Pittsburgh Books

Una novela que marca a todo el que la lee... el lenguaje en su máxima y más hermosa expresión.

La historia con Bèrthe Trépat, la carta de La Maga a Rocamadour, Talita pasando por el tablón y, claro, el capítulo 7 (toco tu boca...). Este libro me deja sin aliento. Nunca, pero NUNCA he leído nada de semejante belleza.

I really enjoyed this original book.

It has taken me years to sit down and finally make a serious commitment to read Julio Cortazar's "Hopscotch/La Rayuela." I cannot think of a better companion to devote a few weeks to, maybe even longer - hey, whatever it takes! It depends on your reading speed and the time you take to truly savor the poetry of the author's language. So, be willing to make a small personal investment in this very special novel, and the reward you reap will be a worthy one. Julio Cortazar will take you to places you have never been before in literature, and may never experience again. I read "Hopscotch" over this past summer, after a thirty year delay. I can be very stubborn about putting off what is good for me!! The author's imagination is boundless, his prose rich and luminous, his wit and sophistication rare, the dialogue brilliant, the plot...I won't attempt to describe that with a few adjectives. Wander through the extraordinary labyrinthine plot on you own - the way is yours to discover. I promise, you won't get lost!

I was introduced to "La Rayuela" about thirty years ago, when a close friend, with similar reading tastes, gave me the book. Enthused after just reading the novel, he told me that I reminded him of one of the characters, La Maga. (What a compliment...I think!). I was living in Latin America at the time. With personal interests at stake and much curiosity, I bought a copy in Spanish, which I read with some fluency back then. After experimenting with which way to approach the novel, and trying both ways, I gave up...and just read the parts about La Maga. I had little patience at that point in my life, and needed to acquire some, and to read slower, with more of a sense of play and participation. Cortazar wants his readers to participate - to make reading his book an interactive experience, not a passive one. I was and still feel touched when I remember my friend's comments regarding La Maga. She is a magnificent character and Cortazer's prose, his language, (Spanish), is exquisite. So, about a year later, I thought I'd give it another try, in English, perhaps with better results. None! I just wasn't ready, I guess. That happens to me with fiction occasionally. I have to be open to the experience. Yet, after all these years, I still thought of Horacio Oliveira and La Maga from time to time. And why not? They are truly unforgettable. As I wrote above, I did make time, at last. For an adventure of a lifetime, I recommend you do the same.

When Julio Cortazar published "La Rayuela" in 1966, he turned the conventional novel upside-down and the literary world on its ear with this experiment in writing fiction. He soon became an important influence on writers everywhere. "Hopscotch" is considered to be one of the best novels written in Spanish. The work is interactive, where readers are invited to rearrange its text and read sections in different sequences. Read in a linear fashion, "Hopscotch" contains 700 pages, 155 chapters in three sections: "From the Other Side," and "From This Side" - the first two sections are sustained by relatively chronological narratives and so contrast greatly with the third section, "From Diverse Sides," (subtitled "Expendable Chapters"), which includes philosophical extrapolation, character study, allusions and quotations, and an entirely different version of the "ending."

The book has no table of contents, but rather a "Table of Instructions." There, we learn that two approved readings are possible: from Chapter 1 through 56 "in a normal fashion", or from Chapter 73 to Chapter 1 to... well, wherever the chapters lead you. The instructions are all in your book and are extremely clear. At the end of each chapter there is a numeric indicator to lead the reader to the next chapter. One never knows where one will be lead. Due to its meandering nature, "Hopscotch" has been called a "Proto-hypertext" novel. Cortázar probably had this work in mind when he stated, "If I had the technical means to print my own books, I think I would keep on producing collage-books."

Horacio Oliveira, our protagonist and sometimes narrator, is an Argentinean expatriate, an intellectual and professed writer in 1950's bohemian Paris. He and his close friends, members of "the Club," do lots of partying, drinking, and intellectualizing, discussing art, literature, music and solving the world's problems. Oliveira lives with and loves La Maga, an exotic young woman, somewhat whimsical, at times almost ephemeral, who leaves behind her, like the scent of a light perfume, a feeling of poignancy and inevitable loss. La Maga refuses to plan her encounters with Oliveira in advance, preferring instead to run into each other by chance. Then she and Oliveira celebrate the series of circumstances that reunite them. Eventually, he loses La Maga, who loses her child. With her absence, Oliveira realizes how empty and meaningless his life is and he returns to his native Buenos Aires. There he finds work first as a salesman, then a keeper of a circus cat, and an attendant in an insane asylum.

As Oliveira wends his way through France, Uruguay and Argentina looking for his lost love, "Hopscotch's" narrative takes on an emotionally intense stream of consciousness style, rich in metaphor. Back In Argentina, Oliveira shares his life with his bizarre double, Traveler, and Traveler's wife, Talita, whom Oliveira attempts to remake into a facsimile of La Maga.

The game of hopscotch is only developed as a conceit late in the narrative. It is first used to describe Oliveira's confused love for La Maga as "that crazy hopscotch." The theme develops as a metaphor for reaching Heaven from Earth. "When practically no one has learned how to make the pebble climb into Heaven, childhood is over all of a sudden and you're into novels, into the anguish of the senseless divine trajectory, into the speculation about another Heaven that you have to learn to reach too." The variations on the children's game are described as "spiral hopscotch, rectangular hopscotch, fantasy hopscotch, not played very often." The allusions continue and include some beautiful passages.

"Hopscotch" is much more than a novel. Ultimately, it is best left for each reader to define what it is for himself/herself. Pablo Neruda in a famous quote said, "People who do not read Cortazar are doomed. Not to read him is a serious invisible disease." I don't know whether I would go so far. Remember, I put off the experience for many years. But this is one novel that should be read during one's lifetime. It is brilliant and it is fun!
JANA

Rayuela es, junto a otras obras como "El Túnel" de Sábato, una de las pocas muestras de literatura Existencialista latinoamericana. Y el resultado difícilmente pudo ser mejor, este libro de Cortázar fue aclamado por la crítica internacional y actualmente está junto con "Cien años de Soledad" ,y algunos otros pocos, dentro de las novelas latinoamericanas más renombradas.

En la primera página de "Rayuela", el autor indica que la obra es en realidad muchos libros y no sólo uno, pero que principalmente son dos libros (dos formas de leerlo). El primero se lee en forma continua, desde el capítulo 1 hasta el 56. El segundo se lee de acuerdo a un orden específico que da Cortázar, y abarca muchos otros capítulos, la totalidad de la obra. La palabra Rayuela se refiere a un juego, y algunos críticos consideran que esta 2da opción es también un juego, una broma del autor. Incluso al llegar a cierto capitulo (leyendo de la 2da forma), te ves dirigido luego al capítulo que leíste antes, formándose así un circulo de tal manera que la obra no tiene fin. ¿Cómo leer Rayuela? En lo personal la leí en forma continua, y no me arrepiento, aunque confieso haberle dado una hojeada a los capítulos no leídos.

No quiero contarles la trama de la novela, que si bien es muy valiosa, no es lo principal y no vale la pena conocerla antes de la lectura (como en casi todos los libros, en mi opinión). Basta con decir que narra la historia de Horacio Oliveira, un argentino de espíritu libre, sus años en París y en Argentina, y sus problemas existenciales. Como en toda novela existencialista, el principal atractivo es la profundidad de los personajes y la habilidad narrativa del escritor para envolvernos en la personalidad y mente de estos; en todo esto triunfa Julio Cortázar. En Rayuela, además de Oliveira, hay otros caracteres interesantisimos, como la famosa "Maga". La construcción de este personaje es una genialidad del autor, "La Maga" termina siendo una suerte de "Madame Bovary", una mujer a la cual ni Oliveira ni el lector podrán nunca olvidar.

Que más decir, "Rayuela" es un libro infalible, genial, de lectura imprescindible para cualquiera que disfrute leyendo a Sábato, Camus, Hesse, Sartre o Dostoievski. Pero es para cualquiera en realidad, pues es un libro verdaderamente extraordinario.

Newman gives us something fresh about ordinary characters in ordinary situations ... which speaks volumes about how EXTRAordinary this writer is. The first few paragraphs set my teeth on edge. They were raw, real, and hit far too close to home. Still, I couldn't put it down. We all know a Joe like Wade. Heck, many of us ARE a Joe like Wade. I am a completely converted Pittsburgher, but I've lived in a number of gritty, hard-working towns. Regardless of what sports team you root for, this is about a working man in a working man's life with a working man's dirt under his nails ... and a glimmer of hope in his eyes. I want to read more!

It would be a damn shame if Dave Newman's novel PITTSBURGH IN THE TITLE isn't selected to move on in this competition. Honesty, love, sadness, and unbelievable joy fill these pages. Newman has mastered his own rhythm of storytelling and once you let yourself go, it's amazing how clear and honest everything comes through. It really is something to check out.

Set in Pittsburgh during the Steelers recent successful Super Bowl run, it gorgeously captures how a football-mad town swoons for its favorite team. The sun does seem to shine a little brighter when that happens. People hold each other a little tighter. It's absolutely insane in the best possible way.

But there's so much more to PITTSBURGH IN THE TITLE than a love for the Steelers. This is not a sports book. Newman draws the main character Wade so good that I could easily picture him hanging out with Orwell's Eric Blair or Bukowski's Henry Chinaski. You get to know Wade inside and out and if he was able to walk off the page, you most definitely would want to sit him down in your kitchen, give him a beer and burn a few of your favorite CDs for him. He's a hero we all could get behind, and you'll be rooting for him throughout the book.

Dave Newman's opening chapters have tremendous energy that draws you right into the novel. The main character Wade is trying to survive at his warehouse job while the Steelers are in the process of making it to the Superbowl. Wade's fellow workers are finding lunatic ways to call off work to make it to the big game, leaving a hapless Wade behind to carry the load. As the narrator notes, "There was nobody to cover but Wade, and it was killing him in all kinds of ways." Newman's sympathy for Wade and the other characters in this funny book is remarkable. Newman's description of the city, both the hardworking sections and the up and coming neighborhoods, is dead-on accurate. The dialog is perfect, and the writing style will carry you through chapter after chapter of Pittsburghers living through a crazy time in the Steel City. The story is so well told and so resonant that anyone who has ever worked hard to scrape by in this world will be able to identify with the people in Dave Newman's terrific work.

I was about to write "I wish I knew Wade," but stopped because I do know him. Everyone knows him. That nice guy who works too hard and doesn't think much of himself. He's your neighbor or your boss and you always wonder what he's doing when you're not around. That's what makes Dave Newman such an incredible storyteller. He takes a guy like Wade, a supporting character, and makes him the protagonist. Not everyone can make that work and there's a reason there is a supporting role category in the Oscars. Oh, how I wish this were longer than 8 pages.

This is remarkable writing: so transparent you forget you're reading, a central character who is completely alive, and a real voice. Astonishing to find work of this caliber here. The prose style is supple and visual: a bruise is described as the size of a "small blackberry pie." The dialogue was pitch-perfect. I loved Wade's visit to a bar in "Lawrenceville, a part of Pittsburgh that was supposedly undergoing a cultural renaissance, meaning, Wade guessed, that it would be getting harder to find a decent hooker but much easier to find a gallery selling framed photos of dead trees." You can see in that sentence the humor and the truth that is present throughout this excerpt. Impressive material.

Marcia Davenpot, a music critic, often chose musical themes as subjects for her novels. That's not the case here in this huge (over 600 pages), ambitious, and vividly written novel that is concerned with a Pittsburgh industrial family over the course of about 70 years. Mary, the "Irish peasant girl from Shantytown" is the main character, and she's wonderfully drawn by Davenport. Her goal in life is to hold the Scott family together: "she was hellbent that nothing should ever happen to reflect on this family," says Paul, the head of the family and the man she's loved (and who has loved her back) but wouldn't marry, feeling his real love was his steel mill. The book spans a very large canvas from Pittsburgh to Eastern Europe and a large cast of characters; Davenport's skill at manipulating events and people is on full display in this novel, and despite its length the book is interesting from cover to cover.

I have a copy of The Valley of Decision dated from the early 40's with a notice that the book was printed in accordance with the laws of rationing of paper during the war. The book originally belonged to my mother and I discovered it when I was in my early teens. If anything, this book teaches that duty comes before self indulgence, a concept foreign to many in this day of instant gratification. That one could deny oneself for the good of all is the main theme of this novel. The descriptions of the family in Eastern Europe was especially interesting to me, as my grandmother had immigrated from that area herself. My family lived in a steel town much like Pgh., in fact, about 90 miles north, so the descriptions of the boarding houses and the changing shifts of the millworkers were very familiar. This is one of the best novels I have read and it is re-read every year. The book has lost it's outer spine, but is in excellent condition considering it was printed over 65 years ago. Too sad that the ideals expressed in the novel have lost some of their outer spines, but life goes on.

I DON'T GO INTO A SYNOPSIS OF A BOOK THAT I HAVE READ IF THERE ARE ALREADY OTHERS WHO HAVE GIVEN ONE. HOWEVER, I MUST SAY THAT IN THIS CASE, I MUST CHALLENGE THE COMMENT THAT THE SON REFUSED TO MARRY THE MAIN CHARACTER BECAUSE HE LOVED THE STEEL MILL MORE. MARY RAFFERTY REFUSED TO MARRY HIM BECAUSE SHE LOVED HIM SO MUCH THAT SHE WAS MORE CONCERNED FOR HIS FAMILY AND CAREER THAN SHE WAS FOR HERSELF.

My father had this on his bookshelf when I was growing up in Pittsburgh. I read it as a teenager in the mid-60s and was bowled over by its storyline and history of my town. When I graduated from college in California in the '70s, I bought my own copy. I still read it from time and time, and the magic of the book hasn't faded; the romance, the immigrants' stories, the underlying power of the mills over the lives of every character, they all still enchant.

I first read this book during final exam week in college over twenty years ago; I've read it about ten times since then. As a history teacher that was reared in a steel mill family just outside Pittsburgh, I find the account of the industry and people who populate the area where I grew up to be accurate and interesting. However, what really captures me each time I read it is the humanity and reality of the characters throughout the chapters. I read it again whenever I need to be reminded of home, whenever I want a good "cry" over a book, or whenever I need to be reminded that there is a bigger purpose to life than just what I want; mostly, I read it just because I consider it to be one of the top five books I've ever read.

"All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done." This quote by Jane Austen opens Something Borrowed, Something Blue, but for Abigail Elizabeth Duncan nothing could be further from the truth. From the very beginning when Abby's doting boyfriend buys her the antique aquamarine ring she wants for their engagement, a strange element of violence creeps in. The murder of a young woman she never knew invades her dreams and Abby finds herself entangled in a mystery that will claim her own life if she cannot solve it in time. Author Sandy Henry has combined the bright mundane of everyday life with the darkness that can lie in the human soul and the combination is a disturbing one. If you enjoy the eerie, you are going to love this book!

A winding, twisting tale of murder, romance, friendship, and family. Something Borrowed, Something Blue moves quickly and easily through a smart, unique story that left me hanging until the last few pages. Having read dozens of murder mysteries, this one was particulary appealing to me because it doesn't get lost in the details. Firming sticking to the story, Sandy Henry is now canonized in my short list of authors who wrote works I "couldn't put down."

Better than Professor Plum with the candlestick in the library.

I love this book! I read it in a single evening. Just when you think you've figured it out Sandy adds a new twist, and the characters are off and running. Sandy is very descriptive in her writing, and she keeps you guessing until the very end.

This book was excellent. It was well written and easy to follow. There weren't too many characters to keep track of and it just kept your interest all the way through. I picked up the book and thought I would start reading it, but it captures you from the very beginning, I couldn't put it down until I read every last page.

A perfect murder mystery with a touch of the supernatural, a number of possible suspects which will put wild guesses of motive in your head. Twists and turns that will make your thoughts fall apart, and some romance on top of that. What more can anyone want?
Sandy's way of describing with random details makes the characters and the scenes come alive, as well as they made me laugh in the middle of the dramatized and puzzling chapters.
The only problem with this book is that while reading it on the beach you'll forget to turn and lay on the other side in the sun. The book keeps you hooked! I wish I had Sandy's next mystery at the beach already tomorrow.

It is amazing to see the scope of the body of work he produced during this time period, LIFE was pissed at him Magnum fed up! All the world didn't understand his need to see! This book shows the work in full! wonderful buy.

I purchased Dream Street after reading about the Pittsburgh Project and what it ment to Eugene Smith. I think it's an important book for anyone interested in Photography, Photojournalism or Eugene Smith. The size and quality of the prints is quite allright for the price paid. And the photos are the best part. Great book!

This book was bought for Christmas for my husband who just loves photography. He has had this on his must have list for some time so he was delighted with it.

This book does a great job in documenting not only W. Eugene Smith's four years of extensive research and photographing Pittsburgh, PA but it also reveals a torment man's struggle in trying to capture something that we will never understand since his 6000 photographs of Pittsburgh set a standard for not only documenting a city but he also raise the bar in the artistic expression of black & white photography. The prints of Smith's work in this book are very good and edited quite nicely, included are some of the photograper's letters to his friend and relatives revealing the thoughts of a troubled genius in words that show he could have been a great writer, too.

I'm a Pittsburgh native, though I was born after the pictures were made. Still, I found Dream Street to be an interesting perspective on my hometown. Smith's special gift is looking beyond the typical "beauty shots"- the Pittsburgh skyline, the parks, etc., and capturing images that create a strong feeling of the local neighborhoods and their residents. While the topology of Pittsburgh creates strong local neighborhoods, it's the mix of residents that really gives it character. Local restaurants, the alleys and streets of some of the less glamourous sections of the city, and the sense of history and grandeur of Mellon Bank downtown. This book is a great opportunity to step into the past and feel the grit of a true industrial city. Smith's personal genius - and his demons- heavily influnce the project. We're fortunate to be able to benefit from his views after the fact. Special credit has to go to the editors for wading through the 17,000 images Smith shot to get down to the highlights for this book.

This is a coffee table style book that has pictures from the entire Steelers history, 1933 to now. The photos are great, and there is plenty of Steeler folklore to go around. The text about the Super Bowl years is well written. At the end of the book, you will find a nice records section.

Being a Steelers fan, i did find a couple of errors, but this isn't fine literature. Its not supposed to be! Its just a fun book for browsing or reading straight through. You might want it out during the season or perhaps when the long Summer season rolls around until September. If you are a Steelers fan, its a good pick up.

If you are a true Pittsburg Steelers fan then this book is a must have. It goes back in time to the early days. I bought this book for my husband for his birthday and you would of thought I had bought him a cup of gold. Again, great history on the Pittsburg Steelers.

I gave this to my die hard Steeler fan brother for Christmas. He didn't put it down until dinner and even then stopped just long enough to eat!

Big Ben: 27-4 as a starter (2004-2005 seasons)---only losses (3 of which were injury-related): Patriots, 2004 AFC Championship game (if Plax holds on to sure TD pass, we are only down 7 with about 7+ minutes to go in that game; Ben did some good things and was battling thumb and toe injuries) and also in 2005 (if Randle El doesn't get `cute' and lateral that pass to Ward, we probably win; again, Ben did some good things), as well as the Bengals in 2005 (Ben has beaten Carson Palmer's Bengals 3 times: twice in 2004 and big-time in the AFC Wild-Card game in 2005; Ben had 3 TD passes in this lone defeat and was battling a thumb injury) and Indy in 2005 (as we know, he got revenge in the AFC Divisional Playoff game; Ben threw a TD pass to Ward in this Monday night defeat and was coming off an injury-induced layoff).

Ben's FIRST NFL game: 2004 Pre-season at Ford Field vs. the Lions...last game of 2005 season: 2/5/06 at FORD FIELD, SUPER BOWL XL VICTORY!!!


So Ben didn't play a superb game in Super Bowl XL and there was some controversy...

--Super Bowl IX, 1/12/75: Steelers win 16-6 over the Vikings---Future Hall-of-Famer Terry Bradshaw is only 9 for 14 for 96 yards...BEN WAS 9 FOR 21 FOR 123 YARDS...Bradshaw threw a lone TD...BEN RAN FOR A LONE TD... Future Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton's numbers were putrid: 11 for 26 for 102 yards, 3 interceptions, NO TD's! We were only winning 2-0 going into the third quarter (on a safety); a boring game. The Steelers wore their white shirts and Terry had a beard (the other 3 Super Bowls: black-and-gold shirts, Terry clean shaven)...WE WORE OUR WHITE SHIRTS IN XL AND BEN HAD A BEARD...the game turned on a VERY controversial "fumble-that-wasn't" by the Steelers Larry Brown: the Steelers left the field dejected, the Vikings were in prime territory...then the officials ruled Brown was down before the ball came loose (no way!!!!!)...and the rest is history;

--Super Bowl X, 1/18/76: Steelers win 21-17 over the Cowboys---Future Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach almost pulled out another miracle comeback...Swann's great falling-to-the-ground acrobatic catch led to no points (!);

--Super Bowl XIII, 1/21/79: Steelers win 35-31 over the Cowboys---the Cowboys' Jackie Smith drops a SURE TD pass that would have tied the game AND our go-ahead TD was aided by a very controversial tripping penalty that cost Dallas 33 yards: Lynn Swann fell over Benny Barnes's ankles and, as Bradshaw has admitted, it shouldn't have been a flag...we were ahead 35-17 at one point...Staubach almost brought them back (35-31);

--GAME BEFORE SUPERBOWL XIV: AFC Championship game vs. the Oilers, 1/6/80: Steelers win 27-13---late in the third quarter, officials ruled that Oilers receiver Mike Renfro did not have possession of what appeared to be a game-tying TD (WRONG!!!! He was in bounds; bad, bad call)...and the rest is history...

---Super Bowl XIV, 1/20/80: Steelers win 31-19 over the Rams---Bradshaw threw 3 INTERCEPTIONS and we were losing for most of the game...until Lambert saved our butts by intercepting QB Vince Ferragamo's pass...and the rest is history
(Steelers in the 1970's: regular season---99-44-1; playoffs: 14-4)

NON-STEELER SUPER BOWL "LUCK"---
Super Bowl XXV, 1/27/91: Giants defeat Bills BECAUSE SCOTT NORWOOD BARELY MISSES A RELATIVELY EASY FIELD GOAL, one of the biggest blown plays ever!;
All 3 of the Patriots victories were by exactly 3 points...and the Eagles really blew it with poor clock management (sound familiar?)!;
Super Bowl XXXIV, 1/30/00: Rams defeat Titans, 23-16--- The Rams' Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line as time expired. Dyson would have tied the game; Super Bowl V, 1/17/71: Colts beat Cowboys, 16-13, via a field goal... Dallas' Chuck Howley, who picked off two passes, became the first defensive player and the first player from a losing team to be named MVP.



The Steelers have been in the Super Bowl in the 1970's. 1980's, 1990's, and in the new millennium (2000's)---
IX (1975), X (1976), XIII (1979), XIV (played in 1980), XXX (played in 1996), XL (2006)

Big Ben---ONLY QB to ever go to Championship game his first two years; youngest to win the Super Bowl (Steelers: first 6th seed to go/ win; only team to beat #1, #2, and #3 seeds on the road and win; three-way tie for most Super Bowl victories: 5, along with Dallas and San Francisco; tied for second with most Super Bowl appearances: 6, along with Denver [who have `only' won 2])...comparison to other Hall-of-Fame and/or outstanding QBs---
Jim Kelly: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Fran Tarkenton: 0 for 4; never won a Super Bowl;
Dan Marino: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl;
Kenny Anderson: 0 for 1; never won a Super Bowl
Len Dawson: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Johnny Unitas: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Joe Theismann: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Brett Favre: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Kurt Warner: won one Super Bowl (and lost one, as well);
Ken Stabler: won one Super Bowl
Joe Namath: won one Super Bowl;
Phil Simms: won one Super Bowl;
Steve Young: won one Super Bowl;
Also: John Elway: after FIFTEEN YEARS IN THE LEAGUE, won two...after losing 3 very badly!

BEST run in sports history (as confirmed by a Congressional resolution!): won 8 in a row---
Bears (who had an 8-game winning streak), Vikings on the road (who had a 6 game winning streak...and Cowher NEVER won in a dome stadium before!), Browns on the road, and Detroit on 1/1/06 (where, unbeknownst to us at the time, we were headed for 2/5/06!); Bengals on the road (#3 seed, previously beat us), Colts on the road (#1 seed, league's best record, heavily favored, dome stadium, previously beat us; the Fumble, the Tackle, and the Miss), Broncos on the road (#2 seed, favored, 10-0 at home)...and the #1 NFC seeded Seahawks "on the road" in another dome, Detroit's Ford Field (where Big Ben started his NFL career vs. the Lions in the 2004 pre-season!!!)

YOU HAVE TO GET THE TWO-DVD SET "STEELERS: THE COMPLETE HISTORY" (2005; NFL Films), 1933-2004 (too bad they didn't wait a year haha!)---the main feature is 2 hours and 20 minutes long and covers 1933 up to and including Beg Ben's 2004 season; incredible. All the `lean years' (1930's-1960's; 1980's) are covered, NOT just the "glory seasons"---Kordell, Brister, Malone, Stoudt, Hanratty, etc. etc. etc. The bonus feautures are awesome, ESPECIALLY the 45-minute Jerome Bettis special-VERY IRONIC!! You will see Tommy Maddox with the Bus when they were both Rams in 1995...excellent miked-on-the-field comments, often funny, by Bus, Ward, and Cowher...Jan. 2005 AFC lowlights, Hines Ward crying, Jerome's reaction, and the tantalizing hint that Super Bowl XL wil be played in Jerome's hometown of Detroit...which makes what they did in 2005/2006 VERY story book! Also: the Bill Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Myron Cope, Dick Hoak, and Bill Saul segments/ specials are very entertaining, as is the Super Bowl XIII feature..get this...as well as the SUPER BOWL XL DVD---2005 season highlights included, as well as the 2006 playoffs!

A BOOK FOR NOTJUST STEELER FANS BUT FOR ALL FOOTBALL FANS. THIS BOOK TAKES US THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE TEAM, COVERING THE ROONEY FAMILY, PLAYERS, COACHES, AND SEASON TO SEASON RESULTS. IT ALSO HAS MANY EXCELLENT PICS AND STATS AND A GAME BY GAME SCORE FOR EACH SEASON. THIS IS A MUST READ. A TON FOR THE PRICE. FROM THE EARLY DAYS TO THE TERRIBLE TOWEL (MOSTLY A CRYING TOWEL FOR THE OPPONENTS) THIS BOOK IS MARVELOUSLY FILLED WITH FACTS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM OF ALL TIME.

I feel sorry and pity on Dr. Michael Nieland and me. A lot of time, I felt the stories are so outrages that I can hardly believe him, or I don't want to believe him. But I know it's true. I am right now facing the same stories in my real life. I don't know if I should feel relief because I am not the only one. I do wish maybe the author can provide a list of organizations and attorney as appendix. This is a must read for anyone that might heading towards the direction.

Dr. Mendelson gives a gripping account of how the legal system views fathers as people who don't care about their children. As a soon to be divorced dad myself, I found that what I am going through right now is (while specific details are different)similar to what his ex put him through. Dr. Mendelson never gave up and I believe never will...no matter how difficult and biased the courts are against fathers. I could not put this book down. Although this book gives no real ideas on how to fight a vicious ex for your childrens' rights to see you, it did give me one very important thing...HOPE! I encourage every father who is currently battling the court system for custody or the right to see their children on a regular basis to read this book!!

In my search for a book that would detail and prepare me for the custody process, I found this book to be very insightful. Not only does Mendelson do a good job in describing the bureaucracy and secret underbelly within family law, but he is able to give it a real life perspective because of its direct influence from Michael Nieland, the father and main charcter. I got the feeling that his story was fully represented. Nieland's personal anecdotes gave this real life story even more validity and emotion. It does not read as a text book at all. If you are currently going through or are preparing for custody proceedings, this book can be a difficult and bitter read at times, however it can save you from the unexpected and unforseen and may even help you stay focused, rather than lost in a whirlwind of anxiety and personal tragedy. My only complaint would be that there is not much discussed regarding the attorney/client relationship.

This man's achille's heel was that he had a lot of money. Hadhe not been a "fat cash cow" the divorce"industry" sharks might not have smelled the blood. His account is so ridiculously typical of what goes on it makes me sick. Judges ruining lives with their pen tips, lawyers allowed to run loose with their limited intellect/big mouths, psycopathic literati (aka psychologists) getting seduced by "poor wives" and so-called professionals allowing six and seven year old kids get victimized in the name of "justice" (only to become dysfunctional citizens later one).

Good book, rotten society.

This book will add a lot to future scientific analysis and understanding of family life and divorce in modern America. It's truly a story of American society going, arguably, beserk; and one father's love for his family lost, in spite of spending a fortune just to remain involved in his children's lives. Many of us have spent $10s of thousands trying to save our life with our children, only to lose out; but thinking that we could have won if ONLY we had more money to pursue the fight. Dr. Nieland, a truly courageous man for letting his story be told; is proof that you can spend $100s of thousand with the same outcome.

Probably only a parent whom has been wrenched away from his child or children can really appreciated what this system can do to the losing parent's entire existence and ability to believe in the American way of life. This book documents, among other things, the role of the "professionals" (custody evaluators) whom society relies on to advise the court as to how to provide for the best interests of the child. Yet these persons support a system which can deprive a perfectly good and loving parent of any kind of a fulfilling life with his children. After reading this book one gets an understanding how the court seems to usually pick one parent as the "best" parent and exclude the other parent in order to remove conflict from the child's life.

Unfortunately for men, almost every study show that, here in the USA, the man rarely wins and is the odd man out... it reminds me of Sonny Bono's autobiography, where the television network decided to reorganize the "Sonny and Cher Commedy Hour" to become the "Cher Commedy Hour", sans Sonny.

God bless Robert Mendelson for this truly epocal tale of one family's story in the cruel world of divorce in today's American system of Justice... one has to believe that there is a better way out there somewhere.

LIVING OTHER LIVES

Matt is a friendly, loveable, outgoing, veterinarian, raising his teenage daughter, Dinah, alone. He meets and falls in love with Lilly, who is living in New York. Matt's mother, Dell, lives in Pennsylvania, and was not the type of mother you would hope to have. She was distant, pre-occupied, shipping Matt off to camp or to friends so as not to be bothered by him.

Matt meets an untimely death, and all three of these women begin a journey in grief, sadness, and trying to live with their own demons. None of them barely know one another, yet they are thrown together to try to come to grips with Matt's death and to try to make a new life for themselves and in the long run, with each other.

This is an excellent book that I hated to see end. Caroline Leavitt has a magic way of writing that makes characters come to life and seem so real. This book was not sad, even though it deals with heart-ache and so much sadness.

Journey through Dell, Lilly, and Dinah's lives as they make mistakes, hurt themselves and each other, and try to face life without Matt. One of the best lines in the book reads -- "DON'T YOU HATE IT? MISSING PEOPLE?"

Wow, how true! Everyone has experienced loss due to many number of reasons and this book is very fictional but for me, was almost therapeutic in its wisdom about dealing with missing someone you love.

HOWEVER, this is not a sappy, sad tale! Quite contrary! It is a wonderful story of a teenage girl coming of age, her hopes and dreams, her becoming strong and the two women who help her achieve this, while at the same time, helping themselves.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading all of Ms. Leavitt's other works.

Thank you!

Pam

Great book, hard to put down! I had felt a lil like each character in their different phases of their lives thruout the book! Would recommend this author!!

Caroline Leavitt's novel about a young woman dealing with the unexpected death of her fiance is believable and moving. All of Ms. Leavitt's books are great; I also highly recommend "Meeting Rozzy Halfway".

I have recently discovered Caroline Leavitt's novels and this has been the lastest one I have read. Like her other novels, her characters are so vivid, they become like your good friends. This novel is no exception. The emotions the different characters embraced made my heart go out to them. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a heartwarming story about various relationships intermingled with death, grief, and letting go.

Living Other Lives, Caroline Leavitt's sixth novel, is an absolutely hypnotic read. Showing the innate magnetism that attracts -- and repels -- people, she weaves the lives of multi-generational women and the men they love and lose. This is writing at a fever pitch.

Then I picked it up again, and gave myself an entire week to read it. After two readings, I was still caught up in Ms. McCallum's amazing poems. Now I am on my third reading of the book, and I don't see how I won't continue to read it, over and over again. Ms. McCallum has a wonderful, tight rein on her writing -- plain, yet vivid, images; strong language that speaks to the mind and the heart. She's a breath of fresh air, something anyone who enjoys poetry will appreciate. Pick it up, and you won't ever put it down.

McCallum explores her relationship to her homeland and her parents with neither bitterness nor sentimentality, and has chosen, instead, to find her salvation in the beauty of verse. "Water Between Us" is one of the best collections of the year. McCallum is the mistress of the image.

WOW! What else can I say but wow? I have been waiting for a book like this to come out for a long time. Now, I know this review isn't a sophisticated a some, but take it from me, this is a book that should be on everyone's christmas list. Every word in this book is a song waiting to be sung. Shara Mc Callum give us truth in every poem and you can tell that she put every bit of herself into these poems. This book has impacted my life like no other.

there was my mother
cooking cornmeal porridge,
plantains, and callaloo for later,
my father's guitar notes,
streaming in from the garden,
to hold her singing,
his music, breathing,
lifting leaves
that would collect and stir
at his feet, my mother's
clapping hands, bells jingling
on her ankles.

(lns. 12-24 of "In the Garden of Banana and Coconut Trees")

This is the language, the imagery, of Shara McCallum in her collection of poetry, The Water Between Us. Hers is the poetry of island, family, love, and loss. Taken as a whole, the poems portray life from the perspective of a Jamaican woman, one whose experience has been funny, tragic, disturbing, and beautiful.
Throughout the collection, McCallum's language is clear and accessible. This clarity does not lie in simplicity, however, for there is a subtlety to the way she approaches her subjects. She is a storyteller, and her style is of mystery, not insurmountable mystery, but a mystery that gives the reader satisfaction when images, story, emotion, and message merge as one. For instance, her father's cancer, in "Darkling I Listen," is not addressed head on, but treated in a round-about manner as a subject too painful for words like `cancer' to describe. The result is an emotional epiphany for the reader, one that captures the essence of the experience.
This approach is particularly effective in her treatment of the pain in her life, which extends far beyond her father's sickness. The pain she feels in her relationship with her mother permeates the whole of the book, and the reader experiences the awkward discomfort of distance between mother and daughter.
The thrust of the book, happily, is not strictly loss and sadness. There is a playfulness to much of her poetry, particularly in "Calypso," where the grand western hero Odysseus is hilariously reduced to an enraptured white man, the beach fling of a young Jamaican woman. This happiness extends as a strain throughout the book, flowing through joys of music, foods, island life, and daughterhood, offsetting the tales of family distance and loss.
As a whole, McCallum's poetry provides a complete picture of life drawn from the colorful formative experiences of an intriguing woman. Her story, the joy and sorrow, the contentment and loss, conveyed in flowing, elegant verse, is beautiful, and should not be missed.

In this wonderful collection, Shara McCallum explores the nature of an identity that has been divided from itself by geography, culture, and language. Her poems face stark psychological and physical truths with a remarkable clarity of thought and a brilliant mastery of language. All poetry should be this fresh, this brave, this GOOD.

This is a detailed and heartbreaking story of the failure and collapse of the American steel industry. Sometimes the details are more than one needs to know, but this book will serve as an excellent case history on the underlying reasons for the transfer of the "rust-belt" jobs overseas, and now America's reliance of foreigners to produce the goods we use, in return for pieces of paper (Bonds) giving them claims on American wealth.

Mr. Hoerr tries to write a dispassionate history, but it is difficult in the face of such monumental stupidity and greed. "A vibrant forty-six mile stretch of river valley, providing primary jobs for over thirty-five thousand steel employees... would be devastated and expunged from economic memory in less than five years." "After that, the opportunities are limitless... from here to there where McDonald's needs someone to serve the one-trillionth burger." (p12-13).

The author was a reporter during this period, and apportions blame to both the steel company management and the unions, but clearly reserves his primary animus for management. They saw labor as an undifferentiated mass of dumb "hunkies", the pejorative term for people of Slavic origins, who only needed to take orders. That attitude was repaid, as Mr. Hoerr says: "I have known only two major corporations that actually engendered feelings of hatred among their employees, GM and US Steel." (p206) Management eventually acquiesced to the form, but not the substance of labor participation by forming "Labor-Management Participation Teams," but usually ignored their recommendations. There was also a willful neglect in spending the capital to modernize the operations - USX finally proposed building the first continuous caster plant in the Mon Valley in 1986! - at the very end. (p550) Instead it infuriated the labor force by spending its capital in buying Marathon Oil.

The author had access, and draws telling portraits of the principal actors involved, from the USW's I.W. Abel, Lloyd McBride, Lynn Williams, Bernard Kleiman and Edmund Ayoub. On the management side there was David M. Roderick, Thomas Graham and David Hoag.

I worked in US Steel's Homestead Works for two summers during my college years - '65 and '66. At the time I thought this work was the most "real", and those mills would be eternal - America would always need steel, and would obviously need to produce it. Fortunately the avenging angel passed me by, as I decided this work was not for me. Once again another "wolf" has finally come to America - this time high (and higher still) gas prices, which will force more economic dislocations that prudent planning could have avoided. Will American society be able to organize its economy prudently, to truly meet the real needs of its citizens, and minimize massive dislocations? This book is an excellent story of previous follies - can we learn from them?

Coke works at Hazelwood closing chapter on demise on steel in entire region. Read also: Homestead, with new forward by author, best one-town summary

I read this years ago, and I thought it was an excellent analysis of the collapse of the steel industry in Pittsburgh, filled with compelling tales of individual people.

The books feels like a Greek tragedy, in which the protagonists are doomed to a slow slide towards the edge of a cliff. Institutionalized conflict overcomes the efforts of people from both labor and maangement to halt, or at least slow the inevitable slide.

For people who think that the current dot.com crash is a serious downturn, this book offers a very good counter-perspective. When an area loses 100K jobs in 10 years, and whole towns essentially close, that's a *real* downturn.

On the other hand, there's always hope. Pittsburgh has bounced back, and has a much more diversified economy. The last time I visited, I could see the sky, which was more difficult in the steel days. To grasp those days, either see the early Tom Cruise movie "All The Right Moves", or for depth, read this book.

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn about what went wrong in this basic industry. Not only a study of the collapse of the steel industry in the Mon Valley, the book is also a study of the pain of postindustrialization that swept the country in the 1980's. Esentially, the author is writing about a national trend, but focuses on the Pittsburgh area, which is really a microcosm. It is also a good look at what happens when unions and management can't get their acts together.

My dad - who died a couple of years ago - published this book. He was very proud of it, and I think he would have been very pleased to see that Amazon customers are responding to it favorably.