Street

In a book about poor recommendations, I find it hilarious that the authors give their own market opinion, which has proven to be incorrect.

Page 119, in reference to Abby Joseph Cohen's S&P 500 forecasts:

"Last we heard she was still calling for a twelve-month of 1,150. From 835, that's a pretty heady reacceleration."

Last I heard, the S&P was at 1.110. That's up 36% in 9 months, 3 months left in the twelve-month forecast. Hopefully, no one was listening to the author's opinion in early 2003.

This book chronicles the hype, promotion, conflicts of interest and outright lying by the financial media, pundits and corporate leaders. It also shows the serious recriminations for the few analysts and brokers who went against the market madness of the late '90s. On any financial bulletin board today, "strong buys" issued by the large brokerages are normally perceived as a sure sign that they want to dump stock on the naive small investor. I trade the stock market almost daily, and eshew all the major media new sources - the hype, no matter how absurd, never ends. This small book confirms my worst, cynical beliefs. Read it and laugh, read it and weep.

The authors have performed a valuable service in providing this record of the mania.

I predict it will occupy the same position in future study of stock market history of this period as has a similar account of the 1920s experience.

(Surprisingly there's already enough new material associated with the 2003 stock market rally for a sequel)

This novel is considered to be the best Mahfouz ever written through his long career as a storyteller.

It consists of 3 parts: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street; and just to make things clear, the above three titles are supposed to be names of quarters in Egypt (with "between two castles" instead of "Palace walk").

The first part introduces Ahmad Abdul-Jawad the merchant and father of 3 boys and 2 girls, and the husband of the weak degraded wife Amina.

The story really spans over the way he treated his family firmly, as opposed to his secret way of life, as a self-indulging playboy. The two elder sons play major roles in the story, one of whom is a hard working student and the other is a big time lady's man. Najib Mahfouz made a good job in expressing the two girls feelings about marriage. ... 5 stars

The second part continues from where the first stopped, and is agian a good read. It explores what happened after the dramatic occurences in the first part, and the major hero of this part is Kamal the youngest son of Abdul-Jawad. It explores his silent Platonic love with a high-class rich girl. It also explores how he turned from a fundamentalist to a total disbeliever. ... 4 stars

The third part is the one I hated the most, it seemed to me as an account promoting communism. It explores the live of the sons and grand sons of Abdul-Jawad, who can't get out of his house. Homosexuality is added to this volume as an extra. Kamal is still studying and writing about philosophy, and is still a big time disbeliever. ... 3 stars

And over all, Mahfouz does a great job in expressing the feelings of people, but the only thing I hate about his writing style is that he makes no distinction between the narrator and the hero.

I agree with everything said by the reviewer "imperato", he beat me to the chase. That might tell you something as a reader -- Mahfouz's literature transcends the personal. Again, his writing has qualities that surpass any of the great classics I have known. A soft, yet stimulating style, rich with detail and full of emtotional involvement. You might become enamored with Mahfouz, as I did, and read every last drop he has written. It is no exxageration to say that the ease of familiarity in his writing even surpasses Hemingway. Palace Walk in particular is an intriguing, emotional read. The quality diminishes with each volume, but after Palace Walk you will need to find out what happens next, for this reason you might as well buy the full set of three novels.

Don't let the size of this book scare you off. The chapters are short and are themselves self-contained stories: they make for perfect nighttime reading installments! And the plot, characters and wisdom of the book are consistently illuminating from the first pages to the very end. It is staggering how effortlessly Mahfouz feeds us the richest possible detail without ever allowing the energy of the story to flag.

In the wake of war in Iraq, an American reader will be particularly enriched from experiencing this novel. It tells the story of three generations of an Egyptian family between the two World Wars and reveals much about daily life in a Muslim family and the manner in which Western geopolitics impacted Arab life and culture. The pull of Western values and ideas on traditional Egyptian culture is so clearly and persuasively presented that the politics, resentments and even opportunities for understanding in today's Middle East suddenly seem much more discernible.

What makes the book a real standout is the way it presents profound life lessons and experiences in such a highly entertaining fashion. Serious political and social issues are explored beside the very real, sometimes ugly and often hilarious foibles of each character. The sincere quest for holiness seems as important and genuine in the lives of characters as the unquenchable thirst for pleasure. Mahfouz never preaches about the "correct path", but rather shares the complicated lives of his characters without sentimentality, prejudice or judgment.

The Cairo Trilogy is a breathtaking, uplifting and deeply affecting achievement. The prose is luminous, the incredible evocation of the sights and smells of Egypt unforgettable, the believability of the characters complete. Readers of Mann, Tolstoy, and Henry James will find in Mahfouz a similar command of grand architechture and epic sweep but unlike those writers Mahfouz's prose is light and airy and full of a master storyteller's ease. Throughout the book you marvel not only at the author's command of his craft, but also the clarity of his vision in showing us what matters.

In the end, what may make The Cairo Trilogy the most compelling for Western readers is that the family at the center of the tale is so very different from us and yet so like us. As modernity encroaches upon the family of the forbidding Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad and his dedicated wife Amina, you feel the same sense of loss and melancholy that they feel realizing that in the age of television and instant communication and mass marketed culture, the simple splendors of the family coffee hour may be forever behind us. If politicians and religious leaders around the world have shown themselves consistently unable to bridge the gaps between cultures, Mahfouz the novelist must be read if only to reconnect us with the essence of our shared humanity.

... An absolutely WONDERFUL book. The images not only come out of the page and materialise, but you can smell the smells, taste the tastes, feel the heat of the sun on your skin, as you vividly dream together with the author. No movie, no visual depiction has quite the comparable ability to make you feel like you have been allowed for a moment to step into it's world of imagination anchored here in a small 1930's town in eastern Poland. It contains the light and wonder but also the darkness and pain of living. The line between the two is never clear, the perception of the world constantly slipping into the surreal.
... with this book as part of the curriculum, I can only regret that this author is so little known outside his country, as it would seem natural for him to be recognised as part of the world literary heritage.
...

(Please note that Drochobycz was at the time in Poland, not Ukraine as some mention, and Bruno Schultz was a Polish Jew writing in Polish.)

An absolutely WONDERFUL book. The images not only come out of the page and materialise, but you can smell the smells, taste the tastes, feel the heat of the sun on your skin, as you vividly dream together with the author. No movie, no visual depiction has quite the comparable ability to make you feel like you have been allowed for a moment to step into it's world of imagination anchored here in a small 1930's town in eastern Poland. It contains the light and wonder but also the darkness and pain of living. The line between the two is never clear, the perception of the world constantly slipping into the surreal.
Having been fortunate to grow up with this book as part of the curriculum, I can only regret that this author is so little known outside his country, as it would seem natural for him to be recognised as part of the world literary heritage.
But by the same token - my immesurable gratitude to Simon McBurney whose ability to recognise genius and his inspired interpretation with Theatre de Complicite brought this writing out to many people.

(Particularly commenting upon *Street of Crocodiles*): Bruno Schultz invites us into a fluid, dreamlike (and sometimes nightmare-like) world wherein street-urchins are given deity status, a retarded girl is a fertility goddess, and seamstresses' dolls are given unholy partial life. This is also (to lay on a concrete interpretation) a story about growing up with a mentally-ill father and sexually abusive uncle. In his dreamy, surrealistic style, Schultz is like acid without the flashbacks :).

On a more serious note, I think Schultz reflects well a particularly Eastern European identity crisis--the town of his upbringing is a place where the names of the streets change according to who is politically popular at the time; the streets in his town are as malleable as sand--each wave creates its own patterns. A truly engaging and enlightening reading.

This book was very interesting and i enjoyed the courage of a young black man to stand up for his rights.

I love James Baldwin--I think he's a tremendous writer, so Toni Morrison could hardly go wrong in selecting essays for this volume. All of the selections are excellent. Notes of a Native Son contains a touching eulogy for Richard Wright ("Alas, Poor Richard"), explaining the lonliness and problems Mr. Wright had at the end of his life. Baldwin displays his tremendous range as both a political commentator and a literary critic. The Devil Finds Work, in particular, is very insightful--and several parts humourous.

What I don't understand--and why I struck a star off this collection--is why Ms. Morrison did not include "Evidence of Things Unseen," Baldwin's analysis of the Atlanta child murders from the early eighties. Perhaps Library of America is planning later volumes of Baldwin's works--The companion volume to these essays is his "Early Novels," most notably "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Giovani's Room." I can't imagine that Library of America would not produce a volume including Mr. Baldwin's later works--especially "Just Above my Head."

This particular edition is well worth having--despite the price. First, this is a good collection of Baldwin's essays, many of which are difficult to find. Second, the Library of America really does a commendable job in paper quality and binding. This is not a leather bound edition on 50 pound paper, so stiff you can't open it and printed so the back binding looks impressive on your bookshelf--this is tightly bound, cardboard cover that lies flat, and is easy to read. The paper is not heavy--but acid free, and tear resistant. The Library of America series are good collections that are meant to be read many times, by many people--these books hold up very well.

I am afraid that Mr. Baldwin's works and opinions may fall by the wayside as time passes. The fact that Ms. Morrison--one of our best and most respected authors--put these collections together will certainly help keep Mr. Baldwin's works alive. But if you have any interest in what it means to be African American--in the twenties, to contemporary america--through even tomorrow--You need to read and appreciate Mr. Baldwin's insights. And you will also enjoy his clear, careful, and pointed writing.

In Egypt, I met an extraordinary American.
"I was born in New York, but have only lived in pockets of it. In Paris, I lived in all parts of the city - on the Right Bank and on the Left, among the bourgeoisie and among les miserables, and knew all kinds of people from pimps and prostitutes in Pigalle to Egyptian bankers in Nueilly. This may sound unprincipled or even obscurely immoral: I found it healthy. I love to talk to people, all kinds of people, and almost everyone, as I hope we still know, loves a man who loves to listen," he said.
"The perpetual dealing with people very different from myself caused a shattering in me of preconceptions I scarcely knew I held. This reassessment, which can be very painful, is also very valuable."
His name is Mr. Baldwin, and I cherish this new acquaintance because his ideas have had such profound impact on my views of Egypt. I wanted to know the people, but as I reach out for them, sometimes, I'm shocked by what I see. I see people sleeping on the concrete patios along the Nile - many of them have migrated from the farmlands because they can make more money for their families if they work in Cairo. But desert nights can be bitter cold in January, and it cuts my heart. Yet, Mr. Baldwin's message is well heeded. The same problems of inner city growth that come with development in Egypt also came with development in Britain one hundred years ago. American inner city schools and slums still reflect this challenge.
Would I have walked into the slums of Chicago if I were there? Would I have strolled through the southwest side of Kansas City or east St. Louis? Would I have walked into the anti-developing city blocks of L.A. if I were in America? Of course not. So why is it that traveling abroad opens my eyes to poverty in America? Why couldn't I see it when I was there? I don't know why this happens, but James Baldwin was right - absolutely right when he said that this reassessment, which can be very painful is also very valuable.
I have been told that the housing shortage in Egypt provided the impetus for many people to move into the spacious mausoleums in the old city graveyard. The international visitors call it, "The City of the Dead," and tourists go there and gawk at poverty creating a makeshift freak show out of human suffering. Then I learned that the housing shortage in Los Angeles provided the impetus for many people to move into mausoleums, but no one goes to gawk at them. In fact, there seems to be a kind of American denial that such things could ever happen in the land of milk and honey.
As I hear of people talking about human rights violations in Egypt, I think of the title of James Baldwin's book: Nobody Knows My Name. I think of James Byrd who was dragged to death behind a pickup truck. I think of the threats of millennium violence that frightened black American families so much that they bought guns and stayed home for the New Year. I think of the tiny city in Texas who voted Spanish as their city's official language and then received death threats from all over the nation. Of course, if you asked any American about human rights violations, they would tell you that this is something that happens in China or Africa. It's a painful realization that it might happen in MY country. Growing up in the American school system, I came to idolize Abraham Lincoln's courage and George Washington's integrity. The universal ideas of human value and dignity that we believe to be inalienable are not, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so wisely told us, being applied universally in our country. These facts go against the ideals and values of our nation - they don't support the concepts of the free and the brave.
"It is a complex fate to be an American," Henry James observed. James Baldwin awakened me to that complexity in a way so subtle, so gentle and yet, so powerfully painful.
He awakened me to the hard realities of the American people, most of whom will never read or digest his work. They would dismiss him. But his vision is not to be dismissed. His writing illustrates that the responsibility of this future lies in the hands of blind people. People who refuse to see American neighborhoods and American people for what they really are. We can't improve until we accept the starting point. This lofty ideal of what we should be and blind obstinacy to what we are is killing us.
"Europe has what we do not have yet," Baldwin said. "A sense of the mysterious and inexorable limits of life, a sense, in a word, of tragedy. And we have what they sorely need: a new sense of life's possibilities."
Egypt has what we do not yet have - a clear and present sense of unity - an admiration for sacrifice for the whole of the group - the nuclear family, the extended family, the community. And we have absolutely nothing that Egypt needs, except, if you ask the younger generation: Nike shoes. In fact, this is precisely what Egyptians do not need. They do not need the destructive, greed-inspiring and greed-glorifying economic development of the West.

"In this endeavor to wed the vision of the Old World with that of the New, it is the writer, not the statesman, who is our strongest arm. Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is a real life, and the intangible dreams of people have tangible effect on the world." - James Baldwin

An interesting read, though it has the feel of having been padded a bit, especially at the end when the author veers off into a mildly interesting but irrelevant mini-bio of the the son of the main character. I would rather she had spent more time clearly defining some of the financial shenanigans; I still am not clear on some very major points. I reread them several times, and perhaps they are just beyond me, but the rest of the book dragged because the author tried to build the story on what I thought were some shaky foundations. Perhaps if you're a stock-broket or banker it would be clearer. Also, the main actor in this drama, James Hazen Hyde, seems like such a pampered, spoiled child. Although Beard doesn't convert most of the sums involved into today's dollars, the one or two times that she does provides a basic formula; by that account, poor Mr. Hyde was worth approximately $50 million BEFORE his inheritance. Even if that figure is wrong by half, the letters he wrote to his mother wanting her to foot some of his bills are pretty pathetic. To be fair, this book probably suffered because I had only recently finished DAvid McCullough's THE GREAT BRIDGE.

If you followed Enron, Worldcom, the conspicuous consumptions of Donald Trump or any of the other seamier of capitalism's excesses over the last several decades, this book will show you that history was repeating itself. In fact, comparing the ostentatious displays of wealth and brutal no-holds-barred corporate infighting between then (1900) and now, our capitalists sound like mere echoes of men who defined the terms "Gilded Age" and "Robber Barons."

Patricia Beard, in "After the Ball" has used the events and people surrounding the Equitable Life Assurance Society to illustrate a bygone era of business and living at the top level of wealthy society. In addition to dissecting a nasty takeover corporate takeover attempt well, Ms. Beard writes in a way that holds the reader's attention.

The Equitable was one of the big three life insurance companies at the dawn of the 20th Century. Important to policy holders because life insurance was the only means of support available at the time if the man of the house died with dependants, it was important to Wall Street because the premiums sat in a vast cash pool and were available to finance much of our industrial growth of the period. The Equitable had been created by one man, Henry Hyde, who grew it from a store-front business to vast size in the forty years after the Civil War. Henry Hyde was a founder, a decisive man who knew his business, could make decisions and had the respect of his company officers as well as his fellows.

His son, James Hazen Hyde, had none of his father's characteristics and had not been schooled by his doting parent in the arts that would be necessary to run the Equitable when it was his turn. When Henry died, James, in his early twenties, was the product of money and society -- finishing schools in Paris, the best clubs, debutante balls, and the kingly sport of coach riding. In short, he was trained to compete in the world of Mrs. Astor, not Mr. Astor.

To compensate for these deficiencies, father Henry had established a trust for his son. A vice presidency with the Equitable and the tutelage of James Alexander, President of the company and the man entrusted by the founder to school young James until he could assume the Presidency himself.

Alexander had other ideas. Put off by James Hyde's public and ostentatious lifestyle (including the Hyde Ball, one of the most talked about and over the top dinner productions in an era of societal excess among his class), claiming that it did not befit a corporate leader who could keep the "sacred trust" of a life insurance company, and wanting control of a company he had contributed mightily to, Alexander organized a takeover fight among the board members. His goal was to strip James of control of the Board of Directors and to do it by using James' social prominence against him in a public as well as behind-the-scenes attack.

What ensued was a year long debacle that quickly spun out of control, as first the Alexander side and then the Hyde forces battled for advantage. The board members, financiers like Harriman, Ryan, Morgan, Frick and others backed the side that stood to gain them the greatest advantage in victory. Plans, compromise offers, press leaks, attacks intrigue and back stabbing came forward in a flurry as the fight became very public and enthralled ordinary people (over 100 front page stories in the NY Times in about a year's period). Regulators soon got involved, the NY Legislature, political bosses and any number of money-men, eyeing easy capital if they could assume control. President Theodore Roosevelt worried that the fight would harm the Equitable, dissolve commercial confidence and bring the economy to a grinding halt.

When it was over, neither side got what they wanted or expected, the NY Legislature was spurred into reforming insurance oversight, Charles Evans Hughes was launched on his path to the US Supreme Court and his run for the White House and the Gilded Age (from hindsight) set on a path toward memory.

Beard weaves this corporate intrigue with a biography of James Hazen Hyde. He is the archetypical society man of the Gilded Age, spending on livery, costumed balls, big houses, fast women, a sport very few could even afford to compete in and his love of French culture. She does a good job of entwining the two threads of her book, stumbling only when she sometimes over-lists what various guests were wearing to various parties and engagements. On the whole, she does a good job of painting a picture of life as James Hazen Hyde knew it, and demonstrating that he was both cut from too fine a cloth to effectively run a competitive business and that he wore that cloth too proudly, helping to make his lifestyle a large issue in the corporate meltdown that froze the Equitable as titans battled for control.

The author writes well and generally keeps the pace moving along swiftly. The story weaves many famous business and historical personalities (it was a much smaller world at the top then) into the saga of a now forgotten business drama that held the public in fascination. This is a good book for readers interested in business history as well as viewing the lifestyles of the fabulously wealthy a hundred years ago.

James Hyde, the main character in Patricia Beard's "After the Ball," a fascinating chronicle of the Gilded Age, conceded, "I got too much power when I was young." Shortly after the turn of the century, Hyde appeared to be coasting to glory in charmed young adulthood affluence. In his twenties he owned a brownstone in New York, a house in Paris, a private railroad car, and a four hundred acre estate, The Oaks, on Long Island. Add to the aforementioned that he was Harvard-educated with all the right social connections, was matinee idol handsome, and was a vice president in the Equitable Life Assurance Society, and it becomes easy to see why many sought his company and others were just plain jealous.

Beard's intensely researched work strips the veneer off the visible top layer and reveals that life can be highly disconcerting at the top of society as well. The difference is the battles that are fought, which, considering the stakes, contain a ruthless intensity.

In the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, in which James Hyde's father Henry flourished after founding the billion dollar Equitable Life Assurance Society, commercial triumph resulted from truly being in the right place at the right time with the right product. While income disparities were vast, ordinary citizens seeking to make financial ends meet bought life insurance policies to provide their families with security in the face of often rocky existences. The resourceful elder Hyde tapped into this desire. He succeeded so handsomely that big name magnates such as E.H. Harriman and Henry Clay Frick would soon grace Equitable's board of directors.

Henry Hyde died May 2, 1999, a year after his son graduated from Harvard. Young James was convinced that one day he would follow in his father's footsteps after receiving the proper seasoning, and the person designated to provide that assistance was acting president James W. Alexander, a veteran who had worked his way up the Equitable ladder. He would be assisted, it was anticipated, by Gage Tarbell, Equitable's third vice president and head of sales.

The book's title relates to a grand New York ball young Hyde gave on January 31, 1905. At the time this appeared to be the latest stepping stone up the success ladder for the handsome, witty, urbane New York City executive and socialite. One of the evening's guests would be another young New York aristocrat who would marry a cousin less than one year later and ultimately surge to inernational greatness and an enduring place in world history, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

In a contemporary framework it would appear that perhaps the gifted Hyde would succeed in New York society and beyond in the same manner as Franklin Roosevelt, but whereas the future president was just working his way into the city's and state's limelight with an ultimate focus well beyond those objectives, Henry Hyde's run of bad luck would bear an inverse relationship to the good fortunes of Roosevelt. Before long his company would be immersed in conflict. Alexander and Tarbell would turn on him, while Henry Clay Frick, who chaired an investigation into company activities, would so the same. E.H. Harriman was another formidable force pitted against young Hyde.

While Equitable fell into a comparable pattern of excess and wheeler-dealer activity characteristic of highly competitive New York corporate life, with its agents being provided with excessive advances and state law being violated by selling stocks to companies on whose boards they sat, directing animus against the youngest executive in the ranks appeared to be a case of absolving their own conduct through a designated scapegoat. In the process they also released pent-up jealousies against one of the dashing princes of New York society, who had dated Alice Roosevelt and visited with her and father Theodore in the White House. Hyde was also a friend of the period's most famous actress, Sarah Bernhardt.

Another highly publicized effort, the Armstrong Investigation, headed by Charles Evans Hughes, later to become Attorney General, Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, captured many headlines but resulted in no prosecutions. All the same, the damage was done and Hyde relocated to Paris.

A new phase of Hyde's life began in Paris, where he had earlier headed an Equitable office. In the manner of a seasoned aristocrat more characteristic of an ancient British family, Hyde ultimately married three times and cut a wide swath in Parisian society. His only son, Henry, had a large shadow to climb out from under, feeling initially dwarfed by his formidable father. Eventually he emerged from that shadow and achieved marks of distinction initially in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, in World War Two, then as a prominent New York-based international lawyer whose client list included prominent film director John Huston.

Patricia Beard is able to provide readers with such a fascinating front row seat in boardrooms, drawing rooms and ballrooms of the period due to her close friendship with the Hyde family. Henry served as godfather to one of her children. The book serves as both an interesting corporate chronicle of the times as well as providing social commentary wherein readers feel a part of the scene, rubbing elbows with the cream of international society.

The book is interesting and quite well written, if you don't mind the non-chronology of it. I just came away thinking even less of Mr. Adams than I did going in and that was a let-down for me. I think some of his photographs are very pretty, but I would never call them art! They don't "move" me and neither did this book.

I thought it was very interesting it was of thought and simplicity it had lots of interseting perspectives about one's own life....

Rarely do I start rereading a book immediately after I finish the last page, and it is even more rare for the book to be a biography. Mary Street Alinder's biography of Ansel Adams is one of these.

I have studied and admired Ansel Adams' photography for many years: his mastery of composition and virtuosity in the darkroom are unrivaled. His books on photographic and darkroom technique are well read and have a prominent place in my technical library. I did not know anything about Ansel Adams the man.

Mary Street Alinder was Adams' assistant during the final years of his life, becoming a close confidant and co-authoring his autobiography and later collecting and publishing his letters. In that unique position she had access to almost 70 years of correspondence, tens of thousands unprinted negatives, and more important of all close access to Ansel and his family.

The image of Adams that develops through the pages of the book is a difficult one to interpret. His friendships with other photographers, naturalists, and numerous female assistants were deep and life long (though in the case of the latter never intimate). His relationship to his family was a different matter, and this is where the difficulty lies: Ansel was first and foremost dedicated to, if not obsessed by, his art, at the expense of his wife and children. In this he comes through as less than likable. But it also becomes clear that inside Ansel was always a child, excited by all around him and exuberant with life and a single self-centered focus towards doing what he could for the places he loved.

Alinder's writing is clear and concise. The organization of the book is not strictly chronological. Instead each chapter documents specific events, people, places, or photographs. This can be disconcerting at first, but it is an effective approach that leads to a more interesting read. Chapter 13, "Moonrise," is especially fascinating. It is Alinder's favorite picture, and she was fortunate enough to be in the darkroom with him as he made a print from the original negative. The description of Ansel's process is musical.

Alinder is not an apologist for Ansel's personality flaws: she presents him honestly, though not critically. The book is rife with citations: there are over 60 pages of notes supporting the story.

If you want insight into Ansel Adams the Photographer, the Naturalist, and most importantly, the Man, then I highly recommend this book.

I ordered this book sight unseen for my 22 month-old son as he loves picture word books. I am disappointed by the lack of labels in the illustrations! My son loves all kinds of trucks but to be honest I can't tell the difference between a back hoe and a dump truck. This book won't tell me either, so it is hard for me to use the book as a teaching tool. I was also disappointed by the section on teaching colors as I find it difficult to find good examples of "true" color on these pages. The illustration is a southwestern desert scene with what almost looks like psychedelic colors(turquoises, fuschias and teal greens). I was trying to decide between buying this book or the Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever, and I obviously made the wrong decision!

I purchased this book in 1987 when it first came out for my now 14 & 13 year olds. They loved this book "to death". For some reason I couldn't part with it even though the pages were taped together after hours of page turning by my older kids. We now have an 18 month old. When we ran accross this book in storage, we brought it out for the baby. He thinks this book is the best. He sits and looks at the bright pictures, pointing to all the loved characters. Unfortunately the book was damaged in storage, so now I'm shopping for it again!!!

This is a sturdy book for toddlers to play with all on their own. My son will sit and turn the heavy cardboard pages, pointing out his favorite Sesame Street characters as well as everyday things that he recognizes in each scene. Sometimes, he will put the book flat on the floor and lay on top of it, nose pressed to the pages with delight. This big book is BIG FUN!

In her last series Catwoman, aka Selina Kyle, was given huge breats and no brain. Both the writers and artists were unfair in their depiction of her. At the end of a dreadful story-line gone wrong, Selina was nearly blown to bits by an explosion.

This book picks up right where the old series left off. It collects the lead-in backup tale from Detective Comics #759-762 entitled, "Slam Bradley: The Search for The Catwoman" In this we learn what Selina's been up to after her disappearence and suppossed death.

Here I suggest you pick up the hardback graphic novel, "Catwoman: Selina's Big Score" It picks up right after the Detective story and right before the launch of the new series.

Then this contains Catwoman #1-4. The first arc written by Ed Brubaker and penciled by Darwyn Cooke. In this arc, Catwoman goes back to her roots in Gotham: The East End. Abandonned by cops and unprotected by Batman, crime and fear runs free in this part of town. Selina meets up with an old friend of her's, Holly. Although this isn't an all-happy reunion. Selina soon learns that there is a killer on the loose who is hunting down her friends. Because of who she is, Selina decides she has to do something about this and suits up once again as Catwoman.

This arc is truely a page-turner and one I thoughly enjoyed. It's filled with superb art and unbelieveable plot twists. Defintiely a mus-have for any Catwoman fan!

This book picks up after the previous trade paperback book, "Selina's Big Score," (which is also well worth buying). Compared to that prior book, "The Dark End of the Street" is printed on cheaper, more pulpy paper, but it is less expensive and has 25% more pages than the glossy-papered "Selina's Big Score."

Where "Dark End" really beats "Big Score" is all in the cool, new Catwoman costume, which debuted here in these stories in "Dark End of the Street." This costume is probably the coolest looking costume that Catwoman has ever worn. It looks very practical and utilitarian for a cat burglar and social vigilante, that is the new and improved Selina (Catwoman) Kyle.

This book retains and continues the retro, private eye feel of "Selina's Big Score," and then this book improves upon that foundation by having lots of exhilarating costumed Catwoman action! She comes alive in her element of a rough & tumble, dog-eat-dog underworld! She swings around the rough parts of Gotham City like that is where she feels most at home in her life. She solves crimes like a rookie detective who has the skills of a master, crime fighting hero.

This book starts with a few short stories of private dick, Slam Bradley, trying to figure out the mystery of the missing Catwoman; which leads into the retelling of the first 4 issues of the new, monthly Catwoman comic book series, in which Catwoman hunts down a serial killer.

The final face-off with the killer is the only weak part of the book, it being amusing, but it does not live up to the previous 100 pages of gritty intrigue (it kind of gets less realistic at the very end of this book). But don't let that discourage you from getting this book. The trip is more fun than the final destination, but it's a really fun trip!

"The Dark End of the Street" is well worth buying! If you have any interest at all in the Catwoman comic book series, you will love this book.

I don't know how anyone can think that Brubaker's depiction of Catwoman is misogynist unless they don't actually know what the word means. This is the Catwoman who is a strong-willed woman finding her own place in Gotham, who fights the good fight and has real conflict within herself. This is one of the best comics on the stands these days and Brubaker is one of the best writers working in comics. And the art in this collection, by the talented Darwyn Cooke is to die for.

I recommend to any of u here that's readiing my....well....comment, cuz the ending's very surprising! And the main character, who's Lily, was COOL! Read the book cuz R.L.Stine's SUCH a gr8 author! I can't put my book even to go to pee after I've started to read it!

This book was great and it was so full of action that I couldn't put it down. The only problem I had was the intense violence. I mean things like when a certian person is crushed in a printing press was really gross. Still a great read.

FINAL GRADE WAS AN AWESOME FEAR STREET BOOK! THE PLOT WAS CREATIVE, BUT YOU COULD KIND OF PREDICT WHO WAS ALL GOING TO GET KILLED. ONE OF THE DEATHS IS PRETTY CREATIVE AND AWESOME! LILY WAS A PRETTY COOL CHARACTER AND THE KILLER IS SURPRISE! I TOTALLY RECOMMENED FINAL GRADE!

Financial literacy is one of the basic keys to achieving Financial Independence. Money is seen with the mind, not with the eyes. Those who can read financial numbers and news will eventually control those who cannot. Many people make decisions to buy real estate or stocks, or enter into businesses, based on their emotions and not on any understanding of the financial rationale behind it. That's why 9 out 10 people don't make money.

The Wall Street Journal is the best source of all the financial, economics and investment news, figures and data you need to get started on acquiring financial literacy. Having said that, for one who has not studied economics or obtained a finance degree, it can be quite a task trying to understand all that information. This is where The Irwin Guide to Using The Wall Street Journal helps the interested reader to make full use of The Wall Street Journal to become his/her own economist.

Not many books like this book come this far. This book is now into its 6th edition, having been first published in 1984. This edition has been updated with more current and post-1996 examples and illustrations.

I like how this book takes the various sections found in The Wall Street Journal and explains the significance of the information, figures and data and then relates it to the reader's understanding of finance and economics. This certainly enhances the reader's appreciation of the nuggets of information found in The Wall Street Journal. This book also enlightens the reader as to the various choices of investments out there - from stocks, to commodities and metals, and to money market investments.

All in all, I found this to be good book for those who have no prior education in finance and economics but who are willing to take action to learn more. Even those with a basic knowledge of economics will stand to gain from this book.

For those who may require a more basic book on understanding economics, I would like to recommend Economic Literacy by Jacob De Rooy or The Wall Street Journal's Guide to Understanding Money & Investing. And for those ready to take on more complex readings, I would recommend R Mark Rogers' Handbook of Key Economic Indicators.

This book is a good introduction to the principles of the macro economy.

The author explains the basics of the federal reserve system, monetary policy, the causes and effects of inflation, and various personal investment products such as stocks, mutual funds, commodities, and money market accounts. The basics of each is explained, and the author shows how each is tracked daily in the Wall Street Journal. The purpose is to allow individuals to understand their investments, track their progress, and be able to react to changing market conditions. Its all sounds very axiomatic, but the great thing about this book is that it states basic principles that are often assumed, and thus left unstated.

For example, if the following excerpts are helpful to you, then this would be a great book for you:

Page 15: "The forces of supply and demand condition every business cycle."

Page 25: "Bank lending finances spending, and spending generates inflation. The Fed controls bank lending and can thereby control inflation."

Page 33: "Every commodity has a price; the interest rate is the price of money. As with any commodity, the price fluctuates according the the laws of supply and demand."

Page 165: "Mutual funds are popular with individual investors because they permit diversification in a wide variety of securities with a very small capital outlay."

These are examples of the points covered, and the level at which they are covered. If the above quotes sounded obvious, this book may be below your expertise. But if you finally want to understand the jargon you hear on CNNfn, this book will do the job.

This would be a great book to buy as a graduation gift for a high school senior, or anyone without a background in finance.

Whether you are a mutual fund manager or a private investor, a CEO of a multinational firm or the owner of a small business, a retired millionaire or a young professional just starting out, a new capitalist or an old Marxist, this is the book for you. Whoever you are, this book gives you the tools to intelligently read and use the premier business publication of today--The Wall Street Journal. The writing, the charts, and the statistical analyses are so crystal clear that you can truly use the Wall Street Journal to be your own economist. Complex concepts such as the price earnings (P/E) ratio for the Dow stocks, for example, are fully explained, placed in their historical and contemporary context, and are shown to have important implications for the investor, the business person, and the financial advisor. Statistical reports in the Wall Street Journal are explained as more than isolated pieces of data, but rather as part of the economic matrix of the world economy. The classic business cycle is the economic and literary tool that the author uses to organize his book and to advance the reader's understanding of what is happening in the world economy--and why. In short, the author has done a masterful job in explaining how we can use the Journal to understand the past, the present, and the future of our economic world. Read this book, and your perceptions of that world will never be the same.