Richards Books

We love this book. The Artwork is Amazing, and the story is captivating. There are so many interesting characters in this book- so it's a great joy to read and act out.

A fun book that highlights the imagination of a child. The story is wonderfully funny and the illustrations are grand! An adventure to read and sure to become a bedtime classic - it is in our home.

My daughter loves me to read this book before she goes to bed. We got it out of the library and now I'm adding it to her birthday and holiday wishlist. It's definitely a "keeping" book as my son and daughter like to say. The illustrations are expertly done, capturing the story so well. Highly recommend this book!

My 3 kids laughed through this whole book! They say it is just like me when I talk to my sister.

A grand tale for so many of us who, as children, are often frustrated in our efforts to get our mothers off the phone and who, as adults, are often frustrated by our children's efforts to get us off the phone....a frolicking fantasy with words that roll off the tongue and illustrations that amuse and delight! Wonderful! Can't wait for my children to get off the phone so that I can call my friends to recommend this lively, lovely book!

As a retired HR exec I frequently assist friends and relatives with their resumes and the job hunting process. This book has been a staple for me and those I help for many years. I first found it when my own company was bought out and I was laid off. It helped me and is full of wonderful advice that is useful for any job hunter. Absolutely the first book I recommend to people who are looking for job hunting help. I bought this copy because I wanted to make sure I had a spare copy in case the one that I lend out all the time fails to come home someday!

This is an excellent book. Together with other books, this is what is needed in a job search. The author has done a great job in pulling together the elements which spell success in the quest for employment. I recommend it.

Wayne D. Ford, Ph.D., author of "The Accelerated Job Search" docwifford@msn.com

When I was out of work, and wanting to make a career change, I went to the library and, literally, checked out a three foot stack of resume and cover letter books.

I sat them next to my couch, got a glass of iced tea and went to work perusing the pages. Right away it was evident that, for the most part, the only thing different about these how to tomes was their cover. Inside was the same tired advice and the same over used examples of resumes and cover letters.

Guess what? As an employee candidate your job is to stand out from the crowd, not blend in with it.

I had just about given up on my reading (and was getting more depressed by the minute) when I came across "Who's Hiring Who?" I could tell right away that it was different, the question was, would I have the guts to run free, as the book encouraged, or would I continue to run with the herd?

When I read "Who's Hiring Who" I was three months into a job search. After this much time spent looking for work (and I was at it 12 hours a day!) I told myself that my resume, which took form based upon a lot of the ancient advice in the mainstream resume books, wasn't working and I wasn't going to lose anything by trying the advice in "Who's Hiring Who?"

It took me a week to read the book, really think about the suggestions it made, and then distill it's principles into my new QUALIFICAITONS BRIEF. No more resumes! Other no mores? No more worrying about a spotty work history. No more worrying about an incomplete (that means little or no college) education. The book tells you the best ways to accentuate the positive and marginalize the negative.

Within two weeks I had several job offers on the table. Within a month I had done more than get a job, I had successfully changed careers and was working for a hot software company with benefits out the wazoo and a pay rate higher than I'd hoped for!

(Since then I've read Tom Peter's book, "Circle of Innovation" (I think that was the book), which, when talking about resumes says who cares about education, companies want to know what you've done. What have your successes been? This is one thing "Who's Hiring Who?" focuses on.)

My advice to you? Buy the book, follow its advice and have the guts to change!

I bought this book a few years ago, right before I moved to a new city. I have to say it is one of the BEST books, if not THE best book available for writing that all-important resume. Contrary to the individual who said it needed updated due to resumes being entered and searched via a database, I think the book is just fine as it is. This book does NOT tell you how to write a traditional resume, which is probably why the reviewer didn't think it worked and needed updated for database search...it isn't formatted like the online resume searches. However, it does instruct the reader on how to write something even better: a Qualifications Brief. A resume and a qualifications brief are similar and are meant to do the same things, but whereas a resume describes a persons past positions and his or her responsibilities, a QB describes the actual QUALIFICATIONS the person has that makes him or her the right candidate for the specific job for which he or she is applying. That makes all the difference to the employer, who gathers his or her important first impression of the applicant from the submitted dull resume or uniquely different QB. I know from personal experience: I sent out two QBs after I moved and I got call-backs for BOTH submissions. I'm currently in my 5th year of employment for one of them. I also wrote a QB up for a friend of mine and she too got hired within days of sending it out. Neither of us have ever had such prompt responses when sending out a normal, traditional resume. My advice: buy this book; it's definitely worth every penny!

I used to think that this was the best resume book on the market. It helps you to understand that a resume should be something carefully crafted and designed with a goal in mind. I'm just not sure how useful it is in 2000. Today your resume is entered into a database and a search is done on key words to find you. This book needs to be updated. The last update was in 1989. A lot has changed in the hiring industry since then. Why has this book not been updated?

Speaking of tension, E.R. Frank's Wrecked is one of the most moving stories you could find on the aftermath of an auto accident. An auto crash involving three teens kills one, leaves a passenger disabled, and is viewed from the driver's perspective in Wrecked. For Anna has killed her brother's girlfriend in the accident and has to handle not only the death but the rift with her brother and her passenger friend, who was drunk at the time. An emotionally charged story of responsibility.

This book cannot be put down. I read this book in 5 hours, I am in [...]honors so this book was easy for me, I absolutely adored this book. I love how it went into flashbacks of times with her and Jack. Excellent book, purchase!

The Book Wrecked by E.R. Frank, and published by Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books September 27, 2005. There are 256 pages in this book. This book is fiction. This book is about a young girl who accidentally kills her brother's girlfriend in a car accident. She deals with the ups and downs of having the girl's death on her shoulders, which is very hard for her to cope with.
This book is mainly about dealing with life and death. I think that the author is trying to allow young adults to take a look through a teens eyes and let them see how it would be if they drink and drive. The young girl's name is Anna she goes to a party with her best friend Ellen. When they arrive at the party peer pressure pushes Anna do what she normally does not do, that is drink. She stops after a while and sobers up a little bit but Ellen is definitely wasted. On the way home is what changed Anna's life forever. All she can remember is the accident, and waking up in the hospital. She keeps repeating things she heard like screaming, and Ellen's voice. Now Cameron her brother's girlfriend is dead and no one is blaming her but she feels that it is all her fault. From what I have read so far in the book I believe that it is a very good book. It makes me feel kind of like I am in the story. It is so descriptive that I feel like if I close my eyes I can see what is going on.
After reading the part of the book I have completed the book has really left a lasting impression it has made me think about what I would do if I were put in that situation. It kind of makes me sad, I want everyone that is interested in reading this book to know that it is the type of story that once you have picked it up to start to read it you can not put it down.

I loved this book. The voice of the narrator Anna, is sincere, and although she has endured living with a troubled father and survived a terrible car crash, her voice is never whiny or filled with self-pity.
Even though everyone tells Anna that the crash was not her fault, years of emotional abuse from her father and guilt over her brother's grief over the loss of his girlfriend in the crash takes its toll on her and she begins to have severe panic attacks and is unable to face driving a car. The author of Wrecked is a psychotherapist and the sessions between Anna and her shrink are realistically portrayed.
I also enjoyed the scenes between Anna and her friends at school and away in Florida. Anna's friendship with her friend Ellen is put to the test when Ellen continues to abuse alcohol. There are no easy answers which is what makes this such an excellent read for young adults and adults alike. It shows that there are no bad guys, just people like us who have a hard time navigating through life. A satisfying ending brought the book full circle. I'd read other books by this author.

Sixteen-year-old Anna was driving her (drunk) best friend home from a party when she collided head-on with her brother's girlfriend's car. Now a beautiful high school senior is dead, Anna nearly lost an eye and suffers from PTSD with crippling nightmares, her best friend Ellen is in a wheelchair, and the family is at odds with one another. Wrecked opens with the car accident and its aftermath, but, as a whole, the book is an exploration of the fabric of an entire family.

Anna's friends and family have widely disparate reactions to the wreck. What is the right way to respond, anyway? Anna can find websites about how to deal with a dying family member, how to be a friend to someone who is grieving, and how to cope if you have suicidal thoughts, but there is no website to address the peculiar situation of how to cope with unintentionally killing one of your peers.

The narration of Wrecked is told in a genuine teenaged voice, full of questions, full of frustration with parents, and desperately seeking direction. In a strange way, the entire crisis brings Anna's family closer, to a more complete understanding of one another.

This book is highly recommended for teens and family members of all ages. It is especially important for anyone dealing with a family crisis or the accidental death of a family friend. Fans of this book should seek out Mary Beth Miller's Aimee and John Green's Looking for Alaska.

This book makes a great gift for your writer friends. After all, you can't just keep buying them nice pens for Christmas.... I found this while looking for a gift--and ended up reading it before I gave it away, though I wanted to keep it and tear out the pages to post 'round my desk. Really funny, really true (the best kind of humor).

'Writer at Work' is a high quality, thoroughly wonderful collection of Richard Krzemien's unique cartoons about the writing life. From the superb renderings to the pithy punchlines, each cartoon is a work of art in its own right. The keen eye will note the bookshelf in each drawing with a message specific to the cartoon written on the book bindings - a bonus addition to the cartoons. Funny and poignant - these cartoons can be enjoyed by writers and non-writers alike.

Krzemien finds his own unique truth about the writing process, then passes it on to readers with great humorous insight. This is a "must read" for anyone who claims to make a living with the written word. Feel the pain - and live to laugh about it.

I know lots of writers, and they're all depressed. They're constantly getting rejected, having their work chopped to pieces, and generally suffering from a lack of self esteem. This book makes them laugh out loud; the relief is palpable...someone who feels their pain and makes it funny. And you can look at it more than once, because of the detail in the pictures; you see things in the background that you miss the first time.

I laughed, I cried, [...], and that was for my own work. Finally, someone who understands the pain, yes the joy of putting words to paper. Helpful to any professional or student and, amazingly, the insights come at a price your therapist can't match.

I saw this book on Amazon and purchased this book as a gift for a friend who is a fire fighter. He couldn't put it down. He said it is an excellent, well-written book and a must read for every fire fighter out there! While the average person, who is not a fire fighter, would not probably identify with the characters and stories in this book, the person who is a fire fighter will identify with them, because of their experiences on the job. This book is out of print and hard to find, but highly recommended

I too read this book some 25 years ago while in high school. My dad was in the fire department, read it and passed it along to me, saying if I wanted to read what his work was really like, this book said it all perfectly.

If you can find this book, buy it and pass along to anyone who wants to know what being a firefighter is really all about. Descriptive, accurate and pulls no punches in the job-warts and all.

Highly recommend it, even if only to read true adventure which novelists can't match.

This is the book to find. Like one of the other reviewers, I had this book many years ago, and read it until it literally fell apart. I found it again at a public library about two years ago, and I long to once again have it in my collection.

I read this book, when I was in college. This is a very well written testament about the careers and experiences on New York City Fire Fighters. Ten years later, I am still trying to locate copies of this book, to give to my friends, who now work for the FDNY.

Many years ago, I lost my copy of 20,000 ALARMS, and now find it is out of print! This makes finding a copy tricky. What a blow! Fortunately I've read it so many times that most of has stayed with me over the years. I recently found a copy in another cities public libary and read it overnight. I think that this should sum up my review. If YOU have a spare copy, I'd love to hear from you! E-mail: p.jay@pei.sympatico.ca

A fascinating story, told with brilliant photos and a pleasant CD of music. Makes a good gift, and a sure pick-me-up for your own coffeetable.

I was thrilled to read Richard Sobel's powerful story of the Abayudaya. I had the opportunity to visit this community in May of 2002 on behalf of Heifer International. At the time I did not know of Sobel's book. It has made my visit all the more meaningful. Now I want to return.

The Abayudaya Women's Heifer Project is located in the Mbale district of Eastern Uganda and Heifer work with them was started in 1997. A group of seven women became the governing council. Twenty heifers were originally distributed and to date there have been 5 pass-ons. There are now 22 persons ready to receive Heifers.

This group is one of the poorest groups that Heifer works with in Uganda. However, it should be noted that the assistance of the Abayudaya Women's Heifer Project extends to those who are Christian and Muslim as well as Jewish.

We visited many of the farms and then visited the people gathered at the synagogue. They shared their story and we felt the power of their faith. The cows are helping the move toward self-reliance, but it is their own strength that is so empowering.

I first heard about the Abayudaya in 1996, through the work of "Kulanu," an organization working in support of isolated and marginalized Jewish community around the world. In September 2003, Rachel Namudosi Keki, a 21-year-old Abayudaya woman visited our community. It was a remarkable event.

Rachel highly recommends this book (which includes many pictures of her father, J.J. Keki, and a few of Rachel as well, although she is not identified by name) as the best available resource for understanding the history, reality, and day-to-day life of the Abayudaya.

The audio CD is a vital part of that understanding. (More Abayudaya music is available on the Kulanu-produced CD, "Shalom Everybody Everywhere;" Rachel is the soloist on these recordings, mostly recorded when she was around ten years old.)

Among the many unexpected revelations in this visually stunning book is the fact that J.J. Keki was visiting America in the late summer of 2001, and witnessed the first plane striking the World Trade Centers on September 11th. If you review film footage from that day, you can catch a glimpse of a tall black man wearing a kippah among those running from the scene.

This book is the fascinating and bizarre true story of a small group of rural Ugandans who got the idea to convert to Judaism about 75 years ago. The prose part of the book is actually quite brief, but the pictures are beautiful, and the CD that accompanies the book (their prayer music) is a musical treat.

Richard Sobol has just come out with Abayudaya: The Jews of Uganda, an exquisite volume of photographs with text about this remarkable group, and a CD of Abayudaya music is included in a pocket attached to the back cover. The music was recorded and annotated by Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, an ethnomusicologist at Tufts University.
Those of us who have lived and traveled in sub-Saharan Africa universally bemoan the fact that our pictures cannot capture the color and contrast, the rhythm, the unique beauty that is Africa. Richard Sobol, a seasoned pro, has captured the essence of these African scenes as few others can (Carol Beckwith comes to mind). Views of the Ugandan countryside and towns, of Abayudaya prayer and study and feasting, of women washing dishes and carrying water and preparing food, of elders in contemplation, of adults and children at play, of vendors of colorful housewares, of stunning posed portraits - it's all there, and each photo is a masterpiece.
And Sobol's 18-page essay about Abayudaya history and life and Jewish practice is a fine summary for those who have not been introduced to this unique community before.
Summit has written a five-page text to introduce the CD, which is entitled Abayudaya Music of Worship and Celebration. This essay is both informative and poignant. It reviews the various influences on Abayudaya music - Zulu music, church and Salvation Army music, Bantu folk music, Western visitors, and Nairobi (Kenya) synagogue melodies - often learned from recordings or the radio.
Summit recorded this wonderful sampling of Abayudaya music in informal sessions in Uganda in 2000 and 2002. The first half of the CD includes unaccompanied traditional hymns and psalms, some dating back 20 or 30 years, one composed by the community's founder, Semei Kakungulu, in the 1920s. The annotations themselves make fascinating reading. One note explains that Psalm 136, heard on the recording as a responsive "reading" with soloist and chorus, reminds the community of the downfall of Idi Amin since it recounts God's deliverance with the splitting of the Red Sea. A particularly precious rendition is Rena bat Esther's solo in Psalm 121, used by the Abayudaya to provide strength and comfort when a person is ill. This is one of the few compositions on the CD by a female composer. Another woman's composition is the melody to Psalm 130, which is sung repeatedly during a burial while shoveling earth and filling up the grave. Women seem to specialize in consolation.
Twagala Torah ("We Love the Torah") is a charming children's song composed by one of the youth leaders of the community, Moses Sebagabo. The text, in Luganda, English and Hebrew, is sung by Abayudaya children who attend public school.
The more upbeat second half of the CD features guitar accompaniment by Gershom Sizomu and electric keyboard by John Mark Nkoola, musical director of the Abayudaya high school. In an interesting contrast, Summit placed the a capella rendition of Psalm 136 in the first half and the electric version of the same psalm in the latter half. J.J. Keki's song "Ali Omu Yekka" ("My Only One") sounds like a standard love song: "I have one chosen one. I only have one love. I'm warning those others, don't come near me, she's enough...." But Summit points out that the Torah is the object of the songwriter's love, and the song is a veiled warning to Christian and Muslim proselytes in Uganda!
John Mark Nkoola wrote a modern song about the feeling he has when somebody has died. The words are particularly poignant in this place where deaths from AIDS and malaria are not uncommon: "The time has come. We must be going back where we have come from, to dust... When I think about death, I become afraid. I wish I had somebody to explain why this happens. Perhaps I may settle my mind. Let us enjoy life... Enjoy life in the right time, place and with the right people before you disappear like a shadow."
A few of the selections were heard on the community's first recording, "Shalom Everybody Everywhere!" produced by Kulanu with the Abayudaya in 1997. It is particularly satisfying to hear the beautiful, mature voice of Rachel Namudosi, in "Adonai Mukulu" ("God Is Great"). We heard her lovely child's voice on earlier recording. Happily, more recordings are in the works.

Matthew A.B.C. is an absolutely adorable book. It is a fun book to read and is full of memorable characters all named Matthew, but with vary different personalities. The artwork in this book is amazing, and I definitely recommend reading it!

This wonderful, witty book has enchanted and amused my three boys aged 8, 5 and 2. The "Matthews" in the book are all quirky characters with hilarious idiosyncracies. It's a warm and entertaining ABC book, seemingly simple yet successful on many levels. I don't want to make it sound heavy at all because it is so light and fun, but "Matthew ABC" says a great deal about acceptance and tolerance, and is great for vocabulary extension. A school teacher friend recognised the characters instantly - they're in every classroom!

"Mrs. Tuttle has 25 children in her class. They are all named Matthew. Principal Nozzet wonders how Mrs. Tuttle tells them apart. She finds it quite simple..." Starting with the letter A, meet each Matthew, and find out what's special about him. For example, Matthew A is extremely affectionate, Matthew B loves Band-Aids, Matthew C has cowlicks, and so on, letter by letter, through the alphabet. Peter Catalanotto's easy to read, spare text is complemented with clever, bold and bright illustrations, filled with eye-catching detail and humor. Matthew G has trouble with glue, and Mr Catalanotto shows him stuck to his chair and covered with school supplies. Matthew I is incognito, wearing a fedora and fake glasses, nose, and mustache. And Matthew R, my personal favorite, is freckled with a rhinoceros, and if kids look closely they'll see the outline of a freckle-made rhino, horn and all, on Matthew R's face. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Matthew A.B.C. is a creative and imaginative learning tool that both engages and entertains. As classmate number 25, Matthew Y, yodels, Principal Nozzet brings a new student in to join the class. Can you guess his name? Here's a hint, he's covered in zippers!

Poor Mrs. Tuttle. She has 25 students in her class and all 25 are named Matthew! As a children's librarian, I want my students to ask questions. They ask how 25 Matthews can end up in the same class and say they don't believe it. That's when I spring the news: Illustrators can do what they want in their books! You can watch their puzzled faces then see the light. Oh, yeah, it's the illustrator's book. Then I say, Let's find out why he has 25 Matthews.

So what does Mrs. Tuttle do? Illustrator/writer Peter Catalanotto has Mrs. Tuttle make an alphabet game out of it. Fancy this: All the Matthews have last names, each with a different letter of the alphabet. In reality, students who are reading or listening to the story learn, not only the alphabet, but words that match the action. For example, Matthew A is Affectionate with the picture showing him hugging the teacher. Matthew C has a friendly cowlick, showing the boy's hair spelling words through the use of gel. In fact, his top-knot spells "cowlick." Matthew R "is freckled with a rhinoceros." Sure enough, there is a rhino across his face--in freckles!

How do first-graders like this book? One little boy who never smiles and always seems too timid to even look at anyone, laughed out loud and got up on his knees. If you know body language, you know he just joined in. (I have asked his teacher about him and learned he participates in her class. She thinks he may be shy around me. I was thrilled I found a story that caused a reaction from him.)

Matthew I likes to go Incognito. Students are so quick to make life applications. I explained that if a famous person did not want to be bothered at the grocery store, they wore sunglasses and a hat. They immediately began telling me specific stories about famous people dressed incognito. At the end of the story the principal brings in a new student--you guessed it--Matthew, number 26, whose last name starts with, again you guessed it, Z. Know what he was wearing? Yes, meet Matthew Zipper.

What a fun book that teaches alphabet, then vocabulary. We all love it! I think your children will, too!

This is a story about a teacher with 25 Matthews in her class. Some of our favorites are Matthew C. who has cowlicks(look for the words his cowlicks form throughout the book),Matthew H. appears to be headless (ever know a boy who pulls his shirt over his head), and Matthew K. is unusually fond of ketchup (He dresses like a ketchup bottle). Matthew Z. (dressed in zippers) transfers into her class at the end of the book. I puchased this book after reading a rave review in the chicago trib. I looked in every bookstore I could find before finding it cheeper at amazon. This is a wonderful book for any child preschool thru 1st grade. My 5 year old has it memorized! I sent it to school with him and the teacher just loved it, we are going to order an extra one to donate to his class.

There has been a long debate about the death of the theatre. And that debate still continues, but plays are nevertheless being produced, actors are playing Hamlet over and over again, and directors are staging everything, from timeless classics to newest avant-garde. Even so, death of the theatre seem iminent. New methods of expression appeared which drove public fromt the teatre seats. Nowadays, in those seats you can only find aged critics, younger men and women still posessed by the power of art" and some older couples which have no place to go. Can there be future to such setting?
Whilst future reamins obscured in unsettling clouds, past looks glorious and full of appeal. Not only in works like ones of O'neil, Brecht, Pirandello or Shakespeare but also in the ones that have more modern" sound, whatever that should mean. Dario Fo is one of those men who brings with himself entire glamour of theatre together with precise sharpness of satire and political subversion.
Upon reading this play, you cannot but think of Groucho Marx and his extravagant style, high intelligence and unparalleled big-mouthedness. All of those characteristics were incorporated into the Fo's character called Maniac. But such comparison might not be entirely fair, having in mind what was said before. Still, Death of an anarchist" functions as classic farce, with what it seems as a total anarchy in script and staging, anarchy that is apealing in such a way that you simple cannot put this book away.
Magic of the theatre shows itself in the best way on these pages. You are being drawn into the world wihtout rules, which scarringly resembles our own and which we can relate to. That kind of identification puts us on the edge. And Fo is aware of that and uses that fact in such a brilliant way, that you have to bow to him.
It is quite unnecessary and to some extent impossible to retell the story of Death of an anarchist". It would be exactly the same as if you were going to retell the Marx brothers film and expect that it would have the sam impact as seeing and hearing Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo act themselves crazy.
When you're feeling sad or you would just give up on everything and go with the flow, forgeting that posibility of rebellions ever existed, you should reach for this book, and it will charge up your dead batteries, making you feel the joy of existence and laughter all over again.

"Accidental Death of an Anarchist," by Dario Fo, is adapted by Gavin Richards from a translation by Gillian Hanna. The Methuen Modern Plays edition contains an introduction by Stuart Hood; Fo himself contributes an author's note and a postscript. The opening pages note that the original Italian edition had a copyright date of 1970. The author's note describes how the play was inspired by the death of an anarchist being held in police custody.

This outrageous comedy opens with a character known as the "Maniac" being brought to a police station. It's a very "metatheatrical" piece; Fo warps theatrical conventions and makes jokes in a way that reminds me a bit of Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author." There are some really funny scenes, but a very serious vein still runs throughout the piece.

Ultimately, this is a thought-provoking piece about truth. What is the true story, and how do you discover it? Fo's satiric wit explores police brutality as well as the relationships among the police, the media, and the political establishment. I recommend this piece by the Nobel Prize winning Fo to all with an interest in 20th century drama and/or political activism.

I truly enjoyed this play and again am wondering why it is not put on more often. Granted, it has a specific political objective, due to its timely plot and circumstancial event. Yet, as a performer, I find the quality of writing to be extremely wonderful. Interestingly, I also discovered that Fo's viewpoint on comedic and political theatre to be very similar to my own:

(It) grabs at the heart and guts, but attempts to get there by a violent moment of laughter. Because laughter does not remain at the bottom of the mind, leaving sediment which cannot be wiped off. Because laughter helps avoid one of the worst dangers, which is catharsis. (5)

Fo wanted the reverse of catharsis, the emotional release, and it is very apparent in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He seeks to provoke, debate, to arouse feelings and to challenge ideas while inviting his audience to consider new points of view. I respect this form of theatre, for it is the hardest to write, collaborate, and present clearly to an already cynical audience in this day and age. By using an absurdist/satirical/farcial approach towards the issues of power, its abuse, and political stations, he creates sense out of nonsensical characters and situations. The maniac, a harliquien like character, leads the members of a police station somewhere in a city, in this case we assume New York or London, through a dizzying investigation around the questionable death of an anarchist from years before. Mysteriously, the anarchist had "thrown" himself from a four story window during the course of police investigation. We, the audience suspect foul play for the cause, and in effect we see the maniac give nothing but insane play to the accused. He is quick witted and incredibly dynamic with language and vast information. The maniac flaunts with their pride and guilt, causing mass confusion. The audience cannot help but love his crazy ways. In true satiric fasion, just and darkly comedic rewards are served to all characters by the end. The audience is left wondering how these events effect them. The ever present window in the scene is the only realistic element that the audience must contend with. It reminds them of the reality of the crime, how it really took place, and yet they are forced to laugh at it and find disgust in that humor. It is this form of satire that provokes thoughts and action towards change, which is what Fo wanted. It is this subtle stealthiness of dark humor that creates the desired effect of political theatre: change, perhaps for the better, or in this case, for the playwrights cause.

I saw a small production of this play a few years ago in downtown Minneapolis and was most interested in what it had to say about police interrogation techniques. This is not a topic which I would expect to be popular now, as most emphasis has been shifted to deadly confrontations, and the only major death in this play is of a suspect who was hanging out of a police department window before he dropped to his death. In the history of people being pick up for interrogation, this might be as famous someplace in Italy as the Biko case in South Africa, where police in Port Elizabeth picked Biko up and slammed him against the wall because he was not cooperating fully in their investigation of his attitude toward law and order.

I thought that the theme of the play was that the police get overly zealous in trying to pin a crime on a particular person once the police have made up their collective minds who they think should have committed the crime, as the defense allegations in the famous O.J. murder case seemed well founded when the methods of the L.A.P.D. were subject to the scrutiny of attorneys who are aware of how these things are usually done. In the case of the actual event upon which the Accidental Death of the Anarchist was based, the police techniques were subject to an official investigation, and the play was written as on ongoing farce which kept Italy informed as more facts came to light. The play may be way beyond the Zen of any audience, but if people think that something about the nature of the police is revealed in it, I don't think that those people should be considered as paranoid as they ought to be. Anyone who loses sleep over this kind of thing hasn't adjusted well to modern society, so they can probably find a shrink to give them pills that will put them to sleep, but that is a different topic, but not much different, really.

In the age we're living in today, this is the perfect satire of police departments. We always here in the news about some cop in some city getting caught framing someone innocent (or sometimes worse). Fo does a wonderful job of humorizing that situation. Some might call the play over-the-top, but they're just missing the humor of it all. I've read a lot of plays, and this is definitely one of the best modern plays out there. Everything about it screams "wit." The characters are great, and memorable too. If you have the chance to buy it, don't miss it!

I bought this book for my niece and decided to pick up a copy for myself. This is a great story about kids growing up in the days of the great depression and their adventures, with lots of unexpected twists and turns. I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I had read the last page. My niece also liked this book, and it was fun to discuss different parts of the story with her. We're both fans of this fun and entertaining book!

My daughter, Dee, and I began reading this book every evening and both of us got hooked. We've devoured all the Charlie Bone, Harry Potter and Artimus Fowl series, but this one is something special. So many of the fantasy-based books are about boys, so it's nice this one is about a bright, caring 12 year old girl named Alice. The characters are engaging, the plot moves very fast and the addition of classic literary characters gives it a few twists and turns not expected. This book has a great story, a few good scares and a lot of heart. It's funny and very touching. I have to admit I got a tear in my eye at the end. It's well worth the price. Dee is already asking if there is going to be a movie--she wants to play Alice in the film!

Wow! What a creative story. I'm an adult with neices right in the 9-12 year old age range, and I look forward to sharing this book with them. This is a really creative story that may open up their horizons to literary classic characters and storylines, some of which they may or may not have heard of yet, and it does so by combining in other famous characters with whom I'm sure they can relate and are attracted to. I personally was quite impressed by the plot that unfolded in an unexpectedly pleasant and VERY imaginative manner, and of course I enjoyed the special theme of FRIENDSHIP the book created. I will share this book with my family.

This is a great book. I enjoyed reading it from cover to cover. I was sad to see it come to an end. Hopefully there will be more adventures for the Book Battling Kids. This is a must read book for any child or adult that loves adventure and fantasy books. The description of the characters and the settings made you feel like you were right there in the middle of the adventure. What are you waiting for? Stop reading the reviews and read this book.

This is one of the most imaginative and spell-binding books I've read in quite a while. I could actually SEE the characters as Mr. Harvell described them. I could also see the settings. There was so much action I had to stop and take a deep breath so I could keep reading. I was sorry when it was over. I'd love to see a sequel.

This book is a good overview of the main events of the period. Dunn does a great job explaining each event.

This is the second book I've read in the Norton History of Modern Europe (the first was Eugene F. Rice, Jr.'s "The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559"), and I've been highly impressed with both of them.

They both cover the basic events fairly thoroughly and simply, presenting the background but not getting lost in details. Although focusing on political history, they both cover many other aspects of history--military strategy, economics, demographics, art and culture, philosophy--briefly at least.

Speaking as someone who occasionally has to teach the subject, in my opinion organization is the greatest challenge in presenting history, and one of the greatest compliments I can pay to any history book is to call it well-organized. Dunn's book is generally very well-organized; I have only a few minor quibbles, and I doubt that I could improve on his organization without introducing bigger problems.

Other quibbles are much less significant: I would have liked more detail regarding the War of the Spanish Succession, more information about changes in military strategy in this period (since firearms underwent constant improvement, and the nature of seige warfare changed dramatically--but how exactly did these change the strategy and nature of warfare?), more on the culture of Restoration England, maybe something on the culture of the Puritans (he tells us nothing of John Foxe, and almost nothing of John Milton or John Bunyan).

However, I am fairly familiar with the cultural history of Europe (by which I mean art, music, literature, philosophy and religion), so in reading these books my main concern is to fill in the political, military, and economic background, which I don't know very well. If your situation is similar to mine, I guarantee you will find these books very rewarding.

One other thing I find most gratifying is the well chosen illustrations: although printed in black and white, they are often obscure enough to be new to me, while perfectly commenting the text. For instance, the closing pages show a woodcut of Peter the Great cutting a Russian nobleman's beard, in which Peter (actually an impressively large man) is portrayed as a giggling, child-size pest to the large, dignified nobleman; the opposite page features a print from 1698 showing Peter's execution of the streltsy (his elite guard) rebels: row after row of hangings and beheadings on edifying display for the passing carriages. You didn't see it in your art history survey course, but it reveals the nature of Peter's Russia far more effectively than anything that you did.

The maps are also perfect, which enhances any history book.

If you are looking for a history of modern European culture, I do not recommend these books, however, as their focus lies elsewhere. For that purpose, I suggest starting with Jacques Barzun's opinionated but thorough "From Dawn to Decadence," supplemented with a good art history textbook such as Jansen's History of Art. If the religious issues that attended the religious wars are your concern, you should consider the 4th volume of Jaroslav Pelikan's "The Christian Tradition," which is titled "Reformation of Church Dogma."

After this book, if your thirst for early modern European history has not been quenched, I recommend turning to Diarmaid MacCulloch's "The Reformation."

Reads like a story, instead of a series of "facts", like most history books. Highly readable. Very interesting.

When my son began the study of Modern European History in college I decided to reacquaint myself with the subject. "The Age of Religious Wars" is a good place to start. Covering the years, 1559-1715, this tome takes the reader from the End of the Reformation to the beginning of the era of the 18th century balance of power.

This book focuses on the big themes of history. It tells the stories of Kings and warriors, merchants and clerics, artists and philosophers, but very little about the common people of the era.

This book is very well organized. Beginning with the situation in Europe in 1559, the first chapter gives the religious lay of the land in the countries of Western Europe at the start of the era. Chapter 2 outlines the beginning political situation in Eastern Europe.

In Chapter 3 the author studies the economic theories and commercial forms which fueled the economies of the age.

Chapter 4 introduces the reader to the political ebb and flow between absolutism and rising constitutionalism. Although the dominant figure of the era was France's Sun King, Louis XIV, he was the architect of a system which would die in a sea of blood before the 18th Century was out. In his day, Louis XIV lead the superpower of the age, but, toward the end of his long reign, he overplayed his hand, losing much of the territorial gains which he had temporally enjoyed.

The political upheaval of the era which was a harbinger of things to come was England's Glorious Revolution of 1688. For perhaps the first time in history, a monarch's right to reign was made dependent on the support of his subjects. Protestants William of Orange and his wife, Queen Mary, daughter of the late King Charles II, were invited by the nobles to challenge Mary's brother, the Catholic King James II. The resulting overthrow of James, in clear contrast to Louis' absolutism, laid the groundwork for the concept of government by consent of the governed, which would receive expanding application during the succeeding centuries.

In Chapter 5 Prof. Dunn reflects on the Age of Genius which truly this era was. Emerging from the intellectually stagnant Middle Ages, Europe erupted into a creative age virtually unique in history. Science was advanced by the likes of Copernicas, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and Newton. Renaissance art bust forth under the creative genius of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Durer and El Greco, to be followed by Baroque masters such as Rubens, Van Dyck and Velazquez. Europe still glories in the architectural heritage of Bernini and Wren. Our philosophy and political science still draw inspiration from the writings of Montaigne, Pascal, Hobbes Sponoza and Locke. Theatres of the world still interpret the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe, Lope de Vega and Calderon, Corneile, Moliere and Racine.

The book concludes in its sixth chapter with an analysis of the new balance of power which would carry Europe into a new age. A series of wars, Sweden's moment in the international spotlight and giant personalities such as Peter the Great would all combine to make Europe the place it would be in the 18th century.

Overall, this book is a good survey of the Age of Religious Wars. I had not read a college text in a long time and I had more acclimated to learning history in biographies and books more focused on specific topics. I am glad that I read it and give it 4 stars.

Dunn is an excellent writer. He is not flowery like the Durants, but his prose is elegant and to the point. He covers a great deal in a fair amount of detail. His book is very well organised and full of well chosen illustrations. The book is an easy size to carry around and very competitively priced (this kind of book is often very expensive, this one is not). If you want an introduction to this period, I do not think you could do better than this book. I could not put it down (Dunn knows how to be entertaining) and since completing it have referred to it often.