Richard Wright Books

The book Rite of Passage was really interesting and exciting because it's about a boy who has lived with the same family all his life until he's taken away by a different family. Then he runs away from the family and then joins a gang. The best chapter of the story is 1 to me because it is when Johnny is told that he is being taken away buy a new family there is a lot of emotion. Then when his new family comes to pick him up he does the last thing he can think of and that's run away and he does. This book would be really good for teens because it's about a teen who runs away to join a gang. I would give this book a three out of five because of the ending and its really short.

The book rite of passage by Richard Wright I thought was interesting and easy to follow. It was adventursome and was exciting. It was also short and easy to comprehend. the book was very discriptive and gave me a good picture of what each caracter was like. there was a ten-page fighting passage that was suspensful because the caracters kept on trading off winning. the book made me relize how good i have it, a family,a good school, and a good place to live.Overall I would recamend this book to kids 14 or yunger because it was easy to read.Also to people who like aventursome books this is a good one.

I have read one of theother books written by this author, and loved them, so I thought I would read this one as well. The story was very good. The wording was put a little too simply, but it was an overall good book. It kept me interested, and I didn't put it down until I was done. The only problem was that it was very short, and ended too abruptly. The story didn't exactly end. I would have liked to hear more about what happens to The Moochers. Seeing some sort of conflict would have been nice.

I thought that this was an excellent book. I loved the fact that this was taken place in the ghettos of New York. I also loved the excitement it builded up in me. I couldn't take my hands off of the book. The only one thing that I didn't like was the ending. I didn't like it because I was hoping for him to go back with his family.

Rite of Passage is a short book that takes place over the period of one day. Johnny, a fifteen year-old goes from goody-goody two shoes teacher's pet momma's boy to knife fight"don't mess with me or I'll cut you up" gangster boy. The story started with Johnny getting straight A's in school, walking home to his bowl of soup waiting for him. When he gets there, he finds out his parents aren't his real parents. He is going to go to another foster home. His "parents" were supposed to tell him a year earlier, and they never did. He waited in disbelief and anxiousness until his new parents arrived, then he had no other choice in mind and ran. He ran to his best friend, Billy, who let him join his gang, that Johnny never knew about. He had stolen some candy bars to live off of and Billy's gang let him join after he spared their leader in a death fight. He later went out mugging people for money, and it ended when he went to sleep. It ended very abruptly, and went very fast. It was kind of hard to follow, and had some strange moments. I would recommend this book to people that like a book with a very realistic look on life. It was a good book, but I wouldn't have wanted to read it if I didn't have to.

Clara is the good daughter who, after her father's death, stays in the family home, keeps plugging at her job as schoolteacher, plays her piano, composes a little poetry, and writes long letters to her sister Nora (the bad daughter) and long entries in her journal. The book is composed of those writings, as well as some from her sister and a friend, who are in New York living the high life.
Clara's quiet life in a small Canadian town (read: everyone knows your business and makes it theirs) is shattered when she takes a walk at dusk: she is raped by a drifter, gets pregnant, goes to her sister Nora in NY, and has an abortion. Returning to Canada, she picks up her life as tho nothing happened.
Then she meets a married man in a movie theater and becomes his lover. The story of their affair and its aftermath occupies the last part of the book and is the framework for Clara examining her past, her options, and her future.
An elegant and quiet book, and a very, very deep one with a heartbreaking Prologue.
Definitely worth a read, and don't hurry thru it; it demands some pondering.

Clara Callan provided its readers with a nostalgic return to the days of yesteryear when housewives escaped their humdrum existence by fulfilling their romantic dreams and fantasies via serialized radio programs and having a child out of wedlock was akin to wearing a scarlet letter.

Richard B. Wright has managed to capture the emotions and morals of the late 1930's and early 1940's in this epistolary morality tale of two sisters, Clara and Nora, one a teacher residing in small, clannish Canadian town and the other a "soap opera" actress pursuing a career in New York City.

Wright's look at the plight of females of this era, attempting to maneuver through the social expectations of society while pursuing their own goals, is startling in its insight and accuracy and almost makes one feel as if this novel were written by a woman. (High praise indeed).

When all is said and done, Clara Callan shows us freedom to pursue ones dreams comes with a price, and that perhaps things were not really so good in the "good old days".

A wonderful book. I've been reading it for the past 15 months. I read it through once within a few days and since then I've been dipping every few days -- possible and enriching because it's told in journal entries and letters. I've read several others of Mr Wright. I would urge anyone (especially fifty-something males) to get a copy of his 'Weekend Man,' his first novel written in the early 70s. One of my most favorite works of fiction ever. As for 'Clara Callan,' it is easily one of the most satisfying novels I've read in recent years.

I loved how easily this story flowed. It is set during the Depression era and centres on two sisters, Clara and Nora Callan. Clara is the wall-flower who stays in the hometown she grew up in and leads what she feels is a fairly conservative lifestyle. Her life is revealed to us in journal entries and letters to her sister Nora. A horrible event shakes up her life in ways she never knew possible and eventually leads her down roads she felt she would never trod upon.

Her sister Nora is leading the glamorous life and becomes very much a socialite in her circles. Her correspondence with her sister shows us that all is not how it appears in her life either.

This book was a pure pleasure to read. The ability to find extraordinary in the ordinary and often mundane things in life shows the true talent of this author. I felt a connection to Clara Callan and was sad to see the story end.

I became curious about this book after finding out it won both the GG Award and the Giller. I had read The Weekend Man and Final Things by the same author, and both of those were excellent, but this book showcased Wright's incredible talent at his craft.

This book is written in diary and letter format from the perspective of Clara Callan, a thirtysomething school teacher in the 1930s. It begins with her father's death, and her sister's move to New York City. Clara is alone in the small town that she grew up, and she chronicles a 4-year period in great detail.

I'm sometimes hesitant to read books by men with female protagonists because sometimes the unintentional maleness of the character's thoughts permeates their characterization. Wright does a great job writing from a female point of view, however and Clara and Nora are easy to relate to and seem like they could be the same women that live next door or that you interact with day to day.

The research behind the book is very noteable, as the history of the times is effortlessly entertwined with the diary entries and serves as both editorial comment and historical re-telling.

This is a wonderful book and an incredible accomplishment. It is definitely the type of book you should buy and then pass around to your friends to enjoy as well.

Clara is the good daughter who, after her father's death, stays in the family home, keeps plugging at her job as schoolteacher, plays her piano, composes a little poetry, and writes long letters to her sister Nora (the bad daughter) and long entries in her journal. The book is composed of those writings, as well as some from her sister and a friend, who are in New York living the high life.
Clara's quiet life in a small Canadian town (read: everyone knows your business and makes it theirs) is shattered when she takes a walk at dusk: she is raped by a drifter, gets pregnant, goes to her sister Nora in NY, and has an abortion. Returning to Canada, she picks up her life as tho nothing happened.
Then she meets a married man in a movie theater and becomes his lover. The story of their affair and its aftermath occupies the last part of the book and is the framework for Clara examining her past, her options, and her future.
An elegant and quiet book, and a very, very deep one with a heartbreaking Prologue.
Definitely worth a read, and don't hurry thru it; it demands some pondering.

Clara Callan provided its readers with a nostalgic return to the days of yesteryear when housewives escaped their humdrum existence by fulfilling their romantic dreams and fantasies via serialized radio programs and having a child out of wedlock was akin to wearing a scarlet letter.

Richard B. Wright has managed to capture the emotions and morals of the late 1930's and early 1940's in this epistolary morality tale of two sisters, Clara and Nora, one a teacher residing in small, clannish Canadian town and the other a "soap opera" actress pursuing a career in New York City.

Wright's look at the plight of females of this era, attempting to maneuver through the social expectations of society while pursuing their own goals, is startling in its insight and accuracy and almost makes one feel as if this novel were written by a woman. (High praise indeed).

When all is said and done, Clara Callan shows us freedom to pursue ones dreams comes with a price, and that perhaps things were not really so good in the "good old days".

A wonderful book. I've been reading it for the past 15 months. I read it through once within a few days and since then I've been dipping every few days -- possible and enriching because it's told in journal entries and letters. I've read several others of Mr Wright. I would urge anyone (especially fifty-something males) to get a copy of his 'Weekend Man,' his first novel written in the early 70s. One of my most favorite works of fiction ever. As for 'Clara Callan,' it is easily one of the most satisfying novels I've read in recent years.

I loved how easily this story flowed. It is set during the Depression era and centres on two sisters, Clara and Nora Callan. Clara is the wall-flower who stays in the hometown she grew up in and leads what she feels is a fairly conservative lifestyle. Her life is revealed to us in journal entries and letters to her sister Nora. A horrible event shakes up her life in ways she never knew possible and eventually leads her down roads she felt she would never trod upon.

Her sister Nora is leading the glamorous life and becomes very much a socialite in her circles. Her correspondence with her sister shows us that all is not how it appears in her life either.

This book was a pure pleasure to read. The ability to find extraordinary in the ordinary and often mundane things in life shows the true talent of this author. I felt a connection to Clara Callan and was sad to see the story end.

I became curious about this book after finding out it won both the GG Award and the Giller. I had read The Weekend Man and Final Things by the same author, and both of those were excellent, but this book showcased Wright's incredible talent at his craft.

This book is written in diary and letter format from the perspective of Clara Callan, a thirtysomething school teacher in the 1930s. It begins with her father's death, and her sister's move to New York City. Clara is alone in the small town that she grew up, and she chronicles a 4-year period in great detail.

I'm sometimes hesitant to read books by men with female protagonists because sometimes the unintentional maleness of the character's thoughts permeates their characterization. Wright does a great job writing from a female point of view, however and Clara and Nora are easy to relate to and seem like they could be the same women that live next door or that you interact with day to day.

The research behind the book is very noteable, as the history of the times is effortlessly entertwined with the diary entries and serves as both editorial comment and historical re-telling.

This is a wonderful book and an incredible accomplishment. It is definitely the type of book you should buy and then pass around to your friends to enjoy as well.

The character development in "Cross" as an intellectual, bemused by his past, but confronted by his present, presents many challenges to a young man fighting personal demons inorder to account for his actions as a productive vexed individual. Cross Damon is a product of any era where hopes fade away as obstacles seemingly come out of nowhere, at the same time when confusing them with oppurtunity.
Excitingly sad tale of young man caught in the vice grips of lift without the personal attributes of an identifiable accountability thread in his make-up, where finding his way out of trouble gets him deeper into it.

Wright presents a view of existentialism in an ultimately negative and nihilistic perspective. I'm not critical of existentialism, but rather Wright's inadequate rendition of it!
The character of Cross NEVER does personally transcend race! Cross isn't a supportor of Fascism or Communism, but we never learn if he has beliefs at all. He ends up murdering whites and blacks, friends and enemies, a fascist and a communist. The latter because he was abusive and untrue to his wife. Yet Cross himself was cheating on his own wife, ritually beat her, abandoned his children, and caused his mistress to end up getting an abortion with their child. Cross's character wants us to criticise "the oppressive meaningless racist white society," and yet he consistantly lies, resorts to violence, condemns others, and virtually never makes a "good" decision himself. When I read a book this long, that's filled with so much rhetoric I want to have something tangible in the end, but we're left with nothing! In the end Cross's character states that he was never understood, and yet his life has been comprised of deceit, hypocritical judgement, murder, and a continuous series of ideas never amounting to anything. Cross has the ability to make decisions, (his ability to think and react are never taken from him), and yet he continues to make awful decisions. Blaming his condition on a "limited environment that is dominated by the evil white racist Americans" never absolves him of his own misdeeds. Wright completely fails in presenting a clear, intelligent view of existentialism. His French, German, and Dutch superiors capture the idea much better (i.e. Sartre). I don't know why anyone would believe this is a treatise worthy of reading, except as an example of a poor example! As always, in this P.C. environment we get a glimpse of the undeniably selective view of racism in the history of humanity. You'd be left to believe that those of the white race are the ONLY ones capable of creating a racist society, or being racist period. However, for the 0.1 percent of people who actually see history in it's entire scope know that this notion is an outright falsehood. Some who are uninformed will try to tell you that Wright's motives weren't centered on the topic of white racism, or the idea of race at all, but rather the ideas of existentialism compared within that setting. Anyone who reads the novel knows this is untrue as well. Cross's character consistantly reacts and thinks in racial ways throughout the novel.
It almost seems that Wright wanted to write a racist novel with the idea of existentialism as subterfuge in order to validate a book with graphic scenes of black on white violence, scenes of interracial sex, and anti-Communist/anti-Fascist rhetoric, to justify and/or legitimize his own deviant political and social behaviors! I support this claim with the following scenarios that come from this book: 1. Cross's character beating the head of a deceased white person who's corpse is conveniantly in Cross's way after the accident on the train, and in order to escape the wreckage Cross kicks and eventually pistol whips the head in order to move it. 2. The fact that Cross, who's character is black, ends up having sex with every white female character that has some precise mention in the narrative. The only exceptions are: an older and fatter white female in the restaurant scene who turns out to be an "evil racist" & the other prostitute who is conveniently "with" one of Cross's black friends. 3. The scene in which two white men are trying to kill one another, one is a fascist, the other a communist, and Cross takes delight in the two whites committing violence upon one another. 4. The blonde character who's named Eva (gee that's original!), who writes in her journal how she wishes her skin was continually tan, and how she's become disenchanted with the color pink because it is associated with her evil, superficial, white, communist husband! Subsequently to this she seeks refuge in the character of Cross who's made out to be her "black salvation".

I want the time back from my life I wasted reading this poorly written narrative. Richard Wright should have done us all a favor and left explaining existentialism to the experts. I'll never read any of Wright's other novels because the experience of reading this novel was too close to some form of literary terrorism. If "Native Son" and "Black Boy" are great novels, that's fine. However, in WRIGHT'S "The Outsider" he's dead WRONG!

The Outsider is a thrilling novel that reads quickly, and memorably. Like "The Fugitive" our hero finds himself suddenly outside of both society and his own sense of identity. He is forced to recreate himself as he struggles to stay ahead of danger, only to find that his new persona liberates a charisma that thrusts him into the spotlight, threatening to betray him to his pursuers.

As in the "The Grapes of Wrath", our hero is forced to confront his concept of who and how he had lived while becoming both politically and ideologically self-aware. This transformative process remains as compelling, current, and relevant today as when Wright penned the novel.

This first-rate novel is given short shrift by those who enjoy genuflecting to the myth of an intellectual heritage, to which it owes no homage nor apology, above the thrilling strength of the prose itself.

The Fugitive is a zesty hoot of novel full of suspenseful twists and thoughtful choices.

The outsider is a Bigger Thomas a.k.a Cross Damon, he is a man that questions everything around him and plans for his life, not death. Destiny helps him start his life in a different way in which he meets Eva, someone he comes to love and can understand him. But the communists are in the way and makes his life miserably after having him suspect of killing two of their Party members. It was sad at the end for him to die as Bigger die but it felt so real and sad to have such an ending.
This book once again makes Richard Wright the most coiuragious author of his time. If Bigger didn't know the Communists and how they work, Cross did and it can be said we have seen the other side of the coin. I recommend it to everybody, communist and facist alike!

Richard Wright (1908-1960) covers racism, exploitation, and existentialism in this engaging story. Cross Damon is an alienated young black man in Chicago in 1950 with a wife and family he doesn't really love, and an unfulfilling postal job. Dissatisfied with his life, he eagerly takes the plunge when given an unexpected chance to skip town unnoticed with a bundle of money. Moving to New York City, he soon becomes mixed up with violent communists and a white district attorney whose disability makes him, like African Americans, an outsider in U.S. society. Damon is bright and not uneducated, but he's also devious, violent, and unable to sidestep troublesome associates one must avoid.

Like most books by Richard Wright, "The Outsider" attacks racial injustice in a readably engaging manner...but is a bit long-winded. Unlike earlier efforts like "Native Son," here Wright disdains communists as violent and oppressive. Perhaps that was due to McCarthyism, but more likely it stems from the fact that the murderous oppression of Stalin and communist police states was better known by 1950.

I am a complete beginner in computer graphics and have found this book to be clear and really helpful. I can recommend it to anyone who wants to start graphic programming.
I hope this helped someone.

OpenGL SuperBible (3rd Edition)

Simply amazing. That is the best way to describe this book. The author uses the glut library to keep cross platform compatibility but has 3 chapters dedicated to each OS (Mac OS, Linux, windows) for those who would rather use OS specific windows/input/etc handlers. As long as you have glut installed and configured correctly on your machine you should have no problem getting the examples to run. He even goes over how to install and get glut running. I my self use SDL (simple direct media layer) to keep my app cross platform compatible and had no problems what so ever porting the very small amount glut code to SDL.

I was a little worried after reading the one and only review of this book that did not get 5 stars (as of this review), but found most if not all of the complaints to be unjustified after actually reading the book. Im sure the authors are in their "depth" seeing they were part of the ARB (OpenGL Architecture Review Board). Yes some of the examples did not work on my laptop but that was only because my laptop did not support some of the advanced topics that required OpenGL 1.4 or better. As for being worthless for Linux, I'm having a hard time seeing how this even applies since OpenGL is a standard and has nothing to do with the OS specifically. OpenGL does not provide a window for you to draw on (that's up to the OS to provide with glut, SDL, whatever). The only problem I found with this book was one of the chapters source code was missing on the CD, but since he lays out pretty much all the source code in the book in a very clean manner along with the output of each example this was not really even a problem.

I am not what you would call a fast reader by any means but I was able to read the first 12 chapters (around 700 pages) in about 12 hours with out much previous OpenGL experience. I don't think I have ever even read a book over 300 pages before this! I found this book almost impossible to put down which is also a first for me. I think this is attributed to the fact that the author made things so clear on why things worked the way they did and how to implement them in a very straightforward way. Even chapters I thought I would not like (for example OpenGL's powerful 2d imaging) turned out to be one of the best in the book. Another great thing about this book is that everything is laid out in order. He continues to build off of previous chapters which makes it really nice that you don't have to skip all over the book looking for stuff you have not learned yet. The author does not expect you to know anything about OpenGL or 3d graphics ahead of time. He also provides after every chapter ALL the gl/glu/glut commands he uses, detail descriptions and all the possible flags/options available at the time the book was written. This makes this book the ultimate reference as well. I could go on and on about this book, but will stop here. This book was well worth every penny.

To me, this book is at average rating. The explanation of the book is quite confusing in some sense. First of all, if you follow the book sample coding by including "OpenGL.h" header file, you may find that it does not work. In fact, the header file name is "OpenGLSB.h". For this small thing which the author is failed to correct it before the publication of the book, it is a failure. For beginner like me, it is really a bad experience to have first sample coding does not run as expected.

Second, this book shares common mistake as done by other books. The author assume that you already know how to setup the OpenGL enviroment before you proceed with your programming. In fact, before you can program using OpenGL API, you need to setup the environment first. For this, you have to browse to OpenGL official site http://www.opengl.org for the OpenGL environment-setup details. For most beginner may think that the OpenGL API is to be used as common C/C++ program, which leading them to bulk of errors. To me, the author must tell the users what to do before program in OpenGL, but he didn't. It is another failure of the book.

The other reviewer has claimed that 12 chapters of the book can be finished in 12 hours. This claim is very subjective. For a beginner who know nothing about computer graphics, it is very impossible to finish that many chapters in that specified time as claimed by the reviewer.

At overall, this book is still the best OpenGL book in the market. This book does not use many of the mathematic jargons but still can make you a successful OpenGL programmer. This is the really great part of the book! However, for those who want to learn advance graphics programming, I don't think this is the book for you. It can serve only as reference where you want to refresh your OpenGL knowledge.

My problem with this book can be surmised as
- it assumes the reader knows nothing about programming;
- it tediously explains the obvious;
- it is laced with irrelevent code that is over-documented to waste space;
- it wastes space with reference material that would be better suited on the CD (if the authors wanted to include it);
- and it ultimately doesn't _TEACH_ very much

"OpenGL Programming Guide: The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL"is by far a much better book to read. It has code examples, certainly, but there is only one very succinct example per chapter to demonstrate what the chatper taught.

This book is like many computer books that assumes the reader knows next to nothing about programming. I think this is a poor way to write books on a particular subject. I believe that a book on computer graphics should be ABOUT computer graphics and should therefore assume the reader is already a competant programmer. You have to learn how to walk before you can run; and you have to have some idea of how to program before you can begin to think about programming graphics. Surely, then, the book should be aimed at people who can already program; and if someone can't program, they should buy a book on programming first.

For example, page 51 says:

"Listing 2.1 contains only one include file:

#include

This file includes the gl.h and glut.h headers, whcih bring in the function prototypes used by the program."

Surely a potential reader should be expected to know why include files are included? (This section also raises the question; why not just #include GL/gl.h and GL/glut.h and be done with it? But I digress.) It continues;

"Next, we skip down to the entry of all C programs:

void main(void)
{"

Are the authors serious? If they are, then perhaps the next version of the book will begin with a tutorial on what a computer is and how to read English. (Incidentially, a discussion on "constructors to initialise variables" is on page 992; so it doesn't just stop at chapter 1)

I believe a graphics book should talk only about graphics priciples and use code only at a bare minimum. Code is just a vehicle for implementation; using it to replace or augment discussion only demonstrates an inability to express ideas. The book is heavily laced with irrelevent examples. For example, pages 550-554 tediously transcribe the code to draw a bold head, which is ultimately an extruded hexagon. What does the source code prove or demonstrate? Do the authors believe the reader's heads are completely full of dead insects and can figure out the code to draw an extruded hexagon for themselves? If you want to include code, anyway, why pad it with irrelevent space, like

// Done drawing the fan that covers the bottom
glEnd();

you could collapse the comment (which is largely irrelevent, anyway) and call to glEnd() to one line and save space. Sure, it's only one line; but this is ONE example from a book that wastes pages and pages with useless code examples. I guess it is aimed for readers who feel happy buying big, expensive books.

Heh, another example of the insane levels of over commenting:

float CubeRotation[3] /* rotation of cube */

cheers for that, Mr Authors Sir! I could never have guessed the purpose of the variable CUBE ROTATION represented the CUBE'S ROTATION. I'm so glad you're there to tell us these things.

The book also dedicates a LOT of space to detailing the manual pages of OpenGL which they've just grabbed from an online man(ual) page. So, this book is an expensive way of getting specification stuff that doesn't actually TEACH you anything. However, if the authors want to include man pages, why do they insist on expanding out the definitions? Other books on OpenGL that I have seen conveniently use well understood regular expressions to represent the vast range of OpenGL prototypes rather than tediously enumerating EVERY variant of the function. glVertex*(), for example, has 12 versions divided into 3 groups. Each group represents a different number of parameters (2, 3 or 4); and each member of that group has a different type (double, float, int, short). Most books write that explosion of types as glVertex~n~type(type v1, type v2, ...)... and that's it. Instead, the authors spend half a page listing each prototype... not just for glVertex, but for the MYRIAD of OpenGL prototypes that have a SIMILAR state-explosion. Great.

The book is certainly designed to be big and hefy and look important. It does that by uselessly padding space, including too many code examples without any point, and including reference material that the athors didn't write. Very little space is actually dedicated to TEACHING the reader about OpenGL.

I did found this book very helpful. And I do recommend this book for anyone how is starting with OpenGL. A well writen book.

Wright and Zoby do a great job of explaining the history, culture, and lifestyle of the Pea Island Life Saving Station surfmen. If you have been to Pea Island, Hatteras Island, or the lower Outer Banks of North Carolina you may notice there are very few African Americans. The acceptance that might be there today was obviously not as prevalent in the 1890's.

FIRE ON THE BEACH provides a glimpse into the culture and the struggle of these brave men. Their gallant actions, in the rescue of the victims of the U.S.S. Huron and E.S. Newman, are described in amazing detail. If you travel to the Outer Banks, be sure to visit the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station and museum (in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island). It will help readers understand the lifesaving station, the rescue methods employed, and the sacrifices made by the United States Life-saving Service surfmen all along the eastern shore.

The book purports to tell the story of Richard Etheridge but the first third is about "Wilds African Brigade," a black brigade that committed murder, arson, looting and the hostage taking of white women in Tidewater North Carolina and Virginia in October and December 1863.
On its return to base in Portsmouth Virginia Brigadier General Wild was relieved of command and the brigade disbanded.

The story of Richard Etheridge is fascinating and inspiring. It is unfortunate that its telling here is tedious and uneven.

Faced with several days of enforced inactivity as Hurricane Isabel bore down upon Baltimore, what I needed was a good book with which to pass the hours. There on my shelf was Fire on the Beach, purchased several months ago but set aside for just such a circumstance. As the wind howled around my apartment and rain slashed at my windows, I settled in to read.
Authors Wright and Zoby have written a thrilling account about the American Life Saving Service (ALSS), predecessor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Their focus is on the life of Richard Etheridge, born into slavery, a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War, and later, leader of a courageous crew of lifesavers at Pea Island's Station 17 on the Outer Banks.
Richard Etheridge, probably the son of a white "Banker," raised and educated as part of his family, obtained his freedom fighting with the North Carolina Colored Volunteers (NCCV), under infamous Colonel Edward A. Wild. After the war, the scandel-ridden ALSS was reorganized and Etheridge was appointed Keeper of the station at Pea Island; the only black man to command a station up to that point. Etheridge was, indeed, a "man among men," risking his life time and again, driving his 6-member crew of surfmen to rescue sailors and passengers off unfortunate ships driven ashore by storms at least as furious as the one threatening Maryland on this day.
Here is a tale of daring exploits during an obscure time in American history; of courageous men of color fighting steep breakers and raging surf over shallow shoals while saving stranded survivors of doomed vessels before the deadly sea could claim them.
A fascinating account. Some might say it's black history. But it's more than that. It's about raw courage; about bravery against a treacherous enemy - the sea at its worst. Etheridge and his crew were black, but first and foremost, they were real men who willingly risked their lives daily for others.
I heartily recommend this work as an eye-opening account of a time along the Outer Banks before storms were tracked with high-tech equipment, and as a gripping tale guaranteed to hold your interest.

This history of the Pea Island Lifesavers is beautifully written so that the story captivates from start to finish. In fact, I wasn't sure that this was my kind of book, but the early, vivid description of the dangerous coast and the duties of the men who walked the Outer Banks looking for shipwrecks hour after hour convinced me that I had to read the whole book. Clearly well researched, this book taught me a great deal about the Civil War and U.S. maritime history but, more importantly, explored the humanity in our country's history. It takes saavy authors to recognize that the real beginning of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station begins not with its inception but with the lives of the men, namely Richard Etheridge, who served there. Because of the emphasis on people and place, the book reads quite like a novel and, therefore, can be appreciated by a wide audience. Fire on the Beach deserves to be read, for it demonstrates that history must be revealed and retold with all its contradictions, complications, and individuals.

And this is the best one. The only bad part is the fact that it's quite short. Being a text, it's also expensive. But it's concise, well written, informative, and the commentaries by the editor are helpful. I live a few miles from Grateford and found that added to my interest.

I met the author in prison during an educational presentation, and found out about the book through our local criminal justice classes. After reading this book, I came away with an increased knowledge of life in prison and the multiple methods of manipulation that exists among prisoners. The book is well written, researched, and exemplifies the wasted talents of inmates in prison today. Victor is to be applauded for his efforts to enlighten us about life in prison in a realistic manner.
Pat Puline
patpuline@aol.com

Life without Parole is an inmate's account of life at Graterford prison in Pennsylvania. It is a view of prison as he knew it. I would never expect the guards nor the administration to publicly admit to the goings on at Graterford during the time the author was incarcerated. There are countless acounts of wrong doing by both inmates and guards alike. Mr. Hassine has presented his view of prison and I find it to be informative, interesting, and believable.

Perhaps we could indeed find this book "compelling" if we'd not been present at the author's trial and privy to the ludicrous and self-serving lies he used in an attempt to escape punishment for his heinous deeds! I would only be tempted to give credence to this new flight of imagination if Victor were to seek TRUE rehabilitation and redemption by finally admitting his guilt and helping to free his innocent partner who has been rotting in prison for Victor's misdeed for nearly 20 years!

This is an excellent account of life in prison. This is a must read for those interested in contemporary prison life. Very basic, but allows for a quick understanding of life on the inside.

Will decrease a many help to you. But it is inconvenient for the photograph to be insufficient.

The Book is Great. If you love the style of Richard Meier, you sure would love this book too.

Only ISBN: 1580930611 or ISBN: 1580930441 published by the Monacelli Press on 304 pages as an exhibition catalog with beautiful only B&W photos and drawings (many 3D) and minimal text.
FROM FRONT FLAP:
Over his thirty-five-year career Richard Meier has produced an internationally recognized body of work that reinterprets and recovers the ideals of modernism. With the completion of the landmark Getty Center in Los Angeles, Meier's distinct vision has emerged as architecture that is truly for our time. This catalog, accompanying a major exhibition organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (and traveling throughout the world), beautifully documents Meier's career with exquisite duotone photographs and the architect's own drawings, most of which have never been published.
Twenty-five of Meier's masterworks are featured, including the Smith House in Darien, Connecticut; the Douglas House, on the shores of Lake Michigan; the Museum for Decorative Arts in Frankfurt; the Canal+ Headquarters in Paris; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona; and the Getty Center. Current projects, including federal courthouses in Islip, New York, and Phoenix, Arizona, and the Church of the Year 2000 in Rome, are also presented.
A collection of insightful essays and commentaries by, among others, noted scholars Kenneth Frampton and Jean-Louis Cohen and architect Stan Allen illuminates various formal, theoretical, and practical issues at work in Meier's ever-evolving approach to the art of architecture. An extensively illustrated chronology of built and unbuilt work completes this first volume to document the entirety of Meier's extraordinary oeuvre.
CONTENTS:
Richard Koshalek and Dana Hutt 6
Introduction: Richard Meier, Light + Space Architect
Dana Hutt 8
Richard Meier's Working Space: The Uses of Abstraction
Stan Allen 12
Figures in an Urban Landscape: Meier at the Millennium
Kenneth Framp ton 28
Creative Repetition Jean-Louis Cohen 34
Smith House 40
Bronx Developmental Center 48
Douglas House 56
Olivetti Branch Office Prototype 66
The Atheneum 72
The Hartford Seminary 84
Frankfurt Museum for the Decorative Arts 94
High Museum of Art 108
Siemens Corporate Headquarters 118
The Getty Center 128
Westchester House 152
Ackerberg House 162
Grotta House 170
The Hague City Hall and Central Library 180
Ulm Exhibition and Assembly Building 190
Weishaupt Forum 200
Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art 208
Royal Dutch Paper Mills Headquarters 216
Madison Square Garden Site Redevelopment 224
Canal+ Headquarters 232
Rachofsky House 240
Islip Courthouse 248
Neugebauer House 254
Phoenix Courthouse 262
Church of the Year 2000 268
The Richard Meier Archive Lisa J. Green 276
Buildings and Projects 1960-1999 282
Selected Bibliography 302

Do not confuse this Monacelli Press book with the latest Rizzoli book by the same name. This one is an "artsy cofee table book" with slightly out-of-focus artsy black and white photos of a limited selection of his projects, including some of his earlier houses as well as some of his latest works. Large two page photographs are shown, together with 3 or 4 smaller ones per project, in lieu of a more comprehensive exposition of their work. If you are looking for information on their current work or design ideas check out the Rizzoli books instead.

This 3rd in a series monograph by Rizzoli is a must-have addition to any serious architectural book library or to fans of Richard Meiers work. The numerous color photos are top rate, and together with a large number of drawings give a thorough overview of one of the top designers of today. The many photos in particular attest as to the successful completion of previously anticipated projects which have been in the pipeline, while new drawings herald new masterpieces to come.

I'm a pretty big fan of Wright, so I was surprised to see A FATHER'S LAW on the shelf in the store while on vacation (I had no idea it was coming). If you like Wright, it's well worth reading; if you're not familiar with him, it's not likely that you'll care for the book since it is, after all, unfinished--and ends at a crucial point in the action.

For scholars and fans, all the Wright-isms are here: the stream of consciousness, the quick plot turns, the psychological aspects, the pointed dialogue (the racial themes are muted here, though present). It's amazing to me how he was able to make such potboilers as fascinating as did. I knocked off the 260-odd pages in three sittings, and can only imagine where Wright would've taken things had he lived.

I have always been a fan of Richard Wright. "Black Boy" was one of the first books that I ever read to completion in my early years, along with S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders", and then "Native Son" by Wright. Ponyboy and Bigger made great impressions on me as a rural Mississippi kid with hopes of living somewhere that would remotely resemble a world in motion.

I learned of "A Father's Law" through an online group. Dr. Jerry Ward, Jr. had written a review of the book before it was available to the general public. I placed my order before the book was available and anxiously waited for delivery.

I read this book slowly, because reading this book brought back memories and themes from his earlier works. Expelling them was not to be done. Instead, I weighed them against the lines and tones of the new work. The unfinished story shifted my perception of Mr. Wright away from the racial themes that predominated his other works. Mr. Wright was writing a story that seemed to be freeing him to go beyond doing the necessary work of using literature as a form of protest. He was using literature to create the type of books that made writers great because of how they wrote, and not what they wrote. "A Father's Law" shows progression. Once there was Bigger and now there is Police Chief Ruddy who has a troubled son, Tommy, that echoes the Bigger character-type but who also demonstrates the distance that we now see between generations. The effects of that distance within the story is seen in the actions taken by the son.

The plot of the unfinished novel is an unfinished reality we continue to ponder with, especially regarding youth and crime. Ruddy was able to rise out of the themes Wright presented to us in Native Son and other stories. However, he was successful in using Tommy to show us what we now know by experience and the evening news of the late eighties and nineties which had the young and old facing and moving in different directions.

The book is well done. His daughter, Julia, paid great tribute by completing this project and submitting the manuscript. It is a gift to us all. It ended at a very exciting point in the story. I would be certain to guess that the author was gearing to steer us to a dynamic conclusion. While reading, I thought I'd feel cheated with this being an unfinished novel. I was not cheated at all. Instead, I was left at a crossroad marvelling at the various paths that lay ahead.

Also, The story put me in the mind of Walter Mosely and his Easy Rawlins novels at times. With revisions that would only come with the work that time didn't allow, this book could have been a finished product that would serve as a pivot point in the career of a great writer. "A Father's Law" is a great celebration.

I've been fascinated by Wright's work for some time (my Master's thesis is based on analyzing one of his most obscure and scathingly criticized works, THE OUTSIDER, as a work of tragedy rather than as the banal, existential work it is so commonly viewed and limited as being). I, too, was taken aback when I stumbled upon A FATHER'S LAW while on vacation in San Francisco and, immediately, I swiped the only copy off of the shelf. I put my vacation on vacation to read the book. I am still ambivalent about how to receive this work. I realize it is unfinished, and I am unsure was to how "unfinished" it is, but my proclivity for Wright's craft compels me to urge interested readers into reading this work with their expectations on their proverbial sleeve, because it truly gut-wrenching disappointment is not much toward the work's being unfinished, but moreover the author's mortal preclusion from refining his genius just one more time in full.

Amazing work. I only wish there would have been a conclusion. It has prompted me to read other works by Richard Wright. I knew going in I would be left hanging because it was an unfinished work but after a few pages I didn't care. I threw causion to the wind and fell head first in love with the story.

Richard Wright's, 12 Million Black Voices, is a touching narrative on the black experience in America. Richard Wright, a southern born African-American, contributes a nontraditional history of the black struggle in America. He begins with the origins of slavery and journeys into the mid 20th century. His unique style of writing provides the reader with a first hand pilgrimage into the experience and psyche of the common black folk throughout American history. Published in 1942, it bleeds of both melancholy and hope, and leaves us with a sense of guilt in our nation's poisoned history.

In addition to his unique narrative style, Wright incorporates personal emotion and self history. Born in 1908 in the deep south, Wright experienced racism first hand, which no white historian can truly tell of. His migration throughout the deep south and industrialized north, exposed him to diverse-sectional racism. He narrates black history through eyes and thoughts of a victimized African-American. Consequently, Wright provides his audience with an authentic and emotional history of black racism.

In chapter one, Our Strange Birth, Wright traces the origins of slavery and describes the foundational creation of black racism. Wright viewed his black ancestors as market commodities, which contributed to the wealth, growth, and prosperity of many nations. The "lean, tall, blonde hair men" of Europe, arrived on their native shores, shackled their legs, and stacked them like wood upon their large ships. Wright describes some of the extreme atrocities they commonly endured on the 10 week voyage to North America such as: beatings, branding, decapitation, rape, physical mutilation, disease, force feeding, etc.

He moves on to describe the origins of racism in early America as an ideology of exceptionalism. Whites believed themselves to be favored by the Christian god, who justified their acts of racism and bondage. As the nation turned a blind eye, blacks roamed the south, bonded by the doctrines of racism, constitutionally justified by a nation that built itself upon the fundamental principle, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". After enduring centuries of grief and affliction, the tides of northern abolition came; the Negro was now "free".

In chapter two, Inheritors of Slavery, Wright narrates the experience of black emotions after emancipation and their transition into sharecropping. He addresses the historical theme of legal bondage during reconstruction. Wright describes, after emancipation, 4,000,000 black visions of hope, progress, and assimilation, marched optimistically onto free soil. However, they abruptly understood, emancipation ended a legal institution, but failed to destroy an ideology. They found themselves economically hopeless and again at the mercy of the "Lords of the Lands" and "Queen Cotton". Landless free blacks were forced into unjust verbal contracts with plantation owners, which Wright describes as legal bondage. Almost three quarters of the 4,000,000 emancipated blacks were forced to adopt the system of sharecropping. Their visions of progress quickly faded. Day after day, they wondered through cotton fields with silent ambitions and dead hope. Thoughts of rebellion crossed their minds, but fears of swinging from the trees quickly paralyzed their courage.

Despite miserable conditions, Wright describes how free blacks maintained a sense of hope and pride through religious salvation. Religion inspired a dark sense of hope among atrocity. They manage to break a smile among crying tears. Religious celebrations briefly washed their memories of past and present, and placed them in a state of social insensibility.

As time progressed, northern industries began to dominate the national economy. The southern plantation system began to loose its economic significance and northern industrial companies began to stick their hands in southern capital. Soon after, the call came from "the land of promise" for free blacks to accommodate their shortage of labor, and help "turn the wheels of industry". Between 1890 and 1920, over 2,000,000 free blacks migrated north in hope of equality. After decades of legal bondage, there hopes and prayers were finally answered.

In chapter three, Death on the City Pavements, Wright illustrates the shattering of black hopes and dreams by the "bosses of the big buildings". Wright addresses the historical theme of sectional racism and northern labor exploitation. Millions of free southern blacks migrated north assuming it to be liberated of racism and economic exploitation. However, white racism bled once again in the arena of economics and social relations. Wright describes how free blacks arrived in a land so foreign to southern culture. Once in a labor force free of competition, blacks were competing with poor whites for shelter and employment. Poor whites detested their presence, viewing them as a constant threat to job security. Black employment opportunities were generally confined to maids, janitors, porters, cooks, and industrial labor. They earned just enough to feed their starving children and provide shelter.

Wright dedicates much literature in describing the deplorable conditions of black housing and communities. Free blacks commonly resided in one-room kitchenettes in segregated, urban slum communities. Wright describes kitchenettes as prisons, consumed in filth, foul air, and breeding grounds for diseases such as dysentery and scarlet fever. The combination of small dimensions, large populations, and deplorable conditions, urban dwellings often produced the worst aspects of individual personalities. Wright describes how in rare instances, black families were financially ready to migrate into rural communities. However, white folks commonly refused to sell their homes to blacks and some communities went as far as to establish contracts prohibiting real estate agencies from selling property to blacks.

Wright returns to the social/psychological phenomena of black happiness and optimism despite their appalling conditions. He describes music as the essential act of black expression, which provided a therapeutic relief from the realities of urban life.

Religion served as the most significant form of black expression and social therapy. Wright describes the rapid establishment of black churches in urban dwellings, some of which exceeded membership of 20,000. Churches provided blacks with social activities, food, sports events, and established independent social agencies. He associates churches as "cool springs of hope".

Wright concludes his chapter focusing on the social conditions of black children. Unlike their ancestors, urban black youth possessed feelings of anger and rebellion. They displayed no feelings of acceptance or submission to white society. These feelings created both fear and hope in their families. They had a sense of pride in their children's determination to combat their present conditions, but also feared the potential repercussions of white reactions.

In his final chapter, Men in the Making, Wright's narration shifts from common historical memory to first hand experience. His emotions of pride and optimism are vividly expressed in his writing. He begins by addressing the recent formations of black nationalistic organizations for social advancement. Wright then describes with great pride, how some black families have sent their children to schools, obtained "white" employment, entered white unions, and resided with middle class whites. He dedicates considerable time comparing the history of human progress between whites and blacks. Wright argues, in 300 years, blacks have achieved the equivalent in human progress as whites have attained since the birth of Christ.

Wright concludes his book with an expressive feeling of pride and optimism. He perceives his ancestors as having built America, and with out their present existence, America would soon crumble.

Richard Wright's, 12 Million Black Voices, is an exceptional narration and emotional read on black history. Contrary to the narrative style of common historical monographs, Wright book provides an eye witness narration to black history. Often generalized and sometime bias, it still provides an accurate portrayal of the black experience in white America. The incorporation of photographs throughout the book compliments his emotional style of writing. It provides readers with a visual history as well. The choice in using black and white photographs symbolically represents an underlining social phenomenon throughout American history-those who are black and those who are white. The expression on each individual face tells a unique story and/or a represents a particular theme in black history. In its conclusion, with disregard to hindsight, the reader is left with a sense of hope on what the future will bring African-Americans.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in their nation's history.

Brian R. DeDentro (Rhode Island College)

A Good Book to explore the culture and history of the pain that they went through. The struggle which we don't see or realize.