Once again, Humes has mastered the ability to "show" us the moments he's captured in this read. The simplicity of his seasoned writing is as delightful as a light sigh of relief.

In Butterfly Effect, experienced poet Harry Humes draws on the landscape of his native mountains, moving fluidly between the world of physical experience and the world of symbol and myth. Gladiola Man: Each spring he'd plant acres of them,/and not one for sale,/every day weeding, loosening the soil,/fluttering over the spears,/then the big blossoms./He'd kneel, almost invisible/in the rows where we knew/he was talking to them,/sobbing when wind snapped a stem./Each October he'd cut them back./carry the sheaves to the fields' edges,/then dig up the bulbs,/gently life them out,/lay them side by side,/as if he were Leakey at Olduvai Gorge,/standing alone at evening,/fitting together dry silence.

So many poets recently want to make huge declarations about life and art that they sound more like preacher-philosophers than skilled practitioners of the language of poetry. So it was refreshing to come across this gem--a subtle, quiet (yet not so quiet) celebration of the images and epiphanies that touch and affect our lives. A small book (in length) but one with astounding beauty and depth.

Polidoro has compiled an excellent and well-written history of the relationship between two extraordinary individuals. Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle both possessed keen intellects, but found themselves on opposite sides of the spiritualism debate. Relying extensively on the actual correspondence of the two men, Polidoro traces their history and interactions to the unhappy, but perhaps inevitable, conclusion. Although clearly (and appropriately) a skeptic, Polidoro resists the urge many authors cannot to make fun of individuals like Doyle.
The sad moral of the story is that intelligence is not enough. A mind capable of creating characters and stories such as those that featured Sherlock Holmes and Professor Challenger could not see the simple ways in which he was being duped. The methods of the spiritualists are the methods of the magicians, and no training in physics or the other branches of natural science teaches you those tricks. If anything, such training may make you easier to fool, as experimental apparatus does not consciously lie and you are trained to trust what you see. Mercifully, Polidoro does not dwell on such topics as the fairy photographs that fooled Doyle, although they are mentioned.
The book held the interest all the way through, and one emerges with a much deeper appreciation of Houdini in particular, who inevitably comes across as the champion of experimental control, and therefore as the subtle winner of the debate.

Polidoro gives an excellent account of the relationship between master stage magician Harry Houdini and the genius behind Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Brought together by their intense interest in Spiritualism, Houdini and Conan Doyle would come to stand at opposite sides of the issue. While Doyle embraced it as a new religion, Houdini undertook a crusade to expose fraudulent mediums by demonstrating their methods.

While firmly in the Houdini camp of skepticism, Polidoro manages to treat Doyle with a great deal of deserved respect. The book gives many examples of how the two men tried to assist one another in psychic investigations (at least in the early years); and how Houdini's widow, Beatrice, maintained a relationship with the Doyles that was both touching and cordial.

Interesting and educational, Polidoro's dual bio is recommended reading.

Two of the most famous personalities of early in the last century shared a strong interest in spiritualism, the belief that souls live on after death and can be contacted by the living. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the immortal Sherlock Holmes, was unassailably convinced that spiritualism not only worked, but that it was the religion that all of us soon would practice, once its truth were known. Harry Houdini, the brilliant showman and escapologist, was convinced of no such thing, but he was convinced that he never found a conductor of séances who used supernatural rather than fraudulent or erroneous means of getting results. These two domineering personalities became unlikely friends, for a five year period, sharing correspondence, dinners, and holidays. It isn't hard to believe that the friendship foundered over their differences on the keen shared interest, but it is surprising that the friendship ever existed. _Final Séance: The Strange Friendship between Houdini and Conan Doyle_ (Prometheus) by Massimo Polidoro is a good supplement to the current crop of biographies of both men. It gives capsule biographies of both, with an extensive and annotated account of the years when they were an item together, and thus provides an excellent picture of spiritualism, rationality, and the will to believe.

In many of these pages, Doyle emerges as the more interesting figure because he was obviously a thoughtful and sometimes brilliant man, and it is a puzzle that he kept the belief in spirituality despite what seems to be overwhelming evidence (some presented by Houdini himself). He abandoned an insistence on proofs of religious ideas, probably in response to grief over the death of his son. He could not accept that mediums used trickery if he himself saw a demonstration he accepted as psychic. Houdini was interested in spiritualism probably because of a desire to contact his mother, but such contact never happened in a way that he thought was genuine. He repeatedly demonstrated evidence that mediums were just magicians to Doyle (who thought even that Houdini was using psychic means for some of his tricks). It would have easily have convinced Sherlock Holmes, but it never convinced his creator. When, after a séance with Lady Doyle who supposedly contacted his mother, Houdini maintained that he had never witnessed any sort of psychic phenomena, Doyle took this as a personal insult, and the friendship was over.

Houdini went on to organize against mediums, including lobbying for ill-judged laws to ban spiritualism. He also offered large amounts of money to anyone who could demonstrate "psychic" powers that he could not explain or duplicate. As Polidoro shows in an intelligent critique, this was a flawed argument; Houdini's ability to duplicate an effect would not prove that the effect was not originally performed in a psychic way. However, the offer lead the way for the more comprehensive one by James Randi, who currently offers a million dollars for a demonstration of psychic powers under controlled conditions. No prize awarded yet. Houdini died in 1926, and Doyle resumed a solicitous correspondence with the widow of the man who was "in some ways, the most remarkable man I have ever known." Doyle died four years later, believing still. Houdini did us all the service of a final test; he was, if it was at all possible, to return and give his wife a message agreed between them. Mediums did try to summon him, and if anyone could have escaped from the reaches of "the other world" to get her that message, the great escapologist would have managed it. It never happened. John Edward, and you other people who make money off other's desire to believe, please take note.

I have enjoyed all of the books by George MacDonald Fraser over the years. His "Flashman" series is wonderful! They are, without a doubt, the finest historical fiction I have ever read. I have taken the time to research many of the incidents where Fraser has inserted "Flashy" and have found that his dedication to the historic context is quite accurate. Often I feel that I have to research the outrageous events related in the story as they seem outlandish and impossible- but I always find that history is stranger than any fiction. Many times while listening I am struck by the sheer genius in stringing together so many seemingly unrelated events into a fantastic tale! My highest reccomendation.

Very funny, entertaining, and historically pretty accurate. George McDonald Fraser is a former Gordon Highlander who served in Burma among other places and has also written a few hollywood scripts. Flashman is the character from "Tom Browns Schooldays", is expelled from Rugby for drunkenness , joins the army and is sent to India... Royal Flash is what "The Prisoner of Zenda" should have been, hilarious and adventurous. Flash for Freedom and Flashman and the Redskins are the pick of the bunch. McDonald Frasers book "The Pyrates" is great for anyone who has ever watched an Errol Flynn movie....

The novels involving the Flashman character are some of the most entertaining, enlightening and engrossing stories of the Voctorian era worldwide. I await Mr. Fraser's spin on how Harry Flashman philanders his way though the American Civil War. It will be a great story. When is going to happen, George?

It's a shame this book isn't in print anymore. It's an even BIGGER shame that there was never an updated edition. The book came out in the late 1980s, and so much has happened in television since then. Harry and Wally, if you're out there, how about writing a sequel?

Even though it's more than a decade out of date, "Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows" is still a valuable reference work for students of pop culture or just fans of classic TV. It covers a great many series that other TV books skip over, including series on PBS and shows imported from the UK. The idea of giving each series a rating from zero stars to four stars also sets "Favorite TV Shows" apart from other similar books. Better yet, the reviews are usually right on the money.

This is one of the best reference guides ever written for all those classic tv enthusiests! It not only has information on shows that had successful runs but those shows that didn't last more than one season or possibly not past the pilot show. It is light easy fun reading and a great book to have in my collection when I ask myself "what was that show..you know with the guy and the girl and that whachamacallit", and you can usually find your answer. If you can find this book used,(since it is out of print and hard to find), grab it and enjoy! Thanks Harry & Wally!

HARRY AND WALLY'S FAVORITE TV SHOWS is one of the books in my collection that has become a well worn friend. Working as both an encyclopedic reference and a highly opinionated tour guide, the book, along with Steven D. Stark's GLUED TO THE SET, manages to give television history the same sort of readable pop cultural analysis usually reserved for the movies.

In fact Roger Ebert comes to mind when I read Mr. Castleman's and Mr. Podrazik's take one everything from the classics like I LOVE LUCY or half season duds like THE BRADY BRIDES. They clearly love television from a refreshing middle brow point of view and are able to convey that to the reader in a wonderful plain language. While the authors do tend to turn their backs on some interesting shows (70's cop shows, in particular, are greeted with a yawn), their reviews of ALL IN THE FAMILY, M*A*S*H, and even THE LONE RANGER are dead on and illuminating.

I hope the puplisher will give this out of print title another go around. Besides, I wonder what Harry and Wally think about SIENFELD?

Hairy Maclary is given a bone from his friend in town... watch with delight as he outsmarts his good buddies so he can have his bone ALL to himself to enjoy. Watch his body language as he prances down the street, strutting confidently but at the same time worried he is going to have to share his tasty bone with his entourage of friends, Shnitzel von Krumm with a very low tum, Hercules Morse as big as a horse, Muffin McLay like a bundle of hay, Bottomly Potts covered in Spots, Bitzer Maloney all skinny and bony...sometimes the best things in life are best shared with friends but sometimes are better yet when we are alone. You will find him adorable. You and your kids will just love him unconditionally because he is clever and cute. A happy feel good read... the rhyming text and pictures are just perfect.

Hairy Maclary's Bone is our favourite Hairy Maclary book but we love all of them ! My 3 year old son asks for them over and over again . The descriptions are perfect and all the books are so fast moving that they can entertain even the shortest of attention spans !! Enjoy !

Another in the Hairy Maclary series. I have almost every book that Lynley Dodd has published, and my three year old adores them all. Hairy Maclary waits patiently at the butcher shop for his bone, on his way home he is joined by his canine friends, all of who want his bone. Hairy comes up with sneaky ways to rid himself of his followers. All children that love dogs will love this book. A great dog, a great read!

Nothing beats James Jeffery Paul's uncanny mastery of the English language. Harry McCreedy is depicted as a coy man with a "steel rod" shoved inside of him who meets the girl of his dreams and becomes, in many ways, a new man. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in reading an entirely new kind of novel. Sit back and enjoy Paul's nigh-poetic prose.

This novel is a cautionary tale about a culture gone mad. One in which we judge people by the color of their skin-in this case the darker the better. When you read it expect to get angry, because you will be. Expect to cry, because you will.

Is there any higher achievement by an author than to imbue their story with whatever qualities etch it indelibly upon the reader's memory? This quality is posessed by Paul. This novel shines among such literary novels as have seen the press this year. Do not allow it to pass without reading it.

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Reading 03
Book Report

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling is an instant bestseller. It is a book that everyone loves. No one can resist Rowling's mesmerizing writing. She uses vivid descriptions to make all of her characters come to life. In this book Rowling uses a sentimental ending and a theme of working together to capture every reader's heart.
The famous Harry Potter is returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his third year after spending a grueling summer vacation at home with his Aunt and Uncle. Harry's Aunt and Uncle are Muggles or non-magic folk. Harry almost got expelled for inflating his Aunt until she exploded. Luckily Harry didn't get in trouble. When he was only a baby, Harry was able to defeat the evil Voldemort. For this reason, people are worried that he will be the next victim of the escaped murderer, Sirius Black. Harry and his two friends, Ron and Hermione foolishly go looking for Sirius Black, only to find out something unexpected.
One reason that you will want to keep reading this book is because the characters are so memorable and life-like. Ron is Harry's best friend. He has a great sense of humor and is never afraid to say whatever is on his mind. Hermione, Harry's other good friend is somewhat of a know-it-all. She's obsessed with getting good grades and is a loyal friend. She and Ron are always getting into little verbal spats. Rowling admits that she based the character Hermione, on herself. Harry Potter's archenemy is Draco Mallfoy. Draco is a rich, spoiled "pure blood" wizard. This means that neither of his parents were Muggles. He is a classical villain. He teases Harry incessantly and pokes fun at Ron and Hermione too. He loves to bother Hermione about the fact that she is half Muggle. My favorite character is Albus Dumbledore who is the Headmaster at Hogwarts. I love him because in this and all the Harry Potter books, he always gives out good, real life, advice. The lessons he teaches are for everyone, young and old.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is what a fantasy genre is all about. The magic in the book is infectious. One has to keep reading on to see what will happen next. It draws the reader so deeply into the story that he or she finds himself or herself dreaming and wishing that it were all true. A class in Potions would really liven up the school day for me! I could really get into a class called Defense Against the Dark Arts too. I whole-heartedly recommend this book for all ages. The best part about Harry Potter is that the books are a series so the magic never ends. I find it truly inspirational that this whole story was born out of the imagination of a woman who wrote it down in little bits and pieces, on scaps of napkins and papers. She was a single Mom who was struggling for the survival of her family and now her name is known everywhere in the world. Don't miss this or any of the Harry Potter sequels.

I totally agree with you this book is amazing to read, I also read this book. It was cool I think that people should read it because it always keeps you guessing which makes me nervous and it makes me want to read more and more of it. I also think that it is so cool that there are so many different languages ofHarry Potter, so many kids all over the world have a chance to read this wonderful book like I have. I am also very glad that they came out with the other one.

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Askaban is the best book ever. Its great for my age (11). Its about Harry's third year at Hogwarts. It really stumps you to what really happens. Its full of adventure. It all starts when sirius Black is convicted of killing Peter Petigrew.

Very well done chap. Probably could not have done better myself. There were some soft spots in it which caused me to look at it poorly for a moment. If I weren't so nice, I might have given it a 3 star rating. Don't get me wrong, it was well written and I enjoyed it dearly. I do rate books rather harshly sometimes. Only cause I want people to understand that they and we or all of us can do better.

ASANTE! { thank you in Swahili } Papa for your neat readings!

Go to Billings, Montana.

Get a room high up [ south side ] in the 24 floor Sheraton Hotel.

From there watch the train pass by. Hear it's whistle and the clatter of the wheels as the train rolls along the tracks that lie between the historic Montana Ave. and Minnisota Ave. - the infamous " sporting district " of old Billings.

Papa's whorehouse still stands.

Look over it's roof to the Big Horn Mountains in the distance - and Cody, Wyoming and Red Lodge, Montana.

Then play ERNEST HEMINGWAY READS ERNEST HEMINGWAY.

Listening to Papa tell his story, " Saturday Night At The Whorehouse In Billings Montana ", will then be something special.

I've seen the old film clips of Hemingway, read the novels and articles, and can call up the images of Papa Hemingway on his boat, or on safari, or just sitting on a chair... but nothing compares to actually hearing what he sounded like - how he would read the words he wrote - this is not only a MUST for any fan of Hemingway - this should be required listening in any American Literature 101 class. Wonderful.

This is a gripping story about class differences and being woman in colonial Indonesia.

We only get to know her as "The Girl", a stunningly beautiful teenager from a fishing village, who is picked to marry the local aristocrat "Bendoro". She objects to leaving the safety of her home, but is given no choice by her poor parents. They consider the marriage proposal from the powerful man in the nearby city to be a guarantee for a future of prosperity and good reputation.

So she is transformed from a village girl to Mistress, confined to the large manor with all its power plays. No longer is she able to move around freely. She is not to take part in the daily work. Her only obligation is to serve her husband obediently whenever he decides to order her attention.

"The Girl from the Coast" is a fascinating study about the system of social classes, not only in Indonesia, but in general. Trying to understand, the girl repeatedly turns to the servant who has been assigned to her. Why is her husband away all the time? What does he think of her? Why are there so many secrets in the manor?

Slowly she realizes what is happening in her new life. Materially she has no complaints, but she has lost her freedom. In Bendoro's world women are just another piece of property, to be enjoyed for entertainment or as a piece of furniture. In time she will be discarded, as all Bendoro's previous wives have been.

Two years after her marriage, the husband grants the girl permission to visit her parents in the village. It is a shocking experience. Far from enjoying the freedom of her village, she is now treated diffently. In the eyes of the villagers she is no longer the same as them; rather she is nobility.

Thus Toer describes when she first meets her former family and neighbors:

"All eyes were upon her, but each time she looked into a person's eyes, that person bowed his or her head quickly, as if nervous because of her presence. The girl winced. She couldn't remember her fellow villagers ever having acted that way toward her. No, of that she was sure, and now she felt even more strange than before, separated from her kinspeople, like a monkey in a cage."

Pramoedya Ananta Toer is Indonesia's master novelist, well known for books like "The Buru Quartet" and "The Fugitive". He was also a much respected dissident during the Suharto era, spending years in Indonesian prisons. Mr. Toer has been mentioned a number of times as a possible candidate for the Nobel literature prize.

In his epilogue Mr. Toer explains that "The Girl from the Coast" originally was intended as the first volume in a trilogy of novels on the growth of the nationalist movement in Indonesia. However, the two other novels in the trilogy were destroyed by the Indonesian military. That being said, "The Girl from the Coast" stands perfectly well on its own feet.