San Francisco is a very "livable" city, especially without a car to worry or pay for. "Short Bike Rides..." suggests two dozen fun routes in and around the city that allow you to make the most of living here without a car. From the fastest way to get across town, to a wonderful rides in Marin and the East Bay I have ridden nearly all of these rides, and enjoyed them immensely. Not only are the directions and maps clear, but Kingman's comments are often very entertaining. There is also a handy supplement in the back listing public transportation contacts for taking your bike on BART, CalTrain etc.. Absolutely essential for any SF cyclist - commuter, weekend warrior, out of towner, tourist entertainer. And for less than $10 I have used this book 10x as much as any of the other rides books I have.

One note: I would assume Kingman is one hell of climber, since he does tend to downplay the physical effort required to climb the "hilly terrain" of some the rides.

This is my favorite bike rides book. It's an excellent read and lets you see the best of the city.

Not only is Henry Kingman's book a great way for visitors to explore San Francisco by bicycle, it is also a handy reference guide for local cyclists looking for new or better routes. Every S.F. cyclist should have a copy.

Not being able to remember a first line, which could be easily found in the Index of First Lines starting at page 849, I just looked through hundreds of pages trying to find a poem whose last line is spread over seven lines on page 700. These poems are not always easy to read, and now that I have found this one, I would love to share it with anyone who might be interested:

as joe gould says in

his terrifyingly hu
man man
ner the only reason every wo
man

should

go to college is so
that she never can(kno
wledge is po
wer)say o

if i

'd
OH
n
lygawntueco

llege

There may be some problem, like am I being retro? with the way that I think about the poems in this book, because I tried to read the whole book more than twenty years ago, and was so impressed that when an Etcetera collection of additional poems came out in 1983, I bought that too. I'm not sure I know anyone now who would even consider reading a book this big if it was just poems. The big revelation in the 1913-1962 collection, as far as I was concerned, was the poem "the boys i mean are not refined," which was first published in a limited edition of nine copies in 1935, according to the first paragraph of the inside flap of the First American edition 1972 of Complete Poems 1913-1962, which I still have. That poem, in particular, taught me a lot about culture, and how someone (famous) who knew what culture was could know what could be said, while others might just "speak whatever's on their mind." This might be close to what the verses in Proverbs that try to describe the difference between a wise man and a fool are trying to say, and it was great to find that someone who might be considered almost as modern as myself could be sensitive to this kind of thing, almost like hearing John Prine wondering if it would be possible for him to still blush in some song he wrote.

Even I don't read much of this book at any one time, anymore, but I appreciate how well it stores its pleasures. One of the curiosities of poetry is that it can be incredibly difficult to find a poem unless the first line is the one that pops into the appropriate recall mechanism, whenever a poem is thought of, and this book has been around a long time because, even when I don't know if I will be able to find what I am looking for, it is interesting to look through it trying to find the last line of a great poem that was greater at the end than at the beginning. My favorite poem in this book starts out with "jake hates/all the girls" but the great thing is an unexpected rhyme scheme, which jumps around from bold, meek, sleek, cold in the first verse to lean, mean, clean, green in the last. Actually, this poem might be considered utterly devastating if there was anything personal about it, but thoughts about all the girls have been on the conscience of philosophy about as long as books have been maintained for the future, and it does my heart good to see a poet try to join in the mess surrounding this topic. What I mean is, I think this poem is good in a way that centuries of being modern might try to deny, but it is here, under a number 21 in a section titled XAIPE, originally published in 1950, when I was alive and maybe even speaking, if something reminded me of my mother. Actually, she might not like this poem, so I think it's funny, if anyone can understand the humor in that. These reviews aren't supposed to be by great critics; they are just supposed to say: buy this book.

A few months ago a friend of mine sent me the poem "may i feel said he" (the thirty-eighth poem in this book) in an email and I found it extremely witty and funny.

I bought this book purposely for that single one and in doing so managed to get another ninety-nine wonderful poems.

Cummings writes with such an imaginitive and intelligent style. You can't help being charmed and inspired at the same time. A great starting point for anyone interesting in his poems.

may i feel said he..i'll squeal said she..just once said he..it's fun said she..may i touch said he..how much said she..a lot said he..why not said she..let's go said he..not too far said she..what's too far said he..where you are said she..may i stay said he..which way said she..like this said he..if you kiss said she..may i move said he..is it love said she..if you're willing said he..but you're killing said she..but it's life said he..but your wife said she..now said he..ow said she..tiptop said he..don't stop said she..on no said he..go slow said she..cccome?said he..ummm said she..you're divine!said he..you are Mine said she

This is a great collection of ee cummings. I like the fact that its paper back and travable! I have written a million little notes in mine. You will enjoy this!

I've loved e e cummings since I first read him in school. The older I get the better I love these poems. No one wrote like him. The punctuation, the word choice, coinages, and the symbolism were all completely personal. They are also accessible poems that most people (except usually the close minded) can understand. It's death to try to imitate him, because his style was so completely his own.

The dedication of this volume tells us that Cummings wrote these tales for his daughter when she was a very little girl. But even if it hadn't, any reader would have known. As you read, it's as if you can hear a parent telling the stories to his child over a sleepy bedtime. The stories have an effortless feeling as if they are being spoken rather than written. This free and easy quality combined with the spectacularly imaginative subjects make for a really fun reading experience.

Unless you have a really patient child, however, I wouldn't recommend this edition for sit-on-the-lap reading. The illustrations aren't particularly engaging. Rather, I would let your kids sit down with some blank paper and a box of crayons and ask them to draw their own pictures while you read out loud to them. Or read to them at bedtime when their eyes are closed. These are the kinds of stories to be savored by the senses rather than "follow-along-while-I-read."

i will begin with "the elephant and the butterfly," and then will work on "The Old Man Who Said 'Why?'"

one day before i die...

These fairy tales are beautifully nonsensical and touching to even those who are less than sentimental. They are precious, without any reservation using such a word. Each was evidently written with a careful, loving authorship and a sense of humor that without a doubt is the creative quirkiness of the poet Edward Estlin Cummings. If you know the poet, the tender, innocent personalness of these tales might even surprise you, or, at least, bring you closer to him and his writings.

Written by America's most inventive poet, "The Enormous Room" is a book of prose set in a French detention camp during World War One. It is a coming-of-age story in which events happen, not always to the narrator (E.E. Cummings), but to the inhabitants of a place that serves as a microcosm for all the folly and brutality of war itself. As a war narrative it is unique -- unlike Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms" or Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front," the central story doesn't take place on the front lines. The plot of the book is basically non-linear, with the exception of the first three or four chapters, and several passages are written in French (thankfully a glossary of foreign terms is printed at the back of the book). I would describe Cummings' story as a stream-of-consciousness dialogue with himself, written in the language of a talented budding poet. Most memorable are the wonderful characters Cummings encountered during his short stay at La Ferte Mace, the name of the camp in which he was interned. They are objects of torn humanity and how terrible it must have been for him to leave them, knowing that upon his release many would languish in prison for the rest of their lives. "The Enormous Room" is a unique historical fiction. It is not an easy read, but it is one of those books that is even more difficult to put down. I have never read another book quite like it. [P.S.: There are two editions of the book, one published by Boni & Liveright and the other by Penquin Classics. The Liveright edition is the better one (and naturally harder to locate online or in book stores), and includes samples of drawings that Cummings made during his confinement.]

Some works of literature that I have read in the past required several scans of certain passages due to their thick and wholly unconsumable nature. While reading E. E. Cummings' The Enormous Room, I found myself skimming back over entire paragraphs simply for the sheer joy of reading them again. Cummings' ability to turn a phrase is astonishing. It's not hard to glean from reading only this work that the author has a poetic nature.

The personal journey recounted here amounts to a fantastic tale that happens to be (for the most part) completely true. By turns, bleak and hopeless - then joyous and brimming with a kind of spiritual joy, The Enormous Room takes the reader to extremities of all sorts in its relatively short span of chapters.

Though it takes place during a three month stint in a French concentration camp during the latter parts of World War One, it could just as well be set on another planet, for all of its fantastic characters, settings and behavioral interactions that never cease to alternately amaze and confound the reader.

Even if it seems a cruel statement to make, after having the pleasure of experiencing this world through the prose of E. E. Cummings you will be thankful that he found himself in this squalid and vile place so that we now have the honor of sharing in it.

Reading Cumming's poetry was never a priority in my school days, except such excerpts as appeared in my far from comprehensive American Lit book. After reading this, I wish I'd paid more attention to this truly gifted writer.

The Enormous Room is the story of Cumming's three month incarceration at La Ferte Mace, a squalid French prison camp. Cummings is locked up as accessory to exercise of free speech, his friend B. (William Brown) having written a letter with some pro German sentiments. What Cummings experienced in those three months and the stories of the men and women he met are, despite the straits of the polyglot texture of the book, never other than fascinating. At moments touching (the stories of the Surplice and The Wanderer's family), hilarious (the description of the Man In the Orange Cap is hysterical), and maddening (the smoking of the four les putains), this is a brilliant weft of memorable characters and not a little invective for the slipshod French goverment.

Something I noticed. Though the book claims as its primary influence Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, I noticed a similarity with Thoreau's Walden. In both books, there is the idea of self-abnegation breeding liberty and peace of mind. The idea is to shear away all luxuries, all privileges. But Thoreau had one very important luxury to his credit: Free will. Whereas Thoreau chose his isolated and straitened existence near Walden Pond, Cummings' was involuntary. So, if the touchstone of freedom both men share is valid, is not Cummings, by virtue of the unrequested nature of his imprisonment, the freer of the two men?

This is a fascinating, thought provoking, ribald and intelligent book. I only regret that the Fighting Sheeney was never given commupance...

ee cummings is a magnificent poet - almost as much of a visual artist as writer. His poems fall and flow and jump and dance, their patterns and punctuation adding so much more to the words and essence of meaning. I have tried reading cummings' work aloud: it never quite works. He has an exceptional turn of phrase, and with one line (give or take a pattern or two) can bring about powerful emotive responses.
This book is fantastic - I had quite a lot of difficulty finding collections of his poetry, and although I'd found a couple of small volumes, this one was exhaustive. I reread it - or at least parts thereof - more often than any other poetry book I own, and always seem to discover another nuance or aspect or pattern that I hadn't seen before. cummings wraps you in words, and the best way I can think of to describe how I feel after reading his works is to steal a quote from one of his poems - "such strangeness as was mine a little while."
Worldwords. And he is the creator of my favourite quotation of all time...
"listen:
there's a hell of a good universe next door:
let's go."
And there is.

I have a few E.E. Cummings books of poetry, but quickly despaired of every finding them all. This collection is a terrific resource for someone who simply wishes to have all the poems collected in one volume.

Typography was preserved very well (with Cummings this is critical), and I find the order of appearance by date helpful in charting his growth as a poet; the first few poems are radically different from the later ones.

Of course, acquiring his individual issues has its own appeal, but if you simply want to have his work easily at hand, this is your only choice (the indexing at the back is extrememly good at helping you remember a poem by its first lines).

Along with being a poet, cummings was a visual artist-chiefly a painter and sometimes an engraver. With his poetry, he made the attempt to arrange the words of his poems in something of an image. He also achieved this end with the words themselves: if he was to say a leaf falls, he might say: a l e (fa l l s) a f His poetry is not straight forward-if you want something easy to read, look elsewhere. But if you want to be exposed to a new and innovative style, and some exquisite writing and subject matter cummings is for you.

I really enjoyed this book. I am an AS/400 programmer with 11 years experience and want to become more familiar with Windows programming. I started off with a Sam's Teach Yourself Visual C++ in 21 days (which I also liked) and followed up with this one. The authors presented the material in an easy to read and follow format. I only had two issues with the book. One, the authors would occasionally pull a function out of nowhere and use it with little or no explanation as to why. And two, I thought they dragged out the examples on drawing too long. I would have preferred more time spent on the database chapter rather than the drawing examples. But, overall an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

This was by far the best.

Its relevent to Version 6.0, many of the others were talking about subjects that were related to Windows 3x etc.. eg they were the same old books with just the covers changed and really just repeating the Scribble Tutorial. The Authors really do act as guides throught the book and provide useful information for any beginner programmer such as myself. Also the book is set out in an easy to follow style that makes following the Author's instructions exceptionally easy, with a wide variety of samples to follow. The only downfall is a few typos in the printed sample codes. However with the CD on board they are easy to rectify .

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Visual C++.

(( I'm off to write 5 real bad reviews now ))

I recently decided to learn Visual C++ 6, after finding that there are some limitations to what can be done in Visual Basic. I have been trying to learn from tutorials etc. on the web but they always seem to be unfinished or not cover all of the important stuff. I am only 15 so I thought it was quite a challenge for me to try and learn this so called complex and confusing language. I had taken the foresight before reading this of learning the C++ language and think that that is a must before attempting this book, or Visual C++ at all.

After reading that book, I have a solid understanding of the Windows APIs and can use the MFCs reasonably confidently. I would still class myself as a beginner, but at least now I have a starting point and hopefully can pick-up the rest as I go along. Even after the first 10 pages, I could see that this book was well written and the information inside of it would be easy to take in and understand.

If for some reason you wish to contact me, then you may do so at r_hayden@breathemail.net.

Director Steven Spielberg's AMISTAD, has been criticized by some, for being too sensationalized. Having watched the film again, I came away not able to agree with those folks, not entirely anyway. The film chronicles the story of a group of enslaved Africans, and their quest to be free. When the slaves overtake the ship they are traveling on, so that they may go back to their homeland, the ship is seized, and brought to the newly dormed United States Of America. The slaves are charged with murder, and must stand trial for their crimes, where prison awaits. For the slaves of La Amistad, it is their freedom that is at stake, For the U.S., it's foundation of justice is tested as well. An all star cast brings this story to life. (The always great) Morgan Freeman, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, and then-newcomer Djimon Hounsou as slave Cinqué, give solid performances in the film and hold your attention for the entire movie.. I think the film is suffers from a bit of heavy handedness for its climax, but I don't think that it's all that much, as some make it out to be. It certainly doesn't detract from the film, and I can think of a few films that are worse offenders than AMISTAD.

The DVD is pretty sparse when it comes to extras. It includes a few production notes, a (written) word from Spielberg, cast and crew information, and the theatrical trailer. The most substantial extra is a making of featurette that reads like a bloated commercial for the film. Taken at face value, the movie is worth a look, and gets a solid four stars

Amistad is an important story in American history, and the history of slavery in America. Producer Debbie Allen was the driving force behind getting Spielburg to tell this story. For those unfamiliar - and probably most are unless they have seen this movie or read reviews or seen previews of it - La Amistad was a Spanish slave ship which was used to bring Africans to Spain from Cuba. They had previously been illegally captured and shipped from Sierra Leon. Singbe Pieh (called Cinque by the Spaniards and throughout this film), broke free of his chains and freed the other slaves who then killed most of the Spanish crew and forced the two remaining to bring them back to Africa. However, things did not turn out as planned and they were captured off the coast of Road Island, and brought to New Haven, Connecticut to determine their fate. Most of the movie, thus, is about their legal fight for freedom.

Djimon Hounsou, seen most recently in a recurring role in the TV series E.R., played Cinque as his first acting role. He has great screen presence. He speaks almost no English throughout the movie, and thus draws us to pay much more attention to his facial gestures, and raw emotions, with which he rises to the challenge of convincing us of who Cinque is without even knowing what he is saying most of the time. Some of our insight, of course, is helped by flashbacks.

Anthony Hopkins is as brilliant as ever as the former-president John Quincy Adams who seems half-senile at times, while revealing at others a great intellect and awareness still churning in an old man whose day, according to many of his contemporaries, has passed.

Unfortunately, Morgan Freeman's character is not a very visible one, or memorable, anyway. He plays an ex-slave abolitionist of the day who is much more moderate than his white colleagues, who go so far as to espouse martyrdom over victory.

Matthew McConaughey plays the young, somewhat bumbling, lawyer who goes through a personal transformation - he originally sees the case as a simple property manner and solicits the case because of experience in this area. But as he becomes involved in the slaves story, he begins to view them not as property, but as people like himself. McConaughey is convincing, though not outstanding in any way.

I did have a few qualms about this movie. For one, it was a little long. Those with problems sitting still for long periods might have to watch this in a couple of sittings. It is a very interesting story, but a lot of it is in the courtroom dealing with legalisms and so forth. I think it probably could have been a little shorter without sacrificing a lot of the story. The two and a half hours could have probably been pared to two. The other problem I had with it was that it used the standard Spielburg tricks to elicit emotion - the soaring music, extreme close-ups, etc. I have a problem with this because I feel like I'm being manipulated. I wish Spielburg would have more trust in his story, actors, and audience and not feel he has to "tell" people when they should feel sad, happy, etc.

A Spanish Slave Ship named "La Amistad", When the Ship Captains were murdered by a African Tribe, which they are innocent. A idealistic lawyer (Matthew McConaughey replaying his role from A Time To Kill) defend them for thier freedom, while batting the American Judical System.

Directed by Four Time Oscar-Winner:Steven Spielberg (Duel, The Sugarland Express, Jaws) has made himself a more successful film-which is based on a True Story than he did with the Underappciated "Empire of the Sun". Terrific Performance by Djimon Hounsou as the Lead Slave. Fine Performances by Morgan Freeman, Oscar-Winner:Anthony Hopkins (In a Oscar Nominated Role), Nigel Hawthorne, Stellan Sarsgard, Oscar-Winner:Anna Paquin, David Paymer and Pete Postlethwaite. Also Oscar Nominated for Three Different Oscars including:Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Music Score. This is one of Spielberg`s most underrated films, it`s a fine historial drama. Arliss Howard appears Unbilled. Grade:A-.

I just first saw 'Tales Of Ordinary Madness' yesterday. I like this film. At times living through the eyes of Charlie seems gluemy and useless, but I'm constantly fascinated and wondering the outcome. I only brought this film because I'm a hugh fan and LOVE Ornella Muti, but I'm glad I've had the chance to see this film. I recommend this film. And not just because Ornella is in it.Although it does't hurt because Ornella is really good in this film. Ornella is just beautiful as always but her acting always leaves me wanting/craving for more. If your a Ornella Muti fan this should definitely be in your collection. But other than that this film is fascinating but if you havn't seen this film don't expect a uplifting, happy film. This film may not be for every one.
By Justine Ryan

"Tales..." actually makes Bukowski sympathetic as he tries to find love and sex in the L.A. underground. His harrowing adventures are interesting because he brings them all on himself. Some of the scenes get too dark and go too long, but Gazzara is great. "Barfly" was tedious and dull, this is much better.

This movie works only if you let your imagination sulk to the very Id of one's being. This is not commonplace material and is only for a limited audience. One needs to understand that madness is more norm than exception, and the beautiful almost lost art of self destruction is just below the surface of many of us.