The Little Book of Reform: the Gospel according to Preston Manning and the Reform Party;

The Little Black Leather Book of Rock’n’Roll;

The Little Lavender Book on the love that once dared not speak its name. (Arsenal Pulp Press)

These publications by Little Red Books are very entertaining collections of _ quotes and anecdotes about many of the popular and controversial topics of our time. . The topics of the three publica-

tions reviewed here were the Reform ¢

Party, rock music and alternative sexual lifestyles.

The Little Book of Reform de- scribes (in great detail) both Preston Manning and the Reform Party which he leads. Both the party and its policies are tellingly portrayed herein, whether the tone is comical or earnest.

The Little Black Leather Book of Rock’n’Roll contains some very funny and often obscene quotes from and about rock’n’roll musicians. With quips from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain to Ma- donna, many different opinions on the music industry are expressed.

The Little Lavender Book dis- cusses many of the alternative lifestyles that are looked down upon by our soci- ety. Topics range from homosexuality to feminism. Written by a bisexual female, The Little Lavender Book is very effective in justifying alternative lifestyles to a bigoted society.

-- Dana Dennis

The Evolution Man (Or, How I Ate My Father)

(Random House)

Written by Roy Lewis

The Evolution Man is a comical novel about a prehistoric family of sub-hu- mans who are trying to race all other Species along the evolutionary trail. Although the book is quite well-written, I failed to find it funny.

Jokes were cracked about the fu- ture of humanity, and there were even hints at the eventuality of Bhudda. I found this to be a very weak attempt at humour. The one character in the book who was truly amusing was Uncle

Vanya, who seemed to be constantly warning the family that the road they were headed down would eventually lead to doom and the end of the entire sub-human race.

This book reads like a first novel, and though I would be interested in reading more of Lewis’ books in the future, this one left me feeling a bit cheated. It’s not as funny as the back cover makes it sound. I give it a3 out of 5.

Tankers Full of Trouble (Grove Publishing) Written by Eric Nalder.

Tankers Full of Trouble is an in-depth look at the lives and experiences of people working in the oil transport busi- ness. That may sound bland, but it really isn’t. Eric Nalder is an amazing writer,

a pulitzer prize-winner. He won his award while working for the Seattle Times on a series of articles he wrote about the oil tanker business. It’s much more complex than you might think.

For this book, Nalder flew to Alaska,

where he boarded a tanker (the Arco

Anchorage) and worked on the ship

until it delivered it’s 39,591,552 gallon

load of crude oil to Cherry Point, Wash-

ington, and then sailed back again. He

paints a dynamic portrait of the lives of people on board the ships, and of the

industry itself. For anyone interested in

sailing, politics, big business or the en-

vironment, this is a must read.

-- Kathy Giesbrecht

Where the Eagle Soars (Raincoast Books) Photography by Russ Heinl

Russ Heinl has produced a coffee table book with a different perspective on things. This book of photographic land- scapes, with its preface by celebrated nature artist Robert Bateman, immedi- ately won my heart. All of the photos were taken from a bird’s perspective. Most of them where done while Mr. Heinl was hanging precariously from a helicopter over the coast of British Co- lumbia. All of the photos are from the areas around B.C.’s Islands. The pic- tures are incredible; as a hobby photog- rapher I am very impressed with the quick eye and finger Heinl must have to get the shots he does. Nature photog- raphy is difficult because of the time it takes to get the lighting and the sur- roundings just right. It’s not like studio photography, where you can remove an ugly shadow just by tilting your light. In the outdoors you have to wait for the conditions to be perfect, and act quickly once they are. Combine this with the added challenge ofa helicopter ride and you have a thoroughly impressive piece of technical work.

--Kathy Giesbrecht

Magic Eye III (Andrews & McMeel) By N. E. Thing Enterprises

Reading Magic Eye III was one of the most gratifying (as well as one of the most frustrating) experiences I have had in my short life.

It is the third book in a series by NE. Thing Enterprises that has sold over 1.75 million copies since its first release in October 1993, and is best described as a picture book witha twist. To appreciate the book, you must de- velop your own ‘“Magic Eye’. With this special ‘“‘Eye’’, you are able to view pictures drawn in two dimensions as though they were in three dimensions, and to find hidden objects in a page that seems full of nonsense. All this is done without the help of silly glasses.

Once you develop this special tal-

ent, you feel as if you have become a member of an elite club, as not everyone can develop an ‘‘Eye’’ for these compu- ter-generated drawings. It took me over two hours to develop my *“‘Magic Eye’’, and I was not able to do it until I was completely relaxed in bed at home. OncelI began to see, I was amazed by the artistry of the images that were placed almost invisibly in the thirty pages of the book.

It is incredible to realize how eas- ily the mind can be tricked by illusions. After reading the book, I tried using the ““Magic Eye’’ technique on other things. Disappointingly, I did not find any hoop- hopping dolphins, flower patterned but- terflies or teddy-bears with severed heads popping out of walls or from between the lines of chemistry texts. All I did manage to discover was a head- ache that was definitely not an illusion.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is into visual stimulation and/or altered senses of reality (i.e. most members of the human race). Myself, I plan to pick up the other two books in the series and continue to have extreme viewing pleasure with my ‘‘Magic Eye’’. -- Steve Ellis

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