Barry Books

Dr. Nurcombe has presented a compassionate, well-thought-out review of the relationship between mental health and the legal system. These two are often at odds with each other, though the ultimate aim is of course to protect both the patient and the public from his/her illness. I have worked with Dr. Nurcombe in Burlington, Vermont USA on the Vermont Infant Studies Project, and am aware of his sensitivity and kind heart. These qualities are evident in all of his work, and though I have not read other books to compare with this one, I found it most rewarding.

It should come as no surprise to me that I'm the only person so far who has reviewed this book, since in SF circles these days Barry Malzberg is fairly obscure and this novel doesn't have the benefit of winning the John W Campbell award like "Beyond Apollo" or whatever award "Herovit's World" won, to name two of his nominally more well known books. Probably the only thing in print by this fellow is the current collection "On a Planet Alien" which is recommended just to get you started in wanting to find the really good stuff. Speaking of "good stuff" does Chorale count as being part of said "stuff". I'd say so. Malzberg's books are often marked by odd concepts that aren't clearly spelled out for the reader and often take a little bit of digging to figure out. Also, he often uses unconventional techniques, quirky narration, off kilter time shifts, basically the opposite of your usual straightforward heroes with ray guns and spaceships SF, which may account for why he's so unread today. This novel doesn't rank as his best, but it's certainly up there, taking a really original concept and running with it for all its worth, and using generous helpings of his dry, dark humor (a Malzberg trademark, "Galaxies" has to be one of the funniest "serious" books I've ever read). In this story, a borderline madman named Kemper has postulated that time is sort of wobbly and only by having people recreate the lives of certain influential famous people, can history and the present survive. That said, for whatever reason people take that advice to heart and after his death an institute is set up to recruit people to go back in time and basically live out the lives of famous people in history. The main character is forced to relive the life of Beethoven, who wasn't a real cheerful guy to begin with. To make it worse, he hates music, is tone deaf and is basically miserable, but he continues out of a sense of duty, following his instructions to make sure everything stays the same. What follows is Malzberg's skewering of staid thought processes and the idea that everything has to stay the same, culminating in a revolution of sorts. The point isn't explicit, but the novel is viciously funny in a dour sort of way, moving along in quick bursts of chapters as the character tries to figure out what the whole point of this is. In the end, perhaps he finds a point, but whether it's the one you expect is for you to judge. Like most of Malzberg's work it's easy enough to find used (his stuff sold decent back when it was in print, so there are plenty of copies floating around) and also like most of his work it's well worth investing your time and money to track it down and read. He might be unjustly forgotten by most of the Star Wars-raised readership of today, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I don't believe in organised relgion at all, but this book truly changed my life, and that of my girlfriend. I didn't realise that salvation is 100% free, and doesn't require us to work our own way to heaven. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Buy this book today it could change your life in the most amazing way.

This book is an unashamed punchy explanation of what the Christian faith is about. Anyone who thinks the Christian faith is dull,hypocritical or for the gullible should read it to have their preconceptions challenged. What I like best about it is that Cooper and Tice allow their charming,self-deprecating characters to shine through with plenty of humour and relevant references to their own interests in cinema and sport. It should be added, that this is never at the expense of the Biblical truths- though I suspect that people over a certain age might not be au fait with references to RADIOHEAD or THE MATRIX! Not only is the book challenging, it is also unintimidatingly easy to understand and refreshingly unsentimental and sharp. Give this as a gift to your non-Christian friend, but also read it yourself to remind you of the joy of the incredible love of Jesus.

Wilma is getting tired of planting sunflowers and petunias in her garden. So, she's looking around for a change. When she goes out to cut down her annual Christmas tree, Wilma knows what she's going to grow in her garden: Christmas trees. So, she places an order for sixty-two dozen balsam seedlings, and gathers string, shovels, and her five-year-old neighbor, Parker.

Year after year, Wilma and Parker nurture their trees, keeping careful count of how many perish to what causes, and how many grow up to be Christmas trees.

Christmas Farm doesn't really go into detail about what it is like to own and operate a Christmas tree farm, but it does cover a few of the things they do to care for trees, how long they have to grow, and what might kill the trees.

With Christmas quickly approaching, Christmas Farm is definitely a book you'll want to pick up for your favorite three- to seven-year-old. My three-year-old and my six-year-old both enjoyed this book, though it held the six-year-old's attention a little better.

The illustrations are beautiful, and the text is interesting. Even grown-ups would enjoy reading this book to learn a little about where their Christmas trees might come from.

Armchair Interviews says: A nice holiday addition to a family's library.

Each ornament - the tinsel, colorful spheres, the angel and the star on top the tree - has significance. Yet it is a rare decorator of the millions who bedeck trees who knows what the symbols say. The book explains the origin of Santa Claus, gift giving, the Jesse tree of Jewish culture. It gives meaning to this wonderful symbol and a new appreciation of the true meaning of Christmas.

The one substantive complaint about these reprints of the "Conan the Barbarian" comic books that Dark Horse has been reprinting has been that the original covers drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics have been omitted. That omission is mitigated somewhat by Volume 4 of "The Chronicles of Conan," which has the splash page from "Red Nails" as the cover. I have a strong affection for this particular piece of Windsor-Smith art because my college debate partner took the original black & white drawing from "Savage Tales" and blew it up on a 6-foot board that I have colored in and which has dominated my "office" for about half my life, to the dismay of my family and amusement of my friends.

This collection has issues #23-26 of Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" and the acclaimed "Red Nails" (For those concerned with continuity #22 is omitted because it was a reprint of #1) Of those two issues, all of which were written by Roy Thomas, Windsor-Smith drew the first two and John Buscema, who would be Conan's artist for most of the rest of its original run, took over as penciler on the last two. The second of those was inked by Ernie Chua (later Ernie Chan), who would be Buscema's primary inker on the comic book (the way Alfredo P. Alcala tended to do the inking over Buscema's pencils in the black & white magazine "The Savage Sword of Conan"). However, the chief attraction here is Windsor-Smith's final work on Conan.

Issue #22 "The Shadow of the Vulture," freely adapted from a Howard short story, is inked by Sal Buscema, Dan Adkins, and Chic Stone. The Vulture is Prince Yezdigerd's right-hand sword, who is sent to dispatch Conan. However, the story is more noted because this is the first Conan adventure with Red Sonja. This sets up #23 "The Song of Red Sonja," which Windsor-Smith inked himself (be sure to read Thomas' reflections in the back of the volume that cover some of the changes the Comics Code forced them to make with the artwork). When you compare how far Windsor-Smith came from the first issue of "Conan," let alone the infamous "X-Men" #53 that he drew on a New York City park bench, it is amazing how far he came as an artist. "Red Nails" has more scope and Thomas and Windsor-Smith are unfettered by the Comics Code, but all things considered "The Song of Red Sonja" is the best of their joint efforts. This explains why it gets to be the title for this final volume.

The Buscema issues are included, rather than whatever odds and ends Smith ever did of Conan and Howard related stories, because they finish the siege of Makkalet story line. Issue #25 "The Mirrors of Kharam Akkad," inked by Sal Buscema and John Severin (the latter does the King Kull flashback pages in a nice touch), is inspired in part by Howard's "The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune" story, another one of those stories where a sorcerer tries to get the better of Conan. In #26 "The Hour of the Griffin" the city finally falls and Conan tries to save Queen Melissandra. Conan's big fight is with a giant rat, which is not exactly a big thrill, but he does get to see the face of the one true Tarim, the reason for the war.

Buscema's Conan is a larger, more muscular version of the barbarian than what we saw with Windsor-Smith's art, which I always read as representing the fact he was a more mature character at that point. One of the interesting aspects of this final collection of early Conan stories is that the remastered color better suits the Windsor-Smith artwork. I know that part of why this works is that these stories are reprinted on much better quality paper in these volumes and that another key part is that this sort of thing is now done with computers, but Windsor-Smith's attention to detail in his drawings really gives the colorist something with which to work. Just look at the intricate lines on the shield on that great cover. Besides, now that we have this four-volume set of "The Chronicles of Conan" we can enjoy these classic comic books without having to take them out of the plastic that is keeping them safe for posterity.

Set in "an Ancient China that never was, but should have been", this collection contains the 3 books which comprise the series.

The first book, "Bride Of Birds" describes how Master Li, an occult investigator & con artist, meets Number 10 Ox, an immensely strong & good-hearted Chinese peasant, & they combine forces to save the children of a small village.

The second, "The Story Of The Stone" deals with Number 10 Ox becoming Master Li's apprentice, & investigating a haunted tomb of a mad prince.

The third "Eight Skilled Gentlemen" is gorgeous, baroquely convoluted, and quite beyond my poor powers to describe.

Hughart's writing syle is glorious, & no matter where you think things are going, they wind up someplace else. Leven this with sly & witty humor, & interesting facts about Chinese culture & traditions, & you have a really great volume.

BUY THIS!

I thought this book was really good. I think it's really good for someone who needs to go to the eye doctor, but is afraid to go. I also think this book is good for someone who likes Rugrats and has just begun to read on their own!

This book gives anyone the ability to make their voices heard by government. It's practical and wise, with step by step instructions on how you can make sure your government really works for you. Rubin reveals all the secrets of lobbying and more. This is a must for anyone who cares about making government work for them.