MARTIN EDEN follows the rise and fall of a young sailor who by sheer force of will educates himself and succeeds in becoming a famous writer (this is London's autobiographical novel, published in 1909, when he was thirty-three and the most popular living writer in the world). Few readers liked it then, they found it dark and depressing after a certain point; they wanted the entertainment they were used to from London ("Come on, Jack, give us another story with dogs and snow in it!"). Not as many read it now as should, and London himself disdained the fact that it inspired many young writers without talent to follow Martin Eden's example. But it is also a valuable story about a young man maturing in his conception of love as regards the opposite sex:

"Ambition soared on mad wings, and he saw himself climbing the heights with her, pleasuring in beautiful and noble things with her. It was a soul-possession he dreamed, refined beyond any grossness, a free comradeship of spirit that he could not put into definite thought." -- The youth becomes a man.

London's prose is straightforward and vibrant, much like the author at his best. Martin Eden falls victim to the vicissitudes of his fame and fortune, much like the author at his worst (too much hard living is often given as the reason for London's death at forty). London spends a lot of time in this book criticizing American materialism in the way that materialism ought to be criticized. He also displays a certain kind of American work ethic (five hours of sleep a night, perseverance through failure, etc.) that sometimes doesn't know what to do with itself once it achieves success. We should all have that problem--just hope that we deal with it better than young Martin Eden does. A very worthwhile read.

Martin Eden is one of those books on which it's difficult to pass judgment. It doesn't rise to the realm of high art, although the writing is splendid in parts. The philosophy displayed through most of the novel comes across as sophomoric and meretricious. As autobiography it is dubious at best, as anyone who has read a biography of London knows. On all these accunts, London's other semi-autobiographical work, John Barleycorn, is much better and well-grounded......And yet, any one who has ever been in love or thirsted for beauty and knowledge, or has had ambition thwarted, or had it fulfilled and found that its reward led to emptiness can not help saying that this is the stuff of life.

The book has Nietzsche's influence written all over it. Indeed, the closing lines of Chapter XXVIII are directly lifted from Nietzsche. This influence doesn't, to my mind, detract from the novel though. Quite to the contrary, it's what holds the book thematically and artistically together.

The best part of the book by far is the ending, wherein London remains artistically and thematically true to himself and to his readers, and thereby renders the book unpalatable for mass consumption. As Nietzsche puts it, "I love him who is abashed when the dice fall to make his fortune, and asks, 'Am I then a crooked gambler?' For he wants to perish" There is also the influence and theme of that most anomolous of the books of The Bible, Ecclesiastes, which is, again, more overtly evident in London's John Barleycorn: "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?"

This book has its faults, but indiffence to the very pulse of life and to the vagaries of the human condition is not one of them. I can't imagine any lover of and struggler with words and life coming away from Martin Eden unmoved.

"Martin Eden" is my fifth foray into the works of Jack London. Although I don't find the excitement within that was apparent in "Sea Wolf," the passion is certainly evident. I have read that "Martin Eden" inspired more bad writers to sequester themselves with paper and pencil in unheated attics than any other book, and it is easy to determinewhy. Eden's obsession with learning and then creating the immortal printed word -- after falling for a woman above his class in society/socialist-conscious San Francisco -- is a powerful force that London expounds convincingly. Then, without warning, the sage advice "be careful what you wish for, it may come true," rears its ugly head. London also includes a line about ghosts that should be a classic, but isn't, and his description of a suicide ranks as the best of its kind. A WORD OF WARNING: Do not read the foreward until after. It tells too much of the story and robs some of the author's intended suprises. This is unforgivable. May the publisher rot in hell.

I found this book to be inconsequential. The author could have condensed it to 20 pages and still would have gotten her point across. All the information on the sections were repeated in many different ways. The only beneficial portion in this book was "the least you need to know."

I have owned JRTs for several years now and this book hits home hard. If you are even considering getting one of these dogs this book is the place to start. In fact, I gave it to some of the people who were planning on buying pups from us who knew nothing about the breed. It explained more than I could tell in an interview with a new or expectant owner. It made up the minds of some and disuaded others. It will always be a part of my collection of books on the breed beacuse it puts things in terms that non-owners can understand. This book is a "must have."

While the title is, admittedly, horrible, this informative, interesting and easy-to-read book covers all aspects of owning and/or being owned by a Jack Russell Terrier. Nutrition, purchasing a puppy, health care, and training are just a few of the topics addressed in this book. Everything is written in a simple and straight forward manner that is both educational and unpretentious. This is an invaluable reference guide!

This is a very good work. I enjoyed it immensely. The chapters by Choi Chatterjee, in particular, were very thoughtful and well researched. She is proof positive that the historical field suffers from a dearth of women and minority thinkers, and would benefit greatly from their unique and compelling vision.
Given Chatterjee's tremendous breadth on such issues as gender, class, and ethnicity, one would hope for future research by her about academic sinecures for bourgeois mothers of color.
Many people are unaware of this phenomenon. Recently, women of color are being exploited as diversified pawns in the playing field of white male academia. After culminating their rights to motherhood, they are, in effect, phased out of the academy. They are still paid a solid middle class income, of coure, but are petered into nominal positions, teaching, say, one course per semester, thus minimizing their significance within the department's political landscape. (They are permitted to work only about ten to fifteen hours per week.)
This is just another disgraceful example of the dominant white male hierarchy imposing its oppressions upon middle-class mothers of color.
Once again, this is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.

Chatterjee should write a book on academic sinecures for bourgeois mothers of color.

There are only a few books in my library that I refer to time and time again. Crisis Response is one of them.

This book outlines the media-response mistakes and successes of companies faced with crisis situations.

The author's message is clear. There will be a crisis within your company at some time. Prepare for it now. This book tells you how.

Anyone involved in corporate communications must read this book before the next crisis occurs! You'll find out from people who've been there how to handle the stickiest situations -- information that should help you convince your executives that communications should be considered a critical component of management.

Jack the Ripper (Letters From Hell), by co-authors Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, is exactly what it purports to be in the subtitle. It is a discussion of all the letters sent by people purporting to be Jack the Ripper to the newspapers, police and assorted individuals followed by a section printing all of the letters in the police files (there is little variety in the letters themselves showing the lack of imagination shown by most of the copy cat letter writers and this could prove a little dry for some). In addition, this volume is generously filled with photos of the letters themselves. This book is not for the beginner in the Ripper mythology as it focuses strictly on the letters and will be of most interest to those who have a basic understanding of the case already. This volume is a worthy addition to the Ripper books and will keep the legend alive for the next generation.

This book was fantastic. Where at first there was some kind of, irratic, and clouded judgement, but then the book sheds some light on the hard issues of the ripper case.
The victims... the suspects...
This book is amazing.
But i dont want to spoil the ending. Enjoy.

This book is an excellent primer for law students in VC/entrepreneurial finance classes, and I think is currently the most popular text for those kinds of classes. Even if it's not your required text, I'd recommend it; while the price is high, it's presented very well, and is probably the most concise text I've found on the subject. And attorneys who work in the field have told me that it's an invaluable desk reference. It is geared towards the attorney, so non-lawyers might find it cumbersome. But all in all, if you want to know the law in this area, this book's for you.

I read this book twice (not the appendix though, which is the support for the text), it incorporates tax law and practice, GAAP, and SEC issues with Venture Capital and similar transactions. It explains how to start a fund, how to structure deals, and how to exit the investment as well as familiarize the reader with the VC industry. Very detailed book and easy reading.

If you are interested in plot, the professional reviews give the essential information, but if you have just discovered Martin Hegwood and enjoy mystery/detective novels consider this book as your key to the character of Jack Delmas. Sometimes, as in this case, the author's first novel (Big Easy Backroad) does not give the full motivation behind a character. To really find out what is going on, one must explore a bit. Frequently I find a series I like, either through a friend or luck, and then start working the back trail. As I do so, I often find a book such as this novel that has it all, plot, motivation, interesting detail. If you are new to Martin Hegwood and Jack Delmas, and you like what you have read, you owe yourself this one.

Martin Hegwood is another Mississippi attorney turned author. He has set this novel's plot on the modern Mississippi Gulf Coast where private investigator Jack Delmas, a native of the area, finds himself between a declining shrimping industry and a booming tourist industry with luxury hotels and casinos. there are wheelers and dealers, corrupt politicians, shrimp fishermen, and businessmen ranging from a shade-tree mechanic to a successful restaurateur. The novel presents a good picture of an area in transition where most people want a piece of the pie, but some people would rather be beach bums. The novel contains lots of local color about the area.

When Jack's longtime friend, the Croatian shrimper Casper Perinovich, dies in an explosion and fire at his home, Jack is drawn into the investigation and stirs up things people would prefer to keep buried. The story has considerable action, and Jack sustains some damage to his person and his pickup (messing with a southern boy's pickup can be as bad as messing with his woman). Along the way, Jack rekindles an old flame.

This is a good novel for commuters as the 272 pages are divided into 41 chapters.

I graduated from high school with Martin, and was surprised to learn that he had authored some mystery novels. The first one I was able to read was The Green-Eyed Hurricane. Only a native (or former native) can tell how beautifully Martin's descriptions of the area and people reflect the reality of the Coast. His descriptions of the sun reflecting on oyster shells in a driveway, or the scent of a freshly mowed lawn where the grass is mixed with wild onions were viscerally evocative to me. How many times did I experience these sensations as I grew up? The small details he included only increased the believability of the picture for me. The characters he has developed are only perfect. I found the plot to be extremely believable, as I know something of the history of Biloxi. It fits.

Although the subject is'nt that original and the plot seems to be at times far fetched and not very beliveable the story is still quite enjoyable.

PS. The Finnish SS-men who appear in the book were in reality discharged from the Waffen-SS in Spring 1943 and not in 1945 but I understand that Patterson/Higgins had to bend the facts a bit to include the Finns in the book.

I have always liked this author; I can always count on him for a good story. This book came through for me although it was not one of his best, I think this was the period of time when we used another name and was really pumping the books out. There are other books that capture this period in time better and the plot was moving to the "no way" factor for me. He did a good job with an interesting story

altough I don't like some books of J. Higgins that are about the IRA, the story is as good as "The Eagle Has Landed" which is one of the best books I've ever read. Higgins tells the story in a way that you feel it's true. Especially the name of Bormann and his real life story makes you curious if the events really took place. On the other hand, the love story in the book is very affective and roses are the main reason that you cannot forget the story for days&nights. I've read this book for a few times as I've read The Eagle Has Landed and there are only few books that I've read and read, like Cussler's Night Probe or Tolkiens Ring story or Philip Kerr books

The author provides us with beautiful photographs of Vietnam, a thousand year old country. Pictures of mountains, seas, paddy fields, towns and villages alternated with those of children afflicted with war induced deformities and a veteran amputee receving treatment. What makes the book interesting is the juxtaposition of black photographs of the war and colored images of the present.

For the past is interwined with the present. The horrors of the war have left indelible marks on the people and country alike as Raymer has shown us in his book.

The authors do an excellent job of transposing the "American Image" of Vietnam into the beautiful and complex country that it really is. It draws from that "American Image" rooted in the drama of the war years, and gradually leads us to a clearer understanding of just what the country is today (and what it was before the intensity of the U.S. involvement)and where it may go in the future. It is encouraging, and very hopeful, to see the country and its people re-anchored in their traditional values--in spite of the current relic of communism--and to appreciate the renewed emphasis on education, family, business, and integration into the world economy. Clearly, it has been a long hard row to hoe, but it is moving in the right direction. Jack Smith's introduction lays this out, and it is reenforced by the text and Mr. Raymer's revealing photographs. The result is a far better sense of place and people.

Jack Smith's introduction says it all -- Vietnam is a beautiful, peaceful land that is going places. Doing this book brought back a lot of memories and was a tonic for the soul. Enjoy it!

This tape was my first experience of the Chicken Soup series. I had heard of Mark Victor Hansen from the One Minute Millionaire book.
The first thing that struck me was how awfully - there's only one way to put this - American the tape is. Beneath the slightly patronising (perhaps only to non-American ears) delivery the stories are indeed worthwhile even though some suffer from being over-sentimental.
Recommended.

This is an excellent book for the workplace. It is nice and refreshing to read if you are feeling down about work. I've begun to retell the stories at my workplace and everyone loves the stories. This is great reading for a coffee break.

The Chicken Soup series is always a pleaser, but seriously, I've gotten so many of them as gifts etc. Do I really need to read 303 wonderful stories? I'm almost getting numb to them. One book is plenty. Every one seems to offer quality soups and plenty of recognizable people to add credit to the story. I recommend any of the books, but don't recommend going crazy and buying anymore than one or two. The material/message just gets a little repetitive after a while.