I visited Alcatraz in December 1996, spending Christmas in SF. I was strongly impressed. There, I bought this book and, back to home, I become uncapable to stop reading. This is the true history of a man who played to be rough and independent from society, and payed it very strongly. He spent the most of his life in differente prisons, Alcatraz included, and his way of relating is a extreme and captivating sincerity. I cried in some parts, laughed in others. And admired his capacity to be sincere at the end of his life, sharing every feeling while he was stealing, kidnapping, ecc..., day after day. As you can imagine, he met very interesting personalities and describes them with freshness and authenticity. I loved this book. It is a walk across the 20's, 30's and 40's, above all, and is a vivid, first-hand, portrait of the gangster's universe of those years. Congratulations, Mr. Willians, your history, mistakes, sorrows, bitter discoveries and some happiness have been useful for me and many other people. After so many terribles things, you can be proud of yourself. I am thinking to write to Mr. Willians since I read his book. At last, I did it.

There was a reason that Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution at the Galapagos Islands, and this book for young adults shows it very well. In this 13 major island archipelago Earth science intersects with animal and natural history. In 45 pages of the most amazing photographs and text, this book tells the story of the islands' formation over 9 million years ago and how their location hundreds of miles from the nearest continent of South America influenced the gradual development of species unique to this locale.

Kids learn first about volcanic action (still very much alive here) and they can see its bald shape and effects. They see lava cones and vents, the century-old pahoehoe on Santiago and ashy landforms on Bartolome.

Next they learn about the trade winds and sea currents that brought plants and animals to the islands and gradually transformed their landscapes. They meet the famous blue-footed boobies, frigate birds in full expanse, fur seals and sea lions and the marine iguanas found no where else in the world. They see dancing Galapagos tortoises (from which the islands took their name) and their unique land-bound cormorants and penguins, as well as the lush hillsides and unique desert flora, including candelabra and opuntia cacti (the latter being relatives of sunflowers).

In these pages, cacti sprout among fresh lava flows. A child's imagination will grow here, too. Alyssa A. Lappen

the be
st book on jharkhand.i am a leading bookseller of jharkhand
kindly reply

Although when I bought the book, I expected more of a focus on the boy of the title "Immortal Sword", I found it was much more than a description of a child's struggle with thalassemia. While Immortal Sword served as the focal point for the book, this was really an account by the author (the physician who treated the boy) of his developing interest in understanding thalasemmia and the search for more effective treatments. The author is a gifted writer able to explain complicated medical concepts in a concise and simple way to a lay audience. One can also sense his dedication to his patients (he even plans a surprise birthday party for Immortal Sword-- how many doctor's become close enough to their patient's to do that?). Although thalasemmia is not a commonly discussed disease like sickle cell, it can be devastating and does affect certain ethnic groups--particularly mediterranean in origin-- more than others. Overall, a very interesting book from the humanistic standpoint of understanding this disorder's impact on the lives of the sufferer as well as tracing the medical development in the understanding of the disorder and its treatment.

Nathan was an incredible character and Connolly shows why he was certainly the most important critic of the first half of the 20th century. He also proves that Nathan is a representative American cultural figure.

I got totally caught up in Nathan's struggles with "burying" his own Jewishness and with the anti-semitism of his era.

Great stars and writers like H. L. Mencken, Eugene O'Neill, Laurette Taylor, Lillian Gish, and Tennessee Williams crowd the book's pages and bring Broadway's glory days to life. Nathan was a real "man about town" and this book captures the wit and glamour of the Great White Way.

Connolly also shows how critics today live in Nathan's shadow. He challenges them by questioning their methods and standards. (And even takes on some "high-brow" reviewers like John Lahr and Robert Brustein.)

This is a fascinating book for theatre lovers, history buffs and scholars alike. Lot's of great--never before published dish too!

This book is great! I bought it for daughter, whom is a junior in high school, and she used it to help prep for the SAT. She said it really helped her, as she is very weak in verbal/vocabulary skills.

Yes, you are right. This book is quite old, and when you read it, it does feel old. However, at the same time, you would realize that, after all these years, we, the human being, have the same problem. The text reads sometimes over wordy, and too idealistic. But, there is a very important message in this play from the German writer who wrote the first play that deals with actual people. One character asks Nathan; which religion is the best one? Nathan answers the question by telling him a story.
The answer is simple. So simple, I am amazed that I did not think of it. You might find it too simple and naive, but it sure is worth a read. And you will have to read it yourself to see what I mean. For that part alone, I give this play a 5-star.

This small book of 67 pages has stories for everyone. Storytelling in short vignettes, from the modern family level in Indian Country. Home grown humor and wisdom, with wry comments in summary from the Grandpas. Recommended for all libraries from Jr. High School and up. John D. Berry, Native American Studies Librarian, U.C. Berkeley, Ethnic Studies Library

Excellent choice of coverage and detail. Exactly matches my expectation of the technical detail level. (suitable for technical mangement) The only problem is it may be a little out of date. If anyone find an update on this book please let us know

The central message of this book is easy to convey: With the rise of civilization, health deteriorated. Of course this doesn't hold true for all of civilization all the time. But even to date the health of the less privileged in many Third World countries, and may be even that of the less privileged in our own big cities, is not better than that of hunter-gatherers from Paleolithic times. Contrary to current ideas held by many, the rise of agriculture, which allowed the birth of civilizations of ever increasing complexity, meant a step backward as far as health and nutrition is concerned.

The main part of the book is rather short, some 140 pages. Written as an extended essay, this part reviews the evolution of human society, the history of disease as related to this evolution, and the impact this evolution had on nutrition. Two chapters, one on present day hunter-gatherer societies, the other on palaeopathology, then evaluate evidence for the views presented in the earlier chapters. Cohen is clear to point out the weaknesses of the various forms of evidence, but taken together the evidence substantially supports his case.

The next 80 pages are notes, while another 25 pages contain references, all in small print. These notes contain a wealth of detailed information; sometimes they are more like a small review on a particular topic than a simple note. This level of detail would certainly detract from the line of argument if it were included in the main part of the text. So I found this choice for presenting the material a happy one.

The main text is particularly well organized and well written too. Despite the fact that the information content is dense, the text is surprisingly readable. All in all, the author has done a particularly good job. For anyone interested in the history of health, this is a must read!