United States Books

This review is written eight years after the publishing date because I just discovered Mr.Martin's books. Now that I have read all of them I believe that this is his masterpiece- so far. Mr. Martin's meticulous research and portrayal of Washington gives the reader a very intimate look at his life, loves, politics, military work, and steadfastness in the face of adversity. The author's "bird's eye view" (as if an eagle were narrating) of the countryside and the military clashes provides a scenic description as well as another viewpoint from above the action.
From Washington's youth to his death, this book allows the reader to become an aquaintance and confidante of one of our greatest patriots- his humanity, his frailities, his faults and his immense sense of patriotism and integrity. This book is not only entertaining but highly educational. I learn and appreciate more history from Mr. Martin's books than I ever
did from formal classes. I highly recommend this book as well as all Mr. Martin's other books and I can't wait for the next.

This fabulous book starts with George Washington's death and a plan "to humanize the demi-god". A rookie reporter is sent to find out why -- after his death -- the first thing Martha Washington did was burn letters. What was in them?

The story is then presented as narratives written by various characters: slaves, Indians, wives, friends, enemies. Although each entry was labeled, each of the writer's voices was distinctive and some included Washington's take on himself. And from the getgo, the reader learns that George Washington was determined to mold himself in an honorable fashion and to rise as best he could. With practical determination, he made his life happen and his wisdom prevailed.

So, in chronological order and with varied dialects and writing styles, one learns quite a bit of history. The years 1730-1800 involved Indian skirmishes, matters of property (human and otherwise), and Revolutionary War's battles, namely: Brooklyn, Jersey, New York, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Philadelphia. The scope of Washington's life included presidential happenings and delicate handling of temperaments.

Among other things, I read about war strategies, politics of the times (Federalists, Republicans), the youthfulness and inexperience of officers, ideologies of those in power, how power was manipulated, and how greater powers overturned those egotists trying to wield power unbecoming our nation. I learned a bit about the British Generals Howe & Cornwallis and the French General the Marquis de Lafayette. And, I now know that not only did Washington have rivals, but John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were far from "shoe in" Presidents, too.

It was ALL exciting! In "Citizen Washington", I loved digesting all the aspects of all the players. I looked forward to each moment as it arrived. And as John Britain, known as Silverheels said, "I knew it was true, even if it never happened."

I highly recommend "Citizen Washington" by William Martin. Have fun!

Remember back to the early '50's (I was 6) and the program This Is Your Life hosted by Ralph Edwards? Now you know the premise of Citizen Washington. Imagine yourself sitting front row of a darkened theater. On stage are, say, 10 chairs in a spotlight. Behind the chairs is a huge painting of.....YOU! You look up and sitting in the chairs are 10 people that have been involved in your life - intimately and peripherally. They begin to spin a tale of your life, your personality, your looks, your mannerisms, demeanor and emotions --- as THEY saw it progress through their individual eyes. You are exposed in all your foibles and abilities and judged, individually, by these people. Frightening but fascinating. Martin plies this technique on George Washington and exposes him as no history book can. This is an eye-opening read. From his military underlings, his slaves, his peers, his wife, and his decendants we see his every movement laid bare to the reader. Where was Martin when the nuns were cramming dusty, throat choking historical facts into my reluctant brain? This work is interesting as history and a novel and will hold your attention to the last period of the last paragraph. Buy, read, learn and enjoy!

I just read Citizen Washington and enjoyed every page. A page turner that gives you a different look at Washington and the revolution.

Wonderful book!

The audiobook runs 6 hours and is surprisingly fun to listen to. Other reviewers have covered most of what you need to know so I will just add a parental advisory: contains rough language of a creative sort that boys of a certain age may like to quote, so if you are looking for something educational for a family car trip, this may not be suitable. Otherwise, I certainly recommend this book as an enjoyable piece of historical fiction.

Alexis de Tocqueville came to America for nine months in 1831-32 to conduct a study of the American penal system. What resulted instead was "Democracy in America", one of the best-ever treatises on a nation's politics, culture, and institutions.

This Bantam edition begins with a great introduction by Joseph Epstein.

Along with his famous words concerning the tyranny of the majority, the rise (and future clash) of America and Russia, and the differences between democratic and aristocratic societies, Tocqueville makes scores of other trenchant observations.

He shows that America was already a powerful, respected nation by the 1830s, and he expected it to become more powerful (and rule the seas) in the future.

He was a staunch advocate of freedom of the press. He examines political parties, and thought that, in the 1830s, the political system was already to the point that the chief desire of American presidents was to be reelected.

Tocqueville examines religion and was "convinced that Christianity must be maintained at any cost in the bosom of modern democracies". He was against slavery and foresaw its demise. He thought that there were mostly equal levels of education in America, and thought that as conditions in the country became more equal, great revolutions would become more rare.

Tocqueville is a hero for many conservatives, as he mostly agreed with Jefferson in thinking that that government is best which governs least.

Not even Alexis de Tocqueville has a perfect track record--he really got it wrong when he asserted that "the people in democratic states do not mistrust the members of the legal profession" and when he predicted that the nations of South America would one day be prosperous (a prediction that might yet come true, but has not done so 175 years later after the book's publication).

When reading "Democracy in America", what I was repeatedly thunderstruck by was the fact that someone 26 years old was insightful enough to make these observations. Reading this book cannot help but give the reader a much more keen understanding of America. "Democracy in America" will be read and studied for centuries by those who wish to understand our great nation.

Before approaching the text of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, I had little realization as to the proper content of his prophetic work. To my former understanding, the text was merely a collection of adulation and reflections upon the American way of life by a French observer in the nineteenth century. Upon reading this abridged version of Democracy in America, I found a much more prophetic text which reflected more upon the cultural impact of democratic institutions than upon the praise which should be attributed thereto. While one may fault de Tocqueville for approaching the democratic world with the cutting eye of a small aristocracy, it is quite evident that he accepted the fact that the human spirit was led to greater democratic tendencies and that such was to be taken almost a priori as the state of the world in his era.

The truly important reflection of the work as a whole comes in the considerations which he places upon the consequences of equality which follows from democratic revolutions. The phenomena of hardy individualism and its potential devolvement into individualism were not lost in his reflections. From this hardy individualism, de Tocqueville feared that humanity in democratic times may tend more toward equality and stability than toward liberty. In this, he not only foresaw the simple tendencies of utilitarian artwork and literature but also the potential destruction of civil associations and the devaluation of individual accomplishment and differentiation. It is this latter point, which seems somewhat paradoxical at first glance, which is perhaps the most prophetic of his reflections. In the process of cultural homogenization and individuation, de Tocqueville foresees that centralization of power will become much more likely as the populace views itself to be nothing more than an accumulation of nearly-identical citizens. Beyond this, his fears of the tyranny which could result by the abandonment of liberties by the people are well founded, for a society which wholly forgets the fact that some human beings can stand out is one which can easily allow itself to be subjected to the capricious desires of a powerful state as liberty is wholly forgotten.

These prophetic words should be read by all reflective Americans as we continue to move toward a larger centralized state and clamor with greater intensity for security in all forms (be it physical or social), for such equalizing security can only come at the cost of the liberties which allow the individual to actually have the worth which we intellectually affirm that he or she has.

Praising this book is a bit like saying Huckleberry Finn was one of the great American novels - it's a profound statement of the obvious. Even so, it must be said: Alexis de Tocqueville's magnum opus is a brilliant sociological analysis of America, with his genius made all the more evident by how applicable his observations about 1830s America are to its twenty-first century counterpart. Everything from the solidity of America's political infrastructure to the disquieting trend toward anti-intellectualism are explored in this massive work, and his gift of analysis is matched only by his gift for prophecy (can you believe that he predicted a conflict between America and Russia before the rise of Communism?). An amazing book, and necessary reading for anyone who wishes to understand America, rather than merely talk about it.

I have three complaints about this edition of Tocqueville:
1) Nowhere in the book is the translator credited. This violates basic principles of publication and scholarship.
2) This is in fact an abridged version of the original English-language translation by Henry Reeve, dating from sometime before 1862. Unless you want to re-create the experience of a modern Frenchman confronted with de Tocqueville's somewhat archaic French by reading the text in somewhat archaic English, I would seek out any of the more recent translations: there are at least three.
3) The ellipses, that is, the abridgements, have sometimes been made to conceal some of the author's less flattering views America. In fact I suspect this is a "patriotic" abridgement. For example, in the second chapter of part one, Heffner has omitted references to some of the excesses of Puritan law in New England which the notoriously even-handed Tocqueville had cited.

As a former reviewer has stated this edition takes quite a bit of liberty in excising the less flattering aspects of Tocqueville's views of America. In fact the entire section on race-relations has been excised --perhaps it was deemed too controversial? This kind of editing is even more unacceptable in our age of open communications and hopefully open minds. Find another edition.

I read this book in adolescence and it has stayed with me since then--over 20 years. I have thought of Eric's story many times over the years, especially now that I have my own son. I think that I will read this book again and add it to my permanent collection. It is very touching albeit very sad.

Eric is the heartbreaking, inspirational true story of Eric Lund, a seventeen-year-old boy who is diagnosed with Leukemia just days before he is set to leave for college. This book is a memoir written by his mother, Doris Lund, about Eric's unwavering will to survive, and about how his cancer affects not only himself, but everyone around him.

When it's a story about a terminal illness, there can be no unexpected twist. As soon as I read the description on the back cover of the book, I knew basically how it was going to start and how it was going to end. But it's what happens in between that makes Eric Lund's life so interesting. What makes him different than many whose lives have thrown seemingly indomitable obstacles at them is that Eric refuses to give up. Even when the doctors, despite their greatest and heartfelt efforts, can offer only ominous warnings, it doesn't prevent Eric from living his life to the fullest. In this way, Eric isn't just the tragedy of a boy whose life deteriorates little by little. Instead, it is the motivational story of a man whose confidence, positive outlook, and exceptional will to live bring hope and joy to everyone around him.

Of course, Doris Lund doesn't leave herself out of the picture. A lot of the book is focused on her own hopes and fears instead of Eric's, on which she can only speculate in many instances. She is also honest about her rocky relationship with Eric and the difficulties that they sometimes had communicating, which is something that most teenagers and their parents can relate to. I couldn't help noticing that there are places in the book where Doris Lund interrupts the flow of her writing, perhaps with a misplaced or awkward metaphor, but then she quickly remembers that this story is beautiful and memorable on its own without too many fancy words and phrases to distract from it.

Even if you don't usually read this kind of literature, I still recommend Eric. It may be depressing, but it's not cynical, and it leaves you with the kind of hope that Eric held on to his whole life.

I have probably read this book 8 times since it first came out. The first time I read it was shortly after my brother had been diagnosed with a form of leukemia. This book is a wonderful tribute by Doris Lund to her son, and I highly recommend it to anyone.

This story is just a good read, and such a testimony of a young man struck with lucemia, his spirit his valor...emotions are stired to beyond words.

I hate to be the skunk in the five-star garden party, but I remember reading, or rather trying to read, this book when in high school some *cough* 20 years ago. I could barely get through it. Apparently I wasn't alone, because someone else had graffitoed on the (soft) cover, "This book sucks. Don't read it."

Sometimes I think there should be a moratorium on grieving parents writing about their dead offspring. Aside from one brief moment when Lund catches her son checking out girls in a hospital corridor or waiting room, I don't remember a single aspect of Eric's personality aside from "Mama's Little Angel." And although my memory is vague on this, I seem to recall the book contains a fair amount of delusional mumbo-jumbo about "God's will" ('scuse me while I barf).

If you want to read a superb book by someone who lost a child to cancer, read "Death Be Not Proud" by John Gunther. That book preserves every quirk of his late son Johnny's wry sense of humor and considerable intellect, and actually makes you regret that the son didn't live to take up the father's pen. Not only that, but Gunther deals with hard questions of mortality and loss without resorting to the kind of sticky sentimentality you'd expect from Oprah or the "women's channels" on cable TV. Cripes, even Marie Killilea's books about her handicapped (no, NOT "differently abled") daughter Karen are better than Lund's book.

The entire genre, for obvious reasons, is for the most part manipulatively mawkish, but that's what sells, I guess. If you have an "I Believe in Angels" bumper sticker on your car, Thomas Kincaide "paintings" on your walls, and every CD Whitney Houston ever recorded in your music collection, go ahead and order "Eric." You'll cry your eyes out and write a five-star review.

this is a lovely children's book. Adults like to look at it too! Interesting pictures and nice story.

This children's book is a great gift for anyone with a heart who loves to garden. The little girl in the story must go to live with her uncle during hard times. He is a gruff baker but his little niece brightens his world with her loving charm and amazing gardening skills.

This is a book is written as a series in letters and has a lot of great pictures. It is about a little girl whose mother and father don't have jobs. She also has a grandmother who gave her, her love for gardening. Lynda-Grace (the girl) has to go live with her uncle who never smiles. When she gets there she finds out that her uncle own a bakery and has helpers. One of the helpers name's is Emma. Emma and Lynda-Grace and Emma have a scheme to make Uncle Jim smile! Read the book to find out what happens!

This is a really good picture book. As I said before, it is in teh form of letters from Lynda-Grace to her parent's and grandmother. It is a fantastic book for all ages!


Give "The Gardener" a try!

What kind of book wins the Caldecott acclaim as best children's book of the year? In 1997 Rapunzel (Picture Puffin Books) became the gold medal book, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.

"The Gardener" was named an Honor Book that same year. In another year this book could have won gold. You can see the city fire escape on the cover. Imagine opening the cover to a two-page spread of an stout Grandma and a young grand-daughter, enjoying the talk of their freshly-picked produce from a verdant, colorful, thriving garden. Two pages over they walk directly toward the big house, where the girl learns of her new living arrangements.

The girl's name is Lydia Grace. Grandma's packing Lydia Grace's clothes so she can live in the city with Uncle Jim for awhile, until her dad can find a new job.

The artwork by David Small is incredibly simple, yet beautiful and pulls readers into this heart-warming story. You see, "The Gardener" is an allegory of life renewed, restored, and revived. Take a baker whose life is nothing more than toil--no joy, no hope. Insert a young girl full of life, both herself and her seed packets.

A plain, dull bakery literally blooms with flowers and color and life after just a few weeks. But the best surprise is Lydia Grace's last gift before she goes home where her daddy has a new job. I imagine your heart will go a-flutter as mine did when you turn to that last page.

If not a gold medal book, definitely an honor book, this one--"The Gardener."

The time of this story takes place in the mid 1930s and the family of the little girl of the story has had some hard times as so many families did during those horrible years. Briefly, the little girl is sent to live with her uncle Jim in the city until her father can find work and get the family back on thier feet. The author has chosen to tell this story via letter written back home to the little girl's family, by the girl herself. The story is through her eyes. The story is excellent, as it points out just what one person, even a little one, can do to change people lives. The running theme throughout of course is the little girls love for gardening. I certainly will not go into a blow by blow account of the plot, etc. as that has been done here several times, and done quite well. The text though, is quite readable and the illustrations are great. One other theme, other than the gardening, that runs through the story, is the fact that the little girl seems to be quite concerned over the fact that uncle Jim never smiles. In the end....well, you will have to read the story yourself, does he or does he not smile...you figure it out! Love this book and recommend it highly.

I bought this book a few years ago, and I often still think about Hannah and her story. It was so touching, and I cried through most of it. This is a book that I felt compelled to pass to a friend. I almost wish that I hadn't, so I could read it again.

I got a great price for this book and it arrived with in 2 weeks from the date of purchase. I was a little dissappointed when i opened the package because the cover and binding was damaged. It looked like they had tried to bend the book. Besides that the book was okay. You get what you pay for.

Oh boy, this was beyond tear-jerker for me. This was such an emotional story. I read this book in one day, while my husband was away. I was glad he wasn't here to tease me about sobbing all the way through this book. Maria Housden is a such a strong woman, what a horrible ordeal she and her family went through losing Hannah.

Hannah's Gift is the story of a remarkable little girl and her fight with cancer.

From the moment she was diagnosed, to the moment of her death, Hannah treats her disease and her fight for life in a unique, touching way.

Despite being only three years old, she appears to understand the cancer fully and is not scared of death, instead, she asks her Grandmother - 'Grandma, when I die, promise you wont forget me?'

Hannah lived her life fully and with no self-pity. I found Hannah's Gift to be less of a record of a families loss, but more a celebration of Hannah's life. Hannah truly brings to life the phrase - 'Only the good die young.'

I loved this book and it really helped me. Some think that Hannah was preceived as the "perfect" child, and I can relate to that. We just lost our Granddaughter on her 2nd. birthday, she had Cystic Fibrous, but died, not from CF, but during a "simple" 15-20 min. procedure in surgery. Two months after her passing I read Hannah's gift. I took care of our little Bethany, while our daughter worked, and they live within walking distance right next to us. We were together every day, so I saw all the same signs. These children ARE so special. They have so much love, they are almost perfect, with very small "wrongs". Like Hannah's mom, I got that feeling, that they know, their time on earth is short,just by the way their eyes will sometimes look at you. They know you love them so much as they love you, but they won't be here to share that love. Yes, Hannah's Gift was a touching story

I read this book aloud to my two youngest boys (9 and 10). It has been a profound experience, one which has brought us closer together and has helped me to share things with my boys that I was afraid I would never be able to express in my own words.

Robert Avrech has created a world and its characters that are vividly real, unsparingly realistic and yet inspiring and comfortingly spiritual- all this in a book that is accessible to my sons, substantial enough to leave a lasting impression on me and written with such sturdy elegance that it is a joy to read out-loud.

This is a wonderful book. It is, in fact, a work of gentle and entertaining genius.

Normally being a slow reader with a wandering mind, I read this entire book in just four days, unable to put it down. It was such a sweet, heartwarming story; I could easily imagine the author writing it, as I know him personally, and he truly is such a nice man. But this book is more than a sentimental tear-jerker; actual historical people that existed at the time the story takes place, are here. I learned things about American history I had not previously known. I also found it interesting how the author emphasized how the Jews are not truly white people at all, but their own separate race who may have more affinity with American Indians than with White America.

I'll admit, I bought THE HEBREW KID AND THE APACHE MAIDEN for my 12 year-old nephew, but I couldn't resist taking a peek myself. And, once I started it, I was hooked; couldn't put it down.

Author Robert Avrech has crafted a marvelous plot. He weaves together the history of the Jews with details about traditional anti-Semitism--both in Europe and in the United States--along with lore about the American Wild West of the 19th Century.

This novel is a work which combines great imagination with scholarly research.

Every page here is an adventure, starting with Apaches on the war path and moving on to Mexican desperadoes. The reader, especially the younger reader, definitely will learn much about the Jewish religion as a result of reading this book.

According to the author's biography, he already is a successful screenwriter. I have read novels written by great authors, and I have seen screenplays written by great screenwriters, and THE HEBREW KID AND THE APACHE MAIDEN is the equal of the best of them.

Robert Avrech dedicated this book to the memory of his son.

Robert Avrech's first installment of the adventures of Ariel in the turbulent beginnings of the American Southwest isn't simply a book for young adults. It's an enjoyable must-read for adults -- Jewish and non-Jewish -- interested in Judaism in any way. His explanations of Jewish and Apache spirituality are simple without being simplistic, and are beautifully woven into the adventurous tale of a boy trying to learn how to be a man -- and a "mensch" -- in a dangerous world. Hopefully it won't be too long before we're able to enjoy Ariel's next journey!

An author's intellect too often outstrips his spirit. The observation, the wit, the rendered phrase will display polish, but the work as a whole may lack a certain, deeper luster. And it's that luster that fixes our attention - while we're reading the work and while it lives with us forever after. Fortunately, Robert Avrech's first children's novel is imbued with this kind of luster.

The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden is an entertaining and inspiring tale honed with high craft and deep piety. Written by a career screenwriter for a primarily (though by no means exclusively) young, Jewish, male audience, it is at once plausible and improbable, silly and serious, magical and didactic. I read it one afternoon in a cafe, pausing only to wag its colorful cover in front of a few inquisitive onlookers while telling them that they too ("big people," like me) should read this. Did I adequately communicate this to the other "big people"? I can't say, because before finding out if I had, I let myself be transported again - under the sure, guiding author's hand - to that age....

Yet there's more going on - and at stake - in HKAM than quality entertainment. It has to do with Mr. Avrech's choice of setting the novel in the Arizona of the 1870s, thereby overlaying mass Jewish immigration with mass American expansion and the Indian Wars. It also has to do with the interwoven themes of coming of age, learning to handle firearms, and Jewish self-defense. For while the novel makes no pretense of speaking directly to other - mostly "big people" - works which treat some or all of these themes, HKAM reminds me, indirectly, of some other works that (in part or in whole) do treat them: Primo Levi's If Not Now, When?; Antek Zuckerman's A Surplus of Memory; Romain Gary's A European Education; Esther Forbes's Johnny Tremain; and any number of Hemingway stories. Yet by predating the 20th Century - and the Shoah - and by sticking to the Kid's point of view, Avrech helps preserve that degree of Orthodox Judaism's innocence and wonder and awe which frequently is beyond the scope of "big people" or less observant or 20th Century works. For, as the dedication offers, what's also at stake in this novel is the debt Mr. Avrech is attempting to repay to his departed son - the great inspiration for the Hebrew Kid.

The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden is a mitzvah through and through. Purchase it in hardcover while you still can. You will want your copy to last as long as there are generations to come, generations which will always peer into the lives of past generations, wondering how to learn from them.

The author describes in just the right amount of detail, what his residency in orthopedics was like at the prestigious Mayo Clinic. The struggle between the incredibly demanding hours of training and his responsibilities as a husband and dad are intense. Throw in some moonlighting on weekends in the ER and "you're good to go insane." A perfect summer read.

I really enjoyed this book. The author was very down to earth and had a great sense of humor. He included a number of wonderful stories about his experiences during his residency as a surgeon. I found it very hard to put this book down.

From the moment I started reading it, it was like the initial incision with the scalpel on my brain and I could not stop until I got to the end (close the incision--take the patient to the recovery)!! Dr Collins has done a great job in this fast paced easy to read manual of the 4 years of residency at the prestigious Mayo clinic revealing to us the incredibly long hours of residency while raising up a family, living from pay check to pay check(earned mostly by moonlighting), driving cheap cars(esp the Battleship, ha!),dealing with life and death decisions on a daily basis and eventually making it through it all. The doctor has a great sense of humor (I guess 'tis one of the survival tactics in the battle of life.) His scalpel sharp pen can touch the soul of the reader! You will laugh and weep through it all(as must have Patti(his wife) and the kids). It has given me a greater appreciation for doctors--they have a high endurance coefficient! A must read for all the doclings and doctors-to-be.

After making the decision to return to school after 7 years to become a cardio surgeon- I seriously doubted my own abilities. I read everything I could get my hands on concerning others and there first year experiences. Hot Lights, Cold Steel was amazing. I was able to relate with Dr. Collins and soon realize that I too may be ill prepared for like as a resident but along with anything, time, experience and studying will prove that I too can be just as amazing as he is. (Only difference- he has 12 children, whereas I only have 5). This book is a 5-star hands down.

I can tell when I am reading a book that I really enjoy, it keeps pestering me until I finish it. Read it in 2-3 days!!! Very enjoyable. I even like the binding on this hardcover, large inside margins, etc. Hey Doc, how about writing another book??????

At thirteen, Julie Edwards - or Miyax Kapugen - was married according to the agreement between her parents and those of her bridegroom. Miserably unhappy in her temperamental husband's home, Julie fled. She and a wolf pack befriended each other, out in the wilds of her native Alaska, and because of the wolves Julie has survived to find her way home. Back to her widowed father, who (to her considerable surprise) has missed her and looked for her. And then, when told falsely of her death, has mourned for the daughter he loved and now knows he should not have pushed into that early marriage.

In Julie's absence Kapugen has married again, and his new wife is a schoolteacher from Minnesota. Ellen has convinced Kapugen to give up, for the most part, his life as an Eskimo hunter. Although they still live in the village where they met, Kapugen flies an airplane and cares for a herd of domesticated musk oxen while Ellen continues with her teaching job. Julie's homecoming is marred not only by her doubts about her father's choice of a fair-skinned, red-haired outsider as his new wife, but also - far more - by her terror of Kapugen's insistence that if and when the wolf pack comes to hunt his musk oxen, he must kill them. Julie knows that Kapugen means it, because he killed one of "her" wolves before. She can't go off to high school in Fairbanks, not even when she falls in love with a young Eskimo man who will be going to the university there. She has to stay in the village until she figures out how to save her wolves from Kapugen, whom she loves despite his growing departure from the ways he taught her to follow.

Coming of age novels with girl protagonists are rare enough, if one doesn't count (and I certainly do not!) those books whose whole point is how that girl learns to accept the limits of traditional femininity as the cost of mature happiness. Books like this one, about a girl who comes of age by meeting physical and intellectual challenges thrown at her by Nature itself - and by the clash of cultures, too - are rarer still. Marvelous! Simply marvelous!

Julie was about an Eskimo girl who got lost in the Alaskan tundra. Julie, the girl learned to live by wolf ways. She followed the wolves and they accepted her. Amaroq was the pack leader and Silver was his mate. Nails was Amaroq's best friend and Jello was the lowly puppy-sitter. Kapu, Sister, Zat, Zing, and Zan were the puppies. Amaroq got shot by a helicopter flier and died. Kapu was also shot but was nursed back to health by Julie. Julie then found her father, Kapugen (Kapu was named after Julie's father.) near by. Kapugen had stopped following the Eskimo traditions and married a gussak (white) woman. Julie was not at all thrilled about this. Then she saw flying goggles hanging in the house. Julie then realized that Kapugen had shot Amaroq. Julie learned how Kapugen had changed. Then, she found out how Kapugen had started an industry in musk oxen. The caribou which is sort of like a moose or deer is one of the most eaten animals on the tundra. The wolves also eat caribou. The caribou was not going through Kangilik, where Julie was now living or where Kapu and his pack were. The wolves were very hungry and needed food to live off of. What will Julie do to save the wolves?

This one, in my opinion, is a bit better than the first one. Since this one has more social interaction, it makes time seem to fly by much quicker. It also contains the same friendly wolves, which also makes it exciting for anyone who read Julie of the Wolves.

This book is very amazing, it is just as good as it's original, 'Julie of the wolves'. I really loved reading this book, and I'm sure you'll love it too, if you love animals. Don't waste your time on another 'tundra imitation' book, get Julie of the wolves, Julie, and Julie's wolf pack now!

This book is about a young girl living in Alaska, in the village of Kangik trying to get used to her new home. She hears that her father will kill her wolf pack if they kill another oxen. She then goes back out on the Tundra to find her pack and lead them to Caribou. This book is wonderful and teaches us about Eskimos and their traditions. It is a fantastic novel telling how one girl is so in touch with all other living things. If you love learning about other cultures or love Julie of the Wolves and want to see what happens next, then you have to read this amazing book!

A must read for even the most casual fan...is there a casual Ramones fan?

Monte details all of the travails and hard work in an honest fashion, but without a "woe is me" attitude at being the guy out of the spotlight. And in doing so, it gives you a deeper appreciation of what the band was, warts and all.

Lots of photos and memorabilia too.

Worth every penny.

What an entertaining book! I'm half-way through it and enjoying every minute. You get a real sense of the various personalities that made up the Ramones roster, which changed over the years. Johnny - the hard-on; Dee Dee - the Crazy; Joey - the freak; Tommy - the oppressed; and Marky - the over the top alcoholic. I personally love the oral history format. Johnny, Joey, Tommy, Marky, Ritchie and Monte, their tour manager, all contribute their stories. For some reason, Dee Dee doesn't personally contribute but he comes through vibrantly in the stories of his band mates.

I'm not a fanatical fan, but after seeing the Ramones documentary: End of the Century - The Story of the Ramones, I knew I had to read this book. The only down side is realizing that the three core band members - Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee - all failed to see age 50.

The Ramones' popularity keeps growing--it's a shame that Joey, Dee Dee and Johnny didn't live to enjoy it. As a result of their popularity, so many--TOO MANY--Ramones books have been written and it seems like a new one comes out every month. If you are a die-hard Ramones fan, this is the ONLY book you need. Monte was with them from the beginning to the end and was partly responsible for making them the best touring band ever. He tells it like it was, and it is a fascinating read. Buy the book!

This is the best book on The Ramones, period. I absolutely loved it!! The pictures are so cool and the stories are even better. I recommend this book to anyone who loves The Ramones. Great purchase.

This book is a GREAT read for any Ramones fan, but it was very heartbreaking in the end to see how "the remaining band members" treated Joey at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction. I only wish Joey's mom and brother would have stepped up on stage to accept that award for Joey. He indeed was the most kind hearted soul and he deserved more recognition then what he got that night. May he rest in peace.

It was said a while back that Larry Fine was the best *actor* of the team. For the casual fan, that statement might bring as big a laugh as any of Curly's antics. But an objective look beyond the thrashing, poking, slamming, and general mania, and into this performers' technique, just might cause one to remark: he was pretty good...too bad he didn't do more...too bad some of the scripts were poor.
This book won't get into the art of low-brow or slapstick as a legitimate genre in movies. It's an over-all appreciation of that Stooge who was dumber than Moe but smarter than Curly or Shemp or Joe or Curly Joe. He truly was the center of gravity for guys who spent alot of time spinning out of control.
It's duly noted that a disproportionate amount of material relates to the '60s/'70s - but we should be sensitive that perhaps alot of detail comes from a man recovering from an illness and in his early 70s.
I would have really appreciated alot more stuff on the Curly era, and not just 1932 to 1947: as I understand it, Larry was the first person to write that a second, post-retirement Curly cameo was filmed (for "Malice In The Palace") but never used. Of course, this book is about Larry, not the most popular Stooge, but such information should be a chapter unto itself! Were there serious plans for "The Four Stooges"?
I guess I'll have to remain mystified that there seems to be zero interest in this footage.
This book has alot of rare photos and behind the scenes memorabilia, but in spots there are too many mixed mediums at work. Also, and it's not a big point, but the cover photo is ludicrous. The book's about Larry Fine and he is positioned beneath two other Stooges. How about a center shot of the "Stooge in the middle" - not below - and have a full set of Stooge images in a halo effect?

I thought this was an excellent book. It was well written and a lot of great pictures in the book. One criticism that I heard was that a lot of the information was recent information with Curly Joe DeRita ... and it is true... there is a lot of information on this and all their speaking engagements in the sixties... but that is OK, that is what the author knew about and what the people the author interviewed knew about .... the Curly and Shemp information has all been said, not much more can come out of them. A lot of the people that knew them are all dead... hence the detailed description of the stooges in 50's thru mid 70's... The book is well worth reading.

It's about time a book was written on Larry Fine. Without a doubt the "glue" of the Three Stooges, and possibly my favorite stooge, he finally gets his story in print. I enjoyed the book and was surprised at facts that I didn't know about the Three Stooges, and I know a lot.

I highly recommend this book.

I just finished reading One Fine Stooge and found it to be very interesting. It truly covers the Stooges' entire career with a focus on the Stooge in the middle, Larry Fine. His story is often melancholy, but he seems to have enjoyed his life and success. The book is poorly laid out with sidebars regularly interrupting the flow of the book and often retelling content found in the body of the work, but it covers a lot of ground and seems to be a good history. I found it worth my time and would recommend it to anyone with a particular interest in classic Hollywood comedy and history.

This book does an absolutely marvelous job at delving into the life of Larry Fine, finally going beyond old urban myths, stereotypes, and the general perception that he was just the Stooge in the middle, some guy who got lucky but who wasn't as accomplished or funny as his partners. His character truly comes to life in this book, starting in his childhood days in Philadelphia, going to his early days in vaudeville with his future wife Mabel and her sister Loretta, to his 25 years of making shorts at Columbia, to the unexpected revival and mass popularity the Stooges received in the late Fifties and through the Sixties (when unfortunately they had to seriously tone down their trademark violent antics to please the parents of the children they were being almost exclusively marketed to), and finally to Larry's final years in the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, after he'd had a stroke. Though some sections of the book do read like a standard bio of the Stooges, only with the emphasis on Larry, the majority of the book goes so much deeper. There are so many stories that have never been written about before or which most people don't know about, such as Larry's deep love of his wife Mabel, a woman whom he continued to adore and stick by even through her alcoholism in her later years, his love of his children Phyllis and Johnny, the story of how he met a little blind boy backstage after a show in the Sixties and got really choked up by the encounter, his relationship with his hairdresser and her husband in his final years, how he found out Shemp had passed away, his relationships with the other Stooges, and even the point of view that Ted Healy, the Stooges' founder and original straightman, might not have been murdered at all but died from other causes and only coincidentally happened to die shortly after receiving a brutal beating. There are also lots of great pictures and mementos, some of them very personal and touching, such as Larry's handwritten letters to young fans, get-well cards young fans sent to him, pictures of him with his children, and the hand-written calendar he made for his daughter Phyllis to let her know when he'd be coming home from the road. There are so many sweet things about this lattermost memento, really showing what a nice sweet guy Larry was, and what a devoted family man. It's really touching to read about how in real life the Stooges were quite the opposite of their screen characters.

The only shortcoming I can find with the book is that it does seem to be a bit skewered towards the Stooges in the DeRita era. That chapter is by far longer than either of the chapters on Larry's life as a Stooge when he was working with Curly and Shemp. It might have been their most financially successful and popular period, but how many fans today seriously consider that their best and most memorable work? To put it mildly, I'm not exactly a big fan of the watered-down non-violent child-friendly latter-day Stooges, though I am of course happy that Larry and Moe lived long enough to finally start making serious money and to get the respect they deserved. And while the cover photo is really beautiful, looking as though it were taken yesterday instead of decades ago, I'm not happy that DeRita is the third Stooge on it. I'd bet almost anything that the infamous Comedy III is behind that one. It should have been Curly or Shemp, and everyone else knows that! Still, in spite of how the book does lean a bit more heavily towards the Stooges' latter-day career instead of their classic glory days, and the illogical choice of the third Stooge on the cover, it's a great book, with a lot of great information about a truly underrated comedian and a truly great man.