This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Honorable Mention for Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to photographer Philip Gould, author Jason Berry, designer Laura Roubique Gleason, printer Dai Nippon Printing, and the Louisiana State University Press.

Phillip Gould has been an astute and quirky observer of Louisiana life for a couple of decades. Though a transplant he has established serious and widely respected local roots. He speaks Cajun/Creole French; he speaks to the heart. This finely honed selection of portaits echoes every strophe of Louisiana life. His visages map and mirror what Louisiana is and is about. They stand as a testament to a place and its cultures-- a singular place at that, fiercely individual cultures to boot; a world and its folkways that still tenaciously remain undiluted into the general American homogeneity. Gould's reportorial eye is keen and witty, his pictures are trenchant and lambent and are destined to imprint and remain.

Philip Gould knows the world of spies and exciting foreign places like most of us know the back of our hands. In "The Cold Warriors" he beautifully weaves together love and death, loyalty and treachery, and the nostalgic workings of time past and present. The book combines Gould's own special authoritative voice with poignant touches of Graham Greene and Le Carre.

"The Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town" combines text by Cyril E. Vetter with photographs by Philip Gould. Together, they celebrate the classic houses designed by Town. The book is full of superb photos of both interiors and exteriors. The book ends with a short essay by Andres Duany, in which he declares, "The long, long career of A. Hays Town is like a bridge that brings forth the traditional architecture of Louisiana to the present generation of builders."

Many picturesque elements recur throughout the book: classical statuary, brick floors, exteriors with a look of natural weathering, 2-level exterior galleries, etc. Some particularly memorable images include the following: Hamilton House's interior courtyard overlooked by a second floor balcony; Westerman House's charming lily pond, made from an old sugar kettle; the rustic wood posts on the porch of the Bonnecaze House; the elegant white pillars of the Godchaux House; and more.

My only disappointment is that floor plans for the homes are not included; they would have, in my opinion, given readers a better sense of these houses. Still, if you love great American architecture, I recommend this book.

Brick Floors and Cypress Beams in Louisiana

Today, real architects don't do charm, but long before it fell out of style, A. Hays Town, born in 1903, was building Acadian cottages, Creole villas and Spanish courtyards in his native Louisiana. After retiring from his commercial practice in the 1960's, he designed even more of these houses, which are beloved by Southerners. Now everyone can visit 25 of the 500 he built in "The Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town" (Louisiana State University Press; $39.95). The sparse text is by Cyril E. Vetter, and the 200 photographs by Philip Gould prove that good proportion and materials work. White-painted brick walls with red brick floors under high ceilings with cypress beams work even better. This is true regional architecture, handsome and useful.

"The Louisiana Houses of A. Hays Town," published by Louisiana State University Press, documents 25 of the hundreds of houses designed by Town in a career that spanned the major part of the century ...Up until now Town's residential work has not been assembled into one accessible publication, making "The Louisiana Houses" a long-awaited addition to books about Southern architecture...Gould's photographs, polished, honest and generous, give the book its rare and artistic importance...Malcolm Heard, an architecture professor at Tulane, says Town figured out how to combine the familiarity of the past and the flexibility of the present, striking out on his own path at a time when most architects were following more modernist pursuits.

"In brilliantly depicting the 'hazards and delusions of foreign service life,'Gould assembles his three-part story around a theme of tragedy and retribution. A powerful and haunting resolution ties together 'the many networks of people in this life.' Gould handles exotic settings and nuanced character portrayal with impressive skill." --Publishers Weekly

"A chewy, tripartite novel with old-timey foreign service atmospheric appeal. Marvelous reportage on some far places." --Kirkus Reviews

"Gould packs an astonishing amount of history and character observation into this incisive shadow game and writes in a flexible, lyrical shorthand that conjures erotic longing, political background and physical description with equal aplomb." --The Seattle Times

"Gould's writing is tight and expressive, his charcters complex and absorbing." --Los Angeles Reader

"Disciplined story telling, lean, lucid, literate." --Buffalo News

A floating and barely perceptible island of sophisticated innocents abroad, the eighth continent is not entirely unknown in other fictions or in films. There, its topography is rendered in broad strokes of primary color; but in this narrative, Philip Gould provides some key nuances, both chromatic and structural. Even more than his first novel, _Kitty Collins_, _The Eighth Continent_ draws strength from Gould's sure sense of place and his sensitivity to fragile, ambiguous situations, as well as his ear for the stress points and lacunae of speech between characters of radically different disposition and culture. A witty, poignant, eminently readable book.

Indeed a book worth reading. Neil and Brenda's love affair is a clear example of materialism in love affairs. They also show a great amount of common sense as developed by Roth, which is very representative of his own life. Although brief, the characters are well developed, their attitudes are representative of the temporal setting (around the 60's), which sets the mood effectively.

At first, we thought that the story was a bit slow, but near the end, the finale is magnificently narrated, showing the characters more humane than in any other part of the novel. We would recommend this story because you might feel connected to any of the main characters. Finally, don't forget to take a look at the title's symbolism; this can be a key factor in determining the true meaning of the novel (Tahiti-Gaugin-The Patimikin's fridge filled with exotic fruit-Christopher Columbus?-New World?-Neil's New World?).

Though definitely not his best work, _Goodbye, Columbus_ is an impressive first effort from one of the best authors of the second half of this century. Throughout the book one can sense the style Roth was creating for himself, and though this book doesn't exhibit that breathless virtuosity of prose, that mastery of the English language, of his later books, it's still a nice read.

The novella _Goodbye, Columbus_ is a love story and a quiet meditation on a different type of "class struggle," and a better example of Roth's style -- not to mention a better story -- than his next two books, _Letting Go_ and _When She Was Good_. The first of the five stories, "The Conversion of the Jews," is a bit sick, but entertaining for that very reason. The middle three stories are a bit lackluster, but the book ends in high style, with "Eli, the Fanatic," a story that manages to be both a moving story about conflicting loyalties (the goyim or the Jews) and a hilarious portrait of a nervous breakdown.

I would not recommend this book to those just starting to read Philip Roth (try the Zuckerman Bound trilogy instead), but for anyone wondering where Roth's career started, it's an excellent book.

Goodbye, Columbus is the story of Neil Klugman from poor Newark and Brenda Patimkin from an upper-crust family in Short Hills and their relationship over a summer. Neil relates the story of his love for the beautiful Brenda, a love in which the two share little in common. He presents his hopes and dreams and his ultimate realizations about the state of the world and about himself. The novella is ultimately a beautiful, complex coming-of-age story which it seems everyone goes through.

Goodbye, Columbus is one of the best books I have read. It was so realistic and easy to relate to. I think that I have had a relationship similar to every one related in the novel. There are so many great insights to be found here. The novella isn't a difficult read, but one should definitely be aware of a lot of the symbols (such as the title, the fruit, the lions, and the uncle at the wedding) to glean the most from it. I will also say a word about the short stories. All of them, particularly "The Conversion of the Jews," were wonderful. They alone would make the book worth five stars; they just seem to get forgotten because of the masterpiece the opening novella is.

An insider's guide to Tony Blair and his colleagues' revolutionary overhaul of the British political system. With an insider's view of British politics, Gould perfects what so few of his contemporaries could achieve with their broadbrush generalisations from the media and outside new Labour.

Alongside Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson, Gould helped make Labour electable for the first time in a generation. Having seen Britain's improved relations with both America and the European Union since then, the world can safely say it has been a positive experience.

A classic

I began reading this book with great anticipation, looking forward to a pleasant evening learning more about a sadly-neglected subject; women's writing in 19th century America.

About two thirds down the first page of the historical timeline, one eyebrow went up. Three seconds later the other eyebrow joined the first eyebrow. By page 20 I was ready to ask for my money back.

This book is riddled with so many errors of fact, grammar and spelling (a character in one of Mrs. E.D. E. N. Southworth's novels is described as "fighting duals")that I can't believe it made it past the fact-checker and the copy-editor. I have to ask myself the question: If the editors couldn't be bothered to catch these minor, silly mistakes, how can I have any confidence that the rest of the information they are imparting is accurate?

Messrs Bauer and Gould should be ashamed of themselves for allowing such a slipshod piece of work to make it into print.