... is not to arrive. Ponder this before you pick up this book: do the books you read have to be action-packed (defeating evil villains, fighting battles in space, encountering extraterrestrials) or is a story of human interaction equally compelling?

This is definitely a dialogue-driven book. After the protagonist wakes up and learns that he is in the body of his secretary, and that his secretary's mind is still in her body even though her brain was removed and his was implanted in its place, there is little of what might be called "action" except for a mild courtroom drama.

I've had little exposure to Heinlein; one of the first SF books I read was _Space Cadet_, which I enjoyed, although at ten I wasn't particularly discriminating. Two or three years ago I tried to read _Stranger in a Strange Land_, and was bored by it; I couldn't make it through to the end.

This book, however, was a completely different animal. The dialogue is compelling, and its frequently sexual nature challenges us to examine our notions of love and gender.

Near the end there is a surprise twist: Was Heinlein playing with our minds, leading us on, throughout the entire book? Is Joan/Johann crazy? Did s/he snap? When I finished the book I was inspired to read it again, immediately, to try and find an answer to this question.

This is one of the most intellectually stimulating, mentally engaging, and challenging science fiction books I've ever read. Judging by the reviews here, you either love it or hate it, and there isn't much middle ground.

Johann Smith, kept alive past his years, chooses to undergo a brain transplant. He doesn't consider the possiblity that the first available body might be a woman, and, in fact, turns out to be his secretary, who was killed, unknown to Smith.

Smith soon hears the voice of Eunice, the secretary in his head (her head, actually). Eunice guides Johann in what it is to be a woman.

OK, the sex is overdone, and frankly, the book could have used a good editor.

This is not one of the Heinlein late novels where everyone will live along happily forever with Lazarus Long and his crew (and I mean forever). Remember, this book's title is borrowed from Psalm 23 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." That shadow is never far away in this book, but within it, Johann learns to live, not just exist, as he did before.

This was the second "meaty" Heinlein book I had read. (By meaty I mean books longer/more complex than _TIme for the Stars_, _Tunnel in the Sky_, etc.) I loved it enough that I'm now on my way to collecting all of the Dean's works. HMMM...About the story. Not the most plausable of Heinlein's works, I mean, the main character DID have a "brain transplant"! Actually, I think that the seeming implausibility of the intial 'hook' helps the reader suspend his/her disbelief for what happens next. Which is a good thing because if you don't get hung up on the 'reality' of the story , you'll find a truly wonderful study of human beings, and most importantly what it means to love. Heinlein's work is not just science-fiction at it's best, it's writing at it's best. It illuminates what it means to be human. AND it's a lot of fun to read! PS: Not a book I would recomend giving to the younger set. Some might consider parts (large parts) of the book to be quite racy. This is one for the 13+ set. Be advised, eh?

As a fact witness with personal knowledge of Eddie's experience in Europe and my own interview with Anson, I can confirm that Anson was far more interested in marketing his book than discovering, let alone understanding the facts.

David W. Nance, Esq.

Best Intentions by Robert Sam Anson is an engaging and sensitive invistigation into why Edmund Perry, a black Exeter student who received a scholarship to Stanford, died in a dubious encounter with a police man. Anson traces Perry's stories from his years attending primary school in Harlem to his unsteady times at Exeter, a high class boarding school. Anson then crafts the Perry's story into a comprehensive and clear examination of race and education in America and the challenges that face black students. For those interested in education, race, or sociology, I would recommend this piece. It certainly isn't a cover-to-cover read, but it stimulates quite well.

Great things were expected of young Edmund Evans Perry, a gifted black teenager raised in Harlem and schooled at Philips Exeter Academy, one of the nation's most prestigious preparatory schools. At seventeen, he had already received four years of top-notch schooling, explored the world (Perry spent a year in Spain), and was accepted to Stanford University, where he planned to go for college starting in the fall of 1985. However, that summer Perry was dead, shot by a policeman on the streets of New York City, allegedly while involved in a mugging. What went wrong? The author spends most of the book trying to answer that question (we learn the basic story in the first couple chapters), and he does a remarkable job of doing just that. Robert Sam Anson interviewed the people who knew Perry, the people who made him what he was, both in Harlem and at Exeter, and over the course of the book, we learn just what happened to Edmund Perry. What you learn may surprise you, and it is sure to inspire many questions in all who happen upon its pages.

Though the title uses Olmsted's name as a valuable advertisement, the book does little to describe Olmsted's design values. This book instead details the genesis of a community and the exodus of Olmsted's values. While the book is a fine history of one community's development, do not purchase this book because of Olmsted's involvement on the project.

This book is an outstanding work of scholarship in documenting how Olmsted's design principles were used to create a community. It is fascinating how the original design was maintained in spite of the fact that the original developer went bankrupt. This is the first book that I have found that doesn't dwell on Olmsted and Central Park but Olmsted and a neighborhood that still exists.

India is a secular country that respects all religions. It is the birthplace of both Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. It also has one of the world's oldest Jewish communities (though it is fast depleting thanks to emigration to Israel). The tolerance and acceptance of each other's very different beliefs is a part of the Indian psyche. Whatever one may read about religious violence in that country is more a result of manipulations by politicians than anything else.

This coffee-table format book offers a simplistic high-level introduction to the very complex subject of religions in India including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism- some more detailed than the other. It contains color photographs on every page. Rather than the photographs complementing the text, each text block describes a specific photograph. Some pictures and text associated with Hinduism are very region specific and are not a general representation of the religion. E.g. picture of the Bride and the practice described is very specific to Bengal state. This may be as much as 95% different for other brides, depending on the state. Since an attempt has been made to cover a very complex subject in a few pages, the result is surface grazing of the subject rather than deep insight or detailed treatment. The impact of religion on daily life is well represented and explained. This book by Lonely Planet is a decent starter book for introduction to various religions.

Beautiful evocation of the many religions that make up India. The book focuses mainly on the tenets and customs of the four major religions in India...Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Buddhism...but touches on the other religions as well, if more briefly. The juxtaposition of the photographs, history, explanations of religious practices, and the words and experiences of the faithful brings these religions to life with great clarity. My only complaint is that the pictures are too small...although a "coffee table" size book might have proved a bit more unwieldy to read, the photographs would have had greater visual impact had they been larger. Yet overall, I would recommend this book as a good introduction to the spiritual life of India and its people.

In his book Carlton Stowers tells us of his son, an irresponsible, self-centered sociopathic monster who would ultimately end up killing his wife in a vicious, drug-induced rage.

What I consider most compelling about Sins of the Son is the writer, Carlton Stowers himself. Carlton's son, Anson, began showing signs of anti-social behavior from a very early age. Gradually, Anson's criminal behavior escalated to more serious crimes as his drug addiction and aggression grew. And every step of the way, dear old Dad is there at the ready, to bail him out, fostering in Anson the belief that personal accountability was something other people had to worry about, not Anson.

For example, when Anson steals Carlton's car, and takes it out to Louisiana and uses it in an armed robbery, what does Carlton do? He flies out and hires him a lawyer. When the boy escapes the Louisiana prison and returns to Texas, Carlton expresses in his book the hope he felt that Anson might be able work out a deal with Texas authorities to serve out his Louisiana time at home in Texas, where Anson might be more comfortable. To his relief, that's just what happened.

After doing just a few years in Texas for the armed robbery charge, Carlton writes in his book of the frustration he felt when his miscreant son did not make parole the very first time up. He even contacts a well-connected Dallas businessman who ends up somehow securing the boy's release. Hello? Your son stole your car and used it when he stuck a loaded shotgun in a woman's face while he robbed her!

Out on parole, Carlton tells us about how he opens his home to Anson, and, ironically, pays for a car for him to use so he can get back and forth to his parole officer's weekly visits. Shortly after that, Anson begins using drugs again. He then ends up moving out and into his girlfriend's apartment. After this point, Carlton makes only the slightest reference in his book to the fact that his drug-addicted son had become physically abusive to his girlfriend, who, against her better judgment, marries him anyway.

The entire book is filled with, "Dad, I'm in a jam, I need some money," or "Dad, can you help me out," or "Dad, I really need a hand, can you spare a few bucks?" Each and every time, the writer maddens his reader by telling of his caving in to his wife-beating son's requests for money, even though the writer confesses he knows much of the money he is handing out is going to pay for drugs!

But nowhere is Carlton's compulsive obsession with his son more evident than when he discusses Anson's wife, whose photo does not appear in the book and whose family is never mentioned even once. He knows his son is physically abusive, beating up his wife, and yet he does nothing. When the inevitable happens and his son finally murders Annette, Daddy Carlton faithfully visits the prison and pays no homage in his book, nothing, to the family of the young woman whose life was snuffed out by his son. Carlton rues the fact that his son was sentenced to sixty years and laments that he won't be eligible for parole until the age of 45. Perhaps the writer ought to be reminded how fortunate it is that he has the opportunity to even reach that age at all. It sure is more than what one can say for his son's victim.

The interesting thing is, this book has been heralded as some kind of "courageous" piece, an "inspiring," and "brave" work. Nonsense. This is the work of cowardly and frankly self-absorbed individual who lacked the courage to admit that his own flesh and blood was a sociopath, a homicidal drug addict whose only rightful place is on death row. Because of the writer's shameless pattern of bailing his son out no matter what he's done, facilitating his freedom to commit the ultimate crime, murder, it's an exceedingly maddening book to read, and an unbalanced and poorly written one at that. I would not recommend this book.

I found the author's lack of insight into his son very troubling. One would think that a true crime writer would have more of a grasp of the human psyche. Like his son the author ran away from problems and saw himself above other people, including his first two wives and his son's wife. How could you not express condolences to the family of a woman who who was part of your family for several years. How could you not protect her, because she was a stripper! I couldn't help but wonder if white privledge wasn't part of the picture but never mentioned.

This true story is every parent's worst nightmare. Carlton Stowers was a journalist raising his two sons. His oldest son, Anson, had been a good child. He had a normal youth that involved sports and animals. In school, he did well and was not a problem. Then, he began to change.

How did this normal child turn to a life of crime, drugs, and eventually murder?

This is an excellent book. It addresses the issue of a child's misbehavior from the point of a father, a journalist, and an award-winning true crime writer. He deals with the issues of his son honestly and openly, as only the person experiencing the crisis can. However, he fails to examine his own problems. Since the title is "Sins of the Son," I suppose he did not feel that the sins of the father would be pertinent. Personally, I feel that the father is as much at fault as the son.

Carlton Stowers is the author of To The Last Breath and Careless Whispers. He has won the Edgar Award twice.

Heinlein is unquestionably one of the greatest science fiction writers to pick up a pen. He influenced the genre perhaps more than any other writer, and, when he was at his best, he wrote highly entertaining, witty, and thought-provoking novels that you could read through fairly quickly and still leave an impression on you. However, he sometimes got carried away. The Number of the Beast is a case of an aging, highly successful writer getting to write exactly what they wanted to write. Okay, so where does that leave the reader? Well, due to it's constant references to previous RAH fiction, (not to mention other writer's fiction) and assorted other esatoric meanderings, Beast is essentially a 500-page inside joke. However, if you have read a good portion of Heinlein's fiction (which, you shouldn't even consider reading this book if you haven't) you will be in one the joke. A lot of people seem not to get this book. They remark that it has no plot, no theme, or anything of the sort. These people are missing the point of the book. So, just what the hell IS Beast, you ask? It is a parody of the genre (of science fiction.) It's apparent from the very first setence, and it only becomes increasingly obvious throughout the book. There is, indeed, no real plot... the four characters just plod throughout the universes seemingly at random, having encounter after encounter that are connected, but not inherently coherent. But then, of course, just when the book seems to have lost all hope of having a point, a new element is injected into the book and it becomes a continuation of the Future History series, and yet another installement in the Lazarus Long chronicles. The ending, although entirely unrelated to the rest of the story, but it is, in a way, just a further continuation of the "Number of the Beast" theme, and perhaps an excuse for Heinlein to gather a bunch of his characters together, but that just expounds the parody theme, no? So, with all of this, the book is worth reading. It's not as entertaining as Heinlein's earlier work, nor as thematical or relevant, but Heinlein fans will want to read it - for the things he expounds on, and the way it ties things together. However, the book is far from perfect. It rambles on almost to the point of no return at points, and the perpetual arguments over who should be captain (which sometimes go on for pages at a time) serve absoultely no purpose and detract from the already viratually non-existent plot. But if you've read Time Enough For Love (which is a requirement before reading this book) you will be, more or less, prepared for this, and if you are a RAH fan, you will want to read it. But if you're not a hard-core fan, or are just getting into the Master's works, definately put this off until later.

After reading the reviews already posted, I'm not sure if I should laugh or shoot people! Admittedly, 'Number of the Beast' is not a story for children. However, everyone seems to either hate it or love it-Every time I come across that phenomenon in a book, I do my best to find it and read it. So far, I have not been disappointed. As I love everything I have ever read by Heinlein, (and I've made a concerted effort to read them all)I came to this book expecting to like it-and it amazed me! I love the characters, and the switch in narration thrilled me-what better way to gain insight into the way the characters think? I hope Heinlein fans will not be turned off by the negative reviews, and give this book a try. However, this book does NOT do 'politically correct'-for that matter, neither do I!

Number of the Beast is a book that MUST be reread several times to get the most from it. It's not a light read by any means and you have to be a true Heinlein fan to enjoy it. It's thought provoking, as are most, if not all of his books. To get the most out of it, you really have to pay attention to the details. The characters are very typical Heinlein heroes/heroines and tie in with his other books (one of the things I enjoy most in his books).It is impossible to become bored with Number of the Beast simply because of the numbers of places visited and the types of people encountered. Favorite childhood stories are explored in a way that cannot help but change your ideas about them. Highly recommended!

Robert Heinlein remains the twentieth century's most important science fiction writer, and the one most capable of provoking arguments. This collection of letters, edited by Virginia Heinlein from the surviving correspondence of over 100,000 letters now locked away in the archives in UC Santa Cruz until fifty years after her death, is the closest we're going to see in this lifetime to Heinlein's private opinions on a variety of subjects. Publisher Lester Del Rey insisted on the letters being cut up into various topics, rather than the more standard chronological presentation; many of these letters contain the backgrounds to a number of Heinlein's fictional and personal projects. Most of the letters are to John Campbell and Heinlein's agent from the late forties until the mid-seventies, Lurton Blassingame; most of them also deal with something Heinlein wasn't happy about, so the title of the book is indeed descriptive: many of them do grumble pretty seriously. There are only three books that really give a picture of Heinlein the man, rather than Heinlein the writer: besides this one, there is "Expanded Universe," with its prefaces and afterwords that often reveal private insights, and there is "Tramp Royale," a travelogue which is the closest thing we'll ever see to an autobiography. None of these books is going to interest a casual reader, but all three are pure gold to a Heinlein fan. Until we finally see a full biography (which may not be for another fifty years, since the correspondence is locked up), this is the best we've got.

Beginning writers are advised to 'write what you know'. But if you're a writer of science fiction, where the environment is necessarily something different from the everyday world of now, how can you do this? For those who have read Heinlein's fiction, this book will provide some insights into just how this feat is accomplished. Within these pages you will find the genesis of:

The detailed space-suits of Have Spacesuit, Will Travel from his period of engineering research work on high altitude pressure suits during WWII.

How to build plumbing, bomb shelters, and move boulders from his work on his Colorado Springs house (Farnham's Freehold).

The marvelous characters of the cats that appeared in Door into Summer and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls from the cats that at various times in his life were co-owners of his habitats.

The knowledge of fencing so evident in Glory Road from his time on the fencing team at Annapolis, and the entire cadet experience that became part of the 'Lazy Man' episode of Time Enough for Love.

These are just a few of the examples of where incidents in Heinlein's life became part of his fiction, giving it that 'true to life' feel so common in his works and so rarely found in other SF writers of his generation. But this book is not a well laid out autobiography, but rather a collection of his letters to various people, mainly his literary agent, and often the items described above are included as an aside to the main subject of the letters.

Most of the material concerns itself with the details of how each of his stories was generated, the arguments he had with various editors (especially a certain one at Scribners), his working habits and the problems that prevented him from working at various times. For the Heinlein scholar or fan, this is a gold mine, providing much insight into almost all of his work. And Heinlein's own character shines through these letters, a proud, patriotic, self-disciplined, stubborn, highly opinionated, occasionally abrasive man who knew the worth of his labor and his effect on literally millions of his readers.

The letters are organized by theme (Beginnings, Juvenile Novels, Adult Novels, Travel, Fan Mail, Building, etc) and this easily allows the reader to see the progression of ideas and events within each of these subjects. But it has a downside in that items referenced in, say, the Building section have direct impacts on his writing schedule for a book covered in the Juvenile Novels section. Sometimes these relationships, while important, are not obvious to the reader due to this structure. After reading this book twice, and seeing just how much this type of thing occurs, I think I would have preferred having the letters organized in pure chronological order.

This is not a book for someone who has not read at least a few of Heinlein's fiction works, as the material will hold little interest other than some points on how the publishing industry works and just how this particular writer worked (which is not the writing class recommended method). But for those who, like myself, have read all or most of his works, this book can add a richness of background to his fiction works, a sense of 'growing closer' to the man who many call the greatest writer of science fiction, ever.

Of course it's true that we can never really know another person, certainly not someone whom we've never met, but one way of getting at least a glimpse of another's inner workings is to get a peek at their personal correspondence.

GRUMBLES FROM THE GRAVE is not only a collection of renowed science-fiction author Robert Heinlein's letters, but a look at most of his work, with input from his widow Virginia. There are also plenty of photos and reproductions of cover art from many of his novels.

Another brilliant and beloved science fiction writer, the late Isaac Asimov, wrote in his book A MEMOIR that he thought that GRUMBLES shouldn't have been published because it showed a "meaness of spirit" in Heinlein...

Heinlein comes out looking like a conscientious, caring man, so I truly have no idea what the good Dr. Asimov meant.

Especially entertaining was the in-depth look at the decade-long
birth of Heinlein's masterpiece, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, and reading Heinlein's short work "I Believe".

Nice book.

Mark Anson manages to write one of the most horrible books about derivatives. Mr.Anson's ideas are dated and wouldn't be much help to anyone. I feel sorry for the CalPERS fund if this is the brainpower they have running it.

despite being new (june 99) this book does not bring much new knowledge

Mr. Anson writes a very interesting, and easy to read book about a very difficult subject. Anybody who is interested in credit derivatives should definitely buy this book.

Most of the primer covers what a student ought to have learned in high school History or social studies classes. Unfortunately, most high schools tend to neglect these basic concepts.

Therefore the primer can prove helpful to the College Freshman dreading his or her World Civilization classes. Likewise, faculty could avoid many headaches and sighs by recommending this book for their courses.

Covering the basics is indeed a dirty job, and someone had to do it. Anson is precise, topical and readable. A definite must-have for the College-bound student with a weakness in History or Social Science.

Alexei Panshin started off on the wrong foot with this book: he read some of Mr. Heinlein's mail without first getting Heinlein's permission.

This in turn led Heinlein to refuse to cooperate with him, or even speak with him when they met at a public event (Heinlein said: "You have read my mail. GOOD DAY, SIR!" and he turned his back on him).

Panshin demonstrates at length in this book that he doesn't like Heinlein, doesn't approve of his ideas, doesn't understand him, and thinks that Heinlein isn't a very good writer. How much of this opinion is personal animus, how much left-wing disapproval of a right-winger, and how much plain stupidity I wouldn't venture to guess, but to paraphrase the author of a review below, entitled "Panshin in Dimension" , it contributes very little of value to the study of Heinlein or his work.

I realize it is hard to be objective and insightful about someone you don't like, and it does have the occasional interesting insight into Heinlein's fiction, but mostly, it stinks. Not recommended, unless you read it first at the library and decide you want it.

This book pretends to be objective about Heinlein, but I suspect that this is mostly a technique to try to draw Heinlein's fans away from him. RAH's most important works, such as _Stranger in a Strange Land_, _Starship Troopers_, or "Gulf," are invariably trashed by Panshin. To give one really glaring example of Panshin's bias, when the hero of _Glory Road_ states that he dislikes Vietnamese women because they are small, Panshin takes this as bigotry. Panshin himself notes that the hero here is markedly different from the hero of _The Door Into Summer_, who goes back in time to tell a young girl to meet him in the future and marry him. Somehow, he fails to make the connection--Heinlein, contrary to what Panshin and other critics say, IS capable of creating DIFFERENT characters whose life views do NOT necessarily represent his own. And of course, Panshin's review of "Gulf" is one of the worst examples of literary criticism I have ever seen.

I waited a long time before deciding to to buy and read this book. Heinlein was the author of the first SF I ever read; I didn't read anything by Panshin until twenty years later. However, I like them both, in different ways and for different reasons. While I cannot say I agree with all of the observations, criticisms, and conclusions Panshin has made about Heinlein -- I don't -- "Heinlein in Dimension" *did* make me think a bit more about the Heinlein I've read. Seeing how Panshin viewed him and his work has made me consider my own opinions on the matter. If you're looking for an RAH cheerleading book, this isn't it. If you're looking for a completely objective and unbiased book about Heinlein and his work, I don't think this is it either. If, however, you're familiar with Heinlein (even a fan), are looking for someone *trying* to be objective about the subject, and can read it with the continual remembrance that you're reading someone's *opinion*, then you might find "Heinlein in Dimension" worthwhile -- in viewpoint-stretching ways if not as pure analysis.