Being a fan of American pro football in general and the Niners in particular, I decided to give Bill Walsh's 'Building a Champion' a read. With the help of bay area sports scribe Glenn D!ckey, Walsh's famous calm and analytical style is faithfully translated to the written page. Throughout the course of this paperback, Walsh discusses his career of coaching in the NFL, from his initial assisting gig with the Raiders to his developing what would become known as the West Coast Offense as the QBs coach of the Bengals and Chargers in the 70s.

Then there's his biggest challenge and achievement- the turnaround of the San Francisco 49ers from league doormats to the team to beat in the 80s. From season to season, Walsh discusses the many highs and lows of coaching the Niners. He also goes into his philosophy and methods that helped keep the team successful over the years he coached them, and helped to maintain their success for several years following his departure. Sadly, many of his thoughts on how to improve and maintain a championship-form team would likely be considered outdated today, what with the added difficulties of less restricted free agency and the
salary cap, which he covers this in his follow-up, 'Finding The Winning Edge'.

Walsh also goes over the many trials and tribulations that he endured, such as learning the effects of drug abuse on players (lowlighted by a disastrous tryout by the infamous 'Hollywood' Henderson), and his coming close to quitting following the team's horrific showing in the strike-shortened 1982 season. I found his memories of dealing with the media somewhat absorbing, the high point- or low point, rather- being a confrontation with legendary Monday Night Football commentator Howard Cosell. Then there's the aspect of coaching that no sideline leader enjoys: the cutting of a beloved past-his-prime veteran. Walsh admits that this, out of all his duties, is the one he dreaded the most when he was running the show.

The last few pages are a small index of some of the most famous plays in 49er lore. Included is 'Brown Left Slot- Sprint Right Option' (Dwight Clark's Catch against Dallas), 'Red Right Tight- F Left- 20 HB Curl- X Up' (Montana's TD pass to Taylor to win Super Bowl XXIII), and a few other notable offensive formations.

Whether you're a Niner fan or a football follower in general, this is definitely one for your must-read list!

'Late

Great chronicle of the 49ers' dynasty of the 80s. I have an original hard copy available. E-mail me if you want to bid on it.

Coach Walsh walks you through year-by-year his perspective on the 49ers magnificent decade. He also discusses his experiences with the Bengals and Chargers as an assistant as well as Stanford's leader. There is an appendix with some famous plays.

Christopher Dickey has written an impressive book on the lives of the non-Arab expatriates living throughout the Middle East. Mr. Dickey provides a very lucid account of the experiences of several westerners living (or passing through) different countries of the middle east, in the process shedding light both on the indigenous cultures as well as the one they create for themselves once there.

The only reservation I have about the book (and it does not take away from its overall merits) is that Mr. Dickey's singular window into the lives of non-Arab expats is not matched by any similar insights into the lives of Arab expatriates. This glosses over the rainbow of cultures which exist in most of the Gulf countries, and often impede many westerners from being able to appreciate the diversity that awaits them.

Overall, an easy, engrossing read... with wonderful anecdotes and a singular view into a group of people which most people are not even aware exist.

This is a series of essays, some previously published in magazines like Vanity Fair, by Newsweek journalist Dickey.

The author gracefully paints both romance and reality; certainly the west's long-running orientalist fantasies still exist in the heart of anyone who has wanted to visit that part of the world. Dickey simply acknowledges these and strives to give insightful reports of the volatile politics and diverse societies (mostly those of foreigners) in the vast region covered. There is a guileless sense of truth on these pages that stays with the reader.

There are very good chapters about Arabs themselves: a censured writer in Cairo, e.g., Dickey's record of stunned Iranians voicing their dismay in reaction to a particularly heinous American military blunder.

Dickey offers occasional history lessons (the chapter on Oman's leadership), humor (the witty chapter about British expats in Dubai), and poignant human interest (many chapters touch upon the innocent lives scarred or ended by various military acts).

I picked this up thinking I was getting a light book about western expats, but that is a very small part of Dickey's focus. He writes of Filipino tanker crews facing mortal danger with a smile and a shrug, a Russian businessmen in a bad suit and the UN's splendidly stylish Turkish PR man, a self-important French Canadian aid worker. Dickey's contacts are many and vivid.

The book is resolutely but subtly anti-war. It will be impossible for a reader to generalize about Arabs after reading Dickey's book.

A great book to give to anyone going to an Arab country, either as expat or visitor.

Greetings to all.

Mr. Dickey's book is equally insightful and even more useful now in 1998 than when first published about the cultural atmospherics and (diversified) adjustments of expatriates in major countries of the Middle East.

Based on his travels in the region, Mr. Dickey developed many discerning insights from his meeting and interviewing a widely-representative range of expatriates (singletons and families).

I had read his book before I served at American embassies in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council during and after the last Gulf War. His book's treatment of the resident expatriates (the shakiest and flakiest had left Saudi Arabia and adjacent countries) was very helpful and accurate.

A bonus of this book is the inclusion of the views and opinions of Arab employers and other contacts who discuss - with remarkable poignancy - the expatriates and how the various societies perceive and adjust (as they can) to one another.

Highly recommended as an easy-to-read book for sensitizing oneself on many of the cultural, emotional and practical matters of the region.

Good preparation about what to know, who is where and doing what, where to look, and how to think about living and thriving there (and also why some expats do not thrive or survive).

Excellent companion to Gordon Robison's paperback entitled "Arab Gulf States" (2d Edition, 1996), published by Lonely Planet Press and also available at Amazon.com.

The cold Alaskan air could burn anybody's skin and heart, but not this wolf named Buck. He showed he had heart in everything that he did. One of the many things Buck did during his three thousand miles was earning ownership from all the dogs on the team and from all of the men and women who owned him. He showed courage by pulling twenty five-pound sacks of flour for one hundred yards all by himself. This book is a good one to read if you love adventure, excitement and danger. I would recommend this book to anybody, but mostly the younger children because of its many fun adventures.

This review is by a family of three kids. Our mom read this book aloud to us. Here are our opinions:
Anne (12): I think this was a really moving book, but some of the writer's opinions, I didn't quite agree with. Jack London says that we are shaped by our society, but I believe that we can change ourselves, because we have free will.
Michelle (11): It was a great book, but I didn't like the middle portion, because White Fang was all hatred, killing all the dogs he met.
John (9): The best part was when White Fang was sitting at the shore as boats came up, waiting to kill all the dogs. I think White Fang was good and bad. He would be a good guard dog. But he was bad because he tried to kill. He never let any dog retreat to save themselves.
Mom: This was really a good book, but I recommend it as a read aloud. The reading level is way above my kids heads, but they understood it in context as a read aloud. There are some very ferocious parts that I skipped as I read, because I thought them too graphic. But the book did inspire us to discuss the idea that we are shaped by our surroundings, and that we have free will to make our way. But also, we shape other's lives by our own choices -- so we are responsible before God to others.

London's near epic tail of a wolf struggling to adapt to civilization is one marked by adventure, excitement and emotion. London flawlessly depicts the nature of wild beasts and the environment in which they live.
The storyline follows a young gray cub called White Fang, who is thrown into the midst of human culture against his will. The young cub develops into a dominant wolf and experiences confrontations beyond his vivid imagination. White Fang possesses unique and distinctive qualities for a wolf which is wonderfully detailed in the characters countless struggles.
This is truly a well-written book, with more than enough excitement to keep any apathetic reader intrigued. Although an interesting and insightful look at the nature of animals, the book's beginning can be considered a toil to accomplish and perhaps even tedious for some.
Fortunately, with the introduction of mankind, the story sweeps into action as White Fang strives to fuse with society, and the domesticated animals that come along with it. White Fang's Possession changes multiple times during the novel, keeping readers enthused and captivated. Be advised however, the exhilaration reaches a climax only halfway into the book, and never achieves the high level of excitement at any point afterward.
Despite the less absorbing material in the first and last parts of the book, Jack London's timeless account of a ferocious wolf molded by the fingers of civilization is well worth the read. The emotional attachment one attains from reading the pages of White Fang is more than enough to engage readers of all types. Don't miss out on this book.

I picked up the book recently and didn't realise what it was really about. I couldn't put it down - I've told as many people as I can about the book, but I really think that there should be more done to get the book out with the current state of the world.

It was eerie reading the book in November 2001. How could Dickey have hit such a perfect note a few years ago? I hope he is proud of his work. It would have been a compelling read at any time - but it is certainly a must now.

I read this book this past week, after failing to track it down upon its release. It is a marvelous, gripping story that held me in the character's viewpoint the entire way. But it is not just a thriller; it requires you to think about the actions, and inactions, you make every day as an American. By not voicing your opinion to your government representatives, you allow them to speak for you without their knowledge of your beliefs and desires. Therefore, for instance, the war on terrorism (and personal privacy) currently ongoing is made in your name, whether or not you agree with it. And so this book tells the history of the main character named Kurt; how he views the world as a teenager, all the way up through his Army Ranger years, and how he (representing many frustrated Americans who feel their voice is unheard) becomes disillusioned with the government of his country and its policies. The tale ends in a manner designed to make you want to create positive change in a capitalistic world, where economies have become more important than the people who are supposed to benefit from them. The events of September 11 (and the fact that Kurt was not based on Timothy McVeigh) only serve to make this book more interesting; how can someone (granted, he is a journalist, thus--at least in this instance!--an inquiring mind) imagine these possibilities, and why couldn't our government's agencies recognize them as such. This book will make you think. I really liked it and recommend it highly.

Here is entry into a world which would have been
unbelievable prior to the events of 9/11/01.
Whether home-grown or international, the terrorism
Christopher Dickey writes about comes first-hand from
his experience in the midst of their frightening
reality, and it comes through every word.

The style and imagery of Dickey is so compelling,
it makes "Innocent Blood" a page-turner I could
not put down until I finished it. Which
brings me to say that the LAST 3 pages of this

thriller could be considered the outline of a
bible on the mind of the post-millenium terrorist.

I highly recommend this story which has an immediacy
the writer could not have known about when he wrote it!

First off, a disclaimer: I knew Dickey personally toward the end of his life. I met him once (in 1991) and talked to him on the phone every now and again after that. He was out of sorts much of the time, and not much of a conversationalist. But occassionally he would be on the upswing and revert to his old self. He loved the title of my first, unpublished novel, Seamarks, and used to always tell me "I'm on yo' side son!"-So, I suppose all this biases me, though I'm not sure in which direction, because I haven't sorted out my feelings toward this great man of letters, old enough to be my father or grandfather, who encouraged my efforts as a literary artist during the past decade. I truly don't like that this book was published, as is, so soon after his death. It doesn't take the shrewdest person in the world to figure out that the editors were trying to capitalize on his death while he was still fresh in the ground. I don't know how they selected which letters to publish. But I don't like whatever methods they employed. The letters just don't cohere like they should.-It seems to me, truth be told, that there wasn't much method or forethought; more a rush to publish what looked passable as a chronological sequence of some of his correspondence.-Such is the posthumous fate of a great artist. I made it a point to get to know Dickey because I thought, and still think, him to be the last truly geat poet alive. It just happened that he lived in Columbia, a two hour drive from my native Greenville.-Dickey was the last poet that I know of in the tradition of the visionaries of the early 19th Century. Though he would deny this at times, his son's memoir has him comparing himself to Shelley just before his death.-Also, the great English writer Malcolm Lowry had a TREMENDOUS influence on him, as the letter recounting Dickey's visit to his grave shows. Dickey was always recommending Lowry's works to me (particularly Lunar Caustic, an out-of-print autobiographical work regarding Lowry's stay in New York's Bellevue psychiatric hospital for alcoholism treatment.) - I'd already discovered Lowry years ago and read just about every word written by him three times over. - Chris Dickey may or may not know this, but those lines his father quotes from Goethe at the end of the book (attributing them to his mother) are from one of the three opening quotations to Lowry's masterpiece, Under the Volcano. The point of all this emphasis on Dickey's debt to Lowry is that Lowry was one of the last in the same tradition. I'm just making my case. I think the earliest letters in this selection the best. I got a particular thrill of how taken he was with the now forgotten English poet Ernest Dowson. I was mentioning poets I liked when I met him in '91 (He was not in a particularly good mood, by the way.)and he kept stoliidly shaking his head and saying "never heard of him." But when I mentioned Dowson, he perked up, and a twinkle glimmered briefly in his eyes. Dowson drank himself to death in his early thirties, the victim of unrequited love, among other things...What Dowson, Lowry, Shelley and Dickey all have in common is that they viewed their roles as writers as seers, visionaries and prophets who, through their work, brought what others could not feel or see into the written word, and thus into the worlds of others less gifted....This is Dickey at his best, and this is why his letters are worth reading, to understand how such a person recognizes such a gift and evolves into a human being capable of expressing unparalleled beauty and unworldliness. I would, however, recommend that the reader wait upon a more comprehensive, less higgeldy-piggeldy collection of his letters. In the meantime, this one will have to do of course. Dickey could also be a monstrous jerk, as those of you who've read Hart's bio, The World as a Lie, know all too well. Hart did a great job, by the way, and I don't have the same reservations about his bio as I do about the publication of these letters. But buy this book anyway and read it. There aren't any poets like Dickey around anymore, and such a man's letters are worth reading...Although, who knows, maybe there are some left in this sound bite world of Oprah Winfrey show poetry. If you find one let me know, it will be like catching a falling star...My apologies to John Donne.

Matthew Bruccoli and Judith Baughman edit Crux: The Letters Of James Dickey, an excellent autobiography which provides a rich collection of works from 1943-1997. Dickey's extensive letters to literary correspondents from John Berryman to Ezra Pound and Anne Sexton are gathered together in a presentation recommended for any with an interest in Dickey's varied works.

More, more, more. This book brought back many memories for me.
Thank you.

Griots beneath the baobab offers lessons about humanity or the lack of it with a collective embrace.

Skillful writing reveals characters held in the moment, and each scenario hits the mark exposing love, turmoil and forgiveness. These tales are consuming and energizing.

Let's get one thing out of the way: This is not a book about how to conduct last-minute meetings. It is a book about organizing conferences, conventions and other off-site gatherings that involve extensive planning - and preferably not at the last minute. That said, it's a useful book. Fern Dickey provides exactly the kinds of hands-on details that a virgin conference organizer would need, from online resources to relevant organizations, contact information, and sample charts that you can use for record keeping, budgeting and planning. There's nothing groundbreaking here, and there are no secret tactics revealed. Instead, Dickey has produced a thorough working reference that we [...] recommend to anyone new to the dizzying world of conference planning.

Fern Dickey has written a top-notch book on meeting planning. The small consulting company I work for was planning an out of state seminar with a few speakers. Although the engagement was cancelled, we had already made many of the arrangements. After reading Dickey's book I realize all of the details we left out: travel details, hotel contract details, and speaker contract details, just to name a few. (If we even had contracts!?) Her book offers a wealth of knowledge on how to run an efficient, effective meeting, and protect your budget. The book is well organized ; you can easily jump to the section you're most interested in and her style of writing is casual. Fern Dickey is like your friend giving advice and sharing knowledge over a glass of wine. She includes numerous web sites and contact numbers for more information to help you plan your meeting. Whether it's a last minute meeting or not, I highly recommend this book.

I found this guide to be pretty good. It's a no-frills, easy-to-follow book. It summarizes the neighborhoods briefly, but I don't know how much has changed since it was published a year and half ago. For someone like me, who knew nothing about LA before reading this, this book is a good introduction to the area.

LA can be a daunting city to visit, but this book makes travelling around so much easier. If you are not planning to hire a car when you are there, this book really is essential. It has good maps of Downtown and Hollywood, and very useful maps of the main bus routes. The commentaries are really helpful and quite entertaining, although they can sometimes sound slightly pretentious. Nonetheless, I used the book every single day and would have been lost without it. A must have.

P.S. Make sure you take in a Dodgers game when you're there - you won't be disappointed!

This author has carved out a niche for himself in writing about relationships, often bad ones. The central relationship in this book, between Vincent and Dana, is fraught with drama and is seems doomed from the start. He lies about being divorced with a child. She covers up the fact that she is broke and still in love with the man whose actions lead to her declaring bankruptcy. Their differences seem insurmoutable and provide quite a bit of tension. Throughout the book, you just want them to throw in the towel already.

Although I enjoyed this book, I found it unrealistic. Taken as just entertainment it hits the mark squarely. But anyone looking for any deeper meaning or commentary on the state of relations between men and women may find it lacking. True, the dating scene is often a "Liar's Game" as folks with major issues lie and withhold information to make themselves more attractive; however, I don't see folks with this type of baggage making a long-term relationship work.

Dana is manipulative, bossy and volatile. She also has a nasty little habit of licking Vince's gum before putting it in his mouth. That really annoyed me. Vince is weak and lacks direction. He's stuck in a dead-end job, in a crummy apartment, pining away for an ex-wife who never loved him and a child that he is not allowed to see.

The not-so-happy couple is surrounded by other troubled couples -- the feuding lesbians across the hall, Dana's friend Gerri and her young stud and Vince's Jehri curl-wearing pal Womack and his wife. These subplots allow the writer to explore class issues and formerly taboo topics. Dickey provides an interesting treatment of those issues though it does have the feel of a tabloid.

For this genre, this book is pretty good. I would however like to see Mr. Dickey expand his horizons and tackle something other than dysfunctional relationships. Also, it would be great if he could for once include a normal, likeable female character.

I am an avid reader. I was taking a trip and decided to buy a novel to read on the plane. I was browsing in the bookstore and I came across Liar's Game. I am a big fan of Omar Tyree, Michael Baisden, Yolanda Joe, and Terry McMillan, but I had never read anything by Eric Jerome Dickey. I read the dust jacket and decided to take a chance. I began to read and I could not put the book down. I figured it would be interesting, but I never expected it to keep me wanting more. I was so eager to find out how things were going to end, that I spend a large part of my vacation reading. In fact, my best friend had to pry the book away from me to get me to pay attention to her! I was very impressed by the novel. The characters were very realistic and the way Mr. Dickey wrote the story allowed me to picture every scene in my mind. I have become a true fan of Eric Jerome Dickey, and I plan to read all of his works. I just finished Cheaters (I loved it!) and I am about to start reading Sister, Sister. To everyone who is reading this review, BUY THE BOOK. You won't be disappointed!

Liar's Game is an excellent novel and is one of Eric Jerome Dickey's best. It can be taken as purely entertaining- filled the action, drama, comedy, and despair, yet, it can also lead the reader to self-reflection through the way the characters deal with and resolve several personal issues and conflicts. Liar's Game deals with fears of abandonment and rejection. It dramatizes the uneasiness that results from the inconsistency between a person's attitudes and their actions. It deals with regrets over choices made in the past. It also shows the bonds of true friendship, dedication to family, and the value of commitment. From the descriptions of the people attending the social event at the beginning of the novel to Luther Vandross singing in the background of one of the major characters' conversations, Liar's Game is filled with resounding symbolism that both deeply touched me and kept me captivated from start to finish. To me, Liar's Game stands out from most contemporary novels as a "modern-day classic". It contains themes and issues that are both universal as well as able to withstand the tests of time. It is a book that is quite enjoyable if read leisurely, but it can also be examined closely to reveal more profound themes and meanings. It is definitely a "must read" on either level.

That's about all I could say about this book. I know it started off to be kind of slow, but wasn't the first couple of pages full of very detailed sex scenes? I can't really remember I gave it to someone to read. It was good and well written, I just had a difficult time getting use to EJD'S new style of writting. It was different, to say the least. You know I didn't even realize the narrator was nameless until I read some of the reviews, funny huh? Is that a bad thing?

I thought the narrator was about a fool. What man or woman would put up with self-centered Nicole? I don't know of one. She was a ridiculous character and so shallow. Tried to justify her selfish behavior by telling both her lovers how confused she was 'Please feel sorry for me'! Oh Paleeez! Ayanna's character was cool with me at the beginning, she wasn't puttin' up with nameless at all. Then she got dumb on us.

Although the characters all drove me to drink, I couldn't put it down. It wasn't typical EJD, for sure.

Once again, Eric Jerome Dickey has rocked the literary scene with a novel that is in-your-face blunt! And hard to put down! This is the story of a man in love - so much so, he's willing to wait for his ex-fiance, Nicole, to "find herself" by stringing him and her girlfriend Ayanna along. Yep, she's in love with a man and a woman. The narrator, who's name is unknown, is a writer who stays in a hotel in Oakland whenever he wants to visit with Nicole, because Nicole and Ayanna live together. It gets to the point where Nicole wants the two to meet in an intimate setting, but she wants them to follow the "rules". How far will one go for love? Would you sacrifice your morals, what you believe in, be it homosexuality or fidelity, to please the one you love? Would you still love a person that DEEP, when that person stood you up at the alter, in front of God, your family and friends? This novel makes you answer those questions and more! A must read.

When I first heard about Between Lovers, I was taken aback by the subject matter, but decided to read the book anyway for its story-telling worthiness. Personally, I thought he did a fine job in telling a complex story, especially since he isn't taking it from his own life, but is actually making it up, becoming the characters, and trying to imagine what it would feel like to be in their shoes. It is bothersome to see how people are dissing this book. If you were to take EJD's name off the cover, would it still be considered so horrible (as a few other readers have indicated)? Why is it that people think just because Eric alters his style a little bit, and writes about something controversial with unlikable characters that his writing is getting worse? I thought his writing was fine. As a matter of fact, Eric's "worst" could be considered another writer's "best", but that's another matter. Think about it! This is his sixth book. If he keeps redoing Cheaters & Friends and Lovers, people will complain that he's formulaic. Yet if he takes a risk, which all serious writers have to do at some point, some of the readers don't like it and wish he'd go back to the style that he's already mastered. If you want the true formulaic type writer, go read a Danielle Steele novel, but if you are willing to hang with someone who seems to enjoy stretching artistically and challenging himself, than stick with Eric Jerome Dickey and allow him the space to create unusual stories and at the same time cultivate his craft.