News and Reviews Books

This is a little book, but very informative, although some may be put off by its Marxist point of view. Environmental destruction, as Foster shows, is as old as humankind. Nevertheless destruction of the natural world has increased at an astonishing rate during modern times making ours a very vulnerable planet. Foster links this increase to a specific social system, capitalism, instead of industrialism in general as many other critics do. This is a thought-provoking connection to make, since our media is usually silent on this topic. According to Foster (and Marx), it seems our system, capitalism, has an inborn need to turn everything it can into a saleable commodity in order to make money. Moreover it has to keep expanding commodities into ever new fields in order to return profits on money already invested. Like Topsy, then, the laws of its development tell it to either grow or die. Thus, when venture capitalists look at nature, they don't see what is living there; they see limitless raw material to be processed and sold, and if they don't do it, some competitor will. It is this relentless engine of development and destruction that has made the planet vulnerable. Thus Foster blames the problem on the way our economy operates, and not on technology in general. Critics should examine his arguments.

A couple of other subjects Foster discusses are worthy of review, given how they are usually talked about. On the topic of population and poverty, Malthus, an 18th century clergyman, famously blames poverty on the poor. The poor keep having kids when they shouldn't, he argues, which is why there are more hungry mouths to feed than food to feed them. So, the lesson is don't feed them, they'll just have more kids. Being a parson and a kind of Newt Gingrich of his time, he would leave the wretched to the mercies of God. On the other hand, Foster (and Marx) take an historical perspective on overpopulation. Capital must have the poor, because wage levels depend on having an excessive number of poor people around. Employers need them as so-called replacement workers, should their own employees strike for higher wages. Without that threat, wages would rise and employers would lose money. The poor are not God's creation, they are man's. (Considering how our chief cental banker Alan Greenspan acts by encouraging unemployment, Foster's approach makes sense.) Ecology is another important part of our planet's mounting crisis. In making his case that our economic system is the main cause of the problem, Foster discusses Barry Commoner's four informal laws of capitalist ecology. They are worth mentioning. 1) Only the cash nexus (money) is lasting; 2) Waste can go anywhere as long as it's out of the capitalist loop; 3) The free market knows best: 4) nature is the possession of the private property owner. Together these provisions make up capital's marching orders in its assault on nature. Provision #3 seems particularly destructive since it replaces the complex web of millions of years of natural evolution with profit-driven human decision. Moreover, these provisions pretty much describe how big corporations act in the real world.

Anyway, friends will find ammunition; foes will find points to ponder; and the appropriately curious will be rewarded. Foster's is a suppressed voice that really needs to be heard.

There's a lot of information out there about the destruction of the planet, but an understanding of where it comes from is harder to come by. Vulnerable Planet is a very useful starting point. Using historical materialism to trace the roots of environmental degradation, Foster breaks down some of the key debates, showing that it is not over-population, industrial production or humanity in of itself that is the problem. Rather the way that production and distribution are organized under capitalism that consistently puts the drive for profit above environmental sustainability. This book is short, but packed with information, statistics, and crucially a sound political framework from which to understand both the roots and the solution to the problem.

If the literary style genie were to suddenly appear--he's bare-chested, muscled and tattooed like the rest of the genies, but wears spectacles and travels amid a flock of white index cards--I would say to that genie, "I want to be a queer Tatyana Tolstaya."

Tolstaya is the grand enchantress of the More-Is-More School, firing off one inspired rant after another. Her characters launch diatribes on why women should have fur tails, or teeth that receive radio signals. Plot matters less than the gleeful generous fireworks of language. Or the plot is the only plot that matters, namely, `I'm going to find some meaning and/or delight in this world'.

For almost two years now I've been attached to this book; every month I reread a few stories in hopes that they will prove contagious. Most of the stories in magazines so stilted and mannerly in comparison, like a respectable dinner party with white wine and filet of sole, and the whole time you're sitting there wishing it would finish already, so you could do out and carouse. Carouse and cavort is what Tolstaya's stories do--they are parties with dancing and fireworks. The New York Review of Books Classics series has rescued a lot of important books (check out: Walser, Desani, Chaudhuri, Pintorelli, Krudy) but this is one of the very best. And read Tolstaya's novel The Slynx too, but read this one first.

Perfect condition. On time delivery.

However the book represnts one of the most depressing views of mankind I have ever read.

This book took me by suprise. It laughed aloud so much - Bevis does such funny things, although he doesn't know it. He is so dramatic and determined. I think he is just like every little boy. An insight to children, although I must say that Bevis was a hellion. The animals all talk - but only to Bevis. They are hilarious! The weasel is definitely my favorite character. From Clocktaw the Jackdaw to King Kapchack, I was immersed in this world. I now view birds in an entirely new light. The story is actually quite complex. This book was ground breaking for it's time. And is a delight to read. I thouroughly enjoyed it. Richard Jefferies - a truely talented writer. Magic'

While not as great a piece of literature, this book was a necessary predecessor to Kenneth Grahame's classic Wind in the Willows. The transcendental pleasure of a child free in the fields and woods, oblivious to all but this timeless moment, is expressed beautifully by this master nature writer who is so under-appreciated here in the States. The plot weakens in places, and judged by that and action only, the book would disappoint, but the charm and poignancy of some moments is unmatched. No one enchanted by fine talking animal books should miss this distillation of childhood's mood.

I agree the cover is definitely misleading!! But what a book. You are given to sides of the coin on survival after the nuclear war and the resulting mutations. It challengers ideas we may have about what is good and what is not. Definitely worth looking past the horrid cover into this great story.

Here we have the book that most likely influenced John Wagner to some degree with Judge Dredd's Cursed Earth.

In this society there is much genetic deviation, and the chance of getting a baseline human birth is low.

Mutant or different children are supposed to be killed at birth, but this of course is not always the case, humans being what they are.

A group of such mutant children have developed superhuman abilities, and decide to flee. Far from being deformed, these children, by evolution, are superior to the 'norms', as standard humanity comes to be seen.

I read this last in the summer of 1985, as required summer reading for school. It's intended mostly as an exploration of the ideas of racial purity, vs. evolution and mutation, using the characters (humans who have the mutant ability of telepathy) as the exploration vehicle. The story is set in Labrador, in Canada, following what looks like a rather destructive nuclear war, with the society that survives having some rather puritanical religious views on genetic purity. Back when I first read the book, I took the story as being rather one-sided, in favour of the mutants, but now I read it as more evenly balanced. John Windham was one of my favorite authors, back in the early 1980s, and I am a big fan of The Day of the Triffids, which I re-read back in 2004.

While looking for more books by this writer, I found a copy of "Re-Birth".
The words are exactly the same!
Watch that you don't buy a copy if you already have this one.

The Chrysalids has my vote for best novel by John Wyndham; I loved it as a teenager and still find it an excellent story, as fresh and evocative as ever. Set in the future after an apocalyptic war has ravaged the earth, this is about a group of unusual children, who find themselves dangerously at odds with the fundamentalist community into which they have been born. As well as being a tale of adventure and survival, The Chrysalids is also about difference, and what happens when society draws an arbitrary line between normal and deviant. Watch Thou for the Mutant!

I just came across this title in my Amazon recommendations. I read it about 15 years ago and I STILL think about it and recommend it. Absolutely fascinating. I would love to see a follow up to this story.

I loved this book. My daughter lives in NYC and everytime I'm there riding the subways I think of this book, it's so interesting. I always recommend this book to friends. It's an easy read for any age. Even my son, who hates reading, enjoyed this book.

I heard this book was really good, and it is!! It arrived fast and was exactly how it was described!!!

This book opened our eyes to lots of truths regarding the homeless population living in New York city, and consequently made us think more about homeless people in general. Toth uses vivid interviews from this society of outcasts to help the reader understand the kind of person that lives on the streets. This was interesting to me, as I believe it would be to others, because most people spend their live only minimally acknowleding the homeless, not to mention avoiding any conversation.

Toth uses a casual yet scholarly tone that makes it easy to read, but at the same time very informative. She gives a lot of detail about both the places and people she visits to help create the sense of being in her shoes. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of pictures in the art/ graffitti chapters. This is just because she gives so much detail as to the importance of these murals, but only shows a couple of the murals. The tones she uses range from comedy to serious which allows people to really get into the book. Another thing that really could have been worked in would be the insight of more children in the underground

We read this book in our college english class. A young woman attempts to destroy the stereotypes regarding homeless people; more specifically the "mole people" - as they are referred to in NY. Toth investigates more than just the living situations of the underground homeless; she investigates the backgrounds, lifestyles, families, attitudes, and ideologies of these people as well.
When first reading this book we held all of the stereotypes regarding the homeless as our personal truths. After reading the book, though, our opinions have changed. Toth brought us into the lives of different underground dwellers in a way that allowed us to fall in love with these people and see that they aren't so different from us.
Seville and Bernard (The tunnel King) are our favorite characters from the book. They are both represented in a way that completely breaks the stereotypes most people have. Throughout the book, Toth faces several dangers; but people like Seville and Bernard were there to help guide her. These two men really give the reader a different insight into the underground world. They make the community seem like real people, just like you!

The Martin, Porter video guides are the only ones my video watching son will use. We've bought others, but these seem to be the most concise and easy to use as a reference for video viewing.

WITH 1582 PAGES OF MOVIE REVIEWS AND MOVIE RELATED MATERIAL, THERE IS NO WAY ONE WILL AGREE WITH EVERYTHING. HOWEVER, I OFTEN REFER TO THIS GUIDE FOR MANY REASONS. IT'S LIKE A TOOL MORE THAN A BOOK. WHERE ALOT OF SIMILAR GUIDES DON'T OFFER AS MUCH, ONE EXAMPLE IS: EVEN IF AN ACTOR ONLY HAS 1 OR 2 MOVIES, THEY ARE STILL LISTED IN THE CAST INDEX. THIS IS NOT FOUND IN MOST OTHER REVIEW GUIDES. ALOT OF READERS WONDER WHY ALOT OF THE REVIEWS ARE SHORT. IT IS SIMPLE. EACH YEAR WHEN THE NEW BOOK IS PRINTED, OLDER REVIEWS HAVE TO BE EDITED TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE HUNDREDS OF NEW LISTINGS. HOW FAT DO YOU THINK A BOOK CAN GET? THE TRUTH IS THIS GUIDE DOES HAVE MORE MOVIES THAN ANY OTHER. I'VE READ ALL THE OTHER GUIDES (EBERT, MALTIN, BONES ect.). BOTTOM LINE: WELL WORTH THE MONEY. EVEN IF IT'S NOT W/O IT'S FLAWS.

I agreed with theses people much more than terrible Leonard Maltin, ... They gave movies I enjoy pretty good reveiws. Note: Maltin thinks Friday The 13th deserves 1/2 stars. They think it deserves three. I agree. It's not a terrific movie, but it still isn't complete junk. I liked Betsy Palmer. Anyway, Maltin just hates everything, these people seem to try hard to find something good about the movie before calling it awful. Although, the cover shows a shot for American Beauty, but it's not actually in here. And, some of their reveiws are WAY to short. Like, for example, Ghoulies. They said in their reveiw "Gruesome. Rated PG-13 for Violence and Sexuality." What a helpful reveiw, NOT! I, myself, don't beleive in criticts, I just watch a movie and decide whether or not I like it. You should, too. ...

The Video Movie Guide is useful, but it should be more user-friendly. For example, past editions marked the actor and director indices clearly ON EVERY PAGE. Now if you want to find a director or actor you have to thumb around the back of the book with no way of knowing whether you're in the director or actor section. It's very frustrating. I'd also like to see them bring back the appendices listing four and five star movies. On the plus side, it's great that the authors have finally done away with the silly genre categories.

I've been turning to Martin and Porter for around 12 years now and all I can say is that I eagerly await each new year's edition of the Video Movie Guide (VMG). When I first went looking for a paperback movie guide, I spent a lot of time checking out the competition and found them all lacking in some area. Leonard and I just didn't see eye-to-eye at all. If he didn't like a certain genre, those type of movies didn't get a fair shake. Many of the others were geared for family viewing (which is fine but I've been there, done that, and have moved on to encompass a wide range of films). The only one that I found to be fair and have the technical info (color or b&w, running time, rating, subtitles, year released, cast, director, etc.) that I was looking for was VMG. I've watched the book's format change (for the better) over the years (I happily don't have to figure out the genre of the film before looking it up anymore). After reading some of the other reviews, I understand the frustration of not having all of an actor's films listed but if you read the Forward/Introduction to VMG you'd know that only available (for rent and/or purchase) titles are covered. This is why I've purchased a couple of older VMGs to add to my collection for reference. Nobody seems to mind when a book or DVD has an incomplete filmography on an actor or director so what's the beef? ...

Tom Peters does not only preach innovation, he lives it. This book is a prime example... its unique style and content make it a fast read, but the ideas presented stimulate many fresh thoughts that keep you thinking long after you finished reading the book.

Definitely worth reading...

From the first page of the book 'till the last, you'll realize that Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence) is making you think differently. Pages are printed sideways, then normally, with extremely large type, then small type. Interspersed are ideas and facts that are thought provoking and sometimes, eye-opening. That's the point. Most of the ideas are applicable to building any type of successful business.

This outstanding book will either inspire you to try and fix your broken company management, or make you mad at the state of affairs at your company (or both). It is filled with examples of how things should be done, and most are applicable to any work environment. Everybody loves the Ritz-Carlton empowered maids story.

WARNING! This book is not for the die hard, stuffy, stereotypical management theorist. It is a innovative and easy to read look into the world of management "Tom Peters" style. What has now become a trade-mark writing style Peters uses a very personal style to get across some sensational ideas.

Even though it was written pre-dotcom bust AND it is almost 6 years old, a lot of the ideas are still very relevant.

Short, punchy and still very enlightening!

Peters is definitely one of my favorite authors. His insights on innovation offer me constant inspiration as I write my own newsletter - titled Byvation, which means ... By Way of Innovation.

In a dramatic opening, Tom Peters says it's all about "I-N-N-O-V-A-T-I-O-N." Peters is a legendary business guru for good reason, he tells it like it is. In "Circle of Innovation" Peters talks about how our world is now in a constant state of flux, and to prosper businesses must wake up and take action.

A very busy text, "The Circle of Innovation" contains hidden gems at every turn that may very well spell the difference between success and outright failure for your company.

Products and Services are quickly becoming commodities and being in a commodity business is a dangerous place to be. If you are to have any hope of success, you must offer a compelling reason for someone to do business with you and your company.

"The Circle of Innovation" offers tremendous insight on how to create compelling reasons for customers to do business with you. To keep us alert, limber, and ready for action, Peters provokes and cajoles his readers to THINK:

* We Are All Michelangelos: He shows how to transform every jobholder" into a full-fledged businessperson.

* All Value Comes from the Professional Services: Because ... "It all boils down to the expertise of people, masses of them, booking, in some cases, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in revenues."

* The System is the Solution: How to build great systems - which go far beyond nuts and bolts.

* Create Waves of Lust: Quality is no longer an automatic advantage.

* Little Things Are the Only Things. As the Blight of Sameness encroaches on market after market, design is often the best tool for sustainable differentiation.

All in all, a great book that will make you question much of what you do. In doing so, you will create a much more powerful and long-lasting company.

Michael Davis - Editor, Byvation

Very accessible short novel of manners set in Manhattan, New York.
Quiet Catherine Sloper is an Heiress. She is not beautiful, intelligent or charming. She is steadfast.
Her widowed father is a respected Physician, who had married a rich woman. He is disappointed in Catherine but consoles himself with the idea that her nature is docile, obedient and unromantic. He considers it quite unlikely that she will ever have a young man in love with her.
Catherine attends her paternal Cousin Marian's betrothal party. She is introduced to Morris Townsend, an impecunious cousin of the betrothed young man.
Morris finds Catherine very attractive and begins to court her, to her great delight. We soon find out what Dr Sloper thinks of this courtship.
This a story of innocence, betrayal, greed and hubris. Catherine, the despised, finally comes into her own. Recommended.

Washington Square is a compact, tightly constructed story that focuses with almost unwavering gaze upon the Sloper family, or more particularly, on Catherine Sloper, a sweet, ordinary, rather dull young lady who falls in love with a man her father is convinced loves her purely for the inheritance she stands to gain upon his death. This early novel of Henry James' alternates between biting, witty exchanges amongst the characters and introspective, sensitive exploration of the feelings and thoughts of Catherine and her father. The narrator - never named, though at times he is quite chatty towards the reader - chooses not to take sides, instead displaying the different facets of each character as they are, leaving questions of personality and intent up to the reader.

It is usual in a novel involving a young lady and a potentially disastrous suitor that the female in question be beautiful, intelligent, resourceful, kind - even if she doesn't know it. These stories tend to follow her development from innocent to experienced, which is one of the many reasons why Washington Square plays out so differently. Catherine is, we are told, 'not ugly; she had simply a plain, dull, gentle countenance. The most that had ever been said for her was that she had a "nice" face'. Later, her father compares Catherine's intelligence to that of a bundle of shawls. He often laments Catherine's lack of qualities, and so does Catherine, and so does everyone else. She is a submissive, almost subservient in her attitudes, willing to submerge her ideas - if she has any - and bend with the will of her father. Enter love, however, and slowly a change begins to take place.

Morris Townsend is the man Catherine falls for. She had never experienced the interest of a male before, indeed, her life seems to have been somewhat sheltered. When Morris enters her life Catherine's father, Dr Sloper, who never had much hope for his daughter, becomes determined to prevent them from marrying. Sloper is the type of father who wishes a specific future for his child, so they will 'be happy', and yet when their happiness chooses a different direction, they become stubborn, obstinate, and, in this case, quite hurtful and damaging.

Neither Morris nor Dr Sloper are particularly admirable characters. Granted, both are intelligent and even charming, with the novel's most enjoyable moments coming from the interaction between the two. They snipe at one another during their very clever exchanges where epigrams fly and bon mots are thrown about with abandon. However, Morris is shown - rather bluntly - to be interested in Catherine's money and not herself, which he finds tiresome, and Dr Sloper is concerned with breaking the tiny backbone that has emerged from he knows not where within Catherine's heart.

Do we love Catherine? Is that the intent of this novel? The answer is - no. Catherine truly is plain, in the sense that there isn't much to her. She is confused by the larger forces in her life which seem to determine the direction of her future without any real input from herself. She believes that both Morris and her father have her best interests at heart, even when it is clear to the reader they do not. Whenever poor Catherine dares to speak her mind, Morris or her father are ready and willing to stamp it down. Her father can be quite manipulative. After asking Catherine to give Morris away, he says, 'Have you no faith in my wisdom, in my tenderness, in my solicitude for your future?', and later, when she stands by her man, he asks, 'You make nothing of my judgment, then?' Poor Catherine is left to wonder what to think, when all she knows is she loves her father and wants to marry Morris.

During the course of the novel, Catherine develops attitudes which distinctly reject her father's plans, but she also, to the surprise of Morris, refuses to go along with everything he says, either. There is a clear impression throughout the work that, should she choose Morris, she will be exchanging one master for another - the names may change, but the overall life of Catherine will not.

Henry James is known for his dense - some call it impenetrable - prose, and for his fondness for deeply exploring the inner workings of his characters. Washington Square is slightly different to his others works in this regard, perhaps because it is an earlier novel. The prose can be quite circumlocutory, with multiple clauses embedded within a single sentence, long rambling comma filled descriptions and niceties of expression that seem to exist purely to avoid stating the blunt truth of the matter. But it is these techniques which serve also to highlight the confusing world around Catherine, and the difficulty she finds in untangling the intention of the two very strong men who wish to control her life. James, at his best, is a phenomenal writer, and happily for the reader of Washington Square he is completely in charge of the material. The narrator is confident in expressing the feelings and thoughts of the major and minor characters, using tact, grace, eloquence and insight to create his little portraits.

Whether or not Catherine will marry Morris and defy her novel, though an important part of the novel, is not the primary thrust of James' work. It seems clear from the outset the direction the story will take, and this initial belief becomes true. Where the strengths of the story lie is in the growing independence of Catherine, her understanding of herself as a person capable of expressing intent and determining the direction of her life by herself. Catherine is an innocent in a world which is, invariably, destructive towards such people. She learns this the hard way, but there is something undeniably 'Catherine' that remains, even to the bitter end. Washington Square, while not a masterpiece on the level of The Portrait of a Lady, nevertheless explores its theme well, and does so with an assured hand. Catherine's life, though somber and small by today's standards, does evoke sympathy within the reader. The final line is very sad, because it was inevitable, and because, deep down, the reader knows that it is the best life Catherine could have had.

Eloquently composed by a master of the World and American novel, Henry James, WASHINGTON SQUARE is a revelatory , painful study of wealth, prestige, and social discrimination in mid nineteenth century New York. Quite possibly James' masterpiece, it poignantly depicts with sympathy and intellectual blindness the a father's oppressing memory of his dead wife upon his innocent, frail and oblivious daughter. The daughter, Catherine Sloper, has become an iconic chatacter in American dramatic literature and film due to James' superficial description of her awkwardness coupled with the arrival of her wit, ruthlessness, spirit and clever sensibility after she is jilted by her fiancee. A remarkable study of how parents unknowingly deprive children of love and nurturing though their grief and personal disappointment.

Nominally a story of young romance, Washington Square's plot actually pivots around two sharply defined characters: the young Catherine Sloper, honest and sweet, but embarrassingly average and plain, and her father, Dr. Austin Sloper, articulate and brilliant, but disturbingly cold-hearted and domineering. Henry James professed little liking for his early novel; through the years most readers have ignored his opinion.

The writings of Henry James, especially his later novels, are notable (some might say, infamous) for using lengthy, digressive sentence structures for exploring complex emotional and psychological motivations. Slow paced plots play a subordinate role to nuanced, subtle, ambiguous characterizations. Contrastingly, Washington Square's popularity most likely stems from its straight-forward plot, some suspense, and sharply defined characters.

Catherine was an only child; her mother and baby brother died of complications during childbirth. Years later Dr. Sloper is still grieved and angered by the loss of his beautiful, vivacious, and witty wife. Despite Catherine's love and admiration for him, Dr. Sloper remains distant and cold, viewing Catherine's social ineptness as an ironic parody of his deceased wife.

When the young, handsome, articulate Morris Townsend shows interest in Catherine, Dr. Sloper immediately concludes that his only interest is her wealth, and moves quickly to break them apart. Matters are complicated by Catherine's silly, meddlesome, and manipulative aunt (Mrs. Penniman, the widowed sister of Dr. Sloper) who functions as an uninvited go-between for the two young lovers. Dr. Sloper remains quite confident in his own judgment, but in the early stages of their romance we readers remain uncertain of Townsend's motivation.

My fascination with Washington Square centered not on whether Townsend was genuinely in love with Catherine, but with the way in which Catherine revealed her inner strength in managing her increasingly strained relationship with her insensitive father and in how she ultimately comes to terms with the duplicity of her lover. Washington Square may not have achieved the full psychological subtlety and complexity desired by Henry James, but it is far from a simple, superficial tale of bitter sweet romance.

Washington Square on film: I highly recommend Washington Square, a 1997 production that features Jennifer Jason Leigh as Catherine, Albert Finney as Dr. Sloper, Ben Chaplin as Morris Townsend, and Maggie Smith as Catherine's aunt. This casting is superb, with all four characterizations faithful to the novel.

There are a few unnecessary scenes, however, that portray Catherine as overly clumsy and inept. Also, Morris Townsend on occasion is unrealistically effusive in his praise and admiration. A little more of Henry James's subtlety and nuance would have been better. Washington Square was directed by Agnieszka Holland.

Washington Square in print: This novella is widely available in various anthologies, or published alone, in inexpensive paperbacks from Signet Classics, Penguin Classics, and others. I particularly like a Simon and Schuster, hard cover edition (ISBN 0-684-81911-2) with 16 pages of high quality, black and white historical photographs, many belonging to the Museum of the City of New York historical collection.

Although Henry James is best known for The Portrait of a Lady (Penguin Classics), this slender volume of a young woman's lifetime is one that resonates for the oddest reasons. With a protagonist who is entirely passive, a plot that is somewhat uneventful and a cast of supporting characters that are entirely unsympathetic, "Washington Square" is a novel that encapsulates a life hardly worth reading about. Paradoxically, that is precisely why it should be read, and why it's so surprisingly memorable.

Catherine Sloper is shy, plain, dull and a little slow in her studies. Her mother was none of these things, leaving her somewhat of a disappointment to her father, an accomplished and well-respected doctor, a man who Catherine adores and longs to please. Well aware of her spiritless nature, Catherine is astonished when she receives the attention of the handsome and charming Morris Townsend, and is soon devotedly in love with her new suitor. Encouraged by her romantic and foolish Aunt Lavinia Penniman, Catherine accepts Morris's proposal of marriage. Unfortunately, her father is not at all impressed by the match, (believing Morris to be a mercenary after her dowry) and forbids Catherine from seeing him on the threat of disinheritance. Torn between the two most important people in her life, the listless and confused Catherine decides to wait. But will her beloved wait for her, or is she deceived by his true intentions?

Catherine's complete ordinariness is what makes her special within the context of the novel, as I am hard-pressed to think up another heroine who is so uncommonly common. Though she is a pleasant enough person, there is nothing remotely interesting to her, save the predicament she finds herself in. Her situation is frustrating to behold, as the poor girl is torn between her intelligent, infallible father and her charming, loving fiancée. Although her father has his daughter's best interests at heart, he handles the affair with such practicality and stubbornness that his crusade against Townsend eventually dwindles into a battle of will between himself and his daughter, and then petty revenge and one-upmanship. Likewise, though Morris Townsend seems faithful and loving, declaring that he has no interest in Catherine's inheritance whatsoever, we cannot shake a sense of untrustworthiness in him. Despite Catherine's plainness, you can't help but feel that neither man deserves her.

To be privy to Catherine's inner struggles is to witness a tiny and insignificant life within literature, with none of the romance, passion or tragedy of Lizzie Bennett, Tess Durbeyfield, Cathy Earnslaw, Jane Eyre, or any other literary heroine that comes to mind. Although Mrs Penniman alleviates some of the gloom with her far-flung intrigues and romances, her presence ultimately brings more harm that good to her young charge. Catherine is a woman who suffers in silence, without witness or companionship, a testimony to how passive-aggressiveness, lost opportunities and selfishness can destroy the life of one who has no means of fighting back. Every single individual on earth would like to believe that they are special, unique and important in some way, and the mediocrity of a life ill-spent becomes quite terrifying by the close of the novel. Catherine's attempts to assert some control over her father and her suitor are pitiful to behold, though they are victories, they are tiny ones within the context of her life. It's almost as if James uses Catherine as a vessel for every individual who has simply "misplaced" their life, and the emptiness that follows those who don't have the means, strength or fortitude to fight against those that hold them in sway. Make sure it never happens to you.

I encountered this book on a sale rack and didn't expect much from it. After all why would be so discounted?

I was wrong. This was a chilling and real depiction of life on the streets as a crack addict. What it may lack in direction, it makes up for with hard-hitting writing.

If you are looking for a nice breezy read, this is not the book for you. If you want some food for thought, then don't miss it.

Several reviewers criticize Stringer's Grand Central Winter for what they see as its lack of information about life on the streets as well as an absence of narrative cohesion. While I sympathize with both of these complaints, I also think they're misguided.

In the first place, Stringer doesn't claim to be writing social commentary or advocating social reforms. His book is a memoir, pure and simple. His stories are from the street, as the book's subtitle announces, but not necessarily about the street. Obviously in describing his life on the streets, Stringer necessarily sheds some light on what street life in general is like. Just as obviously, he also has a few things to say in passing about public policy (he's especially bitter about the "antiseptic Good Samaritanism" of large-scale relief agencies). But the focus of his book is sharing his own experiences living on the street.

And this takes us to the second point: Stringer's writes about selected experiences. He's not really trying to tell a neatly packaged story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. (Philosophers might describe his approach as "phenomenological.") I don't know why Stringer chose to write about the episodes in his life he did. Some of them are probably consciously chosen; others may've forced themselves onto the empty page. But the point is that they're vignettes, not sequential episodes that together tell a full-fledged story.

For my money, the vignettes are wonderfully written. Their minimalist style sets an almost photographic tone: to the point, revelatory, unsentimental, sometimes grim. Stringer successfully resists the temptation to demonize or romanticize.

This book is an autobiographical account of a time in the author's life, Lee Stringer. Mr.Stringer begins the book describing his life as a homeless, crack addict who finds a pencil he intends to use to clean his crack pipe with. Then he realizes that a pen can be a very powerful tool and he starts to write. He writes about the streets where the homeless are seen but so often overlooked and his eventual position as a writer for a newspaper.Stringer has realized in this book that "the pen is indeed mightier than the sword" as he goes about seeking Recovery and Redemption. This book is a very well written account of a man's struggle to free himself from a serious addiction.The reader will cheer for Mr. Stringer as he tries to regain his Life and his Dignity.

I stuck the book out for about 2/3 of it always hoping for some point to be made from the various unconnected stories he tells, but most have no point or real end...such as the story of the blonde hooker who becomes central to his life for many months or the even less understandable the defrocked Greek priest who wants to be in the newspaper.Very little of this book is about how it is to be homeless or to sleep under subway tunnels etc. It's mostly about his hustling newspapers and cans and taking drugs,but even that is surface level & not very detailed.

This was the worst book I ever read.I thought the story was going to be about the homeless in Grand Central.Yet all the
main character Lee talks about is his work with a newspaper
written by the homeless.The book drags on and on going nowhere.
The characters Lee mentions in the book are as dull as the book
itself.I was trully disappionted.The only thing this book is good
for is putting you to sleep.

This book is a very nice work in the Star Wars universe, since it encompass not only the classic Trilogy, but also the new Trilogy and the New Republic facts. The only problems that I see in it are that the entries are very shor in some cases, missing some information and the illustrations are very poor in most of the cases. However, it is a good book for a Star Wars fan.

This book is only good if you wish to increase your knowledge of the expanded universe, however if I were you I think I would wait on a new edition to come out, because it isn't fully updated from episodes 2 or 3. I do like it but, I Would rather rcomend the Essential guides to you for they are far more updated and have better detailed information

The Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy is a handy reference for any fan of the books and movies. Because it was published in the year 2000, it came after a wave of new books and a new movie, thus making it up to date up until that time.
While not as complete as the Star Wars Encyclopedia, it has information that SWE did not cover. However, it does not contain the wealth of information that SWE has, and the illistrations are black and white, whereas the Encyclopeida's are color.
The Guide covers new information in the Han Solo Trilogy, the X-Wing series, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the New Jedi Order (Just Vector Prime) and several other novels.
So, this is just right if you are a fan that likes up to date information.
However,it is already out of date and does not contain everything that is new. There is nothing about the second and third parts of the X-Wing series, nothing beyond Vector Prime and several other books that are already out. Hopefully there'll be a new editon in the near future.

I got this book around the time it came out, and 3 years later it is still the first book I go to for Star Wars look ups. Its biggest problem is that it is dated and cuts off right after Vector Prime, so it is not much help for looking up things in the New Jedi Order. That being said, it is still very valid and apart from the NJO and various newer comic book series, it covers pretty much everything. This book is a must for any serious Star Wars reader, and I highly recommend it as such. I would like to see a new edition with up-to-date material released after Episode III comes out.

Because the "Star Wars Universe" this guide covers is as vast and populated as George Lucas' "galaxy far, far away," it's impossible for even the most prolific researcher/writer to keep up with all the new additions as books, games, collectibles and even animated episodes appear almost on a monthly basis. For even though the Star Wars canon (read, "official version") only includes the six filmed Episodes, their novelizations, and their direct off-shoots (such as the National Public Radio dramatizations and the Cartoon Network's Clone Wars miniseries), there are also tons of Lucasfilm-authorized Expanded Universe novels, comic books, and games (roleplaying and computer games) that have added planets, political entities, droids, weapons, spacecraft, alien and human characters that go beyond Lucas' filmed works.

In some ways, Bill Slavicsek's 596 page A (as in A-3DO, a droid once owned by the Jedi Knight Andur Sunrider) to Z (ZZ-4Z, yet another droid, this time once Han Solo's mechanical housekeeper, last seen recovering from an attack by Boba Fett) book serves as a "poor man's Star Wars Encyclopedia," since the format is very similar and essentially covers the same territory -- down to the style of the entries -- as Steven J. Sansweet's more expensive and even more outdated (circa 1998) reference book.

The Guide is, obviously, a must-have reference work, and Slavicsek has done an excellent job at compiling all the data from not only the first four filmed Episodes (the cutoff point in this edition for the movies is Episode I: The Phantom Menace) but also every licensed media release, including young reader books (The Glove of Darth Vader), comic books (Tales of the Jedi Knights, the Dark Empire series), and such forgotten (and forgetable) TV offerings as the Droids animated series.

I don't know if there will be an interim Guide published by Ballantine Books before the release of Episode III next year; I had hoped to see a fourth edition this year that would cover Episode II and the New Jedi Order series after Vector Prime. Then again, Sansweet's more expensive Star Wars Encyclopedia has not been updated yet, so I am guessing the next editions of these two wonderful references will be released in a few years.