Newspapers Books

Very quick and interesting reading. Never knew this much strange stuff was going on in Texas and I'm a Native Texan. If you like weird and wonderful, this is ths book for you.

This is a real gem as it details countless little known newspaper articles on all-things weird in the state of Texas from the latter part of the 19th Century to the early years of the 20th Century.

I wrote the Foreword to the book and - living in Dallas, Texas myself - I can safely say that if you are even remotely interested in the historical weirdness of the Lone Star State, then this is a book you will most definitely not want to miss - packed as it is with tales of ghosts, UFOs, bizarre looking people and much more.

As for my favorite topics of cryptozoology and weird animals specifically, how you can resist learning about the mystery puma of Whitewright; the story of the seven-legged calf; the 40-foot-long tapeworm that was removed from a child's stomach; the shaggy Wildman of the San Antonio River; giant eagles; a ten-horned cow; and the Lovecraftian pig-baby of Groesbeck.

Buy! Buy! Buy!

Even though I'm not from the Urbana area, I found this book to be very enjoyable. I liked the idea of 150 different stories that were told. Many of them were very interesting. I would definitely recommend this book and hope that the author, Tom Kacich, will write future books. I thought his insight into the stories was very informative.

I consider myself to be an avid reader and I like the books I read to be interesting and easy to read. I found that Hot Type by Tom Kacich is the best of both worlds for me - the stories come from Champaign and Urbana in Illinois but they could easily be from any town in this country. The stories in the book are compelling and the format of the book allows the reader to read a few stories at a time or the entire book at once. Mr. Kacich has done a fine job researching the stories and the photos are interesting, too. Hot Type is not just a book for people from Illinois but a must for all avid readers!

I came across this book...I wanted to say that I think it is not only a wonderful, inspiring book, but that it is also informative, and on the 'must-have' list.

It's like catching lightning in a bottle - this is inspiration on paper! :)

Toni Donelow Stewart author/illustrator

I came across this book, and noting that it is out of print (How did that happen? This is a wonderful book!), I wanted to say that I think it is not only a wonderful, inspiring book, but that it is also informative, and on the 'must-have' list.

It's like catching lightning in a bottle - this is inspiration on paper! :)

Toni Donelow Stewart author/illustrator

This is a great colection of images of Nactwey's work, covering Civil Wars around the World. The book contains a lot of power, disturbing images that are a good exemple of the best photojornalism made today. Nactwey works for Magnum and you can see his work in Life and Time magazine, Le Monde and other publications. He won several World Press Photos Contests and he is (IMHO) the best photojournalist alive. I cant wait for "Inferno", his next book...

[10/02 UPDATE: "Inferno" seems to have sadly gone out of print. That means this is the ONLY in-print volume of Nachtwey's work available on Amazon. Obviously this book doesn't have nearly the same scope or depth as "Inferno", but it's still much, much better than nothing at all.]

There's no doubt in my mind that Nachtwey's "Inferno" is one of the best, if not THE best photojournalistic works ever. But it's also pretty pricey (though worth every penny). While "Civil Wars" doesn't have the staggering breadth or depth of Inferno - for one thing, it's only 1/4th as long - this portfolio is still an excellent collection of Nachtwey's work and a good introduction to his photography and style.

This "book" is actually a huge, oversized softcover, part of a series produced by the German magazine Stern. Of course, that means that the captions and accompanying articles are in German as well. But it doesn't detract from the images themselves, which are fantastically reproduced with a deep, rich tonality that's better than the quality in many actual books.

Another bonus is that much of the photography in here is taken from Nachtwey's reportage in Afghanistan, which for some reason wasn't included in Inferno. All in all, strongly recommended.

I read a bad review of this book and had to counter. Serious about reading Japanese? Get this book if you can find it. Shame on Tuttle for letting it go out of print. The only valid excuse could be they are resetting it with Chinese readings as well. Now THAT would be a REALLY great book.

Before using this book it was difficult to remember kanjis because I did not know which ones were worth to learn. All of them had the same weight to me. From the first day I started to learn the kanjis in this book, I was surprised by the way I was able to recognize the characters in the Japanese newspapers. Although not updated recently, the words in this book were ordered by frequency and you will find that after learning the first ten, you will see them everywhere in newspapers, magazines or in TV news headlines. This motivates you to continue learning more and more with confidence.

If you like words and aren't opposed to humor, this book will have you laughing your brains out within the first 5 minutes. Not every headline is funny to everyone, but there are so many in here that no matter what your style is, you will be laughing and you will be enjoying it. The absurdity of everyday life has never been so enjoyable. Yay for Jay!

This was an interesting book that covered the personal life of Katherine Graham in great detail. However, I really had a hard time finding much about her true leadership style other than perhaps two sentences in the entire book. The totality of her leadership style would have to be deduced through the anecdotal material presented in the book. If you want to really know who she was and what she did, this is the one book to read. Was she a tremendous individual who fought hard to keep and build a great organization? Yes. Is it worth the time to read it? Yes.

Why read this book? A convincing answer is provided by Jim Collins in the Foreword, and I quote: "If I were forced to pick one business leader from whom to draw professional learning and personal aspirations, that one leader would very likely be Katharine Graham." As is the case with other great leaders, Collins explains, she delivered great results during her tenure, achieved a distinctive impact on the world "by creating a a role model that others follow," presided over "a significant crisis or renewal, in part by creating a role model that others follow," and finally, she left a legacy that "transcends her own tenure, and ultimately beyond her life." High praise indeed and wholly justified by Graham's professional achievements and personal integrity.

What we have in this volume is Robin Gerber's probing, illuminating analysis of a woman who once observed that she led "what I thought of as two separate lives. Wife and mother for twenty-three years, and then working person for thirty." It is her career as CEO of the Washington Post Company which has attracted the most attention but only by understanding her as a daughter, wife, mother, and widow, however, can we possibly appreciate both her personal growth and professional achievements. Of course, in her own memoirs (Personal History and Katharine Graham's Washington) she shares much of the same material which Gerber covers also. Here are what I consider to be especially significant facts:

1. Until her husband, Philip, committed suicide, Graham had had almost no direct involvement in the business world.

2. Following his death, she refused to sell the company and became its CEO, relying heavily on the management team to face a series of crises.

3. First, whether or not to publish the Pentagon Papers and thereby risk prosecution under the Espionage Act, jeopardize the company's IPO, and perhaps its lucrative television licenses. She decided to publish.

4. Then, whether or not to support Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's investigation of the Watergate break-in and thereby incur the full wrath of the Nixon administration. She provided that support although, as she later admitted, "I was terrified" and "quaking in my boots."

Gerber skillfully examines each of these and other stressful situations and defining moments. Of greatest interest to me is Graham's gradual, sometimes painful acquisition of business acumen despite the shock and grief caused by her husband's death, especially at a time when the Post Company was going through its own serious difficulties. As countless others have already pointed out, Graham eventually developed outstanding leadership qualities and management skills without at any time compromising her personal decency and integrity. At the time of her death, those who knew her best loved her as much as they respected her.

If you share my high regard for Gerber's book, I urge you to read those which Graham wrote, "in her own words" and apparently without professional assistance. She was genuinely astonished by the fact that Personal History immediately became and then remained a bestseller. Few others were. Certainly no one among more than 4,000 who attended her funeral service on Monday, July 23, 2001, at Washington National Cathedral.

Robert McNamara served as a pallbearer with Vernon Jordan and her brother-in-law, Senator Robert Graham of Florida. Herbert Allen, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mike Nichols, Jim Lehrer, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and Bob Woodward were among the ushers. Senators arrived in a bus as did hundreds of her associates at the Washington Post. In his eulogy, Ben Bradlee fondly referred to her as "Brenda Starr, girl reporter, [always] at the scene and ready to go." Probably better than anyone else did, Bradlee understood why having both "the heart of a journalist" and "the head of a businesswomen" made Katharine Graham "one of the greatest publishers of the last two centuries."

Andy traded me his book for my novel, "Forever Retro Blues" at the New England Book Festival last September. Over and over, Andy is asked, "aren't you afraid?" in reference to the people Andy is telling on. But he isn't afraid to tell the truth. And he's been there--on the inside where deals are done and our lives are changed--many times for the benefit of the deal maker and not the population at large. Andy would have fit in well with our founding fathers campaigning for justice.

I heartily recommend Thibault's book. It is hard-hitting, clearly written, and commonsensical and cogent in its conclusions. Thibault is truly his own man. His views conform to no particular orthodoxy, and they shine forth in the book with an intensity borne of the deep conviction with which the author believes them. In addition, Thibault is a marvelous sleuth and detective with a keen instinct for running down a story and ascertaining the truth about it.

If you ever wanted to know what happens behind the scenes, get this book. I wasn't even alive in the 70's, but I still found it very interesting and enjoyable. Cosell is a very interesting man who is very opinionated and has a lot to say. I reccomend this book to any sports fan, especially thoes who followed sports in the 70's.

howard's book of the insides of sports broadcasting---he reveals all the internal mechanisms of broadcast television with his viewpoint on the political positioning between anchors most fascinating. howard never really owns up to having been drunk on the air as he has been rumoured to have been throughout the years so you are sort of left with a taste of him not being as honestly frank as it should be.

Mitch Albom is easily the best sportswriter I have ever read, and is among the best comtemporary writers. Live Albom is a collection of his early writings for the Detroit Free Press. Even if you know little about Detroit sports teams and care less, Albom's columns will captivate you. Most sportswriters write only about the action on the field, and Albom generally leaves that to them. His columns are really about people, not sports. Many will inspire, some will tug at heartstrings, and many will make you laugh hysterically. Few, if any, will bore you.

Being that I'm not much of a sports fan unless it's hockey, I wondered if I would be bored by this book. Quite the contrary! Mitch has the uncanny knack of drawing his readers in and making them feel as if they are part of the story. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion and wanted to cry after reading some selections. I found myself deeply interested in columns about sports I detest. Mitch is truly the most talented sports writer in the country, and possibly the best overall writer as well.