Snowmobiling Equipment

Reviews

This is a well made helmet for chain saw work. The face shield screen is much better than the type with clear plastic, no scratching or fogging up. The ear muffs have three positions; up and out of the way on the helmet, down but away from the ear so you can hear between chainsawing, and close to the ear. The sound attenuation is really good so your ears don't get damaged. The headband has a padded sweat band and a 3M brand adjuster. The bucket itself is a standard bump cap type. It won't protect you if the tree falls on your head! The downside to this is that it is a B!+ch to assemble. I gave up after few minutes and had my wife assemble it.

This was a present for a person who had just purchased a new chain saw and I was worried about his safety when using it. He was pleased with receiving this helmet and I was very pleased with the price, quick shipment and features of the purchase.

This helmet's ear protection is excellent as well as the other safety features. A lot of chainsaw helmets do not have very good ear protection, but this one does. And the color outshines all the rest. They are dull orange.

I really like this helmet. It is light and it provides a good fit (at least for my head). The product was very easy to put together, I didn't even have to look at the instructions. The ear protection works well and the shield holds back any shavings and small branches. It is not heavy duty but it probably works well for most people.

I like the combination of the helmet; the face shield, helmet, and ear muffs all in one. With this combination I like the light weight feel of the helmet. What I am dissapointed in is the construction. The helmet seems to be cheaply made. The face shield and its mounts are cheaply constructed. I'm notsure how long the mounts for the ear muffs will last over time after multiple use. The face shield is cheap plastic to where I don't feel it will protect my face in any scenario other than some light weight chips flying at my face. I realize that the plastic is one reason the helmet is so light, but I'd rather have a heavier helmet with stronger components with a greater amount of protection.

Reviews

The picture speaks for it self and it's just like the picture, no surprises. It's great.

This is so cute. I bought it for my 2-year-old son. He loves balls & it was the perfect addition to his new "big boy" bed. We just did receive the matching comforter, too. They look great. The colors are very vibrant!

Reviews

My son love this bedding set, i think he dreams about sports so the conforter was a really great gift. Besides the colors are really strong, perfect for a kids room.

I had great experience with the quick shipping and etc but I was a little disappointed in the appearance. When you are looking at this live and in person, it looks a little cheap compared to the picture. I still like it enough to keep it but I wish it had cost a little less because of how it looks.

I purchased this for my 2 year old. It was thinner than I had thought, but it's very nice. I have already had to wash it at least twice, & it still looks great. No fading or freys in the fabric. I love the bright bold colors. This is a great comforter for boys who love sports.

If you are looking for a bedding set that is not too babyish, not too cartoonish and not thematic (with characters, I mean) this is THE ONE! The entire line of Olive Kids bedding is adorable! I have purchased several pieces of the set. The colors are very vibrant and the bedspread is lightweight enough that your little one doesn't feel weighted down under a mountain of cover. I would recommend purchasing the pieces separately rather than in the bedding set. I saved money going that route. The set includes the bedspread, sheet set and bed skirt for around $120 or $130. I purchased the bedspread, sheets and shams all separate for less than the set. The shams are not included in the set. I did not want the bedskirt so not having it was not an issue for me. I LOVE this brand of bedding for children and highly recommend it!

Reviews

I have a love of this Musical, since childhood, and it still does its magic for all young or old, very emotionally charged.

Though i really enjoy this product, i was a bit disappointed that the singing is not as good as I would like. The performance seems forced and none of the singing seem to be coming from professional singers. They might be good actors but their singing is terrible. The movie with Sophia Loren and Peter O'toole has much better singing than this performance.

I had this album on vinyl in 1978 and this CD is just as good. No one can do this role as well as Richard Kiley !

I found the album version of this in college and loved everything about it, from the edgy Aldonza to the humorous Sancho. Beware, the album had much of the play's dialog on it which the CD lacks. Even so I'm happy to have the music back in my collection. My family appropriately thinks I'm a little crazy as I sing along loudly when I listen to the music.

Man of La Mancha accomplishes the impossible! Turning Cervantes classic (at least part of it) into a musical that works has to be a near miracle. The writers tried for years to get producers interested in it, but to no avail, no body beleived a musical version of Don Quixote could possibly work...well the rest is history. MOLM is one of the greatest American musicals. The book perfectly incorporates Cervantes story into musical form. The score is breathtaking, with Dulcinea and, of course, The Impossible Dream becoming two of the most beautiful songs written for the theater. Every word and every note work and further the story. Richard Kiley and Joan Diener's performances are now legendary, others in revivals come close, but no one can beat their original performances. A glorious recording!!!!

Reviews

place this cd in your player, and let it play, you will play it over and over. I have the CD from 1993 still

Even if you have the DVD of The Crow, you'll want to get the soundtrack album. A great combination of grunge, industrial and alternative... it rocks. There are very few movie soundtracks that I'd recommend (Heavy Metal, The Matrix, and Mission Impossible 2 are others), but this is /definitely/ one of them. The only two real disappointments with the CD are the fact that the song "Can't Rain All the Time" is not the version played by Hangman's Joke in the movie, but instead is some very mellow thing that sounds like it came out of Thelma & Louise rather than this movie. The other disappointment is that the rocking guitar work done by 'Eric' in the movie (on the roof, before the office fight) isn't included. Other than that... a lot of great stuff to blow out your speakers with. Rage Against the Machine (their usual kick-butt anti-discrimination rants), Helmet (cranked up crunching), "Golgotha Tenement Blues" by Machines of Loving Grace (one of the most recognizable songs in the movie), the Christian rock of For Love Not Lisa ("Slip Slide Melting"), "Time Baby III" by Medicine (the live version in the movie is slightly better, but this is still decent), and the excellent zombie stomp energy of "After the Flesh" by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (my favorite song on the whole album... juiced up head banging). There's the highland semi-monotone "Snakedriver" by The Jesus And Mary Chain, the egotistical "Dead Souls" by NIN (entirely written, performed and produced by Trent Reznor), "Burn" by The Cure (which could easily be the title track from the movie - probably the loudest thing they've ever done), and a fairly decent one from Stone Temple Pilots ("Big Empty"). The other three songs... personally I don't like Violent Femmes, Rollins Band or Pantera - but to each their own; you might like them. Note that 99% of the songs on this album aren't available anywhere else - this is the only place you'll find them. Probably the only exception is Helmet... their song "Milquetoast" is also available on Betty. Everything else on this album is bloody unique. If you like music that cranks, stuff that isn't the usual radio pablum and pop, then you'll want to grab this CD. Play it loud.

Excellent mix of songs in tribute to Brandon Lee and to the original movie The Crow

Back in the early 90's, all these artists were basically on the cutting edge I guess of rock and alternative rock. Most of these tracks I believe were only on this CD for years till they found their way on to comp discs once these artists collected enough catalog to put one out. It can pummel you one minute, and soothe you the next, and it lifts your spirits for the most part, even makes you think about something other than your problems at the time, for me with great music, it provides an escape from the trials of life and for a young mind that is quite often a road well traveled. Rollins Band, NIN, Helmet, Pantera, Rage Against The Machine, The Cure, Thrill Kill Kult, Violent Femmes...to have all these bands with rare/new songs at the time on one CD, and have them be Good songs (!) is what makes this soundtrack to me about as important as maybe the Singles Soundtrack, or the Judgement Night Soundtrack from around these times. I have really never even seen the movie, but this collection always paints a nice picture of what it might be like. This CD brings back alot of memories of some type of nervous anxiety about the world and trying to grow up in a world that seemed so big and confusing to me. As if we all knew what it was all about one minute and had it by the (horns) and the next minute it seemed to spiral out of control, the type of day you had seemed to predict the type of music you would listen to that night.

Very often, music is placed in a movie at whim. It doesn't really tell the story, and listening to the soundtrack apart from the movie, one wouldn't even know that it is a motion picture soundtrack except for the title. This is not the case with The Crow soundtrack. The songs were placed in the movie to enhance the story at a level the is, in my oppinion, unsurpassed. Images of the movie will flash before your mind's eye as you listen to this soundtrack. My favorite track would have to be the first one, Burn by The Cure. It's the song that was playing when Brandon Lee was painting his face and really became The Crow. As passionate as the first track is, it is bookended by the melancholy It Won't Rain All The Time as the last track, which really serves to display the duel passions portrayed in the movie of both righteous revenge and hope for better things to come. In between, one hears a range of music from slower, alternative rock to fast hard metal. One that I particullarly like is Dark Souls by Nine Inch Nails. All that being said, I don't enjoy all tracks on this album equally, but overall, a wonderful buy. I would recommend this product to anyone who is a fan of The Crow, or a fan of alternative rock.

Reviews

ITS BEEN DONE BEFORE...THEY MIGHT HAVE JUST CAUGHT THE LAST WAVE OF POP PUNK....THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF IT..\ A GOOD DEBUT ALBUM.... HOW EVER "I'M JUST A KID" IS REALLY.. REALLY BAD.....!!! I COULDNT IMAGINE THEM SINGING THAT IN A FEW YEARS TIME..EVEN NOW??? BEST SONG- "PERFECT"

I love the band. I got their newest self-titled album the day it came out, and I've loved every song. But about this album, it's got a lot of well written songs, although it's not anything at all like Blink-182 or Green Day or any of the other bands that people keep comparing Simple Plan to. They are their own sound, with their own music. They appeal mostly to a young demographic right with this album and with Still Not Gettin' Any, but they have definitly matured with the newest one. Bottom line? If you are into the new pop-punk style, get this album!

This is the first band that I have felt a true connection to. I don't agree with the people saying that this band sucks. In a way I think that Simple Plan is trying to reach out and tell the world what it's like to lose your family or have a bad life and yet still pull through because great things will happen to you. This band is truly a good band and if your reading these reviews don't only believe that they are bad because some people said they didn't sound right or the music was awful. Try for yourself what they sound like. You never know what they might sound like to you. I know many people who say they are bad and yet I still love them. They have great songs like Perfect who show what a bad relationship that a boy had with his father and yet it still turned out OK in the end. Really give these guys a chance and tell for yourself what you think of them.

If the radio hits "I'm Just A Kid" and "Perfect" don't instantly thrash you in the face with the entire theme of this album when they first reach your ears, it seems nothing could. Both albums from Simple Plan, the Canadian quartet who have slammed their way into the hearts of thousands of young listeners, have a very adolescent feel, even more so than bands like Good Charlotte or Linkin Park. As countless commentators have pointed out, they're by no means emo or hardcore--but they must be accepted for what they are, not run over for what they aren't. From budding crushes gone wrong ("When I'm With You", "I'd Do Anything", "Addicted") to parental conflicts ("One Day" and "Perfect") and everything in between, Simple Plan definitely appeal to the youngest audience possible--or at least the youngest listeners can be when they start developing individual tastes in music. One look at the CD's cover seems to tell you what fantasies were swirling in these pop-punkers' minds, but one listen to the actual songs proves that not even early Blink 182's slapstick act can stand up to these guys. You simply can't tell them to act their ages. But does this blueprint work when put into action? Past a few mediocre songs and vocals that can get annoying, ultimately, it does. Surprisingly, the track that best shows what these rockers are capable of isn't one that voices any tween frustrations, but rather a catchy one praising the singer's one-of-a-kind girlfriend: "My Alien", in which frontman Pierre Bouvier claims that "she has two arms to hold me / And four legs two wrap around me" over a catchy, munching guitar beat. As a start their debut proves that they can not only produce memorable riffs and tunes that are perfect to sing along with, but its apt title proves that they can deliver energetic music without compromise, despite a theme that isn't nearly as perfected or as universally approved of as that of their peers.

College Kid (20 yrs old) Sorry, don't have password Will somebody tell me why this band is still in existence? I mean c'mon is this what people call music? This crap isn't even close, all it is is a bunch of whiny men (I use that term very losely) complaining about how much their lives sucked in high school. Let me tell you somethin' a**holes, there are a lot of kids today who've had to go through more pain than you could ever dream of going through. I had a very happy childhood, so this isn't about my personal life. I know kids that have dealt with horrible things, yet have come out stronger and better and still don't complain. It makes me sick to think that people actually feel sorry for these gutless losers. I wonder if Pierre's parents forgot to circumcise him, maybe that's why he sounds sexually frustrated. Seriously, how can anybody like these losers. Here's the lyrics to one of their songs: I'm just a kid my life is a nightmare nobody cares tonight (AW, poor baby, do you want your mommy now, jackass) And I don't give a s**t if these lyrics aren't correct to all you adolescent peabrains who reviewed before. I am fed up with babies like these imbeciles getting attention for their "traumatic childhoods" when there are kids constantly being abused, thrown around from home to home, and treated like animals every day. You think because a pretty girl didn't want to go out with you was so traumatic, you're entitled to everyone's sympathy. Here's my advice: F**K OFF! Btw, at least your parents halfway cared about you, you ungrateful, spineless bastards. P.S. By the way, for all you SP lovin' morons who think you're so cool because they are "heavy" or "rock hard": you're not. My Pantera CD's can and always will blast this band right off the planet. Think I'm playin', see for yourself, idiots. SP wouldn't know what heavy is to save their lives. It is time for good music like Pantera, Metallica, Stone Sour, Black Sabbath, Demon Hunter, Breaking Benjamin, Tool, AIC, etc. and individuals with talent to make headway again. HAve a nice life, babies.

Reviews

I remember when these helmets cost hundreds of dollars. Even though MIG welding was part of my job for years, I was too cheap to buy one. Now, the price is very reasonable and makes sense for even hobby welding (I use my MIG welder for metal trellises). Wasn't expecting too much, but the Neiko is really quite a revelation. It works great and it doesn't seem flimsy to me. You like that light weight when you wear the thing all day! I like the knob adjuster on the head strap, a high-end touch. The viewing area is quite large, much bigger than the old designs were, and the darkening seems to be instant and reliable. Sure is nice to see what you are doing! My welding is certainly more accurate and attractive now. Two things bother me, though. One is that you have to place the unit on your head just right, and keep it there, or it will pinch the top of your ears when you pivot it down. My ears to not stick out, aren't big or anything, yet it got me a few times if I didn't pay attention. It really hurt, and blood even. I am going to apply tape to the part of the hinge that gets me. The directions are terrible! My goodness, there are probably ten million Chinese with PHDs in English and this is what they come up with? They must have gotten some worker off the line who was taking Beginning English at night school. This is, after all, a safety device and you would want to make sure your settings were correct. Eye-burns are not a good thing and new welders might not really understand how to interpret this. No excuse for bad directions on any sort of tool, even if it is made in China (it is). Hmm, four or five stars? I choose....four. Highly recommended, but the directions and ear-pnching issues irritate me.

Just received my helmet today from Amazon. I could not be happier with it. Shipping was timely. I would like to see Amazon carry replacement lenses for this helmet. How about it Amazon???

I have been a welder for some time, but always using the pre-darkened lenses. I decided to get this auto darkening unit so I could use both hands. After a day of welding my eyes hurt. So I changed the degree of darkening, in hopes that it would fix the issue, but I really don't know. Just how do you test your auto darkening system??? So I use it but keep the welds to small amounts.

Bought this because I'm taking a community college course in basic welding (and I have had a welder in my garage for 5 years that I want to learn to use, but I digress)and the helmet in class made me feel as though the lights were out even when I was welding. With this helmet I was a little nervous at first, but last night when I tried it out for the first time, I was extremely delighted with the auto darkening performance (I could leave it down while cleaning the weld and see just fine) and found the helmet to be comfortable as well. The coverage on top isn't as much as I would like so I'm wearing my hat backwards with no problem and it actually does cover my neck better than the class issued helmet so I don't have to worry about a UV burn (I have a long neck). I would highly recommend this helmet for occasional/non-professional use as that is all that I'm skilled enough to recommend it for (might be great for pros, I will never know) and even though it isn't constructed to the highest quality (lens keeper pops out in one corner if there is any flexing of helmet, but not detrimental to performance and just something I keep in mind) I think it is well worth the price and a 4 star rating. I would purchase it again.

We bought this for our son who is taking welding classes and getting his certification. He really likes this, as it is lightweight and comfortable. The auto darkening feature works well, very pleased with the price of this one. :)

Reviews

See Dr. Horrible's Sing A Long Blog and You will see why I needed these!

Not what I would consider professional equipment, but it will do for the little oxy-acetylene work I do.

I ordered these for a "Mad Scientist"/Dr. Horrible costume for my son. The goggles are comfortable and work 'as is' or you can paint them for an aged patina. The strap makes them very easy to adjust for comfort wearing. They were much nicer than pictured. The price was right. You can't go wrong with these for a costume. Since I'm not using them for welding, I have no comment on their use as welding goggles.

I bought the Hobart 770129 Oxy/Acet goggles along with the DVD Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. The goggles were not purchased to be used for welding so I cannot speak for how they perform; however, I did paint them silver and use them as part of a Dr. Horrible costume and they were perfect!

This is a perfect addition to my "Mad Scientist" Halloween costume. They seem very high quality also and are very reasonably priced.

Reviews

this hardhat is comfortable and durable, but the only problem i have with it is that it's difficult to adjust the size. i build concrete skateboard parks, and being the only girl on the crew it's rad to have a pink hardhat. but if i want to wear my beanie under it (which i have wanted to do quite a few times in ohio late fall) i can't adjust the size. but it's still good for it's purpose.

I needed a hard hat, and wanted one that was "me". I LOVE the color, and it's exactly what I expected it to be. It arrived very quickly. I will definitely come back to Wren Storage for my safety needs.

Great product, fully functional and fun to wear. I recently purchased this product along with the pink GirlGear tool belt and pink safety glasses for my best friend who just completed a beautiful deck, singlehandedly at age 56! It was a great surprise and a fun way to celebrate her accomplishment.She looks terrific wearing all three. She also intends to wear the hard hat and glasses when she does "walk throughs" on construction sites as part of her job. A great product, well made, and fun.

There are stronger hardhats out there and I wouldn't want to be cutting trees or swinging steel with this one, but my daughter, a 30 year old architect, is just pleased as punch with it. Of course, this pink gear is made popular by designer Paige Hammis, the gorgeous blond on ABCs Extreme Makeover on Sunday evenings. I'm astounded by the range of items available now in pink. I also purchased the hot pink version for an employee of mine who was remodeling her kitchen and is a pink "freak." Her husband is a laborer who wears hardhats daily and was amazed that this hat had all of the proper ratings - it's not a toy!

We purchased this hat for our [..] daughter. Her favorite color is pink. We are getting ready to build a house and she told us she needed a pink hard hat to help with the construction. We started looking for a pretend pink hard hat but were unsuccessful. We found this real one on Amazon and it worked out great. We put it on the smallest setting and it was still slightly big but not as much as we had expected. The smile on her face when she seen it made it a worthwhile purchase. She still beams each time she wears it. The best part is that it adjusts to fit the whole family. The color is perfect and shipping was fast.

Reviews

"The Steel Helmet" has not been available for years on DVD, and finding this was a joy! For those of you who do not know who Sam Fuller is, he is the director who brought us "The Big Red One", one of the finest and most accurate World War 2 films ever made. Mr. Fuller was a dogface rifleman in the 1st Infantry Division, and wanted people to know how gritty and terrible war was. During the filming of the "Big Red One", he came up behind his young actors and fired a .45 pistol over their heads and when they hit the dirt, he snorted, "That's what combat's like!" Gene Evans' portrayal of the hard-bitten sergeant in Korea in this film is superb, and was followed up in 1951's "Fix Bayonets!", which I also highly recommend. Both served as models for the the comic "Sgt Rock" which I loved as a kid. Both these films rank with "Battleground!", but because they were considered B-movies, never got the recognition. If you want to see what life was like for the WW2 and Korean-era ground pounders this is the film for you.

I Shot Jesse James: "Whatya got to eat?" asks Bob Ford, who backshot his great friend Jesse James not too long ago. Says Joe, the bartender at the Silver King Saloon in Creede, Colorado, "Sweet corn, cornmeal mush, cornpone with cracklins and corn whiskey." "I'll have it," says Bob. Lukewarm corn, cooked ambitiously, is about all there is in Sam Fuller's debut as a director. Fuller had been writing scripts and story outlines in Hollywood for quite awhile. Finally he made a three-movie deal with a B movie producer: If I can direct the movies, and I won't charge you, I'll write the screenplays. These three movies are Criterion's Eclipse Series 5-The First Films of Samuel Fuller. The set includes I Shot Jesse James, The Baron of Arizona and The Steel Helmet. The first of the three, I Shot Jesse James, is a potentially intriguing story of a loser, but told with a script that has little tension, directed with little flair and acted, for the most part, with a dull, steady cadence. A good deal of the dialogue and many of the actors are just competent. Still, if you're a Fuller fan, I Killed Jesse James may be worth watching. Fuller, in my view, was not one of the great directors (or screenwriters). He wasn't one of the great craftsmen, either. What he had was a tough, knock-about personal story, a confident willingness to dance to his own music, a streak of subversiveness that could undermine the fatuousness of Hollywood and its establishment, and enough talent to take the commonplace material and actors he often was dealt and turn at least parts of his movies into something to admire. He was the kind of Hollywood non-Hollywood director that some cineastes and film critics adore. His movies are variable. In my opinion, most of them don't hold up very well unless the viewer has been first captured by Sam Fuller's iconic anti-establishment reputation. Pickup on South Street is probably his best work, with fine performances by an A-level cast and an unusual script considering it was originally intended as an anti-Commie screed. The Big Red One, highly praised by many, is an effective war movie dear to Fuller's heart, but it seems to go on and on and on. For the rest of his movies, those that I've seen, there are excellent bits and pieces mixed into a B-movie sensibility, awkward dialogue (almost any scenes involving a man and woman), and too much discursiveness. Fuller, in my opinion, needed a strong editor and a strong writer with whom to collaborate. I have a feeling that Fuller would find both prospects completely unsatisfactory. But back to I Shot Jesse James. When Bob Ford (John Ireland) puts a bullet in the back of his friend, Jesse James, Ford hopes to gain amnesty and a large reward. He'd been befriended by James and had been part of James' gang. Ford wants to marry the love of his life, the singer Cynthy Waters (Barbara Britton). He thinks he can leave the criminal life and settle down with Cynthy. Instead she rejects him. He's called a coward and a backshooter. Most people hold him in contempt. He gets only a small part of the reward. He still thinks that if only he can make money he can win Cynthy. And there's that straight talkin' guy who likes Cynthy, too, a man named John Kelley (Preston Foster, top billed) who keeps showing up. There's a showdown, and that's that. John Ireland does what he can. The Baron of Arizona: The first six minutes of The Baron of Arizona is a ponderous exposition about Arizona by a small group of dignified actors congratulating each other on Arizona's new statehood. Among them is one of the most stilted of voice-over narrators, Reed Hadley. It's a terrible start to what could have been an exceedingly clever movie. After Hadley gives us the secret of James Addison Reavis (Vincent Price), Sam Fuller moves us back from 1912 to 1872. Here, we meet Reavis at the start of his great scam to win the territory of Arizona for himself through forged Spanish land grant documents, self-created histories, great forgery skills, the placing of forged documents in a Spanish monastery, and the grooming of a little girl who he convinces her illiterate guardians is the heir to the phony Peralta land grant claim. In time, love will come about. Vincent Price and the Reavis scam is what the movie is all about. The scam's potential keeps us interested. Price makes Reavis a complicated and intriguing character who captures our interest and a good deal of our sympathy for his hard work. The movie, however, is flawed by its flashback structure, it's jumbled first 40 minutes, by some standard B movie acting and by Hadley's limitations as an actor and as a really irritating narrator. Fuller's tell-us-the-con-early structure bleeds the air out of the balloon. Fuller shot this Poverty Row effort in 15 days. When I've had the opportunity to watch The Steel Helmet, I'll add comments. Until then, these two of three films are examples of flawed B movies, but Sam Fuller fans and, perhaps, others might find them of interest.

This is an invaluable addition to the canon of American film, providing beautiful restorations of the early work of Sam Fuller, one of the great auteurs the 1950s. I would have paid this price just to get "The Steel Helmet," a breakthrough war film that skillfully shows the heroism and horror of combat, with a refreshing moral ambiguity and an almost painful realism. This is no flag-waving recruiting poster, but a no-nonsense depiction of everyday life on the battlefield. Fuller was way ahead of his time. Thank you, Criterion!

The Steel Helmet is probably one of the greatest war films ever put on screen. Fuller transposed many of his own experiences into this Korean War tale, giving the viewer a very raw, gritty look at combat- filmed during a time when you couldn't really show graphic violence on the screen. At the time he shot this movie, WWII had only been over for 5-6 years, so Fuller's feelings are still intense and fresh. I actually like this film better than "Fixed Bayonets" (which isn't bad) and "The Big Red One", which he'd been trying to make ever since he was demobilized from the Army. So, I'm guessing because the other two films in this DVD package are less interesting, the Eclipse Film series is betting that the fans of "The Steel Helmet" will break down and buy the whole thing, just for Fuller's war movie classic. Personally, I'm holding out as long as I can. Bottom line, "The Steel Helmet" is brilliant and powerful. I can't vouch for the other two. Sell "The Steel Helmet" individually, and I'd pay handsomely for it.

I SHOT JESSE JAMES ****1/2 1949. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller. Robert Ford shoots Jesse James in the back in order to get the reward and start a new life but his girl-friend doesn't want him anymore after Jesse's murder so Robert heads to Colorado to make a fortune. Superb psychological western with a first-class performance of John Ireland as Robert Ford. Note the scene of the theatre when Robert Ford is trying, as an actor playing his own character, to recreate Jesse James's murder before the audience: simply a little jewel. Highly recommended. THE BARON OF ARIZONA ***1/2 1950. Written and directed by Samuel Fuller. An office clerk imagines an unbelievable swindle, patiently forging proofs that his wife is the legal owner of Arizona. Vincent Price is imperial as a womanizer, a monk, a gypsy and finally as the Baron of Arizona. The most impressive scene of the film is the scene of the lynching which already foreshadows the future masterpieces of Samuel Fuller. Recommended. THE STEEL HELMET ***** 1951. Written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller. THE STEEL HELMET was the first American movie about the Korea war which started just six months before its theatrical release. Eight soldiers, trapped in a Buddhist temple, fight the communist North Korean army. Be prepared for eighty-five minutes of non-stop tension. Samuel Fuller reveals here his taste for bizarre scenes which leave you wondering why this director isn't more appreciated. Masterpiece. All in all, an indispensable box set for every movie lover. Don't be the last one to rediscover the most underrated American film director. Bring Sam Fuller to where he should already be. In your library.

Reviews

If six stars were available, I'd give it a six. From watching this I have three suggestions: Buy it Buy it Buy it This is one of the funniest videos you'll watch in your lifetime. There is an old theory in comedy that the closer the joke is to the truth, the funnier it is. Brad's 'realizations' are just that. He has taken some of the most obvious realizations that those of us without his wit haven't made and brought them to the stage. Moreover, it's a video you can watch with the family (you can't say that about too many videos). The only better decision you could make in your life than buying this video is going to see him in concert. Sincerely, Dr. Scott C

We really enjoyed this DVD. It was even funnier the 2nd time we viewed the DVD. Brings up some very humorous points of view. Great for the whole family for a good laugh.

I had heard Brad Stine's comedy before and even had one of his other CDs. Then, I had the pleasure of seeing him in concert last week. His performance was fabulous. He is not only hilarious; he is extremely bright and relevant. After his show, I bought some of his material. One of the things I got was, 'Put A Helmet On'. What a find! It is full of extremely funny routines on a wide range of topics including: Animal Rights Activists, Bug Rights Activists, Christmas vs. Halloween, and many more. Besides his humor, he makes very well thought out points about changes in our society over the last few decades in such areas as protecting us from ourselves (helmet laws), the self esteem movement in schools, the secularization of holidays (Christmas turning into winter holiday, etc.), and many more. Although I love all of his humor and his criticisms of some of the things mentioned in the previous paragraph, my favorite part is actually a segment on Christian apologetics that lasted 5:37. In that bit, he did a superb summary of proofs for the Christian faith, the reliability of Scripture, etc. It is a segment that everyone should hear. Christians will enjoy a brief summary of evidences and skeptics will have great food for thought. I highly recommend this CD.

Finally - a CLEAN comedian that is funny, and he is a Christian. Also, his comedy is intelligent. His material left me thinking long after watching it. I have watched this over and over with different friends and recommend it to everyone I know.

Most people like Brad Stein because he is a conservative Christian comic. I almost want to say that that's why I dislike him - but that would be me coming from my idealogical viewpoint, instead of just seeing how well he does what he does. So, I'll do the latter instead. I must admit, there are some pretty funny moments in this DVD - although most of them are funnier in retrospect than at the time ("What about the TUNA getting caught in the tuna nets?"). Mr. Stein did have the good grace to send up some of his own kin, at least ("DON'T even TOUCH the COVER -- of the HARRY POTTER BOOKS!!!"), and, when he wasn't shrieking into the microphone and leaping all about the stage like either a) a man inspired by God or b) a loony - and let's face it, is there much of a difference? - he managed to be very funny indeed. However, what with the jumping and shrieking taking up so much of his time, the man's talents simply didn't show up much. PS: In responce to the other reviewer in here - oh, yeah RIGHT, it sure takes a LOT of courage to be outspokenly conservative in our modern world. How did the comedian say it: "[American] news is balanced, it gives us George Bush's side and Dick Cheney's side...." I get really sick of people talking about how BRAVE Mr. Stein is for performing his material. I mean, for crying out loud, he's in a CHURCH! So brave to do Christian comedy in a church surrounded by hundreds of people! Maybe he should PUT A HELMET ON!

Reviews

Excellent hairspray. The firm hold keeps hair in place without even looking like it's there... Don't waste your money on cheap hairspray thay doesn't hold - this is by far the BEST - I love it...

I love this hair spray. Have been using it for about a year. If you do not like firm hair spray, this might not be for you. It is hard to find in my area, so I order it on line. My daughters and I are sold on this product. It holds your hair more natural than a lot of firm hair sprays and I have tried a lot of them. It also has a nice smell to it.

I get so many compliments on the smell of this stuff. It's very pleasant. Also, the hold is good.

Reviews

Returned the product. I was expecting something a little beefier for over $300, there appeared to be a lot of very easily breakable parts or at least portions of the product that over time would wear out VERY easily. I will wait until the entire housing is aluminum before I'd buy this one. The back cover is rubber and held on with two little rubber band looking attachments and the bottom of the product is all plastic. The only aluminum portion is the video camera tube itself. If it was all aluminum and sealed well with a hinge instead of those rubber band looking deals...I would have kept it, but this product is just begging to be broke or wear out over time. I realize for HD video...this is pretty cheap...but in this case you get what you pay for.

The overall picture quality on my first ContourHD 1080P was great. There was a little softening around the edges which is to be expected with such a wide angle lens cam in this price range. The original camera started randomly freezing up and would not shutdown unless the battery was removed or died. All of the video I was recording would get lost each time this happened. Twenty20 support responded to my issue promptly and replaced the camera under warranty. Now that I have the replacement, I have not had any issues so far with freeze ups. However, the image quality on this one is horrendous with only a limited area around the middle that is in focus at all. Trees or grass on the left or right third of the image are very blurry and take on a surreal cottony texure. Once again I have had a prompt response from support. I have a feeling this one is going back too (if I can convince them that the image is not acceptable). Here goes another $12 for UPS shipping to RMA it back. Maybe a third one will work right. They seem to have quality control issues with this camera. Don't take my word for it, read their user forums...

I have been shooting first person action videos ever since I got my hands on my first sony handycam video 8 back in the 90's. Fast forward 15 years and numerous video cameras later, I bought a compact Vholdr Contour 1080p after testing and comparing all wearable HD video cameras presently available at our local stores here in Southern Calironia. The need was brought from the fact that I had to get rid of my habit of using my bulky, yet trusty, Nikon D90 DSLR when both photos and HD videos when I go snowboardng, longboarding and mountain biking hehehe... :p Pros: Fluid HD Video on 720p at 60 frames per second is the main feature that I love about this product. 1080p at 30 frames per second is just an extra bonus / icing on the cake for me. Lens view angle is perfect. Wide and not annoyingly distorted compared to the GoPro. Easy, simple & practical controls on board the camera Size, weight, design & build are of the best materials and make given its price. Mounting accessories are solid and secure. Cons: Sound quality is mediocre. I dub in a soundtrack on all my action videos anyway. Exposure and resolution setting tweaks can only be adjusted through a computer device. It would be nice if it was an on board adjustable feature. Kit does not come with a wall charger (charge through computer USB) Kit does not come with a protective case/pouch for storage. Camera does not have a standard screw hole for tripod/monopod mounting (Universal mount sold separately) Easy Share software is ok, but to be honest, iMovie is a better and simpler way for Mac users to share/edit videos. Overall, I recommend this device to those who enjoy capturing first person perspective action oriented sport/activity videos. The Vholdr Contour 1080p is indeed the industry standard to date.

I bought this camera primarily to be used for motorsports (autocross, track days, time attack, etc.) but took it on my recent ski trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. I'll update the review once motorsport season comes around. With the GoPro HD and ContourHD 1080p coming out around he same time for the same price point I did a lot of research on both. I was already biased against the GoPro having owned the original Hero Cam Wide. Mounting -------- The quick sliding of the GoPro is pretty simple, but the parts that you have to screw and unscrew are difficult. The screws were hard to tighten and it's too easy to lose the screw and/or nut. I also managed to break one of the mounts by dropping it - a bit too easy to break in my opinion. Getting the correct angle by stringing the screw mounts together was a challenge as well. I like the ContourHD mount a lot more. It just slides on and off and locks into place. While skiing, I was able to slide it off and hand it to my friend so he could take video of me. Using the included goggle mount, the video was pretty steady as long as my ski goggles were on snug. Never worried about it sliding off. If I were to have gone with the GoPro, I would have to get a ski helmet. It would not be as easy to switch and I feel it looks and feels obtrusive if sticking out to the side, top, or front. The ContourHD, when goggle mounted, sits slimly along my head - not far out so that it feels like an antler. And since the goggle mount sits flush, I always know that what I am looking at (or at least slightly to the left or right) will be what is filmed. This would not be true of a camera that is chest-strap mounted or sticking farther out to the side. Pointing the camera up/down was difficult at first but became easy to work with. Viewing angle I found the GoPro to be too wide. I love having a wide angle lens for point of view sports video, but the GoPro Hero Cam Wide just seemed so wide that it would be distorted (to reiterate, I have not tried the GoPro HD). The ContourHD was wide enough to have a large field of vision, but not so wide that things looked distorted. I've also tried the Kodak Zi8 camera which I feel has a great viewing angle for youtube type videos but not great for POV sports videos. Video quality I was really impressed with the quality. Everything was really smooth with no artifacts. Any higher video quality and I don't think they could have kept this price point. It does have a rolling shutter, so I would occasionally get the jello effect if constantly over uneven snow. But I believe this is true of most cameras in this segment. The only cameras that won't do this, as far as I know, are some point and shoot cameras or camcorders which usually don't offer the same helmet cam functionality. The colors and lighting seemed okay. Hard to tell as I was skiing and everything is white, but nothing seemed "off". I went night skiing in Keystone Colorado and the video didn't turn out that great there. I doubt any camera would be different though given the poor lighting conditions. Audio quality Not great. All I heard on my skiing videos was wind noise. I don't see any other way around this though and I don't think the competition does either. I'm just going to add music. When I'm still and talking though, the audio comes out clear. Operation The thing I like the most is how simple it is to use. Hold down the power button to turn it on/off and slide the switch forward to record. The display on my GoPro wasn't useful and I was never really sure it was recording. When helmet-mounted, you can still feel the switch on the ContourHD is moved forward. Also, when it's on, the slider reveals a big red sticker that says "REC" in big letters. With the GoPro, you have to look at the tiny display - which can be really difficult to do when the camera is strapped to your head and you have all your gear on. And while the slider switch on the ContourHD can be difficult to turn on with heavy winter gloves on, it is near impossible to press the GoPro's tiny buttons. I also really liked the beeping system. 1 beep lets you know when the camera is turned on or recording. 2 beeps lets you know when the camera is off or stopped recording. This is really useful when helmet mounted since you can't see the camera and it's usually close to your ear. This beep system helped as well when my battery died or the camera automatically shut off due to inactivity. I forgot to turn it off once and I heard 2 beeps while on the chair lift. Even though I skipped this in the manual, I knew that it turned off by itself. The camera allows you to switch between 2 modes. I chose 1080p @ 30fps and 720p @ 60fps. It would be nice to switch between all modes without having to preset them in the computer, but realistically, I usually won't need more than 1 mode in a given day. The on off button is small, and since I'm constantly worried about running out of battery, I always turn off the camera when not recording. Maybe they could just make this one button (anytime it's on, it's recording and anytime it's off, it's not recording)? It also takes some time holding it down to turn on/off. 1 or 2 seconds less would be adequate. There is no display on the camera or a viewfinder. Again, displays aren't really as useful as tactile buttons when mounted to your head. Other POV cameras don't have a display either for simplicity. Camcorders, flip cameras, and the Kodak Zi8 have displays but they aren't meant for the same type of things the ContourHD is. The lasers to orient viewing angle are a great compromise. And I like that you can rotate the lens. I can see this being useful if you need to mount the camera sideways or upside down. Construction The ContourHD feels very sturdy (anodized aluminum). It's water-resistant(not waterproof) and still worked even when I fell in the snow. The GoPro does have the added benefit of the waterproof case - not only in terms of water damage but impact damage as well. I'd hate to drop my ContourHD on concrete or scratch the lens with a flying rock. If this is an issue for you, consider the new, somewhat pricey, waterproof case. For my uses though, this is not a deal breaker. The mounting mechanism seems sturdy as well and the plastic mounts feel high quality. Again, I was able to break a GoPro mount. The ContourHD isn't shaped like a traditional camera like the GoPro is and I feel this is more condusive to helmet mounting and POV sports videos. The record switch provides good resistance, but I accidentally opened the back cover of the camera when I switched it on. The camera was still safe though. The Hi/Lo switch, On/Off switch, battery door cover, and microSD slot are all behind the back cover. The back cover is easy to open and is tethered. The tab holding the battery in seems flimsy, but really isn't. The camera is light enough that it wasn't too noticeable when goggle-strap mounted. Battery The included battery lasts a fair amount of time, but depending on what you do, consider picking up a second battery. I didn't time the battery usage, but I left the house with a fully charged battery and was able to finish an almost full day of skiing without it loosing charge. Keep in mind that I would turn off the camera when not in use. Also consider the cold temperature in which I was using it (25 - 35 degrees). Personaly, I prefer proprietary batteries to AA's and such because they seem to last longer and are easily rechargeable in the camera. I had problems with the GoPro Hero Cam Wide's batteries. The camera seemed to turn off after a while if it didn't have the right battery. The GoPro HD has a proprietary battery now. The camera does a good job of turning itself off when it is not in use. I forgot to turn it off and after several minutes of not recording, it turned itself off and gave me 2 beeps to let me know it did so. The camera also gave me several beeps when it turned off due to the battery being drained. I was able to switch to my back up battery with little interuption to what I was doing. Memory I bought a 16GB microSD card so that I can take many hours of high quality video. I would have prefered regular SD since I already have several of those cards, but I'm sure this contributes to the ContourHD's small size. Computer interface I didn't use this too much. I like to transfer my video's on my own. On trips, I just back up the video's on my netbook which doesn't really have the processing power to edit such high quality videos. The interface seems nice though and I was able to switch settings easily with my netbook. I would have preferred to switch some of the settings on the camera without a computer, but I think this would overcomplicate it. Overall I'm really happy with my purchase. It made skiing with my buddies a bit more fun. I would ski with the goggle mount and we would stick together. If I saw a jump or terrain park coming up, I would watch my friends and get the action on video - just by looking at them! I've taken video of them before with my point-and-shoot camera but that's harder to do when not mounted. First person view without anyone else around is good for my own memories, but not really exciting enough to share. Small jumps don't really look like jumps. I don't do the terrain park but I'd imagine grinding rails or big jumps would look amazing in first person. The quality is great. All my friends were impressed. I really didn't worry about operating it or having enough memory or battery. I was worried about shaky video at first or dropping it in the snow, but after my 1st (of 4) days skiing with it, I stopped worrying. I had a fall on my second day and not only did the camera survive, but it made for a pretty funny POV video. I'm really looking forward to using this for motorsports. It should be easy to switch angles on my car (front view, wheel view, rear view, etc.) given the simplicity of the mounts. And I won't ever have to worry if it recorded like I did with my GoPro or other cameras I used with a traditional on/off button.

Well designed, well built product! I had a minor problem with the software which was expertly handled with a phone call. The customer service was the best I have every had for ANY electronic product. They know what they are doing!!! Surprise!!!

Reviews

I just came back from my ski trip with this camera and am pretty pleased with the quality of video this little camera produces. Quality is good, although it could be improved if they figure out a way to add image stabilization to it. The nature of a helmet camera would suggest you're going over terrain that requires use of both of your hands - although the picture quality is very acceptable, if you're skiing/biking over bumpy terrain, your picture will be bumpy. But what can you really expect for $250? I'm a little disappointed with the build quality. The velcro they used for the helmet mount is stronger than the adhesive and plastic that it is attached to. When I attached the velcro to the mount and took it off, the back side of the velcro came of with a couple plastic pieces from the mounting plate. Hence I can't use the velcro mount any more. I'm in the process of epoxying the mount back into place. The goggle strap is sufficient to use for skiing. The other problem was that as we were turning on and off the camera we kept popping open the back of the camera. it wasn't a huge problem, it was easy enough to pop back into place, but it was a little annoying. It's a design flaw that i'm sure they'll correct. I still like the camera a lot and can't wait to take it back up to the mountain. The microphone was sub par. But then again if you're skiing @ 30 miles per hour you are going to make a lot of wind noise. We had to remix the video with background music since the audio on the video was pretty useless. A note to new users of this camera - when mounting the camera either on the goggle strap or the helmet mount, make sure you angle the camera to film 10-15 degrees above your site line. You don't realize how often you look down as you're skiing until you have a camera. Our fist group of footage was a bunch of snow and the tips of my skiis. Caught so little of the terrain. Another note to people buying this camera is that the battery life is only 2 hours each and recharges via USB. If you were to record the entire 2 hours on the microSD card you would only use 4GB of memory. If you have two batteries the most you would record is 8GB of video. It's no use getting a 16GB memory card because most likely you'll dl the video when you recharge. Even 4 hours of video is a lot. On a 7 hour day of skiing we recorded 90 minutes of actual skiing. The rest of the time we were riding up lifts, waiting in lift lines, eating lunch, waiting for the slow skiers to catchup.

The camera is the best I have used so far. The picture quality is awesome! The only things that need some improving are minimal camera mounts and the video editing software is terrible. Luckily there are free editors out there that you can use to download and edit your videos. The battery life is very good...I have not run out as of yet doing full days of skiing and riding my moto. For the money...I don't think there is another product that comes close.

I had a problem with the first one, the company was very easy to work with in getting a replacement. The unit works great in good lighting. I tryed it out at the ski slops. The video is breathing taking. I don't think there is any product close to this for the money. Audio is ok but not great a high speeds (but what is ) If you want to get different action angles try using it with a quick-pod

I got this item as a christmas present for my brother so that he can create video recordings when he goes mountain biking and snowboarding. The camera is small and mounts well to goggles. The picture quality is good considering how small the camcorder is. There is a HD setting, but its just called an HD setting, not truly HD quality (there is a newer model for that). The only problem I had was that the item broke after first use. The power would not turn off and it would not switch to record mode. Amazon promptly sent a replacement and there has been no issues after a month (hopefully issue is not a common problem).

good product .. 1080P has better pic quality .. kinda hard to know if this thing is ON or OFF when you try to turn it ON while it is attached on your helmet ..

Reviews

"Helmet for my Pillow" is a book written by writer who was from my hometown of Rutherford, NJ. He had a personal relationship with his family physician William Carlos Williams the great poet. They spent much time together and you do not know how much of William's descriptive poetry style rubbed off on Leckie. I found his vocabulary to be extensive. You must keep in mind that he is describing a terrible yet historical time in U.S. history and he is attempting to give his fellow comrades in the marines their fair due. He never names a person by their real name and I think that is masterful because it shows how you do not want to get too personal with your fellow marines, because, they will be may gone at some point soon. He wrote the book after seeing 'South Pacific" when he walked out half way through the play and said to his wife Vera "I am going to write a book to tell the true story of what took place in the South Pacific". He wanted to honor his friends who gave up so much whether they lived or died. The book is hard reading but not as hard as he had it. He was a wild guy who tells the truth. He doesn't mix word or actions. Yeah, they drank a lot. From basic training to the awful islands where they would steal Saki when they could. After a while you begin to wonder if all the marines drank that much. Yet you must remember that his generation started the cocktail hour and they lived by "Its 5 O'clock, Dear Lets have a drink!". To sum it up they are making a huge HBO show 10 parts series about it, so whether you like it or not it is a must read to appreciate the show. I read it, and, I will have a much better understanding of what those men went through. I would recommend this book. I never met Mr. Leckie as far back as I can recall. My mother and uncles were his very close friends at St. Mary's high school, in Rutherford. He was the youngest of 8 kids and it is quite exceptional that the baby in the family turned out to be such a success. He wrote over 40 books in his lifetime and he is a man with a high school education. The Sisters of St. Dominic must have done a greast job teachingb him when he wasn't playing hookie.

I have spent years reading personal accounts of WWII in the Pacific; this book does not measure up. The author cannot settle on a writing style as he struggles between wanting to be a poet or historian. I bought the book for its historical significance, not as an art piece. I rarely found myself in sympathy with his character and frequently pictured him as a belligerent trouble maker (of which he was obviously proud). Perhaps 20% of the book provides genuine insight; the remainder is nothing more than filler. If you are looking for a story to skim read, with little substance, then buy this book. For me, the rating of 3 stars is a gift.

Take the outstanding details of life as a Marine in the Pacific from With The Old Breed and combine it with the prose of a poet, and you have the incredible story of Robert Leckie and the 1st Marine Division. In Leckie's first book, at the beginning of a career that will see him publish more than 30, he pulls the reader in to experience the war as if you're a fellow dogface in his platoon. Everyone is referred to throughout the book by their nicknames, he spares no details of gore in battle or celebration on leave, and his knack for putting the details of his environment into words allows the reader to truly get a mental picture of his experience. Best of all, "Lucky" has a hot temper and gets in his fair share of trouble, proving that while he's an outstanding contributor to the war effort, he's also his own man. His mouth gets him into hot water more than once, which reminds me of my own grandfather, also a Pacific veteran. This book is a wonderful addition to anyone's personal war library.

One of the best personal memoirs of war I have ever read. Leckie is brutally honest about anything and everything to do with his experiences in the 1st Marine Division during WWII. Incredibly impressed by his sensitive candor and philosophical reflections on the impact of war on human beings. Having been an officer myself, I was truly shocked to read his descriptions of Marine officers blatantly stealing from enlisted men. I guess in wartime, they were willing to let anyone become an officer. Leckie pulls no punches but shows remarkable understanding, forgiveness, and mercy towards all his comrades and even the enemy. This book is a classic and a must-read for anyone interested in what combat in the Pacific theater was really like and about young men's reaction to war. Rest in peace, Robert Leckie. For those who fell, there is no hell. I thank God knowing you have been reunited with your comrades. Thank you for writing this book. It was a privilege to have read it. A great gift to those who have never known the horrors and sacrifice of war.

Robert Leckie joined the Marines in January 1942 and as a reward he spent six months in hell on Guadalcanal. His portraits of his colleagues and others are remarkable, incisive and vivid. The conditions were dreadful, with little to eat and no communication with the outside world. When it was over, the Marines were heroes to all Americans and were more than a little stunned. After a few months of rest in Australia and New Zealand they hit the Japanese again at New Britain and finally at the insignificant island of Peleliu, which left few survivors. First read Gene Sledge's brilliant combat writing; then read Leckie. Then you can appreciate the sacrifices other Americans made in a war that left few survivors. Tom Hanks is reportedly filming a sequal to Band of Brothers in the Pacific campaign. Read this first to see what it was really like.

Reviews

During a Monday night game this season, ESPN did a story on Ernie Davis and I was fascinated. Ernie Davis name is not mentioned in the same circles as Walter Payton, Rudy or Pat Tillman but he deserves his place in history. The author K. Coralee Burch has given him his rightful place in history. Juxtaposing two historical African American figures and brilliant quotes from Booker T. Washington and John Brown "A Halo for a Helmet" (great title) is a keeper.

Just finished a Halo for a Helmet and it was great to say the least. The 35 year effort Coralee put in on the book certainly paid off. It's too bad that the producers of the movie "The Elmira Express" took so many liberties with the truth. It was an insult to this great man and his achievements on and off the field. Sometimes just the truth is more exciting and interesting than the made up drama that so many movies portray. I did not know Ernie personally, however, I do remember him in the halls of EFA and especially remember the pep rally in the cafeteria with the cheerleaders standing on the tables leading the rally. Those were heady times and some of the best of my life. I went to several of the football games and remember some of the fantastic runs that he made. Thanks to Coralee for giving us a great story and the "true" life story of a great man.

I've just finished reading A Halo for a Helmet and even though I knew the outcome, I cried. This is a testament to the wonderful story-telling ability of K. Coralee Burch. Once you start reading, it's hard to put the book down. She makes the characters come alive and paints a true picture of the times during which Ernie Davis lived and how he handled the prejudice he encountered. As someone who also grew up during that time period, it all rang true to me. It would have been an honor to have known him.

This is a story that has been waiting to be told for 40+ years. It is both historically accurate and emotionally authentic. It touches the soul of a young man who, with a strong body and a gentle heart, changed the world around him. I know, because I went to highschool (EFA) and college (Syracuse University) with him. Like all those he came in contact with, and as a young white woman in the 50's, I was so proud to call him friend. "Mugsie" A Halo for a Helmet: The Whole Story of Ernie Davis

The legend of Ernie Davis came to life through the recent movie, The Express. Writer K. Coralee Burch sifts through the artistic license of the film to deliver an excellent biography of "The Elmira Express," that relies on more than 35 years of research, interviews and delving into a wealth of historical archives. And for Burch, her foundation for the book starts at Elmira Free Academy, where she was in the class of 1960 and Davis was two years ahead of her, but had already forged a path of athletic excellence and a reputation for being an outstanding role model. As a sophomore, Burch was a cheerleader and saw the generosity of Davis; while both were waiting for practice to start - Davis was a star basketball player - he would teach her how to shoot a basketball. "There was no one in that school or that city who did not believe that Ernie was their special friend just like I had," Burch writes. The gridiron exploits of Davis at Syracuse University are legendary and it culminated with being awarded the 1961 Heisman Trophy, the first African-American to achieve that lofty honor. Drafted by the Washington Redskins, but traded to the Cleveland Browns, Davis never played a down in pro football, being diagnosed with leukemia in 1962 and losing his battle to that form of cancer in May 1963 at the age of 24. "I was at Syracuse University the year Ernie died," writes Burch. "He was on campus just weeks before his death and still took the time to single people out and make them feel special." Burch goes the extra yards and strikes pay dirt by meticulously telling the rest of the story of a remarkable life.

Reviews

This book is an accurate true account of one Marine's experience while assigned to the 1st Marine Division during WWII. It should be required reading for anyone who has an interest in history and the USMC in WW2. It follows one man's entire experience from the beginning to the end of the war. The author (the actual Marine who wrote this book) also has an excellent sense of humor. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. This is the first review I have ever written.

Leckie was with the 1st Marine Regt (2nd Bn) of the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal, New Britain and Peleliu. First published in 1957 it is a fairly raw account of life and battle as a Marine. Apart from the battlefields, Leckie writes of his training on Parris Island and extensively of leave in Melbourne. He covers things that others don't - being AWOL, being drunk and being in the brink. He doesn't sanitize things either or imply everyone was a big happy family. For instance he makes many pithy observations about officers, their ways, their airs and their privileges. At other times, the petty discipline and denial of home leave has tragic effects. As for battle, there is a variety of experiences. Most of it is of being continually in the line on Guadalcanal. He is never faced with a direct attack, though he does deal with a few stragglers with his 30 cal (his later trip to gain souvenirs is unsettling in a number of ways). Even so the campaign is exceedingly wearing. The attacks by Japanese planes and big ships are constant and deadly. The debilitation caused by the tropics (Malaria is torture!) and inadequate food is also made clear. It was a close run thing but the Marines emerge with intense pride when the extent of their achievements is finally clear. On New Britain Leckie is mainly involved in patrols but he does use his personal weapon to deadly effect. Peleliu though is a hellish experience that overwhelms him. The Japanese resistance is ferocious and the casualties are very heavy (he is caught in the armoured counterattack). So in terms of battle experiences, there is a lot to read. Leckie was a journalist before and after the war and is an impressive writer. There is some excellent description and imagery ("the sand clung to us like flour to a fillett" P38 and "A soldiers pack is like a woman's purse, it is filled with his personality." P34). Interestingly, he never writes about fellow marines by name. Everyone is given a nick-name: The Artist, Runner, Chuckler, Sergeant Straight Talk and Lieutenants Commando, Ivy-League and Racehorse. While simplistic, I found this devise to be effective in revealing personality types and it allows Leckie to write bluntly of deeds and misdeeds. The cult of Marine is also explored and aspects of this are quite stirring. It is a deeply considered and informative book and I found it amazing in many ways. Highly Recommended

First, I must admit a particular regard for this book as the granddaughter of Bill Smith (whom Leckie refers to as 'Hoosier'), who served with Leckie in How Company, 2nd Battalion of the 1st Marine Division. Leckie offers nuanced insight into the ways in which he and his friends understood national military service, the `enemy', and the war more generally, and how these perspectives or ideas evolved among the men from North Carolina to Guadalcanal, Australia, and New Britain. Leckie steers clear from prototypes or cliches; there is no enblematic enlisted man or officer. Rather, these men are treated as real people coping (or not) with the profound uncertainty of their situation. Perhaps this appreciation says more about my own lack of experience with combat/warfare. Yet thinking of Guadalcanal from a macro or military history perspective, it is easy to take for granted that marines' objectives - and the most efficacious means to pursue them - were always apparent to those involved, at multiple levels. In this context, I found his account of warfare as a process of organizational learning riveting. For example, he describes: 1) the marines' first reactions to air battle and subsequent adjustment to air battle as a simple process of attrition; and 2) the uncertainty confronted by officers at various stages, against the backdrop of the US' limited military experience in the Pacific or in jungles more generally. In this way, Leckie also makes apparent the need - and efficacy - of severe hierarchy. For this reason, I think that reviewers' arguments positing a lack of regard for officers deserve serious qualification.

At first Leckie grabbed my attention by being at the front of the line to join The US Marines. Through basic traning and on, a pattern seems to develop in his character. A lack of respect for any person in a position of authority starts to develop. From him, one gets the impression that he feels as if it is some kind of game to try to get over on his superiors, sometimes at the cost of his fellow Marines. He seems to thrive on getting over, getting drunk and womanizing. All that before he ever goes into combat. After entering combat it seems that he continues to try to get over and out of as much as he can. On Guadalcanal, He explains, drunk on japanese sake, he gets naked and swims across a croc infested creek to get to japanese prizes, only to get sick swim back across and get complimented by a know-nothing Lt. from his platoon. He seems to bask in being able to fool his superiors. He seems to wonder why he does't make any rank and continues to get picked on. His trip to Australia and further misadventures continues to befuddle him. He cannot seem to give any credit, even to the sgtmajor that could have sent him to prison or the doctor that could have put him away. Towards the end of the book, on Peleliu it might appear that he does gain at least a little redemption and perhaps begins to reflect back upon his wayward ways and to think of others besides himself. Better late than never. I have known a number of World War II Pacific Marines. After all that I have met, I would have to say that Leckie would appear to be different. I have the upmost Respect and Appreciation for ALL that participated. All said and done I must say that I am glad to have read This Book. If not the most enjoyable read, though well written, but for a First Person Account by someone who was there. It seems to ask as many questions as it answers. Many second hand accounts, information heavy documentary, and backseat drivers are available. I am sorry Mr Leckie is no longer with us (2001,age 81). I know that he had a long list of titles to his credit. I hope during his long life he was able to cope and find peace. I would like to recommend reading, E.B. Sledge's "With The Old Breed", after reading this work. It offers an interesting compare and contrast.

I first learned of this book when I read that it was being used as one of the sources for a new miniseries about the Pacific theater in the Second World War. Having enjoyed the other source material being used, E. B. Sledge's superb memoir, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, I decided to track down a copy of Leckie's account and read it for myself. Because of this, I found myself comparing the two works as I read it, which influenced my overall opinion of the book. In many ways, the experiences of the two men were similar. Both were civilians prior to the Second World War; Leckie enlisted in the Marines a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His account of basic training feels incredibly authentic, in part because of his attention to details. Leckie captures much of the mundane minutiae of learning how to be a Marine, from the bureaucratic experience of inoculation to the quest for a good time on leave. This sense of authenticity continues as he describes his deployment to Guadalcanal with the First Marine Division and his engagement with the war there. These experiences form the best part of the book, as his initial encounter with life as a Marine in both training and war reflect his interest in the novelty of it all. From Guadalcanal, Leckie's unit was returned to Australia for rest and refitting. This transformation into what he calls a "lotus-eater" also bears a real sense of verisimilitude, as unlike many memoirs of war he does not gloss over the search for release that often characterized breaks from the battles. It is here, though, that his account flags a little, and his return to combat in New Britain as part of Operation Cartwheel was perhaps the least interesting part of the book. The book improves with his subsequent experiences in the hospital in Banika and his final, abbreviated deployment to Peleliu, which ended with his injury and return to the States for the duration of the war. Reading this book, it is easy to see why it stands out as an account of the Second World War. Leckie's prose brings alive both the mundane routines of service and the violence of combat. It is when he is between the two that the book suffers; at points Leckie tries too hard to be a writer, and his efforts at evocative prose about his surroundings in the jungle come across as a little overwrought. Yet both need to be read for a fascinating portrait of what the war was like for the "new boots" who gave up their lives as civilians to fight in the humid jungles and barren islands of the Pacific.