Pearlman's collection, The Best Known Man in the World & Other Misfits, will keep you on your toes. No two stories are alike. If you think you've got Pearlman's style pegged after the first story, a Borges-style intellectual entree, read on. There's a strongly bawdy, comedic style at work in many of the stories. Even when the conceit stretches into the far-fetched, as in "The Circus Hand's Desertion," the sheer virtuosity of word play is remarkable. " "The Vatican's Secret" is hilarious; it is sexy and witty; even when the sensuality is disturbing, as in "The Fall of the House," or "Death in the Des(s)ert," Pearlman captures the struggling soul with wonderful poignancy.
His characters are unforgettable: a comically self-centered writer; bungling conspirators in Cuba; a lovable Italian femme fatale who rescues her mild-mannered husband; a cardinal who wants fig leafs in the Vatican's stautary replaced with the original genitalia; a German WWII colonel who rides around in an American jeep and tangles with dark magic; a Vietnam veteran who returns to his home on the day it's slated for demolition; an man whose time is up and is expected to die meekly; a young Greek warrior who pursues the sensuous hetaira far beyond the battle field; all these and others await the reader.
Certainly you will like some stories better than others. All, however, are marvelously crafted. As a writer of literary nonfiction, I can appreciate the enormous research that has gone into these stories. I strongly recommend this collection for its sheer breadth and vigor.

The stories in this collection are just fantastic. Pearlman writes with great wit, and the stories are engaging and beautifully written. Some of the stories have a touch (or more) of science fiction, some have a touch of fantasy, and some are just plain eccentric, but they're all superb. Among the best are the title story, which is definitely good for a few laughs, and "Death in the Des(s)ert", which is dead serious and very disturbing. I highly recommend this book!

In a clear-eyed yet obviously compassionate examination of Betty Friedan, the "mother" of modern American feminism,Horowitz reveals that his subject was far more worldly and politically concious than she indicated in her 1963 ground breaker.

Although some of today's generation-- whether feminists or not--may scratch heads and wonder why an intellegent articulate woman would intentionally disguise so much of her being while urging other women not to do the same, Friedan had no choice. In a nation somewhat tempered by fresh reccollection of the horrors of McCarthyism, red-baiting and subsequent discreditation of those tarred with the label still ran rampant.

Understanding that her grim findings would never receive the light of day in a culture still gushy-eyed over the assumption that every housewife was automatically happy or that option was the only choice for women, she had to employ crafty PR strategies to make the book appealing for original publication and promotion. Her "new idenity" made her a far more appealing media source than a "radical labor activist" since it allowed her to avoid being blamed for her own stigmatization as one of those supposedly unnatural career women whose unhappiness must be self-inflicted.

As a member of third-wave feminism, I profess to having little initial interest in Friedan or her methodology. Because I lived in a world where with comparatively many more choices/rights, was aware of her own internal predjuduces towards intra-feminist movement diversity and antagonism towards Gloria Steinem, I usually wrote off Friedan as an anachronism who although important, was somebody I could not relate to directly. Since I was not married and was childless, I could not see myself in the pages.

After this book, I not only can see why she repackaged herself, but realized that I would do exactly the same thing in her position. I still disagree with Friedan on her minimialization of other feminist leaders, but have a new appreciation of her work and relevance.

In this very readable book, Daniel Horowitz examines Betty Friedan's political and intellectual origins and finds good reason to question the widely held understanding that The Feminine Mystique was written out of the perspective and consciousness of a typical surburban housewife.

Professor Horowitz explores the life and thought of the young Bettye Goldstein as an undergraduate at Smith, and then as a labor journalist in the early and mid 1940's, and reveals her origins as a committed social critic and advocate with labor-left origins.

Professor Horowitz treats his subject gently and with respect. Betty Friedan disagrees with Horowitz's analysis, and this tension adds to the fun.

Nick, a bright, engaging kindergartener meets a child in his class named David. Nick's father, also named David bears a resemblance to Nick's young classmate. Both Davids are brunet and wear glasses!

Nick is convinced his classmate is his own dad as a child. He is determined to crack this case. (spoiler)

I got this book because i love S.E. hinton, and once again, I was not dissapointed, i loved it, buy it and read it to your children

The military services spend tens of millions of dollars on advertising to attract young people to their ranks. Supported by school guidance counselors as a prime career option the system enlists hundreds of thousands of low income teens. What happens next? Read this book to understand why such a high proportion of our nation's homeless and mentally ill are veterans. This pocket sized paperback is based on a larger hardcover version called Hell, Healing and Resistance.

This book gave me great insight into the trauma to people's lives as a result of war and the war machine. It is profoundly written and the subject is sensitively handled. I'm sure not everyone will agree with the author's view point, but it sure helped me to have better understanding for the war veterans I come in contact with.

Very good book. I have used this book in just about every aspect of property damage estimating. It is by far the easiest and most accurate. No other pricing guide offers the same. I have never underbid a job using this book.

super book when working with the insurance, disaster restoration, repair and remodeling industries

Daniel Pinkwater rocks! This is a great example of his humor -- bears drinking blueberry juice and doing beat poetry in coffeehouses. Yeah!

The beat generation has not gone gray. They have gone white, polar white, bear white. They are living in the Hotel Larry wearing shades and eating blueberry muffins. How cool can a book be...

This is the best book my brother has ever written

This is without question my favorite book

This is really the definitive book for novice birdwatchers in India, and remains very useful even as you grow more experienced. Its small size makes it much more portable and thus useful for field trips. The illustrations in the new edition are simply lovely and improve tremendously over those in the earlier editions. A must buy.

Beautiful hand drawn illustrations, detailed characteristics, habitat, calls and everything else you need to know to identify a bird. A real work of art.

As a member of Generation-X (that means in 1998 I'm 35...)I find this book puts many things about life today in perspective. An excellent and easy read, I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by social and demographical characteristics of our society. A word of warning though, for all you Gen-Xers out there... You may develop a new found hatred of people in their late 40s and early 50s... It's a fun book. Read it.

I read this book in the summer of 1996, and found it to be an excellent tool. It takes a very organized approach to presenting the history of demographics and applying demographics to trends that we have observed over the past. It is highly relevant to life in rural Ontario which is where i was living at the time. Issues like the future importance of hospital closings, school development, and social programs should all be viewed in the context of demographics.

After reading this I went on to read Faith Popcorn's books, and found them to be rather flat predictions that demographics could easily fortell. Boom Bust & Echo is a useful toolkit for business people with lots of examples to draw from. My wife and I had our own company at the time, and I had to make her read the book so we could re-assess our strategy in light of this under-used tool, and it allowed us to reposition our company without straying from our original mission.

Daniel Groody is a Holy Cross priest -- the order that runs Notre Dame. Assigned to work with Mexican immigrants in Southern California, he learned first-hand the realities of border crossing. I was reminded of the old Willie Nelson song about a planeload of "deportees" that crashed with little concern from the authorities.

Groody is not a sentimentalist and he tries to be even-handed. Although he registers appalling behavior on the part of the Border Patrol, he includes interviews with Border Patrol members in his research, and he acknowledges that there is a much larger picture: the relationship between the US and Mexico.

Groody focuses on the way individuals experience immigration. As I noted in my own book, Making the Big Move, identity change creates the greatest stress in any relocation. Here Groody talks about the way immigrants from Mexico also experience spiritual hunger as they seek to be united with a new community.

Perhaps the most vivid and memorable part of the book comes in the description of the four-day retreats, a program implemented by the clergy but designed by former participants who literally speak the language of the immigrants.

It is especially moving to read of the reaction of the "candidates," the new immigrants, as they are greeted enthusiastically by the staff and are served meals by the staff. Staff members apply for coveted positions -- and they actually pay $75 a week to work in the program.

Living eighty miles from the Mexican border, here in New Mexico, I've crossed checkpoints on the highways, often several hundred miles north of the border. Usually the guards just wave "Anglos" through and we rarely even stop. This book was a real eye-opener. At the end, I found myself wondering why we spend millions of dollars to keep out these people, instead of using the money to develop proactive programs here and in Mexico. Something is not working.

Daniel Groody saw first hand the continuing tragedy of illegal immigration and what happens to these people who risk their lives to find an opportunity to work. He describes a program in Southern California that treats the immigrants with respect and restores their dignity. The Church has its problems these days, but this is a story of the good that it fosters and a dramatic illustration of what religion can do in the lives of people. You will never look at the problem of immigration the same way again after reading this book.