Mary Pickford Rediscovered is a wonderful book, for it allows the reader to follow Pickford's career in films both through the text and through the large number of pictures which bring this writing to life. The main body of the book comprises Kevin Brownlow's film-by-film analysis. His description of these films is fair and even-handed. He is obviously a fan of Pickford, but does not allow this to cloud his judgement. His commentary includes criticisms when these are just, but this means that when he does praise a particular film there is a sense that the film has real merit.

Brownlow's balanced opinions contrast rather with those of Robert Cushman, who provides a long introduction to the book. In his justified desire to raise Mary Pickford to the position she deserves in film history, Cushman, at times, goes rather over-the-top in his admiration. But this is a minor criticism for the introduction is, on the whole, thought provoking and informative.

It is to be hoped that more of Pickford's films might soon be available for viewers to see at home. This book makes the reader long to see the films which are described, so that the magnificent still photographs might move. In this way Mary Pickford could be really rediscovered.

This is the latest book by the leading historian on silent cinema, Kevin Brownlow. Like all of his other works, it is outstanding. Mary Pickford is thought of mostly as the grown up woman who played little girl roles in films that are unwatchable today. However, this is not true. Pickford was an actress of considerable range, not to mention the fact she was a very shrewd businesswoman. She was and is one of the key figures in the history of film. Brownlow, more than any other writer, puts Pickford's career in perspective, and he spends the majority of the book providing detailed commentary about her films. Furthermore, there are many superb stills from her films in this book.

This book is for all lovers of film and should spark renewed interest in Pickford's life and films.

If you've browsed around to find this title, you probably know something about silent films, films in general, or Mary Pickford-and, make no mistake, you are going to love this book. If none of the above applies to you-yet-you are still going to love it! Mary Pickford was an actress of amazing charm and subtlety, very different from the image most of us have of her today, and even without a copy of one of her films nearby(you're going to want to seek them out), the photographs show it, and the wonderful text by Kevin Brownlow supports it. Put this one on your coffee table, and see how many of your friends are suddenly converted to an interest in silent films!

I first owned this volume of poetry in 1978. That book simply fell apart after more than 20 years of reading and handling (sometimes roughly by my children). I replace this book with a new one just last year.
The old favorites are all here; Fireflies in the Garden, The Road Not Taken, Fire and Ice, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, and a hundred more. In my opinion this is the definitive volume on Frost.
I have always been awed by the number of poems Frost wrote about the stars. A Star on a Stoneboat, The Star Spitter, Stars, Canis Major and many others. Truly Robert Frost is the astronomers poet.
Also in this volume is perhaps my favorite Frost poem, Brown's Descent.
If you love reading Frost on a crispy fall evening, then you'll love reading him when the crickets chirp. You'll need to own this book.

Robert Frost was and is America's greatest poet. Excepting, perhaps, W. B. Yeats, he may be the greatest poet to write English in the twentieth century. (To me, it's a toss-up.) To read this volume systematically or desultorily is to become convinced of that. But Frost is, above all, accessible, so the casual reader may not appreciate the difficulty of what he does. Like much of the greatest art his looks easy, even inevitable.

All of Frost's poems are here, plus his two dramatic Masques. When this book first appeared (in 1969) it caused a furor: the editor, it was angrily asserted, presumed too much. He dared to clarify - inserting a hyphen here, excising a comma there. That furor has since died down, as people realize that he did not do away with the sacred texts (any emendation was noted), but simply performed his job as editor. He regularized spelling and the use of single and double quotes (though not Capitalization, which can legitimately be thought of as integral to the poet's expression (think of e.e. cummings!)), and corrected other obvious errors. The notes give the published variants for each poem, so if you wish you may make your own call on some of these finicky issues.

I cannot emphasize enough: BUY THE HARDCOVER! After all, you will be reading this book for the rest of your life. It is a beautifully-built volume, of an easy size and heft for use, with understated appealing typefaces and an exemplary design. Put out by Frost's long-time publisher, this is one of the few essential books of American literature.

"It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts, The reader of good poem can tell the moment it strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound-that he will never get over it...The proof of a poem is not that we have never forgotten it, but we knew at sight we would never forget it."

Robert Frost

I have to admit it! When I first met Robert Frost's poetry in Freshman English class I took an immortal wound-that I will never get over it. Perhaps the then recent memory of the white haired poet who inaugurated Camelot that cold, January day conditioned me to receive the wound. Maybe Fr. Sheridan's teaching opened these poems for me. Most of all, I think that it is the words themselves which have made the poetry of Robert Frost such an important part of my life for almost 35 years.

This complete collection complemented the high school text book to which I had so often referred over the years. Here is the source of lines which I have often quoted. Many family vacations have begun with: "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep" (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening).

When my son tries to silence his sister's singing he is reminded that "Of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song" (A Minor Bird).

Here we find philosophical reflections. "Good walls make good neighbors" counters "Something there is that doesn't like a wall" (Mending Wall).

Here "The Death of a Hired Man" challenges us to reflect upon how we value and treat others while "Christmas Trees" reminds us that not all things have prices. Here we are invited to follow the road of the poet who wrote "I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" (The Road Not Taken).

I have writen just a sampling of the treasures to be found in this collection, but I have written enough. It is now time to indulge again with words I have never forgotten. "I shan't be gone long-You come too." (The Pasture).

As a CPA and candidate for controller of Montgomery County, PA, it is refreshing to see the long-term planning, comparison, functional issue review, and the "watchdog" functions of a controller so well laid out. Montgomery County will be well served to use this planning approach.

Please tell me it's not this easy to run a city. If all the Giulianis, Rendells, and Daleys of the world would just implement this new direction for urban america, our cities would not be afflicted with the ills they currently suffer. Every big city resident should demand that local government run as recommended in this book. Students, policy professionals, elected officials, and urbanites everywhere should make this book a part of their libraries.

I am a passionate city fan and wish every mayor in the country would read this book and implement the policies the authors advocate. There are no quick fixes to the problems shared by large American cities (crime, poverty, decay). As successful cities prove over and over, local government must concentrate on the basics -- improving schools, reducing crime, lowering taxes -- to make the city a place where people want to be instead of a place people want to avoid. If Philadelphia would adopt the recommendations of this book, the city would truly be a great one.

Kevin Roberts is a brilliant writer, poet, teacher and mystic. I have taken three of his college courses in writing, and I am constantly blown away by the depth of his thinking, the and the beauty of his spirit. This book, Quest for the Beloved, is a treasure to me. I especially love the 6th chapter in which he discuses the Persian mystic-poet, Rumi. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, though one or two chapters are a bit esoteric and may not be accessible to readers new to scholarly criticism adn the work of the Master poets.

This book is so beautiful physically as well. It would make an impressive and yet inexpensive gift, but once you hold it in your hands, you won't be able to give it away!

I only wish Professor Roberts was still teaching in New Orleans. I would take every class he ever taught.

In Quest For The Beloved, poet Kevin N. Roberts uses a discussion of the Romantic and Metaphysical poetry of Carmen, to delve into the deepest mysteries of romantic love, blossoming always, though forever in the shadow of death. Mr. Roberts traces various incarnations of the idea of love through the poetry of such writers as Blake, Coleridge, Keats and Poe, as well as that of Carmen. Not only are we lead to understand the common threads running through the work of these great writers, but we are also encouraged to examine the ideas in the light of our personal experience, and thus, to begin a spiritual journey of our own. Quest For The Beloved is an elegant book with many beautiful illustrations, and will be treasured and reread countless times by all who own it. I recommend Mr.Roberts' exquisite volume of his own poetry, Fatal Women, as a perfect compliment to Quest For The Beloved. The reader will not be disappointed.

I highly recommend this book to poets, poetry lovers, and everyone else who is passionate about life....and what comes hereafter. The poetry Mr. Roberts discusses is absolutely beautiful. I kept a journal as he suggests in the Introduction, and I have learned a lot about myself in the process. The author is obviously a very knowledgable and spiritual individual. I am going to buy every book he has ever written!

Glenn Davis' lifetime encompassed the defining events of the century: Depression, WW II, Vietnam, and Watergate. His biography is like a Greek tragedy. He rises from a poor rural background through brains, work, and personality. He succeeds in Depression, faces terror in the naval war in the Pacific, enters the Congress after the war, rises near the summit with Nixon and Ford, and falls with the disgust of Vietnam and Watergate. For those with an interest in history, politics, and humanity, this biography is an enjoyable thought provoker.

I could not put this book down. It went from his birth all the way to his death. A very detailed account of his time on congress and in world war two.

As a business consultant, one of the most important things I can do for my clients is to help them overcome their "time honored traditions". While you might think that the need to call in outside consultants is indicative of management's recognition that the current way of doing things isn't working any more, quite often the opposite is true. Organizational inertia, especially in the area of marketing, is often difficult to overcome. This book has helped me countless times in assisting organizations in overcoming "old thinking" and in moving their marketing strategies forward. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me - adamleft@webspan.net.

Not only is it easy to read, but it's shocking in its ability to zero in on what's wrong with the marketing business. A must read! For those who want more detail, try reading their first collaborative effort, The Marketing Revolution. Bottom line--if you buy no other marketing book, buy one of these two books. They are Marketing Bibles with enormous power. Why? Because they lay out in excrutiating detail how marketeers have been relying on well-worn mths to conduct business--myths that have no basis in fact. Thus, is it any wonder that so many marketing efforts either don't work or when they do work can't be explained. I should know. Prior to reading these books, I fell for the same myths. Not any more, thanks to authors Clancy and Shulman. Gene Pinder Director of Marketing U.S. SPACE CAMP

There a tons of motivational books in the marketplace that use star athletes and winning teams as exemplars. A few inspire but few offer genuine insight. Peak Performance does.The examples come from all parts of the globe.

If you are looking to motivate your team at sport or at the office you should read this book.

These authors prove the greats are great because they have purpose, potency, performance skills, and they practice powerfully. You will love reading the inside stories of sports team achievements.

You'll come to understand that the New York Yankees are great, because they demand greatness of themselves decade after decade. (Some trivia, Yankees' Phil Rizzuto's brother was my shoemaker. He was as competent a shoemaker as his brother was a baseball star.)

Again in the stories, you'll see stars focus their talents by stepping up to the bar of challenges they must overcome to achieve their dreams. They practice to create the future they desire and share their dream within a support system. Their potency comes from harmony within, passion within and without,and achievement of the flow state, individually and as a team. And, they perform beyond their endurance, creatively, continually besting themselves.

Bottom line, success is an organized and consistent effort. The great teams constantly ask themselves, "If we can do this today, what can we do tomorrow?"

Found this book to be an amazing collection of illustrations by one of the most talented artists in our time. His work has matured over the years to a fine point of perfection.

Outstanding collection of extremely witty and winsome caricatures of entertainment and political figures from the 1970's through today. Most of the work previously graced the covers and feature articles of The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Interview, and Rolling Stone and therefore will be familiar to the reader.

There is much excellent cultural and political commentary (in illustration form) collected in this one book by an outstanding illustrator of the 20th century.

Great for Christmas giving, the book is beautifully printed and guaranteed to bring miles of smiles to the reader.

Anyone who has ever considered taking a trip to the beautiful island of Sicily, should not even pack before reading this book. My friend and I just returned from a trip to this remarkable island and during the trip, we coincidentally stayed at a few of the places mentioned in this book and had an incredible time. While at one of the locations, I spotted the book. After only a few minutes of perusing, I knew I HAD to have this book. The Donovans, Simon and Robert had pretty much experienced a similar trip and I knew their vivid recount would help us remember the breathtaking land, the proud, gracious, full-of-life people who live there, and the indescribable food they produce. Their travel tips are right-on and a must for any Sicilian traveller. It has also inspired me to compile a travel journal of our trip. As a graphic designer myself, I also compliment the incredible layout and design. A wonderful coffee-table book for anyone to cherish.

Molto bene.
Grazie tanto Gail, Kevin, Simon and Robert!

When you read this book - should I say 'sample' it - and see the wonderful photographs of Italian landscapes, architectural features, and mouth watering food, have your 'plastic' ready, and a telephone nearby so you can book your own adventure.

This book may just be the best combination touring/cooking/picture-taking guide to Italy that you will find. And hats off to the book designer who made it into a wonderful travel scrapbook. The design alone is the definitive guide to producing your own travel journal/diary/photo album. You will want to make a book like this for your own journey(s).

For [the price], this is as close as you can get to being in Italy. In fact, if you play some of the Cieli di Toscana CD by Andrea Bocelli, drink a nice dry Italian red wine, and eat a little Bruschetti as you browse the pages of this coffee table book, you may be magically transported.

Salute!

A really good book for a select audience. For younger players or those not motivated enough to focus their energy and effort at this level, I highly recommend the two companion VHS tapes on offense and defense/rebounding. However, if you are a middle or high-school player who really wants to raise your game, you can't go wrong here.

I have been coaching girls basketball for the last several
years and am often looking for suitable books to give my
players to help them work on their own to further develop
their skills. This is the best book I have seen for a junior
high or high school player. I covers every aspect of the game,
not just skills, but also physical training.

When I started coaching girls basketball (3rd-9th graders) 3 years ago this was the second book I picked up. Now I have about 35 books and 20 videos but I use this as the central reference for my playbook and training manual in coaching fundamentals. Some of the skills may be too advanced for younger kids but they will grow up and adapt to it when they return to you a little older and better skilled thanks to this reference. It should be used in conjunction with the videos by the author (available also from Amazon). If Nancy Lieberman-Cline ever sponsors a clinic I will be on the first plane to get there. As a player-coach-teacher she is the best for girls basketball!