This is a book that will capture your heart and soul. I spent nights crying for Otto, and often wanted to put the book down, but found that I couldn't until I saw him through to the end. His ultimate successes were a real tribute to the strength that can be found within the human soul. This book is spiritual and inspiring and will not leave you.

I could not put this book down I wanted to find the author as a
little boy and even now as a vulnerable adult and hug him and congratulate him that he managed to survive mostly intact through
a very harrowing childhood and for many years an extremely lonely
adulthood.

This book was written after the author's mother passed on. All
of the memories of a traumatic childhood growing up in Vienna,
Austria w/ the threat of Hitler and his domineering mother came
flooding back and are told beautifully in this sad but inspiring book. It was wonderful.

I found this a fascinating, informative and enlightening book. It would make a great Christmas/Hanukkah gift because of its' originality and intelligibility.

Regardless of whether you agree with the choices of all the stories selected within this book, it is a great representation of american mystery stories in the 20th century. The inclusion of some of the centuries most prolific mystery writers, (Chandler, Hammett, Cain, MacDonald (Ross & John D.)), famous novelists (Faulkner, Steinbeck, Buck), modern writers (Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, Sue Grafton, etc.), and countless others make this a fantastic collection. Only a "sour grapes" type of personality could not appreciate this book. I guarantee that this collection will have you wanting to read more from some of these authors, and probably expose you to authors you weren't aware of previously. With stories varying from 10 to 40 pages, you can choose how long you want to read. I am an avid mystery reader, and I while there are many great books and stories I have read, I feel this is the best purchase I have made for the assortment of authors, styles, and stories I have been exposed to.

Some stories you've read, some forgotten, some never heard of before, are the rewards in this fine anthology. Take the time to enjoy this one.

The stories in it reminded me of the great writers I enjoyed much earlier in the century. I liked the fact that they dated the stories to let the reader know when they were written. I must commend Tony Hillerman for his impressive choices; it couldn't have been an easy job. I can tell you right now, don't expect to read it in one week, not even in a month. I do recommend you savor and enjoy these stories slowly, even repeatedly, over an extended length of time, possibly even between other mysteries. What I mean is, who would WANT to hurry through such classics as James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner, Susan Glaspell, Stephen Greenleaf, Dashell Hammett, O Henry, Sue Grafton, or Flannery O'Connor? And that's just a drop in the bucket of Who's Who in this 813-page book.

Flannery O'Connor is one of my all time favorites. She has a strong way of making a point; her endings have always taken me by surprise. Her 1965-story The Comforts of Home, about a son still living with his mother and the unwelcome guest she brings home, has the honor of being included. Another great one is, Susan Glaspell's 1917 story, A Jury of Her Peers; a story of a husband who hung himself while still in bed. Then there's a 1905 story by Willa Cather called Paul's Case; about a recently released safe cracker who may or may not go straight. Be sure to read Tony Hillerman's introduction. He tells the reader the difference between literature and mystery and how mystery has evolved. On my keeper shelf it goes!

This book is one of the reasons why I became a devoted reader of Otto Friedrich's work. Two others were his excellent series in Time about Berlin in the rise of Hitler along with "Going Crazy," a brilliant study of psychoanalysis with analyses of some interesting case histories of individuals who were treated for psychiatric difficulties. "City of Nets" explores the fabled city of lights and dreams during one of its most memorable decades. In addition to receiving all kinds of interesting tidbits about Rita Hayworth's tempestuous marriage to Orson Welles and Robert Mitchum's time spent in a California honor farm on a marijuana possession charge that would ultimately be expunged, Friedrich also provides the broader picture of a town thrown into turmoil and confusion during the period following the war.

Friedrich gives a brilliant account of the tragic blacklist period. As one who has studied this period closely as a historian, I was impressed by the breadth of the author's scope as a researcher. German playwright Bertolt Brecht is colorfully displayed. His offbeat intelligence and unconventional demeanor completely astounded House Un-American Activities Committee members as they sought to interrogate him. Long after the author of "Mother Courage", "Galileo" and many other plays had returned to his native East Germany, committee members and others were still trying to figure him out. Friedrich relates the incident when Charles Laughton threw a wild tantrum at the Coronet Theater as he was rehearsing for the Los Angeles premiere of Brecht's "Galileo." Another interesting character sketch provided by Friedrich is that of Austrian emigre Billy Wilder, who fled Hitler's Germany and became a major figure in films, first as a writer, then as a director-writer.

The anecdotes and richness of the character portraits transpose the reader back to Hollywood in the forties. As revealed, it was a truly fascinating, wildly unpredictable place during a pivotal period of American history.

Of the books I've read about the golden age of Hollywood, this is easily the best. Friedrich combines brief biographies of the great directors, actors, and producers of the period along with lesser known stars to give a thorough picture of the film culture of the period. What is especially interesting is his analysis of the role refugees from Nazi oppression played in creating and not creating some of the great films of the 40's.

Otto Friedrich's City of Nets (A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's) is as evocative a portrait of a time and place as one could hope for. The book travels through more than film history (much, much more) as the reader explores, dragged by the wonderful writing of the author, crime, unions, politics, communism, war, racisim and a host of other isms. This book is about the parts of America that float to the surface of the pool of churning, boiling water that is Hollywood and it is not always a pretty grouping of flotsam and jetsam. The author captures the personality of the characters in this soapy drama with beautiful ease and, often, humour. It was a joy from beginning to end and deserves far more than five stars. A book about Hollywood for those who care about history and do not see a light shining on some very gloomy corners of history.

This book is very inspirational. For anyone who really appreciates innovative crochet techniques this book's definately a keeper. First of all it's huge with tons of high glossy photos. I loved seeing all of the different clothes. I've always thought of myself as an innovative crocheter but the artists in the book really let their imaginations go.

There is not only crochet clothing but woven, leather and found objects. If you hunger for abstract designs and techniques this book will satisfy.

I have the edition of this book which came out in the mid'80s and which was embraced by all of us doing wearable art as the ultimate art we are all aspiring to achieve. The author then had the most famous wearable art gallery too in New York City. The pictures are out-of-this world in the earlier edition and I can't believe they'd be anything but splendid in this later edition. I can't even count how many hours I've spent going over the pictures again and again in the book. I can't understand why Amazon doesn't have a front cover to show you on this book though. Mine has a knock-you-out front cover with an absolutely gorgeous cover model in wearable art. If you've always wanted to understand what wearable art is, this book answered all the questions I had about the movement and the pioneers who started it. I spent (more money) on my book back then so this one is a real deal if you get the same number of pictures.

I am so impressed with this book, that I would reccomend it to anyone who has ever had any interest in "art to wear" Truly remarkable and one of a kind.

This book should be considered a combination of art/animation history,as well as a bible for Felix fans!

Canemaker takes the reader through the amazing roller coaster ride that is the career of Felix the Cat. From the shady past of producer Pat Sullivan, to the brilliant career of Otto Messmer, this is a great read. Complete with rarely seen Felix memorabilia, this book has it all. It is just too bad that there aren't more books like Canemaker's out there for the dyed-in-the-wool fan. Pick it up!

John Canemaker has the rare gift of bringing the human side of great animation to life. He is at the top of his form in this book, which follows the story of Felix the Cat from his creation by Otto Messmer through the present day. Very highly recommended for anyone interested in Animation in any form whatsoever.

Jim Otto's injuries have left him a pitiful cripple, in constant pain, who can't do even the simplest physical tasks that normal people take for granted. He will probably die soon from their aftereffects, in fact should have died from them several times already. We know this because he says so, while matter-of-factly stating that, if he had it to do over again, he would do things exactly the same?! I don't get it, and even if I did get it I wouldn't approve of it--if there is anything worth putting yourself through this kind of hell for, it is surely not the fleeting "glory" of the football field. In spite of, or maybe because of, all this, the book is endlessly readable and interesting--his hardcore masochism holds the same kind of strange fascination that makes people watch car wrecks (and football games, I suppose). It helps that Otto comes across as very likable, even admirable in his way--honest, conscientious, and of course dependable. Even if at times he seems to be rather, um, stupid.

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT ONE OF THE TOUGHEST PLAYERS OF ALL TIME. JIM OTTO WAS TRULY A MAN DEDICATED TO HIS PASSION. HE PLAYED THRU SO MANY INJURIES THAT WOULD HAVE KILLED MANY CAREERS. HIS DESCRIPTION OF HIS MANY KNEE INJURIES HAD ME WINCING AND MY KNEES WERE HURTING JUST READING ABOUT THE PAIN HE ENDURED THRU OUT HIS CAREER. AN AMAZING MAN WITH SUCH A TOLERANCE FOR PAIN. HIS RETELLING OF EARLY RAIDER DAYS WAS VERY NOSTALGIC. I ENJOYED HIS COMMENTS ABOUT LYNN SWANN AND VARIOUS OTHER FORMER PLAYERS AND OWNERS. A MUST READ FOR ALL RAIDER FANS AND FOR FANS WHO LIKED PLAYERS WHO WERE AS TOUGH AS NAILS.

A very straight forward book by Jim Otto. There is a price when one wants to achieve or aspire to achieve glory on the gridiron. Jim Otto is that person and he candidly tells us what he was willing to sacrifice to reach that plateau. For the Raider fan at heart, or a football fan in general, this is the book to read.

A nice little dream journey by j.otto Seibold and V.L. Walsh for the very young book-looker. Chongo Chingi is a penguin who dreams of flying, all the way to outer space, then is woken up by the alarm clock. Very few words here, much fewer than most of their books. Also simpler drawings on most pages with a few spreads of the famously inventive j.otto detail. Might not appeal as much to older readers as most j.otto books but still recommended.

I love Seibold. My wife loves him. My little daughter will (she's too young). The thing with Mr. J. Otto Seibold is not that his books are beautiful. They're smart too. In my opinion, there's no other name in children's picture books. Not even Maira Kalman. Seibold is a true artist, using Adobe Illustrator. I only wish he publishes more. For instance, where's the book "Bubblesoup"?
Aha! You can get it online at [his web site], it's just incredible. This one, with music, sound, and action, my little daughter already loves.

After having had success buying other Seybold/Walsh books for some of my friend's children, I decided to take a chance and get one as a birthday present for my 41-year old boyfriend.

As it turns out, it was the PERFECT gift! It's a big hit around our place -- he just can't get enough of it! At first I thought it would be a little mature for him, seeing as how he's a freelance graphic designer (you know how they are). But he took to it immediately -- he must have read it dozens of times by now. When he turns the pages he squeals and giggles as he points to all the little details, all the while just beaming with delight!

If you have an "artistic" boyfriend with a short attention span I can't give this book a high enough rating. Buy it now!

I've loved this book I've been a little kid, sitting in my bed, dreaming of being a pirate of some form or fashion. This is a children's book meant for a mixed audience. This book packs in an adventure big enough to be enjoyable even for an adult who wouldn't be uncomfortable with such a book in his or her hands. The book maintains a set line of humor throughout so one doesn't have to worry about being too frightened by the "Pirate Ghost". The writing style is interesting enough, and the humorous pictures are very satisfying to look at with this pleasant tale of a pirate mystery.

This book I thought was great. I would recommend this book to any kid that has a good imagination and that wants to know everything. This book would be great for kid imagination and would get it going because the book keeps you going until the end where it finally shows you the culprit. Let me tell you some about the book without ruining it for you. It's about this kid named Otto that has an uncle that has been around a lot and has been on lots of trips and adventures. Now this "ghost" has been on the run after stealing things from Boogle Bay. They had a plan to catch the ghost as they think it is but the play fails. After a bit they end up having another plan using a trumpet that uncle Tooth had given to Otto. To find out what happens next be sure to read this book its great. I thought it had good pictures and well written for kids.

This story was my young child's first introduction to mysteries, and I haven't stopped reading it yet. It captured his interest quickly and kept him spellbound until the very end when the mystery is solved (with no violence or explosive action scenes). He still requests it, even though he knows the outcome, because he loves both the story and the charming characters. We plan to purchase the remaining Otto and Uncle Tooth books soon and hope they are as entertaining as this one.

The discrete math course at our university is a sort of "rite of passage" for math majors- it introduces students to the idea of proofs, as well as basic set and graph theory and combinatorics. It is an introduction to the abstract aspect of mathematics. This book serves this purpose well, with a number of examples and drawings to illustrate concepts. However, this book explained induction in a manner that confused me. Also, our department wasn't too fond of this book- they switched to another after one semester. Still, I don't think it's too bad- unless the current book that the department uses is that much better.

As a student at Illinois state, I'm skeptical about all of the professors abilities... After all, these are the guys that consistently screw up addition in front of class.

After having a chance to complete half of this book in my Discrete Math course (mind you, I'm not a math major) I have definitely gained respect for ISU's math department.

I'm not sure if most authors really teach classes, or if they write books to fulfill their publishing requirements. I can tell you that the authors of Discrete math had the students in mind.

I've found this book to have exceptional examples, and well-explained, READABLE prose.

If you wanted to pick up a copy for self study, this would be a good book.... Yes a professor would be nice, but these guys did a good enough job that the book stands alone.

I am not a maths student but I used this book (the 4th edition) as a supplement for my combinatorial chemistry course and also my CRE course which has a section on spanning tree model. Quite easy to understand. Not bad as a reference for self-studying.

In Otto Ochs' the narrator takes the reader on a journey full with warm bread, blood, broken parts, and chill rivers. Like all journeys, it searches for the other and for the self, both elusive. It takes us from war torn Europe at the end of World War II, where the protagonist yearns for, nay, demands ersatz lederhosen from a father still looking for his real homeland of birch trees and peasant soil to the shores of America where he lusts for blue bicycles and the respectibility of baseball to establish his new "validity" in an alien landscape of citris and rock music. And, like all journeys started by the ravages of human disruption, it is a quest through the physical and the metaphysical, hunting warm bread for the stomach and the soul, swimming chill rivers that cleanse the skin and the mind. Mr. Ochs has created a book full of compassion, good sense, humor, and a finely honed sense of both personal and geopolitical history--it is a fine and magical read of a winter's night.

A friend suggested I read SEASONS OF THE SACRED FOOL, by Otto Ochs. Even before completion of the volume of several dozen poems, I was struck by Mr. Ochs sensitivity and keen observation.

It is apparent that Mr. Ochs is a caring individual. He cares about his family, he cares about people and he also cares about his world. Care alone does not make for great poetry. However, Mr. Ochs writes with great skill.

Mr. Ochs could have turned into a hardened man after his rough and less than idealic childhood in Europe. He instead developed into a thoughtful man, which we are now all fortunate to know through poetry.

The poem BREAD in the volume stands out as one of the many poems that caught my heart. Readers will be enhanced by SEASON OF THE SACRED FOOL.

The collection of experiences presented in these poems are both unique and universal. You cannot help but be moved to an exchange of Buberian proportions, as you read this profound manuscript.

The richness of metaphore, simile, and imagery is both startaling and provacative yet deeply rooted in the familiarity of childhood and home. This work contains a vivid portrait of humanity and the sacred reflections found within it.