New Jersey Books

I have always noticed the difference between books and the movies based on them but wow the changes made from this book into the movie were huge. That being said I really enjoyed the movie and was thrilled to find that it was based on a book. I bought the book on a Saturday and finished it on Sunday. What a great story and much more enjoyable than the movie with its smaller cast. I would say if you are going to read the book then watch the movie don't, watch the movie then read the book, it will be a much better choice

The Wanderers by Richard Price was a first novel written in 1974 and draws on his teenage years around the Bronx street gangs of the early 60's. It became a successful movie in 1979, which like the book went on to be a cult classic. Richard Price went on to write many other street crime stories such as Clockers and many successful screenplays as in The Colour of Money..

The story follows the last months of members of a teenage street gang called The Wanderers. These are an all-Italian gang comprising of 27 members. They wear bright yellow/brown jackets and blue jeans. Their leader, Richie, is dating Despie Galasso, the daughter of an infamous mobster, so The Wanderers have connections We also get involved with the fights and alliance of the other local gangs such as

* The Fordham Baldies: As their name suggests, they are all bald, reportedly to prevent their hair from getting in their eyes during a fight.

* The Del Bombers: The toughest all-black gang in the Bronx.

* Ducky Boys: An all-Irish gang , all short- 5'6" and under and the most vicious

* The Wongs: An Chinese gang, all with the last name of "Wong" and highly skilled in Jiu-Jitsu

But it's more then being in a gang as we explore their relationships, schools, neighbourhoods and often dysfunctional families. Its not a book for the politically correct or maiden aunts, you get unfiltered real street language and behaviour and no moral judgements by the author. The bad aren't punished and the good rewarded, its left messy as in real life. The story whilst a novel is structured like a series of inter connected short stories so characters pop in and out of the set events as we move through the lives of the gang members. I should add apart from the high energy dialogue many of the scenes are funny,( ask me about the lasso, stone and what was tied to the rope when thrown over a bridge!) sad and even chilling. Well worth reading

Richard Price, one of America's great writers, started his series of novels off on the right foot. Although THE WANDERERS might be described generically as a coming-of-age book, that simply would not do it justice. The book introduces readers to Price's gritty and unrelenting style that not only shows the underbelly of American culture, but shoves it right into the reader's face.

The story centers around a street gang in the Bronx after which this book is named. The Wanderers is only one of many gangs in the area, each struggling for survival and some understanding about the world in which they exist. They are not even the toughest gang out there. The razor-wielding Ducky Boys are as vicious as their name is ridiculous, providing the members of The Wanderers a good deal more to worry about than just scoring with the girls.

But it would be incorrect to think of THE WANDERERS simply as a street gang book. The true main character here, as in all of Price's subsequent writings, is the atmosphere. Price portrays the street in which the characters live as so gritty, so dehumanizing, that they seem to take on a life of their own. It is a dark environment and becomes even more menacing as the characters grow beyond the gangs and attempt to venture out beyond the confines of their previously self-enclosed world.

What makes THE WANDERERS particularly noteworthy is the numbers of scenes that really stand out and will stay in the reader's head long after the book is put down. The venereal sandwich, the two boys 'trapped' on the roof of the building, the bowling scene, are all deeply disturbing. That such jarring events take place outside of the gang violence would seem to indicate that, for Price, the issues of violence and dehumanization are not limited to separate areas of American society, i.e. the street gang, but instead are to be found throughout it.

Price followed THE WANDERERS with a number of other books, some better than others. But THE WANDERERS is one of his two best, the other being CLOCKERS. It is a stellar work from a master of grasping the zeitgeist of his environment.

I first read this book not long after it came out in the 70s, when I was barely a teenager (if even that, I don't recall the exact year) and it quickly became one of my favorite books. Since then, Richard Price has gone on to write many more novels, a few of which (including The Wanderers, of course) were made into movies. I don't think any of his books, however, can be better than this, his first one. I should mention here that someone called this a collection of short stories. This is not accurate. It's a novel; I've read it at least three times, I should know :) Someone probably got confused because Price named the chapters, not a very common practice, so perhaps it sounded like they were stories.

This novel is not for the squeamish; it is full of sex, violence and profanity. Perhaps even more disturbing to some readers might be the prevalence of racial slurs. The characters in The Wanderers speak the language of the streets, and there is no attempt to censor or prettify anything. This, indeed, is the primary strength and distinction of the novel. It's an uncompromising look at a particular place and time, namely a poor section of the Bronx in the early 1960s. In one way, despite all the violence, The Wanderers has a certain innocence, at least compared to what street gangs became in later years. There are no drive by shootings (or any shootings that I can remember) or drug dealing, which became commonplace on urban streets by the 1970s. Still, while you are reading it, you are transported back to the era in which it is set, and you get a real sense of the danger of the streets, even back then.

The Wanderers is a kind of coming-of-age tale for a street gang of the same name. In the first chapter, we are introduced to the world in which these teens live; street gangs are numerous, and based on ethnic identity. There are Italian, Black, Irish and Chinese gangs. Perhaps the most bizarre of the gangs described are the Ducky Boys, a whole neighborhood of dwarf-like Irish kids who carry straight-edge razors. I was sure that this was something Price had made up, but someone from the Bronx of that time once told me there really was such a gang. The novel follows the lives of the gang members, Richie, Perry, Joey, Eugene and Buddy as they try to figure out their lives in this rough environment. Although you may think of street gangs as being made up of thugs, criminals or at least tough characters, the Wanderers are really just teenagers trying to make the best of things in challenging circumstances. Like teenagers everywhere, they go to school, fall in love and worry about their future.

There is an unusual honesty about this novel. People and events are presented in an uncompromising way without the usual filters of a moralizing narrator or a neat (and artificial) story line where everything always works out for the best. One example of this, which I already alluded to, is the rampant racial and ethnic prejudices of just about everybody in the book. This is not presented as something evil or twisted, just the way things were in that neighborhood at that time. Then there is Joey's father, Emilio, the closest thing to a real villain in the novel. He is a sadistic bully who abuses his wife and son. We might wish to see him punished in some way for his actions, but he never is. Price makes us feel like he is simply telling a story the way it really happened and not adding any superfluous commentary.

Possibly the most revealing thing I can say about The Wanderers is that it is one of those books that transcends its genre. It tells us a lot, not merely about gangs in the Bronx in the 1960s, but about growing up and living in general.

Anyone who has felt even the slightest pangs of nostalgia for the early '60s should read this marvellous novel. It will shatter their idyllic view of that era forever. The Wanderers is a raw depiction of working class Italian-American life in The Bronx circa 1960 and makes you realise how unglamourous and miserable living in the ghetto must have been back then (probably still is). Bad homes, rough girlfriends, violence lurking on every street corner - it's the ultimate punk rock novel. Yet amidst the despair, this is an outrageously funny book and Price, himself a native of the The Bronx though far more cultivated than he'd like everyone to believe, captures the nuances of the lingo perfectly.

There was a film made of The Wanderers but it's thoroughly lightweight with a really nauseating sub-theme of different races uniting, nauseating because it rings totally false. On the subject of racism as with many other themes of the novel, Price doesn't air-brush - he gives you the prejudices that existed unadulterated. And the novel is far richer for it.

i was blown away by how interesting and inspiring a book about the life of guy on drugs could be. He was so detailed in his writing that you can tell that he has a gift as a writer and an amazing story to go along with it. It was a very hard book to put down and there was never any moments in the book that i just wanted to skip ahead because i was being bored with unnecessary details. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read!

Bored, tired of reading books with facts and statistics? Yes, so was I.

This book is a great, fun read. The main character Jim (the author James Salant) keeps you on the edge of your seat.

James doesnt waste your time trying to give you statistics on drugs, drug use or even how meth is produced.

This is his story of addiction, from beginning to end. Its not a pretty journey through the countryside, but rather a long walk down a dirty, dangerous back alley.

Meth use is a disgusting, but growing problem in the U.S. This book gives you one mans glimpse of what it was like being hooked on it!!!

Salant's book is by far the best memoir of drug addiction I've ever read.

It's precisely the relative absence of shock-for-shock's sake that made this book such a satisfying read. As described by Salant, a drug addict's world isn't exciting; it's just sordid (which Salant acknlowedges in recounting some of the gross and/or unsavory things he did while addicted. Those of us who like to read about unsavory things done by other people - and I'm one of them - do get their money's worth in this memoir). But it's his writing that struck me as singular.

Told by a less talented writer, this story could have been ho-hum. But Salant writes with great clarity and economy, and seems objective as he can be in a book about himself. He does talk about writing poetry in the book, though sometimes he lied about that so his parents would send him money, so I'm not sure how much poetry he actually wrote!

But as for his prose, Salant writes as if he's been writing forever - he's that good. He's an extremely talented young writer, and thanks to that, this book wasn't the cobbled-together addiction exploitation book it very easily could have been.

Another reviewer said he (or she) would have liked more about his recovery. I think that might have been too much; I think Salant was right in leaving off where he did. And for an addict or alcoholic, there is always the chance of relapse; it's risky talking about your "recovery" when you're still in your early 20s. That's just my view, of course.

But this one's absolutely well worth reading.

This was for sure one of the best memoirs I've read, and the best addiction books out there. It stays with you after. I've read A LOT of addiction books to try to understand a friend I had that was an addict. I can't believe how the author got out alive and how honest he is! The things he encounters are not pretty and shamfeful and embarrassing, yet he eloquently describes his experiences without holding back.

This book is well written, a page turner, and extremely graphic and real. He's so young to have gone through so much and I liked at the end how he told the readers how hard it was for his family and gf to read it. Very compelling and a vdifferent from the self pity addiction books like "Blackout Girl" that I've been reading lately.

this book is scary, it opens your eye to the love familys have even when your child is slowly killing himself with drugs. the author has a great talent, and is so very hot! the book does not let you put it down. again a great book.

An exciting book that makes you stop and wonder about various situations Penny goes through. It's not really adventurous, however, which seemed to dissapoint me. In the long run, it's worth reading.

I guess I'm the odd-ball out on this one. I'm not sure why but this was just ok for me. I liked the characters and such but it just wasnt that interesting to me. It wasn't easy staying tuned into this book. I'd end up putting it down and/or reading something else. I ended up taking it back before I finished it.

Penny from heaven was exciting and thrilling! Every sentence and character sparkled with creativity and originality! With an amazing story and bright, interesting characters, this book will definitely have you hooked!

A wonderful period piece about a girl facing several challenges. Jennifer Holm does a beautiful job creating characters that you come to love and drawing the type of story you can't pull away from. This is a great book for girls in upper elementary or middle school grades. It also is a fabulous book for its ability to create a world that you can literally be drawn into and not want to leave-in this case an Italian American culture that is portrayed in such a vivid way that I didn't want the book to ever end. This is the type of book that is food for the young girl's soul!

Being a Newbery Honor book, I had to give this book a read. I definitely wasn't disappointed! This was a beautifully written coming-of-age story that children and young adults will be able to enjoy for years to come. Jennifer Holm, author of the Newbery Award winning book, Our May Amelia, is back with another lovely book about children growing up faster than they should have too, but enjoying themselves on the journey.

Penny, a half-Italian girl living with her mother and grandparents in New Jersey, longs to know more about what happened to her father. Her died when she was very young and her mother never speaks of him. The only time Penny is able to hear his name mentioned is when she is over at her Italian grandparents house, where her myriad of Aunts, Uncles, and cousins never fail to talk about her dad. Penny loves spending time in this boisterous household where food is always delicious and her best friend and cousin Frankie spends most of his time.

Unfortunately, Penny's mother doesn't get along with her in-laws and doesn't like Penny spending all of her time over there. As her mother begins dating, Penny tries to break up the dates in order to matchmake between her mother and her father's brother, Dominic. Penny, more than anything, wants her two families to love each other as she loves them. After a tragic accident that puts the use of Penny's arm in jeopardy, the true colors of her family members really begin to shine.

Set in the 1950's this book is so much more than family problems. It has exciting baseball games, friendships, and a mystery of buried treasure. The characters are incredibly real and lovable. Uncle Dominic was probably my favorite of the cast, because of his quirkiness and mystery. This is a true gem of a book.

I PREFER TWO, BUT YOU WOULD FEEL LIKE YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING WITHOUT SEEING AND READING THE FIRST.

i live in Salem N.J. and theres alot of strange stories behind that town. i read this book my freshman yr in high school and i forgot the name of it and i've been trying to figure it out for like 2 years and i finally got it..

Excellent coffee table book. Truly weird and funny things on the roads and places less treveled in NJ.

I received this as a gift from a close friend. As one who was born and mostly raised in Jersey, it really explains a lot about me and my family. The book was terrifically funny, and also gives some great insight into the experince of growing up "Jersey". After reading this, I think I have a greater appreciation for midwesterner's weird reaction to ME. A must have for those among us who still pine away for life in Jersey in the 50's and 60's and beyond. You can take the kid out of Jersey, but you can't take Jersey out of the kid, and this book brings it all home.
A Midwest Transplant

Weird NJ is a fun, funky book of legends and folklore about the Garden State. Written by Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran, it started as a journal, evolved into a magazine and has now morphed into a popular book (in New Jersey, anyway).

Most readers have heard about the Jersey Devil and UFO's. But Weird NJ goes way beyond these "mainstream" oddities. The stories in Weird NJ were gathered over ten years. The authors claim that they like to "churn up the historical muck" and that "when the line between history and legend begins to blur is the tightrope we like to tread." Many of the stories came from readers, and it is to them this book is dedicated.

The authors take us on quite a journey. We would expect monsters, ghosts and haunted houses. But Sceurman and Moran bring us even further. The chapters are broken down into such topics as Ancient Mysteries, Unexplained Phenomena, Local Heroes and Villains, Cemetery Safari, Roadside Oddities, Roads Less Traveled and Abandoned NJ (to name just some of them). Most of the stories also include pictures and drawings. We see a Stone Living Room and a house shaped like a cookie jar. The authors try to find the fabled midget village and tribes of albinos. We see a mystery lake in the Pine Barrens called the Blue Hole, and the Gates of Hell in Clifton. There is just so much here to keep you entertained.

My only complaint about Weird NJ is that most of the stories take place in North Jersey (South Jersey gets slighted once again). Also, I felt the authors could have done a little more to separate fact from fiction in some instances. But despite these minor flaws, I plan on giving a number of these books for Christmas this year. I know that they'll be a big hit.

This is one of those books that I wanted as a quick, uplifting, summer read and I have to be honest and say it was really excruciating to read. I don't like to give negative feedback, especially for authors whom I've enjoyed in the past. However, the positive reviews here, which influenced me to purchase it, need to be checked. I FORCED myself to finish this and it took months.

The book is about the author's childhood. It is so completely disjointed in it's characters, times and locations and rarely makes sense at all. There is absolutely no depth to or connections between any of the characters. It's all descriptive writing about locations, etc. and has little point or continuity. It really has nothing to do with being a builder, even thought that's what it seems the protagonist wanted to be in his early childhood. Later in the book, you find out he actually wanted to be something else (I can't even remember and i finished it this week) and mentions nothing about him wanting to be an author (which he ultimately is).

It would have helped if the author cut the descriptive text in half and delved into the relationships between the people in his life (not just describe their out of sequence comments). I was craving to know more about his father and him and his mother and him and his brother, neighbors, aunts, etc. but it just described a few of their comments and actions randomly in his life. The most character development is of a neighbor - "Mrs. Fox" who appears in one of his location changes - and that is purely descriptive as well.

I do not recommend this book to anyone - not even people who fondly remember the development communities of the 50's - today. Sorry Mr. Lisiki but i'm sure i'll give you a good review somewhere else.

The cover is very nice (and the velum insert) but here goes the clichet.... "Don't judge a book by it's cover" - or the Amazon reviews.

If I press a book into your hand and beg you to read it, you will know that I am doing so because I love the book and I want to share that love with you. When you examine the beloved book, you will note how many pages I've dog eared. The more dog ears, the deeper my love.

Paul Lisicky's gorgeous, tender book of essays, Famous Builder, has a dog ear about every other page. I loved it that much.

If you start off your book, very first thing, having to spell your name in a classroom--you've got me. Right there. Welcome to every first day of my life.

But then if you carry on with wonderful, evocative, empathetic renderings of your family and childhood neighbors and relatives (Mrs. Fox! I picture her as Anne Bancroft playing Mrs. Robinson) and your own place within this world and your own childhood longings (to become a famous builder of all the wondrous and geeky things), you've got me even further.

Lisicky pages through his life and opens old wounds and examines them, but never once paints himself or his family the victim. His parents are human beings and he is a son who tries hard and sometimes fails and sometimes lets go. He is a son who yearns, just as they want him to yearn.

While this is partly a book of coming of age, mostly this is a book of home, and what Lisicky (and his brothers) knows is that home is moving away from you just as you know it is there--home could be a department store on its way out or waterfront homes built on dredge and fill or a hotel room.

Home is in the moment:

"I turn back toward the room. If it were mine to do such a thing, I'd secure this moment with the heaviest anchor: Arden taking up all the space he needs; Beau resting a thick paw on Mark's forearm; Mark touching my leg as I walk by, just to let me know he's thinking of me."

A beautiful, touching book. Read it.

Every now and then I come across a book that occupies all my free time. This is one such book! The author has accomplished to portrait his journey from middle America childhood to adulthood with great observation, introspection, and delirious humor. I loved it!

Every now and then I come across a book that takes hold of all my free time, that practically nothing gets accomplished until I reach the last page. This was one such book! The author has accomplished to portrait his journey from middle America youth to adulthood with great observation, introspection, and delirious humor. I loved it!

Sweet. Irreverent. Warm. A little crazed. And still these adjectives don't do justice to the accomplishment of this lovely book.

I had to work very hard to find Henry Reed books in the mid-1990s for my son once he had read one of them. He loved Henry. Boys books tend to be scary and their are less choices -these were fun and comforting reading. He moved on to the Jeep books.

(Review by a nine-year-old third-grader, who read this book for a home school assignment)

Henry Reed's story starts out when, for vacation, Henry goes to the USA. He has all kinds of adventures. Henry starts a research business. Then he meets a girl named Midge who wants to be part of his business. She says that she will give him two rabbits if he lets her join, but she only has one.

One adventure happens when Midge and Henry make a balloon and their dog and the neighbor's cat and a dead pigeon go up in the balloon. The cat jumps on his owner's roof and stays there for about a day.

I liked this book because their adventures are very exciting.

Henry Reed is an unforgettable character, a strange mix of can-do entrepreneurialism and good-hearted goofiness who would make any parent proud.

This is the first book in a terrific series, and is a perfect transitional novel from children's reading to more adult fare. At 239 pages, it weighs in as a longer book than most readers will have tackled to date, and the writing is slightly more sophisticated than you would see in a Hardy Boys or early Judy Blume book, for example. I would compare it to the series "The Mad Scientists Club," which has the same type of humor and level of sophistication.

As for the story, it is presented as Henry's journal entries over the course of a summer that he spends with his uncle and aunt. He comes up with schemes that young teens will find exhilarating, because they are just wild enough to be exciting, and yet just realistic enough to be believed and emulated. Some of the plans are purely to make money-such as his attempts to find valuable truffles in the neighborhood. Some of them are research, as when he sends a large balloon up into the air bearing a pigeon to measure weather conditions. All of them are humorous and fun to read about, as he often bites off more than he can chew.

This is a terrific series that will not only entertain, but also inspire children to think about their own start-up businesses and scientific research. I highly recommend it.

"Henry Reed, Inc." is the first of a series of books about a fourteen-year-old boy who is the son of a diplomat. The book was written in the late fifties and is Henry's journal about what happens when he is sent to New Jersey to spend the summer with his relatives. His teacher gave him an assignment to report on the free enterprise system in the United States, so Henry starts a business. Soon he has acquired a dog and a business partner in the form of the girl next door, Midge. Their adventures are hilarious and innocent. All of the Henry Reed books are really entertaining and to me epitomize what a summer vacation should be about. They would be perfect for readers over ten.

The main characters of the story are Henry and Midge. Henry moved here from Naples,Italy. They tried to start a research business out of a old barn. To find out more you will have to read this book.

John Ceepack and Danny Boyle make their fourth appearance in this unsettling mystery novel. The two Sea Haven, NJ, police officers are caught up in a web of conspiracy and intrigue stretching from Iraq to the Jersey shore. They become involved in investigating the apparent suicide of a corporal who had just returned from Iraq, at a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway.

The cast of characters include the dead soldier's buddies, enjoying some R&R in the resort town, a United States Senator and other unpleasant persons. About the only levity in the book are Danny's wisecracks and the ongoing identification contests regarding Bruce Springsteen lyrics between the two police officers.

The plot and writing are solid, and John and Danny are a likable pair. The story line is an unusual one reaching to the limits of various major issues a la My Lai to who-killed-President-Kennedy theories. A fast and rewarding read, and one which is recommended.

I've read all of Chris Grabenstein's books and this is one of his best.

Weaving his grand characters, John Ceepak and Danny Boyle, into a web of political excess, atrocities of war and power run amok, Grabenstein develops a stay-up and read book that rivals his other works.

Easily readable, and equally as enjoyable, Grabenstein has kept true to his main characters while writing a mystery both realistic and intricate.

If you enjoy a good read to end your summer... you can't do better than HELL HOLE.

Keep them coming, Mr. Grabenstein!

Great series, Ceepak and Boyle are quite a team. I've read all of Grabenstein's books and loved them all. Can't wait for the next one.

Danny Boyle needs extra money (football season is coming and he wants an HD TV), so he's taken on extra shifts at the police department. On one such night shift, he answers a noise complaint just as the group of soldiers at the house learns that one of their own has died at a rest stop. Since none of them are in any shape to drive, Danny takes one to identify the body. The case is looking like suicide, but something at the scene doesn't feel right to Danny.

John Ceepak is quick to zero in on the anomaly the next morning; the blood spatter doesn't fit. Unfortunately, the death occurred outside of Sea Haven jurisdiction. But Ceepak is taking the case personally and is working all the angles to get involved. Can he find a way to investigate without breaking his code? Who would kill a war hero? And why?

The series may be with a new publisher, but nothing has changed in the town of Sea Haven. And that's great news for the fans. Danny and Ceepak continue to grow as characters and people. I love watching the two of them interact. This is especially true when a sub-plot involving Ceepak's personal life comes into play. The mystery is strong with several good twists before the strong climax. And there's at least one new character here I hope shows up again in the next book.

These police procedural/thrillers aren't my normal mystery, and the graphic descriptions do get to me at times. Yet I have grown to love these characters so much you can bet I will be back for the next installment.

Ceepak and Danny--two cops in a small town on the Jersey shore. Ceepak is ex-army and lives by "The Code", a rigid set of moral requirements that makes Ceepak both admirable and comical. Ceepak is Danny's boss and partner, in this small Jersey shore police force. Danny, is an amiable ex-slacker who began his police career issuing parking tickets in the summers, to support his laid back lifestyle.

Hell Hole is the fourth in this Ceepak and Danny series, and it may be the best. Here's a town that should have less serious crime than Mayberry, and part of the fun of this series is learning how the author will plausibly introduce another murder into their lives.

The plot is tight and twists, and the pace is quick. But the rarest thing about Hell Hole and the Ceepak and Danny series is that Grabenstein has succeeded in creating two original heroes. Danny, the narrator, is the most unlikely hero: not strong, not fearless, but rather with a natural predilection for comfort. And his admiration for Ceepak only makes him more comically aware of his shortcomings. Yet Danny, ultimately, is the greater hero. Against all of his natural inclinations towards comfort and safety, he does the right thing. Not exactly the same way Ceepak would do, but achieving the same end.

I would recommend reading Hell Hole first, even though it is the fourth in the series, because you get to enjoy Ceepak and Danny fully developed and in their stride. Then you can go back and enjoy the first three in order.

Like other reviewers here, I used to live near the epicenter of the Neulander case. I remember when the murder happened and I remember the "scandal" when Ken Garland's widow was unmasked as "the other woman." It was one of those cases that makes soap operas seem like documentaries. I moved away before the trials and it wasn't until I caught I rerun of City Confidential that I sought out this book.

I'm glad I did. Magida clearly comes at this case from the angle of how could a man who has committed his life to a higher ideal come to this? And, what is the impact on those who looked to this man for guidance? He makes it clear that becoming a rabbi was a career choice for Neulander, as opposed to a calling. He was highly successful and respected. Yet it wasn't enough. Magida presents convincing evidence that Neulander was a serial philanderer who needed the thrill of an illicit affair to feel "real".

Far more chilling is the revelation that Neulander seems to have sought Carol's death so that he could marry either a wealthy widow or a wealthy divorcee. He wasn't driven by passion for a woman, he wanted to keep up with the neighbors. Magida points out the irony of a rabbi who has founded a synagogue that emphasizes ethics over ritual being so able to dispense with ethics entirely.

This book is a step above the usual paperback entry in the true crime genre. (A genre of which I am a fan.) Magida is interested in what made Neulander and how his role as a rabbi enabled him to "pass" for so long. He still delivers on the details, providing fresh information on Len Jenoff's antics in Baltimore, while thoughtfully probing how Neulander abused his position and those who trusted him. It's an easy read that will stay with you.

Kindle notes: no photographs or searchable terms.

The book is well written and keeps your interest. It is a book based on fact and a true story.

I had seen a segment on A&E about this shocking and brutal crime. Reading the book made me realize just how deceptive and evil human beings can be, not only to their closest friends and business associates but to those who matter the most; their families.
This will forever change the way I look at my pastor in the pulpit!

Overshadowed in the headlines of 1994 by an ex-football player murdering his wife and her friend, Rabbi Fred Neulander unhatched an equally devious plot. This serial philanderer, in order to marry a girlfriend, sought the murder of his wife. In an easy flowing style, Arthur Magida tells this story in "The Rabbi and the Hitman".

Not being familiar with many of the Jewish customs, I appreciated Magida's explanations of landmark dates on the Jewish calendar as the story was told. Neulander had several love interests outside of his marriage that he used to make his congregation develop. A man with "people skills", Neulander was believed to be a great rabbi and builder of a thriving synagogue community. This all changed when his wife was murdered. In a murder-for-hire scheme, Neulander may have never been convicted had the hitman not confessed.

This book is a truly fascinating tale of the Jewish fate of one deceitful rabbi. It was apparent from the beginning that Neulander was not a rabbi for the right motives. For this reason, his murderous crime should not be an implication of all rabbis.

Living in the Philadlphia area I am very familiar with the Neulander case. I was hoping for a more objective and less sensationalistic account of the murder than that presented in the local media. Magida presents exactly that however, an overly simplistic, unsophisticated and extremely prejudiced account of the murder. It's as though Magida, as a jew, cannot accept the fact that another jew could possibly commit such an act. He feels he must repeatedly vilify Nulender to reasure the reader that judaism is sound despite this individuals mis-deeds. To say that his continuous incrimination of Neulander is monotonous is an understatement. In fact it is condescending. I got the message the first hundred times that Neulander is a despicable human being, a fact I happen to agree with. What I expected was more insight into his psyche. To find out what makes him tick and what his real motives were. I am also irritated on how he portrayed the women he was involved with as innocent babes in the woods. Women with seemingly no will of their own who were victims of Neulander's advances. Were they not complicit in the adulterous afairs, all except one having spouses of their own? The book is factually accurate,however his political correctness and overstatement of the obvious nauseated me.

Mr Leffens is an abstract artist. An artist with the power to see beyond the surface, to the essential beauty around him. It was this vision that allowed him to see through the severe physical disabilities of a group of students and witness their souls. Powerful souls, overlooked by the world but exploding with insight.

Mr Leffens discovers a way for them to communicate, not in words, but in a more expressive reflection of their spirit. Given the tools to paint, these artists overcome the forces that enslave us all, limited expectations, power struggles and the jealousy of those who have stopped striving.

These "handicapped" artists vault over their able bodied colleagues to reach heights most can only dream of. It's an inspiration and indeed, a work of art.

Jeff Carlson - Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Tim Lefens is a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci: painter, poet, teacher, inventor. Genius of this brilliance is rare in our world and will necessarily receive some opposition: opposition from those unable to concede the space that such talent requires, and opposition from those who need to feel a sense of superiority but suddenly are confronted with people of decidedly inferior bodies but through the genius of Lefens are now demonstrating a creative power definitely superior to that which most of us possess.
"Flying Colors" is a once-in-a-lifetime literary gem. I am not suggesting but demanding that all of my friends read it.

The author, Tim Lefens, is an abstract artist who is troubled by a growing physical impairment. He writes how he accepts an invitation to show slides of his work to severely disabled people in a hospital/school in New Jersey. The power of the individuals' spirit, communicated mostly through their eyes, bowls him over, and he can't stop thinking about their excitement and interest. The well-meaning but insensitive employees of the school treat the patients like children of zero intelligence and do everything for them, to the point of choosing saccharine TV shows about purple dinosaurs for these thinking adults. Lefens tells how he feels propelled to liberate the residents from the prison of their bodies and others' misguided babying through the medium of art. He begins by working with patients who can operate wheelchairs and sets up a way to paint by driving over the painting with wheels. From there the thrilled artists move on to ever more expressive techniques. The story of how Lefens fights a stultified and hostile bureaucracy, finds legitimate art galleries for the artists to show their work and liberates them in unexpected ways is riveting. It should help readers put their own prisons in perspective and think about ways to accomplish the impossible in their lives, too.

This is one fabulous book. I loved it, absolutely could not put it down and am enjoying reading it again. I find it exceptionally interesting and inspiring and wildly funny. It gave me so many insights about the tremendous power of art and what modern painting, and painting in general, really is about. It is a wonderful, finely written love story and I could not recommend more highly.

Post 9/11, it seems that most people are looking to fantasy adventures or some other kind of escapist fiction to deal with their angst. More likely people aren't reading at all and simply plop themselves in front of CNN or MSNBC or Jennings or Brokaw, zombie-like, cabernet in hand, nightly, hoping that something good happens.

Well, something good has happened. It's Flying Colors by Tim Lefens. If you're looking to wrench yourself from years of predictable garbage---whether from t.v. or from a pretentious novel---read this book.

Mr. Lefens paints a vivid portrait of all of his characters,so much so that many of the most challenged individuals in this book aren't in wheelchairs. Angel, for example, the tough, unlikely assistant from Trenton is masterfully described. At one time he's described by Lefens as the king of diplomacy and b.s.; the next moment he's the most brutally honest person in the book. Natalie, Chet, James and the rest of the students teach those of us unafflicted by CP that we are, often, afflicted with worse problems. The way Lefens describes, throughout the book and through different circumstances, how pitiful the "normal" people of the world are for not "getting it," is hilarious.
Pack all of the characters together, certainly not just the students, and I think Lefens has begun to touch on the essence of being, if I dare say so. Invigorate yourself and read something worthwhile! Laugh, cry, fight crying until you laugh, get angry, and then LAUGH again. Oh, and may Ring of Keys repent!

If you are fascinated by the sheer destructive power of Mother Nature, you'll love this book. If you live on the East Coast of North America, and ever worried about hurricanes or Nor'easters, this should answer some of your questions. If you live in New Jersey and remember The Great Atlantic Storm of 1962, this is a book you have to buy.

A comprehensive coverage of the small portion of the Atlantic Coast, 180 miles of New Jersey beaches, the authors first impart some knowledge of the causality of Hurricanes and winter storms. They do a great job explaining those vague terms the television weatherpeople throw around, such as the Beaufort scale and wind forces. Then the tales begin to unfold.

Starting with the 1700's, the authors have researched every major storm and hurricane that has brushed into -- or rolled flat -- the New Jersey coast. In addition to anecdotes and quotes from New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York area newspapers, the book is loaded with photos of storms and their aftermath starting from the 1890's. There's an entire chapter on the hurricane of 1944, which wreaked havoc on New York City as well as New Jersey. Another chapter is devoted to the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962. Caused by two major storms colliding and stalling off the New Jersey coast for three days. The storm sent five storm surge high tides ashore -- each one deeper and higher and further than the last -- until Long Beach Island, a barrier island resort, was cut through in four places.

Reading this book was quite entertaining and informative; more than that, it taught me one big lesson: there's no such thing as evacuating TOO SOON when a hurricane is coming.

Is the Halloween Storm of 1991, Nor'easter of 1992 and the Superstorm '93 in it?

If you live in New Jersey--as I do. If you have relatives who live near the Jersey Shore--as I do. If you love meteorology and disaster stories--as I do. Then you will be fascinated by this book. It starts in colonial times and works it's way to the present and even predicts the future. What more could you want?

Well maybe a few more widely differentiated anecdotes--many end up sounding the same.

Maybe, a few more pithy quotes from contemporary newspapers and other media.

Maybe a better explanation of extra-tropical cyclones and how they form. These are the great scourge of the Northeastern coast and make up a majority of this history. You just don't hear as much about Nor'easters because they don't have names.

Maybe a bit more on how the Jersey shore prepares and deals with these monsters of the deep. A frank and wide-ranging discussion on whether our shore-management policies and techniques are futile would not be very popular, but very useful.

The best features of this book intertwine. It's long range history treats the great hurricane of 1821 (the last hurricane whose eye contacted and tracked on shore)which of course is outside of the memory of living society. The book closes with an account of an imaginary hurricane doing much the same in the near future. We need to remember our past to be prepared for the future. What happened once can very well happen again. The 1821 hurricane roughly followed the current route of the Garden State Parkway. I rarely travel that toll road without remembering that we may have a very big payment to make someday.

In March of 1962, my father drove us down to Atlantic City to visit my grandmother and see the damage. It made an indelible impression on me. I cannot drive the Jersey coast without wondering how much of the ugly, new beachfront development will survive a great Jersey storm. Like many other shore lovers, I secretly hope not much of it will.

The most hair-raising tales in this wonderful book are from that 1962 whopper. But these great storms have hit Jersey shores throughout the ages with regularity, with & without warning, everywhere on the coast, changing the coastline & serving important ecological purposes. Even Keansburg, a bayshore town, has been knocked flat.

So enjoy the stories & eye-popping photographs. But don't overlook the other message the authors are conveying: We build castles on the sand.

A semi-coffeetable size book, this is a history of all the major storms that have wreaked havoc along the Jersey shore, with special emphasis on the 1944 hurricane and the 1962 nor'easter, both of which did tremendous damage. The '62 storm lasted 3 days - 6 tides - which seemed relentless. The survey ends with a warning about the future: with all the recent development along the shore and a major storm overdue, a nightmarish disaster is bound to occur sooner or later. (The last time a hurricane made landfall in New Jersey was in 1903 at Brigantine.) Filled with fantastic photographs.