Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay to any author, or any literary work, is not being able to get enough of it. I simply didn't want the book to end -- so I am reading it again.

The post cold-war world is seeming chilly to the Russians, and the only way to save face is to beat the American's at their own game, American football. The (former?) KGB is involved as well with its "arsenal" of secret weapons and programs -- including my favorite secret-agents Bimbova and Bendova. The Americans also have their secret weapons and programs, including a reverse-engineered prototype of an inter-galactic hover craft that crash-landed near Roswell in the 1940's.

This is a hilarious work of creative genius. Kroll is great! The multi-faceted and multidimensional plot kept my interest throughout the book. And since a sequel is technically impossible, I would like see a prequel, with Bimbova and Bendova of course.

An exciting adventure of the day after tomorrow, "Fourth & Gogol" is incredibly detailed, impossible to predict, subversively funny and yet deeply emotional. The scenes, from loading a Makarov automatic to the unique agony of football camp (called a "FULAG," insanely enough) to a horrifying rape of a teenager to a hysterically funny encounter with a cross-dressing ex-president aboard Air Force One to an evil Stalinist eugenics program, one is moved to believe Kroll has been overexposed to Kubrick, Clancy, P. J. O'Rourke and maybe even Voltaire. It's hilariously sick stuff with characters you'll never forget. It's the utter unporedictability of it that makes it such a worthwhile adventure.

Mix one part "The Longest Yard" in with one part "Dr. Strangelove," a helping of "The Hunt for Red October," any Stanislaw Lem you've got at hand and then pour in some marinated (and I do mean marinated) Russian masters, hit "LIQUEFY," and you come up with "Fourth & Gogol: The True Story of Russia's Top-Secret American Football Program."

Who knew that an atom-bio confrontation, eugenics, genetic engineering, Area 51 and a wholesale invasion of the West by Russia could be humorous? I guess Alex Kroll did. And it is.

The Russians are stinging. Licking their wounds for losing the Cold War. So they set their sights on humiliating the Americans by beating them at their very own, most American game. Payback for the 1980 Olympic Hockey upset. They blackmail the NFL's best coach (he's got a betting problem) and arrest some of Russia's best athletes to form a team at football GULAG out in Russian Central Asia. They will take on the Americans at the coming Olympic Games, where football is to be the demonstration sport. The coolest part, possibly, is Russia's secret weapon: A special, central-computer controlled "Head-Up" football helmet system with visor displays showing formations, blocking assignments, pass routes etc.

Meanwhile, Russian dictator Hrapchenko decides to spring west and south -- seeking the direct route to the Persian Gulf and brie in Paris. Not that I'd blame him for it!

It's an insane, well-written read. That's all I'll say.

I was given a copy of this book in a chaplain's office and I was pleasantly surprised by the wisdom provided from these daily readings. For example, "...when we risk the first step toward our dreams, the next step will become clear, then the next, and the next- as if light begins to illumine our way ~ From Captain Picard: A Matter of Time: 45350." This is a positive step in the right direction and affirms some of the readings I have gained from such books including "The Secret of Letting Go" by Guy Finley and some of the works of Anthony Robbins and Dennis Waitley.

I found this book filled with the kind of character building contemplations which make the application of "right actions" possible in our daily lives. A complimentary volume to Roberts and Ross' "Make It So". the author employes quotes from "Star Trek" episodes as insightful launching points for consideration of many of life's deeper questions. Presented in a format of daily meditations, it makes easy and thought provoking reading. Enjoy "the Journey"!

I am a Star Trek fan, and bought this book as a lark. I have been delighted to find that it is a well written, thought provoking guide for daily meditation. The daily thought starts with a Star Trek quotation, then integrates elements from many different facets of spirituality and self growth. An excellent way to start the day.

I bought this book for my class of Latin American students who were learning English as a second language. The grammar exercises in this book were well-written and accurate, and the organization of the material into short chapters makes it easy to teach this material in a classroom. This book was an excellent resource because it explains the concepts in Spanish, which makes the experience more familiar and less overwhelming for the students. A few words of advice - this material is somewhat advanced, so those who have never studied grammar formally (e.g., some of my students had quit school in their 8th grade) may struggle a little with some of the concepts (e.g., what is an adjective). Also, if you are an ESL teacher, you should also be able to read Spanish if you want to use this book, since it explains the concepts in Spanish. I enjoyed this book since it made teaching easy - I needed only about 15 min. of preparation time before each class when I was teaching one of these chapters. Finally, if you are teaching an ESL class, I recommend you use at least one additional book for the purpose of learning vocabulary and practicing pronunciation, since this book really only covers grammar.

I am very pleased with my purchase. I am trying to learn english. And my professor encouraged me to buy this book. She is a very nice teacher although a little too funny at times, but aren't all language teachers that way. This book provides all the grammar rules I need to know to write good sentences and to read well and yes sometimes soon to speak well in sentences to. Thank you.

Este libro te ayuda a entender la gramatica del lenguaje Ingles y te ayuda a poder hablarlo y escribirlo mejor. Is one of the best tools anyone can have when learning to speak or better english skills.

I bought this for a guinea-pig owning coworker, and read it myself. It is just adorable, full of cute pictures and pithy sentences. After reading it, I was tempted to get a guinea pig myself, which is about the highest praise one can give a pet book.

If you're a guinea pig lover, this cute pigture book is for you! I highly recommend it for anyone who has owned and loved these friendly lil' critters. The pics are truly adorable.

Yes, but those who are owned by guinea pigs DO and this book is a MUST MUST MUST. It's not just a cute picture book about cute animals and the things they can or can't do, it's a mantra, a stress releiver and a guarenteed giggle for anyone with a piggie (cavy) guiding their lives. And, oh yeah, there's some practical info on cavy care, and what to expect from their piggy, too

The History of Rome Hanks" remains in the recollections of those of us who read it when it was first published in 1944 as one of the truly great American novels. Sinclair Lewis called it "one of the richest and most pungent novels of this decade", and The New Republic described it as "...a view of the Civil War worth putting beside Brady's photographs, Grant's "Memoirs", "The Red Badge of Courage" and "Miss Ravenels's Conversion".It was one of 1944's best sellers.

The central figure of the novel is a young man trying to sort out his memories of the tales of the Civil War told him by his grandfather and his father, and to imagine what their lives must have been like,and what the War had done to them. The tale ranges from past to present, from Gettysburg and Savage's Station and Shiloh to present-day Kansas. Pennell employs a fragmented, interior-monologue narrative style, giving his reader a view of the War as his characters must have experienced it, and he does it with dazzling control. It as, and remains, a genuinely great war novel.

Four years later Pennell published his second novel, "The History of Nora Beckham: A Museum of Home Life",(Charles Scribner's Sons; NY, 1948), which is an extension of the lives of his people into their postwar lives. And after that this brilliant novelist disappears from the literary radar screen-- absolutely disappears. In more than fifty-five years of searching I have found only the occasional mention of "Rome Hanks" and Joseph Stanley Pennell.

Perhaps one reason for such undeserved obscurity is this: the book was published in 1944, when paper was rationed, press runs were limited, and the writer's most likely readership was still overseas with another war on their minds and no access to a book which would have made perfect sense to them. Even so, the literary historians have failed readers grievously by their silence since.

My father bought this book just before shipping out to Europe during the war and it remained his favorite novel until his death several years ago. It contains reminiscinces of the War Between the States which are as authentic feeling as any I've read. I believe the author was a military man who must have used the memories of his own battlefield experiences in writing the book. The segment on Pickett's Charge has stuck in my mind since I was in the ninth grade. This is the book by which I measure other combat novels and memoirs. It is also a very thought provoking book- more so than most other novels of its type. I have searched for other books by Pennell but to my regret have found none. Highly recommended.

This is the classic example of the author who has one great book within him. He apparently had thought about writing a fictionalized recollection of an ancestor's Civil War experiences. The thought took decades to germinate. The novel, when it appeared after World War II, was enormously popular, and was never followed by a second book. This book is extremely moving, not only for its combat memories but for the day to day observations of life and nature. There are passages which taken alone would justify the read. The book was out of print for many years, and fortunately is available again. You could call it a longer Red Badge of Courage, only it is much broader ranging and more laden with insights. It is not preachy in the slightest. You will find it a memorable book for all ages and both sexes.

Fundraising for America's schools has gone way beyond the bake sale. You cannot bake enough cookies to give America's chools the money they need. However, you can buy this book and learn from legendary fundraising guru, Stanley Levenson, beneficial strategies, techniques, tools, and templates for creating an A+ school fundraising program. Levenson is rare among fundraising strategists because he focuses as much on "friendraising" as "fundraising." This book helps everyone, from beginners to expert grantwriters, to cultivate the skills, relationships, and savvy it takes to be successful in the competitive arena of public school fundraising. Stan Levenson also understands the central role of public education in a democratic society and how to use fundraising as a means of increasing public responsibility for quality education at a time when public school budgets are being slashed across the nation.

Dr.Stanley Levenson has written a much needed book for public educators. Today, in a time of monetary crisis for many school districts in the nation, any book that can shed light on where to get money for innovative and creative programing is welcome. Dr. Levenson's does that and more.
Classroom teachers can use his work as a guide to understanding what it takes to write a grant proposal. Nowhere in a teacher's college education is anything like this taught, or for that matter, mentioned. Yet, teachers are constantly trying to be innovative and creative in their teaching. Sometimes, without funds it is hard to try the new and "impractical" in the classroom. With the guidance of Dr. Levenson's book, teachers are walked through the grant writing proposal step by step. But the book does not stop there!
He lists places where money can be found. The federal, state and local government all have some money earmarked for educational innovation. He lists them. Private funds and foundations, an area where money for the public school systems is growing rapidly, are listed and studied. Levenson tells what types of grants each foundation likes to fund (an extremely important idea).
As someone who has written and won school grants, I would have appreciated this book when I was a public school teacher. I think all school districts should have at least one copy of this book in each of their schools. It will encourage teachers to do what they can do best-teach, think, and write grants creatively.

In an era of diminishing resources, Stanley Levenson's book is an invaluable tool for schools and districts alike. His easy to follow recipe for writing winning grants gives school personnel the confidence to write their own proposals without the need of contracting an outside consultant. His book includes examples of successful proposals which he also uses to familiarize the reader of effective writing styles. What I also found tremendously helpful were his fresh and creative approaches to fundraising which many schools and school districts tend to overlook. For a very small but wise investment, our schools have profited from Dr. Levenson's insight. I'm sure many others would, too.

"Invisible New York" is a splendid collection of photographs which pay tribute to New York City's technological past. Stanley Greenberg's large format camera yields dignified, poetic images of long-forgotten historic structures throughout the city. These range from beautiful pictures of bridge supports and hidden passageways to a deserted building at Brooklyn's Floyd Bennett Field, once the city's primary airport. Although others have found New York City's architecture to be a rich source of photographic imagery, few have been as tenacious as Stanley Greenberg in creating stunningly beautiful visual poetry. I must commend Johns Hopkins University Press for publishing this beautiful tome of black and white photographs and keeping it in print. I eagerly look forward to seeing Greenberg's next book, which I think may be on a recent project documenting New York City's water supply system. He is surely one of the most distinguished photographers ever to have graduated from New York City's prestigious Stuyvesant High School.

I have an obsession with abandoned buildings. They are a place I know I can go to be alone because no one visits them anymore but the spirits of those who brought life to the buildings as more than just concrete and steel still linger.

It gives one a time to reflect on the temporality of our lives and the finiteness not only of our beings, but of our dreams and visions. It gives us pause to reflect on what is important and profound about life.

When we are in these places we are really inside of parts of ourselves we don't recognize.

This book lived up to my expectations with it's beautiful photographs, insightful comments about each location photographed and rich, deep printing. A great book for anyone interested in wonderful black and white location photography, or in learning more about New York City and its' surroundings.

..yes that Pat Burns pat@techos.com

Carol Friedman's book, The Jazz Pictures, changed my life. If it wasn't for her pictures I would have become terribly obese and died.

Picture after picture, you are inspired by Carol's constant search for "truth" in her images. The naked "truth" about these Jazz artists is captured by her awe inspiring pictures

This science fiction, fantasy and horror movie guide provides an excellent survey of the genre to fans who are avid movie-watchers: chapters provide capsule reviews of thousands of films, provide a rating system and guide to obscure and rare as well as mainstream titles, and include distribution and mail order information. Outstanding.

I own MANY film reference books, including many inclusive to horror and cult films. This is by far the best one I own. It gives extremely detailed entertaining descriptions of each of its ,many films. It has many hard to find titles. I was extremely impressed with this book and recommend it to everybody.

This book is a Genre fans dream! I happen to be one of those people who like Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy movies. I own several books on each subject. When I found this book in a used book store, I never imagined that I would find something that so perfectly matched my taste in movies. There are 5,614 reviews with intelligent descriptions behind each one. I take my copy to the video store with me! That way I know I'm not renting a total turkey. Some of the major pluses included in the book are: TV movie reviews, 1,709 cross references to secondary titles, direct-to-video reviews, and the fact that an estimated 30% of the titles listed in the book cannot be found in most major movie guides. The last fact is entirely true! I have also noticed that there are little if any errors in the reviews. Other books I have read , have many noticeable mistakes that tend to irk genre fans like myself. Try it out for yourself, this book has never done me wrong!

Like the previous reader, I've read both Hofstadter's "Anti-Intellecutalism..." and Jacoby's "Last Intellectuals". This work is just as enlightening as both of them.

Aronowitz sheds light on the suspicions of most anyone familiar with university life today (I'm a recent college graduate). He charts out how physics and engineering grew to dominate the university during the cold war and how corporates sponsorship largely took the place of military support in the post-Cold War era.

But what especially intrigued me was his background information on NYU and John Brademas' largely successful efforts to shake down wealthy donors and buy academic superstars. This transformed the reputation of the school. I'm going to graduate school at NYU in the fall, so I enjoyed hearing these details.

Aronowitz is unique among academics, given his working-class background and unorthodox method of attaining his degrees. These experiences are reflected in a passionate yet realistic prose. "The Knowledge Factory" is an engaging read that should be picked up by anyone affiliated with high education (students, teachers...especially administrators).

Aronowitz has written an excellent book here, but the overall message is nothing new. Richard Hofstadter, in his early 1960s book, Anti-intellectualism in American Life (which won a Pulitzer Prize), demonstrated that American culture had been anti-intellectual since the early 19th century and perhaps earlier. Approximately one-fourth of that book was concerned with anti-intellectualism in U.S. education. In 1987, the liberal Russel Jacoby published The Last Intellectuals and the conservative Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind; Bloom's book also was essentially about anti-intellectual American culture, while Jacoby's was about anti-intellectual intellectuals, a group that largely overlaps with U.S. college professors. Most recently, Edward Said called attention to the dearth of public intellectuals in his Representation of the Intellectuals (including [American] colleges' responsibility for this situation), and Daniel Rigney, Leon Fink, Dane Claussen and others have written about anti-intellectualism and higher education, or (the lack of) public intellectuals and higher education.

This is the best book on the crisis in higher education ever written. What makes it so significant is that Aronowitz never underestimates the value of education, just as he convincingly demonstrates that few colleges are invested in actully cultivating the critical minds of students. Instead, he argues, that universities -- and he persuades us that he's talking about every university, from the community college to the ivy leagues -- are more interested in the payoff of advertizing to parents and prospective students that they are able to prepare people for their work lives. While this may sound important, once you read this book and understand that preparation for work amounts to little more than a very expensive vocational training course, you'll realize how shortchanged students are, and how society as a whole has lost the chance to actually prepare individuals for citizenship and engagement in the work of repairing society. In other words, universities have not lived up to the promise of helping to make the world a better place.

The crisis Aronowitz describes may seem reflective of an idealistic belief in the power of higher education, but even a cursory glance at the political and economic landscape shows the dearth of ideas in handling the multi-layer problems facing us as a country; it's hard to avoid the fact that the evident source of this problem is how we prepare people for life in the larger world. If preparation is merely an exercise in training clerks, accountants, and even professionals, then we have what we asked for: a country of clerks, accountants, doctors and lawyers, rather than a culture committed to democracy and one that values the involvement of every person -- regardless of their occupation -- in the democratic enterprise. Perhaps -- as Aronowitz proposes in his very clear last chapter, which includes a higher education curriculum of his own -- we prepared citizens instead of proficient employees, people could attach value to themselves and their potential for being part of their society in a way that isn't linked to their career or occupation.

Hats off to Aronowitz; he's written a book that should be read by every educator, every college administrator, and every person who counts himself as a citizen above all.