Jacquelyn Dowd Hall and the other writers of _Like a Family_ created a tour-de-force study of cotton mill towns in the American South. It is a very rare book that captures such a clear, complex sense of history; Hall balances a careful sense of detail with a sweeping picture of life in the cotton-mill South by using a combination of oral and written sources. This book is perfect for scholars and non-scholars alike, and richly conjures a full picture of this period in American history.

Like a Family interestingly and accurately portrays life in southern cotton mills and mill towns in the central southeast, primarily North Carolina. The book examines family, work and community life; it is a social, cultural and political history. Working in the mills was harsh, dangerous and monotonous. Most employees left farms and a rural way of life to toil in the mills; for these people living under the constant eye of mill management was humiliating at times. The mills controlled not only the worker's jobs, but their housing, churches, schools, entertainment and shopping through company stores. It is important to note that this book does not leave out women's perspectives, as many mill workers were young women and working mothers.

A great deal of the content of this book was provided by interviews done in the 1980's of people who worked in the mills and lived in mill communities. This oral history is both fascinating and priceless. Most of the mills have closed and the memory and history of them is becoming scarcer to find as most of the mill workers who lived during the era portrayed in this book have died.

While most of the mills have closed, central North Carolina is dotted with the communities that are remains of old mill towns. I am from this region and my mother lives in Bynum, NC, a mill town dating from the mid-19th century. Several of her neighbors were interviewed for and written about in Like a Family. The old company store still serves as a post office and the mill community's church has regular worshipers. Unfortunately the rest of the community from the mill days, including the mill itself (which closed in the early 1980's and has burned down recently), have succumbed to time and aging from the elements.

Michael's Cut is a quick reading, exciting story relating friendships and acquaintences with an interesting assortment of characters that are developed by the author with great skill. The travels of the friends are communicated to the reader in such a way as to make this a page turner, wanting to know the next development of the main character's experiences. While reading, I found that each turn of the page held a collection of surprises and personal interaction that made this reader look forward to more of the same by Mr. Magill.

Hi Gramps, Found your book online and I was hoping you mihgt see this. I look forward to reading your book.

For those of us who were born a couple of generations after Robert Ruark hunted the African veldt and who cut our teeth on Peter Capstick's prose, this book is a must read. Ruark's tales harken to a halcyon age when hunters were still expected to follow up their own game, cut their own roads through the bush and build their own bridges. Anyone who has ever been bitten by the Africa bug, who has ever longed to seek out and kill something that could kill him in return and who has ached to feel his soul sweat in the glorious exertion of the hunt will appreciate Ruark's tales. Any collection on hunting or Africana is incomplete without this volume. Any collection on man searching for himself is incomplete without this book.

Between June of 1951, and his death on July 1,1965, Robert Ruark spent some time each year in Africa, both hunting and reporting on the changing scene on a continent he fell in love with at first sight, and this book covers those years using magazine articles Ruark wrote. It is more, far more, than a report on "today I shot this and yesterday I shot that" type of writing one so often sees in books of this nature. Some of Ruark's articles on the Mau-Mau uprising in Kenya are included, as fine a piece of straight reporting as was ever done on the terror of that period, along with a short story with (of course) an African/ Mau-Mau theme included as well. Some may complain about Ruark's apparent racism, but the best answer to that is to remind those critcs that both the English colonial government of Kenya AND its first "native" (black African) government both wound up banning Ruark from entering the country. When a reporter gets both sides mad at him its usually a sign that he is doing a fairly rounded job. Robert Ruark loved Africa as he loved no place (and few people), and the articles in this book show that. Those who disapprove of the sport of hunting will want to skip this book, since safaris make up the biggest part of it, but anyone interested in a view of Africa during the turbulent times of the '50's and early '60's would not want to miss it, and anyone interested the fine writing of the driven, self destructive genius that was Robert Ruark MUST have this book.....

This book is great for people who enjoy learning about trasportation.It brings out very good points.I enjoyed the part about the BART system in San Fransico.It was sooooooo educational.My uncle Micheal Bernick wrote the book very well

Although I am not related to any of the others, I too found this to be an excellent book. If you're a policy maker, urban planner or a taxpayer who wants to learn a great deal about this issue then this is the book to get.

For a young adult novel this story captures the imagination and heart as the movie it is a companion piece too did. Paiting and even more rich and vivid depiction of the world the main character Ryan falls into. It is rare to find a novel that can fill one with the nostalgic happines and leave one longing for more.

A sure-fire page turner. I just coun't put it down. You could really feel for the heros and cheer them on. I'll definately be seeing the movie May 2nd

This book was written by Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's sons. In light of David Greenglass' recent confession, I recommend this book. If nothing else, it shows the trauma these two boys went through during our national witch hunt.

I read this book during my senior year of high school for an English paper and was fortunate enough to have met Mr. Meeropol who is a college professor in my hometown (and apparently the author of other books available on Amazon.com!). This book was one of the first texts I had read that caused me to question the version of past events that History books tell. I had always been told that the Europeans had saved the "savages" in the New World, the Crusades had been about enlightenment, and that the Rosenbergs were guilty. After reading this book, things went from black and white to the subtle shades of grey that more closely resemble the world we live in. It also helped me understand the strength of character of the Meeropol brothers. No matter what your individual interpretation of the Rosenberg trial is, a person has to take notice of the great personal courage that it took for this average couple to stand up for their beliefs, even when it meant they would be killed. We have leaders nowadays that change their minds in a heartbeat at the mere mention of a high disapproval rating. While I am not communist, nor very liberal (in a Massachusetts sense!) I have to say that this is a compelling book of loss, strength and doing what is right, even when it is not convenient to do so:)
I would strongly recommend reading this book, or possibly making it part of a summer reading program for high school students. I'm so glad I looked up that college professor and didn't just write my English paper on a relative or a neighbor! I learned a lot:) Thank you for allowing an 18 yr old kid to interview you:)

Kat Roy, USAFA 98. Tell Mrs Moriarity I said "hello".

I make it a point to read ZATAOMM every few years, and I also periodically pull my well-worn and page-marked copy off of the bookshelf to reflect on favorite passages. I gain some new insight into the story, and my own life, every time I flip through the pages. This is one of those novels that keeps ending up in my backpack (along with Walden and Blue Highways) when I go on weekend camping and road trips. The philosophical dialogue could be a little intimidating for some readers (especially near the conclusion), but a little slow reading and reflection works wonders. Reviewing the basic philosophies of Kant, Plato, and Decartes would not hurt, but is not really necessary for the first time through. The title has probably turned off many potential readers in fear of buying a book that spiritually explores maintaining a motorcycle. That isn't what the book is about, or is it? Actually, Pirsig uses the motorcycle as an ongoing analogy to the human thought process! . So, no previous knowledge of motorcycles is necessary. In fact, you might learn a thing or two about motorcycles, and yourself.

Despite the book's title, Pirsig's journey is primarily one through the history of Western philosophy, from the pre-Socratics through Plato, Aristotle, the 18th century empricists, and 19th century idealists. On this level alone, the book succeeds in being one of the most accessible and reliable treatments of the field. But the text is also a critique of the whole Western "logocentric" tradition, with its emphasis on reason, or "dialectic." Like Kant ("Critique of Pure Reason") or Kierkegaard ("Concluding Unscientific Postscript"), Pirsig uses reason to expose the limitations of reason. And what does he replace it with? Not Eastern mysticism or Zen riddles but rhetoric. More than the classic rhetoricians that Pirsig exhalts or the 20th-century structuralists and post-structuralists (Barthes, Derrida, Foucault) for which Pirsig's narrative is practically an illustration, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" makes the case for language as the basis for all reality, for all that we think, experience and perceive. It's this conflict between dialectic and rhetoric that drives the narrative, realized in plain yet compelling prose that's capable of staying with the attentive reader for the rest of his or her lifetime. After reading the book twice, I was unable to look at the self, the world, at all things constructed by language in quite the same way. The least successful parts of the book, it seems to me, are the narrator's protracted discussions of the nature of "reality" as a moment inaccessible to human intellect and his somewhat naive, 1960's-style musings on the nature of "quality." Supposedly his English composition students were immediately able to know it when they saw it, thereby making it unnecessary for him as a teacher to talk about "standards" or to establish criteria. (The suspicion arises that Pirsig hasn't had a great deal of experience teaching students how to write.) Nevertheless, even when a cylinder occasionally misfires, this is a book worth reading carefully and more than once. Unfortunately, because of its "cult" status, many people seem to purchase the text but never finish it. Robert Redford owns the screen rights, but a reader would be ill-advised to wait for the movie version. The "visual" elements of the text--the motorcyle odyssey and troubled father-son relationship--are minor metaphors compared to the ambitious and largely successful intellectual quest.

If you are thinking of reading this book there are some things you should know right off. 1. This is not a book about Buddhism, or Zen. It explores the ways in which eastern philosophies can help western thinkers move toward Quality. 2. This book covers a lot of ground, very quickly and is not a philosophical textbook. If you don't know much about philosophy, this book will not change that fact, but it will make you question a lot of the assumptions you have made. 3. This book will change your life! This book is about Quality. If you have read the Tao Te Ching, you have already read a book which attempts to explain Quality. It is the unnamable, the One. Pirsig asks us to question whether science and logic can really bring us closer to the "Truth." Ever since Socrates began using the dialectic to try to discover Truth, humans have been on a quest to find it. The tool we use is known as scientific method. We have been using scientific method for a long time, and it has given us a lot of useful knowledge. It has not, however, brought us any closer to finding an absolute Truth, which is true for everyone everwhere. Quality is undefinable. It comes before thought, and before actions. Any attempt at describing it is useless, because as soon as you attempt to categorize it, you are only talking about one aspect of it. What Pirsig does in this book, is attempt to show us ways that we can use Quality in our lives. He calls his main character Phaedrus. Which comes from Plato's dialogue by the same name. Reading this dialogue will help you immensely in following the arguments he presents. Don't be fooled by this into thinking that Pirsig is a Platonist. Phaedrus was a Sophist, as is the Phaedrus in this book. Neither the historical Sophists, or Pirsig, buy into Plato's concept of absolute "Truth." If you are at all interested in the ideas of subjectivity and the influence of location (in time and space) as it relates to philosophical, religious and scientific claims, this book will greatly interest you. If you're a "post-modernist" you've probably already read this book, and if not, this book will help you to crystallize a lot of your objections to Modernism. If you feel that the world is becoming more and more empty and hollow, and think that part of your basic humanity has been stolen by alarm clocks, concrete, automobiles, and (can I say it?) computers, this book may help you in finding the Quality that resides within technology, yet is so often ignored by those who wield technology like a biological weapon. If you've ever thought that the whole world was crazy, and want to learn more about what really makes a person "insane," you should know that this book is written from the perspective of an insane man. If you are searching for answers, this book will give you a few more questions, and help you realize that life is about the questions, not the answers!

A timeless classic, written by Robert Louis Stevenson was a great book for those of us who like adventure. The book begins at the Admiral Benbow Inn, which Jim Hawkins, the main character works. Suddenly, from out of the blue a rough sea faring man appears named Billy. That is when the real adventure begins!! Jim and his mother find a treasure map in a dead customers sea trunk. Jim got a couple of respectable people together and they bought a ship named the Hispaniola and set of sail for Treasure Island, not knowing the problems that lay before them. I think the author wanted the them to be, be careful whom you trust. I fully enjoyed this book and I think you will too. To find out the rest read, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

"Treasure Island," written by the 19th century novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, is the timeless story about life on the high seas with pirates, treasure, murder, and treachery.

When young and naive Jim Hawkins is given a treasure map from the mysterious old pirate, Billy Bones, adventure and trouble are not far behind. Soon Jim finds himself aboard a ship with a villainous crew led by the cunning and mendacious pirate, Long John Silver. Greed and the lust for gold driving the pirates, they have murder in mind when they reach the dubious Treasure Island.

Skillfully yet simply written, Robert Louis Stevenson gives us an alluring tale that sparks the imagination. With its dastardly plot and mothly crew of rogues and villains, it entrances the reader, and keeps them wanting more. "Treausure Island" is the perfect read for anyone just wanting a good, exciting story.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is by far one of the best adventure stories I have ever read. This book deserves all five stars, it has everything you could ask for such as, suspense, comedy, action, drama and a great plot line. R.L. Stevenson puts a lot of detail into his main characters such as Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins just to name a few. He describes the scenes with such great detail that at times I had to remind myself that it is only a book. I spent more than 2 months reading this book and I enjoyed every part of it. I could RARELY find a paragraph that was dull, the book was very exciting overall. This book is fairly easy to read and I would recommend it to adults and children of all ages. The book moves at a very good pace, not too fast, not too slow. This book is anything but boring, something new happens in every chapter for instance, when Jim witnesses a murder and when he gets into bar fights, those are just some of the many things that happened. I was very surprised myself when I read this book because it seems a little childish but in fact it's quite the contrary. I highly recommend that you go out and read this book!

I had just passed the Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 1.4 Platform exam (with a score of 80%), and I want to help prospective test takers in finding the "right" Java study guide. I was bewildered by the number of books available, and I had to try many of them before I settled on the right one. Here are my short reviews for each of the major Java study guides:

"Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide" by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates (five stars): I felt this book was the best among all the Java study guides. Both the authors were responsible for the Java certification exam's development, and the practice questions are *very* similar to the actual exam. The authors also cover exactly what will be on the 1.4 exam, pointing out potential topics, questions, and pitfalls. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

"A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification" by Khalid Mughal and Rolf Rasmussen (four stars): This is a good choice if you plan on taking the 1.2 exam. The book also has a dual purpose of teaching Java and sometimes goes beyond the actual scope of the exam, but it is nonetheless excellent. However, as the title suggests, this isn't the book for you if you don't have any programming experience. Also, the book's practice questions are much, much harder than the actual exam.

"Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide (3rd Edition)" by Philip Heller and Simon Roberts (two stars): This was the most disappointing book of all. I don't know why so many people swear by it, but the book appeared to have been rushed into production. Many of the errors and typos have been updated in the book's second printing, but the book's coverage of topics is quite weak. Lastly, the practice questions were not only too easy, but they don't look very similar to how questions look on the real test. It's not a terrible book (many people appear to have passed the exam with just this book), but there are better options.

"Java 2 Exam Prep" by Bill Brodgen (three stars): This compact study guide isn't a bad choice for prospective test takers with a good Java foundation. It covers all the exam's topics succinctly, but as another reviewer noted, it should not be your primary study guide. I personally did not find the book particularly useful.

Lastly, sign up for Sun's ePractice practice exams. You'll get three sample tests, and they will help you prepare for the exam by showing you how the questions will look and what type of questions they will ask. I didn't like the idea of spending the extra money, but the practice exams definitely helped me prepare for the real thing.

This book is very focussed on the exam objectives. I passed the programmer exam with a score of 98%. I used a combination of this book along with Exam Cram. This book will not teach you how to program in Java. However it will immensely help you in clearing the SCJP exam & learn a few finer points about the language. If you truly want to master the fundamentals of the language you have to read the Java Language Specification too, which by the way, is available on-line on Sun's web-site.

The book has a few drawbacks though:

1)It has a lot of errors, and you have to check out the errata list.
2)It does not cover GridBagLayout which is on the exam.
3)Collections is briefly mentioned only for a couple of pages. You have to look elsewhere (Core Java vol 2 is a good source) to understand collections.
4)The exam engine available on the CD contains the same questions as the ones which are given at the end of the chapters, so it's a waste.

I studied for the Java Programmers Certification Exam using the first edition of the book. I'd already had a few years of experience using Java on and off, and this book was a very helpful reminder of some of the finer points of the Java language that I'd forgotten or managed to miss.

I've heard that some people use only this book to prepare for the exam, but beware that Sun has recently changed the exam to require background knowledge of programming, not just memorization of Java trivia. I'd recommend learning Java from one of the several excellent tutorial books available (The Java Programming Language is my suggestion), doing some actual Java programming, then reading this book just before taking the exam.

I'm disappointed to hear that this new edition has lots of typos, just like the previous edition did. The good news is that Sybex now has a copy of the errata on their website. When I reported errata in the first edition, the Sybex editors put the errors on their website and corrected later printings of the book. If you do find errors in the book, don't just whine about it; do everyone else a favor and e-mail the errors to Sybex!

SAR was my first Hemingway book I read. I was in Europe with a friend whom had read SAR and she kept telling me about the book, the bullfights, the partying, lady Brett, Cohn the boxer, Romero the young and handsome bullfighter. Upon returning to the states my friend gave me a copy and again I was back in France and Spain. I could definitely relate the all night drinking, visiting the bullfighting arena and hearing the brute stories of the fights. Hemingway puts you in the story with his vivid description of the mountain sides in Spain and fresh water fly fishing. Who needs a European vacation? SAR takes you there without leaving the comfort of your own home. I've now read it twice and I've also read Hemingway's Short Stories. I'm not an everyday book reader, but now I realize what I've missed. If you are not a Hemingway fan this book is a great start,but if you've read it before enjoy SAR one more time.

Many of the reviews I've read of The Sun Aslo Rises complain that it is lacking in plot. When reading Hemingway, it is more important to focus on the theme; why did Hemingway write this book? What is he trying to say? It seems to me that Hemingway is focusing on a basic range of emotions with the essence of the book being that poeple are so limited by what they consider appropriate in relationships. Jake and Brett can not have a romantic relationship due to Jake's injury however, they have all of the emotion and commitment necessary to have a successful union. Brett becomes physically intimate with several people in the novel, yet she is not emotionally intimate with any of them. Jake, on the other hand, is emotionally intimate with many characters including Bill, and the inn keeper in Pamplona although he can not enjoy physical intimacy. I believe that Hemingway is demonstrating the difficulties involved in forming complete and healthy relationships in life. Readers who appriciate this book understand that Hemingway's purpose is not to entertain, although he does so artfully, but to force an examination of our own lives. The closing scene in the novel just wrenches my heart as it would anyone's who has ever been close to having everything in life, but has just one impossible obsticle denying their dream.

Ernest, Ernest, what the heck were you thinking when you wrote this existential treatise to the Lost Penis? Lost Generation, hell, I think Mr. Hemingway was concerned with a completely different loss, that portion of the male anatomy that seems to, ahem, stick in everyone's brain when they read this gloriously minimalist book. One of the few things I got out of college English and/or Lit classes was the observation by an otherwise pompous associate professor that Hemingway (more likely his editor) pared his prose to the point that every word was perfect and necessary, and that these words comprised equally perfect sentences and paragraphs and chapters ad nauseum. But he had a point. The only two things wrong with this book have to do with Mr. Barnes, ahem, short-coming, which seemed contrived to me, and the not so subtle racism. But the latter point is like complaining about Huckleberry Finn, The Sun Also Rises is a product of its time, like Finn was a product of Twain's, and if you don't apply today's standards and are capable of holding your unease, you'll find here some of the most elegant writing in the English language.