It was a good book, but could of been better.

The author of this unusual novel of a "Red" (i.e. Soviet) Napoleon who sweeps over the world in the 1930's was a war correspondent with the Marines in Belleu Wood in WWI. (He also wrote a romanticized biography of the Red Baron.) He was therefore familiar with the weapons and tactics of the time, and knew how to write a rousing yarn. Fascinating battles fought in places like Saratoga culminate in a naval engagement a la Jutland, but in the Caribbean. The author mixes in real leaders of the time, such as Churchill (who becomes P.M.). Some may be offended by bizarre speeches concerning "miscegenation," but Gibbons actually seems sympathetic to the victims of racial prejudice. Concentrate on the wild political and military storyline, as the Red Napoleon picks up the fleets and armies of Europe and Asia one by one, giving him the strength for his final assault on America.

This is a must for every teddy bear lover and collector. Illustrations are wonderful! - Remember, this book was originally written in the early 1900's and is a bit of fun and history for adults and children alike. This author is credited for the naming of the "Teddy Bear"

I recommend this book to parents and to those interested in the sociology of childhood or of sexuality.
Martinson does a great job of sharing and analyzing the limited data available to us about normative sexual development.
I was uncomfortable with the concept of child sexuality at first, but as I read I came to understand that sexuality is a continuum. Of course you don't wake up at 16 as a "sexual being"--rather, your knowledge and beliefs about your body, your relationships, and your emotions all develop from birth.
We may question individual conclusions about what is "sexual," but we all can benefit from thinking about how children learn about sexuality.

The first book I have read on the subject so far. I have only recently started collecting German helmets again and wanted to get some information on the subject. Overall the book is very good but it really requires colour photographs. A section on the various decals, once again in colour would have been useful. I did feel that the post war (1945) section was a bit sparse and could have been a bit more detailed. If space was an issue then maybe sections dealing with history in general could have been deleted. This is still a good book and I would recommend it.

I use this book in my MBA and Undergraduate courses in Strategy. For my MBA students especially, young men and women of an average age of 27, in lower middle level management positions, this book makes strategic thinking and their role in it a concrete reality. They begin identifying immediately with the four roles of championing, synthesizing, facilitating, and implementing. Several of my students have become more assertive in their jobs as they have a better understanding of their role. A few have recognized that their firm has "no clue" about management in a rapidly changing and global environment and begun the search for a new position in a new company with a future. The Strategic Middle Manager is, indeed, a most valuable resource.

Dr. Thomas A. Bausch Professor of Management Marquette University

A father and daughter spend the summer together. At first, the book is excellent but as I progressed, I found that one peticular chapter was out of, shall I say,out of sequence. It just did not fit. The love story with the father/daughter is fine. I recommend this book to teens and single dads.

After being out of the superentendent side of the business for a few years this book brought me back up to speed. The text is well written and easy to understand. I recommend it highly for anyone who needs a book "just to be sure"!

Larry McMurtry uses his excellent characterization skills in portraying Pretty Boy Floyd (aka Charles Floyd), a bandit of the Dillinger variety who robbed banks in the early 30's. McMurtry and Ossana give Floyd a charismatic, misunderstood character, one who robbed banks with a touch of wit and charm. This is in stark contrast to some other accounts of him being a ruthless and vicious criminal.

The book starts off covering Floyd's first payroll heist. It also tells about his adventures in jail and his attempt at a normal life. However, being an ex-con, he wasn't trusted and had to return to crime. The book then follows his various heists, his jail escape, and his adventures with his partners, wife and son, girlfriends, and friends. The reader is also treated to an inside look at his home life with his wife and child and how the life of crime distanced him from them. Ultimately, Floyd's career ends and McMurtry paints a sad picture when Floyd is finally brought to justice by Hoover and the soon-to-be FBI.

This book started off very exciting. I was drawn into the short chapters and Floyd's exciting adventures. However, I found a pattern to the book, which made it difficult to remain interested in: Floyd robs something, Floyd visits his girlfriend(s), visits family and friends, law catches on, Floyd goes and robs something else and repeat. Also, I didn't find much sympathy in the character. McMurtry did color him as a good-hearted man with a wild streak, but I didn't buy into it. He was still a thief. However, his character is interesting and at times, Floyd's adventures are funny and poignant -- which save this book.

I really liked this book mainly for two reasons: 1) It is based on a true story 2) It was VERY fast-paced

Over the years, I read almost everything by Larry McMurtry and have not yet been disappointed. "Pretty Boy Floyd" is a very enjoyable romp. It approaches every character and situation with light-hearted attitude and excitement but does not allow too much time to pass by before reminding the readers that there are consequences for every action and a certain point after which you can never turn back and make ammends.

Charlie appears to be a larger-than-life character. He is kind and courtuous to everyone he meets, unless he takes immediate dislike to a person or that person is shooting at him, and although he has moments when he's blue or his temper flares up, he is hard not to like. The novel abounds with fun characters; from sensible but vulnerable Ruby, Charlie's wife, prescious Dempsey, Charlie's son, spunky Beluah, Charlie's girlfriend, smart and sassy Ma Ash, Charlie's mentor, George Birdwell, Charlie's partner in crime and a cowboy at heart, Bob Birdwell who is the most original character in the novel and etc. The only problem with the whole novel is that it has too many characters and not enough space devoted to each one. The authors take the time to describe Charlie's victims and random people who cross his path but they spend too little time on them for us to care about or too much time to let us know that they were real people and good too.

I don't think that this novel glorifies Charlie in any way. On the contrary, I think a more apt title for this novel is "Crime does not pay". For all the hoopla surrounding Charlie's life and career, the fact remains that he died at 30 and never could lead the life he truly wanted.

Pretty Boy Floyd, is somewhat fictionalized account of the true life of Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, the son of Oklahoma farmer and notorious gangster. I listened to the audio version of this book and it was most impressed, despite having reservations about wanting to hear about gangsters. (Not my usual fare). I was, however, most impressed with this audiobook. McMurtry and Ossana do a great job of bringing Pretty Boy Floyd to life. Even the minor characters have great personalities, and McMurtry and Ossana really DO manage to get into Pretty Boy's head.

The Story: Charles, "Pretty Boy" is a small-town boy, with country charm, who is married to a young half-Native American woman named Ruby Hargove. They have a son named Jack Dempsey Floyd. When money becomes scarce, Charles headed north looking for work. After trying various jobs, Pretty Boy tries to make money the easy way- by robbing an armored car. What follows is the tale of Floyd's life. You see him get further and further embroiled into his life as a gangster, have affairs with his girlfriends, and watch as he tries to outwit the law.

Floyd is consistently portrayed as a charming loveable rogue... An'outlaw' with a good heart, a weakness for women, liquor, and a well-cooked meal. (While I doubt many of Floyd's victims found him quite as so charming) the story worked for me. The novel moved at a brisk pace and was overall, greatly entertaining. I would recommend this novel for those interested in Gangsters or the life of Pretty Boy Floyd.

"PRINCE ALBERT: The Life and Lies of Al Gore" (ISBN 0-936783-28-1) by David N. Bossie, Floyd G. Brown, and foreword by Robert D. Novak is a book written against a politician who is not popular with certain groups and individuals. Many of the supposed revelations against former Vice President Al Gore have been made against other figures in the past, present, and will probably occur again in future histories from groups and individuals who dislike a specific figure. The authors and Robert D. Novak in the introduction to the book indicate that this book, claiming to be a wakeup call and warning, is not written objectively and impartially towards Al Gore. History reveals that many political figures have calculated their way to positions of power, made compromises, and changed their stands on issues to achieve personal goals and aims. I wonder if the authors would write such a scathing book on newly inaugurated President G. W. Bush if they were not Republican supporters. Further, what would the authors' response be to a book personally attacking them in a similar manner as "PRINCE ALBERT." I am not a die hard supporter of either major or minor American political parties that exists today. I do try to study the issues and candidates before making decisions, unfortunately books such as penned by Mr. Bossie and Mr. Brown has a negative impact on my decisions and view of the political party the authors favor. This title will get a mixture of reactions from the individuals who read the book. The anti-Clinton/Gore groups will praise the book for exposing an corrupt self-serving politician, pro-Clinton/Gore groups will denounce the book as an attempt to discredit a favorite politician, and a majority of individuals will have a mixed reaction somewhere in between the two extremes. I do not like the way the authors have written about their chosen subject, however if asked, I would state my dislike for the book and recommend that the person asking the question read the title and form his or her own opinion on the subject and the authors.

"Prince Albert" was a good read and has a little more than an overview of Al Gore's life but it does not go into great detail in many areas. To do so would have required a much longer book. It does do an excellent job of outlining Al'a life and giving one a good idea of how he got to where he is and what he would do if he became president. In particular I found the discussion of his intellectual mentors interesting. The authors have done a reasonable job of answering the question of who Al goes to when he has a decision to make. I knew that Al Gore was a life long politician, however, I did not know that his parents basically raised him with the idea that he would someday become president.

If you want to have facts about Al Gore for political discussions this fall this is the book for you.

Given the confrontational title and the soft cover, I expected this to be another pulp account of the Clinton/Gore misdeeds. Well, I was right to expect a critical approach, but wrong to assume it was pulp. To the contrary, it is very well researched and detailed. It starts with Al Gore's childhood, discussing the forces that formed Al Gore, the person and future politician. It illustrates, through various examples, how Al Gore was protected and raised to be a politician in the way a prince is raised to be king. It covers his time in DC, Tennessee, Boston (Harvard), and Vietnam (where his superiors kept him out of harm's way). It covers his time as a reporter, a divinity student, law student, senator and vice President. Through it all, the authors show how Gore influenced and was influenced by his environment. But, through his dual acquiescence to Northern liberals and moderate Dixiecrats, and from his shifts through the liberal 60's to the conservative 80's to the moderate 90's, it is also made clear that Gore adapts to his environment more than he shapes it.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book not so much for the criticisms it makes but for the unflinching analysis it gives of a man who might be the next president.