Shepard Books

Joanie and Teddy have a cat, a dog, and a parrot. The house is just the right size for all of them. One day, they bring a baby home. The pets are confused at what type of pet this is. They finally figure out it is a baby, but they still feel left out. They try anything to get attention. Read this and find out what finally gets it.

I reall enjoyed this book. When my younger siblings were born, I felt left out and just wanted attention. This book made me feel like I could relate to the animals. If your child is feeling left out, I would suggest this book.

The book was fun to read! I hope that you like it as much as I did. It didn't take that long to read and it was intertaining. The characters at first didn't really like the change and they were cerious to find out what it was. They didn't know at first but soon would find out. It kinda suprised me, because I thought that it was going to be something else. If you read this book, you will then find out what the new pet is!
Brandon M.

Jack Turner's Introduction to this volume of essays bemoans the lack of attention Paul Shepard's work has received. According to Turner, part of this obscurity is due to Shepard's radical views and his work being "formidably intellectual." Perhaps another part is Shepard's assault on humanity's domestication of various animals. Few admire a man who kicks the family dog. "On Animal Friends" is a deeply thought out treatise on the history and
full genetic and philosophical implications of what domestication has done to humans and other animals alike.

Shepard is a challenging read. Not for problems of clarity - his prose flows easily under the reader's eyes. His ideas, however, chain your attention. You are brought to a halt as what he argues forces reflection on many novel ideas. A major figure in ecological studies for many years, these wide-ranging essays address a variety of topics. The underlying theme is humanity's Pleistocene roots. How far, Shepard asks, have history and evolution actually brought us? What forces have we applied to separate ourselves from the rest of Nature? What traditions do we hold dear and how many of these should we consider modifying or abandoning as we efface our environment? These questions have been asked before, but Shepard poses them in fresh contexts and offers challenging answers.

Although among America's leading environmentalists, he kept himself apart from "mainstream" thinking typifying the movement. These essays demonstrate a far broader outlook than espoused by many of his colleagues. Here, he addresses esthetics, theoretical psychology and the virtues of hunting. His views are unexpected and his handling of the topics flawless. He criticizes his fellows without hesitation - in one case calling Paul Martin's idea that the extinction of large fauna was caused by Pleistocene humans "preposterous."

You will come away from this book unsettled. That is how it should be and precisely what Shepard intended. You will not, however, close this book unsatisfied. Shepard offers his messages [and there are many in this collection] with persuasive language. Your mind will be opened with every page. Take up this book in confidence of a wise choice. The rewards are plentiful.

Paul Shepard is perhaps as profound a thinker as any who have lived in his exploration of human nature and the role of mankind in the natural world. These essays offer a well-balanced introduction to his ideas. For 'introduction' do not read 'easy'; the writing can be very compact and even a Rhodes Scholar may be well-advised to keep a dictionary handy. But the reader's effort is more than rewarded; you will not find a more lucid, insightful and inspired exploration of human-environment relationships anywhere. Reading Paul Shepard will change the way you see the world. This is not new-age happy-clapper environmental-babble; Paul Shepard is a serious scholar, and his insights and criticisms will hit disconcertingly close to home even for self-described nature-lovers. Shepard's essays can alternately be categorized as Environmental Philosophy, Sociology, Human Ecology, Comparative Anthropology... But the diversity of subjects merely reflects the vast range of disciplines from which Shepard convincingly assembles evidence to support a single powerful premise: that humankind is a wild species adapted to a way of life requiring intimate contact with the natural world for healthy existence, and that the problems of modern society stem ultimately from the alienation between man and the world, an alienation created and enforced by the dominant world cultures. Humbling and inspiring... a must-read for anyone who cares about the human species or the world we inhabit. You will return to these essays again and again.

Both of my children (ages 4 and 18 months)love this set. We play them in the evening as we are winding down. The narration is wonderful with and without the book. Of course, A.A. Milne's stories are wholesome and entertaining. We love Pooh!!

Although this is not quite right yet for my 2-1/2-year-old daughter (more text vs. pictures than she's used to), it is very nicely done and I'm sure she will enjoy it at some point. The books are small but are hardcover and the overall package is functional and attractive. I was skeptical about Charles Kuralt doing the narration, but he really does a very nice job. I'm also sure these tapes, with or without the books, will be great for trips.

It is true that Hoff seems to display a certain "dislike" or "bias" against things that go against his vision of the Tao, but overall, this is a wonderful, enjoyable book that gets across in a rather easy and simple manner some ideas central to Taoism, especially when it uses quotes from the Tao Te Ching in explaining Pooh's actions.

In fact, I have used several quotes from the book in a compilation of useful Taoist guides towards the right Path:

Simple Tao:
http://www.blueboard.com/tao/

This elegant and well-written volume by Benjamin Hoff, along with its sequel âaeThe Te of Pigletâ, is perhaps one of the finest pieces of writing about Taoism in the West. Having just read and enjoyed the original Pooh stories by A.A. Milne, I became intrigued by this book and obtained it. As soon as I opened it I could not find a good point to lay it down. I kept reading and reading until I finished it in a single day. The book was so pleasurable, so well-written, and so intriguing. I kept thinking and imagining all the different concepts of Taoism that this book introduces me to. âaeWu Weiâ or effortless action; living in harmony with nature; Nowhere and Nothing; the importance of the present; the extreme alienation we in the West create for ourselves by being constantly busy. These are all important issues that relate to my life personally, and I feel I have gained something from reading this book, in addition to spending an enjoyable time reading it.

Those who didnâ(tm)t like this book for some reason are missing the point. The âaeTao of Poohâ was never meant to be the definite treatise on Taoism, or the dispassionate comparison of East and West. As a matter of fact, this book is classified under âaeHumorâ. In fact, it is this humor of pooh which lends itself so aptly to introducing Taoism. Since reading this book, I became interested in reading the other book by John Tyerman Williams called âaePooh & the Philosophersâ. What a disaster that turned out to be! See, the defining character of Pooh is that he never really takes himself seriously, which is perfectly in line with the attitude of major Taoist philosophers. Yet Western philosophy thinks of itself as a serious subject, an attitude that is quite un-Pooh-ish, so I donâ(tm)t know what on earth Williams was thinking in using Pooh to illustrate Western philosophy. Anyways, donâ(tm)t buy Williamâ(tm)s book, buy this! If you like Pooh and feel intrigued with Eastern Philosophy, you will find a pleasurable reading in this masterpiece that was the first to recognize this beautiful match.

I gave this book 3 stars because it reads easily enough, there are some insightful moments, and because it is fairly enjoyable with the exchange between the author and Pooh bear. But, this book is not recommended for anyone wanting to understand taoism. Much of the book contains almost bitter western bashing, or the condemning of certain modes of life, which does not actually help to reinforce taoist concepts. There are portions that read more like rants, even.

Recommended for everyone, a lighthearted look at the Tao and a simpler way of living through the eyes of my favorite bear. My husband lives the Tao of Pooh. If you're having trouble understanding the Tao, or having a hard time relating to that duck that seems to let the world roll off his back, this book puts everything into perspective. There's no denying the fun in this book; the beautiful, flowing, clear writing style is classic A.A. Milne Pooh, and demonstrates what a perfect example this bear is for the concepts of the Tao.

Apparently, Taoism is about lazy, bitter Westerners superficially embracing Eastern mysticism in order to boost their own egos - and then cashing in on a beloved childhood icon to make a quick buck.

Hoff does a reasonable job of using actual quotations from Pooh to illustrate various simple points, but his depiction of Taoism ends up being a collection of empty mantras that have no relationship to real life, where people frequently have both aspirations and problems. Do you want to work towards a career where you can make a difference for people? Hoff's answer is "don't strive - just be". Upset about global inequality and mass starvation? "Cottlestone Pie".

Hoff blatantly misreads Pooh to tell us that knowledge and science bring nothing but trouble - as he puts it, discovering things only leads to more questions, so what's the point? He even rants against jogging and tennis. Better to remain ignorant and immobile - although complaining bitterly seems to be an acceptable activity.

Had wanted to read this for about 15 years, but it's funny how more books are published and then you have to read them? How 'bout that? This book has been out six centuries, so I guessed another 15 years would not hurt me. Chaucer's facility with language, his ability to rhyme, his familiarity with the human condition, and his ability to link the human conditions to elements of people's trades and careers at this time truly make this book one which paved the way for many other satires, multi-person narratives, and rich, nuanced tales of particular events at particular times.

This book is endlessly satisfying. I found Chaucer's poetry to be very intelligent, with allusions to the work of the day, to cultural references, to fashion, to religious beliefs, to prominent figures in the world at that time, and most of all, to allowing his imagination not to be limited by expectations on the limits of his writing. The stories in the book come via the relating of experiences told by travelers on their way to Canterbury. At times, the stories are considered too dry or too preposterous or perhaps they are too derivative. But Chaucer imbues the multiple characters, the minister's wife, the metalworker, the barrister, the civil servant, with characters who respond as mentioned to stories, if the stories are not seen to be up to scratch. Many of the stories concern sexual hijinx. Some concern convoluted family relations, some concern work concerns. Chaucer's currency with the lives and ways of many in 14th century England make the book rich and satisfying. He was a master poet and it seemed that Chaucer enjoyed spinning these tales for the more privileged who would have read this book at first. It is not surprising, however, that the book has remained current. The interests, themes, and topics from which Chaucer very ably spins his tales remain relevant today.

I bought this book as a gift for my sisters birthday. It was on her wishlist, yet neither of us realized it is a coffee table sort of book. Maybe neither of us read the review carefully! Either way, we were both happy with the quality and the illustrations inside our beautiful.

The only negative was that it arrived with one of the corners a little smushed.

I bought this book as a challenge of my English understanding a couple of years back.
I have started reading it but lost the enthusiasm after about the third of the book, and I didn't continue. Its a hard read, and you have to constantly look up Middle English words (there is a dictionary at the back, but I didn't find out about it till much later).
In the future I plan to buy a translated version (either into modern English or Hungarian).

What would it be like if you had to make a very long journey on horse back? Pretty boring, right? But what if someone had the brilliant idea of telling stories on the way there? That would make the trip go a lot faster. This is the premise of the Canterbury Tales. There are a lot of people who all want to go to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. They all met at a pub when the pub owner said that they should all tell one story on the way there and one on the way back. The version of the Canterbury tales only consists of four of the one hundred twenty eight that were told.
The first story that is told by the Nun's priest. This story is about a poor widow who lives on a farm. As you get further in this story it starts retelling the story of a chicken and a hen. This chicken had many wonderful hens around him. "This noble rooster ruled over seven hens, whose work it was to please him. They were his sisters and his wives." (pg. 20) But there was one hen named Lady Pertelote that he liked the most. One night he had a dream about a fox eating him. The next morning he told Lady Pertelote and she thought it didn't mean anything. A couple of days later a fox tricked him to shut his eyes and then the fox snuck up behind him and snatched him in his mouth. He was saved by the widow.
The next person to tell was the pardoner. His story was about greed. There were three people who were searching for death because they heard of all the horrible things he had done and wanted to kill him. While on their way they met an old man who told the men, "If you're so anxious to find Death, turn up this crooked road. I left him in that grove, under a tree and there he'll stay." (pg. 41) So that's what they did. When they got there they saw a sack full of gold and decided not to chase after Death but take the gold by night. They decided for one of them to go into the city and get wine to celebrate. The person that went was the youngest of them all. While he was gone the two thought up a plan to kill the third one so that they only had to split the money between them. The third boy wanted the money all to himself so he poisoned two of the bottles of wine and left one free of poison for himself. As he got the tree the two men killed him and they celebrated by drinking the wine and they died too. In the end they all got there wish. They met Death.
Those two were my favorite and the next two are by the Wife of Bath and the Franklin. The wife of Bath is about a man who threatens the life of another if they don't tell him what women want. The franklin's tale is about women who loved a man who left her and she was very sad. Nothing could make her feel better. If you want to know what happens at the end of these stories you'll have to read the book.
Historically this book is very good. It is based in the year of 1386. It show the life style of people who lived in the middle ages. It taught me that not all people were rich back then. It is historically spot on but the thing about this book is because it was written in the middle ages all the living conditions are right but it's very whimsical. Chickens can't talk, and Death isn't a person. In a way it shows how people thought back then. It tells us that some people might have wanted to meet death. Maybe in a physical way because they wanted to die or they just wanted to see someone death took away from them.
The reason I liked this book was because of the old English. I like taking in the metaphors and deciphering it. If you like Shakespeare then you'll most likely like this book. It is very whimsical and magical. It shows the people in the middle ages in a very metaphorical way. This book shows how life can be mystical and great even when you don't except it.

Please note: The Bantam version (translated by Hieatt) only contains the most popular of the Tales. (Use the "Inside this Book" feature to check the table of contents, as I, alas, did not.) The facing page translation is just what I was looking for, but really wanted the complete set.

Jim Shepard's Project X is a fascinating and often darkly humorous story about young teenage losers who have become dangerously alienated, ostensibly because of the constant bullying they endure, yet something more seems amiss in their lives. The two main characters are Edwin, a good kid with a big heart who is nevertheless profoundly disconnected from everyone including the decent family he loves, and Flake, whose worldview could be characterized as nihilistic. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is that the two characters' journey toward self-destruction seems deterministically fated by society and by what they think and feel. In that sense, Project X could be considered an example of literary naturalism, in the tradition of works by Stephen Crane ("Maggie, a Girl of the Streets,"), Theodore Dreiser (Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy), and Hubert Selby (Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream).

The reader knows a lot more about Edwin because he tells the story, and yet his alienation remains rather mysterious. Flake is a deeply unhappy kid yet the source of that unhappiness also remains unclear. He and his parents are alienated from one another. He seems more like a pet they tolerate than their child, yet his dysfunctional family life doesn't quite explain the intensity of his anger. Certainly, both boys feel worthless, as if any worthwhile achievement seems beyond their ability. In this Shepard raises the issue of teens turning to violence as a form of self-expression (of their will to meaning) that cannot be ignored or written off as inconsequential by their peers and adults.

One aspect of the story that struck me was the mundane character of the world the boys live in, the families, the school, and the suburban community. The boys themselves are the most interesting aspect of their world because they are nonconformists. I don't know if Shepard is suggesting America's suffering a cultural meltdown, at least in the suburbs, but I found the culture in which the boys live so tedious and uninteresting that it's understandable that many teenagers turn to drugs, guns and acting out to liven up and give meaning to their lives. In addition, the alienation the boys feel appears to be only a more extreme form of the alienation that exists among people generally in the story. The neighborhood Edwin and Flake live in is really not a community at all but a collection of families and individuals who relate to one another at best with suspicion and worst with hostility. Twice in the story Edwin and Flake are preyed upon by adults; thus they have to tolerate being bullied at school yet find no respite from predators off campus. As in the Resident Evil video games, they find safe haven only in their bedrooms, and even there they are not safe from the prying eyes of their parent.

This is a pretty gloomy picture of the novel; however, it does contain some witty humor in the way the boys, especially Edwin, comment on the behavior of others and themselves. We see the world through Edwin's eyes and what he sees are young teenagers attempting to eke out some meaning for their lives in social environments that offer options that the kids themselves often find ridiculous or unfulfilling, such as at school, or that shut the kids off or out, such as at home (clearly Flake's situation) or at school among their peers (the situation for all the kids considered losers, such as Flake, Edwin, and Hermie). The result is a return to a more primordial state of being, such as found in Lord of the Flies, where kids achieve meaning by dominating, physically or verbally, one another. In one scene a runt of a kid, Hermie, complains about being bullied by another runt, Budzinsky. It's clear that Edwin sees the absurdity of the situation when he tells the reader and Hermie, "`He's a sixth-grader,' I go. ` Take his candy. Push him down in the sandbox.'" Edwin reveals the humor in the situation, yet it's not funny for Hermie, and both the reader and Freddy know this.

Project X is tightly focused on the young teens, which is the strength of the story. The reader does get insightful glimpses of the adults: parents, administrators, teachers, and neighbors, whose attitudes toward kids range from hateful, indifferent, concerned, to loving. Yet, I found myself wanting to know more about the society that produced these kids, many of whom are seriously broken. No doubt human beings have negative tendencies, but society can encourage the better tendencies and even sublimate the negative ones. That is one of the tasks of culture. If a culture is nonexistent or broken, then the worst tendencies have free reign. I would have liked to know more about the broader influences that produced Edwin, Flake, Hermie, and the other kids.

Readers who found Project X insightful and revealing and would like to further explore the subject of teenage angst and violence, I recommend Travis Barrett's Teenage Shooters. The two stories are similar in many ways (they are both about losers who have to put up with constant bullying), but Barrett explores the social and cultural ideas that are not examined in Project X. Barrett does this in a variety of ways, such as giving more space to what is taught in the classroom; to popular culture, including movies and video games; and to the social-political environment--for example, the story takes place the year of the 9-11 attacks. If Project X and Teenage Shooters were the only two books read by someone who knew nothing else about the U.S., he or she would probably have a very bleak picture of the state of affairs in the country, thinking that the adults are just as lost as their children; otherwise, they would be able to do a better job of providing for them, raising them, and educating them.

DBC Pierre's VERNON GOD LITTLE got all the press--and the Booker prize too--but for my money PROJECT X is a far superior novel, Shepard's slim, austere prose perfectly suited for a portrait of young nihilists striking back at all they hate. There isn't a false note in PROJECT X and the days leading up to a bloody attack on a high school are depicted with absolute clarity and authenticity. There have been comparisons made between Edwin, the main protagonist, and Holden Caulfield...but CATCHER IN THE RYE was marred by Salinger's propensity for sentimentality. PROJECT X isn't guilty of that sin and is the closest thing to a perfect novel I've read in some time.

Project X is an excellent book Jim Shepard really can get you to get inside of what the main character Edwin is thinking. It was a book that I didn't want to put down I enjoyed it very much!

The kid had a loving family. He had kids that would be friends with him if his one friend wouldn't of been such a creep to them. He didn't have to be so antisocial. He could of just been normal. I don't get why he would want to kill everyone. The other kid maybe. Not this kid. He's just an idiot. I didn't feel for either of the kids. I think they both chose their own fates by being antisocial. They most definitely could of changed.

This small 165 page book total opened my eyes, and I thought they weren't closed before. This book demands you to, "stop the apathy", that is so common in schools today. This book takes you inside the head of an outcast of society (the largest hate group in the world, and the most deadly) and shows you why school shootings happen, and how they can be stopped. I think this book should be required to be read by anyone old enough and mature enough to read it. This book has a deep, deep meaning and shows you what society really is. As to the Librarian who gave this only one star, you are off; not him. Jim Shepard is dead on the money in understanding how teenagers think, how we act, and speak.

READ THIS BOOK!

Not much about Al Shepard that isn't already in other books
and movies. And just plain wrong on obvious things like
Grissom's pickup --which is on tape. How do you screw
something like that up? Short on technical details
and a lot of rehash on the Glen rivalry.

The constant repetitive mentioning of Al's sexual business is a bit weird.
Especially since only two real instances are mentioned in the book,
and neither of them involved sex. The supposed suppressed T.J. scandal
(John Glenn saves the day) is total horsecrap too, never happened.

I am a "space nut". I have read numerous books, seen numerous vhs and dvd stories of everything from the start of the space age to the shuttle flights. I have never had a more inspiring feeling than upon finishing "Light this candle". It started a little slow with all the early life details of Shepard but, helped later in the book with how & why he reacted to many (and I mean many) tough situations that he faced in his unbelievable life. Being a space nut, I was happy to see little details explained in the book that are lacking in other books I have read. Such things as Shepard talking about laying in the LEM following an EVA on Apollo 14. He and Mitchell were supposed to be sleeping but Shepard talked about the "eerie silence" and hearing the A/C unit click on and off. Also, feeling like they were going to tilt over and falling out of the bunk when he thought the LEM was sliding down the edge of the crater. All of these things made it a "tough to put down" book that I would HIGHLY recommend.
I used to think of Al Shepard as an egotistical, bi-polar, spoiled fly-boy that I wanted no part in learning more about. I would have rather stuck to anyone of the other 6 Mercury astronauts. BOY WAS I WRONG! This book might have turned me to thinking that Al Shepard is the most interesting of the original 7.

I missed an opportunity to go to a book-signing where Alan Shepard was signing copies of "Moon Shot". I figured I would have another chance but then before long he was gone. What a thrill it would have been to have shook the hand of the first American in space.

Nostalgia aside, this book is a capsule of the life of the man. True, it is littered with inaccuracies in spots, and seems to delve far too deeply at moments on the personal life of one of the most important men in the last 50 years. But then again, how many JFK biographers have tried to delve into the hush-hush side of the man?

This book will give you a clear picture of the over-achieving, success-driven, consumate test pilot who one day became an important symbol to many Americans, who were afraid their world was about to be consumed by communism. At times wistful, sometimes aggrandizing, other times pointedly candid, this biography attempt to reveal the Alan Shepard even the man himself wanted no one to see.

You will be amazed at the story.

Surprise of surprises. Amid the clutter of hastily-written self-serving memoirs from the early days of the space program, finally there appears something akin to solid history and literary proficiency. Neal Thompson was a Baltimore reporter when Alan Shepard died in 1998 of leukemia. Assigned to write an obituary, Thompson discovered that no first rate biography of the United State's first spaceman was then in print. Sensing an opportunity, Thompson, a free lance writer, began a six-year research project and produced a highly respectable treatment of a very private man. What had been known about Shepard were primarily his great successes and his notable shortcomings. Johnson tackles the great middle--and the puzzle that was Alan Shepard now begins to make sense.

In truth, there is probably misunderstanding about all of the early astronaut heroes, as if each was assigned a role in a bigger cosmic drama. Scotty Carpenter will always be the house philosopher, Gordo Cooper the hotdog, Gus Grissom the curmudgeon. Shepard's role was to be first, the best, the winner of a grueling marathon to ride the Redstone rocket--tiny by today's standards--for fifteen minutes on May 5, 1961. Given the unpredictability of the rockets of that era, the greater risk to the astronaut was on the ground than in space. This fact was appreciated in 1961, and being chosen number one was a statement from his superiors about his fortitude as much as his mastery of flying and technology.

Alan Shepard was born in 1923 in Derry, NH, to a somewhat removed, demanding father. Young Shepard inherited a fierce competitiveness and an independence that allowed him to pursue personal goals with little concern about his impression on others. This latter quality, to his advantage, is what set him apart from his archrival John Glenn, who did worry about public relations. Shepard was one of those rare men who had his cake and ate it, too: he achieved remarkable career goals while entertaining himself along the way with what can only be called oppositional defiance. In a strange twist of history, he actually pulled off the mischief that has always been attached to others like Gordon Cooper.

In this regard Thompson studies Shepard's military misbehavior and his philandering. The author's account of the future astronaut's brushes with military authority is detailed and rather surprising. One comes away with a sense that the New Hampshire flyboy's skills as a naval test pilot must have been noteworthy, outweighing numerous dangerous incidents of "flat-hatting" or strafing civilians on the ground. His cheating on his virtuous and devoted wife Louise--a spouse of the Lady Bird Johnson mold--is a blotch that time will probably not erase. Thompson does observe that Shepard's amorous sorties off the reservation were adolescent in nature; the astronaut apparently never engaged in any sort of long term relationship in which Louise was displaced.

Although there is in this work a lot about Shepard to dislike, the author clearly strove for a balanced presentation. Shepard appears to have made his peace with Glenn at the time of the Freedom Seven flight. After retirement he demonstrated a better than average interest in philanthropy and seems to have worked harder in his later years to enrich his marriage with Louise. Perhaps best known is his decade long battle with Meniere's Disease, and later with a form of leukemia. In some ways the Meniere's was more of a psychological jolt, coming as it did at the beginning of the Gemini, and ultimately, the Apollo Programs. Whatever his colleagues felt about him, Shepard was widely respected in the NASA management circle for outstanding cape com work in the troubled Carpenter and Cooper flights. With Glenn, his chief rival, out of the picture due to a head injury and political considerations, Shepard was the logical choice to command the maiden voyages of these new craft--and by implication become the first man to walk on the moon.

But this was not to be. For nearly a decade Shepard lost his license to fly any type of aircraft due to balance impairment [and other less known medical problems brought to light by the author.] Did he take this forced grounding graciously? Admittedly not. But the author assesses this period of Shepard's career with more depth than other commentators. He notes, for example, that Shepard had burned his bridges with the Navy by joining NASA and could not return to what seemed to be a straight road to admiralty status. While the Navy was no longer an option, Shepard was proving himself to be a better than average business man and becoming independently wealthy. Freed of aviator-astronaut responsibilities, he could have lived a highly lucrative lifestyle.

But he stayed with NASA, a nasty Don Quixote. Only a man in similar straits like Deke Slayton, himself medically grounded from space travel, could have understood and tolerated his subaltern's angry depression which alienated other astronauts in the program and at times rendered him a public relations nightmare. What sustained him through his bureaucratic Siberia was the desire to return to active status, but perhaps more strongly a desire to conquer his own medical problem. Shepard would admit that his selection for the first Mercury flight was the professional highlight of his career. Reinstatement to flight status for Apollo was for him a personal triumph of a different sort,

Shepard was due for some luck. Experimental surgery put him on line for Apollo 13, but management bumped him to 14 to absorb training and thus he avoided the near catastrophic events of unlucky 13. Shepard seemed grateful to be back--choosing for his Apollo 14 crew Stu Roosa, who had defined the art of avoiding Shepard in company hallways. Apollo 14 survived at least three mission-threatening crises on its way to the world's most famous tee shot. What the author shares about the moon landing mission is one of its least known achievements: it brought its commander to tears.

I had been meaning to read this long-overdue biography of Alan Shepard, and I happened to pick it up in a cruise ship library. As I read it I was surprised at the number of factual inaccuracies--there is at least one glaring non-technical error per chapter, which calls into question almost everything else between the covers. Numerous reviews here mention more problems with technical aspects of the book that I was unaware of, but which do not surprise me given the apparent lack of proofreading and fact-checking.

An example: upon finding the book, I leafed through it and found the section on Apollo 14. There it mentioned that John Glenn had "almost killed himself when he lost control of the pace car at the Daytona 500 and slammed into a flatbed trailer crowded with journalists." This sentence boggled my mind, for it contained two errors: the pace car was at the Indianapolis 500, and John Glenn was a passenger while a local Dodge dealership owner was the driver. The book is just full of examples of this kind of sloppy reporting.

Edit: I see that at least the paperback edition correctly says Indianapolis 500, but it still incorrectly implies that Glenn was driving the pace car.

I give this book 1 Star because I have no option. There is nothing lower. I consider it a waste of a star, IMHO. Read several of the one star ratings below and you will get an accurate assessment of this book. If you wish to persist in your folly, or if you feel lucky that you may be able to withdraw value from this book - be sure to order it at a Barnes & Noble first... You'll just need to peruse the first 3 chapters. and then I recommend you take your winnings and spend them at the Starbucks Coffee Bar - a much wiser use of your money. -also, be sure to investigate Patrick Sweeney's "RFID for Dummies" - you'll still have plenty of money left over for the coffee bar and worthwhile informative reading to boot!

If you want a fluffy, executive-level overview of RFID, save yourself $60 and read an inflight magazine article about it. This book's relevant content is about the same.

Fully 1/3 of the book is taken up by a glossary and a list of acronyms, both of which are very clearly regurgitated from previously-published material. The author didn't even bother to cull out the terms that are utterly not relevant to the topic, not mentioned in the text, and not interesting to the target audience. To further pad the book, it's printed with large type on thick paper, with photos of things like container ships to illustrate such highly technical points as "container ships are big." The price is bulked up by adding a hardcover binding, which is inappropriate for a book of this type.

It's obvious to me that this book was a moneymaker for the publisher because they could get it on the shelf fast, so anyone looking for ANY book on RFID wouldn't see much besides this one. You know why it was so quick to write? Because there isn't much actual content in it. Thank goodness there are a few other books on the shelf now, so others won't get stuck with this one like I did.

RFID is a technology, so most authors write like they want to play with it. In other words, other authors write to impress how much they know about a technology. I am in the training business. My job is to explain it so my clients understand. Steve has done this in his book. After reading Steve's book, I am able to explain the application of the technology. After all, lots of technology is cool, but cool doesn't make money, understanding does. Steve's book is right on the mark. Thanks Steve.

The book seems incoherent, repetitive, almost like glued together with materials from different sources? If the author understand the subject, he is not communicating.

After buying the book based on the reviews here, I found the book quite disappointing. It is long on providing historical perspective, appendices on terminology, acronyms and glossaries, but short on substance.

Technology coverage is limited to low-level communication protocols and the standard OSI 7-layer model. Those looking for integration of RFID into middleware, business applications and end-to-end architecture will find very little.

The size of the book is on the smaller side but uses a lot of print space for photos, which are not useful. Font size and paper thickness are also on the larger side.

This was an excellent book for anyone who is interested in the efforts to be the first to reach the moon. I have been a space junkie from the times my Mom would keep us home from school to watch the Mercury and Gemini launches. I was reminded of many things I observed and realized that my memories of the flights were from the perspective of a child. Hearing about the same events from the perspective of those who participated was very rewarding.

I'm a typical space nut, and to me, any space book is a good space book. I read this book all in one day and I was not disappointed. It gave me a lot of information about the Russian's race to the moon, and I learned stuff that I never knew before.
The part about Slayton in Russia is particularly funny. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this book for yourself. You won't be sorry!
The only disadvantage is that there are a lot of cuss words in it, which should have been censored out before the book was published. Oh well!

This book is really great. Read it!

This review is based on the original (1994) hardback edition. This book is much more than a history of the space program from about 1957 to 1975. It includes the inspirational determination for Shepard to fly again and for Slayton to fly even once. I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Shepard and getting his autograph on this book.

The book captures the intensity of the space race. When Shepard saw Sputnik 1 (or, more probably, the upper-level rocket stage also in orbit), he chagrined at the fact that it didn't have "Made in the USA" written on it. Later, the Soviets were sad that the men circling the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 didn't have Russian names.

Some seldom-discussed information is provided in this book. For instance, the US could have orbited a satellite over a year before Sputnik (p. 45). Were it not for an overcautious NASA, Shepard could have beat Gagarin into space by a month (p. 89, 91). The dog, Laika, is said to have lived for several days in space (p. 44). We now know that she died several hours after launch--from an overheated cabin.

The authors discuss the politics behind the space program. For instance, the grounding of Deke Slayton had been for political and not medical reasons, as there was no evidence that Deke's heart irregularity would interfere with space flight. Rather, the fear was that, were Slayton's flight to end in disaster for any reason, his heart condition would automatically be suspected, and those who cleared him for flight would face automatic recrimination. The authors also allege that politics was behind the choice of Houston as the site for the Space Center. Both astronauts also had to contend with politics in the wake of the Apollo 13 near-disaster, notably the call, by some politicians, to cancel all remaining Apollo moon flights. Shepard also realized that, were his Apollo 14 to fail to land on the moon, there most probably would be no further Apollo flights.

One is thrilled by Alan Shepard finding a surgical treatment for his Meniere's syndrome, and getting restored to flight status. Up to that time, he had considered himself an eagle whose wings had been clipped and who had been forced to be a turkey--in more ways than one.

Then, over ten years after his grounding, Deke Slayton got his chance...in a joint US-Soviet flight that would have been equally unimaginable at the time of his grounding.

I re-visited this book, which I read (and got autographed by Shepard) when it was new, after watching the great "From the Earth to the Moon" series again. The book has its four-star moments, but I settled for three.

The content is not particularly sophisticated, and to be honest, the competition among the Apollo books is strong. For example, books by Lovell and Cernan are both better than this one. Even so, it's worth reading by students of the space program for the additional perspective and occasion detail.

Perhaps a root problem is that the book is a mixture of autobiography and story of the space program, with the perspective of the two astronauts not given very often. When that happened effectively, the book was at its best. I liked stories such as NASA's attempt to keep secret who had gotten the first flight, Deke's grounding, Shepard's return to flight status, Apollo 14, and Deke's reaction to the Apollo 1 fire. There are several scenes like that, enough to make the book worthwhile.

In contrast, some other incidents had superfluous reference to the authors. I didn't really care that Deke and Al sort-of high-fived each other when Apollo 11 landed. Their thoughts on the end of the Apollo program or what the program really meant to them aren't really captured. Few insightful comments about the other astronauts were made (unlike Cernan's book). Many opportunities were lost.

The Apollo-Soyuz mission is presented as a relatively big deal, which it was to Deke, obviously. In reality, it was pretty meaningless, other than as an exercise in international cooperation.

Deke comes across pretty well in other books and in the "From the Earth to the Moon" series. His character shines at times here, too. Maybe some remarks by other people about Deke, besides from Shepard, would have helped convey that image. How did others feel about how Deke ran the astronaut office, which was his core contribution to the space program? You won't find that in this book.

Great book for everything Telecom. Covers past, current and future technologies. If you are a tech nut like me, buy this book and read it cover to cover.

The book, in my opinion, will be useful to the people not having a technical education and working in sphere of telecommunications and allied industries; for the beginners, wishing to expand the knowledge; for the employees responsible for administration of telecommunication services of the organizations; for managers on sales, marketing, management of projects, and also telecommunication managers and managers of a high level.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the anecdotes in the introduction, but I can't realy see alot of applications for a "crash-course" that is this long. There are many situations I can envision where someone would need to learn about telecom networks quickly, but they probably wouldn't need to know many of the intricacies that Shepard deals with and they almost certainly wouldn't be interested in his anecdotes and discussion of undersea cable laying.

However, I don't know of any other comprehensive book like this so it may be your only option. Either way I certainly enjoyed reading it and intend to buy his other books, but to read at my leisure.

I recently joined a Telecom company as a Marketing Manager, and wanted to acquaint myself with the technologies in our industry, so I picked up this book. BIG MISTAKE! I assumed "Crash Course" was meant for beginners like me - with little or no knowledge of telecom technology. Again, big mistake. This book is very poorly organized, doesn't take time to explain important concepts clearly, and it even lacks a glossery of terms (which is pretty bad considering this is suppose to be an introduction to a complicated topic). Take my advice and take a pass on this one.

Telecom's Crash Course is an excellent compilation of all major facets of the Telecommunications industry. As someone who monitors foreign investments into the US technology sector, I've found this both an excellent primer for newbies as well as a very helpful resource to those who have been doing this for a while.

The PROS: The book is comprehensive and walks through the very tactical level, detailed explanation of specific technologies and the many ways that a given portion of data can move across the planet. If you're new to the field, reading this book is the cheapest and fastest method to be armed with a semi-comprehensive knowledge spanning the industry.

The CONS: I can see how people could say that this book gets lost in the weeds because the explanations are sometimes extensive, detailed, and probably don't fit the bill if you're looking for a book covering the overall trends present in the telecoms market. If you're looking for a "big concepts" book only, this isn't for you. Reviewers commenting on the book's lack of focus were probably hoping primarily for a "here are the major trends in the industry" and not an industry technology primer, a "crash course" in the industry.

Buy the paperback. It's a bit of a painful read in places, but hey, this is Telecoms, and it doesn't get too many people hyper excited--if you're buying a book called "Telecoms Crash Course" and expecting a nail-biting thriller, you probably have some misplaced expectations! Enjoy.