This is a wonderful review of U.S. Tanker life for those who were there. It's also written in a straight forward style that lets anyone experience the thrill of exploring the Antarctic region with a nice balance of anecdotal stories about shore leave in exotic places, shipboard politics and peculiarities of naval leadership. The author, a senior petty officer in charge of the ship's personnel records, was in a unique position to understand the subtile relationships that existed among the ship's officers and men. I know about this because I was there. What a memorable time!

This book represents a real part of my life and I found it to be extremely interesting. To think that there are only about 3000 people that have done what was done during that trip, makes everyone that was there "somebody special". I feel that it is a book that just about everyone can enjoy. It is a story of real people during real things!! World War II had just ended and this was really the beginning of our Peace time Navy and their activities. My thanks to the Author for helping me to re-live such fond memories!!

In Search of Susanna is a remarkable transgeneric experiment in life writing, a densely textured "word quilt" in Bunkers' words, testifying to the author's passionate determination not only to reclaim her family past but to affirm a vital future for the female descendants who look back to Susanna and discover themselves." --William L. Andrews, University of North Carolina.

"In Search of Susanna is a lovely weaving together of threads from the ancestral past to tell a story of the present and future. The Susanna sought in this book--and beautifully evoked--is not only Suzanne Bunkers' great-great-grandmother but the author and her daughter as well. No one restores to us the lives of women across generations as gracefully and as movingly as Suzanne Bunkers."--James Olney, Editor, Southern Review

Kapr's book is the result of his life's research on Gutenberg and a summary of all that was known on the subject by the late 20th century. Some readers might find the book slightly dry and scholarly, but it gives all the familiar and obscure, bizarre and quirky tales about the inventor of printing, and it patiently distinguishes which parts of the legend are speculative and apocryphal from those that deserve to be considered historical fact. Kapr's narrative paints a vivid picture of fifteenth-century southwestern Germany, its social structure and politics and the conditions that set the stage for Gutenberg's achievment. We see Gutenberg's childhood as the son of a wealthy businessman and wine producer and how this could have given him the ideas he later put into practice in his inventions. One of the more interesting and illustrative stories is Gutenberg's invention of metal stamping to manufacture mirrors for the pilgrims at Aachen, a brilliant piece of imaginative work that was blunted by his miscalculation by a year of the date of the Aachen pilgrimmage. Throughout the book we see repeated instances of Gutenberg's restless inventive powers and his benighted (or astonishingly unlucky) career as a businessperson. In the end, Kapr shows how Gutenberg fell afoul of the Pope and was driven out of his home town by the Pope's allies and left to die in obscurity. In addition, the book shows to a small degree the contribution of Peter Schoeffer to the invention and explains why the world's first printing firm was Fust und Schoeffer rather than Gutenberg und Gesellschaft. As a reader with a personal interest in printing and typography and an amateur historian's thirst for more fine details to round out my knowledge of the early Renaissance, I found this book to be unputdownable.

It gives printers a sense of pride in there fast paced sometimes unappreciated work. It helps people realize that it was a printer who single handedly raised mankind out of the dark ages.

For those interested in catching a glimpse of what John Wesley wanted his Methodists to believe, this is a good place to start. Most of these 50 sermons were included in his Works (an official collection of his writings put together by Wesley himself), and they were intended to help guide those in his movement in understanding the basic theological ideas that he considered important. This anthology adds to the official selections a few selected by Outler from among Wesley's uncompiled sermons. These also give us an interesting look into Wesley's heart and mind.

One of the greatest strengths of this book is that each sermon is preceded by an excellent introduction. This sets the sermon in context and provides a clearer point from which to begin trying to understand what Wesley is saying. This is an excellent collection compiled by superb editors.

John Wesley was the founder of Methodism, and this is a "best of" collection of fifty of his sermons, organized chronologically so that you can follow the development of his thought from 1730 to 1790. The sermons are long and dense but carefully crafted, and the theology is powerful and nuanced. Many of the sermons deal masterfully with what I think is one of the toughest but most important juggling acts in Christian theology: maintaining both (a) that our salvation comes entirely through the overflowing grace of God and is in no way merited or achieved and (b) that it is vitally important that we do good, partake of the sacraments, read scripture, pray, and all that good stuff. Other sermon topics include religious bigotry, religious zeal, the use of money, the repentance of believers, and the omnipresence of God. If you're interested in Christian theology and won't be too put off by Wesley's dry, dense writing style, I highly recommend this book.

I totally agree with the previous comment. Some one should reprint it! I want to give it as a gift to everyone.

With its simple laguange, the story of a man, a musician is presented beautifully, because this man had a magnificent heart, loved this world, saw this world, and lived up to his ideal and principles. It also gives insight into life: that truly happiness and joy can only be found through serving humanity. If you have doubts in it, if you think money and success are the sources, then you should give yourself a little challenge by this book.

In Casals' stories, his mother impressed me most - I think any woman who plan to have children should read it and ask herself if she is qualified to be a mother. The heaviness of being a mother has not being realized by many young women, and I really think that accounts for some of the chaos and crimes in the world.

I was also constantly deeply moved by Casals' love of his Catalonia. I have heard of this beautiful people before, still I am deeply touched by a man's love of his root, of his culture. It is just so consitent with his being a great lover of humanity, a great artist! I wish everyone understood his own root and culture and love it no matter what turmoil his own country is being through.

So many to say because this book provokes one thinking deeply about the history of this century, about everything essential to life. I am also especially grateful to Albert Kahn to carry out this project, and tell the story in such a wonderful way.

May everyone read it and think how to live his life seriously. This is a book of a living example !

This is a truly beautiful book. Over the years I have given numerous copies as gifts and pick up used copies whenever I encounter them for that purpose. Not a year has gone by in the past twenty-four in which I have not found myself drawn back to this stirring and inspiring work. Within these reflections the great cellist muses over his long, brilliant career and offers the reader a unique view of the first seventy years of this century seen through the eyes of a humanist/humanitarian artist. Casals had a lofty set of artistic principles and an almost sacerdotal attitude toward the role of the artist in society. His insights into the personalities and work of the musical greats of the late nineteenth-early twentieth century are personal and profoundly enlightening. It is scandalous that this book is out of print! If our music schools and institutions training artists were holistic in their approach, this book would be required reading for every aspiring artist. Within its pages can be found his much quoted reflection on the dignity and importance of the teacher as well as a very moving anecdote about his first encounter with ethnic prejudice when he auditioned for the conservatory in Prague. The monumental dignity with which he handled that situation as a young boy is astounding. This is one of my very favorite books.

This book accomplishes a rare feat--appealing to those who would use it as a teaching guide but also so readable that the average reader will find it fascinating and invaluable. It is packed with illustrations as well as solid advice and history--from ancient funeral practices to today's arguments on assisted suicide. In between is every conceivable question and answer you could want on the subject of dying and death.

I will be using The Last Dance for the third year in a course I teach on Death and Dying in Western Culture. This text does a marvelous job of addressing the socio-cultural aspects of death in America and the world. The chapter on suicide is both helpful and haunting. There are so many excellent illustrations and photographs in this book that it really comes alive for the students. It is clear that the authors are very familiar with their subject matter, and that they care very much about those who read this book. I cannot imagine a better general text on the subject of death and dying.

This book consists of a comprehensive collection of scholerly studies of the Lebanese diaspora over time. It includes socialogical, political,and personal studies of a dirverse group of people and the differant coping skills and strategies that come into play (likely) for any people. In so far as that is the case the book should have broad appeal to any people interested in studies of diaspora. The studies are particularly good because there are comprehensive records for that group and it is fairly recent in history and ongoing. Further, the Lebanese have settled in every continent and under such a vast set of circumstances that this study is of great value from a comparative point of view. In a time when population genetics has become a growing field and with it questions of cultural diffusion are more pressing this study can add insight into such issues that arise in that field of study. Besides the scholerly importance of this book many of papers are of a compelling human interest. It is not just a study of one people, but owing to the great cultural, religious and ethnic diversity of the Lebanese and the wide and varied circumstanve of their migrations this book must touch the hearts of all peoples. Their entry into many countries that were only seeking agricultural laborors and for which their material success provoked laws to ban them and later following their success in many countries by use of the label "asiatic" to prevent them from entry at some point into much of North and South America, and at some point even the United States these facts are things that many of us must be familier, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Italians, Blacks and so on. The spirit to persevere comes over also as a triumphant one and for that reason this book is of value to us all. I recommend it to all and at the very least to schools and libraries. I bought the book for about ... but presently the book does not appear available anymore or at a used price much
higher then the original price. I hope that the publishers will remedy this problem.

Fantatatic book Very good info on the global facts

this book is filled with personal correspondence between a pennsylvania farmer and england in the first years of America. A wonderful journey thru time . Filled with details of life and the area and the wonders of america . Written in the words and style of a lost time . From the way he writes about his wifes daily chores to the hardship tragedy and beauty of his new home you can not but feel you are truly getting letters from a friend . fabulous read

These original essay length letters composed by an intelligent and imaginative immigrant offer us a fascinating glimpse into life in early America. The letters chronicle his travels across the thirteen colonies in the years leading up to the revolution. With pathos and humour he gives us an intimate look at family life in the whaling ports of Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard. We visit with John Bertram, the celebrated botanist on his Pennsylvania farm. We are escorted through the middle colonies to Charelston for a first hand look at the opulent lifestyle of the planters. Our guide points out the absurdities he confronts while chronicling the beauty and diversity of the natural landscape. This book provides a wonderful and historic experience.

This is an exciting, highly readable and important book about creation, art, Nazi art dealings, and complicated relationships. I loved reading this, its explorations of art and artists, and the mystery of the slashing of a famous painting in Amsterdam. The book takes you to South Africa and the enormous problem of apartheid in people's lives, and through fascinating places in Europe. The ending is a very surprising and gratifying close to the story. I couldn't stop reading it, page after page until the dramatic end.

This book is a gratifying revelation of the aesthetic sensibilities of a psychiatrist. Rothenberg has turned his analytic insights into fiction that brings to life the power of paintings--their form and color--on the visual and emotional responses of the characters, each of whom reacts in ways that reflect his and her emotional conflicts and attempts at resolutions. The plot is developed much as is a mystery or detective story. It lures the reader on to discover the evolution of the interactions among the characters and their relations to the life of three paintings. These complex interactions revolve around the mystery and partial destruction and revival of two of the three paintings. Rothenberg's articulation of the feelings, thoughts, fantasies and intimate interrelations, physical as well as imagined, among the characters shows how his expertise as a psychiatrist has given substance to his descriptions of the characters, but just as important is the exemplifaction of his knowledge of the techniques of painting and his talents as a novelist. I found it difficult to put the book down each time I was interrupted by various distractions.

This book is about a boy and his uncle. The boy really likes his uncle. His uncle owns a store. The boy likes a bear at the store. One day after a visit to Uncle Tim's house he found out that Uncle Tim had Aids. When the boy went to Uncle Tim's house, one of his friends had to walk him to the bathroom. Uncle Tim died. The boy was really upset. The boy got a lot of the stuff from the store and that helped him to remember Uncle Tim. I feel sad that Uncle Tim died. There should be a cure for Aids.

This book offers a realistic, kind explanation of terminal illness in a manner that children over age 4.5 can understand. It deals with a death from AIDS. Don't let this dissuade you, we used it to explain terminal cancer. It also addresses being angry as part of the grief process.