United States Books

This book is as convoluted as its author. It maintains a flow of semi-stream-of-consciousness from start to finish, and what emerges are the memoirs of a man whose love of seafaring and considerable self-deprecation ("self-loathing" is a little too strong a term) has brought him to a sea voyage to Tahiti with a pick-up crew and his four children in violation of a court order. Hayden's story is it's own animal, going from the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine, to the forests of Yugoslavia, to courtrooms and congressional chambers and movie sets and finally to the high seas and South Pacific islands with a strain of fatalism and regret throughout. It should make for a downer of a read; instead, I found myself staying up and turning the pages to see what happened next. A great book.

I would like to add something to the excellent and perceptive reviews above. What came through so strongly is that life is messy, yet Hayden's remarkable self awareness didn't seem to help him. This is a fascinating look inside a big life. I found it valuable.

I believe it was 1959 and I had just returned from a month's cruise to the Tuamotus and Marquesas islands on the copra schooner Charlotte Donald. I was sitting at a table on the quay in front of the Hotel Le Grand when the schooner first appeared off Papeete. It sailed in smartly, picked up the Pilot, and docked stern first, as was the custom, at the concrete quay. The name "Wanderer" was nicely affixed to her transom. I lived in District Punavia, kilometer thirteen, next to Paul Gauguin's old home by the Thompsons. Several weeks later I would board the Wanderer after meeting her skipper at a party to buy some of the 16mm color film he had for sale. He was courteous, the children were well mannered, the library below was impressive, and his ship was clean and appeared to be able to sail on a minute's notice. We chatted for some time and he recounted some stories of his trip. We knew the same haunts in coastal California. We met a couple of more times at functions on the island. He seemed to be a cheerful and courteous person. He was a large man and deep voiced and I knew he was an actor, but that's about all I knew. Not long ago I had written my autobiography and had made a small mentioned of the encounter and the film. A friend who read my book asked if I had read Hayden's biography, which I hadn't. He suggested I do so, and last month I ordered it from Amazon. The book was disheartening for me to read. While he and I had many similarities in our lives (I wasn't an actor) and had been to many of the same places, we came away with massively different reactions. Mr. Hayden is a good writer and tells, especially about his life at sea, in an authentic style that kept me reading. I don't know if I would have finished if there weren't the similarity of our experiences. The sparse interjection of the third person voice over his normal narrative of first person was effectively used. The book and his life stand on their own merits and I make no judgment. He was first and foremost a seafaring man of unusual talents, and I wish I had visited him in the States in our later years. Mr. Hayden, you steered the course you wanted in recounting the voyages of your life. That's about all most of us could ask for. Rest in peace.

PS:
Spike Africa, his mate, came as a surprise, or else I had forgotten. Skip ahead twenty years and I chartered the "Spike Africa", a 70 foot schooner out of Newport Beach California somewhere around 1979 for a company off-site (the exact thing Hayden despised ... sorry). Bob Sloan built and then christened the boat "Spike Africa". The California yachting community all knew of Spike Africa the man, as a legend in the Pacific ocean, although I never knew any details of the legend.

A griping story that reads like fiction. Hayden is a "one of a kind" spirit that lives life to the fullest. He wants good things for the world and lives up to his character of being an iconoclast. A great read for sailors or romantics who dream of being before the mast and finding lifes' meaning out on the sea.

Hayden was one of those force of nature types who, sadly don't exist in sufficient quantities to make the world a really interesting place. In this book, he tells his life story, while telling the story of his last voyage on the 100 foot schooner, Wanderer. His prose is lovely and has the rythm of the sea; like other great works of sea literature (like Moby Dick). I'll give a high point of his prose before I complain:

"What does a man need ---really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in --and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all --in the material sense. And we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention from the sheer idiocy of the charade. The years thunder by. The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed. Where then lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be, bankruptcy of purse of bankrutpcy of life?"

Hayden was a child of the depression who worked his way out of bad circumstances by a combination of stubbornness, physique and leadership skill. He is eventually given a job a an actor, after being spotted by the media during a sailboat race in Glocester. He abandons this due to a love affair with an actress who fancies herself concerned with serious social issues. He joins the war and does OSS/CIA type operations in maritime support of partisans in Yugoslavia. He returns to his acting. Makes many movies. Marries an evil shrew. Divorces. Gets the kids. Chucks it all for a trip to Tahiti in his 100 foot yacht. All this is well and good, but the man reveals too much about himself. His self loathing isn't interesting. It is certainly not edifying, and though he seems to abundantly pity himself, I cannot feel sorry for him. The man had many fine opportunities. He had fine charachter qualities; I admire the fact that he chucked it all, just because he didn't like it. But he was not a fine man: he was petty and ugly -he couldn't even treat his own widowed mother decently, and though his ex wife was probably no better, I rather doubt as being around such a tormented spirit was good for his kids. In that way, he is a tragic figure; all the more tragic because he doesn't seem to realize it himself. It is no suprise he never did much with himself after he wrote the book. I don't know this to be true, but I suspect he drown himself and his self-loathing in booze.

Still, it is a beautifully written book. In a way, the book is his triumph over it all. It is doubtless a finer thing than any of the movies he made, and his great "the heck with it all" dramatic gesture is probably better than any he made on camera. I know I will read the book again. Perhaps when I am older I will think differently of Captain Hayden. Amusingly, a visit to Sausalito revealed that I had known Hayden as the demented General Jack D. Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove."

Zirin was an important discovery for me. As a kid, I followed professional baseball and basketball with a very childlike passion. Later I got disgusted with the general state of the corporate franchises and drifted away from any interest in watching sports in any form. After being assigned as a teaching assistant to a course on the history of sports in the modern world, I picked up Zirin's first book and this one to help me appreciate the political side of professional sports. I'm of the audience Dave Marsh of XM Radio had in mind when he wrote that "the people who need to read Dave Zirin most are people who don't think sports is important at all. Zirin knows it is and he continually shows how it fits into the rest of our world."
I believe Zirin also has much to say to those who already understand the importance of sports. The debates over race, class, business, jingoism, steroids, and so on, that rage within the world of sports bear directly or indirectly on just about every area of politics and public life. In all of these essays -- which explore the political underbelly of major league baseball, the NBA, the Olympics, soccer, and more -- he shows a fine understanding of the precisely these kinds of connections and the ways people with political influence routinely use sports for their own ends.
Zirin has strong opinions, and that in itself is not unique. But he expresses his arguments more cogently and supports them more effectively than any other opinionated sports commentator I've ever heard. This is what enables him to engage and challenge the preconceived beliefs of every one of his readers. Furthermore, he's an outstanding writer. Welcome to the Terrordome frequently had me outraged over a fact or quoted statement and then, sometimes on the same page, I'd be laughing out loud at a particularly funny or audacious turn of phrase. Whether or not we agree with Zirin should not make or break the book's significance. If we really want to challenge our sometimes ossified views of the world, we've got to seek out writers like Zirin, who offer perspectives entirely lacking in the weak analysis, calculated outrage, and narrow political perspective on offer in the overwhelming majority of mainstream political commentary.
My only complaint is that there should have been some endnotes, not just to document the quotes he uses but also to help orient the book in relation to other writings on sports with which Zirin is in dialogue in his essays.

I enjoyed the book. I am glad to know about the authors website to get his new writing. I thought the book was insightful and great for a fan like me.

Sports are the world's great distraction, especially in the United
States. To really understand American culture, and other cultures too,
you have to understand sports to get why people get so very fanatical
about them. In a sense, they are a form of reality TV, except they
envelope so much more. It is very easy for radicals to dismiss sports
as a distraction from more important things, like changing the world,
but in a sense, by dismissing sports, they also dismiss sports fans,
which is a great deal of people. It's also important to understand how
sports is used to distract people, and why athletes are told to shut
up and be good soldiers. So having said all that, when Dave Zirin put
out a sequel to his first book, "What's My Name Fool?", I read it as
fast as I could.

Much like his first book, "Welcome to the Terrordome", (Chuck D
does the introduction, since the title is taken from a Public Enemy
song), the book is broken down into chapters exploring different parts, exploring
politics in the sports world. Roberto Clemente was a Hall of Fame
right-fielder for the Pittsburg Pirates from 1955 to 1972. He is often
described as baseball's Latino Jackie Robinson, in that he never shut
up and never backed down from disrespect. He was outspoken on issues
of the day, like racism, segregation, colonialism in Latin America,
civil rights, the war in Vietnam, and media mockery of minority
players. Clemente was instrumental in winning a World Series for the
Pirates in 1960, yet finished 8th in MVP voting because of his Puerto
Rican heritage. When non-white baseball players had to eat in the bus
while in the South, he led a protest against segregation and demanded
that all players be treated the same. He died in a plane crash on his
way to deliver relief supplies to victims of an earthquake in
Nicaragua a year after his retirement and remains one of the best players to ever play the game..

Another topic is how Major League Baseball sets up minimum wage
baseball sweatshops in the Caribbean and Central America, where the
only options are the army, the factory, or baseball. In the so-called
"America's Game", baseball, nearly a fourth of the league are foreign
born Latinos. During the World Baseball Classic, sponsored by MLB in
an effort to show-case homegrown talent, the Team USA was trounced by
Latin American teams. Interesting statistics like how 6 of the last 10
American League MVPs have been Latino, and here's why. In the
Dominican Republic, US teams run "baseball academies", where young
boys who have dropped out of school attend to get trained how to play
baseball, some coming with soapboxes for shoes and tattered clothing.
99 out of 100 don't make it to the MLB who attend these academies

Around the world, soccer, or football as it's known outside of
the States, is by far the most popular sport. It's famous by soccer
hooligans in Europe, full-scale riots in Latin America, and national
pride all over. Players like Diego Maradona are heroes in the third
world, for standing against corporate globalization, war, and famously
"avenging" the Falkland War in 1986 World Cup against England. In
2002, he attends the protests against the Summit of the Americas,
where he says that Argentina will never enjoy the fruits of corporate
control. Another famous player, Ronaldo of the powerful Brazil team,
goes to Palestine to meet with a Palestinian boy who wrote him a
letter asking him to meet with him, and brings international attention
to Israel's travel bans when he is stopped from meeting with him.

Most famously, Zirin goes into the famous head-butt incident at the
France-Italy World Cup when France's Zidane headbutted Italy's
Materazzi. Materazzi comes from an Italian fascist club, and Zidane
instantly becomes a hero in much of the Third World for responding to
Materazzi's racist taunting. It follows a culture of right-wing and
left-wing organizing in soccer fans, where political parties and other
organizations try to recruit fans at matchs and brawls often break out
over politics. (I've often wondered why there wasn't much organizing
at sporting events in the US when it seems so obvious.) The Prime
Minister of Italy even comments that "The French team is made up of
Negroes, Islamists, and Communists." In effect, people of the Third
World root to beat First World teams because of the history, and cling
to the ideals of hope and pride and dignity through them.

The world of sports is not a separate world, nor is it just for men,
and nor is a perfect world of saints. Just like all aspects of the
world we live in, the best thing to do is to understand it and
understand the people who follow it. I think I've just about always
fit into my work situations pretty fast by being a die-hard
Philadelphia sports fan, particularly the Eagles, as well as just about
everyone in this city is as well. When Donovan McNabb says that black
quarterbacks are criticized different than white quarterbacks and that
there's racism in the league, I applaud him for stating the obvious
when others are afraid to do even that. Left-wing sports fans might be
few and far between because of many on the left's complete rejection
of sports fans in general, but sports writers like Dave Zirin remind
us that the there's social justice in everything in life, if you look
behind the scenes a little bit.

The politically charged sports book Welcome to the Terrordome by Dave Zirin. The book covers the connection between social and cultural issues and sports, and it's really a great read. Among the topics Zirin connects are race relations in baseball thru Roberto Clemente, public financing of stadiums and how politicians often exploit sports figures.

While the title suggests a book about public financing battles of sports arenas, it really is suggestive of a broader context of sports and poltics. If you are reading only for the stadium connection this book might be a disappointment, but otherwise it was a delightful bonus as Zirin hits many aspects of sports, sports figures and sports coverage in the context of politics and life.

Not a book for a sports fan, but more for politically aware and interested people who enjoy sports or understand the large role it plays in our society.

A very interesting book that will leave you thinking, observing and expanding how you see the sports world....and isn't that pretty much why you would read in the first place?

-Cudo

Additional comments related to sports entertainment and operation in the Gameops.com Editor's Blog, www.blog.gameops.com.

Amongst sports writers David Zirin is a man among boys. He hasn't just mastered a single aspect of the genre; he has reinvented it with the complete package, which is showcased in Welcome to the Terrordome. Zirin combines acerbic wit, original insights (which is rare in sports journalism), a higher understanding of 20th century social history and an infallible drive to deliver "untouched" goods (partly allowed I suspect by the nature of the non-profit publishing company of the book). It's a breath of fresh air as his motives are only to inform and influence and not to sell anything or apologize for anyone.

The best part of Zirin of course is his ability to recognize and extrapolate on sports as a microcosm for important societal issues such as race, social and economic inequality. While I don't necessarily agree with all of Zirin's opinions, I found myself often putting the book down just to logically think through his positions and how they refute or support my own beliefs. I consider myself well versed in both sports history and social history yet I constantly was introduced to new events, people and history within the varied topics Zirin covers (Bonds, Olympics, Ali, Cycling, Clemente, etc.). To top it off Zirin has a great sense of sarcasm and I laughed out loud numerous times throughout.

This book is important because it has a potential to reach an audience not normally associated with higher-level intellectualism; namely sports fanatics. This is part of Zirin's overall argument in the sense that he criticizes modern sports athletes for not using their leverage to tackle social issues but are instead highly paid slaves of the corporate world.

Bottom Line: Full of energy and insight and should be read by anyone (including non-sports fan) who are interested in how the sports world is interconnected and related to various aspects of social justice. Genre defining.

I had been reading about the genius of Zora for several years, but I had no idea of what she was about. I heard Valerie Boyd speaking about her biography on Zora C Span. She spoke about Zora with such love and respect that I felt that I had to get the book. In Boyd's hands, what is generally portrayed as a tragic life becomes a story of triumph. In spite of poverty, sexism, and racism, she was able to produce important literary work which is now being recognized as such. The story of her early life in the south, her life in Harlem, and her later years make a great read. I loved this book.

Morris Johnson

While Zora Neale Hurston was truly a great writer, she also did an amazing job of documenting her beloved Florida's history. Taking advantage of President Roosevelt's W.P.A. project and doing her best to get around Florida noting stories of black America that are still available to us today.

'Wrapped in Rainbows' does a terrific job of wrapping all of this plus her excursions to New York and her otherwise sad life in this very well written book. Good luck getting out of this book without a tear shed. I feel this is a must-read for anyone wanting to know the life of an author or of life in Florida during Zora's lifetime.

A side note: Something not mentioned in this book or anything else I've read about Zora is if she ever ran across her contemporary and, I feel Northern doppelganger, Dorothy Parker. Though both had different career milestones, both were also after certain career and personal goals that were never met and both were nearly the same age. This is something that really dogged me while reading the book and noticing the similarities. The big difference between the two is that Parker was a depressed sort and Zora did her best to keep looking up. As well we all should.

This is a very good book on the life of Zora Neale Hurston. It is very detailed and written very well. If you are interested in the life of this famous author this is for you.

Valerie Boyd blew breath into Zora Neale Hurston's remarkable accomplishments. I felt as if I was riding alongside Zora while Boyd narrated the different scenes;Zora was like a felt tip pen, as creative as could be. Of course, I wasn't ready to get off the ride, but I believe Zora lived a fulfilled life with little bumps and potholes or life lessons along the way.

Valerie Boyd does what most biographers cannot; she makes facts as savory as fiction. As a great admirer of Zora Neale Hurston--the woman, I had long been searching for a piece of work that captures her emminence and vitality. I stumbled across "Wrapped in Rainbows" at Borders and resolved then and there that I HAD to have it. I do not at all regret this choice. Order this book, and I guarantee that it will be one of the best investments you ever make! The chapters on the Harlem Renaissance and Zora's involvment with it are magical, and the sections detailing Zora's friendship and eventual fued with Langston Hughes are fascinating. I can't say enough positive things about this biography. If you admire the spunky and talented Ms. Hurston, you will NOT be disappointed.

Well, I know my Presidents now, that's for sure! I had great fun learning them, too, sitting on the couch with my husband one afternoon. The two of us went through the book, working through it and giggling at the references all the while. It was a lot of fun and we learned every president during the read. I planned to buy it, learn them, and then relist the item. But, I decided to instead hold onto it for when my nieces come over. I am always hunting for new ways to entertain them and this will keep them busy for sure! :) Lots of fun for all ages.
I highly recommend that you buy it and have as much fun as we did, and learn a little something, too! 5 stars!

This book was ordered for my son, who is a teacher, for Christmas and it came in plenty of time. Thanks so much.

This book is the best and most fun ways to learn about the American Presidents that I have ever seen. For each president from Washington through Clinton, there is a brief caption regarding his life and accomplishments. There is also a drawing taken from a photo or portrait, a cartoon style drawing and associated play on words to aid in remembering the name and whom they succeeded. For example, the cartoon for Dwight Eisenhower shows the Eiffel Tower with eyes on it being held by a tree with eyes. The caption is "The tree-man is crawling up the side of a huge tower that has eyes on it. It must be the eyes-on-tower!" The cartoon for Harry Truman, who preceded Eisenhower, shows the tree-man.
One of the best books for learning history and social studies, I strongly recommend this book. If my children were of a suitable age, I would buy it for them.

After one night, I knew all 43 presidents of the United States in order without looking. This book is AWESOME!!! :D

I had to memorize the presidents in the fourth grade. I'm in college now and I can still remember everything from this book. Not only does it work, but it's fun to look at the pictures and learn the presidents. People of all ages can learn from this book.

1945 is an alternate history novel that deals with the story of what might have happened if Japanese militarists had success with their coup on the night before Emperor Hirohito's surrender declaration was broadcast. This is an interesting, unique point of divergence from our history that results in an amphibious invasion of Japan without involving something happening to the Manhattan Project -- which was far too large an undertaking to be derailed by something like lightning prematurely detonating the Trinity device or that device simply failing to detonate, as is the case for at least two other "Invasion of Japan" alternate histories that I know of.

In any event, with the Japanese surrender called off, the United States prepares Operation Olympic -- the invasion of the southern home island of Kyushu -- and Operation Coronet -- the invasion of the Kanto Plain. We're introduced to the two "main" characters in succession: An infantry lieutenant transferred to the Pacific theatre from occupied Germany and a one-armed Japanese-American (Nisei), veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, who volunteers to be dropped into Kyushu on an OSS mission.

Though the story is interesting, Conroy does an overall poor job of developing his "main" characters. I put the word main in quotes, because although we do get to see them more than any other characters in the book, they're never developed much beyond what we're given in the first few paragraphs of their introductions and there's so many other secondary and tertiary characters used to show how the invasion is progressing that none of them are ever fleshed out either. Instead, we're left with a stream of characters who do little more than illustrate what's going on. A reader can easily understand what someone's doing and how, but will never understand why they're doing it or what's going on in their heads beyond the standard cardboard characterizations of "a family back home," "duty to country," and "just wanting to get home."

At times, Conroy seems to want to go into a historical viewpoint, showing what's happening and why, but because of the way he tells the story, he uses a cardboard character to demonstrate. It's not ineffective, but it's not as effective as it otherwise might have been, either. Because Conroy takes this approach, he has characters knowing things and sharing information that they would have no way of knowing in the first place. There are two glaring instances of this: One, when an American infantry captain shares news about a Japanese balloon bomb that knocked out power to "some super-secret military facility in Hanford, Washington," (something few people know even today, and if it's so super-secret -- why are you talking about it?)and when a Japanese officer bemoans the ineffectiveness of kamikazes by pointing out the plight of the Laffey, an American destroyer that was struck by several Kamikazes during the battle for Okinawa.

The most intriguing character is the Nisei, and I have to give credit to Conroy for writing about a character with a physical disability, which he does very well. Small mentions about his difficulty wheeling a bicycle along really sell that characteristic for me. But I don't get to know as much about the character as I'd like to, which is a real bummer. There's also a completely random romance thrown in at the end of his story, which simply reeked of fanservice and a desire to have things go well for the man.

Despite his weaknesses characterizing things, the story progresses logically. Though a major plot point is telegraphed early on when we're told that the Nisei has been ordered to investigate happenings around Nagasaki, most of the rest of the story unfolds with a minimum of heavy-handed foreshadowing, a major problem with many alternate history writers. Each character does a great job of speaking from their own point of view, even going as far as to express wrong information -- something difficult to have your characters do without confusing the reader -- but which Conroy pulls off very well.

Factual and historical matters are on target, as far as I can tell, and although I thought he stretched things early on with civilian protests in the United States, he provides an excellent reason for them and they never factor into the story as I had feared they would. (That's a personal peeve of mine with most AH invasions of Japan -- it doesn't jibe with the time period and the fact that returning soldiers from Europe and the end of rationing would defuse most homefront tensions.) Conroy doesn't bring too much in the way of historical grudges to bear -- he doesn't wholly indulge in historical wankery by having a mass replacement of Pacific Theater generals by their contemporaries from Europe. There is one replacement, and it's foreshadowed fairly heavy-handedly, but it wasn't as jarring as I feared it would be.

Overall, it's better than most alternate history novels out there today.

I am not usually drawn to alternate history but I found Robert Conroy's 1945 to be a provocative treatment of the possibility of the die-hards grabbing control of the Japanese government and leaving America no choice but to stage a costly invasion. Conroy provides plausible portrayals of the important historical players: Truman, Marshall, Macarthur, and Nimitz as well as Hirohito, Anami, and Homma He also portrays the brutal situation faced by his fictional infantrymen and sailors. This story brings up some interesting permutations such as the course the Russians would take and the use of atomic bombs after the first two were dropped.

The story also worked as a war espionage novel and particularly the exploits of the one-armed Japanese-American OSS agent were satisfying.

I've enjoyed Conroy's other alternative histories, especially 1862: A Novel. But, this novel rates as his best. The book is well researched and his characters are believable. He also explores some interesting points that reflect on current conflicts and policy. For instance, had the war with Japan continued with high casualties, would the American public continue to support the war? What would US policy towards the use of nuclear weapons have been had the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs not brought peace? What would war on the Japanese mainland have looked like? This was an enjoyable and thought provoking novel. Highly recommend. Download for your Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device today!!

This book is interesting both from a Grand Strategy perspective right down to the experience of the "grunt" on both the Japanese and American side.

Conroy does a good job of showing a plausible sequence of events starting with "what if Japan hadn't surrendered after the second Atomic bomb was dropped?" right up to one possible final outcome. I especially liked the political intriques in the upper eschelons of the government and military.

However, the book really comes alive when Conroy describes the experience of the foot soldiers and sailors involved in the conflict. I got a real sense of what it would be like to have been either an attacker or defender had the war with Japan progessed to an invasion of the home islands. And this was with language cleaned up quite a bit! I was almost sad to see the story come to an end.

Like all good alternative history, 1945 gives the reader a better understanding of the real historical turn of events, and how tenuous the threads that bind events together really are.

This is the first book written by this author that I have read - this book has made me want to read more of his books however. Mr. Conroy's look at how WW II would have played out had the Japanese not surrendered after the dropping of the atomic bombs is enjoyable and interesting. His writing style causes you to become attached to each of the characters of the book. I especially enjoyed: the author's opionion of how the leaders of both the United States and Japan would have acted and what their decisions would have been as the war continued; his portrayal of the reactions of the citizens of both the U.S. and Japan to the continuing war; and the actions that other countries, especially the Soviet Union, China, and England would have taken as the war wore on.

If you want to be a children's creative, get this book. It is an invaluable resource. (It's the key to my getting my book published.)

A fabulous tool for those who want to be a childrens book author. Alot of info about the publishing companies, what they are looking for , if they accept unsolicited work etc... A wonderful and useful book, recommended for anyone trying to break into that genre of work.

What is our obsession in the industry for dead tree? Sure, it is great to hold a book in your hand, but why must I lug around many pounds of books for essential reference when I would happily pay the same amount for locked PDF?

I am mobile right now, moving from Europe to Asia to America. Lugging this book around is not fun.

Pleasseee, get over the obsession with killing trees and provide a PDF option.

This is a great resource. It lists lots of publishers and details about them.

This book is instrumental in providing much needed information regarding the childen's writing and publishing industry. It is a must for all writer's of children's literature. There is a ton of information in it to guide you as the writer/author to submit your manuscript to the appropriate publisher. You can find exactly what you are looking for in this wonderful book.
Cheryl A. Martin, M.A. Author of "Woman Reclining"Woman Reclining

No one has told his heart and the agony of Vietnam as has Charles Boyle in "Absolution". In telling of his time there, he lays bare his soul, what his effort was all about. He tells the how and why of his dedication to America and what Vietnam was all about to the US soldier. A great book -- one that should be required reading for all highschool students --- required reading in colleges.

This book accurately shows what goes on in the mind of an infantry lieutenant. It focused on the human aspects of leadership and command. It showed how to deal with the loss of soldiers and friends in combat. Every leader has been too close to soldiers and this book shows why it is dangerous to do so. Having said that, it also shows what a soldier in the right place at the right time can and will do for his leaders. SGT Jay Cee and his friends from Company C, 3/22 Infantry gave their lives for their commander and friend. Absolution tells why soldiers will give their lives and how leaders deal with it. I recommend it for cadets before commissioning, lieutenants in the basic course, and captains prior to command. It is an excellent resource for leaders.

No one has told his heart and the agony of Vietnam as has Charles Boyle in "Absolution". In telling of his time there, he lays bare his soul, what his effort was all about. He tells the how and why of his dedication to America and what Vietnam was all about to the US soldier. A great book -- one that should be required reading for all highschool students --- required reading in colleges.

I have finished reading Charles J. Boyle's, Absolution: Charlie Company, but I know this book will never be finished with me.

There is a great healing that needs yet to be done is this country; a great open wound that lies on the national soul and in the wounded bodies, minds, hearts and souls of those who we sent there. It does not matter where you stood, or stand, on the conflict called the Vietnam War; what matters now is resolution. That is what Charles Boyle has provided in Absolution. I have read hundreds of thousands of words penned on all sides of this so open wound, but none that I have read before have so touched heart and soul. There were times when I had to put the book down to process what these men, our sons, fathers, husbands endured in that time and place that is still so much with us; times when I felt weak with sharing their pain, awed by being witness to their courage. Boyle has taken us there, absolutely there; step by step, hour by hour, day by day as our young men grew, against all odds, despite betrayals from above, into men of courage, into comrades in arms, in a time and place, in a war often without explanation or understanding. Boyle graces us with witnessing the turbulence of mind and spirit when all that has been learned before is challenged in young lives, in blood, terror, conviction, fortitude, and courage. Be prepared for a great adventure into tears, into outrage, into anguish, into great pride. If you are prepared to face the beginnings of finding resolution, if you read only one book on the conflict called the Vietnam War, read Absolution: Charlie Company. "Falcon Six, this is Charlie Six. We're moving." Do move to read Absolution; it is time for the healing and it can begin here. Welcome home, Charlie Company.

Absolution, by Charles J. Boyle, is an outstanding book about a great lieutenant and his men. As an avid reader of the Vietnam War, I have never read a book about Vietnam that touched my heart as much as this one. Once I started reading the book, I could not put it down. A true and accurate portrayal of the Vietnam War and its brave American soldiers.

I have lived in Alaska for 10 years and can't believe I just heard about this book. I bought it yesterday and have not been able to put it down since I opened it.

Not only is it an excellent read but I am learning a lot of tips about wilderness survival. It is about the best adventure book I have ever read.

A phenomenal book for all outdoors people and Alaska fans. The text flows very naturally. There is a lot of information on Alaskan nature and history.

Frank Glaser's story is a real, first hand look at Alaska in the early days. If you love Alaska and the wilderness, this is the book for you. Frank goes into the back-country and his adventures never cease as he traps, hunts, builds, explores and generally just checks things out. It amazes me that he is always so at ease, even in the most difficult of situations. He is the kind of guy you would just love to tag along with (if you could keep up with him!) His stories and accounts bring Alaska to life at a time when few tourists ventured into the back country. Jim Rearden has done a great job in compiling Frank's stories and amazing life. This book has given me a much greater appreciation of a great state...Wonderful Alaska! I doubt if anyone has ever experienced it like Frank Glaser.

Excellent read ! I read mostly African based books, but put onto this from a friend now living in Juneau; thanks Scott! This is the "Capstick" adventures for Alaska !

I read these type books on a regular basis & this one is head & shoulders above the rest. Captivating, interesting, & very informative. Well written & a true treasure. This should be included in the required reading for wolf relocation advocates & "Naturalists". Glasser has no axe to grind, simply tells of his adventures & experiences. I assure you, it is time & money well spent !

Rick Ferri has done it again. This is a wealth of information packed into 300+ pages. It makes for a great read and then a really good reference work. For price/value it cannot be beat!

I have taken advantage of the latest market volatility to confirm my long-term financial strategy. I ordered several books from Amazon on asset allocation and using low-cost index funds or ETFs for investment.

Rick Ferri's books (I also ordered his new ETF book) are well-researched, complete guides to sensible, long-term investing. He avoids the fads, and provides information in clear, understandable terms without all of the emotional "hype" present in many books about the capital markets.

In my opinion, Mr. Ferri's prior books (and the articles he has published in journals for financial professionals) have made me a better investor.

I highly recommend All About Index Funds.

This book does a good job of explaning the concept and history of index funds as well as the emerging presence of EFT's

I liked John Bogle's 1994 book on mutual funds better, but his book touched on facets Mr. Bogle's book did not. Of course that book was copyright 1994 IIRC.

I learned about indexing and the various indicies they emulate as well as the advantages and pitfalls of EFT's

A worth while read.

Members of AAII [...] have access to the 2007 EFT review which is excellent at analyzing the catagories and expenses of the various EFT's.

I'm a total noob to the market and investing but this book explained so much. I think its a must read for anyone looking into investing for their future and have no idea where to start.

I value Richard Ferri's books and this one is no exception. While the writing is easy to grasp, it is most complete. The book covers just about everything you need to know to master investing in index funds or ETFs.

Although the book is not about allocation (Ferri has a great book on that subject), it does discuss it. He shows how to actually cut risk by using a more aggressive approach.

I found the history of index funds most interesting. But I also appreciated the discussion of tax advantage in indexing, the different benchmarks, bonds and commodities.

This book can make you money if you read it, study it and apply it to your own investing. The more you know about and understand index funds and their close kin, ETFs, the better able you will be to profit by using them.

Highly recommended.

I really did like this book...I don't know if I'd give it 5 stars, but every other reviewer did, so I thought to myself, "don't be so critical" give it 5 stars and keep the 5 star run going"..so here it is...another 5 star rating!

Clay Holland is a passivist. Refusing to fight in the Civil War, he was branded a deserter, literally, and was beaten, starved, and imprisoned. He's now returned home to his 3 brothers and a town which dispises him. Meg Warner, his friend's widow, is one of the people who despises him most. She hates the fact that her husband was killed in the same war that Clay refused to fight in and enlists his help to carve a memorial for the fallen soldiers. She hopes to elicit guilt, remorse, and feelings of failure from Clay. Little does she know that those feelings are headed right back at her.

Here's my take....the dialouge was excellent, and the reader graduallly becomes entrenched in the plot and wants to champion for Clay because of all the mistreatment that he endures because of his belief in the "sin of war". Clay was a little too perfect for me.....too forgiving, too resolute in his beliefs, too good, too strong, too perfect. Meg was more palatable for me because she showed more humanity..not necesarilly good humanity..she was incredibly mean, unforgiving, and inconsiderate, but at least I could identify with the imperfect humanness of her. The story moves along at a good pace and Heath lets the romance develop which is sometimes a rarity in this genre.

I would definitely recommend this book....I was hoping for a tear jerker...I really didn't shed a tear...maybe I was in the wrong mood, or the story just didn't hit me right, but I'd recommend it anyways.

I have started reading numerous books lately that have been totally boring. This one has been on my "to read" list for over a year. It was hard to find but so worth the wait. This book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let you go. This one is a rare treasure. I hope you can find it to read and enjoy it as much as I did.

Expected a warm, sweet, romance sent in post-Civil War Texas. Instead got a melodramatic, soppy soap opera with every character either so bad or so good that they ended up as stereotypes of the people they were supposed to be. I was so, so disappointed. I mostly like Lorraine Heath's novels and this got such excellent reviews that I was really expecting a star. I can respect that the hero, Clay, is a conscientous objector and put up with lots of abuse because of his unpopular stance but when the abuse just keeps going on & on & on without his responding until the very end of the book, he slid from a brave loner to a wimply doormat in my estimation. Meg is impenetrable to me--she hates Clay because he "betrayed" his best friend (her husband) and plans to torture him by hiring him to carve a monument to the fallen soldiers. If he's as low as she thinks he is, what noble impulse is going to move him to carve this monument? Of course, by the end of the book, everyone realized how brave Clay really is & sort of forgives him, but he & Meg still leave the town & move on--this makes absolutely no sense. Meg doesn't have any reason to love Clay, other than the author decides it's time for some warm fuzzies. Meg is able to sneak out of her house at any hour of the night or day for hours at a time and no one ever catches her or sees her at Clay's farm--yeah, right. I've lived in small, rural towns & the places are nice but full of gossip and watching eyes. And all the good deeds heaped on Clay eventually make you want to gag--he buried all his friends with his own hands after the Battle of Gettysburg, the prayer he gave right before his execution convinced all the soldiers not to shoot at him, he works in a hosptital after he's released from prison, he puts up with endless cruel abuse from everyone except his younger brothers, he volunteers to make this huge monument for free with no thought for the time it will take away from his farm, he starves himself so his family can eat, he stays up for two nights in a row to protect Meg from NOTHING during their trip to get the stone for the monument, he saves a little girl from getting run over by a wagon by throwing his body over her, etc. Meg's brother & father are over-the-top in their hatred of Clay. I was just so tired of this story by the time I finished it, but I kept on reading it in hopes it would come through & get better. What a disappointment.

This was truly a great book. It was tender story of love and redemption with brilliantly written characters. Clay is one of those characters who will stick with you for quite some time. I love that.

Anyone who has ever had to take a stand on principle, whether popular or unpopular, can identify with both of the main characters in this book. I loved both characters and the theme of the book was supported beautifully by Meg and Clay. These days, more than ever, there are so many issues affecting us all that we must take a stand on, and this book does a wonderful job of showing how "pack" thinking can be overcome by personal committment. The story itself is engrossing and Ms. Heath drew me into the lives of the characters as if they were real people.