New York Books

My Fine Feathered Friend
By William Grimes
North Point Press 2002
$15 USA, $24.95 Canada
85 pages, illustrations
ISBN: 0-86547-632-2

Reviewed by Karen Davis, PhD, President of United Poultry Concerns

"I looked at the Chicken endlessly, and I wondered. What lay behind the veil of animal secrecy?"

My Fine Feathered Friend is a bittersweet tale that leaves you aching after you put the book away. In part this is because the main character, a large handsome black hen who appears mysteriously one winter day in the writer's yard in Queens, disappears as mysteriously as she arrived. This is a true story. The author, William Grimes, a restaurant critic for The New York Times, is intrigued, fascinated, and finally haunted, by this hen. He perceives her as a kind of Earth Goddess, as solid as a tree trunk, rugged, compact, able and enduring, yet elusive, vulnerable, and, ultimately, as ephemeral as a fairy princess. She vanishes when he comes to love her. He calls the hen, simply and archetypally, the Chicken.

When I first started reading My Feathered Friend, I was put off by the tone. Grimes refers to the hen for a number of pages as "it," while referring to his and his wife's cats as "hes" and "shes." His style is pat with similes and cultivated assurance. I thought, okay, Grimes wants to make sure that no one, including himself, gets emotionally involved with this chicken. He's keeping the lines drawn. But I was wrong. The story reflects his growing tenderness for the Chicken, moving through levity and wonderment to love, sorrow and loss.

The Chicken has an aura of the "familiar" in folklore, an enigmatic being regarded as both a homely acquaintance and a supernatural spirit embodied in an animal that links that animal to a particular person while retaining an inviolable otherness. Grimes's Chicken is like a visitor from another planet (exotic and ineffable) who probably escaped from the local poultry market in Queens (squalid and local). She is a hero and a survivor -- "a brave little refugee"-- who flouts false stereotypes about chickens. "I'd look out back and see a cat chasing the Chicken across the yard," Grimes writes. "Ten minutes later I'd see the Chicken chasing a cat." She is at once endearingly personal and profoundly impersonal. She has her own projects. She is self-possessed. She projects an arch authority, like the author himself. She dominates Grimes's yard, his cats, and his consciousness. She is, he confesses protectively, "a hard read."

The Chicken tracks through the universe by way of a residential patch of earth -- a "pocket paradise" reclaimed from a "wasteland of weeds" in New York City. She captures the eye of a beholder who becomes a Witness driven to Inscribe Her Being. Grimes attempts to fit what he "knows" about chickens (he eats them and makes his living writing about them as food; otherwise he says "the humble chicken was foreign to me") with his deepening perception of, identification with, and ultimate yearning and mourning over this particular hen. She moves him. He is affected by her "air of mystery," her "appetite for play," her "brilliant evasive maneuvers," her "genuine courage," her "character," her "willful high-spirit," her evocation of what the poet William Wordsworth inestimably versed as "something ever more about to be."

Grimes reads up on chickens, passing on to us pieces of information (some accurate, some not) about Gallus domesticus in folklore, history, and poultry manuals, as a backdrop to, an explanation of, the Chicken, a creature so definite, and infinite, so solid and numinous, she eludes classification. He muses:

"Was it pure coincidence that she liked to sneak up on Yowzer, the cat most likely to develop a nervous twitch when caught unawares? Time after time I saw the Chicken trot up delicately when Yowzer had his back turned, squawk a couple of times, and then watch as the cat leaped a couple of vertical feet. The Chicken, after a successful ambush, would run off jauntily, with a cackle that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle."

At other times, "I'd see Bruiser and Crusher snoozing in the basket, Yowzer draped along a nearby wooden bench, and the dark, shapeless form of Midnight filling out the sagging seat of an old sea grass chair we had bought for a couple of dollars at a yard sale. And in the midst of the group, perfectly content, sat the Chicken. It was a heartwarming sight."

One night a police helicopter hovers over the yard, causing the pine tree in which the Chicken is roosting to sway violently under a wind of hurricane force. "Somewhere, deep in the branches," Grimes writes, "the Chicken was holding on for dear life. I couldn't begin to imagine what was going through her tiny mind. By now, I figured, she had either suffered a fatal heart attack or had been dashed to the ground. But no. The next morning, amid wreckage out of Apocalypse Now, the Chicken reappeared, brimful of vim and vigor."

But one spring day, the Chicken is gone. She does not return. Grimes and his wife Nancy look everywhere. They wrack their brains trying to remember if there were any behavioral signs they failed to notice. "The previous afternoon I had watched her resting comfortably in her nest beneath the pine tree," Grimes writes. "I searched for signs of violence but did not find any. The only trace of the Chicken was a single black feather near the back door. The Chicken was definitely, profoundly missing."

It is hard reading the final pages of this book. The depression Grimes describes is not roguish but real, though he tries to make light. "We had grown to love the Chicken," he says. We believe him: so had we. "She really was a big presence in the backyard," Nancy sighs. You go back to the book cover and study the jet black sweet bird face with its rosy comb and pert expression, framed in an oval mirror. If you know chickens, you know the look of that bright round eye, so attentive yet pensive.

My Feathered Friend is like an exquisite blade sliced across your bowels in the midst of a light-hearted romp that won't heal. The book ends with unappeased longing and unsettled questions (unhappy questions on many levels), not "closure," nor should it. Though Grimes says the story is "at an end, at least for us," still, he wonders and hopes, maybe the Chicken will come back. Maybe she's on a journey. He bought things for her. He and Nancy wait for her. They keep a light in the window. Maybe he'll wake up one morning, look out the window, and see "a large feathered form bustling around the patio, scattering cat food and clucking."

But for now, as Alice Walker said about a horse named Blue, in her excruciating essay, "Am I Blue,"* let us not let the animals whom we piercingly perceive become for us merely "images" of what they once so beautifully expressed and are. The Chicken is every chicken. One like no other. Take the next step.


*In Living By the Word: Selected Writings 1973-1987. This book of Walker's essays also includes "Why Did the Balinese Chicken Cross the Road?" ("[T]o try to get both of us to the other side.")
_________________________________________________________________
Karen Davis, PhD, is the founder and President of United Poultry Concerns, a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl (www.upc-online.org). She is the author of Prisoned Chickens, Poisoned Eggs: An Inside Look at the Modern Poultry Industry; A Home for Henny; Instead of Chicken, Instead of Turkey: A Poultryless "Poultry" Potpourri"; More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual, and Reality (Lantern Books, 2001); and The Holocaust and the Henmaid's Tale: A Case for Comparing Atrocities (Lantern Books, 2005).

I ran across this book at the library looking for substantive books on chickens--the cute cover caught my eye. This is a very entertaining and enjoyable read!

I'd recommend this book as one you'll finish quickly, share with a friend or two, and want to read again yourself one day.

This is an absolutely adorable story about a man who comes to know and love a chicken who suddenly appeared in his backyard. I first read the authors article about the enigmatic and willful chicken in the New York Times and I actually saved that article because I enjoyed it so thoroughly. My Fine Feathered Friend is just as charming as that article was and better since the author is able to elaborate more on the chicken's fantastic personality and the personalities of the numerous cats that interact with the tenacious bird. The author really knows how to describe animals and the cats encounters with the chicken are truly vivid and terribly amusing. You will not forget this chicken. Its personality lingers long after the final page. The book is a joy and I highly recommend it. Thank you, Mr. Grimes, for sharing such a delightful story!

A poignantly told memoir of a season spent in the company of a somewhat bohemian chicken. I gave a copy of this book to my vet after we tried for several months to save the life of one of my pet chickens. She hadn't much experience with chickens, more so with the fanicier hookbills often found in one's the parlor, so I wanted her to know what it was like to know a chicken on a more personal level. The author accomplishes this very well, sharing valuable chicken lore with his affectionate and often respectful look at the life of a chicken and life from The Chicken's point of view.

This extremely short book really qualifies as more essay than "book," and as much as I enjoyed it, I wondered who would shell out hard-earned cash for its slim contents.

Then I found myself handing it around to people as I would share a cartoon or funny email. "Zip through it over lunch," I said, "Take it instead of a magazine while you're waiting for your oil change or dentist appointment."

And so I learned what this book is best for: for a few bucks, you can pass a smile around to your friends. The eye-catching cover is hard for anyone to resist, and the illustrations are great. If you know someone who's been adopted by a stray animal, this is perfect for them. But if not, pass it on anyway. It's a light, funny read that will make anyone smile.

In Grime's hands this unusual bird manages a truly universal appeal. I loved the pleasure it seemed to take in sneaking up behind a skittish cat and sending the cat vertically airborne with a sudden cackle. Then there's the pet store employee who tries to explain that they don't carry chicken feed, because a chicken is not a "particular animal." Grimes has an eye and ear for gem moments like these.

When I moved to NJ I joined a newcomers' club and offered to help run a Daytrips group. This book(including its various future editions)was our constant companion and ever ready reference. It also worked for the many house guests that suddenly appeared now that we lived near NYC. We had a great time visiting many of the sites Barbara had previewed for us...and her observations were right on. Note: She does advise that you check dates and time as these change.

When I moved to GA I brought it with me and I often lend it to friends and friends of friends planning to visit NYC or "The Garden State". They are always delighted and wonder why we don't have such a resource for GA.

The 9th edition (which is being shown on the screen right now as of November 17), is still the best guidebook to NJ around. Published in 2000, it is more up-to-date than many others, and still shows plenty of personal opinions as well as the basic facts. Available mostly thru "used-like new" option on Amazon because the publisher is out of stock of new copies, but has plenty of books that were a tiny-bit bent when shipped in cartons or shipped back from stores that went out of business.

Those of you looking for the latest edition of New Jersey Day Trips may be having a hard time, thanks to Amazon's crazy automatic system. They presently have an older edition on the top line, with no indication of what edition it is. If you want to buy a "used, like new" copy of the 9th edition, type in the ASIN number in the little rectangular box on the amazon front page. That will take you to the correct 9th edition. The number is 0960776281. The 9th edition was published in 2000 and is the most recent. The 10th edition will not be out until spring, 2004.
Thanks, Barbara Hudgins, author.

I recently visited a friend/colleague in New Brunswick and we took some excursions to whatever the "nuclear waste" state was supposed to offer. Actually, they had grass and trees and gorgeous parks that we visited over a long weekend. This book was in the front seat and I learned as much about this wonderful part of America from reading along the way as actually seeing it!

Although the 8th edition is a great book, it was published in 1998. The most recent edition available at this time (10/2003) is the 9th edition published in 2000. It's ASIN number is 0960776281. That is about the only way to get to it since Amazon.com refuses to put up the 9th edition first on the page although I have asked them to many times. You can buy "used-like new" that are actually new, unread copies that have come back from bookstores as returns, or had slightly dented covers are were never sent out. Thanks a lot, Barbara Hudgins

If you long for the days when photography, real photography, was black and white on film, then you will love this book. Of commercial necessity it has been years since I maintained my own darkroom and printed my own prints . . but how I miss the magic! This book brings it all back and in so doing opens some new creative channels in my mind as to how to get beautiful prints in the digital age. If you're a purist, you will love this book. If you are a pragmatist you will find ways to correlate traditional methods to digital processing and printing (even though the book does not address the topic of digital at all.) If you are serious about b/w get this book then work with your own shots and in your own workflow until you can emulate the look of this master.

In this third part of Adams' technical writings, you'll find a guide to go from what a camera recorded (it talks about a negative, but can be well applied to a digital raw file) to a fine print delivering "what you saw and felt" to the viewer.

Even if it applies to B&W, I find that much of the content can be applied to color work if you think a bit more about it - mostly now, in the digital age with separated luminance and chrominance controls.

You'll also read some good ol' kitchen recipes about developers and toning... These will be less and less useful, but can bring back the smell of the darkroom to your memory ;o)... And quite often, the principle that based the recipe can be applied to another media.

A reference, whether shooting film, digital or glass plates (and of invaluable interest for the two former).

Ansel Adams is the master of photography, black and white, but still photographic principles and concepts have been throughly tried and tested by him and he teaches you so much in his series starting with "The Camera" and ending up with this book which focuses more on the final piece. The 2nd book in the series is also so very crucial because it outlines and describes his "Zone System" in great detail. A must have for any avid photographer and a great shelf reference for any professional. Now go out and shoot.. waste some film for crying out loud and get some awesome shots :)

The book is excellent. Although these techniques are not widely applied today, with appropriate experience and thinking this knowledge can be applied and transferred to modern software like Adobe Photoshop. It can help relate modern and classic photography printing processes (traditional vs computerized).

One little remark would be for the publisher. The paper the book is printed is gloss with quite a high reflectance index. This results in making reading the book at certain angles quite impossible for your eyes.

In this book, Adams said Expression is more important than reality, idea more important than fact, the print more important than its subject. For it is only in the print that such magnificence can be unfailingly orchestrated. Those words made me think that what is good photograph. The book opens with a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit brief, history of photography before getting down to explain printing techniques.

The majority of the text concentrates it's efforts in educating the reader in the art of B&W photography. This book tells readers that what are good prints making techniques. After reading this book you will feel like that your printing skills are very improved. The reader will see many wonderful pictures as examples, that will surely create a better impression as to what type of pictures Adams takes.

The New York Yankees are the most popular and successful franchise in major league baseball history. They have boasted such legendary performers as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Reggie Jackson. Those great players and teams can all be found in The New York Yankee Encyclopedia, the most complete record of Yankee baseball ever published.

An in-depth volume that include statistics on every Yankee player and manager, more than 250 classic photos, chapters on different Yankee eras, rivalries, ball parks, and much more

The New York Yankees are the most popular and successful franchise in major league baseball history. They have boasted such legendary performers as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Reggie Jackson. Those great players and teams can all be found in The New York Yankee Encyclopedia, the most complete record of Yankee baseball ever published. From their humble beginnings in 1903 as the Highlanders through nine decades of unforgettable players, teams, and classic games, noted baseball author and historian Harvey Frommer has compiled everything about the history and lore of this fabled club in the one book no true Yankee fan can afford to be without.

Here is the ultimate reference for baseball's most storied team.The "Bronx Bombers" have won 35 American League pennants and 24 World Series championships, and have boasted such legendary performers as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Reggie Jackson. 250 photos.

I bask in the loveliness of being the fan of the baseball team of the millenium! The Yankees have won for three consecutive years and there is no stopping them! I have Yankee fever. I like a book that describes the history of this amazing team and its past accomplishments. I marvel at the fact that so many great players have been part of this team. I also enjoyed reading the stats of past players and the rookies. This is a book that every Yankees' fan should own. Go Yankees!

Many, many years ago I read this book to my former husband as a bedtime story. The book occasioned one of the few instances in which I laughed so hard I cried. Now I have a new husband and a new copy of the book. Who says you can't go back.

Okay, before you read too far into this review, keep in mind that I am only 13, and haven't read as many books as some of the other reviewers on this page, but I have read enough to know that I love this book. It's a fantasy lover's book. If you like E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other books by A. A. Milne, you will certainly enjoy this book as well. With a exciting plot, and humerous but loveable characters, this book is a must have.

Okay, before you read too far into this review, keep in mind that I am only 13, and haven't read as many books as some of the other reviewers on this page, but I have read enough to know that I love this book. It's a fantasy lover's book. If you like E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other books by A. A. Milne, you will certainly enjoy this book as well. With a exciting plot, and humerous but loveable characters, this book is a must have.

A.A.Milne wrote this fairytale after being in the army during WWI. the story is basically about how easy it is to get into war (and over very stupid reasons), and how no one REALLY wants to hurt every one, but they just want to look out for their own interests. The charecters are not your typical bad-vs-good and each one can be lovable in his or her own way, and there are also wonderful little stories inside the major plot line. one of the BEST books I have ever read.

This book is a wonderful story about a king, princess and an "evil" countess. The king, King Merriwig of Euralia, is in love with the Countess Belvane. Belvane has her sights set on becoming queen of Euralia. However, Princess Hyacinth is suspicious of how the countess acts. So the Princess enlists the help of Prince Udo from Araby. When Belvane finds out, she wishes for something humorous to happen to the prince on his journey - and it does! Now, Hyacinth must stop Belvane, help the prince all while keeping him from falling in love with the countess!

A. A. Milne has done it again with this story of pure fantasy. He did not write this book for children, as he states in his introduction, yet it is fun and exciting for all ages. If you need a great bedtime story, check this book out. Would you care for some light reading? "Once On A Time" is the book for you. I recommend this book with a happy heart and hope you will feel the same way too!

This just might be the most awesome book about my hometown of NYC. The artwork is fabulous and this book is put together so well. Its shown me things I never saw. I think being a tourist in your own town is great.

I'll disregard the book's one glaring omission--Saarinen's TWA Terminal at JFK is not included--and give it a five. Well written.

and come back and sit and look at this book.

Bet you missed a lot on each street.

Then go out again and do it all over.

A real treat.

The title might have been 1,000 of the BEST buildings in New York City. No city in America, and few the world over, contain the mind-boggling ensemble of outstanding urban architecture, both historic and modern, as does New York City. This city is a national and world treasure, and all of Manhattan SHOULD be a UNESCO World Heritage site, but, alas... There's simply no comparison possible. This book is a survey of 1,000 outstanding structures in the city, properly chosen in my opinion, each including a black & white photograph and short descriptive essay. With so much wonderful material from which to choose, the book is a real feast of architectural goodness! Because it isn't as exhaustive as White & Willensky, it is more thorough in coverage of the selected buildings. It's well put together. Good buildings. Nice photography. Well written short essays. Covers the five boroughs well.

America's peninsular cities; San Francisco, New York, Charleston and Boston also happen to contain the best architecture. Hmm...

Every once in a while I'll walk down a street of my busy city and spot a building that I'd never seen before, or, if I had seen it, never paid it much mind. But something about it--its age or its architecture--tells me that there's a story to be told about it. Judith Dupre, Bill Harris, and photographer Jorg Brockmann in their monumental book, "One Thousand New York Buildings", fill in the gaps left behind in the AIA books.

There are hundreds of buildings that, for whatever reason, have escaped landmark status and/or the attention of New Yorkers. Although "One Thousand New York Buildings" does discuss the familiar structures, like the Empire State Building, the Woolworth Building, and Grand Central Station, it also devotes equal time to those that have been ignored or overlooked. What are those tiny, Colonial style houses on Harrison and Greenwich Streets? How old is that building at 2 White Street? Who lived in those somber buildings at 130-132 MacDougal Street? "One Thousand New York Buildings" answers these and hundreds of other questions. In this sense, this book is much like "New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buidlings and Landmarks" by Christopher Gray and Suzanne Braley, in as much as it pays equal tribute to the famous and not so famous structures.

One last note, this is a solidly put together book. The binding is sturdy, the paper thick and glossy, and the photos are clear and intriguing. It as well constructed as the buildings they pay homage to.

Having read just about all of the Nero Wolfe series, I have to say, this one contains all of the elements that make Rex Stout's detective novels wildly entertaining, without most of the elements that make some of them maddening

In this mystery, the utterly unswashbuckling Wolfe is revealed, in his younger, svelter days, to have been quite a romantic. Not only did he fight on the anti-Imperial side in Montenegro during the Great War, but he adopted and may even have actually sired a young girl.

To his shock, this young Yugoslav maiden--whom he had lost track of--reappears in his life, up to her neck in a particularly messy, intricate affair that may or may not include missing diamonds, a dead body or two, international intrigue, and a bellboy's uniform. For all of the peeks into Wolfe's previously unsuspected soul, he remains as crumudgeonly and as immovable as ever. Archie Goodwin, of course, remains the wisecracking, milk-drinking sidekick, flirting with anything in a skirt and even giving a Nazi agent a black eye just for the fun of it.

The joy of these books is their marriage of the American gumshoe attitude and the British cozy focus on character. Where they generally fall short is their plotting. This entry in the series is, without a doubt, the most successfully rounded out of the lot. Stout manages to keep the mystery truly mysterious, and yet never manages to confuse the reader so thoroughly that s/he can't find the exit. The plot actually ends on the last page--many of the Nero Wolfe mysteries fizzle out, wrapping up a chapter or two before the end, leaving nothing but rumination and grumbling for the final pages. Others seem never quite to wrap up all the loose ends. Here, the conclusion is both inevitable and unexpected--utterly satisfying.

Over My Dead Body is the seventh in the Nero Wolfe series. A young lady claiming to be Wolfe's adopted daughter from Yugoslavia asks for his help with a charge of stealing diamonds but this quickly evolves into a situation where she is suspected of murder. The case frustrates Wolfe no end, it gets more complicated all the while, but of course he manages to uncover the solution by the end of the story.

This book is a prime example of a Nero Wolfe novel. Archie Goodwin is in top form as a wise cracking pain-in-the-neck. Inspector Cramer is present more than a lot of stories giving Goodwin plenty of opportunities for zingers besides the ones he routinely fires at Wolfe. Wolfe himself is definitely out of his comfort zone dealing with the situation of his adopted daughter and this also adds to the potential for laughs.

This is a very entertaining book and I would recommend it for readers unfamiliar with Nero Wolfe as a great place to start or for established fans.

In this Nero Wolfe mystery-one of the earlier episodes-we encounter Wolfe's adopted daughter, who is in a bit of a fix. Wolfe comes to the rescue and along the way, shares little glimpses into his past: his tumultuous youth in Europe; the origins of his suspicion of all women; how he came to adopt a child. In this book, probably more than any other in Rex Stout's series, do we see the effect that women-especially those from the former nation of Yugoslavia-have upon Wolfe's psyche. It's a good read-a good mystery with a great plot-like pretty much all of Stout's works.

This book hits on all cylinders. The plot is excellent, intricate but clear. The characters are well drawn. The atmosphere, New York on the eve of World War II, is almost palpable. The dialogue is perfect. I'm at a loss as to what else to say about the book except, "Read it."

A Britsh undercover agent is murdered at a Manhattan fencing school, skewered by an epee with a gizmo attached that turns it into a weapon sans blunt end. Yugoslav women who are instructors there are possible suspects, one of whom is Nero Wolfe's adopted daughter from his days as an ill advised Austrian agent in the Balkans, pre World War, before we started numbering them. This alone is a startling revelation about Wolfe. Wolfe slender? Youthful? Abroad, outside, involved with people? I was astonished.

As usual, the beer drinking, orchid collecting, erudite, corpulent food lover Nero Wolfe declines, under any circumstances, to leave his brownstone abode with a greenhouse rooftop for his rare flowers. Using Archie, his assistant, as legs, Wolfe solves the baffling case. I knew he would. He's solved all the other mysteries in the Nero Wolfe books I've read.

Mystery fans who have not read mysteries from the golden age (pre-1950) do not know what they are missing. There is no sex to lure the lascivious reader, very little violence, no profanity. What there is (and this book is an excellent example of the sub-genre) is intelligence.
That's a rare commodity in most modern mysteries.

This is, at once, one of the best books in the series and one which translated brilliantly to TV on the A&E series.

Rex Stout decides to deal us a little shock in this one: Nero Wolfe, woman-hater, has a daughter he's not seen since she was a baby. She comes from Yugoslavia to New York, unknown to her pops, and gets into a real tight spot involving murder by "coldymort."

When Archie learns this, he considers resigning on the basis of his boss's morals. You just have to read this one to find out.

Or, again, buy the A&E series - they did a great job here.

I don't typically give reviews on books, but I really felt compelled to do so for Paranoia. As somebody who wasn't sure if I had lost a loved one in the attacks (I didn't, and my heart goes out to those that did), I found the premise to be interesting. The characters seem to come to life in your mind's eye so easily that it really let's you focus on what is taking place in the story. The writing style of the author flows nicely, making the book that much easier to read.

The chapters were long enough to tell a good portion of storyline, yet short enough that you could flip ahead and say "OK, I'll read one more chapter before bed" several times before actually going to bed.

I would highly recommend this book and am looking forward to future writings from this author.

After reading the reviews for J. E. Braun's novel, I needed to see for myself it lived up to its hype. I can tell you it undeniably does. In addition to a well-crafted and intriguing storyline, the novel possesses a remarkably compelling inner dialogue. As the main character, Jim is simultaneously fragile, sardonic, insightful and oblivious. Through his multifaceted personality, we find one frank, and pleasantly wry, man's struggle to keep himself together, despite his tragic experiences. Both a round and dynamic character, Jim is relatable, likeable and humorous. As we read, we yearn for him to overcome not only the events of which he was a victim, but also his own missteps. Despite his extreme circumstances and choices, Jim comes off as someone we all could know, showing how close to the breaking point we all really are. As we root for him to overcome, we also embrace the idea that we all can overcome these tragedies. This is a riveting look at the psychology of the human mind and endurance of the human spirit!

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Jim is sitting at the desk in his office, playing solitaire, bored with what has become the unchallenging routine of his job. It just so happens, though, that his office is located in the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, and when he hears the unmistakable sound of an approaching jet engine, he, like the others who rush with him to the window, can never imagine the full scope of the horror they are about to experience.

Barely escaping with his life, Jim soon begins to struggle with the enormity of the events that comprised the worst terrorist attack ever waged on American soil. Understandably, the entire foundation of his well-being is shaken to the roots - an apt metaphor for the United States citizenry at large. Rather than lose his mind in a swift snap of insanity, though, Jim slowly descends into an increasingly introverted world of psychic shadow, one in which the certainty of the present yields to both the haunting spectre of the past and the instability of the future.

What follows in Paranoia, the debut novel by J.E. Braun, is a series of disjointed flashbacks to which Jim surrenders mind, body, and spirit. Each flashback highlights, in vivid detail, a defining moment in Jim's life that signifies yet another twisted turn down the inward spiral of his devolution: his escape to his aunt's remote Colorado farm; his continued efforts to rationalize the reasons for his worsening neurosis; the departure of his wife and son, who can no longer traverse the emotional distance required to connect with him. Through each subsequent "phase" of his new existence, Braun, by degrees, pulls the reader further and further into Jim's increasingly darker world, deftly intermarrying his physical reactions with the spiritual impetuses that give them life.

Ultimately, Jim yields to his self-serving paranoia, even going so far as to charge himself with the duty of tracking potential terrorists. His justification: there were people who knew and unwittingly interacted with the airline hijackers in the days leading up to the September 11th terrorist attacks, and, if they had been more vigilant, the entire tragic ordeal could have been avoided...in his patriotic haste, though, Jim fails to realize that the appearance of guilt doesn't always equate to actual culpability - and when his actions lead to the shedding of innocent blood, he is forced to ask himself who the true terrorist really is...

Paranoia is an interesting, engaging read that touches on significant topics and issues that many would prefer to avoid. Rather than serve as an incendiary call-to-arms against ideological extremes, though, it actually pulls off the opposite effect of forcing the reader to question why such action ever becomes necessary - regardless of the circumstances that spark it. Through compelling storytelling, Braun skillfully manages to engender just the sort of raw introspection that is so quickly - and needlessly - avoided in this era of obsession with all things politically correct.

I would highly recommend this novel. Aside from finding it incredibly entertaining I found it to be a poignant look at one of the most significant events of recent times. The author took an extremely sensitive topic and told an emotional and intriguing story with a great deal of grace and skill. I particularly enjoyed the interesting style in which the author intertwined multiple storylines which made the book nearly impossible to put down. I am truly looking forward to reading future works by this author.

As someone who lives in the NY/NJ area that had family and friends directly affected by the tragedy at the World Trade Center, I wasn't sure how I would react to this book. However, the premise was intriguing to me--"what if the terrorists won with just one man," so I decided to give it a chance--it was a decision well-rewarded. Braun's style of writing was concise and visual, and he crafted his characters in a way that made them entirely believable and even vaguely familiar. I've read a number of books over time and I can give this book the best praise I have; I didn't want to put it down, and looked forward to my next chance to pick it up to follow along on Jim's journey as he coped with terrible circumstances. I definitely recommend it!

I read this book first in the 1980s, while I was actually working in the theater (and I had met a few of the people talked about in the book). What I like about it so much is that Goldman expresses his opinions, especially about the fare on Broadway at the time (not so good), the deficiencies of some of the actors and actresses and his sweeping view of the whole milieu. I don't always agree with him, but he's so incisive that you gain enormous respect for him, particularly when he's writing about Judy Garland, Sandy Dennis and Tom Stoppard. Students of theater history should turn to this book to find out what a bygone era (before huge corporations and nonprofits took over Broadway) was all about.

This book is it. It's just it. If you have any inclination at all to work in the theatre in any capacity, this book is required reading. Do not move to New York without it. I did, and I barely barely survived the few days it took me to find a copy. Order it now while you still have time! I'm serious!

William Goldman is not only a great screenwriter, but a wonderful writer of prose/criticism, as evidenced by "The Season," probaby the smartest, if not funniest, book ever written about the (sorry) state of Broadway. Here he tells you all you would want to know about the making of a Broadway show--all the compromises, betrayals, fits of ego, and under-the-table deals that keep the "fabulous invalid" (a phrase, by the way, that makes Mr. Goldman want to vomit) alive for another season. As a lover of theater, you may become depressed at the cynical machinations that go on to get what is, after all, usually pretty mediocre material to the stage; however, Mr. Goldman's prose is so crisp and entertaining that your spirit is ultimately lifted by his keen analysis. Although the patient is very sick, here's a doctor who has a prescription to offer. And all through the book, he does offer suggestions on how Broadway can better serves us, the theatergoers. Alas, the advice wasn't followed then (the late 60s), and it's not being followed today.

This is an extraordinary book. It is written by an author with a first class mind and genuine curiosity about his subject. Whilst one may not agree with all of it, the writing is a delight and he does not shirk dealing with controversial issues such as the influence of homosexuality on the stage and the corrupt financial practices in relation to theatre tickets, etc. Even though it was written for the 1967-1968 season, it still resonates and viewed in retrospect, it provides crucial evidence relative to the aetiology of the culture wars.

William Goldman's groundbreaking book The Season is all it's cracked up to be and more. Though a number of the people he deals with are no longer with us, many of the shows have been forgotten, and the ticket prices are quite a bit higher, it's astonishing how much the Broadway of the late 1960s resembles the Broadway of today. The same problems, the same headaches, the same disappointments, and the same triumphs are all still a part of the Great White Way. No Broadway enthusiast should be without this book; The Season is a stunning history--and current events--lesson on Broadway theatre.

We've Come This Far is an insider's inside look at a pillar of African American Christianity, Abyssinian Baptist Church. Bob Gore's skill as a photographer and his commitment to his faith are evident on each page of this lovingly crafted work. In some cultures in the world, taking a photograph of a person is looked at with trepidation because it is believed to be an attempt to capture the subject's soul. And that's exactly what Mr. Gore has done in this book and there is no need for fear. The pictures and accompanying essays capture real life/real time moments in the broad scope of the life and spirit of this historic church.

I've never been to New York, and I've never been to a black Baptist church. But the spirit of this institution- its leaders and worshippers- absolutely radiate off the pages of this book. It is unbelievably inspiring. It would make an excellent gift for any liberal Christian activist you know, for a pastor or clergy member working hard to integrate the church into the community, or for yourself. The text is also beautifully formatted, and the history and descriptions are very accessible. The primary focus is always on the black and white photos found on almost every page. Beautiful.

The rich and vibrant history of Abysinnian Church and the Harlem community is revealed in this work by Bob Gore. The photos are of such superior quality that you can feel the message conveyed in the picture without using the text. With the additon of text there is a wonderful account of the Harlem experience, chock full of information about the history and the individual personal expressions of those who were there when it happened. This photographic journal is vibrant and colorful in both word and image. There are real accounts of Abysinnian Baptist Church's history, including it's spiritual, political, social and economic relationships with the communities that it serves. I urge you to consider this book not just for reading but also as an important addition to your library.

I've been to Abyssinian only twice, but was almost overwhelmed each time with the power of commitment and community. Bob Gore's book captures with warmth and intimacy the spirit of this special place and its people. It is the only church I've been to where I felt that power of love which Christianity must have carried through the centuries.

this book will move you. i have viewed many photo books and exhibits and have found many to be interesting and technically proficient. this book easily jumps those hurdles, but more importantly, the images on these pages reach out of their simple wood pulp shelter to touch your heart.

white, black, or blue; gospel lover or country western, you owe it to yourself to spend time with this group of deeply felt images.

buy two copies.