Reviews Books

Other reviewers have done a good job of describing this and I agree with them. I'll just add that this wonderfully illustrated book really brought the memories flooding back.

Eric Sloane is known to many of us who love traditional country things as the superb and prolific American artist and author who gave us books with good words and even better drawings. Sloane was an accidental historian of that era of American life when agriculture was king. I cherish my copies of his A Museum of Early American Tools and A Reverence For Wood.

The Age of Barns was first published in 1967. I saw this 2001 version lying on a table in a friend's house and begged to borrow it. The sub-title is An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction. It is more than that as it also shows silos, root cellars, springhouses, sugarhouses, corn cribs and smoke houses. Also shown are tools of barn builders, construction methods, types of ventilation systems and even hinge design.

Sloane shows the evolution of this most important structure with examples large and small and from many places. Medieval, English, German, American barns. Small and large log barns. The Appalachian overhung-loft barn built on two cribs, decorated Pennsylvania barns, a Georgia barn, a Maine barn, a Tennessee saltbox barn. Pent roofs, gambrel roofs, extended bays, threshing bays. Connecting barns, built so the farmer could do a winter day's chores without going outside.

I have known two barns intimately. The barn on our Wisconsin farm was a classic two-story bank barn built of stone on the lower level with hand-hewn posts and beams above, a cupola topping it off. The farmer whose death allowed my parents to buy the farm had been an alfalfa producer so the barn had huge mows that were filled both from the outside using a hay hook and from the inside where teams and wagons were taken straight in and through. The dairy herd was housed in the lower section next to the sixteen-foot silo. I pulled a lot of, um, teats in that barn.

The humble hillbilly barn at Heartwood in Missouri has two sections separated by a drive-through. In barns this design is called double-crib; in houses it is called a dog-trot. The construction is of hewn oak logs with half-dovetail corners. The logs are held off the ground only with loose stones, so early deterioration was inevitable. When the barn was still in pretty good shape we took a family photo one Fourth of July. My cousin and I hung the huge American flag that was hand-sewn by a grandmother for Lincoln's inauguration and we all posed in front of it on the ground.

Born in 1905, Eric Sloane died in 1985, walking to a luncheon in his honor celebrating his memoir, Eighty: An American Souvenir. His fine books will live on long after him, a legacy of focus and craftsmanship.

Sloane's books capture the romanticism of the past better than any picture books, and that is certainly true for his An Age of Barns. The beautiful line drawings range from evocative perspectives to working sections, giving you a good idea of how these barns worked. There are Shaker round barns, traditional gambrel barns, Amish barn raisings and a wide variety of outbuildings associated with the early American farmstead. He lovingly focuses on hinge details, stairs and ventilation openings. Sloane's eye never missed a detail, and for anyone who loves old barns this is the book to get.

This has some interesting history of early barns, especially those of New England. Drawings are well done, as usual. If you are interested in barns west of the Mississippi look elsewhere.

and I understand that barn so much better now that I have read this book. Sloane gives a brief overview of the history of barns, regional types of barns, and even the tools to raise a barn. A lovely book.

Mr.Smith's writing has put into words emotions I have been unable to define.The subtlety of his writing style quietly brings you to a deeper understanding of yourself and others. I very much enjoyed his ability to make a point without smacking you in the face to get your attention.

This is a recueil that breathes and grieves. It brims with striking apercu and exudes a palpable presence that you can taste, touch, hear and feel . Mr. Smith celebrates this flawed existence with language so beautiful it steals your breath.

Robert Smith has an enviable collection of poetry-making tools-- a clear and well-lit mind, a deep pool of honest, self-questioning emotion, a lover's intimacy with the physical world, and an absolutely pure delight in the sounds of words. And yet, he resists what must be a fearsome temptation to show off this tool-kit, one item at a time. Instead, responsible craftsman that he is, he simply applies each of these tools to every page, in precisely the right combination, with precisely the right touch, to achieve whole poems that satisfy the whole reader -- mind and heart, soul and senses. He would like it, I think, if his poems reminded us of Geoff Hill's (and they do, in the grandeur of their feeling), but this book reminds me much more often of Philip Larkin, the Larkin who refused poses of any kind, who could be counted on never, ever, to tell us more than he was absolutely certain of. Lies come easier than truths; poses are more convenient than mindfulness. The coming of the millenium, referred to several times in Bob Smith's book, was a great occasion for poses and hyperboles, but in these poems the most mundane details of weather -- "a few strands of cloud dyed pink by the last of the sunset," or rain that "falls as it must on the oblivious hills," regardless of what century we decide we're in -- are much more astonishing and meaningful, precisely because they are real. This poetry returns us, time and again, to what is real. In an age where even intelligence can be artificial, such insistence is called for.

Mr. Smith's, "Everything Moves With A Disfigured Grace," is an inspiring collection of poems providing reflections on life through penetrating visual imagery. In the poem, "At your Bedside," Smith writes, "the dreams of your illness lie gathered like embers - a low, white heat unstirred by morning's hand."
This and other selections leave the reader with a tangible sense of what the poet is attempting to communicate.

"Everything Moves With A Disfigured Grace" is simply one of the best books of poetry published in America in the last 40 years, and, to paraphrase Steve Earle speaking about Townes Van Zandt, "I'll stand in my cowboy boots on coffee tables at Billy Collins' house, at Ted Kooser's house, at Charles Simic's house, and at Robert Hass' house, and repeat that for anyone who cares to listen!"

"Five Stars" deserves five stars.

I read an early edition from Sutro Press, and "Five Stars" is truly a marvelous guide to making your dreams a reality, without any film school snobbery to weigh it down. The book surveys all the stuff you need to know to write credibly about movies, coaches you through the writing process, and even provides excellent tips on how to get your words published.

The author is a web entrepreneur, a seasoned magazine editor, and even a novelist, so he really knows what he's writing about, and that really comes through in the book. Whether you want to pursue film review as a career or even as an occasional hobby, or you just want to go see a lot of new movies and DVDs for free, this book is a fabulous way to start.

I love movies. I love to criticize movies. But I really just want to share my criticism with my friends, and I really don't care to be eloquent about it. Take the movie "Four Brothers" for instance. My review would run something like this: "WTF??? I gotta see that again!"

Now, if Christopher Null had written about how to become a food critic, I'd be all over that. I wonder if it would work to just replace words like "film" and "movie" with "food" and "eats", or "actor" and "actress" with "meat" and "potatoes". But then I would have to come up with all kinds of substitutes, and that would get complicated. Would I pick "flambe" or "brussel sprout" to replace "director", "chef" or "gourmet" for "producer", or "curry" or "whip cream" for "writer"? No I guess it wouldn't work.

Hopefully, Mr. Null has a food critic friend who will write a similarly great book entitled "Five Stars! How to Become a Food Critic, The Galaxy's Greatest Job." Let's face it, film critiquing may be great, but food critiquing, what could be better than eating for a living?

normally, i wouldn't want to be a film critic but christopher null makes you really think about it. a great critic...he's interesting and inventive--and has an appreciation for the out of the ordinary... just check out his wacky website. [...]

Other reviewers have gone into great detail about what's in this book so I won't repeat their efforts. Simply put, this book is written by a critic, Christopher Null, which knows movies and can put that knowledge on paper in an informative and still entertaining way. Each point he makes in this book includes at least one movie as an example and it's obvious by the movie titles he lists that he has watched thousands of them. This is a must buy for anyone that wants to be a film critic (or already believe they are one) and a highly recommended purchase for those of you, like me, that simply love watching movies.

If you're one of the millions who dream of turning your love of cinema into a lifelong vocation, you need to read Five Stars. This is the only book on the market today that tells you, step by step, exactly how to break into this business.

Without weighing you down with a bunch of worthless theory that means nothing in the real world, Five Stars quickly gets down to the nitty gritty. In this book, Christopher Null, one of the most widely published and respected movie critics on the internet, walks you through every phase of your personal development on the path to a successful career.

The tips in Five Stars clearly show you how to:
-Educate yourself about the larger world of cinema
-Become a smarter and more active movie goer
-Communicate your thoughts coherently
-Write lively, entertaining movie reviews
-Find outlets to publish your work

Even with the best guidance in the world, becoming a successful film critic isn't easy. But Five Stars will arm you with the knowledge you need to roll up your sleeves and put your talent to work. Whether you're a young upstart with a passion for movies or an established critic with years of experience, this book is a must-have for your personal library.

This book is not fiction. The author researches REAL facts and sightings, and concludes that the saucers are interplanetary. Donald Keyhoe made a serious recearch, from an "inside" perspective , having some access to original military files. Before he started the research, he would not believe in the "visitors from space" answer. But checking thoroughly every other possible answer, he saw that they didn't fit in the sightings and the reports.
This book is a *must* have to anyone who wants to know the truth about the UFO phenomenon. It contains everything, from the reports and reactions to the military cover up. The *visitors* were here even before we were born. Anyone with a clear mind will see this.

In the realm of UFOlogy, this book was not only one of the first, but also one of the best reports ever written on the subject. I first read it in the early 1950's, and believe me, it is perhaps the one book that fueled my interest not only in UFO's but in all forms of Fortean Phenonema, both past and present for the last fifty-three years. No fadism in the pages of this excellent tome - just cold, hard, and well researched facts about a subject that is now more popular than when this book was first published in 1950.

This is a wonderful book for anyone that wants to make sense of what has been going on for long around the world. Great research book.

I found this book unsatisfactorily casual and slap-happy for the work of putative been-there-done-that expert with such lengthy tenure in and around things ufological. Yet, by reading this, I did manage to concretize a philosophical system that has been emerging for years as I read one UFO book after another--while also reading widely in other things paranormal, as well as a spate of less abstract fields, such as history, science, linguistics, anthropology, and such. Let us posit that aliens (1) exist; (2) have the technology to visit remote star systems; and (3) took greatly enhanced interest in earth only when it developed weapons systems capable of either harming other civilizations (i.e., in combination with its rocket technology) or of destroying itself (which would constitute a crying shame from the viewpoint of fundamentally beneficent aliens who respect other sentient life forms). Keyhoe leads me to believe--amid his conspiratorial musings and his subtle hints at what was meant by what was really meant by what Mr. X thought that Mr. Y intended--that they are watching us and executing a hands-off policy until such time that we pose a direct, immediate danger to ourselves (this will occur long before we pose a direct and immediate danger to exocivilizations), at which time--Starfleet-style "Prime Directives" od non-interference notwithstanding--they will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the harmonious continuation of our culture. Whether that means utterly conquering and enslaving us, or surreptitiously seizing control over certain key organs of our governments (possibly to include forging certain elements of the whole-earth government whose existence Einstein endorsed as a logical and necessary eventuality), or just providing cultural "guidance counselors," who can really say. It is indeed food for thought to ponder the likely--well, the possible--archetypal alien ethos and surmise what it might intend for us and why it should, or will, occur when the time requires it.

Written in 1950, this book cannot be said to have been influenced by the massive hype and disinformation that has surrounded the subject ever since. The author demonstrates none of the hysteria that characterizes so much of this genre. In addition to being informative, the book is a great read, more like a novel than a work of non-fiction. However, one never gets the sense that Kehoe is embellishing for effect. This is solid reporting. One element of the story that the book does not cover (as it emerged later) is the wide range in sizes these objects manifest, and their extremely varied form factors. Some, evidently, can take on the appearance of biological organisms, even quite small ones. For instance, I have seen such UFOs in my apartment, usually in the kitchen, and they look exactly like houseflies. After many years of observation, I have noted that these UFOs, for some reason unknown to me, return to their home galaxy in the Winter months, only to return in the Spring. Nowhere have I found a credible explanation for this in the extensive literature on the subject of unidentified flying objects.

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is a mesmerizing account of what it's like to be a movie producer. Besides sharing his own stories, Stephen Simon has written a thought provoking analogy of over 70 movies and the mystical messages he found in them.

Who will cherish this book? Movie lovers; people pursuing spiritual growth; anyone interested in any aspect of movie making... anyone...

I believe it was Mr. Simon's unquenchable love for humanity and the planet kept him going against all odds. The word "no" is unrecognizable in his consciousness. Oh - he's heard the word all right, more than most people. His heart has been shattered over and over, but love pieced it back together and motivated him on the relentless pursuit of his dreams. Did you know, for instance, that "What Dreams May Come" was 20 years in the making? Twenty years! And that "Somewhere In Time" bombed when it came out in theaters? Read the haunting and amazing story of how it resurrected itself and became one of the best loved
films of all times.

Stephen Simon is a visionary. The human race is evolving rapidly now and movies are one of the most profound tools we have to assist our evolution. Mr. Simon is forging a path for the genre of mystical movies (a genre Hollywood has not recognized). He discusses the industry and where he sees it heading.

Read this book. But be prepared to cry, to laugh, to be inspired and to grow in consciousness.

...

Stephen Simon's book is an inspiring read. Right from the beginning, you realize that this author, a producer and film executive with over twenty-five years experience in the Hollywood arena, is writing from the heart. He is passionate about awakening us to the spiritual cinema genre, movies that contain spiritual messages. Although this is a genre as yet not recognized by Hollywood, Simon maintains that these movies already exist, and indeed have done so for quite some time. He takes us on an entertaining, intimate, thought provoking and often humourous journey through a personal selection of seventy or so such films. Rest assured that this is not a book that critiques film, rather it illuminates. Perhaps Neale Donald Walsch says it best in his forward to the book: "If you love movies, you're going to love this book. If you love life, you're going to adore it. And if you love a good story, get set, because you're about to hear some great ones." I thoroughly loved reading "The Force is With You", and I think you will too.

Author Stephen Simon writes an excellent book about spiritualism and the messages in movies; movies that speak to the emotional context of a person's soul. I realized that the messages Mr. Simon writes about the very things that I found missing in most mainstream films. (Thank God I live in city where art houses exist, but I realize not everyone has that luxury) Finally someone was able to show that there is more going on up on the big screen than what meets the eye. Every movie that he writes about in his book is in some way or another a winner, regardless of what it did in box office receipts. Still this book is a lot more than just a much of plot synopsis and message of some really great movies. Mr. Simon writes about his life growing up in movie industry. His battle to get both "Somewhere in Time" and "What Dreams May Become" (both based on books by author Richard Matheson-a great writer himself) made into films. His elation of getting both films made and then watching as the critics ripped both of them both apart , only to become resurrected and warmly welcomed on cable, video and DVD by thousands of people years later. Plus, his very telling reasoning on why mainstream movies have to stay "commercial," he writes volumes in a few pages that will generate debate for years to come. Whatever your spiritual beliefs, I think there is something in this book for every movie lover.

This is new movement and a new way of thinking about movies and I'll gladly be in the front row watching as those beautiful, special images and messages flicker over me.

Hallelujah! We finally have a book that's dedicated to covering the newly emerging category of spiritual cinema! THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is written by Hollywood insider Stephen Simon, who writes straight from his heart about the significant messages in more than 70 movies. Spiritual Cinema is all about exploring the meaning of love, life, death, time, and space -- which are the topics I most enjoy seeing in the movies. Most of my favorite movies are included here: The Matrix, Sliding Doors, Somewhere in Time, The Kid, Frequency, Star Wars, Lost Horizon, The Sixth Sense, Ghost, What Dreams May Come, Defending Your Life, Groundhog Day, Contact, Phenomenon, Powder, Being There, The Truman Show, Sleepless in Seattle, Family Man, and It's A Wonderful Life.

What I love best about THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is the way it so clearly conveys a sense of hope, inspiration, and purposefulness about the way humanity learns about its worst fears and greatest hopes through stories. Yes, we love to vividly imagine the end of the world... but we also love to dream of ways we can find solutions to our biggest problems. We know that it's not easy being more spiritually and psychically evolved... but we love to imagine how those of us who are different can be accepted in mainstream society.

THE FORCE IS WITH YOU is priceless for clarifying what the new genre of "Spiritual Cinema" is all about, and for providing an inspiring list of the most spiritual movies of all time. It is my deepest hope that this book will help establish awareness in film-makers everywhere of the importance of making spiritual movies, as it helps movie-goers better understand the significance of the movies they see.

I apologize up front to those who can't stand anything negative, but hey, someone has to speak up and make all you positive types feel superior, right?

First let me say I enjoyed the book. If you love movies, you will also enjoy the book. It did need a good editor, though, as it had misspellings, repetition, bad grammar and even attributed FDR's famous "fear" quote to Churchill. Do you think I'm a bad person for pointing that out? Then you're a bad person for having thought that. Ha!

Lastly, its unrelenting positive tone drove me a little bananas. Why? It did not reflect life and so Stephen Simon did not feel authentic. I don't think life on Earth is ever going to be 100% positive. Why? Because life would die. One hand clapping produces nothing but silence. We humans happen to have two hands. For those of us who are not saints nor are aspiring to be, there is good and bad. Yeah, it's all relative, but hey, it's a structure that helps you keep your balance. Don't take it all so seriously. To read a book in which nothing but good things are said about everybody, with the usual (and constant) Hollywood adjectives: amazing, unbelievable, wonderful, fantastic, etc., is to find one's teeth suddenly coated up with sugar and gagging on it.

You can say that someone did a bad job without condemning them, can't you? You can point out that someone made a mistake without wanting to throw them away, right? This is Earth, folks. It's all about context. We have sunshine and rain. We also have drought and floods. To point out these latter conditions does not make you negative or unspiritual. But we are in the movie business so we don't want to offend anyone. Fine. Here's your heads up. With this book you'll find yourself in a rowboat with only one oar. You'll go in circles, but will still enjoy the ride.

My oldest daughter loves this book. The entire series by Esther Averill is terrific!

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

What a wonderful book! I didin't want it to end. The cat characters were wonderfully realized, very "cat-like", with distinct personalities and catty quirks. The slightly primative illustrations were charming and enhanced the narrative. I loved the story, and look forward to reading the rest of the "Cat Club" books!

I'm hoping that The Hotel Cat will soon join the other Cat Club reissues. Somewhere over the years I lost my original copy and recently replaced it with a used one I came across on EBay, but I'd love a new copy that would hold up long enough for my children to pass on to their children. If I read this book once I read it a thousand times, and I'll never forget the fifth-grade book report I wrote---or the crude mobile I created for which my mother helped me knit a little red scarf for Jenny! The illustrations and the story captivated me, transported me to a place I could only imagine, and inspired me to ask my parents all kinds of bizarre questions that they probably never could have expected---like what's a hornpipe dance and why is it called that?! A real treasure.

The other day I came across a copy of "Jenny and the Cat Club" at a bookstore and was overcome by memories of the hours I spent with the Cat Club as a child. "The Hotel Cat" was the first of my experiences with the Cat Club, and has always remained my favorite. For several years in grade school I would check it out over and over at the library to have the pleasure of reading it again and again. At one point I became convinced that my own three cats had a secret club with the other neighborhood felines! Eventually of course I moved on to longer and more difficult reads, but I never forgot Tom and the other Cat Club members. Sadly, when I looked for "The Hotel Cat" at the library a few years ago I discovered that it and the other Cat Club books had been sold or donated due to a low check out rate. Since then, I have been looking for my own copy of Cat Club books. Now that they are being republished, I absolutely plan to buy a copy of each so that I can pass these wonderful books that meant so much to me on to my own children some day.

Very useful! This is the one source for test interpretations that you need. Sensibility and specificity? This book will give you much more than that, including indications, limitations, factors that alter the results and more. I highly recommend it.

An indispensable guide. Thorough and complete. Very helpful both in determining what tests to order, and how to interpret test results; especially helpful for the less common and more esoteric tests.

I am surprised that many professionals are not aware of the results of the diagnostic test results that are listed in this medical reference. Every doctor's office should have this manuscript in their library. Especially for the nurse practioners and physician assistants in their employ.
My initial curiosity was with the results of urine tests/toxicology tests and the way certain tests are skewed by other drugs/agents in the patients regimens.
One should be especially interested in false positives in urine tests, that can be caused by other medications.

A patient of mine was acccused of being positive for benzodiazepines on a urine test by the same nurse practioner that prescibed him/her high doses of ibuprofen. This manuscript proved that the results of the urine test were wrong. There are no blood tests to prove otherwise. The medical facility now agrees that this book should be in their library. Saving the patient undo stress/ridicule/delay of actual competent therapy.

I, too, have been using this reference for several years. I consider it to be one of the five most useful medical books on my shelf. This is probably the only book I feel the need to purchase every time there is an updated edition. I strongly recommend it for medical students, residents, midlevel providers and practicing physicians. It is a core reference in medical board review. It may also be of value for nursing staff in the hospital or clinic setting, especially for critical care nurses, or for anyone who is motivated to learn about medical diagnosis. The book is less likely to be useful to patients and their families, due to its highly technical nature.

This is a little book I've been using since day one at work, and let me say it is simply the most practical reference I had ever bought. It has a very concise overview of the principles underlying any diagnosis, an overview of some critical values, a pathologist incline clasification in the book (more disease oriented), and a super complete list of causes that may provoque the anomalies detected and outlined in this book. All in a minute consultation, really fast and easy to use. Simply very, very good.

This is the catalogue for the landmark Pollock exhibition held at the Moma and the Tate in 1998-1999. Considering the steep rise in the insurance value of Pollock's paintings, such a comprehensive retrospective is not likely to be repeated in the near future and we are therefore fortunate to have such a brilliant book to help us remember it. The late Kirk Varnedoe was one of the best interpreters of contemporary American art and his text, never anecdotical and always informative without being pedantic, does justice to the masterpieces without falling into any of the cliches that often pollute our view of this great artist.

Beautiful illustrations make this book an indispensable presence in any arts library.

I picked this book up at the MOMA Pollock retrospective a couple years ago and have used it extensively. Having seen many of the paintings in this book firsthand, I can say that these are some of the best reproductions offerred in book form on Pollock's work. Another plus is that several paintings are printed on fold-out pages, so that the work doesn't cross the book's seam. So many of his paintings are extremely wide that this makes a lot of sense (otherwise, there would be hardly any resolution in the height dimension).

If you're interested in Pollock and need to refer to the reproductions, I absolutely recommend this book above all others out there.

This breathtaking catalogue is simply the best single volume available on Jackson Pollock, and this is primarily--but not only--because of the number and quality of the reproductions it offers. Almost every one of the dozen or so Pollock books in my library contains a painting not available in the others, but this book collects and beautifully photographs the greatest number and variety of his canvases--outside of a catalogue raisonee.

As the other reviewers state, there are many generously-sized fold-out pages here, and the crispness and resolution of these big reprints and of the more modest pages are simply amazing. To take two essential examples, this book's reprints of "One: Number 31, 1950" and "Blue Poles: Number 11, 1952" are astoundingly clear, better than any of the many other versions I've seen in art books, even in Ellen Landau's large-format survey, a book which also includes gatefolds.

(Another reviewer, by the by, states that "Lucifer" is not available in any other book, which is not true. Among other places, it appears in Landau, in Elizabeth's Frank's concise volume, and as the sole color reproduction in the book for the 1965 MOMA retrospective. Anyway, it gets terrific treatment here.)

Another invaluable inclusion in this book is a great number of full-sized detail photos of the canvases. For example, on a page adjacent to "Lucifer" and "Autumn Rhythm" and "Full Fathom Five," we see another photo of just one small section of that same painting but in 1-to-1 scale; these details reveal much of the dynamic, kinetic, urgent quality of these works, their encrustations of sand, glass, pennies, paint caps--traits which even this book could otherwise never offer a livingroom Pollock-viewer.

Further, having seen the exhibit in January of 1999, I can attest to the generally excellent fidelity of the color-balance. (Curiously, no one seems to be able to capture "Autumn Rhythm"'s grey-teal passages in a book, but if you were at this show or have viewed the painting at the Met you've seen them.)

The accompanying articles are excellent. Kirk Varnedoe overviews of Pollock's life, artistic aims, his accomplishments, all illustrated with family and archival photographs and drawing on Pollock quotations. Pepe Karmel uses the extensive photographic and film record of Pollock painting to analyze Pollock's physical movements. Most wonderful are Karmel's computer reconstructions of early states of the painting "Autumn Rythm," based on Hans Namuth's photos of Pollock at work.

In sum, this book gives the finest, fullest offering of both Pollock's life and art.

Excellent companion piece to the MOMA show (which traveled to London's Tate) goes beyond all other Pollock explorations. A "must" for students of modern American art as well as those just wanting to get a better understanding of what Pollock was REALLY DOING.

Large format features fold-out reproductions of breathtakingly high quality. Among these, incredibly, are paintings not found in any other published sources. (The incomparable Lucifer (1947) is one such work).

The text is scholarly but readable, and although there is a considerable amount of it, each open page of writing offers at least a couple relevant and highly interesting photos or other illustrations. The many large color plates would certainly make a gorgeous and impressive coffee table book for anyone who doesn't choose to read it.

Kirk Varnedoe writes definitively about Pollock's mercurial life & career. Varnedoe's nearly 75 pages of biographical analysis are a welcome alternative to the kind of misguided mythologizing about Pollock that has for a long time colored the artist as an overrated art "star."

Pepe Karmel's contribution to this book is an amazing analysis of Pollock's painting process through an exhaustive examination of the famous films and photographs of Pollock at work. This was a fascinating, ground-breaking part of the exhibition, and is equally wonderful in the book.

Well worth the price.

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I purchased this book when it first came out and refer back to it often. A person could spend hours at a time pouring over the plates and fold-out pictures (pun intended). Not only does this particular book provide the best collection of absolutely superb quality Jackson Pollock reproductions that I'm aware of, but the narrative is extremely well written and essential to understanding many things regarding Pollock's thought process and artistic technique.

Pepe Karmel's chapter imparticular, in which he analyzes Hans Namuth's photographs, is nothing less than brilliant detective work. I found it fascinating to find that underlying the lacy layers of at least one of Pollock's drip paintings are figurative images which he made within a narrative context. Although the complete details of this "narrative" may never be fully known, Pepe speculates that Pollock may have been acting out the destruction of some of his inward demons by first physically acknowledging and creating them and then systematically covering them within the confines of the finished painting. I'll leave it to you to get the book and both read and see for yourself all of the findings which include the deciphering of some of the figures and their meanings. With this discovery, the creation of the painting involved (Number 27, 1950) becomes not only a very strenuous and at once both spontaneous and preplanned action - but a true "ritual." Was he destroying these figures or merely absorbing them into a larger and more complex environment? We'll probably never know all the details. I wonder if Pollock would have disclosed answers to these questions had he been confronted with them during his life? Perhaps this would have been too personal. But maybe he did confide the details of what he was doing to someone and another good researcher might come across a total revelation in a hidden diary someday. I'm sure this is just wishful thinking on my part, but how I love a good mystery!

Another sweet story involving that shy, black kitty named Jenny Linsky. I can't imagine a little kid not loving this story and wanting to read it again and again.

I was delighted to find these books again. For years I have been searching for the books about the little black cat, Jenny.

Recently, I was at Books of Wonder and was jokingly testing the salesperson's knowledge. She knew! I couldn't believe it.

These books were a pleasure to me as a child and spurred my love of reading. I intend to buy all of them for my daughter.

I loved all the Jenny Linskey books as a child and still find them charming as an adult. They are queit, gentle books and I remember how as a shy child it was comforting to have books about other shy creatures read to me. It also helped a lot that the cat and I shared a name, Jenny, and that I had a pet black cat.

I first read Jenny's Birthday Book as a shy kindergartener. I picked it out of the school library based on my love for cats, the wonderful colors on the cover and because my birthday happened to be coming up. There was no way to know the impact of that library visit.

The following Septembers spent at Berkeley Street School, I would take out Jenny's Birthday Book as a special birthday ritual and read it slowly and mindfully, taken by the gentleness of the language and illustrations. The book was not only a comfort at the time, but shaped my sense of aesthetics and love for language. Even as an adult I am taken by the beauty of the scene where Jenny and her rambunctious friends "... danced the sailor's hornpipe in the moonlit park."

Anyway, never forgetting this book, I had been on fruitless search for it for the past 15 years (I thought it was titled Jenny's Birthday Party and didn't know the author) and happened upon it in a friend's shop. With a little girl on the way, I can't explain how thankful I am that it has been republished and now own it with the plan to read it to my own daughter.

Well Oct. Is not only my Fav. month.
Buuut also my friend Jenny J.J.I.'s
Birthday! For those of you who know
Mrs. Fab. She is really GREAT! She is
a New Yawker and a loving wife/mother.
She gives WONDERFUL reviews on all
sorts of books and film with her
own,own....pizazz! So Jenny girl
from the bottom of my heart hope
you and your family are enjoying Friday!
Stay who you are and never change!
Your friend Clint!
By the way Jennys Birthday book
is a fantastic read for youngsters!
Thank you.
p.s. Oct. 5th what a SPECIAL day. I remember when
I turned 23 yrs.old Take care J.J.I.

Although relatively new in the game, (when compared to veterans like the Cecil's and the Harrison's), Kelley's Textbook of Internal Medicine is in a class of its own. This 3,200 pages of sound medical gospel is an all-round platinum winner.
It is a pacesetter in outlook: covering all branches of medicine in a veridicous way that is worthy of emulation.
If the current pace established by the 4th edition is sustained in the future, Kelley's will completely douse competition from both the Cecil's and the Harrison's texts.
It is hard to find flaws in this book; and I believe that many people would like to see what its CD-ROM version will look like.

Kelley's Textbook of Internal Medicine, now in its 4th edition continues to uphold the highest standards of excellence and is an acclaimed classic world-wide. It is unique among other medical books in that as a stand-alone one-volume reference guide, no other provides such an encyclopaedic breadth of coverage and utility in clinical practice. The founding editor, William N. Kelley has succeeded admirably in compiling a superior and formidable state-of-the-art medical reference which contains several written contributions from leading medical specialists and is a powerful teaching tool for both medical undergraduates and qualified practitioners. The text is compartmentalised into 11 major sections, each corresponding to the main branches of medicine. These include an opening part on Principles of Medical Practice which is followed by sections on Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Nephrology, Oncology and Haematology, Rheumatological, Allergic, and Dermatological Diseases, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism and Genetics, Neurology and finally Geriatrics. Each section is then further subdivided into chapters which discuss the procedural aspects of how to approach a patient with a common presenting complaint from tests to final diagnosis, a focus on the main disorders of each particular system, as well as an in-depth analysis of the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities pertaining to specific disease entities. In light of the growing importance of evidence-based medicine, a major new addition to the 4th edition is a series of "clinical decision guides". These are based on various gradations of scientific evidence which propel evidence-based medicine into the front-line of decision-making when considering the formulation of guidelines relating to differential diagnosis and management protocols for major problems. Also worthy of special mention is the inclusion of an extremely useful Rapid Access Guide which is alphabetically indexed by organ system and located at the beginning of the text. This allows fast and easy retrieval of the most important facts regarding common specific diseases or syndromes. In summary, at over 3000 pages long, Kelley's Textbook of Internal Medicine is a truly inspirational achievement and must surely rank amongst the most thoroughly comprehensive and authoritative medical textbooks currently available. Certainly, I can think of no book which encompasses such scope and captures the changing face of medicine today.

I have been using this book for many years. No new edition will ever come out. Dr. Humes, the chief editor, of this textbook in the reply to my email by one of his coworkers, he stated that " Dr. David Humes asked that I respond for him to your email of 5/8. He regrets to report that Kelley Textbook publisher, Lippincott Williams & WIlkins, is no longer publishing General Medicine textbooks and that he is unaware of any plans to publish a new edition of the Textbook. Dr. Humes appreciates, however, your kind and favorable comments regarding the Textbook.."

So no more new edition of Kelley's textbook of internal medicine in the market. What a great disppointment!!!!

An excellent reference text for the practicing primary care physicians. Concise, gives necessary info without a lot of minuta.Great bargain for the price. I trained using Cecil's and I feel this is as good for less money.

I whole-heartedly agree with other reviewers. This book is a treasure in the midst of competing texts that simply do not offer the quality of Kelley's textbook.

This book does what others simply fail to do. Provide comprehensive, *practical*, and evidence-based medical management guidelines. Whereas most standard texts may provide such information about disease entities, Kelley's also recognises that patients most often present with diagnostic problems (such as hematuria or tremors) and thus devotes much attention to these. Each of these presentations is examined in terms of differentials (not just a list - you are given perspective and told what to look for in different subpopulations that present with the same complaint), then workup, treatment options, and followup considerations are explored. Facts aren't simply printed for the purpose of memorization (as is often the case in other texts); they are contextualized and presented in a manner that is useful to your goal of providing thorough and effective management options to your patients. I would also recommend this texts to medical students, as it is far easier to absorb information that is clinically and practically relevant rather than memorize those lists and flow diagrams (which at first glance may look concise and easy to study, but in the long term are actually difficult to remember).

Dr A.M.