For those unfamiliar with Japanese literature, I recommend starting this connected series of short stories only after first flipping to the back to read the Translator's Afterword. There is so much context given in those five pages that I was left scratching my head as to why the publisher hadn't made it a "Foreword" instead. There, one learns that the twelve stories, which are all grouped around a nondescript cul-de-sac in outer Tokyo and its few families, is a "rensaku shosetsu" (novel of linked stories)-which apparently is a popular literary format in Japan. There, one also learns that the stories were originally serialized from 1981-84, a period marking the beginning of the Japanese boom economy and high national spirits.

In that context, the stories-which carry with them a sense of quiet desperation and disconnection familiar to readers of Cheever and Carver-can be seen as going against the grain of popular sentiment of the time. Indeed, there is little evidence of the much-heralded Japanese "group ethic" and rather more a sense that no one-not even people in the same family-are in any way connected to those around them. The families of the cul-de-sac are a demographic cross-section clearly meant to embody average Tokyoites, and Kuroi's portrait of them as lonely and alienated individuals is meant to disturb. Wives and husbands live totally separate lives, children come and go, elders grow old and forgotten, with only occasional bursts of outreach. The writing is necessarily sparse and ventures into surrealism at times, and though the book is an important social commentary, it's not the most timely or enjoyable read.

As the first reviewer stated I was attracted to this book because of the translator because he translated many of Murakami Haruki's books. While I did not enjoy this book quite as much as those written by Murakami, I did find it to be an interesting read. The book is one big down note. We are first introduced to the Oda family. The father Fusao is a depressed man who is often left at home with his two children while his wife is off taking classes. He tells his children about his family home that had stood in the same spot as their present house, and the reader can feel the family's past being melted away because of the destruction of the home. The rest of the chapters in the book deal with the families who live close to the Odas their stories are similar to his: lonliness, lack of roots, and a desire to return to the past. An Interesting read.

At first I was not so sure, the book seemed a rather Soap Operaish. But after a bit I was hooked. Very clear and yet subtle examination of Japanese life in the suburbs. The women characters are suprisinfgly strong for Japanese literature of this era. And the "dominant" men come off as intersting and yet useless buffons. I think it takes Japanese literature to a more elaborate height than most Japanese literature written by men. Murakami is all about men, and that get's boring to me (and I am a man), where as Kuroi gives us the tragic banality of suburban life for both the men and woomen of the era. It is a bit dated, but having grown up in U.S. suburbs it still rings frieghtenly true to me. And that is another thing; this book is very creepy and even scarry by the end. No obvious horror, but just the relentless creepiness of suburban living. I look forward to more Kuroi books in english!

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.

Excellent book for any military enthusiast! Great detail of the production of the aircraft as well as the testing that was done to ensure the reliability and survivability of this aircraft. As a crew chief on the B1-B at Ellsworth AFB we showed the world our combat capability in Iraq in Dec 98 and again in Yugoslavia in March-June 99.

As a set text it did not seem to be the most interesting of choices. However the the autobiographical style of "Jo's" life is both imaginative and capturing. Although slow in parts, the tension of the second world war keeps you gripped throughout. The quite alarming experiences forced upon the boys makes the journey you share with the author, one of the most touching stories of childhood striuggles in french literature. Certainly not what I expected.

Robert Louis Stevenson was without a doubt one of the greatest historical/adventure novelists that ever lived, and Kidnapped is unquestionably one of his best works. My only regret is that I waited so long to finally read it. It was a new and exciting change from Treasure Island, a book which I love, but have read approximately once every year since the second grade. Finally, longing for a little swashbuckle, and wishing for a way out of my Jim Hawkins rut, I picked up Kidnapped, and was immediately swept off on a thrilling, suspenseful and exhilarating adventure through the Scottish highlands. For days I sat rigid on the edge of my seat, eagerly following the young David Balfour as he was cheated of his inheritance by his wily uncle, kidnapped by pirates, and befriended by a cocky Jacobite outlaw. Breathlessly, I followed him and his companion as they were falsely accused of murder and forced to flee from British troops. Finally, I heaved a sigh of contented disappointment as the story ended, glad at the way things had ended, yet upset that it all had to end and that I would at last have to part from the two heroes of whom I had grown so fond. This is without a doubt a book that I will reread as many times as I have Treasure Island, and I envy the lucky reader who is picking it up for the first time. It is thrilling, exciting, suspenseful, unpredictable, and thoroughly intoxicating. After reading it, my thirst for such dashing adventure was so terrible that I immediately had to run to the library and lay my hands on every adventure novel I could find. I would highly reccommend it to every lover of adventure stories, particularly those with a historical base. I would suggest though that first time readers take a minute to read just a very little bit about the Jacobite rebellions, particularly the one of 1745. It will help greatly to clarify the story, and make it that much more enjoyable. (If indeed, it could get any better than it already is!)

I missed this one as a kid, which is too bad, because I think I would have appreciated it then as well. Set following the failed Scottish rebellion, 'Kidnapped' tells the story of young David Balfour, whose greedy uncle tries to cheat him out of his inheritance by having him kidnapped and sold in the American colonies as a slave. On the way, however, he befriends a Jacobite rebel and is instead caught up in the Scottish troubles and has to fight his way back to his home and claim his inheritance. The adventure is all the more exciting because it feels like such a real world with all the careful place-related detail Stevenson employs. While the language can be difficult in places, that quickly fades once you get into the rhythm of the book.

"I will begin the story of my adventures with . . ." That's how Robert Louis Stevenson begins one of the best novels in his career, Kidnapped. Set in the aftermath of the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 in Scotland, Kidnapped is an intriguing story narrated by David Balfour, a young Whig and Lowlander of Scotland, who is tricked by his miserly uncle; survives attempted murder, kidnap and shipwreck; and in the company of Alan Breck, a Jacobite, escapes through the Highlands and returns home to claim his fortune. The book is a wonderful adventure story with a vivid, clear presentation of the ongoing events. Although originally written for entertainment, Kidnapped effectively blends David's adventures with the ongoing historical events of the time. In some ways this story relates to the lives of people in our present time, as people still do anything to try to keep family inheritances to themselves, and friends of different rival ethnic backgrounds try to look beyond their racial differences to maintain good friendships. These racial tensions run deep in the ancient misunderstanding between the two heroes themselves: Whig and Jacobite, Lowland conservative rationalist and romantic liberal Highlander. The book is written with such realism that one would think it to be the true adventures of a person during that period, carefully recorded in a diary before being published as a kind of biography. This just shows the distinct imagination the author uses to capture the roles and personalities of the characters, the themes, and the environment before putting them all together to produce one outstanding novel. Kidnapped is a novel so good that it could be enjoyed by anyone. But it distinctively calls out to those that want the suspense and adventure it has to offer. I recommend it for an intelligent reader in search of a good piece of historical fiction.

This should have been a worthy tribute to SAC but its content has been badly let down by appalling standards of reproduction.

Schiffer books are not cheap and this one is no exception so it would be reasonable to hope that the highest standards of printing would prevail. Not so! There's hardly a pure black or white tone in the whole book - nothing but muddy greys. The colour shots (those that aren't faded overall to pink, that is) have tone reproduction that is harsh, contrasty and garish.

I've bought other Schiffer books and been happy with the print quality so this one came as a surprise and a big let-down. If you see this book on sale at half-price, save your money - it really doesn't deserve shelf space.

With only one other review I had to write and give my opinion. I had the opportunity to view this book at my local hobby shop. Because of the price I decided to look at Amazon - BUT - I found this book to be extremely interesting in its content. Being an old SAC crewdog, it brought back alot of great memories of a proud service and the people that made it work. Most of the photos were obviously taken by members of SAC while on duty. Not an easy task given the security measures we all had to follow. While it may not win any awards for its photography, I find the book to be accurate and a must have. I must admit that my preview of the book was only 90 minutes long. The owner asked if I was going to buy it because he wasn't operating a reading room. I'm sure once a copy is in my library my rating number will be a 5.

Photo history of SAC from being to end.... I saw many of the planes I worked and flew on in the book.... One of the best photo albums of planes I have ever seen..

I read this book because I was given a signed copy of it as a gift (the author is now deceased). I grew up in the same town as the author, and he wrote extensively about the area in many books, not just this one. But this was the first (and so far only) book of his I read. His philosophy is similar to James Joyce's DUBLINERS or Sherwood Anderson's WINESBURG OHIO. The book examines the lives of people living in a specific community and how it shapes them, and although the other books were fiction, Derleth's is not. The book started out very slowly but I stuck with it and it did get better. He tells the story of people in a small Wisconsin town from the late 1800s to the 1950s. Many of the people went crazy or committed suicide. It also has a good dose of nature stories, as Derleth recounts his walks in the forest and marsh in the countryside and describes the wildlife he met. This book is definitely not for everyone but if you are patient and are interested in nature and a slice of life in olden days Sac Prairie (known more commonly as Sauk Prairie or Sauk City and Prairie du Sac), then this will be an enlightening read.

Well the story was ok but it was fine.Rellay it didn't make sense to the story.And how can he get scared at a bird?And I can't belive that they think the that there teacher didn't have a bathroom in her house.

Ms. Lewis wastes no time pushing her beliefs. She tells young readers the protagonist's hero is David Robinson, the basketball player but he is no ordinary basketball player. David Robinson
is a Christian. All her books work in Sunday school, Church and
Thank God's. None of which would be offensive if the covers of her books were just up front about it.