I think the author's focus on asset class mutual funds useful, but that's only half the story. If you spend your time reading this, you won't learn anything about taking care of assets. All you learn is the standard Wall Street diatribe:

1. No one can predict the market (except for Wall Street Professionals)
2. The biggest mistake you can make is taking your money out of stocks and bonds once they are deposited (except to pay your advisor).
3. Don't trust your instincts, trust your Wall Street professional's instincts.

At the end of the book, probably hoping they have convinced their reader of his utter ignorance regarding money management, they kindly offer a chapter on finding your 'financial advisor', closing with their own email mailing addresses.

Guess what you are supposed to do.

The book is full of odd contradictions.

1. It's title proudly claims to be about 'beating' Wall Street, but the conclusion extols reliance on a 'financial advisor'.

2. For the first 3 chapters, the authors claim to accept 'random walk' theories, and points out the inability of top ranked fund managers to maintain their ranking as proof of the randomness of the market. For the remainder of the book, we are constantly advised only a professional can distinguish a long term positive rate of return. In other words, it's not a random walk. The guy's picking your asset class funds can suddenly defeat the random walk.

3. There is a chapter on defining your financial goals, but when determining your 'investment time frame', the authors advise using your life expectancy. Let me explain this to you. They advise putting your money in a Wall Street fund and updating your will. You should never plan on 'cashing out' and enjoying your rewards. That's pretty safe investment advice, if the client is alive, the money should stay put and the plan is still on track, even if it is down 70%. If he's dead, he won't sue over the bad advice.

4. In chapter 6 and 7, they advise ignoring tax implications. Chapter 8 is on investing with taxes in mind.

5. In the intro, the authors promise to show you how to do the math yourself. At the end of the book, there is just a bunch of formulas that refer to other formulas with values left undefined. I guess they figured no one was going to follow the math, and if they would, they were not their type of client, anyway.

Goldie and Bowen have put into laymen's terms what most Wall St. professionals and money managers do not know-- that no one can time markets, sectors, or pick individual (mispriced) securities with any consistency.The authors articulate a core investment approach that effectively makes all other investment strategies look like speculation. We all have heard that diversification is your friend but few,(even the most sophisticated advisors) understand the meaning of true global diversification,i.e.constructing a portfolio of asset classes which do not move in tandem(some zig when the others zag) in order to reduce the volatility or standard deviation of the portfolio and hence increase its compound return. As a result one can have a portfolio which includes some relatively risky asset classes but in the aggregate is more conservative. How many of us today wish we had taken this advice and included reits,short fixed income and international small cap value into our mix? As the authors point out, who knows what asset classes will be in favor tomorrow. However, if we follow this approach,we will capture their returns and a bit extra for reasons which they spell out.Goldie and Bowen clearly show the benefits of maintaining your target asset class weightings and the need to periodically rebalance when one class gets out of line.Just as compelling are the chapters that explain which asset classes pay you for the risk you take (eg. small cap vs. large cap and value vs. growth) and which ones do not (such as longer maturity fixed income). In my opinion this is the best primer for those who are interested in long term investing. The authors give us an understanding of the tools necessary to construct a core portfolio. Clearly we would all be better served to follow this advice with our investment capital and understand that stock picking, buying the hot fund, or timing the market (in other words what 99% of the world mistakenly views as investing) is really speculation. While these principles are timeless, given the returns of just two asset classes,the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ these past few years, this book should now reach a more responsive audience.

I have spent about two years researching financial strategies by getting input from top tier professional advisors, perusing web sites, and reading books. Of all the information I've gotten, this book provides the most concise and effective approach to how to allocate your investment funds.

What you will learn through this book (backed by academic research primarily by the University of Chicago):

1) An overview of modern portfolio theory, which states that there is an optimal risk/reward curve that allows you to determine the appropriate mix between stocks and bonds for any given expected level of return or tolerance for risk.

2) Regardless of your tolerance for risk or desire for reward, the only thing that changes is the overall % allocation between stocks and bonds. When any investor looks at stocks, they should have the same makeup of stocks in their porfolio (international, large cap value, small cap, etc.). The difference between more and less agressive investors is that the stock composition will be a bigger piece of their pie.

3) Statistical analysis that gives strong proof that index funds ... beat mutual funds handily over the long run by several percentage points.

This book has provided me with the best framework for investing. It's a little redundant (as most informational books are), but well worth the read. I've purchased many copies of it and given them to friends and family.

Sometimes the duty to fight falls on one man's shoulders, and that man acts, not for himself alone, but for all citizens, and for his country. This is one of those times.

Everytime I research books on Amazon purported to be conservative or 'right-wing', I always find critical reviews to be anonymous. Perhaps Amazon should review it's review policy.

With that said I will tell you who I am; I live in New Hampshire, served in the Army and have actually met Michael New. Michael New is a humble, honorable and decent American who, through homeschooling, actually learned about America's history and its Constitution. Which is unlike what is taught in government education. And when faced with a conflicting issue Michael New chose the side of the Constitution.

In Michael New: Mercenary or American Soldier? you will read about a real American who put his country ahead of all other interests and motivations. Including his military career. What a rare and unique individual. Compare that to the White House.

Thankfully we still have Americans like Michael New. If you have your doubts order the book and read it for yourself. Afterward you can write your own Amazon book review. :)

For America, Mark Santelman Nashua, NH

Michael New is a hero in the order of those who have recieved the Medal of Honor. This book is well written, well documented and is guaranteed to scare the hell out of any normal, rational thinking American. It should be mandatory reading for ALL military personnel and it should be read before the Congress in session by the President and before the Nation on all National television networks. If you love America and want to do something to understand how we are being set up for invasion and take over by the New World Order, then read this book. Michael Heit Command Sergeant Major USA(Ret).

"On A Street Called Easy, in a Cottage called Joye" is an easy and entertaining read, with short chapters perfect for the ride on the subway, or a break between tasks. A close parallel to "A Year In Provence", which is referenced by the authors, the story is essentially a humorous take on the gentry's lament "you can't get good help these days", but the biggest difference is that while "A Year..." is heavily slanted towards food, "A Street..." is almost entirely about the travails of renovating a wreck. It is after all, set in the deep (if it ain't fried, it ain't cooked)south, this is NOT Provence.
The "true" story follows its two, pullitzer prize winning authors as they leave their dark, viewless, Manhattan condo and set out for Aiken, S.C., where they've bought(for quite a bit less than the original million+ asking price) a sixty room mansion built in 1897 by WC Whitney, as the gilded age began to flicker to a close. Through neglect, the house is an absolute mess. The crew hired to bring it back to its glory is pretty much a mess as well. From the holdover-joint-toking hippie that makes off with the only, working-order copper piping to sell for scrap, to the tile man who wants to be paid for time he'd requested to hang out (doing nothing)while the tile arrived, to the maid who spends all day dusting 3 rooms, only to be discovered sleeping whenever the bosses are away. You can't leave this crew a for a second, as they discover towards the end, in a scene that will leave wine lovers heart broken. The problem is, as with "A year in Provence", the owners seem to have a bottomless pocketbook, and always seem to have a check to write to cover whatever goes wrong. And EVERYTHING goes wrong. This eventually takes away from the believability, especially when combined with the patience of Job that the two men seem to display, endlessly, towards what are essentially ne'er do wells and lowlifes posing as contractors. Ah, well. You do learn a bit about the Whitneys, the house in its better days, Aiken in its better days, and the more recent days. All in all a worthwhile read.

Can you begin to imagine two authors of brutal true crime stories, undertaking a project such as remodeling an old 60 room mansion? And can you believe their moving from their home in Manhatten to Aiken, SC? They write of their trials and tribulations, in such a manner, you wipe tears of joy and tears of frustration and sorrow for them. And all the time the reconstruction and renovations are taking place, they are constantly meeting friends and neighbors; while they are trying to hire someone for this project or that project. You celebrate with them over each accomplishment. By the time they finish the renovations, you can 'hear' the music filtering through the wing of the home where all of the parties will be held. Such excitement in the air. I am fortunate enough to live close to this location and took a trip over and found Joye Cottage! Absolutely breathtaking.... wish I could tour the inside.

I was given the BOOK version of this several years ago by a dear friend and honestly, I have read and re-read this book several times. The first time that I got it, I actually read it out loud to my husband while we were working on our own version of "Joy Cottage." We both roared with laughter!

Having moved to the South from the West Coast, I understood totally what Mr. White-Smith encountered! From Irish Travelers to the local restaurant that produces vegetables that have had every last trace of nutritional content boiled out of them, collard greens, fat back and fat light (it is vital that you know the difference: one is used to light fires and one is put in with your collards!),pepper sauce, sweet tea (cavities be damned!) to Moon Pies, Krispy Kremes, speech from people that you swear aren't speaking English, painters that can't paint, roofers that drink way too much, Nandina, Magnolias and Smilack at Christmas (I hope that I spelling the last one correctly!) and on and on and on. If you live in the South (especially if you are a transplant) and most especially if you live in or have redone an old house, this is the book for you!

As I said, I have re-read this book several times and I still find myself laughing hysterically. It is a great book that I am terribly sorry is out of print. Until it comes back into its second printing, the audio version will suffice. I wish they would do a "Part II" version...

A MUST read!

This is more of a comment than a review. Dr. Stein's book takes an approach to sex and lovemaking that is "spiritually based" on mutual partnership love and understanding. I think it should be required reading for any partnership relationship. He makes all love interactions which are mutually consented clean and healthy. His style gives the reader many chances to thoroughly examine their own consciouses and to understand their feelings of "love" outside of the physical acts of sex. Thank you, Dr. Stein.

"Passionate Sex,Discover The Special Power in You" by Dan Stein, MD is absolutely the best holistic medicine for creative sex. My husband Damir and I didn't realize that so much pleasure,happiness and ecstacy were possible, yet alone healthy and life promoting. This book has added a great deal to our lives.It is practical, easy to read, and packed with new ideas and information We both highly recomend it! Sanela and Damir Boltuzic

Passionate Sex is not a sterile, cold how-to technique manual -- but a book written by a physician who believes that maintaining a vital and healthy sexual relationship for the duration of a couple's togetherness needs to focus not just on techniques, but on romance, on sustaining passion and on allowing a couple the freedom to try new things. That may sound easy, but changing old habits and mindsets is NOT easy, and this volume helps make the transition gently pleasurably. It addresses people as adults, not automatons, and the tone is an open and sharing one.

In a day and age in which most couples squeeze in love making after the 11 o'clock news when they are both exhausted, Dr. Stein takes a radical departure and exhorts couples to focus on their sexuality and to MAKE time for quality love making.

If you are looking for a "positions" book, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for ways to keep the passion alive in a committed relationship (or to reignite it) then buy a copy of Passionate Sex.

Friends of mine recommended this book. Being an avid reader, I bought it. However, this book ranked very low on my reading list. In fact, I did not even finish this book (something, I almost never do). After forty pages, I put the book down. A day later, I picked it back up, hoping that I simply had not grasp the characters or the storyline. But after 90 pages, I simply put the book down for good. I suppose some will chastise me for not finishing the book, and others will comment that you cannot adequately review a book unless you actually finish it. However, this book simply did not appeal to me. I found the story bordering on depressing. And, I found little humor in a life so mundane. I suppose some people feel a connection to Ray (as did the people who recommended the book to me). However, my idea of a good book is one that educates, entertains and enlightens. I found none of this in Ray in Reverse. The book may chronicle real life but, as written, the book does little to demonstrate that real life is interesting. If you are considering this book, then think twice. Maybe it's for you, but it was not for me.

Ray Williams, the deceased protagonist of Daniel Wallace's tragicomic second novel, finds himself in Heaven's "Last Words" discussion group. Embarrassed by his prosaic death (from cancer at age 50) and his inconclusive final utterance, "I wish," he initially fabricates a more bloody and dramatic ending and, unmasked, storms off in a huff. His life then passes before us in a series of vignettes, beginning with his slow dying while the backyard birds make nests of his discarded hair and ending with an innocent act of simple heroism at age 10.

Each chapter reveals an emotionally pivotal moment in Ray's life - his wife's infidelity and the near break-up of his marriage, the treehouse he built for his son and used himself as a drinking refuge, his sexual confusion, early relationships, one-night stands, childhood mysteries. The chapters are complete stories; some brief and poignant, some more complex, revealing harrowing secrets - jolting the reader and Ray too.

Williams' comic touch is sometimes gentle, even sad, other times prickly and nightmarish. In one incident Ray hits a dog with his car and rather than driving on, stops, finds the dog's address from its tag and visits the animal's owners, thereby embroiling himself in an ugly, absurd scene between a warring couple.

Ray is no angel. Often clueless, he is occasionally cruel, subject to the buffets of fate and capable of acts of spontaneous generosity. Wallace's ("Big Fish") rendering of him is sharp but empathetic, making his story compelling and real. The completeness of the vignettes sometimes leaves loose ends dangling, conveying the feeling that Ray has compartmentalized his life to avoid the mysteries of his own nature. The reverse structure reinforces this - showing how Ray got to where he ended up - not from a progression of events so much as the natural, halting, unknowable vicissitudes of one man's human nature.

Daniel Wallace is one of the original writers I've discovered in the past year. He's one of the few willing to step outside the box and try something different.

"Ray in Reverse" is told in a reversed order--death begins, and childhood ends the book. It was immensely enjoyable and easy to read. I'm not sure what the significance of Ray's final words were, but I like the fact that you're allowed to think about it and come up with your own conclusions. I would reccomend this book to anyone and I'm looking forward to reading his first book.

Most Illustrator books tell you how easy it is to use the program, leaving most of us feeling stupid because we can't figure the darn thing out. McClelland starts by acknowledging that Illustrator can be confusing -- you feel better already -- and goes on to assure you that as you learn the program it will become easier and easier to do more and more complicated things. He then goes on to tell you in clear prose and pictures exactly how these things are done. If more how-to books were written this skillfully, fewer of us graphic artists would suffer depressions.

Deke McClelland is simply the most articulate writer alive on computer procedures. He's clear, witty, and exceptionally knowledgeable. Throw away your manual and use this book instead. And he's accessible. E-mail him if you don't understand something (sorry, Deke).

I had been using a small corner of Illustrator in my work for about a year, and this book expanded my horizons significantly. I found this one of the better technical manuals I've read. The information is complete, the treatment thorough, and the information easy to access. I read it cover to cover, and after 2 months it still sits on my desk as a quick reference.

The author has a somewhat strange sense of humor, which I enjoyed. I suppose some people might not want off-beat references made to unrelated items, but I didn't mind, and it made the read easier.

Flat out ...I liked this book. Frankly this book could be twice this size and still be good. It compresses a TON of information into a small package. I knew that UML was extensible ...but this book really puts that idea into practice.

Only negative would be the organization of it could be a bit better. The book essentially is giving you documentation guidelines but the 'where to document' sometimes gets blurred with the 'how to document'.

With few exceptions, and this is not one of them, in computing the word simple should only be applied with some form of relative-to qualification. The dream of creating interchangeable parts out of software has been a goal that first appeared on the horizon some time ago, but up to now, it has yet to make a complete appearance. The authors acknowledge that fact in chapter 8 and argue that with the availability and power of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) to standardize the design coupled with standards such as COM+ and Enterprise Java Beans (EJB) for the run-time side, it is about to happen. While these tools will no doubt accelerate the move to component reuse, the process of the increased adoption of components is more complicated than that.
However, in the arena of the specification of components software using the UML, this book has many positive attributes. There is no preamble or introduction to UML, for that you must use another resource.
This was a good decision on the part of the authors. Many people now know UML and there are several good resources available. Furthermore, the explanations are such that one knowledgeable in computing would quite likely be able to discern what is being described without detailed knowledge of UML.
As the authors stress, the set of steps that will turn a software segment into a component is not difficult to understand. The precise specification of what a component expects and what it is expected to do is the major task that needs to be addressed. A secondary, but necessary task is that the details of the implementation are not part of the component specification, for if they were, then it would violate the concept of interchangeable parts. The basic structures of a design by contract are described using the Object Constraint Language (OCL). It is not necessary to know OCL to understand what is being described, a thorough background in Boolean expressions is all that is needed.
The example used throughout the book is that of a hotel room reservation system. It satisfies the three criteria that any such example must adhere to:

1) It is an operation that is routine to most of us, so there is very little need to explain the basic premises and additional realistic extensions can be added without any substantial explanation.
2) There are enough different features that can be encapsulated into a component so that the complete example is complex enough to be an effective learning tool.
3) The interactions among the components are complex enough so that the real problem of using components, namely specifying how they intercommunicate, can be sufficiently developed.

In sports, projects are divided into two parts, the plan and the execution. If only one is done well, it will not work. The same applies to components as well, whether you are defining them or describing how to define them. In this book, the authors also execute their well-conceived plan. The descriptions are complete, understandable and in the proper order. Granted that this is shorter than the typical technical book, but I had no trouble in reading it in two sessions, a morning and an afternoon in the same day. My attention did not waver and there were only a very few times when I stopped and either reread or looked at a previous page for clarification.
You would have to be the programming equivalent of a cave dweller to believe that components will not become a dominant technology in the very near future. With this book, you can face that future with much of the knowledge that will prevent you from being relegated to the recycle bin of history.

All too often, design books (and practictioners for that matter) fall into a trap of treating the design process like the desired outcome is "Art", rather than focusing on solving business problems and working within time and budget constraints. This book attacks this notion and presents a process that extends UML to be an effective tool in building distributed component architectures. The focus is on meaningful deliverables that evolve through analysis and design iterations, and the techniques will effectively break you of waterfall habits.

I was surprised, when reading this book, to immediately discover that it's the basis for the Ang Lee movie Riding with the Devil. I don't recall the book ever being credited in the movie. I hope Woodrell got his cut, because this is a wonderful book. It is written at a high standard of literary quality and the characters, despite their relative amorality, are engaging. The heroine is refreshingly un-Jewellike. This is one of the few books on the Civil War in Missouri that I've really enjoyed, and the excellent writing style is the primary reason. I give it four stars rather than five because the research -- on daily life in the period as well as the war itself -- seemed to be just a little scant. But this is certainly an excellent book.

Meaning no disrespect to Daniel Woodrell, who has created a little world of Louisiana mischief in a loosely-organized series of books (including "Woe to Live On", :Muscle for the Wing" ,etc.), but this little redneck departure runs right into Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridien. Set in the border country of the Civil War, when Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas had a bumper drop of high-minded, low-down killers (on both sides, now, don't get your backs up) whose horsemanship was matched only by their facility at righteously justifying every depravity. Woodrell could have written the dialogue for the "Outlaw Josey Wales", and these southerners talk with that odd mixture of Elizabethan and backwoods English which so charmed observers from afar during the Northern War of Yankee Aggression. I'm not sure that we are supposed to like his protagonists, whose ethical sense tends to be of the "I'll-hand-you-the-rope-but-I- won't-lynch-that-innocent" variety, but the tale is rousing, if bleak, and the possibility of redemption is vigourously pursued.

Finally and at last, the border war of Missouri/Kansas is having its story told. Here were no magnificent lines of battle with brave banners and an awe-struck foe admiring the fatal advance. Here were no bugle calls, no gold braid uniforms or gentleman officers in plumed hats. This was a dirty, vicious, strange-dogs-in-a-meathouse fight that shattered families, emptied neighborhoods, and sometimes created feuds that lasted generations after the war.

Daniel Woodrell writes with a remarkable style perfectly suited to the tale he tells. Taut, sparse, haunting, lyrical yet terrible, easing us lazily along from moments of unpretentious poetry to drop us jangling into stark, slamming violence. From the first page, I read it as drinking a rare liquor, sipping and savoring only a few pages a day, in no hurry to have it end.

Mr. Woodrell does not rub our faces in gore, but nor does he shrink from or glorify the brutality of killing. We have no doubt of what is happening, recoil from its horror, yet the image is drawn with such spare, severe strokes that we are left stunned as the aftermath of a car wreck - what just happened? When one character dies, the scene is engraved with a laser beam; "Oh, sweet Lord Jesus. It was way down there past terrible....My world bled to death."

Yet rather than being a story about a war and its battles, this a story about very young men - and women - whose lives are turned inside-out by that war. We see them involved in the very human struggle for place, for a sense of belonging, for those fleeting moments of gentleness, set against the smouldering, bloody backdrop of war, and jerked back to the bad-chili burning in the guts for payback when "comrades" are lost.

Rather than merely a war story, it is in part a love story, love of friend for friend, a man for a woman. There is no drippy sentimentality, no saccharine examinations of emotion. The same pen that strokes murder in sharp black lines etches with exquisite delicacy the gentler moments.

The reader may initially find the Victorian dialogue a bit awkard, but in only moments, there seems no other way the story could have been told. Nor do I feel that any other writer could have told this tale so well, save this native son of the Ozark country.

Told through the eyes of young Jake Roedel, who accepts what he sees with no idealism and only later any question, I recommend this book with a whole heart. Most especially I recommend it to those with an interest in the Missouri/Kansas conflict, or any part of the less-defined, personal aspects of the Civil War. For story, characterizations, marvelous use of language, and a haunting quality that lingers long after the last page is turned, I give it a solid five stars.

"Shortest Stories of Love and Death" is one title that cannot be seen without being examined. Whatis actually inside is less scintillating, while still being a moderately entertaining read and a very good idea.

The contents have short stories, written in fewer than 55 lines and written on the subject of love, death, or both. This "prose haiku" is known as a drabble, a story of under one hundred words, and is sometimes effective in evocating certain ideas.

A lot of the stories are quite amusing, like the bizarre "Bon Appetit," wry "Fire Next Time," wink-nod drabble "Gertrude's Soliquoy" for fans of Shakespeare, wryly dark "Plan B," and the hilarious "To Air is Human." But, in a collection of many people's stories, there are also the too-weird-to-be-amusing, the grisly, and sometimes the plain dumb. "Denial on his Lips" was something I simply did not understand. "Type-A Personality" was apparently supposed to be funny, but wasn't; likewise with "Top Bananas and Rotten Apples."

Like all short story collections written by many people, this is a very mixed bag with the good and the bad intermingled. Nevertheless, if readers are in the mood for some very brief reading, they might enjoy this.

This is a follow-up to the remarkable "The World's Shortest Stories." Each of these stories must contain 55 words or fewer, and the editors have rules that supposedly ensure that this 55 rule is obeyed. I don't think, however, that misspellings such as "alright," not being a word, should be allowed -- or they should be edited to the proper two words and the story revised by the author. As a writer, I can truly appreciate the craft of brevity. And as an editor I can appreciate the discipline when the story is told within sentence structure (some are NOT -- they cheat). Some of these are startling. Some I quite frankly don't "get." Some are a kind of prose haiku. Some have a lot of subtlety, saying things without saying them. This would make a good book for writing students, to get ideas about structure and brevity and learn how to think "outside the box" of writing. I read almost all of them at least twice. It's a keeper.

It's hard to imagine that a good story could be written with 55 words or less, but the fact is that it is, indeed, possible. These are not essays or poems, they are real stories with all of the following: a setting, at least one character, a conflict, and a resolution. It's incredible to read how creative some people can be with such a restriction on the number of words that are allowed in these stories. Well worth the read! At the end of the book, the publishers challenge the readers to write their own 55 word story and submit it for publication in their next book (which was how this book came about...from a challenge to the readers of the first "55" book!) The rules for this contest are also included (what constitutes a word, where to send your story, etc) This is a wickedly fun book (I say "wickedly fun" since so many of the stories deal with a twisted murder plot or some strange love relationship) that I highly recommend!!

This book just left me feeling empty. I wanted to feel so sad for Roche, but his lifeless style of writing just left me cold. It's no wonder he & his ex-wife separated--you can't get close to his writing, I can't imagine getting close to him.

Interesting how the Amazon reviews divide down the middle between "marvelous book" and "boo," with no middle ground. Order this book now and relax: the right answer is "marvelous." I read it front to back the day I received it. Why? Because the positive comments in the other reviews are all true, and the negatives miss the point. Roche superbly captures his experiences of love, marriage, divorce, neither aggrandizing them as universal nor as unique. Male or female, you will probably identify with Roche in some ways. He has set out to present himself as a person, not just a hero, and life at its best (like yours) as a largely well-intentioned medley of experiences, not a prefab script. I'm buying copies for friends, knowing they will thank me.

Roche's story is one so common today and yet so infrequently commented on with the insight and thoughtfulness that it receives here. How many of us haven't struggled to balance a marriage and individual identities? How many of us haven't felt pulled in too many directions, slowly and painfully trying to figure out what is right for ourselves and our partners? This book is not an over-the-top tear-jerker. It is not tell-all revenge memoir. Intead, it is a subtle and beautiful and funny reconsideration of what one man underwent in his efforts to be the best husband he could be. It didn't work out in Roche's first marriage, but it's clear by the end of the book that it wasn't for lack of trying or lack of will. The reasons for his divorce were so numerous, so complex, and the book's great strength is that those complexities are laid out for us with articulation and humor and patience. This is a book that speaks to its readers softly but powerfully. I was moved by it and instructed by it. I'm glad I read it.