Town Books

This book is an excellent source for understanding urban economic theory and how it relates to real estate market cycles. It is written in an easy to understand format with relevant illustrations. The reader will find its insights valuable for real estate desicion making, and understanding where and how many real estate forecasts are made.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in real estate development, however; only as a "required" economics text. It is not a real estate investment or financing guide to do "deals".

If I could recast the title of this book to be "The Economics of Real Estate in Urban Markets" I think you would be able to better understand what this book is about. Frankly, when I first read the title I was bewildered and unsure what exactly this book would be about. I think the term "Urban Economics" is an unfortunate one, but one that is actually well known and in use. After all, what is urban is not the economics, which are the same micro and macro principles you learned in college, but the complex environment in which they are applied and the admixture of both that is required to get to the root of the issues involved. But this is a quibble and does not detract from the real value of this useful book.

Real Estate markets in cities (the urban part of the title) are complex environments that involve the land itself, population and density, existing stock of buildings and their nature, regulations and codes, taxation, environmental concerns, the broader economy, industry and business mix, and much more. This book helps the reader develop intuitions and some algebraic tools about how to think about these issues and to combine them to come to better decisions about private and public investment, policy, and planning. What calculus there is, is kept in the footnotes for those interested.

This book is written for any reader that has had basic courses in micro and macro economics (or at least a general course discussing the basics of both areas) and has a decent command of high school algebra. It has lots of graphs to help the reader understand the intuitions involved and is written quite clearly. A general reader who had these prerequisites could work his or her way through the book on their own quite handily. However, the book is clearly aimed at upper level undergraduate or graduate courses in business, public policy, or urban planning.

I do recommend the book for those interested in this specialty. I do wish they had done a bit more careful job in publishing the maps in the chapter on Firm Site Selection. The legends are supposed to be shades of black and gray (always a bad choice in black and white - use hashing instead) and some of them have two or more areas that are indistinguishable by shade. Look on pages 83, 96, and 128 for examples of this problem. Nowadays, color is not that much more expensive to use and given the price of textbooks nowadays one would think that color would always be used. However, this is a tiny point.

The book is not a graduate level book, unless for a master program in business or urban planning. It wouldn't pass as a graduate book in economics. It has been used at the undergraduate level in several universities despite some math that can be avoided if you are just interested in the economic intuition. It deserves an update (at least of the data). Perhaps making it more friendly looking and having some case studies at the end of each chapter could help sell it more.

This is an excellent introduction to understanding many of the economic forces which drive urban economics and real estate markets. The book is designed for a graduate-level course, but should be understandable by anybody with a rudimentary knowledge of economics and a desire to learn more. Certainly a 'must' for understanding these important topics and it certainly has some good 'ah ha' points where you 'get' something new and important.

It is an excellent book, a little pricy, but of high quality. It is not for someone that has not studied or worked in real estate, planning or land economics before though; it is a graduate level course book.

Ever thought vampires could actually have compassion? After reading Vampire Lover, one may reconsider. Vampire Lover, through its wit, suspense and gore, gives us a sense of how becoming a vampire can accentuate the traits a charater had prior to the transformation into the "undead." In its clash or harmony among the four main characters (Vera, Bone, Harry/Harriet and Fibs), we're shown that he who appears to be ugly or horrific may turn out to be angelic and that she who appears to be weak may actually be quite powerful, whether in the sense of heroism or evil. The rich interplay and unfoldment of drama and suspense all lead to a grand finale that made this book impossible to put down. Vampire Lover is a wonderful blend of dark humor, humanity and sheer horror.

This book was great. It had the right blend of genre you would want. It starts out with the main characters not knowing each other even exists. Then by the end, everyone has interacted one way or another. Leading up to a great finale. This is my take on them:

Vera: A non-physically strong woman. And great character

Bone (Gary): He's a troubled soul with a heart of gold.

Little Fibs: Reminds me of a lot of girls I've dated. Great to know at first. But a real pain in the ***/hellraiser once you know what she's all about.

Harry: A vampire with rules. They're they're the best kind. Leave no traces.

Harriet: In the wrong place at the wrong time...you'll see.

I really like the book. It was great. And the pictures would awesome. Added to the flavor of the book.

Zoon's "Vampire Lover" is an excellent read.
While not an avid reader of the Horror genre, I found the setting fascinating, the characters well-rounded, and the language smooth and compulsively readable. I would definitely recommend this book. And the author's impressive paintings interspersed throughout the text are a rare indulgence.

My husband, Tim, bought this book before leaving to go to Iraq. But he forgot to take it with him, and one night I started reading it and I didn't want to put it down. Just like the time I read the Exorcist, when I got to the scary parts I couldn't stop reading.

The scary parts start in the beginning with Harry and Harriet and go right to the end with the the two heroes. It takes place in an ocean amusement park that is closed for the winter, and pretty soon all hell breaks out for everybody. I use to like to walk on the beach at night, but not anymore. The story seemed real like Interview with a Vampire (I only saw the movie). I sometimes wonders if there isn't some truth in vampires.

Anyway I sent it to my husband to read I hope he likes it as much as I did. I would tell anyone to buy it .

Alison Kellie

I'm a major vampire fan, I became hooked on the genre when I was 12 and read Brahm Stoker's Dracula, and the hook was set with Hammer's Vampires - 46 years later and still dangling.

Mostly though I'd been totally disappointed until Anne Rice, and then, well let's just say some things need to just die.

Susan Zoon has revived the Vampire, she's removed the stake and has let it loose in a very modern tale. This is a vampire's story of horror, greed, lust, blood, gore, love - yes even love.

Go away if you're looking for the flowery romanticism of Lestat or the Count, you won't find it here. Her fantastic illustrations alone will tell you that we're not dealing with a spin off of the aforementioned toothless vampires.

The characters are all very real, the location perfect and the surrounding events provide the atmosphere to tell such a tale. Zoon's details read like a film that plays in your head.

VL is about the very nature of good and evil, especially the personification of evil when the earthly chains are removed, and even evil's struggle with itself. It's them against us, and right now the score is tied.

Jerry Wennerstrom

For the past three summers we have taken this book with us, along with our 2 young boys-6 and 9, and have visited many of the places Bruce writes about and highlights in the book-the historical facts and tidbits of information he provides is very interesting and makes you feel more connected to the place you are visiting. My idea of a vacation is not trekking it to Orlando and all the theme parks! I grew up in South Florida, but was not aware of many of the places he talks about in Florida and how beautiful they are. In each new town we visit, we try to eat in at least one restaurant that he mentions-they have all been excellent recommendations! I love how at the end of the book he talks about his favorite all time places-we make a special point to try these out. We just returned from a 2 week vacation where we travelled the west coast of Florida and the Panhandle. We went all the way from the beautiful west coast beaches to Seaside, FL, traveling the backroads instead of taking the interstate. Everytime we visit somewhere I check it off in the back of the book. I can't wait until they are all checked and I can go back to the ones I loved the most!

This book depicts a side of Florida rarely seen. Although in the last 50 years or so Florida has experienced unparalled growth at the hands greedy developers and susceptible politicians, this book proves that some of what makes Florida great still exists. Small towns such as Arcadia, Cedar Key, and LaBelle are mirrors into Florida's past, preserving the diverse history of our state while retaining their small-town character. One of things that surprised me the most about this book is the fact that there are still some small towns on the Florida coast. Towns like Boca Grande and St. George Island prove that a sustainable coastal community can be retained without high-rise condos and tacky tourist shops. Nonetheless, most of the towns depicted here are in the interior of the state, which for the most part has retained its small town character (with the exception of Orlando, a true eye-sore smack dab in the middle of the state). Tourists should buy this book to appreciate the true Southern flavor of a state taken over by Yankees. I should know--I'm a fifth-generation Florida cracker!

Be sure to look for the newer edition (2003) as it covers 70 small towns. I started out thinking I would just dip into this, and read a few pages here and there. Then it turned out to be so interesting with Florida history, local tidbits, interesting people and architecture, that I read it straight through.
Now I can't wait to visit Havana to see the antique shops or to see the 36 murals in Lake Placid.
Some of the towns merely have interesting names (Yeehaw Junction) or a single sight, but many sound worthwhile for a day trip or longer visit. Probably should keep this book in the car while in Florida and check it occasionally to see if you are near any of these interesting places.
It is arranged by regions (north, central and south),

Be sure to look for the newer edition (2003) as it covers 70 small towns. I started out thinking I would just dip into this, and read a few pages here and there. Then it turned out to be so interesting with Florida history, local tidbits, interesting people and architecture, that I read it straight through.
Now I can't wait to visit Havana to see the antique shops or to see the 36 murals in Lake Placid.
Some of the towns merely have interesting names (Yeehaw Junction) or a single sight, but many sound worthwhile for a day trip or longer visit. Probably should keep this book in the car while in Florida and check it occasionally to see if you are near any of these interesting places.
It is arranged by regions (north, central and south),

I took this book along when we went to Florida over Thanksgiving. While we did the usual Orlando stuff, we also visited several of the towns listed in the book. It was a great experience to see what is "off the beaten path". Small towns with everyday people going about their daily business, much like our own home town. It was nice to walk through shops and sit down at restaurants that didn't have a "theme". If you are going to Florida, I highly reccomend it as a travel guide.

As funky, ferocious, and fun as any big beat coming out a sound system in downtown Kingston on a summer night, this book brings Jamaican dancehall to life with some scintillating prose 'riddims'. A sensitive and vivid writer and a longtime student of all things Jamaican, Stolzoff goes everywhere, knows everyone, and brings it all together in the best book on popular culture that I have read in years. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary music, African-American studies, or the Caribbean. Kudos also to the publisher for creating a beautifully designed book, with many superb photos from Stolzoff's camera. This book will be a classic for many years to come.

Randy Lewis Assistant Professor of American Studies University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

As a lover of the creative, colorful and very controversial culture known as Jamaican dancehall, I received this book ecstatically, but I wasn't quite sure of what to expect. I mean, this is a world that changes so rapidly that any attempts to document it have felt outdated even before their ink dried. I thought Stolzoff would play it safe and keep his approach as superficial as possible-a nice coffee table book perhaps, filled with eye-pleasing full-color pix of scantily-dressed dancehall queens, posturing dapper dons, maybe even the occasional text paragraph with amusing tidbits like, "Whatever happened to Wayne 'Sleng Teng' Smith?" Instead, I found a meticulously researched study packed with so much detail that several times I had to "wheel back and come again" (re-read pages) in order to digest it all.

Of course, this isn't the first piece of writing to cast a critical eye on dancehall; but past discussions (helmed mostly by staunch roots reggae apologists who make no bones about expressing their view of the subject as an anti-musical ebola responsible for devouring the innards of upright, "real" reggae as exemplified by the likes of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Burning Spear), irrespective of whether they have been pro- or anti-dancehall, have all revolved to varying degrees around the old dancehall "reggae" vs. "traditional" reggae issue.

Stolzoff distinguishes himself from the pack by sidestepping that stumbling block altogether: In (what I think is) a revolutionary move, he posits ALL Jamaican music, in essence, as dancehall-from the creolized drum and fiddle music of 18th century slave frolics to the thundering amplified bass blaring from contemporary Kingston sound systems. In short, he sees dancehall not as a distinct genre of music, but as an interactive method of experiencing music that might be specifically Jamaican.

Stolzoff's an anthropologist, not a rock critic, so rather than examining the music in isolation, he reconstructs the world that is dancehall's context, starting from the beginning with the sound systems, the cornerstone of the Jamaican music world.( Stolzoff scores a major coup by including extensive interviews with sound system pioneers like Hedley Jones, who provide a lot of insight into the Jamaican music experience prior to the birth of the local music industry-all other books on reggae up until this time have summed the whole era up in a sentence or two). Upon that foundation, Stolzoff layers the various social and ideological trends that have shaped the dancehall: rude boys, Rastafar-I, fashion, technology... You come to see that as chaotic as the dancehall universe appears to be, it is a well-ordered cosmology where everything has its place: sexuality, piety, violence, flamboyance, humility... They can all co-exist.

What I really, really love is the "career trajectory" Stolzoff maps out from his observation of the dancehall field. Using many of the aspiring and established dancehall stars he befriended, Stolzoff illustrates the stages of a career as a performer in the dancehall economy-which is an actual economy that employs millions of Jamaicans in various capacities.

I think this is definitely an important book and a complete must-read not only for fans of Jamaican music, but for anybody interested in the way that music and culture intersect with the daily lives of its participants.

This is an excellant book, written by a genuinely knowledgeable scholar of dancehall music and Jamaican popular culture. Dr. Stolzoff has done an incredible amount of research for this book and puts it altogether with Wake The Town. A must for all reggae and dancehall afficionados. This book will be a classic for a long time.

I would like to commend Mr. Stolzoff for an in depth and enjoyable study of dancehall reggae. Being a dancehall fan for some time now, it's wonderful to see the music and culture being taken seriously. Ready first hand accounts of artists like the great Tenor Saw was an unexpected and exciting part of the book. Mr. Stolzoff goes indept as he discusses the origins of dancehall back to Africa right up to today with the top artists like Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Sizzla, etc etc. As Ricky Trooper says in the begining of the book, if you haven't been to the dancehall before, you wouldn't understand it, dancehall it something that you have to experience. Great reading!

This book is too incredible to believe. For those of us who are into dancehall, when we are in the midst of it, study and academia seem so far away. I never thought it was something that someone could record on paper and carry the true vibes of the whole thing. Stolzoff has not only captured the vibes of the dancehall itself, but also the vibes of life for the dancehall community, the economy, and the realities of Jamaica today. For anyone who ever wanted to get away from the tourist fakeries of what you think Jamaica and reggae music are all about, this book is for you. Of course there is nothing like the true experience of the dancehall itself, but outside of that, this book is the next best thing. Buy this book, you won't regret it. Even most of us Jamaicans, can learn a thing or two from it. And for my anthropologists out there, this book is the most gripping, meaningful ethnography since Bourgois' "In Search of Respect : Selling Crack in El Barrio".

Neil Byrne is a popular Irish school guy coming up to is eighteenth birthday, a star rugby player, school prize winner, and always in demand. But he bears a heavy secret which, despite the fact that virtually all his straight friends are paired off and his remains single, no one suspects; he is gay. He has known this since the age of ten, but has so far been able to conceal the fact through his masculine attributes and successes, including a brief flirtation with a girl. He has secretly fallen for a younger lad at school, the beautiful blue-eyed blond guy with the cute behind, Ian.
Finally no longer to able to contain himself he confess his sexuality, but only to his closest friends, and then is encouraged to venture into the gay bars of Dublin. He meets a new group of friends including a benevolent Sugar Daddy, and Shane, a handsome older guy of twenty five with whom he starts a relationship. But is Shane all he seems to be, and is he to be trusted? Yet all appears to be going reasonably well until Neil can no longer live with deceiving his parents, and eventually comes out to them with catastrophic results.
Who will Neil be able to turn now, and can he rely on anyone? Throughout all his troubles he is plagued with doubts, and often sees suicide as an answer, is that now his only recourse?
However Ian is never far from his thoughts, but he does not even know if Ian is gay.
I found this an involving and enjoyable story, with a satisfying and very moving conclusion. The writing is interesting, especially when at times we see events from Neil's perspective, as if we are following events as his mind rapidly flits from one thought to another. Recommended.

I really enjoyed reading Tom Lennon's novel about an 18 year old Irish boy who just happens to be gay. Tom Lennon has a beautiful style, full of subtle details and he is excellent in building his characters. Around the main hero, there evolve a dozen of other characters all portrayed under the light of truth. Tom Lennon has a way to pay justice to everyone even to Mother and Father who love their son in their own way, as it the case with millions of parents of gay adlolescents. I believe this is a novel of literary value, much above the average of the common gay themed novels and that it should be read not only by young gays and adults but also by all parents who know or suspect that their son is gay. Reading this fine novel, they will probably get an insight into the turmoils of growing up with the idea of belonging to a minority group and that coming to terns with one's own reality has to shatter or put into trial (test) the relationship with any kind of authroty in the pyramid of love.

Neil, a young lad in Ireland, struggles to live truthfully as a gay youth while pretending with his parents and friends that he's just one of the guys. He slowly becomes involved in Dublin's gay community, and meets another guy who's a few years older, but before anything can happen, Neil is attacked by gay-bashers. After recovering, Neil finds that dating is difficult, especially when he's hiding so much, and the relationship sours. Neil comes out to his parents and friends, and finds some support, but everything changes, some for the worse and some for the better. This amazing coming out story does end with hope and a possibility for a connection to combat the loneliness of living as a gay man in a small town. Like Stuart Thorogood's "Outcast" and K. M. Soehnlein's "The World of Normal Boys", Lennon's book is a potent, poignant tale of what it's like being young and gay.

Neil Byrne's biggest problem is how to keep both sides of his life apart. At school is a good student and the talented rugby player. He has quite a few friends, but very few long-term girlfriends. That isn't to say there is nobody at school he wants today to date. There is. In fact, Neil has even written some poems that describe how he feels. The only problem is, "Does Ian feel the same?" Being afraid of rejection, Neil decides to stay silent. Instead, he begins to go

out and become apart of Dublin's gay nightlife. He meets the usual suspects: the solicitous older man, transvestites, and queens. He also meets Shane whom he hopes will be his one true love. In the end, he trades one problem for another. The world inhabited by his created family turns out to be just as stifling and insecure as the world inhabited by those he loves at home. In the end, he discovers that true love is literally just around the corner. This is a sad and funny book that traces a young man's search for love despite the obstacles created by his family and the bar culture of which he is a part.

It's not that this is a love story kind of romantic novel. It's more like a wonderfully sensitive story of Neil Byrne, just graduated, just turned 18 in search of love. The kind of love he can dig his fingers into, feel, and return in full measure. Set in Dublin Ireland one witnesses the close-knit family life of Dubliners, from their happy moments to the moments that tear them apart. Neil's search for love and acceptance puts him on the outside looking in with his school mates, his siblings, his best friend, all "rhyming couplets" while Neil is different and vacilates between fitting in and going his own way into Dublin's gay night life. Here he sees both the sad and the promise of something happy for himself. He meets Shane, a beautiful man, who might be the love Neil is searching for. Something odd: author Tom Lennon chooses to become vague during the novel's crisis moments when Neil "comes out" to his friends, family, when he is gay bashed, and near the end when... well I can't relate what happens. This is the kind of book that draws you in immediately and keeps you spellbound and rooting for the main character. Lennon's true ability is to make you feel what the sensitive Neil feels in both his wins and losses. The truly romantic will love this book. The jaded and cynical will probably not. After all, it's a coming out story, set in Ireland, from the point of view of a teenager. The story is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always interesting and in many ways insightful. Ronald L. Donaghe is the author of Uncle Sean.

I was a student at the university where Ms. Blum taught while she was pregnant. Working in the book business, I stumbled upon an advertisement for this title in the publishers' catalog. (Of all catalogs to accidentally be placed in my mailbox, of all the pages the catalog could have opened to when it fell out of my mailbox, and of all the things that usually distract me from noticing a name I found familiar - it's a wonder all the pieces fell in place.) Anyway, I immediately ordered the book - if for no other reason than for the fact that it intertwined with my personal history with the university and the Pennsylvania towns she writes about. But I think the book is more than a piece of history. Her words are fluid and poetic. I gobbled up the chapters as if it were chocolate-y fiction, sneaking it in between breaks at work. It speaks to me as a woman, as a "non-traditional" worshipper of religious faith, and as someone who hopes to have her own children someday. I would, and have, recommended this memoir to many people.

I read Ms. Blum's book for a Sociology class. I actually started reading it before hand on the recommendation of a friend. I must say that this book is amazing. Ir gives you a view of gay life away from the normal booze drugs and sex. Also Ms. Blum is extremely witty. She is brutally honest about her pregnancy and the troubles it caused her! She also talks in DEPTH about the birth of her daughter. Though I thought some of the sex scenes were too graphic other than that I thought this book to be an amazing read!

I hope my review isn't seen as less credible because of this, but I know Louise, her wife, and their amazing daughter. She attended a summer camp where I was a counselor and I have to say that she's the most self-actualized individual I have ever known. She's an amazing person, due in no small part to what her moms have gone through in bringing her into the world. :)

I'd been wanting to read this book for quite a while once I realized it was out there. I was amazed at how this slim volume brought such a myriad of emotions to the surface. One minute I was laughing, the next minute I was so sad, then I was angry and militant, then disgusted at the evil of some people, then comforted by the love that Connie and Louise obviously share. It's a great book...with a wonderful, frank, conversational style that doesn't hide the facts, but doesn't spare the rich details. You feel like you are right there with them. The dialogue is honest and fleshed out very well. No small wonder, considering Louise's writing abilities!

Whether you are gay or straight, consider reading this book. It will help you understand how hard it is to be gay and how wonderful it is as well. And hopefully, it might make you see that it doesn't matter what sexual orientation parents have...just that they truly love and want their children. :)

Louise Blum has given us a book that will make you laugh at the outrageous behavior of "decent" people, will make you cry for her struggle to be accepted on her own terms, make you ache with her yearning and cheer for her triumph. Whether you love women or men, the love story touches your heart. But mostly, this book is glaringly honest and doesn't shy from truth on any front. I loved it!

I picked up this book while wondering aimlessly through the aisle at the local library. I thought it would be something to pass the time. Needless the say, the book draws you in, makes you laugh, cry and get angry, all while thinking to yourself "I've been there before". I truly enjoyed the book and would gladly recommend it to all women, whether you are a lesbian or not.

The perfect reader for southern enthusiast and small town living fans. Does an excellent job of describing, in deatail, the towns and their enviroments. Gives me a years worth of weekend trips at my fingertips. A must read!

This informative volume describes a number of towns that would otherwise surely go unnoticed by the non-Southerner. Basic population, economic and climate data are followed by descriptive sections on recreation, housing, health resources, and the like. An occasional anecdote or personal interview might have added a bit of color, but this is a more complete book than most others about those charming, artistic, or undiscovered places we want to find out about, and it may be the only one of its kind on the South. I am happy to own it.

This is a very handy, concise and yet comprehensive guide to help in your search for that delightful Southern town offers good quality of life and yet within reach of a city's conveniences.

There are useful statistical highlights, Cost Of Living index and web links. The books provide information on the community, eateries, attractions,education,etc.

I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a guidebook to assist in their search for a delightful town to re-locate and live.

Most people spend more time planning where to spend their vacations than they do deciding where to spend their lives (or their retirements). Fortunately for us, the authors of this book have done a huge portion of the legwork for us: finding the best small southeastern towns, evaluating them through a set of clearly defined and excellent criteria, visiting each one, and gathering relevant information to help us not only decide where to go, but to also help us connect to the community once we get there. I would be lost without this book, not even knowing where to begin. The books is also well-written, engaging in style, and easy to use. For example, you can skip sections you're less interested in because there are frequent headers common for each town, and you can also search towns by state, climate, geography (e.g., coast or mountains), and other factors of interest.

...

Our Primordial Soup...steamy, smoke filled speakeazies. Jazz, Pims, crazy Italian suits...expresso e un biscotti, gratzi! Gauloise? Non, Gitanes, merci!!!
The Conductor Of The Groovy Juice Symphony.

A must have for anyone interested in youth culture, swinging london of the 1950s and 60s, and the Mod scene... Something of a youth exploitation or confessional novel, but nonetheless an excellent picture of the generation born in post-world war II England, the first (and possibly one of the last) to be better off than their parents, the children of Britain's baby boom, obsessed with Italian fashion and American Jazz and all night clubs and coffee houses-- this is a portrait of one such youth and his life... It's the best piece of this type to come out of this period and seen by many as MacInnes' best work. Of further note by MacInnes are the other "London novels", Mr. Love and Justice and City of Spades. What a shame it is that no publisher has cared enough to keep these great books in print.

The thing to keep in mind about London in the late 1950s is that it wasn't cool. London wouldn't become one of the capitals of youth style until 1963 and later (brilliantly recounted in Shawn Levy's READY, STEADY, GO!). In this great novel, Colin MacInnes paints the portrait of an age that has received little attention, a time when England did not yet possess a full-fledged youth culture, a creature whose time was coming round at last, and was slouching towards Soho to be born. In the depiction of teens in search of self-authentication and self-realization, the novel is very much an English equivalent of Kerouac's ON THE ROAD.

Like the Kerouac novel, ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS is brilliant not for its story, but for its characters and the almost sociological and anthropological quality of its chronicle. Above all, it chronicles the social upheaval that was already taking place in London, with the central place that drugs, jazz, sex, and alcohol was more openly playing in youth culture. There is also a new and heightened consciousness of race, as well as an absence of the values that had been the mainstay of the previous generation. Although it wasn't yet the sixties, you can feel it coming throughout the book.

I don't want to mislead a prospective reading by promoting this as one of the great classics. It isn't. But like the central character, who is an aspiring photographer, the novel serves as a fictional photo essay on a neglected and under-romanticized period of English life. I can't imagine anyone not truly loving it.

The novel was in the 1980s made into a fairly decent musical (with an absolutely astonishing opening sequence) starring Patsy Kensit and with a host of musical performers in minor roles, including David Bowie, Ray Davies, and Sade. But I would definitely recommend the book over the film.

MacInnes's novel, set in 1958, London, demonstrates the status of the teenager as a new economic class is demonstrated early on when the narrator tells us: "This teenage ball had had a real splendour in the days when kids discovered that for the first time since centuries of kingdom-come, they'd money, which had always been denied to us at the best time in life to use it, namely, when you're young and strong. ... it had a real savage splendour in the days when we found that no one couldn't sit on our faces anymore because we'd loot to spend at last, and our world was to be our world..."

The narrator is a free lance photographer who takes pictures of the night life and of anything depicting the new London and its denizens, hoping for an exhibition. He loves jazz music, is integrationist, and against class. He lives in a slum named Napoli because he enjoys the low rent and how he is accepted, no matter what he does, and no one questions his background, educated or class. He wouldn't be treated that way in Belgravia, the fashionable, upscale district of London.

He has a bunch of interesting friends, such as the very friendly Fabulous Hoplife, who swings the other way, and the Wiz, a huckster who wants to make it into the bigtime, realizing there's a goldmine with the economic prosperity and renewed London. He wants to get there via illegal means, much to the narrator's chagrin. There's Big Jill, a big and friendly les to whom the narrator confides to about Suze; she's kind of like an older sister to him.

But he's really after his dreamgirl Crepe Suzette, or Suze, a pretty girl who's getting her kicks by sleeping around with every black she fancies. He's very upset when she tells him she's getting married to Henley, a fashion designer in his forties for whom she's a secretary. "I'm marrying for distinction, and that's a thing that you could never give me," she tells him. Despite her importance, she's not one of the most interesting characters here.

But when the narrator learns of the racial tensions going on and reads an anti-immigrant tirade in a news article condemning the Commonwealth Act, which allowed emigration from the former colonies to the UK, he sadly says "I don't understand my country anymore. ...the English race has spread itself all over the world...No one invites us, and we didn't ask anyone's permission... Yet when a few hundred thousand come and settle among our fifty millions, we just can't take it."

The generation gap between three groups are interesting. There are people like the narrator, growing up when the war was already over, and thus progressive, anti-Empire, and accepting blacks and Indians. People like his oafish stepbrother Verne and Ed the Ted, in their mid-twenties, lived through the war, were more patriotic, pro-Empire, and are spiteful of teenagers. And people like the narrator's father like the 1950's because they lived through the hell of the 1930's, unable to find good work, starving, and seeing the war as a godsend for the employment opportunities.

MacInnes's historical novel is a look at a post-war Britain, defanged of its empire, and having experienced a political faux-pas in the Suez Crisis. It also examines race relations in Britain ten years after the Commonwealth Act, and how British commercialism got roaring with the newfound prosperity. The tensions between whites and coloureds came to a head in the Notting Hill race riot, which takes place in this book. The movie that was adapted from this cut out most of the thoughtful parts of the book, but it's one of my favourite movies, and I see this book in a new light.

Part of the Becka and The Big Bubble series, Becka and the Big Bubble: All Around Town is a lighthearted, rhyming children's picturebook about a young girl who likes to blow bubbles - then ride on them! Adopting the name Becka and The Big Bubble for herself, she floats atop her bubble like a dream, seeing everyone all around town, but when the wind carries her so high that her bubble bursts, she's in big trouble! Becka has to figure out how to save herself in the nick of time, and return home to her loving parents, in this whimsical adventure. Also highly recommended is "Becka and the Big Bubble: Becka Goes to the North Pole".

I read Beck and the Big Bubble-All Around Town to my two-year-old son every night. He doesn't understand the story yet, but he loves the colorful illustrations and seems amused by the rhythmic language. I've also given these books as gifts to my nieces. They are a few years older than my son and they love the concept of "bubble travel". They think Becka is very cool and pretend to travel places on bubbles just like Becka. The Becka books are a fantastic way to introduce kids to the concept of other places and cultures outside of their own.

An easy fun book for boys or girls. I took this book to my son's preschool and the class went crazy with cute stories about where they would like to go.

I bought every one of the Becka and the Big Bubble books for my 3 year old son. And I'm happy to say he loves every single one of them! I'm sure your kids will enjoy them as well.

Really like the new cover design on the paperback edition of this great book by Shelley Pearsall. This story of a math club at an inner city school and their quest to construct the world's largest tetrahedron is a winner. Don't know what a tetrahedron is? That's another good reason to read this book. The paperback edition also has a pattern for a tetrahedron so kids can make their own. The recipes for barbecue sauces, cannonball cornbread and chocolate truth cake are extras that make this book special.

Sharice:
"As we get closer to finishing, I start having dreams about what's gonna happen when we do. In most of my dreams, there is this big flash of light when we finish the tetrahedron and our school isn't a crumbling, peeling-paint building anymore. It's rainbow colored. (I know this sounds kinda weird.) And our giant pyramid sits on top of the school roof shooting out colors all over the neighborhood, like spotlights. Houses turn shades of red, and orange, and blue. And people stop their cars and roll down their windows to take pictures of the sight."

That their one-of-a-kind tetrahedron building project gets off the ground at all is astounding in itself. ALL OF THE ABOVE is a tale of four inner city public school kids -- none of whom are initially friends -- and their math teacher. The teacher, Mr. Collins, acknowledges that he was frustrated with his teaching, his school, his students, and himself when he impulsively announced his brainstorm: a plan to have students come together in an extracurricular math club for the purpose of building a stage seven Sierpinski tetrahedron.

"What the heck is a stage seven Sierpinski tetrahedron?" you might (or might not) be tempted to ask. Well, as I learned, thanks to Rhondell, the member of the student quartet with private dreams of one day attending college, it is a structure composed of 16,384 little tetrahedrons which, in turn, are three dimensional geometric shapes that have four faces, each of which is an equilateral triangle.

And to understand what about this particular book caught my eye -- a book that was formerly to be found amidst my stage seven mountain of review copies -- is to get a sense of my life-long affinity with numbers and mathematical concepts. For front and center on the book's cover is that key number 16,384, a number I instantly recognized as being part of my habitual childhood recitation of the exponents of 2. You know, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384...

Oh...you didn't walk around middle school with those sort of things streaming through your head? Well, regardless, readers will be intrigued by the four urban students (and the teacher) who are all facing personal challenges inside and outside of school:

James Harris III:

"I stare at the window behind Collins and think about how good it would feel to jump out that window and send all that glass flying into the air like one of those jagged comic book pictures with the word 'CRASH' written above it. Get out of school, Collins' class, all the other dumb teacher's classes -- and never come back."

Marcel:

"Ain't spending the rest of my life working at Willy Q's Barbecue. Saying sweet things to customers who don't deserve sweet. Smiling like I care about selling rib bones and chicken wings and pig meat.
"Ain't joining the Army either, like my daddy thinks. Won't salute nobody. Least of all, him."

Sharice:

"You see, foster non-parent #5 (Jolynn) doesn't allow anybody at home when she isn't there and since she isn't there most of the time, I'm not allowed to be there either. Which is why I mostly end up sitting in the blue plastic library chairs, or in the mall food court, or riding around on the city bus (or wherever I can find a seat without too many weirdos or drunks around)."

Rhondell:

"Sometimes I imagine college as a big wooden door where you have to knock and say the right password to get in. Only people who know big words like metamorphosis and epiphany are allowed inside. So, I think I try to save all the words I can because maybe, deep down, I believe they will somehow get me inside college without money or luck.
"But around here if you talk and act like you have dreams, or as if you think you are better than everybody else, it only causes trouble. So, I keep most of my college words locked up in my head, and I try to make it through each day by saying as few words as possible. 'She's quiet' is the way most people describe me, and I figure being quiet is just fine because it means you won't be bothered."

ALL OF THE ABOVE vaguely reminds me of The Breakfast Club. In this case you meet these four random students who just all happen to be in the same math class when their frustrated math teacher decides to launch a seriously wacked math project and all four kids wittingly or unwittingly find themselves captive to the process. And me, the former math team member, found myself right there with them.

So join in. Grab yourself a stack of colored paper, some scissors, a glue gun, some munchies, and partake in the Tetrahedron Club.

Even if you don't go to an urban school (or didn't as a kid), you can connect to this story that starts with a lame math class and a pretty lame math teacher. The math teacher gets desperate and comes up with this idea about breaking a world record for making four-sided triangle thingies (tetrahedrons). Needless to say, his students don't leap all over that idea, but somehow James, Rhondell, Marcel, and Sharice end up doing it. Pretty soon you will be all caught up in the lives of these four characters and the people around them. Because each character "talks" in first person, you see different points of view on what's going on with the project--can they do it? Is it a dumb idea? What's the point? Is it really helping anyone learn math (or anything else)? What happens if they do it? I never got the four characters mixed up (like you do in some books) and the author made them seem so real that you just want to hug Sharice and get Marcel to talk and... If you are a clever reader, you'll see that the story itself is kind of a tetrahedron--four characters, four sides... Anyway, it's a great book--check it out!! P.S. Another cool part of the book is how it includes the drawings that James doodles...

You know what author Shelley Pearsall's got? Flexibility, baby. Loads of it. Let's say, for example, that you write a rip-roaringly good bit of harrowing historical fiction (as she did with "Crooked River"). Now you'd like to follow that up with another book for kids. Do you follow the straight and narrow path of always writing with an eye on the past? Or do you get inspired by a group of students at the Alexander Hamilton School in Cleveland, Ohio? Pearsall opted for the latter, and the result is the surprisingly good, All of the Above. Now I avoided this book like crazy for a while. Why? The crummy cover. But open that same cover up and you find a story that never loses hope but that also never treads into the world of mindless optimism. There's a gritty reality hiding at the core of this book. The surprise is that it's a pleasure to discover it for yourself.

Seventh grade math teacher Mr. Collins is the first person to explain to you how, "the tetrahedron project began with one of my worst classes in twenty years of teaching". In that class you have some pretty odd kids. There's James Harris III who basically comes across as future jail fodder more than anything else. There's also Sharice who does well in school but has trouble at home. Rhondell works hard but she's so timid and stuck in her own little shell that it's hard to get her to do anything besides cower. And then of course there's local celebrity Marcel, who's father owns the best known barbecue joint around. What do these kids all have in common? Well, they're in the math club. Not just any math club, though. Mr. Collins has this crazy plan. You see, a California school once built a "Stage 6" tetrahedron and got into the Guinness Book of World Records. Collins thinks this group can do better. But when personal problems and a devastating bit of vandalism bring the project screeching to a halt, it's up to the kids, not Collins, to come up with a new plan. Told in ever changing first person narrratives, Pearsall weaves together the story's fight and ultimate success.

What did I appreciate about this book? Well, the description makes it kind of sound like a "Stand and Deliver" type story with a healthy helping of "Dangerous Minds" to boot. In essence, the old plotline where a white teacher comes to town and gets the inner city kids to believe in themselves. Oop. Aack. We're all pretty tired of that story, to say nothing of how insulting it can be. Appreciate "All of the Above", then for turning that tired old chestnut of a parable into something fresh and new. Yes, the idea to create the world's biggest tetrahedron is thought up by Mr. Collins, the resident white math teacher. But the guy hasn't a clue what he's doing. He's pretty much willing to give up on the idea, the Math Club, and the project itself when the going gets a little rough. He's not goading these kids into doing more with their lives. Not much, anyway. Their families are doing that. And when push comes to shove he and the kids are helped by the janitor, hairstylists, and the owner of a barbecue joint far more than just dinky little Collins on his own. I half wondered if Pearsall plucked his name from "Pride and Prejudice", knowingly or on a subconscious level. Heaven knows it kind of fits him.

It's obvious that Pearsall has spent a fair amount of time in high schools across the country too. When James Harris III says, "You ever notice how school clocks do that? How they don't move like other clocks do; they jump ahead like bugs?". Yup. I've noticed that. So has every school librarian, teacher, and child attending public school in the United States of America. It just takes a well-attuned author to pick up on it. Pearsall zeroes in on other little things as well. I liked that for every foodstuff Marcel mentions there's an accompanying recipe that follows. This is true of even the less tasty treats, like "Willy Q's Cannonball Cornbread". The reader is informed at the end of the recipe to, "Cover and refrigerate leftovers. Trust me, there will be a lot". I also enjoyed that the first person narratives were sometimes voiced by adults as well as children. Sometimes books of this nature limit their narrative voices, thereby narrowing the possibilities for the story itself. Pearsall doesn't fall into that trap. If Rhondell's Aunt Asia is the best person to talk at a given point then that's who's talking. Nuff said.

What the book did that others of its ilk sometimes fail to is come across as timeless. The Nikki Grimes novel, Bronx Masquerade, may have sported some top notch writing, but the slang alone dated it within a year of its publication. This is not the case with, "All of the Above". For one thing, the slang is popular without being trendy. Pearsall doesn't spot the text with the newest technology, partly because her characters couldn't afford it, and partly because it would date the book considerably in a few years. I was also rather touched by how well Pearsall was able to distinguish between the voices of her characters. You wouldn't think Rhondell was talking when it was actually Sharice and vice versa. And I appreciate that there were happy endings in this book. Better still, they appear in a true and honest manner without so much as a whiff of Deus Ex Machina.

What didn't I like about the book? Well, it's hard to get around the fact that what the kids are trying to do is rather small. Then again, that's kind of the point. This isn't about getting everyone a free ride to Yale or anything. It's about breaking a world record, which is a seriously kid-friendly concept. Still, it's going to be difficult to sell this story to kids on that idea alone. "Hey, kids! Want to read about a class that glues tetrahedrons together?". Booksellers and librarians are going to have to hand sell and booktalk this one on an individual level. And even then it's not going to be a story for everyone. Add in the unattractive cover (note the school bus yellow shade) and you've a book that's going to have to work to get people to pick it up. Once they do they'll be fine. Just getting there is the difficulty.

To be honest, I don't think this book is going to get the attention it deserves. But for those few lucky souls who get a chance to read it, "All of the Above" is a lively wonderful recount of a project that actually occurred at the Alexander Hamilton School in 2002. Pearsall lists every true fact that she has put in the book in her Author's Note at the back and it offers the reader a sense of closure. This comes across as a fine title and one worth perusing. If you can, sneak it into the reading pile of a kid you know. You'll find them pleasantly surprised.