Summer in Baden-Baden is a beautiful and almost too brief masterpiece which tells two intertwined stories seamlessly. The first tells the story of the nameless narrator and Dostoyevsky admirer as he retraces the steps Dostoyevsky and his new wife took in the 1860s--the second story. The narrator's admiration for Dostoyevsky is not strong enough to enable him to conceal the underside of Dostoyevsky's personality--the obsessive gambling, the cruelty to his wife, the anti-Semitism. The narration itself is beautful--the light, almost humorous tone is wonderful and manages to carry off multi-page paragraphs without losing the reader. This is a rich little treasure. Enjoy.

Almost claustrophobic in its intensity, Tsypkin's recreation of the frustration, and even paranoia, of Dostoevsky during one summer in Baden-Baden, in which he attempts to gamble his way out of debt, is a masterpiece, newly published twenty years after its author's death. With sensitivity and a feeling for suffering which may have come from similar frustration, Tsypkin reveals Dostoevsky's inner life, showing us a sensitive but driven man who is also insecure, rude, and arrogant, a man who dominates his wife, a man who suffers from the aftereffects of his imprisonment and his epilepsy, a man virulently anti-Jewish and anti-German and in the grip of compulsive gambling--and a man with whom every reader will ultimately feel empathy, if not complete sympathy.

The story line is deceptively simple. An unidentified narrator, a great admirer of Dostoevsky, is traveling by train to various sites associated with Dostoevsky. As he travels, he reads a Dostoevsky novel, musing about characters in Dostoevsky's novels and events in his life, his honeymoon and marriage, his remarkably supportive second wife, and his associations or wished-for associations with other Russian authors, such as Turgenev. The narrator's additional musings on the forces which eventually impel some later authors, like Solzhenitsyn, to seek exile, while other authors remain behind, bring Russian literary history up to date, expanding the novel's scope beyond that of Dostoevsky and his contemporaries and giving some historical context to Tsypkin's own writing.

Contributing to the dark and intense moodiness of the novel is its style. Single sentences, full of unique images but sometimes two pages long, drive the narrative and the reader along, with the insistence of the train ride which opens the novel. Because each of these sentences is often a single, extended paragraph, there are almost no visual breaks to provide respite from solid type, which completely fills each page and compels the reader to read every word. The writing is so strong, so energetic, and so fresh, however, that most readers will find themselves speeding to keep up with the narrative, the grayness of the text disappearing as Tsypkin's lively images emerge and his characters come to life. This is a challenging and utterly fascinating novel, a startling new work which has earned a place in Russian literary history.

"Summer in Baden-Baden" is a wonderful book revolving around a single summer in the life of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Only one theme lies at the core of this book: love. The book tells of Dostoyevsky's 1867 summer in Baden-Baden with his bride, Anna Grigoryevna Snitkina. As such, the book revolves around conjugal love and carnal love, obsessive love and artistic love, a love of words, a love of games and a love of lazy days in the sunshine.

Dostoyevsky made this trip to Baden-Baden prior to his spectacular literary successes; "The Idiot," "The Possessed," and "The Brothers Karamazov" all had yet to be published. Dostoyevsky was giving himself up to his vices: drinking, gambling, obsessing and, inbetween, suffering from the epilepsy that would plague him until the end of his life. Like all Russians, Dostoyevsky was "extraordinarily, passionately, in love with suffering." Seduced by anguish and despair, he gambled away his young, pregnant wife's jewels and finally was himself reduced to wandering the streets of the German resort town in beggar's rags.

Besides being an account of Dostoyevsky's summer in Baden-Baden, this book is also a memoir of Tsypkin's journey to St. Petersburg to visit the apartment in which Dostoyevsky died. Supposedly, Tsypkin's aunt, a literary critic, gave Tsypkin an old volume of Anna Grigoryevna Dostoyevsky's "Reminiscences," in which Anna details the intimate moments of her honeymoon in Baden-Baden. As Tsypkin travels farther and farther north, he weaves his own narrative into the narrative of Dostoyevsky.

Although Tsypkin adores Dostoyevsky's work and, on some level, has come to worship and revere the man, his reverence does have its reservations. Tsypkin, we learn, is a Jew and, as anyone at all familiar with Dostoyevsky knows, the great writer hated Jews. All Jews. Thus, despite Tsypkin's adoration, Dostoyevsky would have hated Tsypkin.

Tsypkin writes beautiful prose that is a combination of Joyce, Proust, Woolf, Saramago and Sebald, though any comparison is ultimately unfair to all of the authors involved. Tsypkin's prose is...Tsypkin's prose, though like Saramago and Sebald, one sentence can go one for four or five pages, one paragraph for forty or more. And, again reminiscent of Sebald, Tsypkin is seduced by memory and its connections; one thing leads him to another, which leads him to another, which leads him to yet another. If this puts you off, don't let it. Tsypkin is a wonderfully hypnotic writer and it doesn't take many pages of the book until the reader is drawn into both Tsypkin's world and the world of Baden-Baden during the summer of 1867. If anything, I wish the book would have gone on and on.

Although Tsypkin and the Dostoyevsky's take center stage in this novel, it is peopled with many other fascinating characters as well, some real, some fictional: Turgenev, Pushkin, Prince Myshkin, Trusotsky, Fyodor Karamazov and Stinking Lizaveta.

This book should be read, first and foremost, because it is a beautiful literary achievement. But it should also be noted that Tsypkin, like Babel, Pasternak, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn and so many others before him did not let oppression keep him from seeing the beauty in life or from discerning the truth from the lies. And, most of all, nothing kept him from passing that beauty on.

Overall, this was a decent book. Summer Shadows deals with family issues, overcoming health problems, religion, and even has a nice romantic twist (or two) intertwined in it. Characters are well developed so that, when reading about different problems that certain characters are faced with, the reader can almost see the whole situation in their mind thus, giving a better appreciation for scenes whether they are meant to be heart-wrenching or entertaining. There are also many different types of characters in this story. The selection ranges from a stubborn, independent woman to grouchy neighbors to overprotective parents (etc, etc, etc!!!) and each part is played very well.
The main character of the story is Abby. She is in the process of breaking free of the chains (her parents) that have held her in bondage quite long enough, in her opinion. Her overly protective parents feel that Abby cannot survive at all without them there, guiding her every step of the way. These two opinions, being as opposite as they are, clash to a very strong degree when Abby moves to Seaside and in the end, does get her freedom, which she fights so hard for. While living in Seaside, Abby is the witness to a hit and run accident but afterwards suffers from some sort of amnesia and cannot remember the driver of the involved vehicle. The little girl that was hit brings back painful memories from Abby's past, which causes her even more grief over not remembering what has happened. As time goes on, Abby grows an interest in her landlord, Marsh, which cannot be ignored. Why ignore it though, when Marsh has the same feelings for her? These two very different people fall in love and help each other in many ways.
The plot of this story is great, and the ending is almost as great, aside from that the revealing of a villain who should have been discovered at the end was given away too early in the story, thus leaving no big surprise at the end because the reader already knows who is to blame. Aside from that, the book has a strong, interesting ending that will keep readers intrigued up to the very last word.
The epilogue is also enjoyable because it lets the reader know about everything that happens after the end. Leaving on a good note, readers are excited for the next book to be released.

I figured Gayle couldn't possibly top Spring Rain, but boy, was I wrong! Summer Seasons kept me reading from the time I opened it until there was nothing left to read, and then left me upset that Fall and Winter aren't written yet!

I thoroughly enjoyed Abby's quest for freedom, Marsh's quest for peace and quiet and Rick's quest for something real. I also enjoyed the fact that the "mystery villain" actually WAS a mystery for quite a bit of the book, and that I was surprised to learn who it was. And I'm still laughing at the concept of a cat named Puppy!

This book is a good entertaining read, but it's also full to the brim with useful, edifying subject matter, a perfect blend of romance, intrigue and good, solid Christian faith. In other words, you'll enjoy reading this, but be careful- you just might learn something!

This second book in Gayle Roper's Seaside Series is as entrancing and enjoyable as the first. I love the "obscure" women the heroine quotes as motivation for herself and also the idea of the hero having a "dual personality" - as did the villian! I was hooked from the first pages and couldn't put it down. I empathized with Abby's problems with her mother and Marsh's with his dad - all of us had troubled times occasionally growing up. Abby is endearing not only to adults, but obviously cares for kids and pets, too - and kids and pets always know who the good guys are. The relationship with Rick and Celia was a great parallel romance. A highly recommended, great read!

This book is a handy book with nice pictures for starters . There should be more materials than these as the pages are filled with more pictures than words and too little explainations. There are too little detail or advice or tips said about stargazing as the main subject. Conslusion: Good, but should contain about 50% more materials and advices/details.

If you are ages 10-15, or an adult who wants to get "up to speed" on astronomy-speak in under a 5 hour read -- this is the book to own! This chronology of major astrological events to look for in the sky which comes at the end of the book is outdated by a few years due to the publish date, but the sky charts (actually full page photos) -- specifically and only for summer months in the U.S. -- were actually usable! Also useful was the section on purchasing a telescope for a novice or even decent binoculars (a $50 investment to start was recommended, imagine that!). Also, a handy refernce for dates of meteor showers is a great thing for kids in large groups. And for a freeze-baby who lives in a northern climate who only takes the time to stargaze on warm, summer, cloudless nights, this is the only book I need.

My third year of owning this great night time aid has only increased my appreciation of what lies above. This book has great reference guides for planetary location, eclipse tables, lunar maps, and enough material for the person observing with binicoulars (which I started out with), to someone with an intermediate telescope (I moved up to a 6" reflector because I wanted to see more of what is presented). The lay-out of the book is very straight forward, and any one may pick it up and begin to locate everything pictured. Owners of small refracter telescopes will find renewed interest in what they will be able to view with the help of this book. A must have companion if you starting out, an old friend as time goes by.

It's obvious from Voyage of a Summer Sun that Robin Cody loves the wilderness and the river, but he does an excellent job of presenting its importance without sliding very far into environmentalism per se, by which I mean he also shows the people and projects that have tampered with the Columbia, sometimes drastically, and he shows them with a minimum of slant.

Cody's prose is easy to read, and his focus shifts pleasantly between the people he meets, the river itself, the issues surrounding it, and the workings of the canoe trip.

The real problem I see is that Cody took his trip in 1990. Some of his information, obviously, is still solid, but in other areas, Voyage is getting dated. There's been a whole new round of power generation arguments, salmon policy changes, and weather shifts since then. The Hanford tank farms, in particular, have completed a major cleanup project, and a lot of the menacing toxic-waste threats he announces have been solved, softened, or shown to be less dangerous than thought. So it's a good book, but you have to read it with its age in mind.

Of the hundreds of books I have on the Pacific Northwest, this is easily one of my favorites. Aside from Robin Cody simply being an excellent writer, enjoyable to read, easy to follow, this book specifically invokes a true sense of place of the Columbia. It has a flavor of the classic Farthest Frontier, adventure, outdoors, wide open Northwest in the spirit of David Thompson, Theodore Winthrop, James Swan and the like (not to mention Lewis & Clark). Robin Cody evokes a sense of place right up there with the best like Stewart Holbrook, Murray Morgan, Ivan Doig, etc. The books touches on places here and there along the Columbia giving the reader a good feel for not only the Columbia of today, but in the past, before the Damns! Man thinks he's "tamed" the Columbia, but the majesty & power is still there and Cody conveys some of it. The main problem with the book is that it is much too short, I wanted more - I'd like to see the full journal of his travels. You couch potatoes (ok me too) dont really understand what it really means to spend nearly 3 months and 1200 miles in a itsy bitsy canoe on one of the world's biggest river. Clearly the mighty Columbia spoke during his journey, Cody listened well, and did a good job telling us about what the River said. A must read, along with the similar flavored The Good Rain by Timothy Egan.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Cody's observations on the impact of technical advancement on an ecosystem were candid and not overly political or strident. This would be an excellent book for students of atmospheric and earth sciences. Robin Cody is a gifted story teller and narrator.

I'm fond of the literary anthologies as I only can read in spurts. I picked up Zoetrope-All Story because I had enjoyed some of the other short stories published in the periodical that ended up in the O. Henry Award books. And this jem won't disappoint. Easy to read and quick to engage in until the very last story. I especially enjoyed Robert Olen Butler's "Fair Warning" and Amy Bloom's "The Gates Are Closing" will create an emotional thickening in your throat. Highly recommened if you are looking for good shorts that aren't obscure or over your head.

Tasty, tasty, tasty!

Say, you're hungry for a good read . . . zesty and a little different. . . nothing elaborate, but still a combination of different tastes and textures--like a smorgasbord. How about the collection in this edition of "Francis Ford Coppola's ZOETROPE: ALL-STORY"?

Are you familiar with what certain ethnic restaurants call "tapas"? They're essentially appetizers--small, exquisite dishes, good to nosh--though, if you order a number of them, they can add up to quite a varied and sumptuous meal. Think of this collection that way. Everything may not suit your particular taste, but certainly there are stories here to please your palate; perhaps altogether they'll satisfy you.

I can't make guarantees, yet. . .well, let me tell you what grabbed me. On the dry, witty side, I liked Melissa Bank's "The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing," a satire on certain kinds of self-help books, and Jon Billman's "Custer on Mondays," a wry salute to the last stand of an overage Peter Pan. On the other hand, the "gritty" side, I was really taken by George Makana Clark's bitterly poignant "The Leopard Gang," set in colonial southern Africa, and Chris Spain's urban adolescent fable of the concrete jungle, "Scaring the Baddest Animal." For dessert I'd suggest Tim Gautreaux' "Dancing with the One-Armed Gal" and Robert Olen Butler's "Fair Warning".

The two essays are the veritable appetizers of this collection: Salman Rushdie's narrative is a purely Anglo kind of 'Adventures in the Screen Trade.' David Mamet's short piece is almost typical Mamet pontification (as in his WRITING IN RESTAURANTS and THREE USES OF THE KNIFE): ". . .the summer film is an exhibition pure and simple...it is our state fair".

This presentation was a pleasant surprise. Thumbs up!

I'm already an ardent fan of Zoetrope All-Story magazine as it has more than aptly filled the void left by Story. I'm also a fan of other short story anthologies and this one deserves the place it stakes out along side the likes of the America's Best series. From humorous to the heart wrenching from authors as diverse as Rushdie, Bloom and Mamet, there's something for every reader here. Kudos to Mr. Coppola and his team at Zoetrope All-Story. I look forward to the next installment.

This book, though unenjoyed by adults, will fascinate teenagers. I felt strange chills and goosebumps when i read this book, many of the things that Maggie, the main character feels, are similar to the normal feelings of a fifteen year old. The feelings of "envy" over a more "perfect" friend, that fear in losing trust, but that fear of losing the person altogether at the same time. A compelling read.

I am a teenager that has gone through almost everything that this book mentions. This book tells what it is like to be a teenager with all the pressures and hard times in todays world. The Empty Summer made me laugh and cry. I have thought about suicide and have friends that have too this is a wonderful book and shows that no matter what you do have friends who care. I would love to read another book like this but I feel that no other book could be this wonderful!

I thought this was one of the best books that I have read. I could relate to Maggie. Not being satisfied with yourself. Always wishing you were someone or something else. I feel that this is a common feeling teens have today. I highly encourage you to read this book. If you are like me, you'll love it!

"Summer of the Storm" took me straight back to some of the happiest days of my life -- days reading the Little House books, and summertimes in Galveston. Julie Lake has created in Abby Kate a character who's as charming and curious as Laura Ingalls Wilder. And, like the Little House books, the setting is full of accurate historical details -- how an icebox worked, the foods people favored, the outhouse, woolen bathing suits ... even the job of providing insurance for a ship's cargo. While the book highlights the havoc wreaked by a hurricane, I would love to see a whole series based on the character and the time period -- turn of the 20th century. I'll be telling my children's school librarians and teachers about this book.

My favorite part of the book was the storm because it was the most thrilling part of the book. I also liked the part where Freddie locked Abby Kate in the outhouse. It was a very good book and I enjoyed it.

I liked the setting -- Grandma Linden's house, Galveston and the beach. There was so much detail that I felt I was really there and could see it. I really liked the characters (even troublemaker Freddie!), and enjoyed their practical jokes and adventures. I was happy to experience what a hurricane is like by reading this book in the safety of my bedroom.

After reading Hawk's Rest, I found myself wanting to know more about topics such as the declining cutthroat fishery above the lake, the illegal outfitter who "hunts for God", and the attitudes of the hundreds of tourists who pass through the area on guided trips.
I also was thankful that I wouldn't have to read ANOTHER rant against the cowboy culture of the local outfitters. (And I have little love for the outfitting business to begin with...) While this subject is certainly worthy of discussion, there are other numerous topics equally deserving of attention. Unfortunately, Ferguson doesn't give most of them more than a cursory paragraph.
In the end however, despite his obsession with the outfitters, the book is entertaining and informative for those familiar with the area as well as armchair adventurers.

Although in his endorsement on the back cover William Kittredge says that this book "...is a long step toward a user's guide to wilderness..." it is in fact largely about long-standing border conflicts and culture clashes in the remote, but by no means inaccessible, southeastern boundary-lands of Yellowstone National Park, especially the Thorofare region. One might better say that it is about threatened ways of life: that of the local outfitters whose living depends upon access to lands protected for them by the government they so resent, and upon the elk herds that prosper there; that of those whose passions wear on it more lightly, and who eschew more conventional lifestyles to live out those passions, and finally, that of the wildlife that inhabits the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, now, as always, on tenterhooks.

Few people are more qualified than Gary Ferguson to understand the origins and ramifications of the issues for all concerned. The book is clearly written. Interspersed with revelatory passages about man vs. man vs. nature are classic Ferguson paeans to the glory that is Yellowstone, leavened with entertaining contemporary and historical anecdotes.

My only negative comment about this book, a must-read for those seeking a thorough understanding of Yellowstone's precarious place in this world, is that the copy-editing (if any) is astonishingly poor. Some may not be put off by these gaffs, but such sloppiness risks diminishing the author's credibility among other readers, and that does "the cause" no good.

I happened to pick this up a few days before a trip to Yellowstone. My timing was perfect. In addition to being a great read, well written and light-hearted, it's also very informative about everything affecting today's Yellowstone environment - I learned lots about wolves, grizzlies (saw both at Park), elk, outfitter dynamics, park politics, and more. Liked his writing so much, have ordered two other books of his (plus have one I forgot about that I bought years ago)

This book is an excellent semi-autobiography - most of it is based on the author's own experiences, and therein lies the strength of the book. Although the fictional sections sometimes feel contrived, the author's descriptions of her actual experiences and of the growth process she has gone through, is phenomenal. She is exceedingly honest with the reader, including about her own faults, and is therefore infinitely human and endearing.

I devoured this book because it's a brilliant weaving of memory, perception (Kingdon's depictions of natural beauty and food are a particular delight), spirit, and emotion into a fabric of self-discovery and -reconciliation. Kingdon carries the reader along with her on this journey, gently insinuating her consciousness into ours until we feel as if we're living the life described in the book. We glory in its triumphs and grow stronger as we survive its tragedies. After I finished this book, I knew I'd encountered a real life, not some phony or artsy construction.

Just as compelling is Kingdon's incisive treatment of sexual orientation. By integrating the theme of homosexuality into the narrator's life--neither its central factor nor a peripheral element but just a fact of existence--and by showing implicit parallels to her own (straight) sexuality, she counters the anti-GLBT people who insist upon inflating sexual orientation into angelic or demonic monstrosities. Kingdon tells it like is about sex: Love confers meaning and integrity upon sexual practices, not mechanics or gender.

Even if you don't care about the inner journey of the narrator or homosexuality, you can still enjoy this novel as a travel book. But if you do care about them, you'll enjoy the trip even more.

In telling the story of Summer at the End of the World, Kirsten Kingdon skillfully engages the reader in her tale, but almost by stealth, sends a message. The story is about a newly widowed woman finding her way--a drama which plays out in many interesting and engaging ways. The message is about gay rights. It is so skillfully interwoven into the story that one is scarcely aware that it has been delivered. This is because the story's characters find their way through life in ways familar straights and gays alike. By revealing this common thread of the human experience, Kingdon both entertains and enlightens us.

As George Purdy passed on recently it is worth bringing attention once again to this memoir. It is rare that a book ends too soon but that is the case with this tale. I assumed that there were many more tales to tell and would have been happy to keep reading.

What a charming and uplifting book! George Purdy's "never give up" attitude comes across loud and clear. Honesty, perserverence and enjoyment of life are his "rules of the road." - it's an easy-to-read, educational and enjoyable book every parent should have his/her child read! Delightful!

The story of a man and his love for the sea, is not only fascinating, but I lived it with him. His determination to overcome obstacles to be a part of the navy in times of peace and war is a living book. If you want adventure,achievements, and financial success, then read this book about a man that has done it all. Tom Caldwell's book is a tribute to George I. Purdy. Well done Tom.