Ignore the "recommended" age bracket (4+). My 2-year old daughter has memorized the simple subtitles and enjoys the colorful pictures in this book.

Machlin, probably one of the world's leading experts on the brilliant, died-too-soon composer/performer/entertainer, Thomas F. "Fats" Waller, here takes us through a wealth of newly discovered sketches and compositions, *exhaustively* and elegantly transcribed. Machlin has a touch of Waller's puckish, dry humor (read the opening essay to see what a German-language newspaper said about one of Waller's shows). A must-have for any American music scholar/academic. Sadly, Machlin had not yet composed his wonderful contemporary satirical riff on the times we live in to the tune of Waller's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" when this tome was published, but it's worth tracking down--one can presumably contact Machlin through Colby College, where he teaches.

THOMAS'S RAILWAY WORD BOOK is another in the seemingly endless parade of Thomas paperbacks, but I'm not complaining! The fact is, they're inexpensive and make a wonderful collection that encourages your Thomas fan to read. This one has vivid cartoon-like illustrations in primary colors with lots going on in the background to talk about. But there is NO story -- zip. The words are connected with what they represent, with arrows (coach, suitcase). The words are used in sentences, but make no plot. Still, my Thomas fans like me to read it over and over anyway, because I ask them "Where's the fireman?" or point to the train #5 and ask "Which one is this?" or "What's the helicopter's name?" I also make up mini-stories that use the words, and even though they're different every time, the kids will say "Read it again!" Or I ask them to tell me what's going on in the picture. That's a great mental exercise.

this is a very nice book. the design is not that great, but otherwise it is great. the art and pictures are very nice. the book was published in 93 so it shows a lot of earlier work by this very important artist. essays by baraka and mcevilley are insightful and should be read by anyone interested in art, black culture, or the politics of art and race. dial is in the 2000 whitney biennial, and this book makes you wonder why he wasn't in it earlier. the titles of the works alone make this worth reading. another book of note very much worth reading is souls grown deep: african american vernacular art of the south, published by tinwood books.

Checkov was a master of composing life's largest problems into beautiful language and ordinary situations which the entire world could understand. Granted he wrote them a long time ago but the underlying situation exists everywhere today. Here are three sisters completely unable to move on with their lives. They are unhappy, they are desperate for a change of scene, they are forced to give up anyone they love to someone else but yet they remain glued to the exact place where all of this occurs. Olga has passed her prime, Masha loves someone other than her husband, and Irina has no idea what could possibly make her happy and all they do is talk about change, but never do anything active. And in the end it all comes full circle and we as an audience, a reader, need to decide how to not fall into such a life rut, to learn by their actions as we do from Aesop's fables. This play is just written a great deal better, with a little more comedy and tugging at the heartstrings.

This is an excellent book to fill out the background within which Saul of Tarsus - St. Paul - is to be understood. The authors are classical historians who have put a great deal of work into documenting the world of the 1st Century A.D., as it applies to Paul and the rise of early Christianity. The bibliography is thorough and up-to-date, and there is real depth in the information. I found it easy and exciting to read (though I may not be a typical reader!). The major sections - The Geography of Paul's World, Travelling the World, The Native Cultures, Hellenisation in the Near East, Roman Rule in the Near East, The Life of the Polis, and The Individual's Self-Identification - are all good to excellent. The final section on "Paul's Cities", though full of good detail, is inevitably a little "bitsy", and hence a slightly weak ending to the book. Why only four stars? And why "Two and a half of the three worlds of Paul"? Two things would have really helped complete the book. The most important thing is that the book deals excellently with the Roman and Greek "worlds" of Paul, but falls down on the Jewish world. It's good on political and social history, but weak on the history of ideas side. Some treatment of Judaism as a religion in the period, particularly as a background to Paul's ideas, would really have helped. Likewise, it would have helped to deal with some of the cross-disciplinary research that looks at Paul from an anthropological point of view. But that would be icing on the cake of what is already a good book. If you're seriously interested in St. Paul, this is one to get.

Despite what you would think from the way this book is advertized, it really isn't a travelogue through early 20th Century Tibet. Only 2 chapters are really devoted to this. The rest of it is an account of Dorje Zodba's reflections on Tibetan culture and customs, and this is presented in a rather cut and dry manner, not that different from a typical anthropological or sociological survey. Again, despite what you would think, the vaunted viewpoint of the author (both Christian and Buddhist influenced) does not deliver the variations of insight or spark of tension you would expect. Dorje doesn't really bring either to obvious reflection on the task. So why 4 stars? Because, even though its tone isn't that different from many other books, there are a lot of interesting details brought out due to the author being Tibetan and having grown up in the culture, yet having an analytical distance from it, caused by his exposure to Western methods of information gathering. Of particular note is the fact that this account was written before Tibetans had fully realized that not everything in their culture was politically correct or should be aired too openly, so you gain a more realistic picture of their lives before the Communist takeover and Western idealisms about their culture.

Muurahaisista on joskus riesaa, mutta tämä on jo liioittelua, tosin hauskaa sellaista - huikeaa eurooppalaisen tieteissarjakuvan ilotulitusta...

If we don't use the word "is" or any other form of the verb "to be," what happens? The book "To Be or Not" shows what happens when we use active verbs instead, and how to use them, to write a more briskly informative English.

Instead of saying "Bill is bad" (a possibly harmful judgement, which tells us nothing about Bill himself), say what you have seen him do. Judgements using "is" may keep us from noticing much or thinking accurately; they may have us reacting in recklessly all-or-nothing ways as we assume that what we already feel is the truth, the whole truth, and all that matters.

In two introductions, a dozen articles, and one short story, "To Be or Not" provides a lively and easily understood introduction to E-Prime, English without the verb "to be," a remarkably practical semantics which anyone using English needs.

Related books:

"More E-Prime: To Be or Not II" (more descriptions of how using active verbs produces a more briskly specific and informative English)

'E-Prime III! A Third Anthology" (more descriptions, including how often some famous examples of English use "to be")

After Silverberg's first "retirement," he returned to science
fiction with this book--constructed out of a series of novelettes
published by Fred Pohl in _If_. It is colorful, almost gaudy
science fiction; in a way, it seems to bridge Silverberg's pulp
work of the 50's with his more thoughtful work of the later 60's
and early 70's.

As is the case with most science fiction, it appears dated in
places. During the years 1964-65, when this book was written,
some of the concerns with mysticism and trancendence embedded in
the social unrest of the later 60's were already clearly in
evidence. Silverberg shows his awareness and sympathy for these
trends in this early book.

While the themes of the book are very much of its time, the
pure inventiveness points farther back, to works like
Alfred Bester's _Tyger! Tyger!_ (aka, _The Stars My
Destination_). The "Electromagnetic Litany: Stations of
the Spectrum_" is clever and funny and ingenious enough
in its own right to sway me in the book's favor.

The quality of the writing is more than competent, and sometimes
a great deal better than that. Silverberg, for all his excellent
novels (e.g., _Dying Inside_, _The Book of Skulls_, _Downward
to the Earth_), often seems to me happier at the novelette to
novella length. Thus a mosaic novel such as this one shows
him at his best advantage.

At the same time, despite its several excellences, the book
is not devoid of a certain immaturity by later Silverberg
standards. There are a few stock characters, as well as stock
reactions here. During the ten years after this book, Silverberg
showed us how much better he could do.

Still, all in all, I'm fond of this book. I *do* think it's
good entertainment of a high order. I'd really like to give
it 3.5 stars, because it isn't a masterwork. But it is diverting
reading, even if one isn't a devoted reader of Silverberg.