Those who live on the beach are subject to some of the more momentous forces of nature.... storms and hurricanes. In few other places has this been the case more than along the Virginia coast....and this work explores all those who lived in this treacherous margin between the mainland and the ocean. The book covers the continuing shifting of the islands through time, as well as their attempts of being habitable. The most celebrated ponies on the seaboard get their due...as well as some famous people who owned land or visited the area. It also serves as a valuable lesson to those who may wish to live in the apparent peace and solitude of the shore....for it can change at a moment's notice. It is one of the most balanced local histories I've ever read...and is told from the perspective of those on the islands, a very nice touch. Those interested in the Mid-Atlantic should run and buy this book while it's still in print.

Dude, I just didn't know sheakspeare was that cool. Wow, hes my favorite playwright.

This is a creative and clever book that would be a perfect gift for a theatre lover. It's the kind of thing people would snap up at the gift shop at The Globe Theatre in London. The split pages allow you to put together almost any wacky combination, and they're a kick to read aloud.

really wonderful book on hematolog

Barry is well known for his work in and about spiritual direction, and he could have drawn on many people whom he has directed for this book, but he draws instead on his own personal experience and on the scriptures to establish the mutual desire of the soul and God for an intimate relationship with each other, and to look at the fear, anger, shame, sorrow, sin and sexuality that sometimes blocks that relationship, and at how these blocks may be overcome. Barry is particularly masterful in this section. For the Christian this relationship is focused in a relationship with the incarnate Christ, and section three of the book gives a useful synopsis of the life, ministry, teaching and passion of Jesus with special emphasis on the theme of our relationship with God. The text is loosely but not blatantly based on the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola so that the last chapter on God in the world and an invitation to "dance" with this God becomes an interpretation, a wonderful one, of the concluding meditation of the Exercises, the Contemplation to Attain Love of God. The book has obviously been written prayerfully and deserves to read in the same attitude.

Throughout 1957 and 1963, members of the Beat movement - primarily Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, and Brion Gysin (and Peter Orlovsky, although he was mostly just along for the ride with Ginsberg) lived (on and off) in an old, low rent hotel in Paris at 9 Git-Le-Rue. During these years they experimented with various literary forms and a multitude of drugs, and created a large body of their work. There were many interesting relationship dynamics going on amongst them all, and most of all this book focuses on those relationships and how they affected each of their respective creative output.

The author is in love with both Ginsberg and Burroughs though, so the narrative is somewhat skewed. He seems to have unfavorable reactions to Corso's drinking, for instance, but practically glorifies Burroughs' practice of drug-induced creativity. Still, it's an interesting account of the time spent in Paris.

I lived at number nine rue Git-le-Coeur from 1955 until 1958 and visited there often until 1960 and knew most of the people mentioned in the book. I was an ex-Korean War Vet studying on the G.I. Bill as were thousands of "Americans in Paris" in the 50,s. I can attest that most of the events related are accurate. The Hotel was special because of the freedom the owner granted us: cooking in our rooms, decorating them, allowing overnight guests, etc.) I believe it was the Hotel that helped form the "Beats" rather then the other way around since it was a creative beehive before they got there. My main argument with the book is the insistance of the hotel as being sordid, rat-ridden and dirty. This was not true. I never saw a four-legged rat there and the only roaches were the cannibis kind. The rooms were swept and mopped daily. It was a great place to be even before the "Beats" arrived and should not be defamed by exaggeration at the expense of the wonderful blue haired MadameRachou who owned it and took care of us, her Americains.

The first time I read this book, I turned back over to the first page and read it again. It was that good. I am a huge Burroughs fan, and I learned a new appreciation for Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Brion Gysin. The grist of this book provides insight into the day-to-day maze of creativity whose epicenter happened to be Post WWII Paris. If you are looking for a fresh, lively, intelligent glimpse into the creative process of Burroughs, Gysin, Corso, Ginsberg and others, this is the book for you.

Here, in this relatively obscure work, Thackeray is at his ironic and satiric best. Modern critics lightly dismiss the book as a piece of journalistic hack work, but it is much more than that. Redmond Barry, later Barry Lyndon, chronicles in a fairly sophistocated and always lighthearted manner his rise from a poor Irish country boy to the astral heights of polite English society from 1750-1820. Mr. Barry is always Machievellian in his way, and is quick and efficient with his sword. He is Odysseus, Holden Caulfield, Don Juan, and Nabokov's Humbert Humbert merged. In a word, he is very, very entertaining and very, very good. The book's only glaring flaw is it's belabored and uninspired ending. But it is much worth reading to watch Redmond Barry when young

When one is about to take the big plunge and give oneself the trouble of making what is always -in our age of lighter reading, of course - the strenuous effort of reading a XIXth. Century novelist, one - at least me - must make the following question: What was this author's particular attitude, as a man (or woman) of the most bourgeois of all centuries, towards his/her preceding century, the most aristocratic and un-bourgeois XVIIIth. Century? If s/he scorns the XVIIIth. Century, or is indifferent to it, it's quite likely that the author in question is a bourgeois philistine regarding Victorian times as the undisputed acme of human civilization. If s/he is an admirer, than s/he is obviously starting out of a clear sense of alienation from his/her own society, and one should expect at least for this XIXth. Century _avis rara_, genuine sense of humor. Thackeray was one of such Victorians who realized the philisteism of his own society;Eça de Queiroz, his Portuguese disciple (who seems to have learned a lot from reading him) was another. Therefore: Read this book, QED.

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

The book has two distinct sections. The first 100 pages is a report on the Mellon family lifestyle, and how a rich maverick Mellon got to Haiti. The rest of the book details Dr. and Mrs. Mellon's founding of a hospital and civil engineering projects in central Haiti.
An important finding is that the Mellon's hospital was founded on the humanitarian premise, "Reverence for life." Taken from Dr. Sweitzer's work in Africa, life refers not only to human life, but also plant and animal. This little detail is critical to understanding the book. Many missions to Haiti are Christian, while Dr. Mellon's hospital is distinctly humanistic primarily as presented in the book.
As all books on Haiti fairly present, doing anything in Haiti is hard, and without American financial support, very little work done lasts. The hospital Dr. Mellon founded did well as long as he provided two of the four million dollars needed to run it. His civil engineering projects, in which he was much more interested than medicine (he actually only practiced medicine 3 years), all crumbled when turned over to the Haitians. Many other cottage industries met the same fate.
The book thus captures the Haitian dilemna, how to serve in Haiti and lift up the Haitians to be self sufficient. If Dr. Mellon's millions couldn't do it, how can any of us with less money at our disposal. Never the less, we go to Haiti because we cannot not go, nor can we not go back after going once.
An excellent book about how a real rich guy did his best to follow his heart, not his accountant's advice, and another book about how a strong wife really does the grunt work while her husband plays with big boy's toys.

The life of William Larimer Mellon is an example of the life Americans should dream for themselves and those they love dearly. For one who majored in biology and gave it up for 18 years in auditing the paralells to Mellon's change of career and motivations struck me deeply. On witnessing the WTC disaster personally (a few hundred yards away) man should strive for something in life and go for it. Barry Paris well written account of a life inspired by Dr. Schweitzer is highly recommended to all readers committed to God and American morals and values. If readers have a noble vision the price of this book is totally insiginificant to the highest rewards you will gather from reading it.

Song of Haiti is an absolutely awesome book! As a nurse who has done mission work in Haiti, I found this book authentic, a true inspiration, as well as a compelling, indepth view of the lives of many dedicated and compassionate people. Barry Paris' work describes the country and the people in beautiful and fullfilling language. Oftentimes, I felt as if I were in Haiti again experiencing the amazing, hard-working and loving people of the country. I've never before read a biography with such griping prose. I looked forward to my time to read because I became more and more interested in the life of every person described - be it Dr. Mellon and Gwen or Albert Schweitzer, or the nurses and doctors and friends with whom they shared their lives. I believe this is the way that biographical work should be written. Song of Haiti is thorough in that it covers the entirety of Dr. Mellon's life, touching on his downfalls as well as his high acheivements. I found that the realism with which the story is told is excellent and believable. The many everyday encounters and adventures are interesting and mesmerizing - it makes a person want to travel and experience the third world for all of the beauty and intensity it offers. I recommend this book to everyone, regardless of your interest in medicine, mission work, or biography. It is amazing.

This is a really fun little graphic novel, loaded with great artwork and a decent storyline. I wouldn't recommend it as a first-time read for anyone unfamiliar with the X-Men - taken out of context from the overall series - it might be a somewhat confusing introduction. But for those who know the characters and have a general idea of what is going on, believe me, this one delivers the goods.

In the past, I have generally hated the X-Men's adventures in the Savage Land, or whenever they would go to outer space or get into really super sci-fi type situations. I always felt the X-Men stories worked much better when they were grounded in very normal, down-to-earth settings, because it made the X-Men themselves stand out and seem that much weirder. But this book is an exception to the rule. It's a big, crazy, larger-than-life adventure, part of which takes place in the prehistoric Savage Land, and part of which gets hyper technological, and it works out OK.

The artwork is tough and gritty. Jim Lee draws a mean, shadowy, ugly Wolverine who kills lots of villains and looks like he needs to take a shower very badly.

And Lee's women - whoa. This book contains more gratuitous cheescake shots than any X-Men graphic novel I've seen, but it's all very pleasing to the eye. Especially the scenes with Rogue, whose bare skin can kill anyone she touches and thus, understandably, was always the one major female character who kept herself completely covered at all times. This was the first storyline in the series where they finally drew her as a scantily-clad, sexy heroine. A real treat for male Rogue-fans who'd been reading the series patiently for years.

This storyline also chronicles the transformation of innocent young Psylocke into a mature woman trained in the art of Ninjitsu, and she becomes an ultra-violent, sexy bad girl. And then there are cameo appearances by other Marvel superheroes, namely Captain America (from the Avengers series) and The Black Widow (from the Daredevil series). All in all, it's a satisfying, action-packed, well-drawn, crowd-pleasing comic book in trade-paperback format.

X-Men Visionaries Jim Lee trade paperback Is a great X-Men graphic Novel by Jim Lee! the book reprints Uncanny X-Men issues #248,#256-258,#268-269,#273-277 are reprinted together in this wonderful Marvel book collection! This book contains the early Uncanny X-Men issues that made Jim Lee famous! All the issues are written by Chris Claremont with artwork by Jim Lee. These issues lead to the popular Claremont/Lee colaboration on X-Men#1 in 1991. Most of the artwork was done by Jim Lee. Uncanny X-Men #273 was done by various artists. Buy this book if your fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation!

This is a great X-Men: Visionaries Jim Lee graphic Novel! This is Jim Lee's early work on the Uncanny X-Men series! This Marvel Tradepaperback reprints Jim Lee's early years when he was the comic book artist on Uncanny X-Men. In this book reprints Uncanny X-Men#248,#256-258,#268-269, #273-277. His early work on the Uncanny X-Men in the early 1990s, lead to to the critically aclaimed Clarmont/Lee work on X-Men #1 in 1991. All the Uncanny X-Men issues are written by Chris Claremont. Most of the artwork is drawn by Jim Lee. Unncany X-Men#273 is drawn by various artist. Buy this book if your a big fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation.

This book looks very helpful for those just starting to learn sleights, and appears to cover the major areas (coins, cards, balls, and cigarettes). However, it's directions are slightly confusing and its illustrations are not as clear as they could have or should have been. It's also lacking in teaching presentation and performance. It is not completely bad, however it is also not the first book that I would recommend to people wishing to become sleight of hand artists. If you were purchasing several books on sleight of hand this would be appropriate to include, but otherwise stick to the Dover series on magic (Modern Coin Magic by JB Bobo, The Encyclopedia of Card Tricks and Advanced Card Manipulations by Huegard, The Art of Magic by JB Bobo, and generally any book published by Dover Publishing Inc).

If you are looking for a easy to follow, step by step magic book, this is it. Tricks with cards, coins,balls,cigarettes and more. If you are new to magic then this book is a MUST !!

There are basically two types of magicians -- gadgeteers and finger-flingers. Please note, this is not meant to insult either group. A gadgeteer tends toward self-working magic -- things that are set up, and effectively work by themselves. This frees the magician to focus on presentation and entertainment, and not as much on the mechanics of the trick or illusion. Finger-flingers, on the other hand, tend toward actual sleight of hand, relying on their own skill to perform the seemingly impossible. This takes longer to master, but gives greater confidence, as well as the ability to perform anywhere, with whatever is at hand. This book is for those who want to be finger-flingers, or who want to look at that side of the aisle. Bill Tarr has created a wonderful resource. It's incredibly well-illustrated, showing both the magician's & the audience's view, for each trick or sleight. He also grades the individual tricks based on its' difficulty. And he covers a great many sleights of hand, as well as several complete routines -- you get a lot of "bang for your buck" here. He also is honest and up-front. He tells you straight away that this will require practise. For those seeking instant gratification, seek elsewhere. But if you're willing to practice (not of the sleights of hand are difficult, but they do require time and effort -- like learning anything else worth learning).