California Books

Review published in Library Journal, April 15, 1999. "This new series, focusing on France is a 'unique travel guide and handbook on contemporary art and architecture.' Stich, an art historian and curator, has brought together under one cover a complete, user-friendly guide to the French art world. She provides detailed descriptions of galleries, museums, film and video centers, public artworks, art bookstores, sculpture parks, and even a parking garage, sites that are not mentioned in other guidebooks. The main focus of the book is Paris, but there are chapters on day trips and excursions to other French provinces. Each chapter is organized by neighorhood and region and contains a map with numbers and site icons that are easy to distinguish. Stich's knowledge of and joy in the art world is evident throughout the book; a great addition to any travel collection."

Review published by NY art critic Walter Robinson in ArtNet "News", April 9, 1999: "Art lovers en route to France this summer will want to pick up a copy of Art-SITES FRANCE by curator and avid art traveler Sidra Stich. The $19.95 paperback blurbs all the important museums, art centers, galleries and public art works, famous and little known."

art-SITES, founded by art historian and museum curator Sidra Stich, is launching art-SITES FRANCE thic month and expects to release art-SITES GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND early next year. A travel guide and handbook on contemporary art and architecture, art-SITES FRANCE provides maps and commentary on vanguard buildings, art fairs, film centers, even a patisserie with superbly designed cakes. "It's museums, but not just museums, and we provide text that's a very readable course on art at the same time," said Stich.

"Forget the Louvre's Renaissance masterpieces. This guide focuses its attention on the great museum's I.M. Pei-designed glass pyramid renovation. And in its pages Roy Lichtenstein trumps Toulouse-Lautrec. A San Francisco-based art historian, Stich casts a wide research net over this art-appreciative nation and offers a well-organized, well-written take on where to encounter the best painting, sculpture, architecture and film of the last few decades."

Sun. July 11, SF Examiner-Chronicle, Linda Watanabe McFerrin,(travel editor)wrote: "This is the inaugural book in an ambitious new series covering the world's contemporary art and architecture. Innovative, intriguing and refreshingly intellectual, it provides well-researched, well-informed guidance to the museums, art and film centers, galleries, bookstores, public art and notable buildings in France. Details about recent exhibitions and artists further familiarize readers with the often mystifying world of the avant-garde. Serious students of contemporary art will find it a satisfyingly comprehensive guidebook."

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R22IQ9GL5UI3B8 reat book, will make you laugh, smile, giggle, chuckle, giggle, crack up, guffaw and generally have a good time. Extremely nice photos. And it is actually very thoughtful, one can quickly see through the pretended thoughtlessness--by the way, I like this word. Here are some posters and calendars with the high resolution versions of the book:
Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Nashville Tug Boat on Cumberland River Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
"Playing Guitar" Photo Poster
San Diego Scenic Waterfront Poster

The word artificial originally meant "artful, crafty." That's an apt description of ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION, which blends art, craft, and wit into a narrative that teaches us life lessons that we did not knew we knew.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1WIEK9SYZ8KQJ This book transcends genre -- it's a good collection of memoirs, entertaining style, nice splash of humor, an extremely detailed travelogue with beautiful photographs, a good description of technology, a touch of Science Fiction (since it is purportedly written by a Artificial Imagination program) and suffused with philosophical musing and last but not the least, a moving love story.

Even though it's obviously written by a Technologist, the book is very human. It is primarily about the immigrant experience, but Kalpanik is extremely observant and has an eye to look for the unusual, notice what stands out and build humorous side of people, places and his own life.

Wonderful! I am specially moved by his bitter-sweet love story at the end.

Here are some poster size photos and calendars from the book:

Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
Thonging At the Beach
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Nashville Tug Boat on Cumberland River Photo Poster
"Playing Guitar" Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
Beach Hotties Poster

Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (04/08)

Kalpanik S. is an artificial imagination software program. He has a wife and two daughters and resides somewhere in the United States. I candidly say "somewhere" because one never knows where he will be next. Constantly moving to accept interesting positions with software corporations, Kalpanik does not let moss grow under his feet. Born twice, once in 1988 and then again in 2002, Kalpanik was not just an ordinary Artificial Intelligence program. He was created to be different, to feel and imagine like a real human. He was his own character, a graduate Computer Science Engineer.

Beginning with San Francisco, the story leads the reader through the many adventures of Kalpanik. After losing his job in San Francisco, he moves to Seattle, the comparison he draws between there and Silicon Valley is hilarious to say the least. He talks about the rain and the weather changes as opposed to California. How he hated parting with his California drivers license and how gently he was treated by the understanding clerk.

From there to Nashville like a wandering soul, he tells about the demographics of his new digs in Tennessee. Similar to a tour guide on a bus, he describes the different attractions and scenic beauty of each point of interest, giving the reader a humorous commentary. He even includes comparing the Chinese restaurant to others he has been in. He explains that while in such a restaurant one day, he noticed that all the servers were Caucasian. He had never noticed Caucasians in any Chinese restaurant working as servers, in any place he had ever been. This had to be the first one of its kind. The Nashville tour finishes off with Kalpanik comparing the ethnic percentages. Coming from a city where a high percentage of people were Asian, he had a bit of culture shock when he came to Nashville and saw that it wasn't Asian but African Americans that was the cultural dominant. After Nashville, he finds himself in San Diego; a California city more to his liking. He tells of the seventy miles of beaches and how they spread as far as the Mexican border. His description of "Mission Beach" (complete with picture) is straight out of a travel folder.

"Artificial Imagination" is a funny and well-written book with some very good photography peppered into its 176 pages. I enjoyed the unique way in which it was presented and gave it a very good grade of an A. I would recommend it for a good read for the general audience.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2USTIRIOO9LZP Kalpanik's writing is down to earth, funny, witty and smart. He chronicles his journey of self-discovery with an amazing detail and humor. His coverage of the various places he has been to--UC Davis, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Nashville-- was informative and enjoyable, and so were his jokes around them. I recommend this book to anyone looking for light reading, specially busy professionals who do not have time to read a whole book in one straight session but want to read one entertaining a chapter at a time.

Anyone with a serious interest in the late Habsburg Empire, Austria-Hungary, or Viennese culture should probably read this erudite, encyclopedic study. Johnston deserves praise for taking on a challenging subject. His extensive research and learning are obvious in the bibliography, notes, and the many names rescued from oblivion (many probably discussed here in English for the first time). Parts of this book are outstanding. That being said, I do not share the enthusiasm of other reviewers. In his search for overarching cultural forms or attitudes (such as "therapeutic nihilism"), Johnston makes too many sweeping generalizations, reducing individuals and their actions to sociological categories or cultural stereotypes. The people he describes often seem like caricatures. Not everyone in Vienna was neurotic, death-obsessed, or a dandy on the Ringstrasse. At one point he makes the far-fetched claim that the Hungarian language, by its very structure, causes Hungarians to become dreamers, disinclined to scrutinize reality. Johnston pigeonholes individuals by their ethnicity, religion, or nationality. He emphasizes conflicts among the different peoples and groups in the empire, but says little about the cultural cross-fertilization that also took place. He does recognize that the multilingual environment inspired reflection on the problems of language.

This is essentially a history of intellectual movements (who taught or influenced whom), not a social or cultural history, as the title might suggest. It does not say much about the politics of the era or the broader society (the section about Hungary is an exception). Johnston is at his best and most informative in discussing economists, legal theorists, and philosophers. The sections about philosophy and social theories are perhaps the most interesting, showing a range of thinkers, some of whom were very prescient concerning the future of Austria and Europe, and whose theories ranged from the utopian to the pessimistic to the sinister.

Johnston falters with literature and the arts. He treats Johann Strauss Jr. and his music in a rather dismissive way, seeming to overlook the fact that Strauss was a very good composer whose works quickly became popular all over the Western world and are still enjoyed more than a hundred years later. (For a better discussion of operetta as a cultural form, see Peter Hanak's book on Budapest and Vienna, "The Garden and the Workshop"). An artist as important as Oskar Kokoschka is quickly passed over in a few short paragraphs, conveying no sense at all of how Kokoschka's work developed and changed during his long productive lifetime. Other artists and works (Kolo Moser and the Wiener Werkstatte design studio, the operatic collaborations of Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss, Ernst Krenek) are not mentioned at all. This is too bad, because the art and music of this period are perhaps its most lasting legacy. By contrast, the stature of psychoanalysis has declined since the 1960s, when this book was written, and the presentation of Freud in particular seems dated.

Some details: Johnston does not translate any of the many German titles he cites, a disadvantage for those who don't read German. He often refers to the "Herrenhaus," the Upper House of Parliament, without explaining the term. He mentions Marcionism many times, but defines it only after more than two hundred pages. Ditto for Herbartianism. Readers should have some background knowledge before starting, and be prepared to question some of the author's analysis and conclusions.

This book is packed with detailed information, and we learn a great deal from it, but somehow the full color and complexity of life have gone missing. Its strength is in the details, not the synthesis. We do not come closer to understanding the forces behind the unique cultural flowering of Central Europe, and of fin-de-siecle Vienna in particular. The prodigious creativity of that place and time remain as mysterious as before.

This is a wonderful book for all intellectual historians, and cultural historians interested in fin-de-siecle Austro-Hungary. It's a tour de force if ever there were one! But it manages to remain accecible at the same time.

Also, while many have written about Freud, Wittgenstein, Schiele etc., Johnston talkes about the lesser known figures of the era. That is this book's niche.

Johnston's book may not have everything that you ever wanted to know about the intellectual and cultural life of Austria-Hungary under the Hapsburgs, but if ever a single volume came close to having everything, then this is it. It has discussions of not only the "usual suspects" like Mach, Freud, Wittgenstein, but it also provides coverage of important figures in economics (i.e. Carl Menger, Schumpeter, Hayek), jurisprudence (i.e. Hans Kelsen, Karl Renner, Anton Menger), men of letters (i.e. Musil), philosophers (i.e. Schlick, Neurath, Lukacs, Buber, Ebner), music (i.e. Mahler, Schonberg), and many, many other important people. Johnston's book also covers other less well known but important figures too. For example, he covers Hans Gross, a pioneer in the development of scientific police detection.

Anyone who has already read such books as Allan Janik and Stephen Toulmins' *Wittgenstein's Vienna*, Malachi Hacohen's *Karl Popper: The Formative Years 1902-1945* or even, Edmonds & Eidinows'*Wittgenstein's Poker*, will appreciate this fascinating and well written book.

This book is worth every cent, an amazingly well written and concise history of the culture, from all angles. I can't recommend it highly enough.

For anyone interested in the artistic, philosophical and psychological impact of Viennese culture, this is a must. Freud, Wittgenstein, Schiele, etc. Prof. of History at U. Mass., Amherst, Johnston writes clearly and with enthusiasm. See also his illustrated _Vienna, Vienna_.

Mr. Hamner writes about his family and their love of animals in a way that is entertaining and heartwarming. It is hard to imagine that the setting for this book is the great urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Mr. Hamners way with words is also a big plus. I hope that you look it up in your bookstore or library, as I believe you will enjoy reading "The Avocodo Drive Zoo."

As an animal lover I could relate to many of his pets. It is a book that would be enjoyed my many age groups.

I am an animal lover and will probably give this book to my mother for Mothers Day. Mr. Hamner really knows how to tell a story.

With this book, Earl Hamner proves that he can write as entertainingly about his adult life as he has written in the past about his childhood. Hamner's life in Hollywood is a "howl" and I do mean "howl." Read it and you'll see!

Everyone who admires and loves Earl Hamner, will love this book. It is a real good insight to his life after he leaves the Mountain for New York City and then on to Hollywood California. Being an animal lover myself, I just love his stories about the different living animals that where in their lives. It starts with his meeting Jane and it is their love of animals from there on in. How they both taught their children the same love. Also He made the family of both seem so real I felt I knew them. The humor was quite effective and I found myself laughing out loud. Quite different from his other books. I know any fans of Earl Hamner will just adore this book. I am sure everyone will want to pass it on and after reading it, they will want to search him out and have there own copy signed by Earl. You can find him in Schuyler Virginia at the Museum for "The Waltons' Series" check the web site www.the-waltons.com Most Sincerely and with Love Dorothy Phillips

The news about public school education has been bad for almost 30 years. Statistics published by city, state, and federal information banks show that kids are just not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system. Where does this money go, we have all asked,as we walk down our children's school hallways and have seen the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, the broken desks and chairs, and we have heard about the lack of services and resources going to our kids. There has been little documentation of the misappropriation of these funds until now. Lydia Segal has written an excellent and important book on this topic that will become THE textbook on corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage within the Board of Education not only in New York City, but also in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Lydia Segal, a former Investigator of the New York City public schools, says that very little of the dollars allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them. She details how coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route. Ms. Segal describes in graphic detail the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members), who obtain jobs for their "pieces". Furthermore, no one who reads her chapter "Lessons From Local Political School Control", with the sub-headings "How Language Illuminates the Pathology", "No Real Accountability", "The Ease of Building a Patronage Army", "Controlling the Tools For Patronage", and "Exploiting Parents' Poverty" will ever listen to a school Principal, Superintendent, or School Board official in the same way. Our perception of public school education is changed forever by this book.
The pathology of this corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. The 52 pages of footnotes, interviews, and reference materials as well as the easy reading style make every word Ms. Segal writes believable, although depressing. There is no question, however, that anyone who is interested in school reform and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first must read this book.

I almost did not buy this book. I would like to understand why our schools are doing such a bad job at educating our kids. The title to this book suggested a narrow focus on issues such as bribery, which, while interesting to a District Attorney, do not seem central to the problem.

What I discovered, however, is that this book really covers alot more ground that the title suggests. Yes, Segal is a lawyer, and she started out in this area by investigating honest to goodness corruption. She is concerned about bribery, waste and abuse, all of which are larger problems than I had realized.

The book goes way beyond those relatively small issues, however. It really gets to the heart of WHY our schools stink, in a way that I have not seen anyone else do. What Segal really gets into are the reasons why our largest school districts are such ossified bureaucratic dinosaurs. She tells a number of really hair-raising stories about how totally the system does not care about efficiency or educational quality, and, perhaps more imporartant, she explains WHY the system can not care. It is a very interesting story. It goes back to the early 20th century when the Progressive Movement was fighting urban corruption, and scientific management was all the rage. The bottom line, however, is that our large systems have fundamental, systematic problems that make it astonishing that they teach as well as they do. As Segal makes very clear, tinkering around the edges with curriculum reform and such like will do next to nothing, until the organizations are fundamentally retooled so that basic efficiency and educational quality become a focus again. As things stand, there is so much red tape, so much administrative ho-ha and general bureaucratic nightmares that there is no possible way that the system can deliver a quality product at a reasonable price.

Very important book.

As a mother of two, facing the tough choice between public and private schools, I found this book full of critical insights as to how the public schools really work. Segal's analysis of the perverse incentives, corruption, and overwhelming bureaucracy that are dragging down our schools is compelling and persuasive. Her suggestions for what should be done to fix the system are intelligent and long overdue. Everyone with school-age kids should read this book now!

A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand why
urban public schools never seem to have enough money
to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuavie doumentaion that this is indeed true.
Because she concludes that the problem is with
pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems.
The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.

A real eye-opener, this very well-written and powerfully argued book finally helped me understand why
urban public schools never seem to have enough money
to educate our children despite repeated national and local efforts to change that. Ms. Segal contends that waste and abuse are the primary culprits and offers thorough and persuasive documentation that this is indeed true.
Because she concludes that the problem is with
pathological systems, not people, she spends a good quarter of the book discussing how to overhaul the systems.
The suggestions are overwhelmingly intelligent, inspiring, and above all, realistic.
This book is a must-read for anyone looking for concrete and specific ways to improve our educational system.

...for the real facts. This book was one of the first Beach Boys bios to be published. Leaf is a fanatical Beach Boys expert, friend of the band to this day, and a frequent consultant on BB-related projects. His writing is not critical, but it is factual, and he tells the story well, illustrated with hundreds of vintage photos (reproduced from magazines, for the most part, so the quality is as dubious as the obscurity of the material is welcome). It is almost exclusively devoted to Brian. This is out of print, but due to be reprinted (hopefully in a radical update) soon.

Absolutely essential 4 Beach Boys & Brian Wilson fans, this is the 1st & best BB biography, full of great photos, terrific PET SOUNDS- & SMILE-era stories & background info, & Leaf doesn't short-change hard-core fans on the post-"Good Vibrations" era. Includes interviews with Brian's PET SOUNDS collaborator Tony Asher, Dennis Wilson on Charles Manson, Van Dyke Parks on his involvement with the band & Brian, & much more U can't find elsewhere. Full of great details, this was the 1st place where we got an up-close look at Brian & the Boys, & it remains the best look at this enduring American institution -- hey, they INVENTED California!

This is essentially a biography of Brian Wilson. How the band, the california myth, etc. relates to Brian.

Although it was published before Dennis' death, it still has many enlightening things to say.

The book is neither too wordy (read Timothy White) nor strange and haphazard (read "Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile"). Wilson friend David Leaf treats Brian with the utmost respect. And although it was written at a time where Brian was largely unavailable, Leaf does a comendable job collecting facts through friends and family.

I'm in the midst of a year of Beach Boys studies, and reading this alongside the three other bios (Wouldn't It Be Nice, Heroes and Villains, The Nearest Faraway Place). Again and again, this is the one that has me shaking my head in amazement.

The young David Leaf truly loved the band and interviewed them (and surrounding people) extensively to build this book. (His relationship with the band was such that he inspired Dennis Wilson to breach of his own accord the otherwise taboo subject of Charles Manson.) But his affection for the group does not dim the intensity of his scrutiny, for many painful facts and opinions are offered here, too.

Even after 24 years, this is still the book that is at once most accurate and most fresh.

Insanely, it's been out of print since its 1985 reissue, and not even Leaf himself can get reasonably-priced copies. He is said to be preparing an updated edition, but no other word is available on this.

If you see it priced for $[money] or less, and you can afford it, do yourself a favor - its worth is equal to all other Beach Boys books combined. Alternately, you may find as I did that your local (or non-local) public library has a copy you can peruse, and perhaps photocopy a page or two (or 208) for reference.

I was one of those fortunate people that purchased this book when it was in print. There are two editions, the original and an updated one. Get the updated one if you can find it. (there is not that much of a time frame between the two, but it is an important time in the history of America's Band). And no sorry I am NOT willing to part with my copy. David Leaf is today still close to Brian Wilson, I have seen him at many of Brians recent concerts I can only hope that a revised edition or a new book is on the offering. David also wrote most of the liners notes for recent Beach Boys re-issues from Capitol records with one huge exception, the Pet Sounds Box set. He did the original booklet notes but if you know the Beach Boys then you know who blocked it and demanded a re-write by someone else. Dont "screw" with the formula indeed.

The Taiwanese is once a part of Japanese,but now we are the Taiwanese,uneaqual to China. China is not eaqual to Japan,so how could China be eaqual to Taiwan? To say Taiwanese = Chinese is just China's excuse to occupy Taiwan,for China feel well-developed Taiwan is a BIG FAT SHEEP for them to eat.

Actually,I can say Chinese know nothing about Taiwanese traits and personailty. China would never be willing to understand it and communicate with us Taiwan,for Chinese is very self-focus arrogant people. So,to be nearset neighbor with China is the sadest fate for Taiwan. The book revealed the differences of Taiwanese and Chinese,focus on what is the life-experiecnce(historical)reasons of forming the "Taiwanese" identity. Readers can sense the logic a little from this book.

I think it's a good book.It gave us(chinese,especially taiwanese) a lot of infromation about the history of taiwan,and the relationship between the japan and taiwan(china).It let us know more,it make us understand more.

A great book drawing on postcolonial and postmodern thought that analyzes Japanese colonial rhetoric about Taiwan as well as different stages of Taiwanese identity-formation under colonization. Includes an analysis of Japanese representations of aborigines, a group that is often glossed over or ignored in books on Taiwan.

This is a detailed account of the Taiwanese response to colonization under the Japanese. Liu adroitly illustrates the monumental changes afoot in Taiwan of the early 20th Century and builds a strong case to support the idea of a Taiwanese identity seperate from China. Liu follows the steps colonialization drive that can later be seen in the Chinese colonization under the KMT. At times the language bogs down in anthropological terms of art, but is no less a valueable addition to the pool of information available on Taiwan.

This study is an excellent examination of Japanese colonialism in Taiwan and its consequences for the contemporary formation of national identity. Through examining not only the particular circumstances of Japan in Taiwan but also the nature of colonialism in general, Ching shows how colonialism is a social transformation which produces people of mixed identities. He draws upon "The Orphan of Asia" by Wu Zhuo-Liu as an example of this understanding. Ching also sets forth an interesting critique of postmodernism's hesitancy to draw judgments across cultural boundaries. The "miracle" of postwar Japan, essentially an almost immediate turn from complete external orientation to complete internal orientation and subjectivity, was made possible by the United States' appropriation of Japan's colonies and Japan's immediate alliance with the U.S. in the Cold War. Because of these factors, Japan never had to go through the harsh but important process of decolonization, and Ching shows how this failure affects the identity crisis of Taiwan today. Ultimately the book is oriented around "the politics of identity formation" in which Taiwan must come to hold a national identity which embraces the diversity of elements (Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, aboriginal, etc.) that have formed the ontology of Taiwan through history.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my father, a die-hard Raider fan. He really enjoyed the stories and pictures in the book--it brought some levity to a disaster of a season. As one currently studying English literature, I enjoyed the references to Milton and also the philosophical discussions of the Raider fans.

For a fascinating look at Raiders fans, Oakland, imagined community, women in black, read this book. It's all here: history, sociology, heartbreak, and hedonism. An immediately engaging book, full of hope, humor, community, and gritty sports stories. I couldn't put it down.

For football fans and non-fans alike, this book is part sports writing and part social commentary. The book is funny, smart, well written and insightful. The authors' love of the subject is apparent and the photography is amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves, or hates, the Raiders.

Although I did attend a Raider-Chargers game 7 years ago,
I'm not a football fan. In fact I think the best time to go the hardware store is during the Super Bowl. That said, I love good books and great writing. Miller and Mayhew deliver that. From first page to last, this is a great read and cultural commentary.

Spencer in San Diego

Whether you loathe or love the Raiders, you'll enjoy and learn from Miller and Mayhew's insightful book about the Raiders fan empire. Although the writers are decidedly and unabashedly Raiders fans themselves, they paint an incredibly well-rounded picture of Raiders fans. They interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life and all socioeconomic strata, in all kinds of places -- training camps, pubs, sports bars, tailgate parties, the games themselves in Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego -- to garner the diverse opinions of the Raiders. We learn that the fan base is amazingly ubiquitous, with fans from the U.S. to Poland, Costa Rica, and South Africa. I especially admire the way the writers juxtapose diametrically opposing views of the Raiders. For instance, in the "Raiders Rage" chapter, Michele Clark, director of a nonprofit organization in Oakland, describes how she hates the Raiders and what they represent to the youth she tries to help. However, on the next page we read how one of her coworkers, Mark Henderson, a family man, loves the Raiders. Ultimtely, though, this book is not about sports; it's about people. Miller and Mayhew's deep concern for the working-class people comes out in the chapter that describes the city of Oakland and its changing demographics over the decades. There is a wonderful chapter about the women fans: "Real Women Wear Black." There are many interesting tidbits. (Did you know that the rugged eye-patched man in the Raiders logo was modeled after Western actor Randolph Scott?) Miller's "ten ways to avoid being pummeled by an angry Raiders fan" in the "Just Lose, Baby" chapter is hilarious. The most important thing that I gained from the book, even though I am not much of a sports fan, is a tremendous respect for fans of any team that form an "imagined community" that somehow brings meaning -- and even love -- into sometimes otherwise bleak lives. I have added this book to my short sports bookshelf, which includes Will's "Men at Work," Halberstam's "The Breaks of the Game," and Cosell's "I Never Played the Game." Just read, baby!

Makes a change to be able to get books on the subject out here.

Forrest combines history with suspense and comes up with an interesting and very readable instalment in the Kate Delafield Mystery series. An unpopular tenant is poisoned in a slightly seedy apartment block peopled by Hollywood employees of the forties and fifties. These eccentric and enchanting characters bring to life the era of McCarthyism and the House Un-American Committee, as well as nostalgia for the glamorous Hollywood of that time. Of course, lesbian detective fiction wouldn't be complete without romance, and Kate Delafield finds that in the Beverly Malibu. This novel has a strong story line and keeps you guessing until the last moment - I recommend it.

I found the Beverly Malibu a fascinated book. It held my interest till the last page and I couldn't guess the murderer. It think it will be difficult for anyone to even though the evidence is there in front of our faces. We can't see it because like a magician, Forrest focuses our attention elsewhere. I thought the dynamics of the relationship which developed between Kate and both Grant women quite interesting and she pulls a twist on that one too. All in all, a very satisfactory read. On top of that, we learn a lot about the House on Un-American Activities Committee. It just amazes me how a committee could gain such power and igore due process. Sometimes it makes me wonder just how much freedom we truly have. It is a scary thought and we should never allow such a witchhunt to happen again. In fact, I found the subject so interesting that I ordered Scoundrel Time by Lillian Hellman (from amazon.com, of course). I want to learn about what life was like in that era from someone who lived through it and suffered from it.

This, along with Nightwood, is one of the best reads in the Delafield series. The murder plot and details are simple, as opposed to those in Apparition Alley or Liberty Square, and the story of the new relationship is unforgettable.

Owen Sinclair, a B-movie director is murdered in a hideous manner. This makes Kate Delafield think the murder was one of revenge. Through sleuthing, she finds that Sinclair was a "friendly witness" during the McCarthy witchhunt era. He spoke to HUAC (House un-American Activities Committee), which was the House arm of McCarthy's own Senate hearings. Hollywood was especially vulnerable at this time. Forrest skillfully weaves in information about that period through her characters but never allows it to overshadow the mystery. There are red herrings galore and Kate lets herself get emotionally involved with several of the people and there's even a romance in it for the lonely Kate who feels that she must protect the people she loves from the horrors of her job. She is also isolated because she is gay and must remain closeted to be able to do her job. The LAPD has a policy not unlike the military: Don't ask, don't tell. Every Delafield book reveals a new facet of Kate and this is no exception. If Forrest wrote mainstream detective mysteries rather than mysteries with a lesbian heroine, she would probably be as popular as P.D. James or Ellis Peters or Elizabeth Peters. It's unfortunate because all her mysteries are first-rate. As I said, the politics never get in the way of the story, although this book did introduce me to Scoundrel Time by Lillian Hellman, which I later bought.