Well written about the Vietnam era, black neighborhoods, the black family/village and race relations of the time.
The novel opens with Andy Pilgrim, a senior at City College drafted and scared to death of being accepted into the army.
The Brownstone in Brooklyn where the Pilgrims live was a village that supported Andy and each other.
In the sixties we all had Mother Loves' and Sister
Natures' living in our buildings or in the neighborhood.
The novel is a slice of a young man's life during
turbulent times. Mr. Thompson does a good job of
intertwining drama, romance, and relationships while
keeping true what was really happening at that time in history in urban areas of the United States.
I re-lived part of the sixties.
I am recommending the book to my bookclub, In the Company of My Sistahs (Northern California). Well done!

A Brownstone in Brooklyn chronicles a short but critical portion of the life of Andy Michael Pilgrim. Andy has grown up in a Brownstone on Gates Avenue in Brooklyn and all of its residents have contributed to his upbringing. However, this book takes place during a turbulent time in American history. The civil rights movement seems to be taking a more violent turn, and young men across the nation are being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War...

The lively cast of characters keep this novel fresh and entertaining while the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat. Thompson does a wonderful job highlighting how people's lives are influenced by the types of choices they make. He also highlights how much one person's actions can impact the lives of others in meaningful ways. The book started out a little slow, but gradually picked up momentum. I would have liked a bit more character development for Andy's character earlier in the book. In the early parts of the book I felt like I was reading about his day to day life without enough background to really care about his character, but by the end I felt like I knew him well. A Brownstone in Brooklyn is an enjoyable read that truly demonstrates that it takes a village to raise a child.

The greatest compliment one can pay the author of his memoirs is: "I know those people! I really do!" While reading this novel, I feel privileged to sit at the table beside Andy (Mr. Julius Thompson) while his mama, Golda, dishes out a sumptuous ~ though modest ~ feast. My hand is in Andy's. My other hand is in Andy's Step-father's (Marvs) strong, black hand while, following his example, we bow our heads, and feel his love and his deep and unshakable faith as he leads us in grace. Mr. Julius Thompson takes us on a literary journey through the tempestuous sixties. His main character, Andy Michael Pilgrim, has a dream ~ a dream in an environment and generation that could easily crush a less enduring black man's dreams. With riots and death all around him, Andy persists in the pursuit of his dream. With the love of his life, Leslie, beside him, Golda's love (leaning heavily on him, sometimes, as a mother's love will tend to do), Marvs' guidance and love giving him direction, and a whole wacky cast of lovable characters ~ his extended family ~ urging him on, Andy moves relentlessly forward, overcoming towering obstacles, until his dream is realized...

Yes, I know those people. I love those people. And, thanks to Julius Thompson and his book, "A Brownstone In Brooklyn," you'll find youself knowing and loving them, too.

I have no regrets buying General Viticulture. It is, after all, a standard reference. But in many ways it is now a lttle outdated and modern experience and advice is lacking. It should therefore be considered a important part, but only a part, of the basic library of anyone doing or contemplating viticulture.

The academic style of writing does not lend itself to the "do-it-yourself" approach. The section on laying out a vineyard, for example, is more academic than practical, at least in my opinion. A more modern book would, of course, have better photographs and graphics, and this is what I miss most.

I got the book "General Viticulture" originally back in 1977. I've looked at it recently at some better book stores. It is a powerhouse of information, there is no doubt, but unfortunately, it has not been updated in some time. Another drawback to the book is it's lack of grape culture outside the "California" scene. There are some new strides in viticulture going on in the midwest, and north east that are not even remotely covererd. The training systems and specifics of the NEWER American hybrids, with works from Elmer Swenson, David MacGregor, Dr. Tony Bell, Dr. Peter Hemstad of the University of Minnesota, to name a few is not even mentioned. I rated it 4 stars for it's excellent overview of just about every Vinifera, it's characteristic and management, especially related to California and similar climates around the world. It is still a great refernece book, just needs to be revised sometime.

I agree that this text could use an update, especially on the newer varieties of grapes which have been developed in the past decade, however this text will make you a vintner if you read it in depth and acquire some "hands on" experience to go with it. The text is high quality print, and mine is covered with plastic and accompanies me often in the vineyards. It's focus is on the California industry but it is also a good guide for the northeastern USA and rest of the world.

When we read this book some things come to our minds: 1-Nietzsche was the most courageous philosopher ever,just because he had courage of saying what was the truth, but most of people was not prepared to the impact. 2-The existence of god it is only based on the ignorance of primitive men in explain things which they was not capable of understand. 3-Jesus was as smart as most of priests of nowadays. 4-The winners have not lived in accordance to the principles of christianism,cause if they had, they would not have been winners.

I have red some reviews,and noticed people that are neither philosophers,experts nor intelligent ,daring to write things about a genius like NIETZSCHE,WITHOUT HAVE NEVER RED ANY WORK OF HIM . People do not know the context of this work. Nietzsche was a human lover ,he was the most concerned about the future of the mankind philosopher ever.Ignorant and dumb people judge him a misanthrope,it made me laugh. Please go to study more,and get smarter , before trying to read a superb work like that. Dumb people is low in getting rid of their dogmas.

Whether you agree with him or not, you gotta admit that Nietzsche had some very strong arguments about the validity of Christianity, and how he views it as a form of weakness posing as a strong institution. There is a section where he takes verses from the Bible itself and explains in a way on how it is evangelical and dictatorial. Nietzsche was a deep thinker, perhaps too deep because he got really sick shortly after this book, and he didn't seem like the type of guy to just ramble about a topic without knowing about it. Him quoting the Bible and many other religious texts porves that he well-researched Christianity and made enough valid points to defend his position on Christianity. I am not an antichrist myself, thoguh I more or less shun organized religion, but Nietzsche has some very thought-provoking concepts. Sure it is offensive to one devout to Christianity, and I'd probably be offended if I was a practicing Christian, but this is recommended for those who study religions and philosophy, or just a powerful book in general.

Before I begin, I would like to note that this review isn't meant to be something that focuses the wandering eye on the thoughts of many and many a philosophy class and its deductions. Instead, this is meant as a briefly conceived, introspective look into a work that I've had the pleasure of reading and am recommending to others in addition to earlier works that Nietzsche wrote. To me, it seems that people lose sight of the work itself in the dissection of the author and all the hidden connotations that are perhaps manifest within his works, and I hope that my commentary is received as something quickened by a different train-of-thought.

Frederick Nietzsche the philosopher and his little known cohort, Frederick Nietzsche the comedian, seem to work hand in hand very well in most of his works and especially in his earlier editions, providing ideas that seem stunning in many rights because of the timeframe they were written within and because of the subject matters they wished to assail. Biting with dry snippets of wit and underlying humor, not to mention a perspective that was especially unique at the turn of the 20th century, Nietzsche managed to find himself ignored by many theologians in his own time only to be deservedly uplifted in later decades because of his keen insights into matters that people would rather have ignored. This fact is evident each and every time one reads how he wantonly flaunted his beliefs in front of an audience, pointing out the inherent flaws in the belief system that he perceived as a waste of time and in the ideological principles that find themselves within his philosophical crosshairs.

Nietzsche the comedian took a backseat in this work, however, as he found himself focused upon something that filled his words with a seething, almost venomous, revile; that of a religious system he saw as corruptly based in both principle and in prophecy, unworthy of redemption in the thinking man's world. Still, as is oftentimes overlooked in many this work, it is the delivery system that the church itself adopted to further these trains of thought that is actually the vessel under assault here and not simply the philosophy itself, a fact denoted in a most scathing manner that takes ideas he presented in earlier volumes and furthering them. His commentary on men of the garb and on the ideals of "sin" and "forgiveness" support that assumption well, as do many other items covered herein, building a basis for the stones he casts with utter contempt again and again.

It is also mistakenly understood by many a person that Nietzsche himself was against the teachings of the Christ figure when, in fact, he seemed to fill certain points of the book with reverence for Christ, citing him as someone that would have been a challenge to debate with because only Christ would have been able to defend his words. It was the term Christian that he seemed to deplore and the church that was built upon its shoreline, attacking Paul and the foundations of the monolith beast as well as its hypocritical understanding of the unknown and the fear used to further it.

This is not to say that the book is without its flaws, because it is. There are statements that generalize and there are phrases that defame, but these are only portions of the piece and not the overall effect itself. This is also an angrier edition that is more straightforward and less of a work of prose, choosing to instead embrace the approach of a hammer and not as a dance of syllables. Personally I find that interesting, seeing the things that he had thought groundbreaking in their own right because they shed the fear of the metaphysical and the hatred harbored for anyone that spoke out against these things, holding up little tidbits of his life and his personal perceptions within them before a nation of naysayers. For this reason, I recommend this book as something to look into and enjoy, reading it only after other books have been first checked out.

As a direct source this book is valuable and needed. To the casual reader of history (like myself) it is a bit of a drag. The book has highlights but the authors are writing it to their contemporaries. It is difficult for the modern reader to grasp exactly what is happening. I think a book with maps and further explanations as to motivations and battle tactics (to a layman like me) would have been of greater interest. One thing I can say, however, is that you get a first hand look at what Caesar must have been like. The book clearly shows his side in the most favorable light (not surprising) but not as much as one would think.

An account of the civil war that had to happen with two such colossal egos as Caesar and Pompey. This is a less famous episode than the Octavian-Anthony war, but just as important, as it laid the ground for the appointment of a dictator which eventually evolved into the position of emperor, and also Caesars death. Not as well written or as clear as Caesars commentaries from Gaul, but give a clearer insight into the divisions in Roman politics, as others are thought to have contributed to the writings. A great follow up to Caesars commentaries from Gaul.

This is the concluding half of Caesar's Commentaries, the first half of which appears as "The Conquest of Gaul". Everything I wrote about that book is also true here. This is a marvelous example of a first-hand historical account of major events written by the major protagonist. A rare and precious thing, to say the least. Caesar wrote his "Commentaries" for the popular consumption of the citizens back home. Propagandist though they may have been in their original purpose, they nevertheless are an accurate account of events and they vividly showcase the talents of their author. Besides being a consumate general and politician, Caesar was also a great speaker, a careful observer, and an outstanding writer. His writing is at once concise, informative and interesting.

This book includes three accounts that are thought to have been written by some of Caesar's lieutenants. While this may bring down the quality of the narrative a bit, it is certainly understandable given the human whirlwind that was Caesar during these years. From the crossing of the Rubicon in 49 B.C., where the book begins, Caesar proceeded to occupy Rome, pacify Spain, defeat Pompey at Pharsalus, establish Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt, defeat his opponents at Thapsus, and dispose of the last opposition forces in southern Spain by 45 B.C.

A few months after these events, Caesar was assassinated in Rome after assuming the position of "perpetual dictator". It was argued that Caesar sought to be King of Rome. In fact, however, he was not the first to assume the position of Dictator after emerging successfully from civil strife. Both Marius and Sulla had gained similar powers within the preceding 60 years. For those interested in a fictional, but nevertheless vivid and historically accurate account of this entire period, I suggest Colleen McCullough's series, beginning with "The First Man In Rome" and continuing (so far) through five volumes, the latest of which is entitled "Caesar". More are planned.

As for "The Civil War", it may not be quite as exciting or compelling as "The Conquest of Gaul", but it is still excellent reading. And it's all true. Try it. I think you'll like it.

I purchased the book hoping to use it as a reference for my freelance pursuits in 3D human modeling and texturing. Some of the artwork offers stunningly realistic renders, and others close-up insights on modeling techniques. Examples are those by Robichaud, Dean, Koch, Stahlberg, and several Japanese artists.

However, I was disappointed to find that most works were created by the consumer-level Poser software, for which pre-made 3D models are readily available and simply need to be "posed"; there is no original creation of 3D models on the artist's part. Moreover, the Poser works in Digital Beauties rudely show the mediocre rendering capabilities of the software - the models are often defined by jagged edges. In short, the best works in the book are those with original modeling and attention to detail, not those primarily intended provide erotic gratification for the viewer.

The book itself was well-conceived and attractively designed. It could be condensed and even more appealing by excluding the less-than-professional artwork.

I purchased the book hoping to use it as a reference for my freelance pursuits in 3D human modeling and texturing. Some of the artwork offers stunningly realistic renders, and others close-up insights on modeling techniques. Examples are those by Robichaud, Dean, Koch, Stahlberg, and several Japanese artists.

However, I was disappointed to find that most works were created by the consumer-level Poser software, for which pre-made 3D models are readily available and simply need to be "posed"; there is no original creation of 3D models on the artist's part. Moreover, the Poser works in Digital Beauties rudely show the mediocre rendering capabilities of the software - the models are often defined by jagged edges. In short, the best works in the book are those with original modeling and attention to detail, not those primarily intended provide erotic gratification for the viewer.

The book itself was well-conceived and attractively designed. It could be condensed and even more appealing by excluding the less-than-professional artwork.

I found "Digital Beauties" to be surprisingly filled with some of the best 3D and 2D computer graphics artists and graphics of our time. Over 500 pages of full color quality prints fill this book with imaginative and colorful digital wonder. It was refreshing to read the auto biographies of the artists in there own words as opposed to biographies by critiques.

I highly recommend this book to any art lover as well as computer graphics fan from gamer to graphics
professional "Digital Beauties" delivers the goods!

Ralph Manis
Infinitee Designs

Perhaps it's unfair of me to rate this book, since I didn't make it to the end. It was disappointing, since I've liked others of Coover's books. This one is written in a stream of consciousness style reminiscent of James Joyce/"Ulysses" (which I liked a lot). Similarly, it also is incredibly literate and erudite, lots of language play which still somehow was mostly just hard and not fun the way language should and can be. I could appreciate the humor intellectually, but it wasn't really funny. The subject matter is a cynical take on a dark subject, the Rosenberg executions. I can certainly understand why it's release was so contoversial. It might help to know more about the period but as someone who came of political age (later) during the Watergate years I know little about Nixon as VP and many of the social references were los on me.

When The Public Burning was first published in 1977, Richard Nixon was the ultimate political pariah. His public perception, shaped by Watergate and his resignation, was reinforced by Woodward and Bernstein's fictionalized The Final Days, a brutal account of Nixon's disintegrating psyche. Nixon's own memoir RN was perhaps his worst book, self-pitying, incredibly defensive, too weak-willed to be called defiant.

In this context, Coover's treatment of Nixon in this novel is not as cruel as it may appear. Coover gives Nixon a literary soul, self-doubt, knowledge of his private and public sins and an odd desire to be one with the artists and rebels of the world. True, Coover's Nixon bares his bottom in public, becomes the boy-toy of Uncle Sam and is caught pleasuring himself in a most embarrassing moment ... but Coover's over-the-top cruelty to Nixon has a purpose.

Nixon, the man "born in the house my father built" had to make horrific compromises to attain power, then faced the most public humiliation once attaining it. The burden of American power, personified by Uncle Sam, demands more than any humble human can bear. No wonder he finally walked away.

In the wake of the Clinton impeachment, Coover's work has more resonance than ever. Americans ask the impossible of our public figures ... and then we glory in their failings. Coover brilliantly uses cruelty to reveal the sadism in the heart of our body politic.

A brilliant, savage and unrelenting look at what the US is today. Not as subtle as Gaddis, more powerful than Pynchon, a fabulous and terrifying novel which would have made Swift and Joyce proud.

Sam Hall Kaplan's L.A. Lost and Found: An Architectural History of Los Angeles is a book obviously written about Los Angeles. The book basically brings us through Los Angeles in the past and on to the future. I feel the reason why the book is titled L.A. Lost and Found is because we have lost a lot of L.A. throughout the years but we have also gain a lot. Things that we have lost and gain is basically the landmarks of Los Angeles. As the years gone by we have been much more productive with landmarks and we are forgetting about the older ones. If you are one that wants to know more about the history of Los Angeles this would be a nice book to look through because it has a lot of beautiful colored pictures of the landmarks of Los Angeles.

Kaplan's lost and found is a great representation of the history of Los Angeles. It shows both pictorally and textally how Los Angeles developed using the medium of architecture. This lends itself really well towards a general history and putting together a timeline of events. The book is separated into chapters of general era in our history. I found that the picture helped me get a mental image of what the city looked like in the different time periods. Overall, the book was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who is researching, or just wanting to see our history in a pictured fashion.

In LA Lost and Found, Sam Kaplan not only provides a cover to cover pictorial history of Los Angeles, but also tells the story of how Los Angeles came to become a unique city. Kaplan starts his narrative in the early 1800's when Los Angeles' population was beginning to grow and continues into the late 1990's when there were not enough buildings to hold its population. Kaplan describes how Los Angeles developed architecturally over the years. Starting as a coastal desert, Los Angeles began as a mission and slowly expanded with adobe houses, and did not even resemble a town until the first church was built. Today, Los Angeles can be considered nothing short of a large, sprawling city. Buildings may be made of brick or wood or glass, and have arches or stilts or windmills. They may be built at the ocean side, on a mountainside or along a lake, or next to stores, museums, or parks, and still be located in the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles began as small adobe houses and grew into a "gazpacho" of architectural styles. Kaplan shows how Los Angeles' vast array of architectural styles provides visible evidence of the history and development of the city.

This is just a watered down version, by replacing the colorful language they have also taken away part of the beauty of the story. I wish I had not wasted my money on this version.

The artwork of the book is excellent and the format is great but if you want the original feel of the Joel Chandler Harris stories go out and get the originals. The language used by Harris is challenging for both reader and listener, however, and this book by Lester may present a good alternative when reading the stories to young children or if you are not particulary apt with reading different dialects.

In his retelling of the "Uncle Remus" stories (first collected by Joel Chandler Harris), Mr. Lester takes some liberties. Mr. Lester's Uncle Remus is undefined, a narrator who lends a clear and distinctive voice to the stories, yet is never identified or described, unlike the elderly ex-slave of the Harris tellings. This was done so the reader could develop his or her own ideas of just who the new Uncle Remus is. Second, Mr. Lester unabashedly uses modern language and references (like shopping malls and the like). There are those who would say that by doing so Mr. Lester is ruining the Uncle Remus stories. However, Mr. Lester makes it very clear that his intent was not to ruin the stories, but to save them.

This assertion is underscored by the fact that although the language of the book is modern, the stories themselves are largely untouched. Mr. Lester does not present us with the Disney version of Brer Rabbit; a likeable character who serves the role of passive protagonist. Mr. Lester's Brer Rabbit, like Harris' Brer Rabbit, is an unrepentent troublemaker whose cleverness does more than lift him out of jams. He steals, lies, stirs up conflict and on a few occasions, commits murder. In that sense, despite the updated language, Mr. Lester's versions are far closer to the source material than most authors who retell the Uncle Remus stories.

I take nothing away from the works of Harris. For those who wish to read the original works in the original dialect and accept them as products of the age in which they were written, then the books are an excellent read. Unfortunately, most modern readers will not want to struggle with the dialect or accept Uncle Remus' congenial attitude towards his own enslavement. In that case, only scholars would read them and the stories would fall into obscurity. I for one praise Mr. Lester's efforts to keep the Uncle Remus stories alive and relevent. Yes, some changes were made, but don't forget, the stories were also changed when they were imported from Africa

For the novice of classical studies this book would be a good start at learning the Roman point of view concerning the subjugation of the continental Celtic tribes. Mr.Jimenez has an excellent chapter on the conflict between Pompey and Caesar. However, he seems to have made little, if any effort in coming up with a new, or original look at Caesar's war with the Gauls. Since all of his information comes from Caesar himself and Mr. Jimenez has failed in his duty as a historian to be investigative and as objective as possible, one would do just as well as purchasing Caesar's Gallic Wars.

A great read and very informative. I can now bring up Vercingetorix in casual conversation. One caveat: the maps could have been much better done. They are dark and hard to read and tend to precede the narrative somewhat, so they give away what little suspense there is. (OK, we know that Caesar ultimately prevails but he did lose a few along the way.) Read a few pages beyond each one and then go back.

Excellent little introduction to our old friend Julius Caesar, the role model for Napoleon and many another big risk-taker. Much superior to reading Caesar's work itself unless you want to wade through a lot of political self-promotion. Books like this one do a lot to rescue ancient history from the dank cellar of its earlier scholarship.

"From Slave Ship to Freedom Road" combines text by Julius Lester with the superb paintings of Rod Brown. Together they tell the story of African-American enslavement and freedom.

Brown's paintings are truly stunning. He creates images that are often disturbing and graphic: men chained together like cargo in a slave ship's hold, a slave's back bloody with fresh welts, etc. But he also renders the faces of people with great care and tenderness.

At times, I felt that Lester's text was a bit too racially charged (for example, he includes separate "Imagination Exercises" for black and white readers). But on the whole, this is a moving and educational book. Also, there is text and an illustration explaining how many whites risked their lives to help escaped slaves; this aspect of the book is an effective celebration of racial reconciliation.

Even though the book is for children it will open the eyes and heart of anyone that reads it. It's like the painting was done as the story was written. I had a chance to meet Rod Brown and he does an excellent job of reviewing the book while displaying his art work. I was moved to tears.

Julius Lester has an amazing way with words in this powerful book about the journey to America on the slaveship. The illustrator, Rod Brown, is phenomenal! The two of them together made this book a tool for empowering young people to understand the experiences of Africans coming to America against their will. Although some of the content is tear-jerking and painful, it is necessary reading for all upper elementary and higher grade students. Adults should read it too!