Were Charles Conlon still alive, I would track him down and kiss his feet for capturing in such vivid detail the historic giants of baseball. The book features remarkable photos of the greatest baseball players of most of the first half of this century. Suitable for framing, the photos typically depict individual players and small groups, often in game action. The well preserved photographs provide an important window on a truly beautiful game and its players in an era when outfield fences were optional, and a "baseball club" was just that. My favorite of Conlon's gems shows Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner gripping his bat. Under his fingernails is Pennsylvania coal dust. His chipped, oversized piece of lumber looks unwieldy by today's standards. And his sinuous forearms are testament to the power that we remember him by. Other photos are paired to show the dramatic impact of age and the outfield sun on players of yesterday. Picture Wes Chandler spunky at 25 and then battle weary at about 50 and you'll understand why so many players strive so hard for a moment in the sun: they want to enjoy it before it's all gone.

A captivating, can't put down book. As previous reviewers have noted, this book is like a time machine that transports you into another world. You step through the looking glass and onto the Polo Grounds, Washington Park, or Yankee Stadium.

I have not enjoyed a baseball this much since the companion book to the PBS "Baseball" series!

The photographs here are truly amazing when you consider how poor the technology of the time was. Other books on old time baseball force one to suffer through really bad period photos. There isn't a bad one here. Conlon was truly an artist!

If you love history, baseball, or really good photography you will love this book.

The centerpiece of all baseball photography books. You read about them. You marvel at their feats and accomplishments. So few photographs exist about them. What do they look like? Charles Conlon did history a service by just following his hobby. Truly a magnificent masterpiece. Not just photo's...History! We are all so very lucky to be blessed with such a collection. For those interested, there is a collection of hundreds of baseball cards featuring the photographic genius of Conlon. They are out of print now, but can still be found. The Conlon Collection from the Sporting News. You owe it to yourself to check it out. You owe it to yourself to own this book.

I first read this book as a high school student, and remembered well the hour by hour description of the flight over the Atlantic. On my second reading as an adult, I discovered an additional story within the story that can apply to everyone who has a desire to accomplish something great in their life.

Lindbergh traces how the very wisp of an idea, that an aircraft with enough fuel, powered by a reliable engine, and held on course, could fly 3,600 miles from New York to Paris. Once he realized that he had enough qualifications to make the flight by himself, and could see himself doing it, he was a changed man, he was a man who was going to Paris by air! Now he faced the problem of obtaining support, a task that filled him with more anxiety than the flying itself.

He nurtured his idea, protecting it from the naysayers, carefully confiding in those who could accept his reasoning that a single engine plane made more sense than the trimotor aircraft others were planning to use in that era. He fretted about obtaining an engine, and then an airplane, and met almost continuous obstacles in his path. Yet again and again, to his surprise, financial and technical support was provided, often from totally unexpected quarters.

This book is not only an aviation classic, it is a classic on project management, on turning a vision into goals, and goals into tasks, knowing where the milestones of success can be measured, and when the go/nogo decisions can be made.

If you are a pilot, or want to become one, then this book belongs in your library, and you should consider buying a second copy to give to your CFI. Our instructors represent an unbroken lineage of aviators back to the era described in the story.

But it would be a shame to limit this story to the aviation community. Everyone who has a burning desire to achieve something beyond themselves will gain new insight into how ideas change our lives. If you have read "The Path" by Laurie Beth Jones, then you will most certainly enjoy this book, too.

This is one of those books that I read because it was given to me. I had no particular interest in Lindbergh or aviation. But I was spellbound by the second chapter, and stayed up late every night reading it until I finished. Lindbergh's description of the actual flight is unforgettable. This book affected me dramatically. Lindbergh was a genius who had the backbone to buck accepted science in design and operation of his plane. He was the epitome of the innovative, brave and independent American spirit. Surprisingly well-written and fast moving, this book is a must read.

I had wanted to read this book to gain an understanding of why Lindbergh's flight was so important. After reading this book, I found that out....and a whole lot more!

The book is highly readable and brings to life the Golden Era of aviation -- canvas dope-covered wings, dead-reckoning navigation, and seat-of-the-pants flying, and delivering the mail by airplane like the pony express. This was quite an exciting time, and the book brings this era to life.

The book is also significant in other respect -- setting goals and achieving them. Even this seemingly impossible task can be achieved with hard work, careful planning, and determination. If Lindbergh can do this, then you will get the feeling that you can achieve your own goals, however difficult they may seem.

In the flight across the Atlantic you get to know Lindbergh in the various stories he tells. The book's afterward tells much about his landing in France, the accolades he received, and actual technical flight and test data, as well as log book entries.

In the book's foreward his daughter says Lindbergh often said 2 things: 1) that he wrote the book to "Set the record straight". He achieves that, and a whole lot more, the book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1954. 2) that he often said to people who asked about his flight "Read the book". He spent something like 20 years writing this meticulously researched account. And who besides him would know more about this flight.

All I can say is to reiterate Lindbergh's own words -- read his book. It's fantastic!

This book offers a glimpse into the history and making of this holiday classic TV special, as well as paying tribute to Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz through interviews with Bill Melendez, Lee Mendelson, and some of the voice talents. Also included is a sampling of production and promotional art, and the entire script of the show accompanied by film stills. Just focusing on one of the many Peanuts shows makes for a very short book, however, but what is here is well researched and attractively presented. This book makes a good keepsake, but a book about all of the Peanuts animation would have made a longer, more interesting book. Still, I would recommend this book to Peanuts fans.

Reading "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on a dark Sunday afternoon in November is a bit like owning a DVD crammed with special features. This gorgeously-designed hardcover, with glossy pages and a heavy silver dustjacket, is a terrific companion to the TV special, and an almost essential shelf companion to "Peanuts: A Golden Celebration".

Anything you'd want to know about the "Christmas" TV special is in this book -- lengthy interviews with producer Lee Mendelson (a veteran of Peanuts anniversary books) and animator Bill Melendez. Charles M Schulz passed away before the book was written, but there are plenty of rarely-seen photos of him taken in the 1960s. There's a chapter on Vince Guaraldi, whose jazz soundtrack defines the lives of many "Peanuts" fans; interviews with some of the children who voiced the characters; and, O happy day, sheet music! The second half of the book contains the complete script for "A Charlie Brown Christmas" itself, along with dozens of photos and animated sequences, taken from the original cels.

"Christmas" is not for small children (unless they're reading it with you), and there are a couple of misprints (including, in my first edition, a caption for a photo that's not in the book!). But it's lovely to look at, and when I put it down finally, reluctantly, I was whistling the soundtrack and hearing Linus's nativity speech (and I'm Jewish!). These days you can buy it for about as much as the DVD costs, and it's a wonderful Christmas gift. Unless, of course, the person you're buying it for already owns it.

My earliest memories of watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, was when I was in kindergarten. I taped the show that year, and prefer my 1985 viewing over any video for sale. Even so, this book by Lee Mendelson tells us the great back story about making the story. Charles Schulz was instrumental in plenty of great decisions: such as the inclusion of Linus's reciting the "true meaning of Christmas," the use of actual children for the voices of Charlie Brown and the rest of the cast, and the absence of an annoying laugh track. There is even commentary by Bill MElendez, a former Disney animator, who was tasked with prepping and getting the Christmas special ready in 6 months. Even in the beginning, the network executives did not love it, but it ranked #2 in the top 5 of shows after premiering December 9, 1965. We even get insight into Jazz musician Vince Guaraldi, who made the catchy tune "Linus and Lucy," which all of us associate with the Peanuts gang. The book even includes piano music to play, and an illustrated screenplay of the TV show. I'd recommend buying this book along with the Peanuts 50th anniversay book that was written by Schulz, as well as Peanuts 2000, which chronicles the last year of the comic strip.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

The book I just read is the best! When I read a Pooh book it was awesome! Really, first I though it would be a babyish book,but it's not. My favourite chracter is Pooh. He is always thinking of hunny, and funny po ems and songs. I also like the words that A.A.MILNE invented I though those words came from another planet. I hope to read all of A.A.milne's books soon. If you don't read it you don't know what you are missing. I have only read The House At Pooh Corner and, I am now reading Winnie-The-Pooh.

This classic is listed under the age group of four to eight, and as a Poohphile I am quite appalled that it is. Winnie the Pooh books have such wit, wisdom, and humor that gets better every time I read them. Their not just for children, they are for everyone. Over the years, Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger, Kanga, and Roo have become some of my dearest chums. I once heard someone say, or perhaps I read it, that "books are like dear friends, and who has too many friends?" I am quite inclined to agree with that statement. This book is a dear friend of mine and I hope that you shall make it yours. :)

The house at Pooh Corner is a really good book everyone should read it .I read it for a class project I thuoght it would be a baby book but it wasn't. It was really funny, and it had strange words.I didn't know that pooh liked condesed milk, or that tigger lived with kanga and roo. I wish A.A.Milne had written more books about pooh the books he wrote about pooh were really funny. I wonder what would have happened if A.A.M. had written more pooh books maybe even a pooh movie. The books were really funny and I love how A.A.M. writes. Pooh makes the best poems i've heard. My personal favorite character is Tigger his attitude is kind of like mine. I woud reccomend this book a lot because it's really funny and the way A.A.M. gives live to the characters is really cool nothing like the disney one wich is almost boring

I am an avid mystery reader, and really loved Charles Gershon's book. The pace is fast, the characters are real, and the facts mix with fiction to form a compelling read. This would be a perfect book to take to the beach this summer.

Hopefully, by then, he'll have another I can take with me.

The Hydrangea People is a gripping novel that is the medical counterpart to the legal novel The Firm.A naive urologist, fresh out of training, fails to see the evil amongst his peers. He is driven by his new found wealth, wherein the trouble begins. A must-read book!!!

An amazing first effort. Gershon quickly draws the reader to his diverse characters. Before you know it, you're totally caught up in the intrigue and action. A story skillfully woven between past and present leads the reader to the realization that people and things are not always as first perceived. I really loved this book. The only disappointment was that it read so quickly and ended way too soon. Can't wait for the next one.

I love the Pearl Oyster Bar and go everytime I visit New York City. Just like Mario Batali says on the back cover, it's the best lunch spot around. So when I saw this in Amazon's cooking section, I was thrilled! This book is summer, the beach, and the ocean, which you swear you can hear in the background as you read. What a great story! I can't imagine not being allowed to stay in a hotel because I'm Jewish. As for the food, have made half dozen or so of the recipes already and they have turned out really well. The chef has great tips for cooking fish and gets to them without a lot of daunting culinary verbage.

Even the title LOBSTER ROLLS AND BLUEBERRY PIE makes our mouths water! What a gorgeous book, filled with exquisite stories and photography and, best of all, recipes from one of our very favorite restaurants in New York City. Chef-owner Rebecca Charles of Pearl Oyster Bar on Cornelia Street in Manhattan is a passionate cook, and her passion comes through on every page of this very special book. We're planning to give it as gifts to friends who we know would share our enjoyment of a virtual getaway to the Maine Coast. Bravo, Rebecca and Deborah!

--James Beard Award-winning authors Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

I love this book. It is full of great stories and recipes--from the Blueberry Pie recipe on page 108 to the Lobster Roll recipe on page 209 and all of the other 70 recipes that are scattered throughout the 240 pages of this book. Rebecca covers everything: the history behind the food,the restaurant, and her family; she gives helpful tips so you can recreate the dishes easily at home--THERE IS NO BOOK OUT THERE THAT CAN COMPARE. It's not just another boring cookbook, it is an adventure.

Lee the last years is a great read on the life of ROBERT E LEE after the war between the states.
My only complaint is that I would have liked just a little more reaction to lee's death around the South,and north ...

I have a real passion for the American Civil War and, if truth be told, I usually enjoy reading about it from a Southern perspective. I am though no Robert E. Lee worshipper and can see the good and the bad in the man and the soldier. He was not the perfect general and he did make mistakes (some very costly) but he is a fascinating character and any understanding of him leads to an appreciation of duty and honour. In those respects he was a paragon of virtue.

I'd read so much about Lee during the war that I needed something more, to find out what happened to him after the war. Charles B. Flood provided that "something" and I am so happy that I decided to go for this purchase. It was a snap decision but one I shall never regret.

The first ten chapters of the book are worth the price of purchase on their own, dealing as they do with the surrender of the marvellous Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox and the subsequent weeks and months as Lee made his way back to Richmond and waited to see what fate awaited him at the hands of the victorious Union.

I don't believe Flood was laying it on too thickly but the devotion felt towards Lee by his old soldiers (Pickett excepted of course) and the civilian population of the South are incredible. The stories of soldiers coming to see him before they set off on foot to return home are just so moving and Lee will not say no to anybody who wishes to see him.

After those opening incredible chapters things slow down somewhat and we learn of Lee's transition into what could be called a 'normal' life which sees him take up the presidency of the Lexington College in Virginia. It's not rivetting stuff by any stretch of the imagination but it's interesting and we gain a greater insight into what drives Robert E. Lee... duty and honour. He could have cashed in on his name a thousand times to retire a wealthy man, but he would not sell out and knows that his example, a dutiful one, will be followed by so many former Confederates in those dark post-war days.

Lee also refuses to incriminate his former comrades when pressed to do so and it is a measure of his standing even in the North that no-one dares to bring charges against him, despite the clamour from some sections of society that he be tried for treason.

The picture that Flood paints of Lee is not always flattering though. He is shown to be a stubborn man in some respects and his family are always in awe of him, especially his daughters, of whom he is extremely possessive. So much so that all three will die spinsters!

One of the last things that Lee does before his death in 1870 is to go on a short trip into the deep south and that again provides an incredible picture of his standing in the old Confedracy. Though he craves privacy word gets out that he is on a train and telegrams break the news ahead of his journey. Consequently, thousands turn up just to get a glimpse of him, with old soldiers bringing their children (man of who have been named after Lee). It is a very moving account of just how deeply his people felt for him.

My only complaint is that I would have liked just a little more reaction to lee's death around the South. How did the people react? What did the papers say? That sort of thing. An omission that could easily have been avoided in my opinion.

All in all though a hearty well done to Charles B. Flood for an excellent biography of Lee's last years. If my review sounds a little soppy then believe me, the book isn't. It is a solid, fair and well constructed picture of the last years of Robert E. Lee's life. It may move you in ways you weren't expecting though!

It is good that someone write about Robert E. Lee's final years after the U.S. Civil War. Charles B. Flood has written a fitting summary of Lee's final years (1865-1870) from the surrender at Appomatax to his final years at Lexington, VA. Lee is portrayed as a silent, thoughtful, regretful, gentleman who may have chosen to rebel against his former army, but still is a proud and dignified man. Flood is to be commended in bringing out the characteristics of the private, distinguished gentleman that Lee was. From his dealings with his family to the students at Washington University, his thoughts, motivations and insights are given with honesty and clarity. This is the definitive work of the last quiet years of Robert E. Lee, and is highly recommended for all U.S. History/U.S. Civil War History enthusiasts.

The Charge of the Light Brigade on the 25th October 1854 was one of the three famous engagements that formed the Battle of Balaklava. The Charge, the most famous of all military blunders, was barely over before the process of transforming it into myth began. Accusations, counter-accusations, legal actions and patriotic poetry created more obscuring smoke and dust than the infamous Russian guns. Cecil Woodham Smith traces the careers of two of the major players: Lords Lucan and Cardigan, the brothers-in-law from hell, whose vanity, arrogance and (at least in the case of Cardigan) incompetence, inexperience and crass stupidity, contributed to the fatal Charge. Almost 40 years of peace, and the reactionary influence of the Duke of Wellington, had left the British army in a parlous state of unreadiness and bureaucratic confusion when the call came to defend Turkey against the Russians. The choice of the aged, gentle, inexperienced and unassertive Raglan, as leader of the expeditionary army, only made a bad situation worse. (For a rather more sympathetic portrayal of Raglan, as victim of an inefficient military system, criminally disorganised commissariat and unreasonable government, see "The Destruction of Lord Raglan" by Christopher Hibbert.) A more recent study, "The Charge" by Mark Adkin, provides a detailed and well-illustrated account of the events leading to the Charge of the Light Brigade. Adkin challenges traditional views , including parts of Cecil Woodham Smith's account. Particular attention is given to the role played by Captain Nolan (the messenger). Adkin suggests that Nolan may have deliberately misled Lucan and Cardigan as to Raglan's real intention. Whatever the truth, which is of course unknowable, "The Reason Why" is a genuine classic and an excellent introduction to a fascinating subject.

Woodham-Smith presents, in minute detail, the wages of placing social rank over experience, and even competence. British military history follows a disturbing trend. War starts, Brits get trounced upon, influx of fresh talent and new ideas comes (along with, sometimes, timely intercession by allies), British return to triumph. Woodham-Smith attributes this pattern to the notion in the higher ranks of the army (a notion espoused by the Duke of Wellington himself, pip pip!), that nobility ensures, if not competence, at least loyalty.

The price of this notion, is, of course, massive death, but because the massive death does not happen to the nobility, nobody important really minds. This is one reason the Charge of the Light Brigade, with which _the Reason Why_ primarily deals, was so different, and worthy of eulogizing in prose and song (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, by the way, appears absolutely nowhere in this text)--those dying, those paying the price for the Army's obsession with aristocracy, were aristocrats themselves.

Woodham-Smith manages to trace the careers of two utterly unsympathetic characters--Cardigan and Lucan--in a fascinating manner. This is no small feat, considering the reader will probably want, by the end of _the Reason Why_ to reach back in time and shake both of them, and maybe smack them around a bit.

Again, Cecil Woodham-Smith proves herself a master of the historian's craft, and produces a well-researched, thorough and driving account of what is probably the stupidest incident in modern military history.

The Crimean War changed so much about how war is waged--the treatment of prisoners and wounded being tops on the list of reforms brought about in the wake of the debacle. _The Reason Why_ is an excellent account, and should be required reading for anybody with even a remote interest in military history, or European history in general.

The Reason Why remains the classic study of the intriguing and sadly ludicrous episode in military history known as the Charge of the Light Brigade. The author, coming from an Army family and relying heavily on the writings of officers, largely neglects the experience of the private soldier and concentrates on the main characters in the drama. The story is dominated by these extraordinary personalities, serving as a reminder that war is an inherently human drama. On a second level, it is a criticism of the privilege system of the British Army of the mid-nineteenth century. In retrospect, one is hard pressed to believe such a purchase system could have ever won a victory at Waterloo. Intolerant aristocrats with no experience in battle, paltry leadership skills, and maddening unconcern for the soldiers under their command, bought their commissions. The Charge of the Light Brigade illuminated all of the faults of the system and proved that bravery alone was insufficient for victory. While human blunders led to the debacle that was the Charge of the Light Brigade, the British military system was intrinsically to blame.

The heart of this book concerns the relationship between society at large and the military. Military leaders feared nothing so much as public scrutiny, for widespread discontent could lead to political interference and, indeed, political control of the army. Whether in dealing with the incorrigible personalities of Lords Lucan and Cardigan or in covering up the series of blunders that resulted in the sacrificial ride of the Light Brigade, the military leadership acted with the overriding principle of preserving the Army from governmental control.

The embarrassments of the Crimean campaign proved uncontainable. A great source of difficulty was the incompetence of the Army staff; rank and privilege were held to be superior to actual experience. When these difficulties led to humiliation and defeat, the commanders' concern was not with the men they had lost nor the future of the war effort; to the exclusion of these, their main concern was that bad publicity would appear in Britain, that the public would hear of the lack of success, that the House would begin to ask questions of the military leadership, that the press would begin to criticize the Army. This great fear of political interference was realized in the aftermath of the Crimean War. The author portrays this as the one positive effect engendered by the War effort. A new era of military reform was born in Britain, Europe, and America. Experience now became a prerequisite for command, and officers were trained in staff colleges. The author's final point is that, above all, the treatment of the private soldier changed as the military system was humanized to some degree. Her assertion that at the end of the Crimean War the private soldier was regarded as a hero seems rather bold, but it is clear that he was no longer seen as a nonhuman tool of his commanders' designs.

Having spent time on Sanibel Island and feeling like it is the one place on earth that I can find the real inner strength I need to survive until I revisit the Island, I enjoyed the book immensely. The reader who has already enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets on Sanibel and Captiva will be able to imagine that he is standing on the pier listening to a lonely, wise man quietly teaching a younger man what the real meaning of life is.

While on a recent vacation to Captiva, Florida, I picked up Six Mornings on Sanibel at the Library and found it great reading. Great book for anyone who can appreciate the pressures of work verses the beauty of Sanibel. I hope I will have the pleasure of reading more books by the author soon.

I am a native of S.W. Florida. As a child, I spent every Saturday at the Sanibel pier fishing with my friends. Now as a busy attorney I enjoy the pier whenever I can sneak a weekend at Sanibel. I have always met different characters at the pier and have always been entertained by their stories. In the book an unusual friendship between a retired charter boat captain and an overworked, streesed out divorce attorney produce unsettling views into their lives. These views are sometimes brutally honest and eye-opening. While this dialogue is taking place, the author accurately discribes the natural beauty of Sanibel. You can almost smell the salt water and hear the waves as the story progresses. The story of these two friends produces a roller-coaster ride through the different emotions that culminates in an unexpected, controversial ending. It leaves you asking yourself "What would I have done?" I look forward to his next book.