Book Description
From the irresistibly wry Larry Miller, a collection of sharp–eyed, trenchant, and very funny essays on the outrages of everyday life.
Larry Miller is one of the most enduring and irresistible comic personalities at work today. Hundreds of stand–up appearances on Leno, Letterman, Conan O'Brien, and other TV shows, and his unforgettable roles in films as diverse as Pretty Woman and Best in Show have made Larry's acerbic wit and character (he calls himself "a founding member of the Cranky Nit–Pickers of America") a staple of the American comic diet. And in recent years he has gained a new, more political following, penning a regular humor column in The Weekly Standard and making frequent appearances with TV hosts such as Bill Maher and Dennis Miller.
Now, in Spoiled Rotten America, he fixes his gaze on the outrages of contemporary life – from "pop stars thinking deeply and sharing their thoughts" to "pillow–soft Americans who stop by the Pizza Hut before collapsing into the Wide–O–Lounger just in time to watch 22 pimple–faced steroid–eaters slam into each other at 14 miles an hour."
Mixing the political with the personal as deftly as P. J. O'Rourke or George Carlin, Larry Miller is today's new voice of outrage for the little guy – for "anyone who walks into the backyard at night, lifts a proud chin, and screams, 'I am not wrong!' before going back inside to resume getting quietly hammered while his wife sits in the next room watching figure skating."
Customer Reviews:
funny to the point of being silly.......2007-08-05
This is a very funny book. However it goes beyond reality into the surreal. A very enjoyable read.
so funny and true!.......2007-06-02
I heard Larry Miller on a local radio talk show and he piqued my interest to read this book. I was not disappointed. He is funny, smart and comes at the reader from all angles. It is intelligent and very basic at the same time. My daughter saw me reading it and I read her some of the passages --she in turn shared some of it with a friend of hers and both of them couldn't wait until I finished so they could borrow my book. I loved it!
Even Better Than I Hoped For.......2007-04-15
I first became aware of Larry Miller in that sperm bank movie with Shelly Long. I don't want to give away his character, but he's terrifically funny in an innocent and understated way. That one scene where he's at his desk had me rolling on the floor.
His book is much the same way - he doesn't go for the cheap laughs. His essays are intelligent and insightful with wry looks and observations mixed in with thought provoking views. One minute I was reading over a paragraph for the third time and still cracking up hard enough to bring tears to my eyes, the next minute I was wrinkling my brow to think about my own view on something.
He's irreverent and understated and what makes him so amusing - to me - is that even when he's commenting on humanity's misplaced priorities or foibles, he juxtaposes himself almost self-deprecatingly. Only, it's obvious that he's got greater understanding and awareness than what he's speaking of. But you never get the feeling that's what HE thinks.
So the mix is masterful: intelligence, humility, irreverence, thought provoking-ness (I couldn't think of the word so I made one up), understatement, and a certain unflappability....it's definitely a repeat read!
Some good material . . . .......2007-03-21
A little too self-serving and preachy at times. Still, worth the read, if you know Mr. Miller and his brand of humor.
Larry Miller, American Hero.......2007-01-27
I will never forget Larry serving broccoli in our college cafeteria. The food was so bad I used to get about 6 servings with lemon and butter. Larry let it pass because he knew I was starving. Me and a lot of guys owe our lives to him.
Book Description
Lights, camera -- disaster! The coolest show on TV, Spy Guy, is filming an episode in Jigsaw's town. When Jigsaw lands a role as an extra, he gets to go behind the scenes. He even meets Chase Jackson, the show's spoiled star, who plays a junior spy.
But then an important prop disappears -- and everyone accuses Chase of stealing it. Luckily, there's a real detective on the set. It's up to Jigsaw Jones to crack the case before the cameras roll!
Average customer rating:
- Brandon from Creston
- PeterDarling is correct.
- excellent ideas stemming from concern-with a touch of humor!
- This is a MUST READ book for anyone related to children
- Excellent work on dealing with materialistic children
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Spoiled Rotten
Fred Gosman
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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| Literature & Fiction
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Marriage & Family
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Accessories:
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Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers
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Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer
ASIN: 0446395099 |
Book Description
It starts with designer diapers. It extends to extravagant birthday parties, leads to boorish behavior and plummeting grades. What is the problem here? It's what we are doing to our children by not having the smarts to set boundaries, impose rules, and give them the firm, unwavering guidance they really need.Finally, someone has written a book to help beleaguered parents take back their homes and their children. With specific tactics, unforgettable one-liners, and dead-on-target advice, Fred Gosman shows you how to:quit your job as your child's servantinstitute discipline and appropriate punishments for your misbehaving childrendeal with tantrums and threats from your childreneliminate the excesses and bad influences that make our children think life is a beachput a lid on the TV help your child do better in school.
Customer Reviews:
Brandon from Creston.......2005-12-08
This is about two friends and Andy is the one who is spoiled by his mom and Scott is the one who is the younger brother in his family. The book is funny sometimes and not funny other times. If you read this book you will find some funny humor. I would recommend this book for beginners in reading.
PeterDarling is correct........2002-08-15
This book is a dangerously misleading one.
This Gosman guy is an ..., and a grouchy one at that. The practice of parenting should be based on a dovetailing of fundamental personal values with scientific research evidence in the area of developmental psychology, not some angry guy's ranting about "kids these days".
He gets one star for one or two novel behaviour modification tips I'd never heard before. Most of it was ... But stay away from this book: if you are not knowledgeable regarding psychology to begin with, it'll poison you, and if you ARE a little more sophisticated, it'll bore and disgust you.
excellent ideas stemming from concern-with a touch of humor!.......1999-09-09
Regardless of what ONE reader suggests, this is a very enlightening book. The author is frustrated with the results our children have become, due to our "spoiling" of them. However, he is not hostile, he is merely concerned. He states up-front that he is not a "professional", but that he is a parent, which I feel is more credible anyway! He shares examples of spoiled children and offers solutions, so that our children may become the responsible, moral, and self-sufficient adults that we all want them to be. I am also a parent and have read dozens of parenting type books. This one is realistic and blunt and offers hope to us parents who only want the best for our children. Mr. Gosman shows us that we can discipline AND "spoil", but that one without the other is futile.
This is a MUST READ book for anyone related to children.......1999-08-29
the person that hated this book is NUTS! I think it probably hit home for them and they couldn't handle it. I would suspect they have kids that are out of control. Many of the ideas hit home with me too, but instead of bashing the author, I realized what a big mistake I've made with my own kids by giving in to their every whim. Kids need to learn to respect adults and have discipline in their life again. This guy made every other book I have ever read on child rearing obsolete. No, he's not a professional...he is a CONCERNED PARENT. This is much better than all the corny stuff professionals that don't have kids babble on and on about. I NEVER got the idea that the author hates kids. Never was he hostile. Yes, some of the ideas are out of the 50's, but do our kids really need every toy, every outfit and everything that kids in the 90's get today. This guy doesn't just bring up problems, he gives good solid, LOVING AND REALISTIC advice on how to take care of the problem. The book is very well written. I read it in one day, I couldn't put it down.
Excellent work on dealing with materialistic children.......1998-09-01
Gosman's work speaks to the issue of materialistic children in today's world. Through anecdotes and well thought suggestions he presents a good case for a return to more traditional family values and encourages parents to again rmember how to say "no" and how to find their self esteem from other sources than their children. As a conservative thaerapist I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
- A fascinating thesis for our society
- Stop the Generation X bashing! We're not so bad.
- A dynamic entrance
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Spoiled Rotten: Affluence, Anxiety, and Social Decay in America
Brian Goff , and
Arthur A., III Fleisher
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economic Conditions
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Similar Items:
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Armchair Economist: Economics & Everyday Life
ASIN: 081339757X |
Book Description
Illustrates how the unprecedented improvements in living standards for average Americans over the last thirty years have led to a number of social problems today
A commonly repeated argument states that the rich have gotten richer while average Americans have broken even over the past twenty-five years, and that this economic disparity has created a number of social ills. Spoiled Rotten presents a contradictory argument: properly measured standards of well-being have grown dramatically for all Americans, resulting in a variety of negative social consequences. Now, it's not just the rich who are spoiled, it's all of us.
In developing their ideas about wealth and its influence, Goff and Fleisher look for grass-roots explanations. The problems the authors attribute to the growth in wealth include employment issues such as job selection and security, family issues such as illegitimacy and divorce, rising crime trends, educational issues such as sluggish SAT scores, and others. Further, the authors discuss how wealth has allowed Americans to create problems out of thin air, including environmental dangers, health care, and safety regulation.
The authors' final analysis poses and answers the question: what to do about wealth's negative effects without destroying its positive impacts?
Customer Reviews:
A fascinating thesis for our society.......2001-01-10
Goff and Fleischer have put succinctly into words an answer to the question, "What's wrong with America?" In the midst of prosperity and plenty for virtually all Americans, why does it appear that contemporary society is falling apart? Why are there Columbine High Schools and other, equally horrific, events occurring with frightening regularity? On a daily level we see shattered families, young girls raising babies and other disturbing events. The authors argue, persuasively, that it is primarily because we are so prosperous that we are having these ills. One reviewer missed the point entirely-in America, unlike the rest of the world all he has to worry about is getting an apartment, doubtless wonderfully made, fully equipped with all the conveniences and a huge number of true luxuries-cable tv, dvd players, etc. He drives to work in an air conditioned car and works in a pleasant environment. Hello! In this book, they make the point that even the "poverty level" family in America has access to things that are only a dream to the rest of the world. We do not work and slave just to get a mouthful of food for our family, use an open air latrine and sleep in a hovel. This is not about Gen X bashing, it's about the fact that we are spoiled and don't even know it. The great question is-what will we do about it? Get this book.
Stop the Generation X bashing! We're not so bad........1999-10-18
I'm getting tired of contemporary young Americans (I'm 29)being bashed constantly and portrayed as these evil losers. Anyone who came after the "Baby Boomer" generation (modern teens, college students and young adults) are often the objects of irrational hate. Anything our generation does wrong is hyped in the media and in preachy books like this one; even though statistics show that crime has been rapidly *decreasing* ever since Generation X came of age. We drink more espresso than liquor for goodness sake; and most drugs are pretty much out of style as far as long term use is concerned. A pretty tame bunch compared to the old hippie crowd. And the idea of today's young Americans as rich and spoiled is truly absurd. I have to wonder what planet the author is living on! No generation has worked so hard for so little. This is a time period when getting a nice little apartment for yourself is more like a far out fantasy than a realistic goal. Work hard and live paycheck to paycheck--then come home to your dingy little hole in the wall to listen to the media elite talk about how spoiled and weak you are and blame you for the Columbine massacre just because you own a few black clothes!
A dynamic entrance.......1999-04-28
Messrs Goff and Fleisher eschew the easy answers in analysing the distopia America has created with the unprecedented wealth which currently exists there. Instead, this work overturns the conventional 'wisdom' of politicians and media and asks and answers a series of questions which will become increasingly vital in C21 USA. If you've ever laughed at the idea that money doesn't buy happiness, here is the proof that it really doesn't. SimonF
Average customer rating:
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Spoiled Rotten (Hyperion Chapters)
Barthe Declements
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
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General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
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School
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ASIN: 0786811455 |
Book Description
People who love dogs will find adventure, humor, and pathos in this family story. If every man needs one good woman and one good dog in his lifetime, Dad found both. Although the woman and their children appear throughout this book, the story focuses on the dog and her man. Julie was an undersized Llewellin English setter, amiable of disposition, and freckled of face. Dad, an avid outdoorsman, doted on her shamelessly for seventeen years. They roamed the great outdoors, sharing adventures with game birds, varmints, white-water rivers, and hang-gliders. So inseparable were they, Mama once remarked, "If that dog could cook and make love, I''d be out of a job!" Julie would never have won a field trial, but she became a serious bird dog, hunting bobwhites and ruffed grouse in the Appalachians. Later, the game was valley and mountain quail in California. She learned not to chase rabbits and deer, but Dad was powerless over her ground-hog addiction. Upon encountering a woodchuck, her eyes would glow with the joy of combat, and she would attack with colors flying. In the field, it was all business, but the professional training fraternity would curl its collective lip to see Dad coddle his dogs around the house. With her second litter, Julie produced a handsome co-character, Pretty Boy. Julie perfected a guilt-inducing stare that paid off in shares of whatever snack was being consumed. She endeared herself to all with her dance of joy when an outing appeared imminent. Disapproval was expressed by a disdainful sneer. In her old age, arthritis overwhelmed her. Dad tirelessly medicated and massaged her, but finally had to accept the only thing to do for a painfully crippled dog that implored him for relief. Most of the action occurs in Virginia, California, and Florida.
Customer Reviews:
You don't have to be a dog lover to enjoy.......2007-02-11
This book is a heartwarming tale of a beautiful, spiritually complex man surrounded by fittingly loving, amiable and resourceful companions. While is is certainly a uplifitng tribute to the dogs Julie, Pretty Boy, Beegee, etc., it is also a paean of love from the author to his wife, a proper Virginia upbringing, the frontier spirit, the value of friends and trust in one's fellow man. The many stories themselves are precious; the manner in which they are told makes them completely priceless. Mr. Tinlsey's writing style brought back very fond memories of first reading William Faulkner's The Bear, another terrific tale of hunting and coming of age. I say "coming of age" because, in this book, both the author and Julie come to a maturity that can only be gained by learning one lesson of living at a time. The beauty of the process is that Mr. Tinsley and Julie came to this state together. Neither could have achieved it without the other - and both knew and appreciated that fact. Only a Southerner could have written this book. Southerners who have not entirely forgotten the nobility of respect for the land and its creatures that once was the Southern character will read this book with the sweet nostalgia that arises from remembering our good roots.
If you love animals, you'll love "Farewell, Miss Julie.".......2006-10-26
Anyone who has ever loved (and lost) an animal will enjoy Robert S.Tinsley's book, "Farewell, Miss Julie: or The Spoiled-rotten Bird Dogs." As I read this well-written collection of short stories about a dog and "her man," I seemed to share in their adventures--roaming the Virginia wilds and California mountains. Julie, a Llewellin English setter is beautifully depicted on the book's cover, illustrated by artist Teresa Farley of Savannah, Georgia. Julie should have her paw print on the Hollywood walk of fame, because she clearly emerges as a "super star" in Tinsley's book. Her life, death and the family whose hearts she owned, added my own heart to the collection. I give the book an enthusiastic five stars, and recommend it for animal lovers, lovers of the great outdoors and those who don't mind shedding a tear or just enjoying a good belly laugh.
Average customer rating:
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Spoiled Rotten
Dayle Gaetz
Manufacturer: Collier-Macmillan Canada Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0029540097 |
Book Description
The island of Guam was the first Allied territory lost to the Japanese onslaught in 1941. On 10 December 5,000 Japanese troops landed on Guam, defended by less than 500 US and Guamanian troops, the outcome was beyond doubt. On 21 July 1944 America returned. In a risky operation, the two US landing forces came ashore seven miles apart and it was a week before the beachheads linked up. Only the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa would cost the Americans more men than the landings on Guam and Saipan, which immediately preceded the Guam operation. In this book Gordon Rottman details the bitter 26-day struggle for this key Pacific island.
Customer Reviews:
good documentary account.......2007-09-19
As Mr Forczek (sp?) comments in his excellent, comprehensive review, this is a good factual, objective if dry account of the Guam Campaign and history prior to the invasion.
My father was with the 3d Marine Division (1/21) (Asst Bn Surgeon)in the invasion; he was later on Iwo. He says in his letters that the fighting was in some ways more fierce on Guam, maybe because he was on the receiving end of that counter-attack described by Rottman.
This book goes well with Alvin Josephy's book, "The Long and the Short and the Tall", and there is a Military Traditions video out done by the military describing the details of the fighting. Each of these gives a different dimension of the invasion. Josephy's book gives 1st hand account. I don't really understand why Guam is referred to as a "campaign" and not as an invasion as the others (Saipan, Iwo, Tarawa)were and has received relatively little attention.
Good Data, No First-Person Accounts.......2004-09-06
The Japanese capture of Guam in December 1941 and the US reconquest of the island are covered by Gordon L Rottman in Osprey's Campaign #139. Although operations on this island in the Second World War normally do not rate much attention, Rottman notes that this was an expensive invasion by 1944 standards.
The standard section on opposing forces, plans and commanders are good, if dry. While Rottman notes that operationally the idea of landing two US Marine forces separated by 7 miles was unprecedented, he fails to note that the three major US units landing (3rd Marine Division, 1st Provisional Brigade and US Army 77th Infantry Division) had only a 2.6-1 numerical advantage over the defenders - a bit slim for an opposed landing. The author provides five 2-D maps (strategic situation; Marianas islands; Japanese defenses on Guam; the fight for the beachheads; daily progress, 21 July - 10 August 1944), three 3-D "Bird's Eye View" maps (3rd Marine Division securing the beachhead; the capture of Orote Peninsula and the Japanese counterattack on 25-26 July 1944) and three color battle scenes Banzai attack on the 3rd Marine Division hospital; trail-breaking in northern Guam; feeding the "Long Toms"). The maps were better in this volume than his previous volume on Saipan, particularly in filling in the strategic picture. On the other hand, the author notes that for coastal defense the Japanese had nineteen 8-inch guns and eight 6-inch guns, but doesn't identify where they were located in proximity to the invasion beaches. The author's order of battle is excellent - always as Rottman specialty - as is the bibliography.
Rottman describes the hopelessness of the small US Navy-US Marine Corps garrison in December 1941, which was quickly overwhelmed by the Japanese. The quick loss of the island at the outset of the war - and the fact that US military planners assumed that the island was indefensible - raises two questions not addressed by Rottman. First, why did the US garrison not have a better self-destruct plan to quickly dispose of aviation fuel stocks and vehicles to prevent falling into Japanese hands? Second, given the facts that the Guamian population was friendly and the island was fairly large and littered with caves, why did the US military not consider guerrilla warfare on Guam? Rottman notes the successful evasion for more than two years by US Navy signalman George Tweed, but what if the US Marine company on Guam had prepared arms caches and hide locations in the remote areas of the island before the Japanese invasion. Apparently, Guam is a pretty good place to hide, since Rottman notes that about "7,500 Japanese were still at-large on the island when it was declared secure" and the last holdout didn't surrender until 1973. Rather than meekly surrendering and heading off to Manchurian prisons, a small force of Marines and Guamians probably could have been more useful as a stay-behind force to assist the eventual reconquest of the island.
The strength of this volume -as all of Rottman's volumes - lies in the detail on daily military operations, but the weaknesses are lack of humanity and failure to analyze available data. Rottman fails to provide any first-person accounts or to even mention any of the four US Marine Medal of Honor recipients in the campaign Skaggs, Mason, Wilson and Witek). Even George Tweed's miraculous survival and escape rates only two sentences. Rottman suggest that US Marine battalions were gutted by heavy losses on Guam, at one point claiming that "most Marine battalions lost over 300 killed each, some almost 500." Rottman's casualty table shows 1,457 US Marine fatalities on Guam, which divided by the 15 Marine infantry battalions in the operation, yields an average of only 97 deaths per battalion (and this ignores artillery, engineers and support troop losses). If we consider total casualties, then it is possible that the rifle battalions suffered 300-400 casualties each, but we need to be careful with these numbers. Stastically, someone like John Kerry counted as three "wounded" in Vietnam, even though he was never hospitalized; on Guam, I'm sure some Marines were wounded more than once. The other issue where Rottman shows failure to analyze is to ask why the US Army, which had 35% of the combat troops on Guam, suffered only 10% of the deaths? Obviously, the Marine casualties appear pretty excessive in comparison to the US Army methods.
I also find Rottman's description of the Japanese counterattack on 25-26 July 1944 troubling. Coming less than three weeks after the destructive Japanese Banzai attack on Saipan, one might think that the 3rd Marine Division would have been expecting something similar on Guam. Instead, the 3rd Marine Division had all nine of its infantry battalions on line with no appreciable reserve and no defenses in depth; all of which greatly facilitated the Japanese counterattack. As on Saipan, the Japanese penetrated the thinly spread Marine perimeter and drove deep into the rear areas, inflicting serious casualties. While it is true that the Japanese attacks in both cases cost them the bulk of their assault force, it seems that a certain amount of luck saved the Marines from total disaster. I suspect that the Marine commanders were under pressure to expand the beachhead as rapidly as possible and this meant taking risks, such as no reserve. However, this was fairly foolish and callous toward the lives of their own men. Had the Marines had a smaller perimeter with a reserve, the Japanese would have been just as destroyed but with lighter US losses. My suspicion is that Rottman accepts the 1944-US Marine style of operations as the "right way" and insinuates that the more careful US Army tactics were "wimpy."
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