Sometimes books are just so well written you just can't put them down. As a medical student, I found that Dr. V's insight into medicine is invaluable! This stands as one of the best books I have had the chance to read. The only equal is Robert Marion's, Learning to play God. Read both no matter what your interest in medicine is. If you are a medical student or hoping for a career in medicine these books provide great insight. Thank you Dr.V for a wonderful book!

I never thought I see the day when a physician suggests that they aren't God on earth, and see themselves as fallible. Half the time Dr. Vertosick had me in stitches, part of the time I was close to tears, and a couple of times I could have throttled the guy! Since being familiar with neuroscientists and working in the chief of Neuropathology's lab at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, I certainly saw my fair share of residents who were so full of themselves that the rest of us could hardly stand being around them. Dr. Vertosick reminds of us of the hard work, and the emotional risks of becoming a doctor, and he has an outrageous sense of humor. His writing is spectacular, and I put him up their with Oliver Sacks in writing about patients as people, and not just as a physical body with something wrong with it. A thoroughly wonderful book, which I enjoyed immensely! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

Although I have made my Neurosurgical Residency thousands of miles from Dr. Vertosick's (and a couple of years after him I guess), his recollections reminded me vividly of this nice time of my life. Dr. Vertosick writes surprisingly well for a neurosurgeon and catches your attention from cover to cover (I have read it in 2 days).

Note for the squeamish: There is some fine black humor inside that may shock you.

I recently watched both "The Shawshank Redemption" (with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) and "Stand By Me" (with River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman) and this prompted me to dig out my old copy of Different Seasons. Most people are surprised when they learn that those movies were based on novellas by horror master, Stephen King, but he shows that he's not just into scaring the heck out of you.

The story cycle bases one novella per season, and each follows characters on a journey, whether it's one of hope, descent into corruption, coming of age, or life through offspring.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" takes place over decades, as a prison inmate retains his spirit and soul, while breathing life into a dark institution, and whose patient nature finally leads him to freedom. The story is told in first person from the point of view of old Red, the guy who can get you things, about Andy Dufresne, a young banker jailed for the murder of his wife and her lover.

One of King's great strengths is creating a believable voice for his characters, and as you read this tale, it is like Red is talking to you. Other King strengths are providing back story and creating a world in which these characters live, one with a past, present and future, and it makes them three dimensional. One of King's flaws is going off on tangents and digressions a bit too often, but he always comes back to the story.

'The Body' (basis for 'Stand By Me') is a coming of age story about four small town boys on the cusp of entering Junior High School. On the Friday before Labor Day, they set off to find the body of a missing boy. One of the four boys, Vern Tessio, overheard his brother talking to a friend about the dead body.

The characters fall into several categories: Gordon LaChance, who narrates the story as an adult, is the dreamer/writer whose older brother died earlier that year. Chris Chambers is athletic, tough but smart. wise beyond his years and the white sheep in a family of black sheep. Teddy Duchamp is the psycho wiseguy who wears thick glasses and hearing aids as the result of his war veteran father putting his head to a stove. Vern Tessio is the least intelligent, but plays a key symbolic part as the one tells the others about the body and also is the first to spot it.

Along their journey, the boys encounter adventures, such as Milo Pressman the junkyard operator and his dog, Chopper. There is a run across a high trestle as a train bears down on them, a swim in a culvert full of leeches, and a night in the dark woods with screaming wild animals. When they eventually reach the boys, they have a run in with a group of teenage hoods from their town. A major difference from the movie, is that this story details the aftermath of the confrontation after the boys return to town.

King does a nice balancing act with his adult narrative and pre-adolescent dialogue, making each voice unique and fleshing out each boy's character to make them multi-dimensional. All four experience growth, but Gordon and Chris take this growth with them as they get older. Don't let people drag you down. There's a lot more to this story than just kids looking for a dead body.
My bumps here are again that King goes off on tangents and digressions, some to fill in background and history for the characters, but sometimes really straying far from the course. At one point he takes nearly a page to say that someone is dead, where 'The kid was dead. The kid wasn't sick, the kid wasn't sleeping.' Would probably have sufficed.

I won't go into a lot of detail about the other two stories. 'Apt Pupil' is about a boy who discovers a Nazi war criminal living in his town, and blackmails the old man into telling him stories about the war in exchange for not blowing the whistle on him. The stories the boy hears slowly lead him into senseless acts of violence. In 'The Breathing Woman' a 'disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death.'

These four stories combine to make an interesting cycle, and demonstrate that Stephen King has writing talents that stretch beyond his horror work.

Reta hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, was a great short story by stephen king. I enjoyed reading this book and even watching the movie. I was suprised how much the book grabed my attention and how I didn't ever put it down.

I just love Stephen King's books, okay? I've read them all, except RIDING THE BULLET, because I'm on the computer enough already, and I personally like to have a book with paper pages to pour over while I'm on a plane or a couch or a beach.

So I have read King--in hardback--for years. I always buy his books as soon as they are published. Then I buy them in paperback for tote-ability. They don't weigh as much, and therefore don't load me down when I'm walking mile-long concourses, nor hurt my stomach when I am (re)-reading them on the beach.

To me, all of his books are marvelous. But SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION is his best story EVER.

This story is actually one of four in King's book, DIFFERENT SEASONS. And it is actually entitled "HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION." Preceding the story, there is a single page with a single sentence which says, "It is in the tale, not he who tells it." Oh, and this tale does tell itself, but if King had not put it down for us, (pen to paper, so to speak) we would never have had the gift of this masterpiece to even consider.

When you realize the King of Horror has written a work that would catapult most authors into the galaxy of writers' stardom, and that it is just one of his many, many works, you just have to appreciate what a great WRITER King is. Sound silly? Well, as we all know, there are best-selling authors out there who are not particularly good writers. King sets this story down with a writing skill so superior that it is difficult to imagine something more perfectly written.

Of course I saw the movie, and it was fairly true to the book. But not until you let the actual words of this story envelope you and enthrall you do you get the full-tilt emotional fulfillment of reading a thoroughly engrossing story.

King does a beautiful job of giving us the substance of the characters, both in the realm of the facade a prisoner must maintain to survive, and of the inner anguish a prisoner struggles against to stay whole. We get to know the two main characters -- Andy and Red -- inside and out, and this is what makes the book so very compelling.

And I have never, ever, read a story in which the last sentence takes my breath away, causes my heart to beat faster, and makes my eyes tear, as this story does.

Some of the scenes are hard to take--particularly the prison rape scenes--but they are necessary for us to understand just what makes the wrongly-incarcerated Andy Dufresne so unique. And if he were not so unique, if his character were not so brilliantly disected in King's writing, there would be no story at all. Events happen around Andy, but what happens inside Andy is what gives this story wings.

I hope you will read this tale. I hope you will be inspired by it. I hope you will be as enthralled by the writing as I am. I hope you will love it, for your own sake.

First off let me point out that this book leaves out most biographical information about Sinatra -- it focusses on the recordings themselves. It examines Sinatra's approach and technique to recording and singing. That makes the book extremely interesting and is its greatest strength.

Unfortunately, that is also where its weakness comes in. The book is quite clincial and could use a few more anecdotes and stories -- more "colour" if you will. I'd like to hear more interviews with musicians who worked with Sinatra and from Sinatra himself to get a better idea of the people making the music, because I feel that that the force of Sinatra's personality counts for something in his performance. I personally think that "chemistry" counts as much as technique in music and would like more of that brought out in the book.

This is not enough of a flaw to stop you enjoying the book, it is very engaging and will appeal to anyone who loves Sinatra's records. I still highly recommend the book.

I hestitate to add one more criticism -- Obviously one can not go into exhaustive detail about every single Sinatra recording, but I found it odd that Sinatra's greatest album "Songs For Swingin' Lovers" is barely mentioned while an entire chapter is devoted to the out of print (in US) "Close To You". I realise this is a personal preference, but I found it disappointing.

Chuck Granata's book, placed on the shelf next to Will Friedwald's SINATRA: THE SONG IS YOU, gives the admirer of Sinatra's art a superb and fascinating look at WHY this man was the greatest popular singer of the 20th century. Where Friedwald goes into great detail explaining the unique musicianship of the man, Granata gives his readers the knowledge of how this artistry was captured and preserved for generations of listeners. Anyone interested in Frank Sinatra, great music, the recording industry or the technology of sound recording must own this book. In an age when innovation is often hard to come by, Granata truly has broken new ground! --Scott Allen Nollen, author of the forthcoming SINATRA AT THE CINEMA (Mindnight Marquee)

No book has ever captured the experience of a recording session and the recording experience like Charles Granata. Long known as an authority of Frank Sinatra's work, this book actually conveys why Sinatra's recordings are classic and still speak to us. Granata's viewpoints are fair and, in the case of the controversial Mitch Miller recordings, as balanced as a writer can be in presenting all sides of the story. His interviews with such under-appreciated musicians such as arranger George Siravo ( who contributed far more to the canon of Frank Sinatra than most people realize) are particularly valuable. I am delighted that he has quoted extensively from Nelson Riddle's arranging book (which I edited for publication), which has much valuable information about how Nelson worked with Sinatra. The history of the recording field, rare photos and even reproductions of score pages simply make this a must-have volume.

A penny for our thoughts? More like a nickel and dime. Back before Woolworth's closed, you would have been able to buy this book there . . . along with a package a hair nets, a package of socks, the latest 45, genuine polyester bloomers, parakeet food, the cheapest eye shadow and lipstick known to woman (and an occasional man), and, at those special stores with a famous Formica-topped lunch counter, a grilled cheese and Coca-Cola. Today, Woolworth's is a mere memory to those middle-classers who spent time and money there. Woolworth's may have closed in 1997 (after 188 years of business), but author Karen Plunkett-Powell keeps the legacy alive as she takes readers on a nostalgic stroll down the aisles stocked with this and that. The reminiscences and recollections from die-hard customers add a warm touch but it's the test and photos take make the trip worth it.

Ms. Karen Plunkett-Powell's book is a joy to read, with great pictures. It follows the rise and fall of Woolworth's; sharing behind-the-scenes history that most people wouldn't know. BUT MOST IMPORTANT -- it brought back more memories than I realized I had forgotten of my child and teenage years and reminded me of just how many important things my family (and probably yours!) purchased from Woolworth's. My Woolworth's was in downtown Bradenton Florida, but reading the book I realized that people all over the USA and some foreign countries have many of the same memories that I do of Woolworth's -- parakeets, goldfish and hamsters, coke-floats and grilled cheese sandwiches, the 25-cent photo booth, parfume and cosmetics, the candy counter, comic books, my first watch, my first musical jewelry box, seasonal clothing, hula-hoops and batons, tennis shoes and flip-flop sandals, portable typewriters, play guns and dolls -- but most of all, Woolworth's was our Christmas Store. As the daughter of a 29-year Woolworth's saleslady, Woolworth's was where I wandered as a child, searching out all the things I hoped Santa would bring. Revive your memories -- this book sure is a trip down memory lane! Highly Recommended!

This book brought back so many memories - and I'm only 41! It's
fun to read, with a layout that mixes photos, anecdotes, drawings, and personal reminscences - almost like a magazine. Reading this book makes you realize that Woolworth's was everything Kmart and Wal-Mart are not - charming, inviting, and much more than a place to get a bargain. Author Karen Plunkett-Powell captures the Americana, the nostalgia, and the details that make us all smile when we remember Woolworth's. For me, it was about recalling the malted milks my aunt used to buy me at the counter when I was small, and the quick gifts I used to pick up for friends and my children from the Woolworth's that used to be located downstairs from an office building where I worked for many years. So many of our everyday experiences nowadays are empty -- do yourself a favor and travel back to a simpler yet more meaningful time by reading this book or buying it for a friend. It's not a typical boring history book -- and it makes a GREAT gift for the senior citizen in your life who you never know what to get for a present -grandma, a relative in a nursing home, a neighbor who signs for your packages or whatever - even if that person is not the type to sit down and read a book, they'll have so much fun leafing through it.

Fascinating personal day-by-day account of the journey of Lewis and Clark through the Louisiana Territory. As you read, you feel yourself slowly seeing the American west as it was seen by those who first wrote of its magnificence, the customs of the natives, the wildlife, and climate. You see it for what it was, and for its possibilities. This edition has been edited from the individual journals of both Lewis and Clark and some of the others. It has been made more compact by putting in only passages that tell the story, but with no sentence restructuring or spelling corrections. Sometimes this requires you to figure the meaning out, but is never a big problem. The chapter length was perfect for reading a chapter a day which means 33 days. The only bad chapter was 31, which was a summary of one leg lifted from DeVoto's The Course of Empire, which I felt was harder to understand than the journals. The appendix includes Jefferson's Instructions, list of personnel, and specimens returned.

There is not much new that I can add which has not already been said of the Journals. Simply put, fantastic! I have read some excellent books regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but reading the actual journals themselves makes one feel as though they are right there alongside them. Names such as John Colter, the Fields brothers, George Drouillard, Peter Cruzatte, Touissant Charbonneau and his wife Sacajawea, John Ordway, George Shannon, and many of the others in the journal become so familiar, it's as if the reader is a "fly on the saddle" (so to speak) during the entire expedition. Every chapter, every leg of the journey, has something relating to the hardships, sacrifices, conjectures, speculations, survival strategies, Indian confrontations and appropriate manners of behavior, along with wonderful descriptions of landforms, Indian culture, animals, plants, climate, etc. A truly gripping, meaningful look at early western U.S. exploration. DeVoto's introduction and editing is extremely well done.

This is an excellent book. It is hard to imagine the hardship these men had to endure on their trip across the nation, but by reading this book you get some kind of idea. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is even slightly intrested in the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. This book tells it exactly how it happened, from the men who were there. I strongly believe that books like these should be required reading in schools....who knows what this country would be like today had it not been for those brave men.

I found this book in my cousin's room and did not emerge until, bleary-eyed, I had read it cover to cover. Since then, I've re-read it dozens of times, along with the prequel, Cheaper by the Dozen. Gilbreth family fans will want to know Frank Gilbreth wrote another, adult book, about his father. Also, the University of Texas at Austin has the Gilbreth motion-study film collection.

I loved this book. I read it after I had read "Cheaper By the Dozen" which is a book of the events before the events in this book. This is like a sequal to that. I loved them both and I wish there were a ton more books about this family. I think it would be a dream come true to meet some of them. It is so neat to read a whole families life story and it is even more fun to have such an interesting family as the Gilbreths. Sometimes I don't know how they lived. They are really neat people and they inspired me in the weirdest ways. I would recomend this book to everyone of any age. But first you should read "Cheaper By the Dozen" it is up to you but it is more fun to read it in order. I think you should give at least one of these books a try, they are great I think and they would make great gifts if you need a good gift, also. I hope you take my advise and read these books.

If you enjoyed Cheaper by the Dozen, reading this book is a must! After Father Gilbreth dies, Mother is left to carry on with her dozen children. The hilarious (and sometimes ridiculous) escapades in this book range from Tom, (the cook) having trouble dosing the Gilbreth clan with castor oil, to first dates and general instruction for the girls by their brothers on how NOT to get kissed! This book is HILARIOUS! Trust me - this is one you DON'T want to miss! Settle yourself down in your favorite easy chair and laugh yourself silly with the amusing escapades of the Gilbreth Clan!

This book lays the best foundation for architectural study and design of any book ever published. It should be required reading at every university and would make a great primer for high school students with enlightened teachers.

After seeing this book on the shelf of a friend's architecture office, I bought it for my homeschooled children who are genuinely interested in architecture and building...Their dad (who teaches drafting and construction) and I could not put it down! The drawings are clear and so comprehensive. The book covers so much...Architectural styles, drawing types, etc. Mostly in drawings with very little text. So many architecture books are filled with heavy text, that you are lost in it, rather than learning the ideas and concepts. That is not a problem here. It is not to say that in any way this is a simplistic, elementary book...I'm sure it is used at the post-graduate and professional levels. The drawings and captions/info just say so much more than all those words! We are all learning a lot from this book, and are looking forward to buying more of this man's work.

This book is not just for reading, but for studying. Each page uses excellent graphics to demostrate and teach the principles of architectural design. Each page teaches a principle and the following pages build on that principle.

This book is a text book and a study guide all in one book. I would recommend this book for student & practicing architects and interior designers.

In our opinion and our dogs', this book is truly the best thing that ever happened to dogs, at least California dogs!!! It's written with such a sense of humor and a love of dogs that sometimes we just read through it like it's a regular reading book, not a guidebook. Our dogs want to meet the author one day and shake her paw. We took a coastal vacation, staying at only places in this book, and the dogs were in total heaven, from Mendocino down to Santa Barbara. No other dog travel books compare.

We have used the California Dog Lover's Companion for travel all over northern, central, and southern California, and it has never let us down. All recommendations for lodging, outdoor activities, restaurants have been completely accurate in terms of quality and price -- unlike some other books we have used. Also, the author provides charming anecdotes about her dogs which make the book an enjoyable read, and not just a dry reference tool. We actually wore our first copy out (our dog ate the first few pages, and then it got all wet from a romp in the snow), and had to order a second!

I bought this book 4 years ago when I moved to California. We now have two dogs, and use this book every time we travel in California. The layout is great. It is easy to find lodging, parks, etc. anywhere in California that allow dogs. We have planned and executed many successful doggy trips with this book. Well worth every penny. Mine is falling apart is has been used so much!

This fascinating tome is an in-depth look the L. Frank Baum and his famous work, The Wizard of Oz. The book begins with a biography of Baum that turns into a biography of the book, complete with information on all of the plays and movies that were derived from it. Next comes the bulk of the book, a reproduction of the original 1900 edition of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, with pages upon pages of notes sprinkled throughout. As an added bonus, the book ends with William Wallace Denslow's story, Adventures of the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Little Girl.

This book is absolutely fascinating! The introduction (biography) is brimming with many wonderful photos, and even several of Baum's maps. As might be expected of the notes for the book, I found many long-winded and/or irrelevant, while others completely tickled my fancy. This, though, probably merely reflects my own tastes; another reader would probably cherish some notes I disliked and vice versa. Overall, I think that this book is a wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in the Wizard of Oz, and I highly recommend it.

Michael Patrick Hearn really has done a grand service to the American literary world. While the book Wizard of Oz in itself will be a classic of all time, Hearn's annotations breathes life into this book like nothing else I've ever read.

His exhaustive, extensive research illuminates this classic, and brings us into the life of L. Frank Baum in connection with his writing of this story. I also loved the reproductions of the the original color plates from the first printing, which Baum painstakingly wanted.

As a true devotee of the film, and a casual devotee of the book, I now considered myself converted and find joy equally in both, due to the reading of this new classic.

Take advantage of this low price while you can still get it!

This holiday season I am coming on strong as the Ghost of Christmas past and one of the things I am strongly advocating are annotated editions of beloved books. One title that has to be on any short lists of beloved books would be "The Wizard of Oz." As you know, this book is a potent political allegory representing a nation divided between an agricultural past, represented by the Scarecrow, and the industrial future, symbolized by the Tin Woodman. Baum's position on the free silver issue that dominated American politics at the turn of the last century is self-evident, from the silver slippers that Dorothy wears to the caricature of William Jennings Bryan as the Cowardly Lion.

Of course, this interpretation has been around for years and you can certainly make up your mind after reading what Michael Patrick Hearn has put together in this wonderful Centennial Edition of "The Annotated Wizard of Oz." For starters, we have all of the original illustrations by W. W. Denslow, reproduced in their correct colors. That alone is worth having, but this volume also includes lots of rare drawings, photographs, and maps having to do with Baum's classic tale. Hearn's annotations focus not only on where Baum got his ideas but where "The Wizard of Oz" fits into the grand scheme of folk tales and children's stories as well as Baum's collective writings. Obviously, Hearn knows about a lot more than just Baum's career and writings, but he avoids sounding like a scholar speaking from an ivory tower.

Obviously, "The Annotated Wizard of Oz" is not for the first time reader. I would contend that an annotated edition of this, or any other beloved book like "Anne of Green Gables," "Alice in Wonderland," or "The Hobbit," is for those who are in double-figures when it comes to the number of times they have read the book in question. This is a chance to discover new levels of meanings. There is really no need for persuasion here: if you know how you feel about this story and you see what is collected in this annotated version, that should be more than enough to convince you this is worth getting for yourself (or someone you love) even if you do not find it under the tree on Christmas morning.

If you are not looking for an exciting novel that you can not put down until you are finished try The Stranger in the kingdom by Howard Frank mosher. I encourage people to read The Stranger in the Kingdom because it shows you how people live in a rural area such as Norhtern Vermont. The way they treat each other are fairly good. If you are a stranger, they wouldn't treat you well because you're new they don't know what you're about, so they pretty much give you a hard time so that you don't get too comfortable. I liked the book because it tells you how people live in a rural place. In rural places such as Northern Vermont they like to have little county fairs. For example when Reverend Andrews first came to Vermont many people didn't like it becasue he was a stranger and because he was black. THe climax of this story is when the murder and the trial happens. In order for you to know who got murdered and who did it you must get this book. I guarantee you that you won't regret reading this book.

After reading Where The Rivers Flow North by Howard Frank Mosher, the decision to read A Stranger In The Kingdom was a natural one. Although the more than four hundred pages of historical fiction could easily have been scaled down considerably, the gratuitous length allowed for Mosher's infrequent but priceless gems of comedy. My expectations of the book were high. I did genuinely enjoy Where The Rivers Flow North, and hoped that this book would be similarly funny, but also insightful, and purposeful. A Stranger In The Kingdom was radically different from the other Mosher book I read. Which really surprised me, but it was very fulfilling. The plot was based on Mr. Andrews, a black minister and his son Nathan who move to Kingdom County Vermont, and are, especially at first, very well received by most, however there are the few who are unwelcoming to Reverend Andrews. The community is proud of its acceptance, however the Andrews are the only blacks in the Kingdom. "At best, its an untested tolerance we're talking about," says the father of a young local lawyer. Foreshadowing takes a large, very interesting stance in this book. The black minister moving into an all white town makes it somewhat obvious to the reader that racial issues will be addressed in the book The main purpose of the book is to demonstrate that racial conflict occurs not only in the south, but everywhere in the country. It is puzzling that while making this point about racism, Mosher makes it clear that Kingdom County Vermont is in a way "the last frontier," and that it remains very wild and that the surrounding communities view Kingdom County as a lawless society where anyone could get away with murder. This seems to contradict the main point in a way. If racism exists everywhere, why is it being pointed out as existing in a time capsule of a town? The main character of this book is not black, but a young local boy, son of the editor of the town's newspaper. The story is told, more or less, through his eyes and always in the third person. He is the one who discovers a dead body, who Reverend Andrews is later accused of murdering. The majority of the text deals with the trail that ensues, which transforms the book into a courtroom drama. However the main point deals with race relations the overall dynamics, politics, principles, beliefs, views, and opinions of Kingdom County Vermont.

Howard Frank Mosher has used his own personal experiences of the unique culture of Vermont to give this intriguing story the hearty flavor of northern New England. Mosher develops the story of the black Reverend Andrew's experience in a small Vermont town that has lacked any ethnic diversity for decades. The last time a black family was living in Kingdom County was in the time of the origination of the area, Pliny Templton is well respected as the founder of Kingdom County and the local elementary school holds his name. He was also the last black man living in Kingdom County. Our narrator, James Kinneson, tells the story of a complicated murder mystery phenomenon that sweeps through Kingdom County. Mosher introduces Claire, a French-Canadian girl, to Kingdom and begins a whole new fury of confusion. James takes on the open minded task of befriending both Nat(the new Reverends son) and Claire, who is not looked upon highly by the citizens due to the fact the she came into town as a fair girl. As the plot thickens we encounter instances of murder, racism, betrayal, questioned trustworthiness and the whole town becomes skeptical of their neighbors when the find out there is a murder suspect among them. The question is, who is the stranger? The original Charles Kinneson's second wife, Mari the gypsy who stayed in Kingdom after her group of traveling gypsies passed through, or Reverend Andrews, the first black man in years, or Claire, the French girl who lived with the Reverend in the town parsonage and caused much of the commotion. The list could go on and on, you'll have to read and see for yourself.......If you would like to read a murder mystery crossed with the story of a quaint Vermont town A Stranger in the Kingdom is a wonderful choice.