American Books

many books have been written about apollo
I have read more than forty
but in this one we feel the authors has been given the chance to hear directly the moonwalkers
for me it is one of the best first hand report on apollo

This book vividly paints the picture of the voyages and lives of the Apollo astronauts. It is exhaustively detailed; so much so that you often feel as if the astronauts are telling their own stories in real time. For true fans of the Apollo era this is the comprehensive story of the greatest adventure man has ever undertaken.

A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts

This is an outstanding lesson in history from the perspective of those who lived it. Having just attended Advanced Space Academy for Educators in Huntsville, Alabama and the Kennedy Space Center, Florida; this book brought the sites, history, and lessons to life.

It should be required reading for those who have forgotten what our American Spirit is all about.

This is a comprehensive book about the Apollo space program that does an exceptional job of capturing one of the most incredible times in human history. It was a time when the belief was that we could do just about anything we set our minds to.

Andrew Chaikin does an amazing job of capturing the courage, the commitment, the sacrifices, the driving motives and vision of the astronauts, supporting crews, wives and more. This 600+ page book hardly wastes a word. The book was so good it was turned into a mini series by HBO.

It is clear that Chaikin has a deep passion and respect for the space program and the people in it. He brings the truth to this writing without much dirty laundry being exposed.

This book deserves a place on any space buff's book shelf. It is also a great read for anyone interested in true life adventure of men who dared to sit on the top of rockets and go where no one had gone before. Highly recommended!

Here are a few other great books on the US space program:
Failure is not an Option - Gene Kranz
The Last Man on the Moon - Gene Cernan
The Unbroken Chain - Guenter Wendt

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space

Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond

The Unbroken Chain: Apogee Books Space Series 20 (Apogee Books Space Series)

I recently took my four year old son to KSC to see the launch of Discovery on its STS-124 mission. While I have always been one to make sure I have the TV on during a launch, I never dove much deeper than the average newspaper coverage. However, after taking the tours at KSC, a fire was ignited.
This book was the perfect fit for me. It covers every apollo mission without losing interest in the later missions. Obviously more time is spent covering Apollo's 1, 11, & 13.
Chaikin introduces the readers to many of the astronauts that while are not as well known as Armstrong, contibuted just as much, if not more to the program.
As it states in the description, the series,From the Earth to the Moon closely follows the book, but puts a more personal touch on the program while still providing enough information for the book to be used as reference for high school papers or a college thesis. It is the perfect mix of technical and entertainment. A Great Read!!

Beautiful writing. Simply one of the best books by a living author that I've read. If you have interest in great writing, baseball, or Christianity, you'll enjoy the book. If you're a fan of all three, it'll be one of your favorites.

This book is the bomb-diggity! I'd gladly trade Dickens, Tolstoy, and maybe Milton for Duncan!

What originally attracted me to this novel was a former high school classmate of mine stating that it was one of his favorite books. Being the curious individual I was, I went on Amazon and read many of the 5 star review the books receives. I ordered a copy and began to peruse. Unfortunately, the book was not just below my expectations, but I wondered why so many people appreciated a novel that was filled with two dimensional characters and overflowing with cliches that are static in almost every piece of pop culture that is set in 60's-70's nostaglia (family is divided on present political issues, one son becomes a hippy, one becomes a soldier, etc.). Clearly David Duncan had a message, but it is one that has been heard repeatedly.

This is a rich, wonderful novel. Towards the end, I intended to read over lunch. One hour stretched to two, then even longer. I laughed out loud several times, and then cried. The waitress finally came over and asked, "Okay, what are you reading?! I've got to get a copy!" Everyone who loves great writing, wonderful characters and beautiful storytelling needs to get a copy. This kind of book doesn't come along every day - maybe not even every ten years. It's breathtaking.

I have purchased so many copies of this book to give to my friends and family! Some people are intimidated by its size; it is worth every page!
Baseball, family, humor, religion, 60's.....all combined with a skill that had me reading passages aloud. I gave my copy away....i will buy another.

The interplay between family members is often magical.

One of the most captivating stories I have read in years. I don't remember crying so many times whilst reading a fiction story, yet so amazing I could not put it down. Well done!
I have travelled to Molokai and seen the colony years ago, but this really made me feel I was there again and understood what was going on in such a beautiful mystic place.

I really enjoyed this book. The subject matter can be heavy at times but it's very enjoyable and characters are extrememly well-developed. I felt like I was living in the midst of them, and felt my heart being wrenched several times. I am a big fan of reading books set in the places I visit and really wish I had saved this one for my next trip to Hawaii.

Wonderful book! Poignant, inspiring. We hope to visit Molokai when we are in Hawaii next fall. A must-read!

Lately I have found I have been judging books by their ability to make me feel emotion. At first I wondered if Moloka'i could do that. This story begins with Rachel as an innocent, naive little girl, suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world separated from all that she knows and loves. Her character grows into her adult self in this world of isolation just as any young girl would. The author expertly conveys the growth of this character slowly over time.
Shame and prejudice exist all over the world, only Rachel didn't realize that she was never alone until she found her family again.
Moloka'i made me angry and made me cry. This is a wonderful story set in an unusual place and it is a must read on my list.
Linda C. Wright
Author, One Clown Short
One Clown Short

I found this to be a very good book. Very well written and a very good story line. It was very touching. I felt like I was there seeing all of this happen.I felt so sorry for this character. It shows no matter what happens in life, good can come out of it. No matter what ailments befall us, we can make it through anything if we have the right attitude. We are all survivors in some way.

Michael Yon has been covering the fighting in Iraq for years and has been all over that country. He has a solid and unique overview of what has and has not worked in Iraq.

Michael Yon doesn't pander to sides but searches for the truth. He's the first to say we screwed up in some major ways when he was first over there, but now he reveals what we're doing now that's really working and why it's working. Yes, we really are winning now, and he's a bit baffled as to why people in America don't believe it (which is probably why he wrote a book about it).

The book is vividly written. It's interesting to read and easy to follow. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone.

Michael Yon is by far the best photo journalist covering Iraq. His descriptions are heartfelt and moving. Moment of Truth is just another superb example of his excellent work.

Micheal Yon's book is exceptional. It is, in my opinion, an absolute exercise in truth telling. You will be appalled at the blindness at the top of the command structure and, perhaps as I was, brought to an occasional tear at the creativity, courage and humanity of the soldiers on the ground.

If you are interested in as close to an unbiased view of what has gone on in Iraq this book is a must read. If you want your faith restored in the absolutly incredible capabilities of our armed services this book serves that pubpose in spades.

I completed this book with a renewed sense of an already strong pride in the quality of our fighting men and women.

Yon is not an Ernie Pyle: he is objective and even-handed and has been very critical of U.S. policies and actions at times. At all times, however, he remembers that he is a U.S. citizen. He realizes that it is not possible to be "neutral" in a war in which the other side has been absolutely clear that they will kill or enslave "neutrals" if given the opportunity.

From the book: "I prefer to write what I see with my own eyes in the streets and on the battlefield, to paint a picture as intimate and rich in detail as I can, and then, as much as possible, let the reader come to his own understanding." So-called "journalists" from the major news organizations would do well to try doing the same - it's called "reporting".

"Moment of Truth in Iraq" is not military history, it is journalism - a branch of journalism that might be called "military human interest stories". The writing is much tighter than in Yon's freshman book, "Danger Close", which is more of a true-life adventure story (and a good one at that). All-in-all this is an outstanding collection. [...]

Yon is now reporting from Afghanistan.

The Soul of Wisdom

This book carves a sharp and prolific path through courage and combat, harm and heroism, tactics, strategy and diplomacy.
The spiritual transfer of courage and morality from Americans to Iraqis is at once hopeful and inspiring.
Explanations about the cross-cultural bonding and diplomatic elements of counterinsurgency are crisp and comprehensive.
Luminous vision from a book of such brevity is awesome, exciting and astonishing.
It shines a wide and very bright light.
"Brevity is the soul of wit," but it is also the soul of wisdom.

Well written from a more neutral prespective. Easy to follow narative. I have this book on my nightstand and find my self reading it when I really should be sleeping. Great Book

I, as with many -- perhaps most -- general readers particularly interested in World War II naval history, assumed there wasn't much earth-shatteringly new I could learn about the Battle of Midway. Having read most of the standard narratives, I tackled "Shattered Storm" expecting to simply gain a more detailed picture of the battle from the Japanese point of view. What I got was detailed to be sure, but rather than merely filling in gaps in my understanding, "Shattered Sword" shattered my neat assumptions of the entire campaign. That is exactly what Parshall and Tully intended.

The authors understood that most readers, from the general military history buff like me, to well-educated military historians, had a well-formed idea of what happened preceding, during and after the conflict, why and how it turned out as it did, and its impact on future campaigns -- indeed on the outcome of the Pacific War as a whole. Much of what we knew about Midway, they came to believe, was essentially based on a lie, subsequently perpetuated by lazy scholarship. They felt that the seminal work on Midway from the Japanese perspective, Fuchida's "Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan" (which I have not read -- yet) was a self-serving attempt to deflect blame, which for a variety of reasons, was ever after accepted at face-value by Western researchers and writers.

I personally believe most "revisionist" history is a close-cousin of UFO exposes and conspiracy theories, little more than whining or axe-grinding. Tully and Parshall avoid this trap. Their argument is that the standard picture of Midway is flawed simply because most writers on the subject simply stuck to the previously written script without doing the obviously difficult work involved in scouring and interpreting the Japanese primary sources. They set about carefully reconstructing the battle from the perspective of what the IJN was in 1942 vs. what the dimming mists of time lead us to think it was.

Approaching "Shattered Sword" felt daunting at first. I'm not a historian or a journalist -- my formal education ended with nursing school. I feared this hefty book might be too dense to wade through, but my fears were unfounded. Tully and Parshall write with a relaxed, easy narrative style, wonderfully free of the cant that so often intimidates general readers. They managed to explain technical details and arcane doctrine in a way that was easy to understand without being patronizing. They did not lose sight of the fact that, under it all, they were telling a story, one where most readers already knew the outcome, and had well-formed ideas of who the "good guys" and "bad guys" were. They managed to keep me riveted, while eliciting a measure of, if not sympathy, then empathy for the other side. They presented the facts to bck up their argument within the context of the narrative, so it flowed smoothly within the framework of their underlying story. In the end, they concisely wrapped up the facts and laid out the reasoning behind the conclusions they drew. They offered up a perspective I had not yet seen, and they articulated some nebulous ideas that had been floating around my understanding of Midway and the Pacific War. The graphics they used to bolster their arguments were clear, pertinent and enlightening.

In summary, I found this book persuasive, clear, well-organized, thoughtful (and thought-provoking), and above all entertaining. While I wouldn't recommend it to a reader with no more than a passing interest in World War II history, or to a reader who doesn't have a basic understanding of the Battle of Midway, I would highly recommend it on so many different levels to anyone with a genuine interest in the history of the war in the Pacific. I would urge those who do select this book to read it with an open mind. Certainly one of the most interesting books on the Pacific war I've yet read. I wish Tully and Parshall would put their collaborative writing/researching skills together again for a fresh look at Midway from the American perspective.

A very carefully researched and written account of the events leading up to and during the Battle of Midway from both sides. Reading this book almost puts one back in time and part of the story. This is an exceptional book to read that has a refreshing new perspective on a great story that by many accounts was a complex set events that is explained in a way that no other book has done.

Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully have put together a complete revision of the Battle of Midway. Using many Japanese sources we find out the underlying truth of this battle.
I have not read Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway and I cannot comment on his errors or omissions. However, in reading Shattered Sword, I learned a great deal of the mindset of the Imperial Navy of Japan in 1942. It is a fact that Japan's hubris made for the unexplained lack of professionalism in their actions of their offensive on Midway. Yamamoto's battle plan was flawed, he assumed the Americans were mentally beaten at this point in time.
As pointed out in this book and which is widely known even before the writing of Shattered Sword is that the United States had broken the Japanese code. It is fact that they knew the location of the Japanese attack.
However the battle was not won on this fact alone. What Parshall and Tully have done is to examine the points of the Japanese failures and they were many. They sent out their reconnaissance planes much too late to spot American carrier activities. They also made the cardinal sin of sending out all their planes and leaving their carriers unprotected.
At this time the Japanese were in command and were pushing forward to deal the decisive blow. They indeed failed. Japan in fact seemed to think of themselves as infallible. Even in their training exercises they created predictable scenarios in which their school solutions were indeed winners.
In fact Midway never became the ultimate solution. As Midway faded into American victory, the sun was beginning to set on the land of the rising sun.
As Parshall and Tully concluded, in reality even if America did lose Midway, it would have been unlikely that Japan would have prevailed. In conclusion the industrial might of America would have won out. All destroyed carriers and planes would have been replaced. America's fate was indeed to win the war in the Pacific. That was obvious to a real student of history even on December 7, 1941.
Great read, thoroughly researched with great photographs and diagrams. Five Stars, no problem!!

Shattered Sword by Parshall and Tully is simply breathtaking, the most thoroughly researched and lucidly thought out history of an event that I have ever read. Setting out to tell the story of Midway primarily from the Japanese side they have created the new standard of that crucial battle in the dark days of 1942 that shines as an example of scholarly effort without parallel.

First these authors clearly did their homework, and to say that they explore the battle in the utmost would be an understatement. Setting the stage for the battle with germane explanations of the geopolitical, then strategic, and then operational backdrops that led up to 4-5 June 1942 the authors then delve into the battle wielding an awesome array of salient information ranging from the psychological makeup of the senior Japanese commanders on the scene, to Japanese naval doctrine of the time, to the naval architecture of the four Japanese flat tops, to how many bomb carts each carrier had (and are thus able to derive such details as the quickest possible practical TIME, down to the minute, it could have taken to re-arm waiting dive bombers and torpedo planes in the hangar bay) to even the names of individual Japanese pilots in the CAP and when they were launched. What emerges is a picture of the battle in toto, grounded in a thorough understanding of the pacific campaign and the entire war itself, aided by a completely fresh and unbiased look (which subsequently shatters many myths about the battle) and delivers not just the most accurate picture of what happened and why during the fighting, but also what it meant in the larger scheme of how the rest of the war was fought and ultimately won (or lost by the Japanese). This is truly the stuff history is supposed to be about.

What is better yet is that the book, in a surprising cut against the grain for pieces written by more than one author, reads both like an erudite intellectual analysis and Tom Clancy-esque action thriller. Throughout the book you are taken from the strategic and coolly logical minds of senior commanders, to white knuckle seventy degree dives in the cockpits of cascading American SBD's flying through walls of flak and marauding Japanese zeros. Later you are privy to the acts of desperate survival of Japanese engineers sweating in the asphyxiating air of the engine rooms in their carriers as the ceilings above them start literally glowing red from the heat of uncontrollable fires ravaging above and blocking their only route of possible escape.

After setting the stage of the history of the Japanese naval war in the Pacific up until the time of the battle and explaining the strategies, doctrines, and technical features (i.e. carrier air wing make up, command organizations, etc.) of both the American and Japanese navies the authors place you onboard the ships of the Kido Butai for a minute by minute account. This in depth and detailed account takes you from the moment they sortie from Hashirajima bay to their ignominous retreat mere weeks later. The writing is crisp, fast paced, and clear, conveying information, tension, emotion, and action all at the same time without compromising any of those features. Told primarily from the Japanese side it is taut and disciplined, delivering information to the readers as it came in real time to Nagumo and the staff of the Kido Butai on the cramped bridge of the Akagi and under fire, instead of giving the reader a truly "God's Eye View" of the battle. There is just enough delving into the worlds and actions of Nimitz in Pearl Harbor, Flether onboard the Yorktown, Spruance onboard the Enterprise, and several other American forces to give appropriate context and understanding, but the reader is basically experiencing what the Japanese commanders were going through. This allows the reader to truly appreciate the Clausewitzian "friction" that plagues any battle, and to understand the decisions the commanders made at the time. After the fact everything is tied together by the authors to deliver a true picture of exactly what happened each minute of the battle. The scope of the battle and the author's telling of it is enormous, covering not just the more familiar strike on Midway istelf and ensuring carrier duel, but the ordeal of survivors from each carrier as they attempted, futilely, to save their ships then abandoned them, to the harried Japanese retreat and the less familiar American attacks on the Mogami and Mikuma which ultimately led to the latter's destruction.

The book sets the record straight on many things, of which I cannot mention all. When the American dauntlesses rained down upon the Japanese carriers at 1020 however it is clear that their decks were NOT full of a strike package just moments from launching to crush TF 17, this was a myth that was propagated by Mitsuo Fuchida after the war's end for self serving purposes as well as dramatic flair. VT-8's heroic and fatally doomed torpedo attack did not draw down the Japanese CAP, instead it was just one of a series of hurried and poorly organized American attacks that virtuously threw the Japanese into confusion and left them reacting to conditions rather than shaping them. The Americans were not so outmatched as is commonly believed, but still won a glorious victory ableit against a deeply flawed plan developed by the actually bullying and overbearing Yamamoto (who was restricted from leaving Kure Naval Harbor while in Japan to visit Naval General HQ in Tokyo on fear that other resentful officers there would literally kill him.)

The lessons the authors draw from this battle are applicable even today. The Japanese primarily lost the battle, and the entire war for that matter (although for the entire war the relative industrial might of the US played a far more important role than it obviously could have in this single, early on confrontation), due to an operational rigidity born of national culture and character. This rigidity left it unable to correctly learn lessons from its past operations, anticipate future operations as well as enemy capabilities and reactions to such, and, most critically, to adapt to real world circumstances when their overly elaborate plans inevitably began to unravel against determined and unpredicted enemy actions. (The Japanese expected to face a cowed, fearful, and largely reactionary and passive US Navy at Midway, and not the aggressive and ably commanded force that Nimitz actually sortied to meet them and that guided itself on the flexible principle of calculated risk rather than dogmatic devotion to operational planning.)

I simply can not say enough good about this book. It is useful to anyone with an interest in history as an example of the heights that that discipline can reach and the edifying fruits it can bear when practiced properly, to those in the military who seek a better understanding of how war actually is fought and can be fought best, to someone who wants to read about a real world battle written with the excitement and drama of a great fiction author.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

I give major props to Ms. Brown for the excellent work she put in for this novel. The thing that grabbed me most was that this was one of the few novels that was based on the DRUGS that infected our community, but also detailed how it affected everyone involved in the DRUG life. It didnt just detail the rise and fall of a drug dealer, or the trials & tribulations of a crackhead. It viewed what it was like to be a mother of a crackhead (Jada's mom), or the daughter of a woman with low self esteem(Ava). The book involved so many characters- Sunny was a diva, but she too had her faults. This book outlined how drugs effect everyone around you. I really loved how even after Jada got herself together, she too was human and fell back into temptation only to make it to the top again.
The ending was great. I appreciated that Jada & Born didn't live together happily ever after, or that Born didn't get killed in a drive by shooting. Tracy Brown kept it real from the beggining to the end. I have read this book at least 5 times, you would never think that this book is 496 pages!

This book was an extraordinary read and definitely a page turner. Jada and Born's story are so real and I'm sure similar to a lot of people whose lives involve drugs in some way. The book involves drama, suspense, romance, action all in a story that is far from being a fairy tale and very realistic. The book offers a history of almost all of the characters and helps you understand why they became who they are. Our book club read this book for September 2008's discussion book and all of the members were unanimously blown away by it. I would and have recommended this book to any reader. I plan to read more Tracy Brown books in the future.

This is the best book that I have read in a couple of years. It is a must read. The last book that I felt this way about was Noire's G-Spot. This story is about a young woman with a broken soul that goes through the trials and tribulations of life. She goes through and loses so much in her story just to get back to the top. I cried when she started getting her life back in order. This story is so bitter sweet. It was perfect from beginning to end. I absolutely loved this book.

This novel starts out typical enough - two teenage girls hanging out with two teenage boys in a house all alone with their hormones running wild. That's where typical ends.

Jada and her sister Ava's reality is a cycle of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse brought on by their mother Edna's boyfriend. Edna chooses to blame herself and her daughters for the abuse and sets them all up for a life of pain.

Jada starts smoking weed with her friend Shante and they advance to mixing it with crack under the false impression that they wouldn't get hooked. This is the start of Jada's crack addiction.

Born is the son of Leo, a notorious hustler. Born looks up to his dad for being the most admired man in the hood and wants to be just like him. That is until Leo falls prey to crack addiction. This changes Born's outlook forever. He can't believe his dad could be so weak.

Jada and Born cross paths after she has kicked her addiction. Both are skeptical about starting a relationship but can't deny the sparks between them. When Jada finds the strength to tell Born about her past, against his better judgment Born allows Jada into his heart. The condition is that she'll never go back to crack again or it's over. Jada agrees to these terms believing that love will conquer all. The problem is, Born is a hustler and deals in the very drug that took over Jada's life. He can't watch her 24/7 and doesn't seem to realize that having crack in front of Jada is like putting food in front of a starving person and telling them not to eat it.

Born and Jada's love story is so intense it jumps off the pages. Tracy Brown does an excellent job of making you feel for the characters. You'll laugh, cry, and root for the characters to be together but just as in life everything doesn't always turn out as planned. At first glance this book may seem long but once you start reading you won't pay attention to what page you're on. The length is necessary to understand how Jada and Born's upbringing affects the choices they make and that love doesn't always conquer all. If you buy this book it will not disappoint.

THIS BOOK WAS VERY WELL WRITTEN. I ENJOYED IT FROM PAGE ONE. Although it is a long book to read, it is so well worth it. This book never got boring at all. I recommened that everyone read this book.

Everyone hears about the book you can't put down. ELIXIR, by Gary Braver,is such a book. It is one of the few thrillers I WILL read again. Chris Bacon is a trained biologist in search of medicinal plants, but returns from Papua New Guinea with the 'Fountain of Youth.' Now Braver poses some very big questions. Would living for centuries, maybe forever, be too much of a good thing? Where will everyone live if people don't die? Suppose members of families disagree? What will be the new policies? Who decides?

The author draws you in to this potentially changed world, but unfortunately some things never change. Greed, corruption, jealously, murder, all play a part in the compelling plot. This book should be a movie. Someone once said, Man is Nature's sole miatake. Braver shows us why.

A gripping bio/pharma thriller with the allure of forever young and the concequences.
Braver moves your imagination closer to reality in this fine novel.

I want another like it. Mr braver...please let us know when you are gonna write one as good as this. Does anyone else think this would make an awesome movie?!!??

I DO
Jamie

I'm the same age as the hero of the story (Chris Bacon) when he worked on producing the Elixir drug in the first half of the book. Despite his efforts and successful experiments, the drug has a terrible consequence. As I read this fast moving and thrilling story, I wondered if I would want to have Elixir available so I could live much longer than the lifespan nature has given me. Would the side effects be enough to make me fearful of taking Elixir? Would the social, environmental and moral consequences be enough? Where would all those billions and billions of people live if they didn't die? Or would the promise of staying young and never aging be too much of an attraction to ignore?

Braver doesn't just write suspenseful thrillers with good guys and bad guys in conflict with each other. He gets us to think about what can happen when something so promising and not really that far-fetched descends upon us. What will humans do to themselves and their world? Will they do the right thing? But what is the right thing? These are hard questions. Braver does not provide easy answers and we wouldn't want him to. He makes you care about the characters, think about these questions and also enjoy the ride he's taking you on. Any fiction writer capable of doing that deserves five stars and a recommendation to read his books.

Two weeks ago, I discovered a book called Flashback. It looked interesting, so I picked it up at the library. I was hooked at the first sentence. I then ran to the library where I picked up Grey Matter. I'm telling people "This man can flat out write." (That's a southern expression). I am now about to finish Gary's first Braver book: Elixir. Yes, I read them in reverse order; so, sue me.
I have become besotted with Braver's writing and I will BUY his next book, and all that follow. Hope Mr. Braver makes it soon.
I have advised all my friends, family and fellow readers to discover this fascinating writer. I mean, Robert B. Parker loves this guy!!!

I have been so fortunate to have known this show for twelve years. Now that it has ended, I will have my memories of seeing the show as well as this amazing book. I own two copies of the book and have read it front to back. Thank you Jonathan Larson and thank you to all that have made this show the great piece of musical theatre that it is. I will miss the show, but this book will stay with me forever. This book is a great thing to have for any musical lover, and I hope that RENT will change lives just as it has mine. Through this book, RENT is authentically seen and can be remembered by all

This is not just the story of RENT and its creation, but the story of it's creator as well. Jonathan Larson's story is just as moving as RENT is, and this book gives an awesome insight into the life of this amazing composer who was taken far too early. This coupled with interviews from more people than I can count makes this a highly enjoyable read. The book also includes a whole bunch of pictures one would not see anywhere else, and the libretto, so the entire experience is bundled up in this one big black book with fake duct-tape binding. It was such an enjoyable read and made me cry just as much as the show itself. No Day But Today.

This book has everything you need if you are interested in more than just the movie. The whole script is included. Interviews with the entire cast! The whole story of how rent was created, start to finish. It is worth every penny and is the only rent book you'll ever need.

An absolute necessity for any renthead. only complaint is it is written early on in the broadway run but really that is the end of the story mostly.
rent has etched itself into my psyche like a weevil. there is not a morning that i wake up that one of the songs is not in my head. i sell music and i have never came across a group of music that has had this effect on me.
perhaps the story of larson's early demise colors it and adds that extra tragic twist that keeps it inside your soul but whatever it has provided the most joyus ride into musical bliss that i have ever experienced yet.
(move over "pet sounds", "west side story", "toy matinee" & "eli & the 13th confession".
the book is laid out well, quite informative. even has comments from the pit band (who are essential).
GET THIS if you have to futher feed your rent needs.
viva la vie bohem.

I wasn't a big fan of "Rent" until I saw the movie, and when I read this book, it gave me a bigger meaning to the play/movie.

Warning: This is just for fans of "Rent". Those who haven't seen the movie will get into the story of how it was made, but not as much the screenplay.

This is my favorite from Keisha Ervin. I loved these characters, felt the pain and the love. Loved "Mo" and "Quan"..but "Boss"...oh yea...GREAT BOOK!!!

I found myself dreaming about this book after I read it at night! This is the first book that I have read by her and since I have gone out and copped all other's written by Ms. Ervin. An excllent story teller. I felt like this was a true story. It is my true story and so many other young couples who are or have gone through this! It not esay to walk away from what's familiar even if its not good for you and Keisha captured that exactly in this book! GREAT WRITING from someone who reads all sorts of books.

I've read and loved all of Keisha's novels, but I had to force my way through this one. The story just seemed to drag and Mo was very nerve-racking. I also noticed Keisha jacked a lot of movie scenes.

You gotta love Keisha Ervin for serving up yet another page turner, dramatic filled hood tale!!!

Mo is your quintessential ride or die chick and she will ride or die for her man Quan. But after 9 years of cheating, lying, drama, side chicks, mis-carriages, lonely nights and heartache - Mo has decided enough is enough. Don't get the game twisted though - Mo has her issues too. Her father, friends and even Quan's mother tell her to leave him alone. But he draws her back in each and everytime.

But when is enough ENOUGH - for Mo it's a dramatic turn of events that leave her shaken to the core. Will she return to Quan's arms or will she finally find the strength to stand up on her own. See for yourself - you won't be disappointed that you did.

Great book there was never a dull moment. This book was good from beginning to end. I really loved this book. I wished the last chapter was longer and included more details about Mo's pregnancy and her relationship with boss.

I stumbled across this cookbook at a local bookstore and was immediately drawn to it, when I pulled it off the shelf I was flooded with memories of my childhood. How could this be? I remembered this cookbook or one similar to it and once I started thumbing through it's pages was compelled to purchase it for my collection. My cookbook collection started out with a few basic cookbooks, then I started collecting cookie cookbooks and it now contains about 250 different cookbooks encompassing all ethnic varieties. I showed the book to my sister and the same thing happened, our mom did have this exact cookbook when we were children (back in the 60's and 70's) and this is what she baked all our Christmas goodies from, we came across recipes that we have not had since our childhood and are planning a baking weekend to prepare all of our childhood favorites for our kids this Christmas. Thank you Betty Crocker for republishing this timeless classic!! Our mom passed away to cancer 8 years ago and we have no idea what happened to her original copy but are both pleased to have copies of our own to enjoy, although the original would still be treasured with all its stains, folded pages and marginal notes in mom's writing.

This is the third copy of this book that I have owned, beginning with the original one back in 1963. I wear them out. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good all around cooky book. One thing I did notice about the new printing of it, is that it is bound better than the previous printings of it.

Bought this as a gift for my sister. Loved it so much didn't want to give it to her. Went and bought another one for myself. Great "Ultimate" cookie cookbook.

Betty Crocker's Cooky Book is one of my favorite books. I purchased my original copy in 1967 and have used it for YEARS. All the receipes bring back memories of Christmas holiday baking with all the "children" who were a part of our lives for 40 years. Thank you for letting me find another copy of this book.

This book is full of precious memories for me. I can not remember a Christmas or occasion that my mother didn't pull this Cooky book out and flip threw it with me looking for the perfect cookies to bake. I'd spend days in the kitchen with my mother baking the most wonderful smelling and tasting cookies in the world to me. I'm now 33 and still flip threw this book finding cookies to bake for all occasions with my mother and friends. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants easy to make great cookies and great memories with family.