...And I know you well, because I am a Black Republican - far to the Right - libertarian even. This book is not the typical liberal drivel from a neck bone-eatin' preacher. This is a good treatise on recent Black history, and an expose' on the justice system - in my view, the last vestige of true racism.

While I had to hold my nose in reading the very last chapter of the book (where he goes liberal), I could not refute the notion that that I was reading the words of a "wise old man." Such an opportunity should not be ignored, regardless of your race or political persuasion. If you can read this extremely pleasurable book, and still not at least understand the pov of the other side, then you truly don't have a heart.

It is enjoyable reading, unoffensive to all, and a good lesson on life in America from one of its premier insiders. Further, it advances the cause of racial harmony.

BUY THIS BOOK. You won't regret it.

I FOUND THIS BOOK VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN. MR. COCHRAN LET US SEE THROUGH THIS BOOK THAT HE IS NOT JUST A BIG MONEY LAWYER FOR THE STARS, BUT A TRUE CHAMPION FOR JUSTICE FOR THE POOR AND OPPRESSED. THROUGH HIS MANY CIVIL SUITS AGAINST CORRUPT COPS AND BIG CORPORATIONS HE HAS CREATED A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL OF US.

I read this book in a short period of time, due the fact that it was so interesting, and more importantly, I was so saddened by the REAL justice system in the United States. I was amazed and disgraced that racial injustices such as those described in this book have remained steady as if it were still the 1950s and 60s. I hope and pray that some day we as a people indeed "WILL OVERCOME."

I applaud Mr. Cochran for standing up for what is right for African Americans in the face of his many critics. I say "keep on keeping on, Johnnie." From the infamous Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech," "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back..." This quote may help those who are victims of racial discrimination and is a quote I refer to when times are tough.

This book has only solidified my desire to enter into the field of Law. I can only hope that I make half the progress towards achieving equality and leveling the scales of justice for my people as Mr. Cochran has.

I am a student pilot working on my private pilot's license and have been wrestling with my own fears and anxiety while flying solo. A friend got me this book for Christmas, and the stories have been so riveting and inspirational - now I can't wait to go flying again! What sets this book apart is the quality of the writing and the storytelling - each of the authors/writers in this compilation is skilled not only in flying but with the written word! Excellent, I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!

I have been absolutely riveted by this anthology and I'm going to be sad when it's over. I am a private pilot and the passages got my heart pounding reading the exploits in here, ranging from Berryl Markhams 21 and 1/2 hour flight from the UK to North America, the teen-age brothers going over Guadalupe Pass in New Mexico (11,600 feet in a Piper Cub!), an Air Force Forward Air Controller marking bombing sites in the Vietnam jungle under heavy fire, or a Navy pilot doing night carrier landing qualifications on the eve of the Gulf War.

I second the reviewer above that I will be next getting Ernest Gann's "Fate is the Hunter" real soon: the description of an icing encounter in the early post-war days of airline transport was terrifying. I've not had the intensity of experience of these writers, but I can really appreciate it.

The quality of the writing is top-notch, so that non-aviators will be able to appreciate these experiences. I would hasten to add that 99.9% of aviation does not have this level of intensity.

This a fabulous anthology.

This book is awesome if you want to get a taste of everything that great aviation writing has to offer. There are stories from almost every top-notch book in aviation and you'll probably do like I did and buy every book represented in Wild Blue. The stories are hand picked from selected novels and they will all have you glued to the book, this is one of those books that you just can't bring yourself to put down. Check out my other reviews on the books represented in this one...

I read Conversations with my Cat right before going to bed and I loved it!! It is laugh-out-loud funny, and has real meaning to what the guy's cat says. This book really helped me to understand cats. I know that not everything in this book is true, but there are many facts, such as the "Tail" language, and what the cat wants to eat (not cat food).

Conversations with my Cat is about a writer who's cat begins to talk. The cat, "The Bomber," tells his "host" all about being a cat, how cats think (they don't, they just have the Big Urge), and even some cat fairy tales! Having a talking cat in his house changes the man's life. His relationships with his cat and his girlfriend change forever. Read the book to findout about all this and more!

I gave Conversations with my Cat five stars because it's a funny page tunner that gives you a new way to looking at cats and life. I highly reccomend this book for you if you like animals, especially cats.

I liked this book okay but I didn't find it as funny as it was supposed to be. I read it ages ago but I still don't get the end. I know I'm slow, but what's that supposed to mean? The last sentence, "Oh, he's just a big jerk anyway." That *is* Catfish who said that,right? What's that supposed to mean? Mail me if you can tell me something useful!

I picked up this book to read on Sunday morning with my 2 cats sitting next to me. This is the first book that I have read where I was laughing out loud and tears running down my face. David Fisher did a remarkable job writting this book and anyone who is a cat lover should read it. Thank you for making my day!!

Benedict's Dharma is a rare find--a book on spirituality that is lovingly burnished by practice. Benedict's Rule was above all a work for practical application; what few understand is how well the Rule translates into Eastern practice.

Rarely have I enjoyed a book as thoroughly as this one; I regretted reaching its final page, for the journey it provided was such a delight. Yet the greater truth is that this book is meant to be a passageway, pointing the way to greater spiritual understanding and greater self-knowledge. The truths it uncovers are applicable to anyone who is serious about leading an authentic spiritual life.

This book is an exceptional treasure, offering significant and practical insights on every page.

Benedict's Dharma is a rare find--a book on spirituality that is lovingly burnished by practice. Benedict's Rule was above all a work for practical application; what few understand is how well the Rule translates into Eastern practice. Rarely have I enjoyed a book as thoroughly as this one; I regretted reaching its final page, for the journey it provided was such a delight. Yet the greater truth is that this book is meant to be a passageway, pointing the way to greater spiritual understanding and greater self-knowledge. The truths it uncovers are applicable to anyone who is serious about leading an authentic spiritual life. This book is an exceptional treasure, offering significant and practical insights on every page.

"There is fire in the Rule of Saint Benedict" (p. 121) David Steindl-Rast, OSB, writes in the Afterward to this collection of Buddhist reflections on that Rule. Written in the sixth century, Saint Benedict's Rule is a set of guidelines governing Christian monastic life. This 137-page book is the result of a two-week "Encounter" between Buddhists and Christians, in which Norman Fischer, Joseph Goldstein, Judith Simmer-Brown, and Yifa were participants. Their "fresh take" (p. xiv) on Saint Benedict's Rule is followed by a new, 80-page translation of that Rule by Patrick Henry, OSB.

The Rule was written to practice "Christ's way." Christ said, "Whoever perseveres to the very end will be saved" (p. 97). For Buddhists, Benedict's Rule is about "walking the path to spiritual awakening" (p. 105). That is, both the Rule and Buddhist dharma offer "general guidelines for an inner journey" (p. 1). Judith Simmer-Brown notes that the Rule offers us insight into living a contemplative life amidst the demands of everyday life, or "anyplace you find yourself" (p. 3). From a Buddhist perspective, Benedict's Rule is about learning to live life "so it gets into your bones, under your skin" (p. 34), and about living with "a love of true life and a longing for days of real fulfillment" (p. 36), for this was "Christ's way."

It is evident from this book that "the monastery wall is always permeable" (p. 81). Benedictine monasticism is designed to lead one to spiritual riches on the path of humility (p. 95). It is possible, we're told, to practice a contemplative life outside the monastery walls. "The world is vast and wide," Norman Fischer writes. "Why put on your robe and go to the meditation hall when the bell rings?" (p. 89). Daily practice is "the common ground" for monastics of East and West (p. 124), and in his excellent Afterward, David Steindl-Rast, OSB, concludes that "lay practitioners are running away with the monastic ball" (p. 126). "Step out into the dark night," he writes, "raise your eyes to the starry sky, and you will experience what contemplation was before it had a name" (p. 126).

We find Buddhists and Christians travelling the same "ladders and bridges" in this harmonious book. Buddhist or Christian, this book will appeal to to that monk or nun cloistered in each of us, who is interested in "a life spent seeking the truth."

G. Merritt

I wasn't sure what to expect with this anthology, but I found myself enthralled from beginning to end. Nnedi Okorafor's "Crossroads", Seth Lindberg's "Atropos", and James Dorr's "Madness" were special delights.

A great mix of chilling, horrifying, and otherwise entertaining stories.

This is a great compilation of magic, madness, culture and creativity. All of the stories were pretty satisfying, some of them terrifying! There are some writers here that are going to go places. Watch for the authors of the two longest pieces, Nnedi Okorafor (her story is called Crossroads) and James S. Dorr (he wrote a story called Madness).

Me gustaría saber dónde puedo conseguir libros del autor, tales como "The Flights of Icarus" o "Views". Gracias, y espero que se reimpriman pronto. Un saludo

This book is a must. If you only like music or if you love the covers more than the music inside or if you are learning to design covers...Well, this book has it all. The covers are show by elements in commom, so you can judge by yourself about the criativity of the designers. Roger Deam is a famous artist well know by his covers and stages for the rock group Yes. But this does not interfere with the overall result. The guys did a fantastic job compiling all the covers in this book. There are rock covers, jazz covers, latim, dance, disco, and so on. All possible covers are there. Don't hesitate. Buy it now!

Alex Sab

While in the middle of some very stressful times, I was searching for some humor to lighten my days. Oh, how I found it with this book!! The satire and "political correctness" in this book are absolutely hilarious. If you don't have a sense of humor or cannot be cynical, don't read it. If you love a funny twist on everyday things or can laugh at cynacism, get a copy fast! Be forewarned, however, it's hard to put down and short enough to read in one or two sittings. Make the time to read it, you won't be disappointed.

To begin with, I am a middle school teacher and I love fairy tales. When I bought the book, I was just going to use it for a few laughs. However, I have used it in my classroom as an example for my students to see society has taken the our legal system just made a mess with it. The stories are humorous. My favorite was the one about Hansel and Gretel. Several of my friends have recently purchased the book and they absolutely love it. So, if you are a lover of fairy tales and you want a little twist. I recommend that you purchase this book. It has provided me with hours of enjoyment.

This is a really wonderful book. I bought this book strictly because I was fascinated by the work of one of the authors, Dr James Wandersee, even though biology is not my cup of tea. By chance, I "strayed" into his web-site, aptly called The 15 Degree Laboratory, while surfing the internet one day. (If you are curious to find out more, go to his web-site.) When I learnt, also by chance, that he had co-authored a book, I ordered it immediately from Amazon.com. Wow! What a great book!

As a strategic explorer of knowledge and a very active practitioner in visual tools, I am always looking for other and better ways (or learning tools to be more precise) to build understanding, simplify complexity, map ideas and construct knowledge.

Out of the book's table of contents, the following chapters (out of ten) attracted me the most at first glance:

Chapter 1: overview of knowledge mapping; Chapter 5: meaningful and mindful learning; Chapter 7: using concept !circle diagramming as a knowledge mapping tool; Chapter 8: using concept mapping as a knowledge mapping tool; (the rest pertains to biology stuff)

and I must say, I have learnt a lot from the authors.

The above first two chapters give an excellent foundation to the book, and also examine the issue of meaning-making and meaning-building (the starting point of learning and understanding anything) from multiple perspectives. Kudos to the authors!

The authors have very masterfully spin together an excellent exposition on knowledge mapping, with the proposition and application of two powerful visual tools, among many others in the book. I have deliberately picked these two tools because of my own personal and professional interests.

One is concept circle diagramming, which to me is a terrific enhancement of the innocuous Venn Diagram (or its predecessor, the Euler Circle, if you are familiar with mathematics).

The other is concept mapping, origi!nally made famous by Dr Joseph Novak, who wrote two excellent books on it - 'Learning How to Learn' and 'Learning, Creating & Using Knowledge.'

Surprisingly, as academics, the authors write pretty well - crisp, succinct, and most of all, not boring.

Although the authors have expounded them in the context of biology i.e. in the educational setting, I personally feel that the visual tools as propounded are very relevant to the corporate world. This is because, in understanding and simplifying complexity in a knowledge-based economy, the visual tools can serve as a powerful support system for the mind, create an arena in which we can make our knowledge explicit, reflect on its organisation and polish its edges. They are also useful for building and assessing our content and cognitive skills.

I wish I have learnt these tools while I was in school or college. Learning would have been fun! And, life through the years would have been easier.

For some reade!rs who think mind-mapping as created by Tony Buzan is great stuff, wait till you read this book and use the tools. If you are already familiar with mind-mapping, I would strongly recommend you to learn these visual tools, as a valuable supplement of your skill repertoire.

It is my fervent hope that the authors of this book would sit down one day to re-write the book for the corporate world. - without the biology stuff, of course. That would be really great!!!

Kathleen Fisher, Jim Wandersee and David Moody have put together a very important contribution to our knowledge about knowledge in biology. Their book summarizes some of the most significant work of the past 25 years in science education and cognitive science; work that promises substantial improvement in science teaching and learning at all levels, K-16.

Mapping Biology Knowledge, as the name suggests, focuses on the use of graphic organizers and metacognitive tools. The book combines theory, research and practical advice for teachers, curriculum designers, and others who have a commitment to reform in science education. In so doing, the authors direct our attention toward the most important theme of the reform effort....the need to encourage meaningful learning and conceptual understanding.

Among the tools and techniques they recommend are: SemNet software, concept maps and concept circles. The authors provide step-by-step directions for implementing these tools in classrooms, multiple examples of ways they can be useful, and insightful suggestions for teachers, students and others.

For those interested in research on cognition and learning in biology, this book provides some of the essential "tools of the trade." Graduate students and faculty who are looking for advice will find some of the wisest, most thoughtful and generative ideas anywhere. I recommend this book heartily!

I must admit I was skeptical before I started to read this book. I figured a book written by an ex-umpire would be boring. In fact, it was quite interesting and fun to read. If you grew up watching baseball during the late 60's and early 70's you should read this book. There are many entertaining baseball anecdotes about the players from that era. However, at times Mr. Luciano becomes a bit pompous. Especially regarding his feud with Earl Weaver. Overall, it was a diverting and enjoyable baseball book.

Being an umpire myself, I truly enjoyed reading how one mancould turn his job into something he really enjoyed. I saw Ron Lucianoump several times when I was a kid and didn't totally understand his antics on the field. In his book, he details his career as the umpire everyone loved to watch; everyone except Earl Weaver. You will love hearing how he ejected Earl even before the first pitch of the game and how Earl literally "stole" second base. You will enjoy hearing how he played third for one player as he umped the game and how rookies would beg him not to "shoot" them out at firstbase. This book is full of stories from one of the men who helped make baseball America's most entertaining past-time.

This is a great book about umpiring. A lot of it is irreverent, but that is Luciano -- respectful, but humorous. The book is easy to read and broken into sections that make for easy reading a couple pages at a time (ahem, for reading in the family "library"). There is a lot more here than just umpiring. You get the inside scoop on players, managers and some owners. Interesting reading that is a little off the beaten path.

OK, a scholarly work it is not but a fun read it is. The book has excellent photos of UAL aircraft, memorabilia and the employees that made her the premier airline known the world over. UAL has had many first over her 80 some years - first to fly with Stewardesses (now Flight Attendants) first to fly the 727 (Boeing would not have built that aircraft were it not for UAL's order - read the "Billion Dollar Gamble" to learn more about the 727), and UAL was the launch customer for the B777. The Age of Flight is a beautiful book with beautiful pictures.

The Age of Flight: A History of America's Pioneering Airline documents the first 75 years of United Airlines in rich detail. Hundreds of illustrations-drawn primarily from the collections of the United Airlines Archives-accompany the authors' insightful text to carry the reader on a journey from the adventurous days of the start-up airmail carriers that formed UAL through the growth and management of the company that became one of the world's largest airlines. All of the better known pioneers and legends are here; Knight, Cuddeback, Lee, Varney, Gorst, Boeing, Vought, Lindbergh, Keys, Rentschler, Patterson, Stimpson, Church, Jeppeson, Hiscock, Kinkella, O'Connor, and Norwood. Due credit is also given to the legions of employees whose work created the dominant transcontinental Main Line and eventual global network based on safety and service. The fold-out of Raymond E. Smith's color illustrations of the fleet from the de Havilland DH-4 to the Boeing 777, a corporate genealogy, thorough indexing, and other features such as a chapter on the future of flight make this book a valuable resource for the student, scholar, and aviation history enthusiast.

John H. Hill
Curator-in-Charge of Aviation
San Francisco Airport Museums

The Age of Flight: A History of America's Pioneering Airline documents the first 75 years of United Airlines in rich detail. Hundreds of illustrations-drawn primarily from the collections of the United Airlines Archives-accompany the authors' insightful text to carry the reader on a journey from the adventurous days of the start-up airmail carriers that formed UAL through the growth and management of the company that became one of the world's largest airlines. All of the better known pioneers and legends are here; Knight, Cuddeback, Lee, Varney, Gorst, Boeing, Vought, Lindbergh, Keys, Rentschler, Patterson, Stimpson, Church, Jeppeson, Hiscock, Kinkella, O'Connor, and Norwood. Due credit is also given to the legions of employees whose work created the dominant transcontinental Main Line and eventual global network based on safety and service. The fold-out of Raymond E. Smith's color illustrations of the fleet from the de Havilland DH-4 to the Boeing 777, a corporate genealogy, thorough indexing, and other features such as a chapter on the future of flight make this book a valuable resource for the student, scholar, and aviation history enthusiast.

John H. Hill
Curator-in-Charge of Aviation
San Francisco Airport Museums