A Marine's Lapse in Synapse: A Collection of Unbelievable, But True Short Stories

Customer Reviews:

An AF perspective.......2003-04-15

This book is a must read for every recruit going into the Corps. Perhaps handing this to the new recruits should be done so along with The Bible at MEPS. Mr. Ossian has captured the essence of the Marine Corps. To the other services, this would be a good read to see why our sister service is the way it is, also to see what it is that keeps this close knit group of people so close years after separation. The only downside is that not everyone should read this book. Due to the life which Mr. Ossian experienced in the Marine Corps it may not be suitable for all ages.

Air Force view.......2003-04-15

This is a must read for any Marine, it is also a book which will provide insight into the mind of our beloved sister branch. Mr. Ossian has captured the events which shape a young Marine's life. Perhaps this should be a standard issue to all Marine Corps enlistees. The only degradation of the rating is due to some graphic content, but other than that this was a well written book.

Great book.......2003-04-15

Joey's a great example of Marine life. If you like hearing how military life really is, give this book a shot.

Review of A Lapse in Synapse.......2003-02-28

Every Marine should read this book. Here you will find exactly what not to do, and laugh your tail off at the same time. One of the funniest, if not the funniest book I've read in years. Hats off to a very funny Marine.

Book Description

In 1903, despite the vehement objections of his parents, Albert Einstein married Mileva Maric, the companion, colleague, and confidante whose influence on his most creative years has given rise to much speculation. Beginning in 1897, after Einstein and Maric met as students at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic, and ending shortly after their marriage, these fifty-four love letters offer a rare glimpse into Einstein's relationship with his first wife while shedding light on his intellectual development in the period before the annus mirabilis of 1905. Unlike the picture of Einstein the lone, isolated thinker of Princeton, he appears here both as the burgeoning enfant terrible of science and as an amorous young man beset, along with his fiance, by financial and personal struggles--among them the illegitimate birth of their daughter, whose existence is known only by these letters. Describing his conflicts with professors and other scientists, his arguments with his mother over Maric, and his difficulty obtaining an academic position after graduation, the letters enable us to reconstruct the youthful Einstein with an unprecedented immediacy. His love for Maric, whom he describes as "a creature who is my equal, and who is as strong and independent as I am," brings forth his serious as well as playful, often theatrical nature. After their marriage, however, Maric becomes less his intellectual companion, and, failing to acquire a teaching certificate, she subordinates her professional goals to his. In the final letters Einstein has obtained a position at the Swiss Patent Office and mentions their daughter one last time to his wife in Hungary, where she is assumed to have placed the girl in the care of relatives. Informative, entertaining, and often very moving, this collection of letters captures for scientists and general readers alike a little known yet crucial period in Einstein's life.

Customer Reviews:

A lot more than a secretary.......2005-03-30

This a nice collection of love letters between Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Maric. If you don't know the rest of the tragic story (for her, anyway), it's just as well. It's enough to make you reflect on the amount of pain that love turn to hate can engender.

They cover the period when he is getting his PhD, his first job at the patent office (which he was happy to get, by the way) in Zurich, and the birth of their first, but illegitimate child, a daughter named Lieserl, whose eventual whereabouts became a mystery (see the excellent Einstein's Daughter by Michele Zackheim for an exhaustive search for Lieserl).

What is most intriguing about these letters is the number of times Einstein refers to "our" in his scientific work. He has never acknowledged Mileva's help, but I don't know how anyone can avoid the conclusion that she was a collaborator during the critical period leading up to 1905. Consider the following, in Einstein's own words: " . . . our work on relative motion . . . "(p. 39); "Don't [Mileva] forget to check on the extent to which glass conforms to the Dulong-Petit law." (p. 40); " . . .our theory of molecular forces . . ."(p. 45); " . . . enough empirical material for our investigation . . . "(p. 47); and "I gave him our paper" (p. 52). There are other references.

Mileva has had her defenders in the last ten or fifteen years, but for the most part those who want to keep the Einstein myth alive that whatever he did, he did without any help have relegated her to the role of some sort of amanuensis and helpmeet. If the word "our" means what I think it means, she was a whole more than that.

THE EINSTEIN FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE, INCLUDING THE ALBERT EINSTEIN-MILEVA MARIC LOVE LETTERS.

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THE EINSTEIN FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE, INCLUDING THE ALBERT EINSTEIN-MILEVA MARIC LOVE LETTERS.

Manufacturer: Christie's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HJHKV6

Average customer rating:

THE EINSTEIN FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE INCLUDING THE ALBERT EINSTEIN -MILEVA MARIC LOVE LETTERS

Manufacturer: Christie's New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IAGR0O

Book Description

At some point in our lives, many of us will face the crisis of an unexpected illness. For parents, the fear, anxiety and confusion resulting from a cancer diagnosis can be particularly devastating.

When A Parent Has Cancer is a book for families written from the heart of experience. A mother, physician, and cancer survivor, Dr Wendy Harpham offers clear, direct, and sympathetic advice for parents challenged with the task of raising normal, healthy children while they struggle with a potentially life–threatening disease.

Dr Harpham lays the groundwork of her book with specific plans for helping children through the upheaval of a parent's diagnosis and treatment, remission and recovery, and if necessary, confronting the possibility of death. She emphasises the importance of being honest with children about the gravity of the illness, while assuring them that their basic needs will always be met.

Included is Becky and the Worry Cup, an illustrated children's book that tells the story of a seven–year–old girl's experiences with her mother's cancer.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Advice for Helping Your Children.......2007-02-13

I came across this book after I was asked to give a presentation to parents at Gilda's Club about talking to children when you have been diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Wendy Harpham has lived the experience she writes about. This book is a remarkable resource providing invaluable information and help to anyone wondering how to tell his/her children he/she has been diagnosed with cancer and how to help the children deal with the ongoing challenges a family faces when a parent is fighting for his/her life.

A must-have book! .......2006-04-04

Not only does this book deal with a very sensitive and difficult topic in a very intelligent, straightforward, sensitive, and psychologically healthy manner, but it teaches extremely valuable skills for parenting and coping with ANY troubles life may throw your way. The companion book for children does the very same thing, and very effectively teaches children coping skills in an encouraging, realistic, and safe way. Both books excel in highlighting and addressing differences between the ways adults process thoughts and emotions and the way children do this.

Fabulous Book for an unfortunate topic.......2002-03-15

When my husband was diagnosed with cancer our children were 5 and 7 years old. This book gave us the tools to use to talk to them about cancer. Illness, chemotherapy and even death were topics that we suddenly had to confront. Dr. Harpham's book provided insight in dealing with a frigtening topic in a calm and reasuring manner.

Fabulous Book for an unfortunate topic.......2002-03-15

When a parent has cancer:.......2001-08-11

This is an excellent guide for being a parent, not just a parent with cancer. You can tell that Dr. Harpham has put enormous energy into making sure her children are affected as little as possible by her illness. Our children would be so lucky if they were not affected by our bad days, our obcessions, or our tainted view of reality. There are a lot of feel good about being a parent books out there. This is an excellent practical guide.

When a Parent Has Cancer : A Guide to Caring for Your Children

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When a Parent Has Cancer : A Guide to Caring for Your Children
Wendy Schlessel Harpham
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000V7ESUU

Average customer rating:

When a Parent Has Cancer : A Guide to Caring for Your Children
WENDY SCHLESSEL HARPHAM
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEHFX2

Average customer rating:

A brilliant effort!

Good for a Gift, not so great for actual use

A mouth-watering compendium of delicious dishes

Gorgeous to look at ... Hard to see

Sophisticated Food Organized around Plant Groups

The Anatomy of a Dish
Diane Forley , and Catherine Young
Manufacturer: Artisan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Reference | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Vegetables | Vegetables & Vegetarian | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1579651895

Amazon.com

Diane Forley, chef and proprietor of New York City's Verbena restaurant, has been praised for dishes that are delicious yet "disarmingly simple." This is one of the true tightrope acts in professional cooking. The Anatomy of a Dish, Forley's debut cookbook, shows how to think about ingredients and demonstrates the various ways to prepare and cook them to their greatest advantage. Forley considers the relatedness of fruits and vegetables, grains, roots, and tubers, and how their botanic lineages play out in recipes and menus. A good deal of this information is spelled out in clear charts with lists of subsequent recipes. These are Forley's keys to simplicity.

There are three basic sections to the book: Building a Dish, Developing a Menu, and Concluding with a Sweet. Building a Dish includes chapters such as "Vegetable Studies," "Salads," "Soups and Stews," "Grains, Beans, and Pasta," "Savory Pastries," and "Breads," the building blocks to the full menus to come when entrée dishes--fish, shellfish, poultry, meat, and game--are added. The roasted beets in "Vegetable Studies" turn up later in Ruby Risotto with Winter Greens and Horseradish Crème Fraîche; the roasted eggplant purée reappears in Eggplant and Garlic Stew with Merguez Sausage.

The Anatomy of a Dish is a beautifully designed and innovative cookbook with over 200 recipes. It's not for the timid or the new cook, but it definitely offers a leg up for the cook who wants to get inside the working mind of an accomplished chef. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

The renowned chef of New York's Verbena restaurant shows how to build a dish—and a menu—from vegetables on up in this innovative cookbook that looks at flavors through a botanical prism.

What do Poached Eggs in Asparagus Nests, Leek and Apple Hash, and Sauteed Scallops with Onion Pan Gravy have in common? Aspargus, leeks, and onions (along withe shallots, garlic, and chives) are all part of the botanical family Liliaceae.

Diane Forley's fascination with the properties and groupings of fruits and vegetables—in the garden, in the kitchen, and on the plate—suffuses The Anatomy of a Dish. But this is not a vegetable or vegetarian cookbook. It is a collection of the richly flavorful recipes Forley serves at her restaurant, illuminated by the culinary and botanical explorations that have led to her celebrated cooking style.

Forley, one of America's rising chefs, has arranged her book to reflect her conviction that vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes define sensibility in cooking. Part I, which serves as the book's foundation, looks at vegetables one at a time, and details some of Forley's favoirte ways to prepare them. Cooking techniques are explained and applied to an array of vegetables to form side dishes and starting points fo rmore comlete meals. For example, artichokes are braised, shaped into griddle cakes, baked as gratins, and fried as snack chips; mushrooms are sauteed, pureed, and transformed into Forley's own Worcestershire sauce. A plentitude of notes alongside each recipe offer serving suggestions and menu-building links.

From single vegetables, the book moves on to vegetable combinations in salads, soups and stews, pastas, tarts, souffles, and breads. And then, fish, poultry, and meat are added to create dishes that The New York Times praised for being delicious yet "disarmingly simple."

Seasonal availability of ingredients inspires the recipes in the dessert chapter. These are alluring treates on their own, at any time, but they thoughtfully complement the savory dishes that precede them.

Cooking from this immensely engaging book, you'll come to expect the unexpected and be thrilled by each encounter. For example, you'll learn how plants are classified and marvel at the notion that the potato, eggplant, tomato, petunia, and the tobacco plant have much in common, starting with a five-petaled star-shaped flower. (The hugely toxic belladonna also has the same shaped flower. Is it any wonder that the Old World was reluctant to try these New World fruits and vegetables?)

Cooks who care to broaden their culinary horizons will find this side excursion into the world of botanical family trees as delicious as they'll find Forley's recipes, with their straightforward charm and exceptional soaring flavors.

Customer Reviews:

A brilliant effort!.......2005-05-26

As a chef I turn to this book when I need information fast. It is complete, well-structured, and tells me what I need to know with just a glance. It has replaced Culinary Artistry in my kitchen.

Good for a Gift, not so great for actual use.......2004-12-29

This is an absolutely gorgeous book - the kind people love to give and receive as gifts. Getting into the recipes, though.... it is an intimidating book. The titling of the recipes, the difficulty of obtaining many of the ingredients, and the awkwardness of the layout combine to make it a book I am not going to be turning to much. Somehow, the layout makes the recipes look too complex and time consuming, even when maybe a closer examination would reveal they aren't. Not a user-friendly book.

A mouth-watering compendium of delicious dishes.......2003-01-10

Compiled by Diane Forely (Chef and Proprietor of the Verbena Restaurant, New York City), The Anatomy Of A Dish is a mouth-watering compendium of delicious dishes that cover every aspect and stage of sumptuous dining. After the interesting and informative preambles "Why Botanical Studies"; "My Garden and My Kitchen"; and "About This Books", each recipe is organized into one of the three major sections: "Building a Dish"; "Developing a Menu"; and "Concluding with a Sweet". Enhanced with superbly presented, full-color photography by Victor Schrager, as well as a list of definitions, a bibliography, acknowledgments, and an index, The Anatomy Of A Dish offers palate pleasing, appetite satisfying, gourmet recommended fare that ranges from Mixed Grain Pilaf; Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Avocado Cream; Toasted Angel Hair Pasta in Shiitake Broth; and Braised Octopus; to Tamarind-Marinated Flank Steak; Quinoa-Crusted Chicken; Pan-Roasted Duck Breast with Pineapple Chutney; and Frozen Mocha Roulade.

Gorgeous to look at ... Hard to see.......2002-12-14

With great enthusiasm, I opened this much-raved-about cookbook which is a Christmas present for my husband, the foodie and avid cookbook collector. It looks to be a fascinating story and a completely new take on cooking.

Here's the problem for me. Beautiful as it is, with this book, the art director was WAY too much in charge. Art directors tend not to be as concerned as writers (and READERS) about actually being able to read a book easily. Looks and originality in layout are far more important. The result: much of the text is in what appears to be 8-point font size and less. It's layed out in a column format, sometimes 2 columns, usually 3. Compounding the problem, the small text is often printed in colors, so, for example, we have what appears to be gray text on a cream colored page. Additionally, most pages have at least 3 font styles ... so you have serif, sans serif, and italics all on the same page.

My advice: carefully study one of the sample pages online, if possible ... or go physically examine this book before buying. It's gorgeous, but this is a case of good looks winning out over good (layout) sense. Cooks need to be able to glance down at a recipe while standing and easily see what their ingredients and directions are. Not the case here.

Sophisticated Food Organized around Plant Groups.......2002-11-16

Neat background that the author provides of her interest in having a garden as vital part of her restaurant has turned into this passion to plan and create dishes and menus around plant groupings.

She builds on this by providing the normal dining classifications of appetizers, soups, salads, etc., but by forming and explaining how she utilizes this plant class system.

There are exceptional creative stuff here, e.g. Artichoke Bruschetta, Lemon Porridge with Asparagus and Basil, Ruby (Beet) Risotto with Winter Greens, Sauteed Scallops with Onion Pan Gravy, Sauteed Flounder with Braised Rhubarb, Short Rib Terrine, Quinoa-Crusted Chicken.

Working with veggies, fruits and grains, this concept will start you thinking and dreaming up your own variations of this plant classification scheme.

Book Description

“Filled with quirky surprises and things you would have never thought to ask, Bunyard’s celebration of fruit is endlessly entertaining.”
–Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt, Cod, and The Big Oyster

When we think of dessert, our mind’s eye sees cakes, pies, and pastries. Yet the truly creative palate imagines things even more tempting, decadent, and, yes, sinful. So claims Edward Bunyard in this delectable paean to the wonderful fruits of the vine, from apples and apricots to gooseberries and strawberries, from pears to the grapes that give us wine.

Bunyard, a nurseryman at the turn of the last century, lovingly devotes a chapter to each fruit, sharing a heartfelt disquisition on the many types of strawberries, in which bigger is not always better; revealing how denizens of cooler and warmer climes differ in their perceptions about grapes; and asserting that “immoderate indulgence” in melon has toppled great dynasties and changed the course of history. Bunyard even offers advice on the most delightful wine and fruit pairings, and settles once and for all the debate that has raged for nearly three millennia: Which are tastier, hothouse figs or the outdoor variety.

Introduced by Michael Pollan, The Anatomy of Dessert is a cornucopia of wisdom that’s never out of season. It is time again to savor this classic work, first published in 1929, that gives above-the-title billing to the myriad foodstuffs we often refer to as “afters.” So come and partake in the fruits of Edward Bunyard’s labor of love.

Average customer rating:

finally I can do transparency!

Outstanding!

A WONDERFUL ENLIGHTENING CHALLENGE

Dimensional Art Quilts 101!

How to add layers of color to a traditional quilt pattern

Ghost Layers & Color Washes: Three Steps to Spectacular Quilts
Katie Pasquini Masopust
Manufacturer: C&T Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Quilts & Quilting | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1571201505

Amazon.com

Resembling a pleasant confluence of watercolor painting and photo montage, Katie Pasquini Masopust's quilts are far from traditional. A compulsive picture-taker, Masopust developed a unique approach to quilt making based on her photos, layering shapes and colors of fabrics onto the design suggested by the original composition. In Ghost Layers & Color Washes, she shares the secrets of her innovative method, explaining the process of creating the base block, adding the ghost layer (abstract or geometric shapes that seem to float through the image), painting a simple watercolor wash on paper to suggest a color scheme, and combining all the layers into a cohesive design. She also explains color sorting, cutting and turning the appliqué pieces, sewing onto stabilizer, and machine quilting. One project guides readers through the steps of making a fruit-in-a-bowl quilt; several dozen quilts by the author and some of her students offer further ideas for exploring this fascinating technique. --Amy Handy

Book Description

8 1/2 x 11 175 color and 33 black-and-white illustrations US Distribution only crafts Make quilts gain an air of mystery with this innovative, three-step technique for adding layers of visual interest to representational quilts. In Ghost Layers & Color Washes, readers will discover, step by step, how to combine these three steps and: make a design based on a photo or drawing, add a "ghost" shape that is lighter or darker than the base block colors, and create a color wash that allows for more color use in a quilt. This valuable guide also includes "Katie's Seven-Step Program" for choosing perfect fabric combinations.

Customer Reviews:

finally I can do transparency!.......2005-08-29

This is a truly fascinating method for making intriguing quilts. My favorite part is the clear process for getting transparency to actually work.

Outstanding!.......2004-06-15

I have been quilting for a long time, and have a large library of quilt books. I use most of them to flip through and draw inspiration from the pictures. It's been a long time since something inspired me to drop everything and try a new technique, but that's exactly what this book did.

A WONDERFUL ENLIGHTENING CHALLENGE.......2004-05-21

This book changes all the rules of "difficult" quilting. Katie writes such wonderful, easy to understand (and DO!!!) instructions! I don't think a beginner quilter would want to take this on until she/he has done some quilting for a while, but those of us who have been around for a while and want a new technique, GET THIS BOOK!!!

Dimensional Art Quilts 101!.......2001-08-17

Kudos to Katie Pasquini Masopust for tackling a most daunting task: Teaching the intimidating concept of art-quilting. By breaking down this theoretical artistic venue into three easy steps: Color Wash, Base Layer, and Ghost Layer, those of us wishing to venture into textile art using our quilting skills will appreciate her methodical and consistent approach. Katie's diagrams and photographs are extensive and thorough. Most appreciated are her example photographs done on a black background, making them much easier to see. This book is packed full of examples, starting with beautiful photographs, followed by their corresponding abstract, artistic quilting interpretations. Katie has not missed a step or technique, and though her book may appear a bit complex at the onset, careful review reveals her clear and concise instructions and explanations. Katie makes a most difficult artistic venture simple and understandable to even the beginning art quilter. All of Katie's techniques can be transferred to embellished clothing, as well, so her instructional information is timeless and span the entire creative sewing spectrum. Hats off to Katie Pasquini Masopust and her "Ghost Layers & Color Washes"!

How to add layers of color to a traditional quilt pattern.......2001-07-06

Katie Pasquini Masopust's Ghost Layers & Color Washes tells how to add layers of color to a traditional quilt pattern, using the block method and applique to combine fabrics. Photos of lovely quilts abound in color.

Book Description

Make Better Treatment Choices by Being Informed…

If you’ve been diagnosed with macular degeneration, you’re probably anxious and full of questions. You wonder how much your eyesight will deteriorate. How will the disease be treated? Will you still be able to do the things you’re accustomed to doing?

Author Bert Glaser, M.D., an eye surgeon who has treated thousands of patients, understands the kinds of questions you have about macular degeneration. He also knows that informed patients make better treatment choices, and optimal treatment may slow the progression of the disease. In The Macular Degeneration Source Book, Dr. Glaser and co-author Lester Picker offer answers to many commonly asked questions, including those on treatment. Among the other topics covered:

• Symptoms and causes of macular degeneration
• How the disease is diagnosed
• Emotional impact of macular degeneration
• Choosing the right physician
• Newest treatment options – drugs and surgical techniques
• Ways to slow progression of the disease
• Importance of nutrition and general health
• How to adapt the home and workplace to be “eye friendly”

A Valuable Resource for Patients and Families!

Customer Reviews:

Technically informative and filled with useful advice.......2003-01-03

What a boon and comfort it would be to the patient if, upon receiving a diagnosis of macular degeneration, the doctor presented a copy of this book!

I thought I knew all the handy tricks until I read Chapter 9, "Making the Home Eye Friendly." After helping my mother deal with her legal blindness for ten years, I thought I knew all the practical hints for coping with macular degeneration. Now I'm in the early stages of the disease and welcome the many new ideas I found in The Macular Degeneration Source Book. Some of my favorites are to always carry a flashlight and to put glow-in-the-dark tape on stairtreads, doorknobs--and all those flashlights.

But the book offers more than handy tips. Retinal surgeon Bert Glaser follows a logical progression starting with an explanation of what happens to the eye affected by macular degeneration, with drawings that illuminate the text. Then he describes the various types of macular degeneration. The importance of testing and getting a diagnosis from qualified doctors is emphasized. Treatments for various types of MD are discussed in an understandable style. A list of risk factors is followed by life style changes that can help reduce risk. The book does not over-promise results while offering a positive, upbeat approach throughout.

Useful features in the back of the book include a list of resources-websites, organizations, catalogs, software, and vision products-a glossary of terms, and an index.

Patients and families will learn from this book........2002-02-14

This comprehensive book does a very nice job of explaining age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in terms that anyone can understand. Patients and their families will particularly appreciate learning the distinction between the different types of AMD and reading the thorough description of the eye examination.

Other important chapters cover a 10-step program to reduce your risks of macular degeneration, dealing with the emotional impact (an often overlooked aspect of vision loss) and ways to make your home and workplace more vision friendly. The Appendix and List of Resources are excellent.

The diagnosis of AMD can be devastating, but with information like The Macular Degeneration Source Book, patients and their families can deal with the challenge. Written by a leading macular degeneration specialist, it contains accurate medical information and lists current research.

A Real Eye Opener.......2001-12-18

This is a great book on the topic. Glaser and Picker have great insight into this disease. Reading this book has helped me understand what my father is going through and gave us some ideas for more effective treatment. Thank you, gentlemen!

The Macular Degeneration Sourcebook: A Guide for Patients.......2001-12-18

Loosing sight due to Macular Degeneration is a very frightening experience. Dr. Glaser and Lester Picker were able to provide a level of comfort in dealing with the disease. The book is complete with valuable references and resources while doing a good job of thoroughly managing expectations.

Worth your Time.......2001-12-17

A close relative has recently been diagnosed with macular degeneration. I found this book very helpful in understanding the ravaging effects of macular degeneration, yet also providing solid information on ways to combat and cope with this disease. It is clearly written and easy for a layperson such as myself to understand. I'd recommend it to anyone with a similar interest.

Book Description

MIDNIGHT RIDERS is the definitive book about one of America's definitive rock bands.The Allman Brothers Band rose out of Macon, Ga., to become the most critically-acclaimed and popular group of its era even as tragedy haunted them.Based on extensive interviews with band members and their intimates, MIDNIGHT RIDERS tells one of the most riveting stories in all of rock 'n' roll. It is a story with all the elements of great drama: love and death and courage and betrayal and survival. And most of all, music so capitivating that it could feel as if it was caressing your very soul.

Customer Reviews:

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.......2007-09-30

Sad that this book ended up being kind of polarizing, because it's a great book. Well-written and amazingly well-researched, Midnight Riders provides a detailed history of the band from it's founding in 1969, up through the early 90's.

This is a MUST have for any Allman Brothers Band fan. And highly recommended for anybody who likes their music books. This band has a very interesting history and you will enjoy reading about it!

a good book about a great band.......2007-08-15

The book is well written and has the facts correct. One may wish for more detail of the early years and less discussion of all of the drug problems, but that was the truth. Still a good read.

Hey Little, Brown, and Co.: How About an Updated Edition?.......2007-06-24

I'll admit that I begin reading popular music nonfiction (especially ones pertaining to rock) with much lower expectations than I would almost any other genre. But Scott Freeman's account is noteworthy as being a book that would stand out as an admirable accomplishment compared with ANY nonfiction endeavor.

As for Freeman's subjects, what separates the Allman Brothers Band from its peers isn't just its unique combination of blues, jazz, and Southern rock. The sheer size of the group (with rotating members) means that there is a rogues' gallery of personalities to enjoy.

The tale's only downfall is that the middle third is vastly less interesting than the band's beginnings. That is, the Allman Brothers story follows the familiar pattern of a VH1 "Behind the Music" episode:

1.) Band forms and struggles
2.) Band achieves fame and fortune.
3.) Band wallows in excesses of drug use, fleshpots, stupidity. Internecine warfare breaks out over petty nonsense. (I had no idea Greg was such a horse's arse or that Dicky Betts was slightly nuts).
4.) Band disintegrates.
5.) (Optional) Band re-forms with a new sense of purpose.

Given this book's density of details, its masterful organization, and its many primary sources, it's incredible that it was apparently written without the cooperation of the ABB. Freeman really outdid himself; I'd love to see him release an updated edition covering recent releases and Betts's firing from ABB in the 21st century.

Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band.......2007-03-10

This was a thorough study in the history of one of the greatest Rock-N-Roll bands ever to grace this planet. If you are an ABB enthusiast, or even a casual listener to the classic rock radio station, this is a biography that will make it all clear.

Midnight Riders.......2007-03-08

I was so thankful to be able to find this product. It is currently only available in paperback, so I was excited to find a used hardback in such good condition!

MIDNIGHT RIDERS the Story of the Allman Brothers Band

Average customer rating:

MIDNIGHT RIDERS the Story of the Allman Brothers Band
Scott Freeman
Manufacturer: Little Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVAFNM

Average customer rating:

Midnight Riders The Story of the Allman Brothers Band
Freeman Scott
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIIJAK

Average customer rating:

I loved this book!

Makes up for the thin plot with great insight into individuals

Well-written, but violates candidates' privacy and dignity

Fascinating profile

The whole story, warts and all..It's not pretty..mesmerizing

The New Rabbi: A Congregation Searches for Its Leader
Stephen Fried
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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And They Shall Be My People: An American Rabbi and His Congregation

Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life

Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved (Rashi's Daughters)

A Tale of Love and Darkness

ASIN: 0553801031
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Amazon.com

Don't let the lackluster subtitle of this excellent memoir/investigative report deter you. The New Rabbi is a surprisingly engaging chronicle of Jewish life at the turn of the 21st century, with a spotlight on one of America's most influential synagogues and the delightful characters who inhabit it. The book's most compelling strand is the convergence of two men's spiritual struggles over the deaths of their fathers--the author's and the brilliant rabbi Gerald Wolpe's. Wolpe's richly charismatic voice, as well as his willingness to publicly share his internal battles with God, have made him famous. His imminent retirement, on the other hand, reveals the fissures in American Judaism. Fried proves himself to be ambidextrous in drawing an affecting and humorous story of rabbis and men, while also revealing the behind-the-scenes political, financial, and emotional workings of American synagogue life in a time of generational change. Or, as he puts it, the "drama of the intersection of the divine and the secular, the battles between God and man and American culture, the searches for spiritual awakening and the perfect bar mitzvah caterer." This is fun and enlightening reading for Jews and non-Jews alike. --Lesley Reed

Book Description

From award-winning journalist Stephen Fried comes a vividly intimate portrait of American Judaism today in which faith, family, and community are explored through the dramatic life of a landmark congregation as it seeks to replace its legendary retiring rabbi--and reinvent itself for the next generation.

The New Rabbi

The center of this compelling chronicle is Har Zion Temple on Philadelphia’s Main Line, which for the last seventy-five years has been one of the largest and most influential congregations in America. For thirty years Rabbi Gerald Wolpe has been its spiritual leader, a brilliant sermonizer of wide renown--but now he has announced his retirement. It is the start of a remarkable nationwide search process largely unknown to the lay world--and of much more. For at this dramatic moment Wolpe agrees to give extraordinary access to Fried, inviting him--and the reader--into the intense personal and professional life of the clergy and the complex behind-the-scenes life of a major Conservative congregation.

These riveting pages bring us a unique view of Judaism in practice: from Har Zion’s strong-willed leaders and influential families to the young bar and bat mitzvahs just beginning their Jewish lives; from the three-days-a-year synagogue goers to the hard core of devout attendees. We are touched by their times of joy and times of grief, intrigued by congregational politics, moved by the search for faith. We witness the conflicts between generations about issues of belief, observance, and the pressures of secular life. We meet Wolpe’s vigorous-minded ailing wife and his sons, one of whom has become a celebrity rabbi in Los Angeles. And we follow the author’s own moving search for meaning as he reconnects with the religion of his youth.

We also have a front-row seat at the usually clandestine process of choosing a new rabbi, as what was expected to be a simple one-year search for Rabbi Wolpe’s successor extends to two years and then three. Dozens of résumés are rejected, a parade of prospects come to interview, the chosen successor changes his mind at the last minute, and a confrontation erupts between the synagogue and the New York–based Conservative rabbis’ “union” that governs the process. As the time comes for Wolpe to depart, a venerated house of worship is being torn apart. And thrust onto the pulpit is Wolpe’s young assistant, Rabbi Jacob Herber, in his first job out of rabbinical school, facing the nearly impossible situation of taking over despite being technically ineligible for the position--and finding himself on trial with the congregation and at odds with his mentor.

Rich in anecdote and scenes of wonderful immediacy, this is a riveting book about the search for personal faith, about the tension between secular concerns and ancient tradition in affluent America, and about what Wolpe himself has called “the retail business of religion.” Stephen Fried brings all these elements to vivid life with the passion and energy of a superbly gifted storyteller.

Download Description

The center of this compelling chronicle is Har Zion Temple on Philadelphia's Main Line, which for the last seventy-five years has been one of the largest and most influential congregations in America.

For thirty years Rabbi Gerald Wolpe has been its spiritual leader, a brilliant sermonizer of wide renown -- but now he has announced his retirement. It is the start of a remarkable nationwide search process largely unknown to the lay world -- and of much more. For at this dramatic moment Wolpe agrees to give extraordinary access to Fried, inviting him -- and the reader -- into the intense personal and professional life of the clergy and the complex behind-the-scenes life of a major Conservative congregation.

These riveting pages bring us a unique view of Judaism in practice: from Har Zion's strong-willed leaders and influential families to the young bar and bat mitzvahs just beginning their Jewish lives; from the three-days-a-year synagogue goers to the hard core of devout attendees. We are touched by their times of joy and times of grief, intrigued by congregational politics, moved by the search for faith.

We witness the conflicts between generations about issues of belief, observance, and the pressures of secular life. We meet Wolpe's vigorous-minded ailing wife and his sons, one of whom has become a celebrity rabbi in Los Angeles. And we follow the author's own moving search for meaning as he reconnects with the religion of his youth.

We also have a front-row seat at the usually clandestine process of choosing a new rabbi, as what was expected to be a simple one-year search for Rabbi Wolpe's successor extends to two years and then three. Dozens of rÃƒÂ©sumÃƒÂ©s are rejected, a parade of prospects come to interview, the chosen successor changes his mind at the last minute, and a confrontation erupts between the synagogue and the New York-based Conservative rabbis' "union" that governs the process.

As the time comes for Wolpe to depart, a venerated house of worship is being torn apart. And thrust onto the pulpit is Wolpe's young assistant, Rabbi Jacob Herber, in his first job out of rabbinical school, facing the nearly impossible situation of taking over despite being technically ineligible for the position -- and finding himself on trial with the congregation and at odds with his mentor.

Rich in anecdote and scenes of wonderful immediacy, this is a riveting book about the search for personal faith, about the tension between secular concerns and ancient tradition in affluent America, and about what Wolpe himself has called "the retail business of religion." Stephen Fried brings all these elements to vivid life with the passion and energy of a superbly gifted storyteller.

Customer Reviews:

I loved this book!.......2007-08-23

Stephen Fried is a brilliant writer. I enjoyed every page of this book. Thanks to Fried, you don't have to know these real-life characters to feel as if you do.

Makes up for the thin plot with great insight into individuals.......2005-09-06

The kind of journalism Stephen Fried pursued for years here is always risky. To cover the rabbinical search at a major synagogue is a great idea, but the risk is that in the end it won't make much of a story. Even with the Epilogue, the true story of the Har Zion rabbinical search is incomplete on both ends--we don't see the formation of the search committee or the final appointment of a permanent senior rabbi--and ultimately unsatisfying because we also don't see the inner workings of the synagogue elite who made the decisions.

And yet Fried makes up for that with his real talent, which is to delve the depths of the souls of some of the most important participants, particularly Rabbis Gerald Wolpe and Jacob Herber and future Har Zion President Jeff Blum and his wife Cindy, revealing to us their hopes and fears, and along the way giving us great insight into his own experiences and his own connection with Judaism, with the rabbinate and with synagogues.

My Zede, God rest his soul, used to tell me that all Jewish organizations were the same, and he would regale me with stories about board meetings, always ending with this remark, "Everyone thinks they should be President." In my own wider experience, I can say that his remarks had far wider application than to Jewish groups, but Fried reminds us that they still apply there just as they did in my Zede's day. As the final stones are cast at Rabbi Herber and President Blum, Fried comments that there were those who took a side not because they believed in it, but because they were people who always had to take a side. I thought of my Zede and smiled.

Well-written, but violates candidates' privacy and dignity.......2004-03-28

I agree with all the other readers who have posted comments here that the book is well-written and very engrossing.

But no one else seems to be bothered by the fact that Mr. Fried commits the unconscionable and inexcusable sin of using the real names of the unsuccessful rabbinic candidates. They had every reason to expect that their interviews would be confidential. The Acknowledgments section makes it clear that not all the candidates gave permission for their names to be used, or that Mr. Fried even thought it necessary to ask them.

A footnote tells us that the name of a millionaire trouble-maker has been changed. But what does it tell us about the author that he felt no such need to conceal the names of rabbis who have now been embarrassed in print and in public?

The book would have lost none of its force if those names had been changed. Shame on the author!

Fascinating profile.......2003-10-30

Fried's coverage of Har Zion's search for a new rabbi to fill the significant shoes of Rabbi Gerald Wolpe provides an engaging read and an excellent specific example of some of the more general issues affecting contemporary Judaism in America. Also, Fried does a fantastic job in describing his exposure to the Har Zion and greater Philadelphia-area Jewish community and how it paralleled his own spiritual search following some life-changing events.

The whole story, warts and all..It's not pretty..mesmerizing.......2003-08-10

Author Fried purports to tell the story of how a large and wealthy conservative congregation on the Philadelphia Main Line went through the process of replacing its retiring rabbi. It's actually quite some time before he gets into the essence of the story, and I found myself thinking, when is he going to get to the search? But he gets there and leaves no stone unturned. It is a truly ugly story and it made me feel grateful that I didn't belong to that congregation.
My own congregation recently went through a search for a new rabbi when ours left for a promotion after 14 years with us. This book is more than just the search for a new rabbi. It is a look at the inner workings of the conservative movement and the politics involved when this congregation decided to play hardball with the movement powers that be. I will not detail the end of the story (which, unfortunately is not in the book), but I will tell you it is not a pretty story, but I could not put the book down. Anyone who cares about this sort of thing should find the book endlessly fascinating as I did.

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