history

I was telling a friend about this book when I realized I had never reviewed it. I searched for it on this site specifically to write a review:
I had the good fortune to take a class in high school based almost entirely on this book. It started me on an intellectual and spiritual journey that will probably last my whole life. It's not a religious book, quite to the contrary. But when we get down to it, science and religion are both ways of understanding the world, so here goes:
After I realized that my beliefs about the world differed greatly from those of my family, I spent most of my teenage years being depressed and lost in the world. I had a hard time finding beauty in the world because I had been told all along that beauty came from a god I no longer believed in. But when I read this book, I began to understand that no matter what you believe, the world, math, art--they're all beautiful in and of themselves. Perhaps the most beautiful, and necessary, thing of all is our humanity.
The Ascent of Man is the reason I became an anthropologist. (My most favorite chapter is Knowledge and Certainty.) It's a collection of essays starting with the physical evolution of humans and continuing through the development of technology, science, math, art, etc. to the present. There's a companion TV series--I actually cried during Knowledge and Certainty because it was touching in so many ways. Somehow JB manages to relate everything back to (and remind us of) our essential, necessary humanity. Beautiful.

Jacob Bronowski was a genuine Renaissance man. This, his most famous book, looks at the history of science from the perspective of Bronowski's deep, humanist philosophy. Bronowski--along with C.P. Snow--saw art and science as two aspects of the same human enterprise: that of understanding the world and expressing that world in human terms. Here Bronowski shows those connections: why Mendeleev's periodic table was part of "the greatest collective work of art" in history--that is, physics; why the Watts Towers of Los Angeles are like the molecules in a copper wire. THE ASCENT OF MAN is a symphony for which SCIENCE AND HUMAN VALUES was merely a prelude. An outstanding, and vitally important book. "I am infinitely saddened," Bronowski writes, "to find myself suddenly surrounded in the West by a terrible loss of nerve." We must not turn our backs on science--we must finally discover it. One of those writers whose every page contains a brilliant idea, Bronowksi is well worth reading. See also SCIENCE AND HUMAN VALUES, THE IDENTITY OF MAN, THE VISIONARY EYE, and my favorite, A SENSE OF THE FUTURE.

One of the greatest teachers of the 20th century, Bronowski instructs us in Humanity -- there is a lot to learn.

(Without giving away the ending, it's all about independent thinking...Can you handle that...?)

When it ever comes out in DVD, let's all watch it and give it to our kids; we'll all be better off.

Flipping the pages of this cookbook sparked memories of the way we used to eat. Each page overflows with historical lore, delicious recipes, trends, new/old products, info on famous foodies and lots more. I'd suggest taking a culinary trip down memory lane with the latest book from Jean Anderson, an award-winning food writer, whose books I bet most all of us already have on our shelves and what's more important -- use! Not only will you learn about American culinary history by reading THE AMERICAN CENTURY COOKBOOK, you'll also be tempted into the kitchen to create the tastes of the past. It's a scrumptious, thoroughly enjoyable journey. Keep this book within reach to cook from, to learn from and to just relish.

I recently received a copy of The American Century Cookbook. My wife and I have several dust covered recipe books that are largely ignored when it is time to cook up something new. After one quick shuffle through this book however, we found ourself sitting together and going through the book as if it were, well what it is, an intriguing history book that accents its "flavor" with numerous recipes, pictures and facts. Several of my friends, including my parents and my in-laws will be receiving their own copy of this wonderful historical treasure. I may even have to buy myself another copy because my wife likes to dogear pages that she wants to come back to. In this case it would have been easier to dogear those that she did not want to return to.

This book is a treasury of true American cooking, with the recipes our mothers and grandmothers loved,and that make fond memories for us. Some are still favorites for family and entertaining (Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, Stroganoff Casserole), others beg to be rediscovered (Imagine! Coca-Cola Salad), all provide fascinating reading, with their accompanying histories, orginal ads and illustrations. "American Century" has rapidly become one of my favorite cookbooks, both for browsing and for adding to my collection of recipes that please and amaze.

I have been a dedicated Beatles fan for many years. The Beatles have been with me for years and have inspired many of my own works. Listening to the albums and watching the Beatles' movies has been a very important part in my life, and owning this book is the ultimate experience. I'm twenty-two and unlike my mother and father who were actually around to experience The Beatles, I have grown up only listening and watching everything about them. If you have ever wondered about the background of a certain song or the reasons behind certain lyrics, you need only turn this book. I bought this at a flea market when I was about twelve and I continue to pick it up and read or find about a certain song or recording day in the life of the amazing group that we call The Beatles. This book is a must have for the Beatles collector, and will be more valuable beyond its price.

Almost ten years ago I bought this book --hardcover-- in Mexico City, noy quite knowing its content. As a growing Beatles fan myself, I found it as a perfect guide to the group's development into studio techniques. If one wants to know how the Beatles turned the recording studio into an instrument in itself, one just has to read in detail: the 1962-1966 period (when the simplest, most straightforward music was composed) has only 60 pages, whereas the complex 1966-1970 period accumulates 120. One can know the origin of the backwards tapes, the tape edition (ie, at the end of "...Mr Kite!"), the outside musicians, the psdychedelic "sonic textures", the fundamental roles of producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick. One can even know the names of the orchestra performers. One can know the problematic "Get Back" sessions held in January 1969. This book opens a window to the landscape of the big experiments going on in Abbey Road studio two where the history of popular music changed. It's no surprise Paul McCartney calls this book "the bible".

I am simply dumbfounded that this book has gone out of print. There is simply no other source for the information contained in this book, and it is consistently fascinating, entertaining and enlightening. In view of the never-ending interest in The Beatles CDs, and the fascination with how the band was able to make such huge strides forward in the evolution and revolution of pop and rock music, not to mention our popular culture in general, it is amazing that this book even exists in the first place as a miraculous wellspring of information. It contains virtually everything you would ever want to know about how all of the Beatles songs were recorded, from many different perspectives including producer George Martin, engineer Geoff Emerick, the Beatles crew members, and anyone and everyone who was present. You will see the exact sequence of events as song ideas turned to demos, demos to masters, overdubs, special effects, recording accidents, mixes and mastering. You will see how albums took shape, and songs from one period ended up on albums from another period. Amazing facts abound...how about the fact that in the entire recording history of The Beatles, drummer Ringo Starr never made a musical mistake which caused the tape machines to stop rolling. Think about it...a perfect record of studio drumming! With all the complexity and variety of the music, not to mention 16-20 hour recording sessions for months on end, with guitars hitting wrong notes, voices cracking, piano note bloopers etc. A truly amazing feat! As the owner of both a Hardcover copy and a Softcover copy of this book, I suddenly realize that I am far richer than I thought! Find this book, read it, study it, and treasure it!

Vera Brittain is not always easy to like. She's frequently disagreeable, usually opinionated, always challenging. But she also has more courage, strength and vision than most people you will ever encounter. As part of the first generation of women to achieve a university education in England, she put her studies aside to volunteer as a nurse on the front lines of World War I. This seminal event in world history profoundly altered her philosophy as she suffered the heartbreak of losing the two men she loved most in the world. Her triumph over tragedy should be inspiring to anyone who has ever lost a loved one, as she turned her grief and anger at the war into a lifelong committment to the cause of pacifism. Brittain is a beautiful writer with a sharp wit and an incisive mind. Her portrayal of the brutality of war and the tragic consequences of "God and country before all" makes for perhaps the most powerful anti-war book ever created. This is not only a testament to youth, but also to the courage and resiliancy of the human spirit.

I first read this book when I was not much younger than Vera Brittain was when she "viewed the outbreak of the First World War as an interruption of her plans", and I was immediately touched by her experiences. I have read (and re-read & re-read) this book many times. While I am not of the same social class that she was, I can relate to her desire to make something of her life, first through a university education (then restricted to many women) and later through finding meaningful work. (This is something that we all seek.) She fell happily in love, only to lose first her fiance, then her two male friends, and finally her beloved only brother in the carnage of the First World War. Her experiences as a V.A.D. (Volunary Aide Detachment) nurse in the war--from describing what the wards were like, to the frenzy she faced during a "push", to watching the Americans arrive in 1917, to her life on the hospital ship "Britannic", that's right, the sister ship to "Titanic"--both went down, are unforgettable. When she writes, she does not spare herself, nor seek to make herself look good--and she takes an unflinching look at her own difficulties (a word which does not even begin to describe it!!) adjusting to a post-war world which did not want the survivors. She tells of the difficulties she had fitting in (again, but this time older & wisher) at Oxford, of her mental near-breakdown, and of the bright light that was Winifred Holtby. I cannot recommend this book enough. It should be required reading in colleges and universities, and not just for history, English, and womens' studies majors. Perhaps those who do not understand what all the fuss over "women's lib." is all about should make this required reading as well (both male and female). She is the first feminist role model for me, and inspired me to learn as much as I could about current events AND history (so much so that I majored in history in college, with a concentration in modern Europe). This book is well worth your time and effort, and will probably send you to the nearest library or bookstore to hunt for more books on this era. It is also rare because most of the books written about the First World War are written by men (Sassoon, Graves, etc.), so this is unique in that it tells of the impact of the war from a woman's perspective. History tends to forget that women as well as men have experienced war. Brittain writes both from the view of those back home in Britain (when she is on leave) and from the view of someone at the front, cleaning up the wreckage (as a volunteer nurse). If you are wondering what happens to her, she wrote a "sequel" of sorts titled "Testament of Experience", which chronicles the years 1933-1950. "Testament of Youth" is a wonderful book, one which you will read again and again, and all the more moving because it is a true story.

Reading the first few pages of this extraordinary memoir convinces me that Vera Brittain was truly one of the great writers ever! In fact, it must be among the very greatest memoirs ever. So when I mention this book to friends, they without exception , have never heard of it! Granted it's about a war from long ago, starting 90 years ago, a horror that Vera B. looks at, and condemns with all her passionate genius. And there were hundreds of classics written at the time, written about this most senseless of wars, a slaughter worse than anyone could ever have predicted. But she describes with great compassion this nightmare, and its effect on herself and her generation. When you read about how her fiance is killed, it will be difficult not to put the book down, and do some serious thinking. And her nursing efforts aboard the SS Brittanica (later sunk by a German U-Boat) make a fine story as well. The book may be a bit dense, and overly literary, but it seems that during this era quoting poetry was a normal part of conversation, unlike today!.Anyway, give this book a chance and you'll be completed entranced by this incredible author!

David Halberstam, as always, tells the whole story of events in history of which too little is known. He brilliantly details the lives and experiences of the front-line soldiers in the civil rights movement--the men and women (actually boys and girls...hence the name of the book) who had the courage to risk their lives to attain well-deserved and historically denied rights. Prior to this work, historians focused on King and his associates. I prefer the perspective and approach of Halberstam.

The reader becomes engrossed in the lives of the people. Halberstam lets us in on their organization, their disagreements, affairs, loves, families, fears, hopes, failures and successes. Most amazingly, he contrasts the children's reaction to racism with that of their parents. The younger generation's frontal assault on the segregationist strongholds is truly amazing. The stories of the freedom riders is engrossing.

Not Halberstam's best book (that would be the Fifties) but pretty darn close.

I am not an American, and I often find that I come short when discussing history with my American friends. Therefore, I am always looking for books that can fill gaps in my knowledge. "The Children" is such a book.

This is one of the best books you can find covering the Civil Right Movement. With a journalists precision Halberstam narrates the extraordinary story of the rise of the Civil Rights movement, which in the end broke the back of the Deep South segregation. "The Children" covers the fight for racial equality, including student protests, the story of lunch-counter sit-ins, to the freedom marches. We meet Sheriff Bull Connor, Jim Crow on the one side of the fight, and the young students James Lawson, Rodney Powell, and Diana Nash amongst others on the other side.

Halberstam does an excellent job showing us what the Civil Right movement was all about, and what its supporters had to endure to end the segregation in the South. His first-hand familiarity with the conflict is evident throughout the whole book. (What most people don't think of is that, the covering the Civil Right movement was David Halberstam first "serious" story as a journalist for the Tennessean in Nashville. He was fresh out of colleague and a complete "nobody" in the world of journalism!)

"The Children" was my first reading on the Civil Right movement and it was a true eye-opener for me. I learned so much from this book. With 800 pages "The Children" is not a quick read, but I never felt that too much was included. Now, 2 years later I still refer to this book when discussing the topic.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. "The Children" should be required reading for everyone. I couldn't recommend it higher!

David Halberstam has written an epic history of the young men and women, most still in their teens, who had the courage and nobility of spirit to fight the unjust status quo of segregation, and change the course of our nation's history. This is the story of the civil rights movement in the United States, beginning in the late 1950s and reaching its height in the mid-1960s. The story is told from the eyes of these young people - it is the history they made. "The Children" frequently put their lives on the line, risking physical danger and even death, to join the non-violent protests that would give all Americans equal rights under the law.

The Movement's leaders were two black southern ministers, both strongly influenced by the teachings of Mahandas Gandhi. These two men, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jim Lawson, designed the framework of the mission. They stratagized like generals waging a unique war. Young college students, mostly African Americans, whose parents had sacrificed much to send them to university, were recruited as soldiers. These vulnerable and committed students were schooled in the nonviolent tradition, with workshops, such as: "Justice Without Violence" and "The New Negro In The New South." We meet these children and hear of their experiences in Nashville, Montgomery, Birmingham, Selma, and many other towns and small cities all over the South. Halberstam documents the background of these young troops, their families, and struggles, growing up Black in America. He movingly describes the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, and the terrible violence of the Klan, and of ordinary citizens, steeped in bigotry, that endangered all of them. We read about the voter registration campaigns, and the founding of SNCC and CORE. The moral, philosophical and political roots of the civil rights movement, and the divisiveness within the group as different ideologies emerged, are well documented, as is the death of Dr. King.

Halberstam draws an amazing portrait of Jim Lawson, whose fervor and dedication moved a generation of Americans to action. The author truly excels, however, in bringing to life the young people whose story this is. We are updated, toward the end of the book, on the lives of the young activists today. This incredibly moving history reads like a novel you don't want to put down. And while we read about a most shameful period in our nation's history, who can fail to be proud of the young citizens who took action to make such important changes?

This book is incredibly informative for someone like myself when I got it. I had just began to make armour under a master's tutelage. It's considered required reading by most armouring groups that I know of.

However, it teaches you slightly less than you might realize, and certainly teaches some biases. For example, Price's personal views are clearly reflected in the book, not as his opinions, but stated as fact. When read by itself, this isn't something noticable, but when coupled with "The Armourer and his Craft", by Charles ffoulkes (inexpensive book, and definately a must read for armourers) it's quite dramatic at times.

However, having said that, I agreed with Mr. Price on a lot of his opinions. There are conflicts of interest though, when he states repeatedly some of the basic tenents of armouring, yet contradicts them with some of his personal choices.

Another beef I have with the book is the way in which pictures of armor that are CLEARLY reproductions are toted as being EXTREMELY well made, when quite frankly, they aren't, and certainly shouldn't be used as guides. (For example. dish your cuisses folks.. don't just curl them). Some of these nuances aren't apparent until you immerse yourself in images of the real stuff first, to develop your "eye". If you try to develop your "eye" with repro work, your best work will never compare to the originals.

I'm not claiming mastery, or that I'm better than anyone that's gotten their stuff pictured, I'm just saying that you need REAL reference pics of REAL armour. Aside from that, the book REALLY holds your hand and builds a very strong learning foundation. It's also a great place to refer back to as you go through the various stages of making your armour. It's certainly inspiring, I just recommend caution, and suggest that you keep asking questions, and getting second opinions rather than take the whole book at face value.

***ONE YEAR UPDATE***
Although I have done a few projects; because I am very busy with work/school/family I have long lapses where I don't do much at all. What do I use to remind me and inspire me? Yup, this book! Every time I go back to it, I recall information, and sometimes I see something that I never paid attention to in the first place! I am still pleased with this book and look forward to remembering it again...
---------------------------------
This is definately the book that inspires the reader to take up the hammer. I am not an armourer, but after reading this book, I have begun my journey. It is loaded with pictures, diagrams, historical and reproduction armour and more! Very easy to read and captivating in its presentation. It is worth every penny, and should be on the shelf of any person that enjoys the art, creation, and romance of armour.

I got my reviewer's copy, and I have to say I really liked Mr. Price's book. It's not much for plot or characters, mind you, but if you want to learn how to make armor, this is an invaluable handbook. It is thorough, well-written, well-documented, and draws a clear line between the way things were and modern necessity. Mr. Price takes us through everything from plans, tools, workshop, materials, and techniques to the construction of a full suit of 14th century armor.

The main downside is that, while keeping other users in mind, and with an overall view towards authenticity, it seemed somewhat slanted towards an SCA audience. Still, I suppose that reminders to construct your helmets out of at least 14 gauge steel and include a chin strap can't hurt!

I am fascinated by 20th century history. If you are too, this excellent book is a must-read. I'm sure the "professional historians"--you know, those whose works are incomprehensible to all but their own tribe--are dismissive of The Dark Valley. That's because it's written comprehensibly for those who have no desire to learn "more and more about less and less," but who want to understand the big picture of history.

The reader will come away with a a greater understanding of the interlinked events in seven countries--the United States, Britain, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, and Spain--in the 1930s that led to the conflagrations before and during WWII.

Brendon not only provides the big picture, but his knowledge of details is encyclopedic. He has a real knack of providing telling details about the key figures and events of the '30s that illuminate and enlighten the reader.

If I were a college history teacher and if I were teaching a course dealing with 20th century world history, this would be the first book I would assign. To understand the rest of the 20th century, one must grasp what happened in the 30s. Brendon succeeds admirably in doing precisely that.

It's a great book.

In the Dark valley Piers Brendon gives us a panoramic view of the 1930's and of the leaders and events that led the world inexorably toward World War II. The sweep of the author's wit and analysis remind one very much of Paul Johnson's classic ''Modern Times''. Brendon clearly sees the Great depression as the seminal event of the era, the event which produced everything else. The thing that stands out most strongly in the book is the moral blindness of the world's leading democratic statesmen. With the exception of Winston Churchill they seemed oblivious to the threat posed by Hitler and the other Dictators. All of this is best summarized by a quote the author gives from George Orwell; Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 Orwell said''History is over and the age of propaganda has begun.''The most memorable chapter of the book is the one about the Stalinist purges of 1937-38.Brendon has left the madness and the evil of Stalin and His regime exsposed for all time. This book is not only a great read but also a cautionary tale that in our own day our belief in the essential goodness of man seems to have caused us to question the very exsistence of evil. That was the same mistake that was made in the thirties.

This is a magnificent book. Though The Dark Valley is subtitled "a panorama of the 1930s", I'd say it's more of an epic, largely because of its sheer length and detail, and because of the sense of drama contained within.

Piers Brendon has captured the feel of the decade completely (or so I assume, as it was long before I was around). Cycling through the major countries several times, we get a focus on the major events in the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, Japan, and the Soviet Union (in that order each time), with a section on the Spanish Civil War in the middle. Lest this structure seem overly mechanical, it allows us to keep our attention moving, emphasizing the parallel nature of events and how the countries related to one another in that time.

Besides the politics of the international scene, we get to see how life was affected for societies as the Great Depression gripped the world and political breakdown seemed imminent (or went far past imminent in some countries). With the perfect vision that come with hindsight, we watch the sometimes heroic and sometimes bumbling efforts of the major world leaders, wondering how they couldn't do more (and in some cases, how did these people ever get power?) There is, in fact, considerable focus on the personality and biography of nearly all the major figures.

To really bring into focus the events of the forties, and to understand the aftermath of the first world war, one simply must grasp the thirties. Never at a loss for descriptive power, this book is an excellent source of enlightenment about that turbulent decade coined by one insightful Japanese writer as the dark valley.

The All-American Boys - BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO Cunningham! Not" a kiss and tell" or "know-it-all-book," but a lucid picture from the inside of NASA of human destiny in space and the passion of those who were lucky enough to make the journey. Five hundred years from now, the one thing that will be remember from the Twentieth Century is....Man Landing On The Moon. Of all the space books, this one is the most concise and easiest to read about a most complex journey. It is also a story of the triumph of American heroes who through great risk and determination made their bodies work like machines and their minds like computers. I liked reading for the first time about the selection process and competition of how the first man on the moon was chosen. Cunningham brings us into the NASA training program as if we were in training and reveals what it takes physically and mentally to be an astronaut. I could feel Cunningham's sadness and pain from the lost of his friends in the devastating Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee, even though, he was chosen to fly the very next mission. It must have been bitter sweet. A mission that was very successful. This new updated and revised edition includes a "tell it like it is" observation of NASA's successes and failures. I found his commentary on the NASA and the shuttle program to be very informative. It is a book that should be in every school library across American and, definitely, required reading for students. A terrific read.

My bookcase of space and space related books had been missing a copy of Walt Cunningham's 1977 edition of "The All-American Boys" for years. When Walt [] announced that an updated 25th anniversary edition was being released, I couldn't have been more pleased.

The new cover has a quote from the Los Angeles Times saying "The Best of All the Astronaut Books". I couldn't agree more. I rate Walt's book and Gene Cernan's "The Last Man on the Moon" as my two personal favorites.

Cunningham takes us on a journey from his childhood through his days in the Marine Corp then at NASA and into today with his views on the present day space program. We follow him through the astronaut selection process, how deaths, lives and "astropolitics" effected crew selection and non-selection, how an every-man's life is changed by being thrust into the spotlight as the latest celebrity and how the astronauts handled, and didn't handle, their new found fame.

This is not just the same old stories told from a different viewpoint. Cunningham really shows the human part of being an astronaut with its highs and pitfalls. He pulls no punches in describing the astronaut life of the 1960's and 1970's. After leaving NASA when his promised Skylab command disappeared, Cunningham brings us to today's space program and describes how we've changed from the race to space to more of an international cooperative space program. Cunningham explains the billions of technology dollars that we're given away to the Soviets in the 70's and 90's and how that practice continues today with the Russians and the International Space Station. He also discusses how changes in the attitude and decision making of NASA management over the years has played a part in the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, the Challenger explosion in 1986 and the Columbia disaster of 2003.

Cunningham's book is one of those rare works that I couldn't put down until I had finished reading it. At well over 400 pages, it gives a rare, honest insight into the man and the program as well as those privileged enough to get the chance to ride the fire into space.

As a Flight Controller during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs and later as Deputy Manager of the Space Shuttle program, I was fortunate to have a front row seat for the opening of the space frontier. Naturally, I have a great interest in what anyone has to say about those years and therefore have purchased almost every book written about them. Some are very good and some are not worth reading. Among the best, for me, are "Apollo: The Race To The Moon" by Charles Murray and Catherine Cox, "Flight" by Chris Kraft", "Failure Is Not An Option" by Gene Kranz, and "Carrying The Fire" by Mike Collins. The updated version of "The All-American Boys" is now at the top of my list of favorites.

Why? Without getting into such boring details as his early childhood and his later personal life, Cunningham has captured not only what it was like to be there during Apollo but very effectively addresses what we as a country were able to do in a very short time, why we did it, how we did it, and what it means to our future. While I may disagree with Walt's assessment of some of the principal people involved (Chris Kraft especially), I find his overview of the first four decades of manned spaceflight to be very insightful and his ability to communicate it to the reader very rare. Often, when I reflect on post-Apollo events such as the Apollo Soyuz Test Program, the mistakes of trying to justify the Space Shuttle program on "payback" and allowing passengers to ride along, the dreadful years with Dan Goldin as NASA Administrator, putting American astronauts on the Russian Mir, inviting the Russians to be a "partner" on the Internation Space Station, and the horrible tragedies of Challenger and Columbia, I am not too proud of NASA. Cunningham does an excellent job of communicating those feelings.

Finally, I think the last chapter of this book, "What Our Past Tells Us About The Future", should be mandatory reading for every American, but especially for the current NASA management, Congress, and anyone who questions the need to keep exploring. Thanks, Walt, for reminding us why we must keep looking beyond the horizon.

Through long, arduous practice, Buddhists believe it is possible to remove the lens of self-interest and dogma to perceive "absolute reality," with "automatic compassion." After reading Robert Cooke's biography one believes that Dr. Judah Folkman has never looked at medicine any other way.

But the emperors of the scientific establishment have never dealt kindly with the boys who can't see their robes, as Cooke points out with several examples. (The Hungarian doctor who demonstrated that deaths from childbirth fever could be eliminated if doctors washed their hands was hounded by his colleages to suicide.) Dr. Folkman's heresy was the observation that tumors can't grow without stimulating healthy tissues to supply new blood vessels.

Fortunately for all of us, Dr. Folkman's vision has been matched by his persistence in pursuing it. In following Dr. Folkman's path from his boyhood in Ohio as the son of a rabbi, to Harvard where he gained his self-confidence, to the Navy research lab where his angiogenesis hypothesis first formed, and back to Boston as a pediatric surgeon-scientist, Cooke makes what might have been a difficult and technical story into an epic adventure.

In keeping with the fashion that writing a biography in chronological order is boring and passe, Cooke instead follows parallel thematic threads in Dr. Folkman's storied career. I personally found the resulting forward and backward jumps in time distracting, but not insurmountable.

It would have been enough if this were merely a story of scientific progress and the triumph of a new idea over entrenched dogma, but it is also the story of a man whose vision is matched by his devotion to his patients. It should be required reading for all prospective medical students.

Now angiogenesis-based therapies for cancer, atherosclerosis, blindness and arthritis are on the verge of exploding on the scene and Dr. Folkman's lab at Children's Hospital Boston is ground-zero. He and the generation of doctors and researchers that he has helped to train are revolutionizing huge swaths of medicine. When it happens it will seem like it was overnight, but those of us who have read Robert Cooke's book will know it was a lifetime in the making.

This is a story of brilliance and persistence. Dr. Folkman pursued a different approach to cancer in spite of resistence and hostility from the cancer research establishment. And we should all be thankful as his work is now coming to fruition with human clinical trials. Inspiring account of one man's life's work that is be leading to a great leap forward in cancer treatment!

**I must comment on the negative reviews by "Dr. Fitzgerald" and "George McCartle" below, which I found rather bizarre. (1) Dr. Koop didn't write this book as these empty reviews seem to imply -- suggests that someone is commenting on a book they didn't read, (2) Both of these "reviewers" also trashed a Starbucks book in the same simplespeak suggesting it's the same person probably interested in reducing the overall rating, and (3) It's hard to know what motivates this person but perhaps it has to do with investing interests -- this stuff smacks of stock message board tripe. It's unfortunate, but also gives the prospective reader of this book a small insight into the varied kinds of resistence Folkman's ideas encounter.

This book by Robert Cooke is incredible! Mr. Cooke is able to explain to the average layperson the medical concepts of angeiogeneis conceived by the most under-valued person of our time: Dr. Judah Folkman. Dr. Folkman is to cancer what Salk was to Polio! Personally, Dr. Judah Folkman is my hero! A real hero, deserving of the Nobel Prize....and I don't speak lightly. I am a cancer patient that has recently learned that my cancer (thought was beat) has advanced to my lungs. The ONLY therapy for me is in an ANGIOGENESIS drug therapy program for a drug currently in study and labeled as "PI-88." I am just so confident this drug will work. I am the only patient with my type of cancer cell (adenoid cystic carninoma), so I am a little bit more of a lab rat for this program.

God Bless Dr. Folkman and h is incredible perserverance! His story should be a movie----a tale better than SeaBiscuit! He is my SeaBiscuit!

LHH

This is one of the better books that I have ever read. Just the right length too; it is 276 pages long and has twenty-six chapters in it. The book is great because it is very suspensful and has a lot of action; there is gore in this book too, but what can you expect from a book about a war. Some of the gore of course, happens when Henry's bomber "Out of the Blue" gets shot down. (page 36) "Then a pilot's body slammed into the glass window below the cockpit where Fred and Paul were crouched. 'God Almighty' Paul sobbed over the intercom. 'That guy's eyes were open. he looked right at me.'" And then on page 40, "Glass shattered. A scream of pain came from the bombadier's compartment below. 'God, oh God,' Paul cried out over th itercom. 'Fred's hit! There's blood everywhere! Oh, God.' Other cries of agony shrieked through the intercom"
Its kind of hard to find a theme in this book, but I think that it would be that there's no place like home. I think this because through out the whole story Henry keeps thinking of home, like his mother's cooking, or his father's stern ways, or Patsy. At this point in time this doesn't really relate to me because I live at home.
I would recomend this book because it is a fairly easy read and like i said it has a lot of action. Although this book ins't for the faint of heart.

This book is about a young American boy who is the co-pilot to one of the American bomber planes back during World War II. His name is Henry Forester. On his 15th mission Henry's plane is shot down over what he believes is France. Henry then begins a long journey through Europe during a very difficult time. This book is an excellent book. Being from a shot-down pilot point-of-view is new and different. That it is written for teenagers also differentiates it. This book shows what happens when an American pilot gets shot down and how hard it is for him to survive in countries who hate Americans. Unlike some books, it doesn't glorify war, it shows how dangerous and terrifying war actually is and how everyone is affected by it. This book is great for all ages but the very young. I thought this book was full of excitement and adventure.

This was a very quick and enjoyable read, even if directed towards younger readers. At times, it even brought me to tears. A good portrayal of the hardships and risks that were taken by so many during the Nazi occupation of Europe to help get our soldiers back home from behind enemy lines. Henry was lucky. He came home. Take a moment to think about all those who didn't. This should be required reading for all of those who take our everyday freedoms for granted. It should make us all think about how fortunate we are to enjoy the freedom we have.