Wallace Books

The author just describes it so well that I thought I was there in Quicksand Swamp. Also when you finish the book look back at the begining,you will find tons of clues. When you start reading it is hard to stop. In other words your eyes will be stuck in that book. If you are traveling across the country bring it. I highly reconmend.

Danger in Quicksand Swamp is a very adventerous book. It starts out when ben and Jake are friends and then they find a boat and then they find a map inside the boat... and they find themselves stuk in a tree for a few days. and finally they kill the biggest aligator an eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. If you ask me what ages should read this i would say 5 and over.

When i was a kid Danger in Quicksand Swamp was my favorite book ever. Now that I've grown up, I still look at it with fond memories and would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys adventure and suspense. I would also reccomend Trapped in Cave by Bill Wallace, an equally suspensful and adventurous book.

When Ben and Jake found the treasure map and canoe buried in the sand they couldn't of been happier. They would go out onto a river by their houses and stay out all day. When they found the entrance to what seemed to be blocked off by chicken wire, Ben and Jake couldn't resist going into the swamp.
When they reached the island in the middle of the swamp, they go swimming. Later, they noticed a huge log floating towards them. One of them acknowledges that it is an alligator and tells the other to swim as fast as he can.
On top of the alligator problem there is quicksand as far as the eye can see. Not only is there quicksand, there is a strange man in the shadows watching them and waiting for them to die. The man in the shadows also sunk the canoe, so Ben and Jake are stranded on an island surrounded by quicksand and alligators.
To find out what happens to Ben and Jake you must read the book.

I think this book was exciting right from the start. It was full of adventure and action. I really liked it because they went looking for treasure and come across danger in a quicksand swamp. If you really like adventure and action you would really like this book. I would recomend it to anyone.

"Fixing Climate" is an eloquently written story of how a number of practical dedicated earth scientists painstakingly analyzed data which have confirmed the reality and urgency of our global warming problem. This is a startling wake-up call from knowledgeable pragmatic people--a "must read" for political decision-makers.

Excellent book. A historical summary of what climate has done to the earth over thousands of years. Technical details presented in a very readable way. How we got to where we are today. Options as to what we can do to reverse the situation. We need to work fast !

Before I talk a bit about why I really liked this book, let me first mention that the title is a bit misleading. The book does indeed cover CO2, but only gets around to ideas about fixing climate in the last few chapters, and even talks mostly about how difficult it would be while only offering a couple of solutions that would require huge and expensive projects.

As I was reading this book it struck me that this is yet again another book by, or in this case in cooperation with, a well-known and respected name in the field of climate science, or a related field that adds to the big picture on global warming. I fail to see how anyone who has read recent books by or about Peter Ward, James Hansen, Dennis Alley, and now Wallace Broecker can seriously dispute the basics about global warming. This is yet another book that gives comprehensive coverage to the honest, decades-long research that a respected scientist has been involved in. After reading this book, and many like it, it seems absolutely silly when the global warming skeptics claim that these men are only doing this for grant money, or to claim that the numbers do not bear out the theory of global warming. Men like Broecker have been compiling long and convincing lists of evidence for decades now, and it's pretty much unassailable. Of course, that being said, this is an honest book that admits to mistakes that have been made along the way as well as areas that are still unresolved.

This book, while being relatively short, seems like about three or four books rolled into one. It has a lot of biographical annecdotes about Broecker and other scientists. It has a lot of evidence gleaned from decades of research all around the globe. It also has more general coverage of the CO2 problem and what we might do about it. I have read many books on the topic of global warming over the past few years, and even though I'm well acquainted with the basic tennents of the theory as well as the evidence, I never tire of reading books like this because they always show the human side of the people involved, and introduce the lay reader to interesting locales and ways of investigating them.

This book is both optimistic and pessimistic. It is pessimistic in the sense that like many other books by experts on the topic, it basically concludes that it will probably be impossible to stop the growth of CO2 in the atmosphere under the current economic and political situation. However, it is optimistic in the sense that there are some rays of hope. Be it wealthy donors who are embracing the cause, or national efforts like the one in Iceland described at the end of this book, some powerful entities are starting to get on board. The basic conclusion this book leaves the reader with is that there is indisputable evidence that we are at risk for climate change, that we probably won't be able to stop the growth of CO2 emissions, and that our best hope is to pursue large projects to capture and sequester CO2.

If you are interested in global warming, you will probably want to read other books in addition to this one, but this is a very interesting book by a scientist who is often referred to, especially when it comes to things like ice cores, past climate, and ocean conveyors.

This book is a biography. It says very little about fixing climate or about "what past climate changes reveal about the current threat--and how to counter it." If you are interested in the details of how this particular climate scientist grew up, then read this book. If you are, as I was, looking for a book about "fixing climate," as this is inappropriately titled, then look elsewhere. I am very disappointed in the publisher for such a misleading tactic.

This good-hearted book does a decent job in considering the wishes and likes of actual people when presenting its case for climate change and actions recommended. Too many similar works rantishly view humans as Earth's destructive vermin, and "Fixing Climate" takes great pains in stating that people count, that their beliefs and opinions ultimately determine what will be done with our climate. Early on the author concedes that global warming is not humanity's worst problem, rather that human misery is much worse. If only he had used the more specific word "poverty" instead of the mushier "misery."

This well-arranged book presents its information in distinctly defined chapters, covering major areas currently discussed these days. The reader will find the information not only objectively given, but also roughly in agreement with other sources. The conclusions reached in "Fixing Climate," though, often differ even based on the same numbers. This, of course, is the basis of differing points of view.

Unfortunately, most of this book makes conclusions toward the pessimistic. As the end of the book nears, one senses that "Oh, what can we do, what can we do," direction rolling especially through the last chapter. Having said many things, many times about the goodness of science, the risks and hard work persons of science take all the time, and how much science has pulled us all through, one wonders why the author does not extend this same point of view much into the future in "Fixing Climate"? It is as if the scientists of his day were the only ones capable of creative thought. For example, the author spends much time on the topic of carbon sequestration, a technology which may or may not work, but the point is that there are a "semi-infinite" number of other new possible directions to be explored. Let the creative, hard-working technologists loose, and we will almost certainly pull through this situation too. But buy the book; it is well done, and refreshing to read.

America's favorite sport will never be the same again, now that Amelia Bedelia has been called in to substitute for another player.

If you've read any of Amelia's other books, you can just imagine what she will do for uniforms, stealing bases, running home and more. Baseball will be revolutionized, and young readers will be entertained from first page to last! The wonderful illustrations bring the humor to life.

Highly recommended!

Play ball, Amelia Bedelia reminded me of when the my team the Yankaes almost got beat but we won. I really liked this book.

Themes: Sometimes the literal meaning of certain phrases is not what they are intended to mean. Even if you get confused, holding a positive attitude and trying hard will pay off in the end.

Summary: Amelia Bedelia, a housekeeper who takes everything literally and knows very little about baseball, is recruited by the Grizzlies to play in their big game against the Tornados. The Grizzlies are short one player because he is sick. The humor begins when Amelia Bedelia shows up in her "uniform" to play the game. From that point on Amelia continues to take everything extremely literal. She "tags" players, and "puts them out". The story reaches its climax when Amelia Bedelia hits the game winning home run and on her way around the diamond, "steals" all the bases, and then "runs home" just like the Grizzlies tell her to do. When Amelia gets home she thinks that baseball is a very strange game. The Grizzlies show up, announcing they have won the game thanks to Amelia Bedelia. Amelia Bedelia serves cookies to the boys on "home plate" in celebration, even though she thinks it is a strange plate to be serving cookies on.

Evaluation: This is a very humorous fun story for children to enjoy and learn to read with. Amelia Bedelia is a lively well-rounded character. The fact that she takes everything completely literal will amuse children greatly. This in turn gets them interested in finishing the book, and even reading it themselves!

The lively colorful illustrations capture the fun and humor within the book. For example, they help to depict Amelia Bedelia in her "uniform", and "tagging" the other players, as well as "stealing the bases".

Overall this story is an excellent book to spark interest in reading for young children.

Not since Abbot asked Costello "Who's on First?" has the national pastime been taken so literally. Taking things literally is precisedly what Amelia Bedelia has been doing ever since she first became a housekeeper. Tell her to "Dust the furniture" and she will dutifully find the Dusting Powder and do as she was told, even though at her house they undust the furniture. In Peggy Parish's "Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia," the Grizzlies baseball team is in trouble when one of their players gets sick and they need a replacement for their big game with the Tornadoes. Who steps up to the plate to save the day up the literal-minded Amelia Bedelia.

The fun, of course, comes when the kids tell Amelia Bedelia to tag a runner or make a base hit. Then there is the uniform that she comes up with (you need a uniform to play baseball, right?). The illustrations by Wallace Tripp capture the fun as Amelia Bedelia plays the game of baseball like nobody has ever played it before. Besides, you should see what Amelia Bedelia looks like when she swings a bat. Fortunately, one things she knows how to do right is to fix an empty cookie jar because she makes really great cookies (although she has doubts about using home plate to serve them on to her teammates). Fans of Peggy Parish's creation will enjoy seeing her on the baseball diamond while there might be some fans of the sport who will be introduced to the literally-minded housekeeper for the first time.

In this edition of Amelia Bedelia, Peggy Parish has done another wonderful job at telling a wonderful story. Amelia Bedelia is making an attempt to play baseball, and she has managed to take the lessons literally, as always. She learns stealing bases are okay and putting players out. This is a favorite in my household, and we laughed at Amelia Bedelia's attempts of playing baseball.

Our favorite part was when she hit the winning run, 'stole' every single base along the way, and she ran home like everyone told her to with all the bases. The kids were wonderful in this story and patient, and it was a fantastic read.

I recommend the Amelia Bedelia books for every household. Amelia Bedelia is a fun character, and it will make the kids laugh.

Joy.

Sheer coincidence led to me to read this novel as my introduction to WS: it was the only thing by him on the library shelf on my way to to airport. What a fantastic introduction a great writer. This turns out to be a sequel to Big Rock Candy Mtn, which tells the story of Wallace's parents and of Wallace too. Recapitulation goes back and looks more closely at parts of these lives just hinted at in BRCM.

There are passages in here you will never forget, and passages that you will feel lucky to have found. I'm now on my fifth Stegner book and still feel that way.

A beautifully written, powerful book. I'm sure in literary and high-minded ways in its entirety it all made sense. But on the basic level of reader and story, I felt cheated. The plot as constructed and pursued seemed to "promise" a delivery from page one that was not made. The unrequited reader! I was so immersed in the threads of his life and the characters from his past, I expected those last doors to open, long-delayed encounters to happen... Still, Stegner is masterful and I look forward to reading those of his books I haven't yet. 20 years ago I loved Big Rock Candy Mountain (yet had forgotten all the characters and did not realize this was a sequel until after). One of the most stunning pieces of writing I have ever encountered is his story of a winter cattle drive in Wolf Willow.

Bruce Mason, a diplomat and ambassador in his sixties, returns to Salt Lake City for the funeral of his aunt, who is the last remaining connection to a family history Mason has spent forty years avoiding. During the day and night he is there, he travels throughout Salt Lake, trying to locate landmarks from his troubled early life while reminiscing about the events which permanently influenced choices he made and directions he took as an adult. Gentle and reflective in tone, despite its scenes of sadness and disillusionment, this is a novel quite different from Stegner's epics, such as Angle of Repose and Big Rock Candy Mountain, with their enormous scope. Here, he creates what amounts to a memoir--a record of the life-changing experiences which one man, Mason, associates with his family, friends, and upbringing during the brief 24 hours he is in Salt Lake City.

Although this is supposed to be a sequel to Big Rock Candy Mountain, with the same main character, one need not have any familiarity with that book to enjoy this one, a book so introspective that one cannot help but wonder about the degree to which it is autobiographical. Like many of us who have outlived and, in some cases, out-achieved our parents, Mason finds his memories bittersweet. He is filled with resentment for the unintentional injuries and deliberate cruelties which made his youth and adolescence a misery. At the same time that he recognizes that he would never have been so motivated to achieve and escape had he not been so needy and so "hungry."

Though many authors have dealt with the "you can't go home again" theme, Stegner suggests here that one must go home again, not to relive early, unpleasant events again and again, stuck in the past, but to relive those events and reevaluate them from the perspective and experience one has gained over time. Unsentimental and uncompromising in its message, the book is a touching and sensitive look at the baggage we all carry with us and the need to put it aside. Mary Whipple

As I indicated in my review of Stegner's BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN (hereafter "BRCM"), reading fiction does not get better than reading Wallace Stegner (1909-93). His Pulitzer Prize winner, ANGLE OF REPOSE (1971) is my favorite novel, and BRCM (1943) is an equally moving book. It is easy to consider RECAPITULATION (1979) the icing on BRCM.

RECAPITULATION is best read as a sequel to BRCM. Among other things, BRCM was about a father-son relationship, a son, Bruce Mason's hatred for his father, and his lifelong attempt to come to terms with his troubled family. RECAPITULATION picks up with Bruce Mason's return to Salt Lake City roughly 45 years after leaving there in Stegner's earlier novel. For Bruce, Salt Lake City is the place where "I buried my brother, my mother, my young love, and my innocence. In a few months more I buried my father and my youth" (p. 84). This is not a homecoming story. "Home," Bruce observes, is only "another word for strange" (p. 73).

During his life, Stegner commented that RECAPITULATION is about "the domination that a harsh and dominating father can exert even after his death upon a son. What is revealed in this novel is the incurable damage done to Bruce Mason." In the beginning pages of this book, we find Bruce living mostly "in his head," like "the last spectator at the last act of a play he had not understood" (p. 274), his self image fused with the image of his family. He remembers his father, Bo, as a "boomer, self-deceiver, bootlegger, eventually murderer and suicide, always burden, always enigma, always the harsh judge who must be appeased" (p. 274). Through a series of flashbacks, however, in the end RECAPITULATION is about Bruce's transformation and survival. Although "incurably" damaged, he reaches a point of autonomy and finds the understanding he longed for in BRCM: "If a man could understand himself and his own family, he'd have a good start toward understanding everything he'd ever need to know" (BRCM, p. 436).

Both BRCM and its sequel are autobiographical. Stegner wrote RECAPITULATION late in his career, and it contains some of his finest writing, e.g., "When cottonwoods have been rattling at you all through your childhood, they mean home" (p. 116).

G. Merritt

When a real-life event pulls you back into The Past, where you didn't want to go, this is what happens. Though not an action-packed thriller, it is elegant and touching.

One has to appreciate the fact that many books taking on this task that was given in this short, under 200 pages are as introductions anywhere from 450 to 650 pages. If one wants more detail check out John Powers', Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism which runs, as an introduction, some 470 pages. For one who is looking for the essence of this practice without too much dedication of time, this is the book. You will come away with a very good idea of what this type of buddhism is and why it is important.

My teacher suggested this book for anyone new to Tibetan Buddhism. It's well-written and has basic information for some of the most popular questions a new person might have. It's a good "starting point" as well as a good text for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of various paths of life.

This is by far the best explanatory book on Tibetan Buddhism I've read. It should be a Must Read for everyone interested in this fascinating philosophy and life style. Although targeted for beginners mostly, it is a thorough book for us in the western cultures. Easy to read and thought provoking. This books deserves a ten star rating and a special mantra. Buy it! Another recommended book is Open Heart, Clear Mind by Thubten Chodron.

This is an edited version of a lecture series in Seattle in 1988, ordered from basic to "more subtle & advanced" based on the author-monk's 18 years study in all 4 schools + Pali texts. It is intended as a "guide to practice" esp. for those w/o Buddhist background. I found it simple, straight-forward, & easy to understand. As a short book it cannot bring much breadth to its vast subject, is simplistic at times (e.g. inadequately addressing self), & explanatory/descriptive vs. analytical/critical. Thus, the scientific, skeptical, western perspective is minimal, greatly reducing the potential value of a western Buddhist insider's viewpoint. Further, the author seems naïve--e.g. p. 134: "We are born with a natural, unlearned sense of intrinsic self." Psychologists have shown that self-consciousness is developmental not inbred--only the potential is inbred (similar to Buddha nature). Similarly, he says p. 134: "The workers, acting together, manage themselves." I suggest they'd need management ability, skills & training (e.g. most startup businesses fail)--see Elliott Jaques' Executive Leadership: A Practical Guide to Managing Complexity (Developmental Management) & Human Capability: A Study of Individual Potential and Its Application. But he also makes some fine observations: p. 176: "If one were a bee, for instance, one's perception of this page would be very different than it is for a human. Similarly, it would look uniquely different to a bat, an owl, or a snake, p. 180: As the renowned physicist Werner Heisenberg said, `What we observe is not nature itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning,' & p. 181: We reify an object by removing it from its context, by ignoring the subjective influences of perception & conception." He also provides a good exercise--visualizing bubbles rising & bursting (p. 114) which was new for me. All in all it's a pretty good elementary introduction to Buddhism IMHO, but I much prefer Thubten Chodron ("Open Heart, Clear Mind" & "Buddhism for Beginners"), Pema Chodron, & Surya Das. These authors provide more depth, breadth, & practical value than this book IMO.

B. Allan Wallace has extremely impressive credentials. He was ordained by the Dali Lama, earned an undergraduate degree in Physics and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Therefore, he is well qualified from an exposure to the concepts point of view.

My experience reading this book, however, was mixed. While the author has impressive credentials, his material is easily accessible and he make it relevant to Western people, he often left me wanting more of an explanation or more detail.

In an attempt to make the concept of Tibetan Buddhism accessible, I found that Mr. Wallace often over simplified his explanations. He appeals to common sense, but I found this book lacked the depth I was looking for given an author with such an impressive background.

Surprisingly, exhaustively detailed. Amazing job of research; it couldn't have been easy. Comprehensive. Definitive. Bravo.

E.J. hits the ball out of the ballpark yet again. All of his works are sensational, well researched and well written. But this book is one of the best books in the last decade by any author. McFarland did a great job designing the cover and it was eclipsed by the content. The Author is sensational in his description of Reid and the era in whihc he was in Hollywood. This is a must read for Historians of Tinseltown. Reid only gets better with each book.

WALLACE REID, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A HOLLYWOOD IDOL is a well written listing of Reid's films. It is short on biograpy and long on career accomplishments.
It seems that the author wrote the book from fan magazine articles and not from solid scholarly reseach.

I found this to be the best of Fleming's book so far. There doesn't particularly seem to have been much to write about Wallace Reid. He lived a rather ordinary Hollywood type life so I gathered. He just got caught up in drugs too young. I didn't need all the films reviews throughout the book. I skipped over all that. It should have been at the back. I just want to read about the personal life of the star. All that information about the films is just filler to me. But what I did get from the book was that Wallace Reid was a nice man, popular with his fans, and his life turned out very unfortunate for everyone. He left way too early. A good read, but I would only get it from the library.

How Mr. Flemming was able to get so much information about a man who died so long ago is just amazing. I am so glad he chose Wallace Reid as a subject. I read bits and pieces about him, mostly about his morphine abuse, but didn't really know anything about Wallace as a person.
I did think that there was a little too much detail on the synopsis of Mr. Reid's pictures.

All Though the book is a bit expensive, any true fan of the silent era really should have this book in their collection

PARTICULARLY ENJOYABLE DUE TO KNOWING THE AUTHOR AND CAN RELATE TO THE EARLY YEARS OF KRAKE FORESTER.

An interesting insight into the "outskirts" of life in Hollywood, the struggle to get there, and the bigger, futile struggle to stay there. The author managed to be concise while still creating an interesting story and making me feel a sympathetic kinship for the main character.

This is a great first book! The writing is bold and courageous, frank and touching, outlandish and vulnerable. The character Krake Forester gets under your skin, and you can't put it down.

As a product of the 50's and 60's, I found Connie Wallace's book fascinating and eye-opening about life behind the scenes in Hollywood. It's a time when we lost our innocence, when the Nelson family motif became a thing of the past. No wonder our society underwent such an upheaval. I recommend it completely.

As a product of the 50's and 60's, I found Connie Wallace's book fascinating and eye-opening about life behind the scenes in Hollywood. It's a time when we lost our innocence, when the Nelson family motif became a thing of the past. No wonder our society underwent such an upheaval. I recommend it completely.

I GUESS THAT A MOTHER CAN ONLY TELL HER SIDE THE WAY THAT SHE SEEN IT. I WAS REALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS BOOK. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT VOLETTA THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. WITH ALL DUE RESPECT RIP B.I.G

Biggie will always be remembered to me for his style and music. to his mother, she will always remember the only child that she lost. Reading Ms Wallace's book was very inspirational. She showed that yes, I was tricked and hurt by my son's father, being alone in a new country by myself, but despite of it, she went on, worked, made sure she gave her son the best, and completed college. As a child of a parent born and raised in the West Indies, she really gave me some insight as far as how the school system was in the Caribbean. She is right, to learn is a privilege and right and a lot of us throw it away. We have only heard so much from Ms Wallace, and now you get to hear the rest of the story. A very good memoir that should be read by all, especially those who have lost, and all hip hoppers wanting to hear a mother's comment on her famous son. There were times when I thought she was being partial as far as her son was concerned. but it was her book, and she had to admit that despite of all, she made some mistakes and doesn't see her son as an angel either.

Voletta Wallace chronicles a slice of her life and that of her son, the Notorious B.I.G., in BIGGIE: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son. Born and raised in Jamaica, Voletta Wallace always had dreams of moving to America where it seemed everyone was rich, fashionable, and happy. She was a hard-working young woman who made her dreams a reality through perseverance and holding steadfast to her values of education and self-improvement. When she was unexpectedly blessed with a son, her life changed markedly. Instead of striving to improve herself for her own gain, Christopher became the central motivation to better her circumstances.

Although life seemed charmed once Biggie made it to superstardom, her grandchildren were born, and she had successfully fought breast cancer, devastation reigned in Voletta's life when Biggie was murdered while visiting Los Angeles. After being faced with this tragedy and the aftermath that it brought with it, Voletta was faced with even more challenges. Yet, she never let mishaps and unfortunate turns of events shatter her. She remains a strong figure in her family and in the entertainment industry.

While this was an interesting glimpse into how Biggie came up and the role his mother played in his life, I would like to have seen more insight and details. However, this isn't really a biography of Christopher Wallace, or even his alter ego, The Notorious B.I.G. Instead, it is more of a memorial piece that briefly touches on the life of a man who became a central figure in the rap game and touched the lives of his fans, his family and friends, and the world of hip-hop.

Reviewed by CandaceK
(...)

Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late Christopher "Notorious B.I.G.; Biggie, BIG" has written a heartfelt and deeply moving account of her life and that of her son.

Faith Evans writes in her introduction that readers will feel compelled to finish this book once they start it and she is right. The love this mother had for her only child will touch the hearts of all who read her account. I finished this book in one straight sitting and came away with a different view of Christopher Wallace.

Voletta, a native Jamaican from Trelawny describes her hardscrabble life against the contradictory tropical beauty of the Island. The youngest of 3 children, Voletta learns to fend for herself against her older sister Ruby, with whom she has a volatile relationship. She is, however close to her brother Volan.

Voletta describes the educational system in the West Indies and the punitive approach that is so readily applied. Students are whipped and beaten by teachers for small infractions including not knowing the answer to a lesson; parental whippings are equally common. Voletta knew that despite the punitive system that education was her ticket to a better life. At age 16, determined to attend the local high school without paying tuition as is common in the Islands, she moves with a relative. That arrangement is short lived once the relative's husband makes lewd advances toward her.

Luck intervenes; in 1969 at age 16 Voletta is able to leave the Islands for New York and continue her education there. She earns her G.E.D.; secures employment and moves into a small flat.

In 1971 her friend introduced her to Selwyn, the man who would father her only child. In time she discovers Selwyn was married and had been lying to and using her. When Christopher was born on May 21, 1972, Selwyn had little impact in his son's life. He did buy food and baby supplies for the boy until he was two; after that, his contact with that family ceased. Voletta was determined to see that her son had a better life and more chances than she had growing up. She wisely wants her son to know his father despite her bad experiences with the man. She wanted Christopher to make his own mind up about him and to reserve judgment until he has the chance to do so.

Determined to pursue her education and career, Voletta secures teaching jobs after discovering that nursing was not for her. She insists Christopher apply himself to his studies as he was bright and learned quickly. Sadly, Christopher answered the siren song from the street and all but abandoned his studies once he entered the teen years. Desperate, Voletta did everything she could to get him to continue his education.

In the early 1990s, Voletta heard Christopher "rapping" on the radio. By chance, she could not get her regular station tuned in and accidentally heard her son on another. It was then she and Christopher talked about his career in the rap world and his rising popularity among his peers.

Christopher adopted the street/rapper name of B.I.G.; Biggie and The Notorious Big, which was a nod to his considerable girth. A large, husky man, Big was notorious among the rap crowd.

Sadly, on March 9, 1997 Big was gunned down during a rap feud between East and West Coast rappers. He became a casualty of the lifestyle he readily embraced.

Voletta describes how her son's loss deeply impacted her life; that of his wife; that of Lil Kim, who claimed to be his wife and his daughter. Learning about how each one of these people had a place in his life makes for a fuller and clearer picture of The Notorious Big.

Although I never liked rap and can't claim to have enjoyed Biggie's work, I have nothing but the deepest respect for Voletta Wallace. The love she had for her only child is so palpable; so deep; so intense that readers are acutely aware of it throught the entire book. It is her love for this son that makes the book so worth reading. This book might make you cry, but you will certainly take Voletta Wallace into your heart. It is a very serious and grim portrait of how street culture has claimed many casualties.

"BIGGIE" is a biography of the late, popular hip-hop musician Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, but known to his family as Christopher Wallace. His mother, Ms. Voletta Wallace, is the author. She combines an autobiographical narrative of her own life in Jamaica, then transplanted to New York City, where she met Christopher's father.


The book is a large-print hardcover, with occasional pictures throughout; After Ms. Wallace accounts her own life and Christopher's childhood, she describes her life during his rise to fame as a rap artist. From there, she goes into her perspective on the night he was murdered, and what has happened in the years since his death.

The narrative is very good, she doesn't short-shrift on Biggie's shortcomings, but the same also goes for some of the others in his life, e.g. Puffy ("The truth is, Christopher accepted the illusion of a friend and mentor for about $25,000. That's the amount Puffy lured my son with... It was enough money to make my son believe that Puffy was ready to do anything for him...That same admiration and loyalty have [Shyne] in jail with a ten-year sentence"), Cease ("It was me, Voletta Wallace, who [bailed Cease out and] waited for almost a year to get my money back... I guess in a business of lies and deception it just sounded better for him to say it was Jay-Z who bailed him out... Perhaps the whole lie put him in good standing...") She sheds light on her initial reaction to Biggie & Faith's marriage & breakup, and stresses there was no feuding with her after his death, but Kim's behavior became increasingly troublesome ("her album was about to drop that week... whenever the television was on, there she was. it seemed to me, that she was never talking about herself. every other breath awas about my son... she had something new and more salacious to say about my son".)

She also goes into interesting accounts on the Tupac/Biggie feud, and her friendship with Afeni Shakur, as the two are bound by their son's early deaths and legacies.

I liked this story's treatment about fake girls like Janice whom parents can't see through. I also enjoyed Claudia's exhausting bad day near the end of the book. Claudia might have Asperger's Syndrome!

I remember this book too. At the very end, there was something about pink whales and green lollipops. There were wonderful characters like Duffy, Lonnie and Maurice. Claudia helping that lady with her kids. I loved this book.

I read this book probably 35 years ago, and it made such a huge impression on me that I never forgot it. I still feel how it felt back then, to find a character in a book that I could totally relate to. I thought it was a long-lost book by a forgotten author, so imagine my delight and surprise to see it still in print! I clearly recall the cover of the hard-bound copy my elementary school library had...painted in impressionist style, a girl in shorts and cotton blouse, hair tied back, roller-skating down the side-walk.

Claudia is about a tomboy who gets into many adventures. One adventure winds her up with not being able to play with Duffy(her best friend)anymore. She even has all his furnitures ever since he went away to college and has kept it the same exact way, hasn't painted it or anything. A former friend came to her town after a few years and more different than ever. For one thing she is friends with Polly Mckission, another is that she no longer likes Claudia as much. But Mrs. Harper, Claudia's mother, insists that it is not true and that Janice and Claudia should be and are the best of friends and has no clue what goes on when she's not around.

I too remember reading this book somewhere around the 5th grade (could've been 4th or 6th). I remember taking it out of the library multiple times. I can still picture today the exact spot on the shelf where it was kept and the green cover with Claudia on the front. I must have read it at least 4 or 5 times. I was a tomboy myself growing up and was so happy to find someone fictional or otherwise who seemed like me. Claudia was one of the first steps in helping me accept myself exactly the way I was and not to feel so bad about not fitting in.

This book was great. I collect cabinet cards. They are not as collectible as other forms of photographs, and that makes it very hard to find good information. This book was very helpful. It gave me information to date them, and which one are rare, uncommon, and unusual.

I was blessed with a box full of old photographs, including some that I called "daguerreotypes", really not knowing what they were. I still have the photos in storage, but after reading this book, and having it on hand to refer to, I feel confident that I will be able to properly identify the photos. Most of these are from the mid 19th to early 20th century and this book covers this period exactly.

This has it all. I've seen a read a lot of collectable type books and this is the best. It contains everything you need to know about early photographs. This doesn't just tell you the prices but explains why certain photographs are valuable and all the history too.

Perfect book for the beginner in the world of early photography. Details each type of early photo, describes the process used to make it, and explains how to identify it. The author also shares tips on buying: what to look for, what's exceptional, and what to avoid. Gives prices and lots of great picture examples, and details restoration efforts that beginners can and should do, as well as what NOT to do. Loved it and would highly recommend!

This is a marvelous book. It is chock-full of information on the various photographic processes of the early 19th century. It takes us from cased images (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes) to photography on paper (calotypes, wet plates, albumen prints, cartes de viste, cabinet cards, sterographs) to late 19th century processes (dry plate, silver prints, platinum prints) and has a special section on US Civil War images. An exhaustive reference sure to please.