Humor Books

---I'm sorry to do thid to you, but the previous review was actually meant for a book of the same title. (Pose File volume 1). I do not own this particular book you are researching, but If I get a copy, I will be sure to get back to you on this.--I am not saying that this book is good or bad, just that I cannot speak for it personally...

Cobalt

This book has one unusual strength: most poses are shown from many angles, up to about two dozen in some cases. This gives extra insight into unusual foreshortening and into how the figure articulates.

The weakness of this book is that, in order to show so many different views on a page, each figure photo is relatively small. This is especially disappointing because the models are all Japanese, where most pose books show only European features and figures. This book never meant to document details of faces, though, so I really can't complain,

From moderate shadow to deep chiascuro effects this is a beautiful addition to the Pose File series. The other books excellently describe the figure, in proportion, motion and moving through space, but mostly in an even tonal scale. This volume emphasizes the extremes of that scale, making it a necessary addition to the set.

---You may be wary of the idea of buying a japanese book, where 99% of the text is in Kanjii. Rest assured that this book is as useful in the states as it is in Japan, because the main body of these books are beautiful photographs of female models taking every pose one could imagine in any studio.--Being a fellow who works in cartooning and graphic novels more than any fine art. I find this series endlessly useful as an excersise in my spare time.--Just pick a page and draw all it's figures until your arm is sore, and you will be all the better than trying to glean useful practice from old Playboy Magazines.--Pose File books are for, and will always be about fine artists who have a passion for the ultimate machine.

Cobalt

PS. THIS is the right review for the right book Sorry about any confusion

I'm trying to learn how to draw, and the books in this and similar series would be really helpful--if I could afford any of them. I found this book in a store where I live and decided to buy it until I checked the price tag that the store had stuck onto it. because I lived in Japan for a while, I'm used to the printed price that appears on all books, so I had just looked there. I have decided to wait until Christmas when I can buy it myself for a decent price. Blah.

What a funny read...Very well written and witty. Highly recommended from a mom who RARELY reads parenting books because they seem so boring.... This one is original, supportive and well worth the time. You'll feel a little less crazy, neurotic and guilty as a parent after you read this one.

No, I don't have kids but I am a day care teacher and I am a Goddess to many children. I am about half way through this book and am really liking it. I keep laughing out making my sister think I'm insane though since she works with 3 year old too I'll be passing this along to her next and she can laugh out loud too.

5 stars and if you don't like it you can't come to my birthday next September!

What a funny funny look at being the mother of a three year old. She has done a great job capturing the phases and stages that leark in dark corners just when you think the terrible twos are over! Although I think Shelton is a little down on Motherhood sometimes the book is non-the-less a great read. Easy to pick up and put down, with some out loud laughing involved. It would make a great gift for the three year old birthday boy or girl's mom!

This book entertained me non-stop through an 800-mile train-and-bus trip, and I don't even have children. I really couldn't put it down. It's as funny as Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and as engagingly written. Someone should make a TV series from it, or a movie. This one's a winner.

My husband and I are reading this book out loud to each other each night after we tuck our kids in bed. We usually end up laughing so hard we almost fall off of the couch. It's good medicine, that book. Sandi takes situations that you may never have thought of as being funny and opens your eyes to just how hilarious it all really is. The fact that she's been through the preschool stage three times herself gives her vast experience to draw from and write about.

Mostly, I feel like I am reading a comic strip about our own family life because the things she describes are the very things we experience over and over again and never even thought to ask anybody about. It does wonders for my attitude.

I think anyone who is in the process of raising a preschooler NEEDS to read this book. It's like the glass of wine at the end of the day, and perspective for the days to come.

To describe Qfever is to tell you that it is better than AWESOME! This book is exactly what people need to spark their lives and bring some humor and levity to it.

I bought it as a gift for my doctor thinking he'd be able to appreciate it, but my quick skim turned into a full-read. I laughed so hard I thought I'd really need to see my doctor!

I don't care what the cover says, this book is not just for healthcare professionals...Can be enjoyed by everyone. I highly recommend!

Very, very funny!! I also sent a copy to my cousin who's doing her residency in Ohio - she can't stop talking about it! If there were any issues I had with the book it's that they should have more nursing topics. Also why don't they update their website more often?? Otherwise, highly recommended if you or someone you know is in the medical field.

This book is awesome! I'm a third year medical student and have been following Qfever for the past couple of years. They used to have a lot of issues but now it's like three or four a year. Sigh. The book keeps me company during those long nights on Surgery. I also gave it as a gift to some friends and they love it! Crazy stuff. Get it!

Hilarious! I can't stop laughing! Q Fever has a big following on the web, now it's finally in a book form to be enjoyed. GET IT!

This is a really super book about squirrels - you should get all of this guys publications - or invite him to tea and have him write you your own book!

I gave this book to my daughter's college boyfriend for Christmas, not knowing what reaction I'd get. Well, he LOVED it! He thought the little vignettes were very cute and he didn't look at me like I was crazy. You might love this little book, too.

Author of: Bad Girls Club

this is a good squirrel book. keep it near your
books about the Cosmos. I'd say keep it about 3
feet from those other books. if i wrote it i'd give it
5 stars. i guess i'm stingy that way.

This outwardly appears to be a humor or children's book, and while it is that, it is also a lesson about actually paying attention to the world around us. Squirrels are everywhere, but we often don't think about their lives, even though they often share space with us. This is why there is a notes section at end -- the author is encouraging us to take notes on squirrels.

I have bought two copies of this book, one for me and one for a friend. This will be my third.

This book makes me smile every time I open it, and also when I think of it.

Mr. Sipress's book, The Secret Life of Dogs, is as good as the reviews say. The one-star review refers to The Hidden Life of Dogs, which is, as stated, garbage, by a different author. Mr. Lengowski might please amend his review.

Why should I review something that was already explained to us by [...]back in 1993.

I want to talk about the hidden lives of my dogs.

Until recently, I wasn't aware that my dogs had hidden lives. There were many times, such as when they'd take turns repeatedly eating a deceased lizard and throwing it back up, when I wasn't even sure they had brains. Then I got ''The Hidden Life of Dogs,'' the best-selling book by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, who has some astounding insights into dog behavior. For example, in an effort to find out what dogs do when they're on their own, she spent months following a husky named Misha as he roamed all over Cambridge, Mass. What Thomas discovered was that Misha, who at first appeared to be simply trotting around aimlessly, was in fact earning a degree from Harvard Business School.

No, I am joshing. Harvard does not accept huskies unless their parents are extremely wealthy. What Thomas discovered, after much observation, was that Misha spent his time -- and here I will attempt to summarize two full chapters of ''The Hidden Life of Dogs'' -- sniffing other dogs and peeing a lot.

This might not strike you dog-owners as all that deep of an insight. But trust me, it seems like one when you're reading the book. Because where you might see just a plain old dog engaging in non-rocket-scientist behavior, Thomas sees a highly sophisticated organism responding to elaborate socio-biological stimuli and performing complex problem-solving tasks. It's not her fault that the solution to the problem is usually to pee on it.

Anyway, reading this book got me to thinking about my own dogs. Did they have a hidden life? If so, could I discover it, and -- more important -- write a best-selling book?

To find out, I removed my dogs from the confined, controlled environment of our house and put them outside, where they were free to reveal their hidden lives. I observed them closely for the better part of a day, and thus I am able to reveal here, for the first time anywhere, that what dogs do, when they are able to make their own decisions in accordance with their unfettered natural instincts, is: Try to get back inside the house. They spent most of the day pressing sad moony faces up against the glass patio door, taking only occasional breaks to see if it was a good idea to eat worms (Answer: No).

Of course, the dogs have important and complex socio-biological reasons for wanting to get back into the house. For one thing, the house contains the most wondrous thing in the world: the kitchen counter. One time a piece of turkey fell off of it. The dogs still regularly visit the spot where it landed, in case it shows up again. There's an invisible Dog Historic Marker there.

Another reason is that the house provides a better echo for barking. Dogs employ barking as a vital means of communicating important messages, such as: ''bark.'' Barking also serves a vital biological purpose: If a dog does not release a certain number of barks per day, they will back up, and the dog will explode. (Whenever you hear an unexplained loud noise in the distance, it's probably a dog exploding.)

Our large main dog, Earnest, spends her day sleeping directly under my desk, and three or four times a day she'll have a pressure buildup, causing her to wake up, lift her head, release a bark and immediately go back to sleep. Her bark, traveling at the speed of bark, quickly reaches our small emergency backup dog, Zippy, who is sleeping elsewhere in the house. He wakes up and rushes up to the outside of my office door and starts barking at it, because there is clearly something wrong inside. (Why else would Earnest have barked?) This in turn awakens Earnest, who leaps up, bonks her head against the bottom of my desk, then rushes over and starts barking at her side of the door. Each dog is firmly convinced that there is Big Trouble on the other side, possibly involving their arch-enemy, the U.S. Postal Service truck. It comes around every day, and usually Earnest and Zippy are able to drive it off by barking at it and getting spit all over the windows by our front door, but now apparently the truck somehow has GOTTEN INTO THE HOUSE and is ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS DOOR BARK BARK BARK BARKBARKBARKBARK!!!

This is what my dogs are thinking (if ''thinking'' is the word I want here) as I get up, walk past Earnest, who is now insane with rage, and open the door. Instantly Earnest charges BARKBARKBARK into the hall, narrowly missing Zippy, who is charging BARKBARKBARK into my office. Each one goes about five feet, then -- WAIT a minute!! -- skids to a stop, whirls around, and charges back the other way, still barking. Sometimes they'll pass each other three or four times before they run out of momentum and lie down again, confident that, thanks to their alertness, the house is once again safe. This is the hidden dog world that goes on every day in our house. I admit that, socio-biologically, it is not as interesting as the things that Elizabeth Marshall Thomas' dogs do. But Earnest and Zippy are the only dogs I have. Make me an offer.

I think you guys are all referring to a different book. The editorial review refers to this book as a collection of cartoons, and the author as David someone. Most of you seem to be writing about a book that I am unable to find, called I think, the INNER life of Dogs, not the SECRET Life of Dogs,a non-cartoon book, and the writer of that book is female, as referred to by the other reviews. Possibly this other book is out of print, but if you can find it, I highly reccomend it for the insight it gives into dog behavior. The rather angry reviewer, the only one who rated it badly, is totally off the mark. This is really the only book of its kind, and it is an invaluable resource for dog owners. Of course, if you want to buy that book, you are on the wrong page!

I first ran across this book as a book on tape. I enjoyed how the author intertwined her own astute observations of dogs with other research. I came to appreciate how complex canine behavior could be, especially regarding social rules and heirarchies.

I read this book and it opened my eyes to the canine kingdom After reading it I realized my only intent was teaching the dogs. I negated that they had anything to teach me. It is not enough to love your dog on your level. We must learn to understand their behavior without forcing what we believe is best for them at a human level and observe their lives and interaction with one another. Only then can we truly love our animals as we watch and let them teach us. I never saw dogs in the narrow-minded way I had seen them before. I hope it comes back into print as I have repeatedly given my copies away to those I felt could learn from it.

When my son graduated from Army chef school, I couldn't resist presenting him with a signed copy of this book. It really was the perfect gift! He loved it and so did his classmates and instructors. Guess Army cooking really hasn't changed so much over the years. lol He intends to try several of the recipes as a lark. He's going to let me know how it goes.

this is a great cook book, not only for M*A*S*H* fans but, for anybody who enjoys cooking. the titles of the recipes are all M*A*S*H* related. THERE ARE COCKTAIL RECIPES!!!!!!! a must for any true M*A*S*H* fan. the col. Flagg truth serum is very good stuff. your girlfriend will love it!

As a true die hard fan of MASH I can honetly say this "takes the cake!" After flipping from beginning to end I actually attempted Hunnicutt's wife's cookie recipe.

Needless to say they were AWESOME, and my wife and my family enjoyed them until the last morsel. I'm now looking through the book for more wonderful morsels of goodness.

Jocularity! Jocularity!

This book is a funny look at life in a fictional mobile army surgical hospital through the eyes of an army private. Igor is not a well trained army cook, but is forced into the role of cook by the army anyway. In spite of his lack of great cooking skills, the recipes he includes in his book are actually quite good. My sons, both of whom are extremely picky eaters, have made several of the simpler items included in this cookbook and have enjoyed the results of their efforts.

This book is not for the master chef or for the hardcore food critic. The recipes are fairly basic and don't require a lot of unusual skills or ingredients. However, the story, the pictures and the recipes are fun and useful.

If you are a fan of M*A*S*H, as I am, you will really enjoy this book and find the recipes a nice addition to your own collection.

In 1950, a country bumpkin named Igor Straminsky answered his country's call to duty and, as an unwitting Army private, soon found himself in the most hostile environment that the planet could ever serve up. No, we're not talking about Korea. We're talking about the men and women of the 4077th who queued up three times a day with plastic trays, growling stomachs, and growing suspicions that they'd more likely meet their deaths at the inept hands of their new cook than they ever would in confrontations with the enemy they'd come to fight.

"Dear Ma," Igor wrote home, "Instead of letting me work at something I'm good at, they're gonna make me do a job I don't know anything about! Radar, the company clerk here, told me that he thinks the Army does that on purpose."

Still, a job was a job and the beleaguered young private wasn't going to let the ongoing sarcasm of Captain Hawkeye Pierce dampen his spirits.

HAWKEYE: It's inhuman to serve the same food day after day. The Geneva Convention prohibits the killing of our taste buds.

Suffice it to say, Igor had plenty of time to hone his craft (such as it was). His stint in a mess tent chef's hat, in fact, lasted 8 years longer than the actual Korean War. When the hit television series M*A*S*H finally bowed out in 1983, almost 125 million viewers tuned in to say goodbye, the largest audience ever for a TV show.

"Ma!" he wrote, "I'm sure you've heard the news...IT'S OVER! I'll probably be home by the time you get this letter but I wanted to write it anyway. I'll make everybody dinner when I get there but could somebody else please serve it?"

Fortunately, Igor's efforts to please the palate weren't left behind on a helicopter pad. His alter ego-Hollywood actor/writer/entrepreneur Jeff Maxwell-has compiled the best of Igor's mess tent magic into a hilarious book entitled "Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor."

Testimonial from Colonel Potter: "There seems to be a misconception here-those recipes weren't lost! We did our best to hide them."

Within these wacky pages--which are replete with black and white production stills, "dog-tag" quotes, and letters home-the author not only gives us generous dollops of homegrown culinary advice but demonstrates a talent for memorializing his Army experiences and friendships with his own brand of signature recipes:

* Hawkeye and Trapper's Swamp Spaghetti
* Winchester's Upper Crusted Chicken
* Hot Lips Tri-Tips
* Pork Choppers with Barbeque Sauce
* Stuffed Seoul
* Radar's Teddy Bear Turkey Loaf
* The Colonel's Kernel Stew
* Toasted Tank Tuna
* Hunnicut's Homesick Cookies
* Intravenous Drip Dip

IGORISM:
Hawkeye told me he went to school for twelve years to be a doctor. I trained in boot camp for eight weeks to become a soldier. It sure takes a lot more time to learn how to save a life than how to end one.

As clueless as Igor seemed to be whilst unveiling inventive concoctions such as "Cream of Weenie Soup" or "Hot Potato Pucks", he shows remarkable clarity in laying out instructions that are fun and easy to follow. Whether you're mustering your troops off to work or school with "Frontline Flapjacks with Chocolate Gravy", settling in for an evening flick with "Movie Night Popcorn Shrimp" or dazzling your next book club group with "Forward Marsh Melts", there's no denying that Igor knows what it takes to please picky eaters.

IGOR: Peas or carrots, Sir?
HAWKEYE: Oh, a little of each will be fine.
IGOR: Good, because I don't know which is which.

He has also included a short section on drinks, including "Pre-Op Novocaine Shake", "Swamp Swill Martini" and "Suicide is Painless", the latter popularized in song for both the original film and the TV series.

Testimonial from Hawkeye Pierce: "Can't wait to try the recipes. There are several people I'm trying to kill."

In real life, by the way, Maxwell is the inventor/purveyor of a kicky Bloody Mary Mix called Chico Rico™ which won a People's Preference Award in the 2003 International Zesty Foods Show. The mix, which he describes as "Lip Smackin' Fire & Spice", is available at Bristol Farms or through his website at http://www.chicorico.biz/order.html.

While dinner is cooking, TV trivia fans will find themselves well entertained with Maxwell's behind-the-scenes anecdotes as well the convoluted journey that took this affable actor from the bowels of the Print Department at 20th Century Fox to stand-up comedy to the elation of playing a character with an actual name on a hit series instead of just a credit as "Soldier 1". The proliferation of candid shots suggest the slap-dash happiness of an overgrown kid who has not only found himself at the summer camp of a lifetime but in the thick of new friendships destined to last forever.

HOTLIPS: I thought you might enjoy being the Charity Officer for me. You'd be so good at it.
BJ: Oh really?
HOT LIPS: You have such a nice smile. Not liking you is the same as not liking a collie.

Last but not least are the bittersweet tugs of nostalgia which remind us that the 4077th wasn't just Igor's family and his home-away-from-home but a weekly part of our own family as well.

"Dear Ma," his letter began, "We all just found out that Colonel Blake gets to go home. Lucky guy-sure wish I was gonna be on the plane with him!"

In the third season finale, "Abyssinia, Henry", marking actor McLean Stevenson's departure from the cast, viewers will recall the heart-stopping moment when a stunned Radar announced that Colonel Blake's plane had been shot down en route to Japan. There were no survivors.

It was moments like this that reminded us of what good writing can be. And it's books like "Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess" that demonstrate Private Straminsky has a definite calling in top brass cuisine.

I read nearly this entire book in one night without even realizing how the hours flew by.. I hope the authors write another book with the Rach as their main character.

This was a light-hearted, real-life read that was amazing in its simplicity. I felt like I was there. It was incredible.

The book leaves so much more to be developed in a sequel. It would be a great movie, too. I see it on the big screen.

If you haven't read it, get it quick. This is an undiscovered gem.

I'm not usually a fan of books written in the first person present, but this one caught me right away. It's written intelligently, believably, and the story moves along quickly. I found myself pulling for Rachel, the heroine, within the first chapter, and anyone that's ever been dumped, been out of work, or has experienced the NYC social scene should feel the same.

It's a fun and light read, and is perfect for that trip away from home when you're looking for something to make you feel good. Enjoy!

Shaking Her Assets is about a woman who picks her editing career up off the sidewalk - where her former boss tossed it - and haphazardly launches a start-up company which quickly turns into something she's fighting for, something she's really proud of. Rachel Chambers, a sensitive and loyal heroine compared to the usual career-driven femmes fatales found in chick lit, has a knack for putting people in their best light, optimizing strengths over weaknesses - crafting slamming entry essays to top business schools around the world. But Epstein and Kaplan know that women and men, alike, don't always apply their marketing talents to themselves, and in Rachael's world it's the 'artsy' man behind every crazy scene she gets herself into that illustrates, literally, her real POW!

Shaking Her Assets takes on losing what's closest to you and moving forward. It's smart and funny, and at just the right moments it feels as warm as a big hug. Full of good advice and comic relief, this read is like spending quality time with your best friend.

I read this book while taking #2 breaks at work and, while not an avid reader of chick lit, this had me hitting the prune juice so I could hurry and find out what happens next to Rachel, the first likable and believable character I've come across in a book like this.

Kudos to the authors for not insulting the intelligence of its intended audience of smart, ambitious, independent NY women-types, and those that want to understand them better - I get the sense the authors know whereof they speak. (This fun, quick story actually provides insight into how such women think and feel, amazingly - another testament to the authors' skill.) All this without a sophomoric reliance on sex and titillation. If you think all chick lit is just snarky conversation and vapid sexpots, read this. Though not lacking in impossibly witty repartee, SHA is more than a beach read - this is a real, engrossing story and a snapshot of what it's like to do something on your own these days.

One nit: it's Michigan Wolverines...Minnesota Golden Gophers. :-)

Buy this. And then read it. It'll restore your faith in chick lit.

Reviewed by Camille-Yvette Welsch for Small Spiral Notebook

As a reader of chicklit and a feminist, I often find myself torn between the fun of a quick, fluffy read and utter annoyance with relentlessly trendy female protagonists who can only succeed with the aid of a man and a limitless Visa. Shaking Her Assets is a pleasant surprise in a world where chicklit tends to follow an all-too familiar formula: Girl loses everything: glamorous New York job, bad boyfriend, self-respect. She then attempts to find the one true job, the one true love, and the self-respect via her new lover. Why can't women succeed and gain self-respect without the new romantic interest? Why does her strength have to be directly related to her happiness in love? Why can't she be happy in her life-and then find love?

In Shaking Her Assets, Rachel finds herself suddenly fired from her high-end writing job, then dumped by her boyfriend of two years, thereby following the formula, at least at the beginning. Miserable, she visits her best friend, Ben-who, refreshingly, is straight but still able to comfort without ulterior motives. They brainstorm the plan that launches Rachel as an applications editor for students seeking admission to MBA programs. Though initially a joke (and it remains one for Ben until Rachel sets him straight), the project blooms into a full-grown business while Rachel works as a temp. As she struggles-and succeeds-in building her business and dealing with her father's cancer, a stocky, cubicle-next-door guy enters her world, becoming first her new best pal and confidante, then, much later, her love interest. Zach takes her life and chronicles it in his online comic book site, turning Rachel into a She-Ra, capable of foibles and triumphs great and small. Epstein and Kaplan break away from the chicklit formula because the majority of the book finds Rachel making her way into the world of business, actively seeking clients with flyers and handouts, making excel spreadsheets of upcoming projects, researching business schools, and creating a client base. Only after she has succeeded does she get together with Zach who is also fighting to establish himself.

The writing is lively and engaging, and often quite funny. Rachel and Zach begin handing out flyers outside a business school and Rachel sights her prey, a dragon lady in a suit:

"And why do you think I'd need advice?" she says, unenthused.

I want to say, Because you're a huge bitch and it would behoove you to show an admissions committee as little of your personality as possible. Instead, I say, "Because if you're not using a company like this, I'm sure that you know your competition will be." I walk away without waiting to see her reaction, but I hope it gives her pause. Actually, I hope it cuts like a machete to the bone and makes her beg for my help. But the pause will be enough for now.

The savvy, independent woman chicklit readers want to identify with is Rachel. She struggles in her relationships with her family, both envying her married sister and feeling blessed by and proud of her sister's family. She imagines a romantic life with her best friend Ben and then dismisses it before ruining both of their lives unlike Julia Roberts character in My Best Friend's Wedding. She handles her father's death, figures out how to run a business, makes quick smart decisions that further her company. She demands to be taken seriously and respected, particularly by her best friend and his fiancée in one memorable restaurant showdown. Ah, the glory of it! Watching her business savvy is in itself a reason to read the book though ultimately, it is her entire coming of age, with her family, friends, romantic partners, and career, that make this story fascinating.

Interestingly, inside the cover page, the Library of Congress offers its variety of cross referencing categories for the book: "unemployed women workers-fiction," "self-employed women-fiction," "women editors-fiction," and "businesswomen-fiction." Like the Library of Congress, I see this particular book of chicklit as more than a beach read. It is testimony to what chicklit could be if authors chose to empower their characters and let their lives be about more than finding Prince Charming.

I'd like to point out that the two stories in this book are not all of the Shmoo stories; there were at least a half dozen more.

Pity no one thought to put all of them in a book.

The book does justice to combine two previous books THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE SHMOO and RETURN OF THE SHMOO. Both have been out of print for decades.

Pity about Harlan Ellison's over blown introduction. He can't stick to the subject.

It's good to see this great part of the Li'l Abner comic strip is once again available. I takes me back to when I was 14 and in High School.Not only did Al Capp give us the wonderful Shmoos;but also Sadie Hawkins Day and all the fun we had with that.
This story of the Shmoo came out in the daily Comic Strips but it also was published in Paperbook form in 1948 and 1949.I still have my copy from those days and wrote a review on it on November 27,2007.
It has the title,"The Life and Times of the Shmoo",by Al Capp.
One thing worth mentioning is the high level of artwork that the cartoonists like Al Capp,Walt Kelley and Chester Gould gave us,and it was so good that it still remains the standard for cartoon art to aspire even today.

Grew up reading this series. Now I have a permanent copy of my own. Good price and great product for comics junkies.

When I was 5 I would love to have my father read Pogo, Dagwood and Blondie, and Li'l Abner to me from the daily and Sunday newspapers. When I was 7 years old, I loved reading them by myself and about this time, 1958, the Shmoo became a major theme in the Li'l Abner series. I could not wait for the paper to arrive so I could read the latest adventures of these Shmmos that were so accommodating to meet almost all human needs. Yet even then, at age 7, I began to "get" the message behind the series. This is wonderful social commentary on the limits of capitalism and the limits government will go to ensure that capitalism remains our economic model. However for captitalism to work, there has to be need or the threat of need which creates demand which stimulates supply, and I am sure you know the rest of this formula. If the basic needs of labor are met, they won't work, and thus the costs of labor goes up and the profits go down. Al Capp was brilliant to bring this message into America's homes soon after the McCarthy Anti-American hearings in Washington. Capp, like the Shmoo, is subversive in such a clever endearing entertaining way that when I saw this book I had to re-read the scripts to see what I may have remembered from so many years ago.

The book contains the original Shmoo characters and script from 1948-49 and the return of the Shmoo in 1958. If I was ever to teach High School Seniors in an Economics class, I would have them read this book along with their text, maybe not to strengthen the neurons but to lighten them.

Capp's other Dogpatch hillbilly characters and story lines are also delightful. Li'l Abner, Daisy Mae, Ma and Pa Yokum, and Sadie Hawkings are all here!

This was more amusing that I expected. I hadn't read much of "Li'l Abner" and was surprised. However, I have two objections to this book. First, the original strips seem a bit truncated. Surely, they could have gotten more of the dailies in this book than they did. And second, the awful introduction by Harlan Ellison. He seems to be in love with the sound of his voice and not necessarily a Li'l Abner fan. The Schmoo seems to have been a craze like the "Pet Rock." More information about that and less about Ellison's advertures in New York City would have been welcomed.

I enjoyed this very much. It was very cute and funny. Lots of pictures.

The Simpson's are one of those families that you gotta love and this picture album is tops when it comes to learning things about the Simpson's that you didn't know or refreshing the things that you do know. It's funny and is a great gift idea for any Simpson's fan!

I CAN"T BELIEVE THIS BOOK!!! HOMER IS DISTANTLY RELATED TO BURNS! AND TO THINK THAT BURNS CAN'T REMEMBER HOMER'S NAME!!!!

Ok,this book RULES!!!:)It has soooo many funny things.Anyone who
likes the Simpsons needs this book.:)

I still am a huge Simpson fan,
And this book certainly is a WONDERFUL, detailed, edited
family photo album.
In order, starting from the first to the end, here it is...
The first part is The Simpsons Family Tree.
Then Simpson pictures, etc.
Then Marge as baby, (Patty and Selma as 3 year olds),
and Marge as a kid.
The next page is Homer as a baby, then the next as a kid.
After words, we are in Homer and Marge's high-school years about
4 pages worth.
Then when Homer and Marge get Married.
Then when Bart, Lisa and Maggie were born!
Finnaly, regular pictures of them today.
At the end, it's The Bouviers family tree!

THIS BOOK IS WONDERFUL!!! :)

Simply put this book should be mandatory reading for anyone that feels the American military should always have a "world presence" in the various political quagmires. Both young & old & in-between will benefit from a book that can make you laugh & cry often within the same paragraph.

Very Dry humour... I LOVE IT

This has to be one of the funniest, well-written, smartest books I've ever read. You can find the time to cry and laugh at the same time - it is an example of others in a horrible situation that can find some security in laughing and making their experiences funny to a certain point. I love this book and I intend on having my friends read it.

I was given this book by a friend who raved about it. I expected yet another terrible "Vietnam was hell-don't you feel sorry for me" books. Instead I got to read a book that transcends that conflict and all others. The story and mood could easily be transplanted to any other conflict in history and thats what makes this book so compelling. As a former enlisted infantryman, I rarely read any accounts that accurately portray the bizzare and often irrational logic that one has to adopt to deal with the situations faced by a soldier. Most stories and recollections make soldiers clear-thinking and rational and are usually from the perspective of an officer or high ranking NCO who seem almost to enjoy the experience. Any bad decisions are made "out-of scene" by politcally motivated officers or out-of-touch politicians. They imply that things would be fine without these busybodies. McAfee throws away these stereotypical conventions and gives us the hazy and almost absurdist reasoning that governs a man in times of unrelenting stress and deprevation. Each character in this story clings to each other, and in one case a mortar, to try and ground themselves in an environment of chaos and incoherence. This book should be a classic and the fact that it is out-of-print is a disgrace considering how much junk out there should never have been printed in the first place. However you can swing it, get this book. You will not be disapointed.

Dear Mr. McAfee,

I read your book. I have sent copies to friends. I never understood why it did not become an American classic. Finally, I saw your on-line comments and I understood.

You have done a marvellous thing for veterans and civilians alike. You have captured the essence of the Vietnam conflict. You "Get" it. You also made me weep for the first time in thirty years.

Thank you