Peter Books

I want Peter O'Toole to scrible my life story. One of our grandest actors turns out to be a remarkable writer. If he was writing about any other person than himself, this would be a great book; a most enjoyable reading experience; and a primer in how to tell the story of a larger than life person. As it happens, Peter O'Toole, the exceptional writer, is writing about Peter O'Toole, the peerless actor.

And this is Volume Two! Do grab the first book, "Loitering With Intent: The Child." It is not only a fascinating story of the very early years of O'Toole's boyhood in Ireland, it is also a personal account of the world plunging into the chaos of the 1930s that became World War II.

Read them both...preferasbly in order. And pray Mr O'Toole is with us long enough to craft volume three!

Peter O'Toole continues recounting his early years in the second volume of his biography. It has a slightly different style than the first volume (The Child), but is still extremely enjoyable. Highly recommended.

That O'Toole can write is no surprise to anyone who has seen him act, since--although he is saying others' lines on screen--a pulsing intelligence comes through in his performances. (Brando can't write in SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME, and neither could KATHERINE HEPBURN in her autobiography. As good as they are as actors, they don't suggest eloquence on the screen...despite the quality of the lines they say). But O'Toole is not one of the greatest writers alive. This volume shows that. His writing needs to be more linear. He IS one of the greatest actors alive, however. So I wish he would leave his desk and get in front of a movie camera or on stage instead. I don't believe there is such a thing as a genius actor. But if there is, O'Toole is it (and the only one). There has certainly never been an actor as charismatic (well, maybe Cary Grant. But could Grant have played serious drama as well as light comedy? He never played in a drama that I know of).

Who says a great actor has to be a self-absorbed boor with no life or thoughts of his own offstage or off-camera? This second installment of noted actor O'Toole's autobiography brims over with vitality, quirky charm, and loving reminiscences of fellow drama school students, teachers, and a host of other fascinating souls. O'Toole is clearly one of those people who makes his own fun, and naturally finds kindred spirits wherever he goes in life. He doesn't choose his friends based on their status or what they can do for him, he just enjoys their company. And how! The myriad, unorthodox ways O'Toole and his pals devise to obtain lodgings, food, semi-clean laundry and other of life's necessities will have you laughing out loud. One of many highlights concerns the delightful, party given to celebrate the final hours of leaky old houseboat, where guests take turns pumping the sea back out even as it sloshes at their ankles. A rip-roaring good time was had by the artist as a young apprentice, and his mates!

O'Toole has a gift for the English language -- you just want to read whole chapters aloud, to enjoy the sound of the words. There are also scores of laugh-out-loud funny anecdotes sprinkled throughout, all told with wry joy. This isn't a typical actor's memoir -- this is way more fun.

I could not help myself by buying this book and it did not disappoint. This was a fun, albeit short read, that helped me live somewhat vicariously through Mr Baumgartner during his travails of restoration and the joys of sailing the East Coast. I was a little sad that there was not more on the actual restoration given the title- it was more about the experience. It just left me cruising E-Bay 'Sailboats 20-27 feet'.... it's that kind of book.

I'm not a sailor but this book (a gift) has charmed me. Somehow, the boat, the man, his family, his tribulations and the art of navigation are so artfully described that I have become enamoured of all of the above! Anyone who has ever been seasick or obsessed with completing a project will find themselves turning pages here. . .

I enjoyed this book very much because it comes from a person who is clearly both a sailor and a writer. Much like Anthony Baily, author of "The Coast of Summer", Baumgartner writes in a way that lets me know that he is comfortable and knowledgable about being on the water, with a tiller in his hand and his eye on the luff of the main. This is also a good reference, because Baumgartner describes how he solved problems I either have encountered -- or am likely to. I'll dig this out often, to solve a problem or to let Baumgartner take me to sea again.

I've never wished to sail, but London Went To Sea with me aboard for the duration of my read. I found the book rewarding in its detail and in the grandness of its focussed vision. The author's style, with reminescenses of Mark Twain, Hemingway, and even Dickens, was fasinating and seductive.

I still feel no desire to actually participate in the experiences the author so delightly describes, but now can feel justified by having so closely experienced the joys and difficulties of the reality....which strongly suggests the high level of skill of the writer.

Joshua Slocum himself would have been enthalled.

Then read this book, a practical, thoughtful, honest, and gently humorous guide to the real pleasures and challenges of finding, sailing, and caring for your boat, as well as the delicate balance of man, nature, work, dreams, boat maintenance, friendship, marriage and family.
It's not just a how to book, but a well-written and wonderful reflection by an active and skilled sailor that explores restoration details, costs, safety, mishaps and joys on the water, with a fine, candid, and thoughtful eye.

One of the best fly fishing books I have ever read, may just read it again.

From page one, this book has you yearning to get outside and cast a line. The amazing photography and the author's attention to detail really captures the true beauty of each destination visited during the author's epic fly-fishing expedition across the globe. Any avid fly-fisherman or anyone interested in finding out about great places to fly-fish around the world should buy this book.

Alex Taylor is the architype angler poet. He takes the reader on a journey of dream like discovery.

Everybody has a friend (a relative, a mate!) who lives to fish. This book's for her. Well, there are lots of good fishing books. This one interested me because it looked at fishing as a cross-cultural experience, as one of those things that defines us as being part of the same species. The author and some National Georgraphic-class photographers went around the world and brought back stories and images that made me feel better about being alive and liking to fish.

I have been fly fishing avidly for 20 years and have read several books on the subject. This work is by far the best piece I have come across. Anyone who is interested in fly fishing will find this book truly enjoyable - I consider it a must have for any enthusiast.

The black and white and white and black concept is always great. This black and white book is especially good for that collection. This one is also good later on as infants because it has words too! A little variety goes a long way with this book in comparison to other black and white board books. I couldn't choose so I got three. This is a definite must if you cannot decide.

I purchased this book for a baby shower gift - it has everything you'd want for newborns: high contrast, large images, and just the right length for those short attention spans. I wish I had had it when my son was tiny.

My 11 week old daughter loves this book. She stares and/or coos at the pictures. It even calms her when she is fussy.

My baby couldn't put it down! Literally! I've bought a lot of picture books for my 5-month-old, such as "White on Black" and "Black on White." He likes them all, but his favorite was always "Look! Look!" by Peter Linenthal. Whenever I would get that book out, my boy would kick frantically with anticipation and stare raptly at each picture. Of course, when I found out there was a new Linenthal book, I had to get it. As soon as he first saw the cover of the book, my normally self-contained baby became nearly hysterical with excitement. I could barely read it because he was grabbing at the pages, kicking, and squealing. I hastily concluded my storytime when my son forcefully wrenched the book away from me and jammed the spine into his mouth for a more all-encompassing literary experience.

Linenthal's images are high-contrast black and white, with bold graphic lines, many circles and spirals, and frequent mirror images. My baby finds his art eye-poppingly enthralling and worth returning to again and again. Or, as my son puts it, "aaaaiiiiEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" (Translation: "5 stars! A treat for the eye *and* the palate!")

i borrowed this book from the library and my 8 month old loved it. i felt we had to buy it. i do different animal sounds for each picture and he is now anticipating the action. he is now 10 months old and this is his favorite book. i just have to hold it up and he comes right over to look.

This was a good book. I've read all three Aztec books by Gary Jennings and was left wanting more. This book delivered. It's an easy way to get a lot history inside a great story.

This is a great book that really shows you what life might have been like for the Aztecs. It covers everything frome war to love to school to politics. A great book.

I am an avid reader of biography, history and historical fiction, and "Luck of Huemac" by Daniel Peters is one of my dozen favorite books in this class. The characters, both real and invented, are extremely well drawn with great depth, all totally alive and believable. Likewise, the gods and places. And, thank goodness for the glossary, which helps those of us with poor memories keep track of all those characters, gods and places. I was particularly impressed with the author's treatment of the Aztec spiritual world, which was made believable even to skeptics. The story ends just after the arrival of Cortez (nothing given away here), and a brief history of this great catastrophy is presented with appropriate sadness and finality. A really terrific book.

The book "The Luck of Huemac" by Daniel Peters is one of the most extraordinary
Books I have ever had the privilege to read. The story records the struggle by his family to control the city of Tenocticlan and in the shadows Huemac Born under the Sign of the Rabbit and destined to by unlucky grows to be a legendary man. Huemac combats fierce opponents on the ball court and battlefield, learns the ancient lore of the priests and confronts the mysterious white gods. This story is not only a adventure story but also a heart touching story about Huemac's family over one century. Daniel peters flings you in to a exotic world totally alien to your mind the final century of the Aztec empire's supremacy in Mexico. I say as J.R.R. Toielkien is to Fantasy and Frank Herbert is to Sci-Fi Daniel Peters is the master of Historical Fiction by Mike

I have read all of Mr. Peters books and I have not been disapointed. You don't have to be a scholar in order to enjoy "The Luck of Huemac". The fall of the Aztec Empire is a topic that has inspired many authors, including Peter Daniels. Huemac, an "unlucky" Mexica marked from birth, ironically evades death and misfortune only to witness the end of his world and the death of their gods. If you liked this book, you should read also Gary Jennings' "Aztec" (an equally impresive book)or "The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico" by Bernal Diaz del Castillo( this is a historical chronicle by one of Hernan Cortez's captains who participated in the Conquest). "The Luck of Huemac" is quality reading and fiction literature at its best!

I started reading this book and nearly threw it down after just two chapters. There were numerous spelling and grammatical errors which initially made me question the validity of the material being presented. Fortunately I pressed on. This book, though not a masterpiece of English prose, is hands down the most understandable, comprehensive text on the subject that I have read. The book breaks down material from vastly diverse disciplines and explains them in a manner that a layman can understand. Prior to reading this book, I read Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD), also of the NASA Space Technology Series. I found that this book (The Lunar Base Handbook) presented the same topics as SMAD, but in a more understandable format. I found myself often reading a topic in The Lunar Base Handbook and then continuing my education in other books from the Space Technology Series such as SMAD. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in lunar development or space exploration.

In this book, Peter Eckart has assembled the collective writings of many of the leaders who are developing advanced engineering and science concepts for a return to the moon and the establishment of a permanent lunar base, which is capable of exploring the moon in great detail. These writings are not reprints from a conference or a previously published paper, but a detailed summary of the work to date on a variety of subjects from the site selection of a lunar base and the transportation means to get to the moon, to the details regarding advanced exploration and regenerative life support systems. The book also includes the more mundane systems needed to make a lunar base function, such as the thermal control system and the communication system.

While portions of this book maybe overly technical for some readers, there are numerous sections that provide a general overview of equipment, lunar exploration history, and transportation techniques. There are two sections, one written by Buzz Aldrin and one by Jack Schmidt that describe in great detail various aspects of lunar exploration. Typically, most astronauts authored writings found in books are simply a page or two. All in all, I couldn't find a topic that was omitted from the book.

I also conducted a comprehensive review of several sections of the book, which are related to my engineering area of expertise. Specifically, I reviewed the thermal control system, power system, EVA, and life support sections. In all these sections, I only found one error, which appeared to be a typo. The lone error leads me to believe that other sections were equally as error free.

In summary, I always enjoy reading books like these, because they show that even though the US government does not support going back to the moon, many individuals are still committed to returning people to the moon. Finally, regardless of your technical ability, you can learn a great deal from this book.

This book, which is not only extensive and exetremely usefull but also very easy to read, provides the only complete overview of aspects considering the moon from an engineering point of view. All aspects are explained and start with basics and summarizes all possibilities. My book is full of post-it notes where the parts are marked that I had to use frequently. It is the most used book from all my moon-related books I have, because it is so complete. The essays from lunar explorers around the world are a nice extra. It would be a good study object for a course.

This book, which is not only extensive and exetremely usefull but also very easy to read, provides the only complete overview of aspects considering the moon from an engineering point of view. All aspects are explained and start with basics and summarizes all possibilities. My book is full of post-it notes where the parts are marked that I had to use frequently. It is the most used book from all my moon-related books I have, because it is so complete. The essays from lunar explorers around the world are a nice extra. It would be a good study object for a course.

This book is a MUST for eveyone seriously interested in lunar exploration. Since Wendell Mendells generatuion-inspiring lunar base document, this is the most complete overview on technical and non-technical aspects of the selenological adventure. One can start as an amateur: after having completed this large volume he/she will have an excellent interdisciplinary insight into our future on the Moon.

It's laughable to think that "Macroeconomic Essentials" has everything that a student or ordinary citizen should know about macroeconomics; anyone who uses it to prepare for an exam or to understand the current banking crisis is in for a surprise. However, the book does faithfully focus on a few core macroeconomic themes rather than a mass of technical details. It contains most (maybe all) of the material that a normal non-economist could possibly hope to remember from an undergraduate macroeconomics course. That's an achievement. The book is also clearly written. Highly recommended.

Book is new although there was a marking at the bottom of the pages.

Macroeconomics text books are like books on Options - where theory from academics is the usual content when people need a book that tells them how to make money out of this.

This book is a good workable approach to practical understnding of interelationships in a subject area that is over academicised.

If you study to the point where can do the end of book exercises then you will have a good grasp of macroeconomic essentials as they apply in the real world.

I have looked through a wide variety of books on Macroeconomics and only this one has really satisfied me. It covers all the topics well; clearly, but not in a simplistic manner. And when you have finished studying a chapter and done some of the exercises at the end, you will understand the principles very well. The use of media exercises not only is more applicable to every day life, but also helps to stick the concepts into your brain so they are more easily retained.

With all this said, the book is quite approachable. It is written for the everyday student to understand concepts that are critcial in your everyday life; from investing to decifering the political conversations about the economy/deficit/balance of trade.

I highly recommend this book.

I found this text particulary inspiring the first semester I used it in my introductory macroeconomic class. The manner in which the material is presented makes the text a useful reference guide for business professionals who need to great refresher text to bring them up to date on the basic workings of the economy. Most of my students liked the book.

A candid, accessible, brilliant review of girl icons as presented in the media over the past 20 years (with nods to Barbie and a few other earlier famed love/hate icons). While so much academic writing can be abstruse and sometimes even cynical, Kathleen's book is optimistic and readable. Her call for media literacy as an antidote to negative narratives is cogent and smart. Her descriptions of work done by Real Grrls and other girl filmmakers and photographers is inspiring. Required reading for Millenial Girls, their parents, teachers and anyone else who loves media.

Ooh, Ah! the revelations that abound and resound in Kathleen Sweeney's Maiden USA! Get inspired on media literacy, as racy as it gets from Reel to Real. Discover a fecund treasure map to media awareness, which rouses us all up to the next level of empowered creativity. Kathleen Sweeney is the Goddess Durga of Media, cutting thru swaths of "Eyecon" demons and ignorance about girl identity; she is our media maven, and a media mechanic who regenerates our collective engines. Her wisdom is both fun and transformative.
Sweeney has opened and affirmed these eyes with her smorgasbord of media icons and plenty of truth serum. She reveals who and where we are in the culture of media now, and how to traverse that culture as well as to produce it. This is the "bodymindcentering" of media lit, a true hit with wit and grit to nourish us with its empowering maiden's milk of sanity. Reading it leads to media activism with a myriad of mission and means.

This gem of a book is not only important, informative, and thought-provoking--it's also clever, funny, and downright brilliant. If you have a daughter, or you are one, or you know one--or even if you don't--Maiden USA is an enthralling read. What a splendid job!

What an inspirational inside view from a free thinking woman/writer/artist/Mother.
If you want to understand the barrage of media influencing our young women and long to see girls be encouraged to take the reigns into their own hands- then this is a delightful and insightful ride- full of ideas, rich with hope- a must read for ALL of us!!!

WOW!
I just got the book!
It looks incredible!
I'm so excited to read it.
What a wonderful gift you have made in documenting all of this.

Clever, witty and one of my favorite charming duos. Long live Hal and Mary-Ann!

A funny book that actually will make you laugh out loud. Beautifully written with engaging and unexpected characters. Peter J Smith is a wonderful writer. Do yourself a favour and buy this book today!

This book is conceivably the funniest book that I have ever read! A must-read for anyone with a quirky and creative sense of humor!

I love this book. Even after several readings, it still causes me to laugh aloud. "Make Believe Ballrooms" has seriously affected the way I look at Maxfield Parrish paintings, and that is probably a good thing. If only there were more . . . .

We have here what we may term the Seinfield of fiction. A story about so much, yet when trying to put it into words one comes up with "it's sort of a story about...nothing." However, among the barrage of "meaningful" fiction loitering pretentiously on bookstore fiction shelves, this novel says infinitely more about life, with its simple and effecting prose and utterly laugh at loud situations and characters, than any torturous "story with a moral" that you'll find on the best seller list. You will laugh out loud...I am not being figurative. You will laugh out loud often and with the unembarassed intensity that usually only a witty best friend can inspire. You will also feel strangely touched by this book. I say "strangely" because, perhaps like me, you won't be able to quite put your finger on why. Perhaps it is because life consists of a series of "nothing" events and coincidences, challenges and changes, silly as they may be. You will see the absurdity of life in this book and, upon closing it, realize how beautiful that absurdity is. Risk your life to find a copy of this amazing book...it is difficult to find, but then again, so are most worthwhile things. Find it, read it, and then write Mr. Smith a thank you letter for writing it. It is a rare gem in a slough of mediocrity.

Brown does an excellent job of introducing the reader to the period of late antiquity in this work. He is able to cover the major political, social and philosophical transition of the Roman Empire of the Antonines to the emergence of the Christian Succesor States with clarity, and accuracy. Although this work does not take an indepth look into any of the many subjects that fall in this period, it is an excellent overview, and maintains a level of scholarship that is almost unparalled in a work of this nature. The book is documented to an excellent degree, so that even the most critical reader can see where it is that Brown is comming from. I would recomend this book to anyone from the avid scholar to the most casual reader.

From an Age of Equipoise to an Age of Ambition- the Poisoning of the Classical Spirit

I found this book to be an extremely clear and well-written explanation of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization. The period from the second to the fourth centuries, from the Antonines to Constantine, is covered. The author makes a very good case that the cause for this decline in the classical world was primarily due to a concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. He shows this to be true in economic, political, cultural, and most especially, religious spheres. He also shows the obvious parallels with our own age without being heavy handed.

First he shows the grand show of power and tradition in the age of the Antonines to be primarily an empty hollow thing. It was the gigantism that precedes decline even if the players of the time could not see it. The societal restraints and governors that constrained individual ambition began to erode. The old code of civic virtue, of demonstrating your greatness by contributing to the benefit of the society, the polis, crumbled. Wealth was concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. The common people were forced off of the land. Bankruptcy became commonplace across the empire. Politically, power concentrated into a smaller and smaller circle centered on the court in Rome, and then Constantinople, and away from the provincial towns and capitals. Culturally and scholarly, all status depended on ones mastery of polished Greek and the ability to quote precisely from the classics (i.e. scholarship depended more on the size of your library than the size of your intellect.)

It is in the religious and spiritual sphere that this tendency to place all authority in the hands of an elite becomes the most insidious, and the most damaging. It is demonstrated that ,traditionally, the average man of the Greco-Roman world saw that world as alive with supernatural forces that he interacted with on a daily basis. The pagan participant in the mysteries experienced the divine through direct contact. This slowly changed with the rise of Christianity. Men were told that only "official" intermediaries could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. As a result this gap widened into a chasm. The old comforting classical assumption that heaven and earth lived side by side in gentle communion faded away. In the author's words, the leaders of the Christian church came to stand between heaven and an earth emptied of the Gods.

With all economic, political, scholarly, and religious power concentrated in the hands of a tiny, ruthless, corrupt elite, is it any wonder that the common man lost any interest in maintaining the empire? The old system of civic virtue and of the old delicately balanced system of obligations from ruled to the rulers, and the rulers to the ruled, had been poisoned.

Any of this sound familiar?

I cannot say enough about this extraordinary book. Everyone who is interested in the environment that led to the rise of Christianity will find this book fills in many details. Brown's analysis of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization is well done, concise, and comprehensive. I highly recommend this book!

From an Age of Equipoise to an Age of Ambition- the Poisoning of the Classical Spirit

I found this book to be an extremely clear and well-written explanation of the decline of classical Greco-Roman civilization. The period from the second to the fourth centuries, from the Antonines to Constantine, is covered. The author makes a very good case that the cause for this decline in the classical world was primarily due to a concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands. He shows this to be true in economic, political, cultural, and most especially, religious spheres. He also shows the obvious parallels with our own age without being heavy handed.

First he shows the grand show of power and tradition in the age of the Antonines to be primarily an empty hollow thing. It was the gigantism that precedes decline even if the players of the time could not see it. The societal restraints and governors that constrained individual ambition began to erode. The old code of civic virtue, of demonstrating your greatness by contributing to the benefit of the society, the polis, crumbled. Wealth was concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. The common people were forced off of the land. Bankruptcy became commonplace across the empire. Politically, power concentrated into a smaller and smaller circle centered on the court in Rome, and then Constantinople, and away from the provincial towns and capitals. Culturally and scholarly, all status depended on ones mastery of polished Greek and the ability to quote precisely from the classics (i.e. scholarship depended more on the size of your library than the size of your intellect.)

It is in the religious and spiritual sphere that this tendency to place all authority in the hands of an elite becomes the most insidious, and the most damaging. It is demonstrated that ,traditionally, the average man of the Greco-Roman world saw that world as alive with supernatural forces that he interacted with on a daily basis. The pagan participant in the mysteries experienced the divine through direct contact. This slowly changed with the rise of Christianity. Men were told that only "official" intermediaries could bridge the gap between heaven and earth. As a result this gap widened into a chasm. The old comforting classical assumption that heaven and earth lived side by side in gentle communion faded away. In the author's words, the leaders of the Christian church came to stand between heaven and an earth emptied of the Gods.

With all economic, political, scholarly, and religious power concentrated in the hands of a tiny, ruthless, corrupt elite, is it any wonder that the common man lost any interest in maintaining the empire? The old system of civic virtue and of the old delicately balanced system of obligations from ruled to the rulers, and the rulers to the ruled, had been poisoned.

Any of this sound familiar?

Brown is able to establish the foundations for anyone interested in late antiquity with clarity and scholarly depth that is unparelled in the field. This book, although taking a broad picture of the period, and focusing on a shallow over view, rather than taking an indepth look into any perticular aspect of the period, is still scholarly enough to interest even the most particular historian, but will catch the interest of the beginer also. Browns conclusions are well thought out, and are based on an extensive, and acurate picture of the period. The documentation is incredible, hundreds of documents are quoted, and carefully indexed, in a book under 200 hundred pages, so the most nitpicky readers can see exactly where Brown is comming from. This should be the model for broad view scholarly work, this is truly an excellent work.