I almost didn't finish this book. My initial impression was that this guy's life is as dull and as vapid as anyone else's. He visits a department store with his mother and her neighborhood friend -- big deal. His dad finally gives in and buys the big freezer for the kitchen -- so what?

But suddenly, and quite by accident, I realized that the book had me firmly in its grip. It somehow became important to find out what happened at the AIDS clinic. The minutae of which gym he was attending -- and why -- gained a greater significance than I could have anticipated earlier in the book.

Cooper's writing style makes it easy to digest these essays. He writes with a precision that reminds me of Edmund White, or even Buckley, but without the pompous esoteric nature they sometimes employ.

The book ends abruptly. Whatever happened to Bryan, his roommate? What further progress was there in his relationship with his father, if any? But real life isn't conveniently episodic. I ended yesterday with unfinished business; I will leave unfinished business at this day's end. Just as a photograph captures only the briefest millisecond between what-has-gone-before and the unknowable what-will-be, so this book snatches Cooper midway between life's experiences, with stories as-yet unfinished. In the end, it makes his autobiography all the more real.

Far and away the strongest material Cooper has written, "Truth Serum" is one of the best memoirs I've ever encountered. It ranks with Theodore Dreiser's "Dawn" as a stunning evocation of early life. His language is fluid and beautiful. He writes about childhood as vividly as if he were watching intimate scenes from his past on a movie screen. Except that he describes feelings and thoughts-- unfilmable-- so freshly. The reader enters into the child Cooper's head and perceptions in astonishing ways. This is exceptional writing and the sense of immediacy (with the exception of the abstract final piece) is wonderful.

I checked this book out of the library and read half of it before I realized that I had to own it, so I bought a copy the next day and picked up where I'd left off in the other copy. It's not a book-length memoir as much as it's a series of shorter memoirs. And what I find the most compelling in this book is his sense of focus. He writes a rather extensive essay about high school called "101 Ways to Cook Hamburger," and it essentially consists of three scenes. But from those scenes, I get a strong sense of his high school experience as a whole.

Also, he covers his entire life in this relatively short book. He has an essay on his mother that centers on the freezer she coveted, and an essay on his father. He talks about joining the gym, and the various gyms of his life, and that leads him to a discussion of AIDS. He has a short essay that categorizes all of the different kinds of sighs.

One of the greatest compliments I can give a book is to say that I wish I'd written it. I'm going through this book again, underlining passages and studying his use of scene, description, and exposition. He's a writer to learn from, in a lot of ways.

That's what I said when I finished the book! After all that happened in the previous books, the ending was not what I expected. I guess that's what I get for believing in happy endings. I would still recommend the series to anyone though.

After 7 books, it's natural that one is expectating what will happen in the end.

In the beginning of the book we find Indigo traveling to the Southern isles, her homeland, in hope of finding her love Feran still alive. But her ship wrecks and though she doesn't suffer grave injures to the body, she finds herself with her memories totally lost. She doesn't even remember Grimya, her faithfull companion. But in this land she doesn't remember and is now ruled by a family she doesn't even know, things threaten to go very badly indeed. For once we find the last demon waiting for her in an unexpected guise. And only the 'aisling', a magic tune, can bring back her memory, so that she can finish her mission.

I liked the way the book ends, I think it's according to Ms. cooper's style and very realystical.

I am sure that anyone who reads this series will approach the concluding book with some trepidation. Being unsure how it will be resolved. Louise actually does a wonderful job of showing how much Anghara has really changed through the years. What I found to be so incredible was that while Indigo had been the central character through the first seven books, for the majority of this book, she becomes a secobdary character, you are carried through the events with a different set of eyes. And instead of feeling alienated, I was engrossed. With this final chapter of Indigo, not only does Louise Cooper show her superior story telling abilities, but she manages to achieve a strong ending a conclusion that was as strong as the preceeding volumes had been.

In my opinion the conclusion is the point where an author shows the mastery of their craft. There are so many stories that have captivated me only to fall flat at the end with an ending that didn't do justivce to the quality of the series.

If you love fantasy, read the Indigo Saga. It not only has the magical, but it alsohas the human elements as well. Her series stays focused from the beginning to the end, and you as the reader are swept along with it. And what a climax, what an ending. When I read the cover, and it said "The Stunning Conclusion of The Indigo Saga" I was sceptical, for once they were right. All of Louise Cooper's work comes highly recommended, and worth the effort to find.

Not up to the same standard as 'His Dark Materials' but it's aimed at a different market, I guess.

I found the writing good, creating that dreamlike, unreal, almost nightmarish feeling when your world is suddenly turned upside down.
The book grips you and you feel dragged along with our heroine as she tries to make sense of what is happening and the 'visions' she has; the only failing is the ending which seems a bit of an anticlimax.

Nevertheless, a very good read.

This was nice and yet it was slow to begin with. I enjoyed it very much. I have read almost all his other books and am hoping to get the one coming out in January. I got so into this book it took me one night to finish it.

The Broken Bridge is a beautifully written book about a girl named Ginny Howard, who is one of the very few black children in Wales. Ginny lives with her father, striving to reach her goal of becoming an artist. Then she finds out that she has a white half-brother named Robert. Even worse, she is illegitimate. Knowing that her father may not be telling her the whole truth about her own life, Ginny decides to find out all that she can about herself and her mother. The plot is embellished with Ginny's unique ideas about herself and also her artistic views. This book was very inspiring and I find that I can associate many of the things discussed in it with my own life. I am definitely better off from reading it.

I teach cellular biolgy in senior hihg school, and I found in this book an excellent tool, were my students can find the basic information that they need. The CD is also a great idea, because the students can see some proceses in motion.

This book contained very usefull text information especially for whom undertaking cell biology. It as also recommended by Lecturers in Victoria University of Technology, in Australia. It provides excellent details of cell functions and related items in both the general view and the molecular view. The older version is also a very good source, but I think it is a bit out dated. I would recommend this text to whom is studying cell biology.

The field of cell biology is so vast and changing so rapidly that teaching it can be a daunting prospect. The First Edition of The Cell: A Molecular Approach, published in 1997, offered the perfect solution for teachers and their students--current, comprehensive science combined with the readability and cohesiveness of a single-authored text. Designed for one-semester introductory cell biology courses, this book enabled students to master the material in the entire book, not simply to sample a small fraction from a much larger text. The new Second Edition of The Cell retains the organization, themes, and special features of the original, but it has been completely updated in major areas of scientific progress, including: genome analysis; chromatin and transcription; nuclear transport; protein sorting and trafficking; signal transduction; the cell cycle; and programmed cell death.

The new Second Edition was published June 16, 2000.

This very amusing and thorough look at the British class system (up to the late 70s when it was written) is so accurate it can make you laugh one minute and cringe the next. To a large extent, much of it still applies today but in some areas things have lightened up a little I think (hope!). Jilly Cooper has a wicked sense of humour and a very easy style which made this book a very enjoyable read. Bravo! Pip, pip.

Jilly Cooper is a popular English journalist/novelist who turned her attention to the subtleties of the English caste system back in the seventies. Coming from a privileged background and being blessed with an acerbic wit, in addition to being a self-described coprophile, she was ideally situated to take on the task; the lady clearly knows her subject.

Although the accompanying illustrations are somewhat dated (bell bottoms, anyone?), the observations are timeless, and for the most part are as applicable to the American class system as the English. The one exception is the aristocracy, which one is born into in England, inheriting both property and title as a matter of right. As a result, English aristocrats have that wonderful "Up yours!" attitude that the American upper class can only aspire to. Readers interested in the antics of the Young Royals (they of the single-digit IQs and hands with six fingers) will find this book especially interesting

This book invites comparison to "Class: A Guide Through the American Status System" by Paul Fussell, which it closely resembles, both in sharpness of observation and uproarious humor. The Fussell book assumes more of a sociological perspective, however, while Ms. Cooper's style is that of the gossip columnist/confidante.

I found this to be a screamingly funny view of the levels of society in England in the 60's and 70's.It's a bit dated now but I'll swear that all of us can accurately place people we know in one of these categories--the top layer-more concerned with their animals and blithely unaware of any other layer---the upper middles --not quite so unaware and all the others, some of whom are desperately trying to keep up appearances . The lowest social layer of all are, strangely enough, most like the topmost layer in that they are totally confident in their milieu and don't give a damn about anyone else!! I kept recognising people that I knew and slotted them into what I thought was their layer but quite probably, a lot of them would consider themselves to be at least one layer above that which they really belong.It's a real hoot!!

I was surprised to see so many positive reviews of this chapter in the Indigo Saga, while the series was excellent. A wonderful concept carried through very well, this is the one book that falls gravely short. First, in all of the books save this one, she is desperatly embittered by her seperation from Fenran. In this book outside of references relating to internal conflict, he is not present. It is almost as though Indigo forgot that it was her own foolishness which condemned him to unending torment until the demons are destroyed. People always seem to focus on how difficult indigo's struggles are, and while her quest is quite substantial, she at least has some power over her situation. She could have at least had the self-control to avoid any romantic situations. Fenran was supposed to be the motivator of her quest. A reason for her too succeed, and while a romantic interlude may please some of her fans, it really undermined the entire meaning of her quest. If Veness wouldn't have so convienently died would she have delayed her quest to make a life with him? Louise alluded to that being the case. The problem with that is obvious. My other issue with this book is the Demon itself, out of all the Demons it is the least delineated. Their is more focus on Nemesis than on the actual Demon she is destroying. There are no reall characteristics attributed to it, and frankly its demise was altogther too vague. All you had was an affirmation that this was the situation.

There are also a great deal of timeline issues. Louise didn't do an effective job of explaining where the demon was motivating from, was it influencing idividuals, or was it possessing the artifacts. If it was in the weapons, at what point did the demon take control over them, because its effect on those that touched them were consistent with the curse placed on them centuries prior to the release of the demons from the Tower of Regrets. If it was possessing the people with the power of vengeance this was only marginally alluded to, because their motivation could just as easily been covetouness and greed. The book, however, did keep ones attention and is worth reading, it falls short of the level usually Louise Cooper ascends to. Read all eight books, and you can over look this one. Good luck in finding it.

I really liked this book, especially because Indigo finds something of a solace from her tribullations. But I rated it less because it's a bit difficult to understand the nature of the demon.

In this book Indigo travels North to the land of Feran, her dear love, who is trapped in a demon world until Indigo kills the last of the demons she has released. But when she arrives at her 'destination' she meets a man who is almost identical to Feran. She is very surprised, but soon discovers that he is from the family Feran left in the North. She has to spend the Winter with these people and things get a bit out of hand... More, she discovers that the demon is right under their roof.

But exactly what this demon is, I think it's up to you to make your own interpretation.

This is a brilliant series of books - Louise Cooper does an awesome job at giving each book a unique and captivating plot. Very few authors could do for a trilogy, what she successfully did here with no less than eight books... Of all of them, this book is my favorite, combining all the best elements of the series, as listed above.

I found this book to be different than the typical management book. Rather than filled with the usual platitudes, it contains some real world advice on how to deal with and capitalize on situations that occur in a corporate environment. The book starts a bit slow, but it gets moving once it gets into the 10 strategies. The author has a nice conversational, straight-talking style of writing. The exercises and advice at the end of each chapter are excellent. I would recommend this book for new graduates starting in management and for seasoned veterans.

Marshall has written an exceptional book, a smart and practical book that reflects a very intelligent and perceptive grasp of business action and the people who are the action-eers. People run businesses and businesses are only as good as the people that run them. "How To Grow A Backbone" is at once very revealing and very familiar. We will all find ourselves somewhere in this book...for better or worse. We may smile or grimace at the unerring precision with which Marshall cuts straight to the bone, through all the usual fat, and shows us how much backbone we really have, I really have, you really have. Most important, she shows us how to grow what we're missing. Every CEO should read this book and then issue it to his staff, to everyone on the staff including the mail boy and the sweeper. If that CEO is big enough, smart enough (and secure enough) to encourage, to allow, to require, to inspire, his people to grow backbone, that boss will have one hell of a spinning business. Action, forward motion, innovation and fun the way business should be fun, going a mile a minute, breaking through. Everyone who dreams of being more than they are, or of being a CEO, should quit dreaming and dig into "Backbone". This is no "guru magic" that pumps you up for a week, this is the straight answer for anyone who has the courage to try to be what he or she can be. Miss Marshall will show you the way. "How To Grow A Backbone" is a lean, no nonsense bible for the feint of heart who want to grow the lion inside them. It's more than a business book. It's for anyone who hears their Jiminy Cricket whispering, you could have, you should have, why didn't you? Anyone who wants to know how to grow the seeds of character we all possess, who wants to be somebody, must read "How To Grow A Backbone". WARNING: Read only if you want to be better than you are.

This is a must read for anyone that wants to move further faster in the business world -- especially those who are fledglings in Corporate America! Marshall writes with clarity and good humor spiced with pithy observations and examples. This is more than a pie-in-the-sky, ethereal how-to book. She backs up her advice with practical, easy to implement ACTIONS to integrate the strategies into all areas of interactions with others. And her "excercises" are more than informative and effective: they're fun to boot!

The title page of James Fenimore Cooper's 1823 novel "The Pioneers, or the Sources of the Susquehanna" defines it as "a Descriptive Tale"; and indeed the narrative is more a series of descriptions rather than a straight-forward plot. There is a well-drawn set of characters living quiet country lives. There is a plot "teaser" that is fairly obvious and finally resolved in the penultimate chapter, and there is a vague love triangle that never intensifies. In fact,Cooper seems to be not so much concerned with events as with attitudes. The story opens at Christmastime of 1793, and the settlers discuss the tumult of that year in Paris and the Vendée. (One of their company is an émigré who keeps muttering "Les monstres!" and "Mon pauvre roi!") Unfortunately, Cooper seems to have lost track of his time scheme because several months later in the story it's still 1793. This is one of the Leatherstocking Tales, which means that Nathaniel Bumppo (called Leatherstocking by the newcomers, Hawkeye by the Indians) is one of the major characters. But "The Pioneers", unlike "The Last of the Mohicans", does not involve Natty in dangerous adventures. (Which is just as well -- he's suppose to be 70 years old.) Instead, the novel presents frontier life in central New York at a settlement on Lake Otsego through commonplace but colorful occurrences: a fishing expedition, a turkey shoot, a gathering at the Bold Dragoon, a trial. The remarkable aspect of "The Pioneers", and the reason today's readers will identify with it, is the many arguments for the conservation of natural resources, both flora and fauna.Natty Bumppo's concern is understandable, as he is a man of the wilderness. More surprising is the wealthy entrepreneur Judge Temple's insistence that "we are stripping the forests, as if a single year would replace what we destroy. But the hour approaches when the laws will take notice of not only the woods, but the game they contain also". Later, both he and the Leatherstocking are appalled by the indiscriminate slaughter of birds in a single outing. This ecological attitude gives an unexpectedly modern tone to "The Pioneers" and makes it sympathetic reading in the 21st Century.

Even though this is a difficult read if you are not in the right frame of mind, I felt it was an excellent book. This book illustrates the final days of Hawkeye and the dilemmas that he encounters as an old man. I believe that the only major problem of the novel was the unbelievable and corny ending. Overall a good book.

Marmaduke Temple opens this story as he retrieves his daughter Elizabeth from a boarding school in New York City shortly after the Revolutionary War. As they descend the mid-winter mountains of upstate New York into the valley the Temples call home, they meet the other major characters of the story, Natty Bumppo, Chingachgook, and Oliver Edwards. Cooper prefaces this book by telling us that he wrote it for his pleasure, not ours. As Elizabeth's first night back home consumes 178 pages, I was beginning to take the man at his word, but, from here, an outstanding tale unfolds.

The Pioneers is a book in the romantic style of it's age which also carries contemporary messages. The loss of wilderness and wildlife were already a concern in the late 18th century. As the population shifted westward, Native Americans were supplanted and the wilds they inhabited were methodically tamed. Marmaduke Temple and Natty Bumppo, the conservationists, approach the issue in differing ways. Temple exemplifies the responsible management of natural resources while Bumppo longs for the departure of civilization so that nature may reclaim it's own.

Surrounding the ecological message is a story of a human dimension that, though expectedly formulaic, is nonetheless pleasing to behold. The characters are finely wrought as is the portrait of 18th century American life. Easily transported, the reader will find the descriptions of natural surroundings evocative of period and place.

I was sorry to see the last page, though the last page was masterfully done. While James Fenimore Cooper need not be proclaimed by me as the author of classics, I consider this book one and the same and rate The Pioneers a resounding five stars.

Although many seem to think that this is a delightful book, it is full of stereotyped information about people with Down syndrome that is outdated and offensive. Portraying Eddie as not caring that the children make fun of him, gives readers the idea that people with Down syndrome aren't bright enough to know when they are being made fun of. Always happy, always laughing--certainly not the real picture of people who have feelings, hopes and dreams just like you and I do. The illustrations, although lovely, exaggerate the physical characteristics some people with Down syndrome have in common. Instead of pointing out that people are more alike than different, this book points out differences. If you are looking for a book to educate readers about disability issues or Down syndrome, there are many better choices.

This is a great book on teaching kids about differences. Everyone is different in their own ways, some people just show their differences more. Eddie Lee is treated wrongfully in this book becuase of his appearance. We hav eot learn to except people for who they are, not what they look like. Eddie Lee just wants to be the same as everyone else and fit in. Sometimes people get fed up with him though, and do not want to hang out with him. These are the tiems we have to be there for these people.

My favorite character in this book is Eddie. He just wants to be like everyone else and fit in. It is hard for him to make friends because sometimes people jsut don't want to hang out with him. It is hard for people to understand him, and he just wants to make friends. Thsi is one of my favorite childrens books. IT teaches a lot about children and how they think.

Be Good to Eddie Lee is a great book for children. I appreciate this book because most people treat Eddie Lee the way JimBob treats him. Eddie is special in his own ways. No one realizes that he is a good person at heart because they get the wrong impression. People these days just need to respect everyone. We are all different in our own ways, and we all have our unique qualities.

This a book that shows how certian people are treated. Eddie Lee is a great person at heart yet no one notices it. No matter what, everyone in life si different. We just need to realiize that. This story shows how great some people really are. We just have to look a little deeper to realize the simularities. People have difficult lives yet, we can all be friends in some way or another.

John Richardson has set aside his scholarly masterpiece (A Life of Picasso: Volumes I & II completed, Volumes III & IV eagerly awaited)to produce something bubbly and light; it is not soda-pop, though, but vintage champagne. Far different from the careful and meticulous research of his Picasso oeuvre, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a welcome intermission and a clearing of the palate.

Richardson writes about himself and his friends, and especially about his love affair with Douglas Cooper ("The Sorcerer" of the title), art collector, critic and expert on cubism from whom Richardson learned a great deal, both good and bad.The book illuminates not only the relationship between the older, impossible, Cooper and his young apprentice, but also back lights aspects of Picasso, Braque, Lèger and Juan Gris as they are reflected in the tumultuous lives of that odd couple.

The author is an inveterate gossip, as good biographers should be. He likes to tell the little details that deflate or humanize others. He does not have the malice of Capote (although sometimes he comes close), and he is obviously too amiable and forgiving to twist the knife or seek idle revenge.

One cannot be sure about the motives that led to putting out this light froth between the serious stuff; I am glad it is out there, though, and glad I read it. Being taken into Mr. Richardson's confidence and getting to know him will make the enjoyment of his next Picasso volumes all the more intense.

Richardson's fine survey of Douglas Cooper, who assembled the world's most important private cubist collection, provides an excellent consideration of both the man and his involvement in the arts and Richardson's personal involvement with Cooper's works. Chapters offer new views of Picasso based on Richardson's friendship with the artist, plus many other unusual insights on artists and works of the times. Highly recommended.

john richardson gives us snippets of a fascinating period intertwining the lives of influential artists and personas. i only wish the book was longer and more descriptive of braque,guttoso and miro. if you collect or enjoy the cubists and their relatives,you will enjoy this book