W Books

Mr. Lewis, best known for his "Chronicles Of Narnia", must have had one of the sharpest minds in his day. In this collection of individual essays / lectures / papers, he addresses many issues that were hot buttons in his day...and continue to be in ours. But, I think that the power behind his words is equally in how he expresses them, not just in the the thoughts behind them. Mr. Lewis was a master at taking rather complex matters and making them understandable to the average reader.
While some of what Mr. Lewis writes I would not fully agree with, I give him much credit and am very lenient when I consider his personal background (atheist-turned-Christian apologist).
I highly recommend this, and other, books he has written.

The book arrived in great time and is another classic of this famous and amazing author. It is all that was expected and I highly recommend it to anyone who is now, a C. S. Lewis fan or will be upon reading any of his works. Thanks gain to Amazon for another honest and quick transaction. Gary Krei

The Essay "The Inner Ring" moved my youngest daughter from the margins of middle school to its social center. Six years ago when she was in the sixth grade, we talked several times about a group of three girls that were the most popular in her school. Because she was so curious about the subject, I read her "The Inner Ring." She loved it. She asked many good questions, related the essay to her situation, and to her friends. By the middle of her seventh grade year, the group had expanded to six and because four of the six members of the group had siblings in the high school, the "six pack" was the subject of high school gossip in addition to being the coolest clique in the middle school. My wife believes that in reading "The Inner Ring" to mathematically minded Lisa, I gave her the rules she needed to become a permanent member of a group who all were starters on at least one sports team and continued to be close friends in high school.

I agree that this collection is often overlooked when considering the best works of CS Lewis. Among the essays, my personal favorites are Weight of Glory and Transposition. I highly recommend this book.

This book is actually a collection of essays. Lewis addresses various things such as, the glory of man as being a reflection of the glory of God, why he is not a pacifist (where he gives some pretty strong moral, biblical, and sensible arguments), speaking in tongues and various spiritual gifts (moreso on their implication, not on the technicality of each or what exactly each gift is), what he calls "is theology poetry" (or in other words, do we believe in theology just because the idea of a cosmic drama appeals to us), the affects of peer pressure and the gradual degradation of one's inner principles and also its positive affects when one surrounds him/herself with Christians, and forgiveness.

Overall a very enlightening read, in which many issues that are not commonly talked about are given attention. Not very long either, but packed full of insight.

This book is about a 10 year old girl named Sookan and she lives with her mother, grandfather,aunt, and little brother. They live in North Korea in 1945. Her and her mother and aunt work in a sock factory for the Japanese soliders in World War II. They had a Captain Narita and he came by and it was her sister's birthday and mother went to go get a book from older sister at the convent. Mother gave it to her and Captain Narita told his men to destroy it. Sookan's mother can't even have a garden or else Captain Narita will have his men step on them. Her father is in the military and her sister is in a convent. Also, her older brothers were sent away tp labor camps. The war ends and the Japanese lose. The Russions take over North Korea and brainwash them into loving Russia, so Sookan and her brother must go to South Korea because she thinks that her dad and older brothers and sister are waiting for them. She hopes she will find freedom in South Korea. I think that is really sad to not have your father around or older brothers and to have to work in the sock factory. Also, I liked how her and her brother stood side by side. This book is a Fantasy book and the theme is Fictional.

Sookan is a 10-year old girl living in Korea in 1945. The Japanese have taken over and force communist ideas and laws onto the Koreans. Each day, Captain Narita inspects the house and backyard. Their backyard holds a shack that is used for sock-making. The sock-girls would work day and night trying to meet their quotas. Koreans are deprived of rice and money. The children, including Sookan and her brother Inchun, have to attend a very strict Japanese run school. When the Japanese leave, the Koreans rejoice, but are shortly taken over by the Russians. Things begin to get worse, and Sookan, with her mother and brother, try desperately to escape to the South where the Americans are.

This historical fiction book takes you along the incredible journey of 2 children as they take drastic forms of lifestyles to earn the freedom they deserve. The beginning of this book started out slow, but took fast pace when the Russians were introduced. The author has a wonderful writing style that truly makes you feel like you are part of the story, especially near the end. This is my favorite book and I recommend it to everybody of all ages. Do not miss out on this surprisingly realistic journey.

Sookan is ten years old, living in Korea with her mother, grandfather, aunt, cousin, and little brother. World War II is going on and things are very hard in Korea. The Japanese forces are in control of their country and they treat the Korean people like slaves in their own home, making them give up all valuables to help the Japanese army, putting them to work making clothing for the Japanese and sending the children to schools where they make weapons and learn propaganda about the Japanese army. More than anything, Sookan wishes she were with her father, her older sister or her three older brothers, who are all far away. Her father is working with the resistance forces, her brothers have been taken away to labor camps and her sister is in a convent.

Then after what seems like an eternity of being at war and under Japanese control, the war is over and the Japanese have lost. Sookan and her family think that things will be much better now, but then they find that their country has been divided into two parts. Rather than being helped by the Americans as they'd hoped, they are instead under Russian control, and the Russians seem determined to brainwash everyone into loving Russia. They make everyone go to meetings to show their support and those in authority are constantly looking for traitors. It becomes clear to Sookan's mother that they need to get to South Korea where the Americans are, and where she expects Sookan's father and brothers may be waiting for them. But will Sookan and her little brother be able to make the journey to safety?

I liked the descriptions of what life in Korea was like during the war. It's hard to imagine what was going on in other countries when we mostly hear about what was happening in our country. I also liked the interaction between Sookan and her brother. They were really nice to each other and probably wouldn't have made it without each other's help.

It was sad to read about the lives of the Koreans during the war; it sounds like such a horrible way for anyone to spend a childhood.

You MUST read this book and the two other books by Choi-Echoes of White Giraffe & Gathering of Pearls. All three books are written from Sookan's perspective, as she grows up in the midst of the Japanese occupation, the war and in America, as a foreign college student. Aside from the cultural issues, as well as historic issues, the plot flows very well. The stories are very personal & honest. I really enjoyed these books and I know that when my kids, ages 5 and 9, get a little older, they will also. These are enjoyable and educational stories.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes is written by Sook Nyul Choi. The book is 169 pages in length. It is about a girl named Sookan who lives in Korea during World War II. At this time, Korea is under control of the Japanese. Sookan and her family are being suppressed by the Japanese. Sookan's mother is a supervisor at a sock factory. But, the workers at the sock factory were sent away to the war, forcing Sookan's mother to close down the factory. Then, Sookan is sent to a Japanese school, where she learns about Japan and nothing else. But soon after, the war ends! Freedom at last! Sookan and her family rejoice! But neither the rest of their family nor the sock girls have returned. Sookan is worried. Also, to make things worse, Russia took over North Korea, and they again are suppressed. But, after a couple of attempts, she and her family make it to liberated South Korea!
Sookan is kind, loving, compassionate, smart child. She takes care of others and has an unbroken spirit. She is resolute and determined.
Sookan faces many conflicts throughout this book. First, she hates her enemies, the Japanese, who have been occupying her country for many years. She is taught not to hate; yet she is unable to suppress these feelings. Sookan knows that if she spoke what is on her mind, her whole family could be executed. Luckily, she is mature enough to realize this and keeps her emotions to herself.
Another of Sookan's conflicts is her attempt to escape from northern Korea. She gets separated from her mother at the passport checkpoint and is left with caring for her younger brother. Sookan is ten years old and has neither currency nor provisions. She is by herself. Escaping is very risky and life hostile. Sookan and her brother stay alive on their own and make it to South Korea; where they are reunited with their family.
Finally, the Japanese occupying Korea is another conflict Sookan has to face. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. The Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war.
The author uses the reoccurring theme of determination in her novel. An example of this theme is when Sookan gets divided from her mother at the identification checkpoint and is left with caring for her youthful sibling. Sookan is ten years old and has no money or food. She is on her own. Escaping is very dangerous and life threatening. Sookan and her brother manage to survive on their own and finally reach South Korea, where they are reunited with her family. This shows determination because she is only ten in an unknown world. She has no money and has to take care of her younger brother.
Another example of the determination theme occurs at the beginning of the story. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. In fact, the Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Still, Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war. This shows determination because she does not give up her life and try to run away, but is patient.
The style of novel is very unique. Author Sook Choi writes in first person view and adds very smooth sentences. Most of her sentences are like this,"Listening to this boy was as refreshing as diving into a cool stream". In this sentence she uses many descriptive words and there was no comma to slow it down. Choi's sentences are both short and long. Many authors use only one kind of sentence. This is what makes this novel and author unique.
The plot, characters, theme, and style are all good, which makes this book really fun to read. It's filled with adventures and many other thrilling topics. This book is great for most ages. I recommend this book to whoever loves adventure!

This is a very informative book and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why the Bush administration is so prone to launching wars in the oil-rich Middle East region. The author, a renowned economist, is very knowledgeable about the economics and domestic politics that support such warmongering efforts. He identifies the pro-Israel Neocon movement and its alliance with the lunatics of the religious Right as important forces in the push toward involving the U.S. in wars abroad. The military-industrial complex and the strategic importance of Middle East oil are represented by Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration, and are also prime movers of war.

Probably the most original part of this book is its chronology of empires and how Western civilization started its ascendency after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This chapter (chap. 16) is worth buying the book in itself. The author's style is direct and pulls no punches. An excellent book.

As an amateur student of American foreign policy, I am appalled by the wave of anti-americanism it has generated over the last few years. The policy of systematically meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in the Middle East, has been most counter-productive.

There is no doubt that unbridled interventionism, often done illegally and under murky influences, is the root cause of why there is so much anti-americanism around the world. And case in point is the gratuitous violence imposed on some Muslim countries, i.e. Iraq and Palestine. This is creating tons of resentment all over the Muslim world, turning many to hatred and some to terrorism.

Tremblay's book offers a way out of this circular dilemma: Apply to the Muslim world the same treatment given to the Communist world with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. As he puts it (p. 152-53), the Helsinki Accords, signed by 33 Eastern and Western European countries, the United States, and Canada, played a fundamental role in opening up the communist bloc to liberty, freedom and reforms. I doubt that bombs would have brought the same result.

Former President Mikhail Gorbachev has said that the Helsinki Accords opened the door to reforms that would not have taken place otherwise. Why can we not adopt a similar approach with the Muslim world, instead of jumping all the time on the war wagon? This is a well-written and well-researched book. It is highly recommended.

People who want a condensed introduction on how the Bush administration walked into a quagmire in Iraq should read "The New American Empire". I don't agree with all of Tremblay's arguments, but in my opinion he hits the nail on the head when he identifies the real reasons why Bush II invaded Iraq, i.e oil, Israel, military bases and domestic politics. By the way, the same scenario seems to be repeating itself with Iran, with the same deception about the real reasons for intimidating Iran.

So, even if you do not agree with everything the author has to say, this book is worth a ton of newspapers articles or hours of TV reporting. The chapters on `Oil' and on the `History of Empires' are worth buying this book.

Among the many books written on the Iraq war and the Bush administration's fixation with militarism, this book by economist Tremblay is one of the most readable and most informative.

The fact that George W. Bush was planning a premeditated attack on Iraq to secure 'regime change' in that country, even before he took power in January 2001, should make people pause and think. So should the Neocon blueprint for a complete American take-over of the Middle East ("Rebuilding America's Defenses"), drafted in Sept. 2001, by Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and Lewis Libby.

Now that Iraq is a mess, that thousands and thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of billions of dollars have been wasted, the American people are entitled to know the real reasons why the Bush administration launched an illegal war of aggression against Iraq, with no provocation but with a lot of bad faith. All the official reasons have been proven false. After reading this book, one knows the real reasons behind one of the most foolish enterprises ever undertaken by a U.S. government abroad. I have learned a lot also from prof.
Tremblay's new blog: http://www.TheNewAmericanEmpire.com/blog.

The truth shall set you free!

Dr. Tremblay is right on target with his assessment of the direction the U.S. is heading, along with his critiques of the politicians we have in this country. It is amazing that more people don't "see through" the false facades these people present to the public, and that so many people believe the lies doled out to unsuspecting voters! I would recommend this book as a very timely read....particularly in view of the upcoming 2008 Presidential Elections

The Soul of Baseball illuminates what life can be. It would help anyone get past their bitterness and see that life is about what I can do today and not what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow.

Poz is one of the best writers in the business. Thanks for writing a really great book about a great baseball man. Buck's is a great American story and the way it's written makes you feel like you're on the road trip with them.

This book got to me, in a very good way.

Buck's stories are funny and poignant, and we as readers definitely learn some history if we pay attention. But even more than that we can learn from Buck O'Neil's outlook on life. He was patient, caring, outspoken in an articulate and positive way (something our politicians should learn how to do), and he had grace. More than anything else reading about Buck O'Neil was a lesson on how to live with grace.

I want to tell you the last words of the book, but I won't.

If you like baseball, people or life you will like this book.

Highly recommended!!

Sometimes a great author writes a 5-star book, and sometimes he must only get out of the way and let 5-star material shine through. "The Soul of Baseball" is one of the latter. This isn't a knock on Joe Posnanski. The decision to tell the story by reporting on a year in O'Neil's life, rather than interpreting O'Neil's history, was a brilliant judgment. The reader benefits from Posnanski's willingness to set his writer's ego aside.

Another good Posnanski decision was reporting O'Neil's occasional querulousness. Rather than seeing O'Neil as a mindless happy face, the reader sees O'Neil as someone who must work to maintain his positive approach. The occasional lapses serve to highlight the effort that O'Neil makes to bring the light into the lives of those around him.

But ultimately, the star of the book is Buck O'Neil. Not because he was a great ballplayer or manager. But because he was a decent, good-hearted human being whose attitude toward life is worthy of emulation.

I give few 5-star rankings, but this book deserves it several times over.

My son, Jeremy, always gives me good books. He doesn't just pick up the latest best-seller, but takes the time to choose something special just for me. He hit a home run with The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski. It's the story of an extended road trip Posnanski took with legendary Negro League player and manager Buck O'Neil. The lessons learned along the way are great ones for sons and fathers to share.

Posnanski, an award-winning sports columnist for the Kansas City Star, chose not to write a biography of the irrepressible O'Neil, even though the story could bear to be told over and over again. Instead, he penned a moving memoir of the year he spent with the then-93-year-old O'Neil as he toured the country promoting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City and the memory of those men who played the game in the days before whites and blacks could share the field. The trip takes them everywhere from Nicodemus, Kansas, to New York, New York, and O'Neil has a fascinating story to tell at every stop.

He talks about Satchel Paige, Willie Mays, and Josh Gibson, names that will always be enshrined in baseball's collective memory. But he also tells the tales of forgotten men like Dan Bankhead, the first black pitcher in the major leagues, who would have been a great hurler if he hadn't been afraid to pitch fastballs inside against white batters.

The key theme of the book is Buck O'Neil's spirit-lifting embrace of the best in every person he met. Despite years of back-breaking struggle, O'Neil never turned bitter, never condemned anyone for their prejudice, never had a bad word to say about the often ugly conditions the black ball players endured. Even when he failed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Buck O'Neil refused to be angry about it. To make up for the egregious mistake, the Hall awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award after his death.

The lessons Posnanski drew from his experiences with O'Neil are well worth telling and the book he created from them is well worth reading.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

Although, I wish the audio version of this book could have been longer. But I think for once I actual got the story of Job. Also within the story he defines the role of the devil in the book. That despite the devil was banished from heaven he is still the servant of God whether he wants to be not. Many figures of the bible are represented from the bible are represented here and explains throught the majesty of God how he can still move stones.

As one who had a 'wounded soul,' I cannot tell you how much this book changed and turned around my life. I received it as a gift many years ago and I have now bought my 4th copy of the book, as the ones I have loaned out never 'come home', which speaks of how powerfully this book also speaks to others. In this book, Max tells of characters of the Bible as if they are actually people you know in real life; perhaps an aunt or uncle, sister or brother, friend or neighbor. His narrative is so possitive that no one can read it and not be affected. I consider it a must for any library!.

I read this book several years ago. It's one of the author's finest, in my opinion. I remembered it being so moving and convicting that I purchased a half dozen of them to use in a bible study group I'm now hosting. The book has scripture reference and discussion questions for each story in the back of the book. It's proving to be wonderful for promoting introspection, group discussion and sharing. Our group loves it.

I enjoy much of Max Lucado's writings, but this has always been my favorite. I have found much in this book that speaks to my life, and to many others. This was the first book I read of his, and one of the first I read as a new Christian. Its easy to follow and great to inspire.

I've read most of Max Lucado's books and this is not only my favorite by him but my favorite book of all time. (Well, except for the Bible.)

This book is helpful in some way for anyone who reads it. I have given this book as a gift for so many people going through a tough time and it has helped each one.

No one tells a story in quite the way Lucado does. It is hard to put his books down and this is one book that I read continually until I finished it. It is a book you keep and read again and again.

God has blessed Max Lucado with a gift of story telling and finding scripture that might be obscure or a special verse that God shows him and then opens his heart to a whole new and unique way of looking at and explaining its meaning in a way that is easy to understand. He brings about such deep emotions with his writing.

God has given Max Lucado a special gift and in turn God, through Lucado, will bless each person who read his books. This book is a must read for everyone. On a scale of 1-5 I really give this book a 10.

I had an original post WWII copy of this book and gave it away when I moved from W.Va..... Boy, was that ever a mistake!!!! I needed a copy for an event here honoring the Veterans, and so I was very pleased to see this one in print..... Bill looks at war from the dogface's perspective, and I'm quite sure there's a Bill Mauldin in Iraq somewhere.... but he's tied to the Internet and I'm not sure if we'll get good pen and ink sketches outta him now..... Bill had the way of seeing the ironic, the humerous, and the just plain sorry, in the average G.I.'s battle to survive....... I'd recommend it to school teachers for a look at WWII (AND I'd hustle up some of the last survivors... that first hand look isn't going to be with us much longer).............the Students would actuall LEARN something useful!!!

I am very satisfied with my purchase.The book itself is a pleasure to look at.The drawings are just as funny as I found them as a kid.The writing itself is new to me,but superb.It will allways be among my favourit books.Again marvellous

Indispensable depiction of the face of the Second World War. War and the pity of war. The humour is in the pity.

Of course, this is not a novel. It's a collection of cartoons as they appeared in the Armed Services newspaper Stars and Stripes. The cartoon began to appear in 1944 as the invasion of Europe was underway and millions of Allied troops were fighting their way through Italy and France and into the heart of the third reich.
After a few false starts, Mauldin settled on two characters, Willie and Joe-infantry men. Willie and Joe (who were barely distinguishable from each other) were concerned with all the things that veterans said concerned them during the war. Lousy food was as much of a concern as enemy artillery, fear of cold, wet feet as annoying as the fear of death.
The cartoons, and Mauldin's self-effacing recollections together form a kind of narrative that is at once immensely personal and deeply historical. Mauldin was a pioneer. It was ten years before Cornelius Ryan The Longest Day: The Classic Epic of D-Dayturned personal narratives into history and almost forty before Ken Burns came along.The War - A Film By Ken Burns and Lynn Novick
Mauldin was, in effect, the only war reporter who was relatively uncensored. Since his cartoons carried no strategic information, his only worry was the military's possible perception that he might be lowering troop morale with his swipes at the brass and the rear-echelon. Fortunately, some American sensibility that 'it's good to laugh at the boss even if the boss is us' prevailed.

Up Front was one of the few books that my parents kept by their bedside. This is the book that helped the post-war generation remember the war as it was fought by the men who did the hard work. A quiet masterpiece.

Lynn Hoffman, author of bang BANG: A Novel

It's a gift, the ability to draw, to have perspective, to create, to be able to portray human misery as humor, for a reader to see the image and words and turn to laughter. Bill Mauldin had this gift that gained prominence in a time of war where talents rise to their greatest heights or sink to their lowest depths.

Truth is portrayed in humor or the humor isn't funny. Sergeant Bill Mauldin, an infantryman, barely twenty, and serving in Italy picks up a pencil and anything he can draw on, and begins to sketch two characters named Willy and Joe, two, brave, disheveled, irreverent, likeable and crusty infantry soldiers that give meaning to the names infantrymen were referred to as: ground-pounders, dogfaces, legs, and grunts. Mauldin portrays their grim and grimy existence with fatalistic pictures and captions--or grunts. One called "Breakfast in Bed" finds one of them waking up under a cow's utters, or the one where both are in a rain-filled foxhole and Willie touches Joe's shoulder saying, "Joe, yesterday ya saved my life an' I swore I'd pay ya back. Here's my last pair o' dry socks," or with rain pelting down on a scrawny dog facing the opening of their make-shift shelter, one of them says: "Let'im in. I wanna see a critter I kin feel sorry fer." My all-time favorite is a drunk German staggering toward a hidden Willie and Joe, holding a bottle of schnapps, unaware that he is wandering into American lines: "Don't startle `im, Joe. It's almost full."

These cartoons show the comradeship that soldiers developed for each other that would last a lifetime. Each man knew each other better than his own family or spouse ever would, and they could see the good and the bad in everything. They would carry a wounded lieutenant back to safety because he wasn't a "salutin' demon," or curse the Germans as vile, evil Nazis for scuttling a large keg of cognac before their retreat. These soldiers were miserable without being despondent. They were scared without being cowardly. They complained about their predicaments, but carried out their mission as American soldiers always do--attacking silently. The viewer cannot help but feeling empathy and admiration for soldiers who sometimes spent thirty months "in the line."

Mauldin goes further than just making us laugh at the miserable existence of two men trying to stay alive. His real success is that his humor defines the very best and most humane in the human character when it is engaged in its most destructive behavior. It is also timeless. Seventy years later, civilians and servicemen can still see the gallows humor in Willie and Joe's death-defying predicaments.

"Up Front" is Mauldin's account, of what he was doing when he created a particular drawing, why he made sure to include medics, engineers, chaplains, and even Tommies. The writing is matter of fact, well-written, and interesting, but without fascination. That was saved for the cartoons. The author is explaining each one in his text. It's the drawings and the captions that make this book a winner and a conversation piece.

Bill Mauldin died January 22, 2003. Willie and Joe occupying a foxhole filled with water and several cubic feet of complaints, live on.

Think about this the next time you put on a pair of dry socks, and marvel at the simple pleasure of just how good they feel.



May 26, 2008 Memorial Day (observed)

In Memory of the Fallen and all our Gold Star Mothers--especially today.

I'm a big fan of these annotated books, not only for their visual appeal on the bookshelf, but for their ability to transport me away from the everyday world. And you may think you know Oz because you can sing "Over the Rainbow" and "Follow the Yellow Brick Road", but I assure you, this book will take you farther into Oz than you ever went before. Unlike The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition, which is dense with text, this volume is packed with art and illustrations, including a lot of full color pages. The movie images floating in your brain take on a different hue when you see the illustrations which actually brought the Ozian creatures to life. As with all the annotated works in this "series", this one has crisp, cleanly printed pages, an artsy dust jacket that is pleasing to behold, and tons of Baum biographical information, and of course, lots of notations. If you are an Oz fan to begin with, you owe it to yourself to buy this book. If you just like children's stories and the history behind them, this is also for you. And don't forget: the book is better than the movie, anyway!

This is a wonderfully informative book. It has its biases, but they're of the harmless, author-worship variety. The only caveat I'd add is that this isn't the book to have as your sole copy of The Wizard of Oz. It's nearly impossible to read the actual story amidst the annotations. That's not a criticism: that is, after all, the purpose of the book. But if you've never read the story, or want to read it to your children, get a simple copy of the book as well.

The "Annotated" series is simply wonderful. Best of all, they are getting better and better all the time. My first was The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition and since then, I've gained a small collection of annotated books. These books were the original DVD commentary track. Now, it just seems strange when I'm reading a book and there's no footnote for further insight!

This was the second Annotated book I bought. The first two books I bought in this series represents the top two lifelong obsessions within fantasy: Wonderland and Oz (now, if only they'd do Neverland to complete my personal trilogy!).

Upon first reading, I'll admit -- this was a bit hard to start. Sure, it was interesting, but compared to the introduction to the Alice book, it seemed a bit rambling. It seemed like I'd never get through to the actual book!

Recently, I decided to give it another go. So, starting from the beginning again, I read. Age must change my opinion on things. It was no longer so rambling. I rather enjoyed the introduction -- in fact, wish it was longer!

When your first introduction to the Annotated series is Alice, a highly satirical book with a lot of symbolism, you may have expectations of all the secret meanings revealed. Don't expect it here. As is stressed in the introduction, this was a story purely meant to delight. While there are similarities in the ultimate purpose of writing it -- a boredom with the children's books of the day -- the two are completely different in their approach. Carroll used the book to make fun of the children's books of his day. Baum just wrote a good story.

So, therefore, the annotations have more to do with what was going on around Baum at the time, things in his life that may have had some influence, and criticism rather than the hidden symbols found within. You'll get a history lesson of turn-of-the-century America that we may not hear much. You'll learn about changes to the book made over the years.

The greatest thing about this edition is that it's a facsimile of the first edition. The pages aren't perfect -- there are age marks every now and then. But you'll finally be able to see what exactly made this book so novel in 1900 -- colors and text are reproduced in a way most editions do not. Most other editions using Denslow's drawings are usually incomplete with a more modernized setting for the fonts. This causes many pages of illustration to be omitted as the illustrations are a bit more difficult to reproduce when the original text is overlapping.

The accuracy of the reproduction may be a huge downfall for the annotations, though. Unlike most annotated novels where you'll find the numbers within the text and the annotation in the margins of the book, the numbers have been moved to the edges of each line of text with the annotations on a separate page. Probably, this was done to interfere with the original text, but it means that some confusion might come in when to look at a note. Two numbers may try to squeeze into a single line, which is a little awkward. Or, because the note numbers are no longer attached to the text, we won't know what words those numbers are attached to until we look at the next page (or a few pages ahead, depending on how long the note is).

This isn't quite enough for me to take any stars off, though. It may be an inconvenience, but it's no way to judge the quality of the book. In fact, the rarities -- bonus story, reproductions, and art in the Deslow Index -- more than make up for the structure.

This is an over-sized book, so if you want to add it to your Oz collection, it might be out of place a bit -- if you want an edition to fit in perfectly with your other Oz books, I'd suggest getting The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Books of Wonder) along with this just for casual reading or completeness on the bookshelf.

This book was purchased for my grand daughter who is 18 years old. She thoroughly enjoyed receiving it as a gift. She liked reading the "annotated information" while reading the story. It was a hit as a Christmas gift.

My 8 year old daughter is a huge Wiz of Oz fan. She has 10 pairs of ruby slippers she's grown out of through the years, every WoO Nutcracker, Barbie, doll we can find and every edition book we come across. This is one of her favorite Wizard of Oz books. She loves the detail about the characters, the pictures, the rich history reviews. Its a great book and Amazon is by far the cheapest place to buy it safely and new.

When you read a good book, it should change your way of thinking or your way of viewing things. When I read Dream Real, it changed my life! This book made me realize some of the mistakes I was making with school. This book made me realize some of the mistakes I was making with sports. I was putting sports before my school work. Now, I realize that school is more important then sports. If I do well in school, that can take me just as far as doing well on the basketball court or the football field. My dream was to play pro basketball in the NBA. Now, I also want to be a doctor if I don't make it to the NBA. In order to become a doctor, school must come first. I never looked at it that way before I read Dream Real. Now, I know that school must come first and basketball comes second. Reading Dream Real, changed my life.

Paul Burns, 8th grade student, New York

My name is Mark Tomblum. I am in the 7th. grade. I live in a small town 5 miles outside of Dallas, Tx. I never really liked reading books and writing to much. I do like school but not reading or really writing. I go to an after school program and one of my teachers had this Dream Real book. She read a few pages to me. I wanted to read the book myself. My teacher let me take the book home. After reading this book I must say that it made me like reading. I really liked this book. I can say it changed my life. Football is big in the state of Texas. I want to be a success in life. I want to move on and play college football. Now I know that I must do good in my studies if I want to play football in high school and in college. I am using Dream Real for my book report.

Adults always say things like this or that book changed my life. I just thought it was there way of tricking us into reading because I never picked up a book "that I could not put down".

That changed when I borrowed this book. This book made me see alot of things more clear. Like how I really do not have a "game plan". I am "only" 13 but I am very very different now that I have a game plan in sports and life.

"Big L"

I love to read all kinds of books. My middle school teacher just gave me this book, Dream Real. I just completed reading it. I really loved this book. I can tell that Mr. Napoleon wrote this book from the heart. It takes a special person to share your personal experiences with the world. Mr. Napoleon is a special person, this is why his book is a great book to read. If you read it, you will learn something from it!!!

T.J. 8th. grade, The ATL

I play Pop Warner football in Newark, N.J. My coach gave this book Dream Real to my mother during the football season. I just got the chance to read it. Once I started reading it, I did not want to put the book down. I started to dream about playing football at the professional level. I really love playing football. My mother always talks about me doing well in school. After reading this book, I know how important school is to my future. Growing up in Newark is hard. I understand what Mr. Napoleon is talking about in his book. Growing up in the city is hard. Now when I think about sports, I will also think about school. I will work on doing better in school. I need to be smart to get what I want in life in the future.

Jamal grade 8 QB

I have read many medical memoir books and this tops them all! I also recommend "Another Day in the Frontal Lobe" by Dr. Katrina Firlik.

This book is phenomenal. The author's recount of his neurosurgery training is both gripping and funny. Some of the patients he treated and what happened to them will be forever engraved in my mind. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot. This is not a type of book I am used to reading but it is very well written. The subject is very intersting and Mr. Vertosick makes it very easy to understand for people like me, who does not know a lot about subject.

I highly recommend this book. I am an R.N. and my husband is an electrical engineer and neither of us could put the book down. I've read it twice already. It's very well-written and shows a side of surgeons you never see in the hospital.

Originally published in 1996, "When the Air Hits Your Brain," by Dr. Frank Vertosick, is a mesmerizing insider's look at "an arrogant occupation" whose practitioners operate on the spinal cord and the human brain ("a trillion nerve cells storing electrical patterns more numerous than the water molecules of the world's oceans"). A neurosurgeon must be supremely confident in his ability to get the job done; if he were to dwell on everything that could possibly go wrong during a procedure, he would be too terrified to operate. Because of the high potential for missteps, neurosurgical training is an arduous seven years of hell. Before he starts treating "brain cancers, spinal cord injuries, head trauma, [and] lethal hemorrhages," a trainee must endure a grueling regimen of study which includes repeated humiliation at the hands of verbally abusive mentors. This is not a profession for the faint-hearted, for when neurosurgery is unsuccessful, the results can be catastrophic. Even if the patient survives, his cognition, speech, movement, and vision may be forever compromised. In the words of Gary Stancik, a sardonic chief resident, the brain is like a '66 Cadillac: "It was built for performance, not for easy servicing."

Vertosick fell into neurosurgery by happenstance. He spent some time as a steelworker, majored in theoretical physics, and wound up choosing medicine by default. In the years to come, he would have to adjust to impossibly long hours, inadequate sleep, and hit-or-miss meals. He would become adept at performing quickly and efficiently under pressure. However, none of his earlier experiences would fully prepare him for the emotional roller-coaster that lay ahead. He was destined to endure a trial by fire when faced with such cases as a six-week old infant born with a malignant tumor, a twenty-two year old woman with devastating multiple injuries resulting from an auto accident, a Vietnam veteran with an intracranial aneurysm, and a twenty-eight year old pregnant woman with a lump of cancerous cells in her brain. Fortunately, Dr. Vertosick enjoyed some notable successes; he was instrumental in helping a number of gravely ill patients resume normal lives.

Although it is vital to care about and communicate with each patient, Vertosick argues that it is a mistake to become too personally invested in each outcome. Hardest of all, one must accept the unpleasant fact that even brain surgeons can commit colossal blunders. On one occasion, Vertosick sank into despair when one of his patients died because of what he perceived to be his incompetence. He could have given in to his torment and self-loathing and abandoned his career, but he ultimately decided to "stop moping over one postoperative death." In the words of the aforementioned Gary, "Yeah, it's a nightmare, but that's neurosurgery. Land of nightmares."

"When the Air Hits Your Brain" is impeccably and stylishly written, with fascinating asides about the complexities of medicine and the human body. Vertosick's wry and irreverent black humor serves as a welcome respite from the book's often grim subject matter. In his postscript, which was written in 2007, the author provides updates on the changes that have occurred in the last decade: by law, residents are not allowed to work more than eighty hours a week, aneurysms may now be treated without resorting to invasive surgery, and new technologies such as deep brain stimulation and "frameless stereotaxis (a kind of GPS system for navigating the brain)" are revolutionizing the field. This is an intelligent, moving, and enlightening book and one of the most powerful and intimate accounts that I have ever read on the making of a surgeon.

This atlas has real cadaver photos for all areas of the body. The fact that the pictures are real will help when studying for a practical exam in anatomy. The only negative aspect is there are around 50 pins per page which could be annoying when searching for a part you want to find.

The Color Atlas of Anatomy was recommended to me as a reference for designing implantables and surgical instruments.

As a non-anatomist, I found the illustrations and cadaveric photographs to accurately reflect my cadaveric surgical trials in the wet-lab.

I often referred to this atlas while designing an Achilles Tendon repair instrument and other orthopedic surgical instruments.

There are not very many books of this type of presentation to begin with so I must be careful here as to how I may sway your opinion of high priced books. Color Atlas of Anatomy has been a staggering companion to my study of Human Anatomy. After careful study of Grey's Anatomy for Students along with Clinically Oriented Anatomy I don't believe I was ready for what was presented in the fifth edition of Color Atlas of Anatomy. Astounding revelation. I don't know there may be a few of you that have actual access to Anatomy Laboratories but I must say everything is in the right place as far as what I was told in the books mentioned above but this book is something else as far as what you see is what you get. Color photographs make short work of any pedantic ravings of the layman's terminology. I never did get to go to any medical school in North America but I'm sure that any student there would agree there is no trick photography here.

There are 1158 figures with 1035 in Color and CTs and MRIs as well. All in 8 chapters and over 400 pages. This is not a book to leave out for the hackers to scoff and judge so keep it under your bed or better still in your locker at your Medical School.

Most of the Medial Schools that I want into have this required or recommended as a text and unless you can say something's changed in the last hundred days since 2007 all is as it should be.

I consider this book to be a must for any anatomy student. The pictures are exactly what you will see when you enter the lab.

In case it isn't clear from the description or title, this is an anatomy atlas made up of photos of actual human bodies. I don't know why we didn't have this in A&P. Fascinating, and a nicely produced book as well.