Tom what were you thinking?
342278
... guess you had time to spare and low on cash...  Perfect as a Mystery Science Theater piece. Ha!
259571
This is by no means the best work that Tom Baker is capable of. He has an entertaining prose style and is very eccentric in both his language and his story ideas. The problem here is with the story. It is basically a very silly chain of events taking place within a few minutes. In itself that is not a bad idea, but it does have the feel of something that was knocked out in an afternoon. This was written by Tom following his success with his autobiography (perhaps a greater work of fiction!) with Faber & Faber. You'll like it if you like Tom himself, Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, or Edward Lear. Even better is the talking book, read by Tom himself - who can resist that velvety voice?!
3248075
This guy is, for me, a breath of fresh air.  Wish I had the courage and ability to do what he does.  Everyone....  Just take a moment in time and think about what he is saying.  Perhaps you will come away with a different way of thinking.  Even if you don't think differntly- Isn't it our God's gift that you can think differntly, yet still hear differnt thoughts without being afraid of being imprissioned?  That's what America is all about!  We can differ about what we believe is true, yet allow others to believe what they believe is true.  The whole point is:  after death we are obliged to discover what is or is not true.  Meantime, our friends and  others should be allowed to believe as they do.  The ends will tell it all!- In the meantime; laugh at those things which make us laugh, scowl at those thing which make us scowl.  However, in the meantime,  try and be as good a human being as is possible for you to be.... .
4929341
I was curious as I read the introduction, it warned me. I didn't take it seriously enough but know I know. The old saying is true about curiosity killed the cat. Straight sick and nasty!!!!!!
3302638
Attention!  Sheldon's views of Jefferson's thought to not reflect on Jefferson's!  I could not believe what I was reading when I opened up this book.  I hought that Sheldon had at least a relatively firm grasp on  Jefferson's thought after reading his book "The Political Philosophy  of Thomas Jefferson," I was sorely disappointed.  It appears that  Sheldon may understand what he thought, but is not able to translate it to  the events of today.  It is a shame that Sheldon failed in his effort,  because such a work as this, properly done, would be wonderful to see.  If  you truly interested in what Jefferson would think about current events  today, let me sum it up for you.  He would be outraged and saddened to see  what happened to the once great nation that he helped to found.  He would  be enraged at the tyrannical activities of our government.  As for his  political leanings, he would most certainly be a radical libertarian.
2973002
It's. Really in poor taste. This guy is telling his own view of the theatrics that occurred. What did one ti say to another ti. Open your mind and stop trying to figure it out. It s all your head. I figured the same thing happened to me, and eventually I figured it out. Now things couldn't be better. Its an illusion ! What you see what you hear is all fiction. Don't buy this book! But the future of the mind it will tell everything you need to know about being a "victim"so to speak. I'm not lying about that. Ti 48
1558119
The book came highly recommended by a couple friends, and since I had to wait for my wife to finish George RR Martin's Dance with Dragons, I thought I would give it a shot.  I made it to page 38.  In an early scene, Tom and his family are walking through the woods when their young daughter who is walking a pig, gets clubbed on the head and knocked out by an "outlaw". The outlaw proceeds to spirit away the pig. Tom, prompted by his wife, takes off to retrieve the pig.  Tom finally catches up with guy and with the help of his son, beats him senseless and retrieves the pig.  At this point, with pig in hand, you'd expect Tom to be thinking about one thing only - his gravely injured daughter.  Instead, Tom refects about his sons ability to outrun him, "How long ago was it, Tom thought, when I could run like the wind and hardly feel my heart race?  Since I was that age...twenty years.  Twenty years.  It seemed like yesterday"

Hmmm. It seemed like 10 minutes ago that your daughter was clubbed on the head and lay bleeding on the side of the road.

Two other gems in the first 38 pages:

- At one point Tom refers to his wife as his "soul mate".  Shouldn't that be, "ye olde soule mate"?

and this,

- We learn Ellen spent time in a convent. "Life in the convent was not so bad, in the end.  It was a single sex community with its own peculiar rules and rituals" Sounds like a lesbian coven to me.

Seriously, the thing (rather the first 38 pages) reads like a cross between the Hardy Boys, a circa 1980 dictionary, and Let's Go travel book for England.

I hope Dance with Dragons is half as good as Feast of Crows...and I hope my wife finishes it soon.
927995
When I first saw this I thought, what a fantastic concept. Could hardly wait to start reading...until I got to the part of Al Sharpton playing his race card foolishness again and you lost me right there. Why on earth would you have messed up such a brilliant idea like that? You will lose more readers and buyers than you can possibly imagine because of that mistake. Such a shame.
421911
It's odd. Read review, expected Tom.
First track - hang in there - you can get past it. Not a great piece.
I give SJ and band credit as Tom Waits is not an easy act to follow, however, extra credit given for the passion to actually put a piece together to tribute Tom!

Tom is a very old soul, a lover, a fighter... So I can appreciate SJ's CD. Kudo's to her for not making a CD that will give her a one-hit-wonder!

First attempt, 2.5 - 3 stars.  Will she follow-up??
2403062
Oh, dear. I'm trying to understand why Tom Wolfe would pick this subject matter. Style over substance here. An interesting look at that, but he confused the two. You can be a writer without a white suit. You can't be a thinker without thinking.
4633037
You'll re-consider the way you think about new businesses or products
3014366
I tried making my own tinfoil hat using the instructions on the last page. Didn't work. Gubmint still read my thoughts. Currently being held in a Fluoride and HAARP-induced state of paralysis as the moon landing sound stage at Area 51. Gotta go, the shapeshifting lizard people are about to come back from their Bilderburg group meeting and take me outside for my daily chemtrail bath.
3443890
Tom Friendly has a guest, an observer, in his head.  But unlike Tom, the observer sees Tom's life in reverse.  So, to the observer, Tom's  relationships start with screaming and end with flirting glances.  The  observer's life starts with Tom's death and ends with Tom's birth.
In  Tom's "forward" (to us) life, he was a "doctor" in a  Nazi concentration camp, so the observer sees Tom's dreams of the horrors  that he committed before they actually happen.  And the observer does not  realize that he is living Tom's life backward.  Kind of weird, but  interesting.  Not gory.
Unfortunately, Mr. Amos gets a bit lazy at parts.  The ending (beginning?), which I had eagerly been looking forward to (what  happens when the observer dies and Tom is born), is a bit weak.  Somewhere  between 16, 3, and birth, years are skipped that I believe would have added  greatly to the story.
As for the observer...who is he/she?  What is it?  Where did it come from?  The answers elude the reader.  Tsk, tsk.
In  short, this is a wonderful rainy Saturday afternoon read, but only if you  keep your expectations to any deep answers low.  The twist of observing  life backward makes it worth it; the author's laziness will leave you  disappointed.
2604068
What were they thinking? When a collection of entrepreneurial men decided it was time to make what was perhaps the most rash and courageous decision known to man. How does one decide to not only forsake their government but do it because they realize their own government has become so abusive that one can no longer morally support it in good conscience. Amazing applicable to 2013 as it was to 1776. The seminal American political philosophy.
1045584
You know, let's face it. We've all done it. We like writing reviews for Amazon but occasionally we stumble on a movie and we're just not able to put it together. Surely it must have meant something. Surely I missed it. Surely someone else can explain it to me. So we peek at the other reviews.

I like Matt Damon. He seems to harbor two polarized views. I'm in the camp that will see a movie because of him, not in spite of him. High marks for Good Will Hunting. Loved the scene on the chalkboard at Havaaaahd. He's the Jason Bourne I thought of when I read Ludlum as a kid, not the other guy.

So, if you have an idea of what Van Sant was trying to do, I need to know. Here's a thought. If he was in a time warp and it was the late 60's, probably there would be a school of thought that would say it touched the face of God or something like that. But it isn't. And Casey Afleck (is he one of the Baldwin Brothers?) and Matt Damon just wonder around. Oh. I'm sorry. I meant 'wander' around.

I will tell you one good thing. I got it from the library. 1 star. Larry Scantlebury
3576790
It wasn't the movie, I thought I ordered. It was the sound tract of the movie. I returned it.
Waiting for the movie to come out.
1920669
Stop what you are reading and start the Orgins...it could of happened this way!