I GREW UP WATCHING BARNABY FOR MANY YEARS AS A SMALL FRY. HE WAS AND STILL IS ONE OF MY HEROES. LINN SHELDON DOES A GREAT JOB DESCRIBING HIS LIFE, CAREER, AND ADVENTURES IN SHOW BIZ. HE IS VERY CREATIVE, HUMOROUS, DETAILED, AND WITTY. HE WRITES WITH CLASS AND DIGNITY. HIS TELLING OF THE DARK SIDE OF HIS LIFE (ALCOHOLISM) IS VERY HONEST, TOUCHING, AND HUMOROUS. I AM A RECOVERING ONE MYSELF. I CAN IDENTIFY WITH HIS FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES. THIS IS A VERY TOUCHING LOOK AT A VERY LOVING AND CREATIVE MAN WHO BROUGHT A LOT OF JOY TO MANY CHILDREN IN CLEVELAND OVER A FEW DECADES. VERY VERY RECOMMENDED.

Although it is about the life of a television performer,one who was a pioneer in the industry, I feel that this book is an easy read, fun, and hard to leave alone...I find myself referring to favorite chapters many, many times. This is not a book about Cleveland, it is a book about everyone. Someone should do a musical or movie about this author.

Like millions of others in this region, I grew up watching Barnaby on TV. Linn Sheldon was on television for 32 years as Barnaby, the elfin-eared pal of children and parents alike. Left to fend for himself at the age of seven, he lived by his wits and with the kindness of sympathetic citizens in Norwalk, Ohio. As a teenager he hitchhiked across America playing the banjo for meals, spent three years on the MGM lot, and returned to the Cleveland area to begin a career as actor and standup comic. In 1948 he joined WEWS-TV in Cleveland, the first TV station in the region, and his accounts of early televion are fascinating. In time his fame spread well beyond Cleveland to Westinghouse TV markets, and he did extensive work in Texas as well. As his career developed, so did his need for alchohol. He made and lost a fortune, married four times, and had serious bouts with depression. His stories about his drinking days and his brushes with the psychiatric community are at once moving and hilarious. Now retired and healthy again, he looks back on his life with the same kind of joy and sensitivity he imbued in the character of Barnaby. Reading it made me feel like a kid again enthralled with the musings of this wonderful elf.

This book is invaluable tool for parents to use in helping the younger children find the answers to their real life difficulties. My children would come home from school and over milk and cookies would discuss the days trials and tests, and we we're able to go to this book and get God's wisdom on the situation that was easy for them to understand. As my daughter moved into preteen age she was able to use this as her devotional and read the scripture references at the bottom of the page for deeper revelation. I love this book because it grows with your children. Both my children are grown and serving God with all their heart. I know this is one tool this mother had to help lead their hearts to God.

This is a must-read book for anyone having a hard time with life. It is organized by subject, and it brings ancient wisdom to focus on everyday problems in an easy-to-read, quick reference.

I bring home a lot of Christian books that I think my kids will read, but they rarely do. This one is different...my 8 and 10 yr olds are truly interested. They like to ask me the questions and see what kind of answer I come up with. With the scripture included, it's a devotional study in disquise!

This book was enjoyable for myself as well as my 9-year old. The cartoons and explanations as well as scripture verses were helpful and fun. I learned right along with my child. We both would recommend this book and others in the series to those searching and new to the faith. It is reassuring to know the answers to some of those suprising questions my children ask!

The Adventure Bible Handbook is a well- illustrated, well-wriiten action/adventure for children of all ages. The ABH is specifically targeted to reach children of ages 8-18 (approx) and makes God and His Word interesting & fun for the reader. The characters in the story travel through time (back to Genesis and forward to Revelation) to gather a more complete under- standing of the Books of the Bible. I highly recommend this book for parents & children alike. There aren't any books that are directly similar to the ABH, therefore, I feel that it is the best for the market it is intended to reach. Action & Adventure are key to this book-which allows the reader to become totally consumed by the stories. Pick up your copy today, Enjoy!

It's easy to get lost in the spew of "-isms" and sub-disciplines that pervades the social sciences and humanities these days. This illustrated intro to sociology illustrates fairly clearly how we got there from a few simple questions (E.g., what is the nature of society?) The book provides a broad, historically structured overview that accounts for most of the major thinkers, from Comte and Spencer to Adorno and Baudrillard.

I've read most of the books in this series, and this is one of the best. It is concise, not condescending. And although it offers a wide range of theories and thinkers, it takes pains to distinguish between all of the information presented, even offering some comparisons between different sociological perspectives. This covers methodology, Marxism, Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, Chicago School, Frankfurt School, Feminism, Media Studies, Culture, and almost everything else. Of course, you only get a few paragraphs on each, but then that it what this book is designed to do...give a short introduction to each of the sub-areas as well as a general overview. The illustrations are of a fairly good quality, and while they don't really enhance a reader's understanding of the material, they help sustain interest in it.

I really like this book. It covers all sorts of aspects of talking to kids about God, but it's fun and easy to read and full of useful stuff, like lists of the most interesting parts of the bible, suggestions on how to talk to kids of different ages, that sort of thing. Very helpful.

"This Is Sailing" is a wonderful, extremely useful manual for beginning sailors -- and more experienced ones who would like to broaden their knowledge of sailing or sailing terminology. There is scarcely a page without colour illustrations (photos and drawings), all of which are easy to see and to understand. The text is succinct and lucid, and the sailing vocabulary is in boldface. This book is quite serious when it calls itself "a complete course". Containing a massive amount of sailing know-how, "This Is Sailing" is a must for everyone who wasn't actually born sailing.

Guenon became a pariah in his own homeland for opposing what he perceived as the downward existential trend of his time. Guenon's critique of modernity, despite its occasional dogmatic over-tone, is worth reading for anyone concerned with the very future of human existence.

Man, under the pretext of conquering the earth, has lost touch with metaphysical reality [ Julius Evola ].

This book should be part of the national curriculum.

This book is very special, in that it forms a perfect introduction to Tradional thought and critique. People used to the spirt-negating attitudes of our times may be both shocked and annoyed at the writer's conclusions. Others may find their beliefs and basic feelings clearly articulated for the very first time.

Guenon never uses the apologetics about religion and spiritual matters so common in almost every book on these subjects. he assumes the reader shares his beliefs and views and wastes no time trying to convince us that God exists, spirit is superior to matter, or that there is value in religion. Once reading this refreshing prespective, is hard not to be changed.

I recently got this book and have read 100 pages so far. It's full of fascinating tales of Karajan. For instance, I did not know he was a devotee of the "rehearsal-free" concert, that he believed in "spontaneous" music-making. I also didn't know he was actually a very shy person who preferred solitude and not the "jet-set" life-style. Also interesting that he sometimes suffered a sort of speech impediment -- stammering. Seems his words couldn't keep up with his mind.

Though I'm eager to finish this book and view it as a terrific addition to my library, I have some qualms with the writer's style. On the cover flap it's said how Mr. Osborne's writing is lauded for its "readability" to both musicians and non-musicians. And being a NON-musician myself I was hoping to see clear, clean English. Yet, Mr. Osborne never fails to use a lot of pretentious lingo such as Latin and French ("annus mirabilis" and "anuus horribilis"?), as well as highfalutan words like "ratiocination" and many others (be sure to have a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary on hand!). He also uses many arcane musical terms like "re'pe'titeur" yet fails to translate them for the non-musician. Terms like "legato" and "cadenza" -- albeit not as arcane -- also remain untranslated.

Perhaps a truly "readable" book on music is impossible? Given the gigantic ego of so many writers of music?
Still, all in all, this remains a magnificently researched and put together book.

This is probably the ultimate biography of a complex and controversial personality in recent musical history. The book is conventionally structured: it is based on a detailed chronology supported by a rich factual database on Karajan's accomplishments as an orchestra builder and manager, recording artist and film maker. Stretching to more than 700 pages, the rich detail of Osborne's account certainly is one of the main attractions of this book. We learn a tremendous amount about Karajan's working methods, contract negotiations, concert tours, recording schedules, casting policy, press reviews, etc. As the story progresses Osborne branches out in all kinds of directions, gradually weaving more and more threads into the basic narrative. Given the quality of Osborne's prose this never becomes tedious. And it really does learn us something substantial about the breathtaking speed, economy, tenacity and versatility of the Karajanesque genius. There is no doubt that the book as a whole transcends the merely anecdotal. What emerges is a rich, multifaceted, holographic image of a great artist. What is even more impressive about Osborne's book is that it gives us an idea of what constitutes the essence of great conductorship. Instead of being confronted with woolly and simplistic generalizations about a certain 'Factor X' that allows an individual to coax exactly the right sound from a full symphony orchestra, we see the conceptual foundations of this most elusive of disciplines emerge in all its technical, psychological and somatic richness. Therefore, this book is definitely a must-read for any classical music lover, irrespective of personal predilections with respect to the man himself.

This book is the most fascinating description of the stunning life of the mythical Herbert von Karajan. It gave me a more "real" feeling of a person I admired for so long. Richard Osborne's book helped me with the demystification of one of the persons I admire most - artistically speaking - aftera all, he was only human and with many flaws... The book is really a wonderful synthesis of the life of this incredible conductor. Is without doubts the best Karajan biography I ever read. And the little writings of Karajan ("die probe", as an example) are lovely little pieces of history. Wonderful!