Perry Books

This is an excellent anthology; unfortunately, the seller does not mention the fact that it is a renamed new edition of "A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom." Oh well, I will give it away as a gift to some deserving person...

MASH meets Star Wars. All the sadness and tragedy that goes along with a war-time medical unit tempered with the humor and lightness needed to make it through unscathed. Mix in the fantasty elements of The Force and The Jedi and this is a 2 for 1 book that I read in just three sittings. Characters you empathize with and fight for. A mystery unraveling. These stories have a lot to offer, but are a really quick read.

The Fickling/Hinton series of Adventure gamebooks are notoriously difficult for the reader to solve, and this one is no exception. But, as ever, the artwork is brilliant (although, sadly, this is the weakest in that department, the pages being just a little too cluttered), and the puzzles are again very cleverly done. However, as a science-fiction work this book falls just short of the mythologies of the other three (10 Doors of Doom, Helmquest, Path of Peril), creating a universe that works, but doesn't quite feel as well-rounded as the others. But, that said, as with all of this series, if you can get into it and stay the distance, these are some of the most rewarding puzzle books around.

This lovely book provides a consistently straightforward and easily accessible explanation of statistics. The book takes the reader through basic concepts in a de-mystifying way, providing the intuition that got lost in the mathematics when I took statistics in college. The book strikes an excellent balance between substance and simplicity in going through the basic ideas and the math behind them, providing a role model for first explanations of substantive topics. It's nice to read a book that sticks to its task of helping the reader understand a subject broadly and thoroughly without the author seeming to be trying to impress the reader with how much he or she knows.

The holocaust was a historical event beyond comprehension, not only because it was the largest planned genocide in recorded history. After reading the historical studies dealing with the holocaust, one must arrive at a very disturbing, pessimistic, and hopeless conclusion about humanity: If the whole world actively participated with the Nazis in the execution of the "final solution" for the Jews, the Nazis could not have done a better jon than what they did. The main event that stopped the extermination of the Jews was the military victory over Germany and its allies (Hungary, Rumania, etc). But this was a byproduct of the war, not a mission. With few exceptions (one such exception is the topic of SHAKE HEAVEN AND HELL), Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union not only refused to consider any plan to save the doomed Jews, but they did their best to hinder efforts of rescue. This included not only the leaders of the Allies during the war such as Franklin Roosevelt and the State Department, Winston Churchill and the Foreign Office, and the Soviet leaders, but also most of the Zionist-socialist Jewish leaders in the U.S. such as Stephen wise and Nahum Goldman. Louis Rapoport made a major contribution in SHAKE HEAVEN AND HELL, which is a tribute to an unsung hero, Hiller Kook (alias Peter Bergson). With a small band of young Palestinian Jews (loosely affiliated with the Irgun) Bergson managed to enlist the support of wide segments of the American public to put pressure on Roosevelt to do something about the Nazi massacres. This included congressmen, senators, various organizations, writers, and others. Some of the above individuals were household names in the 1940's such as Ben Hecht, Guy Gillette, Randolph Hearst, LaGuardia, Herbert Hoover, and Will Rogers Jr. Their public relations campaigns finally pair off in early 1944 (too little, too late) with the creation of the War Refugee Board which has been credited with the saving of approximately 200,000 Jews from the German ovens. Much of the above activities of Bergson and his group have been described in several books, such as David Wyman's THE ABANDONMENT OF THE JEWS, and in David Morrison's HEROES, UNTIHEROES AND THE HOLOCAUST. The unique contribution of Rapoport is that SHAKE HEAVEN AND HELL presents a chronological account of Peter Bergson activities, and the humiliations that he and his friends had to endure, mainly from the "recognized" Jewish leaders of the time such as Stephen Wise, Nahum Goldman, and Abba Silver. These individuals, in cohorts with Chaim Weizmann, Ben Gurion, Moshe shertok and other fanatical labor Zionists did everything they could to discredit Bergson and his activities due to their timidity and ghetto mentality. During the darkest period in human history, when most of the world collaborated in the torture and murder of six million innocent people, Peter Bergson and those who helped him should stand out as reminders that leaders and governments are not to be trusted. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet, and Rapoport laments on the overwhelming acceptance of Roosevelt, Wise, Weizmann, and others as historical heroes, while the historical research has shown that they were Nazi collaborators. We can add to this list Ben Gurion, shertok, Golda Meyerson, and their heirs. It is disheartening that despite more than half a century of major revelations about the holocaust, such as the Kastner Affair in the l950's (see Ben Hecht's PERFIDY), Eichmann's trial in 1960, and numerous books exposing the labor Zionists and their supporters' shameful betrayal of the European Jews, they are still considered as respected leaders. Roosevelt has been worshiped as a God, and Ben Gurion's heirs have been elected as leaders of Israel for almost 40 years, leading this country to one disaster after another. The six million murdered Jews did not simply end up as fertilizers in German fields. they are ghosts who will exact their revenge on man, as long as he persists in worshipping leaders and governments who have always turned against him in times of need.

This book was a joy to read from cover to cover, as you review each great short story! It keeps your attention and you cant wait until you get to the next one. I do wish it was longer or had more entries, perhaps a volume two. Made me want to write.

At one time this 1900ish book was considered THE classic tale of a college man's growing up at school. It's now forgotten, but not for good reason. Read it with just a teensy bit of sympathy for a different era...and you'll find that Johnson has a liberal perceptive appreciation for human nature...which really hasn't changed that much over time.

The book recounts Dink Stover, a star prep school ballplayer, and his struggle between conforming to expectations of the in crowd and doing what he thinks right. This is much more than a simple choice as Johnson shows well how Stover is impelled to rebel, but also drawn by desire for fame and even love towards conforming.

The book is also just great fun. Everything from the drinking antics to the football heroics is enjoyable to read.

WARNING: This book can be read without reading THE VARMINT (part of THE LAWRENCEVILLE STORIES) first, but you'll miss a perspective on Dink that will endear him more to you if you do so (he has some tough times in prep school as well). So I advise to read TLS first. Then SAY.

If you like Science Fiction and/or Fractured Fairy Tales, you'll enjoy Strange Worlds Of Lunacy. The anthology is intersperced with artwork, cartoons, limericks, and other rhymes.

Stories such as Princess Lily's Wedding, by Robert J. Santa (a different take on the frog that gets kissed and becomes a handsome prince), are old tales told in hysterical new ways. One Paradox And A Funeral, by Colin P. Davies, will have you asking, "Am I my own grandpa?" And Instant Water, by Crystalwizard, may have you looking at that foolish idea your better half has, with a little less skepticism.

One of my favorite stories is- Billy Steadman, The Dragon, and The Virgin Bride, by Dal Merlin Jeanis. It's a typical western with a would-be thief, a banker, a mail-order bride, and a city dude on a stagecoach loaded with the bankers gold. Of course, we know the would-be thief (Billy Steadman) wants the gold and is not opposed to getting the girl, too. Ergo, Strange Worlds Of Lunacy plops down a, not so typical, dragon... right in the middle of the story. The plot thickens and the outcome is unexpected.

Tom Wallace's cartoon- Project Invasion- will leave you smiling. All-in-all, Strange Worlds Of Lunacy is a good read you can take in bite-size chunks and still feel satisfied.

'Street People,' comprising Paul Perry's award-winning short stories in an arresting collection, is a poignant look at folks whose homes are wherever they are. The stories are not maudlin or oversympathetic, nor are they unnecessarily aesthetic. They are simply presented. And they are teeming with life. People blessed with four walls and a roof, count your blessings. Perry brings to absolute life the stark, matter of fact existences of the homeless, the wanderer, the seeker, the down-and-out. He's a good writer and his subject matter is compelling, but most of all, he's a great storyteller. From the homeless pair whose frustration is laid bare when their dead acquaintance's body lies ignored by the side of the highway for days, to the prostitute who carries her pimp's baby, to the simple act of sheltering in an abandoned automobile on a cold night, these stories touched a deep chord in me. I deeply appreciated that Perry gives these folks, through 'Street People,' credible and legitimate voice. Three cheers for Pocol Press of Virginia, which has begun to anthologize the work of some very talented emerging writers. Support this press and pick up Paul Perry's book -- you'll be pleased on a number of levels that you did.

This was a book that I needed for school. It was a good price here, way cheaper than buying it from the school bookstore. It was just what I needed.