Marshall Books

My 18-month-old daughter can't get enough of this book; she carries it around the house, begging, "moh moh... jo jo", which is her way of asking for "more Jonah". Her interest wanes after the fish regurgitates our hero, and usually we then start over from the beginning. A single read is never enough, alas. I give this advice to all those in a similar predicament: partial relief from the tedium is had by singing the book's rhymes to the tune of "The ballad of Gilligan's Island." Try it, it works. Coincidence? I doubt it.

This book is outstanding! My 2 toddlers love to hear this one at bedtime. It gives us such a wonderful opportunity to talk on their level about how God requires obedience, but forgives us and still loves us when we don't listen if we say we are sorry. Like someone else mentioned in their review, I'm online today to order several more of these stories for the kids' Easter baskets. The rhyme of the story does not distract from the message, which is great! The illustrations are perfectly suited for a child's imagination. Quit reading reviews and BUY the books- you won't regret it.

My 4 year old daughter absolutely adores this book! She calls it her Bible (she has two real Bibles; however, they don't hold her attention the way this one does) and insists on sleeping with it at night! I am ordering all the other Alice in Bibleland books based on the excellence of this book..

This is a wonderful retelling of one of the most profound gems of the Bible. Most tellings focus almost exclusively on the Whale portion of the story. But the real focus - the boundless love of God - is properly told here. The cadence of the poetry is attractive to young children. It is now one of the favorite books of our seventeen year old toddler!

I generally have stayed away from books other than the Bible to explain its stories, but boy has my mind changed. Alice Joyce Davidson does a fantastic job with her depiction of the Story of Jonah. My daughter only 21 months now, decided this was her favorite book about 6 months ago. She always asks for Jonah at reading time. The book has a rythmn to it that she loves and many parts rhyme. She's even saying several of the words herself on cue. We received the book free in the mail and I'm now on-line here today to order up the rest of the ALICE in BIBLELAND Storybook Series. You won't regret this buy!

Much has been made of this. Sen. McCarthy had some things to say about the so-called good general. Eisenhower went ape, as they said then, and the establishment press pontificated---but these words, written by Forrest McDonald, are worth a view. Where was Marshall on Pearl Harbor day? Why did he consistently side with Mao? Read this for a decidely different view from the conventional one.

In 1951,Senator Joseph R. McCarthy made a lengthy speech(constantly interrupted)in the Senate,highly critical of the military and diplomatic career of General George C. Marshall(and other "public servants")during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.The reaction from many quarters to this speech was one of indignant outrage.
In questioning the wisdom-indeed the very loyalty to the US-of Marshall,revered and sanctified as the "Organizer of victory" during World War 2,even Senator McCarthy's allies(such as Republican party chief Robert Taft),felt Joe may have gone too far.
To this day,it is McCarthy's "attack" on Marshall-Army chief,roving diplomat for Truman,Secretary of State and Defence Secretary-which is pointed to as being the "red-hunting" Senator's greatest political crime.This book,published in 1951,is basically a condensed version of McCarthy's speech,with some additional material.
Whether McCarthy was wholly responsible for writing the speech/book-or if,as some believe,it is largely the work of one of his more academic assistants,such as J.B. Matthews,is debatable.
Be that as it may,whoever has(like me)been informed by our "media" for decades that McCarthy's public attack on Marshall was a prime example of Joe's unholy wickedness,may have to revise their opinion after reading this book.The case made against Marshall,his proteges and advisors,is carefully argued,well supported by evidence-and devastating!Drawing on published memoirs by the politicians,military figures and such who were involved in the momentous events in which Marshall played a leading part,one is staggered by the scope of the indictment against him,and sobered by the thought of the other horrors which would have occured if Marshall(and others discussed here)had managed to get their way all the time(instead of just a lot of the time!).
Here we see Marshall's murky role in the Japan/Pearl harbour debacle,his monomania about opening a "Second front"-at a time when neither the US or the Britain could have mounted an assault on Nazi held Western Europe without colossal casualties and inevitable failure,solely to take the pressure off Stalin's forces in Russia(Stalin having been until very recently Hitler's ally and fellow plunderer of Europe);his sabotaging of the efforts of Churchill and others who were trying to prevent Russia occupying swathes of eastern europe and taking Berlin;his moves to see that Russia was brought into the war in the east(a strengthening of Stalin's hand quite unnecessary to the Allied war on Japan);his insistence on there being a land invasion of Japan(then defeated militarily,without supplies-as its Navy had gone-and suing for peace with the Allies)which would have seen massive needless loss of life among Allied servicemen;his role in ensuring Stalin got the territory he craved during behind the scenes manoevering at the big conferences like Tehran and Yalta;his willingness to forward the cause of Mao and his communist rebels at the expense of the Nationalist regime which led to decades of the Chairman's gory incompetent rule over China(turning it into an impoverished charnel house).
Anyone reading the indictment here will probably begin to wonder how on earth Marshall gained such a reputation as a sagacious guardian of the US and the free world's interests,and why he was thought of so highly by clever political operators like FDR,Truman and Eisenhower.Is this the story of a naive serial blunderer,whose errors were somehow turned into epics of reasoned statesmanship by a fawning gullible left/liberal media and political establishment-or were all these activities(which promoted the aims and ends of Stalin)coldly calculated and deliberate.We have the evidence from the previously secret US and Soviet intelligence archives that the infiltration into the power structure of the US by Soviet agents and fellow travelling allies was on a quite breathtaking scale in the 30's and 40's.Much more still remains locked in the archives of the Soviet intelligence services.There is uncontrovertable evidence that many of those previously declared by the "liberal consensus" to have been innocent victims of unscrupulous political witch hunters like McCarthy and the Un-American Activities Committee-from Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White to the Rosenbergs-were in fact guilty as charged all along.Joe McCarthy came close to calling Marshall a traitor.Dwight Eisenhower,who coasted to prominence on Marshall's coat-tails,never forgave McCarthy for attacking his old mentor-it was one of the reasons why,as President,Ike finally joined the pack who were out to get the Junior Senator from Wisconsin,and helped destroy him politically during the 1954 Army Hearings and their aftermath.
Reading this book will help any impartial reader decide who was right about George Catlett Marshall.

Senator Joseph McCarthy was a contemporary of General George Marshall (the WWII U.S. military officer who worked closely with President Roosevelt), both having lived through the events that are described in this book, so this is a fascinating, absorbing first-person account of that history and those times. Senator McCarthy certainly lives up to his "no holds barred" reputation for directness and controversy in this book. Highly recommended!

CHAPTERS:

Background Leading Up to the Marshall Speech

Marshall and the Second Front

The Struggle for Eastern Europe

The Yalta Sellout

Marshall and Stilwell

The Marshall Policy for China

The Marshall Mission

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall-Acheson Strategy for the Future

Appendix A: Source Material

Appendix B: Press Reaction to the Speech

This small tome, expanding upon his speech in the Senate, provides a wealth of documented information regarding General Marshall and the deleterious effects his mistaken eforts have wrought on the US and the enslaved citizens of China.

A modern history of this subject with all the released information from the Venona files and the Soviet Union folded in would only enhance McCarthy's prescience in writing this book.

This book does not charge Marshall with being a spy, nor a Soviet agent, nor a communist, nor a fellow traveler, but whatever leanings Marshall had and how he was influenced by the Communists and American Traitors that were in charge of formulating and influencing the US's foreign policies, especially in the far east, are strongly inferred in this book.

This is a well written, well argued, and well documented book, that almost turns into a page turner and a one night read.

In evaluating Senator McCarthy's book, I will compare the situation he analyzed with another more well-known situation.

From reading William Shirer's book "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" I became aware that Neville Chamberlain helped precipitate World War 2 when he went to Munich. There, he appeased Hitler by allowing him to take chunks of Czechoslovakia and incorporate them into Germany, without a fight. Czechoslovakia was not even invited to these "negotiations." The situation was hopeless for that country; although it was well-armed and could have fought back Germany, the citizens capitulated and within a few weeks the entire country became engulfed by Germany. But that is all that Chamberlain did to encourage Germany into invading Czechoslovakia. To think that Chamberlain was a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer might be overreacting.

Now, imagine that prior to Chamberlain coming to Munich, Germany was already invading Czechoslovakia by force. Not only that, but the Czechoslovak forces were steadily beating back the German army from the Sudeten regions. Suppose now, at the urging of Hitler, Chamberlain was to demand that the Czechoslovak forces cease-fire before taking back their lost territory, in the interests of "peace." Suppose that while assuring the British people, who wanted arms to be brought to Czechoslovakia, the arms were mysteriously sabotaged while being transported to Czechoslovakia in the care of Chamberlain. Suppose further that Chamberlain demanded that Czechoslovakia "reform" their government and hold elections, and allow the Nazis to be elected into their government positions, in the interest of "democracy." And that if they refused to comply, Chamberlain was going to withdraw British troops from, and discontinue aid to Czechoslovakia. Suppose that the Czechoslovaks conceded and ceased-fire but still this was not good enough for Chamberlain, who before returning to Britain, withdrew aid and troops, and made the statement, "With a stroke of the pen, I now disarm 39 divisions of the Czechoslovak army." Would you think that Chamberlain was a Nazi, had he committed these actions? Even if the man was considered by most of your countrymen to be a "war hero?"

In the previous paragraph, replace "Chamberlain" with "George Marshall," "Hitler" with "Chou En-Lai," "Munich" with "Yenan," "Germany" with "Russia and Red China," "Nazi" with "Communist" "Czechoslovakia" with "Free China," "Sudeten" with "Manchuria" and "British" with "American," and you get the idea, of what happened to China prior to it's fall to the Communists shortly after world war 2. Now we are faced with another question.

If you are yet undecided as to the answer of that question, then I suggest you read McCarthy's book, which is actually a transcription of a speech he made in the Senate. In spite of the media reaction to McCarthy and his speech, in the speech, and hence this book, much evidence is provided, and conclusions presented in a calm, objective manner.

A special section at the end of the book documents media reaction to the speech. Much vitriol was flung at McCarthy by editors of various newspapers. Much of the commentary demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of what McCarthy said, or worse.

It is a great injustice that Marshall is still considered to be a "war hero," when it is quite apparent that he committed numerous "errors," even prior to his shenanigans in China. The systematic nature of his errors, always in favor of the reds, explains a great deal why China is still communist today, and unlike Japan, has a government which is hostile to the US and may become increasingly so in the next several years.

Having read some architectural acoustics books, I can recommend this one as one of the best. It is an excellent resource. In fact, I should not have spent some of my money on some oldie books, which were cheap but not as good.

This is an up to date book, and it is worth every penny you spend. If you are a student or someone interested in the topic architectural acoustics, it is a good resource but it has many formulas (sorry if you do not like physics).

With it I have been able to specify to an architect who does not know hardly anything about acoustics how to correct his design for a contemporary church. I also recommend "Handbook for Sound Engineers" as a compliment to this book, for people that are trying to get the best of both worlds -- acoustics and audio. These are both good buys, and can help you very much. Remember that to be a good consultant you need to have a good library of books and this one would be an excellent part of your reference library.

The ultimate guide to architectural acoustics covering many topics in a single and nice priced book, It has everything covered and explained to a good level, my only complain is that only basic measurement techniques are explained. However it is a great complilation of knowledge in a single package.

I just received my copy, and have yet to dive into. However it appears up to date (2006) in that it covers modelling and auralization concepts. The scope of the book is expanded compared to Eagan's excellent text. Take a look at the table of contents on line for an idea of the topics.

It appears to be well written. The mathematics of sound are covered. This should be a standard reference text for a general knowledge of architectural acoustics.

July 2007 - I use this book as one of my primary references. It has excellent breadth and detail.

In his preamble the author refers to the fact this book took him more than 10 years to write. Given the level of detail and the comprehensive nature of this book, this is not surprising.

There may be better acoustical books available relating to specific niches of acoustics, such as Beranek and Barron's works on concert halls and there are certainly more simple introductions to the subject, such as Egan's book of the same name, but for anybody who doesn't mind grappling with some mathematical equations, this is definitely the best and most comprehensive book on this subject of the 15 or so that I possess.

Like the author, I am also a practicing acoustical consultant and a lecturer in this subject. It's probably splitting hairs, but I suspect that my architecture students might not respond well to this book due to the fact that the illustrations are generally limited to fairly simple black and white drawings and the mathematical approach may intimidate some, but for other acoustical consultants and engineers interested in the field of building acoustics, I would definitely recommend this text.

I have a copy of Long's Architectural Acoustics and have read a number of sections. The book is remarkably complete and Long has correctly embodied current literature. I recommend it for professionals and architects who have some mathematics. Leo Beranek

This book is helpful because expert coaches share their best tips on becoming a great coach. Extremely helpful.

Author, "Trust is Everything: Become the leader others will follow"

This book starts strong, but drags a little in the middle. The book covers coaches from all areas and many of the coaches have similar things to say. The research in the beginning and end are useful and the editors contribute some of the best work in the book. I think it's worth reading but I would skip sections that are not applicable to the area of coaching that you are most interested.

Editors Howard Morgan, Phil Harkins, and Marshall Goldsmith have done everyone tremendous service by using their considerable stature and reputation in the Coaching/Leadership field to pull together this amazing list of professionals; as well as sharing their expertise on the topic. The format they've used makes this an immensely useful reference. If you have an interest in executive coaching -- are a senior executive in transition, or are thinking of hiring a coach -- this book belongs on your "must read" list. In fact, make it your next read.

Peter Clayton, Senior producer www.landed.fm

If you are a line executive or an HR leader - you will find this book useful. It takes you through the process of selecting the right coach and then allows you the opportunity to hear from the best. This is the best coaching book on the market currently.

A great survey of the "best of the best." Useful and practical and meets a real need. I particularly liked the format of the book -- mixing the advice of some of the world's best coaches with practical step by step advice.

This story, Basho and the River Stones, By Tim Myers, takes place at Fuka River. One day at Fuka River there was a poet named Basho. He shared his cherry tree with foxes. It was peaceful and gorgeous at Fuka River. Then one day a young fox played a trick on the poet. All Japanese foxes have great magic and they are great at changing things and themselves. The fox transformed himself a yamabushi, a monk. Then he got three stones in the river and then turned them into gold coins. Fox walked to Basho's hut, a house. The fox knows Basho was poor, so fox used a great monk voice. Fox came and asked "I will give you coins if you sign a paper and leave the cherry tree to me." "Ok", replied Basho. "Can you put my name on the paper?," asked the fox . Then Fox left laughing to himself. The fox visited Basho again. Basho told fox that at first he was angry, then he loves the river stones. Then Basho told fox his new haiku, a poem. The fox told Basho he tricked him. "Sorry, I learned my lesson, how can I ever repay you?" cried Fox. Then Fox decided to give Basho real gold coins. Fox dug them up and returned to the hut. "Can I tear up the paper?" asked the fox. "NO, NO and NO!" yelled Basho. Fox walked to Fuka River in shame. While fox walked he saw gorgeous river stones. Fox came back to Basho. Then Basho accepted the river stones. At night Basho looked at his three new stones. At the morning Basho woke up. Then Basho stopped and looked at the table. He saw REAL gold coins and not his stones. Then Basho knew Fox tricked him. Basho went outside. Basho saw a letter from Fox on his hut. The letter said "Thank you" from Fox. Then Basho and Fox shared the cherry tree and many more things.

The theme of this book is to share and not trick people. In the beginning they shared a cherry tree with other foxes but Fox did not want to share any more. The fox tricked a poet named Basho by transforming into a monk. The fox tricked Basho by getting river stones and transforming them into gold coins. Fox told Basho that he will give him gold coins if he will sign a paper that says that he will give a cherry tree to the fox himself. Then they shared the cherry tree. Then fox learned a BIG lesson. I like the way that in the end Basho and the fox shared the cherry tree.

By Resmi

I read this to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in our school library and used the book as a jumping off place for a lesson on haiku. They loved Basho's story and it was fun to watch them "get it" as they gradually understood the clever fox's tricks on the poet. I would recommend this story for 3rd and 4th graders. Although younger kids might enjoy it, I doubt they'd readily understand the twists and turns in the story.

I have given this wondrous book to a number of friends and relatives. It is a trickster tale that is delightful, humane, and highly poetic. The artwork is lovely and vibrant. This is a book to treasure, share and read aloud to people you care about.

One of the things I most love about stories is their ability to present us with simple truths in compelling fashion. That's part of what I tried to do with "Basho and the River Stones." Naturally, I wanted this story to entertain readers (adults and children alike). But my years as a writer and a professional storyteller have taught me that even entertainment is more successful when it carries some resonating truth. In this book, the fox is capable of selfishness and deception--he's quite "human" in that way. But when Basho's shining example is set before him, he's also capable of shame and a determination to do better. We're all like that, I suppose, to whatever degree--I can certainly see both sides of human nature in myself! So I'm uplifted and comforted at the thought that, like the fox, I can learn, grow, come to a new vision of things, deepen my values, realize what's most important--even if it takes a little trickery to set things right. After all, we have to use the gifts we were given, eh? I hope you enjoy my story! May the river stones in your life turn to gold, and the gold to river stones. Regards, Tim Myers

This beautifully illustrated book imagines the 17th century inventor of haiku, Matsuo Basho, and his encounters with the magical foxes of Fukagawa. We first see Basho asleep under a cherry tree, surrounded by a fraternity of suspicious looking foxes clad in Hugh Hefner-esque silk kimonos. Initially, Basho and the foxes shared great "wa," or harmony. (Tim Myers deserves kudos for using the interesting and accurate Japanese words in a kids' book!) One fox, "particularly fond of cherries" wants them all, and so he uses his trickster powers to transform himself into the figure of a "'yamabushi,' a wandering monk." The fox turns three stones into gold, and enters into an exclusive rights-to-the-cherry-tree contract with the money-strapped poet.

The next day the gold reverts to the stones, but they inspire a haiku:

How many years have
These stones loved the river, not
Knowing they were poor?

Basho, ever the poet, tells the fox, "A good poem is worth more than money--and it lasts much longer." The fox admits his deception, and then seeks to make it up to him. In the process, the fox learns much about cultural attitudes towards charity, and, especially, honor. The repentant, wiser fox uses his magic again--this time to procure enough money for Basho to buy food for the long winter ahead.

Oki S. Han delivers some of the best illustrations I've seen recently; her watercolors have both power and grace (a grace found also in Myers' flowing language). We see traditional Japanese dwellings and marvelously colorful, variegated foliage. Even the ornamental designs framing the text are beautiful, sometimes staggeringly so. Han is a master of light and dark, and she uses close-ups, scene-setting panoramas, and overhead views in an incredibly beautiful display of illustrative mastery. The story has a very satisfying ending (which includes the fox writing his own haiku), and Myers' "author's note" talks about Basho, the deeper meanings of haiku (he wrote the two in the book), and his own heartfelt gratitude ("ongaesha") for Basho's inspiration. Very enthusiastically recommended!

I am happy that Gingko Press has brought out this handsome 50th anniversary edition of Marshall McLuhan's _The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man_, and I am looking forward to seeing _The Complete Mechanical Bride_ that Gingko Press plans to publish in the near future. I'd like to provide some background information here regarding McLuhan's first book.

It is hard to say exactly when Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) started gathering the materials and writing the short essays that were published as _The Mechanical Bride_ in 1951. However, Walter J. Ong, S.J. (1912-2003), has reported that McLuhan was working on this project when Ong studied under him at Saint Louis University in the late 1930s and early 1940s. During this same period McLuhan was also working on his Cambridge University doctoral dissertation on Thomas Nashe and the verbal arts in his time, which was accepted in 1943 and published by Gingko Press in 2006.

Because rhetoric has long been understood in Western culture as the art of persuasion, we need to take into account that McLuhan was studying the history of rhetoric in detail when he was assembling the artifacts of American popular culture and writing the witty commentaries about them that came to be published in _The Mechanical Bride_. To spell out the obvious, the artifacts aim to persuade us to buy a product and to imagine ourselves as associating with and perhaps even identifying with the imagery employed in each artifact.

But why bother to write witty commentaries about the artifacts? McLuhan was under the influence of the New Criticism he had studied under I. A. Richards and F. R. Leavis at Cambridge University. Thus the short essays in _The Mechanical Bride_ can be understood as exercises in practical criticism (to borrow the title of Richards's most widely known book). To be sure, McLuhan is critical of popular culture, but he takes it seriously enough to write intelligently about it. His short essays are witty and amusing.

--Thomas J. Farrell, author of Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies: The Phenomenology of the Word and I-Thou Communication (Media Ecology)

This, McLuhan's first book, serves as a good introduction to him, since he has not yet begun to formulate his theories about media that would later make him so famous. Consequently, it is easier to read than, say, The Gutenberg Galaxy or Understanding Media. It is also much more fun.

The reader should keep in mind that this is still premature McLuhan, for he had not yet read Harold Innis's 1950 classic--which represents the true birth of media studies--Empire and Communications. This book hit McLuhan like an atomic bomb, for it completely ruptured his thinking regarding media. In The Mechanical Bride, he is still analyzing the content of the media, deciphering what the subliminal messages are saying to us unconsciously; but after reading Innis, he realized that it was not the message that was important (at least not for him) but rather the type of medium through which the message was conveyed, for Innis's discussions of how particular kinds of media affected the nature and structure of ancient empires caused McLuhan to realize that it was actually the medium that was the important thing. Whether a culture used clay or papyrus as its means of communication, Innis asserted, determined much about the fate of that culture.

With that caveat in mind, then, the reader is free to roam through these pages, observing a McLuhan that would never exist in the same way again. He comments, sometimes hilariously, on one advertisement, movie poster or magazine after the next. He has interesting things to say about genres like the Western or the soap opera (for instance, he says that the Western is the masculine equivalent to the soap opera, for its values are the opposite of those of the domestic drama) and we also find here, for the first time, his speculations on Sherlock Holmes, a theme that will recur in many of his later writings.

McLuhan at this point had read and metabolized such key thinkers for him as Lewis Mumford and Siegfried Giedion, and they are referred to often in the body of the text. (There even occurs a reference to Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces; apparently the only book he ever read by Campbell, his Irish intellectual colleague who was more concerned with deciphering the messages than the media themselves). McLuhan, in The Mechanical Bride, is still feeling his way, and he is not yet sure of himself. But it is a delight for the reader to watch this great American thinker--the equivalent, easily, of any of the great French postmodernists (this book bears certain similarities, for instance, to Barthes' Mythologies)--tentatively poking his way about in the middenheap of popular culture, looking for ways in which to organize it into something one can get a grasp on.

I hope that you enjoy this book as much as I did. But do let me know if you don't.
--John David Ebert, author
Celluloid Heroes & Mechanical Dragons: Film as the Mythology of Electronic Society

The "modern gal" knows that "getting ahead" means being the first on her block to articulate the ways her body and cultural practices are transformed into parts and routines -- she reads The Mechanical Bride to "stay in the know" regarding the ways that reflection on the discourse of her body can be used to advance her academic career! And "guys on their way to the top", in academic circles ranging from media history to cultural studies, tune into The Mechanical Bride to find out the latest "swinging styles" in everything from discourse analysis to popular tropes for identity production. Keep it in mind, all you Sirens and Sages of the Academy: When it "comes to success" there is "deep consolation" in knowing that the "cream of the crop" always "rises to the top" because it never "falls out of step" with the latest critical styles -- in a liberal era and place, such as our own, this really is Freedom "American Style"!

This is McLuhan's first book, originally published in 1951 and has been long out of print. It precedes his second book and cult classic 'The Gutenberg Galaxy', by a decade and a half. This is also quite unique in that it has no relationship with McLuhan's more famous theoretical ramblings.

In this book, McLuhan takes on myth-making in US society by showing how film posters, comic strips, advertisements, magazine covers, newspaper layout and articles etc., try to persuade people into something, and yet a close observation of their inherent contradictions allows you to escape their machinations.

The book celebrates deliberate misreading of commonplace things like advertising to show how the persuasive trap of mass culture/consumer culture can be escaped.

All articles in the book follow the format of article/poster/ad, its analysis and some sharp witty aphoristic observations in a boxed area that serve as liberating repartees against the messages that these products of consumer culture intend to send.

The philosophy of the book is derived from McLuhan's premise (borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe's story 'The Maelstrom') that to escape a maelstrom you need to study things going down and things that resurface and align yourself with things that resurface.

In this respect, it can be considered a jargon-free precursor of latter-day deconstructive literary and cultural criticism. And it is much more liberating and enlightening to a lay reader than jargon ridden discussions or purely vehement denuciations of the power of mass culture which don't help laymen liberate themselves anyway, because of their highly inaccessible prose.

Originally published in 1951, The Mechanical Bride: Folklore Of Industrial Man by the influential philosopher and cultural observer Marshall McLuhan is a thoughtful and thought-provoking treatise that seeks to unveil the subtle and sometimes venomous effects of media and modern mass communication. Thoughtful, sometimes philosophical, sometimes prediction with deadpan seriousness, The Mechanical Bride is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago and highly recommended reading for students of Mass Communications and Journalism, Contemporary American Sociology, and Modern Philosophy.

This book is great for any child who loves to build or any child that loves digging, dirt, and construction trucks. My son loves it. He is 2 1/2 years old and it is one of his favorite books. Great rhyming text that really engages the child.

In this striking picture book with an unusual vertical design, a dad and his young son follow the construction of a new school, from the bulldozers roar to the hanging of the new sign. In the end, workers wax the floors, make sure the toilets flush, and finally, happy children arrive for the first day of school. The highly realistic artwork grabs the reader with unusual perspectives on the giant bulldozers, backhoes, and other building equipment. The different perspectives used by the artist make the large construction equipment appear especially imposing and monumental. Preschool boys, especially those fascinated with construction equipment and trucks, will love this title, which offers short, easy to understand text in rhyming couplets. The construction subject matter is unlikely to appeal to many little girls, however. Highly recommended for libraries and schools, since it makes an excellent read-aloud for story times concentrating on trucks, tractors, or other construction themes. The oversized nature of the illustrations make them well suited for story time as well, since they can be easily viewed by many people. Recommended for ages three through six.

Building with Dad is a perfect choice for fathers and sons to read together. A child gets to observe the construction of his school from start to finish - with his dad at the helm. Bold illustrations show the two riding on earth movers, watching the cement pour, etc. My 4-year-old son, who has always been fascinated with construction equipment, asks for this book all the time. The short, rhyming text makes it easy to read aloud, especially when you're looking for a quick read.

Review by Sherry North, Author, Because You Are My Baby

Everything about this book is amazing. The vertical format of the book is very unusual and invites children to look at it again and again. The illustrations jump out at you, making the reader a part of the story. The rhyming couplets take the story of a construction site and weave the story together with the pictures to create a wonderful father and son story that celebrates the theme of the first day of school. Children will love the big machines and the "peek" into the building of "their" school. Parents will love the first day of school celebration, as their kindergarten children head off for their big day. And every primary teacher should have a copy in their classroom.

Everything about this book speaks to an amazing level of creativity. The vertical format allows unusually tall and thin illustrations. It also works very nicely for holding the book in front of you when reading to a group of kids. The illustrator makes the most of the unusual format, turning out drawing after drawing that grab you with unique angles and photo-realistic detail. You have to wonder how he picks out the bottom of a shoe or a backhoe's teeth to be the focus of drawing when the rest of us with merely human powers of observation would probably default to something standard like the earthmover's engine. You would be temped to think that maybe he has drunk one too many Red Bulls while drawing, if he didn't pull it off each time and help you with a new way of seeing.

The only quibble I have with the illustrations is that they are a bit too perfect. Look at the kids entering the building when the school is finally completed on one of the last pages. Are any children really that beautiful? I don't see a freckle, speck of dirt, or birthmark on any of them.

This book would be a great gift for any child who like construction sites, heavy equipment, or art. Like this duo's last effort, Karate Hour, I would expect this book to be one of the favorites for a Caldecott Medal.

I'm so surprised to read that this is a challenged/banned book. I remember getting this book as a prize in school when I was in 1st grade, and it has been a favorite ever since. The story is fun, the characters are silly and entertaining, and I absolutely love the illustrations. I love the illustrations so much that I carefully cut out the page with the prayer at the beginning of the book and framed it (it is hanging in my hall now!). I still have my original copy of the book, and I read it to my son. Highly recommended...not at all scary!

I had this book as a child. It is so funny, I still remember it. All of Harry Allard's books are fantastic.

I recently came across Bumps in the Night on a 100 Most Challenged Books list. I was a little shocked and disheartened... I LOVED this book as a kid. The characters and illustrations are warm and silly, not at all scary. The story teaches us that with an open mind, even things we don't understand can be a little less scary. I highly recommend this book for anyone, young or old.

I am a student at West Virginia State College currently taking a class called Children's Literature. Our instructor required us to read a banned/challenged book as part of our assignment and write our personal view of the book.

This is a hilarious book! I enjoyed reading it to my 8 year old son and he loved it. He thought it was so funny and not all scary. He loves scary stories, however, he did not find this book to be scary at all. I can see why some people might object to this book. It makes reference to a seance and a medium, but the book references it in a funny way and not at all serious. I would read this book to my classroom. I feel the children would enjoy and get a kick out of this book.

Dudley the stork takes his friends' advice and gets Madame Kreepy to conduct a seance. He needs to find out why wierd things happen at his house when he's trying to sleep. My two eight-year-old girls loved this book. Even their older sister thought it was funny. Our favorite line in the story is when the ghost tells Dudley "...I gave you a great, big, wet, kiss in the dark. Did you like it?" Nickelodeon should use this book as a basis for their next half-hour Halloween special!

I eagerly bought it as soon as I discovered it. Really fun book and worth getting it (esp used) for the insight into Timothy Leary and early 90's "Cyber" edge culture.

a variety of the treasured libertarian-laden articles and essays of Dr. Tim, displayed with interesting graphics and text. A little color with so many photos would have been nice but for twenty bucks you get a lot of Leary in a big book.

A great synopsis that should turn on a few more people to the Leary magic.

Essential for the Leary collection.

i like tim leary's style. he keeps jumping in time, changing moods. one minute he's an entertainer, the next a philosopher. the next, a psychologist talking about his harvard psychedelic research project. he must have been at least 70 when he wrote this book, and it's very up-to-date. i can identify with a lot of what he's talking about it. somehow, being a very old man has not affected his abilities to see the spice in life. there are pitfalls of course. he gets monotonous at times, repetative. but overall it's a good book. . .also, i don't think it's intended to be read from cover to cover. feel free to jump around. jump around.

A wonderful feast for the mind and soul. If more of our books were like this, we wouldn't need--or even want--television!

Leary does it again! That brilliant Irish neuronaut has once again travelled far into the future of humanity and come back to the past to tell us all about it. It is the first fun and scientific analysis of cyber-culture ever written. What's astounding about this book is that Leary conceptualizes Cyberia like no one before or since has done, with crystal-clear vision, irreverent wit, and razor-sharp insight. Many of his ideas in this book, and it was written a few years ago, have already diluted into the popular culture through magazines, television, and movies. This book is not just about psychedelic drugs, virtual reality, and questioning authority. It epitomizes the philosophy of the future which we are creating in the present. It is a manual of the future written by one man who has seen it. Forget Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Esther Dyson, when we look at computers today, and what they are fast becoming, remember that Tim Leary has been telling us all about it decades ago.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! IT'S COOL HOW THEY PUT THE SCRIPT IN THE BOOK.
I've seen the movie 5 times, and I can't wait until August 19th when it comes out! I'll be sure to be it.

It took 10 days for it to arrive, but it was worth the wait! I ordered used. But it was in perfect condition.

I've seen this movie 8 times, so it's just natural that I bought this book. The book cover was damaged, so I told amazon, and they sent me a new one, free of charge, within days! I love the pictures, they are amazing, and I love how the lyrics and script is included. This book tells the story of the movie with pictures. I also loved the behind the scenes information they had. This is a must-have for any die-hard Chicago fan.

If i could i would give this book more stars. This really captures the movie well. You need to buy, The Soundtrack & of course The Movie if you are a fan of the movie! Im only on page 37 and i just LOVE this book! To anyone who has not seen Chicago yet i say this to you "what the heck are you doing on your computer you chould be out going to see it"

I've been dying for this book to come out! Finally, I get it. I love it. I have to express my feelings for this great film, play and book. First of all...this is probably one of the most lavish musicals ever made. Second of all...if you have never seen the film, Do! Third of all...buy this book! It includes the complete screenplay (with some cuts from it) and an in-depth behind the scenes section with picutures of the 1975 Broadway play, the making of the film and real life "murderer's row."
If you love Chicago, buy this book! It rocks!

If you liked the movie (and, didn't we all?) you'll love this lavish, razzle-dazzle book. Some 183 eye-popping full color photos and illustrations are reminders of what a treat for the eyes this film is. It's hard to believe that pages can contain those glamorous larger than life screen figures - Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah - but, they do with photographs that sizzle.

In his intriguing introduction Director Rob Marshall relates his fascination with Chicago: "I was fifteen when I first saw Chicago on the New York stage. After seeing the performance, I listened to the album over and over and loved this musical more than words can convey. For me, Chicago was Broadway. So it's a dream come true for me that I've come full circle, going from that little kid, the 15-year-old at the stage door, to directing this movie. Please forgive me for believing it's destiny."

Marshall goes on to explain both the difficulties and joys of adapting Chicago from stage to film.

An especially absorbing section of this volume is devoted to the genesis of Chicago which was originally based on a real murder which took place in the city of Chicago in the 1920s. A man was found shot to death in a car owned by Mrs. Belva Gaertner, a cabaret singer with two ex-husbands. At first the woman denied any knowledge of the crime but later admitted that the gun found in the auto was hers. To every question asked of her she replied, "I don't know. I was drunk."

It comes as no surprise that she was acquitted. Following this announcement she laughed, hugged her attorneys, and thanked the jury. You know what they say about truth being stranger than fiction!

Remember Ginger Rogers? She came on screen as Roxie Hart in 1942.

The book Chicago is filled with little known facts, such as for the film's closing number when Roxie and Velma shoot out lights to spell their names over 10,000 light bulbs were used to create the 20 by 30 foot wall of bulbs. And, find out how and where Rob Marshall auditioned Renee Zellweger.

There's no place like Chicago that toddlin' town, and there's no book like Chicago!

- Gail Cooke