Sterling Reviews

This book has beautiful photographs of wild animals in natural settings, accompanied by their names in writing. It is a wonderful way to enrich a young child's vocabulary and instill an interest in books. It is a perfect book for a child under the age of 3.

I really enjoyed this book-it's very well written, loaded with great pictures, and contains a lot more personal information that was lacking in other books about Will Rogers that I've read. This book contains a fair amount of his quotes, usually given along in sync with the events that happened in his life as they unfolded. This would be an excellent book for someone who has never even heard of Will Rogers, much less read about him-they might get bit with the Will Rogers bug like I have. My husband brought this book home to me from the library, which is why I can rate it without owning it-but I will own it shortly, just as soon as my budget allows. And I plan to buy a copy for my father for a gift, as he was born in December of 1923, just in time to live through the depression and grow up hearing and reading about what this great man had to say the first time he said or wrote it. Highly recommended reading.

If you want to know anything or everything about Japanese textile dyeing techniques, this is the sourcebook. It is expensive, but well worth the price. This is not your usual coffee table book. Sure, it shows pictures of the textiles themselves. But it also discusses the dyeing techniques in great detail. It even gives the reader step by step instructions, with pictures, of how to make and apply to various resists. It even gives recipies for resists! It is an invaluable reference for the textile artist and clothing historian. I have never before seen a book so useful and so informative. It gets the Reconstructing History thumbs up!

Bruce Sterling is an author who is best known as William Gibson's sidekick. During the heady cyberpunk rebellion of the 80's, Gibson & Sterling lectured together, edited together & even co-wrote a book("The Difference Engine" which introduced the "Steampunk" genre). As can be seen from reading "Schismatrix Plus", Sterling's association with Gibson warped his writing permanently.

"Schismatrix Plus" gathers the first stories written by Sterling along with the novel inspired by them. These were written during the period when the author was a fan with a day job, not a professional writer (& not hanging with authors). It is simply one of the finest, most original examples of true science fiction to be published since The Golden Age ended. Of course, it's not classic space-opera in the Heinlein/Asimov sense, but "Schismatrix" is what most readers first loved about SF: stories that take place outside of Earth, in deep vacuum. In "Schismatrix Plus" we orbit Luna, attack with space pirates, live in the Rings of Saturn, terraform Mars & much more. We learn about Prigogenic Leaps, meet a geisha turned-banker-turned space habitat (really!) & watch humanity make cosmic choices. This is what science fiction should be, & it's very disappointing that Sterling has turned away from this early promise to deliver such non-thought provokers as "Heavy Weather" & "Holy Fire".

Maybe if enough of us read "Schismatrix Plus" & let Bruce Sterling know how much more we enjoy this type of novel than what he currently turns out, then maybe he'll return to writing them. Life is hope, so buy "Schismatrix Plus" & maybe he'll get the message!

I first read Schismatrix when it was originally published in paperback -- and made the mistake of 'permanently' loaning the book to a friend.

Of the many, many science fiction novels I have read over the years -- my original reading of Schismatrix left one of the most powerfull impressions.

I recently purchased and re-read this expand volume because I wanted to see if the book was as good as I remembered.

The book is quite old and, when compared to recent novels like Ventus and the Nake God trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, shows its age. Some of the ideas, and especially the visions of technology, haven't held up very well when compared with current novels.

But, once again, I was captivated by the broad vision of the novel, its awe inspiring scope, quirky storyline and its characters. I was also better able to appreciate how influential this novel has been on subsequent authors. Visionary is a strong word, but also appropriate in describing this work when placed in the context of when it was written. Many of the more recent 'cyberpunk' and 'nanotech' novels owe more than a pasing debt to Bruce Sterling and this novel.

The additional short stories, appearing at the end of the book, also add a lot to the story and round out the Shaper/Mechanist universe.

Whether you've already read the novel, and are wondering if the expanded edition is worth it, or are going to read this seminal story for the first time -- this book is well worth your money.

I became interested in Bruce Sterling's writing because he co-authored a book with my favorite sci-fi writer, William Gibson, called "The Difference Engine" about an alternative history of Victorian England. Sterling's Schismatrix Plus shows that he is truly Gibson's equal as a science fiction writer, capable of inventing a complete alternate universe.

The Schismatrix novel, and the short stories that accompany it in this edition, take place in the future, where human beings have migrated to space stations and circumlunar colonies within the solar system. The schism at the heart of the universe is between two sects; the Shapers, who are genetic engineers; and the Mechanists, who believe in cybernetics. The Schismatrix novel follows the character Abelard Lindsay through his several hundred years of life, first starting out as a Shaper revolutionary, then after his exile becoming a pirate, and eventually the father of a new sect called Posthumanism. The book is reminiscent of Heinlein's "Time Enough For Love" -- we follow Lindsay through his several re-creations of himself much like we do Lazarus Long in Heinlein's work.

The book has an eery beauty to it; the posthuman universe, although melancholy, is not without charm. Central to the work is a distrust of ideology -- the blood feuds in the work between the various sects are extremely destructive of the characters' personal relationships; but Sterling's message is still positive -- all narrow sects are doomed in the end by the shock of the new future, and all old revolutionaries are outdone by their descendants.

The short stories that accompany the novel are also very good; and they are helpgul in explaining, in shorthand, the universe of the author. Sterling does not coddle the reader -- his universe is believable in part because he does not explain its cleverness in long narrative passages -- you discover it as you go. This makes the book's many turns seem as shocking as they are to the characters themselves.

An excellent work, a must for any modern sci-fi collection.

This is the second mystery thriller that I have read in which the main characters are Black. It was well thought out and written impressively by Sterling Anthony making his debut as an author. I read it quickly and enthusuastically, wanting to know how the several story lines were interwoven and the final conclusion. I felt at times that the author gave alot of excess information that was not necessary and was a bit distracting, however on the whole it was a good book. I liked the originality of the plot, wherein a Black male who looks Caucasian is so confused and unhappy about his racial identity that he goes to extremes of murdering those Blacks who seem to hold disdain for their race and side with the White man in perpetuating oppression. It is interesting how the author makes the killer a believeable figure, because Black people are not known for being serial killers. However, the reason that Eugene commits these crimes is not difficult to understand, given his unbalanced state of mind. I liked the way Anthony gave Mary Cunningham, the newly promoted officer in charge of the case a full, interesting life in which she had others options open to her aside from police work. She also had a loving and supportive husband. Oftentimes, Black authors want to dwell on the negative aspects of Black family life. I do hope that this is not the last that we have heard from Mr. Anthony. I would enjoy reading more of the exploits of Lt. Mary Cunningham, but whatever the subject matter I'm sure he will do it justice.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Sterling Anthony on his first novel and I really hope he comes out with another one b/c i loved this book. Just the fact that when the author is black i feel i have a personal connection with him b/c i write stories too and there aren't that many young teenager authors(black at that). But anyway throughout the whole book I enjoyed the character development, and flashbacks that occur constantly. It kept me interested and eager to find what kept me guessing. I think the plot was great to use b/c it was semi-contreversial and contreversy sales. Arguments and disagreements about things get other peoples' attention and anything can start. I love the intricate swaying of back and forth from the present to past to learn the past of each charcter. It made me believe in them more and made the book more realistic. I'm a sucker for action movies and unrealistic things and my dad always tells me that but this book I found to be truly realisitc. So if it's something realistic and I like it then it must be a good book. Go cop it.

"Bloody" Mary Cunningham must catch a killer with a very unique theme. Certain african-americans are being executed because of their politics, precisely those that lend themselves to be catagorized as 'sell-outs'. After each murder, an oreo cookie is left in their hands as a sign of their betrayal of their race. The clock is ticking, because the race for mayor is under way, and it especially turns ugly when the killer seems to be connected. Characters seem to be inserted when there was no need for them, but further along, the pieces begin to fit and the story moves even further. Kudos for an original story, a determined dectective, and, with luck, another continuing mystery.

There are books that everyone 'knows' but hardly anybody reads any more. Reading these classics can be quite illuminating; they are not what you think. For example, do you really know how Dracula was killed? Or why The Virginian said "Smile when you call me that"? Read the originals; you'll be surprised.

"Tarzan of the Apes", the first of 23 Tarzan adventures by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is full of surprises. The Tarzan of this book is not the Johnny Weissmuller or Ron Ely that you might know. He is not raised by gorillas (as I had thought) but by mythical 'anthropoids', a sort of missing link between man and gorilla, with rudimentary speech and a social structure that includes ritual and dance. This is a science fiction tale, a sort of "Lost World" meets "Jungle Book". Tarzan befriends and converses with (and kills and eats) a variety of beasts.

There are aspects of the story that modern readers will find as hard to swallow as some of Tarzan's raw meat dinners. For example, this jungle is populated with lions, hyenas and elephants, creatures that in reality never go near rain forests. We are also asked to believe that Tarzan teaches himself to read and write from books that he finds.

Many modern readers will also find the racialism difficult to take. He boasts of being "Tarzan, killer of beasts and many black men". Coming on a village deep in the jungle, he immediately readies his bow and poisoned arrows. When his European companion admonishes him that it is wrong to kill humans, the hero protests "But these are black men". (Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe that scene was included in the Disney version). This is a 1914 American novel, with all the prejudices intact.

It's quite well written; Burroughs is very readable. The plotting is a strange mixture of ingenuity and clumsiness. There is a very clever device that involves Jane thinking there are two ape-men, one an admirer, the other her rescuer. But the plot also requires three separate mutinies, two of which just happen to involve cousins, to take place off the same remote African beach. This is beyond coincidence.

So is this genre classic still worth reading? I think so, for the same reason "Dracula" and "The Virginian" are still worth reading; this is the book that started it all.

Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic - "Tarzan of the Apes" - is the first in the series of Tarzan books, and is a quite entertaining novel. This first book relates some classic events in the Tarzan saga - how Tarzan's parents were killed and he came to be raised by the apes, how he learned to communicate with animals of the jungle as well as educate himself in the ways of man, his meeting Jane, and his eventual journey to the world of civilization and man. The story was originally published in 'pulp-style' magazines, (as was most fantasy and sci-fi of Burroughs' day); however, this represents some of the great stories that were produced from that style of fiction.

Virtually all of the events related in the novel are interesting and handled intelligently. Readers who have certain expectations of the story based on the cartoons and movies ' such as "Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan" - may be somewhat surprised by the content of the story. I personally liked how the author didn't spend too much time on any one aspect of the story, but rather, moved somewhat swiftly through the various events of story (those who like a quicker paced novel should enjoy it). Some readers may find Burroughs' depictions of the animals and natives who lived in the jungle to be a bit clichéd; however, while they certainly seem to be a product of his time (this book was originally published in 1914), I found his portrait of the jungle, and the "civilized" humans represented, to be somewhat quaint, but quite enjoyable.

Overall, 'Tarzan' is a well written story and one which can be enjoyed by today's standards. Those expecting a somewhat one-dimensional story or "super-hero" type Tarzan from the cartoons (and some of the book covers for that matter) should be pleasantly surprised. While this book may be most appropriate to read for adolescents through young adults, I'd recommend it for kids of all ages ' I'm 29 and enjoyed it, and plan to read others in the series!

Listed in Cawthorn's and Moorcock's "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books".

The Weissmuller movies didn't get him right. The TV series haven't got him right. And the Disney movie CERTAINLY won't get him right. Burrough's original narration of the story of Tarzan is a mix of bloodthirsty savagery and unrestrained suspension of disbelief that few would attempt to capture these days.

The Tarzan series is unique among his author's body of work. Where the Barsoom, Pellucidar and Caspak series concern modern men travelling to exotic lands and falling in love with native women, this time around it is a modern woman who comes to the wilderness and steals the heart of the savage protagonist, who must now step up to her civilized ways.

The tale is laced with bloody scenes of man-against-man and man-against-beast rampage. The great apes among which Tarzan grows are a cannibal species, who eat the prisioners of raids against other simian clans. The king ape kills Tarzan's father in a moment where he is caught off guard, mourning the recent death of his wife. When Tarzan first encounters men (an African tribe), he hunts and kills one of them to steal his arrows (killing being the way of the jungle, since Tarzan knows nothing of human behavior). Also, these men turn out to be cannibals too. And when the white men finally arrive, they raid their village and kill almost every one in an attempt to rescue a captured comrade.

After growing wild among beasts, Tarzan (whose name menas White Skin) realizes that he is different from his ape family. And through a series of inventions of his own (like making a rope) and fortunate coincides (like the use of a found hunting knife), he steps up the evolutionary ladder by himself. The moment he learns to read and write from illustrated primers and a dictionary is among the most improbable in the whole book. But if we have kept up with it until now, allowing ourselves to accept that a human child can be raised by apes, then his ascension to superiority isn't that hard to embrace.

Tarzan turns out to be the primeveal lovesick nerd. After the first time he sees Jane Porter (the first white woman he ever casts his eyes on), his heart is all for her. He writes her a love letter, which smacks of the most pityful puppy love ("I want you. I am yours. You are mine... When you see this you will know that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you"). Yet our hero is true and noble, and he holds the upper hand in his homeland. The girl can't do anything but be carried away by her primeveal pretender.

I recommend you get this edition I'm reviewing, the one by Penguin. Besides the introduction which gives a valuable background to the place of Tarzan among popular literature and some details on the life of Edgar Rice Burroughs, it contains a series of notes that signal where he took some liberties with his story's setting (like placing American plants in the African jungle).

The English is a little bit archaic, the characterization tends to cartoon and stereotype, but the story is powerful and nothing captures the beauty of the original like the original itself. Read Tarzan of the Apes, and meet again for the first time an archetypical hero of timeless charm.

This book was very easy to read (in fact, I finished it in about an hour). This is very good for those who want to get background information on PCOS and see what types of tests, etc. they should have their doctors give them to find out if they have PCOS. It may also be helpful to have continual yearly check-ups to monitor the status of your PCOS and this book lists the various tests that can be done (though you might also be able to find those tests off the PCOS Association website). If you already have a lot of background information on PCOS, I would skip this book as you probably already know what is in it.

Read this book first and found it to be a great start to reading more. Info was on target and up to date. Newly diagnosised PCOSers should start here.

This excellent book is a comprehensive reference source. From definition to treatment, from resources to pregnancy efforts, this book is a must-have for anyone with PCOS. As a fertility coach, I recommend this book to the women I am coaching who struggle with this syndrome.

This book is simple to read, well-organized and packed full of information. It's also a small book, and can fit into your purse or bag for easy reading. I love books that I can read on the run, can carry with me, and can get a lot out of a few pages. This book fits the bill. I have read a lot about PCOS, but this is the best compact guide that I have read yet. For lots of basic, helpful information, buy this book!

Rascal is a very good book,because it was very extciting.I think people woulld realy enjoy reading the book.Some of the charaters are Sterling, and Rascal.It was very good book.

Rascal is a very good book. It's about a boy named Sterling. He goes out in the woods with his friend Oscar and his dog Wowser. The dog starts digging at a rotting stump and all of a sudden a mother racoon pops out and starts running up a tree. Sterlig finds a baby racoon and takes it home as a pet. And thats how the friendship begins. I recommend that you read Rascal.

Sterling North vividly depicts the adventures, both physically and emotionally, of a boy named Sterling and his pet raccoon. This is a perfectly written book, containing many themes that you can relate to. Read through this book and you will be able to imagine his house perfectly. A menagerie of dogs, crows, skunks, and of course Rascal. The living room with the unfinished canoe and the chicken wired Christmas tree.

Having lost his mother at the age of seven, Sterling is a very independent boy who one day finds a baby raccoon, and decides to call him Rascal. As they both grow, their bond becomes strong along with their numerous activities and adventures. No one couldn’t help but laughing when Rascal, who always washes his food before eating, discovers the sugar cubes. He tries to clean them but they just dissolve!

In this unforgettable book, Sterling North manages to capture you and take you to a timeless place of life. Rascal is an easy, although deep book, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.

This book is most easily understood in the context of when it was written. Athens had been involved in a disastrous war with Sparta. As a result of the war Athens lost its empire, its fleet was disbanded and the walls from the city to the port were pulled down. The Democratic Party, which had ruled Athens, had been responsible for starting the war and also its outcome. Following the war the Spartans imposed on Athens an oligarchy dominated by aristocrats. Plato was a supporter of that government and an opponent of the supporters of democracy.

In writing about politics Plato argued that a proper system of government excluded the general public from decision making. He suggested that government was a technical function that should be undertaken by an elite who are trained for it. Obviously this position reflects his distrust of the majority and his belief that some were better fitted for government than others. Modern notions of government being related to dealing with conflict in society and resource allocation would of course simply meant nothing to him.

In discussing why he thought this was a just system the book suggests a theory of human nature which suggests that people are naturally limited in their abilities. Some people by birth are fitted to be shoemakers. Others might know how to till the soil. Society benefits from people occupying the place that fits them best. Again this view is reflective of the time and in reality large numbers of people are able to learn and to move between occupations and to fill different roles in society.

Plato having outlined his theory of society and government then suggests that the key to building a good society relates to the training and selection of the class who will carry out the government function. The book is historically important as being one of the foundations of modern political thought but is not the sort of work that could be said to contain wisdom which is relevant today.

The republic not only serves as a basis for western philosophy but is of central importance as a historical text. By observing staunch critics of Athenian society debate the nature of the ideal city, we come to understand precisely what Athens at the time was not like. By then noting all the specifics touched upon in the creation of this "kallipolis", we are provided with a subtle but vast account of how things actually were. Nevertheless, such politically colored views do not transfer so well into the actual philosophy. Plato, through the voice of Socrates, claims that he defines the city to help with the search for justice within the individual. More likely he is defining justice as a rationale for his elitist political views. So, as with anything powerful or important, treat this book with respect and fairness. Don't give the words more sanctity than they're due. Be prepared to sift through a considerable amount of semantics, wordplay, and blank assumptions before any of the gritty logical reasoning is found. Don't fall into the same trap of book's characters who are dazzled by Socrates' rhetoric. People will say that Plato is a genius- but that doesn't mean he can't make mistakes. All throughout the book there will be things that seem contradictory or illogical, and it doesn't make you stupid to think that Plato can be wrong. There are some fascinating and profound things that the careful reader can pull from this book, but as you read, keep in mind that Plato was a person and had his opinions like any other.

It has been said that all philosophic work of the past 2400 years stands as footnotes to Plato's writings. 'Do the ends justify the means? What is justice? Whom does it serve? Who should serve as its guardians? Is it absolute or relative?'
Plato's protagonist is his old teacher, Socrates. The arguments are presented as dialogues and thus embody a literary aspect different from many, although certainly not all, subsequent philosophical writings. His object is "no trivial question, but the manner in which a man ought to live." The answers are seen to point to the manner in which a utopian society should be operated.
As a storied mountain calls to a climber from afar, Plato calls to the student of the art of thinking. This is why we read Plato, for the "neo-Platonists" -- Plotinus, Augustine, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, Whitehead, Gödel, and others -- have certainly propounded improved philosophy. But it is Plato on whom they improve. Most thinkers (perhaps especially most mathematicians and logicians) yet agree with Plato, at least insofar as his understanding of "form" -- often adapted or restated as: ideas / perfection / consciousness / mind / or, 'the thing in itself'.
Plato's realm of [what he calls] "forms" acknowledges the mysterious, yet logically necessary, existence of non-material reality. In Republic he views this as the realm of reference in constructing his understanding of an ideal society. We find in the work of subsequent thinkers (and within Plato's Republic as well) that this non-material reality is perhaps more easily recognized in purer considerations of reason, aesthetics, mathematics, music, love, spiritual experience, and ultimately in consciousness itself, than in idealized human social institutions. Mathematics, for example, although readily practiced in material ways, is not itself material. Thus the understanding of the purity of reason as opposed to the synthetic (and uncertain) nature of empiricism, arises from the work of Plato (and is particularly well developed in Descartes' existentialism).
Modern readers should rightly find that Plato regards the State too highly; in pursuit of an ideal State his supposedly improved citizen is highly restricted and censored. His "utopian" citizens are automatons, bred by the State; unsanctioned infants are "disposed of." Where his ideas are wrongly developed, they are in fact important ideas, i.e., they are issues deserving serious examination. Should the ruling class be restricted to philosophers? Plato says yes, that wisdom and intellectual insight are more desirable in leaders than are either birthright or popularity. Of course we, in the democratic West, tend to see this idea as totalitarianism, but it remains an interesting argument.
Although the product of polytheistic culture, Plato is leery of the tangled accounts of the gods received from the poets, Homer, Hesiod, etc. His view of the divine -- that "the chief good" has one eternal, unchanging and surpassingly superior form -- which he also calls "Providence", hints strongly of the common ground which was to emerge between neo-Platonism and monotheism. Like Plato's proverbial cave dwellers, we perceive this transcendent entity through poorly understood "shadows" of the actual truth. Beside its philosophical, literary, political, and theological aspects, Republic is also important as a treatise on psychology, in fact the science of mind seems to have progressed very little beyond Plato's insights. Books 5-7 are particularly fascinating.

I thought this was going to be a GREAT book, based on the title, but it's actually pretty lame. Probably real exciting reading for an eighth grader who is just starting out a good bad-word repertoire: trained professionals will need to look elsewhere for new and creative expletives.

I first stumbled across Sterling Johnson's "English as a Second F*cking Language" summer of 2001 in a second-hand bookstore in Monterey, California. As I casually skimmed its pages, my giggles began drawing annoyed glances and assorted 'harumphs' from the other patrons, so I quickly picked up five or six copies and headed toward the cashier.

To those of you fearful of lacking humorous anatomical components (aka "funny bones"), I say "Balderdash!", not to mention "Oh, c'mon!" Anyone who doesn't see the inherent silliness of assigning so much emotional baggage to f*cking WORDS for G*d's s*ke just n**ds to g*t out a b*t more.

As an English teacher by trade, it's possible I suppose that I am predisposed to see the humor in it, having struggled mightily and often to explain the nuances of myriad words self-contentedly tucked away within our mother-tongue's gargantuan lexicon.

But you don't have to be a TESOL-er to appreciate Johnson's sterling tongue-in-cheek mockery of academic pretense; it seeps and oozes from between every line. "English as a Second F*cking Language" is the ideal birthday, Ramadan, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, (etc.) gift for any of your favorite speakers of English as a Second Language.

Please contact me if you are still undecided about the wisdom of such a purchase. I can assure you that I have no business or personal relationship with the author, although admittedly, I should very much like to chat with this Johnson fellow, if that is indeed his [her?] real name.

It's 'funny'how people come with various ideas to make money.

I'm so sorry that "english as a second..." is considered a book.
It's extremely rude to be published but it has. I wonder people who bought it and have children in their families - did they throw this book in garbage or are waiting their children to flip the pages of this book and learn non-sense.

I'd recommend you give the money - you were to spend on this book, to Salvation Army.