I read this book after reading Christine Sparks' novel, "The Elephant Man", which is based on the movie based on the true-life story of Merrick. Reading Montagu's book helped me realize which parts of the story were from Merrick's actual life and which were artistic creations. Montagu includes a number of primary documentation in presenting the history of Merrick (including Treves' memoirs, Merrick's autobiography, Carr-Gomm's letters to the Times, etc.), as well as what later researchers have found out about Merrick's history and a description of the disorder he was inflicted with, neurofibromatosis.

After presenting this information, Montagu continues by explaining the moral lessons that come from the story of Merrick. This is where Montagu's book starts to reveals its dated-ness. Though the lesson of the importance of loving a child will never be outdated, Montagu insists on the special role of the mother, whereas modern anthropologists have conclude that fathers can nurture children as well as mothers (men are not as inclined to participate, but do have the ability). In the 70's when this book was written, child rearing was still looked upon as being the sole domain of the woman. Mother-love should be read parental-love.

The second complaint I have is Montagu's actual writing style. Though he has good thoughts and ideas, he has little skill in expressing them and has a tendency to rehash the same thought over and over again. His writing is not well organized (beyond being divided into chapters) and his presentation of moral truths comes off more like pleading rather than as a well-presented argument. The language is simple and easy for children to understand so it is a great book for young readers, but the adult reader will feel the book lacking.

I am glad I purchased this book, and I recommend it for people who want to know more about the life of Joseph Merrick, but the rest of the content must be read with a grain of salt - realize that the writing is poor and the analysis is somewhat outdated. I could not give it 4 or 5 stars because of these faults.

Well researched, and well written. A shining example of an attitude towards life that all can learn from. A "must read."

I really liked reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone. It is about the life of Joseph Merrick. It shows people how that it is what is inside a person that counts. What is in their heart that counts, and not how they look. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

Ever had a sidecar? Me either, until I got this book. I've got a couple of other bartender's guides. With the unappealing page after page of sterile mixology between their covers, they gave me absolutely no incentive to try anything new. This book is different - it provides history and anectodes on drinks in a conversational tone and offers recipe variants on some from bartenders on its 'best bartenders' list. Because bartending is a personable act, and not just chemistry, its nice to see the bartenders notes accompanying many of the recipes (muddle this... substitutions of Triple Sec vs. Cointreau... shaken and not stirred etc). All in all, a pleasurable read and great guide - get it and try the Higgin's Sidecar.... mmmmmm.

An excellent book.

This book is a great read, and has a great format. For the drink recipes, it introduces the cocktail, describes its history, nuances about its construction, or interesting stories related to how it is made, then it provides a variety of different recipes and variations on how to make it.

It is refreshing to see such a creative, and informational book on mixology. I've grown bored of the cocktail books that simply list recipes, without any background or even details about how to add that special "Quality" to the drink that makes them stand out.

-Robert

This book was a thoroughly enjoyable read. Not just another recipe book, this guide actually contain history for classic drinks and advice and humor from bartenders from around the world. The authors covers some very classic drinks like the martinis, margaritas, highballs, and shooters as well as variations on them and wild crazy drinks. I just finished bartending class and used this book extensively to get me started. It's a great book for beginners and seasoned bartenders.

This is Brown, the narrator of "The Comedians", describing his outlook: "I had left involvement behind me...I had dropped it... I had felt myself not merely incapable of love-many are incapable of that-but even of guilt. There were no heights and no abysses in my world-I saw myself on a great plain, walking and walking on the interminable flats." In my judgment, Brown's outlook is a big shortcoming in this book. While "The Comedians" eventually centers on one of Greene's ironically heroic characters, there's not much juice (even with an affair) since the story is told by dull Brown. Bottom line: This is a good story with some personally and politically heroic characters. But this is not Greene's best work.

The novel opens on a cruise ship steaming toward Haiti. We meet a diverse group of characters who are revealed through the device of setting them in a game of cards on board ship.
Brown, the primary character and narrator is returning to Haiti to reclaim a hotel he inherited and through his eyes we see the political changes occurring in the country and are made aware of the ominous threat of the Tonton Macoute secret police that hangs over the entire story adding dramatic tension.
Jones , his fellow passenger is revealed to be a con-man who gets by on his ability to make others laugh (one of the comedians) . Smith a failed presidential candidate from the US is naively seeking to establish a vegetarian center in Haiti seemingly oblivious to the turmoil all around him.
Brown's romance with the wife of a diplomat provides a subplot that mirrors the theme that everyone is deceiving someone. The comedians all prove to be actors playing on a stage filled with political violence and the everpresent threat of more to come.
This was a very engaging novel and if not Greene's most well known book it may be one of his best. I enjoyed it and highly recommend it for it's memorable characters and stunning evocation of a country approaching chaos.

This is one of the most powerful novels ever written. I think it was the best work of Graham Greene. In this book Greene was able to achieve a very masterful dialog, and he developed so powerful an memorable characters. We can witness how the internal struggle of the main characters intermingles with the power struggle in the country and the problems of the time. This is a very strong book that should be read and known.

One of the most technically accurage Web design books on my shelf -- the authors take the W3C specifications to heart, teaching you how you're *supposed* to do things, then letting you vary from that in an educated fashion. Hurrah!

I had the pleasure of hearing Ms. Navarro speak recently on HTML, XHTML and new trends for the Web. She's definitely an author to watch!

The authors take you step-by-step, virtually by the hand and explain all the tags needed in html. I've been designing web pages for a year, and am thrilled to own this book. I have already learned more than I expected. Whether a novice or advanced designer, this book is a plus in your library. At least in mine, it is.

This book is a great intro to learning html and other web concepts. The book is comprehensive of the basic aspects of html, and the examples are easy to learn, leading you towards learning more complicated uses. In particular, the section on forms is more complete, yet understandable than many other sources I've read, including the "Dreamweaver Bible."

One concept the author stresses--that's been indispensible to me--is the importance of learning proper html syntax. This has reduced my depency on web-authoring software, which I view as essential to mastering web design. I'll only design as well as I understand the technology, and for me to visualize the possibilities of html, I must first understand it's capabilities and limitiations. This book has given me a boost towards that goal. I'd also recommend Ann Navarro's class in html at hwg.org. That class was a great way to get started.

The flaws of this book are numerous. I wanted to like it, and I found that I agreed with some of the opinions, but this book failed on many fronts.

The antagonistic tone of many of the essays was, to say the least, unsettling. One author complained that a Democrat once said that those against Affirmative Action were racist or ignorant. Ironically enough, many other authors whose works appear in B&R take the same stance when it comes to individuals who disagree with their conservative ideology. Many essays include phrases like, "...intelligent people realize...", "...logical thought dictates...", "...any reasonable person can see...", "..empirical data proves...". It seems the essayists refuse to consider any ideas but their own, and denigrate anyone who disagrees.

Another flaw was the repeated use of flawed logic. Often, an essay would open with a listing of facts, problems, and ambiguous solutions. However, invariably, the author would make some obtuse leap of faith to an erronious conclusion. For instance: the increase of fatherless families is bad, and welfare helps single destitute women provide for their children; therefore, end welfare immediately and the problem of fatherless families will be eradicated. Say what?!?!?

This book has some good things to say, but the positives are mired in a sea of flawed thinking and confrontational rhetoric. Is there no middle ground for an open-minded, clear thinking, middle-of-the-road minority?

It has always struck me as odd that blacks would drift in such large numbers to the Democratic Party, the party which has simply bought their votes through government favors while undermining their efforts through centralized and destructive liberal policies.

Traditionally, blacks voted Republican, after that party's founder, Abraham Lincoln, whom they considered the great emancipator. Over the years, the socialist promises of Wilson, FDR, and Johnson lured many of them away, but the virtues cherished by blacks have always been more in line with conservatism: localism, community, diversity, independence, education, character, continuity, tradition and family.

The editors have divided the anthology loosely into five parts: Experience, Politics, Racism, Morals, and a final section of interviews with writer Shelby Steele, Pat Buchanan's running mate Ezola Foster, and radio-host Larry Elder.

There are a few problems. Most of the essays are too brief to give much insight into the contributors' world views. The prose is methodical and uninspired. I would have liked to see the eloquence of Alan Keyes or the optimism of Colin Powell. There are many other black conservatives who could have been included: Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Armstrong Williams, Glenn Loury, J. A. Parker, Star Parker, Robert Woodson, Ward Connerly, William Allen, J. C. Watts, Condoleeza Rice, Eloise Anderson, and Janice Brown. Wynton Marsalis and Stanley Crouch have spoken about jazz the way T. S. Eliot wrote about poetry-as an art form with tradition and individual talent. Their cultural conservatism has been neglected by the right and ridiculed by the left. I would also mention the cultural contributions of Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray.

This is not the say that the current volume has little to offer. Robert George provides an alternative to the existential duality of the black American that was raised by W. E. B. Dubois and Ralph Ellison. Lee Walker, Brian Jones, and Stan Faryna resurrect the ideas of Booker T. Washington, often in contrast to DuBois. Shelby Steele is among the most thoughtful and original of the contributors. Justice Clarence Thomas gives a brief history of the black conservative's uneasy relationship with the two major parties. He reminds conservatives that they must assert their principles rather than merely criticize. Thomas also recommends a revival of the American tradition of natural law, which he locates in the work of Thomas Aquinas, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, among others.

This book proves that blacks are much more varied in their views than is assumed by the Democratic Party, which treats them as a monolithic interest group, and which has nothing to show for it but broken promises and failed policies. With its emphasis on federal power, conformity through law, and personal license, liberalism has little to offer American blacks. I hope that future volumes by black conservatives will be forthcoming.

One of the most insightful, daring, challenging book wriiten on how the Democratic party has dimantled the Black American Family.

We learn the truths of how Al Gore and Democrats fought vigorously to find their place in the black community and how LBJ's new society pumped billions of dollars and despair into one time stable communities.

It tears away at the stereotypes of republicans, conservatives, religious leaders and takes a clear look at the problems and what solutions are needed in the Black Communities!

It exposes the negative side of governments programs and what effects Great Society economics, abortion, drugs, alcohol have had on the black community.

These Black writers are to be applauded for standing up for their beliefs and challenging the liberal power structure!

Although I would not say that this book is entirely on the level of Heller's first three books (all masterpieces), as it does not, perhaps, resonate with the vibrancy and poignancy of everyday life as those works do, God Knows is nevertheless an entertaining, blasphemous, and laugh-out-loud hilarous Bibilical parody. Many an author has turned their skills to the task of setting a famous Bibilical character into the universe of modern literature and re-telling their story that way, but few have done it with the intelligence, wit, and sheer knowledge of Heller. This is the work of a man that, though perhaps a Jewish atheist (I'm not too sure of what Heller's religious views were), nevertheless clearly had a vast and perhaps encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible - or the Old Testament, at any rate. Here, we have the story of King David ("the best story in The Bible", as the narrarator himself repeatedly tells us), told through Heller's first-person satiric lens, casting the famous and mythical character straight into the pantheon of modern literature. Many may well consider this book blasphemous (although I am glad, and pleasantly surprised, indeed, to see in some of the other reviews here that members of the clergy have read and enjoyed it), it is all in good fun, and quite an entertaining read - as well as also hitting home at several points. Although there are several laugh-out-loud segments, Heller, beneath the farce, is also asking existential questions, as well as tackling some complex moral issues: God's apparent inclination towards punishing the innocent for the crimes of the guilty is given a good bit of attention here. Although this book may well have some sort of a built-in audience due to it's Bibilical leanings, it probably does not have a more or less universal audience as his first three books did - being steeped heavily, as it is, in its subject matter. I think that you will enjoy the book a lot more, and will certainly find it funnier, if you are familar with The Bible - or at least the parts that it deals with. Indeed, if you are highly steeped in Bibilical subject matter, you may well consider this Heller's best book. I reccommend it regardles, however: even if you are not knowledgable with its inherent subject matter, you will still find the book enjoyable, especially if you are a fan of Heller's particular style and liked his other writings.

In what can only be called the shear GENIUS of Joseph Heller, God Knows crosses the line between biblical irony and just plain FUN!! As a member of the clergy I found this book a refreshing and oftentimes TOO POIGNANT look at one of the greatest biblical heroes! Heller breathes life and REALITY into a character of mythical proportions. . . just in time to remind us that we are all HUMANS and a part of God's work. I am sorry for those Catch-22 fans that cannot let go of their IDOL WORSHIP for Joseph Heller. They are missing out on good writing and some downhome chuckles. . . GO FIGURE!!

Joseph Heller has once again shown his mastery of irony and the absurd. His portrayal of King David is both hillarious and blasphemes. It is not often that I laugh out loud while reading a book. By breathing life into the Old Testament charachters, Heller is able to add flesh and bones to a somewhat boring Biblical account. But God Knows is something more than just a risque telling of Kings, it is also a story about aging, love and religion. He ponders great questions on the fallacy of a God that allows the innocent to die. All in all, a great read.

The first book I read from Dale Brown, and I must say I am unimpressed. My foremost problem are the characters are given slight history but mostly glossed over for never ending episodes of action and skirmishes. There's not one character that truly stand out to like or hate. The family problems of the main character, Ian Hardcastle, is poorly developed, especially considering that his son is also using drugs.

I sometimes think that this is Dale Brown just wrote this to cash in on the success of Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. The solution of blockading Florida alone is still rather simplistic in my opinion. Certainly it will deal a major blow to South American cartels initially. I'm already thinking the Yakuzas and Triads might take over importing of drugs.

This was quite an interesting book. The U.S. government decides to create an agency to battle imported drugs from Colombia.The name of this unit is "Hammerheads". Of course you have a favorite Dale Brown hero Ian Hardcastle. The drug lords have hired a Cuban general to lead their smuggling effort. There is plenty of high flying action in this book. The new unit is tried again and again. The drug lords through their Cuban general prove to be a worthy advesary. The state of Florida is under the gun in this book. If you like jets and airplanes this is your book. Buy it, it is a good read.

In his best tale yet, the techno thriller author supreme posits a new supergroup of agents brought together to foil the drug trade. Operating from off shore platforms the Hammerheads use the latest in technology to battle smugglers and cartels. When they go up against a Cuban backed drug lord, they find he has the ability to fight back. Excellent adventure, fast moving and entertaining. Brown outshines the competition in this adventure.

I'm working on a web services project using Java and purchased this book. There wasn't any coverage on web services. I supplimented this title with Java, The Complete Reference that covers web servers. Otherwise, this book is OK

The book is written with a good outline on each subject, however, it does not follow-up the same for each subject. For example, the section on JavaMail is good with multiple examples (except for a serious error in one of those examples). While they somewhat duplicate the examples in that chapter with a few variations, another chapter in the book will have much less supporting information. What I would criticize most about this book is the level of information written on each subject differs between chapters and within chapters. There is no real consistency of detail or emphasis. I also would expect a revision in the near future because of a few errors in the book (mostly typos). In defense of the book, I must say that about 75% of all programming books seem to do the same thing... that is being inconsistent with their level of information.

"J2EE Unleashed" covers the major aspects of the Java 2 Enterprise Edition. The three main pieces (servlets, JSPs, and EJBs) are each well covered with good examples. JNDI, JDBC, JavaMail and JMS are each given a chapter and XML is also covered. The strength of the book, though, is its coverage of designing J2EE architectures. For example, servlets are explained but then the authors go beyond the explanation to show how servlets fit into an overall J2EE architecture. Model 2 controller architecture is covered and Apache Struts is discussed as an example of using servlets as controllers. According to the publisher, "The goal of this book is not to teach the J2EE specification but to illustrate the best practices for developing J2EE applications." In fact, it does both. The example application which is used throughout the book is well designed to cover all the pieces of J2EE. I do have two complaints about the book. First, it concentrates too much on the SilverStream Application Server getting down to the level of showing screen shots of deployment wizards. Second, the book could have used some editing to give it a better flow. J2EE architecture is explained before any of the pieces that make up the architecture are discussed. EJB session beans are used to demonstrate how to use JDBC before EJBs are covered. Overall, however, the book is well done and can stand up against any of the books covering this complex topic.

...Vulgar talk (and not to mention the sexual talk and remarks), 4-letter words,and one of the boys is describing how he HATES several people and want to kill (stab) them. Also, the 2 boys writing the letters are disturbed! Is this what we want our children to read...I think NOT! What was the author thinking of?? I would not have give ANY star--but I had to--so it would submit.

I read this when I was 12 because of my huge fascination with Superman at the time.

What I found was book that I was not able to fully take in. It shocked me, it upset me and a lot of it went over my head. I re-read it when I was 21 and now think it's one of the greatest books I've ever read.

While I do think it shoud have been made clear who the audience was (my mom wasn't too happy that I read it when I was 12), this book is a classic I fear will be quickly forgotten.

I first read this book about 15 years ago, and have re-read it several times since. It should be recommended reading for every pubescent. An enlightening insight into childhood dreams, fantasy and reality. Heartbreaking, yet uplifting. Funny and sad. Essential!

I am sorry for the abuse the poet suffered. But, like most "pain poets" Carty's poems are just emotions thrown on a page as if to rid them from the scripters conscience. There is no fresh language, and the work seems labored, like the poet is trying to hard. If you are looking for solid imagery, look elsewhere. This book is only rhyme for the sake of rhyme.

Sadly, abuse in one form or another touches many lives. However very few are able to reveal the stark reality of their personal experiences as Joseph Carty has managed to do in "Fragile Temple." A survivor in every sense of the word, he clearly identifies feelings of fear and confusion as a child, anger and frustration as an adolescent, and yet another view of compassion for and understanding of himself as an adult. With each reading, yet another facet of this gifted writer is revealed.

I just received my autographed copy of Fragile Temple and have been unable to put it down. This collection of poetry goes right to the heart and soul. Joseph T. Carty courageously shares all with the reader. Every emotion is expressed good and bad. I admire him for his strength. This book is a treasured item in my collection. Looking forward to more from this talented young man.