Lawrence Books

I really enjoyed listening to the stories from some of our classic baseball heros. They brough history to life. This audio book was one of the best purchases I've made. I truly enjoyed just listening to these remarkable men tell there own stories of baseball's past.

I have been an avid reader of baseball history for most of my life and I first purchased this book in the 80's and wore it out and purchased another copy. There isn't a season that goes by that I don't read it again. When you read the interviews of the ballplayers, recorded by Lawrence Ritter, it's as if you are a fly on the wall hearing the conversations first hand and the ghosts of seasons long past are brought back to life.

You get a first person account of some of the most famous moments in early baseball history through the fond recollections of some of the participants. Merkle's boner, Snodgrass' muff, Wambsgan's unassisted World Series Triple play are all recounted. The most entertaining parts of the book recount tales of Germany Schaefer stealing first base, the chronicles of Charles Victory Faust, and Wilbert Robinson attempting to catch a grapefruit dropped from an airplane. You get a glimpse of Ty Cobb from his teammates Davy Jones and Sam Crawford. You get several different takes on the great manager John McGraw from several different players who once played for him.

This is hands down the greatest sports book I have read. It's not only a great history of the early days of 20th century baseball but a wonderful piece of Americana. The book breaths humanity and paints a portrait of the ballplayers of the past who played for the love of the game unsullied by steroids and multimillion dollar contracts.

If you love the game of baseball as it once was and still should be this is a "must read"...some of the players interviewed by Ritter were unknown to me and I was fascinated to learn of their exploits...I ordered an additional three books and sent them to long time fans of the game...If I was a GM today in MLB I would have every member of the team read this book so that they might appreciate the game as it was in its infancy...the modern player (in most cases)doesn't realize how fortunate he is to wear a major league uniform and earn the money today for playing a "game"

This superb oral history of baseball circa 1900-1920's contains many priceless tales. After Ty Cobb died in 1961 author Lawrence Ritter (1922-2004) took his tape recorder and traveled the USA to interview 22 surviving players from that remarkable era. We hear from top stars and established players, including Ed Roush, Sam Crawford, Smokey Joe Wood, Chief Meyers, Sam Jones, Bill Wambsganss, etc. Each player reminisces in his own way, recounting games, teammates, owners, managers, crowds, ballparks, etc. Some talk at length while others are briefer, but each is articulate and illuminating. I particularly liked Rube Marquard's memory of visiting the Chicago firehouse where he'd once slept as a transient, Stan Coveleski's view that baseball kept him from the coal mines, and the remembrances of Davy Jones and Jimmy Austin. It was also interesting to see how these players viewed superstars Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Babe Ruth. This book provides readers with a superb sense of baseball before night games, air travel, TV, radio (except after 1922), farm systems, and in some cities, Sunday baseball.

Ritter set a standard with this superb oral history. The players interviewed here have all departed (the last in 1988), but their memories live on in this superb book. Fans might also enjoy BASEBALL WHEN THE GRASS WAS REAL, a similar effort about a later era by Donald Honig.

Statistically, baseball back then couldn't be more at variance with the game now. Cy Young threw 511 career victories, and 750 complete games. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the majors both in batting average (.377) and home runs (9). Cobb's teammate Sam Crawford hit over 300 triples in his career.

What to make of such numbers? Lawrence S. Ritter's "The Glory Of Their Times" strips away the statistical confusion by getting to the heart of Major League Baseball's early days, the players themselves. An economics professor, Ritter invested his downtime from 1962-66 in interviewing elderly men, baseball players all who knew what it was like to face a Walter Johnson fastball, or have Ty Cobb slide into the base they were covering.

"People were more unique then, more unusual, more different from each other," says Davy Jones, who played on the Tigers with Cobb and Crawford. "Now people are all more or less alike, company men, security minded, conformity - that sort of stuff. In everything, not just baseball."

Transcriptions of Ritter's interviews with Jones and 21 other former players, including Crawford and two others then in the Hall of Fame, makes up the whole of "The Glory Of Their Times," published in 1966 and later extended with four more interviews in 1984. Nearly all the interviews offer both testimony and color for the game as it was then.

Bill Wambsganss tells us about his unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series, and how Ring Lardner once used his last name to rhyme with "clam's chance" and "Ray Chapman's pants". Fred Snodgrass tells us about his famous muffed fly in the 1911 World Series, and how his New York Giants tried to psyche out the Philadelphia Athletics by sitting on the dugout bench, ostentatiously sharpening their spikes.

You hear so much about another famous World Series moment, the Merkle "boner" of 1908, that you feel like you were there on the field, too. There's a Rashomon-like quality to hearing various interviewees give their different takes on such things as the character of John McGraw and whether "Giant Killer" Harry Coveleski was run out of the league when he was caught chewing on bologna. (Snodgrass says so, while Harry's brother Stanley, a major-league pitcher himself, calls it "a lot of bull".

Not all the interviews are riveting. One wishes Ritter could have pushed some of the old players more, like the rumors that swirled around Smoky Joe Wood involving fixes. But allowing the subjects the reins probably drew more color out of them than a Grand Jury could have. I love how Crawford keeps telling Ritter he hasn't much time to talk, while giving Ritter one of the longest and most entertaining interviews in the book, describing how players would allow themselves to be rubbed down with "Go Fast," a noxious combination of Vaseline and Tabasco sauce that made them sweat like a sauna.

"I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't," Crawford says at the end. "There are a lot of the old-timers still left,you know, and they're liable to say, 'That fathead, who the hell does he think he is, anyway, popping off like that!'"

If you like baseball even a little, you will enjoy "The Glory Of Their Times" quite a lot.

Rightfully regarded as a modern classic, this book nevertheless, is not light reading. This is a result of the density of information, as well as Lawrence's writing style, which often makes a re-reading of passages necessary to fully grasp them, besides his use of some unusual vocabulary. But by the time one has completed the journey to Damascus with Lawrence and his Arabs, one has almost got a taste for his own peculiar style, even if one cannot always agree with his views, which however, were pretty progressive for a man who grow up at the height of imperialism.

There are, however, many contradictions in the man. At the start of the book, for example, he sympathizes with the unwilling Turkish conscipts, illiterate Anatolian peasants who really wished to be back home, led by a militaristic officer caste fresh from the Armenian genocide. Later in the book though, little sympathy is shown, and on one occasion when Lawrence was angered by the Turks, he did nothing to stop their massacre on their defeat, and left all their wounded where they fell - every one of hundreds froze to death in the cold winter night...

But when one considers that he lost both brothers in 1915 in France, his father in 1919 of the Spanish influenza, and his closest friend, and probably boyfriend, Salim Ahmed, shortly before his entry into Damascus, one can be more forgiving of his attitude. And who can forget his botched execution of Hamed, who'd killed another man? To avoid a blood feud, Lawrence suggested that he execute the man, which was insisted on by the Arabs. 3 shots with his pistol, one of which hit the man on his wrist. No wonder he said he couldn't sleep that night. Or his having to shoot long-time compatriot Farrah in the head as he was too seriously injured to move, and wanted to avoid the inevitable torturing to death of Arab prisoners. Enver Pasha, the Turkish commander, had thrown so many men live into his furnace that he knew just how long it took before you heard the sound of their heads popping. Considering this background of brutality, Lawrence comes across as positively humane.

The book has it's lighter moments though. Who can forget the tribe of the Ageyl, who were so poor they used to go into battle stripped to their loin cloths, both in the belief that it reduced their chances of infection if they were hit, as well as to protect their clothing from bullet holes or blood stains...the young Arabs urinating on others' wounds as the only antiseptic treatment in the desert...the Howeitat treatment of snake-bites - bind up the part with snake-skin plaster, and read chapters of the Koran to the sufferer until he died. Life was hard, and luxuries were few, something which seemed to attract Lawrence even more towards his mission of reaching Damascus and driving out the Turks, even if his conscience continued to bother him that the British Govt's promises to the Arabs were unlikly to be fulfilled.

Finally, Lawrence claimed he left the original manuscript on the train, and had to rewrite the entire book from memory, an amazing feat considering the wealth of detail here. Actually, it would be a superhuman task, and Robert Graves, one of his best friends, believes the story was a lie. The implication is that Lawrence made out that he'd had to rewrite the book by recalling his memories as a cover for the fact that parts of the book are invented, and many facts changed, and that this would be the perfect excuse should his information later be found to be inaccurate. But why claim to have blown up over 70 bridges when the real number was around 20 or so?

The answer is that this is a work of literature, and not a military textbook. We'll never be really sure of which parts are exactly true, and which merely invented as representing what typically happened. It's not always light reading, so set some time aside for this one, but when you get to the end, you'll be glad of having made the effort.

Although a bit confusing in his presentation of dozens of key characters unfamiliar to the reader, Lawrence paints an extraordinary sketch of a time and people otherwise just a footnote to World history. The richness of the text and word pictures were worth the time spent laboring through massive amounts of detailed narrative.

This is one of the great books of the 20th century. That it could be written at all is almost a miracle in itself. Take a brilliant Oxford student trained in the old classical tradition, place him in the Arabian desert as advisor to the wild Bedouin tribesmen during their revolt against the Turks and have him write with an acute sensitivity and unparalleld insight into what was transpiring before him and you may have some notion of what the book is like.
It's a long book. You will learn a great deal about blowing up a railroad bridge in the desert, about camel rides, thirst, and hunger and the heroism and brutality of war. The portraits of Sheik Auda, Sherrif Ali and Prince Faisal of the two Arab boys who Lawrence takes under his wing are masterpieces in and of themselves. The nobility and savagery of the desert tribesmen contrasted with the cold stoicism of the British and the inculcated cruelty of the Turks are just some of themes addressed during the course of the work. There are brilliant passing insights as to the Semitic inspiration for all the revealed religions and their relation to the desert beautiful descripitions of the terrain the weather and the obstacles encountered. When Lawrence says that from the beginning he believed the Arab revolt would succeed because it grew out of a sympathetic population was opposed by a modern army that could not garrison the territory occupied one wishes that President Bush had read it instead of just seeing the movie. Read it yourself.

TE Lawrence (1888-1935) the British soldier, poet and scholar wrote this insightful personal account of the Arab Revolt based on his war journals which is as confronting as it is poetic and beautiful. How could one not be enthralled by the writings and perspectives of a fine intellectual mind tormented by the reality of war and hypocrisy? What makes this book unique and powerful is Lawrence's sensibility as a poet and a soldier. Even if you are not into war history, this is a riveting book you can't afford to miss.

The Hejaz War of 1917 was written by Colonel T.E. Lawrence at the Paris peace talks in 1920 -21. Lawrence understood the Arabs thay did not conquer territory but they brought the Arab tribes together to conquer the Ottoman Turkish Army whom they considered poor soldiers. The Hejaz is the Red Sea coast parallel to the extinct lava fields of the 3,000m high Hejaz mountains. The Hejaz railway, linking Damascus with Medina, was attacked by Lawrence's Hejaz army until the Turks could no longer repair it. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the bible of Guerilla Warfare and should be read by General Petraeus US Armed Forces Commander, Iraq.
The taking of Damascus intact in 1918 by the arab army before General Allenby's allied army at least ensured Sheikh Feisal became King of Iraq. The Sykes -Picot treaty of 1916 ensured the Middle East was divided up by Britain and France directly leading to the present Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

This is a very good book.
Dreikurs is the second master in the history of Individual Psychology.
Go look for him on wikipedia!

He shares with us some of his wisdom.
The adlerian principles are clearly described and Dreikurs uses them to make the differences between what is useful and what is not useful in children behaviour. Also he gives solution and discusses a lot of cases.
I consider this book like a referential one to understand the adlerian psychology.
In the meantime this book is gold for those who work with children!
Have a good reading!

This was my favorite book that my pediatrician recommended when my children were little; it had the best analysis of children's behavior and how to respond to them. My kids are now grown and I am buying this book for them to read in preparation for raising their children. It is a great resource for understanding children and how to respond to them appropriately.

I've been a child/family psychologist for over thirty years. This is, I'm convinced of it, the single most important book ever written for parents who want to learn a "system" for parenting their kids. I was exposed to this book in grad school in the late seventies, and I've been recommending it to parents ever since. Everyone loves it! I give it as gifts to new parents when their firstborns come into the world.

I would recommend this book to parents. It helps the reader to look at how situations are promoted through our actions and word usage. The book is a bit annoying as it is outdated in word usage, a little stereotyped as to "mother", "father" roles. However, still a good read, promoting democracy and independece to our children.

I am not done reading this book yet however, the tips are wonderful for any parent who is having troubles with their kid. Or this book is great for first time parents who want to raise their kid different from the way they were raised.

In some (if not all) of the versions of the Teen Study Bible I have noticed just one of the Dear Sam letters that I don't agree with. When Sam wrote back to someone saying Blasphemy is an unforgivalble sin, I knew unless you reformed and turned to GOD, blasphemy can indeed be forgiven. It is a wonderful thing what Jesus, Son of God has done for us! To forgive all our sins. No sin is unforgivable. No sin is. Not one. The only way a sin is unforgivable is if you commit sins and never accept what Jesus did. Then how could your sins be forgiven? The choice of accepting Christ as savior is a matter of eternal life and death. Jesus makes it very clear that HE is the truth, the way, and the life!God is all powerful! In Luke 10 it says that "Whoever sins against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." That verse merely means that only if you sin and do evil things against the Holy Spirit, you apparently do not have the Holy Spirit, and without the Holy Spirit, you can't accept Christ.
However, maybe Sam knew that. (And I'm sure she did). I just think it could be more clear. It is completely your choice wheather to NEVER accept Jesus, therefore if you are WILLING to avoid the point where you hate the Holy Spirit and never WANT to come back into the grace if GOD, than you shall be saved! The LORD is wonderful. Sam's letters are great and empowering. Jesus loves Sam spreading HIS WORD.

This is a GREAT Bible for teens because it is understandable, yet not cheesy. I love it! It makes it understandable and it includes a Bible Study plan showing what book of the bible to start and show how often you should read to finish it in 1 year or 2 years. Also includes real life situations...questions, answers, THIS is the book you need to get through LIFE!!

Being 14 years old I thought that the only Christan stuff cool enough for me was hardcore Chirstan rock. This book has proved me wrong. I know that BEHOLD THE BOOGNISH! I WILL CONQUER YOU AND YOUR PATHIC SHEEPISH WAYS everything about the Bible is totally awesome!...

My mom says that when she was, like, a teen or something, she couldn't understand the bible because it said like "Thou" and stuff and other words that sound like books written by old people. That's why she went to the mall and got me this bible because it's more, like, modern or something? Whatever -- it ROCKS.

The Bible normally seems confusing, rigid, and boring. This Bible is quite the opposite! The bible is colorful, easy-to read and UNDERSTAND! It definately makes the bible enjoyable and fun. The notes and other added things really help teens. I got this Bible as a 18 year old and still interesting at 19(although I am thinking about up-grading to a Woman's Bible).

Definately recommend to any pre-teen or teen!

amazing collection of course. purchased it on amazon in 1996 for twenty bucks when i was in middle school. fairly sure it played a major part in my alienation as a twelve year old, as it caused my weirdo sense of humor to flourish greatly. absolutely amazed it sells for hundreds of dollars. guess i should have taken better care of it, eh? i cut up the cover to put it on my wall. silly twelve year old.

This comic inspired me so much when I was in high school. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious and well-done it is. SUCH a shame it costs so much, because it's one of the things you'd like to share with the entire world. I wish I would have taken better care of mine...not that I would ever sell it anyway. I keep coming back to it over and over again, and I'm alomost 29 now. There is so much artistry and humor going on in every single panel. It's like a cornucopia of non-sequitor humor, jabs at cheap American culture, and sheer unadulterated cartoony mayhem. If you don't laugh out loud, over and over again, there is something seriously wrong with you. Plus, there are so many little fun extras (Fizzball, the Road Trip game, Sam & Max explain our Bizarre Universe). Get it and you'll be glad you did.

A re-issue has pretty much been confirmed which will most likely contain everything in this book, plus all the missing comics including the new webcomic. With all that it'll probably bring the page count alot closer to 200.
Otherwize it's an awesome book, but I wouldn't pay as much as people are selling it for. I don't blame them though. It's a rare item and rare items have high prices.

I don't pretend to know what legal situation/absolute insanity is preventing the re-release of this nugget of genius, but I beg you for the love of all that is holy: DO IT! PLEASE!

This is one of the funniest things I have ever had the good fortune to read. I borrowed it from a friend over 10 years ago, and I now wish I hadn't given it back (I don't see this guy much anyway...). From time to time, I'll try to explain this comic to someone, and the vacant, unfamiliar stare I get in reply is absolutely heartbreaking. Whomever it is that has the authority to reprint this, I am literally begging you to do so. I will gleefully pay upwards of $50 for a reissue, especially if it has some little tiny extra, like an introduction from Purcell; a bundt cake recipe, or just a couple of new sketches. I'm desperate, and $200 for a comic just feels dirty (though I confess, I've considered digging out the credit card for this).

Please.

I love Sam & Max, A 5 STAR collection to be sure, and know for a fact that this collection is soon to be reissued. To those sellers who are charging UPWARDS OF $300 (?!!) for this little black and white 160 page book, YOU MAKE ME SICK! For that much money, I expect the book to be delivered to me in a frikkin' gold plated briefcase by an armed-to-the-teeth Secret Service agent. I HOPE YOU NEVER MAKE A DIME, you bottom-feeding nostalgia vampires.

I bought this book because I needed help with getting better at playing with my daughter. She always wants to play and I am busy or not in the mood. I was feeling so guilty and not a good mom that I started looking for books on how to be a better parent. After reading this book, I realized how important play is. Is not just a game but a way to build a stronger relationship with my daughter and learning what she is thinking and feeling. Through play she lets me know if she had a good day at the daycare.
I strongly recommend this book.

A pleasant read with plenty of humor and ideas. The author is a nice real human being, not a miracle worker coming from outer space, teaching you how to loosen up and reconnect with your children in very simple ways.
The author offers hope and guidance to parents, helping them understand their mistakes with empathetic insights; empowers you with tools to address your own emotional issues, and covers every possible topic with lots of examples ( I loved that!)
Definitely the best parenting book I've ever read.

Will use some of these ideas in my daily life-i got 2 sons (3&1 year) and really some of these ideas weren't new, but in our busy schedule it's good to have a book like this to remind us that all the kids need are play (among all other necessities :))

So many of us have become too caught up in our busy lives to remember that children need to play. This book includes great recommendations and strategies for re-connecting with our children through play. So far, it is helping us with our 4 and 1 year olds--we are finding that using a playful approach is helping us feel better about our relationships with our children.

I loved this book. It gave me a different prospective on raising and understanding my child. It takes practice to get the hang of it but after I read this book, my baby whinned a LOT LESS. He seems happier.

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 found the book There Is No Me Without You throughly enjoyable. I learned so much about the AIDS/HIV epedemic in Africa, how it's spread, the devastation of many African countries, the deplorable track record of the major drug companies in denying access of proven AIDS/HIV drugs, and the terrible tragedy of the millions of orphans now without parents. I also appreciated being able to follow the life of one woman who made a difference and how it came to be the Ethiopian orphans are now being adopted around the world. This book touched me personally. Just before Christmas our daughter and son-in-law traveled to Ethiopia and adopted two babies. These two precious children are deeply loved by their new parents, their three older siblings, and us--their grandparents.

There should be another Lady added to the Mother Theresa's of the world!

Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian who has helped many orphaned children. Children who have been left behind because parents either died or left to have a chance at life! This books shares the struggles of Mother Teferra who had a wonderful life with her family to a helping those children with AIDS and with no homes.

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

The story of the Alamo is one of my favorites. So when I found this book I was thrilled. This was a very well written story that brought out the longing of ever girls heart. I think that it is a must read!!

Sherry Garland's forefathers settled in Texas when it was a Republic (1836-1845). Garland wrote this novel to tell what it would be like for a young girl living at the time of the Alamo. Garland has written twenty-five books and received numerous awards and honors. The novel is written as a diary covering the days from September 9, 1835 to April 24, 1836. The `Epilogue' tells of the later lives of the characters. The `Historical Notes' tells of the settlement of Texas. The Spanish built missions in Texas between 1670 and 1793.

In 1821 Mexico declared its independence from Spain. The new Republic of Mexico welcomed Americans to settle in areas of Texas where Indians predominated. These colonists had to pass tests to legally settle in the lands. The Mexican Constitution of 1824 was similar to the US Constitution. But the aristocracy and the rich objected to democratic rule. They convinced Santa Anna to overthrow the democratic government and set up a dictatorship that would tax and oppress the people. [There were many reoccurrences of this in South American history. America avoided these problems with its "well-regulated militia", a small standing army, and a law of division to break up aristocratic wealth.] The state of Zacatecas first fought Santa Anna but lost, and their militia was exterminated. The state of Texas also fought; they were far off from the Mexican government, and their Second Amendment experience and history gave them better odds. They lost the first battles, but under the leadership of Sam Houston won the Battle of San Jacinto. Houston wisely extracted a peace treaty that recognized Texas independence as the price for releasing Santa Anna to return to Mexico with his armed guards. The "Napoleon of the West" met his Waterloo. The Republic of Texas encouraged immigrants from Europe to settle there, much as the Mexicans had earlier encouraged immigrants from America. They fled the aristocratic despotism of Europe.

This novel is based on the known facts, and can entertain and educate the readers. It is not a substitute for a real history book, but official history seldom tells you about daily life for ordinary people. A historian may note some information that isn't accurate. James Michener wrote a much longer book about "Texas" that you may read; it covers much more in Texas history.

What a fun read! I was not too enthusiastic about this book but I gave it a try anyway. I'm glad I did! Wall-to-wall action and relevant description abound in this story about a misunderstood historical period. I read this a few years ago and I still remember how good it was. Recently I read another book about the Alamo, and it makes me appriciate how well-written this one is. I don't agree that the action is sparse; if it was, I wouldn't have finished it.

one of the reviews complained that the book was mislabeled, because it didn't take place in the alamo. while that is true, the alamo is a central point throughout the plot.

i definitely learned a lot from this book, because while everyone knows "remember the alamo," no one knows what the alamo actually was (at least in my experience). as a novel, however, the book was less than a masterpiece. it emphasized the bravery of those who fought for texas, which was a good thing to point out, and i also liked that the main character was just an ordinary girl caught up in what was happening. but lucinda was a pretty boring character - in fact, pretty much all of the characters were very two-dimensional. the plot was also boring at times. while it informed me, it did not move me. i especially disliked that the runaway scrape - when lucinda and the rest of her town had to leave their homes behind in a desperate retreat - was barely described, when it should have depicted the miserableness of the refugees and their conditions. at one point, lucinda tells us she has had an eye condition and now is blind in one eye. she says it matter-of-factly in just one sentence, and i think if someone lost half their eyesight they would be a little morre distraught. i didn't really enjoy reading the book, though i don't regret reading it either. it was just OK.

A Line in the Sand is indeed a very special book. When my aunt presented it to me on my tenth birthday, I was very exited to add another Dear America to my collection. I had also never read anything about The Alamo, so my interest grew with every page I turned. During the war, the emotions expressed by Lucinda are great and powerful, as they are cleanly expressed through Ms. Garland's words. The Alamo was a terrible battle, but though this book it almost seemed a little less dreary than it was. I was glad that this book shed some light on the great was that was The Alamo, and will keep my newfound information with me forever.

I haven't had time to read for fun since graduating from high school. Nor was I about to, until I was assigned to read LBM for a Lit class in college. I was only assigned to read a small section.

But damn if I couldn't put the book down once I reached that assigned point. Berger created an absorbing novel with many good points. The most obvious is the narrator, Jack Crabb. By the time I finished reading LBM, Crabb had got my sympathy whether he wanted it or not. His cynicism from being surrounded by people during the first thirty-four years of his life, yet never quite connected to them, seemed tangible at times. The ending is especially moving, when he literally becomes alone in the world.

I can't speak of the ending without mentioning another fine feature: the settings. Berger describes places in a vivid manner, which is all the more impressive when considering he likely did not visit all of those places before writing LBM. Some of my favorites include Crabb's sighting of the so-called millions of buffalo (probably an exaggeration but a nice image nonetheless) on the plains, the description of the Little Bighorn valley and, of course, the aforementioned final scene at the mountaintop.

Although my class read LBM because of its historical references to the American Indians, I must admit I was more drawn to the theme of alienation that Berger crafted.

The last thing of note is the epilogue. Says Ralph: "A pity that we will never get the account of his later years, which he led me to believe were no less remarkable than his first thirty-four" (439). Well, Berger did provide that account with The Return of Little Big Man (which I will find and read this summer). And, assuming he divided Crabb's life about even in both novels, that means some more years of Crabb's life remains untold. So hopefully a third novel featuring Jack will be made in the future.

(Just an aside if the author ever reads this: is that a typo on p.360? "I was thirty-six..." Yet on p.432 Crabb is "only thirty-four years of age." I'm aware that Crabb interjects future events to Ralph, like when he says he reads about Amelia's bigshot husband in the papers, but at the point where he says he's thirty-six, it seems like he's in the moment so to speak. Thus since his story is in sequential order, for the most part, the contradiction is obvious)

Many reviews have been written about this book, so you already know that it is a great read. I just wanted to add that this is one of those books that you keep and pick up again many years later and then loving share with your son or daughter on a boring rainy afternoon.

What a wonderful literary adventure is Little Big Man. This is a genuine American saga as told by a genuine historical novelist, Thomas Burger. While this is a work of fiction, Burger allows the reader the impression that it is a true story. The source of this story is one lovable, sagely old man, Jack Crabb. Crabb, interviewed by the author in his wheelchair in a nursing home, at age 111; delivers a recollection worthy of a raconteur of royal proportions. Each of Jack's adventures and misadventures, childhood through manhood, are told with uncanny wit and wisdom; in the unrefined nuances of a wise old geezer who has literally seen it all.

Jack's story begins at age 10 when heading west with his family in a wagon train. Jack's dad is fascinated with the Mormon faith's concept of multiple wives. So, it is for Salt Lake City they are headed. Furthermore, Dad believes, as do the Mormons, that American natives are a lost tribe of Israel and therefore speak Hebrew! When the wagon train is stopped by a band of Cheyenne, a failure to communicate of titanic proportions ensues, directly resulting in Jack and his sister being kidnapped by the Cheyenne. Thus begins Jack's life as a Cheyenne Indian, "Little Big Man". Six years later, during a losing battle with the 12th Calvary, Jack abandons the tribe, deciding it is better to be white than dead.

Jack specialized in the art and craft of coincidence. At age 17, he was taught the quick-draw by none other than Wild Bill Hickok. Later, he had the distinction of facing down Wyatt Earp, yelling, "Draw, you belch you". Jack called Wyatt "belch" because he said his name sounded like one.

At age 18, he joined the Calvary, serving under General Custer at the fateful battle of Little Big Horn. Owing to his acumen as an erstwhile redskin, Crabb was the only survivor.

Aside from the plethora of twists of fate and fancy, this heartwarming story is replete with trivial, yet fascinating facts of the lives of American Indians during the most tumultuous era of their history. These facts will paint the "redskins" for you, as for me, in a very sympathetic light.

The lives, loves and lore of Jack Crabb, Little Big Man; deserves a conspicuous place in every one's library of classic American literature.

I was pretty much hooked by the narrator's first words: "I'm a white man and never forget it" (followed by "but I was brought up by Cheyenne from the age of ten"). A few paragraphs later: "I never suspected it at the time, being just a young boy, but I realize now that my Pa was a lunatic," and I was a complete goner.

Little Big Man is an extremely humorous novel of the American west, wonderfully narrated in a breezy, informal style, peppered with humorous colloquialisms and directness, reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, by the 111 year old Jack Crabb, a (so he claims) surviver (and the sole survivor) of Custer's last stand.

But it's also touching and heartbreaking at times, and with tension as he rides with Custer to the Little Big Horn.

As Crabb recounts his life, moving between the white man's world and that of the Indians, stopping at many stations along the way in the kaleidescopic West, we are often given a detailed pictured of what various aspects of life were like back then. From what it's like eating dog in the tepee to Hickcock's advice on gunfighting, to the traveling snake oil salesman and his occupational risks.

In this way also it's much like the Last of the Mohicans, giving an inside view, hopefully a researched, accurate one, of the frontier to those of us safely and comfortably ensconced at home in greater civilization.

Definitely high in the echelon of American novels I've read.

I got this book as an Easter present from my parents when I was [...], back in the late 1970's, so the book was at least 15 years old then. I think I had not long before seen the film with Dustin Hoffman. I'd always had a fascination with American Indians as they were known then and at that time was just about beginning to read/ see more than what I had been exposed to through John Wayne style westerns - about the same time one of my uncles bought me 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'.

The book is - as usual- far more broader in its scope than the film, although the film is excellent too. It begins with an amateur researcher tracking down a survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The 111 year old survivor begins the story in 1852 when as a ten year old boy he (Jack Crabb)and his elder sister end up living with a small group of Cheyenne who have killed his father and the other men on their wagon train during a drunken mistake. The elder sister runs away the first night leaving the young Jack with in his own words "newly joined a pack of barbarians".

The book takes the reader through Jacks life up to the age of 34 in 1876 when indeed he survives the Battle of the Little Big Horn (Custers Last Stand) - saved by a complex relationship to a Cheyenne playmate from his youth. Throughout the intervening years between 1852 and 1876 Jack oscillates between living with the Cheyenne and frontier society. Often feeling fundamentally 'white' when among the Cheyenne, and feeling fundamentally 'Cheyenne' when among the whites.

The book is laced with great humour, great characterisations (Caroline Crabb, Old Lodge Skins, Little Horse, Younger Bear, Lavender, Reverend Pendrake, Sunshine, Allardyce. T. Meriweather and Botts for example) and moments of pure reflections upon the great and most mundane things all of us encounter within our lives. I especially liked the fact that the whole book is written in the vernacular of the American frontier. That and the historical accuracy of the book are testament to the research Thomas Berger put into the work.

Read it and hopefully you'll love it as much as I did.

This book is so much fun to read! Both my kids love it, but my 3 year old especially.
It's a cute story, with a little adventure and a fun ending, and the pictures are adorable. My kids where never scared, even though the main character is a witch. (she smiles all the time)
I definitely recommnend it.

My son loves this book so much, we wore out the first copy to the point that it was beyond me being able to tape the binding back together anymore. We bought him a second copy that has been "loved" as much as the first, and so we had to buy a third copy for my toddler so she had her own book that didn't have pages falling out while we were reading it. At one point, I had all the words in the book memorized, which came in handy while we awaited the arrival of our replacement book. At first glance, it may seem that this is a Halloween book. Let me assure you, you will enjoy reading this book all year long (I believe that my son asked to have this read to him every night for about 6 months) and the verse never gets tiresome. The story teaches children about compassion and the need to help others, despite the fact that you may not really be in the best position to help at the time it is needed most. Random acts of kindness by the witch thoughout the book are rewarded at the end of it when her friends save her from a fire-breathing dragon, and in return, she builds an even better broom to house her friends as a way of saying thank you. It teaches kids how important it is to be nice to everybody, and to be ready to lend a helping hand, because you never know when you might need a little help yourself.

My 3 1/2 yr old grandson LOVES this book. Great pictures Just enough drama! Discovery possibilities on the pages for a second look. Wonderful pictures and some anticipation on the right hand pages of what will come when the page is turned.

Both my 4 year old daughter and I love this book. It is so much fun to read and so much fun to hear. She laughs everytime I read it. The story is adorable and pictures are great. It is a nice story about friendship and rewarding acts of kindness. I bought this book for Halloween and we are still reading it several times a week.

"Room on the Broom" by Julia Donaldson is such an awesome book. My son got it when he was four. We have read it so many times that I couldn't even count. Then a couple of months ago, our original copy was involved in a spill-related accident. There was no question that we would replace it. He would have missed it so much!!
The rhymes are inventive and funny, and the illustrations are absolutely wonderful. I do believe that any child would enjoy this book.