Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
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Paperback (April, 1999)
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Editorial Review

Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ideas. Yet his survey is binocular: one eye has the rather distant vision of the evolutionary biologist, while the other eye--and his heart--belongs to the people of New Guinea, where he has done field work for more than 30 years. ... Read more

Reviews (699)

There is no master race
The western colonising pioneers have left a legacy of racial bias to their descendants. Wherever white folk have taken civilisation to the savage native populations the indigenous peoples have suffered destruction of their own cultures (which were invisible to the colonizers or regarded as proof of the natives' savagery)and racial vilification. The superiority of western culture, as perceived by Europeans, has been taken as proof of the superiority of Europeans themselves and the inferiority of the colonised peoples. Surely, the arguement goes, if they had been as intelligent, hard-working, creative or favored by God as the Europeans, they would have developed advanced cultures as the Europeans have done.
Diamond's book is a brilliant riposte to that racist arguement. He shows how domesticatible plants and animals were the key factor in the development of farming allowing the abandonment of a hunter and gatherer existence. He shows that the so-called inferior cultures lacked those resources. He shows that the development of farming allowed specialisation in production, the development of an army and resistence to disease through close contact with farm animals which are the ultimate source of most human infections. He shows that colonising forces were able to subdue indigenous populations by infecting them and carving them up with their superior weapons.
Once again science demonstrates the folly of racial supremacy theory. Good on you, Jared!

Guns, Germs and Steel
An interesting book, which tries to explain the emergence of western civilization as the dominant culture in our times. Revealing though it is; it failed to explain a lot that defied the views postulated. A great read though. Collapse, Disciples of Fortune, The Third Chimpanzee are other interesting books to read.

A highly informative book with an intersting title ...
Sometimes back I read "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond. No doubt a fantastic book which deserves five stars ... It talks about how the environmental factors contributed towards the evolution of humans.

Some of the questions he tries to answer ...

1. Why some Hunter-gatherers in some places moved on to farming and others did not?.

(The author suggests that when cost-benefit analysis is done, in some cases hunting-gathering was better(for example ... it takes time to plant and grow the plants) and other cases it was not.The author emphasizes that the benefits of planned farming were enormous ... it enabled humans to grow more food in per square unit of an area. This in turn enabled population growth.)

2. Why only some plants/vegetables were domesticated?

3. Why the Eurasians were more successful in plant domestication (b'cos of their latitudinal layout) whereas not that successful in African/American continent (due to to longitudinal layout)?

4. How plant domestication lead to Trade?

5. How reading/writing/languages got propagated all around the world?

The book has wealth and wealth of information backed up with real evidence pointing towards facts. Highly, highly enlightening book ...

-Sachin ... Read more

Isbn: 0393317552
Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Civilization    4. Ethnology    5. History    6. Human Geography    7. Life Sciences - Evolution    8. Social Science    9. Social evolution    10. Sociology    11. Evolution    12. Sociology, Social Studies    13. World history    14. Reading Group Guide   

The Lexus and The Olive Tree : Understanding Globalization
by Thomas L. Friedman
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Hardcover (15 June, 2000)
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Editorial Review

One day in 1992, Thomas Friedman toured a Lexus factory in Japan and marveled at the robots that put the luxury cars together. That evening, as he ate sushi on a Japanese bullet train, he read a story about yet another Middle East squabble between Palestinians and Israelis. And it hit him: Half the world was lusting after those Lexuses, or at least the brilliant technology that made them possible, and the other half was fighting over who owned which olive tree.

Friedman, the well-traveled New York Times foreign-affairs columnist, peppers The Lexus and the Olive Tree with stories that illustrate his central theme: that globalization--the Lexus--is the central organizing principle of the post-cold war world, even though many individuals and nations resist by holding onto what has traditionally mattered to them--the olive tree.

Problem is, few of us understand what exactly globalization means. As Friedman sees it, the concept, at first glance, is all about American hegemony, about Disneyfication of all corners of the earth. But the reality, thank goodness, is far more complex than that, involving international relations, global markets, and the rise of the power of individuals (Bill Gates, Osama Bin Laden) relative to the power of nations.

No one knows how all this will shake out, but The Lexus and the Olive Tree is as good an overview of this sometimes brave, sometimes fearful new world as you'll find. --Lou Schuler ... Read more

Reviews (347)

Impressive, but somewhat repetitive
Thomas Friedman definitely has an impressive repertoire of experiences all over the world.His knowledge of "how the world works" is unique in that he's seen almost everything politically there is to see.Friedman began as a reporter for the NY Times in the middle East with firsthand experience of the Arab-Israeli conflict that never ends.Yet while his accounts of that experience (see "From Beirut to Jerusalem") were more a historical analysis, the Lexus and the Olive Tree attempts to explain how the concept of globalization affects countries economy and the general well being of humans.

But it's simply too repetetive.I felt that in every chapter Friedman was making the same point: that globalization leads to a better economy.That in order to succeed as a company, you need to fully expand, open yourself up to complete scrutiny, and--if you decide to start a new country--be sure to have a proper set of laws in place before you allow free market capitalism to reign.His "software vs. hardware" is a good analogy, but in general he makes up too many terms for phenomena he's seen around the world.The "global herd," "globalution," and "electronic sheep" are just a few examples.

His writing style is very amusing and makes for an easy read for the most part--until you realize that you're reading the same thing you just read in the last chapter.He has vast experience and a good objective view of the world, but he doesn't really talk enough about third-world countries and how they are often negatively affected by globalization.

Still, a highly recommended read if you're interested in seeing exactly how technology is affecting the way the world works, and the impact on those who fail to live up to the trend.To get a more updated view of how he thinks globalizaton will affect the world in the future, check out his new "The World is Flat."

All in all, Friedman's a great writer and you will not be disappointed from reading this book.

Great observations
I read this book a couple years ago, and now I listen to the audio book now and then on my way to work. I love Thomas Friedman and his style of reporting. What I love even more are his wonderful observations of globalization and different interpretations of it around the world. Friedman does not just lay out blanket statements. He makes an effort to understand, and make others understand what other cultures think of world issues, and why they feel that way.

What's a Lexus?
The title of the book says it all. The Lexus luxury car is a well-known brand in the U.S. alone. His vision of globalization is a very narrow one because of his lack of exposure to the real world outside the U.S. and of the ivory towers of academia. ... Read more

Isbn: 0374185522
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Capitalism    4. Economic Conditions    5. Economics - General    6. Economics - Theory    7. Free trade    8. International - Economics    9. International Relations - General    10. International economic relatio    11. International economic relations    12. Politics - Current Events    13. Social aspects    14. Technological innovations    15. Business & Economics / Economics / General   

From Beirut to Jerusalem (Updated with a New Chapter)
by Thomas L. Friedman
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 July, 1990)
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Reviews (130)

Book explanatory and in Depth as Resource in Report
For a school project in which I chose the topic of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, my teacher recommended to me this book; she is a Thomas Friedman fan.Although I am not, I decided to give the book a try, and was glad I did.

First of all, Friedman did an excelent job of presenting the ins and outs of the Middle Eastern conflict, and furthermore made it somewhat interesting to those who don't know much about the subject.Friedman's insight into the hearts and minds of the average citizen of Lebanon, Israel, and the occupied territories, provided a solid base for my report and sparked my ineterest in a subject I never thought about before.

On the other hand, Friedman seemed to be trying to appeal to too many audiances.The book often runs on and on about very small details, which, although are interesting, seem to provide no support for the overall style of his work.

Other than that, I was impressed that, as a high school student, I was able to comprehend and appreciate Friedman's novel.The experiences Freidman shared were a great resource for my report and overall could be an interesting read for anyone who is interested in a quick look at the last century of the conflicts in the Middle East.

A good memoir
Friedman gives his stigma from the very beginning: he is a Jew, his fascination with the Middle East led him to study Middle Eastern politics and history, he is a correspondent for the New York Times and he cites Bernard Lewis. All the above would render anyone who's read more than one book on the subject at least suspicious.

Oddly enough, Friedman manages to strike a relative balance and preserve some form of neutrality in his arguments.

Sure enough, there are some outrageous comments and inaccuracies to be found in this book. Take for example "the liberating quality of news from Israel has particular appeal for Europeans who carry guilt over the Holocaust" (as if the Holocaust was a joint European effort), or that in the Western news media's coverage of the '87 Intifada "the extensive focus on Israeli soldiers beating, arresting, or shooting Palestinians was so obviously out of proportion...", or "Arafat apparently thought he could continue forever not making the real...preparations for war that would have satisfied the Palestinian hard-liners" (maybe the fact that Palestinians did not have an army as such played a role in that), or "Allah Akhbar" instead of Allahu Akbar etc.

However, there are certain things that work very well for this book: one is that Friedman cannot escape his journalistic background, so to speak, a fact which greatly enhances this book's readability. It's fast-paced and concise, and although nearly 600 pages, it's one of those books that could be read in just one sitting. Two, a fact which also has to do with Friedman's work as a journalist and pertains to all the interviews conducted with heads of states, leaders of organizations, religious communities, militia as well as the common people, that have found their way into this book either whole or excerpts thereof. They are revealing, enlightening and provide insight into the various sides' views, the reasons and forces that drive them and the rationale behind their actions.

Where Friedman dissappoints me is at the finishing chapter of the book's first edition: upon his return to the US and looking back on his whole experience in the Middle East, he resorts to parrotting the usual narrative regarding overall impressions as well as the usual rhetoric regarding American involvement. Friedman is one of the hundreds who had read about the Middle East (Orient), studied it, dreamt about it, fantacised about it, was fascinated by it, only to visit a part of it and find out that it wasn't really what he had expected it to be and he didn't really like it after all (those who've read E.Said's "Orientalism" know what I mean). And then comes America's role as the savior, as it has a lot to offer to help this region, which, finally, Friedman refuses to pronounce as hopeless (he does admit, to his credit, that America would be doing so not for the sake of the region, but rather to protect and further its own interests).

In his more recent afterword (included in the latest edition), Friedman gets more practical and particular and focuses on the difficulties in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although his views may seem one-sided, they do have validity as they're based on the only thing that (unfortunately and regretfully) really matters: power.

All in all, this is a personal account, a memoir, and if read as such, it's a good book. Don't fall into the trap of reading it like it's a history book expecting a detailed and chronologically ordered account of events. More importantly, don't fall into the trap of reading it like it's a sociology or anthropology book, providing an analysis on the psyche of the Lebanese, the Palestinians, the Syrians and exposing their philosophy, values, characteristics, rules of conduct etc. If for no other reason than that this book focuses exclusively on just one aspect of their reality: the conflict.

And that's why I have to wholeheartedly disagree with Seymour Hersch (whose acclaim for "Beirut to Jerusalem" appears with that of other journalists and critics on the book's first page): "If you are going to read one book on the Middle East, this is it." What an injustice to and contempt towards a whole people! For there is a lot more to the "Middle East" than just the Lebanese war and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

fair and balanced, sort of...
I've always enjoyed reading Friedman's articles for the New York Times, which like him has a persistent but mild pro-Israel bias.However Friedman always manages to keep a rational perspective most of the time, which makes his writing very palatable.

This book is a great overview of the huge hopeless mess that is the Arab-Israeli conflict, is well written and well-researched unlike your typical PRO- or ANTI- polemic that are published en masse every year.Very enjoyable and enriching, even if you don't agree with all of it. ... Read more

Isbn: 0385413726
Sales Rank: 3543
Subjects:  1. 1973-1993    2. 1993-    3. Arab-Israeli conflict    4. Ethnic Studies - General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. International Relations - General    9. Jewish-Arab relations    10. Middle East    11. Middle East - General    12. Politics and government    13. Current Events / International    14. Friedman, Thomas L    15. Journeys   

Undaunted Courage : MERIWETHER LEWIS THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE OPENING OF THE AMERICAN WEST (Lewis & Clark Expedition)
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (15 February, 1996)
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A biography of Meriwether Lewis that relies heavily on the journals of both Lewis and Clark, this book is also backed up by the author's personal travels along Lewis and Clark's route to the Pacific. Ambrose is not content to simply chronicle the events of the "Corps of Discovery" as the explorers called their ventures. He often pauses to assess the military leadership of Lewis and Clark, how they negotiated with various native peoples and what they reported to Jefferson. Though the expedition failed to find Jefferson's hoped for water route to the Pacific, it fired interest among fur traders and other Americans, changing the face of the West forever. ... Read more

Reviews (293)

Courage to love a history book!
I've had several inspired teachers of history in my life, but I've very seldom caught the spark of a retelling of history.This book is one of the shining exceptions of my experience.I'm the grandson of immigrants who pushed into parts of the Upper Midwest and Far West in the 1800's, and I'm also the grandson of Lakota Sioux of the upper Midwest.In reading this adventure, I feel and imagine the experience of both of my families as they met, sometimes with courage, sometimes with trepidation.The arc of the story encompasses so much of what I admire about Americans (courage, determination, even blind faith in an endeavour), and it hints at the conflict and tragedy to come to native Americans in the wake of the country's expansion and development.The method of Mr. Abrose's telling of the story is as close to perfect to me as a story can be told.The character development of Clark and especially Lewis (and his relationship to Jefferson) provides an excellent foundation of understanding of the world-view and aspirations of the Captains setting out from the political and developed East into the unchartered West.Appropriate consideration is also given to native Americans and the nations to which they belonged -- they were often the true saviors of the expedition, without whom the expedition would have certainly disappeared, swallowed into the mountains of the West.The story within of Sacagawea represents the courage and good fortune of the expedition.Her experience connects literally and figuratively the westward intrusion of the expedition into the worlds of the people already there.
As soon as I finished the book, I imagined my sons and I taking a summer to follow part of the path of the expedition through Montana and the Dakotas.It's something to plan for for couple of years, as the Captains did.

Undaunted perfection
I cannot in any way imagine that this story will ever be told better than version.Besides Ambrose's usual two pillars of strength (knowledge and storytelling), I think this might be his best work because it also encompases his pure excitement and love of the America dream and the western myth.He so powerfully pulls together the adventures of the Corps with the building of a nation over the next 100 years.

A Fascinating, Very Readable History
Anyone who wishes to read a comprehensive, yet entertaining account of the Lewis and Clark Expedition owes it to themselves to read Undaunted Courage. Starting with the historical background, and early life of M. Lewis, the story of the expedition's journey across a continent is told in such a readable style that one is almost sorry when it's over, and they've returned to St. Louis. Ambrose makes extensive use of their journals, and adds his own views on why certain decisions were made, both wisely and not, over others. While pointing to the obviously gifted leadership of "the captains", he is not oblivious to their faults. Likewise in his descriptions of the various Indian tribes: both noble and unadmirable practices are related. The overall result of the author's approach is to tell a tale of courage and discovery, without any undo sentamentalism. There are, to be sure, many moving descriptions of events, e.g., the suicide of Lewis, who probable suffered from bi-polar (manic-depressive) illness, years after the expedition itself. And his descriptions of the various settings, with which he is eminently familiar, make it easy to understand why buffs today retrace long segments of the Corps of Discovery's routes. All in all, a great work of history. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Isbn: 0684811073
Subjects:  1. (1804-1806)    2. 1774-1809    3. Biography    4. Clark, William,    5. Europe - General    6. Explorers    7. History - General History    8. History: American    9. Lewis and Clark Expedition    10. Lewis, Meriwether,    11. Military - World War II    12. U.S. - Discovery And Exploration    13. U.S. History - Constitutional Period To Civil War (1789-1860)    14. United States    15. United States - 19th Century/Old West    16. Clark, William    17. History / Europe / General    18. Jefferson, Thomas    19. Lewis, Meriwether   

We Die Alone (The Adventure Library, Vol 7)
by David Howarth
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (January, 1996)
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Editorial Review

If this story of espionage and survival were a novel, readers might dismiss the Shackleton-like exploits of its hero as too fantastic to be taken seriously. But respected historianDavid Howarth confirmed the details of Jan Baalsrud's riveting tale. It begins in the spring of 1943, with Norway occupied by the Nazis and the Allies desperate to open the northern sea lanes to Russia. Baalsrud and three compatriots plan to smuggle themselves into their homeland by boat, spend the summer recruiting and training resistance fighters, and launch a surprise attack on a German air base. But he's betrayed shortly after landfall, and a quick fight leaves Baalsrud alone and trapped on a freezing island above the Arctic Circle. He's poorly clothed (one foot is entirely bare), has a head start of only a few hundred yards on his Nazi pursuers, and leaves a trail of blood as he crosses the snow. How he avoids capture and ultimately escapes--revealing that much spoils nothing in this white-knuckle narrative--is astonishing stuff. Baalsrud's feats make the travails inJon Krakauer's Mt. Everest classicInto Thin Air look like child's play. In an introduction,Stephen Ambrose calls We Die Alone a rare reading experience: "a book that I absolutely cannot put down until I've finished it and one that I can never forget." This amazing book will disappoint no one. --John J. Miller ... Read more

Reviews (51)

Terrific story of human endurance
I will add to the chorus of praise for this book.Really very remarkable what a human being is capable of.

If you liked this book, you might also check out "The Long Walk" and "Alive", also very good survival stories.

Wonder of the human will!
A riveting book that i could not put down before the last page.

We Die Alone
An extraordinary story of courage and determination. One of the great survival stories of World War II. Well written with precise details about this heroic effort to escape capture. Howarth used first hand information obtained through his military service. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Isbn: 1885283067
Subjects:  1. Baalsrud, Jan    2. Biography    3. Escapes    4. Norway    5. Prisoners and prisons, German    6. Prisoners of war    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Sociology - General    10. World War, 1939-1945   

The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass: A Flyrodder's Odyssey at Montauk Point
by Peter Kaminsky
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Hardcover (05 September, 2001)
list price: $23.95
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Reviews (16)

A wonderfull read
The Moon Pulled Up An Acre Of Bass

Fishing, cooking, and having a good time with your friends at your favorite vacation house, what could get better than that? That's the "good life" described by Peter Kaminsky in his nonfiction novel The Moon Pulled Up An Acre Of Bass.
Kaminsky shared his humorous fishing stories in October 2000 throughout the whole book. He picked the month of October because of the great fishing experiences he had with bass fishing and many other fish. One of his memorable moments was when he termed the expression "The moon pulled up an acre of bass." He used this term when he stood in amazement and shock while gazing at the water with what he called an "Acre" of bass while the moon glared at his face. Beside being a great fisherman and having a love of fishing, Kaminsky loved other things.
One of the things he loved to do was he loved to cook. He would love to catch fish, have friends over and then cook the fish in his kitchen that he loved. He said the kitchen had "Acres of counter space." Also what he liked to do was to spend time with his friends onshore and offshore. When he was with his friends he became a great fisherman. This happened because all his good fisherman friends gave him all various kinds of advice, which added up to him being a great fisherman. For example, one of his friends taught him how to cast under the wind on a windy day. This was great for him because then he could basically fish whenever he wanted since gusty weather wouldn't make it difficult for him.
Overall I really liked this book because I could connect to it so much. I could do this because I also have a love of fishing and the book takes place on Long Island. I have much background information of Long Island because I live there. As you can see, this book was mainly about Peter Kaminsky and his love of fishing with his friends. Since he and his friends were hilarious, this book turned out to be filled with humor. I really liked this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fishing, comedy, and nonfiction novels.

The Guides don't control Mother Nature
I enjoyed the book and the concept, but the fawning treatment of certain guides (that probably gave Kaminisky free rides) read too much like promotional materials.

Superb writing!
The author gives us a great look into not only the stiper fishng world, but the culture and heritage of the east coast.A pleasure to read, cover to cover.Even for those of us that may never see stripers in the salt, this is defintely a worthwhile read. ... Read more

Isbn: 0786867698
Sales Rank: 261292
Subjects:  1. Fishes    2. Fishing - Flyfishing    3. Fishing - General    4. Fly casting    5. Migration    6. Montauk Point    7. New York    8. Saltwater fly fishing    9. Sports    10. Sports & Recreation    11. Sports & Recreation / Fishing   

The River Why
by David James Duncan
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Hardcover (05 August, 2002)
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Editorial Review

David James Duncan's first novel has gained an increasingly wide audience over the years--some might even call it a following. This coming-of-age tale of Gus Orviston's search for the Pacific Northwest's elusive steelhead, a metaphor for Gus's internal quest for self-knowledge, appeals to all who cherish a good yarn and memorable characters. Uncle Zeke's colorful rendition of Gus's conception on the banks of the Deschutes River is itself worth the price of purchase. ... Read more

Reviews (81)

Why not?
When DJD writes about a game of catch the ball burns my hand thru the mitt. When his story is about wading up a trout stream, my neck gets hot from the sun on it, I can hear the mosquitos whine, and my feet go numb from the cold water.His characters are complex; warm, funny, honest, whacked, i.e quite real. He writes books that I could live in and I don't even play baseball. Or fish.

Thought-provoking!!
I read this book after having read another of David James Duncan's books, The Brothers K, at the advice of a friend. The books are very similar, with the protagonist being of a moderate spiritual mindset, observing his own spirituality as well as the styles with which those around him view the world. While The Brothers K did this with baseball being the avocation of choice, The River Why does it with fishing being the avocation of choice.

I am not particularly drawn to either activity, but was happy to read about others' excitement at it, understanding that it was being used as a framework for what drives the protagonist. I loved both books, and the next David James Duncan book that I read is likely to be My Story as Told by Water.

Uneven, but great at its best moments
It is rare to laugh out loud while reading novels. It can happen. But I have yet to find another book that had me laughing out loud, rereading the passage, and laughing out loud again. This book does that.

It's not 5 stars only because I hit a couple periods where the story felt slow to me. But, then again, I'm not much of one for fishing, having long decided that I prefer rocks to rivers.

For those of you like me, there are plenty of rocks in this book.

The amazing thing about the book, though, is how well it ties together spirituality and fly fishing, almost as though it were Life of Pi set on rivers instead of the ocean.

The River Why also has shares some similarities with A River Runs Through It. Most notably both are books about people and place. As an inland westerner, I must say I chuckled at more than a few of Duncan's disparaging remarks about California.

Duncan is best, though, when he writes about people. Bill Bob is one of the most entertaining characters I've ever encountered. Gus's initial encounter with Eddy contains some of the strongest humor writing I've ever read. And Duncan manages to more aptly capture the rivalries that occur between fly and bait fishers than any other writing I've seen. The sense of smug superiority that the two often feel is typically matched only by strong football rivalries or, perhaps, the most marked of skiing/snowboard arguments.

For non-fishers out there, please heed my advice, and work with the early chapters. You'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Isbn: 0871563215
Subjects:  1. American First Novelists    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Literary Criticism   

The Brothers K
by DAVID JAMES DUNCAN
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 1996)
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Reviews (100)

Complex, monumental, and worth the read.
I would recommend The Brothers K to anyone, but most specifically to those who are interested in family life in the Northwest during the turbulent 60s.This 640 page novel, though flawed in some respects, is worth your time.

An excellent aspect of the Brothers K is its primary narration by Kincaid Chance, the youngest of four brothers, however the best thing about the book is simply the writing.This is an engaging story told in an engaging way.Duncan is not only gifted in relaying a message, but much of his writing in simply astounding in its careful, yet complex, delivery of a complicated story.Duncan sucks the reader into the family, and places you into the contexts of its characters.Difficult as it may be, we understand the frustrations of Hugh Chance.We deplore Laura Chance's destructive addiction to her religion, but we find solace in her attachment to it.Hard to understand?Absolutely, but realistic.And probably most important is how the family functions together.Extremely real.

My favorite passsages of the book occurred early when Kade is trying to bring his father out of his funk.I also really enjoyed the baseball connections, they helped to really cement the feel of the novel, as well as the Chance family's passion.The Ted Williams and Roger Maris stories both worked well with developing the plot.The story elements that describe Hugh Chance ressurecting his pitching career are classic human struggles.I also enjoyed the too little covered Irwin, who was the family's bastion of religious idealism.

I came to dislike Everett Chance, as well as the mother, though I tried to work my way through them.I also thought that Duncan did not make Everett realistic enough for me, though I suppose on some level, as a character, he worked well.Everett was just so insanely fanatical, and without a real purpose.I suppose it could be argued that millions of Everett's exist, but I found him hard to stomach.I also thought that his idea of saving Irwin was lackluster, and I didn't get the point of making it a mystery.

This is a huge novel, not just because of the 640 pages, but because of the breadth of information the reader is required to not only read, but understand, as well.Being a huge novel filled with complex issues, we have to understand that there will be flaws, and flaws do indeed raise their ugly little heads.Missing, I thought, was the inevitable connection to the music of that time and the characters.It was as if music didn't exist for any member of the family.In fact, until the seventies, it was never mentioned.I find this very unusual that a family wit six children, not one of them would be wrapped up in popular music to any degree.I found myself asking, "How is that possible?"I know how pervasive music was in the 50s and 60s, and particularly, in the Northwest, a stronghold of rock and roll, individual as it was.Northwest America rocked all though the 60s.

The book does have other flaws, such as mentioned earlier with the rotating narration having no valid connection to what was going on in the plot.I thought the book would have flowed better had the narration been confined to Kincaid Chance, as opposed to the wandering, once in awhile narration by Everett.Editing was indeed a problem for me, also.I had to wonder how some of the errors slipped by, those being in style, as well as grammatical.

Nonetheless, this is a superb novel with much to offer any reader.The setting is great, the story is addictive, the family is real, and the result is pure entertainment.I wasn't happy with the ending, though I don't know how I would improve upon it.I guess I thought it a bit trite and whimsical when balanced against the bulk of the book.Almost like it was tied up with a nice little ribbon and bow.It's almost as if the story died at a certain point, and Duncan didn't know what to do to ressurect it and then kill it.

Brothers K
I have one word for David James Duncan-editing.While I enjoyed the basis of the story, family bonds over time weaved with values, confessions and self-doubts, I kept thinking edit. How did his editor miss the multitude of run-on sentences turned paragraphs that hindered the read?Also missed was the muddy narrative of Kincaid for the majority of the book, and suddenly Everett here and there, and Irwine's story of Vietnam,given with detailed inner thoughts though he was barely lucid.Duncan provided vivid character studies of the family of eight, but who couldn't in 640 pages.The religious family dynamics were pounded into the reader.The baseball information was interesting, but did we really need a chapter on that baseball rebel Roger Maris? Given all that, I was still pulled into this story.I laughed out loud a couple of times, the dialogue was frequently clever. I also cried a couple of times because the author made you know these people and so felt their sorrows. I have not read "The Brothers Karamazov" and feel I am missing out on some of the author's references because of it.The title, "The Brothers K", is intriguing in itself and left open to multiple interpretations. I also find it interesting that the main narrator, Kade, is the character least developed except for in the early years detailing a couple of key pieces of information.If writing it all down was to be his biggest contribution, how could he reveal so little of himself or even the reason for why he decided to relay his family's story? I feel this is an author flaw.Pare it down, clean it up, flesh out it's narrator and the novel would be 5 stars instead of 3.

Great start but meanders and cliches
This book has a wonderful beginning and truly invites you into the Chance house. But, the vibrant and unique characters lose their individuality as Duncan seems to lose his way with the story, instead choosing to rely on sentimentality.

Duncan's foray into the Vietnam War almost takes an John Irving/Owen Meany like turn - out of place and tarnishing.

The River Why deserved 5 stars. The Brothers K is a great read the first 200-300 pages. Afterwards, just put it down. ... Read more

Isbn: 055337849X
Sales Rank: 10236
Subjects:  1. Bildungsromans    2. Brothers    3. Domestic fiction    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. General    7. Popular American Fiction    8. Sagas    9. Washington (State)    10. Fiction / General   

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (04 May, 2000)
list price: $24.95 -- our price: $16.97
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

The appeal of Dava Sobel's Longitude was, in part, that it illuminated a little-known piece of history through a series of captivating incidents and engaging personalities. Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea is certainly cast from the same mold, examining the 19th-century Pacific whaling industry through the arc of the sinking of the whaleship Essex by a boisterous sperm whale. The story that inspired Herman Melville's classic Moby-Dick has a lot going for it--derring-do, cannibalism, rescue--and Philbrick proves an amiable and well-informed narrator, providing both context and detail. We learn about the importance and mechanics of blubber production--a vital source of oil--and we get the nuts and bolts of harpooning and life aboard whalers. We are spared neither the nitty-gritty of open boats nor the sucking of human bones dry.

By sticking to the tried and tested Longitude formula, Philbrick has missed a slight trick or two. The epicenter of the whaling industry was Nantucket, a small island off Cape Cod; most of the whales were in the Pacific, necessitating a huge journey around the southernmost tip of South America. We never learn why no one ever tried to create an alternative whaling capital somewhere nearer. Similarly, Philbrick tells us that the story of the Essex was well known to Americans for decades, but he never explores how such legends fade from our consciousness. Philbrick would no doubt reply that such questions were beyond his remit, and you can't exactly accuse him of skimping on his research. By any standard, 50 pages of footnotes impress, though he wears his learning lightly. He doesn't get bogged down in turgid detail, and his narrative rattles along at a nice pace. When the storyline is as good as this, you can't really ask for more. --John Crace, Amazon.co.uk ... Read more

Reviews (225)

In The Heart Of The Sea
Philbrick does a wonderful job of pulling you back in time to Nantucket Island in the 1800s.With his vivid descriptions not only can you envision the island, but you're also given a feel of how important the fishing and whaling industry was at this time, "Nantucket was a town of roof dwellers.Nearly every house, its shingles painted red or left to weather into gray, had a roof-mounted platform known as a walk.While its intended use was to facilitate putting out chimney fires with buckets of sand, the walk was also an excellent place to look out to see with a spyglass, to search for the sails of returning ships."Details are one of this author's extreme strengths.You gain a vast amount of knowledge on topics such as the roles men and women played within the Nantucket culture in history, what happens to the human body physiologically when it wastes away from starvation and dehydration, and of course; the dangerous world of whaling in history, how and why it occurred.

Consuming read
A mind-blowing Poe-ish experience of adventure and woe.Philbrick is to be commended on his genius of researching and recreating the sad but true tale of the battered, sunken 1820 whaleship Essex and its shipmates.
After being rammed by an eighty-five foot monster sperm whale, twenty men leap into three whale boats and aimlessly wander around the Pacific for ninety days.Except for a brief visit at an uninhabited island, the men subsist on next to nothing until some of them start to perish from lack of food, water, exertion and nature.Only eight survive the ordeal (three of those being rescued months later at the aforementioned island).The accounts of these men clinging to life are beyond the scope of human imagination.
The basis for Melville's classic Moby Dick.

Pacific Blues
Epics rouse the heroic, the tragic, the self in extremis. I, for one, am content for others to scale the Himalayas, the Andes and endure privations that leave me cosily to tend the garden.But I don't in the least mind reading of other's travails, especially when the writing can convey the spectrum of sense data that challenges the participants.'The Heart of the Sea' recounts one of the great whaling stories of the C19th, and without subtracting from the ethos of Nantucket's society, quite plausibly suggests how, if the tragedy of the 'Essex' could not be avoided, could have unfolded differently had the social mix been different. A relatively recent publication of one of the survivor's accounts, adds to Nathaniel Philbrick's grasp. Without studious fuss, he embeds relevant data on what happens to bodies deprived of water and food over extrended periods, cannabalism, the manner by which whaling crafts were built, navigation means of the early C19th and fullsome images of the spectre of the whale and its value to the industry of those times. Above all there is the shadow of Mellville's mammoth, Moby, a momentous story that surely guided Philbrick's magnificently evocative re-telling.The salt is on every page and the sea's rhythmns shape the irrevocable pace of the writing. Utterly consuming. Readers excited by this book might look at Alexander McKee's,'Death Raft' about the survivors of the French frigate,'Medusa' which wrecked only a few years before the 'essex'. While not rivalling Philbrick's poetic language, it is worth a dip. ... Read more

Isbn: 0670891576
Subjects:  1. Essex (Whaleship)    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: American    5. Maritime History    6. Pacific Ocean    7. Ships & Shipbuilding - Shipwrecks    8. Shipwrecks    9. United States - 19th Century    10. History / General   

Touching the Void: The Harrowing First Person Account Of One Man's Miraculous Survival
by Joe Simpson
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 December, 1989)
list price: $13.00
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Editorial Review

Concise and yet packed with detail, Touching the Void, Joe Simpson's harrowing account of near-death in the Peruvian Andes, is a compact tour de force that wrestles with issues of bravery, friendship, physical endurance, the code of the mountains, and the will to live. Simpson dedicates the book to his climbing partner, Simon Yates, and to "those friends who have gone to the mountains and have not returned." What is it that compels certain individuals to willingly seek out the most inhospitable climate on earth? To risk their lives in an attempt to leave footprints where few or none have gone before? Simpson's vivid narrative of a dangerous climbing expedition will convince even the most die-hard couch potato that such pursuits fall within the realm of the sane. As the author struggles ever higher, readers learn of the mountain's awesome power, the beautiful--and sometimes deadly--sheets of blue glacial ice, and the accomplishment of a successful ascent. And then catastrophe: the second half of Touching the Void sees Simpson at his darkest moment. With a smashed, useless leg, he and his partner must struggle down a near-vertical face--and that's only the beginning of their troubles. ... Read more

Reviews (120)

I tried so hard to like this book BUT IT WAS SO BORING!!!!
I bought this book based on the story of Joe Simpson and tried so hard to like it, but I just couldn't. It had to be one of the most boring books I've read in a long time...No, correct that, I couldn't even finish it because it was so boring. I lasted about 80 pages and skimmed the other 20 and just wanted the book to end....

The book started out okay but once the two started climbing it became extremely repetitive....I just wanted the book to end...It was so damn boring! Great story (hence two stars and not one) but terribly written.

Gripping; couldn't put it down
This was one novel that I could not put down.In a nut shell, this true life story is about Joe Simpson and the troubles he endured while mountaineering in Peruvian Andes.What makes the story so gripping is that this was no up the mountain; down the mountain story.Instead Joe takes us on a wild ride into his psyche as he encounters a few problems along the way, and how he manages to deal with them in a calm, cool, collected manner.

Even though this book has been making the rounds in the rock climbing/mountaineering scene for years now, everyone, regardless of their backgrounds should give this book a read.It is a testament to the human spirit, as well as a never give up attitude.At the end of the book, all you'll be able to say is 'wow'.

touching the void
I think that this book was alright it was a little confusing at times because i didn't understand words ofsome of the equipment that was used. I rated this book 3 stars because it got boring and i wanted to stop reading. The end was the best part when he finally survived. I picked to read this book because it is kind of amzmaing how it is about a true person going though torture just to survive and come out with his life. ... Read more

Isbn: 0060916540
Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Case studies    4. Great Britain    5. Huayhuash, Cordillera    6. Mountaineering    7. Mountaineers    8. Peru    9. Search and rescue operations    10. Special Interest - Adventure    11. Sports & Recreation    12. Sports - General   

Confederacy of Dunces
by JOHN KENNEDY TOOLE
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (12 December, 1994)
list price: $10.99
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Editorial Review

"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head.The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank intolittle folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs."

Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, the hero of John Kennedy Toole's tragicomictale, A Confederacy of Dunces. This 30-year-old medievalist lives athome with his mother in New Orleans, pens his magnum opus on Big Chiefwriting pads he keeps hidden under his bed, and relays to anyone who willlisten the traumatic experience he once had on a Greyhound Scenicruiser boundfor Baton Rouge. ("Speeding along in that bus was like hurtling into the abyss.") But Ignatius's quiet life of tyrannizing his mother andwriting his endless comparative history screeches to a halt when he is almost arrested by the overeager Patrolman Mancuso--who mistakes him for a vagrant--and then involved in a car accident with his tipsy motherbehind the wheel. One thing leads to another, and before he knows it, Ignatiusis out pounding the pavement in search of a job.

Over the next several hundred pages, our hero stumbles from oneadventure to the next. His stint as a hotdog vendor is less than successful, andhe soon turns his employers at the Levy Pants Company on their heads. Ignatius'spath through the working world is populated by marvelous secondarycharacters: the stripper Lana Lee and her talented cockatoo; the septuagenarian secretary Miss Trixie, whose desperate attempts to retire areconstantly, comically thwarted; gay blade Dorian Greene; sinister Miss Lee,proprietor of the Night of Joy nightclub; and Myrna Minkoff, the girl Ignatiusloves to hate. The many subplots that weave through A Confederacy of Dunces are as complicated as anything you'll find in a Dickensnovel, and just as beautifully tied together in the end. But it is Ignatius--selfish, domineering, and deluded, tragic and comic andlarger than life--who carries the story. He is a modern-day Quixote beset by giants of the modern age. His fragility cracks the shell of comicbluster, revealing a deep streak of melancholy beneath the antic humor. JohnKennedy Toole committed suicide in 1969 and never saw the publication of hisnovel. Ignatius Reilly is what he left behind, a fitting memorial to atalented and tormented life. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Reviews (768)

Never laughed so much reading a book
This book is a comic masterpiece, it narrates the adventures and misadventures of Ignatius a not too young, highly educated gentleman who is pushed by his mother to find a job in a hostile New Orleans.

Because of his humanistic studies Ignatius has a medieval and poetic perception of the reality surrounding him that results in hilarius misunderstandings when he shares his views with other characters.

I truly believe this novel is unique, the author must have had an extraordinary sense of humor!

Unlike Anything You've Ever Read Before
I usually don't read 'Pulitzer Prize' winning books, which are usually literary and often academic and 'nuanced' (which is another word for 'boring') -- so it came as some surprise for me to pick up a copy of this book and get sucked right in. Frankly, this novel is like NOTHING I've ever read before; Ignatius, the main character, is described as a beast, with 'paws' and elephantine thighs, a misanthropic psuedo-intellectual loser who doesn't have a clue -- and who is finally forced to get a job by his doting but fed-up mom. This is truly an outrageous book, full of broad strokes and over-the-top characters. Just a great hilarious slapstick riot. You'll laugh! It's really fun!

Also recommended: THE LOSER CLUB (Complete Restored Edition) by Richard Perez

Changed My World View
I found this little book on a $1.99 table and read about the accolades. Bought it ($2.12 including Indiana tax). read it, CONSUMED IT, loved it. A perfectly magnificent book about a perfectly magnificent fellow and his permutations. I cannot say enough about the use of conversational English and the use of absurdist situations to convey the free/futile situations that Ignatious finds himself in. Mom worship, self-deprecation, sappy attention to the old who should have been moved on years ago,attention to detail...all strong, serious, intelligent reasons to read this book. This book literaly changed the way I look at me, at you, at the people we influence and are influenced by....I saw human nature at its belt line and I approved and disapproved while being mightily entertained.At the end Ignatius ends up just being another adolesant who moves, grooves, and behooves according to the mores of his time. I cannot think of another character who caused me to relate so completly. (Ok, Maybe Holden Caulfield) Loved this book. They have been trying to make a movie of this forever. I want to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Ignatius. Perfect casting that. ... Read more

Isbn: 0517122707
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. General    3. Humorous    4. Humorous stories    5. Literary    6. Mothers and sons    7. New Orleans (La.)    8. Sale Adult - Fiction - General    9. Young men    10. Fiction / General   

The Corrections (Oprah Edition)
by Jonathan Franzen
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (24 September, 2001)
list price: $26.00
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Editorial Review

Jonathan Franzen's exhilarating novel The Corrections tells a spellbinding story with sexy comic brio, and evokes a quirky family akin to Anne Tyler's, only bitter. Franzen's great at describing Christmas homecomings gone awry, cruise-ship follies, self-deluded academics, breast-obsessed screenwriters, stodgy old farts and edgy Tribeca bohemians equally at sea in their lives, and the mad, bad, dangerous worlds of the Internet boom and the fissioning post-Soviet East.

All five members of the Lambert family get their due, as everybody's lives swirl out of control. Paterfamilias Alfred is slipping into dementia, even as one of his inventions inspires a pharmaceutical giant to revolutionize treatment of his disease. His stubborn wife, Enid, specializes in denial; so do their kids, each in an idiosyncratic way. Their hepcat son, Chip, lost a college sinecure by seducing a student, and his new career as a screenwriter is in peril. Chip's sister, Denise, is a chic chef perpetually in hot water, romantically speaking; banker brother Gary wonders if his stifling marriage is driving him nuts. We inhabit these troubled minds in turn, sinking into sorrow punctuated by laughter, reveling in Franzen's satirical eye:

Gary in recent years had observed, with plate tectonically cumulative anxiety, that population was continuing to flow out of the Midwest and toward the cooler coasts.... Gary wished that all further migration [could] be banned and all Midwesterners encouraged to revert to eating pasty foods and wearing dowdy clothes and playing board games, in order that a strategic national reserve of cluelessness might be maintained, a wilderness of taste which would enable people of privilege, like himself, to feel extremely civilized in perpetuity.

Franzen is funny and on the money. This book puts him on the literary map. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Reviews (929)

A Pithy, Modern-Day Portrait
Franzen's writing usually fails to impress me, but The Corrections is a smash success!This novel has relit my passion for the modern novel because of the its eloquent wit, sarcasm, and drama.Franzen accurately captures the suffocation of disfunctional family relationships.The best book I've read all year!

Pretty Good
This book gives you a look at and middle class family life. A mother just wants her family to get along and be a family is what I got from the story. The book lets you read viewpoints from all three of the adult kids who all are all going through demanding stages of life. My only problems with this book is that sometime it was hard to understand what was going on. I sure hope a lot of people don't treat they're parents like the ones in this book did, and the daughter-in-law, she was just really mean. When parents get old you expect them to be annoying and to get on our nerves but we still have to deal with them because they are our parents. I liked it.

Boring.....
I stopped reading about halfway through, picked it up again, and decided it probably wasn't worth it to finish it -- it didn't hold my interest -- and I really hate not finishing books....Luckly I only borrowed it. ... Read more

Isbn: 0374100128
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Married women    5. Parent and adult child    6. Parkinson's disease    7. Patients    8. Literary