Journals Books

As a wordsmith, Epstein has few peers. These essays are to be luxuriated in, read and re-read. Pure pleasure.

Joseph Epstein is the type of writer whose works everyone should read but, sadly, too few do. He is both erudite and witty while retaining the nonchalance of "just one of the guys from the neighborhood." His writing is always insightful and always enjoyable. To those who keep a notepad and pencil handy while reading to jot down a tidbit of obscure information or a reference to a book to be explored at a later date, Mr. Epstein's books will necessitate the presence of a good pencil sharpener as well. Sadly, most of his books, of which there have been many, are now out of print. Such is the fate of interesting, witty, and sublime writers in our questionably literate time. Thankfully, A Line Out For A Walk remains available.

Comprising a series of essays, most of which originally published under his pen name "Aristides" while serving his remarkable tenure as editor of that once great journal of American letter, The American Scholar, A Line Out For A Walk is a remarkable book. In it can be found something to please the tastes of most everyone; reminiscences of old friends (some notable, some known only to a few), literary investigations, histories, ponderings, puns, observations, laments, biographical sketches, and reflections - all are offered in the straightforward yet eloquent style that has become Mr. Epstein's trademark. Should anyone finish a reading of this book and not felt themselves to have spent the time wisely and profitably, they should abandon reading altogether as they are obviously missing the point of it.

Mr. Epstein's essays are not the thin, watery things we so commonly see today, containing only a few personal, usually embarrassing remembrances of the author' life. They are full of life, being composed both the high and the low, the intellectual and the mundane. In one essay alone you are likely to find some of the life of Henry James, a note on the achievements of Jewish baseball players, an observation on the nature of indoor cats, three snippets from Lady Montagu's travel journals, a tale of life in the Chicago of the 50's, a little known personal habit of Woodrow Wilson, the real meaning behind one of Gainsborough's paintings, and a brief life of a little known but highly respected journalist from the 1890's. These are not things expected in a modern essayist; these are the qualities of products from the golden years of the essay. Indeed, Mr. Epstein should be, and no doubt someday will be, ranked among the likes of Lamb, Hazlitt, and Leibling. After all to which he has been subjected in his lifetime, it is the least that can be done to honor his outstanding work.

In the past few years I have read a large number of the essays of Joseph Epstein. I find that he is one of the best essayists now writing. He writes with a real grasp of American everyday realities, He also has a real feeling for Literature. But what most impresses in his work is his mastery of Ideas , and his ability to clarify his experience conceptually.
Reading him is a very special kind of education, enjoyable and interesting.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

November, 28, 2003

SERIES EXAMINES LIFE'S QUIRKS and SIMILARITIES

What do a spider and a Neanderthal have in common or molecules and humans? No, these are not the beginning of unfunny jokes your uncle told you at Christmas. These are examples of everyday life examined in the book of John Hodgson.
A former cellular phone salesman, Hodgson now writes full time from his home.
Using his own observations and research, Hodgson presents a series of book that look at the strange daily habits of life.
The Little Fun Book of Bees/Forests, The Little Fun Book of Spiders/Neanderthal, The Little fun Book of Molecules/Humans, and The Little Fun Book of Plants/Scorpions all take seemingly unrelated topics and find ways of showing that they are, in fact, similar in many ways.
Most people are aware that at one time Neanderthals roamed the earth hunting and gathering, crossing the landscape to survive. But how many people would instantly associate these practices with a spider? They, too, spend most of their lives hunting for food and building a home in which to live.
But Hodgson takes this to another level and looks at ways in which spiders and Neanderthals moved, ate, and survived thousands of years ago and, in the case of spiders, today. He then attempts to show that they are really not that different at all.
One only has to open the book to any random page and instantly find unique and fun comparisons written in a metaphoric and disjoined manner, aiming to make connections between the two subjects: "Spiders/Neanderthals lived together/didn't always get along;" or "Neanderthals sometimes eat spiders. Spiders sometimes bite Neanderthals."
After several of these comparisons, the reader begins to share the author's understanding of the natural world and its subtle connection Hodgson makes.
Each page has just one sentence, in large type similar to a children's book. Hodgson, however, deals with more complex issues, raising questions of how other living creatures could be related in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In some cases he makes obvious links: scorpions and plants, for example, need dirt to live. Hodgson then takes a more philosophical approach, by showing how plants and scorpions symbolize humans in a variety of ways.
Hodgson presents to readers the ways in which life has learned to co-exist with each other despite obvious differences. He also looks at ways in which species depend on each other to survive and, in the end, it isn't always man who wins.
"Neanderthals were the building blocks of modern man. Spiders still exist." Hodgson writes.
The Little Fun Book series is certainly ideal for the person who enjoys learning and understanding the world around them from different perspectives.
The Little Fun Book series is published through 1st books library and are available at www.1stbookslibrary.com, www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com.

This is a great gift for yourself or others. It's attractive, so it really makes one want to get involved with this life-enhancing path. The author , as you probably know, is well-immersed in this field. In this book/journal, she offers a weekly lesson for introspection and illumination. These lessons include a thought for reflection that is the essence of that week's journey. The last half of the book offers lined journal pages for your use in exploring journal topics, etc. Every page is nicely decorated with shamanistic symbols. Each week's topics are not just random; they are designed in an order to lead the reader on a year-long quest for better Self-hood. It's really an exciting opportunity packaged in an enticing workbook.

I love this workbook! It asks questions and gives you exercises that really help you define who you are, what you want and how to develope ways to get there. A wonderful personal development tool!

I happened on this journal in a little bookstore in Black Mountain, NC in August of 1999. At the time my Dad was terminally ill. My brother, my Dad, and I were going through a most difficult time, emotionally. Anyway, I started working in this journal the first of September, 1999. It is a very wonderful tool for healing and uniting our inner selves. It requires DEEP introspection and therefore offers DEEP healing. I positively recommend this book, but remember before you start the journey be ready to do some real, sometimes painful, rewarding work. God Bless You!

Robert Lax,who died late last year back in his "home" of Olean,N.Y.,was a writer of spare,minimalist poetry and prose.Lauded by his comtempories{writers as diverse as Levertov,Kerouac,Maxwell and Thomas Merton considered him an absolutelt essential poet}He writes about the Large{the title piece, a reworking of the intoduction to the Gospel of John} to colors. He work is so spare that it becomes meditative. In the early 1960's Lax moved to the island of Patmos,and began life as a hermit. His speech{and poerty }became even more lean,essentially stripping away whatever he viewed as accretion.One poem written like a cascading waterfall, simply spells out colors. His greatest work, the circus of the sun, is reprinted here in part. Lax travelled with a canadian circus for awhile, and viewed the circus,metaphorically, as life. This volume is rounded out with some dairies he keopt in the mid 60's on the Greek Islands. I believe that generations to come will view him as one of the great poets of the century.For that he certainly was. An essential volume!

Robert Lax, as much as the author of a wondrous body of poetic work as for his choice of a contemplative way of living his life, is one of those writers one must know, and know deeply.

As it happens so often when it comes to poetry, the recognition of artistic achievement does not always translate into any kind of sizable exposure to the general reading public, and, in Lax's case, it may even be limited even in poetry-loving circles. To make matters even more complicated, Robert Lax left New York in the 1940's, while still young -having graduated from Columbia and written for the New Yorker for a while- and moved to Patmos, one of the Greek islands, where he lived the rest of his life in a manner reminiscent of the Fathers of the Desert during the twelfth century. So, a poet who by virtue of his "profession" already limited his chances at real fame, further disappeared into the proverbial literary woodwork, by choosing the life of a medieval saint.

Now, having established some general biographical data, let us talk about the poet and his poetry and, more specifically about this particular book. There are two aspects of Lax's writing which are important to know, one is his economy of expression-which many have described as a "minimalism" yet I avoid for the potential assumptions about his belonging to a "school" of writing rather than having make some personal choices about how to say what he wanted to say.

When it comes to Robert Lax less is not only "more", it is actually greater, deeper, a form of communion with the reader who's invited to imagine each poem along with the writer. These poems are born of a certain appreciation for the reader's intelligence and sensitivity, refusing to serve the "liquid diet" of much of contemporary over-explained poetry. With Lax, you need to work ... no, more precisely yet, you need to attend, be present, be available to the magical evocation of language.

This becomes eminently apparent particularly in the included selections from his Greek Journal. in these texts Lax goes about being deeply interested in noticing whatever he notices -not unlike a Zen Buddhist sage- looking for the poems he would see, find first in life itself, rather than as constructs in his mind. More the telling of his small epiphanies, than self-important statements from a saint "wannabe:"

"the woman who lives in the house at the bottom of the hill asked me
with a great warm smile how i was doing; i said fine, and that I was going
to work. good, she said, tapping her head, or something, to show that
the work I meant was intellectual.

which perhaps it is: it feels more, the way i do it, like adam naming
the plants & animals. looking & naming: not doing very much more."

Lax is a true spiritual man and, because of that, his poetry is the poetry of a spiritual man rather than "spiritual poetry." Although this may sound merely semantic there's a valuable distinction to be drawn from it, these poems are not necessarily about spiritual topics -the triumphs and defeats of being a faithful man, or the counsels of someone who's attained certain degree of enlightment over material pursuits- yet it is, very much so, about spiritual matters, the diary of a man earnestly pondering over what it is to live a meaningful life, a poetic existence.

Whether it is one of his "diary entries" or one of his poems about circus life -the circus-inspired poems being another prominent aspect of Lax's writing, many of which are included in this flawless collection- what comes across so powerfully is the careful observation of trapeze artists and horse riders perfecting their crafts and longing to touch their audience. The circus and its people are not a childhood memory nor a passing interest in a odd, social group, it is a faithful community of men and women, a form of ecumenical work:

Our dreams have tamed the lions,
have made pathways in the jungle,
peaceful lakes; they have built new
Edens ever-sweet and ever-changing
By day from town to town we carry
Eden in our tents and bring its won-
ders to the children who have lost
their dream at home.

Robert Lax was this kind of poet, his so-called "hermit life" was his attempt to live a life of observation, meditation and, in perhaps a not so obvious way, a life of communion with this world.
Tolstoi is quoted as saying that if you "paint your village" you could achieve universality in your work. In the case of Robert Lax, what he has so beautifully depicted when it comes to the circus, or noted so wisely about a small Greek island, has made him a timeless, devoted observer of the welcomed difficulties of becoming an honorable human being.

" to be 'enlightened' is not to shine; nor to bring
multitudes to the hill where one sits cross-legged,
to listen.

it is rather to know what one is doing (& even,
perhaps, to enjoy it.)"

This book describes silence in gorgeous prose and poetry. I recommend it to anyone who loves the sound and feel of the written word and the sound and feel of quiet.

I bought this item as gift for my fiance. He currently lives in FL & often ask me about Love Is which is printed daily in the Chicago Suntimes.
I saw this book and I knew I had to buy it for him for Valentines Day. He Loves it and says it is a treasure.

Product arrived as advertised - very good quality.
Larger than previous Love Is books - Very Satisfied.

This is a cute paperback version of the hardcover cartoon collection that is also sold on Amazon. Amazon has done a lousy job with thier item descriptions and you never know what you are ordering anymore.

Scrapbooking is all about recording family memories in a creative way, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a book that contains not only the personal family journals of a few well-known scrapbook artists, but the expeiences that inpsired the work, and their ideas on how the reader can incorporate these ideas into similar scrapbooks. This book takes family journaling to a whole new level.

The book shows the various journals and then gives ideas -- jumpstarts, if you will, for how the reader can create a similar work that reflects their own family memories. That's the beauty of this book. It's not only provides eye-candy, but great ideas and instructions. For example, on page 26 we are introduced to The Strine family's Time Capsule created by Allison Strine (and the credits for each piece contains ALL the names of the family members, not just the name of the individual artist -- I love that special touch!). On the opposite page is a sidebar that contains ideas for things the reader can collect to create their own time capsule. I fell in love with the Adolph family's "South of the Border" journal designed by the children of Christine Adolph. The journal was created while on a family cruise vacation and the along with photos are ideas on what to gather during YOUR family vacations so you can create your own journal. Throughout the book each artist shares her ideas on how you can create journals just like theirs with your own artistic and familial bent.

This is no doubt one of my very favorite art books because it brings to mind what scrapbooking is all about...our own personal memories gathered together in our own artistic way. This is not about what the magazines are looking for, but what our families treasure most. Awesome book. I'll keep it forever!

Enjoy,
Cris Cunningham

This is an incredibly inspiring book. I own many books expanding on mixed media art and this book is by far the most inspiring, creative, colorful and delightful that I've run in to. The techniques are described sufficiently enough to get you headed in the right direction and encourages your own artistic touch. There is enough variety to keep you trying new techniques and ideas for a long time to come. This has become my most favorite of my collection. I will be coming back to this one over and over again! Enjoy!

This book is an amazing venture into journal making. My passion is creating journals, and I own several related books. This is perhaps one of the best. I've poured over it several times. Lots of projects that are technique driven. Many great tips. Well thought out, beautifully written and illustrated. If you love to journal, make journals, make alterted journals, or just love to read about their magic, this is an excellent book to add to your library. I'll be using it for inspiration for a long time.

I read this book in one setting. What a fascinating journey Sladen takes you on in this first hand account of a significant moment in history. I've been reading books on the west my entire life and I have to say this is the best single book one could read on the American Southwest. It chronicles the remarkable meeting between General O.O. Howard and the Great Apache leader Cochise. Sladen records Cochise's personality and style in great detail. He gives a vivid portrait of life in an Apache village. He presents Tom Jeffords and Howard as they really were. He describes the incredible county this drama played out in with the sensibility of a true lover of beauty and nature. Sladen's become one of my heros along with Cochise and Edward R. Sweeney who edited this book and wrote a brilliant biography of Cochise.

Cochise is an elusive character. There are no photographs of him, and only one eloquent speech, which was recorded by an Army interpreter. Otherwise, we are left with vague secondhand accounts that often make him a two-dimensional cardboard cutout. Sladen's journal breathes life into this dynamic individual. It is fascinating reading, and, as Sweeney the editor points out, Sladen is not judgmental. He simply describes life in the Apache camp. A wonderful book.

Another book on my shelf from U. of Oklahoma that gets better with rereading.

Though this one was released more than 5 years ago, it reads as though written yesterday. And that is something, since the diary that underpins it was written in 1872.

This is must reading for anyone enjoying information of the period of the Apache wars in Arizona/New Mexico area. Other than the author's previous biography on Cochise, nothing is available giving personal views of Cochise and his people. And Cochise's statement that no whiteman would look upon his face was well kept. These two military men, and Tom Jeffords were among the few that ever did.

Enough good words cannot be said about this one.

Semper Fi.

For those of you that know of Barron's amazing journals, this is your first chance keep one for yourself! Barron continues to amaze everyone he meets and teaches, and it is no suprise why. In the Marate Sade Journals, Barron is dealing with the classic play, in his very unique style. By combining text and his beautifully rendered images from the story, he brings to life this piece of literature.

The book was published in 1993 and limited to 1,000 copies, so if you can find it BUY IT! The color reproduction is beautiful and it really shows just how amazing his work is.

It took me two years to find a copy of Barron Storey's Marat/Sade Journals...and it was well worth the wait. Inside unfolds a collection of the images thoughts over which Storey obsessed as he dealt with the end of a love affair and his frustrations with his life's work. This collection of sketchbook paintings and quotations from Peter Weiss play out far better than the actual play Marat/Sade and communicate the deep set depression that shrouds any man after he has broken up with the woman he loved. Barron Storey's works are hard to find. I highly recommend the Marat/Sade journals, the 1995 release of Barron Storey's Watch, and the Boy Racer (published in an old issue of Heavy Metal) to any one interested in Storey's work. And good luck, this stuff is hard to find.

For those of you that know of Barron's amazing journals, this is your first chance keep one for yourself! Barron continues to amaze everyone he meets and teaches, and it is no suprise why. In the Marate Sade Journals, Barron is dealing with the classic play, in his very unique style. By combining text and his beautifully rendered images from the story, he brings to life this piece of literature.

The book was published in 1993 and limited to 1,000 copies, so if you can find it BUY IT! The color reproduction is beautiful and it really shows just how amazing his work is.

Mary's done it! Put her beautiful, inspiring artwork together with her favorite "reminders." Great book to use as my own reminder about what's truly important.

I love anything with words of encouragement and this book is perfect. You can just look at a couple of pages and get that lift! I gave the book as a gift and each recipient loved it. The art work is wonderful.

A true Mary Engelbreit fan, I loved reading "Words to Live By" many, many times! The illustrations are beautiful, the text touching, humorous, and truly inspirational! I have given this book to many friends who love it as much as I do....men and women, alike, enjoy her talent of focusing on what is important to us all in life...home and the love of family and friends. Through a variety of quotations and Mary's superb artistry, "Words to Live By" will fill your heart with every emotion leading to the happiest of reading experiences...Mary Engelbreit at her best!

Mr. Philip Hamburger (per the book jacket) has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1939 or 62 years. Writing for The New Yorker is an accomplishment in itself, I have read of no one who has written for the New Yorker for the duration that Mr. Hamburger has. After all these decades one would expect that he would be a man of strong opinions which would entrench him at some point on the Political Yardstick. Any concern about partisanship is dismissed when he scorns the concepts of left and right, and suggests, "common sense, decency, and the better angels of our nature", should be what governs the thoughts of people.

The Author is remarkable for many accomplishments, however his history of having attended every Inauguration since FDR'S First, and missing only FDR'S Third and Fourth is remarkable. These events serve as milestones in his life as he viewed his first from the branches of a tree, and as time passed became a guest at a variety of distinguished functions that he tends to bring down to earth and into focus.

Readers will come away from reading the wisdom this man has accumulated over half a century with different experiences based on what he chose to include in this book, and how he treated the topics. He is a remarkable writer that would attend and observe and then write of his encounters with Washington's major events, or a private gathering with a Mayor, and then write a reflection of the topic and its relevance without discoloring it with personal prejudice. He is clearly an admirer of some of his subjects such as Judge Learned Hand, however after you read his 1946 story about this jurist and orator, you too may find you have a new individual you admire, and have been introduced to a speech that is as powerful as any given in our Country's History.

This is the Author's 8th book and I hope there are more. Perhaps a collection of his work will be forthcoming, for if it is all as good or nearly good as this small collection, a marvelous piece of history it would make.

The subtitle suggests that Hamburger offers a "political excursion" and indeed he does, enabling his reader to tag along with him as he attends national political conventions and Presidential inaugurations, beginning in 1948. Along the way, he shares his reactions to (and in some instances, his direct encounters with) various major political figures such as Fiorello LaGuardia, William O'Dwyer, Harry Truman, Thomas Dewey, Dwight Eisenhower, Joseph McCarthy, Robert Wagner, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. My personal favorites are those passages in which he shares his thoughts and feelings about Learned Hand, Dean Acheson, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in "retrospective"). Most of these essays originally appeared in The New Yorker. Perhaps you read those when they were first published. They are even more enjoyable to read now, especially within the sequence of presentation in this book. What adds substantially to the reader's pleasure is the high quality of Hamburger's writing style which is, in my opinion, places him in the company of George Orwell and E.B. White. Hamburger has a delicious sense of humor and a keen eye for significant detail. Within his commentaries on various world leaders, he is never reluctant to share his own strong opinions about a given subject such as "McCarthyism."

Please allow me a rather personal way in which to express my appreciation of this book. As I read it, I felt as if Hamburger and I had just completed dinner and adjourned to the living room with a beverage in hand. "As you look back over all those years and reflect on all those experiences, what are your most vivid memories of the people you observed? Which moments remain indelible? From today's perspective, what do you make of all that?" Obviously, this is a hypothetical situation but his responses can be found in this immensely entertaining as well as informative book.

In the final chapter, "Postscript: Vermeer Time", Hamburger discusses his great good fortune (in the spring of 1996) in being able to see the Vermeer exhibition at the National Gallery where he was greeted by Arthur K. Wheelock, the museum's curator of northern baroque paintings and co-curator of the exhibition. He shares his reactions, especially to "View of Delft" which he observed intently for "an embarrassingly long time." Here is how he concludes the chapter and the book: "Dreams must end. Back to the Metroliner and the reality of Gotham.. But, as the train left Union Station, there, on the right, under a lowering sky, and a patch of sunlight on a row of houses, I saw, for a glorious moment, an instance of Vermeer time." Those fortunate to read this book rejoice in having shared such a generous portion of "Hamburger time."

This is a terrific collection of short and medium-length pieces that are wise, witty, and thoroughly absorbing. It deserves all of the praise it has earned.

Hamburger is a lifelong Democrat. He is old enough to remember fascism's disastrous effects on the world, and wise enough to have no patience for its contemporary apologists, although he is good at describing them. He is deeply humane and deeply ethical - along with being a wonderful storyteller. He is very, very smart, and has a great ability to listen, to watch, and to get to know people. In a quiet and subtle way, he is wholly present. These are some of the abilities that are at the heart of his writing.

He has been at it, "warily," (his adverb) for a comparatively long time. In his Prologue he offers some interesting autobiographical material. This collection begins with a piece written in 1943, and the most recent is from 1993. He reports on his fourteenth inauguration, and that he had to skip two of FDR's. Students of American politics of the '40's, '50's, and '60's will not be disappointed. "Lonely Day," a short, atmospheric piece about voting for President in 1960, and "One Man's Vote," written in 1992, are two of many pieces that in 2001 seem nearly prescient. In the second one there is some suspense regarding election day, a crisis regarding broken voting machines, and, in this instance, a happy ending. The machines are fixed and voting resumes. Democracy prevails. "One man" votes. This event had deep meaning, and the reader knows it.

An April 1970 piece "Hand on Cardozo," quotes then-Nebraska Senator Roman L. Hruska's public defense - against charges of mediocrity - of Judge Harold Carswell, President Nixon's nominee to the US Supreme Court. Nixon: " Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers, and they are entitled to a little representation, aren't they?"

In addition to being smart and colorful political reportage, his pieces also form a series of lessons on how to write. I can't imagine students not learning from him. Whether it's the grape juice that a public figure happens to be drinking, or the atmosphere of City Hall in NYC Mayor LaGuardia's administration (" ..the Hall seemed electric. Secretaries addressed one another hurriedly, the way spies talk in Hitchcock movies." ), he can distill and enlarge - to great effect. Finally, there is a jewel-like piece on seeing the Vermeer show ("I slipped down on the Metroliner") at the National Gallery in Washington, in 1996.

This is a great collection and thoroughly worthwhile.