Brown Books

This book is to be a gift and it answers all the questions I would think a person would want to know about the subject of fish and shellfish. I believe it will make the kind of cookbook that will be useful, and also open the door to many kinds of dishes that one may not know about.

Anything you could possibly want to know about fish, how to buy them, when to buy them, where to buy them, and the best possible way to cook them is ALL in this book. The recipes are all fairly simple - any home cook with a moderate amount of experience should be able to execute them easily. There are also a number of helpful resources like sauces, how to filet (and when not to), and different cooking techniques to achieve different flavors and results.

If you're serious about eating more fish or getting more adventurous with the way you cook it - this is a must have.

If you have ever had a question about any type of sauce this is the book to own! The basic for every sauce begins with good stock and that is not overlooked in this book!! It is a must have!!

I got this for a gift for a friend from NJ. He was always complaining about there never being recipes for obtuse fish, shellfish and bi-valves. When he opened this book, he didn't put it down for 2 days. He is STILL raving about it! Kudos!

No more searching through a string of specialty cookbooks for that fresh idea for tonight's dinner. Look no farther.

Great book for any player. A good 101 of subdividing the funk riddim for both non solo players. These skills are adaptable to almost all other styles of music. Pick it up!

I've always wanted to understand how James Brown got that Funk sound. This book breaks it down for drums, bass, and guitar. It isolates each part so you can focus on finding the groove. The transcriptions are accurate, although some recordings may have variations depending on the player. The book also gives a brief history of the players behind the Godfather of Soul. Bootsy is a monster, and this book has his lines laid out for you. Worth it!

Really a great book. Has a bit of interesting history about James Brown.

Really breaks down the interplay between drums, guitars, and bass on JB's band. Also provides some insight into the different bassists during JB's career. Finally, really provides a good description of the rhythmic interaction between the drummer and bassist.

If you want the FUNK - start here.

As a guitarist, this book rules for expanding your chord base and learning new rhythms. The CD tracks are great to play along with on repeat until you nail 'em, and the historical text is a nice bonus. Quit dorking and buy this book, whether you are just beginning or an expert guitarist. It is a NO BRAINER!

Go no further, it's all broken down for you here: the history, the songs, individual tracks. This is a great learning tool and obviously a labor of love.

A MUST READ for any beginner. If you're looking for your first book on Stocks, look no more, just buy this one.

This book is highly reccomended for all beginners. This book will give you the basis for everyting you want to know about the stock market. Period!

I loved this book. It talked about every facet of the stock market, but didn't go overboard with jargon. I knew absolutely nothing about stocks and after reading this book I am ready to learn more. It was well written, interesting, and, unlike some investing books, the author was not trying to sell anything. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to invest but has no knowledge of the subject. I really enjoyed this book.

This well written book gives the beginner investor the information needed to understand investing in stocks.

The book goes through setting your goals, assesing your risks and rewards. It teaches you about common and preferred stocks and the basics of buying and selling stocks.

There is a chapter on different investment strategies and then the book takes you into fundamental and technical analysis of a stock.

Finally the book touches on mutual funds, rights, warrants, and options.

All in all this is an excellent book and is one that any beginner investor will learn a lot from.

This book was an easy read to learn the basic terminology. And it's a nice reference book with a good "stock" glossary at the back of the book. After this, you'll be ready to read something a little for philosophical like Peter Lynch's masterpiece "One Up On Wall Street".

I have read this book twice and I loved it. Mowat wrote as if the tug was a living thing. It was wonderful. I actually cried at the end when Franklin came into the harbor with barely any power left and covered entirely with ice, thus ending her life. The people who captained Franklin intriqued me as well. In the book they were the only ones that really cared for her.

Farley Mowat can make the stars sing with the sheer beauty of his writing. His writing is a little old-fashioned by today's standards, (all the better) but his craftsmanship is unsurpassed. You ARE there. You feel everything his characters felt, you see what they saw. The book ends happily and I know it, but I cry through the last chapter every time I read it because his writing takes me there. One hedge: the book does start slow, but if you keep plugging away, you will be richly rewarded.

This book is an unexpectedly riveting episode-by-episode story of the Foundation Franklin, a marine salvage tug that sailed out of the ports of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the 1930s and '40s. This working ship, built in Scotland in 1916 to craftsman's standards, eventually found itself unused in a Hamburg shipyard in depression-strapped 1930 where it was identified as a possible vessel for the Canadian maritime salvage fleet. From that day to its final heart-stopping drama, the trials of this unprepossessing high seas coal-fired tugboat are recounted in all their adrenalin-filled reality in Mowat's gripping and evocative prose. Managed by callous profit-seekers, officered by experience-hardened seamen and crewed by men desperate for employment, Foundation Franklin's story is, as well, a slice of social and commercial history. The mood is workaday danger, fortitude, struggle and courage, marred by a single passing dismissive remark about "union mechanics".

I first discovered "Grey Seas Under" about 15 years ago, appropriately enough as Able Seaman on an Ocean Salvage Tug. I was immediately enthralled. Out of the many books on the sea I have read, this one remains very dear to me (not that you have to be a mariner to enjoy it). Grey Seas Under is the true story of the ocean salvage tug, FOUNDATION FRANKLIN and the brave men who battled the North Atlantic to save hundreds of ships and thousands of lives. Farley Mowat, a master srory-teller, passionately desribes the exploits of FOUNDATION FRANKLIN with geat admiration and humor. Grey Seas Under is a true masterpiece saga of the sea. I've read this book probably 6 times in the last 10 years and I'm sure to re-read it for many years to come. I cannot recommend this book enough. I also highly recommend "The Serpents Coil" also by Farley Mowat, another first-rate tale of the sea.

The ocean-going salvage tug, `Foundation Franklin' was more than a match for the worst the North Atlantic could throw at her, including Force 10 hurricanes and Nazi U-Boats. Perfect Storm, eat your heart out! Here is the real book about the great-hearted men and their staunch little ships that survived blow after blow from the Atlantic and bobbed up for more.

If the author, Farley Mowat is sometimes guilty of over-the-top prose---well, he lived and worked on the Franklin, and he loved her sturdy lines, her jaunty roll, and every rivet that held her together while she rescued ships that were Goliaths to her chubby, little Baby Huey. No work could have been more dangerous; none required a higher degree of seamanship and courage than dropping a line on a berserk, lunging, steel-hulled freighter, and then towing her through the maw of a mid-December gale, or the shoals and `sunkers' of the Newfoundland coast---something the Franklin did so many times that her crew lost memory of all but their most freakish or man-killing expeditions.

"Grey Seas Under" will give you an interesting perspective on the true maritime heroes of World War II. Farley Mowat doesn't pull any punches when he describes the tension that existed between the expert seamen on the ocean-going salvage and rescue tugs, and their relatively `amateur' counterparts on Canadian and American naval warships. Some of the funniest scenes in the book involve convoys of merchant ships under the `protection' of corvettes and destroyers. Once a U-Boat had been sighted and the merchants steamed for cover, it was up to the Franklin to rescue the ones that ran into each other or shoaled themselves. Usually, the tug had to perform her duties without any cover from the warships.

"The days the salvors (tugboat seamen) spent tethered to fat and crippled merchantmen, crawling along on a straight course at a speed of two or three knots like mechanical targets in a shooting gallery, were the kind of days that would drain the courage from the most heroic man alive...The Germans knew, that for every rescue vessel sunk there would be a score of crippled merchantmen who would never make safe port."

This is a great book about men against the sea, even though the language gets very nautical at times. Read it and you will learn all about Lloyd's Open Form, and the tricks that wrecked merchant masters play to cheat tugs out of their salvage fees. You'll learn to tell the difference between `Monkey Island' and the poop deck---and the difference between `brass monkeys' and true seamen. You'll thrill to the dangers of sunkers, beam seas, and Arctic white-outs. You'll bite through your pipe-stem, just like the Franklin's captain did during those tows when his sturdy little tug steamed back into port with barely enough coal in her bunkers to "cook a pot of beans."

Someone ought to make a movie out of "Grey Seas Under." It's got everything---romance (between man and ship, at least); life-and-death adventures; heroism; humor; and the treacherous ice, wind, and sea of what the author respectfully refers to as `the Great Western Ocean.'

I love The Beatles and thoroughly enjoyed reading about each of their songs. I just wish there was more information! I felt as though some songs barely received any attention. I'm hoping to find a book with more detail.

Turner's book is another essential one about Beatles music. I have read a few of these "about the songs" books, and while another title, Beatle Songs, used to be my favorite, it was nudged out recently by A Hard Day's Write. It feels more substantial, is easier to read, and has some great pictures.

This is a book that focuses on the genesis of the Beatles tunes we know and love so well. It fills in a gap that the other books don't...they are more interested in the recording or instrumental aspects, while this one sticks with comments and quotes by the Beatles and other insiders that explain how and why they chose to write the songs they did. It is more about inspiration.

I love this book because it gives a peak into the minds of some creative geniuses. Reading this book is as close as you will ever come to having the Beatles over for lunch some day and getting the chance to pick their brains over BLTs. This is because the contents of the book are mostly from the Beatles themselves; this book is not just some blowhards interpretation of how Lucy in the Sky stands for LSD. The information is from the horses' mouths (not Henry's) and that is the premier source.

I like a lot of these new-fangled Beatles books. Improvements in technology have allowed new books on old subjects to be printed with more pictures, better quality, and good durability. It has a lot of the same information you can dig out of other books or interviews, but here is is collected and organized for easy access. This is another book that you can read straight though or as time allows. Pick out your favorite albums or songs, or just start from the beginning and see how the music evolved.

I purchased this book for my son-n-law and I almost kept it for myself! This book has a lot of really good photos and very interesting stories. I highly recommend this book!

this book is great for an older beatle fan. i grew up with them from ed sullivan on. while we all had our own ideas what every song was about it was good to finally learn the true meaning of so many of my favorite songs.

This was a book that I couldn't put down reading the first time. Now, when I hear a Beatles song and have a question, it serves as a great resource book.

This is an interesting book where the author relates his own life experience and all that he goes through growing up in a mixed Latino-Anglo Family. Through his life the author illustrates and analyzes important issues for Latinos living in the United States.

Kevin Johnson is the son of a Mexican American mother and an Anglo father. While his mom always denied her Mexican heritage and chose not to teach her kids Spanish, his dad always encouraged him to take pride on his Mexican background. Kevin Johnson's parents divorced when he was a young child and he grew up experiencing the socio economic differences between the middle class and the people on welfare. Through his experiences he narrates how he struggled developing his racial identity and how that affected his life.

Johnson says that Latinos in the United States are a diverse group in terms of race, country of origin, time living in the country, language, and immigration status. According to Johnson, some Latinos may be able to choose an identity, but finding and becoming comfortable with the racial identity is a difficult task that members of a racial minority face. They can risk rejection for refusing to assimilate and trying to benefit from affirmative action. Johnson says that the United States is a much racially mixed nation today than it was in the past, and as immigration and intermarriage increase so will the diversity in the population.

As a Latina, it was interesting for me to read this book because I was able to relate myself in some of the experiences and incidents that the author recounts. I consider that the book is an inspiring story for Latinos and people of other ethnic groups living in the United States that shows that although it may be hard at times to fit into the social dynamics of the United States, there are plenty of opportunities. With effort and self-determination individuals can find their own social accommodation without having to deny their own cultural background.

: I loved Johnson's book and his story. I found myself saying to myself, "that happened to me too". I would say "yeah, that's totally true" and "he's right on". This book was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was a way for me to look at myself and really think about how I viewed myself. There are many sections in the book that I read and thought "that's exactly what I would have written too". Johnson put his heart into this book and put his emotions and thoughts on the table for all to read and enjoy and learn from. I think that anyone could learn a new perspective by reading the book. Anyone from a mixed heritage background could read it feel relief in that there are others in the world that have had similar experiences to that of their own. My mother is Mexican and my father is white and I could wholly relate to the author's experience. I have a white last name and always felt stuck in between the two worlds. I think that the author portrayed this feeling very well. The book gave me newfound respect for anyone who enters the legal profession. They definitely have to work very to get to where they want to be in life. Bravo to Mr. Johnson.

When I saw the title, I knew I had to check out the book for myself. Since I am a bicultural person (of Venezuelan and Polish descent) I could relate to his struggle. A lot of people doubt you based on physical characteristics, surname and mannerisms when you come from a bicultural background. The situation was the same for Mr. Johnson, a lawyer of English and Mexican background. His last name, light complexion and elementary knowledge of Spanish hindered him in integrating into Mexican culture, while his non-Caucasian features separated him from his Anglo contemporaries. He wrote sensitively about his experiences and enlightened us about his process of self-discovery (finally marrying a Mexicana, having children with her, giving them Spanish names, etc). I reccomend this book to anyone who wants an education on the bicultural experience or has been through that process themselves. I can't tell you how many times, to this day, people still deny me my Latin roots because I don't look like the caricatures they have in their heads about how all Hispanics/Latinos are supposed to look (Dark skin, black hair, black eyes), and I don't have a Spanish last name because I was raised by my mom (Martinez, Morales, Rodriguez, etc). We have to get over our assumptions about people if we want the walls to come down in our thinking. It is the only way toward liberation.

I had to read this book for a perspectives on race and ethnicity class, contrasting it with a book of a similar theme. I won't mention the other title out of respect for that author but this book was by far much more humbly introspective than the other book. Even though I am an Asian American, I was able to see the similarities between the Latino American experience and the Asian American one, and that the issues a person of a minority background experiences are to an extent universal and maddening. I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this book because it showed me that a biography that covered deep-seated social issues could be written and presented with humility and dignity. The other book, though honest too, had such an arrogance about it that I could not stand to read it. I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of their background.

This is the story of a mother who dearly wanted to assimilate but couldn't - and her son, who could have but finally wouldn't. It is the story of a man of mixed White-Latino heritage engulfed in self-doubt about his place in a society obsessed with race. It is the story of a prominent young lawyer and college professor who can never fully enjoy his success because someone always pops up to accuse him of being a "box checker," a counterfeit Latino for affirmative action purposes.

Contradictions run wild in Kevin Johnson's autobiographical account of growing up racially mixed and emotionally mixed up. On one page, he rightly laments racial pigeonholing. On the next, he paints a painfully detailed picture of someone's racial history and physical features. The book is replete with mixed heritage characters who "identify" publicly with the racial tradition of one parent over that of another.

At first this approach left me frustrated (maybe I yearned for transcendence). But soon I realized that Johnson could hardly tell his story otherwise: the contradictions are not his but society's. Such is the sad - indeed the surreal - state of America's racial politics.

However sad and surreal race relations indeed may be, books like Johnson's represent a breakthrough of sorts for diversity and understanding. For most of our nation's history, dispossessed individuals were truly silenced - either by poverty or outright discrimination. As society began to allow different voices to emerge, pure outsiders got most of the attention. Now people like Johnson, who inhabits what the book jacket calls "the borderlands between racial identities," are receiving the call to tell their stories.

Before I run on any longer, I should reveal some modest secrets of my own. Johnson and I attended the same high school in Southern California. In college, in the late 1970s, we shared two different apartments on Berkeley's Haste Street, a student ghetto just south of the University of California campus. We remained friends as he progressed through the legal profession to his current position as associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of California, Davis.

Johnson was born in 1958, the first child of a White father and a Mexican American mother. His parents divorced when he was young, and he grew up hopscotching from the barrio's poverty to the relative affluence of the beach cities near Los Angeles. Johnson's mother, a staunch assimilationist, neither taught him Spanish nor encouraged pride in his Latin roots. When she remarried, she attached herself yet another Anglo.

Following the advice of his politically savvy father, the adolescent Johnson began to ponder his Mexican American background. He began taking Spanish in high school. He continued in college. Meanwhile Berkeley introduced him - as it did us all - to heretofore unimagined diversity. Yet, to me, my roommate seemed most comfortable while slam dancing to the Dead Kennedys at the San Francisco punk club Mabuhay Gardens. White like me, I would have told anyone who bothered to ask about his racial identity (though I knew, of course, about his mother's background). Tellingly, no one raised the question.

My analysis at the time partly reflected my own lack of maturity and perception, but there's little doubt that Harvard Law School forced my friend unequivocally out of his Latino closet. Like other Harvard law students from modest economic and social backgrounds, he wondered whether he really deserved his place in the elite institution. Had the admissions committee let him in just because he'd checked the Latino box on the application? Even after he made law review, he could never convince himself.

During a tussle over affirmative action on the virtually all-white law review, Johnson took a firm pro-diversity stance. From that point on, he became increasingly outspoken about his Mexican American heritage - both personally and professionally. Though it might have been easier to blend in as white, he opted for a more rewarding, if rockier, bicultural path.

His chapter about Harvard, which opens the book, should be required reading for any undergraduate contemplating the LSAT. This isn't the first time someone has slammed Harvard Law, and it won't be the last, but Johnson's account makes the experience seem outright hellish for anyone with the slightest non-conformist streak. Pranks (probably innocuous to your average Yale man) resound with new meaning when aimed at a sensitive outsider. For his defense of affirmative action, Johnson earned a citation in a spoof yearbook as author of a volume entitled, "I Hate Whites." Nearly two decades later, the barb still stings.

After law school, Johnson plunged into pro bono work on behalf of Latin American immigrants and married a woman of Mexican American descent. Virginia helped him grow more comfortable with his identity, and together they try to provide a foundation of Mexican culture for their three children.

Policy discussions generally take a backseat in Johnson's autobiographical account. When they appear, they're grounded in personal experience - like his analysis of the "box checker" dilemma. The question is simple: what constitutes a member of an underprivileged group for the purposes of affirmative action? The answer is complex, if not insoluble. Under pressure to admit or hire individuals from certain groups, many institutions and businesses are keen to count anyone vaguely entitled to membership. Predictably, this has sparked a debate among civil rights activists over who qualifies to check the box. Individuals of mixed racial heritage, like Johnson, come under special scrutiny. The phenomenon is captured by the book's title, "How Did You Get to Be a Mexican?" A senior professor asked Johnson that very question during an interview for a position on a law faculty.

Johnson's book offers a partial answer, but no response will prove satisfactory as long as our society remains obsessed with race. Indeed, we can only put racism behind us when we no longer care about the answer.

* Bill Hinchberger is the editor of the BrazilMax website.

Thank you for writing the book Investing In The Dream.. My girlfriend insisted I read it and i am glad she did. Although I had some knowledge of investing your book made it so much clearer. I feel better able to prepare myself for retirement. THANK YOU!!!!! Denise M. Bagby

I read your Book and read your columns. The latest column "Financial decisions" featured in The Challenger Newspaper is great. I am a single mother, fulltime employee as well as a parttime college student; I definitely know first hand how expensive it is to raise children. Your book has made the difference.

Wuanda Figueroa

I waited for the book to come out in paper back. That was my first mistake. --what a shame on my part. However, thanks to The Miami Times newspaper where I see your column, I must say that I have been enlightened and inspired by your indispensible information.

Willie F. Ford, Jr.

I purchased your paperback version of the book,Investing in the Dream. This book has answered a prayer for me. I have thought of taking Financial Classes just to learn how to invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc...Thank to your wisdom and obedience to God for writing this book you have also answered my prayer. I am an investor but seek to invest more. Again, Thanks.

Debra D. Green

Have you ever been broke, busted and disgusted? Do you live paycheck to paycheck? If you answered yes, then INVESTING IN THE DREAM is the book for you.

Author Jesse B. Brown states, "prosperity has a spiritual basis - it is a divine right." He provides sound rationale as to how we can turn our negative financial situation into a positive one by developing an investment plan and making savvy financial decisions. Even if it is a small amount, the up front sacrifice will ultimately blossom into a financial blessing.

From stocks and bonds to everything in between, Brown not only provides insight into the mysteries of investing, but also reinforces his point by using real world examples. By following five simple steps, we can gain financial freedom according to Brown. These five steps are develop a long-term investment plan; max out tax-deferred retirement plan contributions; review investment goals on a regular basis; follow sound advice and hire a financial advisor to keep you on track.

All in all, INVESTING IN THE DREAM runs the gamut of financial advice. In addition to stocks, bonds and the tax-deferred investment vehicles, Brown also touches on credit card debt, debates about vehicle purchases and provides guidance on home purchases as well. The information in the book is presented simply, and in an easy-to-understand format. At times, Brown seems to be somewhat preachy, but there is no doubt that he knows the investment business. If you are seeking a new financial path, then INVESTING IN THE DREAM may be a book you'd like to consider.

Reviewed by Nedine
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I read this book new and several times since. I've given away a few copies which is why I'm here on Amazon again. I hope they don't run out.
I WROTE CONSUMERS REPORT a while back about publishing an updated edition. They didn't respond.

As the other reviewers say, this book is hands down, the best book on drug history available. Unlike other books about the history of drugs and drug policy (i.e., Musto), this book is not dry. It covers most drugs, including licit drugs (which is very important), and this man has great insight. This is the right way to write about drug policy. I have no idea why this book was never reprinted; it is truly the best drug book that exists.

I read this book in the early '80s. I say that it helped me survive my period of drug experimentation. Now as a father I don't endorse the use of drugs but I do recommend this book so that the reader could make an informed choice.

Even though this book is nearly 30 years old, everything it says about the drug problem is still relevant today.

This publication outlined a clear-cut set of recommendations that if adhered to, today's drug problems would have become a long forgotten memory.

This book is a must for the collection.

I went through alot of 'Drug Education'. I thought I knew something. I didn't. I learned more in one night from this book than I did in 18 years of being a youth in the Drug War. Read this cover to cover and now try to get everyone I know to read it.

A pleasure to read this book. I listen to a classical music station which includes interesting facts about the musicians' private lives. One day a guest mentioned that she knew where the host was obtaining these interesting facts. So it is a secret no longer; it's this book. Lives of the Musicians is light reading with approx. 2 pages of facts per musician, so it is not an in-depth look at their private lives; however put it on your "Fun" reading list. It is a highly amusing book and a great source of dinner conversation. Also Check out Lives of the Artists:Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neigbors Thought)

My daughter has been studying piano for two years and she is fascinated by the people who score the compositions she learns to play. In school she learns about a different composer each month and always wants to know more when she comes home. She also has a love for anything historical. This book was a great addition to our reference collection because it reaches her on several levels. We happened to come across it at the library and, after reading a few entries, we decided we'd like to buy it. Lots of bookstores stocked the paperback edition, but only Amazon had the hardcover in stock. This is the kind of book you really want in hardcover so that young children can more easily flip through the pages and study the humorous illustrations.

The book includes entries on 20 musicians from a wide range of styles, backgrounds, and historical periods. The entries are engaging for adult readers, yet accessible for a younger audience. My daughter is six and was totally engrossed in the stories of Chopin, Mozart, Clara Schumann and others. I know we will come back to this book again and again.

This is a great book! My piano teacher checked it out from the library and loved it so much I had to buy her a copy! The illustrations are adorable and the bio's are so interesting. A lot of interesting stories that really give the great masters a very human quality! I love reading about the musicians that I'm currently playing! If you are into music and want to know just how human they really were this is a great book!

I got this book for my daughter who is a music teacher. I thought it would be a good reference and teaching tool for her.

My daughter's piano teacher gave her the assignment to read about Mozart as she started her first Mozart Minuet. My daughter was 7 at the time, and although she was reading at above 3rd grade level, I was shocked to find that there was NOTHING available on the internet or in her school library that give her information on composers at HER level. I finally found "Lives of the Musicians" and have actually purchased the book. It's just that good. She is able to read about each composer (for the most part the language is about her level, although she DOES need help with some of the words), and each section is engaging enough to keep her attention.

This book is a must for anyone with a child that wants or is assigned to learn about the great composers.

...and I look forward to reading it myself. My son liked the characters and the story line, was intrigued by the name "Nitro," which led to a dynamite conversation, and told me he thought I'd like the book a lot too.

Though the protagonist of this well-written novel is a "normal" sixth grader, I wonder whether the erudite family and school setting he is privileged to have would be something a "typical" American middle-schooler could really relate to. That said, this could be an excellent book for a teacher to read and discuss with a middle school class; parents who regularly read books together with their older kids could also use it as a great discussion starter for all kinds of topics and issues that develop throughout the book.

Any text that includes discussion of John Donne's poetry, background on Good King Wenceslas, Pele and Mia Hamm, and excerpts from T.S. Elliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats in a way that younger readers can understand and even enjoy is definitely to be recommended.

I had the curious experience of meeting Devin Brown before I knew much about "Not Exactly Normal". He was one of the authors at a festival showcasing largely YA books. While I knew practically nothing about the others, I knew that Mr. Brown had previously written a book on Narnia so, when I arrived, I went to the B & N tent and purchased "Not Exactly Normal" (plus two other books). I loved the title at once. It reminded me of a friend-therapist who says that no one is "normal" as we think of the word. We're - everyone - just a little bit a-kilter from that abstract center-point of humanity. (That's a very reassuring observation if you consider yourself to be "unconventional".)

According to the blurb on the back cover, the protagonist (Todd Farrel) sounded like an interesting kid. For a start, his best friend is named Nitro & his dog Cathode. He likes swimming and soccer amongst other things but he's also interested in having a mystical experience. The blurb even mentioned "seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary". Mystical experiences? Yowsa! The book sounded like a far cry from the usual one-note "school story" books.

Well, I managed to miss Mr. Brown's talk at the festival but I was curious about him so decided to wait out the autograph line in order to exchange a few words. When it was my turn, I mumbled something about my own experience with the mystical or "numinous" (as Lewis or Tolkien would have termed it). My words elicited a keen look of ... understanding or ... recognition. I realized that Devin Brown had written from personal experience. (Yowsa #2)

I've read the book with slightly different expectations than the other reviewers maybe, For one thing I was looking for any bit of authenticity in the protagonist's search for the mystical. Yes, I found lots of evidence pointing to experiences with the mystical by the author. At the same time, Todd Farrel and his friends, Nitro and Leda, came across as absolutely realistic. Some scenes were thought-provoking but many evoked nostalgia and some were outrageously funny.

I found Todd's family perhaps a touch too close to the extraordinary family in Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time series and Mr. Phillip's sixth grade class perhaps a trifle close to the class in The Dead Poets' Society. But please don't misunderstand what I'm saying here! I'm not talking about "literary clones" but about an author breathing life into an extraordinary class and family and making them as real as, well, as "normal" ones - whatever they are.

Every word of what I just wrote is backwards, the more I look at it. Really what the author has achieved is showing us the extraordinary in an ordinary classroom teacher and in ordinary family members. He does this throughout the book with various settings and experiences - subtly highlighting brief outdoor scenes, moments of perfect teamwork between soccer players, and encounters between Todd and Leda all of which embody something "other" - something beyond the norm. As Todd says in one case, it was a "shimmery" moment.

This is a "shimmery" book. Maybe I was just lucky, but I found a lot of goofy ordinary school scenes and a lot of shimmery moments long before "the pivotal emergency" near the end of the story.

I hope that you will do so as well. Just keep looking for the extraordinary.

Sherry Thompson

(Oh, take a close look at the moon on the cover. It's not exactly normal. ;)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! So much of modern literature fails to provide a satisfying ending. You invest time and energy into getting to know the characters, only to have an ending that does not ring true to their traits or story arc. Not so with NOT EXACTLY NORMAL!!!

Mr. Brown artfully finessed the ending to leave you feeling complete and satisfied--in a true storyteller fashion. I felt rewarded for the investment I made in Todd Farrel. Mr. Brown also does an excellent job of conveying weighty, moral topics in a simplistic, easy to digest manner. While undertaking this task it would have been easy to cross the line into pedantic and preachy (many fine authors have slipped across this line), NOT EXACTLY NORMAL never feels that way! Mr. Brown seems to respect the reader and their ability to glean the moral issues rather than hitting you over the head with them.

I also felt the characters were deftly drawn. The kids did age appropriate things, interacted with each other in a realistic fashion and spoke with voices that sounded like sixth graders (and not like an adult man trying to sound like a sixth grader).

I whole-heartedly recommend this book for adults, as well as young adults! In NOT EXACTLY NORMAL, Mr. Brown has refreshed the art of good storytelling.

My wife and I very much enjoyed reading Not Exactly Normal. Travel along with Todd Farrell, who is an ordinary 6th grade student going to a private school in a small town. Ordinary events, however, become extraordiary as Todd searches for a mystical experience as a part of his big Social Studies project. The characters are very vibrant and easy to identify with. There are many teaching moments in this book and it would be great for literature and/or religion classes in middle school and high school.

Sicerely,
Richard Galentino