Andre Books

This may be Sontag's most rigorous and important collection of essays, complete with topics ranging from Levi-Strauss to Godard. In it is her famous essay "On Camp," which would later make her a superstar in the New York artistic community.

Sontag is worried about intellectual interpretation, the erudite and narrow approach to understanding a work of art. She calls on us to "show how it is what it is, even that it is what it is, rather than to show what it means." Her approach is far reaching and yet acute and highly attuned to the intellectual aspects of the fine arts.

This collection includes fabulous essays on Sartre, Bresson, Beckett, Lukacs, Resnais, and many others. It is evidence of her astonishing ability to think seriously and with tremendous beauty about that which is most important.

I went to this collection after recently purchasing Camille Paglia's latest critical reading of forty-three poems in Break, Blow, Burn. In the dust cover notes, Paglia is described as "America's premier intellectual provocateur." I had always thought that honor belonged to Sontag.

Sontag's collection contains some of her most famous essays and some rather obscure ones. Instead of the most famous, I found myself re-reading the less widely discussed ones, like the essay "Godard's Vivre Sa Vie" and "Happenings: an art of radical juxtaposition" and "A note on novels and films." These essays gave me something new to think about and re-introduced me to Sontag's renowned intellect. They inspired me to buy a few Godard DVDs from Amazon, to attend the Festival of New French Cinema here in Chicago this past weekend and they caused me to ruminate on the contemporary examples of "happenings."

Whether you agree with Sontag's opinions or not, you will probably agree after reading this selection that the depth and breadth of her interests and knowledge is impressive. And she thought and wrote about things that most, even academics, had not been willing to take on. For that, we should be appreciative. For her willingness to be a true public intellectual, we should be grateful. For her legacy to the realm of critical theory, we are indebted.

Critical writing serves to introduce a reader to non-mainstream writers when it is well done. This is well done. Sontag was a writer and thinker of high caliber. Her special interests in French literature, film, and psychoanalysis are highlighted in this collection of essays.
Discussions of form and content in art recall the art theory of the Greeks of art as representation. Interpretation is a conscious state of mind interpreting a code. Interpretation is a radical strategy conserving an old text. It is the modern way of understanding something. Flight from interpretation seems to be a feature of modern painting. Films may have a liberating anti-symbolic quality. To be able to experience art on several levels is a matter of redundancy. Unfortunately, the author contends, redundancy is a principal affliction of modern life.

All agree that style and content are indissoluble. The duality persists, nevertheless, particularly in criticism. Style necessarily persists. Even realism is in truth a stylistic convention. Stylization reflects ambivalence. Morality is a code of acts. Art performs a moral task. Genet's books are both works of art and works about art. Great art overrides everything else. Nietzsche held that art is a metaphysical supplement to nature. Art exists at a distance from reality. An artist's style is a particular idiom.

Cesare Pavese showed delicacy, economy, and control. Sontag deems Pavese to have been more gifted than Silone and Moravia. Pavese felt literature was a defense against the attacks of life. The writings of Camus embody moral beauty, not artistic or intellectual beauty. To Claude Lewvi-Strauss being an anthropologist is a total occupation. Anthropologists exploit their own intellectual alienation.

The critic Georg Lukacs had a free-wheeling speculative view of Marxism. He concentrated on nineteenth century authors and for the most part wrote in German, not Hungarian. Sartre practiced criticism as immersion. There are no guidelines. In SAINT GENET he tries to impose commitment on action. Genet's task is self-transfiguration. Ionesco discovered the poetry of cliche and language-as-thing to use in his work. Ionesco's development was the reverse of Brecht's.

Sontag identifies the supreme tragic event of the twentieth century as the murder of six million Jews. She remarks that tragedy is not an art form, but a form of history. It is appropriate to compare Rolf Hochhuth's THE DEPUTY with the Eichmann trial. Among other things, trial is a theatrical form. THE DEPUTY has a documentary intention. In her piece on Miller's AFTER THE FALL Sontag opines that Miller writes on the level of a left-wing newspaper cartoon. The classics of Broadway liberalism were too optimistic. The playwrights thought that problems could be solved. Weiss's MARAT/SADE is a play of ideas. The characters debate in it the meaning of the French Revolution.

Robert Bresson's films have a common theme, liberty and confinement. Godard's films focus on proof, not analysis. Camp, (defined by Christopher Isherwood), is something to which Sontag was drawn. It is a sensibility, a matter of subjective preferences. Taste governs every human response. Camp is a certain mode of aestheticism and it is mannerist.

In this review I have tried to give the prospective reader an impression of some of the excellent writings in this collection.

Susan Sontag has the reputation of being infinitely pretentious and self-important, which is probably true. Ordinarily I hate these qualities, but somehow I'm able to overlook them because her thought - in this collection particularly - is just that good.

"Against Interpretation" compiles nearly 30 essays dealing with works of art (literary, cinematic, theatrical, etc.). Some deal with obscure topics - "Spiritual Style In the Films of Robert Bresson", "Psychoanalysis and Norman O. Brown's 'Life Against Death'" - others have practically become household names, as is the case with the standout piece "Notes On Camp".

All the essays address aesthetic problems - often minor, but nonetheless engaging. Each essay draws you in, causing you to mull over a topic thoroughly: for example, I'd never seen Eugene Ionesco as self-absorbed and aphoristic before, but Sontag's argument about his work is so quietly persuasive, with subtle touches of mockery driving the argument further home. Same goes for her thoughts on Simone Weil.

Sontag spent her professional life making people angry and uncomfortable with her political stances, which sounded infuriating taken out of context, and surprisingly sensible when heard with an open mind. These essays show a very different side of this great thinker - but regardless of her subject, it's her quiet wit and passion that keep her work so compelling, and which make this one of my favorite books despite its obscure topics.

America has very few independent intellectuals, that is, intellectuals free of academic responsibilities and tenure. Most grub for life-long jobs and then throw away their careers on campus duties and teaching. Gore Vidal, Richard Rodriguez, Susan Sontag...there are others, I'm sure, but not many. It's nearly impossible to make a living now in journalism, so the call to academic prostitution is great. Sontag got through and deserves our praise. God knows, like other free-lance intellectuals she lacked manners and never learned to grovel the way our teachers do, trained as they are to please the young. Much like Sartre, she could be dumb and silly and arrogant, but in the end she survived the culture wars, praising excellence for its own sake and refusing to bestow the title of greatness on to every bestselling author reviewed in the NY Times. She was great and her genius lay in one small area, as far as I can see. She introduced American readers to some very exciting European film makers, theorists, and writers. She herself is a forgettable author of fiction. She had limited talent as an artist, if any, but like Edmund Wilson she brought the latest European thinkers to the attention of American readers of the New York Review of Books and other periodicals. She wrote breathlessly and exhaustively on authors of all sorts. She was capable of passion and insight. She made you fall in love with writers as diverse as Sartre, Barthes, and Canetti. For this we should be grateful. I am.

Took a workshop with a teacher of the Linklater method. I was hooked. A former singer and actor, a car accident left me with a permanent trach and very little speaking voice. These exercises are helping me to recover volume and expression in my voice. I watched the effects of the exercises on "normal" participants and was blown away.

Don't try to reinvent the method- give it a real try as is. I think it would be extremely valuable when working with new actors. Teaching projection can be tough but this leads right to it.

While nothing can compare to the real deal of a professional Linklater voice instructor, this freshly updated and expanded 2nd edition (from the 1976 inaugural printing) brings with it 20 years of Kristin honing her voice exercises, and it truly shows in the meticulous explanation, improved illustrations and the careful word choice.

And when the book cover says expanded, it isn't kidding. Many warm-ups have been extended with additional exercises, and one useful feature is the commentaries at the end of exercises, which manage to put the exercises into a real world perspective that makes easy sense.

This book's language never gets caught up in intellectual logic. Instead, the text is so well laid out that exercises move from explanation to actual practice, and then to the next exercise before you realize it. The text is a definite improvement from the 1st edition, and that says a lot considering that when it first came out in the 70s, Freeing the Natural Voice became a staple in the voice acting industry and in many American acting curriculums.

When read, the text feels like Kristin is there having a conversation with you, and that is impressive considering that it is an exercise book, though so much more than that. It should be used as a helpful reminder and refresher for every instructor and student of acting (not just voice), as I myself intend to refer back to it on a regular basis.

Another thing that should be said that the text and exercises make the whole warm-up purpose simple by breaking down the body-emotion-voice connection to its most basic level. If you pay half-attention, you'll learn more that you could possibly be prepared for about not just your voice, but more importantly about your body, and how common habits of tension and emotional restraint truly affect everything you are.

This book is about the deconstructing of the physical and mental self-made blocks that inhibit the natural voice and the natural body - seeking to instead rebuild a direct emotional impulse essential for great acting.

This new and expanded second edition is a gem. Hundreds of pages of clear, easy to follow exercises and commentary are presented in a step-by-step format that allows actors (and speakers in general) to progress at their own pace no matter what their level of experience. The vocal exploration is made even more enjoyable by the lighthearted and effective drawings found throughout. This is required reading for anyone interested in developing a more free and expressive vocal instrument.

As a teacher, I
find this new edition invaluable for students of all levels. It is complete, available and thorough. After working with many different books on voice, this book is the one I keep coming back to. My students love it.
The exercises are specific and continually return the student to the purpose of developing their voice- communication and the revelation of thought and feeling.

As a theatre director, I have read a lot of books about other directors and stagecraft, and far fewer about the intimate work of the actor. I never got around to making a close study of voice until now, and FTNV has been a wonderful revelation for me.

Not only is Linklater's work imagistically strong and physically clear, but the thoughtful and careful way she approaches "release" seems a metaphor that extends well beyond the borders of the voice. It has inspired me in all facets of my artistic work. Wonderful, insightful, highly recommended.

i remember this book, i was about 12 yrs old when i ran across it in the public library. the cover of the book caught my attention and man... the pictures in the book were even better. i was reading the other reviews and just like everyone else, the story of the patchwork monkey stood out the most, i vaguely remember the one about the chicken. the images of this book will definately stick with you. for the life of me i couldnt remember the entire name of this book, all i could remember was eerie creatures. i told my 13yr old son about this book which i thought he would probably get a kick out of it. this book in my opinion is the best scary childrens book published... steven king eat your heart out.

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Any a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

i read this book when I was in 2d grade, when my brother in 5th grade brought it home from the library. I read the patchwork monkey, and it scared the heck out of me!! and that picture of the monkey. EWWW! I was searching online for several days to figure out the name of this book. (Patchwork monkey kept sending me to crafts sites). Anyway, a fantastic book, very scary. Would love to get a copy (used are a bit pricey) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPUBLISH AN ANNIVERSARY EDITION!

UPDATE: Check out the-haunted-closet.blogspot for more images and information about the Patchwork Monkey.
-----
A short collection of horror stories for children, beautifully illustrated by the great Rod Ruth, probably best known for his magnificent work in the "Album of..." series (Album of Dinosaurs, Album of Sharks, Album of Whales, etc.)


There are nine stories contained here, yet the one that seems to have had the most impact on young readers is the first, "The Patchwork Monkey", by Beverly Butler.

And rightfully so. Many of the other stories are fantastic, some truly science fiction, but "The Patchwork Monkey" dwells in a world any child can relate too... an annoying sibling, an adult who plays favorites, an evening at home alone while the parents are out, and a creepy doll that excites the imagination.

Even though the scares hit home, I doubt most readers caught all the nuances of this story as a child. I know I didn't:

Molly being scolded by her mother for watching a "witch" television program; Molly spinning the story of Mrs. Welles and her parasitic doll Patches seemingly out of nowhere, then pondering that Mrs. Welles had communicated that information to her through "vibrations"; the fact that Mrs. Welles gave the murderous doll not to Molly, but to the "favored" brother Jason; and how ultimately the doll actually BECOMES the brother for a brief instant...

It's too bad this book has become a rare artifact instead of a common offering on store shelves. It's also too bad no one has had the insight to develop this story as a short film or even an animated piece.

I FINALLY found a copy of this on ebay. Keep looking, and eventually you can catch one for less than $100.

I read "The Patchwork Monkey" when I was 7, and slept with my parents for a month. It scared me so bad that my mom had the librarian get rid of the book. We've spent the past 2 years trying to track down an affordable copy, and now that I have it, it's everything I remember it to be. Doesn't really *scare* me now, but is still pretty creepy. I count this book as my inspiration to be a writer. I can only hope that one day I can do to some other kid what this book did to me.

This book answers the question, "How did he get to be that way?" It delves deeply into his relationship with his mother (and lack of one with his father) and follows him into adulthood. He seems a little eccentric but still within the normal range for most of his early life. He lived lavishly, but his demons caught up with him eventually. The pity is it didn't have to be that way.

I read this book when it was on the Best Sellers list. Howard Hughes was the subject of one of my papers for a psychology class and this book was my main source.

After reading other books on Howard Hughes, I thought this book would be a waste of my time since I'd "read everything else" but little did I know that this book went into such detail of his life, exposing in great detail specifics that other books briefly mentioned.

The story of Howard Hughes, told superbly in this classic bio, is simply magnetic. How else could you describe a tale that begins with young Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. being born into one of Texas's wealthiest oil families (his father's company, Hughes Tool Company, held a virtual monopoly on drill-bits for many years), moving to Califoria to become a movie mogul, pioneering aviation, heading TWA, and then slipping into degenerative obsessive madness that rendered him completely in the hands of his manipulative underlings. Thus in this book we confront both the young, energetic Hughes (romantically linked to both Jane Russell and Katharine Hepburn) and the old, sick hughes - a nudist who left his hair and fingernails uncut for years, chronicly addicted to codeine, flitting between vacuum-sealed hotel rooms in diffent countries (Bahamas, Nicaragua, Toronto, London, etc.), yet whose name continued to command terror and respect among presidents and governors.

As I read this book, there were many Hughes habits that I found deeply endearing, even as the weird details mounted. How can you not like a guy who, in the pre-VCR era, decided to buy the local Nevada TV station, just so they'd play the movies he wanted? Who - upon installing his home entertainment system - had an obsessive-compulsive need to watch the epic 1968 thriller "Ice Station Zebra" over and over again? (It's a good movie, after all.) Who bought up half of the real estate of Nevada in a doomed expectation of a world gold shortage? Or who lent his name to the ocean-dredging vessel, Glomar Explorer, to aid the CIA's covert attempts to refloat a Soviet sub? And there was something genuinely visionary about the way he built his aircraft and electronics empires. Indeed, despite the piles of carefully-compiled evidence of financial disasters at TWA, RKO, Air West and Summa Corporation, somehow I want to believe that Hughes was not the bungling sicko that emerges from these pages, but so what if he was, the story remains magnificent.

As a postscript, every time you see a DirectTV advertisement, remember that it used to be a Hughes company.

Donald Bartlett and James Steel's book, "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes" is an excellent example of journalistic reporting converted into book form; the book is simply fascinating to read. The authors accomplish the gargantuan task of separating fact from fiction in the very complex life of Howard Hughes. "Empire" is impeccably researched and documented; It is a bona fide biography that reads more like fiction than real life-such was the world of Howard Hughes.

"Empire" traces the rise and tragic fall of Howard Hughes; a man who wore many hats, he was an aviator, Hollywood movie producer, Las Vegas hotel/casino owner ... and a recluse. For one brief shining moment, Hughes was considered one of America's premier aviators, breaking flying records, but then falling out of grace with government and the aviation industry for breaking contract deadlines. In the long run, Howard Hughes would become a grand failure in the world of big business.

Bartlett and Steel show the reader a man who had everything to live for, good looks, fame, fortune, power and prestige, but he was unable to triumph over his social and physical phobias that led to psychological, emotional, and physical illnesses and to his final descent into the dwellings of the insane. Hughes' deep mistrust of all people-even family, worked against him and led to his demise and the lose of his billion dollar empire by the very people whose job it was to safeguard him and his empire.

By the time I finished reading "Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes, I was much more accepting of my status as a non wealthy individual. Although Howard Hughes had everything a man could possibly wish for, he was underprivileged in peace of mind.... The authors do a superb job in separating fact from myth in the life of Howard Hughes. The book is worth reading.

The Life, Legend, and Madness offers an in-depth view into the secretive life of Howard Hughes. Unbiased in its writing, the book focuses on all of Hughes accomplishments and successes, as well as some of the darker aspects of his life. After reading this book, one can really see that Hughes is one of the few "larger than life" characters that ever lived.

Hughes played an integral role in shaping this country, a role unknown to many of today's younger generations. Donald Barlett and James Steele do an amazing job detailing both his accomplishments and private life. Some of his endeavors are less obvious today than others, such as helping transform Las Vegas into the resort town we know today. Many people are unfamiliar with the Hughes Medical Institute or the creations from the Hughes Aircraft Company. Although the book does show his odd lifestyle behind the darkened windows and closed doors, it is fair in that it also accurately focuses on his important business dealings.

The popular movie "The Aviator" seems to be scripted largely from the first half of this book. To fully appreciate the movie, I recommend reading this particular book first. Not only will it help clarify references that may slip by in the movie, but this book shows that Hughes was much more than a movie producer who flirted with Hollywood's divas of the day. He was a master engineer, expert businessman, and defender of Democracy (he furiously fought Communists). Innovative people like Hughes is what America is all about.

The Author Bill Peet has the gift to spark the imagination of all children. His stories are amazing. There are over 30 kids books by him and I recommend them all!The Whingdingdilly

I read this book when I was a kid. I think it might have traumatized me. I really don't like hair and I always think that I'm going to get tangled up in it. Is that weird?

This is a delightful story told brilliantly in rhyme... as good for the adults as the kids!

A fantastically funny book. The drawings are amusing, and the rhyming text is memorable. My favorite part is the scene where the elephant asks who wants to come along to the swamp to help look for the crocodile tears. The other animals all come up with hilarious excuses, so the elephant ends up going alone. A useful introduction to real life, that.

The text is a bit too long and complicated for preschoolers, unless you have a child with a long attention span. Better for children 6 and up.

This is an amazing book. When I was born in England, this book was bought for my older brothers entertainment, then in my time I read it, then my younger sister as well. As we grew up, we each retained the ability to recite bits and pieces of the now familiar tome. In that it was so special to each of us, we all tried to lay some claim to ownership of the one original. So, I went and memorized it, and was granted the original by my siblings. Now I buy this book by the case, and give it out to raptured children (and adults) after recitations. This book never fails to amaze everyone whose been exposed to it! Too bad its so regularly out of print. Like right now which is why I'm writing this!

Heard this story as a child from my grandparents who were on German background. This story is just like they told it. Beautiful illustrations complete the story that swirled in my head so many years ago!!

Ok.I HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK.I hope that you don`t hurt my reviews for this,but in a way,I HAVE read this book.I am in this play,so I have read this script.And since the play is going to be on Saturday,(5th) and Sunday(6th) and also for the next weekend,I have to read this script over and over and over again.I think that this book is a very good book.In the play I am Miss Applebee but I think that this book is very good it must be.

When I was about seven-years-old a family member gave me a recording, (78s) of the Pied Piper of Hamelin narrated by Ingrid Bergman. As I listened, I could see the characters in my head and never tired of the story.

A month ago I bought the book for my eight-year-old granddaughter who lives about eight hundred miles away from me, because I was afraid with the passing of one more generation, the story might be forgotten.

It is a lovely book, written by Robert Browning more than a century ago. The drawings are perfect, given the dated language used in this book. And the story has a simple message, about honoring our promises.

Sadly, my granddaughter glanced at the book and was clearly not interested. I wanted to read it with her, intending to make clear the English used by Browning.

So, a tale almost twelve hundred years old bit the dust, at least in our family it did.

But if you are a lover of this fable, it is worth your time to try it out on the children in your family. They will be the richer for it.

This book would be a wonderful treasure for the pictures alone. Kate Greenaway, noted children's illustrator, has created a magical world of beautiful children, innocent faces, and romantic, nostalgic costumes. The colors on these pages are breathtaking, and the details (although Greenaway is always faulted for not drawing hands and feet well) are superb. This story is not for very young children, as it contains some troublesome themes. For the older child, perhaps 7+, the story might provoke some interesting post-read family discussions about honesty, trust, and the actual state of the children at the end of the tale. This is even a beautiful book to give to adults, as the messages about human nature can be appreciated on a deeper level.

"Rats!
They fought the dogs, and killed the cats,
And bit the babies in the cradles,
And ate the cheeses out of the vats,
And licked the soup from the cook's own ladles,
Split open the kegs of salted sprats,
Made nests inside men's Sunday hats,
And even spoiled the women's chats,
By drowning their speaking
With shrieking and squeaking
In fifty different sharps and flats."

Robert Browning (1812-1889) first published his poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin, A Child's Story" in 1842, based on an old German legend which may or may not have had some basis in historical fact. Browning was a serious poet; even in a poem filled with playful rhymes written specifically for children, he did not "dumb down" his language, but expected his readers to do a little work in understanding some of his "big words."

Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was one of the most famous and popular illustrators of children's literature in the latter part of the 19th Century. She had grown up loving Browning's poem, and shortly before his death she requested and received his permission to republish it accompanied by her own illustrations. This edition was initially published in 1888 under the imprint of George Routledge & Sons, which was at that same time in the process of splitting between Routledge and Frederick Warne. Starting in 1889 all subsequent editions carried the Warne imprint. The book continued to be popular, and Frederick Warne has issued reprints from time to time, well into the late 20th Century. This Warne edition is not in print at present, but used copies with various reprint dates are available from Amazon Marketplace sellers.

However, two different reprint editions are currently available, each with the complete original text and illustrations, and each presented with loving care from an eminently respectable publisher, in well-made but modestly priced editions. The Dover reprint (ISBN 0486296199) is full-size, in a sturdy paperback; the Alfred A Knopf/Borzoi/Everyman's Library reprint (ISBN 0679428127) is part of their Children's Classics series, in a very sturdily constructed hardcover with sewn sections that will not crack with use, but the page size is somewhat smaller. Both are beautiful books, and either is an excellent value.

As noted in the Editorial Reviews above, there have been other editions of "The Pied Piper," with different illustrations, and at least one seems to have been issued with the poem itself "retold" to make the language simpler; neither of those reviews is discussing this original version. Some readers may prefer one or another of these different versions. But anyone wanting to stick with Browning's original full text and Greenaway's original charming, muted and subtle illustrations should choose between the Dover or the Everyman's, or visit Amazon's Marketplace sellers to look for a copy of the Frederick Warne.

Ever since childhood, my favorite comics were Franco-Belgian. Tintin, Asterix, Lucky Luke and last but not least Spirou. As a kid, I read all the Spirou books in French and I thought they were amazing.
This book was written by Andre Franquin, the first artist to turn spirou into a major success. This book was drawn in the 60's, and shows the battle between Spirou and Fantasio against a maniacal inventor named Zorglub. This book is considered as one of Franquin's finest by most Spirou fans. It is a must read. I hope that someday more Spirou books will be available to the English reading public, especially those drawn by Franquin and by Tome and Janry.

I've read all Spirou's books 15 years ago and definitely Franquin's ones are unbeatable. Unfortunately you won't find the same imagination and humour inside the other authors'books. Nowadays, you only find Franquin's books in french. Why, if they have the other not so cool books print in english and portuguese, and probably spanish, italian..? I used to find those books in portuguese in Portugal's bookstores back then. Kim Thompson, please do us a favor. Translate all the other Franquin's books to english.I wish my kids will have the same joy of reading Spirou as I had...and Tintin, Asterix, and Blake & Mortimer. Real, flesh and bone heroes, full of humour and wit.

Z is for Zorglub was the 15th Spirou book Franquin made. He then left the comic to focus on his own character Gaston la Gaffe. In Z is for zorglub we'll meet the mad scientist zorglub who wants to dominate the world. However, there is one spirou book even better than this one: Le dictateur et le champignon: In which Spirou and Fantasio must battle Fantasios evil cousin Zantafio (whom is the archvillain of the series)

I have around thirty of the hardcover Spirou and Fantasio graphic novels, in Spanish, from when I vacationed in Spain as a boy. As a college student now, I look back on those days fondly, and these graphic novels have aged extremely well. This French comic series are adventure stories similar to those found in the more famous Tintin books by Herge. However, in my opinion, Spirou and Fantasio are far superior...more whimsical and imaginative (the character Marsupilami originated in the series' pages before being bought by Disney). Spirou and Fantasio travel the world, toppling dictatorships, fighting mad scientists, traveling to the future and the past, and stopping organized crime rings. A few years back, a series called El Pequeno Spirou (or Little Spirou), spinned off of the Spirou and Fantasio comics. Little Spirou stories are one page comic strips (like those that appear in the Sunday paper) full of hilarious lowbrow (and award-winning) humor. The main character is Spirou as a child, and Fantasio, unfortunately, doesn't appear in the stories. These too are worth getting. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have stated, it's hard finding these graphic novels outside of France (and Spain). Hopefully, as with Asterix and Tintin, these books will someday reach avid young readers everywhere.

I read all the Spirou stories as a child when we lived in Belgium, and then afterward when we had moved back to the US. In the 60s, they were serious rivals of Herge's Tintin for the hearts of European kids. For some reason (undoubtedly some financial or distribution reason I'm unaware of) they have yet to catch on in America. Hopefully, the American printing of Z Is For Zorglub, one of the more fantastical, even outlandish, of the Spirou & Fantasio adventures, will kindle an interest. My daughter is a convert and I'm beginning to teach her French so she can read my old Spirous, which I've kept all these years.

I Just returned from 1 week business/pleasure visit to New York and I found this guide full of good recommendations and descriptions were accurate. Better than Lonely Planet or Time Out's, which I also bought. Quite a useful guide with plentiful restaurant, watering hole and sight-seeing suggestions. It's replete with valuable information about attractions, hotels, eateries, shops, spas, etc. Beyond this, however, the layout is terrific, and the book is remarkably easy to use as a result. The maps, in particular, are helpful.I'd definintely purchase an Avant Guide guidebook again. I am happy to say that this book was by far the best single-city guide I used.

I am a big fan of the Avant-Guides. I used this book almost exclusively for a trip to NYC in the spring of 2002--thus some of the information had changed. Otherwise I would have rated it at a 5 star. The information on the museums and where to get the best deal on theater ticket was very helpful. I have since ordered the guides for Las Vegas, New Orleans and Toronto in hopes of finding the same cool, underground type of information provided for NYC. PLEASE--do guides for Montreal, Washington D.C. and Seattle.

I love to travel and I love guidebooks. This one is the best series Ive seen. it makes me laugh, has a great senseability about the places I like and really feels like it was written by a friend. I never write these reviews, but Im inspired to write this one because the book is so good.

Honestly, I've been living in New York for the past two years, and I think I have a reasonably fair grasp on its nighlife, restaurants, whathaveyou. Not only did this book have a listing of some of my favorite spots, but it talked about some places I wish I'd known about earlier. Some good stuff here.

when we first scanned this guide we thought perhaps we were too old to appreciate it {my husband and I are in our fifties]. However, we loved every bit of it and were especially helped in terms of what not to do or where not to eat.

I would just like to confirm what a previous reviewer stated for Mr. Wirkmaa's book. I took the reviewer's advice, bought the book on Amazon, and also went ahead and bought "The Scorekeeper's Friend" available at Mr. Glasco's website. The two taken together offer a winning combination for those aspiring to become competent baseball/softball scorekeepers. The former comprehensively explains the reasoning behind the scoring rules of baseball, while the latter shows you how to do it on a scorecard. Two thumbs up!

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the basics of score keeping. It is about as simple as it can get as the offensive numbers goes.

If you're an official scorer at any level you need this book. I'm an official scorer for a minor league baseball team, and I keep mine handy during the games. Every now and then I'll need to pull it out to check a rule when something odd happens. Without it I would have been able to find answers in the official rule book, but not nearly as quickly or definitively.

I hope the author is working on an updated edition to reflect the scoring rule changes put into place in 2007! I'll buy this book again if he does!

This book does a very solid job of clarifying some of the finer points of scorekeeping that are somewhat vague and difficult to comprehend in the baseball rule book. I highly recommend it for anyone who is truly serious about improving the accuracy of their scorekeeping skills. Even novice baseball fans that like to score a game just for kicks while sitting at the ballpark can benefit from reading it.

Mr. Wirkmaa patterns his book directly on the Rules of Baseball, therefore making it simple to go from the Rules to his interpretation of how the scoring would be handled for that particular situation. This type of editing lays out what is still a complicated subject in at least a methodical fashion.

My only disappointment on receiving the book was that he includes no diagrams on the scorekeeping itself. I wanted to see the actual scribblings when someone "runs the book." Not in there. I purchased another excellent book (not available through Amazon) entitled "The Scorekeeper's Friend" by Bill Glasco that has the level of diagramming (and explanations) that I was initially seeking.

All in all, any person serious about their scorekeeping should own Mr. Wirkmaa's book. I hope he follows it up with another.

Catseye is another book based in and around the Dipple slum settlement/camp, or whatever you want to call it. There are only a few options open to those that live here. In Judgement on Janus, the main character there chose one, the young man in this book chooses another, taking temporary jobs to try and get by.

He lands what is basically a pet shop job dealing with exotic animals, who turn out to be far more than they seem. This leads to a dog and his boy sort of escapades, or the other way around.

After reading just about anything science fiction put in front of me for years, I hate to admit that this is my first foray into Andre Norton's work. The characters and the world instantly start out feeling stable and developed so there doesn't have to be any long spots of backstory narrative. All the details fall right where they need to go so the reader doesn't have to do much work. It's like you open the cover and the adventure begins.

I very much enjoyed Troy's plight through a place that's not exactly friendly to his type and how he grew as a man throughout the story.

The action of several of Norton's science fiction novels have begun on Korwar, whose people deliberately chose to make the planet a playground for the rich and powerful of the galaxy. Ironically, this is the best possible protection for Korwar from the interstellar corporations represented by those same people - while they often plunder worlds for natural resources, they won't foul their own nest.

Despite their protection, however, Korwar isn't untouched. During the great war between the Council and Confederation governments (its aftermath appears in several books, such as DARK PIPER), the capital city of Tikil became the site of a refugee camp. After the war, those whose worlds were gone, whether destroyed or traded away at the peace table, had nowhere else to go, so the refugee camp became the Dipple, an unofficial 3rd face of Tikil making an ugly contrast to the expensive haunts of tourists or even the working city of the spaceport and warehouse district. The Dipple is a perennial problem, and CATSEYE follows Troy Horan, brought to this sterile warren as a youngster from the plains of Norden. There are only three options open to a Dipple-dweller: attempting to join the Thieves' Guild (as Ziantha of FORERUNNER FORAY escaped), signing on as indentured labor for a frontier world (as Niall of JUDGEMENT ON JANUS did), or scraping by without sub-citizenship by competing in the very tight casual labor market, as Horan does. Consequently, while the protagonists of FORERUNNER FORAY and JUDGEMENT ON JANUS also came from the Dipple, Troy Horan's story is the first to concentrate on Tikil and Korwar - the other tales leave the planet early in the story.

On the morning the story opens, Troy has incredible luck - the assigner has a job for someone with "knowledge of animals", and Troy's reply that he has that of a Norden herd rider lands him indefinite employment at Kyger's pet shop, which provides exotic pets as status symbols for the rich. Troy's initial worries about the decade separating him from any contact with animals aren't a problem - his initial work assignment to help retrieve some new acquisitions from the port lengthens when an attempted hijack en route puts a full-time Kyger employee temporarily out of action.

But why would anyone try to hijack a shipment of exotic animals bound for a life as pets - even as pets of the Gentle Fem San duk Var, rich and influential though she is? Delivering a fussel hawk and accompanying its first hunting expedition with a Ranger of Korwar (and giving us our first glimpse not only of Korwar's huge unspoiled nature preserves, but of the mysterious Forerunner ruins of Ruhkarv) leaves him with an impression that Korwar's guardians are taking an unusual interest in what is, after all, only a pet shop. After all, it's not *illegal* to convince credulous rich people that their little darlings can't survive without special diets, available from Kyger's. :)

Then the routine of delivering special pet food to a Sattor Commander's beloved kinkajou is disrupted by murder - and Troy covers the kinkajou's odd behavior with a plausible story for the police. He finds himself wondering just how intelligent these animals are - and whether he should ally himself with Kyger, who may provide a permanent escape from the Dipple, or with a certain cats-eye view of the world.

(Ruhkarv, and the disastrous fate of the last archeological team ever allowed in the place, are mentioned in some of Norton's other works - DREAD COMPANION mentions it in passing, while a Zacathan scholar in BROTHER TO SHADOWS attempts an experiment with a revised version of the device that brought final disaster to the Ruhkarv team - but CATSEYE provides more information about Ruhkarv than any other story to date.)

Catseye (1961) is a standalone SF novel in the Dipple universe. When the War of Two Sectors broke out, the Council had evacuated the Horans from Norden to the Displaced Persons center on Korwar. Range Master Lang had volunteered for military service and did not return. Then his wife died of the Cough, a passing illness that was particularly hard on those from Norden. Their son was the sole survivor of the Horan family.

In this novel, ten year later, Troy Horan has only his wide Range Master belt and a few memories to remind him of Norden. Now he is working as a casual laborer in Tikil. One morning, he is offered a job by the mechanical assigner and accepts it. Today he will escape the Dipple for a few hours.

Troy reports for work at Kyger's, a purveyor of extraordinary pets. On his first day, he frustrates an attempt to steal a pair of Terran cats. Supervisor Zul -- a full-blooded Bushman -- is wounded in the attempt and Kyger offers Troy a seven day contract to fill in for the injured man.

During the incident, Troy receives a warning in mindspeech from the cats. Later, he approaches their cage and exchanges a few thoughts. He conceals these communications from his employer and co-workers since he is not really sure what has happened.

Troy has an affinity for animals and does especially well with the fussel hawk, a hunting bird from Norden. He is asked to accompany a customer into the wild to prove the bird's qualities. He will spend three days in the company of Rerne, a high ranking member of the Hunter Clans.

Before this excursion, Troy is sent to a hillside villa to deliver special food for a pet kinkajou owned by Commander Varan Di. Since the Commander had just been murdered, the patrollers warn off his flitter, but allow him to continue after he explains his errand. As he is approaching the villa, the pet runs away from a patroller carrying it out of the building and leaps into Troy's arms.

The patrollers are upset at finding the pet rummaging through the Commander's papers. Troy points out that the kinkajou is a very imitative animal and his probably copying his master's habitual routine. While he is talking to the patrollers, the kinkajoy is pleading with him in mindspeech to take it away from the estate. Eventually, the patrollers tell him to return the pet to Kyger's shop and they fly away.

In this story, Troy finds that a pair of Terran foxes can also talk to him in mindspeech. He even overhears a conversation between the animals and their master. He begins to suspect Kyger of some form of espionage. Then Kyger is murdered and Zul tries to kill these animals. Troy steals a flitter and flees into the wilderness with the five Terran animals.

Troy and the animals are followed by Kyger's associates and the flitter is forced down in the 'accursed place' of Ruhkarv. Now they are hunted not only by Zul and his men, but also by the rangers of the Hunter Clans. They travel deep within the alien ruins and find much to fear therein.

This story is a precursor to the Beast Master series. Although Fors has mental communications with the great hunting cat Lura in Star Man's Son, this tale depicts a team of human and animals. Unlike Storm Hosteen's beastmaster team, however, Troy's group is more accidental than intentional. But it is still a combined force against their enemies.

Highly recommended for Norton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of human-beast teamwork, future cultures, and high adventure.

-Arthur W. Jordin

I won't go too much into the plot, as another reviewer here has done so quite excellently. However, I want to point out that Catseye was published for the Young Adult market and so can be read by both children, young adults and adults. I originally read this novel as a child and it still remains one of my favourite Andre Norton books.

Far, far into mankind's future, when humankind has spread out into the stars from the original planet of Terra and encountered other races...Young Troy Horan is a refugee/displaced person due to war, living the shadow life of an unwanted, non-citizen in the Dipple camp. His world and past life has gone forever and he has no future. The elite and powerbrokers of the galaxy, gathered on the pleasure planet of Korwar, prefer to ignore the unpleasant truth of the Dipple under their noses.

One day, Troy has the unbelievable luck to secure some temporary day work in a luxury pet shop. While there, he stumbles on a mystery that could cost him his life, and he goes on the run with the special sentient luxury pets he has discovered he can communicate with in the petshop.

Who can Troy trust? He and his Terran animal friends hold a dangerous secret, and various interested and powerful parties now set off in pursuit of Troy and his friends as they escape into the highly protected nature wilderness that comprises most of Korwar, and finally into the mysterious, forbidden and sealed ruins of a previous race which existed on Korwar. The ruins are officially sealed for a reason - can the escapees survive their pursuers and what lurks within?

Language and content are appropriate for children/young adults. In addition, the writing and plot is at an extremely high level, appealing to adult readers as well. Some themes are environmentalism, power, war, refugees and animal rights. One of my favourite SF books still, as an adult reader. Also one for cat lovers.