How the Web Was Won: The Inside Story of How Bill Gates and His Band of Internet Idealists Trans- Formed a Software Empire

Amazon.com

In a brilliant--and, at times, overwhelming--display of research and perspicacity, Paul Andrews chronicles Microsoft's internal and public battles to adapt to Internet technology and fight the browser wars. He starts in 1991: the Internet is barely a blip on the company radar. Meanwhile, 22-year-old new hire J Allard is asked by Microsoft's No. 2 man, Steve Ballmer, to "make the pain go away" with TCP/IP, the standard Internet protocol. It's just Allard's second day on the job, and he realizes that the software giant doesn't get it: interoperability between networks and the Internet is key to Microsoft's future. He begins a grassroots effort to raise Internet consciousness, eventually distributing a widely read 17-page memo titled "Windows: The Next Killer Application on the Internet." Higher up, Bill Gates's technical assistant, Steven Sinofsky, gets snowed in at technically progressive Cornell University. He's stunned to witness a student body that's already devoted to a fledgling Internet, and writes home: "Cornell is WIRED." After intense internal debate (and more than a few late nights), Gates stops the engines and changes course to pursue integration of Windows and an Internet browser called Explorer.

Andrews--a personal-technology columnist for the neighboring Seattle Times--has actually layered several books into one. In the first, he writes scores of fascinating profiles on the Internet idealists, architects, and managers who devoted "Microsoft Hours" to redirect the company's focus. In the second, he reports on external battles against foes such as Netscape and Sun Microsystems. In addition, he explores the hundreds of technological developments (occasionally to the point of distraction) that flourished during this high-tech revolution. And, finally, he comments throughout on what led the Department of Justice to file the largest antitrust action since the breakup of AT&T. Andrews's coverage of this last issue is slanted heavily in Microsoft's favor, but is thorough enough to deflect most accusations of bias. Although the Web is far from won, Microsoft's ability to turn its ship around is certainly a victory. --Rob McDonald

Book Description

The inside story of how a small band of agitators at Microsoft staged the stunning turnaround that transformed the company from an Internet laggard into such a dominant force that it was accused of monopolizing the industry.

1993. Microsoft's Windows software ruled the desktops of America. Nine out of ten personal computers ran the operating system, and most applications--from word processors to spreadsheets--couldn't function without it. When Bill Gates peered into Microsoft's crystal ball, he saw a world of Windows.

Then the Internet burst on the scene, and suddenly Gates's Windows-oriented future didn't look so bright. The Internet ran on UNIX, not Windows. The World Wide Web, not Windows, linked information in a global electronic library. A new software program called Mosaic, not Windows, made finding and reading Web documents as easy as skimming a magazine. Moreover, companies with little stake in Windows--Netscape, America Online, Sun Microsystems--were laying first claim to the Internet frontier.

The Internet was the future of computing--and the world's largest software company wasn't ready for it. Yet four years later, Microsoft's Internet metamorphosis was so complete that the Department of Justice slapped the company with the broadest antitrust action since the breakup of AT&T. In How the Web Was Won, veteran Seattle Times journalist Paul Andrews chronicles, for the first time, the most remarkable business turnaround of the 1990s: the story of Microsoft's turbulent journey from Windows to the Web--and of the handful of Internet believers who led the charge.

Taking the reader into the mind of Microsoft, Andrews reveals how the company struggled first to comprehend and then capitalize on the Net. How twenty-two-year-old Internet hound J Allard was shocked to learn that nobody at Microsoft seemed to know anything about networking computers when he arrived in late 1991. How Steve Ballmer, Gates's Harvard buddy and second in command at Microsoft, lit the Internet fuse with a head-scratching e-mail in December 1993. How Gates's technical assistant, Steven Sinofsky, discovered in early 1994 that Cornell University, his alma mater, was more "wired" than the world's most successful software company. And how by mid-1995, awash in the rising tide of Netscape, America Online, Java, and the Web, Bill Gates assigned the Internet the highest level of importance, launching an effort that, in a matter of months, would provoke the Justice Department, competitors, and industry analysts to warn that Microsoft could someday rule the Internet.

Based on three years of reporting and more than 100 interviews with the prime movers driving Microsoft's Internet strategy and deployment, How the Web Was Won captures the explosive drama and high-stakes gamesmanship of Microsoft's epic struggle for Internet supremacy. The result is an illuminating portrait of a software empire under siege and an intimate look at the fiery competitiveness that kindled its dramatic reversal of fortune.

Customer Reviews:

Scratch a free-marketeer and you’ll find a socialist.......2001-07-07

I am writing this after the appeals court has done the smart thing and voided the breakup remedy and exposed Judge Jackson for the little punk he is (His bias was obvious during the trial, despite MS's missteps. Congress should impeach him pronto). So I have perspective many of the other reviewers don't.

All I can say is: Ah-hah. Ah-hah. The appeals court may have found that MS maintained its monopoly illegally, largely because it didn't provide sufficient evidence that it needed those contracts with PC makers to protect the proprietary elements of Windows. And they may be right (although I think the general rapacity of the software industry is enough). But it agreed with nothing else, and I think the author of this book has been more than vindicated against his critics.

Yes, he had access to top MS officials, and probably shares their views of things. But you don't need that to agree that Netscape did everything all wrong ... they walked out of the HTML 3 standards conference, made their browser as incompatible with IE as they could just because they were so afraid. Their entire business plan could be summed up as "Bill Gates must be incredibly dumb and tone-deaf, so we'll make all the noise we want about how we can make them irrelevant and they won't notice until it's too late. Oh, and if this somehow doesn't work, let's get the Justice Department to sue them."

Well, it tells you a lot about this strategy (as if you couldn't guess) that Netscape today is just another cog in the AOL Time Warner media machine. The author is particularly good at noting what has not been much noticed elsewhere ... how Netscape, especially in the infamous 1995 meeting, seemed to be working hand-in-glove with Justice to create the appearance of improper competition on Microsoft's part (Funny how, when Larry Ellison (and Bill Gates' biggest service to America is keeping that guy from taking his place, believe me) pays people to sniff through DC trash to find connections between MS and DC lobbying groups, the news is more about the latter aspect of the story than the former).

But the larger issue that this book doesn't get into is how the New Economy guys, all devout members of the Church of the Invisible Hand, were done in by their own economic beliefs working too well.

That basically went that MS would become, and remain, hidebound and lazy like all companies with little real competition (of course, many companies have said they competed against Microsoft, which comes as a real surprise to anyone who has used many of their products ... Linux especially). After all, hadn't IBM and Apple before MS? Our laissez-faire theory tells us so, that economics will trump all human ability ... right?

Well, no one ever thought to imagine that maybe a company that has achieved the kind of market dominance that MS has might just retain the competitive instincts that got it there (as plainly logical as that might be). You're going to have to wait a while for MS to get soft. The story is not that it was easy to win the web war or that MS shouldn't have been at risk of losing it in the force place. It was that they got into it at all. The market is supposed to reward supertankers that turn on a dime, isn't it? (In fact, I believe MS's problems may have come from it being too eager to compete sometimes, owing to Gates' oft-cited paranoia that somewhere out there are two guys in a garage building the future that he won't see coming until too late. But should he be penalized for not forgetting his own company's history?....

Along the way, it was hilarious at first but scary later on to see how standard business practices, and things that would be recognized as smart moves in any other business, were invariably transformed into flaws whenever MS did them. Add lots of features to your OS so a broad segment can find it useful? "Bloatware." Keep in mind your customers who are just casual end users? "Dumbing down the operating system?" (Reminds me of Dilbert: "Hey, you're one of those condescending Unix users!" "Here's a nickel, kid. Go buy yourself a better computer") The looniest was, and still is, Linux, dedicated to the principle that people who don't make money from what they do do a better job than people who do. (And this system is often pushed heavily by some of the most libertarian, pro-free enterprise types around! I still do not get it)

So, seven years after the Web became the Internet's killer app, Microsoft has won, and IMO deservedly so. Deal with it. If you weren't in their tent, you should just cash out, shake Bill Gates' hand like a good sport, recognize that they won because they just played a better game, go enjoy a nice retirement and stop wasting the public's time.

Another Piece of Pro-Microsoft Propaganda.......2000-08-08

This book is obviously very slanted and biased in Microsoft's favor. It seems as if this book came straight out of the Microsoft book of propaganda! All of Microsoft's actions in the past are shown to be harmless and not anticompetitive. In total contrast, the actions of Microsoft's competitors are shown in a very negative light. Even the most incidental actions of Microsoft's competitors are shown in a bad light. It is odd then that Microsoft escapes this accounting. The author is obviously very pro-Microsoft and I would not be surprised to see that he may have close contacts at the company. The author does not really show how Microsoft's actions regarding "leveraging their OS into other software areas" could lead to destruction of competition in the computer industry. In fact, he either outright ignores this argument or downplays it! Even if you are interested in how the web was won, this book does not really give much insight to outside developments. There is no real context given. Other books fully account for the complex events surrounding the battle for supremacy on the internet. This book does not. It skims over much of the "outside action" and instead focuses only on Microsoft and it's quest to dominate the new emerging industry. Of course, given that this book should revolve around Microsoft but it should NOT exclude other angles to the story. The author takes Microsoft's side without justifying it for the readers. And ultimately this EXTREMELY BIASED account makes the author lose much of his credibility. Also without going in depth with the emerging industry as a whole the narrative loses much of what would have been very interesting and engrossing story. By and large this is one of the worst books regarding this interesting period in the computer industry. NOT RECOMMENDED. FIND ANOTHER BOOK IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET AND THE "BROWSER WARS'.

Make sense of Microsoft's Internet offerings.......1999-11-03

Microsoft has released such a confusing stream of products into the Internet arena, it's hard to keep up with it all. This book provides excellent perspective and historical context for those decisions. I also really enjoyed the compelling writing style of this book, especially on the fascinating charaterizations of the colorful players at Microsoft. A good read for anyone interested in the history of the Internet!

Overall good, changed my perception of Microsoft.......1999-09-19

Overall I liked the book because it shows a side of Microsoft, but advocates them in the side of the antitrust trial, and they don't explain how a free web browser earns money.

Inside the Greatest Company of the New Economy.......1999-09-03

There's been a lot of blather from competitors about Microsoft's so-called predatory ways -- some of it, I understand, directed at this book. But the real reason Microsoft is so feared and often loathed is that they compete so well. How many companies of Microsoft's size in any industry would be fleet-footed enough to completely reinvent their overall strategy to address a sea change in their market? This book tells you how this remarkable company did it. Get to know the real players who helped turn this battleship around -- and kept Bill Gates very very wealthy.

Average customer rating:

Disappointing
Nice Little Novel
The Search for the historical Paul of the New Testament
An excellent life- the place to start.

Paul: His Story
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0199283842

Book Description

For someone who has exercised such a profound influence on Christian theology, Paul remains a shadowy figure behind the barrier of his complicated and difficult biblical letters. Debates about his meaning have deflected attention from his personality, yet his personality is an important key to understanding his theological ideas. This book redresses the balance. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's disciplined imagination, nourished by a lifetime of research, shapes numerous textual, historical, and archaeological details into a colourful and enjoyable story of which Paul is the flawed but undefeated hero. This chronological narrative offers new insights into Paul's intellectual, emotional, and religious development and puts his travels, mission, and theological ideas into a plausible biographical context. As he changes from an assimilated Jewish teenager in Tarsus to a competitive Pharisee in Jerusalem and then to a driven missionary of Christ, the sometimes contradictory components of Paul's complex personality emerge from the way he interacts with people and problems. His theology was forged in dialogue and becomes more intelligible as our appreciation of his person deepens. In Jerome Murphy-O'Connor's engaging biography, the Apostle comes to life as a complex, intensely human individual.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2005-09-16

To begin with, the author does not, as someone else has indicated, use Luke's book of Acts as the blueprint or roadmap in his account of Paul's life (he makes this clear in his preface). On the contrary, he takes his primary information only from Paul's letters, appeals to Luke when it suits his point, and blatantly states Luke is in error when Acts disagrees with his view.

For example, the author appeals to the accuracy of Acts in its account of Gamaliel's status as a teacher (5.34), that he was Paul's teacher (22.3), his warning not to persecute the followers of Jesus (Acts 5.38-39), of Paul's conversion experience (9.3-22), of his vocation (18.3), and of Barnabas' recruitment of Paul to preach in Antioch (11.22-26). So far, so good. Yet he goes on to deny Luke's account of Paul's ever having any official sanction from Jewish authorities to persecute the church (9.1-3); denies the account of 9.19-25, that Paul was ever in any real danger in Damascus, "One is forced to wonder if Paul did not exaggerate the danger"; and considers the account of the first missionary journey (Chaps. 13-14) to totally inaccurate and has "so many improbabilities that it becomes impossible to accord it any real confidence. One can only speculate as to what Luke's sources might have been, and then on the use he made of them."

A further problem is that of proof texting, e.g., based solely on Acts 21.21 the author has Paul opposing the retention of any Jewish practise by Jewish Christians. But that is not what that verse says. Verse 21 is part of James' discussion with Paul upon Paul's return to Jerusalem and after the Judaisers and others have been roaming throughout the new churches attacking him, the gospel he preaches, and trying to stir up animosity and opposition toward him from any quarter possible. In light of these facts and Paul's own teaching in Romans 14-15 it is pure eisegesis to interpret Acts 21.21 as proving Paul forbade any voluntary retention of old practises. This is further proved by Paul's own conduct as described in verses 22-26.

It is truly unfortunate that Father O'Connor has decided to cut and paste Scripture to his liking in order to further his own theories and hypotheses, for he is a gifted writer and obviously a very learned man. But one cannot have it both ways. Either Luke's account is on the whole reliable and can be appealed to or is inaccurate and should be ignored.

Many in modern scholarship, both critical and conservative, consider Luke's account in both his volumes to be an accurate reporting of the facts, and his writing to be the closest to a truly historical account (from a modern perspective) of all the books in the Bible. It has achieved this recognition because over time it has been subjected to rigourous analysis and investigation which has resulted in many parts of his accounts being validated through extra-biblical sources, e.g., archaeology.

While Father O'Connor's book offers some insight into Paul's life, because of the problems exampled above it is on the whole a disappointment and is not a book I would recommend.

Nice Little Novel.......2005-07-19

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor offers here a nice little novel. Using Luke's Acts of the Apostles as his main road map, M-O sprinkles parts of St. Paul's New Testamental auto-biography through his story. (M-O begins by saying this book is offered in the wake of his more scholarly "Paul: A Critical Life". Perhaps this novel is a companion text for his earlier book.)

"Paul: His Story's" novelistic writing style makes its 239 (hardback) pages a quick read. M-O's scholarship, as usual, is noteworthy. Using an extensive endnotes section he, curiously, does not apply reference numbers through the text.

M-O's reconstruction of St. Paul's life is fascinating and illuminating. Certainly, much of the book's conjecture will invent discussion and inspire re-thinking of Pauline chronologies.

Although the book is well-founded in Scripture, there is little comment from beyond the New Testament sources for Paul. Patristic sources are practically all ignored. Also, M-O offers no comment on St. Paul's nuclear family (his wife and children) and only marginal hypothesis for his family of origin (page 2).

Knowing that history is often a best-guess enterprise, M-O tells a good story filling many gaps in Paul's life. M-O is original thinking about how, and which ways, Paul traveled. The book also proffers interesting analysis for biblical-geographical distances.

This book is recommendable to all who are interested in St. Paul and the world of Late Antiquity.

The Search for the historical Paul of the New Testament.......2004-10-08

Father Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, a respected Roman Catholic priest and New Testament scholar, has written his second work upon Paul in a decade. Utilizing his years living in Jerusalem & his personal knowledge of bibical Israel and the Mediterranean world that Paul inhabited, he has written a brief but engaging reconstruction of Paul's life and theology.

Father Jerome takes issue with traditional Pauline scholarship as he re-interprets Paul's letters and Luke's Acts of the Apostles. He advocates for a more worldly Paul and fills in the considerable gaps of his personal life with bold deductions (Paul's parents were slaves, Paul was married, his children later died in an accident, etc). His views on Paul's theology are more mainstream but fused with his knowledge of that era.

This book is geared toward the general reader and could be read in tandem with the recent publication of Bruce Chilton's "Rabbi Paul" which represents a more traditional outlook of Paul. For those readers wanting to dig deeper into Paul's life and theology, the earlier and more detailed works of Gunther Bornkamm and E.P. Saunders are still available.

An excellent life- the place to start........2004-07-01

Paul will always remain an enigma. He was a complex, insecure man whose contradictions drove him into tortured eloquence. In many accounts of Paul's theology, however, one misses this. He is treated as if he had a coherent and worked out theology which laid down rules for all times. The greatest achievement of this biography is to show just how human Paul was and why one certainly should not give 'gospel truth' status to his letters. They were written in such a variety of circumstances and in response to so many different challenges (most of which remain unrecorded) that they can really be treated as only relevant to the immediate circumstances in which they were written. O' Connor knows his subject and , as is not always the case with writers on Paul, the world in which he lived backwards and so his portrait is compelling. In making Paul so human,Murphy O'Connor actually makes his achievement seem more rather than less remarkable. In short this book is a healthy antidote to the forbidding theological superstar image (created originally by the church fathers in the fourth century) that Paul is often given and much more credible as a result.

Tal: His Marvelous Adventures With Noom-Zor-Noom

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A Dumbed Down Arabian Nights
Wonderful book for boys as well as girls
Beloved Book
A great fantasy for any age.
Tal was my favorite book

Tal: His Marvelous Adventures With Noom-Zor-Noom
Paul F. Cooper
Manufacturer: Purple House Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1930900082

Book Description

The story of Tal, a little orphan, and the adventures that befell him on the amazing journey to the land of Troom. His companions were the wise old man, Noom-Zor-Noom, and Millitinkle, the talking donkey, whose caustic comments enlivened the journey.

In the evening, after the exciting experiences of each day were over, Noom-Zor-Noom told Tal and Millitinkle wondrous tales of adventure on sea and land, of high romance, of hairbreadth escape, of miracles and magic. These tales recall the glamour and atmosphere of the Arabian Nights.

Tal is a very real boy, ragged and mischievous. All young people will envy him his marvelous adventures, which are told in a way that make it seem probable that they might happen to any girl or boy.

There is beauty and suspense in this story, which builds up to a thrilling climax when the three travellers reach the court of King Tazzarin of Troom, and Tal's real identity is revealed.

Customer Reviews:

A Dumbed Down Arabian Nights.......2007-01-30

Purple House Press is a reprint publisher of classic children's books who first caught my attention by reprinting no less than FIVE of my favorite books from my childhood, all long out of print until they came along. After grabbing them (for MY children... seriously... why do you doubt me?) I began to try out other books from their catalog. This book, which I'd never heard of before, was my first Purple House Press disappointment.

As my review title indicates, this book uses the familiar Arabian Nights or 1001 Nights structure: a frame story justifies the telling of a number of otherwise unrelated and unconnected stories. However, while the Arabian Nights contain stories of widely varying origin, widely varying length, widely varying styles, widely varying quality, and widely varying (though unknown) authorship, all the stories in "Tal" are the work of one man and are mostly of about the same length, which results in a certain overall "sameness" that grows irritating. In addition the magic in Mr. Cooper's stories is of the "Anything Can Happen For Any Reason Or No Reason And Usually Does" variety. Plus it doesn't help that Mr. Cooper's stories for the most part not only lack anything resembling a "moral", which is quite forgivable, but also for the most part lack anything resembling a "point", which really is not. That I was able to guess correctly the "surprise ending" immediately I heard the premise without even trying was another negative. In short my reaction at the end of each chapter was something on the order of, "That's it?" I kept waiting to be enchanted, but I never was. Maybe small children will be able to get more out of it; I shall try it on my own at some point; but I'm not a great believer in the idea that something that bores an adult will fascinate a small child. In my experience what fascinates my children also fascinates me, at least the first dozen or so times!

Ruth Reeves' striking illustrations cannot save it, and frankly IMHO the best part of the book is Henry Cooper's new introduction, which among other things recounts the from today's point of view utterly silly attack on fairy tales by child psychologists after WWII, which lasted into the '70s. If you disagree with my opinion and own an older edition, this informative new introduction is reason enough to purchase the Purple House reprint of Tal: His Marvelous Adventures With Noom-Zor-Noom.

Wonderful book for boys as well as girls.......2006-05-13

I grew up on this book, which is filled with the most wonderful and imaginative stories. Twelve years later, I still enjoy it. The stories in this book are like none you've ever read, and it has a tale of every kind. I'm so glad to see it back in print; as soon as my niece can read she's going to be getting a copy.

Beloved Book.......2005-03-16

When I was in 3rd grade our beloved teacher, Mrs. Oldack, had to retire due to illness. But she came to school once a week just to read this book to us. We loved it. It was out of print then and her copy was falling apart, but she wouldn't have it rebound because we loved to pass the wonderful pictures around. I have a copy of the book, inscribed by the author, and it's one of my most cherished possessions. There is so much fantasy and adventure in the story that I think even children who love computer games would enjoy it. I'm so glad it's available.

A great fantasy for any age........2003-05-22

My mother introduced this book to me when I was in third grade, only about 7 years ago, she would read a chapter to me and my sister every night, one night she let me read a chapter by myself while she went to sleep. 3 o'clock in the morning, I finished the book. I hadn't been able to put it down. This book is a wonderful whirlwind of fantasy and magic that even me and my sister, 74 years after it was originally published, absolutly adore. This book is a treasure and I'm glad it is still avalable somewhere for people to find.

Tal was my favorite book.......2002-09-16

I took this out of the library in the first grade and my mom read it to me at least three times. It was my first "chapter book". I still remember this book 25 years later and I searched for this book for years in used bookstores (it was out of print). Amazon finally has it and I am finally going to order my copy today. It's a big time commitment for whoever will help with the reading but I remember each chapter worked like it's own bedtime story.

The Devil's Son-In-Law: The Story Of Peetie Wheatstraw & His Songs

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High Sheriff from Hell is Back, and It's a Good Thing
Devoted to a great African-American blues singer

The Devil's Son-In-Law: The Story Of Peetie Wheatstraw & His Songs
Paul Garon
Manufacturer: Charles H Kerr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0882862669

Book Description

Blue-singer, songwriter, piano and guitar player, William Bunch (1902-1941) was well-known as Peetie Wheatstraw, the Devil's Son-in-Law and the High Sheriff from Hell. Long recognized by connoisseurs as one of the most influential blues people of all time, his life and work are little known to the broad public. Blues scholar Paul Garon's important and abundantly illustrated study - drawing on his own extensive interviews with Wheatstraw's relatives, and fellow musicians - brings the exciting Whatstraw saga to life at last. With insight and imagination, Garon explores Peetie Wheatstraw's crucial role not only in blues history, but also in African American urban mythology, and - via a penetrating analysis of song lyrics - his appreciable contributions to blues poetry and to vernacular surrealism. Originally published in the UK in 1971, this substantially revised and expanded edition includes a mass of new information and images, as well as an updated bibliography, discography and index. Also included is a 24-track CD portraying Peetie at his best, with a bonus track by Harmon Ray, the previously unissued Xmas Blues!

Customer Reviews:

High Sheriff from Hell is Back, and It's a Good Thing.......2004-12-27

After he was killed in a railroad crossing accident in 1941, Peetie Wheatstraw warranted the front page and lead story in Down Beat. It may have helped that his last recorded songs were with dark irony entitled Hearseman Blues and Bring Me Flowers While I'm Living. But the fact remains that Wheatstraw was a highly original and influential blues singer, one of the central figures of the 1930s. Certain of his lyrics and stylistic innovations were widely imitated, and it was a measure of his popularity that he recorded throughout the Great Depression. A powerful indicator of Wheatstraw's deep connection to black culture is that his records billed him as "The Devil's Son-in-Law" and he called himself the "High Sheriff from Hell."
When Paul Garon's The Devil's Son-in-Law was first published in 1971, it was one of the first biographies of a blues singer from the 1930s; there are still only a handful. Like Chris Strachwitz' Bessie, also once again available in a revised edition, republication of Garon's book is well-deserved, overdue, and has some fresh surprises.
William Bunch, born in 1904 in Tennessee, began recording under the name Peetie Wheatstraw in 1930. Relatively little is known about his early life, though the clues Garon discovers are tantalizing and point to a rupture with a righteous family.
Wheatstraw's highly original song style has a number of intriguing elements that are not easy to disentangle. His vocals are by turns shouted, growled, delivered with raucous energy, and sometimes move toward a twisted wistfulness. Though his lyrics sometimes look flat on the printed page, Wheatstraw's delivery endows them with remarkable power. His Crazy With the Blues, for example, begins with the humdrum line, "I woke up this morning, just crazy with the blues." But in the course of four stanzas, with exquisite timing and intentional vocal sloth, Wheatstraw delivers on a promise of self-denigration that conceals profound insight into what it means to be - well, thoroughly sane.
Or again, if you thought, like I did, that John Henry Barbee (a/k/a William George Tucker) must have written Six Weeks Old Blues, a Vocalion issue from 1938, you should know that Wheatstraw recorded the first version seven years earlier. His original has the same taut quality (and virtually identical lyrics) as Barbee's masterpiece. Six Weeks Old must be one of the rare blues to offer a neonatal perspective on maternal filicide, and is of a piece with Wheatstraw's tendency to fuse wry humor with severe emotional distress.
Finally, one of the most fascinating aspect of this new edition is the attention Garon pays to William Bunch's alter ego, together with his sobriquets, the "Devil's Son-in-Law" and the "High Sheriff from Hell." But over the years it has become apparent that Bunch borrowed these names from black folk culture. This, rather than adulation, may explains why another singer, Harmon Ray, was "Peetie Wheatstraw's Buddy" and Jimmie Gordon was "Peetie Wheatstraw's Brother." Ralph Ellison wrote about a character named "Peter Wheatstraw" in his novel Invisible Man, and Rudy Rae Moore starred in his comic film Petey Wheatstraw in 1977. All these incarnations strongly suggest that this tradition endowed Wheatstraw with a distinctive allure. "These designations," writes Garon, "gave Peetie a sense of power, opposition, and resistance and it gave his listeners a figure of great majesty with whom they could identify."
Sixty-odd years on, those qualities still come through with surprising force. Although many readers will be familiar with at least some of Wheatstraw's recordings, it is fortunate that this new edition of the book includes a superb CD with 24 of Wheatstraw's best titles.
John G. Simmons

Devoted to a great African-American blues singer.......2004-01-17

The Devil's Son-In-Law: The Story Of Peetie Wheatstraw & His Songs is an amazing full-length study devoted to a great African-American blues singer. Facts, lyrics, meticulous deconstruction of details, and an expertly researched background make "The Devil's Son-In-Law" a must-read for fans of Peetie Wheatstraw's contributions to music. An accompanying CD allows blues fans to sample some of the best of Wheatstraw's rhythms. Also available in a hardcover edition, The Devil's Son-In-Law is a welcome addition to personal and academic American Music History collections.

Iktomi Loses His Eyes: A Plains Indian Story

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Iktomi the trickster, again on a hilarious misadventure.

Iktomi Loses His Eyes: A Plains Indian Story
Paul Goble
Manufacturer: Orchard Books (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0531302008

Customer Reviews:

Iktomi the trickster, again on a hilarious misadventure........1999-08-25

The trickster of the Lakota, IKTOMI is once again teaching young readers (and Old) a moral story without the sermon. The seventh book of the Iktomi series, this one is a masterpiece of visual illustrations that we have come to expect of Paul Goble's work. Iktomi runs afoul of a scoundrel that swindles Iktomi in a land deal swap for a worthless game/trick. Iktomi quickly breaks the rules of the game, of course, and loses his eyes. The trickster then manages to persuade the mouse and buffalo to donate an eye apiece to Iktomi. Therein ensues some hilarious escapades that will delight the young reader and bring a smile to the adult. My two clildren were laughing so hard at Iktomi's self-inflicted predicaments. The beautiful artwork, and clever tale makes a superb story that will be long remembered; as all Iktomi tales are meant to be... Highly recommended for ages 3 - 10, and of course adults of any age. A must have for the library storyteller.

Heninger Flats: The story of William K. Heninger and the area that bears his name

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Heninger Flats: The story of William K. Heninger and the area that bears his name
Paul H Rippens
Manufacturer: Copy-Rite Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 0966365410

Paul the Letter-Writer: His World, His Options, His Skills (Good News Studies)

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A fine introduction to ancient letter writing

Paul the Letter-Writer: His World, His Options, His Skills (Good News Studies)
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Manufacturer: Michael Glazier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0814658458

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A fine introduction to ancient letter writing.......2006-09-08

Murphy-O'Connor has rendered a significant service to the study of New Testament, and especially Pauline, epistles. With chapters on the process of and materials for writing, and on the main consistent parts of ancient letters, we are given a survey from non-biblical to biblical epistles that is an important contribution to the whole field. Especially interesting is the author's account of the use of secretaries and the preservation of letters in the first century.

The true story of Paul Revere,: His midnight ride, his arrest and court-martial, his useful public services,

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The true story of Paul Revere,: His midnight ride, his arrest and court-martial, his useful public services,
Charles Ferris Gettemy
Manufacturer: Little, Brown, and Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Joke's on Ewe: Jokes, Riddles and Funny Stories Little David Tells His Sheep

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The Joke's on Ewe: Jokes, Riddles and Funny Stories Little David Tells His Sheep
Paul M. Miller
Manufacturer: Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Jokes & Riddles | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Religion | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1597891258
Release Date: 2006-05-15

Book Description

In the tradition of Barbour's best-selling Noah's Favorite Animal Jokes and The World's Greatest Collection of Church Jokes, here's a new Bible-themed collection of good, clean humor. The Joke's on Ewe-Jokes, Riddles, and Funny Stories Little David Tells His Sheep lets readers of any age eavesdrop on the Bible's young shepherd, passing time in the fields with a little Judean comedy. With nearly 500 jokes on more than 250 pages, The Joke's on Ewe provides hours of fun and laughter. It's perfect for personal reading, sermon preparation, and church activities. And best of all, it's only $2.97!

The Luparelli tapes: The true story of the Mafia hitman who contracted to kill both Joey Gallo and his own wife

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The Luparelli tapes: The true story of the Mafia hitman who contracted to kill both Joey Gallo and his own wife
Paul Meskil
Manufacturer: Playboy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto

ASIN: 0872234509

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