This is a highly entertaining, funny, and tightly written memoir. Anyone interested in ghostwriting should read this book. Taylor Branch does a wonderful job with structure, with each chapter reading like a thematic essay, rather than a chronological depiction of events. I couldn't put the book down.

Russell is a wily and stubborn yet unconventionally thoughtful persona. Russell was an avid student and his opinions, while unorthodox, make a lot of sense, and thus are very humorous. His qualms with the idolization of sports stars, for example, manifest in funny anecdotes about fans seeking autographs and Red Auerbach trying to retire his jersey. And though Russell tries to depict his life in unromatntic terms - the final scene is of him giving up his clim of Mt Ranier - his story is inspirational. The path he takes from rural, segregated Louisiana - where his peers believe in ghosts - to media superstar is dramatic.

My favorite section in the book is the part where Russell describes Sam Jones's ability to take over a game, but Jones's refusal to do it very often. Jones didn't want the responsibility, he says, which confuses his teammates. The juxtaposition of Jones's great abilities to his listless and uncooperative sides was captivating. This is by far the best sports memoirs, and one of the best memoirs period, I've ever read.

When the great civil rights historian, Taylor Branch, collaborated with Bill Russell, a miracle was wrought. This book blew me away. As crazy as it sounds, it is better suited on your book shelf alongside the witness narratives of Bellow and Ellison, than other sports autobiographies. Bill Russell, as the subtitle indicates, is a very opinionated man. It's such a relief to encounter a straightalking athelete, when so many others seem to rely solely on cliches. Russell's appetite for reading and ideas mixed with funny, unpretentious street talk fits the aesthetic that Susan Sontag outlined in Notes On Camp.

The chapters are divided are divided into themes. The story is basically chronological, yet the storytelling is often conveyed indirectly through Russell's discursive riffs. One line follows the next line which follows the next so seamlessly. It's all rendered in the most natural manner. What's fascinating about the book is how much Russell's life changes. His childhood is spent in the 1930's agrarian, rural Louisiana. Describing his father's drunkeness when Russell was five, Russell states, "All I understood was that something was scary was happening to my father, and I felt all trembly the way I did during thunderstorms." By the end of the novel we are given a wonderful analysis of a situation where Russell is pulled over by a white cop because he's driving a Lamborghini. We also get to see these two worlds intersecting when Russell brings his grandfather to a basketball game, the first time his grandfather witnesses whites and blacks intermingling.

Some of the descriptions of his discovery of the sport - a topic largely ignored by literature, especially when compared with the other three of the big four (Religion, Politics, The Arts) - border on the metaphysical. I love the description of Sam Jones who has the capability to take over a game, but doesn't want to shoulder the respobsibility. At the same time, however, he implores his readers to see him as a human being, not an athelete. Russell's philosophy, politics and self-perception all have unpredicatble nuances to them. The book has a genuine and generous honesty. (The trustees at Indiana should require Bob Knight to read it.) It can inform the way you live!

Bill Russell takes you way inside to experience what playing in the NBA is all about when it works to the best it's able. A super fine book. I am glad it surfaced again in my archives. You really get the FEEL about playing a perfect game, especially as a TEAM.

Most medical students are hesitant to choose their medical specialty. No book until now has solved this dilemma in a proper way except this one! I was asking myself this question before graduation, and I saw this book at the Toronto Bookstore 2 years ago, but didn't want to buy it cuz one of my friends told me that there were many web sites which will help you choose your future specialty. Unfortunately, I didn't find a comprehensive book or at an article or a website about that. Then after graduation, I had the chance to visit Toronto Bookstore again and decided this time to buy it!

Part I: The Challenge of Specialty Choice including (Planning your specialty choice, Finding a speciality that is right for you, Considering your options, Career planning in an uncertain world).

Part II: The Specialties and Subspecialties including: Allergy and immunology, Anesthesiology, Colon and rectal surgery, Dermatology, Emergency medicine, Family medicine, Internal medicine (Cardiology, Endocrinology and metabolism, Gastroenterology, Hematology, Infectious diseases, Medical oncology, Nephrology, Pulmonary disease, Rheumatology), Medical genetics, Neurological surgery, Neurology, Nuclear medicine, Obstetric and gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedic surgery, Otolaryngology - Head and nech surgery, Pathology, Pediatrics, Physical medicine and rehabilitation, Plastic surgery, Preventive medicine, Psychiatry, Radiation oncology, Diagnostic radiology, Thoracic surgery, Urology.

A composite picture of each specialty is drawn in terms of (General information, Residency information, American Board of medical specialties certification, Supply and projections, Economic status and types of practice, Further information, Why choose this specialty, What do you like most about this specialty, What do you like least about this specialty, What is your typical daily schedule, What abilities and talents are important in this specialty, what personality traits best characterize this specialty, what advice would you give to medical students interested in this specialty, what are the future challenges to this specialty, Job values of this specialty)

Part III: Emerging Specialty Areas including: (Addiction medicine, Administrative medicine, Adolescent medicine, Critical care medicine, Geriatric medicine, Hospice and palliative medicine, Sports medicine, Women's health).

Part IV: Practice Options inlcuding (Clinical pathways, Non-clinical pathways, Geographic location).

Part V: After You Have Chosen a Specialty including (Planning for residency, Military programs, The couples match, Shared-schedule residencies, What happens if you don't match, Changing specialties during residency and afterwards).

Appendix which contains: Quesionnaire, First-year postgraduate positions offered through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), Residency competitiveness tables, Summary profile scores, Selected web sites.

This book comes in 331 pages. I hope there will be an update for it since its last 3rd edition (1999). However, it is the MOST comprehensive and useful book for medical students. I sincerely advise every med student to buy it.

Great work Dr. Anita Taylor. Keep up the good work!

This book is filled with answers to the common questions a prospective medical student might ask a practicing physician. Every specialty is reviewed with the same general and specific questions: "How much do they make?"; "How long is the residency?"; What is your typical day like?"; and "What do you like the least and best in your field?" Ms Taylor also reviews emerging specialties. This book was EXTREMELY helpful and I recommend it to all newly accepted and attending medical students.

I will be beginning Med School this fall, and I was still questioning what field would make me most happy. This book was able to solve that mystery for me. This edition is new, and updated, and all of her data are recent. She guides you through every field of medicine, including new fields like Medical Genetics, and Radiation Oncology. This is a must read for any Med student (or Premed) who is unsure of their future goals. This book will remain usefull throughout Med School, as it also contains important information about the residency match program.

Presenting an authentic and comprehensive picture of the mammoth civil rights movement in the United States in the post WWII era is a daunting task, yet noted author and journalist Taylor Branch has succeeded masterfully with this, the first of a two-volume history of the struggle of blacks in America to find justice, equality and parity with the mainstream white society. Tracing the rise of the singular leader personified in the young Rev. Martin Luther King, Branch sets the stage for a wide range of events, personalities, and public issues. This is truly a wonderful read, fascinating, entertaining, and endlessly detailed in its description of people and events, and quite insightful in its chronicling of the fortune of those social forces that created, sustained, and accomplished the single most momentous feat of meaningful social action in our nation's contemporary history.

His range of subjects is necessarily wide and deep, and we find coverage of every aspect of the tumultuous struggle beginning in the deep South, and gradually working its way north and west until most of the urban northeast also surrendered to the battle cry for civil rights and justice under the law. In many respects this borders on being a biography of Martin Luther King and his times, yet Branch so extends his coverage of the eddies and currents of the movement itself that it appears to be by far the most comprehensive and fair-minded treatment of the civil rights movement published to date. Whether covering the issue of Martin Luther King's own personal life, his internal philosophical concerns, or his appetite for young white women, the reader is engaged with every element of this and a thousand other personalities, issues, and events that carved out the history of our country for almost twenty years.

One finds a very detailed of the Kennedy involvement in the movement, first as a purely political ploy to help to win the black vote in the extremely tight race for the Presidency in 1960, and then as an administration struggling to do what was right in the face of enormous social, political, and even economic opposition. Here too we find an absorbing account of how the FBI attempted to infiltrate and influence the movement, with J. Edgar Hoover's adroit political savvy and deep-seated racism causing great difficulty and a number of tribulations for the civil rights cause. The names and places and events described here are legion, and one gets the sense that anyone who had a conscience was involved, and many of the names mentioned later went on to greater accomplishment and further noteworthy contribution in their public lives and careers.

This, then, is a stupendous first volume of a wonderful two-volume history of the civil rights movement in the United States, and covers the period from the late 1950s when the first rumblings of the movement were sounded until just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in November of 1963. The second volume picks up the thread thereafter, extending out through the Johnson years and including aspects of the coalescence of the movement with the Vietnam anti-war protest. This is a wonderful book, and one I would consider essential reading for anyone with an interest in American history in the 20th century. I highly recommend both books, and I hope you appreciate reading them as much as I did. Enjoy!

I was bored by historical books. That was until I opened the first page of Taylor Branch's book. His ability to mix history, narrative and personal descriptions of the people involded in the civil rights movement made my reading extremely enjoyable, informative and captivating. At times I wad moved to tears and almost no book has had that effect on me so far. The book does not only focus on M.L. King himself and all the other characters involved made me feel part of a broader struggle for more humanity. It has been months since I read the book and my first impressions have remained as strong, I would advice it to anyone who wants to have fun, to be moved and learn at the same time. The civil rights movement is an essential part of history, you should read the book for your personal development, that is, development of your mind and of your heart. Just wonderful!

This is a book that truly merits the label "must reading." It played a role in changing my own thinking on politics and history when I first read it in the early 1990's. During my "College Republican" days, my view of Martin Luther King, Jr. was not especially favorable, and I was almost totally ignorant of the history and background of the civil rights movement. But after reading Taylor Branch's book, I could no longer shut my eyes to the hard truths to which he bears brilliant witness.

Martin Luther King is the central figure in Branch's narrative, but the book is much more than a biography, as befits its subtitle, "America in the King Years, 1954-63." For example, Branch begins his account with the stormy tenure of Vernon Johns as minister at Montgomery, AL's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church--at which church Johns was replaced by a young man still often known as "Mike" King. By broadening his account beyond King's own experiences, Branch accurately conveys how the civil rights movement was far more than just the activities of a few well-known leaders.

Branch's research would do credit to any professional historian. He conducted hundreds of interviews and worked with a vast amount of primary source material. His writing is compelling, repeatedly capturing the intensity of both public and private events. Even though the hardcover edition is over 900 pages, when I first read it I found it incredibly hard to put aside.

When I first read Jon Land, it was this book that I read. Not exactly as good as one of the McCracken novels, but good in it's own over the top way.

I've quickly become a fan of Jon Land's espionage thrillers. As another reviewer stated, Land is like Ludlum without the fluff. However, Ludlum's better novels also have a much more in-depth plot/storyline. Land's novels tend to be non-stop action.

"Labyrinth" is like his other thrillers in that a hero fights against unbelievable odds to save the world. In this novel, a college professor is enlisted to get to the bottom of the plans of an organization known as The Committee. A friend of the professor's is killed observing actions on the part of The Committee and due to a past debt, he agrees to avenge his friend's murder.

A town is Columbia is burned to the ground to hide the plans of The Committee. The hero, Christopher Locke, visits various exotic locales including Lichtenstein, Geneva, and London in his trek to determine the scheme of The Committee. Friends are killed or turn on him, and enemies try to kill him or become his friends. Before he knows it, Locke is in too deep to get out and must stop The Committee to not only save his family, but also to prevent the downfall of the world's economies.

If you like non-stop action thrillers, Jon Land thrillers would be your cup of tea. If you want more in-depth, longer thrillers, try Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy. All of Land's titles are quick, fun reads that make you wonder why he has never achieved the success or notariety of the major players in the realm of espionage fiction.

This book is non stop action. The book is pure fun. You get hooked on page one and you can't stop reading until the book is over. Land takes you all around the world in this thriller. If you are looking for a chance to escape the real world, sit back, relax and enjoy this book as you jet set around the globe and help Chris Locke try to save the world.

The rather straight line story of the civil rights movement that is told in Parting the Waters becomes much more tangled and complex in Taylor Branch's second book. Here the movement begins to intersect more directly with the other currents of social unrest in the country and the conflicts both within and outside of the movement blur the lines of clear right and wrong.

This is a great piece of social history with the civil rights movement and MLK as the focus. The more success King achieved the more pressure he was under - both from his enemies and his supporters. This was a difficult time for the country and for all those who were - in whatever way - trying to change it. Branch does an invaluable job in trying to distill the mass of detail and the great complexity of the sociopolitical scene into a coherent story. It's harder to do here than in the first book, but he manages nicely. Good job. Worth reading carefully.

This second of Branch's three-part work is wonderful. This book details the relationship between Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and other African-American Civil Rights groups better than any book I have read. The author is at his best when discussing the political movement MLK, rather than the personal MLK. But, this book is not a biography of MLK. It is, as the first, a history of a time period set around an influential individual, in this case, Dr. Martin Luther King. This book brings to life, the movement for equality, after it had broken out of its infancy to become of powerful force of civil and political change. This book is a must read for the reader who is interested in the civil rights movement!

One customer-reviewer (pjdecaprio@bkb.com) kindly left this on a plane for someone else to find. Lucky for that person. The first 40 pages alone are worth the price of the book, to get a deep understanding of how small events and misunderstandings can get blown out of proportion to tragic consequenses. I certainly did not expect this to read like a novel. I anticipated a rich, informed description of one of the most significant periods in contemporary history, and was amply rewarded by Mr. Branch's work. He is obviously passionate about the subject, but maintains detachment. And only by reading Representative John Lewis's book, "Walking with the Wind", did I come to know of Mr. Branch's involvement in the movement. He doesn't toot his own horn, but rather gives a wonderfully rich, compellingly written, moving account of one of the USA's greatest social achievments. Thank you, Mr. Branch. Now, finish up the third one!

Joseph T. Robinson had an interesting career, being elected to Congress in 1902, elected Governor of Arkansas in 1912, in 1913 elected by the Legislature to succeed Jeff Davis (who is the subject of a really outstanding biography: The Wild Ass of the Ozarks: Jeff Davis and the Wocial Basis of Southern Politics, by Raymond Arsenault), and served in the Senate till his sudden death on July 14, 1937, having been the vice-presidential candidate on Al Smith's ticket in 1928. While the early chapters of this book, telling of Robinson's early years and his rise in Arkansas politics are interesting, the account of his Senate years is pedestrian and uninterestingly written. The author has a superficial grasp of the times in which Robinson lived, and while the book is well-footnoted and has a good bibliography, the book is actually a published thesis and was a disappointment to me. I have read a lot of senatorial biographies and must rate this one of the poorer ones.