Grossman's poems are rife with ancient brutality and human endurance. There is a mythology at work beneath the raw and violent surface of these humane poems. Grossman indulges and relishes in the ability of the battered spirit to prevail by way of that ancient precept long forgotten by the water-downed souls of the modern world: primal courage. Grossman has pulled back the Ulyssean bow and let loose the avenging arrow upon the lackluster suitors of the modern world. Grossman's poems possess the same quiet rage and humble disguise as Ulysses' return to Ithaca as a beggar. There is a Quixotic spirit here, but the hard blows of life are evident, and these hardships, these pains, form the hard-willed inspiration of Grossman's language. The language coupled with Grossman's inability to surrender to the forces of life produces the genius of Grossman's poetry. As a former student of his at Hopkins, I can only say that he is as great a teacher as he is a poet. Although any student of his must beware of those Achillean ash spears that he hurls when he gets fired up during lectures.

Grossman has often been called a poet's poet, and one of the things that means is that he's very hard to read, very hard to get into, basically difficult. But get over the hurdle, and this is one of the most profound and illuminating books you'll ever read. A ten is an insult. This book deserves a 20, and easily. I read this book in jaw dropped awe.

But if you're not up for it, you might as well go for some Charles Simic. :-)

This is a great book for learning the really fancy features of Microsoft Excel. Many other books are just a reference for this sort of material, or they barely touch on some of the programming features. This book goes into great detail about VBA (Visual Basic Editor), which is the reason I bought this book. From there it goes on to talk about how to customize your spreadsheets with toolbars and menus. This is an excellent book on anyone who wants to master Excel.

I am using this book to teach advanced course in computer useage in a University Business department. It is very comprehensive, has good coverage and useful examples. Its best quality is in choosing: what to include and what to exclude. The most common mistake people make in writing such books is to try to include everything. In this book you learn enough to do something useful and are able to figure out the rest for yourself. And the best part: in not too many pages. To the autor: thank you.

ps. The only drawback is its name, does the "dummies" refer to the students or the teacher?

I really recommend this book to anyone who may want to get into fashion design, but thinks they cannot draw. I really found this book helpful because it breaks down the body starting with the basic skeletal structure all the way to the final, finished body. It also explains how to draw the face, hands, feet, accessories (hats, gloves, shoes, etc.).

Excellent guide for the expert and novice alike with very clear and well defined text accompaning the drawings. This is a hands on guide with advice all along the way on how to avoid common pitfalls. Too bad this book is out of print and I have to keep using the public library copy, I would buy it in a second and I don't even know the price (price not printed on the book in the British paperback version).

I'm not sure about the feline in this book, so the title is somewhat confusing. This is definitely NOT in the same category as those awful "The cat who...." books. This is a great story about friendship, trust, and incidentally, a serial rapist, and has some interesting psycological insights, too. Not too gory, and extremely well-written. Stayed up late to finish it!

Chicago police department veteran Detective John Thinnes is unhappy when he is forced into a partnership with the beautiful rookie detective Dom Franchi. She isn't elated that her new partner is part of the good old boy network. Both realize they have to make the best of a bad situation and their immediate superior thinks that in time it will prove to be a good pairing.

Their first case turns out to be a brutal rape in which the victim is so battered her own roommate doesn't recognize her. The rapist's next target dies but the police recognize the signature of the perpetrator and connect him to two other rape cases. A break sends Thinnes and Franchi to the northern suburb of Waukegan where a series of rapes years ago bear a startling resemblance to the crimes being committed in the present. Just when they think they have a lead in the case another woman is abducted and the bickering duo has to race against time before she is abused.

Anyone who likes to read a solid police procedural is going to love THE FELINE FRIENDSHIP, in spite of the crime topic. The plot is an action thriller that doesn't neglect in depth characterizations. It is fascinating to watch the partnership of Franchi and Thinnes evolve from prickly co-existence to one of steady understanding and trust. Michael Allen Dymmoch is an expert at creating a believable investigation so that readers understand what police officers have to deal with on a daily basis. It will be interesting to see how the Thinnes-Franchi partnership holds up in future novels.

Harriet Klausner

This book is extremely good in organisation, information, description and method of photographing trees. Although some of the technical stuff may be outdated (per digital cameras which are not covered), the book strengthens your awareness and perception of how to "look" at trees.

It's truly ashame that this book is out-of-print.

Any photographer who is interested in capturing the true strength of a tree (or trees) on film should hunt down this informative guide for some serious tips and technique. Allen Rokach is a gifted photographer and his work is presented in color photographs throughout.

Well worth the effort to find it.

Robert Allen has produced an amazing work on the oft-reported saga of the Marine Corps and Iwo Jima, that terrible island. As an amateur military historian (and former Marine who has attempted to reconstruct certain campaigns), I found myself asking over and over again: where and how did he get this information? how long did it take to accurately compile, for instance, the daily "muster rolls" of an entire battalion in the field? The picture that emerges of the Iwo Jima assault is even more horrifying from this perspective of dry military "diaries" and the daily recounting of casualties and replacements. This was island warfare against Japan at its worst, and Allen's microscopic treatment helps to bring it all into focus at the fighting man's level. With the United States Government itself doing little to advance in-depth WWII analysis, writers like Allen are doing a great service for those who do care.

Bob Allen's work represents the best kind of historical narrative-a first hand narrative from the perspective of one who was in motion on Iwo Jima's bloodied sands, and the thoughtful and detailed analysis provided by his focus on the overall picture of the events. Bob's devotion is to telling the story and painting as much of the canvas as he can, while there is time to do so. The memories are 50+ years out there, but they are as clear as though they were this morning. You must read this, and treasure it as a family heirloom of American history. Bob Allen, and his fellow Marines and Sailors, put it all on the line for us, and this is the story of what that really means. Thanks, Bob. Semper fi.

I bought the initial (Athenum Publishing.) edition in Feb. 1983. Read it so many times, and lent it so often (sorry, Art) that the spine is cracked. Bought this version in March 1998; he updated when appropriate (sadly Nylorfi is no longer available for tippets, and yes you can 'hang' yourself on it). This is a great read--the chapter on tying your own leaders is worth the price of the book. "Presenting the Fly" and "The Correct Approach" are essential reading for every fly fisher. Whitlock offers more tactics, and Joe Humphrey offers great insight, but Art is the most gifted writer on the subject of fly fishing. Buy it! Read it now. Read it each winter. Give a copy to anyone who wants to flyfish for trout with dry flies (Is there really any other way?). The only other fishing writer in his league is Frank Daignault.

Art Lee's book dispenses with the "myth" of trout fishing and presents in a clear and entertaining manner the true enjoyment of fly-fishing. " Fishing Dry Flies for Trout on Rivers and Streams" illustrates that presentation and reading the water is more important than looking like a hardware store on the stream and changing flies every two minutes. A well written and intelligent book on a subject often shrouded in a "match the hatch" mystery.

Like the best works of writers like Terry Southern, William Burroughs, and Hunter S. Thompson, Fool's Mercy continues to simmer mutinously in the brain. If I'd never read it, no doubt I'd be a much happier human being, but what is happiness compared with the inside information offered by this skewed but brilliant author? For better or worse, Henry Allen's taut, lyrical and ultimately terrifying portrayal of what's really going on is destined to become a classic.

"This is a novel that has taken the art of shaping the reader's worldview and raised it to the level of physical intervention. By that I mean that Mr. Allen has discovered techniques of using English syntax to alter synaptic relationships within the brain itself, possibly permanently. He may have gone deeper, as well, functioning as the analog of a computer hacker as he cracks the DNA code and blithely rearranges the human genome with untold consequences for generations to come. Were this novel some outre exercise in modernist befuddlement, the danger would be minimal, but Mr. Allen's darkest motives are masked by a brisk yet poignant thriller populated with haunting personalities. As such, it may pose the severest test the First Amendment has faced since the founding of our republic -- a book that is what the law calls 'an attractive nuisance,' but a nuisance on the level of Jacob-Kreutzfeld syndrome, the human equivalent of "mad cow" disease. It should not only be banned, but all of its known readers should be rounded up like cattle and incarcerated pending central-nervous-system biopsies. Meanwhile, it remains available to an unwary citizenry from Dryad Books, of 15 Sherman Ave., Takoma Park, Md. 20912."

A very creative and meaningful book of poems. One for different moods and occasions.

If you're the kind of person that likes poems with words last used in public 200 years ago that don't mean anything to you, don't buy this book.

If, however, you're like me and enjoy poems written about contemporary issues by someone that appears to have a real empathy for his subject matter, you'll find this book inspirational. Highly recommended.

This one of the most powerful books about Chief Joseph that i have had the pleasure to read. The stirring narrative from a native Nez Perez,really puts me in the story and makes me very,very angry about the way we have treated Native Americans,Will Henry was one of the most gifted and talented western writers of all time. I wish his books would make a comeback on the bestseller lists.

The book moved me and made me think about the hardships that the Indian peoples went through, especially the Nez Perce. It had lots of neat little points, and a different perspective of Chief Joseph. This was probably the best story that I've read.