Reviews Books

One imagines John G. Morris as the sort of grandfather with a thousand amazing stories, whom everyone in the family has asked to write a book for years and who finally sets about the task.

As a sequence of compelling snapshots, Morris selects and arranges his tales into a layout that explores unresolved questions, ambivalences, regrets, hopes, thrills, and humor.

For anyone interested in photojournalism, as a profession, its personalities - the lives, loves, and losses of those standing on the other side of the camera while celebrities splash across the pages - this book is an excellent starting place. His 'editor's eye' view of the profession turns the camera back upon the photographers, telling tales behind pictures generally left untold. By disclosing the various photographic negatives, he discloses a positively fascinating image of the origins of modern imagemaking.

I just finished reading this novel and I must admitt it is one of the best novels I have read this year. It really is an exciting travel through the 20th century, through the eyes of a man who's carreer made him involved with major political and social events. I would say this is a must to anyone interested in photography and journalism, and a recommended for anyone with a heartbeat. I really loved this book.

This is a well-written rolicking ride through the last century and the history of photojournalism in the American media. It has an index that reads like the Who's Who of the century with anecdotes and insights galore on the movers and shakers of photojournalism and history. I enjoyed every word and I recommend it highly.

The Gist of Genetics

I've had Dr. Davis as a professor and he used this book as a reading for the course. It is very helpful and straight to the point, will help you see the big picture, as well as providing the important details.

In my sophomore genetics class we used two textbooks. One is a 600 pages textbook filled with colorful pictures, the other one is the this book. After I spent hours reading and comprehending a chapter in the 600-pages tiny-font textbook, I turned to the 200-pages large-font Gist of Gennetics. And there it is, truly the gist of genetics. I regretted that I didn't read this book first but instead wasted my valuable time reading useless [junk]. The only problem is that this book is entirely black and white, with little to no picture (only has genetic diagrams). But unless you are the type who fall asleep reading b/w textbooks, this is a great book for quick understanding of basic genetics.

Truely enjoyed it. Thank you.

These poems, from a professor at Emporia State University in Kansas, are from an astute observer of the Great Plains landscape. Using the landscape as a backdrop, Heldrich searches for meaning and revelation in our everyday lives. In his unforgettable poem "Momentum," while driving to Tulsa, he takes note of the cast off trash along the way and yet finds in such an everyday experience "...an unsung love to it, a love of the highway, a love of the country, a love of people and their wasteful bodies so deep the momentum drives me home." In poem after poem, forty-six in all, the reader is made aware of our surroundings and the sometimes taken-for-granted events in our everyday life and urged to celebrate life amidst all of it's uncertainities and limitations. For Heldrich, he shares some of his simple beliefs used to ward off the void in a wonderful poem "Good Friday:" ...the returning sun at breakfast, the beautiful coupling of our lake's geese, the rising green after prairie burnings, the silence of Sunday morning at home, or how my wife fills an empty room with light." For the reader looking for faith, hope, charity, and reconciliation without the usual touchy-feely verse, this is one of the best. An exceptional collection.

Good Friday contains some of the best poetry I have read since Carl Sandburg's Honey & Salt. Mr. Heldrich has drawn on his life experience to create both beautiful and moving images for the reader. My only regret is that the book wasn't long enough. More please!!!

Baxter, Kathleen A. and Marcia Agness Kochel. 1999. Gotcha! Nonfiction Booktalks to Get Kids Excited About Reading. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Kathleen A. Baxter states that she has a healthy streak of curiosity and an active interest in a lot of things which makes nonfiction books her choice for booktalks. She wants to tantalize, intrigue, and wet the appetite of children and adults and finds that Nonfiction has a wide range of reading levels available on an interesting subject. Ideas for over 350 booktalks are presented in seven chapters. Baxter always insists books in her library collection are well reviewed; books she mentions in the seven chapters have all received favorable reviews in major library reviewing publications. Booktalks\ programs include at least one book from every chapter. In her introduction, Baxter introduces herself and Marcia Agness Kochel, a public librarian and a school librarian as fanatics about quality books who hope to add some good ideas to your repertoire and fuel to fill up your bag of tricks.

Baxter states: "Booktalking to me means telling people who may not be readers some of the reasons why a particular book may appeal to them." Baxter's suggestions for beginning your booktalks give general guidelines and include specific ideas such as "Gary Paulson's book Nightjohn, a fiction book that describes a slave who teaches other slaves to read and the horrible punishment he must endure as a consequence. One of the greatest ways to keep people from getting power is to prevent them from reading. If you want power, read!"

High interest topics are discussed in depth in seven thematic chapters: (1) "Great Disasters," including shipwrecks and disasters at sea, fires, floods, diseases and other natural disasters; (2) "Fun Stuff--Jokes, Gross Books, and Books that Will Make You Laugh," including puzzles, jokes and fun facts, poetry, gross stuff, and just plain fun; (3) "Animals," including creatures of the air, creatures of the water, animals around the world, creepy-crawly creatures, pets, amazing animal facts, dinosaurs, and animals in danger; (4) "Unsolved Mysteries," including missing persons and disappearances, unexplained phenomena, and ghosts and urban legends; (5) "Science and Fun Experiments To Do," including experiments and activities, inventions and accidents, the world around us, dead bodies (archaeology and anthropology), and the human body; (6) "Fascinating People," including scientists/artists/musicians/writers, amazing women, athletes, historical figures, kids' favorite authors and illustrators, heroes and heroines, and fascinating kids; (7) "Our Wonderful, Terrible Past," including ancient history, customs and costumes throughout the ages, the American spirit, slavery and freedom, the continuing struggle for freedom, and the Holocaust and World War. Within each chapter are brief excerpts for reading aloud, pictures to lure kids to the books, and full bibliographies with reading levels for all the suggested titles. Each chapter offers plenty of starting points for creating attention-grabbing presentations.

Baxter and Kochel's book is loaded with information, suggestions, and tips to help encourage reading. It is a valuable resource for finding fascinating, thought provoking, and fun books to share with children and young adults. Baxter and Kochel successfully describe how booktalking can match up children with just the right book. Educators can learn important tips to "hook" even the most reluctant reader. Starting their book with nonfiction disaster books is equivalent to starting their booktalks with disasters, they "Gotcha". To thoroughly understand how to get children, young adults, and adults reading nonfiction books draw upon the examples in this book. This book is a valuable resource for educators committed to creating excitement for reading because it gives specific choices for booktalks that includes specific text and pictures. Baxter also explains why these titles lend themselves to great booktalks, featuring specific questions to ask and extensions to follow. The authors' wide experience with many audiences is the basis for the practical, straightforward advice given.

This book is a wonderful resource for parents, teachers, librarians, or anyone who gives books to kids, but who may need a bit of help in choosing appropriate books. Kathleen Baxter and Marcia Agness Kochel have focused on the wealth of nonfiction books which may appeal to kids, proving there's more to children's literature than Harry Potter. The book is organized according to topics: catastrophes/disasters;, jokes, riddles, silly and gross stuff; biographies; animals, history, etc., and is presented in the format of short, snappy "book talks" -- pitches given by librarians and teachers to kids to show them what books are out there and to consequently pique kids' interests and get them reading. The authors show great enthusiasm for the titles they showcase, and give wonderful tips on talking up the books; they "got" me a number of times, as I scribbled out titles and made a beeline to the library to check out a few books. Foolproof topics include dinosauers and mummies, the Titanic disaster, and baby animals. But this book presents lots of other nonfiction choices on a wide variety of topics--there's bound to be something of interest to the young people in your life. Each chapter ends with a bibliography of the titles mentioned, and I'll be sure to use this book when birthdays and holidays come around. And if the authors ever come to my library, I'll be sure to listen in on one of their book talks!

Most guides to Booktalks feature fiction but not this one. Ms. Baxter has gone where many fear to tread and tackled the favorite of many reluctant readers-Non Fiction. A Booktalk, for those who don't understand Teacherese or Library talk is brief description of a book and is designed to make every memember of the audience want to read the book RIGHT NOW.

GOTCHA! is divided into 7 sections, covering such kid popular topics as jokes, gross stuff, The Titanic,urban legends, interesting people, science, the past and animals. The style is bright and breezy and extensive bibliographies are provided.

Librarians will love it's "ready to use" format. The booktalks are designed to be used as is, or they can be used as a jumping off point and a librarian can modify them to suit their own collections. It will be very helpful to teachers looking for books to accompany science, language arts and social studies units. I can't think of a beter way to introduce a class to poety than with an enthusiastic booktalk featuring Jack Prelutsky. Homeschoolers will find it invalueable in planning units and finding quality literature for their children. In fact,kids will like it it too- it's a great resource for helping them find a book on a topic that interests them.

It's a must have for and Elementary schlool librarians & Teachers, Children's Librarians and anyone who enjoys reading a book about books.

This translation of four plays by Euripedes is brilliant, clean and clear, without pretension. It offers the direct gaze of an Athenian at human emotion and human fate, which is considered a matter of luck more than character. For the Athenians matters of state and import are rooted in the family, where everything begins.

I've owned copies of Euripides all my life and never got around to reading them, but when Grief Lessons came across my desk last week, I was compelled to read straight through it. The title alone speaks of Carson's special talent for reaching the heart of the matter. Grief Lessons. The layout of her character's dialogue, too, flows back and forth along the margins of the page so that your eye moves easily down the text. The characters speak simply, without flourishes, without annoying Victorian poetic touches. Grief Lessons opens up Euripides to you so clearly that you can hear the characters weeping and shouting at each other on the stage of your mind. At the same time, so simple is Carson's translation that her words have an open ended flexibility that let you imagine them being pitched almost any way. Is Admetus a typical egocentric or an oaf? I'd always felt sorry for Hippolytus, cursed unfairly by his father. Now I'd like to curse him myself. I've never seen pomposity in a youth so clearly shown in a play. Moreover, Euripides lived at the end of Greece's golden age. His cynicism of the gods and heroes plays very appropriately on the stage of today.

There is so much blood letting in these plays I would hate to be the stage manager. What a clean up after every performance.
Seriously folks...
The plays are spellbinding. The insights into what motivates human beings are brilliant. I enjoyed reading these plays 10 times more than I ever thought I would. I read the review inThe New Yorker and thought I'd take a chance. (I don't normally read the classics)
I gave it to my wife who loved the plays as well.
Great job.

While not as detailed as other books, this is an excellent starter for a person interested in knowing the basics of Christian theology. I especially like the format of each chapter. Professor Lightner offers a brief summary of the topic, then he gives the historical perspective, from there he talks about the agreements held by orthodox Christians, then the areas of disagreements some may take (for example in the chapter "God the Holy spirit" he sites the areas of disagreement whether the miraculous gifts are still for today or if they were only for the early church just to name one example) He finishes out the chapter with a conclusion and questions. It is worth noting he makes his views quite known but is very charitable to those holding different viewpoints. In an age where many want a more "Seeker Sensitive" or "User Friendly" church and sound teaching has taken a back seat, this book is an invaluable resource for the instruction of solid Biblical doctrine to lay persons.

Lightner presents the basic points for premillennial dispensationalism in an easy-to-read style. He covers much ground offering the reader a synopsis of 2000 years worth of orthodoxy. While not as voluminous as Grudem or Erickson, the book nonetheless helps the layman understand various issues of popular debate in evangelicism.

Dr. Lightner's clear, concise presentation of the classical dispensational position makes this book a must have for any Bible Teacher's library. He does and excellent job of presenting historical and biblical background as well as differing opinions to each of the major areas of the Christian Belief.

Doctor Who: The Handbook - The Third Doctor is a great reference guide to the Jon Pertwee era as the dashing, man-in-action, earth-bound Time Lord from 1970 thru 1974. Superbly researched, authors David J. Howe & Stephen James Walker take us through the details of the development of the Third Doctor's adventures. The series now became more action packed. Featuring 8 chapters, focusing on actor Jon Pertwee, along with episode story reviews, production development, and also a feature on the making of the season 9 story, the 4 part "Day of the Daleks" (1972). This book has it all, which makes for some interesting behind-the-scenes information.

The Third Doctor Handbook is a great addition to any Doctor Who fans' collection. It also features an introduction by the Third Doctor himself, the late Jon Pertwee, written in April 1996, a month before he passed away. Published in 1996, this was the fifth volume in the Doctor Who series of handbooks.

The book, Doctor_Who:_the_Handbook:_the_Third_Doctor, is an excellent book in the "Doctor Who" handbook series by Walker, Stammers, and Howe. The book is divided into several sections for easy reference, contains an episode guide for the third Doctor's era with reviews of each episode, and provides a really nice overview of the era of the third Doctor and the events of the time period during which the episodes were produced and aired.

Personally, I wish the book had included more information on the discoveries/recoveries of lost Pertwee episodes, as well as their restoration to color; since, the stories behind these are very fascinating.

Overall, this is a very well researched volume; and, I highly recommend this book as well as the rest in the series.

Fans of the series, fans of Jon Pertwee's Doctor, or even to Jon Pertwee's other work are owed this volume from the Handbook series by Virgin Publishing. Like all of the books before it, it goes in depth into not just what and how (the late) Pertwee acted in "Doctor Who", but as well, much of the background info, behind-the-scenes, etc. which are a fan's necessity. Not only do I recommend this non-fiction paperback, but all the others in the series (there's seven altogether).

I grew up in awe of Paul Roen. He was my best friend's big brother. He wrote for fan magazines and knew more anout movies than anyone else. When I saw that he had written abook, I had to buy it. Even if you didn't know Paul before you read the book, you will after you have read it. There is a reason that Steven King quoted Paul. Sharp wit, sharper insight. It's great to see true talent. It's even more humorous to read him. Buy this book but never lend it out. You will never get it back.

I was checking this book out of the Duluth Public Library when the guy behind the counter thanked me because he was the author. You have to admit, this is not a usual experience, which works out fine because this is not a usual book. Paul Roen's Introduction on "Camp, Cult and Cinema" provides a very useful look at the meaning of gay camp within the context of specific genres. So that what is gay camp in melodrama is not the same as when you are looking at an action film or western. "High Camp" professes to be a "handy guide to cinematic perversity and the very best in movie bad taste." Roen reviews several hundred films in the most personal terms, telling us not only what he did or did not like but also who and sometimes even how. This is conversational criticism, so do not thumb through these pages looking for academic pretentiousness. Here you will find the films of Garbo, Dietrich, Crawford, Davis and Garland, with Steve Reeves, Guy Madison and James Dean thrown in for good measure, with numerous photos of the various stars. I am currently working my way through the Bette Davis oeuvre and I have to admit Roen gave me some new insights into many of her films. But this is a book that reviews "Queen of Outer Space," "Pink Flamingos" and "Glen or Glenda," which end up being much more interesting to read about than the more recognizable camp/cult classics such as "All About Eve" and "The Gang's All Here" (the one where Carmen Miranda sings "The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat"). There is a second volume of "High Camp," but, of course, I cannot check it out until the author is behind the counter again.

Paul Roen put together these witty summaries of favorite campy and cult films with memorable commentary on their subtext. Think of it as a humorous companion to Russo's "The Celluloid Closet." I've read and reread this book many times, and it never fails to make me laugh out loud.

In the introduction the author invited readers to submit their suggestions for inclusion in a second volume. I've never found such, though I have looked. If you find any other similar works by Mr. Leyland I would appreciate it if you would drop me a line. The publisher, Leyland Publications, is apparently not online -- and this type of book is not their core business, since the other titles featured in the order ad in the back advertises "Milkin' the Bulls." I need some of that.

This book is a life saver for any one who wants to brush up their precalculus skills or even for beginners. I would strongly recommend it!!

This book saved my skin. I found out two days before classes started that I had to take a math placement test in order to get into calculus. I had taken trig 7 years ago and forgotten it all, but this book explained everything so well, it re-taught me all my trig in two days and I aced the test! The explanations are so simple and clear, you only have to memorize three things--you'll understand everything else well enough that you can just draw a triangle and figure it out! This book summarizes everything you need to know clearly and concisely, and it gives lots of examples and problems to work. If I saw the authors right now, I'd give them a big old smooch!

Teaches Math in a very easy to understand way. I was able to understand everything throughly and quickly. Definitely the next best thing to doing the actual course. And user-friendly (or reader-friendly).

but harry medved writes the funniest books

Less pungent than their othe satirical works, this takes the Medved brothers into the realm of the hopelessly expensive financial flops of Hollywood. Thus Cleopatra, Heaven's Gate and the Fall of the Roman Empire all feature. Trouble is, few of these films are actually BAD films (I think highly of Cleopatra and FOTRE) so the previous rhythm and flow of the Turkeys is somewhat lost. Still, a fun account of what went wrong.

...come and see one of the most fascinating new museums on the planet! Come and see a museum dedicated to some of Hollywood's greatest disappointments! We got the Duke as Genghis Khan, Lord Laurence Olivier as General Douglas MacArthur, and Howard Hughes failing to put his money where his mouth is! We got biblical disasters, sinking ships, and D.W. Griffith!
Come and join the Brothers Medved, Harry and Michael, as they take you on a tour through the greatest turkeys Hollywood has given us up to 1984. Among the museum's many exhibits are: the historicallly-hysterical Moonie Epic "Inchon," the belly-flopping western "Heaven's Gate," "Mohammad: Messenger of God," the disasterous Howard Hughes films "The Conqueror" (An RKO Radioactive Picture) and "Underwater!," and "Raise the Titanic," which raised the famous luxury liner, but truly sank at the box office!
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Seriously, though, this is an entertaining book that belongs in the collections of every film buff. It's sure to make you laugh.
Grade: A+