Tim and Pete is a great book. Well written story of the reconciliation of two ex-lovers (gay) who happen upon eachother through less then ideal circumstances. My only advice would be to take the gay-extremists in the book as the fictional constructs they are. (Late in the book, extremists plot the assanination of former president Reagan.) Also, a quote attributed to President Bush, saying Bush was on CNN saying there was a "giggle factor" in the White House regarding AIDS is fiction and, despite a lengthy search, was proved fictional. The book is not centered on extreme characters, however, and is quite entertaining.

...which is too bad. This is truly one of my favorite novels, when it first appeared in the early 90s. I was sad that it was out of print, until recently. But now that I have a new copy, I will be able to share this story with friends again. I loved the pace at which Tim and Pete made their adventures though Orange County and LA; it reminded me of my own un-real road trips. And much like Brett Easton Ellis' Glamorama, it is hard to fathom a group of gay artists-slash-terrorists; yet, their existence in an anti-gay society is not completely impossible. This book challenged my very safe notion of what it means to be gay--and that is never a bad thing.

I first read this book when I was fifteen, and five years later, I still love to read it all over again. It has never lost its appeal to me. "Tim and Pete" has the best damn dialogue I've read in a long time - it's sarcastic and witty, and you'll feel like you're living the characters' lives in no time. This book is funny and subversive, and has more than enough black humor to make a conservative person have a heart attack. I recommend "Tim and Pete" to anyone who's ever felt out of place or rejected in this world, be it male or female, gay or straight.

This great collection of Ian Fleming's three James Bond thriller novels, From Russia, With Love, Doctor No, and Goldfinger is the best deal anywhere if you're looking for cheap classics. Even though it's not avaliable anymore, ... so if you get an oppurtunity buy it instantly.

From Russia, With Love is about a Soviet conspiracy involving a code machine called the Spektor, a lovely Russian female named Tatiania Romanova, and a professional killer who is affected by the moon. The girl sends for Bond, pledging her love and at the same time luring him into a trap that would seriously damage the Service's image. Great read and the best Cold War thriller out there.

In Doctor No, James Bond is sent to investigate two agents who have disappeared in Jamaica. He soon discovers the clues linking him to Doctor No, a Chinese/German doctor who has an island base in Jamaica, where he disrupts U.S. missile firing. James endures through his toughest physcial test of his career, and some consider Dr. No to be the best 007 novel ever written.

Goldfinger is in my opinion the best 007 novel of all. While investigating a cheat at cards by the name of Auric Goldfinger, James is informed that he is also involved in smuggling Great Britain's gold reserves to India, where the Russians wait for it. As James is captured, he discovers Goldfinger's master plan--to raid Fort Knox itself! With the smartest villian, the toughest henchman, and the most thrilling climax of all the James Bonds, Goldfinger is the by far the best masterpiece ever to come from the desk of Ian Fleming.

This wonderful trilogy is an enthralling epic of the Cold War, and I recommend it to anyone who has either read Ian Fleming before, or is thinking of starting very soon.

This is a great book, and after reading this I watched all the movies again, and they can't even compare. If you enjoy James Bnd you will enoy this, I mean I am only eleven and I couldn't tare my eyes away. I enjoyed the action, suspense, romance, and even the detail, Iam Flemming is truly a master writer, and can only portay James Bond. The movies are nothing comapred to this, this is a must get.

These three books together are, in some ways, the epitome of James Bond. However, I must correct one of the reviews. These books *are* sequential. These books are 5, 6, and 7 in the order that Fleming published them. The 8th was The Spy Who Loved Me and the 9th was Thunderball, the first book in the Blofeld trilogy. Aside from the 10th book, For Your Eyes Only (a collection of short stories), the story picks up in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and ends with You Only Live Twice. These three Blofeld books are available in the James Bond Omnibus, volume 2.

as a collection of recipes this book is among the best there are. As an overview of American coocking however it has some serious drawbacks.the book very much reflects Beards personal taste and omits quite a few American classics (chicken/corn-soup among others). On the other hand many recipes are not strictly American but simply European recipes that became popular in America. They are good - no argument there-but i would hesitate to call them American. Most seriously, Beard completely Ignores the Native American influence on American coocking.He gives plenty of Native American recipes, but it is clear he really doesn't know their background and tends to view them as Mexican.His introduction, short as it is, also ignores the Native American contribution. This being said, there is very much to enjoy in this book.

While reading this James Beard classic, I was amazed at how many recipes truly have become our favorite foods in America. I have been making some recipes for years without even considering that all along, James Beard could have in fact brought them to our awareness. It is equally amazing how many of these recipes made their way over to Africa.

My grandmother purchased one of the first copies and I now have the pleasure of owning it. This truly is a cookbook you will want to read over time. Reading the entire cookbook could be quite daunting were the recipes and notes not so delightful to read!

Each chapter begins with a note from James Beard and continues in a sort of cook's diary style with many recipes on one page. You will find recipes for cocktail food, salads, soups, eggs, cheese, fish, shellfish, poultry, game, beef, veal, lamb, pork, ham, bacon, sauces, vegetables, grains, pasta, beans, lentils, pies, pastries, cakes, cookies, puddings, ice cream, dessert sauces, fruit, bread, sandwiches, pickles, preserves and candy.

If you didn't grow up in America, you will find this cookbook all the more fascinating. You can literally read this cookbook like a novel. I found it fun to sit outside and just start reading it from the beginning, skipping over recipes I didn't find interesting and being amazed at how many recipes I was familiar with and had actually made at some point in my life.

A recipe will often start just so casually, you forget you are reading a cookbook, then suddenly you are reading the instructions and the recipe ingredients are listed on the right or left. This is written in a very personal style and you can truly hear the voice of James Beard in his writing.

If you read a few pages of this book a day, you will find that within a year, you will know so much more about cooking. I also think it is handy to have to look up various aspects of cooking. I can hardly do this book justice by reviewing it, you just have to see it to believe it! I did especially enjoy reading about the 1-2-3-4 cake and finding a recipe for Crullers. I had lost my recipe quite a while back and didn't know where to find another one. You will also enjoy finding many recipes using saffron.

I can almost bet my cooking teacher in high school had this book on her shelf, it does look a bit familiar now that I look at it closely. It is also incredible how much cooking has changed in 20 years, and how much it has stayed the same.

I purchased my first copy of this book when it was first published in 1980. After 20 years, and much use, it has fallen apart and I'm ordering a new one. It is one of the most useful cookbooks in my library of over 100 books on cookery and I turn to it every week for a "new" idea - 20 years later, Mr. Beard's cuisine is ageless.

An indispensible resource for scholars and fans. No other biography so captures the man and his work. On top of that its a damn fine read, and I would recommend it to anyone who seeks to tackle either of Joyce's last two novels.

I was prompted to read this by Tom Stoppard's glowing recommendation of it in "Travesties." Ellman certainly brings the liveliness of James Joyce's life to life, describing everything from his practical jokes to his desparate financial straits -- meticulous to the point of noting the times when Joyce entered the lottery. I'd read the original 1958 edition, and I'm curious how the revised edition would stand against that now-honoured text.

For more Ellman, I highly recommend his collection of essays, "a long the river run."

Richard Ellmann's biography is by far the most comprehensive and readable book on the life of this Irish genius. Ellmann takes us through Joyce's quarrels with his family,church and nation, "the nets," his courtship and family life with Nora, and most importantly, shows the biographical link between Joyce's life and work.This book is a treasure.

I felt the book was well written, but, I have always wondered why some relevant information was left out. I only hope that Mr. Tobin and his editor will contact me. My Grandfather was Captain Myron T. Hess one of the officers Mr. pyle was with that day he was killed. My Grandfather and his 1st Sargeant were responsible for killing the Sniper which took Mr. Pyle's life. I have for years had the literature which substantiates this claim. As a proud Grandson, I have always wished that My Grandfather and his 1st Sargeant were given some text. But I have yet to find it in published books or film.

The author, James Tobin, recounts Ernie Pyle's life from his childhood in Indiana to his 1945 death in the Pacific Theatre. The text notes "Sadness verging on bitterness always colored Ernie Pyle's memories of his early years," and relates that his adult personal life also was basically unhappy. In 1928 while working for the Washington Daily News, Pyle began writing an aviation column that ultimately was carried by all Scripps-Howard newspapers. Foreshadowing his WWII reporting style, Pyle' favorite subjects were the anonymous airmail pilots telling "tales of the pilot's feats of bravery and improvisation."

From 1935 to 1942 he roamed the western hemisphere where he wrote a column on his wanderings for the News and developed into a consummate craftsman of short prose and as Tobin noted "...in the process created "Ernie Pyle." Reflecting what would be his wartime style the author notes, "...he studied unknown people doing extraordinary things." The text relates Pyle's activities as a war correspondence in Tunsia where he shared the dangers and discomforts of the infantrymen at the front, and developed a bond with the American infantryman where his "writing transcended propaganda; it was richer, more heartfelt." At home Pyle's editors were delighted with the rapid growth of his popular column. After Tunisia, he followed the troops in the invasion of Sicily and later into Italy.

In Italy, he completed construction of his mythical hero, the long-suffering G.I. The text notes that the "inescapable force of Pyle's war writings is to establish an unwritten covenant between the soldier at the front and the civilian back home." Tobin also notes "Soldiers could see an image of themselves that they liked in his heroic depiction of the war...The G.I. myth worked for them too." However, as Pyle was becoming the "Number-One Correspondent" he became troubled because he had been "credited with having written the truth...He had told as much of what he saw as people could read without vomiting. It was the part that would make them vomit that bothered him..."

Pyle covered the Normandy landing in June 1944. In contrast to today's instant TV battlefront coverage, Pyle admitted to readers "Indeed it will be some time before we have a really clear picture of what has happened or what is happening at the moment." Pyle followed the infantry into France. The book notes, "The hedgerow country of Normandy was a killing field such as Ernie had never seen, and as the weeks passed, the constant presence of 'too much death' whittled down his will to persist." Once again the G.I.'s affection for him had risen after they saw Pyle force himself to share their dangers, which sometime made him, scream in his sleep. Those with today's anti-French attitude would agree with Pyle when he wrote that in Paris he felt as "though I were living in a whorehouse-not physically but spiritually."

Ernie Pyle returned to the United States in mid-September 1944. After a much needed rest, in January 1945 Pyle left for the Pacific Theatre. Here Pyle was in a different environment. He couldn't relate to the hot food and warm beds aboard Navy ships, the comfortable living conditions of airmen stationed on Pacific islands and the generally pleasant environment on Pacific islands. He wrote, "It was such a contrast to what I'd known for so long in Europe that I felt almost ashamed.... They're...safe and living like kings and don't know it." Even when relaxing with an aunt's grandson, a B-29 pilot who tried to relate the real combat conditions in the Pacific, Ernie just didn't understand the Pacific Theatre.

With the Army's 77th Division, "He went ashore" on a small island north of Okinawa "on the 17th of April 1945, talked with infantrymen during the afternoon and spent the night near the beach in a Japanese ammunition-storage bunker." The next morning he hitched a ride when at ten o'clock the jeep he was riding in came under Japanese machine gun fire. After jumping into a ditch with the jeep's other riders, Pyle raised his head and was killed instantly. Far from home, Ernie Pyle died among his beloved infantrymen.

In closing James Tobin writes "Ernie and his G.I.'s made America look good. The Common Man Triumphant, the warrior-with-a-heart-of-gold-this was the self-image America carried into the post-war era."

While the technology of war reporting has changed greatly since WWII, the author is correct when he observes, "As a practitioner of the craft of journalism, Pyle was perhaps without peer. After him, no war correspondent could pretend to have gotten the real story without having moved extensively among the front-line soldiers who actually fought."

The book ends with a nice touch, an Appendix that contains a potpourri of Pyle's articles.

I first became aware of Ernie Pyle as a young lad when I ran across a dusty old paperback in my grandparents attic. I voraciously devoured each page only to be saddened when I realized he never made it home from the war.

Here is a wonderful tribute to Ernie and his easy going manner mirrored with his elequent style of writing. From the absense of life, back through his lifes struggles, this work is a journey into Ernie's life. It will bring back floods of memories from older readers and give new readers insight into a great journalist who was taken from us in the prime of his career.

Ernie's manner of writing was a joy to read and Tobin has done a superb job in relaying his stories in regards to the common man, and the private soldier.

The story of B. Traven is as fascinating as any of his novels. A resident of Acapulco, Mexico, who wrote in English, he carefully clouded the issue of his real background, so that for many years he was believed to be one Berick Traven Torsvan, from Chicago, IL, and some even believed him to be Ambrose Bierce. It is still not possible to say with certainty who he actually was, but the best available evidence indicates that he was Ret Marut, a revolutionary anarchist who fled from Germany in the wake of the failure of the post-WWI revolution. This supposition at least has the advantage of squaring with the radical-Left political tenor of his novels, the most famous of which is Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

This is one of those books which has become inseparable from its better known movie version--it's probably impossible to read the story without picturing Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston. As anyone whose ever seen the movie (which hopefully means everyone) will know, Dobbs is a down-at-the-heels American looking for work in the Mexican oil fields. He and Curtin, another roustabout, have idle dreams of getting rich quick, but it's not until they join up with the aged gold prospector Howard that they actually head into the Sierra Madre mountain range to find their fortune. It is Howard who enunciates Traven's political message and forecasts the plot of the tale :

[G]old is a very devilish sort of thing, believe me, boys. In the first place, it changes your character entirely. When you have it your soul is no longer the same as it was before. No getting away from that. You may have so much piled up that you can't carry it away; but, bet your blessed paradise, the more you have, the more you want to add, to make it just that much more. Like sitting at roulette. Just one more turn. So it goes on and on and on. You cease to distinguish between right and wrong. You can no longer see clearly what is good and what is bad. You lose your judgment. That's what it is.

Perhaps this too argues for Traven's Germanic origins, for sure enough, they do find gold, and within short order the men are acting like creatures out of the Brothers Grimm or the Ring of the Nibelungen, with predictably horrific and tragic results.

Traven's point here, though grounded in everything from Genesis to Teutonic myth to Marxism, is ridiculously utopian. It is not gold (or materialism generally) that makes men act like animals; filthy lucre is merely one more thing to fight over; but food, land, mates, beliefs, skin color, language, etc., serve equally well to make men lose their judgment. In this sense, the novel is horribly dated, obviously a product of a time before we'd seen just how evil socialism would turn out and the degree to which right and wrong would cease to be distinguishable to the practitioners of the anti-materialist ethos.

On the other hand, the awesome power which Traven confers upon gold, to corrupt the human soul, and the harkening back to ancient myth, somehow serve to give the novel a quality of timelessness. Read simply as a meditation on greed, it's hard to see how Traven's core message could ever be out of date. There's a whole lot of Dobbs in all of us; let's try to avoid his fate, eh?

GRADE : B+

I read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I did so primarily because I was a real Bogart fan way back then. I hadn't seen this particular movie at the time so the book was a whole new adventure for me. And an adventure it was. For years I was convinced that I, too, would eventually go gold mining in Mexico. I would spend hours trying to think about how I would sneak all my gold back into the country. Mind you, I don't believe I missed the point of the story even in my youth. It is a brilliantly told tale of how greed can destroy a man. Sounds simple enough but the beauty of the book lies in our being able to witness the gradual transformation of Fred C. Dobbs from a likeable, down-on-his-luck vagabond to a despicable, paranoid SOB who is obsessed with his gold. It wasn't until years later that I came to appreciate the politics of the book. As a social (not political) commentary it can stand alone. It worked fine for me that way until I had read his Jungle Books and others novels. Traven is an anarchist first and foremost and he articulates his case in all of his books; often in ways that may not seem readily apparent. Looking back at "Treasure" with this perspective, the images of anachism suddenly seem clear. We see three men down on their luck (read that to mean victims of industrialized society-two of the men were just cheated out of their pay after working, indirectly, for an oil company). They form a pact among themselves and go away from society to make their fortune. While away from society all is idyllic as the men work in harmony with each other, obeying the rules that they agreed on for themselves. A crisis arises when one briefly returns to society for supplies. When he returns, he is followed by others who corrupt the idyllic state. Soon after, there are some indications of changes in Dobbs character but the true changes occur when the decision to return to society is made.

Well, I'm no anarchist and you don't have to be either to enjoy this masterpiece. That, by the way, is true about all of Traven's works.

Traven deserves recognition as one of the great social novelists, right next to Stienbeck and Orwell-anyone who wonders why need only to read this, his most well-known work (thanks to the film by John Huston). Traven's story is a simple enough tale of how greed can corrupt men, but his intimate portrait of the social conditions which brings this about is what makes the book special. Set in Mexico between the two World Wars, it starts with a destitute American vagabond who's reduced to begging for his meals. He joins up with another American to work at oil camps, only to be exploited and cheated out of their pay. Eventually the duo team up with an old prospector and head to the hills to seek gold.

When they do find some gold, it gradually begins to corrupt them like some cursed treasure from myth. Even though the old prospector warns the two younger men at length of what gold can do to men's minds, paranoia and obsession slowly infiltrate the men's heads. While the men's encounter with bandits is one of film's most famous moments ("Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges!"), many other predators lurk in the dusty Mexican landscape. Traven's familiarity with the area is one of the elements that makes the book so strong, as he is able to capture the textures and smells of the mountains and bring them to life. As the story plays out, Traven seems to reveal a strong belief in karma or cosmic justice of sorts and in the end, only the indigenous Huichol Indians emerge as wholly admirable people.

In this newest novel of the Wit'ch series, James Clemens takes the readers to the far corners of his fantasy world of Alasea. From the deserts wastelands to the highest mountains of the dreaded Gul'gotha where the Dark Lord reigns. From floating cityscapes of El'vin ilk to just about everything inbetween, the writer takes us on a voyage of high action and adventure filled with magick and wonders. As usual, some new characters come in to play and some old characters die off, leaving the reader wanting more. Clemen's writing style is ever growing and expanding upon each novel. Its kind of strange that near the end of the new novel, there is a strange character that reminded me alot of this certain character in the novels and books that is a key and vital piece to the novels. Now, of course I'm not going to tell you and ruin the book and movie at one fell swoop, now would you? Read the novel and see the movie!

The book is about a teenaged white girl - Elena who realizes at her 14 birthday that she is a witch. The farmer's daughter cannot understand what is happening to her but before she can sit down to think, she is pushed into the real world. Away from the shelter of her family farm, she realizes that people are sometimes the most disgusting creatures. Along the way, she meets interesting characters like a man who is missing his right arm, a forest nymph, ogre, two werewolves that are stuck one as a man and another as a wolf, an elf and a mountain giant. This bunch of misfits get together for one reason or another and realize that they have a common aim and that is to make the world a better place by defeating the dark lord. This book is a very interesting read and in this particular book, Elena finally figures out what the dark lord is like and what he is planning to do. Tol'Chuck gets the shock of his life and Kral and the bunch who trooped of with the Dro captian - Tyrus, finally manage to fulfil their destinies. This book also features Joach's unending struggle with the dark magik and something horrible happenes to him. On the other hand a new character is introduced in this episode.
James Clemens is Truly a wonderful author and his stories drag you into the book, and with every page you read, you get dragged further into the world of Alasea. I never want the story to end.

This book was fabulous. The dark fantasy that Clemens has created in this world is right on par with Mark Perry (Morigu). Unlike Mark Perry let us fans hope that he (Clemens) does not leave us hanging on the cliff waiting for the next book.

This is a great little book! I used it in medical school, and now that I'm a neurology resident, I *still* use it. Has enough depth to be useful, but not overwhelming. Easy to read. Tends to cover the pimpable/testable highlights. Good summary tables.

Yikes !!!! When they start talking about neuroanatomy you get a marked sympathetic reaction ( your skin gets cold and clammy, you start sweating and start feeling your heartbeats ). That, and " what the hell are they asking for and how is it that thing clinically important " matter, do have a solution.
High Yield neuroanatomy is written in a superbly comprehensive way ( a lot to ask for from a science such as neuroanatomy ) and with a lot of helpful illustrations that help to consolidate written concepts. Finally, loaded with certain clinical applications of the concepts reviewed, this book is good not only for the USMLE step1, but for the clinical wards as well. During rounds, my fellow students just kept saying " how did this guy know that answer ? ".

This book contains all the essentials for Neuro for STEP 1, get it and read it!! The introduction by Dr. Fix includes high points that can be used as a quick run through of the entire book or a last minute review of the whole text. Almost all in my medical class used this book for the Boards.

Judy Valentine always hid from life behind her drums. It was always her dream to be part of a rock band, as well as her older brother's dying wish for her. Three years after her brother's suicide, Judy finds her band, Wedding Night. Opening for Nick Praetorious, the hottest act in the country, brings the band national attention and forces Judy at sixteen years old to deal with success, attention, and being idolized while still developing her own identity.

Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher tells the similar story of a teenage boy named Dillon who also loses his older brother to suicide. Dillon escapes his pain through triathalons, an extreme contrast to Judy's music writing and playing. Crutcher tends to write novels centered around sports because more young people can relate to sports analagies than they can to introspecitve song lyrics. For me, it was nice to read a young adult novel with a storyline that I could relate to rather than merely understand.

"You can give her all your money, till you're totally broke./ You can christen her with diamonds, You can sprinkle her with coke./ But you'll never have her and you'll never know her/ 'cause she's the girl, she's the girl inside the girl."(Pg. 36) Judy "wrote" this song,"The Girl Inside the Girl". Many other full song lyrics are included throughout the book so that one can truly hear the sounds of a Wedding Night concert as well as visualize it. One even begins to understand the rock and roll lifestlye through a teenager's eyes. Once seen from behind closed doors, a rock star's life loses it's luster and glamourous image. Yet, the passion never dies for the music, not for Judy Valentine.

This book was written for "young adults", so it might be a little below an older teen's reading level. However, the storyline is just so unique, I would still recommend it to any music lover.

A magnificient book, although tad childish and naive. The author weaves a beautiful tale of the protagonist Judy, a drummer who recovering fromt eh death ofher brother, is yearning to discover herself through her 'band'. SHe finds this band when she answers mysterious want ad. and meets Strobe, together they assemble this band...Irwin. Maddox and Mark the Music. The descirpitions that the author uses when describing music being made is painfully beautiful. His descriptions of Mark the Music playing the guitar are exceptionally beautiful....leads you to believe the author is a guitarist...The story is very tight and Judy's voyage of discovery, in the company of 'Wedding Night', the band, is told very well. The ending is beautiful...ANyone with music in their hearts will fall in love with this book.

This is one of the most wonderful books from my early adolescence I ever read...it can to me at just the time I needed it and that I will never forget. I felt just like the heroine of the book the whole time... her against the world in a desperate desire to simply make music and find out who she is. Read it...and give it to your teens...

Written by America's most inventive poet, "The Enormous Room" is a book of prose set in a French detention camp during World War One. It is a coming-of-age story in which events happen, not always to the narrator (E.E. Cummings), but to the inhabitants of a place that serves as a microcosm for all the folly and brutality of war itself. As a war narrative it is unique -- unlike Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms" or Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front," the central story doesn't take place on the front lines. The plot of the book is basically non-linear, with the exception of the first three or four chapters, and several passages are written in French (thankfully a glossary of foreign terms is printed at the back of the book). I would describe Cummings' story as a stream-of-consciousness dialogue with himself, written in the language of a talented budding poet. Most memorable are the wonderful characters Cummings encountered during his short stay at La Ferte Mace, the name of the camp in which he was interned. They are objects of torn humanity and how terrible it must have been for him to leave them, knowing that upon his release many would languish in prison for the rest of their lives. "The Enormous Room" is a unique historical fiction. It is not an easy read, but it is one of those books that is even more difficult to put down. I have never read another book quite like it. [P.S.: There are two editions of the book, one published by Boni & Liveright and the other by Penquin Classics. The Liveright edition is the better one (and naturally harder to locate online or in book stores), and includes samples of drawings that Cummings made during his confinement.]

Some works of literature that I have read in the past required several scans of certain passages due to their thick and wholly unconsumable nature. While reading E. E. Cummings' The Enormous Room, I found myself skimming back over entire paragraphs simply for the sheer joy of reading them again. Cummings' ability to turn a phrase is astonishing. It's not hard to glean from reading only this work that the author has a poetic nature.

The personal journey recounted here amounts to a fantastic tale that happens to be (for the most part) completely true. By turns, bleak and hopeless - then joyous and brimming with a kind of spiritual joy, The Enormous Room takes the reader to extremities of all sorts in its relatively short span of chapters.

Though it takes place during a three month stint in a French concentration camp during the latter parts of World War One, it could just as well be set on another planet, for all of its fantastic characters, settings and behavioral interactions that never cease to alternately amaze and confound the reader.

Even if it seems a cruel statement to make, after having the pleasure of experiencing this world through the prose of E. E. Cummings you will be thankful that he found himself in this squalid and vile place so that we now have the honor of sharing in it.

Reading Cumming's poetry was never a priority in my school days, except such excerpts as appeared in my far from comprehensive American Lit book. After reading this, I wish I'd paid more attention to this truly gifted writer.

The Enormous Room is the story of Cumming's three month incarceration at La Ferte Mace, a squalid French prison camp. Cummings is locked up as accessory to exercise of free speech, his friend B. (William Brown) having written a letter with some pro German sentiments. What Cummings experienced in those three months and the stories of the men and women he met are, despite the straits of the polyglot texture of the book, never other than fascinating. At moments touching (the stories of the Surplice and The Wanderer's family), hilarious (the description of the Man In the Orange Cap is hysterical), and maddening (the smoking of the four les putains), this is a brilliant weft of memorable characters and not a little invective for the slipshod French goverment.

Something I noticed. Though the book claims as its primary influence Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, I noticed a similarity with Thoreau's Walden. In both books, there is the idea of self-abnegation breeding liberty and peace of mind. The idea is to shear away all luxuries, all privileges. But Thoreau had one very important luxury to his credit: Free will. Whereas Thoreau chose his isolated and straitened existence near Walden Pond, Cummings' was involuntary. So, if the touchstone of freedom both men share is valid, is not Cummings, by virtue of the unrequested nature of his imprisonment, the freer of the two men?

This is a fascinating, thought provoking, ribald and intelligent book. I only regret that the Fighting Sheeney was never given commupance...