I was turned on to this book after hearing the latest Richard Buckner release "The Hill", in which the musician uses the Spoon River Anthology as the basis for his conceptual music. After listening to this wonderful disc, I was compelled to read the actual work by Edgar Lee Masters. What I found was a book that was written in 1915, but that brings to life the voices of humanity louder than anything I've read in recent years. This book is more poetry than literature, but the stories of the residents of Spoon River that are collected within the pages are stories that are not soon forgotten.

This book has moved me more than anything else I've read in recent years, and I highly recommend that othes read this outstanding work of art.

There is no Spoon River, IL. Check your map. Several towns argue that they stake their claim in being what Masters asserted to be this mythical town. Petersburg and Lewistown, two towns of otherwise minor repute seem closest... but it is so much better we haven't an actual town... Spoon River's residents are our next door neighbors, whether we live in Central Illinois or Central Florida, or southern Alaska.

Masters has written not fables, but the essence of American life. He hasn't captured the life and times of 1915, but has instead recorded in 1915 the life and times of our present day America.

The same reason the paintings of Norman Rockwell makes sense is why Edgar Lee Masters poetry makes sense. To read the quick messages on the gravestone of one man, learning a little bit him, and something about a neighbor or two, we can learn a little about how we live in communities today.

Our lives, like Jimmy Stewart's character in "It's a Wonderful Life" found out, interact and impact everyone we meet. Who we love, who we should love and who we reject. And when we die, others feel the loss. Masters has aptly put this in a humorous, yet insightful way into short verses.

The poems don't rhyme. The meter is not solid, and the poetics aren't intricate. They aren't poems like Poe's or Dickinson, not in the way they wrote American poems. Don't expect iambic pentameter-based sonnets or villanelles. Expect a conversation, and listen in.

The poetry here is in the subtle use of social nuance. In the nuances are his insight and wit. Two readings will bring to light what you miss in the first.

Buy this book, read it slow. It reads faster than most poetry book, but don't get caught in the temptation to zoom through each poem just because you can.

After you read it, see the play if it happens to be performed in your town.

I fully recommend it.

Anthony Trendl

Inspired by The Greek Anthology, a collection of brief poems from the Hellenistic World including epitaphs written from the perspective of the deceased, Edgar Lee Masters wrote a series of monologues spoken by dead townspeople (some more fictional than others) who inhabited Spoon River, the area in Illinois where Abe Lincoln once lived. Real people include Anne Rutledge (Abe's first girlfriend) and Fiddler Jones, who worked in Lincoln's general store as a boy.

But this book isn't about Abraham Lincoln. It's about the trait that we will all, both saints and sinners, one day have in common: death. And it is about the small triumphs of life that the dead remember. Just as William Carlos Williams was a doctor, and his poetry was informed by his contact with everyday people, so too Masters. He was a lawyer and a keen observationist. He writes directly and frankly, especially about male-female relations, which earned this book a bit of a scandalous reputation in its time. Of course, it is mild enough today that the book is assigned reading in junior highs, even in the South.

I've read this book three times through, and often re-read individual favorites. And I have it in easy reach on my shelf because I plan to keep re-reading it. There is something about the people of Spoon River and their sentiments that keeps me coming back. As May Swenson says, in her introduction to this edition, Masters "bequeathed to us a world in microcosm." A world, in my opinion, worth exploring again and again.

Walter Lord follows up his best seller of the fifties-A Night to Remember--with this eighties version on some mysteries about the sunken liner. One learns about the musicians (two groups actually) and what they played that night while the life boats were being loaded. Another story details the negligence of the freighter Californian for not answering the eight rockets of distress from the Titanic. Another story details the shootings and suicide near the end of the launch of the last life boats. Still another story details why there were not enough life boats on the Titanic and most other ocean liners of the day. Walter Lord clears the air about these mysteries with his well informed writing.
If you want to know more about the Titanic, read both Lord's books on the subject (A Night to Remember, The Night Lives On). They will help the reader understand this tragedy. I have seen the movie and I know the producers consulted these books when they made the movie.

This book is a MUST for any Titanic fan! Even if you've read numerous other accounts of the sinking to the Titanic, you will learn something new from Lord's account of that fatefull nignt in 1912. Lord did his research well and wrote this book in a way to make you feel as though you were on the ship, not just on April 14th, but from the time it sailed. I enjoyed this book very much! Please read it.

A spell-binding, moment-by-moment review of the sinking of the White Star Liner, Titanic, on April 12, 1912. The author reviews all the evidence of that fateful night, including eyewitness accounts of survivors and testimony at both the U.S. Senate subcommittee on the disaster and at the court of the Board of Trade in England. The recent controversy of the discovery and photographing of the Titanic by Robert Ballard is also discussed. This is a remarkable book, written almost like a novel, following the events of that night very closely, but also with much respect given to the conflicting stories of survivors. Walter Lord pieces everything together, and comes up with startling, well-researched conclusions. The era, the people, and the entire tragedy are brought to life as if it had just occurred yesterday.

This book is the only resource that I used to study for my ham radio technician's license, and it was more than sufficient. I am as unscientific as they come, and yet after reading this book, I passed the Ham Radio Technician test with a score of 33 out of 35.

I did find some of the really technical material in the middle to be a bit dull, but that may be my non-scientific mind as much as anything else. Even if it is dull, I seem to have learned it adequately!

If you are not scientifically inclined but you want to get into ham radio, this is the book you need! Persevere through the tough parts - you'll be glad you did!

I first started getting into Ham Radio about a year ago. I picked up this book and started reading. You don't need to read all of the text- I skipped a few chapters and just worked on the test questions and answers. It must work- I whipped through the test packet like it was going out of style and didn't miss any questions- I can't wait to get started with Morse Code(CW) and the General Class License!!!!!!!!!

I tried Clay Laster's book and found it to be useless (see my review elsewhere).

So I picked up this ARRL book in anticipation of taking an 8 week Tech course through a local ham radio club for Element 2. I spent about an hour a night with this book, worked through all the questions and answers. In conjunction with web-based practice tests (www.wvara.org, www.eham.net or other locations -- these are free and invaluable for practice) after 2 painless weeks I found a local VEC site and took the test last Sunday. Passed with a 100% score!

I felt so confident, that I decided to try the General exam (Element 3) the same morning and passed that one too (although not with such a stellar result). I don't have to take the tech course now, and credited the fee toward club membership.

Bottom line -- ARRL knows the tests inside and out. They've been publishing license guides for years, they administer the tests, and they write the manuals so that they can be easily understood -- they don't introduce jargon or advanced concepts/information until the basics have been presented.

Although I already passed the General theory test, I am working my way through ARRL's General license guide -- to make sure I know what I'm supposed to. And studying Morse for Element 1 so I can get my General license. I've already picked up the ARRL licensing guide for Amateur Extra (Element 4) and hope to get there by the summer.

The author discovered a huge cache of old glass photographic plates belonging to the town's photographer and writer, who, along with his son, published a local Wisconsin paper. One is struck by how such a simple collection of photographs and articles, offered without editorial comment, can be so powerfully affecting. Perhaps it is the haunted, mad eyes of some of the subjects, or the babies in coffins, their images preserved for posterity, or the intermittent reports from the state mental hospital, or the subtle way in which some of the photographs have been altered to emphasize some quality of the image. There is something powerfully haunting about this book - all the moreso since one gets the impression that small-town America of this time must have lived the same way.

There is relatively little I can say about this book.

The book is essentially photographs and news clippings from a newspaper in Wisconsin from about 1890 to 1910. Interspersed are snippets from novels dealing with life during the period.

Turning the pages, reading the articles, and looking not at the pictures but into the eyes of the people in the photographs, one gets a sense not of some sterilized, backward glance at these people as some great societal force, not as a band of pioneers, but as very human people, who die in childbirth, die as children, die of diseases that sweep through whole towns and infect the entire state with fear, go insane, murder, and still maintain enough inner dignity to be able to look into the lens of a camera and mask most of their emotions long enough for the half-second exposure but not long enough to pierce the heart of people living a century later. It is pain. It is a death trip.

The book speaks for itself. Actually, it doesn't. The people in word and image speak for themselves.

I was able to read this book in one day, and wanted more. Being a former resident of this area of Wisconsin made it even more interesting for me, but all that aside, it was one of the most intriguing books I've read in a long time. The photographs are a wonderful testament to life in that era & locale, if you're a collector of old photographs & post-mortem shots this is a great book for your library. Reading about all of the madness surrounding these people, their bizarre and sad behaviors really makes you think. The author's conclusion really draws it all together for you.

I have read all of Mr. Givens books (with the exception of Wealth without Risk for Canadians--I'm not a Canadian) and many other personal development books. I really like this book. Givens shows how to generate goals, move past stalls, eliminate dumpers and make the most of your time while living a life of joy, happiness and abundance.As with his financial books, Givens offers actual strategies to maximize effectiveness and reach your goals.I highly recommend Super Self to anyone interested in Maximum Effectiveness.

This book is gauranteed to change you forever.Become the person you've always wanted to be, enjoy the ride while your Dreams come true, your Goals are achieved and your Personal Effectiveness is doubled!! Charles J. Givens,world famous for his unique, practical and powerful strategies that have led millions along the path to financial freedom, shows in this book how you can achieve your fullest personal and business potential. He provides a set of proven strategies that are an actual "operations manual" for one's life. Super Self strategies will enable you to accomplish twice as much in the same time...and it is possible for anyone to learn and implement the personal habits, attitude of mind and time saving strategies that create success! The pith of the book lies in the "Giveniser"- the planner for your future. Your Giveniser will consists of five separate sections : Dreams List-what you would do with your life if you had unlimited time,talent,money and family support. Goals List-specific results you want to achieve in the next year in one sentence statements. Values List-the beliefs and things you value most as they relate to your dreams and goals. Action Plan-specific objectives that must be completed for the accomplishment of your goal. Daily Activities List-one calendar month of daily activities. Maintaining focus is of prime importance and you should be disciplined "by choice".Givens rightly points out that you will thus increase your level of effectiveness and will earn the respect of others by keeping to your commitments. Out of the 168 hours in a week, you are left with only 42 hours (including weekends) after accounting for routine activities like sleep, meals and work. So, take control of your time, lest time should take control of you! Avoid the "no slack principle"-Murphy's well known law that what can go wrong will go wrong and at just the wrong time! Don't let phone calls and door-bells distract you from doing what you are doing, afterall, what you chose to do with your time has to be of more importance than what somebody else wants you to. Powered with these effectiveness strategies, you are surely going to feel more satisfied as you attain happiness and satisfaction in all that you do. This book is a "must read" for all those who while wanting to achieve success find at the end of the day that they haven't utilised their time well. The strategies are put forth in a simple language aided powerfully by real life examples,the most striking of which is ...now hold your breath...the author himself! A disturbed childhood with alcoholic quarrelling parents who eventually separated did not give Givens the kind of start a billionaire would have liked to have. But Givens did not carry the "emotional baggage" of the past - he "Givenised" his schedule to become rich, famous and happy! I've made my "lists" and believe me , doing that itself gave me immense satisfaction and a profound sense of direction. This book has made me my "Super Self"!

I became aware of the late Mr. Givens with his great book More Wealth without Risk. I successfully applied one strategy after another. More Wealth without Risk became my financial path through life.

About a year ago, I added SuperSelf to my success library and started to implement the strategies. I thought that the fincnail success principles I had learned from Givens were unparalleled, I was wrong. SuperSelf is even better. I literally felt 10 feet tall and bullet proof! After following the advice and enjoying a SuperSelf experience, I raised the limits of what I am really capable of achieving in life.

A week after finishing the book, I got news that my company was a victim of a hostile takeover and I among hundreds of others in higher managerment positions would be let go. WOW! Talk about challenges to my new attitude.

I decided to follow Mr. Givens advice that this was just an event and I could get past it easily. Prior to SuperSelf, I would have been flattened by this challenge. Instead, I went out and started my own business which has been doing extraordinarily well.

What impresses me is that I didn't get upset at all. Instead I used this as an opportunity to create my own business and invest in residential properties which pays me more than my former employer and is a lot more fun.

I used to and actually still do keep More Wealth without risk at my fingertips as a reminder to always use "Givens" strategies when making financial decisions. It is now underneath my copy of SuperSelf.

After reading More Wealth Without Risk, I used to tell people that I ran with it because every strategy worked. Compared to what I learned in SuperSelf, I was just walking or trotting. Now I'm not running, but sprinting.

Last month, I traveled 9 time zones west to Asia for a week trip. Then after being back in Colorado for 2 weeks, I flew 8 time zones east for a 5 day trip. Normally, I would be wasted most of the month, but after using the plan laid out in this book, I was alert during the day and sleep most of the nights. It didn't totally negate jet-lag but my recovery was shorter. I would give it a 5 star rating but the diet lists some rather random foods and like possum and racoon. What are they thinking someone is flying on Ozark Airlines? If I ate that stuff I would have more problems than just jet lag!

Over the past year, business trips have taken me around the world, with jet lag as my constant travel companion. Not anymore! I tried the program on a recent trip to Europe and experienced virtually no jet lag. After an all night flight and 7 hour time zone change, I was able to work immediately upon landing at my destination and felt great. The book will go with me now whenever I travel abroad.

I began using this system in 1986, based on an earlier version of this book. I've used it repeatedly on trips to Europe and Asia, and I've been able to make the best use of my first day at my destination every time. On the few occasions when I couldn't use this system (due to sudden unexpected trips), I found out how debilitating jet lag can be... like having a case of the flu, I was just "out of it" for a couple of days!

I've given copies of this book to many friends and business associates over the years, and all have praised the results!

This book is a gift. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Charles De Lint! The individual stories are absolutely captivating-every time I read them, I come away with something new. I've rarely, if ever, found an author with the abillity to evoke so many emotions through the power of his words. Sorrow, awe, joy, wonder-and above all, hope. De Lint makes me believe that there is still magic and mystery in the world for those who are willing to see it. The charachters he creates catch the heart. These stories-like the fairy tales of old-are at the same time etherialy beautiful, and achingly savage. The reader feels the wonder and the pain of each charachter in turn. De Lint leads the reader down paths of both darkness and light, and one really does feel as though they are treading upon dreams.

Welcome to Newford, an average North American town. Well, maybe at first glance, but by the second, there is a little more than meets the eye. Meet Jilly, a strong independant woman who seems like she knows everyone and maybe a witch? Meran, is she wholey human? Geordie, an average joe, who thinks he met the woman of his dreams.

I really loved this book. There was soo many good stories, that it made it really hard to put the book down.

de Lint has a way of really coming across as a natural thought or natural flow of a story. Which is why this book is so involving to read, because this could be me and just maybe that knock on the wall isn't just the wind blowing the tree. Some of these stories kinda made it a little hard to sleep!

My favorite theme of these collection is the fact that our lives weave together with others as we live indepentantly. You meet one character learn a little, and than meet them six stories on. This auroa of magic that lays just beneath the sight of most people is just overwhelming. Makes life a little more interesting.

Enjoy Newford, because once you visit, Newford has left a little bit of it in you.

i thought this book was wonderful, charles de lint has such a rich imagination and feeds it with his wide vocabulary and descriptive talent. i love his way of writing urban fantasy, and i love the idea of faerie and the way he puts it into his books. i am reading 'the little country' at the moment, and it is a classic but dreams underfoot still resides in my heart and mind as the best book he has written that i have read. i sound so learned to myself, and i am only 16 ;) anyways, this is an extremely good book, read it and see!

This isn't like the Disney movie! I loved this book but at the same time I was shocked by the violence of the fighting between Hook and the Lost Boys and the Indians. I don't think I'll be reading this one to my nephews and neices, not until I have edited out the violent bits. It wasn't that In-Your-Face violence of the Hollywood movies, it was more insinuated and there was definetly a menacing atmosphere surrounding Wendy's, Peter's and Michael's adventures in Never Never Land. I do recommend it though, just not for easily frightened youngsters. This is definetly in need of a PG rating on the cover. PARENTS: This is no Disney Peter Pan!

Driving with young children in the car quickly convinced me that it was unsafe to not give them something to listen to. After ten years I have collected a large (30+) bag of books-on-tape. I have also loaned them to others and asked for opinions. Peter Pan (read by Wendy Craig) is not only my favorite, but also the favorite of my wife and most of my friends. It is excellent for all ages (4 to 80) and even most hardened teenagers. Humour, presentation, ... a prefect 10.

The book 'Peter Pan' by J. M. Barrie is a truly beautiful work. It is never too cloyingly sweet or too harsh, and the child's perspective of the world is beautifully crafted. It does, however, bring you along on a journey to the Neverlands, and perhaps for a little while we can be reunited with our dreams.

Although Wendy seems a little prim, she is sweet and motherly. John was offhand and brave, Michael was tiny and believing. My favourite character was, however, Peter. The author really outdid himself on this one. Peter's innocent cockiness and love for dangerous adventures endeared him to me at once. He still has all his first teeth, and his first laugh - what more could we ask of him? His frightful happiness in danger reminds me of my seven-year-old self.

The book retains a magical quality right up to the last page. The midnight scene where Peter coaxes them out of the window has always stood out in my mind; there is a kind of magic in an ever-young boy, small and innocently cocky and always up to some mischief. The ending of the book is very sad, for only those who are gay and young and light-hearted can fly.

Definitely a book worth reading. Adults, trust me on this one: you might think you're too old to read this book, but once you do you'll find that a piece of Neverland still resides in your heart.

Nathaniel Lachenmeyer's The Outsider - A Journey into My Father's Struggle with Madness is a unique book for many reasons. Written from the perspective of a hapless onlooker, it encompasses the full gamut of emotions suffered by the relatives of a person who is mentally ill. Furthermore, in the author's search for rhyme or reason for his father's demise the author eschews political grandstanding or heated rhetorical calls for "something to be done". Instead this is ultimately a book about acceptance - the acceptance of the vaguries of life, of the fact that nothing is guaranteed and ultimately, that sometimes when we face life's challenges we find ourselves incapable of rising to the occasion.

Written, as the title states, about the author's father's struggle with mental illness, the book also details the reaction of his family, his father's colleagues and the people: Social Workers, Caregivers and Cops, who came into contact with his father while he suffered from the illness which inevitably drove him onto the streets. In this the book is refreshingly frank - the author refrains from assigning blame and instead - perhaps as a result of his own lingering guilt over his own inability to deal with his father - examines the difficulty of dealing with a person suffering from mental illness. Lachenmeyer doesn't gloss over the conflicting emotions that people who deal with the mentally ill have, nor does he try to glorify those who are forced onto the streets because of it. Lachenmeyer is instead refreshingly unsparing in his examination of the problems associated with people suffering from mental illness, their impact of their illness on those around them and the questions surrounding how to adequately care for them.

Perhaps one of the most important points made throughout the book is about how so many mentally ill people end up on the street. Lachenmeyer is one of the few writers in this field to acknowledge that the whole concept of "deinstitutionalization", a hold-over from the ethos of the 1960's is largely responsible for the huge number of mentally ill homeless people on the streets today. In this Lachenmeyer definitely takes a chance at losing the part of his audience that is content to blame conservative governments and rapacious landlords for today's state of affairs. Further still, Lachenmeyer is surprisingly accepting of the role of police in dealing with the mentally ill, refraining from charged, politically-motivated commentary and instead accepting that the police too are responsible for, yet ill-equipped to deal with the mentally ill on the streets.

All too often reviewers label a book as "important". This is one of those books that truly is important; it is a sensitive, objective and heartfelt look at the problems surrounding mental illness and those that suffer it. Written with compassion and yet accurate in its analysis this book is an excellent reference source as well as an engaging and thought-provoking read. This book deserves a wide audience as it offers the potential to bring balance and objectivity to the on- going debate over the homeless and the mentally ill.It is definitely a must read for anyone who is even remotely associated with this issue. However, as a story alone it is one not to be missed

Nathanial Lachenmeyer's book was an amazing read. Having a rather new but strong interest in schizophrenia as well as hearing the interview on FreshAir compelled me to buy this book. It opened many new doors for me as far as understanding the disease more. My step-father's brother has the disease. I've always wanted to have at least a small understanding of his behaviour. Thank God I was able to get a hold of this book. Not only does it tell the sad story of a man spinning downward (yet still holding his head high no matter how adverse his environment becomes) but it gives the reader a great understanding of the disease and statistics surrounding it as well. I still cannot get over how he was near death by starvation yet they held his SSI money. And it has to be mentioned when Charles Lachenmeyer was asked if he thought he were mentally ill, he stated that his mental illness was "love of life and humanity". Truly amazing!

This is one of the best books I have read. I have so much respect for the author's ability to explore and map out so eloquently the haunting journey of his schizophrenic father. As another reviewer here pointed out - there needs to be more books like this and there needs to be more attention brought to this book so that more people learn the truth about severe mental illness.

Reading "The Outsider" allows you to enter a world few people understand. This book hits the reader on many different levels of thought and emotion. You are provided an in-depth look at the world of a clearly sophisticated and intelligent man whose illness takes him to the outer realms of society. The book also brings to light how the severely mentally ill are overlooked in our society.

Mostly though, this book represented to me one man's strength and courage to take a close look at his father's illness and openly express his feelings along the way.

Well, he is pretty amazing. Without a doubt a gifted writer. In spots Charles Casillo's "The Marilyn Diaries" is some of the best contemporary fiction I've read in a long time. But I'm still undecided about all these writers using real life people as character's in fiction. On the negative side, it's really not fair to take someone who actually lived and put them in imaginary situations. What if someone who knows nothing about Marilyn picks up a book like this and thinks it's all true? On the positive side you can tell the author really loves Marilyn and he treats her with respect, although by no means does she come across as a saint. In the course of the book her emotions go from optimistic to anguish. At times she is naive at other times she is cunning. She is triumphant and tragic. Confident and fearful. Ultimately the character is as enigmatic as Marilyn Monroe must have been (and yes, there are certain things I feel he should have left out). Yet, after awhile you have to keep reminding yourself, "it's not really her diary - it's all made up" Casillo is really an artist. But if he was just writing about some fictional actress instead of using the name "Marilyn Monroe" it would have been just as fascinating.

I was hesitant to read to read "The Marilyn Diaries" because of the totally inaccurate, degrading, and cliche-ridden portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Joyce Carol Oates in "Blonde." DON'T BE DISCOURAGED!! Casillo's portrait goes beyond the glossy surface to reveal an intelligent and articulate woman trapped by the image she created in order to become successful in Hollywood. If the reader is prepared to accept the fact that no fiction is 100% accurate, this Marilyn will weave her spell and make you feel as if you are there with her and you'll understand the era and the characters through totally fresh eyes. History has been so hard on Marilyn Monroe. Although she wasn't perfect (who is?) Casillo's book strips away the glitz and glamour of the studio photographs and techni-color movies and adds flesh, blood, bones and a beating heart to the character. She is intelligent, articulate, beautiful, vulnerable, brilliant, and self destructive too. Ms. Oate's book was ... I only mention that here so that people won't think that "The Marilyn Diaries" is like that and avoid it. Don't! Thanks Charles Casillo for telling the other side of one of history's most fascinating women. Without a doubt "The Marilyn Diaries," will become the standard by which all other works of fiction about Marilyn Monroe will be judged

A few weeks ago, I encountered a book, albeit a novel, that has had a profound effect on me. The book is THE MARILYN DIARIES by Charles Casillo.Although I knew from the beginning that it was a novel, I found myself experiencing feelings of guilty pleasure while reading it.Charles has captured the essence of Marilyn Monroe so well, that at times, I felt as though I was actually reading HER diary. He has given a human side to this woman that we have made into a cultural icon. He has depicted Marilyn with the strengths, the frailities, the fears, and the humor that I would like to imagine that she possessed.Additionally, he has brought a dimension to her sexuality that no other author has attempted before.Mr. Casillo has brought Marilyn to life for me and I am grateful for that.