Just when you thought you'd read everything there was to know about the 1939 classic film, "The Wizard of Oz," Jay Scarfone and Bill Stillman come up with a volume like this. The behind-the-scenes production drawings and notes and photographs are just incredible. These two men know their stuff, and it all comes together so well in this book. I cannot recommend it enough.

60 years ago MGM introduced the Wizard of Oz to audiences around the United States. Then during the 40's and 50's Oz reached almost every country, and has been seen in almost every language. During the 1970's the Wizard of Oz grew a all time popular status that no other movie has done before. Now, Wizard of Oz is America's favorite movie, but what made the Tinman love, the Scarecrow think, and the Lion brave? The Wizard of course, but now the world has 2 more "Wizards of Oz." They are Jay Scarfone and William Stillman. They tell the tales of what went on behind the scenes at the MGM set. Countless blueprints, wardrobe test shots, and publicity photos have filled attics, libraries, and personal collections around the world for the last 60 years. Now, Scarfone and Stillman have done the impossible, and put it all into one book. Various other books such as The Ruby Slippers of Oz, The Making of the Wizard of Oz, and Down the Yellow Brick Road supplied Oz enthusiasts with everything they thought they could ever find on the timeless classic. Wizardry has even more than one could hope. Every page you turn you see something new and exciting. Color photos galore, and even some neat collectibles fill the book to its fullest. Everyone who has ever seen the movie, and wants to know how it was made need this book. Oz collectors will be so thrilled at what these two Wizards have come up with. Everyone is here in rare unseen photos Dorothy, the Witch, Glinda, the munchkins, and yes, Toto too!

From the moment I opened the book to the first page, I knew this was a gem! I won't give much away, but the photos are fantastic!This book is for anyone who loves the movie, but also, for the individual who is interested in the behind-the-scenes magic that was involved in the 1939 production. The contents of the book are somewhat similar to "The official 50th anniversary pictorial history of the wizard of oz" which was published in 1989. Although the "50th anniversary" edition is no longer in print and difficult to find, this book will defintely capture the heart of Oz fans around the world and carry on the magic of one of the most beloved stories well into this new millenium.

As a union organizer, I was amazed to read the first chapter on Cravat Coal and see the same tactics that were used in my first experience with an NLRB election. This book should be read by every union organizer, activist and sympathizer so that we can learn our enemy's tactics and develop strategies to counter them. Thank you Martin Jay Levitt for writing this book and opening our eyes to the dirty tricks that are used to keep workers subserviant to the companies they work for.

levitt tells his story like a barstool confession. admittedly, he is a recovering alcoholic who wrote this apologia as one of his "steps," but that fact is not enough to save his soul. to anyone who has been involved with a union organizing campaign, this book will prove the adage, "if you're not paranoid, you're just not paying enough attention." the dirty tricks of the trade may be childish pranks, weaselly cajoling, or cold-hearted thuggery. they are also (usually) just within the letter of the law, which should disabuse any casual observer of the wild delusion that the law protects workers' rights. i strongly recommend this book to anyone about to start a union organizing campaign. half the battle is knowing what to expect from the enemy. the same tactics are frequently used today. and when the workers see them for the cruel and shallow schemes they are, they can, and often do, backfire on management and their hired guns. but for all its cloak-and-dagger insight, i couldn't help but feel that levitt was letting himself off the hook far too easily. what he and his colleagues did and continue to do to hard-working, decent people who only want a fair shake in their working lives and an end to their exploitation is an abomination. telling us how we might defuse the bomb does not, i think, absolve him for planting it.

A Madison Wisconsin newspaper had a small article on this book and I read a copy. In thinking about the total of the book I cannot believe the level of fear that exists between all levels of persons. The fact that Management has fears and will be willing to pay dearly and hand over many company resourses to persons of low character to help them with this "problem" of persons needing to address issues with which the only known way to deal with in a Union setting.

To see in the book the inability of management to deal with Human Resourses "people" as if they were fellow human being with needs and a desire to serve both their Company and the community in which they live, brings much sadness.

In reading the book, it would appear that the average cost of stopping a Union drive would equal about 10-15 year worth of costs of having a Union Contract and touching workers lives in a postive way instead of hurting workers and families.

I came away with the thought of where does all this FEAR really come from. A past President said, "All we have to fear is fear itself". But fear is a very real matter, and Union busters play FEAR to all and EARN large amounts of money.

We all must understand how to deal with fear, "Talk to one another like a living human being and seek the 'Common Good'"

Atkinson does a nice job describing a time, place and experience.
His description of the shifting climes of Methuen since his HS
days are particularly insightful. Just when you are enjoying the
book, though, Atkinson tends to interject some borderline
self-promotional prattle about his own hockey stats or die-hard toughness. The stats are irrelevant, and the toughness, if relevant, should be self-evident.

Overall on a scale of 1-10, a hat trick shy of perfect.

"The most ephemeral and intriguing aspect of hockey is its spontaneity; each rush down the ice blossoms into something different, a new constellation of passes and positioning that happens only once and then melts away, like a snowflake," writes Atkinson in this moving, hilarious and lovingly detailed story of a year in the working life of the Methuen (Massachusetts) High School hockey team. A gifted observer with an eye for character (as in, "Now, there's a character!"), he captures the players, coaches, school officals and parents around the team in living color and salty dialogue. In addition to that, he weaves in memories of his own time as a goalie for the same team 25 years earlier along with his hopes and dreams for his 5-year-old son Liam, whom he is just getting on the ice to participate in league hockey. The mix of spirited reporting and personal memoir, with its evident (but not sappy) love of the sport and everyone involved, is irresistible. For hockey fans, this is a must read. For those who love memoirs, this vivid chronicle of a place many have never been and may know nothing about is a beauty.

My Irish mom, still back in Methuen with a few of my siblings, would surely cringe at me being referred to as the "Big, tough French guy" on page 31 of this fine book. At least Jay had the courtesy to leave my name out of it. I'm grateful, particularly since my recollection of the event in question is somewhat of a departure from his. No matter....

This is a fine read, and finer still as it captures so accurately the rabid fervor that is hockey in Methuen, my hometown. Though I had the pleasure of playing for the Rangers' archrival, Central Catholic, Jay and I did play together, along with Dave Martin and Dennis Dube, Bob O'Donnell, Tom McGurren, and a host of other hockey lunatics, for a couple of years on Herb Edwards's team, the Blues. It was a terrific time to be a teenager, without much of the madness that has somehow insinutated itself into youth sports today.

Jay's memory is sharp (in most respects... :) and he's drawn the supporting cast in remarkably accurate detail. I can see our former teammate, the boisterous Dave Martin, exhorting his charges to dig deeper in an effort to get at the core of the game, which is all about stripping away the self to serve the greater good of the team. I can also, by the way, easily imagine Dave weedling in, as we used to say, with the officials.

What a refreshing, uncomplicated, non-political book this is. No pronouncements, no agenda, other than "this is my memory of a wonderful time." When I find myself staying late, alone, at our local rink to shoot just one more bucket of pucks, I now know I'm not alone, (and my 45 year old elbow also reminds of that the morning after). Somehow, though, I can't imagine not doing it, and it's nice to know that there are a bunch of "old guys" like myself doing the same thing back home.

Thanks, Jay, for making it all so real again, and sorry, again, for the dust up that night in the Frost Arena, that hallowed hall of hockeydom. We had some fun.

That "Big, Tough, French guy" (all 5'8" of me...), and former Central Catholic hockey captain,

-Herve Pelletier

Robert Frost has long been my favorite poet. I have read all previous biographies of him and , in my opinion, this book stands head and shoulders above them all. It presents an intensely fair and complete account of the man, his life, and his works. Moreover, it is uniquely compassionate in its evaluation of a flawed genius who "had a lover's quarrel with the world". Frost had talked about the "art of locality" and he exemplified this in his faithful depiction of hardscrabble, ordinary, farming life in rural New England. I feel Frost never hit a false note in his poetry and Jay Parini never hit a false note in his biography. Parini, a writer of excellent fiction, stated in a conclusion at the end of his book that he hated completing his labor of love. I felt the same way in finishing my reading of the book-I was sorry to see it come to an end!

Jay Parini bring's a poet's perspective to this excellent biography. By combining a compelling look at Frost's life with an informed commentary on his poetry, Parini has avoided the common pitfall of many biographers; forgetting the work while describing the life. I feel I now have a much greater understanding of the man and his work after reading this book which should be the goal of all biographies and so rarely is.

One of my first memories of Robert Frost is watching him attempting to read a poem he had written for John F. Kennedy's Presidential Inauguration. Struggling with the bright sunlight reflecting off the fresh snow on that crisp winter's day, he abandoned his effort to recite an older poem from memory.

I remember thinking the image of this short, stocky white-haired old man was as close to a wood nymph as I would ever come. Later, I was to learn that Frost lead anything but a simple life. Biographer drawing on this image, often sensationalized the details of his life at the expense of the precious poetry he created.

Jay Parini, the Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College, does not travel that path. Rather, he provides his readers with insight into how Frost lived day-to-day, poem to poem. He animates Frost's daily struggles with depression, anxiety, self-doubt and confusion. The poet's family life was not happy; he experienced bad luck with his children. Yet, he exhibited tremendous force of will, love for his children and dedication to creating a lasting body of creative work.

Unlike Frost previous biographers, Parini skillfully weaves the details of the poet's life with poetry he created. Frost's desire to "lodge a few poems where they can't be gotten rid of easily" is woven into a picture of an artist attempting to rescue his sanity by creating what he called a "momentary stay against confusion."

For me, reading Frost's poetry is a labor of love; reading Parini's biography is like reliving a best friend's life. This biographical study offers an unusual glimpse into the life, poetry and times of Robert Frost, a man who ranks as one of the world's greatest poets.

Screwballs is about a group of high school boys who have a bet on who can see Purity Busch's breast first.The humor is juvenile,but if you like that sort of thing this movie's for you.

IF YOU ARE IN THE MOOD FOR A STORY OF UTTER HILARITY AND LAUGH OUT LOUD HUMOR-THEN SCREWBALLS IS THE ONE FOR YOU. IT IS THE TALE OF A LAST PLACE BASEBALL TEAM REVITALIZED BY AN NO NONESENSE MANAGER AND AN ECLECTIC GROUP OF MISFITS. IT FOLLOWS THEM THRU A SEASON THAT THEY AND YOU THE READER WILL NEVER FORGET. I HIGHLY RECOMEND ALL MR. CRONLEY'S NOVELS BUT THIS IS HIS ABSOLUTE FUNNIEST.

Screwballs is too funny for words. But it is not the movie about endless [breasts].

Thirty-one sprightly and invaluable essays, in which the play of "little odd tidbits as illustrations of general theories" the author has raised to an art form. In his tenth and final collection of Natural History columns (after The Lying Stones of Marrakech, 2000, etc.), Gould is back in his favorite terrain of posing and then poking at intellectual puzzles, in which he has embedded some humanistic concern or referent in order to gain some better understanding of a scientific theme. Gould has never been a lyrical exalter of science and nature, but a taskmaster who might popularize his essays-namely, keep them free of exclusionary jargon-even while he demands the unwavering attention of his readers to follow his scientific peregrinations. How else to appreciate the commonalities between ex-Red Sox first baseman Bill Bruckner's weary legs and a letter written by Jim Bowie shortly before he died at the Alamo (hint: it has something to do with canonical stories and the distortion of acts)? Gould is a delight when leveling his heavy guns at the fatuous ("the anachronistic fallacy of using a known present to misread a past circumstance") and the confused: "science is an inquiry about the factual sate of the natural world, religion as a search for spiritual meaning and ethical values." Ever the gadfly, though, he'll follow that with "Science does not deal in certainty, so fact' can only mean a proposition affirmed to such a high degree that it would be perverse to withhold one's provisional assent." Gould's world is rich in quirks and contradictions, human foibles and natural diversity, the sublime and the bumptious, high grandeur and low comedy, whether he is addressing the Linnaen system of classification or the destruction of the World Trade Center. No more Natural History columns, but the future will no doubt see much more from Gould, a self-described addict of the short form. These essays trail in his wake like mushrooms after a rain. (b&w illustrations)

I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould is his best to date... and I'm sorry to say his last, as he died May 20, 2002. God Rest Your Soul, Stephen.

I Have Landed is a collection of essays, (thirty-one to be exact), and the scope and breath of these essays is broad. Gould has a way with words to bring complex subjects, casting new light upon them and bringing them to the common man with understanding and enlightenment. The book is divided into eight segments or groupings all of which are compelling and forthright. We see Gould's musing narrative and storytelling ability which brings together themes that have defined his career, humanistic disciplines, his mini intellectual biographies, intellectual palentology, and topics that bring obvious delight to him.

As the reader goes from one subject to the next, we see that Gould has command and is ushering us on with his famous wit. This book is truly Gould's most revealing and personal opus. A brilliant mind, with good humor making the reader feel at home.

I've enjoyed reading Gould's essays through the years, as others have, and as all good things come to and end... let me say adieu my friend.

"I Have Landed", Stephen Jay Gould's tenth - and last - collection of essays compiled primarily from his Natural History magazine column "This View Of Life" is his most personal, touching on themes as diverse as his own family history, the relevance of science to art - and vice versa, and the meaning of evolution. There is a brilliant essay describing how Vladimir Nabokov was a fine scientist as well as a literary prose artist, and how his scientific skill in studying and describing butterflies proved invaluable in his fictional observations of people and their behavior. Another splendid essay examines how Freud struggled to understand evolutionary theory and make use of it in his own pioneering work in psychoanalysis. There are also Gould's eloquent rebuttals against those determined to remove evolution as a vital part of science education written for both the general public and his fellow scientists. Yet his most profound, most universal writing is saved for his own family history and how it oddly is tied to the tragic terrorist attacks on the United States over a year ago.

Stephen Jay Gould was our finest popularizer of science and among natural history's most eloquent essayists. His untimely demise at the relatively young age of 60 is a tragic loss not only to paleobiology and evolutionary biology, but to all of humanity. "I Have Landed" is a fitting epitaph to Gould's glorious careers in science and the art of letters.

I have been a diehard Snort user and member of the community since day one. Snort is awesome and there are so many incredibly talented people involved with it. I always wished that there was a book that documented everything, and gave lots of very cool information on all of the inner workings. I was psyched when I heard this book was being written, and I orderd it before it came out. I got mine on Friday and spent the weekend reading it. Considering the guys (and gal!) who wrote it, I shouldn't be surprised that the book rocks. Everything you ever wanted to know about Snort is in there. And, you know you are getting it from the Pig's mouth--er, or Snout ;)

I've been using Snort for some time. I really like it, but I've always found it a little difficult to keep up with all of the features and everything. If you spend a lot of time on the snort.org site and on the mail lists you can learn a lot from everybody. But I don't always have the time to monitor the list or go through the archives. It is great now having everything I need to know in one book. Brian Caswell is the guy who makes all of the releases and keeps everything on the site maintained and he definitely knows his stuff.

I teach a graduate level course on Intrusion Detection. The core textbook is long on security concepts, network topographies, and is about 900 pages. It's long on theory and short on specifics---even shorter on actual tools and products.

This book has proven to be a breath of fresh air. It provides detailed product specifics and is a reliable roadmap to actually rolling out an IDS. And I really appreciate the CD with Snort and the other IDS utilities.

The author team is well connected with Snort.org and they obviously had cart blanche in writing this book. I've looked at the other books that have just come out andnotice that (1) they are shorter and have much less information on the actual sstme administration of Snort and (2) they don;t include software.

This is an excellent book that details the importance of daily juicing. It is packed full of recipes and nutritional information. I would highly recommend this book to anybody wishing to improve the long term quality of his/her life.

This book is an outstanding reference. Michael Murray has written a book that will help change your life. I have lost 22 pounds in the past 3 months and improved both my health and well being using the recipes and guidelines in this book. As part of a healthy diet, juicing can change your life.

I bought this book after reading the many other reviews and wanted to take the time to come back after I had actually used it to provide some input. This book combines a wide variety of recipies with nutritional information and very helpful advice, of all of the books I have reviewed and/or purchased, this is by far the best - buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

This is an excellent juicing and nutritional resource. I have learned so much about the value of certain foods that I didn't know before. I have been juicing for four weeks now and I feel so much better, have more energy, lost weight,and my appetite is reduced so I wouldn't miss a day of juicing.

The book outlines which fruits and vegetables you should juice with for certain ailments as well as giving you detailed measurements of the nutritional value of each food so you can determine what you need to juice with so you can add certain nutrients to your diet.

I would highly recommend this book. It's enjoyable reading also.

"Panda's Thumb" is the second volume in a series of essay collections culled primarily from Gould's column "This View Of Life" that was published for nearly thirty years in Natural History magazine, the official popular journal of the American Museum of Natural History. Once more readers are treated to elegantly written, insightful pieces on issues ranging from racial attitudes affecting 19th Century science to evolutionary dilemnas such as the origins of the Panda's thumb (Not really a dilemna, though "scientific" creationists might argue otherwise; instead Gould offers an elegant description of how evolution via natural selection works.) and the evolutionary consequences of variations in size and shape among organisms. Gould is differential to the work of other scientists, carefully considers views contrary to his own, and even points the virtues of the faulty science he criticizes. Those who say contemporary science is dogmatic should reconsider that view after carefully reading this volume or any of the others in Gould's series. Instead, what we see are the thoughts of a fine scientist rendered in splendid, often exquisite, prose.

Stephen Jay Gould is probably the finest scientific writer working today. His books, based on the column he has written for Natural History magazine since the 1970s, mix evolutionary biology with references to baseball, Mickey Mouse, and anything else he can use to teach the reader. As head of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, he is an authority on modern evolutionary theory. In what I believe is his finest book, he argues that it is the imperfections in life's design, like the panda's thumb formed out of its wrist instead of as a full digit, that prove evolution by natural selection. In one essay, he teaches about neotony, some animals' tendency to stay younger-looking, by describing the "evolution" of the drawing of Mickey Mouse. A great read for experts and laymen alike.

I'll be short, there are plenty of other good reviews. My main point is that this book, although written over 20 years ago, retains its readability and accuracy because many of the topics it discusses are historical, and also many of the chapters concern general aspects of human nature and science, which are timeless. An excellent overview of evolutionary theory, and well worth a read as an introduction to natural science and evolution for enthusiastic thinkers.

Simply a remarkable collection of essays. What a subtle mind Gould has: reading his books is always an adventure down some surprising pathway of the mind. This is a book for the thoughtful and patient. You will be delighted.

A unique blend of science and erudition! Reading this book is (for a non-specialist) highly informative, and enforces one's belief that Reason has its place in the world. Gould offers a sweeping image of science touching all of reality. A "must read".

Stephen Jay Gould has a way of bringing out our minds and making us think... Dinosaur in a Haystack is just such a work. These thirty-four essays are what exemplifies Gould's infectiously brilliant and playful intelligence. This book is about evolution and other natural phenomena, but with Gould's trademark twist.

Some of the essays are short stories in their own right with a mystery central to the theme, others are alluring with detail only a professor might want to instill. Thought provoking, unpredictable trajectories, theoretical arguments all fit into the realm of Gould, who can be described as a cunning polemicist, self-indulgent or one of America's Living Legends, but never boring... maybe verbose, but I'll give him that for the detail he brings to his writing.

Dinosaur in a Haystack gives us a book written for the layperson, but a person with a proclivity toward a scientific bent would be of help. There are rigorous and numerous historical details, but Gould has a propensity to contextualize thoroughly, thus imparting the receptive reader, an intrinsic but intuitive knowledge.

If you want to be educated about natural history or phenomena, Gould's musing are right up your alley. Gould is one of todays leading evolutionary thinkers. This book is the product of one of the most fertile minds of our time.

I highly recommend reading this book... not that it is just accessible or stimulating... it is enlightening.