If you want to experience the true Alaska as few have ever done, no need to make a pilgrimage to the far north. All you need to do is read this book about a photographer's solo odyssey into the wilderness of Alaska in search of getting the great shot. The shot, that transforms photography into emotionally evoking art. The shot , that exudes the magnificence of the photo into telling the full rich story around it. The shot, that envelops the viewer with both the tenderness and majaesty of nature. John Pezzenti's journeys not only allowed him to capture this "Holy Grail' shot but unbelievably a whole book of them. In my estimation his work is unparalleled in his field. John is truely one of the premier wildlife photographers of our time. Equally fascinating to the absolutely stunning photography, is the human story behind it. John chronicles his amazing adventures on his journeys. He details his harrowing survival struggles to awe inspiring revelations with candor and humor. John presents himself to the reader not as some superhero but as an everyday person with all our human fragility. While reading John's book it dawned on me that it is an antithesis to Conrads's "The Heart of Darkness". John and Marlow both, endure the brutalities of our world in their journeys, but while Marlow is left only with "bitterness and darkness", John is left with "wonderment and light". I would like to mention that though nature has thrown John some mighty barriers in his quest, the greatest hurdle lies within himself. John is classified 100% disabled with a rare and agressive form of rheumatoid arthritis, treatable only with a mild chemotherapy so he can walk. Experience this book! The reproduction of John's work is exquisite and the price surprisingly low.

I received a copy of John Pezzenti's book,A Photographic Journey Through The Last Wilderness,as a gift through my work. John Pezzenti's photographes portray such beauty and his words flow with spirituality. John Pezzenti's gift for writing matches his talent for capturing nature at it's finest. From the incredible photo's of the birth of an eagle,to the heart felt story of the Birthday Cake Bear. As I look through this magnificent book I feel his photo's and words drawing me in. It gives me the sense that I too am able to share what John Pezzenti must have felt being there. When I was young I went on a cruise to Alaska. I knew that one day I would move to this great land. John Pezzenti's book reinforce's why I kept this dream so close to my heart for all these years. I will always cherish this gift I received and feel blessed that John Pezzenti chose to share his God given talent with the rest of us. One could keep writing but there are no words that can truely describe this work of art. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has ever dreamt about Alaska. John Pezzenti truely opens his heart to the reader with his photographes and lets us share in the beauty he has captured over the past 25 years. I look forward to being able to share his work with my family and friends,as I also look forward to his next publishing.

After 40 some years of living Alaska, I am well aware of the difficulty and seeming impossibility of capturing the great land on film and with words. The true essense and spitituality of this vast offering often eludes our cameras and pens. John has nailed it. His enduring patience and impecable eye for the finest of nature glows from image to image, mushroom ice stands, an otter enjoying a meal, volcanic clouds balloning over stands of towering spruce, an eaglets first moment broken from the shell, in your face bears, all these images and much more inspire me to look harder, go further, and wait longer for more of Alaska than I have ever experienced. The photos are sparkled by John's unique style of writing. After recieving the book as a gift I spent long nights, reading and re-reading his tales of adventure with delight. My work takes me far from home and John's book gives me opportunity to share the true flavors of Alaska with those I meet on the trail. Thank you John for sharing your God given talents, I so look forward to the next book.

Spirituality, the subtle beauty of everyday miracles, parenting with dignity, respect and the wonder of the gentle lessons from a child radiate from this refreshing and inspiring book. In the tradition of Chicken Soup for the Soul, God is in the Kitchen takes seemingly commonplace events and reveals the miraculous in the simple and gives a hopeful view of how God works his miracles continuously; even if we are unaware. The author's inspiring and optimistic views of life are even more remarkable when you discover that is own childhood seemed anything but miraculous. Abused and neglected as a child, his journey though children's institutions and countless foster homes was a litany of degradation and humiliation. Still he had an indomitable sprit and in refusing to be vanquished, he became strong at the broken places. His unique perspectives may cause you to examine your own view of God and even your own view of yourself. You may decide that no odds are too great, no obstacles are too large and no chasms are too wide to stop you from claiming your own greatness. God is in the Kitchen is a must read and a must live book.

God is in the Kitchen celebrates a father's love for his daughter and the incredible lessons he has learned from her. Dr. John Seita's life certainly attests to the axiom that out of great pain comes great gifts. Despite a childhood filled with abuse, abandonment, and rejection, John overcame great obstacles to become a loving and sensitive husband and father. As parents, we are granted a brief window of time to touch our children's lives. This outstanding book encourages us to seize the teachable moments, for our own sakes as well as our children's. The author challenges me to recognize that God speaks to us through everyday occurences and waits for us to meet Him 'in the kitchen.'

Also recommended: In Whose Best Interest? Lost Boys Risk in our Midst Reclaiming Our Prodigal Sons and Daughters

As the author of Finding Fish, like John, I feel tremendously blessed that after my own difficult childhood, a childhood that we both shared in the same city and in the same foster care system (perhaps even sharing the same caseworkers), that we both, given our sussecces and insights, have an obligation to share our stories and feelings so those in despair can see the hope that exists. John's book is a wonderful gift that should be read by all who want to be inspired. God really is in the kitchen.

John Vacca explains how to apply cisco high speed network products to LAN/WAN requirements. High Speed network standards and technology are explained in this guide for planning, design and implementation. An excellent coverage of fault detection as well as future network directions are also covered. This book is a must for network professionals.

High-Speed CISCO Networks is densely packed with the latest networking technologies, tools, plans, designs and testing methodology. John Vacca explicitly and visually explains the CISCO protocols for an IT professional and IT student to quickly comprehend and apply. While reading and working through John's book, I believe this text could be used to develop an undergraduate Computer Engineering course with applied labs for CISCO networks. Graduate students could also uses the concepts and technologies in the text for a special topics course in networking. An IT practitioner should purchase this text to enhance their ability to maintain a problem-free network environment and to quickly isolate and fix network faults.

Vacca has done it! He has written another book that is very easy to read--for people who need to cut through the confusion about Cisco technology and get down to product selection, acquisition, and deployment. The book starts with the basic concepts and takes readers through all of the necessary learning steps to enable them to implement Cisco technology. It provides an explanation of the ins and outs of high-speed networks, and how to use Cisco technology to achieve maximum network performance--all in one easy-to-read volume.

As a fan of John Connolly since his first novel, I was excited to read The Killing Kind, his latest effort involving a murdered girl, smarmy, swindling preachers, and a missing religious cult in Maine -- the Aroostook Baptists. Charlie Parker, as always, was wonderfully written as were Angel and Louis, despite a few disappointing stereotypical lines of dialogue from these two. I don't recall from the first couple of books Louis speaking the way he did in the Killing Kind and it was a bit distracting...other than that, they were great. The character of Pudd was just plain creepy and a wonderful creation.

The book starts off at a quick pace, but then slows a bit in the middle -- so much so that I was beginning to feel a bit disappointed which is why I rank it at 4 stars and not the full 5 -- but the ending was out of this world!!! When Charlie finds what everyone was looking for, I was literally open mouthed with surprise (and disgust!). It was GREAT!! It really makes me wonder where John Connolly comes up with such gruesome stuff -- I hope he's getting the psychiatric help he needs. He puts Barker and King to shame.

Also, the ending shows a touching side of Charlie as he's called upon to try to rescue Angel...it was a nice touch and not overdone. All in all, this book was terrific and I can't wait to get the next in the series!

Excellent read!!

John Connolly is one fine writer: not only are plot and characters exceptionally well done, but his prose style is close to poetic. I re-read sections simply because the style was so grand. And he improves with each book. His protagonist in all three books is Charlie Parker, an ex-cop who left the force when his wife and child were brutally murdered in Connolly's first book, "Every Dead Thing". Characters introduced in this book follow through all three, so while "The Killing Kind" can be read on its own, many of the references to Parker's past can be better understood by a reading of the previous books. Which ain't all bad, folks, because, as I've said, this is one fine writer. Here, Parker is investigating the death of a young woman who was conducting research into a religious cult. No plot giveaways from your friendly reviewer, but be advised that the bad guy, "Mr. Pudd" is REALLY scary, and the uncertainty of the outcome persists to the very last page. I cannot recommend this book too much or praise Connolly's skills too highly. It's a "great read". And for fans, be advised that the fourth Parker novel, "The White Road", is available now from Amazon.com.uk. Trust me on this one, guys; enjoyment is guaranteed.

This is another amazing book by John Connolly. He builds on the characters once more, again revealing greater depth to Bird Parker's character. He gives us slightly more insight into Angel and Louis and because of the darkness of this book, the scenes in which they appear serve as some great relief.

Connolly's writing is sheer beauty. His manner of description evokes, with seeming ease, any atmosphere he wishes to create. His prose is lyrical, and his descriptions may stop you in your tracks just for a second while you roll them over in your mind, picturing the image perfectly.

In this novel, Connolly has created a wonderful plot, which seethes with an omnipresent, and almost omnipotent, evil and darkness. Also, he give us two of the best villains fiction has ever produced. Mr Pudd, the enforcer of a shady organisation known as "The Fellowship" who is violent, scary, completely without a drop of humanity, and The Reverend Aaron Faulkner, an egotistical religious maniac, head of a group known as the Aroostook Baptists. Faulkner is a completely venemous characters who just oozes poison from every action. Over the course of the novel, Parker, Angel and Louis, will come into contact with both these men, and this contact will try to drag them down into the depths of an equal hell.

The plot is much less complicated than his debut, Every Dead thing, and the entire novel is much more refined and focused, which adds immense power to the book. It's completely chilling and very scary (an effect aided by the way Connolly likes to blend in subtle elements of the supernatural in with his books) and, almost certainly, the best thriller that will be published in the US this year.

Gentle Readers, Austin Murphy tells us a little about St. John's University football in "The Sweet Season" and a lot about his marriage, his faith, his family, his work as a Sports Illustrated writer, the state of professional football, Catholics, and himself. He is funny. The subjects are big and serious. Murphy moves you through these subjects and the book with detailed descriptions especially with an eye for the humor in all of it. You need not be a sports fan to enjoy this story. Is it literature? Maybe...

Austin Murphy is a gold-medal decathlon winner among authors. He has finished in the money in each of these writerly categories with his book "The Sweet Season":

1) He displayed a craftsman's use of language: Murphy's subtle alliterations and "bordering-on-erudite" vocabulary (sending me to the dictionary at least a dozen times over the course of the book) were highly effective.
2) He wielded a crafty (and crackly dry) sense of humor: Even (or especially) if you're not a retired Irish Catholic from the Rust Belt, this book is, at times, "pee-in-your-pants" funny.
3) He dug deep for his facts, particularly about the background of St. John's monastery and university.
4) He was sensitive without being maudlin when discussing the things that really matter in life -- family, faith, and (not) football.
5) He nailed the human interest angle: The stand-up, wise-acre QB, the quirky but lovable Gags, the beer-drinking, cigar-puffing, down-to-earth monks, Saint Frosty Westering.
6) His use of dialogue rocked.
7) He captured the physical and emotional setting of St. John's with ease.
8) He gracefully inserted just enough bathroom humor and (at least dreaming about) sex to keep my primitive forebrain interested in the storyline.
9) He skillfully wove together disparate elements into an eminently satisfying whole.
10) Did I mention yet that the whole damn thing was "fall-down" funny? Oh, I did? But I wrote "pee-in-your-pants" funny? Uff da! Sorry for the profane use of "pee".

Signed,

A 1983 graduate of St. John's, fellow author, and the 1978 long-snapper for dear old Hastings (Minnesota) High, the 2001 Class AAAAA Minnesota state champions.

If you're as tired as I am of the NFL schlock, of having to take the time to remind the high school kids you coach every season that taunting and trash talking are not a part of the game, then you will absolutely love this book. Mr. Murphy is funny-- so funny, in fact, that several times I laughed so hard I couldn't even read the passage in question out loud to my wife and had to hand her the book. Mr. Murphy is also jaded, tired of spending his life on the road dealing with the overlarge head of professional and big college Div-1A athletes.

You won't find jerks like Randy Moss or Brian Bosworth in the pages of this book, unless they are mentions solely as a stark contrast to the genuinely respectful and worthy athletes of St. Johns. Reading this book reminded me of the potential of all athletics to reap great good from the hearts and minds of youth, and also reminded me that, as a coach, it's my responsibility to sow those seeds.

The book can be enjoyed on several levels-- as humor, as a description of a sporting season, and above all, as a triumph of what football is supposed to be-- fun for everyone involved, ESPECIALLY the players.

I hope you enjoy it.

I think I have this weird tendency to read certain books at the wrong time. When I was around ten or twelve, one of the first books I ever read (not forced by school) was The War of the Worlds. I saw all of my friends reading The Tripods Trilogy, and I was afraid to read them because I thought they would be different from Welles' book. Back then I had this annoying tendency to read the same book over and over again. It always bothered me, because as I got older friends would still mention that book, and even though it was an idea taken from Welles, it still bugged me that I never read them. I finally read them in my twenty-sixth year, and I was not at all disappointed. I got exactly what I expected, an interesting yet simple science fiction story designed to entertain children. I cannot say it was anything astounding, but I can say that I probably would have liked it a lot. I think reading makes you smarter no matter what, and getting children to start reading today seems even more difficult with the computer influence. I think that this series of books is wonderful for a child to begin reading

My 9 year old son loved these books, it was the first time he had ever become totally absorbed in a story and the characters. At one point he was standing on the sofa shouting "He's going to throw it! He's going to throw it! Oh my God, it's going to explode!" It was wonderful to see a book that finally 'clicked' with him, the sort of book he was eager to read and would keep at it even after he had finished his required daily reading. This futuristic vision of an Earth where adult humans are controlled by another "Master" species and only the children who have not yet been "capped" can free the people. I would pick up the books to scan the contents and find myself wrapped up in the plot many pages later. A wonderful series!

I have read the first two books of the Trilogy and have found them to be wonderfully interesting and extremely thought provoking. I cannot wait to start the third. I am a 7th grade reading teacher and have been looking for literature that is both educational and fun for early teens to read. I have found The White Mountains and the rest of the series to be both. In order for teens to build strong recreational reading habits, they need good, holsom books that are exciting. The Tripod Trilogy combines exceptional story telling with an interesting plot that is both age and school approapriate. I am pleased to report that my students love the books, despite the story's lack of sex, drugs and excessive violence. I don't recommend as highly, When The Tripods Came (although it is a very good book), but the original Trilogy is fabulous!

For anybody interested in the man or the Myth surrounding him, this is a comprehensive view by Tolkien to his publishers and fans through letters compiled by his son Christopher and the recipients of his letters themselves. Full of Interesting replies and answers of questions considering his adaptation of this earth and publishing problems J.R.R. Tolkien faced when publishing his Masterpeice and much more! This book also shows the relationship a sub-creator can have with his religious views. Anyone interested in how his mind worked and the direct relationship he felt with his books are revealed here. A must read for Tolkien fans and Oxford historians alike.

J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the best loved authors ever, endeared to millions of readers. Now with the reprinting of his letters by Houghton Mifflin all those who cherish his writings are able to learn a bit more about the man who shaped Middle-Earth.

Reading this book you can't help but think what a warm and charming man he was. His letters are thoughtful, intelligent and often amusing as he converses with the publishers Allen and Unwin, his sons Michael and Christopher, C.S. Lewis, and even fans from around the world who sent him questions and observations. It's reading history and it's fascinating.

A large and rather comprehensive index is included near the end of the book with plenty of notes about each letter and the people and places contained within.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a deeper glimpse into the thoughts of a brilliant man.

As a teenager in the early 60's, I slogged through The Lord of the Rings, realizing its worth but never fully understanding the background of the epic work. The recent success of the motion picture, The Two Towers, has reinvigorated my interest in all things Tolkien. I read the Simarillion and am now in the midst of this fascinating compilation of Tolkien's letters.

I highly recommend this book to readers of The Lord of the Rings. It brings to light the background and philosophy behind Tolkien's writing.

Thank God Tolkien was such a prodigious letter writer. We are all the beneficiaries of his correspondence with family, friends such as C.S. Lewis, fans, and critics alike.

John Bengtson has created a whole new genre of books. This book does not just explore the silent comedies of Buster Keaton. It also will allow the silent film fan to explore early Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other early movie locations in California, Arizona, and Oregon. It is amazing how Bengtson has located the buildings that were in the background scenery of Keaton's films. This book is a look at Los Angeles history, as buildings like the College of Dentistry and hotels that were houses of prostitution no longer exist. Now anyone can walk in the steps of the great comedian, Buster Keaton.

John Bengtson's book is the kind of thing film lovers dream about. Every Keaton fan or silent movie buff will want this book, but it also makes a wonderful introduction to the silent era's timeless pleasures, especially the always fresh and exciting comedy of Buster Keaton. And on top of everything else, it's a fascinating detective story! Wow! Can you tell I liked this book?

Buster Keaton was a notorious stickler for detail in all of his film work. Buster's ghost was probably nodding his approval over the shoulder of John Bengtson as he painstakingly researched SILENT ECHOES, a tribute to the Keaton ouevre and a forever-lost Los Angeles. Bengtson juxtaposes stills from Keaton films with photos from modern-day L.A., showing in detail where Keaton filmed, virtually following his trail, from the shorts to the features. This book is a must for both film fans and historians.

This book is as fascinating as any of the best Ludlum novels I have read. It put to rest many misconceptions of McDonald's as a "cheap hamburger joint". One cannot help but leave with great admiration for Ray Kroc and others surrounding McDonald's for their perseverance in bringing to the world an affordable, quality food product in spite of a barrage of barriers placed in their way.

The story behind the ubiquitous golden arches, and the man who expanded them coast to coast, (and today they reach edges of the Earth). This book provides a reader friendly, detailed synopsis of MacDonald's through the decades of the original brother to Ray Kroc entry and exit of on of the most recognized emblems of the world. (Whether this fact is has positive or negative implications is another matter entirely). This is a good book about Mickey-D's and sheds light on many other aspects of American history, culture, business and advertising.

Two brothers named McDonald went west to California from the north-east. They came with about $8 dollars and got jobs moving props on movie sets in Hollywood (sound familiar?) After some initial business ventures the brothers opened their own small restaurant in San Bernadino.

In the Midwest Ray Kroc left school at 16, and like almost all other achievers that reached his level of success, he had a strong work ethic and a hard-driving tenacity to succeed at a concept that in+tial+ly proved successful. How ya build on something good. A gifted successful salesman from an early age, he got a job selling paper cups and sold them for 17 years as one of the top salesman of the company. Some of his clients were Wrigley field among other Chicago establishments. In his late thirties, he started selling shake mixers. McDonald's comes into the picture when Kroc noticed that two brothers who owned a drive-in hamburger restaurant in SoCal, kept ordering lots of shake mixing machines, when Kroc's mixer business was dying out everywhere else in the country. He met the McDonald brothers and was greatly impressed by their practices. Kroc become the seller of their franchises in Illinois, and was very successful at establishing and McD's in the Midwest.

For his work he didn't earn a lot because of the deal he made with the two brothers (an inkling of what was to come). So he added a creative and logical way to profit from his diligent work in spreading the franchises. He formed a separate corporation, and when setting up franchises he'd purchase the property where a new McDonald's was to be built. He'd collect the rent or a percentage of the restaurant's profits, whichever was greater. This allowed him to be compensated more fully in addition to his original deal with the McDonald brothers, which wasn't the most favorable.

Kroc was selling the franchises and focusing on keeping the model and SOPs identical for every franchise. Perhaps an analogy to the assembly line of the Ford. Kroc had a methodology. If a winning method was not altered or diluted by a franchise restaurant here and there across the country, the sales, expansion, and growth would continue. McDonald's had tapped into what a large part of the American public wanted in post WWII America. Ray later bought McDonald's from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million cash. When he discovered after the deal was finished that the original McD restaurant in San Bernadino was not included, and was to be kept by the brothers, Kroc had them change their restaurants name, and he built a franchise across the street to put them out of business.

Advertising:
To help solidify more growth and consumer loyalty, Kroc knew the value of kids. He hired top advertising people: enter Ronald McDonald. After some marketing tests in some particular regions, came the major nationwide promotion to get the kiddies pleading with their parents that they wanted to go to Mickey-Ds. Have you heard kids clamour their parents to do this? I have. And today, McDonald's has continued the kid-concept by investing large amounts into the Playgrounds added onto many of its' stores.

McDonald's represents many things about American culture. To Americans, and today throughout the world. No matter what you think of Mickey D's it's quite an interesting story of how it started, evolved and came to it's ubiquity today. It's a fact that those golden arches are more recognized than the Christian cross. Again, whether we think that's good or not leads to several other issues involving, chemicals and food science, general health, obesity, globalization, homogenization, marketing to children, and corporatization.

For additional insights into the McDonald's phenomenon read, Jennifer Talwar's "Fast Food, Fast Track" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," and Fumento's "Fatland."

The story behind the ubiquitous golden arches, and the man who expanded them coast to coast, (and today they reach the edges of the Earth). This book provides a reader friendly, detailed synopsis of McDonald's through decades of the original brothers, to Ray Kroc's entry and exit of what would become one of the most recognized oranizations of the world. (Whether this fact has positive or negative implications is another matter entirely). This is a good book about Mickey-D's and sheds light on many other aspects of American history, diet, culture, business and advertising.

Two brothers named McDonald went west to California from the north-east. They came with about about $8 dollars in their pockets (according to them) and got jobs moving props on movie sets in Hollywood (sound familiar?) After some initial business ventures the brothers opened their own small restaurant in San Bernadino.

Meanwhile, in the Midwest Ray Kroc left school at 16, and like almost all other achievers that reached his level of success, he had a strong work ethic and a hard-driving tenacity to succeed. Expecially at concepts that intially proved successful (hence SOP procedures). How ya build opon something that has a good and successful foundation. A gifted, successful salesman from an early age, he got a job selling paper cups and sold them for 17 years as one of the top salesman of his company. Some of his clients for example, were Wrigley field's vendors, among other Chicago establishments. In his late thirties, he started selling shake mixers. McDonald's comes into the picture when Kroc noticed that two brothers who owned a drive-in hamburger restaurant in Southern California, kept ordering lots of shake mixing machines, when Kroc's mixer business was dying out everywhere else in the country. He met the McDonald brothers and was greatly impressed by their practices. Ray implored them to expand and they replied "who'd want to do it, we don't," and Kroc became the seller of their franchises in the Midwest. He was very successful at establishing McD's in that part of the country (hint).

For his work he didn't earn a lot because of the deal he made with the brothers (an inkling of what was to come). So he added a creative and logical way to profit from his diligent work in spreading the franchises. He formed a separate corporation, and when setting up franchises he'd purchase the property where a new McDonald's was to be built, from his own original corporation he created. (Read Robert Kiyosaki's "Loophoes of the Rich" for details). So, with his corporations being the owner of the property, Kroc would either collect the rent, or a percentage of the restaurant's profits, whichever was greater, by contract structure. This allowed him to be compensated more fully in addition to his original deal with the McDonald brothers, which wasn't the most favorable.

Kroc was selling the franchises and focusing on keeping the model and SOPs identical for every franchise. Perhaps an analogy to the assembly line of the Ford. Kroc had a methodology. If a winning method was not altered or diluted by individualistic owner operators or franchise restaurants here and there across the country, the sales, expansion, and growth would continue. McDonald's had tapped into what a large part of the American public wanted in post WWII America. Ray later bought McDonald's from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million cash. When he discovered after the deal was finished that the original McD restaurant in San Bernadino was not included, and was to be kept by the brothers, Kroc had forced them to change their restaurant's name on legal grounds, and then and built a franchise across the street to put them out of business. The brothers asked for this, and likely didn't understand 3 major things: 1. ethical business practices 2. the law 3. common sense.

Advertising: to help solidify more growth and consumer loyalty, Kroc knew the value of kids. He hired top advertising people: enter Ronald McDonald. After some marketing tests in some particular regions, came the major nationwide promotion to get the kiddies pleading with their parents that they wanted to go to Mickey-Ds. Have you heard kids clamour their parents to do this? I have. And today, McDonald's has continued the kid-concept by investing large amounts into the Playgrounds added onto many of its' stores.

McDonald's represents many things about American culture. To Americans, and today throughout the world. No matter what you think of Mickey D's it's quite an interesting story of how it started, evolved and came to it's ubiquity today. It's a fact that those golden arches are more recognized than the Christian cross. Again, whether we think that's good or not leads to several other issues involving, chemicals and food science, general health, obesity, globalization, homogenization, marketing to children, and corporatization.

For additional insights into the McDonald's phenomenon read, Jennifer Talwar's "Fast Food, Fast Track" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," and Fumento's "Fatland."

It was about time I read "Tom Jones." Fielding's 1749 novel gives us a panoramic view of 18th century British life. Its titular hero journeys among the low- and high-born trying to find his way in a world in which he occupies a precarious position. Fielding uses the sprawl of 800 pages to explore a multitude of social, political, and literary issues, gluing them together with an exquisitely outlandish, fully embodied sense of humour.

The action of the novel begins with a view of the Allworthy family, a landed gentleman, Thomas Allworthy and his sister, Bridget. Into this family is dropped an orphan, a foundling - a child, if you will, of questionable parentage. This child, Tom Jones, is raised alongside Bridget's child, Blifil, as relative equals. Both are tutored by two ideologues, the philosopher Square and the theologian Thwackum. Jones is a precocious, free-spirited youngster, spoiled by Allworthy while Blifil, the heir apparent to the estate, becomes the favourite pupil and spoiled accordingly by his mother. As the two youths age, Tom develops a fondness for the neighbour's daughter, Sophia Western.

Tom's sexual development begins to get him in trouble, as it tends to throughout the novel, and as a result of one such incident, coupled with the goading jealousy of Blifil, Tom is driven out of the Allworthy home, left to seek his fortunes in the world. Meeting his supposed father, Partridge, on the road, the two begin a quixotic ramble across England. Sophia, meanwhile, pressured into marrying Blifil, runs away from home, beginning her own voyage of discovery.

"Tom Jones" begins with the narrator likening literature to a meal, in which the paying customer comes expecting to be entertained and satisfied. All 18 books of "Tom Jones" start out with such authorial intrusions, each cluing us into the writer's craft, his interactions with his public, and various other topics. This voice is actually sustained throughout the novel, providing a supposedly impartial centre of moral value judgments - each of which seems to tend toward enforce Fielding's project of a realistic, and yet, didactic portrayal of a world full of flawed characters.

Some of the issues the novel deals most extensively with are modes of exchange, anxieties over female agency, and the power of rumour and reputation. Exchange and the ways in which value is figured include a wide range of goods - money, bodies, food, and stories - and are integral to the story. The treatment of women is a great concern in "Tom Jones": from Partridge's perpetual fear of witchcraft to the raging arguments between Squire Western and his sister over how Sophia should be treated, to general concerns about sexuality and virtue. A novel that can be in turns hilarious, disturbing, and provoking, "Tom Jones" is never dull. Despite its size, the pace of the novel is extremely fast and lively. So, get thee to a superstore and obtain thyself a copy of this excellent and highly entertaining novel.

Journey with a guy with much testosterone, but a HUGE heart. I was not looking forward to reading this book for my 18th Century British novel class, but upon starting to read I found it to be a pleasurable story. This piqaresque novel has a humor that I have seldom encountered in other narratives. What is ironic is that Fielding wrote this piece during one of the most traumatic periods of his life. His wife just passed away, his daughter was dying, and he was inflicted with the gout. One would never think it from the clever way the book is written. The point of view gives us an in so that we feel as if we ourselves have roles in the storyline. Rooting all the way for Tom despite his flaws, we find out more about human nature along the way. A good read, light a candle and sit down with some wine like they would've and enjoy this classic comical delight.

I first picked up Tom Jones because to put it bluntly I am a bibliophile and it was a cheap book. However, I was suprised at how engaging and hilarious the story was despite the claims on the back cover, which are often far off. To tell the truth I did not expect to make it through this extremely lengthy tome, I only wanted to satisfy my curiousity.

Although I am a fan of Jane Austen I was shocked by the freshness and wit that Fielding's writing still retains. Every book in the novel begins with an essay by the author. Do not skip these, they are one of the best features of the book. My favorite is the essay before the ninth book which explains the purpose of these introductory chapters. What a riot!

The story of big hearted and big appetited Tom Jones and his adventures and misadventures is one long satirical gem. Fielding's interpretation of morals, piousness, love, and high society is still as hilarious and relevant as it was in the 18th century. For anyone who appreciates wit and history, this is a must read.