A wonderful journey into the emotions of an author and his family as they all start out exposing their many weaknesses and in the end prevail as everyday heroes. I strongly recommend this book.

Having read "Golf's Mental Hazards" by this author (a sports psychology book) I wasn't surprised as to how the characters were developed. Their psychological makeup was built from the "Mental Hazard Profiles" expounded in "Golf's Mental Hazards". While this isn't bad, the characters are rather stereotypical in personality resulting in their interactions being predicable.

While not a bad read, this book is not in league with "Golf in the Kingdom" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance." I would recommend "Nine Iron John" as a light read for those who enjoy golf stories but don't expect enlightenment.

After reading Shapiro's brilliant, "Golf's Mental Hazards," I had to check out the literary skills of this noted sports psychologist and I must say, was quite impressed. Nine-Iron John is a tale about a golf outing to a mythical island off the coast of South Carolina, where a young man and an older friend of his, set out to par a hole - known as the Savage - that has NEVER before been parred. That's right - NEVER BEEN PARRED! Now, this sounds awfully silly, but in the context of this fast-paced, quick-read, it is all entirely believable. This is a book that gets into the heart of the male psyche and does so with poignant moments and a whole lot of very funny scenarios. Shapiro proves that in addition to being a masterful psychologist, he is also a very gifted writer. Nine-Iron John will make you laugh and make you cry, and every golfer who who has ever looked to find himself in his golf game, who has used golf to avoid problems in the "real world," who questions the nature of his place on this planet, will love this book. A wonderful fantasy, that seems entirely real, I rate Nine-Iron John right up there with "Golf in the Kingdom" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance." Bring on the movie!

Its a good thing that Doc Shapiro's writing skills far exceed his golfing ability ! If you are ready for a rugged journey into the mentality of the golfer and the plight of the common man, this book will not disappoint. So grab your xanax and a shot of tequila and enjoy the ride.

This book is an excellent example of how art critique can be used to analyze politics and history. Paul Zanker does an exceptionally thorough job as he systematically works his way through the end of the Republic to the heights of Augustan Rome. The book includes tons of photographs, coins, maps and reproductions to illustrate appropriate points in the text. The thesis of the book is to show how art was used to convey the importance and dignity of the new Imperial system. Despite the breadth of material presented here, the text is smooth and understandable.

There really isn't enough space in a review to adequately cover this book. Zanker's main thrust is to show how Augustus rebuilt and remodeled Rome with himself at the center. The styles that Augustus used were quickly picked up and duplicated by the Roman upper classes, as well as those in the provinces. My favorite section of the book concerns the coinage. Augustus minted coins closely linking himself to Julius Caesar in order to establish himself as the heir apparent (which he was) to Caesar. Coins were also used to commemorate Augustus's triumph at Actium over Antony, and also to promote Augustus's conservative legislation concerning marriage and childbirth. Although Augustus slowly consolidated power under the title of princeps, he took great pains to show Rome that he was bringing about peace, prosperity and honor, all things that had been missing during the civil wars. Is Augustan art propaganda? It could certainly be interpreted that way, even though there was no "Ministry of Information" in Rome.

An excellent book, although there are a few problems. One of them is the tendency of art critique to see things that others may not. Zanker's descriptions of statues of Augustus are a good example. While I can agree with his depictions of the later Augustan busts as showing a calm, sort of omniscient demeanor, I have a tough time agreeing with his assessment of an earlier bust of Augustus as nervous and power hungry. This is a small problem with an otherwise great book that will make you think about Rome in a different way.

A wonderful tour of the early Roman empire framed within a rigorous theoretical discussion. Zanker skillfully illustrates how an empire was built by the manipulation of public thought through the use of images, or in other words, propaganda. Shapiro contributes with a lively and nearly transparent translation.

Zanker offers a fascinating reconstruction of Octavian Augustus' agenda for consolidating his position as leader of the Roman world. He does this by careful analysis of the buildings, statues, coins and other physical objects made during the rule of Rome's first emperor. Zanker understands well the impact of visual communication and uses it insightfully. He doesn't simply catalog artifacts, he interprets them and connects them within a broad system of consciously articulated ideology. In two decades of academic reading, this is one of the two most memorable books I read.

This textbook may not be a good choice for undergraduate students or for someone who does not have an intermediate or higher knowledge of finance. Wording in the chapters and in the end of chapter problems can be confusing. Statements are made and then not backed up with supporting information. The book spends a large amount of time on a macroeconomic view.

We adopted this book during the first semester of 1999 with excellent results. Our students were delighted with the practical approach, and the breadth of its contents. Recently our country has been through a monetary turmoil, and the book served very much to explain the policies that our local central bank authorities have been pursuing.

This book is a wealth of information on women in the ancient world (mostly Greece and Rome). It is written in such a way that the reader should have no problem understanding any of the concepts. I was afraid that the writings would be bias, but that was not the case. I bought this book as a required textbook for a college class and was suprised to find it here cheaper than at the college bookstore. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the kind of lives that the women of antiquity lived.