My Faith Rejuvinated
	Ordinary Joy reminds you that God is in fact all around you in your ordinary living if you just take a break from all the hustle and bustle and truly appreciate His beauty. Joe Campeau uses personal illustrations that we can relate to, and in turn, relates them to the teachings of Jesus. On a personal note, my own faith has waivered for quite some time that after taking a "closer look," I am rediscovering God's presence in my life and I know that, no matter what, "the sun will shine tomorrow and I will be kissed by Son again and again and it can never be wiped away." Peace and JOY


informative  amp; interesting read!
	This book provides a very interesting and informative detail of the history of birth culture in America as discovered through the study of birth chairs.   In incluedes intriguing pictorial documentations of birth chairs and how they evolved into the modern maternity beds in use today


Incredible -- beautiful and tragic historical/paranormal!
	Having read Katherine, I wanted to get my hands on another Anya Seton novel. Her words are beautiful and her accurate historical references in the Medieval and Renaissance eras are breathtaking. People recommended Green Darkness because of its timeless romance, historical feel and paranormal aspects centered on past lives and reincarnation. So I gave Green Darkness a whirl. This enormous book (a big trade paperback with over six-hundred pages) enthralled me from beginning to end and I wish it had been longer, that the magic hadn't ended. Despite its rather large size and intricate story, the novel ended too soon for me. (I like big books, but you have to make sure that you will enjoy the whole thing when getting a large volume.) I finished this gem in three sittings. The novel's setting begins in the late 1960s (around the year this was first published). Richard Mardson takes his beloved wife, the American heiress Celia Taylor, to his estate in Sussex, England. There he shows her around the ancient castle that had belonged to his noble family for centuries and introduces her to his friends and peers, all respectable noblemen and women like Richard. But something strange begins to happen between them. Celia is experiencing deja vu, as though she'd been there before. This happens the second she enters the castle. At the same time, Richard becomes restless and moody. Celia is bewildered by his abrupt change from the once loving man to someone who isolates himself and avoids her. Their lives and their marriage could be in shambles, and Celia has to go back to her previous life during Tudor England to figure out what had gone wrong in order to salvage their happiness at present time. Her past life is a woman named Celia Bohun who falls for a handsome monk named Stephen (Richard) Mardson. Their forbidden love is timeless and the things they go through are staggering. There are many twists throughout the novel.

I have read few novels that had made me go through as many emotions as this one had done. Celia and Stephen's love for one another was something truly beautiful and tragic at the same time. This novel brought me to tears by the time I finished. The building of tension between the protagonists is almost palpable. Celia is a very complex heroine. She is proud and innocent, but also could be quite the vixen when she sets her mind to it, especially when Stephen is involved. Stephen is a tall, dark and gorgeous hero who has taken a vow of chastity for his religion, but his attraction to Celia is undeniable and it is something that torments him. This part of his personality makes him a tortured soul and he is very appealing as a result. The part in which Celia looks after him when he falls ill is one of the sexiest scenes in the novel. It has a mixture of eroticism and innocence, for it is the first time Celia sees Stephen's nude body. The romance is indeed wonderful, but the historical references make this novel all the richer and more palatable. We experience all of the things that occurred during Tudor England, from Henry VIII's reign passing on to Queen Mary and onto Queen Elizabeth I. I have been reading quite a lot of historical/biographical novels and finding this book was like finding hidden treasure. You feel the time period and the events that took place in those times. The most insightful things for me were those centered on Queen Mary's persecution of Protestants and all the historical things that occur while time passes after the scandal centered on Celia's love for Stephen. The ending is one of the best endings I have read. Green Darkness is a true treasure that all historical enthusiasts should own. The story is quite intricate, not an easy read by a long shot (I find that most novels that center on reincarnation are very complex), but the overall development of the story is extremely well woven and beautifully executed. There are numerous characters in this novel, but I never felt like I had to keep up with them in order to remember them. Each character serves his or her purpose and I loved them (or hated them if they were villains). The one thing that puzzled me was the emphasis on Mabel's weight. I thought plump women were considered prettier in those times. And Celia (the twentieth century one) sounds a little too British for an American who'd set foot in England for the first time. Other than those negligible details, Green Darkness is perfect. Anya Seton was a great author, one of the best in her time. I think I like this novel more than Katherine. I wonder if Anya Seton and this novel inspired Jude Deveraux to write Remembrance (which I read at the same time as this one), which is another romance centered on soul mates and past lives partly set in the sixteenth century. Anyway, Green Darkness is one of the best historical/paranormal novels out there and I cannot recommend this memorable gem enough


Vernes' Vision of a Subterranean World
	A Jules Vernes classic, this is one of those novels that has stood up well against the test of time.  True, there are some items that may seem a bit dated, and of course the whole scenario of the fantastic adventure to the depths of the earth is impossible.  Yet, this novel is still a joy to read.

With a stoic Icelander as their guide, a renowned professor and his reluctant and skeptical nephew descend into the depths of a volcano in the vast frozen tundra of the Arctic, as the adventurers attempt to retrace the steps of a renowned alchemist.  Contrary to popular belief (and scientific reality), the party descends deeper into the bowels of the earth, which is remarkably of a mild climate and not a boiling inferno.  I won't serve as spoiler, but sufficed to say, that they uncover vast new worlds and creatures living in the subterranean world hundreds of miles beneath the terrestrial crust of the earth.

Vernes does attempt to make their descent seem plausible from a scientific standpoint.  Their instruments, a crude electric light and others, would be considered state-of-the art for their time.  Vernes also goes in great detail to describe the geological formations and fossilized remains contained in the earth.  Vernes also attempts to explain how it is possible to travel so far under the surface of the earth without increased pressure harming the body.  And if you take Verne's theories to heart (although modern science refutes them), their journey is plausible.

However, I do have a couple minor gripes.  Vernes goes into great detail describing fossils and rock formations, which no doubt lend scientific credence to his novel.  Although this may interst a geologist or paleontologist, the rest of the masses (myself included) probably find this too tedious and distracting from the main story line.  Also, there is one glaring scientific discrepancy with Vernes logic. During their rapid ascent (the details I won't reveal), the adventurers would have surely perished from decompression sickness (a.k.a., "the bends").  Although it was still a new phenomena at the time, I believe Vernes should have taken into account the rapid change in pressure, as he did during their slow descent into the abyss.

The nitpicking aside, this is a superb novel that has withstood the test of time.  A modern reader will no doubt be entertained and enthralled at Verne's vision of a subterranean world.  Nearly a century and a half later, Vernes' works still inspire awe and imagination


Exciting and provoking
	I was stunned to see so many critical reviews of this book here.  Even more stunned by the criticisms.  This is not a scientific treatise, and never pretends to be.  This is not an introduction into the more abstract and obscure aspects of Emergence, nor is it a dry and tedious mathematical paper.

  This is an interesting, graspable, exciting and intelligently written book about a phenomenon which is absolutely, positively crucial to understand.  To some people Emergence is a particular abstract in a particular field - those people were disappointed and found this "light reading" - which is really too bad, because they are the ones who NEED this book the most.  Alas, we can expect it to be a while before these "scientist" can look outside their own shallow mud-puddles of their over-specialties to see how applicable emergent theory is to the world we are immersed in, both natural and man-made.

   If you didn't find this book exciting, you didn't read it.  Sit down and read it without distraction and prejudice.  Let Johnson do what he does best; take you on a journey of ideas and concepts.  Sure, some of it is simplified for the lay-reader, but anybody who isn't a total couch-potato is going to find the content interesting enough to set-out and search for details on their own.  It isn't Johnson's goal to elaborate on some trivial and fragmentary specialty that only people with masters degrees and secured positions in academia could possibly enjoy or tolerate.

  His goal is to show what emergence IS and why it is SO important, how vast the concepts are in their potential application in every imaginable field, and how elegant, simple, complex, chaotic, and BEAUTIFUL emergence IS !

   And he does exactly this quite well.  If you read this book and are not excited, you didn't get it.  Read it again.  And again.  Look up the examples of emergence, and try to actually find your own examples of emergence in YOUR world, in YOUR daily experience.  The enrichment you'll gain from it will be worth a lot more than any silly over-specialty in an obscure field of research that nobody has ever hear


ENDEARING FELINE WHIMSEY
	A WONDERFULLY TOLD CAT-TAIL! THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE LOVELY AND APPROPRIATE TO THE PLAYFUL THEME OF THE BOOK


Excellent Cookbook
	I love this cookbook. There are so many amazing recipes. As someone who is allergic to dairy, I am totally blown away at how creamy some of the dishes are. Besides the recipes, the book is filled with beautiful pictures and profound quotes that combine together to create a really special reading experience. I highly recommend this cookbook to vegans, vegetarians, people allergic to dairy and wheat, and meat eaters, as well


i love this book!!!
	i am a kindda new wife but struggling with learning how to grow up and not be a nag.  stormie is very easy to understand in her book and can relate to almost anyone. like another person said i do feel like this book was written just for me.  the written prayers help me bc sometimes i dont know how to pray for my husband and this gives u the words to say and scripture to back up everything she says.  also, it helps me more importantly be a better wife. this isnt a book to try to get ur way and mold and change ur husband. i'd say its about giving urself up to The Lord to change u and make u a better wife . and praying for ur husband is selfless and probably one of the most important things u could be doing. i highly recommend this book, highly.  it changed me almost instantly!


My favorite book in the series
	I have read all of Van Gulik's murder mysteries and this is has to be my favorite. The characters are intriguing and some sinister. The end is satisfying and bittersweet, challenging integrity vs justice. I would,  however, recommend you read the others first (chronological is good,  Chinese Gold Murders is first) to get to know the main characters although  this book can stand on on its own


Excellent classic book on toxic shame and how to deal with it
	This is in my opinion John Bradshaw's best book. It encapsulates his thinking on the area of toxic shame and demonstrates how this phenomenon is at the core of compulsions, addictions, co-dependencies and our need to achieve beyond what is really necessary or serves our larger purposes.

In this volume, John Bradshaw demonstrates how toxic shame develops and leads to the breakdown of families. He also talks about how this cycle is perpetuated through generations and actually covers a lot of ground in terms of family dynamics.

Through affirmations, working with feelings, visualizations and other techniques, the author shows the reader how to work through toxic shame. As someone who has done the work himself, he comes across as compassionate, knowledgeable and very practical.

Sometimes I get annoyed when I read this book because of unnecessary repetition of some key concepts. This is the explanation for my 4 rating, along with the fact that many of his books overlap each other with respect to content. Therefore, my overall rating is that this is a solid, well-written classic that certainly deserves its best-seller status. However, prepare yourself for some repetition and unnecessarily long examples of what he is talking about.


Can't Read Again
	I love this book!  I love this series and it absolutely pains me to think that this may be the last (I say maybe because originally Buddies was supposed to be the last).  It is such a difficult book to pick up and read because every emotion invested in the previous three books is tested.  My love for Dennis Savage's irony becomes sorrow at the hope that he will lose face and stay with Little Kiwi.  My love for Little Kiwi's innocence becomes concern for his actions.  It's like watching your child make questionable decisions and knowing that no matter what the result, the choices that they make are theirs, and there's nothing you can do about it, but let them be chosen.  It's hard letting Little Kiwi grow up and become Virgil Brown.  I imagine it's the same way with a child, but at least then you get to see what happens!  Mind you, the book like the other three is a comic genius with subtle, feeling humor that has you laughing one minute and crying the next.  But just like  quot;Just Above My Head quot; by James Baldwin (which I highly recommend), I have been unable to pick up this book and read it again.  It simply leaves me realing with so many feelings, yet I would not trade the experience reading it with anything.  How does one mix merriment with malaise so well?  Read the book and find out


Cute
	This is a cute story about a spider who drops in on a farm.  All the farm animals greet her and invite her to play.  But the spider spends the day building her web instead.  The book is fun and informative, and not at all scary.  The pages are doubled so they are easy to turn, but be careful, because inquisitive little fingers may reach inside the pages and rip them.  The book has about 350 words


A great unsung character
	Collins' efforts with his justly famed  quot;The Moonstone quot; and  quot;The Woman in White quot; have perhaps overshadowed his very fine work as seen in  quot;Armadale. quot;  Lydia Gwilt (don't you love the last name?) is one of the great unsung characters in English (or any western) literature.  Collins seems to delight in making her as full-bodied, as attractive to men, and as dangerous as he can without ever losing his grip and falling over the slippery precipice into satire.  Given the tenor and social conventions of the time, her quest for revenge on the despicable Alan Armadale seems perfectly in keeping.  Lydia Gwilt is like an early, English Scarlett O'Hara without the redeeming humor Scarlett was known to exhibit.  All in all, an extraordinarily well-written and three-dimensional character study


Changed my Life
	I evolved into a lower carb nutrition by finding first that I needed more protein than I had thought and that I reacted strongly to sugars.  I bought this book when I decided to lose a few pounds, but wanted to understand any health implications related to a low carb diet.  I was already having gall bladder and liver issues.  I bought this book first and 2.5 years later, it is still the best reference I have.  The chapter on hormones is a bit technical, but this chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

Within three days of eliminating grains from my diet, I no longer cared whether or not I lost weight.  My awful blood sugar drops and painful bloating were gone, my energy increased significantly and within weeks I noticed that the gall bladder pain was gone (and it hasn't come back).  Within three months my intense hot flashes disappeared and I started sleeping better.

The book first describes what low carb nutrition is, then goes on to discuss hormones and how insulin impacts the overall balance of the body's hormones in different ways.  It addresses overall energy, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, vitamins and minerals, and weight control (one chapter - the rest is on health issues).


A great book. My 3 year olds favorite.
	Three of my nephews and my son's favorite book. He wore it out and I had to buy another one.


Wonderful book
	This is an excellent book.  The anecdotal stories that the author includes make the book much more readable when compared to other parrot guides.  The authors book on Senegal parrots and their family is also full of information.


Perception is everything
	In response to the guy who said this book isn't  quot;scientific quot; I say, it's as scientific as the diagnosis. (Which is essentially a catalog of behaviors that annoy teachers, but I digress.) There's no scientific proof that ADHD actually exists as a disorder. Since we don't understand the brain, or why it does things, how can we assume that brain scans actually tell anyone anything? Choosing a positive perspective about annoying behavior is a good start. The book is worth your time, but you should also check out Hallowell or Ingersoll


Outstanding book
	Among all the theories of ethics with which I am familiar, I have always found Kant's system to be the best: carrying out one's duty for the sake of the duty itself. The problem with Kant, however, is that his theory of morality is grounded outside humanity, dependent on a source of which we can never, some may claim, have any understanding. Christine Korsgaard fixes, at least for me, this problem, by showing that one does not have to venture outside humanity in order to ground its morality. In short, the source of normativity is our humanity itself.

I don't want to get into too much details and give away the main points of the book. Suffice it to say that it offers, in my opinion, some of the best arguments for the objectivity of morality. The conclusion I reached after reading the book was this: It is as much justified for a human to complain 'Why should I be moral?' as it is for him/her to complain 'Why should I have two eyes?' In both cases, the answer is 'Because you are a human being, a social animal with two eyes.'


Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership
	Highly recommended! The text is engaging and very informative.  Clear possibilities for implementation


Sexological Review
	I found Lovemaps a valueable and insightful look at the way individuals relate to sexual behavior and establish their sexual identify and desires based on life experiences which as Dr. Money indicates occurs in childhood and which is unconsciously formed by the individual. I found this book extremely helpful while working on my Doctorate in Human Sexuality and now 6 years later as I continue my research and work as a Sexologist and Sex Therapist. I highly recommend this book to other Sexologist and Clinicians, as well as any man or woman who is interested in learning more about sex and sexual behavior; and in essence more about themselves. It definitely helps if you read a book before judging it. And this book should be in everyone's "Sensual Library".  Live with passion, Dr. Charley Ferrer, author of The Latina Kama Sutra, The W.I.S.E. Journal for the Sensual Woman, Para La Mujer Sensual, El Kama Sutra Latino, The Passionate Latina: In Our Own Words... www.instituteofpleasure.org


A phenominal resource book dedicated to enlighten and inform its reader.
	The Art of The Table - A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware, is extremely thorough in covering all the details related to proper table etiquette. Author Suzanne Von Drachenfels makes it so easy, and entertaining in the process, finding the answer to any mealtime dilemma.

In nine, worldly-wise written chapters, you will learn all about table fundamentals. Starting with the dining experience (formal vs. informal), then dinnerware, flatware, stemware, table linens, serving techniques, dining finesse, menu planning, Suzanne completes her mission with her undertaking of table manners in a changing world. Her history lessons compliment any given subject and are very enjoyable. Excellent


One of My favorite from SK
	Rose Madder was one the first books that got me hooked on Stephen King. This story is phenomenal, in my opinion.  I have to admit the first time I read it I was a little confused.  I was not one to be to much into "sci fi" fantasy type stuff.  This, like any good story or movie is best when it is read a few times.  Then you really get to pick up the subtle hints that you may have missed before. Then again I am a bit biased.  Rose Madder is right at the top of my list of most favorites (just below Bag of Bones


A handbook for parents full of personal anecdotes, fanciful stories, and good common sense advice
	Carol Kuykendall --- author, speaker, and strategic projects director for MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers) --- has compiled what she considers the five-star winning components of a successful family. According to this mom of three grown children, the five key elements of a great family begin with love -- expressions that inspire and comfort; fun -- activities that recharge a family's batteries; loyalty -- lessons on sticking with family through it all; growth -- embracing new challenges and seeing the value of stretching; and faith -- holding close a relationship with Christ that shines vividly and practically into the lives of others. With many personal anecdotes, fanciful stories, and good common sense advice, Kuykendall does a marvelous job presenting a handbook for parents that is easy on both the eyes and the heart.

The author's two-part text deals with family matters that focus on the beginnings of new family life when a young couple first discovers they're pregnant. Some of the practical points offered in this section include deciding who to invite to the actual delivery, naming the baby by taking into account potential teasing/taunting as a result of this all-important choice, hashing out basic parenting decisions regarding naps/nursing/discipline, dealing with those unmet expectations that crop up almost immediately after giving birth, and learning to fit into the extended family with the newest member without stepping on other siblings' toes or feelings.

Kuykendall then delves into dreaming for a bit. Just what kind of family does the new couple want to be? The author discusses the value of looking back in order to glean the best of past childhoods while wisely leaving not-so healthy patterns behind where they belong. She also details the importance of taking a realistic look at where a family is today, accepting where people are, because this is the point from which everyone can move ahead. Finally, a brief segment on looking ahead with hopeful, faith-inspired enthusiasm closes out this foundational topic.

To complete part one, Kuykendall does a lovely job presenting the "gifts" children bring to a family. Clearly, children are gifts from God, but with them come powerful life lessons on perspective. Consider the gift of "do-overs," in which parents can relive the innocence and wonder of childhood discovery through their children's eyes. This important truth reminds parents that God is the giver of second chances. Kuykendall also cites the gifts of humility as children "reveal us to ourselves" as imperfect parents. Children also model sincerity of a simple, uncomplicated faith.

Once this solid foundation is set, Kuykendall spends a generous amount of space re-defining her five-star qualities, each with its own separate chapter (Love, Fun, Loyalty, Growth, Faith). Every chapter opens with a lengthy discussion that includes biblical principles and selected bible verses, personal insights from the author's own family life, specific action points, and quippy yet powerful quotations for increased take-away reminders. One of the most telling quotations included in this timely text appears near the end, and it typifies Kuykendall's entire message beautifully. "Family is...A soft place to land."

   --- Reviewed by Michele How


I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
	Wow!!!  This is a ton of great information from a 'been there, done that' Mom and Grandma.

The author shares wisdom, humor and stories all wrapped in grace...
(I loved that I could read it and be inspired to be better, encouraged for the great things I AM doing, but not feel guilty about all the stuff I'm NOT doing.)

This is a celebration  of the family. I think I might make it my new standard baby shower gift!!


The rare little children's bio of Dr. King
	When I first started reviewing children's books on Amazon.com I gave myself a long list of rules to follow.  And one of those rules stated that I was not to read other reviews of a book on the site until AFTER I'd written my own review.  I wanted my little writings to remain unsullied and pure, filled only with my own thoughts (which I obviously mistook to be brilliant) and feelings.  After a while though I gave up on this rule.  By and large (and this is not speaking for all reviews... just 90% of them) a review for a children's book goes something along the lines of "It was good, my four-year-old requests it every night, buy this book, etc.".  Nothing too shocking or revealing.  So I grew lazy.  I started reading other reviews of picture books long before I sat down to actually write a review of my own.  Just moments ago I went to do the same thing for the beautiful picture book, "Martin's Big Words".  This book was on my list of must-reads because it had garnered itself a Caldecott Honor years before.  So I went to the appropriate Amazon.com page (much as you are now) and read the first review on the list.  At the time, it was an unassuming July 18, 2002 review entitled, "There's Something Wrong Here...".  I read the review.  I digested the review.  And I came to the inescapable opinion that the points raised in the review were good ones.  Ones that I should consider, dare I say, in my OWN review.  This is unprecedented.  Never has a review for a book, a children's book, really hit home for me like this one did.  So to that mysterious reader who thought to make a point back in 2002, I commend you.  And to myself, a mental whipping for breaking my own rules.  It's a hard act to follow, but I've a point or two of my own to make and I'm gonna make `em.

Now  as a children's librarian I get a whole heaping helpful of small children coming in around January 17th (or just before) requesting books on Martin Luther King Jr.  For the older children, such requests are usually easy enough to fulfill.  But for little ones with short attention spans and even shorter vocabularies, the choices are limited.  Fortunately, there's, "Martin's Big Words".  A beautiful encapsulation of the life of the great man, the book shows Martin as a child, first encountering the insanity of segregation.  We see him grow up and preach a gospel of love and acceptance.  Following this are small looks at the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, civil rights marches, and his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.  Finally, while marching with striking garbage collectors (a fact not often mentioned in children's biographies of King), he was shot and killed.  Says the book at the end, "His big words are alive for us today".

The book is stunning to look at, you know.  The endpapers consist of pane after pane of brown, peach, amber, and umber stained glass.  Taken together, the stained glass appears to be a variety of different skin tones all working together to make something beautiful.  Using collage, illustrator Bryan Collier peppers his unique style with symbolic images (such as four lit candles placed in remembrance of the girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist church).  In the rest of the book, Collier's images leap off the page.  They're bright, colorful and eclectic.  Combined with author Doreen Rappaport's elegant eloquent narrative, children get a full understanding of the courage and greatness behind Dr. King's life and actions.

So what about the complaints of this book?  Let's examine them fully.  First of all, one criticism is that in the image of the civil rights march there are thirteen men on display, none of whom are either white or female.  This is true.  And it is a little odd.  Not don't-buy-this-book odd.  Just why-did-the-illustrator-make-that-choice odd.  From looking at the picture I can only assume that Collier was working off a snapshot of a portion of a march from the past and didn't notice that it was a bit skewed.  The other criticism of the book is that whites are only portrayed as evil rednecks that want to kill Dr. King.  I dunno.  The book says plenty of things about diversity and the coming together of the races.  As for the lack of positive white images, I admit they're not present in this particular book.  However, the world is filled to overflowing with books that DO present positive images of white people.  As a white person myself, I'm sick to death of 'em.  And I'd gladly exchange four or five hundred such books for a single one that was half as beautifully illustrated and written as "Martin's Big Words".

So yeah, the book has a flaw here or there.  But it also fills a need.  However important you deem it that your children see positive images of whites during the Freedom Marches is your prerogative.  But don't pass "Martin's Big Words" by because it fails to fully display the diversity of the 60s in your eyes.  It's a great book with a great message.  It's also one of the few King bios that'll capture your seven-year-old's attention for longer than a minute.  A great addition to any library and a necessary purchase for anyone who wants to teach their small child about a magnificent man.


Never travel the same route twice!
	Ibn Batuta describes his encounters with peoples and lands west of his native Tangiers (Morocco) in the 14 C. By avoiding to travel the same route twice, he comes to the same places a number of times (Baghdad, Delhi) spinning and zigzagging his ways through mountains and seas. As he explores with brio this world, he unfolds himself and as in most cross-cultural encounters, this maybe one of the most interesting features of the book. He accepts miraculous events with a candor I have not found in any other Middle Age traveler of those lands (from Marco Polo to the Jesuits). He gives little description of the way people live in the places he visits - which I regret - apart from detailed descriptions of the gowns and other garments he is given by some of the Sheikhs of the places he visits. The descriptions of how those sheikhs succeeded to govern illustrate how (extremely) fragile power was and is in those regions.
Names are sometimes difficult to relate to those we know - which is regretful.
Don't follow Ibn Batuta's advice, read (and enjoy) the book twice


Very funny and so true
	I lived in a situation somewhat like that Richardson describes.  We watched VietNam from 1000 miles away, but the players were the same.  It was like living at the far edge of the Welsh Marches in the time of the Roman Empire.  Maybe if you haven't lived within a bureauocracy you won't understand, but everything he says is true


GREAT READ
	A must for any afterlife library.The chapter entitled "Mothers Chapter" is worth the price of the book alone. I know it will be hard to put this book down. A delightful 2 day read


Global Capitalism's Local Disaster
	There are many books out there about the supposed strengths or weaknesses of globalization and free trade, but at least in terms of the international movement of capital, you'll usually find mere boosterism and ideology. At last, Paul Blustein has given us a look at the real-life effects of financial shenanigans and speculation on the lives of real people in a developing nation. Here we have an in-depth and incredibly informative examination of the global financial trends that led to the horrendous collapse of Argentina's economy in 2001-2002, which resulted in millions and millions of people descending into poverty and hardship. You won't be surprised to see the word "bubble" regularly, as Blustein covers the surprisingly slow-moving factors that added up to disaster over several years, with many mistakes made by all parties along the way.

In addition to some financial mismanagement and damaging internal politics within Argentina itself, Blustein also explains errors made by the IMF and the Clinton and Bush administrations, and unhealthy speculation by foreign investors who had no regard for the outcomes of their actions. Not to mention, Argentina was the punching bag for an international monetary system that is built to ensure short-term rewards for speculators, plus an ideology that believes it to be acceptable when elites in rich countries profit while regular people in developing nations are left holding the bag when the bubble bursts. I would also recommend this book for those with a general interest in international monetary matters, as Bluestein does a marvelous job explaining phenomena like currency exchange rates, international debt and equity markets, and other financial concepts that you may wish to understand more deeply. If you're an ideologue in love with the supposed panacea of free markets, thinking that the unfettered movement of capital around the world will raise all ships, you might have your worldview shot down by Blustein and his excellent look at Argentina's misery. [~doomsdayer520~


Definitely worth every penny
	I have a pile of thes books at home   this is the first one that ever gave me any useful information.  I am physically challenged and I have a hard time getting around.  This is the only book I ever read that features information for people like me


There is a unprocess to everything
	I found this book to very informative. In a nutshell, it tells you how food is processed throughout your system and it's reaction. Like, fresh vegatables can be eaten with anything but starches don't digest well with meat. There are stages to going *Raw* that Ms. Rose has honestly and clearly put out there. Our bodies just can't go Raw over night. Yhere is a change in the digestive system. I know from my experience how my body feels when I eat raw for several days and then introduce the wrong combonation of foods. I feel like I'm suffering at the toilet.Sorry. Natalie gets you through the stages of developing this life style. It's a Detox program not a cookbook. It has recipes for all the stages to going *Raw. Ms. Rose hershelf claims it took several years for her to go completely Raw. The recipes are for those various stages. I don't find anything wrong with this book. As far as enzymes. All foods have them, and yes our body has them too. When cooking foods you are breaking down the enzymes that are packed with nutrients. That simple. We want to incorporate more enzymes or natural living food into our bodies.

And if you read your Bible...you will know what it means to eat pure food. Eat what the Lord has provided for you. You best optimal health can continue and grow from eating more living foods.

I was on this plan for a month. Without exercise I did the stage 3 and followed through the evening. I lost 16lbs in a month! I didn't even do an enema yet. My body was doing well everyday several times a day getting rid of the waste I've manage to occumalate. I didn'want to wear my food anymore. My insulin was way off from process snacks. This really help me feel the difference and pay respect to the best thing I could have done for myself. This book is a great beginning. I hope you see it the way I do


Not bad at all
	I enjoyed this novel. It wasn't Hiaasen's best work but it was well beyond a lot of novels one could read.

Hiaasen has the ability to look at the lower end of society and bring out the humour in how they conduct their lives. In this novel, two people win the Lotto. Ordinarily this would be a cause for celebration but when one of the winners bemoans the fact that they have to share their spoils with another and they are wanna-be white supremists, then the adventure starts.

The shenanigans of the characters is both humourous and engrossing, this is a book that I recommend


Great Resource!
	This book opened up new database opportunities for me. Without it, I would never have unlocked the real power of MySQL 5


A Great Sequel to Jurassic Park
	This novel was amazing.  It is just as good as Jurassic Park and I recommend it to anyone who loved Jurassic Park.  This novel is much better than the movie so if you liked Lost World, then you should definitely read this.  Crichton realistially extends this series and keeps you entertained throughout the book.  Once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down


Fast
	I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and fast. It kept my attention and I did not want to put the book down.


Outstanding book that will build character!
	The Chronicles of Narnia by accaimled author C.S. Lewis is worth every penny. I bought a copy for myself, but I am saving it for when my son learns to read. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe will move you if are you 25 or 5 and the story is a of such a kind--that you are the better for reading it


More Than a House
	Through Forster's impressive command of the English language and advanced character development, the story of Helen   Margaret Schlegel unfolds. The sisters--who are highly educated, pensive, and artistic--become entangled with the Wilcox family--practical, unilateral capitalists--and the Basts--working class and unassuming. However, the initially subtle differences between the sisters (and how they approach love, misfortune, and personal relations) become more obvious as the novel progresses, climaxing in a scandalous ending that was unexpected from a high-brow English novel. (I think some of the 1 and 2 start reviewers never actually read the novel to its dramatic end) Human nature notwithstanding, the novel's refinement, gorgeous writing, and riveting story-telling prevail to the end. I loved it!


"I was cut out for finer things."
	The narrator of Joe Perrotta's novel "Joe College" is Danny, an English major at Yale. Stuck with the peculiarities of his roommates, and with a horrendous crush on a fellow student named Polly, Danny struggles to complete his junior year. While home in New Jersey on a summer break, Danny drives his father's lunch wagon "The Roach Coach." And this is how he meets Cindy, a pleasant, chatty secretary. Danny compares her to the girls on the Yale campus, and the comparison is not flattering to Cindy. He's faintly embarrassed by her, and while she's ok to date when he's home in New Jersey, he's ashamed of the relationship when he returns to Yale.

Once again, Perrotta presents the theme of escape from New Jersey, and in the novel, Danny's escape is temporarily through Yale, but ultimately through education. Cindy represents everything Danny is trying to escape--a lifetime driving the Roach Coach, and Danny knows far too many people who made huge mistakes and ended up trapped forever in New Jersey.

Class is another theme in the novel--during the school year, Danny works in a cafeteria. The employees and the Townies are all too well aware that their lives are mapped out--whereas the Yale students seem to have vast, limitless opportunities. While Danny's background is humble, and his parents have made tremendous sacrifices to send him to Yale, he rubs shoulders with peers who come from incredibly wealthy homes. To them, Yale doesn't quite hold the desperate stakes that face Danny. When it comes to making some rather questionable moral choices, Danny nakedly examines his motives, and simply shrugs. While this does not make Danny a heroic narrator, it certainly makes him very real and very human. As a Perrotta fan, I hope that the author rediscovers Danny in another novel. In "Joe College" Danny's moral fibre is still quite plastic, and he may prove to be fascinating in middle age--displacedhuma


Metallica's Last Thrash
	THE BAND: James Hetfield (lead vocals, guitar), Kirk Hammett (guitars), Lars Ulrich (drums   percussion), and new member Jason Newsted (bass) formerly of Flotsam And Jetsam (replacing Cliff Burton, R.I.P.).

THE DISC: (1988) 9 tracks clocking in at approximately 65 minutes. Included with the disc is a 10-page booklet containing song titles/credits, song lyrics, band pictures, one 'gavel' drawing containing  band member faces, and thank you's. This is Metallica's 4th studio album. All songs written by Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich and/or Newsted. Recorded at One On One Studios, Los Angeles, CA. This would be Flemming Rasmussen's last album produced with the band (Bob Rock would follow). The Japanese (import) version contains a bonus track - a Diamond Head cover, "The Prince". Label - Elektra.

COMMENTS: "...And Justice For All" was the last classic Metallica album of the 80's. It was also their final attempt at thrash metal (once the 90's rolled around and producer Bob Rock entered the picture, the band took a more "mainstream" metal approach). The majority of songs are long with complex riffs... borderline progressive. Let me first say that for years, this disc sat on my shelf. I thought it was over-produced; I didn't like Ulrich's snare drum (sounded cheap and tinny) or his double bass (sounded shallow and metallic - partly due to a coin taped to the drum skin where the foot pedal hit); Newsted's bass was nonexistent (the standard explanation for this combines Newsted's absence from the mixing sessions where he could have voiced his opinion, and the lingering issue of his "newness" within the band following the death of Burton); there were three songs that I just could not get into ("Eye Of The Beholder", "The Shortest Straw" and lightning fast "Dyers Eve"); and the articles I read about the 3 original band members hazing and not accepting newcomer Newsted was infuriating... call if fun, call it pranks, call it cruel - Newsted simply did not deserve this kind of treatment. Newsted (or anyone else who took the job) had two choices - put up with the crap or leave. From the outside looking in, Burton's loss was tragic, but the way Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett handled the situation afterwards seemed uncalled for. As far as "...And Justice For All" is concerned though, it's taken a decade to grow on me and finally realize there are some brilliant songs here. In my opinion, "One" is one of Metallica's finest songs in their entire catalog. "One" has an awesome slow beginning, tells a great story of an injured soldier, and ends in fine metal thrash form (not to mention one of the more memorable MTV videos)... all in all featuring great guitar work (intro, rhythm and solos). "Blackened" is an underrated gem of an opener. "To Live Is To Die" is the other masterpiece (almost 10 minutes long) - riffs and spoken words written by Cliff Burton (his last written testament) - this song has great riffs and 7 minutes of jamming before any vocals... reminiscent of something taken right off "Master Of Puppets". The title track also resembles something from "Puppets". "...And Justice For All" chart success - hitting #6 on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" from 1988, as well as the song "One" hitting #35 on Billboard's Hot 100. There's good and bad here... this album is still considered a classic and essential. If not only for the songs "One", "Blackened" and "To Live Is To Die" (4 stars).


Wonderful and Most Fun
	I just finished my second reading of it.

I really cannot add much to the great reviews already written. I've always loved Dickens' way with words, and this book is a treasure in that department. The English, the Era, the characters, the countryside.... it got to the point where I couldn't wait for the evening to come so I could continue reading.

This also seems to me to be an important "cornerstone book" for other great English literature. The theme (though just a seed) for  Scrooge in A Christmas Carol begins here, in a story called The Goblin Who Stole a Sexton, a story related during one of Pickwick's Christmastime visits to a friend in the country. When reading The Wind in the Willows or Tolkien's works, I cannot escape the feeling that they were also influenced by the charm, the sense of humor (okay, humour), duty to friends, and the simple but most important things in life which Dickens so impressively describes.

The only negative thing is that I discovered that it had an effect on me which made me wish that I was free from the drudgery of daily work, was retired (with ample monetary means, of course, like Pickwick himself), and could devote the remainder of my life to similar ramblings, adventures, and pursuits.

An excellent book


THE MARCH CONTINUES
	I first read this extraordinary book in 1986, just two years after it was first published.  Picking it up again, I find it eerily applicable to our current situation. There is a familiar old adage that teaches us that those who refuse to learn history are doomed to repeat it. THE MARCH OF FOLLY brings this message back to the forefront.

Barbara W. Tuchman eloquently discusses the bizarre propensity of governments throughout history to pursue policies contrary to their own interests. Mind you, this is not a pacifist book but rather one that begs governments to beware of the reckless pursuit of policy that might prove to be dangerous. And, yes, I admit right readily that hindsight is 20-20.

Beginning with the Trojans and their acceptance of the Trojan Horse to benighted Papal policy during the renaissance to Britain's stupidity during the American Revolution to questionable American policy during the Vietnam war, THE MARCH OF FOLLY invites the reader to consider the fact that as things change in historic chronology apparently nothing else does.

Given our current war policies, efforts and mistakes in Iraq, Tuchman's masterpiece is a very poignant read and we must confess, regardless of individual political leanings, that the potential for history to repeat itself yet again is considerable. Who knows, there may yet be a sequel to this one appropriately titled THE MARCH CONTINUES.

THE HORSEMA


Excellent book on personal hygiene and public health
	Many stories in this book reminds me of the famous essay  quot;Silent Spring quot;. The writing style is extremely accessible to every body and yet delivers a significant amount of knowledge, advice, and sometimes wisdom. The author carefully explains medical terms and implications, thus easing the reader's mind without using a medical book. This book is highly recommended to anyone who has a curious mind


Good news for cats :-)
	As a health writer, I know that pharmaceuticals can be very dangerous compounds. But for years, I overlooked the fact that drugs aren't good for pets either. Your cat can probably benefit from safer alternative  treatments. Martin Zucker has put together a wonderful book with top  veterinarians. Don't keep alternative and holistic treatments to yourself  -- share them with your pet


Great, subtle book by proven author
	I LOVED this book!  I read it in a single day.  I have read everything else of Maupin's and strongly recommend this novel, too.  This is probably my favorite book of his.

The author had more lyrical descriptions in this book than I remember from his past volumes.  I found myself rereading lines and paragraphs simply for the sheer beauty of language.  The falling apart relationship between Gabriel and Jess also hit me as realistic and at times almost too painful to read.

A great book!!!


Who knew that earth demons like Chef Boyardee?
	'The Regulators' is not quite on the literary level of 'Desperation,' but that makes it more fun in a way, especially as it's less preachy.  I liked that 'The Regulators' adds a little more information about the mysterious Tak.  Here we see a more terribly playful, oddly fastidious, and possibly younger Tak who loves spaghetti, chocolate milk, westerns, and Cassie Stiles.  And while most of the characters of 'The Regulators' are flatter than those of 'Desperation,' 'The Regulators' gives us a glimpse of what some inhabitants of Desperation might have been like before Tak possessed them, particularly Audrey and Collie who were never shown "pre-Tak" in 'Desperation.


almost, but not quite...
	A looming 21-year High School reunion has led me to ponder the past, especially the town I grew up in. I have been reading The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kuntsler, a book which explores the rise of suburbia and automobile culture in America. Kuntsler explores the effects of modernist design philosophy (Le Corbusier, Gropius, Bauhaus etc. ) . Although Kunstler's book is by no means a complete history, his insights are provocative. His basic thesis is that the rise of the automobile has led to the development of a banal and meaningless  quot;geography of nowhere quot;. In other words, since the 1920s, Americans have pursued a single-minded vision when it comes to urban development: namely treating our built surroundings as disposable commodities to be bought and sold, with little regard to aesthetics.

 Growing up in a suburb, I experienced this sort of fake-non-reality-bubble of what a city should be, or what it should do for its residents. There was always nothing to do, nowhere to go. Fortunately, in those days, creative people created their own  quot;scene quot;, no matter how lame it was. Such a naive scene based on our libertine tastes and overbearing ignorance. Of course, conformity was the rule.

 And we all nearly s--t ourselves when we got behind the wheel of our first car. It was almost like and 5-year-old's first trip to Disneyland. It was like that first sexual experience. It was an epiphany, of sorts.

 Little did we realize that our addiction to auto travel would bring such a high cost to our lonely empty souls. Who ever thought that being so cheap would cost us so much?


Extraordinary
	Extremely well researched. McChesney has been a key figure in the "media debate" and he approaches the subject with knowledge and objectivity. His disciplined, almost scientific investigation is an example of non-partisan coverage of a crucial issue. If only a few politicians were as concerned with the public interest as McChesney, we would be in a better world. I am a Mexican citizen so I couldn't care less about U.S. partisan politics, and if you care about the fate of public communications, you shouldn't either. This is a problem that affects every country, not just the U.S.A., since the big telecommunication companies are broadcasting all over the World. The interest of big advertisers is being protected by U.S. policy and their marketing messages are then blasted everywhere. Even the smallest community in the South-Mexican jungles knows Ronald McDonald. CNN has Latin editions of their biased news transmitted to most Latin countries. As an outsider, I hope the U.S. citizenry will realize that this is not an issue of Democrats vs. Republicans but a World-wide issue of the individual vs. the big corporations. In reality they don't care about your political affiliations, as long as you saturate your credit cards to buy their heavily advertised products, you can debate each other to death


A book for the ages
	Woodward and Bernstein, famous reporters for the Washington Post during the Watergate scandal, chronicle their experience investigating and exposing the deceptive actions of President Nixon and his cronies during Watergate.  This book takes the reader through Woodward and Bernstein's efforts at uncovering the truth, internal dilemmas about the information they were uncovering, and covert meetings with confidential sources.  They tell a tale of mystery and intrigue that stands up to some of the world's best fiction except that this story actually happened and signaled the end of an era where the US Presidency was respected above all else.

This book is a fascinating look at how investigative journalism once was.  Instead of printing first and asking questions later, Woodward and Bernstein, along with their editors, took painstaking efforts at checking, double checking, and even triple checking their sources and information before putting something derogatory in print.  It seems a sharp contrast to journalism today that appears to be publish now, ask questions later, and file a retraction in small print even later.  This book also tells the tale of two very opposite reporters and how they pulled together to write about the crime spree of the century and topple a corrupt Presidency.  It gets better with each reading


Excellent.
	A lot of the reviews I have read here, both positive and negative, have noted Smith's acerbic and sometimes hostile tone. In my own discussions on god, particularly when engaging Christians, I probably would not use SOME of the more harsh language found in the book. It tends to be devisive and unproductive, and also reinforcing many of the deragatory stereotypes that are applied to Atheists.

That does not mean that any of Smith's arguments are not legitimate or powerful. They should be confronted by ANYONE who takes any position regarding religion or god.

Perhaps the most revealing and important passage of the work comes at the beginning of the Chapter discussing the purported "proofs" for the existence of good posited by Christian Thealogians and laymen.

Smith explains that "Many times in the past, before knowing better, I would engage in arguments with theists who claimed to have a rational foundation for their belief. After several painstaking hours of pointing out flaws in the proposed arguments, I would receive some form of the following comment: 'well, it really doesn't matter if these proofs are invalid, because I have faith in the exstence of god anyway.'
The Theist who resorts to this approach has no claim to rationality- only lack of integrity." Smith's frustration throughout the text at this type of intrangisence is palpable and, ultimately, entirely understandable.

Some of the reviews on this page are illustrative of the general resentment which most Christians seemed to hold for the methods by which human beings acquire knowledge and distinguish truth from falsehood. As an outspoken Atheist, I have heard these types of decrees repeated to me ad nauseum- and they never stop being disturbing. "Lean not on your own understanding," I have been told again and again. "Trust in the lord and stop using all this silly logic," or "god wants us to believe like children," they will say.

All I hear is: "I am happy being ignorant. You will be happy in this delusional fantasy land I live in, too. I know god is not just an inadequate answer to these questions, but no answer at all. Things don't need answers, or explanations, or anything. Everything is ok because I have faith in god."

Hence, I sympathize with Smith's frustration. I urge all Atheists to read this book, which reads more or less like a conversation between an atheist and an extremely intellectual and sophisticad christian who spews (practically)every argument ever conjured to be a believer or to be a Christian, and has them overwhelmingly refuted. Smith understands the obstanince that Atheists will inevitably encounter when Christians (particularly unsophisticated Christians) are challenged. This is probably the reason why some of his repudiations seem unnecessarily expatiated. Any atheist who has offered apologetics in defense of atheism knows that trying to engage a christian is like playing Whack-a-mole, as soon as one battle is definitvely won the Christian will retreat into a sheild of ignorance. This act, Smith accurately points out, will usually involve the word "faith" being substituted for, but meaning the exact same thing as, "ignorance." I assume this is why SMith so meticulously tears apart the idea of something that human beings call "faith" being an effective(or even theoretically plausible) conduit to fundamental truth. He also points out the common ways that Christians like William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland use mangled science or language to misrepresent the issues at hand.

As a small example of this that I found interesting, in "Does God Exist?," J.P. Moreland states that he believes that people can actually perceive god through something he calls "Numinous Perception." Moreland does not give an explanation of how an outside observer could ever deiscern whether someone was having a genuine "Numinous perceptive" experience, or how exactly numinous perception would actually work physiologically or psychologically. Conveniently, this would rule out any chance of Moreland's hypothesis ever being tested and shown to be accurate or inaccurate. When someone hears an argument like this, one can easily turn to Smith for excellent articulation of why they are absurd and illegitimate.

Smith writes: " My argument with the Christian is that he claims to have experienced god, but he refuses to explain the process by which he, a physical organism, experienced this supernatural being. I won't limit him arbitrarily to the traditional five senses, but I will demand that he present evidence for his new perceptual powers. Has he discovered a new sense? Fine, then let him tell us about it so we can test it. No christian has ever succeeded in explaining just how he perceives his mysterious god. He claims to have knowledge of a mysterious, unknowable being, having gained this knowledge in some mysterious unknowable manner. This is totally unacceptable."

Moreland's clever creation of a scientific sounding title for perception of god does not help him.

This book will help atheists with this type of argumentation through just about any thread of thought a theological argument can get into.

Yes, the rhetoric 30 years later SOUNDS more sophisticated (with other clever titles like "intelligent design theory"), but it is not ACTUALLY more compelling or sophisticated than when Aquinas wrote his five proofs or Russell challenged Copelston. I reccomend this book and I can't wait to read "Why Atheism?"

(Just as a curious note, does anyone know if SMith actually debated people in public? If anyone knows of any transcriptions id love to read some, please let me know if you do. Clark00018@aol.com )


Innocence lost, or boys will be cruel
	Golding is a deeply symbolic novelist who relies, especially in this novel and in The Inheritors (1955), on ideas from the viewpoint of evolutionary biology and anthropology.  The central symbol of The Lord of the Flies is that of a pig's head upon a stick stuck in the ground, a totem in the making perhaps, but seen by Golding as Beelzebub, the "lord of the flies," the devil, a head of rotting flesh enveloped by flies.

The central idea is that without civilization we will degenerate into predatory animals ruled by superstition, the will to power, and the primordial need to survive.  When Piggy's glasses, which symbolize the tools and knowledge of our culture are broken, it signals the degeneration, the return to the wild in which, as Thomas Hobbes has it, there are "No arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

That a group of English school boys could degenerate so quickly after crash-landing on a deserted island may be seen as a bit fanciful, or more exactly, as the artifice of the artist; nonetheless, the premise of this extraordinary work may well serve as a cautionary note for our times.  Should we, through nuclear warfare, a runaway greenhouse effect, sectarian violence on a global scale, or through the exhaustion of the fossil fuels that power our civilization, regress to the state of savages, we have this warning.

Instead of the noble savage, instead of a return to the Garden of Eden, instead of the Swiss Family Robinson or Robinson Crusoe, Golding takes us step by step from the world of the boy's school to life and death power struggles and a fascination with savagery to the beginnings of tribal warfare.  As in The Inheritors, Golding sees not the good in humans, but the viciousness.  In The Inheritors we homo sapiens murdered the gentle Neanderthal, here we children become gangsters of the island, on our way to becoming tribal chieftains as murderous and vengeful as the God of the Old Testament.  I understand that Golding wrote the novel in part to answer the pollyannaish naivete of R.M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1857), which I haven't read.

Clearly cruelty is one of Golding's main themes.  Left to their own devices and without the restraint of civilization's justice, humans will be cruel sometimes just to be cruel and sometimes as a means of gaining power.  The boys Ralph and Piggy naively try to set up a democratic sort of government, but are defeated by the brutality of Jack and his will to savagery.

The loss of innocence that the boys experience is seen as not the loss of something they intrinsically had, but of something superimposed upon them by civilization.  In reality, Golding is saying, there is no innocence in children, that is only a fairy tale idea to which we romantically subscribe.

This is one of those novels that has found its way onto the high school or even the middle school curriculum because it is easy to read and because it is easy for young people to relate to.  But the strength of this novel lies not only in its theme and readability but in the fine characterizations of the individual boys.  As in all great works of literature, it is the combination of character and story that compels us to turn the pages, and invites our admiration.

It should be noted that Golding deliberately left out one of the central drives of humans, probably because he did not want to muddy up his theme of savagery, or perhaps because he felt the task too great or perhaps because he didn't find the task palatable.  I am referring to the lack of sexuality in the novel.  Not only are there no girls on the island, but the boys do not, at least overtly, involve themselves in sex.  We can see that Golding's artistry anticipated this criticism since it can be argued that the boys in this situation and at their tender age are not yet ready to express themselves sexually.  I wonder if postmodern psychology would agree.  Certainly Freud would not.

Bottom line: a great read, a terrific adventure, but not a book in my opinion that should be read by preteens, in other words, you need to be older than the characters in the book in order to read the book without fear of nightmares


Splendid but flawed biography
	Not only a terrific portrait of Louis B. Mayer, but a wonderful history of Hollywood movie-making.  My caveat is the portrait of Dore Schary.  While Eyman is fair in his depiction of the struggle between Mayer and Thalberg, Eyman found it necessary to choose sides in the Mayer Schary conflict in the last part of the book, possibly to "correct" the view of Mayer the Monster and Schary the savior in earlier Mayer bios.  His portrait of Schary, a man I knew, bears no resemblance to that decent, fair minded, and gifted man.  It is clear that he interviewed few surviving friends and family members of Schary.  Eyman claims that Schary had no knowledge of the making of musicals, yet Schary in his post MGM days produced a successful musical, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."  Whatever good flims came from MGM during Schary's reign are dismissed as the work of others. He creates a portrait of Schary as a talentless hack, forgetting not only the good films Schary wrote in earlier days but the successful Broadway play he wrote about FDR, "Sunrise at Campabello."  He writes that Schary only spoke of himself in retirement.  I knew few older men who took such an interst in world affairs and the fortunes and misfortunes of his friends.  If he can get Schary so wrong, it forces me to question his other judgments.  Having said all that, I think this is a fine book, evoking old Hollywood with grace and style.


Going to Italy
	If you are planning a trip to Italy, this is a book you should take with you


Dave is amazing!
	Wow - I had to have this book. They are right, he explains everything wrong with Oracle and all about vulnerabilities and exploits.


a necessity and a work of pure genius
	as soon as people see breton's name on a book, they immediately feel indignation and privately exclaim,  quot;the dictator of surrealism! quot; what they don't seem to realize is that, despite being a flawed and somewhat ambivalent man, he probably had more passion in his pinky than they do in their entire body.  quot;nadja quot; is simply one more delightful proof of breton's genius and his infallible flair for the surreal, the mysterious, the mystical, and everything that is profoundly divergent. in this tale of intrigue and obsession he travels the streets of paris with a ghostly, clearly insane young woman who calls herself nadja, which is the russian word for hope.  the most captivating parts of the novel are the bizarre and surreal conversations he has with her. even though he found her incredibly fascinating and almost an ethereal enigma, things start to turn sour between them and breton grows bored with her.  at the end of the novel, nadja is put into an asylum after the police are called because of her incessant screaming and apparently incoherent behavior, some of which suggested that she was living in a world of hallucinations and irrational fears.  we do know that nadja was a real woman and not by means some fictitious creation of breton's, and we also know that she came to a somewhat unfortunate end. it may be true that breton's behavior and attitude of indifference and deliberate ignorance about her truly wretched fate (she died of cancer, insane and completely alone) is indeed nothing to admire, but those who put too much emphasis on this admittedly accurate fact forget that while he may in a sense have betrayed her, he also made a truly admirable effort to make the world see nadja and those like her as no one has seen them before, and immortalized her in a book that is absolutely unforgettable and breathtakingly beautiful. breton was a profoundly hopeful and truly revolutionary figure who exhorted humanity, even while the second world war raged and reaped it's devastating results universally on all of mankind, to recognize the miraculous and wondrous nature of our very existence, however 'absurd' or meaningless some felt it to be after the horrendous events of the twentieth century. it is true that he occasionally goes over the top with his optimism, but his iron will and determination to fight 'miserabilism', the philosophical justification of human misery, at all costs can only call forth our admiration. his exaltation of the imagination as the highest of human faculties and the sole organ of man that will allow him to attain felicity seems to be verified by direct, concrete experience of life.  as we grow older and we come to realize that sensual pleasure is a big part of life but essentially empty and hollow, our inner lives (hopefully) become more vivid and we end up spending more and more time there. breton knows this and wants us to cultivate it to the highest degree possible. don't be fooled by the 'anti breton' rhetoric and take a dismissive attitude toward him, because you'll be missing out on some of the most fascinating books (to my mind) ever written


A must-read for those who want a strategic plan that works!
	Mr Hargrave's book contains practical guidance to developing a sound, realistic and executable strategic business plan. Drawing from his wealth of business experience from working  amp; leading various corporations and running his own consultancy practice, the book provides a detailed framework from which managers can follow to draw up their own plans. On top of that, explainations are given throughout the book on why certains steps are needful while others are superfluous, what key issues to consider and what pitfalls to avoid in formulating the plan. Three words that describe the content of the book will have to be: impactful, illuminating and practical. A must-read for managers and aspiring MBAs in strategic management. A second edition to bring in the role of IT in strategic planning would be great


Hey honey!
	We're all getting old and fat! This book just makes you feel less alone about the ordeal


What a wonderful book!
	I always need tissues when I read this book!  It has helped so much!  I teach preschool and one of my students lost his dog.  I gave him this book and Dog Heaven.  His parents said how much both books helped.  It is just so hard for children to understand death.  I think this book goes a long way in validating a child's feelings.  So often children don't know what to feel, they know grief, but there is so much more than that.  It truly helps when children know it's ok to be confused, hurt, and just upset.  I HIGHLY recommend this book


If you don't know what is going on.....
	If you don't know what you are doing then you need to get this book.  If you think you know what you are doing, then you definitely need this book because you probably have no clue.  Contrary to what one reviewer states, this text does provide a good balance between application and theoretical example.  I use this book all of the time as a graduate student.  It is a wonderful reference.  If you are studying econometrics, then this is the first book you should buy.


A Wealth of History and Opinion
	This book offers such a fabulous collection of ideas.  The information and ideas one can gather from these pages is both a great way to trace the roots of feminism as well as to decide where we go from here.
Each section and piece has introductory information giving a setting of time, place and situation before the writers present their views.  There are so many ideas, ideals and beliefs that while not always agreeable or congruent, can be applied to today's feminist movement.  There is virtually nothing in the book that isn't valuable as either an example of progress or the seed of a new branch for the feminist tree.

To understand the position in which women today navigate life, this book is essential reading.  Interesting, entertaining and informative, it ought to be required readin


"To have committed no fault, yet to be so entirely alone..."
	NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is a significant Dickens in the uncannily absorbing way the narrative diversifies to various literary discourses. The protagonist's experiences and encounters in adverse milieu through life not only embody melodrama, comic relief, political satire, class comedy, social criticism, and domestic farce, they allow Dickens the opportunity to portray, to the minutest nuance, an extraordinary cast of rogues and eccentrics. The main frame of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is a quintessential Dickens: a generic, virtuous man who concerns with the affair of establishing his identity as a gentleman and the pruning of whom entwines him in a checkered fate. Nicholas Nickleby has committed no fault and offenses, and yet he is to be entirely alone in the world, to be separated from the people he loves, and to be proscribed like a criminal. The more unbearable the ordeals and the more injudicious the deal of the hand from life, the more profusely the novel accentuates Dickens' outrage at the cruelty and social injustice.

When Nicholas Nickleby is left exiguous after his father's death, he turns to his hard-hearted uncle to solicit succor. But Ralph Nickleby, a most unscrupulous and avarious man he is, demonstrates that he is proof against all appeals of blood and kindred, and is steeled against every tale of distress and sorrows. The man will never fail to exert any resolution or cunning that will promise increase of money for there is scarcely anything he will not have hazarded to gratify his greed. It's not that he is unconscious of the baseness of the means with which he acquires his gains. He cares only for gratification of his passions of avarice and hatred. He might have from the beginning conceived dislike to his nephew whom he brazenly places in Squeers' Dotheboys Hall, a school for unwanted boys, as an assistant master.

The cruelty of Squeers, who's coarse and ruffian behavior even at his best temper, Nicholas has been an unwilling witness. The filthy condition of the school and the bodily distortion of the boys impart in him a dismal feeling. The thought of being a helper and abettor of such squalid practice fills his with honest disgust and indignation. The cruelties descend upon helpless infancy fuel this rightful indignation in Nicholas, who interferes with the schoolmaster's flogging a boy named Smike and astonishes everyone in school.

Not only does Ralph persuade Nicholas' family to renounce him for the atrocities to Squeers of which he is guilty, he also betrays his niece Kate into the company of some libertine men who are clients of his and who speak of her in a most casual, lecherous, ribald and vulgar terms. She is roused beyond all endurance by a profusion of compliments of which coarseness becomes humor and of which vulgarity softens down to the most charming eccentricity. The mutual hatred between uncle and nephew aggravates as Nicholas overhears conversations about his sister. The hidden feud further percolates to the surface and leads to a pitch to its malignity as he tries to rescue a girl from a marriage to which she has been impelled.

As the uncle insidiously hatches a scheme to retaliate against his nephew who has in every step of the way interceded and thwarted his plans for mercenary gains, Nicholas entwines with a cast of characters who are humorous, memorable, and true to life. Peripheral to his molding to become a gentleman are episodes of political satire, theatrical success, courtship, family farce, and chicanery. The most significant character is no doubt Smike, whom Nicholas saves from the hellish grip of the schoolmaster and has become his best friend. Nicholas' unfailing love and protectiveness toward the boy accentuates his being the novel's hero, whose domestic virtues, affections, compassion, and delicacy of feelings qualifies him to his later fortune and does him justice.

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is a flamboyantly exuberant work in which Dickens wreaks the tension of his social satire to a pitch. Details on the Yorkshire school offer such magnifying vision of the cruelty, filthiness, and despotism in the boarding schools. Nor does he spare the rogues and the greedy, whose squeamishness he sarcastically embellishes as a common honesty and whose pride as self-respect. NICHOLAS NICKLEBY also evokes the subtle problem of human nature in establishing boundary of one's remorse. Although Ralph might feel no remorse in his betraying his niece to the temptation of his libertine clients, he hates them for doing what he has expected them to do.

In a sense, Nicholas is seen as the unswerving force that is determined to right the wrong of the society. He tries to appeal to the compassion and humanity of those who have gone astray and to lead them to consider the innocent and the helpless. Nicholas might embody energy for radicalism and ambition to challenge social injustice; his ultimate goal is the recovery of his ancestral position in the social hierarchy. But in the effort to undertake the good deeds, he is influenced by no selfish or personal consideration but by pity for the people he helps and detestation and abhorrence of the heartless schemes.  In the same way he is determined to appeal to his uncle's humanity and not to wreak revenge on him. But Ralph's hatred for his nephew has been fed upon his own defeat, nourished on his interference with all his schemes.

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY is a sober social commentary woven with social and domestic issues. Woven in one man's aspiration to restore family's ancestral dignity is Dickens' own musing, monologues, teachings on the soul, the life, and the moral. The discourse at times assumes a voice of despondency, sobriety and indignation.


Excellent source of fairly up to date information...
	This book is highly informative, updated to include everything up to around Hero's Trial (New Jedi Order), which makes it a must even if you already have the more presentable Star Wars Encyclopedia.  While the Encyclopedia has more interesting and fact filled entrys, it's also hideousely out of date, a problem that this one would easily correct!  I read it cover to cover in a few days, and was quite impressed with how much research went into it, and how few errors were made.  Even so, I have to say I'd recommend this book mainly to fans experienced with EU stuff, lest they quickly become lost and overwhelmed


THE ABSOLUTE BEST
	This book has everything from the SSD Executor,to the ISD Avenger,to the Emperor's resurrection.This book is the one you need if you are looking for information on people,planets,starships,fighters,space colonies,EVERYTHING!!!This book is da bomb wit a capital b


The classic Mediterranean travel narrative!
	Peter Mayle's breakthrough book remains the classic Mediterranean travel narrative. An elegant and witty writer, Mayle set the standard for travel writers of the 1990s, and he's difficult to equal to the present day. Reading and re-reading "A Year in Provence" is like coming home again and again to a faithful friend.

Mayle is absolutely superb!  The next best thing to actual travel.


A Wealth of Information
	This book provides you with numerous analytical tools that can be used to quantify the strategic decision making process. Not a real page turner but the models are useful and the case analysis provides real world examples of companies entering strategic crossroads. Overall I think it provides the reader with a pragmatic way of managing the abundance of information involved in the strategic decision making process


Provides Great Insights Into Life
	The reader that keeps with this book will be rewarded. The conversations in the book are intelligent, the characters and dialogue are real, and the descriptions and settings are vivid. While the author provides a lengthy disclaimer at the end of the book explaining how the fictional university and town in the book are not based upon Yale and New Haven, it is sometimes hard to believe, especially given that the author has been a faculty member at Yale Law School for over twenty-years. This is not to say, however, that the descriptions in the book of the law school and town are inaccurate. Rather, they may provide quite an accurate description of a town torn between those affiliated with a prestigious university (Yale) and those that are not.

In short, I enjoyed this book because it kept me guessing and the pace was just right. This is not a read-it-in-one-day thriller that Grisham might come up with. Instead, this is a much more intellectual read. What I enjoyed most about the book are its insights into life itself. Carter uses fictional characters to explore the good and bad sides to marriage and family life, careers, law, and racism in this country. If you are willing to keep reading when the story seems slow and to learn and grow with the characters (especially Talcott), believe me, this book will reward you, and you'll be glad you read it


The poet laureate and patron saint of sane science.
	As a one-time practicing physicist (now just an "arm-chair physicist") and lifetime music lover, I have found this beautifully-written little book irresistible over the 17 years it has been in my library. In 1983, when the original hardcover edition came out, this book was given to me as a gift by  someone knowing my musical tastes, figuring that it would be the perfect  gift. It turned out to be, but for reasons that are largely  non-musical.

As an arm-chair scientist, I've read and enjoyed more than a  few popularizations by well-known scientists over the years. These include  Richard Feynman with his wry humor in virtually everything he wrote (I  number myself among those physicists who "cut their eye teeth" on the  Feynman Lectures in Physics), Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, Carl Sagan,  and even Brian Swimme. (The Swimme of "A Walk Through Time" goes down  easily, and covers much of the same ground that Thomas does, but in a quite  different way; the Swimme of "The Universe is a Green Dragon" is a much  harder sell for me due to its hard-pressed attempt to oversimplify.) But  for sheer elegance and poetry and breadth of scope, and for essays that  provoke thought on the part of the reader, none can hold a candle to  Thomas.

Everyone who reads this little masterpiece will have his or her  favorites. Here are a few of mine:

In "Things Unflattened by Science" (an  essay on unaddressed and/or incomplete challenges that future scientists  might well undertake), a paragraph on how biologists might endeavor to  better understand what music is, and how it affects the human condition,  starting with a rather small-scale assignment to explain the effect of  Bach's "The Art of Fugue" on the human mind.

In "Altruism" (an essay on  the symbiotic interrelationships among species), how it is that such a  condition actually exists, and a challenge to future scientists to better  understand how our own species might become more altruistic (and adult)  than it presently is.

In "The Attic of the Brain" (a cautionary essay on  the risks of psychiatry, most importantly psychoanalysis, in terms of  performing "total brain dumps"), the need for all of us to carry around a  little clutter in our lives, as insurance against the chance that we might  inadvertently lose our ability to retrieve something truly important.

In  the title (and final) essay, another cautionary tale, this time on  thermonuclear weaponry, the most lucid description I've ever read regarding  the true meaning of this music as envisioned by Gustav Mahler. In a few  brief but sublime paragraphs, Thomas has captured the essence of this  remarkable opus in a way that no musician (and that includes such  Mahlerites as Bernstein, Karajan, Klemperer, Rattle and Walter) ever had.  Until very recently, that is, with the release a few months back of a  staggering performance by Benjamin Zander, conductng the Philharmonia  Orchestra. But that is another topic, and another review.

In the  seventeen years since the initial publication of this book, quite a bit has  changed in our worldview, in some aspects of society and science. But not  enough! The observations and challenges that Thomas lays out will endure  for centuries, provided only that we endure as well.

Bob Zeidle


The up to date Case
	This book has easy to understand  amp; have up to date case. The Harley Davidson case is one of the cases that showing us how's struggling US to face Japanese company offensive. This is the good case to picturing the dawn to earth marketing strategy compare to arrogant  amp; not efficient strategy willing by US Company


Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- A Racial Controversy
	The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been argued as a racial controversy since the first day it was published. Shortly after it was accessible to the public, multiple committees banned the book, proclaiming it to be racist and "trash". To this day, Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is banned in several school districts.

In my personal copy of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there is a helpful and informative introduction and notes throughout the text written by Robert O'Meally. He clearly states that the intent of Twain's word usage is needed in order to properly and vividly describe the setting and tone of the book. His usage of the racial slur "nigger" can be seen as offensive, but I believe it was necessary for it to be realistic. The dialogue that Huckleberry uses throughout the book stays very true to his character, time, and place, at which the slur was used casually.

Besides the usage of the word "nigger", characters in the book often loudly express their racist mentality.  In the begining of Chapter 14, Huck and Jim are talking about all sorts of topics, both of them speaking their mind. Twain describes Huck's thoughts: "Well, he was right; he was most always right; he had an uncommon level head, for a nigger." Obviously some would perceive this to be intolerable and crude, yet I believe that Twain is simply describing the way Huck thinks of Jim. The growing friendship between Huck and Jim is the basis of the entire novel. The book depicts the way Huck feels and thinks about several ideas and concepts about life, the way he feels about his friend must be present and elaborate.

I strongly support Mark Twain's the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The book wins people over with it 's dialogue, plot, originality, and capability to express a realistic story that takes place in a racist and unjust America.


Challenging you to step up to the plate
	This story gives me hope in mankind again.  Despite the horrendous abuse, this woman gave herself -- all of herself -- to save a child from the torment she experienced.  I wish there were more people like Torey Hayden in this world.  I can only hope that I can touch lives in the way Ms. Hayden has.  This book will open eyes to the terrors of abuse that does, indeed, occur in this world, despite the fact that we would like to close our eyes to it.  It also demonstrates the hope that victims can overcome and the need for us to step up to the plate to end this war of terror


Columbus Cubes or bust!
	Although not as fascinating as his PAPER CRYSTALS (a stellar work of modular origami), MATHEMATICAL ORIGAMI is a very solid work on the topic.  David Mitchell again gives clear instructions in text and diagrams for a very intriguing branch of paperfolding.  There are many books on geometric and modular origami, but Mitchell's are more than just "look at this neat design."  Instead, they are well thought out and very intelligently written.  A must-have for fans of the art


OOOH, My goodness
	This book is off the hook.  Oh! my God this book will have you looking at your "so-called" straight man in a whole new light


Wow - my ears are opened!
	I just got a book out of the library.  The author is a nut about recording songs and analyzing the sonograms (frequency intensity over time), and in his mind, when he hears a song, he identifies it by how it "looks" in his mental sonogram.

This whole idea is amazing, and I think I'll never listen to birds the same way again - just after reading the first few pages!

The writing style pulls you into the author's world as he tracks birds and ponders the meaning of their song.  If you love birding, you will wish you had been there on every walk, and you'll want to wake up two hours before dawn the next day to discover the amazingly different pre-dawn songs of common birds.

The book comes with as CD with 98 tracks of songs, and some of the tracks are slowed down, which really changes your perception and shows you the depth and richness of some of those "blurt" sounds birds make.  The Woodthrush  at 1/10 speed reminds me of a howling wolf.  I know I'll never listed to this song the same way again


Divided in Death
	I'll skip the description since that has been done so many times here. But I would like to say that I don't have much time for reading, so make sure the books I choose are those by authors I consider 5-star. J.D. Robb a/k/a Nora Roberts is one of the most prolific authors I've ever read. How she manages to produce books that remain fresh and vibrant attests to her incredible talent and creative imagination. I've read this series out of order, but each book is written so that the book itself can stand alone. This one, however, revealed to me the reason behind Eve's sometimes belligerent attitude, her strong persona, and standoffishness. Robb is great at revealing subtle conflicts, inner turmoils. Great book


Can I get an "Amen!"??
	McDonald's is one of the great symbols of America, and most countries around the world absolutely love McDonald's.  If you want to know the history of the mega-giant corporation, this is a good starting place.  We are capitalists in America - we love making money, and that can only be considered a good thing.  McDonald's embodies much of the American spirit and American dream.  Sure, the food isn't healthy - as if that's a newflash for anyone these days.  But eating it in moderation is not harmful in any way.  Oh, and westcoaster (below) didn't actually read this book prior to reviewing it - that person just has a problem with successful business-people earning money.  If you don't have that problem, read the book and marvel at the entrepreneurial spirit.  And to Hades with the naysayers - come to think of it, I'm outta here - gotta grab a Quarter Pounder with cheese, baby


a pun extravaganza!
	One of the best new authors to date, and possibly one of the best writers in the history of the English language! Jasper has a VERY firm grasp of the language and creates a..slightly...twisted version of reality where people jump into books, fictional characters jaunt around the real world (Hamlet) and books have a tendancy to re-write themselves. Characters include Jane Eyre (of course), the Cheshire cat, The Red Queen, Hamlet, and a slew of minor personalities from books out of print (for good reasons). If you like puns, you'll LOVE this series


Another winner from the author of THE FOUR AGREEMENTS!
	I loved THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz, in which he
shared wisdom from his Toltec ancestors . . . it helped me and I'm sure
countless others develop a simple, yet effective code of personal
conduct.

So when I had the chance to listen to his follow-up book, THE MASTERY
OF LOVE, I naturally was intrigued by the possibility of gaining some
more valuable insights from the author--this time dealing with the
subject of both developing and maintaining a loving relationship.

Perhaps my only disappointment in this title was that it was too
short . . . I gained so much from it that after one listening, I
immediately felt the need to go back and listen a second time . . . methinks
that if you were reading it, you'd do the same, if just to master this
one concept:

To try to change somebody is to try to change a dog or cat. You love
them for who they are. If you're with somebody, don't try to change
him or her.

Also, there were these other valuable tidbits:
Let go of the past and begin every day with a high level of love.

If you don't love yourself, you can change your belief and your
life will change.

When you hear your heart guiding you to happiness, make a choice
and stick to it.

Forgive others, and you will see miracles happen in your life.

And lastly, there was this one that really struck home:
If your choice is to be in a relationship and your partner is playing
the same game . . . what a gift!


Rambles a bit
	Simon Winchester is a popular historian, in the modern mold. This means that he's socially and politically a liberal, and that he's interested in *everything* connected with a specific event. He'll examine it from all angles, and attempt to see it from everyone's eyes, look over everything connected with it, and then draw some conclusions. Usually, those conclusions over-reach some (I'm being general about this type of writer, not of Winchester specifically) and the point of view is relentlessly modern.

Winchester has chosen as the topic of this book the explosion of the volcano Krakatoa in 1883. Interestingly, the author is trained as a geologist, though he has spent most of his life working as a journalist and writer. This means that he actually understands the terminology of geology and vulcanology enough that he can at least make an attempt to explain it to the rest of us in layman's terms, and the result is generally a happy one. Krakatoa was a complex event (the island had three summits, each a separate volcano: two disappeared in the explosion, but they erupted for a good while beforehand, and their effects lasted for years afterwards) and Winchester does a good job of relating what happened, the prelude to it, and the aftermath.

The one criticism that people have which I agree with is that he tends to wander a bit, at times. There are discussions here of everything from Dutch Colonial policy to the habits of spiders to rather technical (though carefully explained) geology. While it's all interesting, sometimes it does stray a bit far from the chosen topic. The author also occasionally over-reaches, a bit. For instance, his assertion that the explosion of the volcano indirectly led to Indonesia's independance is a bit much. My edition included a magazine article he'd written just after the Boxing Day tsunami, in which he attempts to connect the San Francisco earthquake with George W. Bush's election as U.S. President...that seems and even bigger stretch, to be honest.

When the author sticks to the story, however, what he writes is very interesting. I would recommend this book


COMFORTABLE BOOK TO REREAD SOMETIME
	This is truely a funny book.  It of course is the origin of the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, yet much more.  I like to pull this one off the shelf every now and again just to be able to chuckle.  When you read it, you must remember when it was written and what the racial and political attitudes of the time were, although,  it is a good read on that level too, i.e. seeing were our culture has been and where it is today.  I did read one or two reviews which compaired this work to some of the authors other work...good grief folks, lighten up..read the thing for what it is..a funny story meant to amuse. When I was a kid, I did not read Micky Mouse and analyze each comic book for political correctness, nor social commentary (although, being a dog lover, I was not always happy how Pluto was presented and treated) nor did I compair the Micky of 1949 to the Micky of 1952.  Anyway, digging into a book like this for those reasons is fine I suppose, if you are into such, but for me, I just enjoyed the read and highly recommend it


Photographer as Artist
	George DeWolfe sees the photographer as an artist, not a technician, yet his book provides the technical knowledge and shows how to use Photoshop to create consistently high quality fine art prints.  Writing for the experienced photographer with a basic knowledge of Photoshop, DeWolfe begins by showing the photographer, with many examples, how to evaluate an image and decide what adjustments will bring out its special qualities.  The experienced photographer has always used his or her understanding of how light, luminosity and color give life to an image, and has traditionally used various techniques in the darkroom to enhance them.  DeWolfe begins by training the eye of the artist to see these elements and understand how they work.  After showing the reader how to truly see the image and decide how to fine-tune it, DeWolfe then gives us a very detailed digital workflow which, once mastered, allows the photographer to produce excellent prints on a consistent basis. The workflow is clarified by many screen shots showing Photoshop techniques and before/after image adjustments. Those who think visually will find these particularly helpful.

DeWolfe's approach is to use the simplest techniques that can produce consistently fine results.  (Some Photoshop users will be surprised by his use of the history brush instead of masking; as a photographer who uses this tool, I appreciate its simplicity and controlled results.)  His focus is not on "tips-and-tricks in Photoshop", but on how to get the best possible prints in the simplest, most straightforward way.  While a first reading gives valuable insights, the book's true value becomes evident when the photographer uses the workflow on his or her own images, and practices to become proficient.  The proof, as they say, is in the print


My Life as a Baby is a Winner
	I received my first copy of this cute album as a gift when I had my first baby.  I had so much fun putting it together that I tracked it down for my second and now for my third.  Telling the story from baby's point of view is fun and gets mom thinking about how baby would really feel about all the firsts in his/her life.  It is an easy album for moms and dads who want to record all the important events that the first year brings, but who haven't joined the scrapbooking craze quite yet.  I love this album and plan to have one for each child


No soup cans here...
	Well, the name of this set does say it all. Fashion! That's the theme of this mix   match stationery set. I liked it a bit more than some of the other mix   match stationery sets out there. The paper quality is a teensy bit better with this set as the paper is slightly thicker.

The illustrations are very colorful and pretty, it has drawings and he complements each with colors such as bright blue and fuchsia. The drawings are all bold and enjoyable ranging from a pattern of high-heeled shoes or little kisses to a close-up of a very Warhol-esque face. At the top of each sheet, there are little quotes of Andy's relating to fashion. Very cool for maintaining the overall theme, I think. The different colored-envelopes each have a flap that more or less complements one of the particular sheet designs but of course, as the name suggests, it's all open to a little mix match. Finally, there are quite a lot of stickers to decorate your mail as your will dictates. They're very pretty too including purses, mannequins, kisses, and oh, they're the clear kind so they look a little bit more distinguished.

All in all, a very good way to spruce up your everyday mail. Get it especially if you're a fan of Andy Warhol or a die-hard fashionista


You can cook!
	My sister, whom moved out and had never cooked a thing in her life, really enjoyed the benefits from this book! The moment she saw it on my shelf, she snatched it up and took it home and I haven't seen it since. I hear she's cooking some great meals and hope she'll invite me over for dinner sometime soon! ;


Amazing!
	This book has adrenaline written all over it! Michael Crighton did an excellent job of keeping readers on their seats. I was blown away. Not only did his novel have adrenaline, but it also had horror, which kept you waiting for your hand to turn the next page