ABOUT THE MUSIC... Taylor Barton's Pedro and Pip was performed and recorded by a wonderful and talented group of musicians and singers. Christine Ohlman, who has for many years sung with the Saturday Night Live Band, is featured throughout as well as Robbie Wyckoff who has sung for the children's TV show Phineas and Firb and also was lead vocalist on Roger Waters' The Wall tour from 2010 through 2013. The Persuasions do brilliant vocal work on several songs. Jenni Muldaur who has sung with Lou Reed, Marianne Faithful, Rufus Wainwright and many others contributed as well as Jillette Johnson who sings " Certification Song" ...Noted Israeli singer/guitarist David Broza contributes vocals and Spanish guitar and young Ella Moffly sings the lovely First Word Go and does a rocking job on Pedro and Pip's Rap. Lastly, Taylor, who composed both the music and lyrics, does the vocals on Don't Quit, an ode to her father who gave her the words when she was young. The recording of Pedro and Pip was produced by Taylor Barton. While I am most known for my work with Hall and Oates, Bob Dylan, SNL, Roger Waters and many others, I was instantaneously attracted to this fun loving score. I led the band and played guitar on these songs along with keyboardist Jeff Kazee, {Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny}, bassist Tony Shanahan, {Patti Smith Band}, and Alex Alexander on drums ( Eminem, Dido) This collaboration of friends and family resulted in a warm and unique sound on these songs helping to bring the story of a Rock and Roll octopus and a sweet little girl to life. Pedro 'n' Pip, they're a team! GE Smith

The Life of Reason by George Santayana: Embark on a philosophical exploration of human thought and experience with George Santayana's "The Life of Reason." This multivolume work delves into the realms of reason, knowledge, ethics, and aesthetics, offering insights into the complexities of human cognition and the pursuit of truth. Why This Book? "The Life of Reason" invites readers to contemplate the nature of reason and its influence on various aspects of life. George Santayana's insightful reflections on human thought and the search for meaning make this work a thought-provoking read for those interested in philosophy and the human condition.

Latin America constitutes a region well-endowed with sovereign nations, cultural differences, and varying states of development and political stability. The end of the cold war and the de­cline of revolutionary movements and regimes has cast political perceptions of the region in a new light even as it has wrought momentous changes in the individual countries themselves. Latin American Political Yearbook: 1997 provides a comprehensive overview, analysis, and summary of the major political and economic trends and events in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean both for their significance within special coun­tries, the entire region, and relations with the world at large. Elections and the status of political forces in Latin America are the focus of part 1. It provides an up-to-date, realistic definition of today's political "Left" and describes the political situ­ations in the Central American, MERCOSUR, Andean, and Caribbean nations. Moreover, special consider­ation is given to the case of Nicara­gua. In part 2 the politico-economic backgrounds of such representative Latin American nations as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, Paraguay, and Venezuela are updated to demonstrate that corruption and collectivism have been responsible for most, if not all of the region's economic woes. The next two parts are con­cerned with the Hemispheric left (HL) and the Hemispheric Left Support, re­spectively, the former dealing with the loose association of Latin American Marxist and Marxist-Leninist organi­zations. It begins with an in-depth look at its enigmatic chief, Fidel Castro, and then discusses HL umbrella organizations; Colombian, Mexican, and Cen­tral American terrorist groups; HL narcoterrorism; and the special case of Peru. The book concludes with a look at Latin American international organizations Including trade and tariff associations, technical groupings, re­gional associations, and hemisphere-wide associations such as the Cumbre Iberoamerica, the Grupo de Rio, and the Organization of American States. The year 1996 contained a number of important contests throughout the region and Latin American Political Yearbook provides a timely look at rel­evant background Information neces­sary to an understanding of the statustlons; Colombian, Mexican, and Cen­tral American terrorist groups; HL narcoterrorism; and the special case of Peru. The book concludes with a look at Latin American international organizations Including trade and tariff associations, technical groupings, re­gional associations, and hemisphere-wide associations such as the Cumbre Iberoamerica, the Grupo de Rio, and the Organization of American States. The year 1996 contained a number of important contests throughout the region and Latin American Political Yearbook provides a timely look at rel­evant background Information neces­sary to an understanding of the status of political forces in Latin America to­day. Brimming with facts, this com­pact yet comprehensive volume Is essential reading for political scien­tists, Latin American area specialists, and historians.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Notable Book “So funny, so sage and above all so incandescently intelligent” (The Chicago Tribune), the New York Times bestseller Purity is a grand story of youthful idealism, extreme fidelity, and murder, a daring and penetrating book from “the most intelligent novelist of [his] generation” (The New Republic), Jonathan Franzen Young Pip Tyler doesn't know who she is. She knows that her real name is Purity, that she's saddled with $130,000 in student debt, that she's squatting with anarchists in Oakland, and that her relationship with her mother--her only family--is hazardous. But she doesn't have a clue who her father is, why her mother chose to live as a recluse with an invented name, or how she'll ever have a normal life. Enter the Germans. A glancing encounter with a German peace activist leads Pip to an internship in South America with The Sunlight Project, an organization that traffics in all the secrets of the world--including, Pip hopes, the secret of her origins. TSP is the brainchild of Andreas Wolf, a charismatic provocateur who rose to fame in the chaos following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now on the lam in Bolivia, Andreas is drawn to Pip for reasons she doesn't understand, and the intensity of her response to him upends her conventional ideas of right and wrong. Purity is a grand story of youthful idealism, extreme fidelity, and murder. The author of The Corrections and Freedom has imagined a world of vividly original characters--Californians and East Germans, good parents and bad parents, journalists and leakers--and he follows their intertwining paths through landscapes as contemporary as the omnipresent Internet and as ancient as the war between the sexes. Purity is the most daring and penetrating book yet by one of the major writers of our time.

"Latin America constitutes a region well-endowed with sovereign nations, cultural differences, and varying states of development and political stability. The end of the cold war and the de­cline of revolutionary movements and regimes has cast political perceptions of the region in a new light even as it has wrought momentous changes in the individual countries themselves. Latin American Political Yearbook: 1997 provides a comprehensive overview, analysis, and summary of the major political and economic trends and events in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean both for their significance within special coun­tries, the entire region, and relations with the world at large.Elections and the status of political forces in Latin America are the focus of part 1. It provides an up-to-date, realistic definition of today's political ""Left"" and describes the political situ­ations in the Central American, MERCOSUR, Andean, and Caribbean nations. Moreover, special consider­ation is given to the case of Nicara­gua. In part 2 the politico-economic backgrounds of such representative Latin American nations as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, Paraguay, and Venezuela are updated to demonstrate that corruption and collectivism have been responsible for most, if not all of the region's economic woes. The next two parts are con­cerned with the Hemispheric left (HL) and the Hemispheric Left Support, re­spectively, the former dealing with the loose association of Latin American Marxist and Marxist-Leninist organi­zations. It begins with an in-depth look at its enigmatic chief, Fidel Castro, and then discusses HL umbrella organizations; Colombian, Mexican, and Cen­tral American terrorist groups; HL narcoterrorism; and the special case of Peru. The book concludes with a look at Latin American international organizations Including trade and tariff associations, technical groupings, re­gional associations, and hemisphere-wide "