Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street

Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street
Average customer rating:

Most intriguing three day read you'll find!!!

Goodfellas meets Boiler Room

very disturbing

Pulitzer winner Weiss with a very fascinating story

Fascinating examination of the underside of Wall Street

Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street
Gary Weiss
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000EPFVDM

Book Description

Hood brokers. Monthly million dollar paychecks. Thirty-six hour cocaine binges.'Rocky' themed pep rallies. Run-ins with Mafia thugs toting Mac 10 machine pistols. This was the life of Louis Pasciuto, a fast-talking Staten Island kid who, from the age of 19 to 25, moved stocks for 17 different brokerage houses-most of that time without even a fake license. This inside account of the Mafia's infiltration of Wall Street details Louis' career as the consummate liar, selling phantom stocks to naive Americans and leading a lifestyle worthy of Caligula. To avoid a long prison sentence, Pasciuto eventually turned state's witness. Now, Gary Weiss shares the inside story of Wall Street's notorious 'chop houses,' the crooked Mob-run brokerages where rampant thievery netted several billion dollars from gullible investors.

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This account of the Mafia's infiltration of Wall Street uses as its chief source a fast-talking Staten Island kid named Louis Pasciuto who, from age l9-25, moved stocks for l7 different brokerage houses-most of that time without even a fake license. Louis was the consummate liar, selling overpriced and phantom stocks to naive Americans and leading a lifestyle worthy of Caligula. To avoid a long prison sentence, he ultimately became a witness for the state. Among the book's scenes: morning pep rallies filled with Dr. Seuss poetry and "Rocky" theme music; tie-'em-up-in-knots cold-call sessions that netted for each hood-broker as much as $500,000 per month; 36-hour cocaine binges; orgies; and tussles with Mafia thugs toting Mac l0 machine pistols.

Customer Reviews:

Most intriguing three day read you'll find!!!.......2007-07-06

I do most of my reading on the train commuting to and from work. This book did not give me that luxury because I was so into the story of how this kid became rich and invested for well known celebrities. I read it in three days because I kept wondering how and when this guy was going to get whacked by the mafia. The real life photos in the book make the stories more justifiable. Also, these pictures help keep the reliability of the book in tact.

Business mostly draws my interest for reading material, so that was the reason I bought the book at an airport one day. If you like business success stories and real life mafia drama, then this book will knock you off your feet.

Goodfellas meets Boiler Room.......2006-07-05

If you can imagine a book written that blended these two movies together, bada-bing, there's your book. There's your review.

very disturbing.......2006-06-18

It nevers ceases to amaze me that people could be so gullible as to send a check for a large sum of money because some guy with a great line of BS says he can make you rich and he represents an official sounding brokerage house. Wow.

The story is very captivating. Reading about Louis spiral out of control, hooking up with organized crime "Guys", the drugs, the lies, the scamming. Pretty entertaining.

This book really makes me wonder what all those regulatory agencies actually do. Its obvious they are not running around trying to protect the average consumer. Too bad, cause with people like Louis manning the phones, many people out there need protection.

I found myself looking for excuses during the day to get back to reading this book. I really enjoyed it.

Pulitzer winner Weiss with a very fascinating story.......2006-04-07

Mr. Weiss shows us how he has been able to capture his Pulitzer. The author "lets the hood tell his story" as one reviewer complains, but I would assert that this is a BIG asset to this book. Yes, we find out the "banality of evil" but that is beside the point.

You may find yourself dealing with this part of society in one shape or another eventually and you may be surprised to find that the Mafia is NOT so dead as it is being assumed to be. Of course, if you really read between the lines of this book you realize that this is an example of Organized Crime ADAPTING. The penny stock industry (Yes. .it is an ongoing industry . . and NOT going the way of the buggy whip, if my FAX machine is any indication. . .filled as it is with unsolicited stock BS) was the place to be if you wanted to rub shoulders with mobsters in the 1990s. Weiss acts as narrator as the life story of Pasciuto unfolds.

Some here have complained about the prose style. I found it very accessible. The story is an easy read and you are not supposed to wind up "compelled" by any character. They are almost all bad guys. This time, Weiss didn't complain about how incompetent the legal watch dogs must be to simply let this all unfold without being much hindrance, but if you think this stuff through fully, you would wind up wondering that. . .WHERE IS THE SEC??? . . .the NASD?

Anyway, if you want to get a feel for the chop stock industry you should read this book. If you feel compelled to invest in those ULTRA LOW CAP stocks that you see in your fax machine or in unsolicited e-mails. . .you MUST read this book!

Caveat Emptor!

Chris Tune

Fascinating examination of the underside of Wall Street.......2006-02-27

A really fascinating, jarring look at a corner of Wall Street that I did not know existed. Takes you back to the days of the Roaring Nineties when the Internet bubble and IPO mania was driving stocks skyward. Working around the edges of the market were criminals in Armani suits like the subject of this book, Louis Pasciuto.

Pasciuto was a sharp kid from the streets of Staten Island, and he was a cinch for the sharp talk of a hoodlum named Roy Ageloff, who ran the brokers at a crooked firm called Hanover Sterling. Pasciuto had a talent for ripping off investors, and he used that talent first at Hanover and then 17 other firms.

Watching Pasciuto on his rise and then fall is a truly unbelievable experience. Amazing that as a teenager he was already running an entire crew of other young thieves.

The book unveils the Mafia aspects of the book slowly and naturally, without sensationalizing. So we get realistic glimpses of what the Mafia has become in the later part of the 20th century. Through it all we get into the psyche of the Mafia gangsters, particularly the one who was principally shaking down Pasciuto, Charles Ricottone.

By the end of the book you come away with a deep appreciation of two things:

One is that the Mafia is definitely on its way out. I just finished reading Selwyn Raab's book Five Families, and that book, though also very good, failed to depict the Mafia's current state in quite as vivid a way as this one. Raab failed to adequately explore the personnel weaknesses that have decayed the Mafia. They become very obvious in reading Born to Steal. Obviously the people left in the Mob are low-level hoods without imagination or drive.

Second, you get a real sense of how Wall Street operates. Even though the book concentrates on on the lower rungs of the Street, you get a good appreciation of the kind of money-grubbing nature of the people who run Wall Street generally.

The epilogue, recounting what happened after the hardcover edition came out, is cynical and very funny.

In all, a very strong and readable book.

Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street

Average customer rating:

Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street
Gary Weiss
Manufacturer: Warner Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXW2ZU

Book Description

Since 1952 Ferrari and Pininfarina have been representing the most sophisticated and prestigious motor cars in the world's automotive production. For over forty years Pininfarina has been dressing the Ferrari with extraordinary mechanical components through a magic tradition of unapproached style and high-class. All this represents a great patrimony of technical know-how as well as refined taste. Both are collected and emphasized in this luxury book, which is illustrated by hundreds of lavish black and white and color photos
and enriched by 44 precious original drawings expressly drawn for this book by well-known Italian artist, Giorgio Alisi. From the on-shot cars of the early Fifties, through the limited production of the following decades, every Ferrari-Pininfarina model is covered by an introductory text and by exhaustive technical specifications. In addition, engine and chassis numbers are published, together with the total production figures and the name of the most significant VIP
customers through the years.

The Ethnic Eye: Latino Media Arts
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Latino film scholars speak.

The Ethnic Eye: Latino Media Arts

Manufacturer: Univ of Minnesota Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer Reviews:

Latino film scholars speak........2002-09-10

This is an anthology of essays about Latino representations in the media. Most of the authors are Latino; some are Anglo. The book is very gay-friendly and -inclusive as well. Don't sleep!: the articles here are highly academic. This book is not a simple read. In addition, some of the works they discuss are incredibly obscure and not easily rented. It's very good that the editors thought of such a fresh subject area.

Book Description

There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.
—Helena Rubinstein

In this fascinating, meticulously researched romp through the annals of the beauty industry, New York Times patents columnist Teresa Riordan throws back the curtain on a century of shrewd, canny women who have knowingly deployed artifice in a ceaseless battle to captivate the inherently roving eye of the male.

When it comes to the opposite sex, males from many species are easily deceived. Male fireflies will flirt with flashlights. So is it any surprise that the male of the human species has been fooled by lips painted cherry red and breasts built up into silicone summits? Riordan explores that strange intersection of science, fashion, and business where beauty is engineered and finds that, for generations, social trends and technological innovations have fueled a nonstop assembly line of potions and contraptions that women have enthusiastically put to use in the quest for feminine flawlessness.

We learn why the first lipsticks were orange. Why respectable women used the first vibrators not just for naughtiness but also to eradicate their wrinkles. Why the bustle started small but ultimately grew so impressive that a proper lady could balance an entire tea service on her rump. And why, but for mascara, Greta Garbo might have been just another chunky Swede with bad teeth.

Beauty inventions, Teresa Riordan has found, can put the resourceful and the imaginative on an even playing field with the congenitally beautiful. Countless women have pushed, pulled, tweezed, squeezed, and spackled themselves into synthetic loveliness. Inventing Beauty is a delightful history of that noble effort, from head to tail.

Customer Reviews:

Revising Myths.......2005-11-15

I have found this delightful page turner invaluable as I try to teach the complexities of cultural critique: Riordan's book helps us revise the usual reading of the beauty industry as repressive and male-produced. She's never pedantic and lets the objects and their histories speak for themselves. It's a thoughtful, and at times gleeful, women's history.

intriguing facts show just how crazy beauty can be.......2005-11-07

Inventing Beauty is a fascinating and fun book to read, not only for its entertaining aspects but also for its intensely researched historical information. It brings to light information about women and what they thought about back in the 1800s, which is vastly similar to many things that the woman of today thinks about in terms of beauty.
The book did cover many different aspects of the body that women tried desperately to change, however I wish that it did even more. It was really interesting to read and find out what people were thinking and came up with but I felt that it stopped abruptly and that it could have gone on. It would be great if Riordan came out with a second volume about more modern day beauty inventions. The ones in this book are interesting, however it only covers from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.

Half interesting..........2005-08-03

I thought the portions of the book dealing with makeup to be the most interesting. What some women put themselves through! I definitely saw some parallels to our society today. Yet when it came to the chapters about hair removal and clothing, I was bored senseless. Is it, however, fascinating to see how our definition of "beauty" has changed over the years. I especially like the old advertisements and pictures the author included. Not bad, but those not specifically interested in women's clothing styles of years past may be a bit bored in some sections.

A fabulous history of the invention of beauty.......2005-04-28

Teresa Riordan is wonderful. She takes the history of a miscellany of inventions such as mascara, bras and dipilatories, links it to humankind's quest for physical "beauty" and turns it into a marvelous rendition of history.

Riordan's research appears to be meticulous. She has delved into patent files, old advertising, other historical data such as books and newspapers.

"Inventing Beauty" is a wonderful addition to any library on history, pop culture and sociology.

Better than all that, "Inventing Beauty" is just plain fun and informative to read.

Jerry

Different types of Beauty.......2004-12-03

It is an interesting coincidence that Teresa Riordan's "Inventing Beauty" is
appearing at the same time as the English translation of Umberto Eco's book on
the history of beauty. Each author looks at beauty in an original way, but Eco
and Riordan come at the same subject from opposite directions. "History of
Beauty" (actually, only about half of book's chapters are written by Eco; the other
half are
written by Girolamo de Michele) is an erudite dissection of the meaning of
beauty. Riordan's effort is much more materially based; she
examines the technology of beauty, the implements that women use in the
pursuit of self-manufactured beauty. Visually, the books are distinctly different.
Eco's book is illustrated with sumptuous color reproductions of art. Riordan's book has a black and white aesthetic and features old
advertisements, photographs and, most interestingly, patent drawings. She
writes that she considers these drawings overlooked folk art, and I have to
agree. Strangely, given that Eco's book is published by the famous art publisher
Rizzoli, Riordan's is by far the better designed book. It is gorgeous to hold, even though
it is a paperback original rather than a coffee-table book, and even though it is illustrated
with naive drawings and advertisements rather than fine art.

Adventures in Arkham Country (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying, 1920s)
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Adventures in Arkham Country (Call of Cthulhu Horror Roleplaying, 1920s)
Kevin Hassall
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Binding: Paperback

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ADVENTURES IN ARKHAM COUNTRY - for the 1920s Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game
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Scott Aniolowski, Fred Behrendt, Kevin Hassall, Andrew Leman, Todd Woods, John Snyder, Tom Kalichak Call of Cthulhu & Chaosium; Jamie Anderseon
Manufacturer: Chaosium, Inc.
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Ethics, the Heart of Leadership: Second Edition
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Good, broad range of opinions

A must read for anyone with pretensions of leadership

Ethics, the Heart of Leadership: Second Edition
Joanne Ciulla
Manufacturer: Praeger Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

The study of ethics and leadership can be traced back to Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks. Against the backdrop of corporate, political, and religious scandal, a contemporary examination of the complex and subtle relationships between ethics and leadership could not be more timely. In this updated and expanded edition of Ethics, The Heart of Leadership, Joanne Ciulla presents a unique collection of essays by philosophers, leadership scholars with backgrounds in industrial and organizational psychology, and management theorists. The authors tackle such profound questions as: How do leaders motivate followers to achieve their goals? What is the moral relationship between leaders and followers? Are ethical leaders driven by self-interest or altruism? What is the ethical value of a leader's accomplishments? Do their actions serve the greatest good? Featuring new essays by Bruce Avolio and Edwin Locke, Terry Price, Bernie Bass and Paul Steidlmeier, and a foreword by James MacGregor Burns, Ethics, The Heart of Leadership probes what the answers to these questions mean for today's leaders, offering hands-on insights into the ethical dynamics that make the heart of leadership tick.

Customer Reviews:

Good, broad range of opinions.......2005-09-15

I read this book for my master's program in organizational leadership and it is one of the better compendiums I have read in the breadth of views included. While some authors are clearer and better reads than others, the range of opinion more than makes up for it.

A must read for anyone with pretensions of leadership.......1999-09-12

The title and the academic appearance of this work makes it sound dull. That is anything but the case. Dr Ciulla is gifted writer and sharp editor. The chapters she wrote are especially compelling and riveting, and she leavens her thoughts with abundant wit and flair. I look forward to reading further works from her.

Ethics, the Heart of Leadership: Second Edition

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Ethics, the Heart of Leadership: Second Edition
Joanne B. Ciulla
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORD1NC

Book Description

A brilliantly witty and intelligent memoir of the adventures, discoveries, rescues, and narrow escapes of Martha Gellhorn, one of America's most important war correspondents and the third wife of Ernest Hemingway.

"Gellhorn is incapable of writing a dull sentence."
-The Times (London)

"Martha Gellhorn was so fearless in a male way, and yet utterly capable of making men melt," writes New Yorker literary editor Bill Buford. As a journalist, Gellhorn covered every military conflict from the Spanish Civil War to Vietnam and Nicaragua. She also bewitched Eleanor Roosevelt's secret love and enraptured Ernest Hemingway with her courage as they dodged shell fire together.

Hemingway is, of course, the unnamed "other" in the title of this tart memoir, first published in 1979, in which Gellhorn describes her globe-spanning adventures, both accompanied and alone. With razor-sharp humor and exceptional insight into place and character, she tells of a tense week spent among dissidents in Moscow; long days whiled away in a disused water tank with hippies clustered at Eilat on the Red Sea; and her journeys by sampan and horse to the interior of China during the Sino-Japanese War.

Now including a foreward by Bill Buford and photographs of Gellhorn with Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Gary Cooper, and others, this new edition rediscovers the voice of an extraordinary woman and brings back into print an irresistibly entertaining classic.

Customer Reviews:

A winner!.......2005-10-27

This is a truly delightful read...Gellhorn's wit and courage shine through. Her observations and insight are so interesting. You will enjoy this book.

the best.......2004-06-27

As a traveller and a reader, this is one of the best books i have read in a very long time.

Excellent!.......2001-09-10

One of the finest books I have read on the subject of travel, in a class with the best of Theroux and Chatwin. Take on your next trip along with a battered straw hat..!

Traveling with a world class traveler.......2000-06-26

This wonderful travelogue of "bad trips" to politically important places takes the reader on an incredible range of journeys to many world hot and "cold" war spots. China and a meeting with Communist leaders in hiding during WWII (with the writer's then husband (Ernest Hemingway) looming large but quietly in the background and a poignant trip to an aging Russian writer in the days of Soviet rule transport us through time and space. Martha Gellhorn, as journalist and fiction writer, needs to be "recovered" with the very best of war correspondents of any gender and the adventuresome and unbelievably courageous woman travelers of the 20th century. The section on Gellhorn's travels in Africa, because it is so "honest" and forthright on matters of race, will strike some as politically incorrect, but her descriptions of modes of transport, race, missionaries and the search for exotic animals are among the most vivid anywhere. This book moves the reader -- through time and space, brain and heart.

Travels with Myself and Another a Memoir

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Travels with Myself and Another a Memoir
Gellhorn Martha
Manufacturer: Penguin Putnam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UF4T4S

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant Local History With A National Perspective.......2000-04-01

As a former student of Dr. Smith and one whose ancestors lived in Indiana County and fought in the American Civil War, I read THE PRICE OF PATRIOTISM with eager anticipation. I was not disappointed as Dr. Smith clearly compiled the information and wrote this book with his usual thorough, imaginative, and articulate approach. The result is not only a local history which is well integrated into the larger theme of the events and influence of the Civil War on American Society but an excellent case study of a typical rural Northern County during this era. His use of primary sources including letters and newspapers illustrated the political complexities, military operations, and personal tragedies which impacted the natives of Indiana County and their contributions, sometimes less than willing, to the war effort. His study of the use of the military draft and cash bounty was very enlightening and the account of the complement of Indiana, PA, soldiers who made up significant portions of several famous regiments, such as the 40th and 78th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and the sacrifices they made was inspiring yet also sobering. It also induced me to seek to read regimental histories such as Ron Gancas' THE GALLANT 78th or Gilbert A. Hays' UNDER THE RED PATCH: STORY OF THE 63rd REGIMENT, PA VOLUNTEERS. Also, the many photos used, especially members of the White family, enhanced Dr. Smith efforts to put human faces on these long dead soldiers. Finally, the repeated emphasis he used to communicate the fact that while Indiana County, PA, was patriotic and pro-Union it was not a center of Abolitionism was a caution to any myth making about the war's goals long after the fact. The only complaint I have with Dr. Smith's study is that while he noted that my native district, Cherry Tree, constantly voted for the Democrats and otherwise opposed the Republicans who controlled the county, he did not explain why Cherry Tree was so different from the rest of the county, especially as the only district to vote against Lincoln in both the 1860 and 1864 presidential elections! Overall, this is a wonderful contribution to the history of Indiana County, PA, in particular and the American Civil War in general.

The Price of Patriotism : Indiana County, Pennsylvania and the Civil War

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The Price of Patriotism : Indiana County, Pennsylvania and the Civil War
W. Wayne Smith
Manufacturer: White Mane Publishing Company, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K3KJYE

Customer Reviews:

How to be proud and how to stand up for yourself.......2006-08-06

Great book for people struggling with being gay and that have to deal with bigots.The book teaches you why people hate, anger management,true morality vs. christian morality,different ways to respond to anti-gay comments, points to bring up when you're dealing with homophobic family,friends, co-workers and strangers,dispelling gay myths and more. Excellent book.

Let's Give It Up for the Self-Esteem Diva!.......2005-01-22

Dr. Betty Berzon wrote a great book. Her passion and her sincerity have literally helped change lives. She was a psychotherapist who specialized in self-help for GLBT folk. It is a shame that she had to pass in 2006 at 78, as it was amazing to read and watch her work.

In this particular book of hers, she arms her readers with the ammunition to take homophobia head-on. First, she builds the reader's confidence in themselves and tries to get one to confront their own internalized homophobia. This is perhaps one of the most effective parts of the book.

From there, like a good psychotherapist, she proceeds to take us into the minds of the most common types of homophobes that we encounter in our daily lives. She deconstructs their motivations and desires and lets us know what they are really trying to say. We encounter everyone from the hateful Neo-Nazi to that adorable Aunt who loves you so much that she wants to save your soul from Hell.

Finally, she arms her readers with examples of what to say and how to say it. Some of her answers sound quite witty and are enough to silence even the professional homophobe. Though the rhetoric is indeed changing a bit, and new things will have to be invented to coincide with how vile and creative radical anti-gay groups like the American Family Association and Family Research Council are getting, I believe the fact that Berzon guides her reader down a path of self-confidence and in dealing with such people, proves more important than the timeliness of her suggested responses.

Though Berzon's book is not perfect and a little bit dated, I believe that it's a fabulous start and gets right to the nitty gritty, unlike some other GLBT-themed books which waste their their writing and re-writing fluff on the almost beat-to-death topics of coming-of-age and coming-out.

Whenever I'm feeling discouraged or depressed as a result of people giving me grief over being gay, I turn to Betty's book. She's a angel and her words serve to inspire so many. Even in death, she remains alive!

Sometimes snappy answers just aren't good enough.......2002-07-22

Although some readers seem to have gotten a great benefit from Ms. Berzon's book, sometimes complicated questions deserve more complicated answers. At one point, she argues that a person very likely is born homosexual. And yet, at another, in disputing the use of the Bible to justify bigotry argues that the Bible never discusses sexual orientation. As she says, nothing was known of such things in the ancient world (apparently despite people having in-bred same-sex attractions). Missing is the extensive scholarship revealing how intimately homophobia relates to the development of modern capitalism.

Gay Empowerment At Its Finest.......2002-07-01

I just finished reading this wonderful book by Dr. Berzon and I must say that it's gay empowerment at its finest! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is gay or knows someone who is gay but I recommend it even more to those who are unfamiliar with who and what gay really is. I'm now ordering a copy to be sent to my Christian mother. I wished all of our lawmakers would read this enlightend masterpiece!

Turn the argument around........2001-03-17

I agree with all the comments (good and bad) that one reader made under the Amazon review heading "Usually helpful, but sometimes too brusque. March 11, 1999." However, I want to add that I love the way Berzon helps turn arguments around, forcing the attacker to not only examine his/her own words, but also why s/he would say them. Berzon uses her background in psychotherapy to help people search for the roots of bigotry. All gays and lesbians should read this book; their supporters should as well. Berzon offers knowledge, inspiration, and empowerment.

Setting Them Straight: You Can Do Something About Bigotry and Homophobia in Your Life

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Setting Them Straight: You Can Do Something About Bigotry and Homophobia in Your Life
Betty Berzon
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXY0EQ

Book Description

With a deft touch and a naturalist's keen eye, Mary Parker Buckles introduces herself-and us-to wondrous adventures in the land, air, water, and intertidal zone that make up the Long Island Sound ecosystem. While the Sound has been threatened by pollution and development, it is far from dead, as some picture it, and has been virtually uncelebrated until now. She discovers the magic of shorebirds on stopover during their semiannual migration and comes to appreciate the temperament of owls, the intricacy of barnacles, the crustiness of horseshoe crabs, and the fragility of osprey chicks. Buckles explains what the ongoing battle over wetlands is all about and elucidates other complexities of a place she describes as "inherently sacred by virtue of being alive."

Customer Reviews:

One of the few lovely books about the Sound.......2004-11-04

Mary Buckles develops a great relationship with life on the Sound and shares it so gracefully with the reader. There are so few books available about the Sound, and hers is one of the best.

What a terrifc book!.......2003-06-09

I met Mary Parker Buckles 20 years ago and immediately fell for her. Articulate, witty and graced with the style of a native Southerner, she enthralled me. After reading her book on Long Island Sound, I just fell for her again. It's an articulate, witty and graceful look at all that grows along and in the sound.

Wonder and Magic at the Margins.......2000-04-10

This is a beautiful and enchanting book. Mary Parker Buckles initiates the reader into the teeming vitality, ceaseless creativity, and mesmerizing wonder that is Long Island Sound. The familiar, but oh so strange world of owls and ospreys, barnacles and crabs, bivalves and boats, are engagingly explored by Mary -- a true natural scientist, but with a poet's eye. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is superbly well written, and in her elegant, imaginative, playful, even rapturous style Mary helps the reader to discover the magic that lies hidden in plain sight throughout this natural habitat. Mary seems to pour her soul into the Sound, and what emerges is a lyrical voice that speaks of wonders too fair for words.

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