Rusting, like all of David Axelrod's books, is compelling. Axelrod offers these poems ..". as life lessons. I am not just writing poems, I am fostering empathy. Let us share what we have, for better or worse, and make something good of it. I may not be a life coach, but I do wish us all a happier existence and these poems are the closest I can come to a survival guide." Axelrod's poems are personal and moving and, as mirrors to ourselves, elicit a number of emotions in the reading. One must agree with the praise given for his works: "One of the finest and most original American poets now writing. " X.J. Kennedy; "Axelrod is a treat." The New York Times; "A best bet." Newsday; A summer Best Pick." Small Press Review; "(Poems to) cherish and pass around ... a prize to keep." William Stafford.