5 comments about A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash.

1. This is an extremly well written biography of Dr. John Nash well know for his game theory.
   If you are interested in math and people behind the math then this book will interest you.



2. Sylvia Nasar writes a wonderful biography of the life of John Nash. We see Nash as an unhappy child who finds success in mathematics and becomes both arrogant and self-centered. He sets high goals but falls short failing to win the Fields medal. Yet he makes phenomenal mathematical discoveries and his work in game theory had a major impact in the field of economics. Alicia is a wonderful wife who keeps things together when John starts having his bouts with depression and insanity. At times he is unable to function and then at other times he recovers and shows signs of his former brilliance.
   
   We feel that we understand him. The Nobel Prize in economics would rightfully have been his long ago because of tremendous impact of his equilibrium theory. However, it seems that the Nobel committee is reluctant to award the prize to someone who needs to spend much of his time in a mental institution.
   
   Miraculously Nash recovers in the 1990s and is awarded the prize in 1995. The story is heartwarming and reads like great fiction but it is actually true!
   
   This was made into a well done movie that I also enjoyed very much.



3. In Sylia Nasar's award-winning biography, A Beautiful Mind, which chronicles the life of mathematics genius and Nobel laureate John Nash, she divides his life into three acts (though the table of contents does not): genius, madness and reawakening. Act one, his genius phase, covers the first two parts of the book, and lasts for the first 29 years of his life. Act two - madness, which takes the form of schizophrenia - covers the next two parts, and lasts until he is 62. Act three, his awakening, covers his remission from schizophrenia, his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for Economics in 1994, and his life at Princeton up to the present. The book was made into an Oscar-winning motion picture by director Ron Howard in 2001 and stars Russell Crowe. Both book and film are phenomenal, as are the man's life and Crowe's portrayal of it.
   
   Particularly interesting about act one of Nash's life, and part one of Nasar's book, is the discussion on game theory. Game theory, up until the time of Nash, was based upon the idea that only one player in a game can win and everyone else must lose. But Nash broke with tradition in his doctoral thesis by theorizing mathematically the results of a game in which everyone won, regardless of the number of players. His thesis became the basis of modern economic theory, and the reason for his eventual Nobel prize.
   
   Nasar does an exceptional job explaining game theory and the workings of the mind of a genius, and especially Nash's original idea, which he called "the Nash equilibrium," and introduced in 1950 when he was only 21. Nash theorized that a game could be both competitive and cooperative - as opposed to the "winner take all" stakes of purely competitive games like chess - and could result in a desirable balance of power, rather than the undesirable condition of domination by a single power. In other words, when a player considers both his own good and the collective good of the other players, the results are better for everyone. This allowed gaming theory to be applicable to economics, politics and other sciences.
   
   In Ron Howard's film, he illustrates this beautifully with the scene in the bar in which all the boys want the beautiful blonde who walks in. Russell Crowe's character, Nash, explains to his friends that if they all go for the blonde, they will all lose, because they will offend the blonde's friends, causing them all to strike out. But if each of them goes for a different girl, they will all score. This is the moment Nash realizes he has found the original idea for his doctoral thesis.
   
   Socially, Nash had no friends growing up. This is ironic for a person whose greatest contribution to science was a theory of relationships. It is also interesting in that it illustrates something about the environment needed to develop into both a genius and a schizophrenic: isolation. As Nasar puts it, "His overriding interest was in patterns, not people." I don't think a lack of interest in people is required for genius, but I do believe an interest in patterns is. It was his ability to see patterns in numbers that led Nash into numerology and decoding imagined ciphers for the Pentagon.
   
   Howard does an excellent job showing Nash's ability to recognize pattern in the opening scene when Russell Crowe insults a fellow student's tie after recognizing several patterns in it that are reflected in the layout of the punch table. He does it again when he is able to pick out the pattern of an umbrella in the stars for his love interest and future wife, Alicia, played by Jennifer Connelly. And when he is decoding for agent Parcher, played by Ed Harris, the patterns that he sees in the numbers and words "light up."
   
   Until he meets Alicia, who would stand by him through his illness and help him overcome it, Nash's relationships are cloaked in mystery and innuendoes. It is not important to get into them here; but let me just say that the homosexual community was vocally disappointed by Howard's choice to leave them out of his film. I believe he was right to do so, if for no other reason than that they would have added nothing to the story; but more because no one is certain of what those relationships consisted. Nash himself did not consider himself a homosexual, so it may be that they were merely codependent. Regardless, they would undoubtedly have been immature and ego-centric, as all his personal relationship were before he met Alicia.
   
   Alicia brought something to Nash's life that he had never experienced before: another focus besides himself and mathematics. Before her, his world revolved around the fact that he considered himself a mathematical genius. Now there was someone else to consider. Alicia drove a wedge into an otherwise self-focused, isolated life. She was the person that would recognize his slipping into schizophrenia - although she didn't know what it was at the time - and she was the one that would bring him back. Connelly is wonderful in the role of Alicia. Howard uses their relationship in the film to turn an otherwise straight thriller into a love story. It is this combination that makes A Beautiful Mind very much like a Hitchcock film; and yet, because it is true, it is even more interesting.
   
   Ron Howard is masterful at blurring the line between what is real and what is not in Nash's world. We are never really sure until the day of the storm, when Alicia goes out to get the laundry off the line and discovers what is in the garage. That is an exciting scene, especially when combined with the scene of the baby's bath, and then with the scene following in which Parcher (Harris) holds a gun on Alicia and tells Nash that she is threatening the mission. The conclusion that Nash voices, as he tries to prevent Alicia from leaving, breaks the tension: "She never grows old" (talking about Charles' niece Marcee). That is when he shows he realizes that something is wrong in his world.
   
   How he deals with his problem is what makes his "a beautiful mind." Once he is diagnosed with schizophrenia, he is given the usual drug and shock treatments. But he realizes that the treatments being administered to save his mind are also destroying it. With Alicia's consent and help, he tries to overcome his problem using the power of his own mind. It is because of her love and support, and the support of the mathematics community, that he succeeds.
   
   There is a key scene in the movie - the scene when he receives the recognition of his colleagues in the faculty dining room in the "pen ceremony" - when Thomas King tells him about his being considered for the Nobel Prize. Nash explains to King how he overcame his schizophrenia. He says it is like having an appetite for something but, rather than feeding it, choosing to starve it. He said he had an appetite for certain things in his life that weren't real. They are still there - talking about Charles, Marcee and Parcher - but he doesn't acknowledge them. Thus, they no longer have the power to affect his life.
   
   To me, this is the take-away from both Nasar's book and Howard's film. We all have appetites for things that are not healthy, not real - fantasies in which we play "what if" scenarios in our heads. Like Nash, we can choose to ignore them and go on to lead happy, healthy, productive lives. Or, as he did during his mad period, we can indulge and become involved with them, allowing them to affect and ultimately destroying us. Like Nash, we have power over our own thoughts, and, thereby, over our own lives. If we choose well, we, too, will have beautiful minds and beautiful lives. It's up to us.
   
   Waitsel Smith



4. John Forbes Nash Jr. is one of the most intriguing personalities I've known or read about. A precocious math genius and one of the few persons responsible for the establishment of game theory, he succumbed to mentally-decapacitating schizophrenia at around the age of 30. I think Sylvia Nasar succeeds wonderfully in recounting the personal aspect of Nash's life such as his various eccentricities and the effects his mental illness had on both himself and those around him, but when it comes to the science and theories the book is a wee bit disappointing. Of course this book is a biography and is therefore more concerned about his life than his work, but a lot of interesting examles could have been been used to more clearly illustrate Nash's theories that I was quite surprised Nasar didn't give at least a few of them. Until his theories are better understood, the enormity of Nash's genius could not be fully appreciated.
   
   Recommended for its storytelling, but if you'd like to grab the gist of the technical stuff read his published papers or game theory textbooks.



5. I assisted Nash with the C programming language at Princeton and was a source for the book.
   
   I found the book accurate, well-written, and readable. The part of the book that talks about the period in which Nash's economics prize was considered was indeed one in which this very private man was under a microscope, and my supervisor warned me to be very sensitive to his condition.
   
   Sylvia Nasar knows her craft very well. The book is narratively organized, and she doesn't need to do dramatic flashbacks or grabbers to get you to keep turning the pages. It's a man's life, in America of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s...to the early nineties, by which time Nash had become the Phantom of Fine Hall.
   
   But, Phantoms have a story too. Anyone interested in the human side of math and science, anyone interested in psychology, anyone who is impressed by women who both "stand by their man" and get a career of their own, will enjoy reading the story.
   
   The book is much more detailed and far more accurate than the movie, which had to take liberties with the truth to be entertaining. It includes Nash's other common-law wife Eleanor and a son by that marriage, which was very different from Nash's relationship with Alicia.
   
   The book is long but will probably be very rewarding for most readers.

5 comments about Around the World in 80 Dinners: The Ultimate Culinary Adventure.

1. This is a true gem of the travel and food narrative genre. The authors spent three months traveling to some of the most exotic locations in the world, they share their unforgettable experiences via humorous and insightful descriptions which come alive to the reader. I especially enjoyed the story of their Grand daughter's Flat Stanley being eaten by a rouge monkey in the sacred forest and the hilarious reincarnation ceremony that followed. And as your enjoying the humor, you are unwittingly being exposed to such fascinating cultural encounters. The book is based upon their 80 dinners and the intricate meal descriptions will have your mouth watering, they have even included recipes to some of their favorite meals. This book covers all bases, travel, food, humor and culture and in my opinion is a must have.



2. Another outstanding "can't put it down" book by the Jamisons. It's different than their award winning cookbooks, and shows how truly versatile they are! They travel around the world on frequent flier miles (how lucky is that!), and share their extraordinary adventures along with their culinary experiences. They select their favorites and provide you with recipes to try, while sharing in how much fun they had, even with those unexpected colds that sneak up on you. And the Flat Stanley episodes are a hoot! Who wouldn't dream of having such a wonderful time - and you get to be transported there through their book, with great wit and insight. Bravo to the Jamisons again!



3. The Jamison's have a hit again. I have always enjoyed the Jamison's cookbooks and have found their travel books helpful and spot on with their ratings. Now, their latest book `Around the World in Eighty Dinners' combines the Jamison's in depth knowledge of food, cultures, and world travel much to the reader's delight. `Around the World in Eighty Dinners' is educational, insightful, and humorous.
   
   The Jamison's itinerary included countries with unique national and local cuisines. The two of them saved their frequent flier miles, put together a small basic wardrobe (that would be black), complied all their research and set off. Oh least I forget, there was a third making the trip with them. They had their granddaughter's Flat Stanley along for the adventure. You will find it hilarious as you read about Flat Stanley's demise and reincarnation early on in the journey.
   
   Whether you actually travel the world or vicariously travel the world, you will enjoy the eating adventures and travel escapades as the authors make their way around the world. The detailed descriptions of the dinners will create the visual that may make you green; that is, green with envy or green with the thought of sharing what they were eating!
   
   This book is a must for anyone who loves travel and/or food. So, that includes most of us. I know you will enjoy this book.



4. This is such an enjoyable book!!! It helped me relive good memories from a few places I've already visited and sparked my interest to visit a few new ones. Cheryl & Bill have a wonderful knack for making the story flow with such culinary insights tied in with humor and location highlights. The experiences and flavors of their 3 month journey come alive in the words.



5. I do so love to read about travel and food - so much the better if they're in the same book! I did enjoy the Jamison's book but did have a two minor woes that stole one star from the review.
   
   First, the changing perspective. The narration changes from third person (Bill packed his suitcase, Cheryl chased the monkey...) to first person (we planned our trip...) which I found difficult at the beginning (Who is this mysterious third person on their trip? Who's talking now?) but managed to overcome by about mid-point.
   
   The second sticking point came, unfortunately, at the end which left me frowning instead of closing the book with a bittersweet sigh. The last chapter wraps up the Jamison's return home and plans for the future. A couple of pages in they make some sweeping statements about the food scene here in the US that I thought were unfair and using an awfully wide brush to paint such a big country as ours. I'll bet if the Jamisons spent the same planning time and then three months traveling the US they'd find some of the same high quality, creative food they found abroad. I know I can find it here in my own little corner of Cleveland!
   
   Other than that, it's hard not to be swept up in Bill and Cheryl's enthusiasm for food and travel and their obvious delight in being together on this grand tour.

5 comments about Sounds of the River: A Young Man's University Days in Beijing.

1. I really enjoyed this whimsical memoir of the intellectual and social journey of a young man from the countryside of southern China as makes his way through university life in the big city, and through the years after the end of the Cultural Revolution in China. It is the only memoir of university life of this type that I have encountered so far in the course of a lot of reading about China, and the only one that describes university life in China so well. It has been very interesting to see aspects of university life that we know in a different and western context, in a country and time that are so very different from ours in the U.S.



2. I enjoyed the first book "Colors of the Mountain" so much that I regret to have read this one. Although might be inaccurate in some small details, the touching/inspiring story told by Colors of the moutain is overall believable. A lot of dialogues and events in this book, however, are simply too outrageous to be possible. Seems the author tried too hard to win the readers by making these unbelievable dialogues and twists. In so doing, nevertheless, the story lost its credibility. I also found the protaganist became disappointingly not-lovable. You can't BLAME a person who plans every second to get self-advancement. However, you won't like him and unfortunately this book is pretty much about this kind of self-struggling.



3. Alas, Chen Da's SOUNDS OF THE RIVER is not quite the knockout that his earlier COLORS OF THE MOUNTAIN was.
   
   This second, presumably concluding, volume in his autobiographical series was - to me - primarily valuable in it's details of Chinese university life. Certain aspects were familiar - the eclectic group of friends would be familiar to anyone in the world with some university experience, and his lengthy discussion of the more baroque machinations deep within the administration of a Chinese university was equally fascinating.
   
   At times the melodrama level ran a bit high - this was not always true, and I can think of one major event (involving a roommate) that is written about in a touching fashion. However, certain other occurences would seem to be a bit too befuddling for Chen to wax introspective over, and I was more interested in his thoughts than simple recountings of certain of these events.
   
   Still, Chen paints a largely very appealing self-portrait, and his attempts at balancing universality and communicating cultural specifics and experiences (further developing this, I note that Chen has adapted these autobiographical writings into a third volume for younger readers, an entirely approriate move) is to be lauded.
   
   -David Alston



4. Da Chen writes about his college years at the Beijing Language Institute. Although the story of the naive countryside dweller moving to the big city is an old one, but Da Chen makes this story fresh and entertaining. However, Beijing at this time was still quite backwards compared to Western cities or even Beijing of today, yet the gap with rural life at that time was already enormous. The hurdles of getting used to all the novelties of college life, dealing with the arcane and corrupt communist rules, and the drive to earn a scholarship to go to the United States all make for an engaging story.



5. Da Chen describes in aching detail his uphill battle to get his foot in the door of Chinese higher education with it's exposure to greater intellectual challenges and the potential for higher rewards. This book takes up from the point of his childhood described in "The Sounds of the River" in a flyspeck provincial village to the big city life of the capital Beijing. The persecutions visited on Da and his family due to their former lives as "landlords" continue with beatings, insults and threats of death or expulsion from school. Navigating the corrupt eductional system, living on pocket change, driving yourself into sleeplessness and bleeding ulcers, figuring out who and how to bribe in order to make it from day to day under Communist rule are explained and illustrated. Mr. Chen made an appearance at the Decatur Book Festival yesterday and my reading of his books was prompted by the opportunity to meet this extraordinary individual. His fluency with a brush and flute-explained in "Colors of the Mountain"-was evident. Do yourself a favor and delve into his books and into another world.

5 comments about Don't Leave Me This Way: Or When I Get Back on My Feet You'll Be Sorry.

1. I loved this book. Though Julia has a reason to be bitter,
   she is anything but. Her spirit, humor, family and positive
   attitude support her as she soldiers on. It is a lesson for
   us all.
   As an aside, make sure you don't have any medications with
   PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE in your cabinet. It got taken off the
   market in 2005.



2. Final Stroke I used this book during my research for my novel and found it uplifting. I was a caregiver for a stroke survivor and used my experiences in my fiction writing. I applaud Julia for this fine work.



3. What a wonderful view of what it is like to be on the receiving end of patient care. This book opens up a whole new way of looking at life and how people portray themselves. Also it gives you an appreciation for all the things that you may not know your taking for granted. Great book with great heart. Would read it again and again.



4. This is yet another insight into the hellish situation that exists when healthy people become incapacitated and end up in rehab or nursing home situations. (For comparison, read Joni Eareckson's autobiography and Stephen Thompson's Genesis: A Portrait of Spinal Cord Injury. Each one of these author's stories begin in different decades, but all, including Julia Garrison, describe first-hand similar experiences of dealing with a health-care system that is both abusive and neglectful).
   
   If Julia's family hadn't been there for her, including a devoted husband, mother and eight brothers, she would have quickly withered and died in a nursing home. A simple request for tampons was denied, and she was offered adult diapers as a substitute, because the home didn't stock tampons or even pads. It was far easier for the nursing home staff to have a compliant patient in diapers, rather than an ornery, loud and gutsy 37-year-old woman who refused to roll over and accept the cards that fate had laid out for her.
   
   The medical profession will move heaven and earth to save the life of an accident or stroke victim, but then doesn't seem to know what to do with the patients whose lives they have just saved. Julia Fox Garrison, with an insane will to survive, and surrounded by the love of her family, took charge of her own recovery and made her own plans for the rest of her life, the one she would have to live after she was discharged from the hospital and sent home.
   
   
   Garrison's book is must reading for anyone whose life has been altered by a single event. Life does somehow go on, and the book is blessedly free of the heavy-handed preaching that often accompanies the retelling of tragic true-life stories.



5. I read the first two paragraphs, stopped, and read them again. I then got up from my comfy chair, found my husband and daughter and read the first two paragraphs aloud to them. We were all blown away. The rest of Julia Garrison's story is just as breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. I cried hard twice and laughed out loud too many times to count. When I finished, I just sat for a long while with the book in my hands, looking at the cover, wishing for more. I'm the same age the author was when, without warning, she had a massive stroke, and her life changed forever. So I keep imagining myself in her shoes, wondering if I possess the courage, determination, and positive attitude Julia has, wondering if I would survive...and then thrive. I don't know, but I know this: Her story inhabits me now. And I carry her messages of positive attitude, dignity, and hope with me. This book should be read by everyone who has ever been a patient, everyone who has ever faced overwhelming obstacles, every doctor, and definitely every medical student. Have I left anyone out?

5 comments about The Twelve Caesars (Penguin Classics).

1. Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars, writing in the early second century, provides the modern reader with details of all the depraved decadence and ruthless violence of the ancient Roman Empire, an association that has become so very much engrained into our present collective memory. This Roman historian, unlike most ancient sources, concentrates not on the large events, such as battles (for instance, he barely mentions anything of Caesar's epic campaigns in Gaul), but rather he chooses to place his emphasis on the personal lives and characters of the Caesars. If Suetonius were alive today, we would be reading him in the National Enquirer, or some other paparazzi infested tabloid riddled with cheating movie stars or pop musicians with love handles. He enjoys telling the gossip, but most of all, he seems to revel in the stories of perversion and crime, of torture and bloodshed - the more scandal, the better.
   
   He presents each life at first as a short political biography, beginning with a genealogical background and then a brief summary of the accomplishments they made as both politicians and emperors. He assesses their most honorable, or at least satisfactory, traits and actions. However, this rarely lasts more than ten pages, out of a thirty-or-so page biography, and usually consists of mundane government actions, or the different places they moved to when they were young. He then frankly informs the reader that he will proceed to list their crimes, which are always much longer and more descriptive than any of their virtuous elements, with the clear intent to prove what pathetic monstrosities they truly were (according to him, that is). His method certainly leaves the desired effect with the reader, for by the time one is done reading the revolting acts and descriptions that Suetonius provides, one is apt to forget all the acceptable and praise-worthy points that they had read a few dozen pages before.
   
   The one exception to this trend appears to be the only emperor whom Suetonius admired - Augustus. Although he goes fairly easy on Julius Caesar (compared with the later Caesars, that is), the figure nevertheless fails to make his approval. Augustus' crimes, which are relatively few, seem to occur mostly in his youth, before he was emperor, such as killing prisoners where others would have allowed them to live. The virtue of Augustus that to Suetonius seems most admirable is his unyielding prudence. For instance, Augustus, throughout his reign, refrains from the title of "Emperor," shows the utmost humbleness in the Senate, and never seems to overindulge in decadence. He disallows even his image to be placed among the gods in the temples, insisting that he is a servant of the people, and rules only with their consent. Likewise, his reasoning is consistently sound and his justice fair, usually preferring not to punish critics or rebels, but rather redirect their efforts or cripple their attempts through clever ruses. He seems to appreciate Augustus' seemingly indirect approach to ruling. Although he, of course, recognizes that it is often a masquerade, he nevertheless condones it.
   
   All of the emperors after Augustus, however, fail to find redemption in Suetonius' critical, scandal-seeking eye. Tiberius, who at first seems to find approval in his early career, ultimately falls into depravity and vicious homicide. Claudius is an insane, scatter-brained tyrant. And Nero proves himself to be a neglectful, atrociously doomed creature that nearly destroys the Empire. Even with all these abhorrent figures, the Emperor who seems to most find the author's loathing is Caligula. Even in the early part of the biography, where Suetonius is normally tame, the young man is shown to "not control his natural brutality and viciousness" (Suetonius 155). The rest of his governmental account, perhaps the shortest of all the Julio-Claudian emperors, ends with: "So much for the Emperor; the rest of this history must deal with the Monster" (Suetonius 161). Caligula is presented as almost the exact antithesis of Augustus. Whereas Augustus presented praiseworthy prudence, Caligula showed outrageous decadence, humiliated the Senate, believed him to be a god, and took part in nearly every sexual and violent depravity imaginable. Also, Augustus cared little for his appearance where Caligula scalped the back of a man's head for having a thicker head of hair than he. The counterpoints are endless, and Suetonius gives no mercy in his telling.
   
   In all of these condemnable Caesars, the lust of power seems the most objectionable trait in them. Of course, Suetonius was of the senatorial class, traditionally hostile to the imperial rule, and it is therefore understandable that he would prefer the emperor that was most humble and consenting to the Senate than the one who openly grabbed the most control. This should make one question the reliability of him as a source. Another reason is his admitted insertion of hearsay and rumors into the telling, often painting a very unsavory picture to prove his point. This is not to say that all that he writes should be subject to such suspicion and assumed false, however, the casual reader should keep in mind that Suetonius is writing with a purpose - to prove the evil and depravity of the imperial institution. Nevertheless, Suetonius provides modern readers with a fascinating, shameless account of debauchery and political intrigue that is as guilty a pleasure to read now as it undoubtedly was nearly two millennia ago.



2. For anyone interested in the source of Robert Graves' "Claudius" series, reading Suetonius is mandatory. A fascinating glimpse into Roman political life.



3. It is a sad fact of history that of all the histories of the Roman Emperors that were written, including the contemporary biographies and autobiographies, that most have been lost forever. Suetonius came into Imperial favour riding the coat(or toga) tails of the success of Pliny The Younger - it is quite likely that we may otherwise have never have heard of him. It isn't an entirely useless work, as it does give some interesting insights as to how second century Imperial Rome looked upon its founding fathers. Still, for historians, Suetonius' work is far from an evidentiary goldmine. The best comparison one can give to this work is as a compilation of anecdotes and contemporary reports - many of which are indeed interesting - but do leave the historian in us all pining for that which has been lost.



4. When I first become seriously interested in the history of Rome, this was one of the first books I read. I really enjoyed it and found it easy to read.
   
   Suetonius has the book is divided up into the first twelve Caesars, staring with Gaius Julius Caesar and briefly discusses their lives prior to becoming Caesar and then spends the majority of the chapter on their time as Caesar. He spares no one in this, if they were morally corrupt (as most of them seemed to be) he completely tells it all. It is easy to tell, however, which Emperors, Suetonius and probably most Romans admired and respected, Augustus being one of them.
   
   This is a must have for anyone who is studying Rome.



5. Suetonius gives us a fairly level-headed early history of the Roman leaders and gives a very readable narrative. he goes from leader to leader and we consider him to be the best source for early Rome.

5 comments about Warrior King: The Triumph and Betrayal of an American Commander in Iraq.

1. I served with LTC Sassaman during the time this book covers. It is accurate, well written, and reminds me of what an excellent leader LTC Sassaman is. I learned more about leadership by working for him than from any book or class available to me. I am proud that he has told our story and I am proud to say I was a part of it. I will always consider him my Battalion Commander and would follow him anywhere even to this day.



2. I could not put the book down...It captured my heart and gave me a new perspective on the war,the people in Iraq,and our military.I think it takes great courage to speak the truth and share an experience such as this. Nate has done it in a profound way and has obviously put his heart and soul into this book. My heart goes out to every soldier serving in Iraq and I think every American needs to read this book.
   I have to make a comment about the fallen soldiers,first my heart and prayers are with the families(I can only imagine the heartache).Second,I know Nate personally and I know his intent for dedicating his book to them was for no other reason than to give respect and honor where it is due.I think people need to understand that many lives and families have experienced great pain from this war.If you can some how use it to help others through their pain, then it becomes a labor of love and hopefully great healing. I believe that not only every American needs to read this book but also every leader in our government.



3. The U.S. military is often viewed by many people that have never served as being a monolithic organization. This couldn't be further from the truth. Because in reality it's nothing more then a beauracratic leviathon. LTC Sassaman does an excellent job of showing the reader how having this sad reality naturally present can become a grave achilles heel in a nation's larger foreign policy when it's combined with a disengenious political idealogy.



4. In another war, Nate Sassaman's aggressive leadership would have merited a statue somewhere. Instead, as "the right warrior for the wrong war," his career was sacrificed to satisfy the needs of an army obsessed with appearances instead of winning. His is a story of brave men faced with hardship and hostility, having to make snap decisions in the heat of combat, only to be second-guessed by careerist officers sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of their offices. The parallel to big city police forces does not go unnoticed - "there is no war right now," he writes. "It's law enforcement, and we're losing ten, fifteen soldiers a week to law enforcement." If you oppose the war, you need to read the book to appreciate the sort of people we send over to fight it; if you support the war, you need to read it to understand why LTC Sassaman, a true warrior, writes, "Bring the soldiers home - now. Start today."



5. LTC Sassaman's book, The Warrior King, was an insightful book that was helpful to our family to see a picture of what is really going on in the Iraq War. Just watching the news and reading the newspaper does not portray the real story. It is a shame that LTC Sassaman's career was ruined by the combination of the administration's failure to set forth proper goals for winning the war, failure to set rational policies for rebuilding Iraq, the Army's willingness to sacrifice one of it's top soldiers in an effort to have better public relations regarding detainee abuse and Colonel Rudesheim's policies of appeasement and "offend no Iraqi's" in the midst of the supposed war.
   
   It saddens me that someone with the character and heart of a Warrior, like LTC Sassaman , isn't being honored. He should be a General by now.
   
   The Bush Administration and the military's complete lack of planning regarding the occupation, rebuilding and departure from Iraq is appalling.
   
   This book should be required reading for all high school students!!! Kudos to you Nathan Sassaman, for sharing your story. Can't wait to see it on the Big Screen!!

2 comments about Kids With Courage: True Stories About Young People Making a Difference.

1. This is one of the best books for young people I have ever read. It's very inspirational and motivating. You can change your community - or the world! This book empowers young people to dream and act.



2. I came across this book and really like it. It's always a pleasure for me to read about kids making a difference.
   Kids need to be encouraged as much as possible and this book does it for me.

5 comments about Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character.

1. I have purchased almost all Feynman books so far.
   
   Be forewarned. This book is a compilation of "Surely your joking..." and "What do you care what..." plus a bonus CD audio recording of a talk which was "in-te-res-ting" ( a Feynmanism).
   
   If I had realized this, I would only have bought this book instead of all three.
   
   For a more global and thorough exposition of his life, consider Gleick's '93 book "Genius".
   
   For those wondering if they should find anything out about Feynman... There was a student that was asked if he wanted to come along to hear Feynman speak. "No. I'm going to study instead." Years later he was still kicking himself for passing up the opportunity. Feynman has this effect. Once you find out about him, you'll probably want to have done so earlier.
   
   What's in store for you is a look back from the 20's to the 80's through the eyes of a physicist that married his sweet heart against the advice of family and lost her to tuberculosis a short time before a cure, rubbed elbows with the greats Einstein, Bohr, Dyson, Schwinger, Fermi etc, patrioticly worked on anti-aircraft defenses, helped build the atomic bomb, was bold enough to look at it directly behind a windshield that blocked the harmful ultra violet, cracked safes, deciphered Mayan hieroglyphs, learned to speak and taught in Portuguese, ironed out the problems in Quantum Electrodynamics, went around Caltech acting weird from a concussion for three weeks before any one noticed, "Well, next time say something!", he scolded. The '65 Nobel prize: "You'll raise more of a fuss if you refuse it.", learned to draw, play drums, inspired nanotechnologists, quantum computing research and after surviving 10 years of cancer helped trackdown the problem with the Space Shuttle Columbia and lastly said: "I'd hate to die twice. It's boring!"



2. A interesting view of life through the eyes of a down to earth genius.



3. This is a wonderful read....a chance to listen to a great scientist with a wonderful quirky mind. It is all interesting, some of it very touching, but the part on the investigation of the Challenger explosion is a classic study in bureaucratic malingering.



4. The stories in this book gave be belly laughs, and they also made me think.



5. This autobiography of the great physicist Richard Feynman should appeal to all those readers who want to know about his private life and scientific activities in detail.However, most of the material is taken from two previous books, "Surely you're joking, Mr Feynman" and "What do you care what other people think?". Some of the "adventures" were already related by James Gleick in his biography of Feynman, "Genius".So people who own these books can do without this one, unless they are real Feynman fans(like me!).
   Another feature of this book is the CD which comes with it, and which contains a recording of a lecture by Feynman, covering most of the material of the Chapter entitled "Los Alamos from Below". I found this CD both entertaining and very useful, as it gives the listener a taste of what a lecture by Feynman sounded like. In fact, all the book, in its simplicity, sounds more like a series of lectures;and Feynman, in his distaste for "humanities", seems to enjoy "talking" to the public, with not a hint of literary artifice in his style!Of course, this could be seen as unbecoming such a brilliant mind, but Feynman keeps reminding the reader that he has no respect for anything but science(at one place, he talks about finding the professors of the philosophy department at Columbia particularly "inane").Some will also find his philandering a little exaggerated: but he is honest enough to admit that there is nothing he loves more than a "beautiful woman", and who could blame him?
   Finally, it is worthwhile noting that, if some top-notch scientists had also literary gifts (two major examples being Poincaré and Einstein, whose writings are literary gems), Feynman couldn't care less: he even boasts that he does not give any importance to spelling mistakes, as long as the reader (or listener) understand what he is talking about! However, after reading his Nobel Banquet Speech , I was agreeably surprised with a much better style, which he even admits in the book. Talking about this speech, he says(p.343):"But then I said I received, all at once, a big pile of letters - I said it much better in the speech- reminding me of all the people that I knew; letters from childhood friends who jumped up when they read the morning newspaper and cried out 'I know him!he's that kid we used to play with and so on...'".Feynman seems to be quoting from memory, because this is not exactly what he said in the speech:"...victorious cries of 'I told you so' by those having no technical knowledge-their successful prediction being based on faith alone..."(see Nobelprize.org for the complete speech).

5 comments about Harpo Speaks!.

1. The title is just as clever as the man himself. Harpo, the silent clown of the Marx Brothers movies, finally gets to tell his own story after years of witnessing the antics of some of the most famous people of his time. Adolph "Harpo" Marx grew up in the poor Jewish slums of New York, quit school in 2nd grade, and proceeded to become one of the most famous and lovable faces of the movies. He led a colorful life influenced by his four famous brothers and the people he associated himself with. His childhood is perhaps the most interesting segment, filled with hilarious anecdotes that spring to life thanks to excellent storytelling. A chunk of Harpo's adult years were spent with Alexander Wollcott, an interesting and lovingly portrayed writer with a penchant for the odd. The years spent with him during the 1920s were wild, but Harpo managed to extend the fun through the rest of his life.
   
   Very little of this book is spent scrutinizing the films the Marx Brothers made. In fact, only a few are even mentioned at all. Harpo took more pride in the people he knew and his other accomplishments. His movies were a small part of his existence.
   
   Coming away from this book, one feels incredibly close with the author. Harpo manages to vividly portray his life and in doing so, paint an intimate portrait of himself as well. He was a lovable man with a great attitude toward life. This book is a treasure, and a great memory of a great man.



2. this was a very entertaining book. I never knew how intelligent Harpo was despite quitting schoool in the second grade. He met a great many well-educated people in his life and had a way of being accepted into their inner circles. He was able to describe these relationships in a way which brought these people once again to life.



3. When speaking of the Algonquin Round Table of which he was a member for years - he claims his only contribution was to be a listener among all the great talkers. He lies. His storytelling, practical jokes and childlike sense of fun were an essential ingredient of that famed circle.
   
   No other book, not even Groucho's own autobio, conveys the early 20th century world of Vaudeville in all its raunchy splendor as this book does. There was never so amazing a place as New York of that era. Its a fun read throughout.
   
   Surprisingly, at the heart of the book is the unlikely pairing of best friends Alexander Wolcott and Harpo Marx. Wolcott, sexually neutered by a glandular condition or mumps as his story went, obese, ridiculous and brilliant, saw in Harpo the image of freedom he could never know. Harpo, a second grade drop-out who at fourteen was playing piano in a whorehouse, was perhaps the only human being who really understood his friend.



4. "Harpo Speaks" is one of the few books I've ever read that left an lasting impression on me. I first read it in 1975 when I was a teenager. I had always loved the Marx Brothers movies, and Harpo was always my favorite. My mother loved celebrity biographies, and she knew I would love this book.
   
   Now, some 35+ years later, I still am in love with this book. I have used many of the illustrations with my children over the years. I love the story after Harpo lost most of his money in the crash of 1929, and he came upon a couple who was being evicted from their flat. The landlord was selling their belongings, and Harpo bought a scrub brush for a nickel. If I remember correctly, he gave the scrub brush back to the couple.
   
   Also, I remember how much he used humor when raising his children. Harpo shared throughout the book that if you keep your kids laughing, you will have them in the palm of your hand. That pearl of wisdom is so true, and I always remembered that with my children. They are grown now (well my youngest is 16), and they all have a great sense of humor.
   
   I need to buy this book again. I lost it in a move around 20 years ago. I want each of my children to read this book, and get to know one of the most unique and down-to-earth men in our country's history. Harpo Marx was one of a kind, and we won't see anyone like him ever again. What a shame!



5. From his early days as a ragamuffin loner dropout on the streets of new york, to his years in the spotlight as one of history's greatest comedians, Harpo takes us on a whirlwind ride through his life, and every page is more engaging than the last. I love the Marx Bros, and reading the success story through the eyes of their silent (but not unheard) partner is a must of any fan, be they casual or hardcore. Thank you Harpo, for sharing your rich life experiences with us. I'm forever grateful.

4 comments about Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? (Who Was...?).

1. Edison's contributions to modern society are impressive: the light bulb, phonograph, improvements to the telegraph, telephone and motion picture technology. Very enjoyable book!



2. Great subject for a children book. I got this series of books for my daughter and she really enjoyes reading them. Great read and educational too.



3. Whenever I see a new book in this series, I buy it. I have yet to be disappointed. The information is presented in an easy to read format and contains a wide variety of information as well as pictures. I once had a reluctant reader who became a reader after reading one of these for a project I had assigned in my classroom. His mother was forever grateful.



4. 
   I have an 8 y.o. son who is very inquisitive, but getting him to read voluntarily on his own is somewhat of a chore. I got him this book for Christmas, and he read it on his own,not wanting to put it down in the morning, before his carpool arrived.
   After he finished the book, he asked,"Mom, can we get the one about John F. Kennedy?"
   Enough said.