Although the title suggests futility, let's hope these 17 stories are not Thomas Gray's desert flower.
"Born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air."
The collection of stories showcases Mr. Sherman's ability to tuck a tricky turn of phrase inside a tumultuous story.
Mr. Sherman shows sublime flashes of poetry that could be saddled with conventional stories, but would still be worth the read. The author, though, tries to rise above that and instead of leaving the reader empty and malnourished, like a dinner of chocolate bars and soda, he tries to serve a well-made and fulfilling dinner. Sometimes he fails, but his efforts to strive for something more compelling compensate for some of Pitching's weaker efforts like "Shade for a Butterfly." Shade is a short stream of consciousness that did not connect with me.
But mostly the stories are creative, ranging from bizarre to humorous to horrific.
At some of its darkest points, Mr. Sherman is with the reader giving a sarcastic wink -- a tether to reality and some of the book's subtlest and best humor. Stories about a Sumerian god trapped in today's "hellish world" trying to kill his way back home or an aimless hitchhiker and mysterious truck driver's efforts to foil death are funny and satirically gruesome, but they are not so heavy-handed to be parodies. He treads the fine line with great dexterity.
Among my favorite stories were:
-- "The Conversion...," A poignant and fantastic tale of infidelity... A little sex never hurts, either.
-- "MiddlAmerica," A portrait of fatuous, self-absorbed Americans on a road trip
-- "The Point Hammered Home" An eerily silly story about a hammer with spunk
-- "Metalmorphisis" A look at how mechanical humans can be. A great opening story that sets the tone for the rest of the book. It shows the author's to ability to make both amusing and pithy observations.
Melissa Hindle's cover art and illustrations that mark the start of each story are also splendid. Their quality and subtle hints into the story that follows shows they were much more than an afterthought.
Many of the books characters battle futility with varying degrees of success, but there is optimism tucked in the words.
And I am optimistic that we will be hearing good things about Mr. Sherman in the future.

Pitching Ice Cubes at the Sun is is brilliant, dark, funny, strangely awe-inspiring and certianly thought -provoking. I found myself looking forward each night to the next short story as I took the book along on a vacation. From a hammer that pounds its master to shreds becoming hero to his brethren, to a hilarious story of a demon God suddenly thrust into 20th century New York City, to two tear-jerking very short stories that evidence the depth and inner gentleness of soul that the complex author can feel, the book was overwhelming. I'm not certian if Mr. Sherman planned it this way, but the stories get better as the book progresses. The collection of 17 utterly imaginitive short-stories reveals the mind of an author with vast knowledge of art, religion, literature and the occult. Its the mind of an author I want to see pour his knowledge and pain into future books. When I first dug into the book, I found I had to readjust my focus to move into Sherman's bizarre, certianly-not-linear way of thinking. By the end, I wanted to meet him, and tell him to rewrite the too-humble, silly description of himself on the back cover. He is an author of note, nothing like the poor soul in one of his stories, who frittered his life away wanting to touch souls, but unable. For a freshman effort, this book is remarkable. I expect great things from Todd Sherman. I expect to read them in the future. Also of note is the brilliant cover art.

I've read--and enjoyed--Pitching Ice Cubes at the Sun by Todd Sherman and all I can tell you is BUY IT. I'm not one for short stories, normally, but these? Each story is better than the one before.

Bear with the "weird" stories at the beginning of the book (perfect Sci-Fi turned Reality??!!), the stories are just awesome. Each story has a rude awakening toward life--and death. Each has a clear and different meaning behind it that makes you fully aware of all senses. I've found myself refocusing on my life, taking an entirely different look at it.

The stories are deep yet light-hearted, giving meaning to life and death in general.

Just remember, this book does have it's light side. I've found myself smiling through different stories, giggling at others and laughing out loud yet at other stories. I'm over 50 years old, far from being a child, but I must recommend this book to readers of all ages. EVEN IF you're not into short stories. You'll love it! I did.

Great job, Todd! Can't wait for more from you!!

Hi! My name is Tyler. I am from Gettysburg P.A. I go to the
Gettysburg Area Middle School. I want to tell you a little bit
about the book There's a Snake in the Toilet. I think the book is O.K.,I would recommend it.There is a boy named Ollie, he
is a victom of a bully named D.K. Ollie is scared of D.K. so he stays in for recess becaus he is scared he will get beat up.One day wile walking home,he sees D.K. picking on a little girl but Ollie does nothing.The next morning he wakes up and goes to the bathroom and sees two yellow eyes in the toilet.IT IS A SNAKE! Is this a dream or is it real. If you want to find out,I suggest you read this book.

My mom bought me this book and I really liked it a lot.It was very funny and it was a true story which happened right in our area. I remember my teacher talking about it too.It was very interesting and also entertaining. Yours truly, Morag MacLean(age 8)

If you haven't read There's a Snake in the Toilet you better read the book because it is terrific. My favorite action scene went like this. "Quickly I stepped up to the snake. My right arm shot out like a rocket and grabbed its skinny neck.The boa constricter squirmed a lot but Olliver held on. He could not let it go." The next minute the snake just flipped its tail up and Oliver grabbed it. I would give this book a 10 because it has a lot of action. Another reason I like the book is because I like snakes! The last thing I like about the book is that it reminded me of the book I wrote about snakes.

I just read this play for the first time...I'm doing a monologue from it for a stageplay class I'm in, and I wanted to read the play to get more of a feeling for the character. It's difficult being a girl playing this part, but I want to say I'm very moved by this play, really very much so. It meant a lot to me, and I just want to highly recommend it to ANYONE. It's a quick read, and it's very good. This is extremely inarticulate, but if anyone has read it/wants to read it/wants to talk about it, e-mail me (Isis305@yahoo.com). It's a play well worth your time. I'm not going to give a plot review, but suffice it to say that it speaks a lot about the complex relationships between males and females. I have really not gotten time to process my thoughts on it, seeing as I finished it about five minutes ago.

I just recently got done doing a run of "Women and Wallace" as Wallace, and it was one of the most amazing shows I have ever done in my life. I can't believe how much this show got under my skin and is, now, forever embedded deep in my soul. Not a day goes by when I don't think about how this role changed my life and not only strengthened me as a performer, but most of all, strengthened the relationship I have with my parents. Johnathan Marc Sherman has this uncanny knack at bringing out the deepest emotions in every actor that touches his work, just by the way he writes. This is an absolutely amazing play and I reccommend it to everyone who wants to find out something new about themselves. Thank you Mr. Sherman for this amazing piece of theater.

I don't think that I have ever been more inpressed with a book as this one. I have never read it personaly but watched it be preformed at a national qualifing forensics tournament. It won, without a doubt. I highly recomend you atleast consider it if you want to read a book packed with emotion. It relates in some way small or large to each and every one of us. I have never been literly pulled into a preformance before, but I had no choice when watching this one.

"African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927," edited by Joan Sherman, is a powerful and rewarding gathering of poems. Sherman has packed a lot into just 82 pages. Many of the giant names of African-American literature are here: Phillis Wheatley, Frances E.W. Harper, James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and many more. There are also poets who are perhaps less well-known, but still admirable as literary creators. As a whole, these poets write with an intriguing variety of voices: solemn, satirical, militant, etc.

Many of black America's most important and most memorable poems are in here: Wheatley's "On Being Brought from Africa to America," Dunbar's "Sympathy" (with its significant line, "I know why the caged bird sings..."), and Countee Cullen's "Yet Do I Marvel." There are poems about slavery, literacy, religion, racial uplift, folk culture, and more. It is interesting to see the juxtaposition (sometimes from the same author) between poems written in vernacular language and those written in very formal English with classical references.

The only weak aspect of the book are the author bios. They are simply too short. Some are only a single sentence long, and they don't contain much bibliographic data. I would have liked a little more for each author. Still, this is an excellent anthology whose compact size and focus make it great both for classroom use and for general reading.

This book is simply amazing. I contains more culture than I have ever read in just one book. I definitely reccomend it to anyone.

The thought of a man running naked through the streets shouting with joy over a physical and mathematical discovery is one to warm the hearts of all who value knowledge. When Archimedes experienced this flash of joy, little did he know that his actions would become the genesis of a legend that would last for thousands of years. However, he should be remembered for so much more than that and several of his significant mathematical contributions are explored in this book.
It is really amazing to realize how close he was to inventing calculus 22 centuries ago, which was 18 before Newton and Leibniz. With notation that was minimally expressive, he was able to solve problems using a technique that demonstrates at least a rudimentary understanding of the concept of a limit. While many different problems can be solved using calculus, it only takes one breakthrough solution to demonstrate how it can be applied to so many of the others. It can be plausibly argued that algebraic and decimal notations would have been the tools that would have allowed him to overcome those last barriers. One can only speculate on how that would have changed history.
The book is not exhaustive and no attempt is made to make it that. Ten of his most significant discoveries are presented and the solutions are those of Archimedes, although modern notation is used. While the proofs are generally easy to follow, one is often left in awe as to how he thought of how to approach some of these solutions. The explanations are succinct, yet thorough, which is the signature of a solid storyteller.
Given the answers to the question posed in the title of this book, one can pose another that logically follows. Was Archimedes the greatest mind of all time? If the legends are correct, then the answer is probably yes. However, even if the unconfirmed stories are false, the mathematical and mechanical discoveries should make him a legend for more than one short stint of becoming a 'natural man.'

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

The author's aim is to make what he views "as Archimedes' most mathematically significant discoveries accessible to the busy people of the mathematical community." In this he succeeds admirably. The book is not only understandable by anyone who "recognizes the equation of a parabola," but is also very well written in a style that brings out the beauty of the mathematical ideas discussed, as well as the power of Archimesdes' creativity. As the author points out, the book treats most of Archimedes' mathematical discoveries. The presentation cleverly integrates Archimedes' own writing with the author's modern explanation of the ancient discoveries. Frequently, before a main idea is introduced, a quotation from Archimedes' own writing is presented in which the master reveals his thinking about what he had accomplished in that particular topic.

In addition to providing the scientific community with a detailed account of Archimedes' main mathematical discoveries and an insight into the ancient master's thinking, this book, I believe, can be useful in the classroom in a variety of ways. The most obvious use, of course, would be in designating it as a textbook or a reference in courses on the history of calculus or, more generally, on the history of mathematics. But it would also make an excellent textbook for a course on axiomatic mathematics: the book starts with a few axioms from which Archimedes had developed the theory of center of gravity and used it throughout a good part of the material covered in the book, including the development of the volumes of a paraboloid and a sphere and the theory of floating bodies.

In sum, this is an excellent book that should be within reach of any person interested in mathematics or science.

I heard a lot about this book, so I decided to buy it. The contents are really good and helpful, but I was rather disappointed with the amazing number of typos I found. Considering that the book also contains formulas, typos are absolutely not acceptable - I still need to check one formula that I think is wrong.

Besides, the photos are all in black and white (in a candle book you would expect color photos) and, in some cases, it is almost impossible to figure out what the photo is trying to demonstrate.

Candle Making, by Bob Sherman (A step by step guide from beginner to expert)is a must have book for anyone making or considering to make candles from a first time hobbyist to the experienced candle maker.
I have read this book three times now, and learned quite a bit more with each reading. Even as a professional candle maker, there were projects and methods I had yet to experiment with. I've followed some of the projects in this book, and had EXCELLENT results.
I can attest to the success anyone can have by following the projects included in this book. There are dozens of projects and the creativity Bob Sherman encourages will make for endless fun filled hours of candle making.
Everything one needs to know from safety, set up, & workspace, through ingredients, formulas, and full explanations of everything, is here in a fun to read, easy to follow format. There are hundreds of instructional, material, and projects pictures. There is a plethora of charts, tables, and all the necessary formulas and references to guide and teach you.
Raw materials and all possible ingredients are outlined and explained in detail, with attention paid to the interactions of all things that go into making a well burning, high quality candle. The glossary is exceptionally through and easy to understand. Candle Making, by Bob Sherman, is the ultimate guide. With this book, some experimentation, experience, and just a bit of creativity, you could make candles for a hobby or as a professional. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a creative outlet or just to learn about candle making.
>Peter Bacotti
>CanDoCandles.com

Joe Sherman has done justice to the fact that we can't always get what we need. He hot only tells the story of James Worden and MIT but delves into the picture of the world oil producers, and the big three, as partners in making things the way they are... for good or ill, is left up to you to determine. Thought prvoking and a fast read, it will leave you with a lot of questions to pursue if you dare, and asking why can't I buy one!

This book beautifly outline the trials and tribulations of one of the most advanced solar car companies. Serious information and humor are inter-twined to make this book quick reading and very informative.

This book is great-the first time you read it. It's wonderful for the first time but you won't read it twice because the stories are riddles and once you know the answer it's boring. Just be prepared when you pay.

I have read this book more than I can count, and I learn from it every time. It really helps me with life's choices and how not everything is found in front of your face.

This book is obviously aimed at the US domestic market. State by state it covers laws and practices. The sales girl said that UK franchising law was based on US law, maybe she was right. It is usefull to the UK francisor/franchisee, insofar as it gives excellent advice and working examples. The majority of its 400 pages are only useful between LA and New York, however, anyone planning to enter into a franchising agreement should imho have read this, and have it on his (or her) shelves.

Excellent for those who are business consultants in franchising. Mr. Sherman has covered the major topics that must be taken in consideration when a business is going to be offered as franchise, in a well-developed book with very good legal advice.

I loved this book! Rory's and Loreali's life is so interesting. You know that Jess causes a big factor when he comes into Stars Hallow. (You know this if you have been keeping up to the TV show on the WB) I recommend that you read the previous Gilmore Girls books first to fully understand this one. This was a great book and the only reason that I didn't give it five stars was becasue I am not sure of it's clarity to those who are not familiar with the Tv series.

The fourth novelized installment of the TV series told from Rory's point of view. Even though I've seen the episodes the novel covers (at least twice), the book is still fresh and entertaining.