Greene Books

It's my #5 book on memoirs of the Holocaust. All of them I discovered right here, on Amazon.
The first one was "Thanks to my Mother" by Shoshana Rabinovici about life and survival by a minute in the Vilna Ghetto. Then was "Alicia", "Cage"...
Rena and Danka are two sisters in Poland. Rena promised their mother to be with her littler sister and watch her. And all she was doing in Auswitz was to keep Danka alive. Amazing woman and very very street smart. There were so many situations where most people would loose the will to live, but Rena kept finding the ways to save herself and Danka at the last split of a second. Over two years to be in the Death camp and survive!
An amazing Courage to fight for Life!
An amazing example for us all!

I just started reading this book yesterday, and I must say I am completely intrigued! I do like this type of memoir reading and I love to read about the atroscities of the holocaust. This book is a very easy read and it really captivates you; I haven't wanted to put it down yet!!

On a day where a person has everything that they need and no need to cry is the same day that a person may be going through what one would consider the "worst" day of their life. The novel Rena's Promise is the best novel that a person could ever read because it talks about the Holocaust but, not only does it describe the bad times but it makes one feel as though they were right beside Rena during those years. Rena's Promise is the beautifully told story of two remarkable young women in their early twenties who endure and survive nearly three and one half years as prisoners of the Nazis in Auschwitz and Ravensbruck. My favorite aspect of the book is how no matter what goes on in Auschwitz or Birkaneau, Rena still made sure that she would stick to the promise that she made to her mother which was that she would take care of her sister. In addition, Rena's Promise is powerful because as Rena was describing the events that took place in the camp it felt as though I were right beside her the whole time due to the imagery that she used. Although I can feel her sorrow and pain, I cannot feel the cold freezing my body at every minute, I will never starve the way in which she did and I will never be treated as badly as she did. For anyone who may have been involved in the Holocaust or is just a fan of the Holocaust, this book will definitely captivate you and you will not want to put it down. It's an amazing book so I would absolutely suggest that you read it. (Fonda Walker).

This is an incredible story of sisters in a concentration camp. I've done a great deal of research into the Holocaust, but never have I come across a book quite like this one. It literally changed my life. I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards, little things reminding me of Rena's story--eating a potato, walking outside with a coat on, seeing a young child playing. I found a distinct connection with Rena, even asking myself if I could do what she did.
Rena is an astonishing woman who is responsible for her sister surviving Auschwitz. The critic got it wrong when s/he said that Rena's promise was made to her mother to protect the baby; Rena's promise is to her sister, that if her sister is to die in that terrible place, she will not die alone. Rena went through a terrible ordeal to keep them both alive, and to attempt to recount it here would be a great injustice to Rena's story and spirit.
Read the book. It will change your life.

I came away from Rena's Promise with a new found respect for people who have experienced racial discrimination. Rena Korneich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam did an excellent job of reconstructing Rena's life prior to the Holocaust and what happened as the Allied Powers were beginning to win. Although I never read a novel about any historical issue, Rena's Promise seemed to portray an acquire example of many historical events within that time period. Even though I came away from the novel very pleased, it did possess some limitations. In my opinion the pictures within the book should be at the end of the novel because it takes away from the suspense of surviving her terrible ordeal. If this was put into thought, then the reader would have enjoyed her escape or her survival even more. I also enjoyed the author's use of diction because the reader is able to learn Polish or German words while they are reading, although they may have been hard to pronounce. Nevertheless this is an excellent book about a courageous young lady who went through some horrendous events during the Holocaust, although it was a little far fetch.

I'm writing this as the mother of an adopted Ethiopian child- I bought this book after a random search and it has been the most valuable book of our whole adoption journey. It's loaded with helpful background info on the AIDS & Orphan crises in Ethiopia, history of Ethiopia, insight into the cultural perceptions of adoption (especially by affluent, white Westerners!) and the very moving perspectives of the orphans themselves, and their Ethiopian caretakers. The heroine of this story is very real, and her character development was deep and insightful. I laid the book down several times to have a good laugh (or cry!) but could hardly keep from turning the pages. Whether you are adopting yourself, supporting someone who is, or just interested in learning more about Ethiopia and this heroine's story, I know you will come away inspired.

Author Melissa Fay Greene, who is the adoptive mother of two Ethiopian children, relates the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian mother who becomes the foster mother for a multitude of AIDS orphans during the height of the pandemic. Greene truthfully tells the tale without painting Teferra as a "modern day Mother Teresa," but rather as a very real and human woman who is asked by clerics to take in one abandoned orphan after another. A grieving mother whose adult daughter died from AIDS, Teferra discovers that helping the children provides her with a means of overcoming her grief. The individual stories of these "lost children" who arrive on Teferra's doorstep are riveting, as is Greene's account of the assimilation of her adoptive children into her family. Accompanying photos show children shortly after they arrived in very bad shape at Treferra's compound and then later with adoptive American families.
Greene spares no one as she rails against the pharmaceutical companies that withheld AIDS medications from third-world countries at the height of the pandemic, causing the loss of a whole generation of parents. Despite having no drugs to help the children, hit-or-miss medical care, and scarce food for all, Teferra does her best to feed, clothe, house, and educate the orphans put in her care. Although one might think that this book is a "downer," it is a very uplifting page-turner that relates the indominable spirit of one Ethiopian woman and her many foster children.

Melissa Faye Green is an excellent writer. She is a true artist painting a vivid picture of scenes, and weaving historical, political and social aspects of the deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is an incredibly powerful book. It is not easy to read due to the difficult emotional toll it can take on one, but I felt morally obligated to read it, so that I wasn't just shutting out the devastating misery suffered by so many millions. She portrays the human face of this awful disease with poignancy. It is an inspiring and human story of one woman's efforts to alleviate her own and others suffering. God bless Melissa for opening our eyes.

This was a wonderful book! Having myself been to Addis Ababa recently (July 07) with my daughter to pick up her adopted Ethiopian baby boy (4 months old), you can just imagine how this story of one woman's love for so many orphans resonated with me. The book is a quick read -- something interesting in every chapter. The author intertwined Haregewoin's up and down story with bits of Ethiopian history and the unwinding spread and theories of HIV-AIDs plus added her own experience with H. and the adoption her own Ethiopian children -- which made the reader come away with a true cultural experience. H. is truly a "Mother Theresa" figure and an inspiration to all women. Thank you, Melissa, for introducing us to her. I really enjoyed having the photos of many of the children and their adoptive families to relate to. I will be sure that my daughter reads this book and I have suggested it to my book club in Boulder, CO which will read it in the fall. -- Gayle Weiss

I like what the story is about, however the book has so much detail it is hard to get through the first chapters.

Like others reviewers before this, I'm rather surprised how obscure this wonderful, quirky book truly is.

The story revolves around Toseland, a young child who goes to live with Mrs. Oldknow. He goes to live in a big manor in a country estate (think the estate the Pevensies go to live on in Lewis' THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDOBE). He soon realises there's something odd about the house, and is puzzled why Mrs. Oldknow talks about the history and past inhabitents of the place like they were around only yesterday. It turns out the house is inhabited by children of the past, and he learns of an evil gypsey named Green Noah who he ultimately must confront. This final confrontation is rather scary, and Green Noah is one of literature's most memorable villains that I've encountered in a long time.

The book is a rather charming blend of supernatural meets reality, and there is something very delightfully English about the whole affair. The author's Catholocisim is rather apparent n the book, and she fits a lot of different allusions to literature, music, and history.

For those looking for good Children's fiction, this is a powerful story. It's too bad it's not well known.

I found this to be an excellent novel not only for children but also for adults. There is enough intrigue to hold the reader's interest throughout the novel as well as being a lovely, warm family story.

I first read this book when I was a child (in the 60's) and immediately fell in love with it. It has everything I adore in a book; a little magic, a little ghostliness; an English castle; lovely animal companions; characters from times past; people with manners, morals and down to earth values and last but not least--love. I have re-read this book many times and have just finished listening to an audio-version. This is forever a beautiful and enchanting book.

The book I'm going to talk to you about is called; The Children of Green Knowe, by L.M. Boston. I didn't really like this book. It was a little confusing and hard to understand. There just wasn't a clear point. There was not middle, or a climax and resolution. I thought this book was about a mystery or a ghost story, by the cover and the blip from the back. I was very disappointed in the ending, and that it was appoint-less fantasy, that bored me half to death!

The Children of green knowe was about a boy named, Tolly, who was the age of 8-11,whose parents die (they don't say how),so he was sent to live with hisGreat-Grandmother in Penny Soaky. Her house was called Old Knowe.
Three children, Alexander, Toby, and Linnet, died in Tolly's(the boy's name), Great Grandmother's house many centuries ago. They started appearing around the house just days after their death. They played with Tolly, and went on great Adventures. Enjoy one of Granny's stories every 20 pages, and learn about Tolly and Granny's love for the flute andthebirds.

Other reviewers have praised the book. But then, they also liked Harry Potter, and "Series of Unfortunate Events" as well, so that clearly showed me, as a College Prof, now HS dad, that I might not like this book, as the excesses of sardonic humor, death, magic, and evil, are all too prevalent in this day and age, to encourage the reading of fiction to stuff yet MORE garbage into my children's (or my!) head. As it is said, "Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof...".

But Green Knowe is different- perhaps because it was written in a gentler, kinder time. While there is fantasy, and a sense of the blurring of the dimensions (ghosts that are not evil, a world within our world that has connections to the past, and the interpenetration of them all) overall, this work has as much depth as Potter's does for the adult reader, without all the preachiness of 'PC' dogma which has so marred Rowling's later writings, and has influenced all of the film treatments. One really does not need to rehash Shirer's work on WWII in a Children's fantasy novel, which is all Rowling's works have become at the hands of her American editors...

Boston's world is alive- with literature, history, music, and artistry, which Rowling's is not. For adults, the references to the Restoration, Cromwell, Purcell's music, Anglican Church, and British Christmas customs provide a wealth for any HS parent discussing the period 1660-1700. But, as another reviewer noted, she never GOES anywhere- unless just BEING is enough. Her world is one to inhabit, not to holiday through, as if it were an itinerary of sights to check off. The ONE confrontation is scary, and could frighten younger audiences...but a vision of a redeemed world shines through. I was reminded while reading Boston, of Jame's novella, that Britten set to music in the opera, "Turn of the Screw." NOT "cheery" stuff, that!

If I seem ambivalent, it is because, while there is much to recommend in her writing, and the pictures she paints are very vivid, and full of life, the theological issues of the spirit world interacting with the real world, the malevolent curses of a gypsy long dead, and the subtle hints of either a strong genetic lineage, or a nascent reincarnationalism, coupled with clear Christian imagery and pious sentiment (Do ghosts really sing Christmas carols, without malevolent intent?) bothered me.

Is the book magical? oh yes, in many ways. Is it troubling, as say, Wind in the Willows is not? Oh, yes.. in equal measure. Is it a good read? Definitely. But the rest? I'm not sure....

Lois Lowry has really saved the day in this house more than once with her great Gooney Bird books. In this book, the first of the Gooney Bird series, Gooney Bird is introduced to her new class. She's confident and smart and has a good time in life and the class does an effective job of welcoming their new member. The "conflict" in these stories is some intellectual problem that one or more of the characters needs to solve, rather than having conflict with each other. This is perfect for us, because we have one daughter that doesn't care for conflict between characters in her fiction. The fact that Gooney is such a great character is stupendous (she likes big words and her dictionary!).

This is a clever book that will keep the parent entertained as well. Well worth every penny and then some!

Lois Lowry is a gifted writer of fiction who is passing on that gift to young readers with Gooney Bird Greene!

Children will learn the art of creating a story as they are enthralled by the tales told by Lowry's funny, pig-tailed heroine.

This book is tremendously entertaining and valuable as a teaching tool!

Another great children's book by Lowry! This book is absolutely hilarious and educational, too. Great to integrate into an English lesson(s) about writing stories. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Lowry or anyone who loves the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary.... the books contain great energy & lots of humor.... all with some lessons learned along the way. :)

I teach second grade and love to use this book as a read aloud to inspire my students to write interesting stories. After we finish the book, we then write our own stories from our life, and use all of Gooney Bird's tips for writing. I also like to use it as a visualization lesson, where we draw the picture in our head before Gooney Bird tells a story, and then the picture in our head after she finishes her story. (very different)Gooney Bird also has some great characters to analyze, as we learn about the different classmates through their interaction with Gooney Bird as she tells each of her stories. It is a treasure!

I read this book to my fourth graders, and they loved it! Gooney Bird is an original thinker who always tells the truth! We had fun speculating exactly how her "wild" tales could be true, before we read on.

Gooney Bird also discusses the ways to make writing better, and kids can learn from that as well. The book would be good to use in writing classes. Plus, it's just plain fun!

I love this book!! comfort food at it's finest...the grit gravy and the grit tofu are just amazing.

This cookbook is absolutely fantastic! I used to live in Athens, Ga and this cookbook gives the recipe for my old favorites at the real restaurant, The Grit! I could NOT be happier- as a beginning vegetarian, this book is priceless because it helps prove that as a vegetarian you do not have to miss out on great tastes, new great tastes are DEFINATELY out there!

The publishers ought to be giving me a commission as I have turned so many people on to this cookbook! Seriously, it has fantastic recipes, including the best pancakes I have ever made....the nutritional yeast gravy and the golden bowl are to die for...the stews with Guinness beer rock....the cilantro and pesto quesadillas are always a hit....yum......

My son bought me this book for Mother's Day. He told me to bookmark the book I wanted. I didn't, but had left the page up with the Grit Cookbook on it and left the room. I had wanted another cookbook, looking forward to receiving the other cookbook, and to my surprise, received this book instead. What a wonderful accident. I have enjoyed reading the book. It's so fun; it makes you want to visit the Grit. I have, also, enjoyed the recipes. So far, we have tried the salsa, famous vegan ranch dressing, tabouli, spinach and lentil soup, and my husband's two favorites: cream of tomato soup and mock cream of chicken soup. Everything has been excellent! Thank you son for such a wonderful surprise!!

I never been to the restaurant before but from this book I can imagine their food is great. Its full of interesting, tasting, and quality recipes. Also these recipes are made to feed large families which is good with me because I have one. My absoultey favorite recipe is the BBQ Tofu Sandwiches oh my goodness it is the best bbq sauce I have ever made and the ingredients are so simple(I must note this recipe calls for honey but I use agave and it is still good). I must add that this book is not 100% vegan some of the recipes call for cheese, butter and milk but that can be easily substituted with its vegan counterpart. All of the vegan recipes have a little V by them to make them recognizable on site. So if you are looking for good vegan food for a big family, then check this book out.

All I can say is that I am disappointed with this book.

We're expecting our third child and I picked up this book because I liked the title. I figured almost two years worth of information in one book would be nice since we already kind of know about preganacy and the baby's first year. I wouldn't have to read too much with my busy schedule and maybe get one or two good tips I didn't get before. Was I wrong!

This book is not thin, total 317 pages. And yet, it reads so easy and fast (even considering my first language is not English). As I was reading this book, I was amazed how much information this book is packed with! This book covers not only the generic facts on how your baby grows, but also suggests what you can do as parent(s). It also has many wonderful photos.

Dr. Greene covers physical stuff such as nutrition, but also covers how you act and think may affect your baby. He also covers in detail how the baby develops - very informative and I had to read several passages to my husband. His respect and love for the life also can be felt throughout the book which also increased my own respect, awe, wonder, and love for our third baby.

I love to read and I've skimmed through many books on pregnancy, but this one is the best one and I am reading this thoroughly. This is like an all the best books on pregnancy and first year combined in one!

Although I read this book late in my pregnancy, I would recommend it to any expecting parents! I thought that his insight was more direct (and aligned to my own personal philosophies) than most expectant 'mom' books. Dr. Greene's other book, Raising Baby Green (my personal favorite), encouraged me to pick up this one, and I feel as though many moms and dads have a lot to learn from his experience as both father and pediatrician. Every question from should I eat organic to which diapers to use are covered- don't miss out on this book (it would also make a great shower or congratulations gift!)

My wife and I recently were blessed with the birth of our first child. Being new parents we often have felt overwhelmed and extremely inexperienced. Dr. Greene's book has proven informative and comforting in those moments when we needed a little helpful advice. "From First Kicks to First Steps" is easy and fun to read, and is a great resource for anyone with a little one at home or on the way.

Dr. Greene has put together a remarkable guideline that takes expecting couple from pregnancy through toddlerhood. Much like his award-winning children's health website, DrGreene.com, he does this in an engaging style with well-researched information.

Expectant mothers (and fathers) should look no further. This book is destined to be the "must-have" book for parents-to-be.

Daniel Z. Sands, MD, MPH
Assistant Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School

This book exposed the contradictions of the autopsy report vs events that were publicized after Sam Cooke's death. Also intriguing sides of his personality were revealed; such as the trailblazer he was on the business side of the music industry and other popular entertainers he groomed.

Both these aspects of Cooke's life have been grossly
'under reported'...perspectives that are way overdue!

Of all the artists to populate the pop (as in popular) music scene since it began in 1955 no other artist is better than Sam Cooke. In my opinion, no other artist's music has had relevance in its day, and held its importance even today. Sam Cooke was a musical genius, and an incredible verbal story teller. I have read other books about Sam, and they were fine, but what makes this book different is that those other books leave Sam's passing, and the events surrounding it, a mystery. This book paints a much clearer picture giving much more plausible scenarios for what, more than likely, really happened that day. What is most commendable about Erik's book is that it takes what most people were feeling about Sam's passing ... i.e. that he passed in a tarnished fashion, and turned it around (and I do believe that it is the truth) and showed Sam as the hero that he was. The truth had to come out sometime. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to Sam Cooke fans - this book is a gift.

While reading "Our Uncle Sam" I cried, I laughed and I knew that the Sam Cooke that was in these pages was the real Sam Cooke. Even though the authur did not know his uncle he was able to bring out the real Sam. The book was beautifully written and you can see the love in every page. I am glad I bought "Our Uncle Sam" because it gave me the opportunity to know or feel like I know him. I always knew there was more to the story and now I know for sure. Thank you to the authur, Erik Greene, for writing this wonderfully uplifting and eye-opening book about the greatest song writer/singer/performer there ever was or ever will be.

I have read them all. Erik Greene's book is from the source and from the heart, by the people who knew Sam best: his family; not the people who just wanted a part of Sam or to control Sam.

Great read. Well done. If you love Sam Cooke's music you need to read this. If you're new to Sam's music--this will give you a deeper understanding of the man and his music.

The casual observer really believes that sensationally sexy singer known as Sam Cooke was killed doing the usual shady celebrity ho-down in a seedy hotel deep in a neighborhood that no sensible person would roam about after dark. Sam Cooke's musical brilliance has been almost completely buried in the scandal of his demise.

Erik Greene brought up many facts about Sam's murder that no one else has talked about. I've read Peter Guralnick that pitches Allen Klein as an angel and I've read David Ritz (w/ SR Crain and Cliff White) that pitches Klein as the devil in very flimsy disguise. Looking at Klein's track record with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and more recently (1997) The Verve, Klein is not to be trifled with or trusted. The spin in the "Legends" DVD on how he helped Sam develop Sam's second Copa show was comedy, even to someone on the outside looking in. It's easy to take credit for the success of a man who has been in the grave for 4 decades.

The details about 55 year old Bertha Franklin's composed neat appearance, immediately following her supposed tussle with 33 year old Sam that resulted in his demise is interesting. The dispappearance of all the police and morgue files and the sham of a interrogation directly following Sam's murder all point to people in high places wanting Mr. Cooke dead. After all, Sam was a black man who owned his own publishing and record companies in the 1960's. Not only that, he was encouraging other artists to do the same. Black people had been killed for much less in Sam's day, like sitting at a lunch countr and asking to be served. Sam posed a huge threat to the record company, much of which was and is controlled by the mob. Mr. Green brought all these factors to the forefront, including Sam's penchant for the finer things in life, from clothes to cars to homes and gadgets. If he was to indulge in dealing with call girls, I truly suspect that he would go to an expensive hotel where he was known and the staff would turn a blind eye. Lastly, a Ferrari idling in the ghetto, complete with keys and nobody steals it? Sam was set up, beat up and murdered.

Now Sam was far from a saint, but he did not deserve to be killed, most especially in such a horrific and humiliating manner. In 1964, only white people could pull off such a complete shut down of proper police and medical follow-up. What about Bob Keane owing the mob and having life insurance policies on some of his artists? Who owned the nightclub PJ's where Sam was last seen alive? What really happened to Bobby Fuller?

This book opens up a wound that has festered and remained a sore spot all these long years. Sam Cooke was an incredibly handsome, amazingly talented man; so much so that to watch tapes of him today still display what a sexy dynamic man he was. His appeal is not dated and he is still relevant with "A Change Is Gonna Come" and his many pop hits continue to play on radio stations that cater to the tastes of a wide spectrum of people.

The book reminds us that Sam, though flawed, loved and was loved by his family. He would be 76 today had he not been murdered. Sam's great nephew reminds us of Sam's great talent, forward thinking and charisma. But most importantly, it brings to the forefront the humanity of Sam Cooke, which makes his loss even sadder.

I wore out my old copy, was happy to see that it is still avalable in a updated version with all the old information still included.

Absolutely excellent and comprehensive, but if you're new to canning--a city girl like me or simply afraid of killing someone with your canned goods--start with something less scary.

This book is a must have for anyone with the slightest interest of canning, drying or freezing food. Only problem is my book is missing pages 155 through 186. It looks like a binder error, so there may be more out there with the same problem. Check as soon as it arrives.

Owned my first couple for years and gave it away to a relative. Had to buy another copy. It is the very best of the all-around food preservation books on the market. It is a must for the reference shelf.

The value in this book is its coverage of techniques. That's very unlike, say, the Ball preservation book, which focuses on water bath and pressure canning. Putting Food By is as close to a preservation Bible as you will find. It's a staple among natural food folks, gardeners, home preparedness advocates, even survivalists. Please note that it is a technique book primarily, not a cookbook for canning, as so many food preserving books are. (There is, of course, extensive coverage of canning techniques.) That said, one reason I like Putting Food By so much is that there is detailed food item by food item advice as it relates to preservation you don't typically find in other books.

An excellent edition of Graham Greene's The Quiet American because it combines this prescient novel with superb contextual documents about the Vietnam War, Greene's role in it, and a wide-range of critical essays about the novel. It's stunning how Greene in 1952 was able to see what would happen and why in Vietnam, but the novel speaks as well to us today about the dangers of imposing our own ideologies on other cultures and being blind to human suffering. It also shows the dangers of sterotyping and objectifying the "other."

To read The quiet American now, some thity years after the end of a sensless and disastrous war, gives us an unexpected vision of Vietnam, its people and the United States involvement in that war. Furthermore, it's inevitable to think of the present war in Iraq.
It's no news that Graham Green is a magnificent fiction writer, witty, sometimes funny, always capable of digging deep into historical situations and different people habits and values (The power and the glory and The comedians are very good examples)but in the qiet American he is also a cruel reporter and a skillful creator of full size human characters.
The Viking Critica Library edition has also an enormoues value for the inclusion of literary reviews from the first edition of the book and the opinons of experts both in literature and Vietnam history.
Javier Olmedo,
Mexico City, Mexico

Into the intrigue and violence of Indo-China comes a young, idealistic and quiet American called Pyle who is employed in the Economic Aid Mission. He is sent there to promote democracy through a mysterious Third Force. But his naïve optimism about democracy starts to cause deaths and his friend the cynical British foreign correspondent Thomas Fowler finds it hard to stand aside and watch. As Fowler intervenes, he wonders whether it is for the sake of politics or for his love for the young Phuong.
Commissioned during the 1950s to write an article on guerrilla warfare in Malaya, Graham Greene stopped off in Vietnam to visit a friend, and soon fell under the spell of Indo-China. This novel is a result of his love for the country, inspired by his experiences there. Although the political situation has changed dramatically, The Quiet American continues to reflect accurately and powerfully the problems of war and the people involved in it.

If you plan to buy this book by all means get this edition. The novel is very readable and Greene is a real wordsmith. The thing is this edition has news articles by the author about Indochina,
critical reviews (the good and the bad), interviews with Ho Chi Minh and American generals, a plot summary of the film and documents about the war. It also has topics for discussion or school papers. The text is less than 200 pages and readable so there is time to read the additional material. This book has the last chapter first such that you know the final result and the rest is leading up to the events in the first chapter. It is a gimmick but it works. I had to re-read the first chapter when I finished; couldn't help it. Find this edition, Viking Critical Library.

One of the most amazing things that jumped out at me about Graham Greene's novel, "The Quiet American," was the copyright date. 1955. How many years BEFORE America found itself mired in the nightmare of the Vietnam War?
Why didn't anyone in power or policy see the warning in this novel?

I'm still reading through all the extra material but I feel confident enough about the book itself and what I have read that I can definitely give this book five stars (the novel is over a third of this book).

Alden Pyle, Greene's "quiet American," clearly represents America in this cruel world. He's young, strong, sure of his beliefs and willing to act on his own convictions--but in this world of deceit and corruption, he doesn't have a chance. And quite a few people have said the same thing about America in Vietnam.

Beyond the deeper meaning of the setting and story (more powerful since it was written BEFORE the USA got stuck in Nam), the characters really make for some fiction. Pyle, the clear-eyed Yank looking to do good in Indo-China, runs into the narrator Fowler, an opium-smoking old Brit journalist who's seen too much and forgot how to care about anything--except the Vietnamese woman who comes between them.

At the end of the 1970s, "Apocalypse Now" got a lot of kudos for its dark humor ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning!") but Greene had written along those lines in the 1950s: Fowler rides along on a bomb run and, after a village is blown to bits, the pilot points out the beautiful sunset on a nearby river.

Up to this point, my favorite Greene novel had been "The End of the Affair," but now it's "The Quiet American." I also want to see the Michael Caine movie they made a couple years back.

This book gets five stars, because from the first time I picked it up, it helped solve a problem I had at work with a highly annoying colleague who constantly went over my head to report to higher management anytime she even suspected I or a member of my team might be doing something wrong or not the way she would do it. Resorting to outright lies and spreading office gossip was not below her. Asking her to stop, being nice to her or being angry with her did no good. By following some of the advice in this book I was able to start to turn things around within a single day.

That is the really great thing about this book, it provides practical advice from experience project managers not only about tools and methodology of managing projects that work, but also the pitfalls of office politics and how to successfully deal with them.

The methods and tools presented in this book are very good, and are what the authors have found works in their projects. You might find that some of this is not applicable to you if you work in an organisation that already has an established methodology, or if the client insists things are done a certain way. It certainly presents some new ideas and tools to try that might improve your current proccess.

Another great thing about this book is its simplicity. There are many techniques for everything from project estimation to software testing, some of which require a high level of expertise. The techniques presented here are ones that are simple and easy to implement.

It is always good to learn from other peoples success, and this book gives you an insight into how its authors successfully manage their own projects that is valuable to every project manager.

I bumped into this book by way of "Head First PMP", also written by Stellman and Greene. Because I liked the PMP resource so much, I thought I should give this book a chance and I was not disappointed. Packed with useful information, case studies and examples, this book is a resource any technical project manager will want to have in their collection.
One bonus I did not count on was the companion website which includes downloadable templates, PPT slides and other electronic assets.

Highly recommended!

This is a nice book, everything about it is so neat and nice. I am glad I purchased this book from Amazon.

Applied Software Project Management
Reviewed by Steven D. Sewell, PMP
Project Management Institute, Tampa Bay Chapter

Having been peripherally involved as a software release project team member in the past, I knew enough to get my piece of the puzzle delivered. The information in this book allows me to broaden my perspective and actually comprehend the picture I see on the puzzle box cover. The book is written in a straight ahead manner. If you are one who like examples of what is being discussed, then this book is for you. The use of clear definitions makes each topic understandable and the analogies make them memorable. Tables and scripts are used throughout to exemplify each tool and technique. Most useful in practice are the sections that aid in the diagnosing of problems that can be encountered. This book definitely hits its goal of delivering a practical guide into the hands of a software project manager. The only improvement would be to have "handbook" or "guide" placed somewhere on the cover.

This book covers concisely all the modern aspects os software project management, without the complexity found in more formal PM sources like the PMBOK. Moreover, the job of translating the broad and general concepts covered in the PMBOK to practical day-to-day scenarios is the major benefit from buying it. It won't, however, cover an specific issue like estimation to the level that enables you to be an estimator (this subject, for instance, is only 17 pages long), but will provide you the guidelines and references to additional material to do so.