Lloyd Books

Some people like to complain that Lloyd Alexander writes the same story over and over again under different guises. My response: so does the rest of the world. At least Mr. Alexander does a great job of it.

Known for exploring worldwide folklore, Alexander takes to the world of India for this. He explores mystical gods and makes a wonderful and powerful social commentary on the caste system.

It's the usual journey of growth and discovery, but that is always a great journey. I cry every time I read this, it touches me so.

Excellent piece from the awesome Lloyd Alexander.

but I'm glad I read it now.

This is a nice combination of philosophy and action. In the philosophical aspect, it ranges from questioning reality -- did Tamar really bet his life on a throw of the dice, or was it all a dream? -- to questioning the definition of honor and duty, to questioning whether fate and destiny are truth or illusion. At the same time, it goes through a great adventure, one with a much greater range and fluidity than is the norm in young adult books: rather than leading steadily and surely up to a great conflict, following the bell-curve plot diagram that is the bane of English students across the US (and presumably worldwide), this one goes through some sharp twists, drop-offs, leaps and bounds. The best part of that, for me, was that every moment when the action slowed, there was a thought-provoking moment of philosophy, and then when the action picked back up, the concept revealed in the lull just previous was put to the test. That much control over the story is the hallmark of a great writer, which Alexander was.

Here's what I mean. The hero, Tamar, initially loses his great struggle against the villain, and is captured and put into a hellish prison, chained and enslaved by an Untouchable. This was especially interesting to me as a Westerner because it is a spiritual torment, one that I would not experience the same way. Tamar survives through it and gains strength and wisdom from it, and then when he is freed from that torture and he goes back to fight once more, he has gained the maturity he needs to turn his final confrontation with the villain into a spiritual victory, rather than a defeat -- and it is immediately clear that the change in his attitude, his growth as a man, has come about because of what he has been through. The message here, that killing is not a path to victory, is made absolutely clear by the preceding section's painful immersion in death. It worked, I thought, extraordinarily well, though I can see it being tough for a younger reader to puzzle out the first time through. Still, there is a lot to digest in this book.

Add to that some genuinely funny parts, particularly those featuring the whiny Garuda and the mocking Hashkat, and you have a book that is both entertaining and thoughtful, as well as multi-layered enough to be read and re-read by all ages. It's a book I would love to teach to younger students in an English class, or read to my own kids and maybe even discuss a little bit. It's definitely worth a read.

Alexander does here with Indian mythology what he does for Welsh in the Prydain books, and pulls a surprising number of stories together. His young hero Tamar is honorable from the first paragraph, but his task in the book is to think for himself and determine what honor *really* demands of him instead of just parroting what he's been taught (his teacher also learns a few things along the way. The parallel to the Prydain stories is obvious (and might be more annoying had I read the latter more recently) but the theme that growing up means learning to think for yourself really is a universal one. (Or at least, one that far too many members of *our* universe need to be exposed to!) I don't think it's a completely accurate representation of ideals and caste in ancient India, but I don't think it's meant to be, either. Fun, but also more than fun.

My daughter brought this book home and I began reading it and almost couldn't put it down. The story is gripping and full of action and the characters were well-drawn and likable. I cared about Tamar and his predicament, perhaps because it involved a serious moral dilemma. Beneath the action are questions about loyalty and honor.

There is one difficult part where Tamar is forced to live with an untouchable in charge of burning the dead. I was afraid my daughter would be put off, but I was wrong. She loved the book too. This section is possibly the most moving of the book. I had heard about the caste system and untouchables before reading this book, but the vivid descriptions of Tamar's revulsion and fear of the untouchable and the burning ground gave me a new perspective on how hard it is to question and overcome deep-seated cultural prejudices.

But the book was not just about ideas; there was plenty of action and the drama of the relationships and growth of the characters. Would Hashkat, the monkey, remain faithful or would he flit away as monkeys usually do? Does the cowherd girl have anything to teach Tamar, a king and Brahmin? Of course the answer is yes, but the finding out is the fun part. I loved this book!

As much as I want to trash this book I'm going to have to show SOME restraint, and try to swap it for positive criticism.

The plot is horrible... there I said it. It has no creativity and much of it is derived of Indian mythology. Stories of heroes that Alexander just put together. The statement on the back of the book says, "Magic is everywhere" what a joke the only thing that resembles magic is when get this a diamond merchant turns into a demon! What the heck is Alexander doing!

I laughed at stuff that wasn't supposed to be funny because it was so messed up. For example there is a thing called Dharma that every character in the book has. Dharma is that characters own set of rules kind of like a religion that has been taught to him and that he must obey. So right when you think there about to break out in a fist fight their dharma kicks in and they immediately resolve the conflict through negotiation or through a honorable contest of might.

The action scenes are so mundane and boring. Even during any of the two supposedly enormous battles you fail to feel exited. Alexander also fails to convey the size of the battles properly. You know in your mind they're supposed to be huge but they feel small and claustrophobic. Every thing that happens in the book is so predictable so it ruins the surprise. There is only one surprise in the book and it's a huge one but I wont spoil it for you. I'm going to make you suffer and have to read through this entire horrible book to find out. Also another annoying detail was that the main quest described on the back of the turned into a side quest as Tamar (the main character) gets totally side tracked by other events in the story and completely forgets about his quest for about 200 pages.

Well I got that over with. I hope you have enough sense not to read this book or fall for the false hook on the back of it.

A friend loaned me her copies of this series. I enjoyed them so much I wanted my children to be able to read them, but I was apprehensive about having them read her autographed copies, and they weren't available at our local library. I was so delighted to find them at amazon.com and at such a great price I just couldn't pass them up. This is one of those true classics, great for both kids and adults. Enjoy!

Pig boy has status envy and the horn.


So, not thinking he can do a princess he goes off instead, and has some magical animal stuff happen again, this time, in the form of a cow. The useful crow also happens along.

A bit of training is also had by said pig boy in the art of magical weapon wielding. Magic potions, friend saving and wizard waxing are also to be found here.

This book is probably my favorite of all the Prydain Chronicles . . . It's maybe not as intense as some of the others are, but I love how Taran travels around and meets so many interesting characters and learns to view life differently by seeing how they live and view their own lives. It's just a very fascinating journey, one that I'd like to take again and again. A Journey that I'd like to share with my friends and family. . . And someday, my own children.

Taran Wanderer, is the third book of the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. So far this is the best one of the series. The first two book were great, but this is even better. The main character, a boy named Taran, is looking for the truth and he learns that the truth can play with you. It's a very unusual book, you won't find many like this.

Taran Wanderer is an amazing fantasy adventure book. It's got magic, enchantment, a few funny parts, and suspense. It has a grumpy dwarf named Doli. Doli is the kind of person who always turns up at the exact right moment. Taran is an adventurous boy who tries to gather wisdom and friends wherever he can find them. He goes on several quests. My favorite part is chapter eight, when Taran meets the magician, Morda. It's scary and has an unusual ending.

I read this book in less than a week. It just took me captive! I don't want to give away the plot, because I don't want to spoil it. You should read it for yourself. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, The High King.

Ben (age 10)

This was a good book. But the begining was not very good. It was basicly about going from kingdom to kingdom. The main charcter is Taran. He is a very interesting charcter. He starts on a quest to find his parantage. And he goes through mountains, castles, swamps and even caves. The biggest conflict comes into place when he meets Dorath. Dorath is a meen charcter who is part of a group of "hired swords". He treis to convince Taran to hire them but he doesnt so he becomes a enemy of Taran. He challenges Taran for his sword and a few other items that dont matter. But he wins and take sthe sword for his own. Taran has a grudge on him until he fights him again and defeats him by breaking his sword. Taran also faces a wizard who turned his freinfd Dolly in to a frog. Taran defeats the wizard and he turns Dolly back into a dwarf.

I started weight training a little over a year ago and have looked at so many different books (most of them from the library.) This one is definitely the cream of the crop and is one of the few books I actually bought. It's very comprehensive and is like an encyclopedia of training moves for different body parts. It also gives info about what kind of strength training is helpful for various sports, so you can build muscle where you need it most. It does focus mostly on free weights, though it discusses weight machines too. It gives various routines from beginner to advanced and it even has a chapter on the history of body building (quite interesting!) The best thing about it though is the variety it offers. I get bored doing the same thing over and over and this book has been very useful to me in that regard. When I start to feel bored, I simply change my workout by choosing different excercies for each muscle group. I think even a seasoned body builder would find this book useful. Bill Pearl is also a vegetarian (ovo-lacto) and offers smart advice about food and weight training.

There are no silly fads here or wacko advice from the latest kid-wonder--just solid time-tested training weight training programs. I've used them, and I know they work for me, and I'm not particularly genetically talented for muscle-building. There is a heavy emphasis on free weights, which Bill Pearl believes provide the best workout. It's also very useful that most of the exercises in the book can be done in a fairly inexpensive home gym.

As a female reviewer, I can also say this is great book for women. When I first bought the first-edition of book in the early 1990s, it was the only one I'd seen which advocated that women train like men. Specifically, that means free-weight exercises, including the bench press, and weights which are difficult on the last rep, in order to gain strength. He wasn't just talking out of his hat either, as he trained regularly with his wife, Judy, who has a beautiful, trim, feminine body. Today it's widely accepted that if women train like men they will gain strength without bulking up, but I give Bill Pearl credit for being one of the first to popularize that truth. The new edition of the book, which I bought recently, has an updated section on women.

I disagree with the earlier reviewer that photographs would be better than the simple line drawings in the book. The training programs with mini line drawings are excellent to photocopy and take to the gym! I've never seen a book with such convenient 'memory jogs' when you're still learning your program. The drawings are based on photographs of Bill and Judy working out, so they are accurate. Each mini-picture refers you to a page with a larger drawing and complete description of the exercise--so if you need more info, you just go there.

I also disagree that this book is only for serious obsessive body builders. I'm a very average person and it has helped me enormously over the years! At least 3/4 of the book is geared to average people or athletes whose main sport is not weight training. The book starts with three "general conditioning" programs for beginners--which gives you about six months of workouts. Once you've worked through those programs you can decide to remain in a general conditioning track for strength and good health or move to either a sports-training track or a more serious bodybuilding track.

I've read quite a few weight-training books, and this all-time classic is still the best.

I have searched MANY books on weight training and have found this to be the most comprehensive, offering the most variety of exercises - suitable for home and gym alike. This is by far the most inclusive book I have found, and turn back to it frequently so that I can keep my work-out varied.

My main complaint is the lack of emphasis on proper form, something which I find few books do well. More photos would be helpful, but overall, a great book and my current weight training favorite - good for men and women and I believe good for beginners as well as seasoned weight trainers.

In my earlier review of "Weight Training for Men and Women" by the same author, I had addressed the same issues which appear in the current book, which is nothing more than reproducing the previous book under a different title. The reason for my second review is to attempt to answer my own concerning questions. Those are:

1- What are the simplest and basic exercises needed for staying fit versus achieving tip-top athleticism?
2- What are the basic nutritional needs for staying healthy at affordable cost?
3- What are the minimum guidelines for telling the difference between good fitness virtues versus bad ones?

I believe that Bill Pearl has taken the bodybuilding approach for granted as the best way to building strength. There must be a simpler answer to reduce the number of exercises to as low as 3 of 4, and the nutritional needs to basic grocery food stuff. The complicated needs for bodybuilding stand in the way of producing an educated generation of fit citizens. From what you read in this book, the current approach to weight training is more retarded than the 18th century's approach: complex needs for formidable objectives. This approach alienates the majority of people who are looking for affordable, rational, and practical life style of staying fit and strong.

A summary for the book contents follows with reviewer's comments.

- General conditioning: it prepares beginners to joining the world of adult training for the sake of becoming bodybuilders.

- Bodybuilding: a summary of training programs for beginners, intermediate, and advanced trainees with helpful tables of sketches of exercises.

- Strength Training for Sports: an essential discussion on periodization, exercise physiology, and training habits.

- Stretches from Weight Training: a brief and appropriate list of stretching exercises.

- Sports Training Programs: full 100 pages of non-sensual and redundant programs for people who never seek help from a bodybuilding expert. The section on Powerlifting propagates the myth of isolated regional training. Thus the legs are hit hard on one day, the shoulders on another day, and the back on a different day. That is a backward approach to training that even the 18th century athletes would have never contemplated.

- Exercises for Free Weights: This is the thickest chapter in the book. It deals with exercises for isolated body parts. It starts with two anatomical charts that are made in haste. The chart of the front, misplaces the gluteus minimus and that of the back misplaces the two rhomboideus muscles. Neither chart locates the serratus anterior, levator scapulae, abdominis transversus, or the most important muscles: the spinal erectors or quadratus lumborum. Let alone the soleus and vastus intermedius.
Its major pitfalls are: the bent-to-opposite foot (page 192), wide-gripped back squat (page 284), and cross-arm front squat (page 285-7). The first exercise traumatizes the vertebral ligaments, the latter two overlook shoulder flexibility.


- Hardware: is the right place to fill 20 pages with non sense information.

- Fit for Life: deals with low back issues and children's training. Its pitfall lies in designating specific training programs for blue-collar workers and white-collar workers, as if the author could draw the specific health criteria from socioeconomic status.

-Getting Older: is a motivational chapter on training in old age. It is based on personal concern of the author. The over 50's program is merely a personal choice than a reliable recommendation.

-Muscles: is a snap shot on muscle anatomy and function with an attempt to explain the effect of exercise of muscular adaptation.

- Injuries: is a brief outline of sports injuries and the "RICE" first aid.

- Injury Rehabilitation Program: is a useless chapter that lists exercises of back, knee, and shoulders without further details on how to structure any rehab.

- Nutrition: deals with macronutrients, supplements, natural food, and vegetarian eating. It presents both the author's own experience in addition to current knowledge among bodybuilders.

- Drugs: deals with the reason for their use, its statistics, and types: steroids, growth hormone, and stimulants. It discusses two perplexing uses of human chorionic gonadotropin and tamoxifen by bodybuilders for blocking the effect of steroid on breast and testicles. [It might be more shocking to most readers to realize that nutritional health food stores in America sell on-the-self packages that contain steroids. Those cause breast swelling in male bodybuilders with inconvenient knobbing and hardening of the breast tissue. (Ref.: personal encounter is a local gym)].

- Brief History of Resistance Exercise: is the best chapter in the book. It contains rare photos and stories from the 18th century and attempts to document the history of lifting. Its best photo belongs to Arthur Saxon's one-hand press of his two brothers loaded on a bar. The hitch, in that photo, is that the loaded bar does not show a yielding curve, which raises doubt about the authenticity of the photograph.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

I am just getting back into working out with weights as it has been about eight years. Since then, I have forgotten everything and a trainer in my gym referred this book. I love it! Every day I go through and pick out the parts of the body I am going to work out and I am able to choose new techniques I have forgotten or have never tried before. It has been a few months and I love my results. This book shows you the proper way of doing things and what I like is it tells you exactly what part of the muscle(s) you are working. I recommend it for everyone that is just starting out or that needs some new techniques.

This book dived into the upbringing and background of all facets of the Maravich family. You really began to understood why things went the way they did for Pete based on his upbringing. I knew Pete as an athlete but had no idea as to the internal struggles he faced throughout his life. I still remember Pete coming to the Omaha Civic Auditorium for a game against the Kansas City/Omaha Kings and scoring 22 points in the 1st quarter! He was an amazing athlete who (as an NBA player) was not utilized to his full potential. It would of been great if he could of stuck around the Celtics and got the ring. One of the best books I have ever read.

Especially being from North Carolina where Michael Jordan is seen as a demi-god, I have come to a conclusion which, for me, is remarkable. I really believe Pete Maravich was the best basketball player of all time. Not Michael. And instead of being "like Mike", I instead want to be "like Pistol."

This book helped me a little to come to that conclusion. Read the book and you'll find out about the lousy teams Maravich played for. Even the one really good team he played on during his rookie year, the Atlanta Hawks, had nearly a whole team which was jealous of him and often worked against him. Michael Jordan never had that problem in Chicago, either in the pre-championship years and during the championship years. Never.
Michael Jordan was a great dunker, but I agree with people like John Wooden who says that dunking the ball is one of the most overrated plays in basketball. I play at the Y with kids who can dunk, but they usually get their lunch eaten by guys like me who really know how to play the game (and defense.) I don't know if Pete ever dunked in a game but, you know, if any player *didn't need to dunk* to be overwhelming and dominate a game it was Maravich.
Go on YouTube and see some of the things Maravich did with a basketball and tell me if Michael Jordan could do those things. H&$% no. Surround Pete with a decent team--and one who didn't try to sabotage him--and see how many NBA trophies he would have won.
What would have been Maravich's legacy if he had *began* his career, instead of ending it, with the Celtics?
Furthermore, I wonder how many NBA trophies MJ would have won with only one blood vessel supplying his heart with blood(instead of two like everyone else.) Would Jordan have even been alive in 1982 when as a 19 year old he took the winning NCAA shot if he had the same physical heart as Pete?
Okay, enough about my recent insight and elevated opinion of Maravich. Pete Maravich was a very interesting human being also. The author of this book does a very good job of helping us to get in Maravich's skin. I also very much like his family systems approach to understanding Pete. If you understand Pete's dad, Press, and where he came from(the coal mines of Pennsylvania)it will go a long way toward helping you understand Pete. The author excelled in this area. The book was almost as much about Press as it was about Pete, but that was how the book had to be written. They were that close.
Just because it is a biography of Pete Maravich, I admit I'm tempted to give the book a "five." Yet, and I'm not going to go into details, the book could have been written a little better. Nevertheless, I could rarely put this book down. I bet I read the last 100 pages in one sitting today.
Lastly, Pete Maravich finally found real peace with himself during the last five years or so of his life. Anybody who reads the book will let out a sigh of relief when it finally happens. Pete was a very interesting and good man before his conversion to Christ, but he really "came into his own" ironically after his stellar basketball career was over.
Very good job Mr. Kriegel.
Rest in peace, Pistol. After reading this book I respect you as an utterly astounding and breath-taking athlete, but as much so as a superb human being.
Rest in peace.

Mr. Kriegel provides an insightful, interesting, serious study of the background to the life of Pete Maravich. I recommend the book, not only to sports' fans, but to anyone who enjoys well-written biography. For thoses readers who wish to understand Maravich's conversion to Christianity and the course of his post-conversion life, the book disappoints as Kriegel seems to understand the conversion as a retreat into religion rather than a confrontation with reality.

I should say this up front - The best sports books are always about more than sports. This is the best sports book I have ever read because it is really a compelling story about the love between a father and his son and what binds them together happens to be - a basketball.
Pete Maravich was, quite possibly the greatest ball handler/shooter of all time. If you look at the NBA stats lots of players scored more points but no one could put them up like the Pistol. On a given night, he simply was incapable of being guarded by anyone. He did things with a basketball that Michael Jordan could not do. He shot a basketball as Larry Bird could not do. He passed and handled a ball as the great Oscar Robertson could not do. He was once called the 'white Globetrotter' and there has never before -nor will ever be - another like him.
The book is really about two people - Press Maravich and his son Pete. The author Rick Kriegel, also the author of "Namath" (another excellent sports book on celebrity and the NFL) takes us through Press' childhood and his playing days in PA and, later, Pete's childhood, first as a prodigy and then, in demand, as the greatest high school/college player of his generation. Kriegel deals with the sports memories efficiently and the family issues with great care. The story of Pete's mother will tug at your heart.
The biography unfolds as Press' story slowly merges into Pete's, until the two pretty much become one life - bonded together by the sport. Pete carries Press' pioneering basketball acumen and coaching skills to new heights as the two create "Showtime" long before Kareem, Magic and Riley appeared on the horizon. You will learn much about basketball strategy, but you will learn more about the human sacrifice it takes to mold talent into greatness.
Kreigel covers Pete's career in full and addresses how he was heavily criticized for putting up big numbers on bad teams. Some even have gone so far as to suggest that the Pistol was hyped simply because of his (lack of color). Check out Youtube under "Maravich" and just watch the Pistol play HORSE. You may find yourself saying "WOW" more than a few times. If Jordan was "air," the Pistol was the magician who turned passing into an art form that all current point guards in the NBA can only aspire to. Oh, and he could shoot a little too.
Pete was on the Hawks (a good team but not great) the Jazz (a bad team) and the Celtics (just before their run with Bird) If handled by a great coach and surrounded by good players, Pete could have easily adapted his game to suit any type of team. But in the end, fans always demanded he be the 'Pistol' and in some ways, he could not refuse them. After all, they bought the tickets and he always felt obligated to put on a show for them. Maybe that fact, more than any other led some to consider the Pistol a failure. He created LSU basketball and was responsible for arenas at LSU Atlanta and New Orleans. He brought millions of dollars into the NBA and was part of the push (in addition to Dr J) for the ABA and NBA to merge. He was a basketball star when the NBA was considered a distant third as a national sport behind baseball and football. In some ways, he was the Joe Namath of the NBA. The book covers all that in great detail but the story always comes back to the sad eyed son who was happiest on the court and always struggling to find meaning off of it.
Shortly before the end of his life, he finally found that holding a basketball did not mean as much as holding his child and finding an open lane did not compare with finding someone to share the most important moments in life. Kreigel's handling of the final act of an all too short life are moving and leave a lasting impression that don't have as much to do with basketball as they do with a son making his father proud, but more importantly finding peace within himself in the little time he was given here.
The legend of the Pistol is true. Believe it. But also consider that, in the end, it didn't matter as much to him as holding his son on his shoulders at the amusement park. He was given a fraction of the time with his two sons as he had with his own father. The brilliance of his game combined with that cruel irony make "Pistol" one of the most compelling and tragic stories of our time.
Kreigel should be commended for handling it with such care. Great book.

Along with countless other boys from the 1970s, I wore floppy hair and droopy socks as a nod to Pistol Pete Maravich. But even with my socks pulled down, Maravich was never my favorite basketball player. What he represented was coolness. Maravich was an unrepentant showboat and gunner whose teams generally lost. But he had a trump card to cover these sins that America accepted, Pistol Pete was never boring. Not once.

Washington Post movie critic Stephen Hunter has argued that Quentin Tarentino in his movies defines sin as boredom. Murder is acceptable as long as you are not boring. Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, which came out when Maravich was at the height of his fame, manipulated the audience to embrace greed and corruption. William Holden and his despicable crew became the ones the audience rooted for because they were fun. Maravich wasn't evil on the court in the same manner, but he opened the way for new definitions that were contra Herm Edwards, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!" Maravich's desire was to be the show, and in what would be both his exaltation and damnation, he knew it. Like the culture around him, he wanted every eye on him, he needed every eye on him, and yet he couldn't handle every eye on him.

Mark Kriegel's great book, PISTOL, chronicles how Maravich was crashing off the floor while amazing people on it. Kriegel's genius, however, is weaving in the story of Pete's father and college basketball coach, Press. The story of the son can only be understood in relationship to the story of the father. As Kriegel puts it, "The father worshipped basketball; the son worshipped the father."

Petar "Press" Maravich was the only child of five that survived past six months born to Sara and Vajo Maravich. They were Serbians who lived in Aliquippa near Pittsburgh when steel mills and soot so dominated the area that it was depicted as "hell with the lid taken off." NTJ favorite H.L. Mencken bluntly described Pittsburgh's surrounding cities as "unbroken and agonizing ugliness," which created the "most loathsome towns and villages ever seen by mortal eye."

The greater Pittsburgh area, however, was not only known for its steel mills; it also had the highest percentage of Presbyterians per capita in the world. Ernest Anderton, an insurance agent who lived in nearby Beaver Falls, was also a lay worker for the Presbytery of Beaver County who converted a deserted Lutheran church in Aliquippa into the Logstown Mission. Anderton had a standing deal: go to Sunday school and you could play on the Missions' basketball court. Teenager Press Maravich eagerly put forth what was needed in this exchange. He read his Bible, sang Psalms and attended Sunday School, but the ultimate prize Anderton sought, a confession of faith, was not recorded. There was also no push to join the Presbyterian Church. Press and his friends who played on the Mission's basketball team, The Daniel Boys, never left the Serbian Orthodox Church. Kriegel puts the impact of the Mission on Press simply, "A Savior he had found. But it wasn't Jesus Christ."

That basketball became Press's religion through the evangelistic efforts of a Presbyterian was somewhat ironic considering that basketball inventor James Naismith graduated from Montreal's Presbyterian Theological Seminary. (Who knew Naismith had Presbyterian roots? Who knew Montreal had a Presbyterian seminary?) The gospel of basketball has spread in the late 1920s to Aliquippa through Geneva College and its star player, Nate Lippe. Turned down by the Pitt Medical School because he was Jewish, Lippe settled for coaching the Aliquippa high school team, and his star player in the mid-30s was Press Maravich.

It appeared that Maravich would play in college for Geneva or Duke (almost assuredly the last recruit the two schools battled over) but eventually he attended Davis and Elkins in West Virginia. After college, he played professionally before and after WWII, but his life changed in 1946 when he married a young Serbian widow with a son. Within a year, Peter Press Maravich was born.

By the early 50s, Press was back in Aliquippa coaching. Young Pete always wanted to be around his father, but his father was always around basketball. Consequently, Pete became all basketball. When the Aliquippa team would leave in the afternoon for away games, the father would turn the lights on the home court and give the son the one word instruction, "play." When the team returned usually around mid-night, they would be greeted by the son still shooting.

The son's ball handling skills amazed everyone. He was a prodigy and the father knew it. At the same time that he was spreading the gospel of Pete to close friends like UCLA coach John Wooden, Press also began climbing the coaching ladder. Clemson called, and then NC State which Press led to an improbable ACC championship in 1965. Meanwhile, Pete was creating his own legend dazzling everyone with his scoring feats and playmaking ability. The problem was that Press would only allow Pete to play for him in college, but Pete didn't have the board exam scores to enter NC State.

One school that didn't see that fact as problematic was LSU. Father and son were taken as a package in 1966 and the cult of Pistol Pete was born. Playing with teammates that were limited in talent, the Pistol started firing as soon as he walked on the court. He led the nation in scoring three consecutive years and walked away from LSU as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. John McPhee's 1965 A Sense of Where You Are extolling Bill Bradley as the model student-athlete had been replaced by Curry Kirkpatrick's 1968 Sport Illustrated cover story on Maravich, "The Coed Boppers' Top Cat." Kirkpatrick wrote, "Everybody in the world, the world that really counts, will know Pistol Pete Maravich. He will make a million dollars playing the game of basketball." The difference to basketball purists, however, was that Bradley made everyone around him better and lifted his Princeton squad to the Final Four. Maravich teammates watched Pete shoot as LSU barely won fifty percent of its games during his tenure.

The Pistol got his million dollars from the Atlanta Hawks, but the superstar who lit up the college game stopped smiling. Turnover prone and often injured, Maravich struggled mightily with both the pro game and his teammates. The worst blow, however, was personal. His mother, who was perpetually drunk the last decade of her life, committed suicide during this time.

After four disappointing and disillusioned years in Atlanta, Pete was traded to the New Orleans Jazz where he blossomed into an NBA superstar. Natives wouldn't say, "Are you going to see the Jazz?" Rather, they would say "Are you going to see Pete?" But, despite otherworldly adoration, Pete never smiled. Finally making his signature between the legs pass late in a game the Jazz was winning, he blew out his knee. He would never be the same and within two years he retired from the game.

The year that followed he rarely left his home, became obsessive about pills and drugs, and played with his two infant sons. He also considered suicide. Then, in the midst of his despair, he accepted Christ. Pete believed Christ died for his sins and had set him free from guilt and shame. He joined a Baptist Church and started holding a summer basketball camp at Clearwater Christian College. He also started to smile for the first time in years.

His wife, Jackie, at first was skeptical about Pete's conversion to Christianity. He had collected many "isms" -vegetarianism, Hinduism, and extraterrestrialism. What she found was that her husband was a changed man, that this was not a fad. She commented, "He was a different person. I saw how happy he was, how he was at peace with everything."

One person that Pete had to tell was his father Press. After Helen Maravich's death, Press had stopped coaching and devoted himself to caring for Diana, the daughter that his stepson Ronnie had abandoned. The confession that Press did not make at the Logstown Mission occurred when he joined the First Baptist Church and was baptized.

Two years later Press learned that he had inoperative cancer. Father and son once more were inseparable, only this time the bond was Christ. They would read the Bible and pray together. Pete would carry his father up and down the stairs and stay with him in his bedroom until he fell asleep. Press died with Pete at his side.

By this time, Pete was garnering attention again, but now it was for his devotion to Christ. Just as his playing basketball had an event, now his testimony was an event. He joined Billy Graham in his evangelistic campaigns. He appeared on television. On the day that he was going to conduct an interview with Focus on the Family's James Dobson, Pete accepted an invitation from Dobson to join in a morning basketball game, something that he hadn't done in years. Talking to Dobson during a break when the other players were getting a drink, Pete collapsed on the court. Dobson and former UCLA player Ralph Drollinger were able to revive him.

The autopsy determined that Pete was born without a complete artery system, a condition that almost universally causes sudden death in young athletes. Of Pete's legacy, Kriegel writes, "Whatever doubts still lingered about Pete's standing in the game or even his place in popular culture ended with his death. His image would be eternally consigned--along with the likes of James Dean, Elvis, and at least a couple of Kennedys--to a celebrity purgatory reserved for the young dead." It could be argued, however, that the more powerful legacy was the joy and peace that marked Pete Maravich as a Christian living in obscurity and quietly serving others.

If you like the endless verbosity and meaningless realism of Balzac, you'll like Stendahl. I found him BORING....Before you jump to conclusions, I've thoroughly enjoyed works by Victor Hugo, Dostoevsky, Voltaire and other French and Russian authors of Classics. I just wasn't captivated by it and found his writing style average for a supposed CLASSIC.

Among French novelists Stendhal's reputation falls short Hugo's, Balzac's, Flaubert's or even Dumas's. Nevertheless Stendhal stands quite on his own; his prose offers unsuspecting readers a surprisingly modern voice and his psychological insights are unrivaled.

For example, when Hugo in "Les Misérables" presents Valjean or Javert wrestling with themselves, he announces his intent and theme boldly and uses strong imagery, e.g. by entitling a chapter "A storm within a brain". On the other hand, Stendhal merely presents his main characters having interior monologues as if this were the most natural thing in the world. And so it is, but 19th century novelists had not the audacity to present the world naturally. The French Romantic writers saw heroes everywhere and matched their prose to the interior grandeur of the characters they depicted.

Stendhal's prose resembles Vermeer's subdued lighting--elegant and understated, magnificent in its effect rather than in itself.

But when all is said and done, the novel disappoints. Oh, the plot works itself out well enough, but one is left with the feeling Stendhal's world is small and petty. Stendhal probably intended this. There's no one to like in "The Red and the Black". Not the ambitious but continually disappointed Julien Sorel, not his two loves, Madame de Rênal and Mademoiselle de la Mote. The first is older yet naive while the second is young and brilliant but capricious.

As an anti-hero Julien is closer to a Peer Gynt rather than to a Faust, but even then I found it hard to care much for him. Julien does seem to sell his soul to his ambitions, or would have seemed so if Stendhal's rather cynical world admitted such things as souls worth selling. Julien's wasn't.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Julien Sorel devotes his life to self-advancement in this classic novel of French Restoration society. Stendhal's thought-by-thought analysis of human motivations invites comparison to Henry James, but the comparison is not very favorable, as James' prose is miles beyond Gard's translation of Stendhal (although admittedly the latter is much easier reading). Overall, this book about a basically bad man who comes to a bad end is not very satisfying, compared to a true masterpiece like Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, for example. Which is not to say it's a bad book, or even a poor one; but it's neither particularly enjoyable nor the great moving revelation that one looks for in a classic. Book One, which focuses on Julien's relationship with Mme de Renal, is much pleasanter reading than Book Two, which is more scattered, and gets bogged down by the disdainful Mathilde. In particular, the political sub-plot seems hopelessly out of place.

In sum, the hopelessly self-centered Julien is not a nice man, Madame de Renal is perhaps not very bright and too easily succumbs to her feelings, while Mathilde's emotional transformations defy credulity. How many of these people will get what they deserve? Ultimately, this reviewer didn't find any of these characters appealing enough to care. Frequently slow-moving and dry, this is a fine example of why so many people don't read the classics. Recommended only to the most resolute devotees of serious literature. For the more casual reader, there are hundreds of classics out there that are both more enjoyable and more significant.

This novel has everything: political intrigue, the psychological detail of detective work, the ambiguity of love and romance; it's a comedy of manners, but also a saga of helplessness and tragedy, incisive social commentary. Published in 1830, The Red and The Black, is timeless: its relevance to contemporary Westernized or Americanized, bureaucratic, and capitalist-developed nations is both a condemnation and a triumph.

The Red and the Black first caught my attention 25 years ago in January 1983; a stack of copies were set out on a table in the Tattered Cover Bookshop, Denver (then on 1st Avenue in the Cherry Creek area). At that time, the Penguin edition was a new translation to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author, Henri-Marie Beyle, January 23, 1783. I don't know how or why I decided to buy a copy; maybe it had something to do with the brief review on the back cover, which was perhaps then as it is now: "Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins." Maybe I saw something of Julien in myself, or maybe like Mathilde de la Mole, I was looking for a life outside the script dictated by parents and society, or trying to find a world beyond materialism and utilitarianism, something inspirational and possibly Romantic. It was with this novel that I first realized that a writer could communicate intimately across centuries; I fell in love with Stendhal. I wanted to know about his life. He wrote with integrity; he wrote what he knew to be true about life, and he did not let the marketplace dictate what he should write. Beyle was a human being first, then a writer.

In January 1983, as now in January 2008, reading The Red and the Black, I am astounded with the author's ability to move smoothly from the character's interior thoughts into action or landscape while encompassing his characters in their political/social matrix. Whether in a high-society drawing room or in the stillness of night, Stendhal gave his work movement, dynamism. There is something uncanny about the author's ability to draw characters like Madame de Renal and her husband, a small-town merchant, politician, religious hypocrite. It is the Renals of the world who have the power to destroy the Romantically inspired Juliens and Mathildes, and yet a market-driven nation doesn't seem to function without the Renals. An unusual but appropriate companion reading to Stendhal's work might be Tocqueville's Democracy in America; volume one published in 1835.

Hypocrisy, or "frontin," is one of the least respected vices today. However, hypocrisy was much worse during the Victorian age, where its exaggerated concern for the external appearance of virtue led to insincerity and deception. This concept is brilliantly exemplified in The Red and the Black, a magnificent representative of 19th century French literature. Stendhal's claim to immortality lies in his perceptive writing that balances social commentary with psychological insights of the main characters, the arrogant yet clueless Julien, the virtuous Madam de Renal, and the impulsive Mademoiselle Mathilde de la Mole.

What I found most interesting was the portrayal of "hypocrisy" according to the protagonist's perception and as the overall characteristic of society during the Restoration period. The trouble is, Julien despises hypocrisy, but at the same time, he realizes that in order to acquire success he has to give in and be hypocritical. He holds a romantic view of Napoleon, but conservativism has forbidden such sentiments. Since the only possible route for the son of a bourgeois is the priesthood, Julien learns Latin in order to impress Chelan, the local priest, and this is only the first of a long series of insincere acts that helps him to get ahead. Authenticity is cheap.

Rousseau, one of Stendhal's philosophy muses, claims the source of hypocrisy is society itself because it is artificial and its members develop deformed natures. Society is deemed artificial because it imposes inequality among its members, especially when inherited social rank and inherited rank have nothing to do with the innate abilities of the person. Also, the artificiality of language creates a gap between the ideals and behavior in the real world. These ideals such as beauty, freedom, happiness, are all impossible to actualize in the real world because they are indefinable. There is nothing in the real world to correspond to these abstract ideals. The pursuit of abstractions in a socially invented hierarchy of wealth and rank causes psychological damage to people. One cannot truly live in an artificial world and escape the charge of hypocrisy.

Stendhal carefully showed how hypocrisy could betray a secret truth of character, and more importantly how the phony emphasis on piety actually drained all passion from the interactions of people in Parisian society.

I read The Green Book when I was in the 5th grade, and I loved it! It has been 7 years since then, and the book has inpsired me, particularly one of the parts of it. I've been a writer since I could talk, and I've always loved writing. I love reading as well, but it's not nearly as broad as writing. In the scene where Sarah and Joe find out that Patti only brought a blank book and picked on her for it, I could relate to Patti. I would rather be able to broaden my mind by making up my own stories, and then being able to look back on it and remember stuff.

It reminds me of in The Diary of Anne Frank, where her father says to her after he gives her the diary, "There are no locks, no bolts that anyone can put on your mind." These two books together inspired me, because if there was ever a time when I had to leave my home, I would want to have something to write in, to be able to express my emotions.

Overall, I think this book was amazing, and I defiantely recommend it to anyone between the ages of 8 and 11 to read it. It's truly inspirational.

I use this in my 3rd grade classroom as a read aloud. The kids love it!

This is my definate favorite book ever! The plot is great. I love reading thing about the future because It all seem so cool, except for the part where the earth dies. But the space ship that lasted 4 years! Awsome! Well, my point is, it is a great book with many different exciting and good writing. I think it is a real page turner. And I love it. And I am almost over the age of reading this book, but I still read it anyways.

This has got to be one of my favorite children's books, and I've read thousands. Highly original. Beautifully woven story. The ending is exquisite, one of the best you will ever read. I suggest you read this aloud as a family.

I read this book as a child, 15 to 20 years ago. I don't remember exactly how old I was. I remembered it vividly all those years, though. The imagery stuck with me, and the emotions of the story. It was one of the books that got me started at an early age on science fiction. The main character faces trials and strangeness, and ends up giving hope to her entire community, born from her fearlessness and determination. This is one of those stories that haunted me, and eventually I'll have to get a copy of my own, since I only had it for a week from the public library.

Amazing read. Really enjoyed the book. The look into the interworkings of the psyche was facinating. The way the brain can change its chemistry to a adapt to God aweful situations is prevelant in this book. The writing is not too clinical but it doesn't dumb down anything either. Highly recommended.

Reading this book is like rubbernecking at an accident; you're drawn to the gruesome details against your better judgment. I'm still waiting for Oprah to reveal to the world that the book is a huge hoax, though the writer's credentials with Medicare suggest he wouldn't risk his career and reputation. Her tale is horrendous but even worse is the writer's inability to talk about its effect on him. What was he thinking and feeling as this woman revealed 17 personalities to him? All we know about him is that he's ambitious and status seeking. Anything he describes beyond Karen's tale is about his career trajectory and is written like a boring resume. Perhaps it was okay for him to sit silently and observe in therapy, but as the author of this book he owes it to the reader, if not to himself, to reveal his thoughts and emotions during what must have been a harrowing and incredible experience, assuming it's true.

This is an amazing story of a woman overcoming terrible events in her childhood. It is terribly sad and difficult to believe, but it's out there. Bad stuff doesn't just happen on tv and the movies. This is real life about an amazing woman.

I borrowed this book from the library. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It was the saddest story I've ever read. Karen's parents were crazy and ignorant. They choose her for abuse because of her childhood deformity and bad health. I think this proves that anyone can have children it takes special people to raise them in a health environment so that they will be healthy. I was so glad when her father died. I was happy for all the deaths of the crazy people in her life. I was fascinated by the descriptions of the intergrations. I could picture them as I read them. A very good read. It will be added to my personal collection. I'm pleased to see that the paperback copy has been published. Either edition of this book should be read and studied by every one who takes care of children. All teachers, coaches, and day care workers should be required to read this book so they know what to look for in the extreme abuse cases. It also helps to reenforce that not all child in a family will be abused. It's usually the weakest child who will be destined for abuse.

I loved this book. I felt connected to each personality and wanted to know about them and their complicated "house". I couldn't put the book down and read it in 2 days. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the human mind, effects of childhood abuse and books that keep you wondering what will happen next. Very good read!

I bought this as a gift for a friend. He loves it, often quoting some of the stories in it. Great for hockey lovers!

As a recreational hockey player and avid hockey fan by night and publications editor by day, I found this book to be boring and over the top. His anecdotes about NHL enforcers are sanitized to a "Family Channel"- level style of writing, about as pointless and meaningless as an Eminem CD edited for Christian radio stations. In keeping with the Mighty Ducks/Disney/Mickey Mouse squeaky-clean environment he works in, his words, even his direct quotes, are cleansed, leaving only adjectives along the lines of "making comments about my ancestors" as a euphemism for swearing, a phrase only my own ancestors used. If you can't talk the talk, Lloyd, then write the scripts for the MVP sequels.
Readers, buy the book "Goon" instead for real-life hockey experiences told as they happenend - blood, guts, and all.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to sit in the "sin bin" with the players?? Have you ever wondered what they say to each other and to the officials?? This book gets you into the sin bin without threatening your life. Lloyd Freeberg is an off-ice official. He has spent time in the penalty box with the likes of Bob Probert, Kris Draper and even Wayne Gretzky. There is even a chapter on some weird superstitions of hockey players. Read about his most embarrassing moment as an official, and his most dangerous times in the penalty box. For Red Wing fans- there's a chapter on Kris Draper and one on Bob Probert (former Wing). Everything from smuggling pucks to kicking the bucket where the pucks are kept to throwing chairs to insults is in this book--from first hand experience. I kept wanting to share everything I read with my family, and the book kept me laughing and wanting more. If your one of those fans who loves the fights and/or wonders what is said in the penalty boxes, this book is for you.

My boyfriend bought this book for himself and after hearing him laugh to the point of tears every time he opened it up, I decided to have a look. Freeberg painted a picture of hockey I had never really thought existed: a picture of real people and their lives and antics and mess ups and fall downs.... I am really glad I picked it up, I kinda have a different view of the game and it's participants now. Highly reccomended!

What can I say about this book. At first, I thought it was a good book. As I read on, I began to accept the fact that it was a very good book. By the time I finished, I had come to the conclusion that In the Bin is one of the greatest books to cover any sport, not just hockey. Just a truly amazing look at a few different angles of the game that we don't get to see very often.

Lloyd Freeberg's writing style has more moves than a Mario Lemieux breakaway. I was constantly being amuzed at the different stories he told, he has a great sence of humor and timing. Though the accompaning pictures are in black & white, they are superb. The variety of things Freeberg writes about caught me off gaurd. I thought that the book would focus only on penalty box incidents dealing primarily with goons from around the league. I was pleasantly suprised when I began reading about mascots, superstars, zambonis, goal judges, fans, referees and even arenas. The diversity was not only entertaining, but enlightening as well.

With stories of all types constructed with skill similar to that of Paul Kariya's stick handling, In the Bin delivers as much excitement as an overtime playoff goal. I loved every word of this book and I wouldn't hesitate to read another book by Freeberg, nor will I hesitate to suggest this book to anyone.

Is this great literature?

No.

Is it a great piece of escapism?

Absolutely yes.

Grippando is on my short list of authors to keep an eye out for. Almost always he delivers some legal thrills, a bit of injustice that drags the reader in and some twists and turns to make the ride interesting.

In this book, a young up-and-coming lawyer's father is kidnapped in Colombia. As Nick Rey tries to free his father (Matthew Rey) his professional life, his personal life and his family's secrets all get shaken up.

In a nice play on words, "rey" is Spanish for "king" - the book is about getting the ransom for Matthew Rey's release.

I give this one a grade of A-.

I stay awake lots of nights reading this authors books. This is another all nighter.

I just can't put his book down. I can't wait for the next one to come out.

I have often heard of a book being called a page turner, but in my 50 some odd years of reading, this was my first. I was not ready for the book to end, wanting it to continue for another 500 pages. The villains were well drawn, and of course, the plot surprises were all ways lurking. As a frequent traveler to South America, the story was all too real and frightening. It is simply the best book I have read in a long time.

Is it literature, is it deadly accurate? Who cares? What a great story, not one wasted word. Terrific characters, terrific
dialogue, and very original story. Terrific work, Mr. Grippando.

In his autobiography Isaac Asimov says that he thinks that 'Double Star' "is the best thing [Robert Heinlein] ever wrote." I agree that the novel is very well written. However, among his many, many, other works there are several that can meet the same challenge. The one I like best is "Time Enough for Love."

Double Star is a brilliant tale of political intrigue set in a science fiction mileiu. Ignore the space ships, ignore interplanetary travel, and ignore the other trapping of SciFi, this is a story of an actor drawn into the most brutal, deceptive, treacherous environment known to humanity; politics.

The actor, Lorenzo, has the right build and face to play the stand in for a high ranking politician, and it is not clear whether or not he'll ever get out of the role... or want to.

In addition to being a great tale, there are a number of worthwhile lessons hidden in here. The best example is the habit of taking notes on people you meet, even folks junior to you that appear to be nobodies, in order to cultivate a relationship at a later date. Machiavellian? Mmmm... yes, but also good manners for anyone who meets and works with a lot of people.

A great story, regardless of the setting. Easily one of Heinlein's best and most underrated.

E. M. Van Court

This one isn't really "science fiction," since, with only changes, it could be set in the here-and-now, or in Ruritania -- but it's pure Heinlein, and better written than many of his earlier works. At only 128 pages, it's also pretty short for a novel -- but it works. Lorenzo Smyth (a/k/a Larry Smith) is an actor convinced of his own talent (which, as it turns out, is actually considerable) who is hired to impersonate the Good Guy leader of a major political alliance, who has been kidnaped on Mars by the Evil Opposition. Against his better apolitical judgment, Lorenzo takes the job because it's a challenge, and almost immediately regrets it as the limited engagement spins itself out indefinitely. There's a minimum of strident overwriting of the sort Heinlein was often guilty of in pursuit of his moral and ethical positions, with the quietly-made exception of a plea for racial tolerance.

Okay, I love anything, mostly, by RAH but this is one of my favorites. It has action, politics, intrigue, and it is way too often overlooked by science-fiction lovers. Get it, read it, enjoy it.

...swipe from the best, and Heinlein certainly did here, lifting his plot from Anthony Hope (hodgeson)'s classic swashbuckler "The Prisoner of Zenda".

The interesting things about this book (which is NOT one of RAH's juveniles) that at first appear to set it apart from the majority of Heinlein's output are all characteristics of the narrator, Lorenzo.

Lorenzo is a xenophobe, an unheard-of trait for a Heinlein protagonist.

Lorenzo is completely incompetent at mathematics -- while RAH (through the mouthpiece of Lazarus Long) has opined that no-one is truly human who cannot understand higher mathematics.

Lorenzo is completely uninterested in politics or anything having to do with government, except as he personally may find himself interacting with law enforcement officials.

Lorenzo presents himself as something of a coward.

And Lorenzo is a raving egomaniac.

But Lorenzo learns to deal with his fear of Martians.

He never does learn math, but we gradually come to recognise that Heinlein has pulled a switch on us, and that Lorenzo is still our old friend, Heinlein's Competent Man -- but that his competency lies in another direction.

Because Lorenzo is recruited for the greatest challenge of an actor's career -- to impersonate, literally in front of entire worlds, an immensely famous politician, who has been kidnapped by his political enemies in order to derail an important treaty with the inahbitants of Mars.

And, gradually, as Lorenzo comes to know the man he must replace -- know him from the inside out, and "become" him, to the point that he can extemporise politically sound speeches in the Great Man's style -- that he begins to understand that politics is all-important in making it possible for the masses to live in peace and security, Lorenzo Grows Up.

The Lorenzo we meet on Page One is a cheerful, flippant, shallow and actually fairly immature man. The Lorenzo we see by the end of the story proper has matured, seen some of the wrongs that need righting, and has realised that someone has to step up to the line and take a stand or the wrongs will simply continue; that all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

And that is what the story is about, really -- like RAH's juvenile, "Starman Jones", this is mostly a story about a man growing up and accepting a man's role and responsibilities.

And, as the much-older Lorenzo adds as a short coda at the very end of the book, learning the important thing about the faceless masses, the thing that so many politicians lose sight of -- that they have lives of their own.

That they can hurt.