Non-fiction Books

A village priest and his friend, the (communist) mayor, drive throught their native Spain to Salamanca with many wine and cheese breaks and hillside siestas on the way. Both are having to rethink the choices they've made and will make. In this road trip intimacy they share their thoughts, question eachother's beliefs and make mild attempts at converting the other, always with warm regard. The wine helps. A tender, hilarious and heartbreaking book. Much happier than other Graham Greene.

Entertaining, quite easy to read, and profound. On the surface this is a short novel about about an unassuming village priest (promoted to Monsignor) and the deposed ex-mayor (the more "world-wise" of the pair) who take a road trip. It is set in post-Franco Spain of about the late 1970's. Monsignor Quixote is a devout Catholic, the ex-mayor (Sancho) a devout Communist. Their adventures include run-ins with the police, stops at a brothel and risque movie, an encounter with a robber, inciting a community riot, and so on. They have long talks, with hearts and lips loosened by much wine (which they revere). Monsignor Quixote loves his old car, which in a way becomes yet an additional character in the story. We can all identify with this pair to some degree, be ye Christian or Communist. The mayor is washed up politically. The monsignor has a jerk for a boss (his bishop). It's light and fun, and has many laughable moments, but . . . .

Deeper - the author explores issues within Christianity and (to a lesser extent) Communism. Issues of; the "trinity" and the Holy Spirit, prayer, elitism and insincerity in the church, loyalty and betrayal, "brown-nosing", police oppression, financial scandal in the church, sexuality, "moral theology" vs. righteous brotherly love, generosity and hospitality, comparisons and contrasts between The Church and The Communist Party, etc, etc. A thinking person's feast. Easy to absorb and digest, but dwell on points of interest as long as you like.

The monsignor, though portrayed as a simple man, is a talented wit, as is the mayor, and their exchanges are a joy to read. In his behavior and philosophy, the monsignor is given to "coloring outside the lines" so to speak, which keeps him in trouble with his bishop. But really . . . he is a humble, wise, lovable and loving man, who exercises and lives a pure religion much superior to his rule-abiding, judgemental colleagues. And he is persecuted for it (sound familiar?). Sancho, though more wordly, cynical, and having rejected the chuch, is not so bad a guy either and they play well off one another.

In the end, the monsignor is able to find some good in Karl Marx, as the mayor reconnects a bit with the God he left many years before.

One need not be Catholic to connect with and enjoy this book (I'm not). This is the second Graham Greene book I've read, the other being, The Power and the Glory. A wonderful author - most highly recommended.

A really moving and thought-provoking novel. In this book, Greene brings up all kinds of interesting ideas, whilst maintaining a sense of humour. Unlike a lot of other books that deal with issues like religion, this isn't at all heavy-going, owing to the engaging style of writing.

This is one of the funniest and cleverest novels I have ever read. It is also one of the deepest. Behind the clever adaptation of the Don Quixote story to a context in post-Franco Spain there is a dance of ideas, much as Shaw's plays are a dance of ideas, and the questions dealt with are the biggest and most fundamental that we all have to deal with.

An innocent and un-intellectual Catholic priest sets out on a holiday with a communist politician, and their discussions, always friendly and courteous and greatly assisted by wine, centre on their respective faiths. The communist faith is much the more straightforward - the ex-mayor, defeated at a recent election, finds the general outlook of Marx congenial, he finds that doubt shackles freedom of action, and that's about as far as his introspection goes. Catholicism is about bigger issues altogether, such as do we go to heaven or to hell for all eternity, and the concepts involved, for someone who really thinks about them honestly, are sufficient to unseat anyone's mind. There is no real alternative to thinking about them, so in the interests of peace of mind what people do is to think about them not honestly but either ingenuously or disingenuously. Graham Greene, like Muriel Spark, was a convert to Catholicism, and like Dame Muriel his treatment of it in his writing is wry and ironic. What he really `believed' is not quite clear and I'm sure not meant to be. Indeed he even casts some doubt around the question of what `belief' actually consists of, and rightly so in my own view. At one point Father Quixote admits that a certain doctrine is one that he believes out of obedience, an admirable attitude for traditionalist believers whether Catholic or communist - you believe x because you're supposed to believe it and you'll be in trouble if you don't. Greene quite obviously sees that Catholic doctrine evolved as a book of rules to keep people under control. What started as religious and ethical teaching developed rapidly into thought-enforcement and thought-policing, but the matter goes even deeper - behind it all there is supposed to be a God whose word the ecclesiastical power-structure dispenses, and this God is not, like Marx, someone who certainly exists but only a hypothesis. How much further Greene wishes us to pursue this line of thought I'm not clear, but for me two considerations follow - firstly what is supposed to be God's word is actually a human construct foisted on the hypothetical God, something that to me seems outright blasphemy; and in the second place we have a clearer idea these days what the Creator has created, and such a Creator is not likely to bear much resemblance to Jehovah in the scriptures having to assert his authority against Baal, Dagon etc at intervals. Indeed if there is one crumb of comfort in the contemplation of such a Creator it's likely to be that he will take little or no notice of our insolence in presuming to speak for his intentions.

Towards the end of the book Greene says something to the effect that in the absence of certain knowledge one goes for the next best thing. For him this is `faith', for me it's probability, as best I can assess that. Greene is able, as I am not, to find a sense of `believing' that takes in the soul as well as the mind. When I say that I believe something I mean that it seems to me true or probable, and considerations that bring me spiritual comfort are unrelated to belief in this sense entirely. Greene seems not to go so far, but I venture to think that he's nearer to my way of seeing things than to `faith' in the conventional sense. What is completely unmistakable is the irony with which he observes the way that the devout have of finding support in the scriptures and in philosophy built on them for convenient viewpoints and courses of action.

The book is not so much about the rival ideas, nor even so much about what people do with these as about what the ideas do with people who for some reason adhere to them, as if the ideas had taken on a higher life of their own, dominating and controlling the very people who create them and without whom they could never exist. This may indeed be what we call divine in them. What is divine in a more earthly sense about this book is the humour and ingenuity of it all. It is a simple story as well as a battle of ideas, and a touching one too, with emotion and human affection finally dominant over the intellectual side. A delightful book, a beautiful book and I would even say a great book.

MONSIGNOR QUIXOTE by Graham Greene was thoroughly enjoyable, and touched, as some of Greene's better works are, with a divine stroke of love and genius. And I do mean, divine. It's hard to find the words to praise Greene enough. His novels are so well executed, so elegantly written, so touching and so unexpectedly changing. They read easily, are very accessible. This book references DON QUIXOTE by Miguel de Cervantes, so I was doubly engaged here, as I had just read it. This book is about a priest, Father Quixote, who lives in El Toboso, Spain. Through a happenstance act of kindness to a man in power in the Catholic Church in Rome, Father Quixote is made a Monsignor, much to his bishop's dismay. His bishop has never liked Father Quixote. Due to his "promotion" Father Quixote has some time to take for himself, and leaves El Toboso with the town's former mayor, who has lost his re-election bid, whose last name is Panza, just like the famous Don Quixote's squire, Sancho, so Father Quixote calls his friend Sancho. Like the first and second sally in Cervantes, Monsignor Quixote and Sancho go forth in the world and have adventures. What I found wonderful about this book was the discussion between these two men about Communism and religion. They trade books and references, and argue principles lightly and engagingly. What is true about both men as Greene writes them is that they are loving people. Sancho is more cynical, but he is kind and is genuinely friends with Monsignor Quixote, and the monsignor, for his part, is truly loving, naive and true. The end of the book is a surprising and stunningly beautiful apotheosis of the ideas expressed within. This is one of my favorite works by Greene, and reminded me in some ways of the life-changing END OF THE AFFAIR. I highly recommend it.

Don't be fooled by the petite size and cuteness of this collection of quotes from America's #1 spunky female detective! When I read these books all those years ago, never did I realize that Nancy Drew's philosophy packed an amazing punch.

"Making thugs turn on each other is always a delicious thing to watch," advises Nancy in The Whispering Statue. Well I'll be darned if that's not the same philosophy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu!

The wonderfully nostalgic illustrations in Nancy Drew's Guide To Life make this book a winner. Kids will like it, but adults will love it!

Nancy Drew's Guide to Life is a fun "in purse" sized book for girls to take with them for "those moments" when they need Mom or Aunt Sally and neither is around to give advice! Although many of the "Nancy" books were written either before or shortly after I was born (I'm a grandmother with preteen granddaughters), they are extremely "modern" in spirit and contain sensible, clever, and classy ideas for girls to learn adult behavior and good manners, which seem to be disappearing in this internet, i-pod, text message world! It also gives readers interesting quotes to excite them about reading more of Nancy's tales. My granddaughters may need to write a "literature" paper for school, and this book and M. Rehak's "Girl Sleuth" would make good research sources!

If this wasn't written with tongue in check, then I misinterpreted a lot of these little "guides". Some were a bit outdated, but hey, that just part of the entertainment of this mini book.

I was a little disappointed by the book - when the reviews said small book, I thought they meant not many pages - but this really is small about 3 x 4 inches.

Some of the lines are funny but I thought they would be more relateable to real life rather than just being silly comments about situations from the book.

I got this book for my birthday, and then found out that I am not the only woman who has read 50 odd Nancy Drew books. . .my daughter, my students, my neighbors all confess . . . everyone loves Nancy Drew, and consequently, loves this book.

We've set up a "Detective Cabinet" with spy-glasses and flashlights so that we can solve such common dilemmas as "The Mystery of the Missing House Keys" and "The Secret of the Laundry Room", now that we've been reminded of how problems are solved in River Heights.

This book is sheer inspiration . . . a MUST read.

I'm beginning to realize that George Gissing is an author who is relatively unknown by the general public but who is frequently studied/referenced by academics. The main reason why I think this is true (and this relates to the book at hand) is that Gissing himself had more of an academic temperament than a writing temperament. He was very adept at analyzing the world around him and commenting on it to a point of depressing realism, but he wasn't a storyteller. In fact, he struggled with creating enough storylines in order to support himself. Thus, while his books give impressive looks at Victorian life, they don't always leave a reader fully satisfied.

Why do I say this so confidently? Well, as Gissing was particularly self-aware and as he was particularly oppressed when writing "New Grub Street," in this novel he writes about what it's like to be a writer in London in the 1880's and 1890's. He essentially writes about his own life and those he find around him, all of whom are trying to make a living on writing.

Gissings seems to portray himself through the main character, Reardon. When the story opens, Reardon is struggling. His sophisticated wife is getting fed up with their impoverished lifestyle and with her husband's inability to write decent material. Reardon, a sensitive soul, is floundering under mounting pressure and stress. He is torn between his desire to write sophisticated, meaningful material and the public demand for "fluff." The more stressed laid on him, the less he is able to create and stick with any plausible fiction novel. He becomes more and more fererish and unable to work, and he is devastated as he loses his wife's love and respect.

Around this central character Reardon, Gissing builds a very full and weighty cast of characters. A small sampling of these characters are:
- The embittered, older column writer/reviewer, Yule, whose temperament has made so many enemies during his career that he is still laboring hard to support his small family at the end of his life.
- Yule's daugher, Marion, who is very clever but who is also very vulnerable. Her education has made her too good for many positions and marriages but her lack of money makes her a poor match for the educated class.
- Reardon's friend Milvain, who is an ambitious young man who has no problem writing exactly what the masses want. He knows his talents, he knows the market, and he knows his stuff won't last for posterity. But he is determined to live a comfortable life, make a strategic marriage and become a semi-respected man.
- Biffen, another friend of Reardon's, sympathizes most with Reardon's situation and condition. Two peas in a pod, these men spend long hours discuss meter, prose and ancient poetry.

I found myself continually amazed at Gissing's amazing ability to get into the head of many individuals in his large cast and to see how the world makes sense through each's eyes. Gissing also provides us with a wealth of information about the Victorian publishing scene. It was amazing to read that writers and publishers then were struggling with the same issues writers and publishers are struggling with today.

Additionally, Gissing gives you an unglorified look at poverty and the impoverished educated class of London at that time. While Dickens' works on the poor is idyllic and sentimental, Gissing simply relates the life he has known. There is nothing exceptional or amazing, and Gissing seems to argue that poverty takes character out of a man rather then build up a man's character.

Overall, I found this to be a fascinating piece...though perhaps a slow read. For those interested in publishing, writing, realistic portrayals of Victorian England, or other such topics, this is a fantastic work.

Poor Gissing! I suspect his miserable, self-destructive life fuelled his wonderful novels much as (we now know) Dickens's traumatic "blacking-factory" experience explains so much of the nightmare world of those gargantuan fictions. Gissing greatly admired Dickens, and like Dostoyevsky, seems to have appreciated the grim side of Dickens most. Not much humor in Gissing; but there is the same shabby poetry one used to see in Bloomsbury back in the 1960s. The same wonderful appreciation of futile, obsessive scholarly lives. Gissing is a great poet and sometimes a rather fine moralist. His pictures of London rival those of the Master (Dickens --and Dore). Don't miss him. Start with "Workers in the Dawn" and "The Nether World"--his passion more than compensates for his crudities. Remember: he was also a very accomplished classicist--more of a scholar than any other major Victorian novelist! A not insignificant fact.

George Gissing's 1891 novel, "New Grub Street," is likely one of the most depressing books I've ever read. Certainly, in its descriptions of literary life, be it in publishing, or in my own realm of graduate scholarship, the situations, truths, and lives Gissing portrays are still all too relevant. "New Grub Street" itself points to the timelessness of Gissing's portrayals - as Grub Street was synonymous, even in the eighteenth century with the disrepute of hack writing, and the ignominy of having to make a living by authorship. One of Gissing's primary laments throughout the novel is that the life of the mind is of necessity one which is socially isolating and potentially devastating to any kind of relationships, familial or otherwise. "New Grub Street" gives us a world where friendship is never far from enmity, where love is never far from the most bitter kinds of hatred.

The anti-heroes of "New Grub Street" are presented to us as the novel begins - Jasper Milvain is a young, if somewhat impoverished, but highly ambitious man, eager to be a figure of influence in literary society at whatever cost. His friend, Edwin Reardon, on the other hand, was brought up on the classics, and toils away in obscurity, determined to gain fame and reputation through meaningful, psychological, and strictly literary fiction. Family matters beset the two - Jasper has two younger sisters to look out for, and Edwin has a beautiful and intelligent wife, who has become expectant of Edwin's potential fame. Throw into the mix Miss Marian Yule, daughter of a declining author of criticism, whose own reputation was never fully realized, and who has indentured his daughter to literary servitude, and we have a pretty list of discontented and anxious people struggling in the cut-throat literary marketplace of London.

Money is of supreme importance in "New Grub Street," and it would be pointless to write a review without making note of it. As always, the literary life is one which is not remunerative for the mass of people who engage upon it, and this causes no end of strife in the novel. As Milvain points out, the paradox of making money in the literary world is that one must have a well-known reputation in order to make money from one's labours. At the same time, one must have money in order to move in circles where one's reputation may be made. This is the center of the novel's difficulties - should one or must one sacrifice principles of strictly literary fame and pander to a vulgar audience in order to simply survive? The question is one in which Reardon finds the greatest challenges to his marriage, his self-esteem, and even his very existence. For Jasper Milvain and his sisters, as well as for Alfred and Marian Yule, there is no question that the needs of subsistence outweigh most other considerations.

"New Grub Street" profoundly questions the relevance of classic literature and high culture to the great mass of people, and by proxy, to the nation itself. For England, which propagated its sense of international importance throughout the nineteenth century by encouraging the study of English literature in its colonial holdings, the matter becomes one of great significance. The careers of Miss Dora Milvain and Mr. Whelpdale, easily the novel's two most charming, endearing, and sympathetic characters, attempt to illustrate the ways in which modern literature may be profitable to both the individual who writes it and the audiences towards which they aim. They may be considered the moral centers of the novel, and redeem Gissing's work from being entirely fatalistic.

"New Grub Street" is a novel that will haunt me for quite some time. As a "man of letters" myself, I can only hope that the novel will serve as an object lesson, and one to which I may turn in hope and despair. The novel is well written, its characters and situations drawn in a very realistic and often sympathetic way. Like the ill-fated "ignobly decent" novel of Mr. Biffen's, "Mr. Bailey, Grocer," "New Grub Street" may seem less like a novel, and more like a series of rambling biographical sketches, but they are indelible and lasting sketches of literary lives as they were in the original Grub Street, still yet in Gissing's time, and as they continue to-day. Very highly recommended.

I found Jasper Milvain, the "alarmingly modern young man," to be the most interesting character in Gissing's New Grub Street for a number of reasons, the most significant of which is that he evinces what can only be considered a modernist's consciousness in his approach to writing. That is, while it soon becomes clear to the reader that Milvain represents the antithesis of what Edwin Reardon personifies-i.e., the work of literature as an emanation of author's native genius-and thus one of the intercalated plots of the novel involves the incremental success of Milvain as a modern man of letters, and the concomitant gradual abjection of Reardon. In a manner of speaking, then, Milvain and Reardon's fates emerge from a common source, namely some sea change in the reading public's (the consumer's) preferences and tendencies.

Milvain identifies as vulgar the most lucrative market for the product of the man of letter's labor. The vulgarians, or "quarter educated," drive the market (479), and since they have been determined to desire nothing more than chatty ephemera, they have successfully opened an insuperable gulf between material success in writing and artistic success. Reardon's psychologically penetrating novels just aren't in demand. Therefore, there emerges quite an interesting conceptual shift within the nascent hegemony of the quarter-educated as established by their purchasing power: what was once considered healthy artistic integrity has transmuted into a peculiar kind of petit bourgeois hubris, if, in the new paradigm, the writer is more an artisan than an artist. Therefore, Reardon's artistically-compromised and padded three-volume novel, written with no other end in mind than to pander to the vulgar reader, nonetheless achieves only modest success because, the fact that it is indistinguishable from countless other similar works glutting the market aside, his novel is infected from his irrepressible integrity, and thus his novel becomes a strange sort of counterfeit, a psychological narrative masquerading as a popular novel. Reardon thus becomes a sort of Coriolanus among writers.

Milvain, on the other hand, is a sort of Henry Ford among writers; he reveals his particular genius when offering advice to his sister Maud about how to write religious works for juveniles: "I tell you, writing is a business. Get together half-a-dozen fair specimens of the Sunday school prize; study them; discover the essential points of such a composition; hit upon new attractions; then go to work methodically, so many pages a day" (13). In other words, Jasper has managed to streamline and to mechanize the writing process. He studies previous works, abstracts formulae from them, isolates the elements of these formulae, and then deploys and rearranges these elements to give his own writing a patina of originality. By treating writing as an exercise in manipulating formulae, Jasper exchanges "authenticity" (whatever that word means anymore) for the convenience and efficiency of not having to grapple with his own potentially mutable and recalcitrant genius. Jasper did not invent writing, just as Ford did not invent the automobile. But like Ford did with automobile manufacture, Milvain discovers those aspects of writing that lend themselves to mechanical reproduction. Thus he is able to capitalize on his time and effort, and effectively becomes the very machine Reardon believes himself to be but never actually becomes because of his lingering notions of artistic integrity (352).

Also of interest is the fact that Albert Yule is a sort of synthesis of Milvain and Reardon. Like Milvain, Yule attempts to streamline his own literary production by delegating some of the labor to his daughter Marian. However, like Reardon, Yule clings to the superannuated notion of the necessary individuality of writing: "[h]is failings, obvious enough, were the results of a strong and somewhat pedantic individuality ceaselessly at conflict with unpropitious circumstances" (38). In other words, Yule fails to recognize the obsolescence of the lone, learned genius within the realm of literary production. A market of vulgarians who demand occasional literary confections simply does not expect Works of individual genius. Moreover, even if they were in demand, works of individual genius are too ponderously inefficient to keep pace with the rate at which they are consumed. Therefore, Yule straddles the either/or proposition personified by Reardon and Milvain: One may preserve his artistic integrity and write "for the ages"--hence Yule, Biffen, and Reardon's fetishization of Shakespeare, Coleridge and authors of classical antiquity--and starve in the process, or one may write "for the moment" and actually turn a respectable profit.

The shadow of Charles Darwin indeed looms large over the events and characters of New Grub Street. The growth market brought about by the advent of the "quarter-educated" vulgar class, and their discretionary income coupled with their callow aesthetic sensibilities and truncated attention spans, represents a nascent economic, if not ecological niche, for certain social creatures to occupy. However, it's not simply a matter of being able to adapt one's skills to the tastes of these consumers. One must also be a prodigious enough writer to keep pace with an equally prodigious rate of consumption. Individuals like Milvain and Whelpdale are adequately adapted to this niche in that they satisfy the demands of this niche in terms of both content and output. Reardon panders to the vulgar taste only grudgingly and after long resistance and thereby cannot meet the production demands of this niche. Biffen absolutely refuses to pander at all. Alfred Yule does attempt to pander, but his mode of literary production is too inefficient to meet production demands, and he is also largely ignorant of vulgar literary taste. While more in touch with the vulgar reader than her father, Marian Yule is as inefficient in her literary production as her father. Therefore, each of the characters named above are equally maladaptive, albeit for various reasons, and thus their extinction by the novel's end strikes the reader as somehow inevitable. Whereas Milvain and Reardon's widow Amy are left to come together as the triumphant niche occupants and thus reproduce themselves in their offspring, should they decide to produce any.

I recently read New Grub Street, and I must say I was stunned by how much I enjoyed it. Gissing's prose and characterization hold up remarkably well. He's sort of an urban Hardy, though far more accessible to today's reader. I'd recommend this to any serious reader. Oh, and this novel is ripe for adaptation. A BBC miniseries would be great.

"Next of Kin" is a winning "anti-war" war book, cut from the same cloth as "Catch-22" and "M*A*S*H." I guess it's more appropriate to say that "Catch-22" and "M*A*S*H" were cut from the same cloth as "Next of Kin" since it was writting in the '50s, whereas the other two came out in the '60s.

The fundamental message of "Next of Kin" seems to be that wars are started and managed by idiots and bureaucrats. Thus, you don't win a war by defeating armies; you win it by bringing down the idiots and bureaucrats. Lt. Leeming, Russell's protagonist in "Next of Kin," understands this perfectly. He'd rather volunteer for a long-term, solitary recon. mission with little chance of ever getting home again than hang around the base and have to put up with high-ranking morons who bark nonsense at him like how an unzipped fly will lead to their side losing the war. Unlike Heller's Cpt. Yossarian or the doctors in M*A*S*H, who struggle just to endure the idiocy and bureacracy thrust upon them, Leeming, from his position as a lowly POW, can see the "illogical logic" of the military mind and exploits it for his own gain. In doing so, he inadvertently infects the enemy's entire bureaucratic war machine with a sort of "virus of ideas" which, by the last page, leaves the reader with the distinct impression that the war is finally about to end because of -- rather than in spite of -- the idiots and bureaucrats on both sides who wear the General's uniforms.

because you will laugh out loud repeatedly.

When I started to read scifi, I believed it had to be very serious to be, in general, considered a good book. Now I have read this book, I know my assumption was wrong. This is a greatly written scifi novel, the author has a great "voice", and his main character is one that will live in my head for quite some time, making me giggle whenever I see the word Nut, or read about someone named Eustace.

This is a book that belongs in a scifi lover's library, next to those very serious, excellent thick volumes of scifi novels.

You won't regret it :)

This book is another excellent bit of Russell, though to be read for fun rather than for any "message".

It is possibly set in the same universe as "Wasp" (though if so it is much further in the future, and the Sirians are now our allies) and at all events in a very similar interstellar war situation. The hero, John Leeming, is of a kind very familiar to Russell's readership, an uppity "individualist afflicted with the fidgets" who is thoroughly allergic to authority and to the military way of life in general, and has a disciplinary record like a crime sheet from Police Gazette - though an excellent combat one. Again typically for a Russell hero, he is the pilot of a one-man scoutship, who likes it that way and doesn't miss human company in the slightest. This was something that drew me to Russell as a boy, and which I suspect is at least partly autobiographical. Sent off on a reconnaissance mission far behind enemy lines, about halfway through the book he is marooned on a hostile world and taken prisoner. The rest of the novel is given over to his attempts to get back home.

Unlike James Mowry, Leeming is not totally alone on his world; in fact there are several hundred other prisoners with him. But while he does accept some help from one of them, and does his best to return the favour later, this is very much the exception that proves the rule. Leeming does everything almost as singlehandedly as Mowry, taking no part in the others' escape attempts, nor involving them in any way in his own activities. These latter are very idiosyncratic indeed, with a distinct touch of the Fortean "we are property" concept which influences much of Russell's work. I shall not give the ending away, but merely observe that (aided by certain local superstitions) they succeed beyond their author's wildest dreams, not only achieving their intended purpose, but much more besides.

If put under oath, I would have to confess that I don't find NoK quite as credible as some of Russell's other yarns. I cannot quite believe in Leeming's success the way I can in Mowry's. But if you are willing to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the fun, then it is a great read. Go get it.

It has been several years since I have read "Next of Kin," but I have recommended it to every reader I know, whether they are fans of science fiction or not. Unless I am mistaken the story was written in 1954, long before manned space travel, and it is obvious by the description of the spacecraft and the perceptions of space travel. This does not in any way detract form the story, but in some way adds a bit to the humor. John Leeming is the main character. He is assigned to a remote area in outer space to act in some type of military capacity (either diplomacy or intelligence). But he is visited by misfortune and crash-lands on an alien planet which happens to be at war. Leeming finds himself imprisoned and labeled a spy. The story is a slow read until this point (approximately one full third to half of the book), but then the plot takes off into a wildly hilarious sprint that becomes increasingly more ingenious until the finale. Leeming has absolutely nothing at his disposal to aid in escape except for a block of wood and some copper wire that he strips from his prison bed, visual and audible observations from his cell window, and the most important element of all: superstitious and incredibly gullible captors. Leeming sets out on a journey of wit that convinces his jailers that invisible beings are poised to trample them into nothingness at his beckoned call, and that their allies are "nuts" (a term that takes on a whole new world of meaning, hence the creative genius of this work once you read the story).

This book is what all science fiction humor should be. The closest I have found are from the stories of Terry Pratchet's "Disc World" and related series', and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," although "Next of Kin" is far superior to them, at least as a stand-alone story. I HIGHLY recommend this story to ANY reader! It is thoroughly entertaining!

I am not a big sci-fi fan. I rarely read the stuff. Except for the occasional Star-Trek, I rarely watch it. When my dad handed me his copy of this book, I opened it with some trepidation...until I nearly split my gut laughing. Now, this kind of humor isn't funny to everyone. Neither my mom nor my husband finds it nearly as funny as we do. They mainly use words like "goofy" which it is, but as that was the intention, it is absolutely brilliant.

In this story, Leeming is taken prisoner by lizard aliens, far beyond the boundaries of friendly space, and effects his escape, not in a desperate attempt to plunge over the walls, but by calling on his Eustace.

What's a Eustace? I would never give it away. You'll have to read it for yourself and find out.

I also recommend this book to English teachers who are having a hard time weaning their students away from conventional word choices. Even the few swear words are mostly made up!

This book is brilliant, just superb!! If you love historical fiction you will read this book in one sitting!! It is such a romantic, interesting, compelling read!! It will draw you in from page one!! This books has a sequel titled KENTUCKY HOME which is just as great!! Read both you will not be disappointed!!

This is one of those books I would rank right up there with "Gone With the Wind", a book you can re-read over and over, and still relish every word. One of THE best, period. I have waited wistfully in hopes that the author would write more historial sagas in a similar vein......she is a master of her craft.

This is the story of the fictional Kitty Gentry and her family as they leave their home in North Carolina to start a new life in the Kentucky wilderness, from the Cumberland gap to the new settlement of Fort Boonesborough. And yes, we see plenty of Dan'l Boone and others too.

While the Gentry family builds their new home and plants the land, the ever present danger from the Indians constanly threatens the safety of the settlers, and the revolutionary war rages on in the east. Tragedy strikes for Kitty and she is forced to leave her home and move into the fort as they defend themselves against attacks from the Indians, and she eventually finds not one but two great loves of her life.

The author does a nice job of setting the "stage", from the lush lands of Kentucky, the food, the smells, and the battles. She doesn't pull any punches, she gives you a good view of how hard life was settling into a wilderness --yes people stank, used chamberpots, their teeth rotted, women died in childbirth, etc. It wasn't an easy life. All in all a very enjoyable read, a very solidly written piece of historical fiction, but I find it just not quite up to a five star rating, as there were times when the story slowed down a bit and lost some of it's page turning excitement. 4.5 stars. Apparently there is a sequel called Kentucky Home that continues the story of Kitty and Roman as Kentucky becomes a state in the union, which is also out of print.

I loved this book. It was hard to put down and I was able to finish the 600 pages in one week...which says a lot since I'm the mother of 3 small children! It was supspenseful, romantic and very-well written. If you enjoyed "Mrs. Mike", "Christy" (the book, not the horrible mini-series), and "Tisha", you will love this book. This book will be on my list to read again and again!

This book is a very satisfying read...long enough for you to get to know the characters so thoroughly you'll feel invested in their lives. Receveur's characters are brilliant, shining through the pages and burning a place in your heart the way no other characters since Scarlett & Rhett have done.

It follows Kitty Gentry through her experiences on the brink of the new frontier in Kentucky's wild days when indians were a force to be feared, tolerated, and respected. This book is always entertaining, never dull, and what makes it most intriguing is the accurate historical references throughout the book.

Kitty is the ideal heroine. Unlike Scarlett O'Hara, you will admire Kitty's struggles and wish you were right there beside her. Kitty possesses a little bit of all the qualities you find redeemable in yourself and others. You're going to LOVE this heroine and this story, which follows all the way through to a strong, solid ending in a satisfying conclusion.

This book deserves much more attention than it's gotten. It's one of my personal favorites. Lovers of history, romance, suspense, action, drama...this book has it all! If you loved 'Follow The River' by James Alexander Thom, this one may be your new favorite.

How much do I love this book? I named my first son Cullen after one of the book's characters. That speaks for itself.

I had just signed up for long-term nursing care insurance, a very expensive commitment. I had a number of books I had been waiting to read, and I picked up OLD FRIENDS, thinking I would read a piece of nostalgia.

I was wrong. I picked up and read enthusiastically a book about nursing homes. Tracy Kidder's book makes clear what my long-term insurance is all about. No brochures could have described what he does here.

I became enmeshed in the lives of the residents. I watched them become "nudnicks." I overheard their conversations about life and death. I, too, looked forward to Lou's rambling memories. I worried about Joe's toe and if he'd lose it.

Both of my parents died suddenly, and as a result I had no experience with long-term care. I say "God bless" to all the workers in nursing homes and to Tracy Kidder who made this entire experience so vivid.

I now feel prepared myself if I should ever need this care.

Larry Rochelle, author of GULF GHOST, BLUE ICE and GHOSTLY EMBERS: VISIONS OF TOLEDO

After spending a year at Linda Manor, a nursing home in Massachusetts, Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder offers no generalized discourse on the problems of aging in America, but rather a touching story of friendship, reconciliation, and peace.

Joe Torchio is 72-years-old, a former probation officer, and has suffered a stroke. Bitterly railing against the losses that have beset him in life, the death of a son, the birth of a retarded daughter, Joe has forsaken his Catholic faith.

At 92 years of age, Lou Freed is blind yet resolutely curious about everything. He is a Jew who is not terribly religious but is sometimes given to pondering theological questions.

The pairing of this unlikely duo as roommates might bode bickering and discontent. Not so in Kidder's hands - we find a gradually blooming friendship which enables both men to live in their new environment and face limited futures with equanimity, courage, and grace.

This is not just Lou and Joe's story, it may be your story or mine. Of course, it is a tale of old age and approaching death. It is also a toast to life.

- Gail Cooke

This book chronicles a year in the lives of the residents of an ordinary American nursing home. From 1989-1991, Kidder spent much time getting to know the residents of nursing home on the outskirts of Northampton, Massachusetts. In this book, he describes some of the characters he met there, and some of the friends he got to know well. He describes some of the special events that occurred in the nursing home that year, but also relates much of the ordinary daily occurrences in nursing home life, from the morning bowel movement survey, to watching a demented resident try to pick the flowers in the carpet, to chatting with the guys in the breakfast club supervising the dining room set-up.

Although Kidder tries to present a cross-section of nursing home residents, from the former vaudeville performer, to the bank vice president, many of his tales focus on the drama and antics of two roommates, Lou and Joe. The pace of the book can be agonizingly slow in places, as we wait for something to happen. The pacing is one way for Kidder to capture the sense of the place, a place where every day is more or less like the next--"Beautiful day," as one resident writes in her journal every morning. It's an eye-opening experience to read this book, and come to understand the heroic effort it takes to present a smiling face to the world when trapped in a body wracked by aches and pains while stuck in an institution away from family and friends, most often against one's wishes.

This is a beautifully meandering story of two nursing home residents, their year spent in a growing friendship within the walls of "Linda Manor." And it's more than that-- In this story, Tracy Kidder involves a whole cast of residents, interacting in ways that paint a more creatively human picture of a nursing home than most would imagine is the case. They make up a community in and of themselves, even planning and taking part in a play put on for other residents, staff, & families. It's a place of friendships, laughs, worries, dread concerns, but mostly of friendships and the efforts of the elderly characters in reaching out to their fellow residents during the last chapters of their lives. I appreciated the realism Kidder offers in this book, clearly based on his own one-year experience at the actual "Linda Manor" in Massachusetts.

This reads like eloquent fiction, but is in truth the story of Tracy's father. He doesn't say which character his father is, and he doesn't insert himself into the story. But what a wonderful, heart-bending story it is. At all times the sadness of the situation is eclipsed by the bravery and courage of people without hope; people who do the best they can, and it is more than enough. For any of us who will grow old, which is most of us, this is a must read.

well i thought my favorite book was loves tender fury but i was mistaken couse the moment i read once more miranda i changed my mind. and people have to read it to understand. i believe this is one of Tom huff's best book ever. im a big fan of this author and now even more.
i highly recomend this book.

THIS IS THE ONE OF THE BEST NOVELS I HAVE EVER READ. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT IT WOULD BE TO GROW UP ON THE STREETS OF 18TH CENTURY LONDON. MIRANDA DID IT AND BECAME A FAMOUS/NOTORIUS FEMALE WRITER. SHE EVEN SAVED HER LOVER FROM A DANGEROUS PLOT WHICH HE LATER BLAMES HER FOR AND DUMPS HER. YET SHE STILL SURVIVES...

I have read this book over and over again. This book has made me hurt inside with the feelings and the action between Miranda and Cam.Days after reading the book Im still crying and thinking of their love.It would be a great book to read if you like history,love and action.All I have to say is thank god it ends happy. After reading this book I have to hide it because it hurts to much to not be in Cams and Miranda's relationship.I guess sooner or later I have to let it go.

This is one of the most unique books I've ever read. I have never personally had the courage to attempt to write about a writer, but Wilde does it masterfully. Miranda endures a very difficult childhood as a pickpocket, and finds herself in the arms of Cam Gordon, a man whose pocket she attempted to pick. Through him she discovers her passion for the pen. Cam goes into a rage of jealousy when he discovers how amazing her work is, and the events that follow are unlike anything I've ever read in a romance. It was thoroughly amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical romances!

Once More Miranda is the best romance ever written. I have lost track of how many times I have read this..and I know that I will read it many many more times in the future. Anyone who reads this book is transformed by Miranda..and never forgets her.

This book was chosen by our local librarian for our book club. At first, I was a little doubtful about it. Once I got started, I realized that I was picking it up to read when I had a few minutes to spare and was finding myself sitting for great lengths of time and enjoying every minute. I'm from Minnesota and have been to So-Dak many times. As I read the descriptions of the young men and of their surroundings, I go back to my youth and envy their adventures. A really good read!! Has this author written any other books?

Myself and two daughters have read and re-read this until the cover is worn. Excellent protrayal of youth just "hitting the road". Envyed their freedom. Hope to find another copy to replace the worn one.

Oh my god . . . this is such a WONDERFUL book. Once you get started you won't want to stop, and once you're finished you'll want to read it again! What makes it so wonderful is that it seems so REAL - these guys seem like real guys, maybe your kid brothers who just got out of college and decided to take a road trip and are writing to tell you what's going on along the way. It's an experience you shouldn't deny yourself. GET IT - you won't regret it!

I agree with everyone here. A book I've read many times. That I've passed to many friends. (One friend read it every morning in the bathroom before work and his mother finally had to read it, because she would find him laughing on the floor of the bathroom.) I, too, wonder what Mr. Rumsey is doing with his time and his pencil these days. And wouldn't it make a great movie?

Where IS this guy? He needs to write more books!

I read this ages ago, when it first came out, and remember it like it was yesterday. WONDERFUL book - I fell in love with the the brother's relationship, and Ben, their blind friend who was going to do the night driving. I, too, have recommended it to anyone who would listen. I also gave my brother a copy. Back then, he didn't like to read very much, but he loved this. Who knows - maybe this book is the one which changed his mind about reading.

Tim Rumsey, if you're out there, WRITE MORE BOOKS! If you write them, we will read...

This is a great book. By creating a 2D world Dewdney expands our 3D vision.

In reading this book I was reminded of not only Abbott's Flatland (which was the original inspiration) I was also reminded of Charles Hinton's Fourth Dimension and Choas Coincidence and All That Math Jazz.

In each work, the writers effectively used 2D analogies to give us an idea of what 4D space might be like.

What Dewdney did however was to build detail into what has always been a simple model and thereby give greater detail to the potentialities of our vision.

While others have said that this book would be great for mathematicians I would offer that this book is great for anyone seeking to expand their horizons.

As Henry David Thoreau wrote in concluding his Walden: "There is more light to day than dawn. The sun is but a morningstar!"

Read this book and others like it and bask in the light of that morningstar!

One of the greatest books of all-time. I don't want to over-sell it, so judge for yourselves. (heh) Seriously, this is probably the most complete fictional universe ever created. It reads like a dream and when it first came out (and I was a kid) I often wondered whether the events in the book had REALLY happened. It is that well constructed.

Before it originally went out of print I bought two extra copies so that I'd never be without it, I honestly suggest you read it, and if you like it at all - do the same. It will never leave your mind, and you'll be happy about that.

I found this in the ECSU library, and had a wonderful time perusing it when I was supposed to be doing classwork. The only thing disappointing is that it's fiction. Other then that, it's a rather realistic portrayal of some startling events. Putting aside that the computer project come to life thing is pretty obvious, the rest of this stuff is just too original to pass up. Reading the account of two foreign cultures trying to communicate through a computer program, and having the participant on their side being rather of a mystic bent, makes for some very interesting stuff, as simple as kid's adventure, and as inspiring.

I encourage others to pick this book up. It's great for an inquisitive high schooler (as I was) or an adult.

Dewdney does an excellent job of pulling the reader into the story- one feels as if they are sitting there right next to the screen, waiting for the next contact.

Difficult to put down, and difficult to go back to reality afterwards.

When I was in high-school I had a very intelligent and immensely helpful English teacher, who taught me much of what writing skill I possess today. He came in highly excited one morning, to share with us about a new book he'd come across. Evidently, they had, through a computer, discovered an entirely new reality, that was two-dimensional! And this was an actual event, cutting edge stuff.

Well, a few days later, he came in, quite chagrined, to tell us that, as he read further through the book, he realized it was a work of fiction. But his description had been interesting enough to motivate me to read the book.

The Planiverse's reality is that real, and supported by that much scientific and mathematical principle- Dewdney has done his research, to bring us one of the most delightful what-ifs I've found. Imagine reality just like ours, but take out the third dimension. Everything is well supported, every area of life covered, and the drawings immensely helpful. You truly begin to feel for all the characters in the book. But it's not just an exercise in mathematical possibility. It is a rich story, telling of spiritual journey and insight, as Yendred travels to find his answers. And I still remember the ending as grippingly and eerily numinous, as we realize how closely the Planiverse and our Universe are connected, and how limited we are in comparison to the Eternal.

Taking on such a controversial subject as John Brown and portraying his tumultuous life, times, deeds and death in any form let alone in an engaging and objective manner would seem an impossible task, but Olds succeeds brlliantly in this novel. I won't bog down this review with the story line - it's been told and reviewed many times. I will make a note on the "format" of the book - it's somewhat unique to say the least. There are multiple first person narratives, quotes from historical figures and short vignettes, as well as an imaginary court scene with Mr. Brown. Don't be dismayed. This doesn't detract from the book. To the contrary, when one finishes this novel it all makes perfect sense. If you have an interest in John Brown, his place in history, abolition, the Civil War or just want to read a fine novel you won't be disappointed with this book.

....

you will never forget this book after reading it. this book should never go out of print. because of the subject. and because of the style of writing. it is quite simply,

fantastic.

In Raising Holy Hell, his novel about John Brown, Bruce Olds makes the reader ask: How should a person act if directly faced with the inhuman system of slavery that brutalised and killed millions? And, more uncomfortably, could extreme individual violence as exemplified by John Brown's actions be justified in seeking to hasten the end of slavery years before the advent of the American civil war? While vividly imagining through diary entries and historical documents the personality of John Brown and his impact on those who knew him, as a reader who just happened to stumble on this remarkable book I am most grateful to Mr. Olds for bringing into focus and making real the myriad repercussions that slavery had on our society and the individuals it affected. He does justice to real people whom he lets speak to us through his novel (apart, perhaps, from his portrait of Abraham Lincoln), including, among others, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Perhaps most shocking are the inclusion of statements by judges and various "founding fathers" of the USA in support of slavery. Highly recommended for anyone interested in these human questions or this historical period. A remarkable book that also causes the reader to reevaluate their own response to present-day issues which are even now costing the lives of thousands.

Russell Banks's "Cloudsplitter" may have garnered higher sales, but Bruce Olds's Pulitzer Prize nominated debut novel, while unjustly neglected by readers, received more positive reviews, and deservedly so. Where Banks's wholly conventional treatment of the life of John Brown remains turgidly earthbound, Olds's more innovative take soars with incandescent energy. Where Banks's book plods, Olds's pulses with brute lyricism. Where Banks drones excessively, Olds incants extravagantly. At last, "Cloudsplitter" implodes of its own portentousness and gravity; "Raising Holy Hell" explodes with the raw power of its poetry. It is the difference between being sucked down a black hole, and riding the wave of a supernova. Which reading experience would you rather have?

An astonishing retelling of the life of John Brown. I selected this book for my book group after having listened to Banks' "Cloudsplitter" on BOT. I had read a few reviews of that book post hoc only to find that many critics cited this text as superior. I would say that the experience of listening, rather than reading, to Banks' book likely boosts my appraisal as I thought it was brilliant in its expanse, detail and imagination. As for Olds' work, it reads as though one is living through the time in a dream-like state. The wickedness and cruelty that is frequently attributed to "historical context" is brought to bear so that it is difficult to fathom how we look back at our American history as somehow noble and founded on justice. As for the man, John Brown, it was a serendipitous reading choice given the current state of world affairs. When resistance is linked to terrorism, the results are necessarily unpredicatable and frightening, regardless of the outcome.