While looking for material on the basics of our environment and for definitions of various terms and words I've seen in newspapers and magazines, I came across the ABCS of Environmental Science. It was exactly what I needed - a clear, concise and basic text for a non-science person. Mr. Katz's book explains the various aspects of our environment and the interconnectedness of it all. Each brief chapter discusses and happily (for me) summarizes the topic with a What You Should Remember section at the chapter's end. This book was interesting and informative reading with the salient points clearly emphasized. I recommend it highly for anyone wanting a thorough but clear overview of our environmental resources and what's being done with them - a very relevant subject for us all.

This book was reviewed in the January "99 issue of CHOICE, a journal that reviews books for libraries and schools and general readers. It was an excellent, very favorable review, by M.S.Field of the US Emvironmental Protection Agency

What I didn't learn about American history surprised me. I had heard the charges that school textbooks focused on the achievements of white males, but it didn't register with me until I read this book. As a white American, I am thankful to know the contributions made by brave African American pioneers. I believe race relations in our country can only improve if we educate ourselves about other cultures and races and seek the truth. I checked out this book from the library, but I plan to buy a copy for myself and for my son. Thank you, William Loren Katz

This is a wonderful history book. It is well written, well documented, and an excellent choice of material. Good photos, too. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy: Black history, women's history, Old West history, and entertaining non-fiction. Some day, I will read this again!

i too loved this book. my only problem is that i let someone borrow it, of course, they never returned it. i could not stop reading it. it was the most suspenseful book i have ever read. a definate must read.

"Surprise Party", by William Katz, is undeniably one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Not once, either...I've read it several times! The characters are incredibly real, the plot extaordinarily suspenseful, and the pace is one rarely matched. It is a thriller, of sorts, with a little romance and a lot of intringue. The storyline is fascinating, to say the very least. This book is one I frequently suggest to friends, even those who aren't avid readers because the enjoyment is remarkable. I have heard nothing but praise for the author. I'd like to see many more books written by this author, and have been increasingly dismayed to find that he hasn't been available for some time. I give this book the highest possible rating for readers of all preferences!!!

Colby College is an amazing school and this is an incredible book. No more needs to be said.

THIS IS YET ANOTHER FINE WORK BY WILLIAM LOREN KATZ; I THINK THAT IT IS COMMENDABLE FOR HIM TO GIVE ME AND MY CHILDREN A SENSE OF PRIDE IN KNOWING THAT OUR PEOPLE MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO DEVELOPING THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. HOWEVER, THERE IS VERY LITTLE DOCUMENTATION. THIS IS INDEED AN EXCELLENT BOOK FOR THOSE WHO ARE EAGER TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THE WEST WAS DEVELOPED WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AMERICANS OF AFRICAN DESCENT. BUY THE BOOK AND I AM SURE YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

Every American lawyer ought to read Blackstone.

Not that the law he contains is still reliable, although much of it is. But for the big picture, the history of the development of the English common law, he remains an indispensible source.

The American founding fathers grew up with this stuff, and these four volumes were indispensible for a Colonial gentleman's education. In viewing them, you will gain a new understanding of the meaning of the Constitution of the United States. As Blackstone develops the law, he sets it against the backdrop of the British struggle against arbitrary rule by the King, the seventeenth century wars of religious fanaticism, and England's long battle to win free from the power of the papacy. To read Blackstone is to learn what the founding fathers thought and feared, and what they wrote the Constitution to guard against.

Katz (information science and policy, State U. of New York-Albany) reassures us that the humble reference book will outlast the World Wide Web. His historical tour of the former by category informs general readers and librarians about their development and reflection of the period of publication. Includes a chronology of milestones in resource work history, as well as in the evolution of three national libraries (the Library of Congress, British Library, and Bibliotheque Nationale).

Well I'm not usually one for reading this type of book, but I picked it up in my local library years ago and couldn't put it down. It is the story of a young mother and the love for her litte girl. Her husband is tragically killed and she remarries the too-good-to-be-true guy. All seems peachy until her beloved duaghter drowns in their backyard lake. Strange things begin to happen as the child tries to contact her mother to tell her the truth. This woman is subjected to near-death experiences and the heart wrenching exhumation of her daughters body before people will finally believe she is not crazy and the truth will be revealled. If you can get hold of this book, I challenge you to be able to put it down once you begin...ENJOY!!!!

This novel is one of the most harrowing, troubling,yet fascinating reads I've yet to encounter. William Katz proves that he is a fine author. A brilliant artist teams up with a troubled plastic surgery med student and bring new technology and stunning perfection to the faces of world superstars - with a catch. Not to be missed. The ending will startle you. Not for the squeamish but only because the attention to detail about surgical procedures is extreme. Beautifully written, you won't forget this one.

One of the unique strengths of a history book by William Loren Katz is the rare photographs that usually accompany the text. Books like “The Black West” and “Black Indians” immediately come to mind. And he has done it again with “The Lincoln Brigade: A Picture History”, a series of compelling portraits of the brave Americans who volunteered to fight with the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War in an army named after the great American emancipator. The photos, which contain riveting images of black and white Americans cooperating in armed struggle against the rise of fascism in Spain, is accompanied by a highly informative, succinctly written text by Katz and Afro-American journalist, the late Marc Crawford. It is a beautifully produced book that is an excellent introduction for the reader with little prior knowledge of that great conflict between fascism and democracy that presaged World War II. In the preface to “The Lincoln Brigade” NYU historian Robin D.G. Kelley argues the fundamental importance of the Spanish conflict to the worldwide conflagration that followed. Says Kelley, “My students generally know nothing about the Spanish Civil War, but they follow my lines of reasoning…But when I tell them that nearly 3,000 volunteers traveled to Spain to defend the Republican government from fascist forces, and that they were joined by another 35,000 from around the globe, that is when I lose them…They cannot fathom why anyone in their right mind would travel half way across the world to fight, and possibly die, for a country that is not their own.” This volume answers that question. Divided into three parts and fourteen chapters, the book describes the political and economic conditions that prevailed in America and Europe at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the nature of the war itself, and what kind of reception the American vets got upon their return home after the triumph of General Franco’s fascist forces in Spain, then follows them into the World War and beyond. One of the most fascinating chapters in this book is “Volunteers,” which presents a series of brief profiles of some of those who fought. The first thing that will surprise most readers is that they are quite a mixed bag. “Most came from cities in large states,” the author tells us. “The largest group comprised members of trade unions, especially seamen. The second largest was made up of college students and professors. Dozens called themselves artists—writers, poets, painters, dancers, musicians, and three acrobats. There were Catholics, Protestants, Japanese, Chinese, Afro-Americans, and Native Americans. In the age of Hitler, Jews made up 30 percent of the Lincoln Brigade. There were Democrats, Republicans, Socialists, Communists, and people who rejected any kind of labels.” With minimal training and equipped with hand-me-down weapons and uniforms from many national armies around Europe, these volunteers went into combat and fought gallantly for an ideal that inspired those who prized freedom and democracy the world over. The descriptions of various battles are so detailed that it is as if we are there. And the photographs in this volume capture some poignant moments from that grand struggle to decide whether democracy or fascism would triumph in the world...The grotesquely beautiful photo by Robert Capa of a Republican soldier taken at the moment of death by gunfire is said to be the most famous picture of the Spanish Civil War, and deservedly so. But this book is full of powerful pictures of every aspect of the Lincoln Brigade’s struggles, the defeats and triumphs, and the learned text helps bring them to life. This book is a splendid way to introduce the Spanish Civil War to the novice, and an invaluable keepsake for surviving veterans, their families, and other partisans seeking a memoir of the heroic saga of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade...