Strikeout at Hell Gate brilliantly interweaves the lives of three people centered around the game of baseball. Most notably that of an African- American ballplayer plagued by a virus which infects his mind and almost destroys his career. The book, however, is more than the story of a ballplayer's successful return to the game.

Set in New York during a period of racial strife, it depicts the squalor and majesty of the city in unforgettable prose. It is the story of dreams unfulfilled, but not forgotten. It reminds the reader of his mortality and the longing and fears and regrets he shares with others. It is about overcoming fear through concentration on an elusive, but attainable goal.

It is a primer on baseball for the novice and an exciting read for the knowledgable fan. The last few chapters are baseball at its best. This is a very good book.

Strikeout At Hell Gate is one Hell of a Read.

Robert David Jaffee manages to combine modified stream-of-consciousness narrative with a macho slugger sensibility.

His unwavering probe delves deep into the empty spaces left in the lives of two men who sacrifice all for the game.

Weak men will thrill; strong men will weep.

Don't miss it!

Robert David Jaffee writes here about the mysteries of a batting slump and what that can do to a ballplayer.

The book expands beyond the struggles of this ballplayer to include the trauma taking place in a racially torn New York City at the time of the Bensonhurst case.

Very gritty look at New York and poignant look at the men whose lives revolve around baseball.

while giving a slide lecture at the great neck public library on our biography THE SECRET LIVES OF ALEXANDRA DAVID NEEL I was handed you excellent children's book. You distilled just the right information with lovely pictures to show how fabulous her journey was.Our biography deals with her life and includes her journey which was amazing considering the Lhasa was so forbiddena at that time. CONGRATULATIONS1

From early childhood, Alexandra David-Neel dreamed of traveling and exploring faraway places. "I craved to go beyond the garden gate, to follow the road that passed it by, and set out for the unknown," she later recalled. "I dreamed of wild hills, immense deserted steppes, and impassable landscapes of glaciers!" As a child, she traveled away from her ordinary life through books and museums, discovering a passion for Buddhism and Asian culture. Her talent as a singer, sent her to India, Greece, and North Africa to perform with opera companies, but that didn't satisfy her wanderlust. Finally in 1911 at the age of forty-three, she left her husband and home in Tunis, North Africa to begin the journey of her dreams. She would travel to the sacred and secretive city of Lhasa, the Forbidden City in Tibet. "Many travelers had been stopped on their way to Lhasa, and had accepted failure. I would not... I would reach Lhasa and show what the will of a woman could achieve!" Using his trademark eloquent prose and artwork, along with some of Alexandra David-Neel's own words, Don Brown weaves a clever and fascinating story in his latest picture book biography, Far Beyond The Garden Gate. Mr Brown's engaging text is filled with imagery, magic, history, mystery, and intriguing facts and details, and complemented by evocative illustrations in soft, dreamy hues. Together word and art transports the reader to Tibet for the arduous adventure of a lifetime. With an Author's Note to augment the story and further enlighten, Far Beyond The Garden Gate is a marvelous introduction to both an amazing woman and little known country that will whet the appetite of kids 8-12, and send them out looking for more.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough if you are a member of a Pentecostal type church. It gives a lot of information on how to have a revival leading to a real "end-time" victory for your church. Gives hope in these last days to those who may be wavering in their faith. There's even a great prayer on page 103 that I do not recommend you try unless you are -serious- about battling against "princes and principalities". A absolute must have for every true believer.

A Must Have! A Need To Know

I was just doing research for a class about Pikeville and came across Effie's name. I had never read any of her poetry, but when I read 1 stanza of Effie's poetry, I was hooked!!!!!

This book is the darkest painting of suburbia I've read in awhile. If your life stinks, replace it with Jernigan's. Here's what you get----alcoholism, self-abuse, teenage son on drugs, shacking with mother of teenage son's girlfriend, death of wife, death of rabbits for food, loss of job, plus did I mention drinking large quanities of gin. Now why does this character continue to shot himself in the foot (or in his case hand)? Seems like he just doesn't give two hoots. What makes the book work though, is Jernigan's wisecracking nature, basically condescending everything, as his life drops away by his own powers. This is brought on by the tight, descriptive naratives by David Gates, Jernigan's creator.

Not that Jernigan is alone in his life of horror. There's a cast of characters that are barely functioning. Of course, Jernigan cannot stand them. He's going to do things his way and it's a way so unimaginable yet possible, it leaves you riveted.

I can't believe this secret american masterpiece is out-of-print or something like that. "Jerningan" reads like a novel written a deux by John Cheever and J.P. Donleavy but, in the end, sounds a hundred per cent David Gates. I can't believe all I had to wait for "Preston Falls" (it was worth it: a novel that reads like "Jernigan Redux & Revisited", an apocalyptic end of milenium "Tender is the Night"); I read one of the best interviews to Bob Dylan ever (signed by Gates in Newsweek) and I hear that a short stories collection is coming out. Open the Gates, I'm first in line.

This book is a true killer. Like a suburban "Heart of Darkness," it suggests what evil lurks in the modern American male... and he continues to get away with it all...Peter Jernigan is a bizarre and somehow totally believable mix of charismatic intellectual and emotional bully. It's probably impossible to read Peter's story and then NOT make attempts to change your own evil ways. In the tradition of "Hunger" by Knut Hamsun, and the better works of John Fante, "Jernigan" has got to be one of the most brutally-honest and lovingly-crafted books one can read. Jernigan is a desperate character, who, sadly, all too many of us can relate to. Gates has a new book out, "Preston Falls," which, while remarkably similar to "Jernigan," is written with the same kind of astonishing clarity. In my opinion, it doesn't get any better than this book.

I love the way that this book follows on from "Legend". It relates to civil war, and sets things up nicely for the sequel (Quest for lost heros). The leading three characters are fantastic. The badies bring real intrest to the story also. The Dark templar are wicked, but I think the werebeasts known as the Joinings are an absulote master stroke!! The end battle delivers more excitment than that of Legend, espicially the final stand against the Joinings.

After this, read Quest for Lost Heros strait after.

This book is the epitome of what a good heroic fantasy novel is supposed to be. The characters are all to human & run the range of emotions with a clarity that is almost eerie. David Gemmell is without a doubt the BEST fantasy author ever to pick up the pen. Only Paul Edwin Zimmer has written Heroic Fantasy of this caliber (with his 'Dark Border' novels). WARNING-Once you read Gemmell's books, you will have a hard time accepting the cheesy, boring fantasy stuff being pumped out by lesser authors...

Lets put it this way, I bought the book the first edition it came out. Till now, I still reread it. I read Waylander before it and I couldn't believe how good that was until I got knocked off by King Beyond the Gate. I hate to compare the book to books from other authors, but seriously, the book shines even in the presence of the 200 fantasy books in my collection.

As the other reviewers below have noted, David Gates' THE SPANISH ULCER is indeed the best book on the Peninsular War. It is well-researched and well-written. It does justice to the operations of the French, British, and Spanish armies. Unlike many other books, it does not focus solely on the campaigns of Wellington. Gates has also provided a wealth of data of size of armies and casualties. Plentiful maps make the narrative of military operations simple to follow. Numerous other military historians and publishers should follow the book's example.

That said, there are still problems with the book that prevent it from being a general history of the Peninsular War. The book focuses too much on the operations of military formations. Gates describes in detail what armies, corps, divisions, brigades, and battalions do. However, very little insight is provided to what soldiers were experiencing on the ground. Equally, the experiences of the Spanish and Portuguese people, who lived with 8 years of bitter war, are dealt with very briefly. Moreover, Gates writes very little on the guerrilla campaign, which was a major factor in the French defeat.

I do not mean to be overly critical. I enjoyed this book greatly. It is the best book out on the Peninsular War. Nevertheless, there is still no general book that covers the political, military, and social aspects of the Peninsular War.

David Gates' treatment of the Iberian conflict has no equal and remains the best single-volume history of Napoleon's unfortunate Spanish adventure. Far superior to Michael Glover's PENINSULAR WAR, Gates' work is comprehensive, well-researched and clearly written. I just finished my 6th reading and continue to enjoy it.
Unlike most British Peninsular authors Gates follows in the footsteps of Oman and gives a balanced objective account giving credit to both the conventional and irregular Spanish forces, and does a masterful job of dealing with the French as well. I find, happily, that he eschews the usual hero-worship of Wellington and does find the Iron Duke human after all (particularly some of his ill-advised sieges). He accompanies his solid research with a useful chronology, some short biographical details, and some very good order of battle work. The work is marred by execrable maps (perhaps drawn by a child) and the all too often use of "sullen." I am happy to see that it's coming soon to paperback. I was most pleased to see information on the little-known Marshal Suchet and his long-suffering Army of Aragon. Buy it & enjoy it!

Many English language accounts of the Peninsular War disproportionately glorify the contributions of Wellington and the British. While Wellington and his relatively small army did make key contributions, the real heroes of the struggle that lead to the downfall of Napoleon, not only in Spain but in Europe, were the Spanish people. Gate's book goes farther than most in recognizing the often-ignored contribution of the guerrillas, the Spanish military and the populance in general in resisting Napoleon.

I'm quite convinced that, had he not been disabled by his illness, Ross David Burke would have made a hell of an artist/entertainer -- novels, songwriting, perhaps even comedy. Now, yes, I live with a psychotic disorder myself, and yes, this book illustrates disordered thought better than any other I've read, but that's not the point I wish to make. Underneath all the crazy confusion, there's a lot of wit and humor, as well as some stunning insights on human nature. His supporting characters come alive -- which is especially impressive, considering the isolating effect schizophrenia has on its sufferers. As self-absorbed as protagonist/narrator Sphere may be, friends like Uncle Cane Toad, and lost love Elysium, are unforgettable.

Me, I got my illness well under control, with modern medication long ago (if only Ross had had access to today's drugs!) When sanity gets a little dull, there's much stimulation to be had from the story of Sphere. The tragic ending is a hefty price to pay for the wild ride, but I pay it at least twice a year.

I dearly hope Ross would be comforted to know: His book is not only educational, but FUN! Rest in peace, Sphere!

A must read for family and friends of someone who has schizophrenia. Should be required reading for mental health professionals. And, as a survivor of schizophrenia, I would highly recommend it to fellow survivors. A masterpiece.

This is the truest depiction of schizophrenia i've ever come across. a must read if any of you have a schizophrenic friend that you're trying to understand. brutally truthful, amazingly accurate.

David Gates is a staff writer for Newsweek and the author of a couple of best selling novels. He puts together in this collection a series of stories that reflect the kinds of conversations that go on in people's heads when they are at the end of a personally, emotionally somewhat traumatic life experience. We read the pains of women coming to grips with being trapped in bad marriages, men dealing with unfaithful wives, a gay man who is taking care of his addict sister's boy, and in one story at the end, an elderly man who has experienced a stroke and is so alive and coherent internally but not externally. None of these stories is nice, none has a happy ending, there are no characters with whom one identifies - or better put, with whom one might empathize or sympathize. I had the overwhelming feeling that every single one of these protagonists sort of deserved what they had.... or had the means to escape their situation but were trapped by their OWN psychological ropes. It was a collection of stories that I couldn't stop reading, but that each left me unhappy, disconcerted, with sort of a low grade dull headache about the quality of human beings in the country I call home. The characters were, by and large, well-educated, intellectuals, worldly, and living in and around New York (so assumedly they had some greater vision of the world than what might come from less urban parts of the country). I guess the bottom line for me was that the slight depression I felt after finishing this collection did not encouraged me to read either of Gates' novels.

Come now, is this really worthy of five stars? It is easy to read and has a nice flow, yet it is surprisingly simplistic. Anyone who has lived in New York for an extended period of time will be able to relate to the title story. However, i feel that this book is slathered with cheap irony (admitted by the author) and urban stereotypes. Nothing is left to the imagination, and his vivid, sometimes insightful descriptions of New York are often overshadowed by an overkill of the author's psudo-bohemian "compassion is out of style" attitude. Seriously, if you hate New York so much, why don't you leave? Though sometimes the author does have very real insights into human emotions, generally (and especially when speaking in the female voice) he does a good job of oversimplifying very complex situations. It is hard to tell whether this guy really can write or whether he is simply not afraid to say things that other people might find offenseive. Its just too easy to be a cynical New Yorker.

ADULTERY, ALCOHOL and other drugs, MUSIC, LITERATURE, DOMESTIC ISOLATION, IN ISOLATED RURAL AREAS (usually NY - NE area) FAILED WRITERS OR OTHER ARTISTS (okay, and academics), and let's not forget SICKNESS--

Every story in this book has these in common -- overly-analytical people, unhappy and internal, trapped in their heads and the domestic situation that they pretend to have chosen.

Sound boring? Could have been and might still be to you, but this Gates feller riffs with so many personas, each dealing with these same issues in similar ways, people going out of control and trying to stay in control, it's a testament to his skill has a writer that Gates keeps us engaged. Reminded me of a jazz musician riffing on a standard (a metaphor that would not be out of place in one of these stories, i'm just warning you) if you could argue that the standard was written by john cheever (please don't say updike).

The slow build, the welter of observational detail that pulls you into these seemingly restrained parlor dramas that are suddenly upset by the tinest details, the capturing of the circular internal dialogues -- all make a captivating read. The old cliche about not being able to put it down--it's true of this book. While the first story sets the tone adequately enough, my favorite stories were Star Baby, Vigil, the Intruder, and Saturn. These felt finished and therefore induced some relief -- the ones that ended ambigously merely felt unfinished, but still left this reader with that sense of unease, claustrophobia, underlying lusts, passions and secrets that haunt the NPR cohort. So did the finished ones, now that I think of it...

My only reservation is less about the book but about the world that Gates has captured: has the intellegentsia in this country all become bergmanites, or is it just that Gates's abilites as a writer allow the uselessly educated, neurotic class in the usa a sheen of sexy tragedy?

This book provides a very detailed look at the inner workings of Microsoft. It describes the battles within the company to determine how to change in the face of the internet revolution. The author provides tremendous detail, much of which is taken from email correspondence made public by the antri-trust case. Some of the detail may be a little dull for some. My major problem with the book is with the author's premise that Gates has "broken" the company by not adapting to the internet quickly enough and instead focused on protecting and extending the windows dynasty. Nobody has really figured out how to make money off the internet, so why blame Microsoft? Gates did protect the Microsoft cash cow (windows). The internet has not made windows extinct, at least not yet. I think a little time is required to see if Gates' strategy was the right one or not. However, still a very worthwhile read for any interested in Microsoft and the PC industry.

David Bank used to cover Microsoft for the Wall Street Journal. In this book he describes the period 1997-2000 at Microsoft as it coped with the success of Windows and Office and the threat of the Internet to the continuation of Microsoft's dominance. From e-mail snippets and interviews with many current and former Microsoft employees, he presents the "protect Windows" perspective of Bill Gates and Jim Allchin and contrasts that with the "do the new internet thing" perspective of people like Brad Silverberg and myself and others. Obviously Bill Gates prevailed and so a lot of people left. Overall I think a very balanced presentation -- you at least understand why Bill did what he did, even if you don't agree with his decision. Several juicy quotes from me. :-)

David Banks does a masterful job of telling the story of the internal battle between Windows and Internet Explorer. It is insightful story over the struggle for strategy. Written in the tradition of the Wall Street Journal Bank's paints colorful vignettes of the key personalities and imbues the struggle between these two groups with drama.

However one of the interesting ironies of the business press is that journalists confuse themselves with their subjects. (I know of very few who went from covering a beat to running a company.) Unfortunately the more famous the publication you write for, the less you seem to remember that. This book simply fails when Banks puts on this business analyst hat. Luckily when you hear the scraping of the soapbox those pages are few and can be easily skimmed.

If you're interested in an internal history of Microsoft during the browser wars, buy this book.