S Books

I have been a sports car enthusiast for almost 50 years. While my life doesn't parallel Buddy Polumbo's, I can relate to his coming of age in and around foreign sports cars. Although fiction, many of the locations that Buddy travels to are real tracks and small towns that I frequented in my youth. The same with the bars and restaurants. The variety of characters belonging to the SCCA (SCCM) and participating in these sports car events are people that I was able to relate to. Perhaps they were the very same individuals. The sports car community was a small group of colorful enthusiasts, all motivated to be involved for different reasons, but the sport was fueled by those with the money to support the racing habit. For those of us that can relate that past era, The Last Open Road is great read. I cannot wait to start Burt Levy's other books.

The Last Open Road
This story starts off with a young man that is called Buddy Palumbo. He has a friend that he trusts very well and no one else would listen to him the same way. Something vey bad happens to him and he got handed some of his responsibilities at the Sinclair. He never actually got hired when he started working there. They just started to pay him. His dad did not want him to grow up and be a grease monkey he told him to work with the Union. A very rich man that owns oil rigs all over the United States. He owns some of the very nicest cars that included Cadillac's and Jaguar. No one has ever seen or heard of them. Buddy got the opportunity to work on them and soon after he figured them out he was the only mechanic allowed to work on them.
I liked this book because I am interested in driving and racing cars. It was fun to read because it was so realistic and talks about real cars and real mechanical problems they have. I can relate to the people in this book because I race and I understand their family problems. You will figure out what I am talking about when you read this book.

mid-prairie teen

B.S. Levy's The Last Open Road is a great read for anyone who is interested in wrenching on cars, particularly classics. I'm college age and I can relate to Buddy Palumbo in a lot of cases. If you're familiar with older British cars, there's some unique humor there as well. Great read.

This is a well-written and enjoyable book that elicits images that are very familiar to folks who were teen-agers during the wonderful 1950's. It is almost as though I know the characters and can easily apply familiar names of real people in my past to them. Highly recommended reading, especially for car enthusiasts!

If you grew up in the 50's or 60's and knew a sports car from Detroit iron, and lusted after the former...than this is your book. This is a tour de force of the origins, excitement and naivete of what the attraction was for those weekend racers. Buddy Palumbo is this loveable amateur mechanic, hang-around carguy who through luck and heft manages to have the rides of his life at one of the first sport car tracks in the US. What you will enjoy is the reality of the details of the cars, the attitudes of those in and around the machines, the helter-skelter ways you drove in those days... and that BS Levy has captured this period in his own time machine for you. If you are a carguy, you cannot put this book down, and you will laugh your head off turning some of the pages as Bert reminds you of how we were. I had just reread Kerouwac's On the Road when I picked up Bert's book at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca...because it had a XK120 on the cover which was my first car...and because Bert, himself, was there guaranteeing me I'd love it. He was so right! I'm now onto his next novel, Montzuma'a Ferrari, which takes place on the Carrera Panamericana (translates The Mexican Road Race). Bert is a true race car fan and driver and describes emotions and thrills like you are there with him. I passed the book onto my car club members and its still being read and recirculated. This is a read to savor...enjoy!

This is a wonderful and touching story. It is a good read, and I recommend it to anyone who has ever had a pet. I especially like that it has a jack russell in the story.

This book is the story of Willie Morris' childhood companion, a dog named Skip. Willie recounts his adolescent years and all the fond memories of his dog and friends as they grew up together in small town Mississippi. The story is heartwarming and the author paints a very clear picture of all the shenanigans, good times and bad that he and his dog had together over the years. I liked this book; but I think a male reader would appreciate the bond between a boy and his dog more than I can.

This was a great book! It was so touching and heartfelt. I love dogs and this book is an example of someone who loves dogs like me so I can connect! Greatly recomended!

Willie Morris was a truly great author! This story of his childhood with his dog was really heartwarming. It is so simple and warm and humorous, you will just love it. Warning: you will cry your eyes out at the end, but it's worth the pain. One of the best animal stories ever, I hope many kids read this in school. If you loved the movie "A Christmas Story" you will love this book. The movie version of "My Dog Skip" is also quite good, though it is kind of upsetting that in order to create drama the wonderful father of the book is kind of nasty in the movie. Willie Morris was a great author who also wrote a cat book entitled "My Cat Spit McGee" and several books about his life that remind me a little of Russel Baker's memoirs. One is entitled "North Toward Home", another "Good Old Boy" and one is about life in New York City.

Willie Morris has recounted the life of not just a boyhood pet, but a dear and close friend.
The Story of Skip's life as told by his owner is full of mythic adventures of childhood. Where every new day was full of joy and wonder. Morris' storytelling brings the dog, his family and the lush southern landscape into full and brilliant view.
When you read My Dog Skip you can just feel how much this young man loved and revered his dog.
Any of us who have had a much loved pet know that the bond between animal and human can reach so much further than just "pet and owner". Willie Morris makes the statement that Skip wasn't just his dog, but his brother... that is a beautiful thing. Morris grew up an only child but did not feel alone by any stretch of the imagination. He was loved deeply by and deeply loved his dog Skip.
Another great point made in this book is how Willie Morris learned so much from his dog Skip. He clearly states that the most lasting lessons he has learned about love and loyalty came from knowing his dog.
This book captures so well the love a boy or any human being can have for a pet... I loved the story and highly recommend it!

This book gives you easily digestable information of the Iyengar yoga. Very clear instructions and steps how to work into the posture. I have recommended this book to my students since it gives you a solid support for the home practise.

I can totally see why my yoga teacher trainer pick out this book to be required reading. It is very well assembled with great picture of well respected Yogi's. The form of the positions leave nothing to be desired. When reading other Yoga books it isn't uncommon for me to wish I could crawl into the page and correct the posture of the people in the photos. In this book I just wanted to be as talented and perfect and the people in the pictures. The descriptions of the positions and the subtleties of what the pose requires was well written. It isn't unusual for me to use the same phrasing as they do in the book because some cues can't be better said. Perhaps I'll out grow this book, but as a beginning teacher, I learned a lot from it. I love the amount of detail that the book gives because there is always more that you can accomplish in any Yoga pose, and you must work at the level of the students you're teaching and remind them of things that may be automatic for you.

A lovely formatted book that has clear photographs. It is useful for the student at home to develop a personal home practice aswell as the teacher for a 'flash card' inspiration for a class. I like the diamond guide that indicates the degree of difficulty of the pose. It is also wonderful to have the asana name in devanagari, sanskrit and english. This is a classic hatha book that is a 'must have'. Camella Nair - author of "Aqua Kriya Yoga".

I purchased this book for teacher training class and I am pleased to say that it is very helpful to me. It would also come in very handy for someone new to Yoga because it has history, philosophy, and examples of every move all in one book. Easy to read and understand.

I've taken yoga classes for a few years but never remember the poses to repeat at home. This book lists most all the poses I've ever done, with pictures and what body parts they affect.

Series book. The large, readable print makes this good for children to read.

Summary
Frog and Toad are friends who share life together. I love the "To Do List," which includes "Wake up." Lobel wrote and illustrated more than 70 books. This book received a Newberry Honor Award.

Illustrations
I love the fresh and pleasant green and brown pictures, as did my children.

When Frog and Toad saw a snake, the snake said, "Hi,lunch!" Frog and Toad ran away.
Toad made cookies and Frog said, "They got will power." Toad made a list then when he got to Frog's house, Toad said, "We have to take a walk." They went on a walk. Suddenly, Toad's list blew away.

My daughter's nursery is decked out in Frogs, so the discovery of these books made them books we had to consider. They are fun and the illustrations are grest. At eleven months she is too young to read them herself, but we read them to her - and she enjoys them. The stories are simple with a central theme - do good for others, treat your friends with respect, help your firends when they need help, laugh, and aporach life with adventure. These are great virtues to instill in young minds. If the books were made in cardboard stock, Teah would be even more happy with them - as it is she frequently grabs one of them when it's time for her bedtime story - and great bedtime stories they are. By the time she starts to read she will know the stories by heart, but that's ok - fond memeories of bedtime stories like these should help her build a lifelong interest in reading on her own.

The Frog and Toad books were favorites of my daughters when they were young. I often give them to young friends, and was very happy to share them most recently with my two year old grandson

Learn the value of friendship with one of the most delightful duos in all of children's storytelling! Perfect bedtime stories or beginner's reading books, kids love the animorphed amphibians and funny adventures. Buy one and you'll have to get them all!

J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

A must read for any one who is interested in what went on behind the scenes during the Delaration of Independence, the
Constitution the early founding of our country (United States). Every politician should read it, because history does repeat itself!
Vincent

After reading both David McCullough's biography of Adams and now this one, I have concluded that Ferling's is the better of the two. The main reason is that although McCullough's is slightly more extensive, Ferling's book has a much more realistic view of the man. As his book Almost a Miracle shows the many tactical mistakes that Washington made, this book does the same with Adams. It makes sure to reckognize Adam's flaws as well as his virtues. For example, his frequent hypocracy, his recurrent neglect of family, his indecision, his self doubt, and his many political misjudgements are all fully acknowledged. Yet even with these faults, its overall view of Adams is still that of a great man.

In addition, Ferling's writing is practically as good as McCullough's, so read this book.

I will echo what others have written. This book gives almost every detail of John Adams life. It is an outstanding biography that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical books.

By the last page of this book you'll feel like you personally know John Adams. You'll know what drove him to succeed, his stregths, his weaknesses, his personality and most everything that can be known about a person.

As a detailed and thorough look at the life of a man, this biography is superb.

This is an excellent biography, following Adams from birth to death in one volume, and detailing both the positive and the negative aspects of the man clearly and fairly. I've been fascinated by Adams ever since seeing the movie "1776", which gives a marvellous "based on fact" dramatization of the writing and signing of the Declaration of Independence, and this book gave me a more thorough, more strictly factual look at the man. I wasn't disappointed on that score; he's just as interesting without the dramatic liberties taken by the movie.

My only quibble with this book is that the editing, at least in the edition that I have, is rather poor. There are numerous errors in grammatical structure and word choice, the kind of errors that I have become accustomed to in mass market paperbacks but refuse to accept in a scholarly historical work. Things like "he requested that the Congress name his successor be named in his place" and "...the British ... was ready" and "the New England sates" (rather than "States") and "the House of Representative" (even back then, there was more than one representative in the House) and "the dreary weather proved not be a herald of the months ahead" and many others. I understand that mistakes happen, and don't demand perfection. But there are just too many of this kind of error in this book for me to say that it is well-written; probably two dozen, if I had to guess.

Overall, this is a worthwhile biography of a fascinating president. Hopefully, future editions will clean up the writing a bit more.

I have taken this book apart and used it in the classroom. I bought it used and didn't receive a CD-ROM with it. My students are able to glean many ideas from it for our school newspaper.

Tim Harrower provides a very practical guide to newspaper design. The art of newspaper design tends to be very subjective, so this book lays down some facts and guidelines to put to rest some of the indecisive elements of design.

For a beginner, this is a book that will give you the confidence and understanding to conquer page layout.

The CD gives the novice an even more practical guide than the book can deliver.

One criticism is that the book is printed on light gloss stock and is spiral bound. I am not sure how it was survive rough treatment.

Brian Hurst

This textbook is awesome. I've never seen a better textbook. It lays everything out, and makes it simple to understand. It tells you what to do and what not to do in simple language and clear pictures. It's one of few textbooks worth keeping for future use in your career (provided you're going into the newspaper industry)!

When I accepted my first "real" job in journalism as a page designer for a local weekly I was struck by a horrifying thought, I really knew nothing about newspaper design. I had done it before for my college paper, sure, but this was the big time. I needed a refresher course and I needed it fast... Tim Harrower and this spiral-bound book came to my rescue.

Although it was first published in 1989, this book will be relevant as long as newspapers exist, even in this age of computer design. Harrower explains and shows why certain designs are good and bad and he approaches it in a situational, problem-solving format. For example, he explains what should be done when you have to design a page with no art, when you have butting headlines, or two horizontal photos etc. Harrower says that most page designers stumble into the job and from this point of view he explains what exactly, a good design is. This book will always be on my desk.

(I wish my publications professor used this instead of the worthless $105 monstrosity he made us buy (and that we never used by the way).)

So, after some mild freaking out followed by a lot of reading, I can start my new job with confidence thanks to this book.

I am an editor these days.
I came on this book quite a few years ago when I was a sub. It was recommended to me by an old hand in the newspaper game.
Without doubt, it is the single best aquisition I have made in terms of newspaper design.
In the places I have worked, I have been regarded extremely highly for my layout skills.
This book, with a little creativity, is the basis of almost everything I do in terms of layout.
If you are serious about the newspaper game, get it, study it and then apply what you learn. It will help our career enormously.

It is understandable why this book earned a Pulitzer for the author. Written in the early 1950's, it was the first time Civil War events were treated from a human versus fact-after-fact view. However, Shelby Foote later wrote a superior account that not only provides the human side, but also presents all the historical data.

It would be an almost impossible task for anyone to figure out just how many books have been written dealing with the American Civil War. It would also be difficult to determine which Civil War historians are most often cited by their peers but there is no doubt that Bruce Catton would be near or more likely at the top of any such list. The reason for this is quite simply that Catton was one of the great historical writers of all time. Very few people can take their readers into the heart of an army, both those of it's soldiers and leaders like Catton and even fewer convey their story in the very clear and easy to read style that this author has mastered. To read this book of pure history is in many ways like reading a historical novel and even the reader who already has a firm grasp on the historical facts of this story will sometimes find themselves wondering what happens next.

This is the story of the last campaign of the Army of the Potomac, that Ill-fated army that had so often been humiliated by Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. This campaign was to be different however because there was a new man calling the shots and having a man like U. S. Grant at the helm made all of the difference in the world. It took Grant a while though to convince this often badly led army that he was any different than his predecessors. Different he was however and once he locked horns with Lee he wasn't going to let up until one army or the other was destroyed. In other words Grant understood what had to be done and he was determined to do it.

Catton's main field of study was this man Grant but one of the author's most endearing qualities is that he makes no effort to whitewash or hide his subject's faults. Catton also does not attempt to build Grant up by tearing away at Lee like many of the more recent Grant biographers have done. He simply makes Grant's greatness apparent by telling the story the way it happened and it doesn't take long for the reader to figure out what an outstanding general Grant was.

The author has done a lot of searching through soldier's letters and memoirs as well as regimental histories and this leads to a very personal perspective of the last year of the war. The stories he has gleaned from these sources are poignant, somber, gleeful and funny. For example, one entire brigade falls out of the final advance upon Lee's army to chase down and cook some chickens that have been scattered by artillery fire. I think it was Napoleon who said something about an army traveling on it's stomach.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War. The hard core Civil War reader will find new information here and the casual reader will find that this book is fun to read and no one should have a problem following the story. If Amazon allowed six stars this is one of the few books that would qualify.

Part 3 of Bruce Catton's fantastic trilogy of the civil war is an interesting look at how the Army of the Potomac ended the war. From a discussion of a daring plan to plant dynamite underneath confederate lines to the chasing down of Lee's Army by Grant a true sense of what happened during the civil war can be gathered form this trilogy. An essential collection to any civil war historical library.

A Stillness at Appomattox is the last in the trilogy of the Army of the Potomac and covers from the period from late 1863/early 1864 (before the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Campaign) to April 1865 (Appomattox).

While the book is certainly heavily weighted in its coverage of the Union side, Catton is fair in his assessment of the various Union leaders. Of course, there is also the unique writing style that Catton possessed - a free flowing and smooth narrative rich with details.

My only complaint is the lack of maps. However, one must also bear in mind that the first edition was written in 1953, a time when books did not have the number of detailed maps that you would find in more recent titles.

Complaint aside, I highly recommend the book and series as the best coverage of the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War.

Read and enjoy!

This superb narrative about the Union's Army of the Potomac in the war's final year captured the 1954 Pulitzer Prize. The book is one of several superbly readable volumes on the Civil War by author/historian Bruce Catton (1899-1978).

This narrative covers the Army of the Potomac from the start of the brutal 1864 wilderness campaign through the war's end a year later at Appomattox. The author shows that General Ulysses S. Grant was more capable than brilliant, and fiercely determined to keep the pressure on General Lee's rebel army until the Confederates had no choice but to quit. Given the Union's advantage in men and material, the strategy made sense. What was less sensible were costly errors by Union officers, frightful casualties, and a sickening Union failure to clinch victory on the first day at Petersburg (thus reducing carnage on both sides).

The author perused many soldier diaries and letters to show us the life of the average Union enlisted man. That soldier was well-paid ($16 a month), but forced to endure boredom, rough weather, marching, stress, and dangers from disease and a tough, determined enemy.

This moving look at the last year of conflict is probably the best of Catton's narratives on the Civil War.

I consider myself someone who is fairly thoughtful and has already made an effort around being spiritually grounded, self-aware and having healthy relationships. This book, however, sets up a pretty profound framework around these things and asks deep questions. It helped me get to a new level of thought about my relationship with myself as well as my romantic relationships. I got an immense amount of good out of this book. It helps peel back the layers and digs deep! After reading it, I bought several copies and handed them out to my closeset friends.

I work as a marriage & family therapist, and only happened upon this book after a few colleagues recommended it. This isn't a clinical book, rather it's far more accessible to anyone who's wanting more than a typical self-help book. "Undefended Love" goes far beyond the helpful observations about how human personalities are based on attachment, security, protection, and strategies to compensate for wounds. It goes beyond healthy,non-reactive closeness between a couple. It shows a path for couples to find deeper resources within themselves individually that can create a truer foundation for growth and vitality in all their relationships. It's not a quick-fix or easy path, but it does feel quite true and in sync with the newest findings in neuroscience and other psycho-spiritual paradigms. This is a wonderful book I can easily recommend.

This is an insightful and thought-provoking book. Great for a therapist, but also very accessible to the layperson. Takes you through some self-review that gets to the root of what triggers us when we have conflict in a relationship, and how to move past those triggers to real "undefended" love.

If you're looking to unravel a twisted up, convoluted, complicated, and painful relationship this is the book for you. It saved my 25+ year old marriage and has enhanced many other relationships as well. My friends got so tired of hearing me rave about the book that they bought their own copies and found their lives transformed as well. It ain't easy work dismantling a lifetime of armour--and don't let anyone tell you it is. But it's welllll worth the effort!!! And really, if you get just ONE thang from the book it will be worth the purchase price...and there's LOTS of thangs to get from the book. This is one you can read over and over again over the years and get something new from it each time. If you're looking for ONE book that hits all the nails on their heads THIS is the one...I've read soooo many books about following your bliss, passionate pursuit of one's dreams, making the impossible possible etc etc and this book is at the core of all of them. You dive into the work of this book and you too will see your life transformed--it's truly amazing. Go for it! peace love & joy Coco

This book really helps you uncover yourself to reveal your inner beauty. People all around you will seem more peaceful. You will be able to be responsive instead of reactive. It is the most uplifting feeling in the world.

An over-simplistic view to me is the only view anyone lacking the sensitivity to absorb this book correctly can have. Judging this person is irrelevant to the whole point of reading the book, it's not a textbook, of course there is more to the story, and of course anyone can be offended by anything. But, if your looking for a story of a young man who cheated death more then once during the Nam conflict, you will be hard press to find a better book.

The name of General "Chesty" Puller brings a proud smile to the lips of every Marine. He is part of the pantheon of "the few and the proud." His son, Lewis Puller, Jr., has written a memoir that tells the story of growing up in the shadow of a legendary father, becoming a Marine officer in his own right, losing his legs in an explosion while serving in Vietnam, and struggling to build a life for himself in the aftermath. This thoughtful and thought-provoking book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

Lewis Puller, Jr. demonstrates a great deal of transparency in recounting his pilgrimage from the son of a war hero to a wounded warrior looking for his rightful place in the world. The New York Times called this book: "A haunting tribute to the names on the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial . . . An important contribution to the personal literature of war."

The fact that much of Puller's personal journey took place during the same time the nation was struggling with building the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial adds a special poignancy to this memoir. Several of my friends who have served recently in Iraq and Afghanistan commended this book to me as one that had helped them in their own process of reconciling their experiences in war with their return to the United States.

This is a story of great loss and of commensurate courage and determination. I think you will find it inspiring and well worth reading.

The book, a true account of a dissalussioned idealist - a trouble soul. A
lead in to my sad tale of woe. My fellow Americans/Vietnam veterans, do
not be fooled by the administration's rehtoric; read McNamara's "The Fog
of War" and please don't forget the book "A Bright Shining Lie"! If you
truly believe the lies of the "CHICKEN HAWKS", then I've got a bridge in
Utopia I'll sell you. You are listening to people who never served a day in their misrable lives in war and when most of them had their chance to fight for our country, during the Vietnam war,they chose to "Cut and Run"
(Guard duty and college deferments). There is only one way to end this
fisco in the middle east; reinstate the DRAFT with NO LOOP-HOLES! Every-
body goes when the 6x6 (military truck) rolls up (ages from 18 to 50),
city/state/federal legislators, the whole nine yards. I'm speaking truth
to power here today, people. Because when death becomes a shared sacri-
fice, people's whole prospective changes; it's different when everybody's butt is on the line. Believe me, I know because I served three tours in
"Nam (all voluntary) not in surrounding countryside (Thailand, Philippines, etc), but in country. I too believed in the government's
lies (Gulf of Tonkin incident) at the time, but after a lot of years since then, I've had time to reflect and my reflections are not pleasant.
So, if the country really wants to stop this current mistake, follow my
advice, THE DRAFT!

The recent scandal exposed by the WASHINGTON POST's coverage of conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center reminded me of the power of this book. One legacy of America's unfortunate invasion of Iraq will be untold numbers of young Americans--and Iraqi civilians--who will live the same sort of horrific nightmare that Lewis Puller describes so vividly in this harrowing autobiography.

My retired Marine father once served under Lew Puller's legendary father, and the two of us stood in line to get our copies of "Fortunate Son" autographed by Mr. Puller, an experience I still remember vividly all these years later. Puller's prose is equally memorable, and this book should be required reading at any American high school in 2007--and for any American who plans to vote in the next election. Lewis Puller's words are more important than ever.

It is difficult to not be moved by the horrific series of incidents related by Puller here. As pointed out by other reviewers, the self-portrait he renders is of a person so unappealing that the reader must conclude that what he has written with an eye first to honest description, as well as he can render it.
That said, this book is not really worth reading as a book. The writing is stultifying flat and, for whatever reasons, the only thing Puller does here is whine, in an equally grating voice and with an equal intensity about whatever happens: the mortifying loss of his legs and much of both hands is treated with exactly the same weight as minor slights that occur in his run for office. Furthermore, a very great deal of the book is devoted to pointing out the obvious: for example, Puller insists on notifying the reader that his son learns to talk while his father (owing to a stroke) is losing the capability for speech. Should an editor have cut out this and the many similar needless explanations, the writing would have far greater impact than it does.
Should the story of Fuller have any lessons for us, those lessons will surely be better learned by reading a (much, much shorter) article about him rather than this tedious book.

This cook book is gorgeous and affordable. Being a Philadelphia girl I love the opportunity to prepare meals by chefs from our famous restaurants Le Lec-fin and Fountain Restaurant to name a couple and Hope Fox makes it possible and not hard to do. Oh how proud we feel serving up one of Hope's beautiful recipes. And I had the pleasure to meet her at a book signing and she is as warm as her cream of porcini mushroom soup all the way from where I left my heart: San Francisco at Masa's.

Mary Jane Hurley Brant
www.wheneverydaymatters.com

First of all, I had to try to find some recipes that I wanted to try. They were a few, and they were pretty good, but there weren't that many! If I wanted oysters or unusual ingredients that I don't normally keep in my kitchen, maybe I would be more pleased, but for most cooks, it is all hype and not many usuable reipes. Sorry, I was "less than impressed".

Not only is Hope Fox great in person, but her book is even better than when I got the pitch in the Chicago airport! The way she explains making delightful and fancy dishes breaks it down and simplifies it so much! After reading some of my favorite food recipes such as cesar salad (my food drug! hehe) I thought to myself, "That's it??!?! I can totally make this! Great book and Hope is fabulous! I am so glad I met her! Such a gem!

Hope gave us the best recipes from the finest restaurants. With the market close at hand, and " Impress For Less " in our collection, we can experience dining excellence without making reservations or excuses. Thank you Hope!!

This is a wonderful cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow, and produce excellent results.