Murder at Conundrum Creek was a quick, good read - or so I thought. But two weeks after finishing it, I still have those characters under my skin! Nicely written mystery with likeable characters.

Fans of David Lynch's Twin Peaks will feel right at home in Murder at Conundrum Creek. Set in a remote valley of Colorado, Magdalena is a tranquil hamlet of quirky people, where the community's matriarch was universally loved yet murdered, where the living commune with the deceased, at least when sleep-deprived and over-stressed, and where heiresses must go on treasure hunts and solve riddles before collecting their bequest.

The convincing portrait of this remote community is rendered in a sparkling, light-footed prose, accompanied by a steady drip feed of humor. The terse, matter-of-fact style is a well-chosen foil for a story with some high-octane plot points. As written, the deadpan delivery and throw-away humor disarmed this reader entirely. The humor is so dry you may have to read it twice to take it all in. A good example is found in the 'about the author' blurb, where Joan Harvey Monroe advises us she 'writes about her favorite persons, who are all fictional.' When was the last time you read an author's blurb that made you laugh?

The heiress in question and protagonist is a young nurse from Minneapolis, a fish out of water in this town where everyone knows everybody. Nika McGuiness seems alternately seasoned beyond her years and more callow than most twenty-somethings, as a result of having been orphaned young, and growing up fast in a predatory but provincial environment. Prone to trust anyone old enough to be a surrogate parent or grandparent, Nikka is much more skeptical of younger adults, and very conflicted about the disastrous sibling she raised while little more than a child herself. Desirable and warm-hearted yet inclined to a prickly rectitude and schoolmarmish ways, this is a heroine in the Katherine Hepburn tradition, and she has not one but two would-be Spencer Traceys vying for her affections. But can she trust either of them?

This is a murder mystery and as such displays the sordid side of human nature. And yet at the end it is a life-affirming story about the power of love and the ability of the individual to make a difference in others' lives. A pared-down subplot involving the mutual devotion of an elderly couple is truly moving, and offers a nice counterpoint to the instant-gratification urges of the younger set. That this story is authored by a nurse who presumably has had plenty of first-hand experience with the inevitable end of life, makes it all the more rewarding. It is a wonderful sentiment to encounter in a grisly post-9/11 world.

I took Murder at Conundrum Creek along as beach reading recently, and mean no disrespect when I say I found it perfectly suited to poolside afternoons ' much better suited for that purpose than the latest best seller I carried along with it. It is a fast read, not too demanding, yet rewards the alert reader with a steady stream of humor, social observations, and insights ranging from client-attorney relations to the state of health care in nursing homes.

This is a highly original book, and as refreshing an alternative as an Indy movie after one too many Hollywood formula features. I recommend it, and expect the author will attract a following who look forward to the further adventures of Nika McGuiness and the eccentric citizens (living and possibly otherwise) of bucolic Magdalena, Colorado.

Great mystery story! Started reading and could not put the book down...the plot thickened with every page I read. The characters were truly delightful and very realistic. Hats off to Joan Harvey Monroe!

It's not difficult to know who really killed the subject early on, but to quote a sentence in the book, "It also said the courts were a crapshoot." This true crime story is a good one. An individual who critiqued this story stated there was too much detail. I thought the detail was necessary as the story progressed; it was essential! Beverly Monroe, a PhD, an accused and convicted murderer, has a story of great interest. On the State's side you have the motivation to find the guilty person and the details of dastardly deeds, and on the Defense side, you have the myriad of motions and just plain work to try to prove innocence. What a spider's web this story becomes. A fine read worth 5 stars.

Murder mysteries, both fiction and non-fiction, are generally driven by one of three questions, or by some combination thereof : (1) Who done it?; (2) How'd they do it?; and/or (3) Why'd they do it? One of the things that makes John Taylor's The Count and the Confession so engaging is that the true-life crime at its core not only involves all three of these questions but, remarkably enough, a rarely asked fourth question : Was there even a murder? There's certainly a body. In 1992, Roger de la Burde--a thoroughgoing scoundrel, though he styled himself a Polish count--was found dead in his locked Powhatan County, Virginia house with a single gunshot wound to the head and the proverbial smoking gun in his hand. To all appearances it was a case of suicide, but eventually his lover of thirteen years, Beverly Monroe, would be convicted of his murder, a verdict aided greatly by Ms Monroe's own confession that she was present when the gun fired.

Over the course of the book, as Mr. Taylor walks back the cat on this case, two elements emerge as the keys to what may well have been a miscarriage of justice. First he explores the deplorable character of Roger de la Burde, who in addition to not actually being a count was also a serial womanizer--having left his wife for Ms Monroe and having impregnated another woman at the time of his death, among his many sexual exploits--and a dealer in bogus artworks. He was also mired in a lawsuit with his former employer, Phillip Morris, which seems to have been a groundless attempt to extort money from them. He was also extraordinarily manipulative. One of the of the highlights of the book is his will, which is a model of self-absorption, judgmentalism, and how not to treat your daughters. All of this makes him pretty entertaining to read about but it's surpassing hard to mind that he's dead, whether by his own hand or at that of another.

Meanwhile, Beverly Monroe captivates us because on the one hand she seems reasonably pulled together, well-educated, financially independent, seemingly a good mom. But on the other, she tolerated de la Burde's shenanigans, including knowing that he was trying to have a "male heir" by just about any woman who was willing, and she made that confession. And that's the second element that Mr. Taylor focuses on : why would beverly Monroe confess to being there when de la Burde died if she wasn't?

It is here that a sort of villain emerges, David Riley, chief investigator for the county. Riley determined to his own satisfaction that the position in which de la Burde was lying and the way he was holding the gun indicated not suicide but murder and he settled upon Beverly Monroe as the culprit. He then used a variety of techniques, from a lie detector test that he informed her she'd failed to commiserating about how badly de la Burde had treated her to threats about how the prosecution might portray her to an oft repeated, nearly hypnotic suggestion that, even if she didn't kill him, she must have been there when de la Burde died. When she accepted this last scenario and made it her own, it enabled the state to portray her as a murderess once they used forensic evidence to rule out suicide.

As Mr. Taylor shows though, and as her lawyers were able to show on appeal, it seems unlikely that she was in the room at the time and there is significant reason to doubt the evidence that the state purported to show that de la Burde did not fire the shot that killed him. In fact, Ms Monroe's appeal was eventually successful and she has been released from prison pending further appeal by the state. However, even if we accept that she did not kill de la Burde--and the author, though he does not slip into advocacy does make it hard for us to believe anything other than that it was a suicide--in the end, we come back to the central mysteries : the count and the confession.

Towards the end of the book Mr. Taylor recounts a moment where Beverly Monroe's original attorney, Murray Janus, is reflecting on the reasons he lost at trial :

After all these years, Janus still could not believe that Beverly had given those statements to Dave Riley. They were tantamount to a confession.
Why she did it was truly a mystery, second only to the mystery of how Roger de la Burde had died.

That this moment comes so late in the proceedings and that even then we join in Janus's wonderment at these two mysteries, suggests why Mr. Taylor's story works so well. For by then we kind of know the answer to two of those classic murder mystery questions. We know why someone would have killed de la Burde and we know how it might have been done (a jury bought it anyway). But we still don't know who killed Roger de la Burde and we really have to doubt that anyone did. It seems a simple case of suicide gone horribly wrong in the hands of an overzealous investigator. And Beverly Monroe seems to have been, as she was so often and maddeningly during his life, a victim of de la Burde's misbehavior and her own malleability. But if her continual acquiescence in that misbehavior makes her somewhat unsympathetic early on in the tale--just as it makes him wholly unsympathetic--then the grace with which she handles the conviction and the determination with which she and even more so her daughter, Katie, fight the appeal serve to redeem her. Even if you're ambivalent about her at first, as I have to admit I was, you'll be rooting for Beverly Monroe by the end.

GRADE : A-

I have never read a mystery after a few that were too obvious and cheesy.
The Count and the Confession is an exception! Aside from the fact that this is an ongoing trial, a true crime, John Taylor's excellent skills make you think that you're in the courtroom.
Throughout the book, you will be thinking, "Is Beverly guilty? Or innocent?"
I predict that this will be made into a movie!

There are many Marilyn books out there, but this one really makes you wonder if it was or was not suicide. Some things that this book speaks about I had NO IDEA and had never read or heard about before.

I found some parts to be very repetitious when referring to her drug use, but the book will really get your mind going about "what really happen"!!!

I bought this book at a used book store and loved it. Now, of course since most of us weren't there we can never really know what happened to Marilyn for sure now can we. After reading this book I was satisfied in knowing that it was at least 100% believable, unlike some of the other Marilyn books that end up being 400+ pages of seemingly random gossip from friends of friends of Marilyn strung together to make a half-baked story. This is a great book and worth at least one read through.

Having been a fan as a younger man, I lost interest in Marilyn once the onslaught started of Biography after Biography hit the bookshop's. But then I bought this book for further information into the Something's Got To Give filming which I haven't been fortunate enough to see for myself though from the shorts shown in documentary's Marilyn does indeed look beautiful. The author had me hooked instantly. Brilliantly written, intriguing new "Studio" information and a heartrending account of her last few weeks. My congratulations to the author on his investigations and my sincere thanks on behalf of Marilyn's fans like myself for finally coming deadly close to the awful truth.

Though published over thirty years ago, it is easy to see at a glance why Ammon has never been bettered. This is an exhaustive examination of the political life of our fifth president -- and an exhausting one. Ammon goes through Monroe's life with a thoroughness that makes this a book an excellent source of information about Monroe, but at the price of making it an excruciatingly dull read at times. If you want to know EVERYTHING there is to know about Monroe's political career or about diplomacy in the Federalist Era, then this is your book; otherwise, I would recommend Noble Cunningham's "Presidency of James Monroe" or possibly the volume on Monroe in "The American Presidents" series when it is published.

James Monroe: The Quest for National Identity written by Harry Ammon is a book that covers from James Monroe's birth to his passing. As the nation mourned Monroe's death, it also moved it, not because of the achievements of his administration were then valued so highly but rather because the people saw in his death the passingof one of the last heros of the revolutionary generation.

Not only like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams who both died on the very same day July 4, 1826, but James Monroe died on the Fourth of July five years later, bringing the struggle for independence more sharply into focus. This book takes us from the Virginia Tidewater in Monroe's life, to his service in the revolutionary army, where he was wounded and later recovered and served in the Washington administration, the United States Senate and governer of Virginia, he served with the Madison administration as Secretary of State and War. Later being elected to the presidency of the United States.

If anything can be said, this biography does justice to James Monroe as it is exhaustively researched and documented. The scholarship is perceptive and it sheads light on the politics and personalities, making this work indespensible. I found that the author narrative to be a little dry... maybe because I read it after reading David McCullough's "John Adams." But, in all fairness, the narrative needs a little "juice" to liven it up, as somnolence is a severe side effect.

James Monroe was not as well known as some of the others that served as president, but his accomplishments, nervertheless, were of noteworthiness as to establishing the national identity of the United States of America.

If it were not for the "Monroe Doctrine" the fifth president of the United States would likely be as unknown to the average American as Martin Van Buren or Millard Fillmore. Yet, in this distinguished biography by Harry Ammon, first published in 1971, James Monroe emerges from the shadows of his good friends and fellow early Virginian presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, to receive due credit for his significant contribution to the formation of the American republic.

Some historians have criticized James Monroe as a man of modest talent who provided the country with feckless leadership during the crucial international, economic and political crises of his times - the collapse of the Spanish empire in the Western Hemisphere, the Panic of 1819, and the Missouri Compromise of 1820, respectively. However, Ammon argues rather persuasively that these critiques are either unfair or overblown. Monroe's conduct in the White House was guided by his deeply held republican principles, which maintained that executive power was subject to strict limitations. To compare Monroe's leadership performance to that of 21st presidents is, in Ammon's opinion, supremely unjust.

But even taking such thoughts into consideration, the truth is James Monroe was not a great man - and Ammon doesn't claim that he was. He notes, for instance, that the correspondence between Jefferson and Madison covered a full range of intellectual topics, from philosophy and science to government and literature, whereas letters to Monroe kept strictly to practical political concerns. Indeed, Ammon describes Monroe as a man of rather pedestrian abilities, but with a highly developed sense of republican principles and political drive who was much more instrumental in directing US policy than traditionally given credit for.

If Monroe was a failure, it was in his ambitious attempt to restructure the American political system following the War of 1812. Ammon maintains that the proposed reconciliation and amalgamation of the triumphant Republicans and crippled Federalists (the so-called "Era of Good Feelings") was the primary objective of his administration, and in that endeavor Monroe failed utterly and completely.

What is most striking in Ammon's narrative is Monroe's multifarious contribution to early American government: staff officer to Lord Stirling during the Revolution who was wounded in a gallant charge against the Hessians at Trenton and later suffered the privations of Valley Forge; delegate to the Constitutional Convention; United States senator; Republican minister to France during the Federalist administration of Washington; special envoy to Paris to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase; minister to England during the Jefferson administration; governor of Virginia; secretary of state during the Madison administration and then secretary of war during the War of 1812; and, finally, two-term president. His lifelong commitment to public service, which left him financially destitute upon his retirement in 1825, is worthy of the sincere gratitude of posterity.

Ammon is an able historian and this biography is a credit to subject and author alike. At 573 pages, however, it is a rather dense tome and the casual reader should stay away. But for those interested in a serious review of an important character in early American history, Ammon's "James Monroe: the Quest for National Identity" is highly recommended.

the book was okay but I don't think Marilyn and Berniece were that close so there wasn't a lot of information through Marilyn's point of view but it a lot better than some stranger that Marilyn didn't even explioting her.There are some personal information that only Berniece would know so that's what makes it unquic.

I recommend this book to anyone vaguely interested in Marilyn Monroe, not merely the die-hard fan. I do not fall into that category, , but am aware of her enduring presence as an icon. This book lived up to its intriguing promise of providing ANOTHER viewpoint about Marilyn – other than the myriad biographies which have been about Marilyn by ‘outsiders’ and those enriching themselves on the proceeds.

This is very much the biography of Norma Jean Baker as she came to be known by her sister.

The picture of ‘private Marilyn’ depicted here does an enormous amount to restore Marilyn’s humanity, her connection with her family and peers, the person behind the impenetrable Goddess Icon that she has become in the decades since her death. This is the uncommodified, unexploited Marilyn, a person who loved and was loved. It’s a great corrective to the hagiographic or shallow tendencies of most Marilyn-abilia and I thoroughly recommend it.

Please buy this book instead of one written by someone who didn't know Marilyn...

Berneice Miracle was Marilyn's half-sister. They shared the same mother, a fitfully employed lab worker at a Hollywood studio during the silent film era. When Marilyn aka Norma Jeane was seven and didn't know Berneice existed, their mother bought a house in Los Angeles, a daring move for a divorced woman at the height of the Great Depression. But Mom became mentally ill a few months later and spent the next fifty years as a revolving door mental patient and old-folks-home resident.

Berneice's father seems to have been a stable man who abandoned the liberal lifestyle of California for the Kentucky of 1926, a different planet. Whoever Marilyn's father was never claimed her as his daughter unless you count a phone call that C. Stanley Gifford supposedly made to her out-of-the-blue a year before she died. Even if Gifford was a dishonest stalker, we still know Marilyn's real father kept quiet, likely out of guilt and sensitivity.

That point brings me to Berneice. While she adds little to her half-sister's previously documented fights with Twentieth Century Fox, Arthur Miller and Patricia Newcomb, she nonetheless shares her sisterly information with sensitivity. Possibly without meaning to, Berneice demonstrates that Marilyn's amazing sensitivity, a requirement for all the artists who share her degree of fame (Billie Holiday, Georgia O'Keeffe, Elvis, Andy Kaufman, etc), ran in the family. The reader experiences Berneice's thin skin in every sentence. The reader witnesses mother Gladys' fragility overpower her, shattering her dream of becoming the new Norma Talmadge (the silent film star after whom Gladys named Norma Jeane). The silence of Marilyn's father echoes with meaning throughout this and other books.

I will close by segueing to the money issue. If you assume Berneice inherited big bucks and she hates everyone who profited from her half-sister's death, then remember the old saying about what you do when you [assume]. The abundant love in Marilyn came through when she made major provisions for Berneice in her will, but the suddenness of her death and the huge debts of her Estate blocked Berneice from getting a penny for fifteen years.

During that time Norman Mailer famously made money from a sloppy investigation into the Kennedy brothers sleeping with and killing Marilyn mixed with a pseudointellectual portrait of his beloved stranger as "the Stradivarius of sex." Mailer's attitude didn't exactly thrill Berneice, but she still wanted very much to know how her sister had died. She had no money to hire a private investigator. To this day Berneice harbors suspicions of foul play. If she, with her genetic sensitivity in the same league as Marilyn's, entertains these thoughts, then a lot more people should. Not just nerdy JFK researchers.

Please buy this book. Berneice, born in 1919 and alive as of this writing, deserves a little money and empathy. As Arthur Miller wrote in "Death Of A Salesman," "attention must be paid to such a [person]." If Berneice's grandchildren are out there reading this, please give her my love. If things sometimes stretch her or you to the breaking point, please remember the love.

Unfortunately, you only find out this book does not cover the 351 Cleveland until you read it and the author clearly states "If your engine is a Cleveland, buy another book." That's not 'all' small block Ford engines (as the cover states) then, is it? Alright for everything else though.

I found How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines to be a very informative book. This book goes over almost everything envolved in rebuilding all Ford small-block V-8 engines from the 221 to the 351W, including parts that interchange with other small-block Fords and tuning up your freshly rebuilt engine.
Soon, I will begin to rebuild the engine in my '89 Mustang. The 302 small-block under the hood has definitely seen better days. It is down on power and it smokes. Now that I have read this book I have a much clearer understanding of what makes my engine do this and now I know how to fix it.
This book answered many questions I have been trying to answer since I first became interested in motors, such as, what parts should I buy for the rebuild?, what tools do I need to install them?, what machine processes should I have done?, and most importantly, do I even need a rebuild?
This book does a great job of explaning a rebuild but I was kind of bummed that it didn't have much information on performance engine builds. The book did make reference to the 289HP and the Boss and Cleveland engines but it didn't include information like how to port your cylinder heads, or how to pick a high performance camshaft. I would have liked the book to have mentioned something about how to increase the crankshaft stoke also.
This book is a bit old being written in the late '70s. It doesn't include information about the hydraulic roller cam engines or electronic fuel injection. The information in this book is still very useful despite not being current though. I personally recommend this book to anyone who is intending to do a small-block Ford rebuild or anyone who just enjoys learning about cars.

I built a 351W from a long block kit with the help of this book. And the engine ran the first time!

The book points out many of the little parts that you need but which are not advertised in catalogs or magazines. Some parts guys at the local Ford dealership did not even know what some of the parts were. But you need them, all the same.

Brothers, a true story by Sylvester Monroe and Peter Goldman, takes you into the lives of Sylvester and 11 of his friends from the south side of Chicago. You learn about the pressures they face growing up in poverty....the questions that enter their mind, questions we never have to worry about. Will they, like so many others, turn to drugs and crime or will they in some way succeed and get out of the harsh lives they live? Many have no father to support them instead they have brave mothers who try their best to create strong, intelligent children, but only some succeed. What will become of those who don't get out? Will the down hill spiral of drugs, gangs, pimping and crime catch them and bring them down like so many others? Will the white world outside exclude them and judge them because of their color? In this book is incredibly interesting to see how these 12 men can start from the same roots and be the best of friends, but in the end turn to completely different lifestyles. Monroe and Goldman truly catch the reader's interest by jumping from the story of one man to another, leaving you dyeing to know what happens to every one.
This book also serves as an eye opener. You see the lives of a black men through black men's eyes. It really puts into perspective the discriminations and poverty that faced black people in the past, and even today. Throughout the book each character has his own encounter with white people. Some don't get hired for jobs because of their race, others get onto an elevator to see a woman grasp her purse a little tighter because of their presence. It was truly embarrassing reading how these people were treated by the "master race" and it changed my own way of acting around people. Oprah Winfrey says, "I really wish America could read it" and I completely agree. This book really is meaningful....it makes you feel like you are the one being turned against, like your own family is the one who is being treated so poorly. For them every day is a fight, if they want to get out of the ghetto they have to work twice as hard as any white man. Some surrender to this fight, like their invisible fathers, others stay strong and pursue their goals even though it is difficult. However, in the world of the white man those who have the power to get out of the ghetto may have their dreams crushed.
Monroe and Goldman's style of writing was excellent throughout this book. Their spectacular imagery and passion kept the characters alive and the reader hooked. They put their heart and soul into this book and it paid off immensely. Beautiful lines mixed with intensity made this book incredible to
experience. There were some lines where I couldn't help but say wow. This non-fiction book was one
like no other, it was full of love and hate.. a war against white and black. Jesse Jackson says, "It made
me laugh, it made me cry. It had everything--humor and passion, hope and despair, crime and
punishment, defeat and triumph. The first honest look at black men in America in a long, long time".
In the book the variety of the brother's stories was just fascinating. They were such different people, but they were bound together by race, class, and culture. They met as boys, living in the Taylor projects of Chicago's south side, they went to school together, played basketball together, and when street gangs came, they fought together and defended each other. They would grow up to become completely different men, but even though the lives they lived differed greatly, a known killer could still be best friends with a successful Newsweek reporter.
An anonymous really puts their lives into words, "The world of the brothers was far removed from the possibilities of education and advancement that most white kids take for granted. Even so, some of them made it out of the ghetto. Most didn't". The world they lived was so much different from that most of us enjoy. They faced a world of crime and drugs, a world where killing a black man would get you two years behind bars, but killing a white would put in jail for life.
This book was so amazing to me. It showed me courage and faith in oneself, but it also showed me failure and so many black men getting sucked into a world of despair. Some had the potential to be basketball stars, or to finish school and become successful, but only some would make it. Only some
will be able to tell the white world that they were worth something. If you read this book I can assure you it will change your life. It made me laugh, cry, feel ashamed and feel proud. It touches your soul and makes you wonder how we can change the world, how we can prove it wrong, how we can be kind to those that others put down. It made me realize everyone deserves to live life in happiness and be able to pursue their wildest dreams no matter where they are born or what color their skin is.

If you are looking for a good, enjoyable, and different than normal read, "Brothers" is the book for you. "Brothers" is a story of twelve black men from the Chicago projects, and a very good story too. "Brothers", which is written by one of the twelve, is one of the first books that gives an actual and honest look at black men in America. It truly defines the struggles and hardships of black men in the projects, and did a very good job showing the courage that was necessary to survive in life.

Sylvester Monroe, a Newsweek correspondent and one of the twelve "Brothers", teamed up with Peter Goldman to write this book. The book is broken up into six parts, each of which is a progression in time from the previous. The chapters in the book are, in a way, like short vignettes. Each chapter focuses on solely on one of the characters and an event in their life. Sometimes though, the chapter will cover a very large section of the persons life to show how they progressed.

The twelve "Brothers" were Sylvester Monroe, Honk Johnson, Billy Harris, Moose Harper, Greg Bronson, Ed Hamilton, Sonny Spruiell, Ray Stingley, Half Man Carter, James Bonner, Pee Wee Fisher, and Steve Steward. Each of these men are unique in their own way, and each chooses his own path through life. The twelve "Brothers" are not bound together by the blood running in their veins, as the title may suggest, but rather by the circumstances intertwined in their lives. According to the choices they make for themselves, each man will either find a way out of the ghetto and to a better life, or will fall into the trap of drugs, gangs, and stay in the ghetto for the rest of their lives.

Sylvester Monroe, for example, was one of the lucky few men of "Brothers" that made it. Sylvester, nicknamed Vest, was given his chance to get out of the ghetto and have a better life, and he took it as quick as he could. As a young kid, Vest's mom would always say that education was the best thing for a black man and that he (Vest) could be anything he wanted to be as long as he worked twice as hard and was twice as good as a white man. With this support and encouragement, Vest stayed in school and did well. Later on in life, one of Vest's teachers, Leroy Lovelace, gave him the chance to get out of the ghetto. It was called "A better chance" or the ABC program. With it, Sylvester was given a scholarship to attend St. George's in Rhode Island. At St. George's, Vest suffered from extreme culture shock. After a few weeks, he wanted to come home, but he didn't. Vest stuck it out until he graduated, and then went to Harvard where he graduated and became a Newsweek correspondent. Sylvester Monroe was very lucky. He had a mother who helped keep him on the right track growing up and then a teacher who gave him the chance of a lifetime. But if Vest had stuck with school and worked hard, he would have never made it.

Unfortunately, Vest was only one of a couple of the "Brothers" who made it to a better life. Some of the others came close to making it, and then something went wrong and they gave up. Its like they were climbing a mountain and right before the top, they slipped and fell. Instead of trying to hold on to something and climb back up, they gave up and fell all the way to the bottom again. Billy Harris is a perfect example of this. Growing up, Billy was an amazing basketball player. He was easily the best player in the neighborhood. Billy would play a kid in a game to 24 points and give him a 22 point head start. Billy would win almost all the time. When he graduated from Dunbar High School, Billy Harris was flooded with letters and scholarship offers to different colleges on account of his basketball playing. Unfortunately, Billy's coach told him to go to Northern University, who's basketball program was young and weak. Billy was picked in the 17th round of the draft for the Chicago Bulls, who already had plenty of good players at guard, which was his position. After a while, the Bulls dropped him, saying they just couldn't use him. From here on, Billy's career went into a downward spiral, constantly getting worse. He played some semipro ball for a while, but when the team folded, Billy gave up. Billy found that if he had a bunch of different girls that he could go between every few days he would be able to live mainly off of them and not need a job. So that's what he did. Billy Harris went from a pro level basketball player to a regular neighborhood pimp in a matter of months.

If these two stories sound interesting to you, then "Brothers" is definitely a book that you will enjoy. "Brothers" takes you into the lives of these 12 men and shows you firsthand their struggles and experiences. It is up to you to find out who makes it to a better life, and who falls into the trap that so many poor, black men in America do. This is a great read and you will definitely enjoy it!

Brothers by Sylvester Monroe and Peter Goldman is a nonfiction story about twelve African American men growing up in the Taylor projects on Chicago's South Side. Each chapter is about different characters and events. I found the book to be very interesting. Before I read this book, I didn't know very much about what it was like to be an African American and live in poverty. After finishing the novel, I learned an abundance of information about the African American culture and what their typical life was like. Very few of the characters were able to journey out of the city into a better life. To be successful, black people had to work twice as hard at everything they did because of the racial discrimination. The majority of the men stayed in the projects their entire life.
Some African Americans such as Honk Johnson made a living by selling drugs, stealing, and pimping. People like Honk usually made a decent living by taking chances with the law hoping not to get caught. This may have worked for a while, but eventually you're luck would run out. For Honk, this day came when he stole from a store and faced ten years behind bars.
Other individuals believed that you could be anything you wanted if you worked hard enough. Sylvester Monroe, the author of the book is a perfect example of this. He grew up in The Taylor projects, and was lucky enough to receive a scholarship because of his hard work to a prestigious private school called St.Georges in Rhode Island. His teacher in Chicago at Wendell Phillip's High School, Mr. Lovelace, truly valued learning. After his first year of teaching, he became very harsh on his students failing those who didn't do their homework only because he wanted them to succeed. He discovered a program that allowed students from the ghettos to become educated in private schools across the country. The program only accepted three exceptional students to be transferred to different schools. One of the students he chose was Sylvester Monroe. After Monroe finished high school with straight A's, he went to Harvard and eventually became a correspondent for Newsweek.
Some of the students at Wendell High had a very non-accepting attitude towards white people. For example, Steve was frightened by white people, afraid that they would make fun of his skin color. Steve was selected for the ABC program, which would have transferred him to a private school of his choice anywhere in the country, but instead he chose to go to Northwestern, just 15 minutes away from his Chicago home. Eventually he quit school, and began doing drugs such as PCP and marijuana all because he didn't like white men and women.
I really enjoyed reading the book. One reason why I enjoyed it was because it concentrated on character development. Billy Harris was my favorite "brother" in the book. Billy had a love for basketball his entire life. Not only did he enjoy playing the sport, but he was also very talented. After he graduated from Dunbar High School, he went to Northern Illinois University. Unfortunately, Northern Universities' basketball program was young and not very good. After college, he was picked in the seventh round of the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls already had several strong guards which was Billy's position. Later on, he found himself a spot on the Conquistadors, a semipro ABA team. After two seasons, the Conquistadors and the ABA folded, and Billy gave up on his dreams. While I was reading about Billy, I couldn't put the book down because I wanted Billy to succeed.
This book taught me about African American culture and the lives of the characters. I learned that you can succeed at anything you do if you work hard. For example, Sylvester Monroe, a child who grew up in poverty in Chicago went to one of the top high schools in the country, went to Harvard University, and is now a correspondent for Newsweek. He succeeded because he put forth the time and effort necessary. He had an extra burden because he was black, but because of his hard work and effort he succeeded.
Jesse Jackson said, "Brothers made me laugh, it made me cry. It had everything-humor and passion, hope and despair, crime and punishment, defeat and triumph. The first honest look at black men in America in a long, long, time."
The New York Times Book Review said, "The 12 men whose stories are told in Brothers are not bound by the blood running through their veins, but by the circumstances weaving through their lives...In Brothers, we come to understand why so few make it."
Oprah Winfrey said, "A very fine book...I really wish America would read it."
This novel gives the reader a true understanding of what life was like growing up in poverty. I recommend it to anyone who doesn't know much about black culture, or even those that do. I believe it is especially important for students to read who don't live in or around this type of environment. After reading it, you'll be much more appreciative of your life, and will have a much better understanding of what growing up in poverty is like. You will be amazed.

The current "WWJD" (What Would Jesus Do") phenomenon is not the Biblical understanding of how we are to determine right and wrong. While this book did not start that pop phenomenon, some may read this mistakenly. What Jesus would do would be different that you or I because He was fully man AND fully God, second Person of the Trinity. He was sinless, and although tempted in every way as we are, He did not sin. His purpose was to fulfill the Law in order to be the spotless sacrificial lamb of God, the atonement and substitute for our sins. He was the omniscient God incarnate, so He knew what was in each heart and what was the perfectly appropriate thing to say and do in each situation in order to accomplish His mission. In that sense, what He would do in a situation as God is a hypothetical we cannot know as finite creatures. What He might have done is a speculation. We are, however, TOLD in Scripture what we are to do, how as Christians we are to act and live.

I'd recommend reading Charles Sheldon's "In His Steps" before reading this. Then you decide who is the better writer and has a real handle on the concept.

I read this book with alot of hesitancy, being that it was loaned to me from one of our deacons, but I read it and once I got started, I couldn't stop! This book changed my outlook on life and how I should treat others. I loved this book and it's message so much that I bought 8 of them and gave them out to my co-workers. It has truely been an eye opener! Every Christian should read this book! If you didn't fully understand Jesus before, you will once you read this book.

I was disapointed because this is a religious book that, frankly, warps the mind of young children. It teaches that moms and dads may leave you and be fallible and that divorce is caused by living in a sinful world. Our situation was an abusive situation, and my kids don't need more fear that now mom is going to leave them too, just like dad. That some spirit is going to take care of them, not some real person. I just think that people need to know that this is a religious book, if you are religious you will probably like it, but for those who are not, you will feel like it is warping to a young mind.

With empathy and comfort, this little book speaks directly to children of divorce. Through creative interactive exercises, it gives children the mechanism for expressing themselves, and opens the door for important, healing conversation with parents. Most valuable of all, this gentle book stresses to children that their parents' divorce is NOT their fault and lets them know they are not alone. A must for any young child whose home is broken by divorce.

This gentle book gives hope to children who are hurting. It remains positive about the fact that loving parents are doing the best they can in a difficult situation--"But sometimes parents can't stay together no matter how hard they try.". It addresses the guilt that children often feel--"Say this out loud--IT IS NOT MY FAULT." It speaks about the many changes that divorce often means (finances, moving, visitation). It even touches on dating.--"Maybe you are worried that your mom or dad will not love you as much if they start liking someone else--but love doesn't work that way." And then it offers hope beyond human resources, "When a family is broken, there is a pain too, but it is an inside pain....God sees your inside hurt. He loves you and will stay close to you...One day you will be able to say, "Divorce is hard, but I am just fine now!" --All quotes from, "Why Don't We Live Together Anymore?" by Robin Prince Monroe The book speaks for itself. It is a valuable resource for parents and others who are trying to help children through this difficult time.