Customer Reviews:
Misleading Advertisement.......2006-07-26
Why is Amazon listing this book, Henry James: Complete Stories 1874-1884 as available new? I ordered it in February and never received it. Amazon notified me frequently of continuing delays and, then, a few weeks ago cancelled the order, the book being unavailable.
I have since ordered a used copy and received it without delay!
The stories, of course, all five volumes, are perfection, delight, wondrous! The edition is beautiful and feels good to hold: print is very small and on thin paper but still easy to read. The hardback bindings hold the pages together securely yet allow the reader to hold the book open without a lot of effort. The little ribbon marker is a nice touch.
19 mini-masterpieces.......2000-05-28
The Library of America has published 5 volumes of Henry Jame stories, covering 1864 - 1910, and I'm hooked. Henry James has to be read slowly; every word he writes seems to matter to the story. He is a master craftman of the English language, and can say so much without being explicit.
James wrote most of these 19 short stories while living in London and visiting the continent. This volume of his stories starts with "Professor Fargo" and ends with "The Author of 'Beltraffio'". But, perhaps the most famous of the stories included here is "Daisy Miller: A Study." Few, if any, of these stories will disappoint a 20th century reader.
Unlike some fortunate reviewers, who have had careers as librarians or who have degrees in English Literatue, I started reading authors like Henry James on my own. I approach a author just for the pleasure of reading his/her work. I started reading Henry James with these short stories and have graduated to his novels. At first his writing seemed slow and stiff. But, once I settled into the cadence of his writing, I concluded that this suited the formality of the upper classes he wrote about. Now, I can't seem to put down one of his stories until the end.
James wrote so much during his life that it seems impossible to read all that he wrote, but I think I'll try.
Customer Reviews:
Undercover.....................2003-12-06
Love does come from unusual places. This is one of the BEST romance books I have ever read. Mrs. Webb really knows now to get the blood pumping in you veins. One minute, the protagonist are enveloped in a never ending intimacy, and the next, they are running for their lives!! She nicely portrait Erin Bailey's character and the emotional rollercoaster she went through during the time period of their "mission". Same can be said for John Logan (a.k.a Logan). It's an emotional rollercoaster for the readers too. If you are a book worm as I am, you'll know what I mean. She doesn't leave a breathing period. The plot goes up and down all the way till the end. After my second read, I am still willing to read it once more. It's just great. It is true about what the say about The Specialists - "Nothing is too dangerous for them...except falling in love." You should read Undercover Wife to know what I mean
KNOCK OUT ROMANTIC SUSPENSE.......2003-04-07
I have one word for John Logan--YUM. John and Erin heat up the pages of this edgy romantic suspense, delivering a memorable read and a book that will be destined for your keeper shelf. Webb is at her all time best with this story, edgy, gritty, and oh so hot.
Book Description
It is the 20th Century, an advertisement-drenched world in which the big ad agencies dominate governments and everything else. Now Schoken Associates, one of the big players, has a new challenge for star copywriter Mitch Courtenay. Volunteers are needed to colonise Venus. It's a hellhole, and nobody who knew anything about it would dream of signing up. But by the time Mitch has finished, they will be queuing to get on board the spaceships.
Customer Reviews:
A very interesting book.......2007-04-19
In a dystopian future, uncontrolled population growth and environmental exploitation have been allowed to run rampant and it is producing a world of diminishing horizons and potential. Mitchell Courtney, an ad executive with Fowler Schocken, is just as happy with the world as are any of the executives who sit atop the all-powerful corporations. However, when he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy, he realizes that the world is not his oyster after all.
Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. Frederik Pohl is one of the titans of the science fiction genre, and it is easy to see why. Now, admittedly, your political viewpoint might color your view of this book, it is extremely heavy-handed in its anti-capitalism. But, even if you don't agree with the underlying politics of the book, it is still excellently written, and a very gripping read. I loved this book and highly recommend it.
Many Bold Predictions - Mostly Big Misses.......2006-09-12
THE SPACE MERCHANTS (1952) is a Novella-sized story of an advertising executive, living in a mid-21st Century World, who is put in charge of the outrageous idea of trying to sell America on emigrating and settling Venus.
Many of the bold predictions fly somewhat close to the mark; for example, TV commercials are seen to have grown to 9 minutes - The reality is that primetime commercials have actually shrunk to 1 minute, but we now have 30 minute infomercials... the book predicts that computers for the spaceship will have to have relays manufactured using a microscope - which can be seen as a pretty good prediction of the transistor.
But, the fact is, it is hard to try to predict what the world will really be like in 75 to 100 years in the future, and there are a lot of predictions that really miss the mark completely... for example, cigarettes are seen as a big part of life and advertising in the book, but in reality have faded into the background... we don't have "temporary marriages", high-cost coin pay long-distance telephones, and pollution/population are nowhere near as bad as predicted... also, in the book, mankind has settled The Moon and about to settle Venus - but haven't bothered with the much more hospitable (and closer!) Oceans or Antartica.
By the time we get to Chapter 17, scientists have supposedely figured out a way to help cool Venus, but it involves - get this - adding MORE Carbon Dioxide to Venus' atmosphere! Yes - and even more amazing, the extra CO2 that is produced by Venus will be sold to The Earth! Of course, too much C02 in The Earth's atmosphere is what is supposed to be now CAUSING Global Warming, and turning Earth into another Venus.
The book is fairly fun and entertaining, and it is easy to see how the book was considered a classic for many years - but THE SPACE MERCHANTS has become dated using 55 year old hindsight. I recently picked this book up on a deal from the SFBC 50th anniversary collection, after I'd read and enjoyed most of the other first 8 books in the 50's collection a number of years ago.
I give the book 2.5 stars... with the caveat that this book may have more appeal to those who really enjoy 50's era SciFi.
I've started to read Frederick Pohl's THE MERCHANT'S WAR (1984), which is a sequel to this book, written without the late Mr. Kornbluth... and that book keeps the same kind of self-parody "flavor" as this book, but the 1984-era technological foresight is holding up a lot better than the 1952-era technological foresight from THE SPACE MERCHANTS.
Classic soft sf........2006-03-06
The Space Merchants was written in 1952 and was ahead of it's time, one of the first popular sci-fi novels to tackle environmental issues and overpopulation head on. It's about an advertising executive in a future America where huge corporations rule, and he hasn't a clue what life is like for the common working stiffs. It's somewhat like in the movie Soylent Green, as he finds out when a rival has him shanghaied to work at a bizarre futuristic hydroponic farm. The title refers to his firms new project - to sell the colonization of Venus to the working class.
The novel is easy to read and both suspenseful and humorous. My favorite author is Robert A. Heinlein (Starship Troopers, Space Cadet, etc.) and I found this to be about as good as some of Heinlein's work of the period, but from a more liberal perspective. In fact in the Venus colonization aspect, it's like a Heinlein book from the point of view of the antagonists (like the organizations behind the colonization of Mars in Red Planet, or Ganymede in Farmer In The Sky). The authors gave the hero this viewpoint not because they share his attitudes, but for humor, contrast, and impact.
I've read a couple other books by C. M. Kornbluth lately, The Syndic and Outpost Mars, which I also recommend.
its come true!.......2005-12-26
this book is the most relevant work to the problems currently destroying america (for one) from the inside, namely tremendous and unchecked corporate influence.
Ridiculous.......2005-05-16
If you liked Monty Python's..., "I used to have to work 26 hours a day paying the mill master 20 dollars a day for permission to work and live in a cardboard box in the middle of the road..."... then you'll like this.
Book Description
Winner of the Netherlands' most prestigious children's book award, this epic adventure quest draws readers deep into a collective dream world — and sweeps them along on a riveting journey through a reimagined past.
"They're going to send you on a sales trip and it'll be the death of you — I know what's going on at Gippart. You're their guinea pig."
Josh Cope is a bit of a dreamer . . . who sometimes steals things. Otherwise, he's just your average boy. So why is an international corporation calling him in the middle of the night, insisting that he come and work for them? Why would they be so convinced that Josh is the key to conquering their new market — the past? Drawn into this astonishing, whirlwind adventure, Josh soon finds himself in the middle of a nightmare, caught in a place between dreams and reality. For Josh and his friends to find their way back, they must follow a trail that takes them right into the very heart of the human imagination — and to the furthest ends of time itself.
Customer Reviews:
wow!.......2007-04-14
I love this book. Its original and lovely.(and i never use that word) I loved the Characters: Josh who is the main character is a dreamer and thief but thats what makes him special in this story.
Baz is a gifted drummer and thats what saves his life and his friends
and Theresa is a storyteller, they are all from different backgrounds but they work so well in this story and u come to love them.
Basically Josh gets called to work for a mysterious company called Gippart. when he gets there (in the middle of the night) he finds out that the company's objective is to travel through time or (dream time called Umaya) and sell things made in the future. The catch is that they have been trying to travel through real time and they believe that Josh can do it. the story and the characters got me from beginning to end, even the ones i didnt like. Its worth every penny!!
Lets just hope Ms. Hoving writes another one
I'm impressed!.......2006-12-10
Note, I did not buy this book yet. I only picked it up and started reading it in the bookstore. I can't stop thinking about this book so I felt that a review was necessary even if I haven't read the whole thing yet.
Ok, I did not know what to expect upon reading it but as soon as I saw the title of the book, it caught my attention right away. Opening it up slowly, I peeked at the summary on the inside of the cover's flap, which basically tells you of a collector/thief 12 year old, Josh Cope, who gets hired by this company, Gippart, which runs a business between reality and dreams.
So I thought, 'Alright? Sounds interesting.'
I flipped to the first page of text and began to read. The text was a bit smaller than I imagined for such a HUGE book, but that didn't bother me as soon as I read the very first set of words. It literally brought you right to the plot at the beginning. Very short intro about Josh. It was straight to the point. And then, the way, the next part comes out which is the introduction to Gippart comes in a very mysterious way. It's so mysterious that you would want to keep on reading to find out exactly how "it's" going to happen and what Josh needs to do to get "there".
In the midst of my reading, I went back to the summary of the book and noticed the quote sitting on top of the summary. The quote instantly made me think that there was something more than what meets the eye. Was the quote a real warning or was it a trick? You'll never know until you read further....
I reached to the 15th page before returning the book to the shelf. This book is a winner as it's very fast pace. The details that the author put into the book are very vivid. Glad that it's super huge too. ^_^ Looking foward to actually buying it.
Edit: Bought it from Amazon four days ago and I just got it today. It's a very hard book to put down. :D I realized that some of the words may be splitted throughout the book but that's understandable since this is a translation (that's still in process?).
Super Bobby.......2006-11-18
Josh is an average 12 year old boy who is good at sleeping whenever he wants. one night the phone rings, Josh gets up to get it, and is thrown into the magical-trading industry of Gippart where he is forced to venture into dream-worlds (umaya) and find the magical tembi- who live in the dawn of time.
This magical book was a captivating read and I reccomend it to all fairy-tale lovers.
A beautiful, original read!.......2006-03-25
This captivating book of Isabel Hovings, displays a whole new era of modern fairy-tale. The magic and adventure in it is beyond words and the characters and plots are well blended in the story. For a long book, every page has depicted a beautiful and interesting, intriguing story half modern-half fairytale.
Josh is an average 12 year old boy who is good at sleeping whenever he wants to too, and stealing items from other people. But when one night the phone rings, Josh gets up to get it, and is thrown into the magical-trading industry of Gippart where he is forced to venture into dream-worlds (umaya) and find the magical tembi- who live in the dawn of time.
This magical book was a captivating read and I reccomend it to all fairy-tale lovers.
Fantastic suprise!.......2005-12-06
The title and thickness interested me, so I picked it up and started reading. It's not often you find such a thick book (600+ pages) in the teen section, although this has become more and more common since J.K. Rowling has made it popular to read once again. Several of my favorite authors were republished due to her books and kids wanting more fantasy . . . and I think this book would have been overlooked too if it had come out before the Goblet of Fire.
It still might be overlooked, although I sincerely hope that won't be the case, because this one deserves all the attention it gets.
Fantasy is revived here, taking a fresh new look at several different plot and story lines and bringing back to mind bits and pieces of mythology that I would never have thought to place together. An imaginative style that is not hampered by translation from Dutch to English or its length, this one is filled with interesting characters that catch one's attention and (at least for me) remain unforgettable.
From the first page, I was hooked. Not very many books begin with a twelve year old admitting quite frankly that he is a thief. By the end of the third chapter I knew I had to buy it. I paid full market price for The Dream Merchant, but I wasn't disappointed and I certainly won't be returning it.
It reminds me a bit of "The Ear the Eye and the Arm," by Nancy Farmer or Diana Wynne Jone's "Homeward Bounders" or her better known book from the Chrestomanci series "Magicians of Caprona"-- three extremely good books for which I have found nothing that compares with them for years.
Although several characters had what seemed like drastic shifts in personality to fit the later story line (Moussa, anyone?), I liked the idea of two family companies at odds with each other and the theme of reconciliation throughout the book during the long, sometimes hazardous, adventure.
Customer Reviews:
Quite interesting.......2007-09-17
This book is really two books in one - The Space Merchants and The Merchants' War. The Merchants' War was written by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth in 1952, and tells the story of a dystopian future, where ad-companies rule, and consumers are the cattle they drive. The Merchants' War is a sequel, written in 1984, some twenty-odd years after the death of Mr. Kornbluth, and it tells the story of the inevitable folly that this out of control world must produce.
Overall, I found these two stories to be quite interesting. Admittedly, the anti-capitalistic angle is played very heavily, but these books are designed as political statements, and not as pure science fiction. And, I must say that I found the story lines to be quite interesting, and the action gripping. So, if you like a good read, then I would highly recommend this book.
Product Description
Books One and Two of the Series of Pendragon Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. But there is something special about Bobby: He is going to save the world. In this very special edition, join Bobby on his first two adventures to the alternate dimension of Denduron and the underwater territory of Cloral. His mission: to save the world from ultimate evil. Given what the consequences would be, failure is not an option. From the back of the book.
Average customer rating:
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Indy Dreams and Urban Nightmares: Speed Merchants, Spectacle, and the Struggle over Public Space in The World Class City
Mark Douglas Lowes
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Racing
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ASIN: 0802084982 |
Book Description
What role do sporting spectacles play in the making of a 'world-class' city?Indy Dreams and Urban Nightmares reports on the conflict that arose between a Vancouver community and the civic boosters who wanted to move the Molson Indy Vancouver motorsport event to their neighbourhood park. Arguing that such events are simply a matter of economic and cultural 'common sense', the civic boosters promoted the Indy spectacle as a means of gaining 'world-class' status for the city.
Against this background, Lowes explores the complex relations among major league sport, urban landscape, and civic identity. He argues that the capacity to articulate a city's 'vision' for itself is an important manifestation of power and ideology, and a notable point of struggle in contemporary urban life. This encompasses much larger issues related to the struggle over urban public space and the legitimacy of a particular narrative of urban growth and civic identity - one that increasingly privileges the consumer over the citizen. Provocative and engaging, this study examines the impact of major sports events on urban centres, and shows how urban public culture is defined and shaped by competition for the right to conceptualize, control, and experience a city's public spaces.
Product Description
Sci Fi PBs
Product Description
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Gravy Planet [The Space Merchants] (Part 1 of 3) (Frederik Pohl & C. M. Kornbluth);
NOVELETTES:
The Hoaxters (Richard Wilson);
Orphans of the Void (Michael Shaara);
SHORT STORIES:
The Highest Mountain (Bryce Walton);
The Luckiest Man in Denv (C. M. Kornbluth (as Simon Eisner));
Shipping Clerk (William Morrison)
ARTICLE:
On Meteorites (Willy Ley)
Book Description
A Room Called Remember brings together some of Buechner's finest writings on faith, love, and the power of words in the form of essays, addresses, and sermons. Here Buechner explores autobiography as theology, offers exhilarating reflections on biblical passages, and leads us into the "room called Remember," that "still room within us all where the past lives on as part of the present,...where with patience, with clarity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived."
Customer Reviews:
Intelligent, Literary and Powerful.......2001-12-07
This is a wonderful collection of essays and sermons from a novelist and theologian who doesn't check his intellect or doubts when he steps into a pulpit. Which makes him credible to skeptics like me who are struggling back toward the faith of their childhood. In my other favorite Buechner - "Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale" - he begins with the point that any preacher who fails to address the experience of God's absence in much of our lives stands little chance of credibly carrying the message of joy and magic. His use of Shakespeare's Lear in that book is elegant.
As for "A Room Called Remember," I found myself moved over and over again by a central message of Hope that transcended all of the various chapters - hope for the possibility of things I long ago gave up as illusion. As a clinical psychologist approaching age 60, I can think of many psychoanalytic and existential explanations for my return to faith at this point in my life. But writers like Frederick Buechner help give me the courage to quit analyzing and simply to accept the gift. The doubts will remain - but that is a part of the gift as well. Without it, there is no challenge or experience of Faith. Or Grace.
I plan to buy copies of this book and give them to people in my life who I most care about.
Intimate, encouraging essays on faith and God's love.......2000-10-31
There is an immediacy and intimacy about this collection of essays. I felt a connection with Buechner, wanting to thank him for sharing his wisdom, honesty and gentleness. The opening and closing essays, on the holiness of remembrance and aging, respectively, were my favorites, but he covers everything from gleaning from sermons to everyday examples of the sacred's presence. His writing speaks to the sophisticated and the broken with the same message of God's redeeming love for us. Read it on the bus or before bed and let it change your perspective.
Books:
- Here's to You, Jesusa!
- Hitler's Niece: A Novel
- I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire (Ravenloft)
- I Wish I Had a Red Dress
- Intimate Companions: A Triography of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus, Lincoln Kirstein, and Their Circle
- Leaving Cecil Street: A Novel (P.S.)
- Mal de amores
- Mefisto
- Memoirs of a Mangy Lover
- Mississippi Flyway
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Letters at 3Am: Reports on Endarkenment
- Dont Panic - Dinners in the Freezer: Great-Tasting Meals You Can Make Ahead
- Tulip Fever
- Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised
- YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger
- Classical Electrodynamics Third Edition
- BRS Cell Biology and Histology
- A Practical Guide to Inspecting Heating and Cooling
- The Making of United States International Economic Policy: Principles, Problems, and Proposals for R
- Israel Business and Investment Opp Yearbook
Henry James : Complete Stories 1884-1891 (Library of America)
Henry James: Complete Stories, 1892-1898 (Library of America)
Henry James: Complete Stories 1864-1874: Complete Stories 1864-1874 (Library of America)
Henry James: Complete Stories 1898-1910 (Library of America)
Henry James: Novels 1896-1899: The Other House / The Spoils of Poynton / What Maisie Knew / The Awkward Age (Library of America)
