This is the second book I've ready of Mr Shipway's on this period. His attention to detail and historical backround accuracy are second-to-none. Although the characters may not always be liked, the reader cannot but help to empathize. Simply excellent historical fiction.

What a story. This book got me involved in my own search for the cause of William II's death

Walter Benjamin has progressed over the years from an obscure lesser member of the Frankfurt School to a widely read leading member of that obscure school. Aided by such as Hannah Arendt, who introduced him to a wider audience in her writings (and also to me), readers have come to appreciate Benjamin for the beauty of his writing as well as his sharp insight.

This volume, along with its companion, is an excellent introduction to the style and thought of this man who, while out of step with his times, possessed the insight to give those times an original critique.

Possessed of a lively style and free from the Marxist bagge that weighs down his Frankfurt School colleagues such as Adorno and Horkheimer (I think Benjamin owes much more to Heidegger than Marx), Benjamin will hook any reader who takes the time to spend an hour or two with this book. From here it's an easy step to purchase other Benjamin writings, a step I can almost guarantee.

While his work is as important as Barthes, Foucault, or Derrida, or any other critic of the 20th Century, Benjamin's work has a mystical quality, a kind of enchantment, that resonates much more than any other critic I have read. It is always human and sensitive, even despite his determinedly impersonal tone.

When I think of Benjamin, I think of Emerson's famous line about Hawthorne - that he was a greater man than any of his works betray. The integrity and character of Walter Benjamin shines through his works, and is an inspiration to anyone who takes literature seriously.

This first volume of Bejamin's complete works is very attractive and welcome. Some of my favorite essays are present, such as his essays on children's literature, and the nature of language. I eagerly await the other two volumes.

I have a copy of this stored somewhere and am looking for another ``loaner'' copy. This book had a huge impact on my thinking when I first read it in my mid-20s. Walter Williams has a gift for making economics clear and nonthreatening to the average reader. The video based on the book is also excellent if you can find it. Exposes the terrible toll America's myriad laws constraining working people, including the minimum wage, have taken on blacks among others. Raises important issues related to the unintented consequences of laws and regulations. Or, in many cases, intended but hidden consequences. Taxi medallions (licenses) benefit not riders or would-be drivers but the few who can get their hands on one, to cite one example. Find it, read it. You owe it to yourself to read this if you care at all about public policy, freedom, or society.

This book goes into meticulous detail how government programs, ostensibly meant to help the common American worker, actually exacts a tremendous toll on all of American society. However, as Williams so well documents, the costs of these programs fall disproportionately on blacks and other minorities.

One example from the book is the taxi licensing in New York City. Licensing was implemented in the 1930's, and, due to the political pull of existing license holders, not one additional license (medallion) has been issued in more than 60 years. To handle the increased demand for taxi service (there are, after all, a few more people in NYC today than in the '30s) a black market fleet of thousands of illegal taxi drivers has "plagued" the city from almost the very beginning. These "Gypsy" taxis handle the perpetual overflow caused by too many passengers trying to catch too few taxis. They are often the only service to and from the poorer New York neighborhoods that the licensed taxis will not enter.

No one knows exactly how many Gypsy taxis there are at any one time traveling the streets of New York. But the Gypsy taxi driver is almost invariably a poor black or Puerto Rican man who is just trying to eke out an honest living despite the best intentions of the city government.

If you are of the opinion that government programs have aided minorities, and helped them on the way to realizing the American dream, you need to read this book.

As a former creative writing student of Dr. Phillips, I can attest that this book is the next best thing to having the man on retainer. Each step of the creative writing process, from brainstorming to final draft and submissions, is de-mystified and broken down into a series of manageable activities. The most important thing he taught me is that writing, like most things worth doing, is simply a matter of frequent practice. Do the work and the muse will come to you! Very highly recommended.

WRITING SHORT SCRIPTS by William H. Phillips

WRITING SHORT SCRIPTS is a very insightful book about writing short scripts.

The Author has included his perceptive comments about the structure of short film scripts, and has thankfully included the texts of the short film scripts that he writes about.

THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCHO BILLY (1970) is one of the short films included in the book. A number of photos from the film are included as well. "BRONCHO BILLY" is the classic Academy Award Winning live action short film starring JOHNNY CRAWFORD and KRISTIN NELSON. JOHN CARPENTER created the Original Music and was the film editor. NICK CASTLE was the Cinematographer. It is shot like a classic western, but the setting is the big city in present time. The hero dreams of being a cowboy, and actually rides off into the sunset with the girl. It is a movie, with some cinematic wonderful license.

The entire shooting script is included in the book. It is simple, straight forward, and it includes JOHNNY CRAWFORD'S improvised dialogue from the famous "Park Bench Scene" with KRISTIN NELSON, where he goes on about John Wayne, and Gary Cooper, and when asked if he has a horse, says: "Well, not all cowboys have their own horse."

THE RESURRECTION OF BRONCHO BILLY (1970) was released by Universal Studios, to motion picture theaters across the U.S. and Canada for 104 weeks, and holds the record as the most financially successful live action short film in the history of the studio. Ironically, as the book tells us, the filmmakers were all just starting out on their motion picture careers and were attending classes at the Cinema Department at the University of Southern California at the time they made the picture. That is inspiring for young filmmakers everywhere.

If you are interested in short films, this book includes details about "BRONCHO BILLY" and several other excellent short films as a reference on short film script writing. If you may write a short film yourself, this is one book that you should own and read.

This is one of the few books I have read that I found to be so captivating that I literally could not put it down. The book contains 10 word for word testimonies of 10 kids who have been through the horror of drug and alcohol abuse. This book is frank - I appreciated how Joel Engel *never* tried to "soften the edges" and make things sound not so blunt in order not to offend people. This is one of the few books, if not the only one, that truly shows just how much drugs can wreck your life.

This book is terrific in that it shows, in a common sense, easy to read way, just how hurtful and harmful government regulations are to minorities. Professor Williams is certainly not shy about exposing the "myths" of many of the "good" government programs.

This is a wonderfully refreshing book by a man not afraid to tell it like it is.

For anyone looking to read a book about why the plight of blacks/other minorities does not change even though we constantly hear about "expanding government programs" and "investing" in people, this book is for you.

The first thing that strikes you when starting this book is the pace at wich WJW leads you through his witty plot, not leaving your mind at rest untill you have finished the book... then leaving you with a craving for more. And a sequel of this book would be like "la crême de la crême"

This is a great book for engineers who want to gain some basic knowledge about explosives. The book has detailed chemical descriptions and design equations. It is a very valuable book, especially for me, since I will be going into the Air Force. I would reccomend this book to anyone, but engineers will get the most out of it. My only negative comment is that the price is rather high, but that is pretty normal for engineering texts.

A good hard sf collection; 'facets' of Williams' talent.

Our school recently started performing this play at our school and I think it is absolutely funny. I have never read the book, but I am sure it is just as funny as the play was.