The book dives into history and give you a lot of details about Jacques, his father and his travels through life. A lot of the information is from other sources and it appears Jacques himself wasn't interested in being involved with the book. Each person contributing, of course, has their own ideas of Jacques, but if you can sift through all of that it is a great book. It really gives you a perspective of how somebody like Jacques, young and with a famous last name can break into the bigtime. Jeff Mulvihill, Jr.

Impressions of Jacques from key people involved in his life at every stage, from Canada through Italy, Monaco, Japan and the US. The unfortunate absence of input from JV serves to provide a reasonably objective account. Collings does not fawn over the young hero, but lets those who knew him at important points paint a rich background scene for the recent portrait we know so well.

Don Asher's memoir is a fascinating story of a life which has covered miles of wearying road trips, decades of performances, and thousands of performers, well-known and obscure. I felt as though I were traveling with him and his musical cohorts as they moved from party to party, club to club. I felt his drive to experience all that he could of black musicians' unique styles, even whether it meant risking life and limb in unsavory parts of town or playing his best for acceptance on those stages where his idols performed. A simply wonderful book which will stay with the reader for its memorable descriptions of decrepit pianos, drunken, yet talented musicians, and a changing musical scene.

I read this book in two days. It is an outstanding slice of life. Don Asher has spent his whole working life as a piano player (50 yrs plus). You'll be entertained by the story: from music lessons at age nine, to playing dives in and around Worcester, Mass. as a teenager, to a tour through small town resorts with a well-lubricated Providence, RI dance band ("Alvie Drake and His Rythm Ducks") in his twenties, and more. An enjoyable, often humorous, self-effacing and believable portrait of life as a professional piano player. As a writer -- Asher has chops!

I was hoping there would be options for river floating. The book is mainly about open water canoeing and some small stretches of rivers that connect two lakes. But it is a National Park, so lots of land/river management is expected to protect the rivers and habitat. Don Nelson does an excellent job with his descriptions, day or extended trip itineraries and maps. However, the crowds and fees would make me think again about choosing Yellowstone as a canoe trip destination (only a personal decision). One more thing, there are grizzlies there if you didn't already know!

I have traveled extensively by canoe in the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area and was happy to finally see a book devoted to the often overlooked waters of this area. The author has particularly good information on Yellowstone Lake, which has a reputation for being a nasty bit of water with very unpredictable weather. Nelson explains the risks and rewards of traveling on these high altitude lakes. This book is a must read for anyone wishing to bring a canoe or kayak to Yellowstone or Grand Teton.

Hiram Morgan's monograph is an excellent study for any reader interested in early modern British or Irish history. One cannot understand the contemporary Protestant versus Roman Catholic distrust, animosity, and cultural divide in Northern Ireland without understanding the English Tudor's racist Irish policy of colonization. One of Morgan's major contributions is to put the causes of Tyrone's Rebellion into the even broader context of late 16th century Europe where the Protestant-Catholic religious divide shaped national and international politics. The author is no polemicist. He has grounded his study in manuscript sources and Spanish archives (Catholic Spain supported the Irish rebellion).

Tyrone's Rebellion was led by the controversial Hugh O'Neil, the earl of Tyrone. This outbreak was the culmination of growing Irish animosity towards intrusive Tudor policy. Despite the Tudor's usually successful strategy of divide-and-conquer, the ignorance and heavy-handed tactics of Elizabeth I's English administrators managed to unite the Gaelic chieftans with the Anglo-Irish (English or Norman expatriates who had become "more Irish than the Irish themselves") in opposition to English plantation and pacification under the leadership of O'Neil. The rebellion was fomented in 1593-94, broke out in 1598 (Battle of Yellow Ford), and lasted until 1607 (after Elizabeth I had died, and been succeeded by James I).

Tyrone, the "arch rebel," ultimately came to terms days after Elizabeth's death, and went into exile (the famous "flight of the earls"). Robert Devereaux, the earl of Essex, and one of the queen's favorites, was not so fortunate. His personal ambition, military incompetence, and defiance of his majesty's orders cost him his life. While the fate of such elite persons (along with the great apologist of English policy - poet Edmund Spenser) is well known, one of Morgan's minor oversights, which is common in most books about this era, is a lack of attention to the appalling fate of the masses of English and Irish who were slaughtered on both sides of this early version of total war. Half of Ireland was destroyed. The result was famine, disease, and anarchy. The war cost the stingy Tudors a fortune in expenditures and debts. But England prevailed and secured Ireland from being a threatening base of operations for Spain or France. The "flight of the earls" - the "wild geese" - scattered throughout continental Europe, signaling the decline - but not the end - of Gaelic Ireland.

A study on the influencing factors of key decisions made by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone and events leading up to the 'Nine Years War" with England. Unlike many other works, there are references to key players in these events including the Earl's brothers Cormac and Airt as well as Hugh Maguire, Red Hugh O'Donnell, and others.
Hugh O'Neill, an Irishman who was taken into custody as a child and trained in the English manner, returns to Ireland. His eldest brother Brian dies leaving him taniste to the title of 'The O'Neill'. Political intrigue ensues when a rival family member claims the title for himself. Meanwhile, the English crown seeks to plant more settlers in Ireland. O'Neill takes the sword for England and earns his title 'Earl of Tyrone'
The temperament and willpower of a man largely ignored by the Crown comes into question as he is dogged by enemies and harrassed by the state. Further problems arise when English troops establish fortifications on his land.
The book becomes a study of the events and circumstances surrounding O'Neills decision to seek aid from the Catholic King Phillip of Spain and turn his back on the tyrannical and genocidal Tudor advance.
The tactics used by O'Neill while negotiating and fighting are the roots of 'guerilla warfare'. The successes at Clontibret, Enniskillen, and the Yellow Ford are mirrored by the Irish failure to win the disasterous battle of Kinsale.
As evidence for the author's conclusions, he includes a letter written by Cormac O'Neill, the Earl's brother, requesting aid from King Phillip II of Spain.
As the author is a historian, all references are cited.
2001 marks the 400th Anniversary of the Battle of Kinsale. This work is a must have for any serious student of Irish history.

If anyone is curious to see what the new Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument looks like, Anselm Spring's photos are terrific! However, Mark Taylor is a pretentious Edward Abbey wannabe. All in all, a nice coffee table book though.

Unlike the previous review, the book contains excellent photographs but superb essays by Taylor. Taylor is no Abbey wannabe, in his own right he is a more accomplished essayist, book author and magazine editor. The essays are personal, intimate and written by someone who knows the land better than 99% of reviewers. His book sandstone sunsets won critics acclaim and was named best contemporary non fiction book of the year by the Western Writers of America.

I have been a fan of King for years, and it is simply a given that when one of his novels come out I am in the bookstore that very day, plunking down whatever the asking price for a hardcover copy. There are many horror novel fans (believe it or not) who will tell you that Stephen King is a pulp author whose talents are based solely on the ability to toss off a 900 page book with an interesting sounding plotline every fall or so, but we true fans know that King's writing is much more than that, that he is a master storyteller capable of entertaining, shocking, and frightening at the same time. Needful Things is a prime example of King at his twisted best. The story centers on King's now mythical town of Castle Rock (undoubtedly an unlucky place; it is the site of Cujo and The Body to name a few of King's other works). A small rural town such as Castle Rock cannot help but take interest when a mysterious stranger breezes in and sets up shop (particularly a shop with a name as enticing as 'Needful Things'). The proprietor, one Leland Gaunt, can offer the residents of Needful Things whatever they want... for a price. Literally, the hopes and dreams of every person in town is somewhere on Gaunt's shelves, and as it turns out, most of them are willing to do anything to buy them. Of course, Gaunt doesn't simply take money; he requires a favor of his clients, in the form of a small service (usually a seemingly harmless prank or act of vandalism inflicted on another citizen). The people of Castle Rock are only too happy to comply, and that is where King really begins to spin the yarn. You see, Gaunt is very intelligent and very wicked. He uses the weaknesses and prejudices of the residents of Castle Rock against them, and soon his seemingly random series of pranks begin to connect, and suddenly the good folks of Castle Rock are set against one another, paranoid, vindictive, vengeful people who will do anything to protect their 'needful things'. Eventually, the killing begins. King turns his characters into killers and monsters in a frighteningly believable way, and ties the characters together in ways that will make you sit back and marvel at his storytelling. Obliviously assisting Gaunt is Ace Merril (yes, the same character from The Body, played by Kiefer Sutherland in the film Stand by Me) A criminal all his life, Ace harbors a hatred for Castle Rock that Gaunt cultivates and nurtures. The only thing that stands between Castle Rock and damnation is our hero, sheriff Alan Pangborn, who distrusts Gaunt and attempts to unravel his evil scheme (those of you who read King's The Dark Half will recognize Pangborn; he is one of its central characters as well). I must say after all this that I was less than impressed with the dramatic, climactic ending, which I found to be more than a tad cheesy and unfulfilling. However, the story leading up to the less than agreeable ending is well worth the mild disappointment. I would recommend Needful Things as a very enjoyable and exciting read, right up there with King's best works (the very best of which is the magnificent Eyes of the Dragon, which I will review some time in the future). If you are a King fan, Needful Things is a must, and if not, then I suggest it as an entertaing alternative to whatever your area of interest might be

P>I first reviewed this book several years ago. It was one of the first books by Mr. King that I had read. I loved it.

Now that I've had the chance to read much more of his work, what do I think of it now?

It's still great.

This is one of his best cast of characters assembled here. Alan Pangborn, Norris Ridgewick, Henry Payton, Ace Merrill...everyone is very real-seeming and three-dimensional.

But as is often the case in good fiction, the villain steals the show. Leland Gaunt will entrance the reader as much as he did the people of Castle Rock, while simultaneously making you loathe him utterly.

This is interesting, because most of King's villains are able to evoke *some* sympathy for the reader; Randall Flagg, IT, and Tak are just a few examples. So what's the difference? Why are those three--among others--capable of being rooted for while Leland Gaunt receives only boos?

Randall Flagg, IT, and Tak only want to kill you, and they have semi-indentifiable motives. Gaunt, however, simply wants to be entertained by the carnage and chaos. He'll steal your soul and sow havoc in the same way that you or I would turn on the TV. He'll manipulate whole towns simply for his amusement. Thus it is that King does an excellent job of portraying him as a demon who deserves nothing more than absolute destruction. Overall--still great!

"Needful Things" is the story of Leland Gaunt, the mysterious proprietor who opens up shop in the town of Castle Rock. (King fans will remember the town from books like "Cujo" and "The Dark Half," both of which are referred to on several occasions.) Gaunt sells anything to anyone, provided they are willing to pay the price.

What I liked best about the book was that it really built up to its conclusion. I was surprised that so many found the ending lacking. It may have been over-the-top, but it got across the feeling of the mass chaos. From the beginning, I was waiting for the moment when neighbor would turn against neighbor, and I was not in the least bit dissapointed.

The writing is clever and includes brilliant descriptions of each character. Point-of-view switches frequently, creating suspense and an insatiable urge to find out what happens next.

"Needful Things" is a wonderful book that undoubtedly required much work to complete. It is not King's best work, but it is definitely near the top. What better way to say goodbye to the town we fans all know and love.

Will Hobbs has created an exquisitely plotted, nail-biting experience that has great morals and teaches about the values of friendship and family. The characters learn that nature brings people together and can change a person's outlook on life. The main character, Jessie, and her friends are at a summer camp for troubled kids that they call "Hoods in the Woods." At the beginning of the book, all of their lives are going down river. As they are plunged into the great adventure of rafting down the rough Colorado River, the characters' personalities and the conflicts between them come out. Troy is stunning but turns out to be selfish and narcissistic. Star is weak and fragile but transforms into a self-confident person. There are other characters too, each one very different. This really brings the story to life. You know that with every catastrophe they face and overcome, they are only closer to the ultimate win that comes at the end when everything falls into place. It is a phenomenal book. The book twists into a novel about the love and friendships people can make when you get past your differences.

Downriver by Will Hobbs reviewed by Maia Hazelwood

Will Hobbs has created an exquisitely plotted, nail-biting experience that has great morals and teaches about the values of friendship and family. The characters learn that nature brings people together and can change a person's outlook on life. The main character, Jessie, and her friends are at a summer camp for troubled kids that they call "Hoods in the Woods." At the beginning of the book, all of their lives are going down river. As they are plunged into the great adventure of rafting down the rough Colorado River, the characters' personalities and the conflicts between them come out. Troy is stunning but turns out to be selfish and narcissistic. Star is weak and fragile but transforms into a self-confident person. There are other characters too, each one very different. This really brings the story to life. You get this overwhelming feeling when you read this book, a feeling of how good life is if you can look at it in a certain way. You can feel the everlasting friendships that the characters form. You feel the tension as they fight for their lives against nature's forces. You know that with every catastrophe they face and overcome, they are only closer to the ultimate win that comes at the end. It is a phenomenal book. I can say that I have found a respect not as much for nature, but for people. It has increased my awareness of how wonderfully different we are. The book twists into a novel about the love and friendships people can make when you get past your differences. I do have an attitude towards Mother Nature that she can be rough and beautiful. If you want to get all you can out of her, you have to experience them both.

Will Hobbs has created an exquisitely plotted, nail-biting experience that has great morals and teaches about the values of friendship and family. The characters learn that nature brings people together and can change a person's outlook on life. The main character, Jessie, and her friends are at a summer camp for troubled kids that they call "Hoods in the Woods." At the beginning of the book, all of their lives are going down river. As they are plunged into the great adventure of rafting down the rough Colorado River, the characters' personalities and the conflicts between them come out. Troy is stunning but turns out to be selfish and narcissistic. Star is weak and fragile but transforms into a self-confident person. There are other characters too, each one very different. This really brings the story to life. You get this overwhelming feeling when you read this book, a feeling of how good life is if you can look at it in a certain way. You can feel the everlasting friendships that the characters form. You feel the tension as they fight for their lives against nature's forces. You know that with every catastrophe they face and overcome, they are only closer to the ultimate win that comes at the end when everything falls into place. It is a phenomenal book. I can say that I have found a respect not as much for nature, but for people. It has increased my awareness of how wonderfully different we are. The book twists into a novel about the love and friendships people can make when you get past your differences. I do have an attitude towards Mother Nature that she can be rough and beautiful. If you want to get all you can out of her, you have to experience them both.

Tom Sawyer is the first great coming of age American novel. In addition, Tom Sawyer is one of the most endearing characters in American fiction. This wonderful book deals with all the challenges that any young person faces, and resolves them in exciting and unusual ways.

Like many young people, Tom would rather be having fun than going to school and church. This desire to enjoy life is always getting him into trouble, from which he finds unusual and imaginative solutions. One of the great scenes in this book has Tom persuading his friends to help him whitewash a fence by making them think that nothing could be finer than doing his punishment for playing hooky from school. When I first read this story, it opened up my mind to the potential power of persuasion.

Tom also is given up for dead and has the unusual experience of watching his own funeral and hearing what people really thought of him. That's something we all should be able to do. By imagining what people will say at our funeral, we can help establish the purpose of our own lives. Mark Twain has given us a powerful tool for self-examination in this wonderful sequence.

Tom and Huck Finn also witness a murder, and have to decide how to handle the fact that they were not supposed to be there and their fear of retribution from the murderer, Injun Joe.

Girls are a part of Tom's life, and Becky Thatcher and he have a remarkable adventure in a cave with Injun Joe. Any young person will remember the excitement of being near someone they cared about alone in this vignette.

Tom stands for the freedom that the American frontier offered to everyone. His aunt Polly represents the civilizing influence of adults and towns. Twain sets up a rewarding novel that makes us rethink the advantages of both freedom and civilization. In this day of the Internet frontier, this story can still provide valuable lessons about listening to our inner selves and acting on what they have to say. Enjoy looking for fun in new ways!

This is the classic tale of a boy's life in St. Petersburg, Missouri (based on Mark Twain's [Samuel L. Clemens] home town of Hannibal, Missouri), on the banks of the Mississippi River (I believe the time frame is pre-Civil War). The original manuscript of "Tom Sawyer" was the first American novel to be submitted to a publisher in typewritten form. Tom is living in the house of his Aunt Polly with the irritating Sid, who turns him in for playing hooky from school. Tom's punishment is to whitewash a thirty-yard fence, nine feet high. With legendary skill and deviousness, he is able to get his friends to complete the onerous task! Later, he and his good friend Huck Finn go to a graveyard to swing a dead cat (to get rid of warts). They witness Injun Joe murder the town doctor and see Joe set up the evidence to appear that the drunken Muff Potter is the assailant. The boys hide out on Jackson's Island and the town believe them drowned. Of course, at their funeral they appear, falling right into the middle of the ceremony. At the trial of Muff Potter, Tom proves Potter innocent; but, Injun Joe escapes. At a town picnic, the boys (as well as Tom's girl Becky Thatcher) get lost in a cave, find Joe's treasure, are rescued, and become heroes. And, unfortunately, respectable. Tom and Huck represent typical boys, having their own adventures and dreams. It is sad to think that, in today's world of behavioral psychologists, counselors, and some teachers, both Tom and Huck would be considered abnormal and some physicians might even prescribe certain drugs to "calm them down." And, they are just being boys. The adventurous spirit of Tom and Huck should be celebrated, not repressed! Not enough adults read "Tom Sawyer" or "Huckleberry Finn."

I would recomend Tom Sawyer to anyone around the ages of nine to twelve years of age.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a book best for children. This is a book best for children because it is about a young rambunctious boy who gets into trouble all the time. Tom Sawyer is a normal boy.
Many exciting things happen in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the beggining of the book Tom tricks his friends into white washing the fence for him.Tom falls in love,gets engaged with Becky Thatcher,and chases a box of gold. In church a dog makes a bad choice to bothera pinch bug and gets pinched and the dog runs around the church howling. And much more.
I learned that back then kids could be kids. Not like now when everyone expects you to act like you are twenty-five when your only twelve.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tought me many things.

To come away from this book with a new compassion for "the homeless" is to completely miss the point. Stringer's contribution is so valuable precisely because it shows us that there is no such thing as "the homeless" as if it were some pathetic, faceless, homogeneous mob. Rather, his storytelling challenges us to see each person on the street as an individual with his or her own character, needs, desires, and flaws. Some are deserving of compassion, but others are not. By showing us this, Stringer avoids being patronizing and gives homeless people the dignity that comes with personhood. Indeed, it is interesting that the characters he tells us about are not necessarily unhappy with their lives and looking for some way to get out. Stringer himself speaks of embracing the street life because of the liberation it offered and leaves when he chooses to because he is finally sick of it.

Lee Stringer's writing so impressed me that I began sharing it with students in my writing courses to illustrate a variety of points--the power of emotion in honest writing, the plight of the homeless in a rich country, the power of writing to pull a soul from the mire. If my introduction doesn't tempt you to read this book, Kurt Vonnegut's will.

In this short book, Stringer tells his street stories which have the power to make a grown man swear and choke back tears at the same time; I've witnessed this myself more than once. This book is written with a mix of grit and fragmented paragraphs to produce an amazingly unique style that illustrates the dark and haunted caverns in the writer's mind. Stringer found his way off of drugs and mean streets by writing about his experiences and sharing them in the homeless publication Street News which he later went on to edit. His stories are raw and loud.

This country cares too little for its disenfranchised, and too easily looks away from the homeless and downtrodden (Stringer says,"They see only a phenomenon to which they have already adjusted"). Stringer's words will thread readers' hearts with the compassion they require to truly live an examined life in the USA. And besides, the guy is so quotable: "It's the guilt, fear, and stones in your own heart that take you down;" or "Heroism, as I see it, requires a deliberate decision to assume avoidable risks specifically--not incidentally--for the sake of another." Stringer's is an important voice. Do not miss this book.

Three cheers for Lee Stringer. Grand Central Winter is a trenchant, yet lucid view of the underside of life. As he weaves the reader through the netherworld of crack cocaine addiction and homelessness, there are many poignant scenes of humanity and humility, juxtaposed with the brutal hardness of urban street life. After reading this tome you'll think quite differently about the next homeless person you encounter, and hopefully feel grateful that their plight hasn't become your fate.

I have at least 100 different books about the Romanovs in my personal library, and I have to say that this is the bottom of the barrel. The writing is trite, the research is flawed, and there are so many inaccuracies that I question this book being called non-fiction. There were so many things Sullivan could have developed in greater depth--especially the relationship between Victoria and her sister. Of course, Ducky was such a shallow individual that I imagine it must have been difficult to write a biography about her. Past reviewers seemed to either love or hate this book. I suspect that the raves came from Sullivan's friends. Any historian familiar with Romanov history will identify this book for what it is--a very flawed attempt to make a minor character in Russian/German/English history into a major one.

This is the biggest lot of historical nonsense. Sullivan has an
irritating style and a gushing attitude towards his subject
(either he's related to Ducky or madly in love with her). He
cannot get over how impossibly wonderful, gorgeous, perfect, etc
he thinks she was. This is a totally inappropriate stance for a
historian towards a subject. He also trashes everyone Ducky knew
to make her look better. Sullivan's treatment of the murdered
Empress Alexandra is particularly cruel and unnecessary. Bottom
line: Ducky was an overrated, frumpy, greedy historical footnote.
Cyril wanted to be Emperor, so why didn't he start by executing
traitors like himself and his wife? Their behavior was inexcusable, even during a revolution. This book is inexcusable
as a history or as a biography. Don't waste your time or money.

I was extremely disappointed by this book. I am an avid reader of anything about Queen Victoria and all of her descendants, and I was really looking forward to reading this book. I knew from reading other books that Victoria Melita had lived, at the very least, a rather interesting life. I was eager to learn about her and what kind of person she was.

Unfortunately, I did not really learn any accurate, unbiased information about her character and personality. At the end of the first chapter, my teeth were rotting. Sullivan affects a nauseatingly melodramatic tone that is ridiculous and distracting. I wanted to read about Ducky's life, and instead I was informed of Ducky's (alleged) beauty on practically every single page. Innumerable variations of "little did beautiful Ducky know about the tragedy to come" littered every chapter. Please, spare me. Sullivan was clearly enamored with his subject, and wanted the reader to be too. Um, no thanks. And clearly, his infatuation with Ducky prevents the reader from getting an accurate perspective of what this woman was really like.

And don't even get me started on "uncrowned empress." Ducky could *never* have been the Russian Empress. Never mind the fact that after 1918, there was no such thing as Imperial Russia.

If you want to read a *real* historical biography, stay away from this schlock and pick up Hannah Pakula's book about Ducky's sister, Queen Marie of Romania, or her book about one of the many aunts of both of these women, The Empress Frederick.