I am not sure just how I managed to wade through this sorry account of the worst of the human experiences. I can't understand just why anyone would chronicle these events, or make any positive comments about such a complete failure of a poor human being.. This person sunk to every kind of perversion and should only be looked at as an example of almost every depraved activity. Save your money! It really soesn't deserve even one star.

This movie really shows the downside of drugs.....its such a shame that a man as good looking as he was fell so far and could not keep himself clean....this book is so depressing and there is nothing at all uplifting about it......its a great book for someone to read that needs a jolt back to reality and off of drugs......this shows just what its like to be an addict

Just as "Wonder Bread ..." detailed the rapid rise and just as rapid fatal fall of gay porn icon Joey Stefano, so it goes here with H.A. Carson's treatment of Jon Vincent, another gay porn actor who also crossed over into bisexual films. Endowed with the handsomeness that only billboards are made for and a body to match, Vincent used both to wrangle his way to fortune and fame (no pun). Once there, however, according to Carson, Vincent, like so many others in the apparent cut-throat adult film business, obviously found fame, money and envy either unfulling or too much to handle. Either way, heroin became Vincent's comfort, and his business of sex became nothing more than a mechanical, emotionless state of being with the hope for love being so elusive as not even to be dreamable. With the heroin, Vincent went the only way that an addiction goes if not arrested: downward, in all its poverty, isolation, maybe well-intentioned but half-hearted attempts at sobriety and, sometimes mercifully, death. In the end, Vincent lost his battle to heroin, and his story in this book comes across more as one of decline and fall in a public profession and the torment of heroin addiction and less a psyco-biography to explain the reason for Vincent's (and others') self-destruction. Is it the nature of the adult business that directs its performers to drug dependency, or is it an already-present void in the souls of its performers who seek fulfillment in a physically intimate profession? We don't get the answers here, but Carson's book remains an important warning that the demons of a soul in torment will almost always unleash their lethal poison from which few emerge. It is a disturbing but important read, and it might be warning us to pay heed to the caution in the wind.

Despite the many references to more prestigous thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, etc., Halloway's assertions concerning popular music are shockingly simplistic. Though he clearly approaches his subject from a political and cultural standpoint, the uneasy connection he attempts to forge between the physics of music and human response, and the resultant cultural fallout, demands a more rigorous grounding in physics, psychology, biology, and/or math for his argument to even begin to seem plausible. Once Halloway's focus moved beyond lyrics to actual harmonic structures, establishing a causal connection between music (even the sort he laughably terms "pornographic pop") and "destructive behavior" required more than simply paraphrasing Plato, or quoting some Nietzsche to succeed. Not only does he avoid a comparative analysis between disciplines, but Halloway limits his studies to the classics of western civilization. There is an entire world of music out there, each unique form entwined with an equally unique culture. Certainly there must be some insight to be gleaned from it somewhere. Perhaps he did, in fact, research other discplines, and/or other genres of music, but found them inconvenient to his arguments. Indeed, in some of his more athletic leaps of reasoning, Halloway's conservative slip begins to show. Frankly, this book proved to be the sort of conservative pseudo-intellectualism I'd expect from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, but with a better bibliography. In the book's favor, I can say that it is quite readable, with a clear, if somewhat plain narrative voice. If only the logic employed were equally as clear.

Holloway's book is a wonderful introduction to what the history of western political philosophy says about the role of music in shaping people's character. The belief that music has a role in forming the character has always been a controversal stance, starting with Plato, and remains one still today. One only has to be reminded of Allan Bloom's chapter on Rock music and the reaction that section provoked shows how powerful this theme remains today. Liberals (ancient and modern, capitalist or not) don't like the idea that music plays a role in character formation.. and what Holloway's book does shows the reader what the big stars of western philosophy has to say on this subject. Holloways argues by ignoring the power of music in the formation of character of the young especially, contemporary society and the music it has bread.. has lead to extremes both in music and people's character.. and both for the worse.

Mr. Holloway's book is a welcome addition to the discussion of culture and morality. Far from simply saying what is good and what is not, he shows how we have arrived at current opinions about music and it's place in our cultural life, and why what the likes of Plato and Aristotle had to say has relavence for today. This is a well reasoned and thoughtful treatise that should be read by everyone who is concerned with the current social fabric.
It is refreshing to have a political scientist regard music as a serious force in that very discipline. Those who disagree with him will do so not because his arguments do not make sense, but because they do not like his conclusions, i.e. they are fulfilling the very dictum of contemporary politics - hold any opinion you want to, as long as you don't insist it is the right one.

This biography managed to make mundane and boring one of the most fascinating characters of the opening of the West. The fat-free, salt-free prose relentlessly rambles on with no distinction between events of monumental importance (Bear Flag Revolt, e.g. - one page) and tedious details of Carson's children. No explanatory detail is given about saddlery,horses,firearms,clothing,etc., nor is sufficient description given to the geography of the country in which he spent so much time. Most of all, the book suffers from a lack of detailed maps. On the bright side, the book seems well researched and documented and the sources are clearly indicated. Best of all, in this era of historical demonization, there is a genuine affection and sympathy for Kit Carson, quite convincing me that he was not only a fascinating pioneer but an exemplary character.

Although this account of the famous explorer's life and adventures contained well documented and interesting information, I found the presentation rambling and often outright confusing. The first chapters were arranged according to specific expeditions, but the purpose of each expedition was poorly explained and it was easy to loose track of the individuals present and the chronology of events. Occasionally, events referred to in early chapters were not actually described until later chapters (i.e. the Court Martial of Fremont). Unfortunately the disjointed narrative distracted significantly from the informative content of the book.

Much like the pulp-novel persona that sprung from the legends of Kit Carson, the real man was a master of life in the West. From his early days as a mountain man to his later life as an Indian agent, Guild and Carter do a good job of illustrating the life of Carson and his role in the opening of the West. Throughout the book, the authors keep the focus on Carson and do not let the wider events in which he was involved overshadow the man. On one level this approach diminishes the importance of those events and Carson's role in them, but it also seems to provide a good illustration of how Carson viewed those events.

I was inspired by the compilation of bird dog stories found within this book. If you enjoy the excitement, fear, despair, and elation associated with the training, ownership and running of all breeds of bird dogs, you will enjoy this book. The authors help you relive the moments you have endured with your own dogs in addition to helping you imagine the hunts you have yet to experience. This is a definite must read for bird dog enthusiasts.

I borrowed this book from a friend and had a tough time putting it down. Great stories from writers who truly love their dogs. A few of the essays are sad, but all of them allow us to share a part of a fellow dog lovers life with his best friend. Definitely a must read.

This book is filled with facts about the flute and its history. However, a great number of the great flutists are women (Robison, Wincenc, Zuckerman, Dwyer, Milan, and many others. But this book pictures only men.

This book is attractively illustrated and would be appealing to a budding flutist; however, I noticed that a key illustration of a young flutist playing the flute is reversed. The photo shows the flute being played on the wrong side.

I find it peculiar that women go to work like they are dressed for a party or some other "fanciful activities", then they become upset when men treat them like less than ladies. I know the author and she is no lady...

A compelling documentary about the unnecessary pain and suffering inflicted upon our wives, mother, daughters and others in the workplace. A MUST READ for females to defend themselves against this inhumane AND ILLEGAL treatment of women. A MUST READ for men who must consider the effect of Sexual Harassment upon their loved ones; and also consider if THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR as a male is appropriate.

This provides a broad overview of the ASME Code pertaining to boilers, process vessels and DOT vessels. It could be useful to a plant engineer needing an overview for code vessel management, but falls short for the engineer involved in the design of pressure vessels.

I own the 1977...5th edition, this book quickly allows a
novice to gain a fairly comprehensive grasp of the subject.
After only a few hours of reading an engineer, designer or
draftsperson can generate an informative deduction.
The book accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do,
and that is simplify a very complicated and costly code.

The storyteller in the The Beauty of the Husband is a woman who may or may not be Anne Carson, recalling a failed marriage with a beating mind. The memories set down here - jolting, raw, journalistic, poetic are bled onto paper to form a succession of 29 highly literate and evocative ink blots. "How sharp the point of this remembrance is" according to Shakespeare. But enough exegesis - put on Piazzolla, read this book and answer for yourself what a lover wants from the beloved. Start with a little beauty and truth...

Anne Carson has written a beautiful book of poems/tangoes that somehow tell the story of a marriage without actually telling a story. We have fully realized moments, conversations (Carson writes amazing poetic conversations, here and in her other works), events -- without all the connections in between. And yet these moments are woven together, internally and from one tango to the next, with language used as the steps of a dance, providing motifs and figures that carry the reader from one page to the next. Dance, games, rules, war, the rules of war, love, beauty, truth, lies and betrayal -- all of these themes run in and out of the complicated pattern of steps. The technique always serves the lyric, however, and we never lose sight of the feelings Carson wishes to evoke. You feel the separate pains of each betrayal (her betrayal of her mother, the not-yet-husband's failure to appear for their wedding, his first infidelity, each subsequent lie), but despite the pain there is no bitterness in this book -- in fact, Carson's final advice is to "hold beauty." Just as you cannot tell the tale of the lover without telling the tale of the beloved (as the final poem ironically suggests), so, perhaps, you cannot have love, beauty and truth without their opposites. Carson, plainly, is on the side of beauty.

In "The Beauty of the Husband," Carson continues her exploration-- begun in her 1986 book, "Eros the Bittersweet"--of how love, beauty, knowledge and pain intersect. This project continued through "Glass, Irony, and God," and "Plainwater." "Beauty" can only be understood in that context; those who take "Autobiography of Red" to be her most representative or best work are missing the point, as are those who want to find in Carson a "poet." She is not a poet, and will inevitably disappoint those who expect her to be. She is really a phenomenologist. Her language only *sounds* poetic, because she is forcing language to a new task, namely to bring you into direct contact with a phenomenon--the pain beauty inflicts. In this very specific sense, Carson is a Platonist. Plato took Beauty to be irretrievably lost to us in this life, but desperately remembered and wanted. Beauty causes pain because it at the same time attracts and thwarts me. Anne Carson dealt with this anguish theoretically in "Eros;" "Beauty" is one more variation on that theme, where "the Husband" is the narrator's loved reminder of true Beauty. His beauty makes her want to know him (sweet), but he always spins out of her grasp (bitter). That is the *fact* of love: to read this book is to taste it on your own mind's tongue.

I try to know how to do this application to buy the book on shopping but something I don't understand if my card was right if anything happen I don't know if it safe to used my credit card and I hope you with send me the book if my card alright

If you just want to look at every single heating method available, then this book is for you. If you want some help repairing a problem, or adding ducting, this is not the book for you. All it has is many many pictures of various systems.

You're a Home Inspector or simply in search of picture after picture with little other detail other than technical information. If you are looking for advice on how to repair or fix items, DO NOT BUY this or other Carson Dunlop books in this series - The Illustrated Home. Carson Dunlop is a firm out of Canada that does produce good materials for Home Inspectors, but these are not "how to" manuals, nor are these books good for the average home owner. The reviewer g_clarke is, in my view, clearly associated with Carson Dunlop and his or her review should be ignored - check out his/her other reviews, they are worded exactly the same for each book in this series. Kind of sad when people write misleading reviews to simply increase sales. On the positive - DO BUY this book if you are simply looking for very detailed technical information.