This book has had perhaps the greatest influence on me as of late. I have drank from this book deeply, and read it several times. In fact, when I seek advice, I open up the little blue book and look for something that says about problems. Not only has this book took my basketball skills to a whole nother level, but it has made me a better person all around. I have changed many of my bad habits, and I'm pretty glad I have changed, as many of my friends like my new attitude, etc. For basketball players, this book will get you into it mentally. Before I read this book, I only had the physical talent to play the game, now I feel as if I have a stable mental view and I am in the game mentally. This book teaches you so much, I cannot say enough. Coach Wooden even guides you step by step, pillar by pillar, through the period of success. This book is a must for basketball fans, players, and for the average person. Even if you despise sports, this book contains information on life itself, it's a must for all.

I bought this book while visiting the UCLA campus to attend a mens' basketball game. I received "Practical Modern Basketball" from my high school coach as a gift when I began my teaching and coaching career in 1976. This became my coaching bible for years to come. When I saw this new book, Wooden, I bought it without hesitation, thinking that John Wooden's "Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court" was as much a mystery as it was curiosity relative to my appreciation and utilization of the words of wisdom provided in the book I received as a gift in 1976.

My career in public education has allowed me to seriously reflect on my life as it pertains to personal gratification of preparing for unknown opportunities and being able to rationalize with poise and confidence. I attribute many successes in my life to the Wooden philosophy that I followed in my early years of my career. Wooden's, reflections, is an outstanding assessment of what a man of Mr. Wooden's character achieved through hard work, dedication to his own philosophy, and the love for life and people. I have recommended this book to personnel within my organization,to coaches and friends. It is also a great asset for parents who need direction in how to raise their children, basing all dialoge and communication on respect. I truly respect the real value of this book as an asset to my future and my family and my responsibities as Assistant Superintendent of Schools!

Thanks, Eddie Booth, Winnemucca, NV

I found a new life for myself through exercising and applying some of the philosophies of John Wooden as they are revealed in his book. As an AAU coach for Lower Bucks Baskerball Group in Bucks County Pennsylvania, I wanted to teach my kids how to become successful. I read the entire book and found myself learning how to become successful in my own life: work, marriage, friendship, coaching. I wish I could spend a weekend with coach Wooden so I could learn more. The book changed my life. It's all true, to become successful, you must start with a solid foundation. As a Certified Oracle Database Administrator, I have become more proficient in my professional life as a result of applying the concepts built into JohnW's Pyramid of Success. If ever you wished to aspire to begin anew in life, learn from this man. I've found true peace of mind in knowing that I did the best I could in becoming the best I possibly could become. Having the oppourtunity to work with youngsters is a great oppourtunity to help develop their future. I'm teaching these kids what John Wooden taught his UCLA players during the championship years. It's a great experience knowing that they will benefit from his teaching. I was a very successful athlete when I was young, but I never appreciated what it took to reach the pinnacle of my own personal success. What I found was I had been doing the type of things as covered with in this book all along. The hard part is trying to teach kids how to become successful. You would generally say, you have to work hard. Well, John Wooden knew you had to like to work hard, but also, share your successes with your friends, of which, you remain loyal too and cooperate with. I could go on and on. I've found myself preaching the success terminology to everyone that aspires to become successful. I have three very young children. My son Robert is two years old and he can dribble a basketball while watching the trash truck drive by in front of the house. He's amazing, just like his father, only better. I hope coach Wooden knows that I'm going teach my son everything I possibly can, just like JohnW's father did for the great coach. I'm preparing for my coaching future now by adhereing to many of the great teachings and revelations contained within the pages. Each year I coach, my teams will begin with the Cornerstones of the Foundation of the Pyramid, which leads to success. Then I'll teach them the "Give and Go" and "Pick and Roll" while I teach them about Loyalty and Self-Control, the relationships between Initiative and Alertness and Determination, how to achieve Poise and Confidence, how to have faith and patience, how to reach competitive greatness and ultimately, being successful in life.

The book A Picture of Freedom is about a twelve year old slave girl who lives on the Belmont Plantation in Virgingia. I like the way the book is written. It is not divided into chapters but in days. The twelve year old girl, Clottee, writes in her diary almost everyday and you read what she writes in her diary. This book gave me mixed feelings. It was sad at one time and exciting at another. At one point of the book one of the very nice slaves was brutally beaten by the master of the plantation. Soon after he was beaten he died. This was very hard for the other slaves to deal with. As you can tell that part of the book was very sad. There were so many interesting parts in the book. There were parts when I just could not put the book down! For instance when William, the masters child escaped. A few days later a still energetic, horse came trotting up the drive of the big house (the house where the masters live on the plantation) with William dragging along behind. You will defiantly have to read this book and find out if William lives. I would recommend this book to all teen/middle school aged girls. I think that it is a wonderful book. I think even older women might like this book also. I would also recommend this book to those girls who are not motivated readers. I think the way the book is set up it does not seem like you are reading that much.

This book was very entertaining! It is about a young slave girl named Clotee who makes a new friend. Clotee is seceretly learnig to read and write against her masters will by paying attention to his son's school lessons. She makes her self a diary to write in and share her thoughts and feelings with. She must hide it though, or it could leak to the master. One day she learns a new word Freedom. She didn't know what it meant. Will she ever understand the true meaning of the word? Will she ever pursue freedom for herself? Read the book and find out!
I recomend this book to anyone who is interested in books about slavery in America and to people who can really appreciate family bonds and good friends.

I thought that A PICTURE OF FREEDOM was the best book in the Dear America series. The way that Clotee tried her best to learn to read and write was really neat. Clotee had a really hard life as a slave and the diary was very enjoyable to read because it wasn't too predictable. If you haven't read this book already, I highly recommend it along with the other books in the series.

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party" is a timely manifesto and historical overview of the ideas that define the Republican Party. As we feel inundated these days with media sound bites and empty symbolism in politics, it is easy to lose sight of the underlying organizing principals on which political parties are formed and how the parties differ from each other. The author agrues that most Republicans misunderstand or are out of touch with the party's founding ideals and therefore are not successful in promoting the party to a wider audience. He takes us through a tour of what began as "The Party of Lincoln", emphasizing individual freedom under the rule of law. The immediate political outcome was the abolition of slavery and its enforcement by war. The tour concludes by demonstrating how those underlying principals have evolved today--namely, an abhorrence of tyranny worldwide and a continuing vigorous effort to decentralize government by bringing it closer to the people.

The author brings to life the personalities, both old and modern, who shaped the Republican Party. Both history book and political essay, "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" weaves together an impressive amount of facts and anecdotes that will make you think about Republican ideals in new and interesting ways. It is a well-written, lively, and lucid contribution that will be of interest to anyone who wants to better understand the Republican Party and its roots. The book is also peppered with witticisms and "zingers" that will make you cheer or shake your head depending on where you stand.

Michael Zak's book, "Back To The Basics For The Republican Party," is a wonderful achievement. "Back To The Basics" is at once a splendid history lesson of our nation and an illuminating dialogue of our political system. Mr. Zak begins with the events and the ideas that gave rise to the Republican Party. Mr. Zak goes on to explain how the fundamental tenets of the party enabled the Republicans to save the Union, rid our country of slavery and lay the foundation for the modern American economy. Mr. Zak then explains how the GOP strayed from its principles, allowing the Democratic Party to gain the advantage. Finally, Mr. Zak provides, through his incisive analysis, the framework by which the Republican Party can regain the political and moral high ground, and lead America to even greater accomplishments. Nonetheless, this book is neither a dry nor pedantic study. It is a thoughful, well-written, compelling and entertaining effort. Most importantly, "Back To The Basics For The Republican Party" is a clarion call for the GOP to return to its roots. I highly recommend this outstanding book.

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party" is a timely manifesto and historical overview of the ideas that define the Republican Party. As we feel inundated these days with media sound bites and empty symbolism in politics, it is easy to lose sight of the underlying organizing principals on which political parties are formed and how the parties differ from each other. The author argues that most Republicans misunderstand or are out of touch with the party's founding ideals and therefore are not successful in promoting the party to a wider audience. He takes us through a tour of what began as "The Party of Lincoln", emphasizing individual freedom under the rule of law. The immediate political outcome was the abolition of slavery and its enforcement by war. The tour concludes by demonstrating how those underlying principals have evolved today--namely, an abhorrence of tyranny worldwide and a continuing vigorous effort to decentralize government by bringing it closer to the people.

The author brings to life the personalities, both old and modern, who shaped the Republican Party. Both history book and political essay, "Back to Basics for the Republican Party" weaves together an impressive amount of facts and anecdotes that will make you think about Republican ideals in new and interesting ways. It is a well-written, lively, and lucid contribution that will be of interest to anyone who wants to better understand the Republican Party and its roots. The book is also peppered with witticisms and "zingers" that will make you cheer or shake your head depending on where you stand.

This book is such an eye opener. A really amazing read that is so hard to put down. I was a dedicated meat eater but since reading this book, I am adopting a vegetarian diet, the arguments that John Robbins puts forward for doing so - personal health, animal welfare and environmental concerns - are so telling it seems stupid not to.
Read this book and if you take in only a portion of his ideas you will be on track to better health and together we can help save the planet. Yes, we really do have that much power with our food choices.

One of the luckiest days of my life was when I happened to surf my way onto this page and order this book. I have to admit I was more than slightly cynical when I read some of the rave reviews posted, but nonetheless I decided to make the judgment for myself. And in the process of reading this incredibly well researched and documented "truth revolution," I found myself utterly flabbergasted with the turn of each page. As a person who has always been literally brought up in food (my father works for a meat company owned by ConAgra), I considered myself an above-average informed food consumer. Plus, I have always had an innate fascination with food, and have spent many years studying and learning about nutrition. I thought I'd read it all...I truly believed this book would offer me no new material, but would have perhaps some kind of interesting perspective. I was worried that it would be some rantings and preaching from Mr. John Robbins, but I couldn't have been MORE WRONG! The TRUTH HURTS, and this book is a truth revolution. This book contains the results of hundreds of scientific studies and findings mixed with the creative/clever, thought-provoking and meaningful voice of Mr. Robbins and his own fascinating personal anecdotes. I think there should be a guarantee on this book that if you don't learn at least 50 new things you get your money back. And 50 is nowhere near the amount that I learned. This book did change my life...it's funny I just never expected that! Only Ayn Rand has had this kind of affect on me and she writes FICTION! Do yourself a huge favor: buy this book. I promise you won't ever regret this one (nor will you lend it to people for fear of not getting it back; you'll just buy it for them as gifts--as I plan to do for all my friends and family). I would personally like to say to John: Thank You for opening my eyes and for changing my life. I am proud to say that today I finished your book, and today I vow to change my eating habits for the rest of my life. I had been sitting on the fence for a while, but I've decided to become a vegan (do you think you could come over to my parents house when I announce it to my dad? Don't worry I plan on getting him a copy of this book.) If you could help convert me, a Texan from a meat loving (and selling) family you could convince anyone! Add another one to the scoreboard....we'll get there someday!

I heard John Robbins interviewed on a radio program On Balance in Phoenix. I immediately went out and bought his book and since that time have bought five addtional copies to give to people I care about. This is the most compelling book I have read about how the decisions we each make about the food we choose to eat will affect our life and our planet. John talks about "eating with a conscience" and I can't imagine anyone who won't think twice about his food choices after reading this book. In addition to being an extraordinary indictment of the meat, dairy and genetic engineering industries, it is also a compassionate and hopeful book. If you care about your health, don't want to be part of widespread cruelty to animals and are genuinely concerned about the environment, read this book and then give it to everyone you love.

I found Mr. McCullough's book about the building of the Panama Canal to be well written, extra-well researched, and highly entertaining! I would recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to know what it took to build such an engineering marvel. Having lived in Panama twice and visited on many occasions, I can attest to the fact Mr. McCullough's book is THE SOURCE for accurate information on the canal and it's builders (both French and American efforts). I would also recommend purchasing the NOVA video, which Mr. McCullough narrates, called "A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama". He even quotes out of his own book on screen! I've never read a book so intricately and fastidiously researched. MUST READING for the true Canal enthusiast.

So riveting is David McCullough's account of the construction of the Panama Canal, that it is one of the few works of nonfiction outside of the sciences that I have read twice. He chrnoicles a mesmerizing saga of despair and triumph, starting with Ferdinand de Lesseps disastrous attempt at building a sea level canal through the disease-infested jungles of Panama. The second half covers the American effort at building the Panama Canal, a project as grandiose as developing the atomic bomb or landing men on the moon. McCullough describes the groundbreaking work of Dr. Gorgas' team of doctors and nurses in combatting malaria and yellow fever; their success made possible the canal's eventual completion by U. S. Army engineer George Goethals. While McCullough does a splendid job in providing facts and figures with his graceful prose, he also excels in recounting the lives of many of the prominent figures associated with the Panama Canal's construction. For example, McCullough describes General Goethals' substantial role after the United States' entry into World War I and his subsequent work as the first chief engineer of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Indeed, if there is a hero in this saga, it most certainly has to be General Goethals. Along with McCullough's history of the Brooklyn Bridge's construction, this has to rank as one of the most spellbinding tales written about American technological ingenuity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I hold a personal interest in the Canal as I have just visited it and am a direct descendant of Col. David Gaillard one of the American engineers of the Canal, and all everyone in Panama told me was to read Mr. McCullough's account of its creation. As a history major in school, I read many great and many bland histories; this book ranks in as one of the most captivating books I have read, fiction or non-fiction. Even if one does not have any previous interest in the Canal, after the first pages you will become hooked. McCullough writes with such elegant prose and interesting humor, that the story unfolds like a Victorian novel. From the incredible cast of characters (from Ferdinand de Lessups to Teddy Roosevelt), the intrigue, the conspiracies, the romance, the quest for one of Man's greatest achievements explodes into an incredible book that will keep the reader thinking about the Canal for years to come...and will compel the same reader to venture to this tropical country and view the incredible "8th Wonder of the World" himself.

To anyone who wants to beat the market and improve their success rate by learning and using Technical Analysis this book is a gauranteed way to get started. Its written in simple terms, has excelent examples and offers advice based on time-proven methods. Compared to other similar tomes on this subject it uses no math or formulas but relies on actual charts of stocks. The method teaches how to view price, volume and trend data so that stock picks yield winners 60 to 80% of the time and with gains (for me) 2x to 10x! It also provides lessons on the how to cut losses and how to learn the discipline of selling for maximum profit. This is a book which can (and must) be reread over and over as one gains expertise at Technical Analysis. The methods learned provide logical procedures which eliminate the hype of the stock market and turns the hype into profits. Weinstein's motto of the "Tape Tells All" is the foundation for success because it places stock action as the primary source of information over OPINION.

In the past 6 months, I have bought and read over 15 books on trading and investment (Van Tharp, LeBeau, Nison, Oz, O'Neill, Murphy) and this is by far one of the best books out there. At first, I was reluctant to purchase this book based on the date of publication (Pre 1990). But, as other great trading books, this one is a classic that should be in every library of technical investors/traders at an extremely affordable price.

Key points:
- Very practical, systematic and clear. Excellent communication. You don't get bored reading it.
- Sound trading system.
- Stan's stage analysis is a tremendous help to separate the stock price movement in stages. Very valuable insight.
- His stop loss explanation on both and long are extremely valuable and clear. He explained it in a step-by-step fashion. This alone can save you $$$ by locking-in your profit.
- Other excellent explanation: important chart patterns to be considered (he only selects the best ones), volume analysis, importance of Relative Strength and moving averages. What to buy, When to Buy, When to Sell, How to Short....And he separated those key processes between Traders and Investors. So, you will have a clear understanding of what to do. A step by step explanation on how you can find the A+ stocks using his "Forest to Trees" approach.
- Excellent Quiz & Answers and the end of each chapter that tremendously re-test you understanding of the important concepts.

If you're a beginner or intermediate, this book will certainly give you a huge boost in mastering chart reading as well as execution. Unlike any books that sort of short in explaining one critical area, I find Stan's book very clear and entertaining as well. It opens your eyes on what to look for in a chart.

Highly recommended!

The author's investment philosophy is based on the view that nearly all stocks experience four price stages:accumulation(stage 1), uptrending (stage 2), top area (stage 3), and downtrending (stage 4). Therefore, an investor, he says, has a high probability of success if he or she enters the cycle just before the stock moves to stage 2. Then he explains how to select a stock by simply studying its price/volume chart and how to time your entry. He addresses the issue of fundamental vs technical analysis. He explains that technical analysis is much superior over fundamental analysis because technical analysis incorporates future information that is not available to the average investor on a timely basis.
I found the book very clear and very helpful in selecting winning stocks with less stress. I read several books but this one is the best of them all.

We get some of everything with this one.

It gives us a feel for his personality and speaking style. Italics, underlining, and boldface are used liberally; I could hear his voice as I read.

It gives us a nice collection of anecdotes from various stages of Zappa's career, from his high school years up through the orchestral work with the LSO - even a couple of tales from the 1988 'Best Band You Never Heard'. If you like these, you will wish there were more, though.

It gives us what has to be the best general description of a composer's work ever ('wiggling air molecules, changing over time'). That chapter alone is worth the cost of the book, if you are at all interested in music or art.

We also get the political Zappa, some lyrics, the Zappa home life, and even a bit of What Frank Eats (whatever the kids don't, apparently).

The only thing we don't get (and this is why I wish he'd lived another 30 years) is some detailed analysis of his compositions. We get a couple of places where he is discussing musical theory and practice from a technical perspective (chord progressions that cannot occur in doowop, or why jazz drummers are not normally appropriate in a Zappa band), there is no music printed in the book to help the interested reader follow along. Certainly I can't fault the book for this, but, man, it would have been nice if he'd written one like that.

If you are a student of music, a budding composer, artist, or just think Frank freaks folks out, this is for you.

Working at a library has almost no perks. I shelve the travel section so there isn't much stimulation in the way of brain waves(then again, my job is pretty tedious to begin with). However, one day while wondering through a friend's section I found a gem. I found The Real Frank Zappa Book. When their were breaks in my work, I would grab this book and read it feverously. Even with my increasing respect and love for Zappa's work, I still found this a great book. It packs a sharp wit, biting comentary, and overal, is just a good quick read.

The book covers Zappa's origin, his early musical influences, the tough times of M.O.I.(Mothers of Invention), insight as to his musical creation process, and even a indepth look into his battle with the well-known PMRC. The great thing is even with all this retrospect, the man never loses his sense of humor. Sometimes slapstick, sometimes satire, always truthful.

Anyone interested in the man that was Zappa, I highly recommend this book. Those who are interested in becoming a musician, I also recomend this book(his musical insight is very inspiring). In fact, I recomend this book to all. Its just a shame he died before his time. Zappa was a true inovator of music. There will never be another Frank Zappa.

By way of dissing Zappa's famous appearance before Congress to argue against warning labels on records, my favorite conservative columnist Don Feder derisively refers to Frank Zappa as a "rock creature" and makes fun of him for naming his daughter Moon Unit. (You'll find these remarks in _A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America_. Feder is usually better than this.)

But the fact is that Zappa was a genuine homegrown American original, a musical genius, and a thoroughly subversive Enemy Of The State. And whatever one thinksof their names, the rest of us should have children like Zappa's. (They're all grown up now, of course, but Moon was a highly poised young lady even at the age of thirteen. I don't remember seeing any of Feder's kids on talk shows when _they_ were teenagers.)

Love or hate his music; agree or disagree that his sometimes-acerbic social commentary often went over the line into sheer pornography. If you want to meet the man himself, this book is the only one you need to read.

It's all in his own words, as told to Peter Occhiogrosso. The style will be recognizable to anyone who has ever read the liner notes on a Zappa album. And the content is part autobiography, part correction of underground-rock-grapevine misconceptions, part almost-libertarian political activism, part musing on the nature of musical composition.

A handful of highlights, chosen from among many: He proposes that music could be digitally downloaded, an idea whose time apparently hadn't come when Zappa first thought of it. The chapter on his "pornography trial" in the UK is hilarious, not least because it includes selections from the actual transcripts. And if you want to know _why_ his kids turned out so well-spoken and mature at such early ages, check out his advice on childrearing.

By the way, Zappa did not do drugs, no matter how many well-meaning imbeciles tell you otherwise. On the contrary, he was one of a handful of anti-drug crusaders in the music industry, and one of an even smaller handful who wasn't a recovering addict himself. Reality is better than drugs anyway, and Zappa knew it.

His untimely death from prostate cancer left a gaping hole; he was irreplaceable. But thank goodness for this book.

As a police officer for the last 24 years, I can tell you that Bernard Kerik is truly, an amazing individual. Whether you are in the field of law enforcement or not, you will enjoy reading this inspirational book, about a young boy who came from a broken home, and followed his own path, to become the Police Commissioner of the largest and greatest Police Department in the world.
From experience, I can tell you, that in this day and age, individuals like Bernard Kerik do not usually make it to such a high level in law enforcement. It is normally those individuals who spend more time studying for the promotional exam, than doing police work. Bernard Kerik went to the school of "hard knocks" and graduated with honors! At a young age, he was smart enough to realize the physical and mental benefits of martial arts. Bernard Kerik enrolled himself into a program, and ultimately obtained his black belt. But the true prize was the confidence and sense of discipline that he obtained.

From the military to private security in Saudi Arabia to a warden in New Jersey, Bernard Kerik was a leader and a warrior. One of the most fascinating and inspiring moments in Bernard Keriks life was when he gave up a $52,000 a year job as a warden, to start as a rookie cop in New York, at half the pay! No matter where he has worked, Bernard Kerik has been an inspiration and a true leader. He cares about the people who work for him and he cares about the victims of the crimes they investigate. He truly is someone, you would gladly follow into battle. In these difficult times, we need more leaders like Bernard Kerik.

Caution: This book contains a lot of coarse and vulgar language and subjects. The purpose seems to be to provide honest texture about Mr. Kerik's life, rather than to provide shock value. Unless such things are very offensive to you, you will probably be able to look past them to the underlying story.

I delayed reading this book because the publicity about it was somewhat misleading to me. I thought that the book would simply capture the story of another outstanding police leader. Fine, but I don't normally think of police leaders as ranking among the great leaders. Was I ever wrong! I wish I had read this book when it first came out. I intend to read it again . . . and again!

I found this book to be one of the most inspiring and moving autobiographies that I have ever read. Mr. Kerik is the real life version of the sort of dedicated crime fighter that the movies love to create out of their imaginations. His story makes even The French Connection pale for me.

"You will read about true everyday heroes." That statement is profoundly true about this book. First, Mr. Kerik is clearly such a hero. Second, he has also worked with a lot of heroes and describes a lot of them. Third, as a leader, Mr. Kerik also takes great pleasure in finding and honoring heroes. Those three perspectives permeate every page.

The book has three primary story lines. The main one is how a tough kid who dropped out of high school found his way to become the 40th Police Commissioner of New York City. A secondary one is his search for his roots, which reveal some pretty daunting facts that he handles very well. The third one is added at the end, which is to describe the events of September 11th from the perspective of trying to direct the police response from the scene near the World Trade Center. Any one of these story lines would have made this an outstanding book.

Mr. Kerik's character has many unusual qualities. Although he is a person with little formal education, he is very interested in learning and applying new and better ways of doing things. With his talent, he could have made a lot of money doing things other than being a New York City police officer. But he wanted the challenge the job brings. Some of the roles he has taken on (such as running Rikers Island) would have been too much for almost anyone else. Yet he could look past the problems to focus on the important values of treating those who work and are imprisoned there with dignity, safety, humanity and fairness. In addition, he has lots of courage. He played undercover roles in the drug trade that could have cost him his life on almost any day. Perhaps the most appealing of his qualities is that he doesn't see any of this as being very special, and goes out of his way to point out others who did more.

Although it would be a joy to share with you all of the things I found remarkable about Mr. Kerik in this book, you'll enjoy discovering them for yourself by reading his words more than if I interpret them for you.

Where do you have a passion to do the right thing? Are you pursuing that passion? If not, how could you?

Turn loose all of your creativity and energy to accomplish something important . . . for all of us . . . and for yourself!

I enjoyed reading about Bernard Kerik's life and accomplishments. He had a rough start being abandoned by his alcoholic prostitute mother at age 4. It was really touching to read about how Bernard Kerik learned about his mother who died at age 34.

Bernard Kerik dropped out of high school at 16 when it was predicted by his principal that he would be nothing but a vegetable. Kerik began his law enforcement career as a military policeman in Korea in the Army. He studied and excelled in the martial art of Tai Kwon Do. His martial arts traning paid off as he later trained a Delta Force fighting group of soldiers. Kerik later became a New York City police officer where he seized tons of cocaine off the streets in the late 80s. Overall crime in New York reduced by 63 percent in 10 years There were 2,245 cases of murder in 1990 and 671 cases in 2000 mostly under the leadership of Mayor Giuliani and the efforts of cops like Bernard Kerik. He later became head of corrections of notorious Rikers jail where he reduced the number of assaults by inmates from 1,200 to 12 in just 1 year.

The events of September 11th are talked about in this book. Kerik talks the courage, compassion, and dedication of the people who risked and lost their lives that day. These are qualities that Bernard Kerik has shown all his life. This is a wonderful book.

When is the rest of the country going to catch on to the numerous qualities of Russo's writing? If the reviews of his books here on Amazon are any indication, he is slowly but surely gaining fans every time someone picks up one of his books.

I picked up a copy of Straight Man at a bargain rack a while back, and to this day that book remains one of my favorite contemporary novels of all time. It pokes fun of academia, political correctness, family turmoil and greed with humor and compassion.

Nobody's Fool comes in a close second. I absolutely loved the character Sully, the principled loser and antihero of the novel who seems to keep begrudgingly doing the right thing and doing his best to maintain order in a chaotic town. His idiotic but loyal sidekick, Rub, is a perfect comic foil, and the scenes of them scheming to make a few bucks are outright hilarious. Every character in the novel, from Sully's old landlady and her busybody friends to the humorless bartender and the familiar group of losers at Sully's numerous stomping grounds, are dead on accurate and believable. Russo writes the best dialogue of any modern writer I know.

The book, like most of Russo's fiction, peels back the layers of a small town in upstate New York, a town that somehow missed out on prosperity when the interstate drew travelers away, but Russo writes about the town and its inhabitants with humor and compassion. This is not the stark, depressing realism of a Russell Banks novel like Affliction. You will laugh out loud at Sully's shameful flirtations, and at Rub's considerable problems at home with his perpetually angry wife, while recognizing the truth in Russo's small town mosaic. Read Nobody's Fool and Straight Man, and you will be a Russo fan for life.

Richard Russo hasn't published very many books, but he is quickly becoming one of the great authors of today. In Nobody's Fool, he writes another excellent tale of small-town life, a setting he revisits in his masterpiece, Empire Falls.

The main character in Nobody's Fool is Donald Sullivan, known more commonly as Sully. Sully is something of a free spirit, rarely thinking beyond the moment; now that he's sixty, he's feeling the effects of his short-sightedness; he has many friends but few real relationships, even with his son and his off-and-on again lover. Indeed, the closest relationship he has is with his landlady.

It's hard to describe this novel in terms of plot, since this is more a book about characters than a regular story. Russo is not interested in the standard beginning-middle-end structure of a novel; instead this book is almost pure middle. Plenty happens, but as in real life, few things are neatly resolved.

Russo is a brilliant writer and makes all his characters multi-dimensional. There are no good guys or bad guys here; even Sully, a likeable enough fellow, has some definite flaws. The way all these characters interact - Sully, his landlady Miss Beryl, his friend/worshipper Rub, his foe/friend Carl and the dozen or so others - is what makes this book so much fun. There is humor here, but this is not a comic novel; instead, it is a novel that does not fit well into any category.

For those whose tastes run beyond strict genre fiction, this is definitely a reccomended read. It just one indication of what a great writer Russo is.

Richard Russo packs a whole 'lotta livin' between the covers of this raucous trip through a small upstate New York town. Donald Sullivan aka Sully provides the core around which this novel is wound and Russo manages to keep you interested in Sullys adventures well beyond the final page. You will find yourself wishing for more after this enjoyable read.

What Russo accomplishes is to paint a portrait so clear you swear you have known these characters all your life, and perhaps you have. For what you have here is a story of relationships:of parents and children, fathers and sons, freind to freind, and husbands and lovers. Sullys quest is to get over a rotten upbringing by a bully whose tyranny is so complete he can't escape it long after his fathers death. It permeates Sullys relationship with his estranged wife, his freind Rub,a woman he's been carrying on an affair with for fifteen years, and most of all his son who he has barely seen since he was one year old even though when Sully left his family he only moved seven blocks away. Everyone in town loves Sully, few want to have much to do with him and the feeling is mutual. The only exception is Miss Beryl, Sullys eighth grade English teacher from whom he rents an upper flat, and whose own son he seems to have replaced in the old womans heart.

What makes this story so compelling is the way the characters are drawn from real life and how fully developed Russo manages to make them. You can see the sweaty bottles of beer sitting before them on the bars and dining room tables and see the rings they leave when lifted to drink. You have owned vehicles, or know someone who has owned one like Sully invariably gets stuck with, and you can feel the warmth and take in the scents of bars, diners, the OTB, or donut shops against the snowy cold of winter as these characters move through them on their wayward journey into your heart.

When you consider Russo's overall body of work you get the feeling this author is writing from experience for the longing for a father is a persistent theme and the colorfully drawn characters and wry humor barely hide the pathos of these hard living characters. If there is anything negative about this novel it is the authors bitterness with fathers who for whatever reason do not properly fulfill their responsibilities to their families, but you will have to look pretty hard to find it. You will laugh out loud, curse the stupidities, and revel in minor victories, but you will not want to pass on this one.

"Democracy in America", published in two parts (the first in 1835, the second in 1840), is the great work of Alexis de Tocqueville, a young, aristocratic Frenchman, who traveled through most of the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern United States during a 9 month period in 1832. Tocqueville had originally set out to study the U.S. prison system but what he saw inspired him to write about much, much more.

The foresight he had for such a young man is really impressive to read 160 years later. What he saw in the morals, work ethic and government structure of the United States led him to accurately predict many of the ways in which the U.S. would lead and has led the world. At the same time Tocqueville was not oblivious to many of the ills in the America he saw. He very wisely writes of the cancer that the institution of slavery was to not only all black Americans, but to the white, Southern farmers and workers as well.

I hate having to give these books "stars" for ratings because in many cases it takes away from the ultimate importance and classic status of a book like this one. Tocqueville does tend to jump around and venture off into different topics that don't fit with the rest of their chapter, which could be attributed to his youth. Also, a few of his predictions, naturally, were way off. A native Texan, I had a good laugh at his view that "the province of Texas is still part of the Mexican dominions, but it will soon contain no Mexicans." But overall Tocqueville's view of America was honest, accurate, and the perfect explanation of why, on a daily basis, people continue to risk their lives to gain the freedom that only the United States of America offers.

De Tocqueville was an amazing man who posessed amazing insight into the workings (and not-workings) of American society. One only laments the fact that he was not a middle caste American politician arguing amongst great minds during the Constitutional conventions. Then again, we are equally lucky of the fact that he was a curious Frenchman of the leisure class who happened to be passing through. This is what gives de Tocqueville the ability to refrain from emotionalism and give us an outsiders view of what makes America good, bad and just plain different.

See, de tocqueville recognizes, as did our founders, that liberty and democracy are key ingredients to a healthy society. On the other hand, he points out that too much freedom or democracy lead to lazy, public-opinion driven conformity, over-emphasis on materialism and restlessness. Another contradiction de tocqueville points out is that although self-government is generally a good idea, there are times when an all powerful aristocracy is just more efficient. He can see all sides.
The best part then is that de Tocqueville doesn't come to any final conclusion. He just observes and reports on America's inner workings as seen by an aristocratic Frenchman.

A few reccomendations to the de tocqueville virgins. First, as this is the unabridged, it may be advised to read the first book, pause to read something else, then read the second book. I read it straight through and found that not only would I have benefited from reflection, but much of the second book is a rehash the first. Second, keep in mind during the second book that the word 'democracy' is also de tocqueville's word for 'capitalism'. The word 'capitalism' would be introduced only years later by one Karl Marx. So when de tocqueville says that democracy increases industriousness, what the reader should hear is that capitalism increases industriousness. This in itself is a brilliant observation by de tocqueville. Democracy and capitalism really are the same thing, different scale. The producer, like the political candidate, cater to the consumer or the voter. Both systems allow the individual to choose the goods and services he wants and reject those he doesn't. This is why one may also want to read 'Wealth of Nations' with this book.

The only other thing I can tell the reader before he or she embarks on a fascinating reading adventure is to keep in mind why de tocqueville wrote the book. He intended it to be read by the french who were not familiar with or had misconceptions about America. Of course, it provides contemporary America with an amazing historical survey. Like the introductory exclamation to MTV's 'Diary' show says, "You think you know, but you have no idea".

The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.