Kind of like a Jack Kerouac book, not a truly formatted type of book, but easy to read, and lots of short stories that provide a look at his life in general. You feel like he is just a friend or something telling a group of stories that mean a lot to his life. I recomend this book to people interested in a more real look at life. It is great to see a more average type of guy write a book, instead of a professional author, good read for any creative writers or anyone in or entering a kind of dry profession.

In The Unleashed Underwriter, Arthur Koplin draws upon his many years in the insurance industry to tell not only his story, but the story of insurance people throughout the industry. His informative, dead-on-accurate text portrayal of life in the insurance business is replete with wit and wisdom, and a whole lot of laughs. The Unleashed Underwriter is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone who has a fondness for business humor. Indeed, Arthur Koplin can quite accurately be described as the Garrison Keillor or Mark Twain of the insurance industry!

I picked up this book a few years ago and I have to say that Franz Henkel's characters are not only well drawn, but very intertaining. He illustrates on both sides of seriousness and comical figures that are a creative delight. Many people have looked at his craft since then and he develops his lines well and his contexts. I truly enjoy owning his book.

In the vein of such artists as frank Frazetta and Terry Gilliam. Suydam is a great artist, one of my artistic heroes to be sure. If you are able to find his work pick it up.

A good practical guide for students doing undergraduate inorganic experiments. Description of techniques are clear and comprehensive which makes it useful for a laboratory reference.

Vogel's book is the Bible of analytical chemists. Vogel has compiled all the most common analytical procedures and results into an easily followed book that is both treasured and guarded by chemistry teachers in the country. The best gift any chemist could hope to receive.

A very interesting book making plausible and reasonable suggestions as to the locations and reasons for what little is really known about the Arthurian legends. Mr Miller suggests in a light and amusing way that there is a lot more evidence that Arthur fought his battles in what is now called Brittany than in Great Britain. He discusses his sources of information and ultimately leaves it to the reader to judge what, if anything, is the truth. It is sufficiently beguiling that I've reread it three times and taken a holiday in Brittany just to check out what he says, and am now researching the early monks who are his main sources of information. Whether he's right or just being a stand-in, I'd vote for the Breton Arzur to be the one to Stand Up.

The Arthurian cycle has inspired and engendered any number of books this century, both fiction and non-fiction. However, very few of them have taken such an original approach to the subject of the "real" Arthur, nor have many of them been quite so completely overlooked at the same time. In all my reading on the subject over thirty years, I have never once heard or seen this book mentioned anywhere. Yet it is a very good addition to this mighty body of literature, whether it be, as some are no doubt inclined to think, completely fictitious or not. It certainly deserves to come out of its present obscurity.

It seems as though Millar stumbled on his theory pretty much by accident. He was living in Brittany for the purpose of writing a book about the Breton tunnymen (or tuna fishermen), when it occurred to him that some of the local place names could be mistaken for those, long argued about, relating to the legendary battles of King Arthur. Indeed, one of the book's strengths is that, basing his enquiry on information coming down from a ninth century monk named Nennius, he has been able to completely override the arguments which have sought to place the battle sites in various parts of England, Scotland and Wales. It has been the great weakness all along, that nobody has succeeded in naming all the sites and when they have identified one of them, someone else has insisted that it is some hundreds of miles distant, instead. Everyone wants Arthur for his own. And so it goes on. So Millar decided to investigate and, if he could, to try and place all nine sites into the Breton landscape. The story of his bus ride around the province doing just that, makes terrific reading. Of course, taking Arthur right out of Britain is hardly politically correct, but.... Whether you agree with him or not, this is great detective work and, if you have been interested in Arthur for any length of time, it will certainly leave you wondering.

Mr. Banks displays a great knowledge of the facts and an enourmous love for the subject. The drama of the situation in the Indian Ocean is truly brought to ife. Its a must read for submarine fanatics and a great all around war story which needs to be shared.

Dr Banks (a meterologist in the RAF based in East Africa during the conflict) provides an illuminating story of the naval campaigns in the Indian Ocean during WW2. It is full of anecdotal stories provided by the participants (Allied side) which are fascinating and bring the reality of the conflict to life.

I first read this volume in college, well over 20 years ago, and I was pleased to see it back in print, and in an attractive new format with a useful introduction. Most people think of Hasidim as ultra-Orthodox, incredibly strict people who wear funny old fashioned clothes and have bushy beards. This volume reveals to the general reader the ecstatic and contemplative nature of the devotional practices of the early Hasidic masters. The content of the book is gleaned from a number of volumes of "theoretical Hasidism" (to use Gershom Scholem's phrase), all of which are highly inaccessible to anyone not well versed in Hebrew and Yiddish, Bible, Midrash, Talmud and Kabbalah. While perhaps a deep understanding is not available to we other folk, this volume is a portal into a powerful world of mystical attachment to a very personal Lord of the Universe.

This is a wonderful, wonderful reader in Hasidic perspectives on prayer. The book blossoms with deep insights into the spiritual dynamic between God and humans. Please consider the following:

"A father has a young child whom he greatly loves. Even though the child has hardly learned to speak, his father takes pleasure in listening to his words." (p. 102)

There is something both bold and humbling about and such a perspective on prayer. God is not only King, but Father as well. The Infinite One is both large and small, far and near.

Many of the different dynamics of prayer are explored in this work, each in its own section, and everything is referenced at the end of the book. The book opens with an academic essay that provides a good context for the Hasidic exploration of the vast sea of prayer, the experience of union with the Divine Presence (p. 80). As with most readers, any background knowledge of Hasidism is helpful, but at the same time not necessary to have in order to be touched by the wisdom of these mystics.

I think, though, that this book needs to be approached as an open door to the myster of prayer. Rather than just being read, it should be tested: to approach God as a child who is unable to speak is a humbling thing. To persist, nonetheless, and draw close to God as God draws us and pulls us close is to experience God's love. The reader of this book will have some far reaching light as s/he travels and progresses down the path of such prayer.

This is the most interesting anthology of Zohar literature I have seen. Though the anthology represents only 5% of the whole Zohar, it is translated in a uniquely modern style. It is translated as poetry, which is highly original, and a very comprehensive introduction and very detailed notes explain the Kabbalistic meanings to the average reader.

Most of the translations of material from the "Zohar" I have seen have been difficult reading, a kind of cross between Talmud and gnostic treatise. In this volume, Daniel Matt translates a small selection (2% of the work by his own estimate) into rhapsodic and rapturuous, truly air-borne free verse. The effect is both surprizing and exhilarating. The only comparable approaches I can think of that might put you in mind of the nature of this translation are Stanley Lombardo's Homer and Stephen McKenna's Plotinus. But lest I create the impression that this book is only pleasure, the introduction to Kabbalistic thought in general, and the Zohar in particular is quite illuminating, as are the detailed notes on each selection placed at the end of the book. In short, this is a great read and a mind-blower.

This is, indeed, an excellently written book. It's difficult to miss Gibson's heartful, chic, mindbendingly poetic wording, how his words flow in a sheer sea of mind-altering cyber-induced electricity! I love the way he wrote this book--he made you feel the dark, technology-beset, cyber-LSD-laced, futuristic environment; he made you feel Case's addictions, Riviera's insanity, Molly's lethality, and he made you feel Cyberspace. He forced you to experience everything with his artful prose. The ABSOLUTE ONLY reason that I gave Mr. Gibson four stars instead of five for this cool techno novel is because, even in his masterful writing, the plot was rather difficult to follow. Yeah, I understood Case and the rest of the characters, the amoral society, the dark techno-ridden, corporate-run urban future, but I found it hard to understand what was actually going on, what the story was. So many elements of the plot were hard to catch. Other than this, however, his writing is beautiful! (Language is rather vulgar, though).

It took me some time to get started into this book--the "imaginary" future Gibson has created is somewhat familiar, yet bizarre enough to leave one grasping for understanding in the beginning pages. Once engrossed, I couldn't put it down! My constant back thought as I read was the absolute awe that I felt for Gibson's ability to envision a computer world so 1990's true to life at a time when Apple had yet to create their first Mac! Gibson's description of "jacking in" to the net, and "flipping" is so close to today's "logging on" and "quick-switching" that it gave me goosebumps each time he used the terms! Gibson was truly touched by the muse of inspiration when writing "Neuromancer", and I'm sure we'll see more of his *prophecies* come to pass before the millenium. This is advised reading for all who wish to understand the potential of the internet and the World Wide Web. Just take it slow, by osmosis you'll get the scenario, and by the final chapter--you'll know the concept. You'll be awestruck too, I guarantee! Can't wait to read Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive! you

...this book breathes stylistic fire into a genre coasting on assumed scientific literacy. If the characters speak extensively in jargon adapted to technologies that don't yet exist, that's OK - in the present, shop talk not understood by general readership is a fact of any technical field, e.g. my mom browsing the magazine rack and struggling through paragraphs in _Wired_.

Besides, Gibson coined the term, "cyberspace," in this novel; most authors, even ones of talent, do not create words used commonly thereafter. To all the people who criticized him for using unique terminology, there's this great thing called context. Try using it.

One thing I have enjoyed about Gibson is his tendency to use protagonists and not heroes to view the events contained within his stories. I do not have any particular sympathy for the men and women who interact with Henry Dorsett Case in the course of his assigned task.

In the tradition of great noir fiction and film, there is no sense of resolution about anything. The characters who did not die return to their separate paths and continue about life in a world controlled through an invisible hand of corporate and technological pressures against traditional structures of power like government and organized crime. No great truths were revealed, and none were promised.

Have no doubt, Gibson is an original whether you enjoy his style or not. For an understanding of current trends in science fiction best reflected in the success of _The Matrix_, you can begin here and work your way through the other books.

T.H. White's The Once and Future King is a modern retelling of the legend of King Arthur. It covers Arthur's boyhood to his impending death. The entire book revolves around the tragedy of Arthur and his grand ideas, and the central concept is that of "sin coming home to roost". It is divided into four books, The Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind.
The Sword in the Stone is the story of Merlyn's tutorship of a young Arthur, nicknamed the Wart. White's use of animal experiences to teach the Wart is extremely creative. It is only in the first book that White shows us what Arthur is actually thinking and feeling. This too is interesting, since in the last three books we are reduced to guessing Arthur's feelings. White may have been overly descriptive in this book, but he is never really boring and nearly everything is relevant. This book was slow moving in places, but t was bearable because one easily realizes that, although slow, the book is always flowing toward the main point.
The Queen of Air and Darkness introduces us to the Orkney clan, of which Gawaine is the leader. Along the same lines as White's meandering style, is his use of different sets of characters that are slowly drawn together, and by the end of the story all sets are interacting with each other as one cast. White also continues the pattern he started when he showed us Arthur as a child, to show us the Orkneys' childhood. By watching the characters grow up, White is able to help us understand the behavior of the Orkneys as adults, which is crucial to the tragedy of Arthur. At the same time as we watch the development of the Orkneys, we see Arthur miles away in England, where he is finally learning to think for himself. If White had shown us the development of the Orkneys at the same time as we saw Arthur's childhood, he may have been able to spare many of his more impatient readers the boredom of watching characters evolve. The audience White wrote the book for, public-school educated English boys, was probably more able to appreciate the subtle refinements than most of the people who have posted online reviews of the book.
In The Ill-Made Knight, Lancelot is introduced to us as a friend of Arthur. I couldn't expect White to make such a drastic change in the story just to appease people like me, but all the same I was disgusted by Lancelot's disloyalty and wished the part of Lancelot and Guenevere could have been left out. At first it seemed that Lancelot had the right idea, when he tried to tell himself that his honor, duty, and loyalty wouldn't permit him to betray his friend. Though it was no fault of White's I was disgusted by this part of the legend. White's attempts to reconcile the two lovers in the eyes of people like me only infuriated me more, however. White shouldn't have tried to explain, let alone defend, the two traitors.
Although the last book, The Candle in the Wind, was where we saw the tragedy actually unfold, I thought that Gawaine's behavior was better than I had seen anywhere else in the book from any other character. It seemed that White tried to make Gawaine a character that gave the reader great grief, but I thought that Gawaine was a great friend to Arthur, perhaps not a great friend, since he drove Arthur to war with Lancelot, but definately the best friend Arthur had. Gawaine was fiercely loyal to anything he believed in, as we saw with his actions regarding his family and Arthur. White did a good job presenting characters at carefully chosen places on the spectrum. Gawaine is so loyal at times as to seem stupid. Lancelot had qualms, but actions speak louder than words and the point is that Lancelot did betray Arthur. We never heard Guenever express a single regret for betraying Arthur.
I thought the book was well written and had several excellent lessons. "Sin coming home to roost" was shown in almost every relationship in the book, most notably Arthur and Mordred and Lancelot and Guenevere. Loyalty and disloyalty were also predominant themes, and we saw the consequences of disloyalty in Arthur's downfall. Excellent themes like these distract the attention from the style and readability of the author, however, which were both also very good.

As many of the other reviewers you may read, this book was assigned to me for summer reading. I also regretted reading such a long book, but I had some previous interest in The Legend of King Arthur. I've enjoyed it ever since I saw the movie "A Kid in King Arhur's Court," (This has no relevance to my review, but I thought I would throw it in anyway.) It helps a lot to want to read this book, but anybody who starts it will want to finish it and maybe even read "The Book of Merlyn", The fifth and final book of the set. T.H. White breaks this novel into four books. The Sword in the Stone, The Queen and Air of Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind.
The first of these books is the classic that has been told over and over again, though not always involving Sir Ector's Castle. It is the beginning for the life of Arhtur, who lives with a foster family. Arthur grows up with Merlyn as his tutor. Merlyn teaches Arthur about government and people in to form of becoming an animal. All of Merlyn's teachings prepare Arthur for his reign as king, after he pulls the sword out from the stone of course.
The Queen and Air of Darkness tells the history of Arthur's father and of the fueds between the Gaels and the Galls. Also, it tells of the deception of Morgause, which eventually leads to the downfall of Arthur. This book moves kind of slow, but it is necessary for the plot. Arhtur come up with the idea to use Might for Right in this book.
The Ill-Made Knight deals with Sir Lancelot, who turns out completely opposite from what I thought he would be like, and of Arthur's Round Table. The Ill-Made Knight was by far my favorite book, even though it was the longest. The beginning of the end of the Table is brought out in this book, when knights start competing with each other. Because of this, Arthur sends his knights on the quest for the Holy Grail. T.H. White brings out the reality of his characters extremely well in this book, showing the breakdown of Lancelot and torment Arhtur is put though. Guinevere and Elaine also show how love can destroy lives, but neither one wanted to be without it and they both gave all they could for it.
The Candle in the Wind is the final book and the conclusion to this novel. This book is the story of Arthur's downfall from the greatest King in all of the world, to being seen as an old man who is "out of touch." Also, Lancelot suffers the consequences for his sins. All of which is the result of Arthur's illegitimate son, Mordred, and his hatred for Arthur. This book has the greatest psychological value of the novel. All of Arthur's triumphs and disgraces are contemplated over and over again. While this book leaves before the final battle and the conclusion of the story, it still has a glorius ending, which shows Arthur as he sould be remembered.
The Once and Future King was definitely worth the time and effort it took to read. The only reason I gave it four stars is because, even thoug I have not read it, I think it sould have included The Book of Merlyn.

The Once and Future King is a masterfully written novel with many intricacies and subplots. It can be read by anyone and be thoroughly enjoyed, if the reader does not expect an action packed book. I, as a matter of fact, felt that there was a lack of a gripping quality or objective that many of these stories have, but now I have seen it in a different light. T. H. White holds true to the original Morte d' Arthur by Tomas Malory and the legend of the fifth century Arthur. It is also very influential, where all other tellings of the legend are judged by it.
White has a very unique, cheerful, writing style. It is very colloquial and seems conversational. Using this style he adds comparisons to contemporary objects and ideas. For example, he makes references to today's forests and even to a lawnmower.
The characters in The Once and Future King are extremely well developed. They seem like they are actual human beings reacting realistically with each other. They have incredibly real conflicts and problems. Arthur begins in the first book, The Sword in the Stone as an innocent, idealistic, however naive little boy. He seems to be forgiving and accepting. He develops into an idealistic king who wants to harness and use Might for the establishment of Right. Merlin, a prominent figure in the book, lives backwards, which makes him forgetful, but insightful. His insight makes him an incredible teacher to Arthur in his youth. Lancelot is a very peculiar character. He is ugly and looks at himself as a bad and sinful person. This concept is what motivates him to do good. The other people are characterized very well also, but not in such detail.
There are four books in this classic story, The Sword in the Stone, The Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind.
The Sword in the Stone Is the most famous book in the series. It is about Arthur in his youth, first learning about the world about him. He grows up in a quasi paradise of Sir Ector's castle. He completes his first quest of finding a tutor, Merlin who turns young Arthur into many different animals, each one teaching him a moral lesson. For example, when Merlin turns Arthur into a goose, he learns that wars are just fought over imaginary lines, essentially nothing. This is an incredible message, reaching beyond the character and to the reader himself. At the end of this book, Arthur pulls the sword from the anvil and is crowned King of all England.
This is a very enjoyable book, especially with all of the adventures that Arthur experiences. These events help shape Arthur as King and as a character in the book.
The Queen of Air and Darkness is mainly about Queen Morgause Arthur's half-sister and her four sons, Agravaine, Gawaine, Gaheris, and Gareth. This book is the most graphic of all the books. It includes a cat being boiled alive. It also talks about Morgause's seduction of Arthur and the birth of their son Mordred. In the beginning Merlin teaches Kay and Arthur a valuable lesson about the history of the British islands and about Chivalry and Might for Right. It is on these ideals that Arthur bases his round table.
The Ill Made Knight is about Lancelot. The book begins with Lancelot being knighted and falling in love with Guinevere. He adventures away from her partly by the wishes of King Arthur and during that time he rescues Elaine and she falls in love with him. Although he cannot return her love because of his love of Guinevere, he gives her a child, Galahad.
The knights embark on a journey to find the grail, which ends up killing the better half of the knights because they had achieved perfection. Lancelot goes in depth about his lack of saintliness afterwards.
This is a very intriguing book. It displays the tension between best friends and lovers. Again, the characterization is incredible here. Lancelot feels that he has a moral obligation to Elaine, yet he is utterly in love with Guinevere.
The Candle in the Wind illustrates the fall of Arthur's Kingdom. Agravaine and Mordred plot against Guinevere, Lancelot, and Arthur. Agravaine hates unfaithful women and wants to take Lancelot and Guinevere down and Mordred hates and wants to kill his father. Lancelot and Guinevere escaped fom the two miscreants' plan to catch them with adultery. While Gawaine and Arthur attempt to seize Lancelot's Castle, Mordred claims that he is the King of England. He decides to marry Guinevere. Once Arthur gets word of this he rushes back to save her. The book ends with Arthur leaving the Round Table to Thomas Malory.
This is an incredible conclusion to the legend. Arthur finally finds out in his final days that Might had to be eliminated entirely, or else any attempt to contain it would fail. He considered himself a failure, however it is quite the contrary. This is only the beginning.
The Once and Future King is an absolutely awesome book. It is a story being told to you by T. H. White in epic fashion. The characters come alive right before the reader's eyes and interact with each other. They have problems. They resolve them. They attempt to right the almost irreversible wrong of Chivalry and Might for Right. It is an unforgettable story that will change you forever.

The Crucible is as twisted a story as any that I've read before. In the late 15th century, Salem, Massachusetts was in the form of a theocracy, which stirred up conflict between government leaders and citizens as well as citizen vs. citizen battles. Witchcraft was the big talk of this play because it played such a huge role in the vast number of trials and executions. When you begin to take in the information of the text, you see that witchcraft became a way that any citizen of Salem could blame their enemies just to have them killed. Several small groups of people (factions) who fought over such topics as land and governmental positions would accuse their opponents of witchcraft and in many cases it would result in imprisonment or death. Examples of battles between two people are Abby and Elizabeth Proctor who fought over John Proctor and Putnam and Francis Nurse, who were in a dispute because Nurse beat out Putnam's brother-in-law to become a member of Salem's ministry. Even though this play may not be historically accurate, it made me realize exactly what was going on in the world 300 years ago and make me appreciate the United States' government today.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller is not really a book, but I've decided to count it anyway. The play is short, and I finished it in one afternoon because I was so engrossed. Also, I enjoyed it much more than I did The Death of a Salesman, also written by Miller. One of my favorite aspects of the play was its relevance to modern times; at points, I couldn't tell whether the action was set in Salem in the 1600s or Washington DC in the 1950s. In addition, the first act included one of my favorite lines I've read recently: "Their fathers had, of course, been persecuted in England. So now they found it necessary to deny any other sect its freedom, lest their New Journalism be defiled and corrupted by wrong ways and deceitful ideas."

This is a play that is based on the Salem Witch Trials, and I have heard that acutal quotes have been taken from actual trial transcripts in its writing, but I haven't delved into the actual transcripts to find out for myself as of yet. It is because of the historical nature of this play that I enjoyed reading it. Although the spoken language that is used by Miller for his characters is eloquent it may make this a difficult read for some. I didn't find it as hard to follow as the language used by Shakespeare, but there a few times that I had to re-read a line here or there.

The plot is surprisingly clever and gives the reader the idea that this could very well have been how it happened. The author's ability to touch on every aspect of the experience is truly moving. The writing is brilliant and I was engulfed in the tradgedy caused by the horrors of life in Salem during this time period. There are numerous moments filled with tension, and I found myself hoping for the best for all of the wrongly accused.

This is novel that points out the cruelty of human nature when survival is a person's only concern. It also points out the level of hysteria a population can reach. If a reader doesn't take those two lessons away as learned, then perhaps they will take the simpler lesson that is rarely touched upon away with them. Be kind to your neighbors as ou never know who will have the next profound effect on your like.