I loved ROAD ANGELS. I didn't want to put it down. Being a midwesterner transplanted to Los Angeles twenty years ago, I was curious to see how the author viewed the West Coast. I was surprised, delighted and moved as he made his journey from the Canadian border to San Luis Obispo. The images of the landscapes he passes through and his detailed and thoughtful portraits of the people he encounters compelled me to keep reading. Nerburn's reflections on his trip over the road and his journey through life made me pause and think about my own life; where I had been and where I was going. The conclusion that he draws from his conversations with three very different men in the San Francisco area is beautiful in its spiritual simplicity. As the book comes to an end I was moved to tears by his description of an act of kindness and closure.

This is a story that reveals in sensitive, insightful and often times humourous ways, the lives and longings of people we pass everyday. I thank the author for taking me along for the ride.

Read ROAD ANGELS. It is wonderful.

A great read -- one of those one sitting books.

Nerburn lives in Minnesota but in mid-life gets a hankering to re-explore the west coast he remembers from his college years.

Some similarities to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

Makes me want to read some of the other things he's written.

Kent Nerburn's latest book is not only a road trip but a mind trip. It was a genuine pleasure to join Kent on his trek of re-discovery, and such are his descriptive and narrative talents, that the reader feels like a traveling companion -- as if Kent were telling you the story while you rode along in his car, or hoofed a trail beside him. His insights into American culture, human nature, and spirituality are keen and rewarding. This is a well-crafted book by an author who knows readers.

I'm very glad to see this one back in print. From their name, I'm guessing the new publisher is one of those that caters to students of military and naval history. Certainly the other reviewers seem to focus on McKenna's depiction of the lives of men serving on a U.S. Navy river gunboat in the 1920s.

And indeed this aspect of The Sand Pebbles is very well done. The whole book is worth reading just for one finely-crafted scene where the other sailors bet a foul-mouthed messmate he can't tell a story without cursing. He wins the bet, but on his own terms.

But there's more to this book then the lives a few seamen. It's about their interaction with the strange, wonderful Chinese civilization around them. And with China itself, which is, in a sense, the most important character in the book.

McKenna motivates this action by centering the book around an intelligent but half-educated hero, a rebellious man who joined the Navy to stay out of jail, and who transferred to the river patrol to escape from the hierarchy and rituals of ocean-going ships. Lacking his shipmates' contempt for the Chinese, he becomes fascinated with their lives and culture. This fascinatation become the source of many complicated interactions between him, his shipmates, and the Chinese, leading to friendship, love, conflict, and tragedy.

Another fascinating character is the boat's skipper, an aging Lieutenant Junior Grade. On one level, he is off-balance martinet, overly fond of military ritual, striving to achieve a strange personal state of grace -- with disasterous results. But he's also a keen observer of the events and people around him, and his inner conversations about them make for compelling reading.

Most people know this story from the Steve McQueen movie, which reduced all the complexity of McKenna's story to Vietnam-era historical guilt tripping. A pity, because this book contains much insight about the interaction between China and the west, an interaction to often reduced to simple political cliches.

The Sand Pebbles is the story of a small ship, on a small river deep in the heart of China. Unknown by most of the rest of the world but home to the crew of the ship. McKenna, a former Asiatic Fleet Sailor, describes life in the river gunboats of the 1920s with an accuracy and authenticity that is amazing. I could almost feel the heat of the engines and the aromas from the galley.

The book is a study of men in the Navy. They are far from the public eye, doing a job deemed essential by someone in Washington. They are essentially feared by the Chinese and despised by the American missionaries they come into contact with. It must have been a brutal emotional duty to carry out. Yet many men loved it. They spent their careers on the rivers and retired there when their time was up in the Navy.

Jake Holman, the central figure, is not better or worse than most other Sailors of that time. His motivation for joining the Navy were "...Army, Navy or reform school..." and so into the Navy he went. He is a competent machinest mate but has few real people skills. He is a loner on the outskirts of the Navy world. He has bounced from ship to ship and has now reached the end of the line. But even Holman makes friends in the ship as he tries to adapt to his surroundings.

It is an interesting look at the gunboat navy. The crew did military duties and drills but the day to day ship's husbandry were done by Chinese men. Is it any wonder the crew loved China duty once they got there.

One might say that the conclusion of the book is confusing and leaves you feeling troubled. Well it fits with the mission of the gunboat sailors and I think is perfect. Antiimperialists may condem the book and the subject but it was a real part of the American Navy and deserves to be remembered and respected.

The Sand Pebbles is an immensely rich and readbable book. Set in the early early 20th century on the inland rivers and lakes of China, the book shows gunboat diplomacy on the eve of revolution in China. The lives of sailors, officers, missionaries, coolies, and revolutionaries intertwine in a complex drama filled with action towards what some may see as a tragic ending. But in the tragedy, a country is born. This is excellent reading material.

Some of the appeal for me comes in identifying with Jake Holman. Where Jake begins with a love of machinery and an empowering mastery of it, I suppose to some part I originally felt the same way about computers and software. Jake transcends this, albeit tragically, in the book. Will you?

There is no doubt that this man is a hero. I am sure he has many heroic deeds and tales that Uncle Sam will not let him tell. That was the nature of Special Forces duty. I have read many books that are better written, and I wish Miller would have chosen a different person to document his story, but I am sure he had his reasons. The stories themselves are fantastic. I had to read the book in one sitting, I could not put it down. Someday I would like to meet Miller face-to-face, buy him a beer and hear him tell the story first hand.

A book about a real warrior. CSM Miller's life story has been one of inspiration to me throughout my military career. His stories of heroism remain in my mind constantly. Although, sadly I was never able to meet him in person, his stories were always there to keep me motivated. I cannot count the number of times I have read his book. It was always a favorite wherever I went. It would be passed around the platoon on every deployment I went on. I was saddened to hear of his death, this country has truly lost a great hero.

This is an amazing book. It runs a little over two hundred pages, but is so engrossing that you'll probably blow through it in one sitting (like I did). The recounts of battle are vividly written and capture the terror and exhileration of combat better than any other book I've read. The non-combat stories, however, are just as engrossing and often laugh-out-loud funny. If you have any interest at all in war memoirs, buy this book now while you still can. This is one of the few books that demands more than one reading.

This book is an outstanding account of recon battalion actions in Vietnam. It is well worth reading. I served with Mike before the war. He was a straight shooter then, and a straight shooter in Vietnam

Michael Hodgins captures the real spirit of the place and time. As a former Marine who served with the 1st Recon Bn, I can testify Mr. Hodgins presents a true and vivid picture of life in the bush, on an OP, and in Camp Reasoner. With all the distortions about Vietnam presented in the movies and on TV, as well as the anti-war prejudice of public school history teachers, this book should be required reading in the high school cirriculum. I hope someday someone will write a book that will tell us more about Lt. Skibbe, Lt. Rathmell, and Captain McVey who gave lost their lives protecting their troops.

The authors accounting of himself as an officer of elit Marines is as serious and straight-forward as the missions they undertook in Viet-nam. Michael Hodgins skillfully, without the usual shoot em up bang bang of war novels, creates an accurate and exciting account of his time with 1st Recon. We are privy as readers to an inside look at preparations,logistics and worry not ever seen when looking at a small group of camoflaged men clinging to a ladder below a helicopter.

This novel will remain always an historical account of the Marine Corps involvement in Vietnam during its dangerous disengagement in 1970. Well done Michael Hodgens, I hope you will writr more.

'A Rose For Her Grave' is the first and amongst the best of Ann Rule's "crime files" series. Each book contains a major true crime story, well-researched in the Ann Rule fashion, followed by summaries of lesser chronicled crime stories. I personally prefer Ann Rule's other books which cover only one story but in enormous detail. Some of these classics (eg, 'The Stranger Beside Me') make for truly chilling yet enjoyable reading.

The main story in this book is also title 'A Rose For Her Grave'. It is about a man who murders his wifes to collect on insurance money. Most surprisingly, the man is not some dream hunk ... just some sub-standard car mechanic. And his personality is a bit bizarre, frightening. Yet women seem drawn to him. Fascinating reading. The other stories in the book are grisly affairs, sort of "quick hit" murders on unsuspecting victims; the victims did not know their killers. Compulsive yet uncomfortable reading.

Bottom line: fine true crime reading enjoyment. Recommended.

I always enjoy Ann Rule's books, and this one was no exception. The main story was a real page turner. I could not put the book down. Ann did an incredible job of making me feel I knew all of the characters, even the victims. My heart ached for these young single mothers who were victimized by Randy Roth. I cannot imagine a more cruel human being than one who intentionally orphans little children, merely for money. The book goes into great detail about how the detectives finally caught and convicted this monster. I strongly recommend this book to any true-crime fan.

This book was totally addictive reading, I have read hundreds of true crime books and this is in the top ten of mine, I'm definitely an Ann Rule fan now, Ann describes the characters very well without droning on like some true crime writers, from the detectives involved to the victims relatives, you feel you kind of know them a bit, and really feel empathy for the victims and their rellies, aswell as wanting to say "well done!" when the detectives finally nab the weirdo.

I laughed my way through this book in less than 2 hours, and yet I put it down with a clear vision of how I was going to move forward in my classroom as well as help the teachers under me to be more effective.

If you work with difficult students or are just having big problems helping your students behave, this is a GREAT book. Rubinstein validated many of my beliefs that have helped me maintain the learning environment in my classroom. He also helped me articulate why what I do works to other teachers who say to me, "The kids are so good for you. They're not good for me!"

There's nothing worse than classroom management advice from someone who's "never been in your shoes." Rubinstein jumped into teaching middle school in the inner city with hardlly any training. His students were ruthless. Five years later, he was voted teacher of the year at his school and his students were successfully mastering their work.

Rubinstein is incredibly humble and lays it all out--his failures, his misguided philosophy of teaching, and his slow and bumpy road to success.

Rubinstein is quite critical of teacher preparation programs. As someone who went to an excellent university for teacher preparation, I didn't appreciate his knocks on colleges of education, but what he says is true of many certification programs. I'll forgive him becuase his book is sooooo good.

One note, I found the strategies very appropriate for middle and high school teachers. It may not be as appropriate for primary teachers. Still, it's hilarious and the philosophies are sound.

Buy this book. If will re-motivate you, rejuvenate you, and excite you about the months and years of teaching ahead of you.

I liked the humor in this book. Rubenstein is honest and says what we're all thinking when we're in front of a classroom--and can't say. He's a great story teller, and you can picture the situations when his students outwit him. He does offer some good advice and admits that all teachers are works in progress and still learning--and that we should be! My only disappointment with this book is in its format; there is a lot of white space. However, the amount of white space makes it a quick read, which is a must for any busy teacher!

My brother is a TFAer and turned me onto this book. It was so great, I read it in one sitting. I have only been teaching for 3 years, but this is one of the books I wish I would have read before I started. Teacher education does not prepare you for most of what goes on in an urban classroom. I made a lot of these mistakes, too. But I also have grown as a teacher and it's great to see that other people also have success after difficult first years.

"The Roosevelt Myth" both shocks and educates the reader about the nature and presidency of FDR. The book goes beyond fireside chats to inspire a deeper understanding of the Depression, New Deal programs, and America's involvement in World War II. In blunt, straightforward language, Mr. Flynn strips away the accepted veneer of the president as benevolent champion of the American people to expose a more flawed personality. His well-documented examination of FDR reveals the president's machinations for power and his misuse of that power, how his disinterested ignorance of economics and subsequent economic policies actually sustained the Depression, and his pursuit of personal gain at the expense of personal integrity. Mr. Flynn's message on the character of one of the most venerated icons of American politics is often discomfiting, but well worth reading if you're looking for a clear, honest examination of history.

No, not as Sumner Welles was, though that story is included here, but here is FDR as he was: a cheap-jack, red-faced, serpent-smiled machine politician. He would stroke, promise, betray, and forget politcal debts unlike any man in this dirty business ever thought to do. He promised, for example, a free Poland, and shunted such things to the side, for political expedience called. Lincoln violated the law, Theodore Roosevelt and Taft slapped down the free market, LBJ destroyed free association, Carter (temporarily) crushed America's respect in the world, Clinton gave everyone a reason to laugh at the executive--but Franklin made relativism an art form. This book shows why America would be better off without a president.

My wife dragged me out to Danker Furniture in Fairfax to buy a couch back in 1988. I knew we had little money, and so I let her do the talking. The store had prop books on the shelves so I picked up the Roosevelt Myth, sat in an armchair and could't stop reading for the next forty minutes. Finally I told the salesman, I don't want a couch but I'll give you a sawbuck for this book. He let me have it gratis. It was a copy that had been annotated in pencil on the back cover. Flynn spared no effort to detail how thoroughly dishonest FDR was in every aspect of his life. He used to play up his infantile paralysis for public sympathy. He even abused his office to pursue his hobby: collecting stamps! By 1944 his mental health was so bad that he zoned out during a radio address. Of course the fawning craven toadies of the press dutifully covered everything up, but not Flynn. He saw a picture with an admiral's sleeve showing. He asked for an uncropped photo and contacted the admiral for the truth while the rest of the scribblers dished out wartime propaganda. Seem familiar? It should, Clinton cheated -- probably still does -- at golf and the press has not changed a bit. Roosevelt made sure that Flynn was punished for writing this courageous work, because he lost his position as editor of Colliers magazine as a result. Most so-called reporters haven't the guts to try a work of this kind today.

This is to the response from Gloria Alibaruho dated 25 December 1999.

I just read your review of the book, Sacred Bond: Black Men and Their Mothers. You said in your review. "All of the mothers are acquainted with life as a journey rather than a destination." I think that is a very profound statement - your focus on "journey" implies a continuous activity as opposed to "destination" which is a fixed point in time. Too often, whether we set the stage or someone else does, we focus on a fixed point in our lives, the time when the journey is completed. We forget to celebrate the activities that brought us to our goal. This celebration serves to strengthen us and provides inspiration for the next day. That is why some goals are never reached - the preparations for the journey are not made and then we loose sight of our destination. Metaphorically, it is like taking a hike in a dense forest and forgetting to bring a map or compass.

I have a notebook of quotations that give me inspiration and I have just included your quotation in the book. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Sincerely,

Susan Lightfeather lightfeather@exotrope.net

From the beginning to the ending of this book, I cried and laughed. It is the most uplifting book I have ever read in my life. It helped me to reminisce on my upbringing and how I am blessed to have had my mother and both grandmothers set examples for me as strong matriarchs. Sacred bond is very precious to me, especially now that I have my own son. I haved learned some of the things I should focus on and encourage him with from this book. It has helped me to see that I too need to be involved with my son not just while he is a baby but always. It helped me to see that I should make sure he is educated and stand up for what he believes. This was a resounding theme I got from all the mothers in Sacred Bond. I also learned from Sacred Bond that once my son achieves adulthood I should be active in his life, but learn to let him live his own life. James Love's story about his mother Henrietta Love was my favorite. Through his tragedy of being shot while under cover as a narcartics agent, he was helped to see his mother's strength and learned how it affected his life as a narcartics agent and in general. He thought his mother would go off her rocker when she found out he had been shot. Instead, she was cool and kept her head. She was strong through it all and helped her baby heal and get back on his feet. My favorite picture in the book is the one with Eric H. Holder, Jr., United States Deputy Attorney General and his mother Miriam Holder. This photo captures the love and pride a mother has when she sees all the work and devotion she has given to her child or children come to fruition. I could tell from the photo that both were proud to be apart of the other.

I loved this book and throughout the rest of my life will always refer back to it from time to time as I grow with my own son. I hope that one day my son will be able to look back and say that I too was a strong, devoted and determined mother. Most of all I hope he can say he is proud to be my son. I don't think any of the sons in sacred bond would trade their mother in, regardless of the situations they grew up in. I hope my son will fill the same about me.

As I read this book, I could see myself in every one of the mothers. I laughed, I cried, and I was blessed to be touched by their experiences. As a mother, it was reassuring to read that I am on the right track. Through their trials and tribulations, the bond strengthened. To the authoris: Thank you for capturing these magnificent stories. To the mothers/sons: Thank you for letting us into your life.

It is clear from the text that Con Coughlin did his research on Saddam Hussein. If you can imagine a nation run by thugs and Mafia-types you understand what Saddam is all about. Saddam is Hitler without morals. At least Hitler decided NOT to use his chemical weapons. Coughlin details the life of a boy brought up on the knee of his Nazi-loving uncle. What a shock he turned out the way he did.

Very timely information. Many of the questions asked in the media today were answered by Coughlin in this 2002 book. You can't finish this book without thinking President Bush did the right thing going into Iraq. The only thing keeping this from 5 stars is the writing itself. Coughlin skips around, throws a lot of names and history at you, and not always in chronological order. A heavy book, but extremely informative. Anyone who wants to comment on the war with Iraq should read this first.

Con Coughlin has put together an excellent biography on this Iraqi president. Though writing from a pro-western view, he gives a great amount of evidence and support for his claims. The book is an easy read and provides many thought-provoking facts about the history of the region, the upward mobility of Saddam, and the propoganda of the Iraqi government.

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is helpful in the "war/no war" debate, I can certainly recommend immediately for those that want to gain a better understanding of just who this man is, where he comes from, how he rose to power, and how he as stayed in the presidential seat for so long.

After reading this book, I feel I have gained a larger understanding of the conflict in the Middle East, and the responses of the people. In reading this book I have discovered:

1. The massive and relentless propaganda this regime has spread using terrible tactics of threat, fear, and death.

2. Iraq is mainly a division of three groups of people: the Kurds (north), the Shiites (south), and the Sunni (the smallest group in the middle; Saddam's group). Neither those in the North, nor in the South, desire Saddam in power.

3. The ruthless and terrible acts of evil Saddam has committed against his own Iraqi people.

4. The Iraqi economy could have sufficient strength (through its oil industry) to be a nation of culture and sophistication. However, Saddam and his son's continue to squander much of the funds on the military, funding weapons of mass destruction development sites, large and numerous underground shelters, not to mention the cars, women, and overly-lavish palaces.

5. A great foreign relations history is provided that sheds a bit more light on the reasons why some countries may have decided not to support the coalition. France, for instance, is not only the country that sold Saddam his nuclear reactor, but has provided him with ample amount of weaponry. Germany, the country notorious of mustard gas during the World Wars, used such expertise in building facilities for chemical and biological toxin production in Iraq.

What I think is most important to mention is that this book contains a great bibliography. It is important that we be able to examine the evidence for ourselves in order to come to a more objective understanding of such issues. While some of the evidence comes from personal interviews the author conducted with particular Iraqi defectors (remaining anonymous for their protection), the bibliography also contains a great many other credible and accessable works that we can examine and through which, build our own opinions on Iraq.

This book is not a "fun" read it is the detailed biography of a sadomasochistic sociopathic killer who will do anything to gain power and maintain it. Before reading this book, I did not really understand Baathism, or Saddam, or what was really going on. I thought that we wanted the oil, or that George Bush wanted to distract us. After reading this history of one of the most revolting dictators of the last century it is clear he needs to go. Baathism is essentially Naziism. Saddam modeled his tactics on Hitler, Stalin, and Ted Bundy. Saddam is a ruthless sociopathic killer who kills anyone who disagrees with him, argues with him, does a good job and might compete with him, or knows anyone who might cause him a problem. He even kills women who fails to satisfy him sexually. Con Coughlin details his life story and the ruthless pursuit of the obtainment of the Iraq presidency and control of it by Saddam Hussein. This biography is essential to anyone who wants to understand the forces that we face in the next few years. We would be doing the Iraquis a tremendous favour by sending this man to the Hague.

I loved this book! Ms. Hudson used such a creative approach to keep us captivated as she weaves the lessons of her own life with the history of the North Carolina Coast, and one of it's original residents........Virginia Dare.

This book is a real treat. It takes one of the great legends of American history--the Lost Colony--weaves it into the author's memoir-like reflections of her own life and the "missing people" in it, then folds in the author's fictional speculations, beautifully written, about the fate of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World, who was one of the colonists who disappeared from Roanoke Island in the 17th century. These fictional passages are beautifully written. The book is hard to categorize, with its mix of fiction, nonfiction narrative, and memoir, but that shouldn't stop you from grabbing a copy and reading it over & over.

This book is a treasure. Marjorie Hudson has brilliantly woven history, essay, life and meticulous reporting into a lyrical narrative unlike any I've ever read. We are caught up in not just the mystery of Virginia Dare - which is enough to sustain any work - but in the broader mysteries that Hudson brings to tea - families, the search for truth and the drive to leave behind some evidence that we were here.