Product Description
In November 2004, the storied Oklahoma State wrestling squad, led by legendary coach and Olympic champion John Smith, embarked on what some considered the toughest and most grueling schedule in college wrestling history in quest of the unthinkable their third consecutive and 33rd overall national team title. For 18 weeks the Cowboys traveled almost 16,000 miles by bus, plane, van and automobile to 12 different states, through four time zones, in and out of 10 hotels as they wrestled 21 dual matches and three tournaments against bone-hard competition. Cowboy wrestling is truly one of Oklahoma s most masterful historical treasures, with more national collegiate titles than Notre Dame football and UCLA basketball combined. Cowboy Up provides an intimate, inside look at that historic effort. Coach Smith granted author Kim D. Parrish unprecedented access to the Cowboy program for an entire season. He has crafted an enchanting, poignant and revealing story of college wrestling s most storied program - and college athletics most punishing yet gratifying sport. It is a story of glory and heartbreak, sacrifice and betrayal.Wrestlers and coaches will be instructed as they read of Coach Smith applying training techniques and motivational tools in the context of an actual championship season. Wrestling fans will learn how a slight boy from Del City, who was pinned in his first five matches, rose to become arguably the greatest American athlete in the 20th century. All Oklahomans will take pride as they read of perhaps the most successful endeavor, sporting and otherwise, since Oklahoma s statehood in 1907. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Awesome insight into one of the greatest minds in wrestling!
This books takes you inside the Oklahoma State wrestling program and thus inside the thoughts of John Smith, one of the greatest minds in wrestling.

Inside a Sports Dynasty
You do not have to be a cowboy to enjoy Cowboy Up, an account of Oklahoma State's 2005 wrestling season. John Smith, OSU's head coach, gave Kim Parrish, the book's author, virtually unlimited access to the team during the 2005 season. The result is a remarkably intimate and candid look at collegiate wrestling at the elite level. It is a must read for any dedicated fan of the sport.
The book is as much about John Smith as it is about the team's season. An early chapter takes a long look at the evolution of Smith as a wrestler and a coach. It describes how a redshirt year enabled Smith to reach new heights as a collegiate wrestler and set the stage for a uniquely successful international career.
While some people may think that a redshirt season is devoted to physical development and the refinement of technique (in Smith's case his famous low single), for him it was a much different matter. "In the final analysis, I'm not sure style really matters. We can talk about the low single leg and how effective it was for me, but what changed in me was my passion, drive, and commitment to develop into the athlete I wanted to become."
Smith had a similar epiphany as a coach. He won a team title for the Cowboys in 1994, after OSU came off probation, but it would be nearly a decade before the Pokes won again. This was despite the fact that Oklahoma State did not lose a dual meet for three straight seasons from 1997 to 1999. The author notes that "... just as Smith had adapted to his environment a decade earlier in developing a new way to wrestle, the Cowboy coach gradually revamped his coaching and teaching methods during the late 1990s."
Said Smith of his transformation, "I began to understand that athletes had to be brought along at the right pace. Instruction had to be tailored differently to each athlete." He further observed that "coaches have to learn to give and give and give and not expect anything in return in the short term. It's similar to the dynamic we face in parenting."
The 2005 season offered Oklahoma State the opportunity to win a third straight NCAA team title for the first time in nearly half a century. John Smith could do something that no Cowboy mentor had done since Art Griffith accomplished a three peat in his final year at the Pokes' helm in 1956. Smith's task was made easier in the months leading up to the season when Steve Mocco, 2003 NCAA heavyweight champion, transferred from Iowa to Oklahoma State.
The book looks at the 2005 season in a chronological fashion from the Orange & Black Match in November to the NCAA tournament. The trials and tribulations of redshirt freshman Daniel Frishkorn was one of the great dramas of the campaign. Frishkorn started the year at 133 pounds, but the weight proved to be too low for him. It was first apparent when an exhausted Frishkorn lost the lead in the third period of his bout in the Minnesota dual. Then he "broke" just prior to the first Bedlam (Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma) meet by being 17 pounds over the limit one day before the weigh in for the contest.
Frishkorn's move up to 141 had a domino affect on the Cowboy's lineup and generated a number of story lines: the agony of fifth-year senior Ronnie Delk being displaced from the lineup; Smith's decision (and all its ramifications) to bring freshmen Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan off redshirt to bolster the lightweights; and Frishkorn's effort to regain credibility with his teammates.
As the season wears on the reader gets a real sense of just how grueling and demanding, both physically and mentally, the sport is for athletes at the top of Division I. The Cowboys' travel schedule was brutal, involving trips to both the west and east coast. There is no end to the very early morning calls for seemingly endless bus rides. Even a time saving plane trip to Nebraska turns into an ordeal when the return flight is delayed for hours by equipment failure. Add into this mix punishing practices, weight management and academic demands. It makes one wonder just how these young men can do it.
The ultimate prize for any college wrestler is the NCAA tournament in March and for some just qualifying is enough. Of course that is totally unacceptable for Smith and he emphasized mental over physical preparation in the two weeks prior to the tournament. Smith observed, "Most athletes look in the mirror and negotiate with themselves a way out. They allow themselves to consider an option other than victory. But a very small number negotiate no option other than winning."
At the 2005 tournament, five of Smith's athletes negotiated the latter option as the Cowboys crowned an NCAA record tying five individual champions and two other All-Americans. The Pokes captured a third straight team title and set a school record for team points and margin of victory.
The book does have a few flaws that could have been eliminated with better editing. The most obvious error was the multiple misspellings of the name of former Cowboy head coach Tom Chesbro. There was also the laughable reference to the "Eyes of March", rather than the Ides of March. These are minor quibbles and should not deter anyone from reading this unique inside look at college athletics and achieving success at the highest level of competition.

Learning From the Best
This book captures the behind the scenes grit, the preceding events and the lives of the individual wrestlers and coaches that produced such a fantastic season and team.Kim Parrish, has gone beyond just telling the story of the team but has deftly used the "power of the pen" to recreate the events in such detail the only thing you actually miss are the sounds and smells of each event.More than just a sports book this is a training manual on "How to Win"!Cowboy Up reveals the winning principles that can be applied to any life pursuit you may desire. This book will hold your attention, bring great enjoyment, show you what makes champions and what keeps OSU the leader in collegiate wrestling.I thoroughly enjoyed the book and heartily recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Brings together the best writing of Las Vegas' most popular columnist, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's John L. Smith. Smith provides singular insights into the fast, fluid, and often funny town he's chronicled for nearly 20 years. Subjects include: Las Vegas mayor and Mob mouthpiece Oscar Goodman, legendary slot cheat Bill Land, and seldom-chronicled gambling icons such as Mel Exber (Las Vegas Club), Si Redd (IGT), and Big Julie Weintraub ('60s junket operator). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

John Smith Endures as One AuthorI can Count On
I grew up in Vegas in the sixties and seventies and was well informed about the actions of the milieu of players and characters from Al Sachs to Steve Wynn, his hair dresser, and a slew of other minor league boys and girls.I watched the Jewish factions patiently watch Spilotro stepping on their feet and wondered why they didn't shoot his short little ass long before the Italians finally did. No one knows all of the intertwining relationships that were the life back then, and no one writes it better. To truly understand Las Vegas you must read John Smith before and after your studies begin.

The definitive book about life on and off the Vegas Strip
ON THE BOULEVARD is a wonderful compilation of Smith's best daily columns. It's a fun and easy read that gives the reader insight into every-day life in Las Vegas -- from a fourth-generation Nevadan. Smith is the most-read columnist in Nevada because his stories cover the human side of Vegas, the side most tourists never see. I highly recommend! ... Read more

Product Description
When CLERKS opened at cinemas across the country in 1994, it took everyone, especially the film industry, by surprise. Filmed on a shoestring budget after hours at a convenience store, it was crude (in technique and language), realistic and, above all, hilarious. The movie's nationwide success helped launch the indepedent film boom of the 1990s and catapulted its director, Kevin Smith, to full-fledged stardom. Smith's work is explored in AN ASKEW VIEW, the first ever study of his films. John Kenneth Muir examines all of Smith's movies. including MALLRATS, CHASING AMY, and the hugely controversial and variously interpreted DOGMA. Muir discusses Smith's themes and obsessions in depth: his New Jersey boosterism, the cast of characters that pop in and out of all of his films, and the references to STAR WARS and other icons of pop culture. AN ASKEW VIEW is a fascinating and detailed history of the art of this visionary filmmaker, New Jersey's favorite local-boy-makes-good since Bruce Springsteen. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

a book-long DVD extra
My impression was that this book was very much like a DVD extra, made into book form, and stretched out to fill 214 pages.

It was a fun read for me, since I'm a Kevin Smith fanboy. Tons of behind-the-scenes tidbits, especially about the making of Clerks. It's always interesting to see how someone got their start, and what lessons can be taken from it. There's an interesting irony that, in making a movie about mid-90's slackers, the cast and crew worked insane hours and slept very little for weeks on end.

My only criticism was that the author does tend to get a bit fanboy-ish himself from time to time. Which is all well and good, if an author is excited about his material. However, he tends to over-gush when writing about View Askew films and their receptions.

That being said, I still enjoyed this book a great deal. It takes you into the world of View Askew, and gives it breadth and depth, which then makes the movies themselves more compelling.

If you love the Kevin Smith movies, you will love the book
As a fan of the Kevin Smith films, I found this book a great companion to the Kevin Smith Askew-Universe. It offers insight, interviews with the major players, and a great history of the films that we have come to love. You will not be disappointed.

It's ok
If your a Kevin Smith fan, and interested in film in general check this book out.Despite many..many type-o's the book is worth a read.

An insightful commentary on Kevin Smith's cinema
An Askew View: The Films Of Kevin Smith by film and television journalist and expert John Kenneth Muir is an insightful commentary on Kevin Smith's cinematic works that have gone on to achieve a kind of cult-following, including his films: "Clerks," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma", as well as such efforts as "Mallrats" and the ill-fated "Clerks: the Animated Series" (which was ultimately killed to make room for the then-megahit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" game show). Interviews with Kevin Smith and other filmmakers form the backbone of this fascinating companion book that is highly recommended reading for students of filmmaking, as well as the legions of Kevin Smith fans.

Great History of View Askew for new Kevin Smith fans
When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued.Being a big fan of Kevin Smith and his works, I thought that this book would give a new insight into the man and his genius.Unfortunately, since I am a big fan, I had done my research by reading books like Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes plus the hard-to-find Mallrats book published by Kitchen Sink Press.I've also listened to all of the DVD commentaries in addition to going to see Kevin Smith speak in public.

So, I was somewhat disappointed that there was barely any new information included in this book.Not to say that this book was awful, which it is not.The book does a great job of culling all of the information about each movie and breaking it down into easy digestible form with many notated quotes from Kevin Smith and others.

Regrettably, the author sometimes slips his personal feelings when providing the View Askew timeline, which disrupts the flow of the book and loses some of the objectivity of this historian.Also, the author sometimes forces too many similes when referencing Mr. Smith.It almost seems like the author wants to emulate the pop culture wittiness that his subject has been known for.

However, in the day of instantaneous access and easily obtainable information, the task of surprising people with new information is a daunting task, especially when the subject is on someone who uses the Internet as his marketing mouthpiece.But, this book does a great job of staying on track, dishing out colorful stories and giving the reader a wonderful ride through the View Askewinverse. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An honest man
This book covers Joseph Smith's personal, political, and religious life.When you are finished reading it, you cannot deny that Joseph Smith was an honest man. ... Read more

Product Description
In Argall, the newest novel in his Seven Dreams series, William T. Vollmann alternates between extravagant Elizabethan language and gritty realism in an attempt to dig beneath the legend surrounding Pocahontas, John Smith, and the founding of the Jamestown colony in Virginia-as well as the betrayals, disappointments, and atrocities behind it. With the same panoramic vision, mythic sensibility, and stylistic daring that he brought to the previous novels in the Seven Dreams series-hailed upon its inception as "the most important literary project of the '90s" (The Washington Post)-Vollmann continues his hugely original fictional history of the clash of Native Americans and Europeans in the New World. In reconstructing America's past as tragedy, nightmare, and bloody spectacle, Vollmann does nothing less than reinvent the American novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

It's a dream
it would be a mistake to expect a casual read. Argall is part of the Seven Dreams series.

it's a dream world. sometimes vivid, vague, hallucinatory and incoherent. a dream is contemplative and sometimes even ponderous. to appreciate Vollmann (even his expository work), try to dream the dream. license rules here. traditional form and structure have no place.

if you can allow yourself to dream, then i recommend Argall, The Ice-Shirt (Seven Dreams), and his National Book Award winning Europe Central.

Brother Smith, sister Pocahontas, father Argall
Argall, "the true story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith," is grand adventure, careful history, personal testimony, compassionate cry. The tale is told, mostly, in a rogue Elizabethan/Jacobean idiom of Vollmann's own devising. Those who have read Melville's Moby Dick and, especially, Pierre, know how this conceit works. At first it's a hurdle. But after a dozen or so uncertain pages this reader found Vollmann's use of the device satisfying. The author writes entertainingly in his tongue, the prose evincing a relationship between character and language that is quite possibly not expressible in one of today's argots. The old locutions capture associations and reasoning that "make sense" of his characters' actions. For readers willing to ride the style, this book is probably as close as we can get to glimpsing the historical Pocahontas, to adventuring with the real John Smith.

And theirs is quite a story. Pocahontas is vividly drawn. Vollmann's John Smith, though no average Joe, looks for the meaning of life in the pitiless hierarchies of social class, and in this he is Everyman writ large. A third major character, Argall, also historical, intersects Smith's story with a power and mystery reminiscent of what Ahab brings to Moby Dick.

But story is only the colorful warp of Argall. The woof weaving it together is Vollmann's wish to write with an active conscience. Through ambitious John Smith, Vollmann shows how aspirations can turn tragic when fame and success are held too dear. If this makes Argall a cautionary tale, it is one remarkably free of judgment. What distinguishes Vollmann from many excellent writers is the passion with which he attempts to harness fabrication -- so often considered an intrinsically amoral activity -- to produce artifacts of conscience. It is as though fiction rings true in direct proportion to the breadth and depth of behavior that its author willingly witnesses, without saying yes or no. To me Vollmann's strength lies not only in his wit and talent but in his peripheral vision, his ability to convey a universe of caring beyond the immediate focus of his text. There is food here of a sort not found in many fictions, new or old. Argall may not please the incurious reader, the faint of heart, the professional reader, or the cold of heart. Others may find it, as I do, a heroic book, both epic, intimate story and intelligent, caring act of bravado.

"About Our Continent in the Days of OKEUS, from whom . . .
We Stole Puccoons; and whose Snake-Erring'd Nation the ***POWHATANS*** Lost, By the Scheming of our Counsell-Men, Princesse Poka-huntas (a country lass) to TOBACCO (but gained Discount cigarettes); Lost Kingdoms to *ARGALL* . . ."

In the Seven Dreams series one may begin with any volume, but of the four currently published volumes, Argall would be the most "American".Here we have a post-modern retelling of English colonization.As with volumes one and two, Vollmann adapts his writing style and language to the flavor and times in which he dwells.His research is deep and impeccable, and one of the most interesting things to me in reading the Seven Dreams is his unique style and method of mixing ". . . colors not only from the palate of times, but also from the palate of places" (The Rifles, 377).Did I really read of a bullet or bullets laying on the frozen ground in one foreshadowed scene from The Ice Shirt (which took place in the 10th Century)?There are a few such strange instances in Fathers & Crows.Less so in Argall, though, which mostly sticks close to the life and times of Captain John Smith (1580-1631).Smith is a similar "yeoman" type character to Poutrincourt & Champlain in Fathers & Crows, and perhaps Eirik the Red in The Ice Shirt.Vollmann utilizes these men as launching points into their time-periods, reassessing their trials and tribulations, conquests and failures.Likewise, in each of the first three volumes we find historically forgotten, but important women.They include Freydis Eiriksdottir & Gudrid Thorbjornsdottir in The Ice Shirt, Born Swimming & Tekakwitha in Fathers & Crows, and in Argall, Pocahontas.As of yet, I have not read Vollmann's so-called prostitute novels/trilogy, but am familiar enough with his research into and use of prostitutes in his various stories.Having now read the first three volumes of the Seven Dreams in order (and looking forward to #6, The Rifles), it's not surprising to find this recurrent theme of a male "glory seeking adventurer doomed to failure meets and interacts with his depraved and deprived female counterpart" (note also, interactions between Pere Brebeuf & Born Underwater in Fathers & Crows).What's fascinating about all this is that through Vollmann's modern day lenses (and those are some thick lenses!), "historie" and "histoickall facts" come across as more than the "Symbolic History" he is creating.What happens is exactly what he wants to happen, and that is to ". . . further a deeper sense of truth".The phantom-like, piratical title-character Argall, as is the town of Gravesend which John Smith hales to & from (in "several compass circles") are good examples of the blending of truths and untruths in order to create "an account of origins and metamorphoses".In reading Argall you are not reading history, exactly.It is based on history, but is closer to poetry than a novel, because poetry transcends the strictures of a traditional novel.Its genius lays not only in its concept as part of a larger North American landscape puzzle, but in its execution.While The Ice Shirt contains a captivating dis-harmony of time & place, myth, legend, history, and modern travelogue; Fathers & Crows a more refined and fine-tuned sense of direction & story-telling; Argall is a magnificent culmination of language & character.It felt very enlightening, especially to one who grew up with very idealistic and naïve notions of adventurous Pilgrims arriving on the Mayflower, trading and sharing Thanksgiving feasts with blissful, welcoming Indians.And Pocahontas seemed some romantic "Indian princess" who delighted those bold and faithful colonists.Of course, most of us become less naïve and more enlightened as we grow older and expand our horizons.As with any deep poetry or "meditation", Argall (and The Ice Shirt, & Fathers & Crows) is an enlightening experience for those able and willing to venture forth.Admittedly, as less enthusiastic reviewers have pointed out here and elsewhere, Vollmann can seem long-winded, wanting of an editor, and somewhat superficial in terms of character morality, etc.Personally, I take my time with books, and enjoy the lengthy narratives, twists and turns, use of chronologies, maps, lengthy source notes, whimsical drawings, so on and so forth.I feel like I've got my money's worth.(As one should for a $40 coverprice!).In terms of morality, I think Vollmann (as a post-modern writer) comes across as dry and lacking "wisdom" in any deep moral sense, as compared to say the Victorian-era writers such as Tolstoy and Dickens not because he can't feel or provide insight into his characters, but because: 1. it would be disingenuous given the subject & overall plan of the Seven Dreams, and 2. it frees up YOU, the reader to interact with the text using your own values and judgments without the author getting in the way.It's up to you to find your way (but there are plenty of notes to guide you in whichever direction you so choose).

That said, I hope you take some time to read Argall, and the Seven Dreams, as I think you'll learn more about our (the North American) continent than you thought you knew, including the exploits of various peripheral characters you may never have heard of, but who certainly existed - especially one Captaine Samuel Argall.

Postmodern Pocahontas (or Pockahuntiss)
It helps if you're a little bit compulsive about reading Vollmann. Oh, he doesn't need the help, but as a reader, you do.

It's easy to compare him with Pynchon, since they both attempt a similar feat of matching subject with style in an expansive format that contains much humor peppered within the story. But Vollmann isn't a humorist at heart, he's part historian and part seer. He brings you the characters that you'd love to believe really are; he worms his insistent way into their hopes and imaginings so that he can present you with their characters.

You learn a lot of history reading the Seven Dreams series, of which "Argall" is a part. You learn more about how Vollmann regards history. But what makes the author so necessary and integral to my reading is that way of making me see how his characters regard themselves.

So throw your reading schedule out the window. Pick up "The Ice Shirt" and start in on this yet-to-be completed chronicle of how the Europeans came to the Americas and what that meant for both the Europeans and the people who were already here. Catch up soon, because you'll want to starting wishing for the next book in the series to appear... compulsively so.

Vollmann's Career = Revenge of the Nerd
William Vollmann is like the nerdiest person you knew in college or high school.He grew up to become a novelist who gained notoriety by writing in great detail about his experiences with prostitutes and having the audacity to claim that it took some sort of moral heroism for him to smoke crack with them in roach-infested transient hotels.Of course, it wouldn't do to be slumming all the time -- otherwise he'd just be another John Rechy or Bruce Benderson.So he adds Ivy League intellectual patina to these books by positioning them as meditations on the history of North America, or as reflections on how "all loving relationships are really forms of prostitution."He writes long, long books hoping that you'll be very, very impressed with him.

Folks, read this book or any other book by William Vollmann and keep in mind that this is an author with a profoundly stunted emotional growth.There's nothing cute about celebrating prostitution as the "most honest form of love" -- it's sickening writing, the babbling of a man still stuck in the fantasies of adolescence who will never understand that real love transcends economic exchange into a pure giving of oneself to another.He pats himself on the back for his "ferocity," when in fact he's never really outgrown being a journal-scribbling teenager who thinks every word he scribbles needs to be published and admired.His writing amounts to one big infantile gesture of lashing out at his Mommy and Daddy -- he admits as much in his interviews -- but at the same time hoping all these books he writes will make his parents love him.It's sad.

The fact that Vollmann has a big crowd of admirers says a lot about the sheep-like mentality and the moral vacancy of too many people who like cutting-edge literature.Read the bombastic praise Vollmann receives that is printed on the dustjackets of his books, and reviewers envious of his lifestyle just look like fools with the pumped-up praise that lavish on Vollmann.Go to a Vollmann reading and look around -- the people there are the sort who are hip, cynical, wear funky glasses and hate their parents, and whose main worry is keeping up with the latest slick novels and edgy CD's to hit the shelves.They have no ability to think for themselves and they are bored with life -- so they are profoundly impressed by this guy who writes about his experience with prostitutes.If you recognize yourself in this description, you need to get a life.

There's a certain sort of bourgeois person who believes their life can be redeemed by writing a novel in which they'll "show 'em all" -- the 'em being Mommy and Daddy, the cool kids who rejected them in high school, the jocks who called them nerds, etc.Vollmann is the "patron saint" of this sort of misfit.I read an interview in which Vollmann stated confidently that he is as important as Shakespeare or Faulkner.He doesn't seem to understand that the self-absorbed navel-gazing of a well-read prostitute's john doesn't quite cut it as great literature, no matter how many big words and descriptive phrases he tries to pack into his sentences.Vollmann's delusions are as bloated as his books, and his vision lacks even a hint of the universality or breadth or understanding that literary importance requires.Nobody but a few misfit loners and antiquarians will be reading Vollmann fifty years from now.Vollmann is a Montherlant in the making -- that is, an irrelevant curiosity that even most highly educated people will not have heard of.

Please think for yourself and don't buy this book just because you think it's kind of neat and edgy that this guy writes about his experiences with prostitutes.Don't engage in the sad spectacle of living vicariously through William Vollmann's sad, warped world.You'll just put yourself one step closer to moral oblivion. ... Read more

Product Description
Captain John Smith was one of the most insightful and colorful writers to visit America in the colonial period.While his first venture was in Virginia, some of his most important work concerned New England and the colonial enterprise as a whole.

The publication in 1986 of Philip Barbour's three-volume edition of Smith's works made available the complete Smith opus.In Karen Ordahl Kupperman's new edition her intelligent and imaginative selection and thematic arrangement of Smith's most important writings will make Smith accessible to scholars, students, and general readers alike.Kupperman's introductory material and notes clarify Smith's meaning and the context in which he wrote, while the selections are large enough to allow Captain Smith to speak for himself.As a reasonably priced distillation of the best of John Smith, Kupperman's edition will allow a wide audience to discover what a remarkable thinker and writer he was. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fascinating
With the immediacy of his own words.Gripping.Exciting.A super read.

By His Own Hand
The definitive work on Smith's writing is Barbour's three volume set, which is expensive and difficult to find (special order on Amazon - $250). That said, Kupperman's work is a useful introduction, arranged in themesshe perceives in his works:life and legend, leader of Jamestown,relations with the Indians, interpreter of environment, and advocate of aconcept of colonialization.As such the reader does not progress throughSmith's writings in the chronological order in which he created them, butthere is a cohesiveness which might otherwise be lost if she clung to theactual timeline.No volume of this size could encompass all aspects ofthis complex, albeit difficult, man, but Kupperman puts the limited spaceto effective use.I found her introductory essay on Smith to be among thebest material I have read on him.If someone had time to read only onething about Smith, I would recommend these 23 pages.There are some thingsabout the book I wish were better.Kupperman helps the reader with some ofthe more arcane lingustic artifacts of Tudor English, but I wish she hadexplained more about the context and references than she did.I also wishshe had said more about Smith as a cartographer.His map of the Chesapeakewas the definitive map of the region for about 60 years and was copied bythe most famous names in cartographic history.His map of the coast of NewEngland were instrumental to further English settlement there, inc. that ofthe Pilgrims and Puritans.She touches on this but I would like to haveheard more.These points aside, however, I found this to be a useful andwell written volume.

Insight into a misunderstood historical figure
This book provides a good look at Captain John Smith.Smith, a complex man, led an interesting life -- including neing sold as a slave in Turkey.This book illuminates his tough demeanor, which helped the early colonistssurvive, but also led to quarrels with them.For those of you who want toknow the real Smith -- not the Disney version - this is the place to look. ... Read more

Product Description
The mainsail cracked above them in the ferocious wind as a group of red-faced men descended on John. "You have brought a curse on us. Overboard with you," one of the men yelled. A chorus of cheers went up. It was the last sound John heard before he was dumped over the side of the ship and engulfed by the dark, roiling ocean."

Thrown overboard, enslaved by the Turks, captured by pirates, rescued by a princess-the story of Englishman John Smith (1580-1631) would seem unbelievable were it fiction. Young John first sought adventure in Europe, traveling as far as Russia and distinguishing himself in the wars that raged across the Old World.

But John Smith's real passion was for the New World, and in 1607 he sailed to North America with the men who would establish the first lasting British settlement-Jamestown. There he fought level-headedly for the policies that would enable the fragile community to survive starvation, disease, and deadly attacks to become a foothold in the New World.

Heroes of History is a unique biography series that brings the shaping of history to life with the remarkable true stories of fascinating men and women who changed the course of history.

The stories of Heroes of History are told in an engaging narrative format, where related history, geography, government, and science topics come to life and make a lasting impression. This is a premier biography line for the entire family. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a great book!
Here is what our 11 year old son said about this book.
"I definetly reccomend this book. It is very realistic, historacly accurate, and full of excitement! When you read this book you will feel like you are a character from the story. You will smell the salt air as The english settelers sail out over the ocean, You will feel the tension as John is about to be executed by indians, and you will see entire cities go up in flames. If you read this book you will not be sorry!" ... Read more

Product Description

Captain John Smith's voyages throughout the new world did not end--or, for that matter, begin--with the trip on which he was captured and brought to the great chief Powhatan. Partly in an effort to map the region, Smith covered countless leagues of the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributary rivers, and documented his experiences. In this ambitious and extensively illustrated book, scholars from multiple disciplines take the reader on Smith's exploratory voyages and reconstruct the Chesapeake environment and its people as Smith encountered them.

Beginning with a description of the land and waterways as they were then, the book also provides a portrait of the native peoples who lived and worked on them--as well as the motives, and the means, the recently arrived English had at their disposal for learning about a world only they thought of as "new." Readers are then taken along on John Smith's two expeditions to map the bay, an account drawn largely from Smith's own journals and told by the coauthor, an avid sailor, with a complete reconstruction of the winds, tides, and local currents Smith would have faced.

The authors then examine the region in more detail: the major river valleys, the various parts of the Eastern Shore, and the head of the Bay. Each area is mapped and described, with added sections on how the Native Americans used the specific natural resources available, how English settlements spread, and what has happened to the native people since the English arrived. The book concludes with a discussion on the changes in the region's waters and its plant and animal life since John Smith's time--some of which reflect the natural shifts over time in this dynamic ecosystem, others the result of the increased human population and the demands that come with it.

Published by the University of Virginia Press in association with Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, and the U.S. National Park Service, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and Maryland Historical Trust.

Customer Reviews (2)

Do you love the Chesapeake Bay?
This book probably has more detail than the average reader wants to know about the Chesapeake Bay region of John Smith's time.But if your relatives arrived in this region during the time covered, you will be very interested in it.And if you are also interested in the hisory of this region, it is THE guide for you.Fantastically interesting book for me and I learned a lot too!

A scholarly, extensive, and detailed examination of Captain John Smith's historic voyages
John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609 is a scholarly, extensive, and detailed examination of Captain John Smith's historic voyages exploring the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers. Smith himself documented his travels with care; the famous event when he was captured and brought before the great chief Powhatan was only one highlight of a vast and intrepid adventure. John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609 reconstructs Smith's travels day by day, discussing the Native American reaction to British territorial encroachment as well as Smith's viewpoint, and meticulously calculates the winds, tides, and local currents Smith would have faced on his journey. Illustrated with a scattering of black-and-white as well as color maps and vintage artworks, John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages 1607-1609 is a seminal contribution to American history shelves in general and Chesapeake Bay history shelves in particular. Highly recommended, especially for public and college library collections. ... Read more

Product Description
For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina basketball team with unsurpassed success, having an impact both on the court and in the lives of countless young men. In A Coach’s Life, he looks back on the great games, teams, players, strategies, and rivalries that defined his career and, in a new final chapter, discusses his retirement from the game. The fundamentals of goodbasketball are the fundamentals of character—passion, discipline, focus, selflessness, and responsibility—and superlative mentor and coach Dean Smith imparts them all with equal authority. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Dean Smith could probably run for president
The book "A Coach's Life" written by Dean Smith, is a life story of one the best coaches to have ever stepped on the hardwood.This book starts off talking about Dean's childhood.He tells stories of himself as an athlete, playing football, baseball and basketball.
As a senior, Dean coached the incoming freshman football players the plays. Dean Smith was then offered a head coaching position at Air Force. After the years at Air Force, Dean Smith was offered an assistant coaching position under Frank McGuire. It wasn't long until Dean Smith became coach in 1960-1961.

From then on Dean went on to become one of the greatest coaches to ever coach in college basketball.Dean Smith won 879 wins, has gone to 11 Final Fours, and has won two national championships.Dean Smith went on to coach some of the best players who have played the game of basketball.
The book is structured very well.It starts off by talking about where he comes from, his schooling, his athletic background, then his coaching career and then his overall thoughts on the game and his life.

My overall evaluation is that this is a decent book.I loved the book, but keeping interest in the book would be difficult if you are not interested in basketball or coaching basketball.I have been involved with basketball for almost my entire life, so that it why I enjoyed the book so much.North Carolina has been my favorite college basketball team for as long as I remember.

Dean Smith
Dean Smith is now known as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.I choose to read this memoir because I have a love for sports.Also, I have a deep passion for college sports because of the atmosphere at every college game I go to.Dean Smith coached one of my favorite colleges in the nation The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dean Smith was just a regular boy that grew up in Topeka, Kansas.His father, Alfred Smith, was a teacher at Emporia High and also the coach of the basketball, football, and track and field teams.His mother, Vesta Edwards, taught all levels, from elementary to college students.She was also the church organist.Life was hard for Dean he lived in a two-bedroom house with one bathroom.He lived with his parents and his sister Joan.They also cared for his Grandmother Edwards who moved in with them when she was seventy-two.
Dean went to college at The University of Kansas.He spent his first year playing freshman football and basketball and selling football programs at the home football games.Nowadays if you are a freshman in basketball and/or football you weren't able to play until you became a sophomore.He played basketball under the legendary Forrest C. "Phog" Allen.He had the utmost respect for him "It was impossible to play for those men and not learn something. (pg. 24)"
Dean Smith would start coaching University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels in 1961.Dean has created some of the best known coaching strategies of all time; he started the idea of huddling up at the foul line before every foul shot and the "tired signal" that his players would use to tell him when they needed a rest.He used the tired signal because he thought they best knew how long they could stay in for.Smith coached 36 teams at North Carolina and made it to eleven final four's and won two NCAA National Championships.He coached some of the greatest basketball players of all time such as, Michael Jordan (now known as the greatest basketball player of all-time), James Worthy and Vince Carter.
This is one of my favorite books of all-time that I have read.North Carolina is one of my favorite colleges already and Dean Smith is a very famous person from UNC so it basically was perfect for me.Plus to add on to that I have a deep passion for sports and college basketball is one of my favorites.Dean throughout his career has learned a lot from some very smart people but the thing that I think he has learned the most is that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.

a great look inside the heart and mind of a living legend !!
college basketball's greatest coach chronicles his life and details the philosophy and principles which governed his life and his approach to basketball. after reading the book you will understand why many consider him not only the greatest college basketball coach,but an even greater man.

The Dean of All Coaches
"A Coach's Life" details the interesting facts of Dean Smith's story - from his childhood memories to his first coaching job to reaching the pinnacle of his career (winning the NCAA titles in 1982 and 1993).Along the way, you meet many people who enriched Dean's life and who, in turn, were enriched by him...there's Michael Jordan, of course, but Dean also reveals details of his relationships with a number of his players, associates and opponents, including John Thompson, James Worthy, and Frank McGuire, to name a few.

To his credit, he avoids speaking negatively about others.It seems that he was operating under the axiom, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything."This would explain the virtual omission of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski - glaring by its absence.So be warned - those looking for a mud-slinging expose' will be disappointed.

But that's OK - Dean showed that he didn't have to write a "tell-all" in order to write a good book.It's just a story of a simple Kansas boy who found a way to make a difference in people's lives.And what's wrong with that?

Rating: 4 stars.

I could wretch
This book is boring and Dean fancies himself a martyr.I don't need to read another book about someone who believes that Jesus cares about a sporting event....yuck. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Literally life changing
I knew of John Assaraf from "The Secret" and recently caught an online interview with him and was very impressed with what he said.I immediatelychecked Amazon and there was this book, "The Answer".My first thought was "Whoa, this guy's kinda ballsy, using that title."But I read the reviews and bought it.

I literally could not put the book down for the first 5 chapters.The writing is not only top notch, but what's great is John's ability to explain complex scientific theories in simple terms that anyone can understand and ingest immediately.Some stuff is way-out there, especially the realm of the quantum field and our non-conscious brain's ability to access it.It may sound like science fiction, but he's got the science of quantum physics to back him up.

I'd heard about "reprogramming" the brain and tried subliminals and the dailyrepetition of positive affirmations, but it never seemed to work for me, so I thought it was all hooey.John explains, on the *cellular* level, why it DOES work -- but only if you do it correctly.He talks about the incredible majesty of the human brain and how it's there to serve us, not keep us from what we want.We just have to know how to use it!And most of us are using it in exactly the wrong way.I know I was.I've even told people that my brain hates me!

Needless to say, this book woke up something in me (perhaps my own non-conscious brain saying "Oh my GOD! Finally! We're gonna GET somewhere!") that brought me to tears of joy.Forty seven years of bad programming and complete ignorance of how my own brain works, vanished in one day."The Secret" film brought me to a place of power in my life that changed me from victim of circumstance to controller over my own destiny, and "The Answer" has given me the understanding and the tools to continue my journey.

And I think John should change the name to: "The REAL Answer to Life, the Universe, and EVERYTHING." (No offense to Douglas Adams meant!)

Very good Book!
This book was very good.Filled with great detailed action steps - not a lot of fluff! If you want to know what to do to get results, then this is definitely the book for you.

The Answer has become my answer for a new future!
I am not new to the basic set of ideas that Assaraf & Smith present. I am impressed with how clearly they articulate them & how innovatively they design the life application of manifesting potential. I see in this work the foundation laid by James Allen, Nepoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield, & many others. I am thoroughly pleased with the added value they offer through their version of "what you can conceive & believe, you can achieve".

The top practical guide today on how to think about your life and business
Before I get into discussing this book I would like to tell a bit of a personal story relating to this book.It is a story that hopefully might even make the book even more interesting to prospective readers.To relate this story to you will make my review a good bit longer than normal, but please bear with me because this story really does have to do with what's in this book...

Last year I watched the international phenomenon, The Secret, which has swept the globe with its message:"Everything that you have, make or do happens because of your thoughts.Everything that happens to you, whether you wanted it to happen or not, was attracted to you by your subconscious mind.This is known as the Law of Attraction.If you want to have a better life, use the Law of Attraction to your benefit."

What The Secret was putting out there was that we are responsible for our own conditions but we need to align what we want in life with our subconscious before we can truly change.

I took this in as positive thinking, as a "philosophy", so to speak but I decided to give the Law of Attraction a try. But after putting a small amount of effort into its practice by trying to manifest some small things - a second trip to Egypt in the same year, an interview in a newspaper, etc., I found the Law of Attraction to be rather true in my life.Thus with no more guidance than the information in that film I started experimenting with one of my businesses last year, a business that hadn't been faring too well in the recent past.To my joy this business turned around and doubled in size within ten months.I then used the same principles to find my sweetheart and in a matter of weeks I found a wonderful girl, just as I had imagined her to be even before I knew her.And after that I turned my attention to a second business I had in December of 2007 and now it is double the size that it was when I started using these principles.

In the course of all of this I moved to Bangkok, Thailand, from Saigon, Vietnam.In Bangkok I have met many new and very interesting people.One day I was called out of the blue by a friend I hadn't seen in a while.She asked me to come to a showing of The Secret which was being held by a Belgian man named Guy, who was interested in the Law of Attraction.I dropped everything I was doing that Sunday and came to the showing.I came not so much to see the movie again, although that was a side benefit, but I really was interested to meet people who were using these principles in their lives so that I could compare notes and see how this was working in their lives.I was there to offer my experiences and to gain from others.Guy and I with another Belgian, Chris, formed our own monthly meeting group.

But something had always bothered me about The Secret:It wasn't enough.I felt like the information in The Secret was more of an advertisement than a practical way of doing things.I decided to focus on finding a guide, a teacher who could take me further into the nitty gritty of how we should use these principles to improve our lives on a day-to-day basis.I decided to "intend" a teacher to come into my life - a teacher who could show me both a much deeper understanding of what I was doing as well as how to use these principles in a practical way.

Two days after I made the intention of finding my teacher came the e-mail from Norm Goldman of BookPleasures.com.The public relations firm representing John Assaraf and Murray Smith was requesting a review of their new book, The Answer.

Recognizing John Assaraf's name from The Secret immediately, I jumped at the chance to review this book.

Coincidence?Stay with me.My story about this book doesn't end there.

I remembered John Assaraf's name especially for two reasons:First, one of the most poignant scenes in The Secret is when his six year old son finds a five year old vision board in a corrugated moving carton.In explaining to his son the purpose of this vision board John realized that the perfect home he'd wished for five years earlier was exactly the home he was living in at that time!(This amazing and thought provoking story is well covered in both the film and book versions of The Secret as well as in John's book The Answer, so I won't go into great detail about the matter).

The second reason I remembered John Assaraf's name is because it reminded me of a friend who I was trying to reach and had decided some time ago to find out about.At university I had a friend named Marc Assaraf.So the day the advance reading copy of The Answer arrived in my office in Bangkok I checked John and Murray's website for their One Coach business and I e-mailed John asking him whether he would be interested in helping me with any questions I had about the book (he responded that he would).But at the end of the e-mail I asked whether, just by chance, he had ever heard of someone named Marc Assaraf.It turned out that Marc Assaraf was John's own brother!

From my point of view, I could take this situation for a very, very wild coincidence, or I could take it that my receiving John's and Murray's book was a convergence of two intentions that I had clearly stated and wanted the manifestation of.Both answer could not be true.

To make matters even more "coincidental", the very day that I finished reading The Answer I received an e-mail from Chet Holmes inviting me to a conference call with none other than John Assaraf.I opened this e-mail less than one hour after finishing the last page of this amazing book!

Needless to say, this was a conference call that I participated in and gained much from.

The Answer is a well written book that explains exactly how such a "coincidence" occurs.At least in the first half of the book it does.

In the first chapters John Assaraf explains scientifically how your mind and mine are connected to the world through our subconscious and how we can change the poor results we have been getting, whether it be relationships, financial, professional, etc.I really have to admit that when I first opened the book I felt a bit strange reading all about the science behind this.What I was looking for was the quick, practical tips that would help me to better use the principles of the Law of Attraction.(John Assaraf prefers to use "Law of Resonance").By the middle of the book all of John's painstaking research that he shared made sense - John put all of his findings in so that we'd know exactly the whys of the how to make the changes in our lives.Don't get me wrong, I was not saying that the first part of the book was not interesting.Just the contrary, it was extremely interesting.I didn't see its necessity until later in the book when it all came together and then it all came clear.

John's long-time friend and business partner Murray Smith took the latter part of the book where he gave advice on how to determine where you might be in your business and where you want to go (some of this was covered in John's section of the book, though the two authors were coming from slightly different angles).Murray then gave some excellent tools for both entrepreneurs as well as people who worked for others to be able to use in order to turn their businesses around and to guide the reader on how reach their goals.Both Murray Smith and John Assaraf gave many examples of how their clients had discovered where they had been going wrong and turned their businesses and organizations around.There are also plenty of practical resources in this book for the reader to use immediately.

Trust me.If you want to enrich your life or change something in your business in any meaningful way then read this book.Devour it.Digest it.Once you have read The Answer of course you can draw your own conclusions on what these guys are saying.But I am willing to bet that if you follow their advice you will feel like magic has come into the way you do things.Planning becomes fun and effortless.You will see doors opening for you that before were not just only closed - some of the doors weren't even there!Take it from me: You have nothing to lose and so much to gain by using Murray's and John's advice.I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to get more out of their life.

... Read more

Product Description

From the mythological underwater city of Atlantis to the amount of water that covers Earth’s surface, the oceanic world has challenged and intrigued man since recorded time. And it seems that as much as we do know already, there is so much more to learn. In W is for Waves: An Ocean Alphabet water enthusiasts and budding scientists are given an A to Z tour of the ocean’s depths and the creatures that inhabit them.

Did you know that jellyfish can range in size from one inch to 200 feet long? And what about the mysterious Scandinavian sea monster called the kraken? Was it a myth or did it really exist?

Learn about thermohaline currents, dolphin intelligence, and the largest living structure in the world (Australia’s Great Barrier Reef). In W is for Waves young readers can explore the mysteries of the deep without getting their feet wet.

Customer Reviews (2)

Alphabets Explored -
For a child with an inquisitive mind and sponge like memory, this provides information in a separate strand or
sub category.I can think of nothing that fosters thinking skills and extends experience more than books such as W is for Waves !

Great Artwork, the Word Choices Are a Little Strange
I bought this book for a friend's son, and was flipping through it before giving it as a gift.

The art in the book is great, I think the pictures are drawn well and the colors are wonderful.But in my opinion some of the word choices are a stretch.For example, E is for Exxon Valdez?Really?I would have chosen something like Elephant Seal or Eel.But instead they chose Exxon Valdez, which I guess is an important part of history.

Along with each picture and word is a brief description to go along with it, which should be helpful for the kids.Overall I think the art and the brief stories make this a good book overall. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the 2001 John Pollock Award for Christian Biography!John Stott stands as one of the towering figures of Christianity in the twentieth century. He was a key framer of the historic Lausanne Covenant (1974). And he wrote Basic Christianity which has sold over three million copies in more than fifty languages. From his home base of All Souls Church in London's West End, he has shaped the face of evangelicalism around the world.But what has shaped John Stott? How did he become what Christianity Today calls "evangelicalism's premier teacher and preacher?" Timothy Dudley-Smith, a longtime friend and co-worker, offers in this book the beginning of a monumental study of Stott's life--tracking the early influences, challenges and achievements that set the course for a lifetime of Christian ministry.Dudley-Smith traces the growth of young Stott, who even as a child attended church and Sunday school at All Souls. He shows us Stott's conversion as a teenager and the subsequent influence upon his growth of Scripture Union's E. J. H. Nash. Here and in the British Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Cambridge, Stott's leadership abilities and concern for evangelism were already apparent.But strain between Stott and his father was pronounced as Stott began to follow his call to ministry while World War II embroiled his country. After his ordination at the close of the war, he renewed his association with All Souls, and he launched creative and energetic evangelism campaigns while providing leadership for the emerging evangelical movement within the Anglican Church and around the world.Covering Stott's first forty years, this volume reveals his lighthearted humanity and his resolute focus on God's Word and God's work in the world. Here you'll discover the fascinating detail and rewarding overview of a life that is at once instructive and inspiring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fine biography for anyone interested in conversion
Anyone running a Christian camp, college Christian Union or entering the ministry should read this excellent, authorized biography by another Christian leader - Tim Dudley-Smith.

Time discipline, God and principles drive the man. Meticulous attention to scholarship, biblical interpretation and evangelism characterize Stott's life. Even the Christian schoolboy camps he organized as a scholar and student were superbly run. Here is a great primer for Christian camp leaders.One doesn't usually think of the immaculately dressed and well spoken John Stott as a camper, but this book covers both his professional and personal life.

The book has extensive quotes from correspondents and writers, as well as Stott himself.As Buddism has the Dalai Lama, Christianity has John Stott.John Stott is one of the few who has the intellectual capacity, clarity of exposition and genuine enthusiasm to lead the thinking person to Christianity. This book shows that he's been at it since his conversion at Rugby School, during his student days at Cambridge and continuing through his long association with All Souls Langham Place, London and various Langham Partnership organizations.

Dudley-Smith describes how Stott received his call to ministry, diligently studying both the Bible and his academic books.Stott's avid enthusiasm for bird-watching, which has peppered his sermons on occasion, is woven into the book's fabric.

CICCU (Cambridge), OICCU (Oxford), Inter-Varsity and other Christian student organizations owe a debt to John Stott.Any student Christian leader can gain ideas and insights from this biography.

The many groups that use John Stott's numerous Bible study books would also profit from learning about the man, his motivation and his friends.In particular, his friendship with Billy Graham was described in some detail and together they helped evangelize the student world.

If you are considering being a pastor or missionary, you will learn what a Passion for Mission means from John Stott.

My one criticism is that Tim Dudley-Smith tends to write less efficiently than John Stott, some anecdotes are repeated. But this is a minor flaw and the writing is never weak from this great hymn writer. It is a very human account of a global Christian leader that deserves a larger audience.Take a Sunday afternoon and go to a quiet place like John Stott's Welsh retreat - the Hookses - and be inspired as you read this manuscript.When I bought this book I was stuck after the first chapter, but when I heard John Stott, in his 80s still going strong and speaking at a 30th anniversary John Stott Ministries dinner, I picked up the book again and once I was into chapter two (the chapters are long, but broken into subsections) I could not put it down.

Review of John Stott : The Making of a Leader
John Stott, The Making of A Leader, The Early Years, by Timothy Dudley-Smith. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1999, 526 pages.

This, the first volume of the first full length biography of John R. W. Stott,will set the standard of excellence for the many biographies which willfollow. Timothy Dudley-Smith's excellent biography paints a completeportrait of the public and private life of one of the greatest Christianleaders of the last one hundred years. Dudley-Smith draws extensively fromStott's diaries, letters and books and from interviews with both friendsand adversaries. He captures the formative experiences that have shaped thelife and ministry of John Stott.

Arranged in sections covering ten yearincrements from the 1920s through the 1950s, the chapters within eachsection relate key friendships, public challenges and personal struggles.These engaging accounts bring into view a compelling story of the forcesthat have shaped and which drive Stott.

Far from the doting account of asaintly life by an admiring follower, Dudley-Smith frankly describesStott's struggles and doubts as well as the excitement of his expandingministry. Directness and sensitivity mark the recounting of Stott'slifelong rivalry with his sister and the years of alienation from hisfather. His concern for his local congregation at All Souls Church inLondon as he begins evangelistic tours of Great Britain, the United States,Autrailia and Africa reveal his pastor's heart and sensitivity.

The firstvolume of this biography projects a three dimensional picture of a man ofGod. Don't wait for the companion volume, not due out for at least anothertwo years, before reading this book. This account of a contemporaryChristian will hearten and challenge you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

No Real Sense of the City
Having just moved to San Francisco, and being a fan of mysteries and crime novels, I figured this collection of thirteen short stories and excerpts would be a nice way to get to know my new surroundings. Unfortunately, only a few of the stories really attempt to evoke their setting, and on the whole, the book is a bit flat.

Bill Pronzini's contribution is a tragic (and rather predictable) little story set in Glen Park and the Mission. Dashiell Hammet's 1928 Continental Op story, "Fly Paper" is the longest, and perhaps best fiction in the book. Hildegarde Teilhet's "Demon in the Belfry," which recounts a savage double murder that occurred in 1895 is interesting reportage, but pales next to Oscar Lewis' 1924 true crime article, "The Phosphorescent Bride." His retelling of a famous murder and legal battle is the most engrossing bit of writing in the collection. Joe Gores contributes an early story from 1966, in which two hipsters decide to go witness an execution at San Quentin for kicks. It's an effectively creepy story, but not as evocative of the city as one of his DKA stories (which are collected in the volume Stakeout on Page Street) would have been.

The editors note that Jim Thompson's story "Ironside", is one of his few that has fallen out of print. However, after reading it here, one can understand why as it exhibits a few of the harsh sentences he excelled at, but none of the coherence. Scenes from the 1958 film Vertigo are included, and although one may concede that Alfred Hitchcock "made" the movie, it's nonetheless irritating that the actual authors of the screenplay which is being excerpted, Alec Coppel and Samuel Taylor, are buried. Ambrose Bierce's Poe-inspired ghost story is a decent inclusion, but Mark Twain's brief ghost piece is not. Marcia Muller's "Deceptions" is a so-so story set amidst the city's elite and the Golden Gate Bridge. The excerpt from Mabel Maney's "The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse" is atrocious, while those from Gloria White's "Murder on the Run" and John Lantigua's "Heat Lightning" are more interesting, especially the latter, whose action is set in the Mission.

On the whole, the collection is a very mixed bag, one I found rather disappointing. There's no real sense of the city to be gained from it, nor was I introduced to any outstanding talent I wasn't familiar with. Oh well, I guess I'll stick it in the guest bedroom. ... Read more

Product Description
The first African American to receive a medical degree, this invaluable collection brings together the writings of James McCune Smith, one of the foremost intellectuals in antebellum America.The Selected Writings of James McCune Smith is one of the first anthologies featuring the works of this illustrious scholar.Perhaps best known for his introduction to Fredrick Douglass's My Bondage and My Freedom, his influence is still found in a number of aspects of modern society and social interactions. And he was considered by many to be a prophet of the twenty-first century.One of the earliest advocates of the use of "black" instead of "colored," McCune Smith treated racial identities as social constructions, arguing that American literature, music, and dance would be shaped and defined by blacks.

Organized chronologically, the collection covers over 40 years of writing, including speeches, letters, and essays, and begins with McCune Smith's first speech as an 11-year old boy to the Marquis de Lafayette.Providing historical context for McCune Smith's current cultural relevance, this book showcases writings on black education and self-help, citizenship, and the fight against racism. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing’s Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Human Deformation is the only book devoted to the diagnosis and management of birth defects resulting from mechanical forces in late gestation. It equips you with the evidenced-based guidance you need to intervene in a timely and effective manner to avoid long-term adverse secondary consequences.

• Guides you through the initial clinical approach to suspected deformation problems, and then walks you through pathogenesis, diagnostic features, management, prognosis, and counseling for each condition.
• Addresses a full range of lower extremity deformations · joint dislocations · nerve palsies · chest and spinal deformations · head and neck deformations · craniosynostoses and cranial bone variations · problems associated with abnormal birth presentation, birth palsies, and procedure-related defects · infant head shape variations and torticollis.
• Helps you to distinguish deformations from malformations so you can manage them appropriately.

Customer Reviews (1)

Great addition to library for pediatricians
Many pediatricians and pediatrics residents own Smith's Recognizable Patterns of Malformation. However, this text is not as widely used and discussed. It's a great addition to "...Patterns of Malformation". Mechanical deformation patterns often overlap with malformation sequences, and the text is careful to separate the two and focus on deformations secondary to fetal constraint, fetal position and presentation.

Many issues pertinent to general and subspecialty pediatric practice are covered. On a newborn nursery rotation, I used the book repeatedly when encountering various deformations in newborns including: calcaneovalgus, metatarsus adductus, talipes equinovarus, DDH, polydactyly (pre-axial and post-axial). The pictures are color and of high quality. Each deformity is defined. Epidemiology, work-up, management and treatment strategies are discussed.

A great addition to your library if you work in a pediatric field. ... Read more

Product Description
D. Moody Smith lucidly explains the theological ideas of the Gospel of John, one of the most important documents of the New Testament. He concentrates on its presentation of Jesus as the Christ, and deals also with such topics as God, the scriptures, the Church, and the spirit. These topics are related insofar as possible to the specific setting in which the Gospel was written, since one cannot understand such theological concepts in the abstract. The book is an ideal introduction to the question of the origin of the Gospel of John as well as its theology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

John in a very dense nutshell
A detailed look at John, placing the gospel in the context of early Christianity and an evolving theology. When appropriate, contrasts John with the synoptic gospels and Paul.For its size, and particularly in comparison with many other commentaries, probably the best available.

Excellent look at Johannine Theology
This is by far the best book in the "New Testamant Theology" series put out so far by Cambridge University Press.

It is difficult to discern whether my adoration for this book comes from the inherent wonder and complexity of Johannine thought or Smith's rendering of that thought, but without a doubt the author's explanation is superb.

I was afraid that, given the table of contents for this book, it would follow the same pattern as most the others - the cookie cutter four chapter progression of introduction, theology, relation to NT and then relevance for today.Instead, Smith I think actualizes perhaps the intent of such a set up without being bound by that structure alone.

He begins by introducing the world of Johannine theology (which is at least discussed by scholars in terms and explanations in stark contrast to the way Pauline scholars cover their material) and then begins to discuss such issues as author and setting.Then, however, he reverses direction by acknowledging that such debates have not yielded much insight and then attempts to gain similar information by looking at the setting and sources of Johannine theology.This he does in three ways: 1) looking at the general religious setting of the ancient world with which John has contacts 2) looking at the narrative setting (and thus taking a brief journey through the scope of the story) by trying to peer behind the given story to the story of the community to which it pertains and 3) looking at how John as a document relates to Judaism and other major streams of NT thought.

The third chapter covers the themes of John's theology by first analyzing his presuppositions.The idea of Jesus Christ as God's revelation then orders the continuing look by dividing the book into the revelation to the world and then the community (of believers).Through this Smith shows how John perceives Jesus to be not only the anointed one of God but also the exact image and word (logos) of that God, God incarnate as a way of understanding and relating to God.

Finally, the fourth chapter looks at John's relevance by addressing three issues - mythology (how his theology relates to modern thought world), anti-semitism (how his theology relates to other religions, esp. Judaism) and essence of Christianity (how his theology understands itself).Such a look is wonderfully useful and insightful and fulfills the promise of understanding a letter's relevance for Christians today.

Smith uncovers in his survey the view that in John Christianity becomes most fully "Christian" by its obsession with the person and centrality of Jesus Christ.In doing so, it marks the transition from the amalgam of primitive Jewish Messianism found in Jesus to Christianity and Judaism.Furthermore, it is shown how John more than any other NT writer directs and orders his whole worldview around the Christ event and provides meaning, ethics, and theology of purely Christian terms.

This is an excellent overview and survey of Johannine thought.I only wish every book in this series was so masterfully written. ... Read more

Product Description
Doherty, Kieran. To Conquer is to Live: The Life of Captain John Smith of Jamestown. 144p. map. reprods. bibliog. chron. index. notes. Young Adult. ... Read more

Product Description
No poet has been more wilfully contradictory than John Donne, whose works forge unforgettable connections between extremes of passion and mental energy. From satire to tender elegy, from sacred devotion to lust, he conveys an astonishing range of emotions and poetic moods. Constant in his work, however, is an intensity of feeling and expression and complexity of argument that is as evident in religious meditations such as 'Good Friday 1613. Riding Westward' as it is in secular love poems such as 'The Sun Rising' or 'The Flea'. 'The intricacy and subtlety of his imagination are the length and depth of the furrow made by his passion,' wrote Yeats, pinpointing the unique genius of a poet who combined ardour and intellect in equal measure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A Fabulous Collection
This is a wonderful collection of Donne's poetry. It's excellent for any reader, experienced and first-timers alike. Even with no previous exposure to Donne, this collection offers extensive introductions and footnotes for all of collections contained in this book. And for more experienced Donne readers, this collection really is complete. Excellent for collectors, students, readers, and newcomers.

Wonderful for fans of the 17th century, or for those new to the era
I find John Donne's poetry distinctly representative of the 17th century. It oscilates from being passionately sexual to passionately spiritual, and every detail seems to have been considered. The poems are augmented by Donne's allusions, but they are still beautiful to read without pondering the deeper meanings.

I prefer the alphabetized format of this collection, since chronology and subject matter are fairly nebulous when it comes to Donne. The endnotes are brief enough for readers looking for something simple, but add enough interest that those with a more scholarly bent will have plenty to play with.

A great book
I am greatly enjoying this book. The notes at the end explain some of Donne's more obscure imagery. A potentially controversial choice by the editor was to change the spelling of many words to more modern forms, which makes the poems easier to read at the expense of authenticity. Some people will like that and some people won't.Another odd choice was to list the poems in alphabetical order, instead of grouping them by subject matter or attemp to list them in approxiamte chronolgical order.
Buy this book and enjoy the breathtaking poems. You could do a lot worse with your time.

Enjoying poetry that sounds good when read out loud
Finally, I've found a poet I really like reading. Donne's poems suit me more than Shakespeare's sonnets or Poe's verse, and apart from someone like Yvor Winters, I just don't get modern poetry (apologies to Sylvia Plath fans).

What rings well with me is, well, ringing well! Reading a poem out loud with a bit of drama should just sound good. That's why rap and hip hop can really be considered poetry (well, some rap and hiphop anyway).

A great example of this is Shakespeare's sonnet 129 (The expense of spirit in a waste of shame/Is lust in action; and till action, lust...). Most (not all) of Shakespeare's sonnets are harder to understand than this one, which is why they don't resonate with me as well as I'd like. Donne on the other hand is different; most of what he writes in English sounds good and is immediately understandable.

Not that I understand everything in these poems, there are many contemporary allusions that are lost on me, but there's enough in there that sounds very good to allow me to right away enjoy myself. Here are two great lines, which open the sonnet "Community", to illustrate what I mean by good sound.

Good we must love, and must hate ill,
For ill is ill, and good good still...

There are problems, themselves interesting, that bring discord to a poem. For instance in Donne's England "love" rhymed with "prove" but because today these words don't, a couplet with this rhyme is marred to our 21st century ears.

A personal note: I was in bed reading "Soul Made Flesh" about the discovery that the brain is the seat of consciousness, made by Oxford scholars in 17th century England. I had reached an account of how large audiences of curious onlookers gathered to see doctors perform autopsies. I put the book down and decided to dip into Donne before going to sleep. I flipped out when I read The Damp's opening lines:

When I am dead, and doctors know not why,
And my friends' curiosity
Will have me cut up to survey each part...

Talk about serendipity! Now if I had just read an explanation of these lines in the notes, they would not have meant much to me. But because reading "Soul Made Flesh" had transported me into Donne's England for a few moments, the dramatic effect of the opening was multiplied immensely.

In a nutshell, I find that I love Donne and I recommend this comprehensive easy-to-carry well-annotated edition. My only negative comment is that the editing is a bit unimaginative: the editor places the sonnets in alphabetical order of title simply because there is no accepted canonical ordering... Oh well.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

To yoke unlike things together for most passionate poetry
Songs and Sonnets, Epigrams, Elegies, Satyres, Letters, The Anniversaries, Divine Poems. These are some of the categories of this collection of Donne's complete works. The volume also has a short life of Donne, and an overall introduction to his poetry.
Donne, is generally considered the greatest of the Metaphysical poets. His two great subjects are Love and Death, and his passionate intellect dares to connect elements of diverse worlds into a rich metaphorical texture of poetic conceits. The bold comparisons , the bringing of all modes of experience into relation with the Divine mark out his truly great work.
... Read more