Ward Books

I don't know what impressed me more, the spectacular photography or the effortless and fascinating way Fred Ward helped me understand pearls. He takes the mystery out of buying pearls. I will not buy pearls again without reviewing this book.

It's a small book yet it covers an amazing amount of information on the history of pearls, the environment under which they are cultivated, the buying and caring of the different qualities, and other fascinating topics. If someone is "into" pearls, then this is the book to have.

great pictures and interesting information. I enjoyed this book. It packs a lot of interesting information in a small, easy to read, book.

This book with 62 pages explains everything you need to know about Pearls. In addition to the knowledge of pearl for a consumer, this book also goes into great details in the trade of pearls. It covers the geographic sources of pearls, the competitive producers, and logical prediction of future market.
I enjoyed it a great deal.

For those who can't get ahold of the hardcover, now-sold-out _The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward_ (also edited by Alex Chun) or who can't afford the huge _The Wonderful World of Bill Ward_ (published by Taschen), this is a cheap, readily available alternative with enough of Ward's classic glamour girls to satisfy all but the most hard-core, completist fan of Ward's work. The book is published in trade-paperback format, so the illustration reproductions are not as big as in the other two books, but the quality is quite satisfactory.

As he did in _Glamour Girls_, Chun has chosen to focus on the art that Ward is most famous for, and the art that Ward himself loved the best; the voluptuous, elegantly dressed, Ekbergesque (as in Anita Ekberg, one of the inspirational models for Ward's beauties) lovelies that populated the pages of so many men's magazines in the 1950's and 1960's - and not the raunchier work that he did in his later years, much of which he did strictly for the fee. These classic cartoons, by contrast, were done as much for love as for money, and it shows; there's an elegant lushness in them that doesn't show up in his later X-rated work. The selection includes a healthy number of Ward's (in)famous "telephone girls". While some of the cartoons and drawings chosen for this book are the same as in _Glamour Girls_, many of them are new to book publication; thus, if you really love Ward's girls, you'll want to get all three of the books that are currently in print. Definitely a "must have" for fans of pinup art.

Typical for a Bill Ward book, this contains a terrific representation of his gorgeous pinup work. The main drawback of this volume is the rather small size, but the great selection of artwork mostly makes up for that. Recommended for any fan of Ward or pinup art.

If you're a baby-boomer or older, chances are you've seen Bill Ward's art, even if you didn't necessarily know the name. Ward was one of the premiere and pioneering artists of what came to be known as Good Girl Art in the 40's and 50's. Good Girl Art refers to those comics depicting attractive women in various stages of undress or, quite often, in some form of bondage. These covers were quite popular in both pulp magazines and comic books of the era and are highly prized among collectors today.

Ward's most famous creation was "Torchy" Todd, the sexy blonde bombshell who made her first appearance in the mid-1940's. Torchy's run in comics was cut short by the crusade against sex and violence in comics in the 1950's. Leaving comics, Ward moved on to work for editor Abe Goodman's Humorama line of magazines that included titles such as Gee-Whiz, Romp, Snappy, Laugh Riot, and more. There he began his prolific run of sexy one-page cartoons featuring his stunning Good Girl Art.

The Pin-up Art of Bill Ward from Fantagraphics packs 260 pages of these classic one panel pin-up cartoons into the book. The Ward female of these cartoons is classic 1950's pin-up: large breasts, thin waist, wide hips, and a round bottom. The classic hourglass figure complete with the pouty lips and eyes that can make any man melt. These women are bawdy and busty and make no apologies for utilizing their physical assets. Fetishists will love Ward's hilarious series of spanking cartoons, which are often girl-on-girl. In one, an angry boss with a black eye is spanking his secretary and telling her, "This will teach you to let my wife catch you sitting on my lap!" In another, a bank President is showing his gorgeous blonde customer what the penalty is at his bank for overdrawing her account.

Among the other cartoons in the book is Ward's series of telephone girl gags. These generally feature one of his gorgeous models lying on a bed or sofa in a negligee or other type of lingerie, talking on the phone. There's also a fair share of Ward's burlesque stripper cartoons. In one, two men are ogling a dancer clad only in panties and pasties. One exclaims, "This is one thing television will never replace!"

Wardss pin-ups are truly the 50'sand 60's American male view of the perfect female. These classic cartoons and drawings have lost none of their humor even after some fifty years.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Now that Alex Chun's first book on Bill Ward is sold out Fantagraphics have wisely decided there is a market for a cheaper edition. This is not a straight reprint of the original, 'The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward' (ISBN 1560975318) which was a large size portfolio edition, beautifully printed. This current title is much smaller with an edited intro from the original but what looks like a different selection of art. Still good value if you like Bill's art.

Considering that he can only really be considered on the fringes of quality girly art it is amazing that three books of his output have been published in the last three years. Ward claims to have drawn thousands of pin-ups over the years so I expect there will be more titles in the future.

The two from Fantagraphics are good but Eric Kroll's The Wonderful World of Bill Ward, King of the Glamour Girls (Various)with its chunky size, comprehensive illustrated biography and hundreds of pin-ups must really be the last word on Ward.

In my experience, most people are aware of the government's My Pyramid (mypyramid.gov) outlining guidelines for healthy eating, but most can't seem to figure out how to incorporate it's advice their daily lives (or get overwhelmed by everything it has to offer!). "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids" presents a pared down plan for making My Pyramid's resources work for you, no matter what your goal, age or stage of life. It cuts to the chase on how to use the Pyramid eating plans to lose, maintain, or gain weight, as well as how to modify it if your pregnant or breastfeeding. Because it also includes information on the Kids My Pyramid, the book is appropriate for both children and adults. The book's simple descriptions of the Pyramid's resources demystifies a guide that many feel is complicated to negotiate (or unavailable to them if they don't have a PC at home), and is so much easier to use than the government's web site. It also provides tons of easy tips for including healthy foods in the diet without sacrificing all your "favorites." As a nutritionist who counsels both adults and children, I'm thrilled to be able to refer my clients to a resource that will make their transition to healthy eating easier and less confusing.

The old food pyramid might not make a whole lot of sense given recent advances in nutritional understanding, but at least it was self-contained. You could glance over it and figure it out, no problem; not so with the new one. That's where "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids," by Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D., is meant to come in. It's a relatively small, non-threatening guide to deciphering that new picture. The idea that we should need an entire book to explain it sort of goes against the whole concept of creating a simple image that conveys a basic idea of nutrition, but on the other hand, it's probably unrealistic to expect such a thing to be possible in the first place. These days it takes a book to explain what we know about nutrition and the human body.

There's a surprising amount of clear, simple detail in this book on calorie-counting, food groups, serving sizes, and so on. It explains how to customize the pyramid plan to your age, gender, activity level, and weight needs, and it also explains how you can get the most out of your food nutritionally.

Overall I think this is a very handy book. I'm a little wary of calorie-counting as a means to weight loss. I also think there was some tension between the desire to keep the book limited to a simple explanation of the food pyramid vs. providing a detailed breakdown of nutritional needs that might have erred on the limited side. However, the book provides the lowdown on nutrition and how it relates to the wide array of foods out there in a largely detailed, easy-to-understand manner, and that certainly makes it worth reading.

Book Review:


The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids
By Elizabeth M. Ward, MS,RD
Alpha, 2005
$9.95

The long awaited food pyramid was released earlier this year along with a lot of sage advice, and for some, a lot of questions. Although the new icon, appearing everywhere from T-shirts to table tops, seems simple, this structure has many layers which are peeled away and clarified in The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids.

The book starts out by explaining the solid foundation upon which MyPyramid was built and the differences between the old and new versions. "The Least you Need to Know" section appears at the end of each chapter providing a succinct summary of its previous pages. Although the text is easy to comprehend, this summary helps to provide sound bites, so to speak, for the reader, reiterating essential points.

Laced through the chapters are sidebars delineated as: Pyramid Speak - definitions of important terms; Fun FAQs - answers to frequently asked questions about eating and exercise; Pitfalls - warnings about what might derail your efforts to eat better ad exercise more; and Power Point - tips and tidbits to make healthy eating easier. These highlighted areas could lead the reader to do further research on a related topic or provide practical tips and information to add flavor to the subject matter.

Liz Ward's voice is heard throughout the text, guiding readers to make MyPyramid their own. Although many health professionals may `already know' what the pyramid represents, it's helpful to have this guide as a resource, particularly with reference to the sample menus in varying calorie levels. The charts that specifically describe the "amount that counts as 1 cup" of fruits and vegetables could help answer some of the questions our patients are asking. A glossary and resource lists are also provided within.

A particularly important feature of this book is that it's perfect for those who do not have internet access. The only navigation required is the turning of these informative pages! This book is due to be released on January 1, 2006 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

Reviewed by Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA,RD,CDN, Director of BTD Nutrition Consultants, New York and Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

The 'Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids' by Elizabeth Ward is a life saver to help consumers understand the latest advice from the government. Her insightful tips, advice and guidance are easy to understand, practical and fun. She turns the dietary guidelines into workable solutions that we can easily incorporate into our every day lives. Eating right and getting regular exercise can be really difficult but this guide makes it so simple and easy to follow Uncle Sam's advice.

I still remember the first time I saw the McArthur's Universal Corrective Map of the World, the "upside-down" map with Australia at its center. It was 15 or so years ago, in a down-under exhibit at Brookfield Zoo. The experience of seeing "north" and "south" disconnected from their habitual, yet arbitrary, association with "up" and "down" was at once discomfitting and exhilating. I saw THROUGH the map, and grokked one assumption upon which standard Mercator projection was based.

A textbook of sorts, this was apparently written for bright junior high and high school students. The book's ambivalent title, Seeing Through Maps, is apt because the book is about both seeing through (i.e., USING) maps and seeing THROUGH the map itself to the assumptions that frame it. "Understanding that every map is a projection that gives up some aspect of global reality in order to present what it shows---and that is otherwise endlessly selective---should free you to see through the connotations to the denotative maps that support them. And so in turn be able to scrutinize the connotations. Understanding that every map has a point of view and serves a purpose should free you to take the point of view that serves your interest." (p. 79)

Yet for all this talk about maps, the book is not a study in the practice of cartography. Rather, it is an exploration of the practice of representation in general, an exploration which can evoke profound cognitive dissonance. Consequently, the book also exhorts the reader to adapt a sense of "model agnosticism" when it comes to using maps/metaphors/representations, because no single perspective or position can be total or comprehensive, by definition. The authors repeatedly expound on this main theme of the book:

"Each view excludes another. Because each view has its own value, each may be required to serve one purpose or another. But the more points of view that are taken into account, the more comprehensive is the understanding." (p. 22)

"What is wrong with _moving_ from one view to another? First you catch this view. Then you get that. You stand in between for a while. Then you move to an entirely new position. In fact, this is our recommendation. We believe that the best understanding comes from being able to view the world from as many perspectives as possible. We want you to give up the idea that one map, or even one projection, can meet our needs for understanding." (p. 26)

"'[U]pside-down' maps shock viewers into questioning their assumptions about maps in particular and about life in general....Sometimes all we need to do to solve our problems is turn them upside down." (p. 56)

"But we do not have to have just one picture. We can have, we _do_ have, many. There is no reason for maps all to be on the same projection. The ceaseless repetition of a single projection tries to convince people that 'this' is what the earth looks like. But the earth does not look the way any individual projection makes it look." (p. 67)

"The more attached you are to YOUR way being right, the harder a time you'll have with new perspectives." (p. 69)

"Once people get an image of the earth in their heads, it is hard to persuade them of the advantages offered by another point of view. Another name for this reluctance is prejudice. To work against it, keep as many perspectives in play as possible!" (p.76)

"If we make an effort to look at everything, and try to take our eyes to new places, the world we experience will be much richer, more interesting, more useful, more complete, more generous, more _real_." (p. 109)

If you want your adolescent kids to be given a healthy dose of cognitive dissonance, to open their eyes to a deeper structure at work in our usage of symbols and to innoculate them against media illiteracy, this book seems to be a pretty good place to start. Here's my test. Look at these three questions from the book, page 99:

"What assumptions are built into the concept or image I'm presented with?; What other points of view might provide an entirely different 'take' on things?; How might this appear to someone raised in an entirely different culture or country?"

Do you want your kids asking these kinds of questions? If so, this book would be a good resource. (It is also a great introduction to funky, non-traditional maps like the Peters projection, the Fuller Dymaxion map, and the aforementioned McArthur's Universal Corrective Map of the World.)

This book will really help you to appreciate maps and their use through out history. Easily understood and very well written. This is must read for anyone who is even slightly interesred in maps.

As librarians in Bergen County, N.J., we highly recommend "Seeing Through Maps" for all library collections. This a wonderfully illustrated, interestingly written book. It is especially good for the young adult collection as it is accurate, clear and attractively laid out. Young adults coming into the library find it easily understood and packed full of information. This book would be very helpful in both public and school libraries.

I highly recommend this title, whether you are or are not a map enthusiast. The book is easy to follow for anyone with at least a junior high school education, and informative, even if you are a college graduate. It will give you a new appreciation of maps and their important role in our history and our world today. This is the type of book that will make you a "map geek" even if you never really thought that much about the subject before you picked up the book.

One of the first books about the US Civil War I've read was Don Fehrenbacher's The Dred Scot Case. That book, among my favourite all time history books, made it all but certain that I would eventually seek more of his works.

In 'The Slaveholding Republic', Fehrenbacher returns to themes very similar to the ones examined in 'Dred Scot'. Both books are about how the experiment in freedom established by the American Founding Fathers dealt with the paradox pointed out by Samuel Johnson "how is it that the greatest yelp for liberty come from the drivers of nigros?"

'Dred Scot' focused on two main themes - the status of slaves (and free blacks) in the law, and the legal/political questions of the power to abolish and establish slavery.

'The Slaveholding Republic' deals with these themes, but presents a broader picture. In the first chapter, Fehernbacher deals with the constitution's attitude to slavery. Fehernbacher is clearly upset about attacks on the constitution as a pro-slavery tool, and he makes a convincing case that the constitution neither supported nor condemned slavery, and that if anything, the very wording (avoiding the word 'slave' entirely) shows unease with slavery.

The second chapter deals with slavery in Washington DC. Until the 1830s, slavery in the capital was only a minor political issue. With the rise of Garrisonian abolitionism, attacks on slavery in the capital started to increase, but until the civil war, the only achievement reached was the barring of the slave trade in it.

Whatever debate was running within the US about slavery, to the world, the US was unquestionably a slave holding republic, constantly trying to defend pro slavery interests, especially in compensating slave holders for slave carried away. Even people with anti-Slavory convictions such as John Qunicy Adams treated slaves as property for those purposes.

Two chapters deal with the Slave trade. In it, Fehrenbacher diffrentiates between importation of slaves to the US, which was effectively surpressed, and the atlantic slave trade to Cuba and Brazil, in which Americans, because of the US's passive support, played a large roll up to the late 1850s.

The next two chapters are about the Fugitive Slave Laws. In essence, those demonstrate a conflict between the clause in the constitution obliging the return of escaping slaves, to the defence of free slaves from kidnapping. Until the 1830s, most clashes developed due to the Northern states trying to protect free blacks from kiddnapping. But with time, these laws became obstructionists, preventing even the retension of fugitives. As part of the 1850 compromise, a draconian fugitive slave law was enforced, crashing the rights of free blacks and raising strong objections from Northern abolitionists, especially in New England.

The two final chapters bring us to the outbreak of the civil war. Fehrenbacher manages to sum the arguments he raises in 'Dred Scot', without making the reader feel he's returning to the same grounds. Rather, the intepretations are striking. I was especially interested with Stephen Dauglas's role in the session crises. Twice in the 1850s, Dauglas's actions contributed to the dissolation of the union and the coming of the war. In 1852, his ilcalculated move with the Kensas-Nebraska act harmed raised Southern expectations and alienated Northerners. In 1857, the life long compromiser Dauglas suddenly became a man commited to the 'great principle' of popular sovreignty, breaking down the Democratic party as he did it. Had Dauglas managed to come up with a compromise, he might have remained the head of the united democratic party in the 1860 election, and after his defeat, he might have had enough influence to keep the South in the union. Of course, the counter factual is fanciful, but it is nonetheless intriguing.

This chapter and the next were completed by Fehrenbacher's former student, historian Ward M. McAfee. For the most part, McAfee does a commendable job, and writes good prose, which is very effective, even if it is not quite as elegant as Fehernbacher. It would be interesting to know how much of the last two quarters McAfee completed. My guess would be about one quarter of the first and half of the last. McAfee, continues Fehrenbacher's thesis very well, and there are few if any discrenible slips in the argument. However, McAfee has a tendency to moralise which I found slightly irritating.

The last chapter explains why the rise of the Republican party was such a threat to the South, despite Lincoln's repeat assurences that he meant no harm to slavery 'where it existed'. Ultimately, slavery depended not only on the States right to control their own domestic institutions, but also on support from a pro-slavery federal government. Lincoln's election meant that for the first time, the South was no longer representitive of America. The slaveholding republic was no more, and slavery was on the route to extinction. Slaveholders' attempt to recreate the Slaveholding republic was the source of sescession, and the Civil War that brought a fast ending to the the institution.

During the time of the American Revolution, slaveholder Thomas Jefferson, man of the enlightment, considered slavery to be a great evil. As an older man, settled into Southern ways, he let his antislavery convictions deteriorate into mere rethorics. Until Abraham Lincoln's election, the United States prefered to ignore Jefferson's words that "all men were created equal", and it was truly a Slaveholding republic.

This book comprehensively covers many subjects concerning race and American government--namely: the founder's intentions regarding slavery, the behavior of the federal government toward slavery up through the Civil War, the attitudes and behavior of Abraham Lincoln toward the institution, and the constitutional rulings that effectively ended the first civil rights movement following the formal destruction of slavery. Early in the piece, the reader might think that the book is designed to cleanse the founding period of any association with slavery, but then the bulk of the work demonstrates the multiple ways that the government under the new Constitution became devoted to serving the slaveholding interest. Lincoln is neither glorified nor vilified but rather is evaluated within the political context within which he operated. The book leaves the reader with a deeper sense of what has long been called the American dilemma. It wrestles with difficult constitutional issues but in ways that are comprehensible to the layperson. This book will long be an academic classic, but it is also one that every serious American should read, especially given the fact that the ugly legacy of the slaveholding republic is still with us.

Fehrenbacher begins his account of the federal government's relation to slavery with a plain thesis: that the constitution was not intended to really protect slavery, that it was to be neutral on the subject and leave any regulation of slavery to the states. Fehrenbacher starts from this point and explores the relationship in a number of contexts including the national capital, the slave trade, and foreign relations (the most interesting chapter of this work). Throughout the work he demonstrates how the southern interest in slavery dominated the federal government in practically every aspect, even in administrations of presidents who were morally opposed to slavery (J.Q. Adams). This dominance of the slavery interest pre-1860 is used to explain the knee jerk hostility that the South had to the Republican party. The fairly benign opposition that the Republicans had to expansion of slavery was blown up by southerners who viewed any opposition to slavery, however minor, was seen as a radical attack on the Constitution. Fehrenbacher argues that essentially this reaction based on a fundmental error in understanding the Republican party was one of the major reasons for southern succession. I stronly recommend this book for any interested in the history of slavery or the early federal government.

This is the last work of the late Don Fehrenbacher, the author of the Dred Scott Decision and other outstanding books on American history. This book was incomplete at his death and was finished by one of his former students, Ward McAfee. Professor McAfee appears to have done an excellent job, the book certainly appears seamless and written with Fehrenbacher's distinctive and precise style.

In this book, Fehrenbacher explored the relationship of the Federal government to slavery from the formulation of the constitution through the Civil War. The quality of writing is excellent and the level of scholarship high. Fehrenbacher's points are buttressed by his careful analysis of American legislative and legal history.

Fehrenbacher begins with the issue of whether or not the Constitution protected slavery. This charge was made initially by Abolitionists in the 1840s and has been often repeated in recent years. Fehrenbacher's close analysis reaches a different conclusion. His view, well supported by careful reading of the original documents, is that the Constitution was neutral towards slavery. The Founders meant neither to protect nor discourage slavery. Many of the clauses cited as protecting slavery were the product of other concerns, notably the primary concern with producing a constitution acceptable to all sections.
What followed the implementation of the Constitution was, however, another matter. Fehrenbacher devotes several well documented chapters to the different way in which the Federal government supported slavery. These include protection of slavery within the District of Columbia, foreign policy actions that protected the privileges of slaveholders, Federal censorship of Abolitionist propaganda, and Federal support of fugitive slave pursuits. For example, successive American governments were remarkably lax in pursuing suppression of American commercial involvement in the African slave trade, well after importation of slaves into the USA was abolished.

The Federal tilt towards slavery was the product, not of constitutional protection, but of Southern domination of the Federal branch and Southern political unity on any issue touching slavery. Federal involvement in protecting slavery produced recurrent crises whenever the question of slavery expansion into newly acquired territories occurred. Fehrenbacher has a nice description of these recurrent crises though this is an oft described problem.

Finally, Fehrenbacher demonstrates why the South found the election of Lincoln to be so threatening. After benefiting from decades of Federal tilt towards slavery, Southerners were convinced that Republican domination of the Executive branch would result in a Rederal anti-slavery tilt and put slavery at risk in the whole USA. Fehrenbacher then concludes with a nice concise description of Federal policy towards slavery during the Civil War and Reconstruction, including Lincoln's crucial role.

An fine and well written book.

This is a great book for any Sonic Adventure owner. Extremely detailed and (as corny as it may sound) fun to read. It helped me beat the game.

Absolutely great! A little confusing with the maps. Very detailed and the best Sonic Adventure strategy guide that I've seen. Even includes information about the chao. Racing, caring and even a map showing the names of the different areas on the VMU for Chao Adventure! Also includes the places for the bullies. This strategy I would recommend out of all of the others!

This is a great book for any Sonic Adventure owner. It is very detailed and has great tips with roll-through maps of all the levels. It's the only way to get all the A emblems.

This is an excellent book. it has everything you need to finish the game. It also shows you all about the chao.

I recomend it to evryone.

This book is hands down the best book published about Supreme Court clerks. Dr. Art Ward has written an exhaustive and accurate book that details the true role of clerks in the Supreme Court. It raises eyebrows and highlights that any discussion on the Supreme Court is incomplete without aknowledging the role of clerks. It is a must read by anybody interested in the Court or in judicial politics.

A book ten years in the making, Sorcerers' Apprentices is an intriguing and sometimes unsettling look at the world of law clerks. Most people know precious little about this field. Ward and Weiden provide an eye-opener.

Being a law clerk is to basically be a research assistant for a judge. Being that the United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, being a clerk for an U.S. Supreme Court judge (a `Justice') is the pinnacle in this field. As former clerks to a Supreme Court Justice, these young men and women will be the most sought after candidates at law firms across the country. Many will later be offered judgeships themselves.

After a decade of research, pouring through the personal papers of justices and court employees, and interviews with former clerks, the authors discovered that the law clerk went from being little more than a secretary in the 1930's to a position of enormous power today. Perhaps the greatest power is in the "certiorari process" of choosing what cases the Supreme Court will hear. Of the over 8,000 cases submitted annually to the Supreme Court, only a few hundred perhaps will be heard. It would appear that the law clerks suggestions to their respective Justices on which cases to hear has had a great impact on the types of cases heard. And changes on the constitutionality of specific laws in specific areas literally changes people's lives.

Another issue of concern is that for some Justices, the bulk of their decisions may come not from legal research, but from the opinions written by their law clerks. Some have gone so far as to say that in some cases it is the law clerk who actually writes the final opinion; the Justice simply signing it. Others point out that the opinions expressed verbally by law clerks to their Justice may actually hold more sway over a decision than the attorneys presenting the case.

Filled with quotes, text, research, analyses, and charts galore, Sorcerers' Apprentices: 100 Years of Law Clerks at the United States Supreme Court is a revealing look at the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court. It sheds light on an institution that few in America have any knowledge about, but that affects us all. Ward and Weiden present nearly as many questions in this book as they do insights. Do law clerks have more power than they used to? Do they have more power than they should? Should this be rectified, and if so, how? In the end, Sorcerers' Apprentices is a fascinating look at a world few ever see.

The role of Supreme Court law clerks became somewhat controversial when former clerk William Rehnquist, then in private practice, wrote a highly influential magazine article in 1957 alleging that clerks asserted undue influence over their Justices which impacted on the Court's decisions. Since then, the issue has popped up every so often, usually generating much more heat than light in examinating the role of clerks. Fortunately, we now have probably as solid an analysis of the role of clerks as we will ever get in this fine book by two political scientists.

The authors have reviewed all printed material on clerks, checked judicial biographies, surveyed oral history collections, conducted extensive interviews, and submitted an extensive written questionnaire to 600 former clerks selected on a random basis. The picture that emerges is skillfully developed, with helpful charts and figures, as well as an exceptionally detailed set of notes and bibliography for those interested in further research. At around 250 pages, the authors have managed to strike a beneficial balance between detail and survey, so the narrative moves along smoothly.

The authors discuss all key issues relating to clerks: selection, their critical role in reviewing cert. petitions and making recommendations, the drafting of bench memos, serving as communication conduits and coalition builders between chambers, and the all-important and most controversial element, their role in drafting opinions for their Justices. I think it fair to say that the authors conclude that clerks do have influence in the Court's decision-making process, but not to the extent of manipulating results. The more substantial problem that emerges from the book is whether the Supreme Court has become too bureaucratized and "depersonalized" as each term the Court works its way through thousands of cert. petitions and cranks out it published decisions on argued cases. This situation raises serious issues, as does the role of the clerks and the issue of whether the Justices have abdicated any of their constitutional responsibilities. Fortunately, we are in a much better position to grapple with both these issues because of this fine and highly interesting book.

This book is a must read for court watchers. You cannot understand the modern court without understanding the role of the modern court clerk. Simply the best researched book on the topic.

Sutton's political cartoons show that he possesses keen observational skills and that his ability to discern correctly the elemental hypocrisy in the current political climate is much higher than most Americans. Unlike those Americans who have given up on the reality that politics could be honorable and good, Sutton still believes that honesty and intelligence are not only possible but required qualities in elected officials. Rather than being naive, Sutton's incredulity at the actions of politicians and government officials is more the product of a Cassandric prescience and an ability to read between the lines of government-speak & behavior to see where this all will go in the not-so distant future. Very smart. As I read this book, I kept having to recheck when the individual work was published, and each time the date showed that Sutton was way ahead of other critical voices in America, most of which were largely silent or complicit in the steamrolling of civil liberties and democratic governance after 09/11/01. What's more, he was right time and time again. Definitely recommended reading for anyone interested in the ability of the graphic arts to say things of value in times when saying valuable things is of the utmost importance.

That is the question. How does Ward Sutton manage to continue to come up with good ideas for his weekly cartoons? And by good I mean fabulously funny and incisive cartoons, week after week, year after year. For those not familiar with Sutton, his politics are well to the left of center, which means he's as eager to skewer Democrats as well as Republicans. No one gets off easy within the borders of a Sutton cartoon.

Though not all-inclusive, this volume gives readers a chance to enjoy Ward Sutton's distinctive take on current events (and excellent artwork) all in one place.
Out on the Left Coast we don't get the Village Voice, but I've enjoyed his panel comics in The Funny Times and when I've run across them in major publications.
Sutton is a gifted cartoonist whose work I've been able to follow since he drew the weekly strips for our college newspaper.
Get this book, you won't be disappointed!
Um Ya Ya!

Back in the 80s and early 90s when I was the staff political cartoonist for City Pages (now owned by the Village Voice) in Minneapolis and saw Ward Sutton's early comics in the Twin Cities Reader, I was not impressed. I never even bothered to pick up the TCR to look at his work, only looked at it when I saw a copy laying open at the laundromat or coffeeshop... But today he has evolved into by far my favorite comic artist. The work he has been doing for the Village Voice for the past few years is the best political comic art in the country. I show his work in the cartooning course I teach at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as exemplary. It isn't exactly "political cartooning" and I would rather the term "political comic" be used so as not to totally snuff out what little is left of the former art form. Whatever you want to call it, it is inspired, expressive and direct from the gut. (Frankly I'm amazed the Voice would use anything this good!) My hats off to him for finding a way to use comic art to make incisive political commentary in a time when the traditional one-panel political cartoon has all but croaked.

Above all, good move getting out of Minneapolis, Sutton!

Couldn't put this book down. The narrative is friendly and the characters sympathetic and compelling. I was sad when it was over and wanted to read more. Lovely.

I loved this book! What a wonderful, touching story about a young man dealing with life's challenges.

A refreshingly thoughtful story. It asks you to refocus on your life's persoective.

This is a great book that I found hard to put down! It reminded me at times of my own journey to young adulthood. A recommended read

This book takes you back in time when it was the type of world we love to remember. It's a sentamental journey in time to a place that was special to all those who grew up there. It warms the heart with each page. I enjoyed the nostalgic stroll down the byways of a wonderful small Alabama town.

A look at both growing up and getting old. Growing up inAlabama with a message for everyone. Humor, tragedy, the dramatic andthe mundane. In short, the shape of life.

Robert David Ward brought together a diverse mix of people whose lives were linked by time and place, revealing both the uniqueness of this small southern college town and a common culture familiar to those who remember World War II, danced to the music of a young Frank Sinatra and big bands, and listened to The Lone Ranger on the radio. It was a time when children created their own entertainment and adventure, limited only by imagination and invention. Although the setting was unique to those who lived it, many of the experiences brought me back to my own childhood in a small southern town. Their stories pulled me right into their lives as they shared the experiences that shaped their futures. I felt as if Montevallo was my town and its young people were my best friends. Not since I read the stories of Rebeccah Wells and Pat Conroy have I felt such a kindred spirit with the lives of those portrayed in TIME HAS MADE A CHANGE IN ME.

The broad mix of voices who shared their recollections and images convey a history more authentic than any history book of deadly dull facts and dates. This book will make a perfect gift for my children and grandchildren!

This book is a bittersweet collection of memories --- some hilarious, some heartbreaking --- of the coming of age in a small southern town. The group of friends who penned these stories share a heritage and a culture found in other locations. Anyone born from 1927 to 1935 can easily relate to the scenes depicted by the men and women of that era. Other readers can benefit from insight gained from those who are peers of their parents and grandparents. If you want to spend a weekend reliving your OWN youth, this book is for you. If you want the younger members of your family to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of you as an individual, this is for them!