I am a Spanish teacher at the elementary school level and have read this book to children from 5 to 9 years of age and they all adore the ridiculous Juan Bobo. Unlike any other books I've read to them, kids will look for Juan Bobo books in the library and ask to borrow mine. We call each other "silly vaca" like Juan calls the cow that he thinks has turned to stone but which is immobile because Juan has tied his legs together. He was just doing as he was told, tying up the cow before he milks it.

I always enjoy reading different versions of fairy and folk-tales. This a fun Puerto Rican version of the Lazy Jack stories. Actually, I like the ending better than in Lazy Jack. It bothered me that some poor girl would be stuck marrying a fool like Lazy Jack simply because he made her laugh. That could make for a very looooong, trying marriage! But a useful reward, that seems quite appropriate. Anyway, the illustrations are cheery and charming. A nice addition to a folktale collection!

Produced by the collaborative efforts of art experts Neal Benezra, Olga M. Viso, Michael Brenson, and Paul Schimmel, Juan Munoz is an astounding companion to the exhibition of Munoz's remarkable, three-dimensional art on exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution. Black-and-white and color photographs abound in this lavish work, featuring extensive and informative essays that look deep into the heart and soul of the sculptures, figures, and prints. Juan Munoz is highly recommended as a rare treat for the both the eyes and the artistic intellect.

Juan Munoz is not only a catalog accompanying the first major survey of Munoz's work in this country, but the most comprehensive study of his work in print. Color illustrations of all the works in the exhibition accompany essays and an interview with the late artist; all of which reveal facets of his techniques and intentions. The lavish display of his art introduces readers to the range of his abilities.

Juan Goytisolo is a too-little-known Spanish writer whose early books were banned by the Franco government in fascist Spain. La Isla, one of his lesser-known but best books, is set in the coastal city of Málaga and introduces us to a group of upper-class Spaniards and expatriates with too much money, too much free time, and a cynicism that seems to pervade every aspect of their lives. They are surrounded by luxury in this Mediterranean jewel set in an arid surrounding of unrelieved poverty, but hedonists as they are, they don't know or care about anyone not like themselves. At the center of the book is Claudia Estrada, through whose eyes the action unfolds, and her husband Rafael, a womanizing journalist with whom she has long ago fallen out of love. We also meet Dolores Vélez, an aging but still beautiful actress, desperate to hang on to her philandering doctor husband Román who couldn't care less about her; Laura, who hops from bed to bed in the series of one-night stands that make up her relationships; the American expatriate Ellen who cheats on her husband with half the male population of the city, and Enrique Olmos, Claudia's would-be lover, whose cynicism is a cover-up for a desperate problem that dooms their illicit relationship. The action in the story takes place over a span of eleven days, during which Claudia examines her life, its emptiness, her reliance on meaningless social contacts to get her through the days and sleeping pills to get her through the nights; she realizes that she is going through the motions of living but is powerless to do otherwise. One wonders, would her life have more meaning if she had children, a job, something to keep her focused off herself, or is she too self-centered to even want a family or a meaningful occupation? At the book's end, Claudia is off to America when her husband receives a plum assignment as a foreign correspondent; we don't know how she will arrange her life in a new country or whether or not her sham of a marriage will stand or fall, and we realize that ultimately it makes no difference. In this relatively short book, Goytisolo gives us an intimate picture of a life reduced to an endless series of empty gestures.

The lost hope, the disappointment, the maturity. The encounter between the reality, and the expectations. The reaction, and the change of the perception of life. Cynic, aggressive, with no limits, which make them and her (Claudia) stronger and at the same time weaker. Because they have created strong self defense to the rest of the world, but behind the lustro is the wounded soul, Achilles heel. The sexuality, and the free expession of it is the most significant reaction based on the new dimension, where nothing really matters, there are no values and your way is down down down to the bottom.

Lewis was able to go inside a family that trusted him enough to show just how difficult life can be. This book makes you think and shows you just how grinding poverty can eat away at ones soul. It also manages to show the vibrancy this family has. you are able to see the world from different members attempts at making a better life. It tells vividly how the streets of New York which hold so much promise ultimately cause most members of this family so much pain. This is a must read not only for latinos but for everyone. This book is more about the endurance of a soul as it is about ethnicity.

La Vida is an anthropological study that tells the story, in their own words, of an extended Puerto Rican family in San Juan and in New York. What a lively and colorful culture! If you want to get a sense of life among Puerto Ricans in the 1960s who exist low on the economic scale, this book will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about their individual lives from their perspective. The perspective is important because it can change the way the reader views a person until she hears that character's own voice. Every day I looked forward to "living" with this family.

The Little Ghost Who Wouldn't Go Away/El Pequeno Fantasma Que No Queria Irse is a bilingual (English and Spanish) storybook for young readers, about Rebecca Garcia, a young girl determined to learn why a little ghost continues to quietly haunt the mountain community of El Rito in New Mexico. A warm and engaging story about discovery and emotion, The Little Ghost Who Wouldn't Go Away is nicely illustrated by Kris Hotvedt with a handful of black-and-white drawings.

Having lived in northern new mexico for most of my life, I can relate to this book. My kids love it and ask me to read it to them again and again and again.

In a very conversational way, Juan Carlos describes how the Lord transformed his church from a huge nursery into a body of spiritually mature believers who were being discipled and were discipling others. He also describes walking in the Spirit in a simple easy to understand discussion of how he does it. He says that since Christianity is for the poor and uneducated, living the Christian life must be simple and atainable for every believer. If the book were back in print, I would carry it to conferences and retreats I lead and make it a recommended resourse. Borrow a copy if you can and be blessed as you read.

I read this book 6years ago. It was given to be by Pastor Larry Titus. It was the best book I ever read on this Subject. I know that this book was given to dozens of men by Pastor Titus & all agree that it changes our way of thinking and living. I gave my copy away and need to find copies of this book for my Men's Bible Study. It needs to be re-printed. John Cosenza,

Well he is great and all of his books are good, too bad they haven't been put for sale here.

I WAS IMPRESSED AT ALL THE INFORMATION AND CALL OF ALLTHE DIFERENT FROGS IN THE ISLAND. I HOPE THE AUTHOR REPUBLISHES A NEW EDITION.

This book on Luc Tuymans is an excellent introduction to the strange world of this internationally reknowned Belgian Painter. What is it that stirs up the bizarre fascination of cognoscenti for this artist? At the very least, it is attributable to the deeply psychological expression that this artist conjures from his sometimes murky palatte, as well as his subject matter. He addresses these ideas in relation to living as an artist in this modern world and a Freudian psychoanalysis of history that seems all to prevalent in this information age; including, everything from the New York art world as evidenced in his painting "Heritage", which alludes to Jasper Johns flag painting and the Holocaust in paintings like "Our New Quarters". This artist also takes these issues to subjects like the body, which through his investigation and isolation of its various parts he formulates the queerness that follows a banal rendition of the functions of that space. In addtion, as a psychoanalytical historian this artist attempts to fuse the mundanity of the conscious world with the fanatsy of the world of dream, which always seems to be off center, and could be related to the work of Alex Katz and Robert Gober. At any rate, this book provides an excellent insight into the world created by Luc Tuymans, and comes highly recommneded by art lovers and aficianados alike.

The illustrations in the book are very fine. The interview with the artist gives more insight into his work than any of the writings in the book including his own. There is a good deal of critical double talk and bullshit, but biographical information, and useful details seem to slip through as well.

"Let's cut to the chase, this book is simply an outstanding read regarding the evolution, behavior, health, and conservation of marine mammals... the following five topics are covered in a very complete fashion: (1) life history and ecology; (2) sensory systems; (3) survey and study techniques; (4) health, parasites, and pathogens; and (5) conservation and management. No one of these sections in necessarily better than the other, as they are all provide excellent summaries of the available literature. The text is written in a style appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. One of the things I found particularly appealing about the book is that the editors clearly emphasized to each of the contributing authors that they should include some of the cutting edge questions, where future research needs to be directed to move the various fields forward. Therefore, the text is replete with ideas and suggestions for Masters and Ph.D. level research. In addition, I think the editors, who obviously worked closely with the authors of each chapter, found the right balance between emphasizing the underlying discipline...and the wonderment of knowledge about marine mammals... this is a textbook that belongs in the bookshelves of practicing marine mammal biologists and academics interested in vertebrate biology. In addition, I highly recommend this book to graduate students interested in applying the tools of a particular discipline to a specific hypothesis that can be tested using marine mammal data. As far as textbooks go, this text has "legs" and I would venture to guess that its useful shelf-life will exceed 10 years in most disciplines covered." - Douglas P. DeMaster, National Marine Mammal Laboratory

"This book is generally of high editorial standard... I intend to recommend the book as background reading for my course and to use some chapters as the basis for restructuring some of my lectures... If you are interested in marine mammals this book will certainly be a very useful addition to your library."- by Helen Marsh, James Cook University

For me the best part of this book is not its engagement with some of the world's current sources of real and political pain, but its recommendation and honest appraisal of other books. Mr. Alcalay writes informatively and with tasteful purpose. Even the essays of a more personal nature I found moving, but the books he has read and recommends are the diamonds that too often remain beneath the rubble. I cannot say there is anywhere else I would have found some of these authors recommended or reviewed. Mr. Alcalay writes with enthusiasm about authors whose literatures will never make the weekend book page. These authors are diverse in approach (poets, novelists, essayists, historians) and smart. They provide more immediate accounts of other places and states, some of the light and the heavy. This book fills a need by providing the names necessary for readers to get better acquainted with writers in the Middle East and some chosen Eastern European regions. I recommend this book highly.

Memories Of Our Future is an outstanding anthology of essays surveying the complexities of Mediterranean cultures; the diverse, changing space of the Balkans, Middle East, and North Africa -- areas of diasporas, dislocations, and genocidal exterminations provoked nationalism and religious fanaticism. As a Sephardic-Croatian Jew, Ammiel Alcalay confronts the deep resistance to change of any kind in this region, and describes his personal intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and political endeavor to help break down barriers between peoples, nations, and languages. Of special interest is his observations and analysis of the Israeli/Palestinian confrontation, Arab/Jewish poetics, and Jewish identity in America. Memories Of Our Future is seriously recommended reading for students of Balkan, Middle Eastern, and North African studies.