New Reviews

Fiction

	The War Zone					The Stoned Apocalypse
	by Alexander Stuart					by Marco Vassi
	© 1989	ISBN # 0-553-34878-7				© 1993	ISBN # 1-56333-132-2
	Although the writing style is decent, this book is too graphic with it�s main theme -- incest. Also, the fact that there�s quite a bit of British lingo, makes it doubly annoying. Don�t read this one ever.					An alleged true account of Vassi�s life. I put it in the fiction section, �cuz the tales are too outrageous to be real. It�s sorta an Kerouacian account of his life travelling across the country in the late 60�s and 70�s. Lotsa sex, drugs & Beatles' songs. Very easy and enjoyable.
	Rating: (none)					Rating: ***

	Slowness					The Monkey�s Paw & Other Stories
	by Milan Kundera					by W. W. Jacobs
	© 1995	ISBN # 0-571-17817-0				© 1994 (Anthology)	ISBN # 0 86072 167 1
	Kundera�s first book written in French. He existentially describes two love stories separated by 200 years. Although it�s not up to the standards he himself has set with Immortality, it�s still well worth reading.					Jacobs is seen as one of the greatest satirical writers of the early 20th century. I cannot figure out why. While some of his stories are amusingly ironic, he concentrates too much on using sailor slang. When �ev'ry �other w�ord looks like that, it�s gets old fast. Long & boring.
	Rating: ***+(1/2)					Rating: **

	The Assault					The Loser
	by Reinaldo Arenas					by Thomas Bernhard
	© 1994	ISBN # 0-670-84066-1				© 1983	ISBN # 0 7043 7012 3
	In a dark proletarian future, one man, a Counterwhispering agent, fights all evil that is against the government while trying to find and destroy his mother. Every crime (anything that one could do that one doesn�t have a permit for) is punishable in any number of ways, all of which end in death. A very well written and surreal novel, I give it a must-read rating although, the last 15 pages are extremely disgusting (and not in a good way).					This whole novel contains only 4 paragraphs in all 170 pages, and all four start on page 1. Historical fiction remembering the pianist Glenn Gould, a fictional man named only Wertheimer and the narrator. Not easy to read (unless you could do it in one sitting) and the style was interesting, but as far as reading goes, I didn�t enjoy this book very much.
	Rating: ****					Rating: **

	Conversation in Sicily					Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God
	by Elio Vittorini					by Jonah Blank
	© 1951	ISBN # 0-7043-3498-4				© 1992	ISBN # 0-395-56267-8
	Silvestro receives a letter from his father that states that he has left his mother and gone to live in Venice with another women, and suggests that he should visit his mother. Silvestro travels to Sicily and speaks with his mother about the past which he has forgotten. Before he returns home he meets a knife-grinder and his friends that "suffers not for himself, but for the woes of the outraged world," and gets drunk. The style is mediocre at best, and the story is uninteresting.					Fictional (?) account of one man�s journey through India. The author tells of the people he met and all the sights while explaining The Ramayana, a three-thousand year old epic that most Indians consider sacred. Decently written and interesting, this book is not for everyone.
	Rating: **					Rating: ** +(1/2)

	Knulp					Our Happiness
	by Hermann Hesse					by Tom Jenks
	© 1915	ISBN # (none)				© 1990	ISBN # 0-553-34854-X
	A man named Knulp wanders from town to town, staying with friends, refusing to settle down. Always a gentleman, Knulp offers stories of his travels in return for food & lodging. Broken up in three parts, written in 3 distinct styles, this book is a good primer for anyone that wants to appreciate the genius of Hesse.					Some dumbass accidentally kills some redneck and hides the body. He spends the first half of this book dwelling on the fact that he once killed a man before you find out the details. Other shit happens too, but this book just sucked.
	Rating: ****					Rating: (none)

Non-Fiction

	Quote, Unquote					Cosmic Trigger Vol. 1
	by Jonathan Williams					by Robert Anton Wilson
	© 1993	ISBN # 1-56184-003-3				© 1977	ISBN # 0-7167-2136-8
	The absolute best book of quotes I've seen. It is very amusing, and it has one I've previously used for the Quote 'O the Fortnight. Only two things wrong: It's too short for the hefty $7.95 price tag, and it repeats numerous quotes. Still, if you can find it cheap, go for it!					A book about changing your brain & perceiving reality in different ways. Being a Wilson book, there is numerous quotes and references to Finnegan's Wake. Many informative exchanges with the late Dr. Timothy Leary make this book informative for non-Wilson fans.
	Rating: ****					Rating: ****

	The Doors Companion					An Underground Education
	by John Rocco					by Richard Zacks
	© 1997	ISBN # 0-02-864661-4 (alk. paper)				© 1997	ISBN # 0-385-47994-8
	Cashing in on Jim Morrison's legacy, John Rocco collects various interviews and articles about the band. Throughout he adds his lame commentary, peppered with lyrics. His writing is sophomoric at best, and is usually really annoying. This book does, however, have some of the definitive articles in it, and if you haven't read any of the other "collected stories" books that saturated the stores than you might want to read this.					Herein lies bizarre stories behind the stuff they taught you in school. Would you like to know about Thomas Edison's secret development of the electric chair? Or why the inventor of dynamite used his wealth to create the Nobel Prize? Or even that the said award in 1949 went to a doctor who performed lobotomies with an ice pick? If so find a copy of this book. Richard Zacks' writing is both amusing and informative.
	Rating: *					Rating: ****

	Pure Silver					The Language Instinct
	by David Reid & Jonathan Jerald					by Steven Pinker
	© 1988	ISBN # 0-15-679960-X (pbk.)				© 1994	ISBN # 0-06-097651-9 (alk. paper)
	Many books offer to tell you the best of everything. This one attempts to tell you the 2nd best. With catagories like: Airline (Singapore), Beer (Budweiser (from Budvar, Czechoslovakia)), Rock-and-roll Album (Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass) ; The Rolling Stones, and Zoo (Jersey), this book is just plain silly. It does has it's charms (even though it picked a greatist hits album, what a cop-out), don't buy it unless it has a 95¢ price tag like my copy did.					A study on how the mind creates, learns, and uses language. Most case studies are of Germanic languages, but there is sufficent comparisons with simpler (tribal) ones.I have a first trade paperback edition and the footnotes are incorrect throughout. I recommend a newer copy, but still a worthwhile read.
	Rating: *					Rating: ***

	The Physics of Time Reversal					Time Wars (The Primary Conflict in Human History)
	by Robert G. Sachs					by Jeremy Rifkin
	© 1987	ISBN # 0-226-73331-9 (pbk.)				© 1987	ISBN # (none)
	A very dense book about..., well you know. Filled with equations that prove time reversal is possible. I could only get through the first 5 chapters before the mathmatics got way too deep. It is interesting tho, and hopefully with some advanced studies in quantum mechanics (the theories in classical mechanics were comprendible, but irrelevent) I'll come to understand this book. Only read this if you have a more than firm grasp of quantum mechanics. I cannot really give a rating to a book I have barely begun to comprehend.					This treatise attempts to trace the importance of time throughout history. Rifkin places too much emphasis on the role of the Christian church in history. While this is a necessary evil, he equates God (the Christian one) and his workings with Absolute Truth. This book was basically thrown together using quotes from every other book that had the word "time" somewhere in it, without much thought, except for religious doctrines. You shouldn't read this unless you need some blind religious arguements against a free thinker in your town.
	Rating: See above.					Rating: (none)

	The Irony of Democracy (9th edition)					A Geography of Time
	by Thomas R. Dye & Harmon Zeigler					by Robert Levine
	© 1993	ISBN # 0-534-19848-1				© 1997	ISBN # 0-465-02892-6
	A textbook about how the "Elites, not masses, govern America." The fact that it's written for college students is evident in it's definitions of every four-syllable word that's in the text. Simplistic and obvious, don't read unless you are slow of mind.					An anthro-psychological study of the way different cultures view time and how it affects their lifestyles. A very interesting, quick, and enjoyable read.
	Rating: Zilch					Rating: ***