"Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall" offers up exquisite collage illustrations by Leo Yerxa. These consist of tissue paper dyed with acrylics, inks, and watercolors and help tell the story of a parent and child who travel through forests, down rivers, over lakes and ponds as they experience the primordial beauty of the world through which they are passing. The pictures and lyrical text create a dreamlike voyage that captures the moment when fall turns into winter. As a child on the Little Eagle Reserve near Fort Frances in northern Ontario, Yerxa spent a lot of time hunting and fishing with his father; certainly these experiences have informed "Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall." Readers of any age will be enthralled by these collages, but be warned that younger readers are going to want to try their hand at this particular art form. As someone who lives in a land where winter lasts from Halloween until Easter (i.e., half the year), this picture book does a wonderful job of capturing the period of transition from one season to the next.

This is a creation, years in the making. The story of a child and father in that soft moment as fall lets go to winter. One senses that the author has let go as well. Beautiful in it's tenderness.

I got this book as a wedding present from somebody who got it as a weddingpresent also. I had it on my shelves for about 6 months but once I tried 1 recipe I fell in love...Each recipe is delicious! Gourmet dinners but easy to prepare. I can't believe it is out of print because I want to order it for a friend (she is getting married). Of all my wedding presents I love this one the most! But for those who are not married: it is oldfashioned funky, classy kitsch! Maybe if we all try to order it it will come back in print!

I have tried over half of the recipes in this book, and they have all been wonderful. My S.O. is thrilled when I tell him that I plan to prepare a meal from this book. I strongly recommend this book; it's a winner!

Let's Make Rabbits is a clever boardbook by Caldecott-honored artist Leo Lionni. It begins with a pair of scissors and a pencil that decide to make rabbits. The story then follows the activities and discoveries of these two rabbits. Appropriate for infants and toddlers, the book offers illustrations with clean lines, color, and warm, likeable character drawings that enhance the story. The book is durable enough for library circulation, but the illustrations may be too small for story time listeners to see from a distance. It is best suited for small group reading.
This book is a good tool for building observation skills. The juxtaposition of monochromatic and multi-colored and one-dimensional versus multi-dimensional objects allows the child to observe differences and similarities. This would also be an excellent platform to begin simple discussions about animals, their body parts, colors, and the food they eat. The book could also inspire simple craft projects about animals.

This book really captured the imagination of our playgroup.
The idea that rabbits could be made from paper and a pencil
really got the children going. After reading the book we
used colored paper and made our own rabbits. This is one of
our favorite books by Leo Lionni and we are happy to see it
back in print.

But what book about Machaivelli could possibly be sufficient? Only "a commentary consisting of many volumes" could accomplish that.

Nonetheless, this book is almost sufficient for understanding The Prince. One can only hope that de Alvarez is busy preparing a commentary on the Discourses.

Cosimo: send me an e-mail. I would love to discuss this book with someone who knows what he's talking about.

Leo Paul deAlvarez has finally released the book that many people have been eager to read for the past several years. Called the "Master of Machiavelli" by one of his students, deAlvarez has the uncanny ability to discern the many strands of the artful web of writing woven by the wiling Florentine. When we see that Machiavelli's primary audience are those thinkers who came after him, we begin to see the magnitude of his enterprise. He seeks to rule all those who come after him by keeping them ignorant of classical thought. Just how he accomplishes this task is now more exposed because of the work of deAlvarez. Dogmatic Pocockian Republicans will be aghast, but so will those who fail to see that the true evil of Machiavelli is his obfuscation philosophy.

Cosimo Rucellai

1909. Strange suicide plague in Vienna. Why do all these people kill themselves, while they have no reason at all to do so? Wouldn't be something - or somebody - else? Warning to impossible crime fans: one of the so-called "suicides" is a locked room.
While he - remarkably - uses Golden Age school's apparatus, Perutz gives here a book that is wholly sui generis. It could be a mystery. It could be weird. It could be both. Mystery fans will be delighted by intricate plotting, virtuoso use of multiple solutions and a totally unexpected ending. They'll also be delighted, along with others, by magistral recreation of a vanished world, quirky atmosphere and characters, and a reflection on time, art and reality. Yet in the end, the book's real nature remains a mystery. There's only one thing to know: it's a masterpiece.

This novel is an entertaining mystery (suicide or murder?), a haunting meditation on history and fate, and a playful self-referential narrative a la Borges or Calvino.

In fact, Borges liked Perutz's work well enough to promote its publication in Argentina while Perutz was living in Tel Aviv and was banned from publishing in Germany.

Like his coeval Kafka, Perutz also wrote fiction while working in insurance (though LP was an actuary in Vienna and Trieste, unlike FK, who worked in Prague, LP's birthplace).

Although the subject matter of this book initially appeared to be for an older child, it is clear that the text and illustrations appeal as strongly to the younger set. Ever since learning of Matthew the Mouse's determination to become a painter (in contravention of his parents desires that he become a M.D.) my two-year-old son (also named Matthew) has been wielding his paintbrush often and furiously. The illustrations are aesthetically pleasing and clarify the text perfectly. The text, while simple in form, provides excellent vocabulary builders (e.g., use of "embrace" rather than "hug") and also gives the reader the chance to discuss with the child many ideas and activities that take place inside and outside the home. All in all a wonderful find; a story that truly respects a child's right to follow his or her own dreams.

I have read this book to my son since he was born (he is now 3 months old). He loves it - coos and kicks his legs throughout the entire book. Very vivid colorful pictures and a great story. Can't wait to get more books from Lionni.

Yeah, I wish I'd been there... but I was too young. But the stories I've heard... and these are just as good... maybe better. There isn't a single story that's not believeable... and you can put yourself as the key player of anyone of them and know that you'd have had a wonderful time. The all stories center around the doorman, "Cam", and if it was this much fun just to get in the doorway it would have to be heaven inside. The well-crafted tales all hang together well and can be enjoyed either as hard-core gay porn or quality erotica. Whichever your taste you'll enjoy your visit to Mineshaft Nights. The only problem with the book is that is isn't longer, or doesn't have a sequel.

Unfortunately, I am too young to have experienced the golden days of gay sexual liberation in the 1970s, but "Mineshaft Nights" creates a dreamlike sense of what it was like to explore the very extremes of gay sexuality at NYC's Mineshaft.

I read this book during my daughter's first major illness. This was word-medicine for my exhausted body and soul, and many times gave me the strength and inspiration to face another day with energy and compassion for my child who needed me so completely then (and every day). Good support for those who are thinking about homeschool, and who question the effects of television and vaccination on our children's minds and bodies. Enlightened parenting at its best!

I first read the book when I lived in Santa Cruz, CA where I eventually met the authors. Their simple use of language does not detract from the amount of love and faith which is evident in their stories. They are people with a lot of love in their lives and who have experience with healing, and they want to share both. This book gave me hope and sparked a belief in God which was not based on anyone telling me what to think. If you are looking for healing I think you will like this book! Barry and Joyce live what they speak.

Congratulations to Leo Landry on his first book.
He captures the essence of babies in his own unique way.
And thanks to Amazon for having this book in stock, we have found it difficult to find in local bookstores, always sold out.
Looking forward to the Snow Ghosts. I highly recommend this book to all of those who have children

This is a very sweet little book. I bought this as a gift for a friend who is a new parent. Each turn of the page features a new section/category, with titles like "Nature Baby", "Fairy Tale Babies" and "Baby Bedtime", illustrated with lots of babies in a variety of fanciful situations. I like the simple, whimsical drawings and the colorful palette. And the tiny, detailed pictures that form the borders of each page (and which change, specific to each "category") are a wonderful finishing touch. It's a very inviting and fun book to read with a small child.

The writer of the above review has done a great job of conveying the basic arguments and value of Strauss's translation of the Hiero and his discussion with Kojeve. I think that there is yet more to be said. Strauss as a political philosopher argued the case that with Machiavelli modern political thought begins. One cannot help when reading the Hiero to begin to see further, it was already convincingly argued in Thoughts on Machiavelli, how Machiavelli's famous treatise The Prince is in many ways a response to this dialogue from Xenophon. The discussion of tyranny and the "joys" and "protections" that stem from such a life are questioned in the Hiero because of the ramifications of tyrannic rule. Strauss, in typical fashion, articulates and expands on the argument presented in the Hiero. The responses from Kojeve bring the classical into conflict with the most progressive of modern thought, the concept of the universal state. Particularly valuable in this edition is the collection of the correspondence of the two respondents which clarify, and present a more honest argument, the public discourse extant in the formal essays. Read this book as a companion to "The Prince" or studies of Hegel to see the dialogue between "Classical" and "Modern" or even "Post-modern" thought.

This astounding book, On Tyranny, pits Leo Strauss against Alexander Kojeve in the never ending battle of the Ancients against the Moderns. The book begins with the text of Xenophon's Hiero, followed by Strauss's in depth discussion of the Hiero. Then the fireworks start!

Kojeve, in his discussion of Strauss's comments, will elucidate his peculiar mixture of Hegelian, Marxist, and Heideggerian philosophies in order to defend the unity of 'Tyranny and Wisdom' at the end of history, with some amusing asides on Strauss's tendency to build a philosophical cult. Modern tyranny (Stalinism) is rational, or wise, because it leads to the universal, homogenous state. The state in which everyone -- people, politicians, and philosophers -- will be fulfilled. This state, where the people will be safe, politicians renowned, and philosophers enthralled by the rationality of it all, will happen as a result of historical action, or work. We will be living in a world that we made with our own hands. And, as the conflicts of history weed out ever more irrationalities, we come to feel more and more at home in this fabricated, technological world. This leads to less conflict and more fulfillment. Which means, as Kojeve said elsewhere, "History is the history of the working slave." This leaves some of us, Strauss included, wondering if the only thing more wretched than being a slave would be living as a contented one.

Strauss comments on all this in a reply that briefly starts out with a discussion of Eric Voegelin but then turns to the main event. Strauss wants to know how anyone will want to live in this world where everyone thinks the same, feels the same, wants the same. A world in which anyone who thinks/feels/wants differently, as Nietzsche said, goes voluntarily to the madhouse. A world that as Reason is woven into it, Humanity is pushed out of it. His prescription is a return to the ancients, who, as the Hiero shows us, knew that philosophy both could not and should not be realized in time. Otherwise, Humanity will end up engulfed by its own artifacts. Or, as Ernst Juenger remarked, "History is the replacement of men by things.