Science Books

Would it be crass say this book is the answer to new couples wanting to conceive and raise children who will grow up to have straight teeth, model beautiful cheekbones and manly square jaws? ;)

I fear that is the only way we can get past our current culture obsessed with lowfat oversugared fake food.

This book changed my life and the life of my son. In a time where vegetables-lowfat-tofu eating dietary principles are held up as the answer to health we are eating beef liver and cod liver oil, pastured meat and eggs, wild seafoods and raw grassfed milk, butter and cream, bone broths, soaked grains and nuts and fermented vegetables to try to achieve the 10x the RDA of fat soluble vitamins and 5x the RDA of minerals and water soluble vitamins that protected people around the globe from disease and enabled them to achieve their full genetic potential (ie. the wide palates, model cheekbones and manly square jaws!)

I already know the 3 years following the principles in this book and the WAP Foundation has helped my son as his palate his widened and tooth spacing increased from age 2 to age 5. I'm excited to see if his secondary teeth will come in straight and avoid braces like I had!

Price was a DDS who was the head of research for the ADA of his day... someone very learned with the scientific method. His ten years of travelling the globe has given us most vital information on a natural human diet and how this relates to health and the growth of a child most especially.

I constantly look around me everyday and see the result of modern processed food: the weak chins, narrow palates, crowded teeth, narrow nostrils, "deviated septums" and underdeveloped faces. This is NOT a results of genetics, is is a result of your diet!! That is mind blowing!! As a relatively new mother, that is life changing to know that I can effect how my child will look by what I feed him.

I especially see the results of physical degeneration in the faces and teeth of my son's generation. Interestingly enough, I rarely see it in my parent's generation! (Both my parents were raised on cod liver oil btw.) This alone has been fascinating to consider and it spurred me on to learn more about how proper nutrition effects our bone structure and our health.

With respect to myself, this book inspired me to get tested for vitamin D deficiency, and supplement with cod liver oil. Learning how much vit. D can effect your immune system and breast cancer risk is only secondary to how good I feel... much less fatigued, happier and more resilient on this diet. I used to be a healthy vegetarian eater, but a traditional diet based on WAPF principles is hands down much better for me.

Viva Healthy Animal Fat!
(grass fed or wild)

I purchased this book as a gift for my friend.
It was shipped promptly, and I was able to give it to her as I intended.
The book provides a signficant amount of useful information regarding the impact of eating habits, the impact of food processing relevant to what is eaten, and the impact upon the human body that is incurred as a result of eating various processed and unprocessed foods. Although the author is a dentist and much of the perspective of the book provides information regarding how components of the mouth are affected, there is a great deal of information provided regarding foods, nutrition, and patterns.

This is the very most valuable book about nutrition that you will ever read. The pictures alone will cause you to decide to change your diet. Everyone, EVERYONE should read this book.

This book, although written in the early 20th century contains some of the most important health information ever recorded. Dr. Price was a pioneer in determining the relationship between nutrition and degenerative diseases. It is my opinion that all healthcare practicioners (traditional and alternative) should be required to read this text before graduation. I believe that it is that important to understand the implications of living in an industrialized nation...and of course what can be done about it.

Weston Price didn't write this book sitting behind a desk or doing research in a library. He also wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel in a laboratory. He went out and spent significant time in the field and saw with his own eyes the effects of the traditional and modern diet within members of the same families. This research was done in the 1920/30's, just when the traditional culture's were in their last thros of survival, if he had waited another 10/20 years he probably wouldn't have been able to make the comparisons. Today people try to make comparisons but at this point almost all the oceans are polluted and nearly all the soils are depleted and most of the water is tainted and most importantly, the western diet has overrun the globe with all it's pseudo science and mass marketing campaigns... you travel to the most remote corner of the globe and there's a native drinking coca-cola and eating wonder bread with powdered milk. lot's of critics say his research is outdated but this is sour grapes. The medical/chemical/pharmaceutical industry cannot make money on preventative medicine in the form of raw high-vitamin butter, cod liver oil, fermented grains, and seaweed. So, it's no wonder that all the Price research got swept under the rug. It's amazing this book is still in print.

Great, fast paced adventure as I've come to expect from Weber's tales. Unfortunately, Amazon's webpage led me to believe that it was a sequel to Weber's "In Fury Born." They are, in fact, the same book - one in hardcover and one in softcover. Buy one or the other and enjoy!!

Tihs book is awesome. It takes a gentically altered human, altered to be a eilite commando. Who sees her family wiped out by pirates. Injured and bleeding she is joined with an enetity from Greek Mythology.
She then steels a new state of the art A.I. warship whos "personality" invades her mind. Now three people sharing the same mind. But pirates beware, three minds are certainly in this book better then one and look out because here they come. Edge of you seat action packed, takes a bit to warm up. But after it does, it is all go, go, go. Oh I hope there is a sequal in the wroks.

I've been reading SciFi/Fantasy for 50+ years and have thousands of books in my library. There have been a relative few such as Lord of the Rings by Tolkein or Ender's Game by Card that I couldn't put down. Fury is another such.

Excellent fast paced book, top notch story, hope he writes another one soon!!

very well written, which is the most important thing, u can get invloved in the story

Avast thar ye bilge rat, I thumbed through this yar book at thee "Pirates of the Caribbean" shop in Disneyworld and me thinks, "I gots to get me one of these treasures". Knowings thats Amazon can beat prices like a full broadside I waited and ordered online once I got home, saving about ten dollars. This book is amazing with all kinds of stories, pictures, and facts. Aye, Ye kids may be setting up a pirate camp once they reads it. This will entertain ye kids five to one hundred and five. If you or anyone you know thinks pirates are interesting, cool, or scalliwags of the Earth, be sure to get them this here book matey. I highly recommend this yar book for ye piratical family types especially.

it's a great book, filled with all kinds of pirate facts, legends, stories, and "artifacts" . My godson got a real kick out of it. He loves pirates and the book is written as if first-hand by a privateer (a pirate commissioned by the government to hunt down enemy state vessels, and rogue pirate ships).

This book will definitely be one he enjoys for many years. Some of the subject matter is just within his attention level and understanding, but the more intricate details and artifacts will prove fun discoveries as he gets older and has the patience to read over each part carefully. i'm a big fan of the whole series.

This book was received timely, and my son loves it! All the books in this series are great!

My 7-year-old son could not wait to sit down and start looking through this. The day it arrived we had some younger children visiting, and he "wowed" them all by showing them different parts of the book. He is very excited about it, and I am a happy mother for finding another great book for a young reader.

AWESOME Book, Awesome illustration, and just plan fun to read. This book is a very high quality constructed book and should last for many years.

This book was great. It was a little difficalt because it went back and fourth between the characters and things that went on in the past. This book is a gory one so it would be good for 7th grade and up. It tells the tall of the twins very good. but only read it if you read the first one time of the twins.

An excellent book and a great series quickly sent by seller very happy

Dragonlance series is beyond doubt one of the best known and loved works of heroic fantasy. Written with an exceptional honesty and story-telling talent, it sparkles with the authors' love for their characters and the world they created. The Twins Trilogy is a dark tale following all the patterns of heroic fantasy, but it still manages to be fresh and exciting like the best folktale. Raistlin remains one of the most striking tragic characters eagerly awaited to reappear in subsequent Dragonlance novels.

The Legends Trilogy- the Time of The Twins, the War of the Twins, and Test of the Twins, is the sequel to The Chronicles Trilogy- Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning, which brings to life the ultimate battle between Good and Evil in the magical World of Krynn. The books are so incredibly well written that the reader feels that they have been transported to another plane of existence and are actually present among the characters, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel, sensing what they sense. The authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have truly outdone themselves and have presented us with a masterpiece of literature the likes of which we have seen only in JRR Tolkien's work and RA Salvatore's The Dark Elf and Icewind Dale trilogies. Duty, honor, bravery, magic, dragons and heroes are all about. One should seriously start thinking about maybe turning them into movies...

War of the Twins is one of my absolute favorite books to come out of the Weis-Hickman machine. Mind-bending concepts of time travel and of the future locked in place combined with world-altering events makes for a dramatic and intense read that will keep you up late at night. It is also perhaps the most emotionally tense book in all of Dragonlance. The interactions between Raistlin and Caramon and Crysiana and Tas are fantastic. The strange love triangle between the brothers and Crysiana makes for interesting reading and also helps the reader really appreciate the emotions of the characters. Of all the characters, Raistlin in particularly really starts to reveal his true self: merciless and determined. While at times you feel like Raist must be starting to actually feel for the people that love him, it is quickly revealed that he only cares about his ultimate goal. Caramon comes into his own in this book, leading an army and realizing that he doesn't need his brother in order to live his own life. Crysiana doesn't evolve too much in this one but does grow in her sense of purpose and in her faith. Tas kind of gets left by the wayside for much of this novel, but comes back for dramatic impact on the overall story.

The only complaint I can think of is that the Dwarfgate wars were sort of skimmed over, not revealing too much detail as far as the actual battles are concerned. The leaders of the various armies and factions could have been better fleshed out, especially Kharas and the leaders of the plainsmen and hill dwarves. These are minor regrets thought and Weis and Hickman leave much to the reader's imagination which probably enhances the overall effect of the story. They focus on the main characters and the emotional battles they are going through, and that would have been taken away from some if they had included too much detail about the side stories and characters.

Overall I'd say this is one of the more mature and grim of the Dragonlance novels, without very much humor at all and a lot of tense and dark moments. The vivid characterizations of the book sold me. I'd recommend this entire trilogy to anyone in for a good emotional story.

I always love Mr Gaiman;'s work. Sandman is probably his opus given the size and the eclectic nature of the themes. The Endless as interpreted by a Master like Gaiman represent an amazing world that weaves the deepest recesses of the collective consciousness, mythology, history and keep it living enough to be interesting. Aesthetically, the books are great and the artwork is just as eclectic as the are the themes. I wish I was exposed to this stuff as a kid...

I found this book a very creative exercise in perception, script and artwork. The story is mainly told from the perspective of one of the "Endless", Dream, with cameos from Destiny, Death, Desire and Dispare (see satirical opening quote from Jack Dee - "Lots of things begin with D") :-) The third brother in a family of seven, these Endless are anthropomorphic personifications of ideals/concepts and exist, apparently, across even species (one of the stories is told from a cat's point of view). The issues dealt with in the varied stories are some of the usual collection of welcoming death, forgivness, murder, society, slavery etc - in other words what appears to be standard fare for any sci-fi buf. However, there are a few interesting twists with takes on several points of history, biblical references and different points of view of the same issues but told from a different species' perspective which is somewhat unusual. The artwork throughout the collection is consistent and uses high contrast in many of the captions to great effect. The artwork on the covering page for each story is quite exceptional and could even be viewed as works in their own right.

All in all, this is well worth a read, whether you are a fan of the comic genre or if you're new to it, this collection will suck you into the world of the Endless...

I was actually surprised by two things reading these first twenty issues of Sandman: by how many of the characters I already knew, and by how much these comics actually tied into the mainstream DC Universe at the time. I'm used to the current age of Vertigo comics where the characters can NEVER cross over into regular superhero books, or vice versa (the days of Swamp Thing teaming up with Superman are gone). Of course, some of these characters can still pop up from time to time (I'm pretty sure Morpheus was in an issue or two of JSA and Starman, and even more recently Destiny was in The Brave and The Bold).
I was also impressed with the overal mythology Gaiman gave this world, one I didn't really knew existed. I was aware that The Endless existed, but I had always just assumed that Sandman was a series of somewhat interconnected tales, almost an anthology series, that featured him as a central character, but nothing much else. Turns out he had a very large story-arc planned through the whole 80 issue run, and I could see elements of what he would later do with American Gods. I'm glad I stuck it out and waited for the Absolute editions.

This is a beautiful book - expensive but worth every penny. Anyone that likes neil gaimon, graphic novels, dark fantasy, or gothic stories will love the stories, illustrations, and whole format of the book. Those who just love wonderful books will also be proud to have this on their shelves.

Comprising Sandman numbers 1 to 20, the Absolute Sandman, Vol. 1 is the first of four oversized, slip-cased hardcover books that will reprint Neil Gaiman's Sandman completely (all 75 numbers, plus some extras). That alone would be highly recommended, but this book has also a new coloring, aproved my Neil himself, plus a new introduction by Paul Levitz, forewords by Gaiman, a copy of the script with sketches for Sandman #19 (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and also sketches from Gaiman and Michael Dringenberg on the Sandman proposal to DC back in the 80s. Ah, and also all 20 covers from Dave McKean.

All of this would mean nothing if the book wasn't really good, and really good it is. Here you'll read the capture of the Lord of the Dreams and his comeback (early collected in "Preludes and Nocturnes"), his encounter with the deadly nightmare "The Corinthian" (previously collected in "The Doll's House), and four short stories from the past of Dream (as seen before in "Dream County" collection). Many great moments from the series are here: the confrontation in Hell with demons over his helmet, the serial killer convention, the encounter with his sister Death, and the already mentioned A Midsummer Night's Dream, the first and only comic book to win a World Fantasy Award.

This book is a work of art, and high recommended. Can't wait to have the 4 of them on my bookshelf!

Down These Mean Streets is the story of Piri Thomas' journey into adulthood. The book is set in Spanish Harlem in the 1940s. The author's writing style is refreshing and lyrical. He uses some Spanish words here and there(readers might find the glossary in the back of the book helpful), and kicks in a few slang words as well, which makes the dialogs that much more genuine.

Piri struggles through poverty, family troubles, and desperately wanting to belong. He fights with being a dark skinned Puerto Rican during a time when racism was strong, and trying to find his place as neither black nor white. Piri did some not-so-good things in his life, being in a gang, drug addiction, and armed robbery among other things, but throughout it all it is easy to tell that Piri is a good guy at heart.

Overall, this is a captivating story. You might find yourself wondering what you would have done faced with the same situations. I even found myself rooting for Piri at times. This book is still a very accurate depiction of "the hoods" of New York, despite being published for the first time about 40 years ago.

I was sad to have to finish the book, and in the end I felt like I knew Piri. I look forward to re-reading this book over the years. It is truly a classic. Everyone should read it. Anyone can find something in the story that they will be able to relate to.

This book really told me what it was like to live in Harlem in the 40s. The discrimination and racism is real and raw (although Mr Thomas does get a little jaded and think all white people are bad). The way he describes coming off heroin is realistic, colorful, and explosive. This whole book is very alive, as a memoir. It was funny to see the slang they used back then!

I've read this book more than a few times and have taught it to different level readers a few extra times. There was one high school student who came to me after the book was done and told me, "This is the first book I ever finished." Even if it's not the first book you've read, you'll find writing that is fearless, honest, and powerful. You won't forget it, and if you're really lucky, you'll get to share it with someone else.

Grabbed it off my english teachers shelf junior year of high school, loved it so much I never gave it back. This is an amazingly wonderful book. Vivid writing style...I could see every last detail in my head. It was like a movie in my brain. Love it.

Book Review: Down These Mean Streets

We recommend this book because Piri Thomas wrote the book in a way that you can visualize the story. This book is interesting because it talks about a young Latino's life growing up in the streets of Harlem New York in the 30's. However Piri the main character in the story gets discriminated throughout his young life for being a black Puerto Rican. We think this book has some strong scenes suitable for children under 13. Little by little the story gets interesting to the point where you don't want to stop reading. To conclude, this story is a good autobiography to learn from

Wow this book is filled with action and excitment. The Jedi Apprentice series just keeps getting better and better!
A must have for any Star Wars fan.

Obi-Wan has at last become the Padawan of Qui-Gon Jinn and is about to leave on his first official mission. Things couldnt be better, right? Think again! The Jedi are kidnapped and taken to Phindar, a planet ruled by a criminal who has people's memories erased. Things only get worse when one of the Jedis falls into his clutches and is slated for a memory wipe!

This is an exciting story and explores further the developing relationship between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Auxiliary characters are fun, especially the jovial Derida brothers, and Yoda is present in spirit if not body. There are a few battles but violence is not graphic.

This story is officially the beginning of Qui Gon and Obi Wans master, Padawan relationship. As with just about all of the books in this series, this book comes with a moral, as well as an interesting story. You get the sense of how both Qui Gon, and Obi Wan help each other to grow not only as individuals, but as Jedi knights too. The author does a good job of illustrating the fact that even though Obi Wan and Qui Gon are both loyal members of the Jedi, they both have very different, but accommodating, personality traits.

[...]

Finally! Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn has taken thirteen-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi as a Padawan learner, and they're off on their first mission to the planet Gala, to make sure the planet's governmental elections go smoothly. Then, just as quickly as they take off, their ship is hijacked (uh-oh!) to the planet Phindar. But the good news is, Obi-Wan gets to meet up with his new Phindian friend Guerra Derida, from the previous JA book. They also meet Guerra's sister Paxxi. To paraphrase the Derida brothers... not so! Paxxi is Guerra's equally likable, equally funny brother. Together they work to outwit the Syndicat, an evil organization that controls Phindar by renewing the citizens (wiping their memories) and sending them off to another planet. One of the leaders is the Derida brothers' renewed sister Terra. There are also appearances of the Deridas' gentle mother Duenna. Can they foil the Syndicat's evil, or does renewal await them?

As said in the title, this is THE absolute best JA! It's clever and poignant, with clever characters design and interesting environmental details. Really, it's like nothing you've ever read before. It'll blow you away. And without the Deridas, what would the story be? Garabage? No, something worse than garbage. Even if you think "George Lucas is dumb and Star Wars is just a bunch of idiocy!", you'll love this. I highly recommend it! It rocks! Really. It takes poignance and sci-fi adventures where they've never gone before.

Finally! Qui-Gon has taken Obi-Wan as his Padawan learner, right when Obi-Wan turns thirteen, and they are off on a mission to the planet Phindar, a planet ruled by a group named the Syndicat. The evil members of the group renew people as punishments. That means they wipe their memory, and send them off to another planet far, far way. Pretty cruel, huh? Plus, Obi-Wan gets to meet his Phindian friend Guerra Derida again, and Guerra's sister Paxxi. To paraphrase the two... not so! Paxxi is Guerra's brother, and they are both extremely likable, funny characters. Together the four work to outwit the Syndicat, plus maybe recover Terra's memory. Terra is Paxxi and Guerra's sister, but she has been memory wiped and now leads the Syndicat. Can Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, with help from the Derida brothers, foil the Syndicat's evil? Read The Hidden Past to find out.

I'm serious, read this book! It is THE best in the JA series, and definitely worth your time. You're gonna find it hard to put down, even if you think Star Wars is just a bunch of idiocy. This'll change your mind. Extremely poignant, with clever character designation and interesting environmental details, this may be one of the best books I've ever read. It rocked. Really.

According to my 9-year old, this book is the bomb for kids between the ages of about 9 and 13 (maybe older). The author tells a vivid story and sucks children right into the book! It's great, and my 9-year old would buy it again in a heartbeat. Have a great time reading!

The fiction book I have read is Animorphs The Message. In this book a girl named Cassie and her friends try to save whatever is calling Cassie in her dreams from the bottom of the ocean. At first the others dont believe her but one of their friends Tobias also says he's having the same dreams.The kids morph into dolpins and go into the ocean and try to save what they think is a andilite. They incounter a life threatning battle with sharks and Marcoe gets injured so badly he almost dies. They try to finish what they started before it's to late and Visser Three finds them. I reccomend this book to a 5th or 6th grader. Also for whoever likes suspenseful action filled books. If you do like this book I inspirer you to read the whole series.

I am a sixth grader.The author of the book is K.A.Applegate. The characters names are Cassie,Tobias,Jake,Rachel,Marco,Tom,and Chapman.I liked this book because it has kids who can turn into any kind of animal.It is about friendship.It is also about a mission that they have to go on.My favorite part of the book is when Cassie turns into a dolphin to get to the ocean.What I dislike about the book is that they can not tell us there last name because if they do they will be killed or be made slaves.

I thought this book was really good, the Animorphs took a good underwater adventure. I thought the whole book was fast paced, my favorite part was when they were in dolphin morphs and faught that shark.

This is one of the best books in the Animorphs. It is also a crucial part of the series. I have read this book at least ten times. Cassie is my favorite Animorph, and this is the first book told from her point of view. It's generally about the Animorphs adventuring under the sea to find out whether someone is down there calling to them, but there were lots of smaller bits that I really liked.

I bought this book quite a long time ago and forgot to review it until now...I am a parasitologist and this is one of my favorites. Zimmer is funny and engaging and scientifically accurate--I HAVE GOT TO READ THIS AGAIN SOON.

Another excellently-written work from Carl Zimmer. This book will give you a bad case of the creepy-crawlies in parts. It will also completely change your outlook on the nature of life, because you will learn that parasites are not really the gross, "devolved" hangers-on that most think of them as, but rather a vibrant, important part of the web of life...

... that is sometimes really disgusting.

Still, an outstanding book, one that give parasitology a much-improved face. Written in Zimmer's usual clear, very readable style.

Luckily I had already learned about some of these parasites before reading this book because the narrative made a lot more sense than if I hadn't. I could have used more pictures or drawings to help me visualize the parasite life cycles.

I really enjoyed the new perspectives given about parasites--how they fit into the ecology of an area, what determines their sexual versus asexual reproduction, how they evolve along with the host, how multiple parasites exist for every species, etc. Fascinating. I would have liked to hear more about bacterial parasites (viruses?). Also, do parasites have parasites?

I have read many science books and have to say this is not one of my favorites. I love parasites, find them fascinating, but also find myself bored at times by this book. The author must have been trying to reach a word count because there are a lot of paragraphs and sections that repeat each other without added new information or clarity. I also found that sometimes topics were thrown in together without relevance. If the subject was slightly less interesting, I doubt this book would have gained so many positive reviews.

Another thing I noticed is that the author (personally or for the purposes of this book) slants everything to the view of a parasitologist, sometimes dismissing the importance of contributions by other fields of science or exaggerating the importance of parasites.

Overall, this book brings some interesting ideas to the main stream and is worth the read. It would have been more enjoyable though if the author had been more concise or if it was written by someone else (Stephen Jay Gould comes to mind).

I don't know why, but I find parasites interesting. However, I wasn't exactly looking for a book on this particular subject; rather I merely stumbled upon it. When I go to the book store I typically peruse my favorite sections, one of which is science. On the shelf I came across the title "Parasite Rex"... so I picked it up "King Parasite...huh." Then I made the mistake of reading the back of the book and found out what it was about. I had to buy this book immediately!

I'm always reading, so I had to finish up a couple other books before I could start reading this one, so I waited patiently in eager anticipation. I'll usually read two or three books at a time, and when I finally got freed up, I started this book. I didn't read another book until I finished this. It is one of the most engrossing scientific books I have in my collection. Carl Zimmer is actually a phenomenal writer. I'm not a scientist, but I enjoy reading about it and it's written in a manner just about anyone should be able to understand. It's like a science report that flows, but doesn't sound overly scientific, yet it's still science!

Parasite Rex doesn't just deal with one specific parasite, like the title might suggest, rather it's a veritable tour of the parasitic world. The reader finds themselves enthralled with each creature. It really changes your perspective on the world as a whole, realizing that the major importance of sex is so that we can vary up our genetic code to better defend against such parasites. It also makes you realize that for all intents and purposes the fetuses of mammals would also be parasites as well because they force the mother to change her chemical reactions to support the fetus. Also the mother treats the fetus initially as a threat to her system. I personally found all this very fascinating and made me realize that perhaps Agent Smith in the Matrix, when he assessed the human race as a virus, probably should have identified them as a parasite.

The book is also terrifying in some regards because there are parts where it explains where parasites go wrong. Parasites are essentially programmed to thrive in specific locations in your body (or some other creatures). So a parasite that gets lodged in your brain, but it's supposed to be in your stomach could end up killing the host. Or screw up which species it attaches itself to. From what I gathered, the parasites main focus isn't to kill the host, but to feed off of the host's life, so when a parasite is in the wrong spot it executes its program, but it ends up having terrifying affects on the host.

In the end this was a phenomenal read and I can't recommend this enough. In fact I will probably read this a second time because when I read it the first time through I read it pretty quickly. One other thing this book made me not want to do is visit any location that's in the central area of the earth, such as the Amazon. Considering there have been 2,500 different parasites identified in one small location. Carl Zimmer is seriously the kind of writer we need in science to help transfer complex knowledge to the lay population.

Didn't care for it. The writing just didn't draw me in. The story ideas were sorta good but the authors corny / dumb down naming of objects and peoples cheapens and dates it badly (1955-66). Examples: Fighting Trees (trees used to absorb and neutralize radioactive contamination from past wars), True men, Wise Old Bear (failed bear to human mutation), Unauthorized Men (failed dog to human), Brainbox, Helen America, Mr. Grey-no-more, Sailors (meaning astronauts), "Up-and-Out" (space), "Clown Town the underpeople place" ........

Like others say, and I agree, this is for serious fans of C. Smith and/or historians of science fiction.

I encountered Cordwainer Smith many many years ago, in a Fantasy-Science Fiction magazine in my home country; by the way, with an introduction by a scholar of CS! Do you know of anyone in the US?. It was "Under Old Earth", which has haunted my soul ever since like no other piece of literature, haute or 'low-brow'. In contrast to my second-favorite SF writer, Phillip K. Dick, CS conveys a sense of poetry and subtlety absent in the rough-edge writing of PKD, while bringing about the unique strength of SF, that of exploring the inner and outer limits of the human experience.

After all these years, I still wonder why CS remains such a hidden treasure. It is perhaps the built-in disdain of literary critics and scholars for SF, understandable but not less a prejudice.

As I write my comments, Kafka keeps popping up in my mind: just change Samsa's bed and the castle for harvested organs and the Instrumentality. Or was the Old Man also a Fantasy writer?

essential to any fan/student of the genre.

the beginning of the transition from the space opera to the "soul" of free-form fiction...


d

Cordwainer Smith was unique. Although the contents of this volume represent more than half of his entire science-fictional output, what he lacked in quantity he made up for in superb and very different quality. His prose is colored by some very non-standard phrasing and imagery, at least some of which came from his close connections with Chinese culture (his god-father was Sun Yat-sen, and he was a close confidant of Chiang Kai-shek). There is a feeling, an ambience to his stories that I have never seen even approximated by any other author. But the themes he tackled in his stories are ones that everyone can relate to, covering prejudice, greed, lust for power, crime and appropriate punishment, and the seeming boundless desire to go where no man has gone before.

Perhaps the main highlight of this collection is "The Dead Lady of Clown Town", which is a very forceful retelling of the Joan of Arc story. I ended up in tears at the end of this one when I first read it, and subsequent re-reads haven't lessened its impact. I've had this one in my top ten `best of sf' short fiction list since my first encounter with it.

"A Planet Named Shayol" will make you do some heavy thinking about just what can or should be done to punish a society's law (or custom) breakers, or if punishment is ever even really justifiable at all, and will give you a nightmare vision of just what hell on Earth (or any other planet) just might be like.

"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" may be the centerpiece of his entire envisioned future history, as the Instrumentality of Mankind, which for centuries has managed the human population to avoid disease, war, or hard labor (for which tasks the Underpeople were created), is driven to the conclusion that a viable civilization must have some dark elements, as championed by Lord Jestocost and girly-girl Cat-person C'Mell.

Almost all of the stories here are part of Smith's envisioned universe governed by the Instrumentality, a vision that stretches from near-Earth future to a very distant far-future galaxy where humanity has spread almost everywhere. Smith clearly has some overriding messages: his fear of all-powerful ruling bodies, his attachment to all forms of life and the respect that each individual should have, and a basic belief in the power and utility of religion. All the details of this universe are not filled in, and it is sometimes the tantalizing glimpses of what he does not describe that will capture your imagination, and your wish that there were more stories about this unique world. His Underpeople are marvelous creations, showing not only those traits normally associated with the best of humanity, but also characteristics of their underlying animal heritage, whether it be cat, dog, or turtle.

Not every story here is a gem, most especially those not set in his Instrumentality universe or those dealing with the very near future. But they are all very readable, and the overall level of quality here is absurdly high. Read this first. Then take on his only sf novel, Norstrilia. You won't regret it.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

A fine idea to put all Smith's short stories together, although the lesser known work is certainly that for a reason. It is still good to see all the Instrumentality of Mankind stories in one place, as some of them are brilliant, and there isn't a bad piece in the lot.

Even with the weaker unrelated stuff at the end, this still manages to average almost 3.75. Very nice.

Rediscovery of Man : No No Not Rogov! - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : War No. 81-Q revised - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Mark Elf [Mark XI Vom Acht sisters] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Queen of the Afternoon [Vom Acht sisters] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Scanners Live in Vain - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Lady Who Sailed The Soul - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : When the People Fell - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Think Blue Count Two - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Colonel Came Back from Nothing-at-All - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Game of Rat and Dragon - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Burning of the Brain - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : From Gustible's Planet - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Himself in Anachron - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Golden the Ship Was Oh! Oh! Oh! - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Dead Lady of Clown Town - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Under Old Earth - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Drunkboat - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Alpha Ralpha Boulevard - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Ballad of Lost C'Mell - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : A Planet Named Shayol - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : On the Gem Planet [Casher O'Neill] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : On the Storm Planet [Casher O'Neill] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : On the Sand Planet [Casher O'Neill] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Three to a Given Star [Casher O'Neill] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Down to a Sunless Sea - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : War No. 81-Q - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Western Science Is So Wonderful - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Nancy [The Nancy Routine] - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Rediscovery of Man : The Good Friends - Cordwainer Smith

Soviet science couple's brain needle journey.

4 out of 5


Licence to kill, robots, anyway.

4 out of 5


Manhunter not too helpful for old timer.

3.5 out of 5


Suspended animation Underpeople awakening gives girl an Instrumentality role.

3.5 out of 5


Monopoly is bad, and worth doing something about.

5 out of 5


Solo starnaut sheila's suitor.

4 out of 5


Chinese Venusian megadrop.

3 out of 5


I am sailing, I am spoiling, across the stars, should be freezed.

3.5 out of 5


Lost soul pinlighting.

4 out of 5


Another actual use for a live cat. Fight you little bastich.

4 out of 5


Mind destruction manoeuvre rescue transfer.

3.5 out of 5


I wish they'd duck off.

3.5 out of 5


Time enough for love Knot.

4 out of 5


Lost planet female cancer trannie aggression solution is timeslip cat kill cull.

4 out of 5


Time for war, duckie.

4 out of 5


Witch woman and dead robot animal trial.

4.5 out of 5


Too happy is bad.

3.5 out of 5


Rage through space, really fast to dreams out of space.

4.5 out of 5


Old North Australia's mutant mad mink secret defense doesn't pussyfoot around with thieves and murderers. Or, Stop, You'll Eat Yourself.

5 out of 5


Hard to believe in France.

3 out of 5


Underpeople Lord assisted execution escapage.

4.5 out of 5


Pain punishment makes skin way more deep.

3.5 out of 5


Test dictated for horse help.

3 out of 5


Turtle girl's longevity vigil requires warrior assistant.

4 out of 5


Comeback confrontation dictated.

3.5 out of 5


Cackle-gabble telepathy search eating solution.

3.5 out of 5


Sacrifice power.

4 out of 5


Licence to kill, robots, anyway.

4 out of 5


Fascinated Martian chat.

3 out of 5


Virus life.

4 out of 5


Dainty noise weapon.

2.5 out of 5


Funny voice medium.

3 out of 5


No party mission.

3 out of 5



4.5 out of 5