I read this book as a child, and loved it. It is a wonderful adventure along the lines of "The Count of Monte Christo".

The Death of a Nobody (1911)(Jules Romains [Louis Farigoule] 1885-1972)(translated by Desmond McCarthy and Sidney Waterlow)

[I]n particular, it is with the literary movement known as unanimism (Romains coined the word 'l'unanisme' and used it in print for the first time in 1905) that his name is associated. Most simply, unanimism is the literary exploration of the life of groups as distinct from the study of the dynamics of the individual person. It claims for the group a special status over and beyond the individual; the central task of the literary work is to examine and articulate the character, personality, and particular qualities of groups of all sorts, from the transitory collectivity of human beings who huddle under an awning during a quick shower to families and business and professional associates who spend significant parts of their lives together in subtle patterns of proximity. Under Romain's leadership, unanimism flowered into something more than a cult; it became a generic name for a religious and social discipline, for a philosophic stance, and for an interpretive art. The mystery of the group became the cardinal problem for the contemporary mind and it was to this problem that Romains addressed himself. -Maurice Natanson, Afterword to the Signet Classics edition (1961)

The Death of a Nobody is the first installment in what grew into a 27 volume cycle of novels, essays, poems, and plays called Les Hommes de bonne volonté (Men of Good Will), in which Jules Romains developed his theory of unanimism. It concerns the death of Jacques Godard, a retired railroad engineer, who lived by himself in a flat in Paris. His death is depicted as an event which effects a few acquaintances, his fellow tenants, his aged father, and a young stranger. Romains suggests that Godard continues to exist for a time, to the extent that these people recall him, but with the death of his parents, is finally forgotten. Romains uses a nearly cinematic technique, depicting various characters;' reactions to death in narrative sequence, but as if they are occurring contemporaneously. The novel is interesting both for this stylistic innovation (keep in mind that when the book was written, cinema didn't even really exist) and for the philosophy expounded, but I'd imagine after a couple of entries in the series it would get pretty tedious. This one is mercifully brief and worth reading.

GRADE : B

From the 1870s, and for a quarter century, every new Verne novel had been issued in translation. Abruptly, in 1898, American and British publishers broke this tradition with The Mighty Orinoco (Le Superbe Orénoque), now available for the first time in English over a century later from Wesleyan University Press.
Why did the publishers of Verne's time reject this book, and nearly every one thereafter, although one or two Verne books had appeared annually under his byline in France until 1910, five years after his death? Since 1880, Verne stories had been mainstays of Boys Own Paper in England. American publishers came to rely more and more on utilizing the English translations, rather than commissioning fresh ones for use in the United States. Hence, by the 1890s, the anticipated taste of the British market came to govern what appeared in English translations on either side of the Atlantic.
The lack of a translation of The Mighty Orinoco has also been a factor in the conventional perception of Verne as a writer unable to place women in strong roles. The hero of The Mighty Orinoco is a 22-year-old woman undertakes a search for the father she has never known, whom she learns may have disappeared along the South American river that forms the book's title. To travel incognito, she dresses as a 17 year old boy, Jean, accompanied by one of her father's former military aides, Martial (whose name signifies his background). This is not simply the conventional story for youth of a girl proving courageous when faced with sudden danger. Instead it is a premeditated adoption of a new gender, a complete violation of the standard sex roles.
Along the way, she and Martial meet two naturalists, also exploring the river, and join forces. One of them, Jacques, cannot account for the attraction he feels toward Jean, deeper than what can be accounted for by male friendship. For his part, Martial is frustrated at his inability to shield Jeanne from this potential future lover. Only when rescuing Jean from drowning does Jacques discover her secret, and at that point their emotions can follow a normal heterosexual development.
Jean/Jeanne herself ultimately makes a similar transformation; for the search of her father, she had passed as a man, but once it is no longer necessary, she assumes feminine garb, which she had even brought with her. As noted in the critical commentary by the dean of American Verne scholars, Walter James Miller, Jacques remains attracted to the masculine side of Jeanne's nature, revealing Verne's insight into the dual aspects of masculinity and femininity present in individuals of either gender. As Germain exclaims of Jeanne, "Charming as a lad, and charming as a lass! It's true-I don't understand it at all!" (354) And on the return journey, calling again on those who knew them on the way out, Jacques has to explain how he married Jean!
It is easy to see why such a premise, as readily comprehensible as it may be to older readers, would be precluded when Boys Own Paper was such a crucial outlet. And that fact, unfortunately, denied for English-language readers one of Verne's best late colonial adventures.
Verne's journey involves a perilous passage, through steadily greater natural dangers, climaxing in abduction by bandits. However, their destination reveals not the heart of darkness, but one of light and civilization. Jeanne's father has become a priest and head of a utopian community, named Juana for Jeanne. He combines the best aspects of both a man of faith and one who insures the defense of the city, and the forces of righteousness defeat the bandits.
Verne well knew that his readers would quickly guess Jeanne's "secret," so he added mystery as the story unfolds, by initial withholding some of the motivations for her trip. Only in a fragmentary way are aspects of her past filled in, with the end jumping ahead to switch point of view entirely with her father's discover of his daughter and his rescue of her (he had thought she had died as a child). As Miller notes, the development and interweaving of the five plot "strands is a lesson in plotting." (374) In this way the reversal and recognition on which the novel relies remains fresh and vivid. The book is well-paced, with a perfect balance of varied and intriguing characters.
In typical manner for the genre, Verne reveals conflicting attitudes toward race and imperialism. There is a consciousness of racial difference, among Indians, Spaniards, and those of mixed blood (again, hardly likely to be approved of as reading for the Boys Own audience), but there are also no racist assumptions based on this background. Similarly, Verne sees typical benefits of "civilization," that is, white civilization, in the usual manner offered through missionary work, health, improvements in agriculture, and the like. The hope for the country's future is an Indian boy who has been educated at the mission, but who lost his father to the bandits, evoking parallels with Jeanne. The only true villain is the Spanish bandit Jorres, who, in another echo of Jeanne, is revealed to actually be the outlaw Alfaniz. Humor is derived from a trio of quarrelsome European explorers, true idiot savants, who are perpetually unable to agree on the river's tributaries.
Fortunately, again Wesleyan University Press's ongoing series of the Early Classics of Science Fiction, which will include a number of previously untranslated Verne books, has included all the original engravings, reproduced in an even higher quality than their previous Verne volumes, The Invasion of the Sea and The Mysterious Island. Pioneering Verne scholar Stanford Luce, who wrote the first American doctoral dissertation on Verne, provides a highly readable translation.

Rene Dubos, a doc, was one of the first and most influential environmentalists and also bent medicine. This book established that disease is PART of health---not in some goopy self-awareness way but as an inherent part of a system remaining able to correct itself and restore dynamic homeostasis.

Four stars only because it might be a little dated by now, but no one has attempted to surpass what Dubos accomplished.

Sarah McClendon's memoir of her 60+ years covering the Presidency is by turns fascinating and frustrating. You get some insider details and a feel for the era--somewhat. You're witness to some funny and sometimes unexpectedly revealing stories about her encounters with various Presidents. Even if you're die hard liberal (like McClendon), you'll find her stories about Nixon and Bush the Elder affecting and human. Alas, there's not as much here as I'd like about the real business of being a correspondent, or enough on the actual press conferences she participated in. There are snippets, some sharp exchanges, but there should be more. The book might have also benefited from "other voices"--interviews with or reminiscences by those who worked with McClendon or who were the target of her laser beam-like questioning. Still, this is an entertaining look at Washington, from someone who trod the boards there for over half a century.

We enjoyed reading this book to our children, ages 2 and 7, and they enjoy hearing it, OFTEN. This book is cute and fun and unique in its use of yiddish (all explained in the text).

This is definitely NOT a typical Spirit adventure, but has it's own merit, with the Spirit doing his "thing" in an outer space setting. The best part of the book (which makes it truly worthwhile) are the several page introductions that include a 1952 history lesson concerning the Spirit comic in major newspapers and the comments by Will Eisner, himself.

This is an excelent resource for those individuals who are interested in Participatory research. It is a virtual "how to book" The authors have carefully assembled a workbook that helps teach many of the skills needed to learn through participation. Whether you are a researcher, facilitator, or someone who just works on the grass roots level; you will appreciate the variety of topics and activities that are discussed.

Chapter headings include: -Adult Learning -You, The Trainer and Facilitator -Group Dynamics and Team Building -Principles of Participatory Learning and Action -Training in Participatory Methods in the Workshop -The challenges of Training in the Field -Organizing workshops for Training, (Orientation and Exposure) -Plus: 101 games and Exercises for Trainers

I recomend this book to anyone interested in participation, participatory research, Planning (especially advocasy), people who work with unempowered peoples, those who want to empower people, anyone interested in methods of learning.

On a personal note: I am a planning student at the University of Tennessee and I have found that books like these (workbooks) serve as a valuable tool when trying to implement or exercise participatory learning reasearch. I have been facilitating for about a year now and although there is no suppliment for practice and experience, books such as these, help.

the best book that I have read until now.

in detail....!

This book will walk you through, painlessly, the marvels of one of Law's most interesting subject, Jurisprudence or Philosophy of Law. It focuses on the most important contributions on the matter by: Dworkin, Hart, as well as others. It's also great for a quick review on the subject or a brief introduction. Well written, a breeze to read.