Excelsior Reviews

Wealthy entrepreneur Miles Cash travels to space station Excelsior, a combination lab and luxury motel, to pitch investors on his domed-city project. He is also there to meet Leena Doda, a pleasure-clone.

But for Miles, nothing goes as planned. The woman he loves is held on Excelsior as property, and his project, the dream of a lifetime, is dangerously under-funded.

Meanwhile, a career U.S. Intelligence officer has put a plot in motion to destroy China, and the Chinese are willing to take drastic action to prevent the apocalypse. Miles Cash wants to "rescue" Leena, but he may not get the chance...

"Excelsior" is an odd hybrid of good old-fashioned suspense, philosophy, ethics, and politics, coupled with the very best in cutting-edge science. The author is a brilliant futurist. His cultural, political and technological projections are flawlessly integrated. The prose is clean and fast-moving. The plot is an absolute gem. This book deserves to be a classic. Simply put, it's the best science fiction novel I've read in a decade. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Not being much of a "sci-fi" buff, when I first brought Excelsior home- I let it rest on my desk a few days, only taking a glance at the intriguing cover now and then until I wondered what drew me to it. As soon as I read the first few pages I had my answer as the realistic possibilities of this futuristic story hit me. Even more intriguing was the style with which Michael Paul writes, allowing our minds to clearly conjure up compelling images of the proposed giant, enclosed, bubble-like habitat on Earth, the paparazzi frenzy and the intrigue of underhandedness about to unfold right from the beginning. The potential for the mass cloning, the profit to be made, the devious plan to wipe out an entire segment of human beings, the unusual love story, the perfect presentation on a political level and the incredible, luxurious hotel on a space station, dangling out there in the dark void, lit only by stars, had me captivated. The creation of the gorgeous, more than perfect, sexual cloned females is countered by the amazing intelligence and physical strength and agility that Paul endows these women with; an ability on his part to please both male and female readers. Paul's skill in writing allowed us to become involved not only emotionally, but impressed by the energy emitted in the story telling itself.

This is not a novel to just be categorized into a specific genre, but rather shared with others, talked about for great conversations and speculation about the reality of such possibilities that are created within these pages. I'm sure we'll see this on the screen some day. I can hardly wait to see what Michael Paul brings us next!

This is a compelling tale that intertwines a futuristic love story between wealthy Miles Cash and a beautiful, intelligent clone named Leena with a fast paced Clancy style thriller. There's intrigue involving a potential pathogen that could wipe out China, a plot that involves a space station being the target of terrorism and many fascinating characters along the way.

I really enjoyed how the very detailed scientific stuff about bio-terrorism and space station technology flowed easily around more "human" stuff like the relationship issues between an odd threesome of reporters on the cloning story and the Miles' depth and passion as a human being.

Most interesting to me, though only a minor plot point, was Leena's participation in a "Goddess" oriented spiritual group of clones that was sweet and inspirational. This won't bog down male readers who may prefer the speedy pace of the narrative, but it will likely resonate with female readers because it's unexpected and gives the female lead another interesting dimension.

The afterward hints at a second novel which I greatly anticipate. This is a great read! Highly recommended.

My school had the same outlines and reviews for the tests that I needed to take, and thwy were free! The book has an advantage though, it gives rationals for correct and incorrect answers that the free outlines did not have. I would not have purchesed it though if I would have know that it was the same info as the free booklets.

especially liked the "agudezas" of Jorge and critical introduction is very useful.

This is the most thorough examination of Braxton's music and the various contexts from which it emerges. It is the only book to date that very successfully explores the mystical side of Braxton, and Heffley does so with clarity, integrity, and genuine respect for Braxton. Because of its ambitious nature, this book is probably not the best place to begin when studying Braxton. But its ambitous nature has also created a book that matches the ambition of its subject matter, i.e., Braxton himself. This is essential reading for Braxtonians.

Since his death in 1988, there has been no shortage of interest in Morton Feldman. While alive there was a small but devoted following. The Brits loved the utter beauty, and simplicity of his work, Composers Howard Skempton, Cornelius Cardew, even the improv ensemble AMM speak deeply of Feldman's influence. With this collection of analytical investigations the rigours of academia as well now are making,staking a claim. And that's illuminating because the Feldman aesthetic is the direct opposite of someone the demeanor of Elliot Carter. But herein all the creative periods in Feldman's life are exposed with ample analytical tools of graphic renderings. Here John Welsh discusses 'Projection 1' a modest cello solo notated on graph paper, considered at the time of writing 1950, an experimental piece and something gleaned from John Cage I suspect. Feldman to my mind never had that kind of aesthetic voice for innovation. His concern was always in the aesthetic object, its attenuation, shape, its design and process, as opposed to Cage where the aesthtic object was a by=product of a larger process, hence it fell or stood,depending on the gifts and vision of the performers. Venturing forward, an important contribution to piano literature is discussed by Paula Kopstick Ames, a work modestly titled 'Piano" from 1977, a 20 minute work where we begin to see Feldman's interest in large scale durational values . And if something is missing here it is an appraisal of these massivly long works like the String Quartet, that Kronos had premiered, or 'Triadic Memories',or 'Cryppled Symmetry', or 'For Christian Wolff' a four hour work for flute and piano. For John Cage(1982) is well rendered with structural definitions and charts which mark its divisions. When you see these divisions its odd how simple it is, you always think an analysis will preserve the complexity we hear, or didn't hear or discover a complexity to exhibit the visual side of analysis, for let's face, this kind of academia work is an end in itself. I know of no performers of this music who consult analyses prior to their performative work, Like wise Elliot Carter. The ultimate highlight here is the inclusion of three essays by Mr. Feldman himself. He was a gifted orator, and verbal communicator. He had a gift for interdiscipline- like approach, where he interjects concepts from Mondrian,Tolstoi, Henri Bergmann, something now we take for granted. 'The Anxiety of Art', is an essay and position statement, on that the American Revolution, in art that is, the Pollock, Abstract Expressionist Revolution which rendered New York the art world center was devoid of bloodshed, hence no banners, and the word of subversion is only now coming through. This book is one example of that revolution.

This book is a semi~fictional historical novel depicting the events of a fourth of July weekend in Excelsior, Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka during the last century this lake was and still is a popular resort area it had during its heyday a fleet of 99 excursion steamers including the "Belle of Minnetonka" a 310 foot sidewheel steamer formerly in service on the St.Paul~St.louis~Louisville route this steamer was taken apart and shipped in sections to Wayzata (pronounced Y~zeta) on the lake to be re-assembled and put into service the "belle" is a focal point of the story concerning the abortive romance of a Gambler and a local woman and the activities of an assortment of local people and the events happening to them over the fourth of July weekend.

Excelsior is a fabulous story of love and mischief as a young newspaper editor falls in love with a vacationer from the south. Set in the small town of Excelsior in 1987, on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, the Mecca of the world for vacationers at the time. Claimed one person, "it's a good thing we're open for business only four months of the year because the town workers couldn't take all the activity year around". From the grandiose hotels that dotted the lake to the ferryboats that chartered to and fro, Bob Williams does a good job using word pictures to transport you back in time to an era where everything seems enchanting. Beauty, heartbreak, and a kind ending belies the young editor as he pursues his dream woman. This Fourth of July weekend will be one to be remembered

While this isn't an autobiography as such, Stan Lee does write the vast majority of the book and leaves his collaborator (George Mair) to fill in the gaps or provide continuity. There is some discussion of his personal life and his career, with a fair amount devoted to the creation of Marvel's glory days. For those who can remember, it is written in the 'Stan's Soapbox' style.

Most of the information found here won't be new to Stan's fans, as it is available in other interviews and articles. He admits to a terrible memory (all of his life, and he's now 80) so it is difficult to know whether the stories behind his famous creations are all that complete. Plus, there is not much more than can be found in his 'Origins of Marvel Comics' books. There are also significant gaps - why, for example, does he not mention Marvel's failed attempt to reintroduce super-heroes in the 1950s?

Yet, despite the quibbles, this is the best insight you'll get into the real Stan Lee. Forget any second-hand stories or biographies filled with speculation and guesswork - go straight to the source. He may not address things as precisely as you'd like, but there are interesting nuggets of information and a lot of gentle humour. Don't throw away your other references though, as he has addressed many topics in past interviews that simply don't get a mention here.

"Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee" has a cover with Lee surrounded by some of his famous Marvel comics creations (or co-creations depending on where you stand on the whole Lee/Kirby debate), but you may be surprised and/or dismayed to find that only six of the twenty-one chapters are devoted to the glory years at Marvel. Much of what is contained within Lee has talked about before, which means that by now the stories of how the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the X-Men and the rest came to be born have been refined and polished to the point you really wish he would provide more of the details. "Excelsior!" starts from Lee's childhood in Manhattan to those early days when he stumbled into writing comic books, his work as a "playwright" in World War II, and then through the rise of the Marvel empire and beyond.

The focus of the book is on the narrative recollections of Lee and if you have ever had an opportunity to hear Stan "The Man" Lee do a lecture or speak at a convention, then you are familiar with his conversational style (I liked it when Stan would pretend to be Clark Kent, take off his glasses and have people wondering where Clark went--plus, the man's autograph is always legible). One thing that struck me was how much Lee was affected by the Great Depression, especially since he often laments over the value of the comic books he created but never bothered to collect. Yet it is also clear that Lee is not driven by money but more by love of family and work, two subjects he talks about with equal passion. He does take pains to try and address the issues of his infamous rifts with artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and whether you believe his side of the story or not he certainly bears no animosity towards either man. There is no denying that Lee was a self-promoter of the first order, but he certainly tried to take along everybody else in the Marvel Bullpen and it is equally clear that Kirby and Ditko were not especially outgoing types.

George Mair provides a more objective view of Lee's life with historical facts and critical insights in his portions of "Excelsior!" which frame the lengthier excerpts from Lee. Mair is especially good when he points out how some example from the early year's of Lee's career translated into a principle he applied while running Marvel. Ultimately, Mair makes the case that Lee "created a new mythology for the twentieth century" by putting "the human in the superhuman." I rather like this approach, which allows a subject to tell their story in their own words and also provides a way for biographical assessments by another party. The book is illustrated with mostly family photographs, although rather sparsely at times, especially during the Marvel days.

I do not know if readers of Marvel Comics who came to Spider-Man and the rest after Lee's tenure as writer/editor will be as interested in this as us old-timers, but I would think Lee's stories about how comics changed would be worth reading. His chapter on "Seduction of the Gullible," dealing with the efforts of Dr. Frederic Wertham that resulted in the creation of the Comics Code, provides a much different perspective on those times than you get from reading Bill Gaines's thoughts on it all. This is by no means a major look at the life and work of Stan Lee, but it does have its shares of worthwhile insights. 'Nuff Said.

This is not an in-depth self analysis of the man and mind behind Marvel Comics. Rather, it is a light and fun journey through the life and times of one Mr. Stan 'The Man' Lee. I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I think most people who grew up on Marvel Comics, who also don't expect loads of controversial dialogue and introspection, will dig it too!

If you like collections of photos, this book is great ... Hollow.

This new book by the authors Smith and Wafford picks up where the old "blue" book stops. This book contains practically all new pictures and items which were not in the old book. Based on the title "The Book of Wagner & Griswold" the majority of the book contains information about Wagner. There is 124 pages which deal with Wagner Ware. The information contained is solid and not to be found anywhere else. Once again, this book becomes the Bible for collecting old cookware. The information on Griswold is not nearly as as long as Wagner. It is only 75 pages. There are many new items in this book which was not in the other books. There is quite a bit of information about aluminum Griswold items which is very helpful if you are collecting this type of cookware. Finally the sections on Martin Stove, Lodge, Axford, Vollrath and Excelsior(G.F.Filley) is great! For each manufacture it gives the history along with photo's/prices. Super information which I have not found anywhere else. I think this book is a "must have" for the cookware collector. It is a good companion book to "The Book of Griswold & Wagner." To be fully informed you really need both books. I have found these books by Smith and Wafford to be pretty close in the values of various items. Although variances do exist I have found these to be the closest out of all the cast iron collectable books available. I keep both of these books next to my computer and refer to them almost daily when shopping the internet for cast iron. A++++