W Books

With a myriad of definitions out there on where our newest generation (some call them "Gen Y", others refer to them as "Millennials") ends and begins, Gronbach provides a clear, logical system for breaking down the generational groups. His explanations are straightforward and well argued. As a journalist, I find that experts who can boil down their subject into layman's terms are few and far between. Gronbach achieves that while also keeping the reader engaged. Whether you want to market a new social-networking site for teens, want to understand the generational landscape for hiring purposes, or just want a fun, informative read, "The Age Curve" is a go-to resource for insights about the demographic trends shaping our world.

Ken Gronbach has an impressive grasp of demographics, their trends and implications for the economy at large. He will open your eyes to the realities of change and why you had better get on board! If you cannot hear him in person, read this book! William J. McGurk

The Age Curve is an interesting and surprisingly easy-to-understand demographic study. Although written with a view towards sales and marketing, my wife and I found the book to be a useful tool in understanding how the changing population impacts our daily living, (insurance, manufacturing, food industry, local government, education, etc.).

First, the author identifies the generations (GI, Silent, Boomer, Gen X & Y). Then, compares and contrasts them - not strictly by numbers and percentages but more importantly, by attitudes and behaviors. His personal, often humorous examples make the facts, figures and preferences of each market group easy to remember.

The Age Curve is fun reading and has something to offer everyone. We've purchased several copies for family and friends - a great gift for thinking people!

This is a book that everyone should, no must read. It explains why the study or a simple grasp of demographics is so important in our daily or business lives. Written in a witty informative style, with lots of case studies illustrating why demand for products rises and falls over time.

My only criticism, is it is only 268 pages long! My solution was to re-read it and go to Ken's very informative web site! This book is worth its weight in gold, as it will wean you off those Aging Boomers onto a bigger coming wave: Generation Y. And finally this book is a must for Christmas lists!

I'm not sure if there is a higher superlative that I can give a written work than to say it is the most resistant to being put down of anything I've read in a decade. I was entertained and completely engrossed within seconds.

The most important business book I've encountered in at least the past five years, The Age Curve's every page contains useful information about the who, what, when, where, why and HOW of our current marketplace and provides an eye-opening vision of the near and not so near future of our fragile global economy.

Generational shifts are about to change business... all business... and those who are most familiar with Kenneth Gronbach's work are going to be the ones best prepared to handle the struggles and profit from the opportunities of those shifts. If you enjoyed Blink or Freakonomics here is your chance to read a book that shares a similarly interesting style and tone, but with the invaluable bonus of having the information within be applicable to everyday business - which is something I found sorely lacking in the case of these other best sellers.

The bottom line? Get this book. Today. You'll be finished and better prepared for a profitable future tomorrow.

Reviewed By: Mark Snow, VP HRD Press

The plight of the people of Libby and the other sites around the country is very sad and you want to hate WR Grace and the previous mine owners and operators. While their reponsibility is not in doubt, the book could have been improved by more information about what exactly they knew and when. I'm sure Grace et al. did not cooperate with the authors, but the extensive litigation should have made some of this information available.

I am in the middle of this book and I find it very compelling. I was interested in customer reviews and when I read the last review on how the story is not yet complete because many of the victims of this scandal do not have health insurance, I felt compelled to write.

Everyone will be making a profit on this story. WB Grace made their money and now the media will make their money. While I agree that the authors have done a wonderful public service uncovering this environmental disaster, I would like to suggest that a substantial amount of the money made on this book (and the perhaps subsequent movie) could be donated to the victims. If not for their illness, there would be no story. I was recently appalled to learn about the monies that were made by media stars on the Watergate scandal while Deep Throat (whoe courage made it all possible) was not doing quite as well. For the media to make money off these stories without providing for the victims is not right either.

I want you to read this book. It is important to you and your family. I consider myself a knowledgeable person and I don't remember this scandal when it came out in 2000-2001. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I live in southern CA, but the problems with asbestos effects all of us in the US. Attic insulation, talc products and even gardening/soil products have asbestos risks that have been used and available for sale up into the 1990's and beyond.

I must have read a review or heard one of the authors in an interview...but somehow this book made it onto my "Must Read" list. When I received the book, I questioned why I had gotten it, having forgotten what motivated my interest in the first place. But I started reading and have found this book to be a treasure.

The story is one of deception, corruption and greed on the part of Big Business, in this case the mining business. The owners and executives misled their workers, investors and the government agencies that regulated them into turning a blind eye to the dangers of asbestos in their products.

While the deception of the miners in Libby was unconscionable, the book goes on to document the Bush White House withholding information that the air in and around the World Trade Center was not healthy! Can you imagine, after a tragedy like the WTC disaster, that your own government, that you rallied round to give support, would turn on you and withhold information that the air that you breathe is full of cancer causing dust? Which tragedy is worse?

The book is truly a must-read.

Lastly, I want to point out the courage of the reporters, editors, doctors and the outstanding EPA field workers that fought to get this story out. Whistle-blowers, whose main motivation is to right a wrong, are oftentimes rewarded by getting fired and branded as outcasts. This book is ultimately a story of courage and perserverance of those determined to overcome the obstacles of standing out and doing what's right.

The author Andrew Schneider tells the story of uncovering a scandal of major proportions. It is a frightening, chilling story of hidden dangers allowed by government officials whose jobs are to keep us safe. It is the story of a mineral still used in our country whose lethal dangers were recorded by Pliny the Elder. Asbestos cannot be safely used in any manner.

This book is a masterpiece of investigative journalism - well written, throughly researched and truly in the interests of the public.

The authors do a superb job of combining all the science and politics with a touching picture of the real Americans who ultimately paid and are paying the price for corporate greed and governmental push-overs.

If you read just one book this year, this should be it!

This may be one of the most important books ever written. The title and cover photo don't do justice to the alarming thesis that our entire civilization is at risk, with a multitude of problems coming to a head this century. My children, ages 7 & 4, may face such gigantic problems by middle age as to make one despair. But never despair; these problems have been created by humans and we can grapple with them and solve many. But planning is critical, lest we once again be like naked people in a dark room with a hot stove in the middle--bumping into the stove and then each other, reacting only to the moment. Many of us do live for the moment and that could be our downfall as a species. We need to shift gears to a new mode of thinking that abandons continuous growth in all areas--easier said than done!

With great good fortune and apparent wisdom the United State became a magnificent country from sea to shining sea. How tragic that our enormous, fertile and bounteous western lands should be so ill-used that, indeed, in many cases, they are crumbling and disintegrating before our very eyes. We have not been good stewards of our land and its resources; this book tells the story. Backed by years of experience at the U.S. Geological Survey, the authors make a meticulous, reasoned, well-documented and comprehensive argument. If we don't pay attention we are in danger of squandering our natural bounty to greed, mismanagement and indifference. Every federal, state and county policy maker, every earth science professor, every geologist and ecologist, every library, indeed every citizen who has the barest inkling of what's at stake should have this book. Halting and reversing years of land, water, waste, mineral and air mismanagement will not be easy, but must and can be done. This reasoned and thoughtful book proves that we are on a collision course with a tragic destiny if we don't begin to care and care properly for our land. This cry and program for better land stewardship gives us the technical know-how and the hope that it can be done.

This book is an ideal source book for environmental studies programs at the university level. It provides objective, largely dispassionate discussions of a broad range of human activities that have fundamentally shaped and degraded the natural landscape of the American West. These activities include: logging, mining, minerals exploration, oil and gas production, road building, military training, chemical and nuclear weapons manufacture and testing, waste disposal, water diversion, grazing, and motorized recreation.

The authors provide comprehensive discussions of the more significant environmental impacts of each of these activities; general scientific background for understanding the nature and interrelations of these impacts; and historical/political insights for understanding how these adverse environmental situations have developed through time. Each discussion attempts to provide an even-handed treatment of these complex and often controversial issues. Moreover, the book is very well documented. It includes a 23-page glossary of terms, a 25-page index, 45 pages of factual appendices, and 150 pages of clearly referenced footnotes.

In summary, The American West at Risk is an excellent guide and text for the serious study of environmental issues in the western United States.

The authors bring science into the political discussion of our consumptive use of the arid West and spare no sacred cows. We are carelessly and systematically using up and destroying the natural resources that make the West the unique and wonderful place we love; replacing wildlife with domestic animals and off-road vehicles; making sacred places into dumps and mining the water that provides life to both the desert and ourselves.
This is a must-have book for conservationists, teachers and anyone who cares about understanding our impact on these rugged but fragile lands.

'The American West at Risk' never made it onto my bookshelf. It is still on my desk, months after buying it, and I expect it will remain there for some time as my frequently referenced, easy-to-understand guide to the environmental problems facing the American West. What's truly valuable about this book is that the information that the authors distilled into it is so pertinent and relevant yet usually impossible to find in one place with such clarity and detail. The average person usually has to grapple with lengthy, convoluted and sometimes misleading environmental assessments and impact statements regarding the extent of damage that projects of the DoD, DoE and other federal agencies have caused or may cause the land and health of peoples in the West. Wilshire, Nielson and Hazlett have distilled the thousands of pages that the beginner or amateur researcher - whether farmer, rancher, downwinder, transplant or even politician - would normally have to page through to get a handle on a controversial Western land-use issue. The authors, deeply concerned about land abuse in the West, have taken the time and effort to put together this themed-reference guide that no one else has done. They did a 5-star job at it.

Let me add my name to the list of adults who's lives were affected by this book - I must have checked it out of the library 12 times when I was a boy, and the author's strong narrative along with the early sci-fi robot images have never left me. I agree with the other reviewers, it's a pity it's not still in print. I suppose by today's technologically savvy kids' standards it's quite dated, but as with all good fiction, it was the story - Andy's intelligence and determination - that made this the inspirational book it was for me.

I read this when I was a youngster, and recently found this again. Its very nostalgic scifi story telling at its finest. About a young man (Andy) who builds a whole family of Robots from spare parts and old cans.

And then of course the SciFi plays in when all the robots are struck by lighting and come to life to help Andy and his friends survive a flood that also occurs at the same time.

Highly recommended for young and old!

A wonderful book that is full of adventure, intelligence, a wry sense of humor (almost reminiscent of the Henry Reed books) and fun! Not my number 1 favorite - that honor is held in a tie by "Bonnie's Boy" a wonderful (out of print) story of a young boy and his dog (still makes me cry!) and Kin Platt's "Sinbad and Me" another treasure that's out of print for some inexplicable reason. However, "Andy" is in my top five, and like others here, one that I could never get out of my head. Some of the language and technology is dated, of course, but the characters are wonderful and the story is extremely engaging.

Thank goodness that I saved my copy from childhood - who could imagine it would still be with me now? (You should have heard my shout of joy when I found it amongst some old belongings a couple of years ago!!)

My kids are going to read it soon, and I'm looking forward to talking it through with them as they read it.

I would LOVE a movie on this book - a great idea and easy to do now with "simple" FX.

Good luck to those searching for it, it's worth the wait.

It's funny, I've read hundreds of books over the years but this book has stayed on my mind since I was a kid. Andy Buckram's Tin Men was that wonderful mixture of fun, science, and luck. Andy was the kind of kid you always wanted to be. He was Boy's Life and Popular Science come to life. I'm sorry to see this terrific book is out of print. I still have my original copy, but I just can't find it anywhere. I'm afraid I lent it to some kid who never returned it. I can only hope it makes them appreciate reading as much as it did for me. Here's hoping for a reprint, and soon!

Like the rest of the reviews, this is the one book that stands out in my memory. I have been searching for this book for years. I got a copy the other day in auction at eBay. I paid about $15.00. I also found a place through Amazon called "Book Rescue" that sometimes has a copy. The price at Book Rescue is a bit higher ($80-$100) but I think any price is worth it for this wonderful book. I wonder if we start a chain letter, would we be able to get it back in print. I would love to see this in every school library in the USA. Books just arnt what they used to be!

The author of the controversial novel BLOODROCK has done it again. BLOSSOM RIVER DRIVE is, as the current ad in Atlantic Monthly says, the one novel of the year you have to read. I found it irresistible, devouring it at one sitting and then going through it again to savor everything I'd missed. Read it NOW--you won't be disappointed.

BLOSSOM RIVER DRIVE is a multi-level literary masterwork that can be appreciated by everyone from mid-readers to James Joyce scholars. Now I read that it is being banned by California schools. Incredible! Why do we always run from what we really need?

Banned in California schools because ultra-conservative parents are afraid of having their children discuss its marginally erotic contents, this novel deserves to be read and re-read. One way I evaluate the value of a book is by its ability to tolerate multiple readings. This one does--for any one serious about discovering childhood's unspoken secrets or serious about literature that dares to shed light on areas where fiction has not previously been permitted to go.

A great novel about childhood secrets, love, life, identity, and heartbreak. This one will last as long as books are treasured as inroads into the otherwise hidden forest of human truth.

This book boldly leaps into the heart of childhood secrets that the culture tells as are taboo, untouchable. Childhood is the time of grave danger and unthinkable exploration; anything is possible, including sex. This book explores these ideas in an extraordinarily direct and honest manner. It is indispensible and should be #1 on everyone's bestseller list.

I live in New Orleans, La., and lost ALL my cookbooks (and everything else) as a result of Hurricane Katrina. I purchased Cajun Cuisine and I have tried several recipes - I am very pleased with it.

It's hard to learn to cook Cajun food from a cookbook; the food traditions of the Cajuns of Southwest Louisiana have been passed down orally for 400 years, and only in the "Cajun Cuisine" craze of the late '80s-early '90s did Cajun cookbooks really start to become popular.

These recipes are stripped down to the bare basics, because that's how Cajuns do it. Cajuns don't customarily use Emeril's Essence (remember, Emeril is from Boston) or carefully measured spices. It's a dash of this, a dash of that, until it tastes right. Don't make it too spicy; you can add your hot sauce later. You will never be able to make authentic-tasting Cajun food if you follow a recipe to a T.... that's not how it's done! You also need to learn how to modify recipes to suit your tastes... if you don't like file' powder, don't add it (many Cajun cooks don't add file' to anything, some put it on the table for you to sprinkle in yourself, some use it heavily). If you don't like okra, don't use it! Again, not all Cajun cooks do (although in response to the reviewer below, when Cajuns do use okra in gumbo, it is always sliced, and it is always slimy. Some people like it that way.)

This book provides excellent framework-style recipes for you to do what you want with. If you want to add tomatoes, go ahead! No one's stopping you! If you want to pour in a half gallon of Tabasco, feel free! If that's how you like it, that's how you like it. If you want to make your roux with butter (or oil or lard or bacon grease) do it that way! It won't change anything important, the recipe will still be fine. That's the beauty of Cajun food.

In response to the other reviewer who complained about a lack of pictures, the reality is that Cajun food is not as pretty as New Orleans food, and therefore doesn't make for terribly appealing photos. Gumbo looks like brownish-gray glop, but it tastes like heaven. That's just the way it is. If they'd included pictures, the sauces piquantes, the gumbos, the stews, the fricasees and the etouffees would've all looked the same, and how much would that have really helped? Plus, the drawings that are included in lieu of pictures are really adorable.

Get this book, and don't be scared to experiment with it! That's what it's all about!

`Cajun Cuisine', published by the very local Louisiana publishing house, Beau Bayou Publishing Company, and with no clearly discernible author, may be the publishing analogue to what in the culinary world is called `rustic' or in the pharmaceutical world, `generic'. Aside from a fairly nicely composed cover photograph of all sorts of raw and prepared Louisiana victuals, there are no frills and only one `pretension', in the form of a semi-scholarly introductory essay on `Arcadian (Cajun) Cuisine' by the retired Director, School of Home Economics, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Marie Louise Comeaux Manual. While this author's credentials are `academic', her essay is not terribly scholarly, as it is poorly written. It does, however, do a decent job of adding some material to our understanding of `Cajun' cooking.

Most foodies know that there is a `Cajun' and a `Creole' cuisine, which seem to coexist in and around Louisiana, centered in New Orleans. The problem is that I suspect few food enthusiasts who have not studied the matter can make a clear statement of the difference between the two. It seems as if the classic dishes of the area such as gumbo and jambalaya, as well as a foundation in French cooking techniques are claimed by both heritages.

According to the `Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink', the two cuisines are very similar, and the main distinctions that source can make between the two is that `Creole' is an urban cuisine originating with the earliest Spanish settlers from the 17th century and that `Cajun' (from Arcadian), is a rural cuisine deriving from the French émigrés from Nova Scotia in the late 18th century, after being kicked out by the English following the French and Indian Wars (That little opening act for the American Revolution). And, while both cuisines claim gumbo and jambalaya, etouffee and its principle ingredient, crawfish, seems to be distinctly `Cajun'. A second culinary difference is the greater extent of French influence from Arcadia, a purely French colony. This influence can be seen in the fact that Cajun cooking values balanced, but varied seasoning. It's `signature' cooking technique is braising, which is straight out of the French provincial cooking playbook. This is ironic because `Cajun' cuisine is often associated with very spicy foods; however, much of this `heat' was probably added a scant 25 years ago by the famous Paul Prudhomme of New Orleans, who, I believe, virtually invented the `blackened' cooking technique, most famous with `blackened catfish'.

But getting back to this book, my initially cool impression made by the somewhat pretentious introduction was redeemed when I started looking at the recipes. All the recipes are written in a very economical style, with crisp ingredients lists and matter of fact descriptions of procedure. The writing is not the minimalist sparse writing of Elizabeth David in `A Book of Mediterranean Food', but it has few if any `trucs', tips, hints, sidebars, or other accroutremonts of modern cookbook writing. And, it has none of the scholarly observations on origins or variations also found in Ms. David's works. For an experienced cook, this may be a very good thing. It means we have `just the facts, ma'm'. So, an experieced cook can be on their way to reproducing the dishes and fill in the extras where needed. One place a modern cook will especially wish to fill in is in replacing `oleo' with either real butter or a less saturated vegetable oil. In the mid-1980's, we had not heard all the dangers of trans-fats, commonly found in common margerine (oleomargerine).

One advantage of the sparse recipe writing style is that the slim 222 page book can contain a very healthy number of recipes, probably numbering close to 250, if you include the supplementary recipes for dressings, sauces, and condiments. And, this healthy number of recipes seems to cover the full range of `Cajun' specialities. The very best thing is that those classic dishes such as gumbo, jambalaya, and etouffee are represented by several variations. From there, it goes all the way from fried oysters to boudon to beignets. I did find some famous preparations missing, such as coffee with chicory, `poor boy' sandwiches, and `mouffelata' (sic) sandwiches, but as none of these are `cooked' dishes, I'll not feel cheated.

One thing I like about a cookbook with a lot of recipes for dressings and sauces and condiments is that it adds a great source of information on which one can improvise (See Sally Schneider's new `the improvisational cook'). This book is the perfect source for making a few dishes, then striking out on your own in making `Cajun' style dishes without having to resort to Monsieur Prudhomme or Monsieur Lagasse.

The book was very nicely organized and will stand up to some serious stints in the kitchen. I was also very happy to see tables of contents with all recipes listed at the beginning of each chapter. This is something all cookbooks (other than the monster references) should have. The ony annoyance is that the recipes were not printed in the order they appeared in the table of contents. I have no clue why they were different.

But, for a very reasonable list price, we have here an excellent source of basic, authentic `Cajun' recipes with all the essentials and none of the frills.

This is a book about cajun cuisine. That is all you are getting. That may seem odd to say that since this is the name of the book but many know that cajun cookboks will often have numerous other recipes that may be creole, traditional southern, soul or classical french. Even italian. This is specificaly cajun and not southern louisiana. You get what you pay for.

Because the book operates from a narrower scope you may not have the recipes you want. No red beans and rice for example that is a creole dish. You may also notice the lack of tomatoes in many dishes that you normally think would have them. The crawfish etoufee for example has no tomatoes which is classical cajun. This etoufee is little more than butter and the trinity. You get a down to basics recipe for maque choux and i use it often. This book gives you everything you need to be a cajun cook but maybe not everthing you want.

There are many dishes here that you may have never heard of. Try the louisiana pear cake one time. A spice cake with fresh pears is all the rage now at my little restaurant here in tennessee and some of the recipes have allowed me to expand and my offerings to my customers who are not cajun. In fact cajun cake recipes are one of the real strong points of this book. There are about 10 of them compared to only 2 in prudomme's book. You get everything from that pear cake to wine cake and syrup cake. All are wonderful.

This book has helped me as a restaurant owner to become a self taught cajun chef. Everything from cajun ginger cake to vegetarian gumbo. You can't help but love this book.

Why the 4 stars? No dry spice measurements. The dry spice mix is the standard of paul prudomme's recipes but all this book gives you is is cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. How about telling me how much you normally use? Also unlike the prudomme book this book has no photos of the prepared food. Prudomme's book has many full color photos. No extras here just recipes. No colors or diagrams and even though the author is an expert on cajun cooking there is no significant background given about the dishes. No history, nothing to tell you where the dish comes from or how it has evolved. A book of recipes is great but we all can find dozens of recipes for almost anything online. I'm looking for more than that.

Note that almost none of these recipes makes use of justin wilson's standard flavorings. Wilson uses bitters in about 1/3 of all his savory dishes and worcestershire sauce is used in about 2/3 and all have hot sauce. These ingrediants are rare in this book. In fact i can't think of one recipe that uses bitters.

If you are looking for a solid collection of authentic cajun dishes this is it. They work. But if you want a more complete south louisiana work paul prudomme's book is superior for the same price.

Gelbart isn't a Cajun name, so please pay no attention to her review. Me (a Cajun with a Cajun name - LeJeune), my Cajun friends, my Cajun family, and Cajun and African American and Cajun cooks I have known in Louisiana have always cooked with cut okra, and the end product is not slimy or gooey. And just because Emeril and Paul Prudhomme are chefs doesn't mean that they know how to cook EVERYTHING. Not to mention that I have never met anyone in Cajun Country who made a roux with butter - lard maybe! - but not butter. Trust the creators of the recipes! The food speaks for them!

I bought this book because for the long time I wanted to read something by Neruda, and this bilingual edition offered an opportunity to read the original Spanish alongside with the English translation. Since I know a bit of Spanish, this was an opportunity to practice it and improve it, as well as get exposed to some of the most sensual and inspiring poems in any language. Neruda's idiom is rich with metaphors, and he takes everyday objects and situations and imbues them with poetic and emotional undertones. This fascination with common objects is particularly useful for someone who is learning Spanish - it provides a great and enjoyable vocabulary-building opportunity. However, be warned - some phrases and words are a bit risque, and you shouldn't be too liberal at trying to impress your Spanish speaking friends at parties. It may lead to some interesting situations.

This is quite possibly the most beautiful book of poetry that I have ever read.

An excellent gift to one that you love passionately.

The most amazing and sesitive book that I ever had read about Pablo Neruda.
Pablo es capaz de modelar como nadie las imagenes y meterte en un libro tan hermoso y poderoso. "La muerta" es un claro ejemplo de la belleza y la fuerza de su poesía.

I had heard about Pablo Neruda a few years before and I wasn't too fond of his poetry. When I opened "The Captain's Verses" in a bookstore a few months ago, I knew that I had to have it. Since then this has become my most treasured book of poetry. I don't even know how to describe Pablo Neruda. When you read his poetry you just become entranced by the way he is so accurately able to convey such passion in his simple words and beautiful imagery. Even now after I have read each poem in this book at least a hundred times I am still amazed by the way he does it. I have not yet found another book of poetry that can evoke such feeling as "The Captain's Verses." I believe that this is essential to any poetry lover's collection of poetry and that those who are not big fans of poetry would enjoy the love poems of Pablo Neruda.

This is a fabulous dual-language collection of some of the most sensual, passionate poems written in modern times. Whether he imagines himself as an insect making a journey "from your hips to your feet", traveling to distant places with his beloved by his side, or as a soldier who must leave but whose love will "go on singing until the end of life", Neruda writes with exquisite simplicity, and great beauty.

I find this to be the most accessible of Neruda's books that I have read, perhaps because its subject was a central part of his life. As explained in the introduction of the book, these poems are autobiographical, and written about his wife, Matilde Urrutia. First published anonymously in 1952, they were released in 1963 under his own name, but only after much thought, because of their "intimate birth".
The translations by Donald D. Walsh are superb. He has captured the fluid rhythm, the emotion, and the fire.

He was fortunate to have had this remarkable relationship, as well as the ability to express his feelings with such uncommon depth, but for those men who lack Neruda's poetic genius, and who would like to melt the heart of the woman they love, this might be the perfect gift to go along with that bunch of flowers.

The Children of the Lens are the culmination of the Arisian breeding program, and are to be their weapons in the final assault on Eddore.

Kimball Kinnison and Clarissa MacDougall have had four children. Born with the abilities Kim possesses, these kids will become the 'third stage' with an ability to join their minds in an all-powerful gestalt.

They are talented enough that they can shadow the Second Stage Lensmen without them knowing, and help them out. Each of the four has a favorite among the Second Stage Lensmen, even if they won't admit it.

This book has a different feel, in that it is a tiny bit focused on family, and the mental war part of it means the insane space battles are a much smaller part of the whole thing.

The end is the final battle between the Arisians and the Eddorians, with the third-stage Kinnison gestalt as an important part of the assault.

Afterwards, what the Arisians tells the Children comes as a bit of a surprise.

All six books went fast and furious...but what reading!!! Terrific stuff! Smith definitely had the jets to tell one of the best yarns in all of science fiction. All the other reviewers citing how later movies, series, and stories were influenced by these books...WERE RIGHT!!! One of the best science fiction series you will ever read. Period.

Galaxies wide adventure. This is the last book of the Lensman series. While the book can stand alone, the earlier Lensman books lead up to this conclusion where the combined mind powers of the Lensman children, together with super science manage to defeat the super villains for the victory of good over evil.
E.E. Smith wrote these books around the middle of the century, and some of the writing style appears less sophisticated than current authors. However, I enjoyed the extremely positive depiction of the human nature and future - similarly to what the author did this in the Skylark series. Highly recommended..

Having started the six book series with Triplanetary and ending here, I thought the series started to trail off after Galactic Patrol. Triplanetary has been heavily criticized as giving away too much of the series and of the pro- and antagonists too soon. However when the Eddorians are finally confronted here I didn't feel as much as a build up to their powers as Triplanetary instilled. In Triplanetary you really felt that the Eddorians were almost omnipotent beings and the task before the Arisians in seeding planets, including Earth, preparing for the eventual confrontation to save Civilization. Galactic Patrol really carried on the beginning of the series with Kimball Kinnison, but I thought the quality dwindled starting with Gray Lensman and the dated 50's slang really picked up then. It's not just because it's written in the 50's, I've recently read several works by Alfred Bester, Arthur C. Clarke, and others written in the 50's and they have no where near this level of 50's slang.

Another thing I started to find unappealing is Smith's heavy regard for the `wide girth' of Kinnison and of his space-ax swinging cohorts. In reality, strong ambition comes often from those that have not been so physically gifted in life and so have to fight their entire lives against people's initial reactions to their appearance. Lois McMaster Bujold's Mountains of Mourning of a diminutive protagonist's personal battle against his grandfather's attitude, and possible disgust, of his physical stature comes to mind. So it is with irony that I can picture some skinny kid sitting outside in the 50's reading this book and `barrel-shaped chests" as the big neighbor kids come up to him and say `hey poindexter, whatcha reading...' or something.

However, the originality, and impact this series had upon science fiction cannot be understated and is why I am giving it a respectable four stars. Several reviewers have mentioned that they can see scenes from Star Wars lifted from this series. What I see even more so is what Star Trek lifted from this series. Even down to small details such as a ship having to lower shields in order to fire a weapon against an enemy. And many other movies, tv shows, and books influenced comes to mind including Alien, The 5th Element, Heinlein, certainly the original Star Trek as well as the Next Generation and Deep
Space 9, Wing Commander and others.

255 Pages, Publ 1954.

I have read this series at least 4 times. If you like SCIFI, you will cherish these books and buy the whole collection (as I did).

This analysis is most valuable in describing/explaining/analysing classical style in a way that assists actual performance of the piano music of that style. Excellent comments are interspersed throughout it.

Charles Rosen by now has attained a place among musical analysts on a par with the likes of Tovey and Grout, though his style is very different from either of these luminaries. Taking the music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven as the pinnacle of the musical style that developed in the late eighteenth-century, Rosen explains how around 1775 there was a decisive shift away from the High Baroque style of Bach and Handel, and why this new music was different. After his general introduction to the style most of the book explores different genres, symphony, opera, concerto and string quartet among them, to create a lucid and multi-faceted picture of how these three great composers approached and solved common musical and formal problems. The new edition adds a preface that addresses criticisms of the original book and an additional late chapter on Beethoven.

Rosen's writing, though it can be dense and repetitive, at its best is unmatched in its ability to relate analysis to what actually is heard by a listener. To this end, an ability to read and understand the copious and detailed musical examples is essential to fully grasping his points--this book is not for the casual amateur. But to those willing to do the work, The Classical Style remains as richly rewarding after three-plus decades as when it first appeared. As another reviewer has mentioned, it is a book one returns to again and again simply for the sheer pleasure of reading it.

This is an important and in many ways excellent book by Charles Rosen, who has also written other fine books. Rosen explains how the 18th-century sonata form was a logical extension and elaboration of what had come before and of what was inherent in traditional tonality. He shows that Romanticism wasn't a further development of the same principle, but rather a gradual dissolution. Rosen gives a scientific explanation of how traditional tonality itself is natural, grounded in physics. The implications of all this are clear enough. It's no accident that Beethoven was generally thought of as the greatest of all composers, until relatively recently (now it's not acceptable to think that anybody was greater than anybody else).

The anonymous reviewer from July 3, 1999 talks about sloppy thinking, while himself indulging in straw men, ad hominem, and plain deception. The reviewer gives a single quoted example of Rosen's allegedly sweeping statements, and this quote is of course taken out of context and isn't even Rosen's. It's Rosen quoting someone else in a context in which the quotation seems quite appropriate. The rest of this reviewer's statements are similar smoke and no substance. Please, do yourself a favor and read The Classical Style, and make your own conclusions. It's politically incorrect enough to inspire devious reviews and to be enlightening even to many professionals (if they have an open mind). It's not dumbed down, but it's written in an understandable language--something many other academicians might want to emulate. But if you are a "Liberal Warrior" or some other mind-already-made-up duffer, don't bother with this book or any other intelligent book: read Harry Potter and other children's fantasy instead, because that way you can escape reality while remaining rather harmless.

The author does an impressive job of showing how the classical style of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven evolved from the musical chaos following the high baroque period. Perhaps giving too little credit to transitional composers who blazed the trail for these three geniuses, Rosen intersperses analysis with superlatives that at times is useful but at other times seems more like hero worship.

I found some parts particularly fascinating, such as the comparison between a work by Haydn and C.P.E. Bach. Certainly when the analysis was complete, you could see why Haydn's art was more rational and complete, however Rosen's dismissal of C.P.E. Bach's work as incoherent was somewhat off base in my opinion because the styles and goals of the two composers were not synonymous.

Though I didn't always agree with the author's conclusions, this book is still the best out there that I have read on the subject and is well worth reading.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book on a noble subject. On the basis of that rarity alone it deserves five stars.

i was very pleased with this book, disregard my review of wildlife and woodlot managment. this is the one to buy, i confused the two books. this one is entertaining and informative for the novice. good prospective for the small woodlot owner

This book was excellent and contained alot of common sense advice. I only deducted a star because it was more applicable to the East Coast, while I live on the West. Really good material, and I liked its balanced approach to the use of "non-Green" methods.

. . . gave its life for a good cause.

This is the most important book on my shelves as I "manage" my 75 Virginia woodland acres.

I like Morsbach's maverick approach to forestry, in particular the emphasis he places on aesthetic and environmental considerations. Once again, the committed, thoughtful individual trumps a whole barrel full of clipboard-carrying "experts."

The book contains multiple grammatical errors that are slightly distracting to me, a former editor, but otherwise entirely trivial.

Anyone with a desire to manage a small timber parcel would do well to buy this book. I manage a small woodlot and took a 30 hour forestry management class from my state's forestry department. The knowledge gained from reading this book complements that course as well as anything I've come across so far. Both add practical insight into effective silviculture practices. This book gives the reader a practical approach to managing a woodlot or timber parcel profitably. Recommended.

This is a highly readable book. The author generously shares his considerable knowledge in language that makes the text easy to understand. Everything about it is well done: the book is well-organized and well written, with beautiful illustrations.
It's a pleasure to read, even for someone who will never grow a forest.