What a treat! Tygiel presents nine loosely-connected essays on various aspects of baseball and their interrelation with other aspects of American history and social change. With a historian's eye for detail and mind for interpretation, each chapter presents gems of insight that even serious students of baseball history will find intriguing. Tygiel's writing style, as befits a professor of history, is intelligent, literate, and persuasive, but never dry. The "short-story" format works well, and provides opportunity for reflection--although readers may have a hard time not just moving on to the next "inning." Reflecting Tygiel's academic background, the essays are impeccably researched and lavishly footnoted, with many primary sources cited. This book is a must for fans of baseball, and for fans of US history--for fans of both, buy the hardback, and reserve a place of honor for it on your bookshelf. You'll want to read it over again, for this book's only major drawback is the lack of extra innings.

When Professory Jules Tygiel presented his authoritative analysis of Jackie Robinson in "Baseball's Great Experiment," he gave notice that writing about baseball could not only reflect history but provide lovers of the "national game" a sense of how baseball reflected and influenced the society in which they live. His most recent effort, "Past Time," is a splendid integration of baseball and the dominant social and economic themes resonating around and through the sport. Written in nine chapters, each representing an inning/era in baseball's past, Professor Tygiel explores numerous athletic and historical themes in a beautifully written and thoroughly researched volume. It belongs not only on shelves of those, like me, who love the sport, but those, like me, who believe that imaginative and provocative histories can help assist all of us in understanding who we are and how we became the way we are.

Readers could enjoy this volume by selecting any one of the chapters; although the work is presented chronologically, Professor Tygiel offers each "inning" as its own entity. The meticulous research that entered into his writing (the book has some twenty pages of footnotes) weaves seamlessly into truly graceful writing. As he would say of DiMaggio, "he makes it look easy." There are trenchant observations on baseball as business, on the place of a ballclub in a city's self-definition and how the media has enhanced and democratized the sport.

I especially enjoyed his talented analysis of the impact of media on the sport. From print journalism, which helped create fans to the advent of visual media (ably noted as "new ways of knowing") to the impact of electronic dissemination of information, baseball has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with mass communication. I was most impressed with his description of Henry Chadwick, whose devotion to the scientific and reform ideas he saw as essential to baseball's success, the father of baseball statistics. Readers will no doubt delight remembering Chadwick's invention of the stories "batting average" when they consider the impact of Bill James' type of information in their modern sensibilities.

There are nuggets of unmitigated delight here as well. Tygiel wonderously describes Babe Ruth becoming mute during an early radio interview and having his voice replaced by the moderator; nobody knew the difference and many commented on how well Ruth spoke. Then, Tygiel gives an absolutely fascinating commentary on Russ Hodges' famous "The Giants win the pennant" call after Bobby Thompson hit his "shot heard 'round the world." Not only that, he provides insight into how a prescient statistic analyst, Dodger employee Allan Roth, sadly predicted the very homerun which upset his beloved team.

Written with a love of the sport, a respect for the glorious cadences of the human voice and a knowledge of the political, economic and social interaction of sport and society, "Past Time" will emerge as one of the essential works on baseball every fan of the game and of the country will want to own.

I probably grew up in "the middle" of baseball history avidly watching "my" Giants at the Polo Grounds and on channel 11 out of New York. In those days the Dodgers and Giants played each other 22 times a season and they were some of the best baseball wars imaginable.

Jules Tygiel maticulously and fascinatingly brings the history of baseball alive from its' beginnings up to "THE" homerun hit by Bobby Thompson in l951. Unlike other authors, however, he intigrates the progress of baseball with its intersection and influence on the progress of society. It is an unforgettable history lesson written in a crisp fashion that allows easy reading.

The last third of the book traces the dramatic changes in professional baseball that brings us the game we know today where arch rivals play a maximum of eight to ten games per year against each other and players continually rotate from team to team seeking the best dollar.

Whether you enjoy today's game as well the past where there were two leagues of eight teams each is irrelevent. Baseball, in the form it is played in 2000,is establishing permanentcy and likely to change little save for further expansion. Jules Tygiel's "Past Time" lets us understand the how and why the changes in the past fifty years have occurred. Like it or not - it sure is nice to know!

Finally, one of the best baseball books I have ever read.

This book is organized alphabetically; to give a sense of its scope it begins:aalmutter, abalone, akule, Alaska pollock, alga, anchovy, Artic char, ark shell, aspic (not a fish but useful for fish recipes), Atka mackerel, barnacle, barracuda ... in short, you'll be hard pressed to find in your fish market something not covered here.

For each fish, the book gives information regarding their looks (there are ample photos), where they grow, their culinary uses ... and for many of the fish, recipes. To take a simple example, for black sea bass it gives recipes for steamed sea bass, sea bass Lisbon style, and sea bass chowder.

The recipes are reliable - easy to follow and well proportioned. This is everything you'll ever need or want in a fish cooking resource.

this is hands down the best book for fish lovers

it is a valuable resource in my kitchen

A plethora of information about hundreds of species of fish- How they are classed and where they inhabit, historical and cultural importance of many fishes, identification of fish, quality of meat and how to cook them. Incredibly interesting and useful!

My (10 year old) daughter got interested in '20,000 leagues' after reading the "Wishbone" version (go ahead and laugh). I went searching for the real thing to read with her, and came across this edition. With all of the missing content recovered, plus the annotations to fill in all sorts of additional information, the result is fascinating for adult readers. If you read the usual (butchered) version as a kid, you really owe yourself this one. All of the critiques of Verne over the years that tried to belittle his knowledge of science turn out to have been based on translations that whacked out what Verne really said -- they thought it was too dry and boring. Reading what he really said, plus the extensive footnotes that describe the state of knowledge at the time, make Verne's brilliance tripling astonishing. Just consider that he wrote about the Nautilus at a time when the Hunley was the state of the art!

One of the great problems with Jules Verne is that in the English speaking world he is relagated to the category of "Boys' Own Adventures". On the Continent, however, he is considered a brilliant social commentator, and biting satirist, AND a man who predicted the future. This is a volume that helps set matters to the right.

If you know of "20,000 Leagues" already, you will find little different at first. The plot is still the plot. Nemo is still Nemo, Prof. Aronnax is still pompous and fascinated by the Nautilus and Ned Land....

Ned Land is a flaming socialist.

This is one of the major shifts between the original French and the "cleaned up" English editions. Most of the science of the day was pulled out as a "dull read" and all the Socialism, anti-English remarks, and other commentaries of a "questionable nature" were excised. We Americans have unfortunately been until only very recently only able to find these poor early translations, or translations based on these poor translations. There is much more to Verne than submarines and diving suits. He is a man with a vision of his times, both scientific and political, and his books underline this strongly.

English readers, demand your Verne well-translated! Do not allow yourself to be fobbed off with bowlderized versions! To be able to read as he wrote himself (well, in English, for those of us who don't read French...) is a greater pleasure than merely an amusing old science-fiction story from the 19th century. Reading this book, as Verne /meant/ it to be read, if a pleasure, but also a struggle to understand ourselves and our relationship to the oceans themselves.

The best translation in English. Satisfies the intellect and imagination. Translated to show the truly beautiful qualities of Verne's writing that no other version can equal. The adventure comes alive by not omitting the breadth and depth of Verne's aesthetic ability originally entrenched within this masterpiece.

The book is the best in its field, as it contains plenty of information for the casual fisherman or for the expert angler.
Unfortunately is somewhat outdated. Great book that every angler should have in their library/

I have been an avid reader of A.J. McClane for some years now and have found this volume to be the best of the best. It is in my opinion the most detailed and factual reference to be found on catching fish. Of particular value is the section on angling methods which clearly explains the various means by which you can catch your quarry. Any fish, anywhere in the world can be found in this book along with it's life cycle, spawning habits, how to catch it and weather it is good to eat. No angling library is complete without this valuable reference.

A MUST HAVE BOOK, if you have a library of your own or not this is it, I have used this book many times when I go to a new area, state,location, or wherever, it tells where,when and what is needed,its great, one problem I found is I lost it now I cant find it and am lost without it. I have over 75 other books on fishing and this one I miss the most!!!

I was really, really impressed with this book about Strongman covering the period from the 1880's to the 1950's. The reason I was so impressed with these vintage photos of strongman and those aspiring to be strongman is that a lot of these classic photos have not been seen before. This is a fascinating selection of rare cabinet cards and studio portraits by some of the most famous photographers of that time period. You have your Herculean types such as Tony Sansone (my all time favorite), Eugene Sandow, Jack Lalanne, and many others. But what's really fascinating is all the amateur photos & snapshots of anonymous muscular young men that Robert has brought together for us in his book.

There is a very personal foreword by Jules Bacon, Mr. America 1943, who was one of the most handsome & muscular young men of his time. The introduction by Robert Mainardi is a fascinating account of why he started collecting & how his obsession began as a young man.

Any collector of physique photography should not miss having this volume in their collection. It's a must. Council Oak Books has done a beautiful job in printing this book, from the design of the book to the clear photo reproductions. If you like this book be sure and buy Council Oak Books first vintage photo book called "Sailor." Another beautiful book for your enjoyment and collection. Both are highly recommended.

Mainardi's picture book is more than the vintage beefcake photos I'd expected. His introductory essay is a wonderful personal reflection on the power these images had on him as a boy, shaping both his erotic and aesthetic sensibilities for the rest of his life. In that context, the photos become a kind of study in the masculine ideal; any gay man -- and perhaps many straight men and women -- can find in them the sparks to light up distant sense memories and the dim images we buried in our dreams as children: everything from real body builders to guys like our fathers, uncles and brothers, hamming it up in front of a camera on the beach. A really great little book.

With this book, Robert Mainardi has produced a marvelous and valuable addition to the history of photography and bodybuilding. This slim (but fully packed, nonetheless) volume contains many priceless physique photographs from the late 19th century to the 1950s-60s. Every page astonishes with the variety and quality of the collection that Mainardi has put together over many years. Some photographs are humorous (to our 21st century minds), some seriously dramatic and beautiful, but all are worth more than one look. One or two of the photos are bitter-sweet in the way they capture an earlier, more innocent and trusting time. Mainardi has written an essay, an introduction of sorts, that lays the foundation for why he collects, as well as some background on the field and people in question. I can't recommend this book srongly enough; it is great to own, and great to give as a gift to someone with an interest in photography, bodybuilding or history.

I live in England and have no idea how I first came across this book apart from the fact I bought it from Amazon! But am I so glad that I took the plunge and ordered it. I have not enjoyed a mystery novel as much as this one in a very long time. The plot twists and turns with as many potential murderers as stars in the sky. Combine this with a wonderfully laconic sheriff, Jules Clement, great scenery, a large dose of romantic tension plus a lot of wit, sarcasm and humour, and you have one of the best crime novels you will have read in a while. I could not recommend it enough and am going to spread the word about Jamie Harrison to all my friends.

This is outstanding writing, not merely an outstanding mystery, and is, in my opinion, the best novel of the year. The plot - and that word does not convey the depth of this story - would be marvelous by itself, but Harrison adds almost a dozen characters that stick in your mind and then melds them into a literary event. The writing's top-quality and there's not a hint of a wrong turn in this masterful performance. We all know her Dad's the better writer... uh, don't we? Don't we?

The characters are all believable, the writing is literate and witty, and the growing sense of evil makes this book well worth reading. Ms. Harrison gives a clear sense of place (Southwestern Montana) that never detracts from the book's pace or plot. She handles the large cast of characters and their complicated relationships so deftly that I almost never had to remember who was related to whom. A real pleasure.

I read it in Russian (under a different title-Captain Grant's children)when I was a child and it is probably one of the best adventure books ever!!!!!!!!!!! The russian movie based on the book was good too....I tried to find an English version for my husband, who had no idea about this book...I am glad there is one now...Highly recommend to youth and adults who are loking for a wonderful adventure...

I read this book in Spanish when I was a child. It is one of my favorite books by Verne. It is as captivating as 20,000 leagues under the sea, journey to the center of the earth, and other books by Verne. I was surprised to see that there was no English version when I looked for one two years ago! I highly recommend it to people from all ages. Briefly, it is the story of two children who travel all around the world looking for his missing father. Throughout their journey they are many times on the brink of losing their lives, from being hunted by a giant condor, to sharing with a jaguar a sole tree set afire by an electric bolt in the Argentinian pampas. This book will become very popular among English speakers very soon.

I read this book when I was very young, and have read it many more times. It's one of the best works of Jules Verne. The twists and turns in the book kept me in the book until the very last word. As usual, Jules Verne expresses his words in the best possible way and the plot is wonderful.

Trader Vics cocktail book is a important collection for any serious bartender, its an era, a school of thought that must be remebered and no one tells it better that Vic himself. The book contains humourous stories and tips. The downside to it is that none of the ingredients are official, but understanably were aware that no one tells their secrets. very well written, and surely a book that you can compare to and rreview several times over. A must.....

Fantastic bar guide, covering all standard, and tropical drinks. Learn how to make drinks that taste great, and work great! One note, various editions exit, older ones do not containt the recipe for the famous Mai Tai, newer ones do not give the TRUE recipe, but rather say "use Trader Vic's Mai Tai Mix" (similar for other drinks). TO get all recipes, with BASIC ingred. I suggest buying multiple editions of this text. Learn how to make Hot Buttered Rum Batter, Mai Tai's, Navy Grog, the REAL way!

Great Reading, Great experimenting, Great drinks....

A Must for the hobby bar tender!

I found a copy of this book in a box in the garage. This is THE book for mixing a wide range of drinks.

I have to guard my copy to keep friends and family from walking off with it. If you are into anything from simple bar drinks to frou-frou boat drinks (I recommend the potted parrot and rum keg) this the book for you.

I consider myself very fortunate to have met and gotten to know Jule' personally. I can tell you that Jule' is the most genuine person/healer you will ever meet. The work that she endeavors upon is truly inspired by her want to help others. Jules's work sheds light on the things that we can not touch see or smell but know are there. In my opinion she is the best at what she does. Her book can be read every 6 months and bring to light something different every time!
"What's All This about, Anyway?" is a classic that is timeless. I could say a lot more, however I can only tell you that Jules's abilities are real and beyond intuitive.

"What's This All About Anyway" is able to reach inside to access your innermost thoughts and gives them a context and way of formulating them into coherent questions and anwers. I highly recommend it.

This book is written in a very clear and straight forward manner. It is recommended to do the exercises as you come to them. However, if your like I am, it is perfectly OK to read the whole book and then go back and do the exercises.

Since the book is so understandable it is not difficult to read and you will want to recommend it or loan it to your friends.