John C. Culver and John Hyde have written a fascinating biography of Henry A. Wallace, who profoundly influenced the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. Wallace's influence on FDR was personal, close and positive throughout FDR's presidency. His influence on HST was indirect, which, until Culver and Hyde, has not been revealed to the public so dramatically, clearly and in such detail before.

For too many, their memory of Wallace is limited to one year, 1948, when Wallace was defeated as the Progressive Party candidate for president. Culver and Hyde write how Wallace was a genuine renaissance man, a scientist, businessman, writer, philosopher, and prophet. Throughout his 13 and a half year career as a cabinet member and Vice President, he was extraordinarily successful, innovative, effective and dynamic. In keeping the long view, he was guardian of the heart and soul of our democracy. He forsaw much of what has come to pass and is still yet to be done. Culver and Hyde give us the unvarnished story, which, in sum, leaves the reader with the feeling of being blessed that such a courageous man lived and fought for us. Readers owe a huge debt of gratitude to Culver and Hyde for condensing into one volume such a multi-faceted life. The times alone would have drowned most writers. Synthesizing many sources, some not known before, the authors give us a full portrait of a great and courageous man whose life defined the best of what is a liberal.

This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive political biographies I've ever read. I have to confess from the outset (with a tad of embarrassment) that I pretty much had no idea who Henry A. Wallace was when I picked up this book. What shocked me most after reading 'American Dreamer' was how a man that was so revered and despised in his time has been so conveniently left out of any present discourse on that era.

In 'American Dreamer', Hyde and Culver give a well-written and balanced account of the life on one of the most enigmatic and progressive political leaders that America has ever produced. Why his name has never come up in years of taking history courses amazes me- especially in light of the fact that his thoughts on the cold war, which he tried desperately to steer us away from, turned out to be quite prescient.

Henry Agard Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture for eight years, Vice President for four and Commerce Secretary for a short time before his forced ouster. Wallace ran for the Presidency in 1948 on the Progressive ticket, lost, and then left public office. What Wallace left us during this time was a legacy of innovative leadership, genuine public service and a virtual revolution in agriculture.

Wallace eschewed the world of dog eat dog politics and preferred appealing directly to the public than orchestrating back room machinations. He was honest, direct, practical and always put the public good above his own wants or ambitions. In short, he had everything that seems to be lacking in the American political spectrum today.

As I read the book I couldn't help but think what would have happened if Wallace had remained Vice President (instead of Truman) and therefore become President at Roosevelt's death. It seems to me that the worse excesses of the cold war and the red scare could have been avoided and that US policy in just about every area may have been put on a more evenly keeled tack for the future (it would have been undone later, but hell, it's a start).

Wallace was often accused of being an impractical dreamer- but if what he accomplished in his years of public service were the deeds of an impractical dreamer- then we can certainly use more of them.

Rarely have I read such a well-written political biography of a major figure. AMERICAN DREAMER very ably traces the trajectory of Henry Wallace's career from relative obscurity in the Iowa farm belt to its pinnacle in the Vice Presidency, then the fall from grace from Truman's firing of him as Commerce Secretary through the debacle of the 1948 Progressive Party candidacy for President. Especially fascinating are the parts which trace the reasons for FDR's dumping Wallace in favor of Truman in 1944 and Wallace's increasing distance from the American political mainstream, especially after that point. Viewed from the perspective of post-Cold War America, Wallace's views toward the Soviet Union and World Communism seem to have more validity than they did when he expressed them between the end of World War II and the outbreak of the Korean War; but the authors maintain objectivity about Wallace in this regard and rightly suggest how naive or downright subversive some of his political stances seemed at the time. The book is not without its appreciation of the ironies of Wallace's life and career in politics--how a "rock-ribbed Republican" evolved into one of the most radical national politicians of his generation, and how a scientist and businessman who made a minor fortune from the new hybrid strains of corn which he developed came to be regarded as a closet Communist.

The main thing that is lacking from this biography is a full picture of Henry Wallace the man. There are a number of hints that his family life following his marriage was rather troubled and unhappy, but his wife, children, and siblings remain on the periphery of the authors' presentation. (For example, it mentions that his oldest son never forgave him for one particular disagreement, but never elaborates or returns to their relationship. His wife was obviously uncomfortable with his entrance into electoral politics, but the book never explores this in any depth.) The book also seems to compress its account of the final 15 years of his life to a snapshot at best; it would have been nice to know more about how he viewed American politics--both national and international--in the years preceding his death, how he felt about his relative anonymity, and whether he ever felt fully vindicated for taking the rather lonely political path he took.

As a result, the portrayal of his later life in particular seems to be a bit one dimensional. But these are minor flaws in what is otherwise a captivating biography of a very intricate individual. Most people will learn a lot from this book; I certainly did.

TWO THUMBS UP! PAMSY AND ME IS A BOOK ABOUT FRIENDSHIP,AND DETERMINATION.IT BREAKS BARRIERS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.IT'S A MUST READ/HAVE BOOK FOR ALL EDUCATORS,PARENTS,DIRECTORS OF CHILD CARE FACILITIES AND SPECIAL OLYMPICS SPONSORS,VOLUNTEERS,PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANIZERS.ALSO, A MUST READ FOR POLITICIANS WHO DECIDE ONFUNDINGFOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. I SHARE THIS BOOK WITH OTHER EDUCATORS,PARENTSAAAAAND COMMUNITY LEADERS.

Pamsy and Me is a very inspirational book for people of all ages. The illustrations are wonderful. Pamsy and Me shows that all special needs people are very "special."

Pamsy and Me was a very inspirational book. The illustrations were wonderful, and I enjoyed the book. It gives people an opportunity to learn what special needs are, and accept those with these needs.

I have reread this book 3 times, and each time I find that the stories make a difference in my day. I am beginning to use it as a daily reminder that my actions and kindness waterfall to anyone I encounter, whether it be in person, on the telephone, or even in my e-mails.

I am so very grateful that Margot Silk Forrest realized that our world is in desperate need of kindness. Her book is perfectly written, contains wonderful stories, and I hope she writes Volume 2!!

Get this book...and keep several copies handy to share with others!!! Let's ALL help her change the world!!!!

What the world needs now...is a short course in kindness. I loved this book. The stories made me both laugh and cry in recognition. I felt changed somehow, softer and kinder. But mostly, this short course in kindness reminded me that the heart is indeed a muscle that feels a lot better when stretched.

...I read it cover to cover. I loved it. It's well-crafted and real, and has some new ideas worth considering. It opened my heart and made me feel lighter about life, which was no small task. I got a kick out of the "call to arms" in the last chapter. I'm giving copies to colleagues, friends and family. This one's a gem.

This is truly a fascinating book. In it, Mr. Hyde takes us into the inner working of the Communist Party in which he was a member for more than twenty years. With utter clarity, he shows us that the dedication of the average communist worker was not the result of brain washing, but was the result of exceptional leadership. Throughout this excellent book Hyde contrasts the weak and anemic leadership styles of the church with its corresponding weak following, to the strong leadership of the Communist Party and their dedicated following.

I was especially impressed by the first part of the book where Hyde takes the reader step by step though the process by which a young communist recruit is trained to be a leader of men. High expectations (you are joining an elite organization) and high purpose (you are going to make a difference in the lives of men) combine to get to form the foundation of dedication. The only apparent weakness of the book is it's "Britishness." The Brits do write in a style that is difficult for their American cousins to follow.

This book is transformational. Everything I have learned about leadership dove tails right into what Hyde is saying: The need for public witness, ministry before training, life application teaching, strict accountability, high expectations, beginning with felt needs, a commitment o excellence, are all themes common to great leadership.

The best book on leadership I've read. Douglas Hyde, a british ex-communist leader, exposes the methodological success of Communism. He doesn't delve into Communism's ideological fallacies (although alluded to). He rather lays out communistic functions that led to it's incredible growth in such a short period of time. Throughout the book he comments on both Communist and Chritian potentials that culminates in the choice between total Communism or total Christianity. One of the most intriguing chapters is "The Story of Jim." Hyde told those in a Communist leader seminar that the Communist party could take anyone willing to be trained in leadership and make a leader. Hyde describes Jim as, 'very short, grotesquely fat, with a flabby white face, a cast in one eye and, to make matters worse, a most destressing stutter.' You'll need to read the book to see what became of Jim.

For many years Hyde was a leader of the Communist Party in Great Britain. In 1948, the Communist stalwart shocked all Britain by resigning as editor of the daily paper of the British Communist Party and leaving the Party.

        He became a Christian and wrote Dedication and Leadership as a guide to political skills for anti-communists, particularly Christians. After reading it, you will understand why communism endured for so long. Much of its success, Hyde shows, was due to its use of philosophically neutral techniques of communication, recruitment, training and organization.

My mother wrote this book.I am so glad to see she has helped so many people and still is.A toast to a wonderful woman !(wine of course )

My mother wrote this book.She passed away a few years ago,but when i read her book it makes me smile.I am so glad she was able to share this with other people and make them feel good to!A toast to a wonderful woman!(wine of course)

One of the best books I have ever read. I'm a 34 year old female who just finished treatment for lymphoma. Ms. Hyde captured my feelings and thoughts perfectly. I highly recommend this to anyone going through a battle with cancer or to any caregivers also. I wish I had found this book when I was actually having my chemo and radiation. Some of her pointers would have helped me a lot (ie. always carry a blanket with you to chemo and to hospitals).

It's obvious that Dimock has done his homework in researching and writing this superbly crafted book detailing the disappearance of Glenn and Bessie Hyde, the 'honeymoon couple' who attempted a run through Grand Canyon in their sweep scow--Rain-in-the-Face--during 1928. Here we find three great stories packed concisely into one exceptionally good book. It is part mystery novel, part an historical account replete with colorful and obscure Grand Canyon characters, and part the telling of Dimock's own run down the Colorado River in the sweep scow he built to recreate the Hyde's histroic trip. SUNK WITHOUT A SOUND is also, and more importantly, a thorough biography of the life and times of Glen and Bessie Hyde. Their family members appear in startling detail, their history is laid out in a colorfully woven chronology, and their ultimate end is surmised in vivid fashion. Beyond that, the many folk tales surrounding their disappearance are debunked and kindly dismissed with considerable research. Illustrated with maps, diagrams, and an interesting variety of historic Grand Canyon and Hyde family photos, Dimock ultimely takes the reader on a whitewater trip not to be forgotten. Dimock's first book, THE DOING OF THE THING, a biography of riverman Buzz Holmstrom, won the National Outdoor Book Award in 1998. However impressive that my be, SUNK WITHOUT A SOUND is, obviously, destined for much higher accolades.

Outrageous adventures that capture the imagination, like Lindberg's trans-Atlantic flight, often personify the American spirit, especially in the youth of a new century. But the 1928 honeymoon excursion down the rapids of the Grand Canyon by Glen and Bessie Hyde ended in tragedy, their bodies never recovered, the whole trip shrouded in mystery. This book sets out to tell their story with as many facts as are available, recount the rescue efforts and determine some answers after all these years of speculation.

After reading Grand Ambition, a novel by Lisa Michael's, about the couple's fateful honeymoon, I was curious to know more of the details and explore the lore surrounding the disappearance of Bessie and Glen. Author Dimock gathers what few pertinent facts are available and reconstructs the Hyde's journey, physically experiencing parts of it himself. He even builds a replica of their craft, hoping to ascertain what happened as they moved from one dangerous whitewater course to another. Literally, only speculation remains, because their flat-bottomed scow was found drifting, intact and packed with provisions with no evidence of the bodies. Did they die, or escape? The author also carefully goes over each step of the rescue party's unsuccessful search. As an extra service to the reader, he spends some time debunking the many urban legends that have sprung up over the years, passed from campfire to campfire, further clouding the truth.

The most satisfying part of this book is Dimock's exacting concentration on each phase of the journey given the modernization of river rafting techniques and experience. Easy answers are simply not acceptable to Dimock, and he unfailingly covers every possible situation in the attempt to arrive at a feasible conclusion. In his conscientious writing, this author postulates some scenarios that set my mind at rest. When he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, it's as likely a fit as will be found at this time. And I was relieved to put aside those rumors and innuendoes told with a broad wink, because I would like to think of this couple in peace after such a short and harrowing twist of fate.

I'm no expert about the Grand Canyon or whitewater rafting - I've visited the canyon about 5 times over the last 30 years, spending 6 days on a spring break backcountry hike on one of the trips, and I've been on one float trip down the San Juan River [Bluff to 'Lake Foul'] on the spring break before or after the canyon hike - so I'm reviewing Sunk Without A Sound by Brad Dimock as an interested and knowledgable layperson. This book is an amazing adventure story, a gripping mystery, a brave piece of experimental historical investigation, the end product of extensive research, and an extremely rational and fair reading of the available evidence.

The book is a tapestry of stories sewn together with several strong threads. The main thread is the story of the failed [?] honeymoon Colorado River trip of Glen and Bessie Hyde in 1928 and the subsequent attempts to find a solution to their disappearance. It is the story of RC Hyde, Glen's father, and his obsessive, but loving, attempts to find his son and his daughter-in-law. It is the story of author Brad Dimock and his wife, Jeri Ledbetter, and their enlightening version of the original Hyde trip [they recreated the original journey in a version of the original sweep scow]. Dimock ties all these pieces together in one seamless piece of non-fiction.

I enjoyed the book immensely, especially the fact that Dimock told the most reasonable story that the research and the evidence supported. I recommend you take a ride throught the twists, the turns, and the rapids of this excellent book.

A beautiful, seamless blend of yesterday's memories and today's realities I was drawn to follow Ella through her dysfunctional childhood to the one place in her life where she makes a conscious decision. She pulls herself together and takes charge in an effort to find Simon, her missing brother, following her instincts and trusting her strengths. Becoming responsible for her destiny instead of constantly being dragged through the dirt by life's past experiences. It reminds me how fragile and random life is and how brave we sometimes have to be to overcome our weaknesses. A deep and powerful read.

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of Catherine Ryan Hyde until I saw a trailer for the movie Pay It Forward. I picked up a copy of Pay It Forward (because we all know the book is always better than the movie) and in fairly short succession I read Pay It Forward, Electric God and Walter's Purple Heart. Having liked all three of those titles very much, I tracked down a copy of Funerals for Horses and all I can say is... wow.

Ella's search for her brother and her stubborn cling to sanity will move most readers. But this story will definitely touch any reader whose childhood is something that he or she longs to flee and forget. If your childhood was a place of terror and pain, you will read this book as if you are coming home. You will say "Exactly. That is exactly right."

And if you like horses, well, that's just gravy.

This novel is one of those hidden gems of the literary world. Be glad you are on this page and found it. Read it. You won't regret it.

I've never read anything like it. The author created a unique plot balanced between reality and insanity. While searching for her brother, Ella reminices about her childhood. She uses her past to guide her to her brother. Because of her disease, she slips in and out of reality and into here own world of illusions. It's so in depth and exhilerating. I didn't want to put it down. A wonderful job by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Another outstanding Sam's title. The progression of concepts in Java Thread Programming is very clear and the example code is great. I found Hyde's progressive build up of small example applications particularly useful. That's how it happens in real life!

I think this is a better book for beginners than the O'Reilly Java Thread's book. The O'Reilly book tends to quickly pile through each concept while the Sam's book takes a more leisurely approach. The O'Reilly book also occasionally goes off on tangents. Hyde's book, however, points out potential sources of trouble while taking an easy to follow, serial thread to understanding asynchronous programming in Java.

Threads are a tricky business and while Java makes their use easier there are still lots of pitfalls and gotchas. This is the first book I've found with solid examples that have already helped me solve some problems I am working on. Other books, while sometimes good (Lea's book comes to mind) are more theory and less example based than I like. This book on the other hand, is full of useful examples. Highly recommended, although getting the source code should be easier for non windows users. If you have trouble email the author. He was very helpful when I dropped him a note.

I just wanted to express my sincerest appreciation for this book. It has really helped me build a solid foundation of threading in Java.

The examples are easy to follow and the way that the author refers to the code line numbers in the text is very helpful. Concepts that I never quite grasped were explained in such a simple manner that I was left thinking "It's so easy! Why did I have trouble understanding this before!?".

I wanted to point out a few sections of the book that were especially helpful:

1) Synchronized Statement Block (pg 144-146). I have attained my Java certification at the programmer level, so I already knew how to use the synchronized keyword as method modifiers and in blocks. However, this section of the book really cleared up the concept of what it actually means to get a synchronized lock on an object. This line, on page 144, made it all clear: "... obj is a reference to the object whose object-level lock must be acquired before entering the block of code."

2) I can't find the page number, but the book makes a reference to the point that when two threads are running you can't be sure when the thread scheduler will remove it from the running state and place another thread into the running state. This really helped me understand how multi-threading programs work in general. Instead of talking about threads as slices of time (as some texts do), it was much easier to understand the concept of the almighty thread scheduler taking individual threads on or off the running state and that when they would be placed back into the running state, they would continue from where they left off before.

3) Deadlocks (pp 160-165). I have heard of this situation before but never really understood how a situation like this could arise. The diagram on page 161 and sample program on page 161 really brought the point home.

4) The Wait/Notify Mechanism (pp 168). The example on page 169 helped me understand why wait( ), notify( ), and notifyAll( ) are part of the Object class. I often wondered why these methods weren't part of the Thread class. This entire chapter was a pleasure to read because it clearly explained how wait and notify work and how they should to be used. The timing diagrams were also very helpful.

5) Threads and Swing (Chapter 9). The motivation example (page 232) for why it is sometimes necessary to create a new thread in a Swing application really helped me get a better understanding of the event dispatching thread. This made it very easy to understand SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait( ) and SwingUtilities.invokeLater( ).

I have a few suggestions for future editions of the book. The first suggestion is for providing exercises at the end of each chapter. Or perhaps there could be a Part 3 to the book which lists multi-threaded programming projects that readers can try. For example, I wrote the CubbyHole program on page 192 by myself, before looking at the code in the book. The second suggestion is to have more information about debugging in multi-threaded programs. A listing of the techniques as well as the common tools used would be most helpful. The third suggestion is to provide some examples when you would use ThreadLocal and InheritableThreadLocal in the real world.

Thank you, Mr. Hyde, for writing such a beautiful book!

The Red Fox is a great spy novel, which we all love. It takes place about ten years ago, so the KGB is still out there and that's a lot of fun. The main character in the book goes to many places including Toronto, Georgetown, and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He even goes to my hometown of Detroit, and I must say that having dead bodies in garbage bags is pretty accurate for Detroit. A word of advice: READ THIS BOOK!

The RED FOX is, quite simply, the best spy novel I have ever read. It stands out against a fairly accomplished field of competition by being what the others are not--deep, atmospheric, and utterly believeable. Read this book at once!

I've read several spy and espionage stories, some very good ones. None hold a candle to this one. The story's main character is trying to locate the missing father of his friend/lover. His journey takes him all over the globe. Action, suspense, intrigue and mystery hit you on every page. It just never lets up and the plot constantly twists and turns. Just when you think you're figuring something out, Hyde throws something new into the mix. And if you can see the end to this one coming you are one clever cookie!

This may have been Hyde's first novel but he is certainly no stranger to writing, he's done his homework. The characters are authentic and well-fleshed out. The storyline, which takes place back in the late days of the Cold War, is superbly thought out. His prose moves along very well. The whole point here is that's it's real tough to criticize much of anything with this book. One of the 10 best books I've ever picked up. Hard to find any more, its out of print and disappears from used bookstores right now. If you see it, grab it!

Catherine Ryan Hyde has brought you to the feeling that each author tries to achieve. Her characters have been so fully developed that you can relate in some way to all of them.

The feeling of love that Walter makes you proud to feel, is a real winner. Let yourself become one of the people and then you will become another and finally you will fill all the shoes.

This book will make you feel so wonderful, and will add to your faith in yourself.

This should be at the top of the best seller list.

Woody Allen said, "The heart wants what it wants." Catherine Ryan Hyde says it again - beautifully - in Walter's Purple Heart!

"Pay It Forward" fans, it's time to cheer. Catherine Ryan Hyde's latest-"Walter's Purple Heart"-is another life-affirming, emotionally rewarding read that touches the heart and satisfies the soul.

In her just-the-good-parts, spare, literary style, she spins an un-put-downable tale that pays tribute to the "Greatest Generation"-the heroes and heroines of World War II-without glorifying the violence and pain they endured.

It's a book about the eternal power of love and friendship that should appeal to all generations, but for those of us of AARP age, this book makes a very special gift.