For more than 20 years, I relied on Schickel for guidance when determining which films to see; also, for gaining a better understanding of the films I had seen. In this volume, he provides interviews with eight great directors: Hitchcock, Capra, Minimill, Cukor, Hawks, Wellman, Vidor, and Walsh. In recent weeks, I have also read Robert J. Emery's two The Directors (Take One and Take Two) and Bogdanovich's Who the Devil Made It which also offer interviews and conversations with various great directors. Don't worry about duplications; that is, what Cukor, Hawks, Hitchcock, Walsh, and Wellman have to say. Bogdanovich, Emery, and Schickel have different questions to ask, different nuances of film making to explore, and approach the directors from quite different perspectives. The responses they obtain from the same directors differ. For that reason, I strongly urge fellow film buffs to purchase all of these volumes. The order in which they are read is unimportant.

What differentiates Schickel from Bogdanovich and Emery is the fact that, for many years, he wrote film reviews for Time magazine and thus had an immense audience with which to share his opinions about more than a thousand films. Also, he is the author of more than 20 books about film making which include biographies of Marlon Brando, Cary Brando, and James Cagney. Over the years, he has earned and richly deserves his reputation as one of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable of film authorities. In this volume, he interacts with eight of the greatest film directors. At no time does he seem intimidated by them nor does he ever disrupt the flow of information exchanged with self-serving observations. He guides each director into subject areas which are probably of great interest to most film buffs but he also allows each director to ramble, digress, etc. when reminiscing or when sharing specific opinions about films and actors with whom they were associated. Sure, there is some delicious gossip. And yes, some insights not otherwise available. However, for the most part, Schickel sets up various subjects and then allows each director (many of them a personal friend) to proceed wherever he may wish, at whatever pace he may prefer. His brilliant orchestration of responses ensures their scope and depth. That is to say, he did not merely turn on the recorder and then let each of the eight take it from there. On his reader's behalf, Schickel remains actively involved, indeed engaged in the exchange of information but at no time is intrusive. Within its genre, this is indeed a "classic."

This film critic's survey of eight of Hollywood's finest directors and their works uses the interview process to explore the work of American filmmakers over the last decades. Hitchcock, Capra, Cuckor and others share their achievements in a revealing set of interviews covering special challenges and observations.

Herbert Simon's research contributes to human knowledge in many different areas, including economics, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and organizational behavior. In each of the mentioned areas, his contributions are ranked among the most important and influential that even a scientist who focuses solely in one area finds hard to achieve. The testimony is the top awards that the community in each discipline bestowed upon him--the Nobel prize is only one of which.

The secret of this interdisciplinary success is that he is, in his own word, a "monomaniac", studying only one thing--human decision process--for fifty years. The field of his own choosing is not bounded by usual academic disciplines, however, and he did study it from many different aspects, from the levels of individual cognition to organizational decisions, using tools as varied as mathematics, computer simulations, and human subjects.

This book detailed his own account of the various aspects of his life, personal and professional, in a sincere and direct prose. From the childhood that undoubtedly helped set the tone for his later accomplishments, the way he managed and nurtured new academic thoughts that later grown into full-fledged disciplines (artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and, less prominently, bounded rationality), to the philosophy of working and living including brief exposures to familial life, we can learn tremendously from hise xperience, decisions, and actions.

How could he achieve as much as he did? We can glean several lessons from his stories. He collaborated extensively. He learned a great deal from the outstanding individuals he respected. He had a love for truth and rigor in reasoning. An empiricist who firmly believed that any valid theory must be based on empirical facts, he did not hesitate to fight against widely held beliefs conflicting with facts. His work on bounded rationality which helped earn him the Nobel Prize is an outstanding case which his stubborn, and valid, arguments against mainstream theories brought a valuable alternative viewpoint to the world. Strong passion and the ability to break out of the mold and stand tall under storms are important characteristics exemplified by many past giants, including Galileo, Columbus, and Einstein.

Not just a normal autobiography, but the story of a distinguished life we all can learn from.

Herbert Simon is an amazing figure in the world of science. A Noble winner in economics, a well-known contributor in psychology, and an expert in organizational study. People who know him always wonder how can he be so successful in different fields. By reading this book, you are able to get the light of the stories behind his success.

As same as the papers he wrote for his research work, Simon's writings are always straightforward and intrigue you to think about the world we are living. When you read this book, it may change your thinking of this world. By reading his books, you would understand why simple human being will always have complex behavior.

Though passed in Feb., 2001, Herbert Simon is an unforgettable figure to our lives.

For the reader looking for a way into the thought of Alfred North Whitehead, this short volume is the best place to begin. In six lectures delivered toward the end of his career, Whitehead provides a non-technical sketch of the metaphysics and cosmology he had earlier presented in extended and highly technical form in his magnum opus, Process and Reality.

Modes of Thought is not an easy book--for it is highly compressed and sometimes reads like a series of aphorisms. But while this book will likely leave most readers wondering how all these aphorisms hold together, they are individually nearly crystaline in clarity and are wonderfully provocative. Even if one never reads further in Whitehead, engaging this short volume will set one pondering productively. And, if nothing else, one will come away armed with some wonderful philosophical one-liners.

If reading Modes of Thought makes one want to read on, the good way to proceed would be to read Science and the Modern World next followed by Adventures of Ideas and then (and only then) Process and Reality.

Whitehead wrote clearly and simply about some of the most difficult philosophical ideas. This brief book is perfect for anyone who has ever wondered "How do I know what I know?" It is filled with gems such as "The notion of a mere fact is the triumph of the abstractive intellect"; "The whole understanding of the world consists in the analysis of process in terms of the identities and diversities of the individuals involved." Today we know a lot more about the machinery of the mind and the nature of human cognition than he did. But like Darwin who didn't really know how "genes" work, Whitehead saw things that most of us miss. You have to think "on your toes" to read him. But the reward is worth the effort. No one who claims to be an educated person should make such a claim without "reading their Whitehead."

If you want to know the story of Montana, this is where you start. It's written by the best journalist-writer who ever lived in the state (excluding Bud Guthrie, of course, who chose fiction instead). It must be understood that it is not a "definitive history" as Howard himself stated, but a personal narrative of what matters. In the past two decades, a cottage industry of Howard-bashing has emerged in Montana, by historians eager to establish their own reputations. Yes, some of what Howard wrote was incorrect. Other aspects of his writings now seem outmoded (the colonial economy thing). But to say modern history proves Joe Howard was wrong is like saying Lewis and Clark are disproven by Rand-McNally. Howard was the visionary who showed the way to what Montana should and could be. But 50 years later, this remains the best non-fiction book that will ever be written about Montana.

I first read this book back in the early 60's when I was stationed in Montana. I found it full of facts that you don't find in history books. The characters are real and believable; makes you wish you had a time machine to go back and witness the action. A must for history buffs.

Compiled and edited by art historian and expert James Timothy Voorhies, My Dear Stieglitz: Letters Of Marsden Hartley And Alfred Stieglitz 1912-1915 is an informative and intrinsically interesting collection of previously unpublished correspondence between America artist Marsden Hartley and avant-garde impresario, editor, and photographer Alfred Stieglitz chronicling Hartley's three year European sojourn before and just at the inception of World War I. The letters begin with Hartley's 1912 arrival in Paris and provides invaluable commentary on Gertrude Stein's salons, the paintings of Picasso, Cezanne, and Matisse, and his encounters with many of the leading lights of the European world of artists, art dealers, and gallery owners. Hartley continues in 1913 to write an informative correspondence about the Expressionist artists and art trends that he encountered in Germany. This amazing body of correspondence concludes with Hartley's late 1915 return to an America seasoned by the influx of pre-war modern art. My Dear Stieglitz is a welcome and invaluable contribution to 20th Century Art History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

I loved this collection of letters because the correspondence is so succint, complete, and filled with emotion and drama. The letters really gave me a sense of what the artist was going through at this time in his life.

Also, the editor did a great job with the appendices and the footnotes - they are as entertaining and informative as the letters themselves.

The 1910 equivalent of the Baseball Encyclopedia or Total Baseball and the first really comprehensive baseball reference book. Hundreds of biographical sketches, photographs (portraits), detailed club histories, statistics (almost quaint in its early-1900's point of view : pitching leaders by winning pct., for example; no discussion of e.r.a., home run records, etc.). Plenty of boxscores from important games dating back to the 1830's and every "world series" from the 1880's on. An absolutely essential addition to the library of any fan of early baseball.

Al Spink (of the *Sporting News* Spinks) wrote this pioneering history of baseball in 1910 and updated it the next year. Because Organized Baseball was so young, Spink was able to write the kind of encyclopedic overview which would fill a six-volume set today.

Spink discusses EVERY significant event in the history of baseball to 1910: not just famous players, but also owners, umpires, mid-19th century teams, even early baseball writers. He draws on his personal knowledge of these men to relate long-forgotten anecdotes, and to convey a perspective which no modern writer could match without spending five years at a microfilm reader.

I can't imagine any serious baseball fan with an interest in pre-1910 baseball not learning a lot from this book. Even the illustrations are many cuts above the images in most modern books about this era.

The baseball reissue of the year!

This book is highly recommended as a "must read" for seminarians, pastors, teachers, and the layperson who desires to deepen his/her spirituality, and to experience a closer walk with God.

J. Alfred Smith, Sr., has demonstrated the excellence of his craftmanship in the choice of persons selected as contributors of material compiled in this book. Among them are some of the greatest African American authors, educators, homileticians, and pulpiteers. The wealth of their collective knowledge and expertise is demonstrated in the demand for them to share their preaching and teaching skills across the nation.

African Americans know the importance of receiving spiritual affirmation. This collection of sermons enabled me to realize the assurance of grace which is so integral to the integrity of the African American prayer tradition, and the formation of one's spirituality, while serving to encourage me in the faith.

There are many books on the market pertaining to prayer and spirituality. The editor has demonstrated excellence in craftmanship, in the compilation of the material provided.

African Americans need to be affirmed in their faith walk continually. The issues of life often are perplexing and can lead to discouragement. Reverend J. Alfred Smith, Sr., has quite skillfully compiled and woven together sermon material from noted educators and/or theologians. The contributors are among the greatest of African American pulpiteers.

No Other Help I Know is a "must read" for the seminarian, pastor, teacher, or layperson, who has a need for material which will provide focus and direction for sermon preparation, teaching, or inspirational reading.

This is the most comprehensive and informative state atlas I have ever reviewed. Excellent maps, great charts and clearly written text makes "The North Carolina Atlas" a book that needs to be on the shelf of every public library and in the hands of all North Carolina devotes. Over the last century North Carolina has transformed itself from a struggling southern state to one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. "The North Carolina Atlas" provides a definitive analysis of the changes that have created this wonderful state.

History, population, urbanization, and economy are transforming forces that molded North Carolina into what it is today. Each of these sections are clearly laid out so that the reader can make a critical analysis of the change and form an assessment of the coming changes that the future may bring.

Especially interesting are the sections that deal with quality of life in North Carolina. Crime, education, health care, water and air quality, cultural arts and outdoor recreation are profiled and supported by scores of maps, charts and diagrams. This is a book I would especially want in my possession if I was considering moving my family and business to this State. Highly Recommended.

As Governor Jim Hunt says in the forward, "North Carolina is at a crossroads in its history." This "atlas" provides not only a wealth of information, but an intelligent perspective on the future of the state as it enters the 21st century.

Subjects matter includes the natural environment, history, population, urbanization, economy, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, trade, politics, air quality, water resources, crime, health, education, arts, and recreation. I found these topics to be presented in an effective manner and certainly more enlightening than the statistical record one might imagine.

I also discovered, before I placed my order, that I was able to preview some of the book's illustrations at the UNC Charlotte Cartography Lab web site.

I would recommend this text not only to students, researchers and teachers, but anyone interested in a comprehensive and knowledgeable summary of the diverse state of North Carolina.

Reading Hutton is always interesting, as he is such a pivital individual in fencing's transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. "Old Sword-Play" gives us a look at fencing's early stages of develpment. For the fencer, it is good to know one's origins. As the author of "The Art and Science of Fencing," and "The Inner Game of Fencing," and the editor/publisher of FENCERS QUARTERLY MAGAZINE, I recommend this book.

It is absolutely essential that you buy this book. Maestro Martinez' introduction alone merits it, but to be able to drink in Hutton's wisdom on historical fencing... hoo boy!