Cain Books

Great illustrations and the wording id very simple. Goes over ALL of the feelings!

I discovered this book when I read it to the children of my grandsons' preschool. Every child was fascinated.
As an adult, I might not have been overly impressed, but the important impression is the one it makes on kids. The words and the art in this book give kids permission to feel their feelings - not to act on them, but to feel. I ordered several as gifts for children in my life.

I got this book on recommendation from my son's Occupational Therapist. He has Sensory Integration Disorder and doesn't understand alot of his feelings. So with this book and therapy and just being an understanding mom it is really helping.

The book itself is very colorful and the pictures are quite entertaining. With my younger son we just talk about the feeling and help put a look to the emotion.

The book age on Amazon says 4-8, but my husband and I read this book to our 3-year-old and have done since she was 2. She loves the drawings and as another reviewer said, the pictures illustrate the feelings really well. Since we've been reading this book, she's started telling us when she's happy, excited, or angry. The expression of the third one (and sometimes the second one) helps diffuse tantrums before they get out of hand. I think this would have been a bigger challenge without this book.

I got this book to start teaching my 3 year old son about emotions, besides just happy and sad. I was really impressed by how much it has helped him. I think that the photos really help him understand what the feelings are, and then when I see him having that feeling later, I help him name it. Sometimes we go back and look at the book too. He loves it.

You will know the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Able with more clarity and detail than you ever thought possible! This was an eye opening and exciting book. Be careful, reading this can be a life changer!

I certainly agree with the others about how marvelous this book is. Both spiritually and intellectualy satisfying. It reminds me very much of some of Steinsaltz's work (e.g. "Biblical Images"). You definitely want this book!

This is a fascinating view on the generations that followed Adam & Eve and Cain & Abel. No longer leaves one wondering how life continued after the first four and where all the people came from.

I could not put this book down. Rabbi Fohrman has taken each sentence in the original text and brought amazing insight, word by word, in a very folksy, chatty style, as if he were talking directly to the reader, one on one. You will never again look at the story of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel as just a simple story. I eagerly await Rabbi Fohrman's next book.

I couldn't believe how this book probed Biblical text and exposed human nature for what it is! In some ways it is freeing, and in some ways the weight of being a human can just weigh you down.
I found this book to be intense, yet easy to read. It lays things out in a logical, progressive manner.
YHWH bless this author.

Excellent selection of fine writing about crime and vice - another winner provided us by the LOA. It's early era merely extends it's charm into a time past that's as vibrant as if it were set in the last decade, allowing us a nostalgic glimpse into our own literary birthright.

One, entitled "The Big Clock", is about the highly sophisticated and competitive world of big city publishing and involves a murder committed by it's top executive who is losing his ability to cope; a uniquely arranged set of chapters detailing the thoughts and actions of each player through their own individual eyes and each written in the "first person" which adds another layer of intrigue and dimension to it. An innocent man, fearing he will be the prime suspect, becomes enmeshed in an incredibly intricate plot trying to keep himself out of it, wading in deeper and deeper even though he has had nothing to do with the actual murder, but definitely has knowledge of certain of the events that will bring his family - that means his wife - into it which must be avoided at all costs.

In "Thieves Like Us", a gang of bank robbers is on the run through the Oklahoma countryside, living by their wits and for the day because tomorrow may never come; the doomed rampage is prolonged by the lack of law enforcement technology of the era. The visual image projected into the mind of the reader is vivid; of 1930's automobiles, dust and sweat, of desperate, reckless men who have nothing more to lose except their lives, which have never been good anyway - to them, for them or because of them. The old phrase of "Honor among the Thieves" becomes duly recognizable for a few chapters, as does the necessary bonding, and uneasy, false friendship that was tantamount to survival. This, due to it's very nature begins to unravel just when dependence upon one another is needed most; and the loser's urge to "do just one more job" to compensate for the money that seems to run through their fingers like sand through an hourglass overrides any thought process any of them may have had. It has it's anti-hero in one man who seems straight enough to maybe make it if he can just manage to split from his bad seed influences; but nothing can alter his headlong rush down the lonely path to perdition, taking the one lonely person who actually cares about him down with him. He has known nothing else; he has never been nurtured, never been taught the good lessons of life to offset the problems of it; he simply reacts to stimulus; the once child of clay has hardened to brittle nothingness.

Highly recommended for anyone enjoying mystery and suspense in it's finest form.

Before reading this handsome, well-made volume of six crime novels, I tended to consider 'noir' a movement, one of both style and period. I now know that noir is also and more generally an atmosphere and pertains to a wide variety of literary styles, characters, plots, motivations -- but all informed by a dark and often depressing overall mood. Ultimately, these six novels are character studies and although they are offhandedly described as 'pulp novels', their qualities of description, dialogue, and even basic construction techniques such as gradual disclosure and story arc far exceed most recent crime novels I've read. And although classic noir undoubtedly exposed the dark recesses in the minds and hearts of its contemporary audiences, these stories today confirm that there is very little that can shock us; the beauty and longevity of these novels is in their exposition and description of characters and surroundings and the significance of a single, seemingly insignificant event building to an inexorable, devastating climax.

Rather than recount each novel's plot and characters, I will only add that again, each of the representatives of the noir genre present in this edition illustrate a wide variety of settings and styles, places and characters. From what most of us probably consider classic noir represented by Cain's classic "The Postman Always Rings Twice" with its classic highway settings and passion, to the suave, biting, and sardonic wit of Fearing's "The Big Clock" reflecting the unusual structure of multiple first-person narration around a single, main protagonist in an urban, corporate setting, to the Oklahoman grit of a group study in gang crime via serial bankrobbers in Anderson's "Thieves Like Us", to the more explicitly horrifying, psychologically penetrating and depraved "Nightmare Alley" of Gresham, this edition is like a menu of various aspects and directions noir can and did take.

As other reviewers have stated, there is not a weak novel here. I found "The Big Clock" the most singular in structure, setting, and style and in certain aspects, it defies categorization as 'noir' except perhaps only in mood. In fact, it is the novel that for me most broadened the definition of the genre. I found "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" the most depressing because it appears to be the least fanciful, most truthful and thus the most devastating of the set. In this sense, "...Horses..." comes closest to rivalling truly great literature not so much for its details, but for its overall impact. In my opinion, Woolrich's "I Married a Dead Man" is the least successful because its exploration of mistaken identity (first mistaken, then deliberate) is somewhat banal and after finishing it, I wished Woolrich might have explored the contrast of genteel facade and grasping desperation a bit more explicitly. It is in many ways the most subtle and emotional of the set as well as the most modern (it is chronologically the last), but suffers a bit from the repetitive description of Helen/Patrice and the strain of her external and internal duality.

Several reviewers have found Anderson's "Thieves Like Us" the weakest of the set, but I disagree. The description of a gang is necessarily different and unlike the other novels, Anderson manages to accomplish what the other authors are unable to do (save perhaps McCoy): Describe the criminal as a legitimate, objective individual who deserves our sympathy and even our allegiance. Bowie, the central character, is described as taking a far more relaxed view of his own criminal activity and isn't portrayed in dark, tortured terms. In this light, Bowie has either the weakest conscience or the strongest depending upon how you choose to read him and in either sense, he and together with his cohorts provide and excellent example of the Anti-Hero.

"Nightmare Alley" is the longest and the most absorbing of the set. It is also the most violently and sexually explicit, has the largest cast of important and varied characters, and best succeeds in addressing the big questions concerning truth, faith, relationships, society, etc. Who are the real freaks -- carnival oddities and tricksters, or respectable society members seeking spirituality? Those with mere physical abnormalities or those who deliberately develop intentional differences? What is deception, particularly self-deception? "All the world's a carnival" might be a nihilistic worldview, but Gresham's portrait of an intelligent young carnival magician's development from a sensitive, impressionable boy into a full-blown 'spiritualist medium' whose only desire to trick the vulnerable out of their money (and who ultimately is tricked by one who lacks his ultimate weakness -- his conscience) is devastating. Although I predicted the ending, this truly nightmarish journey down Stanton Carlisle's alley is the point of the book. The true ending is, in fact, never reached and is a brilliant literary stroke.

I highly recommend this set of novels.

This collection of novels from the 30s and 40s was terrific fun and an outstanding introduction to the genre. You can debate whether they're all noir (at least what I expected noir to be); but nonetheless they each convey a distinct impression and view of the time. Without getting into lengthy reviews, I enjoyed Woolrich's "I Married a Dead Man" the most--from his eloquent style to the actual story-line. You know you're reading a master story-teller. Second was Gresham's "Nightmare Alley;" although sometimes I thought he could have expanded on some aspects of the story and shortened other passages (i.e., a little bit of editing would help). But each novel was distinct and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

First of all, the Library Of America collection provides the reader with some of the most beautiful hardcover editions available today. That said, the selections chosesn for this edition are all first class; for someone just getting into hard-boiled fiction, this is the ideal place to start. If you're like me and have been reading this genre for many years, this is a perfect volume to add to one's collection.

Noir emerged in the early 20th-Century from Pulp paperbacks published for mass consumption. Highlighting in gritty and sensationalistic detail the sordid undercurrents of Western society, Noir became an artistic force that became the medium for the representation of the down and out segment of the populace. Whether set in the impersonal grime of urban reality or at the deceptive simplicity of rural picturesqueness, Noir in Film and Literature revealed the odyssey and travails of lost souls whose misguided characters bore too much of the weight of their selves and their pasts to break from the shackles of their present.

"Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930's and 40's" is the American equivalent in prose of the influential and enduring genre. The grim and unforgiving tales of the dejected cast of mid 20th-Century American life are openly depicted ("The Postman Always Rings Twice"; "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"; "Thieves Like Us"; "Nightmare Alley"); vicissitudes of fate ("The Big Clock"; "I Married a Dead Man"). Whether set in scenic California, the vast and open Midwest, or a high-rise office in Manhattan, these novels uniformly render a panorama of blighted dreams, twisted turns of fate, and the sad recurrence of misfortune in desperate individuals doomed to tragedy.

None too substantial in content but highly readable, this edition is the first of a handsome 2-Volume anthology on American Noir fiction published by the venerable Library of America. Edited by Robert Polito (Poet, writer, anthologist on Noir Lit. and author of a biography on Jim Thompson), these stories enduring relevance are seen in various forms of contemporary society: from the writings of James Ellroy, Brett Easton Ellis, Lawrence Block, and Robert Bloch; in films like "Scarface", "Pulp Fiction", "Fight Club"; and in everyday life.

This book is a tremendous resource for anyone who does teambuilding! Included are activities that can be done on a "shoestring" budget as well as some more advanced initiatives. Especially helful is a section with plans on building props for team building activities! A few "old classic" activities are included, but it mostly covers new activities.

Jim Cain recently conducted a workshop for our ACA group. He mentioned that the book came about because he was giving out a thick stack of hand-outs at his workshops that were darn close to a book. So he put them together and created this book. The energy and spirit that Jim shows in his workshops is clearly reflected in this book. Although nothing can really replace an "in-person" demonstration of the activities, this book gives clear explainations and examples in a "how to" format. Along with a section on how to build many of the activities with supplies easily available at many home improvement centers. There are activities for youth, schools, camps, corporate; large budget or small budget. This book is an excellent investment.

I've worked with high school groups and some corporate groups in outdoor adventure education for more than 12 years and this book would have been most helpful earlier in my career. This is a MUST BUY for anyone who in involved in training or education. The vaule of the book is so much higher than the acutal price. Once again. This is a MUST BUY for your personal or business libaray.

Possibly a top five choice for those beginning an experiential-adventure education, resource book library.

Very good written and visual descriptions. In addition,the authors focused a great deal on assisting the reader in identifying and locating the resources and tools necessary for each activity and initiative. The detailed information is useful for both purchasing and creating additions to your equipment bag of tricks. This feature alone has been very attractive to those browsing through the book at our introductory level, facilitator workshops.

The book features a good blend of low prop, portable activities along with less-portable intiatives. Also, helpful variations of activities such as the spider web and bull ring are provided.

You may find less expensive, activity books, but this remains an excellent value as a quality resource book.

For those looking to begin a library - this is one of my top five recommendations. If you are an experienced facilitator, you will likely find good information, but you may not find the book as valuable as a less experienced facilitator.

I have worked on challenge courses for nearly ten years and used much of what I do there in my other life as a middle school teacher. This is the best single volume I've seen. I was thrilled to read up on some truly new ideas as well as most of the tried and true stalwarts. Too often I've bought a book only to find that it is a repackaging of ideas that have been around a while. There is some of this, but plenty of innovation. The descriptions are clear and Caine has provided step-by-step instructions for making all of the equipment described in the book. They also comprehensively list other books, equipment vendors, organizations, etc.

If you know someone who's budget allows only one book, this is a great place to start.

Rosenberg demonstrates the extraordinary ability to reveal a nation's history through an anecdotal tale of one of its citizens. She begins with these individuals to show you the end product _ then retraces the steps of Latin America's dark, recent history to show you how a nightmare became real. Rosenberg not only tells the story of the downtrodden and displaced, but also the story of the "victors," or the elites. It would be difficult to sympathize with anyone responsible for the murder and torture that has plagued Latin America this century, yet Rosenberg reveals the fears of the persecutors, valid or not, with the same perception with which she portrays the persecuted. In addition to nightmarish governmental indifference and inhumanity from all sides, Rosenberg sums up each country's recent history in a brief and concise two or three pages. As a student of, and journalist in, Latin America, "Children of Cain" remains my most worn and dog-eared reference book. I see the faces Tina painted everywhere I go. Neophytes who yearn for a basic understanding of Latin America and seasoned scholars alike will come away with a better understanding of these national histories that seem so foreign. Reading "Children of Cain" will put everything you read afterward into context.

This is the second book by Tina Rosenberg I have read. The first one was Haunted Land about Eastern Europe after the fall of communism, which I also highly recommend. I'm so pleased with Rosenberg's style that I'm after her book on South Africa as well.

For almost a decade Rosenberg traveled through Latin America not shying away from really messy situations trying to make sense of a history of violence and very little respect for human rights. Tina experienced many of the situations herself such as being soaked with diluted acid by the police in the streets of Santiago, Chile, during marches against Pinochet or taking a nightmarish truck bed trip through guerrilla infested Peru. The Latin American economic, political and military elites also had their points of view captured by Rosenberg resulting, as far as I can tell, in a very well balanced collection of personal perspectives on the problem - violence in Latin America - intermingled with background historical information.

Rosenberg is very competent in summarizing the recent history and the roots of violence in Latin America. The author brings the historical review to life by interviewing perpetrators and victims. Violence in Latin America as viewed by Rosenberg emanates from a history of inequality. The native populations and the unwillingly imported black slaves and their descendants have been for five centuries exploited and victimized by greedy white Europeans. The resulting instable societies in turn fall prey of guerrilla groups, organized crime, drug lords, or the old fashioned military economic and political elites. The victimized population looses faith in the state and became passive or takes matters on their own hands solving social problems or even threatening or overthrowing governments. To tip the balance back the oligarchies can inevitably count on the CIA for supposedly counter insurgency help.

It's a chilling book with no solution on sight and Rosenberg didn't even include some remarkable facets of violence in Latin America such as domestic violence in a notably sexist society and the petit and not so petit common crime. Colombia is the first market worldwide for bulletproof cars - Brazil is the second.

It's an important book mainly for American readers since it shows the impact of American interference. Sadly it offers no solution - maybe there isn't.

Leonardo Alves - Tucson, Arizona - June 2002

I'm so glad someone recommended this book to me because I will never forget it, It's wonderful insight into latin America and it's societies. Great interviews and vivid desriptions of life in a place where life means so little to so many people.

GREAT BOOK, the best at capturing the feel of what it is like living in many of the Latin American countries. I do wish she had gotten the opinion of teh peasants more thought. She seems to interview ONLY those in power, while it makes sense since many poor people are scared to talk about the real situation due to the consequences it might bring. A must read for all those who think the Monroe Doctrine and US intervention are a good thing. A bit disheartning thought, leaves you with a bit of a feeling that many of these countrie are without help.

Not only has Ms. Rosenburg done a spectacular gob in writing an extremely readable book, she provides her audience vivid decriptions using a very personal approach that employs the use of specific people, their experiences and dilemmas. She also provides her audience with the neccessary historical and enviromental (social, politial and economic) information to put these personal and organizational accouts into the cotexts neccessary for reader to truely appriecate the psychology of the forces driving these extaordinary historical events.

Moreover, Ms. Rosenburg provides the reader with six different cases from six differnet countries. From Escobar's Medellin to Argentina's "Dirty War", she examines and analyzes different types of violence motivated by unique sets of circumstances.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN; A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN LATIN AMERICA!

another ciaphas cain novel that is a very exciting read. ciaphas, jurgen, and the 597th finally journey to an ice world to face off against an ork army that is threatening a promethium production facility. ciaphas discovers the 'chilling' secret that caused the facility to be placed in it's precise location. this book is one of the best of the series.

Caves of Ice, Sandy Mitchell's second novel in the Ciaphas Cain series, was a very good read. Mitchell does a great job in putting the reader right in the middle of Cain and his Valhallan regiment's latest adventure without backtracking too much to explain the events of the previous book. Mitchell's handle on his main character is much stronger and he continues to make Commissar Ciaphas Cain believable both as a rogue whose self-preservation is first and foremost, but also as a true heroic figure in the Imperium. It's amusing to read through his attempt at self-preservation which backfires to making him very heroic in front of his regiment and thus feeding the accidental legend that he's become.

Even though the story was being told chosen passages from Cain's memoirs, Inquisitor Amberley Vail still continues to make her presence known through amusing and insightive footnotes scattered amongst the pages. Her footnotes makes Cain a much more complicated character than his memoirs would tell about the man. Her footnotes also reinforce the fact that Cain and herself shared more than professional courtesies throughout their time together.

Caves of Ice was a very good follow-up to For The Emperor for seemlessly continuing the growing characters of Cain and his Valhallans. The action still doesn't compare to Abnett's Gaunt novels, but they're well-done when needed to propel the story along. I'm glad to put the Cain series on my list of must-read novels rom the Black Library.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain and his regiment of Valhallan Guardsmen are deployed to the ice world of Simia Orichalcae. The orks intend to overtake the precious promethium plant and use the current mine workers as slaves. When Cain arrives, he has only a single day to set up the defenses before the orks reach the plant.

As Cain well knows, if it sounds too easy it normally means chaos follows. Five mine workers have mysteriously disappeared in the underground tunnels. Cain, having been a born and bred tunnel rat, is best suited to investigate (even though he wishes otherwise). The creature he finds is worse than the ork problem. Unfortunately, something worse than either of those is dormant in the ice caves and it is beginning to stir.

**** The only thing I hate is the fact that there are footnotes on most of the pages. The story is supposed to be an extract from the Cain archive that Amberley Vail has prepared and annotated for her fellow inquisitors. The author does this in order to insert comments from others present at the plant, so readers know what is happening elsewhere from Cain. Those inserts from other characters are great. They are often as exciting as Cain's archives. But I could do without the many interruptions that tell only where a certain word originated and such. As for the adventures of Commissar Cain, his gunner, Jurgen, and his people have - FANTASTIC! I look forward to the rest of the Ciaphas Cain series! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

CAVES OF ICE is the second in the Ciaphas Cain series. I feel that it is another worthy addition to both the 40K Universe and the Ciaphas Cain lore.

In this outing, the self-deprecating Commissar Cain & the 597th are fighting both Orks and a surprise. I won't say who, read the book & find out.

I'm currently reading the 3rd volume: Traitor's Hand and I have volume 4, Death or Glory waiting in the wings. I just recently ordered 3 more Black Library books, all anthologies: What Price Victory?; Crucible of War; and Bringers of Death. All three have short stories featuring Ciaphas Cain.

What a cool book. The action is great and the story never looses its pace. A must read for people who love interesting characters. Ciaphas is one of the most entertaining characters out there. I hope that Sandy Michaels keep writing novels about Ciaphas.

I liked "Hero for Hire." The story is about a detective who has to face off with Satan's #1 henchman, the bible's own Cain. The story moved quickly. The book is short and the type is large. It's a fast, pleasant read.

The book ends without really resolving its plot. In short, it's Part 1 in a multi-part series. That's fine, except I wish I knew this before I bought it.

I bought "Hero for Hire," and several other books at the same time, for a long trip to China. I was primaily guided to buy "Hero for Hire" due to its having earned so many 5-star reviews from other readers. Having now read the book, I must say that it hardly deserves a 5-star rating. There were multiple typos in the book, suggesting the publisher (or author, if this is a vanity publication) didn't do a thorough job of copy editing. The hero, a detective named Steele, could not possibly have been more of a cliche. The plot's exposition, which was really pretty interesting, was repeated multiple times for no particular reason. There was even a section where the author forgot to delete a couple of sentences he had written. The result: a character was described as doing one thing, and was then described as doing a different thing in the same timeframe.

The book read like it was the author's first shot at fiction writing. While the author's writing skills were not particularly impressive, he clearly has some potential. Overall, "Hero for Hire" is a good book and is worth reading.

Another in the series of three that is wonderful, all just as great, story is well carried. If you like this kind of stuff, then this is the best.

This is the tale of Adam and Eve's son, Cain; After being cursed by God for murdering his brother, Cain is secretly recruited by Satan to serve as the dark Angel's earth-bound champion. Down through the ages Cain passes his immortal blood to those who freely surrender their lives and souls to the fallen Angel's quest to destroy mankind...Cheers to the Hero who stands in their way...Simply an incredible tale that will keep you wanting more...I recommend part two and three also...Cain's Revenge and Eternal Soldier.

Well researched short novel using factual Biblical references to build a terrifying tale of the origin of good and evil and the continuing struggle between them. A few surprise guest appearances and a sudden twist at the end will leave you wishing for more.

Hero for Hire tells a tale older than time; the eternal fight between good and evil, light and dark. Night enthralls his readers with an amazing tale of the Angelic Conflict with nail biting realism. Spiced with humans and demons alike being driven by greed, jealousy, power and the search for immortality. A perfect combination of heroism, erotica, terror and action. With its chilling truths, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page....I want some more.

this is the best one yet,I enjoy it,and told some friends about it,pictures help also,this is a winner

God is Awesome.... This Bible has actually opened my eyes to information not found in my 65 years of Bible study.... Every Family should own one of these.... I now have a different perspective of how God uses who He chooses in order to do His will and that no one race or ethnicity is any better than another.... Also, I can now show my children's Sunday School class how each race had an integral part in biblical history.... Thanks for the opportunity to review this magnificent historical account.....

I have purchased two of these Bible's, And I read and learn so much of God's word.

Easy to read and follow. Some good background information that really lends understanding to the information in the bible.It really puts things in context. A must have for people of African descent all over the world.

Although I have other KJ versions, this is the best buy that I've ever made because of the TRUTH regarding biblical geography! Once I purchased this one, everything fell into place in an accurate manner as I used my biblical study maps, books and other study tools for reference. Has anyone noticed how here in the West, Noah and his family are skimmed over, Abraham is spoken of briefly, but a rush is made to tell the stories of Moses and David as if they are the beginning of humanity? Check your own study maps and books! How many, if any, give indepth info or mention of Noahs family tree? Amazing! Simply amazing how so-called theological scholars had the NERVE to eliminate others from the Bible! In addition, may I mention how the names and geographical lines were drawn up to divide/change the biblical locales? For starters, I suggest the map book titled, 'Then And Now Bible Maps' which can be found right here on Amazon between $12 and $14 only. It has clear plastic overlays showing the old world and the world as it is today. It is a great beginners map for a reasonable price. I must say, however, common sense should tell the average person that caucasians were NOT of Eastern heritage! (Here I'm referring to all of the biblical pictures, drawings and... let's not forget movies!) Their skin peels and turns red as a beet as they lay out in the sun trying to get a "TAN" to make their skin color darker, due to the lack of melanin!!!!!! As we all know, the temperatures in the East are much hotter and stronger!

When it comes to biblical truth, what is fact should be told! What has been verified as truth, should be told! there is only ONE God who is the ONLY Supreme One! No man should have the audacity to claim supremacy over another simply because of their skin color! To take this attitude into the theological decisions regarding the biblical truth is sad. I love this Bible for it's enlightenment of truth.

Purchasing The Original African Heritage Study Bible should be a must for all people. It is a purchase you will not regret.

The late Gordon Cain was a legend in the chemical industry, first as a successful engineer and manager for various multi-national petrochemical and fertilizer firms and then as a very successful LBO architect and entrepreneur. Mr. Cain bought unwanted plants and divisions from chemical giants such as Dupont, Conoco, and Monsanto, and made them stand alone success stories. His strategy was simple, buy at the bottom of the cycle, find unwanted but well run plants, eliminate corporate overhead, and make sure that everyone shares in the gains.

Mr. Cain wrote this book to let everyone, especially his grandchildren, know that one does not need to be a ruthless raider like the boys at Apollo or Drexel to succeed in business and there is nothing inherently wrong with debt or leverage. Some deals even require subordinated debt, unfortunately called junk bonds. Mr. Cain's deals were all successful, mostly because of his keen sense of the cycles of the industry, and all participants went home happy. His biggest problem was managing the success, dealing with issues like whether an LBO should be re-leveraged or go to IPO in order to get liquidity for the participants.

An interesting lesson for Mr. Cain was that it is easier to do a large deal than a small one, since in the large deal, one can negotiate directly with a motivated and empowered seller. A key point for us is that Mr. Cain never became an owner until he was in his 70's. An early attempt at entrepreneurship in his 30's failed miserably, mostly because he went into it for the wrong reasons. Cain in his 80's continued to look for new business opportunities, stretching into airlines and biotechnology.

As a chemical industry veteran myself, I know some of these plants and people, but wanted to hear Cain's story from the man himself. While some of these companies have not done well in the last 10 years, there are plenty of people who paid their mortgages and sent kids to college with Cain's help. Mr. Cain is no longer with us, but has made an impact on our business and has done much good with his charitable work, especially at his alma mater LSU.

Gordon Cain tells his impressive story in a modest and matter of fact way. This book paints the broad strokes of his life. He shows some detailed financial data for his transactions but doesn't delve too much into the story. I think the book is most useful when combined with some additional research, you need to spend the time looking up information about the individuals and companies he references.

I had the pleasure and blessing financially to work for two all two short years for Gordon Cain, back in the 1980s. The man was both a gentleman and a genius. The title of the book sums up how he lived his fascinating life. As Gordon gracefully recounts his story, he leaves the business reader with wisdom of great value. His precepts are simple: Manage rationally with a human hand, make everyone an owner and a potential winner, engineer your product and processes to meet customer needs that are more important than your own, leave office politics behind. This stuff really worked, as deal after deal recounted in this book showed. It is a great mystery to this reviewer why american business rarely follows these precepts; since they always work. Post note to the book: Gordon shared the financial benefits with thousands of people and gave all his money away to build rural hospitals before he died.

Further the book is well written in Gordon's plain style of speaking. It shows how one man took the cards he was dealt with in life and played them not only well, but with dignity over the course of a long and interesting life.

Gordon Cain led a fascinating and exemplary life. This book is well written and comprehensive. Well worth reading.

We need more business leaders and managers who embrace and practice Mr. Cain's brand of business and general living. very pragmatic, down-to-earth, no-frills, seeing things for what they are -- Very ZEN.

Mr. Cain is a hero, not so much for the wealth he created for himself and many others, but the way he lived his life when he did not have alot of money.

Involved in a number of his transactions from the banker's role, Mr. Cain has set an example for all of us who call ourselves capitalists. Unfortunately, the corporate scandals of the day get the headlines whereas the true successes that create value for everyone, including the employees get little or no attention.

Integrity, Accountibility and Maximizing Long-Term share-holder Value -- not going for the quick buck at the expense of others is what is all about -- it allows us to discover, explore, educate, entertain and enjoy the life before us -- society progresses as a result. Everyone Wins.

High recommend this read to everyone -- whether or not you have an interest in business becasue it is the true story of one man's journey who just happened to become a successful businessman through a series of "happy accidents.

What a shocker this book had me engrossed from page 1. I could not believe someone had the balls to write what I was reading. I was hoping that the lady next to me on the plane wasn't looking over my shoulder. 13 stories takes you for a ride you have no idea where it will lead until Ed decides to blindside you with his unique style. If you like your surprises with no holds barred then this book is a must read for you. I hope somewhere Ed is working on a sophamore project for the following this author is sure to amass.

Cain is undoubtedly one of the best new talents. All the stories are written by him, but you'd never know it to read them! Each story is a different facet of this fascinating man's personality. From an anything-but-simple haunting "The Lost Souls of the Stanton", To an odd diary, ( very odd) "The Diary" to the amazing "Glory Hole", each shows the talent of a much more experienced author. There IS one thing in common in all 13 stories--they make it difficult to fall asleep at night! So if you dare, give 13 STORIES a try, and invite me to your nightmares! Enjoy!

From disgust to revulsion, from fright to abject terror... Ed Cain strikes a cord in so many ways with his first book. "Glory Hole" takes you to the depths of depravity and shows in vivid detail where that path can lead. "Pieces" tears apart your psyche like the wrecked body of the monster in the story. And "The Lost Souls of the Stanton" departs from the classic horror genre, but Cain's results are no less unsettling for it. I was skeptical when I first cracked the pages of this book, as new authors usually have to write several books to find their voice, but Ed Cain captures your attention from the get-go. I was truly engrossed in this book from start to finish.

What sticks out most is that this book is like no other I've read. This work is void of the common horror cliches we've come to expect in this ever-narrowing genre of vampires and knife-wielding psychonuts. As an example, who would expect to find Satan himself in the thick of the battle in Viet Nam? "In the Scope", my favorite story, we see that the ol' fork-tailed one has landed himself and a few of his own in the jungle letting hell play itself out as the war rages on around him. This is a refreshing set of short stories that takes the reader to different settings and surroundings somewhat new to the horror realm. "Teven's Monster" takes us to the inner-city project where a young boy meets a brother he never knew he had - and for good reason. Cain is able to play on your worst fears and deepest delusions like a conductor would a symphony.

Wow! I just finished reading this book and I'm still trying to digest it. Where has this guy been? As an avid fan of horror who had grown Oh so tired of vampires or horror disguising itself as romance, I've finally found a writer who writes horror without trying to be PC. Cain's stories don't hold back. They are rude at times, violent, he never backs off. Though I wish some of the stories had been longer, Cain's writing style is definitely for the Gen-X crowd. Rather than having to skip large portions of the text due to excessive use of adjectives, Cain gives you enough background to understand where you are, then throws you into the abyss. The baby boomers have Stephen King, and Dean Koontz, but few of our generation feel like reading a 500 page book. Cain covers in 170 pages what many author's would cover in 500, but you don't miss anything. Without doubt, the strongest story in the book would have to be Glory Hole. This bizarre tale of ancient Chinese myth, spun neatly into the life of a porn junkie living during the depression, is brilliant, original, and totally engrossing. Tevin's Monster ran a close second with me. The story centers around a young black child living in the projects who discovers a family secret the hard way. Cain's settings are perhaps the best part of his books. No two of these stories are even close to the same, even the writing style changes to adapt to the needs of the story. I don't normally recommend books, but if you are a fan of horror, or just looking for something completely different, try 13 Stories, you won't be disappointed.