Now in a completed revised and updated second edition for 2002, A Statistical Portrait Of The United States: Social Conditions & Trends is a solid reference packed cover to cover with charts, graphs, and hard data on everything from population data and crime rates, to education, income, labor, voting, and housing trends. A Statistical Portrait Of The United States is highly recommended as an excellent, first-class resource and an indispensable library reference.

Excellent presentation of complicated subject. For many people stats are intimidating. This book is the clearest presentation I've seen

Engagingly written, with clear (and usually relevant) anecdotes, the book succeeds in the attempt to present statistics as a subject available to the amateur. I especially enjoyed the examples at the end of the book, where I could check out how well I had grasped the concepts earlier presented. So many experts barrage us with statistics that attempt to influence our viewpoints, actions, activities and votes, that it is important to be able to know whether or not the information is valid and complete. With the analysis tools provided by the author, one can more effectively decide whether or not the facts presented are valid or accurate.

I've been a science fiction fan since I was a teenager. One of my pet peeves is the lack of strong gay characterization throughout the entire genre, whether it's book form, TV or on film. Mr. Kendrick has brought that to an end. This is real science fiction, what with great futuristic concepts and all. But what what's better is that most of the characters that are really fleshed out in this story are all gay.

I was instantly intrigued with this story's premise about the far future. A worldwide drought, the USA no longer exists, shorelines completely different, and a gay main character who takes a trip through time. I couldn't read fast enough.

The story's setup takes you through three of Kallen Deshara's relationships before he falls in love with a man from the past. How did that happen? I'm not telling....Then, while he's in the past (1820), the focus is on some pretty dastardly doings in his own time that Kallen discovers, along with the developing love relationship between he and Aaric.

I've already read Book III, which is the second volume in this series. It continues where the first volume left off. I was terribly emotional as the tension built up. Was Kallen going to be brought back or not? Was Aaric going to be killed or not? Was Kallen going to alter the future or not?

The love affair that Mr. Kendrick developed between his characters in the second volume was infused with sensuality, some pretty hot moments, and a wonderfully emotional tone throughout. The ending was as suprising as the epilogue.

I highly recommend this series for those who like science fiction and wish to read about us for a change.

The action of this romantic science fiction thriller takes place in two different centuries: the 25th century, plagued by homophobia and unquestioned propaganda, and the 19th century, a time of discovery and superstition.

After Technical Sergeant Kallen Deshara keeps finding gay sexual partners in a military that supposedly has no gays, he finally falls in love. Unfortunately, he does so during a mission that takes him into the past. The object of his affection had also been seeking a life-long, romantic bond with another man.

Kendrick keeps the scientific explanations in the narrative short but believable, focusing instead on intrigue, character development, and relationships. The pace never slows, and the book's time travel premise sneaks shockingly but somehow naturally into the already complex lives of the characters. Yes, it seems impossible in terms of what they know, but they were already starting to learn that much of what they supposedly "knew" isn't reality at all.

Appearing together in a single volume, Books I and II of the Stealing Some Time trilogy will take readers out of reality as well. I look forward to reading Book III to see how it all turns out!

Five stars are nowhere near enough. This review is for both volumes of STEALING SOME TIME series. Vol. 1 is books I & II and Vol. 2 is book III. Don't even; think about buying one without the other. These interlocking stories are just way too kewl.

This series is an SF adventure, thriller & super romantic love story all-in-one. There's also a lots of sex too. But it's definitely not porn. You can't help but totally fall in love with these guys, physically & mentally. There are other characters that you will like, some you won't & some you'll hate, & that is as it should be. Mark is very good at fleshing out his characters. I know; there are some people out there that don't want sex mentioned at all or even hinted at. But, apparently, those people don't want any reality at all, even when it shows up in fiction & greatly enhances the, "reality", of the story. That's okay; there are lots of, "sterile", books out there for those people to peruse. SF books with a strong gay theme are so very rare out there in the literary world. That alone makes Mark's new series, SST, an absolute treasure for me.

This story is also an emotional rollercoaster ride through deceit & rejection to ultimately a love that transcends all time. It's also a story of corrupting power & control that, precisely & very frighteningly, parallels our very own world & time. It's an eight-century adventure of a very grand scale involving two very different futures. It's a thriller in that most all of the characters involved will take any measures or actions no matter the cost or consequences to life, limb, love or altered future. Intense love & survival between two guys may be the key as to what the future may become.

Heading into book III, you may need some tissues close by. Your eyes may have a tendency to leak now & then, especially in the third book. But do anticipate your heartstrings to be tugged a bit, & if your anxiety prone get some Valium, the thriller parts get even more intense.

One of the other emotions you'll have is the humor created by the, time/culture/language/clothing, differences experienced by these people between all the centuries.

If you've read & appreciated both of Mark's first two books, you've got to read his latest series. The venue is only different in that it is SF, but written by a pro. To me, the main theme is love. The ending is absolutely incredible. One like I've never encountered before, and I read a lot!!! It took me some time to get my emotions back under control just so I could write a review, which is in it's self an extreme rarity...
JJL

I was 18 years old when I first discovered Stefan Zweig. At that time, I read his famous story "The Royal Game" in which a man is imprisoned and repeatedly interrogated by the Nazis. Before his solitary confinement can drive him utterly mad he steals a book about chess from the pocket of coat hanging in the anteroom where he is waiting for another cross-examination. At first the game keeps his mind occupied but in the end this playing against himself causes him to fall victim to schizophrenia. After he is eventually released from prison he is confronted with chess again on a ship to brazil. The schizophrenia prevailed over him again. I was so impressed by this story that I began to read more and more of Zweig's work: "The Invisible Collection", "The Confusion of Sentiments", "The Burning Secret", "Letter from an Unknown Woman" to mention but a few, as well as some biographical studies about him. But there always remained a certain lingering sense of uncertainty in my relationship to his works since I was not convinced that his fiction was indeed serious literature as opposed to mere light reading. His stories were so well structured and his statements were so clear that there seemed to be little that required critical interpretation. This confusion on my part made me so doubtful that I had no answer for those people who passed final judgement on him. Shortly before last Christmas I received a package from a friend who is likewise an admirer of Zweig. The package contained two books, one book was about the correspondence between Zweig and Heinrich Meyer-Benfey, the other volume was "Stefan Zweig. Exil und Suche nach dem Weltfrieden". The latter discussed from various points of view his exile and his search for a peaceful life in Europe in the middle of the 20th century. Zweig had always striven to be a mediator between the nations and cultures but after 1933 life in his native Austria became all but impossible for him, both as a Jew and as an author. He fled all around the globe and never found the wished freedom and peace. At least he came unstuck in Brazil where he committed suicide with his second wife Lotte in 1942. Fifty years later, in 1992, an international Stefan Zweig congress was arranged in Salzburg (Austria) where he had lived for the 15 years preceding his flight from his native land. The basic theme of this congress was Zweig's attitude toward war, his efforts for a peaceful Europe and his difficult last years in exile up to his suicide in Brazil. Twenty-two experts presented papers at this conference, which lectures (all in German except for three in English) are combined in this volume, in addition to a few articles which were solicited later. In one of these essays I found - for the first time in a book about Zweig - an article which dealt specifically with my problem concerning the literary merit of Zweig's work and my fear that his stories are not of an outstanding quality because his works does not seem to be any special challenge to philologists and literary critics. This very concern formed the central focus of the essay by Volker Michels entitled "Im Unrecht nicht selber ungerecht werden! Stefan Zweig, ein Autor für morgen in der Welt von heute und gestern". Michels believes that Zweig's popularity, like that of Hermann Hesse, is not very high among professional philologists because the works of these authors are, on the surface at least, far too clear and direct and thus obviously less intellectual. According to Michels, such interpreters prefer by far to have that which is simple presented in a highly complicated manner rather than to have the complicated described in simple terms, for then it is the brilliance of their erudition which decodes the underlying messages and toward which the attention of the literary public is directed. Zweig's works do have other intentions since they seek to involve the cooperation of their readers who are to draw their own conclusions from the text themselves, which texts are based on a form of self-criticism rather than an adverse social critique. Michels' words were exactly what I needed at the time. My certainty has grown since then. When I am confronted by a sceptic today, I answer what Michels wrote in his impressive essay: "Stefan Zweig is indeed easy to read but very difficult to live."

Miriam Hoffmann, mh755373@aol.com

Stepping Into Greatness is a book that can give hope in seemingly hopeless situations. Encouragement reaches out from every page. Dr. Chironna's personal experience with crisis, betrayal then brokenness has been turned into a gift of wisdom for us all.

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the politics and history of the former Yugoslavia. Unfortunately most readers know little of the region's history before 1940. Biondich's book helps readers understand why the inqualities of the past resulted in the death and destruction of the 1990s. Tragically the Croatian leader Radic and his politics of passivism resulted in his brutal assassination in the Serbian parliament. In his book "Celebrities of our Time" the writer Bernstein even chose to include Radic among the many brilliant thinkers and writers of the Twenties such as Tolstoy. Once again an excellent read that should be mandatory for students, historians and particularly, the media.

As expected, this book from America's greatest writer is fun and funny. It's actually three books, put together in a facsimile edition by Oxford. The first books, _The Stolen White Elephant, etc._ is a collection of Clemens' humorous short stories and speeches. Though these do not get into the same serious criticism of society as _Huck Finn_ or _Connecticut Yankee_, they do have a biting tone and make the reader laugh. Despite the title, the only of these tales with any detectives is the title story. The second book, _Tom Sawyer, Detective_, follows Tom and Huck on a third adventure. Huck tells the story, and though the accent isn't done as thoroughly as in the prequel, the novel is funny and...well, funny! The last novel, _A Double-Barreled Detective Story_, makes fun of the whole detective genre.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who who missed Tom, Huck and Hank Morgan, and to anyone looking for a good laugh.

American Library Association Notable Book author of over 50 books, Carlson has written a meditation book that demystifies and illuminates, using the mirrors of insight and science to reflect what is elusive and beyond words. In STOP THE PAIN:ADULT MEDITATIONS, Carlson has drawn together the diverse elements of the mind, the psyche, and the spirit of science to make the case that thought is an inadequate instrument to solve all problems...that the problems in relationship, with money and work can change only when one has a meditative approach...The words, examples, suggestions on getting started, and quotes from the wise are to get you to look at your own psychological thinking and see the havoc it creates.

We got this book as a gift for our first son, and have been trying to find one for our next two ever since. Unfortunately it is out of print. It is very sensitive, and is expecially good for adopted babies (it wasn't written especially for adopted babies, it just works well--the ones written especially for adopted babies just go on and on about adoption). It is the best baby book we have seen.