I read this book two years back. It is as good as realization of truth in black and white. It is a must for a modern man who is seeking the peace of mind. It explains very well the variety of aspects of thinking of a man and the crossroads in the daily life where one is likely to step wrong. Daily reading followed by serious contemplation for about two months, helped me refine my ways to think and correct myself from the doorstep of mistakes. This book also tells about the do's and don't's for a common man in this modern-machine world. Elaborates the concept of the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient system what may be termed as God and shatters all the idollic images of God. It convincingly asserts the highly balanced nature of the system and its evolution. I strongly recommend this book for those who are looking for the truth beneath the surface.

This is a very tasteful book of inspirational quotes. It focuses on the value of a man's character. It would make a a nice graduation or Father's Day gift. The artwork and photographs throughout the book are very well done, masculine, classic and conservative. It is quite short and can be read in less than 30 minutes. It could be used as a resource book for inspirational quotes when writing speeches or inspiring employees. Above all, it is a perfect gift book for men of all ages.

There is just no way this title should ever be out of print. In "Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football," Paul Zimmerman creates a category: the literate analysis of professional fotball. We have plenty of this stuff in baseball -- from Angell to James, Boswell, and the whole team. But football has always been overlooked as a place for intelligent analysis delivered with wit and graceful prose. What do we have instead? It's either: "Bullets, broads and bullies: My story," or "Coaching the Interior Line." If you're a fan who appreciates "inside the game" insights, and who plain likes football, Zimmerman's first book, written in 1970, is a vital link to understanding the evolution of football from dock workers to the glory days of the 70's. His second book, published in 1984, decodes how the game has changed as a result of the passing rules changes in 1977 and the West Coast offense, which has in turn begat the specialist packages and situation schemes of today's game. If you're a pro football fan, get these!

If ever there was an excellent book on Soviet aircraft to emerge from the post cold war era, this is the one. Not only do the authors have a lot of knowledge on these impressive aircraft, but also a collection of photos never before published of many little-known aircraft. Some of these aircraft are truly impressive such as massive bombers from the pre-war period to the Strategic Bombers fielded by the former Soviet Union. Tupolev is also the constructor of most of Russia's commercial jets and the book is therefore useful for anyone interested in civil aviation. there are also tables giving the production levels of most Tupolev aircraft and also others indicating the registration numbers of Tupolev airliners. But most of all it describes the personality and contributions to aerospace of Andrei N.Tupolev, one of the world's greatest aircraft designers, who dominated his country's aircraft industry for much of this century.

Marguerite Shuster has continued the compilation, editing, and additions to the late Paul K. Jewett's second work of Systematic Theology and presents a work which presents clear, deep and well-researched discussion of the most important issues of our time, including gender, homosexuality, abortion and marriage.

Although not widely promoted by the publisher, this work is a jewel in a world full of imposters. Not only do Jewett and Shuster seriously consider the Biblical and moral implications for the debates concerning our sexuality and public policy, they present arguments which lift the discussion from the realm of hostile argument, to true theological reflection.

I read this book for spiritual reflection, to learn more about the issues surrounding the soundbites, and for a historical perspective on current debates. I think every pastor, professor and educated christian should read and digest this work. It is a travesty that not more copies have been sold. BUY IT!! READ IT! Send it to someone you love! You will be giving them a gift.

I read this book three yers ago when puberty hit and have just finished re-reading it, amazed at the prespective and how much better I understand it. Becoming A Man is a culture in itself, juxstposing changing times with the dormancy of loneliness and isolation. Although Monette sometimes becomes a little distracted, he is so brutally honest that I leave this memoir feeling like I better understand myself and what it means to be a young gay man in a world that is often hostile. But also I reached the destination of my own self-acceptance, a process Monette describes in aching intensity: the ambivalence, the self-bruising, and the lonely nights spent waiting for the one who will make it all worthwhile. And while I haven't joined the gay world yet in all its brilliance, I feel fortunate that Monette's memoir will leave me better prepared in the game of self-worth and love. I'd recommend it to any gay teenager discovering themselves and what it means to be gay, happy, and in love.

Each time I pick up this book I feel like I'm reading a letter from a friend. Paul Monette writes like you or I, in his most colourful autobiography, which pulls you in from the outset and doesn't let you go until the end. If you've read Borrowed Time, Monette's simple sentence at the conclusion strikes you with amazing inspiration - "Paul Monette, say hello to the rest of your life" as he meets Roger for the first time, his partner of many years to come. You realise that events that change your whole life can happen in an instant, with no warning.

This is the story of his life up until that moment, filled with honest stories and no apology recollections. For anyone that has ever doubted whether it's worth it, this book is a must. If only for that brief moment at a party that changes the rest of your life, your past was definately worth it.

Read this book!

Like a previous reader, I read an older version of Monette's 'Borrowed Time' and hoped I might one day meet this wonderful man; it wasn't until I saw nfalzone's review here before reading 'Becoming a Man' that I realised Monette has since died. I also cried; Paul Monette really touched something in me and I can only hope that many, many more people will read this book, though I fear he is somewhat preaching to the converted. For those of us with gay family members it is a real eye opener, though I don't know that many parents would be able to handle this book. His story will drag you through so many emotions, not least anger; may Paul Monette rest in peace and may he be an example to us all to speak out, with open hearts and minds.

This is an in-depth account of Microsoft's "early" (i.e., pre-1995) days. First, let me say that I wish the authors had updated the book, since the computer business has gotten VERY fascinating since the launch of Windows 95, as the Internet seized the day and also as an intrusive DOJ started an effort to dismantle a 20-year-old company that had suddenly become America's Public Enemy No. 1.

That said, this book provides excellent accounts of Bill Gates as a person and Bill Gates as Microsoft. The emphasis is on how Bill Gates ran Microsoft as a business, how he interfacted with his employees, business allies and competitors. If you are looking for information on how Windows 3.0 or Flight Simulator was designed, this is not the place. But if you want to know how Microsoft really got started, how Gates allegedly "screwed" Apple, or how Gates started dating Melinda French, you'll find it right here.

Stephen Manes has been a long-time critic of Microsoft's producty quality (and rightly so, IMHO), and the book comes across as quite critical of Gates' business tactics ("bullying", "anti-competitive", etc.) and personal idiosyncracies (both selfish and selfless, intolerant, etc.). At the same time the authors show admiration for the Gator as a technical and business genius. But because the authors evidently believe that Microsoft has done lots of evil, every conflict Microsoft had with a competitor would be Microsoft's fault.

In summary, this book is easy to read, generally objective (Gates was interviewed extensive for this "unauthorized" biography), and informative. I highly recommend it to anyone fascinated by Bill Gates and Microsoft.

This very readable book provides a candid overview of the rise of Bill Gates and Microsoft. I found it interesting and insightful. Like much of the material about "billg", I find it a little sycophantic -- but it is not over the top. Key success ingredients: early signs of selfishness, million dollar trust-fund from his grandfather (which no doubt provided safety and leverage at the start), an early passion for an incredibly important technology at the critical period and a shrewd, single-mindedness. I suspect Bill is not a particularly compassionate, polite, happy or fair person -- however I bet he is really efficient!

I won't get wordy here but I read this book twice and enjoyed it both times. It goes into the life of Bill Gates; his thought process, his work ethics, his childhood and how Microsoft established it's dominance. It's a good read even though it's over 500 pages. I highly recommend this book along with the book "Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire". This is the way it really happened. Not the way the movie "Pirates of SV" incorrectly portrayed it.

I picked this book up just yesterday in the Humor section of a local bookstore while reading some Far Side comics. I didn't expect to read Paul C. Rosa's Idiot Letters much since I am a big fan of Larson's comics. However, I found myself reading letter after letter written by Paul on his "relentless assault on Corporate America." This collection of letters written by Paul during 1993 is an example of comedic genius. Paul Rosa wrote to a plethora of corporations that head various franchises/products. Each letter follows the same basic format -praise for the company/product, obscure questions/concerns, and finally a humorous closing of anticipation for a response. However, Paul makes each letter unique by addressing his humorous questions/concerns specifically to a company's product, or in the case of a letter to CITGO, an advertisement. Paul wrote a letter to the Consumer Relations departement of CITGO concerning an actual advertisement by company. In the advertisement, a Bald Eagle hovers, for the lack of a better term, over a CITGO station with its wings fully extended. The eagle is digitally made as large as the gas station and the advertisement reads (not accurate): "Get a ahold of the power" or something like that. Paul writes to the company as a idiot and expresses concern and fear of such a large animal flying over his home state of Colorado. He writes that he and his wife are both concerned and says he will take action if needed to protect himself and his family from this "monster". He mentions that he will use his gun however, "it'll take a canon to take this it down!" CITGO's response? Well, that's for you to find out by reading Idiot Letters.

I found Idiot Letters when I worked at a bookstore (I'm not saying which). I first picked up the book thinking it was the latest in the Where's Waldo series. I read the book while I stood at the cash register. I laughed so hard and loud that I received many complaints from our patrons. After many disciplinary actions I was finally dismissed. I cashed my final paycheck and with my remaining $22.67 (after taxes), I ran to a competitor's bookstore and bought Idiot Letters immediately. I was in heaven! I spent the next 3 weeks isolated in my studio apartment. I would read each letter over and over, howling each time as if it were my first reading. But that's not the end of my story. Proceed to paragraph 2, my friends.

Since my purchase of Idiot Letters (about 3 weeks ago), my life hasn't been the same. I now speak and write in the same manner as Paul Rosa (albeit, not nearly as articulately). He has become my personal savior and in my house I have built a shrine in his honor. I have 2 dogs and a cat and I have named them Paul, Paulina and Rosie. Over-the-top fanaticism you ask? I think not.

If you're thinking of buying someone the perfect gift, apart from a Volvo Station Wagon (a very safe car indeed), I recommend Idiot Letters. This book won't disappoint. And by the end, you may find yourself writing your own "idiot letters" (or at least "idiot Amazon reviews").

The real question in this book is who is the idiot--the author or the corporate types who answer his crazy letters. I vote for the latter. This book is a collection of letters ranging from the amusing to the hilarious bizarre. Paul writes from the persona of his cat, a fourth grader, a hillbilly, just to name a few. I especially enjoyed the rule changes he suggested to the NFL--moving goalposts, a pentagonal field, etc. I liked this book much better than Letters from a Nut because each letter is different and funny in an original way, rather than written in a format. People searching for deep hearty laugh should buy this book.

Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune and Life and is the SON;FATHER is Bob's father, once a Major in the 91st Infantry Division of WW II -famed for Its role in the Italian campaign; THE MAN WHO WON THE WAR is retired Brig. General Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B29 that took the A-bomb to Hiroshima. The father lived in Columbus, Ohio and Bob had grown up there. Father would announce now and then: "That man going(standing)there is Paul Tibbets". Bob contacted Tibbets and they became friends just days before the father died . Not stated, but clear to the reader: Bob is going to be writing articles in the Tribune and, finally, this book. His quest was to understand his father's generation and to find out Paul's feelings about dropping the bomb. Bob learns about the disgust and disappointment his father's generation has for those whose freedom they preserved with such devotion to purpose. The current and older generation have quite different rules for societal conduct and that accounts for a lot of the differences. But in my view the most salient point Paul makes in their many discussions is the one about discipline. To do great things, he said, you must have discipline. We had it. Much of today's society doesn't have it and it shows in so many ways. No, Paul didn't lose any sleep over dropping the bomb. It was an 1,800 man project which he was under orders to organize and lead. Countless men and their relatives wrote him to express their thanks for saving them from a bloody invasion of Japan's home islands. The toughest people for him to make understand were those who would say, "why didn't you just tell them you didn't want to do it." But he did want to do it.

This moving tribute by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene will inspire many baby boomers (and others) to think deeply and perhaps differently about their parents. Back in Columbus, Ohio to visit his dying father, Greene met 84-year old Paul Tibbets, the pilot that dropped the bomb. In getting to know Tibbets, Greene came to better understand his late father. Tibbets and the elder Greene (1915-98) never met, but they shared many values, including a sense of duty and horror from World War II. Like many, Tibbets believes the bomb shortened the war and spared lives, sending home safely many future dads like the elder Greene (and my own father). I wish the author had pressed Tibbets on alternatives such as demonstrating the bomb non-lethally, but DUTY isn't really about politics. It's more about the author's father, Tibbets, the war, and the ties binding and divisions separating baby boomers and their war-generation parents. I particularly liked reading the elder Greene's life memories, which he spoke into a tape recorder before passing.

DUTY is a readable, moving tribute to two men and their dwindling generation.

With Father's Day just around the corner I wanted to share a review of "DUTY," one of the best books I've ever read. (I've read nearly all the books in Sallyann's B-29 Reading Room and (hope she can add this excellent title, soon!)

My 22-year old son gave me this book last week for my birthday and I've already sent it onto my Father who served as a Superfort CFC gunner with the 73rd Bomb Wing's 499th.

Greene's book crosses generations and gender gaps -- it is a unique and special historical, yet very personal, look into the lives of the generation we own so much to. The author explores his relationship with his dying father (a WWII Army infantry veteran who fought in Italy). A native of Columbus, Ohio, Bob tries for over twenty years to interview retired General Paul Tibbets, Commander of the Enola Gay. On the morning after the last meal he ever shared with his father, Tibbets agrees to meet with Greene. What unfolds is a simply fascinating and genuine friendship that allowed author Greene to discover things about his father, and his father's generation of WWII soldiers, that he never fully understood before.

I especially enjoyed the chapter where Greene is invited by Tibbets to spend a few days at a Branson, Missouri, reunion of (then) surviving Enola Gay crew members: (the late) Tom Ferebee, Dutch Van Kirk, and Paul Tibbets. Greene is an extraordinary journalist, he brings you into the group and shares it all with a special sensitivity, understand and love.

Please...... beg borrow or otherwise obtain a copy of this book, today -- it's a must read, regardless of your generation, gender, or previously formed opinions on the "single most violent act in the history of mankind."

Lee K. Shuster,

Vietnam-era USAF Vet and Son of a (CFC) Gunner

This book has been out for several years and many of the author's statements have been publicly questioned. But, what do you expect from a book that dives into "near death experiences?" Nothing can be proven. However, it does make for an interesting read and the author at least has learned something in his life about inherent goodness. The author also speaks of things like 'crystal cathedrals', over one hundred revelations and higher beings with energy fields. It makes for fantastic fodder and pauses one to think seriously. I found some of the claims to be outrageous, but still, the reader will become consumed, if only for the symphathetic outreachings of the writer. Brinkley also speaks of his new found power and how he only uses it for 'good' things. Well, this is all wonderful and good, and I really want to believe all he has to say. However, even with the help of a co-writer (Perry), the writing is sophmoric and trite. Certainly, a topic this ethereal and spiritual needs a heavier handed editor. You may feel 'good' after reading it, or just bored, but for a few bucks, it's worth it.

Dannion Brinkley's book, Saved By The Light" is a truly, incredible, life-transforming book. I would say that after reading this book, which by the way, I could not put down until I finished it, Dannion was indeed "saved by the light". What I found so fascinating was the turn-around - the total turn around of his life. I had heard about life reviews before, but the impact for me, was that not only do we get to review our life, but also get to review how the other person felt whom we were hurting, whether it be conscious or unconscious. How our actions have a "ripple effect" in the world. I can only imagine what pain that must be. I was also especially moved by the messages that the book imparts, messages of God's love and kindness and forgiveness. These messages are old, yet they have spanned time and remain true today in the new millennium and I feel, are needed more than ever. Dannion's will to survive, and his peacefulness on accepting death helped me see that we are indeed much more than our human bodies. I commend him on his hospice work and sharing with us that death is a time for love and forgiveness. He shows us that death is a healing time for all families and that death is actually the beginning of our next life, our next adventure. Nothing to fear, but to embrace instead. The quote that most inspired me from the book from the Being of Light is, "What you are is the difference that God makes. And that difference is love." This is a book that needs to be passed on and on and on! I cannot recommend it enough. For those who have recently lost a love one, this book will provide immeasurable comfort for you.

Both my husband and I read Saved by the Light by Danion Brinkley, and we want to share with everyone who ever reads our review that this book is a milestone in the spiritual growth of humankind! It reaveals the purpose of everyone's life's mission, - to Love and help everyone on Earth. Whaterver anyone's previous life experiences were, they are probably a combination of mistakes and victories, happiness and grief, joys and tears - we all gain only from loving and caring for each other. It was great to learn that everyone who is born on our Mother Earth is a Mighty Spiritual Being who by one's own willpower can make a positive change not only in one's own life, but also in the lives of people on Earth. We are here on Earth with a great Mission of Love, and our every action, every word, every thought resonate their meaning and put it to practice. After having read Saved by the Light both of us found the strength to cope with the challenges of our lives, and we came to the realisation of what our missions on Earth are. Thank you very much Danion for the fantastic experience that we had when reading your book!