Adams Books

Teachers, students, and anyone who has been a teacher or student will enjoy these stories. This should be must reading for anyone learning to be a teacher, a most noble profession and one that is immensely rewarding.

I found this book to be especially warming and encouraging. The best story by far is the last in the book, appropriately title "The Last One Out" by Priscilla Whitley. Not only is it written in eloquent style, but it tells the an inspiring story of one teacher doing the best he can to make a difference. I encourage everyone of all ages to read this book.

The work of a teacher is a daunting sacred trust that is placed on a mere mortal. The work is hard, the hours long, and the pay -- whatever it may be -- is insufficient.

Teachers need to be able to stop and deliberately refuel emotionally on a regular basis. The life of a teacher has many days when one wonders whether all that is involved is worth it. Kids aren't always too generous in letting teachers know that they are appreciated. While some parents go out of their way to acknowledge their child's teacher, others treat teachers as a public utility of sorts: -- I pay taxes; create miracles with my child -- it's your job!

So, in the midst of the ongoing challenges that define the life of a teacher, especially during those times when there seems to be little hope, teachers need to be able to reach for some external sources of inspiration and reinforcement.

A Cup of Comfort is one of those refueling sources . It is a wonderfully inspiring book of success stories. Many of the stories are of teachers who made a pivotal impact in the life of a student through their generosity of spirit and their unwillingness to give up.

Comfort offers glimpses of the miracles and hope that education can make in the life of a student through the work of dedicated and caring teachers.

A wonderful book for all teachers!

James J. Maloney, Saint Paul, Minnesota USA

What can I truly say, I never realized how much fun being evil can be. This novel brings out the dark side in all of us, and you will revel in its glory! Amazing characters, excellent pacing, and the ending.... well, I am grinning just thinking about it.

Let me just say that by the time you finish this book a lot of assumptions you have made early on are in for some major disappointment. Adam takes all of the D&D cliches and puts new life into them! And then tosses them out on their ear! Very refreshing.
In the first quarter of the book Adam eases you into his world. The characters and situation are well crafted but not too different from what you have read before. After this Adam sets the hook! And I mean this literally. You can almost hear the author chortle with demonic glee as he reels you in to the finish. It is a very bumpy ride but you will enjoy it in the extreme!

This is a real page turner. The story develops quickly with lots of action. The characters are well developed and you get to know them and feel a definite attraction toward certain characters and a hatred for others. This was the first Fantasy fiction that I have read and it moved so fast that I finished it in four days. You are drawn in and don't want to put it down. Don't let anyone tell you the end..... And now I am crazy for the sequel! There has to be a sequel...please, I beg you, Adam Cleveland.

Finally, a fantasy novel that treats the reader as an intelligent person!

Marczyk's characters are not flat cut-outs but have a real sense of identity, and as a reader I actually felt I was living their lives rather than just watching from a distance. Marczyk provides a believable world peopled with realistic characters and, as in life, there is no sharp division between good and evil.

In short, the characters are interesting, the plot is gripping, and Marczyk's turn of phrase is very engaging.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something a little bit different in a fantasy novel. I hope that at some point in the future Marczyk has the time - and inclination - to put together another book showing the events from another perspective, much in the manner of Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series (although I cringe at Anthony's rather patronising style of writing!)

From beginning to end this book had me spell-bound. I couldn't pull myself away until it was done. The characters are well rounded and very easy to identify with. The story does not drop off or get boring at any time. I haven't had the joy and privelege of reading a book this good in a very long time. I look forward to reading more by this author. My personal recommendation...read this book, share it with your friends..it's good and it's worth your time.

Dark Heart combines the ambitions of the evil god Vraxor with the daily lives of extraordinary people. Traditional romance is interwoven with blood sacrifice, knights of a mysterious and magical order, and magicians powerful enough to permanently change the landscape. The characters are well-rounded, not just stick figures jammed in to perform the deeds necessary to the plot. If you hate fantasy, you'll enjoy the descriptions, people, and romance. If you hate romance, you'll love the wars between gods and the striving for some balance between good and evil. All in all, a very satisfying novel.

Before I begin, no I am not Tater nor am I Adam I just loved reading Adam's book about Tater and felt like I knew him as a friend as well. Anyway, I was there in North Carolina the day this happened, where a boy went to see his friend one day and never returned home. Whoever was responsible for his disappearance has now also gone into hiding. If he knows something he is not talking, and still we do not know what happened to the boy I speak of. This novel chroncicles loosely some of those details of that incident. Big ADam, as he is lovinglyc called, also one who lived through the experience, has detailed here a fictional but all too real account of the people and times and places of this story. Adam spent considerable time gathering details from places and people concerning this incident, as well as adding his own personal touches of his emotions and loss. TOday in NC this story has been put to rest. SOme have moved away, some have just vanished, others do not want to talk. Some have read this book, cried, and said what they wanted about life, and gone silent. SOme have found peace of some sort, others are still searching for an answer as to why things like this happen in life. Those who have been cruel to Big Adam while he was growing up in NC have gotten a glimpse of this book, realized their treatment of him over the years, and grown soft. They back away when he appears somewhere, for they know they have failed in trying to make him stumble. Like some of the characters in this book, Adam comes and goes all around the region where the setting is, quietly, silently, watching, looking for answers to things like this book points out. To talk to Adam is an experience alone. You will never encounter a mind as deep as his. His books show that talent to a point. He has a ways to go still. For the first time he has created a rather dark yet mild sex scene that arouses, a disturbing image of a father using a rifle on a deranged preacher, he has used graphic and profane language more in this book than his others to show the true emotions of his characters. The long stretches of silence reflect what happened when this story first happened. I have nightmares of this now after reading this. I am compelled to seek answers still, and find out what really happened on that lonely stretch of road that day two years ago now. Until then, as this novel shows, I can only seek out God and His wisdom for guidance. This however, is just the tip of the iceberg for Adam and his gift as a writer of stark stunning simplicity yet disturbing imagery of what happens in this thing we call life.

As soon as Adam releases the lower-priced, paperback version of this book I am adding it to my collection. This made me laugh, cry, and get mad, simply because it sounds and feels so true. The fact that Adam culled this from several different events in his own life makes it all the more disturbing and frightening at points, particularly the long moments of silence. The mother who refuses to admit that her son is a killer made me so mad because I know of so many mothers out there who will do anything to ignore the truth about their kids. Now about the author, for an author to have a name like Big ADam and to have a friend named Tater you would think that this guy is going to write a bunch of silly and kooky books about a bunch of nonsense. That is so not true here. These books, The Writer and Two Cents, are about as dramatic and strong as a book can be, this latest one about a friend whose death hits hard for a small town, is Adam's best thus far. The pen name should not scare you off. The book My Friend Tater is a short little homage to his friend Tater, and I am aware of a sequel due out sometime in early 2004. ADam makes you laugh and cry, mostly cry since he is a firm believer in God and refuses to let anyone tell him otherwise of the majesty and might of the Lord in his books. Adam shares a lot in life and tells stories that must be told. THis book and the earlier ones are just the tip of the iceberg. He is planning a fantasy epic and another true life inspired one about some kids who murder a minister somewhere in North Carolina. You must read this guy's books, they are simple yet full of detail and emotion...and keep the tissues handy if you are a softie like me. You cry for joy more than anything.

After having read the suspense and tears of "The Writer", the tense drama of "Two Cents" and the leisure joy of reading about Adam's funny friend Tater in "My Friend Tater", I never believed Adam could bring together the elements of all those novels into this single work, an emotionally charged and dramatically detailed look into a world broken by the tragic death of a beloved friend and family member.

What struck me the most about this book was the joy and laughter at the beginning that celebrates the spirit of the Christmas season, the love of friends and family, and the joy of helping others, all of which Adam brings to a sudden jolting end when the friend mentioned in the title is killed. I cried in the tender scenes between Aunt Nina and her nephew, whom she has raised since he was a baby when his own mother deserted him. Aunt Nina reminds me so much of the love my Grandmother and my mother gave me while growing up, and I wish I could go back and savor that love for just one more day. The friends in the book are as close as brothers and sisters, upholding each other and rallying together, but must face the ultimate tragedy when one of their own is taken away from them.

You will feel every emotion a human being can go through. Laughter and joy at the start, tears and loss, anger and burning hatred at the villains, which consist of an egotistical aunt, a sadistic one-track minded preacher, a mother who is so blind to reality she refuses to admit that her own child is a monster, and the one who is responsible for taking away a loved one in the cruelest way possible. The mother made me so mad when she insisted that it was not her place to pry into her child's business. Parents: WAKE UP!!! DO you know or even care where your kids go these days??!!! Maybe, just maybe, parents can make the ultimate change in their children to keep them from becoming dark menaces to society. Some are just afraid to take the first step.

For the first time, Adam has crossed into daring territory, using language to show the emotions of his characters, creating his first sex scene, his first scenes of domestic violence, ranging from screaming to slapping to a husband beating sense into his out-of-touch-with-reality wife, his disturbing image of an angry father protecting his dying son from a deranged preacher by shoving the barrel of a shotgun into his face, and through it all, Adam shows that the only true source of strength and hope during life's darkest hour is indeed, from GOD Himself.

There is so much to be learned from this book. I think it is his best one thus far. Adam may write simple prose, but the overall effect can be chilling.

Henry Adams should be required reading for all US students. This version of his writings - Library of America series includes all his best writings in a small book. Amazon delivered as agreed.

The Library of America is one of the best organizations. Here at last are both novels, his interesting autobiography, and Mont St Michel all under one roof.

"Democracy" is one of the best political novels of all time and speaking as a denizen of the nation's capital, very little has changed. Esther is attempt deal with the "woman question." Clearly the inspiration of both books is Mrs. Henry Adams. Known as "Voltaire in petticoats" (Henry James), she later tragically took her own life following a period of depression. The death of his wife led to Henry Adams' retirement from public life. This subject is covered in Ernest Samuels' wonderful biography (which I also recommend).

I suggest a look at his biography since the subject of Marion Clover Adams is avoided entirely in "The Education of Henry Adams." Henry Adams may not discuss his wife, but he does touch on nearly everything else of importance in his autobiography. "Growing up Adams," life in Europe with Garibaldi's forces, life at the British legation in London during the Civil War are all addressed. The best and probably the most key chapter in the book is the one entitled "The Virgin and Dynamo." Adams uses the 1876 cenntenial fair as a departure to meditate of the impact of the industrial revolution. Adams believed with the growth of technology that man would somehow outgrow the simple humanity of the Middle Ages (it would have been interesting if Adams had lived long enough to meet someone like Carl Jung to see what he would have to say on this subject!). One of the foremost historians (the Library of America has also issued the history of Jefferson and Madison's Administrations, which is a classic), Adams became interested in the Middle Ages and his survey of the two great cathedrals of France Chartes and Mont St. Michel is the final book in the volume. I cannot recommend this book too highly, it is a must for all fans of Henry Adams and those who would like to experience him for the first time.

While Adams novels (Democracy and Esther) may be lightweight, the other two works included in this volume are two of the best non-fiction American books ever. Adams has the kind of intellect that seems capable of encompassing everything. Like Joseph Campbell or Harold Bloom, Adams often leaves the reader in awe of how much he knows and how he is able to make the connections that so clearly illuminate everything he touches upon. This is one of my favorite volumes in the Library of America series, and I know that anyone who appreciates intelligence, wit, and charm in a writer will enjoy reading it.

This little book/dictionary has a brief and succinct account on almost every main event, person, court case, legislation, etc. It even conveniently includes a copy of the US constitution at the end. If you are looking for a quick reference or maybe something to refresh your memory, then this book is perfect for you. However, if you are looking for an in depth analysis on various historical events, people, etc. then I wouldn't recommend this book.

Dictionary of American History, Michael Martin & Leonard Gelber

The authors attempted to provide a reference to events of American history such as economics, finance, labor, law, social welfare, literature, industry, science, religion, commerce, and foreign policy while not skipping political and military events. They carefully selected and edited this range of materials for the widest audience. Biographical items provide the essentials, as determined by the authors' judgments. They used 714 pages in this 1978 edition. You will be rewarded by any random search of the entries. There is an amazing number of facts that will educate and entertain the casual reader, and provide a starting point for more research. [One miscalculation was to list the ERA as Article XXVII.]

"Gas Industry" tells of the use of gas for lighting since 1806 in Newport RI. Baltimore in 1816 became the first city lighted by gas. Boston in 1822, New York in 1823, Philadelphia in 1837, the Capitol in 1847. "Income Tax" tells of its progressive features. It first exempted ordinary people (who earned less than $600 in 1861). By the 20th century most states had income tax laws to raise revenue. "Tenant Farmers" tells how the Bankhead-Jones Act of 1937 provided loans for the purchase of family farms. "Tenement Laws" improved the fire and health hazards of housing with new standards for plumbing, fireproofing, ventilation, and light. Old law tenements still existed in the 1930s until Federal laws allowed their replacement by low rent housing. "Granger Laws" were state laws that regulated railroads, grain elevators, and storage warehouses for the benefit of the midwest farmers. After these laws were declared unconstitutional in 1886 by a Supreme Court influenced by the railroads, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. Further amendments affected other industries. "Fair trade laws" allowed manufacturers to fix retail prices for their products for every retailer. In 1951 the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional any state law that affected interstate commerce.

"McCulloch vs. Maryland" was the 1819 Supreme Court decision that Congress could not be limited in its power if the end was legitimate and the means used were appropriate. The "Glass-Steagall Act" created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, restricted Federal Reserve Bank credit from speculation, and banks from dealing in foreign securities and as securities underwriters. [Its modification in the early 1990s allowed Investment Banks to use a perfectly legal form of "pump and dump" to swindle investors in the High Tech stock bubble of the late 1990s.] "Drake, Edwin Laurentine" drilled the first oil well in western Pennsylvania in 1859. The "Social Security Act" of 1935 provided for compulsory savings for wage earners to provide an annuity upon retirement. [Their figure of a "3%" deduction and monetary figures are long out of date.] "Wyoming" produces cattle, coal, oil, wool, and timber. In 1869 it allowed woman suffrage in national elections, and elected the first woman governor in 1925. It was called the "Equality State". "Palmer Raids" arrested and imprisoned thousands of aliens without a legal trial. Accused of violating the Constitution, A. Mitchell Palmer did not win higher political office. The "Yazoo Land Frauds" occurred when the Georgia legislature was bribed to give 35 million acres to a company for $500,000. This was declared unconstitutional and led to a long legal battle.

I'm a French studient and I'm studying English at University. The University library had it and I find it very instructive so I recommand it to the other students.

Rene Descartes is often considered the founding father of modern philosophy. A true Renaissance man, he studied Scholastic philosophy and physics as a student, spent time as a volunteer soldier and traveler throughout Europe, studied mathematics, appreciated the arts, and became a noted correspondent with royals and intellectual figures throughout the continent. He died in Sweden while on assignment as tutor to the Queen, Christiana.

Descartes 'Discourse on Method' is a fascinating text, combining the newly-invented form of essay (Descartes was familiar with the Essays of Montaigne) with the same kind of autobiographical impulse that underpins Augustine's Confessions. Descartes writes about his own form of mystical experience, seeing this as almost a kind of revelation that all past knowledge would be superseded, and all problems would eventually be solved by human intellect.

In the Discourse, Descartes formulates logical principles based on reason (which makes it somewhat ironic that this came to him almost as a revelation). Descartes had some appreciation for thinkers such as Francis Bacon and Thomas Hobbes, but he thought that Bacon depended too much upon empirical data, and with Hobbes he disagreed on what would be the criteria for ascertaining certainty.

Descartes was a mathematician at heart, and perhaps had a carry-over of Pythagorean mystical attachment to mathematics, for his sense of reason led him to impute an absolute quality to mathematics; this has major implications for metaphysics and epistemology. Descartes method was a continuation in many ways of the ideas of Plato, Aristotle and the medieval thinkers, for they all tended toward thinking in absolute, universal terms in some degree.

Descartes in his first section discounts much of Scholasticism, stating that the only real absolutes are theology and mathematics; because theology is based upon revelation, it is therefore beyond reason, and thus, mathematics becomes the only rational truth. Descartes develops this idea further with rules of method, which include ideas of intuition, analysis and deduction. He uses some of his method to come up with his greatest proposition:

Cogito ergo sum - - I think, therefore I am

'The Cogito is a first principle from which Descartes will now deduce all that follows.' This permits Descartes to deal both with rational elements and empirical data.

The other major piece in this collection, 'The Meditations', includes several different mediations, including that on the existence of the soul, the existence of God, the material world, things we may doubt, and other philosophical problems of the time. These meditations do incorporate Descartes attempt to employ his method to some degree, but at the same time divert into other means. For example, Descartes' meditation on the existence of God is in many ways the Anselm ontological proof revisited, and has a certain circular reasoning to it.

This is an important text, one that I read the summer before I went to college, and makes a good study for those who wish to see the personal element in the development of philosophy.

Great book, go buy it! Descartes is one the true geniuses of this worl

Descartes has written one of the greatest classics in the history of philosophy. He gets down to the elements of how we can know truth. This is in sharp contrast to the majority of philosophy books that give another mans opinion, but not on how we know truth. Descartes begins his book by saying that there are contrary opinions among philosophers, other people and just in general. For every opinion given there is a contrary opinion, so how do we know truth, if knowing truth is even possible? He writes in his book, that what we know as the world ,could be the creation of a demon who fools us into thinking that what we know is real. So he writes that one should doubt everything. Then he says that someone is doubting, so there must be something real that is doubting. Hence he arrives at his famous self evident principle "I think, therefore I am." He then states that we begin our search for truth on self evident principles such as "Truth exists" and his principle stated above among others. We divide our problem and solve it starting from the easiest to the most difficult. As a final step we take in all the evidence into review. This is an excellent method in which to find truth. His first step though is the most important one, that is, establishing doubt. We can't really know what a thing is and hence we should be doubtful. This is a far better method than the scientific method and far easier to implement. Science does not and cannot arrive at truth, because truth is eternal and has no limit. The most science can do is to have a utility value. That is it can make life easier for us by mastering nature. To find truth we leave that to the religions such as Christianity and Buddhism and also to the philosophers like Descartes.

The book is written beautifuly and I learned about my fellows Polish immigrants a lot. I can be proud of them. It is written with genuine talent of observation, showing interesting details, thoughful thoughts, impressions. I recommend the book for everyone who wants to immigrate, not to scare him/her, but to appreciate the circumstances the others had to go through. This book helps to appreciate the new adopted country, and... to love the old country - Poland.

The talented writer shows her interest in Polish immigrants to Canada - their life and struggles, their hopes and dissapointments. It shows the achievement and happiness they found in a new country and a new environment. The book is true, touching and very well written.

In the monthly magazine published in Paris "Kultura"(9. 504 1989), a review of the book "Dreams and Reality" was published. Benedykt Heydenkorn stressed that the author of the book, Aleksandra Ziolkowska, a young Polish writer, depicted the Polish immigrants in Canada in an interesting way, with a great talent, but also in a very objective way. He remarked that she didn't want to prove anything, she only wanted to share all kinds of stories of people's lives, their views on Canada and their views on the old country Poland. He stressed that she didn't generalize anything.

In the quarterly Ossolineum "Dzieje Najnowsze" ( 3-4 1988), Prof. Marek Drozdowski wrote that the stories are written with talent and understanding. He asserts that the reader can learn about the painful episodes that immigrants faced in establishing themselves and finding their own place in a new society in Canada. He liked the philosophy of immigration shown in one story about Irma, and he also liked the way Ziolkowska portrayed the Canadians Indians.

Professor Marcin Kula , the well recognized historian at Warsaw University, wrote in the Krakow scientific magazine "Przeglad Polonijny" (NR 2, 1988 ) that the book "Dreams and Reality" teaches more about the problem of immigration than the scientific essays about that subject. The book gives material for reflection about the myth of a "gold Eldorado" that was so popular among the people leaving Poland.

Loved it. Wished I read it before I saw the movie, that way I would have had a purer vision of the play.

This is a great modern play. I loved all the references and word games

I'm directing the play in The Netherlands. Never had to dig so deep as in this play. Did the play before, and now I did some completely new discoveries. What about this: I think Nick is the only true victim. May change that opinion the next rehearsel: 'Woolf' never stops amazing!

Adams' poetry rocks! Anyone who can appreciate traditional forms and witty allusions but who also wants poetry to be to voice of the cultural moment will want to get Adams' first collection.

In "For Pandemonium," for example, Adams juxtaposes, or, perhaps more appropriately, appropriates, the primal post-lapserian (Miltonic?) city with/for both an urban (industrial?) love gone wrong and the limits of poetry itself.

Adams' poetry is smart and touching, often funny but always witty. I really enjoyed reading it. It is diffcult today to find a modern poet that writes both meaningful and fun poetry.

"Epistles from the Planet Photosynthesis" is masterful in its use of traditional and free verse forms. From Sapphic stanzas to sestinas, from sonnets of extraordinary beauty to a canzone whose repetitions reunite a splintered family, Mary Adams' poems demonstrate the ideal marriage of form and content. Confident and versatile, the poet is capable of heart-wrenching intensity ("What I Should Have Told You"), rare compassion, and genuine wit (see especially "Cerberus at the SPCA," a poem of humor, grace, and metrical virtuosity). Perhaps my favorite poem is one of the best villanelles of recent memory, "Queen of Grieve," in which form, image, and sound combine with unforgettable results: "She ruled a ruin, did the Queen of Grieve..." In all, a first book of singular vision and most impressive skill.

I recommend this one highly! It's formal without being snobbish (in fact, sometimes the form sneaks right past you, a subtlety which more poets should only be able to manage), but it has free verse too, for those of you who are fleeing in terror from any of the sneers which occasionally characterize the New Formalism. There are no sneers here. The book contains a number of love poems (not sentimental even at their most painful, though), and a number of "epistles" from the incarnate ET's of the Heaven's Gate cult (both poignant and funny), and a number of--I guess they'd be called "other poems." On a purely mundane level, this is certainly the book I'd reach for after a betrayal in love, but it's much more than that too.

My personal favorites are among the "others", with my all-time favorite being "Cerberus at the SPCA." I can't think of another poet who could combine the three-headed dog guarding the way to hell with the concrete and urine of the animal shelter, and it's an incredible combination; an appropriate treatment for people who abandon or negelct their pets might be to be tied up, preferably in the animal shelter, and have this poem read to them until they understand what they've done...Cerberus surveys the ranks of the damned in hell in just the way that visitors to the shelter look upon the caged animals, before he's caged there himself; that it's in Dante-esque terza rima only adds to the power of the poem. Cerberus says "I recognize that terror and that trust." So do readers of Adams' poems.