This is a wonderfully done book. I feel I've lived in "Tom's" shoes and appreciate who he was and the struggles he faced. It's a loving portrait that doesn't shy away from the honest details of the life of the young Tennessee. I hope the sequel that's to take us from the Glass Menangerie to the end of Tennessee's life comes out soon----I'll be waiting!!!

Meticulously researched and sensitively written, this book is the definitive biography of Tennessee Williams, even though it only covers the period up to the beginning of his success. I haven't found any others that can rival its quality. The depth and detail are unsurpassed in Leverich's finely crafted portrait, revealing the many facets of one of America's greatest playwrights. As a "theater person," Leverich brings a special authority to his work, infusing it with expert analysis and theatrical history. A really great read!

Lyle Leverich, a theatre artist himself, paints (with the participation of the late "Tom" himself) an intricate, sensitive and compelling portrait of the closest The United States has come to producing her own Shakespeare.

Tennessee Williams' ability to place passionate and visual poetry into the mouths of the commoner and gentry alike makes his work, in my opinion the finest ever produced by an American playwright. The towering and beautiful fragile characters of his plays combined with his devotion to the utter magic the physical theatre provides, allowed America through Tennessee Williams to finally place itself rightly next to Ibsen, Strinberg, Chekov and The Bard himself.

Of course "Tom" did not develop in a vacume and what Leverich provides here in this excellent biography wrapped in the guise of a psychological thriller worthy of so great an object, is a portrait of a man often crippled by acute sensitivity who saw the writing muse as a means for survival. Leverich manages to paint the man behind the myth, bring him down into a real space and time while also managing to lift him to the angels.

This is one of the greatest biographies ever written about a theatre artist- of which Williams was a supreme being. I, and many others, eagerly await volume two.

This is Sharp's best novel yet, the second detailing the life of Wilt a college lecturer and his severely disfunctional family. In what is basically a farce Sharpe's satire bites deep into every subject he touches, as Wilt comes under investigation by the police for drug dealing, infiltrates a US nuclear air base and has to use face cream to cool his burning uncontrolable penis. If my description of this novel sounds manic, the reason is simple, the book is manic. As an Englishman living in the US I am not sure if the humor travels well, but I hope my American friends can appreciate it, because this book is one of only three (all written by Tom) capable of making me laugh out loud wherever I am reading it (which can be most embarrasing). Try it and enjoy a different view of life and then be thankful you don't have to live Wilt's life.

I bought this book 15 years ago when traveling. While waiting for a change of planes at Heathrow, I started reading, and couldn't put it down. I started chuckling to myself, then laughing out loud, then laughing so it hurt!! Other passengers were staring at me. I showed them what I reading and some of them nodded knowingly.

It is the funniest book I have ever read!

If you enjoy satire, and you like it laced with sexual innuendo, profanity and wit, you will love Tom Sharpe's books, but you will particularly love Wilt, which takes you into the world and never-ending irony of lower-class British academia. Henry Wilt is miserable in his existence as a "Tech" lecturer, married to Eva, his incorrigibly energetic, enthusiastic and critical wife. He attempts to escape by way of fantasizing how he might murder Eva, who has recently taken up with the sexually wacky American couple next door. After an embarrassing encounter with an inflatable doll, Wilt decides to practice murder on it, and ends up being accused of murdering Eva. A fantastic read.

...to all the [stuff] one finds in the morning paper. This book gives us what the corporte-dominated media never has: VALUABLE INFORMATION. You will be suprised, shocked, fascinated, and downright angry by some of the stories you read. Which is good. Let it permeate your mind and transform your civil self. Concise, clear, unvarnished and highly informative -- 20 Years of Censored News is all that and a bag of chips! Finally, some first-rate journalism.

This is a great read. There are a great variety of stories (discounting the author's obsession with nuclear power) that should pique anyone's interest. Each of the year's stories provides interesting insights on what really happened that year (I found particularly enlightening the stories on the corporations, rich elite, and media empires that really rule American). This is a rare book that should be read by anyone who wants to be informed on current events. Rarely does such an important book come cloaked in such a simple cover.

You ever wonder if you are reading every news story or if some of the stories never make it to the paper? Do you ever wonder what you might be missing? Grab a copy of 20 Years of censored news and you'll be in for a surprise.

Carl Jensen takes you down the last twenty years with major headlines that were never seen. I was surprised and a little scared to think of what is held back from the public. I was amazed to see what was never told.

Proving the old adage "It's the media that control the people's thinking." This book certainly should wake you up to the fact that what you see isn't really what you get, because you get very little from the press.

I took just over two hours to complete the reading and I am very excited to read Censored 1999, to find out what I missed for the year. Overall this book will make a great gift for just about everyone - well done!

Easy to understand, this book broke it all down for me. Having just started my coffee house without a clue as to how to proceed, I grabbed every book I could find about the topic, and this one was the most accessible and best written one. I wish it could have provided even MORE details, but this provided a lot of help.

Very detailed with down to earth concerns of a business owner. Just wish I had the start-up money now and I'd be all set!

This book is a must read for those starting out in the coffee business. It covers everything from the history of coffee to suggested operational and customer service procedures. I have found this book invaluable in its scope and breadth of coffee shop industry information.

The best small book ever. I want more copies. How come there arent any available? This title should have had broader distribution.

Tom Woolley is, without a doubt, one of the freshest, most invigorating new voices in American literature. His narrative is a smooth combination of gut-punch realism and jaded camp. His stories are refreshingly original and dripping with intelligent humor. I can't wait for his next book. I will be haunting my local bookstore until its arrival. Bravo, Tom Woolley.

I was recently given this book as a gift, and it's just an incredible read. It's already a favorite, and I'm buying copies for friends as well. Gritty, yes, but realistic and sincere and a hard, long look at some facets of some lives that most of us aren't exposed to. Very touching, very witty and funny, and almost shockingly open and honest. Can't recommend this book highly enough. Get a copy now!!!

When I first read about Tom Bombadil, sitting in a small apartment in Valcea, Romania, it occured to me that TB is a psychopath who sings about himself in the third person. I found this quite rum. What is yellow cream? What price Goldberry? Still, a light-hearted romp through the pumpkin patch.

I actually read these works in The Tolkien Reader, but I might as well share my opinions on this, since it's sold separately. The first two poems are about Tom Bombadil, but to tell the truth, they don't exactly give what a lot of Tolkien fans wish for: a history of Tom. Where he came from, and who he is. He remains a weird old man with yellow boots, I guess.

The other poems are a treat to read. Any readers of the Rings trilogy know that Tolkien favored many poems, and many of them were very good. A few of them will be recognized by Rings fans, because some of them are used, such as the Man in the Moon (which bears striking resemblance to the nursery rhyme about the Cow Jumping Over the Moon).

For Tolkien fans, this is a great book to read, but since this edition is not widely available, you should check out the Tolkien Reader.

I picked up this book from the library, having just finished reading about Frodo's encounter with Tom Bombadil in "The Fellowship of the Ring." The first two poems are indeed about the enigmatic Tom, but the other poems in the book, although not about Tom Bombadil are even better than the title poem! For instance, the poem entitled, "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon" is simply delightful, explaining the plight of the poor Man in the Moon who comes down to earth in search of holiday feasting only to find that the holidays are still to come and the only "feast" available is a cold bowl of mush. Some of the poems are funny, and some are bleak and heartbreaking. In any case, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves clever and well presented poetry.

This book was adorable. I reccomend it for anyone interested in the fey.

This is an extrodinary book of imaginable proof that will change even the darkest mind into a child mind. Highly reccomended.

oh! this is the most FABulous book. it's not much like other faery books reallie. first of all, it's written by someone from Brooklyn, and she has a very different perspective on things. Definitely a part of Faery that needs attention. anyway, this book is mostly about joy. and how faeries can help you find your joy. if you lost it. or if you set it down, and it wandered off. it's been known to do that... it shows you how to love things and accept things, and it explains three of the most important rules in the universe. i don't know how you couldn't love it.

Breakaway Management articulates what's true about workplace behaviors: all people have them and they are less than ideal. People bring along their less than ideal histories (Managers are people too!) and create barriers to change that keep organizations or work groups stuck. The dysfunctional patterns can be identified and named, openly dealt with, and constructively managed. The tools provided in this book help to talk about what's real in the workplace and that's a common sense approach that experience teaches works well

Finally, the fix-it for dealing with those "people problems" that ultimately cause organizational ineffectiveness and failure! Dr. Jones spends just enough time outlining the origins of dysfunction and the widespread impact of dysfunction to convince any business person that it is this dysfunction we must focus on first in our organizations--and not our structures or policies or procedures. Throughout his book, Dr.Jones develops the pathway for any manager to deal respectfully and responsibly with dysfunctional behaviors. No matter how rampant the dysfunction in your workplace, Dr. Jones has beautifully and practically developed the "way out" for managers so they can implement and foster the "way back" into functional behaviors which, ultimately, creates the "way to" organizational success.

Very insightful;full of useful strategies and information. Dr. Jones style is humorous and very down-to-Earth. Chapter 5 was a real eye-opener. I now have a better sense of how to approach discussion of the issues we've been avoiding for so long. Our Thursday morning staff meetings will never be the same. If you supervise 1 or 1,000 people, this book is for you!! John A. Wilson, Area Group Manager, DMS. Inc., California

Ernie Harwell popped up in a lot of unexpected places in the year 2001. On October 3rd, he broadcast the official recreation of the 1951 Miracle at Coogan's Bluff game for Major League Baseball's official website; later on, he broadcast the final game of a World Series for an all-time-greats fantasy league also run by MLB. Not bad, for a man who was fired by his longtime Detroit Tigers employees over a decade ago for being "too old".

"My 60 Years in Baseball" has a very unusual title for an autobiography. That's because it's not an autobiography -- it's a standard bio, written by columnist Tom Keegan. Presumably this was done with Ernie Harwell's full cooperation, and reprints of several Harwell newspaper columns highlight the book. I'm just a little confused by the use of the word "My".

I know Tom Keegan's columns from the New York Post, and "My 60 Years" reads very much like a 275-page human interest story. It's a puff piece, but in the best way possible. Keegan tracks down interviews with athletes, writers and friends who have known Harwell at various points along his 60-plus-year career, and the stories related are mostly heart-warming. The best chapter in the book is an interview with Denny McLain, one-time Tiger pitching ace, from his cell in federal prison. Even repeat convicts love the voice of Ernie Harwell.

Don't read "Ernie Harwell" because it's the best sports bio of all time, but read it to become more familiar with one of the last of the original (and now "old school") announcers. I listened to Ernie for the brief time I lived in the Detroit metro area, and I'm glad I had the chance. It's a specific style of broadcast, heavy on imagery and game detail, that's no longer in vogue and will be dearly missed when the last of its practictioners hangs up their microphones. Read the stories Keegan finds, and read again the reprinted Harwell columns, which are a delight of word choice, firm opinion, and humor.

If we could only have more time to get to know people like Ernie Harwell, there would be a much greater appreciation for life in this world. Despite all of the many changes in his life, the opportunity to be around baseball for so many years, get paid to do it and enjoy it thoroughly...he has remained humble and human.

He is quick to tell you that he is "just a turtle on fence post", noting that we all know that turtle didn't get there by himself. He credits so many people for the opportunities that he has experienced...yet he has spent so many years positively influencing our lives, about life as seen through the many stories he tells via baseball.

Although I have only lived in the Detroit metro area for two years which limits my exposure to hearing Harwell call games all my life, I could immediately feel the respect and warmth of his broadcasts. Seeing him at several baseball and community events, I am always impressed with the attention that the sports stars give him when they are around him. Not only professional baseball players but professionals from other sports seem to delight in being around him and hearing the stories he tells with his charming southern drawl.

Whether you have the opportunity to hear him or you value hearing baseball stories that have something interesting to learn from in each story, you will enjoy this book.

If you are a person that enjoys learning from people that have shared their life with others and brought a positive influence to the world, you will enjoy this biography of a hall of famer.

Thanks Ernie!

Ernie Harwell has the ability to articulate his thoughts and possesses a vast reservoir of anecdotes and observations based on his lengthy career. The combination made this into one of the more enjoyable baseball books I've read in recent years.

This is my 2 y/o son's favorite book EVER! We have to read it every night and take it on all our overnight trips. Needless to say, even he has the text memorized. Yes, the Tonka logo shamelessly displayed on every truck is a bit much, but I've found this book to include the widest variety of trucks. These are displayed nicely in their appropriate "scenes", and the information on each truck's capabilities is a great learning tool. My son is so thrilled when we come across these machines at work in our day-to day life, and he couldn't wait to go to the State Fair. It's been the best money I've spent on a book for him yet, even though I wish we could skip it and perhaps read Stellaluna instead just one night.

My son has loved this book since he got it a year ago when he was 1.5 years old. I have found as time goes on he always finds new things to ask about - each page is packed with detail, but not so busy as to be a turnoff. This book has provoked alot of discussion about how houses are built, how roads are made, what happens on a farm etc. There is enough there to keep kids interested for a long time!!

My in-laws gave this book to my 22-month-old son, who loves trucks, construction vehicles and machinery, and it became an instant favorite of his. They were a bit hesitant at first about buying the book because it's essentially a big commercial for Tonka products -- every truck and construction vehicle in the book (and there are many) has "TONKA" prominently written on it. That caveat aside, however, it _is_ a great book for kids who share my son's interests -- it shows the trucks in action and explains the name and uses of each. I also like the fact that it shows both women and men operating the trucks.