End-of-Life Books

I do have a confession to make regarding Gertrude Stein. You may not know this but the woman is a genius. Why you may ask? Because she tells us this over and over and over again in the book. I do have to admit that at first I had to suppress the urge to shred this book/autobiography/memoir to shreds. I grew immensely jaded reading the raw prose with not a hint of of emotion throughout.

Thankfully, I eventually saw the light. It finally clicked.

Gertrude Stein was a woman in the time of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, Matisse, Ezra Pound and T.S.Eliot. Quite simply she needed to stand out as a literary figure. Historians would later call this artistic time period the Roarin' Twenties. Stein needed a way to disconnect with other prominent figures and still remain in the literary circle. She did this by well executing this book.

Though seemingly told through the perspective of her partner Alice B. Toklas, truly we are hearing Stein's. Her memories of meeting fascinating artists and writers in Paris are mind boggling. She adores the Parisian culture but also loves to be an American. Stein is very clever with how she formulates sentences in this book. She remarks on more than one occasion her obsession with the English language. Specifically the use of sounds. She begins to - paint - a novel with her words. Like the artist Picasso, who she is most fascinated with, her novel begins to paint a sort of cubist realism. There is no fluff here. And despite the very limited way she describes characters we eventually begin to see a full picture of them through Toklas/Stein's written words. Her words in way merge words, ideas, sounds, and create art.

We also see how certain artists inspire other artists. Picasso and Matisse were inspired by African art but they made in into their own by what they created. Picasso, upon seeing a camouflaged cannon, remarked to Stein that THEY created this. Artists created this perception of hiding something within plain sight.

Stein discusses nationalism constantly. She remarks on many occasions that Spaniards and Americans can understand one another because they can "realize abstraction." The americans do this with machinery and literature, and the spaniards with the ritualistic bullfighting and bloodshed. In that way, both are also abstract and cruel. She also hashes it out with germans, parisians, italians, polish, etc. She categorizes people and their personality traits by their national identity.

I really enjoyed that everyone came to her villa, that she shared with Tolkas, and asked for her advice on their literary work. She inspired much reverence by her companions and peers.

This by far is one of her more readable and enjoyable books. My advice is to go in with an open mind and truly appreciate her genius for what it is. I came in with stubborn intentions and almost missed out on a fantastic work of art.

Stein's other (and commendable) forays into experimental writing aside, this clever (auto)biography reminds us that the woman knew exactly what she was doing and there is indeed no "joke" or "prank" to be seen here. In its own manner just as experimental as some of her so-called "difficult" work, 'Autobiography' is exquisite. Tight yet effusive, cautious yet boundless, boring yet gripping. Really, it's a tour de force disguised as a tour de force disguised as a tour de force. (HAD to note that). Yes, this is an eminently readable work by a true genius who was, pre-eminently, "aware."

As a document of artistic/historical merit, the work is invaluable for its content alone. Again, Stein reveals more in what she so explicitly does "not" say than a million authors can ever hope to communicate with an infinite number of words. Required reading for any lover of literature, 20th century and beyond.

This is a lively read. It's also an interesting artifact from an artist who, from her perch atop the turmoil of World War I Paris, managed to craft a work that was modern in style, yet classically human in expression. Here she stood on the cusp of 19th and 20th century literature: T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland this is not, nor is it Hemingway's musings on the Lost Generation or Fitzgerald's cold, vacuous and material world. It's not cubist or surrealist, either, despite the influences evident elsewhere in her work. Instead, this is Gertrude Stein unplugged: witty, hip, self-deprecating, self-aggrandizing, opinionated and sharp, and we love her for it. It's a book about hanging out with friends in Paris, and that's about it, thank you. It has a whimsical style reminiscent of Seinfeld, but with the real-life characters of Picasso, Hemingway, doughboys and lovers wandering through the set, it also carries literary weight and impact.

In a sense, this is a book about nothing, but it's delivered with such intelligence and energy, one might swear Gertrude Stein is leading the reader through her teeming streets of early 20th century Paris on the way to catching a new art sensation. Stein has a remarkable feel for these streets, too: their intimate moods and pulses.

The autobiography, actually not an autobiography at all (but we get the joke), is also a parody of her partner Alice B. Toklas, who bears the brunt of affectionate barbs when not showering the author with zingers and unflattering observations of her own. This technique of imitation is uncommon in American literature--it's more common in Russian and Spanish classics, for example--but Stein carries it off with requisite naturalness and wit.

Despite her playfulness, Stein refrains from the avant-garde in this book. There's little "Steinese" experimentation or inventiveness here. The words flow from her pen and typewriter like conversation, unflappably so, and this choice of language is shrewd, as the work gives a you-were-there quality; like a photo album, this book is a testament to her visual and "painted" frame of reference. Those who want to see her more edgy experiments in syntax and diction should check out Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein, an edition that includes this autobiography and an interesting, if oddly unflattering at times, essay by F. W. Dupee and helpful notes from editor Carl van Vechten.

At times, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas feels shallow, I must say. While far from cold and plenty humorous, the writing conveys the aura of a modern city on the go, where relationships are casual, the stakes are low and people move in and out of other peoples' lives with little impact. Some of this entails love "French style," while at other times a character might drop dead with no more than a mention. Even French soldiers, fighting one of the most savage wars in human history, emote their greatest dramas only when responding to mistakes in Stein's thoughtful, but occasionally absent-minded, letters. The overall effect is comedy, then, and while at times the author reminds us of the Battle of the Marne or the bitter setbacks of artists and couples, the turmoil around and within her characters never overwhelms the characters' insatiable urges to live and laugh. Against a backdrop of world war, the end result is diminished, if not unresolved. To wit, Stein writes of Toklas, "as Gertrude Stein's elder brother once said of me, if I were a general I would never lose a battle, I would only mislay it."

Gertrude Stein was a warm and charitable person. More than eager to help France manage the war--even to the point of driving an ambulance for the A.F.F.W.--she had a Ford motor car shipped to Paris from the States, then shuttled wounded allies in her makeshift ambulance while constantly negotiating with military officers for fuel. She also hosted wayfarers and other visitors at her rue de Fleurus home, where she generously cooked dinner, served wine and critiqued artists' work in-between sleepless nights of work. All this is adorably depicted in the book.

One such artist was Hemingway. Depicting him as a callow, earnest newspaper boy with grand ambition, Stein displayed mixed opinions about him and other writing contemporaries while remaining ebullient when such editors and writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, recognized her work. When pointing out the strengths and foibles of her fellow artists she also, along the way, made shrewd observations about art; these commentaries are well worth a look. Both the insider who cavorted with Picasso and the outsider whose work was a target of mockery, Stein maintained a self-image that mirrored the contradictory inspirations around her. Altogether forgetful, telling us through Alice "she has a bad memory for names," a genius-by-association, and a genius personified, she constantly picked herself up, pulled herself together, then embarked on new adventures.

Gertrude Stein is all about adventure and challenge, and since she succeeds in both with a shrug and a laugh, she's also an eminent character. As she conveys through this literary conversation with herself and Alice B. Toklas, Stein might not know why, either; but the answer to why, for this writer, is subordinate to the question. In this work, as observation-upon-observation unfolds, enveloping "the real," "the truth" and "the whole" in both criss-crossing patterns and repetitive sounds, Gertrude Stein searches for deeper, more indefinable truths about her friends and acquaintances--not in terms of form, but in terms of the unconscious. She would vigorously contradict this point, but her work with Radcliff's psychologist William James is evident when she so probes the essences of her characters without killing her patients.

A fine effort by a provocative thinker.

My Titles
Shadow Fields
Snooker Glen

I picked up The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas after hearing about it for years. It is toted as a story about the relationship between two great influences in the Parisian world of arts and letters in the early 20th century. Instead I found a hagiography of Gertrude Stein written by Ms. Stein herself. According to her self-proclamations, she was a genius, a great writer, an auto mechanic, a great conversationalist, a supporter of the arts, etc., etc. The only one of these I feel competent to comment on is her skills as a writer. If this book is an example of her writing, then I am not convinced that she was a great writer.

In its favor, The Autobiography does paint a picture, abstract but true, of the artistic world of Paris during the early 20th century. The most interesting chapter was the Was Years, where Alice and Gertrude Stein aided in support for soldiers during World War I.

To me, this book is greatly overrated and not worth the time it takes to read it.

Split into 7 chapters, chronologically identified but the topic not necessarily so well organized, this book has great moments, and less than great moments.

First, the book's preface is that it is an autobiography of Stein's long time partner, Alice B. Toklas. Realizing this preface is nothing more than a ruse - which Stein acknowledges in the last sentence of the book - you immediately understand that it is Stein's autobiography which refers to Stein in the third person.

Second, the preface is that this is fiction. I would argue that it is mostly nonfiction.

In the beginning, the idiosyncratic and egocentric Stein distances herself from readers - other reviewers were gravely upset by her self proclamation of being a genius only equaled by Picasso. But, that juvenile repertoire soon succumbs to Stein's maturation - as a person and as a writer. I too disliked the first chapter where she mainly seeks to receive adoration for having hobnobbed with the avant garde of the turn-of-the-century impressionists and surrealists in Parisian art society.

But, she was there and she was part of that time when painting was a major art form in Paris. It was not only exciting to her, but was exciting to those she hobnobbed with. She was the original American in Paris.

Stein's autobiography is outlined in Chapter 4. She gives you her history up to the time she moves to Paris and becomes part of the art scene. In this chapter, she writes one of my favorite paragraphs. " . . . I feel with my eyes, and it does not make any difference to me what language I hear, I don't hear a language, I hear tones of voice, and there is for me only one language and that is english. One of the things that I have liked all these years is to be surrounded by people who know no english. I do not know if it would have been possible to have english be so all in all to me otherwise." (Stein never capitalizes countries)

One friend comes to stay with her, and upon observing the lifestyle of the people to whom Stein is befriended, asks, ". . . is it alright, are they really alright, . . but really is it not fumisterie, is it not all false." And, probably most is fumisterie - so what of it? That is the attitude which defines and describes the artists and their friends at this time.

Then came WW I. Fumesterie and coffee-and-a-croissant philosophy withered when touched by man's horrors. Matisse, Hemingway and Apollinaire were physically reduced by the war. Many others were mentally drained. Stein reflects on how people would become tired for the simplest of tasks. It was a phenomenon which she, a Johns Hopkins' educated psychologist, had to observe with a keen eye.

And, her emotions, her world, her priorities too had changed. The last chapter discusses much less about art, and much more about literature. It can be said the first chapter focuses 90% on art and 10% on literature, while the last chapter focuses 90% on literature and 10% on art. Her friends, in the last chapter, are mainly writers. In the first chapter, they are mainly artists. Like Picasso's painting, her life is a Metamosphisis. And, that is what makes this book so very interesting to me.

She best acknowledges the change of her life in one simple sentence in the last chapter: " Painting now after its great period has come back to be a minor art." And, the new major art was literature - ruled by the Lost Generation of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Ford Maddox Ford and others.

And, so with the change, she remained in the hub

I don't know what ever compelled me to buy this book, I try to avoid anything Trek-y. However I took away a great exercise in critical thinking. The author effectively deconstructs certain myths (and proves others could be true) using fairly solid energy-physics arguments. The same reasoning could be ported to the alternative energy market and other fields. I recommend this especially to astrophysicists and people who like to analyze technological claims.

As a good and honest physicist totally rooted in the established Einsteinian relativism, Laurence Krauss ticks off each foolish error made by the science fiction writers of Star Trek, Star Wars, X Files, Independence Day, and others. He gives little hope for a future among the stars. We are imprisoned by our science and all of us Trekkers need to be shaken into reality. Granted Laurence tries to soften the death sentence with a few speculations about worm holes, time travel, and parallel universes, but fundamentally, his point is this: we must face up to doomsday with proper understanding. According to him, we will most likely die here on earth, possibly bequeathing some non-living organic matter into space that might serve as the seeds of another life form. I see him smugly snickering behind his hand as he watches the Star Trek future from his comfy couch of conventional physics, believing in unproven physics such as shrinking meter sticks, time dilation, and infinite mass at the speed of light.

As a lifelong science fiction fan and one well-schooled in science, I enjoy the stories while acknowledging the holes in the scientific aspects. In this book, Krauss does an excellent job of explaining the scientific realities in the context of some of the wonders we see on the screen. Star Trek, in all of its many manifestations, is the primary focus. He also discusses the "X-files" television show and the movie "Independence Day."
One of the interesting points concerns the alien ships in "Independence Day." The mother ship was so massive that its mere presence would have had a significant affect on the rotation of the Earth and its orbit around the sun. This would have caused a dramatic climate change, which all by itself could have defeated the human race.
Krauss also explores the potential for ESP and telekinesis based on our current understanding of physics. While he acknowledges that we almost certainly do not know of all the forces operating in the universe, he uses the conservation of energy to predict how powerful the motive force for ESP would have to be. He puts forward convincing arguments that the energy expended in carrying out such actions is large enough that it could not escape detection. This is a strong argument against ESP, because that means the only argument in favor is to claim the existence of a force that cannot be detected by our current instrumentation. That is a very difficult argument to make, but it is an even more difficult one to refute.
This is one of those books that I started one afternoon and finished the next day, reading nothing else in between. As Carl Sagan used to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." If we assume that the laws of physics are universal and we understand them to a high level of accuracy, then his arguments are overwhelmingly convincing.

Very entertaing book. Anyone with a love for science and Star trk will enjoy this book. Highly recommended

This book expands on the theme of the "Physics of Star Trek": namely drawing upon the science of today to ponder the validity and feasibility of the sci-fi science. Like its predecessor though somewhat to a lesser extent, this book suffers from a lack of vision by adhering to today's understanding of science (see my review for that book). The end result is still a readable and nice introduction to important questions in modern physics using science fiction as an example.

I found this book somewhat less interesting than its predecessor. For one thing there is some repetition with "The Physics of Star Trek". Further, the most interesting issues have already been addressed in the earlier book, leaving the crumbs to this one. So, if you have read the first book, you might not be as excited by this one. Nevertheless it is still an enjoyable read.

A word of caution, despite the "Star Trek" in the title, there is very little Star Trek in this book. Instead, the author expands the comparison to cover other cinematic shows like "X-files" or "Independence Day" (the "Beyond" part of the title). While this is OK and does not diminish the interest of the book, pure Star Trek fans who buy this book expecting to read about Star Trek will be disappointed.

I read this book many years ago. Its ok but the author shoots himself early on. He said he taught spirituality for years then realised it was all wrong. Maybe this new teaching is all wrong too. Hardly inspring.Its a play on words throughout. As I said its ok. Its fun. But just more intellectual games.

I couldn't believe how quickly the book came and it was in beautiful condition. Excellent service.

Many reviewers sound frustrated by Harrison's book. Most of the bad reviews complain that he didn't explain clearly enough HOW to do nothing. Harrison's point is that you can never figure out how, and yet the goal is certainly accessible. Those who attempt to approach it through a strategy or through understanding will fail because strategy and understanding are techniques only used by the mind. The mind is a tool that can copy and mimic, but is incapable of transcendent experience, after all what do you think is being transcended?

The mind can not get you where you want to go. The desire can not get you there either. As Harrison points out there is no getting there at all, but the transcendent experience of being is real. It sounds like an impossible conundrum, but it is not. The key is in Harrison's writing about thought. It seems obvious to say it, but to transcend the mind all thoughts must cease. Thoughts only originate in the mind. The thought of getting away from where you are or getting to another place must be given up, or you will find yourself going in circles of the mind.

Not very many people know how to stop their mind. It is our primary survival tool. Every thought you have is an illusion, including the thought of your personal identity. I should say especially your thought of your personal identity, since that is the root of all other thoughts. You think you are a person, you think you are your name and that your name identifies who you are. These are all just illusionary thoughts.

So what is the experience of having no thoughts? It can not be understood with thoughts of course, but what Harrison is doing is describing what the world of thought looks like from the world of no-thought. It is like trying to understand the majesty of the Grand Canyon with Braille.

For those who have had a glimmer of no-thoughtness through the study of Eckhart Tolle, or Eli Jaxon Bear, this book is useful as an anchor in that reality. Of course, that reality is the truth of our being, but day-to-day life often seems to reattach us to this world of thought identity. Reading Harrison is a very welcome daily meditation as a reminder of our true selves.

Harrison wisely recommends only reading his book once so as not to try to capture his meaning with the mind. Our true reality does not need to capture anything since we already exist in pure reality. Our thoughts in fact, are the very thing which separate us from it. I read only one page a day and in so doing find that throughout the day I am more and more aware of myself as a vast field of energy unbound by any limitations, content and connected to all life. If you don't get it, you don't get it. But just relax, stop trying, you will!

The book is clumsily written; whatever interest I had in his message was lost along the way. Don't waste your money. And whatever you do, don't buy an audiotape, unless you're into inept, boring mumblings and meanderings.

There are much better books out there with essentially similar messages -- Tony Parsons's As It Is, for one.

There are many books out there that make me go "hmm..." in a good way. This book is definitely one of them. With this book, Harrison eloquently explains the true meaning of enlightenment by examining this experience from many angles. Like "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato, this book helps us learn to appreciate every experience as a unique meaningful event. "The Ever-Transcending Spirit", however, focuses more on explaining the process of naturally maturing to this state of mind so I think it is even more complete as a book. Don't get me wrong. This book by Harrison is quite awesome as well. I would highly recommend it.

This is an exceptional study of the Patagonian gauchos and their life style and habitat before it is extinguished forever by western values, money and culture. As a tourist in Patagonia it should be required reading, especially if you are attempting a riding trip there as we were, across the Andes. For a moment you can understand what you are seeing and experiencing, for a second you are part of the scenary, not just watching it voyeuristically unfold before you. I don't think I understood travel until I read this book.I will never travel again with my eyes open and my mind closed.

If you have been to Cisnes,Patagonia (or want to go there) this is a must book to read. I spent 10 days in this area in February, 2002 and saw some of the people that Nick writes about. In reading the book Nick made me feel that I was back there as I could visualize where the events were taking place. The changes to Coyhaique have continued since 1999 as I found it to be a very modern town. After reading this book I would like to make a return trip.

If you cherish the ways in which John McPhee and Barry Lopez make meaning out of landscape, if you appreciate a writer with an observant heart and a feel for language, and if you wonder how people manage to live--for well and for ill--in a world turned inside out, this is the book for you. By turns harrowing, hilarious, and touching, "The Last Cowboys" will command your attention and remain in your thoughts long after you have read the last page.

This is just to correct a gross mistake from one of the other reviewers. Gauchos are the archetypical argentine country men, not chilean. and Patagonia is argentinean in more than 90% of its extension.
Gaucho literature is almost exclusively argentinian. An obligatory introduction to the world of gauchos is José Hernández' Martin Fierro. See this book first to get a glance at the gaucho's rough life before embarking in a second-hand misleading historiography.

I had the pleasure of meeting Nick Reding earlier this year, and as I chatted with him over some drinks, I was really struck by the thought, "This guy has led a really amazing life!" As a result, I went out and grabbed this book and as I read it, I became even more amazed.

Nick tells the story of his experiences in the Chilean Patagonia in a way that draw you in to every moment. The vividness of his writing and the beauty of some of his comparisons made this quite an enjoyable read. His attention to detail leaves the reader with a feeling that they are right there staring over Nick's shoulder as he goes about life in a very different part of the world.

Nick has that knack that some of the best writers have of being able to see the common thread that exists between very different experiences and places. This book is also extremely well researched with a lot of attention to historical detail, but this detail is not integrated in a dry textbook like manner. Instead when Nick feels it is neccessary to illuminate the reader about a particular piece of history to provide context for an event, he explains that history without distracting from the main storyline.

Overall, this is an excellent piece of writing and I look forward to future books by Nick (he assures me at least one more is on the way).

I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.

Nicolae High, the 5th installment in the Left Behind Kids series, finds our four teen heros facing a new challenge. Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan are the post-Rapture Christians who were left alone when the global vanishings occured. Now, in book 5, school is back in session, and our four teen heros take their newfound faith to the classrooms of Global Community Middle School and Nicolae High, both named after the Antichrist and his newly established regime.

Danger awaits them at every turn. The authorities outlaw carrying Bibles or talking about God. They risk everything in order to speak the Truth to their peers. The authorities hunt them down and attempt to persecute them. How long will they be able to avoid the authorities and share their faith with their peers? Read Nicolae High and find out!

With the antichrist reveiled, school's back in session, and the Young Trib Force discovers exactly how hard it is to be a Christian and live after the rapture!
Judd and Vicki start attending Nicolae High, and find allies in cousins Mark and John. Lionel and Ryan go back to Global Community Junior High, but still continue to fight! Can they ever be like brothers?
The four teens soak in as much information as they can to help them survive through these rough times. With the help of Pastor Bruce Barnes, the four learn more than they ever knew before.
The fifth installment of the LBTK books again delievers, and as always, I was left on the edge of my seat!

Mark Moore has it wrong. This book is Christian, but it is not propaganda. It tells about something that I (and many other people) believe will happen. Mark says that it is "ludicrous" to believe that the world would not be in chaos if all the Christians disappeared. Give me a break! Let's see millions around the world disappear at the same time and without warning and not have chaos. Especially when some top leaders could disappear as well. I think Mark's accusations are what's ludicrous. "An evil religion perpetuated by zealous idiots"?! Yeah right! Christians are as normal as anyone else.
The book of Revelation in the Bible only takes "20 pages"(as Mark puts it) because it only gives you enough detail to understand what is going to happen. In the Left Behind books, it takes much longer because it is put into real life situations.

As for the quality of the book, I enjoyed it, but as some others have stated, it is kind of corny. The adult series is definitely more enjoyable. Otherwise, these are good books. Read and enjoy.

"Nicolae High," by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, is number 5 in the "Left Behind: The Kids" series of short novels for young readers. "Nicolae" continues the overarching plot of the series, which is inspired by Christian fundamentalist theology. The book follows the adventures of a group of Christian teenagers during an age of apocalyptic mystery and horror. In "Nicolae," the kids' high school is renamed (as indicated by the title) after a powerful world leader, and the faculty begins to implement a new agenda.

Like the other books in the series, "Nicolae" features corny dialogue and ridiculously melodramatic scenes. The message of "Nicolae" seems to be that religious diversity is a bad thing; for the book's heroes, the only legitimate viewpoint is a Christian fundamentalist viewpoint. Further, the book seems to foster Christian fundamentalist fantasies of persecution (the "us against the world" mentality). The idea that American public schools oppress Christian fundamentalists is a key theme here.

Actually, I found the most interesting aspect of "Nicolae" to be a couple of brief references to "Star Trek." These references are ironic, considering the vast gulf between the vision of "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and the authors of the "Left Behind: The Kids" series. Approach the second of these two visions with caution.

The main character in Eternity's End is Legroeder, a rigger on space ships that have (too much of) a close resemblance to ocean-going sailing ships. The story centers around this sailing analogy: pirates waylay commercial ships in deep space, capturing treasure and slaves. There is a ghost ship, similar to the Flying Dutchman. Carver describes travel in certain regions of space called the Flux as having waves and currents, clouds and sunsets, storms and becalming. This sailing analog is a big stretch, one that goes too far for me. I found much of this to be shear comic-book-level silliness, and most of my dislike of Eternity's End is based on this (failed) stretch.

There are some good science fiction elements in the book, including races that engage in different levels of cybernetic enhancements (with the pirates pushing the technology). Legroeder receives moderate augmentation about a third the way through the book, and then falls for a pirate female having major augmentation. Their relationship is interesting. Characterizations are a strong part of the book. And Carver writes well, in an easy-to-read, engaging prose.

If you're looking for a science fiction fantasy that's an easy read, is not very edgy, and has an interesting romance, Eternity's End might well satisfy. If you like hard science fiction, look elsewhere (e.g., Vernor Vinge or Jack McDevitt).

When Star-Rigger Legroeder escapes the Golan Space Pirates after seven years of captivity the last thing expects on arriving home is to be framed by the RiggerGuild for his ships capture all those years ago. Luckily for him though Lawyer Harriet Mahoney things Legroeder can help her and is prepared to help him in return.

This is the first book I have read in the Star-Rigger Universe, but it's a good stand alone novel and enjoyable enough to make me want to hunt out the other books in this series. Legroeder is a likeable character and most of the supporting stories within the series are filled with believable people in extreme situations.

Apparently it took the author 4 year to write this novel, but for me it has paid off in a book I really enjoyed and am glad to have read.

This book is easy too read and well entertaining. The characters aren't very deep and there are no major surprises in the story. But what really sucks after a while is the Christian references that come up all the time. It is hard to imagine for me that in a distant future people (and even aliens) still hang after that pityful religion. After a while, you get the feeling that Carver propably supports "Intelligent Design" and other stupidities too.

But if you can ignore that, its still an entertaining book worth to read if you don't have anything better at hand.

This is the first book I have read by Jeffrey Carver. It turns out that "Eternity's End" is number six or thereabouts in a series. Oops-I hate it when that happens, but authors often include catch-up chapters so that latent readers can follow along. Not so with this book. Carver has got some fairly strange conceptual things going on, and I had a difficult time reconciling these concepts as the story plodded onward. There are some very well written scenes. Carver does a good job of maintaining tension during the space battles and chases, but the scenes in between feel flat. Several of his characters are developed very well, but others are left undeveloped to the point in which I had to ask myself: Why is this character in the story?

This book has the feel of some of Arthur C. Clarke's early space opera. Clarke's early books worked well because they were short and not overwritten. Carver could do the same with "Eternity's End" by editing out 200 pages or so, disappearing a few characters, and tightening the plot up a bit.

I saw this book at a bookstore and decided to buy it because I loved the cover! I had no idea if I would like it and I do not read Science Fiction regularily even though I love Star Trek. I am so glad I bought it though and I plan to get more of Jeffery Carver's Star Rigger books.

To me, reading this book was an experience like playing an old role playing game called Traveller, meaning it was a fun and exciting adventure in future time in outer space. The book starts out with a rigger (starship pilot) named Renwald Legroeder who is being framed for a crime he did not commit, which involves a mysterious starship that has been missing for 100 years, and space pirates. Legroeder is a human being and there are many humans living on a far away planet named Faber Erdrani (Sp?). There are native people there too and a neat race called the Narseil that the reader gets to know well in the story. Legroeder finds himself in jail waiting for a trial and then suddenly gets released by a lawyer named Harriet Mahoney that wants to help him. From there on the story is an exciting adventure and mystery with Legroeder needing to find out more about the missing starship Impris to clear his name. This book is very readable, I highly recommend it! I found myself sad when I was done reading, because it was so good and I loved the characters.

The left behind by Jerry B. Jenkins is not a very fun book and it is not all the exciting that I wouldn't recommend for anyone to read but if you want to that is your choice. First it started out about this guy named Mr. Tompson went on a vacation by himself and then when he was on there and he met this guy named Rayford and he found out that he was a Preacher but now Mr. Tompson doesn't know weather to believe if he is a good guy or a bad guy because he has been caught causing some trouble. Rayford has a sister the he doesn't like that much and she didn't tell him that she was going to cut all of her hair off to look like a guy. Rayford has a soon to be wife and her name is Vicki and she went t visit him but she doesn't know that he is cheating on her!
The two main characters are Mr. Tompson and this one girl named Missy that Mr. Tompson is cheating on with his wife. Mr. Tompson is described as a of showoff, sometimes hyper but in the spare time he likes to cause trouble but when he doesn't cause some bad trouble he Preaches. I don't really get him at all but I can tell you that he has some mood swings and I mean that he has some strange mood swings. When he does get into trouble he sucks up to the cops. He is usually a very brave person and people know him as a "major nerd that causes trouble" and sometimes he can be a scardy cat. Now the second main character is Missy. Ok so Missy is going out with Mr. Tompson and she knows that he has a soon to be wife which is her best friend and personally I think that is seriously messed up. She has long blonde hair and the people in the book said that she dresses nerdy. What I don't see is why Mr. Tompson is cheating on his soon to be wife and she is rich and she dresses pretty well. I think that he must be like really mental or something. Missy is a stuck up brat but in at other hand she is smart and intelligent, but what I don't really like about her is that when she does something wrong she blames it on other people. I will describe her as a stuck up snot!
Well I think that you should read this book about a 25% and I think that you shouldn't read it about a 75% so if you do or not it's your choice!

I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.

Its a great book! read it! have fun and let ur imagination take u somewhere!
READ< this book!

We last left off with Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan trying to cope with the loss of their families in the Rapture of the church.
Lionel's Uncle Andre has taken over his house with a gang of his as well. To prove his bravery, Ryan goes off in search of information for Lionel, and still undecided. What will Ryan's choice be?
Andre gets into some trouble, and Lionel must again face another loss. The four go out in search of Leroy, a member of Andre's gang/murderer. With the help of Sergant Thomas Fogarty, Judd sets up with a sting, and waits for Leroy to "get his."
This book was great, and the series is wonderful! I encourage people to go out and buy this series!

Mark Moore has it wrong. This book may be Christian, but it is not propaganda. It tells about something that I (and many other people) believe will happen.
Mark says that it is "ludicrous" to believe that the world would be in chaos if all the Christians disappeared. Give me a break! Let's see millions of people from around the world disappear at the same time and without warning and not have chaos. Again, give me a break!
I think that Mark's accusations are ludicrous. "An evil religion prepetuated by zealous idiots"?!? Yeah right! Christians are as normal as anyone else.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation takes only "20 pages" because it gives enough detail to understand what is going to happen, yet doen not put the situation into into the personal experiences of a few people. The Left Behind series are much longer becuase they do describe the happenings in the personal experiences of different people.

As for the quality of the book, I really enjoyed this book, as well as the others in the series. The kids series is not as good as the adult series, yet it is still really good. Read and enjoy.

I have always enjoyed the adult series of Left Behind books. The kids books are just as good. The kids interact with the characters from the adult series, experience the same events, etc. However, since the main characters are teens, these books can appeal to younger readers. So far, the stories haven't had the ups and downs that the adult series has had. The adult series has books that are a lot more boring than others. The kids series seems to be good in every book. These are not for really young kids, but would be appropriate for young teens. I enjoy them and I am an adult.

The Young Trib Force has had amazing success with "The Underground" but, when Vicki's caught, they must make a decision of whether to continue printing the criminal newspaper.
With Vicki sent to a detention center, the three guys work with Mark and John. Also, a new believer joins the group, while one appears that they should have known all along.
Vicki moves in with a foster family, and discovers the secrets they have tried so hard to hide. Meanwhile, Judd travels with Bruce and discovers the miracle of the two witnesses at the Wailing Wall.
This book brings a lot of more character's in, and is wonderfully written. I loved this book, and there's a great twist that no one could ever guess!

This seventh installment in the Left Behind Kids series finds Vicki and Judd attempting escape as school authorities pursue them relentlessly. At the end of book 6, Vicki was the one caught by the authorities. At the beginning of this seventh book, Vicki makes one last desperate attempt to escape and Judd Thompson Jr, the leader of the Young Tribulation Force, helps her in her attempt. However Vicki is captured and taken to a juvenile detention center, where she finds herself facing persecution.

Meanwhile, the other three post-Rapture teens face more troubles, along with two new friends, John and Mark. As they struggle to spread the Truth behind the global vanishings and warn people of the coming global judgments foretold in Scripture, the noose tightens at Nicolae High and the kids find themselves facing the pressure that threatens to keep the kids from sticking together as a team. They also seek to find out who the insider at the school who is helping them is. In the midst of their troubles, Old Testament prophecies are coming true all around them. Nicolae Carpathia, the one who the kids found to be the Antichrist back in book 4, signs a peace treaty with the nation of Israel, thus signalling the beginning of the seven most chaotic and perilous years mankind will ever see. By the time book 7 comes to its end, Carpathia has established a global regime and gains total control of Earth, decieving the people of the world into believing that he is the world savior, thus fulfilling Revelation chapter 6:1-2. Will the kids stay alive?

Busted is without a doubt one of the best installments in the series. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through, and it ends with a cliffhanger, as do all the books so far, and makes you eager to read the next book in this series about a group of post-Rapture Christians who struggle to survive in a quickly-dying world. 5 stars.

"Left Behind" is about the bible prophecy of the `Coming of the Lord' that leaves the world in chaos. The book is an idea how it might actually be like for people who did not believe and are `left behind' after the disappearances of God's loyal subjects he brings to his side. The book is number seven in the series titled "Busted."
The story starts with Vickie who has been found out by Carpathia High, her high school about her Christian activities. They didn't have enough evidence that she was distributing the Underground, a Christian newspaper, but they still convicted her anyway. So they sent her to a detention center where she meets some new friends and then was adopted by the Stein family. This situation is not one a good one and she finally gets help to escape. She is recaptured when she returns to the school she attended. She finds out some news about things she didn't think were true.
Judd visits Israel with his pastor searching for something. Things happen when they arrive back but soon they are all brought back together. Vickie is sent back to the detention center she once left but knowing she has even more people out there caring for her.
To me, all the characters are my favorite. But I will choose only one, Judd is my favorite, because he takes on the responsibility of an adult, even though he is just a teenager All of the other characters respect him, even though they have their problems at times. They think of Judd as a father figure.

I recommend this book to all. Whoever is interested in hearing a story of the end of days on earth I think you should buy the series. I plan on reading the book to the end. To tell you the truth I picked this book just because my teacher wanted us to read a book, but when I started reading I immediately got into it. Now I will buy all the books to see what will happen.

"Busted!", by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, is #7 in their "Left Behind: The Kids" series of novels. Grounded in evangelical/fundamentalist Christian theology, the book continues the story of a group of young people living in an apocalyptic near future. The book's heroes continue their resistance mission while world leader Nicolae Carpathia continues to consolidate his new world order.

"Busted!" shows some of the flaws of the other books in the series. The dialogue is stiff and corny; many characters and scenes seem a bit forced. A significant theme of this story is the conversion of Jews to fundamentalist Christianity. I found the tone of the Jewish-related material in the book to be patronizing and paternalistic. Still, the story held my interest and did contain some intriguing elements. In some ways, it's like a good old fashioned dystopian sci-fi tale.

Most of what this books says is reasonable, but not much seemed surprising, and it is cautious enough that I'm fairly certain that the changes it discusses will seem fairly minor 20 or 30 years from now.
For instance, he wonders whether the effects of growing up with 20, 50, or 1000 clones will be qualitatively different from the effects of twins growing up together. But when discussing the effects of direct interfaces between neurons and silicon, he stops short of wondering whether that will produce people with dramatically enhanced intelligence. Nor does he seem to think that machine intelligence will have dramatic effects, at least in this century.
He claims to believe that technological growth tends to follow exponential curves, but the magnitude of the changes he foresees suggests he tends to expect technological progress to be closer to linear.

Baldi's ideas are challenging, but this book is far too much science-fiction, far too little science.

Applying math and cs to some gene research (Baldi's research at UCI) does not qualify him to make some of his ridiculous claims on the progress and future of natural science.

This wonderful book is a great companion to The Age of Spiritual Machines and in many respects, updates some of the science of that volume. But of interest to me is the discussion of all the competing moral values that we will have to face as we move forward with genetic manipulation of our genetic material and that of other animals and plants.

Baldi has achieved his goal of making the book very readable for the lay person while compiling additional details in the appendices for those a bit more interested delving into the details. His thoughts are clear and articulate as he lays out the pros and cons of several competing moral values we face now and those we might face in the future.

Baldi does not shy away from the long controversial or taboo subjects. His comments on sex are cogent and up to date. For example, he states; "Sexual and reproductive issues have long affected our societies in ways that created tensions between 5the sexes and were not always favorable to women. After all, even today in many countries men earn higher salaries than women for the same jobs. This is hard to justify from first principles in democratic societies, which are supposed to be founded on equality among humans." He then goes on to explain how cloning technology will further strain the relationship as the sexual act itself becomes unnecessary for evolution or preservation of genetic material.

We are also warned that, "In this new reality [biotechnologies and the internet] of more or less continuous genotypes and phenotypes, all kinds of new creatures are beginning to pop up at a rapid pace, forcing us to revise our concepts, our laws, and our sense of whatever makes us human." This book should be on the must read list for any person interested in the establishment of ethical processes and models that allow us to choose between competing moral values.

This book is essentially an exercise in unchecked speculation - and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with looking ahead and attempting to see where we, as a species and as a society, are heading, it's just that this book is a very poorly executed attempt to do so. The author repeatedly makes statements to the effect of "while we can't do that yet, we should be able to in the next fifty years." For some of these statements, he explains why; for many, however, he does not - leaving these statements without any basis in fact whatsoever. The issues he considers - cloning, brain-machine interfaces, etc. - are extremely timley and important to humanity, it's just that he doesn't do a good job exploring them thoroughly or expressing himself clearly (and it's not just that I'm a layman and it's too technical - to the contrary, the book is too simplistic in many areas). The author also seems to get too caught up in the "nature vs. nurture" debate, and posits bizarre hypotheticals such as attempting to recreate the environment of a cloned child's life exactly by also cloning their parents, siblings, and friends, building an exact replica of the child's childhood home, etc., in an attempt to make sure that the "nurture" side of the equation is balanced with the "nature" side. There are better books out there if you are interested in these topics. Check out "The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil, or "Our Posthuman Future" by Francis Fukuyama.

(1) Baldi does not know the history of science too well.
(2) Baldi used derogatory terms against the Bible and religions, which would have been most offensive to great Chrisitian scientists such as James Clark Maxwell, Issace Newton, Michael Faraday, Lord Kelvin, Hertz, etc. (the list goes on and on...)
(3) Baldi, as a trained mathematician, does not know the subject of physics or chemistry too well either. He claims that almost all scientists in these traditional disciples know everything about the laws of nature already. Baldi stated that only computer science and biology are the areas that we human beings do not yet know well, which is another biased statement as we physicists could not even understand the origin of the gravitational force or the Big Bang yet.

I think Baldi is a very proud man who needs to be "shattered" himself -- he should be "de-centered" from his self-centered cosmo-view and be more truthful about the history of science.

Moleskine Pocket Journal - Plain Pages

I love this book! I lived in North Africa, briefly, but had friends that lived in Kenya and places where safaris actually happen. So, I have heard many first hand accounts of life in modern day Africa, (Malaria!) but thanks to the gorgeous photographs, torn bits of history, diary entries, drawings and Beard's interesting explanations, I could experience a different Africa. Aside from actually undergoing a painful series of shots, venturing into the grasslands, climbing Kilamanjaro, or just trying to figure out the settings on my camera, I think reading or just gazing at this book makes the perfect African holiday. Romantic, tragic and inspiring...I still fear mossies the most!

I first happened upon this book while engaged in my day-to-day duties in the shelves of the Augsburg College Library in Minneapolis where I worked as a student library assistant in the mid-70's. As I began paging through it, I began to realize that I had never seen a "nature" book like this before. The book and the characters in it were at once bold, daring, mesmerizing and weird. You just have to read it.

Published in 1965, the book is the most famous book of Peter Beard. The book is shoking as most photos are pictures of dead animals, it is definitely not a book to look at before your safari. Black and white pictures are excellent. Sadly, the last pages are only photos of elephant's carcasses (too much?). The Beard's touch is a book full of old illustration, tiny pics, small and odd drawings and detailed texts - most of them taken from the British Museum. The book is about the Old Africa and text about Mt Kenya, the Man-eaters of Tsavo, Nairobi and Karen Blixen are not easy and you must have a knowledge of Kenyan history to understand them fully. This book is essential for any African collection as it has shocked and marked history.

It's a very real look at Old Africa. It shows the truth of man's bad luck, bad descisions, greed, and life filled with hard times. It shows nature in it's true self, not some Disney version of happy animals dancing around. This is an excellent book and should serve as a wake up call for the multitudes of Americans who believe the garbage that is spoon fed to them on their televisions. It may be well more than most readers can handle, because the truth is not sugar coated here.

An excellent book for those that can handle the truth. It shows what will happen when nature is left to manage itself and what happens when men don't control themselves. It's about hard times and history-a way of life long forgotten. If you are a product of the spoonfed Disney age, then you'll find this book shocking. It may well be your first taste of truth about wild animals,wild places, and the true spirit of man. This book is about Old Africa and should not be judged with today's politically correct eye. It is an account of things happened in a forgotten time, and a lost way of life.