Monster

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"Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? In this innovative novel by Walter Dean Myers, the reader becomes both juror and witness during the trial of Steve's life. To calm his nerves as he sits in the courtroom, aspiring filmmaker Steve chronicles the proceedings in movie script format. Interspersed throughout his screenplay are journal writings that provide insight into Steve's life before the murder and his feelings about being held in prison during the trial. "They take away your shoelaces and your belt so you can't kill yourself no matter how bad it is. I guess making you live is part of the punishment."

Myers, known for the inner-city classic Motown and Didi (first published in 1984), proves with Monster that he has kept up with both the struggles and the lingo of today's teens. Steve is an adolescent caught up in the violent circumstances of an adult world--a situation most teens can relate to on some level. Readers will no doubt be attracted to the novel's handwriting-style typeface, emphasis on dialogue, and fast-paced courtroom action. By weaving together Steve's journal entries and his script, Myers has given the first-person voice a new twist and added yet another worthy volume to his already admirable body of work. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Book Description

FADE IN: INTERIOR: Early morning in CELL BLOCK D, MANHATTAN DETENTION CENTER.

Steve (Voice-Over)
Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady prosecutor called me ... Monster.

Customer Reviews:

Right On!.......2007-10-08

I loved the format of this book! What a great way to really get inside a character's head - Chris is into film making, so it makes perfect sense to cast his story, plan his camera angles and set the scene with voiceovers. The diary effect in between chapters, the description of the "set," both in jail and in the courthouse - all of these combined for a dramatic, suspenseful screenplay.
I learned a lot about urban life in the neighborhood from this book, too. I would like to believe that gangs do not initiate, or store owners are safe, or that drugs are hard to come by for low income individuals, but none of that is true. Monster shows that gangs, burglary and drugs are part of everyday life for street kids.

Confusing, bewildering, and intense.......2007-06-26

One would think that these aspects make "Monster" a bad book. But they don't. They're what make "Monster" an original, heart-moving, emotional book. The style makes it stand out, once you remember the characters and what the little comments mean. A movie-script format? It's not dumb - it's interesting, original, and gets everything across.

"Monster", as you've probably seen, is about a teenage boy on trial for armed robbery and possibly second-degree murder. Throughout the book (which is almost always set in the trial, though occasionally we get flashbacks, and every once in a while we get a moment of Steve writing down his thoughts), Steve insists that he's innocent. Throughout the book, though, we don't really find out. The ending leaves the reader mystified and asking themselves so many questions.

Perhaps that's what sent other readers packing. On the other hand, what fun is a story if it doesn't make you think? "Monster" certainly made me think. I sat down and thought about the jury, about the lawyers, about the witnesses. I sat down and thought about the judge and other accused. I thought about if I was on the jury and had had this evidence placed before me, what would I pick? This book made me THINK.

It's an intense read. It's realistic, powerful, and emotional. I found myself crying during moments Steve was. I felt so connected to him, even though most of what we know is through speech and dialogue. I was drawn into this book so well.

This is a great read and a great buy. I highly recommend it.

Monster .......2007-06-06

Steve Harmon is on trial, and in jail for murder. Steve is only 16. Steve begins to realize the facts of the trial are very unbalenced.He also wonders, "Maybe the reason I'm is on trial is because of my rase." This book is a combination of Steve's journal entrees and a play written by Steve. This is a wonderful deep book that I enjoyed immensely! It descries Harlem and the raceisum Steve encounters. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the real issues in the world.

Monster.......2007-06-06

Nichelle Ennis
Title: Monster
Author: Walter Dean Myers
Harper Collins publisher Inc.
Copyright 1999
Pages: 281

The wrong place at the wrong time could change your life. Steve Harmon is a sixteen year old African male in the violent streets of Harlem, New York. A clerk is dead, gunned down by robbers. All the judge needs is eyes and evidence, and Steve does twenty 4five to life.

All the parts in this book are pretty good, because it leads up to the end, which is the best part, to see if Steve is guilty or not. It's crazy, because your heart starts racing, like you have to be careful what you read, like words are important at that point of the book.

This book is really about adapting to change, pressure, and experience you shouldn't be experiencing until about twenty five years old. This is how a sixteen year old saw another side of his world.

I like different, and this book has that unique. It's good because in the end everything comes together. Flashbacks are involved to make you think. In my opinion everybody would like this book, I mean everybody, from jailbirds to grandparents. I wouldn't change anything about this book.

my review for monster.......2007-06-05

monster is about a sixteen yearold boy who is in jail because he is thought to be in a murder at a store. this author writes this book like a typewritting person in court. the boys name is steven. steven writes his life in jail and his life while he's in court. in this book it has many many different characters so you have to make up many voices for those characters. if you like books like with people in court and need to make many different voices and if you like murder mysteries this book is perfect for you. this book has twists and turns in it. the main characters are steven,king,bobo,the lawyers,and the judge. stevens life story is called monster just like the books title.

America's Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree & How to Make the Most of Any Job, No Matter Where It Is

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Great If Your Interested in Working at a Traditional Firm...
Beware . . . .
The view from the West
The View From a West Coast Litigator
Very good resource

America's Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree & How to Make the Most of Any Job, No Matter Where It Is
Kimm Walton
Manufacturer: Harcourt Legal & Professional Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0159001803

Book Description

Discover hundreds of extraordinary places to work--law firms, corporations, government agencies, advocacy groups and much more!

Customer Reviews:

Great If Your Interested in Working at a Traditional Firm..........2006-02-25

I found that this book focused mainly on traditional law firms across the country rather than non-traditional aspects of the practice of law. If your willing to pick up and move across the country for a specific firm then this is the book for you. If your looking for something less traditional, keep looking...

Beware . . . ........2004-03-24

I actually worked at one of the places she suggests (a government agency), and it was the worst place I have ever worked. It had a very high turnover rate, especially for a non-firm employer. I got the impression that the recruiter was a friend of Kimm's. Employers can simply schmooze the author into putting them into her book--this how many attorneys get on those "Best attorneys under 40" type lists.

The view from the West.......2004-02-26

I agree with the reviewer from Il that this is not a helpful book, and that it was written in such a way that it would become outdated quickly. Culling information from "administrators" is all fine and good, but the book would greatly benefit from having been authored by a lawyer who had been in the trenches in more ways than as a mere summer associate--Ms. Walton's experience with practicing law. I am thinking, for example, of D. Aron's classic book on alternatives to practicing law, a book which benefits greatly from the author's experience of having practiced law. Such a perspective would allow one to more carefully explore firm politics and how a new associate might deal with them, for example. I also agree with the other reviewer's underscoring the impact of regionalism. In California, for example, we routinely hire prospects from California law schools that are not highly ranked. This is because we know that such schools turn out fine lawyers by having come against them or worked beside them. (I'd like to think it is not because we feel inferior to applicants from better ranked schools elsewhere, a problem the other reviewer hinted at as far as his experience in the South.)

The View From a West Coast Litigator.......2004-02-26

I agree with the reviewer from Il. who criticized the book as out of date and not helpful. There definitely is a middle America bias to the book. It is not for someone who seriously wants to explore 'radical' public interest careers, for example. It is also not, like Aron's classic book, about a wide variety of things one can do with a law degree besides practicing law. Sure, there are some examples, but not many. There is regionalism all over the country, as the other reviewer pointed out, not just in the South. (His example.) In California, for example, California schools--even those that are not high pedigree--win out over higher ranked schools from other areas of the country besides legal employers tend to choose people whom they can identify with in terms of education and other things. Ms. Walton's book might have been more helpful if she had ever practiced law besides in the capacity of a summer associate. Asking "adminitrators" for data is a good start, but they often can't advise in terms of firm politics etc.

Very good resource.......2004-02-01

I read this book before I went to law school and during my recruiting season, and found it to be a very helpful and comprehensive resource. The book discusses many different employers, ranging from law firms, companies, clerkships, government jobs (including some agencies that people may not be aware of), small firms, public interest jobs, trade associations and law school administration jobs. Most of the companies/firms, etc. listed contain a brief factual description of the workplace, comments by lawyers and a description of the workplace environment. There is also advice on how to obtain some of the more unusual positions.

Although I usually do not like to comment on reviews written by other people, there are a few things written about this book that I believe are unfair to the author. First of all, yes some of the salary numbers and hiring numbers are out of date - this is to be expected when these numbers change yearly. That information is easily found on the internet. Second, please do not let people's political agendas distract you from a wonderful resource. The DOJ is still a great place to work in terms of legal jobs - any lawyer who wants a job where they only take on cases they fully support will probably be disappointed in the profession. Next, Ms. Walton made a strong effort to find firms all around the country to profile - she explicitly says that she could not find many NYC firms that fit her criteria (and to the person who complained about the ethics of Texas firms - you might want to check out the ethics of NYC firms!). Finally, Ms. Walton's point about the foreign service is not that it is the "best job" for lawyers wanting to work internationally, but rather one that many law students don't consider. She specifically recognizes the fact that American law students can work outside the U.S. in law firms, but mentions the Foreign Service as another excellent option (and it is absolutely true that many students who say they want to practice "international law" discover that they don't really like "international business law" in a firm). Finally, having worked at CEELI just two summers ago, I can verify that their expansion into nations other than Eastern Europe and the NIS states is very recent and therefore could not have been published in the book when it went to press. Again, the book was meant to be used as a resource and jumping-off point, and updated information can easily be found on the internet.

Book Description

In 1955, people all over the United States knew that Emmett Louis Till was a fourteen-year-old African American boy lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi. The brutality of his murder, the open-casket funeral, and the acquittal of the men tried for the crime drew wide media attention. Award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson reminds us of the boy whose fate helped spark the civil rights movement. This martyr's wreath, woven from a little-known but sophisticated form of poetry, challenges us to speak out against modern-day injustices, to "speak what we see."

Customer Reviews:

Form Over Content.......2006-09-27

A fellow teacher is doing a unit on African-American lit and the Civil Rights Movement as a lead-in to Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". "A Wreath for Emmett Till" was one of the books she shared with the class. I have perused it myself, still unsure whether I should actually purchase it or not. Two things other reviewers have mentioned that I too find appealing about the book are: 1)The sheer complexity of constructing a heroic crown of sonnets and 2)the historical backdrop of the events described. Unfortunately, these aspects have very little to do with the content of the poems themselves. Most of the information about Till is contained in the preface and afterword, not in the poems themselves. Likewise, others reviewers, like I, praise Nelson for giving a tour-de-force in making a heroic crown of sonnets (and her commentaries about the sonnets were enlightening), but to be honest, the poems themselves were not particularly outstanding. I would buy the book more as an example of the structure and form of poetry rather than as an example of good poetry (If that makes sense).

Beautiful Poem.......2006-05-31

This book is in the form of a Heroic Sonnet is a brilliantly written book. It is about giving a wreath to Emmett Till, a young child who was lynched after whistling at a white woman. Till, who normally lived in Chicago, was spending the time at his uncle for the summer. After whistling at a white woman, Briant, Milan and a third person kidnapped Emmett Till. Soon after the kidapping, they lynched him. Later in the Trial, Briant and Milan were found not guilty, though later, it was proven they were guilty. This book was brilliantly written into a heroic sonnet, each of the first lines stating: R.I.P. EMMETT L. TILL. It got me emotionally connected, displeased by the racism people had back then (i.e. allowing Briant and Millan the right to be not guilty just because Till was Black). This book was brilliantly written through the use of similies. It allowed you to invision the racism back then. The only comment I have against it is the World Trade Center reference, mentioning 9/11 hadn't happened yet. Other than that, A Wreath for Emmet Till by Marilyn Nelsen was an excellent work of poetry.

Ambitious but highly disapointing.......2006-04-27

This ambitious poetry book is based on a little known poetic style known as a crown of sonnets, used historically to honor great kings. In this unique book, author Marilyn Nelson tries to apply it to an ordinary kid named Emmett Till whose name became household when he was brutally lynched, and outrage over his murder fueled the early flames of the black civil rights movement.

Nelson is admirable to tackle such a brutal and tough subject matter, however admiration is not enough to cover the fact that her poems are often hard to follow due to the ridged style, in addition to being tangential and lacking in any strong dramatic or emotional punch. She writes about Till's murder as she would weave it into a floral wreath, and sometimes that leaves the reader bored and wondering why we should even care about Nelson's pretty flowers. Her stated goal is to write about Till but he rarely makes an actual appearance in these poems, and her attempt to tie his murder into a larger history of lynching is poorly executed. At one point she ties Till's murder to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, which comes out extremely contrived and tacked on, since the events, issues, emotions, and circumstances are completely different. She expands considerable ink wishing he had never been killed, which although very admirable, doesn't give her much space to explore the national impact of his death or the good that grew out of his tragedy. In addition, her lengthy and complex notes at the end of the book are absolutely necessary to understand her many intellectual allusions and symbols. I could not imagine giving this book to anyone under 16 and having them get it at all - I'm finishing my undergrad in two weeks and I was overwhelmed. While the poems pick up pathos towards the end, it really is not enough to save the whole set.

The illustrations by Philippe Lardy are nice but unremarkable, and given the poignant and brutal subject matter they are severely disappointing. Many of them are simplistic and pretty paintings of flowers and birds that fit the wreath theme but entirely loose the tragedy and power of Till's death. Like Nelson's poems, you need the complex notes at the back of the book to understand the many symbols in the oft-abstract illustrations. Emmett Till himself is only shown once, and the artist attempts to make him look like an EveryChild (even to the point of giving him no real facial expressions) which makes him look generic and dull. The art shines best when it is the most simple, such as when it is a textured background for the text itself, with simple shapes instead of complex allegories. When the best thing you can say about the illustrations is that they make nice and non-imposing backgrounds, you know the art is in trouble.

A Wreath for Emmett Till asks the reader to "bear witness to the atrocity" and take responsibility for this murder in our collective memory, but otherwise is not a call to any action or awareness. Unfortunately what sticks in the memory is a book that falls short of its lofty goals.

From Sisters Nineties Literary Group Book Review Editor.......2005-08-18

A Wreath for Emmett Till is my first encounter with Marilyn Nelson; a bittersweet introduction. As a member of the Sisters~Nineties Literary Group, this book fascinates me as it is a beautiful example of poetic mastery. When our editor gives us a writing assignment for our publication, I grumble and protest, then I revel in the experience; delighting in the success of learning about the world of poetry and all its various forms. The "sankofet," created by Debra Morrowloving Sisters~Nineties founder, comes to mind as I read this book.*

Ms. Nelson's rhyme scheme is a fourteen-line sonnet on each page linking the previous poem with the next as the last line of the previous poem is the first line of the next poem on the following page. In the world of poetry, this is known as a "crown of sonnets."

Although written for children, I had to read the book twice to "feel" the horrible images that this book so beautifully captures. References to flower, plants, and trees are symbolic and make up the "wreath" for Emmett.
Please read this book and share the experience with your children. The incident is described as the motivating force of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also a wake-up call to all those who continue to live a life of apathy and denial when it comes to standing up for the legacy of the African American struggle.

*Sankofet is a poetic form of three stanzas, each with seven lines. The fourth line of each stanza is the same. The last word of each stanza is the first word of the subsequent verse, and the last line of a Sankofet is the first line in the poem. The format of the Sankofet emulates the call-and-response motif of Afrikan musical tradition with the repetition of the fourth lines. The connecting words at the beginning and end of the stanzas represent the Afrikan cycle of life concept.

Richie's Picks: A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL.......2005-05-22

I cannot recall if back in 1968 my eighth-grade American history teacher Mrs. Auryansen taught us about the death of Emmett Till. But one of the things I loved most about that year of studying with an enthusiastic teacher who often made American history come alive for me was the series of quarterly independent projects we had to plan and complete. Each marking period we would have to do an American history-related visual piece as well as a written piece and an oral piece.

"BY the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray."
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray."

That's the first of the seven verses of "The Blue and The Gray" by Francis Miles Finch (1827-1907). I memorized and proudly recited those seven verses to my American history class, and that memory has stuck with me.

Having just celebrated my personal half-century mark, I'm all for turning around and returning to eighth-grade. And if I could do so, this is what I would memorize this time around for one of my oral pieces:

"Pierced by the screams of a shortened childhood,
my heartwood has been scarred for fifty years
by what I heard, with hundreds of green ears.
That jackal laughter. Two hundred years I stood
listening to small struggles to find food,
to the songs of creature life, which disappears
and comes again, to the music of the spheres.
Two hundred years of deaths I understood.
Then slaughter axed one quiet summer night,
shivering the deep silence of the stars.
A running boy, five men in close pursuit.
One dark, five pale faces in the moonlight.
Noise, silence, back-slaps. One match, five cigars.
Emmett Till's name still catches in the throat."

That is one of the fifteen sonnets that comprises A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL by Marilyn Nelson. After reading the book to myself and then reading it aloud to Shari, my thoughts kept wandering off yesterday to brainstorming how I might somehow set up an event down in the City on Sunday, August 28th--fifty years to the day since Emmett was kidnapped--in which someone who would both have known the Civil Rights movement and whose presence could attract a major audience (a Danny Glover or a Bill Russell or someone else of that stature) would read this powerful series of poems aloud to a crowd to commemorate the anniversary of the brutal death of Emmett Till, a death which horrified the world and made clear what had gone on for so long.

I can imagine having a choir and soloist perform at such an event, but definitely not a bunch of droning speakers whose verbosity might take away from the carefully chosen words of Marilyn Nelson's heroic crown of sonnets about Emmett Till. As Marilyn explains in her preface (HOW I CAME TO WRITE THIS POEM):

"A crown of sonnets is a sequence of interlinked sonnets in which the last line of one becomes the first line, sometimes slightly altered, of the next. A heroic crown of sonnets is a sequence of fifteen interlocking sonnets, in which the last one is made up of the first lines of the preceeding fourteen."

Thus, it's like a literary crossword puzzle. Get one word wrong and it simply doesn't fit together. Get all the words exactly right and you've got something worthy of public performances by famous personalities and recitations by today's and tomorrow's American history students.

Marilyn Nelson got it right.

Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time

Average customer rating:

Listen and Learn
Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time
listen! It's wonderful
A Book That Transfers Raw Emotion
OL' FASHION BASIC DEBATER

Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time
Gerry Spence
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312338813
Release Date: 2005-05-19

Book Description

America's winningest trial lawyer offers a step-by-step plan for speaking in public- and succeeding 'What's true for training great trial lawyers is true for all winning presentors.' -FROMWINYOURCASE A t Gerry Spence's famed Trial Lawyers College conducted on his Wyoming ranch, thousands of attorneys have learned the art of making a case. Presenting a case before decisionmakers is not simply a technique but an occasion for summoning your deepest reserves to advocate on behalf of something crucial. Here, Spence combines a rich exploration of truth, fairness, and emotional honesty with practical advice gleaned from a lifetime of hard-earned legal triumphs to show what makes a strong, persuasive presentation. Spence's essentials include: -Preparing the powerperson to accept your case -Owning your feelings -Being 'in the moment' -The power of fear-ours and theirs -Discovering the story in every presentation -Making an effective closing argument. Whether presenting to a judge or jury, a board, boss, committee, or customer, Win Your Case is an indispensable selfhelp guide.

Customer Reviews:

Listen and Learn.......2007-08-30

Spence gives many useful lessons. Listen to them with, as Spence puts it, your "third ear." Lawyers from all sorts of practice areas should listen and learn about "psychodrama." Listen. Feel your client's predicament. Spence gives new meaning to the teaching of Michael Tigar that "nothing you learned in law school teaches you to listen or to care."

Spence has a fair amount of bombast. His cowboy style fits few people. But that's his point. This CD will help you find your own voice.

As other reviewers have said, Win Your Case falters when Spence attempts to translate his trial lawyer strategies to other contexts. Certainly much of what Spence teaches translates in some ways to the boardroom, city hall, and other places. But Spence's useful examples in Win Your Case focus on trials of personal injury and criminal defense cases. Spence shines most brightly in those areas.

Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail--Every Place, Every Time.......2006-08-05

Very deep and incisive

listen! It's wonderful.......2006-07-20

I listened to the audio book, which is long but wonderful! Once you get through the book you will have learned several very valuable lessons. Mr. Spence provides several approaches for winning your case and learing how to be genuine and convincing. He advocates an emotional and honest investment in your situation and he tells you exactly how to do it. It works, and although many of his cases give court room stories, anyone can apply it to their own life outside the court room. We often interrogate others while being interrogated in life. Check it out!!

A Book That Transfers Raw Emotion.......2006-04-24

Gerry Spence has a rather eloquent way of describing what is charisma: "Charisma is the controlled transfer of raw emotion."

It seems the whole book revolves around his definition of charisma. Once you have raw emotion you could then use tools like visual aids (and the book goes into details of this sort but always reminding the reader to be real) and so forth to transfer raw emotion to someone else (or a jury), in a controlled way.

It is the charisma that helps you present, persuade and prevail every place, every time, as the book's sub-title promises. And the book certainly transfers.

OL' FASHION BASIC DEBATER.......2005-09-28

I WAS A NATIONAL CHAMPION IN DEBATE YEARS AGO AND HE EMPLOY'S THE SAME TYPE OF A MIX OF PERSUASION AND ARGUMENTATION ONLY AT A LEVEL OF PERFECTION.VERY INFORMATIVE,THOUGHT PROVOKING AND ENJOYABLE TO LISTEN.NOW JUST ABSORB IT.

Between a rock and a hard place: Law for school administrators

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Between a rock and a hard place: Law for school administrators
Lillian Lee Port
Manufacturer: California School Law Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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He rode a blazing saddle, a torch to light the way

The Legend of Bass Reeves
Gary Paulsen
Manufacturer: Wendy Lamb Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 038574661X
Release Date: 2006-08-08

Book Description

Born into slavery, Bass Reeves became the most successful US Marshal of the Wild West.
Many "heroic lawmen" of the Wild West, familiar to us through television and film, were actually violent scoundrels and outlaws themselves. But of all the sheriffs of the frontier, one man stands out as a true hero: Bass Reeves.

He was the most successful Federal Marshal in the US in his day. True to the mythical code of the West, he never drew his gun first. He brought hundreds of fugitives to justice, was shot at countless times, and never hit.

Bass Reeves was a black man, born into slavery. And though the laws of his country enslaved him and his mother, when he became a free man he served the law, with such courage and honor that he became a legend.

Customer Reviews:

He rode a blazing saddle, a torch to light the way.......2006-08-11

I was recently at the ALA Conference in New Orleans sitting in on a Random House presentation at an hour that, to me, was far too early. As a result, I was having difficulty keeping awake, and only the stack of goodies on my seat (free books and the like) were keeping my eyes occupied. Still, all the upcoming books from Random House sounded good. There were some favorite authors I'd been wanting to read and some new names I wanted to check out. But it really wasn't until I heard someone explain what The Legend of Bass Reeves by Gary Paulsen was that I found myself awake and all my cylinders clicking. When I heard the story behind this book it was akin to an electric current in my bloodstream. Bass Reeves. Perhaps the only truly heroic man to bring law and order to the Old West. A man who never shot first, never was wounded in a gun battle, and was renowned for his steady trigger finger. Now here's the kicker. Not only was this man real, but he was a former slave as well. I was hooked then and after reading this book I'm still as hooked as ever. I may have some quibbles with how Paulsen chose to present his information, but you cannot get around the fact that there's some juicy info and child-friendly tidbits filling up this fabulous children's title.

Now think of some heroes of the Old West. Kit Carson. Wild Bill Hickok. Billy the Kid. We know them from their movies and their legends. Trouble is, even the tiniest bit of scrutiny will reveal how lame these so-called heroes really were. Kit Carson was an egomaniac killer with a posse of other killers by his side. Hickock was an alcoholic loser who died drunk when he was shot while gambling. And Billy the Kid... heck, my own great-grandmother was scared to death of the sociopath when she was living in Oklahoma, back in the day. Nope, there's just one guy who might be truly considered a "hero", and you've never even heard of him. His name was Bass Reeves. Taking his life into his hands, Paulsen reconstructs the life Reeves could have led. We see the boy living with his mother and owner (a man he simply calls, "Mister") in Texas, scraping out a life as best he can. When Bass's dignity gets him into trouble he leaves home and lives in the wild for a couple of years. After joining up with a Creek tribe he eventually became a U.S. Marshall, and his legend was without comparison. Whether the book is riding fast on the trail of a murderous horse stealer, or showing Bass rescuing a child from rabid wolves, the book is anything but dull.

When authors want to bring to life African-American lives from the past, they often find themselves in a bit of a bind. What with poor record keeping, racism, and time itself, records of blacks from the past are spotty at best. Unless you're dealing with someone recent or incredibly well-known, you're not going to be able to find much information. If you're an author, what recourse do you have? Well, you might want to try your hand at publishing a work of non-fiction. Maritcha by Tonya Bolden is an excellent example of an author bending over backwards to put an African-American girl from the 1800s in historical perspective. That's one way to go about it. The other is to do what Gary Paulsen has tried here. Fictionalize the life of this person, all the while interweaving your story with the facts that we know. In this way the book is split between three sections that tell us facts about the real Bass Reeves and three sections that imagine what his life might have been like.

It was surprising to find that Paulsen choose to spend so little time concentrating on Reeves's life as a lawman. Instead, the real focus of the book is of Bass as both boy slave and free young man. Paulsen says as much in his Author's Note when he writes, "The part about his boyhood is the longest because to me it was the most important part of his life, the fire that forged him". It was a good idea to do this, in retrospect. Kids may enjoy reading about a hero, but they're going to identify with him more readily if they see him first as a boy. As always, Paulsen is adept at slipping with seemingly little effort into the rough and tumble world of the Old West. His writing falls gracefully onto each and every page. At one point Bass must run away from his owner and his mother bestows on him the advice, "don't stop until you har a man call you Mister". Trust Paulsen to make succinct an emotional powderkeg or two.

I would have enjoyed the book a little more thoroughly if not for a few unexpected inklings here and there. There is the presentation of the Native Americans to consider. In, "Bass Reeves", Paulsen has taken to showing the Comanches at the height of their violence. In this book they scalp, torture, and basically terrorize the white settlers. It was a peculiar sensation, reading a children's book that featured this kind of Indian representation. There are lines that gave me pause too. When Bass sees a Comanche warrior close by the book says, "He felt like he was looking at some ... some wild being that had never been broken, never been tamed". I get a mite bit testy when any human in any book is compared to an animal. Now let me clarify here that Paulsen is very very careful not to lump all Native Americans into one big old group. The Comanches are always referred to as Comanches. They aren't called just "Indians" or are seen to represent all native peoples. Paulsen is careful to relate the history of the Native Americans under the hand of the U.S. Government, including an in-depth section on The Trail of Tears. He draws an elegant comparison with the Bataan Death March which fits nicely into the narrative. Still, I wish I could have been more comfortable with his Native American characters. When Bass rescues a little girl who was attacked and bitten by wolves the story says, "though he know she must be in considerable pain, she was absolutely silent in his arms". A bit of the old stalwart Indian stereotype or just how this particular girl reacted to her situation? The stilted language of the Creek Tribe did the same thing to me. A stereotype of Native American speech or an accurate replication of how they would sound with an unfamiliar English language? At the very least, it'll make you sit up and think.

But then there's the book's remarkable take on Reeves's life. Paulsen plays up the man's heroism beautifully. Consider the passage, "He'd ride alone into what many men called the center of hell and bring the men out - alive, if possible, or, if necessary, draped dead over a horse. He did this three thousand times". And the guy started doing this when he was fifty-one. Fifty-one! By the time he's seventy and tracking down his own personal Moriarty you're absolutely with the novel 100% This is amazing, fabulous, exciting stuff. The stuff of legends, if legends had to be made out of any one man.

So with all this fascinating subject matter I was more than a little put out to find that this book hadn't even the slightest hint of a Bibliography or listing of sources. What gives? Gary Paulsen didn't pluck Reeves's life from the breeze. He didn't turn on his faucet and pour these facts into a cup. He didn't conjure them in the dead of night under a tawny yellow moon. So why aren't we allowed to learn more about Bass on our own? The answer, I guess, must be that Paulsen didn't want to confuse the child readers into thinking that the fictionalized parts of this book were factual. Honestly, this is the only answer I can come up with. I left this book wanting to know more more more. It's not a child's biography, but kids wanting to know more about Mr. Reeves may wish to check out the well-reviewed, "Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life And Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves", by Art T. Burton, for further insights.

It wasn't quite the book I wanted it to be, but don't let any of this make you think that "The Legend of Bass Reeves" isn't still just the best rousing action laden, exciting, hero-inspiring Gary Paulsen work to trot down the line in the long long time. And as Old West children's fiction goes, this is the book I'm going to pull out each and every time when a kid asks for historical Old West fiction for a book report. It's got more spirit and energy than any other book of its kind. A well-written tribute to a too little known man. Reeves never had a movie made about him. Hopefully someone will read this book and take a little notice.

The Common Place of Law: Stories from Everyday Life (Chicago Series in Law and Society)

Average customer rating:

An excellent, meticulously researched book.
Common Place Of Law is anything but common
A very, very important book for the study of law today.

The Common Place of Law: Stories from Everyday Life (Chicago Series in Law and Society)
Patricia Ewick , and Susan S. Silbey
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0226227448

Book Description

Why do some people not hesitate to call the police to quiet a barking dog in the middle of the night, while others accept the pain and losses associated with defective products, unsuccesful surgery, and discrimination? Patricia Ewick and Susan Silbey collected accounts of the law from more than four hundred people of diverse backgrounds in order to explore the different ways that people use and experience it. Their fascinating and original study identifies three common narratives of law that are captured in the stories people tell.

One narrative is based on an idea of the law as magisterial and remote. Another views the law as a game with rules that can be manipulated to one's advantage. A third narrative describes the law as an arbitrary power that is actively resisted. Drawing on these extensive case studies, Ewick and Silbey present individual experiences interwoven with an analysis that charts a coherent and compelling theory of legality. A groundbreaking study of law and narrative, The Common Place of Law depicts the institution as it is lived: strange and familiar, imperfect and ordinary, and at the center of daily life.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent, meticulously researched book........2000-03-06

The richness of this book comes from four hundred thirty interviews that support the text. The gist of the book is that people have three takes on the law: before the law, against the law, and with the law.

"Before the law" is an attitude of awe and respect for the institution. Faith in that day in court, that statue of blind justice and the policeman is my friend. "Against the law" is an attitude of resistance to the institution. Law as a caprice of the powerful, and resistance the right way to deal with it. "With the law" is an attitude of game playing with the institution. I didn't make the rules, but me and my lawyer, we sure as hell will play the game. People shift and change among these modes depending on where they are in life, the particulars of the situation, and growing experience with the law.

The biggest contribution of this book is in highlighting the game playing aspect of dealing with law. I think game-playing gets short shrift from other law authors who may be stuck inside their very serious institution. Most other books reduce game-playing to simple economic theory and don't pay enough attention to the human side of gaming with the law. I mean, really. Just look at how big the sports section of the Sunday paper is versus the economic analysis section! Games are a big part of everyday life. Ewick & Silbey give game-playing the appropriate type of attention. Big bravo.

My only criticism is that the language of this book is mainly for an academic audience, and thus I give it only four stars-sorry. The writing could be de-academicized and made more powerful and popular. Overall it is an excellent, meticulously researched book

I got the book for its cover-the picture of chairs in newly shoveled parking space. Now that's a real hotbed of attitude in the informal/formal law divide. Thanks to the authors and worker-bees for all their work.

Common Place Of Law is anything but common.......1999-10-19

The Common Place Of Law is a literate, witty and very well written explanation of how law does and does not work for the people for whom law was created: the common citizen.

Using anecdotal material mixed with sociological theory, Ewing and Silbey have created an intelligent mix of the plebeian and the patrician.

A very, very important book for the study of law today........1998-11-11

This book is accessible to many different audiences and is profound in its content. It would be an excellent book for undergraduate education, legal education or, even for pleasure reading. The anecdotal chapters interspersed with the analysis of the role of law in the lives or ordinary Americans makes this sophisticated book about the sociology of law in contemporary society one that should have staying power in the academy as well as more popular venues. What it has to say about law -- that Americans have a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with the legal system and its promise of justice -- is not surprising as much as it is affirming and explanatory of so much of what we experience these days in the media and popular culture. The method the authors use to tease their thesis is rigorous and convincing, a model of scholarship for students and professionals. The Common Place of Law is a book to which I will refer and which I will reread for years.

Average customer rating:

Good as they get
GUNNY
Thank you, Mr. Jordan!
Excellent. Still relevant.
Must read for anyone interested in carrying a firearm.

No Second Place Winner
William Henry Jordan
Manufacturer: Police Bookshelf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0936279095

Customer Reviews:

Good as they get.......2007-09-24

Jordan was an icon to gun owners and shooters. Also a character in his own right. Has good advice for any pistol owner.

GUNNY.......2007-07-13

GREAT BOOK. THIS ONE WAS FOR A FRIEND. I BOUGHT MINE A LONG TIME AGO. I ACTUALLY KNEW BILL JORDAN AND WAS PROUD TO CALL HIM A FRIEND. I ENCOURAGE ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO BUY A COPY.

Thank you, Mr. Jordan!.......2007-06-06

A timeless work in the arena of self-defense topics, this book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone living in our modern society who possesses enough brain matter to realize that the police do not exist to protect the populace, but to enforce the laws [which through no fault of their own are often so poorly written as to be unjust & an insult to the populace saddled with them.]

Definitely worth reading by anyone ready to stand up on their hind legs and be counted as a free individual.

Excellent. Still relevant........2007-05-27

Just becasue it's old dosen't mean that it's out of date. Some of the tactics and philosophy has changed, but not that much. Ironically those of us in law enforcement have seen something of a return to some of Jordan's techniques.Just because it's old doesen't mean that it won't work.

Must read for anyone interested in carrying a firearm........2007-03-11

Bill Jordan was an expert shot, and well respected agent of the law. This book has and abundance of practical advise on how to carry, and how to shoot, and how to practice. It is entertaining and informative. I have read this book about 5 times, and it is great every time.

Average customer rating:

Disturbing subjet
A Beautiful Book About A Sensitive Subject
A Special Day with Dad
A Special Day with Dad
We need it, I like it.

Visiting Day
Jacqueline Woodson
Manufacturer: Scholastic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0590400053

Book Description

Only on visiting day is there chicken frying in the kitchen at 6 a.m. And Grandma in her Sunday dress, humming soft and low,... As the little girl and her grandmother get ready for visiting day, her father, who adores her, is getting ready, too. The community of families who take the long bus ride upstate to visit loved ones share hope and give comfort to each other. Love knows no boundaries. Here is a story of strong families who understand the meaning of unconditional love.

Customer Reviews:

Disturbing subjet.......2007-04-11

So I take this to mean that we've reached the point of moral decay that it's perfectly normal for daddy to be a convict in prison? I bought the book, hoping praying that there was a punch line. The punch line is this book is being serious.

A Beautiful Book About A Sensitive Subject.......2005-12-22

Family is a familiar theme of children's books but this one tackles the difficult task of honoring the incarcerated father.
The strength of a grandmother's love holds this family intact.
Handled delicately and told from the point of view of a child confident that her father loves and misses her. Excitement mounts as the girl prepares to visit her dad. Beautiful language describes the bus ride and camaraderie of the passangers. The illustrations are amazing in their attention to detail. Its the little things in the background, a calendar, girl's drawings taped to wall of her dad's cell that make this book so engaging.

Neither melodramatic nor sugar coated, Visiting Day presents a snapshot of a family with candor and grace.

Note to teachers, mentors and counselors, this is a perfect addtion to your "sensitive" book collection. Wonderful for starting a discussion with older children but best used as a one on one read aloud.

A Special Day with Dad.......2003-06-23

VISITING DAY is a book about special day each month for the little girl who narrates this story. It is a day when she gets to dress up, look pretty, ride a bus with her grandmother, eat chicken and other goodies, but most of all she gets to visit her incarcerated father. Told and illustrated from a child's point of view, the story shows how children have unconditional love for their parents, even if a parent has made a mistake.

Jacqueline Woodson has taken a controversial topic and made an extraordinary book. The story does not criticize, but instead shows love, and James Ransome's true to life illustrations adds to the happy feeling and tone of the book. Although this is an excellent book for all children, I highly recommend this book to any child who is forced to deal with having a family member incarcerated.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

A Special Day with Dad.......2003-06-13

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

We need it, I like it........2003-02-22

Touching, loving, and real.

Told from the point of a little girl whose father is in prison, this is a book more about enduring love than anything else.

Too often, books about difficult times are preachy or too wordy. This one gets straight to the point: I love my dad. I see him when I can. He loves me and we are glad to have family.

Good for children in that situation, good for compassion for others, and also a very readable story.

Average customer rating:

Forget it... a snoozer
Turow Turns in a Snoozer
A snoozer
His best ever, Honestly
A very ambitious novel.

The Laws of our Fathers
Scott Turow
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374184232

Amazon.com

At the close of legal-thriller novelist Scott Turow's second book, The Burden of Proof, Sonia Klonsky was a young prosecutor in Kindle County Courthouse with a failing marriage, an infant daughter, and a single mastectomy. Now, as the narrator of Turow's latest novel, she's a Superior Court Judge presiding over the murder trial of one Nile Eddgar, accused of arranging the slaying of his ghetto-activist mother, June. Turow attempts a sort of social history of the 60s in this ambitious mystery, but the most vivid passages come when the gangbangers of the Black Saints Disciples take center stage.

Book Description

A drive-by shooting of an aging white woman at a gang-plagued Kindle County housing project sets in motion Scott Turow's intensely absorbing novel. With its riveting suspense and idelibly drawn characters, The Laws of our Fathers shows why Turow is not only the master of the modern legal thriller but also one of America's most engaging and satisfying novelists.

Download Description

It was another drive-by shooting in one of Kindle County's most drug-plagued housing projects--but the victim was the ex-wife of a politician. Now this explosive case is about to reunite an unlikely group of men and women who first bonded in the revolutionary fires of the 1960s . . . and show a once-crusading female judge, driven by both her fears and her courage, just how devastating a single wrong choice can be.

Customer Reviews:

Forget it... a snoozer.......2006-06-22

This is definately not one of Turow's best books. I have enjoyed many of his others, but this one gets lost between the present day (mid-90's) and the 60's. I know he was trying to set the sage for the present day story with background of the characters relationships in a different time and place, but the reader gets lost in too much detail and extraneous information.

Turow Turns in a Snoozer.......2006-03-10

This is an all-around poor novel. Turow tries to mix elements of his legal thriller formula with an attempt to write a great novel about aging, crime, redemption, and other "Big Themes." The result is a botched mess, a sloppy book that fails to grasp the reader's attention.

The first problem is Turow's overwrought prose. I have not read any of his other books, so I don't know if this is a common problem for him. Nevertheless, he make the mistakes you would expect from a novice writer. He never picks the simple, direct word or phrase when he can think of a more convoluted one. An early example: The main character is recovering, not from breast cancer, but from "cancer of the breast." What? No one talks like that, and it is consistently distracting.

The second problem is with Turow's outrageous, maudlin sentimentality. Every character is suffering from some deep personal tragedy and meditates on it for pages on end. These passages sap the life from the novel and make the plot slip away.

Even this would be forgivable if Turow had given us likable characters. His characters are not sympathetic in the least, however. One major character, a judge, takes a case she has no business judging, given her long personal history with all of the people involved. Worse, she only further entangles herself as the trial goes on and consistently allows her emotions to compromise her integrity as a judge.

About the other main character, the less said about him, the better. A pompous windbag with no personal integrity, his main contribution to the plot is a scheme to defraud his own father, who is a Holocaust survivor. Ugh.

The book is also far too long. Half of it is devoted to flashbacks to the 1960s that drag on and on. While the current-day trial sequences are decent, they are a small part of the novel. Moreover, the trial's resolution is singularly unsatisfying. As if this wasn't enough, Turow then throws a long, meandering conclusion in that feels thoroughly tacked on.

My first Turow novel, and likely my last.

A snoozer.......2006-01-29

I've read several Turow novels before this one and enjoyed each of them quite a bit. I have to say, though, that if this had been the first of his works I'd read, I probably wouldn't have read a second one or even finished this one. My primary complaint about this story is that I found it to be slow and boring. The flashbacks were tedious, the characters weren't very appealing and the story wasn't exactly gripping. All in all, I call it a snoozer.

But, I do know Turow is capable of much better work and I wouldn't want to steer anyone away from it. Just avoid this turkey. Three stars is probably way too generous.

His best ever, Honestly.......2005-04-14

Wow what a book! A clever beginning and abang up ending. This is so compelling and well done I wonder why most readers who read this type of thriller didn't get this one. UNDOWNPUTABLE! To say the least. This is Turow's best book ever. Honestly! REad it for yourself!

A very ambitious novel........2004-09-14

The complex story is told in two alternating tracks, with the first set in a lightly fictionalized late 60's Berkeley, and the second set in Turow's present-day Kindle County. The main character, Sonny, finds herself the judge of a murder trial involving people she has known for twenty years, and must decide it without the assistance of a jury.

This book is very long and complex. You will need patiences for a story to get to the point. But, Turow writes extremely well and ranges widely, taking on gang culture, judicial corruption, and the ever present political manipulations. And he always has very interesting character at the center of his tale. I would suggest this not be the first Turow book you read.

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