When I first saw the cover painting by Mike Wimmer on "Home Run" I was not sure if it was supposed to be Babe Ruth. In his glory days the Bambino had a body like an inverted pyramid, with those broad shoulders tapering down to those thin little ankles and tiny feet, and there are some paintings in "Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth" that do not especially look like the Babe. However, those are few and far between.

The text by Robert Burleigh comes in two parts. First, there is the book's narrative, a sort of lyric ode to the Babe that combines his discovering his "pretty" swing as a boy with a home run he hits off of a Red Sox pitcher years later. Second, under the narrative text there is the back of a faux-baseball card (from "The World Champion" series), that has biographical and statistical details about Ruth.

However, the centerpiece of this book is the time at bat that takes up the last half of the book. Earlier there is a striking painting of Ruth launching a pop-up; the view is from behind the catcher who has taken off his mask, all eyes turned to the sky and the small white ball rising into the sky. Wimmer offers several unique and compelling perspectives during the home run episode as well: the Red Sox first baseman craning his neck to follow the flight of the unseen ball, the eyes of Ruth watching it disappear into the stands, the Babe's foot on first base as the pitcher stands dejectedly on the mound.

There is a quote on the back-flap of the dust-jacket that says the "Chicago Sun-Times" described Wimmer's illustrations as "reminiscent of some of Normal Rockwell's best." Certainly there are strong similarities, especially in the painting of the fans reacting to Ruth's homerun. But with his emphasis on key details to tell the story Wimmer offers a decidedly different perspective from Rockwell that I really liked. Ultimately, it is the artwork rather than the narrative that makes this a lyrical book.

Purchased this for my nephew who is overweight, uncoordinated and loves playing baseball. Reading this to him increased his joy of the game and gave him confidence to keep trying to improve his own skills. Taught him to do best with the skills he had right now and even how to deal with successes in life. This level of understanding was terrific for children and adult alike. Excellent book for sharing special time with children.

This books opens with the Great Bambino as a child. Remindingyou of your own innocent childhood. It then leaps to his professinalcareer where it slows down to one at bat. (the moment) It is written with a grace for detail that makes you feel like part of the story. You hear the crack of the bat, feel the dirt under your spikes, the "soft hardness of the base", and hear the defening sound of the crowd. This book brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it to my daughter and my son. Maybe one day they will read it to their children and know why. END

this book is both beautifully written and illustrated. Los trully captures New York and all of it's energy.

I had to buy two of these, one to cut out the pages to frame.

It's so refreshing to see a solid children's book about great artists. The illustration is really hip and colorful. I bought this book as a gift, but then got another copy for myself.

My husband presented this book to me as an anniversary gift, so I must credit him with awakening my own Goddess Within. I keep this book next to our bed and when I need stregnth I open it's pages and find exquisite artwork, inspiring prose, moving poetry. It never fails to lift me and it is my pleasure to have given at least a dozen copies of this book to others who might benefit from it's beauty and wisdom. Blessings to all...

I like to keep this book by my bedside and open it at random right before I go to sleep. I read the quote and look at the image, as my last thought of the day. I find the imagery powerful and empowering, and the quotes are insightful. This is not just a book for women, it is something that my husband also appreciates. This makes a great gift for special friends, and it is especially nice as a Mother's Day present.

This book was given to me as a gift. I haven't stopped reading since I first opened the cover. This collection of quotations, poetry, essays, etc. regarding female power and spirituality says all the right things and you don't shrink back at any of it. The artwork is pertinent and adds to the feeling engendered by the words. Any time you feel down or tiny, pick up this book and you will feel priveleged and powerful in no time. You owe yourself this book!

My 8 year old daughter fell in love with this book when we visited the local Pagan bookstore, and was thrilled to get it as a Yule gift. She has sat every night, by herself, reading the stories and then talking to me about the Goddesses they describe, relating them to our family's own practices and beliefs. The illustrations are beautiful, and the stories well-written and aimed at kids 8-12 (my daughter has had to ask the meanings of some words, but not too many). It would make great bedtime stories for younger kids, too. :)

This beautiful book tells the folktales of ten Goddesses from different cultures around the world. The illustrations are truly lovely with colorful detailed costumes and borders on the pages filled with diverse flora from water lilies to hazel branches, to cherry blossoms. You will discover many different faces of the Goddess and young girls in particular will benefit from these positive role model examples. The stories are purely good yarns which have stood the test of time and when combined with the artistry of Helen Cann they sparkle! Invite Isis, Kuan Yin, Cerridwen, Freya, White Buffalo Woman, Oshun, Ama-terasu, Persephone, Demeter, and Hekate in when you enjoy this bountiful treasure of stories and add balance and beauty to your life.

I've read all of Robert Burleigh's many fine children's books, and this could be my favorite. Like the bike ridden by messenger man, the text is spare and poetic. Children will love the energy and warmth of the story. They will feel what it's like to be "messenger man," confident in his worth and the importance of his work. The art is perfect, creating and capturing the confidence of Calvin Curbhopper from early morning through late evening.

Children will ask you to read this book again and again -- and you'll love doing so.

Robert Burleigh's _Messenger, Messenger_ is an exciting portrait of a bicycle messenger in a big city.

In rhyming poetry, we meet Calvin Curbhopper, a young African-American bicycle messenger, as he moves around a big city making deliveries. He's constantly on the move. It's an exciting look at the bicycle messenger's life!

In our glimpse of Calvin's apartment, I was pleasantly surprised to see that his mattress is on the floor, and his place looks sparsely furnished and more than a little sloppy. He's got a bookshelf full of books, an alarm clock, some music, and not a lot more.

Calvin works hard and enjoys himself, yet he doesn't have a lot of stuff! So few children's books even present a glimpse inside the homes of single adults. It's a minor point, but it's nice to get a look into Calvin's pad, especially because it isn't the 3 bedroom family suburban spread I'm accustomed to seeing in picture books.

The lines in _Messenger, Messenger_ are poetic, and move along with a nice rhythm. It's easy to feel the rhythm of the cyclist as he moves through traffic.

My two year old son loves this book. He likes the rhythm of the story, and now I think, (gasp) that he might want to be a bike messenger when he grows up. So much for engineering and medicine, I guess.

There aren't many picture books which portray the life and lifestyle of the bicycle messenger. My son and I both like this one.

You should take a look at _Messenger, Messenger_.

ken32

Many Americans can't understand how Germany developed a racial state in the midst of modernism. This book gives vivid insight into the mechanisms & development of fascism. The National Socialist Party didn't just happen. The machinery of the state developed under the right conditions with the help of many non-military individuals, including both professors & doctors.

Not only is this book interesting for its historical information, reading it enlightens the reader to more recent fascist development. After reading this book, you will never say it can't happen here.

Techinically I was forced to read this book for a history cause I'm taking. However, instead of reading all the other source too, I read the whole thing instead of just the assignments for this book. If you have any interest in the Holocaust, this book is a must. The integration of documents and survivor's account gives the information alot of different perspective that really helps to better understand a situation that is so unimanigable.

Thanks Art for co-authoring this book with me. You were a lot of fun to work with and whew! collecting all the wonderful contributions was exciting. We collected information by people with total sales of over a billion dollars annually. I know that the stories in this book will help people become leaders. By writing this book, you have made a wonderful contribution to helping others. Bravo.

I keep this book on my desk daily. I read the True Leadership Pledge ever day. I needed this book. It's filled with great stuff that I can use. It's great to read a book written by a man and a woman. I especially like the comparison of the Cubic Zirconia leaders and True Leaders. It's right on.

This edition of Augustine's early writings is an excellent text for undergraduates as well as a fine collection for specialists. One can see the formative years of Augustine's Christian thought on a variety of topics in nice translations with useful a useful synopsis of each work included. Well worth the money and essential reading for those who wish to know this greatest of saints better. You may also want to read his Confessions before or during your reading of these texts for a fuller picture of his life.

An extraordinary and deeply moving book. Burleigh documents in meticulous and scholarly detail the mass murder of psychiatric patients, and exposes the obscene justification of this as "mercy killing" (incidentally providing a fascinating and horrifying survey of the way in which the Nazi "euthanasia" program helped create the bureaucratic machinery later used to run the concentration camps). Instead of allowing the sheer weight of numbers to render the victims anonymous, he uses haunting photographs and details of some of the murdered adults and children to "bring them to life" and make vivid the humanity which the Nazis were unable to see. Anyone interested in the rights of the mentally handicapped and mentally ill should read this book

Michael Burleigh, an English historian, is the author of an earlier book on the Nazi "euthanasia" campaign of 1940, when Nazi officials, doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators joined together in the persecution of handicapped Germans. Over 70,000 people were murdered in about one year.

In this book Burleigh reflects on the "mind set" of the Nazi murderers, their attitudes towards their victims, and the ethical assumptions they made. He also comments with intelligence and perception on post-WW II reactions.

This book is insightful and interesting and rewarding for both general and scholarly readers. Burleigh brings wisdom and humanity to this all too dreadful subject.