This books title sums up the story inside. Every Marine's story in this book carries a similar thread. They were scared as hell in combat but never regretted joining the core. Mr. Berry, (a WWII Marine himself, which is probaly the reason they opened up so much to him) brings a personnal story from every Marine battle during the war. The confusion and deprivation of Guadalcanal, the bloodbath of Tarawa, the Japanese suicidal frenzy of Saipan, the slaughter of Peleliu and Iwo Jima up to the conclusion at Okinawa. it is all here death, disease, and destruction. All first hand accounts told by tough Marines. It is amazing any of them survived, yet 75 of them share there memories here in short personnal histories. The only problem with the book is the length, but many did not survive to particiapte. But they are remembered here.

I really liked it's snapshot format of battles all across the Pacific. I even found out that the Confederate flag was used by several Marine units instead of Ol Glory; as a Southerner that made me even happier.

Henry Berry's 'Semper Fi, Mac" is an oral history of the Marine Corps in the Pacific in World War II. Berry interviewed about 75 Marines who had fought in some of the toughest battles and places in the Pacific. There is a rough chronological order to the interviews but most of the stories start on or about Dec. 7, 1941. The stories most of the men tell start with either this date or shortly before, coupled with with some background material, their training, the trip to the Pacific, and then their personal experiences in combat. There is misery and death, heroism and tragedy, but overall a sense of comradeship comes from every story. Berry sprinkles his work with humorous tidbits of Marine history and stories about famous Marines, such as Chesty Puller, the only Marine to win five Navy Crosses. Also there are sections on Marine lingo and a brief historical synopsis of the Marines' Pacific battles. Berry himself was in the Marines near the end of the war and gives a proper perspective of all events and personalities. But this book is about the men who fought and died on such places as Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Its their book, their story, their history, and it should never be forgotten.

San Francisco is a very "livable" city, especially without a car to worry or pay for. "Short Bike Rides..." suggests two dozen fun routes in and around the city that allow you to make the most of living here without a car. From the fastest way to get across town, to a wonderful rides in Marin and the East Bay I have ridden nearly all of these rides, and enjoyed them immensely. Not only are the directions and maps clear, but Kingman's comments are often very entertaining. There is also a handy supplement in the back listing public transportation contacts for taking your bike on BART, CalTrain etc.. Absolutely essential for any SF cyclist - commuter, weekend warrior, out of towner, tourist entertainer. And for less than $10 I have used this book 10x as much as any of the other rides books I have.

One note: I would assume Kingman is one hell of climber, since he does tend to downplay the physical effort required to climb the "hilly terrain" of some the rides.

This is my favorite bike rides book. It's an excellent read and lets you see the best of the city.

Not only is Henry Kingman's book a great way for visitors to explore San Francisco by bicycle, it is also a handy reference guide for local cyclists looking for new or better routes. Every S.F. cyclist should have a copy.

In 1989, my baby brother committed suicide. It has been said that, "Death is Final!" Death by Suicide never ends for the survivors. I have a wonderful friend, who gave me Silent Grief. It was a constant friend, which walked me through some very heartbreaking times. It is like a friend who holds your hand and lets you know that it is always there, and you are not alone. The way the book is presented is a great help. People are different and need different support. Once you read it, you can pick it up and zero in on the areas that can be of more help to you as an individual. With the help of this book, I've realized that even though the haunting of Clyde's death will be forever with me, life does go on and the pain eases. Thank you to the author for such a great contribution to our world.

This is a thorough work on suicide and it's aftermath. It is clear,concise,comforting. Full of help for the family and friends;highly recommended.

In December my 43 yr. old Mother comitted suicide. Words cannot describe the shock, guilt and loss one feels. I certainly know that I have never felt anything that painful. I don't have any siblings so it fell on me to make all of the arrangements and to try to somehow sort this out. This book explained everything I was feeling was 'okay' and 'normal' from the sleep loss to the nightmares to the guilt I feel every single day. It continuously helps me feel not so alone. The hardest part is that due to the nature of my Mom's death I am very hesitant to talk about it which does, in my opinion, limit the greiving process. I looked for books about this topic at my local bookstores and couldn't find much, KUDOS to Amazon.com for having such a wide selection and to the author for providing insight and comfort in my time of need. I recommend this book as a must read for survivor's of suicide.

An undying tale.. legend... song... Wonderful poetry, the language is simply astounding! I have read the russian translation by Bounin, which was as remarkable as the original.

A book for generations. Mine was published 1898 and given me by my mother whose father(b.1875) gave it to her. It goes to the heart of the Indian race, a people susceptible to mythology and magic as their last great hope. Read it with an open mind, imagination, and for its beauty.

"The Song of Hiawatha" is the best book I have ever been exposed to. Every time I hear the wonderful rhyme of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, I begin to think of what this land was like before the Europeans conquered it. It is a wonderful tale of peace between nations and a great book to read to children.

Sorrow's Company: Writers On Loss And Grief is an impressive, original anthology of essays and commentaries on the confusion and pain that comes with the death of a friend or loved one. But the fifteen writers who's works are included under the ably editorship of DeWitt Henry translate sorrow into the process of recovery. Spiritual and literary in tone, these assembled works bridge the gulf between the pain of loss and the healing of recovery from loss that makes Sorrow's Company both a tribute to a universal human experience and a source of solace to a bereaved readership. With the contributor essays divided into three main sections (Leave-takings; Bereft; Legacies) Sorrow's Company is a welcome and very highly recommended addition to personal and community library collections and grief counseling reading lists.

I loved this book. Thankfully I have not had the experience of losing someone I love yet, but reading the words of these amazing writers was nothing less than transformative to me. Each writer tells a story about what he/she lost and how that loss impacted his/her life. I actually bought this book for my aunt, whose husband just passed away, but I ended up reading it myself. I was captured by the high quality writing of each of the essays. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thinking about "the big things" in life. I cried a lot reading it, but I also felt refreshed. It makes you realize how many "everyday" people are truly courageous, and it makes me hope that when I lose someone I will be courageous too.

Quite simply: this book blew me away. The thing that's great about a really good anthology is that the best pieces of writing are collected together in one place. Every essay in this book moved me and made me think of life, death, and love in a new way. Be prepared to be unable to put this one down. I started reading it and could not stop even though I was late for work. As the title states, each essay explores aspects of grief, loss, and sorrow. It's a perfect book to buy for a friend who has lost a loved one, and it's a perfect book to read if you yourself are grieving, but most of all it's a perfect book to read if you are a human and you are mortal--as we all are. I can't begin to pick my favorite essays, because I honestly loved the book from cover to cover, but writers such as Cheryl Strayed and Debra Sparks were especially powerful to me as a reader. That piece by Ms. Strayed: Pow. She hits you where it matters. You will not read this book and be the same person you were when you picked it up. I could not recommend it more highly. The book is edited by DeWitt Henry, who is a fine writer in his own right, and is published by Beacon Press, which never stops publishing books of the highest caliber. You won't go wrong with this one!

If you read only one edition of this work, this is the edition you should choose. The preface is outstanding, and the "Contexts" and "Criticsm" sections (which comprise half of this volume) are extraordinarily helpful to the nonspecialist reader. Please note, however, that there is a serious error in at least one of the footnotes. On the last page of "The Niagara Movement" essay DuBois refers to Robert Gould Shaw, whom the editors describe (in footnote #4) as an African American Union Army Civil War hero. Not so! Shaw was white; there were no African American officers during the Civil War. (I contacted Henry Lewis Gates Jr. about this, and he confirmed that this was an error in editing.)

The Souls of Black Folk has become a staple of courses in American literature and culture, and it is a must read for anyone generally interested in the world we share. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Terri Oliver have done us all a great service by putting together what is easily the best edition of this twentieth-century classic: their preface alone is a valuable contribution to scholarship, and the contexts and criticism sections are a rich lode of information. I look forward to assigning this edition in a number of the college courses I teach.

The rediscovery and use of the National Portrait Gallery picture provide the crowning touch to this superb edition.

I thought that Stargirl was such an amazing story. It was so good that at the end, I started to cry. This story is about a girl named Stargirl who is the new, weird and different student at Mica High. She would play her ukulele for other students birthdays, put a table cloth on her desk, and just be plain weird.She was asked to be put on the show called "Hot Seat" ran by two best friends named Leo and Kevin. She was a disaster on the show and everybody got mad at her. Later on in the story, she moves away where nobody knows. Leo and Kevin are sad at the end and start to cry.

My sister is turning 50 this year and I wanted to find her a copy of Star Girl. As children we read and reread this story together, as sisters, wondering at how beautiful the little girl from another planet was and how glorious it must be to be the center of attention like she was! I remember it taking me away when I read it and I hope when she rereads it and shows it to her children, they are pulled into it as we were.

When I was 9 years old, I accompanied my father to work one day. He managed a huge salvage yard, where I was free to crawl into old cars, play with old typewriters and cash registers, imagine that the whole place was my secret paradise, and take home any book that passed my father's approval. It was in this grand place over 30 years ago, that I discovered Henry Winterfeld's "Star Girl." I read it over and over again until one day, by accident, it was damaged beyond repair and rendered illegible. I was heartbroken. From that day on, I searched for another copy and finally located one through an interlibrary loan. I handed it to my children and said, "Read it." For parents wanting to introduce their child to Science Fiction, this story is a real winner. An alien child named "Mo" falls from her father's spaceship and is befriended and hidden by earthling children until the spacecraft's return. "Mo" is lovely, curious, unpredictable and memorable. Her reunion with her father is sweet and reassuring. If you are lucky enough to obtain a personal copy, make sure every child in your life gets an opportunity to read it. "Star Girl" will remain in the reader's heart for many years, and he or she will cherish you for it. Primarily for children 3rd through 6th grade.

KUDOS! I'm a fan! That is to say, a fan of the Red Sox for many years, and now, a fan of author, Henry Garfield.
My own dreams with alternatives to my reality have sometimes haunted me beyond sleep. They are my "should have..., would have..., could have..." dreams. Henry Garfield has put that type of dream into the very words of his novel. Fact and fiction are awesomely merged by this author to create a page-turner of good entertainment. By the way, I'm a "teenager" with 40+ years of experience!

Can the outcome of a throw to home plate on a hot August day in 1967, by a Boston Red Sox outfielder of minimal talents, affect so many lives'in different ways? That is the premise of a remarkable novel, TARTABULL'S THROW, by Henry Garfield. This 'prequel' to Garfield's earlier novels, MOONDOG and ROOM 13, skillfully melds the crack of a bat on a baseball, the howl of a werewolf to the full Moon, and the stunning silence of time/dimensional travel into a unique coming-of-age story. Cyrus 'Moondog' Nygerski's love for the enigmatic Cassandra, for baseball in general, and for the Boston Red Sox in particular make for an unforgettable read.

Is the runner safe at home plate? Yes. Is he out? Yes. Is Cyrus, as Garfield says, 'The best left-handed second baseman in Wisconsin,' called up to The Show by the Chicago White Sox? Yes. Is he an error-prone player who can barely hit his weight and is released by the low minor league Beloit Turtles? Yes. But how can all of this be?

Believe me, Garfield pulls it off. If you like baseball, suspense, science fiction'or merely just want a rollicking tale'you can't miss TARTABULL'S THROW.

Can the outcome of a throw to home plate on a hot August day in 1967, by a Boston Red Sox outfielder of minimal talents, affect so many lives—in different ways? That is the premise of a remarkable novel, TARTABULL’S THROW, by Henry Garfield. This “prequel” to Garfield’s earlier novels, MOONDOG and ROOM 13, skillfully melds the crack of a bat on a baseball, the howl of a werewolf to the full Moon, and the stunning silence of time/dimensional travel into a unique coming-of-age story. Cyrus “Moondog” Nygerski’s love for the enigmatic Cassandra, for baseball in general, and for the Boston Red Sox in particular make for an unforgettable read.

Is the runner safe at home plate? Yes. Is he out? Yes. Is Cyrus, as Garfield says, “The best left-handed second baseman in Wisconsin,” called up to The Show by the Chicago White Sox? Yes. Is he an error-prone player who can barely hit his weight and is released by the low minor league Beloit Turtles? Yes. But how can all of this be?

Believe me, Garfield pulls it off. If you like baseball, suspense, science fiction—or merely just want a rollicking tale—you cant’ miss TARTABULL’S THROW.

In his introduction, editor Jeffrey Cramer tells us that of the more than 2 million words that Thoreau wrote in his journal, "less than twenty thousand are on the subject of slavery." Cramer has compiled an extraordinary collection of such writings in this book. In the first half of the book, we find Thoreau's eloquence on the immorality and injustice of slavery, his reproachment of the State of Massachusetts for justifying its expedient use of the Fugitive Slave Law, and his disgust with the majority of citizens who do nothing to act on their convictions. Thoreau's belief that individual action can make a difference is constant throughout his writings here and of course, emblematic of his own life. "It is not important that many should be as good as you, as that there be some absolute goodness somewhere; for that will leaven the whole lump."

In the second half of the book, Cramer includes Thoreau's writings on the broader concept of individual freedom, including the ability to be free from material comforts and societal expectations. It is here that we experience Thoreau's comfort with nature and his urging us to do the same.

I highly recommend this book.

Jeffrey S. Cramer's thoughtful compilation of primary source writings shows the complex and fascinating development of Thoreau's penetrating reflections on freedom, both political and personal. Vivid autobiographical accounts of Thoreau's activism within the Abolitionist Movement are juxtaposed with his more philosophical and poetical writings on the most timely topic of freedom. In the current, reactive political context of endangered personal rights, this book gives us much to ponder today. Thoreau's writings, along with the thought-provoking introduction of Thoreau scholar Jeffrey Cramer, are pertinent and, as always, passionate.

Don't let the small size of this book fool you! An excellent collection of and discussion of Thoreau's writings on freedom, both political and spiritual, on slavery, on the Fugitive Slave Act, and on the abolitionist John Brown. The very valuable introduction by the editor, Jeffrey Cramer, Curator of Collections at the Thoreau Institute at Walden Woods, places these writings in the context of the times and in the context of Throeau's larger corpus. A foreword by Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and the Director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for nonviolence, reminds us of the international and the modern significance of these writings. Altogether, the book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Thoreau, the struggle against slavery in mid-nineteenth century America, the political dimension of New England transcendentalism, as well as the interplay between political, spiritual and moral freedom in Thoreau's writings and the writings of transcendentalism.

This book contains small quotes and excerpts from Thoreau's work that are absoloutly fantastic. They are very thoughtful but yet easy to understand. I would recommend it to anyone!

This is a fabulous "book" (really, it's brief excerpts from Thoreau's writings). Easy to read. Challenges you to examine how you choose to live your life and inspires you to take control and make your life what you want it to be. ("I do not know how to distinguish between our waking life and a dream. Are we not always living the life that we imagine we are?")

Note: I am not necessarily a "deep" reader. I think I tried to read a Thoreau book once and couldn't make it past the first 20 pages. This book gives you the best of Thoreau's wisdom without all of the hard work of trudging through his full writings.

Take this pocket size book with you everywhere. In On Man and Nature, one can read of Thoreau's more passionate thoughts from his various works. It is truly a book to take for a "pick-me-up" at any time of the day in any place. My personal favorite is ... "Take time by the forelock! Now or never! You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in every moment...."