This very attractively produced book serves as a terrific guide to the wines of Washington. I'm pretty much of an ignoramus when it comes to wines in general so I learned a great deal from this book and appreciated the non-exclusive tone of the writing, but feel sure there is ample depth here for the winoscenti. In addition to learning my Syrah from my Viognier I enjoyed the section on the history of the wine industry in the area and especially on the production and elements of winemaking.

My favorite segment of the book may be the extensive appendix full of all kinds of great material in addition to the useful glossary and list of resources and directory of Washington wineries. The appendix includes indispensable advice on pairing wines with food, tips on selecting wineglasses, and how to remove corks from champagne and sparkling wine bottles.

Now I'm waiting eagerly in hopes the author will start work on "Discovering Washington Beers."

Follow Me Down tells the story of a fifty-year old man and his wife, a love-lost young woman, a deaf and dumb young man and his mother, and a defense attorney with a chip on his shoulder. Told through the eyes of eight characters, the story revolves around a violent act, recounting the story behind it. The novel is filled with well developed characters overflowing with uncontrollable emotions and the resulting consequences of them. In closing, Shelby Foote's Follow Me Down grabs your attention and holds it until the last page.

This book will be a great resource to my workplace and our efforts to find a style of management that will take us into the future. Gary Heil seems to have a finger on the pulse of what will work in the workplace today.

Well known and little known rules that you can count on to measure things, plant crops, deal with animals & humans, gauge the weather, and meet life on a more sure fitting.
For instance - the distance between an alligator's eyes in inches, is its length in feet.

Most everyone acquainted with Shelby Foote know him through his Civil War history and the Ken Burns Civil War series. He is, however, a Southern novelist of the first calibre, and his raw talents are spectacularly displayed in this his first published work. Most writers could strive for a lifetime and never come close to the quality of this book. I highly recomend it to anyone who is interested in Foote as a writer or in Southern literature as a genre.

For any true fans of Jack Kerouac, this book marks the end of a semi-productive career for this writer. Several years after On The Road, Big Sur provides a dark and twisted reflection of the more jovial and adventurous atmosphere to On The Road. The Duluoz Legend was never so grim, nor so sober as in this installation to the saga that was Jack Kerouac. People from Kerouac's daily life make candid appearances throughout the book through characterized aliases. Ferlinghetti appears as Montrose, yet the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco is mentioned the same as in real life. In this story, Kerouac comes to terms with himself, and what his life has really meant over the past years. Through the advice of friends, and by a drunken depression, Jack Duluoz(Kerouac) appears as the truly tragic figure he was near the end of his life in St. Petersburg, FL. I feel it safe to say that in this instance, art truly imitates life. I recommend this book to anyone, mostly to those who've read On The Road, and more specifically to those who have become influenced through the writings of this 20th Century legend.

It has been about seven years since I have read this book, but it remains my favorite book by my favorite author of novels. The reason I give this review is because I am about to embark on a critical analysis of it for class. I hope that I come out of this sea of emotion with my breath still even!

Out of all of his books this one portrays the crux of Kerouac's life dilemma. If one wants to read unbridled travel narrative, then s/he should go to "On the Road". If one wants to capture all the splendor of the youthful Beat mysticism at its prime, then "Dharma Bums" is likely the best bet. For sheer emotiveness, however, "Big Sur" is possibly without parallel in American literature.

There is one scene that overflows with passion and entreaty to the cosmos. He is involved in a tortuous love affair as he attempts to get off of alcohol. All of this yearning and pathos piles into his psyche and all his mind can do is scream. I don't know about all of the rest of us, but this is a way that I have felt in my life. I am glad there is a novelist like Kerouac who succeeded in publicizing the essential anguish of the American tradition.

If anyone wants to correspond with me on the matter of this book and others by him, please do so. Fresh and contemporary voices will add immeasurable breadth and meaning to my research project. Good day!

For those of you have read "On the Road" this book will not compare. In Big Sur Jack Kerouac is no longer a free-spirited youth in search of the Beat "Ideals" of freedom and life lived for the moment. Instead Kerouac finds himself lost in a generation that he began but no longer understands nor do they understand him. It is clear in the writing in this book that Kerouac is bordering on insanity. He is ravished by alcohol and is able to bring you into his mind so vividly that you cannot help but feel apart of him.

Although extremely gritty and dark at times the book also has some beautiful passages where Kerouac simply describes his surroundings that nearly left me in tears. The writing conveys thought and feeling that I have experienced before.

After reading this I truely feeling that is book is part of who I am, never has a book effected my outlook on life and the world we live in.

This book is above the best I've ever read. Not only does Sampson cut through the clutter and hype of the hogan mystique, but brings to light the man himself. Ben Hogan was a hero to many, including myself. However, it becomes easier to understand his faults and pains. As awestruck as we all become as we reminisce about what the infamous one iron shot was like, the same feeling comes to mind when you can discover the personal hardships and psychological strains that Hogan had held throughout his life. Looking from the outside, he was comprised of somewhat an introvert, stubborn, and jealous man. Yet how he broke out of his shell and overcame adds one more dimension to a timeless hero. Not only his ability to overcome the game of golf and his physical handicaps, but overcoming the mental obstacles that it takes to become not only an excellent golfer, but an excellent man. Hats off to Curt Sampson

shawnwellnitz@yahoo.com

The best book iv'e every read. I think every golf lover should have a chance to read this masterpiece! It explains, with help from Curt Sampson how Ben Hogan really lived his life, rather than every shoe brand he bought!. It (the book) desribes Ben's meaning, hope and explanation of his true identity in the world of golf.

I found this book to be one of the best biographies I've ever read. Sampson leads the reader through the pivotal and formative events of Hogan's life, slowly revealing the character and personality of one of the most complex figures in the history of sports. Most people view sports legends as individuals blessed with an abundance of natural ability and instinct. I was inspired to discover this does not describe Ben Hogan. He was not, by any stretch of imagination, the most talented golfer on tour. To read accounts of his early struggles puts the stunning success he later enjoyed - and the work that enabled him to accomplish that success - in clear perspective. To often, sports biographies are superficial tributes that ignore the complexities of a sport and the men who play it. This is a book that digs deeply into the life of its subject, revealing both the noble and the base. Curt Sampson allows the reader to form his own opinion of the man based on a detailed and objectively rendered portrait. Anyone who truly loves the game of golf needs to read this book. Rick Mathes Thousand Oaks, C

Since reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest recently, it has rapidly become my favourite book. Kesey has managed to tell a story whilst making a complex political allegory, and that is incredibly refreshing. The characters are so vivid, both loveable and sometimes vile, and Kesey finds the balance between making their exploits humorous, and not patronising the patients of the asylum. McMurphy is a classic hero, but far more complex than most so-called Christ-like figures in literature. The Chief however steals the show for me. The writing during the time he tells how alcoholism is destroying his Father is incredibly moving. Using the Chief as the omnipresent narrator is a superb device employed by Kesey, as it allows a unique, personal and sometimes confusing insight into all the proceedings. Like all great literature, it makes you think, but does it with a unique sense of humour and character, and handles its heavy subject matter with ease: this is a simple read but devastatingly effective. The end of the book is both sad and yet also happy. That adjective sums up the book perfectly- happysad.

For a book written by a paid volunteer to use hallucinogenic drugs, a book written by a man who at some points while writing was under the influence of LSD and peyote, and a book that funded the writer's San Francisco to New York road trip on psychedelically painted bus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest turned out perfectly normal, in fact even clever and stimulating. Considered a masterpiece by many, this novel is an extremely insightful satire of the society of the 1950's. Just as the drugs and psychedelic bus may suggest, Kesey could in fact be considered a founding-father of hippie-ism. His "hippie" attitudes shine through with this book, which in many ways challenges numerable aspects of authority and society. The setting is inspired by Kesey's work at the Menlo Park, Virginia hospital, where he was introduced to LSD by a government-sponsored program researching the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. This experience led him to continue his drug use, and further developed his opinions of society, which we can read about in this excellent book. The story starts when R.P. McMurphy is admitted into the mental ward, transferred from a work farm. He's a self-proclaimed gambling champion and womanizing sex machine, a rough-around-the-edges cowboy of a jokester. McMurphy is the one person who stands up to Nurse Ratched, the symbol of the cold oppression and conformity in society. The book is the story of the patients' struggle against the strict policy and rules of the ward. Under the leadership of McMurphy, who sings, laughs, walks around wearing only a towel, and does anything that he can think of which will disrupt the cold order that Nurse Ratched has on the ward, their adventures include everything from rowdy poker games, to a fishing trip, to a completely against policy late night party in the ward, complete with alcohol, marijuana, and prostitutes. The books end is sad, but realistic and a reminder of the control society ultimately has The narrator of the book is the paranoid Chief Bromden, a 7 foot something giant of an Indian who fakes deaf and dumb in order to hear everything and yet remain safe. It is his narration that keeps the book interesting. Bromden, always standing in the corner with a broom, is able to see and hear everything that goes on in the ward. He is extremely insightful and the style that Kesey uses to portray Bromden as a character is very entertaining to read. Bromden, a paranoid schizophrenic, at some points in the story, hallucinates. The imagery that he provides is usually mechanical and he often talks about seeing fog from a machine that the nurse controls. His hallucinations are metaphors, he describes the ward as having hidden mechanical components, and frequently he sees fog that represents confusion and fear. He depicts society as a combine, a giant machine, and all of the patients at the hospital are broken parts needing repair. They are parts that didn't fit into their place in the machine, didn't fit into the conformity of society. Not only is it an entertaining read, but also a compelling cautionary story. Kesey is giving a warning about a society centered around conformity. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is Kesey's investigation of the control of the 1950's society over the individual, bringing into play themes ranging from the importance of laughter and sexuality to the definition of insanity. The book's ending gets mixed reactions, but it is realistic, and a reminder of the control society ultimately has. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a fantastic book, a highly recommended read, both entertaining and intellectually stimulating, truly a masterpiece.

...the book is better.

I had to read _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ for my Literature and Film class, and I don't think I've ever enjoyed a book "for school" as much as I enjoyed this one. I'd never seen the film before I read it, and not knowing the plot presented in the movie was definitely worth it.

If you've seen the movie (and even if you haven't), read the book for Dale Harding. Those who've seen the film will remember him as.. a rather dislikable character at odds with McMurphy throughout. He was done a -great- disservice in the film, and was by far my favorite character - I read it mostly to experience scenes with him.

Ken Kesey's prose is quirky and elegant - with such descriptions of physical idiosyncracies that I've never seen so accurately written - such as the way he describes Harding as trapping his pretty hands between his knees and folding his thin shoulders about his chest like green wings. It's difficult to understand at times, since the narrator, Chief Bromden, is also a mental patient on the ward and sees things differently than a sane person would - but anything he says that's hard to grasp at the beginning slowly becomes clear as the narrative goes on.

_One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ is made brilliant by a number of things: the beauty and eccentricity of the prose, the development of character, the layers of plot and subtext, and the subtle messages, meanings, and morals scattered throughout the pages in such a way that you learn them but don't realize they're there. I highly recommend this book - it's one that will stay with you again and again, and is warranted a second and third time reading.

'The Dharma Bums' is a tale of social dropouts in California who search for Buddhist enlightenment and truth (dharma) amid wine, sex, hitchhiking and mountain scenery. It's a good introduction to Kerouac - shorter, lighter and more accessible than On the Road, which is a more epic but also has some monotonous bits.

If religious certainties turn you off, you might tire of dharma-bum narrator Ray's Buddhist slogans and the dogmatic Zen views of Japhy, Ray's buddy. But though Kerouac portrays Buddhism as liberating, he also laughs a lot at kooky piety. At some points - like Ray's 'banana sermon' - religion becomes either profound or hilarious, or both.

Ray tries to reach nirvana by convincing himself the world's an illusion, which makes it ironic that the best bits in this novel are poetic descriptions of mountains and travel. The final lonely mountain-top vigil - based on Kerouac's experience as a fire lookout, described in Lonesome Traveller - is a tour de force. Kerouac's prose flair allows him to string 10 adjectives in front of a noun, a heinous crime in modern writing fashion, and get away with it.

Kerouac balances Ray and Japhy's Buddhist belief that the world is illusory against the earthbound views of world-weary poet Alvah Goldbook, a thinly veiled Allen Ginsberg. Alvah's quest to soak up his surroundings rather than transcend them puts him closer to the philosophy of On the Road, in which the travelling bums reach a jubilant but sad-hearted state of raw appreciation of their phsyical world.

Through the Ray-Japhy-Alvah triangle and all the minor characters, 'The Dharma Bums' gives various answers to Kerouac's big question in this and other books: how to lead a free existence in a conformist careerist consumerist society. Fifty years later, the question's got more vital. Youthful rebellion and boheme are just marketing motifs for soft drinks, CDs and snowboards now, but Kerouac shows you it's possible to be authentically free - if you have the guts.

This is the book that lured me into the world of kerouac. I had previously read "On the Road," which was excellent, but I feel no match for "the Dharma Bums." This book changed my life. It changed the way that i thought. Kerouac introduces the reader to his experiences and beliefs through his novels; they are mostly semi-autobiographical. Before this novel consumed me, i had no notion of Buddhism. In retrospect this has been the single most influential thing that I have been exposed to. This book is just a starting point for a Kerouac fan. I recommend that you follow this book with Kerouac's "Desolation Angels." Simple, and yet so satisfying literature. I have not really encountered any other writers who are so beloved, so beautiful and poetic in few and simple jazz talk and random amusing European literary name dropping. Pick this one up, maybe it will change your life too!

I read Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums & I must say I liked it very much! The story is about two young men as they set out in search of truth. They are Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder (Jack Kerouac & Gary Snyder). These two meet up in San Francisco, California at Berkeley. They attend a bohemian party and poetry jamming (The Gallery Six Reading). This was the beat generation of the 50s & 60s.

Japhy Ryder liked reading Zen books such as Diamond Sutra and also works by D.T.Suzuki. He was seeking his Bodhisattvas in everyone he met. Japhy would often quote Buddha: ("All life is suffering".)

Their goal was to climb Desolation Peak. The solitude was their Satori. Dharma Bums is a great story of adventurer. I also recommend On The Road by Jack Kerouac as well.

With UBIK, MARTIAN TIME-SLIP is in my opinion an achievement in Philip K. Dick's career. Simulacra, schizophreny and autism, time breaches, Dick's favorite themes, become mingled in this nightmarish novel you are going either to reject violently either to be hypnotized by. Because, in 1964, Philip K. Dick, books after books, was creating new standards for modern science-fiction.

Philip K. Dick has always read a lot, classic as well as modern literature. He rapidly felt that he had to adapt the classical structure of his first novels to a more deconstructed one in order to be able to treat his main themes like virtual realities or time gaps with the virtuosity we know. Some would say that most of the disturbing descriptions found in MARTIAN TIME-SLIP are the result of both a sick mind and the abuse of illegal substances. Maybe, maybe not. What is sure is that Philip K. Dick has written some of the most innovative pages of the literature of the sixties.

The description of the mental universe of Manfred Steiner, the schizophrenic boy, will leave you psychologically exhausted and with the urge to buy the whole literary production of this under-appreciated Master of american science-fiction.

A book for your library.

Philip Dick, like most science fiction writers, wrote enough action-oriented novels and stories to satisfy die hard genre fans, but anyone who has read Dick's work carefully knows that he came to be less concerned with action-adventure and more with very human issues. In Martian Time Slip, teaching androids are used in schools, one character is suspected of being able to see into the future, and, of course, the backdrop is Mars. Dick, though, uses this science fiction setting to explore aspects of the human condition, such as isolation, suffering, greed, hopelessness and cruelty, through the eyes of a number of characters who are all rendered with compassion despite their obvious shortcomings.

The basic plot revolves around the efforts of Arnie Kott, a bullish big fish in a small pond, to determine if an autistic child named Manfred Steiner can see the future. It is then Kott's intention to use that knowledge to further his own self interests. Drawn into this story are several others that Kott needs to carry out his plan, and it is through their perspectives, their personal struggles that may not even peripherally relate to Kott's scheme, that the novel derives its impact. One section of the book, in fact, recounts a single evening from four different points of view. It's an amazing display of technique that seems a natural development in the telling of the story and manages to challenge the reader's own opinions about the characters involved.

The novel's background detail is convincing as well, from the way Mars' relatively few surviving aboriginal inhabitants are portrayed as a race doomed long before humanity arrived, now lingering until probable eventual extinction, to the desolate nature of Mars itself and the attitudes and practices that have been transplanted from Earth. Much like the excellent Dr. Bloodmoney, which would appear the following year (1965), Martian Time-Slip is an ensemble story in a landscape that offers little hope aside from the comfort and love of other living beings which, I would like to believe, is what Dick is saying is the only hope of any consequence.

I've read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" and"The Man in the High Castle", and I only had high hopes forthis book. I can't say enough about this book! I recommend it to allmy friends, even the ones who don't read (they'll come around oneday...it's my goal!).

It's a shame that some of the reviewers[don't] understand the concept of time, and how the present has beeninfluenced by such people as Dick. They think that Dick should haveexplained how people could breathe in the Martian atmosphere, yet theyfail to realize that this book was written before the american spaceage. It was written in 1964!... There was still a lot to learnabout other worlds then, and for Dick to write a book like this,that's like William Gibson writing a book about jacking in to theinternet before there WAS an internet (that people actuallyused). Before his time! Oh yeah, FYI, William Gibson wrote"Necromancer", which is the basis of the Matrix (written in'84, before computers in general were very popular publicly, keep thatin mind!).

This book is awesome! I'm reminded of Vonnegut's"Slaughterhouse-Five" in the respect of time, with all theschizophrenic patches of action strewn about. Philip K. Dick justmakes you think....this is one of those books where once you'refinished, you'll have a moment of silence. You can't beat that.

Ihope you choose to read this book. If you don't like this book, giveit however many stars you like. But try to keep in mind when Dickwrote this! Not too shabby -- before we had even landed on the moon,Dick is writing about colonizing mars, detailing a society. Read it!