I decided to read this book for purely personal motives. Having been raised in California by a father who grew up in Birmingham in the early twenties and thirties, I had a desire to understand this man, my father, who seemed at times to have such radical world views. Reading Paul Hemphill's story, specifically the retelling of details of growing up in a working class family, including the bigoted views his father held, helped me to understand the world that molded many whites prior to the civil rights movement. When chosing this book, I wasn't looking for a dry detailed history but rather an insiders view of what this world of "Birmingham, Alabama" must have been like growing up. Why it created such biogtry? And How can we continue to change? Paul Hemphill, through this book, helped me to understand, what kind of a world Birmingham was, and how it shaped and molded the people who grew up there.

This book was required reading for my Civil Rights class. Although at times a bit too detailed and tangent prone, Hemphill's style is very gripping and kept my attention. The way in which the formation and development of Birmingham is disussed, enterpreted, and explained is superb. Hemphill does an excellent job of juxtaposing the racial, economic, and social climate that evolved and gripped the city of Birmingham throughout the years. I would consider this autobiography of sorts a must read for any person interested in issues pertaining to the Civil Rights Movement. Just get through the few dry parts, the rest is well worth the read!

In 1963 Alabama was the site of racial violence: native Hemphill decides here to return to his hometown, to come to terms with his family and life. Leaving Birmingham probes the ethnic relationships in Birmingham past and present, providing an intriguing analysis of the tensions and present-day life.

(...)I was never much of a poetry fan. Until I met Shaffer's poetry that is.

I met him at (a bookstore) on Maui and was invited to his poetry reading. With two young children I rarely made it out of the house in the evening, but something compelled me to go. Listening to him read his work was excellent! I've bought all he's written ever since.

If you want to read poetry that is light yet insightful, keen and at times biting, buy Eric Paul Shaffer's "Living at the Monestery, Working in the Kitchen." You'll read it over and over again.

I have never been much of a poetry reader--mostly because I have often found it to be obtuse or irrelevant. My opinion changed, though, after reading Eric Shaffer's work. I loved PORTABLE PLANET (his first collection of poems), and LIVING IN THE MONASTERY, WORKING IN THE KITCHEN was even better! His poetry is fresh, humorous and filled with simple images that manage to evoke complex emotions. "Will good and evil deeds be weighed?/Who ponders such nonsense is lost." -- simple truth, eloquently stated. Buy this book and forget your preconceived notions about poetry. Eric Shaffer will blow them out of the water!

Eric Paul Shaffer, a scholar of Lew Welch, Gertrude Stein and William Shakespeare, turns his reckless eye to the far east and examines the life and personality of Shih-te, friend of that bear of a poet, Han-shan, and an accomplished poet himself. Many of Shaffer's re-creations of Shih-te's work are poignantly funny as he takes out his wrath, his rapier wit, on the monks of the monastery where he works as a cook. These monks, you see, take themselves far too seriously for Shih-te's taste. Not Han-shan, not even Shih-te himself, escape Shih-te's ire for very long, as the poet-cook considers his entire world fair game. Shaffer is a poet of uncommon elegance and subtlety, and enough of a roughneck to keep his work deeply-rooted and gritty. Shaffer's best since "Rattlesnake Rider" (sadly out of print), and even better the second time through!

Rarely an aircraft career has been analyzed so completely. This volume is a gripping account of missions flown by Lockheed SR 71 during its operational life, a tribute to a fantastic aircraft and its technological legacy.

The book narrates the story of plane birth as replacement to the famous spyplane U2. The operational requirements leading to U2 first, than to SR71, shaped these two futuristic reconnaissance platforms; but for the SR71, the author provides full coverage of its development as a aircraft family (interceptor and bomber versions). After introducing the CIA operations and the past highly classified programs, progenitors of Blackbird, a detailed description of aircraft design characteristics is presented, finally a vivid picture of most secret engineering data concerning the equipments and aircraft systems. This is a fascinating reading itself, especially after being entertained by "Skunk Works", the autobiography of Ben Rich, former director of the Advanced Development Projects branch of Lockheed and longtime friend of Kelly Johnson , Blackbird's chief designer. The legacy left by these outstanding scientists is simply gigantic and the technical description of one of their creature is well worth the price. Infact a precious facet of the volume is the cockpits instruments panels, the cutaway view with general internal layout and the inlet (or intake, as Britons prefer) airflow diagram, the first time that such a complicated duct system is described and printed. Also revealed for the first time are the missions operated by Air Force to monitor the Soviet nuclear submarines pens in the Artic during the peak of cold war.

After many years of silent and classified operations, the most impressive airplane ever built is discovered in this engrossing publication. The author delivers outstandingly the technological marvel and the faithful "day by day" care required by the personnel in maintaining the recce plarform a viable military program, a lasting portrait of men who flew and overhauled the almighty Blackbird before its untimely retirement.

Yesss! Engrossing is the only way to describe this book. The Lockheed SR-71, publically known as 'Blackbird' or 'Habu' to US Air Force personnel is one of aviation's most exciting legends. And so it should be: 3,000 mph, and a 97,000 feet operating altitude. Eventually the victim of political cost-cutting, the SR-71 was an astonishing and highly secret achievement when it first flew in 1962. Paul Crickmore goes into great detail about the many covert operations the Blackbird took part in and reveals how it was almost completely invulnerable to fighter interception and SAM attacks. Many Vietnam-era missions are described as are the aeroplane's frequent accidents and incidents. The SR-71, in company with a huge fleet of KC-135 tankers, flew across the world to obtain classified and valuable intelligence for the CIA and armed forces.

As a young kid I heard only heard stories of a jet that is able to fly at mach 3 and above 80,000ft. Years later I was able to finally get this book on the jet and was amazed to read on the planes history and it impact on war torn countries. This plane is the only thing that was able to stop a war in the middle east not politicans. We need this plane to be upgraded and deployed again. This book overall shows the worth of the money that goes into this plane's mission to keep peace for America and other countries.

I have had several discussions with Paul Hill at Florida State Prison. I was very sympathetic to his philosophy of "defending the unborn" through the use of force. However, after reading North's refutation of Paul Hill's philosophy I can no longer subscribe to the philosophy of defensive force as espoused by Hill. North does such an excellent job of showing the Scriptural context of the various passages that Paul uses to defend his position that you cannot help but to see that using violence against abortion "doctors" has no support in Scripture. He further demonstrates that such violence actually hurts the cause of pro-life. One more thing about North's work is that after you have read his work you walk away with a much greater reverence for God and His ordained societal hierachies. Paul Hill's position paper on defensive force leaves you with little regard for God's appointed authorities-- which of course is anarchical and thus anti-Biblical.

In this book, Dr. Gary North sternly refutes the murderous philosophy of Paul J. Hill in the scholarly but uncompromising manner for which he is so loved. His position is well defined Biblically and stands on a rock-hard judicial foundation. This book is an absolute must for any Christian that has believed, even for a moment, that Hill's position was misguided but understandable.

This is the best (and shortest) refutation available of the idea that violence against abortionists is either permissible or required. And naturally, North argues from Biblical law, and does so until he pretty much can't be refuted. Much needed today.

As a teenager, I can relate to almost all of the fiction in this book. Every story provides at least one bit of comedy. I recommend this book to anyone purchasing a gift for a teenager.

Do you know a teen who would like to be a writer? Or do you have ambitions to write? I highly recommend this book for both groups, as well as for young adults who just love short story collections. The first story about a high school fencer, by Jerry Lubar, was my favorite. It appeals to that part in all of us that loves to root for the underdog, and see him come out on top. It's also delightfully funny! It reminded me very much of Chris Crutcher's writing. Not all of the stories are as strong as Lubar's, but I love the collection anyway. Each story is prefaced by a note from the author, telling what inspired the author to write THIS particular story. It helps budding authors to see where writers get their ideas and, perhaps more interesting, WHY they get their ideas. It also shows the aspiring writer that there are many different ways to tell a story - whether in a straight forward format (most of the stories), a prose poem interview (Mel Glenn's Kids in the Mall), or an unconventional nursery rhyme (John Scieszka's Thirteen Diddles). The prefaces also allow the reader to see the authors as real live once-upon-a-teen people, who just happened to grow up and make their living by writing. A word of warning, however - THIS IS NOT, as a previous reviewer said, a book for the Harry Potter lover. I love the Rowling books, but this is not designed to serve the reader in the same way. Don't buy it thinking that it is similar in any way to the Potter books. Do buy it if you are intrigued by the process of writing, if you like short stories, or if you enjoy learning about how authors work their magic on readers.

Thirteen authors of books aimed at adolescents contributed a story based on a true event in their lives when they were in school or, as in one case, observing students as an adult. The tales center on showing how the writers get an idea for a story based on an experience even if that incident(s) is turned into something supernatural or science fiction in nature.

The well-written stories are clearly designed for the younger reader. This collection would make a wonderful follow-up to fans of Harry Potter (the most influential books in many years by virtue of bringing literature to youngsters). This anthology provides a writer's focus within interesting stories to that same Potter age group. Along with the Weiss' previous book (see the award winning FROM ONE EXPERIENCE TO ANOTHER), young readers will gain another perspective on the non-programming written word.

"Last Watch of the Night" gets unjustly forgotten in the light of Monette's more famous "Borrowed Time" and "Becoming a Man," but this collection of essays is a better book than either of them. This is what should have been up for the National Book Award, not "Becoming a Man."

The flaws in the book: some of the essays, especially near the end, seem to drift, and are not particularly engaging. These include the soporific "Sleeping Under a Tree." Also, Monette's observations about graves of famous people in "3275" are not even close to as important and insightful as his look at his lovers' and friends' plots.

However, the majority of the book shines true. Alternately bitter, angry, hopeful, and amazed, Monette's words have tremendous emotional force. He is at his best in "The Politics of Silence" and "My Priests," sometimes combining all these emotions in a single paragraph. He sees the dying all around, but can still find glimmers of hope in the conduct of those fighting AIDS. His depictions of the "last watch of the night," where he cares for his sick lover, are heart-breaking.

Although Monette does tend to go off on rages or streaks of uncontained sentimentality, something which marred some otherwise stellar poetry in his book "Love Alone," most often he controls his use of language to the extent where he is able to use forceful emotional passages without drowning his readers. He does this especially well in his essay about his lover's dog, "Puck."

"Last Watch of the Night" stands with his volume of poetry, "Love Alone" and non-fiction, "Borrowed Time," as essential texts of both Paul Monette and the AIDS crisis.

This books represents one of the finest collections of essays I have ever read. Incredibly moving and filled with the intense passion of a man dying and yet gripped by life, this book has blown me away every time I've read it -- and that's been several times. I'm not sure which essay I like best but at the moment "My Priests" stands out, as it certainly ties in to certain news regarding the Catholic clergy. I wonder what Paul Monette would have had to say about it. Absolutely a must read for anyone with a feeling heart.

I recall reading this book during my brief and traumatic service in the Israeli army. In the week it took me to finish it, I was as if transported to another sphere of existence - one in which humanity reigns triumphant. As with his two other autobiographical novels, the reader gains a intimate glimpse of his thoughts and experiences. Undoubtedly, Paul Monette goes to great lengths to condemn the corruption of today's world, but side by side his essays are interwoven with instances of sheer beauty. I think his capacity to love, both his friends and his longtime (or short-time) companions is truly inspirational.

This book does a very good job of getting you right into ActiveX, and then slowly adds the VBScript. While the examples on the CD are well documented, I couldn't get a few of them to work (SelectedIndex) for one. However, I would recommend this book as both a good reference and usuable tool. Note that you should have a pretty good understanding of HTML. If you don't, you'll have problems, but the CD has an HTML book on it that is easily indexed. It helped me out greatly.

I like the way Ms. Lemay wrote the book, She makes it easy for a beginner like me in VBscript easier to understand the language. It is like one of her Teach Yourself books! I highly recommend this as a good reference!

Excellent step by step lessons on using ActiveX and VBscript. This book cleared up alot of questions I had. I just bought this book a week ago (May 1999) and I wish I had bought it a long time ago. Although this book was published in 1997, it is unbelievably useful today!

...the language.

This book is great, but obviously constructed to be used by a student already knowldgeable about vocabulary, or at least a teacher who can teach the vocab in advance.

It is great for the alphabet, because it shows a word that uses the letter AND.. the 'transliteration' in english. BUT, the excercises will have a series of pictures, and ask which start with what sound... the problem is, unless they know the language already, they won't know what sound the words start with.. and thus can't utilize the excercises.

Great book for children or adults who know the language but not the script. IF, you have a teacher who can teach you the vocab as you learn the script, THEN it is a good book for those not so familiar with the spoken language yet.

As a side note, if the publisher or author were to release this in a second edition... I would take the simple step of putting transliterated pronunciations in the excercises as well... it is easy to do, and makes the book usable by fluent speakers and those new to the language as well.

This book is a fantastic journey into a new language. The illustrations, activities and practice exercises are enjoyable to all who may be interested in Bengali.

A delightful workbook for pre-schoolers written in Bengali and English. Little folks will love the colorful illustrations and a variety of activities. There are excellent exercises for kinesthetic development through sounding out letters, tracing letters with directional arrows, letter recognition, cutting and pasting, and other forms of letter and word reinforcement. A unique find

The author discovers more than just a continent. He provides tremendous insight into the trials and tribulations of long term travel in close confinements. He writes with sensitivity and empathy and must be commended on his extraordinary insight into human nature.

Malachite is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read. It is essentially a tale of two parallel journeys: the author's external journey through Africa on the forever faithful Bedford truck and the author's internal journey which examines his values, attitudes and, perhaps most importantly, fortitude. For a debut novel, Malachite is very well written and I look forward to reading his next book.

Paul Marketos offered me a unique, open and honest insight to what it is to be a white middle-class South African experiencing Africa after apartheid. Marketos not only reflects on his values and attitudes and those of his travelling companions, but he also provides a frank and sometimes humorous insight into group dynamics. Malachite is also a journey into Africa and is a wonderful account of the "Dark Continent". Right from the first paragraph I felt the author's excitement for this once in a lifetime adventure. I shared his amazement at the group's close encounter with wild gorillas, his frustration at the many senseless wars and consequent poverty of African countries, his humility when offered food and gifts from starving locals, his admiration (and at times loathing) for the dependable Bedford, and his intense belief in the future of Africa. Malachite is a wonderful book complete with adventure, humour and sadness, and history. And for anybody interested in mechanics, it also provides a detailed account of the workings of a 1962 Bedford.

This is a very good book. Paul is the only person in the world that I would entrust my company and life to.

Guy Kawasaki
CEO
Garage Technology Ventures

Drawing from extensive experience in the emergency room and in the boardroom, the author identifies lessons he learned while practicing good medicine that can be applied in corporate management. At a time when corporate America is faced with a crisis of consciousness concerning effective and perhaps even ethical management practices (Enron, Imclone, Supreme Specialties, Steve Madden) it's helpful to be reminded how simple lessons can lead to successful management.

Thankfully, the author doesn't provide a checklist or formula but identifiable lessons by way of entertaining examples. The book is written in a casual narrative form, which makes it a quick (I finished it in 3 hours) and entertaining read. After putting the book down, I was left with a handful of insightful lessons, which I am confident I can apply to my work.

As an Executive Coach who works often with emergency room physicians, I approached this new management advice book with great enthusiasm. Organized as a series of management prescriptions drawing from the field of emergency medicine, Management Lessons From the E.R., is a quick and enjoyable read chock full of healthy vitamins that can help revitalize the managerial heart and mind. I will highlight just a few of the many metaphorical tonics served up in the book.

The author, Paul Auerbach, a practicing physician and successful businessman, draws upon real-life experiences in the E.R. to instruct the reader as to how he or she might approach various management issues. In the introduction, Auerbach states that nothing is more revealing than letting your customers and employees tell you what they think and that if you set up a way to periodically endure unfiltered comments it can become the best stethoscope into the heart of your business. This insightful statement hit home for me, as it is the foundation of my coaching philosophy. I suspect it will ring true for you too.

The author shows us how the field of applied medicine can inform management. For example, just as most physicians possess a knowledge base that can be difficult to translate effectively into lay language for patients, so too do business leaders need to cut through their technical jargon in order to communicate effectively with their employees and customers. Whether in clinical medicine or a consumer electronics company, the leader must make information accessible to his or her followers.

I recommend this book to all organizational leaders - not only to those in the medical profession - without hesitation. For much less than the cost of a visit to your local hospital emergency room, Management Lessons From the E.R. is a valuable addition to your management toolbox.

Betty Till
Executive Coach...