In a word, it truly stinks. The "twist" ending would be just passable in a student film; here, from the author of The New York Trilogy, it's a colossal embarassment. When Willem Defoe went into "Singin' in the Rain," I almost hid under the sofa. Ouch.

Paul Auster is an exceptional writer and capable of great work-- for example, all of LEVIATHAN, MOON PALACE, and THE MUSIC OF CHANCEare excellent novels. TIMBUKTU, his latest, has plenty to recommend it as well.

But he's also capable of producing dreck (for instance, his close-to-unreadable novel MR. VERTIGO), and this script is in the dreck category.

Has the man never read "An Incident At Owl Creek Bridge"? Well, Ambrose Bierce used the gag at the core of this film many, many years before Auster did. Borges used it, too. That by itself is fine -- the fact that Homer wrote about war doesn't mean no one else should ever again -- but seems to think his gag is clever, orginal, and not telegraphed, when nothing could be further from the truth. (Frankly, the only reason I was in suspense until the end was that I couldn't believe that Auster would [re-]use such an obvious gag.)

LULU ON THE BRIDGE is crap. Pretentious writing, familiar ideas. Don't be suckered.

I love the film. Now I can "take" the film with me
anywhere I want with this screenplay. I cherish
every word. I also love the fact that some of the
edited scenes are in the dialogue too. I just wish
the pictures could be in color. Other than that,
a must for any FAN of the film! "You can't live if
you don't eat, right?" "Right."

This book wasn't too bad, but it was strange. The descriptions of Sam's memoryscape were a little too wordy at times, but I did enjoy this book. I do recommend it but, if you want to read a real page-turner by F. Paul Wilson then get The Select.

Excellent idea but stretched a little too far. The basic premise, simulation of a person's psyche on computer, is tantalising. I felt the characterisations were believable but the various twists and turns were too predictable and seemed to be deliberately laboured. I reckon the book is 2 chapters too long and would have benefited from a hard-nosed editor demanding more pace, less self-indulgent self-analysis.

This is more of a sci-fi book than a medical thriller, as advertised, for which I am very grateful. If it had been labeled a sci-fi thriller, I probably wouldn't have picked it up and would have missed out on a very good story. The idea of exploring a person's memory with virtual reality is fascinating. Wilson and Costello have combined to make this a believable premise. The characterizations were wonderful and the suspense unrelenting.

This is most definitely *not* the guide you need to successfully climb Mount Whitney. Though the book is adequate on the preparation necessary for making the summit, it omits one vital piece of information: you must have a day permit in order to hike Whitney. Because this guide was written prior to this rule being implemented, it doesn't contain any warning about this.

Every hiker from May 15-October 15 *must* possess a day permit issued from the Lone Pine Ranger Station. Don't think you can hike without it, because there are Rangers strategically posted on the trail and they will ask for the pass. If you don't have it, you will be turned away. I have actually seen hikers from Germany, France and even Australia be turned away because they didn't know about this requirement.

Aside from this glaring omission, this book is a fine representation of what you must do to prepare to climb Whitney. A word of caution though, for a first-time climber reading this review. Please do not attempt this hike unless you are supremely physically fit. I have seen many sobering cases of hikers on Whitney who were simply not prepared for the rigors of this climb. Most physically fit people should be able to do the 21 miles in 12-13 hours. If it takes you 24 hours you will suffer and it will be a miserable experience. Train for at least six months before attempting to summit. Be sure and run 25-40 miles a week, hike every weekend at altitude (if practicable)and invest in a good stairclimber. You must have strong quads and calves in order to enjoy the hike and the descent will be brutal on your knees, no matter how fit you are. Also go out for several 10 hour hikes in order to prepare yourself mentally for this challenge. The mental part of Whitney is as difficult as the physical, particularly on the descent when you've been on the trail for a long time already.

It is certainly true, as other reviewers have noted, that this book (written in 1990) is now out of date. In particular, it does not mention the new overly restrictive permit system that the Forest Service has implemented. Despite that, however, anyone planning to hike or climb Whitney must read this book.

Among its many virtues, this book has the most detailed description of hiking and climbing routes available. Indeed, it is the only guide I've seen which gives the correct mileage to the summit from Whitney Portal. In addition, it covers natural history, geology, flora and fauna, and the history of attempts on Mt. Whitney in far greater detail than other guides. Finally, this book gives lots of space to rescue operations, and the preparations you need to make to avoid a similar fate. For all these reasons it should be your first resource, despite the slightly dated material. Hopefully the authors can be persuaded to write an updated edition.

This was very helpful when I used it last year. I esp. loved the detailed descriptions of each part of the trail: 19 entries for 11 miles. Lots of pictures so I knew what to anticipate. I enjoyed the accounts of various assents and the photos showing various routes for climbing (as opposed to hiking) the mountain. The rest of the book was perfect for what I needed: geological info, history, flora and fauna drawings and descriptions. I am not an experienced mountaineer, and had only done day hike; the basic info on safety and what to bring was useful. The final section describing serious accidents on the mountain was something I appreciated for providing the proper perspective. It is also light weight and perfect for carrying on the hike. So what if the permit section is out of date: a quick look on Internet provides all the info you need to learn how to apply. Presumably, most people buying though Amazon.com are familiar with the Internet.

a student of industrial design and looking for information on UI and instructions, this book is great in that it shows a variety of examples of instructions that are good/bad. very colorful and interesting pictures, not alot of specific information though; alot of good quotes and perspectives on instruction information.

I was looking for theory; so I was initially disappointed, but once I got past that I started enjoying it as a catalogue of both best and worst practices. It's funny. There's a particularly good example of how to use a toilet bib.

This is not one of those 'How to design instructional material for Dummies' books (if it was I certainly wouldn't own a copy) but a beautifully designed and printed book with hundreds of illustrations and diagrams showing how designers have attempted to explain, mostly visually, how we should handle everyday technology. Not only technology but simple stuff too, page eighty-seven shows the instructions, usually printed on tissue paper as I recall, on how to complete one of this little wooden puzzles you can buy in arcade shops, this one is for a camel.

Instructional design is serious stuff, a matter of life and death in some cases. The fold-out on page forty-seven shows forty-one examples of those emergency exit and life jacket cards you find in the seat pocket facing you on a plane. Although they all provide the same information, the type of illustration and layout is different in each example.

Simple instructions can be the hardest to put across, just how do you depict, in a simple visual way, the action of washing out your mouth with a glass of water, page 126 shows how with a profile of a boys head and four arrows describing a circular motion printed on his cheek, his hand holds a tilting glass with the water.

Here is a lovely book for graphic designers to leave on their coffee table.

As a big fan of Trotter and his innovation and creativity, I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it's just not very good. Mr. Clarke uses a notion or two per chapter that Trotter has applied as a successful entrepeneur, then boils it down, oversimplifies it, and creates tedious little pop quizzes of the "rate yourself" variety. It's as if he doesn't know whether he's writing a do-it-yourself workbook or a study of business. Clarke's very intrusive and heavy-handed, and this blunts the force of the good observations he does make. All in all, Clarke's interpretations of Trotter's wisdom lack the ring of authenticity of someone who's actually done what he espouses. This would be a lot better if it was actually Trotter doing the teaching.

This is both an interesting and boring work, due to the insights shared from Charlie Trotter's success. The boring stuff is the repitition of common-sense advice which everyone knows but few implement habitually. This is what separates the mediocre from the excellent.

Trotter maintains an atomosphere of excellence, from his hiring practices to discipline to innovation to publicity, etc.

One can certainly take much from this work to ponder about possible adaptation for one's own enterprise.

I happen to find this book very interesting. It gives you some insight as to how Charlie Trotter runs his restaurant in Chicago. For anyone who knows of this restaurant, you will know how successful it is and how much pull Charlie Trotter has in the restaurant business. This book won't teach you how to become a better person in life, but what it will do is teach all of us how to be more effective in the workplace. We all think we know the best way to run a business, but the truth is you can't do any of it without a great team of minds to assist you along the way.

This book was very informative. I, for one, always wanted to know some of the secrets myself about this place. The restaurant hardly ever drops the ball when it comes to providing a great dining experience.

This book would be great for managers, VP's, and directors of any company. Not just the restaurant business. It explains how to treat your workers with respect and how to also tighten the ropes when you need to get things accomplished sooner than you already are without killing the integrity of the worker.

All in all, a really good book. Buy this if you are a fan of the restaurant or would like a good idea of how the place has run over the last 12 years.

This book seems to cover all the topics one would hope for, but they all read the same, "This is what you can do - now look a the example on the included CD and figure how on your own". If anything, this book is good for just a quick review of what Notes is capable of doing, but it will not tell you how to do it. The few examples given in the book are pages long script examples that only the most seasoned programers are going to understand.

I purchased this book for two reasons:
(1). The good (although scanty) reviews it had received;
(2) The chapter on web-enabling a Notes db. So far (I've had the book for a month or so), everything I've looked for in this book, I've also found in the Application Developer's Guide and Programmer's Guide Part 2 from Lotus; the "yellow books" (and online help) generally have more detail. The most useful bit of information I came across in this Developer's Guide is a blurb about a bug related to Authors fields. The Domino chapter is sadly poor and basic. I learned more in a day of experimenting and using the "Working With Lotus Notes and the Internet" book from Lotus than I did from this chapter. What I was hoping for is a book that would supplement and expand on the content in the ubiquitous yellow books. I didn't find it here.

I went through a many-month process of learning Lotus Notes 4.5 development while writing Notes applications. My bookshelf had over three feet of reference books -- the yellow manuals from Lotus and many third-party books. When the project was all done, and I went back to Visual Basic development, Rose's book was *clearly* the most-frequently-used of the whole bunch. Highly recommended!

There is a certain type of writing, most often seen in magazines, that seems to admire itself as it goes along. In this book, from the beginning with the baby being born, through the characters who just don't seem to be appealing...it is a kind of "yuppie literature"...that you read and you ask yourself, "Why do I not like this?"

I am sure Kafka is a good writer. But I found myself disliking this book more and more. It was like meeting a person at a cocktail party who at first seems interesting....but as the evening goes on, you gradually learn this person is not only shallow, but incredibly egomaniacal.

I really ended up having a strong dislike towards this book. But I gave it 2 stars to be a good sport.

Recently I read "Love: Enter" for the second time and remembered how much I enjoyed Paul Kafka's heartfelt observations and innovative character portrayals. The protagonist, Dan, truly wears his heart on his sleeve, as he falls in love with three people and a city all at once. Worked into an innovative frame, "Love: Enter" may be quick to read, but will not be quick to leave one's memory.

One thing that's glaringly obvious to me now is how quickly dated the technology has become: Dan writes on an obviously now-obselete computer.

This book is at least 5 or 6 years old. I'd love to see what Paul Kafka is up to in the future.

Every element of Paul Kafka's writing rings true. The first person narration is effective, and even though it is written from the p.o.v. of a young man, it does not seem skewed towards a male prerogative. This novel encompasses so much in its relatively short span-- romance, realistic narration, travel, and even a bit of magic and folklore in the form of a peripheral but important character. While this book makes a lasting impression it is anything but hard to read. It is all around an enjoyable experience that you will come back to.

After reading "All about Schmidt" I was attracted to read another book by Louis Begley. This has to be a recommendation of the author. He must be doing something right to qualify for more hours of my discretionary time. Perhaps I was attracted by his grammatical English, which is sadly becoming rarer with an almost universal expectation of little more than bare communication on the lowest level. His legal background is evident in a few periodic sentences of tedious length. There are few and they give way to a simple and wonderfully direct prose for human reaction and emotion. If you were given a finite life expectancy, how would you react? This is the stuff of TV human interest programs. What does our legally trained author offer beyond the banal? Firstly, this is a truly positive book. Nothing morbid here. It is a litany of human passion, self-indulgence and self-gratification. And why not, if you have only a few months to live. The message is Horace's old maxim "carpe diem." Live life. Don't wait. Our hero, Thomas Mistler, in fact had to wait till he had a terminal report from his doctor. But his unexpected reaction is one of freedom from what had restricted his inner-most emotions before knowing that life was not to continue in its bourgeois continuum apparently foreever. So the reader is part of his late emotional and sexual emancipation. He enjoys what many secretly dream of without the burden of middle class values and narrow religious scruple.

Don't read this if you are concerned with the thoughts of an older man who is still sexually alive and well. Don't read it if you are bound by the rules of middle class restrictions of the "apropriate," whatever that may be.

This should be compulsory reading for those with a serious, or life-threatening condition. Forget the gloom. Just for once, let your real feelings come to the fore.

Not to forget Louis Begley's wonderfully succinct and irnonic style, let me assure you that this is a book for those who appreciate irony and grit. Older readers might even find it educational!

I enjoy reading Louis Begley, but I do get a bit tired of his all conquering male sex gods. Why do women fall for these over-the-hill guys? Don't know.

The writing is excellent and insightful, however, so well worth reading. If only I understood the last sentence I might know if Mistler's Exit was to be a good one or not.

After being told that you had only a limited time to live because you had a terminal cancer disease, why would you think of your life after death? Many reasons, my friend. Firstly, because many of your fellow human beings are so egotistical that they cannot imagine a world without their presence. OK, so that is the first answer. But the second, which is a bit more subtle and not the first to spring to mind: because they have a hell of a lot of living to do in the meantime. That is quite simply the situation of our hero who is diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer and not a lot of life to fill in. So what does our hero do? He gets going in the best way for him. He indulges an artistic side of his life by going back to Venice to salivate over some of the richest art treasures in Europe and co-incidentally let his libido run its natural course. Two women help him on his merry way and why not? His wife, whom he respects in his own eccentric way, is not of the physical persuasion. So he reaps where he can, with truly male enthousiam and self-indulgence. Don't read this if you actully believe in strictly monogomous protocols. This is for the honestly weak of flesh and the lustfully strong of mind. There is no pretence and no hypocricy. The writing is direct, but never simplistic. Keep your wits about you. The legalistic periodic structure of the sentences does not let the reader slacken his attention. You will be drawn into the humanity of the scenario and the basic sexual needs of a man that knows that life is soon to end. There is no misery here because there is too much to be lived in a finite time frame. Read this if you have ever lusted after something beyond the bourgeois definition of marital fidelity. Mistler is faithful to his wife in his own way and she would not expect anything more. What he craves knowing that the Grim Reaper is at the end of the tunnel, is a sense of having lived: no regrets and no self-recrimination. Read this book if you have a feeling of not having lived your dreams. Read it because you feel that you have not yet dared to think outside the square. But do not leave it too late. Are you sexually honest with yourself? If not, don't read this book. Otherwise you will be disappointed in yourself. Question: did Mistler die fulfilled? Were his sexual escapades only a metaphor for his attempt to escape the prison of his own shortcomings? Read it to find out. Louis Begley writes with an incomparible directness that the reader has to decide for himself and is inevitably drawn into the struggle of another's final zest for life. This book made me review my own as yet unfulfilled dreams. It might do the same for you. This is powerful writing within a contained framework of logical and direct prose. No superfluous frills here.

Sociologists who are trying to understand the basic theoretical principles undergirding the neoinstitutional framework will find this book indispensable. As other reviewers have said, Powell and DiMaggio include some of the foundational pieces of the new institutionalism. In addition, they include several pieces that were seen as groundbreaking (or at least attempting to innovate neoinstitutional thought) at the time this book was published. For instance, papers by Powell and Friedland and Alford attempt to integrate notions of power and political interest into the otherwise top-down, culturally centered theory.

Potential readers should keep in mind that there are several new institutionalisms out there in social science. Those who want to understand the difference between rational choice, economic, and polity-actor versions of the theory will find the introduction by DiMaggio and Powell very useful. It has been one the center pieces of my theoretical toolkit in helping me to map out the conceptual distinctions between the variants of institutionalism.

Neoinstitutional theory has been one of the most influential approaches to sociology in the past 30 years. This book, which represents the "social constructionist" as opposed to the "ratoinal-choice" version of neoinstitutionalism, is useful because it pulls together some of the foundational articles in this field and also places them in context.

This collection of new and classic articles provides a thorough survey to the new institutionalism in Sociology. The introduction is a very broad ranging and exciting survey of recent writings in the social sciences on institutions. The chapters apply the ideas to a wide range of empirical settings from banks to universities. The book is a must have for researchers in organizational theory and management.

I found this book sadly lacking in substance and quality activities. Spend your money on Days of Knights and Damsels by Carlson.

This book has many interesting arts & craft ideas which kids find fun. However, one must endure numerous unsympathetic interpretations of the times which present the Church and Christians in general as ignorant and superstitious people. For example, the book states that Joan of Ark "heard voices in her head that helped her do battle and led her to victory." Such a statement would lead one to believe that she was really schizophrenic and not a saint of the Church. There are simply too many examples of this kind of smug, retrospective arrogance towards Christians of the past to list in this review. In every chapter, Christians are painted as stupid, blood thirsty, narrow-minded, etc. Their anti-Church bias is just too blatant to overlook.
One would be better off checking out Martha Stewart's kid magazine for craft ideas and pick up a less biased history book to read to children. Any Christian educator will want to avoid this book.

This book is an excellent tool to use. The projects: Build your own castle & catapult was LOVED by my 9 & 7 yr olds. The information was in a way that kids could read & understand it all. Very useful for all.