Customer Reviews (1)

A strong biographical coverage
Young adult and pre-teen audiences alike will relish Ray Bradbury, a strong biographical coverage of one of the most influential figures in science fiction writing. A little over a hundred pages includes black and white illustrations throughout and coverage of not only Bradbury's life and influences, but his notable works. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

George Crum and the Saratoga Chip
George Crum and the Saratoga Chip is a informative and interesting book that tells of the invention of a favorite food of the U.S.It is a wonderful addition to any library seeking to add multicultural depth to the collection. It has great illustrations.

Bet You Can't Read Just One!
Frank Morrison's illustrations are the best thing in this biography of the inventor of the potato chip, Mr. George Crum.I've seen Morrison's work in both "Sweet Music in Harlem" and "Jazzy Miz Mozetta," but I think this is his best work to date. Sure, he has those signature elongated limbs and faces, but his backgrounds also curve around, inviting you into the picture.His choice of colors is outstanding, rich greens and browns make you taste the Adirondack mountains, and his precious orchid tones suggest the high-minded, precious ambience of the exclusive restaurants where Crum eventually works. Morrison commands each scene, whether the action table side or in the kitchen, (where George whips up a batch of French fries--their return by yet another horrendous customer prompts an angry George to invent the dish we now call the potato chip), or in a fish-shaped lily pad floating on the river where George lays down his pole.

The story depicts mid-18th century America, and includes some interest-provoking material about George and his sister and supporter, Kate.An early scene that show George's frustration at school sets up George's later feisty personality, and his "revenge" on the fussy french fry complaint. However, it seems a little contrived, and the details about his entire life seemsomewhat superfluous. Not to make too fine a point of it,but I also wondered at the cozy racial integration shown both at school and at the cafes. Perhaps this is useful for educational settings, but it's internally inconsistent with Crum's difficulty procuring a chef position, and is very probably contradictory to the times.

While some scene-setting is necessary, perhaps a better tact would have been conclude the story at its dramatic high point (the invention and fame of the potato chip), and include some of the early and later details in the excellent afterward by Ms. Taylor.Still, any story about a food as familiar as the potato chip will attract lots of interest, and Morrison's pictures make this a tasty read.

More please!
I enjoyed this story of George Crum, who in 1853 invented the potato chip while working as a chef at the prestigious Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs.

Crum was confident of his cooking skills but as a person of color, part African American and part Native American; he faced difficulty finding a position as a chef.Hired by Moon's Lake House, Crum's menu soon brought the rich and famous to the restaurant in droves.

He felt great frustration and chafed at the pettiness of wealthy restaurant patrons. After one customer complained about the thickness of some French fries, Crum, in retaliation, sliced the potatoes wafer thin and fried them at a very high heat. The rest is history.

This book works well for kids on many levels. It is a skillfully told story from history. Morrison's illustrations are bright and engaging and evoke the time period. In the dining room of the restaurant, the patrons are white and the waitstaff is black.

Readers will applaud George Crum's independent spirit and his determination to follow his own path. This story of one of our favorite snack foods is a terrific read to share with students.

Disappointing
I purchased this book for my 7 year old grandson who is biracial. He is having problems with classmates calling him names and I thought this book would show him that race has nothing to do with accomplishments. The book was a little to old for him. The pictures were very dark and not at all bright. He really didn't enjoy the book at all. I don't recommend this book for young children.

Hooray for George Crum!
Hip Hip Hooray!A fabulous biography that is not only multi-cultural, but will hold the interest of every child who reads it!Thanks go out to author Gaylia Taylor, who must have researched many months to find enough details to bring George Crum half Native American, half African American, back to life. Embarrassed and laughed at in school as a child because he couldn't count to one hundred, George decided to live his life by making his own choices, not those of society.There are strong messages about self esteem and perserverance in this story, yet they never beat the reader over the head.
Frank Morrison's illustrations are both interesting and fun.
This book is a must have for all Elementary School libraries.I loved it so much, I bought one for each school in our district!
... Read more

Product Description
Raymond Chandler was the undisputed master of detective fiction, the creator of the iconic private eye Philip Marlowe and the classic novels The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye, as well as the screenwriter for such groundbreaking film noirs as Double Indemnity. But though his books sold more than six million copies and brought him worldwide fame, he remained an intensely private man throughout his life. Because he lived a quiet existence beleaguered by his wife's long illness and his own struggles with alcoholism and his personal demons, Chandler's letters were his sole line of connection to the outside world of friends, fans, publishers, and other writers. The Raymond Chandler Papers brings together a new collection of his correspondence -- much of which has never previously been made public -- revealing all aspects of the great artist's powerful personality and broad intellectual curiosity. Featuring a selection of Chandler's previously unpublished early writings -- including a gripping piece about his combat experiences in World War I -- and an abandoned profile of the infamous mobster "Lucky" Luciano, The Raymond Chandler Papers is a must-have for all true fans and an important contribution toward understanding the life and work of the enigmatic man Evelyn Waugh called "the greatest living American novelist." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A real pleasure
Not just for Chandler fans (though anyone who's read Chandler is a fan).Not just for writers (though anyone who writes will be comforted and instructed).The book is a wonderfully keen (and occasionally cranky) observation of America in the 1940s and 50s, with buckshot at Hollywood, politics, crime, critics, corruption, literature and life.Curl up on a snowy weekend with this crackling American voice. Chandler is great company.

And if you're really into Chandler, try Frank McShane's biography of him.

Sunbelt Existentialism
Much of The Raymond Chandler Papers: Selected Letters and Nonfiction 1909-1959 is gleaned from Chandler's La Jolla years, when he would dictate his correspondence late into the night. Written with a pitch-perfect ear for the American vernacular and the grammatical fastidiousness of a man born, bred, and classically educated in England, Selected Letters is an omnium gatherum of blunt, bleakly funny bon mots. On California: "There is a touch of the desert about everything in California, and about the minds of the people who live here." "We are so rootless here. I've lived half my life in California and made what use of it I could, but I could leave it forever without a pang." On his fan mail: "...[A]nother letter I had once from a girl in Seattle who said that she was interested in music and sex, and gave me the impression that, if I was pressed for time, I need not even bother to bring my own pyjamas." On himself: "All my best friends I have never seen. To know me in the flesh is to pass on to better things." Written in the dead of night with a Dictaphone and a bottle of gin, Chandler's letters are an inexhaustible fund of insights into the noir aesthetic, the sublime agonies of the writer's life, the American Language (as Mencken called it), and, forever and always, the sunbelt existentialism that shadows the California Dream.

Intelligent, Hilarious, and Sometimes Sad
Raymond Chandler wrote his letters, for the most part, late at night after a day of drinking. The letters provide an insight into the man who created the quintessential fictional PI, Philip Marlowe, and elevated what he called formula writing into a class of literature recognized by his contemporaries as art. The letters range from his laugh-out-loud take on science fiction--"Did you ever read what they call science fiction? It's a scream. It's written like this: I checked out K19 on Adabaran III, and stepped out through the crummaliote hatch..." to the sadness he experienced when his wife of more than thirty years passed away. I enthusiastically recommend this book. Even people who hadn't had the good fortune to read his classic mystery novels will be highly entertained.

Repeat material
I was surprised that so much material from a previous collection ('Selected letters of Raymond Chandler', ed. McShane, 1981)is repeated in this book. Maybe I didn't do my homework, but I don't recall this fact being mentioned in promotions or reviews. When you're paying (as I did) [price] for a book, it's disappointing to keep coming across previously published letters. Chandler's writing is still great, but I'm sure he'd have something to say about this practice.

So good it'll make a bishop kick in a stained glass window
What a fun collection this is!Another book of letters by another famous author I read recently was embarrassingly boring--it never should have been printed.But Chandler's style and pithy observations make this collection a treat.Though a loner and a lush, he maintained cordial relations with his colleagues, and his comments on the passing scene are keen. From acerbic observations on life in southern California, to wry descriptions of his cat's habits, to sometimes generous and sometimes acerbic appraisals of agents, publishers, and fellow writers, his prose is absolutely sparkling.

His coverage of Oscars night in the mid-Forties for The Atlantic magazine is a masterpiece of scorn for the glitterati.Around the same time he accurately dismisses the new medium of television's supposed threat to the book industry.People who tune in to watch "fourth-rate club fighters rub noses on the ropes are not losing any time from book reading."Just as frequently, Chandler comes across as thoughtful and a good friend--not at all Marlowe-ish, though you get the feeling he could be a tough guy if need be.If you read only one book of collected letters of a famous author this year, etc. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating biographies of science fiction writers.
Wow. Finally, a book about science fiction that focuses on its writers, not just their works. Included here are short (about a dozen page-long) biographies of science fiction writers, including information about theirlives, their works, and finally where to find more information about them.Included here are Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, FrankHerbert, and more. Some big names in science fiction seemed to have beenleft out, which is a shame (where is Clark?). But still, those tenbiographies here are a great way to learn more about the literature ofscience fiction. Since the reading level is pretty easy, this is a goodbook for youngsters, too, who are just beginning to explore the field. Ithink this book will work very well for nine or ten year olds, and serve tospark their interest in science fiction, and in reading in general. Aperfect Christmas gift :). ... Read more

Product Description
Follows the life of the well-known novelist from his childhood in Nantes, France, to his career as a successful fiction writer whose imaginative works often gave glimpses into the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pleasant and Fun to Read, but Lacking Somehow
In the author's acknowledgements she thanks the people without whose help she would not have been able to write a book instead of a long essay. This book is chock full of interesting details and amusing anecdotes, but it reads like the long essay the author originally thought it to be. It is short and very light on description. Some interesting subjects are mentioned but only briefly. Very little was expanded on in a way commensurate with the volume of her subject's life works. In a biography, I like to learn more about the subject's personality.I was fortunate enough to meet Anne McCaffrey once and would have loved to be in a position to get to know her better (once I got over being in awe of her imagination). In a nutshell, this little tome is a gem for die-hard fans; an absolute must have, to round out any McCaffrey collection. It would not do much to entice an unfamiliar reader to read Anne's marvelous works.

A Great Biography of a Great Author
This is a well-researched detailed biography of the life of Anne McCaffrey, starting with her childhood and following the development of her writing career to the present.It does a good job of presenting the major events in McCaffrey's life and situating what novels she was working on at various times amongst those events.Included are quite a number of interesting photographs, a chronology, a partial list of McCaffrey's works, and sources for further reading including web sites.I really enjoyed reading this biography, and while I was already pretty well informed about McCaffrey's life I did learn new things from this book.

It should be noted that this book is part of series which is aimed at teens, and this is evident as the book stops to explain terms such as magna cum laude.But I think that McCaffrey fans of all ages will find it a very good read, just as they enjoy her own books that were aimed at a younger audience. ... Read more