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Another Chance to Get It Right (3rd ed.)
When Another Chance to Get it Right debuted on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1993, Dark Horse was deluged with phone calls as people clamored to buy the book. Dark Horse is proud to offer an updated edition of the acclaimed collection of short stories, poetry, and allegory. This new edition boasts an allnew, never before published Vachss-penned prose story called "La Corazón del Niños," along with illustrations and a magnificent new cover by Geof Darrow (The Matrix, Shaolin Cowboy, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Hard Boiled). The beautiful drawings add a different dimension to this celebration of the potential of parenting, a dimension that's rarely seen in the genre, making it as much inspirational as it is instructional.
93 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
8 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Vachss
136 books886 followersAndrew Vachss has been a federal investigator in sexually transmitted diseases, a social-services caseworker, a labor organizer, and has directed a maximum-security prison for “aggressive-violent” youth. Now a lawyer in private practice, he represents children and youths exclusively. He is the author of numerous novels, including the Burke series, two collections of short stories, and a wide variety of other material including song lyrics, graphic novels, essays, and a “children’s book for adults.” His books have been translated into twenty languages, and his work has appeared in Parade, Antaeus, Esquire, Playboy, the New York Times, and many other forums. A native New Yorker, he now divides his time between the city of his birth and the Pacific Northwest.
The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com. That site and this page are managed by volunteers. To contact Mr. Vachss directly, use the "email us" function of vachss.com.
The dedicated Web site for Vachss and his work is
www.vachss.com. That site and this page are managed by volunteers. To contact Mr. Vachss directly, use the "email us" function of vachss.com.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 11, 2014
First published in 1993, this book was reissued in paperback in 2012 and is also available in e-book. It has experienced a small renaissance judging from the number of recent GR readers. It tells brief stories informed by the community work of Andrew Vachss early in his career. This heavily graphic presentation features seven illustrators with a variety of styles that draw reader interest.
This is a book of stories about children watching the bears at the Bronx Zoo. Watching a polar bear guard its baby. A story about a baby alligator and a baby elephant. A story about a boy in a maximum security youth prison.
It is a book that educates in small doses without necessarily pulling punches. “We have laws that prohibit child labor in the same countries in which children are sold as chattel.”
We are reminded of a civil war in Biafra Africa from 1967 to 1970 where children were soldiers. (And we know that history has repeated itself many times since.)
“The Riverfront had only one industry – human pleasure. Gambling dens, whore houses, gin mills. Anything could be had for a price – only life was cheap.” This is an 18 page detailed pen and ink drawn tour with STDs as a soft focal point.
A slim 64 pages and easily read in a hour that allows some time for reflection, Another Chance to Get It Right lacks some but not all of the darkness of the Burke series of novels. Although less disturbing than most Vachss work I have experienced, you will find the familiar abused and neglected children as well as some troubled adults and societies that you know are the root causes of the distress. The illustrations provide a good addition to the usual hard hitting Vachss words.
Imagine finding this book on your reading list for your school of social work or undergraduate sociology course. It would be a welcome addition to the usual textbooks. This book will sensitize your normal reader and easily earns four stars just for the effort it makes toward mass education.
This is a book of stories about children watching the bears at the Bronx Zoo. Watching a polar bear guard its baby. A story about a baby alligator and a baby elephant. A story about a boy in a maximum security youth prison.
It is a book that educates in small doses without necessarily pulling punches. “We have laws that prohibit child labor in the same countries in which children are sold as chattel.”
We are reminded of a civil war in Biafra Africa from 1967 to 1970 where children were soldiers. (And we know that history has repeated itself many times since.)
On the roof of a tenement building, two small boys have fashioned a spaceship from a packing crate. It was laborious work, salvaging bits and pieces for their project from the city streets, working from a blueprint that lived only in their heads. The original configuration followed the shape of the packing crate, forcing one boy to sit behind the other. For some reason, their ship would not sore no matter which of them took the controls. Much weighty discussion followed. More tearing apart and pounding together. Finally there was room for the boys to sit side-by-side. They visited strange planets together and had many adventures.
“The Riverfront had only one industry – human pleasure. Gambling dens, whore houses, gin mills. Anything could be had for a price – only life was cheap.” This is an 18 page detailed pen and ink drawn tour with STDs as a soft focal point.
A slim 64 pages and easily read in a hour that allows some time for reflection, Another Chance to Get It Right lacks some but not all of the darkness of the Burke series of novels. Although less disturbing than most Vachss work I have experienced, you will find the familiar abused and neglected children as well as some troubled adults and societies that you know are the root causes of the distress. The illustrations provide a good addition to the usual hard hitting Vachss words.
Imagine finding this book on your reading list for your school of social work or undergraduate sociology course. It would be a welcome addition to the usual textbooks. This book will sensitize your normal reader and easily earns four stars just for the effort it makes toward mass education.
July 23, 2024
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the February 1997 edition with a theme of "Crime":
ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT (Dark Horse Comics)
With the tremendous amount of public interest in the recent assault and murder of JonBenet Ramsey here in Colorado, it is pretty evident that everyone agrees the most heinous crimes of all are those perpetrated against children. Children and their innocence are to be protected, and when that protection fails, we are all shocked and disturbed. While most of us only look on and shake our heads in despair, some people act. Writer Andrew Vachss is one of the few. He is a man on a crusade to protect all children everywhere.
Vachss has assumed several different roles in the course of his crusade. Vachss the lawyer devotes his time exclusively to representing children. Vachss the child abuse expert frequently writes articles for magazines such as PARADE detailing the mindset of abusers, the punishment they deserve, and the treatment their victims need. Vachss the activist supports the Don't! Buy! Thai! movement to boycott Thailand until child prostitution is ended there. Indeed, Vachss the novelist wrote THE ULTIMATE EVIL, a novel about Batman fighting that very crime. Vachss' other novels focus mainly on a character named Burke, who is a con man, robber and murderer. One of Burke's few redeeming qualities is his explosive outrage at crimes against children. Whenever he discovers an abused child, Burke is compelled to declare war on the pedophiles or child pornographers involved and use his criminal genius to wreak vengeance upon them. It's pretty obvious Vachss' writing is a cathartic release from the frustrations he faces in daily life.
ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT, which is available each month on Dark Horse's backlist, serves as a manifesto of Vachss' crusade. The book is a bit hard to describe. It is not a comic book, though it does have spot illustrations by artists like Paul Chadwick (CONCRETE), Geof Darrow (HARD BOILED), and Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN, MARTHA WASHINGTON). It is not a novel. It is not an essay or short story collection. Sub-titled "A children's book for adults," ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT is an almost stream of consciousness combination of epigrams, vignettes, anecdotes, short stories, autobiography, and philosophy written in a terse, dramatic style which is at times poetic. "Biology does not make a man a father--nor a woman a mother. We are what we do. There is learning in play, play in learning. Terror in fear, heroism in its mastery." (Page 15) "We are tested, and sometimes we fail. The maltreated child cries 'I hurt.' Unheard or unheeded, that cry becomes prophecy." (Page 21)
A story near the end of the book deals with a child victim confronting her abuser in court. Her lawyer tries to prepare her for the ordeal. In a clever artistic choice, Gary Gianni, who writes and draws the "Monster Men" back-up stories in Mike Mignola's HELLBOY, creates an allegory for the modern day story by illustrating it with pictures of 19th century characters confronting a Frankenstein's monster.
In recent years, Dark Horse Comics has produced several projects with Vachss. HARD LOOKS adapted Vachss' short stories into comics format. Each issue of UNDERGROUND featured a new illustrated Vachss' short story along with comics by various writers and artists set in a dystopian future world Vachss created. Vachss has also written the comics PREDATOR: RACE WAR and CROSS. All of the above are good and worth seeking out, but ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT is the truly definitive Vachss work available from Dark Horse.
Grade: A
ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT (Dark Horse Comics)
With the tremendous amount of public interest in the recent assault and murder of JonBenet Ramsey here in Colorado, it is pretty evident that everyone agrees the most heinous crimes of all are those perpetrated against children. Children and their innocence are to be protected, and when that protection fails, we are all shocked and disturbed. While most of us only look on and shake our heads in despair, some people act. Writer Andrew Vachss is one of the few. He is a man on a crusade to protect all children everywhere.
Vachss has assumed several different roles in the course of his crusade. Vachss the lawyer devotes his time exclusively to representing children. Vachss the child abuse expert frequently writes articles for magazines such as PARADE detailing the mindset of abusers, the punishment they deserve, and the treatment their victims need. Vachss the activist supports the Don't! Buy! Thai! movement to boycott Thailand until child prostitution is ended there. Indeed, Vachss the novelist wrote THE ULTIMATE EVIL, a novel about Batman fighting that very crime. Vachss' other novels focus mainly on a character named Burke, who is a con man, robber and murderer. One of Burke's few redeeming qualities is his explosive outrage at crimes against children. Whenever he discovers an abused child, Burke is compelled to declare war on the pedophiles or child pornographers involved and use his criminal genius to wreak vengeance upon them. It's pretty obvious Vachss' writing is a cathartic release from the frustrations he faces in daily life.
ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT, which is available each month on Dark Horse's backlist, serves as a manifesto of Vachss' crusade. The book is a bit hard to describe. It is not a comic book, though it does have spot illustrations by artists like Paul Chadwick (CONCRETE), Geof Darrow (HARD BOILED), and Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN, MARTHA WASHINGTON). It is not a novel. It is not an essay or short story collection. Sub-titled "A children's book for adults," ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT is an almost stream of consciousness combination of epigrams, vignettes, anecdotes, short stories, autobiography, and philosophy written in a terse, dramatic style which is at times poetic. "Biology does not make a man a father--nor a woman a mother. We are what we do. There is learning in play, play in learning. Terror in fear, heroism in its mastery." (Page 15) "We are tested, and sometimes we fail. The maltreated child cries 'I hurt.' Unheard or unheeded, that cry becomes prophecy." (Page 21)
A story near the end of the book deals with a child victim confronting her abuser in court. Her lawyer tries to prepare her for the ordeal. In a clever artistic choice, Gary Gianni, who writes and draws the "Monster Men" back-up stories in Mike Mignola's HELLBOY, creates an allegory for the modern day story by illustrating it with pictures of 19th century characters confronting a Frankenstein's monster.
In recent years, Dark Horse Comics has produced several projects with Vachss. HARD LOOKS adapted Vachss' short stories into comics format. Each issue of UNDERGROUND featured a new illustrated Vachss' short story along with comics by various writers and artists set in a dystopian future world Vachss created. Vachss has also written the comics PREDATOR: RACE WAR and CROSS. All of the above are good and worth seeking out, but ANOTHER CHANCE TO GET IT RIGHT is the truly definitive Vachss work available from Dark Horse.
Grade: A
March 5, 2017
This was a disjointed series of stories by a man who has worked in a variety of human-service jobs where he's seen a lot of misery. It's a cautionary tale about how children are our future and should be treated as though they are precious.
February 17, 2019
Книга, надо сказать, особенная.
Это сборник коротких эссе, это мысли автора о детях в основном, но на самом деле о мире. Еще один шанс - это способ узнать, как и о чем мыслит автор. Возможность посмотреть на мир его глазами. То, как смотрит Ваксс, часто берут за эталон, даже не осознавая. Эта книга - возможность осознать, как мы смотрим на мир, и в каком мире хотели бы жить.
Но, что важнее, я точно знаю, что эта книга способна помочь тем, кто пережил насилие в детстве. Ее можно буквально прикладывать, как подорожник, потому что она обладает удивительной исцеляющей силой.
Я думаю, потому что Ваксс, работая против насилия над детьми, знает этот мир изнутри. Все, кто насилию не подвергался или как-то смог его преодолеть, даже не заметив, не знакомы с этим миром. Эти люди - создатели универсального совета "не грусти". Совет охренительный, как им воспользоваться - совершенно непонятно.
И Ваксс, прекрасно ориентируясь в этом мире, как раз дает такие советы, которые люди, пережившие насилие, способны применить.
Это сборник коротких эссе, это мысли автора о детях в основном, но на самом деле о мире. Еще один шанс - это способ узнать, как и о чем мыслит автор. Возможность посмотреть на мир его глазами. То, как смотрит Ваксс, часто берут за эталон, даже не осознавая. Эта книга - возможность осознать, как мы смотрим на мир, и в каком мире хотели бы жить.
Но, что важнее, я точно знаю, что эта книга способна помочь тем, кто пережил насилие в детстве. Ее можно буквально прикладывать, как подорожник, потому что она обладает удивительной исцеляющей силой.
Я думаю, потому что Ваксс, работая против насилия над детьми, знает этот мир изнутри. Все, кто насилию не подвергался или как-то смог его преодолеть, даже не заметив, не знакомы с этим миром. Эти люди - создатели универсального совета "не грусти". Совет охренительный, как им воспользоваться - совершенно непонятно.
И Ваксс, прекрасно ориентируясь в этом мире, как раз дает такие советы, которые люди, пережившие насилие, способны применить.
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May 26, 2025I found the title to be a bit misleading
October 15, 2007
i worked in the child welfare field for about 6 years and i have an MSW. i am in some ways a jaded man. i always tell people that i never believed in heros until i read Andrew Vachss- that still holds true.
this book is phenomenal. it is a collection of stories, anecdotes, fables, and allegories. as a whole they are heart wrenching, moving, incindiary, and inspiring. if i ran a social welfare school or public policy school, this would be on every incomming freshmen's reading for the summer before school started.
this book is phenomenal. it is a collection of stories, anecdotes, fables, and allegories. as a whole they are heart wrenching, moving, incindiary, and inspiring. if i ran a social welfare school or public policy school, this would be on every incomming freshmen's reading for the summer before school started.
November 21, 2022
Потужна книжка від людини, що адвокатує права дітей. Матеріали всередині, створені в різні роки, варіюються від коміксів до притч, від есеїв до віршів. Всіма можливими засобами автор промовляє до дорослих, які можуть - і повинні - захищати дітей, як своїх (і навіть внутрішних), так і чужих (бо їх не існує). Історії травм, насилля, безпорадності, захисту, справедливості, зцілення.
Корисно для всіх, хто так чи інакше працює з дітьми або в соціально-громадській сфері загалом, бо нагадує про цінносне та попереджає вигорання.
Корисно для всіх, хто так чи інакше працює з дітьми або в соціально-громадській сфері загалом, бо нагадує про цінносне та попереджає вигорання.
November 6, 2012
I ADORE this book!!!It is *the* most thoughtful collection of stories concerning childhood one could ever read. The poetry takes my breath away and, at the same time, makes me want to live and fight for a better world. The story which still makes me cry, every time I read it, is the one about the boy who "never became a marine biologist". Read for yourselves to find out why...I keep this on my bedside table, it never leaves my side. A DIAMOND!
September 26, 2025
Read anything by Andrew Vachss--novels, short stories, comics--and you get the picture: Vachss is the antithesis of the Sensitive New Age Guy. It's a sure bet the latest book review will contain some variation of 'Vachss makes [fill in favorite 'noir' or 'hardboiled' author here] look like [Emily Post...a sewing circle...the minutes of a Cub Scout meeting...etc. etc. etc.].'
Another Chance to Get it Right--a 'children's book for adults'--is an altogether different literary critter.
In a series of vignettes (with illustrations by noted graphic artists including Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Gary Gianni and others), Vachss presents truths both blunt and bright about the common experiences--and the great diversity--of children and childhood.
If you think Vachss is 'too dark,' this is the perfect starter book to blast your preconceptions. The text is concise and eloquent, and shows a tenderness perhaps unexpected to fans of the Burke novels, while the accompanying art provides an occasionally whimsical, always powerful complement.
If you have the chance to get this book...DO IT.
Another Chance to Get it Right--a 'children's book for adults'--is an altogether different literary critter.
In a series of vignettes (with illustrations by noted graphic artists including Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Gary Gianni and others), Vachss presents truths both blunt and bright about the common experiences--and the great diversity--of children and childhood.
If you think Vachss is 'too dark,' this is the perfect starter book to blast your preconceptions. The text is concise and eloquent, and shows a tenderness perhaps unexpected to fans of the Burke novels, while the accompanying art provides an occasionally whimsical, always powerful complement.
If you have the chance to get this book...DO IT.
January 29, 2018
Not everything in this book is beautiful, but these things happen every day. This book doesn't go into super details on everything, but you can easily understand everything.
Interesting format- being it is a Children's Adult book(Not meant for children but in a Children's format without trying to make you feel stupid or anything).
Interesting format- being it is a Children's Adult book(Not meant for children but in a Children's format without trying to make you feel stupid or anything).
August 20, 2025
I don’t know I didn’t vibe with it well…maybe this style of poetry and short story fits better with other people? I feel like the title gave me a different idea than what the contents of the book included.
December 24, 2017
This book takes the form of a series of short stories and essays on children. Some are uplifting, others dispiriting, and all thought provoking.
March 21, 2018
Very dark, brooding, nostalgia poetic at times.
July 26, 2022
I have no idea what I expected, but I did not expect to cry in a library.
May 31, 2010
This book is a pure meditation on what it is to be a child and/or a parent: in other words, human. The drawings are occaisionally dorky but the message is clear, and so brave: SPOILER honor and protect the fruit of your womb, because they are your only chance to get it right. Ya just don't get another.There was a great quote towards the end about how we're all seeds; some cast on concrete, chancing to find a crack; a few on fertile, rich soil nourished and protected but many of us somewhere in between, and how so a million gradations there are.
October 13, 2012
A book "about" children, their potential, and their relationships with adults. But not at all cohesive, meandering from random stories to random musings, in serious need of editing. It is, however, beautifully illustrated.
September 14, 2014
Outstanding! As a psychologist, I recommended this book to many clients. I have had to replace my personal copy 3 times because I kept loaning it & not getting it back. It was worth it in order to share the message. Hope it did some good.
July 11, 2019
Poetic insight into the life of a child. In short, mirrors the words of T.S. Elliott:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
August 13, 2011
A strange little book with moments of cleverness and moments of severe discomfort. Despite its appearance, it is definitely neither a kids' book nor a comic book.
April 29, 2017
I just read it in the first edition and the meaning of childhood never was defined better. Drawing on his experiences as a field investigator for social services, and utilizing the illustrations of various artists, Vachss relates, thru parables the needs of children.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews