Even without SQUADRON SUPREME, his excellent runs on CAPTAIN AMERICA and QUASAR speak for themselves. But this is one of his finest hours.

This limited series is not the first appearance of the Squadron Supreme; they had shown up in several issues of THE AVENGERS, parodying DC's trademark heroes and "proving" that the Avengers would beat them.

But it was the late, great Mr. Gruenwald who took them and placed them in a superb mini-series that combined comedy, drama, and action with moral arguments.

Even to this day, the questions remain. Who was right--Hyperion or Nighthawk? Where EITHER of them right? And so forth.

Rest in peace, Mr. Gruenwald. After writing this, you've earned it.

Other reviews have mostly summed it up. This story is superb. Mr. Gruenwald is underappreciated genuis. It's unfortunate he, and the Squadron, haven't been appreciated sooner. And, that Mr. Gruenwald didn't get to see his most cherished creation enjoy the recognition and popularity it deserves. The exciting and innovative concepts and ground-breaking devices aside, I enjoyed the heck out of the Hyperion character. With Superman being one of the premier characters of the superhero genre, and practically a pop-culture institution today, it seems odd that unlike other hit characters, he has never seriously been emulated. But it is that very popularity that prevented it. He is so recognizable, writers were just too afraid of being "copycats". Leave it to Gruenwald to have the courage to create his own version of a classic(as well as the rest of JLA), and instill it with it's own identity, and his own unique vision. Not unlike an "ElseWorlds" story, there is much familiar, and much strikingly different. Powers and origin parallel. But Hyperion, like the other Squadron characters, has his own unique quirks, hang-ups, dreams, and ambitions. The story takes the "What-If?" concept to extremes, as Hyperion and the Squadron say and do the things their "original" counterparts wouldn't even think. Fans of Superman and/or JLA should love this, as will any fans of good comic story telling. Don't pass on this one, if you miss it the second time, you may regret it.

I recently bought and read the collection after having read the original limited series back in the 1980s. The late Mr. Gruenwald's storytelling skills and love for the old JLA series continue to shine. I loved some of MG's takes on the classic heroes. How would Superman change his outlook if he abandoned his Clark Kent persona? How would the Golden Age Wonder Woman act if she outlived Steve Trevor and lost her Amazon homeland? Would Batman be more effective on the streets or the White House? We see all kinds of fantastic technology in comics, but what would happen if it was unleashed on the real world? Before Kingdom Come, he had the courage to present the ramifications of great power taking on greater responsibility at the expense of free will. Unlike KC, SS does not get bogged down in dark tones and endless fights, while it still allows the reader to empathize, as well as root for, the Squadron even though they have gone beyond their lawful duty. One wonders what comics would have looked like today if Squadron Supreme had been the big influence instead of Watchmen.

I'm glad I didn't "buy" this book and went to the Library
first. I was looking for more "whimsical" ideas and the
ones offered in this book seem to be the basic, traditional
ones.

Like all her books Barbara Milo Ohrbach displays class.loved the book and I couldn't wait to the try out her ideas on our next unsuspecting dinner guests.She is an inspiration to all collectors and lovers of fine things and good taste.If you loved this book you must read the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book gives you lots of great ideas for every occasion of entertaining. I have some of the china patterns in the book and it is fun to see how they are used. The linens, flowers and table settings are all done to perfection. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves dishes and/or loves to entertain.

I found this book very informative on the Pope, who has always been a hero of mine. It was very indepth and historical. Although it was not negative about the Pope it did seem to contain some incorrect statments on the views of catholics and the teachings of the Church. I felt it was assumed that catholics are, in general, negative towards Jews. I have always been a believing catholic and have never thought of Jews as "Christ Killers" or anything like that. I have never found anything in Catholic teaching that would support those views, most of these from writings from before John Paul II. Usually I read that we are all personally guilty of the crucifiction by our own sins. Over all it was a good and worthwhile reading.

This is a fabulous book. I am neither Catholic nor Jewish, but I was fascinated by the depth of the man we all call Pope. I had no idea of his personal journey, and the breadth of his goodness. Too many times, we don't look beyond the title and the robes. This is truly a saintly man.

I am not a particularly religious or spiritual person but in the last few years the persona of the pope has long impressed me,but he too has fallen under harsh judgements from the media, fellow catholics and at times it would seem just about everyone. for a long time I wondered if he too was just another religious celebrity and that his gestures and words meant nothing. however after reading this book I felt a change of heart, there are some truly good people in this world , and their actions need not be extraordinary or special. It would seem that his entire life has been an example of how the little things we do for one another can mean so much. As one previous reader mentioned it will change your life, and i think it has,at least for me.

hope that other readers out there feel the same way yahoo from Canada

A fairly detailed investigation and explanation of three locations where Man is attempting to prevent the course of Nature. The first, the attempt, so far successful, to prevent the Mississippi from changing its exit to the Gulf (it wants to go through the Atchafalaya River, substantially shorter and more attractive to the water), which change would utterly negate the entire economic geography of lower Louisiana. The second, the use of seawater pumped by the hundreds of thousands of gallons onto fresh, hot lava, to prevent said lava from overrunning and destroying the harbour and town of Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. The third, the ongoing attempt to preserve Los Angeles from the self-destruction of the San Gabriel Mountains. All three goals are fully understandable in economic terms; what is not so clear, at least with the first and third, is how long the effort can be kept up. McPhee makes a good case that in human times, not geologic, Nature will win in both cases. One leaves the book with a feeling of excitement and pleasure in the Icelandic battle, a wonder at the power of the Mississippi and the stubbornness of the Army Corps of Engineers, and a sense of amazement at the futility and blindness of people who continue to live under the San Gabriels and hold the City liable for their foolish choices.

"Whenever you try to control nature, you've got one strike against you." pg. 13

This book tells 3 informative true stories of man's attempts to control nature. The Mississippi River, a massive lava flow in Iceland, and the incredibly powerful debris flows of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The first story describes in vivid detail attempts to control the Mississippi River from taking a new course... Atchafalaya. If the river takes this new route, say goodbye to New Orleans, B.F. Goodrich, E.I. du Pont, Uniroyal, Monsanto, Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Shell and Union Carbide just to name a few. Four major floods in 10 years and 32 disastrous crevasses in a single spring weren't enough to suggest to the Army Corps of Engineers that levees alone might never be able to handle the job of controlling the river!

The second true story involves Heimay, a volcano that dumped enough lava in 1973 alone that would have been enough to envelop New York's entire financial district, with only the tops of the World Trade Center towers sticking out like ski huts! Will pumping 11,500,000 gallons of sea water a day on the flow be enough to save the harbor from being closed off? Find out! Also find out what I mean when I say McPhee decided to "pissa a hraunid"! :) The ending to this story will surprise you in more way than one!

The last story involves the mighty San Gabriel Mountains, with average slopes of 65-70% grade, climbing faster than almost any mountain chain in the world, and dumping 7 tons of regolith each year, that threaten Angelinos (L.A.)! Drought, fire, and flood; The real seasons in Los Angeles, and instead of the occasional storm, we get the occasional Earthquake! Will more than 2,000 miles of underground conduits, concrete-lined open stream channels, and an army of debris basins be enough to stop the beast? If it does it does it at the expense of the beaches! If it doesn't?... It does it at the expense of the beaches anyway! Find out why in this great book!

You'll learn of lot of interesting facts while at the same time get a great story of the battle of all battles! Man against nature!

Only problems with the book: There is no such animal as a mudslide. Mud flows! And Earth is not spelled with a lower case and it isn't "the Earth", its just Earth. You don't say "the Mars" or "the Jupiter", so why say "the Earth"?! My worthless pet peeves... :)

The Control of Nature is an entertaining glimpse of three different attempts of man to control nature. It is fascinating reading for the lay reader and scientist alike. The first section of the book humorously looks at the Mississippi River and how man forever battles to confine and direct its flow. The second section focuses on Iceland, an area well known for its volcanic activity. John McPhee recreates the events that led to man's decision to try to control the flow of lava. In the final section John McPhee redirects our attention to the crumbling mountains of California. Here John McPhee details the stubbornness and foolishness of man. He defines the daily struggle of the people who want to live in an unstable environment

Start with virtually no development of plot, only of characters. Gradually start the plot. Add in lots of depressing characters, and many stark realities. Have characters that are people with whom the readers will interact, for the simple reason that the reader knows at least one of the characters. This is The Wayward Bus. This book begins by beating you down a bit, and continues to do so. As in most of Steinbeck's books, the people are frighteningly real, and can tear at your heart. Let them, because having them in your life will somehow make you feel better, despite all of their bad choices and traits. This is not a book to be read as a break from serious thinking. But it is a book to be read. One of his lesser known books, but not one of his lesser books.

Unlike some, I think The Wayward Bus did have a plot, and a fairly well defined plot. And unlike others, I think this was a good book, but not a great one. True, it is strong on character development, but good books usually are. And it followed the standard steps in fiction plot development: set the stage with what is happening and why, then begin to introduce the characters, establish the individual conflicts, and then carry them all to the climactic conflict followed by the resolution. Steinbeck does just that with The Wayward Bus and shows how we all are often caught up in our own little dramas while all around us another drama unfolds. Some of us are just a little more aware of the gestalt than others. And like life, Steinbeck has characters that have their good points and their bad points, and while as a reader I at times was angered or puzzled by the way a character behaved, I didn't hate them or wished them ill. And probably best of all, like any good novel, all of the characters changed by the end of the book. They learned something about themselves. Life had its impact, and the reader has the opportunity to witness it.

Again, it's a good book, and well worth reading.

Once I began reading this book, I didn't stop until I was finished...it took me the day, but I was sucked in so immediately that I had no desire to do anything but get it finished, and I was sorry when it ended. I have loved John Steinbeck for a long time, but "The Wayward Bus" is probably one of my favorites. It is a perfect illustration of his amazing ability to craft characters so complete that they don't need to do anything daring or extreme to augment their existences. The novel does have a plot, although there aren't too many adventurous twists of fate. They're not necessary. Steinbeck proves once again that day-to-day life and the emotional dilemmas that everyday people deal with all the time ARE interesting- once we really get know the affected people. There is no doubt in my mind that each character in "The Wayward Bus" is one that we can each identify with, and by the end it's almost as though they are close friends or family members. It takes a rare talent to write like this. Read this one.

I had high expectations from this book, coming as it was from a
company specialized in porting the most complex games to Linux.
Unfortunately it seems that the fall of Loki has brought down this book with it. As other readers have said it is a good SDL
primer (covering just the basics). Other APIS are mentioned but just ina cursory view. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the code of a sound player software whoch is really out of place here.. it looks more like the author stuffed it in since he for some reason had developed it and he thought it was marginally relevant.. A good point is the book is about a working 2D game, Penguin Warrion ( a spaceship against spaceship typical game ) but the game development is not properly explained.. it loks like the book is an appendix to the game and not the contrary... in short to really learn something you must go and scan the code on your own...
With a little bit more affort and time to give the book more depth and solidity it could have been a great beginner's text..too bad!

This book doesn't go very deep into game nor linux system programming. it's SDL primer and some mix of other libraries. It is good for you as a introduction to linux multimedia. SDL today is little bit different. Fe: there's nothing about SDL_Net. SDL is multiplatform and the author could pay more attention on this, it's shame.

I got exactly everything I wanted from the book, had very a simple easy to understand path towards making games for linux, started small and covered all the topics that I was interested in. This is more of a entry book, and a good reference but it doesnt go to deep into some topics 3d gfx, physics but a great book nonetheless.

Its interesting how Steinbeck's star has risen since I was in grad school in the 70s. A few weeks ago I watched the Cspan episode about Steinbeck and became interested in reading some again. I took the Long Valley from my son's shelf and began reading..I don't remember if I read this one, because Steinbeck was never taught in grad school in the 70s, but I was imediately taken by the intense underlying subtext of repressed sexual desire and its toll on simple people..The Snake was a revelation..sure the symolism is almost Victorian, but the eerie combination of perfectly observed rituals of nature and the almost primeval sexual hunger of the woman to see the mice being eaten was incredibly subversive and unexpected in a setting of such clinical austerity..it was almost Hitchcockian in its perversity...and The Harness really speaks to the untold psychosexual power that women have over men's desires..not too mention the disturbingly insightful The Vigilante, where the young man realizes that lynching a man makes him feel the same sexual euphoria that intercourse provides...The Murder, and the truly bizarre sexual relationship the man has with his foreign wife..sex is all over these stories, almost in a Lawrencian way..I was seriously surprised..and saw lots of Hawthorne here too..I don't think these stories have gotten the attention they deserve for the ahead of their time explorations of a lush landscape of crippling sexual tensions comments??

My first Steinbeck book! O.K., I should have read "Mice and Men" when it was assigned in the 9th grade, but you know how that goes. The five years I have spent in college have awakened a love of the classics, making Steinbeck essential reading at some point. This book is a collection of his short stories written in 1933-34. In the introduction, written by John Timmerman, we find Steinbeck slaving away on these stories while taking care of his ill mother. We also discover that Steinbeck wrote his stories on a notebook copped from his father's desk. Timmerman points out that "The Long Valley" stories constitute an important bridge between Steinbeck's earlier efforts and the later canon of literature that secured his lasting fame.

The first two stories are the kind of works that English teachers love to assign; they involve women trying to break out of social roles. In the first story, Steinbeck starts his tale with: "The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot." Obviously, someone is trapped. I don't care for these two stories because I've read so many like them over the years, usually at the threatening point of a grading pen.

But as the book progresses, I quickly discovered that Steinbeck is an excellent writer. My favorite stories were "The Harness," "Johnny Bear," "Saint Katy the Virgin," and "The Red Pony." In "Johnny Bear," Steinbeck writes a freaky tale about an idiot savant that has an odd talent, much to the chagrin of the community. I figured out how it was going to end ahead of time, but it was still great fun. "Saint Katy the Virgin" is a strange tale, set in the Middle Ages, about a pig who converts to Christianity. This story does seem to be a criticism of the Catholic Church, but there is enough ambiguity in it to make me wonder if the story is actually pro-religion.

"The Red Pony," which is actually a cycle of four stories, has to be the best of the lot. I seriously believe Steinbeck could have made a comfortable living by turning this into a series. The stories focus on Jody, a boy living on a ranch in California. What impressed me most about these stories is the emphasis placed on discipline, hard work, and clean living. Along the way, Jody learns valuable lessons about death, old age, and respect for his elders. While reading about Jody, it is impossible not to draw comparisons with the pampered youth of our era. Almost no child living in this country today could maintain the patience Jody shows while waiting for the birth of his colt.

I thought Steinbeck would be stodgy reading; I was quite worried when I pulled this off the shelf and made a go of it. I can't say I'm going to dive right into his other works right away, but if his other stuff matches up to some of the stories here, they will be good reading.

I particularly liked the details. Steinbeck just so well paints his stories- you can see what's happening, even though I have never seen the details myself in real life. I wish I had! I wish I could see life as clearly as he does. I find myself realizing for the first time the difference in a woman's chin from that of a man, though subconsciously from a distance you can tell the gender without knowing why. How a man looks old only because of the way his heel touches the ground. I fully understand the uncomfortability of someone with coal black eyes, though I don't remember ever seeing such a person. I see how a peddler can get a buyer by becoming a buyer himself. Or what it is like to be in a mind of a self-justified racist lyncher. Sometimes Steinbeck gets so into the minds of others I am uncomfortably unsure of where he stands- it is as with a consummate actor, who becomes his character. But of course my favorite story of all is Saint Katy the Virgin, of a demonic pig become Christian and saint, "stretched prostrate on the ground, making the sign of the cross with her right hoof and mooing softly in anguish at the realization of her crimes." I've always known that pigs were worthy of salvation...

Joan's first book, Past Imperfect, was absolutely awful! In fact, I gave it a grand rating of ONE star! So when I saw this book, Second Act, on sale at the local library, being a glutton for punishment, I decided to read it. Well, I was happily surprised as I turned the pages and read an entirely different Joan Collins. This book was extremely entertaining as Joan told about her very eventful life. All the famous people she worked with. I had fully expected another bunch of dribble like her first book which was filled with 'poor ol me' stories about her husbands screwing her over but this book turned out to be the total opposite. Maybe Joan learned by her first disasterous attempt at writing that it's not at all easy to be a best selling novelist as her sister Jackie is. This book was obviously researched and edited a lot better than her other one. So, I will give it three stars and if you're a Joan Collins fan, then this is definately a 'must read' for you.

At first i thought this memoir was a rehash of her Past Imperfect (which i enjoyed immensely), but from the beginning, it was clear that JC had plenty more to say. This is an amusing, bright woman, with keen insight. Her discriptions of her meetings with Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Mae West are priceless, PRICELESS i tell you. One must fully realize that the phenomenon known as Celebrity happens to so few people, that its fascinating when one of "them" actually talks about it. Its also hysterical when she discusses how people treated her as if she were Alexis, the conniving b#@%h, when in fact she is a nice mother of 3 and step mother of 3. Doesnt it scare you when you hear that people actually believe that the characters she performed were real. Or that she was asked to give advice (as Alexis)? The revelation here isnt that she can write (she can), its that she continues to be a interesting woman, a beauty, and is gifted with an amazing memory.

when i started to read the book i immediately became involved with miss collins life and it was like she was actually speaking to me although some of the information was incorrect(she stated that when she brought out her signature perfume every woman wanted to be like alexis or krystle. however if one was to look in the photos of joan with donald trump and ivana trump it says it was in 1990. dynasty had finished a year earlier due to falling ratings)it was neverthe less a brilliant read.

Brainchild is a well-crafted, fairly thrilling read, the story holding up very well until almost the very end; had the final chapter not have been included, I would have given this book five stars. That ultimate chapter, though--basically a postscript--changes the whole tenor of the novel and in doing so does it great harm, in my opinion. I can forgive its inclusion, though, and it takes nothing away from the engrossing read of the novel up to that point. This is a rather typical Saul plot, augmented by a technological pulse that holds together very well, despite some minor inherent problems. There is a curse of sorts involved, and yes it all started over a century ago; yes, there is a rather typically happy family that find their lives turned upside down by tragedy. These are Saul staples, yet all of this works remarkably well in Brainchild. Your typical teenaged boy does a typically teenaged thing and ends up at the bottom of a ravine inside a thoroughly wrecked automobile. His massive brain injuries should have killed him, but he survives; his father, a doctor, calls on the only brain specialist who can possible save his son--a childhood acquaintance of his wife's whom he essentially despises. Miraculously, the boy does survive; he even prospers, becoming super-smart, but the rebuilding of his brain has left him without emotion and without any memory of his life before the accident. His friends begin to avoid him eventually, and his father especially senses something very wrong, but the doctor who saved his life refuses to tell the family exactly what he did to save him. Then his mother's friends begin to be mysteriously murdered, and a tragedy that happened long ago somehow becomes an integral part of the horror that is unleashed on an unsuspecting town. The plot heats up quite satisfactorily from there, and there is enough unpredictability to the concluding events to keep you deeply involved in seeing how the story plays out.

John Saul is a talented writer, and he does a great job of keeping this story moving at all times. Brainchild is one of his more original novels--the basic theme is rather typical of his work, but the narrative flows exceedingly well, the technological marvels we encounter remain sufficiently plausible throughout, and all of my questions were answered quite satisfactorily. I did not like the last chapter, but that does not mean that others won't find it compelling; it does offer a final twist to things. A futuristic medical thriller, invested heavily in horror and science fiction, Brainchild should prove itself a compelling, satisfying read for fans of several genres.

A young boy is saved from life ending brain damage when a local doctor's miraculous new technique of energizing dead brain tissue with computer chips brings him back, albeit as an emotionless and quite homicidal super genius.

With its spooky combination of science and the supernatural, it was easy for me to gulp this frothy yet suspenseful and frightening tale down in a single warm, summer afternoon, in no less than four hours. Once again Saul delivers a unique psychological thriller to enthrall his numerous fans. Recommended.

I love all of Mr. Sauls work! This one was great also. Easy to read and keeps you on your toes. I just love a good thriller

I got hooked on John Galsworthy's Forsyte novels when I saw the BBC TV series in 1969. At that time I sympathized with Irene and Bossinney and hated Soames for what he did to them. Now that I am older I can relate to the Forsytes more and see Irene as a selfish woman who wrecked an entire family - primarily Soames, June, Old Jolyon and her own son, Jon - and whose only redeeming feature was her beauty. And I find it incredible that Galsworthy won the Nobel Prize when so many greater writers - Tolstoy, Twain and Proust, just to name a few - were ignored. Still, as soap opera, "The Forsyte Saga" is fun to read, especially when followed by Gaslworthy's "Modern Comedy" and "The End of the Chapter" and even Suleika Dawson's vastly inferior "The Forsytes". And that is not too shabby.

Upon the release of ML's 100 greatest English-lanuage novels of this century, it was to my great sadness to find "The Forsyte Saga" missing from the list. It seemed to confirm what I'd feared for the last several years: even critics have left this spectacular collection behind.

Perhaps it is the fact that of the book's length that frightens off so many readers: at 800+ pages it doesn't exactly make for easy beach reading. Keep in mind, however, that the book is comprised not only of three separate novels but also of connecting interludes.

If you want to read truly great literature of such a standard that earned John Galsworthy a Nobel Prize for Literature, you need look no further than "The Forsyte Saga."

I read the Forsyte saga while I was in college - and was instantly hooked. John Galsworthy wormholes you into a different
world and time, but as the essence and humanity of his characters unfold, they are extremely familiar even in todays world. What is it about a grand passion that weakens a man of formidable integrity,rigid morals and conservative politics? Irenes forced subjugation to the marital bed leaves pangs, but her beauty is a sinister seduction to all who encounter it, so one falls short of empathy with her... A booming economy, a strong parliament, living in the lap of luxury in the worlds premier city of the time.. can you say AMERICA today? And yet,
are we not prisoners of our societal mores? Soames and Irene were
both prisoners in a marriage - Irenes captivity was more obvious,
but he was no less a prisoner - trapped in a passion -shared by
most men - looked at her he really could not see why she did
not return his feelings, and was terrified of losing her, because he was scared of being lonely. Montague and Winifred, Jolyon and Helen - all of them kind of in the same boat. And in the end, the man with the strongest character committed the biggest crime. Or did he? Did Jolyon and Irene not commit a larger crime when they wilfully transferred the feud down to a
generation? Soames and his daughter in the end came to terms with
their life much better than the more "likeable" characters. John Galsworthy and all his books on the Forsytes read like a treatise on marriage, relationships and a life in society that we must all live in. Ostracism was terrible at the time - it could really ruin lives, and it can even today. He writes about it in its true light and heinousness. I love this series and the
ensuing trilogy - The White Monkey, The Silver Spoon and Swan Song. It gives me great pleasure to post this review. For a decade almost, John Galsworthy was a staple of my reading "diet".