{"product_id":"2940148765868","title":"Medium Rare","description":"If you are squeamish or faint of heart you should not read this book.  It contains foul language (some really bad words), descriptions of war, mutilation, animal cruelty, torture, suicide and burying a loved one.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you are an idealist then you should not read this book.  It is full of cynicism and caustic remarks.  It is raw and exposes truths that people prefer to ignore and history that they would rather forget.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you are under 30 then you probably will not read this book.  Most passages are longer than a cell phone text message and certainly longer than 140 characters, the maximum length of a Tweet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you are under 50, then you probably should not read  this book.  You need to have some years under your belt to appreciate a lot of the passages.  Maybe 40-ish is okay.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut, having said all of that, Medium Rare is also hopeful, tender and loving.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMedium Rare is a book of short works about love, war, life, death and other things that we encounter during our visit to this earth.  These works of prose and poetry speak of things that touch our hearts, irritate our conscience, challenge our beliefs and remind us of the beauty of nature. The works speak of tenderness, joy, pride, patriotism and yes, tears, cruelty, fear, heartache, longing and regrets.  They take place in a New Guinea jungle, Arlington National Cemetery, the Chicago Stockyards, Dachau concentration camp, bombed-out Nagasaki, Ipanema Beach, on a quiet Sierra Nevada lake and in noisy San Francisco traffic. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome are voices of a muse, some are voices silenced and forgotten but longing, even demanding to be heard:  a combat Marine, a pregnant mother, a weeping father, a red-tailed hawk, a tattooed Jew, a carpenter, a Market Street bum and an E.R. nurse.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMedium Rare is a book about disparate people:  Lenny Bruce, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thelonious Monk, Ronald Reagan,  Dave Brubeck, Jackson Pollock and JFK  Some of the works are simple and forgettable.  Some you will never forget.  You will find something of yourself in Medium Rare:  a time, a place, an incident, an emotion, a lover, a friend, a cause.  You will think and laugh and cry, definitely cry.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd, a footnote.  Some of the works are very unusual in their composition.  If you discover how they are unusual, let me know.","brand":"Morning Canyon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47180039553264,"sku":"2940148765868","price":9.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148765868_p0.jpg?v=1763708050","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148765868","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}