After reading "Taxi", I was glad it was over. The novel is good for historical information and what Harry did, but does not hold any entertainment value (I only enjoyed the factual information in this book, rather than it being fun to read). This biography was poorly written and contained many typographical errors. If you are interested in Harry and his life, I do suggest reading this piece, for it has many enlightening facts. Those of you who are interested in enlightenment, I suggest reading a Western Civilizations text book from the 1950's, it will have comparative entertainment value to that of "Taxi."

I had no idea that this book existed, so being a die hard Chapin fan I snatched it off the shelf when I saw it. While an interesting read it could have used a bit more polishing. Learning more details of Harry's story songs was a positive, as was learning what really turned his personal life around. His music always moved me, but I was more touched to learn that the efforts to save his marriage was why he became such an effective activist. It did seem a bit overlong at times, however, and Coan's refusal to even mention 'the widows' name as he slammed her in the introduction seemed mean spirited. If he had told us a bit more as to why there was a fallout between them it would have been more constructive. Still, if you loved Chapin's music, as so many obviously did, and do, it's a worthwhile read.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the release of Taxi: The Harry Chapin Story. For a variety of reasons, the book lost the support of Harry's family. Accordingly, the book was rushed to print and appears to have missed having a final round of editing done, as there are typos throughout. However, it remains an extremely valuable source on Harry's life -- providing insight into many of the stories beyond the songs, and telling tales about the events that shaped the life of the man able to write songs like "A Better Place To Be." There are factual errors in the book, and it is likely that some events have been embellished. (It's easy to see how this could happen given Harry's own proclivity to fib for the sake of telling a great yarn and given the fact that the book still hadn't been finally reviewed by Chapin before he died.) Nonetheless, the book is an extremely interesting read providing great insight into the life of Harry Chapin; just be sure you take everything with a grain of salt.

This wonderful old read reminded me of the religious twin of Maugham's OF HUMAN BONDAGE: a historical soap opera which keeps you hooked chapter after chapter. Not only does the reader stay engaged by the Peyton Place roster of characters and situations, one also gets an insight into world Catholicism in the first half of the 20th Century. As interesting as it is entertaining! Makes me want to go back and take a look at the campy Otto Preminger movie version starring Tom Tryon and Carol Lynley!

In THE CARDINAL, Robinson tells the story of a young Irish-American priest on his journey from a naïve and slightly arrogant curate to his eventual promotion to cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. While often filled with the melodramatic elements that are common in these types of novels; THE CARDINAL makes an honest attempt to show what life was like for a Catholic priest in the 1st half of the 20th century. By examining aspects of a priest's spiritual and temporal life, Robinson creates a moving portrait of the difficult choices that are made by a man who chooses this life. Abortion, miracles, and the financial realities of poor and wealthy parishes are all dealt with in an evenhanded manner, but with a continued focus on the belief system of the Catholic faith. The book shows particular strength when it deals directly with the Catholic Church and its hierarchy; with an emphasis on how the church felt about its American brethren. The novel does slow down considerably when dealing with the protagonist's (Stephen Fermoyle) stereotypical Irish family and Fermoyle's crisis of faith when confronted with feelings for various women in his life. But the novel does provide an intriguing view of what a priest's life might be like in America between World War I and II.

I read this book year ago on the recommendation of a friend,
and just bought a used copy at a booksale. Although slightly dated(Bear in mind that the copywrite is the early 50's),it is a well crafted story of faith. Its the type of book that you would like to see a sequel to(I know how much time it covers!) One word of advise.... If you have never seen the movie,don't! Just read the book. I understand that it periodically comes back into print. If you can latch on to a copy as I did,go for it!

This is not only a good anthology to read for entertainment, but also a necessity for anyone who wants to write literary fiction. The New Yorker is the cornerstone of American contemporary literature, and this book captures a good sampling of the stories which have appeared in its pages the last 50 years or so. I particularly liked DEisenberg's story, and the fact that JCheever's story appears first. I think the book should have had a few more lighter pieces, and wonder why McInerney was skipped over.

John Cheever, Woody Allen, and Bernard Malamud wrote my favorite stories in this wonderful collection about life in New York City. Three quick thoughts: (1) While the dynamic captured by some authors seems a little dated (Dorothy Parker), most of the stories resonate with characters, experiences, and social groups that are common today in New York. (2) The collection offers 44 stories and 44 authors. This helps a reader see how these authors are great in different ways. (3) This collection ends, once and for all, the impression that all stories in The New Yorker are the same. Buy this book!

This collection of New York stories shows both why writers have been fascinated with the Big Apple for so long and also why The New Yorker has been the hallmark of short fiction. The collection begins with Cheever and ends with Perlman, which pretty much sums up the golden years of the magazine. The pleasures here range from a story of lingering urban dread by William Maxwell to a hilarious tale of an intellectual loser by Jonathan Franzen. Updike's story both paints a true picture of New York in the snow and returns to his favorite theme -- infidelity. Philip Roth has a hilarious entry about a famous writer hounded by a game show contestant -- even funnier if you've seen "Quiz Show." The collection made me homesick for New York. It's one of the best books I read in 2000.

Everything one needs to know before investing in tropical fruits. All cultural and horticultal issuses are covered as well as other uses of the plants. Morton even covers related species and major nutritional values.

Fruits of Warm Climates will pay for itself on the first purchase of tropical crop germplasm.

This book is a real wonder book for any fruit lover who wants to do more than just plant fruit trees.

However, I am unable to understand why the price has almost doubled in just a few months. I really wnated to give one to a friend as a gift, but now i have to rethink that.

Denise

This is THE bible of tropical fruit growers, containing information about rare fruit trees--how to propagate, grow, and eat them, and more. I compare it to the Sunset Garden Guide but instead for tropical fruits, but much more detailed. A must have for the rare fruit/tropical fruit person!

I have read this book several times and will definately read it again. Each time I start it with the same level of intrigue and excitement and when I begrudgingly turn the last page I come away with a sense that I 'get' something about life that I failed to see before.

Morton and Thomas take you on an epic journey of the past, present and, most importantly to this book, the future. The book reveals many aspects of the lives and prophecies of those from the ancient world in the authors quest to make some sense of the mysteries behind the skulls - concentrating on the indigenous Central Americans, but including everything from Atlantis to Egypt.

This is a book with something for everyone - history, philosophy, religion, and environment - but with all the trappings of a gripping suspense novel.

Although nothing definite is proved it achieves its aim to fascinate and leaves you wanting more. To revoke the authors for not reaching anything totally conclusive is to undermine their aim and miss the point of this book.

The story is urging us to look at the way we treat our planet and each other and captivates the imagination leaving you ultimately inspired. Read it !

Amazing. This book absorbede!

The knowledge(?) provided through this book is of great potential importantce to everyone - worldwide.

The style is easy and engrossing, and the author's take on a multi-angled view in their research. Looking at the science, archeology, and mythological evidence (as well as the many eye witnesses to the skulls mysterious powers) the book points towards invaluable insights, from the origins and forgotten histories of humankind, to the possiblilies and purposes of our future destiny.

After reading this book, my whole perception of the world shifted sideways - twenty foot that way! (he says pointing in both directions).

A real must read for anyone interested in the ancient mysterious, ancient wisdom and/or spiritual knowledge.

Take a look and decide for yourself.

NB. If you like/liked this book, take a look at 'The Scole Experiment' - I think you'll like that too.

I bought this book at the archeological museum at Uxmal in Mexico and couldn't put it down. Part mystery, part history, part metaphysics, and part science, it's a fascinating read.

Sure, the photos are pretty but are the recipes any good? I tried the raisin scone recipe - it was very dry and the salt needs to be reduced by at least half if not three quarters. I wonder if any recipe testing was done before this book went to print.

The photos in this book are lovely, and some of the theme ideas are nice, but honestly, the recipes didn't do much for me, for the most part. If you want some inspiration, and you want some photos for ideas on creating ambience for a nice tea party, then this is a good book; if you're looking for a cookbook, best keep looking.

I have been collecting books on afternoon tea for the last twenty years. This outstanding book, against which I judge all others, is a must have for anyone interested in afternoon tea. I have made almost all of the recipes many times and several items, particularly the Victorian poppyseed cake, can be found waiting in my kitchen for guests any day of the week.

Every recipe has consistantly turned out delicious and beautiful. The text is invites repeated reading by its gently lyric style and the photographs are at once dreamy and alluring. You will return to this book time and again.

This book is comprehensive with alot of good information; however, the medications are listed by generic name only. I have found it very frusterating in the clinical setting. I would suggest the authors at least include an index of both generic and trade names to make it more user-friendly.

Excellent nutshell book. organized by generic name, with common brands listed, and cross indexed to generic name in the text if you look up brand name. many comparative tables in appendix simplify comparisons. not complete drug info, but very good rapidly retrivable basic info. quite current.

One of the best references available--recommended by pharmacy schools. Dense information per unit space. Drugs are listed alphabetically by generic name. To those who criticize this organization because of their lack of familiarity with generic names: It is a necessary compromise for manageable volume. Other inexpensive references can provide cross referencing between brand and generic names. The Drug Information Handbook gives some of the best summaries of indications, adverse reactions, drug interactions, available dosage forms, and dosing information for health care professsionals--far superior to the information in the more commonly used PDR. Medical professionals should consider using the former in place of the latter. The only criticism I have is the relatively sparse information on combination products--again, however, an understandable compromise for manageable volume.

Jesus the Magician is a thoroughly documented and fascinating account of the multiple parallels of ancient Pagan Magic practices and how these practices are woven into the "Gospels", or "gods spells" and the "magical spells of Jesus the Magician". Morton Smith's care to show "what makes a magician", to then showing how Jesus was a magician is well done and logically presented. Only the lack of information available to the author from a larger historical base prevents this story from really jumping out at the reader.

Such is hardly the fault of the author.

For those who seek to understand the personality cult that has become known as "Christianity", Morton Smith's exhaustive research is a great primer as Mr. Smith fully exposes the source documents of the "mythos" behind this ancient Jewish fabricated personality cult whose roots lie in Pagan philosophies.

Jesus the Magician provides a great deal of cross reference material for the serious scholar as well as the weekend historian who wishes to have a greater understanding of the enigma which came to be known as Jesus.

Morton Smith was a brilliant historian, and a brilliant thinker with a mordant wit. A tremendous scholar whose knowledge of the ancient near east was unrivaled. If you had to debate him, it would be best to wear red clothes so that your wounds wouldn't show. This book was intended for a lay audiance, not the scholarly elite, which some take as a methodolgical weakness in his arguments. He did not suffer fools gladly, and made a lot of enemies in the field of religious academia. His big weakness was the obvious joy in which he went about provoking others with his unorthodox views, which has led some to suspect his motives.

For centuries The Secret Gospel of Mark has been a pink elephant in studies of reconstructing the gospel. Without the plethora of strong denials of this document's existence, there would be no reason to suppose it exists, but with these denials one could be led to a "the lady doth protest too much" conclusion. In the 1960's Morton Smith discovered a letter from Saint Clement of Alexandria to one of his followers, regarding the Secret Gospel of Mark. In this letter he corrects certain comments the follower had heard but instructs him not to reveal the existence of this document. What's interesting about these few passages we have from the longer version of Mark is that all of them revolve around quasi-magical practices. In other words was Mark part of a longer work, and the magical material censored out? Since Morton Smith was unlikely to trip over gold again and find more of this lost book, he begins investigating the nature of magical practice in 1st century Palestine using texts like the magical papyri. What did people mean by magic? From this study we are able to understand much more clearly what verses like, Matt 9:34, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons ", meant to the speaker which as it turns out is quite different than what they mean to a modern audience. A very good book, I wouldn't recommend it as a first "true life of Jesus" but it makes an excellent contrast to the Crossen, E.P. Sanders school which tries to place Jesus in a fully Jewish context by ignoring everything that doesn't fit.

In my opinion this book serves as one large advertisement for Dr. Cooper. It gives him a chance to toot his own horn. I would have found it much more useful had it provided a step by step progression of excercises to help people use their natural voice. Even had he let people know how to pick an appropriate voice clinician would have been nice. One good thing is that it does give hope to people with voice problems.

There are some invaluable ideas and solutions in this book to help anyone with a voice disorder. The book has certainly helped me. Unfortunately the book is very frustrating in that it has very little structure and endless repetition of Dr Cooper's odds with the establishment. I had to read the entire book because I wanted to be sure of extracting every practical piece of information it contained regarding my voice problems. Apart from that I would have set it down very early.

Dr Cooper endlessly trumpets on about how he pioneered Direct Voice Rehabilitation against critiscm from the rest of the medical community. He devotes a whole chapter to questioning the ethics of the wider medical establishment in respect of the accepted treatment of voice problems. Why? I just want to know about how to fix my voice not join the revolution!

Consequently, the book could have been about a third of the size and a lot more focused on practical solutions for the reader. I have begun to read his other book, "Change Your Voice, Change Your Life" and so far, I fear that this is the better book with essentially the same information that I need.

Review from Travel MagazineJune 8, 1996This book is addressed to people suffering from sore throat, throat clearing, weak voice, poor projection, pain when talking, stangled voice, voice strain, hoarse voice, lump in throat, tired voice, deep-throat voice, pain when talking, throat tension, or nasality. Much of the book is about coping with strangled voice, medically known as spasmodic dysphonia. A decade ago, the fashionable treatment for this was surgery on the vocal cords, & now it's injection of one of the cords with a small amount of botulinum toxin, a deadly drug, often referred to as botox. The injection causes partial paralysis of a vocal cord, & brings the voice back, on a temporary basis, for varying periods from a month to 6 months. A recent price for the injection was $500. Dr. Cooper is a maverick who decries both surgery & botox, along with a host of palliative treatments that don't help at all. His ultrasimple solution is to first make sure you're breathing in the diaphragm & not the chest, then press the area between the ribs & just at the bottom of the breastbone while humming, then say a word such as "Right" while humming. A resonance should be felt around the nose & lips, indicating that this is the correct placement of the sound. Dr. Cooper believes most vocal troubles come from placing the sound too low in the chest or too high in the head. He cites "miraculous" immediate success with some patients, including celebrities, & good results over time with many others. If you have a voice problem, this is a book you should read.