perspective to the late thinker's personal life, and a number of inserted memorials (new to this edition) from other prominent scientists and science fiction authors really round out a book that shows Asimov's incomparable breadth of interest. The "Roving Mind" of the title is Asimov's own intellect; any thoughtful reader will find his own mind broadened for having read it.

I read a lot of cruising narratives, many of which I plan to review here in time. I find many of these books both entertaining and informative, even if the writer has a different style of travel than I'm interested in or sails a type of vessel I'll probably never own. Most of the books of this type that I read were written in recent years, as cruising has become much more popular due to the availability of fiberglass boats, both new and used, and new equipment such as GPS receivers to take the hard work out of navigation.

Before this new wave of modern cruisers appeared, the pioneers of modern singlehanded or family-style voyaging under sail had to either build their boats themselves or convert existing vessels, mostly built of wood, to their needs. Most sailors these days would stay ashore if this was still the case, but thanks to those who did it the hard way and wrote about it, the way has been made much easier for those of us with an abundance of boat choices at our disposal. Their successes and failures, described in the great books many of them wrote, have saved many of us from coming to grief through lack of knowledge. Most people who sail today and even think just a little about long-distance voyaging and cruising are familiar with the works of at least some of these writers like: Joshua Slocum, Hal Roth, Bernard Moitessier, the Smeetens, and John Guzzwell. But there are other, lesser known sailors from this era as well, and some of the best writings are easy to overlook.

The Saga of Cimba: A Journey from Nova Scotia to the South Seas
by Richard Maury is one such sailing classic that I myself passed up for years, even though I had noticed it from time to time among the more contempary narratives in the sailing section of various bookstores. It was only a few months ago, when I was lacking something inspiring to read, that I decided to pick up this book that was first published in 1939 and remains in print. Upon reading the first chapter, I found myself immediately hooked. This is one of those rare narratives that not only recounts a fascinating adventure, but does so with a captivating writing style that takes you right along and makes you want to find an old fishing schooner and follow in the author's footsteps.


Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the voyage recounted in this book is the time period in which it took place - in the 1930s - before World War II brought the remote South Pacific islands into mainstream consciousness and when practically no one set out to voyage half way around the world for pleasure on a small, short-handed sailing vessel. This was a time of almost limitless freedom for those few who could pull off such a voyage. The world was wide open to them and the rules and regulations and fees that we have to pay for docking and even anchoring in many places were unheard of then.

One of the most difficult hurdles in the 1930s was simply finding an affordable vessel of suitable size and adequate seaworthieness for such a voyage. Maury and his partner in the adventure at last found their ship among a fishing fleet on the Nova Scotia coast. "We first saw her from the top of the cliff. She turned at her chains to every attack of wind, swaying, airy, buoyant, as though cut of fragile porcelain on the sea below. She was a two-masted schooner, almost as small as they go, almost as stalwart...."


The schooner, which they subsequently purchased and christened Cimba, was 35-feet overall with a 26-foot waterline and 9 1/2-foot beam. She carried a fisherman's working rig - gaff mainsail and foresail, and one jib. Maury and Carrol Huddleston sailed her down the coast to Stamford Harbor where they planned to fit out and equip the vessel for the voyage ahead.

From this point on, two ocean passages lay ahead: New York to Bermuda, and Bermuda to the Caribbean Islands. To prepare they made some modifications to the schooner, such as adding a deck hatch to ventilate the cabin, painting the hull and cabin and rebuilding the engine. The also took on the necessary stores and supplies, including everything needed to maintain the hull, rigging and sails. In light of the time period and the remoteness of their ultimate destination, it's not surprising that ship's equipment included a 30.30 Winchester rifle with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and a .38 revolver and 12-gauge shotgun. Despite the preparations and large equipment list, the schooner "retained an air of almost puritanical simplicity on deck and down below" according to Maury.

Maury's first setback occured when his friend Carrol was swept overboard and lost his life in the harbor while tending the schooner in a storm. This event is mentioned only in a short paragraph. Maury sailed for Bermuda shortly after with a new crew - "Dombey" Dickinson. The schooner proved her seaworthieness in a winter storm enroute that caused a rollover and set fire to the cabin with coals scattered throughout the interior. From Bermuda, the pair sailed Cimba on to Grand Turk and then through the Windward Passage past Haiti to Kingston, Jamaica. From Jamaica they ran down to Panama's San Blas Archipelago and explored some of the jungle rivers of the coast. On the Pacific side of the Canal, they explored the Perlas Islands and then set sail for the Galapagos.

Among the remote Galapagos, so little visited at the time, they came upon a wrecked boat on a deserted beach, with two skeletonsin the sand nearby. They also found fresh footprints and heard a rifle shot from somewhere in the interior. Maury's account of the unraveling of these mysteries again illustrates how different the world was back in 1935 for a couple of adventurers willing to sail to such far-flung islands.

Onward into the Pacific, on the 3,000-mile downhill run to the South Seas, Cimba, working west and south averaged 6.4 knots or 150 miles per day. Maury writes: "The testing of a craft goes on forever - but a point is reached where finally the spirits of ship and men to some degree reflect each other, where often the weakness of one becomes the weakness of the other, the strength of one the other's strength."

Cimba made landfall off Ua Hiva in the Marquesas 19 days out from the Galapagos. Beginning in the Marquesas, Maury and his partner found the South Pacific they were looking for, and their adventures continued through the French territories and then westward to Fiji, where the voyage sadly ended on a reef. Although the schooner was with great difficulty salvaged and rebuilt on the beach, Maury never managed to sail on to New Guinea as planned due to various complications, and ended up leaving her in Fiji.

If you've every dreamed of sailing to the South Seas, or if you simply like good adventure narratives, you will love The Saga of Cimba. If you have an ounce of interest in boats or sailing this book will make you long for a sturdy old fishing schooner that you can fix up and point south. Richard Maury may have written only one book, but the The Saga of Simba deserves to be an enduring classic in the literature of the sea. It's definately worth checking out, but watch out, or you may find it inflicts a bad case of sea fever.

I suspect this is THE book that inspired otherwise sane and sensible people to abandon their career, family and fortune in order to sail off to the South Pacific.

The Saga of Cimba is a masterwork. I find this book as compelling, captivating, and yes even mesmerizing, now as when I first read it many years ago. It is one of very, very few which I can always re-read with unwavering pleasure and delight. Richard Maury has crafted a volume as close to perfect in terms of making the essential -nesses of cruising in small sail boats clear to the reader as any I have ever found. It's facinating to me that right through to the last page he never tells of himself, and only word sketches his alternating sailing companions very briefly. Cimba herself is the main character and Maury never loses sight of that fact. The Saga of Cimba is a book filled with the unpretentious magic of greatness.

This is a book for sailors who love words, and readers who sail. Not an instructor, Maury spends his tale with the spareness of bare poles. Seamen will love the action - and the calms, mostly for the lovely lyric writing and the gift Maury has with print. Kin to the Maury who invented organized navagation charts for seaways, tides, winds, currents; this tale of the smallest fishing schooner to make 1937 ocean history reflects talent aboard and with the pen for Richard Maury. Best book I've read, sadly I couldn't enjoy it from land.

Having sailed for 40 years, I came across an old edition of this gem written in the 30's and was astounded by the economy of prose, yet the depth of feeling created by its author.

It is a deceptively simple story, but packed with thoughts and observations which are thoroughly relevant today. And it is written in a style which came BEFORE the present supermediatic hyperbolic overstatement that characterizes most of what we read and hear today.

It is an excellent gift, and an inspirational work, even if you are never planning to cross an ocean. It is in a word, a classic. (And it is wonderful to think about how these places actually were in the thirties, and to listen to proper nautical language and vocabulary which has been washed away by the advent of the jet plane and skidoo.. Bon voyage!

julio cortazar's poems are truly great. they're simple, beautiful and sad. i recommend anybody who loves or likes poetry to read this book. i keep coming back to cortazar's poems all the time. his poems are written very beautifully. like this line " i was a tango lyric to your indifferent tune."

This was my first reading of this author and I loved it. His style has the right mix of subtlety and frankness(for lack of a better word). The book has each poem in Spanish as well as english.

julio cortazar's poems are truly great. they're simple, beautiful and sad. i recommend anybody who loves or likes poetry to read this book. i keep coming back to cortazar's poems all the time. his poems are written very beautifully. like this line " i was a tango lyric to your indifferent tune."

... if you're dreaming, if you're breathing air or poetry. This book will make you want to write, it'll make you want to read it again and again, it'll sometimes leave you speechless and breathless, and some other times eager to go and tell others to read it. I must have read it as a whole at least eight times and some poems must've entered through my eyes at least 30 times. And I always return to it. It feels like home.

Cortazar seizes the heart, the throat, the gut... every part of the body. As with most great poetry, critical and interpretive words will not suffice; poetry must speak for itself. Cortazar's simplicity and force lies in its ability to speak volumes all on its own. From his insistent "I accept this destiny of ironed shirts,/I get to the movies on time, I give my seat to old ladies." in "The Good Boy" to his exquisitely simple, "Everything I'd want from you/is finally so little/ because finally it's everything", Cortazar describes simply what it is to feel.

Most importantly, this book is in Spanish and English, so linguistic purists will be able to compare the original with the translation (which for me is also the mark of an excellent book.)

A beautifully written novel about love between a white British woman and a black man from Senegal. The two meet in school, and against all odds and family and cultural prejudices, finally marry. When things go wrong deeply held beliefs are challenged and the reader is shown the "other side of the story." Paradoxes are revealed, allowing the reader to think critically about serious issues of race, prejudice, marriage, fidelity, and more.

This novel was recommended by an IB DP English language teacher I work with, and I agree. I highly recommend it for high school (age 16 & up) and university reading lists. Translated from the French.

This is a book club in Boston, MASS-USA of women of color and we focus on books written by "African Female Writers"...... thats how we found ourselves reading Scarlet Song by Mariama Ba... here below is a little synopsis of the book club meeting we had in November 2007.

Since some folks had problems getting the book, we offered a what was intended to be a short synopis - you know ten minutes - well when you get women of color from the diaspora to recap what they read, you will hear editorials, dramatizations and disagreements, that a ten minute synopsis turned into an hour of laughter and a market style conversation.
We all learnt about how our own backgrounds and perception of societal roles influence how we experience the world e.g. some thought that Mirielle did a good job with the meal she was sending her father in-law in an effort to be dutiful daughter in-law..... while quite a number of us did not understand what was going on in her head - like how dare she sends "a piece of chicken" for only her father in-law.... when in actuality he lived in a compound hence he had to send for all. In an African setting your generosity is in quantity not frugality. Yaye Khady was well within her rights to snub at her because for the first time it seemed as if there was a clush of cultures and no clear expectations were outlined. Being that she was the one that was in the foreign land she had to learn the ways of that land and adopt to them rather than the land adopting to her foreign ways. At this point you can clearly see that inspite of Mirielle prior stay in Senegal as a Diplomat's daughter, she experience Senegal through different lenses. Her interaction with the locals left alot to be desired because when she returned she appeared to be clueless about the expectations of the land.

Feminist notions aside ---- All of us were in awe of Ouleymattou's strategy in hooking Ousmane. Girlfriend can be an army general - she has perfect execution and got what she wanted..... and we are all in search of that incense / perfume... read the book to understand the new-found fascination. Our fascination with her was in context of trying to understand what it takes a woman to chase a married man, and a married man to court another woman in instances where polygamy is allowed. So we could not necessary judge her because it was ok in her setting to be a second wife.... as courtship goes its a GAME!

We all agreed that it was just a tragic story - the whole relationship was just naive and it had tragic consequences - I think everybody in the room drew from personal experiences, lessons related to interracial, inter-class, inter-caste --- whatever the social lines are. what needs to be acknowledged in order for things to even remotely work. I was personally enriched by the immerse diversity of opinions that were in the room, how thoughtful and insightful everybody was.

Please dont take this as a book review but just a report back on the discussion we had. As we read more books, I will take the time to do write-ups on the website because I realise that African Female writers are not the MOST explored writers hence any write-up on them would help somebody.

KEEP ON READING

its a wake up call, it was my first book on the subject of interracial marriages I ever read, it sure widened my horizon.

Mariama Ba brings to life the true realities and complexities of interraccial marriage. She writes poignantly and beautifully. She is a master narrator, and will amaze you with her fabulous storytelling. I have read "Scarlet Song" numerous times, and wrote my senoir thesis about this book.

Scarlet song is the story of two lovers, Ousmane Gueye and Mireille De La Valle who are in an interracial relationships. Both set of lovers endured their parental opposition to the relationship with Mireille receiving the raw end of the deal ... her father disowns her after her secret wedding. Unpeturbed by her father's repudiation, she relocates with her husband to his country, Senegal. Unfortunately, their story book romance is unable to withstand some of the traditions and expectations of her inlaws. Her mother inlaw mocks her and calls her a jinee. Ousmane, a weak willed fellow is gradually drawn into his culture, abandons his wife for his once secret crush, Ouleymatou, who had spurned his advances during their teenage years because of Ousmane's devotion to his mom. The two embark on an illicit romance with the approval of their family and a union is produced from the relationship. When Mireille gets wind of the illicit relationship, now legalized by the society, she suffers a breakdown and at the end of the novel, she is about to be deported back to France by the French Embassy.

Scarlet Song is another classic from Mariama Ba. The novel is very deep and intense, the literary qualities is superb, she writes with panache and at the end of the novel, the reader comes out with the conclusion that the narrator of this novel was adept at weaving the story consistently. She would have been a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature if she was still alive.

Highly Recommended.

My heart soared when I saw the cover of this book. Yes, I was drawn to communal life in Taos back in the late sixties and early seventies. I lived with the Family. I still dream of going home to the Family. Yes, this book is true and accurate - as much as a memory can be. There is always more, like the night the Indians turned the hot springs cold. This book is wonderful archive of this time and place. Thanks Iris for helping me remember a time when belonging was more important than haveing.

Scrapbook Of A Taos Hippie is a biographical narrative of the some of the agrarian hippies of the 60's who attempted to live the Aquarian Age in Taos. The author's memoirs contain 3 years of colorful experiences. How did the dream play out? In the end, did practicality supersede idealism? What were the chief obstacles? Why was Taos important? You will be left with more questions after you arrive at the author's answers to these. Many black and white photos and topical news sources' stories decorate this album-like book. The author says she wrote it in response to her children's request to tell them about her hippie days. Scrapbook Of A Taos Hippie is more than a nostalgic look at a time and life now past. It captures the bitter poignancy of the day. It will appeal to specialized interests audiences.

Nancy Lorraine, Reviewer

As a veteran of communal life in the 60's, I truly appreciate the authenticity--and pure fun--of Iris Keltz's book. The photos, articles, memoirs, and hippie artwork take you right to the spirit of the times. What a great trip!!

About half way through this book, I got the bright idea of listing all the people mentioned in it that I knew personally, had met, or knew of. When the number reached 50, I stopped counting. It's easier to count the people in it that I DON'T know - on the fingers of one hand. Three of my oldest and dearest friends are featured here, one pictured on the cover. So I can't be unbiased and objective about these "tribal tales from the heart of a cultural revolution." I've lived them and loved them, so for me, it's a manifesto.

It enters you into a movie of life in those days around Taos. A rainbow of different voices speak. And the voiceover of the narrator is sure and true. Most delightful to me was remembering things I'd all but forgotten - like the Oriental Blue Streaks (a band), Da Nahazli (a hip school), Old Martinez Hall (a place, and the summer solstice at New Buffalo (a happening). Here in these pages, I've found people and places I haven't thought about for a long time - Feather, Preacher, Pabla, Teddy the Juggler, Hotsy Totsy, the Stragecoach Hot Springs, the General Store, peyote meetings on the mesa, Little Joe and Henry Gomez. It all comes back in color and glory and story and song, and it's food for the heart.

"I was always on the hunt for a mythological explanation of the world," says Keltz. "We were reverting to an old form - tribalism - but in a very new way. We would not be a tribe because of lineage, race, language, or tradition. We were a rainbow of people becoming a tribe because we had a collective belief in an alternative to materialism, greed, military power and an unpopular war fought using our brothers, schoolmates and boyfriends."

Not that there weren't some down times, hard times, foolish mistakes and even dangerous blunders. The author makes that clear. We were feeling our way, making it up as we went along. It was colored funny and fun and scary and serious. We knew that the only way to change the world was to change ourselves first. And we did that. None of us who lived through those times are the same people today.

I did catch some inaccuracies - but those are all in the memories of individual voices here. None of them are egregious errors or deliberate slights or misrepresentations as those often found in other chronicles of this time. Somebody said, "If you remember the '60s, you weren't there."

When you're living the life from day to day, it can seem ordinary. You chop wood and haul water, you cook oatmeal for the kids, you gather watercress and rose hips by the rio, but when you step into the world of this book, and the author does her magic for you, the patina of years transforms it into a whole round thing - like a soap bubble in the sun.

I learned a lot about what I'd missed - the hippie New Mexico oracle, "Fountain of Light" and the hippie-made Bicentennial silver and gold concha belt that was worth many thousands (but priceless really) and destined for the Bicentennial 1978 exhibit at the Smithsonian - but was stolen. I slept through all that but sure am glad to know about it now.

There's no index in this, so you can't look up any nouns, but after reading the whole thing, I think I understand why Iris didn't do an index. The story, the saga, is greater than its individual parts and greater than the sum of its parts.

Says Keltz, "We were the critical mass that could change the direction of our capitalistic society" and, "...we were unafraid of our inconsistencies, a people who embraced paradox as the slippery road to a glorious future."

Friends who have this scrapbook have told me that they skipped around, reading only about themselves and their friends, but I recommend doing as the White King advises. "Begin at the beginning; go right on until you come to the end; then stop." That way, you know what to go back to and look at again - photos, drawings, dialogue - whatever. Even if you don't know a single person, place or idea in this book, I believe the work stands on its own merits as a valuable historical chronicle. Sounds like marbles rolling, doesn't it? Rolling through this scrapbook, this album, this experience. Splendid stuff.

pamhan99@aol.com

I bought this book to understand where my mum is coming from when she speaks, acts and walks five dogs down the road. I picked it up in Taos New Mexico on a pilgramage there. It is a wonderful book with lots of different views throughout in the form of interviews/essays. The pictures are great and the author even includes old menus and health posters from the time. She tells it like it is and includes the flaws of the movement as well as the beauty that was there. Buy it for the coffee table.

THIS IS THE STORY OF RYNE SANDBERG FORMER CUBS GREAT. RYNO DOES A GREAT JOB TELLING HIS STORY, HIGHLIGHTED WITH THE REASON HE RETIRED EARLY. WHEN THE TRIBUNE DECIDED TO PUT AN IDIOT LIKE LARRY HIMES IN CHARGE, RYNO HAD ENOUGH OF THE EGO, CHEAPNESS AND HORRENDOUS MISTAKES HIMES MADE WITH THR CUBS. RYNO WAS TRULY ONE OF THE BEST 2ND BASEMAN OF ALL TIME. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS AND RECOMMEND IT FOR ALL CUBS FANS.

Sandberg does a great job of telling his side of the story of the Cubs downfall. In 1988 the cubs were a force to be reckoned with and just a few short years later they were in shambles. This account of Larry Himes ruining the Cubs is very true. A terrific read. WE MISS YOU RYNO!!!!

Sandberg does a great job of telling his side of the story of the Cubs downfall. In 1988 the cubs were a force to be reckoned with and just a few short years later they were in shambles. This account of Larry Himes ruining the Cubs is very true. A terrific read. WE MISS YOU RYNO!!!!

This bio gets right down to the heart of the person and what he had to go through. Ryno was an incredable H.S athlete. I liked the fact that he revealed the reason(s) why he retired. The only thing wrong with the book is the fact that a short time after its relese, he came back, leaving the book with an open ending so to speak.

terrific account of his playing days. In his heydey, Ryno! was the smoothest fielding, power-hitting, speed-demon ballplayer A-Rod dreams he could become. No question, Ryno was the best ever. Now, read about what inspired him and how he went from a throw-in in the DeJesus-Bowa deal to MVP, HR Champ, and god of all infielders. When Joe Morgan rants about how good we was, I think he thinks we was Ryno!