California Books

I read this book in several sittings which is unusual for me. I just couldn't stop and wanted to read some more of this fascinating story. It is a feel good story for the modern ages. If you are reading this you probably know about the former Beverly Hillls mom , twice divorced who was unable to receive Holy Communion from the Catholic Church, circumvented any road blocks and began her service for mankind(the most down and out of low people in La Mesa prison near Tijuana)and our Lord at age fifty. She produced her own habit and eventually was recognized by an official order. She has worked amongst the biggest drug dealers of Mexico, the murderer of Presidential candidate Colosio, the bloodiest of assasins and the peons who are just to poor to live in society and seek refuge in jail(now that is desperate)and the mentally ill. A prison in Mexico is unlike an American prison. Torture is common. She got involded in prison reform as well as changing men. Mother Antonia is unafraid of the toughest and meanest because she is a righteous woman and all who encounter her love and admire her. She lives in prison. She lives the same way the prisoners do. She walks and talks to the hardest of hard core. She gives them hope and transforrms many of their lives through the miracle of faith. This is an inspirational story that will leave you pondering your own existence; it is truly an amazing story that all should read as it will make you feel better about mankind. She is truly a living saint. Oh yes, there is a large print edition of this book available for the visually handicapped. God bless Sister Antonio and all who she touches.

This is a very inspirational book and helps people see how they can still be useful as they get older.

The Prison Angel is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. Mother Antonia is so amazing that one would question the truth of her story if it weren't for the consistent witness and corroboration provided by all those who come into contact with her. She loves and ministers to everyone without distinction. This is a great book for teaching the golden rule.

This book touches your soul and uplifts your spirits. You would dare to judge another person after reading this book about a woman who could forgive and love the "unlovable." Very touching

Mother Antonia is an inspiration for us to see all people as fellow humans with similar needs - to be cared for, loved, and accepted. I appreciate that she paved the way to be valuable at an "older" age, and she welcomes women in their later years as valuable and able to serve others. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and passed it around among many friends.

I enjoyed reading this book as it gives the reader a great insight into the life and times of Robert Koga (at least up until the time of the book's publication). There is plenty of background on Koga's family roots and how he came to be an LAPD Officer and all the varied assignments that career gave him. It also gives a good, detailed, background on how Koga developed the Martial Arts system that he still teaches to Police Officers throughout the world. The major reason I did not give this book the highest rating is the fact that there are grammatical errors throughout the text (must be the result of computer spell checkers doing the proofreading instead of a competent human). Mr. Koga told me of the book's flaw when I met him a couple of months ago. Otherwise, this book provides all kinds of information not just about Mr. Koga, but the LAPD culture between the early 1950's to the early 1970's and Japanese Martial Arts.

I like this man. He has done a lot for law enforcement training and martial arts.

An amazing book! A Must-read for any law enforcement, martial arts or police enthusiast!
A living legend, Bob Koga spent 35 years in the LAPD, and studied under Aikido's distinguished Koichi Tohei. Koga served as the personal interpreter to Sensei Tohei during the Master's first visits, when Tohei revealed the secrets of Aikido to the United States (Koichi Tohei is the only person formarly awarded the rank of 10th Dan by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido).

Co-written by Koga's own students, this inspiring work includes gripping testimonies from law enforcement officers throughout the US, whose lives were saved because of their training under Koga. Bob Koga drew from his experience to develop and teach real-life arrest and control techniques to law enforcement officers for 45 years, so far! He was inducted into the martial arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2000. This book provides a unique insight into Koga's life, from childhood to the development of the philosophy behind Koga's dedication to professionalize law enforcement.

This is the personal story behind the legend that is Robert Koga.

An amazing book! A Must-read for any law enforcement, martial arts or police enthusiast!
A living legend, Bob Koga spent 35 years in the LAPD, and studied under Aikido's distinguished Koichi Tohei. Koga served as the personal interpreter to Sensei Tohei during the Master's first visits, when Tohei revealed the secrets of Aikido to the United States (Koichi Tohei is the only person formarly awarded the rank of 10th Dan by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido).

Co-written by Koga's own students, this inspiring work includes gripping testimonies from law enforcement officers throughout the US, whose lives were saved because of their training under Koga. Bob Koga drew from his experience to develop and teach real-life arrest and control techniques to law enforcement officers for 45 years, so far! He was inducted into the martial arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2000. This book provides a unique insight into Koga's life, from childhood to the development of the philosophy behind Koga's dedication to professionalize law enforcement.

This is the personal story behind the legend that is Robert Koga.

An amazing book! A Must-read for any law enforcement, martial arts or police enthusiast!
A living legend, Bob Koga spent 35 years in the LAPD, and studied under Aikido's distinguished Koichi Tohei. Koga served as the personal interpreter to Sensei Tohei during the Master's first visits, when Tohei revealed the secrets of Aikido to the United States (Koichi Tohei is the only person formarly awarded the rank of 10th Dan by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido).

Co-written by Koga's own students, this inspiring work includes gripping testimonies from law enforcement officers throughout the US, whose lives were saved because of their training under Koga. Bob Koga drew from his experience to develop and teach real-life arrest and control techniques to law enforcement officers for 45 years, so far! He was inducted into the martial arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2000. This book provides a unique insight into Koga's life, from childhood to the development of the philosophy behind Koga's dedication to professionalize law enforcement.

This is the personal story behind the legend that is Robert Koga.

The author knows his stuff; instead of hiding behind equations and leaving it up to you to work out what it all means; he tells you what in means and gives you the equations.

I am a mechanical engineer, but lately I have been doing a lot of signal processing and data analysis using MatLab. This book was a great way to get back up to speed. Its clear and concise without geting too bogged down in theory - lots of directly applicable tips and info.
Its also free for download on the author's website, www.dspguide.com, and from Analog Devices website in their training materials area, [...].

I have BS in computer science and 8 years of S/W development experience in telecommunication industry. But my primary skill is protocol development and systems programming.

But as a music lover, as a musician, I've been interested in DSP technology for a long time and tried several times to get acquainted to the technology with no avail.

I guess the reason I failed is I couldn't understand the exact meaning of mathematical languages in DSP area.

I'm still in the middle of this book but now I can understand what the mathematical languages mean. The author is very precise using math languages and translate the language into easy plain english without missing any clarity and bravity of mathematical language.

I'm gonna keep working on DSP with this book as my hobby and finally when the time comes, all I gotta do is use my programming skill to develop a useful DSP S/W.

This book tells everything you have to know about the mathematics to realise any signal processing application.
With the help of the examples (written in BASIC, I have some adapted into C) you can realize filters and signal synthesis/processing with FFT. There is no theoretical overhead.
With the help of this book I have developed a modem software within four monthes, without any basic knowledge in DSP.

I am a graduate mechanical engineering student and I have found that ALL engineers today are required to have a GOOD fundamental understanding of electricity and electronics. The most difficult of electronic concepts to grasp for the uninitiated is DSP. After skimming through other books and becoming quite frustrated hacking my way through others I have found not only the best introduction to DSP in publication, but also one of the best technical books I've ever seen...and I read a lot of technical books outside of required texts. Excellent job by the author...books like this do not come around often enough.

The Susan Polk has garnered a lot more attention simply because the defendant and convicted murderer, Susan Polk, is quite a complicated human being. She is definitely troubled and her relationship with a man who was first a father figure and later her lover turned husband and father of their three sons would be his victim. He was as obsessed and in love with Susan first as a patient and later as a wife. This book really explores their complicated relationship under the circumstances. Until now, I never thought much about the Polk case and as to why it got so much interest. Unfortunately, the great Dr. Felix Polk and his relationship with young Susan was doomed from the start. It was destined for failure. It was not that easy to end the relationship. Clearly, Susan is delusional and suffers from mental illness. Her behavior was never properly treated and she believed that everybody especially Felix was against her. What was the driving point might have been that Felix was supposedly taking over the dominant parental role in the family and pushing Susan aside. Of course, that was never the case but in Susan's delusional and obviously sick mind, she believed that Felix was setting the world against her especially by reaching to their sons. Unfortunately, the family has suffered a tragedy and this book is excellent in explaining in details about the case. While Carol Pogash is not a well-known true crime writer, she has done far more than the other author that I read about this case.

Author Carol Pogash does something miraculous: she reinvents the true crime genre to such a degree that other authors will find it difficult to match her! From the first page to the last, you're riveted to this real life drama of a psychotic and dangerous woman--Susan Polk--who butchered her husband--and then tried to blame it on that favorite alibi of many female killers: the battered wife syndrome. We first find Susan Polk puttering around her kitchen while the body of her psychologist husband rests in a river of blood in the nearby pool house where she forced him to live. She waits for one of her sons, Gabe, to find the corpse and then shows no emotion when her son tells her the news. With this introduction, you're led through their lives in fascinating detail--from Susan's mentally disturbed childhood up to the reasons she finally decided to murder her husband. Pogash creates each of the leading characters in colorful detail--and you're taken through the various psychological fads--such as the satanic child abuse craze of the 70s and then through the repressed memory cycle. Susan threw herself into each of these crazes--first, convinced that somehow that one of her sons was abused in satanic rituals. Then she was convinced through repressed memory that her husband, Felix, had hynoptized her and used drugs to seduce her as a teenager aganst her will. She became convinced he was a Mossad agent of death and that he knew 9/11 was going to happen. Yet, she's shown as being aggressively involved in the seduction of Felix. Pogash then goes into an even more fascinating part of this saga by covering the murder trial of Susan Polk. You're introduced to the attorneys, the witnesses and the courtroom junkies. Susan ends up representing herself and her madness is now seen by the public and jurors. Her bizarre courtroom antics--laughing, crying and shrieking at the prosecutor and judge--turned her case into a circus sideshow. While she claims to have been severely abused as a wife, you realize that her poor husband was forced to live in the pool house and was terrified of this woman. Yet, until the end, Felix told people how much he still loved her-even after she warned him that she was returning from a vacation in Montana with a shotgun and that she was going to kill him. This is what is so mystifying about this man. Even after continual threats against his life by his wife, he refused to move out and proclaimed his great love for this woman who now hated him. During the trial, one son, Eli, never wavered in defending his killer Mother. Two other sons depicted her as evil, psychotic and a relentless trouble-maker both in their home and to the neighbors and school staffs. I dreaded coming to the end of this book because it was so brilliantly written. Bravo to the author for breathing new life into the true crime genre which, unfortuntately, consists of too many books that are badly written and consist of nothing more than a cut-and-paste job by hack writers.

Every so often in the true crime genre author and subject come together in an almost fated way to produce a book that illuminates not only the crime but the times that produced it. McGinniss's Blind Faith, Stumbo's Until the Twelfth of Never, Alexander's Very Much a Lady and Rule's The Stranger Beside Me are among the select few and now they are joined by Carol Pogash's Seduced by Madness. This is a fine, almost ridiculously readable book by any standard.

The Polk murder case was true crime fodder even before the lead defense attorney's wife was murdered just before trial. Susan Polk was accused of murdering her husband, Felix, during a drawn out divorce and custody battle. Susan claimed she killed him in self-defense and revealed that Felix had been her therapist from the time she was 16. With those ingredients it's no wonder that everyone from Court TV to People were hot on this case. Then add the fact that Susan Polk clearly attended the Betty Broderick School of Tell Your Side of the Story to Any Journalist Who Will Listen. Susan is a stranger to both modesty and discretion - she's also undeniably brilliant and, sadly, delusional.

And there lies the brilliance of Pogash's book: instead of simply recording the salacious details (and there are plenty), she digs deeper, delving into the many fads and nuances of therapy-happy California in the 1970s and 1980s. From Est to the Satanic Ritual Abuse hysteria and everything else along the way, the Polks seem to have been part of it all. Certainly Felix Polk's sense of therapeutic boundaries were a little lax, marriage to one former patient, long-term friendships with current patients. All this would be merely odd (and almost a parody of what an East Coaster thinks goes on in California) except for the fact that Susan Polk needed psychiatric help. Maybe Felix saw himself living out Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night with him heroically saving his Nicole (Susan) by marrying her. Maybe Felix didn't realize how ill Susan really was. More often than not Felix either humored or fed Susan's minor delusions until the day Susan, inevitably, turned on him. Pogash does a fine job of showing the reader Susan Polk's charisma, we get glimpses that help us understand her incredible influence over her husband and children.

The trial coverage here is nothing short of spectacular. These are the looniest court proceedings since a Florida serial killer sang to his journalist groupie girlfriend on the stand. That was 5 minutes, this went on for weeks. Expert witnesses who appear guiltier than the defendant, a defendant more concerned with being "right" than being found not guilty and the unbearable tragedy of a mother cross-examining her son who is testifying against her all add up to trial you'll never forget.

This is a fantastic book. For the True Crime genre fan, this is pure ambrosia. For general readers this is an absorbing read. For all, this is a book that will deepen your understanding of the way we live now.

Carol Pogash's SEDUCED BY MADNESS chronicles the relatively well known case of the murder of psychologist Felix Polk by his wife Susan. Pogash's book begins with the childhoods of Felix and Susan, the twisted beginning of their relationship, the births of their three sons, and the dysfunctional life of the family up to and including Felix's murder.
The family breadwinner was an emotionally flawed Felix, who, while he appears to have been a good and loving father and husband, fatally poisoned the marriage, which took place when Susan was around 20 and Felix around 45, by initiating a sexual relationship with Susan when she was a teenager and his patient.
Their three sons were the victims of an upbringing which consisted of basically Susan, who - for example - encouraged her children not to attend school as, in her own mind, no one was really competent to care for or teach her children except herself.
And then there was Susan. Susan is shown to be a cultured, literate, and extremely intelligent woman who was also manipulative, vindictive, socially strange, in many ways unpleasant, and increasingly paranoid and delusional. If Felix provided the financial support - Susan never worked -Susan was, in an interesting role reversal, the family's psychological leader - the one who set the tone of the family's life - while Felix pretty much went along with whatever her agenda was at any given time and while the boys, whom Susan totally loved, were raised in an environment which was, like Susan, askew like a mildly distorting fun house mirror.

The last half of the book recounts the most bizarre trial you will ever read about, pitting DA Paul Sequeira against Susan Polk who was not a lawyer but chose, since she was convinced no one was smarter than she was, to defend herself. I generally feel that, with occasional exceptions, trial segments of true crime books are among the most boring. However the trial is one of the major components in the Susan Polk saga. Many of the true crime writing mediocrity, the rush to printers, would write this section by, for all intents and purposes, copying the trial transcript. I am happy to report that Pogash does not do this. It is in this case mandatory to provide the reader with a detailed account of the trial while being a writer rather than a copier, and Pogash handles it beautifully.

Carol Pogash clearly set out to write an outstanding book, and she has succeeded. The research is exhaustive and impeccable, the writing is crisp and intelligent, and the tone and feel of the book are adult and literate. There are no false steps, no insertion of the author's asides and comments (an increasingly unfortunate occurence among the hacks who litter the true crime landscape) and no filler.

You won't find true crime better than SEDUCED BY MADNESS. I recommend it unreservedly.

This story illustrates the old axiom that truth is stranger than fiction. The fascinating tale has so many bizarre twists and turns that one cannot help but be transfixed. Susan Polk begins seeing her therapist at age 15, marries the much older man a few years later, and a quarter of a century later stabs him 27 times, leaving him in a pool of blood in the pool house of the family's luxurious estate.

In between these bookends, journalist Carol Pogash tells the story of Susan Polk's deepening personal madness embedded in the cultural madness of the psychotherapy world of the 1960s and 1970s in Berkeley, where therapist-patient sex was tolerated, psychodrama and EST were treatments du jour, and cocaine use was rampant. The Polks even crusaded against mythical Satanic ritual abusers, claiming that their eldest son Adam had been kidnapped, raped, and made into a multiple personality. And if all that isn't enough, we've got exorcisms, psychics, and repressed memory claims.

Pogash's rendition of the four-month trial is a riveting page-turner. Susan Polk fired attorney after attorney and ended up representing herself. On center stage, the intelligent but delusional defendant demonstrated a stunning ability to "take any set of facts and mold a story where she was both victim and hero." It is painful to read about her brutal cross-examination of two of her three sons. Pogash chronicles the Freudian slips that give glimpses into her pathology, as she called her dead husband her father and her favored middle son her husband.

I am intrigued to ponder how Ms. Polk's trial outcome might have been different if it came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of June 19, 2008, in Illinois v. Edwards. Now, a mentally ill defendant may be barred from representing herself if she is delusional to the point that she is unable to effectively represent her best interests. (For my report on the Edwards case, type shurl.org/insane into your browser's address bar.) Perhaps that will be grounds for appeal of her second-degree murder conviction?

From the point of view of a forensic psychologist, I especially appreciated the depictions of the expert testimony. We had the cagey forensic pathologist who disappeared in the middle of the trial when the judge insisted he produce his files, and the seasoned psychologist who testified for the defense, based mainly on what Ms. Polk had told her and without benefit of any formal psychological testing, that the defendant was a battered woman who suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

I thought Pogash remained remarkably balanced and fair in her reporting, especially as compared to many pundits who flock to the true-crime genre. Being personally acquainted with upwards of a dozen of the participants whom she included in her account, I can say that by and large she portrayed them accurately and fairly.

Seduced by Madness is a riveting page-turner, a fascinating history, and a balanced portrayal of a high-profile trial that shined a spotlight on one family's dark pathos. I recommend it.

I got this book based on the positive community reviews I read and I was not disappointed. There are so many recipes in this book that I want to make. The Chunky Tomato-Vegetable Sauce on page 109 was absolutely yummy! It is now my husband's favorite pasta sauce! I thoroughly enjoyed the Vegetable Chili recipe on page 185. And everyone loved the Shrimp Curry with Asparagus and Snap Peas on page 94. In addition to the great recipes, the book has great informational sections on recommended portion sizes for the average adult (which is really important re-learning that I have had to do) as well as really important background data behind the science of the diet recommendations (look for this in the back starting on page 286). This is now my favorite cookbook and the first cookbook I consult when I am looking for ideas for what to make for dinner! I have enthusiastically recommended this book to both family members and friends!

I'm on Day 6 of a 30-day vegan challenge (just diet, not lifestyle). I just got this book last week and the timing was perfect. It has dozens of gourmet-tasting but easy recipes that are either vegan or easily converted--vegetable recipes, soups, salads, grains, and even some desserts.

Most of the recipes focus on plant foods (which is the whole point of "the new American plate"). The grains recipes often rely on intact grains, which I prefer over flours. The recipes are pretty simple but contain yummy combos I would never have done on my own, like quinoa with peas and sage, or roasted parsnips with sweet potatoes and apples.

The book has a nice layout, a thorough index, and photography that makes me drool (yes, over vegetables). I just wish I could find more books exactly like this one. I'd give it more stars if I could.

I've been cooking healthy for a while, but this is by far the best overall cookbook (healthy or not) I have come across. Everything I tried has been great. Even my picky daughter has bought a copy and lives by it, so whether you have gourmet tastes or plebeian like my daughter, it is a perfect cookbook.

It amazes me that the best healthy eating cookbook is also the best cookbook for modern American cuisine. My fiance bought this book about a year ago and I am consistently impressed by the variety and taste of the food contained within (it also helps that she is wonderful). My personal favorite: the couscous with raisin, apricot and ground beef.

I received this book wrapped in plastic and once opened I was overwhelmed with the smell of mildew. Once all was corrected (great customer service) I enjoyed it. I have cooked several things and tried new legumes I had never heard of. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the art of cooking healthy unusually good foods.

You'd realy be surprised to find out what San Diego has to offer in the way of hiking and trails. This book is your guide for those trails. From a 90 foot Waterfall (Cedar Creek Falls) to many other wonderful hikes. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about hiking in San Diego.

This book is the best hiking book I have come across, and I have many. Not only is it well planned out, with attached maps, and hikes separated by areas, but it also grades the level of difficulty very accurately. As for the comment on this book being old and vague on location... well, it's not designed to be an all encompassing guide, and you will have to dust off your map or Map Quest the locations.

We just recently moved to San Diego, and it's been a great source in discovering all the area has to offer, I feel that without it we would have missed out on so much.

My co-worker was telling me about all the wonderful waterfalls and boulders that he saw when he was hiking, and he told me that he learned about the trails from this book. I immediately ordered it, and so far, it has been handy to have.

Each trail is labeled with its difficulty, length, and even the best times to go. The descriptions are very useful and are pretty accurate.

There is an art to describing hikes in a succinct yet useful manner. Like with movie reviews, you don't want to give everything away, but you want to give the reader enough information to decide if the subject matter interests him enough into going to experience it for himself. Jerry Schad is THE master. It is simply amazing how much information he can pack into so few words. Once you do a few of his hikes, and reread his descriptions, you can quickly learn what exactly he means by certain turns of phrase and the like. This is because while English (or any language) is a poor tool for communicating this type of information, it's all we've got when reading a book. But what Schad does is describe practically every worthy hike in San Diego County in a consistent fashion, so you can apply what you learn he means by a certain description for one hike that he uses for another hike.

San Diego County is an amazingly diverse area of natural wonder. To discover it without Jerry's help would be very difficult. I strongly recommend his book for anyone interested in such a discovery.

However, I do recommend that you take several 1-star hikes before going on to a 2-star, and several 2-stars, before a 3-star, etc., primarily to learn how to read and use the book most effectively. Picking up the book and planning a 5-star hike before going through the rest of the process is NOT recommended.

Have fun!

Exhaustively researched, comprehensive, with good descriptions of why you'd want to pick a certain hike, so you'll know what you've got to look forward to.

This may be the only book you'll ever need on the subject, but it's not the only thing to take on a hike: you'll need that most uncommon of things, common sense" -- and that means you'll also need to bring a MAP and water, and the rest of the "Ten Essentials."

Remember, it doesn't replace a USGS or topographic map, let alone good hiking sense. It's "just" a trail guide, albeit the best one the county has had for about 20 years. And frequently and responsibly revised, too. No guidebook, or map, is of much use unless you know how to use it: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, right?

Don't expect too much. With San Diego's exploding population, your enjoyment of trails can alter seasonally with use, let alone by weather. Schad makes every effort to anticipate your tastes when he describes a trail, when it's best to go, what you'll get most out of a hike. You'll learn how to make your hikes match your tastes the more you use this excellent book. And you'll learn to appreciate, up close and personal, the scenery of the climate you moved here for.

San Diego county has great places to explore, and a wide range of habitats: from coastal to montane, to high & low desert. Most of it makes great scenery, but up close it can be intimidating. Schad's book won't let that stop you.

Most trails, even those in state or county parks, are not well marked except at trail heads (about what you should expect when park budgets are so meager these days).

This book and a topographic map are just the things to reawaken a sense of purpose, and to give our desires a sense of direction. And these, in turn, unlock our sense of beauty and wonder.

San Diego deserves nothing less from its inhabitants, and they and it deserve nothing less than such a resourceful book as this.

I was so disappointed in the quality of the paper and print that I returned this book. A big part of the enjoyment of a new book for me is the physical quality of the product. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's other works and was disappointed not to read this one.

All the Live Little Things began the golden era of Wallace Stegner's writing career. Finding the right voice in a first person narrative, he followed this beautiful novel with Angle of Repose, The Spectator Bird and Crossing to Safety; all are highly acclaimed.
In All the Live Little Things Stegner brings to the page a great deal of raw material from his life. The character of Marian was a composite of friends who had died of cancer, Peck was a composite of the 60s "beatnik", which in real life caused Stegner to retire from teaching and devote his time fully to writing. The callousness of Dave Weld's bulldozing on virgin land reflected the author's long term concern for the environment. His beautiful description of nature throughout the novel, and use of nature as a learning tool, expressed his life-long love and dedication to the American West. Even Joe and Ruth Allston were drawn from the real life marriage of Wallace and Mary Stegner. This matrimonial understanding and bliss is reflected in the opening page of the recently published "Selected Letters of Wallace Stegner":
What does more to stay us and keep our backbones stiff while the
world reels than the sense that we are linked with someone who
listens and understand and so in some way completes us?

All the Live Little Things flows beautifully. It has rich, well written characters that keep the novel moving towards a bittersweet conclusion. I did not believe the plot was forced or took unnatural turns; rather it followed the characters as they thrashed about with their struggles, sins and destinies, all seen through the eyes of the flawed but wise Joe Allston. As the character says near the story's conclusion: "There is no way to step off the treadmill. It is all treadmill."

Stegner once wrote that "In fiction I think we should have no agenda but to tell the truth." All the Live Little Things does draw heavily from the truths of Stegner's life in the 1960s, but it also holds its own as a thoughtfully written fictitious story of pain, hope, resignation, acceptance, and other qualities that mark the human condition.

just a note for everyone
the hippie in the book was actually based on Ken Kesey

Reading this novel was often like looking at an impressionist's painting. It's incredibly rich in scenic description, character nuances and, most importantly, mood setting tone. Wallace Stegner lives on through his writing and we shall all be richer for this reading experience. This novel, while focused on a socially turbulent era (late 1960s), is timeless. Generational and political conflict, as well as the matters of preservation and development, life and death, and the persistence of human crisis will always be relevant topics.

And so we have the characters portrayed in All the Little Live Things. Joe Allston, the narrator, is much like a diarist recording his keen and colorful observations from his five-acre hideout in glorious California. With his wife Ruth at this side, together they grieve the loss of their 37-year-old son, and try to fit in as key players in their new community. Meanwhile, a freethinking, anti-establishment sort named Jim Peck squats on Allston's property--first with permission--however, Peck takes extreme liberties. Joe's distain for him (and his beard!) is the focus of much of the novel, and it leads him to come to terms with his feelings toward his son. Meanwhile, there's another neighbor, a young woman named Marian, who helps enable Joe to come to terms with his feelings about both life and death.

This is the most beautifully written novel I've read all year. Highly recommend for those who appreciate fine, sensory-based literature.

Michele Cozzens is the author of It's Not Your Mother's Bridge Club.

This is my third Stegner novel including Angle of Repose and Crossing to Safety. All the Little Live Things has a more 'elemental' style than the other 2 novels. It is compact and extremely logical. There is not a throwaway sentence in the book. For anyone looking for deeper, relevant background reading - I suggest these pre-requisities prior to reading Little Live Things: Shakespears 'The Tempest' - where the literarary figures of 'Calaban (i.e., Peck)' and 'Prospero' are introduced. I would have been quite lost without having first read Tempest. Another great book that I think provides the 'mythological basis' for Little Live Things is Joseph Campbell's 'Pathways to Bliss'. In Campbell's book I learned the basic philosohpy of Jainism - which is the foundation for Marian Catlin's character as well as the title of the book. You get a better sense of the Joe Allison's heroic struggle as he confront his personal demons (personified by Peck)living deep in the gully across the 'spritual bridge' that he cannot bring himself to go across. Quite a hero's journey indeed.

This is the story of a brilliant young man who seems to be always on the move, moving from one interesting city to the other.

At the beginning, the author leaves New Delhi for US, where he is awarded a fellowship to study at University of California, but he gets caught into culture shock, as well as an internal dilemma, seeking a deeper meaning of life. While he is most vulnerable, he manages to fall in love with one his student but is unable to express his feelings.

Then he seems to have gone through the roller coaster ride of the technology industry emerging as a winner, a successful technologist leading a group of innovators.

We end in beautiful San Diego, with a moving story about how the author and his family face the Inferno, the great wildfires of 2007.

I don't believe anyone has experienced living unless they have ventured around like the author has. It is in his narratives, his reaction to the challenges he faces and his observations of people and culture of various places that he truly shines.

It is my top read of the year!

Whether you ever wondered about meaning of it all, or you want to read something light amusing, or want to see places like Seattle, San Diego, and Nashville from the eyes of the writer, or vicariously live the life of a student at University of California, this book is for you!

This book combines elements from good humor, a memoir, a scenic travelogue, a touching love story, science fiction and philosophy.

The author, pretends to be an Artificial Imagination computer program simulating human creativity, describes the life/career journey of a modern nomad through the Hi Tech world of California and Washington (Settle). The book is clever, witty and obviously written by someone very intelligent but still manages to be very down to earth and funny! it's light reading, the author has a conversational style, you feel as if you are reading a letter from a close friend!!

As a travelogue, Welcome to the USA is pretty good, Kalpanik certainly made me think about wanting to go to San Diego, Seattle and Nashville.

as a character. Kalpanik seems simultaneously incredibly thoughtful and serious and yet someone who has a carefree attitude towards life, someone who handle life as it happens!

It's a light reading, and yet thoughtful; funny yet serious; conversational yet literary!

This book takes many life concepts expressed in different forms and combine them in a mishmash. He structures the 12 different personal essays, each highlighting a particular transitional period in his life or a specific experience in to a beautiful collage of experiences in this book very successfully. What a funny memoir!

Kalpanik S. is a fine writer with a lot to say about a lot of things and a unique way of making you laugh! I highly recommend her book.

ReKalpanik S. takes us through his arrival in USA as a student and subsequent travel to several places - San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, and San Diego. In each places, he focuses on similar aspect of his life as a technologist and an immigrant - acceptance by local people, standing out as a ethnic minority and foreign born, life as a technology execuitve and family life. In addition, he covers local food, people, culture and sources of enjoyment, joy, and finally, and his quest for love and balance.


He adds so much meaning, passion and humor, he is so open with the readers that I felt like I was reading a private letter that someone would write only to their best friends.

The writing is refreshingly unexpected, humorous and meaningful. Great read!!

Robust account of one of the seminal figures of early America, one attempting the creation of an indigenous culture cast in a more universal mode than that of the provincial Christianity of his roots. The courage to give up his secure life as a minister for the uncertainties of exploration and creative renewal marks Emerson's trail through a pioneer's psychological American wilderntess, to touch on and integrate everything from the post-Kantians, to the Buddhists/Hindus to the Persians and Sufis. That Emerson evolved into a near firebrand abolitionist is an aspect of his life unsufficiently told, and this part of his later career runs clear in this book. All in all, a first rate pioneer story of another kind.

This is the only biography of Emerson that truly matters. Richardson locks in on the essentials - the development of a seeking mind is search of the ground of being and the nature of reality. Emerson is our Founding Thinker and to do him justice, a biographer has to grapple with the how and why a mind grows, changes, struggles and reaches new heights. Even if you haven't read much Emerson, this biography sheds light on what Emerson meant when he said, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

In the past, my experience in reading Emerson has been similar to reading the Tao Te Ching; interesting, non-mainstream in its point of view, puzzling to understand what exactly it means. So I would pick up the Tao and read it at different times of the day and different frames of mind, hoping that it would resonate with me, but it never did. Maybe it was the cultural difference, or the language, or not being able to easily identify with Lao Tzu. Such had been my experience with Emerson. I wanted to understand him better because what little I did understand made me want to learn more, but I just couldn't get there.

This biographer, Richardson, really did his homework and any who want to understand Emerson better should appreciate this work. Emerson kept exhaustive journals and collections of his thoughts for many years. He read widely and deeply, kept detailed notes, and thoroughly indexed the notes. What perfect material to access for writing a biography! Apparently Richardson went back and studied much of the source material that Emerson references in his journals and brings into this biography an understanding of who Emerson was reading and what it meant to Emerson, so we receive the pleasure of following along on a journey in the development of a powerful mind. Then Richardson is able to write about this development so that it is easily readable to us moderns. It's quite a remarkable achievement.

"Mind on Fire" shows me that Richardson is certain that studying Emerson and his message is worthwhile. So much consideration has gone into this biography that when I laid it down after almost non-stop reading for several days over the holidays, I felt like I really understood Emerson for the first time, and now have much better insight. I plan to let this book simmer in my mind a few more months, then pick it up and read it again.

If Richardson could also write something as lucid and detailed to help me understand the Tao Te Ching, I wouldn't have 10,000 questions about the 10,000 things. ;-)

Mr. Richardson's 'Thoreau A Life of the Mind' was not only the best biography I've read on Thoreau, but one of the most exhilerating and enlightening reading experiences of my life. So I decided to read his 'Emerson The Mind on Fire.' And it was every bit as intimate and intelligent.

There are times you feel that you're intruding upon Waldo and Henry on one of their walks. It was an endless stroll of two intellectuals and humanists on the path of being very human. Each of the one hundred chapters (both books) are kept short, which helps move the reader from topic to topic without ever feeling put upon (too much detail can drag what is otherwise very interesting.) Though, for me personally, I would love to savor every moment these two great men shared. I don't think I could ever get bored.

Emerson has many close friends with whom one gets to know intimately. His personal address book was a whose whose of literary and intellectual greats.

The relationship between Emerson and his second wife, Lidian, is of great interest. She was also intellectual and as much a partner in life as she was a wife. Her presence is everywhere in Emerson's life.

Emerson's essays are pure poetry. And the behind the scene snippets into how they became a part of his legacy was both insightful and relevant to the day to day interactions and causes he committed himself. His transformation from the unremarkable child into the neverending 'student' of self-education and commitment to social conscience throughout his entire adult life is one to be admired.

Mr. Richardson is one of the best biographers of nineteenth century literaries. He is truly one with his topic.

Robert Richardson's biography of Emerson is superb. Though, as Richardson reminds us, Emerson did not like superlative language when precise and adequate language would do, it is the case that at times the superlative, the precise and the adequate converge (as, in fact, they often did in Emerson's writings). Richardson's biography is indeed superb in its unfolding of Emerson's life -- the loves, the friendships, the losses, the intellectual and spiritual hunger, the religious quest, the writers in America, in Europe, in Persia and elsewhere to whom Emerson owed and acknowledged debts, the grasping at and for a world, the determination of a single, brilliant human being to find his way and to see his life, and all individual lives, as imbued with the divine and thus worth living.

The book is also superbly written. Each short chapter offers enough substantive insight to urge the reader into the next. It is a long book, but not long-winded. Richardson provides the reader with some morsel of insight in a few pages of narrative, and then offers a rest to digest what has been said. His placement of quotations from Emerson's journals, essays and other works is brilliant, offering the reader a useful sketch of Emerson's metaphysics and ethics. In my own case, this has allowed time to reach for other literature more fully descriptive of the events or scenes offered in a particular chapter, or to reread chunks of Emerson's writings while moving through the biography. The book is a useful tool not merely for a study of Emerson's life but for a study of Transcendentalism and of the interplay of ideas across the Atlantic that shaped American thought in so many ways. One sees more clearly where and how such writers as Nietzsche and Thoreau obtained the seeds of their own truths from Emerson's works and thoughts.

Richardson has set the standard for the writing of future biographies. Again, simply superb.

Anyone who has read my Listmania "Escape Mass Market Fiction" knows that I touted this novel (tertrology actually) as having ".... the most exquisite language since Shakespeare". But it is truly beyond that. After 30 years and over 3,000 books read I can affirm that there simply has been no greater work of fiction produced in any century by man or woman. One of the reviewers for the Lowe-Porter translation was dead-on saying you keep wanting to go back and reread the last 20 pages you managed to finish just to savor the experience. Original editions are a little rare and expensive, but, like any treasure, it's rewards are transcendental, and once read, you can consider yourself part of the most esoteric world of the true literati. NOTE-- Beginners who are easily scared off and prefer to sample before committing might want to skip the Preludes and go straight to the main chapters.

I'm at a loss about how to begin a review of the titanic marvel "Joseph and His Brothers" because of its being so many things, adding fright to the one who tries to properly bring forth what future readers are in store for upon opeing its first page and delving into "Descent into Hell."

I have never before and doubt ever will again read a 1,500 page 'tale,' let alone one that includes a continuous barrage of gripping stories alongside psychological insight of God-like proportions. What's icing on the cake as to this book's sheer power and unforgettableness is its comic charm. I did not know I was going to be reading what is pretty much a comedy when being pulled into this marvelous Old Testament narrative.

If you have read the biblical account of Jacob and Esau on down to Joseph in Egypt and are worried that its contents couldn't stay intriguing for this many pages, there is good news, because it, for the most part, very much is.

In the preface, translator John E. Woods accurately proposes he thinks that "Mann ... wanted to make sure he had readers worthy of him" while explaining that some portions of this interweaving jewel are prone to be more difficult to read than what is, thankfully, the majority. And it is this truth, in which I agree with this stirling translator, that I breifly dwell upon.

In several used bookstores I've been to, the only part of this story that I ever saw available, and in a volume all its own, was H.T. Porter's translation of "Joseph in Egypt." Given its apparent availability over the other three parts, I suspected it would be the best - which Mann himself thought to be true. But, solely from the perspective of, as Virginia Woolf would aptly call me, a 'common reader,' I bring forth that those trickier 'riddles' that Woods forwarns, or maybe just mentions, occur most often in this third volume. The feel of being sidetracked a little too much continues on into the beginning segments of "Joseph the Provider."

Do these, I will dare to say, overly descriptive, meandering pages that include some repitition detract all that much from the sheer pleasure that dominates most of what is nothing short of this literary feast and party? Hardly not. For outside of this minor qualm over the author perhaps going a little too far about content that probably didn't require as much attention, there is no book I have read up until now that has offered more to a reader than this. I guess "sublime" is not a bad word to use when measuring the result of Mann's cataclysmic efforts that encompassed a time span of 16 years, no less, including a 5-year absence between the third and fourth stories.

He touches on such juicy, delicious insights about mankind, helping to devour the notion that life is different now compared to then. And while it is entirely varied in custom, how could our experiences be all that different due to the fact that we all have one monstrous thing in common, our humanity.

Mann had me wondering if he wasn't something more than human, though, his elegance, wisdom, humor and charm are in such top form. And while it could have been one of the great many gods of Baal that Mann includes throughout who could have helped guide his pen, I'm more prone to believe it was the God of the wanderer who possessed his wrist on occasion.

One of the greatest books ever written.

Also the kind of service / support rendered by Amazon, when the first copy did not reach me, was truly touching and amazing. Within a fortnight of not having received the original book sent to me, I had the book finally in my hands ! Great customer service.

For all the great technological magic of our age we suffer the misfortune of living in a time where the depth of hyperbole rends the edge from language leaving us bereft when the time comes to describe something truly remarkable. Thus to say that John Woods' translation of Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers offers readers a gift of almost indescribable value may leave one wondering if I am making a literally true statement or simply wallowing in the common puff of our day. In this case the latter is the case for Mr. Woods' translation of Mann's great opus offers the reader an experience both challenging and sublime.

Readers unfamiliar with Mann's work may feel a sense of vertigo beginning this even more than his other works. Much of the style of narration, unique with its perspective shifting through time, seems almost purposely designed to leave one doubting their footing. Increasing the sense of dread is the books sheer heft, with over 1500 pages of small type and weighing in at almost two and half pounds. Yet those brave souls who resist the temptation to lay down this load in favor of a more easily digested work will come to in the end appreciate the feast to come. Mann's work rests on its own unique rhythm, and once the reader grows acclimated they will surely appreciate both the work and the great skill of Mr. Wood as translator. This series of four novels expounding on the biblical tale of Jacob, his son of Joseph of the famous robe, as well as his brothers, often comes when people engage in the entertaining and fruitless parlor game of determining the greatest literary work of the 20th century. While no single work can claim such a title, the complexity of the work and the Herculean task of translation should be evident that this is only the second instance of its translation into English in the more than 60 years since it first appeared.

Beyond simply outlining the work's subject matter, in many ways it seems written with the express intent of defying further description. With a complex web of interrelated stories, occasionally taking subjects that the bible reflects on for only a sentence and expanded on them for a hundred pages and at the same time seeking to place this seminal tale in its religious, historic, and cultural context, the work often leaves the reader gasping at the audacity of Man's enterprise. Yet almost every one of his efforts comes as a remarkable success, leaving one much to ponder. Indeed, any expectation that one can rush through this work will surely leave you with only a headache and little to show for the effort. Instead, one must take their time and slowly chew on Joseph and His Brother's digesting each piece in turn. Like many great works this one takes effort and diligence, but the reward comes as more than just bragging rights for having read it. Far more, it will offer an often eye opening new perspective and beckon from the book shelf to be taken down again so that you may reread this section or that.

One last point: to end where I began, Mann's attention to detail and word choice often gives pause, making each of us consider the harm done when we rain down words on a subject when a mere drop would do.

The new translation of Joseph and His Brothers is beautiful, as is the novel. Yes, it's long--about 1500 pages--but it's worth all the time it takes to read. Perhaps this isn't the place to start, if you haven't read Mann before, but if you already admire his work, you're going to love this book.