History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Informatively frustrating
Insight into an Ad-driven culture
Anti-Corporate Handbook
NO LOGO will fundementally alter the way you think about the world.
The Third World has always existed for the comfort of the First

No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs
Naomi Klein
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312421435

Amazon.com

We live in an era where image is nearly everything, where the proliferation of brand-name culture has created, to take one hyperbolic example from Naomi Klein's No Logo, "walking, talking, life-sized Tommy [Hilfiger] dolls, mummified in fully branded Tommy worlds." Brand identities are even flourishing online, she notes--and for some retailers, perhaps best of all online: "Liberated from the real-world burdens of stores and product manufacturing, these brands are free to soar, less as the disseminators of goods or services than as collective hallucinations."

In No Logo, Klein patiently demonstrates, step by step, how brands have become ubiquitous, not just in media and on the street but increasingly in the schools as well. (The controversy over advertiser-sponsored Channel One may be old hat, but many readers will be surprised to learn about ads in school lavatories and exclusive concessions in school cafeterias.) The global companies claim to support diversity, but their version of "corporate multiculturalism" is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. When Klein talks about how easy it is for retailers like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster to "censor" the contents of videotapes and albums, she also considers the role corporate conglomeration plays in the process. How much would one expect Paramount Pictures, for example, to protest against Blockbuster's policies, given that they're both divisions of Viacom?

Klein also looks at the workers who keep these companies running, most of whom never share in any of the great rewards. The president of Borders, when asked whether the bookstore chain could pay its clerks a "living wage," wrote that "while the concept is romantically appealing, it ignores the practicalities and realities of our business environment." Those clerks should probably just be grateful they're not stuck in an Asian sweatshop, making pennies an hour to produce Nike sneakers or other must-have fashion items. Klein also discusses at some length the tactic of hiring "permatemps" who can do most of the work and receive few, if any, benefits like health care, paid vacations, or stock options. While many workers are glad to be part of the "Free Agent Nation," observers note that, particularly in the high-tech industry, such policies make it increasingly difficult to organize workers and advocate for change.

But resistance is growing, and the backlash against the brands has set in. Street-level education programs have taught kids in the inner cities, for example, not only about Nike's abusive labor practices but about the astronomical markup in their prices. Boycotts have commenced: as one urban teen put it, "Nike, we made you. We can break you." But there's more to the revolution, as Klein optimistically recounts: "Ethical shareholders, culture jammers, street reclaimers, McUnion organizers, human-rights hacktivists, school-logo fighters and Internet corporate watchdogs are at the early stages of demanding a citizen-centered alternative to the international rule of the brands ... as global, and as capable of coordinated action, as the multinational corporations it seeks to subvert." No Logo is a comprehensive account of what the global economy has wrought and the actions taking place to thwart it. --Ron Hogan

Book Description

With a new Afterword to the 2002 edition. No Logo employs journalistic savvy and personal testament to detail the insidious practices and far-reaching effects of corporate marketing—and the powerful potential of a growing activist sect that will surely alter the course of the 21st century. First published before the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, this is an infuriating, inspiring, and altogether pioneering work of cultural criticism that investigates money, marketing, and the anti-corporate movement.

As global corporations compete for the hearts and wallets of consumers who not only buy their products but willingly advertise them from head to toe—witness today’s schoolbooks, superstores, sporting arenas, and brand-name synergy—a new generation has begun to battle consumerism with its own best weapons. In this provocative, well-written study, a front-line report on that battle, we learn how the Nike swoosh has changed from an athletic status-symbol to a metaphor for sweatshop labor, how teenaged McDonald’s workers are risking their jobs to join the Teamsters, and how “culture jammers” utilize spray paint, computer-hacking acumen, and anti-propagandist wordplay to undercut the slogans and meanings of billboard ads (as in “Joe Chemo” for “Joe Camel”).

No Logo will challenge and enlighten students of sociology, economics, popular culture, international affairs, and marketing.

“This book is not another account of the power of the select group of corporate Goliaths that have gathered to form our de facto global government. Rather, it is an attempt to analyze and document the forces opposing corporate rule, and to lay out the particular set of cultural and economic conditions that made the emergence of that opposition inevitable.”—Naomi Klein, from her Introduction

Download Description

Once a poster boy for the new economy, Bill Gates has become a global whipping boy. The Nike swoosh is quickly losing its cachet, equated now with sweatshop labor. Teenage McDonald's workers are joining the Teamsters. What's going on? NO LOGO explains why some of the most revered brands in the world are finding themselves on the wrong end of a spray-can, a computer hack, or an international anti-corporate campaign. NO LOGO uncovers a betrayal of the central promises of the information age: choice, interactivity, and increased freedom. Instead, job security and consumer choice have been swallowed whole by companies who enlist us as their human billboards and spokesmen. Equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic expose, NO LOGO is the first book that both uncovers the sins of corporations run amok and explores and explains the new resistance that will change consumer culture in the 21st century.

Customer Reviews:

Informatively frustrating.......2007-08-17

It was well written exploring many aspects of branding, culture jamming, and production.

This book will leave you with frustration and questioning how you change change something, and what CAN you buy that isn't made from Export Processing Zones.

It does give great information but yet leaves you frustrated and feeling helpless that you can't change the current conditions or avoid buying products made in places like china, el salvador, indonesia where they treat their workers worse than dirt.

Insight into an Ad-driven culture.......2007-07-14

This book offers a deep insight on how advertising are creeping into our lives, even conveyed to us in a subliminal way. If left unchecked, the corporations would be the authors our culture. It also showcases the exploits of major corporations in employment.

However, one must be critical when reading the book, as some of the things Naomi bashes on, such as the Starbucks expansion strategy, are genuine business strategies. In some cases, we have to be realistic and not blindly adopt and anti-corporation stance.

The first 3 chapters, No Space, No Choice, and No Jobs are exceptionally informative, but the last chapter, No Logo, falls short and descends into a boring rant on countermeasures that in my opinion, are far from effective and often, impractical.

Buy the book, read the first 2, skip the last.

Anti-Corporate Handbook.......2007-05-20

What are the effects of multinational corporations in the Branding Age? Naomi Klein tackles that in this seminal work on the subject. While somewhat dated (published in 2000), it gives the most comprehensive picture of the transition corporations have undergone from providing competent products and services to providing ubiquitous branding and advertising to produce loyalty and sell peripherals. This book gives the total picture of the devastation left in the wake of total corporate dominance in the U.S., Canada, and worldwide.

As she details, what has emerged in the last half of the 20th century is a new kind of totality - an economic imperialism spearheaded by Nike, The Gap, McDonalds, Shell, and Microsoft and their lawyers, contractors, and advertising agencies. As they break open markets, crush competition, and lower wages across the globe they've gotten so powerful as to dictate to scores of countries what their trade and economic policies are going to be. These policies are always anti-Union and terrible for workers, leaving nations worse off than before they were Industrialized and Advertised - creating massive wealth gaps and uneven distributions across the board.

The four major sections of the book: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs, and No Logo, each show in example after example, case study upon study that advertising is the product now and the more money spent in that avenue, the more profitable the corporation can be while taking every opportunity away from the poor and disenfranchised, forcing horrible conditions and worse jobs on them, and decreasing their access to health care and nutrition. This is not an accident. This is a concerted policy foisted upon the world through the corporate enforcement arm of the WTO, World Bank, and U.S. Military.

Is it hopeless? Well, civil disobedience is one way to combat the trends and takeover and Klein offers many suggestions and examples in this book. However even she admits that the situation is bleak.

Good luck . . . and good read.

- CV Rick

NO LOGO will fundementally alter the way you think about the world........2006-11-04

Naomi Klien's treatise on the anti-corporate movement of the last decade provides tremendous insight into the philosophies behind today's anti-corporate culture, and more importantly, the "branded" society that has spawned it. Well written and intelligent on every level, NO LOGO carefully tracks such disturbing phenomenons as the disappearance of public space, the rise of corporate censorship, and the transformation of living wage jobs for Americans into sweatshop labor in the third world. If you are completely unfamiliar with today's cultural rebellion against corporate control, NO LOGO serves as an excellent introduction, clearly outlining the dubious marketing trend of promoting "brands not products" such that you will never be able to watch commercials the same way again. If you are a seasoned WTO protester or billboard adbuster, NO LOGO will provide you with all the philosophical and factual ammo necessary to start converting your friends away from their unthinking materialistic lifestyle. This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves and independently thinking consumer, as well as anyone who is interested in the latest cultural rebellion taking place among today's young and disenfranchised.

The Third World has always existed for the comfort of the First.......2006-11-03

Naomi Klein sketches perfectly the major shift in corporate strategy today: transnational companies are not interested in production anymore, only in branding: products are made in factories, brands in the mind. Branding creates big margins, production in home countries meager earnings.

This strategy causes monstrous layoffs in the First World and creates EPZ (Export Processing Zones) in the Third World.
In the First world, corporations transformed themselves in `engines of wealth growth' for their shareholders, instead of `engines of job growth'. `CEO's of the 30 companies with the largest announced layoffs saw their total compensation increase by 67%.'
The jobs they need are predominantly outsourced, or are McJobs (no `adult wages') and temporary stop-jobs.
The First World stirs fierce competition between Third World countries in order to get rock-bottom prices for their `branded' products, creating colossal margins in the home countries.
Wages in EPZs are so low that most of the money is spent on shared dorm rooms and basic food. Workers cannot afford the consumer goods they produce.

Another aspect of our branded world is the sheer size of the (trans)national corporations created by relentless mergers and acquisitions. Their size permits them to decide what items (also magazines, DVDs) should be stocked in a store, in other words, they create a new kind of censorship.
Big mergers in the media landscape allow conglomerates to produce their own news and in this sense jeopardize basic civil liberties.

While Naomi Klein's analysis of our consumer planet is very revealing, the remedies she proposes are rather innocent, epidermic, symptom healing or too general: ad and brand busting, radical ecology (Reclaim the Streets), anti-globalization and anti-corporate mass protests, boycott, building greater critical social consciousness. Individual actions like attacking in court (Shell in Nigeria), revealing Nike's sweatshops or denouncing McDonald's food are ultimately not more than temporary needle pricks in elephant skins.
What the world needs is a global vision, which we can find in the works of Joseph Stiglitz or (for a view from the South) Walden Bello.

Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

A thrill ride worthy of the movies
Madness, mayhem and a damn good read
If I wrote this book I wouldn't want people to know my name either
Indiana Jones v. Dracula v. Rambo - Bring on the Sequel
Classic Pulp

The Book With No Name
Anonymous
Manufacturer: Lulu Enterprises, UK Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1847280463

Book Description

For many centuries the shelves of a library in South America held a terrible secret. Sitting on these shelves was a book with no name, written by an anonymous author. Everyone who ever read it ended up dead, yet the book always found it's way back to the library. In 2005 a special government investigator uncovered the truth about the book and it's link to the murders. Now available in paperback, you can discover for yourself the reason why no one ever read the book and lived, until now.....

Customer Reviews:

A thrill ride worthy of the movies.......2007-09-03

The Book With No Name is a damn good piece of writing. It pays homage not just to Quentin Tarintino and Robert Rodriguez, but also Riddley and Tony Scott. yes homage, this book moves along like bad chinese through your system and carry's even more explosive force.

The writing style is perfect for telling the story and moves at an excellent pace.

As for the story itself, you have a mess of characters of all descriptions from The Bourbon Kid to the bad arse monks to.......well, you should really read the book for yourself because much of the enjoyment comes from the reveals throughout the story until you reach the climax.

I can easily see this as a grindhouse style movie.

Madness, mayhem and a damn good read.......2007-06-19

I have to give this book five stars for one reason only: I haven't even finished reading it and already i have people queueing up to read it because it i've spoken about how good it is. It is turning into one of the best books i have read in the past two years!!! I don't want it to end.

The characters are well thought out and the writer has managed to tie the humour in very well. Sometimes the writer has had me laughing out loud. He builds the tension up very well and makes you increasingly more desperate to meet the much talked about, Bourbon Kid. The book reads like a western; murder, women and hard as nails characters all looking for the coveted blue stone, the eye of the moon.

If you like action, humour and suspense all tied up into one plot i strongly recommend this book. I very much doubt you will be disappointed.

If I wrote this book I wouldn't want people to know my name either.......2007-05-14

After reading the fantastic reviews of this book on Amazon I bought this book for my boyfriend because it looked like something he might like (he's a big fan of Steven King's Gunslinger series). When the book arrived I flipped through it and immediately decided not to give it to him. It is clearly self-published and looks it (very cheap flimsy cover). It is also exceptionally poorly written. And don't get me wrong - I was not expecting a literary master piece, the plot synopsis made it clear it was going to be a rather silly splatter-fest, but I did harbour hopes (mostly from the five star reviews!!) that it would actually be readable. My conclusion is that the other people who have reviewed this book must be friends of the author and trying to prop up sales. I have never written an Amazon review before but given the wildly inaccurate reviews of this book I felt morally obliged to try and balance the scales in the hope that I can prevent someone else making the same mistake I did. This book is expensive by Amazon's standards. Do yourself a favour and give it a skip. My copy is going straight to a second hand book store to try and at least recoup some of the money I spent on it.

Indiana Jones v. Dracula v. Rambo - Bring on the Sequel.......2007-04-17

Hold onto your hats boy and girls - This is one wild ride!

This book is great. It is full of great characters surrounded by a great place. This book has it all - drama, comedy, violence, and a little sex. However, the one thing this book is full of is killing.

The book begins by introducing you to Sanchez - the bartender for the Tapioca Bar. However, if Sanchez does not like you he will fill your glass full of piss. One of the people to walk into the Tapioca in chapter one is the Bourbon Kid. The Bourbon Kid plays a pivital role in the book but after chapter one he does not reappear until much later in the book.

After the first chapter, you are thrown ahead 5 years into the future. This is when it really begin to hit the fan. We then meet Jefe, a boundy hunter and all around bad a** who has taken a stone, The Eye of the Moon. He has agreed to sell it to the most notorious ganster in the town of Santa Mondego. Then enters two Hubal Monks who are the owners of the Eye of the Moon. However, these are no ordinary monks - they kick A**. Then enter a women who has been in a coma for 5 years and just happens to wake up at that time of the lunar eclipse. Then enter a bounty hunter that walks and talks like Elvis and is actaully called Elvis. Also enter Marcus the Weasel and Dante and Kacy. In all this, we have two cops who are looking for the Bourbon Kid.

There is also one other aspect of the story and that is the aspect that surrounds the Book with No Name by Anonymous. It is discovered that all the people that have read this book have been killed. The reason behind this is the most wonderful surprise in the book.

This is a book that must be read quickly. The reason is that the chapters jump from one story line to another. At first it is a little hard to get used to but if it is read quickly then it does not become a problem. I did not find it difficult to follow since I read this book in a mere 2.5 days. The chapters are short and a lot happens in a very short span of pages. The dialogue between the characters are short and to the point. There is a lot of foul language in this book but it bring out the reality of it.

When you start this book, just be ready for one wild ride. Suspend the notion of reality for just a little bit and enjoy the story. It is much better that way.

I hope that there is a sequel to this book. There has been only one other book that I have read for which I looked forward to the sequel and that is Pillars of the Earth. If a sequel comes out, I will be in line to buy it. However, the tall order is for this author to compete with his own book.

Read this book. You will love it.

The characters are great. The story is great. You will say to everyone - "Read the Book with No Name. I can't tell you what it is about because this is a book that has to be experienced and not just summarized."

You need to experience this book.

Classic Pulp.......2007-03-20

This is an excellent and fun read. It has to have been written by Q. Tarantino!

Geronimo Stilton The Mummy With No Name (Geronimo Stilton)

Average customer rating:

Okay
Geronimo Stilton #26
Geronimo Stilton = Great Books
A fantastic find!
Geronimo!

Geronimo Stilton The Mummy With No Name (Geronimo Stilton)
Geronimo Stilton
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0439841178

Book Description

Halloween and Egypt and mummies . . . oh, my! I admit it, I am a 'fraidy mouse. Halloween scares me out of my fur! But this Halloween, I was heading off on an adventure in one of my very favorite places: Egypt. I couldn't wait to see the sights and soak up some sun far away from New Mouse City. What I didn't realize was that Halloween is popular in Egypt, too -- with the mummies, that is! Oh, what's a 'fraidy mouse to do?

Customer Reviews:

Okay.......2007-03-10

This book is okay. I love this series but do not like this book that much.
If u are a big fan u would like this book.

Geronimo Stilton #26.......2007-02-10

I love reading Geronimo Stilton books.My favorite one that I have read so far is The Mummy With No Name. In the book, Geronimo goes to Egypt. He goes with Benjamin and his friend,Bugsy. In Egypt, they go to a museum and Geronimo sees a mummy! The mummy says,"I am the mummy with no name." Geronimo tells Benjamin and Bugsy. Then, they meet a man named Professor Cyril. He helps solve the mystery of the mummy with no name. Next, they get trapped in a Tomb! When they get out, they find out what the mummy with no name's treasure is. Those are a few things that happen in Geronimo Stilton The Mummy With No Name. I hope you like this book if you read it.

Geronimo Stilton = Great Books.......2007-01-16

Great read for 8-10 year olds. Fun fonts make for fun reading. My kids love them. Book arrived on time.

A fantastic find!.......2006-10-31

We spotted The Mummy With No Name and picked it up on a whim. My son loves books, but usually will only sit through a pretty short one. We read about 50 pages together before stopping and the next day he brought it to me to finish the other 50. When we finished he told me that all he wants from Santa this year is more Geronimo books!

Geronimo!.......2006-06-27

These books are very short, but very interesting. I have a 10 year old son who's an advanced reader, yet he's tender enough to get all wrapped up in the Geronimo Stilton books. He loves them, they're a great buy.

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)

Average customer rating:

A must for the Serious Scholar's library
Like Nothing Else You've Read
A great book -- A worthy part of a great series
review
A painful, powerful experience

James Baldwin : Collected Essays : Notes of a Native Son / Nobody Knows My Name / The Fire Next Time / No Name in the Street / The Devil Finds Work / Other Essays (Library of America)
James Baldwin , and Toni Morrison
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1883011523

Amazon.com

Writer James Baldwin earnestly championed the civil rights movement in both his fiction and nonfiction, a fact which, coupled with his extraordinary writing talent, assured not only his historical importance, but also his place as one of the finest African American writers of his generation. Collected Essays is a comprehensive collection of his most memorable prose, including "Stranger in the Village," "The Harlem Ghetto," and "Many Thousands Gone." Clear in voice and vision, the essays communicate the emotions of an entire historical movement. Combining politics, prophecy, and passion, Baldwin's essays are truly as thought-provoking today as they were some 30 years ago.

Customer Reviews:

A must for the Serious Scholar's library.......2006-07-22

This collection of Baldwin's writings is priceless because not only is it a showcase of an agile and fertile mind, it also brings together in a single volume some of his most popular and more famous as well as some of his less formal writings and speeches.

Always well ahead of his times, Baldwin's essays remain fresh and as relevant in today's more quiescent racial times as they were during the more troubled times of his life. They remain fresh because they tell in Baldwin's own inimical and elegant way, the deeper truths about our troubled racial past and present. Most of all they reflect how Baldwin used his quick and restless mind to critique the social and artistic scenes of our troubled era: His strategy, reflected in this collection, was always to mine the substance from the subtext upwards. Those of us who try to mimic his techniques can learn a lot from this and the companion volume of his collected works.

At the same time, Baldwin's psychological analysis remains unerring and at least as sharp as, if not sharper than those of some of his French contemporaries, including his friends and compatriots in the struggle, Franz Fanon and Jean Paul Sartre, who also were both not only revolutionaries and revolutionary thinkers like Baldwin, but also a Psychiatrist and a Philosopher, respectively.

No library on the history of race in America or France is complete without this well designed and well-organized volume. Five stars.

Like Nothing Else You've Read.......2005-06-03

A lot of reviewers have talked about owning this book if you are distinctly interested in collecting works by black authors or in black studies. I think that this book is an essential element to anyone's library, in particular people interested in the craft of writing. Toni Morrison calls Baldwin the greatest essayist of the 20th century and I couldn't agree more.
In this collection of essays, it becomes clear that Baldwin has truly perfected the craft of the essay. Not only is Baldwin's content, his concepts of honesty and truth, of light and dark, right and wrong, of white and black, and much more straight up revolutionary, but he manages to have his content reflected in the craft and style of each essay, which should really be the goal of all writers.
More than anything, Baldwin has an exquisite ability to reveal a complex truth in a simple concise way. All of these essays, indeed all of Baldwin's works, have one common thread. And that is that TRUTH is found within contradiction, because contradiction is honest. I think anyone who browses this page should immediately try and at least check this out of their libary (though it's definitely worth owning, every time I reread it I discover new things) because it really will effect you in meaningful ways.

A great book -- A worthy part of a great series.......2004-02-23

I love James Baldwin--I think he's a tremendous writer, so Toni Morrison could hardly go wrong in selecting essays for this volume. All of the selections are excellent. Notes of a Native Son contains a touching eulogy for Richard Wright ("Alas, Poor Richard"), explaining the lonliness and problems Mr. Wright had at the end of his life. Baldwin displays his tremendous range as both a political commentator and a literary critic. The Devil Finds Work, in particular, is very insightful--and several parts humourous.

What I don't understand--and why I struck a star off this collection--is why Ms. Morrison did not include "Evidence of Things Unseen," Baldwin's analysis of the Atlanta child murders from the early eighties. Perhaps Library of America is planning later volumes of Baldwin's works--The companion volume to these essays is his "Early Novels," most notably "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Giovani's Room." I can't imagine that Library of America would not produce a volume including Mr. Baldwin's later works--especially "Just Above my Head."

This particular edition is well worth having--despite the price. First, this is a good collection of Baldwin's essays, many of which are difficult to find. Second, the Library of America really does a commendable job in paper quality and binding. This is not a leather bound edition on 50 pound paper, so stiff you can't open it and printed so the back binding looks impressive on your bookshelf--this is tightly bound, cardboard cover that lies flat, and is easy to read. The paper is not heavy--but acid free, and tear resistant. The Library of America series are good collections that are meant to be read many times, by many people--these books hold up very well.

I am afraid that Mr. Baldwin's works and opinions may fall by the wayside as time passes. The fact that Ms. Morrison--one of our best and most respected authors--put these collections together will certainly help keep Mr. Baldwin's works alive. But if you have any interest in what it means to be African American--in the twenties, to contemporary america--through even tomorrow--You need to read and appreciate Mr. Baldwin's insights. And you will also enjoy his clear, careful, and pointed writing.

review.......2002-05-10

This book was very interesting and i enjoyed the courage of a young black man to stand up for his rights.

A painful, powerful experience.......2001-10-11

In Egypt, I met an extraordinary American.
"I was born in New York, but have only lived in pockets of it. In Paris, I lived in all parts of the city - on the Right Bank and on the Left, among the bourgeoisie and among les miserables, and knew all kinds of people from pimps and prostitutes in Pigalle to Egyptian bankers in Nueilly. This may sound unprincipled or even obscurely immoral: I found it healthy. I love to talk to people, all kinds of people, and almost everyone, as I hope we still know, loves a man who loves to listen," he said.
"The perpetual dealing with people very different from myself caused a shattering in me of preconceptions I scarcely knew I held. This reassessment, which can be very painful, is also very valuable."
His name is Mr. Baldwin, and I cherish this new acquaintance because his ideas have had such profound impact on my views of Egypt. I wanted to know the people, but as I reach out for them, sometimes, I'm shocked by what I see. I see people sleeping on the concrete patios along the Nile - many of them have migrated from the farmlands because they can make more money for their families if they work in Cairo. But desert nights can be bitter cold in January, and it cuts my heart. Yet, Mr. Baldwin's message is well heeded. The same problems of inner city growth that come with development in Egypt also came with development in Britain one hundred years ago. American inner city schools and slums still reflect this challenge.
Would I have walked into the slums of Chicago if I were there? Would I have strolled through the southwest side of Kansas City or east St. Louis? Would I have walked into the anti-developing city blocks of L.A. if I were in America? Of course not. So why is it that traveling abroad opens my eyes to poverty in America? Why couldn't I see it when I was there? I don't know why this happens, but James Baldwin was right - absolutely right when he said that this reassessment, which can be very painful is also very valuable.
I have been told that the housing shortage in Egypt provided the impetus for many people to move into the spacious mausoleums in the old city graveyard. The international visitors call it, "The City of the Dead," and tourists go there and gawk at poverty creating a makeshift freak show out of human suffering. Then I learned that the housing shortage in Los Angeles provided the impetus for many people to move into mausoleums, but no one goes to gawk at them. In fact, there seems to be a kind of American denial that such things could ever happen in the land of milk and honey.
As I hear of people talking about human rights violations in Egypt, I think of the title of James Baldwin's book: Nobody Knows My Name. I think of James Byrd who was dragged to death behind a pickup truck. I think of the threats of millennium violence that frightened black American families so much that they bought guns and stayed home for the New Year. I think of the tiny city in Texas who voted Spanish as their city's official language and then received death threats from all over the nation. Of course, if you asked any American about human rights violations, they would tell you that this is something that happens in China or Africa. It's a painful realization that it might happen in MY country. Growing up in the American school system, I came to idolize Abraham Lincoln's courage and George Washington's integrity. The universal ideas of human value and dignity that we believe to be inalienable are not, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so wisely told us, being applied universally in our country. These facts go against the ideals and values of our nation - they don't support the concepts of the free and the brave.
"It is a complex fate to be an American," Henry James observed. James Baldwin awakened me to that complexity in a way so subtle, so gentle and yet, so powerfully painful.
He awakened me to the hard realities of the American people, most of whom will never read or digest his work. They would dismiss him. But his vision is not to be dismissed. His writing illustrates that the responsibility of this future lies in the hands of blind people. People who refuse to see American neighborhoods and American people for what they really are. We can't improve until we accept the starting point. This lofty ideal of what we should be and blind obstinacy to what we are is killing us.
"Europe has what we do not have yet," Baldwin said. "A sense of the mysterious and inexorable limits of life, a sense, in a word, of tragedy. And we have what they sorely need: a new sense of life's possibilities."
Egypt has what we do not yet have - a clear and present sense of unity - an admiration for sacrifice for the whole of the group - the nuclear family, the extended family, the community. And we have absolutely nothing that Egypt needs, except, if you ask the younger generation: Nike shoes. In fact, this is precisely what Egyptians do not need. They do not need the destructive, greed-inspiring and greed-glorifying economic development of the West.

Book Description

More than 100,000 Ulster Presbyterians of Scottish origin migrated to the American colonies in the six decades prior to the American Revolution, the largest movement of any group from the British Isles to British North America in the eighteenth century. Drawing on a vast store of archival materials, The People with No Name is the first book to tell this fascinating story in its full, transatlantic context. It explores how these people--whom one visitor to their Pennsylvania enclaves referred to as ''a spurious race of mortals known by the appellation Scotch-Irish''--drew upon both Old and New World experiences to adapt to staggering religious, economic, and cultural change. In remarkably crisp, lucid prose, Patrick Griffin uncovers the ways in which migrants from Ulster--and thousands like them--forged new identities and how they conceived the wider transatlantic community.

The book moves from a vivid depiction of Ulster and its Presbyterian community in and after the Glorious Revolution to a brilliant account of religion and identity in early modern Ireland. Griffin then deftly weaves together religion and economics in the origins of the transatlantic migration, and examines how this traumatic and enlivening experience shaped patterns of settlement and adaptation in colonial America. In the American side of his story, he breaks new critical ground for our understanding of colonial identity formation and of the place of the frontier in a larger empire. The People with No Name will be indispensable reading for anyone interested in transatlantic history, American Colonial history, and the history of Irish and British migration.

Customer Reviews:

Colleague.......2007-07-03

If you want a less academic-sounding book on the subject, it is hard to find a better book than that which was penned by James Leyburn back in 1962. On the other hand, comparing Griffin's book to James Webb's romantic depiction of the Scots-Irish, is a terrible mistake. Griffin's book is a tough read, but if you have an interest in identity formation and its relationship to religion, then give it a look. It will not be a waste of time. If you have an interest in Irish Catholics and their imprint on the Irish and American landscapes, you can't beat Kerby Miller's two books. The only serious academic competition No Name has to date on the diffusion of Presbyterianism is found in Marilyn Westerkamp's Triumph of the Laity.

A religious history of the Scot Irish, not a history of the people.......2005-07-24

Unless you are really interested in all the petty arguments about religion among the protestant, presbyterians and baptists this book is not for you. Data on the Scots Irish people themselves makes up less than 25% of this book and even then it is more into quoting what this official or that official had to say. You don't really get a feel for what the people were like or why they were the way they were.

If you want to understand our ancestors and what drove them, read "Born Fighting : How the Scots-Irish Shaped America" by James Webb. Not only does it bring these early settlers to life but tickled my intestests enough to buy more books on the over-mountain people and Andrew Jackson.

Curious.......2001-11-12

The first question I asked myself prior to reading the book was: "How will this book be different than Leyburn's book on the same subject, written in the 60s?" Not much. Given the number of studies, articles, etc covering this very topic it would have been valuable for griffin to have included a bibliographical essay to outline how his study breaks new ground. Still, Griffin does a thorough job outlining why the Protestant Dissenters left Ulster for the shores of America. However, his title "People With No Name" is curious, as these folks had several names (Ulster Scots, Presbyterians, Scots Irish, Dissenters) all of which Griffin acknowledges. It was also dissapointing to see a dissertation/book once again ignore Catholic migrants to America from Ireland. Catholics in Ireland are only mentioned on 7 of this book's 173 pages. No comparison is made between Griffin's Ulster Scots (or whatever he decides to call them) and their Catholic neighbors who surely underwent the same economic, agricultural, etc. trials in the 18th century.
Finally, on the back cover of the paperback, there is extremely high praise for the book from T. H. Breen, professor of history at Northwestern Univ. He calls the book "masterful," etc. Seeing how Breen was Griffin's Ph.D. dissertation advisor and presumably had a guiding role in the writing of this study, such praise seems out of place and distateful; Breen should have had the taste and sense of manners to skip the submission such a "blub" on the back cover.

There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture

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Recommended Read
The Show and The Business
This book is a joke!

There's No Business That's Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture
Bernd Schmitt , David L. Rogers , and Karen Vrotsos
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0130471194

Customer Reviews:

Recommended Read.......2004-01-29

I thought "Show Biz" was thoroughly entertaining--and highly pertinent given today's media circus around everything from the California gubernatorial election to today's leading companies. I read Bernd Schmitt's previous books in my MBA marketing classes and find still his approach useful in aligning my marketing team around the customer experience. This book clearly showed me how entertainment is becoming part of the marketing mix, and energized me to use show business to increase my reach and relevancy with customers. I highly recommend it.

The Show and The Business.......2004-01-29

This book is clever and entertaining. It's anecdotal and moves quickly, but packs a lot of punch. It covers a broad span of businesses and illustrates just how this new type of "Show" business is fundamentally changing marketing all over the world. The authors make a strong case for this type of marketing with their commentary on today's consumer/business culture. I think this book would be edifying for industry insiders and anyone at all interested in today's marketing world.

The book itself has a "show biz" appeal to it, but it backs up the "show" by getting down to business. I recommend There's No Business That's Not Show Business for anyone concerned with cutting edge marketing or branding issues today.

This book is a joke!.......2003-11-25

I have read all books from this author. What can I say? His first and second were good. I don't know what happened, but the quality of his books have been falling since then. The book is full of examples of what can you do to bring a little "show" into your "business", too bad it's written for those few people who get to manage a huge brand, or have something of an unlimited budget to play with! Of course I'd like to have live shows for my customers! Of course launching a watch at a fancy New York dance club sounds cool! Of course I'd love a theme park or a museum of my own! After reading some pages you start wondering if Schmitt is writing for someone to read this book or he's just trying to sell his consulting business. After reading pearls like:"if you're starting a $150 million promotional campaign...", I just had to close this book and look for something more interesting to do. (There's a long time I leave a book unfinished, but this one is entitled to this honor). Get real...

My Name Is Chloe (Chloe No.1)(Diary of a Teenage Girl, Book 5) (Diary of a Teenage Girl)

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My Name is Chloe
This book ROX!!!!
My Name is Chloe ROX!!!!!!!!!!!
Always Changing
Chloe Rocks!

My Name Is Chloe (Chloe No.1)(Diary of a Teenage Girl, Book 5) (Diary of a Teenage Girl)
Melody Carlson
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1590520181
Release Date: 2003-01-10

Book Description

Chloe, Josh Miller's younger sister, is a free spirit with funky clothes and dramatic hair. She struggles with her own identity, classmates, parents, boys, and -- her biggest question -- whether or not God is for real. But this unconventional high school freshman definitely doesn't hold back when she meets Him in a big, personal way. Refusing to change her image to fit into the "stereotypical Christian preppy mold," Chloe expresses God's love and grace through the girl band she forms, Redemption. In her development as a musician and performer, tender-hearted Chloe will learn tough lessons about following God, her heart, and her dreams.

Customer Reviews:

My Name is Chloe.......2007-09-30

Great teenage stories that draw students to want to read the book. I can't keep the series of books in my classroom. As soon as it's checked in it's checked out by someone else.

This book ROX!!!!.......2007-05-26

This is the best book EVER!!!! I related to most of the problems that were faced in the book. I think teenage girls can relate some way to Chloe. I can not wait to get the second copy!!! If you are thinking about buying it, stop thinking and just buy it!!! I'm telling you that you will love it

My Name is Chloe ROX!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-06-13

Have you ever read a book that you can relate to?
Well I just a read a book that was just like that.Diary of a teenage girl book 5: My name is Chloe.I found that it was very easy for me to relate to the main character,Chloe.This book has to do with a teenage girl struggling to fit in and dealing with Christianity.
The book is about this girl Chloe Miller.Most people see her as a rebel she wears long weird clothing.She has piercings,her hair is cut in a weird way.She dyes it all sorts of different colors.She feels like there's nothing important in her life.She feels as though no one understands her.She doesn't have a lot of friends people are afraid of her.Her parents aren't all that different her mother doesn't approve of how she looks.She then make friends with an african american christian girl Laura and a girl Allie who's practicing witch craft.She and Allie become christians.They start playing music together and form a christian band.
I really enjoyed reading this book.The words and the message was really powerful.You could tell that the author was writing straight from her heart.It was very spiritual.I highly recommend it.

Always Changing.......2006-02-10

Have you ever felt extremely left out? Like you have don't have friends and no one loves you? Well that's how Chloe Miller, a very confused teen, felt. She had used to be such a good girl, but suddenly her life was changing. It seemed as if she had crossed over to the dark side. She began wearing ratty clothes and she always seemed unhappy. When Chloe thought that everything in her life was as horrible as it could get, she realized she was wrong. On one rainy night in her favorite cemetery, she decided to invite Jesus into her heart and become a Christian. Her life then took another dramatic change as Jesus began to solve some of her problems. She started to easily make new friends, went to church, and started a band. You'll have to read the book to see if Chloe's new life will really work out the way she plans.
This book was very interesting and a lot of things happened that I wasn't expecting. I like the Diary of a Teenage Girl series because the books are written like an actual girl's diary. One of my favorite parts was when Chloe decided to become a Christian. Her life took one drastic change and I really felt happy for her. The only thing I didn't like about the book was the way Chloe started out. She was very unhappy and had different friends. But then, if she hadn't been that way, nothing exciting would have happened.
I have a feeling that only girls would probably like this book. There really isn't anything about these books that guys would be interested in. So, if you think it sounds good, I recommend it to you.

Chloe Rocks!.......2005-12-15

This novel is very inspirational and should be read by every teenage girl. Chloe Miller struggles with your everyday teenage problems, fitting in at school, parents, and searching for faith. Chloe surrenders her life to God and forms the all girl Christian band Redemption.

This book is a really easy read. It is written in the form of the diary of the main character, Chloe Miller. This gives it such a real feel, the way it is simply written as a teenager would write. It really helps you relate to the character on a personal level. You read what she goes through and her thoughts and emotions, and you feel them too as you read. I love the way Melody Carlson writes. Her characters are so real, so true to life. Each of the people she describes in this story reminds me of someone I know who is like that. Her descriptions are so detailed, that you even imagine the wrinkles in their faces. She really diversifies her characterization. The three girls in the band are so unique and different from each other. There's, of course, Chloe, the fun-loving, sensitive songwriter who takes her faith very seriously. She dresses very creatively and is laid back about her style. Then there's Laura, the very proper and well kept bass player. She's very tidy and self conscious about her appearance and has a very strong sense of morals. Then there's Allie, the drummer. She is bubbly and hyper and never seems to rest. She's boy crazy and altogether silly, and although she's confident in most situations, she still gets stage fright once in a while. The plot of the story is also very strong. When the girls are performing their first concert, you feel their stage fright with them because of Carlson's elaborate description of the setting, and their emotions. So if you're a girl and into music, you should definitely read this book, it'll teach you things about friendship, struggle, music, and God.

The Name of the Game (Greyhawk Adventures, No 6)

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The last book in the adventures of Mika

The Name of the Game (Greyhawk Adventures, No 6)
Rose Estes
Manufacturer: Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. by Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0880386142

Customer Reviews:

The last book in the adventures of Mika.......2000-02-04

This is the sequel to "The Demon Hand" (Greyhawk Adventures No. 5). I honestly found this series to be one of the most entertaining and hard-to-put-down reading I've ever come across. I have to admit that I bought these four books for $2.00 in a dollar store in Grand Rapids. It took me a couple of years before I decided to read them and I'm glad that I did. Rose Estes creates a marvelous world of majic and mystery, with all the necessary touches of good and evil and spliced with humor and wit. Others will say these books are for young-adult. They are, and that's what I was when I read them. But my opinion is still the same.

Average customer rating:

read it in the store first
Save your money, borrow from a friend.
The facts of MARS
Do waste your money

MARS: Horse With No Name
Fuyumi Soryo
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1591828643

Book Description

We know how the story ended...but how did it begin? In this special edition of MARS, we explore what happens when Kira meets Rei for the very first time. Longtime friends Tatsuya and Rei are acting more like enemies these days as they battle it out for Kira's affections. Will they be able to mend their friendship and settle their tense conflict once and for all? As a special bonus, acclaimed manga-ka Fuyumi Soryo also includes two additional stories for your reading pleasure. Long live MARS!

Customer Reviews:

read it in the store first.......2005-02-14

Ok. I knew that this book dealt with the friendship between Tatsuya and Rei when I read it, but i was hoping for a little more interaction betweent Rei and Kira. I was sadly disappointed. Rei and Kira's first meeting was told in the Mars manga in better detail then is this extra volume.
The other two stories were nice but were not on the same leve as Mars in story. the only reason this gets three stars is because the drawing is as beautiful as every and it give some background info on Tatsuya and Rei.

Save your money, borrow from a friend........2005-02-01

I love "Mars" and was excited to read a back-story to one of my favorite series. Unfortunately, "Horse with No Name" only offers a short and almost irrelevant story about Rei and Tatsuya becoming friends.

The two other stories in the book are completely unrelated to the "Mars" series. "Sleeping Lion" was an all right story, but the plot seemed unconnected and incomplete. "One Carat Fruit" was completely disappointing. The plot was boring and predictable and the characters were not likeable at all.

I suppose a die-hard fan could extract more enjoyment from "HwNN," but I suggest borrowing the book from a friend or a library. Not worth ten dollars.

The facts of MARS.......2004-08-01

MARS...the fourth planet from the sun.
MARS...the mythical soldier of war.
MARS...the snack-producing powerhouse that makes M&Ms and SNICKERS.
and MARS...one of the best shoujo/romance manga to come gracefully into the American soil.

~REVIEW~

Using the basic concept of a typical boy-meets-girl story, adding the hardship of modern cruelty in society, unexpected twists, and characters so likable that people wouldn't care if they sound corny (or act unusual), MARS stands out to be one of the best of its genre; it actually made me want to start buying romance manga, and I'm a straight-up action-obsessed hombre. A year and 15 volumes later, I wanted more from the series. Well, Tokyopop heard our cry and now they released a prequel to the popular series, under the ridiculous sub, "MARS: Horse With No Name." A prequel isn't exactly what the fans expected for continuation, but as long as it brought some depth to the series' name, it's still a great read, right?

It turns out from the first page that "MARS: Horse with no Name" isn't just a whole prequel in one manga, but an assortment, albeit limited, of stories written by the same author that is Fuyumi Soryo. It has the prequel, and two short stories that are enjoyable, but not accessible to the MARS name:

MARS GAIDEN: Horse with no Name - It takes place a year before the whole Kira and Rei relationship thing takes heed. Romance enthusiasts will find that the "romance" part is sadly missing in this story as it actually follow how Rei and Tatsuya became the best of friends, under Tatsuya's perspective. It was his first day of high school, and when Rei Kashino comes into the black-and-white panel, grudges ensue and rivalry was made (really, with a guy that excels at sports, and a face no women can resist, just about any body has the hubris to beat him to a bloody pulp). It didn't take long for Tatsu to realize that lassie can turn into a pit bull if anything rubs him the wrong way. After experiencing a motorcycle challenge and a rescue attempt, these rivals progress into an unlikely friendship that continued for the original series.

Interesting fact: Soryo-ka got the name, Horse with no Name, from a song of the same title by 70's fame group, America. So it's them that's responsible for the lousy name. It's a solid back-story about friendship...without romance (come on, what's up with that?). It has some interesting tidbits that were from the original, like when Rei met Kira for the first time, helping get her keys she dropped at the sewer. However, this back-story didn't grab me as much as the O.G. The characters aren't as open as I expected, and it lacks any tactile sense. Flaws aside, it was a good read and it brought back some enjoyment I have with the series...for a while. 3/5

SLEEPING LION - Isamu is a typical daredevil of his posse. He accepts and acts on any dangerous task, and doesn't have a care in the world. But his life changes when a young girl named Ayame was at his sight, and doesn't stop stalking the heck out of him. Then, like a tick to a dog, she continues to follow him and annoy him. As these two were together, they grew a stronger bond towards each others, and when secrets are revealed, things aren't always as it should be.

This must be Soryo-ka's earlier work, but this is one of her best. At first glance, it's acts as a obligatory `boy-hates-girl, boy-later-loves-girl' bit, but knowing Fuyumi, I shouldn't take the basic premise lightly. As the story folds, depth perceives as it brought comprehension to the main characters, and its Twilight Zone twist brought shock to its appeal. It's an emotional story that's well-written. 4/5

A ONE-CARAT FRUIT - Nina is one miserable, un-good looking cat. Her parents are liable to file a divorce, so her thought on love are usually ignored or presume to be a passing feeling. When her friend was going out with a boy named Rui, Rui wanted to know more about Nina. It upsets the friend, the friends got into a catfight, and the boy assist the miserable one. Nina wasn't at open arms towards Rui in the beginning, but then they grew to have a very interesting friendship. But what they didn't know, as they share their character towards each other, that their relationship is much deeper than they think, and it's not the romance talking.

Again, it's one of those `gender-hates-gender, gender-later-blahdah-blahdah' stories, but this is, unfortunately, much more under-whelming. It had an interesting twist at the end of the story, but with zero chemistry on the characters and a conventional plot structure, I didn't care. Although it did taught me all about birthstones, but that's about it. 2/5

THE FINAL WORD: Cheap. It's an anthology at heart, and a disappointing one, I might add. I waited months to get my hands on this new Mars manga, and what I got is nothing more than a lousy collection of one serviceable related story and two unrelated stories with mixed results. At it's best, all three stories are enjoyable to read, but at worst, they just seem arbitrary. MARS: Horse with no Name is one recommended for the fans alike, and that alone doesn't say much for the rest of the crowd looking for much better anthologies.

Do waste your money.......2004-07-16

The story about Mars is very short and did not really add more information about the main story. The other two short stories are cute but I don't think it is worth 10 bucks.

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