Not many novels have the effect of this one. If I have to pick a 'prequel' to Robert Ruark's _Something of Value_ than it is surely this one. If you like Forbath's, then read Ruark's!

_The Last Hero_ sweeps you away to a time when honor and ego and plain old guts -- combined with the vast heart of unexplored Africa meant adventure. I read this novel in amazement, at the rich characterization, the lavish settings, the graphic narrative; only to be further amazed when I learned that this wasn't a mere work of historical fiction, but rather a fictionalized account of real events.

Read it. You won't find many novels that do this. Serious business, deep in the Congo Ituri rainforest, late 19th century...no one can hear you scream.

Kurt W. Wagner kwagner@gti.net

The best, and I mean that exactly, the best adventure book for adults ever, and I mean that exactly, ever written. My friend and I constantly recommend books to each other, and one or the other of us will say, "It's a good book but..." and the other will always respond "...it's not The Last Hero" Put this book down and you will not sleep until you pick it up again. I am on my fifth read, and I am sure that it will not be my last. There are images and moments that I will never forget. I cannot believe that anyone allowed this book to go out of stock. Find it, steal it, read it, you will not be sorry

The story told in "The Last Hero" is that of Sir Henry Morton Stanley (of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame, but that's another story) who, in 1885 organized and led a mission to rescue Emin Pasha, governor of Equatoria, the southernmost province of the Egyptian Sudan, which was surrounded by the Mahdist uprising. Amazingly, Stanley decided to approach Equatoria from the Atlantic side of Africa by going up the Congo river and overland through central African forest. The expedition crossed hundreds of miles of then-unknown Africa, encountering every obstacle and difficulty along the way. The eventual end of the mission is one of history's great ironies, but I don't want to give anything away.

"The Last Hero" is a very well-written adventure story, all the more interesting because it is true. My only complaint (a very minor one) concerns the absence of notes and bibliography which could have given some historical documentation and sources.

Another good book is "The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River" (nonfiction) which is also by Peter Forbath (a journalist who reported on Africa). Henry Morton Stanley was also a bestselling author, he wrote: "How I Found Livingstone" (1872); "Through the Dark Continent" (1878); and "In Darkest Africa" (1890).

This book is a real sleep stealer and heart-stopper. Once Yossi was lost I could not put it down. His amazing, Amazonian adventure, told in graphic, hair-raising detail, but without pity, illustrates the human spirit at its most magnificent. Sheer will, faith and a refusal to be beaten allow him to endure privations and setbacks that would have been the end of a lesser man. Read it if you like adventure, read it if you need to restore your faith in humanity or read it just because you enjoy a good book, but do read it.

In many ways the best part of the book comes at the very end. A Yossi humbled and enlightened by his experiences gives an insight into some of his perceptions of life. There are words here that found a strong echo in my own heart. I am the richer for having read his book.

What the players on the popular survival shows go through is nothing compared to what the author of this book went through to survive in the Amazon jungle! Yossi Ghinsberg set out with three other men to experience a real jungle, and for sure, encountered incredible plant and animal life. But it didn't stop there. When the foursome split into two groups, Yossi and his companion then became separated when Yossi was swept away down the powerful Tuichi River. At that point, Yossi was on his own, and narrates his awesome struggle for survival...to find food and shelter, and to combat such things as the fungus that was eating his feet, jaguars, fireants, termites that carpeted his body and bored into it, and steep, slippery cliffs. Whew! I am reading the book a second time, this time to my teenage children, to give them an appreciation for what true suffering is, and to help them realize that humans can, with motivation and determination, endure and overcome great obstacles. When we start complaining about our daily irritations, this is the kind of book we need to read to help us consider our blessings.

I read this book in 2 days and didn't want to put it down until I was done because it was so interesting and exciting. I read Back From Tuichi by Yossi Ghinsberg which I believe was later released as Heart of the Amazon. Great! Great! Great! Just goes to show that life is often more exciting and interesting than fiction. The author did a great job and you really feel what he is going through.

This book is excellent from cover to cover. Detailed information on care, breeding, food, species, and biology are all in "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide". I was given a Chilean Rose tarantula as a gift 9 months ago and considered myself ignorant of their required care. "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" was the most informative book out of 6 purchased. I now have over 35 tarantulas consisting of 28 species and consider myself much more knowledgable about their care and biology. I have even started breeding some of my tarantulas. You won't find a better book in print if you're a beginner or expert.

The Tarantula Keeper's Guide by Stan and Marguerite Schultz is by far the most informative book on tarantulas to date. Whether for the amateur fancier or professional arachnologist, this book will pay for itself in no time at all. Aimed primarily towards those interested in captive husbandry of arachnids, this book gives extensive information on care, housing, and feeding for spiderlings, juveniles, sub-adults and adults. In chapter 1, the anatomy and physiology of tarantulas are covered in great detail. Chapter 2 deals with taxonomy and scientific names; chapter 3 covers the life histories and ecology of these arachnids. Chapter 4 involves the uses of tarantulas throughout history while chapters 5,6, and 7 cover the "pet" aspect of tarantulas; this covers such subjects as housing, feeding, handling, breeding, medical emergencies, and much, much more. The final three chapters cover conservation issues. This well-designed book is packed with tons of colo! r photographs, greatly illustrated drawings, and accurate (up-to-date) names of many species commonly kept as pets. Unlike other tarantula books I've read--and I've read plenty--this book gives the first detailed description of how to catch your own tarantula. Other books have attempted this same task, but have not got the point across like this book. In all, this 288 page piece of art is the best book on tarantulas ever put together. Anybody with the slightest interest should purchase this book because it will spur one with mere curiosity into an out-of-control collector/hobbyist (such as me) and take you to the realm of the tarantula.

If you have even one tarantula, the invaluable nature of this book cannot be stressed enough. It addresses almost every issue you could think of and some you possibly wouldn't. Filled with detailed information, beautiful color photographs, excellent illustrations this book is truly a bargained that should not be passed up, even by the passing fancier. All tarantula enthusiasts agree, if you own one book on them, it should be this one.

If you only were allowed to have one book on this subject in your library, this is the one that you want. It gives good coverage to all of the important topics needed to evaluate, price and execute a transaction. The footnotes at the end of each chapter are an excellent reference. It also benefits from a very detailed index. The Q&A format of the text is a bit unusual for a work of this type, but is actually quite useful when browsing or quickly finding the key theme of each paragraph or section. It also contains a good selection of sample documents and checklists. Overall, it delivers a lot of high quality information the investment banking professional can really use.

After scanning several books on the subject, this one looked like the most useful and usable of the batch. The Art of M&A provides solid, detailed and precise information for people in companies making acquisitions. It is a good introduction to the topic and long term resource for specifics.

This is a fantastic reference tome for anyone involved with M&A. As a private equity Associate, I have found this book to be invaluable on multiple levels as both a reference guide for securities law, as well as for procedural issues such as sample formats for term sheets, DD check lists, etc.

Also, while it is a dense read, I think this would be invaluable for people just entering either Investment Banking or Private Equity to read as an introduction to the rules, regulations and procedures surrounding mergers/acquisitions.

George McGovern honors the memory of his daughter, and struggles to understand his own choices and mistakes in this powerfully moving and tragic story. Deep thanks and deep condolences are due McGovern for writing this book. He raises an issue that must be emphasized: his daughter fell victim to the self-pity and the delusions of the "wounded child" craze of the early '90s. She was aided and abetted by reckless "therapists" who encouraged her to blame all her problems on her family, her upbringing, and especially her parents. The greatest tragedy of Terry McGovern's life was not that she was an alcoholic, but that she was an alcoholic who refused to use the tools available to her to get better. Exactly why she made that choice can never be fully known. But clearly the healthiest, most productive, and most sane years of her life were the 8-years she was treating her alcoholism in AA (which is not the "secret society" absurdly referred to by an earlier reviewer; an organization open to all of the public and listed in the telephone book is not a secret society). AA teaches the need to take responsibility for one's actions, not blame Mommy and Daddy. Terry chose not to take responsibility, and instead descended into the quicksand of psychobabble and infantilization of the "inner-child," recovered memory, Blame-Everything-On-Your-Parents school of late 20th century American psychology. The destructiveness of this philsophy and its practitioners needs to be more fully revealed. Everyone interested in this problem as well as in alcoholism should read this book.

Seldom have I read a book about a real person that held me inmy chair for such a long time. I had heard about Terry Mcgovern butnever knew the real story. This first hand account of Terry Mcgovern's life is tough to read. George Mcgovern's account of his daughters life had the right mixture of pathos and humor and made me think about alcoholism in a totally different light. GREAT!

I read this book when it first came out. At the time I was suffering from depression and alcoholism. I wept as I read the pages because I knew that I too could end up like Terry. I felt for Terry and her family all through out the book. I also realized how my family must have felt and how they might feel if I too fell victim to myself and alcohol. You have to give credit to the courageouls George McGovern to share his families sacred secrets and tradgedy. This is a must have book for anyone who is an alcoholic, heavy drinker or depressed or anyone who knows or lives with an alcoholic or heavy drinker.

Stanley's book is based on important reminders that ultimately our successes should be characterized by goals set with God in mind and that it is too legalistic to apply a cookie cutter mold and say every Christian will become a pauper or must be poor in order to be humble. Clearly being a servant doesn't always mean that we must be struggling financially as well. The important thing to remember is that success in the eyes of the world however is measured differently than in the eyes of God and Stanley does a good job of reminding Christians that if you approach your faith in a way that you are determined to define your successes in a way apart from considering what God wants for you life than we still hold ourselves to be the centre of the universe and not God. I give it four stars only because i try to reserve five starts for my favorite books, but this is definetly a worthwhile read.

What a terrific book. Dr. Stanley points out that the only way to truly be successful is to follow the Lord's plan for you. Pray. Ask the Lord what He wants you do. Pray for the strength and courage to do it. Listen. Follow. They are simple guidelines to being successful. Success is not always measured by wealth and material things. Those are nice and all, but without the Lord, it's like trying to "buy love"; it just doesn't work.

Dr. Stanley relates certain experience to Scripture in ways that truly reinforce the messages.

I am actually going to go back and re-read the part on goals. I will set mine with the Lord's guidance, for maximum success potential.

I am a Christian, but not a Baptist. Dr. Stanley writes his book not on Baptist ideals but on true Christian ideals---right from the Bible. I am actually looking at purchasing some of his other books for additional spiritual knowledge and growth.

I will be giving this book as a Christmas gift to my brothers and sisters!

This is the BEST book I've ever read on the subject of success. Charles Stanley, in his usual writing fashion, has again made a complicated subject for most christians, easy to understand, and totally biblical. I have advised most of my colleagues to invest in this wonderful instructional book. Thanks Dr. Stanley, and thank you Lord, for giving us this dynamic teacher.

This book is particularly interesting in light of Gene Brewer's novel (and now film) "K-PAX", based on "The Jet-Propelled Couch" episode in this book. In this episode, we meet the original model for prot -- not a homeless person, but a respected scientist. Conjecture has it that he may have been science fiction writer Cordwainer Smith. In any event the story is fascinating, and Lindner writes in a clear, mature and intelligent style. Well worth it!

I have been doing psychotherapy for years and always find it fascinating to see how childhood experiences lead to the development of problems. There are lots of books about the theories, but the actual cases always seem much more striking to me. This book is fun to read if you are interested in looking at these kind of connections. I wish there were more books about this, but the subject seems to be out of vogue these days although people still have as many psychogenic problems as ever. I don't particularly like the books that make case material like this too artistic and flowery; this book describes the characters to the point. The examples part of "The Road Less Traveled" was also good in the same way.

I read the "The Fifty Minute Hour" in the 1960's and was particularly impressed by the chapter "The Jet Propelled Couch." In the mid 1990's I was telling my teenage daughter about the chapter and we went out and bought the book to see if dad remembered correctly. I did and she enjoyed the book as much as I did. It is a classic. I believe the scientist in "The Jet Propelled Couch" was at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The "Fifty Minute" comes from Freud. He advised therapists to reserve ten minutes to cool down after a session with a patient and to prepare for the next patient. In this post-Freudian era patients are seen back-to-back and the hour is fifty minutes to increase revenue, not to cool down. In fact the hour is now down to 40 minutes and even 30 with some doctors!

Unfortunately Lindner's next book "Prescription for Rebellion" as I remember was a dud. Really disappointing let down after the FMH.

I used this book recently in my travels to the South Pacific. Although alot of the prices are outdated(which is difficult to keep up with as travel books are concerned , 4 stars insted of 5)it still makes an excellent REFERENCE. I recommend this travel book over the Lonely Planet version.

This is by far the best South Pacific guide. Stanley has an engaging writing voice and it is clear that he feels very passionate about this special part of the world. You get the feeling that this book was actually written by a person, instead of by a committee (Lonely Planet). This book succeeds in being appropriate for a wide audience--from backpackers to honeymooners to yachties to scuba divers. Although the prices and some of the businesses are out-of-date (the book was published in 2000), it is still a great read, even if only for arm chair travellers.

This book is your bible to the South Pacific. If you have special (return)feelings about the South Pacific like we have, you must read this book. If you buy this book after your trip you will find out that every spot you have travelled to is described the way YOU would do it. Buy it before you travel and the South Pacific Handbook will guide you for the best holiday you have ever made. Thank you David Stanley!

Arthur Zeeuw and Jane Toredjo

Please, please do not pass over the other fine stories in GO DOWN, MOSES and go straight to "The Bear." This gem means much more when illuminated by the other parts of the text, and only by reading the entire book can you fully understand the meaning of Ike's repudiation of the McCaslin land. I recently completed a Faulkner course, and of all of his "genius" novels--"As I Lay Dying," "Light in August," "Go Down, Moses," "The Sound and the Fury," and "Absalom! Absalom!"--I believe that this one has the strongest emotional core. Read the whole thing; your experience will be much richer.

I read Go Down Moses in 1996 before taking a trip to Mississippi. I had never read Faulkner before and had only one criterion for picking a book of his: it had to take place in the mythical Yoknapatawpha County. I picked this one off the library shelf.

For any non-southern American whose sole exposure to what happened there was from history books, this should forever shatter the pat preconceptions and simplistic black and white (no pun intended!) formulas they were taught.

The book plunges you into a vast panorama of ambiguities and contradictions. It was clear to me from the first paragraph that Faulkner was a genius. In the whole history of literature, he surely stands among a select few at the very pinnacle of greatness.

Go Down Moses is a tremendous struggle to get through. Some parts are straightforward and easy, but there are others that you can't hope to make literal sense of. You're bombarded by its twisted grammar. Its frantic confusion. Its endlessly unresolved sentences. But through these, Faulkner ultimately conveys the pain of history -- past and present. The emotion of that pain seems more real to him than the specific incidents it sprang from. Why else would a book begun in pre-Civil War Mississippi -- entirely skip it -- picking up again a generation later?

This book is about the South. Having read it, Faulkner walked beside me every step of the way I took through his state. But this book also has a sub-theme that should not be overlooked. Faulkner was a profound environmentalist, although sharply contrasted with how we usually think of that term. Hunters don't much fit the mold of environmentalism -- and Faulkner was an avid one of that lot. So, in that sense, along with all the sociological, he can shake you up pretty good! Go Down Moses contains some of the most wrenching descriptions you could hope to find on the loss of wilderness. There is nothing ambiguous in his portrayal of that loss. Faulkner may confound everything you thought you believed of Southern sociology, but in an environmental sense, he leaves no room for confusion. Leave those trees standing!

This book will grip you; I can't imagine it having a lesser effect. Like all truly great art, it should change you forever.

It becomes quite clear after reading Go Down Moses why many critics call this William Falkner's most mature book dealing with race. In Go Down Moses, the black characters are not only as well represented as may be possible from a white author, they are believable and easy to relate to. The main character "Uncle Ike", the grandson of an influential plantation owner, comes to represent everyone who struggles with identity in the miserable face of racism. The style of the book itself was confusing for readers and critics when first published, as it makes use of a series of chapters, each with its own title and numbered sections. Faulkner resisted having the book called a collection of short stories and most modern readers should have little problem with its nonsequential chapters and its sometimes, seemingly, unrelated characters. If you have read some Faulkner, especially A Light in August or Absalom, Absalom or if you enjoy authors such as Toni Morrison and Richard Wright you must read this book to get an idea of just how far Faulkner came toward wrestling with race in his time.