I read this book years ago when I was going through a very painful breakup. My mom sent me not one, but 4 copies, with instructions to hand others out as other people in my life needed them. Now, a close friend of mine is going through a difficult loss, similar to my own. I am about to pass on my last copy (saving, of course, the one that I read) knowing that this book will get her on the right track. This book is ECXELLENT, and gave me all the tools to get through the hardest times. When you buy this book, be sure to buy extras so that when it's your turn to be the shoulder to cry on, you can pass one on to them!

Any one who has had a loss in his or her life can benefit from reading this book. It is an easy and quick read and takes you through step-by-step what to expect in the recovery process. The first time I read it, I cried as I read every page. Each successive time I read it, I cried at different parts of the book, i.e. the healing process. It helped me realize that I was actually recovering from my loss, which is a great help when you are in such pain you don't think you'll ever feel normal again.

Especially when everyone around you is trying to keep you from crying and encouraging you to forget your loss, this book gave me an outlet for my grief. It gave me permission to cry when I needed to cry, kept me from wallowing in grief as I continued to live, and helped me to accept my loss and start over.

Eventually, I was able to read the complete book without a tear.

I recommend it.

I found "How to Survive the Loss of a Love" to be very comforting in my time of need. The text gave me a solid perspective and a sense of hope at a time when I wasn't thinking clearly. Many of the poems express thoughts and feelings that are so close to my own that they bring immediate solice. The book is short and reads very quickly - just perfect for someone whose mind is focussed on their pain and thus isn't in a mood for deep concentration. I recommend buying one for yourself and another one for a friend.

In the Children's book Jamberry by Bruce Degen, the pictures tell practically the whole story. The story begins with a sweet brown bear taking a berry picking adventure with a curious little boy. As they go about their berry-finding expedition, the illustrator depicts each scene with enormous imagination and creativity. The pages hold bright pictures that are simple enough for little children to comprehned and detailed so that each page holds someting new and entertaining. As the pair find themselves in going over a Niagra like berryfall, we see bread growing on bushes and jellybeans steming out of rivergrass. Upon arriving in Berryland, the two march in a berry parade, which circles the raspberry jam skating rink. This story holds age appropriate material which will hold toddlers attention enough to get to the ending where the the berry explorers expereince a jam jamboree with berries of all types. I highly reccommend this book for younger children. After reading it to my little brother once, I am now asked to read it everynight!

One of my all-time favorites for children aged four months to 2 1/2 years! The youngest will enjoy the enthusiastic alliterative rhyming and the bright colors; toddlers (and adults!) will also enjoy the clever pictorial links between each page (preparations for fireworks are shown in the corner of one page; delightfully exploding berries on the next).

I don't know whether this book is more fun for the reader or the listener ("Raspberry/Jazzberry/ Razzamatazzberry/ Berryband/Merryband/Jamming in Berryland"), but it will fast become a favorite for you and a child! An enchanting tale, beautifully told: A perfect gift!

I have to admit that when I first read this book, I wasn't too sure what I thought of it. As another reviewer said, it contains a lot of fanciful words: jamberry, moonberry, berryband, and so forth. My twins absolutely LOVE this book, though! To them, it's every bit as good as their favorite Dr. Seuss classic. They enjoy the rhyme and repetition of the words, and love to look through the beautifully illustrated pages to find things they recognize. We have a lot of books, and this is the one that they will ask me to read every day (sometimes more than once). We've nearly worn out one board book by reading and rereading it, so I'm going to buy another for them soon. I highly recommend this book for your toddler!

I'm not going to tell you about this novel. Instead, I want you to do the biggest favor you've done for yourself in years... buy this book and read it. When you've turned the last page, go directly to the beginning and start all over again. That is exactly what I did three times. Even though I wasn't a child of the '60s and I've never been to Alabama, the amount of depth and feel Robert McCammon extends to the reader is immense. I have literally read thousands of books, and whenever someone asks the common question of which is my favorite, Boy's Life is always the first to spill out.
I want you to ask yourself truthfully if you have ever spent a great deal of time being involved in a novel and when it is finally finished, do you walk away completely satisfied? Has it been years since you have read the novel and you still think of it from time to time? Were some of the scenes in the novel created so real that you could honestly mistake those experiences for one of your own? It has happened to me. It can happen to you.
If you have read this book, read it again. Recapture the magic of youth, friendship, and the adventures of life that can never fade, they only grow brighter.
And to those of you who are about to experience this novel for the first time, I envy you greatly.

I just finished Boy's Life at 1:45am, when I had to get up at 6:00am and go to work. I loved the book but hated the bloodshot eyes I had.

Cory Mackenson is 11 years growing up in innocence in a picturesque small southern town during the racially torn 1960s. He and his friends enjoy bikes, baseball, and monster movies at the town cinema on Saturdays. Things change early one morning just before daylight when Cory and his Dad witness a car and its occupant careen off a lonely country road into the deep abyss of a rural lake. Upon attempting rescue, Cory's dad finds the driver unconscious and handcuffed to the steering wheel with a wire wrapped around his neck. This launches Cory and his father on a search for the murderer who is living as a longtime respected citizen in this small rural community.

Who is the man in the car, and what about the tattoo? Can a clairvoyant black lady who lives on the other side of the tracks in this racially tense time hold one of the keys to unraveling the mystery before it unravels the sanity of Cory's father?

In addition to the suspense, Boy's Life also captures the wonder of being an eleven year old boy in much the same way Mark Twain did with Tom Sawyer. I did not realize that Robert McCammon was such a wit when it comes to humor. There are several places where I had to put the book down and laugh out loud. Other places were quite poignant and heart rending as well.

You will enjoy this one.

Thanks for reading.

Robert McCammon's Boy's Life is one of my favorites. I have just read it for the third time, and this fall, I will be teaching it to my 10th grade class for the first time. Boy's Life combines many outstanding themes in its pages: coming of age, good vs. evil, etc., but the theme I will underscore most in my classroom is the one that impressed me; i.e., magic is as much a part of a child's life as any real occurrence. The tinge of magic in the often incomprehensible world of reality makes negotiating everyday life much easier. Anyone interested in reading one other book of McCammon's (the only other one, as far as I know) that departs from the horror genre, read Gone South. This, too, is a very good book with memorable characters, situations and themes. I would love to see Robert McCammon write more straight fiction that is not in the horror category. I enjoyed both Boy's Life and Gone South very much. He is an author worth knowing.

I can't say enough wonderful things about this book. I bought it a year before I applied to graduate school and followed its advice on how to improve your chances of getting into a good school. I refered to it while taking classes, putting together my application--everything. And I got into my first choice masters program, which only accepts 5% of its applicants! After such success, I know I'll look at it constantly as I work towards my degree. I only wish I'd found it sooner, I think it would have helped a lot even at the undergraduate level.

I must admit that Robert L. Peters' book was my first read about "Getting What You Came For..." and that is the Ph.D in my case. I found the 366 page text informative, interesting and useful. The book is full of reference material with citations in the bibliography sections. I highlighted other useful books for future reads. The reader is taken step by step through a process from consideration of whether a graduate degree is for you, choosing a school, application and admission, financial aid, choosing between a master or Ph.d degree, the returning older student (such as myself), etc. Attention to details is apparent throughout the book and it seemed to have a very thorough treatment of each topic. I think there is something for anyone considering an advanced degree. The book though appears to be directed towards those who are pursuing graduate degrees at top 10 universities. It is not to say that all of us should not aspire to such lofty highs, however some of us just want to get the darn degree as quick and as close as possible. If the state university close by will accept us and it is within a reasonable commute distance between work and home then top 10 school or not, that is our shcool if, they accept us. In noting this aspect of the book it is not intended to deter you from reading it. You will find, I believe helpful information in your decision making process as well as a useful guide through your graduate program. I would say that this book is a must read for anyone considering a graduate degree.

Thanks Robert for writing this book that dramatically changes my life -
Before read this book, graduate life is very vague to me and I do not really know what I want from graduate school. My college life was not very happy. I do not like professors either because I thought they were weird or just too busy to care about students. However, this book gives a very clear picture of what is going on in the mysterious graduate school. It teaches you to get ready of various troubles and challenges, such as dealing with your advisors, developing thesis, and most important at all, having a positive and happy life in graduate school and getting a good job after the degree. I read this book repeatedly right before I went to graduate school. Everything is just like what the book described and I planned everything according to the book. I get on the right track early and am progressing faster than my peers are, and graduate life becomes so enjoyable. I bought six copies of these books and gave to my best friends and sisters. No matter you want to go to graduate school or not, read this book first and keep it on your desk! I heartily recommend this book!

First published in Forbes magazine, California Management Review and Harvard Business Review, the six chapters in this book contain nothing that is an excerpt from Peter Drucker's earlier management books. Indeed, this book supplements Drucker's many earlier management books by looking ahead to the future of management thinking and practice.

At 90, Peter Drucker is, by all accounts, the most enduring management thinker of our time. Born in Vienna, educated in Austria and England, he has worked since 1937 in the United States, first as an economist for a group of British banks and insurance companies, and later as a management consultant to several leading companies. Drucker has since had a distinguished career as a teacher, including more than twenty years as Professor of Management at the Graduate Business School of New York University. With a long-term business perspective second to none, Drucker's books span sixty years of modern history beginning with The End of Economic Man (1939) and Managing in a Time of Great Change; Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; The Effective Executive; Managing for Results and The Practice of Management.

This book looks afresh at the future of management thinking and practice and defines new ways of delivering success. It deals exclusively with tomorrow's hot management issues-the crucial, central, life-and-death issues that are certain to be the major challenges of tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be knowledge worker productivity-what is it; how can it work; how do we manage knowledge workers and ourselves? Two fundamental issues addressed are changes in the world economy and the subsequent changes in management practice which will bring about new realities requiring new corporate policies as well as presenting new opportunities for the individual knowledge worker.

Many of the individual knowledge workers affected by these challenges will be employees of business or working with business. Yet this is a management book rather than a business management book. The challenges it presents affect all organisations of today's society, particularly the more rigid and less flexible, i.e. the ones more rooted in the concepts, assumptions and policies of the 19th century. The challenges and issues discussed in this book are not new and are already with us in every one of the developed countries and in most of the emerging ones. They can already be identified, discussed, analyzed and prescribed for. Some people, someplace, are already working on them. But so far very few executives and even less organisations are. Those who do work on these challenges today, and thus prepare themselves and their organisations for the new challenges, will be the leaders and will dominate tomorrow.

Peter F. Drucker writes in the Introduction, "...this is not a book of 'predictions,' not a book about the 'future.' The challenges and issues discussed in it are already with us in every one of the developed countries and in most of the emerging ones (e.g., Korea or Turkey). They can already be identified, discussed, analyzed and prescribed for. Some people, someplace, are already working on them. But so far very few organizations do, and very few executives. Those who do work on these challenges today, and thus prepare themselves and their institutions for the new challenges, will be the leaders and dominate tomorrow. Those who wait until these challenges have indeed become 'hot' issues are likely to fall behind, perhaps never to recover. This book is thus a Call for Action."

In this context, in Chapter 5 of this invaluable book, Drucker focuses on knowledge worker. He says that "the most important, and indeed the truly unique, contribution of management in the 20th century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the 'manual worker' in manufacturing. The most important contribution management needs to make in the 21st century is similarly to increase the productivity of 'knowledge work' and the 'knowledge worker.' The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its production equipment. The most valuable asset of a 21st-century institution, whether business or nonbusiness, will be its knowledge workers and their productivity."

Thus, he defines six major factors determine knowledge worker productivity as follows:

1. Knowledge worker productivity demands that we ask the question: "What is the task?"

2. It demands that we impose the responsibility for their productivity on the individual knowledge workers themselves. Knowledge workers have to manage themselves. They have to have authonomy.

3. Continuing innovation has to be part of the work, the task and the responsibility of knowledge workers.

4. Knowledge work requires continuous learning on the part of the knowledge worker, but equally continuous teaching on the part of the knowledge worker.

5. Productivity of the knowledge worker is not-at least not primarily-a matter of the quantity of output. Quality is at least as important.

6. Finally, knowledge worker productivity requires that the knowledge worker is both seen and treated as an "asset" rather than a "cost." It requires that knowledge workers want to work for the organization in preference to all other opportunities.

He argues that each of these requirements-except perhaps the last one-is almost the exact opposite of what is needed to increase the productivity of the manual worker.

Highly recommended.

Dr. F. R. Bosch an apologist, researcher, and lecturer who integrates [Biblical] faith and knowledge, is a full-time university professor in Southern California, U.S.A.

"Management Challenges for the 21st Century" is a brief and stimulating book. It addresses some insightful topics that Prof. Drucker thinks will influence and shape the future. He encourages the reader to consider "management" in a larger than "business" context - the universe of our personal, family, career, volunteerism, and corporate lives - which all need to be managed for success to occur.

He begins by discussing how our "basic assumptions" make up our reality paradigms that affect our perception of the world and the decisions we make. In spite of the important role that assumptions play in our lives, Drucker says that the assumptions are rarely analyzed, studied, challenged, and rarely even made explicit (p. 3). The implication is that we need to invest some quality time and thought about the assumptions that profoundly affect our lives. He goes on to say that "what matters most...are therefore the basic assumptions. And a change in the basic assumptions matters even more" (p. 4).

The basic or fundamental assumptions that make up our reality paradigms are very important. The examples Drucker cites throughout the book clearly convey his belief of the profound role that fundamental assumptions play in managing our lives. There is a definite cause and effect relationship between what we embrace to be true and the product of their application.

Although the Harvard Business Review says that Drucker "discusses how the new paradigms of management have changed and will continue to change our basic assumptions about the practices and principles of management," Prof. Drucker has said in other of his writings, as well as in this book, that the "Fundamentals do not change. But the specifics to manage them do change greatly with changes in internal and external conditions," and that "there is a need for continuity in respect to the fundamentals...because change is a constant...the foundations have to be extra strong" (Managing in Turbulent Times, p. 9; Management Challenges for the 21st Century, p. 92).

Clearly, we need to differentiate between foundation and structure, and realize that the changes being discussed mainly relate to the structure (application), and not necessarily to the fundamental presuppositions. Actually, when the fundamental assumptions change the world changes. Thus, changes of fundamental assumptions are major life-changing events - revolutions (shifts) in paradigm language. However, Drucker seems to convey the notion that the application of management principles is what is changing and not the principles themselves.

"Management Challenges for the 21st Century" is an eye opener and energizing primer to view and practice management.

No matter how many fantasy books you have read, The Last Unicorn is a fantasy unlike any other. Unlike many other denser books, The Last Unicorn is light in both tone and content. There is a fey air of the absurd about it that makes it all the more magical.

While I can put other fantasy books aside, I simply had to read The Last Unicorn from cover to cover in one sitting. It really drew me into its own unique world; a world both beautiful and elusive.

The story is a simple one revolving around a unicorn (she is never named) who leaves her enchanted lilac wood only to find that she is the last surviving unicorn. She decides to go on a quest in order to discover why, and is soon joined by Schmendrick the magician and Molly Grue, a scullery maid. Together, this motley group travels to the castle of King Haggard where they believe the Red Bull has imprisoned all the other unicorns of the world. All does not go as planned, of course, and adventure follows.

I think many people make the mistake of thinking The Last Unicorn is exclusively a children's book. Nothing could be further from the truth as this beautiful, little tale can be read on many levels: as an adventure story or as an exploration of the nature of truth, beauty, reality, immortality and the ultimate purpose of life.

Of all the fantasy books I have ever read, this is my alltime favorite and the one I find most beautiful as well as possessing the most depth and emotion. It is a lovely tale that brings the secrets of life and love into wonderful focus.

As a child, my sister and I watched this beautiful movie over and over until the colour had faded and the sound was poor, but to this day my sister watches it still. The characters were unforgettable and the animation unique and exquisite. Was I surprised to find that there was a book, and that it had come first? Yes. I was sceptical at first, but my reservations melted as I fell in love with Beagle's story. His writing does my favourite characters more justice than the screen,. His story will take on new meaning for everyone who reads it and learns to love it. Not just a silly tale about a unicorn, Beagle's story is witty, daring, fun, and magical. A timeless book you'll regret not reading... again and again! There's something for everyone in Beag'es books. And, if you're interested, there is a history to the animation of The Last Unicorn that is simplyenchanting. I'm not sorry that I've spent hours of my adult life watching the movie and reading the book, and neither will you be. Find out and see! Remember: it is a very rare person who is taken for what he truly is. Enjoy!

Where to begin about this book? I have read it so many times. I've watched the movie even more. This book is about love, hope, sadness, and regret. Read this book if you like fantasy novels, romantic stories, or adventures. It has all three. The romance of Prince Lir and the Lady Amalthea is beautiful. The way everyone who comes into real contact with the unicorn is lovely. Schmendrick is even great, and he's the most annoying thing in the book. The way he longs to be a true magician is heart wrenching. Molly Grue makes you think of a woman who has seen too many years of hardship, but finally finds something that makes it all worth it. Nothing about this book is bad. But if you are the type who cries, be warned, the end of this book will make you cry, or at the very least tear up. It did that to me, it does that to me everytime I read it, in fact, and I'm not much of a crier. I hope everyone at least gets this book from the library and reads it at least once.

Peter the Great:His Life and World is an magnificient biography, I wish they all were like this. Impeccably researched and written, Massie reveals life in the Russian Royal Court in the time of Peter the Great. Massie's writing style is generally easy reading, but it will still take many evenings to complete this book.

Personalities abound throughout the telling of one of the greatest of all Tsars. What really stands out about this particular book, is that while the book is really about Peter, Massie allows the flow of the book to follow personalties of the time as they enter and exit Peter's world. So as well as learning about Peter, I learnt of Charles' rivalry with the Russian leader, and the battles they fought; Tolstoy, the ambassador to the Ottoman empire, and his constant diplomatic battles with the leaders of Turkey. The Sun King of France. These are just a few examples that litter the book.

Furthermore, social and political issues of the time are discussed, some in great depth. I never realised the stuggles involved with the construction of St. Petersburg, the workers dealing with both the [danger] of the Swedish Army and Navy, as well as the marshes on which the city was built. That the establishment of the Russian Navy was initiated by Peter, was another surprise. I would have thought that a major empire such as the Russian would have already had a navy. The political intrigues between the Royal houses of Europe was another eyeopener for me.

There are always faults with any book; Peter the Great is no exception. Some details would be repeated, some to the point of numbness. How many times do we have to hear about Peter's fondness for the sea? Or the sciences? Still, many people like myself will overlook these and instead, look at the book for what it is; a stunning and comprehensive look into not only the life of Peter the Great, but the world of Eastern and Middle Europe. I began reading the book to learn the story of Peter the Great. That I got a history lesson about Europe in the 18th century is a real bonus.

I was ridiculed by my friends when I exited a bookstore with a copy of Peter the Great in my hands. Ridicule all they want but after reading this gargantuan book I was certain this was the best book I had ever read. Massie's description of Peter's life and of Russian society in the early 1700 bring to life ghosts long since gone. Massie brings history to life, the friendships, the deceits, love affairs, diplomacy etc. Massie's Peter the Great is much more than the biography of one man, it tells the story of a country's transformation from one of the most backward states of Europe to one of it's forerunners. It also explains in great length the going ons all over Europe in the time of Peter. Peter the Great, always interesting, always fun to read, reads more like a novel than a biography. That's one reason why I always recommend it to people regardless of wether the person likes or loathes history.

Wow! Massie's Peter The Great is a fascinating study; an enjoyable read and a spectacular trip back through Russian history in the early 1700's. Even if you are not a history buff, you will enjoy Peter's thirst for knowledge, personal hands-on development of the Russian Navy, his massive economic, architectural and social reforms, ingenious manner of self-education by traveling incognito throughout Western Europe, his unique personality displayed through a mock Tsar who promotes Peter to Vice-Admiral, all-night drinking binges with his mock court and Peter's personal heroics.

Peter certainly earned his title and likewise I feel Massie can add "The Great" to his name. The best compliment I can give to Massie is I now have a tremendous thirst to study Peter's archenemy, Charles Xll, and learn Charles's perspective of Peter The Great.

Buy the book

This series is more far-reaching than almost any I have read before. The sheer scope is awe inspiring; it's absoluely amazing how complex a world Peter Hamilton has created here.
In this, the 4th book, some old characters, like Quinn Dexter, Ione, the Lord of Ruin, Joshua Calvert and many, many more, are revisited, and new characters introduced.
New twists are revealed and older plot threads wind tighter as this story progresses.
Centering around the mysterious Alchemist, this book continues the fight against the posessed and the struggle to overcome the terrifying revelation about the nature of the Beyond. What is the Alchemist? What can it really do? Is it truly capable of destroying an entire world? I know I was terribly curious.
As this book goes on, more and more worlds are falling to the posessers, and Al Capone's empire is growing fast. Several worlds are already lost beyond retrieving, pulled out of our universe entirely. Is there really a way to stop the dead from returning? Especially when all who live in the Confederation will eventually join them?
It's facinating to me how Hamilton has shown the different ways people are reacting to this crisis. How different people are dealing with this revelation.
I was enthralled yet again by this fantastic story. The way this series is put together is truly beyond belief. The plot is engaging and it really makes you think hard about the nature of our existence.
But I'm not saying that this is the kind of book that will make you change your life. No, it's simply a wonderfully imaginative story, bringing the whole galaxy into focus in a masterfully told tale. The places you get to explore, and the people you meet will make you ready for more, I promise.
One last thing. Don't be intimidated by this book's size. I actually finished it in one day, it was that hard to put down.
I can't wait to read the next.

I have been a sci-fi junkie since I can remember -but a discriminating one. I always make sure a book is good, or at the very least excellent entertainment before commiting to reading it. And when I find a good book, I keep it. My shelves are full of outstanding sci-fi books. And I can confidently place this series among the top five novels/sagas on those shelves. This series has all the ingredients to become an all time classic:

1. A very intelligent and original plot 2. Extremely engaging, gripping reading 3. Believable, well thought, hard science 4. Outstanding character development. 5. A richly complex and realistic universe on a grandiose scale. 6. Lots of action, and lots of ideas.

The brilliant narrative of Hamilton has perhaps one feature that gives it its most distinctive flavor: it delivers the most though-provoking, outrageous ideas in a way that makes them completely believable and logical. I was a bit turned off when he described an apparently supernatural fenomenon, but that didn't last long as it quickly made sense and added great value to the experience that this saga is.

If you like intelligent, highly entertaining hard sci-fi, do yourself a favor: get a few days off, find a comfortable chair, and read this saga.

Hamilton finally comes through. I read the first two books of the 'Reality Dysfunction' simply on their potential and the 'Neutronium Alchemist' is the reward. I had trouble getting through the first two books because just setting up the plethora of story lines he creates is daunting. Once Hamilton gets his story set up, it really takes off. This book is really where the series is at its best. It's too bad that the 'Reality Dysfunction' was split into two novels in the American version because the lack of any ending of the first book really turns some people off the whole series. The first part to 'Neutronium Alchemist' is again setting things up, but you just know by the second it will really start to get good. By the end of the first 'Reality Dysfunction' novel the story is only just beginning. Stick with the series through the first books and you won't regret it.

Anyone who sets out to buy an old Volkswagen will hear this book mentioned again and again, usually with great reverence and a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. Well folks, it is simply not all that. Don't get me wrong -- I'm happy I bought this book, and I refer to it often -- but like other reviewers here have pointed out, it's awfully overrated within VW circles. The instructions are biased towards pre-68 cars and often gloss over details; it's very hard to track down specific solutions when all you know are the symptoms; and the diagrams, though extremely well-drawn, aren't always as effective as real photographs of the car and its parts. When I'm trying to learn how to repair something on my Beetle, I read this book first to get a friendly introduction to the work involved... but the other manuals are the ones I actually take outside to the car.

So if you've just bought a "new" Beetle or Bus that needs a lot of repair, buy this book -- but get the Bentley shop manual for your model and year at the same time as you will need to refer to it a lot. I recommend the Haynes manuals, too; they give the same procedures but in a highly effective "steps + pictures" format.

I have owned 5 VW's in my life time and wouldn't be with out this book. I have overhauled several bug engines and a bus engines following this book with great success. I have had everything from a '63 bus to a '75 bus with a few bugs in between (a friend and I even put together a 2 cylinder bug engine) with each vehicle I would purchase a copy of " How to Keep your VW Alive" and when I sold the Vehicle I would offer the book to the new owner. I have given copies of the book to friends with VWs and a copy to my son when he bought a '74 bug several years ago. In the summer 1973 my sister, her child of 5, and husband left the USA for a tour of Europe by VW bus. I gave them a copy of Muirs book and it helped keep them "Keep on Trucking" on thier merry way.

This book is near the top of my all-time best books list. My brother gave me a copy of this book when my first Beetle engine threw a rod. It enabled me (a 17-year-old overhaul virgin) to completely overhaul the engine by myself. 17 years later, it's very dog-eared, but has helped me through several overhauls, and has given me the confidence to tackle a Bug restoration. If you can only afford one VW book, this is it. Doesn't cover body work much, but the mechanical system description and illustrations will appeal to anyone funky enough to own an air-cooled VW. I'm pleased to see that it is still in print. John Muir is gone now, but he lives large in my estimation!

"The Godfather" is one of the VERY rare examples of a movie (and sequel) that are actually better than the book they are based on. Upon first release, the book was a massive bestseller, more because it is an easy read than because it is great literature. What it is primarily useful for now is as a means of filling in details that the first two Godfather films didn't have time to cover even with their considerable length. Such detail includes the background story of Johnny Fontaine, the Frank Sinatra-esque entertainer who is a loyal Godson. Also fleshed out are the characters of the loyal hitman Luca Brazzi and of Sonny's mistress, who would become the mother of Michael's eventual successor as Don in "Godfather Part 3." There is also more information about Moe Green and the feud over the Corleone move to Nevada.

Puzo is an effective storyteller and he keeps things moving along at a snappy pace. The Don of the book doesn't seem larger than life the way Marlon Brando does in the movie. "The Godfather" is often described as a "trash" novel, but reading would be a lot more fun if all such novels were as good as this one.

In Mario Puzo's The Godfather, he uses the crimes of a family and their Italian heritage to show how it affects a large loving family. I thought this was an excellent book, because the plot sequence was amazing with constant twists and suspense. The irony of this book comes through the crime boss Vito Corleone who is a kind-hearted and loyal friend of all who come to him with a request. However, he makes his living off of corruption and death which really doesn't affect the reader's attitude towards this loving character. The vicious side of the mafia comes through Vito's son Sonny. Sonny's rage leads to the death of many mob-related characters as well as to the his own death which is another irony evident in this novel. The Godfather uses masterful description of each member's life and how mob-life affected them. Another example of irony in The Godfather is the youngest son Michael's situation. At the beginning of the novel, Michael is returning from World War II and has no part in the family business. However, when his father nears death after gunshot wounds, Michael is drawn into the family business and chooses to pay back the antagonist Solozzo by spilling his blood for the sake of the family. Michael becomes the leader of the family after his father and Sonny die and he returns from Italy after things die down about his assasination of Solozzo. This transformation from an upstanding servant of the country to a crime boss looking out for the wellbeing of his family alone is the ulimate irony in this novel. Women and children are not major characters in the novel, because Puzo uses them to show how the mobs goal was to keep the innocent free from encountering their violent troubles. Puzo incorporates the lives of everyone involved in this crime family to show how much love and loyalty lead to their success and rage and deceit lead to their downfall. After reading the novel, I gained a greater appreciation for the movie which I had seen earlier and an understanding of how loyalty leads to power in the world.

The 1970's novel and hit motion picture The Godfather by Mario Puzo was quite possibly the best piece of literature in America as of today. It's thorough description of how a Sicilian mafia operates leads one to realize just how organized "organized crime" is. Puzo showed ohw much family is worth through his book an movie by his skillful use of the third person objective point of view. In every paragraph Puzo gives the reader a chance to feel like they are a, Don Corleone, Luca Brasi or a Tom Hagen. The plot was exceptionally good because after every page turn the plot thickens. One page could be describing a wedding reception and the next would portray two adulturers in lust. Puzo modeled the book to have a series of climaxes before the major plot line climax. This was done to pump the reader up and stretch one's mind so one could comprehend the situtaion. The conflicts also were many. Michael Corleone's internal conflict with himself was the biggest in the book. When he went off to college and then to World War II it was planted by society that his family's business was the most immoral work one could do. Besides Michael's internal conflict there is a big conflict with the Corleones and the Tatalias. After the Corleone's Don was shot the plots conflict thickened from water to syrup. Overall Mario Puzo worte an American Classic, which was true in the 1970's and will remain true always and forever.