Legend has it, writes the author, that a person upon retirement must have some activity immediately following to look forward to, for the sake of his own well being. For Buckley, that activity was his fourth transatlantic crossing.

When this book came out in 1991, Buckley had retired as editor-in-chief from National Review, the magazine he founded over thirty years before. He was also celebrating the 40th anniversary of his marriage and his graduation from Yale. These landmarks likely account for the book's occasionally wistful tone. But although Windfall has as its backdrop the sweeping Atlantic Ocean, the focus more often is on the community in which he has traveled -- what the original conservative, Edmund Burke, called our "little platoons."

Buckley and his crew set sail on a 4400 mile voyage from Lisbon to Barbados, via the trade winds and southwesterly course that Columbus followed some 500 years ago. Given his landmark year, and that this probably be his last transatlantic crossing, it is significant that Buckley chose to navigate the route to the New World. At a church in San Sebastian, he prays for a safe passage, marvelling at the genuine faith Columbus had in an uncertain future.

In the introduction Buckley writes that the 30 days ahead would contain "moments of boredom, of frustration, of irritation, of near-despair" but that "these are inevitable to long ocean passages as pain is learning, despondency to writing, loneliness to love."

Buckley outlines the importance of choosing the proper crew. Much of pleasure of the book comes from how that crew interacts. They keep watch and steer according to a regimented schedule. They drink, play chess, tell jokes, and listen to music. At times they bicker, but they always pull together. Out in the unpredictable sea, left to their own devices, their dependence on each other is so obvious that it is unspoken. Excerpts from the crew's logbooks provide glimpses into their thoughts and feelings.

There are occasional digressions to Buckley's retirement speech, to a botched harpsichord performance with the Phoenix Symphony, and to days at Yale. But perhaps they are not really digressions, since the purpose of the voyage, when time and weather permit, was to reflect on what came before and to give thanks for a multitude of blessings.

The capital message of the World Water Vision is that the socalled 'looming water crisis' is not an unchangeable fact. Although water arithmetics show critical shortages and surpluses in many parts of the world, the key to water security is based on a better management of the resources. The World Water Vision itself is a scientific, social and foremost a political effort to decide on the steps to take in order to handle this.
In its effort to make water 'everybody's business' the present document is necessarily brief and its recommendations are on a strategic level. The interesting part of the document is therefore not its conclusions, but the way these conclusions have come into existence. Its scenario approach on a global and regional scale, reinforced by the state of the art hydrological modelling are a daring and original initiative. Unfortunately, the final conclusions show too little of the richness of its underlying argument. For those who prefer a more in-depth analysis, the World Water Scenarios (Rijsberman, 2001) will provide more satisfaction. Recommended for people involved in water management on a strategic level.

Pretty good. Well-written (we expect that from Buckley), nicely even breezily plotted, fast-moving.

Not like reading Greil Marcus or Peter Guralnick, but then it's not intended to be; it's a novel, not an analysis. It's the story of a young man, Orson who is a dedicated Elvis fan and a socialist who believes in common property, who strikes up a relationship with Elvis while in his teens that lasts until the singer's death. The book is about their relationship, and other relationships in Orson's life; and while ideas enter into the book, it is not properly a book about ideas. There is an interesting twist on the notion of common property that comes forward with Elvis' death.

Buckley clearly believes in Presley's genius, knows and loves the songs, understands the career. Does he present new ideas about why or how Elvis decided to throw it all away into drugs at the end? Not really; Buckley's Elvis is a man who gets entangled in drugs and can't and doesn't seem to want to get out. The tragedy is presented as the tragedy of a man, and the waste of a genius, rather than as--for example--something that Elvis' genius pushed him into, or Elvis' way of coping with his misunderstood genius. Buckley's is a fair treatment, and may turn out in the end to be more correct than other more highfaulitin approaches to the Elvis tragedy.

The novel is good, highly recommended. The people are believable, most of the information correct. My one reservation: I wish that Buckley's treatment of Elvis was a little more earth-shattering.

Having been a fan of Buckley's political commentaries for some time, I decided to check out some of his fictional work. For better or worse, I began with this short novel. I was pleasantly surprised.

On one level, the novel is an "Edmund Morris-esque" biography of Elvis Presley, with the main character, Orson, finding himself caught up in the major events and dramas of Elvis' rise, fall, rise, and death throughout the 60's and 70's.

On another level, the book is a creative commentary on American political history - not too out-of-line with Buckley's other works. Orson's journey in and out of socialism begins with him stealing Elvis records in an attempt to give them out to people who can't afford them. He is kicked out of college for heading a botched student protest. His cross-country journey in search of an identity, all the while keeping in touch with Elvis, is symbolic of his gradual metamorphosis into a rational man - who, at least by his actions, rejects the ridiculous tenets of socialism that marked his failed early life.

Overall, it was a creative, refreshing way for Buckley to illustrate his insightfully conservative view of America during the turbulent 1960's and 70's.

It's a lot of fun to see debonair and sophisticated William Buckley drop his erudite (often pedantic) airs and just write for the fun of it (or as one fan noted, "so the rest of us can understand what he's saying!"). In "Elvis in the Morning," Buckley, the noted politico pundit, takes an unlikely subject (for him) and develops/presents it in a fascinating, readable, and enjoyable manner.

To say his prose moves rapidly is an understatement, as this clever--yet in places ever so poignant--novel moves with a real rock 'n roll upbeat, although hardly taking time for the traditional chorus rounds! Orson Killere is the young son of a German mother who works for the US Army in Wiesbaden. A devout Presley fan, he gets caught stealing Elvis records at the local PX. Elvis, stationed nearby, hears about it and arranges for a meeting. They become lifelong friends and confidents.

This is not the story of Elvis, but of Orson, or "Killer," as Elvis playfully calls him. Elvis, of course, is the pivotal point of the book, as like a proper musical recitative (or even leitmotiv), we keep coming back to him, continually until the King's death. This relationship between the two--often symbiotic, often close--make a fascinating story, whether one is an Elvis fan or not.

While this is a work of fiction, Buckley exercises literary license here and there, but his research is thorough and can't be faulted (after all, remember, this is fiction). His ability to capture the landscape and atmosphere is unquestioned and Buckley shows once again that reading (and in his case,writing) is also a fun undertaking. "Elvis in the Morning" is an odyssey or sorts and that said, don't expect to find the proverbial Trojan horse; just think of Orson as Cassandra, knowing what lies ahead but powerless to stop the inevitable. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

There is some useful information in this book, but the main purpose of the work appears to be an attempt to justify all the sins of omission and commission perpetrated by lawyers in the area of family trusts. The most popular and useful of the trusts is the revocable living trust, to which Croke devotes 5 pages out of 300. Lots of "see your lawyer on this" though. Better to read the book by the Schumachers.

I picked up this book knowing very little about trusts. Its a US book, and I needed to find out about UK tax. So there needs to be a UK edition. Nevertheless it proved very useful in raising potential red flags. It also has white space at the back where I made copious notes and reminders for my family and financial advisor. The book raises lots of questions to ask family members.

This is the best book on trusts I've seen. Found out that my Trust failed to properly provide for my wife and children. Only thing my current Trust provided was a savings on estate taxes but it left my wife an inadequate income from the Trust, less than 3%. Providing my wife with the income she would need from my Trust is more important than just the tax savings. I was able to quickly correct this and several other major errors in my Trust. I learned about Trust options I didn't know I had. And, my attorney never told me about them and neither did the other books on trusts that I've read.

The reproduction quality provided by MIT Press was substandard. A new edition, with color of the extant work, is in the works for Spring 2001 publication.

This book is an edited version of the FLW Companion by the same author. Lacks the floor plans, some of the text, but adds color pictures. This man knows all the architect's works intimately, and he finds something interesting to say about each one. You may find some of the entries insignificant, like a design for an exibition or a remodeling for a shop. Spends much of each house's description on the arrangement of rooms, which is difficult to follow without the diagram that was meant to go with it. Even so, it's probably the best choice for the average reader; anyone desperate for the plans can get the other version through his local library.

This book is just what it says it is, A complete catalog of the
works of Frank Lloyd Wright built during his life time. The text for each structure, in most cases was taken from Mr. Storrer's book The FLW Companion except where new data has been added since the original publication. Each site is illustrated with a photo. Even lost or demolished works, and most are in color. In many cases new or additional photos are included. For me, the main benefit of this book is the Field Guide Maps section at the end. As clearly stated in the text the scale of the maps is compressed for ease of display, BUT the actual site locations is
so accurately shown that you can determine which side of the street the structure is on and if visable from public property.

The first half of this text seems be be a bit simple. Many of the problems are confusing at best. The authors are not very clear on what they want. Many students in my class were frustrated by this time and time again. Still other times the questions were way to easy and never really chalanged the students. Basicly the first half does not provied a good solid base for Calculus. The second half is just flat out poorly written. It leaves the students constently scraching their heads wondering what the authors want. Questions are asked in such a way as to not make sence or not to follow the chapters very well. Chapt 7 is very much like this. Bad. The faculty agrees by having to put out an additional book of their own to help provide a better understanding of Trig.
Over all this book needs to be re-thought out. A poor choise for instructors wanting their students to get a solid base so as to takle more advaced math classes.

I like pictures of people on bikes. It makes me feel better because riding mountain bikes is fun. So when I work on functions, I feel happier.

Great book! It is especially good for understanding what different functions do, and how. This is very important for understanding calculus. Great examples, always linking functions with things in real life.

The acclaim that has greeted this perfectly ordinary book is puzzling, as there is nothing terribly fresh or insightful in it. Empson, Mahood, Vickers, Joseph and even Hussey are all more rewarding.

This book promises more than it delivers, with many scholarly discussions concerning texts actually pulling the discussion away from Shakespeare's language. It is a sort of homage to William Empson, a predecessor of Kermode at Cambridge, and a worthwhile reminder of the importance of Empson's 'Seven Types of Ambiguity' and 'The Structure of Complex Words'. Go to the root and read these!

Kermode's book demonstrates an approach deeply unfashionable among many of today's academics, though it is part of a backlash against work which made a strong impact in the eighties and early nineties. As a result readers are likely to diverge widely in their reactions to it. Kermode provides an antidote to work on Shakespeare which shows little interest in the actual meaning of his text, leave alone in the artistry of his language. Yet, of all Shakespeare's outstanding qualities, it is surely especially his use of language - employed in a strikingly arresting, rich, subtle, suggestive yet revealing way - which sets him apart from other authors.

"Shakespeare's Language", as a title, may lead some to expect discussions of his syntax, semantics, prosody, etc., and there is certainly an urgent need for more work on such matters. But Kermode is - properly, I feel - concerned to explain what is ARTISTIC in Shakespeare's language: what, notably, makes it individualistic, well-crafted and imaginative rather than just representatively Elizabethan. Kermode's approach is the more essential at a time when there is a marked, and completely inaccurate, tendency to treat Shakespeare as though he was not, after all, anything special - but rather "just a product of his times". This kind of "egalitarianism" will not ultimately succeed in dwarfing this extraordinary author.

This, then, is one of several recent books (written by e.g. Brian Vickers, Graham Bradshaw, Harold Bloom) which share an urgent concern with Shakespeare's individual quality and see the need to protect that against those who for the most part treat him as having produced nothing other than "documents" (as when critics refer to "the Shakespearean text" in references to his plays). By contrast, Kermode to an extent succeeds in giving one an idea of how one's mind gets enriched and expanded by contact with what he rightly sees as the ditinctive creativity of Shakespeare's language. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (see "More about me")

Possibly the worst book I have ever read. Certainly one of the top 10 worst books I have ever read. The author fell over himself to fill the pages with words. The characters were unbelievable and the story line ridiculous. Do not waste your time.

I think this is one of the better police thrilers of the time period. He defiantly has a good one here also. He just produces wonderful character driven stories that when they work (and this one does), they really grab you. The tension is there though out the full book. The story is very developed so much so that you see the crime sceens. Another thing about his books is that they do not play to the lowest common denominator for action books; he gives the reader some respect and expects an IQ over 70. A good book that is worth the time.

I don't normally read police procedurals but this one is an exception. "Wallflower" is by far the best of the Janek novels. It also has the least amount of sex in it of the three. If Bayer had left the better part of the sex to the reader's imagination in all three novels he would have done even better. This is a great read, especially for those who would profer to avoid Ed McBain and/or Joseph Wambaugh but would still like some balance in their mystery reading. If you enjoy the Janek novels as I have you will also enjoy the seven movies based on these books.

I haven't read this calculus text, but based on the quality of the last review (and in consideration of who the reviewer claims to be), I've got two words for ya: "STAY AWAY!"

We are currently using this text in a graduate course in Mathematics & Modeling. We are completing the first chapter in Modeling Change. Some of the definitions are vague. The examples are good; although, I would like to have seen more. Exercises are good--prehaps add more "warm-up" exercises. The sidebar items relating to the corresponding use of the TI-89 is good, but the cooresponding variables between this and the text is confusing to some degree.

This is a new calculus text that incorporates: - computer algebra (TI-89/92/92+), - cooperative learning, - group work, - reading mathematics, (I'm one of the author's so I'm biased.)

Even today, in the year 2002, it's hard to find any American who hasn't heard the name Jesse James. All types of wild stories have been passed through the years about him, some saying he was nothing more than a cold blooded killer and some swearing he was more like Robin Hood. In William Settle's book, "Jesse James Was His Name", he chronicalizes the events of Jesse's life starting with his boyhood home on a farm in Missouri, through the bloody years of the Civil War where he fought in Confederate guerrilla bands, and then on to his outlaw career.
The book, in my opinion, was too lengthy, it was full of facts a lot of which were unnecessary, and it didn't flow very well. So as Jesse James himself was an exciting person, this book was far from it. If you want to find more about Jesse James, don't read this book.

The research in the book seems to be first-rate. However the author doesn't seem to present the information in a way that leads to the the implied conclusions. He gives information on various robberies, implying they were conducted by the James/Younger gang, but the information doesn't support the conclusion--I wouldn't convict them based on the info presented. In fact, I was left leaning far more toward the James' and Youngers' own statements that they _weren't_ involved in most of these robberies and were convenient victims of post-war, anti-Quantill sentiments. Evidence of the James/Youngers' guilt struck me as being rather shoddy. Sorting out which robberies really could be attributed to whom is largely left to the reader.

Though well worth reading, I would view this book as a suppliment to other reading and research rather than the sole, final statement on the events.

Author Settle (true name: Dr. Robert Parker) was a college history professor from Oklahoma who spent 20+ years researching his subject - the notorious James Brothers of Missouri. His book, first published in 1961, still stands as the resource work in the "Jesse James" field. A historian, Settle refused to use or dwell upon anything except fact when dealing with his material. His research included developing a friendship with Frank James' only son, Robert - who lived on the James brothers' Missouri farm until his death in the 1950's. Settle leaned on family history, but primarily used grass roots documentation in reporting all of he known facts - through the time of publication. His work is the most often cited reference used by current authors. His research and book opened the way for the current boom of writers and researchers in the field of the James Gang. Nicely written and easy to read, the book not only discusses the family history and known criminal activities of Jesse and Frank, but tells how and why Jesse James - a known murderer and thief - has crept into legend as a hero. If you are interested in outlaw and lawman history of the Old West, this book is a "must".