There is another important difference that readers will find in these commentaries. I try to let the authors speak for themselves. Thus extensive quotations appear in most of the essays. Note, however, that in April 2003 the style of commentary changed to a single paragraph about each book and my column was joined by other reviewers. Their reviews may be found at the ArtVoice website cited above.

• April 13, 2006: Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster, 2005)
• June 16, 2005: Wedding of the Waters by Peter L. Bernstein (W. W. Norton, 2005)
• January 13, 2005: Goodbye Gutenberg by Valerie Kirschenbaum (Global Renaissance Society, 2004)
• January 13, 2005: Derailed by James Siegel (Warner Books, 2004)
• December 23, 2004: The Boy's Crusade by Paul Fussell (Modern Library, 2004)
• December 9, 2004: Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick (Viking, 2003)
• August 12, 2004: The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War by Jimmy Carter (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
• July 29, 2004: On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy edited by Stephen Hawking (Running Press)
• July 15, 2004: Against All Enemies by Richard Clarke (Free Press)
• July 1, 2004: An Unpardonable Crime by Andrew Taylor (Hyperion)
• July 1, 2004: The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto (Doubleday)
• June 17, 2004: Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer (Oxford University Press)

    Gerry Rising is a retired university professor of mathematics education (of all things) who seems bent upon sharing his writing with all and sundry. In addition to writing his ArtVoice commentaries, he writes a weekly natural history column for the Buffalo News. A brief biography and an especially flattering picture of him are to be found on that Nature Watch site. To reach other sites with which he is associated, click here.