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This book has many things to commend it, from th fine paper stock to the marvelous images selected by Peter Simmons. Look at the pictures - really look at them and you will be brought back to a different era! I recommend it!

The fourteen essays that make up Doctorow's book range in concept from discussionsof the lifes of authors which were the stuff of myths to the lives of politicians who were trying to create myths in their own names, from Thoreau's WALDEN to Orwell's 1984. These and the others all fit into a theme that Doctorow calls "presumptive nationalism."

The essay that I find most interesting is entitled "Commencement," and is,in fact, the Commencement Address that Doctorow delivered to the Brandeis University graduating class of 1989. A theme in the address is taken from Sherwood Anderson and Doctorow refers to it as "the theory of grotesques." It goes something like this: The world is filled with many truths to live by, and they are all beautiful. Two that he first mentions are the truth of thrift and the truth of self reliance. There is a problem, however, when one of these truths is grabbed up and made into a cause to the exclusion of all other truths.

Take thrift for instance: It is a good thing to be thrifty, and work hard, and scrimp and save in order to get a college education. You've done well. But if, later in life, long after it's necessary, you continue to deny yourself and those close to you, until the act of hoarding becomes an end unto itself, your thrift has become a lie. You've become a miser. You've become a grotesque.

Or take the truth of self-reliance: Doctorow states that it is undeniably beautiful. Self-reliance was the truth that underlay the whole Reagan Administration. In the name of rugged individualism and self-reliance, the truths of community and moral responsibility towards those with lesser advantages were forgotten. In the name of self-reliance, school lunch programs were halted, legal services for the poor, psychologocal counseling for Viet Nam veterans and Social Security payments for the handicapped, among many social programs, were taken away. The philosophy that this engendered has caused hundreds of thousands to suffer. Doctorow believes that much of the homeless problem that we see on the streets of our cities, and the rapid increase of drug sales, among other ills, can be directly traced to the advocacy of the truth of self reliance to the exclusion of other truths. This has certainly become a political philosophy of the grotesque.

In a way, concentrating on just one aspect of one essay does this book a real disservice, but there is just so much food for the brain here that I felt I had no other option. To get even an inkling of the connections between poets and presidents, between literature and lyrics, and between aspects of 19th and 20th century American life as Doctorow means for us to do, the book must be read in its entirety. That's exactly what I recommend.

For those who have loved the delicious novels of this inordinately talented writer (eg 'Ragtime', 'The City of God', etc) here is the opportunity to read some illuminating thoughts by a man who is as fine a philosopher and thinker as he is a novelist. This collection of fourteen short essays range in topics from memoirs about what inspired Doctorow to become a writer, to probing and challenging forays into religion, to the sad state of our US government with suggestions on how we can regain control of a government no longer "of, by, and for the people". He frequently quotes Walt Whitman and Emerson and the Age of Enlightment, and embraces the idea of a God who is ever-changing as our society and world evolve. At times humorous, at times fearful of our direction as a country, Doctorow continues to reveal a fine mind as well as a consistly fine gift for writing. Recommended for the reader who wants to face universal questions.

Actually I saw the movie many years back and, remembering that and recently reading another Doctorow book, I decided to pick this one up when I noticed it in a store. The tale of a ramshackle little western town on the edge of nowhere in the Dakota territory, deriving its lifeblood from a nearby mine, WELCOME TO HARD TIMES grabs us from the beginning with its brutal portrayal of the town's destruction at the hands of a monster of a man who is to remain nameless for much of the tale, a natural force more than a fellow human being. The Bad Man from Bodie savagely rapes and callously kills those in his path including the town whores, the barkeep, the carpenter, the undertaker, the hangers-on, leaving only a few scattered survivors in his wake, after burning the town around them to the ground. In the shadow of his departure, with little hope and much desperation, the handful of survivors rebuild, mainly for want of anything else to do. And the town, after a rigorous winter, prospers. But the mood throughout is ominous and the memory of the Man fron Bodie never far below the surface of the broken people he leaves behind. Doctorow writes with subtlety and irony and his telling is as tight as it gets. Yet I found the ending, deliberately muddled, I suppose, to mimic the sense of collapse, rather a letdown after the crisp narrative that comes before. All breaks down, in the end, in a sudden revelation about the sustaining source of the town's hopes and the Bad Man from Bodie returns without notice, just abruptly appearing in the maelstrom of collapse. This time is a little different from the first in the town's response to the Bad Man, or at least in how the self-proclaimed town mayor and narrator responds. But the results are no less redolent of life's despair and futility. Although the characters are more than the Western stereotypes they at first appear to be, they do not rise above their situations but are sucked sadly back into the storm that blows down upon them from the larger world outside. They are a sad lot and so, we sense, are we all, doomed to live out our lives in hope and desperate striving but never able to gain a foothold in the rock to take us above the level of the town of Hard Times and the life it offers us. This is a fable, writ on Western rock, of living and dying. More subtle and many-layered than the movie it inspired, in the end it is a book of hopelesness and of the raggedness of life itself. -- SWM

This is Doctorow's first novel, and after reading it, you see from the very beginning he was a great writer. It's an ambitious treatment of evil, cowardice, love and family, wrapped up in an great western tale (of the spaghetti type). The Bad Man destroys the town and everyone in it in the first few pages. After that the human spirit thrives (sort of) as a few attempt to rebuild the town and their lives. And look for redemption.

For the better part of the novel he has no name, he is simply referred to as the Bad Man from Bodie. And in Welcome To Hard Times harrowing first few pages he single handedly rapes, vandalises and burns an entire town. He never says a word. He is, as one character descibes him "a force of nature, like the weather", an inexplicable destructive force that strikes at random.

Those who survive the Bad Man's wrath choose to leave, to seek better fortune elsewhere. Only the town's unofficial mayor Blue, a local Indian healer, a half burnt prostitute and a murdered carpenter's son stay behind. Blue is the narrator, and it is not some angry venomous determination to fight back that makes him stay to found a new town, but a defeatest acceptance of their fortune. If life has to go on, then this burned down town is as good a place as any.

Doctrow's debut novel is a grim and dirty slice of bleak frontier life. A novel that sets out to destroy the myths of heroism in the old west. In Welcome To Hard Times heroism results in death and cowardice merely delays it. The only kind of accomplishment to be proud of is survival. As Blue narrates how the new town of Hard Times comes into being, how the Russian's bordello has brought prosperity and how the money is ever flowing, his tone is unmistakably regretful. The tragic outcome is never in any doubt, we are left to ponder who will be left behind next time a force of nature strikes.

Like Robert Altman's film McCabe & Mrs.Miller, this is a novel with no illusions about the period. Relishing the grim pictorals of Buzzards feeding on the dead, fire burning over ice, it marches to its inevitable end. The downfall is never in question, only one thing can make these character's life worse. Hope.

Like a great painting, Doctorow choses his words carefully, depicting the 30s as the dark, mournful era that it was. Written well with the usual description that Doctorow is famous for, I have to say that the synopsis made the book sound more exciting.
The book details the experience that the protagonist and his family have while at the World's Fair in New York City. From the oddities to the fun, Doctorow did his research and what was there. Unlike his other books like Loon Lake or Welcome to Hard Times, I did not feel I was there, at the fair.
Displaying the 30s like it was, this book proves and depicts how far we have come since then. In the primitive times of tea-line-legged nylons and T&A was unheard of, historians and fans of Doctorow will be pleased. I applaud him for his historical essence and truthfulness . . . the excitement factor just was not there.

An absorbing experience with New York-Bronx life in the '30s. The title is a bit mis-leading in that less than half the book is devoted to the 1939 World's Fair- that being my own personal interest I would have prefered more of the setting to revolve around the Fair. Having said that, Doctorow is still a master of his art.

We expect that Doctorow will use some piece of New York City's past as the setting for each of his novels but we also expect that he will give us a story with drama, tragedy or some wry take on the human comedy. In World's Fair he only gives us the view of time past. There is precious little story in this book. It deals with a young boy and his family during the 1930's and concerns itself mostly with ordinary life and the ups and downs of family relations. The story is mostly told by the younger son (who is nine at book's end) as he recounts his earliest memories, preoccupations, dreams, friends, illnesses and enthusiasms, but other characters (his mother, older brother and aunt) all have chapters in which they 'remember' the story from their own point of view. Yet if the plot is thin, the sense of reality generated by the writing is substantial. Doctorow uses the ordinary life of his characters to reflect and represent the broader story of the Great Depression, the rise of Nazi Germany, the extreme political divisions of the time, the fear of impending war and the great hope in a bright and shiney future free of the dark menace of poverty and repression.

This book kept me focused from the first few sentences. It doesn't demand a lot from the reader but it delivers a great deal. I suspect that there is a great deal of Doctorow himself in his main character. He was born in 1931, so would have been about the right age to experience the music, radio shows, games and other experiences that make up his protagonist's world. He certainly feels strongly about these simple byegone experiences and manages to convey that to the reader. This is a very satisfying glimpse into the life of ordinary but interesting people and I highly recommend it.

Young Billy is green and fresh at the book's opening, and a seasoned young man by its end. Early in the book, you eagerly learn with Billy, through his neophyte eyes. But the book and Billy get bogged down in upstate New York, in a slow and sulky movement through time. I yearned for either a faster pace, or to learn more about Billy's inner workings, and felt that Doctorow didn't quite give me enough of either, as the book wore on. I say farewell to Doctorow for now, having liked Ragtime the best of his I've read.

In Billy Bathgate, Doctorow writes a coming of age book about a 15-year-old boy from the Bronx. The story is set in the late 20's and early 30's. Billy, for all practical purposes, is an orphan who grows up on the tenement-lined streets. His life changes when he ingratiates himself with a local mobster named Dutch Schultz.

Billy, at first, runs simple errands; gathering coffee and donuts and delivering money. Dutch, however, likes the kid and starts to train him for future endvours. Billy likes the money but soon realizes he is in thicker than he wants to be. However, the Mafia is his family and there can be no escape. The book takes Billy through the dangerous and exciting rise and fall of Dutch's empire.

Doctorow writes a compelling novel in the sense that Doctorow has done his homework. There is a sense of authenticity when reading the historical and scenic descriptions. Billy's love scenes and the gritty action were described almost poetically. However, what turned me off was the writing itself. Too many run on sentences and often times I found that the scene changed, often radically, without any help to the reader. It was like a page or paragraph was missing. While the characters were colorful and interesting, I didn't have as much sympathy with Billy as I would have hoped. There is some sexual content, so young readers should be cautioned. Otherwise a pretty good story, especially if you like this historical era.

I read somewhere that in BILLY BATHGATE Doctorow was writing a myth about capitalism, which seems about right. Doctorow is one of the few historical novelists who has something significant to say about American history and doesn't just appropriate famous historical figures to give their books marketing value (yes, I'm talking about BLONDE, by Joyce Carol Oates.) This book is pretty great. If you haven't read it, you'll enjoy it. If you like a good read -- interesting characters, humour, vivid imagery, and a suspenseful plot -- you'll love it. If you're interested in literary form and ideological engagement (like the capitalism comment above) you'll also enjoy it. This seems to be Doctorow's strength -- combining good old-fashioned narrative with serious literary critique in a way that should make Tom Wolfe jealous. The opening, where the gangster gets his feet cemented, sets a dazzling tone for the rest of the novel, and this is one book that keeps getting better as it goes on. Buy this one and enjoy.

This book won the 1926 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Lewis also won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature. It is the story of Martin Arrowsmith, a medical researcher who, while attending a mid-western medical school, is influenced by an aged bacteriologist. Arrowsmith marries a nurse, who will encourage his career in research, and tries his hand at private practice. However, he fails in that endeavor. After a number of positions he joins a research institute in New York where he discovers a new microorganism but is "scooped." He travels to the West Indies to try his "bacteriophage" on an epidemic. After his wife and colleague die, he starts administering the serum indiscriminately, destroying the results of his experiment. He returns to New York and marries a rich widow. However, social life interferes with his research and his search for truth. He quits the Institute and establishes a lab in Vermont with Terry Wickett, an uncouth but conscientious chemist. The model for Terry Wickett was Dr. John Howard Northrup (1891-1987), who will later win the 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Apparently, the model for Martin Arrowsmith was provided by the microbiologist and writer Paul de Kruif, whose book "Microbe Hunters" became very popular. The novel also contrasts the idealism of the research scientist, who unfortunately looses touch with those that care for him, and the apparent avarice of the medical profession.

Author Sinclair Lewis had some exposure to the medical profession early in his life through his father, who was a country doctor. Yet, even with some personal exposure, it's amazing how much of the idealism and cynicism, evident in modern physician practice, Lewis portrays in his 1926 pulitizer prize winning book, "Arrowsmith". Martin Arrowsmith, M.D. is a fictional idealist who is a human being before all else, but trying to bring science to the practice of Medicine. Actually, the story seems almost autobiographical due to the personal intensity and human fraility of the complex main character. As a registered nurse, reading Arrowsmith brings flashbacks of the past, like the cliches "deja vu all over again", or worse, "the more things change, the more they stay the same". Medicine for financial- profit, patient care challenges, personality conflicts, political shenanigans, professional competition, and overutilization of medical technology are some of the common problems Arrowsmith faces as he pursues a career in medicine after barely struggling through the politics of medical school in the mythical town of Wheatsylvania, Midwest, USA, in the early 20th century. This is not another novel about how physicians affect people's lives, but a masterpiece about the nuances of the medical profession as mysterious and suspect,of physicians who are heros and villans. Most surprising are the humerous vignettes sprinkled throughout the plot like bits and pieces of old Jack Benny radio show skits. When Martin Arrowsmith must decide if he is to fulfill his promise to marry Madeline Fox or betray her for his soul mate Leora Tozer, the genious writer Lewis creates such humor in the ensuing restaurant scene, that should be frought with melodrama, but, instead, is absolutely delightful reading. Similar humor engulfs the life portrayed of Arrowsmith's employer, Pickerbaugh, and his fleet of daughters named after flowers, like the saucy Orchid. Arrowsmith is simply a joy to read, especially for people who have a flair for some classic literature without getting too deep into concentrated philosophic thought. Simply put, Arrowsmith today, were he to practice in modern medicine, would probably be no better or worse off than he was in 1908 through circa 1920, when the novel takes place. Arrowsmith is a classic American novel and an entertaining story.

Lewis has written such a wonderful story, filled with tongue-in-cheek contempt for the mercenary ways of mankind. In Arrowsmith, he has created a protagonist who is not without flaws, but has good intentions. Also a wonderful story for people who enjoy medicine or the medical world. (But you don't have to to enjoy the book!) After reading it, I'll want to check out some of Lewis' other works.

Dreiser is best known for "An American Tragedy," which to my taste is one of the most boring books ever written. But Sister Carrie is a classic in the best sense of the word.

Dreiser draws the reader back in time to turn of the century America, and immerses him completely in the hopes, fears, desires, and mores of that lost time. The now fading archetype of the travelling salesman as the dangerously seductive dandy despoiling virtuous young women comes to life here.

Sound corny? Not in the least. Because Dreiser gets inside these people's heads, and they're just as interesting as anyone gracing the pages of People Magazine.

The novel starts with a timeless theme, young girl goes to the big city and gets seduced by smooth travelling salesman. Every made for TV movie variation on this theme nowadays reduces this to a morality tale to warn young viewers.

Not Dreiser. He turns this into what I'd argue is one of the first and least politically tainted feminist novels of the 20th century. Buy this book. It'll cost you half of the newest John Grisham or Stephen King novel, you'll be solidly entertained with page turning excitement, and you can brag to all your friends about the classic you just finished.

I found this novel very intriguing and moving. The symbols and representations are very analytical. "Sister Carrie" causes one to think twice about oneself, and to reconsider one's own definition of true happiness and success. It shows one how society can influence one to think in the manner in which one does. The characters face good times and bad times and experience true tests of strength and survival. The results are both well developed and interesting to discover. It is difficult to put the book down. When reading this novel one must understand the sybolism and look deep into the context to acquire the meanings of it. Another interesting fact about this novel is that Theodore Dreiser actually wrote the novel in the year 1900. I am a junior in high school and I strongly recomend the reading of this novel to anyone.

Living an average middle-class life, I have always wondered how the very rich and the very poor get where they are. Sister Carrie is a beautifully written and fascinating tale of how one climbs and descends the social ladder of life. I am aware that some readers have criticized this book stating that Dreiser did not develop the characters very well and that Carrie was not very likeable. Well, it is my thought that Dreiser never intended for us to become solely wrapped within the characters. He meant for us to become enveloped in the circumstance. The two main characters, Carrie and Hurstwood, are truly victims of circumstance - Carrie's never-ending unhappiness and Hurstwood's downward spiral. As we go through life, there are so many events and choices that will guide our lives to what they are. When one stops and thinks about this, it is really quite fascinating. I believe Dreiser r was aware of this aspect of life and he wanted to write a novel that would effect the lives of everyone who reads it. I read the entire book in 3 days. I simply could not put it down. I recommend Sister Carrie to everyone. It will leave you thinking and thinking and thinking.