United States Books

I was lounging around at my grandparents house and saw this book on a bookshelf in one of the old rooms that nobody ever goes in anymore. I picked it up, and out of curiosity at the title, decided to read the first page...I must have sat there for HOURS reading! It is so hilarious (and at times not so hilarious.) It is also incredibly insightful. I just finished reading it today (I started 2 days ago) and have demanded that all my other 19 and 20 yr. old friends read it...it's THAT good, and still a great book even now in 2002, and even for us kids who weren't even alive until the 1980s! READ THIS BOOK!!!

I was very young when I read this book, still in grade school. While I admit, much of the rhetoric and philosophies concerning the sexual revolution were indeed lost to me, being that I was so young; I took with me, unto adulthood the humor and witty excerpts, which are indeed both so simple and clever. Years later, I still make references to this book; whether I regard it in terms of how it introduced/helped me, personally examine and evolve my ideas of sexuality or how much it still makes sense, it is a classic work of art. Read this book!!

Those who Get It should be printing up and handing out this book like Gideons. Every home should have one. Allan Sherman succeeds, as very few authors have, in laying out the terms and conditions of our domestication, and exhibiting nakedly the sad state of slavery under whose shadow we furtively fornicate. This is a hilarious book, which is a symptom of the wisdom it contains. In order to unravel the mystery of how the Sixth Pleasure got so screwed up that a sexual revolution was necessary, Sherman disentangles threads of politics, religion, and culture, all with a light touch and human sympathy. There is no other book that you need more urgently to read.

I'm just about finished with this book, it is absolutley the funniest book I have ever read. His detailed history of the "corruption" of our minds starting with the dawn of man is wonderful. The only tragedy to this book is that he isn't alive now to see how things have progressed since 1973. . .

It is an absolute must-read.

While Allan Sherman's musical offerings are witty and fun, this book is one of the most amazing documents ever published. Like most of the other folks here, I first read it when I was young (16) and have bought and lost (as loaners) several copies. I found a hardcover in a used bookstore about ten years ago and will never let it leave my house now, as replacement copies are amazingly expensive and hard to come by.

I consider it the funniest book ever written, and this comes from someone who absolutely adores Twain, so take that as extremely high praise.

A young girl tries to survive the California Gold Rush after her mother dies in a ship accident and her father decides to head for California. Some harrowing experiences follow, like being left at camp for weeks at a time with her sister as her father digs for gold, a man is killed and the desire for gold seems to overtake everyone.

I would recommend this book to girls who like journal style writing. Kristiana Gregory writes this book as the main character, Suzanna's, diary. She uses the elements of suspense and surprise to hold your attention; including how, when, and where Suzanna and Clara's mother died. I learned a lot from this book about the Gold Rush. I learned what gold fever was and how some men became thieves because of it. If you want to learn more about the Gold Rush and you like surprises then you should definitely read this book.

I am a huge fan of all the Dear America books. The Gold Rush is really cool and this book made me feel like I was there. This story is about a young girl who leaves her home to go and live with relatives. On the way her father gets gold fever, so they head out west. I really enjoyed reading about Susanna and all her many adventures

This book is the most fantastic book I have ever read! Susanna(the main charecter of this book)a girl who has no mom, a father who is a doctor in the Gold Rush, a bossy older sister, and who gets merried at the age of 15. She is always getting into trouble during the Gold Rush, But Wait! I don't want to spoil the whole story! I want you to read it yourself. I love this story more than anything ! Please consider this amazing book!

If your like me loving the past than you should read this book. It's about a girl and her father is a minner so they have to go differnet places so he can find work. At some parts it's hard for her and her sister. I SAY YOU SHOULD READ IT!!!

I loved each and every story in this book. They are very enlightening and gives you a sense of how relationships are supposed to be and how to live a fulfilling life

I loved this book! It is absolutely wonderful..I can't put it down.Every short story is a page turner and I've learned so much through reading her books! I highly recommend this book!

This was a nice read, but not good for a book club discussion. The book includes some awesome stories that makes you feel good about love. The only thing we didn't like was that all of the stories were written in another (older) time period. It would have been good if the stories could have reflected modern times.

loved this and bascilly all of her books! Once I get started I read them till I am finished, nonstop.

Sometimes even your best friend hesitates to tell you when she/he knows you're playin' a fool, but in this book of rollicking stories, you may see yourself in a few, and Ms. Cooper will be your new best friend for pointing things out to you. Even after 20+ years of marriage, I could still find useful insights ("wake up, girl!") into life, love, and perseverance. You can sink real low, but nobody can KEEP you there but yourself. Ms. Cooper gives literary voice to a large number of African American women, and her writing is as meaningful (and maybe more so) to those who are not African American women.

In this first novel of the Quilt trilogy Rinaldi introduces readers to a gentle, compassionate 6-year-old protagonist, Hannah Chelmsford of Salem, Ma. The Revolutionary War has ended; the former colonists are moving West--to the wild frontier of Kentucky where the relations between the Shawnee and Americans are becoming strained, resulting in hostilities on both sides. Back in civilized New England the Chelmsford household, ruled by a domineering patriarch, is in turmoil as a result of secret grudges gradually coming to the fore. Since the death of their mother two sons and three daughters have struggled with self-esteem issues, emotional survival and guilt about the past.

Despite this it remains Hannah's cherished dream to create a family quilt--thereby reconnecting the broken threads of her parents' and sibling's lives. Her request for fabric scraps from some of her friends sparks resentment from her irascible father. This tyrannical man seems to hate his youngest, 12-year-old Cabot, yet he favors his willful, odd-eyed daughter, Thankful over her sisters. In fact Chelsmford blames Hannah, mistress of this dysfunctional family at a tender age, for conniving with Abby's elopement to her Southern beau, and later for urging that he bring Thankful with him on his journey West.

Uneasy whispers about her maligned mother's past creep gradually into the open, as Hannah faces serious challenges: to stitch her own portion of the Quilt, to effect reforms at her father's new textile mill, and to monitor her confused young heart's yearnings between Louis, a lost love now on the frontier, and for Richard, a childhood friend and protector, now a sea captain. This loyal and devoted daughter yearns for peace within her tortured family, secretly dreaming to somehow repair cruel damage done in the painful past. Will she ever achieve freedom from her father's insidious control, whose financial manipulation controls even her fiancé? The carefully-crafted plot is cleverly layered onto an historical setting which includes details about Yankee shipping, the textile industry, and how the near West was won. Makes readers want to continue with the next book to learn how long Hannah must wait.

"Look in your heart. What's there?"
"What's there is trying to keep my family together. Trying to heal the rift in my family. It seems like all my life, I've been trying to make sense of it, to piece it all together."
"Like the quilt?"
"Yes, like the quilt."

Hannah Chelmsford has to hold her family together. That is why she has never been able leave her father's house, to find a separate life for herself. She has become aware of the fact that her family is painfully broken, that there is an undercurrent of secrets and anger in her house, and that she, who has been the one to take care of her brothers and sisters since her mother's death, has to hold all the pieces of her family together, like the many pieces of a quilt.

Set in the post revolutionary war era, A Stitch in Time is very opulent story, abundant with human feelings. Hannah's family has long struggled under a heavy secret, a secret that destroyed her parents marriage and even now seems to be tearing apart her family. Hannah and her two sisters, Abby and Thankful, are making a quilt. At first, only pieces for family are going to be put into it, but they decide to add people who have meant something in their life, those whom they trust. When events tear the sisters far apart, their parts of the quilt link them together, and Hannah hopes that some day the quilt will bring them together again.

I love how Ann Rinaldi weaves so much into the story, which I couldn't put down until I had turned the last page. Nathan Chelmsford, Hannah's father, is distant, cold, indifferent, overbearing. He refuses to allow Hannah and Abby marry the men they wish. He is cold and indifferent to Lawrence, because he wishes to paint rather than become a merchant. He is cruel and hardhearted to poor Cabot, whom he seems to hate beyond all things. To Thankful, the only child to inherit his one blue and one green eye, he places all his fatherly love, seeing her as his only perfect child.

Abby elopes with a young Southerner. Lawrence, Hannah's older brother, goes west with their father and Thankful, where he hopes to paint the Indians. Guilt and anxiety plague Hannah, who fears for Thankful's safety. But what could she do, when spiteful and vindictive Thankful threatened Abby's happiness if she was not allowed to go west with her father?

Louis, a young man Hannah was once engaged to, shows up at her door, asking her to take in a half-Indian baby, Louis' child, whose mother was killed by Kentuckians during a raid on a Shawnee village. Can Hannah take the baby for Louis, when there will be danger both to her and the baby in Salem? Many of the townspeople have loved ones in the west, loved ones who are in constant peril from the Shawnee Indians . . . What if they take out their anger and fear on the baby?

And Richard Lander. Hannah's good friend since childhood. Already, he has asked her to marry her twice, once when she was four and he was ten. She has such confused feelings for him, especially when rumors spread about the mysterious destination of his ship, which only his investors, his crew, and he himself know. Can she learn to trust him, and to place her heart in his hands?

This is the first book by Ann Rinaldi that I have read, but I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading the two other books in the Quilt Trilogy, Broken Days and The Blue Door. I think anyone who enjoys historical fiction would love this story, which gives a very accurate depiction of the post revolutionary war era in Salem, Massachusetts, and the kind of life the townspeople would live during that time. This is definitely a book better suited to teenagers than younger readers, because it deals with some mature and serious subjects.

The story of a rich New England family in the post revolutionary war era. It centers around three sisters who are beginning a quilt together. Only people who have touched their lives will contribute a piece of fabric to the quilt. The sisters seperate but you realize the families will be reunited in books later in the series. This novel seemed more contrived than most of Rinaldi's novels but still thrilling. Worth a read but if you haven't yet become a Rinaldi fan I would recommend Cast Two Shadows or A Break with Charity first.

I LOVED this book as it says in the title its the perfect book. I first found it when my school librarian reccommended it for a trip i was taking at first i was skeptical i mean come on "The Quilt Trilogies" where do u get a name like that? when i picked it up BOY did i feel stupid! I couldnt put it down and was really really upset when i finished it (i wanted more about Hannah and Richard!:( ) i had to wait 2 days to go to the library to get broken days i was disappointed with it it wasnt nearly as good as A stitch in time to me at least id reccommend A Stitch in Time to any one who can read not just historical fiction readers btw from how she describes him - if he didnt have long hair Richard sounds kinda hott!!!

This book was great! WOW! To tell you the truth, it wasn't one of the best Ann Rinaldi books I've ever read, but hey, it passes. Fifteen year-old Hannah Chelmsford has a mixed up life: a seperated family we could call it. Her father is a mean old man who won't allow either Hannah or Abby(his oldest daughters) to marry who they wish, he won't let his son Lawrence marry or paint, and his youngest son he hates beyond all things. Thankful is his favorite, and the only "perfect" Chelmsford in her father's eyes. Well, Hannah's mother is dead, and she takes it as her job to hold the family together. She even starts on a quilt with her two sisters. They each have a cloth, and patch together peices of people they love and trust in their lives. When her youngest brother, Cabot, runs off to sea, a secret about their mother is revealed, and Hannah finds her true love, Richard. Later in the story, we find out that when father, Lawrence, and Thankful were on their trip west, Thankful is taken by Indians. Read this to find out the rest...it's great!

This book was SO good. It is one of the best queer spiritual journeys I've ever read. Sara Miles is unpretentious and honest, and I think she captures the spiritual dilemmas that so many of us face right now.
If you are struggling with your spiritual journey and chafe against old names and categories, this book will change your life. I think it's going to be a very influential text.
Oh, and it's a fabulous read! I couldn't put it down.

Take This Bread: A Radical ConversionThis book is a must read for anyone interested in understanding the community of food! Sara Miles is a writer and was an athiest who came to understand the role of sharing a meal in building community. After a varied career of cooking in restaurant kitchens and serving as an activist in poverty stricken and war torn countries, she comes home to a radical conversion resulting from the simple words: "Take this bread" said to her at a service of Holy Communion. Her conversion leads to growth in understaning the community that God intends for all humankind. Along the way, she is drawn into the community afforded by a food pantry program she starts at her newly found church community.

Its all about the human hunger for belonging and for the meaning that comes from sharing food!

A wonderful book and a quick read!

Sara Miles' book "Take This Bread" is a perfect read for our times. Her realization that feeding others is an ultimate act of goodness came during a worship service. But the real story is what she did next. She went out from that church and created a feeding program when others said it couldn't be done. Then she helped others create feeding programs. I have recommended the book to people of different faiths and political views. They all love it. And even more, they have been inspired to get involved in helping the hungry. The new paperback version contains a Readers' Guide - perfect for book groups.

take this bread is one of the best left-of-center spiritual memoirs i've read, ever.

sara miles is a self-described liberal, an intellectual journalist who spent much of her life covering wars from the side of the oppressed (often in stark contrast to u.s. policy). she grew up in a staunchly athiest home (though both of her parents were children of missionaries, which ends up playing into her story in surprising and deeply satisfying ways), and was, as she says, the last person her friends would have expected to start talking about jesus.

sara walked into a san francisco church one day -- called, one might way; compelled, she wasn't sure why -- and took the eucharist. and something clicked, in that moment. she had an encounter with jesus that she was never able to dismiss or shake off. eventually, her connection with jesus became a compelling call to feed others, as she was fed. sara started a food pantry, literally ON the alter of her extremely nervous church. the book walks through her multiple conversions, and those of the people around her, many of them already professed christians.

the comparisons to anne lamott are easy (especially to anne's first spiritual memoir, traveling mercies). both are brilliant with words; both are liberals from san francisco, who grew up in book-loving, athiest, intellectual homes; both are liberal in every sense of the word; and both are deeply in love with jesus and passionate about following his lead. this -- i think -- is what seperates both anne and sara from classical liberals, who spent a good deal of their time distancing themselves from jesus.

but sara miles and anne lammott are not the same. sara doesn't have annie's wit, which, while i absolutely adore annie's wit, makes this book somewhat more compelling, and a bit less like a collection of witty, liberal, jesus-y essays. if annie's "theme" is her self-loathing and insecurity, sara's strong-willed theme is: food. food weaves its way through every chapter of the book: from her childhood, to her experiences as a chef in new york, to her connections with people in the third world, to her intitial and ongoing experience with jesus, to her establishment of one, then many, food pantries. it's hard not to read this book and not simultaneously hanker for a chunk of some cheese you can't pronounce, and want to give that cheese to someone who wouldn't otherwise experience their next meal.

wonderful, wonderful reading. challenging at points. highly edible. deeply nourishing.

I love reading about converts to the Episcopal Church, I am one myself. The more unusual the story, the more it interests me and Miles' story fits that bill. Although I found some things about her puzzling- for instance: she calls herself "lesbian" but has an affair with a man (Huh?!) and then she seems to think that getting pregnant in the middle of a war was a good idea (What?!), I thought her life was fascinating. She is also admirable for starting the food pantry, and for linking food to ministry and to communion- the Body of Christ. The analogy is excellent. It also shows how a church can be so open and welcoming to all people from all walks of life, and although not intended as an ad for the Episcopal Church, it sure serves as great publicity!

Any person who signs will probably agree that facial expression is a very intregal part of deaf communication...the photographs in this book absolutely excel in that area. Very informative texts preface the images sections and accompanying information on each page (handshape, position, movement, visualizations...) is very well done and is appropriately relevant. Even though I still can hear almost normally with hearing aids, I am attempting to learn ASL as an alternate means of communication, and although I do have other reference material I can use, this book is always the one I choose. If you want more 'bang for your buck' this is the one to go with!

This is a great Book! We used this book in a sign language class I took. It is easy to read and understand. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to talk to the deaf or hard of hearing.

This book covers numerous "word groupings" in 17 chapters. Some of these groupings include, "Days of the Week & Time"; "School & Education"; "Descriptions,Thoughts& Emotions"; "The body& Health"; "Mealtime& Food"; "Home&Clothing"; "Numbers,Math Terms,Quantity &Money"; "Pronouns,People&Relationships"; "Actions"; as well as many more.
I especially like this book for the photographic illustrations. So far this is the only ASL book I have found with photographic illustrations.

With each word there are specific instructions for the proper hand shape, position, and movement to go with each sign as well as a visual reminder for memory. At the bottom of each page there is a photographic guide as a visual reminder of all the proper hand shapes that are used in all the signs for that particular page.

I would highly recommend this book for any with the desire to learn Sign Language.

This book was a required text for a Sign Language I course. The pictures are very clear, it gives good description of hand shape, location and movement. I really like that it gives a hint of how to visualize each sign, it makes it much easier to remember.

The book "Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes" is a great book for people wanting to start learning sign language. The photographs of the signs are very clear. I especially like the additional material throughout the book about Deaf Culture and history. I recommend this book and enjoyed reading it even though I have been a student of sign language for 5 years.

Torpedo Junction is a very educational and interesting book about German submarines destroying numerous ships and their cargos and many deaths. It is historically accurate and enlightening. Once you start this book, it is difficult to put down.

I recommended it to anyone interested in history, WWII and what happened on the East Coast of the U.S., particularly from New Jersey to North Carolina.

The U-boat war off America's coast "Operation Drumbeat" was merely one of Germany's U-boat operations. This book is an interesting read. I, like others, wasn't aware of the magnitude of U-boat operations off America's coast. It's a great account. It's limited to that operation. There's hardly anything beyond Operation Drumbeat...but that was the book's intent. It's a good account.

Ultimately how good I like a book is if I'm committed to finish it. Torpedo Junction by Homer Hickman is a book I had to finish, but I was so interested in what it revealed I hardly wanted it to end. Many factors were at work here. First, Mr. Hickman's writing is so clear and linear that it belies the painstaking research such an easy to read factual narrative requires. Thank you Mr. Hickman for doing the work so I could both be reviled and astonished!

This little known yet very tragic part of World War II played out right at our doorstep. Because of Japan's audacity to hit us with one massive surprise salvo the even more insideous U-Boat war on the U.S. coastline played out largely unknown to the general public. For months that seemed to drag on and on the Germans sank boat after boat after boat. Maybe for our protection or maybe because we couldn't quite get a handle on how to stop the German U-Boat threat the mounting damage was kept quiet. It was a tremendous tragedy which caused great loss of life as well as massive destruction of resources. With Torpedo Junction we can finally see how close to home death truly came. Also, we get to know the true courage of those who protected our home shores so we could both support the war effort as well as keep that all important semblance of a "normal life" at home. To know the facts surrounding the North Atlantic U-Boat war helps to rectify those long years of not talking about it.

I recommend this book as both educational and entertaining. As with Rocket Boys I was pulled inside a time and place as if I was there. Storytelling really doesn't get better than this.

As the U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Dione's lead soundman during period of Hickman's book I can attest that he did a wonderful job telling our story about some real hazardous duty. Homer's collaboration with our Radioman 1st, Swede Larson really paints the futility and danger of our sub chasing before and after convoys. I'm so glad Homer wrote about us. Now maybe we won't be forgotten.

Reads like a Clancy thriller. I recommend this book along with Michael Gannon's "Operation Drumbeat" so one can understand the havoc wreaked by German U boats along the Eastern seaboard against totally unprepared and in many cases complacent ships in the early days of World War II.

This book is awesome! If you have a child that receives special education services you NEED this book!! This book is full of the answers I have been looking for, for the last 4 years.I have read it twice and will read it again. This is an easy read it is broken down into 5 sections that everyone can understand. My favorite is section #3 The Parent as Expert. I used this section along with the others to get my son ESY services and 1:1 reading remediation.

Here is my success story, thanks to the knowledge I gained from this book......

I read section 3 while attending the Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy 2 day Boot Camp .When I got home I looked through my son's file and found 2 woodcock reading mastery test. I immediately requested a meeting with the school and requested that they give him another one this year, and give me the results before our Annual Review Meeting in May.

Well, I got the results and used power point as the book suggested and designed a graph using the Standard Scores from the test. I was not sure what cluster score they used to determine regression so I did one for each of them. In our Annual Review meeting they started talking about how well my son has done and how much progress he has made this year.( I knew what was coming next because it is the same thing they have said for the last 3 years, almost verbatim) Well before they said he did not qualify for Extended School Year Services (ESY) I asked them to explain how it all worked and what cluster score they used to make these determinations; so they explained it to me. I then pulled out my graph and said " well I had to put it in a graph because I am such a visual person and this data is so confusing and It just looks like a bunch of numbers etc etc....but what you explained to me is that we use this cluster and when I plugged in that Standard Score he has really show significant regression not progress like you were just saying. They said, "well now that we see it like that we see what you are saying, it has never been presented with that sort of twist to us before."

Well, he will be receiving ESY this year,using an Orton-Gillingham based program. I just got the Notice of Conference Decision copy in the mail and I found this statement quite amusing....

" The school presented data that indicated (child's name)did not qualify for extended year services. Mrs. Graves presented data that showed (child's name) has not made significant gains in reading during this school year and is thus further delayed by his grade placement than he was last year. The committee agreed to accept this conclusion and provide summer services."

Knowledge is truly power, This book along with the Wrightslaw Special Education Law and advocacy Boot Camp helped me get my son the help he has needed for the past 4 years!

As if being confronted with the diagnosis of a learning or developmental disability in your child wasn't stressful enough, upon diagnosis and classification, a parent is thrown into the ocean that is special education and the bureaucratic nightmare that goes along with it. This book is a treasure trove of strategies - everything from managing your paperwork to managing your emotions with respect to special education is covered. "The best way to avoid due process is to assume and prepare for due process" and "treat your relationship with the school personnel as a marriage with no possibility of divorce" are two of the most powerful "Wrightisms" I came away with and have served us well in advocating for our children with autism.

If you have the opportunity to attend a Wrightslaw boot camp in your area, bypass the purchase of this book and wait until you attend the conference - this book is often included in the conference fees.

Very simplistic language makes this a good primer for parents new to special education. For those with some experience, I found this book to be too rudimentary. However, I will lend it to parents of children just diagnosed.

This book is a wonderful asset for parents who are advocating for their kids. Many times I have let my emotions control my dealings with the school and this book explains why that is detrimental to your childs education.

FETA will help you understand why it is so critical to control your emotions and use them as a source of energy.

Chapter 5 explains obstacles that parents encounter (misinformation, school culture, etc) and how to overcome. It gives examples of several personality types and strategies for dealing with them.

Chapter 6 is about resolving conflicts with the school. It acknowledges the frustration many parents feel and gives you excellent advice on the best way to handle yourself. It describes common reasons for conflict and recommends solutions.

The other chapters are just as wonderful. I cannot say enough good about this book. It has saved me from much embarrassment with my child's school - since I am a bit outspoken (understatement!)

The book also discusses the importance of record keeping. It details how to create a file for your child, obtain confidential school records under the FERPA act, the importance of effective letter writing ("Letter to the Stranger") and it even has sample letters in the appendix.

I have an autistic son and this book has been my savior. It is a must have for anyone entering into the "world" of special needs. I have many other books but I constantly refer to this book in the end. It walks you step-by-step on how to write letters requesting information from your child's school and provides templates for many other well written letters you may need to use.

This book is not a complicated read..it reads fast and is easily understandable. I bought the Wrights Law book also and was able to read this book and refer to the Law book at the same time. As you delve into the special education system you will want to get books that help you write more complex IEP goals..but trust me you will be digging into your stack of books reaching for this book over and over again

A little background: I grew up in Central Illinois, and began watching "All Star Wrestling" on Saturday mornings. I would see these bulky bruisers like Nick Bockwinkle and "Da Crusher!", and really thought this stuff was real.

Then, out of nowhere, came this flamboyant, trash-talking, electrifying persona called Superstar Billy Graham, with his tie-dyed tights, Elton-John rhinestone sunglasses, and the biggest, baddest, most impressive physique I'd ever seen. He was unreal, and for the next year or so, he was THE GUY to watch for during the telecasts.

Then, just as suddenly, he disappeared. Vanished. The TV wrestling went on, and I sort of lost interest, and always wondered what happened to that Superstar Billy Graham guy.

Well, read this book, and you'll find out the whole story. Being so regionalized in those days, unless you were a hard-core wrestling hound, it would have been difficult TO know what happened to him in the intervening years.

What happened to him was he moved on to the NY region, was a smash hit in the NY area, got major juice as the heel to beat, won the belt in a titanic match, held it for about a year, sold out arenas everywhere he went, and then was forced to give up the belt to a true Baby Face named Bob Backlund, (WHO???), got messed up in his head and heart, got into drugs, and became - even more quickly than he arrived - one of the saddest also-rans in the business. Never ever regaining the Superstar persona that had so electrified crowds in the mid to late 70's.

You'll find out more about Wayne Coleman than you'd ever like to know otherwise. Its a fascinating backstage view of pro wrestling in the kayfabe era, and what it was really like to be a performer in those days. You'll discover the ups and downs of steroid use/abuse, and how it prematurely depletes the body of its essential elements. You'll meet a man who gave his life to one of the strangest forms of sport/entertainment on the planet, and find out what happens when the ride is over.

Its a very telling, and really well written book. Its a very honest, personable account that makes you feel you've actually met Wayne Coleman. Its easy to see how a lot of people could really not like him, but this fascinating account of who "The Superstar" really is and was is extremely interesting and compelling. I enjoyed reading this book very much, (similar to how I felt reading Gene Simmons book on KISS.)

I don't endorse pro wrestling at all. In all honesty, its about as Satanic an expression as exists these days. But for filling in a long ago mystery of what happened to the "Superstar Billy Graham," this book does all that and more. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to know the full story of the granddaddy of all modern wrestlers.

While Mick Foley may have set a bar, he doesn't have nearly the experience and lifetime of Superstar Billy Graham. Ric Flair's book is good but it spends a great deal of time praising the WWE. Dusty Rhodes tale was bland and lacked details, a huge dissapointment.

Billy Graham's story raised the bar beyond Foley's book when he penned his memoirs. A few great elements of this book consist of him being frank about drug abuse, including steroids and doesn't attempt to dismiss their deadly long lasting effects. I think Graham realized while he was writing this book the impact he made on professional wrestling. He was the first to jam on the mic and knew how to work a crowd-pure showman and that is the necessary part in being a successful pro wrestling. Before Hogan, The American Dream and The Nature Boy-there was Superstar!

The story is bitter sweet and sad. A Superstar of a performer that nearly died multiple times. I just hope his new life as a minister is a much easy and equally satisfying journey. Thanks Superstar for all the TV memories.

This book was outstanding from page 1, to the very last page.

Outstanding job and life story!

Superstar, a man ahead of all times!!

It's a cliche', but what a page turner. First let me say, I was a HUGE Billy Graham "mark" when I was a kid. He was the first guy that drew me in. He had such charisma. So cool. Anyway, this book is just him 100% totally pouring out his soul. He holds back nothing. Tells you absolutely everything about everyone and mostly - himself.

The stories are more heartbreaking with each page. Everything from him hearing he may only have 30 days to live when he was waiting for his kidney transplant to embarassing moments like when he ditched a cab outside of the Georgia wrestling TV studio because he didn't have the money - only for the guy to come in looking for him and then Dusty Rhodes flips out a $50 bill in front of others to Billy telling him to "pay the taxi".

What's most amazing is that he tells much of his story without heavy bitterness or anger except during his attacks on the WWF and Vince during the steroid trial - which he admits he only did to try to get some hush money from Vince since he really had NO money. It was that he really should have done more and that drugs really did wreck his life.

Wow - I could go on and on and still not give up everything in this book. It really is great. God bless the man of the hour, the man with the power - too sweet to be sour!

THIS IS THE STORY OF FORMER PRO WRESTLER SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM. HIS STORY IS TRULY AMAZING. THE AMAZING PART IS THAT HE IS STILL ALIVE. HE TELLS US OF HIS BODY BUILDING, EVANGELIST, BOUNCER AND PRO FOOTBALL CAREERS ALONG WITH HIS WRESTLING DAYS AND ADDICION TO DRUGS AND STEROIDS. I FOUND HIS STORY TO BE INTERESTING, TERRIFYING, HUMOROUS AND ABSOLUTLY RIVOTING. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS ABOUT PRO WRESTLING AND THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST. SUPERSTAR CERTAINLY DOES A GREAT JOB TELLING US HIS STORY. HE DELIVERS A POWERFUL MESSAGE ABOUT STEROIDS AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS WIFE AND GOD. A MUST READ.

There are a number of excellent reviews here with great detail and insights on this remarkable story. But I had the fortunate timing to pick up and begin reading this book as the 2008 presidential campaign was coming to a close with the resulting election of Barack Obama.

William Lloyd Garrison's vision and insistence upon not only the immediate abolition of slavery but the granting of full and equal rights and the integration and recognition of blacks as fully fledged American citizens seems astonishing for his time. At one point he even speculates that a time will come when a black man will be able to become President. We may all take that vision for granted now and it is easy to consider ourselves enlightened today; but what if we had been living in his time? How many of us would have been capable of such moral clarity in the midst of a society that was at best fundamentally indifferent and at worst implacably opposed to the emancipation of the slaves let alone full and equal rights for blacks? Garrison's motivating force came from his Protestant and fundamentalist Christianity, he put no faith in established religion or politics and he was willing to tear up the Constitution and dismember the Union to achieve a just and moral society and nation. He was considered a crackpot in his time but it seems clear now that he was that rare person ahead of his time and on the right side of history. Not only that but he had the personal willpower and relentless drive to instigate a tremendous positive change in the nation.

I am struck by how difficult it is for any of us to see the truth in the times we happen to be living in. Garrison laid bare the unfulfilled promise of the constitution and some ugly truths about American society in his day; he was vilified relentlessly, called a traitor and worse for his efforts. I will try to be less dismissive of gadfly's in the future. Someone mentioned Michael Moore in one of these reviews as a modern day Garrisonian figure, that's funny because the same thing occurred to me as I read this book. I generally detest Moore for his slovenly appearance and boorish attitude and it makes it too easy to dismiss his message entirely. Could he be a man on the right side of history (dumbed down for our modern media and times of course)? That's a scary thought but worth some consideration after reading this story.

Alternating between the silly chatter and `issues' noise of the presidential campaign on TV and then returning to the fundamental truths presented by Garrison was a startling experience for me. The book was actually more exciting and certainly more enlightening than the election campaign itself; even as this historic election is perhaps the ultimate vindication of Garrison's life work. America, always imperfect but always wonderfully dynamic. Perhaps the slogan `change' really does sum us up best.

Bad

A. The narrative pace is just awful. I don't know what it is about this book I almost didn't make it past the first 40 pages because the begining moves so slowly.
B. The idiotic "conspiracy theory" idea regarding the Texas Revolution. Someday right minded people everywhere will be able to laugh conspiracy nuts right off the street.
Good

The book has a great deal of information regarding the beginnings of an organized abolitionist movement in this country. Garrison was the focal point for this when the movement started to move beyond isolated groups of idealists and Quakers and started to be taken seriously as a genuine force for social change.

Overall-Once you get into the book it is amazing, but you have to be in the right mood to do so.

Now a book that shows two sides of slavery that all white people were not all for slavery .Like Dr.martin luther king was saying that slavery was not about black against white ,but justice againt injustice.Because if all men and women are not free then we are all in chains.Books like this one has giving us a balance look at one of america darkest sides. But men like Garrison showed us that their were men and women that were a light of hope that all men are created equal . And being a black man I must say thank you to all the blackmen and women and white men and women of the past for fighting a fight that many of us still fight for today .And that is for an opportunity to live as we were when God created us in the beginnig as, a human being thank you.

Let's just get the obvious criticisms out of they way. First, the author pretty much flat out states that The Civil War was fought only because of slavery--and in the preface! Yawn. Will I ever be able to find a Northerner who can write a book that examines both sides of the conflict? I mean southern writers do it all the time. The second problem is the assertion that the Texas Revolution was some kind of government conspiracy--from Pres. Jackson on down to Sam Houston--to perpetuate slavery and continue manifest destiny. While I'm sure some men fought for those reasons, this moronic conspiracy theory about secret government shenanigans has no basis whatsoever. In fact, I would recommend the wonderful biography, Sam Houston, by James Haley. It expertly destroys that awful line of thinking that has somehow survived all these years.

But, being from Texas, I tend to be sensitive to such things. For most people it won't matter.

I still highley recommend All On Fire, though. It is very well written and researched. But most of all, it is the only real biography on Garrison worth reading. And say what you want about the author's biases, he can't muddle the fact that Garrison was one of this country's great patriots, willing to stand up to anyone to free his fellow man. He dedicated his entire life to this noble cause--and except for a few references in some Civil War books--is largely forgotten. What a shame.

William Lloyd Garrison was a man ahead of his time. Not by years or even decades, but centuries. In the 1830s he was an outspoken proponent of not just the abolition of slavery (many advocated various ways to deal with the South's "peculiar institution"), but called for the immediate abolition of slavery with complete and full civil rights for African-Americans. He dreamed of a time when a black woman might succeed a black man as Secretary of State a decade before the Supreme Court ruled that blacks were something less than human in the infamous Dredd Scott decision. He was also an early advocate of women's rights, labor reform, temperance and civil disobedience, as well as an outspoken critic of organized religion (Garrison was what we might today call a fundamentalist "born again Christian" who recognized no formal church other than Christ's teachings).

Given Garrison's role as founding father of the abolitionist movement, his passion for the cause, longevity in leadership and terminal impact on the greatest political issue of the nineteenth century it is puzzling that he has left such an obscure historical legacy. As author Herbert Mayer notes, Martin Luther King Jr. cited Gandhi, Thoreau and the Gospel as his inspiration and motivation in the Civil Rights movement with no reference to the man whose peaceful agitation did more to eradicate bondage than any other -- and who in turn may very well have been Thoreau's inspiration in writing "Civil Disobedience."

So why the obscurity? Mayer's biography does little to address this paradox. In fact, his book makes Garrison's general absence from the mainstream of American history all the more tenebrous. The man that emerges from the pages of "All on Fire" is a moral giant, a crusader in the purest and best sense of the word, who risked -- indeed, welcomed -- verbal and physical abuse, a life of indigence and scorn, all in pursuit of a truly noble cause. Garrison grew up in New England and never traveled further south than Baltimore until after the Civil War, yet he dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery with an intensity and zeal that surpassed dissident southern whites (such as the Grimke sisters) and even some blacks that had escaped from bondage themselves. Because of his central role in establishing and leading the cause, "All on Fire" is, as the full title suggests, as much a history of the entire abolitionist movement as it is a biography of its leading agitator.

However, a close reading of "All on Fire" also reveals a hidden side of William Lloyd Garrison that Mayer, unfortunately, never fully explores: a man of extreme ambition, vanity, and conceit. Garrison fought tenaciously to keep himself at the front-and-center of the moral movement he came to regard as his own. One senses that the fame and notoriety he gained by his agitation came to mean quite a lot to him. In this sense, Garrison reminds one of a contemporary political gadfly increasingly enamored of his high-profile image: Michael Moore. Perhaps Garrison's attraction to celebrity never fully outweighed his commitment to the ultimate prize of freeing three million humans from bondage, but it certainly meant more than the pious Christian in him would have liked to admit -- and certainly more than biographer Mayer is willing to concede. Again and again throughout the narrative Garrison experiences a painful and personal falling out with some of his closest friends and coadjutors: Frederick Douglas, Wendell Phillips, the Tappan brothers, etc. And time after time Mayer attributes the rift to simple misunderstandings or the result of the stress and pressure of the times. That Garrison might have been something less than the Galahad on ante-bellum America is left unexplored.

Nevertheless, for anyone with a desire to know more about America and especially to learn about a man that was once one of the most controversial and well-known figures of his century, only to sink to near anonymity, this National Book Award finalist can be highly recommended.