James Wright Books

Poetry by any writer is truly a subjective exerience and you either feel something from the poems or you don't. Well I must say that this collection of Poetry from Herman Hesse is outstanding. You can't help but to feel the longing and lonliness written in this poems. It is the sad, poor me type of stuff but more like the observations of a man who spent time observing people and speaking for all of us. The poems I have liked the best were---Lonesome Night, Destiny,Lying in Grass and Without You. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading poetry the way it was meant to be written!

If you know and love Herman Hesse through his stories then I would guess you will appreciate this collection of his poems. There are not many poems, that is my only complaint, otherwise the poems are beautiful and the introduction insightful. I am glad to have it on my shelf next to the many books of Herr Hesse's fiction.

It shows the excellent ability of Hesse in mastering both styles of writing. His style in writing poems is magnificant, and very clear. I am sure the translation is still weaker than the original german language, but nevertheless it is a highly recommended book to read.

If you are a Hesse fan, you will enjoy this even more.

This is one of my favorite anthologies of poetry, worth reading repeatedly. It captures the spirit of a man, so much like us all, who longs for that something beyond the next hill or behind the wistful smile. How many of us sense intuitively that life is wrapped in a mystery, the veil of separation thin? Hesse's poetry, like his novels, reminds me that even though the inner meaning to life often seems just beyond my reach, it is none the less to be found in the quotidian activities of breathing the fresh air, cutting the finger on the edge of a dish, or listening to Bach as I clean the garage. Written almost 90 years ago, his poetry still rings true to the wandering steppenwolfe in each one of us. "The Gate of Heaven is everywhere."

You may also be captivated by another moving anthology of poetry, "Against Forgetting". It is an anthology of 20th century poems of witness, suffering, and hope.

I will never understand why Hermann Hesse's poetry is as underappreciated as it seems to be. Translated by Pulitzer Prize winning poet James Wright, who set the standard for many aspiring poets in the twentieth century (and whose son later came to regain his father's crown), Hesse's work has an infectious melancholy to it, some of which we see in his fiction and some of which we don't. Many deal with the waste of human life in WW1, but never once does Hesse put on the mantle of a political ideologue: he is always a romantic, and he always knows just how to do it.

I say without exaggeration that his poem "Thinking of a Friend At Night" is one of the best pieces of poetry that I have ever read (certainly equalling anything Wright wrote during his short life.) I have trouble reconciling the translator's introduction, which posits Hesse as "irretrievably adolescent", with this masterpiece:

"In this evil year, autumn comes early.../I walk by night in the field, alone, the rain clatters/The wind on my hat...And you? And you, my friend?/You are standing--maybe--and seeing the sickle moon/Move in a small arc over the forests/And bivouac fire, red in the black valley/You are lying--maybe--in a straw field and sleeping/And dew falls cold on your forehead and battle jacket/It's possible tonight you're on horseback
The farthest outpost, peering along, with a gun in your fist,
Smiling, whispering, to your exhausted horse/
Maybe--I keep imagining--you are spending the night/
As a guest in a strange castle with a park
And writing a letter by candlelight/and tapping
On the piano keys by the window/
Groping for a sound..."

Not many perpetual adolescents could match that. Wright seems more sympathetic to Hesse's poetry than Stephen Koch (who?), the novelist who first convinced the literati that Hesse's image of himself a poet was erroneous. I would disagree. You could even say, after reading this collection, that his poetry rivals some of his fiction. Anyway, this is an important, extremely enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys German Romanticism brought to a more modern level.

Well worth the money if you are a proponent of point and figure charting. Tom gives practical advice on applying p&f. It is a good addition to his other book on p&f charting. Has many practical tips.

This is one of four books by Tommy and his team. Thay have a logical, organized method for investing that does indeed work.
The best money you can spend is to either learn this method yourself or find an investment consultant who uses this method.

I won't waste time with this.....

See my review of his book "Point and Figure Charting: The Essential Application for Forecasting and Tracking Market Prices"

Tom Dorsey and the other authors run the Dorsey, Wright & Associates investment advisory service. This book does a very good job of outlining and reviewing the point and figure based investment approaches they use. I am an individual investor and have been subscribing to their service for two years. This book gives a good review of their overall "game plan" for making money during the good times, and preserving it in the downturns.

I'd recommend it to other DWA subscribers. Additionally, this book is much easier to read than Tom's point and figure book. This book is well edited and sticks to the topic.

While this book may be of interest to non-subscribers, the bullish percent and relative strength techniques presented are specific to the DWA methodology and subscription web site.

With "Tom Dorsey's Trading Tips," Mr. Dorsey accomplished two things: he wrote a great brochure for his money management/investment advisory firm, Dorsey, Wright, & Associates, plus he imparted some excellent investing advice along the way.
His background as Director of Option Strategy at Wheat, First Securities, and his long-time professional work with point & figure charts combine to give the seasoned investor an excellent playbook for approaching the stock market with enough education to come out a winner.
This is an excellent book not only for the work Dorsey has done with point and figure charts (his bread and butter), but also for the insights he gives on sector investing, relative strength, momentum, and options.
His discussion of the logic behind relative strength is second to none, and morphs nicely into sector rotation. This is the way the stock market basically works, and investors would do well to listen closely to Dorsey's well-reasoned explanations.
Point and figure charting is vastly superior to bar charting from the point of view of finding congestion (support and resistance) areas. If you can take the time to learn P&F charting, you will be rewarded by being able to observe the stock market from a much simpler and realistic standpoint.
Additionally, there is an extended discussion of options, with an emphasis on buying rather than selling, although he does acknowledge, "Time is the silent killer of all options." He even adds in a little story of how in his earlier days he was right about a stock but still lost money buying its calls.
He correctly advises not to sell calls against stock you don't want to let go - "closet uncovered writing," he calls it. But very little space is given to covered option writing, which could be argued is the best investment strategy available to the public investor.
By the time you've consumed Dorsey's thoughts and observations, you will have gotten your money's worth, and hopefully plenty of useful advice on how the market really works.

This book has many interesting facts and great written content. It also features many photos of construction that I've never seen before (and I am a FLW fan so I've seen many). My only complaint is that I wish the book was larger - the photos could have been much better in a larger format. I understand that the smaller format allowed for a reduced price point, but for someone like me, I prefer larger format so I can really examine the imagery.

My only comment for this book is that the cover states that the book contains "15 historic postcards". This is entirely misleading and inaccurate. They are postcards made by Arcadia in modern day from historic photographic snapshot images. Unfortunately, there are some fine vintage RPPC's of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings at Florida Southern College that the authors could have included but, for whatever reason, didn't. The book is worth the purchase, but don't if you expect "historic postcards".

Abbye A. Gorin, Ph.D., review of Images of America series, The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wrigt At Florida Southern College by Randall M. MacDonald, Nora E. Galbraith, and James G. Rogers Jr., Aradia Publishing 2007, 211 photographs, 127 pages.

The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wright At Florida Southern College is a visual analysis of the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Located in Lakeland, Florida, Wright's first visit to the campus was in 1938. He envisioned an 18-unit "Child of the Sun" campus, but only 12 of the structures were realized over the next 20 years (1938-1958).

Authors Mac Donald, Galbraith, both librarians, and Rogers, a professor of art and art history at Florida Southern, have done an outstanding archival and library search and have presented their findings in photo journalistic style to tell the story of the construction and evolution of the campus.

Thousands of visitors are attracted to the campus yearly. The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wright At Florida Southern College can serve as a guide to this Wright masterpiece. The book is a convenient size, 9-1/4" x 6-1/2",
soft cover, and contains 211 archival photographs which are of good quality. There is no index. The book is a contribution to the body of knowledge about the remarkable career of the noted American modernist, Frank Lloyd Wright (1869-1959).

The collaborative work of Randall M. MacDonald (Interim Director of Roux Library at Florida Southern College), Nora E. Galbraith (Florida Southern College librarian), and James G. Rogers Jr. (Professor of Art and Art History at Florida Southern College and an expert in Wright-designed buildings, "The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wright At Florida Southern College" focuses on what is the largest single-site collection of the famed (and controversial) American architect's unique structures. Profusely illustrated with black-and-white photography throughout, "The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wright At Florida Southern College" displays Wright's geographic and other thematic elements which he combined and recombined in ongoing visually harmonic three-dimensional iterations. Featuring vintage images of Wright's building construction that was to span more than twenty years of his career, "The Buildings Of Frank Lloyd Wright At Florida Southern College" is a unique and highly prized contribution to professional, and academic Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the life and work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

`The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright at Florida Southern College' is a significant new entry in a hitherto neglected area of Wright's building projects. Over the course of 20 years the architect constructed at the Lakeland, Florida college no less than half of what started out to be an 18 building campus, the largest collection of his creations at any one site in the world.

Randall MacDonald and Nora Galbraith, librarians at Florida Southern College, and James Rogers, professor of art and art history there, have put together a photo book of oftentimes rare pictures recording the 20 year construction process of these delightful buildings making up Wright's sole extended statement regarding the collegiate educational process in this country. The factually detailed account primarily utilizes photo captions rather than plain text to describe the buildings and additional structures that the architect was able to build at FSC before the retirement of the man who hired him, president of the college Ludd M. Spivey. Sadly neglected as a part of Wright's oeuvre since then, this valuable book hopefully begins a process of reintroducing such an important architectural collection to the public. Drawn from college and local library archives, and the authors' own collections, the black and white photos chronicle the long and often complicated construction process by which an obscure liberal arts school was transformed into a display of splendid buildings by the country's most notable architect. Starting with Wright's master plan for the 30 acre campus, the account follows the construction process of each building and structure up to their dedications as finished creations, and then brings their individual histories up to the present in the various refurbishing and restoration projects necessary to keep up with normal - and sometimes not so normal - deterioration over the intervening decades.

The numerous photos include many picturing Wright himself on the various construction sites, along with other individuals who were integral to the building and restoration processes of the campus, now a part of the National Register of Historical Places. The captions offer a concise and factual overview of the fascinating long and at times involved trials and tribulations construction techniques of the different buildings faced when Wright's creations were often well ahead of the normal ability of contractors and workers - including the college's own students - to follow, and of the ability of the small school's president to raise money for.

If there is one small flaw in the book it is its dependency on the college's own listing of the number and types of buildings which were finished of the original project. Florida Southern claims that there are 12 'structures' in existence of the original 18 `structures' Wright called for in his 1938 master plan for the campus. This was apparently done to include 2 non-building `structures' designed by the architect for the project: covered, cantilevered esplanades linking the buildings, and a spectacular `Waterdome' consisting of a broad circular pool and a centering `dome' of water created by fountain jets arrayed in a 360 degree pattern around the pool. In actuality, Wright's original master plan called for 18 BUILDINGS in all, PLUS 5 structures, in addition to the Waterdome and esplanades including a lakeside dock, an amphitheater and a fresh water swimming pool. In the end 9, not 10, of the 18 buildings were built (the administration building, listed by the college as two buildings, was in reality, as were the later industrial arts and sciences building, always meant to be a single building made up of different units), as well as the aforementioned 2 structures, meaning that in fact slightly less than half of Wright's entire original plan exists today.

A few other errors in the text are also minor. The actual number of full-time students at the college in 1938 was just over 400, not 500, and Spivey originally asked for a main chapel that would accommodate an enrollment of approximately twice that number which he hoped that Wright's involvement with the college would bring in. As built, however, the chapel was able to accommodate only something in the area of the mid-600's. The mile and a half number listed as making up the length of the esplanades today was actually what Wright called for in his original master plan: in the end only around half of that distance was constructed, with the south and west sides of his design never completed. Also, though Spivey himself apparently at one time erroneously used the number, the amphitheater was never intended to hold 5000 spectators but 2500: the former number given would have resulted in a structure so enormous it would have virtually dwarfed the lakeside part of the project and would obviously never have been countenanced by Wright following the original proportions of his design.

These few items aside, `The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright at Florida Southern College' is a most important addition to the Wright literature, well researched and concisely written, and is hopefully just the beginning of works that will describe and popularize this long neglected portion of the architect's celebrated oeuvre. MacDonald, Galbreath and Rogers are to be greatly congratulated for an excellent and often fascinating pictorial and descriptively captioned book. Highly recommended for admirers of the great architect, as well as those interested in collegiate architecture in general.

We used "Geopolitics of Energy" for a class discussion on the current energy crisis at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. The students really liked the book because it has a lot of illustrations and charts, allowing them to visualize the issues discussed in the text. The students also liked the fact that the book was less than a hundred pages and they could easily read it in week.

The book is packed with very good factual information regarding the energy crisis problem, and proposes a solution (the so-called "a third, a third, a third"). It also takes a detailed look into the three categories of energy sources available to us. Although the author is a supporter of nuclear energy, the book is very fair and balanced on presenting ALL energy options, and the book ultimately advises to us to keep all energy options on the table (yes, even fossil fuels) in order to achieve a realistic solution by 2050.

If you are wondering why gas prices keep going up at your local gas station, and what we can do about it, then this book is for you. I highly recommend this book for all college students in energy related areas (petroleum engineering, electrical engineering, nuclear engineering, mechanical engineering, etc). This book is a big hit in our department and we currently hand out copies of it to visitors from industry or faculty from other universities.

Somewhat disappointing, but worth the read. As I skim the book, I see very few source citations in the text; flipping to the back, I see a list of bibliographic sources not tied to any specific statements.

I was expecting a more scholarly book from two Ph.D. authors. I had hoped The GeoPolitics of Energy would be a source I could use, personally, as I try to make up my mind what needs to be done about energy in the future. Unfortunately, the lack of in-text citations makes it difficult to verify the author's statements.

However, with all that said, The GeoPolitics packs a lot of information into one book. I haven't seen another book that provides as broad of an overview of the implications of continuing with the current, mostly ad hoc, energy policies around the world. Nor have I seen a book that provides such a carefully defined global strategy for an alternative energy policy that recognizes the right of all nations to have access to energy.

Perhaps the publisher made the decision to eliminate in-text citations, thinking that the presence of multiple citations might scare off casual readers. If, so, the publisher erred: without clear citations to indicate the sources of information, the book lacks credibility.

Could a 2nd edition be offered? One that clearly cites every fact? That would be an awesome reference. Or even a Web-version of the book?

Are you ready for $100/tank gas? Are you curious why most environmentalists do not have wind turbines in their backyard or solar panels on their roof? Do you want to know why your grandchildren will someday speak Chinese and/or Hindu, and maybe even French?

If these questions intrigue you, then Drs. Wright and Conca new book on the Geopolitics of Energy will engross you. This concise, but complete coverage of why the world's energy future looks so bleak contains not only a description of the problem, but a vision of the only real path forward that may avoid serious societal instability. And it does it both graphically and logically, without recourse to knowledge of history, culture or idealism.

In the very near future, whether driving a hybrid or a gas guzzler, you'll be happy to pay $100 to fill your tank, when you can get gas/alcohol/bio-diesel at all. "Peak Oil" is here, and adequate renewable energy sources are still many decades away. The risk to America in depending on foreign oil is unacceptable, but unavoidable, for many decades as well. Geopolitics of Energy explains that the rising standard of living in rapidly developing nations like China and India will drive the demand for oil past the price that America can support. It explains the inherent limitations of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal. It also honestly questions whether America should use its limited arable land and water resources for producing oil replacements like ethanol or bio-diesel to power the nation, at the expense of growing food.

Geopolitics of Energy posits that America's (and even the world) energy future must balance upon a three-legged stool to reach to the future without societal instability. America learned about, but didn't like and quickly forgot, the first leg during the Arab oil embargo and gas lines of the 1970's: conservation though energy efficiency. The second leg has recently achieved true popularity among the masses. Every day, Americans hear about renewable energy in the form of solar, wind, and bio-fuels. Geopolitics of Energy recognizes that renewables must play a long-term role in the world's energy future, but realistically considers their supply-side limitations.

Finally, Drs. Wright and Conca join other former antinuclear apostles like Patrick Moore, cofounder of Green Peace, James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis that Earth is a living organism and Whole Earth founder Stewart Brand, who have all recently resurrected themselves in support of nuclear energy. Drs. Wright and Conca also began their young careers as anti-nuclear activists, but as their professional lives took them to new places and new understanding, they recognized that nuclear power must play just as large a role as other energy sources. Geopolitics of Energy explains why and how we must balance on all three legs of the energy stool to allow all the peoples of the world to achieve an equitable standard of living within a sustainable future.

America needs quick action to change the way we think about and use energy. Geopolitics of Energy will help us make these changes without fighting among ourselves to further individual idealistic goals. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your children... and theirs.

Drs. Wright and Conca, in Chapter One, explain the dynamic relationship among four systems that, with a slight stretch of my imagination, dominated ancient science and philosophy beginning with the Greek philosopher Empepedocles and the alchemists for over 2000 years. The four systems they describe, and the elements of antiquity to which I relate them, are the (a) lithosphere (Earth), (b) atmosphere (Air), (c) hydrosphere (Water), and (d) biosphere (Fire [of life]). The premise that everything was formed from these four elements was firmly held until the rise of modern science. Even today, earth, water, air, and fire are not bad symbols for the four states of matter -- solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Imbedded in the first sentence of this paragraph is the coalescence of philosophy and science that was characteristic of the ancients. The rise of industrialism and technology separated them so distinctively that now we see no relationship between the humanistic sciences and natural science, and yet it is human behavior that is responsible for the dire technological, environmental state of affairs with which we are wrestling.
This book is exquisitely written to facilitate the lay person's comprehensive understanding of the history of energy and mankind's behavior that has brought us into this energy predicament. The authors underscore the urgency to re-unite philosophy with nature, humanity with science. Amelioration of our energy/environmental crisis does not require exclusively scientific knowledge, but rather changes in technology and applied science based upon law and public policy, on institutional structures and practices, on habits of consumption, and countless other facets of daily life.
The structure and flow of information from Drs. Wright and Conca in this book provide a poignant lesson plan for political science, natural science, social science and economics programs from junior high school through university levels.
Many questions arise for us from their work regarding what effective activities might overcome the political/social/economical/technological issues that have brought us to this critical juncture in the history of earth. Drs. Wright and Conca have answered the technological questions and thrown down the gauntlet for our nation to cast aside irrational fears and to responsibly, rationally, and aggressively reunite the four elements of antiquity in harmony with the life forms they support.

Energy is a significant factor in determining quality of life. Drs. Wright and Conca provide a broad overview that illustrates through copious graphics, just how important energy is, and what the looming issues are to sustainability of energy--not only for the US--but also for the emerging countries of the world.

While I agree with another reviewer that the lack of footnotes is disappointing, many would see this as a feature, not a bug! For the serious scientist, I do not know of a more concise analysis that frames the significant issues as succinctly (albeit without footnotes). But the real power of the book is how it is targeted for a general audience and lays out the broad brush strokes with enough information that each person can draw their own conclusions regarding the need for immediate and sustained attention to our common problem. In this regard, I think it succeeds admirably.

The book can be thoughtfully read in a couple of 2 or 3 hour sittings. I read mine on an airplane trip and have not stopped talking about it since: with friends, relatives, my electrician, educators, clergy, and Ph.Ds. The logic is clear and the graphics well-chosen and effective to minimize confusion and illustrate the points. This book should not be viewed as a self-contained solution, it is a wake-up call and conversation starter designed to introduce the vocabulary to the uninitiated. Drs. Wright and Conca have started the conversation and I am now participating and encouraging others to do so.

what i love about baldwin is that he does not have delusions of grandeur about himself - unlike many blacks in the public sphere. this book of essays on society and his personal experiences in the US and abroad is majestic b/c baldwin has a way of writing about complexities of people and societal issues in an introspective yet practical way. although i was impressed with every essay, his essay on richard wright was mindblowing. BUT YOU HAVE TO READ IT FOR YOURSELF! i think it is a great book for black and latin men to read. in doing so many bruhs - if they are honest - will find that they are as similar baldwin as we like to believe are are to malcolm x. either way, you do not go wrong as both were great human beings. in short, i was totally edified by this text. It will easily make my top 10 list - which is very, very, very difficult.

This collection of essays show James Baldwin as he strives to figure out who he is as a writer, as an American and as a black man. Beginning with his self-imposed exile to Paris in the 1950's, he calls his own identity as both a black man and an American into question. The Conference of Negro-African Writers and Artists which met in 1956 showed him just how different Europeans and Africans viewed cultural identity and hinted at ostracizing the American contingent. And he felt distinctly American in that crowd. Through his essays about returning to Harlem, his criticisms of William Faulkner ("Faulkner and Desegregation"), his review of a work by André Gide, his dealings with author Richard Wright, his friendship with author Norman Mailer ("The Black Boy Looks At the White Boy"), and his interview with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Baldwin displays his own feelings at finding his own identity as both man and writer in a world that tries to both accet and to reject him at the same time.

Powerful essays from one of America's best authors.

For my humanities class I was instructed to read an autobiography of my choice. Through shuffling through the library for an autobiography that I can actually read and appreciate I stumbled across this great James Baldwin title. Nobody Knows My Name is a collection of his writing while he was self exiled in Europe. I opened the book with excitment and urgency. As the words regestired in my head I began to realize that the experiences he described articulated exactly how I feel as a black man in American society.
Each essay discussing another aspect of society or the life of a black man in the world I grasped with utter enthusasim. His observations and theories were articulate critical and insightful. James Baldwin's tales of another continent are intising and informative of where our society was and how it is still the same in many ways.
If you are interested in Baldwin's previous writings or African American authors and perspective I know you will enjoy this combiation of essays.

Bearing the subtitle "More Notes of a Native Son," "Nobody Knows My Name" is a follow-up to Baldwin's earlier, more famous book. Originally published in national magazines between 1954 and 1961, these essays are more mature, if less biting, than his first collection--and they are certainly just as witty. With one notable exception, they are timeless and trenchant commentaries on racial and cultural issues.

The first group of eight essays focuses on the political and social divides in the United States. The opening article reiterates the discovery he made in "Notes of a Native Son": that by living in Europe he paradoxically discovered what it means to be an American. Others examine the despicable inhumanity of a Harlem public housing project ("cheerless as a prison"), the success of the student movement and the rise of Muslim power in black politics ("a very small echo of the black discontent now abroad in the world"), and the first efforts to integrate Southern public schools ("the entire nation has spent a hundred years avoiding the question of the place of the black man in it"). The two most memorable essays detail the daily bravery, trauma, and humiliations of a schoolboy who is the first black in an all-white school and respond to Faulkner's despicable remarks on race (which were made when Faulkner was seemingly drunk and which were later repudiated when he was atypically sober).

The only disappointing essay is "Princes and Power," an account of Le Congres des Ecrivains et Artistes Noirs (Conference of Negro-African Writers and Artists). The internal disputes and lofty goals of this gathering--convened to consider "the history of Euro-African relations" and the postcolonial "cultural inventory"--did not lack for interest, and Baldwin ably relates the tensions between and cross-purposes of American blacks and Africans. But, overall, he seems to be just phoning it in, muffling the obvious passions of the conference participants and highlighting instead the abstract academic tone.

The second and final group of five essays highlight cultural subjects. He follows a speech detailing the outline for an imaginary novel with biographical appraisals of Andre Gide, Ingmar Bergman, Richard Wright, and Normal Mailer. His eulogy for Wright, initially composed and published in three disparate parts, simultaneously expresses regret for Baldwin's youthful criticism of the older author that resulted in the irreparable destruction of their friendship and recounts Wright's sad social decline: "he had managed to estrange himself from almost all of the younger American Negro writers in Paris ... [who] had discovered that Richard did not really know much about the present dimensions and complexity of the Negro problem here, and, profoundly, did not want to know."

But the gem of the collection is "The Black Boy Looks at the White Boy," Wright's tongue-in-cheek account of his friendship with Normal Mailer, written both as not-so-subtle payback for Mailer's criticism of Baldwin in the self-indulgent "Advertisements for Myself" and as a tribute to Mailer's talent and "responsibility" as an artist. After sending off a number of barbed (yet good-natured) repartees, Baldwin acknowledges not only Mailer's importance as a "very good friend" but also his worth as a writer. Baldwin's assessment of that career serves at as fitting coda to Baldwin's own essays: "His work, after all, is all that will be left when the newspapers are yellowed, all the gossip columnists silenced, and all the cocktail parties over, and when Norman and you and I are dead."

Langston Hughes provides an introduction into this selected anthology of short stories by prominent African American writers like Langston Hughes' himself with his classic short story, "Thank You, Mam." We also have a short story by poet Gwendolyn Brooks and dancer/choreographer Katherine Dunham. There are the traditional authors like Zora Neale Huston, James Baldwin, Charles Chesnutt, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Ralph Ellison, Ernest J. Gaines, Jean Toomer, and Richard Wright only to name a few. It's still a great anthology of assorted stories about African American life in America from the South to Chicago and New York.

This book is a collection of short stories that was put together by the great Harlem Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. Some authors whose works are also featured in the book are Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker. These stories are fun to read and they speak about the current issues that Black America was facing during the time period. This book is for anyone who is trying to better understand black thought during the 20th century.

This book is an excellent example of reality. In each short story, there is some kind of relivance of growing up in a nation filled with crime, love, kindenss, hardships, and friendships. The writers express themselves so wonderfully, vivid pictures of the events are played in my head. It keeps middle-school children very attentive, mainly because they can easily relate to the troubles of growing up today. Teens can feel a sense of comfort in this book because they know they are not alone. This book contains collections by some of the best authors in the world. It really makes the african-american culture shine to where all cultures will enjoy!

It's time that Robinson's work receives the attention it deserves. No other book on African and African American thought that I know of shows such a keen ability, or even acknowledges the need for, a contextualization of black radicalism within the larger currents of world history. Unlike most intellectual histories which restrict themselves to national or racial boundaries, Robinson addresses the emergence of Marxism within western civilization, reaching back to the medieval and even classical periods, and shows how its thinkers were guided by ethnocentric and universalistic tendencies that caused them to miss the way that class solidarity has been thwarted by nationalism and ethnicity, and of how socialism as envisioned by European radicals has never been monolithic but has adapted itself to local and regional folkways. My only criticism of this work is that Franz Fanon is not included in the list of important black thinkers (Du Bois, James and Wright) to be discussed. Fanon's synthesis of nationalism, communism and existentialism as phenomena to be considered simulatenously for analyzing postcolonial movements seems to fit Robinson's discussion very well, so I'm surprised he receives such little attention. Otherwise, this is a wonderful and surprising study, which I highly recommend, and one that surpasses the unfortunate practice of so many books on African thought that refuse to recognize the dialectic between black and European intellectuals.

Upon completion of this treatise all readers should receive a Master's Degree in Black Studies. Robinson provides a detailed and complex study of Black Radicalism and Marxism's relation to it. This book works on a number of levels; Historical, Sociological and Philosophical. I think one of the book's strong points is that it broadens the reader's mind to other interpretations of Black Radicalism. His analysis of DuBois, and C.L.R. James' transformation is interesting along with his dissection of Marxian / Lenin dogma. Also, the way he traces the origins of racism in European culture to early Ethnic Group stratification in anitquity is insightful.

Obviously the first reviewer hasn't read the book. Robinson is arguing against a Marxist interpretation of the black radical struggle. He traces the history of European capitalism and the Marxist theoretical development that is based on this history in order to illustrate that Marxism is somewhat divorced from the history of Africa and African descendants. George Padmore was once an adamant Communist, but rejected the ideology due, in part, to the reasons that Robinson outlines.
The book is a bit inaccessible at times, but it's worth reading.

Lesson learned is to search everything about these items for sale. To my surprise I got a hard bound book I can't read! It's tiny....maybe 2.5" x 3.25" and 1/4" inch thick. The font is miniscule....maybe a 1. I doubt anyone can read it without a magnifying glass. This fact was NOT readily apparent and I am greatly disappointed. First bum sale I've had with Amazon.com.

Let the buyer beware....or as my title suggests, slow down and read the fine print. Good thing I have other poems from James Wright.

Bob Hancock

James Wright is a modern American master who wrote poems that are accessible yet transcendent. His works are centered in the Midwest of his birth, yet they resonate like the Chinese lyrics of Tu Fu and Li Po. This is book in which he truly found his own voice.

This is my favorite James Wright book. These poems are stunning in their visual images and breathtaking in their emotional impact. I am completely hooked.

War accounts are usually written from the top down. Here the account is from the ground-up, literally. Sgt Wright tells the story of his volunteer company, Co.F of the 1st Minnesota exactly like it is seen by the average groundpounder. Being a former Viet Nam era "grunt" and also coming from Wright's hometown of Red Wing, Mn, I was able to viscerally feel the physical discomforts of the men as they walked, froze,sweated and stumbled though the boredoms, confusions, terrors and thrills of their experiences. Wright (and the editor) did a masterful job of focusing the story from the perspective of the average participant in the war with just enough background to keep it all in context with the overall events. If you are interested in the Civil War from this sort of perspective, this is the book to read.

This memoir of service with the First Minnesota recounts the sojourn of James Wright, from Red Wing, Minnesota through the battle of Gettysburg. Wright wrote the book long after his service, and his over-long monograph sat in the Minnesota Historical Society until edited and published in this book. The book starts as a slow read, but picks up and eventually begins to mesmerize the reader.

Think of any major event of the day -- September 11th in New York, for example. How valuable will first person accounts be? A first person account of a major past event is very interesting for the details, the feel, the point of view.

Company F was Wright's home. He missed the famous charge of the First Minnesota at Gettysburg, as his Company was off to the side suffering severe casualties of their own during the battle. The story is as grand, even with this "missed" moment.

The editing is good, and preserves the author's tone. The book could have been even shorter, but with some effort during the opening chapters, the reader is well rewarded.

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and content of this book. The author is Sergeant Wright of Co. F, First Minnesota Regiment. His writing is excellent. The editor has chosen to primarily include first person accounts while excluding most of the post war years analysis that often creep into such accounts.

This book so effectively complements "The Last Full Measure - The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers" by Richard Moe. The Moe book uses first person accounts though it focuses on the broader picture. This book, written by a soldier, effectively details the life of the soldier - including day to day activities from finding food, water, and shelter to the incredible hardships of the march and battle.

The First Minnesota Regiment fought in most of the civil war eastern battles from 1861-1863. It is noted for the highest union casualties at First Bull Run, as well as the highest casualties of any union regiment in the war (80%) at Gettysburg. The regiment has a brief appearance in the 2002 motion picture "Gods and Generals" - I was there for the filming although waiting to see the final production - fall 2002.

The book also contains interesting events not in the Moe book including a great chapter detailing the time in New York city during the draft riots and the eventful winter trip back to Minnesota.

Teaching Number in the Classroom with 4-8 Year Olds contains highly detailed performance tasks that teachers can use to determine young children's strengths and weaknesses in number sense. It is a bit difficult to read this book cover-to-cover because the print size is small, and the language is quite technical. It is, however, worth the time spent reading it, as one would probably be hard pressed to find a source with more high-quality mathematics performance tasks than this book. The research and tasks come from the Math Recovery project, but teachers could make use of these tasks without having had Math Recovery training. I would recommend this book to early childhood teachers who are looking for ways to determine next teaching steps in number sense with their students.

Already in it's fifth reprint in it's first year of publication attests to the popularity of this fascinating, research-based book, which is a 'must' for all concerned with the teaching of primary mathematics. Prof. Bob Wright continues to lead the way in this emerging 'New Times' field of early numeracy education. This book is truly inspirational and should be included in every university and teachers' training courses on primary mathematics education.

I found this book to be a most useful and practical resource. The quality of research is excellent and the ideas are most useful