Morrison Books

Often, when visiting books from our youth and recalling the wonderful hours spent as a child reading them, you feel the need to share those experiences with your children or grandchildren.

In 1942, Helen Boyd Higgins wrote Alexander Hamilton, Young Statesman and created a timeless tale of a youth raised in a far away land that only the imagination of the reader can envision. Tribulations and intrigue abound in a format designed to entertain and teach many life lessons. Young Alexander is bereft of a terrible temper and learns self control by many examples used by Higgins in her description of his rearing. The vocabulary is enriched by using words beyond the reader's comprehension, not to frustrate, but to expand a child's horizons. There is a dictionary of definitions at the end of the book which teaches new words. The audience for this book is 9 to 12 years of age. This story is of a young lad growing up in the Caribbean Islands, who yearns to come to America and be a part of the new land of opportunity by going to college to further his education.

The Young Patriots series is designed to 'Hook' kids on History. Other titles in the series include, Amelia Earhart, Young Air Pioneer, William Henry Harrison, Young Tipp, Eddie Rickenbacker, Boy Pilot and Racer, and Mahalia Jackson, Gospel Singer to name a few of the 14 books published thus far. Gifts for birthdays, holidays, or just plain old fashioned fun reading are always good books. A present of this type instills in our youngsters the desire to appreciate reading and to treasure exemplary literature. Reasonably priced, this collection will become the foundation of a cherished library.

Clark Isaacs
Reviewer

Alexander Hamilton was born in 1757 on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies but, after his father's death moved, with his mother to her family's home on the Danish West Indies island of St. Croix. Receiving his earliest education at home from his mother, he later attended a small private boy's school conducted by a local minister named Knox and then came to New York colony as a young man just as the colonists were beginning to object to the heavy-handedness of the English government. The name may be somewhat familiar to us today because his picture graces our ten-dollar bill, but very few know much about him. His main claim to historic footnote fame is that he was killed by Aaron Burr in a duel. However, he accomplished much more than that in his short life (he was 49 when he was killed), and was one of our nation's most unheralded founding fathers.

As General Washington's aide-de-camp, Hamilton played a highly significant, though mostly unpublicized, role in the American Revolution. As the head of the Federalist Party, he was largely instrumental in achieving the ratification of the United States Constitution. And as President Washington's secretary of the treasury, he almost singlehandedly established the independent monetary program that guided this country for nearly 200 years, laying the groundwork for the capitalist economic system that enabled the United States to grow into the freest and most prosperous society that this world has ever known in less than 100 years. While Hamilton was not without his faults as a politician, all these are great reasons for knowing more about him and his part in our nation's past. In addition, lessons that we can learn from his young personal life include conquering fears, the value of a good education, controlling one's temper, perseverance, and the importance of hard work.

As a man, Hamilton's adult accomplishments as a military assistant to Washington, architect of the Constitution, first Secretary of the Treasury, and the face on the 10 dollar bill, were in part due to the experiences of his youth, and in Volume 14 of the Young Patriots Series, children can meet this noted personage from our nation's history as a young man. This slightly fictionalized account of Hamilton's childhood was originally one of the wonderful "Childhood of Famous Americans Series" published by the Bobbs-Merrill Company in 1942 and entitled Alec Hamilton, the Little Lion. Simon and Schuster publishes the "Childhood of Famous Americans" books now, but many of the older titles have been dropped for newer ones about more recent personalities. Thankfully, Patria Press is bringing back some of these out of print books in their "Young Patriots Series."
REVIEWED BY: Wayne S. Walker

Reviewed by Emily Judah (age 13) for Reader Views (5/08)

"Alexander Hamilton" is a fun book filled with the adventures of young and energetic Alexander Hamilton and his pet parrot, Hurry-Up. Alec, as his mother and friends call him, is a boy living on the island of St. Croix in the West Indies. Alec is allowed to roam free, and basically lives the life of luxury, with servants and maids to come at his every call. Alec loves to read and is fascinated with the newly-formed colonies of America which he hopes he will travel to one day. When Alec learns that he will be able to go to school, he can't wait to learn more about America and meet boys his age. The only problem is his Uncle Peter will only let him go to school, if he learns to ride a horse. Alec is terribly afraid of horses because he once fell off of one while riding. But he falls in love with the spunky little pony his uncle buys him and is soon off exploring the island with his newly-found friend. As Alec grows older he is offered an accounting job by the leading warehouse owner of the island. Alec is so smart and talented that he is soon the head accountant for the whole company. Yet Alec desperately wants to go to America and attend a university. You have to read the book to find out all of Alec's adventures and see if Alec makes it to America!

I enjoyed reading "Alexander Hamilton." I would recommend it for ages 8 to 12, as it is a pretty easy read. It is a history book that is made fun so kids can enjoy learning about history but also have fun at the same time.

Blake Morrison's "As If" was this reader's favorite find of the year. Morrison finds himself compelled to view the unfolding of Liverpool's James Bulger murder trial, and in doing so is forced to assess his own life in relation to what it means to grow up "normally". Who is truly guilty or innocent in this shocking act of two ten-year olds murdering a two-year old? He says he must determine the "why" of the crime. As we sink with him into the morass, we find that the answer becomes more and more elusive, and we wonder how different these families are from yours or mine.

In Liverpool, two ten year old boys have murdered a two year old boy. They encountered him - they did not know him before - in a shopping square, took him by the hand, walked him two miles to the train tracks, and bashed his skull in with bricks (and some suspect, sexually abused him). The two year old boy allegedly did not put up much fight the entire way. He was two, and two year olds are trusting.

Blake Morrison, an Englishman and father of three, was asked by the New Yorker magazine to cover and write about the trial. Morrison is interested first and foremost in one thing: the Why. What would make two ten year old boys (both were troublemakers) decide to kill a two year old stranger? Is the answer in their family history, their genetic predisposition, the movies they were watching (Child's Play 3), or what? That quest to find The Why is what this book is primarily about.

Along with an account of the very short and relatively unclimactic trial we get ruminations on childhood, parenting, the 'nature' of evil, and even the justice system. Morrison is quite good at this, and where many would come off sounding like an amalgamation of plattitudes, Morrison really does have something to say on all of these subjects.

Yet, what bugged me - and bugged me it did - was that Morrison is too 'literary' for his own good. Every sentence finds Morrison trying to be witty and poetic, outdoing the last. There is a time and a place for this kind of spakly writing, but, to my eyes, this was decidedly not the venue for it (at least, keep the floweriness in moderation!).

The other complaint was that while Morrison is an above-average ruminator, anyone looking for a 'trial story' will be disappointed by this book. The book is probably 1/3 trial and 2/3 reflection and rumination. And it does, to be honest, tend to drag because of that.

So, to sum up, "As If" is an average book and I cannot say I am suprised to see it (seemingly) out of print. It is a book that will be hard pressed to hold the interest of any but the most patient or intrigued readers.

I bought this novel in the summer while I was in England. A few weeks ago, when I was looking for a book to read, I came across As If on my book shelf. Since then I have read it three times. Morrison made me ask questions of myself and of society that I would have never asked otherwise. He explains the trial, not only in a factual manner, but in an extrordinarily philosophical way as well.

With book could stand alone simply on visuals. But there's also a story to string together these painting from the popluar trading card set. And then they have the writer & artists giving their plans/opinions/methods on every single painting. I was very pleased with this book especially with the some of the low used amazon prices.

The book has a great collection of art work and good reading

The artwork in the book is astounding and the story is riveting - even better than some Batman comic books I've read. It's a reflection the Dark Knight's universe as a whole with an intricate storyline that you'd think wasn't possible for a set of trading cards. I recommend this for anyone interested in Batman, great art, an interesting story, or any combination of the above.

I bought this book about five years ago and have loved it ever since. It's a nice introduction to the subject, with a history of computer graphics and animation and even some tutorials to help one get one's feet wet. A bit dated now, it's still a very pleasurable read. It would probably make a great, cheap gift for a kid that would get his imagination jump-started.

The book was very informative and indepth with its tutorials about truespace. There were few and far between errors but over-all a great find for the beginning 3d designer to get their feet wet.

Full-color book with step-by-step tutorials for modeling and animation using Caligari trueSpace. Great for client presentation of the capabilities of the program, and also as a learning tool

I am a huge Dr. Thompson fan. I use his Brainwave cds regularly with great results! This set differs from his other work with the addition of spoken words along with the music and brainwave content. I enjoyed this set, but I really prefer no talking in my meditation practice. Or perhaps the way the words were muffled and drawn out at times was distracting to me. My mother, to whom I gave a set of these, really loved the addition of language. If you find words distracting in your practice, try his other cds. You can't go wrong with any of Dr. Thompson's work!

A friend of mine had this 4-CD set and we used them together. I really do not know the words to accurately describe the experience - and I have a considerable vocabulary! Any one of these CDs alone leads the listener into fantastic levels of awareness; taken all together, they co-integrate and create amazing results in all four facets of the consciousness: Mind, Body, Heart, and Spirit. In retrospect I think that Brainwave Journey was instrumental in a unique and fulfilling creative project I was undertaking with the aforementioned friend, though I was not fully aware of so much influence at the time. In short, it would appear that Brainwave Journey contributed immensely to the inspiration and personal well-being that made our project so successful. Specifically I recall one occasion when the Journey of the Body CD led me into an extremely profound state of cellular consciousness - I felt like I was "IN" my tissue, or was a blood cell floating and rushing through my bloodstream. It's truly awesome and I highly recommend this set to any avid explorers of the higher levels of awareness.

This set of CDs has really high points, and few low spots. The music is wonderful. The brainwave entrainment is powerful. The added guided meditations are a great idea...

But Owen Morrison misses the proverbial boat too often. In "Journey of the Heart" in particular, the guided meditation moves so fast I have found it difficult to keep up with him. At times, it's hard to understand what he is saying, as his voice often drones and he uses "big" words that seem to inhibit my ability to follow him. When I'm in that relaxed meditative state, my brain just doesn't want to keep flowing when it runs into a word like "effervescent"... especially when the tone of the speaker's voice sounds more like he is talking about a muddy bog than a beautiful mist.

The other journeys are better paced. Much slower, and the instructions are often repeated enough that my mind has time to absorb them, process them, and roll on before being given the next set of instructions. ("Journey of the Spirit" is my favorite, because it uses the Awakened Mind pattern of brainwaves.) Still, I find it difficult to follow him all of the time. I've learned to just sit back and observe. It seems that my mind is capable of following the spoken guidance much better if I just let go and stop hanging on his every word. I find it's easier to meditate when I can move at my own pace, and in my own direction. Although, it may be easier for others to have more specific guidance, I don't know.

What I'm saying is: my "gripes" about these CDs could very well be my own fault.

Overall, the music is splendid, and the results are phenomenal. I always feel much better after listening, just as I do with all of Dr. Thompson's CDs. I haven't tried any of his music that I don't like! I don't regret buying this set, and I still use it on a regular basis.

My advice to anyone would be this: If you only plan to buy one CD set of Dr. Thompson's, this is probably not the best one. And, if you have never listened to his music before, this is probably not the best to start out with. Still, I doubt you will regret the money and time you've invested in it, either way.

This book was written in the shadow of the 2000 Internet bust. So, why write a review in 2005? My answer, memories are short. As the economy continues to expand people will again become courageous and begin to try new technologies. Much of it will turn out great, but a lot is bound to be the same stupid mistakes made half a decade ago. . .

You may think that because you are in a non-internet company, you are safe. Two words: you're not. Technology is already integrated in every business-even the mom-and-pop outfits depend on it. To remain competitive requires increasingly skillful use of technology. In 2000, the technology experts bombed. In 2005 it's everyone's turn.

This book is a great way to jump-start your move towards making good technology choices--by examining bad ones. The teaching method employed in this book is to tell stories, then explain what went wrong. Most chapters are organized along those lines and stand quite well by themselves. Thus, it's easy to simply read a chapter, set the book down for a few days and pick it up for another chapter. (I like books that cater to a busy schedule!) As such it's easy to read and the narrative format brings the drier aspects analyzing business technology to life. Currently I see that it's selling used-with shipping for under $5! I'll give that 5 stars!

To Dan & Alan.
I wanted to thank you for writing such a good book. Now I understand that I am not the only techie who has to experience these frustrations, and that makes me feel a little better, but I will feel even better when I have implemented the teachings in the second half of the book.

I loved the title! The title of the book caught my eye, because I had heard about a book titled "business at the speed of light(?)", and being a bit of a rebel, I laughed when I read the title and thought "that's the truth". After a few scans of various pages, I wanted to buy it. And I am not disappointed yet.
I would not feel stupid telling someone to read this book based on it's title, and if you do, then you may need to get out the environment you are currently in. Everyone needs to lighten up a lot. That theme is illustrated several times in this book.

Dan & Alan, please send me an email when your site is revised (ExecuThought.com), I would like to find other tech people to converse with about your thoughts and lessons in this book, and I think your online dicussion board would be an excellent place to do it.

Again thanks for the book, I haven't enjoyed reading a "business" book like this since reading the "E-myth revisited". Each chapter is a comedy, adventure and tragedy wrapped in a valuable lesson.

Although most of this book consists of scenarios where you say "well of course...", they are excellent, focused examples of the points made. I wish the title were different; I can't imaging handing this to someone and saying "here, you should read this". But most IT people should!
Great book, easy to read.

This book has a collection of many short stories in it. Each with humor and each with a theme. It takes place in a inn where a group of pilgrims are staying for the night. Then the inn keeper tells them they each must tell a story, so each of the different pilgrims with different occupations and personalities tells a tale, tell morning is reached. Most of the tales our body comical and have a theme. The book takes point from one of the pilgrims named Chauser who listens to the different tails but never interacts in the story. The pros of this would definitely be it's comedy, poetry, challenge, action and love. Also the point of view of one to another's occupation is interesting. The cons of this book would be it's tendency to decrease in interest to find words that rhyme. It also is easy to loose track of the main story with it's rhyme and old English text. I am definitely going to recommend this book to some friend. Also many of my friends are good readers and will love it. I hope you do to.

Romantic in feeling: Love ,Lust Greed: all told throught different experences and understandings. Quotes such as "If the gold rusts, what will the iron do? For if a priest is foul in whom we trust, no wonder a layman shows a little rust."

This book has a collection of many short stories in it, each with humor, and each with a theme. It takes place in an inn, where a group of pilgrims are staying for the night. Then the inn keeper tells them, they each must tell a story. So each of the different pilgrims, with different occupations and personalities, tells a tale, until morning is reached. Most of the tales are bawdy,comical, and have a theme. The book takes the point of view from one of the pilgrims, named Chauser, who listens to the different tales, but never interacts in the story. The pros of this book would definitely be it's comedy, poetry, challenge, action and love. Also, the point of view from various occupations, one to another, is interesting. The cons of this book would be, it's tendency to use unmeaningful words just to complete a rhyme. It also is easy to lose track of the main story with it's rhyme and old English text. I am definitely going to recommend this book to some of my friends, who are good readers and will love it. I hope you do to.

Had to order textbooks for my two boys who are in high school. Very easy to order. The right price AND delivered as promised.

This text is a helpful introduction to Catholicism. I highly recommend it for those who are interested in learning the fundamental Catholic convictions about the Church. It works well in RCIA discussions.

I used this as a textbook with high school freshmen. It was very informative, but challenging for that level. Driedger takes a thematic approach to church history. So this book is better for understanding who and where the Catholic Church is now than as a comprehensive survey of church history. In fact, it would be helpful to know the basics of Christian history before you delve into this text. The author's religious approach is open minded. She presents the official teachings without being too fundamentalist or rigid. Once the reader gets used to the author's style, this book has much to offer for understanding the contemporary Catholic Church.

This is a good book for whom ever likes literature. Tony Morrison analyzes the relationship between men and women, rich and poor, young and old, and the races by putting them all in one house in the Island of Haiti. There, the characters experience love, hate, betrayal, jealousy, and painful secrets.

I think this book is very good for older readers. It was complicating at first.

I found the book, Sula, to be very interesting. The author tries to make the reader understand the life of the blacks in the early 1900's. She writes about the way the blacks had to survive. This book deals with friendship, love, and betrayal. One of the quotes that I found to be very important to the book was, "That was to much. To lose Jude and not have Sula to talk to about it because it was Sula that he had left her for." This is a symbol of Sula's betrayal towards Nel. This book also uses a repetitive pattern. It always flashes back to earlier scenes, in order to decribe what is going on. If you are into comedy then you would like this book. Also people who want to learn more about life for the blacks in the 1900's would also like this book. Even if you don't like any of those things, this book also deal with all the different things that do go on in life in todays society.

A must have for fans of Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, this volume collects the final story arc and brings about a conclusion that only Morrison could dream up. As is the case with all of Morrison's Doom Patrol run, the artwork is workman-like and certainly not a selling point, but Morrison's bizarre twists and turns make the exciting conclusion of Doom Patrol a must have for fans of one of comics' greatest writers.

This volume also includes the one-shot comic Doom Force, an X-man parody which has some loose connections to Doom Patrol. Personally I'd rather they kept that story on ice and charged a buck or two less for the book.

If you are a fan of Doom Patrol, you can't go wrong with this title.

This collection completes Grant Morrison's run on the Doom Patrol in the mid-nineties, and as an ardent fan of the series I admit that Morrison's writing took the team to new heights. The Candlemaker storyline ends satisfyingly in this volume with plenty of action and near apocalyptic escapes thrown in for good measure. The team also deals with the threat of malevolent nano-machines set loose by their erstwhile mentor Niles Caulder. Danny the World (formerly Danny the Street) makes his debut, and Crazy Jane goes for a walk in the 'real world.' All in all, typical Morrison. Metaphysical musings and philosophical twists can be found on almost every page, and the dialogue and captions found throughout the book are nothing short of brilliant. However, the Doom Force special included in this collection was a waste of my time. This is the only reason why I cannot rate this book 5 stars. What was Morrison even thinking, writing swill like that? Seems like it was only included to add weight to a trade that really only contains a single storyline running for five issues. The ending of the Doom Patrol was excellent, but the Doom Force comic ruins it all. Take my advice and don't read it...stick to the DP stories in this trade instead. Overall though, a must-have if you bought the earlier volumes in the series.

Up front, I have to confess I'm not a fan of Morrison's recent work with the exception of WE3. Personally, I think he's too weird in books like the Invisibles and the Filth and merely good on X-Men or JLA.

To this day, I still consider his early work like Animal Man and Doom Patrol to be his best works. First of all, his trademark weirdness and inventiveness he's known for was right there from the beginning. However, he also had strong sympathetic characters like Cliff Steele or Crazy Jane to keep the book grounded in reality and give readers something to care about.

Volume 6 wraps up Morrison's final Doom Patrol issues (58-63) and includes his one-shot 1992 parody of the Doom Patrol written in the style of X-Men (ironic since he later wrote the book).

Some of the individual stories fell flat or were just too weird for words, but overall, Morrison's Doom Patrol (19-63) was an epic masterpiece beautifully told and written with great art by Richard Case who's style evolved from just mediocre to great. Also, it had a beautiful and poignant ending. DC should have just let Doom Patrol end with #63 because you just can't improve on genius.