My father gave me a copy of this book in the early 1960s. I believe it is a first edition, copyrighted by John Brick and published by Doubleday in 1953. After almost forty years, I just reread it. Wonderful! Rich in historical detail occurring during and before the American Revolution, it centers on the character and exploits of Tim Murphy, who is a woodsman, trapper, soldier, and sharpshooter. The author presents in fictional form the life of the protagonist, who lived and was something of a legend in his day. The author states that the book is based upon as many notes, letters, and factual accounts of Tim Murphy as he could collect. The plot is well-developed, the characters vividly real. "The Rifleman" will be particularly interesting to anyone who enjoys American history, as well as those who appreciate the workmanship and artistry attendant to the making and shooting of the "long rifles" of the period. The book is as really good, perhaps better (!) than when I read it at about age 16. Snap up a copy! You won't be able to put it down!

Aside from a few historical flaws, mostly dealing with the costume of the time, this is a truly great book. Anybody who is an American and proud of the men who fought to gain our freedom needs to at least read this book. Anybody who is the least bit interested in American history should keep it on their shelves. It truly is a masterpiece!

This great novel follows sharpshooter Tim Murphy and his friend Dave Ellerson through the days of the war against the British. Being free men of the wilderness before the war, they have to fight to free themselves from British rule and after that they have to fight to remain free. Their adventures make great reading, but John Brick also takes an intense look at the characters of his protagonists. This makes The Rifleman a book which belongs in everybody's library.

I have read and directed over eight productions this wonderful drama and each time I have done so it continues to excite and challenge me as a director and as a responsible member of the community . Each of the actors plays multiple roles and all who have participated have conveyed their insights that this particular play presents an important message about drug addiction in our communties as well as a theartical challenge to the actor and their craft. In my interpertation the actor employ movement and multimedia effects to enhance the original script which was performed on stools with the only props being music stands . I have found both methods of presentation effective. The play captures the life and pressures that cause a young man to finnaly loose his life to his addictions. Churches, schools, community goups and ensemble acting companies will find this play one of the best. I cannot reccommend it highly enough. Mr Carlino is a gifted writer and screen dirctor, his film scripts and direction include " The Deer Hunter" , "Class" and " Ressurection " A graduate of NYU school of the Arts all of his works are excellent. In particular another work " Telemachus Clay is a longer and more developed work written in the same style as the Brick and also dealing with a young man's struggles with life situations, again using several actors who must play multiple roles. "The Brick and The Rose" is an icon of one pathology of our modern society. It provides insight and instruction to the causes and tragic results of one of the major ills of our present community both urban and rural . Excellent for teens and adults alike. Highly recommended .

The Brick and the Rose is my favorite play in the world. It is about a teenager who tragically dies of an overdose of drugs. The play is a flashback starting at his funeral and going to the time of his birth and then moving forward from there. It is a deep and moving play, and I love it to death!

This is a exelent book about action and adventure of a young man fighting in the northern wilderness along with his indian comrades and his colonial friends. It's a good book about the Revolutionary War that is hard to put down once you have started reading it! I highly recemend it since it is very historicaly correct about the Revoulutionary War period.

This is an excellent, well-written exposition relating to the important role General Nathanael Greene played in the American Revolution. Greene was an overlooked, but absolutely key leader, who was given the difficult task of preventing the British from winning the South. Due to extreme circumstances, Greene was needed for his ability to employ a "guerilla" style of warfare. At that time, 1780-82, there were no understood rules concerning this type of warfare - Gen. Greene had only his wits, and humility (he had to accept that he would win no Great Victories) to guide him. As it turned out, he was the man for the job, and this small, readable book captures the similarities between Greene, a tyro at this, and Mao in China, and Gen. Giap in Vietnam, who had decades of theory to draw on, 160+ years later. An important addition to our understanding of the best leaders of the Revolution.

Okay so I am biased. I was lucky enough to be one of the mini authors in this delightful anthology containing an assortment of poems, short stories and quirkly little pieces that never go over the 99 word mark. Written partly as a dedication to the classic novel "The Wizard of Oz" this collection of easy to read shortlets (a great way to describe each piece)is wonderfully reminisent of an age long since past. Occasionally sentimental but never syrupy, this little book is pleasure to read, and it will have you giggling and crying in the same breath.
Yellow Bricks and Ruby Slippers might not be the best seller of the century but it is a wonderful little page turner that allows you momentarily to be nostalgic and enter a timeless world full of Munchkins, witches, dogs and little girls whose friends are scarecrows, cowardly lions and tin men who want a heart... If you are a "Wizard of Oz" fan this book will pique your funny bone and remind you that you too can click your heels and know that there is no place like home.

The author has an excellent writing style. the book is easy to follow and easy to read. the book does provide spiritual insights and reflections. I didn't think that Oz had anything to do with yoga, but I guess the author applies that to the story. In that sense, it was a little too new age for me. One thing I do appreciate though is the author's dedication to the story and his analysis of the characters. This is a good New Age style book.

I first read the author's other book, "Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic" and was totally blown away by his insight and wisdom. I've read (and continue to read) as much as I can on subjects of yoga and spirituality and was so impressed by this book that I wanted to find another by the same author. I was frankly not too excited when I saw that his other book was entitled "Spritual Journeys along the Yellow Brick Road." I'm probably the only former kid in America who didn't like "The Wizard of Oz" and had to force myself to see the whole movie from beginning to end. I'm also a fussy reader, and had to decide if I really wanted to read this book. The other reviews posted on this site were so positive I decided to give it a chance. I was not in the least disappointed!! I would never have thought of the "Wizard of Oz" as a spritual journey, but the author clearly and capably demonstrates this for his readers. This book was not only highly entertaining and a very enjoyable reading experience, but it teaches many valuable lessons without seeming to do so. Whether or not you are a fan of the movie or the Frank Baum book, I would highly and unquestioningly recommend this book to anyone who is on his/her own spiritual journey, or to anyone who just wants to have a good time enjoying a great book.

I found Darren's honesty in telling his stories and relating them to another story that we all know and love a wonderful way to bring spiritual principle to daily living. I have always loved The Wizard of Oz, has have so many millions, but I love the connection of the characters to deeper aspects of myself. A great and fun read for all.

Between 1816 and 1867 more than 40 massive brick and stone forts were constructed at the entrances to major American harbors from Maine to California as part of a federal coast defense construction program that came to be known as the Third System. Most of these forts still stand and many, including Fort Sumter at Charleston, SC, Fort Pulaski at Savannah, GA, and Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, are now tourist attractions. Surprisingly, little has been published about the forts of the Third System as a whole. This book is goes a long way toward filling the void.

The first third of the book is an overview that addresses such subjects as the history of the Third System, key personnel, the general principals involved in the siting and architecture of the forts, and their effectiveness during the Civil War.

Most of the remainder consists of a series of logically organized sections covering each region of the United States where forts were built. The sections generally begin with a brief introduction to the region as it relates to the Third System followed by quite detailed physical descriptions of each Third System fort in the region as well as earlier forts that were significantly modified as part of the Third System. General access information for each fort is also given. There is a series of useful appendices including a glossary of fortifications terminology and a bibliography.

The approximately 200 black and white illustrations are a generally well-chosen mix of maps, plans of forts, and contemporary and recent photographs. The maps showing fort locations at the start of each regional section are models of clarity and there are plans, and in many cases aerial photographs, of most of the forts. The illustrations are generally clearly and sharply reproduced, but a few of the recent photographs are a bit blurry.

A couple of areas of the text are perhaps not as clear as they could be and there are a few for the most part fairly minor inaccuracies. But shortcomings aside, this is far and away the most comprehensive book available on the Third System and one that anyone interested in 19th century American fortifications will certainly want to add to his or her collection.

This book is great. It does an excellent job of detailing the dozens of coastal forts that were built in the early to mid eighteen hundreds. Pictures of the forts concerned are superb and the author offers up a wealth of insightful information about each and every fort he writes about. As a person that enjoys giving tours of Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island, one of the many forts he has written about in this book, I can not say enough good things about this book.

I thought this was a fabulous book. My only gripe is that the detail of the actual types of guns mounted in each fort is lacking. However, apart from that is is a "best buy"!

PLOT: Mitch McDeere is fresh out of Havard Law School with an ambitious attitude and the will to succeed. He receives the best job offers from the largest firms in the country, but a small firm out of Memphis brings him in with the best pay, a new home, relief of his student loans, and a new BMW. Within his first week at the firm, two of his coworkers are killed in a mysterious explosion off the coast of Grand Cayman Island. This makes him suspicious and later finds out that five lawyers have died in the past fifteen years, all very suspicious. An encounter with an FBI agent investigating the firm arouses his curiousity with the security of the firm and starts to unravel a downward spiral of crime, corruption, danger, and possibly death.

GENRE: Drama-Suspense

STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Grisham's character development is perfect in a sense where you know the characters, but not too well. The predictability of the book is impossible as well as the ability to put it down. The scene changes act as a stimulant for the reader, not elaborating one part of the book too much. Grisham did a supurb job in entailing drama, suspense, and humor into his work.

This book was the first of Grisham's I read and it will not be the last.

This inticing thriller will have you on the edge of your seats, while your eyes are glued to this book. Ladies and Gentlemen John Grism has done it again. This book is a story about Mitch McDeere, a Harvard law student who has just graduated at the top of his class. All he has now is his degree, his sharp mind and his loving wife. With no money in the bank, he takes an offer from an affluent law firm. After this firm buys him a new house and car, and goes out of thier way to make everything look picturesque, he realizes that something is not right. He understands that his clients rather pay the a lawyer instead of the FBI, its the American way. What this young bright attourney does not yet realize is whats going on behind the scenes at this firm. After uncovering the wrong information, Mitch has the FBI and the MOB watching every move he makes, making this unstopable reading so unpredictable and exciting. Grism keeps the wandering weather each move will be his last. This was one of the most exciting books Ive ever read! I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it!

The Firm is a book built up with suspense; you never know what will happen next to the story. It starts with Mitch McDeere (main character) surprises everyone by joining in a small, private, very rich tax firm. McDeere and his wife Abby quickly settle in Memphis and start a new life, where they are young and happy. This is just like a normal lawyer where they hit big, and have a prosperous life. But as the story goes on things did not go as smoothly as McDeere thought. Two of the partners in the firm died in a suspicious diving accident in Grand Cayman, the firm are also overly proud about how no one has ever resigned. Afterwards, a FBI agent by the name of Tarrance suddenly appears in front of McDeere's life, and tells him that a mafia family in Chicago controls the firm. Everything properties that McDeere owned are all being bugged and are listened by the security in the firm twenty-four hours. Now McDeere has to make a decision, ignore the FBI agent, and get busted in to jail later on in his life, or cooperate with the FBI and taking the risk of getting killed by the mafia. I would often question myself, "If I was McDeere, what would I do?" The situation that McDeere's having is a life-death situation.
Personally, I would give two thumbs up for this book. It isn't like other books where the settings are based in somewhere familiar to the reader, and plot is about top lawyers competing with each other. Instead, the setting is in Memphis, Tennessee, a city down south of America, where people pay no attention. Imagine yourself as McDeere, and you will feel the tense dangers around him

This book is written in installments: first-person narratives by people who know the main character. Most of them are only a few pages long, and few of the narrators repeat. Thus, it's impossible to really sympathize with any of them. The main character himself, gunslinger John Wesley Hardin, is hard to like: we never get into his head, and from the outside he looks like just another gangster. The reader sympathizes briefly when he's wounded and imprisoned, only to be put off when he commits his next act of mindless violence or drunken stupidity. The post-Civil War American West, as presented by the author, whacks the reader over the head with violence, lawlessness, and what I felt were rather gratuitous scenes of sex with prostitutes. I'm all for "gritty" historical fiction, but here it sometimes seemed like the author was just trying to show off. Without emotional content, grit is just an irritant. Having said all that, the book is intelligently written and apparently well researched, and it might be somebody else's cup of tea more than it is mine.

There was nothing like the American West in the history of the world and figures like Hardin exemplify it; deadly, brave, sad and foolish all at once. His death seemed a relief because by 1895 there was no place left for the bravado of a gunslinger who would draw over an insult.

I found the writing format, the telling through other's eyes, less engaging and certainly less tasty than Blake's current style.

This was some book ! Absolutely outstanding in every respect - as a story, in its style, very exciting, excellent dialect, really funny in spots, ..... Chapter by chapter I went from hating the arrogant ... (John Wesley Hardin), to wanting to be a Hardin. If he really was as portrayed in this book (which I doubt), he was mostly the kind of person I respect - leave him alone and he'll buy you drinks all night long and otherwise give you the shirt off his back. Meddle in his business, get in his face, or harm his family and he'll whip you or kill you. Now don't get me wrong. Any reader would try to see where they fit in, in that day and time and I am pretty much left with the sad conclusion that I would have probably been a sorry, boot-licking peddler of some kind . . . . not a Hardin.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. It started with a bang, and then just sort of fizzled out for me.

The background, the launch and the "accident" I found interesting. It was the tedium of the aftermath that I found dull. The lawsuits, the guilt, the lawyers, that followed...yawn.

I had high hopes for this book and was let down.

Mr. Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon long before he started writing books. He was one of the handfuls of men ever to go so far from this planet, and among an even smaller group to walk on another world. He was part of the last great space project Apollo, a project that had a goal other than simply circling the Earth in low Earth orbit. He is clearly a man very frustrated with the deterioration of exploration of space, and he makes that clear in this work of fiction.

"The Return", is full of irony as it involves damage to a shuttle named Columbia. This is not cheap opportunism as this book was released a few years ago. This book attempts to include several large events in far too few pages. An event takes place and then is often resolved with little if any detail shared between the event and its resolution.

The work often has an annoying style that has a character involved in a dialogue and then commenting on what they are about to say, are saying, or have said. It leaves the reader feeling as those the same material is covered more than once. Meaningless issues like what type of fast food can cover more than a page or two, and in a book of 264 pages, that is an interminably long time.

I would be much more interested in reading non-fiction from Mr. Aldrin about how he feels America can effectively once again begin the exploration of space. I would like to know what he thinks about the Space Shuttle, The International Space Station, and whether these are worthwhile programs, and if not, what programs should be pursued.

Not many have the experience of Mr. Aldrin and I wish he was using the time that produced this book, to further the exploration, or at least the intelligent discussion of the exploration of space.

The first chapter of this book is AWFUL: a press conference with a smug first-person narrator just cramming back story down our throats. But it really does pick up after that, although I wasn't the least sorry to see one insufferably perfect character die in chapter two. After that, though, it really does get moving nicely, and by the end you do share Aldrin's enthusiasm for getting us back into space. As I said, a slow start but ultimately a worthwhile book --- and perhaps the most beautiful book I've seen in a while, with a transluscent dustjacket overtop of a glossy hard cover.