Scott Books

This is a further exploration of the relationships in Philip Jose Farmer' s Wold Newton Universe, as seen in books like Tarzan Alive, Doc Savage - His Apocalyptic Life, and the Other Log of Phileas Fogg.

Myths for the Modern Age is worth it for the Captain Nemo is Moriarty piece alone, not to mention the fabulous cover, complete with Modesty Blaise!

Here you have a collection of essays that inter-relate various characters, families and other information, by several different authors, including a compatriot, as well as Eckert himself, not to mention Farmer himself, so you could call this an anthology.
Please be aware that this is not a novel, if that is what you are looking for.

Eckert has a passion for this stuff, yes, you could call it obsessive monomania, but that is what collecting, which is really what this is all about, 'collecting' characters into universes and relationships, and utter, utter, fandom.

He is also a Philip Jose Farmer expert, to boot.

This is just fantastic stuff. Check out his and Farmer's various websites too, they are great. There are also related mailing lists that are worth it, if you are interested to this level.

Something else I have found : if you ask these authors a question, or anything like that, they will answer. They are completely devoted.

Outstanding book, in presentation, content, and participation. I am sure Farmer is quite pleased.

5 out of 5

Philip Jose Farmer had created the Wold Newton Universe. The 'stargate' necessary to access that Universe is the book in question. Read it fast and by the end of it, you would be hooked. Read it slowly, you might feel sleepy. Neverthless, the book is wonderful.

The contributors for this book provide a wonderful look into the world of Philip Jose Farmer. I had only read one Farmer book (The Tongues of the Moon) before delving into Myths. The excitement and intelligent discussion of Farmer's works in this volume prompted me to order several other titles. I am now on my third.

Having read both this book from cover to cover and the reviews that are posted on this sight, I can only conclude that one of the reviewers has an axe to grind with one or more of the writers responsible. Don't let that sway you; this is an excellent book that, yes, occasionally offers up contradictory information - if you take the time to read the introductory portion CAREFULLY, you will note that not only does Mr. Eckert acknowledge as much, but goes on to state that this is part of the fun in the game these writers are playing. Some people should lighten up and learn how to have fun already!

I'm so glad that all these bits about The WNU have been collected in one volume. I first got interested in PJF's concept when I read his Doc Savage bio. I've been lucky enough to track down a mint HC version of it...at a very reasonable price! This book has made me almost miss my Metro stop on more than one occasion. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, pulp heroes, or just want to read some very creative writing then you must buy this book. I plan on giving a couple as gifts this year.
I am also lucky enough to have been accepted into the Johns Hopkins University's Master of Arts in Writing Program. I showed this book to one of my instructors and he was fascinated by it. I gave him the nutshell explanation of WNU and told him that, after I get my degree, I would like to teach a course or two about it. If you are already an English/Writing teacher, please do the same. Let's srpead the fun around!!!

This is a must have for Robin/Nightwing fans. The story fills in some great details on Dick's transition from "Boy Wonder" to "Man Wonder".

Every character has their own voice and familiar characterization. Dick is brave and resourceful, Alfred is caring, Batman is callous and Jason Todd is a brat. The linear nature of the story is wonderful, not wasting time in re-caps and histories, but going forward with a great adventure.

The only drawback is the blocky, cartoony nature of the artwork, but the story is so well-written you hardly notice it.

What are you waiting for, buy this book!

There comes a time when all Robins must leave the nest and fly solo, and in this case, take flight under the new name of Nightwing. Yes, it's a painful cliché, but so apropos. Parting can be such sweet sorry, but in the end Dick Grayson needed to become his own man and the time was now. The natural evolution of Robin to NW was a long time coming, and fortunately Nightwing is one of the best new characters that DC has created in years. Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty bucked the recent trend of disappointing and pointless Year One stories as the two take us on a whirlwind "This is your life" journey from past to present connecting his pre-Batman days with his current status quo. He first travels to Metropolis for a heart to heart with his former World's Finest buddy Superman, and then on to the circus of his childhood, which also includes a surprise visit from the mysterious Deadman. Of course no Dick Grayson story would be complete without Barbara Gordon, the love of his life and occasional crime fighting partner. Their relationship is always a joy to read, and one of the more realistic and poignant portrayals in all of comics. We are finally brought full circle and a bit of future shock with his first encounter with his successor Jason Todd; sorry Dick, no one is irreplaceable. The dialogue is sharp and the characterizations are spot on; naturally Batman once again has to play the heavy just as a means of triggering the story to begin with. So despite some friction that may exist between them, this iconic cast of characters is one big, but not necessarily happy Batfamily, and we wouldn't want it any other way.

I read this recently, and it was worth it. both the writing and the drawings are good.

NIghtwing Year One is really a coming of age story. Dick Grayson grows up and this details his break with Batman and changing from Robin to Nightwing. Nightwing has always been a favorite of mine, though that probably relates to how big of a Batman fan I am. And I loved the artwork, with its thick lines and heavy blacks.

This a great tpb laying the foundation of Dick Grayson's transformation from Robin to Nightwing. After a falling out with Batman when confronting Killer Croc goes awry, Dick goes to Metropolis to talk to Clark Kent. Superman gives Dick the inspiration of Nightwing after telling him the story of crime fighter in Krypton who is called Nightwing!

After helping Superman disarm a terrorist attack, Dick travels back to old circus where he and his parent were once performers. The mysterious Deadmen inhabits various bodies to give Dick some advice as well.

Upon returning to Gotham, he explores his feeling with Batgirl, confronts Jason Todd, the new Robin, and must work with Robin as Nightwing in order to save Alfred, who is disguised as Two Face after Batman is shot and is incapacitated.

Well-done story weaving in the growth and maturity of Dick from Robin to Nightwing. Must own book for Batman and Nightwing fans! Fantastic art by McDaniels as always.

I found "Open My Eyes, Open My Soul" by Yolanda King to be a wonderful collection of essays by people from all walks of life about their own experience with either intolerance or a gift of tolerance and love.
This is a book the world has been needing. I will frequently refer to it in my speaking engagements and will recommend it along with future editions that will be printed. Thank you Yolanda. You are a blessing to this world.
Carrie bluehawk601@yahoo.com

Everyone has a story to share of a defining moment (or many!) when they see past the surface images to the humanity that connects us heart to heart. I think the best "media pairing" of the message would be this book with the movie, "Love Actually". Both clearly and often joyfully illustrate that no matter what your casual or even paranoid observations regarding the world may be, or your current loss of hope or elevated fears for the future, Love IS all around, and it is everywhere, within everyone, ever eager to burst into bloom. I highly recommend this book, a collection of personal "moments of awakening and realization" to anyone who needs an emotional lift and to anyone who loves and wishes to open their hearts even more. Blessings to you both, dear Yolanda King and Elodia Tate!!! Looking forward to more of the same soon!

This book leaves a lasting impression of love and commonality of the human spirit no matter the race, culture, or beliefs. We are one humanity, one world. Every story shows how people touch each other's lives in a positive way. Both celebrities' stories and "other author" stories remind us that we have so much in common.

Marie McBride

If everyone in the world read this book, all fighting would stop because people would see every other human being as a brother or sister--not someone "different" just because of the color of their skin or their religion or particular culture. This book is a wake-up call that spawns peaceful feelings and longings for a harmonious world. This book is for everyone--not just members of minority groups. I happen to be Caucasian, but reading these heartfelt stories makes me want to shake people who hate and remind them of what Dr. Martin Luther King sacrificed his life for.

This book lifts up, acknowledges, rejoices in, and teaches us about our wonderful differences. We learn through this book that we all receive gifts of lessons and experiences handed down through our cultural ties. It shows us how strong, powerful and united we can be. Share this book with loved ones and those who need to hear the message.

Paul Scott's following is small, but Loyal. He is a fantastic writer. The Raj Quartet by far, is my favourite favourite series of books by him because of its complexity and such extraordinary characters. His charactres are so indepth, so well played out that the reader feels that he or she knows them thouroughly. Its a historical epic, very well written, and its absolutely a must read.

About 25 years ago I got a list of the best 100 books of all time, and found "The Raj Quartet" by Paul Scott listed. I started at the beginning with "The Jewel in the Crown" and got bogged down. Coincidentally, PBS started its Masterpiece Theatre version. I watched a few of the episodes (actually all of them, eventually) and got back to reading. What I discovered was the best set of novels I've ever read, and each one an individual "jewel" as well. A pebble thrown, the towers of silence, and many other images stay with me, as well as the memory of Scott's beautiful writing and well-developed, complex characters, and the scope and importance of the story. If there wasn't so much else to read, I'd reread the whole set--sounds like a good retirement project some day.

My yardstick for excellent writing about a foreign culture is probably Paul Scott's "The Raj Quartet", which was the basis for the BBC TV series "The Jewel in the Crown". I think these four books are a real tour de force - he writes in several different voices throughout, but remains - I think - completely sensitive to the political and social complexities and subtleties of the situation in India towards the end of the British occupation. Very nuanced, extraordinarily sensitive writing.

It's not just the writing: the stories that unfold in this masterpiece will draw you in, grip you, and break your heart.

This book (or series of books) is so sprawling and intricate, like India itself, one might say, that it is impossible to "pin down", as it were, in a review like this. The thing to do, I think, is to cover the most salient aspects of the work separately. Otherwise, one will become lost, as many of the characters herein do. So, salient aspect numbers:

1.) History - This is the novelistic equivalent of Gibbon concerning the British Empire. It might even be called "The Decline and Fall of The British Empire." As a reviewer for the Sunday Times puts it, "A history student years from now should be able to say to his professor, `Yes, but what was it REALLY like in India in the last days of the Raj?' and be told, `Read these four books and you'll not only know, you'll understand...' " The "understand" part is especially significant in that these books will have you totally spellbound by Scott's deft character portrayal and psychological insight. It is no exaggeration to say that one feels one has lived in India from 1939-1947 after having emerged from the nearly two-thousand pages that comprise this work. But the deft character portrayal leads me to a more troublesome, salient point:

2.) Ronald Merrick-A host of characters populate this work, portrayed with deep sympathy herein. And yet, one can't help but feel, upon closing the pages, that the work might also be called, "Ronald Merrick: An in-depth Portrait of a Psychotic in India". It is a tribute to Paul Scott that we do not discover the depths of the....evil (Sorry, I can't think of another word that fully encompasses the character.) of Merrick until the tag end of the work. Yes, Hari Kumar is the other major character who, to a certain extent, offsets Merrick. But he fades into the background after his interrogation by Nigel Rowan with Lady Manners looking on in the second book, The Day of the Scorpion. Merrick, so to speak, stays on until the very bitter end. Not only does he stay on, but he lingers in the mind. What is he? What does he represent? The British Raj itself, as some would have it? Partly, I would say, but there is something about Scott's obsession with this fellow that refuses to be pigeonholed. It's all very eerie. By the end of the book, you won't be able to hear the word "Merrick" without a troubling frisson running through you. - He is not mad like, say, Susan Layton, who rather resembles a character from one of the Bronte novels. - His nature and the nature of his evil are complex. They defy reduction. So, I shan't venture on a futile quest to do so but rather come to salient point:

3.) The brooding fatalism that overhangs everything here. Of course, one knows before one picks the book up that the Brits in India are doomed. But, well, I'll just let Daphne Manners' quote from the first book, The Jewel in the Crown, give the reader notice of the feeling that permeates this work:

"We were sitting on the verandah. Oh, everything was there - the wicker chairs, the table with the tea tray on it, the scent of the flowers, the scent of India, the air of certainty, of perpetuity; but, as well, the odd sense of none of it happening at all because it had begun wrong and continued wrong, and so was already ended, and was wrong even in its ending, because its ending, for me, was unreal and remote, and yet total in its envelopment, as if it had already turned itself into a beginning. Such constant hope we suffer from!"

Salient points covered...except that the reader might do worse than to do as Perron does at the end and look up Philoctetes, not a futile quest by any means.

It has been too long since I read this book [probably 15 years ago] for me to offer an erudite and detailed analysis. But I do remember vividly that when I read it that the word "masterpiece" came repeatedly to my mind. In a league with Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" and Naipaul's "A House for Mr. Biswas". Find the time to read it; you won't regret it.

Just like in "Deep Politics and the Death of JFK,"
Peter Dale Scott here gives us something so often missed
by focusing exclusively on the surface events:
a stark yet densely detailed map of
the subterranean sewers that are the sources of 9/11.

Scott is that rare thinker-writer whose sustained attention
and audacious inquiry have pursued the ugly truth to its deepest roots:
To read this fearless document is to be denied
the comfort offered by our systemic denial.

So be forewarned:
delusions and simplistic reductionisms die on the very first pages;
for reading the rest of the book, one must at times remind oneself to breath.

One of America's most respected and and cogent sociopolitical scientists, Peter Dale Scott (UC at Berkley) has answered the most important questions about the Neocons and Bush Administration by connecting the hidden, and often times secret, historical facts that culminated with the appointment of George W. Bush as an illegitimate president and his assault on the U.S.Constitution and rush toward America world hegemony - -all in the name of Christianity. For the first time ever in print, Professor Scott has articlulated the events, forces and personalities that came to treasonous birth after WW-II, grew to early childhood shortly after the JFK assassination, enjoyed some control within the Reagan and Bush Senior administrations at adolescence and came to full adulthood within the present Bush administration. In a profusely documented, step by step, easy to read narrative, the author enlightens, astounds and cautions, building a case for his thesis that America is in deep trouble unless the electorate understands the issues and stops the Neocons (radical conservatives) in their tracks in 2008. His method is not conspiratorial, but honest without being apologetic or overly alarmist. If you what to understand what has gone on in this country since WW-II and the forces at battle behind the scenes and beneath the propagandist headlines, this is the book for you - - worth the price of one-hundred books and just as monumentally educational. If not, then go back to sleep and become part of the problem and not the solution. The work is undoubtedly one of the most important books written since 1970, given that it demonstrates how the Neocons do not believe in Democracy, the American voter or sovereign nations entitled to design and implement their own destinies. They do not trust the American people, the world or God - - instead, they are motivated by fear and the lust for greed and power. They have fascism written all over their foreheads - - perhaps the true Mark of the Beast that the religious right believes in and warns about so much. Do not walk, but run to buy this book.

The American author Peter Dale Scott shows how the richest 1% control key covert parts of the US state, including the Pentagon and the CIA. The private power of this military-financial complex has been secretly growing ever since President Truman founded the CIA. The US state serves the class interests of Wall Street's owners, not the national interest.

The US state is becoming more repressive: in 1970, 31% of California's budget went to higher education and 4% to prisons, by 2005, 12% and 20% respectively.

Scott shows how the US state built up fundamentalist Islam. From the 1950s, the CIA, allied with MI6, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, used the mullahs and the Muslim Brotherhood against secular nationalism across the Middle East. Later the CIA outsourced its operations to MI6, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, the Saudis, the Shah, the French intelligence service, Egypt and Morocco. In Latin America, the US state backed the fascist Operation Condor run by the military dictatorships of Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, funded by South Korea, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia.

Scott describes how the US and British states have fomented wars across Asia. From 1986, the CIA, MI6 and Pakistan's intelligence service launched guerrilla attacks from Afghanistan into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In 1988 the US and Pakistani states promised to end military aid to the mujehadin when Soviet forces left Afghanistan; Thatcher and Bush ensured that they broke that promise.

Scott shows how the drive for oil determines much of US foreign policy. For example, in 1997, the Wall Street Journal stated, "The Taliban are the players most capable of achieving peace. Moreover, they are crucial to secure the country as a prime trans-shipment route for the export of Central Asia's vast oil, gas and other natural resources."

In sum, Scott shows how the US state is not a force for peace and progress, as Gordon Brown fondly believes, but backs war and reaction. Its ruling class wants to continue their disastrous attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan: it believes what Kissinger said in 2005, "Victory over the insurgency is the only meaningful exit strategy."

Not a conspiracy book at all, but more a historical analysis of what's happened to US power over the past 50 years: how the "deep state" has swallowed what remained of the Public State. When people wonder why there seems to be a total de-link between what the American people desire and vote for, and what they actually get -- here is the answer. In November 2006, the US voted for the end of the Iraq War, the readjustment of the Bush Vampire tax burden, and for greater accountability(investigations, public hearings, supoenas issued, etc). What they got was the exact opposite. Why? This book is a good place to start to find the answer.

When Professor Scott gets to 9/11/01, he goes into very minute detail over the very strange discrepencies involving Dick Cheney's whereabouts from 9:25 to 9:55 the morning of the attacks. Cheney has just flat out lied about where he was and what he was doing. He tells the 9/11 Commission that he did not enter the security bunker/command post just off the EOB until 9:50. Yet several witnesses swore that he was inside the bunker(including Leon Panetta) as early as 9:25, repeatedly going off to make phone calls in the tunnel which leads from the bunker to the EOB, on secured, untraceable phones. Why lie about this? Who was he talking to and about what?

Even stranger is the testimony of an Air Force Lieutenant who kept asking Cheney the same question over and over: "Do the orders still stand? Do the orders still stand?" Eventually, Cheney got angry and responded: "Have you heard anything different?!"

What were the orders? The assumption is that they were orders to shoot down incoming planes. Yet, this query had already been asked at least once before the plane plowed into the Pentagon. And if they were the logical shoot-down orders, why would the Lt. keep asking for confirmation? Scott theorizes that the orders in fact were STAND DOWN orders.

A magnificent, chilling work by our greatest political historian.

This book is something of a curiosity. Published by the University of California Press, it is likely to have the most prestigious imprint of any book willing to entertain the possibility that Bush administration figures (above all, Cheney) may have in some way been complicit in 9-11. As it happens, Scott's case for this insinuation isn't all that strong. Cheney gave somewhat contradictory explanations of his whereabouts for about a half hour on 9-11. A plausible case can be made that there was a space of about ten minutes during which Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush may have had a private phone call on that day. And Cheney earlier approved a change in procedure around hijacked planes that may have slowed response to the 9-11 crisis, although it seems equally possible that this rule change was simply an unwise bureaucratic revision (as most people who've ever worked in an organization are aware, those kinds of things happen all the time, without any dark motives). Scott uses this evidence to suggest (although he is definitely circumspect and cautious in his claims) that Cheney facilitated 9-11 in order to create an opportunity to put into action continuity of government (COG) plans that had been evolving since the Reagan administration to exploit a crisis to deepen authoritarian tendencies of the US state. Ultimately the evidence falls short of that necessary to convince a critical reader, although the idea that the COG plans were around and used after 9-11 to initiate programs like warrantless wiretaps and the partial suspension of habeus corpus isn't particularly unreasonable.

Even if you find the evidence of Cheney's intentionality weak, you might still find The Road to 9-11 an intriguing read. Scott's vision of the world is that extremely powerful people (by virtue of considerable wealth and connections) operate through and often around the US government to achieve their goals. This is the 'deep state/overworld' that only momentarilly becomes visible during crises like the Iran-Contra scandal. Other scandals, like Watergate, may be the result of deep state activities and conflicts without being widely understood as such. Figures in US intelligence agencies have developed ties with their counterparts in Saudi, Pakistani, Israeli agencies and can operate without the explicit consent of their respective executive branches. Although it's not entirely unfamiliar territory, Scott's narrative of the US role in creating jihadists to torment the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and further afield is vividly wrought. Without being too explicit about this, Scott suggests that Democratic presidents like Carter tend to be the victims of these plots, while Republicans like Reagan and Bush empower the deep government figures. Although most conspiratorial thinkers are ultimately pessimists who believe that history is engineered by a handful of all powerful figures, Scott leavens this view with claims that the 'prevailing will' of a country cannot be easily denied (some examples of prevailing will--the desire of Iran to be rid of the Shah, the desire of the Vietnamese to be unified without foreign occupiers, the civil rights movement in the South). In his political assessments, Scott is a judicious left-liberal with some surprising insights. He argues, for example, that the much maligned Helsinki accords may have weakened the Soviet Empire by signaling to Eastern Europe that Western Europe no longer had expansionist designs. He argues for a movement in the US somewhere in between Move-On (which gets so close to the Democratic leadership as to compromise itself) and 'black-flag' anarchists, not bad advice. In describing the needed movement as a 'truth movement', however, I wish he had made more of an effort to distance himself from writers and activists who use that term to advocate blatantly crackpot theories about missiles hitting the pentagon, 'controlled demolition', robot planes, etc.

Paige Covington, a spoiled 17-year-old young woman (a modern day scrooge), thought only of one thing in this life-herself. She made selfish choices with little consideration or thought for others around her. Selling her loyal bay gelding simply because he did not bring home the first place ribbon after a jumping competition or walking out of store with unpaid merchandise when she felt the sales clerks were wasting her valuable time, were just two examples of the way Paige lived her life.

To her surprise, she was arrested for the shoplifting, and fortunate for her, the judge did not care that her intentions were to send the money via mail with a nasty complaint letter regarding the slow service of the store. He sentenced her to 60 hours community service working with the handicap at a hippotherapy clinic.

Between this experience and a developed friendship with levelheaded kindhearted 14-year-old Lindsey, Paige found herself challenged. By the time her community service was completed, Paige discovered there was more to life than simply thinking of herself resulting in one special memorable Christmas.

A Tuff-To-Beat Christmas is a warm heart-felt story that will surely reach anyone who reads this book. Once I started, I could not put it down until the last page read. Betty Briggs is an inspiring visual writer worthy of consideration and I highly recommend this young adult book.

I really liked the author's light, engaging style and her use of humor and dialogue. I don't know much about horses myself, but Briggs skillfully weaves in everything you need to know to appreciate the story.

A very cute book. Paige is a teen ager who parents has given her everything she want, because of being an only child. Paige learns a very valueble lesson by sharing with others who haven't much. It is a good book, I throughly enjoyed it. I'll put it on my list of Christmas books to read.

I really enjoyed this book. Very cute! A great story on service, which showed how the one serving is often the one more blessed than those they serve.

What a great Christmas book for any age! I truly enjoyed reading this and now my three girls will take turns, as well. :) The photographs were a fun bonus and I dipped my toe into an area that I wasn't too familiar with--horses!! I was also reminded exactly what the true meaning of Christmas is all about and that warmed my heart! :)

This book lives right next to my meditation cushion. Every morning I read a simple & profound tidbit which sets my heart beating to a rhythm of peace. Throughout these tumultuous past months when the country's political climate creates so much fear, anger and unrest, Scott Shaw's book has been helping me stabilize in a personal peace. He has spoken truth in simple words that go in easily and resonate deeply. I just purchased this book for the Peace & Justice Center Library in our town. We can not create peace out of anger. Thank you for this gem, Scott Shaw!

I've sold some books on on-line websites, but this is one that I would never consider parting with. I purchased this book when I was on "a mission of self-discovery" and I believe it was a valuable part of that journey. I bought it at regular price, and it was worth every penny. I don't have the book in front of me at the moment so it's hard for me to be specific, but I can tell you that this is a book I will go back to time and again.

After reading this wonderful book from cover to cover several times I now include it in my morning meditations by reading one page per day. The words are simple, kind, loving and to the point. Thank you Scott, for sharing your thoughts so that my life is enriched.

This was book was recently introduced to me by a co-worker, who has now become a very dear friend to me. In my never ending quest to feel peace with who I am and where I am in my life, this book is helping me achieve this. I read a page every morning and it truly helps me make the most of each day. Well worth purchasing. Enjoy each day and may there be Peace within always.

I received this book from a dear friend for Christmas. I have read it ever since, and read it just about every day. It is simple, to the point and profound. It gets me back on the spiritual beam and back to peace every time I read one of the 108 entries. This is how I want my life to be..........at peace! Thanks for writing it Scott!

At first, I didn't really like the comic strip all about babies and parenting, which simply isn't my cup of tea. But - over the time, I began to truly appreciate what a vaulable contribution it could be to our society: a pretty stern disclaimer to the usual maternal fantasy that every young girl holds dear to her heart when she is old enough to get married and produce children. The not-so-nice part of having babies like labor pains, breastfeeding, dirty diapers, vomiting, screaming temper tantrums, shot nerves, etc. are all so candidly depicted here on the very pages of our funnies. In fact, it seems to me that if it wasn't for the kinship ties and the anxious need to support the future species, Darryl and Wanda would've probably been very happy to simply drop off Zoe and Hammie at a nearby orphanage.

I got this book about 3 months ago, and I loved it! It shows you that parenting isn't the most easiest thing in the world. This book has lots of laughs and good times in it. So if you want lots of laughs (100 percent guranteed) then get this wonderful book!

I have been a fan of Baby Blues since my daughter was born, eight years ago. I sometimes think that Mr. Kirkman and Mr. Scott hide outside my windows and take notes, because so many of their strips are right on the mark! If you have small children, are thinking about having small children, or just want a good belly laugh, I highly recommend the entire series of Baby Blues collections. Enjoy!

"Baby Blues : This is Going to be Harder Than We Thought" is the first book of the series and a must for "Baby Blues" fans. You can really see how much this comic strip has evolved, but yet, some things will never change. With great expressions and witty lines, it will have you smirking in no time. I recommend.

We received this as a gift from friends when we had our first child, and could not stop laughing as we gained a new appreciation for what it meant to be parents. Whether you're new parents, know someone who is, or have been parents for years and want to remember what it was *really* like, this book needs to be on your list.

We've now given this book as a gift to four other couples who've had babies recently, and all agree that it's their favorite new book on the shelf. It covers everything - changing the first diaper, the first visits from the parents (both sets), sleepless nights, and the joy of teething, to mention a few.

Buy this book. You'll laugh for a long time, and will probably end up sharing it with your other friends fortunate enough to have kids of their own.

This had to be writing that was inspired by greater beings. The words were heard not only by my ears but within my body. My relationships and my relationshp to myself were altered immediately. This was a real person not wanting to impress anyone, but to inspire and awaken those that read his words. I am grateful to the writer for taking the time to inspire others to be honest and real instead of nice and "should." I recommend this book to others not because it is just a good read, but because it helps us all be real with each other

Step into the life of Bruce Scott and find yourself stepping into your own. If you choose you can put into practice a step by step guide to being real in all relationships beginning with yourself. The reader learns what being real looks like, and when applied to the self what it feels like. Through storytelling and personal disclosure, Bruce demonstrates how one can be both gentle with themselves while taking themselves seriously, and decide moment to moment how to act from inside rather than from how we're "supposed" to act or be in the world.

It has taken me several months to review this book..which is just right..i previously thought i had reviewed it after having read it for the first time..(i am currently reading it for the third time..) but somehow my review never made it to the computer screen..this book has become to mean so much to me..each time i read it-i learn new things about myself and about relationships. each time i read it, i notice more, i feel more, i laugh and i cry more. in between reading this book, i have started to learn how to notice things..how to listen to my body, how to be intimate with people..all people, and what that really means..to be intimate..i have begun to learn how to stay with myself..to follow my heart..although at times it has been hard..and truthfully, as bruce says in the book.."friends will drop away" - they have..and while those experiences have been challenging..they were just right..this is more than a book..it is a way to get to know yourself..to learn how everything is relationship. everything. it is work, to be real..at times i have become lazy in terms of my awareness, my presence, my quest to remain "real"..and have noticed at those times, i begin to physically feel weak..tired, farigued..depleted. i encourage everyone to read this book and to share it with anyone you wish to..it will be a fantastic surprise!

I wondered, as I contemplated what to write, how much if any I should reveal about my personal relationship to the author of Being Real, Bruce Scott. I quickly realized it is not important. What is important is that reading his book affirmed many of my own most sacred beliefs. I live in the body of a "minority" person and have had numerous experiences that lie outside the perihery of the mainstream. I have sought through many channels ways to affirm and support my existence in the world. The words and experiences contained within the pages of Being Real: An Ongoing Decision often had the effect of bringing me home to a place I know in my most sacred self. There were many times I felt relieved to have words put to some of my innermost thoughts about myself and the world I live in. Bruce has a deft way of uncovering the myriad ways in which we indidually and collectively limit and repress that force in us which wants to live and and do so fully. This book is a must if you believe that we have yet to tap our collective potential. That potential can only be realized as we individually risk, as often as we are capable, being real. Real with our intuitions, body sensations and that still small voice knocking at the door of our hearts to bring us more compassion for ourselves and others. Bruce Scott's book is a signpost on that path. Do yourself a favor. Read it and share it with others.

In Being Real, Bruce Scott reminds me of the magic of living. Unlike many books that leave me awed but somehow discouraged by the gap to my own life, Being Real is inspiring because it feels so close, so encouraging for my own experiences and perceptions. Bruce Scott's story is personal--he speaks from his heart, from inside his own struggles and confusion...and the fire of awareness that comes from there. Through his own journey, he takes the not-so-fantastic stuff of everyday life--relationships, odd encounters, dreams and the environment--and reveals its absolutely fantastic nature. Out of sleep-walking comes the magic of daring to follow yourself, your body, curiously discovering what that humble wisdom is all about. This book is a radical living practice, touching me deeply. In fact, Bruce's book is a star on the map for me, saving my life by saying through the "crazy" is the magic is the real. Thank you.

I couldn't stop laughing!

Scott Adams is a genius.

Laugh till you cry funny!

Keep it comin'!

One of the main reasons I like this book so much is that it focuses mainly on Dilbert and Dogbert. I have two Dilbert books with just them in it and 9 ones with Dilbert at the office and this one gives a nice change to the whole office aspect. Bob the dinosaur's son Rex is born is this book which is great because in one of my other books they introduce him. Dilbert and Dogbert have a great time together and Dilbert is great and this book is no exception.

Bring me the Head of Willy the Mailboy! is just as funny as all the other Dilbert books. This one like all of them is a must read for any Dilbert Fan. Look at the average rating for it, A perfect five stars so you know it must be great

Bring Me the Head of Willy the Mailboy is a very wonderful Dilbert book. It exposes the many insane issues of life. It has not fully developed into a workplace comic strip yet, but it is evolving into a semi-workplace comic strip. It is a wonderful book with some darker sides also-like Dilbert dying (But coming back, of course).

Yes, in this book, the character of Dilbert dies. But never fear, he is cloned back to life from his garbage! This book covers strips from mid-1990 to May 1991. The dinosaurs Bob and Dawn have an egg which hatches into the short-lived character of Rex. Also returning for a series is Dilber't Ego. Scott Adams continues to improve his trade in this book. Great for when you need some laughs or light reading.