When I discovered that Mike Venezia was following up his successful Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series with Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers, it was obviously going to be the volume on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that was going to be the one I would most be interested in reading. In terms of his cartoons illustrating in comic ways some of the key developments in Mozart's life from child prodigy performing with his older sister as their father toured them throughout Europe, Venezia certainly delivers. There are also historic paintings and other illustrations of Mozart from throughout his life. But while this volume is an adequate juvenile biography of the great musician, it is a less than satisfactory musical biography. Granted, this is an inherent disadvantage for the Composers series over the Artists series, given that at least in the latter you could reproduce the greatest paintings of the greatest composers, but Venezia refrains from mentioning specific works by Mozart until the final pages of the book. Given my inherent position that a young reader should read this volume while listening to a decent collection of Mozart's "hits," it would be useful not only if more works were specifically mentioned but if they were more specific than entire operas. The only way to appreciate great music is to listen to it and in all of these volumes telling of great composers from George Handel to George Gershwin I think that Venezia clearly has a great opportunity to direct his readers to some prime examples. This is what Venezia did in his volume in this series on Johann Sebastian Bach and it should be a standard part of every volume in the series. Still, young readers will get a much better sense for Mozart's entire life than they will from watching "Amadeus," but the film will do a better job of getting them to fall in love with his music.

This breezily written biography portrays not only Mendel but also his "rediscoverers" (Hugo de Vries, Karl Correns) and the scientists (Raphael Weldon, T. H. Morgan, and especially William Bateson) who, two decades after his death, quarreled over the applicability of his now-famous findings. Readers looking for an introduction to the science itself will be disappointed, however, since the book offers only a cursory introduction.

The biography is lean, because very little is known about Mendel himself. The author resorts to imagining probable scenes from his life: "In a corner of the monastery garden, Mendel huddled myopically over rows of greening plants." "His curly brown hair thinning around his widening face, Mendel sat at the oak writing table in the orangery, where the air was warm and lushly fragrant." You either enjoy this sort of thing, or you don't--but I can report that at least Henig does not invent dialogue.

By far the more interesting part of the book is the second half, which conveys the quarrels and intrigues by which Mendel and his publications were rediscovered and illuminated by a gaggle of ego-driven scientists bent on proving each other wrong. It's fun reading, if a little disheartening, but it's nice to know that the dead man wins. Overall, "The Monk in the Garden" is a decent historical introduction to the founding of genetics, but not much more.

As a gardener, I love the story of a monk who loves gardening founding the science of genetics -- and it's a good story. As a mother and sometimes teacher, I love the fact that Mendel was a lousy test-taker and didn't do well in school as a result -- and still became the founder of genetics.(He became a monk to get an education, as I recall--or was it to do his plant breeding work? I don't remember that detail.) At a time when overachievement is a sickness, this tale of a man who loves his numbers becoming obsessed about patterns in pea reproduction stumbling on the secret to a whole modern industry is tonic. And the whole second half of the book, which is the story about how his discoveries were lost and found and became the center of a story of science politics, are simply fascinating. I am a little puzzled at the reader who complained there was no original research. You don't even have to read the book to know the author went to Brno. On C-Span Books the author explained about how when she was at the monastery in Brno she learned about the "secret" door in the monastery's formal library and went through to the room in back where the monks actually studied and did their work -- and how it was from that window that they probably shouted out to Mendel in his garden, thereby explaining one piece of the puzzle about why people thought he fudged his numbers and why he probably didn't. Far more interesting to me, in some ways, was realizing that this was a time when religion supported science and science was something the average gardener could get involved in and would then talk about in a local talk -- in the days before people were glued to their tv sets -- when science and religion weren't seen as adversaries, as they appear to be in Kansas. A good read.

It is easy to ignore Mendel. Genetics as a science is exploding with new data and ideas almost daily. And, it is not just the science that understandably captures our interest. The scientists themselves have drawn attention from biographers and historians who have churned out volumes on those working in the field today. The life and personalities of Watson and Crick, more recently Craig Venter of Celera, and others attract media notice, quite independent of their work and scientific contributions. Against contemporary practioners,the life and times of a patience, deliberative and plodding monk just can't seem to compete for air time. But, before you conclude that Mendel is the C-SPAN of genetics, read The Monk in the Garden. In this well-written and graceful volume by Robin Marantz Henig, the complexity of Mendel's life emerges fully. Fraught with insecurity; beleagured almost throughout his life by a depression that could leave him immobilized; ignored by jealous rivals: Henig's Mendel can capture the attention of contemporary readers every bit as much as the scientists currently standing on his shoulders. After all, as Henig writes, "Had he not made that start, however tentative, who can say how genetics would have begun instead -- or even when." The Monk in the Garden is worth knowing.

I was looking for a book on Austria and this was recommended. It only had a few sections on Austria and did not give me the detailed information that I needed. There was a tremendous amount of information on Germany, which is fine, if you are traveling there. The book should read Germany, little bit of Austria and Switzerland...

We loved his witty commentaries and site recommendations. The attractions he advises are good to visit were excellent. We were glad to have recommendations because we knew so little about these countries. However, 2/3 the book focuses on Germany, 1/3 on Austria, and a few pages to Switzerland. Since we spent most of our trip in Austria and Germany, it was helpful, but be aware of this book's limitations before leaving on your trip.

I ended up buying three of Steve's books. The first time I used one, the book just paid off by itself. That says a lot since his books are not [inexpensive] and even do not come with any pics.

It skipped many famous but over-rated sites or cities. If you are a person who wants to see 'everything' but do not care about how much quality time you would spend in places, join a tourist group, this book is surely not for you.

But if you are a novice but want to experience real local cultures and travel like a pro while not spending too much money , Steve's books are very difficult to beat.

I've been reading about Arnold since I was 18 in 1972. His bodybuilding accomplishments are legendary and now he is a famous movie star. Leigh didn't necessarily dig for negative stuff on Arnold; she wrote what appears to be are the facts of his life. No one is perfect and each of us has comments and experiences we'd rather the world did not hear about. It's all part of Arnold's life good and bad but interesting and fascinating as well.

I'm a big arnold fan, so you know where I
stand on the subject. I've read all his books
"The education of a bodybuilder" ect. When
I read this book I thought all the facts are
here about Arnold's life ,whats wrong?
This book trys to give an investigative
reporter angle. It gives us the dingy
look at Arnold's life, on such topics as
sexuality, steriod use, and even racism!
Look, I don't know if any of these topics
covered are true or not. After all this
is the unauthorized bio of the Austrian Oak's
life. To sum it up this book tries to
bring to light the dark side of Arnold's
life. If thats your cup of tea ,then read this
book!
...

you don't really know what his life is like until you have read this book. All the things that he had to go through as a child, and all the things he had to go through growing up will surprise you. This book gave me a different perspective on his life.

It is surprising that this novel got on the New York Times's list of notable books of the year 2000. It does not work on almost every level.

First of all, it is supposed to be a satire. According to my dictionary a satire is "a literary work in which human vice or folly is attacked through irony, derision or wit." Unfortunately, I could not find much irony, derision or wit in the novel. It trudges along, and its deliberately scientific language and formality do not create any satirical effect at all.

Secondly, the novel wants to educate and satirize at the same time. It was quite confusing and tiring for this reader to figure out when to take a fact at face value and when to assume that it was made up. Education goes well with gentle wit and straightforwardness. Satire works best when something is exaggerated and distorted (in this respect, satire is similar to caricature). Blending the educational and the satirical is bound to be difficult. There are examples of a successful blend (take Chapter 6 of Julian Barnes's "Flaubert's Parrot"), but not in this book.

Thirdly, structure. The novel is not - as the blurb claims - "a magical blending" but rather a messy blunder. It sags under the burden of distracting, long-winded side-stories. The storyline is burdened by deviations into the life of two rapists, an illegitimate granddaughter of Freud, and Mr. Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame). For what purpose? What is the joke? I don't get it.

Fourthly, characterization. Satire needs a target worth of derision. Since Freud is no longer on the pedestal on which some academics have put him, he does not really qualify as a target. And what about his disciples? Yes, definitely worthy targets. But then the author should have built up at least one fully developed character that deserves ridicule. He failed to do so, however. The narrator and the characters of the book are quite bland and one-dimensional.

There is never a moment in which the book achieves the magic of fiction, which is to suspend the reader's belief in the fictional nature of what he reads. The beauty and power of fiction, in this reader's opinion, lie in its manipulative power: to make us believe (paradoxically) that the fiction we read is "real" although we know it is fiction. Yes, I want to be deceived! In particular by a book where the theme of self-deception (an excellent choice for the theme of a novel, by the way!) figures so prominently.

Bottom line: a very unsatisfying, annoying and tedious book.

The theory's sort of cute, albeit reductive, and I understand why Rosenfield wanted to use Freud for it -- but it's silly, the book, overall. It's neither great fiction nor great philosophy (let alone science). I found it entertaining, but if a book like this is really to succeed, it should also be enlightening. It is not.

This reimagining of Freud's last days and his lately discovered "Megalomania Manuscript" is an electric gem that spins off sparks that flash on Adorno, Reich, Fromm, Szasz, Bateson, Watzlawick, Hofsteader, and dozens of other twenthieth century thinkers who would likely shudder to find their names in a sentence with Freud. Oh and there's W.H.R. Rivers and the war poets too (check out Pat Barker). What a fun and fertile imaginative stroll. Thanks.

I am very interested in the holocaust and have been reading every book I could get my hands on about the subject. I found this one in my sister's room and decided, well, what the heck, It's short anyway, I can just zip through this! I knew that it was intended for grade1- grade 3 audiece but it probably wouldn't even appeal to them either. I just couldn't find anything interesting about it. The book is about a girl named Clara and her sister who have th get away from their country and to England. There really wasn't much description in it and nothing really happened. I also found it very unrealistic. The only reason I gave it 2 stars was because the author really tried to impress people and from the looks of the other reveiws, it looks like a few people did like it.

The Crossing Night is a very sad book. What I mean by sad is that the poor family as to move because they are Jews. I choose this book because of the cover. I mean if you saw this cover you would like to read it it sound pretty good too. This book well is a worth to read if you ask me. Here is a reason you should read this book.
The Croosing Night is about a Jewish family who can't live in Australia. Then they have to move, after what probaly 600 years. I mean if you ask me I find that kind rude. So they find the most valuble things in the house that they could sell, but they can't take everything with them. The wife takes her candles that had been passed down to her. Clary her older daughter took some books. The youngest daughter took her two dolls. Well, the husband took his wedding ring. So at night they head off to Germany.
Will they get caught? or will they make it. Well, I gave you my reason so if you still want to read go to the libary. Go ahead nobody is stopping you so go. Find out get this book from the library and find out. I recamend this book to a friend. It is not that bad, but it is a worth to read. so go to the nearest libary and get this book. You won't regret it.

I like The Night Crossing by Karen Ackerman. It showed how hard it was to escape for freedom. It was a short book, but people probuly went through more then what happened to then in the story. Some families may not have had as many people and then they couldn't carry a lot of their things. Some people didn't have place to stop for safety. These people had their hard times and easy times that is what makes this book good. I hope you read and enjoy it because it is great!

I am a huge John Irving fan, and have been ever since I read A Prayer for Owen Meany several years ago, unfortunately this book is a disappointment. As always Irving does a wonderful job creating his characters and making the reader interested in their lives, but Irving was not at his best this early in his career. I am never a fan of Irving's short stories that he puts in the middle of his novels (Pension Gripalzer etc.) and a majority of this book is a journal written by ine of the characters, so that upset me. He also does not include wrestling and does not make any of the characters writers, which I always like in his novels because he knows the subjects and writes about them so well. I think if you are looking for an introduction to Irving or are just looking for a good book A Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp, or Cider House Rules would be much better bets.

I have to give this book two stars for being a John Irving novel, and one star for the story of Siggy's mother and father. However, the rest of the story leaves much to be desired. I'm not surprised that this turns out to be his first novel. In fact, in Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, Irving states that he doesn't believe that this novel would even be published today as a first novel. If you're a huge Irving fan this is worth a read as it contains the common Irving themes of Vienna and bears, but don't expect the quality of his other novels. If Irving's work is something that you either love or hate, you'll love all his other works but hate this one.

While not the most important or most well written novel of all time, "Setting Free the Bears" is one heck of a wild ride.

I am blown away that this book is a "first novel." It is a clear sign of Irving's greatness as an author that he could write something this complex and entertaining his first time out. It seems that among those who have read at least two of Irving's novels, there is usually one that they pick and passionately cling to as their favorite. Most then judge the rest of Irving books as falling short of the glory of their favorite. How unfortunate.

"Setting Free the Bears," when taken by itself, is more than worth reading. However, far too many people seem predisposed to shoot it down without finishing reading it...usually because it's supposedly "not as good as" (insert favorite Irving novel here). People may well be extra harsh on "Setting Free the Bears" because Irving's style is not yet fully formed here (it is something along the lines of Irving plus Jack Kerouac with a dash of Tom Robbins thrown in to boot).

All this notwithstanding, I am glad to have read this book; to have encountered characters such as Siggy, Graff, Gallen and the rest of this unique cast. The literary device of splitting up the book with Siggy's notebook is pure genius.

One of the reasons I enjoy Irving so much is his great sense of humor. There is plenty of it here (though much of it is of a darker kind than later Irving). In particular, I laughed out loud upon reading the scene where Siggy gets his "shave".

All in all, I give "Setting Free the Bears" a most hearty recommendation. Though it is not perfect by any means (I only know of one such book), it has great moments of beauty and humor. Well worth reading.

...and I hate to say that, because I was really, REALLY looking forward to reading this book! Alternate histories fascinate me (as they do many readers) and although I'm happy to say that the author appears to have a good grasp of Custer as a personality and doesn't paint him as a heartless, Indian-hating, glory-grabbing brute (which is refreshing!), his style is extremely dry. The research is sound, but it's more like reading a history textbook than a novel. So, if you're looking for a teeth-rattling page-turner, I'm afraid this isn't it. "Marching to Valhalla" is a much better bet!

I have been reading alternative histories on and off since MacKinlay Kantor wrote "If the South Had Won the Civil War" several decades ago. The two key factors in any alternative history are (1) what happens differently to alter the flow of history and (2) what significant chances result from that alteration. Such stories are usually flawed because the first part becomes convoluted beyond belief, but that is certainly not the case with "Custer's Luck," written by Robert Skimin with researcher William E. Moody. The pivotal moment is, of course, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the authors have George Armstrong Custer discover the true size of the Indian camp he is about to attack. So instead of continuing with his suicidal charge he reunites his elements of the 7th Calvary with those under Reno and Benteen. With a unified command Custer is able to compel Sitting Bull to surrender by employing his standard tactic, threatening the women and children. Therefore, instead of the newspapers being full of the massacre of Custer's troops on nation's Centennial, "Long Hair" is credited with a great victory. All of this is certainly plausible.

Equally reasonable is the idea that Custer would then have been tapped to run for President in 1880. The main thrust of "Custer's Luck" is therefore going to be what happens to the destiny of America with Custer in the White House. If you have a reasonable grasp of American history--and there is no reason to be reading these types of books if you do not--then half the fun is recognizing where and when the authors are lifting ideas and events. This goes from such relatively minor things as the court-martial of a black West Point cadet to Custer insisting the U.S. cannot afford to be Isolationist, the political philosophy that was the flaw in American diplomacy throughout the 20th century. Ultimately, "Custer's Luck" wants to have the United States try to begin that century the way it ended it, as the preeminent military and political power on the planet. Consequently, Custer fast-forwards the nation in terms of developing a strong navy, building the Panama Canal, provoking a war with Spain over Cuba, and even supporting women's suffrage.

The main sub-plot of the novel focuses on Red Elk, a young Sioux Warrior who vows over the dead body of his pregnant wife that he will kill "Long Hair." Red Elk is a fictional character, originally created in Skimin's "The River and the Horsemen: A Novel of the Little Big Horn." Given that previous novel along with the fact Moody is the editor of "The Journal of the Little Bighorn Associates," it is not surprising that several of those who died with Custer--his brothers Tom and Boston, Myles Keogh, Mark Kellogg and William Cooke--are prominent throughout the novel. Even Frederick Benteen, never a Custer supporter, becomes a Congressman bent on derailing his former commander's ambitions. There are also some soap opera elements; at one point Custer even ends up in the arms of Lillie Langtry. But even before we get to Skimin's final postscript comment "Any comparison to Camelot is in the mind of the reader," it is clear that John F. Kennedy is the major model for the Custer Administration and its theme of "The New American Empire." After all, Custer puts brother Tom in a Cabinet post while his brother Boston is elected a Congressman, Libbie wants to fix up the White House and Custer has the government supporting the fine arts.

I am perfectly willing to grant that many of the things Custer does in this novel could have been done at that time. I will even agree that a national hero such as Custer would have been after winning the Battle of the Little Bighorn could be swept to the Presidency (although Custer's narrow victory in the election does not ring true to me, even if the man was a Democrat). What I find hard to believe is that a President Custer would have been so visionary. When he works out diplomatic solutions to get both Geronimo and Sitting Bull back to their reservations, it is clear that Skimin and Moody are offering us a different Custer than the egotistical daredevil of history's current judgment. Then again, this only underscores that the character is ultimately only a device that allows the authors to shape their alternative America, so there is a logic to their alterations. However, the ending of "Custer's Luck" conveniently frees Skimin from having to finish what he has started. The significant changes that should be at the heart of this alternative history are therefore secondary to the parade of historical figures Custer and his cohorts encounter in the novel. To say the least, I find this to be an unsatisfactory way of concluding this story, essentially negating much of the momentum Skimin and Moody had in creating their alternate America.

I thoroughly enjoyed this "what if" story of a successful Custer who seemed to be ahead of his time, and yet suffered from the same character defects as more recent leaders. While the details surrounding some of the lesser characters was a little tedious, it was a quick,interesting, and fun read. In the final analysis, Custer could not escape the Little Big Horn and, as with JFK, the promise of a great leader was not realized. Don't miss this book if you enjoy alternative history and Custer mythology.

I like to read good biographies of the most influential and interesting people of Western history( previous two biographies read were Desmond & Moore's great biography of Darwin, and Solomon's fine Mozart). I had never read a Freud biography and considered this book as a starting point. Since I bought the book with the hopes of reading a reasonably straightforward, unbiased biography of someone who has undoubtedly greatly influenced twentieth century thought, I found myself very disappointed. This 'biography' is

simply a fan book written by a Freud fan. From the very first chapter and throughout the book, Freud is admired and praised as
if the book had been written by Freud's doting mother instead of
an academic writer. In fact, Gay implies throughout that Freud's
"heroic" character had only one serious flaw-- that being self-criticism(!)-- and that anything questionable in Freud's character
was justified by his achievement and reknown in the development of psychoanalysis. Fine for avid Freudian types, but I suggest to anyone who is not a Freud cheerleader to avoid the rah-rah-rah
of this long fan letter.

This is an excellent short introduction - yes, short - to the life and work of Sigmund Freud. In recent years, Freud has been subject to endless ridicule and reassessment, but there is no doubt that his mind created a intellectual whirlwind that we are still living within. Think of our age's obsession with sex and you gain a glimmer of the impact of this man, who looked beneath the polite surface to the dark underpinnings. It is fascinating to read the life of the man who changed we think about ourselves forever.

In particular, I admired his scrupulous work habits and his intensity at task. Gay has written a daunting and impressive biography. I would have liked more information about the imapct of his ideas and the way they are received today, but then again that may have filled another book. Apart from that, I cannot fault the research that went into this book and the style with which it is written.

Freud's psychology is a complex web that Gay untangles as well as Freud could have himself. There are diferent Freuds, conventional and controversial. Sometimes in honest scientific research, sometimes involved in power games and his enormous egotism.

Freud only became famous after the age of fifty, and the build up to this is as interesting as what happens afterwards. All his important writings are discussed, from the seminal 'Interpretation of Dreams' to his bizarre final work, 'Moses and Monotheism'

Gay says that he wrote the book 'neither to denounce nor to flatter but to understand'. If you are prepared to give a lot of energy (the book is 700 pages of dense material) to reading the biography, you will be rewarded with a brilliantly detailed portrait of Freud.

Sorry, but this book was somewhat a disappointment for me. The authors for the most part keep personal life and work of Gödel separated, instead of seeing them as a unity. A biography has to be the best of both worlds in my opinion. That's what makes the work of a biographical writer a difficult task. Maybe one of the two authors did the biographical part, the other one the mathematical ? And of course, everything about Gödel is great, brillant and alltogether grand. I am missing a critical view on his lifestyle and his view on music e.g.. Appearently the author of the biographical part was so in awe of Gödel, that he didn't dare to critisize anything about Gödel. Ironic, since Gödel stands for the idea, that you are allowed and even have the obligation to question everything to get to the bottom of the truth of things.
I am still waiting for the real biography of Kurt Gödel.

Casti and DePauli's book is interesting and informative -- a very good hors d'oeuvre but not a main course.

It's too sketchy to qualify as a biography (it's more like a very good encyclopedia article). You will get only the broadest sense of Godel as a person. As it turned out, his main role in life seems to have been that of a purveyor of very bad news. His main claim to fame was the dubious honor of being the one to tell the mathematicians that their idyllic world of faultless logic and ironclad proofs was an illusion. He proved conclusively that all logical systems are incomplete in that they will always contain theorems that cannot be proved by the axioms of that system. His greatness resides in the fact that he saw clearly what all the great minds of his time and before failed to see. In the grips of hypochondria and acute paranoia, he eventually starved himself to death.

The description of Godel's work is also very sketchy, but the fundamentals are adequately presented. At some points it seems overly simplified and at others it seems bewilderingly complicated. On the average it gives an adequate explanation of Godel's Theory of Incompleteness. What I found more interesting were the connections between his work and modern computer technology (including implications for artificial intelligence). It also delves briefly into his relationship with Einstein, his work in the realm of General Relativity, and the more mystical work of his later years at the IAS at Princeton.

Overall, I feel that the authors did a good job of cramming a complex life and a complex life's work into 200 brief pages. They also did a good job of piquing my interest and encouraging me to dig deeper into the life and work of this enigmatic genius.

I would agree with other reviewers who point out that Casti and DePauli's book really doesn't work as a biography. While there are some interesting biographical factoids, they are offered in such a disjoint manner that it is hard to see this book as a good biography of Kurt Godel.

However, as a book that gives an accessible overview of Godel's work, it is very effective. The best parts of the book deal with Godel's Theorem and Turing's Halting Problem. While there are other books out there that do a good job of making both those topics accessible to a wide audience, Casti and DePauli's treatment is worth a read because they also offer some unique insights not (easily) found elsewhere.

But the best part of this book is the second to the last chapter that gives an accessible account of Algorithmic Information Theory (aka 'Kolmogorov Complexity') ... especially Gregory Chaitin's work on the randomness of natural numbers. While Chaitin has also written some accessible works on this topic, Casti and DePauli does a great job of explaining this topic to a wider audience as well as showing the connections between AIT and Godel/Turing. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

A very interesting and insightful thing that Casti and DePauli did was to periodically re-define Godel's Theorem in terms of Turing's Halting Problem, Chaitin's work, and from other interesting angles.

The book is not without fault. Besides the rather haphazard biographical details, the chapters dealing with some of Godel's other projects (physics, mysticism, etc.) were rather poorly written. Also, Casti and DePauli did a very bad job with citations/suggestions for further reading. E.g., they often cite to other works, or suggest readers consult other sources for further details, and then do NOT provide those sources in the bibliography. There are some other examples of sloppy editing and writing that would be hard to point out to those who haven't actually read the book.

Having said all of that, the book deserves 5 stars because of the material on the incompleteness of mathematics, solvability/computability, random nature of mathematics, and some of the biographical trivia (to the extent that they are offered). My recommendation is that people buy the paperback if they are interested in AIT, mathematical logic, and theoretical computer science, and want those topics dealt with in an accessible and interesting manner without sacrificing on insights.