Essays Books - Page 16

My Point...and I Do Have One

Ellen Degeneres

List Price: $19.95 By: Bantam Amazon Marketplace: 557 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Specific Groups -> Women
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Satire
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 76 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Read It! Read It! Read It! Read It! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book was soooooooo funny. I laughed more when I read this than when I read The Funny Thing Is... even though both were great books. If you read this I suggest skipping to the airplane chapter first....it's the funniest part of the book!!!!!

Could be better 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. I much prefer watching Ellen's show.

Hilarious 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As always Ellen DeGeneres is a great read. I found myself laughing out loud. If you like Ellen's comedy you'll love her books.

C- 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In an ironic twist, the title is sadly misleading. In a group of essays that seem to exist mostly as filler, Degeneres, who is usually so funny in her stand-up routines, absolutely misses the target on her first humor collection. There isn't a single essay that is good all the way through. There is a running gag about club soda that is amusing, and a chapter on human behavior is likewise entertaining. Degeneres rambles on in a way that is irritating, and many of her observations are strangely dull. Much of what the author has to say is a few beats off from funny, and the chapters containing lists are staggeringly dry and achingly boring. Reading through this was like reading a slightly silly textbook. Eyes passed over words, and while comprehending them, did not find them interesting. What a major disappointment from a talent who has proven herself to be a remarkable addition to the field of comedy, but who must have lost some of her humor in the translation from stage to the written word.

Editorial Review:

The personal story of Ellen DeGeneres, the star of ABC's comedy series, Ellen, offers insight into her simple observations on life, her outrageous dreams, and her strange-but-true experiences. 350,000 first printing. $350,000 ad/promo.

The Pool of Fire (The Tripods)

John Christopher

By: Viking Children's Books Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $25.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Literary Criticism & Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I mainly bought it for Youd's prologue 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The 35th Anniversary editions have prologues written at the time of their publication by Sam Youd, a.k.a. John Christohper himself. All three books have them and they are filled with a wealth of information about what he was thinking, aspects of the Masters, etc. For example, he originally did not set out to write a trilogy and did not even know what/who the Tripods were at the end of the first book. They also have the written text in the stories as he wanted them to originally to be. For those of you who grew up on this stuff, all the books are definitely a 'must have.'

Great book for tweens 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

My husband read this series with our girls. He remembered it from his childhood. It's a great book for boys especially (we have 2 nephews that have loved reading it as well).

Greatest Juvenile Science Fiction novels I ever read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I do not think there are three juvenile novels that I enjoy nearly as much as these three. The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire are absolutely perfect examples of Juvenile fiction. The books teach moral lessons as well as tell a rip roaring good tale.

Without giving to much plot away this tale is covers a not too distant future when Aliens who roam the Earth in giant Tripods rule the land. Every person who reaches puberty is capped and there mind is controlled or at least molded by the Tripods.

These three books follow a group of runaways and rebels who have never been capped and who desperately want to free Earth and its inhabitants. This band of rebels must find a way to defeat the Aliens without knowing who they are, what there weaknesses are or any worthwhile knowledge. On top of this the `rebels' have to defeat these space age aliens with technology at roughly 19th century levels.

The first book was a mystery unfolding and the second was the most emotional. This book is really the were you feel the most tension and triumph

These books are even more remarkable as they were written in the late 60's. I first read these books as a cartoon serial in `Boys Life' in the early 80's. I enjoyed the tale back then and still enjoy the stories now. I highly recommend all these books for kids and or there parents. Read and enjoy.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007 (The Best American Series (TM))

Amazon Price: $10.92 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 119 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> Collections & Readers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Science is about not knowing and wanting badly to know. Science is about flawed and complicated human beings trying to use whatever tools they've got, along with their minds, to see something strange and new. In that sense, writing about science is just another way of writing about the human condition." -- from the introduction by Richard Preston

The twenty-eight pieces in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2007 span a wide range of topics, from the farthest reaches of space to the everyday world around us to the secrets hiddin in our own bodies. Michael Lemonick travels to an extinct volcano in Hawaii, where telescopes at the summit are providing researchers with a glimpse of the most distant galaxy ever seen -- and profound new insights into the creation of the universe. Neil deGrasse Tyson takes a sharp, witty look at Americans' delirium over space travel. And with surgical precision Michael Perry describes how a medical autopsy is performed. Dead men can tell tales.

Here we also see examinations of the sometimes harmful impact of science on the natural world. Susan Casey gives an alarming portrait of plastic waste pollution in the world's oceans, including a dead zone in the mid-Pacific that's twice the size of Texas. Michael Shnayerson heads to West Virginia, where the Appalachians are being blasted at the rate of several ridgetops a week, all in the pursuit of ever-elusive coal. And Paul Bennett goes deep beneath Rome's streets, where cutting-edge excavation techniques are revealing newfound treasures in one of the world's oldest cities.

A profile of a late, distinguished British ornithologist by John Seabrook reveals that the man's personal collection of bird skins, now in the British Natural History Museum, was largely stolen or bought and intentionally mislabeled. Richard Conniff visits a former Brooklyn social worker turned primatologist who has become a fierce advocate of the lemur. And Patricia Gadsby takes us into the kitchens of Europe's finest chefs to explain how the new field of molecular gastronomy is revolutionizing fine cuisine.

Frederick (Knight Books)

Leo Lionni

By: Picture Knight Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $25.04

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Literary Criticism & Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 37 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

What a terrible message 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Just started buying books for my baby and came across this one. I know that arts are important to society, but that concept is probably a little abstract for a very young mind to grasp. The theme that sticks out most clearly is that you will be a hero if you slack off and mooch off everyone around you. This book will never be read to my kid if I have anything to say about it.

We are Frederick 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Although this book is delightful for the kids, Frederick really inspires YOU!

I'm adding this review for the impact it has had on me as an entrepreneur, idea generator, and casual writer. I think Lionni wrote this book autobiographically as someone who was often focused on less tangible work (absorbing and imagining). While so many laborers around us do the "real work", we spend our time not conforming to the traditions: we generate free content, feedback, software, bug reports, etc., and to many, those are intangibles. We leave traditional jobs to do things that many consider unimportant or even irresponsible wasting of time.

To the chagrin of his hard-working peers, Frederick gathered sunrays, colors, and words. Only much later did he make his profound contribution by translating those into uplifting stories. We should be confident that our creative and generous efforts today are worthwhile, and will collectively be what get us through the long, cold Winters ahead.

Whenever I need inspiration to persist at creative work, and justify my pursuits, I think of Frederick and know that my work is meaningful.

The Bible According to Mark Twain

Joseph B. Mccullough

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Touchstone Amazon Marketplace: 67 new & used starting at $4.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Classics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Mark Twain's Take on Bible Stories 5 out of 5 stars.
24 of 24 people found this review helpful.

In this book Mark Twain aims his satire at favorite stories from the Old Testament. He worked on these essays for most of his life but was afraid their irreverent nature would damage his career, therefore, he just kept re-writing and re-editing them. Most of them were not published until after his death and for some this is their introduction.

Adam and Eve, in their diaries, present bittersweet divergent stories of their dysfunctional relationship. Their accounts could be prototypes from a marriage counsellor's office, or short versions of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus."

Captain Stormfield has a dream about ending up in Heaven when he thought he was going to the other place. "He was deeply religious, by nature and by the training of his mother, and a fluent swearer by the training of his father." In this original and inventive story, we learn all those things about heaven that were left out of the Bible - but would be included in an imaginary book, "How to experience Heaven in six weeks on $10 a day."

An "Etiquette in the Afterlife" excerpt: "Do not try to show off. St. Peter dislikes it. The simpler you are dressed, the better it will please him. Above all things, avoid overdressing. A pair of spurs and a fig-leaf is plenty...leave your dog outside. Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay outside and the dog would go in."

In the masterpiece, "Letters From The Earth," Satan has been temporarily expelled from heaven and is wandering around the universe. On a lark, he decides to visit earth, an outlying little spot in an outlying galaxy that God had once played around with for a few days. Satan is astounded at what he finds, and writes home:

"This is a strange place, an extraordinary place, and interesting. There is nothing resembling it at home. The people are all insane, the other animals are all insane, the Earth is insane. Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm. Yet he blandly and in all sincerity calls himself the 'noblest work of God'...if I may put another strain on you - he thinks he is the Creator's pet. He believes the Creator's proud of him; sits up nights to admire him; yes, and watch over him and keep him out of trouble. He prays to Him, and thinks He listens. Isn't it a quaint idea? Fills his prayers with crude and bald and florid flatteries of Him, and thinks He sits and purrs over these extravagancies and enjoys them. He prays for help, and favor, and protection, every day; and does it with hopefulness and confidence, too, although no prayer of his has ever been answered...he thinks he's going to heaven! He has salaried teachers who tell him that. They also tell him there is a hell, of everlasting fire, and that he will go there if he doesn't keep the Commandments."

Of course, Noah makes an entertaining appearance, and through it all, Mark Twain has an opportunity to expound about those things in the Old Testament that do not quite make sense to him.

The authors offer scholarly histories about these essays for those who are interested. When they finally let loose with the words of Mark Twain, the reader feels a breath of fresh air. This is a fine collection of satires on religion by perhaps America's premier homespun author; a very definite five stars, and well worth your time.

Editorial Review:

Behind the humor of these pieces, readers will see Twain's serious thoughts on the relationship between God and Man, biblical inconsistencies, Darwinism, science, and the impact of technology on religious beliefs. "A fascinating panoply of wit, satire, farce, fantasy, lyricism, heresy, the sardonic, and the controversial."--Patricia Hassler, Booklist.

Wild Ducks Flying Backward

Tom Robbins

Amazon Price: $11.20 List Price: $14.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Bantam Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $5.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( R ) -> Robbins, Tom
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Classics -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Known for his meaty seriocomic novels, Tom Robbins’s shorter work has appeared in publications ranging from Esquire to Harper’s, from Playboy to the New York Times. Collected here for the first time in paperback, the essays, articles, observations—and even some untypical country-music lyrics—offer a rare overview of the eclectic sensibility of an American original.

Whether rocking with the Doors, depoliticizing Picasso’s Guernica, lamenting the angst-ridden state of contemporary literature, or drooling over tomato sandwiches and a species of womanhood he calls “the genius waitress,” Tom Robbins’s briefer writings exhibit the five traits that perhaps best characterize his novels: an imaginative wit, a cheerfully brash disregard for convention, a sweetly nasty eroticism, a mystical but keenly observant eye, and an irrepressible love of language. Embedded in this primarily journalistic compilation are brand-new short stories, a sheaf of largely unpublished poems, and an offbeat assessment of our divided nation. Wherever you open Wild Ducks Flying Backward, you’ll encounter the serious playfulness that percolates from the mind of a self-described “romantic Zen hedonist” and “stray dog in the banquet halls of culture.”

Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process

Kjell Rudestam, Rae R. Newton

List Price: $62.95 By: Sage Publications, Inc Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $20.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Surviving Your Dissertation is an ideal book for individuals on initial training courses, providing an overview of the research process, from the literature review through to writing it up. The all-important steps of defining the problem and choosing an appropriate methodology are clearly written, offering a framework which, if followed, would avoid many of the common difficulties experienced by trainees." --School Psychology International "Kjell Erik Rudestam and Rae R. Newton cover the problems and difficulties of successfully completing a doctoral dissertation with honesty and a sense of humor in Surviving Your Dissertation. . . . The authors write from the position of the ideal mentor, presenting the issues doctoral students would like their chairpersons to discuss with them yet rarely have done. . . . Although there are several related handbooks on the market, few combine the complexities of dealing simultaneously with content and process. Surviving Your Dissertation provides a readable, comprehensive guide to maximized success for doctoral students." --The Library Quarterly "Would this book be useful to doctoral students in accounting? My answer is a qualified yes. . . . Students who read and absorb the content of these chapters will be able to construct better proposals and dissertations with less wasted time and effort--both their time and effort and that of their advisors." --The Accounting Review "I was somewhat skeptical when I first heard the topic of this book. Is there really that much to say about dissertations that can apply to a wide variety of fields? My skepticism vanished when I saw this book. I was tremendously impressed. The author was very clever in considering all of the issues that might pop up in performing a dissertation. Also, the writing is excellent, and the organization is generally first-rate." --Robert L. Greene, Department of Psychology, Case Western Reserve University "The authors include material that most other books ordinarily miss, such as learning how to write, discovering one''s learning style, criteria for choosing statistical consultants, and tips for using computers. . . . This book is a must for graduate students for whom thoughts of planning and completing a doctoral dissertation are accompanied by feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and dread. This book is also a must for doctoral advisors who have long wished for a compendium of down-to-earth wisdom about the dissertation process that could help students get the most out of their doctoral experience." --Craig L. Frisby, Department of Psychology, University of Florida "A useful update. It includes contemporary developments regarding computer technology and some aspects of preparing/writing qualitative reports. I like the extent to which the authors organized chapters in their book corresponding to the chapter/section headings found in the conventional dissertations." --Bruce A. Thyer, School of Social Work, The University of Georgia "This is a useful book for a new graduate student who needs to start thinking about doing a thesis or dissertation at the earliest possible time. I would recommend it this way as a personal purchase. I would also think it might be useful as a supplement to a methods course. I would describe the book as a systematic treatment of the process of doing a thesis or dissertation." --Alan C. Acock, Human Development and Family Services, Oregon State University "An extremely useful guide in assisting me to mentor my graduate students. . . . A wonderful resource for any student beginning a serious research project." --Judy Stevens-Long, Department of Liberal Studies, University of Washington "This is a very readable, well-organized, and comprehensive guide to the dissertation process in the behavioral and social sciences. I will recommend it to all of my graduate students as essential reading both in the beginning and throughout the process of completing the dissertation. Unique for this type of guide is the integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as the chapters on writing and computer software. The guide is especially good in discussing the logic of the dissertation argument and the presentation of quantitative results." --John Landsverk, School of Social Work, San Diego State University "Successful completion of a thesis or dissertation is a unique challenge which need not be as painful if one reads and implements Surviving Your Dissertation prior to undertaking the effort. The book contains a great deal of wisdom about a broad array of issues that can be potential pitfalls. "Surviving Your Dissertation is what it claims to be, i.e., a survival kit for those contemplating doing a dissertation or thesis. Utilization of the ideas and methods incorporated in it will save one many hours of frustration and non-productive effort. It is an invaluable tool to be incorporated in classes on research and research methodologies." --Joseph E. Havranek, Ed.D., CRC, Bowling Green State University "This book provides a lot of useful and necessary information for all marketing doctoral candidates. It can be equally valuable to young faculty members who are just becoming involved in doctoral programs and need to provide structure so they can project successfully from their own experiences. I am certainly recommending the book to my colleagues and graduate students. . . ." --Journal of Marketing Research The dissertation can often seem like an overwhelming and insurmountable obstacle to obtaining that advanced degree--unless you have a handy, comprehensive guide to help you survive the process. Surviving Your Dissertation offers students the perfect guide for preparing the best dissertation. Using examples from a wide range of disciplines, Kjell Erik Rudestam and Rae R. Newton provide readers with expert advice on the entire dissertation process: selecting a suitable topic, conducting a review of the literature, building an argument, presenting the material, presenting data and results and managing data overload, methods for developing appropriate writing skills, ways to construct tables and figures, working with faculty committees, and dealing with emotional blocks. Whether you are a student attempting to write a successful thesis or dissertation, or a professor attempting to guide your students in the right direction, Surviving Your Dissertation is your personal handbook for making the whole process a rewarding experience.

Venus in Furs

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Amazon Price: $10.99 List Price: $10.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: BiblioBazaar Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $7.45

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very different from what I expected 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I wanted to read this book for years, and when it finally crossed my radar here at Amazon, I snapped it up with very high expectations. However, my reading experience was very different from my expectations of it.

Considering that Sacher-Masoch's name ended up being a synonym for an entire branch of sexuality, I was disappointed to discover that Venus in Furs is *not* a story about a masochistic relationship (except in a more dysfunctional meaning of the word).

While the main characters do enjoy some aspects of masochism/sadism, they mainly use it as a weapon against each other in an intense gender power struggle. People in the fetish community will recognize the term "topping from the bottom", (and others will be more familiar with "passive-aggressive"), where the submissive/masochistic partner tries to use his/her "sacrifice" to gain covert control over the relationship and the dominant partner, while avoiding actually taking responsibility for what happens. If you're looking for a genuine story about the sadistic/masochistic aspect of human sexuality, you will be disappointed by Venus in Furs.

On the other hand, this book is an intense historical document about the Western view of gender and relationships a hundred years ago, which is still very much present in today's Western countries. It's fascinating, funny, sad and horrifying at the same time, to be for a while steeped into an idea of the world in which relationships are a brute power struggle in which one side must always lose, and the only way a person can hope to keep both his/her self and his/her beloved is to "win" by deception, intimidation, domination, violence and mind-games. It's a story about wounded, neurotic, fearful and repressed love in a culture which applied Nitsche and Darwin very literally and simplistically to every aspect of human life.

Editorial Review:

Translated from the German By FERNANDA SAVAGE

The City of Gold and Lead (The Tripods)

John Christopher

By: Viking Children's Books Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $89.70

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Literary Criticism & Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Essays -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Greatest Juvenile Science Fiction novels I ever read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I do not think there are three juvenile novels that I enjoy nearly as much as these three. The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire are absolutely perfect examples of Juvenile fiction. The books teach moral lessons as well as tell a rip roaring good tale.

Without giving to much plot away this tale is covers a not too distant future when Aliens who roam the Earth in giant Tripods rule the land. Every person who reaches puberty is capped and there mind is controlled or at least molded by the Tripods.

These three books follow a group of runaways and rebels who have never been capped and who desperately want to free Earth and its inhabitants. This band of rebels must find a way to defeat the Aliens without knowing who they are, what there weaknesses are or any worthwhile knowledge. On top of this the `rebels' have to defeat these space age aliens with technology at roughly 19th century levels.

The first book was a mystery unfolding and the last was tension and triumph. The book is really the most emotional of the bunch and you feel a real sense of helplessness.

These books are even more remarkable as they were written in the late 60's. I first read these books as a cartoon serial in `Boys Life' in the early 80's. I enjoyed the tale back then and still enjoy the stories now. I highly recommend all these books for kids and or there parents. Read and enjoy.

The Way We Live Now (Modern Library)

Anthony Trollope

List Price: $21.00 By: Modern Library Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $15.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Lawyers & Criminals
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Satire
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> ( T ) -> Trollope, Anthony

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Trollope did not write for posterity," observed Henry James. "He wrote for the day, the moment; but these are just the writers whom posterity is apt to put into its pocket." Considered by contemporary critics to be Trollope's greatest novel, The Way We Live Now is a satire of the literary world of London in the 1870s and a bold indictment of the new power of speculative finance in English life. "I was instigated by what I conceived to be the commercial profligacy of the age," Trollope said.
   His story concerns Augustus Melmotte, a French swindler and scoundrel, and his daughter, to whom Felix Carbury, adored son of the authoress Lady Carbury, is induced to propose marriage for the sake of securing a fortune. Trollope knew well the difficulties of dealing with editors, publishers, reviewers, and the public; his portrait of Lady Carbury, impetuous, unprincipled, and unswervingly devoted to her own self-promotion, is one of his finest satirical achievements.
   His picture of late nineteenth century England is of a society on the verge of moral bankruptcy, where the traditional virtues of Tory squirearchy, represented by Roger Carbury, prove to be no match for the financial genius of Augustus Melmotte. In The Way We Live Now Trollope combines his talents as a portraitist and his skills as a storyteller to give us life as it was lived more than a hundred years ago.