Williams Books

The four published reviews of this book are rather biased and show that the reviewers did not internalize what the author wrote. They stand in stark contrast to the 7 personal reviews. I couldn't put this book down. In a very personal way the author and his real experiences embody the reality of the co-existence, or lack thereof, in judea and samaria today. Stangely enough, shortly after a friend insisted I read this book I have shared tea with Era in his home and with his neighbors in Turmis Aya that he descibes in the book and to independently hear them tell the same stories he tells in the book.
This book should be required reading for anyone that wants to offer an opinion about the future of Samaria.

Era Rapaport effectively communicates the highs and lowes of being a settler in the land of Israel today. He is a modern day Zionist who gave up a life of comfort to face ridicule, persecution and imprisonment to stay true to his faith in the resettlement of Eretz Israel. I highly recommend this book to all who love Zion and believe in the restoration of Israel.

This book takes what has become a controvertial impersonal topic and turns it into a tale of the human spirit. Era was an the average American. He had the normal life, but he choose to follow the path G-d choose for him. His acts of desperation would be called terrorism by the media, but it is only after reading this book that one understands he was an everday guy defending his family. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in gaining a true first hand perspective of life in the West Bank.

Mr. Rapaport's book is one of the few honest accounts of life in Israel today. Unlike reporters who have very little understanding of the complexities of life in Israel, Mr. Rapaport lives in the heart of Israel, and has a great understanding of the problems his country encounters daily. You can't go wrong reading this book.

this book is intriging. it makes you wonder about the other side of the media. letters from tel mond prison is a book written by a man who lives his life with such pupose, meaning and honesty you wonder some times who you feel bad for - the "terrorist" or the "victim"

I bought this book to replace a copy that mysteriously disappeared (someone obviously liked it too much!). The recipes truly are flavorful and unexpected and have helped me lose weight, end salad-boredom, tempt people who "never" eat salad, and earn a reputation as a super salad chef. Whether you need a refreshing main course for a hot summer day, or just some extra veggies in your diet, this book offers more ideas than you can imagine!

Who would have thought this small book on greens, salads and dressings would be indespensible? But it is! Do these authors ever go wrong? Every single cookbook of theirs', which I have read, is far and away the best on its respecive subject.

The authors of Lettuce in Your Kitchen are far better known for their grilling cookbooks than for the vegetable plate. That's a darned shame, because this cookbook is an excellent resource for those of us who want to add something more to the meal than a standard greens-and-vinegarette.

Let me point out one omission that may make a difference to you: to Schlesinger and Willoughby, a salad encompasses some sort of greens, even if it's only as a garnish. As a result, you won't find a whole chapter of pasta salads or a dozen potato salads. That's fine with me, but you should be clear about what to expect.

What you SHOULD expect are clearly written recipes for salads that you probably wouldn't have invented by yourself. The book is organized by simple salads; salads for the perfect tomato; vegetable salads; salads with meat and fish; main course salads; salads with exotic flavors; fancy salads; and salads for a crowd. It's prefaced by an extrememly useful section in which the various greens are identified (with line drawings -- not quite as useful as a photo but it works), and categories that help you discover that, should your market be out of spinach, you can use baby chard or baby beet greens instead. The book has only a few photos, but they're enough for inspiration.

But what about their recipes? I've tried two with excellent success, and I have a list of additional salads to try. My "starter salad" for Thanksgiving was watercress salad with plums and scallions and a hoisin-based dressing. (Most of the dressings are more than you need, and the authors suggest that, say, the hoisin dressing is a good dip for veggies or with roast chicken.) Every plate was cleaned off, even the token non-foodie (he was instructed that he could NOT bring his own Budweiser to the meal). I also truly enjoyed the salad of Boston lettuce, mango, cucumber and avocado, served with a creamy orange-spice dressing. It was no harder to put toghether than the mundane green salad you'd bring to a buffet, and far more tasty!

Naturally, you can get less exotic (escarole with bacon, eggs, and potatoes) or far more so (arugula with lobster and pancetta with a smooth avocado dressing).

But they all have one thing in common: they're VERY easy to put together. And, if you buy the ingredients in season and avoid the handful of expensive items (Mesclun with grilled fois gras, pears, and maui onion with port wine dressing?), it'll be a snap to pull together a meaningful meal with very little effort.

I'm sold on this book. I think you'll like it, too.

Whoever thought you could say that about a salad? But they do. They rock! For a niche cookbook, this one has a lot of variety in flavors. Each recipe gives lettuce alternatives, which is helpful if you live in an area that doesn't carry a large selection of lettuces. Some of the combinations are quiet unique, such as one concoction of watermelon, red onion and vinegar - sounds a little kooky, but once you taste it, it all makes perfect sense. This is a great book to try interesting and healthy new salad combinations. I hope you enjoy it.

I bought this book in hopes of having a real tool for eating better. So many cookbooks have a few ho-hum salad recipes here and there, and some of the other salad cookbooks I've seen have recipes that are just too elaborate for everyday cooking. This book has a broad range of interesting and tasty salads that are easy to make. You will never get bored, and your friends and guests won't either. The dressing part of each recipe makes a large amount so that you can have extra to use later (I always make half of the dressing recipe, toss the salad with just a few tablespoons, and still have a lot left over). So if you can only muster the energy to throw some lettuce in a bowl some night, you will have great leftover dressing to toss it with. Since I've been using this book, I have stopped buying bottled dressing and have even started growing my own salad greens.

Anyone who will read this book will not just vividly walk with Bill through his "house of mourning," but their own. And, with your own tears and smiles and laughs and questions and a whole lot more, you will come out singing that we matter alot--to God!

Translate the experience of this book into your thoughts and prayers of others you know who are in thier own "house of mourning," and you will be better equipped to "be there" for them.

Read this book slowly! Process it! And share it!

Dr. John R. Hellstern

Bill Hendricks has written a book about death and dying that is full of hope. Perhaps the last taboo in our culture, right up there with discussing our income, death is a subject we prefer to ignore for as long as possible until, as in Bill's case, it comes knocking on our door.

With honesty, insight and practical encouragement Bill walks his readers along the shadowy pathways that lead to "The House of Mourning" and beyond.

At once touching, comforting and unsentimental, The Light That Never Dies will encourage many who are grieving with a message of hope in the midst of sadness and loss.

I highly recommend this book. Get it for a friend or loved one struggling with loss. Get it for yourself and be reminded that God can and will bring light out of darkness.

I read this book after hearing the author speak on a radio program. This was 2 months after my father died of cancer, and 2 months before my sister also died of cancer. So it was timely. I ordered the book and devoured it--it was hard to put down. The author is just so real. It's not a "how-to" book, just encouraging words from someone who's been there. I have purchased at least 8 copies of the book, and it's what I give to people in my life as they experience the death of someone close to them.

Everyone should read this book. Those currently grieving will find comfort and hope. Those that have been there will find words that describe all they have gone through. Many will find helpful insights into thier experience. Those who have not yet grieved over a loved one, will be better prepared for that day.
Bill Hendricks puts into words an experience that is difficult to describe. I felt like I was there with him. He does not pull any punches about the pain, doubts or hard questions. He has been there, but through it all there is hope. The Light never dies, and we can all take comfort in that thought.

The night I read the first chapter, I couldn't sleep. I lay haunted by the sadness of three little girls enduring the death of their mother.
In The Light That Never Dies, William Hendricks guides his reader from the heart-wrenching sorrow of his 47-year-old wife Nancy's lost fight with cancer to his assurance that she is alive with Christ today. Although he professes to write not just for Christians, but "for anyone who knows grief, loss, pain, or suffering," (p. 21) his story is pervaded by the presence of a loving God. It is also pervaded by the presence of those little girls, Amy, Kristin, and Brittany, and their Daddy. How often I looked back at the photo of the family complete with its mother.
The first of the book's two dominant images comes from Margaret Wise Brown's children's classic, The Runaway Bunny. Brown's mother bunny vows to pursue her little one every time he runs away. "The little bunny knows that he will always be the object of his mother's affection" (p. 26). This motif entwines the human theme around the theological treatise. God, the ultimate Mother Bunny, manifests the same loyal love. The author himself displays it, assuring eight-year-old Amy that, "Even though Mommy's gone, Daddy's here, and I'm not going anywhere" (p. 83).
The Light That Never Dies, however, reaches beyond bunnies and their mothers, apt as that image may be. Neither is it only a memoir of God sustaining a family through intense pain, though He clearly does.
Revealing his Dallas Seminary theological training and didactic writing experience, Hendricks uses a second image, from Ecclesiastes 7:2. "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting." But where was God in the Holocaust, Columbine, and 9-11? In the Challenger explosion and sniper deaths? In personal loss? Why is it better to go to the House of Mourning? From Ecclesiastes come biblical precepts for suffering. Life is brief. Death is not final. God comforts.
A book that might have become unbearably tragic instead brings hope from one who grieves with understanding. Heartwarming moments intersperse with excruciating times to provide stamina to persevere. As serious lessons creep from the story, so a husband's love glimmers in the little mentions, such as Nancy's favorite Earl Grey tea. And in his visual depictions of their special times. "Our surroundings gradually took form as the light intensified, like a Polaroid slowly developing" (p. 29).
With tenderness and candor, Hendricks evaluates his journey from the news of Nancy's diagnosis, through her sickness and death, to his own mourning and recovery. He admits his feelings. "Suffering is an a cappella solo" (p. 13). He declares theological truth. "Evil is real" (p. 39). He offers practical advice for those who console. "Loving care is best expressed in emotions and actions, not theology or philosophy" (p. 136). And he proclaims for our comfort that God is "utterly trustworthy" (p. 132). "His lovingkindness is everlasting" (p.131).
Whether you ache now or seek to understand pain before your own turn comes, I commend to you The Light That Never Dies. The emotions are authentic. The lessons are thought provoking. And the conclusion of the book, an account of 15-year-old Brittany's expression of love, again threatened my sleep.

While deepening my knowledge on the Theory of Constraint, I was looking for something that could give me a complete and systematic approach to the Thinking Process.
I must say that this book is really fulfilling my needs.

If you are serious about solving your difficult problem, there is no better starting point than Dettmer's book. That said, the process is not easy. You will identify the undesirable effects and construct diagrams to help you discover the root causes. You will identify the limiting factors that prevent you from achieving your goals. You will identify the intermediate objectives which help you reach your goals. And you will learn more acronyms than you thought you could ever remember. Perhaps you will even become a better thinker. Use this book to understand Goldratt's Thinking Process, and to solve your difficult problem.

the book not just tell what the thinking process is and show how to conduct the process. with this book's help, I came from knowing TOC to using TOC.

Bill has produced an exquisite update to his earlier works, well recongnized as the definitive source for the logical thinking process. With some new simplifications and very effective process summaries, this book is an essential tool when you have a serious problem to address. Bills clear and concise writing makes the material accessible to all. His personal experiences improving many organizations ensure results.

I wish our politicians could use a process like this to address the systemic problems that plague Washington DC and our nation, such as Health Care. One can only hope...

Regardless of whether you're interested in TOC this book is one that can really add some critical tools to your toolbox. Logic trees are one of the more powerful tools available for helping people think through cause & effect relationships ... a process most people don't do well. This book gives lots of great examples and advice for building the trees.

The Longest Trip Home is a memoir of author John Grogan's life; starting from earliest memories of growing up in Michigan, the third son of devoutly Catholic parents, and ending shortly after the death of his father, who died at 89.

The first third of the book was a bit slow for me, but I stayed with it and was rewarded with a good read later on. (Grogan's childhood was a safe and privileged one, not really unusual enough to write a book about, in my opinion). He did start to get into more than your average mischief by his teenaged years, however. And that's pretty much when the book picks up speed and becomes interesting. About that time, the author experiments with drugs and girls, and begins to defy his parents.

By college, he has mostly abandoned his Catholic upbringing, but trying to save his parents feelings, he doesn't tell them. The same with pre-marital sex; even though Grogan stayed in long-term relationships with few girls, he didn't dare let his parents know he was sexually active. By the time he commits to a live-in relationship with his long time girlfriend Jenny, John was 30 years old and his parents still thought he was a virgin!

It's about that time he finally began cutting his parents apron strings. They, by the way, had become even more religious, in their golden years.

The book is 320+ pages, but the ending still seems rushed. Perhaps the finished product (this was an advanced copy) will be shortened even further, but the ending of the book - from his father's death to the last page - seemed short and sweet.


All in all, a good book but very long winded. True - it packs in 40+ years of memories. And John Grogan is an excellent writer; he really knows how to tell a story. So while I do not think this book is as entertaining as "Marley & Me," I'm confident that the third son of Mrs. Grogan will find much success with his second book, and will look forward to reading more in the future.

Another winner for John Grogan.John Grogan put into words what so many of us could not. It will make you laugh, cry, and wonder . How did our parents ever survive our adolesence. It will make you think about things you had not thought about in years.It will make you think about your own mortality and how our lives aren't just ours. How all of life's events are intertwined with so many others. What the impact of our own behavior has on those we love. It feels like it is more than just John Grogans memoir, but rather that of many of us.

John Grogan is the youngest of Richard and Ruth Grogan's four children. The Grogans were devoted to each other and their Catholic religion. In The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir, John shares what it was like to grow up in this wonderful family. I laughed through the first half of the book as I read about his childhood exploits - setting off fireworks in a neighbor's yard; sneaking peeks at his father's photography magazines to see topless women; learning to smoke cigarettes, etc. - because his writing reminded me of what it's like to be young.

The middle of the book made me smile. After college, John met and fell in love with a woman who was not Catholic. His parents found this difficult to begin with, but learned to accept it. John's relationship with his wife forced him to be more honest with his parents and show them the man he is, and not the man he thought they wanted him to be.

I sobbed through the last part of this book as John and his siblings cared for their aging parents and coped with their father's death. This part of the book is a very moving tribute to his parents.

I adored this book. Maybe it's because I am about the same age as John and I remember the times he describes while growing up. Maybe it's because my parents are older and my sister and I are beginning to face some of the things John and his siblings did. Or, maybe it's just because it's a wonderful book. The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir is published by William Morrow and will be released on October 21.

The Longest Trip Home:A Memoir by John Grogan ~
If I could give John Grogan a 10 star rating for this memoir, I would! I really enjoyed reading about his youth, teen, young and mature adult years while growing up in a devout Catholic household. As I read his memoir, I could relate to his experiences. He brought back many of the hypocritical acts I remembered through my own parochial education, the remembrances of my father's stories as a youth, and events surrounding my friends' religious rearing.

Out of respect for his parents, his ruse extended years far beyond the average young adult. We all have our stories of walking energetically in the front door of the church, and without making eye contact proceed to the side or back door and head to the local corner store until the end of services. Or being belittled in front of the entire class on Monday morning, because you did not attend church the day before - although the attendance in a parochial school with daily prayer memorization and religion classes, along with Wednesday morning Chapel attendance seemed more than enough character building - it was not good enough! Thankfully, I was saved by public junior high and high school.

Mr. Grogan has a wonderful way of expressing his comedic sarcasm. I laughed at his descriptions of some of the nuns' chastising methods. "My mother remembered - with great humor, for some reason - a nun at her Catholic school forcing her younger brother to eat a dead fly he had been caught playing with. Forcing an insect carcass down the throat of a second grader - now there's the Christian spirit!" Many of the examples John Grogan gave, were the same experiences my father spoke of; getting "Whacks!" on all the same body parts and for all the same reasons.

In addition, The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir tells of wonderful neighborhoods, dating, employment, recreation, and friends made. It is a great read. You will laugh, be irritated, laugh, cry, and watch John Grogan mature. His maturity had a lot to do with his wife Jenny.

I was a Marley & Me hold out. I thought it would be too sad - I could not even watch Lassie as a kid (or adult)! After hearing the humor in John Grogan's voice during a radio interview, I bought the book and loved it. I hope you enjoy The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir as I did! I feel fortunate to be an advance reader. I will be purchasing a few as "winter economy day" gifts.

I cannot say enough about this exceptional read. I laughed. I roared out loud. I remembered. I was sad. I got choked up. I sobbed from the depths of my heart and soul.
John Grogan takes us thru his childhood, his religious upbringing, pranks, tests of character, friendships and romance with all its funny, sweet (and sometimes not so well behaved) events, his parents - their most significant roles, and his growth into manhood. Faith and his parents commitment to that end are central to the humor and pathos that are expressed so very very well in his story that ultimately leads to "The Longest Trip Home."
At the end we see John Grogan as a fine individual who has grown and become confident with his own choices. He is the man he is because of receiving great love and trust. His respect and appreciation are genuine.
This book is one of my very treasured all time favorites. Something for everyone. Thank you Mr. Grogan!

A great beach read and a wonderful female protagonist in Billie! I hope this is the first in many novels from a budding new author. The book is very well researched and totally believable.

I could not put the book down !! I had to read, read, read til the last page! The laundy can wait....the vaccuming can wait.....eat what you can find....dinner can wait! It was my mantra for a few days while I read this fantastic story....My mind is still busy with the story days after the book was finished! I cannot wait to see it on the screen....I will be first in line in my neighborhood!! I want more......keep the excitment alive ! !

I have met Tom on Marco and was privileged to be given a copy of this book before it was published. It is an excellent first novel and I hope that he has enormous success with it and anything else he writes.

I still have chills...

I read this book three times and can't wait to see the movie. If you like mystery, suspense, drama and a little foreplay this is your book. Every bit as intelligent as Elmore Leonard and as fun to read as Carl Hiaasen! Excellent read, highly recommended!!

Wow, what a book! I didn't know anyone could pack that much action into one book - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves suspense and adventure - no disappointments there. All I kept thinking as I was reading it was it would make one hell of a great movie - I will be first in line for tickets when this happens. Mr. Williams' maritime background really helped make the story authentic - hope there is a sequel that includes these two brilliant but comical Englishmen. Kudos to Mr. Williams for a terrific read!

This story "The Magic Bicycle", by William hill is lively and helps boost the imagination of anyone who reads it. William Hill has made it sound like a similar version of E.T., as the story consist the main characters of a boy, his bike and an alien it.
This story is about a boy named Danny Chase, who had been born under the black-cloud, and his calico cat, named Murgitroid. Danny's mother and sister have both died in a car accident 2 years before, and his dad doesn't spend much time with him as he is a busy man and he thinks that his son should stand up for himself. He is currently attending a school in Carswell Air Force Base outside Ft. Worth, Texas, where he is left out because of his personality.
It starts off on a negative point in Danny's life after two of his family members died; he is being chased by bullies; Spike, Spike's older brother Rocky, their friends, which are all of built for sports; most of them play football in the junior high team. As Danny arrives at a dead end, he realizes he has no choice but to enter the haunted house. As he explores the house, he finds an alien hidden in the basement. As he saves the alien's life from being sent to the scientists for experiment, the alien gives him a magic bicycle in return as a gift for saving his life.
This is the part of the story where it is truly exciting. As Danny experiments with the bicycle, he realizes that not only can he change the form, status and appearance with his mind, he can also listen to his cat talking English to him wisely and heal the riders of the bike by traveling on it, but he can travel back to the past or into the future, whichever he likes.
I recommend this story to all because it boosts the imagination of its reader; as well as teaching them an important lesson: sometimes doing a good deed can have its benefits maybe not a magic bicycle, but a relieving feeling in your hearts. That is truly a gift for all of us; it is important for everyday life.

I read TMB in a very short time. Not because I am a fast reader, but because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next! This book is always entertaining and thought provoking, you deffinately get a different perspective on cats. The book is unpredicable enough to keep you off guard, but writen cleverly enough to always keep you involved. I am 37 years old, and all I can say is that if this is a childrens book, pass me the Ovaltine!

I previewed this book before sending it to several younger relatives for Christmas. The author may have been targeting the "young adult" but I found plenty in it for us "older adults", too! The book was every bit as enjoyable as William Hill's earlier books and I look forward to more fun reading from this outstanding young author!

Incredibly imaginative. I was struck how so many ages could appreciate this piece of creative genius. I am 40 and I liked it. A 14 year old would love it. I think my grandfather would have appreciated it in that it seems to evoke nostalgic memories from youth about overcoming problems and turning your dreams and desires into reality.. 2 big thumbs up!!!!!!!

TMB is one of the greatest books I've ever read, along with Chasing Time. It holds marvelous truths about our own lives, and inspires one's imagination. Anyone can - and should - read it. It's a wonderful book that allows you to get out of your world for a couple of hours, and return to it wiser. Both children and grown-ups are invited to ride with Danny and Murg on the Magical Bicycle to amazing new places, across time. An unforgettable experience.

This is a fast moving novel about a struggling but talented New York-oriented black male writer whose life struggles have become a roller coaster ride through American, European and global racism. The axis of the novel revolves around how America deals with the race issue, and in particular how it deals with the issue of black male on white female sexual encounters.

The story is told through the eyes of a character called Max Reddick, a slightly hip, emerging intellectual, who wants to write like Charley Parker plays the Sax, but yet he is still a very much struggling black writer. Max seems to have as his number one goal in life that of decoding the game being played against blacks by the white man. Or maybe (and the novel leaves this up to the reader) this goal is just a normal by-product of being a black man in a white man's world. Very quickly Max realizes that "politics white boy-style" is just another way white people try to lead black people back to their proper "place" in society: in effect telling them through indirection how to think, feel, and when and how to act, and even how to suffer.

Max travels to Europe where he ends up in a select intellectual circle, that very much respects his manuscript, and where he eventually marries and later divorces a Danish woman who remained his friend even long after the marriage has ended, and who takes care of him at the end of the novel as he dies of cancer.

At the meta-psychological level, the novel proves Ishmael Reed's postulate: that writing, "is fighting and struggling by other more respectable means," as Williams gets to use his pen as his last, and most profound act of rebellion. The book thus is as Walter Mosley has described it as "a shout from deep within some existential void" that resonates on the same frequency of all struggling blacks: suspended invisible in a world that rejects blackness without the need for a cause or a reason, where "Black people have been hollering out in pain for centuries, fighting for freedom, dying in slavery, belittled by little [white] men, and denied by kings and history. Sometimes these black folk have just laid down and died. But mostly they have survived with deformed psyches and distorted notions of the world. Sometimes evil has begotten evil and the one-time slave has slaughtered and even cannibalized his oppressor."

As his personal life spins out of control and he contracts cancer, Max puts down on paper in a scatological way, what everyone else in everyday American society is thinking but cannot say aloud, and in this respect, William's novel is not only a shout from the void, but also a supremely iconoclastic and urgent psychological analysis not unlike Dostoyevsky.

While its organization is structurally very scattered, it still gets its message across. Clearly the novel has a deep existentialist basis and draws on existential themes and metaphors. However, at its core is the notion that at the end of the day, when everything is said and done, the only thing "real" in American society is white racism. Everything else its humanity, its values, its ideals, are subordinate and are carefully calibrated and measured in terms of how they affect the sensitively regulated "white supremacist status quo." According to Max's way of thinking, equality, freedom, and democracy are merely the chips used to move the pieces around the white supremacist chessboard. America and all of its "so-called" ideals are just byproducts of the hard core white supremacist ideology, which lies deep in the nation's bosom. Toward the end of the novel, Max leaves no doubt that "the man" will go to great lengths to protect his white male hero system--including the complete annihilation of the black race if necessary. Max thinks blacks are up to the task, able to match whites, evil for evil to the bitter end. [I, for one, think he is wrong in this regard.]

The book is sprinkled with deeply troubling characters and scenes that reflect Max's deteriorating state of mind, such as the following passage about Moses Boatwright, a Black cannibal and Rhodes scholar, who, after being run mad by racism, killed a white man and ate him. In a mock interview, Boatwright tells Max (acting as a reporter) that: "This world is an illusion, Mr. Reddick, but it can be real. I went prowling on the jungle side of the road where few people ever go because there are things there, crawling, slimy, terrible things that always remind us that down deep we are rotten, stinking beasts. Now, because of what I did, someone will work a little harder to improve the species." (page 53).

The book is filled with images such as this one that have both over and under tones that are frightening in their symbolic implications. This is deep, modern, intense writing. Fifty stars.

This book I happen to stumble on while looking for another book here on Amazon. Wow what a great read! Absoloutley well written and eloquent. A must read for all.

There is this book and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison that have proven to be one of the best examples of African American writing during the turbulent Civil Rights Era which really hasn't ended. This novel is frequently compared to Invisible Man as the main character Max Riddick goes through a journey, an evolution and recalls his life in flashbacks, goes through a expatriate American phase going to Europe in hopes of finding a better audience for his writing only to find that the same kind of racism he encountered in the States only less blatant. His motivation goes from trying to best his rival Harry Ames, to phsyical survival, to trying to find a resolution to his own issues with a society that objectives him and his experience being a black man in America.

I first read this book in 1968, as Cleveland burned and after a copy boy on my paper had asked me about a U.S. plan to imprison blacks in concentration camps. I told the kid he was nuts.
After reading the book, however, I realized that Williams was fictionalizing the McCarran Act, which set up the very scheme the kid was worrying about.
That law is still on the books.

A neglected classic by a writer who some consider equal to Ralph Ellison in importance. One fascinating aspect is its fictionalized treatment of some of the century's famous black literary figures. It's a portrait of the post-WWII-through-mid-sixties period as seen through the eyes of a black writer as he establishes a career as a novelist, journalist, and Presidential speechwriter in New York, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Lagos, Nigeria. The main character, Max Reddick, is shaped by anger, at the crux of which is indignation at the hypocrisy and hostility that black people and writers faced during this period. It's a historical novel which provides some insight into the social and political ferment of the sixties, and has an Afrocentric perspective that's somewhat reminiscent of Walter Mosley's work. It includes an intruiging fictionalized version of a mythic encounter between Richard Wright and James Baldwin ("Marion Dawes") in a Paris café, and according to James Sallis's biography of Chester Himes, it describes the essence of Wright's expatriate experience and his relationship with Himes. Ishmael Reed has said that the cartoonist Ollie Harrington is depicted, and although I didn't recognize him, Malcolm X is unmistakable and I suspect that "Time" Curry is modelled after jazz drummer Kenny Clarke, who was living in Paris at the time. According to the author's biography of Richard Pryor, Motown explored the possibility of buying the film rights to the novel as a vehicle for its star, Marvin Gaye, until the idea was abandoned in favor of Lady Sings the Blues.

The story begins near the end as Max, who's dying of cancer, sits at an outdoor café in Amsterdam where he's come to investigate the mystery of the death of his friend, Harry Ames, "the father of black writers," a few days earlier in Paris. What he eventually discovers is mind-blowing.

Throughout the novel, Max opines on a multitude of subjects like: Marxism, African independence and African attitudes towards Americans, sexuality and interracial relationships (he works past some of his homophobia too), the different styles of reporters from 5 major NYC newspapers, the theory of the rich president and other political theories, the "lie" of Christmas ("the rich man's chance to dissipate the image of Scrooge"), American cars (with their "long, buttock-smooth lines"), existentialism, and Alban Berg's atonal opera, "Wozzeck" (whose climax, a child's scream, punctuates Max's argument with his woman). Max interprets bebop's message as, "we can not be contained," and modern jazz becomes the avatar of his literary aesthetic: "He wanted to do with the novel what Charlie Parker was doing to music -- tearing it up and remaking it; basing it on nasty, nasty blues and overlaying it with the deep overriding tragedy not of Dostoevsky, but an American who knew of consequences to come: Herman Melville, a super Confidence Man, a Benito Cereno saddened beyond death."

Lt Col Rankin was my squadron commander. the airplane he was flying was the F8U Crusader. I'm in the photo of the squadron winning the safety trophy.

This book was the most moving book I have ever read. He was the first and only man to survive being inside a thunderstorm, and he is still alive and well right now. Every time I see a thunderhead of a storm cloud, I think of this book, and how this man could suffer through all of that and still stay alive. I am a 13 year old girl, and reading this book could be the most inspiring expeirience ever. It is an easy book to understand, but fit for all ages. I encourage anyone who loves a good story to read "The Man Who Rode The Thunder".

I read Lt. Col. Rankin's book in the early sixties while learning to fly and have never forgotten the book nor the author's name. I have told numerous fellow pilots about it. Movie producers are overlooking this possibility. Someday, I would like to meet Lt. Col. Rankin.

I read this book (in paperback form) as a young man in the early 1960's. It made a great impression on me. As the years pass, I find myself remembering this amazing true story. Often I'm reminded of this book when I see a thunderhead, or storm system developing. (The only other aviator/writer that has impressed me equally is St. Exupery in his book, "Wind, Sand, and Stars.") Lt. Col. Rankin's book would make a wonderful film - if done with the same care as the classic Jimmy Stewart movie, "The Spirit of St. Louis". With today's special effects, and if filmed with daring and wonder, it would be a great. But read the book first. Its unforgettable!

My name is Wayne Rankin and Lt. Col. Wm. Rankin is my uncle. I grew up with him visiting us and I am very proud of what he accomplished during his career in the Marine Corps. For anyone interested, he is still alive and well and living in California with his wife. His story has inspired me to be what I am today. I have a thirteen year old son and he is now reading all about his great uncle. If anyone is interested and reads this, please feel free to contact me at wcrseattle@comcast.net. Thanks.

Came quickly with the software package included.
Saved over $20 from school bookstore website!

Honestly, unless you want to pore through every major modern quality system (ie ISO, Baldridge) and amass the details of countless companies (from Ritz Carlton to SSM Health - yes, healthcare!), buy the book.

Once you do, expect a tremendous return on this investment for an up to date, well organized, and thorough look at quality in its practical application. To get the most bang for your buck, get the latest version so your not quoting what the Ritz did 5 years ago.

Long, verbose, time consuming and WORTH EVERY BIT OF IT!

Was an assigned text for an upper level university Management course. Excellent choice. The content made sense, was well written/easy to read, and continually built on earlier chapters.

It's still on my shelf as a reference I refer to often in my business. Wouldn't be without it!

It is straightforward book. Each chapter has some case study, which is real application of Quality management. I would strongly recommend for students as well as managers to read this book. It has different point of views from various Philosophers like Dr. Deming, Dr. Juran, Crosby and other well-known persons.

I used an older edition of this book in preparing for the ASQ Certified Quality Manager Exam. It is a great reference.