New York Books

Juan Gonzalez was the first journalist to grasp the impact of the environmental disaster of 9/11. His article on October 26, 2001 said what some of us already sensed: Contrary to the 'good news' being sold like sugarcoated poison by government officials who wanted Wall Street back up and running, the air was dense with astronomical levels of asbestos, lead, dioxin, mercury and hundreds of unpronouncable contaminants including some that had never previously existed.

Fallout is in this tradition of groundbreaking journalism.

Unfortunately Gonzalez is so ahead of the pack that when I showed his article to my son and exhusband, whom I was trying to convince that our son should not remain at Stuyvesant High School, four blocks north of the World Trade Center, they dismissed it as a red herring.

Fallout is a compelling account of this environmental disaster which may ultimately claim more lives than the attacks themselves.

Jenna Orkin
World Trade Center Environmental Organization

Finally someone has the guts to print the truth about the toxic air at Ground Zero. For those of us who were there and who are experiencing the medical consequences of having been exposed to these toxic chemicals, Gonzalez's book explains in understandable language why we are sick and what we are likely to experience in the future. Americans need to know the truth, especially the thousands of men and women from around the country who volunteered their time at Ground Zero and are likely to suffer the medical consequences of having done so, either now or in the future. Fallout is a must read for all Americans.

This is an extremely disturbing book. Perhaps because along with the well-documented facts concerning the unprecedented toxic environmental fallout from 9/11, it is the shocking realization that it's not just the NYC and federal goverment cover-up of this story -- it is the citizens themselves collectively turning away from the horrible reality of this disaster.

The national media has not pursued the obvious leads -- the common sense questions -- but Mr. Gonzales has. And the logical conclusion of this story, in the not-too-distant future, is a public health nightmare that will have the media self-righteously condeming Giuliani and Whitman in hindsight as bearing responsibility for perhaps thousands more deaths.

The story from 9/11 that the media immediately created was of the heroes and victims. We remember them, and try to forget the horror of the collapsing towers. But if we are a truely a courageous nation, we will look clearly and not turn away from the terrible reality that ground zero represents. That is what I think this book is really about -- there are facts and consequences of 9/11 that have not yet been dealt with. And closing our eyes and wishing them away simply won't work.

Americans are being deceived. In this stunning piece of investigative reporting which should be awarded a Pulitzer Prize, Juan Gonzalez reveals the horrible truths about the environmental impacts of the 9-11 disaster. Asbestos abounded. The many heroes who helped to clean and console may face excruciating deaths thanks to suppressed and inaccurate information.

Our sacred institutions are rotten. Every American citizen should read this brief but incendiary work which speaks truth to power unflinchingly. If we do not quickly institute major changes which make our leaders and representatives truly responsible for telling the truth to the American public, however unpleasant, we may be facing the end of American democracy as we have known it and believed in it.

Where are the Thomas Paines and Thomas Jeffersons of the twenty-first century? We desperately need your voices and leadership!

I live 5 blocks north of Ground Zero and have attended hearings and forums and read hundreds of articles, studies memos and reports about the post 9/11 environmental issues in Lower Manhattan. But my jaw dropped when I read Juan Gonzalez' book - here are the missing pieces, the things I'd heard but was never able to find in print - and lots of insider information that only someone as dedicated to this story as he was could have. It is a clear, readable summary of the case against the EPA, OSHA, NYC DEP - and, de facto, an indictment of all those newspapers whose reportage consistently minimized the issue. Not since the Vietnam War has there been so much media "disinformation."

If you live or work in lower Manhattan and/or have any interest in the true story of how our government knowingly and intentionally jepordized the lives and health of the rescue workers, residents and workers downtown after 9/11 while ensuring that their own health was well protected, this book is a "must read."

Juan Gonzalez is to be commended for his courage in bucking his editors to continue to cover this story.

It is simply one of the most inspiring and novel books ever written about film production: Jean-Pierre Geuens' FILM PRODUCTION THEORY. This is not a "how to" book, it is a book that raises strategic questions about what we perceive as standard filmmaking practices and accepted aesthetic (professional) norms. What Geuens sets out to do is to open the potential filmmaker's mind to alternate ways of "skinning the cat" or alternate approaches to filmmaking from various significant aspects: screenwriting, composition, staging, sound, editing and even direction. The book is literally a testament to the benefits (and the pain) of thinking differently- of going against the grain and standing your ground. Geuens reveals the real reason anyone should go to film school and it is not to make a delightful reel of your work that imitates hollywood production values and conceits... He reminds us that what we love about certain filmmakers was born from those particular individual's unwillingness to conform- to challenged the pre-existing notions; so therefore this book inspires you to challenge, to explore, to take risks and more importantly to appreciate the risks and challenges taken by others. It is the kind of book that could be read simultaneously with any "standard" required film production book. Geuens repeats the rules and then reveals to you how others have broken the rules and still made provocative,groundbreaking and classic work. For graduate students, Geuens puts various thinkers (Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Nietzche and Bazin) to great use and allows their thoughts to be easily understood in the context of film production. For the practicing (struggling) filmmaker, Geuens renews your faith in the differences between your work and "hollywood", your work and the conventional, the unique experiences of your soul and the "system". The lignt that permeates Geuens work is that he forces you to decide whether you are trying to really make films or trying," to use filmmaking to secure the easy life." (pg. 256) All in all this was a compelling, throughly engaging and necessary read for anyone interested in film, films studies, film production and film criticism.

I picked up this book thinking it would be a dry treatise about lighting and camera direction etc. But having not attended film school I thought it'd be good information to lay under my practical film Production experience.

...and it certainly opened my eyes.

This is a book for filmmakers, film critics, and those with a deep interest in film.

It does NOT tell you HOW to make a movie. It provides food for thought about the major production decisions that the Producer and/or Director considers when making a motion picture.

It is an extremely "thinky" book. Moored in the French New Wave, American Zoetrope and to a lesser extent Spanish and Italian cinema. It praises experimentation and asks the reader to consider the effect of everything that they will put into the film. Likewise, the author derides "Hollywood" for sacrificing the potential of the motion picture as art form in order to accumulate as much money as can be made. While this feeling is prevelant throughout the text, it is refreshingly not overbearing.

The book reads like a series of lectures about film theory on such topics as Film School, Writing, Directing, Framing, Lighting, Sound and Editing. In this format it is digestible in small chunks and allows the reader to process what they have read before taking on the next topic.

As an Independent Producer, I found the points in this book to be worthy of consideration as I develop, plan, shoot, and finish my projects. I don't agree with everything he says, but he says it in such a way as to help me understand the impact of my decisions (e.g. to shoot on location vs. on a soundstage). I could easily see myself skimming through this text before any project to help me frame my approach. This is as much a testament to its depth and density as it is to its worth.

It is a new century, a new reality... Hail the new art form! one that will only 100 years of life awaits to be fully and beautifully exploited by new kinds of filmmakers, artists, philosophers, dreamers and siners!

This is the one book you need to read to fully understand the capabilities of Cinema as a true art form, not an obscene business.

Thank you Mr. Geuens, blessings to your creatively anarchic mind.

BUY THIS BOOK!!!

First I thought what could this book tell me what I didn't know already. But then I realized this is not just about filmmaking, this book is about you and me and what we call life. It's a story of looking behind the curtain and seeing the wizzard but not giving up your dream. Deeply inspiring and ultimatly insightful, this is the one text everybody who cares about movies should read. I read this book in a day and I hope Mr. Geuens will continue to write. So fasten your seatbelt and be prepared to see your preconceived ignorance shatter into a thousand little pieces and out of it will rise a new outlook on life and the movies.

Film Production Theory is an exciting and important book. Most importantly, the book outlines what is at stake aesthetically and philosophically in what appear to be merely technical considerations that enter into the making of film. Unlike many other works that focus upon the finished product, or, upon the personalities behind the product, Geuen's book focuses upon the techniques of cinema, with an eye to clarify what are the assumptions about the nature of cinema that are implicit in those techniques. For example, with respect to screenwriting Geuens points out that the standardized approach to screenwriting, in which dialogue is the most prominent feature and camera movement and angles are for the most part deliberately left out, implies that film is about story first and image second and also implies a less than fully collaborative relationship between writers and directors. Of course some writers and directors do collaborate very effectively -- but in doing so they are going against a trend that is implicit in the mainstream traditions of filmmaking, traditions that make it difficult for filmmakers to, say, let images and settings be the impetus for a creative and improvisational approach to telling stories. In addition to screenwriting, Geuens gives very helpful and detailed analyses of the nature of film school, the techniques of directing and lighting and cinematography and sound and editing. In all this, he is not simply aiming to criticize the way films usually get made, or the techniques that get applied to filmmaking, but primarily to show that such techniques pretend to be the best and only professional way to do things when in fact there have been remarkable films made differently and with far different results. In fact, the first few chapters of the book are attempts to understand why and how the "Hollywood system" came to be what it has become, what impact it has had culturally, and along the way to consider and highlight paths that were never or rarely taken. Sometimes Geuens can get a bit heavy handed and he is certainly not without his own strong views, but the book as a whole works to open up and clarify and illuminate the process of filmmaking. He is extremely well read in philosophy and critical theory and film theory, and draws upon ideas from people like Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty and Deleuze and many others, but never simply in the form of obscure name dropping. His references to such thinkers almost never fail to be both extremely helpful on the nature of film and quite clear in its summary of the often obscure thoughts of difficulty philosophers. The book is both an exceptional guide for the aspiring filmmaker and a powerful complement to works of film theory that focus on the product rather than the process. I consider the book the most important book on film I have read in a very long time, and can't recommend it highly enough.

Reynolds uses a panoramic camera for the views in this book. Whether one cares for this sort of photo with itsunconventional proportions may be a matter of taste. The subjects represented are fairly conventional for this sort of picture book, and several similar volumes about the Finger Lakes are available. Little textual information is provided. On the other hand, Reynolds is a photographer of the first rank, with a good eye and technical command of the medium. The book is handsome. For this reader, it is less rewarding, however, than his subsequent "Wine Tour of the Finger Lakes," where the pictorial subjects are less predictable, while the informative text by Grady Wells makes the content more substantive. That one is a full five stars!

I live in the Finger Lakes area (Elmira) and I have either driven, hiked, or bicycled around all the lakes and sailed across several. This is a wonderful piece of work and all scenes are easily recognized. A great compilation.

The pictures are beautiful. Mr. Reynolds is a top knotch photographer. You can tell much time and effort was put into this book.

As a previous resident of the Finger Lakes area, I can personally vouch for the beauty of the area. Mr. Reynolds has captured it as well as any human being can capture the glory of nature's beauty. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a taste for looking at beautiful places, beautifully photographed. Mr. Reynolds has presented an excellent talent with this beautiful book. I look forward to his next effort.

This book reminds all of us who live in the Finger Lks, how beautiful this area is, and how lucky we are to live here. GREAT JOB KRIS!

All I could say when I was finished was "why didn't I see that coming?" A great story by a very talented writer. I was going to give this 4 stars out of anger, because Ferrenz didn't give me MORE!!!

One writer to another -- Great job Barb!

If you've ever thought of being a horror writer, or if you ARE a horror writer, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I'm a struggling writer myself, and I couldn't believe how much I identified with the protagonist and how real the conventions seemed. The strains our solitary avocation put on a marriage seemed too familiar, too.

Since I don't normally read mysteries, I can't comment on how well it fits the format of the genre, but I will say that it held my interest, moved swiftly, and didn't disappoint.

In Edgewater, Maryland, Mary Kate Flaherty has problems with her husband Chuck and her two children over the time she spends on writing and selling her novels as well as their belief she writes trashy erotica vampire tales. Known as the Queen of Vampires with the alias Theodora Zed, her family members also resent her attending conventions though that is what sells the books and buys their luxuries like designer sneakers.

Currently, in her Theodora persona, she attends Bloodcon in Atlanta where wannabe writer Randall Valentine disparages her work as trash in a public panel. Not long afterward, her shoe is found near the corpse of Randall, who has two small puncture wounds in his neck. The police question Theodora with only fellow writer Connor Drake, who has loved her forever, on her side. When a second murder similar to the first "Vampire Killer" slaying occurs in New York while Theodora is in town, the author knows she must risk her life to uncover the identity of a murderer even as her marriage is collapsing.

Though the identity of the "Vampire Killer' seems unreasonable and Mary Kate's husband is an idiot, WORSE THAN DEATH is a pleasant amateur sleuth tale. The story line allows the audience to see behind the scenes at a convention and the impact on a family when a member attends a lot of these. The two bites are cleverly explained and the heroine's willingness to risk her life to solve the case makes for a fine reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Worse Than Death is a glimpse into the bizarre subculture of the devotees and the wannabe authors of the horror writers convention circuit. The protagonist of this interesting and well-plotted story of deceit, infidelity and homicidal pathology is an anonymous mother and housewife, Mary Kate. She haunts the meat counter at the Farm Fresh supermarket and strip mall pharmacy blighting the tranquil tobacco country of her southern Maryland suburb. But Mary Kate bangs out pulp vampire novels in the upstairs chambers of her old house. The reader is warned early in the story of the strains in her marriage. She has kissed her husband, hugged her children and flown off to a few too many conventions. There she squeezes into thin black leather and balances on stiletto heels and joins her fellow struggling authors. As vampire author Theodora Zed she stokes the fantasies of the fans who swarm like flies to themes of sex and murder.

Barbara Ferrenz crafts a very creditable story as neck-punctured bodies follow her to city after city. There is no shortage of suspects. Her husband has grown distant. A former priest pilgrimages against her brand of Satanism. Her fans only just contain their adolescent sexuality as they gaze on Theodore's tightly wrapped chest. Her best friend's boyfriend lusts for her, protecting her even as they are stalked by an unknown killer.

The story is a quick moving engagement of the unexpected with the ordinary. In the end everything is as it should be, but nothing is the same.

Mary Kate, also known as Theodora Zed, Queen of the Vampires, is a mid-list writer of vampire romances. Theo promotes her books at weekend horror conventions and bookstore signings, much to the disgust of her husband, who would much rather have a conventional wife, and the embarrassment of her children, whose friends pass around her books at school. For Theo, promotion is just part of the job.

But, when a writer who insulted her at one of her panels turns up dead, though, Theodora has a motive and looks like a suspect. Or perhaps she's being targeted as one of the next victims. The Vampire Killer always seems to know where she is, and strange things keep happening when she and fellow writer Connor are in the vicinity.

This is a fun, fast paced mystery with unexpected twists and turns. The central characters are well drawn and credible. Mary Kate, although perhaps a bit naive, is a woman of integrity, determined to do the right thing no matter what. Descriptions of her circle of friends and acquaintances in the writing and publishing community struck a familiar chord. I am looking forward to reading more books by Barbara Ferrenz.

When the first edition came out, I purchased the first copy. I used several of the resources to move my apartment and found the book to be right on the money as far as the recommended services and contractors. I tried other resource books, but found that they were driven by advertiser money and not the quality of service. I would recommend the Franklin Report books to anyone looking for qualified home services, repair or contractors. There are a lot of unscrupulous individuals out there in this business and these books help you pick the best based upon actual user recommendations and not by advertising dollars alone. Buy this book, you will be glad you did and it will save you time and money!

Prior to buying the book I looked up some of the service providers I had already used and found that the descriptions provided were exactly as I would have written them! I have hired several more of the companies/people in the book since and again, the descriptions matched my experience. I am very impressed with this book and have recommended it to many people!

Thank goodness someone else has done the groundwork and the research to interview clients and the service providers. What an inspired idea! As a homeowner, this book is such a big help and the answer to any renovator's prayers. The quotes are extremely helpful and the ratings help me, as a consumer, sort through the people I should call. What would have taken hours of phone calls and research and questions only took me thirty minutes because of this book.

This proved to be a very useful and reliable tool for me. It gives an indepth description of each service provider. You can pick out service providers based on which styles the excell in and whether or not they stick to your budget. I think that this is particularly helpful.

Really gives a detailed description for each service provider. I feel much more comfortable about hiring someone I found from the Franklin Report than some random person from the yellow pages. A "must" for every home.

Hal Glatzer's Fugue In Hell's Kitchen provides a new Katy Green mystery. Katy is no ordinary P.I.: she's a swing violinist in 1939 who helps a friend search for a missing classical manuscript - only to find an investigation into petty theft becomes a fight for life. Gripping, especially with the unusual plot and background setting.

I only wish I were Katy Green! She's the woman I always pictured myself being, but haven't yet become. I love the way she comes at the crime and the criminal---not to punish or exact revenge or retribution but to restore the balance of things. And the author seems to have gotten the period and the location just right---New York's Hell's Kitchen just before World War II. You can almost hear the El and smell the exhaust from the cars. I thought the first Katy Green was terrific ("Too Dead To Swing"). but this one is closer to home.

The more I read about Katy Green, the more I wish she was a real person! She's just the sort of person I'd like to know and share musical tales with. The time in which she lives is a bit before mine, unfortunately (I was still in my crib) but still - she's definitely a lady of her time.

Katy is bright and funny and smart and thrifty, and above all--a very talented musician, who can look beyond the notes on the page to pay attention to the world around her. And if that world includes good looking young men, well, why not? She isn't foolish about it, though, which is a good thing.

This tale is set slightly prior to the first book - Too Dead to Swing - so we learn how Katy ended up traveling in that swing band. As a classically-trained musician, she is somewhat of a rarity, being equally capable on violin or saxophone. The period details about New York City in the late 1930s seem right on, although not having been there at that time I can't say for certain. But I'll bet anyone who did live then would be hard put to disprove them, either.

Prejudice rears its ugly head in several ways in this engrossing mystery: it's just prior to WWII, when Oriental persons were looked at in different ways than they are now, and the migration of Southern Blacks to the North was in full flow. Add in a religious young woman from Appalachia, and you have a wonderfully mixed group of talented musicians who are not always capable of seeing beyond their music stands.

Katy follows various threads with the help of a newspaper reporter and finds the solution to several crimes, not just the one she was asked to investigate--the theft of an autograph manscript by the famous Niccolò Paganini. It's a marvelous performance, all around. I'm off to read her next adventure.

It's 1939 in Hell's Kitchen, a New York City neighborhood where even plucky heroines, like Hal Glatzer's Katy Green, fear to venture. Gangs rule the streets, and World War II lurks around the corner. As the Great Depression hangs on, musicians, like Katy Green, conservatory and bandstand trained, scramble for any kind of gig they can get. A couple of bodies turn up at a failing music academy, a pal on the faculty is accused of stealing an original Paganini manuscript, and Katy rushes in to settle scores. Her investigation is well paced, and the ending surprises. Glatzer projects as detailed a rendition of the pre-war era as any cinematographer, with authentic language, cuisine, fashion, sexual mores, and race relations, against the ever-changing backdrop of New York. A Fugue in Hell's Kitchen is time travel without the sugarcoated nostalgia. Yet, traditional mystery readers will be glad to know there's little violence or sexual explicitness. A Fugue in Hell's Kitchen should appeal to anyone who likes jazz or classical music. Like Too Dead To Swing, the first in the Katy Green series, an audio version of A Fugue in Hell's Kitchen will soon be produced. The audio of Too Dead To Swing featured fine music and brilliant actors. What fun! I can't wait to hear the audio version of A Fugue in Hell's Kitchen. But definitely read it first.

In 1939 swing violinist Katy Green is as usual unemployed and walking the pavement (and clubs) for a job. Though she would prefer to say no to her pal cellist Amalia "Am" Lee Chen's request for help, a gig is a gig, but Katy would have preferred a musical job. Instead Am asks Katy to find a priceless Paganini manuscript stolen from her cello case following a performance performed at the prestigious Meyers Conservatory.

Though Katy agrees, she finds the recent death of the conservatory's dean, Iris Meyers a bit more interesting. Katy notices the high note of the tension amidst the faculty reaching discord that along with the disastrous efforts of the deceased's successor, her brother Joseph, threatens the school's existence. .A forgery of the missing composition is returned to Am that leads to the police arresting her for stealing the manuscript. Now the case is personal as Katy follows the musical notes to Harlem trying to find the purloined item even as the conservatory's librarian, know it all, Nina Rovere is killed

Hal Glazer hits all the high notes with this delightful historical cozy that pays homage to various musical styles like swing. Katy is a wonderful lead performer who keeps the tale humming as she digs the scene in an attempt to prove that the arrest of Am is racial due to the imminent war and her friend being of Asiatic descent. Fans of historical who-done-its starring a wonderful amateur sleuth working the mean streets of the Manhattan club scene will sing in harmony with FUGUE IN HELL'S KITCHEN and want to resonate about Katy's previous number, TOO DEAD TO SWING.

Harriet Klausner

A superb book - lots of fun - but digestible only in little bites. There is a lot of information in here!

This book is a must read - it was so entertaining and funny, I had pop comming out of my nose laughing! And my friends and I had a great time sitting around the piano playing and singing the composed musice enclosed! We even added a few lyrics of our own to the already hilarious lyrics ;-)
Have Fun!

If you share my growing concern at the musical cross-over tendencies in synagogue songs and how "un-Jewish" much of today's Jewish music sounds, you'll find a charming antidote in Dr. Jack Gottlieb's new and original coffee table book: Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish. Gottlieb's earnest musical detective comparisons and analyses invite us into joyfully playing the "sounds like" game. After we chuckle in consternation, at the Yiddish or liturgical roots of a pop song's pedigree, we marvel at the truism that there seems to be "nothing new under the sun"; especially under the show biz music lights.

Gottlieb loves to make puns and burst bubbles. This effervescently entertaining study is filled with anecdotes, song sheet covers, musical illustrations, photos of composers and performers, and even an accompanying Audio CD to bring home his astute assertions.

Some of my favorites include: Did you realize that -

George Gershwin's It Ain't Necessarity So is kin to the Torah blessing Barachu Et Adoshem Ham'vorach?

The Torah cantillation for Merchaw R'via inspired both Bach's Oh Sacred Head Now Wounded and Paul Simon's American Tune?

Rozhinkes Mit Mandlin prompted Irving Berlin's Blue Skies.... and my all time favorite

I Am A Gay Caballero, I'm back again from Janeiro is both Y'hei sh'mei rabah m'vorach from the Kaddish and Ashrei yoshvei veitecha od y'hall'lucha selah

Are you curious to follow Gottlieb's unearthing of more of these amusing affinities? There are dozens of other examples, some more apparent than others, but all will cause you to "aha!" pause, smile, and, most importantly, think about what we consider immutable Jewish traditional melodies.

Dr. Gottlieb is an engaging author and lecturer (this book began as a touring presentation with him at the piano). He is a published composer of both secular and synagogue music who most recently was honored by The Milken Archive of American Jewish Music when it distributed a CD of his works on the Naxos label. He is also a meticulous researcher, program notes writer, and former assistant to Leonard Bernstein. In all these endeavors it is quite obvious that he is also a passionate lover of all thing musical and Jewish.

We offer kudos to Dr. Gottlieb for this wonderfully endearing study of Jewish melodic ties to mid 20th century pop music and enthusiastically recommend it as both an urbane entertainment and a carefully documented study. Buy it and enjoy!

Over 30 years ago there was a famous ad campaign for a brand of "Jewish rye bread," showing an American Indian eating a deli sandwich, and the caption read, "You Don't have to be Jewish to Like Levy's Rye Bread."

With regard to this book, this was never so true. Anyone who love the "Great American Song Book" spanning the first half of the last century cannot afford to miss this book.

Especially remarkable is that it IS a scholarly book, complete with footnotes and bibliography, but the tone is also so jocular.

The accompanying CD of musical examples alone is worth the cost of the book.

Do yourself a favor - Order this book, but pass on the Most book offered by Amazon.com in tandem. It is hardly as comprehensive and definitely pales by comparison.

Don't be mislead by the title of this book. It isn't glib or lightweight--in fact, it's a brilliant analysis of the subconscious effect synagogue music and Yiddish song have had on our most beloved popular music. When I picked it up (out of curiosity) I found myself mesmerized and couldn't stop reading.

The book is peppered with musical examples that continually evoke "I never realized that song was related to that"! Gottlieb must have spent decades researching this and it seems unbelievably thorough. He doesn't stop at musical analysis; he also includes a good examination of the history behind everything, particularly focusing on the heavy periods of emigration, when most of the (now) well-known Jewish composers came to America. The book made me look at some of the best known popular songs in a new light, yielding a deeper understanding of what went into their creation.

It may seem a little expensive, but you also get a CD packed with great rare recordings that have never been released before (try Bernstein performing Blitzstein's classic "Zipperfly" or Jolson singing "Khazn oyf Shabes" in Yiddish).

Gottlieb decides to pay limited attention to some of the living composers who focus on Jewish themes (for example, Jason Robert Brown and Osvaldo Golijov are only mentioned casually) but I suspect he could write another book on them. Let's hope he does--I would line up to get a copy.

I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in New York's Geology. The map included with the book is an excellent visual aid and for someone like me who is interested in finding fossils gives a good idea of the time periods represented.

A great reference book. My favorite part is the section with the historical diagrams of orogenies, rifting etc. Each diagram shows a time period and how New York was affected. There is also an abundance of information on fossil bearing strata and mineral locations. The book also does a great job with applying most geological processes to New York.

I found this book in the library while doing some research for my own book. I have for the longest time wanted to know what is below ground, what type of rock and stuff is a mile or two or three below me. And this book not only gave me an idea of these things, finally, but it was also just chock full of other little fun facts as well. I've spent hours reading it in the library ...

I tip my hat to the authors, Messrs. Isachsen and Rogers. A very good job. An excellent book for the coffee table, to rally a conversation around. An excellent edition to anyone's personal library.

This Leaflet I found was was very useful for thoses students who are researching particular areas in the Upstate Regions Of New York State. The language used with in the this leaflet is very easy to understand, especially if you are novice to the field of Geology. What is most useful is the many geologic time scales that give a vast amount of information in one page. I found this very useful especailly if I was studing for paleontology and field study classes. I countinue to use this leafel in my class room, mostly to help introduce topics in paeloenvironemnts, plate tectonics, and econmic geology. Each reading, which constits of 10-15 pages, includes questions at the end of each unit. I found these questions not only help to improve teh reading comprehension of my studnets, but also help to insite descussion and further research in these areas.

In spite of it's title, this account, weighing in at 280 pages, is far from "simplified". It is a comprehesive work, with numerous chapters on earth history, plate tectonics, bedrock, surficial materials, mineral resources, hydrogeology, and engineering geology. It is profusely illustrated with charts and diagrams. At least seven State Survey geologists prepared chapters for this book.

The book includes a New York State Geological Highway Map. This is a beautiful 1:1,000,000 scale time/stratigraphic bedrock map of the state, with lots of statigraphic charts and a satelite image A "photo mosaic of the state on the flip side.

Artists should read this book & make note of all the marketing methods Edith Gregor Halpert employed to make it in the art world ... (actually this should be required reading for all gallery owners & curators too...) Come to think of it , anyone involved somehow in art should read this book ... (also , it is interesting how possibly the lead in oil paints caused ear troubles & related brain tumor in those working close to paint- makes one think that is what Van Gogh also suffered from - lead poisoning ...makes one re-evaluate toxicity & proximity as well as ear problems in artists , starting with tinnitus , like a ringing in one's ears ... is madness among artists just lead poisoning ?) ... fascinating stuff...great read ...

Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.

The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.

There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.

It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.

I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....

Fascinating and excellent read.

I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.

Mr. White describes his experiences with training a goshawk for falconry. He has no guidance beyond an ancient manuscript and things go horribly awry. An outstanding book, a pleasure to read. Also an example of why current US regulations require a falconry apprenticeship period.

In 1952 T. H. White was the author of The Sword in the Stone (Essential Modern Classics) and Mistress Masham's Repose. White's researches for "Sword" inspired him to learn the art of falconry.

Gos was an untamed tiercel (male) of the largest European species of the short-winged hawks with a wing spread three inches shorter than a golden eagle. White lived in a cottage in Buckinghamshire wood, and he ordered the bird from a dealer in Germany.

White spends hours trying to dominate Gos, and eventually the endeavor ends in tragedy for Gos. Along the way, White describes the appeal of this ancient sport. It can be very instructive to compare White's experiences with those described by Tim Gallagher in Falcon Fever: A Falconer in the Twenty-first Century. Another useful book on the subject is A Rage for Falcons by by Stephen Bodio; Bodio's insights on the Goshawk are particularly interesting.

Marie Winn has written the introduction. She is a wonderful observer of wildlife, writes an excellent blog called "Marie Winn's Central Park Nature News", and is the author of the enchanting Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park (Vintage Departures).

I share other reviewers's concerns that Winn was not entirely fair to White. As a non-hunting observer of wildlife I empathize with her point of view, but can "Sha-hou" ringing down the centuries be entirely wrong?

I've attached a favorable review that appeared in "Time" when the book first appeared in 1952. I was delighted to find this new and well produced edition of White's classic book.

Robert C. Ross 2008

As a fan of The Once and Future King as well as falconry, I couldn't wait to start reading this book. It is an absolute gem. White's descriptions are extremely vivid. No one should be daunted by the fact that this book was penned in '51 or that it is about falconry; his story is immensely (and enjoyably) readable.

Thanks are due to New York Review Books for putting back in print this wonderful book. The edition is well produced. A quibble is that Marie Winn who writes the introduction is clearly not familiar with ,or comfortable with ,"field sports". T H White (and many modern writers and followers of fishing,falconry and related actities) would take issue with her distinction between being a natural history lover and a practioner of fishing,shooting,ferreting etc. More seriously, she writes that White "blithely snagged salmon". White fished for salmon and caught them fairly using a fly. He wrote many fine passages about his salmon fishing and the pieces are still found in anthologies of fishing literature. To "snag" a salmon means ,to those who fish ,that he took salmon illegally and unsportingly, by jerking a hook into the body of a salmon.There is no evidence that I have heard of that he would ever have done this.To suggest it does his memory a grave disservice. The introduction by Steve Bodio,himself a falconer, to the 1996 Wilder Places edition of The Goshawk is,to my mind, far better at exploring and explaining the reasons why this is a much loved book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, even those with no interest at all in falconry. The author is so skilled and talented that I'd say that he could write an entertaining piece about paint drying. Enjoy!!