Ford Reviews

This volume combines all five titles from the Hitchhiker Trilogy under one cover. If you are a fan of any or all of the Hitchhiker books, this is an excellent way to keep them all together. For those who have never read them but enjoy science fiction, it's a chance to discover a new Universe.

Titles combined include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; Life, the Universe, and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish; and Mostly Harmless.

You'll travel with Arthur Dent from the destruction of the Earth throughout the Universe in a series of adventures and misadventures. He meets some of the most uproarious characters in the Universe, and realize he's met some of them before. All of this to answer the ultimate question of "Life, the Universe and Everything".

The book moves comparably in speed speed and action to the Hobbit, and Trilogy of the Rings. And wouldn't we all like to go "There and Back Again."

Douglas Adams is a master of the farcical science fiction novel, and here are three perfect examples in one collection! The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the end of the Universe, and Life, the Universe, and Everything compose the first three novels of the Hitchiker's trilogy (yes, there are four, check out So Long and Thanks for All the Fish). In this series, Arthur Dent, along with a broad array of alien companions seeks to discover the great question to the answer to life, the universe, and everything (the answer is 42). Along the way, excerpts from the greatest book of books, The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (vastly more popular than the Encyclopedia Galactica), force readers to laugh out loud and annoy people sitting around them by repeatedly saying, "You've got to read this book!"

If you're looking for a comical way to spend a boring day, grab yourself a copy of this book. You won't regret it.

A modern-day masterpiece, Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Trilogy" is a fast read that will leave the reader rolling on the floor with laughter. The characters are richly written, from the ego-driven two-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox to the manic-depressive robot Marvin, making the reader empatize with them during their journeys through space and time. A true must-read for all.

"Nursing Home Leadership" describes numerous useful leadership approaches. The book explains how to implement quality processes that could catapult a facility ahead of its competition.

BEST FEATURE The quality tools, checklists, and useful figures included in Dr. Ford's book help the reader apply practical solutions. Administrators will find the action steps at the end of each chapter particularly useful.

WEAKNESS The book includes composite case studies applicable to situations we face in our own operations. I would have liked to see the case composites expanded a bit more to include alternative solutions. It would have been useful if the book had described the best thing to do in each case. Examining and comparing the case studies to my own management style was a self-revealing process.

REVELATIONS I found a great list of tips on page 156 in the paragraph titled Successful Change Elements. You can use these tips when you're incorporating change and trying to make it go more smoothly.

UTILITY The book's material is directed primarily toward the administrator and director of nursing; however, a person in any leadership position in a nursing home would benefit. Executives of multiple facility chains will find useful material also.

RECOMMENDATION The book provides useful material to any new or experienced administrator, manager or supervisor as well as people in other types of supervisory positions in free-standing health care centers, physicians group practices and managed care provider companies.

From "Balance" magazine, December 1998

I had thought that no such book existed or would ever exist, but was I surprised when I found and read this jewel. Dr. Ford shows his experience in dealing with residents, staff, corporate oversight and government surveyors. This book details exactly how to develop a leadership program and to become a true effective leader. It exposes the phony types who say they lead but don't, as well as showing how to lead the staff into new levels of efficiency and morale. It should be required reading for administrators, directors of nursing, and other department heads. It is extremely instructive, giving may examples and case studies. Very easy to read and full of the meat with no fluff.

I am overwhelmed at Dr. Ford's grasp of the most critical areas of running a nursing facility. I thought I was an expert but I bow to Dr. Ford in every aspect of his work on facility leadership. I started using his techniques as soon as I read them, and they all work!

I can highly reccommend this book to anyone in management in a nursing home. It's worth its weight in gold.

- Julie Swanson, Lafayette, CA

This is a truly fascinating book about Finland and her high-wire act guarding her independence in the shadow of the Soviet Union.

The author spent several years in the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki during the seventies and eighties, and experienced many of the crises first hand, and had access to the main players in the Finnish government and media. This made it possible for him to research the previous crises, prior to his arrival in Helsinki around 1976.

The most important example was the "Note Crisis" around 1961-62, when the Soviet Union appeared to turn the screws on Finland quite a few turns. Living in Sweden at the time, I felt the fear emating from this incident, and seeing it described and analyzed by an insider was fascinating. The author is fluent in Finnish, unlike most diplomats posted to Finland (except, of course, the Russians, who made a career out of managing the Finland relationship).

The only problem is that the book sometimes presupposes more knowledge than that which the average reader is likely to possess. I would recommend the book, but also that the reader arm himself with a map of the area, and a pencil, and that he make a list of the many abbreviations as they occur.

nils@codeart.com

"This book is a big piece of me," says ex-U. S. Consul General James Ford Cooper, referring to ON THE FINLAND WATCH, which happens to contain deeply penetrating insights about the Cold War.

Cooper examines in detail Cold War policies, which he feels succeeded in balancing many delicate vital interests, in particular Finland's success in maintaining its independence from the Soviet Union. He puts into historical perspective the difficult relationship between two such neighboring states, while introducing colorful statesmen, such as the long-time uncanny Finnish President Urho Kekkonen, who "tried to shape publc opinion 180 degrees."

Cooper reveals how U. S. diplomatic missions fared during his two Helsinki tours, always mindful of the characters he knew personally. He and his wife Magda participated in Nordic society, enrolled their children in Finnish schools and partook in recreational activities, including Cooper's memorable finish in the 13th annual Finlandia ski race.

Such ongoing support and understanding on the part of such a keen career officer may allow the U. S. and its allies to maneuver all the more successfully in the world's ever-changing political landscape.

Ford Cooper's book provides great insight into the Cold War era when tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were at their peak. He provides an interesting--and mostly sympathetic --perspective on Finland's delicate balancing act between these super powers.

Though it's a bother converting the julian date, and the quotes from Pilgrim's Progress seem a little small in comparison to the commentary, this book makes for great devotional reading with my 10 year old boy. He enjoys looking up the two or three scripture references at the bottom and the prayer after that is always appropriate to the story above. Each day brings a new lesson in the Christian graces.

The Pilgrim's Progress is a wonderful Christian classic that the author John Bunyan wrote while in jail for his Christian faith. It is a wonderfully rich book which charts the ups and downs of the Christian faith, as the character Christian finds his way to the Gate where he will find relief for the burden on his back. Amid the fiery trials that comes his way, he meets people like Evangelist and Help who offer him sound advice, while others like Worldly Wise attempt to lead him off the narrow and straight path.

This commentary by Cheryl Ford does justice to this great classic. The author of this book dispenses scriptural lessons from the original classic. Each day's devotion is full of rich insights that is backed up by scripture verses. It offers sound theology that does not shy away from commenting on where Christians sometimes trip up on our walk. For example, there is a point where Christian falls into the Slough of Despond, because his awareness of his sin becomes overwhelming. But the message is that God's grace is greater than our feeling of condemnation. Each day's devotion also comes with a prayer that asks God to help us guard against these weaknesses. Definitely recommended.

It remains to be seen how many literary works of our day will survive even the minimum duration of popularity to reach classical status. Judging the current day classics against our modern day offerings, I suspect our number of contributions will be woefully lacking. Measured against the best selling book of all time (Bible), the structural basis of this book, Pilgrim's Progress, rates second. Why? Because as with the Bible, it deals with and addresses man's inherent needs to know who am I, where did I come from, what is my purpose in life and how do I achieve it?

Cheryl Ford did an outstanding job segmenting this complex work, dealing with the convoluted issues of life, to daily doses of spiritual meditations. Who should read this book? Only those who have the intellectual honesty to face the issue of who we truly are.....God's fallen creation and then, the courage to begin their own personal pilgrimage back to God.

Bob Dylan used to introduce his drummer as "the only drummer better than no drummer at all". That pretty well sums up this John Ford book.

What you can't see from home is that the book is truly tiny, about a quarter inch thick and six inches square. It's only 144 pages long; the last 35 of those pages are a John Ford filmography and the first 35 are a Bogdanovitch essay.

The interviews in between are similarly miniature, and in typical Bogdanovitch fashion they revolve more around anecdotes and personalities than film making and theory. For instance, here's what Ford says about my nominee for his best film, My Darling Clementine:

"I knew Wyatt Earp. In the very early silent days, a couple of times a year, he would come up to visit pals, cowboys he knew in Tombstone; alot of them were in my company. I think I was an assistant prop boy then and I used to give him a chair and a cup of coffee, and he told me about the fight at the O. K. Corral. So in My Darling Clementine, we did it exactly as it had been. They didn't just walk up in the street and start banging away at each other; it was a clever military maneuver."

And that's it. A good story. But a short one. Not much about the film itself, though, is there? The longest statements go on for about one full page.

Ford's thoughts on film making are scattered throughout, and it's good stuff:

-On his dislike of close-ups: "We've got this big screen - instead of putting a lot of pockmarked faces on it...play a scene in a two-shot. You see people instead of faces."

-On actors: "If you get the first or second take, there's a sparkle, an uncertainty about it; they're not sure of their lines, and it gives you a sense of nervousness and suspense."

-On film music: "I don't like to see a man alone in the desert, dying of thirst, with the Philadelphia Orchestra behind him."

Ford talks about almost every film he ever made, including most of the silents that no one's ever seen. You can read the book in one sitting, and by the end you'll have a sense of who John Ford was and what he was all about. Since Ford hated giving interviews, but was very patient with Bogdanovitch, this one is something of a standout.

It's a good book, I just wish there was more of it.

(A poster below slags the Hitchcock/ Truffaut book; don't listen to him, that book is marvelous.)

I love film interview books. There has become a great tradition of directors interviewing directors for all of posterity. Bogdanovich was successful at getting a great number of the leading directors on the record. This was his attempt at debriefing John Ford.

John Ford was quite an elusive character. He was considered a great artist inside and outside of Hollywood during his life. This short book isn't a bad attempt to have him comment on those films most precious to him and to us. Unlike Orson Welles, who made only a few films over 40 years, and spoke on them extensively with Bogdanovich, Ford speaks just a sentence or two or maybe a paragraph on some of the greatest films of all time. Grapes of Wrath? "I liked the idea of a family going out and trying to find their way in the world." She Wore a Yellow Ribbon? "I tried to copy the Remington style there." The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? "I think they were both good characters and I rather liked the story."

I hope I haven't made it sound too simplistic, because Ford actually reveals the most important parts of his films with very few words. Just reading a sentence or two and watching the film gives you the idea of what Ford was trying to convey. It may even give these films new meaning.

This book by Bogdanovich is the first attempt to portray the art of this truly great poet in cinema. If you are looking for the facts about his life, just forget this book. But if you are REALLY interested in what kind of person he was, this classic book still remains one of the most poignant portrait of a great filmmaker. Ford rarely tells the truth, and many things that he said in this book is now considered or confirmed to be untrue by biographers and scholars. But it is not only the facts that makes a man. Through the "lies" (if you may called it), you learn a lot about his great sense of sarcastic humour, and his way of capturing people's heart: in many occasion, Ford makes fun of Bogdanovich, yet without hurting his feelings. How many people can talk to somebody like this? I, personally, have never met. Telling stories is itself an art, for somebody like Ford. And through him telling stories, you can feel the poet inside him. Actually, Ford is more honest than most of the directors of his generation. Think of Alfred Hitchcock's self-glorification as he was interviewed by Truffaut. Ford doesn't do that. He is humble and never tries to boast about his "art". He says, he just put the camera before something he found interesting. He never tells about all the difficulties he had to go through to achieve that, but you if you are a careful reader, and somebody who knows his films, you can just feel it. Bogdanovich's introduction, describing the great artist at work during the shooting of Cheyenne Autunmn is so beautiful and sad it will bring tears to your eyes.

If one is searching for a biography of John Ford, this is not the book. (A suggestion--Scott Eyman's "Print the Legend" Another, with a slightly different emphasis but still with insightful observations--"John Wayne's America" by Garry Wills.) But as an analysis of specific Ford films as well as the themes he used throughout his career, this book is invaluable. Gallagher's style is a bit too academic at times, but he offers some interesting observations (His examination of the structure of "The Searchers" is particularly memorable).

This is a good book, even though not what I was looking for. The title says "The man and his films", but this book is mainly about the films. That means, if you are looking for the definitive Ford bio, this book isn't it.

That said, this book does has its advantages. It explores Ford's movies in depth, revealing new facts and a lot of insight. It also has a lot o photos.

If you want research on his movies, this is the book for you. If you want a biography, I suggest you read "Hollywood's Old Master" by Davis.

I don't think customer Lee Kane is quite right when he says that Tag Gallagher's labour-of-love book is mainly about the films. Gallagher's writing is spare and lean but he gives at least as much biography as the purely biographical books.

As far as I know, this is the definitive collection of the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. It contains selections from six previous collections as well as fifteen new poems. I found it enjoyable and recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary poetry. Justice writes about issues that many other poets do-memory, loneliness, loss, and history-but approaches such ideas with a fresh and precise language. Many critiques discuss his intense devotion to classical forms and techniques, but there is also a great deal to enjoy in Justice's occasional bending and stretching of such strictures. Definitely recommended.

Donald Justice's work is lyrical and traditional, with a broad reach that pulls you in to his vision of the world. Justice's poetry reflects the certainties of our lives and forms a basis for poetic discourse.
Justice often uses mirror imagery in his poems. In fact, mirrors used to reflect the soul are a major theme in his New and Selected Poems. The mirrors here demonstrate the way our reflections show us an inner "face," not the ones we fix for the world to see. Justice employs this sense of duality to represent thedifferent "faces" of human nature. We all have a bright side that we show the world, and, beneath, a more secret self. This is the image that is often fogged, and warped when we peer closely into it.

Donald Justice expresses himself powerfully through an economy of words. His poignant ideas and feelings penetrate his highly structured poetic forms and rhyming schemes without seeming stilted or academic. In accepting the formal and rather out-of-mode forms of poetry, he could compare to painters Sargent or Whistler.

Microsoft has made a living out of inventing and re-inventing better and faster ways to network. Therefore computer book authors have to continually write and re-write books to keep up with the changes. Jerry Lee Ford has made a great attempt to give you peer networking simplified.

Ford takes this book and begins at the best place possible, what networks can do with hardware and software. His 580 plus page books breaks down the peer networking and simplifies some of the more complex issues associated with that type of environment.

Ford is good with his ability to show, in numerous pictures, what should happen when you make changes or configuration updates. Where he falls short is in the areas of review questions and an add-on cd with utilities.

Covering areas like printers, security, utilities, troubleshooting and others over peer networks like Windows for Workgroups, Windows 9X, Windows NT is a great start, but Ford needs to also include Windows 2000 in his next edition.

Not surprisingly, the largest part of this book is devoted to Windows 2000. Ford's explicit coverage of it (unlike most everyone else he does NOT assume that you are already a whiz at NT just because you are investigating Windows 2000) has already given me the courage to tackle sticking a Win 2000 machine in a peer network consisting of Win 98 and Win 95 machines -- and successfully!

His coverage of Win 95 and Win 98 (and Win 98 SE) as a continuum is well justified, and nicely handled. He really highlights the small differences between the two where peer networking is concerned. It would have been easier to just treat them as separate OS, but he cut through the duplicate stuff and hit the differences. Good job!

The quibbles I had were tiny. For example, on page 43 a table is entitled "Coax Cable Types and Specifications" but Coax is not an accurate descriptor, since several of the cable types on the table are not coax at all but are twisted pair. On page 451, in the sidebar, he uses the word "hardware" where he means "hard disk" or "hard drive". I think it would be useful if he expanded on the 169.254.0.0 address range, telling us which addresses Win98SE assigns by default so that don't inadvertently hard-code the same addys on Win 95 machines on the same networks.

In other words, there just isn't very much wrong with this book!!

There is a lot of other good stuff: I particularly liked the way he summarized network troubleshooting. I can't imagine any way it could be more concise. I thought the appendices were excellent, every one of them, and potentially very useful. The final appendix, on HomePNA, will get outdated very quickly, but it is still a very substantial and helpful step off THAT particular cliff.

If you're involved in peer-to-peer networking in a Microsoft world, I can't think of a more useful book to have on your desk. Highly recommended!!

Practical Microsoft Windows Peer Networking is the best book on networking that I have read so far. Mr. Ford has a real gift for breaking complex tasks down into simle clear steps that anyone can follow. His coverage of Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 98 networking is very extensive and detailed. This is nicely complemented with coverage of every other major Microsoft operating system including Windows 95, Windows NT and Windows for Workgroups. I especially appreciate his coverage of TCP/IP and modem sharing.

I was struggeling with building my own home network before I began reading Mr. Ford's book. All I can say is that I wish I had read his book first because it would have saved me a lot of lost time and energy. I strongly recommend this book as required reading for anyone who plans to set up his or her own network.

This is not a great biography of Ford. It doesn't add anything new, and it's probably 100 pages too long(I never thought I'd say that about a book on Ford)! Read Scott Eyman, Print the Legend, and you won't even want to bother with this book.

This is a very good biography of Ford. Yes, McBride relies on Sarris and Carey Jr. a good bit of the time, yet this book remains very interesting and does a thorough job covering the many films Ford made.

Strengths of the book include an eye-opening look at Ford's WWII service, (How many other guys were at both Midway and D-Day and managed to get to Burma and Yugoslavia as well?) a clear presentation of Ford's relations with the different studios (the list of "better" titles for The Quiet Man the head of Republic tried to force on Ford is hysterically funny) and an evenhanded evaluation of Ford's behavior during the blacklist era.

Perhaps the evenhandedness of McBride's tone is what I liked the most about the book. One could take Ford's life and turn it into a straightforward case of hero-worship, or one could take an axe to him up and down the line, pointing out his failures in family life, his bigoted comments, his questionable actions in some controversial issues. McBride avoids falling into either extreme camp. We get Ford warts and all here, and it is left up to us to decide.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I would have liked more discussion on a few films, and I would have liked a chapter on Ford's posthumous reputation. McBride raises the issue in his introduction that Ford is being forgotten by the new generation of writers and filmmakers, but he never quite tells why.

Still, this was a fine book, one that I read quickly despite its length.

As a fan of the master filmmaker John Ford, I was enthralled to find this wonderful biography. It is both entertaining and scholarly, filled with fascinating anecdotes that provide the reader with an in-depth view of Ford's complex personality. In spanning Ford's life and career, this book also provides a panoramic overview of Hollywood itself and the dramatic changes it went through over the years, many of which are reflected in Ford's work. I really enjoyed the analyses of Ford's films which provide many new insights and perspectives. A must-read for anyone interested in film.

This book would be really good for someone who has never been exposed to the writings of Hyatt and DuQuette before. It has a lot of good info on sex magick and the psychology of sexuality. The problem I had with it is that it really doesn't contain much information that isn't available in their other books. If you're a big fan of the two authors, look it over, but it's basically a rehash of older material.

a delightfully insurgent work that reminds those of us who live in basic freedom what is so good about it.

Taboo really dabbles in the realm of exploring your inherent right to use your body as you see fit (in gentle consensuality with chosen others). This is not for the NFL/Lonestar beer set that just wants to get their groove on. This work is for those who consider sex to be a highly sacred, enlightening experience worthy of the most assiduous effort and unbridled, maximum joy.

Intelligence and ritual do play an intrinsic role in fits of ecstasy. This book deftly bridges the gap between "Masters and Johnson clinical" and "in your face indulgence" rendering a delightful and accessible (not to mention highly mystical) middle ground available to those with the proper focus and stamina.

If anything, the book provides keys to becoming more sensitive to the finer nuances of human beings' favorite pastime.

Enjoy!

The following is a review of this spicy little bombshell written by Leticia Marquez of Magical Blend Magazine:

Robert Anton Wilson says of "Taboo"...

"I assure you that what you are about to read is obscene, lewd, blasphemous, subversive, and very interesting, and that all right-thinking people will agree that it should be banned, bowdlerized, censored, suppressed, and burned by the public hangman...I think it is safe to predict that almost every organized group of idiots in this country will regard this book as extremely dangerous."

Wilson is probably right, Taboo's challenge to unite sexual and religious practices probably won't go over well with the New Right. But for the rest of us, the authors present a roller-coaster of a read complete with case histories, theories, and secret sex rituals of interest to both "adepts' of esoteric sex cult societies as well as "ordinary" people. Full of interesting quotations and anecdotes from alchemists, sex magicians, and vampires--not to mention old Yawey himself--this is a fascinating a colorful work that seems predestined to upset many people in our sex-negative society. Those who believe that taboos are made to be broken, however, should find Taboo and enjoyable and entertaining read.