O Books

Everything Conant writes is so relatable as you follow his journey through all the seasons in his year. Conant truly has a gift for words and storytelling and this is definitely one of the best books I've ever read!! :-)

Just like his first book, Cameron draws you into his story with tales of love and life that are familiar to all. In his first book, he tells how he got married and divorced all before he turned 27. Now, a year later, he has turned over a new leaf, scored a fantastic job, fallen in love, and is leaving the predictable Midwest for the promise of a dream in Nashville. I laughed out loud as he described small town living, but his love affair with the girl of his dreams and an interesting roundtable of friends keeps you turning the pages!

I am nearing the end of "The Year I Got Everything I wanted" as I type this review. I have to admit that I stumbled across Conant's earlier book, "With or Without You" by accident but it was a wonderful read.

I went through an un-wanted divorce a year and a half ago and can relate to much of what Cameron writes about. The sometimes overwhelming feelings of rejection, loss, confusion, heartache, loneliness, sadness, depression, etc. are not new to me. I often wonder if I will fully get past these things. My divorce experience was interesting because the one place I expected my failing marriage to get better only allowed it to become worse-----a small town Southern Baptist Church. The church became an outlet for gossip, deception and non-biblical teaching. It also allowed my ex-wife to find companionship with other women who were going through marital problems and divorces. Instead of encouraging my wife to stay in the marriage these women only gave advice which eventually allowed her to walk away from the marriage. Misery loves company apparently rears its ugly head once again in the local church.

I'm thankful for my church friends that cared enough about me and God to tell me to never give up on the marriage. My experience has allowed me to see the blatant contradictions found in church life today in the area of marriage and divorce as well as many, many other social, political, spiritual, and theological beliefs and practices. This has inspired me to write my own book dealing with the overall theme of contradicitons the church does not want to deal with.

I'm grateful for men like Cameron Conant. In a world of fiction we need more realistic writers who are not afraid to expose themselves and write about life as it is. What makes Conant's books worthwhile is the fact that you can identify with him. We all experience life with pain and loss. As I type this I have returned home from my residence in Tennessee to my birthplace in Pensacola, FL to visit my dad who just underwent emergency surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor. Again life has thrown me a curve ball and I'm trying to figure out how I want to swing at this one!

I encourage you to read both "With or Without You" and "The Year I Got Everything I Wanted". These books are for anyone who has struggled through a broken marriage, divorce, and the pursuit of happiness that makes most of us continually seek true love and acceptance. I often ask myself, "Why do I bother trying to find anyone to love me?" After asking the question I realize-----we do believe in fairy tales. It is that fairy tale belief that there is someone out there for all of us that allows us to pick up look past the pain and try it all over again.

For now it is just me and God. Perhaps we will fair better when we realize that on most days that is quite enough. But, I am gently reminded of the phrase, "God looked down and saw that it was not good for man to be alone" I say amen to that!

If there's one happy side-effect of being someone who has spent time in the darkest places of the spirit, it's that you can detect beauty in the smallest of things, and in the unlikeliest of places. Cameron Conant has the uncanny ability to do that - he can capture a moment in time, savor it, and hold it up to the light for us in a way that shows us beauty where we might not have known it would be. I think that's my favorite aspect of Conant's writing style. It makes me wonder how much more there is to my own life that I am not seeing, and it reminds me to be mindful of the simple, seemingly mundane things in daily life that are in fact not mundane at all.

In this book, Conant bares his soul to the reader and shares thoughts and experiences that many of us would hesitate to tell our friends, let alone the world at large. It is this openness that gives us a glimpse of some very deep but universal struggles that we all share, but often fail to confront directly - the grasping at something outside ourselves to find satisfaction, and ultimately the failure to find it anywhere but in the Source within ourselves. And although this book is classified as Christian literature, I believe that it would be an enjoyable and easy read for anyone who is the least bit spiritually-minded, regardless of religion. It speaks truths that reach beyond those boundaries.

Cameron Conant writes with great skill, depth and reflection. The Year I Got Everything I Wanted follows a year full of promises (new city/job/girlfriend) on the other side of his painful divorce. Conant's honesty and transparency stand out amidst endless stacks of "how-to" and "step-by-step" books, while the narrative challenges our perspectives on God, success, love and the church. All who struggle with pain, expectations, disappointment and faith will enjoy, finding themselves in Conant's story--and the greater narrative of life.

This book gives great insignt on communication for the recovering person or any member in their family. It show you how to change your thinking, which inturn changes everyone attitude around you. This is a great book to start a life of serenity and peace with all. Thank You, Paul O. for writing this eye opening book.

This book condenses a lot of AA and Al-Anon thought into a few fast-reading pages. It contains many handy tools and techniques for managing difficult emotions and letting go of the need to control others.

I don't believe it's just for people in AA and Al-Anon. The wisdom in its pages is universal, although the constant references to AA and Al-Anon might put off an average reader.

I want to share this book with many people, to give them a taste of what serenity -- emotional independence -- feels like.

I highly recommend the book as a companion text to other program literature. It does not replace the Big Book or Paths to Recovery, but it condenses and clarifies a lot of age-old wisdom in a few easy-to-read pages.

... centered on Paul O's book.

If I could only keep one of all the books I've read on sobriety, growth, and maturity, this would be it. Writing at the age of 82, Dr. Paul shares a lifetime's worth of hard-won lessons in simple strong prose. His candor about wrestling with his own faults helps me see him as a flawed but determined fellow traveler, instead of some perfect guru.

Dr. Paul describes the relationship of anger, emotional independence, emotional sobriety and daily serenity. He provides various techniques to become aware of the nature of our anger and then to develop our emotional independence.

Reading this book is like sitting down with an old friend whom you know and respect and whose advice you listen to.

I had half a dozen men tell me after the meeting they wanted to get their own copy. I recommend it to you, too.

John P

Dr. Paul (Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict) expands on his theme of "Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today." Beautiful! Dr. Paul was quite funny - so if that type of approach to emotional healing appeals to you, this is a must have for your recovery library!

Could not read this book fast enough. Dr. Paul O. has such a way with words. I would highly recommend to anyone who can't seem to stop allowing other people to rent space in their brain.

Attorney, professor and commentator John O Fox has spent the better part of his professional life wrestling with the US Tax Code and knows whereof he speaks. In the spirit of pamphleteer Tom Paine, he talks common sense to his readers in 50-odd pages: 10 Tax Questions the Candidates Don't Want You to Ask is a provocative and lively adddition to Fox's growing body of work. Written for the interested layman,it is accessible and brisk and repays your investment handsomly. Would that the candidates would address tax issues as clearly as Fox does.

John Fox has it right! His "Ten Questions" represent the real interests of Americans -- from mortgages, home equity and property to health, childcare, social security and retirement. American have the right to expect better answers from elected officials about tax issues -- not just the usual boiler plate about tax cuts. This small volume frames the debate that should take place during this election year.

Clear, incisive and entertaining, this is a book about an ordinarily mind-numbing subject, taxes, that's actually a page-turner. Headings make the issues covered even easier to understand and I didn't know tax law could have a heart until I read this book. John O. Fox should be writing U.S. tax law, not just writing about it. Judith Pacht, Los Angeles

If you're like me, hearing the word "tax" is almost as much a turnoff as paying one. Yet here in this slender book I learned not only what I should know and think about my own taxes but also what I should insist our government do about my taxes and everyone else's. A couple of examples -- I found a sane path to a health insurance program that would help me and most people I know; in six short pungent pages I saw how Social Security can be fixed; I learned what I should tell Congress to do about home equity, the poor, my single son's struggle to keep his head above the tax waters while he's building a career, my aunt's pension problems, the college loans that often hurt more than they help. I could go on and on but you get the idea -- this book is a must for virtually everyone I know. It's so true that tax policy is social philosophy, and John O. Fox has helped me understand this truth in a way I never before have.

As the Presidential Campaign heats up with the rush leading up to the Democratic and Republican Conventions, the public gets deluged with a raft of Campaign-related books, monographs and articles. A must read for anyone who has a sincere interest and concern about our National income tax policy is John Fox's "10 Tax Questions The Candidates Don't Want You To Ask." It's less than 60 pages but chock full of timely and useful information and analysis interspersed with clever quips, cartoons and quotes. Any thoughtful citizen is missing the boat if he or she fails to read Fox's monograph.

Twenty Years A-Growing, or Fiche Bliain ag Fás in its original Irish, is a humorous and well written book about the sometimes hard life at the great western island, An Blascaod Mór, off the cost of Ireland. It tells about the everyday of the islanders in the beginning of the century in a surprisingly modern and lively way. The language of the Island was Irish, and although the Great Blasket is now abandoned, the Irish language still lives on in the mainland parishes in this area. I strongly recommend this book to everyone interested in Ireland, its culture, the Irish language or readerswho just want a fun and good book. I myself have only read the whole of it in its Irish original, but the passes I've read in English shows a well-done translation

I haven't yet read the book but I will submit a review when completed. However the book came highly recommended to me by many people. they found it a delightful memoir and as i just returend from the Dingle Peninsula, i wanted to read it myself.

Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O'Sullivan is one heck of a "coming of age" story. I'd never even heard of it until a friend of mine told me that he was reading it. I'm sure glad he did. This is a great book!

I've actually read several coming of age stories recently. I didn't plan to...it just kind of occurred that way. Some of them were really good (David Copperfield by Dickens being one of them); but none of them, Copperfield included, spoke to my heart like Twenty Years A-Growing.

Twenty Years A-Growing was translated into English from Gaelic. I personally find this astounding. They (whoever "they" might be) say a book always loses something in translation. Yet Twenty Years absolutely sings in English...the translation is so powerful that the original must truly be a thing of beauty.

It is an autobiographical tale of growing up in the Blasket Islands off the coast of Ireland around the time of the first world war. For me at least, it was a thing of wonder to be able to enter into this world which has since moved on. It is a story told in a wonderfully simple yet almost lyrically beautiful way. Each chapter is a story in itself. The story as a whole slowly ingrains itself upon your heart and mind.

I felt an affinity with Maurice and his friend Thomas. The adventures they find themselves in ring true even as they entertain the reader. Likewise, the character of the grandfather in particular now feels like an old friend to me now. I particularly appreciated some of the wisdom he espouses to Maurice.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be charmed by the lives of these wonderful people who lived almost a hundred years ago in a kind of societal setting that seems all at once foreign, yet somehow more sane than today's world of constant "time management" in pursuit of hollow "muchness" and "manyness."

It does not happen often that I do not to want a book to end. I usually approach the end of a book with satisfaction. Rarely am I left wanting more. Yet that was the case with Twenty Years A-Growing. It is a truly special book.

Twenty Years A-Growing by Maurice O'Sullivan is one heck of a "coming of age" story. I'd never even heard of it until a friend of mine told me that he was reading it. I'm sure glad he did. This is a great book!

I've actually read several coming of age stories recently. I didn't plan to...it just kind of occurred that way. Some of them were really good (David Copperfield by Dickens being one of them); but none of them, Copperfield included, spoke to my heart like Twenty Years A-Growing.

Twenty Years A-Growing was translated into English from Gaelic. I personally find this astounding. They (whoever "they" might be) say a book always loses something in translation. Yet Twenty Years absolutely sings in English...the translation is so powerful that the original must truly be a thing of beauty.

It is an autobiographical tale of growing up in the Blasket Islands off the coast of Ireland around the time of the first world war. For me at least, it was a thing of wonder to be able to enter into this world which has since moved on. It is a story told in a wonderfully simple yet almost lyrically beautiful way. Each chapter is a story in itself. The story as a whole slowly ingrains itself upon your heart and mind.

I felt an affinity with Maurice and his friend Thomas. The adventures they find themselves in ring true even as they entertain the reader. Likewise, the character of the grandfather in particular now feels like an old friend to me. I particularly appreciated some of the wisdom he espouses to Maurice.

I dare anyone to read this book and not be charmed by the lives of these wonderful people who lived almost a hundred years ago in a kind of societal setting that seems all at once foreign, yet somehow more sane than today's world of constant "time management" in pursuit of hollow "muchness" and "manyness."

It does not happen often that I do not to want a book to end. I usually approach the end of a book with satisfaction. Rarely am I left wanting more. Yet that was the case with Twenty Years A-Growing. It is a truly special book.

This is an extraordinary book, described by the well-know author E.M. Forster as "here is the egg of a seabird - lovely, perfect and laid this very morning".

The author, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin, is an Irish-speaking boy growing up on the Great Blasket Island (An Blascaod Mór). He describes his childhood in the twenties on this 100% Irish-speaking island in Co. Kerry. The population of the island never reached 200, and life there was very archaic - resembling the society in Europe thousands of years ago. Nowhere else in Europe did the shear joy of speaking and love of words live on as here, where thousands of pages of folklore has been collected as well. This love of the language is obvious in this vivid book, in which Muiris presents an affectionate, lively and interesting account of a way of life that no longer is.

Despite being published 70 years ago, the book still feels fresh and manages to blend fond memories and humour in an extraordinary way. This is definitely THE book to buy for anyone interested in the Irish way of life.

"The Allure of Turquoise" is made up of a collection of articles on turquoise, its history and the Native American mythology surrounding this stone. I was particularly fascinated by one article about ants and their relationship with turquoise. Nevertheless, although this is an informative and interesting book, if you are looking for a guide to collecting turquoise or turquoise jewellery, I'd begin withTurquoise Unearthed: An Illustrated Guide (Rocks, Minerals and Gemstones), which focusses more on purchasing turquoise and the different types of turquoise. "The Allure of Turquoise" is a relatively short book (only 107 pages in length), but contains color pictures throughout. Be aware, however, that this book does not contain an index, a major drawback, as far as I am concerned.

This is a wonderful in-depth examination of turquoise and its makers. It is somewhat scientific in the portion about the formation of the stone. There are terrific photographs and lots of information about the handling of turqoise and the art that turns it into expensive jewelry! Recommended for the turqoise lover.

I found this book very thorough as far as the knowledge of the types of turquoise. But, I also found a lot of good info about traditional jewelry selling, info about fakes and treatments and historical knowledge. Gorgeous pictures.

This was a birthday gift for my husband. He loved it. He said it was the perfect present since he loves turquoise and making turquoise jewelry. It even arrived on time, gift wrapped. If you love turquoise, the color pictures are worth it. The content is very good too, my husbands states.

This is the same review I gave to "Turquoise Unearthed"...and for all intents and purposes, they could be classified as companion volumes...both doing an exceptional job in words and images!

"I have been a gem and mineral dealer for over ten years...and a rockhound for a lot longer than that...but this book taught me more in a single sitting than all my years in the buisiness and in the hobby.

I have dug, traded, bought and sold a whole bunch of "Turq"...natural, treated and "color-shot"...and this book instantly became one of my favorite references for the rest of my life.

If you are planning on investing in real American or Persian turquoise jewelry or stones...and it is an investment...then this book is a "Must Have!"

No sooner did I put this book down than I called up one of my suppliers and bought all of the Blue Gem and Turquoise Mountain stones they had left in stock...I am sure they are wondering what precipitated that call!"

My many thanks to Mr. Vigil for his labor of love, a compilation of articles from New Mexico Magazine...on everything from the Lowry "Turq" Museum...to the history and significance of the Cerrillos Mines...to the myth of "Old Pawn" jewelry...and much, much more!

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA is essential college-level reading for any interested in the history, philosophy and politics of the American conservative movement: contributions from over two hundred leading scholars pack a weighty reader which blends biography with concepts and history in over six hundred entries. College level holdings strong in social science should consider this 'bible' a must-have reference: from Lord Acton to William F. Rickenbacker, cross-comparisons between theorists and their works make for an essential reference.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA is a monumental resource for anyone wishing to delve into the evolution of what I would term as "modern" conservatism. By that I mean, this is not a history of conservatism, dating back to its origins in American politics, but is rather a study of conservatism of the last thirty or so years. For me, that is this books only shortcoming.

I would have loved to have seen the editors trace conservatism back to such statesmen as John Taylor of Caroline, whose "New Views of the Constitution" truly expresses the origin of conservative thought in America and still exemplifies true conservative principles far more so than today's rather diluted version, but such was not the case. That is not to say there is not much to glean from this massive volume.

Heavily laden in today's climate of political discourse and polarization, too many people unfairly equate conservatism and liberalism with party politics. Perhaps to some degree, there is some validity to placing conservatism in the same pot as the Republican Party, and certainly even greater logic in placing liberalism squarely in the hands of Democrats, but then along comes a politician like Zell Miller (D) or John McCain (R) and that whole theory goes out the window. The premise of this book, however, is not to assign a label, but rather to insight to the people, concepts and ideals that make up the crux of the modern conservative movement.

Constructed in encyclopedic fashion alphabetically from abortion to Zoll, and everything in between, the book is laden with pillars of modern conservatism from scholars, politicos, activists, authors and more. The book seems adequately geared not only to conservatives seeking to better define themselves but also to anyone open minded enough to absorb the evidential presentation and advance their own conclusions as to valid and judicious modern application.

This book is highly worthy for what the editors surely envisioned, but it is not a history of conservatism. If that is your target, this one is off that mark.

Monty Rainey
[...]

~American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia~ is an insightful encyclopedic compendium offering a survey of the American conservative movement and its diverse elements. The publisher Intercollegiate Studies Institute makes it clear that the focus is upon a distinctively American conservative movement, particularly in its postwar mold following the Depression and World War II. This insightful reference book covers a litany of iconic personalities, people, events, organizations, and concepts of major importance to the American conservative movement. One thing ISI does surprisingly well is achieve a balance while allowing for a profile of an older traditional conservative thought. In the twentieth century, the political fortunes of conservatism are too often measured merely by the successes of the Republican Party. This encyclopedic reference, however, points readers to a diverse, broad conservative movement within the United States. To many outsiders, the conservative movement suffers from a crisis of identity as avowed neoconservatives, paleoconservatives, traditionalists, libertarians, and those who simply call themselves "conservatives," cling to the conservative movement. However, as this encyclopedia makes clear, the diversity of the movement is its strength, and the ensuing debates between its varied elements, has contributed to the advancement of the nation. The American conservative movement will perhaps allow for a brighter future for ordered liberty, a renewed culture and a more vibrant civil society. Herein, this volume, the student finds an erudite window into that American conservative movement. Understanding the movement, its history, and its impact, is integral to sustaining its impact on society for the better in the twenty-first century.

This powerful tome features articles from one of my former professors Dr. S.A. Samson as well.

In this highly interesting and informative book, the reader will be introduced to the main currents in conservative thought, and in a manner that is objective and with only a few exceptions free from an excess of bias. There are many names and ideas associated to American conservatism, and readers may find that they hold much more in common with it than they might have first realized. Its history and content have been tarnished greatly in recent years, due mostly to the popularity of `neoconservatism' (which is discussed in the book), and the current regime in Washington. This book will hopefully assist in putting conservative thought into its proper perspective, and illustrate to the uninitiated reader its great diversity in ideas. The average reader will probably not read every article in the book, but will instead concentrate on those of interest. There is a fair representation of the major (and minor) philosophical trends that have dominated American conservatism, along with those that have or are losing credence.

By far the best article in the book is the one entitled `Liberalism' and written by Peter Augustine Lawler. In spite of its length, it gives a fair and interesting overview of what constitutes liberal thought and some of its intersections with conservative thinking. It is a refreshing alternative to the vituperation that so frequently occurs in discussions of liberal philosophy. The author does refer to `liberalism' as being `elitist' but this is put in the context of its belief that individuals must be liberated from religion, morality, and other traditional beliefs in order to become fully human. In this sense it is `elitist' in that it makes special and frequently exclusive claims to knowledge about what it means to be fully human. Also interesting (and it is fair to say accurate) is the author's statement that American liberalism has been a mixture of conservatism and liberalism. There is fairly good evidence that suggests even more so, namely that liberals have actually switched places with conservatives in recent decades. Both liberals and conservatives will deny this vociferously of course, but the conservative thought of George Will, who is also included in the book, is a good example of this crossover effect, with his notion of "statecraft through soulcraft", which sounds suspiciously like the belief from liberalism that governmental institutions should be used to promote beneficial social change. The next article entitled `Liberalism, Classical' offers more insight into the nature and philosophy of liberalism, and in fact reinforces this `crossover' effect between the liberal and conservative camps, albeit in a much longer time scale (on the order of a few centuries rather than decades).

It is very surprising to see an article on Ayn Rand appear in this book, given that she chose to distance herself from `conservative' thought throughout her lifetime. She also despised `Whittaker Chambers' due to his extremely negative review of one of her novels. But an article on Whittaker Chambers of course appears in this book. The ideological distance between Chambers and Rand is infinite but they find themselves in close proximity in this book, separated only by a little over six hundred pages. They both are no doubt turning over in their graves over this inclusion, but if the truth be told, Rand does qualify as being a conservative, if one thinks of libertarianism as an element of conservative thought (as it is in this book, having an entire article devoted to its elucidation). Rand's atheism is no doubt one of her most annoying features, but ironically, the renowned Sidney Hook, who is also included in this book, and who was mentor to Leonard Piekoff, Rand's designated heir, was also an atheist. His atheism was apparently excused however, due possibly to his strong anti-communist stance (but Rand was strongly anti-communist?). Edward S. Shapiro, who wrote the article on Hook in the book, is careful to note that Hook did not believe in the "goodness of mankind", and it is fair to say that most conservatives consider it naive or misguided to believe otherwise. They stumble greatly here though, since statistically most people throughout history have conducted themselves honorably, even if measured by a conservative yardstick. To believe in the "goodness of mankind" is to accept the overwhelming evidence supporting the belief.

Conservatives though, it might be fair to say, have had some difficulties with empirical reasoning, and this is especially true in the scientific realm. This is brought out to some degree in the article entitled "Science and Scientism" by M.D. Aeschliman. Scientific and technological progress is at odds with most conservative thought, due to the latter's anathema for change. Most of the article concerns the effect of "scientism" on the individual person in that it negates purpose and meaning. C.S. Lewis (who is also written about in the book) is quoted in this article as support for the alienating effects of scientism, and its capacity for the "abolition of man." But interestingly, the area of science that studies human behavior and its connection with the brain, namely neuroscience, seems to support to some degree conservative thought, due to its contention that thought patterns via neuronal processes are heavily influenced by cultural inputs and are difficult to change once they are learned. On the other hand, neuroscience, and science in general, has learned to live without the concept of a soul, and even some research circles in neuroscience have given up even the notion of free will and personal identity. These two notions are hard for conservatives (and liberals) to give up, with the prospect of doing so even considered extremely frightening. The scientific doctrine of evolution is also of great concern to conservatives, as one will notice in the articles in the book, one being on the Scopes trial.

The only troubling omission in the book is an article entitled "War" or one that would shed more light on the conservative philosophy of war. The article on Neoconservativism says a lot, as does their behavior in real life, but one would like to see an article that compares the different schools of conservative thought on war. Many individuals, who refer to themselves as conservatives, and who are popular in the national press, such as George Will and Patrick Buchanan, have come out strongly against the current conflicts.

As this book reveals, sometimes succinctly, conservative thought and liberal thought are intertwined, and to omit any influence of liberalism on conservatism (and vice versa) is to destroy both systems. One cannot view them as two separate dogmas, and both will have to deal with the unique challenges of the twenty-first century. Maybe one could say that conservatives generally view themselves as cautious and pragmatic, while liberals generally view themselves as future pointing and idealistic. But the twenty-first century is about change, extremely drastic change, and conservatives are intimidated by change, even perhaps frightened by it. It is difficult to predict what elements of conservative (and liberal) thought will survive this century, but whatever strands are left will no doubt be chastened by radical technological changes. The technology itself will create its own ideas, its own history, and its own politics, all of which it might indeed classify as being conservative.

This is one of my favourite `encyclopedic dictionaries', an underappreciated genre if there ever was one. The "American Conservatism" now stands pride of place along side two worthy peers. Namely Robert Nisbet's superb "Prejudices - A Philosophical Dictionary" and Richard Milner's "Encyclopedia of Evolution", a dictionary style encyclopedia of Darwinism that spans not only the science, but the history, pop and folklore of evolution.

I can see the critics pounding away at their word processors now. They'll say the volume doesn't give sufficient cubic mass to George W Bush and his merry band of Vulcans; or that the neocon movement doesn't get the required number of column inches; or that GOP Republicanism herein seems more a trickle than the mainstream. And why does Eugene McCarthy seem to get more coverage than Tailgunner Joe McCarthy?

I can see their point, and there are a few facets of American conservatism that I would have liked to have seen better represented. For instance, that rare, but tough sub-species, the American monarchists. There are at least two that I can think of. Charles A. Coulombe, a traditionalist defender of throne and altar, who hails from Hollywood, and Hans Herman Hoppe, an anarcho-monarchist libertarian professor from that hive of chivalry, Las Vegas.

Still I think this kind of word processor pounding is misplaced. The book is, after all, a single volume encyclopedia / dictionary. It is meant to be comprehensive in width, not depth. That's what is great about it. It is meant to sacrifice detail for coverage. It is more important that conventional narrative histories dive deeper into the murky depths of the mainstream. The dictionary format, in contrast, gives a Cooks' Tour of the lesser known, but rarely paddled alternative creeks, tributaries and billabongs. And that's what "American Conservatism" does superbly.

The pounders' may as well criticize the Oxford English Dictionary for being full of words most of us never use. That's the point. Dive in and increase your conservative vocabulary.

Mark Warhol has given us a book full of very sound advice for writing real, maintainable applications. The programming tips are applicable to any language; I work mostly in Tcl/TK and Perl where Mark's advice holds just as well as in VB. It's a darn shame this one is now out of print. A note to Wiley & Sons: bring it back!

I really enjoyed this book which is more than I can say about most of the programming books I read. The author is humorous while his is delivering his message about responsible programming. He reminds us of the need to be consistent and sensible about the way we code - in the real world, other people eventually have to deal with our code and it can sometimes be very painful. In fact, we can save ourselves the pain of going back to work on code we wrote months ago only to find we can't understand it now. Follow the techniques in this book and save yourselve and others a lot of grief.

The copy of this book that I have is for VB 3 and I don't know if it has been updated, but it really doesn't matter, because the main points apply to all versions.

By following Mark's advice you can avoid months, even years of the blood, sweat, and tears he's already been through creating- and the more importantly- maintaining code. How much would you pay for that? This rich book is well worth the meager price

This and Code Complete are my favorite programming books, and I have read a bunch. This book is hilarious, his stories are out there. Covers a good number of real world difficulties that other books don't cover. I wish this guy would write more, he is a genius.

While dated in specific VB examples (it was written for VB3), this book is far more important in what it teaches you about the programming industry in general. It teaches how to write clean, structured code, and what to expect as a professional programmer. Anyone who writes code for a living should buy this book immediately, regardless of whether you're just out of school, or have been in the industry for years.

There were a few poems that didn't seem to fully blossom but the vast majority are exciting, some shockingly good. Some of the absolute best poetry I've read in years.

Georg Trakl is the greatest German poet most english readers have never heard of. Most of his best poetry dates from the period just before and during his service in the Austrian Army during the First World War and this makes him a brief contemporary of Rilke. However, while Rilke's verses are each a world of incandescent beauty and spiritual profundity, Trakl's are intimations of death, decay and expressions of a world trapped in a cycle of hell. His poems are intensely expressionistic, dark and powerful. Simko's translation is excellent; though he makes a few word choices from the German that might be open to debate, he does an excellent job of preserving the poems' structure while transmitting their power in English. My only quibble is that I would have liked it if the selection of poems was broader.

Fans of German Expressionism owe a debt of gratitude to Simko for this book. Trying to find a book from this era can be extremely difficult. Other famous authors of the period (Gottfried Benn, Georg Heym) are almost impossible to find.

The book presents both the original German text, and a very good English translation. Trakl's poetry is bittersweet, the meter almost hynoptic. The reader confronts a collage of colors and emotions in a Trakl poem.

Trakl died young, a victim of WWI. No bullet killed him, but rather he killed himself while working at a military hospital. Although his poems reveal his grief, and his despair, the reader finds himself somehow empowered by them. Out of his suffering came some of the most beautiful poems in the German language.

Trakl strolls through the dream of a child decaying under blood-red leaves. Silver waters shimmer and recieve the sky's terrible unction. In the elderbush, a wolf devours an Angel, or an Angel expires like the sigh of a golden flame falling into a mythic well whose pit is the open mouth of the man gasping as his murderer confronts him. In the knife is reflected the compassionate face of your melancholy sister, or is it a vengeful God's purple laughter? Your face goes cold as the child speaks your name.

This is a very fine book of translations. To read Georg Trakl in German, of course, is far better. His German is extroadinarily beautiful. Trakl was a magnificent poet; I would say one of my absolutely favorite poets. His techniques are marvelous. He comes from, and surpasses, the lineage of such master technicians as Edgar Allen Poe, and Charles Baudelaire. He wrote poetry as if he were composing music, modulating colors and emotional content rather than tones and harmonies. One has the sense that he was divinely inspired. His work is miraculous.

My son and I were introduced to this book at story time at the local library. My son, 15 months, loves the book and helps me read it. It's very simple and quite captivating for my son who loves books. I only wish I could find it as a board book. Highly recommend.

I bought this book for my grandson when he was a few months old, based on the reviews here. He is now almost a year old and still LOVEs it. When given a choice, he always picks The Baby Goes Beep, and I sometimes have to read it over several times in a row. The down side is that it's not interesting from an adult's point of view. In fact, my daughter refuses to read it to him any more! However, it is a must-have from baby's point of view.

As a children's librarian, I can't say enough about this book. Every three months or so, I read this book in storytime to the toddlers and their reaction is amazing. The children love to sound in for the beeps, las, and smooches. Even the most distracted of the children tends to tune in for this special book. It is now a special treat for me to read this book and it shows on the toddler's faces each time I bring it out.

Bright and lively, bold and colorful, this book immediately caught my eye. Its lovely rhythm and simple, warm sense of humor were delightful to nuzzle in. Both as a parent and as a psychologist who works with young children, I found the book right on in its use of repetition and bright colors, inclusion of a loving family (including the cat!), and the joy the baby takes in sounds and other senses in exploring the world. "Beep" if you love this book! And the baby goes flip, flip, flip, flip through its pages again and again!

The Baby Goes Beep is one of my son's favorites. He's 16 months old and loves the bouncy, rhyming text and sunshine-bright illustrations. Best of all, he loves to give the book a kiss when we get to the "baby goes smooch" page spread. This book is an excellent choice for babies and toddlers.

As a side note, this book was a Charlotte Zolotow honor book for 2004 -- the award given for the best picture book writing of the year (the Caldecott is for illustration). Kudos to O'Connell!

One of the common diseases of the 21st century is computer-induced stress. We've all suffered from it, but now there is medicine for this malady in the form of "The Best of The Joy of Tech," a book collection of comic strips from the intelligent and very funny online comic strip, "The Joy of Tech".

The comics in this book touch on all aspects of life with computers, and range from laugh out loud funny to thoughtful, and the situations flow from absurd to so spot-on real that you might think that the authors were secretly watching you.

Buy this book if you'd like to keep a dose of laughter at hand.

Snaggy and Nitrozac show their teeth in this wonderful display of Geek Comedy. Whether you're a geek, or not, you can't help but laugh at the comic misfortunes of Windows users, Linux users and Mac users alike as they try to live in a world full of people who have normal sleep patterns, and have no idea what it's like to have a 3:00 AM call from your boss screaming at you begging to know why the third line of the second paragraph on page 5 of the online catalog isn't bold, or why the server is returning an error. Prepare to stretch your laughing muscles when you buy this book. A must have for all geeks. Makes a great gift, and will never let you down when you need a pick me up. Buy two, because surely you'll want to give on to someone you love.

Nitrozac and Snaggy have been delighting me on the web for awhile now. So I couldn't wait to get the book. They know just how to poke fun at our operating system obsessions and loathings. The foibles of geekdom exposed.

Keep an eye on your copy though. Mine has almost walked away with friends several times. Since not all the friends were geeks, even technophobes should give it a this book a try.

The dead-tree debut of the popular online comic "The Joy of Tech," by Canadian artists Nitrozac and Snaggy, is a terrific introduction to the comic for the uninitiated and a must-have for Superfans and just plain ordinary fans. Featuring a foreword by Steve "The Woz" Wozniak and an introduction by David "Missing Manual" Pogue, this collection of cartoons features geeks, aliens, cats, Macintosh, Apple, Steve Jobs, Tux the Linux Penguin, Klingons, cartoon babes that'll leave geeks everywhere saying, "I'd hit it!", and much more! I also appreciated the reproduction of the original JoyPolls at the back of the book, together with the "liner notes" for the featured comics. An all-around winner!

I must be crazy; I was flamed so badly after my last review of a cartoon book (published on a much less friendly site) that I had to replace my asbestos review suit. 'The Best of Joy of Tech' may be worth the risk.

Of course it's easy to enjoy a cartoon book by a pair of cartoonists that share your prejudices. It is obvious from the cartoons that Nitrozac and Snaggy are Macintosh loving, Linux leaning, Microsoft loathing geeks. Hmmm, sounds like me.

Not that Nitrozac and Snaggy are totally one-eyed. They still have a dig at Apple and Macintosh owners along the way. Unlike quite a lot of cartoons about tech these two also see the more human side, just as likely to make a joke about your cat's relationship to you and the computer as poke fun at LARTing end-users or pointy-headed bosses. Their cartoons are more about living with technology than working with it.

The book reproduces a couple of hundred of 'The Joy of Tech' cartoons from their website, in improved color and resolution. The website features a new cartoon every couple of days. There are also a small number that are original for the book and some funny marginalia in a couple of spots. It also has the matching JoyPoll and a short comment about the cartoon in a 'JoyWorld' section at the back of the book.

I find a fairly large number of the cartoons repeatedly funny and most of the rest worth a chuckle. These two have a good eye for the whimsical, ironic and downright funny side to a wired in, geek life. They even manage to get in a sly reference to geek site Slashdot with a fake O'Reilly book, "Trolling In a Nutshell" with a troll wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "FIRST POST" on the cover and an Introduction by 'Anonymous Coward'.

Oh, that reminds me. The book has a very Wozniak foreword by Steve himself and an introduction by David Pogue that is nowhere near as good as the book (I'm sorry David, but any self-respecting geek [male or female] would rather do almost anything than edit the Windows registry, starting with install a decent operating system and working all the way through to changing jobs, heck, I'd rather sleep with Jobs.)

The book is broken up into various sections, each with a theme. It starts with "Boot-Up" and continues with "4nim4l cr4ck3rs" (most about cats), the whimsical "Geek Love", "Hacks and Cracks" (I loved the couple who want to get housing within 50 meters of a war-chalked wall), "Techie-daze", "How about them *nix" (featuring the luscious 'Linux Lass'), "The Joy of Mac", "Who do you want to poke fun at today?" (You'll enjoy the 'Stress Relief Dartboard'), "Sci-Fi The Comic Frontier" and "Do You think I'm Xexy" before finishing with "The World According to Geek" (with 'The Lord of The Root - One Geek To Rule Them All', the two good looking woman who don't shy away from maths and the Barbie 'DotCom Rescue' CD-ROM game)

If you go to Joy Of Tech you can grab a copy from the authors that has been signed (you even get a chance to ask for a custom inscription) and for an extra fee Nitrozac will even bless your book and attach a lucky sticker. You could go to the O'Reilly page, but since they don't have example cartoons and I don't imagine a cartoon book will ever have errata there isn't much point.

It's not easy to review a cartoon book. Suffice to say that I found the 'toons in this book to be a good variety from amusing through to funny with some that are just a little too true to make me do more than groan. If you've never come across this pair then check out the site and if you like the last few examples then the book will not disappoint(...)