These are two easy reading books that consist of short episodes in the lives of an "upper class" couple in Kansas City in the 1930s and 40s. Each book progresses through their lives, so you see them age and their children grow. The book "Mrs Bridge", characterizes her as a true ditz, the kinds who always says meaningless "right" things and rich woman preoccupied with shopping. Mr. Bridge is characterized as a remote, clueless kind of guy. The book ends with Mr. Bridge's death and his son sadly recognizing that his dad spent all his life trying to make life better for his family when all his family really wanted was some time with him. Showing the biases of the time of publication, Mr. Bridge becomes much more humane and likeable in the book about him. In "Mr. Bridge," even the annoying Mrs. Bridge is much more likeable. Even though set long ago, there are all sorts of insights that are very human. Everyone can see themselves in this book somewhere.

Connell does a superlative job of illustrating upper-middle class society in the 30's and 40's with these two novels. Each is a series of vignettes that serves to illuminate the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, through their interactions with each other, their family and the society they live in. Subtle, richly textured and very real - these are the people that lived ordinary lives. I recognized people I know in these portraits

When I accepted an admission offer from Stanford, I wanted to learn all I could about the environment into which I would be entering. Having read the book, I developed expectations about the culture of Stanford, expectations which, upon arriving on the Stanford campus, I found to be errant.

This book is quite a disappointment. Suffering both from poor editing and omission of crucial facts, the contents do not flow smoothly. The text is presented in a somewhat offensively over-refined and pretentious manner, the kind one finds in art museum catalogs or as introductions to Penguin Classics. The reader gains little sense of the beauty of the campus, as only a few of the photographs depict the excellent landscaping, the detail of Quad buildings, or the quality of materials and construction of the buildings. The foothills of the Stanford campus, and the trails leading up to the Dish aren't even included -- an omission that reflects poorly on the editors. Equally poor editorial judgment can be found in the photograph of the Hoover Tower appearing in one of the chapters -- this famous landmark is shown in its early construction, as an unsightly steel frame amid a dirt field.

To the credit of the authors, they give an engaing account of the history of the variously defined Stanford master plans, and of the culture which gave rise to the different stages of the campus' expansion.

In general, the reader's labors are not rewarded with fresh perspectives, or a sense of the spirit that habituates Stanford. If one toured the Stanford campus before reading the book, one might wonder what drove the editors to present such an excellent environment so vapidly.