Product Description
Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives as the shack on a wintry afternoon and walk back into his darkest nightmare.What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him.You'll want everyone you know to read this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (185)

The Shack
What a fantastic and beautifully written book. The author shares a unique experience with God and after you finish reading it, you feel like you had an experience yourself. I finished this book a week ago, and am still deeply affected. I am going to buy several because this one book can't spread thin enough for me to share with everyone I want to read it. My kids are first on the list. Then my sibs...my friends...

A True Picture of God
This is a must read for anyone who desires to get a true biblical perspective on the nature of God and His desire to have a relationship with us.

It is tender and real and reveals God as He is according to the scriptures.(I can testify tothe soundness of the theology, though it is presented in a diffent way, as a Bible teacher of about 30 years.) He doesn't want us to do things for Him; He only wants us to enter into intimacy and relationship with Him.

It is not preachy.It is based on a touching story which will draw you in from the very beginning.


Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
KJV


Please read it!

JMH Must Read
The Shack is an excellent book.I couldn't stop reading until I was finished and my wife was the same way. Even though it is fiction you can learn about God and his love for you and all people.

Provocative, Disturbing & Delightful
How do you cut across pre-conceptions, prejudice and religious icons? How do you take a tragedy that strains the imagination of those who have never experienced it and taps the deepest pain of those who have - yet bring a message of healing and restoration?

Provocative, disturbing, devastating to stereotypes - yet delightfully original, fresh and insightful, "The Shack" will not be what you expect.

The praise for this book set up expectations almost impossible to achieve. I approached it with a blend of anticipation and skepticism. Putting it down through the first half was not overly difficult. The second half reeled me in like a fish on a line.

Original ideas presented in original ways are something every writer dreams of. This work comes closer to achieving that than anything I have read in years.

Do I agree with everything it says? It is a novel - not a Bible - and the answer is no. But it presented ideas in such a unique and fresh way that I'm still trying to digest many of them. Is it as good as the build-up promised? Let's just say I've ordered the best quality binding I can find and hope my grandchildren (1 - 6 years old) will stumble across it some day.

Because it is a book you may wish to read multiple times, consider paying the extra for a hard cover issue. Also consider recommending it to your public library.

Warning, this is in many ways a disturbing book with elements that almost caused me to discard it. It will create controversy and undoubtedly some will be offended by the very unconventional picture of God portrayed. With that warning clear, it is still a work I highly recommend.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked."Galatians 6:7
I am a follower of the one, true and living Jesus Christ of the Bible.This book is completely full of fallacy as the author "imagines" the truths about God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.If you want to know Jesus, the Savior, then read the Bible.This book will lie to you deceiving you all the way down the path of destruction.Hmmmmm?Sounds like the serpent at work here to steal, kill, and destroy.All you Christians...read it and discern against the Word of God then let's proclaim to the world the truth about the dangers of this book.Amen ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

WCW for the young
Although I would never have expected it, Christopher MacGowan has done an excellent job in choosing poems from William Carlos Williams collection appropriate for children. In addition the illustrations not only compiment this imagist's poems, but are enjoyable for all ages. I look forward to other books in this series. ... Read more

Book Description
This descriptive introduction to the world's religions provides an orientation to the study of religion, surveys the history of each of the major world religions, discusses the ways these religions respond to contemporary ethical issues, and reflects the future of religions in the 21st century.By providing worldviews of: indigenous religions (with case studies from Africa and North America), the religions of South and Southeast Asia (Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Jainism), religions of East Asia (Daoism, Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism [Pure Land, Zen, Tibetan], Shinto), religions of the Middle East and beyond (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism); and representative new religious movements (The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), The World's Religions presents a sympathetic perspective for each. Attention to religious responses to contemporary ethical issues (the ecological crisis, global economics, war, capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia, gender, and sexual orientation) places the religions in a twenty-first century context.Because it attempts to describe how religions answer basic human questions, this authoritative, lively, and informative book is an excellent introduction to the study of religions for any interested reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not bad for half the price of the best intros...
Young's book works well if you are teaching a class on a budget, as it sells for half the price of the most-often-used scholarly intros to world religions used in the colleges and universities.For the price, it is a good deal.The very few pictures and complete absence of color plates is a money-saver.The basic info is usually sound, but there are exceptions.For instance, Young says Yin is the dragon and Yang is the tiger.I don't mind supplementing a textbook, but I dislike having to correct it.The structure is not optimum.For instance, splitting Theravada and Mahayana Buddhisms (with chapters on Jainism, Daoism, and Confucianism in-between) is not the most logical conceptual framework for an intro student.Dealing with Shinto after Mahayana is also not optimum.And so on...However, price is key for many, and in this case the price is right.All in all, this text works well for a teacher who can use the text as a launching point, supplement the info extensively, and at times, correct it.

Great!
This book is very excellent. It is very well written and explains everything completly. And, I can say from personal experience that Dr. Young knows what he is talking about, he is my professor.

Informative
This book was purchased for my Introduction to Religion Class.It is informative. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Classic poetry for a modern age
A beautifully illustrated collection of poems by English poet and mystic William Blake... The subject matter (and the didactic tone) may seem remote to many modern readers, and secular-minded parents may wish to steer clear of the constant talk of angels, creators and shepherds, but for those wishing to immerse their children into the English canon, it would be hard to imagine a better introduction to Blake's work than this.The soft-textured artwork recalls Blake's own fantastical visual style, with its wild celebration of nature, and perfectly compliments the text.Although some of the loftier verses may be hard to crack, many poems are easily understood, including the well-known "The Tyger" ("Tyger, tyger, burning bright...") and "The Nurse."Part of an excellent series of introductory poetry sets. (ReadThatAgain) ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

WE COULD CERTAINLY USE MORE LIKE THIS ONE!
I cannot think of a better way to introduce the poetry of Shakespeare than this small volume.The selection is excellent and of interest you the young reader.The commentary is quite relevant as are the pictures which accompany it.I find that often now, our young people go all the way through the early grades in school and many of them have never heard of Shakespeare,much less read their poetry.This was the sort of stuff my generation and the generation before it grew up on and cut our teeth on.I do not feel I am any worse for the wear.I am fearful that we are bringing up an entire generation (rightfully or wrong, although I feel it is the later) of young folks who will have no appreciation to this great art form and will miss a lot.This book helps.This entire series helps, as a matter of fact and I certainly recommend you add this one and the others to your library.Actually, it is rather fun reading these with the young folk and then talking about them.Not only do you get to enjoy the work your self and perhaps bring back some great memories, but you have the opportunity to interact with your child or student.It is actually rather surprising what some of the kids come up with.I read these to my grandchildren and to the kids in my classes at school.For the most part, when I really get to discussing the work with them, they enjoy it.Recommend this one highly.

Perfect for those seeking intro to Shakespeare for kids
Joy!Shakespeare--undiluted--for everybody, either kids or adults!The layout of this book couldn't be more helpful.After a brief introduction, the compiler gets down to business.Each speech or poem is preceeded by a brief explaination, and after the selection, a small word-list to aid understanding.All are swathed in beautiful, dramatic paintings that are truly helpful for comprehension.All the famous lines are here, from Henry V's Agincourt "St. Crispin" speech, his inly-ruminating soliloquey about the nature of power, scenes from Macbeth, Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and a couple of sonnets, and much more.

There are two things that are very impressive about this book.First, the compiler manages to introduce very adult themes about power,loyalty, etc., as well as the vocabulary of 400 years ago,even a brief explaination of iambic pentameter in a tone so chatty that you hardly realize you are learning.Second, the rich pictures impart a thirst for MORE Shakespeare.You'll hear, "Can we hear more?What's the rest of this story?" often!

Any publication that presents the Bard as accessable and enjoyable deserves a place in every school or public library, and certainly every home.Add this to Charles and Mary Lamb's "Tales of Shakespeare" as a new classic.

Fabulous!!!!!
A perfect selection from Shakespeare's greatest plays with gorgeous artwork. An ideal introduction to Shakespeare for young people. With a smart and easy to read preamble describing Shakespeare's life and work and wonderful introductions to each poem, the book does a fantastic job of explaining how Shakespeare's work is both drama and poetry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful autobiography...
In simple, beautiful language, W. O. Douglas describes his early years as a child living in the majestic shadow of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. He also gives a succinct yet memorable account of hisyears as Chairman of the SEC and his dealings with the complex personas ofWashington politicians including FDR. I loved this book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

I LOVE THIS ONE!
I cannot think of a better way to introduce the poetry of William Butler Yeats than this small volume.The selection is excellent and of interest you the young reader.The commentary is quite relevant as are the pictures which accompany it.I find that often now, our young people go all the way through the early grades in school and many of them have never heard of Yeats,much less read his poetry.This was the sort of stuff my generation and the generation before it grew up on and cut our teeth on.I do not feel I am any worse for the wear.I am fearful that we are bringing up an entire generation (rightfully or wrong, although I feel it is the later) of young folks who will have no appreciation to this great art form and will miss a lot.This book helps.This entire series helps, as a matter of fact and I certainly recommend you add this one and the others to your library.Actually, it is rather fun reading these with the young folk and then talking about them.Not only do you get to enjoy the work your self and perhaps bring back some great memories, but you have the opportunity to interact with your child or student.It is actually rather surprising what some of the kids come up with.I read these to my grandchildren and to the kids in my classes at school.For the most part, when I really get to discussing the work with them, they enjoy it.Recommend this one highly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Granddaughter therapy.
This was a Christmas gift to a fourteen year old grand daughter.When I signed the book to her I wrote "don't let the title put you off.The stories are wonderful."
At last contact she was halfway thru the book and loved the stories.If nothing else it will give her another resource for decisions.

Warm and wonderful way to teach values
Bill Bennett has done it again with The Book of Virtues For Young People.Reading the stories aloud to my children is an excellent way to talk about and open the discussion of the important virtues brought to light in this book.History, fantasy, poetry are all included in this marvelous book.The stories gently lead and guide young minds to WANT to do the right and to understand why.I highly recommend this to parents and children of all ages!

A collection of childrens' stories
This is a collection of stories for children that are both entertaining and also introduces them to the world of ethics.

Great Stories
This book is great for kids 9 and over.I got for my son who is 8 and for his school reading he likes to read those stories.Though he likes to hear the same stories from the younger kids version of the same book when I read to his brother.

A treasure chest of wonderful stories.
A book of encouraging stories and poems for our young generation to teach them everything from self-discipline, responsibility, honesty, loyalty etc. Read when George Washington was 14 year's old he wrote 110 best ways to actaround people, he called it the "Rules of Civility". Read WaltWhitman's ode to Abe Lincoln, and my favourite by Frank Crane, entittled"Boy Wanted". Though the tittle of this book refers "forYoung People" I think adults can without a doubt learn as well. Icertainly have and I am in my fifth decade of my life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Full and Interesting Study of Glue
Much more than a reference guide about glues, this book is a full educational experience on the subject of woodworking glues and gluing techniques.You learn so much that, after reading "The Glue Book," you will mark your woodworking knowledge as "the era before Tandy" and "the era after Tandy."No other book on woodworking glue comes close to the level of detail and knowledge Tandy achieves here on this subject, a subject that is so vital to all successful woodworking.

On the surface, this may appear to be a technical book.When I first began reading it, I thought I would just gather some information about different glues.Certainly, there is a lot of technical information in this book, but within a few pages I realized that it was providing me with much more than that.After reading this book, you will no longer be confused by glue.Glue is the heart of all fine woodworking -- it is literally what makes your projects last.You will understand this subject fully, and you know why there are so many different glues on the market.

Even though it is a short book (only about 130 pages of actual text) the author covers a vast amount of material.Within this space, Mr. Tandy provides a thorough description and examination of every type of available glue, from its chemistry to its bonding characteristics to its proper uses.Mr. Tandy makes his subject very interesting, constantly offering his insight (and even his opinion in key places) in order to provide you with an honest exploration of the many kinds of woodworking glues and what each one's strengths and weaknesses are.He even touches on the history of each glue, covering how and why it was first developed.Beyond learning about each type of glue, you also learn about how to prepare wood surfaces for gluing, and why wood and glue react to each other the way they do.Mr. Tandy covers the use of glue in specific types of projects, such as curved work, decorative pieces, veneering, and projects involving mixed materials like wood and metal or wood and fabric.Tandy is an excellent teacher.After reading this book, you'll be surprised at how easily you can talk about all the different glues and how confident you are about which glue you need for every type of project.

Now, each time I have a complicated glue-up, I imagine Mr. Tandy there in the shop with me, advising me on what to do.

Sort of expanded manufacturers literature to this reader.
This book tells about many glues and when they are normally used. It is not a definitive source. Lacking are complete technical descriptions of chemistry and why the glues work. After reading the book I didn't feel that I knew any more than I would have from reading the "always positive" manufacturers literature. If the author had the confidence to make some solid committal statements about what glues would be strongest when, it would have helped.

An Excellent book
As the title suggests the book is focussed on glue usage. What it doesn't tell you is that it is focussed solely on woodwork and woodworking glues. The author is obviously a master at his woodwork yet manages to set out the usage of the glue types in different types of woodwork in a plain, friendly manner that often feels like advice from a friend. Very well done. I am a chemist who works with wood as a hobby and I found the glue treatments sound, simple and practical. A must read and an excellent buy at the price.

I couldn't put it down!
A nice work on a sticky subject.I have a feeling this book will stick with me for a long time. ... Read more

Product Description
Open with about 30 pages of black and white photos; "...so continuously arresting that it reads like the kind of novel one wishes would never end" The NY Times Book Review ... Read more

Book Description
Chet Baker was twenty-one when Charlie Parker discovered him and introduced him to such stars as Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. It was the beginning of a meteoric rise to fame. Within a year, his melancholy, seductively elegant trumpet solos and his silken voice had made him the epitome of "West Coast cool jazz," which expressed a whole generation's attitude to life. Marked by drug addiction, several arrests and unsuccessful comeback attempts Chet Baker died at age fifty-nine in Amsterdam.In images and reminiscences by jazz photographer William Claxton, this book provides a record of Chet Baker's glorious early years, from 1952 to 1957, when he was still being called the "James Dean of jazz." Claxton accompanied the wonder boy of Californian jazz to concerts, performances, and studio sessions. His photographs show a dreamy, introverted Chet Baker whose charisma and appearance match the suggestiveness of his art.

Texts by Chris Caujolle and William Claxton

Chet Baker, born in 1929 in Yale, OK, won a trumpet audition with Charlie Parker and joined the Gerry Mulligan's Quartet in 1952. Forming his own quartet in 1954, he toured the US and Europe. A heroin addict, he was in jail several times in the 1960s. Starting a second career in the 1970s, he died in Amsterdam in 1988 falling out of a hotel room window.

William Claxton,a member of the Californian jazz scene, co-founder of Pacific records and the author of the book Jazz Seen, shaped the jazz imagery with revolutionary photographs and recordcovers.

Chris Caujolle, born in France in 1953, is the director of the Paris-based photo agency and gallery, VU. He worked as artistic director of photography festivals in Arles, Rotterdam, and Madrid. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Claxton saw something happening & knew what it was
It was William Claxton's great privilege to have known & photographed Chet Baker during the mid-Fifties. Baker was a handsome, photogenic young man, a rising jazz star whose cool vocal interpretations of standards werewinning him a large, mostly female audience outside of jazz. Thesebeautiful black & white photographs, both casual & posed, capture acultural era as surely as do the films of James Dean, the recordings ofElvis Presley & the writings of Jack Kerouac. We often think of theEisenhower years as a bland era in the United States, but this talentedproto-punk musician was working nearer the fringes in an atmosphere ofcreative ferment. Claxton saw it happening & knew what was going on.Lovely book for Baker's fans & for those who appreciate fine portraits.

Bob Rixon, WFMU-FM ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Good book
Used for a President book report.Child age 7. We read it together.It held his attention and showed Presidents were once children.Good book; however, difficult words at times.Needed my help on most pages.Still would recommend this book.

A Great Read
William Henry Harrison, second book in the Young Patriots Series, doesn't disappoint, but makes an excellent read, and both entertains and educates.The illustratins are simply wonderful and truly enhance the story. Geared to the 8 to 12 year old, it's a must on every family bookshelf!

A welcome, highly recommended biography for kids.
William Henry Harrison holds the distinction of being the United States President who delivered the longest inaugural address and served the shortest time (30 days) before he also became the first president to die inoffice. William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe is a superb biography foryoung readers ages 8 to 12, written by the late Howard Peckham, andoriginally published in 1951. Featuring the childhood adventures of ourninth president (including the thrilling rescue of his sister from drowningwhen he was only seven, and the courageous capture of a British soldierjust one year later when he was eight, William Henry Harrison is a welcome,very highly recommended addition to school and community biographycollections for children and part of the Patria Press newly designed"Young Patriots" series. ... Read more

Book Description
An intimate portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr., from his closest friend with 16 pages of color photos

From the iconic image of a little boy saluting his father’s casket to his tragic death at age thirty- eight, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was never far from the public eye. Now the friend who John was flying to see the night he died reveals the private man behind the public myth. Billy and John shared summers in Hyannisport and formed a bond in the Kennedy compound that lasted well into adulthood. With Forever Young, Noonan offers a unique glimpse into the private life of his boyhood friend—his courtship with Carolyn, his relationship with his mother, Jackie, and his struggle with being the son of a great man he hardly remembered. Affectionate yet candid, Noonan’s deeply personal memoir ultimately emerges as the definitive portrait of the son of Camelot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

John would be pleased
I am not sure what motivated some reviewers to write such hate-filled reviews of such a warm, thoughtful story that John surely is smiling upon.Mr. Noonan told his story in a respectful and honest manner and steered clear of the "tabloid" stories that, unfortunately, many wish for. This is a story about friendship and it is easy to see that Mr. Noonan is a great friend.I'm sure there were many "hangers-on" and "star f*cker" types that wouldn't leave John alone.Noonan was not one of these and I'm sure John considered it refreshing and considered himself fortunate to have a peer in his life who truly cared about him and respected him and his family when numerous people were looking to make themselves look better by saying they were John's friend.

Great read!Well done Mr. Noonan! A perfect title for a touching tribute.

A Great Tribute to JFK, Jr.
After literally finishing the book in two days, I felt that the Author, William Noonan, wrote a beautiful tribute to his friend portraying JFK, Jr. as a real person with real struggles and conflicts as well as telling some very funny stories about simply growing up, going to college, finding a job, and getting married; stories anyone can relate to as well as stories that only could happen to someone like JFK, Jr.He writes about his friend in a way that I would tell stories about my friends, with respect and dignity as well as honesty and candor, never holding him up on a pedestal or glorifying who he was. He showed John to be very passionate about his place in the world and his place in his family while struggling to be his own person.Noonan writes honestly about his feelings for his friend, his friend's family members, his friend's girlfriends/wife and his friends other friends. I loved reading about the adventures they had growing up on the Cape as well as the stories surrounding John and Carolyn's very intimate wedding on an island off the coast of Georgia.

It is much more than a book about the life of JFK,Jr. it is a book about what it means to be a true friend and thetrials and tribulations any good friendship will endure.

"Chinaman" gag glasses
In the photo section there is Junior posing with a pair of "Chinaman" Fu Manchu glasses with the "slanted" eyes and "sinister" eyebrows.Too bad Junior went into the drink with Carolyn and her sister on that fateful evening flight(they were probably ragging on him like usual and he decided to just take the plane down to be rid of his misery)in his private aircraft. Otherwise he might have run for he presidency and that offensive, racist photo would have been dredged up by his opponent's handlers.That might have cost him the Asian American vote for sure, although many who over-identified with his privileged White life would have stayed with him anyway and forgive Junior's every transgression.By the way, the photos of Carolyn Bissette are not very flattering.If Junior's mommy Jackie O had let him have his way, he would have married Daryl "Mermaid" Hannah and pushed Jackson Browne right out of the picture.Oh, well....To borrow from an earlier hagiography of his martyred father, "Johnny Jr. we hardly knew ye."

Great Reading
I Love the books written by JFK JR friends because it gives you a more honest picture of a person then a myth.It makes the person more real.This book actually had me laughing at times.

an excellent book
FOREVER YOUNG IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK. IT IS A WELL WRITTEN AND ENGAGING ACCOUNT OF THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOHN KENNEDY JR, AND THE AUTHOR, BILL NOONAN. IT IS A WONDERFUL AND POIGNANT DESCRIPTION OF A DYNAMIC AND MOVING CONNECTION BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS AND THE EBBS AND FLOWS OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP THAT UNFOLDS IN THE HIGH PRESSURER WORLD OF THE KENNEDY AURA, TRADITIONS AND DARK SIDE.
WHILE THE BOOK OFFERS SOME INTERESTING INSIGHTS INTO JOHN AND OTHER KENNEDY PERSONA, IT IS A WORTHY READ FOR THE STORY OF THE RELATIONSHIP ITSELF AS MUCH AS FOR THE NOTARIETY AND NEWSWORTHINESS OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS. ... Read more

Book Description
A timeless selection of brilliant short stories that won William Saroyan a position among the foremost, most widely popular writers of America when it first appeared in 1934.With the greatest of ease William Saroyan flew across the literary skies in 1934 with the publication of The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze and Other Stories. One of the first American writers to describe the immigrant experience in the U.S., Saroyan created characters who were Armenians, Jews, Chinese, Poles, Africans, and the Irish. The title story touchingly portrays the thoughts of a very young writer, dying of starvation. All of the tales were written during the great depression and reflect, through pathos and humor, the mood of the nation in one of its greatest times of want. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

So glad I got this
I read about Saroyan in Closing Time (Heller's disappointing sequel to Catch-22), I was inspired to pick up this book and I'm so glad I did. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and so far the preface remains my favorite part. Fortunately, that's because it's an amazing preface that, brief as it may be, would have been just barely worth the purchase price all on its own. This is, of course, not an issue, because so far every story has been a bite-sized morsel of goodness. Especially great for the sort of person who likes to read a few short stories in one sitting, they're compact and plentiful and thoroughly satisfying. So... get this book.

TOP SHELF
William Saroyan was brought to my attention by Jack Kerouac's early writings in "Upon An Underwood."I can see why Kerouac was turned on by Saroyan...and so am I.This book of stories is very inspiring because, in a good-natured way, it defies the conformist rules and regulations that "academic literature" tries to enforce upon young writers.It's as funny as it is insightful...and even a bit bizarre.It easily belongs on the TOP SHELF of any library.
Its value is timeless.

Creatively crafted -- never a dull moment.
Saroyan has a rare sense of language usage and introduces thoughts and ideas causing you to stop and realize how the grind of everyday life can be refreshing, moving, and humorous. His writings represent a slice of life ineveryday America as well as amusing insights into the wacky rightbraininess of a writer. Once you get through the first chapter and canstand up again, the rest of the book is one deeper-than-real-life-storyafter another. Like Edith Wharton, Saroyan has a command of the craftof writing that seems lost in today's works.

Saroyan's first book of stories.
A masterful work.Most of them written in a thirty day period, in whichSaroyan promised to send the editors od Story magazine a story a day forthirty days.He proceeded to do this and this book made Saroyan an instantcelebrity.

Saroyan eventually went on to win the Pulitzer for his play"The Time of You Life", but turned it down.

This book was astunner when it first appeared.The simple yet poetic language ran againstthe trend of the times.

Saroyan is a nearly forgotten genius, yet hisinfluence is evident in even his enemies, like Ernest Hemingway.

Buy thisbook, read it, and then give it to somebody.They will thank you and sowill I.

It was the best book I read in the right time.
I think there are not many books, that can change your life. This is one of them. I was sixteen when I read this book for the first time. I was not very happy in that time and I was rather confused by life but it has changed. In these short stories I could read about thoughts and feelings, that were similar to mine, but I had not be able to express them. But angle of wiev was new. It made me to live in spite of the world. ... Read more

Book Description
He was so famous that Saroyanesque entered the vocabulary of his time, an adjective expressing the childlike sweetness, the evocation of loneliness, the innocence that characterized his work.

His name was known to anyone in America who read a magazine, listened to the radio, cared about theater, or bought a book. At one time he had three plays simultaneously on Broadway, including My Heart’s in the Highlands and The Time of Your Life (which won the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics’ Circle Award). His first collection of stories, The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze, was published by Bennett Cerf when Saroyan was twenty-six years old; it was a critical and commercial success. Saroyan went to Hollywood and wrote The Human Comedy over a Christmas holiday; it became a major wartime movie and won him an Oscar for best screenplay.
His writing was a mixture of old-world suffering and new-world optimism. But for all of his promise and brilliance, and his half-century struggle to reach the pantheon of American writers, his gift was not large enough to sustain him.

Now, in this full-scale biography, John Leggett gives us Saroyan whole, from the immigrant boy and his lonely orphanage years to the internationally acclaimed American writer. Here is the all-encompassing story
—the fun, the follies, the lights, and the shadows of his life.

Leggett writes about Saroyan’s roller-coaster courtship and two marriages to the beautiful Carol Marcus (she was seventeen and he thirty-four when they met); about his relationships with his publishers and with his long-time agent, Hal Matson; about his friendships with Budd Schulberg, Irwin Shaw, George Jean Nathan, and others, and the many productions (on Broadway and off) of Saroyan’s plays. He writes about Saroyan’s constant struggle with his addictions to gambling and extravagant living . . . his disappointments as a writer and his undiminished belief in his own talent, a belief that it would prevail, no matter how many colleagues turned away from his excesses and his demands.

Drawing on interviews and on Saroyan’s letters, notes, and diaries, John Leggett, author of Ross and Tom (“A great book”—Leon Edel), gives us a revealing portrait of the man and the writer whose work charmed and touched the heart of mid-twentieth-century America. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well written, entertaining and original
I enjoyed the author's style, it was original and well written. ... Read more

Book Description
A compelling reflection on wisdom, friendship, and the craft of writing, My Mentor is also the touching story of a young man's education at the hands of a master, William Maxwell. At age twenty-four, Alec Wilkinson approached Maxwell in hopes of being taught to write. A quarter century of friendship followed. As a fiction editor of The New Yorker, Maxwell was unquestionably one of the past century's most respected editors; as the author of the masterpieces They Came Like Swallows and So Long, See You Tomorrow, he was one of its greatest American writers. His unparalleled ear for language and eye for detail, his depth of understanding and experience, make his instructions on writing an essential guide to the craft. In honoring this great man of letters, Wilkinson creates a "deft and sympathetic portrait" (New York Times Book Review). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outstanding
"When I was twenty-four I decided that I would try to become a writer," [p7] writes Alec Wilkinson in the opening pages of My Mentor: A Young Man's Friendship with William Maxwell. Young Wilkinson was then introduced to one of the legends of 20th Century American literature, William Maxwell, who would become like a second father to him.
Maxwell (1908-2000) was both a brilliant novelist (his 1937 novel They Came Like Swallows is considered a modern American masterpiece) and a legendary fiction editor. At The New Yorker magazine, Maxwell helped shape a generation of writers by editing such luminaries as J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, John Updike, and Vladimir Nabokov. When Salinger finished the manuscript of The Catcher in the Rye, the first person he showed it to was William Maxwell. [p93] Wilkinson learned Maxwell's lessons well: he would himself become an award-winning novelist and, for the last twenty years, has worked as a writer for The New Yorker.
My Mentor is an engaging literary memoir in three parts about three men: Alec Wilkinson, Wilkinson's father, and Maxwell. Part One is mainly about Maxwell's early life and development as a writer. Throughout, Alec Wilkinson's adoration for his mentor is unabashed. He is to be commended for using Maxwell's own autobiographical writing to tell the story of how his mentor became both a man and a writer. By using Maxwell's own writing, Wilkinson gives us a clear sense of just how accomplished a writer Maxwell truly was.

Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois; his young life changed forever when he was ten years old and his mother died. This traumatic childhood event would shape much of Maxwell's later writing. During the Great Depression, Maxwell moved to New York City where he was hired to work at The New Yorker, then under the editorship of Harold Ross.
Maxwell would spend four decades at The New Yorker, editing other writers' work while spending his spare time on his own fiction. Maxwell befriended Kirk Wilkinson, Alec's dad, after the two met while waiting for a commuter train. Kirk Wilkinson was brusque and outgoing; Maxwell was sensitive and introspective. Their friendship was a marriage of opposites.
The two men, both of whom worked for magazines in New York, drove together to the train station each morning. "Maxwell's dependence on my father," writes Wilkinson, "was practical, and my father's dependence on Maxwell was emotional. He knew no one else like Maxwell-so receptive, so kind, so quick to respond to gestures of friendship." [p6]
It was through his father that Alec Wilkinson found his "second father," William Maxwell: "Because I was afraid of my own father," writes Wilkinson, "I was drawn to someone who was his opposite." [p108] Maxwell served as Wilkinson's writing coach and closest confidante: "Maxwell was privy to every decision of any consequence that I made during the last twenty-five years," Wilkinson notes. [p168] Maxwell taught young Wilkinson about writing, about living, and eventually, about dying with dignity.
Through Maxwell, as described in Part Two of My Mentor, Wilkinson learned the art and craft of writing. They "worked side by side for fifteen years." [p87] Maxwell would read Wilkinson's prose, explain how it might be improved, and then might take out scissors and cut and paste the whole manuscript, rearranging the sentences in order to improve the whole. Wilkinson learned the all-important lessons of simplicity and economy and rhythm. If My Mentor is any evidence, Wilkinson was a stellar pupil. The book is elegantly written; the prose is both accessible and often quite beautiful.
With Maxwell's help, Wilkinson wrote and published his first book about the year he spent as a policeman on Cape Cod. It's a subject that Wilkinson writes lovingly about in the early pages of My Mentor. He was admittedly a lousy cop, smashing up his police cruiser on more than one occasion, but he adored the work and the camaraderie with the other policemen.
The third and final part of My Mentor is about Maxwell's death in 2000, at age 91. Wilkinson visits his mentor's deathbed: "He was extremely thin and frail, and I knew he must be dying, but all I felt was the happiness of being with him." [p150] Maxwell then, in a fitting end to their relationship, reveals how proud he is of Wilkinson.
My Mentor is a marvelous book about a marvelous, transcendent friendship between an old man and a young man. Maxwell's kindness comes across on every page, as does his wisdom. Those unfamiliar with Maxwell's impressive opus will, after reading Wilkinson's loving account, likely find themselves seeking out the master's sadly-neglected fiction. Maxwell was clearly a great man, as well as one of this nation's great writers and editors. Alec Wilkinson was fortunate indeed in his choice of a mentor.

Interesting reading for William Maxwell fans
I gave this rather slight book four stars partly because I was so ecstatic to find it.As a tremendous fan of William Maxwell, it was a treat to be able to learn a little more about him.Wilkinson is a graceful writer, and talented in his own right, but I found myself skipping the parts about his life in my eagerness to get to more about Maxwell.Wilkinson mentions in passing that this book should not serve as a biography of Maxwell, and it's not one.However, I do hope such a biography is forthcoming.I also hope that this book might spark renewed interest in Maxwell's work, which in my opinion is overlooked and under-appreciated. ... Read more