You can read this book for free at the Institute of Medicines site. Do a title search at google.

A must have if you want to arm yourself with scientifically proven facts on this very controversially subject. I was so excited to find out what the Institute of Medicine had to say about cannabis, that I went out and told everyone I know. A true gem. Let's get this information out to everyone! And to all of those who helped put this book on the shelf, thank you! so much.

This book is the result of a $900,000 two year study of the known facts on marijuana, including a review of recent literature and interviews with patients. It was requested by "Drug Czar" McCaffrey after medical marijuana had become legal in California. No doubt McCaffrey was hoping the Institute of Medicine would come out against it. However, when finally released in March 1999, the Institute of Medicine report not only confirmed that marijuana has legitimate medical uses and is remarkably safe, it also demolished the myths that marijuana leads to harder drugs or that it causes "amotivational syndrome".

Did you know that 32% of all nicotine users develop a psychological dependency on their drug, as do 15% of all alcohol users versus only 9% of marijuana users? The book is full of useful facts like these.

If you want to get involved in the debate about what drug policy will serve us best you should read this book. Thank you, Mr McCaffrey :-)

Excellent summary. Short bios all in one place. This book is very interesting and highly readable!

No other written document has so clearly stated that the freedom of the individual is imperative for a working republic. When Jefferson wrote the following: "We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator certain unalianble Rights, that among these are, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,-, he was stressing the need that individual thought or action should not be controlled by a government or any other institution. Rather, what he states here is that we as individuals have fudemental rights, i.e. , life , liberty and the pursuit of happiness that are always more important then the needs of the government.

On the advice of a friend, I purchased this book prior to last year's draft. While the information regarding every day players can be found elsewhere, the book's strength is its profiles of more obscure players. The book was particularly helpful during spring training, when the box scores are full of no name players, and during the September call up. During the course of summer, I found a profile regarding every player I looked up - I doubt that can be said of many publications.

Lossing is directly responsible for the kindly view that the Shakers came to have in the eyes of America. This was the original article along with his sketches and illustrations which were finished out in water color before the wood engravers went to work. Absolutely astonishing details.

This Book is DYNAMITE

The title will throw you off. Mr. Benson took an instructional manual on the chancery cursive hand done in 1522 in Italian italics (chancery cursive) and in 1954 not only translated it into English, but crafted the entire book in italics. Consider that this was not only pre electronic typeface but probably also pre electric typewriter. The Italian version is reprinted in the book as well so that comparisons can be made between the English and the Italian versions.
I began teaching calligraphy in 1978 and kept going back to this little book as the master reference. Mr. Benson published another book in 1940, The Elements of Lettering and I dare say that many a student of graphics undergoing their first course in lettering encountered it as well.

Frankly, it just got a little long for me. Steinbeck was---and probably still is---my favorite American writer. This book reminded me why: Not only for the beauty of his prose and amazing powers of description, but for his uncompromising integrity, loyalty and devotion to his craft. I learned a lot about this man, but also about the book publishing business and the literary world.

One has to tip his hat to the author for the level of detail and the research performed, especially his good fortune in being able to interview all three of his wives. Reading this after reading most of Steinbeck's major works, gave insight into what drove JS to write each one of his works and helped dispel any misconceptions about his political tendencies and whether he was trying to write "political message" books or not.

Most appalling was to find out how little regarded Steinbeck was among the literary critics in the last 25-30 years of his life, to the point that they questioned the Nobel Prize Committee's decision-making process once JS was honored with the award.

There is a lot to learn in this book. I wouldn't have minded reading a little less detail on some of the progress (or lack of) on some of his lesser works and some of his travels. But for the Steinbeck fan, this is a must-read.

For my doctoral research, which involves the history of coastal California, I wanted one big, clearly written book that was solidly put together but not clogged with footnotes. I found it here. Fifteen years of research, some of it with friends and relatives of Steinbeck's, went into this biography, which reads like a straight-up narrative of the writer's adventurous life. Though long, it reads quickly, devoid of academic jargon. Highly recommended.

I just finished this one this morning, sticking around in bed for an extra twenty minutes to polish off to last chapter or so. What a surprise it is to find you're at page 1,038 and never even tired of the length along the way. It's a tale of an engaging life told in engaging language that grabs your attention and keeps you thoroughly engaged to the end. What a life John Steinbeck had, and what a way to tell it by Jackson J. Benson.

Benson must have started with near a mountain of research to draw together such a complete picture of Steinbeck's life. It's a task that could have caught lesser writer's struggling much like Steinbeck did with the translation of Morte D' Arthur in an unfinishable Pandora's Box of a book. But Benson sees it through with apparent love for the writer and care for the detail. In such a private life of a fiercely guarded private man, it's amazing that Benson adds such a degree of minute detail along the way. You realize some of the details have to be largely anecdotal and especially anecdotes loyally told carry a good degree of fiction with them. That's just what makes this book so magical and passionate...a life well told and lived carries a large freedom of fiction along with it. I think that John Steinbeck would have had it no other way. Actually, he probably would have hidden away from anybody trying to capture his life in words. It would have been a horror for him, but thank God we have this book from Jackson and are left with Steinbeck's writing.

I made the Haj to Salinas on Steinbeck's 100th Birthday and heard John Jr. speak about his Father and had a little birthday cake to boot. I played a game with the neighbor's kid as he held Benson's paperweight of a book and ran from me as I chased him down. I responded with horror as he launched it flying over the fence landing splayed on the ground. The adult in me told him, we don't throw rocks and we especially don't throw books. But as I wiped the dirt and dust off of the book and later finished the last fifty pages with grass stains burned into the leaves of pages...I was glad. A little California earth to go with Steinbeck. A book well worn is so more sacred than one pristine. I should have thanked the neighbor's son for the unintended connection. Rocks against the earth will never grow, but books picked up from the ground...now that's a different thing. For all those Steinbeck-philes don't miss this book. For those who have hardly heard of Steinbeck, there's a good deal of life in this book. I urge you not to miss out on that life.

Now I'm off to chase my neighbor's son around the back yard as he carries "The Grapes of Wrath" to the end zone...spike and score.

....especially during the first part of this book, and there seemed to be one misadventure after another, especially with his interviews, and I got tired of those too....and then it dawned on me (and I'm not at all certain the author would agree) that he was not only researching Steinbeck's life, but stumbling into parts of it.

Take his interview with Gwyn, Steinbeck's second wife. For me, what clearly emerged during the author's confrontation with her storytelling ability, her extraverted extravagance, and her occasional bullying, was that Benson was being made to feel exactly how Steinbeck would have felt, especially toward the end of the marriage. And the same with getting lost at times in New York, and feeling "out of touch" here and there, and worrying about bad reviews: I think the biographer actually became the subject of his biography a little, sharing from his own rather humble and introverted point of view what Steinbeck couldn't or wouldn't bring himself to write publicly about regarding his own private struggles, doubts, confusions. What a gift, all the way around.

This is a wonderful book--a real page-turner filled with delicious bits of information and satisfying insights into John Steinbeck's remarkable life and work. Benson disarms the reader with his self-effacing manner and unassuming style, but as he proceeds with the almost heroic story of how, over a period of some fourteen years, he researched, planned, wrote, and finally saw to publication his thousand-page biography of Steinbeck, it becomes clear that his virtues are not limited to modesty. They also include toughness, resourcefulness, and determination. It is a great story, and Benson has told it very well.

For any reader remotely interested in the trials and tribulations so frequently associated with writing a book, in this case a biography, this book is a must.
Jackson Benson spent fifteen years writing the definitive biography of John Steinbeck that originally began as a scholarly critique of his works. He was a young professor of American literature at a provincial university in 1970 and felt it part of his job to write about American authors: "I had no idea of writing a biography or of spending a major portion of my life doing so. No one in his right mind sets out to spend fifteen years researching and writing a book-it just sneaks up on you." With this confession the reader is drawn into a wonderful account of his efforts to "save" Steinbeck from what he saw as unjust criticism and general academic denigration.
The book is unusual for a variety of reasons. First, it is highly readable which is rare given the authors scholarly and academic credentials. Benson has a marvelous sense of humor and doesn't hesitate to spell out his own shortcomings and lapses that many times resulted in dire consequences of his own making. His original naivete and ill defined writing plan led to a variety of incidents that are described in a humorous and candid manner.
Second, the author doesn't hesitate to candidly reveal the myriad fears, frustrations, doubts and ever-present economic problems that dogged him throughout the writing process. In reading of his countless setbacks I am amazed he completed the book. His dedication, perseverance, resourcefulness and integrity are both amazing and heartening.
Third, this is a rare instance in which a biographer writes about himself. It is actually an autobiography of the biographer and is done with such grace and candor and style that it is as artful as the biography. This book stands alone as a masteful literary accomplishment notwithstanding its sister biography.

The book is a must have for writers, wannabe writers, researchers, or readers interested in biography, authbiography or the art and craft of writing. It is a unique insight into the writing of the definitive biography of a world literary figure whose centennial birthday is being celebrated throughout this year. The Joads would have been proud.

Creator Rod Serling will forever be remembered for his earlier classic: a little something called "The Twilight Zone." While "Night Gallery" never quite made the ratings and dramatic success as its predecessor, the show did have its moments, all lovingly chronicled here by the authors. The book details the production, the episodes, and the various actors featured on the show. It also reveals the infighting between Serling, producer Jack Laird, and the wishes of the "suits" at NBC. Sadly, the strain of his association with the series may have contributed to Serling's untimely death.

For those fans of the show, this is an insightful and well-prepared document.

When I was a little boy I LOVED this show,being a horror nut.Well,I'm still a horror nut,and I only had vague memories of it,only that it was presented by Rod Serling.Hey,Twilight Zone still airs and is awesome,so NG should be as well.I excitedly sent off for this book,and it IS great!Lovingly written,the book unravels the NG story in a highly interesting and informative manner.BUT!The Mystery Channel started showing all the restored episodes and I saw the show as a horrible,dated mess!Buy this book,even if,like me,you shudder at NG.Buy it for the great info on Serling.
PS:It is now many months later and Mystery channel isn't showing NG now,but they will in a couple weeks.I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.Heck,it's not so bad!

I recently purchased the hardback version of Skelton's extremely thorough and enjoyable book pertaining to the Serling Anthology series. Everyone who has seen the show has their own opinion on how it rates among other programs. I enjoyed the show immensely in syndication, in spite of the fact that the episodes were butchered. Having watched the restored episodes through Columbia House, I found the difference to be quite an eye-opener. However, as many have opined, the show was uneven, but many shows such as the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits were also uneven. Some brilliant, some abyssmally bad. The book, however, full of facts, interviews and history, is an absolute essential to anyone's library who enjoyed The Night Gallery on any level and is interested in learning more about such a unique television series

Another "BDSM" erotica classic! A must read for those who love submissive men or dream of dominant men -- like both then you'll be doubly pleased. The only problem is that the plot tends to drift off from the training to a police drama at the mid-point.

Mr. Benson kept me on my toes the entire time I was reading it. From start to finish, it kept my attention. It was full of mystery as well as physical action, which is a great combination. I've never read a more thrilling book!

There will be no "follow-ups" to Mr. Benson, because John Preston passed away. However, his works include several more excellent volumes of erotic work involving men and their passions for SM and each other. See also "Looking for Mr. Preston", a tribute anthology to the man and his writing