Book Description
Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football star and volunteer coach for the Gilman high school football team, teaches his players the keys to successful defense: penetrate, pursue, punish, love. Love? A former captain of the Baltimore Colts and now an ordained minister, Ehrmann is serious about the game of football but even more serious about the purpose of life. Season of Life is his inspirational story as told by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Marx, who was a ballboy for the Colts when he first met Ehrmann.
Ehrmann now devotes his life to teaching young men a whole new meaning of masculinity. He teaches the boys at Gilman the precepts of his Building Men for Others program: Being a man means emphasizing relationships and having a cause bigger than yourself. It means accepting responsibility and leading courageously. It means that empathy, integrity, and living a life of service to others are more important than points on a scoreboard.
Decades after he first met Ehrmann, Jeffrey Marx renewed their friendship and watched his childhood hero putting his principles into action. While chronicling a season with the Gilman Greyhounds, Marx witnessed the most extraordinary sports program he'd ever seen, where players say "I love you" to each other and coaches profess their love for their players. Off the field Marx sat with Ehrmann and absorbed life lessons that led him to reexamine his own unresolved relationship with his father.
Season of Life is a book about what it means to be a man of substance and impact. It is a moving story that will resonate with athletes, coaches, parents -- anyone struggling to make the right choices in life.
Customer Reviews:
Get this book for your graduate.......2007-10-08
There can be no better compliment to a book than the fact that after reading A Season of Life I immediately ordered three more copies for my own kids. I was fortunate to have a coach with his priorities in the right place, and twenty-five years later he remains the benchmark for how I evaluate coaches. This book is a great testament that you can do things the right way, and be successful. It would be an excellent gift for any graduate that will be working with youth.
All parents and youth coaches should read this book.......2007-09-09
I would heartily recommend this book to any parent who has kids involved in youth sports. This is not a book on how to become a coach who wins games. Instead, this is a book that shows how to mold and develop kids who are winners in the game of life.
The Gilman football program wins plenty of games. In this book, Jeffrey Marx highlights the coach and former all-pro NFL footballer Joe Ehrmann. As a coach, he finds it more valuable to teach life lessons to his young charges than football lessons. Of course, they do a lot of good football teaching too. And, the coaches know the game very well.
The book was written after the 2001 season. The coaches at the time felt that Victor Abiamiri was the player most likely to end up in the NFL. In fact, he is now a rookie on the Philadephia Eagles. I have no idea if any other Gilman players have made the NFL. How many kids on any high school team ever make the NFL? Not many. Victor Abiamiri may be the only NFL player of the bunch. However, I am confident that the all or most of the Gilman kids will become good productive members of society.
Of course that is the end result. I recommend you read the story and learn why.
Really, really excellent book.......2007-08-23
As a father of three, including a young boy and a youth football coach, this is a book I recommend to all sorts of people who are involved in helping to raise young boys to become responsible young men -- teachers, coaches, parents and anyone else would be well-served by reading the book.
Great book!.......2007-07-08
This book is a must read for anyone involved in sports. It shows you how to keep things in perspective when looking at the big picture of things to come.
Most moving book I have ever read!.......2007-06-21
As a few others have stated here, I became interested in Coach Ehrmann after watching the documentary by Steve Sabol of NFL Films.
I was very moved seeing how the coaches of the Gilman HS Football team were able to get their message through to the kids. A lot of what they "preach" might be over some kids heads, but they way that they teach life's lessons by using football as the avenue was both brilliant and inspiring.
This past Little League season, I tried my best to emulate what both Ehrmann and the head coach did for their boys, by talking to them, and emphasizing time and time again that I wanted them all to have the greatest time of their lives out there on the field and to never worry about or ask me what the score was. I also made sure that even the weakest players were put in "positions to succeed", rather than worry about putting them in harms way by putting them somewhere where they might "fail". And as scripted in a movie, the most rewarding experience for everyone was when these less naturally talented kids actually made a play for us or got a big hit! The ENTIRE TEAM was overjoyed and started patting them on the head! Nothing could be more motiviating for them...or...for me than actually seeing it come to fruition!
If you DO coach kids, or were ever considering it, you owe it to yourself to look upon it as the vocation that it is...in the way Coach Ehrmann does. You'll be surprised how much of an effect you can have on a kid's life, and how much watching these kids develop together can have an effect on YOUR life. Our record was actually 4-6 this season (and nobody on the team knew), yet it was, by far, our most successful and rewarding season!
Thank you Jeffrey Marx and thank you COach Ehrmann for motivating me more than you'll ever know!!
Product Description
The destruction of Buffy's hometown, plus covert and powerful slayer "cells" around the world, add up to a new label for the Scoobies: Terrorist threat. Speaking of Sunnydale, the crater formerly known as, has opened to reveal the witch Amy, and boy is she mad.
Season Eight continues as Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to Season Seven of the smash-hit TV series.
Customer Reviews:
And the story continues.......2007-04-22
Warning: Thar be spoilers ahead!
Remember each week those exciting words (which alerted us that we were about to get a new exciting episode of the best show on TV)? "Previously on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER . . . " The new comic series seems to be doing something along these same lines. On the inside of the outer cover are printed the following:
"This story takes place after the end of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Season Seven.
"The Slayer population of the world has gone from two to nearly two thousand. Almost five hundred are working around the world with Buffy's organization in squads--or "terrorist cells," according to the American military. Buffy, Xander, Dawn, and a passel of Slayers are currently bunked out in a Scottish castle, where the latest mission revealed a strange symbol carved into human bodies.
"Also, Dawn's a giant."
This may be a summary that is rewritten each month to reflect what has happened in the previous issues.
The first episode in Season Eight established the situation; this one begins moving the story forward. The U.S. military (or rather, a military leader who has on his chest the strange symbol referred to in the monthly summary) has authorized Amy the witch and her army of zombies to go after Buffy and her cohorts. After the story begins with three very different approaches to training the new slayers by first Giles, then Buffy, and finally Andrew (who actually couldn't be said to be training them at all) we find Xander explaining why Dawn took the form of a giant when it was possible she could have assumed other forms instead (obviously, she is trying to get her sister's attention in the most blatant manner possible). The catch is, does Xander really tell any of this to Buffy or is it all just part of what we later learn is a spell-induced sleep in which she experiences an unbroken nightmare. And in a fairy-tale twist she can only be awakened by the kiss of true love. We can, of course, imagine a line of possible candidates for that: Angel and Spike fighting to be first in line. Well, of course Buffy will be awakened, and sooner rather than later. Can't imagine her being asleep at the end of the next episode. The tricky part is how one defines "true love." That needn't mean romantic love. My gut tells me that the kiss won't come from any of the usual suspects. My money is on Dawn. Yeah, I know. No one likes Dawn. But the brute fact is that except for struggling to save her in Season Five, Buffy has been a truly awful sister. Not in a Cinderella step sisterly way, but in the completely neglectful, can't-spare-her-a-minute way. But early in Season Six, Dawn seemed to miss her more than anyone. Like I said, my money is on Dawn.
The issues ends with Buffy asleep, the castle under assault by hundreds of zombies they can't keep at bay, Amy gloating that she could handle slayers with ease, so there was no one there who could take her on. The final frame is of someone who says that they would "like to test that theory." And thus Willow makes her first appearance in the story.
I am going to say something that I don't think I can say often enough. I don't want Joss Whedon writing comics. I want him creating new television shows. I suspect he enjoys the control that a comic gives him. I am sure he is tired of battling studios and networks. I can understand that. But once the battles have been waged and the BS has been waded through, Joss Whedon has been able to create some of the most extraordinary, most timeless television that has ever been made. He needs to get back to it. That being said, I am so much happier with him doing BUFFY Season Eight than either his X-Men project or the Runaways (and mind you, I like both the X-Men and the Runaways). There are others who can tell further stories about the X-Men and the Runaways, but Joss Whedon is only one who can give us authoritative Buffy stories. So I am acquiring these with joy and my heart and impatience in my soul. But I want him back in television. We've had some great TV since BUFFY and ANGEL left the air. LOST, 24, VERONICA MARS, and especially BATTLESTAR GALACTICA have filled the huge gap BUFFY left at its departure. But LOST needs to start winding down (whether it will has to be seen), BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the only show to completely match the brilliance that was BUFFY) has possibly only one more season left and at most two before Ron Moore brings his series to an end. 24 is definitely in decline. VERONICA MARS might be cancelled. In short, JOSS! WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK TO TELEVISION! But in the meantime, I'll wolf down every one of these issues.
Episode Two: Attack of the Rat.......2007-04-05
Buffy fans will be expecting a lot after seven stellar seasons on television and the success of the first issue of "Season Eight." So the question here is this: Does Issue #2 deliver?
In short, yes. I have to say though--there is so much going on, so many jokes, and so much foreshadowing that I wasn't able to completely enjoy the Jossy goodness until my second read. The first read intrigued me, but the second wow-ed me.
The plot continues directly from the previous issue. Amy (the former rat) is working with the government to take out Buffy and the slayers, and she has an army of zombies to back her up. The ending sequences are amazing--I'm already itching for May 2nd to come so I can get my hands on the third issue. There was a big revelation about half-way through the comic, and clues to who the Big Bad of the season will be as well. Giant Dawn is great, Buffy is true to herself, and Xander is playing the biggest role he's played since the first season.
This issue also re-introduces two fan favorites: Giles and Andrew. So, all in all, this issue is just as good as the first. But did anybody expect anything less? I mean, come on--Joss Whedon wrote it.
9/10
Book Description
Pax Galactica. Enemies become allies. Old secrets are at last revealed. Long-held beliefs and widely accepted truths are challenged. Man turns to leisurely pursuits.
In this golden age, two old friends are drawn together. They seek to understand, and wonder how what they have long believed, what they have been taught, was never so.
Over two hundred years ago, the life of one of Starfleet's earliest pioneers came to a tragic end, and Captain Jonathan Archer, the legendary commander of Earth's first warp-five starship, lost a close friend. Or so it seemed for many years. But with the passage of time, and the declassification of certain crucial files, the truth about that fateful day -- the day that Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III didn't die -- could finally be revealed.
Why did Starfleet feel it was necessary to rewrite history? And why only now can the truth be told?
Customer Reviews:
Suffers from the same problems that plagued the TV finale it's trying to fix........2007-08-06
There are two good things about this book that I liked. It brings Trip back and as an action novel it's not a bad read. However, it fails miserably at what I believe was the authors' aim in writing this novel; fixing the inconsistencies and explaining all the gaffes that took place in the poorly written finale of Star Trek Enterprise. In writing their story it seems that the authors made the same mistakes the writers of the final episode did. Too many things happen that simply do not make sense. What I disliked most was perhaps the authors' recognition that they made the same mistakes and their clumsy attempt to dismiss/explain them in a few words near the end of the book.
If all you want is a quick, entertaining read go for it. However, I do not recommend this book to make up for the poor ending of Enterprise. Personally I think it's probably best to remember the series ending with the montage at the end of the episode.
An alternate final episode for Enterprise.......2007-07-29
The Good That Men Do is a clever novel reframing the events of the final episode of Enterprise to tell a more complex tale of interstellar espionage. In Mangels and Martin's version, Trip's death is staged, part of a plot that has the engineer going undercover to infiltrate the Romulan Empire.
How, you might wonder, can a human with a regional American dialect hope to pass as a Romulan? Especially when at this point in Trek history humans don't even know what Romulans look like. If you have the patience to read though this book and keep notes, you'll find at the end you've got a long list of improbabilities, including a newly discovered alien species that just happen to be master plastic surgeons - AND to know what a Romulan looks like!
As with much licensed serial fiction, The Good That Men Do is overwritten, with far too many florid passages reminding us how emotionally sensitive all our heroes really are. Even the title has one too many words. The plot is no leaner, with far too many pages devoted to the planning for and agonizing over Trip's death. Jake Sisko and Nog pop up as the central characters in a framing sequence irrelevant to the main events.
There's a rather pathetic attempt to work God into the story, a discussion that ends with the Christian God being possible because, well, the universe is big and full of possibility. Which would include, I suppose, the possibility of gay characters in the Star Trek universe, of which there are two in this novel, mentioned in one sentence out of the thousands in this 400+ page novel. Over these few words a couple of self-appointed protectors of public morals have complained of the authors having a gay agenda. That anyone would make a mountain out of such a molehill speaks quite clearly of their own political agenda.
Overall, this book is much like the televised episodes of Enterprise - not particularly well-written but fun for a couple hours if you turn your brain off.
A really well written Star Trek Book.......2007-07-20
I really enjoyed "The Good That Men Do: Star Trek Enterprise" I liked seeing the Star Trek Universe from someone who wasn't a Starship Captain. And the overarching story being followed by Jake and Nog as we are reading it is a pretty clever plot device too. After all for me, Star Trek books are like holodeck programs anyhow. They can be infinitely more detailed and immersive than any television show or movie.
I'm looking forward to more in the series.
commander tucker lives on..........2007-07-20
this book gives readers (especially those who are fans of the tv series) a MUCH MORE satisifying story line for commander tucker. trip has been and will always be my favorite member of starfleet. he deserved a MUCH BETTER story line in the tv series finale. i really appreciated how the authors were able to take what happened in the finale and manipulate it so that trip continues to live on in the book. getting towards the end of the story, i got the impression that the authors were leaving the story line open so that maybe there will be another adventure for trip and the crew of enterprise. i hope so, because i'd like to read about another trip tucker adventure.
in the tv series, trip dies a hero. in this book, trip lives on as a hero.
Just couldn't get into it.......2007-07-03
Much like the series, I just couldn't get into the story line. Perhaps since I never really got into the Enterprise series, I didn't have any unresolved questions to find. I will admit, however, the story did pick up around the 250 page point. Perhaps it appeals more to fans of the series, but it just didn't work for me. It seemed to be trying too hard to tie in to the series at first. I found the short chapters of flipping scenes a little tiresome after a while...back forth back forth.
Book Description
With its revolutionary approach to yoga and innovative, male-oriented instruction, Real Men Do Yoga will be the definitive guide for both novice and veteran men who are discovering the innumerable physical and mental benefits of yoga. Satisfying the male fascination with sports and admiration for athletes are interviews with more than twenty pros, all of whom are enthusiastic yoga practitioners: football's Eddie George, Shannon Sharpe and Amani Toomer; baseball pitchers Barry Zito (2002 Cy Young Award winner) and Al Leiter, star hockey goalie Sean Burke and NBA superstar Kevin Garnett as well as pro golfers and tennis players. Photos of sports stars doing yoga, such as football greats Dan Marino and Chris Carter, drive home a powerful message. Each chapter offers a combination of stretches and strength-builders that target and benefit specific areas: Conquering back pain (which afflicts an estimated 10 million men) Improving sports performance including yoga for golf, running, basketball, tennis and more Increasing flexibility in the upper body, spine and lower body Building muscle strength Improving sexual performance In a sea of yoga books aimed at women, Real Men Do Yoga is an easily accessible, "non-New Agey" guidebook that takes something mysterious to American men and offers a reassuringly effective and practical guide that they'll actually use.
Customer Reviews:
He's happy!.......2007-07-30
I purchased this book for my boss. He was a little thrown in the beginning, knowing that he isn't able to compete at the level these men are, but....he's still happy with the book itself!
A Pictures Worth 200 Words.......2006-10-10
It's tricky to learn yoga from a book, especially when limited to sporadic black & white shots every other page. the book does a good job of taking someone mildly athletic who has never done yoga (me) through a few good stretches. There are some great flexibility-improvers. Plus, I liked the quotes and inspiration from the top jocks.
Plus - how did they get Eddie George on the cover?!?! What a great selling idea. If he and his atlas quads can do this stuff, I ought to be able to . . .
Great reading for athletes.......2006-03-11
Even though the title is Real Men Do Yoga, and I am a female, I found it greatly interesting. Being an athlete, playing tennis 3 hours a day, and working out with weights another 1 hour, my body gets a lot of "beating". I discovered that doing yoga helps to balance my body and stay injury free (or heal injuries that happened before yoga). This book is great on describing the importance of athletes doing yoga, for increased performance, focus, balance and many other athletic benefits. I also like that it agrees that all training aspects are important: weight room, yoga, sport specific training. It's well written and easy to follow. I love the examples from real life.
Sexist, silly, and poorly laid out, but..........2004-09-13
a useful contribution to those learning about Yoga. As the Amazon.com in-house reviewer notes, the author seems obsessed with pointing out that men do Yoga, hence the title. Unfortunately, this is based on the ridiculous assumption that men never did Yoga. Can we say Iyenger? Or Baptiste, Yee, and many others. Silly, stupid, and insulting!
Having said that, the author seeks to "mainstream" Yoga (similar to the great Beth Shaw), by using non-Sanskrit names for the asanas. I sincerely feel that this helps someone new to Yoga. Mr. Capouya also spares the reader the preaching about the eight "limbs" of Yoga (non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing...) and the horrors of eating meat.
The book is poorly laid out. It bounces around from pose to pose interspersed with quotes from professional athletes and alleged Yoga practioners. Sadly, they mostly aren't true Yoga practioners because they only do Yoga 2-3 times a week (often in a class). Yoga is not weightlifting: it is not mean to done every other day, but rather daily (talk to a Yogi about how terrible they feel if they are unable to do at least a 30 minute session). Moreover, most Yoga books (Baptiste for example), advocate a 90 minute daily practice. This book seems to feel that 60 minutes is adequate. I disagree. Anything less than 90 for me is inadequate. But the use of the athletes quotes serves to perpetuate the notion that "real men" do Yoga, so I guess that don't need to do it that long.
Unfortunately, the book leaves out the variations inherent in all Yoga poses for beginners. This is a grave disservice to Yoga. Yoga is perfect for ANY-BODY. Fat, thin, weak, non-flexible etc. By using professional athletes as examples, Mr. Capouya may unwittingly intimidate someone less physically gifted.
It's worth a look, but I prefer Hatha Yoga Illustrated, Journey into Power (Baron Baptiste), and Liz Lark's (egad, a woman!)Power Yoga and Yoga for beginners.
A sure winner for Valentine's day.......2004-02-01
I have been practicing yoga since I was twelve,and bought this book for my fiancee last year. He is a golfer trying to make the PGA tour, and ever since he started doing yoga, his concentration and short game has improved.
I like the fact that this book is does not contain a lot the "new age" language, and gets straight to the point with regards to the physical and psychological benefits of yoga.
I definitely recommend his as V-Day gift, as the practice of yoga has many benifits hat expend beyond the realm of sports, as I can well attest.
Book Description
The Ultimate HorrorscopeJoin the women around the world whose love lives have been transformed by the astro-guide that pulls no punches when it comes to the dark side of men and their star signs.Use it to.... -Deride, ridicule, and annoy the hell out of men - Speed up the dating process by using star sign elimination - Avoid dating complete scum - Keep current boyfriends/husbands in their places - Keep conversation going at dinner parties - And much, much more!Discover who you are destined not to date.... A match made in heaven or the relationship from hell?Find out which zodiac couplings are the least likely to result in derision, depression, divorce, or death! - Are you good enough for a LEO? - Can you put up with PISCES? - Will you get along with GEMINI? - Do you have the sills necessary to cope with VIRGO?Put yourself to the test with our 12 compatibility quizzes - each one carefully designed to ensure you know exactly which bastards to avoid in the future.Now men will cringe when you ask them what their star signs are!
Customer Reviews:
Absolutely hilarious!.......2007-06-16
This book is brilliant. It's smart, poignant, and utterly rediculous. I don't think this book is meant to be taken literally, and anyone who takes the content as fact will be sorely disappointed. It takes the negative personality aspects of every sign and turns them into comedic genius. I would recommend that you take it at face value as a fun bout of man-bashing with some star signs thrown in for good measure. I absolutely loved it, but it's not for the serious astrology reader, which is why the negative ratings amaze me. Anyone who picks up this book in the hopes of actually learning something is insane. This book is clearly meant for entertainment purposes only.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!.......2007-03-20
I love this book!! The only thing I regret is not buying it sooner. Its defently worth every penny!!!!
Very Informative Book.......2006-08-24
If you want to know the dirt about his star sign, this is the book for you. Very entertaining read. I laughed endlessly. Thanks Alele Lang.
I Can't Believe People Could Bag This Book!.......2006-04-09
This book is absolutely hilarious, and I've read a million astrology books...I can't believe people would trash it. These woman have a great sense of humor, and great writing ability. My favorite was the Hitler Taurus references, but it suited my Pisces boyfriend, soon to be ex, to a T as well. My best friend and I sat on the phone for an hour yesterday reading all the ones from our current relationship messes and our past relationship messes. None of the men I read it to think it's them...and I thought it was SO them! Great job ladies, and blow off anyone who thinks elsewise. I'm sure they couldn't write anything 1/10 as entertaining!
Bought for cover art.......2005-07-20
I really bought this book for the cover art to frame and hang in my library. But I did read through the book first, and it is not really a good or acurate astrology book. It is obviously written by a woman or women that have problems dating men and really really really hate men.
This is really just a humor book and should have been put in the humor section rather than the astrology section, but I am glad I found it, because the cover art makes a fantastic display!
Book Description
The greatest future histories in science fiction. In Last and First Men the protagonist is "mankind" in an ultimate definition — intelligence. Star Maker, in a sense its sequel, is concerned with the history of intelligence in the entire cosmos.
Customer Reviews:
Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Stapledon's epic ages of man tour-de-force. This is by no means a detailed character study, but a study of a theme - the evolution of humanity, and its spread. You are not quite sure how one man could get his head around this at the time, but he managed, in a masterful way. Very influential and exciting, this book.
Imperfect Humans and Angelic Beasts.......2007-08-03
Olaf Stapledon was an immensely deep-thinking philosopher who utilized science fiction for his expansive ruminations on the place of humanity in the universe. The two books combined here are an excessively heavy read and are considerably more dense than his two well-known character-driven novels - the also weighty Odd John and Sirius (the volume combining those two classics is highly recommended). Last and First Men and Star Maker could be faulted for reading less like novels and more like philosophical tracts, but this is not a sign of weakness because Stapledon's philosophy is robust enough to make the method work. Meanwhile, reviewers who harshly criticize Stapledon's political leanings are members of ideologies that are inherently hostile to creativity and deep thinking. Stapledon was a philosopher, not an ideologue, and his fully developed conceptions of the small place of humanity in the cosmos ultimately revealed his humanist faith. He achieved these philosophical insights with a science fiction vision of an immensity that has never been equaled in the genre.
Last and First Men (1931) gives a future history of the human race that is incredibly far beyond the few thousand years that most sci-fi writers can come up with. Stapledon maps out human progress and evolution over a whopping two billion years, with a narrative scope in which all of human experience as we know it can be glossed over in a single paragraph. Though Stapledon's predictions of future progress are hokey at times (for instance, he was a few hundred million years off on the first human space voyage), his vision is stupendous in its range and depth. The spirit of humanity survives through 18 different species, many near-extinctions and evolutionary dead-ends, and three different homeworlds.
Star Maker (1937) has, amazingly, a vision of universal history that is orders of magnitude beyond Last and First Men. That story's two billion years become but a single paragraph here. Via thought experiments in dream-like omniscience, Stapledon presents the history of the cosmos as a tragedy taking place over hundreds of billions of years, with the rise and fall of galaxies and dimensions serving as the action. Eventually Stapledon envisions the universe as a sentient deity of a vastness and complexity that even his nearly-omniscient narrator can't put into words. Stapledon's works are essential for big thinkers who are obsessed with understanding their place within the billions of years and trillions of light years of the vast infinite universe. Stapledon's ability to shed light on mankind's inconsequential yet fully worthwhile place in the uncaring cosmos was profoundly astonishing. [~doomsdayer520~]
communist diatribes, not novels.......2007-06-14
These books are fiction, but they are not novels. There is no plot, no character development, no dramatic tension. Nothing about them, structurally, is like a novel. There is a great deal of creativity, and the occasional dose of mysticism, but it is all bent in the service of an endless assault of over-the-top communist propaganda.
I was quite surprised by this, since I loved Stapledon's novel "Odd John", which is anything but egalitarian or socialist.
Human spiritual evolution is Stapledon's basic theme in all his works, but in these two, he went down the wrong road. Evolution takes place when individuals separate themselves from the unconscious masses. Socialism can only lead to the masses dragging conscious men down to their own level. Freedom alone can lead to evolution. Stapledon was a victim of the sick philosophies of his time, now, of course, utterly discredited. It clearly destroyed his later works, where he went against his every artistic instinct to pen this socialist tripe for transparent political reasons.
But do read "Odd John", which has none of this gobbledygook in it, is an actual novel, and indeed a bona fide classic.
This is my 5th copy!.......2006-06-29
Last and First Men has been my favorite book for almost 30 years. W.O.S. is my favorite author of all time. I find myself re-reading it every few years to marvel at the accuracy of his predictions. The chapter on the Americanization of the planet and the conflict with China is eerie in it's accuracy. This from a book written before WWII. I've loaned out several copies and they always wind up on extended journeys. I bought this paperback edition to give to my 17y.o. This book is a must for any serious SF fan!
Don rubber underpants before reading ..........2005-09-14
Last and First Men :-
One of the most succinct and accurate renderings of mankind's present state of mind and future progression. It documents the future of man from the start of WW2 and continues until the Sun engulfs the earth, and beyond. Considering this book was first published in 1931, it is remarkable, both in its honesty as regards human nature, and in its phenomenal span. By the time we reach chapter 3 of the 16 in this book, it is already 2300 AD and you feel like you have had the viewpoint of a God. So intense is the writing, that a few pages can take you hours to read and weeks to think about. What a writer, what a visionary. Of particular interest to me was the laconic way he can sum up an entire country's culture and people, and the accuracy of prediction in the first part of the book. Quotes from around what would be the back-end of the 20th century on his timescale (what he terms "Balkan Europe") :-
"... For love of France was the undoing of the French. They prized the truly admirable spirit of France so extravagantly, that they regarded all other nations as barbarians."
"... the practice of communism was gradually undermined. For the Russian state came increasingly under the influence of Western, and especially American, finance. The materialism of the official creed also became a farce, for it was foreign to the Russian mind. Thus between practice and theory there was, in both respects, a profound inconsistency. What was once a vital and promising culture became insincere."
Points to note :-
All budding politicians should be forced to read this book. It should be part of any politics curriculum.
Strikingly accurate and plausible portent of homo sapiens future. Read in the context of 2002, it is easy to see mankind's current folly and the extrapolation of current scientific endeavours. For example, we may achieve global peace ("An Americanised Planet"") for a few millennia, but at the cost of spiritual and intellectual freedom and development. When the "Fall of the First Men" happened, recovery took a very long time :-
"Later, when the epidemic was spent, even though civilisation was already in ruins, a concerted effort of devotion might yet have rebuilt it on a more modest plan. But among the First Men, only a minority had ever been capable of wholehearted devotion. The great majority were by nature too much obsessed by private impulses."
Sounds like the malaise of current homo sapiens.
The theme of continual physical exertion and constant movement of attention as an underpinning for the lifestyles of all successful social inhabitants was beautifully described. This is so true of today's and future societies. No pause for reflection or contemplation. The abandonment of philosophy as a science in the future. The pig-headed clinging to pagan artefact or idol worship, rather than logic.
The brilliant description of the "Second Men", with his finer array of senses, and his natural propensity for altruism.
The plausible evolution of intelligent life on Mars in 10 million years time, with the subsequent misunderstanding of what is intelligent between Earth and Mars.
Man's creation of more evolved forms of man meshes brilliantly with current genetic research.
"Time travel" achieved by mental regression into past minds. The future remains unknown.
Conclusions :-
Apply common sense to the situation as it is now, to work out the best course of action. Never invoke traditions or old beliefs as these threaten your survival in an ever-changing environment.
Within the same species, organisms are equally complex biochemically. Therefore, any social structure that imposes arbitrary division within the species, is intrinsically flawed. This is true of current homo sapiens organisation, where certain people are far more highly regarded than others for stupid reasons, and divisions between cliques of people usually erupt in violence, rather than heated debate.
Just because someone cannot be convinced of your way of seeing things, doesn't mean that physical coercion becomes necessary.
"Live and let live" doesn't mean live it up and let the rest live in squalor.
Nothing should be regarded as taboo, save that which is unnatural.
There are absolutely no restrictions on what anyone can think.
If you can have it, then anyone can have it.
Star Maker :-
After reading "Last and First Men", I approached Olaf's next masterpiece, "Star Maker" ( first published in 1937), with some disbelief as to how on earth he could possibly better the span, pathos and magnanimity he had already laid out. A quick scan of the appendices yielded the impression that this book would embrace not just the tiny fragment of history that was mankind's stay in the universe, but that all history of the universe would be described, and that of other universes too. All of this in less pages than "Last and First Men"! My immediate reaction was simply, "No way, Jose" and I wondered how he was going to set about such an immense task. The vehicle used was, of course, the best man has going for him - his imagination. A contemplative man is whisked off on an imaginary journey through space and time by an ever-gathering mass consciousness. He describes how galaxies of stars formed from nebulae that were born flying apart from each other, how these cooling nebulae condensed into galaxies of stars, and how the rare occurrences of young stars that passed each other, formed planets, and how, on a few rare planets, intelligent life evolved. He shows how certain conditions inhibit the appearance of life, or intelligent life, and how certain evolutionary pathways cause life to stagnate or wipe itself out. He puts mankind's existence into perspective in both universal time and space.
There are touching moments and there are exciting battles. There is both tragedy and comedy. There are uplifting victories and crushing defeats. Far from being stuffy, this book is really a very good read indeed, considering the scope of its subject. The final few short chapters really have you reading a couple of paragraphs, and then putting the book down to have a long ponder over what has just been addressed. And the book's climax leaves you with lifelong matters to mull over - one of these being, "Boy, and I thought I was pretty intelligent..." ;-)
Here are a couple of lengthy quotes for your enjoyment :-
--------------------------------------------------------------
... The sequence of events in the successfully waking world was generally more or less as follows. The starting point, it will be remembered, was a plight like that in which our own Earth now stands. The dialectic of the world's history had confronted the race with a problem with which the traditional mentality could never cope. The world-situation had grown too complex for lowly intelligences, and it demanded a degree of individual integrity in leaders and in led, such as was as yet possible only to a few minds. Consciousness had already been violently awakened out of the primitive trance into a state of excruciating individualism, of poignant but pitifully restricted self-awareness. And individualism, together with the traditional tribal spirit, now threatened to wreck the world. Only after a long-drawn agony of economic distress and maniac warfare, haunted by an increasingly clear vision of a happier world, could the second stage of waking be achieved. In most cases it was not achieved. "Human nature", or its equivalent in the many worlds, could not change itself; and the environment could not remake it.
But in a few worlds the spirit reacted to its desperate plight with a miracle. Or, if the reader prefers, the environment miraculously refashioned the spirit. There occurred a widespread and almost sudden waking into a new lucidity of consciousness and a new integrity of will. To call this change miraculous is only to recognize that it could not have been scientifically predicted even from the fullest possible knowledge of "human nature" as manifested in the earlier age. To later generations, however, it appeared as no miracle but as a belated wakening from an almost miraculous stupor into plain sanity.
and from later in the book :-
... The result of this extraordinary custom, of artificial fatherhood by "brute-men", which was carried on without remission in all countries for a generation, and in a less thorough manner for a very much longer period, was to alter the composition of the whole quasi-human race. In order to maintain continued adaptability to an ever-changing environment a race must at all costs preserve in itself its slight but potent salting of sensibility and originality. In this world the precious factor now became so diluted as to be ineffective. Henceforth the desperately complex problems of the world were consistently bungled. Civilization decayed. The race entered on a phase of what might be called pseudo-civilized barbarism, which was in essence sub-human and incapable of change. This state of affairs continued for some millions of years, but at last the race was destroyed by the ravages of a small rat-like animal against which it could devise no protection.
I must not stay to notice the strange fortunes of all the many other quasi-human worlds. I will mention only that in some, though civilization was destroyed in a succession of savage wars, the germ of recovery precariously survived. In one, the agonizing balance of the old and the new seemed to prolong itself indefinitely. In another, where science had advanced too far for the safety of an immature species, man accidentally blew up his planet and his race. In several, the dialectical process of history was broken short by invasion and conquest on the part of inhabitants of another planet. These and other disasters, to be described in due course, decimated the galactic population of worlds.
In conclusion I will mention that in one or two of these quasi-human worlds a new and superior biological race emerged naturally during the typical world crisis, gained power by sheer intelligence and sympathy, took charge of the planet, persuaded the aborigines to cease breeding, peopled the whole planet with its own superior type, and created a human race which attained communal mentality, and rapidly advanced beyond the limits of our exploring and over- strained understanding. Before our contact failed, we were surprised to observe that, as the new species superseded the old and took over the vast political and economic activity of that world, it came to realize with laughter the futility of all this feverish and aimless living. Under our eyes the old order began to give place to a new and simpler order, in which the world was to be peopled by a small "aristocratic" population served by machines, freed alike from drudgery and luxury and intent on exploration of the cosmos and the mind.
This change-over to a simpler life happened in several other worlds not by the intervention of a new species, but simply by the victory of the new mentality in its battle against the old.
--------------------------------------------------------------
To summarise, "Star Maker" is the best book in the whole world ever, and everybody should be forced to read it and understand it, at gunpoint.
Average customer rating:
- snowreview
- A gripping tale of suspense and intrigue
- Carrier aviation at its best
- Great book!
- Brick Maxwell and General Zhang Yu mix it up over the South China Sea
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Black Star Rising
Robert Gandt
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ASIN: 0451220145 |
Book Description
As China expands its industrial might, it becomes one of the biggest oil-consuming countries in the world. And the only thing blocking China's access to an unlimited fuel supply is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. When a Vietnamese oilrig is destroyed, China is obviously the culprit. The U.S.-recently joined in a defense pact with Vietnam-calls upon Commander Brick Maxwell to pilot the hyper-advanced Black Star stealth jet against the Chinese. But the Chinese have technology to match America's-and an old adversary of Brick's who is hunting him with a vengeance.
Customer Reviews:
snowreview.......2007-08-02
This is a Don,t put me down novel . Greatly enjoyed all three of the authors books. Full of action and incident.
A gripping tale of suspense and intrigue.......2007-03-30
I never know quite what to expect from the devious mind of this consummate writer of military suspense. What I do know, however, is that each of Gandt's action-packed novels has proven to be even better than the one before. Who would have dared to dream, for example, that in Black Star Rising our very own military forces would join the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in defending its crucial oil resources from the marauding Republic of China. Once again, alter ego Commander Brick Maxwell transports us from the carrier deck to the killing skies as he engages his arch nemesis over land and sea. And, yes, just the right amount of earthly love and lust!
Carrier aviation at its best.......2007-02-27
Bob Gandt's Brick Maxwell series is probably the most authentic naval aviation fiction being produced today. You even vicariously pull several "G's" as Brick's plane gets flung off the carrier's catapult or tries to roll inside his opponent -- it's that authentic. Gandt has a unique way of explaining the obscure naval term or aviator's jargon that keeps you feeling "with it" while not interfering in the slightest with the continuity of the plot.
Gandt's knowledge of contemporaneous world events and his continuous exposure to naval carrier operations help greatly in lending contemporaneous authenticity to each of his novels. Try his works -- you'll love them!
Great book! .......2007-02-16
My husband reads all Gandt's books and LOVES them. Says he's one of the best aviation authors ever.
Brick Maxwell and General Zhang Yu mix it up over the South China Sea.......2007-02-12
Sit down and shut up as Gandt stuffs us into the seat of the military's finest aerial hardware. This time it is the secret stealth jet - Black Star. The flying sequences are top notch. Even if you are not a shithot Navy pilot, Gandt knows how to draw the reader into the cockpit in a very visceral way. I even find myself grunting on the cat launches! It is precisely why I love his writing. The author has obviously "been there and done that". The plot line has the typical good guy, bad guy sequence and obligatory love interest. Brick Maxwell is the James Bond/Robert Gandt of the U.S. Navy. Good stuff!
Book Description
He's Just Not in the Stars is a sinful combination of He's Just Not That into You, Sex and the City, and The Secret Language of Birthdays. If all is fair in love and war, this is the right ammunition. . . .
Hindsight is 20/20. Love is blind. With all that good and bad vision out there, who's gonna give you some serious insight?
Sex columnist and love astrology expert Jenni Kosarin is taking names and kicking astrological butt. . . . Flirt. Crush. Boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Husband. Whatever. What's his potential? What's he looking for? How do you fix things once you've messed up? Which sign will give you another chance and which won't? Find out his idiosyncrasies before you date him. Find out who's ready for a relationship and who'll still be hanging out in twentysomething bars in fifteen years. (Uh. Creepy.)
Here, get the scoop on how your man stacks up. Decipher. Crack the code. Get stellar advice.
The concept is revolutionary: Combine his Sun Sign with his Venus. That's all. No "rising signs," no tricking his mother into telling you what time he was born. No cookie-cutter generalizations. This book is frighteningly specific. Filled with sixty easy-to-follow combos, it's illustrated with ironic, gossip-filled, shocking real-life examples of famous celebs such as:
- Colin Firth (Virgo, Venus in Libra): Virgo + Libra = sexy and subtle combo
- Orlando Bloom (Capricorn, Venus in Pisces): Capricorn is all for security, Pisces is a full-on romantic = good guy
- Chris Rock (Aquarius, Venus in Capricorn): Aquarius can be about partnership when Capricorn grounds it
- Ethan Hawke (Scorpio, Venus in Scorpio): Ladykiller double sign combo
- Antonio Banderas (Leo, Venus in Virgo): Hint: the Virgo makes him stay
. . . plus many, many others. By defining him in a way that's never been done before, He's Just Not in the Stars gives it to you straight. No tiptoeing around. No hugging and sharing. No coddling. Deal with it.
(Cue drum roll.) This is for the woman who wants to take charge of her own destiny. Is he in the stars? Time won't tell. Jenni Kosarin will.
He's Just Not in the Stars is the last hip, irreverent relationship book you'll ever want. Throw away the rest . . .
They're taking up space where your happily married pictures should go.
Customer Reviews:
It was so good I bought 3!.......2007-08-10
I hate self help books. I hate relationship books. I hate fluffy new ager books.
And so on a trip to a New Age-y Bookstore I randomly found this book and flipped to the section of the guy Im after. Dead on. I laughed out loud and was surprised to find this book was none of those things I hate; it was actually funny, blatantly honest, and accurate.
How do you know its accurate? Try yourself. I looked mine up and I was like 'If this said 'she' it would have me spot on!' And trust me its not something one would aspire to (being flakey, being paranoid, etc).
I picked the book up again and switched to the section on someone I'd had issues with for years. Boy if only Id had this book back then because it was SPOT ON!!! The best thing is that even though it tells you HOW your guy is; it tells you how to get him, drive him crazy, and win him back. Basically mess with his mind. Excellent.
I loved this book so much I bought myself a copy, my sister a copy, and my best friend a copy. I've never been so excited over a book! I hope to spread the word. Good stuff. I hope Miss Kosarin writes another book like everyone said Id love to hear what she has to say about the women!
My friends and I really enjoyed this book.......2007-05-19
Other than entertaining, it was extremely accurate! I loved it!
Oh, you are a dear, Kosarin.......2006-11-17
I think this is the second book I have by Kosarin. This one made me laugh my self silly on a rather awful day. Nothing like pining over a man for years, wondering what is wrong with myself and then finding out that he was a Kevin Federline anyway.
When I finally bought the book, I went through my entire collection of astrology charts to read about all the men in my life, past and present. This book really hit it on the head, in quite a refreshing, hilarious way. Extremely insightful.
Buy it if you love astrology. Buy it because of men. Buy it for yourself. Buy it because The title is so much more inviting than, "He's Just Not That Into You." Maybe he's just a jerk that you cannot astrologically put up with and be sane.
Funny, incredibly written, and dead-on true.......2006-11-15
Prior to reading this book I didn't know much about astrology, but it was one of the BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ. Like most guys, I went to the section that described me based on my sign, and I felt like I was reading my autobiography! Kosarin is a phenomenal writer and her pop culture references are hilarious, but ultimately, what makes this book so great is that it's ACCURATE. I can't see how anyone interested in love, astrology, dating, or human nature, could go without reading this book.
"Wickedly" Fun Astrological Advice.......2006-11-14
I bought this book on a whim and found it to be a lot of fun. Now I know why my ex-boyfriends didn't work out, among other reasons. I brought it to lunch with my girlfriends and they're hooked too.
Average customer rating:
- The "Shanghai Station" saga unfolds, interweaves with "Cafe on the Nile"
- Strong, But Some Lost Steam
- A disappointing sequel to "Shanghai Station"
- China Star
- An exotic, sexy adventure tale
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China Star
Bartle Bull
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
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Book Description
From Paris to Shanghai, romance and intrigue come together.
Customer Reviews:
The "Shanghai Station" saga unfolds, interweaves with "Cafe on the Nile".......2007-01-26
I first came to the British adventure novelist Bartle Bull through his African trilogy ("The White Rhino Hotel," "The Cafe on the Nile," and "The Devil's Oasis"). Bull wrote of a fading vision of the European playground in northern Africa - a paean to the romantic life of his father and so many other Brits with restless souls. These novels had a formula that could be summed up as high adventure, glorious sex, and dastardly murder . . . basically an 'R' rated "Indiana Jones" set of thrills and chills.
And they were great.
With "Shanghai Station," Bull sent his focus to the East - Russia and China - and the story became a bit darker. Alexander "Sasha" Karlov is the shining son of an aristocratic White Russian family fleeing the chaos of the Bolshevik Revolution. Their only destination is the teeming seaport of Shanghai, as colorful a locale as any writer could hope for. This story gave Bull the opportunity for more high adventure, glorious sex, and dastardly murder. But all of this was tempered in part by the rage of his villain, Victor Polyak, a Bolshevik Commissar and flat-out stone cold murderer. Polyak kills Sasha's parents and kidnaps and rapes his twin sister, Katia. In a classic "there-will-be-a-sequel" ending, a bitter fight between Karlov and Polyak ends with Karlov wounded but convinced that Polyak must be dead because all that is left of him is his severed hand.
Of course, Polyak is not dead, but only more lethal - now armed with an evil set of hooks where his hand used to be. In "China Star," Polyak tries to track down Karlov and exact his revenge. But Karlov is a beloved figure with friends everywhere, including the highest tiers of the criminal element in Shanghai. Polyak first tries to get Karlov in Paris, but fails and must watch as Karlov reunites with his twin sister, Katia, now a Cheka assassin and mother to Polyak's son Leon. (Leon, natch, is being held hostage in the finest Bolshevik tradition.)
In a plot that whisks from Paris to Cairo to Ceylon to Shanghai, Karlov, Katia, and their friends and lovers face death and triumph at every turn. Fortunes are made and lost, friendships forged, and lives snuffed out on almost every page - that is, when Bull isn't offering delightful passages detailing the exotic scenery or stirring bouts of sexual adventure. Perhaps most enjoyably, Karlov finds time to make a quick but lasting friendship with Bull's most enjoyable literary creation, the Goan dwarf entreprenuer, Olivio Fonseca Alevedo, who is just starting up the infamous Cafe on the Nile.
Bull offers up thrills and chills galore, including some of the most exotic death scenes and love scenes imaginable. Pure, glorious pulp entertainment of the highest order, "China Star" cannot be described as great fiction by any means, but a fantastic guilty pleasure. The only reason it does not get five stars is that there are a couple of incidents that are so dependent on coincidence that disbelief cannot be sustained. But this can be forgiven in pulp fiction, and Bull brings the goods in such enjoyable, intelligent prose that you really don't mind all that much.
Strong, But Some Lost Steam.......2007-01-06
China Star, the admirable sequel to Bartle Bull's adventure/romance Shanghai Station, appears to fall victim to an age-old curse: Trying to follow up an absolutely astounding book by penning out a longer, more expansive follow-up. With this minor error, Bull has made the supremely readable adventures of Count Karlov somewhat secondary to Bull's desire to explain - in detail - every natural and developmental aspect in the history of Ceylon, where a good portion of China Star takes place.
That said, China Star is never drudging or dull. Even at its most anthropological and ornithological, Bull's ability to make characters and locales come alive far outshines even the best mass-market fiction authors. One can feel the conflicted motivations of Bull's ever-increasing cast of characters (Alexander Karlov harassed once again by the nefarious Cheka Agent Viktor Polyak, and a motley band of other Communist agents), although Polyak, the bloodthirsty Commissar from Shanghai Station, still comes off as a bit two-dimensional. Thankfully, Bull has remedied this by providing an engaging cast of secondary and tertiary characters.
Make no mistake, even though Bull seems to enjoy turning portions of China Star into travel guides, his work still stands out as exemplary among modern writers. Those who found Shanghai Station to their liking will certainly find China Star to be a proud continuation of the Karlov adventures.
A disappointing sequel to "Shanghai Station".......2006-11-18
Bartle Bull wrote a fascinating historical novel set in post-Bolshevik Revolution Shanghai. Chronicling the adventures of the fictional aristocratic Karlovs, the evil Cheka agent Viktor Polyak, the Chinese strongman Hak Lee and other colorful characters, "Shanghai Station" was a winner because of deft dialog, reasonable plotting and strong historical elements.
"China Star" has the emphasis on history, but lacks the other two elements. The plot is implausible. In "Shanghai Station" Alex Karlov's mother is murdered and his sister kidnapped from the Trans-Siberian Express by Cheka monster Victor Polyak. "China Star" is continuation of Alexander's hunt for his sister and his mission to kill Polyak.
It is unbelievable. Polyak keeps trying to kill Alexander and Alexander keeps escaping. Polyak is a master murderer of everyone else except Alex. It's like those old Western movies where the bad guys seem to have two shots in their six-shooters and the good guys have thirty.
Worse yet, Bull layers on a romance that seems to be a replay of "Lady Chatterley's Lover". The innumberable sex scenes seem as if they were written by a fifteen year old assembling scraps of locker room sex lore.
To bridge the vast gaps in his plot, Bull has Alex meet one character after another whom Alex just happens to find a critical use for. As a social exploiter, Alex is top-tier. But all these fortuitous meetings fail to overcome the improbabilities of the plot.
On ther whole, Bull should have either been content with his acheivement in authoring "Shanghai Station" - or should have waited until he actually had a plot for "China Star," which is, in my opinion, an embarassment to him.
Jerry
China Star.......2006-11-10
This is a great read full of fascinating historical facts. China Star would make a great Merchant Ivory film. In fact, they should have made this book into a film instead of White Countess.
I have read all of Bartle Bull's books and highly recommend them for those that love the exotic locales of the Middle East, Africa and Asia in the first half of the 20th century. He is a master story teller with a great sense of humour and a brilliant grasp of historical facts.
An exotic, sexy adventure tale .......2006-09-02
Bartle Bull writes exotic adventure tales, five of them to date: an African trilogy and now two novels about the adventures of young Alexander Karlov, a White Russian nobleman, footloose after the fall of Russia to the Bolsheviks. All the books are worth reading as exemplars of intelligent adventure novels.
"China Star" is a tale of Karlov's search for his lost twin sister, and the efforts of a savage and repulsive Bolshevik to effect his assassination through various nefarious means. The story begins in Paris, and then continues on a long steamer ride through Egypt, Sri Lanka, and back to Karlov's home in Shanghai. Bull gets high marks for atmosphere, research, and accuracy in the exotic places and scenes he describes. In this book, for example, we get interesting descriptions of the cotton market in Egypt, tea growing in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and the White Russian community in Paris in 1922.
I don't give this novel top rating because it is too long and contrived. In the course of the novel, the repulsive Bolshevik makes innumerable attempts to kill young Alexander -- far too many for plausibility. It would have been better to have cut the number of action scenes down to two or three. Furthermore, the author spends too much time in scenes in which Alexander demonstrates his prowess in bed. Alexander's impressive skills with women could be demonstrated adequately in fewer words and lesser numbers of bedtime jousts. One has the feeling that the author felt compelled to write a novel of over 400 pages and padded it. It would have been a better story if cut to 250 or 300 pages -- and nothing of importance would have been omitted.
So, read Bull and enjoy the descriptions of strange lands and exotic people, but be prepared to be irritated at the slow pace of the story.
Smallchief
Customer Reviews:
wonderful !.......2007-03-12
I just finished reading your book and it is one of the best memoirs I've read. The book was gritty at times but the honesty was wholesome and refreshing. I was especially pleased with the way you tied everything together at the end, making it clear that there is much to be said for acquiring clarity in finding value in everyone for who they are,regardless of their convictions...a deeper sense of learning how you came to evolve and achieve inner peace with your journey.
Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star.......2007-01-13
Actually, a pretty interesting memoir. There's some sex in it, of course, but not that much. Mostly it's the story of this guy's life, and his coming to terms with being gay. I enjoyed it.
I hope his movies were better.......2006-11-29
If your a conflicted Christian or military read this book. And it seems that this is the base most of the amazon reviewers are coming from. I being neither simply wanted a book that lived up to it's salacious title. And on those terms this isn't a book, it's a pamphlet. Thank God, I didn't shell out of this sucker. And to save other readers the expense, I have a suggestion. Go to one of those mega-booksellers where you can sit and read. Open to the chapter entitled "Making Porn", pages 219-237. 20 minutes max. Now go take the money you saved and buy something worth while.
A Brave and Courageous Memoir!.......2006-11-22
I picked this one up after having it sit on my shelf for several months. I am not one to read non-fiction, but I must admit this account of one man's struggle with his life steeped in Christianity, was a real page turner. Rick Merritt has a terrific story to tell and I highly recommend you read it. It's amazing how much he has dealt with in his life thus far and how well he has come through it all ~ definitely an inspiration to readers who are facing some of the same struggles. "Thanks for your honesty and for sharing your story with us Mr. Merritt." Although as a gay man, I haven't had to deal with half of what he has dealt with, I still find his story an inspiration and greatly appreciate his willingness to share it with us all.
Story of a Survivor.......2006-10-18
I bought this book because of the similarites between the author's life and my own. Both of us came out of repressive, abusive Fundamentalist Christianity, both of us served in the military, both of us battled substance abuse, and both of us are gay. This is one man's story, and it's the story of a survivor...in short, it's my story, and the story of countless others as well. There, but for the grace of God, go all of us. Rich Merritt came through the fire, as have so many of us. Well done, Rich! This is a helluva read.
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