If you love the song, made famous by Arlo Guthrie, you probably like trains. If you like trains, this book is sure to delight you! It's a wonderful tribute to the classic folksong! Steve Goodman composed "The City of New Orleans" while riding the Illinois Central, while observing his fellow passengers and the passing landscape. Who can forget the warm images he recounted: of the old men playing cards, the young mother nursing her baby, the passengers being lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the rails? "Everything in this song actually happened," Goodman once said; "I'm no good at fiction." Michael McCurdy's illustrations, a combination of woodcuts and watercolors, must be seen and savored! The book is aimed toward children, and kids are certain to enjoy it. But I believe it will evoke stronger emotions in baby-boomers who remember the song and how it actually felt to "be gone 500 miles when the day is done".

This is possibly the best fictional account (not that there's a ton of competition) of the London punk and skinhead scene of the late '70s. Low Life is best known for its omnibus editions of Richard Allen's classic skinhead pulp fiction, and has taken to publishing poorly written and plotted modern homages to the same (such as Casual and Saturday's Heroes). Goodman is a far better writer--which is to say, still mediocre--than Low Life's other authors and tackles a much more complicated subject. After introducing Del, a young skinhead, and a plucky young punk girl named Suzie, he has them fall in love with eachother and through their relationship, attempts to show the skinhead and punk subcultures, and how they interacted at the time. There's a whole subplot involving a mercenary who returns to England, becomes leader of an impressionable gang of skinheads, and falls in with a neo-Nazi party. A lot of time and effort is spent explaining that most skinheads are not racist and soforth, none of which is likely to be news to those who pick up this book. The book is best at giving a feel for the specific time and place, and Goodman ends it all with a lighter and more honest touch than might be expected.

Most of the quotes are unispiring and sophomoric, but it deserves two stars because it looks good on my bookshelf. Here's a quote to consider: caveat emptor...

Look no further. Whether you're a writer or just would like to have a resource for business quotes, this is it.

When buying a quote book, the number one criteria I suggest you use is to select a book that is grouped by topic, not by he/she who said the quote. When I'm writing, I know I want a quote, for instance, on "opportunities." So I look it up that way. 99/100 times I'm not going to know a person who may have said something intelligent on opportunity and look it up that way.

I highly suggest you pick this up and read through it every so often. It will make you a more well-rounded person in the end.

My only complaint about this compilation is that the title is misleading. These are quotes about all aspects of life and human character. The quotes are arranged by theme and carefully indexed by author. It's great for just browsing or for picking up when you need something specific. I own an entire bookshelf of quotation compilations and this is one of my favorites. No quote love should be without this book.