Mr. Campbell aka (the Poet Guru of the San Gabriel Valley)
gives us a look at not only a personal part of his day to day existence, but the mind of a Father, Teacher, Husband, Son and Grandson as he deals with everything from sex to fast food to fear and death, part intellectual, part observer, he sees all obstacles and describes them to us before losing his lunch.
Well worth owning to read again and again!

I have a stack of contemporary poetry books by my bed, many of them partially read, book-marked at a favorite poem. Campbell's book, Enter, is the only one I read from cover to cover in two evenings. Then I went back and marked my favorites. Then I read a few again. His poetry is addictive like popcorn. More than that: it is like sitting down with a bucket of popcorn to watch a movie on video with your family. His poetry ranges in emotion from clever to poignant, yet there is a thread running throughout of unvarnished joy in everyday existence. Campbell's book is a work by that most rare of creatures: a poet in command of language and wit who is actually contented with his life. Get the book, pop some popcorn, and enjoy...

Escape from Alcatraz depicts the full history of this infamous prison stronghold. It reflects how life was on the Rock and details the circumstances when and how 23 convicts attempted or succeeded in escaping from the island prison - the latter few never to be ever seen or heard of again. If you are interested in Alcatraz you need go no further than reading this book - it is really that good !

Most people know of Escape from Alcatraz from the movie staring Clint Eastwood. However, the famous prison has enjoyed a long and colorful history.

Written by J. Campbell Bruce, a San Francisco Chronicle newspaperman for over forty years, the book delves into the history and social significance of Alcatraz Island. Beginning with its discovery and subsequent use by Native Americans, the book takes us through the island's history as America's "unescapable" prison.

The books most recognizable chapter, by far, deals with the mystery shrouding the prison's most famous escape attempt. This section of the book became the basis for the film Escape from Alcatraz.

The book is very intersting as a historical account of both the island and the San Francisco Bay Area. It comes highly reccomended from this reader.

Not a bad collection of color F4U Korea photos, and general Corsair summary. Worth the $ to add to your library.

Well worth the price, and probably the best F4U book written to date. This book examines each model with stories from aces, test pilots, and others who flew the plane. Good coverage of the radar equipped night fighters, Corsairs in service in South America, in the movies, and RACERS! Too bad it wasn't put out in hardback.

The story is delightful even if predictable. Seeing life through the eyes of GottaRun is a very entertaining way to get a sense of the 'why' of horse behaviour. GottaRun is an uncomplicated animal whose desire to run and desire to be number one match our intuitive sense of what the mind of a young thoroughbred must be like. Well written - the book would do well with young readers if it was illustrated. The underlying 'work ethic' mentality was refreshing as well!

This is one of my favorite horse stories. The horse acts like a real horse. I like how everybody treats the horse with kindness, and how realistic the races are. I feel like I'm riding the horse when I read this book.

This is a great book for someone interested in learning about the Harlem Renaissance. The author presents vital information in an accessible way, and illustrates the diversity and complexity that is American Art.

This is a very nice looking book that not only provides context about the Harlem Renaissance and the proliferation of Black artists during the 20's and 30's, but it also includes many reproductions of some of the period's most representative works. From the cover photo which is a copy William Johnson's "Boy in a Vest," to the James VanDerZee's striking black and white photography, to the sculptures of Meta Warwick, the reader is treated to many examples of the visual arts. There are also essays and poems by the Countee Cullen and other writers of the time. This is a good introduction to the period and is suitable for children and young adults. And old adults too for that matter!

Why all this strange words? I have no problem what so ever with the English language, but this book, have a lot of slang that is not so easy to translate. I don't say it's a bad or anything but..My classmates did actually agree with me when I said it was too difficult to understand. Hey, I'm from Sweden, and the english we learn in school is NOT the same language that English people talk, or write for that matter. Well, Harper Lee is one of the better authors that I can think of and To kill a mockingbird is kind of a great book if you learn to understand all the slang that follows. Thank you!

I thought his book was extra-ordinary. The characters are so interesting and complex. Harper Lee is a brilliant writer and really brought this little southern town to life with her descriptions of the town and the people in the town. She has a vocabulary to die for. I have to say my favorite character is Scout because she is so innocent and really wants to know what is going on but can't quite get the clue. She is so adorable and she knows who she is and how she thinks she should act and she doesn't bother herself by responding to the snotty remarks of Miss Stephanie. This book is really amazing and I would recomend it to anyone that is looking for a good read.

A friend once bemoaned there being no autobiography, or biography, of Joseph Campbell. This book fills a void.

For those who have watched "The Power of Myth" videos, and read several JC books, this collection of dialogues is no disappointment.

No intimate details are given of Campbell's life; when asked for juicy details during one session, he responds (more or less):

"That's biography, and I don't do biography."

I was impressed with the quickness of Campbell's replies and answers.

JC relays several anecdotes of his friends Robinson and Zimmer, and gives honorable mention to the Bollingen Press and Sarah Lawrence College for crucial assistance in his career development. Particularly of interest are the frequent remarks concerning, and discussions with, his wife (and former student) Jean Erdman.

While many of the remarks are verbatim replies heard in "The Power of Myth" videos, some are unreleased gems: there are two kinds of people in this world - those who know their myth is a fact (the orthodox religious) and those who know their myth is a lie (the atheists)- both KNOW that their myth is most certainly NOT a metaphor!

I enjoyed it.

Each chapter of this book begins with a biographical narrative, followed by excerpts from myriad interviews with Campbell, organized in such a way that the interview topics follow the biographical line of the book. Jean Erdman, Stuart Brown, Phil Cousineau, Robert Bly, John Densmore and many more appear in the interviews with Campbell. The book also contains a complete timeline of Campbell's life and a list of books written or edited by Campbell.

Note that this is a collection and is not as comprehensive a biography as 'A Fire In The Mind.' But what it misses in magnitude and detail, it makes up for in presentation. The book lends itself to both the page-through and in-depth readers. It is full of photographs (some full page)and highlights many of Campbell's memorable quotes.

In a beautifully written introduction, Phil Cousineau refers to Campbell as the "ecstatic scholar", an "animateur" who was capable of evoking "the telling shiver of truth about your own life." This book re-animates Campbell's work and he is capable as ever, through the interviews on these pages, of speaking to the heart of his listeners and reawakening the mysteries of life with enthusiasm and awe.

(I do also recommend 'A Fire In The Mind,' which contains details of Campbell's life and excerpts from his personal journals that are not included in this work.)

As used during the War Between the States, the term "torpedo" meant any underwater explosive device. Torpedo boats were any and all of the various designs employed to deliver the devices to the side of enemy vessels. This is the history of the design, manufacture and utilization of such boats. Unfortunately, the Confederate leadership failed to recognize the real value of this new weapon. Although the building of these boats was authorized early in the war, the actual building of them was often hindered by officials who failed to recognize their potential value. However, when available, these relatively speedy boats proved that by operating within the cover of darkness they could bring fear and destruction to a strategically overpowering and more numerous foe. They caused many a Union sailor to lie awake wondering if the bump he had just heard was a log hitting his ship or a torpedo that would blow him away. Rather than the destruction of great numbers of enemy ships, the greatest contribution made by these boats was the deterrent factor they became to the Union invaders. Vast quantities of seamen, materials, and ships had to be allocated to guard against their expected attacks. Union offensive plans were often swayed by consideration of their use against the attackers. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard paid tribute to the torpedo boats when he commented that future Southerners would ask "how it was that with such a great discovery, offering such magnificent results, we never applied it to any useful purpose in this contest for our homes and independence." This is a welcome addition to available information on Confederate naval activity.

Joseph A. Derie - Civil War News - Prolific Confederate naval historian R. Thomas Campbell has turned his efforts to writing about the torpedo boats of the Confederate States Navy (and Army). These evolved when the South attempted to find ways to use torpedoeswhich we would call mines todayas an offensive weapon. Originally the torpedoes were kegs or casks, waterproofed, and either secured to the bot-tom or buoyed, filled with explosives and armed with a fuse set to explode when a ship's hull brushed against it. An attempt to use them offensively was made by securing two torpedoes to-gether with a piece of line about 200 feet long, then rowing to a point some distance above an enemy vessel and releasing the two torpedoes to drift with the current. The idea was for the line between the torpedoes to be snagged by the vessel and for one or both of the torpedoes to swing against the hull. This was tried against Union warships in Hampton Roads in October 1861, without success. Captain Francis D. Lee, a Confederate Army engineer working on chemical fuses for tor-pedoes in Charleston, thought that the best way to use the torpedo offensively would be to mount it on a spar forward of the bow of a boat and deliver it by ramming it into the side of its target. This vessel would obviously be a torpedo ram or torpedo boat. He convinced General Beaure-gard this was the type of quick, easy to build weapon the Confederates needed to defend Charleston Harbor against the vastly superior federal fleet and the Confederate torpedo boat pro-gram was bom. The initial type of torpedo boat was a rowboat or launch. Later, specially designed mod-els were developed, powered by steam, either with an open deck (CSS Squib class) or partially covered with wood or iron (CSS Torch class), and designed to ride low in the water to make them hard to detect. The other type was the David, a semi-submersible, with a cylindrical hull that was bal-lasted by iron or by water (via pumps) enabling them to ride low in the water. These came in a number of models with various sized torpedoes. Most were about five feet in diameter and about 48 feet long with a 14 foot long spar for the torpedo. However, one captured at the end of the war was 160 feet long and 11.5 feet in diameter. Davids were generally powered by steam but a few were powered by oars or a screw turned by the crew. The latter was also the propul-sion system of a fully submersible torpedo boat, the Hunley, which is not part of this story. Confederate successes with torpedo boats were few. The USS New Ironsides was se-verely damaged and had to be dry-docked by an attack from the original David. Unfortunately, the torpedo struck right at the bulkhead, which prevented the ship from sinking. The CSS Squib slightly damaged the USS Minnesota. Ironically, the most successful and famous torpedo boat attack was Commander William B. Cushing's destruction of the CSS Albemarle. The torpedo boats' prime contribution to the Confederate war effort was the fear they struck in the Union Navy, and the actions taken to guard against such attacks. In an appendix there is a wonderful statement by Commander William T. Glassell, the commander of the CSS David the night it damaged the USS New Ironsides. Writing after the war he described "the ironclad vessels of that fleet enveloped like women in hoopskirt petticoats of netting, to lay in idle admiration of themselves for many months." The book is very well illustrated with drawings and many pictures of torpedo boats and spar torpedoes. It is highly recommended for those with an interest in the Confederate Navy and general readers will also find it worthwhile.

global economy, the vison thing,useful tidbits, one of the more sucessful efforts I've read lately

Explores trends and changes affecting today's workers and workplace, as well as providing examples of innovative, high performance companies. Good info, easy to read. Very helpful to anyone wanting a moderately detailed overview of the global economy. Recommended for general readers.

Why would you want to buy just one cassette for about $8.00, when you can buy all six tapes for approximately $24.00? But for those who prefer this program to the others, I guess you save some money. "The First Storytellers" conversation explores accepting death as rebirth using the Indian buffalo myth and the Christian story of Christ; the rite of passages in primitive societies; the role of Shamans; and the decline of ritual in modern times. The Indian Buffalo myth is a wonderful metaphor of rebirth, but also highlights the reverence the Indian felt toward the animal. Animal and Human relationships are discussed at the start of the program; it begins with the hunt. The ritual and Shaman conversations are powerful, short pieces. There is a feeling that Campbell (or maybe the listener) needed about 5 minutes more on each topic. Campbell is fluid though; so everything fits and follows. From a business perspective, this tape may be useful for those interested in organizational transformations and cultures; it provides a classic framework. I can't imagine anyone studying either organizational concept without a bit of Campbell background.

This is truly a smashing book, filled with such vision. Cambells five straight years using his reading technique served him right. The content and expressions are so alive. I would reccomend this to anyone.