CHIEF WILLIAMS POINTS OUT ONLY THE NEGATIVE IN A FINE ORGANIZATION. HE SPENDS DOZENS OF PAGES TELLING US HOW TERRIBLE
HIS LIFE WAS AND HOW MISTREATED HE WAS. LIFE WAS HARD, BUT NOT JUST FOR HERMAN WILLIAMS. CHECK WITH ANY ROOKIE FIREFIGHTER IN ANY DEPARTMENT. I ACTUALLY ADMIRED THE MAN UNTIL I READ THIS BOOK. HERMAN IS AS MUCH A RACIST AS ANY HE ENCOUNTERED. CHIEF HERMAN WILLIAMS GOT THE LAST LAUGH. HE WILL STAND IN THE ANNUALS OF BALTIMORE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY AS THE CHIEF THAT CLOSED THE MOST FIRE STATIONS AND DISBANDED THE MOST FIRE COMPANIES. HERMAN MADE CHIEF AND GOT HIS REVENGE.

You must read about the triumph of this great man and all of the unjust he dealt with to get where is today. A good lesson on what went on in the fire dept -- unbelievable. After reading this book it is absolutely clear that Mr. Williams is definitely not a racist and it is utterly riduculous to think that let alone write it in a review. This man is a true role model and I am proud of him. I urge you to pick up a copy today -- you won't regret it.

Courage and self-sacrifrice are the words that come to mind after reading the book Firefighter. I was amazed at the racist behavior but even more shocked at how recently these events occured. I am grateful that this story was told and learned a lot about the human spirit's ability to triumph over adversity.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It reminded me of a Rosamunde Pilcher book. Thumbs up!

Enjoyable read. Hermione, Ellen's qirky neighbor was thehighlight of the novel and was the most developed character. However,James could have done so much more with the teenage mother and Mattthew character. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this novel tremendously!

I enjoyed James' style of writing although it could be plain sometimes. The plot is very interesting, something that could happen to anyone (divorce, teenage mother, snobbish neighbors). It is one of those books you smile after you're done w/ the book. Definetely a good read!

While this book has many great pictures from the decade and examples of artwork inspired by psychedelic rock, it is a very lightweight effort. Perhaps it was meant to be that way. Concentrating almost solely on London and the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, the book consists mainly of reminiscences of aging hippies, most of whom were involved in the music and/or art scene of that era, either in San Francisco or London. Pretty much all of these consist of uncritical reminiscences about the hippie movement, whose downfall, if we are to believe these people, apparently came only from its eventual invasion by those looking to get rich off the movement (i.e., the establishment), totally disregarding the fact that those hucksters and exploiters were there from the beginning within the movement. One thing that also bothered me is that the rampant drug use of the period was presented almost completely as a positive thing. Indeed, it was glorified. With the exception of mentioning that Syd Barrett apparently became emotionally unhinged at least in part due to his use of LSD, there is almost no mention of the lives destroyed by the hedonism and drug use of the period, including such famous rock pioneers as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, to name the most prominent. While it was interesting and entertaining to read many of these reminiscences, I wanted to know more. I wanted the authors and editors to dig a bit deeper than the superficial outline of that period's history that we've heard about before. One good effort in that direction was the timeline that was at the bottom of every page, spanning the years from 1965-1969 throughout the course of the book. Basically, I recommend this book, but mainly for the great photo spreads and not as much for the commentaries and reminiscences.

i found that this was a wonderful book. i was not around during the sixties, but i have been in love with them for a while. this book is a great trip back to the sixties for those of us who weren't fortunate enough to be there, and i'm sure it is great memories for those who were. i would reccomend this book to anyone in search of information about the sixties/hippies. it is definately a must read!

This book is an excellent portrayal of life in the 60's. It is great nostalgia for those who were there, and a great taster for those who wish they were.

WHEN I WAS IN JR. HIGH SCHOOL IN HOUSTON IN 1964, THIS WAS THE FIRST NOVEL I EVER READ. IT LAUNCHED ME ON A LIFETIME OF READING AND A LOVE OF HISTORY. IT'S TREATMENT OF THE "HERO" ALLOWS ALL OF US TO RELATE TO HIM. HE IS JUST A PLAIN YOUNG MAN WITH AVERAGE ABILITIES, AND HAS AVERAGE SUCESS IN THE COCKPIT, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT HE STAYS ALIVE.

THE BOOK TRACES THE EXPLOITS OF CHARLES SELDEN FROM THE TRENCHES THROUGH FLIGHT TRAINING, THE LAFFAYETTE ESCADRILLE, AND INTO THE U.S. ARMY FLYING CORPS WHERE HE IS SHOT DOWN AND CAPTURED. THE BOOK CLOSES WITH HIS ESCAPE AND RETURN.

THE REGULAR MEN AND WOMEN AND THE HEROS OF HISTORY ARE VIVIDLY PORTRAYED TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU SEEM TO KNOW THEM ALL AND MAKE FRIENDS WITH CHARLES SELDEN. IT'S 1999 NOW AND I HAVE ONLY AVERAGE MEMORY, BUT I'VE NEVER FORGOTTEN THIS SPECIAL BOOK EVEN THOUGH I'VE NOT READ IT SINCE 1964. IT'S THAT GOOD.

For anyone interested in the air war of WWI, I have to recommend "Falcons of France." A wonderful read from the first page on. All the drama of friends, combat, capture and escape are in it. And when your done with "Falcons of France," you must read "Fighting the Flying Circus" by Eddie Rickenbacker. The two books parallel each other until the mid point and then go off in two directions. I got a better understanding of "Fighting the Flying Circus" after reading "Falcons of France." I highly recomend "Falcons of France."

Falcons of France is a novel of flying, World War I, growing up, and the moralities of the time. Written by two American veterans of the Escadrille Layfayette (who later wrote Mutiny On The Bounty), both the action of battle and the routine of the aerodrome are immediately believable. I first read Falcons of France as a teenager, barely younger than the novels characters. Having reread it numerous times over the years since, the saga still facinates, still captivates, and still ends sooner than I would wish. Reading this novel is the closest any of us will ever come to being a young World War I fighter pilot struggling to stay alive in the skies over France.

This is a good book to have on hand. It has a lot of valuable information. It gets a bit wordy at times, although the authors have certainly tried to avoid that problem. For my money, Roeser's is my first choice (also the first one I look to for information) and this is my second choice. I own and use them both.

As its title says, it is a real reference audiology text which provide you with important practice subjects, I think it is one of the most important audiology texts

I found alot of useful information. Especially in the business aspects of Concert Lighting. General History of concert lighting is very indepth. As for the art and techniques in the book, I found the book to be very basic. I'm not a lighting Designer. The only experience I have. Is hands on experience. This business is very secretive. This book has alot of the answers.

"Concert Lighting : Techniques, Art, and Business" is one of the most useful books on lighting. I have been a lighting designer for a few years now, and have read many many books on lighting, theater and concert. "Concert Lighting : Techniques, Art, and Business" goes into great depth for designing with intelligent lighting, as well as using fogs, hazzers and pars. "Concert Lighting : Techniques, Art, and Business" also gives great information on all companys from which to buy these items, and the many different ways to control them. "Concert Lighting : Techniques, Art, and Business" is a definite winner with my company and I. I will continue to refer "Concert Lighting : Techniques, Art, and Business" to all associates in my field, as well as in others.

As a undergraduate student studying neurobiology, I found this book to be excellent in terms of simple explanations. This book was very easy to read and understand.

This book is currently in use in many undergraduate institutions, and is amenable to use by first-time students to neurobiology who have a basic grounding in molecular biology. It is clear, concise, and rich with useful diagrams. Its structural layout is also effective for a progressive self-study approach since the chapters for the most part build and draw upon each other in a successive sense. I would recommend it as a "Must-read" for all introductory neurobiology students. A firm grasping of the information and concepts presented in this book will serve as a strong base from which students can begin to explore more detailed topics in the field without getting overwhelmed

My father personally knows some of the people that were caught in the middle of this investigation. Wrongdoing was going on, however; the way reporters painted the picture of how some people had to live their lives due to this investigation were untrue. There were no bodyguards for Barbara or A. Cowen. No black roses or death threats sent to their offices. The mystery man throughout the whole event? It's no mystery to me, I know. Trust me, prosecutors couldn't find any evidence towards this man because there was no evidence. Reporters found a way to make this spectacle look entertaining, and that's all it was...entertainment.

This was a very interesting book discussing the fall of the former Governor of Oklahoma for illegal actions taken while in office. The book gives a great introduction to some of the problems with our judicial system but shows that this system ultimately works in the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Oklahoma politics, federal prosecution, or law.

This book is an excellent reference source for any programmer/developer working on any server that is powered by the ALPHA processor, desiring to know what really goes on under the hood.

The only negative point that I can make is the information on Windows NT platform is outdated since Microsoft doesn't support NT on Alpha anymore.

The examples are well done in C and ALPHA assembler. The author covers both the VMS & Unix platforms.

I highly recommend the use of this book. It stays close by on my bookshelf.

A dark, dark view of human nature. Written with sufficient skill to keep me turning the pages through to the finish, but the complete lack of a payoff left me furious for having wasted my time on this book. In the end I did something highly unusual for me, I chucked it in the fireplace in frustration and anger.

I need characters I can root for; good guys who win in the end. There was no such character in this book.

Another of the adventures of Harpur and Iles, British detectives supreme, and their age-impaired boss Lane. The heavy in this case is Mansel Shale, top banana in the local drug trade.

A territorial battle goes awfully wrong, and a 13 year old carrier girl is shot and killed. This is entirely too much not only for the police, but also for the drug traders. The hunt is on for the perpetrator.

The book is funny, but moves awfully slow. You get the impression that the author is tired of always rehashing the same characters, finding very little new to say about them. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant read.

I'm hooked on these Harpur and Iles mysteries. They are unlike anything else out there in the genre of contemporary tough Brit dicks... even the best of the authors(Rankin, Harvey)pale in comparison. & Top Banana by Bill James might be the best of the bunch(pun intended)he's written. The truly weird relationship Harpur and Iles have is almost perfectly mirrored in the two drug lords Mansel Shale and Alf Ivis. Shale and Iles can see into the future or to put it another way they can telescope current events into accurate guesses of what will happen next, or who is behind a murder. I've been absolutely zealous pushing these books on my friends to read and often they'll say the books are too dark or too weird but hey, post-9-11 it's all too dark and weird so there's this congruency, this perfect fit. Try it. It's a 50-50 proposition Bill James either scores deep or is totally wrong for you.There's certainly nothing middling about this authors work.