"Everywhere on earth there are people of our kind. That for a small part of them, I can be a focal point, the nodal point in the net, is the burden and the joy of my life." (Hesse private letter, 1955)

This is a fantastic book that deals with the mysteries of life and a man's relation to his surrounding. Knulp is a wanderer who has an inherent quest for freedom and travel which conflicts with tradition. We see the stages of his life including his death at the end in a dialogue with god who represents existence. Man must express himself in order to find his own nature is the basic thrust of this short work by a great author...

Many are the works written on the subject of being a vagabond, simply because we all have that drifting nomad buried somewhere deep inside of ourselves.Knulp is the tale of an amicable hobo of sorts who wanders through life with no responsibilities and even less guilt about it. Surrounded by dear friends and acquaintances, who live vicariously through him, Knulp seems the free spirit. His freedom is limited and make-believe however, restricted to his imaginary safety net of boundaries set in place so that he may continue to "pretend" his life. Guilt seems to catch up with our self-centered puck eventually as he finds himself expiring in a drift of snow amidst a blizzard.It is then that a discussion with God about how he has wasted his whole life turns into a revelation of what Knulp's true purpose for living has been. Excellent and quick to read. "Knulp" was one of Hesse's earlier works and quite a bit lighter and easier to comprehend than his later stories( not to take away from any of Hesse's works mind you.)<<<<>>>>

Hesse's Knulp reads like one of Pacaso's abstracts; soft summer sun beats down on Knulp's back everything is light and gay. In many ways Knulp remains a child throughout his long and lively life. A very good work by an even better author.

This book is good enjoyed it very much. Would have been helpful if I had a teaching tool of this kind when I had two young males in my home as a single black mother. But as a director of a mentoring program I have to pick and choose what I want and can use becaues we mentor to kids of all race and teaching diversity. I would like to recomend this book to others but it is focusing on the black youth only we need help with all youths.that has problems.and need mentors.

I enjoyed your book, it is a must read for the single mother.

Our youths are our futures, and it is wonderful that someone has picked up the banner to fight for their futures. Mr. Steele, your book was an enjoyment to read. We all must understand that today's youths lack motivation. If there are mentors, and a curriculum or guide to being a better mentor, we will then produce better children and a better society. WELL DONE!!! I cannot wait to read more of your works.

This was a good book, easy to read by people of all ages. There are some amazing life struggles depicted very well...

I picked up the book because of the cover, a boy sitting with
an elephant with his arm around it.Little did I know I was about
to embark on a journey to Germany, England, and India. "MODOC", a story that spands seventy-eight years of a boy and his love for an elephant, who sacrifice family and friends to be together. Their true story of a rescue at sea, fighting off bandits in the forest, and a guerrilla war are only a few of their adventures. I could not put the book down till I was finshed..."MODOC" THE TRUE STORY OF THE GREATEST ELEPHANT THAT EVER LIVED. Would make a great movie...

I think that how Ralph Helfer made this story become so true and so realistic to the readers mind really touched me it is one of the best books i have ever read and ever will read. You cant read this book with out a box of tissues near bye because I cried my eyes out through out the whole book. I can really relate to this book because currently my pony is for sale and i am going to keep track of him forever and hopefully who ever buys him will sell him back to me for my baby cousin who is too young for him now but will be a perfect match as she gets older. Ralph Helfer gets a standing applause for his book Modoc.

It helps to have read other Irish literature first to appreciate this book.

This story was written in Gaelic and published in 1941. Patrick Power brought it into English in 1973. In spite of what seems a stellar job of translating, this is still a very foreign work. It is a story of the Gaels of the west of Ireland in an imaginary place where it always seems to be raining. The characters are rural poor who could not be called peasants, as they seem to raise but potatoes to fatten their pigs and keep themselves lean. Ralph Steadman's crude pencil illustrations do justice to the characters and their miserable climate and squalid habits.

The outside world, in the form of city people whose first language is English, is just trouble. It might take the form of 'friends' of the Gaelic language who descend on them with puzzling and degrading demands, or of brutal schoolmasters with no Gaelic and no patience, or the law, which can pluck someone away and lock him up for years without justification, or even explanation.

And always, there are the rain and the potatoes.

The book has some funny scenes, I suppose, although the humor would be called black if the whole atmosphere were not so gray. From my distance and ignorance I can imagine that the effect of this book, once it was translated, was to embarrass all of Ireland about its Gaeltacht. The misery of the people seems unrelieved, and their reason for being but to preserve the Gaelic heritage in a kind of cultural zoo. I don't know the current status of that area, nor the effect the book had, but I am curious.

The book takes place in an area not far from the Yeats country. In the Mythologies and the fairy tale collection, the peasantry seem not so bad off as here. I think I prefer Yeats.

I hurt myself laughing about Ambrose the foul smelling pig. An earlier reviewer noted that knowledge of gaelic liturature and Irish folklore is important in understanding the puns and satires and that is true BUT not prerequisite to enjoying this very funny story.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Constance Garnett ruins Chekhov for me.

Her work is reprinted for financial reasons, not artistic ones. Want to read "good" Chekhov? Read Robert Payne or Ann Dunnigan's translations. Yarmolinsky is good too.

Rosa La Luna

This collection will expose you to not only some of the best short stories by Anton Chekhov, but some of the best stories ever written in any language. Chekhov's sense of mood and characters overrides his need to provide a predictable plot. He is the forerunner for America's beloved Hemingway, Raymond Carver, and may others in between. People may criticize some of Chekhov's Romantic devices and tendencies, but no one can deny the exactitude of his writing. His work is simple and does not rely heavily on existential characters and events, creating a timeless air.

For writers (and interested readers), there is an appendage of letters that Chekhov wrote to friends about writing. His advice is so right and simple that you'll wonder why your favorite author, or even you, didn't think of them first. Chekhov turns out to be a rather arrogant guy, claiming he never spent more than a day on a story and that his only job was "to be talented," but that is part of his charm. He is the link to modern fiction that is often forgotten. Buy or check out this book. It is a must.

In over 35 years of reading adult literature, these are my all-time favorite works. Chekhov has an uncanny and incomparable ability: virtually nothing happens in many of his stories, yet as you close the book you are aware that something deep and wonderful about human character has been revealed. Chekhov has often been described as being unsurpassed in describing the RUSSIAN character, but I find his descriptions of people, their insecurities and their relationships, to be universal.

If you read books for the action, the color, or the conflict, you will find little of it here. All you will find is quiet and penetrating insight into what it means to be a human being living with other human beings.

I own several different books on sign language. This is worth the money. I am learning sign because I like it, my friend has 2 deaf children, I am a sub- teacher for a Para for a boy who is non-verbal, I am teaching my children for homeschool, and I want to be able to witness to deaf people. This is in ABC order and seems easier to use than the other books I have that are not. But I am hearing and this is probably why I like it better. I am looking for my friend the signs for the names of all the states.

My son is currently nine and is nonverbal. Further, the chances that he will become verbal are very slim indeed. When I purchased this book, it was recommended by his speech teacher. I first thought it was a book teaching me "A, B, C" etc. In fact, signed English allows you to speak in words instead of letters. My son will never get letters but he certainly relates to words. This book has a basic vocabluary but still is quite thick. The number of words is amazing and very useful. We use the book daily and my son's vocabulary has increased dramatically since we began using it. I have read the other reviews stating the alphabetizing is a problem but I can't think of a more practical way to organize such a book. Regardless, this is the book for those wanting to speak to a nonverbal person. Additionally, our son is developmentally delayed but he still is able to communicate with us thanks to this book. Those of you with nonverbal children will think you've discovered gold if you haven't been able to communicate in the past.

My son is currently nine and is nonverbal. Further, the chances that he will become verbal are very slim indeed. When I purchased this book, it was recommended by his speech teacher. I first thought it was a book teaching me "A, B, C" etc. In fact, signed English allows you to speak in words instead of letters. My son will never get letters but he certainly relates to words. This book has a basic vocabluary but still is quite thick. The number of words is amazing and very useful. We use the book daily and my son's vocabulary has increased dramatically since we began using it. I have read the other reviews stating the alphabetizing is a problem but I can't think of a more practical way to organize such a book. Regardless, this is the book for those wanting to speak to a nonverbal person. Additionally, our son is developmentally delayed but he still is able to communicate with us thanks to this book. Those of you with nonverbal children will think you've discovered gold if you haven't been able to communicate in the past.

This is a very comprehensive collection of Gibson's photographs, spanning his career right up to 1999. There are some notes on the collections, but it concentrates on the photos. It includes "Chiaroscuro" and "Days At Sea" among others - all very cool shots; his use of contrast is amazing! My only disappointment is the format of the book - it is paperback-sized but incredibly thick, I hope the spine will last! I love his work and enjoy browsing through the book (be warned for many nude shots though).

Gibson was one of my early favorites when I became interested in photography back in 1973. I have always found his work to be thought-provoking and inspiring. This is a huge collection that covers his work from the beginning. If he has produced one indispensible book, this is it. My only complaint about the book is the format. It's just too many pages to be presented in a paperback. As much as I return to this volume, the binding is showing rapid wear.

I can recommend this book-brick sized, jam-packed with some 800 pages of mostly black and white (but some color) photographs on such things as street and travel photography, portraits and a few nudes.

It's interesting to witness the progression of Gibson's style since the 1960s, up to the late 90s. At first, he was more interested in photojournalism and took those kinds of shots-wider, more encompassing. Later, he became more interested in the abstract, usually singling out one subject/idea and getting very close in. I find it particularly interesting that the vast majority of his photos are shot vertically. This is Gibsons signature style and he does it quite well. And for a black and white photographer, his color stuff is sure great! All of this is in this book.

As to as the size of the book, I have no complaints. It's very think and feels sturdy so I feel like I got my money's worth. I have opened it up all the way, spreading the pages out nearly flat so that I can study the photographs better. Doing this creased the spine, but so what? I think the spine is supposed to be like that and the book has held up well, especially for the price paid. ... This book would make a neat gift for someone who is interested in photography and doesn't mind some bit of sexual content (ie. probably not for a child).

The book is somewhat interesting, though not one of the best on integration of baseball. Elston Howard was a leader and hero of sorts, but I think this book falls short in the writing department a bit.

MRS HOWARD AND MR WIMBISH DO A SUPERB JOB IN TELLING THE LIFE AND CAREER OF FORMER YANKEE GREAT ELSTON HOWARD. ELSTON DESERVED A MUCH LONGER LIFE. THIS IS WRITTEN WITH MUCH HONESTY AND SENSITIVTY. . FROM THE JIM CROWE LAWS TO ARROGANCE AND PREJUDICE, ELSTON HOWARD FACED MANY BARRIERS ALONG THE WAY TO STARDOM. HE WAS QUITE A PLAYER AND DESERVED MUCH MORE RECOGNITION. THIS BOOK BEAUTIFULLY DESCRIBES THE TRADGEDY, TURMOIL, AND TRIUMPHS THAT CAME TO HIM AND HIS FAMILY. A MUST READ FOR ALL YANKEE FANS AND HISTORIANS OF BASBALL. A GREAT READ.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's not just a well written story, but it seems to give true insight to life inside the Yankees during one the franchise's most notable eras. Mickey, Yogi, Elston and company made history together. Arlene stood tall in her role as the first black Yankee wife and Elston prevailed with honor and sportsmanship during these difficult transitional years. Mrs. Howard and Mr. Wimbish's collaboration deserves kudos and more readers. Even long suffering Red Sox fans (just like me!) won't be disappointed.

The essence of the book is "corporations behave badly". I happen to agree but I don't need 339 pages to tell me this. I was hoping to learn something here. I was hoping for some history of how corporations developed. Nothing of the kind. Just a comparison to the gilded age (late 1800s) repeated throughout the book that is obvious to anyone who knows American history. Those liberals who love to read long winded tirades that support their point of view may enjoy this book. But if you aren't a liberal or if you are a liberal with a brain, this book will bore you to tears.

Derber, a sociology professor at Boston College, gives us a noble, yet futile effort to bring change to our overbearing corporate culture. He does a commendable job of describing the historical role of corporations, starting with their charter as entities that are beholden to public scrutiny and will and with finite lifespan through the sea change of the Gilded Age where the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Goulds and others forced the country to accept corporations as private enterprises that also had the protection given to individuals. Much of Derber's best work is describing how this took place and what the ramifications have been through today.
He also does a decent job of describing how corporate power has been consolidated and is now so powerful that it holds an ever increasing dominance on public policy. With behemoths such as GM, GE, Disney, Microsoft and others holding vast amounts of power, Derber argues that government has become an unbalanced lackey of private enterprise and no longer is a trusted countervailing force to the private sector. As a prime example, Derber points to the merger activity in media companies which compelled the FCC to relax ownership constraints on media companies and has effective consolidated media power in the hands of very few companies. He rightly asks the question, how does this effect the quality and balance of news and information that the public receives and is this a threat to our political, economic freedoms.
He speaks of the corrupting power of contributions to political campaigns and how the legal fiction of the corporation as a person has allowed companies to wield undue influence in our political process. Derber does not make a significant distinction between Democrats and Republicans, arguing that both have become suckled to the corporate dollar, thereby diminishing their role as independent keepers of the public gate.
While Derber sees some silver lining in efforts by companies such as Ben & Jerry's, Tom's of Maine and others to practice corporate responsibility and bring a different set of values to corporate decision making, he believes these efforts will essentially fail to create fundamental change due to the divisive influence of financial markets, globalism and other pressures on companies to produce short-term profit for shareholders. Indeed, while Derber sees large financial institutions and money managers as potential harbingers of change due to their large ownership stake in companies, he doesn't think they will provide the type of change necessary to force companies to take into account, social, regional, environmental and other issues when making decisions.
Derber spends the final third of the book describing his antidote to this issue, however, while he consciously tries to evade sounding utopian and idealistic, that is exactly how he sounds. He puts his faith in a movement called 'positive populism' which looks to change their fundamental values while at the same time selling this idea to a skeptical public who may look upon it as threatening their own livelihood and security. He believes four separate movements can come together, labor, the 'third sector' of volunteer-based organizations associated with community, church, clubs, neighborhoods, etc., women's and civil rights movements and finally, environmental organizations. By demonstrating to all four their common goals and by shifting emphasis in labor from one of narrowly-defined interests to one of a broader social context, he believes they can be a powerful countervailing force to the corporate giant. While noble in theory, Derber gives very little direction on how this can happen. It seems he wills it to happen more than anything. As mentioned earlier, Derber has put his finger on a bedrock issue in today's world, but his solution has more to do with slinging arrows at Goliath.

This is a book that shoud be read by anyone who is in the least bit interested in global economic affairs, sweatshop-labor, and flight of capital.

Charles Derber gives an excellent description of the history of corporations within the United States and elsewhere as well as timeline leading into what they have become. He advocates careful legislation, but more importantly - grassroots activism. His solutions include educated consumerism, socially-responsible investing, and cooperation of non-profits.

This book is an easy read that doesn't require an MBA to understand - it should be required reading for political economics courses.

The idea behind this book is fantastic--to divide different aspects of writing based on grade level and specific writing skills, and provide helpful (and they are helpful to some degree) tips on how to teach students about these skills. A plus to the book is the logical progression from one lesson to the next.

For me, the downside of this book is its rigidity. Unless you want to incorporate their suggested readings into your classroom as well, I suggest you buy a book describing different writing skills in general. As a Spanish teacher, I read this book with the hope of incorporating their ideas into my own classroom, but I found that the lessons were so closely tied to their own recommended story or poem that there was no way of adapting them.

Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi have teamed up to create a book that is easy to understand and apply in the classroom setting. The lessons can be adapted for all elementary grades and everything is spelled out for you as the teacher - including the titles of books to use. Those familiar with the 6 Traits will find concrete examples to help develop each skill.

This book is chock full of practical lessons WITH great literature suggestions. The first book on writing that I have read that gives me the resources instead of telling me more boring philosophy on the workshop approach---I already buy into it, please help me manage it and plan for it!