I knew it before receiving this book from my boyfriend: almost every story would deal not only with sex, but also with books and other intelectual issues. Could we expect anything different from Woody Allen? Besides of oral sex, homosexual sex and this sort of things, Neurotica contains philosophy, psiconalisis, art, literature etc. It couldn't be different. Jews are totally connected with studies and culture, and they show it always, because this aspect of their personality is much stronger than almost everything else on them.
The most interesting story was written by Thane Rosenbaum, about the Yortzeit of the main character's mother. (I don't know the original name, because I read it in portuguese.) The story is very well written and complete, revealing the talent and facility that the author has with words.
About Woody Allen's narrative, I just can say that it is SO Woody Allen, you understand? It's very easy to feel his personality on it, specially for those who have seen Deconstructing Harry.
I haven't read the whole book yet, but I'm almost finishing it. I recommend Neurotica to everyone who likes to conciliate sex and mind.

The last observation: the book should be called Jewish AMERICAN writers on sex. Everyone is american or lives in the USA; however, there are many other jewish writers around the world that could have given their rich contribution.

I am not sorry to say that I liked the book and start reading it again from page 1. I am a Jewish from Israel. so neurotica is in my blood, so to speak, however I gave the book to my non-Jewish girl friend and she was smiling page upon page. after the reading, she didn't put it down by the way, she went to Amazon web site to buy one for herself. Did she like the neurotica book? quiet right - she loved it very much. and later she ask me to forgive her for turn me off in the past. i told you, this is neurotica,,, You have to read the book in order to understand me, well, do it. this book will keep you out of trouble.

i picked it up looking for a dark chuckle and i was wellrewarded. the messiah returns, choosing for his apostles a group ofthe slimiest criminals europe could produce. their trek through millennium europe towards eurodisney leads straight through public officials unwilling to be seen as modern pilates and gullible believers with a decidedly modern, violent and sexual outlook on what it takes to be saved. it has weak elements; the messiah is vague as a character. he is virtually absent from the book. he has little to say and there is no background info for him that might have given his coming more impact, but the overall story is the reaction to his coming by a world willing to be duped. watching this parade is more fun than worrying too much about who is leading.

A very creative imagination places this entertaining story with its messiah in Disneyland, of all places. That's a first.

I pulled this book out when my 5 year old asked me to explain how a light bulb works. The book addresses this subject and also goes on to explain, in simplist form, what electricity is, where it comes from and how we use it in our daily lives. It includes an easy experiement that shows how electricity is created. While my child was able to understand most of what was addressed, the introduction to atoms, electrons... was probably more than he needed right now. But the introduction of generators, wires, circuits and how electricity reaches our home was great. The story format, starting with turning on a light switch, kept him interested.

When I first opened the book, I thought it would be too young for my nine year old. To my surprise, it caught our attention and explained the puzzling mystery of electricity and currents in such a way that we both understood how it works. Reading this turned on the light of comprehension. I highly recommend this book to explain the process.

Someone calls this an "odd combination," why, what child isn't fascinated by toilets? The book offers excellent, non-technical explanations for kids with enough detail to keep things interesting. For example, the telephone section (15 pages) mentions sound waves, diaphragms, and radio waves; the television section concisely explains the mixing of color light waves, as well as the transmitter, the antenna, and cable TV, and the section on toilets not only contains a sly reference to Virginia Woolf's "Flush," but explains the basic mechanics of the handle, the float, the rubber stopper, the septic tank, and the plunger (when things get stuck). A nice combination of whimsy and fact, this is an excellent book for the young scientist and the merely curious. Adults may learn from it as well. With 47 pages, simple (but not "amateurish") illustrations, and a one-page index!

This book gives an easy-to-understand explanation of how telephones, televisions, and toliets work. The book is written for children, but adults can benefit from reading this book as well (I often understand a subject better by reading a "children's" book on the subject). The book contains some cartoonish illustrations that make the explantions less dry and there are also several diagrams that make the technical knowledge much easier to understand. The three subjects in the book not only all start with the letter "t", but they also all function in a cyclical fashion. This is a great science book for young kids and is sure to spark some sort of interest into technology in a youngster's mind.

...and a good refresher course for theater educators or others who use the arts in the classroom. The games are organized into 12 units with titles such as "Trust" and "Reality," that guide your search for the right exercise, although I have found that randomly leafing through the pages proves equally as effective. The author places no age restrictions on the games, but most will work easily for students K-6, and many can be expanded or modified for older students. The quotations section in Unit 12 is especially inspirational and provacative. Schotz's style and attention to detail will reassure beginners.

Being a drama director with young adults, I am constantly in search of new ideas and concepts to continue to stretch their imaginations. I just received this today from Amazon.com and am extemely pleased at what a gem this one is. There are new ideas from cover to cover that I have not come across yet in my library of theater books. I am anxious to share most of these ideas with the kids I work with. Many of the "games and beyond" are excellent tools in challenging the creative process within actors of ALL ages and really allow them to go many steps further in their self-awareness as a performer. Another must have!

Vanishing Rooms is an intensely emotional novel. It gives equal voices to three characters: Jesse, a young black dancer who loses his troubled boyfriend Metro; Ruella, a female black dancer who is enamoured with Jesse; and Lonny, a white teenager who prefers the streets and feels he must prove himself to his tough friends. At the centre of the story is the loss of Metro and how it affects all three characters. The death is described flatly, like a piece of impersonal news. This is a contrast to Jesse's deep feelings for him that he describes as akin to his passion for dancing. More than the injustice of this murder, the novel continues on to describe the horrible injustices made toward people who are gay and black as they are forced to be marginal groups of American society. It describes the troubling relationship not only felt in an interracial relationship but also the sad imbalances felt by many gay couples whose definition of monogamy tragically varies. However, the book's attitude toward the varieties of gay life is ambivalent. At one point, Jesse finds himself wandering through a large sex club being led by an older black man who is trying to seduce him. The meaning it has for Jesse is ambivalent. There are wonderful passages describing the scene in a way that is almost hallucinatory. The novel is filled with such morally ambiguous dilemmas such as the way in which Ruella's brother, a convict, arranges special retribution for Metro's death. Ruella's friendship with Jesse is mysterious and their dependency on each other turns out to be for selfish reasons rather than genuine friendship. The delicate relationships are poignantly explored and the ending is characteristic of the character's personalities with their beautifully rendered drama.

Melvin Dixon was a brilliant black gay man (and Brown University alumnus). Unfortunately his life was cut short by the tragedy of AIDS. In his honor, however, every black gay man should buy this book and read it cover to cover. In this tale, the protagonist goes through a surreal journey in which he finds himself in love with other black men, sexually, spiritually, and politically. When originally released, the critics mocked him by saying, "What do you get when you mix Truman Capote with James Baldwin?" However, this is not an imitation or duplication of other gay authors. This is a black gay masterpiece and if you are truly fierce, you will order it! SNAP!

Not many artists can truly have been said to have changed history -- but Chesley Bonestell did. His luminous, imaginative, yet utterly realistic paintings helped convince millions of post-WWII Americans that space travel was more than an fantasy -- it could happen in their lifetime if they wanted to do it badly enough. It's unlikely that this turnaround in public opinion to support the space program, beginning in the late 1940s, could have happened without Bonestell's inspirational artwork appearing in hundreds of magazines, books, movies and on TV. With Schuetz' book in hand, anyone with access to a decent University or City library can easily locate the original printings of Bonestell's illustrations and see for themselves how and where the Space Age was born. This is easily the best book on Chesley Bonestell and comes highly recommended!

I am a space art book collector and have alway loved the work of Chesley Bonestell. It is hard to find his work since it is scattered over at least 40 years of books and magazines. Mr Schuetz's labor of love allows access to this hidden work. It is well organized and has well thought-out indices. The annotations for many of the entries are very helpful, consisting of relevant quotes and /or comments that put the entry in context. The addition of the biographical material by Ron Miller is invaluable. If you are interested in learning more about one of the great modern American artists, pick this up!

This is an indispensable book for anyone interested not only in the space art of Chesley Bonestell--the acknowledged father of modern astronomical art--but in the history of astronautics and American illustration. More than a simple catalog of magazines and books, it is enlivened by the author's commentary and annotations, as well as by a lengthy biography and detailed chronology of Bonestell's life. Three indexes make navigating the book a breeze. Every serious Bonestell collector--whether beginner or veteran--needs this handsomely produced volume. A bargain at any price

Oh, how these reviews have evoked emotion in people...talk about religion and the afterlife and people just can't deal with each other. Many are afraid to face their imminent deaths.

I gave this book 4 stars because it doesn't matter whether or not it's true. What Ms Eadie describes is a heaven where people do nice things for others, and love is unconditional. They have learned the principles of life: faith, hope, altruism, patience...and LOVE...things most people in our world have yet to learn. If this is indeed, as Ms Eadie states in her book, why we have come down to earth, then it is obvious by our world's problems that the education is much needed.

Whether or not it is true is irrelevant. I am an educated woman, not a religious zealot but not a close-minded skeptic either. I read the book with open eyes, and was entranced by her images of a perfect heaven. This book brought peace to a woman terrified of death; now my visions of a cold grave are replaced with a heaven full of singing flowers, perfect buildings and unconditional love. If the only thing that awaits me is indeed a cold grave, will it have hurt me that I lived my life with a beautiful vision of the afterlife?

Will I have lived in vain if I learned from this book to love others unconditionally, to give of myself, of patience and faith that my purpose will be fulfilled?

Judge for yourself how you will view heaven, but for God's sake don't attack a woman for her views.

When I first read Embraced by the Light, I had taken it out of the library. I had not experienced having anyone close to me die, nor had I ever had such an experience as a near-death experience. What led me to the library was a broken heart, and the separation from a person I thought was my soul mate. Prior to that, I had been slowly rebuilding my life after being sick with a debilitating disease that forced me to put my life on hold. As a result I was looking for answers. That's when I found the comfort of Embraced by the Light.

After asking the question, time and again, of why I'm here, what's the use, and is there anything better after this, Betty J. Eadie showed me a different prespective.

I had started reading and studying about near-death expereinces, but Embraced by the Light was the most descriptive account I had ever read. I read that book three times before I had to return it to the library. After that, I couldn't be without it, and bought my own copy. Since then, I've read it three or four more times, and have also given a copy to a dear friend, who is sick like I was.

Embraced by the Light is a vivid and descriptive account of dying, that is told in a gentle, yet simple way. Betty J. Eadie talks of her experience with such frankness and simplicity, yet with such awe and excitement, and one finds it hard to not open the heart and mind to her story and the message she tries to deliver in it.

If you have lost someone close to you, or have dealt with the stumbling blocks of life so much so that you're asking the same questions I did, get this book. It may be the most comforting thing you can do for youself.

I have read Betty's book and it changed my life. I approached this book from a totally atheistic point of view. Before that I had read "saved by the light" by Dannion Brinkly and that book perked my interest in the subject but I was very skeptical. But after reading 4 more books on the near death experience by doctors, researchers, nurses, and the experiencers them selves, I am totally convinced that this is a true phenomena. Those Christians who want to criticize Betty. Are following the Bible too strictly. They are no different than the Pharisees. Or the other Jews who said Jesus was not the messiah. You must keep an open mind and not fear new and different things. You must look into your heart for the truth. You can use material books like the Bible as a guide but only you can know god. Is Betty or the other experiencers any different than the Christians of old who had mystical experiences. Why can't one have these kinds of experiences now? And if god is ready to reveal a new truth to us how will we recognize it if we are closed to everything that is different than our past knowledge. You must have an open mind as well as a skeptical one. Stop blindly following the text of the bible or any book, it's not like you really fully understand it's meaning anyway. I have discovered that my lack of an open mind has been my biggest blockage to the truth. Fear is the enemy, love is our savior. That's all there is to it. Anyway, I Highly recommend the book. END

Melvyn Bragg's On Giants' Shoulders: Great Scientists And Their Discovers From Archimedes To DNA explores the twelve greatest minds in the history of science and ranges from the foundation of hydrostatics in the third Century B.C. to the discovery of the human DNA structure and gene mapping of our present day. This outstanding science history is superbly written, splendidly presented, totally reader friendly, and ideal for both the science history student and the non-specialist general reader with an interest in knowing more about the science and scientists who have made modern life possible.

As a non-scientist, I especially appreciate this book which "focuses on twelve scientists who, in the last two thousand five hundred years, changed the world as we perceive it and as we live in it. From Archimedes in Ancient Greece to Francis Crick and James Watson in mid-twentieth century England, these landmark minds, their lives, their struggles, their colleagues and rivals are explored and unravelled by some of today's leading scientists. In combination, their stories and discoveries constitute a single guide to the history of science." We are indeed provided with a wealth of information about both their "stories" and their "discoveries." I especially enjoyed the chapters on Newton, Darwin, Freud, and Einstein but found all of the other commentaries well worth reading, also. The history of science is, in essence, a history of discovery, and the most important discoveries are of ideas. In this invaluable volume, Bragg makes understandable what has been until now (for this non-scientist, at least) a "marvellous enterprise" of human experience and intellectual achievement otherwise inaccessible.

On Giants' Shoulders is a tribute to twelve scientists who, in the last two thousand five hundred years, changed the world both as we perceive it and as we live in it. Their minds, their lives, their struggles, their colleagues and rivals are explored and unravelled by some of today's leading scientists. Taken together, their stories and discoveries constitute a guide to the history of science.

A bestseller in England, this book combines engaging portraits of these figures with accessible discussions of their most important discoveries. Those profiled are Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Faraday, Darwin, Poincaré, Freud, Curie, Einstein, Francis Crick and James Watson. Their stories are enhanced by insights provided by interviews with some of today's leading scientists, including Paul Davies, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, John Gribbin, Sir Roger Penrose, Sir Martin Rees and Oliver Sacks.

Based on interviews broadcast over British radio, this book differs from the radio series in the ampler amount of material contained, as it was possible to include more material from the original transcripts, which had been mercilessly pruned for the thirty-minute radio programmes.

Melvyn Bragg is an acclaimed journalist and the host of the popular BBC Radio 4 programme Start the Week. He is also the author of seventeen novels and five works of non-fiction, including biographies of Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier.

Whew. Those other reviewers must have read a different book, or they're all on acid. One of them even used "The Immigrants" to compare Fast to F. Scott Fitzgerald! The authors who come to my mind are Edna Ferber and James Michener, who were both more adept than Fast at using the trivial genre of "family saga" as the basis for a good adventure story. "The Immigrants" is a skin-deep, boring travelogue of events in the lives of a dull selection of character stereotypes. The cliches are thick and fast. I could hardly hold the book up. All I can think is that the often fascinating Fast was showing off his famous eclecticism by demonstrating that he could write trash with the worst of them.

Not the most fabulous writing around, and definitely put-downable, The Immigrants is not for those who aren't already in love with San Francisco. If you are one who would take out your old love letters just to reminisce about days that were great and awful at the same time, you might enjoy this book. The story isn't enthralling in any way, but the backdrop...
He does justice to the growth and plunder of the best city on earth

Well, I must say that this is one hell of a novel. I think Howard Fast is much more better than other well-known authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald or J.R.R Tolken. A very well done. This is a must read. Later! :)