You'll spend some time scratching your head as you read this book, wondering whether it's nonfiction, poetry, journalism, memoir, fantasy or some amalgam of them all.

Then, at about half way through, you'll stop caring, because at this point you'll have reached the book's title section, "Hall of Fame: An Essay About the Ways in Which We Matter," a not entirely unironic meditation on the 3000 some-odd halls of fame in the United States which acts as both investigative journalism into some particular places the author has visited (there's a hall of fame of "Suffleboard" and a "Burlesque" hall of fame, for example) and personal meditation on the author's own family discord that is never quite clearly expressed but instead lingers overhead making all of these journeys into the halls of fame of America a very desperate, lonely, heartbreaking act.

I have no idea if these "halls" are poems (they look like poetry at least) nor what in the book is real and what imagined (there's an interview with the so-called president of the Flat Earth Society, for example) but I think the ambiguity of the book's forms is intentional, and meant to mask--or maybe even illustrate--an uncertainty in the world that this very mournful but simultaneously witty author feels deep in his bones. This is a tremendous book that is going to change the way essays are made from now on.

Or, if these in fact aren't "essays," it will at least change something in American literature.

Truly this is one of the best debuts in Creative Nonfiction's recent past. Clearly it is one of the most exciting and meaningful from the last decade's memoir-enhanced Nonfiction craze.

The book is wily, weird, well researched and highly--hugely--intelligent. The "forms" employed in HALLS OF FAME, while unlike anything we've seen in the genre to date, are profound. They make sense. Get to know the man who calls himself the President of the Flat Earth Society and you'll realize why D'Agata chose to write the essay almost entirely in footnotes. Read through a few of the short peices in the title essay, "Hall of Fame," and you'll understand completely why D'Agata needed to write about these pathetic little museums in one-sentence paragraphs and line breaks.

To dismiss this book because of its complexity would be a great blunder indeed, but that doesn't seem to be a problem here, considering its reviews so far. What amazes me and gives me hope is the fact that so odd a book is touching so many people. Maybe American literature isn't dead after all. Good for us.

In the ranks of those young writers who altering the form of other genres--Ben Marcus in fiction, Doug Powell in poetry, Jonathan Safran Foer in the novel, etc.--John D'Agata's HALLS OF FAME has not only altered the way contemporary essays are viewed, but based on a brief review of what's being published today in small literary journals, he's effected the very stuff being written in the genre. Long before most writers are usually said to have a tangible effect on their forms, D'Agata seems to have done it with his first book. It basically changed my life when I first read it, luring me out of a PhD in English, into a writing program where finally, thanks soley to this writer, I have realized that both the artful and the intelectual can sit side by side in essay writing. He does it better than anybody else. Not only better than any other young writer; better than ANYBODY. The first five pages of this first startling book will show you why. The rest of the book, I suspect, will change your life.

My mother first read this book as a late teenager, and fell in love with it--the characters, the history, the writing style, etc. She named me after Katherine, and presented the book to me when I was thirteen--I have since read it five times. The novel transports you back to the late fourteenth century, into a time immediately before the chronicling of history really began. It brings clarity to a fuzzy image of the period. Not only is this book the least painful way to learn about this era, it also brings it alive with a vividness not often seen. This time period, so often snubbed by historians as just another unimportant century in the Middle Ages, has its share of important characters and events: Geoffrey Chaucer, the Peasant's Revolt, the Black Prince, etc. Seton does well in portraying a time colored by intrigue and revolutionary change. It paints a portrait of England directly before its transition into a world power. All told as a subtext of a great Romance and historical drama. A wonderful portal to another time.

One April morning of 1366, a young girl rides to join her sister at court in Windsor. The young girl was Katherine. There, a boorish knigh, Sir Hugh falls madly in love with her, but Katherine isn't interested. She is persuaded to marry him for her own security, but she has no love for him, nor even any affection.

Katherine has also caught the eye of the King's third son, John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster. Something in the handsome duke's kiss on her wedding day, arouses in Katherine feelings she had never known and she seeks out the duke at every opportunity.

In the laws of God and man, their love is forbidden, but the seed of passion has been sown which will change the course of English history...

This was a brilliant book, difficult to put down. All the history is there, but told through the eyes of the characters, making it that much more real. There's even a cameo appeareance by Goeffrey Chaucer! (Who wrote the Canterbury Tales.)

One to re-read again.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams and Shadows of the Rose.

I first read this book I was fourteen. Since then I've acquired both hardback and paperback. I read it about three or four times a year, my favorite parts being the Christmas scene and the pilgrimage. As did some of the other reviewers, this book whetted my appetite for medieval history. Katherine Swynford is remarkably free of the histrionics that unfortunately seem to characterize so many historical romance heroines. John's and Katherine's daily lives are realistically portrayed, such as John keeping Katherine as a mistress while he marries for power. Ms. Seton doesn't shrink from depicting the filth and disease rampant in that time period either. Nor does she shirk from depicting the terrible position women occupied in that time period, as when she writes of how Katherine was forced to marry Hugh Swynford. He's also portrayed fairly--a ruffian certainly, but a man who falls love deeply, having nothing in his experience to prepare him. He doesn't metamorphose into a wonderful person as a result of this love. Undoubtedly Katherine would really have been as resentful of him as she is portrayed. Love doesn't exactly triumph in this novel, rather it wins by sheer dogged persistence, as when John and Katherine are finally together when they are middle-aged and free of their other social and personal restrictions. I also enjoyed the religious aspect of the book, in which Katherine goes on a vision quest, or spirit journey, gaining hardwon inner peace. Lady Julian's quotes made me cry, while Julian's prescriptions for Katherine's anemia made me laugh out loud. Katherine's hungering for and finding peace and true oneness with Spirit is a nice contrast to all the bloodbath over doctrinal trivialities. It makes a nice comparison between piousness and spiritual fulfillment. Ms. Seton also points out, using Katherine's treatment by the people of Lincoln, and in the hardship of running her estate, how that inner peace gets buffeted by the world. It's not portrayed as being easy, as indeed it isn't. She includes a similar quest in Avalon and Green Darkness, but it's best portrayed in Katherine. Ms. Seton writes about spirit journeys without making them sentimental or hackneyed. I'm glad it's still in print and that women are passing it on to their daughters. It's the way historical romances should be done.

I got the sixth book, 'The Night is for Hunting',as soon as it came out in Australia-1 Oct. Now I'm dying because I have to wait untill Oct. 1999, when the seventh, and final book comes out. It is so unfair that we have to wait this long, because everyone has become best friends with Ellie and the gang, and can you imagine waiting a whole year before finding out what happened to your best friends? I pity you poor Americans who have to wait twice as long. Read the reviews- believe them- buy them for your kids- brothers and sisters, parents- they are the most fantastic books I have ever read and I reccomend them to anyone!! This series follows the lives of a group of teenagers after their country has been invaded. It will have you holding your breath, biting your nails, crying, or laughing along with the characters. Buy it!!!!!!

I will be honest. I didn't want to read this series. A lot of people I know had read the books as they came out, and raved about them, but I thought at the time that I didn't want to read another war series...which is all that i thought they were.

Turns out I was wrong.

I got a copy of Tomorrow When the War Began in a pile of second hand books from my Aunt. It was the summer holidays and I thought I might as well read it. I'm 18, by the way, studying at University, and I had previously read some of John Marsden's books and found them to be absolutely amazing. From the moment I picked up Tomorrow When The War Began, I was hooked.

John Marsden is without a doubt one the best author that I have come across. His portayal of Ellie and the rest of the gang, with their faults, their emotions...everything about them, is so amazingly real.

Tomorrow is in no way just another war book, as I previously thought. If you are over the age of 15, I would recommend it, especially for those up to the age of about 25...but even beyond that. After reading Tomorrow, I proceeded to buy the rest of the set, one by one, every day for a week. I was even getting so desperate to know what was going to happen next that I was buying and starting them in my lunch breaks at work. I have since basically forced one of my good friends, who also wasn't really into the idea of reading them, into starting, and she actually put down Lord of the Rings to finish the Tomorrow Series instead. My mum also read them all in the space of a week.

Being Australian (I live not far from the bush in an area where places like Hell actually exist), Tomorrow is a book I can relate to very much. Anyone who doesn't read the series, and has the chance to, is really missing out on something great.

Oh and for the people who wanted the names of the rest of the books:

Tomorrow When The War Began
The Dead of the Night
Darkness, Be My Friend
The Third Day, the Frost
Burning for Revenge
The Night Is For Hunting
The Other Side of Dawn

On the recommendation of a friend, and upon finding a set of all 7 books in this series on special, I bought them. I'm glad I did - I don't think I could have coped if I had had to wait, after finishing the first book, to buy the next. This is an exceptional series, written in an elegantly simple and direct style, which covers a range of issues and emotions well beyond anything I had the opportunity to read when I was in the age group the books are (ostensibly) designed for. I write this review as I approach the closing chapters of Book 7 and, speaking as a professional person who normally doesn't think much of most fiction writing, I have found the series to be intelligent, absolutely gripping, and truly moving. If you can't see how, read, then re-read, the passage when Lee takes Ellie to the Wirrawee cemetery. I am now trying to find a set in hardcover, to put away for my children not yet born.

In Traditional Judaism, there is a school of thought called the Mussar Movement, which emphasizes self-evaluation and self-examination. Of the works of Mussar (ethics and morals) that I have studied over the years, I have not found a work that affects me so profoundly as "The Screwtape Letters." As an Observant Jew, you might find it funny that I recommend the Screwtape Letters, a book ostensibly, about Christianity. Yet, if you can look beyond the frame of Christianity (and if you can't, don't read it), the book is really about human nature. It teaches us about the subtle way the psyche (or in Lewis' terminology, the devil) convinces us to abandon the eternal and spiritual in pursuit of the etherial and physical. Yet, the technique of the exchange of letters gives the reader a perspective we never consider: the side of us that wants to be bad. Once we understand how our own "devil" really works, that awareness can make us that much more diligent in overcoming his temptations. Time and time again throughout my reading of this book I find myself saying, "I do that all the time." All of us do, which makes this book so compelling. The reader should be warned: this is not a book to be read and relegated to the bookshelf. It's a book that must be read and periodically reviewed, to encourage self-examination and evaluation. Each time I return to The Screwtape Letters, I know that I put it down with a chance to become a better person.

Well, I won't repeat the other 100+ plus reviewers about what a great book "The Screwtape Letters" is, other than to say it will reward you to read it. I'd just like to comment on the unabridged audio version, narrated by John Cleese. They couldn't have picked a better vocal talent to do the Letters. In the introduction, Cleese speaks the persona of the Oxford/Cambridge don C.S. Lewis, not mimicing Lewis' voice, but copying the style of speech heard on Lewis' World War II broadcasts that eventually became "Mere Christianity". Then, through the rest of the tapes, Cleese becomes the ultimate fiendish (literally) bureaucrat, Screwtape. Screwtape's sputtering indignation and fury at his nephew's incompetence, which leads him to turn into a giant centipede, is captured to perfection. In the closing essay, "Screwtape Proposes a Toast", his effete snobbery at the fine vintage of bottled Pharisee is delightful. All in all, the ideal audio presentation of Lewis' masterpiece.

I'm not usually a fan of "books on tape" but this is a case where inspired reading (more of a one-man performance) brings out nuances which don't come across on paper. Screwtape was the first C.S. Lewis book I read as an adult (after reading the Narnia books nearly 10 times apiece as a child). Though I'm not a Christian, I found a lot of inspiration in Screwtape. Lewis is so good at capturing the little games we all play and the avoidance techniques we all use. He writes so well about the redemption of souls, and the meaning of our spiritual side. I remember finding some of the wit in the book a little obvious. Not so with Cleese's reading! He has never done anything better. His comedic talents bring out the humor of the book, including some lines which weren't funny on paper. But his performance ranges far beyond the merely funny: the menace with which he says "I could show you a pretty cageful down here . . ." or the quiet hypnotic way he reads Lewis's lines about the road to Hell being "soft underfoot, . . . without milestones, without signposts" -- these things send a chill down the spine. My only regret about these tapes is that four of the Letters are not included. But the remaining letters are read in full with no abridgement. I literally wore out my first copy of these tapes and have ordered a 2nd set.

I just read an incredible book. It is called, Black Like Me. The author, John Howard Griffin tells about his accounts of taking skin pigments to change his Caucasian body to African-American. This is one of the few books out there in today's literature that gives a true account of what life is for an African-American male living in the south in the late 50's early 60's. Griffin, a journalistic man, went out on this experiment to get a story but instead of getting a story he got a life long lesson. This is a story where it is more then putting yourself in their shoes. You are they, you live their life and you understand what they always talk about. The details in this book, come out and grab you. While reading this book you will not want to put it down because you as the reader are always waiting to see what happens next. This may shock you because it cannot be found in any history or biographic book. It is a story you can understand because it comes from a person who entered a life they never experienced before. It makes you believe that you were there and maybe now you have a little more understanding of what African-Americans deal with then and now. This is a must read book because you will not find this anywhere else and it is a fact that we need to learn. We cannot hide from this any longer, we need to come to reality and face it.

"Black Like Me" has to be one of the most accomplished books of all time by John Howard Griffin. This nonfictional piece of literature begins with Griffin, a Caucasian, pigmenting his skin to a darker brown, a color resembling that of an African-American, in order to feel what it's like to be an African-American. His destination proceeds throughout the South where he records his real-life experiences and encounters with other African-Americans as well as Caucasians. The transformation of his skin pigment leads him to face the discrimination and prejudice from Caucasians yet allows him to feel a sense of unity among the rest of the African-Americans. The differences of Griffins "two lives" (one being white and the other black) contrasts greatly. As a white, Griffin automatically had the opportunity of entering restaurants, shows, and other places without a problem. He remained healthy, physically, emotionally, and mentally. On the other hand, his life as a black made him lose the opportunities of a white, and therefore, Griffin became emotionally, physically, and mentally unhealthy. What does the large contrast between two lives of the same person with a different shade of skin show about human beings? Even though Griffin's experiences took place forty years ago, this book allows us to question whether society has improved and changed or not. In some ways, I believe it has, but in others, the traditional ways have dominated improvement. Unless you are a victim of prejudice today, one can finally perceive how brutal and painful prejudice and discrimination are through the mind of a white man battling the everlasting war of racism within society. -A.H., 16, IL

... ...
09/07/02
Core 8
Book Review
Black Like Me
Book Review

For my summer assignment, I read the novel Black Like Me by John Griffin. It is an autobiography about a white man who explores The Deep South as a black man by changing the pigment of his skin. This is a terrific book and I strongly recommend it.
Mr. Griffin's purpose is to find out how African American's are treated compared to Caucasian American's. To achieve this, Mr. Griffin travels to The Deep South. He finds himself in the middle of two cultures who accept or reject him merely because the color of his skin. He finds the discrimination gets worse as he travels farther South.
The book takes place in the late 50's and early 60's. It is set mainly in New Orleans and The Deep South. The mood of the book is depressing and poignant.
I think Mr. Griffin proved his point by telling America and the rest of the world how badly black people in society were treated. His writing is fairly easy to read with a few difficult words. I would have liked the book more if Mr. Griffin was not so verbose. Overall, the novel is very moving and John Griffin vindicates himself. I would recommend this novel because it tells a lot of history and Mr. Griffin speaks very eloquently and from his heart.
The novel taught me some history along with how African American's were restrained from having a normal life.

I've been buying cookbooks for decades. I'll buy cookbooks for just one recipe I'm dying to learn. The funny thing is, I'm really not that good of a cook, but I love working in the kitchen.

This cookbook just blows me away. Just like the Cooks International PBS television series, it explains the why of cooking. Lasagne without ricotta? Beef marinade without acid? How could that be? The explanations are there, and they make total sense.

I sit in my bedroom reading this book at night. I read about the things I already know how to make, looking for the subtle ideas to make them perfect. It's really not a cookbook even though it's got hundreds of recipes. It's more a book about cooking, and it's got me more inspired than all of the scores of books I've bought before.

I'll give these guys the best compliment I can think of: I wish I had written it.

From one (who like many reviewers) has a collection of 200+ cookbooks, and who reads cookbooks as though they were novels-this is a classic! I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated,though only for a short while so I haven't seen many of these recipes, but I love this book! The detail is just enough to be helpful-information on adjusting the oven racks for certain recipes-higher, lower, etc.. I love the science sections which tell why certain things happen when you are cooking certain foods. At the beginning of each section, I like the editors explaining how they tested, what worked, and what didn't work for them. The recipes are not fancy, and they are basic classic recipes, but very well researched, and the choices of recipes included will appeal to many people. The Peanut Butter cookies were great, as was the Braised Green Beans Italian Style, and the Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing. I only received the book a few days ago, and I am anxious to try some of the other recipes-a great addition to any cookbook library!

... but in the case, this is one of the rare books that has truly earned this moniker.

The editors of cook's illustrated have tested and retested recipes and cooking techniques for many of your favourite recipes. They have distilled the results of these experiments into a series of easy to follow, sure fire recipes that rarely fail to delight. Even if you using a different cookbook, the description of the techniques (what worked versus what failed) will help you modify your recipe for even greater success. The descriptions of the testing process and the science behind the results are fascinating reading that will make you a better cook. If you have ever wondered if there is any truth behind some of those "kitchen secrets" that people swear make a difference, then this book is for you.

The book covers all types of food preparation (soup, salads, vegetables but not vegetarian, pasta, meats), grilling, baking (pizza, breads, cakes) and desserts. It is also liberally sprinkled with the results of taste testings and equipment reviews which I have found to be pretty accurate.

Like many people, I usually only try 2 or 3 recipes out of the cookbooks that I buy. I have tried 2-3 recipes out of each of the twenty chapters in this book. This is a "must have" cookbook.

The truth is, I was skeptical about the book when I first heard about it. "How could one build a business around selling a computer mouse shaped like a golf driver?"

But after hearing rave reviews from my friend I decided to give it a try, as a bedtime reading ;) Gosh! was that a bad idea, I couldn't put down the book until 3am in the morning!

In this world of multi-million hi-tech startup, it is amazing to see how John & Kyle build a viable business around a product and making money out of it! Having worked with a couple of multi-million failed startup, I am especially intrigued by their "Art of low-financing". Not a day goes by after reading their book that I don't think about quitting my job and starting a small business :)

This book is as close as you can get to feeling the pain and reward of starting a business without actually doing it!

About John Lusk & Kyle Harrison, two Wharton MBA graduates who eschewed the siren call of the dot coms to start their own business selling computer mice shaped like the head of a golf club. A real page turner, this book originally started out as a series of e-mail newsletters that the authors wrote to keep their friends and family apprised of how their company was doing. I found the writing style honest and realistic, yet humorous. Must read material for anybody who has ever thought about starting a company, or who worked in the computer industry during the dot-com era and ever thought about joining a startup.

When I first saw this book, my heart did not exactly skip a beat. Another book about (and worse, BY!) 2 American entrepreneurs selling computer mice? Haven't publishers had enough of all these human interest business stories that all share the same beginnings and endings?

I decided to give the book a go anyway since it was a gift from a friend. Surprisingly, I was unable to put it down. Even though I am an Asian doing my MBA in Europe, I believe the experiences of the authors hold true for all aspiring entrepreneurs.

And what experiences! I won't give the story away (go to mousedriver.com and look at their Insider newsletter for a summary of some of their tales),but DO consider this book to get an idea of what it means to passionately believe in a product, get that product to the market -- and how to deal with all the obstacles in the way while preserving your sanity and bank balances.

If, like me, you have thoughts about being an entrepreneur but are not sure of what to start being passionate about, read this book and "Just Drive It" ! The marketing slogan for the MouseDriver (that's what these guys are trying to sell, a mouse that is shaped like a golf club) is certainly effective shorthand for all those who have always THOUGHT about being their own boss but have have not dared to fall out of their 8 to 8 routines (Worry about the landing later:-)

MouseDriver Chronicles is a true, compelling story that deserves a wider audience. I now understand why my friend (who gave me the book) actually went on to help publish it. Happy AND educational endings, anyone?

This is the book we have all waited for. For almost 30 years we have waited; and MAN!!! Was it ever worth the wait. This book is at first glance; one of the most beautiful books I've ever held in my hands. The paper used is thick, heavy, and smooth as silk. It's a rather large book, which gives the photographs an impact few books have offered before. Even the shots I've seen before are striking. This is by far the most comprehensive document ever published on the "Fab Four". So many surprises, so many "little" details that only the boys could know. Everything about the "Anthology" project has been done with such loving care, and this book is no exception. The beatles have given the world so much over the past four decades; and now, with this rich impressive chronicle, they give us their own personal recollections of a time when the world was just beginning to learn how to ROCK!!! Thank you, John, Paul, George, Ringo, George Martin, Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, Derek Taylor, Klas Voorman, and Yoko Ono. This is without doubt; the "Ultimate" book on "The Beatles". Still the most influential band in the history of Rock n' Roll.

From "Love Me Do" to "The Long and Winding Road", the Beatles were always viewed by everyon as a phenomenon. I was born five years after the death of John Lennon, fifteen years after the band broke up, and yet, somehow, I've become an avid fan. Looking at the so-called 'authorized biographies' and such, I thought that this would be some kind of touchy-feely novelistic biography.

Boy, was I wrong!

From the minute I opened it in the bookstore to a random page, I was thrilled. Gung-ho pictures, poignant comments from the four and their closest friends and co-workers(like George Martin). Reading John Lennon's autobiography was a particularly moving moment, seeing the disillusioned Beatle's take on his own hard life. The whole book is not to be read start to finish, in my opinion. Open it to a page and start. I guarentee that you won't put it down until they prise your fingers from the book.

Don't Pass this one By. Get Back online and BUY THIS BOOK!

The Beatles story is an incredibly fascinating one. In so many ways their history is not merely of a musical group, even a great one. The Beatles transcended mere music. From 1962-1970, the entire period of their recording career, the Beatles recorded hundreds ofbrilliant songs, groundbreaking albums and lived enough advenutre to fill a lifetime. When this book was published, the three surviving Beatles had lived more than twice as many years since the breakup as the entire time the group was together. It is really remarkable to read (or see in the video) McCartney, Starr and Harrison talking about the Beatle's times from the perspective of late middle age. The story itself will be familiar to any Beatle's fan. The early days in Britain, the crazy days of Beatle mania, the acid drenched mid-sixties when the times began to influence the Beatle's sound and the Beatle's music so headily influenced the times. The flirtation with Indian religion, the death of Brian Epstein, Yoko Ono, the slowly growing rigt and finally the acrimonious breakup. All in an incredible 8 years. What makes this book unique, even from earlier books that quote the Beatles is the perspective of time which has clearly mellowed the three surviviors. Lennon's quote's are necessarily taken from before his death in 1980 and it is interesting to see how his failure to reach middle age lends a different perspective to his memories of the Beatles, in his case memories less than fifteen years old. How fascinating to hear Paul and George discussing the making of "Let it Be" where the bitterness was clear. Paul essentially apologizes and it is nice to know he and George settled their differences before Harrison's death late last year. Not only do I recommend this book, it cannot be missed by anyone interested in the Beatle's history in their own words. No other auto-biography will be as comprehensive for one reason. It will require much of the book to focus on pre and post Beatles years. As I stated, the Beatles recording career lasted 8 years. Today a top band would record at most three albums in that time. Don't miss the book or the video collection

You've had Total Quality Management. You've read Sun Tzu and Musashi on business as war. You've been to Outward Bound and you've undergone Team Building exercises until you're blue in the face. Now read the novel that has more to say about the qualities a real leader should have than any text written by a management guru--Anton Myrer's classic "Once an Eagle."

The book is a youth-to-death story of "Sad" Sam Damon, a midwestern boy who steeps himself in military history and a code of honor that requires him to step forward and take the lead in almost every situation. Myrer has tapped into a simple truth. That's what real leaders do; they lead.

While Sam Damon is a military hero, he's no marble monument. Myrer shows us that real world leaders are assailed with doubts, real fears, and insecurities that can lead them to cave in to expediency under extreme pressure. But in Sam Damon, Myrer shows us that true leadership can consist of recognizing your mistakes, swallowing hard, and stepping up to the plate again to do the right thing.

Such a strong protagonist clearly needs a strong opponent. Myrer delivers with Courtney Massengale, a supremely brilliant and ruthless adversary whose weakness, as Sam Damon realizes, is that he does not love any man. It is the byplay between these two characters that Myrer uses to telling effect in illustrating how love is a key element in leadership. I know of half a dozen executives who have patterned their management styles on Sam Damon's lessons. They are the best bosses I ever had. This is a book that should be required reading in our service academies, and as part of every MBA program and civil service exam in the country. Fortunately, it's also a wonderful read.