After having read the excellent reviews already submitted it is difficult to find more words to properly prise this book. Whether you are an art lover or are simply interested in the state of our culture, Ms. York provides a series of superb essays to help you find your way. The thing that impresses me the most about her writing is the passion. It is clear, understandable and very passionate. Not the blind rant of a demagogue, but a reasoned, mature, thoughtful passion that arises from deep study and careful analysis. Its a book worth reading over and over!

The best thing about Alexandra York's atitude towards art is her constant focus on all art as a profound personal value to her. The essays in this book are not detached, unemotional discussions--they make it clear that Alexandra cares about art--and she explains why she does, and why and how you can as well. My personal favorite of all the essays is the last in the book--"Sharing the Miracle"--in which she describes a trip to a sculpture foundry to witness the actual process by which finished works are bronzed. If reading this book can help anyone attain the exalted state of passion for art that Alexandra demonstrates in this one essay, then this book will have more than served its purpose and achieved its goal. Way to go, Alexandra! Keep your fountainhead flowing!

Over the past several years, Alexandra York has written many cogent articles on art and culture. She defends beauty and representational art beautifully and forcefully in her passionate, but gentle style. She neither bludgeons the reader nor insults him. With the force of her conviction, she gently persuades - and that is a great virtue in a culture dominated by ad hominem attacks. Now, she has collected her best essays in her new book, _From the Fountainhead to the Future_.

I cheered while reading that we should consider Homer the *real* spiritual forefather of the West, and thus we should change our calendars to the year *3000*. She correctly identifies ancient Greece as the intellectual foundation of the West.

If you are looking for a rational defense of what art can and should be and what kind of culture would make such art possible, _From the Fountainhead to the Future_ is an excellent companion to Ayn Rand's seminal work on the philosophy of art.

Hero for Hire tells a tale older than time; the eternal fight between good and evil, light and dark. Night enthralls his readers with an amazing tale of the Angelic Conflict with nail biting realism. Spiced with humans and demons alike being driven by greed, jealousy, power and the search for immortality. A perfect combination of heroism, erotica, terror and action. With its chilling truths, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page....I want some more.

Well researched short novel using factual Biblical references to build a terrifying tale of the origin of good and evil and the continuing struggle between them. A few surprise guest appearances and a sudden twist at the end will leave you wishing for more.

Get yourself a cup of coffee, send the kids to the movie, find a warm cozy place and be prepared to finish this book. You will not be able to put it down.

Joseph speaks out for a lot of the military. It amazes me that we let all the expulsions go on. Every year our military is depleted from these expulsions. No one has proven that homosexuality divides cohesion in a military unit. Another example is Tracy Thorne.

I read this book (just finished) and wanted to review it while its fresh on my mind. I thought the book was very enlightning, to say the least and I really felt for joe steffan, they don't make guys like this anymore. Where he could very well have just kept his mouth shut, he chose to stand up for himself, I wish I had more of his courage and perseverance. Thanks to men and women like himself, this issue will keep being chipped away at and this book is a testament that good, honest people come in all types; straight, gay, black, white, short, tall and they need to be judged by their merits and work ethics whatever the job deems, thats what counts.

This book was, in short, incredible. I can't believe it's no longer in print. Steffan offers a very frank view of the Navy as seen by one who excels through it's ranks. I've often asked my grandfather (who was also in the Navy) to tell me what it was like. Most persons are very vague about the experiences of boot camp, etc. Steffan clears up the mystery with a very matter-of-fact tone. When the political issues that prevent his graduation come up in the story, I was right there with him, and livid that such injustices happen within the very institution we rely upon to maintain the freedoms offered to us within the US. One of the best aspects of this book is the clear, simple way in which he writes. Steffan is obviously not a slick story-teller and this makes his story ever the more believable and relevant to myself and my political views. This book addresses the very real nightmare of discrimination that is alive and well in our society, and negates our want to be complacent about the system and its injustices. If you can get ahold of this book, read it!

Mr. Walker is clear and concise in his depiction of how the options markets work. He details various strategies and makes options investing understandable to those new to it.

In my 11 years as a futures investor, broker, and author, I have never seen someone with as much grasp of options investing as Mr.Walker and have the capability to explain it.

Comprehensive, simple, full of examples - worth the money.

Yes, As a beginner I can confidently say I know what option is, it's uses and the risk involve. The Author did not only explain the principle but gave practicable example everyone can relate to. All in simple and plain English, you don't need to have been to a school of economy to know what an option is. With the help of this book, I can't look stupid when others uses terminologies relating to option. Keep up the good work Joseph.

Carballo has made his debut as a writer with a very well-crafted story. Through its characters and plot, "In the Shadow of Gleam" opens a door that will take the reader into the mistery of adolescence as well as into actual environmental issues and concerns. I hope there is more to come from this young author.

Arles Carballo's passion for the environment is well known in the Miami area. He has taken this love, combined it with his extensive knowledge of teenagers and how they "tick" and created an exceptional first novel. This was the first book in years that I read from cover to cover in one sitting. Perhaps we need to pay greater attention to our truly GREATEST natural resource....our CHILDREN! We are losing kids at the same rate as our environment. Keep writing, Arles, and I'll certainly keep reading! Lois O.

I read the back cover of the book and I thought it was interesting, but when I started reading the book, I flipped. I couldn't stop reading the story. I felt bad for Brandon and I couldn't stand Ryan. I've told my friends about the book. I hope everyone reads it. It's great.

No one interested in American politics could fail to find this an interesting and informative volume. The essays are perceptive, tho some are repetitous. The listing of all the Jewish Senators, Representatives, Federal judges, and governors is valuable. I found it amazing that apparently there was no Jew appointed a Federal judge till Wilson appointed Brandeis to the Supreme Court in 1916 and then there was no Jew appointed to the Federal judiciary till Hoover appointed Cardozo to the Supreme Court in 1931, and not till FDR was any Jew appointed a lesser Federal judge! An excellent reference book.

The editors are to be commended for creating a useful reference work that will be used for years by students of US politics. Their study begins with 14 thematic chapters that explore such topics as the presence of Jews in the three branches of the federal government, the role of Jewish political party leaders, the historical voting patterns of Jews, the political role of Jewish women, and Jewish contributions to foreign policy. This section is followed by a ten-page list of sources for additional reading in each of the thematic subject areas. Other sections, just as important, provide biographical profiles of about 400 Jewish participants in American politics, past and present, and rosters of Jews who have served in the cabinet, in Congress, and in the federal court system, and as ambassadors, governors, or mayors of major cities. This section also includes a chart of concentration of Jewish population in selected major US cities from 1800 until 2000. This book will be a welcome addition to reference desks and general collections in libraries across the country. All levels.

This book does something extraordinary. It presents a vast array of information while at the same time including a number general essays on Jews in American politics. No person seriously interested in ethnic politics and Jews particularly should be without this book.Clearly edited and turned by the press. There is no political slant--all positions represented.

DK makes wonderful books -- always colorful, well written and made of heavy stock. This French Wine guide is no exception. Covering all of the wine growing regions of France, including the non-classified areas, this guide provides for some wonderful reading. It covers several of the better vinyards for each area, including a history of the vinyard. The photographs are of very good quality and quite beautiful. The descriptions of the vinyards are fun to read and give a good general history. This guide would make an excellent companion for a travel tour of France.

One of the great attributes of DK books is that they can be read in short bursts -- the information is concise but thorough, and allows the reader to take in a good amount of information in only a two or three paragraph span. This makes it an excellent book to keep in the car, for those times spent in waiting rooms.

While attempting to purchase a number of interesting and fine wines for my brother for Christmas and finding my knowledge of the subject lacking in almost every way, I purchased this book as it seemed to possess everything I was looking for in a fine presentation with plenty of much needed photographs. For me, visting a wine shop is a dangerous endeavor; I am dually susceptible to selecting and suspicious of the wine merchant's recommendations. After researching some fantastically priced wines on the FinestWine.com website, I took my list to my local store and was sorely disappointed. Since none of the wines I had researched were available, I needed to start at square one and did not have a square one to jump on. This book provided one. It tutored me regarding label so that I could get more grape and taste for my buck. By depicting in full color the actual labels produced by the various chateaus along with a succinct description of the producer's quality, yield, climate, soil, grape varieties, styles, longevities, etc, I was able to make some great selections.

The book is divided into the different varieties of wine based on region: Alsace & Lorraine, Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc and is further exemplified by the various appellations and recommendations regarding producers and good vintages. Each of the ten regions begins with pages about the region with a drivng tour and ends with a discussion of the region's food partnerships and tasting tips. I would imagine that this would serve well on one of the popular wine tours of France.

The book begins with some rudimentary information regarding the process of winemaking, label reading, red and white wine differences, starting a cellar, wine and food . . . it is extremely comprehensive and yet fits well into the 240+ page format --- every page filled with glossy photographs and interesting sidebars.

If you enjoy the popular DK city/region/country travel books, you will equally enjoy this. I recommend this highly for anyone who wants to indulge in a small book with a huge amount of information.

This is precisely the book I'd been looking for. I have grown to enjoy French wines and am lucky to live near New York stores with great selections to choose from, but the subject is horribly confusing. Joseph deals with just about every wine I've come across and provides enough information to give a clear idea of how it's likely to taste and the food to have it with. I travel overseas for my work and have found it a great companion (its format is ideal for a briefcase) in restaurants with daunting lists.

I live in Platte County Missouri, just south of St. joe. It was very interesting to see what happened in that time period many years ago. Heck! it could've happened where i'm living! As a Civil War buff, some of these things really hit close to home, and I overall enjoyed it.

Preston Filbert's The Half Not Told: The Civil War In A Frontier Town focuses on a part of the American Civil War that is often overlooked or downplayed by other sources that concentrate on the armies and campaigns in the East. The Half Not Told is about the Civil War in the West, particularly in Missouri. The frontier town of St. Joseph, Missouri, which became torn apart and saw its fortunes fall due to stagflation, is a reflection of how dramatically the war changed Western American life forever. The Half Not Told draws very heavily upon primary sources, as its highly extensive endnotes section and a bibliographical essay attest. The Half Not Told is a very welcome contribution to Civil War studies, and highly recommended for anyone with an interest Civil War history -- particularly because much of the telling is in the eye-witness words of the people who were there.

I have just read The Half Not Told and was fascinated by the tale of a town ripped apart by divided loyalties during the Civil War,
a town devastated by the war, yet with a story completely unlike that of towns truly in the South. The author tells of a Border Town which was ravaged by both the North and the South. The book introduces you to the very real people who lived in the town through this violent time, often quoting their own words from a letter or a diary. The town was populated by colorful characters, many of whom are introduced and then reappear later, maybe several times, as the history of the town unfolds. The events described are exciting and violent and often very personal. I found myself anxious to get to the next chapter to see what would happen in this engrossing tale, as I often do when I'm reading a work of fiction; yet this is a true story, a history with extremely good documentation and pictures of the people and events of the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in an exciting and accurate picture of a town which experienced the Civil War in a way you may not have known about before.

In Doctor Faustus, Thomas Mann reached to the bottom of the German soul. In Joseph and his brothers he did the same in respect to the God and his chosen people - the Jews.
Happily, the result is much brighter and more optimistic.
Most delightfull of all T. Mann's books.

Beware! Do not leave this page without getting this book. It is a masterpiece. It proves how a story (any story) handled by a true novelist turns into another (and the same) story (improved). It certainly combines what Walter Benjamin has called the art of story telling with the fuction of novelist in the modern epoch. Can we still be both? Here is a definitive answer.

Joseph and His Brothers is the powerful jorney in the mind of the myth and in the myth of the mind. It is a masterpiece full of excitment about history, respect to the reader and unsurmountable talent.

If an appreciation of the personal perspective of the poet can deepen the experience of his words, then Lemkhin's photographic tribute to Brodsky's beloved home belongs on our bookshelves alongside the poetry books and essays of the Nobel laureate. Except for an intimate foreword by Milosz, a moving afterword by Sontag, and brief postnotes in which Lemkhin provides background details on several of the images, the message of this book is delivered entirely through black-and-white images. The voice of those visions comes through most clearly when one imagines viewig through the eyes of the poet himself, not only in the streets and the statues, the skies and the stories of Leningrad, but in the mirror of the close-up snapshots of Brodsky himself placed throughout the collection of pictures. Even the mediocre artistic quality of some of the individual snapshots can be forgiven as the soft footsteps of the poet can be heard stepping through his own lines in the movement of these deeply personal worlds of his own home.

JOSEPH BRODSKY, LENINGRAD: FRAGMENTS succeeds on every level. For those not familiar with Brodsky's brilliant poetry I would recommend that you spend time with WATERMARKS, his tribute to the city of Venice, before coming to this book. Once the gentle subtleties of his poetry are in mind, then spending time perusing this pictorial essay of Brodsky's face and the scenes of Leningrad (the old name for St. Petersburg is used because that was the city's Soviet name used when Brodsky lived there) will form a complete picture of this amazing expatriate. Mikhail Lemkhin addresses not only the pictorial influences on the poet, but also adds some words of wisdom. The tribute at the end of the photographs, in some of Sunsan Sonntag's most eloquent writing, is a fitting closure to this very lovely book. Highly recommended.

I greatly enjoyed the two books by Mikhail Lemkhin: "Missing Frames" and "Fragments". I am especially moved by portraits. There is something about the portraits that make them very different from most others. The pictures are not posed, but don't seem to be too candid either. I get the impression that the subject is aware of the photographer, but is not posing for him, at least not physically. It is as if the subject is exposing his/her inner soul to the camera. The photographs work, in deeply satisfying way, very well. I know I will look at them again and again.