You can tell that the author (Ken O'Donnell's daughter) greatly admired and loved both subjects of her book (Bobby Kennedy and Ken O'Donnell). It's an inspiring tribute to a past era. Helen O'Donnell hardly knew Bobby Kennedy (she was 6 when he was killed). However, she grew up listening to stories about him. Her mother and father both loved Bobby Kennedy, for different reasons. They gave her a discriptive account of Bobby, the man, and RFK, the politician. With rumors that have become accepted and unsubstantiated truths, new books such as "RFK: A Candid Biography" that try to dirty his name, as well as a fading national memory of his contributions; this book is a refreshing change. Ms. O'Donnell mentions that Bobby was her father's hero, and as told by Jackie Kennedy herself, Bobby was Jackie's hero as well. It's nice to read something positive about Bobby Kennedy, my hero.

A Common Good is an enjoyable, fast-paced read. It is a warm portrayl of Bobby, Jack and Kenny O'Donnel as people. There are laughs and poignant moments. It s a must for anyone interested in Robert Kennedy.

Kenny O'Donnell has done an outstanding job of providing insight to a man who figured largely in world history. He has drawn a very real, very strong portrait of a man who set and met many personal goals in his personal and professional life. Robert Kennedy was, in my opinion the most interesting of his brothers. Mr. O'Donnell does an excellent job of describing the aura of sincerity Robert Kennedy exuded. He helps bring a man into focus who has been dead for many years by describing the consistencies of his character. Robert Kennedy was clearly a very driven, very determined and very hard working man. He was also a very caring, very committed and very compassionate as well. He was a central figure in world history and I think the late Senator's works have certainly influenced the world for the better. This book is definitely worth reading.

This is my latest favorite photography book. I have a large collection that includes many with Manhattan as subject. The images captured by Levitt are stunning and the binding of the book itself is wonderful.

Helen Levitt is not one of those New Yorkers who look neither to the left or right as they travel the streets of the city. This is a book about life. The neighborhoods she shoots are generally poor ones, yet we see people that are involved; people who are actively engaged in life even when they seem to be doing nothing. Her subjects -often children- play, they love, they communicate, they are lost in thought, and occasionally are sleeping.

A fine sense of humor permeates many of the scenes. Some subjects are caught in contorted, puzzling positions. We see the incongruous position of objects: an old 33rpm record in the street; a pair of shoes sitting by themselves on a sidewalk; three chickens wandering around a decrepit room -where did they come from? A mother's head is buried in the bottom of a baby buggy while the tyke yelps with joy. A dog is caught in the act of mistaking his owner's leg for a fire hydrant while she talks to a friend.

In general HL catches the warm side of humanity. Only a couple of pictures look like they were taken from a file of Jacob Riis (a 19th century photographer of New York tenement life). There was one particularly sad shot of a woman and her three children sitting on their front steps. They are obviously impoverished. The two youngest children seem quite content, but the mother seems weighed down with her life, and in the teen-age daughter we see the beginning of lost hopes.

This book is a must for anyone interested in street photography. It will take you a long time to get through this book as each photograph will hold your attention for some time.

Helen Levitt's name is less well known than some of her images of New York street life. Perhaps that is the way she would wish it since she seems to have never sought fame. The book is as reticient as she and there is little commentary, but in truth little is necessary though I would love to know more about her and her work. This is a beautifully printed, organized and designed book and it was a pleasure to spend hours looking at the photographs. Often it was difficult to turn the page because each image is so compelling and resonates on many different levels. In a way, they are the perfect street images; they have the look of a snapshot but are so much more than that. Though they are all of New York they have a universal quality and speak about the truth of people's lives in a profound way. I admired the formal qualities of the photographs but what resonates most is the deep humanity of what she does, what she sees and records. It sometimes seems to me that photographers, in their quest for a good images,treats subjects with a level of distain and distance that is uncomfortable and ultimately manipulative. Crosstown is nothing like that and even when the photos are funny, and several are, they are funny in a very human way. There is nothing saccharine or trite in her work either and she has a great gift of photographing children without slipping into cuteness. I am a photographer and I treasure this book. I would certainly recommend it to others interested in photography, but I thinks its' appeal extends to anyone interested in the human condition and how we relate to one another.

This book is a top-notch history of where we have been as a society dealing with children with special needs. It lays the groundwork for many of the programs and ideas we have today. Definitely worthwhile reading.

I discovered this book shortly after my daughter was born with a severe orthopedic birth defect, and it helped me a great deal to cope during those early months. Just reading other families' stories--and seeing that there are many ways for children to develop and be loved--was a genuine inspiration. The author's special vantagepoint, as both the mother of a disabled child and a specialist in child development, lends both sensitivity and objectivity to the writing. If you "don't know what to say" to a friend or relative who is facing this crisis, let this book do the communicating...

Although I have been aware of my daughter's disability for years, I found Ms. Featherstone's book to be a source of support and understanding which I couldn't find elsewhere. This book covers a wide range of disabilities from physical, to mental, to emotional handicaps and gives first-hand accounts from people who have various relationships with the disabled. I recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a niche in the world as a relative to a someone with a disability.

Looking for a book about "coming out" as a lesbian, as an artist?
"Egret" cuts between the competitive art worlds of Manhattan and the Hamptons. The undercurrent of sensitivity to "East End" environmental issues adds to the reader's enjoyment. This is one good read -- for the beach, or for all year 'round!

This is an excellent book. It has well drawn characters who draw you into the story. It tells a different kind of story that keeps you reading until the end. The end is a little rushed, but the book overall is a terrific read.

I enjoyed all the desciptions of the Hamptons. I felt like I'd really been there. Also I felt like I was living in New York City, but away from the glamor that tourists know. I could really sympathize with Jodi as she was trying to find her true feelings personally and professionally. Having suffered so much as an artist, it was interesting to follow her journey.

I wish that more things in life came with a nice, compact, informative manual. :-) I recommend this book to those just beginning their adventure into green teas and also for those who enjoy green tea but don't really know much about finer greens. It starts out by covering the absolute basics like what tea is, how to appreciate it, potential health benefits, brewing basics, etc. I really liked her descriptions of how to brew in a cup/mug, teapot and guywan. Also, she's spot on with infusion baskets. Tea balls or clamp spoons are terrible and she doesn't mind saying so! She then moves on to explore some of the world's most enjoyed green teas from "Gen Mai Cha" to "Yin Hao". She does an excellent job of explaining what to look for in each tea, how to brew them and infuses her personal experiences to further broaden understanding. And, not one to leave it at that, she also talks about tea bags, what to do with spent leaves and liquor, using tea as dye and tosses in some green tea recipes that sound fantastic. I put this book on the shelf right alongside the classic "Tea Companion" by Pettigrew and "The Book of Green Tea" by Rosen. Happy tea drinking!

Good, practical advice. Helen even lists green tea by brand name and tells you how to brew each one differently so that each tea's finest qualities are brought out. Read this book and you will be a "green tea expert" in no time.

Part encyclopedic, part anecdotal, The Green Tea User's Manual has something for everyone. The author writes from personal experience at both ends of the spectrum, which makes for a fascinating way to read a wealth of information. Anyone who enjoys green tea (or black, for that matter) will thoroughly enjoy this little gem.

Helen Gibb has once again prepared a book that not only teaches the art of ribbonwork, but is an eye appealing treasure, blending directions for creating ribbonwork pieces of today with those of the past. Beautiful examples of past treasures have been painstakingly arranged and photographed. The book is enjoyable to peruse just to marvel at the beautiful antique pieces she displays. Her love of the antique handwork is evident and her work is tasteful and eye appealing. Helen's first ribbonwork book was beautiful and her new book is another example of her high quality and standard.

I have been pouring over this book ever since I received my autographed copy. This book is a must for anyone interested in silk ribbon embroidery or silk ribbon embellishment. Not only are the instructions clear and concise, but the book is dripping with photos of vintage and modern works alike. The variety of projects is sure to meet everyone's needs, with the photos providing endless ideas for using the techniques. Helen has created a masterpiece in this book.

This book is really one of the best I have read about ribbon work. I do have Helen's other book on Ribbon Flowers also.Just could not wait for her Ribbonwork. I looked it over cover to cover and want to make everything in the book.She has a wide variety of heirlooms to make and they are fantastic. I love the Victorian era and this book is truly inspirational.Helen's teaching certainly makes it easy to make heirlooms as a gift or for yourself. They are absolutely magnificent!

I have read many books of Chinese arts and crafts before, none of those were so rich, so authentic yet so original! One will be deeply drawn by the peculiarly beautiful artistic crafts and works created and presented by Mrs Helen Lin, only by turning for a few pages of the rare books. Deeply rooted in the soil of Chinese arts, especially from the Northern China, her artistic talent and works transcended the regular quality of the rich tradition and have opened the new road to the future Chinese artistic crafts. She is truly a master of Chinese arts and crafts. Whatever daily-life material come to her hand, she is able to turn it into an unusual piece work of art. In her eye, almost everything has the aesthetic value and is convertible to a joy of beauty. We marvel at her keen sense of art and her appreciate the beauty in our daily life and her great talent to recreate those numerous artistic crafts for our kids as well as for adults. We thank her for her wonderful gift for all the societies today and the future. I believe her book will travel far and wide.

I saw Helen Lin teaching her paper cutting crafts at the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Queens last month, so I got to see her book as well, which was on display. It's filled with lots of colorful crafts and creative artwork that you can do at home, and I bought two of them, one for me and one for my best friend because we both love arts and crafts. Mrs. Lin is a very talented artist. If you are in the New York area, you should definitely see one of her exhibits. Or for now, just buy the book! There is also an English version if you can't read Chinese.

I have never encountered a craft book that comprises as many original and inventive art projects as this one. Who knew that a handful of popcorn and twigs could be turned into a lovely plum blossom branch? And 3-D paper dolls?! The vast array of things that can be created with paper alone is the marvelous secret of this book. Helen Lin's Folk Arts and Crafts awakens the imagination of the reader like a pungent scent and weaves an endless permutation of new ideas. Best of all, this arts and crafts book teaches resourcefulness. Ordinary household items can be transformed into beautiful works of art worthy of giving. I have already found an economical way to make presents for my friends. Have you?

If you are going to buy one book about color mixing in painting, this is the one for you. She explains the best colors to use and gives helpful hints as to what mistakes not to make. She does so in a straight forward understandable way. I want to buy more of her books!

As a novice, searching books for the best instructions, I feel as though I have found a gold mine in Helen Ven Wyk's Color Recipes 2.The book is chock full of simple and informative instructions with many beautiful color illustrations. I am enjoying her book as I enjoyed her instructional videos on PBS. Perfect for the beginning artist.

I was fortunate enough to have studied with Helen at her studio in Rockport MA. She was so giving of her talent, and her teaching is so down to earth and easy to understand. I have all of her books, and refer to them often. She solves just about any problem you may have in painting. How sad that we have lost her, but how great to have her expertise in her books. This book is an excellent reference book as well as a teaching tool. You cannot go wrong buying any of her books.

This is a wonderful book, by a great writer. The catch is that very often it will be misunderstood, and associated with the group of fantastic south american writers, like Garcia Marquez. Instead the story is basically for real (the story of the last years of Paraguay dictator Gaspar Francia, who ruled the country from 1813 to 1840), and most of the mentioned documents are authentic, or at least plausible. Roa Bastos has played on the borderline between history and fiction, but most readers will not know this, and take for fiction what are very important and interesting historical facts, that would deserve a different approach and attention. This is the only (but rather painful) fault I find in an otherwise beautiful work.

There are three great novels about the Latin American dictator and all of them are very different. Miguel Asturias' Mr. President deals with a backwater banana republic where the president for life's presence itself is minor. What occurs instead is the lethal working out of a hideously unjust system which crushes and destroys all who resist and those who are caught in its clutches. Then there is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Autumn of the Patriarch, an example of high modernism at its most brilliant. In sentences of increasingly serpentine length (in the end consisting of the final chapter of forty-five pages) Garcia Marquez deals with an aged dictator who has ruled for centuries and is capable of every iniquity (such as serving up a cabinet minister for his treacherous colleagues to eat) while living in a world of pretend power and real submission (he has to sell his country's sea to pay off the Americans). This book is also high modernist, but is very different. Instead of the fantastic elements of the Autumn of the Patriarch we have here the story of the founder of Paraguay, Dr. Francia. Dr. Francia consolidated his country's independence by creating a regime of isolation and absolute power. He expelled the Jesuits and set up his own Catholic Church so it would not be beholden to Rome. He was utterly ruthless and the result, according to E. Bradford Burns was an autarky that probably benefited the masses more in terms of literacy and nutrition than any other Latin American country of the time. Its fate, however, was to be crushed by the surrounding countries in the great war of 1870-73 where the male population was almost literally devastated.

No venal tinpot hack, Dr. Francia appears as a man of frightening sincerity, in an account that is of direct revelance to the fate of Castro's Cuba. I, the Supreme begins with a proclamation in which the dicators calls for the decapitation of his corpse and the lynching of all his ministers. It continues with tales of prisoners forced to live in boats travelling down the rivers of Paraguay without ever stopping. We read of Francia's dialogue with a sycophantic Vicar General ("How long did the trial of the infamous traitors to the Fatherland last? As long as it was necessary in order not to rush to judgement. They were granted every right to defend themselves. In the end every recourse was exhausted. It might be said that the case was never closed. It is still open. Not all the guilty parties were sentenced to death and executed."), who then goes on to condemn his priests for siring dozens and hundreds of illegitimate children. Like Lenin and indeed Stalin he rants against the jungle of bureaucracy that he himself has created, he outsmarts the greedy surrounding oligarchies who wish to absorb Paraguay, he reminds his civil servants not to express and exploit the Indian population. We read reports of how school children are indoctrinated to see their great leader ("The Supreme Government is very old. Older than the Lord God, that our schoolmaster...tells us about in a low voice.) The book is a masterpiece of polyphony, filled with many voices and viewpoints, combined with a richness of metaphor and incident and a complexity of moral vision that have few competitors this century. Writing for a country that has possessed only brief and shadowy vestiges of liberty, Roa Bastos deals with its pain in a way that should be required reading for all who care about democracy.

In what has to be a fictional note at the end of the book, the author claims that he is not such, indicating that he merely copied parts of historical documents, writings and tales, thus the real "author" of this book is history itself and not him, who he says is merely the "compiler." The work is indeed true to history; the history about José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, the controversial Dictator of Paraguay between 1814-1840 who used to sign his official decrees not with his name but the sentence that is the title of this book. This is a wonderfully complex book; not easy to read. Sometimes fascinating paragraphs are unexpectedly cut with some note form the "compiler" indicating that the rest is illegible because the page is partly burned, which lets you to think that it was indeed copied from an old document; while at other times you read fascinating dialogs and monologues which you would think had to be fictional; but it is not as simple: You cannot tell truth from fiction because the truth seems fictional and the fiction tells truth. Truth that comes to you in the form of insights about the state of mind of a dictator, about absolute power, and about the soul of a country that owns its independent existence to its first dictator's determination to be its supreme ruler. It is an utterly fascinating book.

I am one on those people who is trying to get to TX as fast as I can, but I am stuck here in Tennessee until my son turns 18. This book offers a humorous look at life--Texas Style!! My favorite chapters are about food and pick-up trucks!! And there is a fun quiz at the end of the book!! It keeps thoughts of the LONESTAR state close to my heart and makes me want to head out West!! I recommend this book for anyone who loves the state of TEXAS!!

We gave this book to our friend from Germany to help better understand this "big ol'" state and the language while she was visiting. We found ourselves reading it and agreed with everything we read. Being Native Texans, we found this book the best book about Texas that we have ever read...and I have read a "mess of" books. Plus it has one of the best Texas jokes I've ever seen about why the chicken crossed the road. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about Texas and the people smart enough to live there.. or crazy enough.

I'm fixin to buy me my own copy of the book.

This book is truly hilarious-being a Texan myself for 6 years i can totally relate to what the aiuthor is saying. the entire book is like one big joke and will keep you laughing the whole way through.