C Books

I bought the 2200 series first with the answer book with test and I passed them all with flying colors. So I decided to go for the 2600 and passed that as well with flying colors. After that I decided to buy this book and continue, however, I did not do so well with the test as I would've liked. This is still a great book and I only wish that I could write the author a positive review on it; but I think he might be deceased by now. I truly recommend this book, but you must buy the tests with answer key. Don't cheat!!!

I used an earlier edition of this classic textbook in Junior High 28 years ago, and it is EXCELLENT. What makes it unique is the layout which actually resembles a computer based training format with instant feedback. I only wish more instructional books utilized this format. You WILL master english grammer with this book.

You can start anywhere, literally anywhere. Just open the book at any page and go; truly, it is that easy. I came across this book when taking an English Upgrade course in writing at the University of Toronto back in the 1970's - subjunctives, subordinate clauses, adverb clauses, appositives, punctuation, and on, and on, and on ... . My marks went from C's to A's.
The book eventually fell apart in my hands from the constant use and reuse as I referred to it when I needed it. I referred back to it all the time, simply because some of the topics are, to some extent, obscure and not easy to remember without constantly using them. Is your boss picking on you because you can't write? Are feeling out of the game because you can't get a handle on English grammar? - get the book (and use the book) and get your boss of your back and maybe impress your boss's boss as well.
I just ordered a new one, because my wife speaks English as a second language, and she will have no trouble using it what so ever.
It is a gem, a prize, and a wonder.
sincerely

The book enphasis a lot in writing and correct sentence construction. At the begining it may look foolish, but as you use it, you start noticing and fixing mistakes in your writing style.
It has few theory about grammar, but practise a lot the setence contruction.
If you want improve your writing, this is the MUST HAVE book.

This is the best book on sentence structure ever. I wish I had this book when I was in school. I read alot of books on grammar and they never work for me. I usually forgot what I read after a day or two. I am an electrical engineer. Math and science are always my best subject while english is my worse.

This book show me how to combine simple sentences into compound and complex sentence. How to add adverb and adjective clause into the sentence to make it more meaningful. It show you the same example in many different ways. It is like doing algebra.

This book use a scientific approach. You will learn sentence structure and remember it for the rest of your life.

Before I finished my third book I decided it needed cartoons to visually explain some ideas (a picture is worth 1000 words) and provide humor to a tough subject. I started checking with hiring a professional artist (or student artist) to do the work. It quickly became clear the task would be time consuming, expensive and I may not get what I wanted in the end.

First, it would be difficult to find someone who would be able to take what was in my mind and transfer it to a cartoon

Second, it became painfully clear it would be expensive (even with a student artist). I wanted around twenty five cartoons drawn.

Third, some individuals wanted to discuss contracts and usage.

My best option was to learn how to draw cartoons myself. I figured it would be less expensive (only the cost of books and art supplies), and frustrating and I would get exactly what was in my brain. It would take some time to become proficient, but it sounded like a fun project. I was fortunately right.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cartooning but Were Afraid to Ask by Christopher Hart and a couple other books helped me learn how to draw cartoons good enough to put in my latest book.

Christopher Hart has done several books on drawing comics. He provides excellent common sense content, and teaches the skill very well though his words and cartoons.

Some the sections that I found especially helpful were: Expressions, How to Draw Hands, The Art of Character Design, Body Types, Principles of Layout, Layouts from a Distance, The Special Effects Lab, Explosions and more.

After finishing my sketches, I used Adobe Elements software to polish up the work. I was very pleased with the final cartoons that went into my book..and there have been many positive comments about them from people who have the book!

Overall, this is a great resource for learning to draw cartoons!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain : How to Come Up With Jokes for Cartoons and Comic Strips

The Cartoonist's Workbook Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling

I love how Christopher Hart really delves into the hard things to draw. Like hands and feet and expressions. This is a wonderful art resource. The pictures are fun and will help you generate many of your own ideas.

This would make a great gift!

Far more detailed than the How to Draw Cartoons book by this author. There are examples of heads, eyes, noses, mouth, hands, and many other elements in good detail.

This a useful book for the artist (or developing artist) moving into cartoon drawing. The material is high quality, drawn and written by a professional with many years' work under his belt. You'll wish it were longer.

I bought this book so I can learn to draw cartoons with my 2.5-year-old daughter. Right around this time I had finished reading the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, and I was wondering how I might be able to start teaching my child about different emotions. Then on pages 18 and 19 of Hart's book I found a list of cartoon faces depicting emotions. We started drawing some of them. Currently we're concentrating on two: Happy and Laughing.

This is one of my favorite books--fascinating and informative. I've sent copies to several family members.

I have always fantasized about being a world traveling journalist living a life of adventure and bringing my unique point of view to my readers. Alas, that is not to be. However, I certainly have a deep appreciation for up-close and personal viewpoints of world events. That's why I absolutely loved this book and devoured the entire thing in one big orgy of uninterrupted reading.

Subtitled "A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, from Bagdad to Timbuktu", Yaroslav Trofimov, an Italian citizen, is a Wall Street Journal reporter whose knowledge of languages, including Arabic, gave him access to people and places often denied to Westerners. He wrote this book between 2001 and 2005 and his writing style is simple, personal and full of facts, history and perspective. As I turned the pages, I was right there with him as he traveled around the Islamic world talking to clerics, ordinary Muslims and heads of state about their views on the current "War On Terror" that has brought attention to their perspective and, especially in the case of Iraq, has turned their lives upside down. He visited Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Mali and Bosnia. That's quite a lot of places for one small book. They are all different, of course, but all share the Islamic world view, which, to my western eyes is a fresh perspective which gave me the chills as I slowly grasped the mounting significance of the present-day conflicts in all of these regions.

The clashes have been going on for thousands of years, but modern technology has accelerated the process and there is a culture class on a grand scale happening all over the world. The author devotes four full chapters to Iraq, and, to his credit, acknowledges the difficult job of American and British military personnel whose presence in the region has created a whole new set of problems for the Iraqi people who once viewed them as liberators. Those days are gone forever though. I knew all this before I read the book, of course, but it's one thing to read newspaper accounts and watch a small sound byte on CNN or Fox News. It's another thing entirely to feel I was in the shoes of this reporter, eating the food, dodging the gunfire and talking to individuals. My own sensitivities have also been stirred deeply and I know I will never quite view the Muslim world the same again.

The book is short, a mere 303 pages, but the author's skill managed to enlighten me about so much. Bosnia is very different from Timbuktu or Yemen, and sometimes it seemed as if these peoples have little in common. But the Islamic point of view is always there and very different from the Western world view. I applaud the author for clarifying this for me. Highly recommended.

I love this book so much that I already bought another to send to a friend. I will probably do it again if another friend did not buy it already on my advise. Mr. Trofinov succeed in making laugh while teaching me stuff about the world of Islam while others succeed only in making me cringe, fear, making my blood boil. The Journal is lucky to have him as a reporter.

This is a good book filled with personal experiences of a talented journalist who has travelled extensively in the arab world. It contains haunting images of people and suffering and explores the ironies and contradictions of the Arab world. One is presented with an image of a hypocritical Saudi Arabia, which uses Islam to keep its people down, and comparisons with a more secular Mali, which has found a way to reconcile modernity and religious values.

The book is unflinching in its critique of the American invasion of Iraq and the unintended consequence of the occupation. It is harrowing in its depiction of the vehemence of anti-Americanism from the wealthy suburbs of Cairo to the slums of Yemen. It create different looks at the seeming monolithic Hezbollah, unified by both public service and violent opposition to Israel.

The one drawback is that the book is totally framed by the perspective of the author. To say it is an uncomprimising look at the contradictions of Modern Islam and the failure of US foreign policy is to overlook the subjectivity of the writing. Choosing to focus on mismanagement or soldiers gloating over Arab deaths, the author ignores the nobility of others who struggle to make a positive impact. Some things in the book are taken at face value, when more thorough inspection should be required. For instance, at some point the book claims American forces shot and killed an Iraqi man for discharging his gun, thinking his house was being burglarized. How did the author arrive at this conclusion ? Ask the dead man ? The conclusion to be drawn is that Trofimov took representations of others at face value, but when Trofimov experience pro-US sentiment, he assumes it to be the result of toadying rather than genuine sentiment.

In the end, you have a well written book, containing fascinating yet selective experiences of the author. I recommend it as a fascinating journalistic travel journal, but like any journal one shaded by the authors subjective opinions.

Popular contemporary Islamic culture gets an airing in Yaroslav Trofimov's FAITH AT WAR, and the the non-islamic world is subject to a rude awakening 312 pages later. The author is very much a part of and participant in his inquiries into the attitudes that fuel resentment against the West and the US, whether in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan or Bosnia.

I was astonished to learn of the paranoia and proclivity to believe the wildest conspiracy theories throughout Islamic societies. Indeed, and as a validation of Trofimov, a personal friend of mine recently visited Iran with his Iranian wife. On a mountain climb above Tehran with his Iranian-American daughters, he encountered two AK-47 wielding guardians of the Islamic revolution who were keen to ply my friend with all manner of anti-semitic conspiracy theories, including the long-discredited Protocols of the Elders of Zion and the "Israeli plot" to blow up the World Trade Center. Similar notions abound in Trofimov's accounts of his travels to "the frontlines of Islam" in the wake of the September 11 Al Qaeda attacks in the US.

FAITH AT WAR is a model of engaging journalism, with its riveting insights and Trofimov's determination - even at great risk to the writer's life - to get Islamic spokesmen to speak with him, revealing their livid concerns and lurid fixations. The paperback edition comes with an updated afterword and there is a helpful glossary of terms as well. The book is a fine primer/introduction to the contradictions inherent in the contemporary global Islamic resurgence largely fueled by the fanatical, retrogressive Saudi Arabian brand of Wahabist Islam. Highly recommended.

I AM A GREAT LOVER OF VICTORIAN-STYLE, FORMAL, PERFECTLY-RHYMED AND MUSICAL VERSE BY THE ROMANTICS, SUCH AS KEATS, GEORGE GORDON,LORD BYRON, CHARLES SWINBURNE, P. B. SHELLEY AND E. A. POE. IT IS EXTREMELY RARE NOW, IN AMERICA AT LEAST, TO FIND A POET WHO NOT ONLY COMPARES TO THESE GREAT POETIC GIANTS, BUT WHO, IN SOME CASES, ACTUALLY SURPASSES THEM IN HIS ABILITY TO SUSTAIN ATMOSPHERE, RHYTM, TENSION AND PERFECTION OF END AND INTERNAL RHYME. MR. KEVIN NICHOLAS ROBERTS HAS ACCOMPLISHED ALL OF THESE THINGS. I HAVE GIVEN COPIES OF BOTH HIS BOOKS, FATAL WOMEN & QUEST FOR THE BELOVED, TO ALL THE POETRY LOVERS I KNOW, AND AS A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE IN LITERATURE:POETRY, I KNOW QUITE A FEW. WITHOUT FAIL, HE HAS PLEASED AND AMAZED THEM ALL! THE ONLY COMPLAINTS I HAVE HEARD IS THAT THE BOOK IS TOO BRIEF--IT CONTAINS ONLY 21 POEMS (SOME VERY LONG, OTHERS SONNNETS, SHORT RONDELS AND THE LIKE, AVERAING ABOUT 3 PAGES PER POEM. THOUGH MY TWO FAVORITE POEMS, "OPHELIA" AND "ALLAYNE" ARE BOTH OVER 10 PAGES IN LENGTH, ACHIEVING WHAT POE ONCE SAID WAS IMPOSSIBLE: TO SUSTAIN PERFECTION AND ATMOSPHERIC TENSION FOR MORE THAN 40 STANZAS. ROBERTS DOES THIS AND MUCHMORE IN "ALLAYNE."

DUE TO SPACE LIMIATATIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO CONCKUDE BY SIMPLY SAYING THAT THIS IS THE BEST POETRY COLLECTION I HAVE READ FROM A POET WRITING AFTER 1909. IF YOU LIKE THE CONTEMPORARY, UNRHYMING, EXPERIMENTAL POETRY, YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH MY FEELING THAT THIS WORK IS EXCEPTIONALLY MOVING AND IMPOSSIBLE TO READ ONLY ONCE. I'VE HAD THE COLLECTION FOR 2 YEARS, AND I STILL READ IT ALMOT EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED. IT GIVES ME NEAUTIFUL, WONDERFULLY ROMANTIC DREAMS WHEREIN I AM THE HEROINE, THE POET MY DARK KNIGHT, CARRYING ME AWAY TO A FAIRYLAND BEYOND MOST CONTEMPORARY IMAGINATIONS. OH! AND HE EVEN "COMPLETED" SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE'S POEM FRAGMENT "KUBLA KHAN!" AND IT'S BRILLIANT, WRITTEN PRECISELT 200 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL AND SUSTAINING EXACTLY THE ORIGINAL POEM'S LANGUAGE, MOOD AND GENIUS. GET THIS BOOK, OR GIVE IT TO SOMEONE WHO MELTS UNDER THE OTUCH OF THE ROMANTICS. YOU WILL NEVER WANT TO PART WITH IT. AND IT EVEN LOOKS BEAUTIFUL--VERY HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTION WITH J. WTERHOUSE'S GLORIOUS "OPHELIA" PAINTING ON THE FRONT AND BACK COVERS. GET IT, READ IT, CRY AND SIGH OVER IT, AND LET IT CARRY YOU INTO DREAMLAND. I COULD LOVE THIS MAN. :)

I highly recommend this book by poet Kevin Roberts. He has an eloquent way with words. From the beginning to the end of the book I found myself transported into the poems. This book is so beautifully written. This author is a master poet!

I just got this book yesterday and I have already read it through about 1ten times. How could this poetry collection exist since 2000 and I never heard of it. I love Romantic poetry, and NOBODY TOLD ME!!!!

The reviewer on the back cover describes Kevin N. Roberts as "Easily one of the ten greatest poets of past and present centuries." He is, without doubt, exactly correct.

The book focuses on the femme fatales of history and, apparently, of the poet's own life and experience. My faves are: OPHELIA, ALLAYNE (breathless!!!), HYACINTHE, MORTICHE AND, THE INCONSTANT CLAYRE.

ALLAYNE seems like an impossible poem to write. How did he do it? Poe says it could not be done, to sustain perfection beyond 40 stanzas. But this man did, and did it better than Poe or any of his contemporaries. Unbelieveable!

If he ever comes out with another poetry collection, SOMEONE BETTER TELL ME. I WANT IT!

I got Kevin Roberts's name and book title--FATAL WOMEN--from a well-respected amazon reviewer. I tried it, and I cannot beli9eve that this man is not the biggest poet working in America and Europe today! He needs advertising.

Oh, and Kevin, if you read this: I LOVE YOU! Will you marry me?

FATAL WOMEN is like an antibiotic for the sickly and weakened body of modern English poetry! Finally we can see that the emperors of what poetry is and is supposed to be, have no clothes, they, in fact, are naked, for FATAL WOMEN has made us see! The last sixty years have seen an amazing outpouring of the most banal and insipid poetry imaginable. A small army of professors, armed with cartloads of advanced degrees in various subgenres of literature, especially the notorious MFA, have reduced poetry to a troglodytic science devoid of all feeling. This handful of folks have written reams of poetry for each other which has been widely published but read only by a very few outside of the cloistered walls of academe. So it is with the greatest brilliance that Kevin Roberts' FATAL WOMEN has arrived in the nick of time to save poetry from total irrelevance in the current age. FATAL WOMEN is full of poetry of the profoundest human feelings elucidated in the most lapidary of styles. His poetry is beautiful! Each poem is like a bright, or dark, willowy sorceress with powers supernaturally benignant or malign. Have you read the great Victorian poet Algernon Charles Swinburne? If you have had the pleasure you will discover something marvelous. Mr. Roberts seems to have, and this most incredibly, fetched the poetic baton from the late Swinburne. Reading FATAL WOMEN is the rarest of treats. The poetry of Mr. Roberts soars on beautiful wings both angelic and demonian. Here is poetry to make the reader cry with joy!

This book takes place in the early 1800's in Massachuetts. Two young men, both Irish-Catholics are convicted and hung for a murder they did not commit. Their only "crime" was their nationality and religion. The book describes in great details the many injustices these two innocent men endured, from their arrest, the way they were treated in jail, and to their so called trial and their hanging. It was 200 years later that the state of Massachuetts proclaimed their innocence. This book will teach you lessons in our history as to just how some of our immigrants were treated. It will bring tears to your eyes.

It's 1806 in predominantly Protestant Massachusetts. Dirt-poor Irish Catholics are regarded with emotions running the scale from indifference to loathing. The Catholic Church clings to a tenuous foothold, walking a shaky tightrope while attending to its flock of Irish immigrants. None other than Sam Adams warns Massachusetts' citizens: `As you value your precious civil liberty and everything you call dear to you, be on the guard against Popery.'

Into this mix gallop two hapless, real-life Irishmen, the subjects of author White's fictionalized account of the murder of one Marcus Lyon, whose lifeless body was found near the Boston Post Road in 1805. Dominic Daley and James Hallinan stand accused of bludgeoning and robbing Lyon, leaving him partially buried by rocks, after stuffing their pockets with his money. Although the state locates no eyewitness to the murder, the illiterate Daley and drifter Hallinan are found holding money---notes drawn on Lyon's bank. Worse yet they are Irishmen. Bound over for trial, the pair languishes in a dark, damp dungeon for six months alternately freezing and broiling, not allowed to bathe regularly, or to see visitors. Legal counsel is nonexistent.

Daley's mother, the indomitable Rose, and Daley's faithful wife Finola, seek an ally in a local priest, Frenchman Father Jean Cheverus, a man tortured by his own demons. What we know about Cheverus is that he escaped the massacre of priests who refused to sign loyalty oaths during the Jacobin's assault on the white-walled Convent of the Carmes---The Garden of Martyrs---during the French Revolution. White's fictionalized Cheverus, however, gets hunted down by an angry mob on the streets of Paris and denies three times that he is a priest, thus avoiding a sure beheading. A haunted Cheverus immigrates to America where, unable to forgive himself for his denial, he assumes an associate role to Father Matignon in the fledgling parish of mostly Irish Catholics.

Feeling inadequate and fearful, Father Cheverus hesitates to act on Finola Daley's petition to him to seek better treatment for the prisoners from Massachusetts Attorney General James Sullivan. Further, Cheverus is hesitant to buck the Protestant status quo in a state where Sullivan and Governor Caleb Strong crawl over each other to prove who is tougher on the burgeoning papist scum. Curiously, along the way Sullivan forgets that his forbears hailed from County Limerick.

Believing in the probable guilt of the accused pair, Cheverus is allowed to travel to Northampton, Massachusetts, to visit Hallinan and Daley and hear their confessions. With Finola and Daley's young son in tow, Cheverus arrives in a town gripped by lynch-mob mentality. Ignoring the taunts of local toughs, Father Cheverus goes through an epiphany, consumed by the thought that he's now fulfilling prophesy of his late mother who told him he would do great deeds for others during his priesthood. Father Cheverus is further astounded by Daley's confession as the accused refuses to acknowledge killing Marcus Lyon. Then Hallinan tells the priest something that the prisoner has never told anyone----that he abandoned his pregnant girlfriend Bridey in Ireland, after promising to marry her. Almost on cue, Father Cheverus describes his own tormenting moment of weakness on the streets of Paris. Emotions of self-absolution overcome both men.


The author's meticulous research uncovers a blight of prosecutorial misconduct at trial, including the judge's instructions to the jury to disregard holes shot in the testimony of the state's lead witness, thirteen-year-old Laertes Fuller, who constructs an improbable murder-scene timeframe. Allowed an impossible three days to prepare a defense, attorney Francis Blake does a credible job, leaving no doubt that Daley and Hallinan are on trial for the crime of being Irish. Unable to testify in their own behalf, only the word of young Fuller, who claims he saw Daley leading Lyon's horse near the road, is damning. Unable to convince anyone except Father Cheverus and Daley's wife that they found Lyon's money near the murder scene, the end is never in doubt. To the delight of a frenzied throng, Daley and Hallinan hang in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1806.

In 1984 Governor Michael Dukakis exonerates Dominic Daley and James Hallinan of the murder of Marcus Lyon, citing religious and ethnic intolerance of the period, failure of the prosecution to allow attorney Francis Blake time needed to prepare a defense, and for failing to allow the accused to enlist witnesses.


Michael White authored the acclaimed novel A Brother's Blood. He is a professor at Fairfield University and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

I have always been a fan of Michael C. White's work. He is one of our most talented contemporary authors, as his latest book proves. White transports the reader from Boston in the 1800s to France during the Revolution with seemingly effortless prose rich in historical detail. Readers will truly care for White's deeply drawn characters, Daley, Halligan and Cheverus, and will anxiously turn the pages in order to discover the men's fate. This is a deeply moving, impressively researched and wonderfully realized novel- a must read.

Michael C. White has based his novel on a factual incident, which I had never heard of before: a murder in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1805. There are many fine things about this excellently written book, among them a battle for a soul which is the most engrossing I have read since I read Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder(read 18 Mar 1947 - re-read 27 Nov 1982). Usually I prefer a factual account of an event as against a fictional account but in this instance it seems to me that the fictional additions to the account enhance rather than detract from the drama of the events related.

Few of you would be surprised to hear that political expediency sometimes takes priority over sacred duty in Boston's Catholic Church. What Mike White reveals in his fourth novel The Garden of Martyrs, is that in Boston, the Church's craving for secular power and social acceptance has led it to neglect its most vulnerable parishioners from its earliest days.

In a novelization of the true story of two men tried, convicted and hanged for murder in Federalist Massachusetts he vividly portrays an era when the Irish were despised and persecuted by New England's Protestant majority. The only crime these two men committed turned out to be that they were both Irish, and Catholic.

Fictionalizing true crime is an endeavor thwart with danger. White deftly avoids the many traps by focusing on character, drawing deep and psychologically revealing portraits of two men - the Irish defendant, James Halligan, and Boston's French Priest, Father Cheveras.

White weaves the fate of the innocent men into the wider fabric of New England politics. By contrasting the subjective reality of these very different characters, and exploring their European backstories, he shows us how each was forced from their homeland by intolerable conditions, and the hopes and fancies that sustained their migrations.

Through the death row musings of the itinerant Halligan, White skillfully juxtaposes the personal and the political. The injustice done to two innocent men is the injustice done to an ethnic and religious minority.

This book is important because we tend to think of African Americans, Jews and Women as victims of mob hate and witch hunts. Catholic-hating in New England is half forgotten now. White, a Protestant, brings this sorry time to life, reminding us all that today's hatred may end up as tomorrow's shame.

If you ever found Cooper handsome, this book certain has many photos to entertain and foster this thought.

The hardcover is a must! The narrative inside is perhaps average but if you supplement the book with a bio novel on Cooper you'll certainly feel its well worth the expense. Buy, buy, buy

Well, let me start with what beautiful tribute this book is to her father. Maria Cooper's book is beautiful, but too many of the pictures look posed (Hollywood style). And the pictures that are actually not posed say more in body language about a family that clearly protects the Cooper family image. These people are beautiful, but they are too perfect: clothes, hair, makeup, you know it's all there. One picture I found fascinating, is of the three of them on a beach facing the ocean. Maria and her mom on the left, and further away is Gary Cooper and his body language is quite clear. Hmmm, that definitely was a candid shot. And if anyone is really looking, the beautiful Maria seems to be the glue that kept that family together. There is a gorgeous shot of the three of them in their ski clothes in an old house. Rocky with little makeup is quite beautiful, but Maria and her Dad are the ones in sync in this picture. I don't know, but these pictures show a definite strain in the family relationship far more than I ever realized. With friends, the pictures are happier. I am a fan of Gary Cooper's and always will be. And the fact, that he adored his beloved daughter and she adored him is clearly seen in this book. Maria Cooper shows us a Gary Cooper I have already seen in other pictures other people have taken of him. There really isn't a lot of hugging, and touching, and birthday parties, water fights, and family occasions, events, like most people and other stars have of their lives while children are growing up. I would love to have seen a picture of Mr. Cooper in his overalls in his garden (he was an avid gardener), teaching Maria to do things, showing her how to ride a horse, acting goofy.. Maria Cooper is quite lovely, and this book is wonderful to look at, but I don't really feel anything but a little sadness that she didn't show us more candid and "real" photographs about of her Dad and the family. There was a great deal more to this man than meets the eye. I didn't get too much of a glimpse into that.

The cover photograph, of Gary Cooper spoon-feeding ice-cream to his daughter on the streets of "Hadleyville," is a poignant clue to what follows. Maria Cooper was a girl who lived a very rarified life, and she lets us take a delicious peek at it.

This is a great book for initial insight into Gary Cooper by his daughter. It is very obvious she adored her father. The book is very informative about the personal life of "Coope" with many wonderful pictures, however, the book is more images than writing. The details are only touched on. If you are a Gary Cooper & you want many unseen pictures, this is the book for you...

In a day and age when the children of "the stars" write the most deplorable books about their parents, this book is a wonderfully tender tribute to a true hero. Absolutely refreshing.

Ghetto Sorrows is a MUST READ. This is the first book I read by Keisha Horton, so I'm just going to say, GO GET IT!!!! Keep doing what you're doing Ms. Horton, look forward to reading more from you....

It took me forever to get a copy of this book--but it was well worth the wait. This book had me hooked from the first to the last page. This was a great story. What I want to know is why isn't Keisha writing anymore!????

Carmen is a young woman that is a true rider or die chick and is indeed loyal to the game even til the very end. She's a statistic in the system as a ex-convict and society as a young girl that was blind to a man's selfish request that threatens her dignity. But, despite, the wrong that has been done to her, she still strives to live a better life and not let life's unfair treatment determine her destiny. Upon release from prison, she has her eyes on the prize, but we all know that life has so many crooks, corners, and turns that if not careful, we can be detained. Her obstacles are realities in the faces of her life-long, loyal best friend, China, that's caught up in so much sheistiness with her 'man' and her drug habit, her old love, and her new love, of which she has no idea of his true intentions. Her loyalty seems to be her achilles heel, because she can't seem to let go of the past and where she has been to see what's right before her very eyes.

Ms. Horton has did an excellent job in her urban literary debut. I enjoyed this read and highly recommend it. If I have to make a prediction, I would say with a great amount of confidence, that we will be seeing bigger and better things in Ms. Horton's future! Major props Ms. Horton! Congrats! Continue to mesmerize us with your Ghetto Tales!

Carmen held it down for her man like only a Bonnie would do for her Clyde. With her release just moments away, Carmen decides that she will walk on the positive side of the track and become a better person. No longer trying to wear the latest fashions and run the streets, she wants bigger and better things for her life.

China is use to the fine life of hot cars, clothes and stacks of money thanks to her drug lord boyfriend, Frank. Awaiting Carmen's arrival she knows things will get hotter than ever and they can reap the benefits of being a hustler's wifey.

Ghetto Sorrows is a down to earth and heart wrenching book of friends, love and the hustle. This is definitely a five star piece.

In Ghetto Sorrows, Keisha M. Horton tests the strength of the friendship of China and Carmen. Carmen, recently released from jail, wants to avoid the lifestyle that landed her there in the first place. China on the other hand, with her friend away managed to sink deeper into the streets. Can Carmen convince China that the streets mean her no good? Or will China lure Carmen back to the streets?

Ghetto Sorrows is an excellent debut and a must read.

Read this book!!!

George Foreman's personality, style and charisma make this perhaps my favorite book of all time. Why? Because George gives us a detailed look at his personal journey to finding spirituality and happiness in life and how he has shared that lesson with others in an attempt to improve their lives.

I liked George Foreman before reading this book but afterward, I achieved a higher sense of respect for a selfless man who gave up his boxing career to preach and follow the path to God. He even started the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in 1984 with retirement money that he had "tucked" away during his 8-year retirement from boxing. His goal was not to indoctrinate local kids but to give them a place to come and follow a productive direction.

Though George "un-retired" from boxing several times, he continued as a minister in his own local church and spreading the word of God in many ways. In fact, George illustrates that money, wealth and power do not necessarily create a sense of fulfillment; it's the spirituality that brings joy and contentment. George lays the advice out for his readers, plain and simple:

"I am convinced that God gives us all a chance to know Him. He gives us the opportunity and if we say "yes" to Him, He will choose us. But He won't force Himself on anyone".

"God is merciful and will always give us a new beginning if we are willing to change."

Clearly, this advice comes from a man who was transformed in that locker room in 1976.

I have never been a fan of boxing, but the name George Foreman has become a household name. From boxing to grilling, George tells his story of being born in poverty, to living on top of the world, only to have everything lost and be penniless once again, and back on top. He deals with his issues of hate, and overcoming all his obstacles to be the man who lives Christ. Some of his writings become repetitive through out the book, but it is a good read of how a man's life was change,gone to Hell and back, and now pastors a church and operates a life saving center for youth.
I am glad that I read this book. You will see both sides of George of what he once was, to what he is now.

I'm a boxing fan, which was part of the reason I was interested in this book. But the author's story goes well beyond boxing. He book is filled with lessons to be learned from a man who was a most lost soul and a downright mean-spirited person. He found God, and his life was changed forever. But the story doesn't end there. Once he had a relationship with God, he still had to pick himself up time and time again. And it was his relationship with the Lord and his Faith that saved him.

The way he interjects his boxing career into the story makes this an amazing read. It's a biography filled with spirituality. And you'll learn a lot about yourself as well as George Foreman after reading it.

Fight The Good FightForeman writes a great book about his life. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend it to anyone. I loved the Big Bass analogy for success. A lake was stocked with many Bass at the same time. Several months later some of them were much bigger than the others. Foreman's explanation as relates to success also. The bigger ones were more hungry. Wow! What an analogy.

What a thoroughly uplifting and inspiring book.
This book has been a pure delight to read.
George provides spiritual solutions to lifes challenges via
his real life experiences.

It is quite likely that the hardest question I've ever been asked is, "What's that book about?" This book manages to discuss, coherently, cohesively, and interestingly, everything from molecular biology to quantum physics to computer science to music theory to philosophy to advanced mathematics to Elizabethan literature and beyond. Reading this will definitely change the way you see the world, and if you read one book this entire year, this should probably be it. VERY highly recommended.

As far as the layout and design of the book go, I find this piece to be particularly structured in a way that one studying abstract and modern mathematics might find appealing. It gives specific axioms for use with each topic and in doing so defines more than just what the topic might imply. As the content goes, for those taking an introduction course in abstract algebra, this book may be slightly heavy and unwieldy, however, for those well-learned in some of its background material, this book is enjoyable and pleasurable to read. The author even makes use of antecdotes to enforce his topics. Overall, this book has been one of the most pleasurable assigned readings I have endured.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution describes Gödel, Escher, Bach (GEB) as "A huge, sprawling literary marvel, a philosophy book, disguised as a book of entertainment, disguised as a book of instruction." That is the best one line description of this book that anybody could give. GEB is without a doubt the most interesting mathematical book that I have ever read, quickly making its place into the Top 5 books I have ever read.
The introduction of the book, "Introduction: A Musico-Logical Offering" begins by quickly discussing the three main participants in the book, Gödel, Escher, and Bach. Gödel was a mathematician who founded Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, which states, as Hofstadter paraphrases, "All consistent axiomatic formulations of number theory include undecidable propositions." This is what Hofstadter calls the pearl. This is one example of one of the recurring themes in GEB, strange loops.
Strange loops occur when you move up or down in a hierarchical manner and eventually end up exactly where you started. The first example of a strange loop comes from Bach's Endlessly rising canon. This is a musical piece that continues to rise in key, modulating through the entire chromatic scale, ending at the same key with which he began. To emphasize the loop Bach wrote in the margin, "As the modulation rises, so may the King's Glory."
The third loop in the introduction comes from an artist, Escher. Escher is famous for his paintings of paradoxes. A good example is his Waterfall; Hofstadter gives many examples of Escher's work, which truly exemplify the strange loop phenomenon.
One feature of GEB, which I was particularly fond of, is the `little stories' in between each chapter of the book. These stories which star Achilles and the Tortoise of Lewis Carroll fame, are illustrations of the points which Hofstadter brings out in the chapters. They also serve as a guidepost to the careful reader who finds clues buried inside of these sections. Hofstadter introduces these stories by reproducing "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles" by Lewis Carroll. This illustrates Zeno's paradox, another example of a strange loop.
In GEB Hofstadter comments on the trouble author's have with people skipping to the end of the book and reading the ending. He suggests that a solution to this would be to print a series of blank pages at the end, but then the reader would turn through the blank pages and find the last one with text on it. So he says to print gibberish throughout those blank pages, again a human would be smart enough to find the end of the gibberish and read there. He finally suggests that authors need to write many pages more of text than the book requires just fooling the reader into having to read the entire book. Perhaps Hofstadter employs this technique.
GEB is in itself a strange loop. It talks about the interconnectedness of things always getting more and more in depth about the topic at hand. However you are frequently brought back to the same point, similarly to Escher's paintings, Bach's rising canon, and Gödel's Incompleteness theorem. A book, which is filled with puzzles and riddles for the reader to find and answer, GEB, is a magnificently captivating book.

Douglas Hofstadter uses the art of M.C. Escher, the music of J.S. Bach, and Kurt Goedel's mathematics as the centerpieces for a magnificent inquiry into the nature of the mind. Along the way you will encounter Bertrand Russel, Carroll Lewis, particle physics, molecular biology, Magritte's paintings, and Zen koans. These are all used to probe recursion and the mystery of how we form thoughts. But the list of topics alone is not what makes this book great, it's the playful, joyful sense that characterize's Hofstadter's treatment of this. This sense of wonder is critical, as without it this highly challenging book would be very frustrating. The book's style itself is based on Bach's canons, and the chapters are interspersed with dialogues between the Tortois and the Hare, in the style of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The result is an artistic as well as scientific or philisophical masterpiece. I am currently a triple-major in molecular biology, physics, and philosophy, and much of my curriculum has been influenced by the beauty of Hofstadter's book. This will go down as one of the 20th Century's bests books.

This book is a must for math majors (as well as many logic and philosophy majors). Anyone else in the hard sciences should also read this book, at least to be enlightened. Initially, it is easy reading, then becomes slightly foggy, but pushing through is rewarding. Of the three, my favorite is Godel and I always mention his Incompleteness Theorem whenever his name comes up. It his probably actually best mentioned by Rudy Rucker in his book "Infinity and the Mind". I think it is significant enough to mention here:

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The proof of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem is so simple, and so sneaky, that it is almost embarassing to relate. His basic procedure is as follows:

1. Someone introduces Gödel to a UTM, a machine that is supposed to be a Universal Truth Machine, capable of correctly answering any question at all.

2. Gödel asks for the program and the circuit design of the UTM. The program may be complicated, but it can only be finitely long. Call the program P(UTM) for Program of the Universal Truth Machine.

3. Smiling a little, Gödel writes out the following sentence: "The machine constructed on the basis of the program P(UTM) will never say that this sentence is true." Call this sentence G for Gödel. Note that G is equivalent to: "UTM will never say G is true."

4. Now Gödel laughs his high laugh and asks UTM whether G is true or not.

5. If UTM says G is true, then "UTM will never say G is true" is false. If "UTM will never say G is true" is false, then G is false (since G = "UTM will never say G is true"). So if UTM says G is true, then G is in fact false, and UTM has made a false statement. So UTM will never say that G is true, since UTM makes only true statements.

6. We have established that UTM will never say G is true. So "UTM will never say G is true" is in fact a true statement. So G is true (since G = "UTM will never say G is true").

7. "I know a truth that UTM can never utter," Gödel says. "I know that G is true. UTM is not truly universal."

Think about it - it grows on you ...

With his great mathematical and logical genius, Gödel was able to find a way (for any given P(UTM)) actually to write down a complicated polynomial equation that has a solution if and only if G is true. So G is not at all some vague or non-mathematical sentence. G is a specific mathematical problem that we know the answer to, even though UTM does not! So UTM does not, and cannot, embody a best and final theory of mathematics ...

Although this theorem can be stated and proved in a rigorously mathematical way, what it seems to say is that rational thought can never penetrate to the final ultimate truth ... But, paradoxically, to understand Gödel's proof is to find a sort of liberation. For many logic students, the final breakthrough to full understanding of the Incompleteness Theorem is practically a conversion experience. This is partly a by-product of the potent mystique Gödel's name carries. But, more profoundly, to understand the essentially labyrinthine nature of the castle is, somehow, to be free of it.
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This is the kind of mental freedom you will gain by reading this book. Highly recommended.

Fantastic success story of a true visionary. Good linkage w/other Texas Titans, James J. Ling LTV Corp. I bet Henry Kravis and Ron Perlman both read it. I wanted to know "where the tire meets the road" this one told me.

THE MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF LEGENDARY BUSINESS TYCOON HAROLD SIMMONS ARE CHRONICLED IN "GOLDEN BOY: THE HAROLD SIMMONS STORY." AND, IN MY VIEW, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE AUTHOR PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO WHAT MAKES THIS REMARKABLE MAN "TICK." THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT HAROLD SIMMONS IS TRULY A GOOD AND RIGHTEOUS MAN WHOSE MORAL COMPASS HAS NOT BEEN AFFECTED BY HIS EXTRAORDINARY WEALTH AND POWER. HE PERSONIFIES THE HIGHEST COMPLIMENT THAT I, AS A JEW, CAN BESTOW --- HE IS A "MENSCH" --- A PERSON OF THE UTMOST INTEGRITY AND HONOR. OR, TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, HAROLD SIMMONS IS A "TRUE CHRISTIAN," NOT A "PSEUDO CHRISTIAN." THIS WONDERFUL BOOK IS SIMULTANEOUSLY ABSORBING, CAPTIVATING, COMPELLING, AND EDUCATIONAL. IT IS A THOROUGHLY ENJOYABLE READING EXPERIENCE. AND, AS HAROLD SIMMONS HAS CONTINUED HIS BUSINESS EXPLOITS SUBSEQUENT TO ITS PUBLICATION, I LOOK FORWARD TO A SEQUEL, OR, BETTER YET, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY THE GREAT MAN HIMSELF.

I thought I would write a review where I don't automatically give the book 5 stars like all of the other reviewers. Firstly, this book is the amazing story of how Harold Simmons built his financial empire. I was fascianated by his business deals and genius. The book conjures up conversations and certain events to make it more like an enjoyable novel (i.e. make believe conversations). It left out most of the complex details of his deals to spare the reader from the highly specialized world of corporate takeovers.

This is not an unbiased biography. It appears that Harold played a part in shaping this book. Most of the events are reported from his point of view - especially the breakup of the trust originally setup for his daughters. So, this is more like an autobiography from the man himself. There is nothing wrong with that. But the reader needs to understand that they will only get his side of the story.

Clearly Nance is a level above the rest in his writing ability. Having waded through more than one business biography, it was a pleasure to read one written by such a high caliber author. This was a very well chronicled history of a man who seems to embody the common characteristics of the truly great CEOs described by Jim Collins in 'Good to Great': modest and reserved, but having steely determination and focus.

In general, the book is excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this genre of book. It is a very good description of how Mr. Simmons got to where he is...

BUT, after getting through half the book, red flags began to appear when it became clear that the author is very hesitant to say anything even remotely negative about his subject. To take it as face value, Mr. Simmons was a perfect husband (despite having his first two wives walk out on him), a perfect father (who's daughters inexplicably attemped to sue him) and a perfect leader and boss. Perhaps this is all exactly as stated, but the author would be more believable if he tried to get a little of the other side of these issues and balance the perspective somewhat. I cannot recall one negative thing said about this man.

I'm not one who is interested in "expose" style books that dig up a bunch of dirt on someone, however it is important to characterize your subject as human. We all have flaws, and it seems strange that these are never addressed. This one-sided take makes one a little skeptical about perspectives taken in other parts of the book (such as his wonderful treatment of existing management in companies Contran acquired).

Still, reservations aside, this is well worth the read.

Harold Simmons is one of the most brilliant and perspicacious financial and business strategists on the planet. He has conceptualized, designed and implemented some of the most sophisticated, complicated and arcane financial transactions that Wall Street has ever seen. However, as von Moltke said: "No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy." And, as the Roman poet Horace stated: "Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it." On more than one occasion, Harold Simmons' massive brainpower enabled him to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat." He persevered when lesser men would have "thrown in the towel" and, in so doing, proved his greatness again and again. This marvelous book details how a young man from a small town in Texas became one of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen the world has ever seen. It is a great read.