Reviews (1)

Using Book in Class
This is an interesting book. I am using it for my Writing for Mass Media class. The author puts at least 5-10 exercises at the end of each chapter for you to review the concepts which were talked throughout the chapter.Not really a sit down and read book, but does go over writing for media basics. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Communication    3. Journalism    4. Language    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Linguistics    8. Mass media    9. Reference    10. Report writing    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication   

Reviews (5)

A MUST READ ! ! !
My friend loaned me this book to read and I must say that it gave me a new found appreciation of what those men and women did for us in WWII. This book was very easy to read, and should be included in the curriculum of every Recent American History course taught in High School or College. I HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of this book. I have already purchased a copy for myself after reading my friends copy.

It sounds so prophetic
He knew he was going to die, and he just kept on fighting.He never abandoned his marines and thats just what he should have done.Its how the writer makes this so real that is so inspiring, not that his deeds werent great, but there have probably been thousands who have done just what he did, they just werent famous.But overall this is a good book.I like how it takes us to a time when being "patriotic" didnt get us arrested or sued.

A must read
Wonderfully moving and well written insight into a true American hero.It is a must read for all patriotic Americans and almost a responsiblity for us all to be aware of one of the US Marine's best. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Medal of Honor    5. New Jersey    6. Reference    7. Soldiers    8. World War, 1939-1945   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Literary    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Reference    7. Women    8. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (39)

POORLY WRITTEN
i'm sorry but this is one of the weakest biographies i have ever read (and yes, i have read more than one). the writing is very poor, it reminds me of a grade 8 essay where you can easily see the way the facts have been jotted down in point form and then strung together to form sentences and paragraphs. i feel like half the time the author was simplky reciting a stat or tidbit jotted down on a cocktail napkin.
a good addition to a rock biography library
Symbolic of how he set the world of rock and roll on fire with his free feeling music, Jimi Hendrix often closed a performance by setting his guitar on fire. Charles Cross does an admirable job of unpeeling the many complex layers of the legend to reveal the poverty and neglect that shaped the human behind the hype. Cross details how Hendrix pushed and ignored boundaries of music and musicianship in a demand that the world take notice of him. His remarkable talent is undeniable-entirely self taught, his first guitar was resurrected from the trash and only had one string. That ignoble start produced the brilliance of a left handed man who could play any guitar by simply flipping it upside down.
Jimi Hendrix was decades ahead of his time.
Charles Cross does a wonderful job of capturing the complex life of Jimi Hendrix.After reading his book I come away with one thought that kept nagging at me and that was that Jimi Hendrix was decades ahead of his time.Anyone curious about the inner workings of Rock stars and all the touring that ends up draining their energy will not be disappointed in this book.One of the most profound things I have ever readoccurs On page 225 where Jimi is quoted as saying one time..."When the power of love overcomes the love of power...the world will know peace."
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - General    6. Composers & Musicians - Rock    7. Genres & Styles - Rock    8. Hendrix, Jimi    9. History & Criticism - General    10. Reference    11. Rock musicians    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (4)

A kings story
I felt sorry for the duke, he must have been such a lonely man.....He never got any compliments from his father or his family. They all seemed so far away from each other. No wonder he fell in love with Wallis, she paid attention to him, this is what he needed, someone to treat him with respect and high regard, no wonder he abdicated....He wouldn't have to abdicate,but the P.M. at that time was a very vicious and ugly person who was JEALOUS of King Edward, he wouldn't even allow the king to speak to the other members on his own behalf...Queen Mum was also jealous and vicious, she did not like Wallis, because she was divorced and an american, she would not allow King George to communicate with the duke after he was exiled. The people all wanted King Edward to become King, they all loved him because of his charistma and his feelings for the common people.Edward and Diana were very much alike and treated VERY BADLY by their so called "royal families". Edward and Diana had more "guts" than all the royals together.King Edward would have been a "great" king, thanks to Queen Mum and her coldness toward Edward and Wallis caused him to live in an empty wrld. All the worl loves "lovers"and the Duke and Duchess were the lovers of the 20th century. How many people can have such a love????????I really loved this book and read it over and over.....

Vapid, yes...though totally fascinating...
I can't help it.Even though I believe that the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor were probably two of the most self-serving people ever to exist on the face of the planet, I find them totally fascinating.And this book lets us into their domaine. Imagine a man so totally mesmerized by this woman, that not only did he leave her a fresh flower on her pillow every night of their married life, he slept surrounded by photos of her (separate bedrooms). There were 10,000 photos of them in his bathtub (covered with a mahogany top. He ONLY showered.) that were discovered after her death. That means for the duration of the time that they were married, they were photographed approximately 300 times a year.Every year.The photographs of the refurbished decor in the Paris house were fascinating.Too bad everything was sold after Dodi & Diana's death.This book is truly a window into a lifestyle that no longer exists.

finally a sneak peek into their very private world
I was very impressed with the photography and the information contained in this book. Wallis Simpson is amazing, she comes off as more chic and more royal than any of the royals.Fascinating inside look into that veryglamorous era, and it's most powerful couple. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1894-1972    2. 1896-1986    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Collections Of Photographs    6. Duchess of,    7. Duke of,    8. Great Britain    9. Great Britain - History - 20th Century    10. Historical - British    11. Nobility    12. Photoessays & Documentaries    13. Photography    14. Pictorial works    15. Reference    16. Windsor, Edward,    17. Windsor, Wallis Warfield,    18. British & Irish history: from c 1900 -    19. Dictionaries of biography (Who's Who)    20. Photographs: collections    21. United Kingdom, Great Britain    22. Windsor, Edward    23. Windsor, Wallis Warfield   

Editorial Review

"What is it about interviews that attracts us?" Margaret Atwood asks inher introduction to this collection of 16 interviews from Read more

Reviews (1)

This is a first-rate book.
This book of interviews with women writers, originally done for the Paris Review, is the finest book I have ever encountered on women writing or doing any committed creative work. There's really nothing like it outthere. It is a prize in itself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. History and criticism    6. Interviews    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Literature, Modern    9. Reference    10. Women Authors    11. Women In Literature    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / Women Authors    13. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    14. Other prose: from c 1900 -    15. Women's studies   

Reviews (12)

Monotonous and Overrated
I disagree with many of the reviews. I found the tone of the book to be somewhat self-pitying and monotonous. Strangely, the only review here I seem to agree with was written below by the wife of another quadiplegic.
Susan, keep up the good work please.
I am sorry it took me so long to discover this book. I have been a fan of Ms. Parker since I first began reading her columns in the SF Chronicle. This book is one of those you want to read slowly so that it lasts longer but find you can't put it down. Susan has a wonderful knack for untainted honesty as she reports on the universal joys and sorrows of human life. She guides the reader into her world without trying to assign blame or seek justification, a truly refreshing approach in this day and age. Can't wait for the sequel! -Cindy

Another Quad Wife Speaks
As the wife of a quadriplegic I was very interested to see what Susan Parker had to say about her life. The description of the devastation, hopelessness and helplessness women feel when they come into this situation was excellent. The potrayal of the feeling of being totally overwhelmed and burned out by the intensity of it all was very real to me.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. California    6. Caregivers    7. Hager, Ralph    8. Health    9. Parker, Susan    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Quadriplegics    12. Reference    13. Specific Groups - Special Needs    14. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Bibliographies & Indexes    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Reference   

Reviews (7)

Alovely tribute to a true hero
As a disheartened Catholic living in NJ with an excellent view of the NY skyline, I watched in horror as the World Trade Center towers came crashing down on 9/11/01.My faith, which I had already been questioning, was tested even further.As the days passed, we all began to hear the tragic and heroic stories to emerge from Ground Zero.One of the first was that of Fr. Mychal Judge.I was moved by his death and attended a mass in his honor at St. Joseph's in East Rutherford, NJ.It was an overflow crowd and we had to listen to the service from the street.It was very moving and the words of those who knew & loved Fr. Mychal touched me.After that I realized that I should not be touched by his death, but I should learn about his life.This was an amazing gift that God gave to me.I began reading about him, anything I could get my hands on.After a time of such turmoil in our country, and to me in my own backyard, it was as if the grace of this incredible man was walking me through my own grief and helping restore my own faith in God, the Church and our world.
Mike Judge deserved a better book
I genuinely wanted to like this book, and was sorely disappointed. ...A case in point: Fr. Mychal spent a number of years at St. Joseph's parish in East Rutherford, NJ.The author's treatment of this critical, mid- career period in Judge's life (and the context in which this reviewer first came to know Mike Judge) is given short shrift.Ford relies entirely on an article in the Bergen (NJ) Record from the mid 70's and on some annecdotes from Fr. Michael Duffy ofm in his funeral homily for Judge. There is no indication that Ford spoke with any of the other Friarswho shared ministry with Judge, or with any parishoners. Rather, Ford seems to be in a great rush to tell stories of Mike Judge, recovering alcoholic and (celibate)... man. Father Mychal Judge, An Authentic American Hero
I met Father Judge once and it was a very moving experience. Everything said about him in Ford's book as far as I'm concerned it just the way he was. He made a fantastic figure in his flowing robe but he was never pretentious. He loved people and his every action showed it. He is a man that will not be easily forgotten and the book will help towards that end. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1933-2001    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Chaplains    7. Clergy    8. Fire Dept    9. Judge, Mychal,    10. New York (N.Y.)    11. Reference    12. Religious    13. Biography: general    14. Christian communities & monasticism    15. USA   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Celebrities    5. Children    6. Children of celebrities    7. Children of the rich    8. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    9. Reference   

Reviews (8)

A lot of time to think
Mr. Anderson's book is a lesson on how to maintain sainity in the most horrible situations you could every be in; kidnapped and the lose of personal freedom. What a Waste of His Life
I do not want this to sound insensitive, but the one thing I kept thinking as I was reading this book is why was he there?The U.S. government was telling U.S. citizens to leave, the Lebanese government did not care, his employer wanted him to leave, and there were increasing hostage incidents.The book his the story of his capture and the seven years he spent as a captive of this militant group.He does a good job in describing the locations he was in, the people that were his captors, and the other persons that he was with.I thought the most interesting parts of the book detailed his conversations with some of his captors and their views on the situation. An amazing book
Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years by Terry Anderson is one of my favorite books.The book grabbed my attention and kept it.I read the book in one day.Learning of Terry Anderson's ordeal through his eyes and in his words was amazing.Having been only 4 when he was taken hostage, I did not really know much about him until he was released from Lebanon in 1991, when I was 10.I grew up watching the news with my parents and I can remember seeing his return on television.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Far East    5. Political    6. Reference    7. Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (25)

Giving law enforcement a black eye
Incredible. Here we have a retired FBI agent writing about a thug who he claims is the best godfather ever. He writes so admiringly about Tony Accardo that I really believe he wanted to give Joe Batters a foot massage, back rub and ticker-tape parade. I had to put the book down before I puked. True, the writer covers a lot of ground in his homage to this killer-thug and parasite, but it's all wasted by his glorification of a criminal.

Roemer Strikes Out
I find it amusing that every gangster biographer wants to elevate his subject to the level of being the most important figure ever in the history or organized crime. But one would expect a certain level of objectivity from a former FBI agent, even one who self-promoted himself for years as Chicago's number one Mob-buster. Roemer's admiration for adversary Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo is understandable in a way. Clearly one of the most untouchable mobsters of all time (though it is not true that he never spent a night in jail), Accardo's seventy year criminal career with no standing convictions shows he was no dumb hood. All the same, Roemer goes out of his way to inject Accardo into everything that ever happened in Chicago. His account of the Prohibition years is so far off the mark it's hilarious. He has Tony Accardo saving Capone from Hymie Weiss in the Hawthorne attack, which contemporary accounts credit to Frank Rio. He places Tony in New York with Jack McGurn, Anselmi and Scalise, and "a guy named Rio Burke" as the hitters of Frankie Yale in that city's first Tommygun killing. Strange, as I met the late Rio Burke and SHE never once mentioned handling a machine gun though she was a friend of Al Capone. Tony, McGurn, Anselmi and Scalise and "possibly Fred Burke" (in whose Michigan hideout the machine guns were found) are claimed to have been the St. Valentine's Day Massacre gunmen, on the basis of some bugged conversations Roemer claims to have heard years later and vaguely alludes to. More credible suspects, such as Gus Winkeler, who later ran Moran's former North Side territory for Capone and was highly publicized in the early Thirties, and Raymond "Crane-Neck" Nugent, who was once arrested at Capone's Miami estate, are dismissed as insignificant nobodies on the bare fringe of the Capone mob. Roemer goes on to have Accardo accompany Capone to the famous Atlantic City Mob convention, again at the expense of number one bodyguard Frank Rio, and conveniently oversteps the Philadelphia arrest and conviction of Capone and RIO by moving the meeting ahead one year to 1930. I find it amazing that a guy like Roemer could spend all that time investigating the Chicago Mob and display such little knowledge of its early years. No wonder the FBI took so long in catching up with organized crime! Roemer should have either stuck with the Fifties/Sixties time-frame he knew firsthand or else done some competent research on the pre-World War II era. As for the claim that Accardo had "more brains before breakfast than Al Capone had all day," well, like I said earlier, Tony's successful life in crime is impressive, and owes much to his low-key style but one doesn't need to distort history to emphasize this. And, when it all comes down to it, Capone was the guy who built the Chicago Mob and the guy who brought Accardo up through the ranks as well. Successful as he was, Tony was only following in Al's footsteps like so many others.

THE GANGSTER WHO MADE IT
Finally there is a book about the man that was the driving force behind the Chicago Outfit.While Sam Giancana has the fame and if often credited as being the Outfit's boss in the 60's, little is there any mention of the man who put him there.This is a great overall book with plenty of history on the man who the law couldn't lay a hand on.If ever there was a "successful gangster" it was Accardo, and this book explains why.This is also a great book to famialize yourself with Chicago's major organized players from Al Capone down to Joe "The Clown" Lombardo. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Murder - General    4. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    5. Reference    6. True Crime / Espionage    7. Biography & Autobiography / Reference    8. True crime   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Economic aspects    4. Health surveys    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medical care    7. Medicare    8. Reference    9. Statistics   

Reviews (2)

An excellent idea
The very fact of this encyclopedia's existence is an excellent idea. So far as I know there is no comparable encyclopedia in scope and quality of American- Jewish men. There of course should be. The short biographies that I read were well- written and informative.
An amazing project
This was an amazing bat mitzvah gift for my daughter (thanks Eve!) that was just in time to help her with her school report on Henrietta Szold.It is causing problems for me, however; this is the second night I'vestayed up late reading it, even though I need my sleep.On the other hand,I now know a lot more about Gilda Radner, Judy Blume, Letty CottinPogrebin, Golda Meir, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, Rosalyn Yalow, MollyPicon, Lilith (the magazine), Roseanne, how Jewish women are portayed ontelevision, Jewish women in popular fiction....This is an amzingproject, and a fantastic set of books.I highly recommend this set toanyone who is considering it enough to be reading this. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Dictionaries    4. History    5. Jewish - General    6. Jewish women    7. Jews    8. Jews In The U.S.    9. Reference    10. United States    11. United States - General    12. Women In The U.S.    13. Women's Studies - General    14. Women's Studies - History    15. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    16. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    17. American history: from c 1900 -    18. Jewish studies    19. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    20. Reference / General    21. Reference works    22. Social history    23. USA    24. Women's studies   

Reviews (2)

nothin much here
This is like the other cambridge companions: it is not a reference work, is not thorough, is not authoritative nor objective. This is a collection of essays tending toward the highly speculative, each around 50 pages in length. They range from the silly to the ok, and none are very impressive. The cambridge companion series is misleadingly titled. They cater to narrow interests, not to the general public. Students who need a basic understanding of Nietzsche before they start delving into special topics will find almost no assistance here. Most of the material is of the professorial, specialized, not-generally-interesting variety.

Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche
I felt that this Cambridge Companion was extremely well written and provides an inquisitive and responsible look at Nietzsches works.It provides a rational and judicious insight into Nietzsches philosophical writtings, as well as his personal life, allowing the reader to furtherunderstand this often times misrepresented philosopher.Any CambridgeCompanion is a must for an individual who is interested in a deep study ofa philosopher for it acts as a teacher; guiding the student throughdifficult passages and texts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1844-1900    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. History & Surveys - 19th Century    5. History & Surveys - Modern    6. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm,    7. Philosophy    8. Reference    9. Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm,--1844-1900    10. Philosophy / History, Criticism, Surveys    11. Western philosophy, c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (42)

This has to stop!!!!
Once you start this book you can not put it down. Warning....it will infuriate you. Some people feel this is fiction.....HELLO open your ignorant eyes and ears...it happens everyday(Obviously, they must be men) While reading this book i've never felt so much anger Please join an organiztion to help these women and girls. I am a sponser for an Afghan women through Women for Women
not at all like i expected
I really did not enjoy this book. It wasnt terrible but it was hardly believable. It seemed more like propaganda to slander Palestinians. I guess it was because I held such high expectations for the book that when i read it i was completely disappointed. It just feeds into the misconceptions about arabs and/or muslims that many westerners have. But it was good in the sense that it was full of drama wheather it was true or not, and it never really gets boring.

Very sad and I hope she is living a good life now.
I found this book moving. I guess there is some controversy if she is a real person and if the story is real. I tend to believe so. Her account of what happened seems like how a young girl would think, especially an uneducated teenager with a romantic streak to her personality.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Abuse    2. Abuse - General    3. Abused women    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Case studies    9. Honor killings    10. Palestine    11. Personal Memoirs    12. Political    13. Reference    14. Women    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (17)

Very good blended "Combat!" resource!
This is everything you could want as a fan of the show.The author does a great job of giving us a reasonable amount of insight to move us from season to season.This blended nicely with the information about each episode.
A must have!
This publication is a must have for the discriminating fan of Combat!As the title states, it is a true "Viewer's Companion to the WWII TV Series".Author Jo Davidsmeyer provides an indepth and detailed look at what I consider one of THE best television series ever!A perfect addendum to Combat!, the complete series.
Combat! a good read, too.
There's nothing like an avid fan to author a great book to an already epic tv show. Jo's affection really lends itself nicely to the anecdotes given by the former cast members.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Movie/Tv Tie-Ins    3. Performing Arts / Television / Guides & Reviews    4. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    5. Reference    6. Television - Guides & Reviews    7. Combat! (Television program)    8. Television programs    9. World War, 1939-1945   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cincinnati    6. General    7. Murder    8. Murder - Serial Killers    9. Ohio    10. Reference    11. Trials (Murder)    12. Women serial murderers    13. Crime & criminology    14. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    15. True crime    16. USA   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Chicago    6. Chicago (Ill.)    7. Dictionaries    8. Illinois    9. Reference    10. Regional Subjects - Midwest    11. Women   

Reviews (7)

World's richest man
Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835 and came to America at age 13. He started working with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and then got in on the ground floor of the steel business. Unlike Rockefeller, his great rival in the race to become the world's richest man, who was motivated by a pious Baptist fervor, Carnegie was a Scottish agnostic Darwinist. (He was three times richer than Rockefeller, by the way.) A frequent contributor to popular magazines of the day, mainly on economic and social issues, he was a follower of Herbert Spencer.
Immense
The blurb "as thick and densely-packed as a rail of steel" would fit nicely on the back cover of this book, I think.Blurbs aside, Wall writes well and seems to have an exceedingly good handle on every aspect of Andrew Carnegie's life.The beginning is slow to get going but as momentum builds, the author's use of source material, insightful opinions, and historical detail provides a portrait of Carnegie that would be impossible to glean from a smaller study.This is a book designed for scholars that is written well enough for a layperson.It is, however, a commitment: one to the tune of about 1000 pages.Black coffee, comfortable chair, good reading light, and an overwhelming interest in the life of Andrew Carnegie are all suggested before turning over the first page.
Excellent Read!!!
This book is finest, most comprehensive, and exciting biography ever written about Carnegie. No Carnegie biography, before or since, has ever approached the excellence of Wall's masterpiece. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1835-1919    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Business    7. Carnegie, Andrew,    8. Humanitarians    9. Industrialists    10. Philanthropists    11. Reference    12. Steel industry and trade    13. United States    14. Biography: general    15. Charities & voluntary services    16. Entrepreneurship    17. USA