Independent Books

PRETTY GOOD - IT'S A CLIFFHANGER. ANYTHING MORE IT'S RATINGS WOULD GO DOWN. OTHERWISE A GOOD INTERPRETATION OF THE SITUATION - COULD HAVE BEEN A TEENY BIT BETTER

A VERY GOOD BOOK...A MUST READ...IT VERY WELL DEPICTS THE ARTICLES & HOW AMERICA GREW SINCE THE 1700S'. A REAL WORTHWHILE BOOK - MY SUGGESTION-BUY IT - PERFECT FOR THE HISTORIAN IN UR LIFE

I was really looking forward to this book when I read Mr. Klawan's excerpt in Newsweek, but I have to say that the book disappointed me more often than not. The author seems determined to show us how educated he is by drawing parallels between these out-of-control films and the history of popular culture in the world society. All that really does is detract from his main throughline. The best passages were the ones regarding "Cleopatra" and "Apocalypse Now". The rest were interesting, but most of the time I was lost.

A feast of wit and erudition. Klawans, one of America's finest film critics, basically invents a new genre here, "The Film Folly". Klawans writes affectionately about this cinema of excess and over-exuberance - the world of Von Stronheim's Greed, Griffith's Intolerance and Carax's Lovers on the Bridge - mixing the insight of the sharpest critic and social historian with the sly whimsy of a coming of age narrative.

We are reminded of why Klawans has such critical staying power, why there are devoted legions of Klawans afficianados out there - he has the temper of a lefty aesthetician mixed with the humor of a Woody Allen. Sometimes one wonders when the jokes end and when the film criticism begins with Klawans. That's why is the jewel of American contemporary film criticism.

This book gave wonderful insight into the lives of African Americans after reconstruction. It helped me greatly in my research for genealogy purposes. We need more books of this nature to fill in the gaps of Black History.

Could it be that historians have overlooked 100 years of black American history after the Civil War? That's the premise of this excellent history about the development of "freedom colonies" in Texas (and throughout the South) by freed slaves seeking a piece of land to call their own. The authors have thoroughly explored a little documented phenomenon in Texas history, and presented the reader with an excellent reference unlike any you'll read anywhere else.

The possible reasons this chapter in African-American history are many, according to the book: maybe the essential "political incorrectness" of admitting the colonies were often begun with white benefactors and assiduously tended their separation from Jim Crow society. Also, because they purposely kept low profiles.

But whatever the reason, this bit of history shows that not all of the South was a primeval wasteland where Night Riders, exploitive plantation owners, and racists of all kinds were prowling the countryside, making life hell for freedmen. Without a doubt they did, and the misery of feudal sharecropping is real. But for as many as a quarter of freed slaves, the "freedom colonies" were the gateway to a new life, truly free from bondage, and a step toward complete (legal) equality 100 years later.

American readers may be surprised to learn that there is only one private university throughout the length and breadth of the United Kindom, and that is the University of Buckingham. I draw readers attention to this fact more to highlight the paucity of public policy in this area than anything else and to set out the basis of the review that follows.

The Global Education Industry is the summary of some of the results obtained from research carried out for the International Finance Corporation, which is the private sector funding subsidiary of the World Bank Group. Published here in conjunction with the London based, think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, this book is a major contributor to the ongoing debate across the industrialised world concerning the proper level of involvement of the state in education.

Education in England and Wales at least (Scotland has it's own educational sytem) was once the province of the private sector both charitable and for profit. This has been accounted in tremendous detail by E.G. West in his masterly study, Education and the state. Suffice it to say that one of the main, somewhat surprising conclusions of the book was that lower income groups were of the mind that education was a good well worth paying for and contributed significant sums so that their children coul better themselves. Indeed there is a significant tradition in England and Wales of the poor bettering themselves through study (see Rose, J 'The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes). The type of education provided was not good enough fpor the ruling classes who, in 1870, passed the Foster Act which introduced state education though the back door into the country.

Today, there is a small but flourishing private sector still in elementary and secondary education in England and Wales serving some seven per cent of the population to which ordinary people will send their children, often undergoing severe sacrifices to do so, but mostly the pupils are middle and upper incomes. The vast majority of the education sector through a variety of agencies is under the rigid control of the state.

This book, although pointing to the experience of private education in developing countries is primarily aimed at policy makers in the industrialised world, and in particular, Britain. It sets out clearly and categorically the case for the private provision of education in whatever sector that one chooses to select and shows clearly and consistently how high quality education can be provided without the dead hand of the state forcing conformity, uniformity and bureaurcracy upon schools and universities. It highlights the innovative nature of those private sector inn areas of curriculum development and lesson delivery. The focus on the most efficient use of resources also allows for staff development without any cost for staff and students alike.

The Global Education Industry presents an opportunity to public policy makers to improve the supply of education in the so called Western world while freeing up the resources of the state to carry out it's basic functions. It is not an attack on the state sector but a presentation of what can and may be. No doubt this will be opposed by academics and educationalists who have enjoyed a warm and cosy, even lucrative, relationship with the state over many years and who'se minds are closed to the endless possibilities of the market. The book's contents however, tell another story.

The correct title is:The Global Education Industry : Lessons from Private Education in Developing Countries (Studies in Education, 7) by James Tooley

This delightful book,so much fun to read again, is about the growing up of Horatio Stubbs. And since much of growing up is about sex, that is what this book is about. Hand-reared means what you think. And there is much of it. There is also much about sexual exploration. About Beatrice, the prime seducer,the Victorian type maid, the kind Balthazar B. found such innocent fun with in J.P. Donleavy's novel, and the kind that introduced the priapic start of adventures for anonymous in the endless "My Secret Life."

Aldiss write with sweetness, and he chronicles his views on everything. He dallies with Ann and Beatrice, so blase they,and he is excited to death by what his older brother Nelson can suddenly do. He goes to boarding school, crying all the way, where they cane their students, but the nightly games of "Insurance Policy" make some of the hurt forgotten. The game makes sure everybody gets to participate. Egalitarianism among children. Something adults forget along the way. No attachments though, please. Something adults do not forget.


And then there is Virginia who brings him his first taste of pure love. Beatrice, the maid who seduced Horatio, not without his own increasing manipulation to be seduced far and wide, and the sexual Maginot lines, vanish when he meets the older Virgina. Who is somewhat sad, who is kind and filled with a passion Horatio had not known before. He falls deeply. And then like all great passions, in this case coupled with the beginnings of WW II, it has its longings and the sadness because it was all so good and right.

She is a problem to herself, and Horatio finally understands who she can only love and be with, and believes such delicacy should be treated tenderly and with respect.

The book is also about Horatio's somewhat flibbergibbit mother who always pines Horatio was not a girl, and though Ann is her daughter, another child was stillborn. Mother uses tricks to get her children to love her, and in spite of herself, eventually Horatio at least discovers that he does. Father's an all right guy too when you can get him away from the bloomin' telly tuned always to the blasted BBC.

Innocence and sexuality go together. Innocence, for much of the characters, starts as off handedness (no pun intended.) And it's stated here in unblushing, warm friendly insightful words that would make all the current day experts stand on their heads and count their diplomas, if they were to read the book, and if they could understand it, and remember, themselves.

Chances are they won't read it at all. They know everything already. Well, not by half, as my old friend Horatio Stubbs might have been wont to say.

Brian Aldis became a legendary science fiction writer. However, this story is what he describes as "autobiographical fiction". It chronicles the life of British teen-ager Horatio Stubbs, mostly through his boarding-school years during the beginning of World War II. To use a British term, this book is basically a giant "wanking" fest. Young Horatio has an insatiable sex drive. He wanks it constantly. He wanks his brother, his friends, his enemies. He has relations with his sister and the family maid. In boarding school, to make up for the lack of women, the students all wank each other. Despite all the furtive Pseudo- homosexual behavior, the book does have a central theme. It concerns young Horati's love for a much older woman;sister Traven, the nurse aat his boarding school. He persues her endlessly, even after she leaves the school. As is predicable in such stories, his persuit ends in heartbreak. Written in the first person, "The Hand Reared Boy" is a humorous view of the privations of life in and out of school in Wartime Bitain.

This is an informative book, in terms of breaking down what everyone does on a set, and giving tips on how to prepare for a shoot. However, the writers are in England, and base their experience on making a short film in England. So, be prepared for lots of "things are much different in the USA" for some of their advice regarding permits, insurance, contracts, and production resources.

Utilizing the feature film "Ghosthunter" as his example, Ian Lewis' How To Make Great Short Feature Films covers all aspects of creating a short feature film from the its inception, the script, to putting the production package together, financing and budgeting, pre-production planning, the shoot, editing the film, and the final touches for distribution. How To Make Great Short Feature Films is enhanced for the film student with a number of informative appendices including: the shooting script; shot list notes; Designer's sketches; special effects list; the budget; contracts for cast and crew; production forms; biographies of consultants and key crew; cast and crew list; Alison's "Ghosthunter" diary; useful addresses and websites; Amulet Films' e-mailing list; and who does what on a film set. The informative, superbly presented and highly recommended text is impressively augmented by an accompanying DVD that contains the 20-minute "Ghosthunter" film; a 25-minute documentary; budgeting and screen writing software.

Prior to the Gorbachev era Soviet memoirs were stultifying party-line tomes that were virtually unreadable as serious history. Now we can read what Soviet diplomats really thought. Dobrynin's memoirs are fascinating because I have always wondered what he thought of Soviet/American relations and his American adversaries. Dobrynin thinks Bobby Kennedy was an immature alarmist. He has sympathy for Dean Rusk's despair over Viet Nam and Richard Nixon's fall over Watergate. He is amused by a pathetic attempt at a summit by a lame duck LBJ. He is frustrated by Carter and Reagan and bemused by Brezezinski's tough guy act towards the Soviet Union. Great stuff.
Dobrynin clearly loved being Soviet Ambassador to the US, particularly during the Nixon administation when Dobrynin had his famous "back channel" with Kissinger. Dobrynin could attend lavish embassy parties and enjoy freedom and celebrity status in the US. He is clearly bitter when Gorbachev recalled him and kicked him upstairs to a powerless post in the USSR. Dobrynin blames Gorbachev for diplomatic blunders that led to the fall of the Soviet Union. Dobynin's tone in his memoir is smooth and his book is well-written. He seems more like an ambassador from Britain and therein lies the greatest unstated paradox of Dobrynin's memoir: He represented the Soviet Union, not a democracy. Unlike Dobrynin, the people of the Soviet Union could not attend lavish parties, read, travel or speak freely. The nation that he repesented was a closed society that erected the Berlin Wall, indoctrinated its citizens in Marxist dogma and abused psychology and any science to keep its citizens obediant. The secret police used torture and imprisonment to enforce Communist rule. Dobrynin was a pillar of that system. This is why - despite all the anecdotes and bon mots - the most disturbing implication of Dobrynin's memoirs for me is that intelligent, cultured people like Dobrynin allow themselves to ammorally deny the humanity of others in the name of self-serving ambition.

This book is an incredibly insightful and very balanced view of the Cold War and the warriors themselves, both in the USSR and the US. Dobrynin gives a balanced view of the mistakes that people in both countries made, as well as where they succeeded. I especially found the description of the Cuban Missile Crisis fascinating, as well as Moscow's reaction to Watergate and the resignation of Nixon.

Furthermore, this book helped me understand Andrei Gromyko and ---Brezhnev, two people whose names I've heard but I know little about. By reading this book, you will understand more about how the former Soviet government worked, the influence the Politburo had, and how they viewed the US.

What I liked best about this book was that it was balanced. Dobrynin never portrays a bias towards his country, indeed he often points out the errors that they make, and how he disagrees with them. Similarly, he is not at all "out to get" the US as the media portrays USSR/US relations. On the contrary, it is clear that he has much respect and affection for our country, which was his home for nearly 30 years.

The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5, is at times the subject matter would get slightly tedious. I understand that the main issue between the US and the USSR was nuclear arms treaties, however reading about them for 700 pages did tend to get me bogged down periodically.

I highly recommend reading this book for a first hand account of all the behind the scenes machinations between the man who was repeatedly the "confidential channel" between Washington and the Kremlin. Dobrynin was the only player from either country to be present at all summits between the US and the USSR during the Cold War, and was the Ambassador to the US during most of that time. As Presidents changed, and Party Secretaries in Moscow, Dobrynin was a constant. Read all about it here.

OK book, but some friendly words of writing advice from an editor to Winston: don't commit the writing sin of getting too fancy with alternates for words like "said," "asked," and "answered." The fact is that these terms are invisible to readers. It is interesting that you have advised other writers to this effect in your online article, "Start Writing Fiction," at www.americanbook.com/Articles/arwinston2.htm, suggesting alternatives like intoned, stammered, bellowed, shouted, growled, yelled, hollered, demanded, ordered, commanded, directed, interjected, goaded, petitioned, chastised, ventured. Oftentimes, these words appear forced, are distracting, unnecessary, and simply distrupt the narrative flow.

This was the first novel I've read regarding Naval action during the American Revolution. I found this novel action packed and informative but most of all, very human. Jonathan Kincade is not an unreachable hero as are many of the characters that help weave this story. I found it very detail oriented when it came to describing the running of an 18th century war ship. Anyone who is a fan of Horatio Hornblower or of the heroic exploits of Admiral Nelson will find this first novel a great read. Little is known about Naval action during the American War of Independance and "Independant Action" gives insight into this facet of American History. I highly recommend this book.

This 300 page book is aimed at communicating ideas that consultants can implement to solve their everyday problems. In 15 chapters, the author follows a Question and Answer format to suggest these everyday solutions.

All the way from getting ready to start a consulting business and how to get good clients to charging the right price and getting clients to pay, this book leaves almost no stone unturned. I honestly can't think of anything else the author could have addressed for a book of this nature.

I found Chapter 11: Painless Paying, Chapter 13: Financing a Consulting Business, Chapter 7: Charge the Right Price, and Chapter 15: Hanging it Up the most beneficial for my particular situation and experience. My favorite chapter was Chapter 11: Painless Paying that addresses what to do to get your clients to pay.

Overall, this is a fantastic purchase for the price. If you are a new consultant don't hesitate and just get the book. Even if you have been a consultant for a few years, you will still find some ideas worth the investment. Good luck!

This 300 page book is aimed at communicating ideas that consultants can implement to solve their everyday problems. In 15 chapters, the author follows a Question and Answer format to suggest these everyday solutions.

All the way from getting ready to start a consulting business and how to get good clients to charging the right price and getting clients to pay, this book leaves almost no stone unturned. I honestly can't think of anything else the author could have addressed for a book of this nature.

I found Chapter 11: Painless Paying, Chapter 13: Financing a Consulting Business, Chapter 7: Charge the Right Price, and Chapter 15: Hanging it Up the most beneficial for my particular situation and experience. My favorite chapter was Chapter 11: Painless Paying that addresses what to do to get your clients to pay.

Overall, this is a fantastic purchase for the price. If you are a new consultant don't hesitate and just get the book. Even if you have been a consultant for a few years, you will still find some ideas worth the investment. Good luck!

After using Richard Connolly's 'How To Avoid Remodeling Hell' book to assist with a real remodeling project, I found this book to be very entertaining. It uses local geography and landmarks to provide a sense of reality for those familiar with the area.

Mr. Connolly uses his knowledge of the contruction industry and combines it with the computer filled world in which we live to formulate a completely plausible scenario. The book provides enough detail to allow the reader to understand all aspects of the plot, but not so much detail that the reader will get bored or feel that they are attending a course.

The characters are described in such a way as to allow the reader to compare them to real people that they know with similar traits and habits. I even found the ending to hold a bit of a surprise.

As someone that has recently renovated my entire house, I actually got a chilling sensation while reading this book.

The fact that it was based on a story from my local city added something extra as sites and sounds of Boston and the ocean were cleverly woven in throughout.

An excellent Christmas gift.....