It's all (well, almost all) nonfiction, all fascinating, all good. From the first article, I was hooked--I carried it around with me everywhere, and when I was done reading the issue I started over at the beginning. The only problem? Lousy proofreading. But typos are just another form of entertainment, right?

Smart, moving, educational, exciting, . . . in short, a subscription to Brick is the perfect gift for anyone whom you really, really like. If you only like him or her with one "really," save the subscription for yourself and give your friend a single copy.

Ironically, I obtained this book thinking it was a historical account of Captain Cook's progeny, based on a hastily-read (although positive) review of it in Outside magazine. However, despite not being a fan of contemporary fiction, I was immediately swept up in the deliciously woven prose: contemplative, evocative, personal, and mysterious. Its imagery entranced and lulled (but not bored!) me in its depiction of a Hawaii both exotic and yet accessible, while the seedy underbelly of its mystical and tragic plot slowly and deliberately unfolded. Although it seems incogruous for a gothic novel to be set in a tropical paradise, Daughters of Captain Cook is a compelling, nearly seamless read.

I was drawn to this book by the lyrical quality of the words and also because it was set in Hawaii. Hawaii intrigues me and I absorb stories about things Hawaiian like a sponge.

On the surface the story is simple. A Kansas-bred woman and her Caucasian Hawaiin-born husband return to live in Hawaii with their child. His native Hawaiian half-sister has inherited the family estate and her 14-year old daughter begin a relationship that is rooted in the ancient incest culture of Hawaii. The story is both a mythical allegory as well as a heart retching journey through the wife's pain. It ends tragically.

I was swept up in the beauty of the words and a story well told.

Daughters of Captain Cook is an enduring addition to the tradition of The Great American novel. Spalding's considerable descriptive gifts set the novel in a darkly exotic Hawaiian island where her vivid characters struggle to manage the tensions of marriage, sibling rivalry, sexual jealousy and loss. Hawaiian history and bizarre royal customs clarify and complicate the plot as it unfolds inexorably before us. This is one of those precious books that repays close reading at the sentence level, but which sweeps you up in its powerful narrative at the same time. Once begun it's hard to put down.

All of the ususal hyperbole of a darn good tale applies here but just when you think that the dark, narcissistic, obsessive, neurotic and impossible characters can only end up floundering and lost and you truly expect only the most depressing outcome, the most wonderful thing happens, the book's surprise ending leaves you with a feeling of hope and redemption for them

This is a story which weaves itself back and forth from a familiar, 60's sort of coming-of age setting any baby boomer will be spellbound by, to the dark, labyrinthine setting of the most remote Mexican hide-out,where characters retreat and simultaneously discover truths about themselves that could not be revealed if not for the isolation and spare existences that their desperation creates. This book is unforgettable... a realistic but nearly unthinkable chain of events that leave the reader aching to read one more page but needing at the same time to pause to ponder the author's storytelling mysteries. Most highly recommended... keep it away from Oprah, though...it's TOO good for the masses

It has been a few years since I read this book, but I remember so vividly how much I enjoyed it. I remember being in love with the characters and flying through the book in a night or two. Setting was outstanding and the ending was memorable. Definately a nice, quick read for anyone.

This is a very complete guide to using swiss balls (also known as therapy balls or gymnastic balls). The exercises are grouped by skill with the goals of the exercise clearly described. The suggested modifications for children with disabilities are also very helpful. Though the book is clearly targeted at school phys ed programs, we found it very easy to use at home with all our children.

The story was told as a modern-day style of the Demeter and Persephone myth.
The mother and daughter team of Linda and Esta Spalding, together creates a tale both mythic and contemporary; It is hard to succeed in narrating both themes so powerfully. Mere is an uncomprehending and uncivilized child seeking for independence from parental protection, while showing her desperate for her father, and living as complicated as the political plot of its time. From this book, I have earned an understanding of the political views of that time and also the culture of the 60s with the free sex and tremendous use of drugs, most of all, the desperate bid for peace. The mother and daughter relationship has created issues that I think, will be carry on from generations to generations without any changes; teenagers are always be desperate for independence while the mother was being protective and never consider the child is mature enough.

I have lot of respect for the writing of Ondaatje but this book is just not upto his standards. Enough labour has not been given to the research portion while writing this book. You can easily get better repository of lost book in the net and sometimes in the listmania of amazon.com. Most of the critical analysis are very poorly written and I found only two books which are really "lost classic" in the correct sense of the word - they are Doctor Glas and Codex Seraphinianus. I never knew "Classic Revisited" is a lost classic since it is still taught in some universities. Its better to search the net that buy this book

Reading allows us to learn things from others, to experience things we might not ever experience in our own lives, and to go places we wish we could but may never have the chance to. We can go back in time or travel to the future and experience worlds we haven't experienced before. After reading this book I thought of many books I too have lost and misplaced from my earlier years of reading, and wished I had kept, or perhaps not given away. It would be nice to be able to re-read them again, if only they were still in print.

This is a wonderful collection of almost 75 essays, by some of the world's best writers brought together by the editors of Brick: A Literary Journal, that are thoughtful, funny, interesting, witty, and heartwarming. There is such a diverse selection of writers here that there are bound to be several essays for everyone to enjoy.

Jim Moore's essay on "The Salt Ecstasies" by James White who died in 1981 was very inspiring. Jim's poetry is very familiar to me for this was one of the first gay books of poetry I read while coming out. Luckily I still have a first edition copy of this book. Reading this essay inspired me to re-read Jim's poetry once again, and experience the passion & love that he visualized in his poetry for so many of us. Colm Toibin's essay on "Forbidden Territory" by Juan Goytisolo, who was an acquaintance of Jean Genet in Paris in the 1950's, is a tribute to this wonderful Spanish writer. Colm is a fascinating Irish writer himself who has written two wonderful books, " The Heather Blazing" and "The Blackwater Lightship" (See my earlier reviews).

Please don't miss Javier Marias' Afterword. This is writing at its best; intelligent, informative, funny, and touching. The telling of his experience in a bookshop in England, and how the owner was such a fanatical collector that he had a hard time parting with & selling his books is unforgettable. If you love and cherish great books like I do, don't miss this collection of essays. There's something for everyone here. Only one inquiry from me, why isn't this book in hardcover for our collections. Highly recommended!!

The act of reading has been mistakenly called solitary. It is all about dialogue and this book has it in spades. Michael Ondaatje and fellow editors from Brick Magazine, a literary journal, invited over 70 past contributors to submit essays singing the praises of lost, long-ago, out-of-print or underrated books that mattered. In other words, it is a collection of love stories, all personable and short. It is a delight on several levels: not only does it suggests some good-sounding reads, it also introduces some interesting reader/writers, many of them Canadian who do not get enough recognition in America.

It depresses me greatly to think of all the money, time and energy spent in the making of this book. Instead of trying to do something constructive for the endangered orangutan, Linda Spalding does her best to try to tarnish the reputation of Biruté Galdikas, the famous hard-working researcher and orangutan supporter. The author of this badly researched book must have been desperate to be published and therefore discarded any decency, honesty and respectability to have a little fame and fortune. There are multiple issues involved in the attempts to save an endangered species from extinction; one of many is creating alternative means of employment for the people who are destroying the rainforests, i.e., the precious habitat of orangutans and many other species. Instead of attempting to delve into these complexities, the author chose to act on her pre-formed opinion of Biruté Galdikas and attempted to prove her invalid theory of the scientist. I thought that the main human threats to the endangered apes in Africa and Indonesia were the illegal loggers, gold miners, corrupt politicians and greedy poachers for 'bushmeat'. But the author of this book proved me wrong. She knows that the pen is mightier than the sword. Linda Spalding did not have to get her hands dirty by killing orangutans or destroying their habitat herself...she simply did all in her power to attempt to destroy the reputation of a famous, meticulous, passionate, courageous, and tireless research scientist and orangutan activist. A horrible outcome of this author's pathetic attempt at self-promotion is that potential supporters of the Orangutan Foundation International may think twice about donating their time and/or money to the cause if they stumble across this biased, ill-informed book. Thanks to Linda Spalding, the orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra have yet another reason to fear extinction.

I had high hopes for this book. When reading about Dian Fossey, the most controversial of Leakey's protegees, I found that the books "The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey" by Hayes and "Woman of the Mists" by Mowat were indispensible companions to Fossey's own "Gorillas of the Mist". These two books provided a balanced perspective of Fossey, by potraying her violence towards poachers and willingness to break laws, but stressing her intentions- to save the few hundred mountain gorillas that were left. "A Dark Place in the Jungle", unfortunately, falls short of offering any perspective on Birute Galdikas. In fact, Galdikas is put on the back burner to make room for the author's insights on conservation and motherhood. Not that Spalding's insights are bad, actually I think this book would have worked had she focused on "women's journeys" or something similar, and left Galdikas out of it, because a much of the book is an account of her own self-discovery in Indonesia, her relationship with her daughters, and what she learned from Riska, her Indonesian tour guide. But her haphazard attempts to "research" Galdikas are unforgivable. She has a few conversations with Galdikas's aquantiances, and her arguments against Galdikas can be summed up in three statements: Galdikas is lacking a research permit, Galdikas has orangutans in her home, and Galdikas was rude to her. I don't doubt the first two statements (Indonesia has a very different concept of rudeness, however, for example it is not rude to keep someone waiting for hours) but Spalding provides us only with evidence against Galdikas. There are no interviews with Galdikas' friends or relatives, and Spalding barely speaks to Galdikas herself (although she does try) and the whole case against Galdikas is very one-sided. What caused Galdikas to change from researcher to surrogate mother of baby orangutans? What motivates her to break the law? Spalding doesn't try to answer.

This book tries to be too much and fails on both counts. If Spalding wanted to write a personal story or a bunch of travel essays, she would have done a fine job had she left Galdikas out of it. If she wanted to write about Galdikas, then she should have stopped talking about herself, and dug deeper into her research. She's barely scratched the surface.

For those interested in Galdikas, I recommend you skip this book, read "Reflections of Eden" for her side of the story and the chapter on Borneo in Karesh's "Appointment at the Ends of the Earth" for a view from one of her critics. (Karesh, a wildlife vet, spells out what's wrong with Galdikas and her orgination more thoroughly in one chapter than Spalding does in 300 pages.) For a balanced account, the best you can do for now is "Walking With the Great Apes" by Sy Montgomery, which about Galdikas, as well as Fossey and Jane Goodall. A book devoted entirely to Galdikas which addresses critics' accusations and provides insight into her life and work has yet to be written.

Eco-scam

Linda Spalding was supposed to write a biography. Her subject: Dr. Birute Galdikas, one of three women sent by famed scientist Louis Leakey to study apes in the jungle. While the first two "Leakey angels" - Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall - have been widely written about, the third, Galdikas, works in relative obscurity. But Spalding ran into a significant problem: Galdikas didn't wish to speak. The author trekked to the jungles of Indonesia anyway to chronicle the reluctant saint's work to save orangutans. What unfolds is an odd combination of investigative reporting, personal journey and mid-life crisis - not to mention a book well worth the read. The author discovers that Galdikas is anything but an angel. She's manipulative, power-hungry and is making a princely sum by charging eco-tourists to do work that's harmful to the apes. Spalding is at her best here, chronicling Indonesia's failure to save its natural resources and the strange phenomenon of eco-tourism, where zealous animal lovers are blinded by Galdikas' reputation. Equally interesting is Spalding's telling of the story. She's not an investigative reporter. She's a middle-aged empty-nester coming to grips with her daughters' adulthood and her own insignificance within the vast natural kingdom. Hence, the saga is delivered in an ambling, non-judgmental manner. It's as much about Spalding as it is her subject. One might argue that a true reporter could have put nastier screws to Galdikas. Yet Spalding's sharp eye and utter lack of conceit force you to keep reading. Her personal journey is nearly as compelling as the main subject. There are a few minor problems. Spalding laments of man's neglect of nature become repetitious, and Galdikas disappears from the narrative for sizable stretches. Yet "A Dark Place in the Jungle's" freshness and honesty more than compensate for these minor blemishes.