New York Books

It was a lucky crew that got this man for an officer!I can recommend this author and all of his books. Even if he was Navy.

Clear the Decks!

"Salty, irreverent, highly amusing" -- New York Times

"One of the best adventure tales of the war." -- Time Magazine

"A book you don't want to put down once you start reading it." -- Our Navy

"Clear The Decks... has an authentic, briny tang to it. And the climax, the tale of Admiral Gallery's brilliant capture of a German U-Boat, is breath-taking.... Anyone who wants to know the real reason why our Navy wins wars ought to read this book." -- Herman Wouk

"As an action-packed account of a baby flattop's campaign against U-boats in World War II, this is a corker. The author writes with warmth, understanding, clarity and rough humor." -- St. Louis Post Dispatch

"A good deal more than a series of belly-laughs." -- BOMC News

"You do not need to be a lover of the sea to enjoy this splendid and humorous." -- Columbus Dispatch

"A RIP-SNORTING ACCOUNT!" -- Los Angles Mirror

In the forward, the author remarks that this book will never be used as a textbook in any of the high-level military schools. This is a pity. It is easy to understand the successes achieved by Adm. Gallery's units throughout WWII, and while he is much more modest than other senior officers, there can be little doubt that he is the reason for all these victories. Not only is this a wonderful book for anyone who aspires to be a leader, but it is a tremendously amusing and well-written book.

A "must read" for anyone interested in the WWII carrier navy, R.Adm. Gallery relates the tedium of service in Iceland, the terror of being stalked by German U-boats in the North Atlantic, capped off with the true-adventure tale of his Carrier Task Group's *capture* of the German U-boat 505 (now on display in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry) off the African coast. D.V. Gallery intersperses writing fit for an adventure novel with the facts of history from the "big seat" aboard the USS Guadalcanal - one of the "baby flat-tops" of the Second World War (probably the single most underrated warship of that war)

This book is amazing! It really does have it all. Murder, mystery, and damn funny as well! The story is very original and keeps you guessing throughout the entire book. It also has an amazing cast of characters. One of which is probably the craziest, and funniest character in any book i have ever read. This book is completely great, and everyone should read it!

Keith Gandal is a teacher,and a friend, but most importantly, a fresh, new, and exciting contemporary voice that has emerged from the events of the tail-end of the 20th century. The natural disasters, the unfinished, seemingly unconnected, human tendencies that we all share, and the need to communicate with someone, anyone: these are all themes that one will find in Keith's novel, Cleveland Anonymous.

When I finished reading this novel I thought it was great, but I knew there was more to it; there was a substance below the surface that hadn't hit me yet, which is why I waited a couple weeks to write this review. I wanted it to be from a non-biased POV; and it is. I don't really know what to say, so I will try my best. I thought that by denying a genre, by concentrating on story, not a literary mindframe, which there is way too much of in contemporary fiction, that Gandal approached real life as closely as one can possibly achieve in fiction. The characters were amazing; the dialogue was real; the scenes were perfectly drawn out, perfectly realized, completely truthful; and the prose was dream-like, even magical. The atmosphere that Gandal's has created in this novel is fantastic. When I read a novel I look for something different, something real. I look at a book as an experience; I look at it as a piece of culture that can not and should not be detached from it's place in the world. And when I finished reading Cleveland Anonymous I had a sense of closeness and sense of story and literary attachment to the characters that I have not experienced in any other contemporary novel that I have ever read.

This novel is a wonderful accomplishment, an amazing piece of art, or literary achievement. If a good novel is supposed to give the reader an experience that utilizes all the senses and makes them care about the characters, then Gandal has written one heck of a good book! His fictive world is original and inspiring from not only a writers perspective, but from a human perspective.

I don't want to tell you anything about the plot (I think reviews should deal more with other, more 'inputish' type things, you'll know the plot when you read it!), but I can say that this book moves!! It moves with speed, with grace, with purpose, so fear not. It is a concise piece of fiction, a collection of people that all seem to exist in this modern world of ours without the slightest hint or notion that the bigger things that they experience shape them and make them who they are. But this is special. Too often an author will tell you what you need to know, but Gandal lets you figure it out; he writes a book filled with people, realistic people who think, act, and react like you and I do. If nothing else, read this book for a good, fast story, but if you, like me, like to see a writer experiment with the lives we take for granted everyday, then there is something here for you too.

The list of people who may have inspired this book must be immense, but here are some ideas: Thomas Pynchon (same sense of magical realism [though that is more Gabriel Garcia], the same witty sense of humor), Flannery O'Conner (short, sweet, but emotion filled sentences), Cormac McCarthy (the use of imagery), amongst many others.

Please read this novel. It is a magnificent story, and I hope that this review has inspired someone to pick up Keith Gandal's first (but hopefully not only) novel, but if you don't read it, at least I can say (when this thing hits big) that I told you so!!! Happy reading!

Let's face it: If you're from Cleveland, you don't get no respect. No respect at all. And it mostly stems from the Cuyahoga (pronounced "Cuya-HOG-uh" you out-of-towner) River catching fire. (Well, *that* and our...sports teams.) It's the ultimate absurdity--a body of water catching fire--and therefore a good jumping off point for a stridently absurdist novel.

Gandal's novel delivers. It's the great absurdist Cleveland novel that I've been waiting to read for more years than I can count.

The best moment in the novel, for me anyway, takes place in New York. One of the Cleveland Anonymous members has been discovered with a one-way ticket back to Cleveland in his possession. The Clockwork Orange-esque method used to keep him from going back is an absolute scream.

...

The setting of this book shifts back and forth in place and time -- between Cleveland, Ohio in the 1960's and New York City in the late 1980's. It helps if you know something about one or both of those cities, otherwise you'll miss some of the inside jokes. But ultimately this book is not about Cleveland or New York (and I say that as a compliment). Ultimately this book is a love story, a relationship that actually doesn't even begin -- or resume? -- until the book is almost over. It's a mix of romance and friendship between a man who's not quite sure who he is or what he's about, and a woman who's essentially just the opposite -- or maybe she isn't. You'll have fun trying to figure it out. An amazing, original, and haunting love story.

It's also a murder mystery. And a suspense thriller. But if you're looking for something that reads like John Grisham, look elsewhere. Gandal is speaking to a more thoughtful, more profound audience. If I had to describe this book in one sentence, it would be: "This book is a cross between Fight Club (the book, not the movie) and the poems of Emily Dickinson."

If that's hard to imagine, then you'll just have to read the book. Cleveland Anonymous has the intensity, the directness, and the muscle of Fight Club (the book, not the movie). But Gandal's book also has an extraordinarily light touch with language. Over and over again Gandal taps you on the shoulder -- or gooses you in the rear -- with the precisely-right word, the perfect phrase. Like an Emily Dickinson poem.

This is the best novel I've read since . . . well, since Fight Club (the book, not the movie).

Don't miss it.

great fun read. you can sit down and read it in a day really. the story follows some dominican kids who sell the kilos of coke. it is written like a documentary but has a TON of feeling in it. POOR CHILLE!!!!

Great book about the life of 8 young kids in New York whom changes schools and books for sealing drugs.... It tells how they became dealers,families problems and issues of friendshipp.. even thougth the book is great it does not mention in any page how society tried to help them...because they did not get any help or encoragement... any solutions any where??? more programs in such areas would definately improve the way teeneagers chooses to live their life and make their family more aware of such situations..it is not too late. quite interesting..learned more about drugs than what I ever wanted to....

Pretty good book...

A story concerning the lifes of 8 kids deeply involved in cocaine trade in NYC during the 1980's. It is told from the point of view of an outsider looking in, which I would have rather seen it documented from the 'kids' view but what can you do? Bricks of coke, cut, re-rocked, packaged, street level retail, and all the nitty-gritty details involved with the process. If your looking for a book that tells the tale of the route of cocaine from the source, into the nose/arm of a user, and the people that make it happen. This book is for you, I am a sucker for this type of literature [drug-porn] so take my review with that in mind.

http://www.junkylife.com/seedless

That movie was based on this book. I know this is probably promoting illiteracy and the ills of television, but if you like independents it's a good one. I haven't read the book. I DO READ quie a bit, but was inspired to check out the book because of the movie. The movie meanders a bit, so be prepared. Sorry I havent read the book yet but when I do I'll come back and report on what I thought

I tell everyone I encounter they should read this book! Walker Smith's grasp on the characters and history warranted to tell this story is astounding. I still see the characters as if they are old friends and know you'll do the same. A must read!!!!

Walker Smith is a writer who understands the complexity of the human soul. Here is a writer who is not afraid to delve into the dark, even brutal side of humanity. And yet, this is not a novel of despair, but of hope, deeply rich in compassion and humor. Smith's characters are bold, audacious, frightened and flawed, as only a first-rate storyteller can create. If you care at all about the history of race relations in this country, if you care at all about the ongoing struggle for human dignity, or if you just have a passion for good storytelling-Read This Book!

This was an excellent book. I could not wait to get home from work to finish reading it every day. I usually only read true stories because no one can create a character that is so believable and real. Not until now, anyway. These characters were so real, that I felt like I was living back in their time. I felt like I had a personal relationship with each of them. Now that I finished the book, I'm bored with my life again!!! Does this author have any more books that I can order? What I want to know is why doesn't the whole world know about Walker Smith?

(...a new Walker Smith fan)

Smith's characters are formed in the first few chapters then expertly woven into a storyline which encompasses the inhumanity of man in war and in peace as well as the determination of a few
dreamers who must decide how high is the price of integrity. I didn't put it down 'till I was done. Thank God for weekends! An enjoyable read (that last line was for my mother who loathes the use of the word "read" as a noun. I just sent her this book. Happy Mothers Day Mom!)

A wild ride through the passionate and somehow dehumanizing scene of aspiring actors circa 1970's. O'Connor has a real knack for creating flesh and blood characters. The story provokes some hard to answer questions. Idealism in a practical world. Duty to art and its toll on human kindness. The lure of and addiction to pain and suffering. Looking forward to O'Connor's next probe. Highly recommemded.

I became engrossed in this book from the minute I started reading it. Ms.O'Connor has that uncanny knack of being able to write insightfully about both men and women, and as I grew to know them intimately and experience their emotions and passions, I found myself deeply rooting for each of them. Their attitudes towards the theatre and towards each other kept growing and changing -- always with a wit underneath that was enormously appealing. I felt as if I had spent many hours with friends I cared about. I hated finishing this book...

Company of Three is a moving, funny, wise story of acting and the 70's that is itself a work of art. It is an inside look that is both illuminating and that tells the truth.

A Company of Three kept me reading non-stop until the end. The beauty of O'Connor's writing in this tightly knit story draws the reader into the lives of the three young and aspiring actors, who each try to live their passion and struggle to find their way within a complex and tough New York acting world with its own rules and chances. O'Connor's love for acting and her inside knowledge of the acting scene shines through in every sentence. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

This is an outstanding book for understanding why the US military has such problems with confronting insurgency. Counterinsurgency is never easy, but the US has proved monumentally incompetent across generations of command. The book's thesis is that bad counterinsurgency doctrine made a successful intervention in Vietnam impossible, and that the conflict was lost as soon as it began.

The most crucial misconception is that there is no such thing as an organic, self developed insurgency. Insurgency was seen as the policy of a foreign nation seeking to intervene within a country, likely as a prelude to invasion. Insurgencies were dependent on foreign support for supplies, bases and command. Combatting an insurgency required severing the link between the foreign support and the insurgents.

Related to this was a belief that light military pressure, or even just the presence of US forces could compel the withdrawl of insurgent support, because such a presence would signify US resolve to oppose an invasion or intervention.

The application of this logic led to a dynamic where the US pressured North Vietnam in retaliation for VC attacks. North Vietnam interpreted that pressure not as a response to it's own policies but as a direct attack upon it's existence. Consequently it increased rather then decreased supplies and support for the VC, ultimately sending not just supplies but regular troops. In essence the US created exactly the scenario it's policies were intended to prevent.

That this is happening again in Iraq and Iran suggests too few people in command read this book.

I had the great privilege of taking many of Dr. Cable's classes while I was at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Dr. Cable is a true gift to the historical field. His courses were difficult, but his amazing story-telling ability shines both in class and in both of his books (conflict of myths and unholy grail). While reading his books, I can actually still hear his delivery and cadence. As we go further into a time when local squabbles and terrorists will engage the attention of our foreign policy, his writings and experiences are all the more appropriate.

Dr. Larry Cable's experience and intellectual appraisal for the counterinsurgency role of the U.S. armed forces in Southeast Asia are placed into perspective. While not completely supporting all U.S. activities regarding the reduction of irregular forces, Cable examines the reality on the ground that was the wake-up call for American military leaders in Vietnam. An extremely effective and important book that should be read as much for the intellectual value as the historical value.

This book analyzes how the US came to adopt the policy of using conventional tactics to fight the insurgency in Vietnam. It provides a great analysis of the American way of conducting war and gives examples of attempts to fight the war in other means. Author has/had first hand knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes in the 60's. This book is required reading at many military schools which realize our past failures and are trying to teach current military personnel how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

From a historical perspective we can see Pat hits the nail on the head with many of the problems we face today. Well written, strong arguments.

When I heard Pat mention this book in an interview on C-Span, I immediately shuttled myself off to the library. It was published in the aftermath of Watergate, and Pat's tone is understandably disgruntled and defeatist. I'm so tired of the liberal demagogues who label him a racist, anti-semite, or misogynist simply because they know that is the simplest and most spineless way to destroy a person's credibility. For anyone willing to go to the trouble to find this forgotten masterpiece, I swear that he actually refers to the early civil rights leaders as "heroes," and writes that "justice was on their side." How can the extra chromosome left wing explain comments like this, when they would have us believe that Pat Buchanan is satan? I saw nothing in this book that I would deem to be insensitive or xenophobic. But in a society where a guy can lose his job for saying "niggardly" I guess anything can pass for racism now.

Pat demonstrates his great insight into the political process in this book.

Pat ended the book in 1975 with this warning:

"Perhaps ... there may be no other choice, consistent with conservative convictions (than to form a third party). But if so, the step should not be taken until a more conclusive prognosis has been made that the Republican Party is indeed sick unto death, no longer a seaworthy vessel of the new conservativism."

Pat left the GOP (Gang of Prostitutes), who sell their votes and virtue for the tax money they swore not to collect, to be spent on their "conservative" interests, or to woo the left into voting for them in the next election. Be warned Mr. President, "No Republican President can successfully flank the Democratic Party on the Left." (p. 97). Your generous gift (which was not yours to give) of $15 billion to Africa today will look stingy compared to a Democrat proposal for $25 billion tomorrow. (See Pat's analysis on a similar fight on page 96ff.)

What is the fight about anyway? Is it for Republican Rule or Democratic Rule? Nay, the battle to be won is whether the U.S. government shall be governed and chained by its own Constitution, and we made the more free; or shall we continue to elect Republicans who increase the size and scope of the Federal bloat. The only thing the Price George XLI and the federal government can do to stimulate America is to get out of the way and again allow the fate of the nation to be determined by those who produce wealth, not by those who consume it.

Suler successfully enters and explores an area as fraught with the danger of simplification and distortion as the seemingly ubiquitous published tirades equating (take your pick) Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Taoism, other esoterica...with quantum physics and relativity theory. Suler's perspective on psychoanalysis alone is worth the price of the book and the time in reading it: his ability to cut through the ridigities of orthodoxy in his field is truly admirable, and his public advocacy for freely allowing Eastern and Western perspectives and practices to coalesce without however projecting on either any primacy or territorial dominion--as evidenced in his own teaching work, summarized at his website (http://www.rider.edu/~suler/tcp.html) is itself a true expression of his understanding of Tao.

Whether or not you practice psychotherapy or counseling, this is a worthy and finely written book, which deserves a much larger audience than it probably is getting.

This is a fine book relating psychoanalysis (PA), including Self Psychology, Object Relations, Freud, & Jung to Zen Buddhism, Taoism, & the martial arts (including archery & Sun Tzu). Suler creates a multi-perspective collage, while avoiding both Euro & Orientocentrism. He notes differences & similarities between Eastern approaches & PA--p. 14: "Without comparing apples & oranges, without exploring their complementarity, how would we even arrive at the concept of `fruit'? Exploring the ways in which two things are both the same & different is the only means by which we arrive at a higher-order concept that integrates the two." However, he also points out that even together they are imperfect-e.g. p. 23: "Both PA & Zen have brandished their own version of infantile grandiosity." He delves into "maladaptive personality structures that may incline a person toward Eastern thought" & p. 153: "deficiencies in the cross-cultural interface" i.e. Eastern masters' scandals. Yet, p. 101: "spiritual growth must entail psychological processes," & p. 137: "perhaps by holding "objective" investigations in one hand & "subjective" insights in the other, we will walk with greater balance toward the higher knowledge that transcends such distinction." Thus, he avoids both East & West extremes-- p. 104: "The cherished sutras of Buddhism...are the entombed words of the Buddha that point to the truth but must not be mistaken for it...they are only a finger pointing to the moon (no-self) & not the moon itself" & p. 262: "PA may sometimes hold too tight to its theories while venturing into fundamental, unavoidable dimensions of human experience." Rather, he stresses synergistic gains from their integration, predicting that p. 263: "Eastern & Western disciplines will be complementary explorers of human nature & complementary healers of human suffering." Included are chapters on the martial arts (including archery & Sun Tzu), paradox, Tai Chi, the vision quest, etc. in which he provides numerous parallels to PA, Zen, & Taoism as well as anecdotal case information. [I'd also recommend Robert Moore/Doug Gillette's "Warrior Within." His perceptive, integrative insights include:
p. 72: "Perhaps different types of pathology may be understood as different disturbances in the interpenetration of self & non-self."
p. 105: "Silence amputates the linguistic/conceptual love of selfhood & leaves it to wither & die."
p. 203-4: "Once clinicians have passed the initial phases of molding the techniques & theories according to their own personality structure; they learn how to use themselves, their own intra-psychic dynamics & subjective meanings, as the agents of psychotherapeutic change...the art of psychotherapy becomes an expression of self." This book is well worth reading.

As an Asian clinical psychology student interested in integrating psychoanalytic concepts and buddhist virtues in conducting psychotherapy and as an existential philosophy, I find this book a precious rarity. The author was insightful about how Eastern/Buddhist philosophy might be misused or misinterpreted by some as a way to justify their personality pathology. He also illuminated how Eastern thoughts and martial arts can be blended into psychotherapeutic work so that both psychological healing and spiritual transformations can occur.

I learned a great deal from Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Eastern Thought. The book is sophisticated, solid, and full of rich insights. Suler knows psychoanalytic theory extremely well, and he has a gift for cross-cultural interpretation. Psychoanalysts unreceptive to Eastern ideas, students of Eastern thought unversed in psychoanalysis, and all serious students of transpersonal psychology should read Suler's book. It is a substantial work of scholarship and an admirable example of cross-cultural dialogue.

by Michael Washburn, for the Transpersonal Review, edited by Mark Robert Waldman

I have always loved the Adirondacks, but after reading this astonishingly well-written book I have a new appreciation for this remarkable region. If you're a fellow Adirondacks-lover I HIGHLY recommend this book. Also, if you have time to read only one history of the Adirondacks, then this is the one to read.

This is truly fine work. The relatively new genre of environmental history has produced the usual amount of academic turgidity, but many of these young historyians clearly love the land that they write abot, and have the skills to make discussions of the history of human interacton with natural systems into literature. If you enjoy Terrie, you should also pick up Bullough's Pond by Diana Muir.

The book introduces concepts and ideas that you will have thought of before, but never had actually examined in real images and arguements.

Has some great historical facts and stories.

Tells New Yorkers about what has happened in their state.

This wasn't the most exciting history book I've ever read but it was an informative and concise history of the region. The region known as the Adirondacks is a huge tract of wilderness in northern New York that, as Terrie describes it, is "an unintended mix of private land, villages, and state-owned wilderness." In the opinion of this lifelong frequenter of "The Dacks," it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Terrie thoroughly explains the conflicting intentions for the region that have plagued it since it was first explored and settled in the 18th century. The conflict was between those who recognized it's unique natural beauty and wanted to preserve it as such, and those who saw it as just another land to be exploited for it's natural resources. More recently, the struggle continues as everyday residents of the region battle the bureaucratic Adirondack Park Agency for the right to grow economically, something which has been consistently denied to them, due to the stringent restrictions on any kind of development. Originally published in 1997, it is a bit dated, but for any fellow Adirondack lovers, I would say it's definitely worth checking out.

I gave this book to my daughter and she stated, "Book was a great help in preparation for tests - in Teaching "

An excellent guide to pass LAST ATS-W. I am not an educational major and I took the tests only once. This book has the right information you need to pass.

I cannot say enough about this prep book. I studied for one month prior to the test, and I only studied this book. I scored a 279 out of 300 (220 is passing).
Yes, I do have brains, but I feel that I owe most of my great score to the awesomeness of this book. I hate surprises - of just about any kind. This book tells you EXACTLY what you need to know, and shows you EXACTLY what you will see on the test. There are ABSOLUTELY no surprises on the day of the test! The prep test you take in the book will show you how to answer the questions. The L.A.S.T. isn't hard. It is tedious. Knowing what the questions are going to look like and how to maximize the 4 hours you have to take the test by ignoring erroneous (and time consuming) text is a big key to success. I do not recommend doing "outside studying" because if you are planning to be a teacher and have four years of college already, you will not have trouble passing. Don't make yourself crazy brushing up on all your old textbooks - it is a waste of time. Most of the questions have the answer embedded in them already. You just have to fish it out. This book teaches you how to do that. Buy it.

I used the Princeton Review test guide among a few others. These guys truly have the NYSTCE "nailed." It was accurate in its strategy recommendations, but more important, it represented the types of questions on the exam very accurately. This is the only guide you need or should use.