THE MICK HAS BEEN THE HERO IN MY LIFE FOR 35 YEARS. THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT ACCOUNT OF HIS CAREER IN PICTURES AND NARRATION. MR. ALLEN SHOWS THE GREATNESS OF MICK AS A PLAYER AND THE HUMANESS OF HIM AS A PERSON. THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR EVERYONE WHO WORSHIPPED THE MICK. HE IS STILL A HERO AND A VERY BRAVE MAN WHO WAS AT HIS BEST NEAR THE END OF HIS LIFE. HATS OFF TO THE MICK AND THIS WONDERFUL ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AND CAREER. THANK YOU MR. ALLEN.

This book contains the best Pulitzer awarded pictures from its inception since 1942. Most of the photos are in B&W and you begin to realise how much more powerful and appropriate it is to be shot in this medium, as it strips away the epidermi of the scene and reveals the emotional flesh of the moment. Every photo is accompanied with a commentary about how it was made and the situation that exposed the determination, patience and grit of the photographer. And for each year that is chronicled, four thumbnail pics of other events in that year is depicted, to give a sense of the timeline of the situation.

This book makes you want to be a photojournalist.

This was the first book I ever read about our days in the Mekong Delta with the American advisors. David Halberstam was one of the first outstanding journalists stationed in Saigon, who came down and covered operations in the Delta in the first years of the war. His writing is intense, and always unfailingly accurate. This story here was one of the early books written about the war, and was a "bible" for those of us who were there in the mid-sixties. I flew helicopters out of Vinh Long, just up the river from My Tho, and worked with the 7th ARVN Division quite a bit. I write up my exploits in the book OUTLAWS IN VIETNAM, which is also listed on these Amazon.com pages. I was stationed with the 13th Aviation Battalion during the years of 1966-67; nothing had changed much from the accounts Halberstam writes of in ONE VERY HOT DAY. A collector's fine; I still need a copy!

This book describes so much that makes America great yet does not shy away from illuminating our weaknesses. One chapter describes a Japanese salesman going on his first sales call in America, fully expecting to be snubbed for his lack of connections and modest English skills. Instead he makes the sale. The buyer didn't care who he was, only that he had the right product at the right price.

Another chapter describes the unwillingness of Ford management to develop a front wheel drive car even after the benefits of that configuration had been proven all over the world. "We know what Americans really want."

All told, this is a great book that serves as a reminder to Americans that we must be ever vigilant to new opportunities, technologies and businesses. American managers have leaned a great many lessons since the mid 80's and our economy shows it. This book should serve as a reminder of what can happen if we become complacent and ignore fresh ideas.

This book is in three parts - firstly a history of Ford as number 2 in American automotive manufacturing, secondly a history of Nissan as number 2 in Japan and thirdly the clash between American and Japan after 1975. The author does an excellent job using anecdotes and world events to describe what happened and why. This book explains why I bought a japanese car and over seven years later I am extremely happy with it. It also explains why I am a keen supporter of TQM! Perhaps someone could write a similar book on the colour television industry. Highly recommended for anybody with an interest in cars, modern history, economics and/or TQM.

What is clear from the accounts of Garbus' battles for freedom of speech is that the struggle to be free or to remain free will never end. Garbus also shows how one person (or a few) can make a huge difference in the free society we enjoy today. The book portrays many heros, several scoundrals, and events in the past that all jump off the page in a new light. I've added Martin Garbus to my top-ten list of people I would most like to have dinner with because I'd like to find out much more about his exploits in defending our right to hear and read anything others have to say.

David Halberstam does an excellent job of portraying Robert Kennedy in a sympathetic, yet objective light. This particular work focuses on the last years of Robert Kennedy's life and his career in politics.

Elected N.Y. Senator in 1964, Robert Kennedy was literally coming into his own. Prior to his successful senatorial election, he was the Attorney General during his older brother's tenure in office. Fortunately Robert Kennedy is not eclipsed by his brother, President John Kennedy in this work. Halberstam shows how Robert Kennedy came into his own.

Confronted with making decisions without his brother's input was a big and bitterly painful adjustment the Senator had to make; indeed, winning the 1964 election had to be an impetus that pushed him into a more visible position.

This particular work follows Robert Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign; readers travel with the Senator from state to state, immersed in the issues of the day. The final campaign curtain descends in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968 the night Robert Kennedy was assassinated. This book stays a step behind that final curtain; instead of revisting the horrendous night of June 5, 1968, Halberstam stops short and appears almost timid to move beyond a certain point.

What to do with the rest of the summer of the Boys of Summer take their ball and go home? Read this book...

I'm not, by any means, a rabid baseball fan, but Halberstam paints fascinating word portraits of many of the sport's most famous players. Not only are the biographies interesting, the story their collective desires to WIN (not make money) is inspirational. In 1964, baseball led the way in accepting minorities into the fabric of American culture. Despite off-the-field distractions, the Saint Louis Cardinals fought and clawed their way into the World Series.

Bob Gibson kept the team focused. He was just plain mean on the mound. Opposing batters feared him. And in the end, Gibson's reputation and his ability to "psyche out" his opponents may have given the Cards that little extra edge that made them Baseball's World Champions in October 1964.

Despite the 15-year gap between the two stories, it seems like OCTOBER 1964 picks up right where SUMMER OF '49 leaves off. Despite the suggestion of the title, OCTOBER, like it's predecessor, examines a lot of What Went Before -- the grind of the season, spring training, and the trends in baseball leading up to the might clash.

Here, those trends are the result of what began with the first book. Years of New York Yankee domination are beginning to wind down, and more importantly, the racial integration of the baseball leagues was beginning to provide advantages to those teams willing to adapt.

The players that Halberstam describes are the ones that created the baseball of today. These players brought free agency and a strong Players Association that experienced uninterrupted negotiating success until this last summer.

Essentially, what we have here has to be one of the most fascinating collection of baseball players ever. For the Yankees, you have Mantle and Maris, uncomfortable and declining slugging kings, along with wacky Jim Bouton (see BALL FOUR). The Cardinals have Curt Flood, Bob Uecker, and Bob Gibson, whose made his reputation against all of baseball in this one World Series.

This book suffers some of the same flaws as SUMMER OF '49. Just like its predecessor, it relies heavily on the potentially-flawed and biased memories of the participants, though, to my knowledge, this volume did not draw nearly so many attacks against its veracity. It doesn't have the rosters at the beginning of the book (tsk).

But what it doesn't have, fortunately, is the sense that something is missing. Here, it truly feels like baseball's best are playing the game, and nobody but the untalented are excluded. Well, except for Uecker.

It is rare indeed when a reader comes across a book that delivers more than what is expected. David Halberstam's October 1964 is a very fine example of this. The story that Halberstam weaves is, on the surface, a tale of men playing professional baseball in the mid sixties. The drama that takes place throughout the summer of 1964, culminating with that year's fall classic in October is, in itself, great reading for any baseball fan. The legends of Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris seem to grow before the readers very eyes. But this is much more than a story of men playing baseball.

The year 1964 was a volatile time in the history of our country, and the ballplayers playing for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinal that year reflected much of the country's turmoil. Lou Brock and Curt Flood's incredible drive and determination to show white America that they were badly mistaken about the ability of black ballplayers, and Bob Gibson's incredible anger about what was occurring, are excellent examples of the changing race relations evident in the United States at this time. The New York Yankees slow process of integrating the organization illustrates that progress in this endevor was plodding at best. However, race relations were not the only changing forces at work in baseball at this time.

The modern media was just beginning to emerge during the early 1960's and Halberstam's treatment of how this new media clashed with the midwestern populist views of Roger Maris and was embraced(at times) by the gregarious Mickey Mantle is fascinating. Most of the players, if not all, during this time period did not yet understand that how they performed on the field was now only part of the story. Again, the study of Maris during his quest for 61 homers in 1961 is a great example of the coming storm of the celebrity driven media.

Being a history and education major in college myself, I find one of the best examples that the book has to offer of changing America was the clashing ideologies of the newer players and the older players and managers. Players such as Ray Sadecki, Phil Linz, and Joe Pepitone, were indeed alien to the old guard. Even an item such as Joe Pepitone's bringing a hairdryer in to the clubhouse seemed stunning to the older players. It was a changing world, and as has been quoted in the past, baseball reflected America.

In summation, Halberstam's book is a history book, a psychology book, a sociology book, and, of course, a baseball book. For people who actually remember what was going on in 1964 it is especially poignant, baseball fan or not. But for myself I now have a better understanding of why, as a boy, I once gazed upon the ball cards of Mantle and Boyer and Brock and Ford and held them in awe. They were men who were larger than life at a time when only the tough survived. After reading Halberstam's account of a long ago October my feeling of awe, admiration, and hero worship have increased tenfold

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a timeless tale about a seagull seeking perfection in flight, and, along the way, learns something about loving and transcendence.

Okay, that sounds weak the way I say it...

Really, it is a touching story about being the best you can be, while not letting others stop you in following your dreams. From Jonathan's beginnings of becoming an Outcast of gull society for the love of flying to his return to the Flock, the reader is swept away by the charming parable and empathizes with Jonathan's plight. You will gush over this book (as I probably am in this review).

Who should read this? A better question is "who shouldn't?" It's short enough to read to your children at night (it may take two or three nights), or for an adult to read in an afternoon. The powerful message to "be the best you can be and live true to your dreams" carries across generations and cultures and is always worth hearing.

Overall, this is an extremely uplifting, clever, and wonderful book. Just be warned: do not buy just one copy! This book is guaranteed to be one that you will want to share with your friends, family, and coworkers. I'd hate to see you to be without it while your book was on loan. You never know when you might want to "gush over a gull" yourself...

I can remember, before I read this book about 5 years ago, growing up always seeing this book lying around my house. Of course at the time I never inquired as to what it was, I just saw it all the time. I always associated it with some Christian book of inspiration that my father was reading, which is why I never bothered to look at it.

After reading this, however, I was truly amazed with the story. I knew I knew it. I mean, the story was entirely familar. Like most people growing up in a Christian household they are likely to hear the story of Jesus. Either from their parents, church or wherever. This book surprised me with the parallel to Jesus' own life. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, who knew he something better to do than just eat. So he flew higher and higher and came down faster and faster. He was learning. He was experiencing.

Soon, after being kicked out of his own lang and meeting some very wise Gulls. They taught him perfect speed. It was some time before I understood what this meant. But I found out one day at an Ani DiFranco concert (learning is everywhere around you). Someone said that she was the fastest female metal guitarist, or something or other. It dawned on me then what perfect speed was. Its not the speed, its not the height, but the quality. In a word: now.

At any rate, this book was one of the books that really inspired me, for many things outside of it just being a Jesus parallel. It inspired me to know that we all have more to do with our time than to work to make money to eat (ad infinitum). One of the great books of its day. Highly reccomended for those who love good stories. (Oh, by the way - if you loved this story and thought you might want to see the movie. Dont! You will be utterly bored, especially by Neil Diamonds droning terrible songs in which a short book is made into a 2 hour live rendition. A complete let down, not to mention a waste of a film).

Of all the countless, thousands of books I have read, "Johathan Livingston Seagull" is my number one favourite book. It is so much more than a simple story about a seagull who learns to spread his wings and fly. The book can have many individual interpretations, depending on how you relate to it, and to me that is the magical wonder of this beautiful, inspirational book. For each one of us, the book has its own personal meaning. To me, it is about personal freedom and having the courage to be the person you want to be; the freedom to become all that you were meant to be, not what someone else expects you to be. It is about spiritual freedom and how our fate on this Earth, and in whatever worlds may follow, is determined by the choices we make. As a parent, it is about learning to let go, for giving your children "wings," is the greatest gift they will ever receive. By setting them free, when they are no longer yours to hold, you are giving them the freedom to grow and the dauntless courage, strength and independence to fly on their own in an uncertain world.

I have read this book so many times throughout the years that the pages are dog-eared and worn. The book is short, but the powerful lesson and message contained in these few pages is one many people never learn in an entire lifetime, no matter how many lifetimes they may live.

In "The Fifties", David Halberstam covers a huge range of political, historical and cultural events that defined this pivotal decade. The Korean War, the development of the H-Bomb, the rise of Castro and Kruschev, the violent reactions to the end of racism in America, the fiasco of the U-2 spy plane over Russia is explained and analyzed alongside the rise of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Nixon, Television, Levittown, MacDonald's, Holiday Inn, and even the great game show fraud on "Twenty One". The events are integrated with a thorough look into the biographies of the people at the center of the events. An element of hindsight in such a recent historical era may incline biases; but they are largely absent. There is no underlying theme carrying through the narrations; just a look at some of the amazing developments. Halberstam writes with genuine interest and leaves us with a picture that is a joy and a real education. He is masterful covering such a range of events yet is able to include significant detail of the people and the events, giving you a perspective absent the social or media biases of the era.

The scope of this book could turn readers away -- Beaver Cleaver to Elvis, John Foster Dulles to Betty Friedan, Rosa Parks to Ray Kroc, Jack Kerouac to Gary Powers. What keeps it from being daunting -- and it is daunting not just in scope, but in size (700+ pages)-- is its eminently readable style. Halberstam writes with a journalist's eye for what is critical and important, and his writing is precise and focused. This is, believe it or not, great beach reading. The chapters are never more than 15 pages long, he sprinkles the themes throughout -- a chapter here and another chapter there. And his scope is fascinating: music, politics, civil rights, war, McDonalds/GM/other industry, feminism, beat poets, advertising and the rise of things to spend your disposable income on. The last 400 pages zip by like reading Elmore Leonard. As one born after the decade (in 1961), I learned a fantastic amount that explains a lot of what I grew up with. My advice: go out, go out NOW, and buy a copy. I finished this and bought 4, to give to friends and to my dad who actually lived through the 50s and was piqued by the book. READ THIS BOOK

Halberstam is at his best in this volume, which is chocked full of famous and "not so famous" stories and anecdotes of the 50's. Beginning with the development of the H-bomb and our cold war fears, Halberstam guides the reader through a fascinating voyage that covers political, social, and economic history. With topics ranging from the development of McDonalds, television, Korea, Eisenhower, the beginnings of feminism, the beats, and so much more, this book opens eyes as to what the 50's were truly like. I highly recommend this book to all who want to look beyond the nostalgia and get to what really happened in what some have called the most interesting decade of the 20th century.