If you want to experience the true Alaska as few have ever done, no need to make a pilgrimage to the far north. All you need to do is read this book about a photographer's solo odyssey into the wilderness of Alaska in search of getting the great shot. The shot, that transforms photography into emotionally evoking art. The shot , that exudes the magnificence of the photo into telling the full rich story around it. The shot, that envelops the viewer with both the tenderness and majaesty of nature. John Pezzenti's journeys not only allowed him to capture this "Holy Grail' shot but unbelievably a whole book of them. In my estimation his work is unparalleled in his field. John is truely one of the premier wildlife photographers of our time. Equally fascinating to the absolutely stunning photography, is the human story behind it. John chronicles his amazing adventures on his journeys. He details his harrowing survival struggles to awe inspiring revelations with candor and humor. John presents himself to the reader not as some superhero but as an everyday person with all our human fragility. While reading John's book it dawned on me that it is an antithesis to Conrads's "The Heart of Darkness". John and Marlow both, endure the brutalities of our world in their journeys, but while Marlow is left only with "bitterness and darkness", John is left with "wonderment and light". I would like to mention that though nature has thrown John some mighty barriers in his quest, the greatest hurdle lies within himself. John is classified 100% disabled with a rare and agressive form of rheumatoid arthritis, treatable only with a mild chemotherapy so he can walk. Experience this book! The reproduction of John's work is exquisite and the price surprisingly low.

When you first look through John Pezzenti's ALASKA, you will see that it is clearly the most incredible photographic book on Alaska ever published. There are dozens of photographs of things that have simply never even been seen by most people, much less published in a book. The volcano clouds, ice mushrooms and eagles being born will blow away anyone who has spent much time in the field and knows how impossible it is to ever witness events such as these. John has not only witnessed them; he has also managed to capture fantastic images of them to share with the rest of the world. It goes without saying that the rest of the pictures in the book are equally as thrilling.

The photography in this book is amazing, but I think the thing that brings me back to it again and again is the writing. Unbelievably, John may even be a better writer than he is a photographer. Although he has only written about 25 pages of text, the stories he tells of his 25 plus years of travelling Alaska will thrill you and keep you on the edge of your seat. John is truly a modern-day adventurer who has lived an amazing life. The introductions by the publisher and Leonard Lee Rue will also give you some insight into just how unique a man John Pezzenti actually is. In his first two columns of text, John has managed to almost completely sum up my feelings about Alaska. John writes about flying over the Alaska Range on a beautiful day. He reaches for his camera and then realizes it would do no good. The "visual extravaganza" of the scene is too spectacular to ever be "captured on film" he writes. He puts his camera down and enjoys the view. This story puts into words what I have been trying to tell my family and friends about Alaska since I moved here 4 ½ years ago. Now, for birthdays and Christmas, I simply send them a copy of John's book and tell them if they read it, they will understand why I have decided to live here in Alaska. At last count, I think I have FedEx'ed at least eight copies of this book to people in the lower 48!

John is clearly one of the world's top photographers. In spite of his stature, you would be hard pressed to meet another top professional who is more helpful and gracious to anyone he sees with a camera in their hand. John is more than willing to share any of his skills, talents and a lifetime of experience with anyone who is willing to learn. I consider myself blessed to live in the same city as a person of his talent and not only consider John a good friend, but as my photographic mentor.

Thank you for this spectacular lifetime's worth of work. I am looking forward to the next one.

I received a copy of John Pezzenti's book,A Photographic Journey Through The Last Wilderness,as a gift through my work. John Pezzenti's photographes portray such beauty and his words flow with spirituality. John Pezzenti's gift for writing matches his talent for capturing nature at it's finest. From the incredible photo's of the birth of an eagle,to the heart felt story of the Birthday Cake Bear. As I look through this magnificent book I feel his photo's and words drawing me in. It gives me the sense that I too am able to share what John Pezzenti must have felt being there. When I was young I went on a cruise to Alaska. I knew that one day I would move to this great land. John Pezzenti's book reinforce's why I kept this dream so close to my heart for all these years. I will always cherish this gift I received and feel blessed that John Pezzenti chose to share his God given talent with the rest of us. One could keep writing but there are no words that can truely describe this work of art. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has ever dreamt about Alaska. John Pezzenti truely opens his heart to the reader with his photographes and lets us share in the beauty he has captured over the past 25 years. I look forward to being able to share his work with my family and friends,as I also look forward to his next publishing.

As the author of Finding Fish, like John, I feel tremendously blessed that after my own difficult childhood, a childhood that we both shared in the same city and in the same foster care system (perhaps even sharing the same caseworkers), that we both, given our sussecces and insights, have an obligation to share our stories and feelings so those in despair can see the hope that exists. John's book is a wonderful gift that should be read by all who want to be inspired. God really is in the kitchen.

This is a remarkable book that invites the reader to look at life in a deeper more meaningful way. The author uses even the most mundane of everyday experiences, such as his little girl being angry that she can't 'poop her pants' anymore, as an amusing lesson of inner contentment in an unfair world. It is especially touching to read the accounts between daddy and daughter knowing that the author did not have the benefit of such an adoring parent during his childhood years.

This is a very heartwarming book. The author shares his life's experiences with his daughter. Dr. Seita reminds us all that daily we are exposed to wonderful lessons. The value of these lessons is immeasurable, especially when we learn these lessons through experiences with our children. We are reminded that as parents we can not predict the teachings that will come about as a result of being blessed with being a parent. As one reads this book they can not help but explore their own spirituality. You will also have the desire to reflect on, and evaluate your own life and its many blessed experiences...and the lessons learned

John Vaccas' latest publication is one of the best organized and readable technology specific references I've seen to date. Mr. Vacca covers all aspects of CISCO LAN and WAN network planning, design, implementation and testing from both the hardware and software perspectives. The book provides a wealth of interface configuration examples and a guide to WAN application design tools. The book also provides a glimpse into the future direction of LAN/WAN Internetworking Applications. A recommended read for IT professionals who work with network communication products.

John Vacca explains how to apply cisco high speed network products to LAN/WAN requirements. High Speed network standards and technology are explained in this guide for planning, design and implementation. An excellent coverage of fault detection as well as future network directions are also covered. This book is a must for network professionals.

This book offers a variety of solutions for networks with bandwidth-intensive applications. It begins with a description of Hubs and it continues with Switches, Routers and then High speed Routers. The Book is very simple to read and it contains examples to simplify the understanding of the material. The author has described a variety of high-speed LANs and WANs with trouble shooting guies and recommended solutions. John Vacca has done an excellent job in consolidating information on electronic routing of information using, more specifically, CISCO Routers .

John Connolly is one fine writer: not only are plot and characters exceptionally well done, but his prose style is close to poetic. I re-read sections simply because the style was so grand. And he improves with each book. His protagonist in all three books is Charlie Parker, an ex-cop who left the force when his wife and child were brutally murdered in Connolly's first book, "Every Dead Thing". Characters introduced in this book follow through all three, so while "The Killing Kind" can be read on its own, many of the references to Parker's past can be better understood by a reading of the previous books. Which ain't all bad, folks, because, as I've said, this is one fine writer. Here, Parker is investigating the death of a young woman who was conducting research into a religious cult. No plot giveaways from your friendly reviewer, but be advised that the bad guy, "Mr. Pudd" is REALLY scary, and the uncertainty of the outcome persists to the very last page. I cannot recommend this book too much or praise Connolly's skills too highly. It's a "great read". And for fans, be advised that the fourth Parker novel, "The White Road", is available now from Amazon.com.uk. Trust me on this one, guys; enjoyment is guaranteed.

This is another amazing book by John Connolly. He builds on the characters once more, again revealing greater depth to Bird Parker's character. He gives us slightly more insight into Angel and Louis and because of the darkness of this book, the scenes in which they appear serve as some great relief.

Connolly's writing is sheer beauty. His manner of description evokes, with seeming ease, any atmosphere he wishes to create. His prose is lyrical, and his descriptions may stop you in your tracks just for a second while you roll them over in your mind, picturing the image perfectly.

In this novel, Connolly has created a wonderful plot, which seethes with an omnipresent, and almost omnipotent, evil and darkness. Also, he give us two of the best villains fiction has ever produced. Mr Pudd, the enforcer of a shady organisation known as "The Fellowship" who is violent, scary, completely without a drop of humanity, and The Reverend Aaron Faulkner, an egotistical religious maniac, head of a group known as the Aroostook Baptists. Faulkner is a completely venemous characters who just oozes poison from every action. Over the course of the novel, Parker, Angel and Louis, will come into contact with both these men, and this contact will try to drag them down into the depths of an equal hell.

The plot is much less complicated than his debut, Every Dead thing, and the entire novel is much more refined and focused, which adds immense power to the book. It's completely chilling and very scary (an effect aided by the way Connolly likes to blend in subtle elements of the supernatural in with his books) and, almost certainly, the best thriller that will be published in the US this year.

I have a confession to make. I am a murderer. I killed my love for the detctive story by reading too many novels that were just too bad. I never thought I'd appreciate a crime novelist the way I did Ed McBain when I was younger. And then along came John Connolly, creeping up on me, hiding in the shadows, lurking, and then attacking without warning.

This is the best crime novel I have read in years, for two reasons. First of all, the language is exquisite. Connolly writes like a poet, and the first few pages where he described the "honeycomb world" is worth the price of the book alone.

Second of all, Charlie Parker, the main character. With a dry cynicism as sharp as his wit, he delivers one-liners one after one. I found myself going back to re-read passages many times during the course of this book, for the humour alone. But this is not a funny book, not at all.

I won't tell you any more about the story, as it deserves to develop on its own when you read it. Let me just warn you that the ending is not at all as good as the rest of the book, and that did make me sad. The last ten or so pages are standard Hollywood-drama, and lack the originality the reader has been spoiled with during the course of the novel.

Still, Connolly pulls it off.

"The Killing Kind", approved!

If you're as tired as I am of the NFL schlock, of having to take the time to remind the high school kids you coach every season that taunting and trash talking are not a part of the game, then you will absolutely love this book. Mr. Murphy is funny-- so funny, in fact, that several times I laughed so hard I couldn't even read the passage in question out loud to my wife and had to hand her the book. Mr. Murphy is also jaded, tired of spending his life on the road dealing with the overlarge head of professional and big college Div-1A athletes.

You won't find jerks like Randy Moss or Brian Bosworth in the pages of this book, unless they are mentions solely as a stark contrast to the genuinely respectful and worthy athletes of St. Johns. Reading this book reminded me of the potential of all athletics to reap great good from the hearts and minds of youth, and also reminded me that, as a coach, it's my responsibility to sow those seeds.

The book can be enjoyed on several levels-- as humor, as a description of a sporting season, and above all, as a triumph of what football is supposed to be-- fun for everyone involved, ESPECIALLY the players.

I hope you enjoy it.

Some reviewers have suggested this is a story of true student-athletes in an idyllic religious school. But the descriptions of the players could have fit those at almost any school: focusing on football, alcohol, and sex. They did not seem more religious than any other college student; they wanted to win championships as much as any other college football player; they didn't seem to particularly burn the midnight oil (not studying, anyway). Their main distinction was that they weren't big enough to play on Division I teams. One other criticism: I could have done without getting to know Murphy's brothers, who had about the same maturity level as his son Devin.

But those are small quibbles. Murphy's narrative made me want to know Gagliardi, and made me want to walk on the campus of St. John's. Or should I say that he almost enabled me to do both simply by reading the book. That's good writing.

I don't know where to start on this book. I just finished it and was blown away. Austin Murphy is truly an excellent writer. At times poetic in his descriptions -- one point talking about how the coach of the college had lost a dear friend and had put up walls to protect himself -- and many other times funny. The whole book has one-liners all over.

But the purpose for Murphy isn't to be funny, it's to describe the world of Division III football at the nation's most successful college program, under an ecclectic coach with unorthodox methods. Murphy leaves behind big-time college and pro football reporting for a fall and rediscovers not just the game, but himself and his family. The way he ties football in with the rest of his life is amazing.

Murphy gets close to the players, coaches and fans of the program, and becomes involved heavily in the community of the town, getting to know the monks at the college and local fans. He rediscovers his wife and family, an area he admits neglecting for the past few years.

Perhaps the best part of the book is Murphy's transparency. He's not afraid to admit his faults. He's often the Homer Simpson of parenting: he loves his children deeply but stumbles along in raising them -- letting them stay out to midnight, having them eat junk food and taking toddlers on scary amusement rides made for adults. He's a man of contradiction, admitting he can't help but go with NFL players to strip clubs -- Sports Illustrated ought to put an end to this real soon; what kind of comments is he going to get at such a place, cat calls? -- but feels he is compromising his journalistic integrity by hanging out too much with the St. John's players. Strange logic indeed, but at least Murphy is candid enough to put his faults out there.

It's inspirational, moving, funny and very well written. Anyone who is interested in humanity -- not just football -- and getting back to one's roots, should read this book.

The Tripods Trilogy was John Christopher's first attempt at writing for young people and it is a triumph. I was introduced to these books back in 1985, when I was 9. I was really taken with the cover artwork of "The White Mountains", which showed this giant three-legged machine and a boy hiding in the foreground.

But I didn't actually read the books until four years later. I was obsessed with it! I loved the idea of a small rebel group fighting something that seemed so invincible. For ages I couldn't draw a landscape without putting a Tripod in it!

These books got me interested in cities and how they'd look when they're destroyed. One of my favourite parts of the story is when the three boys are walking through the ruins of an ancient city. We all know what city it was and we recognise so much that is unfamiliar to them. It's both amusing and moving to see them ponder over the relics of a better time.

These are a series of books I've read over and over. The praise for this trilogy is well deserved.

I'm a seventh grade student that has read plenty of books using a program called the Acclerated Reader that the whole seventh grade uses. The progam origionally had the "White Mountains" in it and when I read it I was automatically hooked! Now that our collection has been upgraded we now have the full set of The Tripod Trilogy books and i'm planing to read them all. It is somthing that keeps you from doing any other thing. I finished "When The Tripods Came" in one day because I was so into it. At this time I'm reading "The City Of Gold And Lead" and hope to start reading "The Pool Of Fire" shortly. Now I consider John Christopher one of my favorite authors.

I first read the Tripod series in seventh grade. Some of you in the Boy Scouts may remember the comic book adaptation of The Pool of Fire from the Boy's Life Magazine. I'm now a 24 year old adult (Ahem!) and I still love these books. Ever since my book collection was destroyed by a flood three years ago I have been hunting for both this, and the Prince in Waiting series by Mr. Christopher. As usual, Amazon.Com comes through for me. I heartily recommend this series, and the Prince in Waiting to all readers of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

As a teenager in the early 60's, I slogged through The Lord of the Rings, realizing its worth but never fully understanding the background of the epic work. The recent success of the motion picture, The Two Towers, has reinvigorated my interest in all things Tolkien. I read the Simarillion and am now in the midst of this fascinating compilation of Tolkien's letters.

I highly recommend this book to readers of The Lord of the Rings. It brings to light the background and philosophy behind Tolkien's writing.

Thank God Tolkien was such a prodigious letter writer. We are all the beneficiaries of his correspondence with family, friends such as C.S. Lewis, fans, and critics alike.

If you have read "The Lord of the Rings" or other works by Tolkien, and are interested in learning more about him (what inspired him, what his views on things were, and what kind of person he was, and the process by which he wrote his literary works, especially "LotR"), this is a book you should definitely read. I found this book to be highly interesting and entertaining, and even educational. There is a huge index to help you find any subject or topic you're looking for. You will find letters to his family members, to his publishers, to friends like C.S. Lewis, and many more-all covering a variety of topics and thoughts from this brilliant writer and philologist. Thoughts on Christianity, and Tolkien's beliefs; his views of World War I (in which he fought) and World War II; a great deal of letters to his readers answering a multitude of questions about his books, especially "The Lord of the Rings"; his personal views and goals of his works; and so much more. It's really a look into the minds and thoughts of a genius, although he would never agree with that-his letters are filled with the upmost humility, even self-deprecation, of himself and his abilities. At the same time, he takes very strong, even stubborn, stances on issues he felt strongly about. His letter-writing style is so unique and is quite fascinating to me, and he can be quite funny. I definitely recommend this informative and very interesting book.

. . .with this collection of correspondence from the pen of the Master of Middle-Earth, Professor JRR Tolkien. Although, unfortunately, not all hobbits are lettered, those of us that are, write letters constantly to our friends and to a selection of our relations. The Professor's habits in this area definitely suggest that he is, as has long been suspected, himself a hobbit. (And, in fact, probably a Baggins!)

From his wartime correspondence, to his letters of love (and sound advice) to members of his family, to the vast amount of commentary on his literary masterpieces, this volume sheds a great deal of light into the life and thought of the Professor.

This book is a worthy companion to Mr. Carpenter's earlier biography. Both volumes should find a place on the shelf of every hobbit in the Shire.

About 25 years ago, the now-demolished Playboy Theater in Chicago ran a landmark Buster Keaton revival featuring newly struck prints, correct projection speed, and musical accompaniment to Buster Keaton's features and shorts. It was a revelation and the first time that I truly understood what was lost when silent comedy faded into, as Norma Desmond might say, Talk! Talk! and More Talk! Moreover, it was the first time it became clear to me the degree of modernity and surrealism in Keaton's work--particularly in contrast to Chaplin's Victorian emotionalism. In short, I fell in love with Buster and his work. Now, "Silent Echoes" comes along to lovingly excavate the faded world of Buster Keaton's Los Angeles. The book is infused with John Bengston's love of Keaton, encyclopedic knowledge of his work and relentless ingenuity as a urban archeologist. Even better, it inspired me to rent the Keaton ouvre on laserdisc and video in order to revisit the locations of his shots and the depth of his humor and humanity. "Silent Echoes" is a labor of love that's a treat for film lovers.

Watching silent comedies, particularly those of Keaton, one can be lulled into a feeling that they take place in some parallel world, where it is always 1917-1928, people move faster, and the laws of physics are distorted so that men can jump through walls and cars can teleport. But as John Bengston reminds us in this invaluable book, Keaton's shorts and features were filmed in very real physical locations that still exist, and by searching them out provides not only a window on the past but a barometer of seven or eight decades of change. What Bengston has done here really requires a new name, as it combines the realms of photographer, 'urban archeologist,' archivist, geographer, and of course historian. His eye for architectural detail is acute, enabling him to pinpoint the location of a particular scene by triangulating (so to speak) between various photos and film shots, using one or two surviving details as reference points. The meticulous research that went into the book is daunting to contemplate, all to give the humble Keaton enthusiast a few hours of joy. Obviously, the book will fascinate fans of old Los Angeles as well, but I was particularly interested in the locations that went further afield. The General, for instance, was filmed all the way up in Cottage Grove, Oregon, in the greater Eugene area, while Steamboat Bill, Jr. was filmed in Sacramento, once a popular remote location during the silent era. Nabokov said that God is in the details and that is the reason for any and every Keaton fan to dive headlong into this unique, delightful, detail-obsessed book. Even the august Kevin Brownlow gives Bengston a tip of the hat, admitting in his forward that after scouting locations for his Keaton documentary---"despite all the resources of Thames Television and eager researchers, we did not find out nearly as much as Bengston did on his own." Could there be a better tribute?

John Bengtson's book is the kind of thing film lovers dream about. Every Keaton fan or silent movie buff will want this book, but it also makes a wonderful introduction to the silent era's timeless pleasures, especially the always fresh and exciting comedy of Buster Keaton. And on top of everything else, it's a fascinating detective story! Wow! Can you tell I liked this book?

Excellent Read! A great story about Ray Kroc and his quest to build the McDonald's empire. This is the best book I have read about a company. It contains many stories about the people responsible for the growth of McDonald's. Ray Kroc was the man that took some simple ideas, created systems and duplicated them over and over. If you want to read a very interesting book about business, this is it!

This book opens with Fred Turner, the former chairman of McDonald's and former fast food french fry maker, answering his own phone. I have thought about that image ever since reading it, when this book first came out (right after Turner retired, with one of the lakes at McDonald's corporate H.Q. named after him), and Mike Quinlan took over. Quinlan also, like Turner, had "ketchup in his veins," having started out in a restaurant like turner.

The book hits the ketchup and vein image so hard, in fact, that by contrast, I worry for the company now that Jack Greenburg, trained as an attorney, is the Chairman, and now that he has made Mr. Kindler, another lawyer who was with the law departmen of General Electric, head of an operating division. What would Ray Kroc make of this?

Mr. Love captures the drama of Kroc almost losing control of the company to another insider who mis-interpreted McDonald's as a real estate company that incidentally marketed hamburgers. No, said Kroc, it's a hamburger company that just needs real estate.

Getting a grip on what the company is today is more possible by reading what it used to be. Business guys are often impatient with history, and they show it by so frequently repeating it.

The story behind the ubiquitous golden arches, and the man who expanded them coast to coast, (and today they reach edges of the Earth). This book provides a reader friendly, detailed synopsis of MacDonald's through the decades of the original brother to Ray Kroc entry and exit of on of the most recognized emblems of the world. (Whether this fact is has positive or negative implications is another matter entirely). This is a good book about Mickey-D's and sheds light on many other aspects of American history, culture, business and advertising.

Two brothers named McDonald went west to California from the north-east. They came with about $8 dollars and got jobs moving props on movie sets in Hollywood (sound familiar?) After some initial business ventures the brothers opened their own small restaurant in San Bernadino.

In the Midwest Ray Kroc left school at 16, and like almost all other achievers that reached his level of success, he had a strong work ethic and a hard-driving tenacity to succeed at a concept that in+tial+ly proved successful. How ya build on something good. A gifted successful salesman from an early age, he got a job selling paper cups and sold them for 17 years as one of the top salesman of the company. Some of his clients were Wrigley field among other Chicago establishments. In his late thirties, he started selling shake mixers. McDonald's comes into the picture when Kroc noticed that two brothers who owned a drive-in hamburger restaurant in SoCal, kept ordering lots of shake mixing machines, when Kroc's mixer business was dying out everywhere else in the country. He met the McDonald brothers and was greatly impressed by their practices. Kroc become the seller of their franchises in Illinois, and was very successful at establishing and McD's in the Midwest.

For his work he didn't earn a lot because of the deal he made with the two brothers (an inkling of what was to come). So he added a creative and logical way to profit from his diligent work in spreading the franchises. He formed a separate corporation, and when setting up franchises he'd purchase the property where a new McDonald's was to be built. He'd collect the rent or a percentage of the restaurant's profits, whichever was greater. This allowed him to be compensated more fully in addition to his original deal with the McDonald brothers, which wasn't the most favorable.

Kroc was selling the franchises and focusing on keeping the model and SOPs identical for every franchise. Perhaps an analogy to the assembly line of the Ford. Kroc had a methodology. If a winning method was not altered or diluted by a franchise restaurant here and there across the country, the sales, expansion, and growth would continue. McDonald's had tapped into what a large part of the American public wanted in post WWII America. Ray later bought McDonald's from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million cash. When he discovered after the deal was finished that the original McD restaurant in San Bernadino was not included, and was to be kept by the brothers, Kroc had them change their restaurants name, and he built a franchise across the street to put them out of business.

Advertising:
To help solidify more growth and consumer loyalty, Kroc knew the value of kids. He hired top advertising people: enter Ronald McDonald. After some marketing tests in some particular regions, came the major nationwide promotion to get the kiddies pleading with their parents that they wanted to go to Mickey-Ds. Have you heard kids clamour their parents to do this? I have. And today, McDonald's has continued the kid-concept by investing large amounts into the Playgrounds added onto many of its' stores.

McDonald's represents many things about American culture. To Americans, and today throughout the world. No matter what you think of Mickey D's it's quite an interesting story of how it started, evolved and came to it's ubiquity today. It's a fact that those golden arches are more recognized than the Christian cross. Again, whether we think that's good or not leads to several other issues involving, chemicals and food science, general health, obesity, globalization, homogenization, marketing to children, and corporatization.

For additional insights into the McDonald's phenomenon read, Jennifer Talwar's "Fast Food, Fast Track" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal," and Fumento's "Fatland."

Journey with a guy with much testosterone, but a HUGE heart. I was not looking forward to reading this book for my 18th Century British novel class, but upon starting to read I found it to be a pleasurable story. This piqaresque novel has a humor that I have seldom encountered in other narratives. What is ironic is that Fielding wrote this piece during one of the most traumatic periods of his life. His wife just passed away, his daughter was dying, and he was inflicted with the gout. One would never think it from the clever way the book is written. The point of view gives us an in so that we feel as if we ourselves have roles in the storyline. Rooting all the way for Tom despite his flaws, we find out more about human nature along the way. A good read, light a candle and sit down with some wine like they would've and enjoy this classic comical delight.

It was about time I read "Tom Jones." Fielding's 1749 novel gives us a panoramic view of 18th century British life. Its titular hero journeys among the low- and high-born trying to find his way in a world in which he occupies a precarious position. Fielding uses the sprawl of 800 pages to explore a multitude of social, political, and literary issues, gluing them together with an exquisitely outlandish, fully embodied sense of humour.

The action of the novel begins with a view of the Allworthy family, a landed gentleman, Thomas Allworthy and his sister, Bridget. Into this family is dropped an orphan, a foundling - a child, if you will, of questionable parentage. This child, Tom Jones, is raised alongside Bridget's child, Blifil, as relative equals. Both are tutored by two ideologues, the philosopher Square and the theologian Thwackum. Jones is a precocious, free-spirited youngster, spoiled by Allworthy while Blifil, the heir apparent to the estate, becomes the favourite pupil and spoiled accordingly by his mother. As the two youths age, Tom develops a fondness for the neighbour's daughter, Sophia Western.

Tom's sexual development begins to get him in trouble, as it tends to throughout the novel, and as a result of one such incident, coupled with the goading jealousy of Blifil, Tom is driven out of the Allworthy home, left to seek his fortunes in the world. Meeting his supposed father, Partridge, on the road, the two begin a quixotic ramble across England. Sophia, meanwhile, pressured into marrying Blifil, runs away from home, beginning her own voyage of discovery.

"Tom Jones" begins with the narrator likening literature to a meal, in which the paying customer comes expecting to be entertained and satisfied. All 18 books of "Tom Jones" start out with such authorial intrusions, each cluing us into the writer's craft, his interactions with his public, and various other topics. This voice is actually sustained throughout the novel, providing a supposedly impartial centre of moral value judgments - each of which seems to tend toward enforce Fielding's project of a realistic, and yet, didactic portrayal of a world full of flawed characters.

Some of the issues the novel deals most extensively with are modes of exchange, anxieties over female agency, and the power of rumour and reputation. Exchange and the ways in which value is figured include a wide range of goods - money, bodies, food, and stories - and are integral to the story. The treatment of women is a great concern in "Tom Jones": from Partridge's perpetual fear of witchcraft to the raging arguments between Squire Western and his sister over how Sophia should be treated, to general concerns about sexuality and virtue. A novel that can be in turns hilarious, disturbing, and provoking, "Tom Jones" is never dull. Despite its size, the pace of the novel is extremely fast and lively. So, get thee to a superstore and obtain thyself a copy of this excellent and highly entertaining novel.

I first picked up Tom Jones because to put it bluntly I am a bibliophile and it was a cheap book. However, I was suprised at how engaging and hilarious the story was despite the claims on the back cover, which are often far off. To tell the truth I did not expect to make it through this extremely lengthy tome, I only wanted to satisfy my curiousity.

Although I am a fan of Jane Austen I was shocked by the freshness and wit that Fielding's writing still retains. Every book in the novel begins with an essay by the author. Do not skip these, they are one of the best features of the book. My favorite is the essay before the ninth book which explains the purpose of these introductory chapters. What a riot!

The story of big hearted and big appetited Tom Jones and his adventures and misadventures is one long satirical gem. Fielding's interpretation of morals, piousness, love, and high society is still as hilarious and relevant as it was in the 18th century. For anyone who appreciates wit and history, this is a must read.