I just finished reading "Blind Courage" for the second time. Bill Irwin's story offers a timeless story of courage, faith, and a triumphant spirit as he was the first "blind" person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. I write "blind" because Bill may not have the sense of eyesight, but throughout the book has great insight into persons he meets along his walk, and relates the greatest insight into his own self and his strengths and weaknesses, on a hike (he was not an experienced hiker) all possible by his enduring faith in our Lord and his confidence in his Seeing Eye dog, Orient. The book flows well,doesn't sound "preachy", and reads quickly--almost too quickly as we want to hear more. This is a great story by a great man who spent his first almost 50 years in turmoil, broken relationships, and losing his eyesight, but he finds himself and encourages and uplifts others along his hike. By the way, if you have an opportunity to hear him speak, Bill Irwin is an outstanding public speaker with a great message and is a very friendly individual. In summary, read this book if you are looking for modern heroes and uplifting people of faith doing the "impossible" regardless of whether you enjoy "outdoor/hiking/camping" books or not.

My review of this book is one of pure joy and inspiration. From the moment I laid eyes on this book I knew it had a great message written in it. I meet Bill and Orient when they came to the Lititz Grace Brethern Church. Even after reading his story and hearing his testomony it was totally indescribleable. Bill is a wonderful speaker and Orient is just the most lovable dog you could ever know. To have a dog like that which leads you over that terrain from Georgia to Maine is a true friend.

They both had a good friend in the Lord and he truly lead them on a spititrual path and from all of this a remarkable story. Again I personally give this book FIVE STARS.

This man has an incredible story to share with you. It is a book that you cannot put down once you start reading it. It will give you encouragement and hope. He still hikes parts of the trail every year encouraging the people out there today.

If you enjoy WWII aircraft, and appreciate the breath taking detail and accuracy of Rikyu Watanabe illustrations, you must have this book. I found my copy 3 years ago at OshKosh, and have been offered (...)for it - no way was I parting with it. It is, without question, the finest piece of reference / art work on these 12 aircraft I have ever seen. Vet, IFR Priv. pilot, R/C aircraft modeler.

I'm a WWII airplanes enthsiast, and this book has filled all my expectations. The text, the scaled drawings, the fold-out panels, everithing is exceptional in this complete guide of WWII airplanes. The drawings of this book are incredibly detailed, and if you're meticulous, you'll never find a book like this. My grandfather was a WWII pilot and became nostalgic when he saw the plane he had flown.

In my opinion, the most beautiful book of WWII aircraft which has ever been published.

I have flown the F4U-5NL Bu.No. 124511 found in the picture on page 253 with Ens. Cawley's name on the side. He was one of our squadron mates in VC-4, NAS Atlantic City in the early 'fifties.

Brings back many fond memories. Highly recommended to all aviators and aviation enthusiasts.

J.D. Williams Lcdr. USNR (Ret)

I am a real estate investor for 10 years now. Have amassed a personal library of well over $10,000 of tapes and books on the subject. And personally involved in 40 real estate transactions in the yr 2000. With that said, this is the book to read.

My first year of marriage had my non-real estate wife read that book. In exchanged, I was forced to endure, Man are from Mars and Woman are for Venus. I wanted for her to understand financial philosophies.

This is a timeless book of philosophy. For you newcomers in real estate here's a precious idea... Look at 100 homes in a neighborhood. Talk to the realtor and the mortgage broker and analyse the deal. Guess what, at the end of those 100 homes you are the expert! Now every house you see in that area, MAKE AN OFFER! No more excuses after that.

Okay, I know you still have the no money excuse. Blah, just "noise" in your head.

Read this book if interested in real estate investing. Don't if you aren't. It's a fun read with cartoon character of workers going to work with carrots on their head. Dont worry that its written in 1980? It is timeless.

We used Mr Greene's book and began our own home rental business. In less than 2 years, with no prior realestate knowledge or experience we have acquired 8 homes, 2 duplexes, an apartment complex (hardly tycoon speed!) AND generated a large positive cash flow. We have also been able to take advantage of his tax strategies, and received unbelievable returns. Thanks to Mr Greene, our business is expanding rapidly, and my husband will soon be retiring from his job, never to work for someone else again. We see a very lucrative future ahead. The tax laws in this country were set up in a time when most everyone owned their own businesses. To take advantage of tax benefits, you must have some kind of business. Use his insight to see what YOU can do to take advantage of the benefits that were created for us all.

It really is possible to purchase real estate profitably with little or no money down, or even cash back. While some information is outdated, Greene provides a comprehensive, easy to read and funny introduction to the subject. The step by step plans work; more important, he shows you the principles of building a bank relationship, finding suitable properties, and negotiation. However, one should research the subject thoroughly, including talking to experienced and creative no-money-down investors in one's area, and looking at many properties,as Greene recommends. Greene also shares some of his Libertarian Philosophy, showing how average people can make money, while warning against some of the nuttier government regulations

Romeo and Juliet

Felipe Gravier and Lorenzo Schiavo review:

We think that Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two star-crossed lovers whose families are in a terrible fight which prevents them from coming together. How far the couple will go to be together becomes the focus of the story. Of his richest poetry. The opening and closing choruses are some of his most outstanding work. Romeo's It is a brilliant love story but not much more. It still possesses however some wooing of Juliet is fabulously written. The Friar gets the best lines. Mercutio is one the best friends of Romeo. It is not as good as Shakespeare has written but it's still a fabulous book and up there with his best work. One part of the play we didn't like was that for the tow families get arrange there two kids had to die.
The English language wasn't finally finished so Shakespeare had the liberty to create words and play with the language, as he liked. That's why It was so difficult to understand what each character wanted to express so the teacher had to explain us each of that words and teach us all the words in that age and told us which were the words in the English of today.

This book provides lots of Shakespeare's Storys like "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and "Hamlet" with a children's fairy tale twist. The storys are the same as Shakespeare's, but easier for children to understand. My favorite story was Hamlet because I had just seen the play. A while after we read Children's Shakespeare and it helped me to understand Hamlet better.

Shakespeare is for kids and adults in E. Nesbit's creative mind. I always liked fairy tales, but I couldn't read Shakespeare very well. In Children's Shakespeare E. Nesbit turned his work into fairy tales without changing the story and morals. This book is not much like Nesbit's other books because it was written by Shakespeare, but I bet there are some simularities.

This book was a overall well writen book and I beleive E. Nesbit put a lot of hard work into her books in her life-time. I'm sure if she were alive now she would still be writing good books to this day.

this book was a great read for all ages! it had heart warming photo graphs. i checked this book out of the library and i had to tear myself away at the due date!

The story and the photos will touch the hearts of all readers. The puppy, Jake, with his older labrador doggy pal make great reading for all. It is filled with excellent photos to complement the story.

A rewarding and wonderful book of tales that will touch anyone who loves dogs. Every tale will touch you with memories of a labrador retriever you once had or bring you closer to your labrador pal that you now share your heart with. A must gift for anyone who owns a labrador retriever!

I think this new edition of Bill Owens wonderful book is slightly better than the original. Having both editions I find that although the halftone screen is less than the original (first edition was over 200, this edition is 170) the printing quality and paper are better, giving the photos more depth. After all these years the images still look fresh and fascinating and the amount of detail the photos contain is amazing. As far as I am aware no other book comes close in capturing the feel of the American suburb of thirty odd years ago.

The book is always favourably mentioned in photo history books as an example of the 'new topography' with photographers like Lewis Baltz, Robert Adams and Stephen Shore and the critics suggest that the citizens of this suburbia lead superficial lives because they live there. But they can't get round the fact these folk, living in Livermore Amador Valley, California, or perhaps three thousand miles away in Levittown, Long Island enjoy the life-style of suburban living and Owens photos capture this feeling so well.

On the visual strength of 'Suburbia' I bought another book of Bill Owens photos, 'Working: I do it for the money', published in 1977, a super collection of photos showing Americans at work and Like 'Suburbia' it includes many observations from those in the photos. Well worth searching out for.

The 1973 original edition, which contained only black-and-white photos, may not have been to everyone's taste. I went to the library and compared the "NEW & IMPROVED" (as the red 8-pointed star on the cover proclaims) 1999 edition with the old. The new edition is a lot better. First, some photos that did not have much impact for me (e.g., a shot of adults kissing on Halloween) have been deleted. Second, 18 pages of color photos (some of which have the gaudy color combinations typical of the 1970s) and a number of B&W photos were added. Third, the order of photos is more meaningful; for example, "I believe in women's liberation" was the second photo in the old edition but is on page 21 in the new edition (opposite a depiction of two chairs and a TV). Fourth, Owen's editor Shimshak has added captions for photos that previously had none (e.g., on pages 16-17). Finally, there is a new introduction by journalist David Halberstam.

I'm delighted to see this book available again. Last year I spent $100 for a copy (well worth it!) because it was out of print. I plan to buy the new version for the additional pictures promised. I've been fascinated with this book since I was a kid (and his other out-of-print books). I have too much to say about Bill Owens' work...and not nearly enough room! I love "Suburbia" and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves to study people just "doing their thing".

The year is 2025 and a Government Plage is let loose that kills Yuppies, well some turn into human flesh eating Zombies. They continue their lives driving their BMW's and of course having Yuppie dinner parties. They are now called Yombies.

The Bubbas aren't infected and it's because of their preference for pork rinds, twinkies, spam, cheap Bar-b-Q sauce with meat cooked outdoors and of course cheap beer. No fancy foreign beer or cheese for these guys and gals just the real stuff.

Hillarious moments and some that are just downright funny if y'all have any bubba bones in your body. A few that have a higher gross factor.

To have taken on the task of outlining the basics of the story and then hand it out to various author to put their own twisted Bubba minds to work. Selina Rosen should be give a big hand, Yombie of course.

You cannot read this book without laughing. The world has come to an end, and the only folks left to look after it are not necessarily the folks who care. Meet Bubbas with an itch to plug aliens. Zombies with a taste for human flesh. A wild and crazy riot of a time.
Definately a cult classic of a collection.

Actually, there should be a four and a half star rating available. The poem didn't work for me and one or two stories just missed being gems. The reader needs to be warned that the humor in this book is not tea-sippin'-dainty-pinky-in-the-air smile but gut laughs about bodily functions and outrageous points of view. The basic premise of the collection is that a plague virus, Yuppie 25, has killed or made zombies of everyone except Bubbas (who were immune because of their frequent ingestion of a generic barbeque sauce). More fun than an SUV full of yuppie zombies.

This book proves that learning how to play music does not have to be tedious or intimidating. Thanks Bill and Bob.

This nuts-and-bolts explanation of how to MAKE music (not just study it) was a wonderful and easy read. After years of "internal knowing" of music, I was still not at a point where I would consider myself worthy to play with others. Now, after just a week, I've simplified my personal expectations and feel confident to play in a group. To paraphrase the book, "I'm a blues train comin' down the tracks!"

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an instrument gathering dust in their house, or to anyone who ever wanted to learn an instrument. This book is a great how-to. If you follow their directions you will be playing music in a group in a matter of weeks!

A marvelous book! Bill Eppridge's pictures along with the subtle prose take you back to 1968 for the RFK Presidential campaign. Eppridge and Gorey do such a good job that you're once again shocked when Sirhan fires his gun. If you get this book along with Jules Witcover's 85 Days (both out-of-print, but easiliy available through on-line book searches) you'll have a definite and detailed understanding of RFK's vision for America in '68. A must have for the Kennedy historian.

As another person who has an extensive RFK collection, this book is a must have. The photographs capture the chilling contrast of the vibrant, living, active, moving, doing Senator and the dying man, eyes seemingly trained on whoever fired the fatal shots.

This book in an excellent addition to any serious collection and it preserves a period of history without condemning the times. It is something that is well worth having.

I absolutely love this book. I have an extensive RFK collection, and this one is on top of my list. I have sold several copies of this book and my customers agree, this is a favorite. The photography is the best I have seen...

This is a book that tells the life story of Bill Graham and rock'n'roll as it existed in New York and San Francisco in the 1960's to his death in 1991. It is told in an "interview" format: whereby it has "Bill" and his narrative on a subject, followed by, say, "Graham Nash" and his contributions, and so on, in roughly a chronological order.

It is an effective method that, in a few cases, would have benefitted from some editor's notes. Also, I would have liked more factual information (i.e., a listing of bands that played at his venues, addresses, dates of operations, etc.) that would have been valuable to read.

With that, it tells the story of rock'n'roll in the U.S. - and especially from 1965 to 1971. For that, it is invaluable.

'My Life Inside Rock and Out' is a very interesting account of the great rock'n'roll impresario Bill Graham, documenting his rough beginnings from the East Coast to San Francisco, where he really settled in to sink his teeth into putting on some amazing shows such as Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, etc. Bill Graham was perfect for the budding psychedelic rock and blues industry because he had a strong business sense but also a tolerance for the absurd- and you will read more than a few absurd accounts in this book. What Mr. Graham did with BGP, the Fillmore, and the Shoreline, to name but a few, was so enriching to the Bay Area musical community, not to mention he also put on shows in the far reaches of the world. He was an agent/producer before things became so commercialized and calculated, and his tragic death struck a very deep and elegaic chord which still now resonates off the walls of corporate-sanitized America. But I Ratmouse will NEVER forget him.

As a former roadie, this book gives a very accurate depiction of what it was like in the last 20-30 years in the concert tour industry. My experience comes firsthand, as well through the lore that is passed down from seasoned veterans. Bill Graham was an inspiring, hard-headed, revolutionary and daring character that made the concert experience what it is today, both for punters and roadies.

A must read for rock or any music fans.