Macunaima, the typical hero of Brazil, as the author introduces the book, passes through many weird and fantastic situations told as legends, ancient myths, that actually are aspects of the Brazilian culture. Macunaima, the hero, creates many traditions of Brazil during his adventures. Mario de Andrade style of writing is funny by itself, and the whole story is very ingenuous, funny and interesting. The author plays with the popular way of distorting the truth taking facts that are told later as legends and fantastic myths. This was the best book I ever read of Brazilian literature!

Mario de Andrade's Macunaíma is a "Sui Generis" book that shows the high-level of Brazilians authors literature, with a so well-humorated and creative history that keeps you hooked with the book all the time. The mix of all brazilians folklore is something great and nice to read and learn. Try...It's pretty good!!!!!!!!!

Mario de Andrade - writer, folklorist, musician, poet - published "Macunaíma, the hero with no character" in the 20s. It's a fantastic trip throughout Brazilian culture, music, ethnic origins, geography, folklore, all sewed together in the delicious adventures of the ultimate Brazilian, Macunaima. He's born an Indian, becomes Black, and then White, and never loses contact with his previous lives. It's not just exotic, magic and adventurous. It's intelligent, challenging, first class literature.

I gained a new respect for Vargas Llosa after reading this book. I admit that I've often had trouble finishing his novels, like "The Green House" and the "The War of the End of the World." But this collection of essays is very lucid and insightful. A true joy to read.

The topics vary, and cover everything from the "bad" films of Luis Bunuel to the fading legacy of Che Guevara. In fact, there seems to be an even split here between literary and political themes. I loved, for example, reading a Latin American perspective on the works of David Mamet.

I also enjoyed "Nicaragua at a Crossroads." His description of the capital city is amusing, heartbreaking and gives you a sense that the people of Managua live in a truly surreal world. No writer of magic realism could ever imagine a stranger form of urban chaos than the one depicted in this essay.

"Making Waves" is a brilliant collection -- one that ranks with Umberto Eco's "Travels in Hyperreality" or Octavio Paz's "Labyrinth of Solitude."

Mario Vargas Llosa is often overshadowed by the more famous Spanish writers such as Garcia Marquez and Fuentes. However, he deserves his place among them and may perhaps be better. "Making Waves" displays the writer's usual quick wit and sarcasm as he muses over everything from Peru's Shining Path to Hemingway to Rastafari to Che. It's a collection of essays spanning many decades, and often they are merely his take on a particular social, political, or literary trend. The book makes for enjoyable reading in bits and pieces. A highly intelligent work!

"Making Waves," by Mario Vargas Llosa, brings together more than 40 essays by this great writer from Peru. The book has been edited by John King, who also translated these essays into English. Vargas writes about politics, literature, popular culture, the writer's vocation, and other topics. His moods vary greatly throughout the book: outraged, annoyed, sentimental, exasperated, and enthralled.

The book is filled with fascinating insights and memories. It is fascinating, for example, to read how Vargas Llosa's first novel was burned and denounced. He frequently attacks Cuban leader Fidel Castro. One of the best selections, "The Story of a Massacre," tells of the tragic slaying of a group of journalists; this piece takes us into the worlds of the Shining Path guerrillas and the Iquichano Indians.

Another excellent selection is "My Son the Rastafarian," about his son's conversion to the Rastafarian religion while staying at an English school. Many of Vargas Llosa's essays explore the lives and work of other writers: William Faulkner, Doris Lessing, Julio Cortazar, Ernest Hemingway, and others. And there are a few weird surprises, like his essay on Lorena Bobbitt, the woman who cut off her husband's penis.

In an essay on Hemingway, Mario Vargas Llosa writes, "The condition of the writer is strange and paradoxical." He adds that the writer needs to "feed the beast within which enslaves him." Vargas Llosa has been feeding his own "beast" for a long time now, and the world is a richer place because of this. I highly recommend "Making Waves" to all interested in contemporary literature and politics.

I love this book. The recipes are traditional and delicious, the photographs are lovely, and I like the comments Mario includes with the recipes. I get hungry just looking through it.

As a Sicilian growing up with a large Italian family in Brooklyn, this book had many traditional recipes. As the older generations are gone..so are their recipes..this book brought them back to me. Christmas Eve - the traditional Fish Feast was fabulous in this book. The photography and layout is very good. I also enjoyed the brief history he includes with the holiday and food. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this book.

preordered this book when I saw it listed, knowing anything Mario had published would have to be great. I was however a little surprised when it arrived and I saw just how small it actually was. After reading it through from cover to cover, I overcame my disappointment however, realizing that Mario had chosen only the best recipes for the holidays. As the Italian food host at BellaOnline, I am always on the lookout for Italian cookbooks that offer more than simply everyday recipes. Anyone buying this cookbook that is familiar with Mario Batali's work, will not be sorry. If you are interested in Italian recipes specific for the holidays, buy this book!

Enhanced with an informative Foreword by Mario Vargas Llosa and introductions by Edward Ranney and Publio Lopez Mondejar, Martin Chambi: Photographs 1920-1950 presents the enduring and transcendent black-and-white photography of Martin Chambi, one of Peru's most acclaimed photographers. His pictures strikingly present the daily lives of Cuzco men and women in the first half of the twentieth century, and presents a wealth of portraits filled with emotion, determination, which ultimately form an impressive legacy of memory and pride. Martin Chambi: Photographs, 1920-1950 is a highly recommended addition to any personal, professional, or academic Photography Studies reference collection.

I can't stop looking at this book. It is that captivating. Chambi's work helps to preserve one of the world's most fascinating and unique cultures. To look at his photography is to look at Cuzco itself. In the eyes of the people of Cuzco you can see years of desperation yet at the same time a great sense of hope. This collection of photos brings to life Cuzco pre-Machu Picchu tourism boom and does it wonderfully. Chambi was not only Peru's best photographers, he was at the time one of the wolrd's best. It has been said that he showed a perfect sense of balance in his work. Chambi clearly captures moods as is evident in this collection. Among his most well known photographs is "Tristeza Andina" or "Andean Melancholy." This is a haunting but beautiful photograph of a Quechua Indian playing a flute with his llama standing behind him. It is difficult to describe the feelings that this photograph can evoke. This book is easily worth any amount you may pay for it.

This is a Smithsonian monograph collection of photographs by the Peruvian photographer that portray many facets of Peruvian life... Print quality is excellent. The photographs are amazing and a fascinating look at culture, landscape and society 1920 - 1950.

Esta es una obra de teatro, concebida como tal, con istruciones (pocas pero presisas) sobre el esenario y el comortamiento sugerido de los actores. Todo esta basado en los dialogos y se tiene una trama muy basica sin grandes complicaciones, como fue la de todos esos presos politicos en america latina. Existen algunos pasajes imprecionates y los dialogos son tan coerentes por las dos partes que no se advierte la tendencia del autor, sino que por sentido comun uno se pone del lado del torturado y desprecia al torturador. Esta obra se puede leer en dos muy buenas horas de lectura pero se queda en la mente duante varios dias y en la conciencia para siempre.

es un excelente libro, en el cual se refleja la situacion de argentina en el año de 1979, donde un preso se le tortura para que de informacion sobre 4 personas, pero gracias a sus altos principios, valores, y por el amor a su hijo se mantiene firme en no dar esa información hasta el final, *derrotando* al capitan.

Simplemente esta excelente, facil de leer, además de rapida

Pedro y el Capitan es una obra de teatro en la que los dos unicos personajes, un militar torturador y un preso politico torturado, llevan adelante un dialogo imposible. Es la historia de un conflicto que va mas alla de lo ideologico.

This author has created a masterpiece! Well written, Unbelievably thoughtout, I could not put it down for a minute. My family and I have now read this book over a thousand times. The Research done in this book makes me think of one person only "Albert Einstein". Everyone Should buy this book because it was written by a GOD! If only I could meet this genius, it would be all I need before i die!! "I rate this book an 11"

The author very well described that he knew what he was talking about. It was very well written and the set up of the book was incredible. The "acknowledgments" was perfect, it well detailed out who he gave his deepest gratitude too. In closing i would just like to say that this book was perfect! you should get one for the whole family.

I am not a psychology major or even a psychology buff. But I picked up the book at a friends house and couldn't put it down. It was so radically different from what you would normally expect from someone in the social SCIENCES (and possibly from a human being) that I found myself intellectually challenged to stay with it. What is a human being? What is anxiety? What is the nature/nurture debate really about? How about the unconscious? The only reason I gave it a nine was because when I felt I was having some difficulty hanging in there, I wnated more

How can one write a review that could compare with the author's real life experiences. I met Mario through my friend Hal Stephens who wrote the introduction .. I then traveled with Hal up and down the West Coast to book dealers and museums .. their reception was highly enthusiastic. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC reviewed the book for its 50th Anniversary of World War II but it was submitted too late for their collection .. unfortunate for those who would have wished for a daily recording of the misfortunes of those on the Death March and the Death Camps. Recollection of experiences is worthwhile, but the daily recording is more significant. My uncle was a POW in Germany; his reading of the book brought home memories that had long been suppressed. Comparisons with the Halocaust survivors' stories can easily be made. Life and Death are with us always, but how one survives Life is always a compelling story. Mario's life span of misadventure was summarized in the Death March and Death Camps. A truly engrossing real life adventure. Reviewed by Dave Pryor.

Mario Machi was involved in the famous Battan Death March in the Philippines during World War II. He kept a diary that could have gotten him killed after he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. This story explores the times he spent as a prisoner of war, and his life after the war. It is a fascinating story of compassion and grace.

Under the Rising Sun is an extraordinary account of Mario Machi's struggle for survival, an account that few people, even his closest friends knew about. When the war ended he was freed from Bilibid Prison in the Philippines and returned to San Francisco, finished his education, and for 22 years taught junior high school in the small town in California. Mario says he did not write Under the Rising Sun with the intent of producing a war story. For fifty years has kept his thoughts hidden, from his many students and from even his closest friends. He kept to himself the memories of prisoners who marched side by side with him, some too weak to continue, who dropped by the roadside, only to be bayoneted for failing to keep up. Somehow Mario managed to survive the brutality, the hunger, the thirst, the disease, and the dreadful feeling that he had been abandoned. Somehow 10,000 others died on that march, some 178 men for every mile they tread, but Mario Machi lived. What makes this book so extraordinary is that it is not simply an account of an ex-soldier recalling dreadful acts that happened long ago. Mario's account of the Bataan Death March was recorded as it was happening, in a diary that he managed to keep on the march. Each day, often under actual heavy gun fire, he recorded what he saw and witnessed, first hand, and most miraculously, this diary--a written confession that would certainly have meant immediate death had it fallen into enemy hands--has survived to this day. This book is for both the generations who remember Bataan and for those who have yet to hear. On his return to the United States in 1945 Mario Machi was awarded the Bronze Star for the work he did in the camps. Now, nearly fifty years later, he has told his story, and we are all made the richer for it. Why he decided to tell his story is explained in the book.

This is one of the coolest books I have ever read. Being a hockey nut, I just ate these stories up like no tomorrow. You don't need to be a crazy fan like myself to enjoy the stories though. The Stanley Cup is definately the most well traveled hunk of silver around and its story is still being written. The Cup means so much more that just winning and this book illustrates just how important it is to people and just how uncontrollably happy they can become when they raise it over their heads. One of these days, when I get my day with the Stanley Cup, I hope to be featured in a book just like this.
In general, this book is a unique collection of fascinating stories that have been compiled for over one hundred years. No hockey fan should be without this and I highly recommend it too anyone who is looking for an easy going and enjoyable book.

If you are a fan of hockey, this is a must! I couldn't put it down. One story after another, after another. Next time you see the Cup, you'll think back to all of the hilarious things the Cup's been through. Five star, double thumbs up!

What a great way to pass time between playoff rounds. Mr Allen had done his research. I can't watch Bill Clement without laughing so hard from his recollection of the Flyers Victory parade. A touching story is also included about Rocket Richard and his famed input on the Cup lore. Also a surprising and VERY sentimental touch of Pat Verbeek's day with the Cup in 1999. It's nice to see guys like him with even more reverence for the Cup.

This hilarious collection of comic book adventures features everyone's favorite Italian plumber from Brooklyn, Mario. With the aid of his brother Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and others, he fights off the evil Bowser. However, the humor relegates the action to the back seat. My favorites are "The Kingdom Enquirer," wherein one of Mario's friends becomes a reporter; "Fins and Roses," featuring the incredibly annoying Stanley the Talking Fish, who is trying to seduce one of Bowser's kids; and "You Again?", which is the funniest in the whole book. You MUST buy this!

Good collectible Mario item, a whole bunch of mario bros. 2 and 3 comics. worth trying to locate.

I read through the first ten Mario Balzic novels by K.C. Constantine consecutively, not knowing that I had stopped short of the final book in the series, "Cranks and Shadows." The end of the road for Mario Balzic is a bittersweet conclusion, although over the course of the last few novels I had found myself in total agreement with his wife Ruth that he needs to pay more attention to her and learn to stop being totally consumed by his job as Police Chief of Rocksburg, Pennsylvania. For ten books Balzic has stubbornly avoided doing either and his Achilles heel has been that as good as he is at wearing people done through intense conversations, his wife can turn the tables on him in that particular arena. The question is whether Balzis is going to go out with a bang or with a whimper.

Rockburg is seeing hard times. Already the Sanitation Department, the city's vehicle mechanics, its plumber, and two carpenters have been replaced by private contractors. It has been eight years since Balzic has hired any new officers for the Police Department or that his men have seen a promotion. Now Mayor Kenny Strohn has told Balzic to layoff five officers, leaving him but twenty-five members to police an economically depressed city of 15,000. As if that was not bad enough, Balzic is stunned to discover a small group of heavily armed, camouflaged commandos rappelling out of a blue-and-white helicopter. The chief cannot get any answers out of these para-military figures, which means he is going to start asking hard questions. When he learns what is going on in his town and discovers that not everybody has the same idea of public service that has been the rock upon which Balzic has built his career, he realizes it is time to reconsider what is left of his life.

The first part of "Cranks and Shadows" was a bit of rough going for me because it seemed that Balzic was no longer raging against the injustice of the world around him but had been reduced to ranting. His conversations, always the strong point of these novels and the way by which he does his job, were becoming decidedly one sided and it was becoming commonplace for people to tell Balzic they were not telling him things he should probably know because they did not want to get into it with him. But then there is a point in the story where everything changes and Balzic does more listening to Ruth and engages in more introspective examinations of his life. Constantine is setting up not only his character for the end of the road, but his readers as well.

The ending to "Cranks and Shadows" is not particularly satisfying, but that presupposes that a "happy" ending is possible in Balzic's world of Rocksburg in the Reagan-Bush eighties where the end of revenue sharing changed everything for local governments. Constantine cannot be faulted for providing a realistic conclusion to Balzic's career and it is difficult not to agree that there is an appropriateness to the way the story ends given the rocky road the character has traveled. After all, to quote my old college professor, nobody promised fair. These eleven Mario Balzic novels, the first half of which are more traditional mystery books, remains a superb character study of irascible hero and the particular region he calls home. I realize this is not Constantine's last novel and I will be interesting to see what it is like to read one his novels that is not about Mario Balzic.

K.C. Constantine started his publishing career with The Rocksburg Railroad Murders, which was published by a small literary press in Boston. Over the years, Constantine's eye and skill have become so remarkable that he transcends both the mystery genre and the limitations of series character works.

Constantine has an ear for dialogue that rivals George V. Higgins, and his narrator, Police Chief Mario Balzic, is a proud, despairing, upstanding man in a town that's been falling apart for 20 years. Rocksburg is the mystery novel's answer to Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, rendered with all the family intrigue and hardscrabble perseverance alive and intact. Often there's no murder, or mystery in a conventional sense in these novels -- the thing that is grand about them is that through Balzic's eyes we can see our everyday lives as a mystery, where we do the best we can with the clues we've got.