History Books

Right from the gitgo Ben Hamper's Rivethead grabs you with gritty gusto of passages such as the above; Hamper is an extraordinary writer about life for the ordinary guy... at least the ordinary guy who winds up as an automotive assembly-line worker for General Motors in Flint, Michigan--once considered the Automobile Capital of the World. The author is a natural shop rat, growing up in Flint, with an alcoholic mostly absentee father and a long-suffering, working-three-jobs mother trying to raise the family as practicing Catholics.

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Brian Wright
Copyright 2008

The endless monotony and idiot bosses drive anybody with an IQ above their shoe size to do something to kill the thought that, if they're lucky, they only have 30 more years of mind numbing drudgery to go before they can retire. I'm not saying alcohol abuse is the proper outlet, but it does seem to be the most common and most convenient. Good book, excellent portrayal of what exactly "blue collar America" does for a living.

Ben Hamper shares his life as a worker on the GM assembly line in Flint, MI. Bold, frank, honest and often hilarious. This book was recommended to me years ago and for some reason I never read it until now. Hamper chronicles a part of American history (manufacturing jobs) that seem to be going stateside or as Ross Perot once described in a quip about NAFTA, what's that whoosing noise? manufacturing jobs headed to Mexico. This is prose for the ages. Loved the book.

I didn't really like reading this book because I too work in a (once) major three Auto plant. I didn't feel that it properly portrayed some of the workers. It made it sound like all workers are like the author where they just really don't give a damn about anything except having a joking time on the job. It also made the workers sound like they were underachieving, undereducated, bottom of the barrel workers and I didn't care to have that stigma for all of us. I hold two bachelor degrees, like my job and take it serious!

I grew up with people like Ben Hamper in a place which was much like Flint. For the first couple years of my adult life, I did the kind of work he did. What he describes is the tail end of a lifestyle; the lifestyle of the shop rat. It's dirty, monotonous and smelly. Many of the people you work with are either below average in intelligence or in sanity. Drugs, booze and having no concept of "forethought" are fundamental parts of the culture. It's nihilism with a rivet gun. If you come from a place like that, chances are, your only way out is via a jail cell or a career in the military. Or, you could win a workmans comp suit. Which is presumably how Ben got out.

I miss rust-belt working class america. It's a hard life, and it doesn't have much in the way of rewards, but the people who make it up are genuine in ways that others are not: they have a lot of heart and spirit. Ben's book brought it all back in a great galloping rush of memories. If you've ever wondered what the factory working classes are, or at least were like (back when we had factories); read the book.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is a story of human spirit and triumph of good over evil. Very inspirational! Wonderful read.

This was one of the best books I ever read. The book was written so well. I wish more books were written about the Holocaust that were this good. 5 Stars!!!

Instead of buying Harry Potter we need more books like this. This was such a beautiful story of hope and courage, strength and determination. It tells history the way it was and I cannot tell you enough how this book touched my heart and my daughters heart. My daughter picked up the book and never put it down, she read the whole thing in 3 days. I could hear her giggle and laugh at some of the funny parts and I could see her tears in some of the sensitive heart moving parts. This book will capture you. Just beautiful
I wish they could make Sareen's story into a movie

God Bless

I read many books on the Holocaust and have always found inspiration and admiration for those people who have experienced such an appalling event and have managed to survive. But this book left me totally disturbed with the graphics given by this amazing woman, Sara Tuvel Bernstein, and I highly commend her for sharing her horrific ordeal.
I recommend everyone should read this book and maybe,just maybe, we will learn something from it... that war is futile, and all people are equal.

True life events .. so well told .. The story is riveting from beginning to end .. I wish I could feel that this will never happen again but I worry that it can and that it will.

This book does not only tell the history of art, at the same time, the history of architecture, since the two are so much interrelated. Therefore, as an architecture student, I recommend you guys to read this book to gain the knowledge of how art and architecture evolve throughout history.

This is a beautiful book with comprehensive text. It is written in common English that anyone should understand. I already have a copy I received as a gift and bought this copy for my grandaughter who will enter college this year to study Art History.

That may sound a bit strange, but this is a great book to take on the plane or train with you -- or even to the beach.

It is a compact volume (though about 1 1/2 inches thick). Because of this compact format the text is in front (thin paper) with the plates in back. Phaidon provides two ribbon bookmarks. That also means that it is easiest to read using both hands.

That said, Gombrich leads the reader along with a style somewhere between a conversation and a lecture -- more like what you might expect from a learned uncle or family friend. Pleasant delivery, but leaving you no doubts about the value of the information that is to be passed along.

There may even be an advantage to having the plates in the back. I found myself dwelling on them perhaps a little longer than if they had been in with the text -- and the text calling for my attention.

You can read this book in long sessions, or in little bits. It doesn't matter, because the information is always there, and in the case of this book, the journey itself is important.

Enjoy.

An excellent book in an easy to read formatt. My professor used it for my art history class. Beautirul illistrations. Highly recommended. Great reference book as well.

For somebody interested in art, a book with many pictures is easy to read and enjoy.

I have looked for a good and intriguing and accurate portrayal of World War One to read and everything I have come across is dry. This is not dry and is very easy to read and is very thought provoking. I really like it; it makes you really question the ideas you have about World War One, and the best part about it - its fun and interesting to read!

I read the other reviews and thought of getting it from the library or buying a used one (cheap) but once I looked at it in the bookstore I was totally sold. It really is a fabulous collection of info with an irresistable story line leading through it. Tough to put down.

Go into the "Look Inside" feature if you can, to see the first page opening quote of Arch Duke Ferdinand. That's what sold me.

I generally read historical fiction or historical books. I have read a number of books on World War one and "The World Undone" is a very good one especially if you are looking for a book that has enough detail to satisfy an urge to learn about the topic without getting bogged down. The book is well written, easy to read and with very useful backgroud chapters on such things as the Hapsburgs, the Ottoman empire and so forth. These background chapters were well placed, provided context that was relevant and made the book that much more enjoyable. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in this topic or in history in general.

Having just finished Doris Kearns Goodwin's wonderful Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, I wouldn't have expected to be blown away by a history, but this one is really impressive! Meyer's sympathy for the characters, his humor, his concern for the needs of his reader and his uncanny ability to make a huge and complex story understandable makes this one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read.

His background sections and photos are interesting and informative, provide greater context or human detail, and a break from the descriptions of the horrendous battles. The brief final section, where he follows up on the lives of the main characters is outstanding. His use of first-hand accounts, anecdotes and memorable quotes kept me involved as in a novel. I read it on my Kindle, where his the maps are pretty much illegible, but his descriptions of are so clear that I didn't feel the loss, as I have in other Kindled texts (Two Years Before the Mast, for example). BTW: The quality of WWI photos is on a par with the ability of the Kindle to display them.

Meyer is that rare writer who appreciates the tactical and strategic issues in creating a narrative of this size and applies that knowledge admirably. After avoiding this subject for years, because of the confusing and piecemeal introduction that I had to this war, I feel that I have a general understanding of it and enough detailed information to pursue a deeper study of those characters, places and events that changed our world so profoundly.

Meyer's work is a good, eminently readable account of the Great War that is a relatively quick read. It avoids getting bogged down in the minutiae of military maneuvers. Unlike Barbara Tuchman's works, he focuses on a limited number of characters. You won't be searching Wikipedia for arcane names every-other-page.

Otherwise, Meyer's work doesn't offer much new to students of WWI. The villains are oft recognized from their appearances in previous accounts of the Great War. The Kaiser, Czar Nicholas II, Haig, Ludendorff, and Joffre make their obligatory appearances as either incompetents, or in the case of Ludendorff, a military genius but political failure. To Meyer, many of these personalities were well meaning, but overwhelmed by events and the enormity of modern warfare.

Where Meyer varies from common themes is seeming to place much of the blame for the immediate start of the war on the Austrians Conrad and Berchtold. Conrad broods for an opportunity to attack Serbia without appreciating enough the Russian threat. Berchtold supports Conrad for selfish, political reasons.

Meyer also apparently feels that peace "feelers" in the later years of the war were sincere and might have saved Germany from a Versailles style capitulation if Ludendorff hadn't so stubbornly clung to his no compromise position vis-a-vis Belgium and parts of occupied France.

For readers new to WWI, Meyer's work offers a well organized overview of events with logical explanations. "A World Undone" makes the complex history of 1914-1918 approachable.

If you want a gift for knitting friend, this is it. Good fun. A story on each page.

One of my best friends bought this book for me when my husband was very ill in the hospital. I'm a knitting addict and this book was not only hysterical, but really lifted my spirits! It's a book you can't wait to read & will make you smile and laugh! You feel like someone else really understands your world as a knitter! Hilarious! I just loved every page of it! Stephanie has amazing wit! You'll love this book - it's a must, must read for anyone who loves to knit, read and laugh!!

This author never ceases to enthrall me with her true life experiences as a knitter.
If you knit (at all) you will 'see yourself' in her observations too.
The only problem is I can't read the book. laugh and knit at the same time.
However all knitters should rest their hands periodically, and reading this book
and sipping a cup of coffee is my prescription for rest!

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is not only a talented knitter but a gifted writer as well. I have 4 of her books and want to get them all eventually. It's great to have a knitter I can relate to. She has a super way of expressing herself. This is a gem of a book, and I recommend it, yes I do! Get it for yourself or for a friend who knits. I first read one of her books from the public library, then I was hooked. I usually read them in bed while my husband's sleeping, trying not to wake him, while I'm snickering away. I've even read parts of her books to him. After living with me (a knitter) for so long, he gets her humor too. Wonderful book.

This is a great little book... I decided to bend the corners of each quote that I liked. Needless to say, most of the pages have a little corner turned down. I recommed this book.

There was a seeming dual purpose motivating the author to write this book. Remen is a medical doctor who basically tells the stories about how her professional experiences moved her closer to, rather than away from, emotional involvement with her clients particularly as it pertained to the connection between one's spirituality and recovery,amongst other things.
Remen also shares some very deep and moving stories that were shared with her by her clients once she became a therapist.
It's a wonderful read and will be helpful to anyone seeking spiritual enlightenment and motivation.

Beautiful sweet touching book that helped me get me through some tough times. Celebrates the human spirit.

I recently had the privilege of hearing the author speak. she is an amazing woman.

Rachel Naomi Remen believes in the healing power of stories. She trained as a pediatrician and expected to practice traditional medicine much as her father and other male members of her family had done before her, but something happened to change her carefully planned course.

In the introduction to Kitchen Table Wisdom, Remen tells how her male colleagues frequently knocked on her office door to ask for her help with a crying patient. They believed that she, as a woman, would know what to do. Though she knew no more than they, she felt flattered that they came to her and felt that this helped her be more a part of their exclusive "Old Boys Network." She began to spend more and more time listening to patients share their fears and feelings of living with a terminal disease.

Since the age of fifteen, Remen has suffered from Crohn's disease. As she listened to her patients, she began to feel less lonely and isolated. Probably, her guidance and uncanny understanding of her patients stemmed from her familiarity with physical and emotional pain.

Kitchen Table Wisdom is a compilation of eighty-eight poignant stories that Remen heard over many years, as well as stories of her own life. Her stories demonstrate her belief that a larger process is at work in all our lives and that human beings are "unfinished, a work in progress." She believes we come into the world whole but lose faith in our wholeness and become discouraged by feelings of not being pretty enough, smart enough, etc. " ... our wholeness exists in us now," she writes, "Trapped though it may be, it can be called upon for guidance, direction and most fundamentally, comfort."

No retelling of Remen's stories can do them justice. One of my favorites is "The Question"--a story told by a patient named Tim (now a cardiologist) of his experience at the age of fifteen with his father, who was in the last stages of Alzheimer¹s disease. At the time, his father had not spoken for ten years and was totally helpless. Tim and his brother were alone with their father when he suddenly slumped over and fell to the floor. The brother was calling 911 when both boys heard a voice commanding, "Don't call 911, son. Tell your mother that I love her. Tell her that I am all right." With those words, the man died. An autopsy later revealed that Tim's father's brain had been entirely destroyed by the disease. Tim never stops wondering who spoke those final words. He tells Dr. Remen, "Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed."

The author believes that talking about and sharing one¹s feelings revives memories that can lead to important new insights about one¹s life, bringing about a healing that formal treatment is unable to offer. She says that Shamans believe illness is a direct indication of soul loss. The soul, she explains, is that which is aware of the sacredness we carry and the sacredness that exists in the external world as well. Losing our appreciation for our sacredness, living with sadness, with feelings of unworthiness can manifest illness.

"Life is the ultimate teacher...," she writes. "It is through experience, and not scientific knowledge or expert academic training alone that we learn our deepest lessons." In her lectures and writings, Dr. Remen likes to tell of a sign on the wall of a room in Florida where the elderly come to play Bingo. It reads, "You Have to Be Present to Win." And so it is in life.

by Duffie Bart
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

I am presurgery and this book helps to calm me and encourage me to think positively.

For years I refused to read this book after a friend's recommendation thinking that it would be another "feel good" attempt . Boy was I wrong! This book is one of the most extraordinary pieces of writing I have ever encountered. I have read it over and over again many times (the stories are short enough that allow you to read at your own pace). It has actually become sort of a "guide to Life" for me. Furthermore, as story-telling itself goes, is simply masterful. Dr. Remen is a powerful communicator and her wisdom goes beyond "new age". It is a groundbreaking work about mystery, awe and Life with a capital "L".

Product was of a decent price, arrived in a timely manner and in good condition. Overall, well pleased with transaction.

I have been interested in the Titanic story most of my life, and this still taught me things I did not know about it. The illustrations are beautifully done.

"Titanic An Illustrated History" is an excellent title for anyone who wants to know more about the Titanic from building the ship to the investigations into the sinking.

The book is around 225 pages, has numerous photographs and colorful illustrations, and contains around 12 chapters and focuses on the following main areas:

1. Inception and building the ship.
2. The maiden voyage and details of the sinking.
3. Evacuating the boat.
4. Rescue efforts and memorial services.
5. Investigations into the sinking.
6. Discovery the Titanic on the ocean floor several years later.
7. Some of the Titanic artifacts found during the discovery.

The narrative was smooth throughout the book and was very enjoyable to read. The book also served to dispel myths presented in the latest Titanic movie from Hollywood (1997?) that starred Leonard DiCaprio and others. In particular, while people of different social classes were pitted against one another in the struggle for survival in the movie, the book was full of examples of people who willingly sacrificed their lives so that others may live. While the movie was okay, Hollywood did seem to twist some of the facts. Thankfully, the book was more accurate.

Read and enjoy this great account of an unfortunate episode in maritime history. Recommended.

I have to agree with the previous review posted this is probably the best book ever published on the tragic Titanic. It is a beautifully illustrated history of the tragic liner from conception to her well documented demise and discovery in 1985. Ken Marshall's paintings bring the grand dame to life and also help to put into perspective the wreck as she was in 1994 when the book was first published. It is a must have for any Titanic enthusiase even if it is slightly outdated now.

Although slightly outdated (published in 1994) this book is thoroughly comprehensive history of the ship, its passengers, its builders, its history, its discovery, and its legacy. Amazing pictures and accounts tell the story scrupulously. It is the true story, after all, that has fascinated so many people for so long. From its beauty and extravagant wealth and ironic belief to be unsinkable, to its death on its maiden voyage, to its horrifyingly inadequate lifeboats, to the great human drama and span of human emotions in its final hours, to the self sacrificing to the panicking to the hope and hopelessness, to the reclaiming of nature of the ship. It's just disturbingly fascinating. Interestingly, one of the investigators into the sinking said that more lifeboats wouldn't have saved more people because the existing ones weren't full. So many people on that ship died by choice, in refusing to save themselves, because they didn't want to be parted, or because they refused to properly inform the passengers. One of the most interesting treasures in this book is the last known photograph of the ship as it sails into history. Grade: A-

After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down.

When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book.

A great book. A very sad account of a young girl that reflect the experiences of million Cambodian refugees. Also showed what perseverance and setting goals can achieve. If Miss Him can survive and succeed, so should everyone.
Highly recommend this book.

When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.

I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.

When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.

This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.

When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.

For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.

Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.

A must-read for owners of cats with urinary or kidney problems. Debunks the vet-prescribed diet and suggests wet-food options to improve health and moisture intake. Makes so much sense -- No dry food for cats who need to increase moisture intake. Discusses the byproducts put into many cat foods (wet and dry) and how they can damage your cat. Provides healthy wet-food recommendation links (and yes, some are from the grocery store -- no need to spend a fortune). Very readable and informed.

I originally borrowed this book from the library after my cat was diagnosed with diabetes. I was in search of information on how to help him and discovered this wonderful book. I had to buy it.

I started the diabetes protocol feeding him only meat based food without fillers like grains, glutens, and vegetables, and it turned him around completely! He's never had any insulin injections, and despite the vet's diagnoses that he may never walk normally again, he regained normal walking completely from walking on his forelegs in pain due to the diabetes.

Without Dr. Hodgkins book, we would have never known that feline diabetes is a man-made disease that comes from a poor diet. The book was well written and very easy to read. I think every cat parent should have a copy of this book. It was a true life saver for us!

Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life is an excellent book outlining all aspects of cat care from proper diet to the vaccine debate. She debunks the common misconceptions about "prescription" diets and other dry food. It contains concise up-to-date advice and information on many of the common feline ailments, such as diabetes and hyperthroidism. A must have for every one who has a cat or is thinking of getting one. Also a great gift idea for the cat lover in your life.

I only gave the book four stars rather than five because it's pretty repetitive and does not exactly read well. The message is presented on almost every page: "If this is what's wrong with your cat, feed it meat." But I suppose if the book is used as a reference book rather than something to be read in one sitting, it's an excellent resource.

A few years ago I adopted a street kitty who must have starved for much of his life because his "hungry button" was broken. He could not get enough of the crunchies. He gained a bunch of weight and then we noticed that he had become a water-drinking maniac: he would drink for 15 minutes in a row. His vet suggested that he was pre-diabetic and that I switch him to diabetic cat food. He didn't like it. I stopped the crunchies thinking that he could do without the carbs and switched to non-grocery hippie dippie canned food, the stuff with the cranberries, etc.

It didn't take very long for the weight to drop and for his coat to become very silky and smooth. And he hardly ever drank water again. I mean never! It was amazing. His good health was obvious.

About a year after I changed his diet, the pet food contaminations occurred and we all started to learn what's really in those crunchies: sawdust and other non-nutritious dust pressed into shapes then sprayed with rancid aerolized grease. Gross.

And now I think I will switch to frozen raw stuff only and cut out the cranberries altogether. When left on their own, cats won't touch cranberries!

This book contains great information that's based on a careful look at how and what cats really are and that questions the "facts" forced upon us by Big Pet Food, Incorporated. I recommend it to anyone, especially to anyone who has a cat that drinks a lot of water or has chronic health problems.

This book represents a step-change in the cat care paradigm for me and I wish that I had encountered sooner. Despite huge investments in expensive premium dry cat food bought at my vet over the years, one cat developed diabetes and another was unable to keep his food down. Reading this book provided me with the knowledge to consider an informed (Dr Hodgkins is not alone in her views) alternative to what I was being told. I considered this a valuable second opinion and so I chose to follow this alternative as the conventional advice was so blatant in its failure to address the issues I faced with my cats. The diabetic cat reached remission after a 7 week treatment on Dr Hodgkins' protocol and the vomiting stopped almost immediately when I stopped feeding dry food. The general condition of the cats is impressive: even my new vet (who also advocates raw feeding) is impressed at their condition, their dental condition and their muscle tone. The knowledge about diet that I have gained from this book far outweighs the price I paid for it. Two human and four feline thumbs up.

Just ordered this book yesterday but am a HUGE fan of the podcast version. This is the type of book you could only dream of finding on your local bookstore shelf. Superheroes, teenage angst, and a smidgen of morality, you can't beat this mixup. Mr. Selznick, thank you for adding this tome of brilliance to our posterity.

Did you like the X-Men movie? Did you like The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, etc.? Then you will love these two great tastes mixed together. The protagonist, Nate, is a gangly misfit in the hateful-of-the-strange world of high school. And yet, the things that make him strange makes him fascinating. Makes me nostalgic and I am cheering Nate along the whole time.

After listening to the podiobook version of this story, I had to buy the book. Well worth the cost. Matthew Wayne Selznick has put together an amazing story that was nothing like I expected from the blurb. It was not a Sci-Fi action adventure. Brave Men Run is human and touching and brought back so many memories from my own childhood. It exceeded my expectations. Thank you.

Jeffery E Doherty

This is the first experience I've had with Matthew Wayne Selznick's work and I must say that it was a pleasant one. I didn't really know how the book would be when I picked it up. I really loved the characterization and felt that the characters and the story were really well written. If I were to relate this to the X-Men as so many people do, I think this is the story of mutants who are just discovering that they have special abilities. Even though the story is set in the 80s, I don't think that the elements of the story are limited to any one decade. What would the world be like if all of a sudden we found out that there were superhumans among us? I did feel that it took a bit too long to get to the tension in the story (the story really takes a turn about halfway through), and it was much too short. I wish it had been about another 100 pages longer. Hopefully this will just be the beginning of a much longer storyline.(Please! Please!) There are just so many directions Selznick could take it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A new twist on the classic superhero story it raises some interesting questions about power.[...] The author does a good job of describing the setting and the characters a very well fleshed out.