3 comments about Which Door has the Cadillac: Adventures of a Real-Life Mathematician.

1. What an interesting book from a man who has lived through the most momentous moments of the 20th century!

   Don't worry --- this isn't a math book; it's the memoirs of Andrew Vazsonyi's journey from pre-war Hungary to modern-day California, and the ways that math has helped him to solve real problems, and have fun.

   The style is easy and fun. Highly recommended.




2. I just finished Which Door Has the Cadillac. As far as I know it is the first autobiography written by a modern mathematician, as the others are biographies. Vazsonyi has written a fast-paced, humorous, and engaging story of his life. I was moved by his personal struggles to escape Hungary before the Nazi onslaught. Interesting anecdotes of his encounters with notable and not-so-notable people, such as Paul Erdos and Zepartzatt Gozinto, made it difficult to set the book down. My vision of math has been expanded by Vazsonyi's quirky and yet grounded examples. The probabilities associated with the Cadillac problem are excitedly counterintuitive. It doesn't surprise me that even Paul Erdos was fooled by this problem. My favorite chapter was The Galloping Fighter Plane. All and all an excellent read!



3. A nice, fun autobiography. Not as good as "Surely you are Joking, Mr. Feynman", but quite entertaining. Andrew is basically a guy who started off as a 'pure' mathematician who 'sold out' to do stuff that is actually useful (due to circumstances) and has grown to love what he did as he went along applying mathematics to 'real life'. On top of it he had about at least 4 careers, going from and aerodynamics engineer for one of the early missle programs to a managment consultant to a marketing wiz to a professor. Combining this with his 'Marsian-Hungarian' background this makes for a lot of interestiong stories.

5 comments about Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo.

1. I agree that Pagan Kennedy is an excellent storyteller, and her telling of William Sheppard's story is spellbinding. Contrary to what some reviewers think, however, there is much more primary material available to the researcher than Kennedy seems to have used. Unfortunately, Black Livingstone is marred by too many suppositions--maybe, probably, perhaps, could have, should have, etc.--and the author attributes attitudes both to Sheppard and his associates that cannot be substantiated from records. William Phipps's biography, William Sheppard: Congo's African American Livingstone, presents a much more balanced picture of this important man's life and service.



2. Pagan Kennedy told the story of a African American missonary who wanted to convert the uncharted parts of the Congo to christianity. William Sheppard, the missionary, was very determined to complete his goal of converting the Congo even if it took his whole life. I Could not put the book down. The book was basically a detailed sum up of what really went on in the Congo. At some points in the book it almost seemed fictional because it was so hard to believe what was happening to him amd the people who were with him. The book was a very good read, but at some points hard to understand but that added to the suspense of the book. Overall the book was a very fun an interesting book to read. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the Congo or who wants to find a good book to read.



3. The life and work of William Sheppard should be better known. He was an African-American who escaped Jim Crow in the U.S. to become a missionary in Africa. He co-founded a Christian mission in Africa where they had been none before and for a time ran it single-handedly. He was also an amateur anthropologist/ethnologist and became the first foreigner to establish contact with the Kuba people of central Africa and to describe their culture to the outside world. On top of all that, he documented the cruelty of the King Leopold's Congo rule. Unfortunately, it is not clear that "Black Livingstone: A True Tale of Adventure in the Nineteenth-Century Congo" by Pagan Kennedy is up to the job of elevating William Sheppard to his rightful place in history. The book is well written, worth reading, and might be valuable to anyone interested in Africa, the Congo, or Christian missionaries, but a lot of the story is missing and is filled in with generalities from Sheppard's time. It may be the case that original documents concerning Sheppard's life are lost, and this is the best that can be done, or perhaps another book can do better. Four stars, but barely.



4. Black Livingstone is a remarkable tale, illustrating hardships, history, and the dignity and determination associated with two courageous explorers. Pagan Kennedy accurately portrays 19th century Africa, and shows the light and beauty of the "dark continent". Readers are bombarded with delicate representations of barbaric and striking images. In turn, it enables the reader to experience a deeper feeling of empathy for the abused Africans. This novel raises questions as to whose way of thinking was most primitive. This ironic twist reveals that perhaps the most civilized are the most barbaric by nature. The character Sheppard shows the Pontius Pilate in all of us. That no matter how much we want to strive for goodness, our weaknesses and dark sides, can get the best of us. The novels descriptive nature allows readers to see the intimacy Sheppard shared with the Kuba people, as well as the lack of intimacy he did share with his wife. A notable highlight of this novel is demonstrated when a more tasteless and uncouth side of Sheppard is shown. It showcases the human nature of Sheppard, and most men in general. Although not a difficult read, this book is recommended to those who care for the well being for the human race.



5. I think that this book gives an excellent, detailed look back on a greatly unknown black American explorer, William Henry Sheppard. Pagan Kennedy opens our eyes to history that is left out of history books. The Presbyterian missionary attempts to convert African tribes into "civilized Christians", but in the end fails because of his mishaps and disliking by a white missionary. I recommend this book to anyone interested in studying black American explorers, or anyone looking for information on the Belgium Congo.

No comments about Tributes to John Hope Franklin: Scholar, Mentor, Father, Friend.

No comments about Bill Jason Priest, Community College Pioneer.

No comments about Heroes & Teachers.

No comments about Leaders Who Dare: Pushing the Boundaries.

No comments about Robert M. Hutchins: Portrait of an Educator (Centennial Publications of The University of Chicago Press).

1 comments about Meeting The Professor: Growing Up In The William Blackburn Family.

1. Meeting The Professor: Growing Up In The William Blackburn Family is the autobiography of novelist, essayist, editor, and academician Alexander Blackburn (Professor Emeritus of English, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs). Meeting The Professor provides a kind of dual portrait of Alexander and his father William Blackburn (a legendary crative-writing professor at Duke University and mentor to such authors as Reynolds Price, William Styron, Anne Tyler, and Fred Chappell). Born in Iran to mission parents, William Blackburn became a Rhodes scholar at xford and earned a Ph.D. from Yale. He was a brooding, taciturn and ultimately unknowable man who died blind and speecless at age 73, with one of his most beloved students, Reynolds Price, staying at the bedside night after night playing Mozart for him. Alexader Blackburn would follow the literary life, becoming a teacher of writing like his illustrtous father, as well as maturing into a novelist. Meeting The Professor is enhanced with 40 black/white photographs and is a compellingly written and inherently fascinating memoir.

2 comments about Street Soldier.

1. Marshall has succeeded where others before him have failed. Street Soldiers offers all the "urban reality" stories to get you out of your comfortable chair, but doesn't simply stop there. Outlining a clear and concise approach for dealing with youth violence, Marshall has put forth the solution for tackling one of our nations hidden epidemics. Whether your a frontline worker with youth or not, you will find this a must read book to find out how you can best help stem this incidious disease impacting all of us.



2. Thank you Dr Marshall for writing the story of the Omega Boys Club. I think you have outlined here, very well, how anyone with knowledge, dedication and insight can touch the hearts of our youth!
   
   The Black man is becoming extinct and we, as a nation, are allowing it to happen. Thank you for not tolerating it!

2 comments about Come Out the Wilderness: Memoir of a Black Woman Artist (The Cross-Cultural Memoir Series).

1. Come Out The Wilderness: Memoir of a Black Woman Artist.

   This is a book worth reading, however, the first 100 pages are a little slow. The Artist (Stella) is the only girl among five brothers, and is one of the only African American students in her Catholic school. Her attempts to deal with and overcome Sexism and Racism in her home, school and marriages makes for good reading. In her first marriage she is forced to choose between the man she fell in love with and marriage and the person he became. He had problems handling his work related stress caused by racism. His other problems include her holding out sexually until he agreed to marry her, the early birth of their first child and dropping out of college.




2. This book is a real treat to read. I am impressed not only by the writing of this author. She actually has a real movie story in the works. I have read other works by Estella -- This is well written as usual, tasteful, entertaining and family oriented. Thank You so much