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Between 1910 and 1940, when Frank Buck, the big jungle man, did most of his work, cruelty toward wild animals was generally condoned in the name of "hunting" or "sport."

That his trademark motto, "Bring 'em back alive," made him famous, however, indicates that even in his day human consciousness was high enough to appreciate his respect for animals. Today this consciousness is so widespread that no one could become a hero of his stature by trapping jungle animals for profit.

But he understood animals and respected them, even displayed toward them the care of a mother for her child. When they were injured or sick, he personally tended them, a risky business. A 600-pound tapir he was treating almost killed him. A python saw him as a meal, and a cobra spewed deadly venom in his eyes. Attacked by another cobra, he threw his coat over the snake and pounced on it. He held it beneath him as it wriggled to get free until aides could get a grip on its head and pull it out, like a bird extracting a worm from the ground. The python that had him in its grip was one of the very few he had to kill. He managed to get one arm free enough to reach his sidearm; then he put three rounds in the giant reptile's brain.

From his headquarters at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore, he operated a collecting network that spanned the lush jungles of Malaya, Borneo, Sumatra and India. Over the years, he brought back hundreds of thousands of birds and animals of all kinds for sale to zoos, circuses and private collectors. In 1922, he provided Dallas with an entire zoo of more than 500 specimens. In 1948, he returned to his hometown of Gainesville, Texas, to dedicate the Frank Buck Zoo and the Frank Buck Zoological Society.

From Mr. Buck's eight books, Steven Lehrer has selected the "best" of the material. He has fine sensibilities as an editor. However, the books are so full of good, old-fashioned, movie-serial-type adventures in wild, exotic settings, that Mr. Lehrer could have closed his eyes and picked 19 chapters that would make a good collection. The surprising thing is that, until now, no one else has.

What few could have done better, however, is write the illuminating introduction summarizing Mr. Buck's early interest in animals and birds as a boy in Plano and along Turtle Creek, and his brief dalliance with crime, marriage and other enterprises before setting out on his lifelong search for "the source of the wind, the mouth of the river, the oceans to which the fish swam, and the far lands to which the birds flew."

Free-lance writer and reviewer Tom Dodge lives in Midlothian; his new book is Tom Dodge Talks About Texas.

November 2000, p 554 History of Science & Technology

38-1532 QL61 99-86898 CIP

Buck, Frank. Bring 'Em Back Alive: The Best of Frank Buck, ed. by Steven Lehrer. Texas Tech, 2000. 248p bibl index afp ISBN 0-89672-430-1, $28.95

In many ways, this is a delightful book. Buck was a familiar and heroic figure to many growing up in the 1930s and 1940s; the numerous illustrations recapture those days. The great zoos of the day owed much to him, partly for the specimens he obtained for them but even more for the publicity he generated and shared. His exploits could not and should not be repeated today, but that should not detract from the sense of adventure his stories evoke. His persona was mirrored in the white hunter in King Kong (the Fay Wray version), but his real life adventures were even more thrilling. The comments by Lehrer (Mount Sinai School of Medicine) are interesting and useful, and his choices of episodes from various of Buck's books are well done. All in all, this is an extremely entertaining book, illustrating a different time and written in a way that brings that time to life. General readers. -F W. Yow, emeritus, Kenyon College

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The author does and excptional job on cleaning up some of the objectionable language, and brings to the readers a truly enjoyable book on early "African safari" type activities. Something that young readers as well as old can enjoy.

This new reprint edition keeps in print all the great information found in the previous edition "Wet-Scrape Braintanned Buckskin", but adds some new minor revision, some new illustrations, and a new more attractive title and cover. We hope you will like it, we do!

This book is not really "out of print", but has been reissued under a different title and ISBN #. The new title is "Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning" ISBN# 0-9654965-5-4 and is available on Amazon.com. This new reprint edition features a more attractive title & cover and some minor revisions, but is essentially still the same great book. Thanks for your interest.

There is a lot of information contained within these pages...written by two excellent brain tanners and experienced teachers. It is the kind of book that you can go back to time and time again and find new and valuable information that you missed the first time. I do think its a little hard for the beginner to find the simple and straightforward how-to do it information in, but it is there, and it will teach you what you need to know, and then some.

"Wetscrape Braintanned Buckskin" has a particularly good bibliography, section on tool sharpening, troubleshooting, museum quality illustrations, good humor and a whole lot of excellent information. I've been brain tanning for a living for 11 years, teach it regularly and have written a book on it myself, and all I can say is that if you are considering getting this book, just do it!

Whether you are a climber, a hiker, a car traveler, or just an armchair explorer, the Beckey guides are the indispensible resources for your mountain experience. The three volumes are filled with information about the natural and human history of the Washington Cascades, as well as complete route and access data for every significant summit. The photos alone are reason enough to own these books. If you are interested in really "knowing" the Washington Cascades, you MUST have them in your library. Highest possible recommendation.

The series of books by Beckey on climbing and high routes in the cascades gives the most comprehensive and complete presentation of cascades. Each peak is described with great detail and the photos and pictures are great. This is truly a great guide!

I have used this Guidebook so many times in the past 12 years that I've had to purchase it three times. The definitive section on the Picket Range alone is worth the price of the book.

For those who want to experience the North Cascades as they were in the 30's and 40's, reading the "Trails and Alpine Hiking Approaches" section will steer you in the right direction. This book is rife with golden kernels of information found nowhere else. Any serious climber should have all three of the Cascade Alpine Guide books.

Mike Quinn

I was given this book my a friend and found it to be totally fascinating. It is filled with interesting and useful quotes and stories (much of which I have never had time to read, or have forgotten about). It is all here in compact form! I have shared this book with my son and best friend and also have used the quotes whenever I want to put something in words that are profound and meaningful. GREAT READING I KEEP IT MY BRIEFCASE!

We all have a list miles long of books we'd like to read. But who has the time? That's where Compact Classics comes in. In two pages you'll get enough info to speak intelligently about any number of the greatest pieces of literature ever. Read this book and come off erudite, not just a trivia buff.

Are you short on time but love to keep up on your reading? This is the book that gets to the bottom line. Everything you ever wanted to know about classic literature, famous quotes, trivia and leaders of our time is neatly packaged in a concise format in this book. Every professional bookcase should have one.

This is certainly a worth-reading book. Its application of Durkheim's and Merton's anomie theory to the crime dynamics of American society is tightly reasoned and very appealing. The thesis that unusually high crime rates in the US are the dark side of the success promoted by the American ethos seems to account for many of the observed facts. The book follows an excellent logical development and provides appealing explanations for the etiology of the main American nightmare. Unfortunately, it lacks a truly comparative perspective, since it practically ignores crime in the underdeveloped countries. Compariong with Western Europe is hardly enough. And the last ten pages, where the authors provide their recipe for combatting crime, are, to say the least disappointing. By proposing actions which are obviously non-viable, the authors transform their whole argument into an interesting, even fascinating, but useless academic exercise. One final point: The tendency of the authors to add "political correctness" to citations is unforgivable. What an author said anywhere between 150 and 80 years ago, should be cited as he/she wrote. Thus, in page 105, the introduction of a "her" in a citation of Marx is unnecessary and smacks of opportunism. The same can be said of the citation of James Truslow Adams in page 106, where the authors introduce a "and women". And before I forget, the table on page 103 places Australia and New Zealand low in homicide but also low on decommodification (monstruous word!), whereas Finland is higher in decommodification than the UK, but also higher in homicide. Don't these contradictions fatally weaken the argument of this chapter?

I was privileged to have Dr. Rosenfeld as a professor while majoring in criminology. I found his course and his research fascinating. This book is very well written and an interesting theory. Having recently become a public defender representing indigents charged with felony offenses, Dr. Rosenfeld's theory is right on the mark. American crime is a serious problem, with its roots deep in american culture and expectations. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the true roots of american crime.

This was a textbook in my university criminology class, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It applies the theory of anomic strain to the United States as a whole and proposes that it is the cause for crime and deviance. Many of the ideas and themes presented in it ring true with sentiments of Americans today, with the gap between the upper and lower class growing larger and larger.

I have so enjoyed this book! The author gives a clear description of basic Buddhist philosophy in the first 5 chapters, including an inspired interpretation of a natal chart for the Buddha. Then he describes each of the 12 Houses and gives lively descriptions of the meaning associated with the moon, sun and planets. I took out my own chart to learn more about my own natal chart. The only negative criticism I have is that the book nowhere gives the symbols for the planets so I had difficulty reading my chart.
The book ends with a delightful biography of the author who, though born a Canadian, became a Buddhist monk , lived in Dharmsala,was taught by the Dalai Lama,did a 3 year retreat in a mountian cave and after 13 years was given permission by the Dalai Lama to give up his ordination and teach Buddhism in the West. His description of this life is fascinating.
There is a glossary of Buddhist terms,a bibliography.and an index - all things a good book needs!

The introduction to Buddhist thought and philosophy is worth the price of this book. The astrological interpretations, given from this Buddhist perspective, offer peace and tranquility in the face of stormy life-situations and inner turmoil. The message which permeates these pages is: you are not mortal; your true being is one with life, not at odds with life. Buddhist Astrology--the book and the approach--pierces through the veil of an illusional mortality. Astrological consultations, whether through a personal astrologer or through a well-written book, ought to bring hope, peace, comfort to the seeker. These things are to be found here.

This interpretation of astrology chart readings from a Buddhist point of view is very interesting and insightful. Buddhist philosophy and application to daily living and understanding how the underlying influences of astrology affect us was most thought provoking. I really enjoyed this book and felt that I learned practical applications from it to use in my own attitude towards self, others and understanding samsara.

Although the Devita text is a good resource, it has important drawbacks. In every edition, including the latest one, too much information has been out of date even at the first day of publication. Several other major oncology texts somehow manage to avoid this problem much better. Also, since the text comes out every two years, information in the current edition is already at least 3 years old or older. Beyond this, the index is detailed but it still is hard to find specific information, i.e., the book is clumsily organized. Finally, the CD version has the worst search program that I have ever used. You can enter information with any degree of specificity and the search will retrieve (at best) a list of chapters and major chapter sections in which to look. You then have to read through miles of text to find the information that you wanted. Searchability is one of the main reasons for buying a CD and I consider the Devita CD virtually worthless.

As a resident, I use this book as a first resource for almost all Oncology reading. By your second year of residency you should be getting a lot of your data from the literature rather than texts, but it is still very useful to have a text summery to start from. Take prostate cancer as an example. You can read the DeVita chapter in a (long) afternoon and have an excellent base to expand from. Furthermore, the hundreds of references for each chapter are essentially a list of every landmark article on that topic. If you are an intern or MS4 and you are going to go Rad-Onc, Internal then Med-Onc, OB-Gyn Onc, or even Surgery or Dermatology then you simply need this book. There is nothing else that comes close. To be honest, if you are building any type of medical library whatsoever, you need this book. By the way, mine came with the CD-Rom version on the inside of the back cover for free! Check with your retailer to see if yours will, too. Best of luck, study hard- CURE CANCER!

this book is considered one of the text...that make the specialest so much satisfied by the quality and quantity of the information it contain and the it is discussed. but for us in middle east it is very [pricey]. you will understand that when you know that my monthly salary as an assesstent lecturer inradiation oncology dept.; Alazhar university, Cairo, Egypt;... a low price edition will be much helpful and very wise to prevent illegal copying of the book. thanks a lote

This is a very cute story that was a huge hit with my 5 yearold. It is very well told and I will definitely buy more books by BillMartin in the future. it also has a very nice moral, and it isn't preachy at all.

However, I do have to say it is the ugliest childrens book cover I have ever seen- you can barely read the title because it's on shiny reflective paper. The scan really doesn't do it justice.

This whimsical charmer hearkens back to the Golden Age of children's books. The story is simple yet involving with a barnyard-full of engaging characters.

The book really shines in its beautifully-drawn illustrations that recall the best of 40's and 50's picturebooks. Boldly composed double-page spreads, they're elaborate and humorous and delighted my daughter.

This is an unusually well crafted tale and should be snapped up.

CHICKEN CHUCK is truly a delightful story to read to the special children in your life. The illustrations are spectacular, fulled with explosive colors that capture a child's imagionation.Reading this story book to your child is a gift in itself.. Too see the excitement on their faces, as each page is turned, is such a pleasure for Parents and Grandparents to share with the greatest joys of their lives.. "children & grandchildren" Thanks to the Author & Illustrator for a fantastic & charming book. Recommended Highly. I even enjoyed it and I am no spring CHICKEN!

These are the stories that will keep you turning a page to another until each one ends. Realistically plot-driven, thought-provoking suspense. Ironic twist end. Witty, shrewd characters in some walks of life for some reason, politics frequently in particular. Ironic romance story with four different witty ends. Original ideas that gave birth / inspired and have nourished some of contemporary screenplays. My most favorite is TRIAL AND ERROR: an original, witty story of an unlucky logistics ( haulage truck ) company owner who happened to have married a wrong woman, have trusted a wrong guy professionally and personally, have been in the wrong place at a wrong time just to find the truth that negatively changed his life, ended up in jail for the crime he DID NOT commit and hopefully waited well...impatiently to get out and back to someone who had owed him HIS life.............

This 36 short story compilation by one of UK's finest story-telling minds is one of the worthwhile, entertaining readings for almost everyone for sure. If you are a bookworm and a voracious reader of fiction or short story, you MUST have this book. Have a nice day of reading without prejudice.^-^ SP

I believe this is a complete compliation of Archer's three previous short story books, which each contain 12 stories. I couldn't put down as Archer is a master of the short story! I've read his long fiction and it's great, but he is truly the best short story writer I have ever read. He takes his stories whree you don't expect, then somewhere totally different - sometimes in the last few words!

This collection just thunders along at a hectic pace and you cannot wait to turn over the page to reveal the next twist in the tale. The stories are a mixture of humour, melancholy, utter suspense and bewilderment, and therefore keep the reader moving along at an exhilirating. Its not a book to be read in one sitting but rather savoured at many moments during the reading cycle...!

I didn't know what to to expect. What I got was something at once exhilirating (the written part) and disturbingly beautiful (the paintings and photos). You can't look at these pictures and not cringe at some while at the same time appreciating the painstaking (pardon the expression), and obviously loving work that went into them. The manifesto is a good read for anyone interested in Lavey's Satanism as well as revealing the artists' stance against and rejection of the consumer culture. An Apache, Satanist, and a radical artist rolled into one, the Reverand is certainly not for the squeamish.

This is a man who started creating his books with (...) raw, unapologetic rage, and a whole (...) load of creative genius. I personally have met with the author of this book, Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba and have attended his exhibitions. In no way can one easily sum up the power behind this man's words and ideas. Unspeakable? Maybe. Bold and intense? Definitely. Satanic? You bet (...).
This is a definite must read for any cynical, misanthropic, and/or Satanic individual.

As a foot note: I believed in, and was moved so much by, this man's writings that I collaborated with Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba to produce background music for his passage "I Don't Believe", contained on page 37 of this book (...)

Rev. Steven Johnson Leyba, an ordained Priest of the Church of Satan, now offers his highly evocative and caustic work to the masses. Included are artwork and writing truly exemplar of the Satanic philosophy -- that is, Satanism in action. Not just talk, but true action! Herein, you'll find work spanning five of his most prominent main books, plus rants and diatribes representing his disdain for mass-think, his ponderances on the history of his Native American culture, as well as his fetishes, reviewer comments on his work, interviews, photos, and more. This is the definitive work on Leyba ...