Simply the best book available for those seriously interested in a detailed architectural history of New York, even though the most recent edition was published in 1991. Unbelievably rich in detail. As other reviewers point out however, this is NOT a typical "tourist" guide about where to eat, sleep or have fun in New York.

New York is a fascinating place today, and even more so after learning about its history and architecture from this well-written and researched guide book. Did you know that the land under the Empire State Building was originally owned by the Astor family? Or that the NY Public Library and Bryant Park reside on what was the Croton reservoir? Such tidbits abound.

Until Kenneth Jackson's _Encyclopedia of New York City_ this was the closest thing to an encyclopedia of New York City in existence. Don't buy this book for restaurant reviews or the best hotels; the other guides are for those things. There is a (small and) half-hearted set of restaurant and hotel listings in the front of the tome, but the rest is the real meat of the book: Fantastically detailed walking tours of every part of the city. Manhattan is throughly covered, of course, but the other boroughs don't get overlooked as so many other books do. Buckets of historical data, curious facts, interesting nuggets of info fill every page. Hopefully a newer edition will come out soon, but until it does this book is the best!

Many within the PoMo movement are like the old Indian fable about the elephant in a house - they're all putting their hands into the house, feeling different parts and reaching different conclusions. This book is radically different in that you get to hear the "elephant's" point of view! If you have PoMo tendancies (forgive the labelling), this book will resonate deeply. For those on the line - you'll be faced with some interesting questions that hopefully will generate new discussions.

For those who aren't into the whole "new theology" scene, this is still a fantastic book - well written and charming, deep but not pretentious.

This book is about RELEVANT Christian spirituality. Something that I can apply and closely relate to.

In a few words, I'd describe it as: heartfelt, soul-baring, funny, brilliant. I appreciate the clear, refreshing honesty.

I have been deeply encouraged by Don's openess to a topic that is not widely accepted and often misunderstood - in Christian and non-Christian circles alike. Don has approached the topic of his personal walk with God so simply and beautifully. A bit like music...

At the end of the book, you want to personally thank Don along with his friends who shared their stories. You wish you knew their addresses so you could stop by for a beer and some good conversation.

Read this and make sure you buy an extra copy to pass along to your friends.

This is the first book I have read cover to cover oh in about 2 or 3 years. I sell new books on ... amazon from time to time for extra cash and almost attempted to sell this one. One day while I was stacking the new books I was going to list to sell, I picked up Blue Like Jazz and read the back and from what the reviews described on the back of the book I found myself curious, so I opened it and began reading it, and from there I could not put it down. It was almost like God wanted me to read this book, in fact He did want me to read this book. This is a GREAT book and many times it felt like I was reading my own thoughts about Christian spirituality and just life in general. This is a down to earth-human book about one man's journey thru life with Christ leading the way. Again very much like myself. Thanks Donald!

In high school around 1985, I tried to argue with a Republican classmate that US bombers were targeting civilian neighborhoods in Libya. "No," he said, "You see, the A-rabs don't know any physics. They're firing antiaircraft missiles at ninety degrees, and their own bombs are falling back on them." The following year, when our government teacher announced that the Challenger had exploded, another classmate of mine said with a crooked smile and a faux-childlike tone, "Gee, Mr. Duffey, it's a good thing *you* weren't the teacher they chose to go into space!" I only began to understand these incidents--the naively credulous belief in government statements, the postemotional reaction to atrocities--when I read Mark Crispin Miller's essay on "The Hipness Unto Death." MCM exposes the vitiating effects of late Seventies and early Eighties media--the sadism of Jerry Lewis, the subtle thuggery of Bill Cosby, the crazed sensationalism of Dan Rather, the vacuity of Reagan's public face, and the ability of "Lettermanesque irony" to drain everything of meaning are among his themes. Miller is a dissident ironist, in the tradition of his sometime friend Christopher Hitchens and his avatars Michael Berube and Thomas Frank, but he is also a prophet: no one familiar with Boxed In was surprised when audiences began to treat the characters on Seinfeld as role-models, when Sam Donaldson became a Republican spokesman, or when Bill Maher smiled while pantomiming the attack on the World Trade Center. Fans should look at Miller's other books and his articles in The Nation, Extra!, and CONTEXT magazines.

The first 8 or so essays in this book constitute some of the greatest writing on TV and advertising that I have ever run into. Analysis of texts is often so freaking esoteric and bookish that there's no point in reading it unless you want to impress an english undergrad at a department meeting. However, everyone who has any ability for introspection will benefit from the essays in this book, which use the tools of text analysis to help understand american culture and the motivations behind the culture creators. Other than incredible essays about advertisting and TV news, there are also some pretty decent essays about technology and movies and some pretty mediocre essays about music. Notwithstanding that, this book is required reading for all smart Americans, and you really won't be able to read advertising until you've read the opening essay, Hipness until Death, which becomes more and more applicable with each abstraction put out by Sprite or Arizona Jeans. Thank you Mark Crispin Miller!

"Boxed In" is a collection of essays on TV, Elvis, movies and the future. Miller's piercing critical analysis of the world of pop culture is no dry thesis. It contains hilariously colourful, laugh-out-loud, read-to-your-friends, genius (and often biting) observations of the media and the world we live in. There is a cunning essay on the TV game show "Family Feud" as well as a very shrewd essay on the Jerry Lewis telethons that are especially clever and funny. A must read.

Could someone please tell me where Rex Miller went? I have the whole series, and I am impatiently waiting for another Chaingang book!

If you haven't already read this book, drop everything your doing and buy it. Rex Miller creates an excellent bad guy who grows on you as each book passes.

By the time you get to Butcher, your actually rooting for danny boy!

These are clearly my favorite books

Rex Miller has created a very interesting and unusual character. CHAINGANG is an extremely strong, highly intelligent serial killer who happens to love puppies, so he can't be all bad. Two parallel stories come together nicely with lots of action and evil deeds, not necessarily done by our anti-hero. If you liked the Silence of the Lambs then you'll love this author.

This is another book review by Wolfie and Kansas, the boonie dogs from Toto, Guam. Rex Miller's novel "Chaingang" features one of the most interesting human characters we have come across in our reading. Daniel Edward Flowers "Chaingang" Bunkowski has the body of King Kong Bundy--and the personality of Ted Bundy, with both the intellect and some of the personality of Hannibal Lecter and a Terminator robot thrown in. He also has the combat skills of "Rogue Warrior" Richard Marcinko, combined with the ability to use halitosis as a martial art.

Bunkowski is treated as a monster and serial killer. However, if one looks at the motivation for his homicidal behavior, it becomes tragically clear how close he came to becoming a great hero.

Bunkowski was an abused child whose closest friend was an abused dog. Bunkowski and the dog were often locked in the closet together. As a result, when Chaingang grew up and developed his strength, intellect and assasination skills, he sought out and killed dog abusers. If Chaingang only killed dog abusers, he would be a heroic vigilante, an inspiration equal to other fictional heroes such as Tarzan, Doc Savage, Lamont Cranston and Gilgamesh. However, Chaingang has a tendency to get carried away and kill a dozen or so innocent humans for every dog abuser he rightfully punishes.

The book "Chaingang" is a fun read, with lots of action, a good mystery, and a couple other interesting human characters besides Bunkowski. While this book is an excellent thriller, if Chaingang Bunkowski had been a little more selective in this targets, "Chaingang" could have been a classic of heroic literature

This book is the perfect marriage between process improvement methods and Rob Lawton's Creating a Customer-Centered Culture. Ken has provided a clear roadmap for organizations to get focused on the customer, measure things that the customer cares about, and achieve those results with the least amount of pain and agony.
I have already recommended this book to several of my clients who are starting (or are already on) the journey of using teams, focusing on the customer and improving their organizations. It has everything you need, so it's a great reference book as well.

Ken Miller has hit the nail on the head with The Change Agent's Guide to Radical Improvement. Whether you are a seasoned Change Agent / Quality guru, or somebody who often asks "Why do we do it this way?", you need to read this book. That experience alone will leave you energized and chomping at the bit to identify and begin projects that ACTUALLY DELIVER RESULTS.

Miller has provided us with a comprehensive "How-to" guide for making your organization (corporate, government, education, healthcare, Service) and yourself very valuable. The chapters are well-written, easy to understand and thought-provoking. From the proper diagnosis of a project to the implementation to the wonderful method of tracking results, it is literally the only book you need to drive change through your organization. Since reading the book and attending the author's academy, I've used many new, as well as old tools to more effectively run meetings, solve problems, improve processes and lead planning sessions. The big difference I've noticed with the use of the old tools is that I now use them in the proper situations. Miller also identifies the "Change Agent Body Of Knowledge," the features a person must have to be a successful agent of change.

Read this book. You won't regret it, and you might possibly change the way you approach your work. Appropriate for all levels of the organization, especially management.

If you are a student of improvement, then this book is an "All You Can Eat Buffet" of your favorite foods. It literally takes the best of thousands of quality principles and tools and combines them into one easy to read and use manual.

Ken Miller's book on tools for change agents has failed to find a prominent place on my bookshelf not because of content, but I simply have not been able to put the book away since I first opened it. It reenergized me as a team leader and has contributed greatly to the effectiveness of our improvement efforts.

Chapters are written using examples that are well suited for the subject matter and that the reader can easily relate to. At the end of each chapter are easy to follow tools that will quickly become an indispensable component in your facilitating arsenal. My personal favorites include the techniques for getting more out of brainstorming, and Ken's methods for analyzing projects.

This comprehensive book is a must have for everyone who wants to see their company grow! Before you start your next team initiative do yourself an enormous favor, READ THIS BOOK!

No one in the world (and I state that with full confidence) knows more about Chartres Cathedral than Malcolm Miller. What more needs to be said?

No visit to Chartres is complete without taking the tour of the Cathedral's walking encyclopedia Malcolm Miller. Miller's books are fantastic and give a tremendous insight into the history of Chartres and its Cathedral.

Malcolm Miller is the foremost English authority on the cathedral of Chartres. He divides his time between the town of Chartres, where he personally conducts tours, and the rest of the world where he lectures and makes films and videos of the subject. He opens his tours and lectures by commenting that the cathedral is like a library--and we don't just say, "We're going to go to the library today and read all the books". Each tour or lecture consists of a general introduction and focuses on a small part of the stained glass and statuary. The core of the book is a review of the iconography of a selection of the windows and sculpture. In this manner, you learn how to "read the books" in the cathedral, and gain an understanding of the world that produced them. Once you have toured Chartres, either in person or through that other medieval miracle, printing, you will want to return again and again.

I am a big fan of Craig Miles Miller's CHESTER STUBBS. In Chester he has created one of the most infuriating and lovable screw-ups of all time. Rude, clumsy, perhaps, even misbegotten, yet imbued with the true spirit from beginning to end, it doesn't matter, Chester's our man. Miller's style is deceptively simple, it just flows and flows, taking us from laughter, to heartbreak, to understanding, to, in fact, just about wherever you'd like a novel to take you. CHESTER STUBBS is a book that gave me a lot of hope and even more laughs. What more could a reader ask for?

Really an amazing book. To create such a character and such a "voice" AND have him delve into a real literary plot--this is the mark of a true writer. It may offend some, but it should delight most. Chester is one of the most original characters ever to appear on the page, and the tale of his reconnection to humanity and community is priceless. A great start for a career of writing!

Craig Miles Miller writes like a hurricane -- his prose is forceful, turbulent, unpredictable, and at times deceptively calm. Miller reminds me of Larry Brown at his grittiest and of T.C. Boyle at his wittiest. After reading "Chester Stubbs" you'll walk away a little shaken and little wiser. Buy it today.

Heartwarming and deeply moving, Christmas Miracles brings the true "feelings" of Christmas into our hearts and homes with the touching collection of inspiring true stories of miracles shared by others. Sure to be a Christmas favorite year after year.

What thrilling stories. One was amazing, the next was heart-breaking. We decided to read one each night of the Christmas season and found them really inspiring.

This special collection of Christmas stories has real life stories of life experiences which give us hope for the future. The various story tellers share a part of their lives with us in a way which will allow you to feel their emotions in their own experiences. Having participated in the actual experiences of several of the story tellers, it is wonderful to find them where I can relive them time and again. For example, I will never forget driving by Janis Gardners house and seeing fire trucks and devastation and wondering what happened. I took my young son, classmate of one of the Gardner girls, to school and returned to the scene. How grateful I was to find all family members were safe. What a miracle to see Steve Larson put their home back together in just a few short weeks before Christmas. I can not drive by the house (even though it is now occupied by strangers), without remembering how lucky that Janis did not let the girls sleep under the tree that night. This is an example of the wonderful, spirit lifting stories you will read in "Christmas Miracles", by Jamie Miller, et al. Good reading for all. Velda Solomon

We have bought dozens of this book for friends and family and they all love it!

It is very entertaining and educational. A great game for parties, old and young alike.

This book is a "must" to have in your library and a perfect gift for your friends and family!

I have been collecting trivia for a lot of years, and have collected a lot of interesting facts and info about Christmas and holiday music. I didn't expect to find much that I didn't know when I ordered "Christmas Trivia", and was blown away by the range and depth of the information. It is set up in quiz form, with two hundred questions about various aspects of the holiday. The answers are all in the back. This is a great source of holiday fun and quizzes for your friends and family. Teachers will also find this to be a valuable reference to keep students entertained as well as teaching them some fun and interesting facts and legends. It's an inexpensive little book that you'll refer to again and again.

This book broke the ice at the office/spouse holiday party! and gave the in-laws and ex-es some good laughs at the family dinner. Lots of information loaded into a stocking-sized prize.

This is a "must have" for Metzker fans and other late 20th century photography afficianados. These are starkly contrasted b/w photos that are both abstract design and life commentary. You will want to cut out each image and hang it on your wall. But don't. The book itself is too elegant.

The photos of this book further the photographer's thinking as it is conveyed through a photograph. The photos display strong evidence of a conscious mind behind a camera interpreting what is in front of it. The photos are graceful, delightful and engulfing. Their rending in the book itself is spectacular. The prints being seen for the first time are strongly supported by the remaining work. Together they lend towards the viewer's discovery of the photographer's thinking in making these photographs. Several varied series of photographs are displayed. Truely a gift to look so far into the creative process.

This is a fantastic collection of street photography by an often overlooked photographer. Metzer's photographs are brilliant scenes of bright light and deep shadow. The deep chiaroscuro of film noir cinematography is the first thing that comes to mind. His juxapositions of shadows, buildings and people are simply beautiful, and at the same time very lonely. If you can, I would recommend seeing this exhibit in person (at the Laurence Miller Gallery, NYC). Otherwise, definitely pick up this book.