After going through so many visibly successful "slimming phases," Winfrey has arguably shed more pounds in the aggregate than the ill-fated Donner Party, and her directives should not be taken lightly. I myself followed this wonderful book's program for several weeks before my second wedding, and was able to wow my betrothed with a slender new physique in time for our romantic yet financially disastrous trip to Petit St. Vicent. Sadly just like its esteemed author, I fell into a subsequent bout of severe gluttony that rapidly erased my hard-won gains. However I took heart in Ms. Winfrey's own phoenix-like dieting program, convinced that one day success would again be mine. I found the quiet example of Winfrey's co-author, a Mr. Bob Greene, to be no less inspiring. Greene is an object lesson in tenacity and dedication as he daily addresses the Sisyphean task of being Ms. Winfrey's personal trainer.

"Make the Connection" is an incredible book, not just because of Oprah's inspirational story, but because her trainer, Bob Greene, helps you to understand exactly how your body works and WHY DIETS DON'T WORK!! In fact, if you want to lose weight, you HAVE TO EAT (sensibly) and this book tells you how and why! As Bob explains, the key is understanding your metabolism and the role regular exercise plays in increasing your metabolism and KEEPING it increased. Our bodies NEED FOOD the way a car needs gas in order to perform effectively. Bob tells it like it is, sometimes harshly, and makes it clear that you're going to have to work hard, sweat and be disciplined - but you can still eat and it really works! You have to think of your body like it's a machine - and you want to keep that machine fine-tuned, oiled and full of premium gasoline, otherwise it won't run properly!! I'm in my 30s and was not much more than 10 pounds overweight, but I felt bloated, sluggish, had lost muscle tone and generally felt depressed about myself compared to how I used to look and feel when I was in my 20s. To lose weight, I would deprive myself of food, feel sick from headaches and the shakes when I didn't eat, and then end up bingeing and feel even worse. I could barely make myself exercise more than once a week. Well, this book not only helped me lose the extra pounds, but all my other symptoms have disappeared! I now have great muscle tone, feel energetic and positive, rarely feel bloated (except from all that water you have to drink!) and I look and feel better than I did in my 20s! I feel fantastic and I also sleep so much better!! The quality of sleep now is unbelievable!! "Make the Connection" changes your whole outlook on life and feelings about yourself and food. I LIKE TO EAT and, when you follow Bob's 10 steps, you can eat and still lose weight. It's a win-win situation!! All you have to have is the discipline to stick with it. Some days you fall off the wagon, but you just have to get right back on!! Whether you want to lose a little weight or a lot, or just want to tone up and feel more alive, this book can help you do it!!

I read this from cover to cover in a few hours. Oprah was so honest about her life and weight struggles that I cried at some points--I could relate! Her story at the beginning of the book shows that she is not on a pulpit or out for a quick buck--she has lived it, walked the talk and actually finally got the fat off for good with Bob Greene's help. Bob then talks about the 10 steps--which are covered one for each chapter. At the beginning of each chapter is a paragraph or two about Oprah's thoughts and experiences with that step. She is honest about weight loss for life being tough work. She hates drinking water as much as I do! Bob and Oprah have made this an incredible book, one that will change your mind, make you realize that you can actually get the weight you want. It is a proven way to go--Bob has been a personal trainer for years

After I read this book, I kept thinking about Scobie and his struggles with his faith or lack of it. When I was reading the novel, I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. The complexities of his relationship with his wife, his job, and his faith have kept me thinking of different scenarios, things he could have done. Perhaps what I like best about Graham Greene's writing is that he doesn't dictate your feelings. You are free to make your own judgments of the characters. In fact it is very easy to argue one way or another about what the characters believed because he doesn't spell it out for you as if you were a child. By not overwriting the characters there is some mystery, as in real life. Can you ever truly know another person wholly? Also recommended: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene, which is even more complex and mysterious.

Scobie, a British police officer stationed in a nameless (perhaps Sierra Leone) West African state in the waning years of the Second World War, is a desperately principled soul. After sending his wife to South Africa on holiday (an expensive proposition that causes him to need to borrow a sum of money from the local-Syrian-moneylender/black marketeer, Yusef), he finds himself driven perversely to commit adultery.

Yusef and Scobie's relationship, as a subtext, provides a deeply interesting foil to the four-cornered relationship between Scobie, his wife, Helen (the adulteress), and Wilson (who professes to love Scobie's wife...behavimg much in the fashion of a dog). Through the interplay of Yusef and Scobie, Greene provides the reader insight into the fundamental shallowness and duplicity of human relationships...professed friendship and blackmail dominate. The heart of the matter, as expressed here, is that human relationships are implicitly inferior to the relationship that we may choose to experience with the divine.

As for Scobie, he ... himself by taking sacrament (communion bread) without first confessing himself. Immediately subsequent, he is stricken by angina, leading him inexorably to his end. This is a deeply tragic, engrossing, and ultimately profoundly moving, read. Highly recommended.

"The Heart of the Matter" is the story of Major Scobie, a relatively high-ranking policeman struggling vainly for advancement in a small coastal African town. He remains with a wife he doesn't really love out of an extreme sense of duty and loyalty. For those familiar with Greene's "The End of the Affair," it is almost as though Greene took Henry Miles, the cuckold who remains married to Sarah because it is comfortable, and made him the protagonist of a novel.

Scobie, a converted Catholic, seems to take his religious convictions more seriously than his wife, who is more concerned with appearances and the way the socialites in town regard her. In this small coastal town, the attention she pays to her public standing quickly appears as it is, rudely farcical.

Trying to separate himself from his wife, Scobie strikes up a tenuous relationship with Yusef, a suspected Syrian smuggler. When she leaves for a vacation, Scobie falls for Helen Rolt, a young widow. Herein, the main action of the novel begins, as Scobie finds himself forced to reconcile his dead love for his wife with his affections for Helen, his career, and his relationship to Yusef, all within the context of his Catholic faith. A truly amazing work. I am convinced that Graham Greene simply did not know how to write a bad novel.

As a teacher of children with behavioral and emotional disorders, I found Greene's book extremely useful. In the first part of the book, he explores inflexibility and explosiveness in children (and biological/chemical factors influencing such behavior.) This section alone is worth its weight in gold for helping parents and teachers take a closer look at what's going on with their kids.

The rest of the book is devoted to his "three basket" intervention method. I am beginning to use this technique in my classroom to help avoid "meltdowns" over issues that really aren't important and to help TEACH my students how to negotiate and cope in frustrating situations. I want my students to become more flexible not just because it makes it easier on me in the classroom; they'll be happier and less frustrated in school, at home, and out in the world.

I've recommended this book to many parents and colleagues.

Reading Dr. Greene's book is the first exciting development in the treatment for our child in 6 long, tough years. It is the first time that I have encountered a M.H. professional that understands what has been in my heart all along: that he has explosive episodes rooted in frustration that paralyze his thinking ability, and under those circumstances, controls and punishment do more harm than good to a child who "knows" his behavior is unacceptable but does not have the skills to change. He is already in a great deal of pain, and consequences only exacerbate his frustration. Beyond this understanding, the author takes theory into a revolutionary "user friendly" methodology for re-teaching the parents first, the child, school and anyone else in the loop. He does not insult parents by telling them that their inept parenting skills are causal, instead he poses the question: Have your previous methods (usually those encouraged by conventional theories) yielded desirable results; Is your child any better able to avoid explosive behavior?

A previous reviewer commented that this book may be too arduous for an exhausted parent to get through. On the contrary, it is was energizing! It was written with extreme patience. This book is a tool for anyone involved with explosive children, especially for professionals who are open to changing their approach to one with promise to be far more effective. Though it is critical of behavioral modification it does not discount the benefits to some children. Permissiveness is not encouraged, if that is the fear of skeptics of this method. The key point is that punishment and rewards have failed over and over again to have any positive impact on inflexible-explosive children.

His major premise is that children do not "choose" these behaviors and consequently they cannot choose to change any more than a child with diabetes can choose to change his body chemistry. Instead, by concentrating all effort on the most destructive behavior, a child may be taught the skills he is lacking to deal with frustration. Coherance and logic need to restored first. In time, the other behaviors can be dealt with once his environment is friendlier and not perceived as antagonistic. This method has promise to reunite families, torn apart by rage.

Dr. Greene encourages parents and others involved to change their vision of the child as the first step to employing his techniques. This is the point that had the greatest impact on my thinking. My hope is that he is able to change the vision of the mental health system with his approach, enabling more parents the opportunity to access this method.

This book changed my life. My child does not respond to "traditional" disciplinary approaches. I'd tried everything short of spanking ' time outs, consequences, loss of priveledges, positive reinforcement for good behavior ' and NOTHING worked. After reading at least 20 parenting books and struggling to find a way to cope with my child, I discovered "The Explosive Child." What a godsend. This book provides a new way of looking at and helping "difficult" children who respond with anger and aggression when they are frustrated, and explains why traditional methods of discipline don't work with these kids. It then goes on to suggest a new method to teach kids (and their parents!) the skills they need to avoid meltdowns. While perhaps geared more toward the older child and adolescents, I think it would still be helpful to parents of preschoolers. Even if your child doesn't have major behavioral problems, it teaches great basic communication skills. I'd highly recommend it for people who work with kids, especially difficult ones.

The End of the Affair is at heart a simple novel. It explores the love triangle existing around the relationship of Bendrix, Sarah and God, not as many people seem to believe between Sarah, Bendrix and Henry.The protagonist is Bendrix who is telling us the story in first person narrative, which increases the intensity of the emotions that are felt when reading this novel.We are told of Bendrix's confusion when Sarah left him, supposedly for another man. However we find out that Sarah left Bendrix due to a promise she made to God. The question should be in the readers mind as the novel is finished. Is Sarah a Saint?Many strange events or miracles did seem to evolve from Sarah and I personally believe that Greene wanted her to be thought of as a saint in death.Perhaps he wanted to portray a person that although sinful, in her adultry, could also be seen as elite in her goodness. Perhaps he also wanted to demonstrate how a faith in God can lead to all matter of wrenching, emotional situations. This book is written with amazing insight into the dilemmas facing someone pursuing a soul consuming belief in god, and I think Greene must have had some first hand experience. I would advise people to read this book without any preconceptions and to perhaps think about the events that happen in the novel afterwards. I think a lot of people will be surprised at the depth at which the author manages to penetrate the mind of the reader.

I saw the movie first, and found it very engaging. In the moive the writer said "What can one write about happiness", and it made me want to read the book. The movie has a different ending, but it captures the hate theme of the book. The book is written in a very emotional way. When I was reading it, I could feel all what the narrator was feeling. All the hate and the love and the jealousy and the despair are so human, and everyone can quickly identify with those emotions. The discussions about God and about time have generated a lot of thoughts in me. Besides the content, it is a very well-written book. It feels so true. I wonder if it is based on a true story. That's all I have to say about this book.

Graham Greene's work is known to be very thrilling in a most subtle way. "The end of the affair" isn't different.

Told in first-person point of view, this is the story of Maurice Bendrix, a not so successful writer, Sarah, his lover and the great love of his life, and Henry, Sarah's husband. The relationship among this threesome is very complex, with most interesting and well developed characters.

Setted during and after the second world war, Bendrix's life suddenly looses all meaning when Sarah stops seeing him out of nowhere. During the book, Bedrix discovers why Sarah left him, and develops a most unusual relationship with Henry. This story is also about belief and memory connected. What happens when someone you love is no longer with you? Is it possible that him/her is watching the ones left behind, hearing their thoughts, and helping them? What happens when you don't believe in anything about religion, and then you loose someone very dear to you? What do you believe in then, when there's proof everywhere that this someone is still connected to you? Or is it just one's imagination? These are some of the questions this book puts on a reder's mind. Reading the book one has to stop after a few pages and wonder what one would do if the story was personal. More than good fiction, "The end of the affair" is a novel that has a meaning and a purpose.

This is one of the best of Greene's works, along with "The third man". The movie was also excellent, as almost every movie featuring Ralph Fiennes or Julianne Moore.

Grade 8.9/10

Greene is a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune and Life and is the SON;FATHER is Bob's father, once a Major in the 91st Infantry Division of WW II -famed for Its role in the Italian campaign; THE MAN WHO WON THE WAR is retired Brig. General Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B29 that took the A-bomb to Hiroshima. The father lived in Columbus, Ohio and Bob had grown up there. Father would announce now and then: "That man going(standing)there is Paul Tibbets". Bob contacted Tibbets and they became friends just days before the father died . Not stated, but clear to the reader: Bob is going to be writing articles in the Tribune and, finally, this book. His quest was to understand his father's generation and to find out Paul's feelings about dropping the bomb. Bob learns about the disgust and disappointment his father's generation has for those whose freedom they preserved with such devotion to purpose. The current and older generation have quite different rules for societal conduct and that accounts for a lot of the differences. But in my view the most salient point Paul makes in their many discussions is the one about discipline. To do great things, he said, you must have discipline. We had it. Much of today's society doesn't have it and it shows in so many ways. No, Paul didn't lose any sleep over dropping the bomb. It was an 1,800 man project which he was under orders to organize and lead. Countless men and their relatives wrote him to express their thanks for saving them from a bloody invasion of Japan's home islands. The toughest people for him to make understand were those who would say, "why didn't you just tell them you didn't want to do it." But he did want to do it.

Bob Greene's father, a World War II veteran, often spoke in admiration of Paul Tibbets who lived in quiet solitude in their hometown in Ohio. Tibbets was, in the eyes of Greene's father, "the man who won the war." After Greene's father passed away, Greene began a quest to better understand his father and the generation from which he came. Tibbets, who piloted the bomber which dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, became a mentor and friend. Through Tibbet's remembrances and Greene's memories of his father, the book becomes an absorbing and intimate tribute from a son to his father and to a generation whose values were embodied in the concepts of honor, duty, and courage. This is a wonderfully well written book replete with fascinating insights into the personality of the man who triggered the most devastating act in the history of man.

I re-read portions of this book after the tragic events of September 11 as a reminder to myself of the courage and unselfishness of past Americans who did their duty in a time of war. I recommend it as a reminder of those veterans as well as an interesting and insightful look at the importance of determination and strength during anxious times.

This moving tribute by Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene will inspire many baby boomers (and others) to think deeply and perhaps differently about their parents. Back in Columbus, Ohio to visit his dying father, Greene met 84-year old Paul Tibbets, the pilot that dropped the bomb. In getting to know Tibbets, Greene came to better understand his late father. Tibbets and the elder Greene (1915-98) never met, but they shared many values, including a sense of duty and horror from World War II. Like many, Tibbets believes the bomb shortened the war and spared lives, sending home safely many future dads like the elder Greene (and my own father). I wish the author had pressed Tibbets on alternatives such as demonstrating the bomb non-lethally, but DUTY isn't really about politics. It's more about the author's father, Tibbets, the war, and the ties binding and divisions separating baby boomers and their war-generation parents. I particularly liked reading the elder Greene's life memories, which he spoke into a tape recorder before passing.

DUTY is a readable, moving tribute to two men and their dwindling generation.

The book that accompanies the deck is indeed a little flimsy, but the cards are more than suitable.

I'm convinced that beginning Tarot readers were confused by the intention of the book. It should be read in its entirety before being used as an individual card reference. The reason is simple. Each suit represents a mythical tale. Without understanding that important detail, it is easy to become frustrated by the narrative that accompanies each card description. When a suit is read from start to finish however, the reader has a greater understanding of each card individually as well as how each relates in a greater context.

For instance, the three of Cups tells the story of Psyche and Eros. It is a card of celebration, for it is their wedding night. The next card in the deck however, the Four of Cups, represents betrayal in the very same relationship. It isn't until the Nine of Cups appears that a solid unity is represented and the reader knows that this love has been tested and ordained by a higher power.

I think this is a fantastic deck for beginning readers as long as they understand the nature of the book. A story to represent each suit and a card to represent each element of the suite's theme helps to rapidly educate and clearly communicate messages from the cards.

Good luck and God bless.

I had never seen, let alone used tarot cards before so I was a little nervous about purchasing a set that would leave me behind, lost and confused. This was not the case at all. This set makes reading tarot cards easy and a lot of fun. It comes with a complete deck of cards (all based on Greek Mythology and in color), a book explaining what each card means, and a cloth with a layout for the cards. If you are a beginner or are just someone looking for a beautiful deck, I would recommend this to you. Enjoy!

I bought this deck since 1997, and still using it right now. It's my first (and usable) Tarot deck.
At first, I got difficulty to understand the meaning of the card cause the book that came with the package was quite hard for my to understand, as English is not my first language, so I develop my own reading by interpreting the image on the card. The image was easier to understand that the words in the book, thanks to the well designed illustration.
The cloth was a nice accessories to have, eventhough I've never used it, I recommend you to use it as overlay on your desk to prevent the cards become dirty as mine. Also you can use it to protect your cards in storage if the box was broken.
In short, this is the easiest card to understand, although it still same powerfull as other Tarot decks. As a baginner, you'll be happy to find how this cards help you understanding Tarot, as expert you'll be happy too to find out how this card can broaden your vision.
Very recommended.

I was introduced to Dracula as a child watching Bela Lugosi portray the Count on the late night horror show "Shock Theater". This began a semi-fascination with vampire movies which continues to this day. I've not seen all the Dracula movies, but I'd seen dozens before I read the novel after graduating college. Nothing I've ever seen on the screen compares to Bram Stoker's original story. The story, which is told in the format of journal entries, letters, and newspaper clippings, engrossed me and carried me headlong to the final chapter.

The power of Stoker's written masterpiece exceeds the power of any screen production by a power of 10. Film isn't even the second most powerful medium for Dracula. The Naxos Audiobooks production of Dracula features a full cast but retains the format of the book. Different actors speak the journal entries of the various parties, with dialog and action being dramatized. Audio plays have been called "the theater of the mind", and that description well suits the Naxos production of Dracula. All in all, the audio play gives a satisfying way to experience the legend of Dracula.

Dracula is a masterpiece of Horror fiction, undoubtedly a classic and a necessary read for anyone who would consider him/herself a Horror fan. The title character has been forever imprinted on the minds of the world as the true name of the Vampire, and almost anyone who you could possibly ask could give you a pretty good description of the framework of the story.

A rich, reclusive count from the dark land of Transylvania tires of his homeland and searches for a home abroad to quench his thirst. Not for riches, not for glory, but for blood. For this count is a member of the damned breed, the Nosferatu, the Vampire. A demon condemned to live off of the blood of the living, while being neither alive, nor dead. It is a sad and frightening tale, filled with action and suspense.

Dracula is not only famous for its introduction of the mythology of Vlad the Impaler (in somewhat diluted form) to Western culture, but also for its formula. The inescapable evil (Dracula) to be confronted by a small, yet wary band of people lead by one who knows all of the creature's secrets and weaknesses (Van Helsing) has become a Horror staple. And folks never seem to get tired of it. The subject of Van Helsing, a character who almost, but not quite, overshadows Dracula in popularity is long overdue for a novelization of his own. Van Helsing's encounters with the supernatural would most definitely draw a fanbase.

If you're a Horror fan, or just like good old storytelling, Dracula is a book not to be missed. In fact, this novel should be required reading. It just might help increase the literacy rate!

Note: this edition has an awesome cover drawn by Boris Vallejo and it claims to be unabridged (abridging this story ought to be illegal!)

Bram Stoker's tale of terror, 'Dracula,' is just as chilling today as it must have been to readers a hundred years ago. Stoker's original story, which has been told many times since in film and book, is the tale of Johnathen Harker, his love, and his friends, and their horrific experiences at the hands of Count Dracula. The book begins with Harker traveling to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Dracula. Aquainting him with English customs and traditions when the Count buys land all over London from his firm, Harker soons learns of Dracula's true nature- that of an unnatural fiend who causes destruction wherever he goes. When Dracula travels to England Harker's friends enlist the aide of Dr. Van Helsing, the only man who understands just what evil the Count is capable of. The story that follows is one of love, hate, maddness, and adventure as Dracula seeks to destroy Harker and his friends. As well as being a great work of literature, 'Dracula' is a wonderful tale of horror that modern readers are sure to enjoy!

I really don't know how to review this novel; there is simply too much the novel has to say to cover it all her in a short review. Anything I write will be totally inadequate. I can only say that The Power and the Glory is certainly one of the greatest novels written in the Twentieth Century.

The novel is the story of a priest in Mexico in a state which has outlawed Christianity. The priest is trying to get out of the state and away from the athiestic lieutenant who's attempting to capture him, but the priest's Christian duty keeps calling him back into the state and into danger. The priest is also waging a war within himself. He is a good man but definitely a sinner, and he struggles to cure himself of his vices and struggles to believe that he can gain salvation.

The Power and the Glory assaults the reader on all levels. Greene explores so many aspects and paradoxes of Christianity. He looks at the great beauty that can be found in sin. He looks at how love and hate can be so similar. Greene reveals how the priest's life has had great meaning even thought the priest may not realize it. Greene reveals man as living in a "Wasteland," and he also reveals the way to find meaning in it. The characterizations of all of the characters really carry the novel. There are so many insights that can be gained from reading about the priest, the lieutenant, and the mestizo. The Power and the Glory is truly a magnificent novel which should be taught and studied everywhere.

Hello reader. One thing i should tell you if you consider to read "The Power And The Glory" by Graham Greene: This book is marvelous and if you start reading it in the evening, you will not cut until you have finished the book. The story is thrilling and exciting. It's amazing how you can tremble, run, fear with the priest. You can feel this urgency of not getting identified or caught by anyone. It is a bit difficult to read though, due to the marginal stories like the one of Mr. Tench. But still the main story is really challenging, it makes you humble before God, to whom still belongs all the power and the glory.

The other reviewers say it better than I can, so I won't bother with praising this classic. I will, however, simply say that I found myself very frustrated throughout the reading. This means that the book was gripping and pulled me in, touching my pride about right and wrong. How true it is that humble love is the most powerful force in the universe! How true it is that I so often want the will of God to be my own. The outlaw priest of this book taught me once again that only those who live the prayer "Thy will be done" have the right to speak to others about the will of God. Very much worth reading! Enjoy!

"Once Upon a Town" is a book that badly needed to be written. My parents who both served in World War II, years ago,told me the story about the North Platte Canteen. This canteen, organized in a little town in Nebraska, made a point of serving food and drink at no charge to every serviceman and servicewoman who passed through town on troop trains during World War II (1941-1945).

Soldiers and sailors all over the country spoke in awe about the wonderful food and treatment they got from the townspeople of North Platte, Nebraska. Many soldiers struck up penpal correspondence with townspeople they met. A number of women in the North Platte area ended up marrying soldiers when they returned from the war.

Bob Greene takes a "Studs Terkel approach" to this subject and much of the book consists of narratives of older people who were present at the time. One thing that really stands out is the unbelievable effort that the people in North Platte (and surrounding areas) made to run the canteen. Only a few thousand people lived in the area. Yet, millions of soldiers passed through the town. Nevertheless, very soldier was served food and drink. Many people contributed their ration coupons, personal savings, and a huge amount of unpaid labor to see that the canteen was always running. These people will forever remain in the hearts of the soldiers and sailors who received their warm hospitality

Greene also relates the changes that have come to North Platte since the war. Sadly, many have not been for the good. A town that used to see 32 passenger trains a day pass through it, now sees none at all. The railroad station and area where the canteen operated was torn down by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1973. All that remains is a small historical marker commemorating the canteen. It strikes me that North Platte has suffered the way many small towns in America have. Agriculture has declined. Industry and technology tends to base itself in large urban areas.

This is a "feel good" book. As I read this, I was reminded of the adage that when it comes to saving our world all of us must "think globally and act locally". This is precisely what the people of North Platte, Nebraska did during World War II. Any serviceman who passed through there will tell you that it made an enormous difference too.

This is an incredibly beautiful story about a small town in Nebraska who turned a train depot into a "canteen" for service men travelling by train across the US during World War II.

Bob Greene intersperses tales from 60 years ago with a description of present-day life in North Platte. Once along a major passenger route of the Union Pacific railroad, the town in now just another exit off of the interstate. Passenger trains no longer travel through North Platte, but during the war, it was a different story. Although they weren't supposed to know the movement of troops, somehow the people of North Platte did find out when troop trains were due to arrive and from December 25, 1941 until April 1946 they met *every* troop train that stopped in North Platte. The train stopped only to take on water for the steam engine, so the soldiers had ten to twenty minutes. Women's groups from North Platte and other cities in Nebraska and even Colorado would meet the trains with baked goods, coffeee, magazines and a smile. Over 6 million soldiers passed through North Platte during the war years. Their brief time at the canteen remained a precious memory to them in times of battle and even years later, when thoughts of the canteen and the kindness they experienced there still brought tears to their eyes.

The stories of the men and women touch a deep place in the heart. One is left to wonder if this spirit of America is as long gone as the building that once housed the canteen.

A wonderful tale of dedication and human spirit. Keep a hanky handy.

Bob Greene is a gifted writer who wrote a great book about a remarkable town that did extraordinary things in some of the most trying times in our nation's history. The miracle of the North Platte Canteen is a story about little-known wartime heroics, filled with many first-hand personal accounts and recollections from some of our diminishing remaining national treasures-our WWII veterans. This book should be read by all, especially those not old enough to have experienced WWII America.

This book describes and explains Greene's love affair with the North Platte, Nebraska railroad canteen and the people whose lives were positively influenced by what happened there between Christmas Day, 1941 and April 1, 1946. The residents of that small town, and neighboring towns, took it upon themselves to provide food, love, and support to the millions of servicemen riding in the endless, cramped WWII troop transport trains that stopped briefly in North Platte.

Greene captured the volunteer canteen workers' incredible spirit of selfless sacrifice, and the everlasting gratitude of the mostly drafted young men who briefly stopped at North Platte on their way to war. Although most stops lasted maybe ten minutes, their memories of their canteen experiences have lasted all their lives.

As Greene noted, "He started to cry softly in mid-sentence. I would have attributed it to the stress of being about to go into surgery, except that it was happening regularly when I spoke with the men who had come through North Platte on the trains. The volunteers from the canteen, while emotional, usually remained composed. But the soldiers they had welcomed...as often as not, they would weep at some point during our conversations as they recalled the experience." The memory of any place that brings tears to the eyes of men who have seen and experienced combat is a very special memory of a very special place.

The story of the North Platte Canteen is a story of a long ago and largely forgotten America when times were slower and people seemed more morally balanced and values-centered. However, according to a January 31, 2003 "Washington Times" article, the staff at a North Platte motel revived the canteen tradition by providing a friendly dinner "with a bit of hospitality for dessert" for over 500 North Dakota National Guard troops who stopped there after a long day on the road on their way to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war with Iraq.

Read this book and learn all about this very special tradition.

The "Quiet American" is set in mid-1950s colonial Vietnam. The author, a Brit, does an excellent job in setting the scene and characters. Virtually everything is appropriate to what must have been the time and place. Therein lies the diffficulty with the novel. While very well written, with sharp, cynical dialog, it is all too easy to read too much into "QA". There are all kinds of opportunities to behold allegorical references in Alden Pyle (the namesake),Vigot(the French detective), Fowler(the cynical Brit journalist) and especially Phoung, the young Saigon woman. Poor Phoung!! She and that sister will outlive us all. Armed with 20/20 historical hindsight, how easy it is to proclaim that "QA" is prophetic and prescient! If only LBJ had read it! Or Nixon!! This reviewer (and Vietnam vet) is a bit more cynical.The devil's advocate in me might state that Greene merely wrote a superior novel, set in Vietnam, but with nothing more added. Pyle, Phoung and the whole crew represent no one other than themselves. The story can stand quite capably on its' own two feet. with no "historical perspectives" required. The conflict between these views is the essence of "QA". I have to mention a classic line from the plot: "The French Army controlled the highways until 7PM. After that, they controlled the watch towers".That was Vietnam in a sentance. Every night our unit went back to our base camp, closed the gates and posted guys in the guard towers. Vietnam is a scary place after sundown and Charley (the Viet Cong or "Victor Charley") ran the place after dark. The headline is borrowed from my buddy, Jim Lydlle, the chaplain's assistant. Of the 2 opinions above, I prefer the latter. "QA" is not prophecy. It takes an American or a Frenchman to capture the essence of Indochina, just as I believe only Brits and Irishmen can write about Ireland. Readers wishing to appreciate the fascinating French Vietnamese period should pounce on "Street Without Joy" by the late Bernard Fall. The reader able to ignore all these constraints will enjoy "The Quiet American" on its'own merits. Too many constraints?. Welcome to Vietnam!

This is an eerily prophetic and, therefore, deeply disturbing book. Ostensibly the story of a love triangle involving a naive American spook, a jaded English journalist and a young Vietnamese girl, lurking just beneath the surface is an allegory for the whole experience of America in Vietnam.

Alden Pyle, the Quiet American of the title, was based on Col. Edward Lansdale, the renowned, or infamous depending on your politics, CIA operative who was sent to Viet Nam in the 50's to subvert the Vietminh after a string of successes in the Phillipines (he was also the model for William Lederer's and Eugene Burdicks "The Ugly American"). Pyle is an innocent who believes that others must surely share his ideals and pureness of motive. He is convinced, based on his adherence to the writings of York Harding, that there is a Third Way for Vietnam, somewhere between Communism and the corrupt colonial government. He has come to Vietnam to foster a group that will adhere to this Third Way. The journalist, Fowler, a cynical world-weary man of much wider experience, realizes that Pyle is a dangerous man because he is imposing his idealized vision on a group that is merely power hungry. Meanwhile, Pyle has fallen in love with Phuong, Fowler's Vietnamese girlfriend. And while Fowler can offer her little because his wife refuses to grant him a divorce, Pyle offers marriage and respectability and a life in America. As Fowler loses Phuong to Pyle and Pyle's group begins a terror campaign, Fowler finally abandons his neutrality and chooses sides, a choice made all the more ambiguous because of his romantic rivalry with Pyle.

The prescient pessimism that pervades this book is it's most interesting feature. Greene, writing well before we really got involved, seemed to sense that Vietnam was a tar baby that we idealistic Americans would not be able to resist embracing. Pyle's bloody blundering seems to presage the well-intended but disastrous mess that we would make of the entire country in the decades to come. One wishes that men like Robert McNamara and the Kennedys had paid attention to this literate warning.

GRADE: A

The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a typically great Greene novel. The more I read by Greene, the more I admire and respect and LOVE to read his work. This novel is set in Vietnam during the Vietnamese fight against French rule (before heavy American involvement). The main character, and narrator, Fowler, is a British reporter, going through the motions of filing his reports, living with his Vietnamese girlfriend, Phuong, and, basically, living. He has a wife in Britain with whom his relationship is irretrievably broken down, but his wife refuses on religious grounds to grant him a divorce. Alden Pyle, the "quiet American" is a young man he meets from the American Legation, an idealistic and sort of willfully naïve man who seems to believe everything he reads in books about Vietnam, but doesn't seem to notice the life around him. Fowler, his opposite, seems dulled and soggy by his complete acceptance of the pain of reality, but even then the horror, violence and disregard for human life of full-out warfare does break in on him.

This book was recently made into a movie with Michael Caine as Fowler and Brendan Frasier as Pyle, which is why we picked it up to read aloud just now, but it is so wonderfully and timelessly Greene. It has the unreliable moral atmosphere of most Greene novels that I've read, with the antihero narrator that one dislikes while one empathizes with him. This is another Great Greene!