History Books

Polish filmaker Roman Polanski who was born and raised in Poland by Catholic parents, was there to see what it was really like, unlike many others who were never there, but make ignorent anti-Polish judgements. It's funny how those who were actually there, like Wladislaw, tell a completely different story that the Hollywood/Media tells. Wladyslaw told the truth. Read the book, and see the movie. Get this book and movie to your schools and libraries - Please. This story has healing qualities that brings people together, and not apart.

One of those amazing stories that makes you realize just how much the human spirit can take, and still survive. And just how inhumane we humans can be towards each other. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put this down.

Szpilman reveals the tragedy of Jewish life in Warsaw under the German occupation from 1939-1946. Szpilman's autobiographical work was first published in postwar Poland in 1946 but then quickly removed from circulation by Polish authorities. An accomplished pianist before the war, Szpilman played for Polish Radio during the siege of Warsaw and later within the Jewish ghetto to provide food for his parents and siblings. With the systematic liquidation of Jewish life in Warsaw and separation from his family, Szpilman's life took a series of surprising twists. As the reader views life in the ghetto through the eyes of a survivor, his escape from the ghetto before the Jewish up-rising and his ultimate survival consistently depended upon a timely combination of luck and sympathetic acquaintances B including a German army officer.

Included with Szpilman's memoirs are excerpts from Captain Wilm Hosenfeld's diaries and Wolf Biermann's own brief commentary. Hosenfeld's equating of National Socialism with Stalinist Communist and Biermann's emphasis on Szpilman's willingness to break with his past detracts from the overall quality of this work. Nevertheless, this work is well written and will retain the reader's attention to the end.

I could not put down this book, and read it in two sittings. Wladyslaw Szpilman, the famed pianist and composer, describes his harrowing account of life under Nazi terror. As a Polish Jew, Szpilman was considered by the Nazis to be entirely subhuman, and it is a miracle he survived the persistent and random acts of violence that surrounded him. He was nearly sent to a death camp along with his five family members, and somehow was pulled off the Birkenau-bound train to a grim prospect of survival. The images in this book are harrowing, such as the depiction of the shattered skulls of little girls, victims of the Nazis' "preferred" method of killing children by picking them up by their legs and swinging them into a brick wall. Imagine the horror....Szpilman's account is so matter-of-fact at times that you wonder how he survived. The fact that he did is a testament of human endurance, but also the ways of fate. There were occasions when he survived simply by the luck of the draw in a Godless universe.

This book is an incredible story of survival. I have seen the movie also. I would recommend both!

Even if you have no sculpting talent whatsoever, this book is an engrossing read and a valuable reference for any crime or mystery writer. Karen Taylor has consulted for such hit TV shows as CSI and BONES and she definitely knows what she's talking about. The text is lucid and engaging and not at all intimidating, while the photos and diagrams alone are worth the price of admission!

This book is the ultimate reference resource on the subject written by the ultimate expert in the field. Kudos to Karen Talyor for compiling & sharing this wealth of information!

I purchased a copy of this book when it was first published. I actually now have a second copy that is filled with notes. It is an excellent and comprehensive text on forensic art. I have been a forensic artist for over ten years. I encourage anyone in the field who has not read Karen Taylor's book to get a copy and read it thorougly. I have found that I reference it several times a year on variousl aspects of forensic art. In short this book is a must have for anyone in the forensic art field.

As a sculptor, who often creates portrait busts, in the past I have searched for the perfect anatomy book to understand the head. When I found Taylor's Forensic Art and Illustration, I felt I had the information needed to sculpt a head. The book provides illustrations and relationships between the skull and the facial features. This book provides a three-dimensional tool for sculptors. I use it in my portrait
bust classes. I have never found any anatomy book with this much information.

I work for the television series Forensic Files and can honestly say that I have referenced this book more times than I can even begin to count. Karen Taylor is one of the most talented and creative artists. The dedication to her craft is clearly illustrated throughout this book. This book is a must have!

I was in a book store and I was attracted to the title and the cover color. I picked up the book and read the jacket and I was hooked. I hardly ever buy non-technical books -especially non-fiction. But I was hooked after reading the jacket so I bought the book and assiduously read and enjoyed it. Also I am a Wharton alumnus. I also took classes with Len Lodish.

Eric Ericsson

The book spells out tips for starting a business (use credit cards instead of banks) and the mistakes the authors made along the way (when do you enter the market). You can even contact them after reading and talk to them about your ideas. The encouraging aspect of the book is that while they are starting their business, they spoke to their classmates who were making $200,000 on wall street and working for the dot-coms, but John and Kyle were not discouraged. I am happy that they were able to take an idea like a computer mouse shaped like a gold club and turn it into THEIR company. Congrats guys!

There is so much in this book that I can relate to, having started my own company around the same time in Silicon Valley (although in software). John and Kyle made the same mistakes that many entrepreneurs thankfully make - they followed their passion instead of their senses, and didn't buckle under the pressure and the unknown. One other valuable lesson from this book -- document your process. This is a great way to share your successes and your mistakes with others. I wish we had more stories like this when I was working on my MBA - something more than the dry, non-applicable case studies stuck in front of us. And John and Kyle also provided one other important gem: how to save a few bucks a month at the neighborhood gym. Thanks guys.

The Mousedriver Chronicles is the story of 2 Wharton MBA's who take a business plan developed on their entrepreneurship course at Wharton and decide to make a go of it. In 1999 they turn away high paying jobs at investment banks and over funded dot.com startups to go it alone.

Their idea: to make and sell a computer mouse that looks like the head of a golf driver.

They fund the venture themselves, find a manufacturer in Hong Kong, move to San Francisco (to be part of all the start up vibe in The Bay area) and run the business from the kitchen of their rented flat.

Their story is brilliantly relayed as they grapple with manufacturing, marketing and distribution hassles. The single product focus of their new company, named Platinum Concepts Inc., makes for a wonderful entrepreneurial story with excellent lessons about what it takes to succeed as a self funded start up. The two founders quickly learn that they need more than the theoretical knowledge acquired on their MBA at Wharton; they need to be street wise. They experiment with different mechanisms to make things happen and end up categorizing their execution strategies as follows:
Plan A: Make use of their business school network and contacts
Plan B: Hit the streets and the shops to find a creative solution
Plan C: Work the Yellow Pages

More often than not, plan B and C worked far better than plan A.

One of the founders, John Lusk, began sharing their entrepreneurial adventure with friends and family via a monthly email called "The Insider". The Insider was a real, often humorous, sometimes highly insightful newsletter about their adventure. The insider subscriber list grew and grew. MBA lecturers began distributing The Insider as prescribed reading. In 2001 Inc. Magazine featured a cover story on the company and its two founders. The Inc. cover story entitled "An American Start-up" focuses on the impact of The Insider e-mail newsletter. The email newsletters were used as the foundation for the book published in 2001 entitled The "Mousedriver Chronicles".
The company has since been shut down but the Mousedriver website still serves as a portal for entrepreneurs and copies of The Insider newsletter can be found in PDF format on the website: www.mousedriver.com

MouseDriver is about two guys who graduate from Wharton with MBAs in 1999 (the heart of the internet boom) and start a business manufacturing and selling a computer mouse that looks like the head of a driver golf club, turning down high paying jobs at dotcoms, investment banks, consulting firms etc.

As a small business consultant (Transcendence Consulting, LLC tcllc.net) I can tell you right now that if you are looking to start a busines, buy this book TODAY. It is an amazing look at the entire process of starting a business, from the ability to jump head first, manage yourself during
the highs and lows, deal with self doubt and solve an endless supply of problems. It is an easy read that will take you no time at all to complete.

If you think you have it tough, pick up Miracles in the Andes. It is simply one of the most inspiring books you will ever read. It moves along very quickly. And as good as Alive is, Miracle in the Andes is even more enjoyable and enlightening because it reaches into one man's mind and heart in exploring those hard-to-define characteristics that some people have in survival situations. That said, you don't have to be a fan of the survivor-story genre to enjoy this book -- just a fan of life itself.

If you like survivor stories, this is one of the best ever written. Even though I read "Alive" many years ago, this book brought new and detailed descriptions from, in my opinion, the person who practically single-handedly saved the rest of the team who hadn't perished after two-plus months on the mountain. Parrado's writing is superb. Since the plane crash happened over 30 years ago, he brings great insight and introspection and detailed updates on his fellow teammates and their accomplishments in the intervening years.

I just finished reading Piers Paul Read's Alive (1974) a few days ago, and so fresh with names, maps and time lines, I had high hopes `Miracles in the Andes` would add a new dimension to this amazing story. Unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed, all the more so given the generally good reviews `Miracle` has been getting. It is perhaps inevitable in the shadow of Read's classic masterpiece that anything else will pale in comparison. The re-telling of events from Parrado's perspective is interesting but misses a lot - for example he was in a coma the first three days of the accident - and he doesn't seem to add much that is new to Read's version - which almost without exception is better told.

Beyond a retelling of the events, I had hoped Parrado would reveal something new about himself and the other survivors, but instead if often read like hagiography, glossing over the differences among the group to show them as united friends, discounting and minimizing character defects. It reminds me of how the Catholic Church writes history of saints, and it is probably no coincidence that the survivors were from Catholic backgrounds, and saints in the minds of true believers who saw the hand of God at work in this "Miracle in the Andres". I was hoping for a more in depth psychological examination of the survivors, a sort of personality x-ray to bring them to life, to intimately know them as friend or brother. Instead there is a polite respectful distance, which is frustrating, given the intimate nature of the experience.

Despite these sentiments I still recommend the book to anyone who has read `Alive`. Parrado's inner struggle with life and death - while not exactly original or new - is profound and worth the reminder of what is important. There are also new pictures, and an Epilogue with brief bio's of what happened to the survivors after the rescue to the present day. Whatever the faults, as the men age, and the myth grows, more books and films will appear to hopefully peel back more layers behind the "Miracle" in the Andres.

I finished this book last night and was touched many times by the insight and humility of the author's story. This book contains sobering lessons of how powerless we are against the forces of nature, as well as the honest questioning of a God who would allow these things to happen. The conclusions the author comes to, after 30 years of soul-searching, are courageous and down-to-earth.

The author's loyalty to his friends and fellow survivors is also admirable, as well as his loyalty to the memory of the ones who didn't survive. He seems to have taken away big lessons from his ordeal, which is all we can ask of ourselves when something of this tragic magnitude happens.

When I first read this book it took me back to Alive by Piers Paul Read & I remembered how special Nando was in the story. I was madly in love with Nando for his common sense and bravery. I still have that original book. Finding Miracle in the Andes was a special surprise because it's HIS story of it all. It is such a good book that I know I'll keep this one forever too, and read it over and over. I read Alive several times and I intend to go back and read it all over again too now. It touches your heart. I was so sad about Susie. Nando's mom too of course, but Susie seemed special to me. It's not surprising that Nando has become a huge success. His wife and daughters are beautiful, as he is. His life has shown that he's an extraordinary person.
Barbara,
Ukiah, CA

With the title of Chapter 40, the author asks the reader "Is that the story you expected to hear?" My honest assessment is 'No'. Much as the author, my father passed away suddenly. I was only 19 at the time, so he and I had not yet formed a father-son relationship at the adult level. It's a totally different relationship than that of a child and father, and one I truly regret missing out on.

In the end, what the author does not know about his father hurts this story. Yes, it's a nice tribute, but the mix of fact and fiction just does not work for me. I realize that every historical piece written has to take some liberties with dialogue and peripheral characters, but this book just does not always have a ring of authenticity to it.

That said, the story of Gene Moore is a sad one. Many of us have had childhood dreams that have been shattered, but Gene's experience is so tough because he actually possessed the talent to do what he loved. Many of us don't get as close to our dreams as Gene, but his was within his grasp and then slipped away. With that background, I wanted more true storyline and less fiction. Whether it was available in this situation or not is irrelevant, but in the end, the book suffers.

I applaud the author for devoting time and effort to write a tribute to his father, but it never quite touched me the way I thought it would. The author can count me among the readers bothered by the Elroy Face passage at the end. Whether a connection is intended or not, the storyline certainly pulls the reader in that direction. In the end, since the 'facts' in the book do not allow the dots to be connected that way, the meeting with Face simply muddles the fact/fiction problem further.

I loved this book. Two of my favorite subjects are baseball and World War II, so this book was perfect for me. I have also been in the submarine U505 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, so that made the story even more interesting to me. I was also one of the people that incorrectly assumed that the character of Ray Laws was actually Elroy Face, but I apparently was far from alone in making that assumption. I am eagerly anticipating the movie and hope they get started on it soon.

This book was a gift from my son who appreciates and shares my love for sports and history. Gary Moore's entertaining tribute to his father is a wartime story of humanity at its best and triumphing over life's obstacles.

I discovered my late father was involved in the capture of U-505, and this book re-connected me with my brothers and gave us better insight about our "greatest generation". I hope my son enjoys this story as much as I did.

A wonderful book, I couldn't put it down! It made me very sad that Gene Moore never was able to fulfill his dream of playing in the majors, it was the game's loss, not just his, as he would've probably been in Cooperstown by now. However, he accomplished so much by the friendships he formed in his town, in the Navy, and in the minor leagues. Gary Moore did an excellent job of telling his story, it made me laugh, it made me cry, and I will definitely read it again! His writing made me feel like I was right there observing the story firsthand. Not only do you get an appreciation for Gene's amazing baseball ability and love for the game, but the story about life and relationships in a small town and the impact that WWII had on so many lives all combine for an excellent read.

I suppose given the choice between being a vacuum sweeper salesmen or a major league baseball player most of us would chose the latter. I know I would. And I'm sure Gene Moore would have made the same choice as a 15 year old boy in a small town in Illinois in 1940. Now, don't misunderstand me. Vacuum sweepers are important. I own two. But they are not the stuff dreams are made of.

In his book, Playing with the Enemy, Gary Moore relates how his father, Gene, had dreams like all young men and how the choices he made caused those dreams to become something very different in reality. The book is full of twists and turns that you will find hard to believe. That is until you near the end of the book and he reveals the way in which his father told him the story and what happened to his dad the day after he told him.

At first glance, there seems to be nothing special about Gene Moore. But as we come to know this young boy and watch him become a man we see that he is a very unique person. His ability to adapt to his situation and cause others around him to work for the common good is truly extrodinary and inspiring.

The book caused me to stop and think about my parents and the sacrifices they made during WWII. The world is a very different place today and I don't know if I can really comprehend what they went through. But I'm glad they did.

The book also reminded me of a truth that has been with me for a long time and a truth I try to pass on to my children. That truth is that our lives are not determined by the dreams we dream but by the choices we make.

This is one of the first Holocaust survival stories that I read. It is by far one that has stayed with me in the most detail.

What a strong girl Gerda is. she was told to never give up her boots and in the end it is one thing that saved her life after marching in a blizzard half frozen to death. How she survived is nothing short of a miracle.

Reading this when you are in a hard time reminds you that you do have the inner strength to survive. If she can do that then I can face my problems. It is quite graphic and tells the truth of really happened in the holocaust.

I'm not going to give the story away I'm just going to say you will cry and rejoyce in this story. It will touch you to core of your very being.

I must read for EVERYONE!

I have read many of the holocaust books out there but this is the one I pass on to friends to read. Especially moving is the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the book. I wish all schools made this mandatory reading. What a way to learn history! This author is quite an incredible woman.

This book was gripping and I could not put it down until I finished it. It's so hard to believe the hardships so many endured for being Jewish. A must read. Beautifully written with rich detail.

I read this book a long time ago and just got done listening to the book on tape for the second time. It is the most powerful representation of the Holocaust I have found. Please read this book if you want to learn about the Holocaust from a gifted author and survivor.

Despite the horrors around her, and fellow prisoners dying and becoming mentally unbalanced every day, young Gerda Weissman managed to survive several Nazi camps from the late 1930s through the grisly end of World War II.

Imagine being a teenager, wrenched away from your beloved parents, older brother and home -- and never seeing any of them ever again. It would be enough to make anyone unstable, not to mention bitter. Yet somehow, Gerda emerges from her horrifying ordeal stronger than she began. As her body heals in a hospital run by the Allies during the spring of 1945, Gerda begins a relationship with Kurt Klein -- a young soldier who urges her to tell her story.

Now an elderly woman living in Arizona, Gerda Weissman Klein is able to see just how far she's come from the young Jewish girl living a priviledged life in Poland. Yet at the same time, her writing style allows readers to see clearly just how that same persona has managed to live such a rich, eventful life to the fullest all of these years.

I've read many Holocaust memoirs, though I must say that Gerda's story is beautifully and distinctly told.

The writing style was a bit tedious at the beginning, but it improved and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It is a good story of not about the dog only, but also how you can turn your life around to what you want it to be by simply not giving up and putting in whatever it takes to get it. And, let us not forget the fact that it took a dog to do it. Animals are truly great partners because they need us and inspire us with their unconditional love.

The books came in and it was like brand new....in fact if I hadn't known I ordered it used I would never have known. It was a great gift and the seller is another I would use again. The book came sooner than promised and was in even better shape than described.

This is another wonderful story told with a lot of love. Right up there with Marley and Me and Merle's Door. You can read this more than once. I just wish the book was longer because there were so many great tales of this dog and her owners. They really loved their dog.

Great story about Gracie and her "family"! Having a German Shepherd who is partially deaf, blind in one eye, and dumped in a trash can at 10 weeks old, I can certainly relate to Dan (and Mark) and their quest to raise a "special needs" dog. It's a wonderful [true] story for anyone who is a dog lover!

This book is a really great tribute to Gracie. It also gives me tons of respect for these guys and the lengths they went thru to make her life better.
I am also impressed by Three Dog Bakery and think it was such a great idea, the American dream for dog lovers. :)

I first read this book when given to me by our pediatrician. I was deeply touched by the way in which Nouwen guides us to a deepr look into the painting and ourselves. As the leader for the Sunday Adult Book Study I chose this book to start off our fall classes. It is a delight to share this book with the members of our study group, and to see the light shining within them as the true meaning of the parable sinks in. This is a book that you will want to purchase for yourself, not borrow from a friend or library, as you will want to return to it many times throughout your life as you move through the stages of prodigal, elder son and father yourself.

The response time from ordering to shipping and my receiving was excellent! It was as promised.

This book is soul-wrenching. A Must for everyone, regardless of religious affiliation. Brings together both priest and artist: Rembrandt's insights and those of Henri Nouwen. . .

Henri Nouwen had a truly God-given gift - the gift of explaining timeless spiritual truths in very clear, ordinary language in a conversational and deeply captivating way. His words and his explanations imprint themselves into the memory and stay in the heart, and truly help to change lives. Much of his wisdom surely comes from his own struggles, which he admits to in the book - he personally struggled with depression, pride, desire for success and fame, envy, etc. - common human ailments. He also struggled with feeling unworthy of God, and with feeling distant from God. Yet, he learned to overcome his struggles (though he admits that he is still on a journey), and he describes how.

This is the third book I have read by Neuwen. After reading Life of the Beloved I really didn't think that anything could compare, but this book, if not better, is at least just as good. It is an instantly timeless spiritual classic. The whole book is a reflection on Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. First Nouwen reflects on the younger son who came back from a foreign land. Then he reflects on the older son who witnesses his younger brother's return. Finally, Nouwen reflects on the father figure. His insights are deep and beautiful. He leads the reader to a natural and yet incredible insight: that after identifying ourselves with both the younger and older brother, we must realize that rather than being either of these two brothers, we are called to become the father!

"Return of the Prodigal Son" is a wonderful opportunity to hear the gentleness and genius that was Henri Nouwen. The book was originally a talk given at retreat when Nouwen was 57, about 8 years before his death, in the time following his famous service at Toronto's L'Arche Daybreak facility for severely handicapped adults. Nouwen's humility is on display, as are his deep spiritual and psychological insights.

The impetus for Nouwen's reflections was Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son," painted when the artist was elderly, and following multiple tragedies in his own life. Nouwen's inspiration is less the painting, though, than the parable. His lecture is split into three parts, focusing on the younger son, the older son and the father. Nouwen's take on the parable is Jesus's radical break with interpretations of God that held sway in his own day as they still do in ours. The God that Jesus defines is not angry, vindictive or retaliatory, but completely open in love and forgiveness. While many will agree with this description of the Father, fewer will agree with Nouwen that this image of the Father exists the rest of Holy Scripture (both OT and NT) as well. While many of us are willing to accept Scripture's seemingly schizoid vision of God, Nouwen does not. He is completely committed to the loving father portrayed in this parable. For those committed to the God of condemnation, hell and judgment, Nouwen will be a disappointment (or a challenge). Human beings separate themselves from a God who is always anxious to take them back, teaches Nouwen.

In Nouwen's take on the story, the younger son teaches the journey from dissolution to containment. Dissolution includes dissipation of the kind associated with the younger son in the parable -- insults to parents, arrogance, squandering of resources, immorality. But dissolution extends to other activities and attitudes that spread our energies beyond our capacities. We spread ourselves too thin, spiritually, usually out of a desire to impress those in our lives whom we want to impress or influence. But by recognizing our sonship with God, we realize that we do need to impress of fathers (whether heavenly or worldly) into loving us, allowing us to bring our spiritual energies into containment and focus. The elder son often lives in our hearts alongside the younger son. The elder son's error is in resentment and separation. He cannot rejoice that "this son of yours" has returned from death, whining about his own ceaseless and unrewarded labors. But his error also speaks to a misunderstanding of the Father's love. He feels he will be loved *because* of his obedience (evidently given grudgingly) and has missed that his gift is to have been in the presence of the Father all along.

Nouwen's deep insight into the parable, whose subtlety and profundity become apparent the more listen, is astounding. The parable has the power to heal as well. For any who have felt conflict or hurt in family situations, as has Nouwen himself, the parable points the way toward a recognition of our true place in the world, and in God's eyes. This is not a dewy "I'm OK, You're OK" insight, but can lead to a profound shifting of our existential relationship with ourselves, our parents and our God. What false fronts and defenses we might shed if we truly believed in a God who loved us as beloved children -- no matter how far astray we had gone?

Nouwen's style and delivery belie the intensity of his own struggle and the wisdom of his teaching. Yet the insights continue rolling in, like waves following the passage of a ship, long after the book is over. A fascinating and potentially life-changing book.

Flight possesses a seductive mystique and "Fate is the Hunter" is one of the few books that has ever really truly captured flight's essence.

It is not only pilots that look skyward at the sound of an aircraft or slow down a little as they drive past an airfield. Similarly, Gann captures what is almost intangible and presents it to the reader with an immaculate style that will engross all who read it.

Gann carefully blends the worlds of the philosophical and aeronautical. In this mix, the reader looks out from the cockpit to at times see better within themselves.

A true classic.

Owen Zupp. Author: "Down to Earth"

www.owenzupp.com
DOWN TO EARTH: A Fighter Pilot's Experiences of Surviving Dunkirk, The Battle of Britain, Dieppe and D-Day

This is the memoir of one of the first 300 airline pilots in America. It tells the story of the development of the airline industry and the Air Transport Command during World War II. It is well-written with wit and pathos. I enjoyed the read.

One will see why this was and remains one of the best works of fiction in any genre, but especially aviation. A great book that every pilot has in the bookcase. I also highly recommend, Flying North South East and West,
a non-fiction book that I think is destined to become an aviation classic.
Flying North South East and West: Arctic to the Sahara,

This book reads about as exiting as the monotone drone of a window box fan on a hot sweaty summer night. Gann's style seems didactic to say the least. Muddling through the first chapter I fell asleep and woke up just in time to learn of a near miss in the plane Gann was flying. However in all fairness, most books are written like this, full of details and tangents before coming to the point. Who can get through Moby Dick or Les Miserables without wondering where the authors are going? One should only read books like these if he has a bad case of insomia.

If one is looking for the plot to the movie: Fate Is The Hunter, forget it. This book has almost nothing in common with the excellent screenplay written by Harold Maud except for the title and some flashbacks. Of course it is always a disappointment when the movies don't follow the books, which are usually better than the movies; this case being one of the exceptions.

The paperback book is not an abridged version of the hardcover. So don't try searching for a used copy as I did. It's just a waste of time and money. Quite frankly, I'm sorry I bought the book.

This is one of those books that has a sneak ending - best appreciated by reading through at a steady rate (which only makes sense once the climax of the book is revealed). The stories, anecdotes and tales seem almost trite and mundane - but build to the showdown, for me a life lesson. Flying is revealed for the joy it is, for its wonder, the thrill of a good landing when one has fought the good fight aloft in peril of ending badly. Gann wrote the thing with a purpose - and it wasn't to entertain you. He is like a grandfather with good advice, and he hits you with a zinger to make the point. You will be grateful, either gender, any station, rich or poor.