This is an interesting compilation of poems, art and commentary about a little-known but fascinating group of writers in 1950s LA, some of whom, despite the ominous atmosphere of McCarthyism, wrote political poems and pieces that maintain an eerie relevance to issues today. The book contains an interesting anecdote about Allen Ginsberg, a highly charged debate between the editors of Coastlines magazine and a poet-promoter of the Venice West beats and a thoroughly absorbing account of one poet's experience as one of the first test subjects in an early study of LSD's effects on artists. While the quality of the text is at times uneven, most of the poetry stands firmly on its own, especially the work of Thomas McGrath, Mel Weisburd, Gene Frumkin, Ann Stanford, Bert Meyers and Sid Gershgoren.

If you are a fan of the films of Milos Forman then you owe it to yourself to read his memoirs. This book offers fascinating insight into his childhood tragedies and subsequent journeys into Eastern European and Western filmmaking.

I won my copy of this book at a silent auction midway through the filming of Forman's "The People Vs. Larry Flynt", and Mister Forman was kind enough to personalize and autograph it for me. What a great guy!

Not everyone's life would make for an interesting set of memoirs. Probably not yours, and certainly not mine. But Forman's does. Grab it, read it, enjoy it.

In Azure Bonds, there was real mystery: what were Alias' origins, and who was Dragonbait? In Song of the Saurials, the intrigue continued with the mysterious Grypht, and the action was built to an epic scale, with the companions fighting gods and dragons. But everything is scaled down in Masquerades. Alias (who does not seem nearly as well developed as in past books) and the gang are confined to a singular, typical city (so it's not too epic), facing a typical, predictable villain (so it's not too mysterious). This book could have been converted into a cheesy Dungeons and Dragons adventure pretty easily, and that's not a good thing. If Novak and Grubb want to return to these characters, how about they do it through another well-thought out, interesting, mysterious trilogy? I just don't think they expended the same effort on this "little Harpers book" as they have in past efforts.

I was very impressed with this book. It has to be one of the best from the harper series. The use of established characters strengthens the story and makes it more interesting to read. The best part of the book though has tobe the continuing plot twists. I highly recomend. A warning first: you may want to read the the Finder's Stone triology first.

A book with Dragonbait and Olive has to be good.But this was great!I liked the plot.All the supporting characters were well-made and since Westgate isn't in many books it was nice to read about it.Alias did behave stubbornly but nobody's perfect.I recommend this book to all interested in the Forgotten Realms.

"PRINCE ALBERT: The Life and Lies of Al Gore" (ISBN 0-936783-28-1) by David N. Bossie, Floyd G. Brown, and foreword by Robert D. Novak is a book written against a politician who is not popular with certain groups and individuals. Many of the supposed revelations against former Vice President Al Gore have been made against other figures in the past, present, and will probably occur again in future histories from groups and individuals who dislike a specific figure. The authors and Robert D. Novak in the introduction to the book indicate that this book, claiming to be a wakeup call and warning, is not written objectively and impartially towards Al Gore. History reveals that many political figures have calculated their way to positions of power, made compromises, and changed their stands on issues to achieve personal goals and aims. I wonder if the authors would write such a scathing book on newly inaugurated President G. W. Bush if they were not Republican supporters. Further, what would the authors' response be to a book personally attacking them in a similar manner as "PRINCE ALBERT." I am not a die hard supporter of either major or minor American political parties that exists today. I do try to study the issues and candidates before making decisions, unfortunately books such as penned by Mr. Bossie and Mr. Brown has a negative impact on my decisions and view of the political party the authors favor. This title will get a mixture of reactions from the individuals who read the book. The anti-Clinton/Gore groups will praise the book for exposing an corrupt self-serving politician, pro-Clinton/Gore groups will denounce the book as an attempt to discredit a favorite politician, and a majority of individuals will have a mixed reaction somewhere in between the two extremes. I do not like the way the authors have written about their chosen subject, however if asked, I would state my dislike for the book and recommend that the person asking the question read the title and form his or her own opinion on the subject and the authors.

Given the confrontational title and the soft cover, I expected this to be another pulp account of the Clinton/Gore misdeeds. Well, I was right to expect a critical approach, but wrong to assume it was pulp. To the contrary, it is very well researched and detailed. It starts with Al Gore's childhood, discussing the forces that formed Al Gore, the person and future politician. It illustrates, through various examples, how Al Gore was protected and raised to be a politician in the way a prince is raised to be king. It covers his time in DC, Tennessee, Boston (Harvard), and Vietnam (where his superiors kept him out of harm's way). It covers his time as a reporter, a divinity student, law student, senator and vice President. Through it all, the authors show how Gore influenced and was influenced by his environment. But, through his dual acquiescence to Northern liberals and moderate Dixiecrats, and from his shifts through the liberal 60's to the conservative 80's to the moderate 90's, it is also made clear that Gore adapts to his environment more than he shapes it.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book not so much for the criticisms it makes but for the unflinching analysis it gives of a man who might be the next president.

"Prince Albert" was a good read and has a little more than an overview of Al Gore's life but it does not go into great detail in many areas. To do so would have required a much longer book. It does do an excellent job of outlining Al'a life and giving one a good idea of how he got to where he is and what he would do if he became president. In particular I found the discussion of his intellectual mentors interesting. The authors have done a reasonable job of answering the question of who Al goes to when he has a decision to make. I knew that Al Gore was a life long politician, however, I did not know that his parents basically raised him with the idea that he would someday become president.

If you want to have facts about Al Gore for political discussions this fall this is the book for you.

This book compares the political theorist/theologian Yves Simon with 'neoconservative' Catholics Michael Novak, Richard John Neuhaus and George Weigel. The author uses outdated political theory terminology, referring to Adam Smith's theories as liberal for instance, so is hard to follow when relying on such labels (as he often does). He also dwells, like all political theorists, on obscure notions and not on practical realities. He does offer good backgrounds on some of the issues, including a scathing criticism of Smith's lack of moral thought, the neoconservatives' unquestioning of the capitalist system and American conservatives' rejections of papal statements on an ideological basis. Mostly, though, this is for political scientists only.

Neoconservative economics is a supposedly Christianized Smithian free market economics where free actors do good things by following market forces alone. This is good if the market force is with you, but for everyone else - well, neoconservatives do not think there is anyone else, at least anyone else who deserves consideration. The Neoconservative position is held by its proponents as a development of Thomism, the most robust philosophical system available to Christian thought. Thomas Rourke has tested this claim by contrasting the position to that of Yves Simon, a prominent twentieth century Thomist who spent a major part of his life in North America. Rourke's choice is highly appropriate because he avoids the trap of comparing classical Thomism, couched as it was in an entirely different economic world, to the realities of a mature free market economy. Simon was very much a part of America. In doing so Rourke has set up a conceptual debate that effectively explores many of the issues that are central to the understanding of the philosophical/moral/political relationships between economic action and society. This book is more about society and its functioning, than about economics. It is about the conditions necessary for the perfecting of the human person with respect to the treatment of material goods. This is an aim more familiar to the moral philosopher or the theologian. For this reason it may at times be remote from the frames of reference familiar to the modern economist. Economics has drawn distant from these issues during the early part of the twentieth century, and this debate constitutes a reversal. Unfortunately, few economists now understand the categories necessary to locate economic action within the context of a truely human society. It remains as a central need. The neoconservative enterprise has provided such an undstanding and Rourke explores the relationship between this understnding and that of the more orthodox Thomistic position. In doing so he revives interest in the perennial issues of human society and raises important questions that neoconservative must address and The book is well ordered and the chapters constitute subtle analyses of specific topics. The format is regular and familiar to readers of St. Thomas. A topic is introduced, the neoconservative position is outlined, then Simon's position is put and the contrasts explored. The book will even serve as a useful quick reference for those simply wanting a well researched presentation of the neoconservative position. The book is careful not to stray beyond its scope and pass judgement on the positions presented, that is for the reader. To the neoconservative reader this may still prove very uncomfortable because it exposes many areas where the position is indefensible on its own terms of reference. The book is far more valuable than a mere presentation of opposing positions or a criticism of the opposition. It is necessary reading for anyone seriously interested in understanding the dimensions of a truely human economics.

The author is definately Haole relating his story from a Haole point of view. It was interesting as a Hawaiian of blood and Hawaiian raised, to view the island, school system and local people though Haole eyes.

Hawaii has often been referred to as a melting pot... but as this book bluntly illustrates it's not utopia. Kids will be kids and acts that would be unthinkable to most adults occur on a daily basis in a public school somewhere on Oahu. I speak from my own experience as a high school student in leeward Oahu.

It doesn't take a new student from the mainland long to learn what a haole is.. especially if that is the ethnic category he falls into... and I went to one of the better public schools in the state. However, I think it is important to remember that this is a book about children and being read by adults, who being adults will try to rationalize a child's act without remembering that children often need little or no reason to behave in a rebellious manner.. they just need to believe they can get away with it and that it will help them acheive respect from their peers. Children don't feel the need to be tactful in getting what they want.. so absent of any effective deterrent they will act out by whatever means necessary including physical and verbal assault. Finally, children (as was my case) often have no control over where they live and attend school and are dependents of their parents.... school is often the only place children feel they can assert their independence and act out. It definitely made me much more aware of my surroundings.. but at the same time they were some of the best years of my life and I have no regrets.

I had wasted away 5 primetime years (21-26) of my life working in "Corporate America" always dreaming of teaching. A surfer buddy of mine suggested I pick up "The Haole Substitute" by Walt Novak. Novak's book gave me the push to go back to school, finish up my California teaching credential and I am now teaching High School outside of Santa Cruz, CA, coaching the mighty Warriors of Westmont High baseball team and spending my summers surfing up and down the California coast. A must read for people looking to live to work rather than work to live. Thanks Walt!

Ronald Bailey’s dumbed down “Earth Report” is nothing more than vulgar anthropocentrism marketed as feel-good ecology neatly packaged for the McMasses. Actually, even the title of the book is a misnomer. While Bailey’s book is a “report” of sorts, at no point does the author seem to express a sincere or grounded interest in the “earth”.

Perhaps the book's greatest flaw, aside from the curiously misinterpreted statistics and erroneous conclusions, is its perverse avoidance of addressing the spiritual and philosophical issues logically raised when considering mankind’s roll in the natural world. While the book does a good job of inundating readers with all sorts of statistics and corporate-sponsored meditations, Bailey refuses, in a rather disturbingly determined sort of way, to pose the “larger questions”. The result is a book that too often feels intentionally rushed and suspiciously simple.

In Bailey’s worldview nature is a tangible commodity with a value that can fluctuate (...). “Ecology” is seen only as a tool to better manage natural assets to meet corporate and economic needs. This “nature as product” ideology has been practiced by capitalist entities since the industrial revolution, but Bailey’s attempt to bring it to the masses, and the simplistic manner of his presentation presents a new and dangerous trend. Bailey even insists that we should judge a species as “good” or “bad” depending on its relative worth to mankind. For example, Bailey believes that North American white-tail deer are, “dangerous mammals” and “killers” because they have the audacity to stray onto roads and highways where they often cause serious accidents when struck by fast-moving cars and trucks. Not only do these deer/vehicle collisions cause human fatalities, they ALSO result in over 1 billion dollars worth of insurance claims annually. To Bailey this represents a prime example of poor asset management (the deer of course being the poorly managed asset). Bailey never once considers that the massive deer overpopulation (which has logically increased the risk of deer/vehicle collisions) may have something to do with reduced deer habitat and the almost complete annihilation of the white-tail deer’s natural predators (courtesy of mankind).

Bailey’s disarmingly pronounced hubris in “Earth Report” is matched only by his inane insistence that there aren’t even any real ecological issues at all (at least in the “green” sense)! Counter arguments are seen as radical and suspicious.

The technocrat-friendly ideas presented by Ronald Bailey in “Earth Report” are not only arrogant and misguided, they are downright dangerous. Bailey’s subtle and consistent suggestion that all is really well in the world, may just cost us that, the world.

TANSTAAFL - It's just that simple.

This acronym, meaning "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" is at the heart of this book- understanding and embracing it not as a phylosophy, but as a law of the universe.

Earth Report contributors understand that there is absolutely nothing in this world that comes without some cost. This understanding helps them make suggestions that encourage using laws of supply and demand to improve our economy.

Overfishing: There is always a cost to fishing. When no one is responsible for absorbing the costs of fishing, the cost is in the fish resources- populations of fish dwindle and we run out of the supply. But if someone has a vested interest in a fishing area, they can pass the cost onto the human economy. Their profits ensure that the area remains sustainable. Healthy fish need a healthy environment. Would you let someone dump toxic waste into your private fishery? Of course not.

Environment: This old topic has been hashed over again and again- usually with people arguing about whether or not humans are responsible for warming. But beyond this is the compelling argument of, "WHo Cares!" What is the cost of trying to stop HUMAN caused global warming? Huge. But we know that in the past, the earth has warmed even more without our help. If we pay the cost to stop human global warming, and natural global warming (or even worse- cooling) occurs, will our crippled economy be able to handle it? Most likely not. There is a real and dangerous cost to limiting our economy- one that this book points out when comparing the affects of natural disasters on robust economies versus weak ones. Any guess which one is more apt to deal with natural disasters?

This book is one sided, and presents one point of view. Read it along with the other information out there and I think you will be well on your way to forming your own opinions.

"Earth Report 2000" was written by ten scientists, each with excellent credentials, each writing on a different environmental topic. Here are the ten section titles:

1. Population, Food and Income
2. Pesticides: Increasing Food Supplies While Preserving Biodiversity
3. Global Warming
4. The Coming Age of Abundance
5. Causes and Prevention of Cancer
6. Forests
7. Conserving Biodiversity
8. Water Options
9. Rescuing the Oceans
10. Global Air Quality

It's a tour-de-force of all the important environmental concerns, and paints a much more optimistic scenario than we hear from some environmentalists and politicians. The book was edited by Ronald Bailey, who has also written on the subject in his book,"Eco-Scam: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocolypse."

Ron Bailey was formerly producer of a national PBS series called "Technopolitics." His style is confrontational and expresses more than just skepticism. He points out various statements of some politicians and more extreme environmentalists that suggest they are willing to resort to deception to gain public support for an anti-growth environmental program aimed at the goal of a more egalitarian society. He may be a little TOO confrontational for some readers, but exposure to his points seems to me to be essential for ANYONE to reach an informed view about the environment. I srongly recomment it!!!

Nancy Reagan's book lacked sincerity, and the tone was perceived to be highly defensive of the charges against her. The book was critical of certain individuals whom Mrs. Reagan fought with. I recommend that readers read what Mrs. Reagan had to say, and the other books by Patti Davis and others from the Reagan administration in order to make a fair evaluation of the contents of the book.

Heard the taped version of my turn: the memoirs of Nancy Reagan . . . I never followed her career too closely, when she was the first lady, though I do recall she was always involved in a lot of controversy . . . now I can see why . . . it was interesting to read her version of why she consulted an astrologer, about her feud with Ronald Reagan, etc. . . . what comes though loud and clear: her passionate love for the president . . . I particularly liked the fact that she did the actual narration . . . in addition, I admire her ability to admit her mistakes.

Mrs Reagan makes no apology for this personal partisan expose of her life.This is as the title states HER turn to tell Nancy's side of the story which she does with candour,regret,humour a slight bitterness and a little sadness.Her love and devotion to her husband and their marriage stands out above everything including a candid admission that between the two of them they could have been better parents.Despite their closeness Nancy adamantly refutes any suggestion she was a power behind the throne or weilded great influence on her husband "otherwise Don Regan would have been dismissed much earlier than he was".Neither does she make apology for giving Ronnie unwelcome opinions about policy and personalities in the administration.Anyone sleeping with the leader of the free world is going to put in their sixpence worth and no mistake.But does that mean he takes the advice? Probably not.

She also makes no bones about people she disagreed with and her meetings with Raisa Gorbachev bear testimont to an ability to carry on regardless.You go girl! What other similar situations did she leave out I wonder.Her opinions of Roslyn Carter were interesting and uncatty,considering the circumstances both women deserve a medal for their restraint. I read this book by chance soon after the joint briefly worded statement from Mr & Mrs Reagan about the Presidents illness was announced to the world, "...for me personally it is the start of a long goodbye..." so tried not to let this affect my views. Nancy Reagan admits to a faults on her part and actions she regretted but I was pleasantly surprised about this revealing biography of a public person who had been vilified in the press for doing what she did best,trying to protect the interests of the dearest person in her life. Would that most of us could say the same.

I mean really bad. I like novels usually. I could not read more than 10 or 15 pages of this book. It seemed like it was not written by a real writer.

I have to agree with the fellow from NY city below. I read only through chapter 5 before I got tired of it. I'll tell you why:

First, the style of writing is readable but not high-quality. It's a step below that of most paperback novels.

Secondly, the author shouldn't have written about things he hasn't researched. His understanding of general aviation aircraft is way off - too many wrong things for me to correct right now. I really doubt he was a naval aviator, just because he would be a more professional writer if he had been one.

Lastly, even though this is a fiction book, I think the author has his opinions on the drug war (as do a couple of reviewers). They are wrong by a long shot. Nope, I'm not a lefty. In fact I'm a libertarian, so I could not be called politically correct. I doubt all of the illegal searches, tortures, stealing etc. done by Agent Novak could happen in real life, but it is getting really close to that. So, I would say this part is pretty realistic at least. But, if I ever see a DEA man wandering around my airplane with those intentions, some other "authorities" may find him buried underneath the localizer antenna with tow-bar indentations in his puny head. Why don't you write in something like that into your next novel, Howard? I may purchase a copy or two ;-}

Mr. Hunt does not take himself too seriously. The Jack Novak series is meant to be a fun read with some terrific, realistic facts that only a former CIA man could provide. Great summer fare.

It is horrible. It does not give you any information.

This Book is awesome!!! I like to make characters like Dragonmen From it. There is also a lot of quests if you can't think of one for you and your friends. I reccommend that anyone that wants to have better characters and quests should get this and many of the other Palladium Books!