After having read Legacy I had all of my beliefs about the Great Walter Annenberg confirmed. This man is truely a great and magnanimous individual. His donations are really unprecedented and you could say he has done more for education than any other American. I truely love this man. As an alum of the Peddie school I was astounded by his massive gift in 1993 and I do hope his actions will inspire other alumni to make similiar or even larger gifts.

In this engaging and wonderfully written biography, Ogden describes with consummate skill the origins, careers, hardships and accomplishments of two remarkable men, Walter Annenberg and his father, Moses. Facinating insights on business dealings (sometimes hardball), White House maneuverings (not always exemplary), politics, government, social discimination and class structure in America from the end of the 19th century to the present abound. The childhoods and early family environments of both Annenbergs (quite different for each) are well described. The complexity of the father/son relationship (partly due to very different temperaments) and its continuing influence long after Moses Annenberg's death in 1942 is especially poignant. One need not have a special interest in media empires to find this book engrossing; an interest in the capacity to endure, adapt creatively, and prevail in stunning and magnanimous fashion is quite sufficient. This is a distinctly American 20th century story of the highest order.

Just finished Legacy after a whirlwind of reading. Couldn't put it down. Each chapter of this brilliant biography flowed into the next. Author Ogden has done a magnificent job of weaving this father/son story together, managing to illustrate much of the American century through their compelling (and inspring) tale. Reads like a great novel. I will be recommending Legacy to everyone I know.

This book is a fantastic compendium of essays on leadership, specifically as it applies to the military experience. Chris Kolenda compiles a list of some of the most talented senior and junior leaders today, both in and out of uniform, as well as renowned historians. The vast majority of the authors taught at the U.S. Military Academy during some point in their career, ranging from the Departments of History, Social Sciences, and Behavioral Sciences & Leadership, to the Department of Physical Education.

The book is comprised of three major sections, 1) Ancient and Modern Concepts of Leadership, 2) Historical Case Studies, and 3) Contemporary Experiences and Reflections on Leadership, with author biographies, endnotes and index at the back. General (Retired) Barry McCaffrey wrote the foreword, while Lieutenant General (Retired) Walter Ulmer wrote the Introduction. The authors consist of such leaders as LTG Daniel Christman, former Superintendent of West Point, General (Retired) Gordon Sullivan, former Chief of Staff of the Army, and Professor Frederick Kagan, just to name a few.

This work contains a tremendous selection of thoughts and experiences on the art of leading soldiers. I will keep it on my shelf to refer to time and time again. As the editor writes in the preface, "developing the vibrant intellectual core from which a leader can draw insight into the art of leadership requires the courage and humility to immerse oneself in the ideas and experiences of others." Leadership: The Warrior's Art acts as a tremendous vehicle toward achieving that end.

Highly recommended for the military professional!

Chris Kolenda has put together a fantastic study of leadership that kept the cap off of my highlighter. "The Warrior's Art" gives the most in depth and comprehensive look at leadership that I've seen. If you want to lead and not just manage, you MUST HAVE THIS BOOK.

The book encapsulates the leadership studies of the great philosophers to allow the reader to rediscover the foundations of leadership. These insights are priceless and allow the true student of leadership (private sector or military) to see through the clutter of modern philosophies into what a leader really needs to do to make an organization or team work. Some of the most accomplished leaders in America follow with studies that give further historical insight and a look into the future. It is important to note that there are no step by step instructions and Chris and the other incredible authors allow you to evaluate the lessons and how you can apply them on your own.

BRAVO!

A remarkable collection of contributions by highly-qualified practioneers. For those wishing not just to understand the challenges of leading soldiers in ground combat but also to understand contemporary issues of rebuilding the US Army after VietNam, this book is a must.
The authors are important rebuilders explaining what, how and why. Other authors are those now creating the future Army. Yet others are excellent historians.
Simply the best leadership collection I have seen - bar none.

Much is known and published about the Incas of Peru, but, in comparison, little is known about the great Kingdom of the Moches. In the Northwest aired coastal plains of Peru flourished the Moche kingdom between the first and eighth century A.D.

This highly stratified culture, constructed and maintained a vast irrigation canal system, pyramids, places and temples. The Royal Tombs of Sipan was written to serve as a museum catalogue of the finds. The discovery, excavation, and current

interpretation of the three royal tombs recovered from Sipan happened between 1987 and 1990.

This book is wonderful. The beautiful color plates that chronologically lay out this amazing discovery makes the archeological dig at Sipan come alive. Highly recommended for those students of Archeology and those who are interested in the diverse Peruvian Culture.

As an ancient history enthusiast, I found this book to be a fabulous discovery on my part. The oversized format and pull-out recreations are pure joys to the reader. The excellent text, penned by the excavating archaeologist and by the leading authority on Moche iconography, is illustrated with wonderfully detailed photos as well as line drawings of scenes imprinted upon the artifacts themselves. I recommend this volume to anyone interested in pre-Inca history and art, as well as to anyone fascinated by the mystery revolving around the discovery of ancient treasures.

Great reference to one of the most scenic trails in New England. Packed with useful information, descriptions of every inch if the trail, in a convenient, thin, lightweight book that slips into your pack, ready for any time you want to check it. Trail maps for the whole length are crisp and easy to follow. A reference you'll refer to until you have it memorized!

Sixteen year old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder for a crime he says he didn't commit. Spending his time in jail, lying on his bed, writing in a notebook he discovers who he really is and that he must win the case. He must go home, escape the pain and suffering, and become the person he really is. The murder case will decide whether he will go back to his normal life or spend it in darkness.
Steve is always wondering who he is: is he the "Monster" the prosecutor says, and do his parents still see him as their son? This book is full of self conflict; Steve struggles with what really happened that day.
The text transfers between Steve's thoughts and the movie script he is writing which lets you see what's happening and what he is feeling.
This is a book of sorrow, fear, and gaining a greater appreciation for life. I would recomend this book to any middele schooler and highscooler because it is full of lessons of choice and the reality and truth of life in prison.

Monster
Monster was written by Walter Deans Myers. The book is about a 16-year-old boy named Steve Harmen who is on trial for being a lookout in a felony murder. The story told from the main character's point of view, Steve Harmen, takes place mostly inside the courtroom but some of it is in jail and some is done with flashbacks. Steve and another boy named James King are in trial. James is being charged with the actual killing of the storeowner.
People thirteen years and older would enjoy this book, because it is very interesting but still has a few parts that younger kids may not understand. The book is great because it gives the reader insight into what jail is like and it's not pretty from the sound of it. For example Steve describes night as being the best time to cry because no one can hear you over the sounds of someone getting beaten up and yelling for help. This kind of description keeps the reader wanting to read.
I can relate to this story because Steve is sixteen, my age, and I wouldn't want to go to jail; I would go insane inside there. It's kind of depressing or a little sad that Steve is being charged with felony murder, but he was actually only the lookout. Also thoughout reading the book, the reader starts to feel like Steve is his or her friend and most people wouldn't want their best friend going off to jail.
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate this book a ten mostly because it keeps the reader guessing until the end about whether Steve and James are guilty. It is 281 pages of questionable witnesses and facts leaving the reader to come up with his or her own verdict while waiting for the real one to be giving by the jury. Remember Steve is a teenager, black, and on trial for felony murder. The odds are against him.

Steven Harmon was only a lookout in the four-person holdup of a drugstore, but during the robbery attempt the store owner was killed. Steven wasn't even IN the store at the time of the murder. How guilty does that make Steven? Does his participation make him a MONSTER? That is the question left up to the jury in this courtroom trial. While the book in made up entirely of the trial, Myers uses mixed modes in the case. Steven, is filmmaker, records the trial's events as a screenplay, complete with close ups, reaction shots, and voice overs. Between scenes, we read Steven's handwritten journal about the case and see his fears of prison life and apprehensions about the proceedings in court. Mixed in are photographs of "Steven" in anguish. I found the telling of the story to be riveting and I feel it would provide terrific discussion in a classroom, perhaps 9th grade. Not only must we judge Steven's guilt, we also judge others involved and learn about the justice system in all its glory. By the time the novel ends, we feel as if we've been with Steven the whole time, and know we would never want to experience these events. It makes us consider peer pressure, the choices we make, the integrity of people, and different degrees of guilt. I enjoyed MONSTER very much and highly recommend it for personal use or with a class like in my freshmen literature class.

As a book for four to eight year olds, I give it a three. As an adult, I give it five stars for an average rating of four. If you`ve never been to Harlem, or even New York, never met an American of African descent, if you`re too young to have heard of the likes of the Cotton Club, the Apollo, people like Sugar Ray, Langston Hughes, Lady Day, or even Malcolm X, your mama has a heck of alot of explaining to do: too much for the brief span of attention only just long enough to look at the pictures and feel the music of the poem. In terms of just words, I suppose this fits in the 4-8 reading level. However, as a work, this is more likely to be understood and therefore appreciated by older people. My kids, five, and seven, were completely mystified by the poem, although they loved the beautiful compositions that make you wish you could touch them. Having lived in Washington Heights, I can explain some basic things to them, but not enough. The ability to understand and appreciate this book is beyond their capacity at this time.

Walter Dean Myers is certainly better-known for his chapter books for children than for poetry. That being said, "Harlem" offers an insight into the place as well as the man. African-American culture has long had a close relationship with poetry and Myers cements that friendship. Kudos for a job well-done!

For teachers, this is a must-read during African-American History Month in February (as well as any other time of the year).

I thought this book was great! It's a book that anyone can read. This book not only has beautiful pictures, but seems to teach you a little about Harlem. I think this book should be read by all ages, because it is FANTASTIC!!!!

Several colleagues have recently adopted, or plan to adopt the new textbook by JUDD, W. S., CAMPBELL, C. S., KELLOGG, E. A. & STEVENS, P. F. 1999. Plant systematics, a phylogenetic approach. ISBN 0-87893-404-9, for teaching vascular plant taxonomy. The book has some very useful introductory chapters on modern tools, which provide students with an insight on the applications of phytochemistry, mollecular biology and confection of cladograms.
Surely plant (and other) systematics bear on a traditional use of systems which have inherent flaws, given the tremendous diversity os species (or whatever you can call the final taxa) they deal with. The limitations of a patchy fossil record render phylogenetic approaches, however tempting their confection may be for a plant scientist in his search of a broader understanding, a kind of Nirvana that can never be completely conquered. We can know with some accuracy how long ago currently fossilized plants lived, but anyone familiar with the concept of convergence can hardly attribute affinities to a leaf imprint not attached to a flower or vice versa. Oddly enough, some of these concerns are addressed in Chapter 1 of the book, which is not consistent with the classification system proposed [since a large number of smaller but very important families was left out].
On p. 3 the book addresses the theory-neutral approach and clearly states it's intent to go further - into Phylogenetic interpretations. Conversely the most exhaustive numeric study of all species in a single extant genus, using all characters one can securely split into states, will shed light on their similarities, providing just another elegant and often valuable way to organize data, such as a cladogram. Distinguishing similarities reflecting true affinities from those brought about by convergence remains a cumbersome task which shall always rely on traditional methods.
The comment on p. 6 says: "We do not know the actual phylogeny of any nontrivial group of organisms [what would a trivial one be?], but instead must infer phylogenies from the data available to us." I have trouble agreeing with this point of view, since available data is admittedly patchy and often inconsistent. Paths in the true cladogram of evolution can not be retraced based on assumptions. We only have access to the dense upper surface of the crown, while the gross remainder of the tree's branches and trunk are obstructed from view. No matter from which angle one looks at it, Phylogeny draws on a generous dose of guesswork. On the practical purpose of classification, I cannot but paraphrase CRONQUIST (1988:12), one of the traditional taxonomists excommunicated in this book: "In taxonomy, consistency must always be secondary to the primary objective of recognizing natural groups on the basis of all available information".
Fitting the entire universe of traditional knowledge and current advances of plant systematics into a comprehensive book for students at any level poses obvious problems: How does one cope with limited space to organize the maelstrom of data? Our minds need to create categories in order to control storage and retreival of information. Obviously some omitting is inevitable, but at least the general idea of diversity must come across. In that sense I am especially intrigued by the comment by Michael Donoghue in the foreword "Students will readily appreciate the desirability of abandoning ranks altogether."
Following one of the modern trends, some groups of plants in the book's system, (for ex. used for Orchids in Dahlgren's treatment) are named using formal taxonomic rank, while other are not. If a group is recognized as separate, why not give it a rank? One inherent function of ranks is providing a common language - the only method of sharing knowledge currently used by humans. It must be recognized that the way in which ranks are currently applied is not problem-free: why must there be a defined number of them, let's say, between family and species? Rather than eliminating ranks, we should create new ways to apply them and see them.
No matter how deeply modern views have shifted, we can never entirely erase nor replace the results presented in old publications. Students need to know and understand important footsteps in 2 centuries of botanical investigation, which have paved the way toward current advances. We can now add new characters from an arsenal of chemical and mollecular data, ecological observations and a substantially improved matrix of geographic data. Regardless of academic rank, we are all students with a mission to discover and organize information and convey knowledge, not to ignore, misplace or ommit data. How can a student fit families like the Acanthochlamydaceae, Acoraceae, Boryaceae, Burmanniaceae, Corsiaceae, Costaceae, Didieraceae, Epacridaceae, Lemnaceae, Velloziaceae or Xyridaceae into such a system, when they are not even in the alphabetical index?
A good system must account for every component as best it can. Misplacing taxa (implicitly considered the most common flaw of traditional classifications) is still better than making-believe that odd parts don't exist. The argument of producing a textbook for undergraduate courses does not justify the omission of important plant families. Students deserve to start out at least with a complete set of families and the tools to recognize them. Even a great job of organizing a mere subset of information has very limited practical value, especially if Phylogeny is one of its main goals. Some of the smaller families which were left out are very important from both the taxonomic and the phytogeographic perspectives. Despite some hardships such as dichotomic keys starting with presence or absence of betalains, Cronquist's system remains the most recent comprehensive reference guide to the diversity of flowering plant families, simple enough to be used at the undergraduate level.
Though data from modern sources, such as molecular and chemical, are used in the introductory chapters, it is not quite clear how this data was usen in confecting the classification by JUDD et al., and there is no way of knowing whether the new system proposed shall hold its consistency after all omitted families of vascular plants are included in the data.

The second edition (2002) has been much expanded (from 464 to 576 pages) and has been adjusted to keep up with the (headlong) developments in this field. It also includes more descriptions of families.

In some ways the book has not changed. It very much looks the same since the same illustrations were used. It still has only limited usefulness as a systembook in that coverage is far from complete. The appendix on "Botanical nomenclature" is still a soft spot. Not only is the (badly) erroneous bit on the naming of cultivated plants still there, but the slanted view of the ICBN has worsened (the ICBN even being called "Linnaean" in a bit of blatant forgery of history) and the PhyloCode is plugged.

Nevertheless the times they are achanging, and those desiring to change with the times will find the second edition a work they need to be familiar with.

The book of W. Judd is essential to all Botany student and studious of Systematics and General Botanical. For the ones that still feel difficulties in the comprehension of the concepts of Phylogenetic Systematics, the clear text and explanative allows a very clear vision of the whole process. The approach of the initial chapters, mostly of the chapter 2 is too much elucidative, allowing to the reader if involve with the study themes, learning simultaneously all vision of the phylogenetic systematic current. It is a book that can't miss in shelf of any botanist or studous of plants.

This is a great book telling a wonderful story of art in America. This is what American art is all about and how this little pottery enterprise made its mark on the art world. You will enjoy this book very much.

I wrote the 1st review of this book. There are 3 typo's in the second paragraph. It should read "Shearwater POTTERY not potter, (2) struggled not strugged, and (3) their ART not air. Thanks for letting me make these corrections.

THE STORY OF A FAMILY'S DEDICATION TO EACH OTHER AND THEIR ART

By Lynna Williams.

Maria Estrella Iglesias, a collector of American art pottery, was in an antiques mall near Nashville when she saw a pottery vase glazed "an extraordinary blue." Seeing it across the cluttered room "was like catching a glimpse of the ocean," and when she turned it over she found a name and mark unfamiliar to her. Iglesias couldn't know it then, but that chance introduction to Shearwater Pottery would open up an extraordinary world apart: the personal and public history of the Andersons of Ocean Springs, Miss.

Some readers may already be familiar with the brilliant work of painter, printmaker and muralist Walter Inglis Anderson without knowing the story of his role in the pottery, and the broader story of his family's passionate commitment to art as a way of life.

Four generations of Andersons have created Shearwater's art and, while cordially disliking the term "artist," have nurtured potters, painters, sculptors, poets and writers, from the Depression to the present. The story Iglesias and her husband, Vanderbilt professor Christopher Maurer, tell in "Dreaming in Clay on the Coast of Mississippi" has passion and torment sufficient for grand opera, all borne of a relentless dedication to the making of art. It would be a remarkable story in any time. In the America of the 21st Century, when art is so often viewed as extraneous in our daily lives, or as just another commodity to be consumed, it takes on a special, almost electric, resonance. Maurer and Iglesias' book, which starts with an account of their own "falling into" the Shearwater world, is a compelling account of lives in which art, for better and worse, is as basic a necessity of life as air and water.

It began with a marriage, 100 years ago. After a 12-year courtship, George Walter Anderson, a prosperous grain dealer, wed Annette McConnell, a lawyer's daughter educated at Newcomb College in New Orleans, a central force in the post-Civil War resurgence of arts and crafts in the South. By 1907 there were three sons: Peter, Walter Inglis and James McConnell.

From the beginning, their artistic mother wanted art to wash over them, to be fundamental to who they were. Their businessman father dreamed of "Anderson, Incorporated," the family functioning as a unit. "Dreaming in Clay" documents how both parents' wishes shaped their sons' lives, from their free spirits and work ethic, to their specialized educations, to their vocations, to their choice of wives for whom love and art were one, inextricably linked. As in fairy tales, both wishes-for art, for a family enterprise-came true, but not at all in simple, happily-ever-after fashion.

As an enterprise, Shearwater Pottery began after the family's move in 1918 from New Orleans to Ocean Springs, a place where the beauty and wildness of the natural world led inevitably to the making of art. Oldest son Peter was 22 or 23 when he built a kiln in the side of a hill. One of the pleasures of "Dreaming in Clay" is its careful record of what was involved in the making of modern pottery, and an artistic community, in a "sleepy coastal town that had never had more than a nodding acquaintance with art."

Slowly, amid Peter's ongoing education with established artists intrigued with the experiment at Ocean Springs, the family worked to perfect the technical aspects of producing pottery: the right kiln, the right glazes, the right touch with wheel and hand-thrown pots. The Andersons were getting a business on its feet, but artistic concerns were paramount from the beginning: More than 2,500 pots considered unacceptable -- sometimes entire kilnloads -- were intentionally destroyed before Shearwater opened to the public. The name for the pottery came from a book about birds but was used in tribute to Mississippi's black skimmers, which shear the surface of the water to scoop up small fish. The name reflects what has become Shearwater's enduring connection to the Mississippi landscape.

In writing "Dreaming in Clay," Maurer and Iglesias were given access to the family's archive, and it is in the letters of the day that the family's struggles and triumphs come most vividly alive. Nowhere is that more true than in the stories of the two oldest sons, Peter and Walter Inglis (called Bobby by his family), and the women they would marry, sisters Patricia and Agnes "Sissy" Grinstead. Pat was "transported" the moment she saw the handsome Peter Anderson, and was immediately adopted as a "true" member of the clan. Bob's courtship of Sissy was long and arduous, and drew him into producing decorative pottery and figurines at Shearwater as a livelihood, a way of showing that he, too, could support a wife. The two were married in 1933; four years later, Bob had a devastating mental breakdown. Not long after, Peter, too, was hospitalized, suffering from depression. Peter's illness was more easily treated; Bob's involved a more prolonged hospital stay, and the latest, and most extreme, of psychiatric treatments. When he returned home to Ocean Springs he would find his art again but never be a part of the family in the same way as before.

The book's account of Sissy and Pat Anderson is fascinating in its picture of women determined that both love and art would survive. The resolve of all the family to see each other through, no matter what, helps make "Dreaming in Clay" a highly readable and remarkable testament. We're able to appreciate the survival of Shearwater Pottery into the 21st Century in part because it is also the continuation of a family that has lived, and lived through, its passion for art.

I would doubtlessly recommend Ivanhoe to read. History may be often dull but Sir Walter Scott makes history extremely exciting by romanticizing his novel. It directly deals with hatred between the Normans and the Saxons, the discrimination of the Jews, chivalry, and politics--but it is a unforgettable tale of heroism, honor, and love. I felt that the characters were so fascinating and fun to read about. I was enjoying and cheering on the good characters like Ivanhoe, King Richard, and Robin Hood to beat the hated and evil villains. I liked the idea of love added in the story, like how Rowena and Rebecca were both in love with Ivanhoe. I even felt a little sorry for Brian de Bois-Guilbert who would do anything for Rebecca's love but is constantly rejected. I thought how it was appealing how the author questions Ivanhoe and Rebecca's feelings for each other. Suspenseful and action sequences also added entertainment to the story. This book may be a little too detailed for some readers, but I didn't mind. I felt that the details were brilliantly used to decorate the story in an outstanding fashion. The old English wording made me feel like I was actually in the medieval England. I have to admit that it took a great deal of persistence for me to finish this book and it was a challenge for me to read. However, I found Ivanhoe to be a wonderful pleasure. It is no wonder that Ivanhoe is such a well-loved tale!

I enjoyed this adventure yarn on many levels.

I was glad to learn about the Knights of Templer and that they were crusaders. I always wondered how Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon knew that and it is because of this classic.

I was surprised that it talked so much about Robin of Lockesley. The story of Ivanhoe seemed to be the same only told by Ivanhoe's friends and not Robin's.

I thought that the DeBracyn and the Knight of Templer Brian de Bois Guilbert were pretty evil guys which made the story interesting. They were weasels when they had their backs to the wall but did preform with honor when required like when Richard gets DeBracy.

I guess I did not understand the prejudice of the time because they treated the Jews like dirt and they were so sterotypical. I really thought that the Jewish girl Rebecca was going to end up with Ivanhoe instead of that Saxon Lady Roweana. I guess you have to appreciate the times that they lived in.

It was a different look the Richard/Prince John history.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this book, by Sir Walter Scott, was the progenitor of what was to become a venerable tradition in English letters (and in other European literatures as well): the historical romance. There have been many after IVANHOE, and frequently with a finer eye to the period in which the tale is set (for IVANHOE contains quite a number of anachronisms -- even Scott acknowledged it), but few have done it quite as well as Scott. He uses an archaic English to give voice to his characters, but one which is readily absorbed because of the speed & quality of the tale. So, though these people certainly wouldn't really have spoken as he has them speaking, they yet sound as though they should have. Peopled by many 'stock' characters and situations, this tale was fresh in its time & still reads well today -- a testament to Scott's skills as a teller of tales and a sketcher of marvelously wrought characters. In this tale of the 'disinherited knight' returning home to find the world he left turned upside down, young Ivanhoe, after a stint with King Richard in the Holy Land, must fight the enemies of his king and kinsmen anew. Yet the hero is oddly sidelined for much of the tale as events swirl around him and the brilliantly evoked villain, Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert, in the pay of Prince John, struggles to win treasure and the beautiful Rebeccah, who yet has eyes only for Ivanhoe, a knight she can never hope to win herself. There's lots of action and coincidences galore here and Robin Hood makes more than a cameo appearance, as does the noble Richard. In sum, this one's great fun, a great tale, and the progenitor of a whole genre. All those which came after owe their form to it. Worth the price and the read.

I'm a California trial attorney (not criminal). Mr. Darden's book has value in demonstrating just exactly how a trial should NOT be approached. Mr. Darden has clearly misplaced his objective. While many disagree with the verdict, Mr. Darden knew (or should have known) at the outset, that we have an adversary system. His book attacks that theory and demonstates his unwillingness to accept it's presence and prepare for it. Instead he "whines" and "complains" about everyone and everything involved. Mr. Darden is an African-American attorney who is proud of his heritage, as he should be. But it is not an excuse for the reality of trial law. It is a factor to be dealt with just as any other. Mr. Darden continually attacks the "Dream Team" for their tactics, Judge Ito for his rulings and the jury for their reactions. Mr. Darden fails horribly in addressing his presence in the court and his opportunity to oppose all that he complains about. The book recounts his early years in Richmond, CA. and his relationship with his brother Michael. Many references are made to Micheal (who died of AIDS days before the verdict was announced) and his relationship with him. The decision to place Mr. Darden in the high pressure situation of the Simpson trial in light of his brother's condition is very questionable. He seemed extremely preoccupied with his brother. Mr. Darden seemed emotionally out of his league and should never have been assigned the task. If Mr. Darden made a mistake ( a rarity in his opinion) it was given very short shrift. If error occurred at another's hand, whether prosecution or defense, pages would be devoted to it. The "race card" was coming and any good lawyer would have seen it, prepared for it and, using appropriate legal decorum, fought it. Mr. Darden "whined" about it! He refused to be present in the courtroom when Mark Furhman "took the 5th". That was nothing short of childish. His responsibility was to be in that courtroom...not "whimpering in the corner" because he didn't "get his way"!! Professor Gerald Uelmen described this book accurately recently on "Larry King Live" when he desribed Mr. Darden's book as "pre-pubescent pouting". Mr. Darden states in his book that he doubts if he will ever practice law again. A wise decision!!

CHRIS DARDEN TRIES TO EXPLAIN THE FACTORS THAT LED TO THE ACQUITTAL OF O.J. SIMPSON. WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE TO BLAME- JUDGE ITO, THE JURY, THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, ETC- DARDEN IS RELUCTANT TO ADMIT ANY SHORTCOMINGS ON THE PART OF THE PROSECUTION. THE ONLY EXCEPTION IS WHEN HE ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS MISTAKE IN HAVING SIMPSON TRY ON THE GLOVE. ASIDE FROM THIS, THE BOOK IS WRITTEN WITH GREAT SINCERITY AND HONESTY AND IT DOES A GOOD JOB EXPLAINING TO THE READER SOME OF THE HAPPENINGS THAT WENT ON BEHIND THE SCENES THAT FEW WOULD KNOW ABOUT. DARDEN PROBABLY COULD HAVE LEFT OUT MUCH OF THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK WHERE HE DETAILS HIS LIFE STORY. THE BOOK SHOULD HAVE CONCENTRATED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON THE TRIAL ITSELF

Although it made some interesting reading, the book's first 100 pages were somewhat slow, since it dealt with Dardens life growing up. However, it was well written and one had to respect Mr. Darden for what he had to overcome to achieve what he did. The details of the trial were rage inducing for all those out there who still can't get over the fact that O.J. got away with murder. And the details of the racist exploits of the Dream Team, specifically Cochran, made one sympathize with Darden as possibly the only color-blind, level headed black person in America during this trial. Reading the book made me realize how much Chris Darden suffered from this trial and how morally and ethically bankrupt Cochran was. The book is a must for all who know Simpson is a brutal murderer.