Washington Books

I really enjoyed this book immensely. A great balance of good things happening to offset the horrible violence of a serial killer. I was told it was more of a love story, and it certainly had demonstrated the loving nature of a lot more than just the main characters. Excellent book, can't wait for the next.

Took me awhile to finally pick this book up to read but
when I did I could not put it down.Stephen King move over.
Waiting on the next book Robert.

As an avid reader of Mary Higgins Clark and Fern Michaels I put the book aside. I started to read the book then while shopping picked up another book by Mary Higgins Clark putting "Serial" to the side. I am ashamed, three days ago I picked Serial up again and couldn't put it down. As a book worm and Co-worker of Mr. Strange I would like to congratulate you, Excellent. The chapters well written and the viewing of each character at the same scene. I loved it and can't wait for the next book to be published......HURRY UP!!!!!

This book takes a little time to get into it but once it grabs your attention you don't want to put it down until the end! I really enjoyed the way Mr. Strange keeps the reader on their toes by moving from one scene to another and back again. Look out Stephen King. Once the word is out this author is sure to have the number one best seller!

This book takes a little time to get into it but once it grabs your attention you don't want to put it down until the end! I really enjoyed the way Mr. Strange keeps the reader on their toes by moving from one scene to another and back again. Look out Stephen King. Once the word is out this author is sure to have the number one best seller!

I loved this book. I kinda wish it was more about Ashley and Sean and less Kate and Tyler but it was amazing! I never would have guessed the ending. I did think it was sad that everyone sacrificed their lives to protect the family's secrets but I guess I can understand that. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This was a most intelligent and enthralling story; not only intriguing, but sensual as well. All characters were well-thought out and interesting. From the very first, when Tyler appears on the scene, the story and romance grabs you. There was one fascinating plot after another, and I found myself half-crazed to know the secrets, and to see how Tyler and Kate got together, along with Sean and Ashley. And to find out whose baby it was and what became of Jeremy. I have been reading romance/suspense for a number of years and Ms. Freethy has become an addition to list of my best authors.

Stormy relationships and a stormy sailing adventure combine to make this a better-than-average read. Barbara Freethy keeps you guessing about the big family secret and the ending is predictible but still fun. It's a great way to pass a summer afternoon at the beach or just curled up on the living room sofa.

If you want a love story wrapped up with some intrigue, SUMMER SECRETS is the book for you. All the while I was reading the book, I was trying to guess the secret ... and never could! The romance and mystery will keep you turning the pages as fast as you can. Great read.

I, for once, never disappointed with Barbara Freethy, ever since I purchased my first book of her (One True Love) few years ago. She is my favorite author when it comes to family stories. She always manages to write such beautiful, heartwarming, and also real family stories. The joy, the tears, the fears, the loyalty ... they are always there, knotted into one amazing story. She did it again with SUMMER SECRETS. Each character stands out with their own self. The sisters are uniquely different with one another but nevertheless, united with a strong bond called "family. The romance of course, is also beautiful. I love the chemistry between Tyler and Kate, also Ashley and Sean. I just wish Caroline will get her own man. This book is wonderful read ... if you don't know Barbara Freethy, you're missing such a talented author!

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

In an author's afterword, Peters decribes this book as his homage to Chandler, Hammett and Cain, which it most certainly is. But there's no overt emulation of the style of any of those authors; what one does experience is the exhilarating momentum of plot, vivid characterization, and the acerbic wit that those authors brought to bear in their work. Peters' protagonist is an honorable man making his way through a chaotic present, similar to Philip Marlowe in Chandler's novels, with a comparable eye and ear for the "luminous detail." And the first-person perspective makes for some great interior monologue throughout the book. Readers who are dismayed by the lack of moral center in the books of such authors as James Ellroy might find Peters' writing a worthy alternative.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

I just finished another excellent novel by Ralph Peters --- Traitor (hard cover).

I placed it at the bottom of a stack of books I brought home from the library, two weeks ago. I generally put his books at the top of my reading list, but the cover art was so impressively unappealing and the title so blasé that I almost took it back to the library unread.

It seems to me that Mr. Peters has proven his ability to write exceptional, and well plotted, thrillers. Why would anyone stick such an uninspired cover on a truly extraordinary read?

If someone likes Clancy, Higgins, et. al. they should love Ralph Peters.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

This is a well researched and written book about the Indian wars on the New York and Pennsylvania frontiers during the American Revolution. It tells the stories of the Wyoming Massacre, the Cherry Valley Massacre and the Sullivan campaign providing the details on each but in a very readable format. It also provides some details on other not so well known events on the frontiers like the situation around Pittsburgh and in western Pennsylvania. Consequently, this book fills in a gap in the American Revolution and worth the purchase for any individual interested in reading more about that period.

After two years of fighting in America with limited success, the British felt they were, to coin a popularized modern term, in a bit of a quagmire, and sought a new strategy for their overseas war. The new strategy involved moving the war away from the more populated northeast and into the western frontier. This move would not only disperse the already diminutive American forces, but would also allow Britain to utilize its strongest North American allied force, the Iroquois Indian Confederacy.

Glenn William's book, THE YEAR OF THE HANGMAN: WASHINGTON'S WAR AGAINST THE IROQUOIS chronicles the events that took place in those western frontier skirmishes and battles. The book derives its name for the year, 1777, which had become popularly known at the time as the `year of the hangman' due to the three sevens appearance of gallows when written, though the majority of the events actually occurred in 1779. Though using that title for his book was too good of an opportunity to pass up, William's title is slightly misleading as to the dates of the primary events.

The Iroquois, though primarily located in Western and Central New York, were quite possibly the strongest Indian nation of North America for a span of over 500 years. Their control reached across the Great Lakes into Central Wisconsin and their rise to prominence came at the cost of driving out, and driving to extinction, numerous other Indian tribes of the region. They were, to be sure, a force to be reckoned with.

Both the Americans and the British had heavily lobbied allegiance with the Iroquois, but in the end, the Indians felt their best chance for future lay at the hands of the British and consequently, four of the six main tribes of the Iroquois sided with the British. This error in judgment would prove fatal to the Iroquois nation, when, as a primary result of the Sullivan Expedition, the Iroquois nation would virtually lose all of its military and political power.

While the Sullivan Expedition is the primary focus of William's book, other major events are deftly chronicled as well, such as the Battle of Oriskany and the Wyoming Valley attacks. By 1979, Gen. Washington had successfully developed the army making it capable of taking the fight to the Indians and literally destroying their economical stability and rendering them harmless, not just for the remainder of the revolution, but into the subsequent years of frontier settlement into the traditional Iroquois homelands.

That Washington was able to develop a force the size of the Sullivan Expedition (5000 men) is in and of itself, a testament to Washington's military leadership abilities and, though today, only an afterthought in Revolutionary history, stands as one of the General's greatest military accomplishments.

This is good reading. Glenn William's had put together a readable and valuable presentation of a rather forgotten aspect of America's fight for independence.

Monty Rainey
Junto Society

Mr. Williams recent book describes in excellent, understandable detail what caused the Americans to invade Iroquois territory and the effects of the invasion. His book is an excellent companion to another book I have read titled History of Wyoming, by Charles Miner that was originally written in 1845. Miner interviewed people who survived or were connected to the Wyoming Massacre, while Williams had access to all the archives. The two books fill in details and each makes the other more rewarding to read.

I read this book because I have Loyalist ancestors who were members of Butler's Rangers and almost certainly participated in the battles described in such detail. My ancestors, William Pickard and his 2 sons James and Benjamin, two privates and a drummer boy, did not get mentioned in the book, but that was not a problem since around 900 people were in Butler's Rangers. They survived to move to Canada after the war and they started large families after leaving their homes in Tryon County.

The book has a nice section on the key personalities that I found useful since there were Butlers on both the Loyalist and Patriot sides. The book would be improved by detailed maps. Unless you can imagine where places like Tioga, Unidilla and Stone Arabia are, you will read the book in front of your computer with Google Maps open as I did. The book would also be improved with contemporary photos of the battle sites; some of these, like the Battle of Newton, were easily found on the web.

I learned much from the book and enjoyed it. It was very interesting to see that the Rangers contained a good number of Black soldiers who lived with the rest of the Rangers and the Indians. It was also interesting to see how both sides courted the Indians and tried to win their support. The book really makes the Revolution look much more like a civil war than people typically think.

The book was well written to the point that the book rich in detail was not lost by the tremendous amout of utilized quotes and reference points. More detail on the life style and pressures (for survival)of settlements along the frontier border would have been benefical.

An awesome book, very detailed descriptions, good maps, elevation profiles with every trip, GPS, driving instructions. This is far better than all the mountaineers books. Go get a copy today.

What I like:

* I love how it features hikes *within* Seattle, Kirkland and Bellevue. Many guidebooks skip hikes within the city altogether. The one you can kayak to is pretty neat! I expect that these trails will be good for the colder months, when trails in the Cascades are snowed out. I'm looking forward to using this book more and more later in the year.

* The descriptions are quite thorough. The details help me visualize the hike, and this can be motivating sometimes. This has some cons though -- see below.

* It has a section for nearby activities. I find that useful when planning side trips/activities.

* It provides the GPS coordinates of the trailhead.


What I don't like:

* Each page has a header that is a black area with white text. On the left page it says "{hike #} 60 hikes within 60 miles" and on the right side, "Seattle including Bellevue, Everett and Tacoma". I think this space could be used better if it displayed the name of the hike and the general area instead of the same text over and over.

* Key at-a-glance information is shown in a black box with small white text. This information is quite important to me when deciding which hike to do, and I would rather have it in a more readable form. Better yet, have it in a form that I can actually digest "at a glance" (!) instead of having to read the small white-on-black text. Other guidebooks show some of this information graphically, with stars or hiker icons to indicate difficulty and/or rating. At the very least, I think the font should be the same size as the descriptive text.

* Driving directions and GPS coordinates are printed as black text over a light/dark gray background. Bad contrast!

* The descriptive text is loooong. I appreciate that sometimes, but I it's too verbose for my taste. The font size is rather small, which for me makes reading the description even less appealing.

* Whether or not I need a forest pass or some other permit is buried deep in the description. This is important for avoiding tickets, so it should be more prominent. The sheer verbosity of the text compounds this problem.

* Whether or not dogs are allowed is also in the description text. Since I have a dog, I'd like to know this immediately, so again, I think it should be displayed more prominently.

* It would be nice if it had a topographical map for the longer trails. I find it hard to reconstruct the lie of the land from the map and the elevation graph, especially since the map doesn't have mile markers along the representation of the hike's trail. [Yes, I really ought to have my own topo map of the entire area, but a small one that I can carry with the trail description is convenient as a adjunct to a larger map.]


All things considered, I have mixed feelings about this book. It has good content, but I think there are better ones out there. Call me superficial, but I'm a weekend hiker, and the difference between an engaging/beautiful versus so-so/mediocre presentation can have a big effect on my enthusiasm for a particular hike :)

This is one of the best books I have found for the newbie hiker in seattle. If you have a GPS it is even better as you can just the coordinates in the book to find the starting point for each hike. The Maps are great! The descriptions are great!

The other day I found myself in the passenger seat of my own car for an extended trip. Miles from nowhere with not much left to talk about and nothing but scratchy country music on the radio I noticed the guidebook I had received as a gift, stashed in the sidepocket and promptly forgotten. Raised on the Mountainers "100 Hikes" series, I knew guidebooks to be invaluable on the trail, but as reading material dryer than Central Oregon scree in mid-August.

As I thumbed the pages of "60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Seattle," I quickly moved from bored to engaged to engrossed. This book was good! In addition to finding dozens of previously overlooked trails within a short drive of my Seattle home, I learned many new and fascinating details about the places I've been hiking for years. The trail descriptions are accurate and appropriately detailed. The navigational instruction are clear and include useful visual landmarks in addition to the usual distance cues. What's best though, is that into the brief trail write-ups Weber and Stevens manage to weave bits of local history, trivia and entertaining lore that greatly enhance the hiking experience. I even found myself reading several sections aloud to my travelling companion. Finally, the authors also understand that sometimes the best hiking tip is not the trail itself, but the location of the local frosty mug or renowned double deluxe burger at trails end!

Whether you are new in town, just visiting, or a soggy Seattle native like myself, "60 Hikes" makes a great addition to your recreation library.

This well structured hiking book fills a gap in the suite of similar books that cover the Olympics and the Cascades in Western Washington. This volume does a good job identifying interesting hikes close to the metropolitan Puget Sound Basin--the title says it all. The book also adds features that many other hiking books lack, most notably good hike maps and hike profiles. You can do all the hikes in this book without supplemental maps.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3CF7E74NYTQX9 This is an excerpt from the ABC live interview for the book Artificial Imagination. Kalpanik talks about his immigrant experience, meaning of life, and important of including a sense of humor in your life style and philosophy.

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/R2JQ1EBHV3YOR6 Great book, nice splash of humor--high quality photos! I specially like the love story at the end.

Here are some links to photo posters and calendars from the book and promotional T-shirts:
Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
Seattle Secenic Photograph
Thonging At the Beach
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
Beach Hotties Poster

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CJDZRIOJJIFN 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.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3T5IX83S8N7DX Light reading, but very engaging! Entertaining and excellent for busy professionals since you can read it chapter at a time and still enjoy it!

Rita D. French, Perrin L. French and Irvin F. Lin Baltimore's Own Little Italy Artist: The artwork of Tony De Sales (Genovefa Press P.O. Box 50954, Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.genovefapress.com), 2003, 224 pp. $29.95

This volume spotlights the artwork of Tony De Sales. His pen and ink drawings, some colored with crayon or simple paint, documented the architectural details and settings of his origins in working class Baltimore. Tony's sister, Rita De Sales French, and brother-in-law, Perrin L. French, unite Tony's life story with his artwork.
For thirty five years Tony maintained his "outdoor" studio and sales room at the corner of Fawn and High streets in Little Italy, an intersection frequented by locals, tourists and celebrities en route to see the sights of this historic and culinary-rich area of Baltimore. Tony's grandparents, his paternal side from Palermo, his maternal side from Warsaw, arrived in Baltimore in the early part of the 20th century. At an early age Tony became the family mainstay-his parents separated and his mother, Genevieve, suffered from mental illness. He never married and helped to raise his younger siblings and later cared for his mother until her death in 1998. On good summer days Genevieve would sit with him as he worked and greeted passersby.
The people he met on his corner of Little Italy often became friends. He gave them postcards of his prints to mail back to him when they returned to their homes across the U.S. and the world.
The book is filled with reproductions of Tony's artwork and some photos of the actual scenes he drew accompanied with descriptive text. The book covers the span of his artwork: Little Italy, Baltimore Harbor at Fells Point and seaway, Annapolis and places outside Maryland that Tony visited.
This volume makes a perfect gift for collectors of Italian American art, devotees of maritime and urban landscape art. It would serve well as a souvenir for tourists to Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington D.C. and a rewarding way for residents of the Baltimore-Washington D.C. corridor to learn and appreciate the place they call home.

This book is a unique combination of biography, city-history, and insight into the feelings and production of a gifted, self-taught artist. Tony DeSales overcame limitations of means and circumstance to bear witness to the city and neighborhood he loved.

The authors of this book, in turn, do justice to the artist's life and deep-felt monochrome and color sketches. Writing, production, and reproduction of the artwork are all first-rate.

This book is a bargain at its price, and is priceless for those who share Tony DeSales' love for Baltimore.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in street art and the Baltimore area. It is packed with Tony's beautiful artwork and the authors' detailed stories of the area. Every Baltimorean should own a copy. Rita and her co-authors have done a superb job.

This book is like a trip down "memory lane" for those of us who grew up in Baltimore. It is apparent that a great deal of thought went into the prepartion of this book. The full page prints are nicely presented on glossy paper. This is also an inspiring story of a man's generosity to his family and his community via his artwork.

This lovingly crafted book Rita and Perrin French
traces the work of Rita's brother Tony DeSales.
The prints are warm,evocative and touch the spirit of
place, They show artist and scene as one; his trying to
make you observe the vision of Baltimore that he had embraced.
Many are hauntingly beautiful renderings and show a warm remembrance of his vision. You will see many nuances
of place and look again at places found in this wonderfully
crafted editon.

John Straley just keeps getting better. This one will grab you right away and keep you reading
until the final scene, just couldn't put it down.

Mr. Straley entertained my socks off with Cecil Younger's adventures. Here he has done first rate research on times, locations, tides, geography and sea conditions. He also brought along his talent for a great story and read. The gruesome end to many left me with startled emptiness (a gotcha kind of feeling), but the defined times (1930s)and the passion of Ellie Hobbs and Slip, along with the charming girl and her bird, take the reader along for hours of pleasure. Mr Straley is right on task for yet another Alaskan mystery. Now if Cecil were only the son of George....ah, oh well. I can't wait for his next book.

Straley writes with incredible genius! He brilliantly weaves researched history of the Wooblies, fascincating characters and brilliant descriptions of stellar natural beauty of British Columbia into "read through the night" mystery!!

This should be required reading for AK Panhandle residents!

Can we have more Slip, Ellie and Annabelle??

I have always loved John Straley's books. Wonderful characters; great plots; gritty without being too violent; beautiful descriptions of a strange land (yes, I am from the lower 48). I have checked bookstores over the last few years for his new books - and, happily the drought is over. The Big Both Ways is a wonderful continuation of a great writer - and I look forward to many more with the great aspects of this book - riveting plot and great quirky characters. For the next book, perhaps he will bring back one of my favorite characters - Blossom, who would be all grown up.

This is a tall tale adapted for a full length book. Full of highs and unbelieavable lows but fun to read. I have always loved John Straley and this is a good addition to his work.

Burl Barer is a true crime writer in the Pacific Northwest where the Queen of True Crime, Ann Rule, is also based. This book is about the Spokane serial killer, Robert Yates Jr., who mostly killed prostitutes and drug addicts as well as others. Barer does not forget the victims which is important because he makes it clear that no victim deserves to be killed and discarded like trash and garbage. People's attitudes about prostitutes and drug addicts must be revised in order to pay attention to the serious problems. Prostitutes are illegal in Washington but they are also mostly likely to be victims of serial killers like Ridgway and Yates. If Bundy had murdered prostitutes, they received little or no attention. Bundy referred to them as bottom feeders as the lowest of society. He had higher standards towards his victims but he still treated them like garbage. We might have to legalize prostitution in order to save their lives. We have to stop the fear of them being arrested, tormented, and used by police authorities as well as their clients. People don't know how dangerous that prostitution can be in their line of work. They are often desperate to be put in that position in the first place. My biggest problem with the book is the lack of organized outline regarding the victims like a chronology detailing their age, background, date of disappearance, etc. Barer does try to humanize each victim's background by describing their families and their loss.

BODY COUNT relates the story of Robert Yates, Jr., a serial killer responsible for 18 murders in a time span of approximately 20 years.

The author, Burl Barer, provides great insight into life on the street as a prostitute, constantly living for the next john while just trying to survive. Barer does a tremendous job of reminding readers that "sex workers" are people too; that they have families who mourn and miss them when their lives, no matter how trecherous or disgusting to the averge joe, are prematurely ended.

Readers are also provided with an upclose view of how such cases can haunt the detectives who work to solve them, and the toll it can take on their sanity and physical health.

And lastly, Barer reminds his readers with his story just how "normal" a serial killer can be. Yates was a father and a husband, someone no one ever suspected. A creepy reminder that the nice guy next door could be a Ted Bundy when no one is looking.

This is an interesting and insightful book. If you enjoy stories about serial killers, this is definitely recommend for you.

Burl Barer is, in my opinion, the #1 true crime writer in America. Each book takes a tragic case, elevates the victims' deaths to the level of sacrifice, and probes the inner working of the killer's mind and upbringing. I was mystified by the review that said there was no information about Yates' life and upbringing -- in truth, Barer delves deeply into Yates personal history. An added shocker is that author Burl Barer knew Yates' first victims, and also knew one of Yates' final victims. Both the killer and author lived in the same small town; their daughters attending the same school.
Unlike Mark Fuhrman's book about the same case, Barer's is accurate in detail. Yes, there is one unsolved murdrer after another...a repetitive "problem" with serial killers -- but Barer uses this very aspect of the case, and the dead ends of the investigation for many years, to heighten the sense of frustration and desperation that haunted the Homicide Task Force prior to their arrest of Robert Lee Yates. If you want to read true crime at its best, pick up any book by Burl Barer.

Body Count was a very interesting read. As an avid true crime fan, I don't remember hearing about the Yates case until now. Burl Barer perfectly balanced Yates' background with the investigation and victims' stories. Ann Rule is still my favorite true crime author, but Burl Barer is a close second.

The reason why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 was because of several typographical errors throughout the book and the name of one victim not being consistent throughout the book. As a proofreader, these errors stood out and bothered me. If readers ignore these things, you will enjoy reading this book.

Historically speaking, the northwestern part of the United States has seemed to breed its share of serial killers. This being said, it may seem challenging to stand out in a background with the Green River Killer and Ted Bundy. Yet the story of Robert Yates Jr. is compelling on a number of levels. And just as important, Burl Barer proves to be a talented writer in "Body Count" with good pacing, appropriate word choice, and lending a sense of dignity to the genre of true crime.

Robert Yates Jr. committed his first murder in 1975. However, the uncontrollable urge to kill did not take him over until the late 1990's. Despite having a daughter the was near the same age of some of his victims, Yates systematically murdered prostitutes in the area of Spokane, Washington. Unlike his somewhat random first murders of the 70's, the prostitute murders were typified by a bullet behind the ear and three plastic bags over the head to seemingly control bleeding.

There are many interesting aspects to this case which I am somewhat hesitant to advertise and spoil the enjoyment of this book for others. The miltary and security guard background of Yates seem to play to the idea that he not only sought control in his killings in addition to sexual gratification. While Yates seemed to defend his crimes to some degree by noting that he was molested as a child, not every molested child becomes a serial killer.

Burl Barer is a true crime writer that I believe belongs in the upper echelon of the genre. I never got the impression that he was exploiting the misfortune of others or just out to make a quick buck in this book. He tells the story with a solid writing style.

dada: zurich, berlin, hanover, cologne, new yorkk, paris

This book is wonderfully informative, plus it has so many full-color reproductions--the type of terrific catalog that inspires one to stroke its pages with a sense of seduction (works in my mind!).

Coupled with Hans Richter's: "Dada, Art and Antiart" and movement's philosophy and works are clearly understood. Graphics are truly great and commentary enlighten. It might be noted this book is German published as the Max Ernst book "Life and Work". Both with numerous colored plates of the highest quality. The Dada book though excels in text.

I have always had a weakness for Dada, and within this quixotic movement a special liking for Schwitters. So I visited the Dada-exposition in the Paris Centre Pompidou last year, and there bought both the Dickerman catalogue of the American exposition, and the (French language) catalogue of the Centre Pompidou itself, which differ in many ways. The exposition was wonderful by the way, and one of the best I' ve seen in many years. Thinking that a morning would be enough to see what I wanted to see, I changed my mind, decided to take dinner in the Pompidou, and stayed for the rest of the day. The immense amount of material was stunning. And the same thing really goes for both impressive catalogues. The American (Dickerman) version (520 pages) follows Dada by way of the cities where Dada developed, and does so in a more or less chronological fashion. Essays are excellent, photomaterial looks great. It is the sort of catalogue you would expect from an exposition like this. The European catalogue, more than thousand pages, printed on very thin paper, treats subjects, artists, and everything else connected with Dada according to alfabet. It seems to me that the catalogue has just about everything that could be seen at the exposition, with exception of the films of course. Although I felt a bit silly after buying both catalogues (spending some 100 euros), I was in the end very glad that I did. Everybody who buys catalogues now and then, know how disappointing these sometimes are. Well, these aren't. They are both superb, knowledgeable. And the people who made them have done a terrific job. In the end you wind up thinking: Hey, these guys (and girls) must have loved Dada as much as I do.

IF YOU LIKE ART THIS IS THE PERFECT MEAL.
BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER AND SNACKS
I WISH I HAD ONE OF THESE BOOKS IN EVERY ONE OF MY ROOMS
OR ANYWHERE I VISIT WHERE THERE MIGHT BE FREE TIME TO LEAF THRU IT!