Bruno Books

In depth reaseach on post polio and related viral diseases. Must read if you or someone you know has this. Explains why you feel rotten and what to do about it.

Not a good first read. Mr. Bruno is depressing. I suggest Dr. Silver's book Post-Polio Syndrome, it is excellent!

I had polio at the age of 5. I was so much luckier than alot of Polio Survivors. I got Dr. Bruno's book from the library and read it and read it at least 3X. I have recently ordered the book through Amazon and I am so excited to receive it.

He is an exceptional man, who writes so we can all understand. I will be meeting with Dr. Bruno and his team the end of March, I do not know where my new journey will lead me but I know that I will be safe and in the best of care. I recommend this book to anyone who has had Polio or has unexplained weakness, pain and fatigue everyday.

Reading this book I felt like someone had entered my life and could see my thoughts and frustrations. It was strange. It is so true- we were taught avoidance of the issue.As a nurse I learned about polio in the past tense, and had read few articles on PPS. I had seen polio survivors, even gone to school with a couple but never talked to them and when problems started did not even know who to talk to.
Dr. Bruno covers just about every physical and emotional aspect-- now if I can just retrain myself to take care of me.
I was able to go to the Clinic and meet with Dr. Bruno and he is as genuine in person as he seems in the book. All the built up anxiety came tumbling out in a rush-- because this book showed he has pulse on my life as a post polio patient and seemed to CARE!!.
I think this book should be required reading for all in the medical field.

"Ah ha!" are the words I'd suck in as I read Dr. Bruno's book. After a year's research on my own, I found the PPS Institute and Dr. Bruno's book. Those of us who had Polio (or didn't know that "it" was Polio) only knew one thing - we were over it and had to get on with life and catch up ASAP. We had fear at our back door, and it pushed us onward, every minute of our lives. For me, after cancer, I kept thinking "Its just the chemo" but I had been told in 1982 I had PPS and "Use it or lose it" was the theory protocol, so I kept going like I was short in the back with a "22" fearing I'd lose some dendrite that would nourish a neuron, and the first symptom I had (in '82) would come back. Instead, I became worse - the results were what drove me to discover Dr. Bruno's book and go to the Institute: hundreds of falls, broken bones, lacerated head injuries, tripping for the past 50 years and feeling like a clutz, when I was known as the regional "Happy Tom-Boy" BP (before Polio).

By the time Dr. Bruno told me to just "rest - chill for a few weeks" I had to do it; nothing else worked. It DID. I read the book again, and again...trying to find a glitch in his neuro-networking and neurology statements, but I couldn't. So, I did go to the Institute.

Everyone who knows anyone who's had Polio, or any sudden onset illness, or even as my little sister, used to drip food out of her nostrils at age 2 (it was Polio - 1954), must read this book. Be prepared to talk to doctors - they must have PPS as part of their required CMEs NOW. Post Polio surivors can no longer accept mediocre care, and repeated anesthesia "accidents (as I did)." With or without insurance, humans have a basic right to respect and care. I had Polio - I knew I did - and the fears associated with going "back" into it were at times paralyzing in itself...thus I kept swimming daily - often for three hours and lifting weights, anything to avoid breathing problems again, or the horrid stiff neck, or ... seeing my arm next to me and not moving even when I yelled at it!

Post Polio Paradox will give the reader the information needed to take to the medical professionals, and to educate themselves, and . . . gradually, safely, comfortably, change their lives from the fatalistic Type A personalities (which did get us through the horrors of Polio), but paradoxically - aptly put, can destroy us now. IF we are real, we will be able to see our 'worn' parts, accept them, and move on to another phrase in our lives - taking care of ourselves. "Polio Class of 1950"

Excellent--well written--an easy read. This book affirms what I see clinically every day, now I can be a better support system for my patients.

I was recently diagnosed with post-polio syndrome. Immediately, I started seeking out information on this health issue. Without question, this is the best book on this subject. I am so pleased to have read this book to assist me.

This book answered many questions we have had. It is very clear and informative. I plan on giving a copy to my family doctor so we can improve my health care. The author truly understands what former polio suffers experience years later.

This book is very enlightening for anyone who has had polio and their extended family and friends. People who have had polio (and other diseases that affect muscles) need to understand that the traditional approach of "use it or lose it" is detrimental....they need to take a "conserve to preserve" approach to life activities. This requires a change in mind set....which, of course, is the hardest thing for these Type A personalities to accomplsh.

I am a polio survivor, having had both bulbar and spinal polio at age 10. I am one of the fortunate who learned to walk again and seemed to overcome many residuals. Like many polio survivors, I am someone who has refused to acknowledge that something is impossible - I rarely give up, and this quality enabled me to endure all the physical therapy that resulted in what passed for recovery. I have a trach scar, weakness in my right leg, left arm and a gradual onset of back pain and fatigue. I have had a post-polio assessment, but wasn't certain until reading this book that I should be resting more than overdoing exercise. I feel so incredibly lucky when I see the many who are back in wheelchairs - brings the whole nightmare of the iron lung, the rocking bed, the tube from my nose to my stomach for sustenance, the suctioning of the trach tube, etc., etc. I hope that everyone who has suffered will read this book and gain a better quality of life.

The stirring and adventurous novel, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was penned by enigmatic author B. Traven. Traven a political anarchist active in the 20's and 30's was thought to be of German descent and was purported to be the illegitimate son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Nonetheless he lived for many years in Mexico and as seen by his most celebrated work, had an excellent working knowledge of Mexican culture and society.

His novel which served as the framework for the John Huston classic film starring Bogey and Walter Huston, greatly embellished the story seen on the screen. His tale of adventure, hardship and greed was admixed with political commentary as Mexico was emerging from years of colonial rule and subsequent exploitation by big industry. The oil business was seen ruling the economics of the region described in the book.

Traven's ingenious blending of the gripping tale of his main characters, Dobbs, Curtin and Howard braving the wilds of unexplored jungle regions of Mexico in quest for gold with social commentary was very effective. He was thereby able to expose his points concerning the Mexican social and political climate. He also didactically pointed out that life's riches are not solely based on precious metals but also on the fellowship, relationships and respect among mankind.

This book is the basis for John Huston's film of the same name. Both author and director share a love of Mexico and it's people. Having seen the movie many times it was interesting to come to many familiar parts of the story knowing what was going to happen and enjoy on the page verbatim bits of dialogue. The story takes awhile to get going as Traven sets up his characters but it builds to a powerful ending proving once and for all that man's greed destroys his soul. There are some who have criticized Traven's socialistic leanings but I don't think they get in the way of the story at all...in fact, I think they prove his point that unregulated capitalism is the bane of western civilization. But enough of that - this is a timeless story that meanders a bit so it won't appeal to casual readers. If your reading tastes lean to anything recent, this book will probably be too slow; in that case, watch the movie - you will get the same point in less than 2 hours. However, if you like Literature you will appreciate Traven's insights to human nature and his excellent story-telling method. I myself couldn't read this without putting the movie out of my mind...if someone tells you not to think of pink elephants...well, you get the idea. All in all, this novel is well written but could've been a bit shorter.

I have been a big fan of the movie for years but had never read the book. Well, I have to say that the book is even better than the movie, and I still love the movie. If you have seen the movie It will be hard not to imagine Bogie and walter Huston in the main roles. And this is not just because they are already planted in your mind, I think director John Huston did an excellent job of casting the movie. Anyway, I highly recommend this book!

If you have seen and enjoyed the John Huston film of the same name, and believe it to be one of the greatest films ever produced, then it is mandatory to procure and read this book.

This review is written from the perspective of someone who has seen the film at least a half dozen times before reading the novel for the first time. The film is mostly faithful to the novel, so no nasty surprises await those weaned on the film. While less dramatic in some ways, the book provides a better explanation for the motivations of the characters. This necessarily leads to significant, though not unpleasant, changes in some of their fates compared to the film (or perhaps, better said, vice-versa). Some of the more interesting scenes also are expanded, such as the encounter with the bandits at the camp, and more background is provided about the bandits themselves and the efficient and clever way that they are ultimately dealt with by the local people.

Though a little slow going at first, once accustomed to Traven's writing style and well into the meat of the story, the feeling of the realization that a very special experience is in store for you simply builds and builds and continues doing so until the satisfying conclusion of the book is reached. This is a masterpiece, a gourmet treat for the soul, a book to relish during a lazy morning spent in a soft bed, or sitting by a cozy fireplace.

As in many screen adaptations, seemingly ancillary elements were culled for the film. However, those elements, namely the description of the factors which led to the oppression of the native peoples of Mexico, provides a pervasive, unifying theme throughout the novel. This lends an enriching, interesting counterpoint to the story of the central characters.

There is a tiny bit of information given about the mysterious B. Traven, just enough to make you want to learn more. A speculative look at his identity is presented in the extras which are included with the newly-released reissue of the film on DVD.

I bought the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre at a small used bookstore that was moving across town so that they marked all of their fiction half off (half off of used prices - awesome). So I left with about 20 books for about $20 - $25. I was grabbing things at random that looked at all interesting or at all slightly familiar. One of those books was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

I had seen parts of the movie years ago on TV, but not enough to remember any plot points. My dad had a tendency to habitually switch channels between five movies all at once so for the longest time I thought John Wayne and the scene where they blow up the bridge during "Bridge over the River Kwai" were scenes in EVERY movie.

The book was slow going at first. The characters are introduced and they take their time to finally get to the part where they're prospecting. As I read it I thought, "yes. There's lots of social inference in here." But then continued to read on taking it all at face value instead of trying to over analyze everything. It's more fun to think about it for a month later and think, "Man, that's so true. We'll all turn against each other in an instant if money is involved. tsk."

I enjoyed the characters, I felt frustrated for them as they fell into paranoia and insanity. I kept thinking, "Which one is Bogart? Is that Bogart?" And when the one guy **spoiler** gets his head cut off, I was like 'Whaa? For real? That's pretty intense." I've been reading a lot of Beat writers a lot lately, and the Mexico that Traven describes is a lot different from Kerouac's or Burroughs' Mexico - they tend to romanticize the poverty, where the guys in this book are actually living the miner hardships. Mexico's a lot better when you have a trust fund, huh, Burroughs?

And yes. I was so happy that the famous `badges' line is actually in the text. I pictured Micky Dolenz saying it from a skit in the Monkees TV show that I used to watch after school on Nickelodeon. I laughed and laughed.

This is a great book. The author does not write with the touch of a professional but it is because of this that the book is such of gold mine! It is penned with a down-to-earth style. Books like this give one great insight into the everyday happenings during war time which are seldom captured by professional historians, whose goal is to capture the greater scheme of events. To learn about a great event or crisis, you must read the works of historians. However, to fully understand such things, you must compliment these works with books that present common, everyday humanity in such circumstances.

Tullio Bertini performed a great service by showing us slices of real life that few in this life are privy to experience. The author shows that children in times of war desire what they want during times of peace; they want to make friends, play games, learn things and so on, irrespective of the culture. The author shows the hardship, camaraderie and bravery exhibited in times of great crisis. A good example is where the area priest was able to save 300 people from deportation by leading them to a safe haven. Another example is the story of a priest who hid Jews from the Germans and Fascists. This chronicle demonstrates a common human bond among people, a bond which leadership tries to destroy for its own warped reasons but in the final analysis never can.

Molte Grazie Signore Bertini per il vostro capolavoro!

Tullio Bertini has written an earnest, but amateur book about his childhood experiences in Italy. His memories of his life there are interesting, but don't come to life because he's not very skilled at narrative, but only at writing "just the facts". He includes plenty of detail about what was going on in WW II at the time -- a little too much, it seemed to me. He also tells a lot about how things were done in his village, such as harvesting and roasting chestnuts, making charcoal, etc. The book is nearly half over before the Germans show up in town. Then he does relate some telling incidents, such as the first time Allied warplanes strafed some Germans who were mining a bridge, and what he saw and how he reacted. Contrary to the title, he was not liberated by the Buffalo Soldiers, but by Brazilians! The Buffalo Soldiers arrived several days later. This is an excellent personal history for his family to keep, but does not qualify as a professional memoir.

A retired lawyer and former intelligence officer. This personal memoir describes the six years that an American teenage boy spent with his Italian American parents caught by the outbreak of World War II in their native town in Tuscany. It is an indispensible contribution to the grass-roots, social history of wartime Fascist Italy. It's filled with the amazing details and realities of daily life, reflecting an intimate insight into the social life and customs of a small Tuscan town north of Florence. The story starts prosaically with an explanation of why the family has returned to Italy. It becomes an absorbing story building to a dramatic climax. The German Army attempts to "relocate" the villagers acting in preparation of the German defensive Gothic Line north of the Arno. The villagers escape by walking all night on trails through mountainous terrain to reach an Apennine valley probed by advancing American forces. Those forces are the all-black American "Buffalo Soldiers" of the famous 92nd Division. These dramatic events are told in a straightforward narrative style reminiscent of Hemmingway. The account is informed by the seemingly photographic memory of the man the boy grew to be. The maps and background presentation reflect the training of author Bertini's adult interlude in American Army Intelligence. It is a must read for those who want to know what is was like to be caught in the harsh realities of a war zone, and for Italian-Americans and others would enjoy a first-hand social history of survival in the Italy of World War II. I think Sophia Loren, remembering her childhood wartime experiences, would empathize and recommend this book. It is well organized with an index, a bibliographic reference and 26 pertinent photo illustrations. /s/ J. A. Giordano, Stanford AB, JD, '56.

Mr. Bertini's story is a very insightful account of the Nazi occupation, of the eroding Fascist Party of Mussolini, of the heroic effort of the Resistance, and of the liberation of his family's village by the Allies. It's also a narrative of Tuscan village life and Italian family traditions. His descriptions of various crafts of the villagers, methods of farming by the contadini, and the processing and preparation of the typical products of the region are incomparable. I have read Trapped in Tuscany three times and have visited Diecimo after each reading, to relive the events of the war and Tullio's extraordinary boyhood adventure.

I have been reading up on the war in Italy, and this story was a refreshing change from the narratives of battles big and small. I recently visited Diecimo on my way past Lucca, saw the house of Tullio, and spoke with a local who was also a boy during the war. This story helped me understand from another perspective the incredible damage done to the Italian people by the Nazi forces and to the infrastructure by both Germans and Allies.

Great book I already have a copy...bought this one for a friend!

Great pictures of Lukas in this book. Buy this instead of his boring movies.

The images say more than any poor words could convey.
Each turning of the page is a new revelation of
intense beauty and desire. To do better justice,
perhaps this:
I've looked on beauty so much
that my vision overflows with it.
The body's lines. Red lips. Sensual limbs.
Hair as though stolen from Greek statues,
always lovely, even uncombed,
and falling slightly over pale foreheads.
Figures of love, as my poetry desired them
....in the nights when I was young,
encountered secretly in my nights.
-- C.P. Cavafy. -C.P. Cavafy: Collected
Poems-. Translated by Edmund Keeley & Philip
Sherrard. Edited by George Savidis. Princeton
University Press. 1975.
--------------------------
-- Robert Kilgore.

Lukas Ridgestone may be the most beautiful young male model ever photographed. With ice blue eyes, square jaw, lean, triangular torso, and every other physical perfection, Lukas will delight every admirer of male athletic erotica. Pictured with several other Bon Ami stars, Lukas out-strips them all!

This book is really great. A must-have for all Lukas Ridgeston fans as well as male erotica photograph books enthusiasts. High quality pictures that will forever be imprinted on your wildest fantasies. Lukas is picture perfect! The book is hard bound so it will last a thousand times of browsing. Kudos to Bel Ami and to Bruno Gmunder!!!

Doom Patrol, as represented in the first volume of their Archives Edition, was an interesting attempt in the 1960s at DC to expand the notion of what makes a super-hero, along with Deadman, Challengers of the Unknown, Eclipso, and Metamorpho (most of these heroes created by Bob Haney, the author behind the Doom Patrol). Their resemblance to the X-Men is obvious although DC was never able to create an environment where the oddball heroes fit in as well with Superman, Batman, et al, whereas the X-Men never seemed out of place in the Marvel universe. But Doom Patrol's biggest weakness was its lack of stand-out villains. The X-Men had Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants while the Doom Patrol struggled along with General Immortus and the Brotherhood of Evil. The Doom Patrol stories are still quite charming, though, and show great promise for what could have been. It was an adventurous experiment at DC to create a team of outcast heroes that is worth checking out.

deserves the big screen treatment. Far more interesting than the X-Men, this is the story about a group of people who become superheroes through no fault of their own (its the result of machinations from somebody, but you'll have to read the series to find out), and how they deal with being "different". Negative Man, Robotman and Elastigirl are three of the most tragic figures ever to grace the comic page and their stories are far more pathetic than anything in X-Men(not that I don't like X-Men). Read the series. You won't be disappointed.

They were four damaged people: Rita Farr, a beautiful actress who, while shooting on location, was exposed to a gas that gave her the power to vary her height; Larry Trainor, a daring test-pilot who flew through a belt of radiation, and come through with the ability to release an embodiment of negative energy, but only for a minute at a time; Cliff Steele, a race-car driver, until the crash that destroyed everything but his brain, which was transferred into a robot body, and; Niles Caulder, the brilliant genius who brought these people together as a force for good. They are Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, Robotman, and the Chief: the Doom Patrol.

Contrary to popular belief, DC Comics figured out pretty quickly that rival Marvel Comics formula of character-development was something that they needed to infuse into their own line. The problem was that they were very hesitant to do this with their big gun characters: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, iconic characters that never had any of the problems Spider-man did. However, DC had no problem creating new characters in the Marvel style: fantastic characters with a down-to-earth core.

Perhaps the best example of this approach is the Doom Patrol. This was a team of strong individuals who found themselves possessed of powers that they didn't want. Indeed, for these characters, there was very little hope of ever being normal again. So, they did the next best thing: they fought people who were in worse shape than them, hell-bent on spreading evil.

Arnold Drake's writing made the most of the bizarre premise. The villains were sinister, vile, and above all, quirky. Of course, while General Immortus, the centuries-old genius, was perhaps the team's most persistent enemy, by far their best loved was the Brotherhood of Evil. Led by the Brain, a disembodied brain, and Monsieur Mallah, a surgically enhanced gorilla, the team was the Doom Patrol's counter-part; misfits that sought revenge on the world.

Amazingly, Drake's scripts never stretch credibility to the breaking-point. He stayed within the rules he set for himself, and never forgot that his heroes were suffering, and not always in silence. They pined for normality, they wished for acceptance, they bickered amongst themselves. At the same time, he never let the action get bogged down in the team's personal traumas. Moreover, Drake tailored the stories to spotlight the unique abilities of his characters, while examining the strengths and weaknesses of their individual personalities.

Bruno Premiani's name is not one of those artists who immediately named when discussing comic book greats. He probably should be. As his artwork proves here, Premiani had a strong sense of realism. He made the most of his talented line work, grounding his art with a realistic sensibility that further underscored the bizarre tone of the series. One only need to look at the gorilla Mallah, and the extraordinary detail he paid to the character's design. Truly, Premiani was a craftsman, and deserves much more recognition.

It's not hard to see why, although never a first-string book, "The Doom Patrol" is still remembered fondly today. It was a unique mix of absurd super-heroics and sharp character-drama. While DC recently made some questionable continuity decisions about these characters, they've wisely pulled away from them. So enjoy these wonderfully weird stories.

Found this to be one of the best archives that DC has to offer. And from one of the least popular series they had. The art and stories are superb. And still stand today. I had reservations about getting this. But when DC announced that there was going to be a new Doom Patrol series coming I decided it was time to get to know these characters all over again. And guess what. Not a single disappointment.
Pick this up if you get the chance. You will not be disappointed. So glad I did. Already ordered Vol.2. So enjoy.

A group of disgruntled social outcasts with super powers comes under the guidance of a wheel-chair bound genius and is frequently called on to save a general populace they increasingly grow to despise.

You got it...the X-Men, right? Nope. The Doom Patrol.

The comparisons are immediate and striking (The Chief/Professor X, The Brotherhood of Evil/The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants), and given that Doom Patrol actually predated the X-Men by several months, one has to wonder if Stan the Man and the merry men at Marvel didn't pass out a few copies of Doom Patrol at editorial meetings.

But to the stories themselves: the characters are great. The heroes find that their powers have literally ruined their ability to lead normal lives. They are resentful. They find code names stupid and embarrassing and call each other by their first names. Even in attempting to forge relationships with each other, they frequently fail due to shattered self-confidence over their own perceptions of themselves as nothing more than freaks. Remember kids, this wasn't written in the 80's or 90's. This was written in 1963!

Arnold Drake's scripts are hokey by today's standards, with what can be called B-movie dialogue and plots. However, once you accept them on that level (don't look for the gritty realism of the 80's or 90's), they are great fun. Bruno Premiani's artwork is simply excellent, at places it reminds me of Brian Bolland. I agree that it is simply unfathomable that Premiani is not held in more esteem.

While X-Men became a mass market phenomenon, Doom Patrol has had what can be charitably called a star-crossed publishing history. No incarnation of it has ever lasted, although Grant Morrison gave it a great run in the early 90's which I recommend to anyone. Somehow, though, this is sadly appropriate for Arnold Drake's original vision of the quintessential unhappy super heroes. They just never got popular enough to sell out.

The next time you see Hugh Jackman or Patrick Stewart onscreen, or walk past the endless rows of X-Men compilations in a comic book store, do yourself a favor and find the DC section and introduce yourself to these characters. Take the Doom Patrol challenge: go for the original.

This is a major compilation of the work of the intriguing graphic artist, M. C. Escher. Remember seeing depictions of events that seem plausible but, under closer analysis, involve impossibilities? That describes some of Escher's most interesting works.
The book provides just about everything Escher produced (appearing in the "Catalog" section of the book), including his earliest works compiled during his teens. Among the most well known (and fascinating) include "The Waterfall," "Ascending and Descending March," "Convex and Concave," "Liberation," "Synthesis," "House of Stairs," and so on. The catalog section is fun, for one thing, simply to trace the evolution of his art.

But there is more to this volume than the works themselves. The volume provides context, with a brief description of his father's life as well as a more detailed analysis of Escher's life, from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1972.

There is also a most useful chapter labeled "The Vision of a Mathematician" (featuring the thoughts of mathematics teacher Bruno Ernst). It begins by noting two periods in the work of Escher--(page 135): ". . .pre 1935, in which landscapes predominate, and post 1937, which is characterized by a marked mathematical tendency." Ernst describes the mathematical principles in some detail (for those interested in this, a fascinating discussion). The textual portion of the book concludes with an essay by Escher himself on "The Regular Division of the Plane," including his reflections on his art.

This book has been around a while, but it is a valuable backdrop to getting a sense of the art of M. C. Escher.

I love everything Escher. I have several books, numerous calendars, as well as large jigsaw puzzles, T-shirts, magnets and mini jigsaw puzzles. Because of the detail in this book, I will never need to add another book to my collection. I especially appreciate the explanations. I am nowhere near smart enough to figure out what Escher was doing in each of his artworks. The detailed lesson on what each piece means is much appreciated by an art fan who is not an art scholar. I think this book would be great for any Escher fan, but I feel the need to tell you it is very large. Make sure you have room for it.

And c'mon - if you've seen his work, you're a fan.

The great thing about this book is not just the extensive and readable biography, but the complete (so they say) catalog of his graphic works. Even people very familiar with Escher's ouvre will be surprised by some of the entries here. They go back to work he did at ages 18 and 19, and show the devleopment of the Escher that has become so famous. It's just a little disappointing that the catalog is printed only in black and white, when so many of his works used color. The catalog reproductions are just that - a listing of his work, not a gallery, so the quarter-page size of most pieces is adequate for recognizing a piece, if not for appreciating it fully.

It is fascinating to see Escher's style develop though his (and the twentieth century's) twenties. Various influences early on suggest Beardsley (cat. 49, 67), Picasso (cat. 51, 58), or the pervasive Art Deco of his time (cat.34). Even then, some of Escher's later fascinations begin to emerge, including hands and reflective balls (cat. 88 and 80), symmetries and tilings (cat. 61, 65), and complex interactions of many figures in a repeating structure (cat. 90). The lesser-known parts of his work also start to emerge by the time he's 30, including delicate lithographs (cat. 129, 132). As much as I love his visual paradoxes and flirtation with the infinite, the lithos and mezzotints are the pieces that truly move me. "Snow" and "Blowball" (cat. 278 and 330) have an eloquent simplicity. "Eye" and "Drop" (cat. 344 and 356) demonstrate his classical sense and his perseverance with the demanding medium of mezzotint.

The text is also thorough and enjoyable - a good thing, since it takes up half of this heavy book, including its own set of illustrations. I admit that I have only skipped around this section, which starts by describing Escher's father. It's small wonder that his father was an engineer and that his son Arthur studied geology. Although an artist to the core, Escher had fruitful contact with mathematicians and crystallographers. He is one of very few artists that have successfully incorporated hard science into their artistic vision at such a visceral level, and the scientists appreciated that as much as anyone.

Although out of print, this book is available inexpensively on the used market. It's one of the best bargains around; if you've read this far, you'll probably find it well worth having.

//wiredweird

I haven't even had a chance to go through all of this remarkable book yet, but I am so impressed with it so far I cannot burble enough about how delighted I am with my purchase. This is a beautifully produced, designed, and wonderfully complete book. Many tales of the personal life an vision of the artist, countless, cleanly reproduced graphics, many works I have never seen or heard of before. Terrific! Can't recommend enough!!!

Definitely the first book every Escher fan should purchase. It's helpful in getting to know about the man himself as well as his brilliant artwork. It may seem pricey, but it's totally worth it, being hardcover (at least the one I got), and high quality photos of his work. It also shows his lesser known works (ones never released apparently), as well as photos of himself and his family. A very informative read and a quality edition.

I actually was only going to read this book to prepare myself for the radio interview with this author (May 29, 2008 on In Short Order at [...]). Instead, I found myself glued to the pages of valuable information from a patient's view. By reading this book, those who know or take care of a person with a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) will be better able to understand what the victim is going through - a better handle on things makes for a better friend/family member or care provider. Those who treat TBIs would benefit from this book more than most - what you can't see on tests can be learned here and therefore validate the diagnosis more quickly so that treatment can begin at an earlier stage. For those with a TBI, Lyme disease, or any disabling affliction, this book is your pair of ruby slippers.

Bruno equates a TBI to The Wizard of Oz classic. Although I have Lyme disease (which in many cases can be likened to a TBI), and can relate and benefit from this book, I never saw it put so simply - and well written. Just as Dorothy is whisked to another place, it is the same with most injuries and illnesses. We leave the life we know for a place we have never been before (and few want to make it a vacation spot). Come take the first step on the yellow brick road - where the journey to recovery begins.

Glinda (as we remember as the good witch) starts us on the path. Contacting organizations and support groups is an important step. Who doesn't need support, information, and to hear from others on virtually the same path? There are many things to do to prepare us for the first steps to recovery, but often we forget where we need to begin. Order is the way to end chaos. Support is the way to end aloneness. And information is the way to the next steps that must be taken if recovery is the goal. And don't forget, some who have grown accustomed to your disability-state may not want you to recover - learn why in "If I Only Had A Brain Injury."

There are the ruby slippers and the wicked witch. The information in this section is most helpful because it starts us focusing more closely on ourselves. Here we can begin to turn the injury or disease into a new beginning. When we beat ourselves up or refuse to accept what we cannot change, we slow or halt our journey. Forgiveness and identifying change are good things.

Okay, we're on our way. We may not be skipping yet, but we can add pep to our steps when we look at what can remove some of the stumbling blocks that have been preventing us forward movement on our road to recovery. Bruno learned that buying quality electronics (a computer monitor) cut down on her headaches and dizziness; which allowed her to work; which enabled her to earn a paycheck; which helped her to feel she was still in Kansas.

There are more ideas that are presented in this work - classical music, relationships with animals, and cultivating new friendships, to name a few. These will open new doors in the land of Oz and you may even discover new things about yourself that you never knew existed.

In "If I Only Had A Brain Injury," Bruno has given us a map of the Emerald City, introduced us to the Munchkins, and provided a beacon for anyone who is associated with injuries and disease. It is a one-of-a-kind book.

This a must read for all, with hopes that you find an owl in your life, too.


Sue Vogan
[...]

I got this book yesterday afternoon and I have been gobbling it up! Right from the start I identified with the writing. I, too, had a feeling that my evening at the outdoor amphitheater that July 26th night in 2005 could change my life. I didn't know how and so I ignored my irrational feelings. I went to the ballet and although we were sitting inside I must have picked up the tick as we walked across the lawn to the amphitheater. 10 days later, almost to the hour, I was very, very sick. The Lyme crossed the blood brain barrier and I have had neurological and emotional problems. My stupid neurologist says I am "in the normal range" even when I have vertigo and was falling back on my head walking down the street, have huge memory gaps, sometimes make no sense, etc. I told him it wasn't normal for me, but ended up getting nowhere and leaving his office in tears.
My boyfriend of 12 years (with whom I attended the ballet that night) became very frustrated and angry. I am no longer the same woman he signed up for. We separated in the Fall of 2007. He felt I was not "trying hard enough" to get better.
My family thinks I am mentally ill. In fact over the last 9 months I have been misdiagnosed with either depression or Bipolar II disorder and mis-medicated, which DID make me pretty crazy. I am now convinced I ought not to be on any medications but treat myself holistically. I have been medication free for one month and that has made a huge difference for me.
So, I am so thankful for the book! I am finding out that I need to listen to myself and not depend on doctors to be able to fix me or even diagnose me correctly. I have been changing my diet and using it as my medicine. I have been making sure to get outside and walk or recently I can bicycle again! Soak in some sun. Surround myself with positive people--no angry boyfriend--as much as possible. I am painting again.
I think I was already headed in this direction -- after 11 months of putting my hope and trust in, then floundering in, medical offices, hitting my head against (figurative) wall after wall. Laura Bruno's book gives me such strength and hope for this journey.

If I Only Had a Brain Injury is a beautifully conveyed book that is not only practical, simplistic, and full of easy to apply tips and tremendously helpful, thorough resources, but is also an artistic expression of genuine experience and compassion that takes one on a journey through Oz. Utilizing Dorothy and her friends' experiences to illustrate our own unfolding life processes creates a tangible and easily understood analogy, and coupled with Laura's own personal experiences, truly hits home and creates a relateability that transcends all boundaries. This is not only helpful for those with TBI and medical challenges as listed, but truly is a guideline and means of support for any and all challenges in life that can be simply applied. Finding myself challenged in overly mental focusing and truly not having the desire to do so either, I found Laura's book wonderfully supportive to this. It was easy, quick, and very clear, with nothing to have to read between the lines or mentally figure out. One can open the book to any page and find something valuable easily without it feeling out of context. This works well for people like myself who either don't have time to read, don't have much desire to read, or little focus to do so. You can pick up and leave off at any point and never feel lost and get exactly what you need at every turn. Laura is a beautiful example and expression for us all and one can only look forward to more wonderful books to come from her.

Injury took some mental abilities away.
Through that loss, author Laura Bruno,
finds an alternative path to health and
trusting herself. She demystifies many
medical mysteries all the while reassuring
those in similar situations not to suffer alone the
embarrassment and self consciousness of a
brain that is learning to function again -
perhaps differently. If I Only Had a Brain
Injury is a compendium of spiritual and
emotional support. It includes 52 healing
hints while leading its readers to become
wizards of their own healing. It offers
support to the caregiver and acknowledges
how events changes all involved.
Ultimately Laura Bruno wants everyone
to find their own deeper meaning of
injury - an opportunity to connect the
mind and heart - to live deeply, meaningfully,
and creatively through one's
essence.

If I Only Had a Brain Injury is a delightful, powerful and highly informative book. Beautifully written, Laura Bruno draws upon her experiences with her own Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) from a car accident. Her descriptions are vivid, deeply and personal. The book is very supportive and is an excellent resource for those dealing with Traumatic Brain Injuries and their caregivers. The book is also vitally important for those dealing with challenging and mysterious health issues like Chronic Fatigue, Lyme Disease and Migraines.

Bruno tells her own story while expertly weaving her insights within the context of the Wizard of Oz. I loved the humor, playfulness and utter seriousness in the book in the chapter titles and content. In the chapter, Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bruno states that her aim is, "...to inspire you and to guide you to resources that will empower you to take control over your own health and wellbeing."

Gradually after Bruno's own accident she began to realize that she had entered into a new land, and needed to learn anew. She recounts these realizations in the chapter, We're not in Kansas Anymore. Bruno says, " Like Dorothy, I knew I could not return the way I arrived. Like Dorothy, I eventually found my way "back home," but I took the Technicolor journey with me. I wrote this book to help others to do so, to."

And, like Dorothy following the yellow brick road to find her way back home to Kansas, the book emphasizes actions you can take in your recovery from the symptoms of these various illnesses that are so mysterious to the medical community. Bruno says in the chapter titled "Glinda," that "This chapter suggests ways to find the Glinda's along your journey...Even in the Wizard of Oz, Glinda prefers to help Dorothy help herself." She includes an excellent listing of resources to contact. For instance, she notes that you might want to contact a Behavioral optometrist that specializes in connections in mind, body and vision because "...a majority of people with neurological issues suffer from visual impairment. If you have any of the flowing symptoms, you may benefit from visual therapy or prism lenses: Concentration problems; Double vision; Headaches; Difficulty reading; Balance disorders; Clumsiness; Eyestrain; Intolerance of flickering lights; Intolerance to varied backgrounds; Panic Attacks; Easily becoming overwhelmed; Vertigo.

If I Only Had a Brain Injury is like a breath of fresh air as it offers hope where typically there is none. As Bruno notes, so many head injuries and their effects are not detected, diagnosed or treated. Many people are told that they do not show any medical evidence of a medical injury even though they are experiencing severe difficulties in daily functioning since the time of their accident or since the onset of their illness. And, even when a brain injury and trauma is recognized, there have been very limited resources to assist in continued rehabilitation.

My level of awareness about the nature of head injuries and its effects has risen dramatically from reading this book. This includes helping me to understand some of my own experiences from knocking my head with numerous falls off of horses, minor car accidents and some of my own hard to diagnose symptoms. I now keep this book by my bedside for personal quick reference and I also have a copy available in my office for those clients who have had head injuries.

If I only Had a Brain Injury is an excellent resource that I very highly recommend for anyone who has experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury as well as their family members, caregivers, medical professional and therapists. For anyone whose life has been touched in some manner with a Traumatic Brain Injury or by any illness that has been a medical mystery, this book will be of great value.

This is a great book. The beginning starts rather sweetly and relies perhaps a bit too much on a Kafkaesque-Proustian pastiche, but then the whole thing comes alive with the Father, the birds, and his theories regarding the Second Genesis. When the father assumes the podium-the book ceases to re/present and enters into Being. His monologues are fantastic! It is a pity they are so short. Schulz was a man of rare genius. His dual pursuit of writing and the visual arts make him an even more fascinating figure. I am eager to get his book of drawings.

This book reveals a great talent that was taken from us. The richness of the sentences, their imagery and use of language reveal a great depth of talent. Who knows what Mozart might have done if he'd lived another 36 years? A slim volume worth every penny.

Awe and perhaps a bit of terror are the appropriate responses to this work. Schulz wrote like a man possessed by the spirit of creation - his sentences are alive, they breathe and hiss with color and form as a revelation of the world is made. His control of imagery incarnate in language slides and shifts from the most gracious to the most grotesque. Beyond it all is a vision of the cogs and gears upon which the cosmos turns, a radiant pattern from the Baroque era. Schulz dropped down to the mythopoeic essence at the core of time and crafted stories that told more of his childhood than any more literal record could've.

Ten stars, and sadness for the premature passing of one of the greats.

I first heard about this book through the pages of the 5-star novel "The History of Love." What is most unusual about it is the author's lack of intention to actually publish his writing. This book is a manifestation of personal letters he had addressed to a geographically distant friend. It is by no means an easy read. The language is powerful and supremely complex and requires absolute focus and sometimes the need to reread a paragraph a few times to truly appreciate the intense magnitude of brain power that this author possesses. This is a book of highly exaggerated proportions. Schulz takes "magical realism" to another level.

Convoluted ideas that twist into abstract thoughts walk through dark alleyways and emerge triumphant. This is how I would describe Schulz's writing. This is not the sort of book you can breeze through but rather, like a dense and flavorful truffle. You will want to savor every word, let it sink in and roll it around in your grey matter before you can appreciate its true meaning and beauty. There is real depth and symbolism in Schulz's writing. That said, it is certainly not for everyone. If you're looking for a lighthearted bedtime read, skip this book. On the other hand, if you're looking for mental stimulation and a book that truly promises an escape from reality, you won't be disappointed by this street of crocodiles.

I am not sure I got this book in a real way. I had heard of and read of Bruno Schultz as a writer of the Shoah(The Holocaust) but the events of the Shoah are not a direct part of this story. The Shoah connection is given in the fact that Schultz was murdered by the Nazis.
The book itself I found disconcerting, bizaare, and difficult. It is filled with descriptions , word- pictures which seem at the one hand beautiful, and on the other somewhat unreal. I suppose what bothered me above all is the narrator's tone and relation to the events which are happening.
As the major action of the work relates to the physical and mental deterioration of the narrator's father I was taken aback by the lack of human sympathy displayed . In fact the whole disconnectedness of the human beings in the book to each other is another thing which makes the work so troublesome.
There is a world in this book, a mind in this book which is not like anything I myself have experienced even in reading.
But however beautiful some of the images given by this mind it seemed to me so fundamentally alien that I could not really grasp it.

It is surprising, as I find, that the wonderfully and skillfully photographed young male nudes of the Bel Ami series of books seem to have so little popularity in English Canada (no longer regularly available even from that paragon of gay literature distribution, Little Sisters in Vancouver, from the few times that I have checked that firm's WWW site in 2005 and 2006), but, thankfully, Bel Ami's products remain fairly easy to find in such major gay-populated Québec cities as Montréal. (Bel Ami, on its own WWW site, includes some items that are unavailable even on the various national Amazon sites.) The youthful men, in their teens and early twenties, photographed very often in full frontal nudity, are equisitely lithe, graceful, lovely, and agreeably or outright impressively "well-hung", each memorably good-looking in his own way that varies from one to another, some "lean and lanky" while others more sleekly and/or heavily muscled in a more forthrightly macho way, still others, by contrast, more endearingly pretty (sweetly juvenile, lovely, and tender), yet others just a bit raffish or lovably gangly rather than so classically handsome as many are, yet all of Bel Ami's lads being memorably appealing.

This book, also known by a longer title, "Howard Roffman Meets the Boys of Bel Ami", takes a memorable selection by George Duroy (who was filming these lads for one of his moving images projects) of Bel Ami's achingly beautiful young males to on what Howard Roffman, the photographer, refers as "eight glorious days [in 2004 at an holiday spot in] ... the lush seaside resort city [of] Capetown, South Africa" where they appear singly, as couples, and in groups, often interacting variously as posed or behaving spontaneously for the camera, by turns affectionately, and/or playfully, usually delectably "buck naked" (but occasionally lightly and sexily partially clad). These photos make an even greater impact in their larger format in the hardback edition than they do in the paperback reprint of smaller page size.

Whether one prefers Roffman's book or Benno Thoma's also copiously large collection for Bel Ami, entitled "Around the Globe" (which features among Thoma's naked lads some of the same male models in Roffman's book) probably is largely a matter of taste, e.g. a preference for mostly colour photography (Thoma's) or entirely black-and-white camera work (Roffman's), or for the sensibility of one photographer over the other's; both books and the young men posing mostly nude therein, are exquisitely lovely examples of erotic photography at its best.

While I prefer some of Bel Ami's youths in its various films and books to others of them (e.g., my very favourite being slenderly sinewy Ken Christy, of winsomely soulful gaze, whom I like to call "the Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy 'kid look-alike'", whose photos appear only occasionally in some of the books and in at least one video, but, alas, not here in Roffman's "The Boys of Bel Ami" or in Thoma's "Around the Globe"), all have their undeniable charms. One hopes that the market for these books, for this one and others, especially those in the original series (there being a "new generation" of Bel Ami models that, to me, in general, is, on the whole, marginally less appealling) is not so poor that they all will disapper from print, as seems to be the fate of the various Bel Ami videos. All of the Bel Ami series, not least this title, deserve a gay man's attention and will generate sheer wonder at the beauty of the naked male form in the full flush of youthfully post-pubescent early maturity, posed and photographed splendidly.

There is a welcome avoidance in Roffman's "The Boys of Bel Ami", as there is also in Benno Thoma's "Around the Globe", of raw, lasciviously explicit, downright raunchy "action" photos that abound in (and too frequently mar) the often potentially equally serene beauty of young male models as such guys often have posed in more pornographic output of other producers, the sort of sheer lewdness Bel Ami (at least its books) rightly shuns. Nonetheless, there are some photos of the models in both books showing them with enticingly full erections, yet avoiding undue vulgarity. These guys often look to be on the verge of launching into anal or oral sexual penetration one of another, but the camera tastefully catches their affectionate play short of that, albeit barely at times!

This book is better than I expected. The men are really beautiful, and the images of them romping and playing is delightful. The one photo of a food spread is a bit confusing? It should have been a two-page centerfold, and believe me, all the men in the book are centerfold worthy. Nicely done. Tasteful and romantic.

Howard Roffman's photographs of the legendary beautiful men than appear in the Bel Ami films are stunning. The book is published in black and white and has over 200 beutiful photographs of perfect young nude men. They focus on the beauty of the natural human form, and thus are not erotic in the sense of gay erotic magazines. These beautiful men are captured at times of play or relaxation or meditation with very careful attention payed to lighting and form. The photographs are often sublime since the male human body in young perfection resonates throughout a gay man's eye, mind, body and soul. You will not be disappointed by this large format book of exceptional beauty.

If you're a real fan of the boys of Bel Ami this is the book for you, each photo is more amazing than the other, besides all of them are black and white, which adds extra beauty to them

I was a little concerned about the price of this photo-book, but it's well worth the money. This is Roffman's largest book, both in terms of length and heft. It's a "behind the scenes" look at a Bel Ami video shoot, staring at least seven (possibly more) of the Bel Ami models. The photography is incredibly well-done, and the models are absolutely beautiful. My only complaint is that the models aren't identified, but fans of Bel Ami will know who they are. This is a fantastic photo-book, and Howard Roffman is the luckiest photographer in the world!