Books

The Official SAT Study Guide

2008-12-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

The Official SAT Study Guide
By The College Board

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #425 in Books
Published on: 2007-01-07
Released on: 2004-10-07
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
889 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
The College Board is a national nonprofit membership association whose mission is to prepare, inspire, and connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,300 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning.

Customer Reviews

Bought this for the mystery tutor site, glad I did.
I bought this book for my kid because it was recommended on mysterytutor.com, and I have to say I'm glad I did. The questions are different from what he was working on before, which was one of the Barron's books, just like the guy on the mystery tutor site said they would be. It just makes sense to use real questions to get ready for the test, especially when it's an important one.

Some other reviewers have written about how the book doesn't provide solutions, and I agree that that's a problem, but if you go to the mystery tutor's forums you can get all of those solutions for free, so that way you can still use this book of real questions and not have to go with some other company's fake questions, but still have explanations.

The book is full of real practice questions just like it says it is, and it's the only book of practice questions you should be using! Get it and don't think twice.

The Official SAT Guide
This book NEVER arrived. It was cancelled the same day, reorder from another vendor and also cancelled. Finally, my daughter's boyfriend found her one, almost too late and they studied together. The Guide was helpful but would have been better if delivered and on time.

No explanations!??
This book comes in handy because it has great tips and sources coming right from the creator of the SAT's and also tells you what to expect on test day. The only problem is that it gives no explanations for the answers.There are explanations on the sample questions only, but there are none on the practice tests(there are eight practice tests). It is so frustrating, especially in the math section, don't just tell me the answer is "B", explain to me WHY it is "B" and HOW to solve the problem. If you want an effective and easy to understand study guide, I recommend "11 Practice tests for the SAT's and PSAT's" by the princeton review. That one actually explains the answers for every single question(both math and English) in the book. You can buy the college board's if you want great tips but don't rely on it for your practice tests because its not going to help.

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Chosen (House of Night, Book 3)

2008-12-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

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Chosen (House of Night, Book 3)
By P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #420 in Books
Published on: 2008-03-04
Released on: 2008-03-04
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
320 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
"* "The trials of growing up are presented in the new and original context of vampire society.... This promises to be a highly addictive series." Romantic Times"

Review

Praise for The House of Night:

“The Cast and Cast team is back and stirring up deep trouble in their beguiling supernatural world….The issues faced by these teens are not child's play, and the stakes are life and death.”

–Romantic Times (4 ½ stars) on Betrayed

“Cast reeled me in from paragraph one. I…devoured it in one sitting.”

–MaryJanice Davidson, New York Times bestselling author of the Undead series on Marked

“Marked is one of the best coming of age stories to come out of Oklahoma since S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. It teaches about the beauty of being a social outcast, friendship, and finding your own inner spirituality.”

–The Beltane Papers

From the Back Cover

Bloodlust and dark forces are at work at the House of Night, and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And, oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare, Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. But, as Zoey and her friends find out, things are not always what they seem…

Customer Reviews

The House of Night Continues to Rock
Goddess blessed vampire fledgling Zoey and her friends must face treachery and hate crimes while still trying to get good grades (and date) at the House of Night, a vampire finishing school. In this episode Zoey (Z to her close friends) tries to save her undead best friend from a fate worse than death, manage three boyfriends who all want something different from her, and keep the school's evil High Priestess from figuring out her plans.

This segment felt more like a long chapter than a book in its own right. There was some good story movement but the ending was rushed and the conclusion flat. I would have liked to have given the characters more time to play out the drama. Instead of unfolding, the story hits like a mac truck and doesn't stop for anything. While this may lead to furious page turning at 1:00 AM it ultimately feels less satisfying than its slightly slower paced predecessors.

One other complaint: now that we're on to the 3rd book it is harder to get a new reader up to speed. We end up with a lot of exposition that felt clunky and thrown together. The teen language helps to keep it from feeling droll, but it still comes off as a necessary evil instead of an exciting background story. One of the most fun parts of this series is that the tone is so conversational it feels as if Z is telling the story to you, the reader in a relaxed setting. The exposition took me out of that comfortable place. I hope it's better in book four, which I'm about to start reading tonight.

Very worth it if you liked the first two!

Started good then turned bad
Marked and betrayed were fun action filled book, though not very well written, but compared to chosen, it makes them look like harry potter. Chosen was just about zoey runing around, doing nothing and making out with every guy she sees. I get that she is a love struck teenager and that her whole life has been turned around, but she honestly does nothing in this book. three quaters of the book is just about her being a slut and the last quarter is about everything going wrong, talk about suicidal. I think the casts could have done so much better with this book!

About as good as the twilight series
I started reading the first book of this series about 5 days ago and was hooked. I almost liked it more than the twilight series. I love the action and different spin P.C. Cast and her daughter take to create this amazing young adults vampire series! You all will love it if you loved the Twilight series.

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The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6)

2008-12-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

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The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, Book 6)
By Eoin Colfer

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #211 in Books
Published on: 2008-07-15
Released on: 2008-07-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
432 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Eoin Colfer is the New York Times best-selling author of the Artemis Fowl series,
Airman, The Supernaturalist, The Wish List, Half Moon Investigations, Benny and Omar, Benny and Babe, and Eoin Colfer’s Legend of . . . books. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children. To learn more about Eoin Colfer, visit his Web site at www.eoincolfer.com.

Customer Reviews

The Time Paradox
I loved it! I was a bit confused at the end, Opal fakes Spelltropy so Artemis will steal from her? It was still an excellent instalment. Holly's line, "In another time.." Was probally my favorite quote in the book.

The Greatest present
I bought this book for my nephew on his request as a present for his birthday.
I do beleive he enjoyed it alot, finish reading it in a couple of days.

The Genius Artemis Fowl
After reading this book a few words come to mind: Witty, funny, and face-paced! Artemis Fowl just gets better and better!

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Inheritance 3-Book Hardcover Boxed Set (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr)

2008-12-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

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Inheritance 3-Book Hardcover Boxed Set (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr)
By Christopher Paolini

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #352 in Books
Published on: 2008-09-20
Released on: 2008-09-20
Original language: English
Number of items: 3
Binding: Hardcover

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Christopher Paolini's abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at 15. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Customer Reviews

Great Buy
Very pleased with the purchase. Books were what my grandson wanted. Seller was fast in shipment. Will do business with seller again.

Great novels
The Inheritance Cycle are books for all ages! I am rereading them. They are masterpieces of the fantasy. To my fellow readers, you have to read them in order no matter how many times you have read them before. Have Fun reading them; I know I did and will continue to do.

Books I never received
Dear Amazon - you need to get your facts straight. You're asking me to review books I never received and I've already rated the seller as awful. Perhaps you did not see my review of the seller which indicated I never received the books. I had to go to my credit card company and obtain a refund. This is the first time in a long time I attempted to purchase something through Amazon and I was very disappointed. I ended up buying the books from Barnes and Noble. As you can see this review has nothing to do with the books or their content since at this point I haven't read them yet. I do wonder however why you would send me a request for review of a product I did not receive.

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The New Way Things Work

2008-12-15T17:33:00.000-08:00

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The New Way Things Work
By David Macaulay

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #282 in Books
Published on: 1998-10-26
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
400 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"Is it a fact--or have I dreamt it--that, by means of electricity, the world of matter has become a great nerve, vibrating thousands of miles in a breathless point of time?" If you, like Nathaniel Hawthorne, are kept up at night wondering about how things work--from electricity to can openers--then you and your favorite kids shouldn't be a moment longer without David Macaulay's The New Way Things Work. The award-winning author-illustrator--a former architect and junior high school teacher--is perfectly poised to be the Great Explainer of the whirrings and whizzings of the world of machines, a talent that landed the 1988 version of The Way Things Work on the New York Times bestsellers list for 50 weeks. Grouping machines together by the principles that govern their actions rather than by their uses, Macaulay helps us understand in a heavily visual, humorous, unerringly precise way what gadgets such as a toilet, a carburetor, and a fire extinguisher have in common.

The New Way Things Work boasts a richly illustrated 80-page section that wrenches us all (including the curious, bumbling wooly mammoth who ambles along with the reader) into the digital age of modems, digital cameras, compact disks, bits, and bytes. Readers can glory in gears in "The Mechanics of Movement," investigate flying in "Harnessing the Elements," demystify the sound of music in "Working with Waves," marvel at magnetism in "Electricity & Automation," and examine e-mail in "The Digital Domain." An illustrated survey of significant inventions closes the book, along with a glossary of technical terms, and an index. What possible link could there be between zippers and plows, dentist drills and windmills? Parking meters and meat grinders, jumbo jets and jackhammers, remote control and rockets, electric guitars and egg beaters? Macaulay demystifies them all. (Click to see a sample spread of this book, illustrations and text copyright 1998 David Macaulay, Neil Ardley, published by Houghton Mifflin Co.) (All ages) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-The popular "guide to the workings of machines" (Houghton, 1988) has been updated to include the digital world. Of the 80 new pages advertised on the cover, 60 are found in the added section on computer technology. Very few items (parking meters and bicycle brakes) have disappeared into obsolescence, a few new ones have appeared (camcorders and airbags), and cosmetic changes are evident throughout in the enhanced color printing. The features that made the first edition a publishing phenomenon remain. Macaulay's clear and comprehensible drawings are accompanied by Neil Ardley's explanations, and in this edition the technical writer gets credit for his expertise on the title page. The bemused woolly mammoth of the original edition continues to demonstrate his prehistorically simple ideas on such concepts as heat, pressure, fire fighting, sending messages, etc., adding whimsical entries to entertain browsers. While much of the material remains unaltered, the significance of computer technology in our world makes this new edition a vital update or new purchase.
Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American
Macaulay's whimsical drawings reveal the mysterious workings of all kinds of contraptions--from human eardrums and electric guitars to calculators and cash. Updated with more than 80 new pages.

Customer Reviews

Printing too dark in some places
I ordered 3 of these for gifts. This is something I think every child should have (and I like it too). I was disappointed when I received them though. In some places the printing was so dark you couldn't read the text, or make out the well done art. I just wasn't willing to pay full price for what I felt was not a top quality production. Returning to Amazon was easy. I also tried contacting the publisher to see if they had better copies, but I never received a reply from them.

Mammoth Lovers Unite!!!
I originally got this book back in 1988 when I was a young lad. That copy has served me well throughout high school, an college engineering curriculum, and my current employment. Just recently, my 10 year old "found" my copy and has been glued to it for weeks... and he'll be getting a copy for the holidays.

I love the wit of the author as he pushes the Woolly Mammoths through science and physics concepts. While I'm sure many factors contributed to the extinction of the mammoth, Macaulay helps provide an "alternate" analysis to the disappearance - curiosity.

A must-have for future engineers, physicists, and scientists...

This is too cool
You CAN let your kids read it TOO! I'm an engineer and this book is full of stuff I now use at work - really. My eight year old doesn't have the attention span to get through a section, YET.

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Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, Book 3)

2008-12-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

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Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, Book 3)
By Richelle Mead

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #570 in Books
Published on: 2008-11-13
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
448 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
Praise for the Vampire Academy series

"Mead...weave[s] a unique and mesmerizing mystery with a whodunit ending that even the most skilled detectives will not predict...this little gem is sure to be a hit." --VOYA

"Teens able to handle to edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment." --Booklist

"In a world that seems saturated with vampire books, Richelle Mead has created characters and a world that is both unique and believable." --TeensReadToo.com

About the Author
Richelle Mead is the author of Vampire Academy and Frostbite. She lives in Seattle.

Customer Reviews

amazing.
I loved reading this book. I pretty much couldn't put it. When I noticed that I was more than halfway through, I wasn't too happy. I didn't want the book to end, but when it did I was left craving the next book.

Another great one
I couldn't wait to get into the third book of the series after reading the first two back to back a few months ago. I was not dissapointed. This one is just as good as the others if not better. I was afraid the series would end with this one. I am glad there will be another one and I am just as excited to read the next book as I was all the others. I have to wait almost another year though?!

Eager for the next book in the series!
I am a 23-year old young adult librarian, and all the teenagers these days are loving vampires, so I've found myself reading several of the different YA vampire series, and this is by far one of the best ones. They just keep getting better too. Shadow Kiss was wonderful---as in it was engrossing and emotionally exhausting. Rose really begins to question her relationship with Lissa, and her purpose in life and place in the world. Her relationship with Demitri deepens. I love Rose, I really do, she's tough and ballsy, qualities I wish I had more of, but she's a really good person too. Plus, Rose and Christian become better friends and do some serious damage to some Strigoi, which I loved. And at the end of the book, something horrific happens, that leaves me anxious and eager to find out what's going to happen next!

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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

2008-12-15T05:34:00.000-08:00

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The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
By Rick Riordan

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #313 in Books
Published on: 2006-04-01
Released on: 2006-03-21
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
392 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9–At the outset of this fast-paced tale by Rick Riordan (Hyperion/Miramax, 2005), it would seem that Percy Jackson is just another New York kid diagnosed with ADHD, who has good intentions, a nasty stepfather, and a long line of schools that have rejected him. The revelation of his status as half-blood offspring of one of the Greek gods is nicely packaged, and it's easy to believe that Mount Olympus, in modern times, has migrated to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building (the center of Western civilization) while the door to Hades can be found at DOA Recording Studio, somewhere in LA. With his new friends, a disguised satyr, and the half-blood daughter of Athena, Percy sets out across the country to rectify a feud between Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. Along the way they must cope with the Furies, Medusa, motorcycle thug Aires, and various other immortals. Although some of Jesse Bernstein's accents fail (the monster from Georgia, for instance, has no Southern trace in her voice), he does a fine job of keeping the main characters' tones and accents distinguishable. He convincingly portrays Percy, voicing just the right amount of prepubescent confusion, ironic wit, and the ebbing and waning of concern for himself and those around him. Mythology fans will love this take and kids who haven't been inculcated with the Classical canon will learn aspects of it here while having no trouble following a rollicking good–and modern–adventure.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. The escapades of the Greek gods and heroes get a fresh spin in the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, about a contemporary 12-year-old New Yorker who learns he's a demigod. Perseus, aka Percy Jackson, thinks he has big problems. His father left before he was born, he's been kicked out of six schools in six years, he's dyslexic, and he has ADHD. What a surprise when he finds out that that's only the tip of the iceberg: he vaporizes his pre-algebra teacher, learns his best friend is a satyr, and is almost killed by a minotaur before his mother manages to get him to the safety of Camp Half-Blood--where he discovers that Poseidon is his father. But that's a problem, too. Poseidon has been accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, and unless Percy can return the bolt, humankind is doomed. Riordan's fast-paced adventure is fresh, dangerous, and funny. Percy is an appealing, but reluctant hero, the modernized gods are hilarious, and the parallels to Harry Potter are frequent and obvious. Because Riordan is faithful to the original myths, librarians should be prepared for a rush of readers wanting the classic stories. Chris Sherman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Packed with humorous allusions to Greek mythology . . . along with rip-snorting action sequences, this book really shines." -- Horn Book Magazine

"[A] riotously paced quest tale of heroism that questions the realities of our world, family, friendship and loyalty." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Customer Reviews

Modern Heroic Tale
A young man thinks his biggest problems in life are his ADHD and dyslexia, maybe a bully or two, but then he discovers that he's half god.

This very clever book (written primarily for middle school to early highschool students, but rewarding and enjoyable for adults, too) imagines that the Greek gods are still around and still up to their old ways-especially going out and having children with mortals. The writing is very witty; the author had me laughing out loud more than once. The plot is great and never slows down.

Readers are rewarded for knowledge of Greek mythology by having an idea of where the author is going with his story. You can read the beginning of a description and know right away which monster or god it is. Keep in mind, this is a book written for young adults, so don't get too happy when you figure out the Oracle's prediction way before the other characters do. Also, seeing as this is a book about the gods' influence on Earth, don't be suprised by the large amount of deus ex machina in the plot.

My one and only complaint is that I felt the chapter headings contained too many spoilers.

Really impressed by the accuracy -
Like many of the books I wind up falling in love with, I stumbled upon The Lightning Thief by accident. I was wandering around Border's and found this gem on a table with signs saying "If you liked Harry Potter, then you might like these..." They were right.

The concept of the famous gods from ancient mythology still existing and following the path of Western Civilization across the world is genious. And the demigod characters who star in this new series are wonderful! I found myself wishing that I was a member of Camp Halfblood and wondering which cabin I'd be a part of myself. (After careful consideration, I decided I'm clearly a child of Athena.)

One other thing that was really exciting for me when reading this novel was the almost complete accuracy surrounding the old Greek myths. I was a Classics minor in college, so I'm a stickler for detail when it comes to getting those stories right. Mr. Riordan REALLY succeeded and that's not something I can honestly say I've ever found before.

I'm sure a lot of people are saying this,but look out Harry!
Where do I start?
Alright,first of all,there is great character development and great characters.The story is great,almost everything about this series is great.
For those of you who haven't heard,this is about a tween named Percy Jackson.He has been kicked out of five boarding schools already and Percy has just gotten a letter telling him that he won't be invited back to Yancy Academy,the school that he is currently at.
While on a field trip he has a bizarre encounter with a demon who he knows as his pre-algabra teacher.
Through a whole turn of events Percy winds up at Camp Half-Blood,for all the demigods,or offsprings of the Greek gods.Percy finds out that he is the son of Poseidon.Meanwhile,he makes a friend,Annabeth,and finds out that Zeus is holding Percy as his prime suspect for the stealing of his master lightning bolt.
So Percy and his friends go on a quest to seek the theif and give back to Zeus what is rightfully his.
I reccomend this book to fantasy lovers and,actually,anyone who reads.You won't be dissapointed.

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Love You Forever

2008-12-14T21:35:00.000-08:00

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Love You Forever
By Robert N. Munsch

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #596 in Books
Published on: 1995-09-01
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
32 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The mother sings to her sleeping baby: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be." She still sings the same song when her baby has turned into a fractious 2-year-old, a slovenly 9-year-old, and then a raucous teen. So far so ordinary--but this is one persistent lady. When her son grows up and leaves home, she takes to driving across town with a ladder on the car roof, climbing through her grown son's window, and rocking the sleeping man in the same way. Then, inevitably, the day comes when she's too old and sick to hold him, and the roles are at last reversed. Each stage is illustrated by one of Sheila McGraw's comic and yet poignant pastels. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr

Review
A humorous, sentimental page-turner that rarely - let's say never -- leaves a reader with a dry eye. -- Gayle MacDonald, Globe and Mail 12/01/2005

My children and I enjoyed it, night after night, for years... A charmer. The simple story touches the heart. -- Jeith L. Runyon, Louisville Courier-Journal 11/13/2005

No one can read this without the tears falling. -- Sharon Owen, Madera Tribune 05/08/2003

The best of Munsch's many storybooks. -- Leanne Dohy, Calgary Herald 09/25/2003

The one book that has the most meaning to me. -- David Maloof, Boston Globe 09/15/2002

The starting point for a first-rate library for your grandchildren... a tender ode to the life cycle of a family. -- John Lownsbrough, Outlook Magazine 06/2004

Review
The one book that has the most meaning to me. (David Maloof Boston Globe 20020915)

There is a powerful, age-old resonance to the story, centered on that intangible, steadfast bond between mother and child. (Shelley Fralic National Post 20060515)

No one can read this without the tears falling. (Sharon Owen Madera Tribune 20030925)

The best of Munsch's many storybooks. (Leanne Dohy Calgary Herald 200406)

The starting point for a first-rate library for your grandchildren... a tender ode to the life cycle of a family. (John Lownsbrough Outlook Magazine 20051113)

Sentimental story that has long been a favorite gift at baby showers. (Karen T.Bilton Bridgewater Courier News 20061101)

A humorous, sentimental page-turner that rarely - let's say never -- leaves a reader with a dry eye. (Gayle MacDonald Globe and Mail 200611)

My children and I enjoyed it, night after night, for years... A charmer. The simple story touches the heart. (Jeith L. Runyon Louisville Courier-Journal )

#5 on Instructor's 'Teachers Pick the Top 50 Kids Books Ever', chosen by 200 teachers, authors, and children's literature experts. (Instructor )

Best-selling classic of a parent's enduring love is available in a gift edition. (Bookpage )

Customer Reviews

Positive Psychologist See This Book as a Winner for All Ages
The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know Everything This is a touching book that is a wonderful read through all the generations. A grandparent can enjoy this book, but so can a six year old will also and together they can share an intimate moment where they both acknowledge the depth of meaning in the cycle of life. The illustrations are beautiful and the prose is lovely. As a psychologist and an author myself of a fiction book for girls and their moms (The Truth (I'm a girl, I'm smart and I know everything) designed to enhance authentic relating, I highly recommend this book. Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, www.thetruthforgirls.com

I love this book
I'm 24 my Mom used to read this to me as a child and I can't wait to read it to my son as well, such a sweet story.

Weird, weird book
I don't know what makes people think this is such a wonderful book. It's really *weird*. The mother creeps along the floor of her sons room at night to crawl into bed with him. Then, when he leaves the house as an adult, she drives across town with a ladder, and climbs up into his bedroom window at night while he's sleeping. It's CREEPY. Don't buy this book thinking it's "all nice and stuff". It's not, it's downright weird.

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

2008-12-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #652 in Books
Published on: 2007-09-12
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
240 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 7–10—Exploring Indian identity, both self and tribal, Alexie's first young adult novel is a semiautobiographical chronicle of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, WA. The bright 14-year-old was born with water on the brain, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He says, "I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny little lifeboats." He expects disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan, but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of the protagonist's grandmother, dog, and older sister would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which Junior faces the world. The many characters, on and off the rez, with whom he has dealings are portrayed with compassion and verve, particularly the adults in his extended family. Forney's simple pencil cartoons fit perfectly within the story and reflect the burgeoning artist within Junior. Reluctant readers can even skim the pictures and construct their own story based exclusively on Forney's illustrations. The teen's determination to both improve himself and overcome poverty, despite the handicaps of birth, circumstances, and race, delivers a positive message in a low-key manner. Alexie's tale of self-discovery is a first purchase for all libraries.—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jumpshot, spends his time lamenting life on the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons (which accompany, and often provide more insight than, the narrative), and, along with his aptly named pal Rowdy, laughing those laughs over anything and nothing that affix best friends so intricately together. When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one. He weathers the typical teenage indignations and triumphs like a champ but soon faces far more trying ordeals as his home life begins to crumble and decay amidst the suffocating mire of alcoholism on the reservation. Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience, and he doesn't pull many punches as he levels his eye at stereotypes both warranted and inapt. A few of the plotlines fade to gray by the end, but this ultimately affirms the incredible power of best friends to hurt and heal in equal measure. Younger teens looking for the strength to lift themselves out of rough situations would do well to start here. Chipman, Ian

Review
"Sure to resonate and lift spirits of all ages for years to come." (USA Today )

"This is a gem of a book....may be [Sherman Alexie's] best work yet." (New York Times )

"Nimbly blends sharp with unapologetic emotion....fluid narration deftly mingles raw feelings with funny, sardonic insight." ((starred review) Kirkus Reviews )

"Deftly taps into the human desire to stand out while fitting in." (BookPage )

"[Alexie] has created an endearing teen protagonist in his own likeness and placed him in the here and now." (Minneapolis Star Tribune )

"Exceptionally good....Arnold is a wonderful character." (Miami Herald )

"Fierce observations and sharp sense of humor...hilarious language." (Newsday )

"Alexie's humor and prose are easygoing and well suited to his young audience." (Booklist )

"Few writers are more masterful than Sherman Alexie." (Los Angeles Times )

"What emerges most strongly is Junior's uncompromising determination to press on while leaving nothing important behind." (BCCB (starred review) )

"The line between dramatic monologue, verse novel, and standup comedy gets unequivocally-and hilariously and triumphantly-bent in this novel." (Horn Book (starred review) )

"Realistic and fantastical and funny and tragic-all at the same time." (VOYA (starred review) )

"Breathtakingly honest, funny, profane, sad....will stay with readers." (KLIATT (starred review) )

"A Native American equivalent of Angela's Ashes." (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Hilarious
Junior is just another unlucky kid living on an Indian reservation, but unfortunately, he's even unluckier than most. He was born with brain damage and a strangely disproportioned body, which causes him to be alternately beat up and ridiculed by all the other kids on the reservation except his only friend Rowdy. Junior might be smart and a good artist, but growing up in poverty and surrounded by alcoholics and broken dreams makes him believe that he's destine to the same life he's always had. But the wise advice from a teacher prompts Junior to take control of his life and fight against what little is expected of him. And despite animosity from nearly every side, this unlucky kid is determined to succeed.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is both profound and humorous, making for a very enjoyable read. Junior's frank voice made for plenty of deep thoughts and giggles. Junior was so interesting to read about, both because of his character and circumstances. I found Junior to be surprisingly mature for his age, and it made him seem older than he actually was, but then again, this maturity may have arisen from his difficult life. Life on the reservation was realistically portrayed, as heartbreaking as it was. Drawing and art did not play as large a role in Junior's life as I would've thought; instead, sports, particularly basketball, were central to Junior's struggle for success. This novel definitely left me with that warm fuzzy feeling that can inspire anyone to strive to accomplish their dreams, no matter how far-fetched. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a fun and heartwarming read about life and death, friendship and family.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a feel-good novel while still retaining its authenticity. Fans of this story's message will also enjoy Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith.

Everyone needs to read this book
I purchased a book in the bookstore recently. It is called "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. Just by reading a little while in the bookstore, I thought it was going to be lighthearted and funny. However, I could not put it down once I started reading it. When I closed it for the final time yesterday, I felt so heavy-hearted. There are times when you laugh and times when you cry. It is one of the most beautifully and sensitively written books I have ever read and I am an English major. I have read a whole lot of books in my lifetime. The book is about a young teenage boy growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He decides to break away from the difficult life living on the rez and decides to attend the white school on the outside, trying to escape the poverty and difficulties of living on the rez in order to survive and preserve his identity. It is based on Alexie's real life experiences as a young teen. Even though this book is directed towards young adults, I would like to encourage everyone to read this book. It is one that will stay with you long after you close the book.

diary of a part time indian
This is an amazing coming of age novel that also encompasses a young man straddling two cultures and triumphing.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

2008-12-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
By Jeff Kinney

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #40 in Books
Published on: 2009-01-01
Released on: 2009-01-13
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
224 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Kinney is an online game developer and designer, and the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and now lives in southern Massachusetts with his wife and their two sons.

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The Graveyard Book

2008-12-14T04:41:00.000-08:00

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The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #86 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-01
Released on: 2008-09-30
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
320 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
""The Graveyard Book manages the remarkable feat of playing delightful jazz riffs on Kipling’s classic Jungle Books. One might call this book a small jewel, but in fact it’s much bigger within than it looks from the outside." -- Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn

"After finishing The Graveyard Book, I had only one thought -- I hope there’s more. I want to see more of the adventures of Nobody Owens, and there is no higher praise for a book." -- Laurell K. Hamilton, author of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels

"It takes a graveyard to raise a child. My favorite thing about this book was watching Bod grow up in his fine crumbly graveyard with his dead and living friends. The Graveyard Book is another surprising and terrific book from Neil Gaiman." -- Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

"The Graveyard Book is endlessly inventive, masterfully told and, like Bod himself, too clever to fit into only one place. This is a book for everyone. You will love it to death." -- Holly Black, co–creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles

The Graveyard Book is everything everyone loves about Neil Gaiman, only multiplied many times over, a novel that showcases his effortless feel for narrative, his flawless instincts for suspense, and above all, his dark, almost silky sense of humor -- Joe Hill, author of Heart–Shaped Box

Customer Reviews

A little uninspired
I hate to give a less than great review to a book by Mr Gaiman, but this book just wasn't that inspired. I was somewhat boring, lacked in that usual need-to-learn-more feeling I experience with other Gaiman books, and I had a hard time enjoying any of the characters, particularly Bod himself. I won't recommend it to anyone, but I will recommend Neverwhere or Stardust.

Another exceedingly pleasant Gaiman book
The Graveyard Book echoes his earlier book Coraline in many ways. Much like Coraline it is a tale of a child going where an adult could not, and it stays with the "modern day fairy tale/ghost story" formula of Coraline rather than the exploratory myth stories of American Gods or The Anansi Boys.

It is solid *almost* all the way through - there are a rare few parts that (in hindsight) feel vaguely bolted on but it's definitely nothing that detracts from the enjoyment of the book.

Like most Gaiman books, the writing style is light with a slightly somber tone that makes it very easy both to get into and to keep reading. The only problem with that is the book is almost too easy to finish in a single sitting - and once finished you wind up regretting it ended so quickly.

More fun that a video game
Anything that gets my grandson away from the TV or video game is a winner, however this is one that he read in a day and loved. Good book.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

2008-12-13T19:42:00.000-08:00

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
By J. K. Rowling

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #102 in Books
Published on: 2007-07-21
Released on: 2007-07-21
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
784 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations, battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.

The heart of Book 7 is a hero's mission--not just in Harry's quest for the Horcruxes, but in his journey from boy to man--and Harry faces more danger than that found in all six books combined, from the direct threat of the Death Eaters and you-know-who, to the subtle perils of losing faith in himself. Attentive readers would do well to remember Dumbledore's warning about making the choice between "what is right and what is easy," and know that Rowling applies the same difficult principle to the conclusion of her series. While fans will find the answers to hotly speculated questions about Dumbledore, Snape, and you-know-who, it is a testament to Rowling's skill as a storyteller that even the most astute and careful reader will be taken by surprise.

A spectacular finish to a phenomenal series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a bittersweet read for fans. The journey is hard, filled with events both tragic and triumphant, the battlefield littered with the bodies of the dearest and despised, but the final chapter is as brilliant and blinding as a phoenix's flame, and fans and skeptics alike will emerge from the confines of the story with full but heavy hearts, giddy and grateful for the experience. --Daphne Durham

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Begin at the Beginning

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Hardcover
Paperback

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Hardcover
Paperback

Why We Love Harry
Favorite Moments from the Series
There are plenty of reasons to love Rowling's wildly popular series--no doubt you have several dozen of your own. Our list features favorite moments, characters, and artifacts from the first five books. Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive (what we love about Harry could fill ten books!) and does not include any of the spectacular revelatory moments that would spoil the books for those (few) who have not read them. Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

* The de-gnoming of the Weasleys' garden. Harry discovers that even wizards have chores--gnomes must be grabbed (ignoring angry protests "Gerroff me! Gerroff me!"), swung about (to make them too dizzy to come back), and tossed out of the garden--this delightful scene highlights Rowling's clever and witty genius.
* Harry's first experience with a Howler, sent to Ron by his mother.
* The Dueling Club battle between Harry and Malfoy. Gilderoy Lockhart starts the Dueling Club to help students practice spells on each other, but he is not prepared for the intensity of the animosity between Harry and Draco. Since they are still young, their minibattle is innocent enough, including tickling and dancing charms.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

* Ron's attempt to use a telephone to call Harry at the Dursleys'.
* Harry's first encounter with a Dementor on the train (and just about any other encounter with Dementors). Harry's brush with the Dementors is terrifying and prepares Potter fans for a darker, scarier book.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's behavior in Professor Trelawney's Divination class. Some of the best moments in Rowling's books occur when she reminds us that the wizards-in-training at Hogwarts are, after all, just children. Clearly, even at a school of witchcraft and wizardry, classes can be boring and seem pointless to children.
* The Boggart lesson in Professor Lupin's classroom.
* Harry, Ron, and Hermione's knock-down confrontation with Snape.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

* Hermione's disgust at the reception for the veela (Bulgarian National Team Mascots) at the Quidditch World Cup. Rowling's fourth book addresses issues about growing up--the dynamic between the boys and girls at Hogwarts starts to change. Nowhere is this more plain than the hilarious scene in which magical cheerleaders nearly convince Harry and Ron to jump from the stands to impress them.
* Viktor Krum's crush on Hermione--and Ron's objection to it.
* Malfoy's "Potter Stinks" badge.
* Hermione's creation of S.P.E.W., the intolerant bigotry of the Death Eaters, and the danger of the Triwizard Tournament. Add in the changing dynamics between girls and boys at Hogwarts, and suddenly Rowling's fourth book has a weight and seriousness not as present in early books in the series. Candy and tickle spells are left behind as the students tackle darker, more serious issues and take on larger responsibilities, including the knowledge of illegal curses.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

* Harry's outburst to his friends at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. A combination of frustration over being kept in the dark and fear that he will be expelled fuels much of Harry's anger, and it all comes out at once, directly aimed at Ron and Hermione. Rowling perfectly portrays Harry's frustration at being too old to shirk responsibility, but too young to be accepted as part of the fight that he knows is coming.
* Harry's detention with Professor Umbridge. Rowling shows her darker side, leading readers to believe that Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven for young wizards. Dolores represents a bureaucratic tyrant capable of real evil, and Harry is forced to endure their private battle of wills alone.
* Harry and Cho's painfully awkward interactions. Rowling clearly remembers what it was like to be a teenager.
* Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape.
* Dumbledore's confession to Harry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

* The introduction of the Horcrux.
* Molly Weasley asking Arthur Weasley about his "dearest ambition." Rowling has always been great at revealing little intriguing bits about her characters at a time, and Arthur’s answer "to find out how airplanes stay up" reminds us about his obsession with Muggles.
* Harry's private lessons with Dumbledore, and more time spent with the fascinating and dangerous pensieve, arguably one of Rowling’s most ingenious inventions.
* Fred and George Weasley’s Joke Shop, and the slogan: "Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You Should Be Worrying About U-NO-POO--the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!"
* Luna's Quidditch commentary. Rowling created scores of Luna Lovegood fans with hilarious and bizarre commentary from the most unlikely Quidditch commentator.
* The effects of Felix Felicis.

Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: A Conversation with J.K. Rowling

"I am an extraordinarily lucky person, doing what I love best in the world. I’m sure that I will always be a writer. It was wonderful enough just to be published. The greatest reward is the enthusiasm of the readers." --J.K. Rowling

Find out more about Harry's creator in our exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling.

Did You Know?

The Little White Horse was J.K. Rowling's favorite book as a child.

Jane Austen is Rowling's favorite author.

Roddy Doyle is Rowling's favorite living writer.

A Few Words from Mary GrandPré

"When I illustrate a cover or a book, I draw upon what the author tells me; that's how I see my responsibility as an illustrator. J.K. Rowling is very descriptive in her writing--she gives an illustrator a lot to work with. Each story is packed full of rich visual descriptions of the atmosphere, the mood, the setting, and all the different creatures and people. She makes it easy for me. The images just develop as I sketch and retrace until it feels right and matches her vision." Check out more Harry Potter art from illustrator Mary GrandPré.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Potter fans, relax—this review packs no spoilers. Instead, we're taking advantage of our public platform to praise Rowling for the excellence of her plotting. We can't think of anyone else who has sustained such an intricate, endlessly inventive plot over seven thick volumes and so constantly surprised us with twists, well-laid traps and Purloined Letter-style tricks. Hallows continues the tradition, both with sly feats of legerdemain and with several altogether new, unexpected elements. Perhaps some of the surprises in Hallows don't have quite the punch as those of earlier books, but that may be because of the thoroughness and consistency with which Rowling has created her magical universe, and because we've so raptly absorbed its rules.

We're also seizing the occasion to wish out loud that her editors had done their jobs more actively. It's hard to escape the notion that the first three volumes were more carefully edited than the last four. Hallows doesn't contain the extraneous scenes found in, say, Goblet of Fire, but the momentum is uneven. Rowling is much better at comedy than at fight scenes, and no reader of the sixth book will be startled to hear that Hallows has little humor or that its characters engage in more than a few fights. Surely her editors could have helped her find other methods of building suspense besides the use of ellipses and dashes? And craft fight dialogue that sounds a bit less like it belongs in a comic book? Okay, we're quibbling. We know these minor nuisances won't dent readers' enjoyment, at least not this generation of readers; we couldn't put Hallows down ourselves. But we believe Rowling, and future readers, deserved even better. Ages 9-12. (July)
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From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up—In this concluding volume, Rowling brings together the themes and characters familiar to her readers, providing thrills both expected and unexpected. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out on the mission left to Harry by Albus Dumbledore, to search for the remaining Horcruxes, the hidden pieces of Voldemort's soul that must be destroyed to ensure his final defeat. Harry and his friends find themselves fugitives, but help comes from unexpected quarters and old friends. Harry is also searching for the truth about Dumbledore's life, as he tries to reconcile rumors about the man's past with the heroic headmaster he thought he knew. The legend of the Deathly Hallows, three magical objects that have the power to overcome death, proves to be related to Dumbledore's past as well as the present conflict. While the plot wanders somewhat on its way there, the final battle with Voldemort, involving a full range of friends and foes, is Rowling at her finest. The headstrong plot involves clues and characters from all of the volumes, building on details and tying up loose ends. An underlying message about the power of truth and redemption is reflected in a range of characters, combining with mythic allusions to give depth to the series as a whole. Hallows continues the darker tone of Half-Blood Prince, and there's no Quidditch to be found here, though there are comic moments. Fans of the series will devour this lengthy tome and will be left hoping for more tales from this fully fleshed out fantastic world.—Beth L. Meister, Pleasant View Elementary School, Franklin, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A great conclusion to a great series
This is the last of the Harry Potter series and my favorite. Although it starts out slowly, it quickly picks up momentum and peaks with a battle of epic proportions. My only problem is that the epilogue did not answer all of the questions I had.
If you like books with action and adventure, I would recommend this book to you.

Into the annals
With this final episode of the Harry Potter saga, the series has cemented its place in the annals of classic children's literature. Deathly Hallows is Rowling's masterpiece, probably her best writing to date. While following Harry on his quest to meet at last, face to face, his destiny, readers are treated to not only a fearsome new adventure, but to a fuller understanding of the meanings that underlie all previous enigmas and challenges. Rowling has created characters that run the gamut of human strengths and weaknesses, each one credibly alive and memorable. While her plots could be tighter in places, she has "quilled" a new version of the ageless myths for our own age. And she's nailed the speech patterns and vocabulary of everyone from school kids to venerable sages.
Even if you've read Hallows before, if you're in the mood for a real literary treat, listen to the unabridged audio edition narrated by the incomparable Jim Dale. But be sure to set aside several quiet hours to listen to the last quarter of the book in one sitting. Priceless.

An astounding tale that will be remembered for the ages.
All right, I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the day it was released, but I've decided that it's time for it to receive a review from me.

As midnight struck, fans everywhere around the world jumped in excitement, finally being able to get their hands on the most hyped book in history. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a truly phenomenal book where the amazing JK Rowling truly unleashed her imagination and creativity. All the questions that have been intensely debated by millions everywhere was answered in wondrous fashion.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is told in a significantly different manner than the first six books, yet understandably so. It starts off with Lord Voldemort having a meeting with his Death Eaters, where the Malfoys are shown to be neglecting Voldemort after his behavior with them. A death of a teacher ends the dark chapter.

Harry, Ron and Hermione don't return to Hogwarts in order to search for Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes as instructed by Dumbledore. They, of course, have no idea what lies in store for them. A seemingly peaceful wedding is violently disturbed and the trio have no choice but to escape to Grimmauld Place.

They infiltrate the Ministry of Magic where they get their first Horcrux, but not without consequences. They are not able to return to Grimmauld Place and Ron is severely injured. And that's when their camping begins. The country is all looking for Harry as Voldemort has complete control over the Ministry of Magic and has instructed Severus Snape (Dumbledore's killer) to be Headmaster of Hogwarts. They are pushed to their limits as the war rages on. Harry has visions of Voldemort's actions and emotions throughout the story. Poor Draco is being terrorized cruelly by Voldemort and his parents are unable to do anything about it. It's really a taste of his own medicine.

Harry and Hermione venture into Godric's Hollow, where one of the most touching moments in the series occurs. A beautiful moment is shared by Harry and Hermione as they visit James and Lily Potter's graves. They meet Bathilda Baghost, a magical historian, who is actually dead and under control of Voldemort's snake, Nagini. It attacks Harry and Hermione. They escape, but Harry's wand is shattered. The trio go to Xenophilius Lovegood's house and they discover the tale of the Deathly Hallows. Intrigued, they learn about the fable Elder Wand, which in due time, is what Voldemort is going to retrieve.

Since Voldemort's name has been tabooed, once anyone mutters his name,
the person who said it is instantly tracked by Snatchers and Death Eaters. Harry, however, accidentally uttered the name and he is taken hostage to Malfoy Manor alongside Ron and Hermione. They discover that Luna and Ollivander are also hostages.

Terror strikes Malfoy Manor. Harry, Ron and Hermione all give false identities to the Death Eaters. Unfortunately, their cover is blown as a Death Eater recognizes Hermione from the Daily Prophet. The crazy and evil Bellatrix Lestrange enters the scene, and a layer of complications are thrown into the loop. She notices Godric Gryffindor's sword, and panics, thinking they have broken into her vault in Gringott's. Bellatrix brutally tortures Hermione yet she sticks to her story that it's a fake. In the end, they are saved thanks to Dobby but he is killed.

As the trio spend time in Shell Cottage, a beautiful cottage that overlooks the sea, they organize a plan alongside Griphook (a goblin) to break into Bellatrix's vault. They succeed in breaking into the vault and getting Hufflepuff's Horcrux, but they lose Godric Gryffindor's sword along the way.

After they break out and escape on a dragon, they fear that the beast would never stop flying, and as it descends closer to a lake, they all jump. Finally, Harry has a vision of Voldemort discovering that his Horcruxes have been found and is on his way to Hogwarts to get the other Horcrux. The trio rush to Hogsmeade, and into the Hog's Head, where Aberforth reveals to them the full extent of the life of his brother, Albus Dumbledore. Finally, they meet Neville and through a tunnel enter Hogwarts.

And the war begins. And what a war it is.

The DA and Order of the Phoenix all fight alongside Harry against the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Hermione destroys Hufflepuff's Horcrux as Harry is told a shocking tale from the Grey Lady, who happens to be Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter. The Unknoweable Room is destroyed as a powerful, magical fire burns it to pieces.

The trio witness Snape's gruesome murder, and as he dies, he releases not just blood, but memories, which Harry quickly collects. And as he takes his last breath, he looks into Harry's green eyes and falls to the ground, thus marking the end of a wondrous double agent.

Harry watches these memories, and this is where Rowling really surprised us. Severus Snape, the cold and cruel man, was in love with Harry Potter's mother, Lily Evans. It is truly remarkable how Rowling handled the amazing relationship between Snape, Lily, and the Marauders. Finally, Severus Snape steps out on stage and all eyes and tears are on him. What a terribly unfortunate tale from the Prince...

Towards the end of the memory, Harry sees that he has to die by Voldemort in order for Voldemort to die. Harry, who we've seen grow from a petite eleven year old, has to surrender himself to Voldemort and let him kill him. The chapter was running rampant with emotions as Harry had to walk down to the Forbidden Forest to allow himself to be gone.

As he is struck by Voldemort's curse, he enters a surreal place. A kind of limbo lingering between life and death. Harry encounters Dumbledore, who reveals to him the true extent of Voldemort's errors. Harry is not dead because he was mistakenly turned into a Horcrux. In the process, Voldemort just destroyed a part of himself and no one else.

Harry then revives, and it seems Voldemort had also fallen. Harry has to feign death in order for them to not notice he is alive. Voldemort asks Narcissa Malfoy to check on him. Her gentle hands creep up under Harry's shirt and feel his heartbeats. In a whisper heard only by Harry, she asks him if Draco is alive and in the castle. He breathes "Yes" and understands that Narcissa did not care for Voldemort at all, but only for her family and in order for her to look for Draco in the castle was to be part of the conquering army. As they enter the castle, Harry witnesses Bellatrix nearly killing Ginny. An enraged Molly has a fierce duel with Bellatrix, and in the end, the evil witch is finally defeated. The heroes of this chapter were the mothers, and rightfully so. Harry then defeats Voldemort because Voldemort's curse is rebounded on him because Harry was the owner of the Elder Wand, which Voldemort was using. And the Elder Wand would not kill its own master.

Finally, an Epilogue that clearly states the end of an amazing series...

**SPOILERS DONE**

JK Rowling has proved to the world how intelligent she is. Her plotting is quite unbelievable, and characterization is splendid. This is a world in which I'll sorely miss returning to. The Harry Potter series are bright stars in the sky for writers. So, Miss Rowling, I, and millions of others would like to thank you dearly for the amazing stories you have shared with us. You will be remembered for the ages.

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The Book Thief

2008-12-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

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The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #142 in Books
Published on: 2007-09-11
Released on: 2007-09-11
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
576 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesels story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The Washington Post
Death, it turns out, is not proud.

The narrator of The Book Thief is many things -- sardonic, wry, darkly humorous, compassionate -- but not especially proud. As author Marcus Zusak channels him, Death -- who doesn't carry a scythe but gets a kick out of the idea -- is as afraid of humans as humans are of him.

Knopf is blitz-marketing this 550-page book set in Nazi Germany as a young-adult novel, though it was published in the author's native Australia for grown-ups. (Zusak, 30, has written several books for kids, including the award-winning I Am the Messenger.) The book's length, subject matter and approach might give early teen readers pause, but those who can get beyond the rather confusing first pages will find an absorbing and searing narrative.

Death meets the book thief, a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger, when he comes to take her little brother, and she becomes an enduring force in his life, despite his efforts to resist her. "I traveled the globe . . . handing souls to the conveyor belt of eternity," Death writes. "I warned myself that I should keep a good distance from the burial of Liesel Meminger's brother. I did not heed my advice." As Death lingers at the burial, he watches the girl, who can't yet read, steal a gravedigger's instruction manual. Thus Liesel is touched first by Death, then by words, as if she knows she'll need their comfort during the hardships ahead.

And there are plenty to come. Liesel's father has already been carted off for being a communist and soon her mother disappears, too, leaving her in the care of foster parents: the accordion-playing, silver-eyed Hans Hubermann and his wife, Rosa, who has a face like "creased-up cardboard." Liesel's new family lives on the unfortunately named Himmel (Heaven) Street, in a small town on the outskirts of Munich populated by vivid characters: from the blond-haired boy who relates to Jesse Owens to the mayor's wife who hides from despair in her library. They are, for the most part, foul-spoken but good-hearted folks, some of whom have the strength to stand up to the Nazis in small but telling ways.

Stolen books form the spine of the story. Though Liesel's foster father realizes the subject matter isn't ideal, he uses "The Grave Digger's Handbook" to teach her to read. "If I die anytime soon, you make sure they bury me right," he tells her, and she solemnly agrees. Reading opens new worlds to her; soon she is looking for other material for distraction. She rescues a book from a pile being burned by the Nazis, then begins stealing more books from the mayor's wife. After a Jewish fist-fighter hides behind a copy of Mein Kampf as he makes his way to the relative safety of the Hubermanns' basement, he then literally whitewashes the pages to create his own book for Liesel, which sustains her through her darkest times. Other books come in handy as diversions during bombing raids or hedges against grief. And it is the book she is writing herself that, ultimately, will save Liesel's life.

Death recounts all this mostly dispassionately -- you can tell he almost hates to be involved. His language is spare but evocative, and he's fond of emphasizing points with bold type and centered pronouncements, just to make sure you get them (how almost endearing that is, that Death feels a need to emphasize anything). "A NICE THOUGHT," Death will suddenly announce, or "A KEY WORD." He's also full of deft descriptions: "Pimples were gathered in peer groups on his face."

Death, like Liesel, has a way with words. And he recognizes them not only for the good they can do, but for the evil as well. What would Hitler have been, after all, without words? As this book reminds us, what would any of us be?

Reviewed by Elizabeth Chang
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger,took a risk with his second book by making Death an omniscient narrator—and it largely paid off. Originally published in Australia and marketed for ages 12 and up, The Book Thief will appeal both to sophisticated teens and adults with its engaging characters and heartbreaking story. The Philadelphia Inquirer compared the book's power to that of a graphic novel, with its "bold blocks of action." If Zusak's postmodern insertions (Death's commentary, for example) didn't please everyone, the only serious criticism came from Janet Maslin, who faulted the book's "Vonnegut whimsy" and Lemony Snicket-like manipulation. Yet even she admitted that The Book Thief "will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures." And, as we all know, "there's no arguing with a sentiment like that."
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Time well stolen
I really didn't know what I was getting into when I bought this book based solely on the buzz I was hearing about it. I had heard it was set in WWII Germany and the narrator was Death. With that very small introduction, I dove into the book.

Writing Style
For the most part, I really enjoyed the writing style.

The descriptions were vivid and gripping. The language was fluid and natural while also being engrossing and emotional. I often felt very connected to Liesel and her community.

Having Death as narrator provided a non-human view to the grotesque inhumanity that was World War II. Death has a sacrilegious, sarcastic and cynical tone to many of his comments, but his voice is also dripping with sincerity and depth.

My main complaint is that death had no sense of tension or foreshadowing. Far too often I found myself reading with some anxiety or curiosity only to have Death comment on it by telling me exactly what was going to happen in a few months or years to finalize the drama of the situation. At other times, the thought of possible conflict/drama/disaster hadn't even crossed my mind when Death brings up the possibility and immediately tells me how it's going to end. I would have much preferred a bit of solid foreshadowing rather than explicitly telling me the future.

From an authorial standpoint, I suspect the author had Death explicitly diffuse the drama in an effort to keep the book more light hearted despite the heavy overtones. Still, there are things I would rather have experienced in their due course along with Liesel rather than already knowing the outcome.

Characters
The characters are amazingly full and exciting. Zusak really fleshes out the characters through many very simple means. He provides us a ton of small, intriguing quirks that make each character vivid and real. Papa is the accordian playing, cigarette rolling house painter with a ton of compassion. Mama is the large foul mouthed deep snoring woman who stands by her family no matter what. Rudy is the kid who paints himself black and runs around the track like Jesse Owens while commentating his own race. And the Liesel is the hurt, confused, lover of words trying to find her place in the world.

And then, there's the narrator...Death. We don't learn much about the physicality of Death, but we learn a great deal about his perceptions of life, earth, and humanity in general. Death is a very vivid character and is used very well to turn a mirror on our own lives and make us think about our behaviors and attitudes.

Plot/Pacing/etc
As alluded to, the plot of the book is heavy and difficult as is understandable considering the setting. Still, things are kept light thanks largely to the narrative style and to Liesel's overarching power to overcome and persevere despite the darkest situations.

There were a couple of times where I was briefly confused as to where I was and where I was going within the plot. For example, the first time we meet Max, I was thrown completely off balance and read that initial page/introduction a couple of times to make sure I didn't miss anything. I was quickly set back on track, but I was still confused for a moment. That was one time that I felt the narrator didn't tell the reader enough about what was going on as opposed to telling us too much.

It was also refreshing to find the story taking paths differently than I anticipated. Without spoiling the plot of the book, I will just say that there were many times I expected stereotypical WWII style occurrences and was strangely and pleasantly surprised when things turned out differently.

Overall
As I mentioned, I went into this book largely blind based solely on some good buzz. And I came away anything but disappointed. In fact, this is one of the better books I've read this year. The story was refreshing (yes, some will tell you that it is a depressing story...and to an extent, they're right...but the tone is light enough to counter the dark material). The narrative voice was honest and thought provoking. The characters were real and engaging. This is one of those books that I'll remember and think about for years to come.

3.5 stars
****

The Book Thief: Insatiable for words
I was initially intrigued by the idea of death recounting the story of the little girl known as the "book thief." That is what drew me to this book.

I don't read many novels anymore, but when I do, I hope to find something entertaining. Or perhaps it could offer a refreshing new style (e.g. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). Ideally, I also want to learn something new about the world around me, such as a historical period, a certain culture, or the human condition.

I found the plot of The Book Thief engrossing. The mind boggling cruelty that humanity inflicts upon itself is well articulated here -- so is the saving grace of friendship and love.

As for the style, it is quite original, but there are also points where descriptions are too long and far removed from any obvious meaning or emotion. In such instances, a reader like myself is apt to skip over countless paragraphs. No big deal, but still, I kept thinking "why be so wordy?" This book could have been edited to far fewer than 576 pages without sacrificing the depth of the storyline.

Beyond the style, The Book Thief offered a refreshing perspective: that of ordinary German citizens during the Hitler regime. Countless books have been written about the atrocities of the holocaust, but here we also get to glimpse the trials and tribulations many Germans had to endure. This was the part of the book I was most glad to discover.

All in all, an entertaining, although quite depressing, read.

What a Change of Pace
I read this book based on a friend's recommendation and I absolutely loved it. Zusak's style of writing, I found, was incredibly original. A definite page turner. I can't believe that people found this book to be confusing -- maybe out of the ordinary, but that was the beauty of it. A definite must read for adults.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set, The (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)

2008-12-13T07:42:00.000-08:00

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians Boxed Set, The (Percy Jackson & the Olympians)
By Rick Riordan

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #174 in Books
Published on: 2008-09-16
Released on: 2008-09-16
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
1032 pages

Customer Reviews

Best Ever
My 8 year old, 3rd grade son is an advanced reader but prefers to be read to, but when I started reading the first few chapters of this series he took over and read the rest by himself. He talks about this book a lot and can't wait to get to the next chapter and book. It's set up so there's a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. He's had an interest in the Greek myths since seeing Hercules, but this has a modern feel to it and the girls are strong too. Even I, at 45, enjoyed them so much that I read ahead of him while snuggling on the coach at night. It's better than Harry Potter and that's saying a lot.

This set includes books 1, 2 & 3
This set includes the first three books of a 5 part series. My 12 year old son read and loved the Lightning Thief #1. My 10 year old son now has his eye on the LT because one of his friends at school was talking about it. Both boys are talking about Greek mythology to eachother and a teacher has started reading Greek myths aloud in the classroom because of the sudden interest.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The books arrived on time, and in excellent condition. The price was vry reasonable. Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase.

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Marked (House of Night, Book 1)

2008-12-13T03:43:00.000-08:00

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Marked (House of Night, Book 1)
By P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #224 in Books
Published on: 2007-05-01
Released on: 2007-05-01
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
320 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up—In 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres not only exist but are also tolerated by humans. Those whom the creatures "mark" as special enter the House of Night school where they will either become vampyres themselves, or, if their body rejects the change, die. To Zoey, being marked is truly a blessing, though she's scared at first. She has never fit into the human world and has always felt she is destined for something else. Her grandmother, a descendant of the Cherokee, has always supported her emotionally, and it is she who takes the girl to her new school. But even there the teen stands apart from the others. Her mark from the Goddess Nyx is a special one, showing that her powers are very strong for one so young. At the House of Night, Zoey finds true friendship, loyalty, and romance as well as mistrust and deception. She realizes that all is not right in the vampyre world and that the problems she thought she left behind exist there as well. Readers will identify with many of the characters, especially the protagonist. The story moves quickly (a little too quickly at the end) and purposely leaves many unresolved issues. A good choice for those libraries serving fans of the occult, but be aware that the book contains some suggestive language and sex.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“From the moment I stuck my face in this book it hooked me! Totally awesome new take on vampires! Marked is hot and dark and funny. It rocks!”
–Gena Showalter, author of MTV’s Oh My Goth

“Cast reeled me in from paragraph one. I snorted and giggled through the whole thing, and devoured it in one sitting.”
–MaryJanice Davidson, New York Times best-selling author of the Undead series

From the Back Cover
Enter the dark, magical world of The House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change--and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

Customer Reviews

Gets your attention from the first page!
Was an easy but exciting read. A different take on vampyres with teenage humor throughout!!

Marked (House of Night, Book 1)
I like the whole House of Night Series. Very fast and exciting read. I would caution that this is a book for young adults not pre-teen or young teens because of language and sex. Zoey Redbird has a great story to tell.

NOT for young girls
Even though this series is well written and has an interesting concept. I feel it is glamorizing on the "twilight" coat-tails, and is hoping that they can get the teenage buyers. But beware, this series is chocked full of sexual inuendos and actual graphic scenes. Such as a professor and student having sex. Completely inapporpriate to talk about in detail. Crushes are one thing, and have been around for awhile, but this story line goes too far! I have read all the way to the third book and was continued to be dissapointed, as the story lines just got more graphic one right after the next. Please don't let your young daughters read this one! It is NO WHERE close to the innocent TWILIGHT that you may have read. Don't be fooled! Not all vampire books are the same!

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The Daring Book for Girls

2008-12-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

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The Daring Book for Girls
By Andrea J. Buchanan, Miriam Peskowitz

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #167 in Books
Published on: 2007-11-01
Released on: 2007-10-30
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
288 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Kadushin, whose lush voice brought the heroine of Stephenie Meyers's Twilight series to life, does her best to inject some intrigue and mystery into this mile-wide, inch-deep compendium of random facts billed as a manual for everything that girls need to know, a selection from the bestselling book. Alas, the audio version, replete with time lines, 14 variations of how to play tag and sesquipedalian vocabulary words, sorely lacks dynamism. The brief histories of famous women—Joan of Arc, Marie Curie, Salome—make for more engaging listening than material about how to change a tire or administer first aid. Listeners might find themselves wishing for something akin to the screen selection feature on a DVD, so that if they need information on, say, what constitutes a foul in tetherball, they could get to it without having to wade through the section on women who have earned patents for various inventions. Without such an index, the listener is reduced to writing down the information Kadushin relays, which raises the question: isn't this available in book form?
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Andrea Buchanan is the mother of a daughter and a son, both of whom are equally daring. Before she was a writer, she was a pianist who once performed a solo concert at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. This is her fifth book.

Miriam Peskowitz is the mother of two girls, including an eight-year-old who climbs trees and leads spy missions in the backyard. She has been a camp counselor, an historian, a blogger, a musician, a professor, and is the author of several books, including The Truth Behind the Mommy Wars.

From AudioFile
This delightful potpourri for ³Œtween² girls offers a variety of topics. There are lessons on games of tag, hopscotch, slumber parties, making stink bombs, performing CPR, and changing a tire. Lively role models abound. In particular, the authors cite Jo March from LITTLE WOMEN, who said she could never be friends with a girl who didn't climb trees or jump fences. Other influential women who are discussed include Joan of Arc, Salome, Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart, Abigail Adams, Florence Nightingale, as well as Civil War and Revolutionary spies. Ilyana Kadushin shows her versatility with a lively delivery that is frequently characterized by a ³big sister² tone. M.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Another anti-male propaganda
Here we have a book that was given permission by the writers of the Dangerous Book for Boys to write a version for girls. Nothing wrong with that. Now when you look at the back cover this is what's written:..."here is the no-boys allowed guide to adventure".

Yet they manage to turn another innocent book for girls into a gender war! "oh no, you don't need this boys; how dare they!". What has this world come to. If you cannot write a book celebrating girlhood and innocent playtime without picking on boys/males/men then don't waste our time with this anti-male brainwashing propaganda! these writers are a total hogwash.

Daring Book for Girls
I purchased the "Daring Book for Girls" for my daughter. She loves looking at all the interesting things to do. She takes it to school and talks about geography or whatever else pertains to what they are studying.

My g'daughter loves it!
I bought this for my g'daughter's 11th birthday. At first she was busy playing with toys she rec'd that day, but then realized later that evening that the book is full of fun things to do, new things to try, and facts that realy interest girls her age. The next day she spent an hour trying to perfect the karate moves illustrated in the book.

It's a great way to stimulate a girl's mind while also getting her to try things she might otherwise be timid about.

I bought the Dangerous Book for Boys, too, but won't give it to my g'son until his birthday in a few weeks.

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The Way We Work

2008-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

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The Way We Work
By David Macaulay

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #195 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-07
Released on: 2008-10-03
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
336 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In this comprehensive and entertaining resource, David Macaulay reveals the inner workings of the human body as only he could. In order to present this complicated subject in an accurate and entertaining way, he put in years of research. He sat in on anatomy classes, dissections, and even reached inside the rib cages of two cadavers to compare their spleen sizes. He observed numerous surgeries, including a ten-hour procedure where a diseased pancreas was removed, as well as one where a worn-out old knee was replaced by a brand new one. This hands-on investigation gives Macaulay a unique perspective to lead his readers on a visual journey through the workings of the human body.

The seven sections within the book take us from the cells that form our foundation to the individual systems they build. Each beautifully illustrated spread details different aspects of our complex structure, explaining the function of each and offering up-close glimpses, unique cross-sections and perspectives, and even a little humor along the way. This one-of-a-kind book can serve as a reference for children, families, teachers, and anyone who has questions about how his or her body works. When readers see how David Macaulay builds a body and explains the way it works, they will come away with a new appreciation of the amazing world inside them.

Amazon Exclusive: Macaulay's Sketches for The Way We Work
(CLICK on Images to Enlarge)

Explore author-artist David Macaulay's creative imagination at work in this collection of intriguing early sketches for the book. Each drawing--which is rendered in colored pencils-- lays out the story of a different system of the body through surprising shifts of scale, color, texture, the insertion of figures, and other intriguing spatial relationships on the page.

Review
"Nonfiction . . . rarely seems to get the respect it deserves, but Macaulay's latest ambitious, encyclopedic work commands it." (Horn Book, Starred )

"...the accuracy, detail and depth of information make this an essential addition to most collections." (Kirkus Reviews )

"...a very complete description of the "mechanical" aspect of human anatomy that is at once enlightening, entertaining…a visual delight." (School Library Journal Starred ) --School Library Journal

In the same style as The Way Things Work (1988), lively, vivid colored-pencil illustrations accompany a very detailed text explaining the design and function of the human body. Beginning at the atomic level and describing the structure and workings of human cells with an amount of information that nearly rivals high-school biology books, Macaulay and Walker then move on to DNA, tissue types, organs and organ systems, immune response, movement and reproduction. The intricacy and wonder of the human body is celebrated, but this is never an easy read. The lighthearted illustrations featuring speech balloons, tiny workers and a variety of other humorous touches will attract a fairly young age group, but the amount and complexity of the written information may daunt all but the most ardent enthusiasts. This is without doubt a browsing volume; the amusing but general chapter headings - "Air Traffic Control" - makes location of topics a bit of a challenge. Though it's an unlikely choice for a little light reading, the accuracy, detail and depth of information make this an essential addition to most collections. (glossary, index, appendix) (Nonfiction. 12 & up) (Kirkus Reviews)

New York Times Published: October 1, 2008 By PATRICIA COHEN As David Macaulay takes a bite of salad, you can follow along in his new book as the lettuce and tomato make their journey between his enamel-coated teeth, onto his knobby tongue, into a wash of saliva, past the flapping uvula and epiglottis, down the tubular esophagus and into the churning, burning stomach. (You can pick up with the rest of the travelogue later.) "I’m a big fan of the digestive system,” Mr. Macaulay said during a recent trip to New York. Of the body’s vast array of architecture, chemical reactions and moving parts, the illustrations of the digestive tract that he drew for “The Way We Work,” are his favorite. Paging through this 336-page book, which is being released by Houghton Mifflin Company on Tuesday, he said, “I’m constantly changing the scale, so that the reader can move around these things and get inside them.” The view of the mouth, for instance, is from the back of the throat, looking out at a “sea of saliva,” a pinkish-red cataract in which broken stalks of broccoli swirl like fallen trees caught in a maelstrom. A semicircular row of teeth shaped like arches from the Roman Colosseum serve as the backdrop. Throughout the book tiny tourists can often be spied rafting down the duodenum or wearing yellow slickers to see the nasal cavity like Maid of the Mist passengers at Niagara Falls. Fans of Mr. Macaulay — and there are millions of them — are probably most familiar with his extraordinarily detailed, erudite and witty visual explanations of architecture and engineering, which include “Cathedral,” “City,” “Pyramid,” “Underground,” “Mosque,” and the most popular, “The Way Things Work.” Now they can see his interpretation of the most complicated system of all, the human body. The book “is responding to my ignorance of my own body,” Mr. Macaulay, 62, said, standing next to a skinless cadaver, its bones, muscles and ligaments preserved in polymer at “Bodies: The Exhibition” at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan. Nearby a skeleton hangs from a hook as in a science lab. “I have one of these,” he said as he walked toward it. “They’re beautifully formed. The closer you look, the more you see.” In another room he moved around a glass case that contains the human nervous system laid out like a long deep-sea jellyfish. “I started with anatomy books,” he said, explaining how he conducted the research. He spent the first four years of the six he took to finish the book just reading, he said. The stacks of books were supplemented by a six-DVD set of a dissection used mostly by medical schools that he watched over and over and over. He also took a dissection course at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, not far from his home in Norwich, Vt., where he lives with his wife and two children. The faculty was extremely helpful. “I’d call up and say I’m coming to Worcester, and ask, ‘Can I have a couple of hands and elbows?’ and they’d be on the table for me when I arrived,” he recalled. After he asked the chief of surgery there at the time if he could observe an operation, the doctor replied, “Why don’t we just make you a faculty member?” — so he could go as often as he wanted. Mr. Macaulay knew he didn’t want to try to write the text as well as draw the pictures, so he collaborated with Richard Walker, a medical writer. Unlike a building project, which has an obvious beginning, middle and end, the human body does not offer a clearly marked starting point. Mr. Macaulay made the decision to begin with an organism’s most basic building block, the cell. Walking through a darkened room with glass cases of bright, almost iridescent red arteries at the exhibition, Mr. Macaulay said he was constantly amazed by how logical the system is. At some point the benefits of forming a community of cells that specialized in different tasks outweighed those of going it alone. It is hard not to imagine the cells having a clear motivation, he said, as if they knew when they first developed from the primeval protoplasmic soup just where they wanted to go. After the cell, the order of the chapters naturally flowed, he explained. Cells need food and have to get rid of waste, which they can’t do without a circulatory system (drawn as a roller coaster that picks up and drops off passengers in the form of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules). Pretty soon you need more energy for the building blocks, which leads to the digestive system, which is controlled by the brain and the nervous system. He found the brain the hardest structure to draw; there just wasn’t a lot of room for creativity and variety, he said. From there, he continued, illustrating how the body protects itself and how this now large lump of cells moves around, with its complex configuration of bones and muscles. He ends with reproduction and the zygote, which turns into a dividing mass of cells. “I started with cells, and I ended with cells,” he said. His speech retains no trace of a British accent, surprising since he didn’t leave Burton-on-Trent, the city in Northern England where he was born, until he was 11. His family moved to the United States and settled in Bloomfield, N.J. His parents were always making things — woodworking, sewing and drawing — and from an early age, Mr. Macaulay said, he was always fascinated by how things worked. He met his wife, his third, Ruthie Murray, at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence where he earned a degree in architecture and then taught for 25 years. Mr. Macaulay got the idea of doing illustrations from hanging out in bookstores, he said. Finally, “I got the courage to write my own.” He began writing children’s stories because, he said, “it looked like the people doing that were having the most fun.” His editor, Walter Lorraine, suggested doing a book about building, which turned into “Cathedral,” published in 1973. “That was the beginning and I never looked back,” he said. Mr. Macaulay admits he was a workaholic, which contributed to the failure of his first two marriages. “If you are lucky enough to be successful, you get drawn further in and you stop paying attention to the stuff that matters,” he said. Now he says, he is no longer building a career. “I’m just looking for projects I enjoy.” The $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship he won in 2006 certainly makes that easier. Mr. Macaulay’s work is generally found in the children’s section, but his vast array of fans defies any categorization. His explanations are geared at someone like himself. “I’ve never thought about the ages of my readers,” he said. “I always think about how I would understand it.” (New York Times, Patricia Cohen )

Customer Reviews

Includes A Lesson in Reproduction
I flipped through this book today with intentions of buying it for my 7 year old son. He is a huge fan of David Macaulay, and has thoroughly enjoyed The Way Things Work. I did not, however, purchase the book because of the last chapter on reproduction. This will be a great tool for kids who are ready for that particular lesson in life, however my 7 year old is not quite ready. The cross-section sketch of a penis inserted in the vagina as well as the page on the sperm's journey entitled "Winner Takes All!" is just a bit too much information for the younger child. We will be waiting a couple of years before purchasing this beautiful and informative book.

What Went Wrong?

What a disappointment!

The intended audience for this book--as stated--is 9-12 year old children. No way. The text is incredibly confusing and wanders all over the place. An educated adult would find it hard to follow. It attempts to cover a mother load of topics and in doing so lacks simplicity and understanding. The situation is compounded by the enormity of illustrations (and size) which only tend to confuse, rather than help explain the text.

It's a mess. What happened Mr. Macaulay, I expect better from you?

learn about your body and have a few laughs too
David Macaulay has taken on the "ultimate" construction, the human body, with his usual skill, expertise and humor. This is a book for all ages, to learn about cells, the relationship of one part of the body to another, the way systems work together and depend on each other and the functionality and beauty of this body we know very little about.

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The Hunger Games

2008-12-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

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The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #204 in Books
Published on: 2008-09-14
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
384 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Let the games begin!

September 12, 2008

Stephen King finds a new YA novel as scarily addictive as his favorite arcade game.

The Hunger Games

As negative Utopias go, Suzanne Collins has created a dilly. The United States is gone. North America has become Panem, a TV-dominated dictatorship run from a city called the Capitol. The rest of Panem is divided into 12 Districts (the former 13th had the bad judgment to revolt and no longer exists). The yearly highlight in this nightmare world is the Hunger Games, a bloodthirsty reality TV show in which 24 teenagers chosen by lottery two from each District fight each other in a desolate environment called the ''arena.'' The winner gets a life of ease; the losers get death. The only ''unspoken rule'' is that you can't eat the dead contestants. Let's see the makers of the movie version try to get a PG-13 on this baby.

Our heroine is Katniss Everdeen (lame name, cool kid), a resident of District 12, which used to be Appalachia. She lives in a desperately poor mining community called the Seam, and when her little sister's name is chosen as one of the contestants in the upcoming Hunger Games, Katniss volunteers to take her place. A gutsy decision, given the fact that District 12 hasn't produced a Hunger Games winner in 30 years or so, making them the Chicago Cubs of the postapocalypse world. Complicating her already desperate situation is her growing affection for the other District 12 contestant, a clueless baker's son named Peeta Mellark. Further complicating her situation is her sorta-crush on her 18-year-old hunting partner, Gale. Gale isn't clueless; Gale is smoldering. Says so right on page 14.

The love triangle is fairly standard teen-read stuff; what 16-year-old girl wouldn't like to have two interesting guys to choose from? The rest of The Hunger Games, however, is a violent, jarring speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense and may also generate a fair amount of controversy. I couldn't stop reading, and once I got over the main character's name (Gale calls her Catnip ugh), I got to like her a lot. And although ''young adult novel'' is a dumbbell term I put right up there with ''jumbo shrimp'' and ''airline food'' in the oxymoron sweepstakes, how many novels so categorized feature one character stung to death by monster wasps and another more or less eaten alive by mutant werewolves? I say more or less because Katniss, a bow-and-arrow Annie Oakley, puts the poor kid out of his misery before the werewolves can get to the prime cuts.

Collins is an efficient no-nonsense prose stylist with a pleasantly dry sense of humor. Reading The Hunger Games is as addictive (and as violently simple) as playing one of those shoot-it-if-it-moves videogames in the lobby of the local eightplex; you know it's not real, but you keep plugging in quarters anyway. Balancing off the efficiency are displays of authorial laziness that kids will accept more readily than adults. When Katniss needs burn cream or medicine for Peeta, whom she more or less babysits during the second half of the book, the stuff floats down from the sky on silver parachutes. And although the bloody action in the arena is televised by multiple cameras, Collins never mentions Katniss seeing one. Also, readers of Battle Royale (by Koushun Takami), The Running Man, or The Long Walk (those latter two by some guy named Bachman) will quickly realize they have visited these TV badlands before.

But since this is the first novel of a projected trilogy, it seems to me that the essential question is whether or not readers will care enough to stick around and find out what comes next for Katniss. I know I will. But then, I also have a habit of playing Time Crisis until all my quarters are gone. B --Entertainment Weekly

About the Author
SUZANNE COLLINS’s debut novel, Gregor the Overlander, the first book in the Underland Chronicles, received wide praise both in the United States and abroad. The series has been a New York Times bestseller and received numerous accolades. Also a writer for children’s television, Suzanne lives with her family in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Amazing
This book is so engaging. I was totally sucked into the storyline and loved every moment of it. My only regret is that i read it soo soon after it was released becasue no i have to wait for the next one to come out.

The Hunger Games Are Starving
Honestly and truthfully, I wanted to love this book. I want to give this book nothing but praise and have very few bad things to say about it. But the truth is that I can't. In the end I just started to like this book, and that's all I can do. To do a review of this book is hard because it's tough not to bring up any comparisons between this book and Battle Royale. The similarities in story are just too hard to ignore.

The premise is engaging enough. Dystopian future America were chaos ensues and up from the ashes rises a new nation--divided into 12 district--called Panem, a nation that forces kids to fight to the death in a game. Engaging, right? Of course it is.

THE BAD:

The main problem with the book starts with the games themselves. The Hunger Games are just too flimsy. They aren't fleshed out enough. In a way it just seems tacked on. Reason number one is the reason for the games, or lack there of. Throughout the entire novel I kept asking myself: "Why are the fighting? What reason is there? Why are they making 12-18 year old kids fight?" And the reason that I am given isn't a satisfying one. It seems the Hunger Games are developed to stop a rebellion because of the Dark Days--the earth turns to crap apparently due to floods among other things. So the nation of Panem forms something called the Hunger Games to stop the districts from rebelling, as a warning they--the goverment--are in power. But to me that seems like it would stir up a rebellion. I mean if you wanted to avoid a rebellion wouldn't not want to do this?

Another thing is why are they forcing kids to fight? It doesn't seem to make any sense to me. At lest in BATTLE ROYALE there was more of a reason for the collapse of the nation and for the government uprising. In BATTLE ROYALE the nation goes to hell--unemployment is at an all time low and kids are rebelling against school and authority. If the government doesn't do something soon they are going to have a serious overthrow. So they create the BR Act that forces ninth grade students to fight to the death to keep them in check, to show they are not to be trifled with.

In THE HUNGER GAMES, this isn't the case. There is no real good reason why they need to force 12-18 year olds to fight. There seems to be no real good reason they have the Hunger Games at all. The whole rebellion thing seems to be lacking, and doesn't seem to be a good enough reason to force kids to fight to the death.

Now the Hunger Games themselves seem to be underdeveloped. There's no terror in the games--other than trying to avoid one another and not die. I mean throughout the games Katniss has enough time to hunt. She hunts quite a bit actually. I mean the games really can't be all the frightening if you have enough time to hunt and cook your meals as much as she does. I mean most of the time she is hiding in the trees and hiding--safe and rather sound I may add--from the others. I feel no real terror for her. I feel no fear for her life. She's hunting and feeding herself quite regularly. The characters are able to stay in the same spots for long periods of time with no fear--unless one of the other combatants happens to show up.

The problem with the Hunger Games is that there is no push for them to kill. In BATTLE ROYALE, the kids are forced to fight. There are to many factors forcing them to fight. There are danger zones that force them to keep moving and force them into confrontation. The collars around their necks explode if they are caught in a danger zone. They have to kill at least one person every 24hrs or they all die. They can't swim from the island because gunboats surround it. The collars can't be taken apart because they are rigged to explode if they are tampered with. The kids in BATTLE ROYALE have no choice but too fight.

The Hunger Games aren't very well constructed. There are too many holes in the game. The only that really drives them together are the Gamemakers--but really the Gamemakers only cause this to happen twice and even then both situations just to be there just because.

Most of the games just revolve around hunting and talking. The parachutes from the sponsors are just floating Deus Ex Machina. I mean really Katniss never should have gotten the medicine for Peeta. Plain and simple. The love triangle is meh. It's basic, it's there to add some character conflict, but the love triangle is so basic that you can just brush it to the side. It's also very reminiscent of the love triangle in BATTLE ROYALE between Shuya, Norkio, and Nobu.

Another problem is that the book is written in the first person, which right off the bat ensures me that the main character is going to make it to end--and the END OF BOOK 1 ensures it even more. So with this in mind: Why should I care what happens to her? Why should I care about the burns and blood loss she obtains and looses? I know she is going to make it because the first person narrative ensures that. Why would the book be this long if she didn't make it to the end? I have no fear for her survival. I don't really care about her.

One final problem is the ending. The third part of the book--maybe even a little bit before it--is very disappointing. The ending was terrible--the mutt part was the most ridiculous and unnecessary thing ever. You could tell it was written as a set up for the next book. It's basically there to satisfy the requirements of the love triangle.

THE GOOD:

I will say despite my lack of caring whether or not Katniss survives she was an interesting character, as well as all the other characters were. I did like following her through the book.

The book is engaging and is well written in terms of characters and the story that it does heavily borrow from BATTLE ROYALE. I couldn't put it down and I read it quicker than I thought I was going to.

I did have some favorite parts in the book. I really like the interaction with Rue--she was my favorite--and I liked the song Katniss sings to her. I liked the back-stories for Katniss and her relationships with Grace, Peeta, and her mother.

I liked the breakup of the districts and up until the flaw with the Games I enjoyed reading the journey from when Katniss took her sisters place and all the way up till that point.

THE VERDICT:

All in all, the book is a good read. It is engaging enough to hold the reader's interest all the way till the very last word. The characters and their back-stories are fairly interesting, and the premise is an instinct hook.

But what drags this book down is the "incompleteness" of the Hunger Games. It's not thought and prepared very well. It's flimsy. The book drags in the middle because there's too much hunting and gathering going on. It doesn't keep up the adrenaline very well like how BATTLE ROYALE does. The reason for the Hunger Games isn't very good or convincing--maybe that will change and will be explained better in the next book--and the love triangle is basic high school stuff. There's some funky Deus Ex going on as well. The ending is terrible, and really the book doesn't need a sequel. THE HUNGER GAMES easily could have been one book.

Really the idea is good, but it's been done better. I still recommend BATTLE ROYALE, but I'm hoping things change in the next book.

one hell of a thrill ride
Rating: 5/5

Review:

This book came highly recommended to me by basically everyone. It would not have been a book I'd pick out for myself; the cover didn't intrigue me, and just by that I wouldn't have even considered reading the back of the book to get more info. If it had been just a random book in a bookstore, I'd have passed it by without an extra thought.

But this is no ordinary book; not even close. With all they hype and great reviews about it, I was interested. And when it came to my school's library, it was so easy to get my hands on it. And when I did, I was not disappointed.

This was an extremely gripping story. Futuristic, scarily so. While extreme critics find other books or movies to compare this one to, I can think of nothing that compares. The story is definitely different from anything I've ever read. Killing people for sport is not a subject that I find gracing the pages of young adult literature. But here it is, plain as day. Perhaps it's a comment on society and the way things are shaping up to be, or perhaps it was just a hypothetical story meant to entertain and keep readers on the edge of their seat. Whichever the case may be, I was enthralled. And it really got me thinking about people, and just goodness overall.

The writing wasn't my favorite; it actually kind of bothered me in parts, the way that Katniss spoke in her narration. But the story fully made up for it.

I'm not sure exactly how the sequel will turn out... but you can bet that I'll be ready for it when it's released.

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Salvation in Death

2008-12-12T05:44:00.000-08:00

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Salvation in Death
By J.D. Robb

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #522 in Books
Published on: 2008-11-04
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
368 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Holy communion spells death for Fr. Miguel Flores, a popular Catholic priest in New York City's Spanish Harlem, after he swallows wine laced with cyanide during a funeral in bestseller Robb's unusually introspective 27th crime thriller to feature Lt. Eve Dallas (after Strangers in Death). The ensuing homicide investigation suggests that Flores could actually be Lino Martinez, a former member of a disbanded gang, the Soldados, suspected of two bombings before he disappeared. The death by cyanide of another religious figure, Jimmy Jay Jenkins, founder of the Church of Eternal Light, complicates matters. Are the two murders connected? Sussing out the answer to that question involves some serious digging. Dallas's husband, Roarke, and fun sidekick, Det. Delia Peabody, lend support. Robb offers a multilayered solution to several crimes that serves as yet another reminder that wolves sometimes hide in sheep's (or priest's) clothing, but justice, like faith, has no expiration date. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“If you haven’t read the thrillers starring Lieutenant Eve Dallas, Salvation In Death is the perfect place to start. J.D. Robb is one of my favorite authors and she has created an iconic female cop—a strong, sexy, and death-defying heroine—with the slyest sense of humor in fiction. I love J.D. Robb and Eve Dallas!”
—Lisa Scottoline

"Sexy and unpredictable, these books are first-rate suspense thrillers with wit, character and heart."
—Janet Evanovich

"Pages fly, church and state collide, long-buried secrets become uprooted in JD Robb's slick and sexy newest mystery. Both gripping and tender, the indefatigable Eve Dallas has never been in better form."
—Andrew Gross

Eve Dallas—the NYPD's tough, smart, and sexy lieutenant—leads the reader down mean streets and onto sacred ground to solve one of one of her most puzzling homicides in Salvation In Death. J.D. Robb gives us another great thriller.
—Linda Fairstein

“Curious corpses, tangled twists, and one sizzling sleuth. Salvation In Death is a triple-whammy winner.”
—Kathy Reichs

About the Author
Nora Roberts is the number-one New York Times– bestselling author of more than 150 novels. Under the pen name J. D. Robb, she is the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series, featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke. With more than 280 million copies of her books in print, Roberts has had more than one hundred bestsellers on the New York Times list.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing and illogical
This book got off to a great start, but what a disappointment afterwards. I agree with the other reviewers who said this seemed phone in. I also have 2 other issues. The murdered priest started out as a "good" guy who was praised for his work with the children of the parish. ****Spoiler alert**** Then we find out that he was a former gang member who had orchestrated the bombing and killing of several people. It is interesting and telling that Robb has the priest reportedly arguing with another priest about redemption thru good works. The priest could have been a much more interesting character, but suddenly the priest becomes a con artist and a murderer with no redeeming qualities. It's almost like he's a different person in the second half of the book. My other issue is that Eve makes such a big deal over collaring the priest's murder because murder is never justified. However, she certainly doesn't think that Roarke murdered Marlena's murderers. Robb has Eve and Roarke talk about this interminably in the book, but she never adequately justifies why Roarke's actions in the taking the law in his own hands are different than the actions of the one who did so for the priest. I really enjoy all of Robb's characters and most of her storytelling. But she is definitely not up to par with this book.

Soul Savers in the Hot Seat
Good Eve & Roake romp as always. Still love the fast paced dialogue between the main characters. Love the visit with good friends I get in every book... but I missed at least a short look in on Louise & Charles other than a mention of a shower. Enjoyed the look into the graceful old rituals versus the carnival atmosphere that is the modern religious practices of the mega church neither is completely accurate to its partcipants but are easy targets for the murder minded.

kind of disappointed
i own every "eve dallas" book ever published, and when i get my hands on a new one, everything stops and i start reading till im done with it....but this latest one, i got 2 weeks ago and i just cant get into it, its about 1/4 read...i'll finish it to be sure, but its not what i expected, to many characters or something...cant wait for the next one!

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Ranger's Apprentice: The Sorcerer of the North

2008-12-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

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Ranger's Apprentice: The Sorcerer of the North
By John Flanagan

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #277 in Books
Published on: 2008-11-04
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
304 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
John Flanagan lives in Australia.

Customer Reviews

Aged right
This is a particularly wonderful series for junior high/middle school boys and any one young at heart. Flanagan is a engaging writer with detailed progressive plot development. He leaves you hanging in anticipation after each book, particularly this one. Enjoy! My son also enjoys the Inheritance series.

finaly rangers apprentice 5
finaly the 5 book of rangers apprentice is out the past four books have been great and this book is no exeption. at the beginning of this book will has just been assigned to his own fief. his life there is realatively uneventfull utill he is assigned to help out with a fief in the north. in which the baron of the fief has hit with a mysterious illness. will travels there as a bard learning what he can about what is going on there. a great amount of things happen there but that can be read in this book though the end has a huge cliff hanger it didnt spoil the book at all.
please enjoy book 5 of the rangers apprentice sieries.=)

Ranger's Apprentice Book 5
This book was preordered and came on the exact day it was supposed to. The person it was for was so ecstatic!!! He read it in two weeks and never used to read befor this book!! This is and excellent series!!! I recommend it for anyone who wants their teenager to read!!!

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Revelations (Blue Bloods, Book 3)

2008-12-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

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Revelations (Blue Bloods, Book 3)
By Melissa De La Cruz

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #248 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-28
Released on: 2008-10-28
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
272 pages

Customer Reviews

revelations
It's difficult to review "Revelations" without giving too much away. Suffice to say that a lot happens, & most of it is unexpected. A major character turns out to be a different person, & I was very shocked at her true identity. There are also some surprising deaths, & we begin to see just how much the author is delving into Christian mythos to plot these books. Mimi, Jack, & Schuyler are still trapped in a love triangle with no seeming end.

The books ends with quite a cliffhanger, & an epic battle will be the obvious focus for the next books. It becomes clear that the first 2 books served to set up the background & characters.

Amber's review
I adored the book. I can't wait for the next one to come out. I am very disappointed about the ending. I honestly want no relationship between the main character and her best friend. I don't think that romance and best friends should mix ever. I didn't expect any of what did happen to happen. If you are feeling iffy about reading this book then take my word for it....read it

CAN'T WAIT FOR BOOK FOUR!!
This was certainly the best of the series so far! I also agree that putting off reading it might be a good idea because it will leave you wanting more. The character development and the twists and everything made this probably one of my favorite books period.

I Also liked the Twilight series very much, but these books oddly are a little more grown up I feel. I believe in the first book the character of Mimi was refered to as 16 going on 30, but really that was like almost every character. I don't know if it was because they're smart/rich NYC kids or what... I know I'd never be able to drink whatever I wanted when I was 15 at public places!!

I also liked some of the fashion references in the first book, but wasn't too sad there was much less in this book. Also happy there are no bad references to Buffy like in the first. (buffy never used silver stakes on vampires.. she used wood and the only 'silver stakes kill vampire' reference i know is Blade, which sucks in comparision)

Anyway, I recommend getting the third book in Target as well. The secret chapter takes place right before the epilogue. I'm surprised it wasn't put in the actual book, it gave a slight bit more closure to a certain relationship.

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Influence

2008-12-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

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Influence
By Mary Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #275 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-20
Released on: 2008-10-20
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
272 pages

Customer Reviews

Influence equals inspiration.
I love this book. Beautiful pictures and good stories, I pick it up constantly and find myself inspired. I overall was impress and glad I added it to my perment collection. One day my daughter to going to idolize these girls and the fashion icons that they are.

Influence influences
I have waited a long time for influence to arrive and it did not disappoint me in any way.
everything about this book is beautiful and the interviews are very interesting and so are the people of course! when i saw they interviewed Galliano i got incredibly excited!
definitely worth purchasing if you are interested in fashion or art!

Excellent and Inspiring Book
I bought the book and I find it interesting and inspiring. Lots of beautiful, high-quality photos of the Olsens as well as of famous people and LOTS of fashion items - drawings, exhibits, artwork, etc. Also candid and revealing letters from famous people as well as personal letters from one Olsen twin to the other. And, of course, interviews of fashion icons and famous designers.
An inspiring, charming, and visually pleasing book.

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Untamed (House of Night, Book 4)

2008-12-11T04:46:00.000-08:00

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Untamed (House of Night, Book 4)
By P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #389 in Books
Published on: 2008-09-23
Released on: 2008-09-23
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
352 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

P.C. Cast is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. She lives and teaches in Oklahoma. Her daughter, Kristin Cast, has won awards for her poetry and journalism. She also lives in Oklahoma, where she attends the University of Tulsa as a communications major.

UNTAMED (Chapter 1)

The caw! caw! cawing! of one stupid crow kept me up all night. (Well, more accurately, all day—’cause, you know, I’m a vampyre fledgling and we have that whole issue of day and night being turned around.) Anyway, I got zero sleep last night/day. But my crappy nonsleep is currently the easiest thing to deal with since life really sucks when your friends are pissed at you. I should know. I’m Zoey Redbird, currently the undisputed Queen of Making My Friends Pissed Land.

Persephone, the big sorrel mare who I could consider mine for as long as I lived at the House of Night, craned her head around and nuzzled my cheek. I kissed her soft muzzle and went back to brushing her sleek neck. Grooming Persephone always helped me think and made me feel better. And I definitely needed help with both of those things.

“Okay, so, I’ve managed to avoid the Big Confrontation for two days, but that can’t continue,” I told the mare. “Yes, I know they’re in the cafeteria right now, eating dinner while they hang out together being all buddy-buddy and totally leaving me out.”

Persephone snorted and went back to munching hay.

“Yeah, I think they’re being jerks, too. Sure, I did lie to them, but it was mostly by omission. And, yeah, I kept some stuff from them. Mostly for their own good.” I sighed. Well, the stuff about Stevie Rae being undead was for their own good. The stuff about me having a thing with Loren Blake—Vampyre Poet Laureate and professor at the House of Night—well, that was more for my own good. “But still.” Persephone flicked an ear back to listen to me. “They’re being really judgmental.”

Persephone snorted again. I sighed again. Crap. I couldn’t avoid them any longer.

After giving the sweet mare one last pat, I walked slowly out of her stall to the tack room and put up the array of currycombs and mane/tail brushes I’d been using on her for the past hour. I breathed deeply of the leather and horse smell, letting the soothing mixture ease my nerves. Catching my reflection in the smooth glass window of the tack room, I automatically ran my fingers through my dark hair, trying to make it look not so bedheady. I’d been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and moved to the House of Night for just over two months, but already my hair was noticeably thicker and longer. And supergood hair was only one of the many changes taking place with me. Some of them were invisible—like the fact that I had an affinity for all five of the elements. Some of them were very much visible—like the unique tattoos that framed my face in intricate, exotic swirls and then, unlike any other fledgling or adult vampyre, the sapphire design spread down my neck and shoulders, along my spine, and most recently, had moved around my waist, a little fact no one but my cat, Nala, our goddess Nyx, and I knew.

Like who could I show?

“Well, yesterday you had not one, but three boyfriends,” I told the me with the dark eyes and cynical half smile that was reflected in the glass. “But you fixed that, didn’t you? Today not only do you have zero boyfriends, but no one will ever trust you again for at least, I dunno, a gazillion years or so.” Well, except Aphrodite, who totally freaked and took off two days ago because she might have suddenly been turned back into a human, and Stevie Rae, who was chasing said freaked re-humaned Aphrodite because she might have caused the fledgling-to-human issue when I cast a circle and turned her from creepy undead dead kid to odd-red-tattooed-vampyre-but-herself-again kid. “Either way,” I told myself aloud, “you have managed to mess up just about everyone who has touched your life. Well done, you!”

My lip had actually started to quiver and I felt the sting of tears in my eyes. No. Bawling my eyes red wouldn’t do any good. I mean, seriously, if it did, then my friends and I would have kissed (well, not literally) and made up days ago. I was just going to have to face them and start trying to make things right.

The late December night was cool and a little misty. The gaslights lining the sidewalk that stretched from the stable and field house area of the school to the main building flickered with little haloes of yellow light, looking beautiful and old-worldly. Actually, the whole campus of the House of Night was gorgeous, and always made me think of something that belonged in an Arthurian legend more than in the twenty-first century. I love it here, I reminded myself. It’s home. It’s where I belong. I’ll make it right with my friends, and everything will be okay then.

I was chewing my lip and worrying about just exactly how I was going to make it right with my friends when my mental stressing was interrupted by a weird flapping noise that filled the air around me. Something about the sound sent a chill down my spine. I looked up. There was nothing above me but darkness and sky and the winter-bare limbs of the huge oaks that lined the sidewalk. I shivered, having a walking-over-my-grave moment as the night went from soft and misty to dark and malevolent.

Hang on—dark and malevolent? Well, that’s just silly! What I had heard was probably nothing more sinister than the wind rustling through the trees. Jeesh, I was losing it.

Shaking my head at myself, I kept walking but had taken only a couple of steps when it happened again. The weird flapping above me actually caused the air, which seemed ten degrees colder, to flutter wildly against my skin. I automatically flailed a hand up, imagining bats and spiders and all sorts of creepy things.

My fingers passed through nothingness, but it was frigid nothingness, and an icy pain sliced through my hand. Completely freaked out, I yelped and hugged my hand to my chest. For a moment I didn’t know what to do, and my body was numb with fear. The flapping was getting louder and the cold more intense when I finally managed to move. Ducking my head, I did the only thing I could think to do. I ran for the nearest door to the school.

After slipping inside, I slammed the thick wooden door behind me and, panting for breath, turned to peer through the little arched window in the center of it. The night shifted and swam before my eyes, like black paint poured down a dark page. Still, the terrible feeling of icy fear lingered within me. What was going on? Almost without realizing what I was doing, I whispered, “Fire, come to me. I need your warmth.”

Instantly the element responded, filling the air around me with the soothing heat of a hearth fire. Still staring out the little window, I pressed my palms against the rough wood of the door. “Out there,” I murmured. “Send your heat out there, too.” With a whoosh of warmth, the element moved from me, through the door, and poured into the night. There was a hissing sound, like steam rising from dry ice. The mist roiled, thick and soupy, giving me a sense of dizzy vertigo that made me a little nauseated, and the strange darkness began to evaporate. Then the heat completely beat away the chill, and as suddenly as it had begun, the night was once again quiet and familiar.

What had just happened?

My stinging hand drew my attention from the window. I looked down. Across the back of my hand there were red welts, as though something with claws, or talons, had scraped across my flesh. I rubbed at the angry-looking marks, which stung like a curling iron burn.

Then the feeling hit me strong, hard, overwhelming—and I knew with my Goddess-given sixth sense that I shouldn’t be here by myself. The coldness that had tainted the night—the ghostly something that had chased me inside and welted my hand—filled me with a terrible foreboding and for the first time in a long time, I was truly and utterly afraid. Not for my friends. Not for my grandma or my human ex-boyfriend, or even for my estranged mom. I was afraid for myself. I didn’t just want the company of my friends; I needed them.

Still rubbing my hand, I made my legs move and knew beyond any doubt that I would rather face the hurt and disappointment of my friends than whatever dark thing might be waiting for me in the concealing night.

I hovered for a second just outside the open doors to the busy “dining hall” (a.k.a. school cafeteria) watching the other kids talk easily and happily together, and I was almost overwhelmed with the sudden wish that I could be just another fledging—that I didn’t have any extraordinary abilities or the responsibilities that went along with those abilities. For a second I wanted to be normal so bad that it was hard for me to breathe.

Then I felt the soft brush of wind against my skin that seemed warmed by the heat of an invisible flame. I caught a whiff of the ocean, even though there is definitely no ocean near Tulsa, Oklahoma. I heard birdsong and smelled new-cut grass. And my spirit quivered with silent joy within me as it acknowledged my powerful Goddess-given gifts of an affinity for each of the five elements: air, fire, water, earth, and spirit.

I wasn’t normal. I wasn’t like anyone else, fledgling or vampyre, and it was wrong of me to wish otherwise. And part of my not-normal-ness was telling me that I had to go in there and try to make peace with my friends. I straightened my spine and looked around the room with eyes that were clear of self-pity, and easily found my special group sitting at our booth.

I drew a deep breath and then made my way quickly across the cafeteria, giving a little nod or small smile to the kids who said hi to me. I noticed that everyone seemed to be reacting to me with their usual mix of respect and awe, which meant that my friends hadn’t been talking crap about me to the masses. It also meant that Neferet hadn’t launched an all-out, open a...

Customer Reviews

worst so far
Good:

The House of Night series is one of my favorite series', simply because they are fast-paced, sarcastic, and extremely exciting. This book was not an exception to that pattern.

Bad:

Okay. Here I go. This is probably the first time that I have a serious complaint about a main character.

I am not usually a person who focuses on the personality of the main characters. There are books that I've read and loved that other people could not even finish because they seriously disliked the main characters (Jessica Darling from Sloppy Firsts and Bella Swan from Twilight being prime examples of my favorite books that I often hear complaints about the main characters). I have never been one of those people.

However, Untamed just may be an exception.

Zoey isn't a bad character... she's realistic and brave, which is great. But my problem with her is her attitude. She has power that other fledglings, and even grown vampyres would KILL for, and yet all she does is complain about her powers and the complications they bring, and about all the guys in her life. I understand the fact that she is a teenager and that entitles her to a bit of angst and complaining, but come ON! Halfway through the book I wanted to just close it and throw it across the room... Zoey pissed me off so much. Instead of doing something about most of her problems, she just complained and complained...

I have a thing for strong female leads. Zoey is not one of them... and I don't mind a little weakness, but she really started to annoy me. She needs to grow up.

I also had another problem with this book... the convient coincidences. I know that events in a book have to lead up to other events, but it seemed just too obvious. Fantasy books should be a little believable... and this book was hardly that. Even if the events are unbelievable, the book should at least have a decent flow of events. But it just seemed like the authors threw Zoey in stupid situations just because they could, or to prove a point about something that's almost irrelevent.

Worst out of the series so far... but I am still hoping for better from Hunted, the fifth book in the series.

untamed
The first three books in The House of Night series were good but not great. "Untamed" changes all of that. In one book, this series has gone from okay to awesome. I read "Untamed" in two days because I couldn't bare to put it down. Everything changes.

***SPOLIERS***

The entire book moves towards a series changing climax in the last several chapters. Throughout "Untamed," you know something major is going to happen. The characters know something major is going to happen, & you can feel the buildup with each chapter. Then, everything explodes. Neferet is exposed, & she takes over The House of Night with her evil minions, Raven Mockers & the demon Kalona from Cherokee legend. I don't want to ruin too much of the book, so I won't give anymore away. But the mythology for this series is getting pretty heavy, spinning towards a final battle of good vs. evil.

You will love this book
this book keeps you guessing and keeps you reading. I believe that anyone who enjoys reading vampire stories or romances would enjoy reading this book.

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Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)

2008-12-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

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Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2)
By P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #391 in Books
Published on: 2007-10-02
Released on: 2007-10-02
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
320 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Praise for Marked:“The trials of growing up are presented in the new and original context of a vampire society, and they’re woven into a thoroughly entertaining story....This promises to be a highly addictive series.”
–Romantic Times (four and a half stars)

From the Back Cover
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night. She’s come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs--like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend…or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey’s old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

About the Author
PC CAST is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious Prism, Daphne du Maurier, Affaire Du Coeur, and other awards. She lives and teaches in Oklahoma. KRISTIN CAST has won awards for her poetry and journalism. She Lso lives in Oklahoma, where she attends Northeastern State University as a Biology major.

Customer Reviews

If a better book has ever been written, I've yet to hear about.
This book is amazing. By making vampires an actual part of society was really putting it out there. The incorporation of wicken religion was incredible. If I have one complaint it's that Hunted isn't out yet. I CAN'T WAIT 'TILL MARCH!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!! Anyway, great book. Divine series. Twilight can go to Hell. *_*

Downhill...
I really liked the first book in the series "Marked" that I borrowed from a friend. I liked how open and optimistic the ending was.
I picked up this book from the library two days later, and was really disappointed. The main character Zoey went from being a great, independent main character to a selfish, whore that was never satisfied with any situation. I hope the next book doesn't further de-volve her because I'm really starting to hate her.

Great series!!
This book starts up immediately where "Marked" left off: Zoey is settling into life as a vampire fledgling, surrounded by her newfound friends at the House of Night. She has proven herself a worthwhile student in the goddess, Nyx's, eyes and has been marked with a unique design across her forehead - something that has never been done to anyone - vampire or fledgling. Not only does Zoey have to take the responsibility as the leader of the Dark Daughters - she has a blooming relationship with Erik Night evolving, an imprint with her ex-human boyfriend - not to mention teens around town are being killed which all signs point to the vampirs and the House of Night as the culprits. It's easy to get caught up in Zoey's world; I really enjoy this series and look forward to the others!

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Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition)

2008-12-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

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Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition)
By John Boyne

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #463 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-28
Released on: 2008-10-28
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
240 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Book Description

This work was set in Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance. But, Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than what meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is now a major motion picture (releasing in November 2008). Enjoy these images from the film, and click the thumbnails to see a larger image in a new browser window.

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 9 Up–Boyne has written a sort of historical allegory–a spare, but vividly descriptive tale that clearly elucidates the atmosphere in Nazi Germany during the early 1940s that enabled the persecution of Eastern European Jews. Through the eyes of Bruno, a naive nine-year-old raised in a privileged household by strict parents whose expectations included good manners and unquestioning respect for parental authority, the author describes a visit from the Fury and the familys sudden move from Berlin to a place called Out-With in Poland. There, not 50 feet away, a high wire fence surrounds a huge dirt area of low huts and large square buildings. From his bedroom window, Bruno can see hundreds (maybe thousands) of people wearing striped pajamas and caps, and something made him feel very cold and unsafe. Uncertain of what his father actually does for a living, the boy is eager to discover the secret of the people on the other side. He follows the fence into the distance, where he meets Shmuel, a skinny, sad-looking Jewish resident who, amazingly, has his same birth date. Bruno shares his thoughts and feelings with Shmuel, some of his food, and his final day at Out-With, knowing instinctively that his father must never learn about this friendship. While only hinting at violence, blind hatred, and deplorable conditions, Boyne has included pointed examples of bullying and fearfulness. His combination of strong characterization and simple, honest narrative make this powerful and memorable tale a unique addition to Holocaust literature for those who already have some knowledge of Hitlers Final Solution.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-10. Some of the most thought-provoking Holocaust books are about bystanders, including those who say they did not know what was happening. This first novel tells the bystander story from the viewpoint of an innocent child. Bruno is nine when his family moves from their luxurious Berlin home to the country, where "the Fury" has appointed Bruno's father commandant. Lost and lonely, the child hates the upheaval, while his stern but kind father celebrates his success because he has learned to follow orders. Bruno can see a concentration camp in the distance, but he has no idea what is going on, even when he eventually meets and makes friends with Shmuel, a boy from Cracow, who lives on the other side of the camp fence. The boys meet every day. They even discover that they have the same birthday. It's all part of a poignant construct: Shmuel is Bruno's alternative self, and as the story builds to a horrifying climax, the innocent's experience brings home the unimaginable horror. Pair this with Anne Frank's classic diary and Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War (1998). Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Save your time and money......
The title is intriguing, but once you open the book, you will be most disappointed. The writing is poorly crafted, the main character too naive for words. I think this book must have somehow slipped past the copy editors--it reads like someone's first attempt at a book, where a kindly editor should have handed it back with lots of red pencil markings. As other reviewers have commented, the idea of a look at the Holocaust through the eyes of a child is intriguing, but this author botched the attempt. There are a number of non-fiction children's diaries of the Holocaust that are so much more worthwhile. I cannot believe this book has sold 3 million copies!

A Good Story; Not History.
The author presents a good story in a lucid well written manner. The writing style starts off a bit awkward in terms of setting the scene and character introduction, but picks up quite well after a few pages.

I agree with a previous reviewer (on .com not .ca) that the story may not be 100% historically accurate when considering what a child of that age, at that time, and in that historical period may have done, known or understood. Having said that, the purpose of this book is to tell a story, rather than attempt to recount history accurately.

With the author breaking away from similar genre books and telling the story from the German perspective, it sheds light on what life may have been like from "outside the fence" through the eyes of a young man. For those that can immerse themselves in the book, the story manages to provide young and old readers alike with some food-for-thought in terms of considering the impacts or outcomes of personal decisions and their ripple effects (from either the parents' or from Bruno's perspective).

I had two issues with the book. In some parts (very minimal), I found the writing style borderline annoying. I highlight this issue without mentioning anything specific in the book - but a parallel example could be: John wasn't looking for his socks, gloves, coat, books, bag, watch, shirt, shoes, pencils, or sun glasses. He was looking for his hat.

Second, I was bothered by the political intonation of the very last sentence in the book, which I personally felt ruined the mood set in the preceding pages. To be sure, my issue is not with the message itself, just with how it abruptly brings the reader out of a pensive and emotional state that was built up nicely over the preceding couple of pages.

Overall, however, the book is an easy to follow story, quite an enjoyable and an interesting read for young, young adult and adult readers alike. I would certainly read it again.

Excellent!!
This book was incredible. I'm about to read it again. I'm sure that the negative reviewers who couldn't understand how Bruno didn't know what was going on around him read the book with the knowledge we have today about the holocost. Back then it wasn't uncommon for people to be unaware of the horrors of what was done to the Jewish people. I loved this book.

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Nation

2008-12-10T08:47:00.000-08:00

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Nation
By Terry Pratchett

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #332 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-01
Released on: 2008-09-30
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
384 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Bookmarks Magazine
Critics praised Nation as a hybrid, deeply philosophical book aimed at young adults, but one likely to appeal to adults as well, much like Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy or J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. With echoes of William Defoe and William Golding, Nation takes the form of a “classic Robinsonade,” notes the Washington Post—that is, a book in which characters on a desert island recreate civilization. As his characters grapple with questions of leadership, humanity, and survival, Pratchett explores fundamental ideas about religion and culture. This might all sound rather heavy, but there is plenty of originality and humor—and cannibals, spirits, and secret treasures—to go around. In the end, Pratchett offers a vision of a deeply humane world. “In some part of the multiverse there is probably a civilisation based on the thinking of Terry Pratchett,” writes the Guardian, “and what a civilised civilisation that will be.”
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC

About the Author

Terry Pratchett's novels have sold more than fifty-five million (give or take a few million) copies worldwide. He lives in England.

As many of you know, beloved house author Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. Terry has become active in fundraising efforts to support Alzheimer's research. Click here to read a speech Terry made to the Alzheimer's Research Trust Conference in the UK earlier this year. If you are interested in making a tax-free donation to to the Alzheimer's Association click here.

Customer Reviews

"Nation" by Terry Pratchett is Awsome

I am reading this really cool book. The book is called Nation by Terry Pratchett. He is a great writer and he can be serious and funny at the same time.

This book is both historical fiction and fantasy at the same time, which is cool. The historical part is that it happens in the 19th century when England had an empire. The fantasy part is that it happens in this made-up ocean where people live on islands, its kind of like Polynesia but its different.

Anyways this boy who is about 13 is suppose to pass this test to become a man. So he goes out to an island by himself. While he is doing that a big wave comes and wipes out his whole village. When he gets home he buries all the people. Its really sad.

Meanwhile an English girl about the same age, her ship crashed on the island because of the wave, everybody on the ship but her died. So now the boy and the girl are stuck on the island together. At first they can't communicate at all but then they start to. And other people start washing up on the island needing their help. What's cool about this story is how the girl and the boy are so different, but they learn to like each other and become friends.

This is a funny story and it is also serious and sad too. I would give it 5 stars out of 5, the maximum! Everybody should read this, and you don't have to be a kid! Adults will like it too I think.

Pratchett at his most thoughtful
Terry Pratchett had been talking about a book called Nation he'd really wanted to write for almost half a decade when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. According to rumour, he'd already begun working on the next Tiffany Aching Discworld novel, I Shall Wear Midnight, but upon hearing the news he dropped it immediately to make sure Nation was written first.

Nation is not a Discworld novel, but is instead set in an alternate history very similar to our own late 19th Century when the British Empire was at its height. A tidal wave sweeps across the Great Southern Pelargic Ocean (the South Pacific) and wipes out the tribal civilisation of the Mothering Sunday Islands. In particular, the island simply known as the Nation is totally destroyed, apart from a single young man named Mau. Mau finds himself alone on his island, until he discovers the crashed remains of a foreign ship and a pale-skinned young woman who initially tries to kill him, but later invites him to tea. Soon refugees from the crisis gather on the island, and Mau realises he has the choice to rebuild the old world, or choose to do something new with his nation...

Nation is Pratchett's most serious book since his 1992 classic, Small Gods. In fact, it shares some similarities with that book and acts as another treatise on faith, religion, atheism and morality. It is slower and more thoughtful than that earlier novel, where a younger and more angry Pratchett was in full-on fiery condemnation of blind fundamentalism, but works well due to those contrasts. It isn't as funny as a typical Pratchett book, although there are a few chuckles to be found here and there, particularly what appears to be a clever inverting of one of the premises of the TV show Lost in the final chapter and epilogue. However, it is also a more spiritual book, which is interesting given Pratchett gives New Age ideas pretty short shrift in his other books. But here things happen that can't be easily explained away by science, and it's debatable whether this is Pratchett perhaps considering things in a different light or simply a facet of this world which is different to our own (and is quite reminiscent of the gods in Discworld who exist purely because people believe in them, not the other way around).

Nation is being marketed as a YA novel, but it really isn't. It's depiction of tragedy and death in the opening chapters is pretty unflinching, and occasional moments of blood and cruelty abound throughout its length. Also, the central themes are pretty weighty and not something I see young children really getting into. However, for the adult reader Nation is an interesting and thought-provoking read which raises many interesting ideas and questions, whilst remaining entertaining and well-characterised.

Nation (****) is available in the UK from Doubleday and, with a spectacularly awful cover, in the USA from HaperCollins.

Very Good Indeed - Coming of Age
I must start by saying that Terry Pratchett is one of my top 10 favorite authors next to Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, PG Wodehouse and Robert Jordan. So going into this book, I probably have a pro-Pratchett bias. If you feel this is makes me unqualified to review this book, click the no next the question was this helpful and move on to the next review.

This title is an exploration of the coming of age plot. The main character is literally coming to age by the practices of his tribe when a strange and sudden tragedy forces him to come into full adult responsibility for the lives and health of others. Through a collection of near strangers his world is expanded. He grows to realize strongly that his world view may not be the only one out there.

Many reviews I have read from non-professionals like myself have stated that this book has a strong anti-religion theme. However, if anything it has a strong anti-tribalism theme (if you are thinking anti spears look up what tribalism actually means). The growth of this character isn't the rejection of his father's religion but the realization that just because it was the one he was raised with does not make it better than everyone else's.

Really, this book has a pro-religion theme as with many of Pratchett's works as while he might take the mic out of them from time to time the gods in this book definitely do exist. Philosophy has always been a strong theme in every book I have read by Mr. Pratchett and I think this is one of the defining reasons why I like his work. Well that, and the 4 or 5 hours I spend smiling and laughing after I put the book down just thinking of my favorite bits.

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New Junior Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen)

2008-12-10T03:47:00.000-08:00

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New Junior Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen)
By Better Homes and Gardens

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #228 in Books
Published on: 2004-10-05
Released on: 2004-10-05
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Spiral-bound
128 pages

Customer Reviews

Kids Love It
The kids see me cooking all the time and they wanted their own cookbook . So we bought them one as a together present so inspire their love of cooking and to teach them cooperation.

good merchandise
The book was received in a timeley manner. It was in good shape as described. Would do business with seller again when need arises.

Very pleased
This book is amazing as is all of the Better Homes and Garden cook books. The pictures alone draw you in. There is nutrition facts and fun easy, kid friendly recipes. Small amount of recipes, but I feel perfect. Should make kids want to cook.

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The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

2008-12-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

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The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
By Michael Scott

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #367 in Books
Published on: 2008-06-24
Released on: 2008-06-24
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
496 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2008:
“Readers will be swept up by a plot that moves smartly along, leaving a wide trail of destruction and well-timed revelations.”

About the Author
An authority on mythology and folklore, Michael Scott is one of Ireland’s most successful authors. The Magician is the second book in the New York Times bestselling Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. You can visit Michael Scott at www.dillonscott.com. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE

The charity auction hadn’t started until well after midnight, when the gala dinner had ended. It was almost four in the morning and the auction was only now drawing to a close. A digital display behind the celebrity auctioneer—an actor who had played James Bond on-screen for many years—showed the running total at more than one million euro.

“Lot number two hundred and ten: a pair of early- nineteenth-century Japanese Kabuki masks.”

A ripple of excitement ran through the crowded room. Inlaid with chips of solid jade, the Kabuki masks were the highlight of the auction and were expected to fetch in excess of half a million euro.

At the back of the room the tall, thin man with the fuzz of close-cropped snow white hair was prepared to pay twice that.

Niccolò Machiavelli stood apart from the rest of the crowd, arms lightly folded across his chest, careful not to wrinkle his Savile Row–tailored black silk tuxedo. Stone gray eyes swept over the other bidders, analyzing and assessing them. There were really only five others he needed to look out for: two private collectors like himself, a minor European royal, a once-famous American movie actor and a Canadian antiques dealer. The remainder of the audience were tired, had spent their budget or were unwilling to bid on the vaguely disturbing-looking masks.

Machiavelli loved all types of masks. He had been collecting them for a very long time, and he wanted this particular pair to complete his collection of Japanese theater costumes. These masks had last come up for sale in 1898 in Vienna, and he had then been outbid by a Romanov prince. Machiavelli had patiently bided his time; the masks would come back on the market again when the Prince and his descendents died. Machiavelli knew he would still be around to buy them; it was one of the many advantages of being immortal.

“Shall we start the bidding at one hundred thousand euro?”

Machiavelli looked up, caught the auctioneer’s attention and nodded.

The auctioneer had been expecting his bid and nodded in return. “I am bid one hundred thousand euro by Monsieur Machiavelli. Always one of this charity’s most generous supporters and sponsors.”

A smattering of applause ran around the room, and several people turned to look at him and raise their glasses. Niccolò acknowledged them with a polite smile.

“Do I have one hundred and ten?” the auctioneer asked.

One of the private collectors raised his hand slightly.

“One-twenty?” The auctioneer looked back to Machiavelli, who immediately nodded.

Within the next three minutes, a flurry of bids brought the price up to two hundred and fifty thousand euro. There were only three serious bidders left: Machiavelli, the American actor and the Canadian.

Machiavelli’s thin lips twisted into a rare smile; his patience was about to be rewarded, and finally the masks would be his. Then the smile faded as he felt the cell phone in his back pocket buzz silently. For an instant he was tempted to ignore it; he’d given his staff strict instructions that he was not to be disturbed unless it was absolutely critical. He also knew they were so terrified of him that they would not phone unless it was an emergency. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the ultraslim phone and glanced down.

A picture of a sword pulsed gently on the large LCD screen.

Machiavelli’s smile vanished. In that second he knew he was not going to be able to buy the Kabuki masks this century. Turning on his heel, he strode out of the room and pressed the phone to his ear. Behind him, he could hear the auctioneer’s hammer hit the lectern “Sold. For two hundred and sixty thousand euro . . .”

“I’m here,” Machiavelli said, reverting to the Italian of his youth.

The line crackled and an English-accented voice responded in the same language, using a dialect that had not been heard in Europe for more than four hundred years. “I need your help.”

The man on the other end of the line didn’t identify himself, nor did he need to; Machiavelli knew it was the immortal magician and necromancer Dr. John Dee, one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the world.

Niccolò Machiavelli strode out of the small hotel into the broad cobbled square of the Place du Tertre and stopped to breathe in the chill night air. “What can I do for you?” he asked cautiously. He detested Dee and knew the feeling was mutual, but they both served the Dark Elders, and that meant they had been forced to work together down through the centuries. Machiavelli was also slightly envious that Dee was younger than he—and looked it. Machiavelli had been born in Florence in 1469, which made him fifty-eight years older than the English Magician. History recorded that he had died in the same year that Dee had been born, 1527.

“Flamel is back in Paris.”

Machiavelli straightened. “When?”

“Just now. He got there through a leygate. I’ve no idea where it comes out. He’s got Scathach with him. . . .”

Machiavelli’s lips curled into an ugly grimace. The last time he’d encountered the Warrior, she’d pushed him through a door. It had been closed at the time, and he’d spent weeks picking splinters from his chest and shoulders.

“There are two humani children with him. Americans,” Dee said, his voice echoing and fading on the transatlantic line. “Twins,” he added.

“Say again?” Machiavelli asked.

“Twins,” Dee added, “with pure gold and silver auras. You know what that means,” he snapped.

“Yes,” Machiavelli muttered. It meant trouble. Then the tiniest of smiles curled his thin lips. It could also mean opportunity.

Static crackled and then Dee’s voice continued. “The girl’s powers were Awakened by Hekate before the Goddess and her Shadowrealm were destroyed.”

“Untrained, the girl is no threat,” Machiavelli murmured, quickly assessing the situation. He took a breath and added, “Except perhaps to herself and those around her.”

“Flamel took the girl to Ojai. There, the Witch of Endor instructed her in the Magic of Air.”

“No doubt you tried to stop them?” There was a hint of amusement in Machiavelli’s voice.

“Tried. And failed,” Dee admitted bitterly. “The girl has some knowledge but is without skill.”

“What do you want me to do?” Machiavelli asked carefully, although he already had a very good idea.

“Find Flamel and the twins,” Dee demanded. “Capture them. Kill Scathach if you can. I’m just leaving Ojai. But it’s going to take me fourteen or fifteen hours to get to Paris.”

“What happened to the leygate?” Machiavelli wondered aloud. If a leygate connected Ojai and Paris, then why didn’t Dee . . . ?

“Destroyed by the Witch of Endor,” Dee raged, “and she nearly killed me, too. I was lucky to escape with a few cuts and scratches,” he added, and then ended the call without saying good-bye.

Niccolò Machiavelli closed his phone carefully and tapped it against his bottom lip. Somehow he doubted that Dee had been lucky—if the Witch of Endor had wanted him dead, then even the legendary Dr. Dee would not have escaped. Machiavelli turned and walked across the square to where his driver was patiently waiting with the car. If Flamel, Scathach and the American twins had come to Paris via a leygate, then there were only a few places in the city where they could have emerged. It should be relatively easy to find and capture them.

And if he could capture them tonight, then he would have plenty of time to work on them before Dee arrived.

Machiavelli smiled; he’d only need a few hours, and in that time they would tell him everything they knew. Half a millennium on this earth had taught him how to be very persuasive indeed.

Customer Reviews

The Magician big hit with 12 year old
My 12 year old granddaughter loved this book (and the 1st book in this series). It arrived in 2 days with Amazon Prime! She couldn't wait for it to arrive. When it did, she sat down and read it in one day! She is disappointed that the sequel to The Magician isn't due out until the spring of 2009.

Even better then the Alchemyst - can't wait for #3!!
Interestingly, I saw a review titled "the real heir to Harry Potter" - and I couldn't agree more. Ironically, I picked up the first in this series The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel at the Borders release party for Deathly Hallows. I liked it - thought it was ok. I was going to wait until the paperback version of this one - but was convinced by some other reader friends to get it now. I am so glad I listened to them. This was even better then the first - although, in my opinion, it would probably be hard to follow without having read the first. "Do-able" but better if you read them in order.

It introduces us to some great historical characters - in a totally new light - and brings in so many different aspects of so many different mythologies from around the world. But in a fun way. There's magic all over the place (some might say "duh" because of the title) and the story moves along well. There are visits to some great landmarks too. The characters are becoming more developed and complex. And there's plenty to discuss on message boards about what might come next (there are 4 more to come).

The author is well versed in mythology - which can be seen in the over 100 books he has written. This series does a wonderful job of tying all sorts of important historical and mythological events and characters and places into one big magical bow. Totally the next Harry Potter... or at least it should be! The Flamel Fansite has more helpful info on the series and the next installment - which I can't wait to read!!

Inspiration for the Athlete Within Everyone!
Sports stories are usually about success and failure! But those two terms are differently defined in this exciting, unusual collection that will spark the mind of all readers, whether you like sports or not! For these are real stories told about something in each experience that moves the hardest of head and/or hearts!

"Ignore the definitions and follow the impulse every inch of the way it leads," might be a most appropriate motto for each character in these terrific stories. You'll meet a guy who can't play basketball for beans until he has a larger vision of why he wants that ball to land in that swishing hoop! And maybe you'll enjoy the "large" girl who can't even come close to excelling in sports until she's fueled by one single, pulsing thought. Or maybe you'd like to meet a shy girl who finally starts being proud about being a BMX punk-girl after a visit from a very old friend. How easy can it be to impress a girl with one's kayaking skills when you lose a loosely strung piece of memorabilia?

Lay-Ups and Long Shots works so well because the stories are real living experiences that focus on the most proud, and yes even embarrassing, moments a teen can experience in this high end, glossy world that celebrates six-figure paid athletes but far too often ignores the spirit behind sports that makes real heroes and heroines, the kind who never make to the press. The authors convey the plot-driven tension, dreams and memories behind courageous, all to human men and women like you and me!

These are just some of the quickly readable stories that will propel you through these pages quicker than you can blink your eyes! And when you're done, you'll be able to say there's not one dud in the entire 112 pages. That's quite a feat for the collector and even more of a feat for the 9 authors whose tales will stick in your mind and heart for many, many days after you've turned the last satisfying page!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on October 19, 2008

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The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide

2008-12-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

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The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide
By Stephenie Meyer

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #47 in Books
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
256 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Praise for Eclipse:
"Move over, Harry Potter." - USA Today

"Has a hypnotic quality that puts the reader right inside the dense, rainy thickets of [Forks]" - People Magazine

"The legions of readers who are hooked on the romantic struggles of Bella and the vampire Edward will ecstatically devour this third installment" - Publishers Weekly

"[Stephenie Meyer is] the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice" - Entertainment Weekly

"Meyer's trilogy seethes with the archetypal tumult of star-crossed passions, in which the supernatural element serves as a heady spice." - The New York Times

Praise for New Moon:
-"Teens will relish this new adventure and hunger for more."--Booklist
-"[A] near-genius balance of breathtaking romance and action."--VOYA
-"New Moon will ... leave [fans] breathless for the third."--School Library Journal

Praise for Twilight:
-A New York Times Editor's Choice
-A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
-An Amazon Best Book of the Decade...So Far
-An American Library Association Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults

About the Author
Stephenie Meyer graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English Literature, and she lives with her husband and three young sons in Arizona. Stephenie is the author of Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

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Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion

2008-12-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

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Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion
By Mark Cotta Vaz

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #25 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-28
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
144 pages

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Mark Cotta Vaz is the author of over twenty-one books, including four New York Times bestsellers. His recent works include Mythic Vision: The Making of Eragon, The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion, and the biography Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong,which was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.

Customer Reviews

The perfect gift for Twilight fans in your life.
My teenage niece adores this series and I purchased this book as a birthday gift for her. She was very elated by it and has become an avid fan of the new movie. This book makes a great gift for and fan of Myers' popular series. Recommended.

If you remember Twilight's "Edward" actor for his role as "Cedric" in Harry Potter's 4th movie and are a continuing fan of J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books, then you will also enjoy the mind-blowing new book "Does Harry Potter Tickle Sleeping Dragons?" by Nancy Solon Villaluz. It sheds incredible amounts of light on J.K. Rowling's spoken intentions for Harry Potter, her named influences and secrets like no other Potter analysis has done before and will amaze you with its stunningly thorough research. I found it impossible to put down and recommend it as a must-have for every Harry Potter fan. You will wonder why no one has ever invested the time to notice Rowling's striking patterns before. (Click here to view the Amazon.com listing): Does Harry Potter Tickle Sleeping Dragons?

Twilight the complete movie campanion
For Twilight fans it is a great book to have. We have enjoyed it.

Great complement to movie
This is a great addition to the movie and a must have for any diehard Twilight fan. This book not only includes many gorgeous photos from the movie, it also shares the ins and outs of filming Twilight.

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Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3)

2008-12-09T02:34:00.001-08:00

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Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3)
By Christopher Paolini

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #21 in Books
Published on: 2008-09-20
Released on: 2008-09-20
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
784 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The much-anticipated third book in Paolini's Inheritance Cycle continues to rely heavily on classic fantasy tropes. The novel launches with magician and Dragon Rider Eragon, his cousin Roran and the dragon Saphira on a quest to rescue Roran's betrothed. The cousins soon split up, and Roran undergoes his own series of heroic tests, culminating in a well-choreographed and intense fight against an Urgal (a ram-human hybrid). Eragon, at the same time, encounters treacherous dwarves, undergoes even more training with the elf Oromis and gains a magical sword suitable for a Dragon Rider. The silly revelations about Eragon's background in the previous book, Eldest, are given a new spin near the end, but the change is neither unexpected nor interesting. Predictably, the book concludes with even more character deaths and another battle, but those expecting a resolution will have to wait until the next novel. The cliched journey may appeal to younger readers of genre fiction. Older teens, even those who might have first cut their teeth on Paolini's writing years ago, are less likely to be impressed. Ages 12-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at 15. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Customer Reviews

Bait and switch
I really loved Eragon (Inhertitance). I thought that Eldest (Inheritance) was kind of dry and just didn't have the same spark as Eragon.

When I heard that the third and *final* book of the Inheritance Trilogy was being published I figured that it was worth finishing things off.

In the end, I thought that Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) was about the same quality as Eldest. There was *some* interesting content. But this was matched by many parts that dragged on.

But the thing that kept me motivated was knowing that by the time I got to the end of the book, things would be wrapped up and over. So, I kept slogging through in anticipation of the grand finale.

Unfortunately, much to my dismay, the Inheritance Trilogy turned into the Inheritance Quadrilogy and, rather than wrapping up all of the stories with a nice bow, Brisingr just felt like another "middle book" not really moving the plot along.

I would have been much happier if Paolini had stuck with the original plan of a trilogy; hopefully it would have moved things along at a better clip. Instead, we're left with one great book to begin the series followed by two slow books that could probably each be chopped in half without sacrificing much.

And so now we wait until the *real* (hopefully) final book in the series. I still hold out hope that the final book will return to the greatness of Eragon, but Brisingr didn't do much to make me believe this will be the case.

sadden
I hate to sound repetitious, so I won't go on and on about the fault of the book. you can read numerous accounts already. Simply said, my key areas are the facts that the book was exceedingly dull and drawn-out unnecessarily, I didn't like all the time Eragon spent away from Saphira, I found no point to the beginning self-mutilation scene (since none of those characters made a reappearance, and lastly...the excessive vocabulary usage sounded fake. I even read a few lines aloud to family members so that we could chuckle over the overly large words. I seriously believe Paulini purposely found those words to make himself and his characters sound older. Unfortunately, it only made them sound flat.

On the bright side, I did like the end (with the exception of the fight scene), and I did like hearing Arya (I'm not sure if I'm using the correct name-since the book is not in front of me) open up about her past.

Great Read!
Unlike several of the other reviewers, I found this to be aa fantastic read. I actually found it to be a little better than the original Eragon. The imagery created by Paolini was by far better in this book than in the 2 previous ones. Good Job and can't wait until book 4!!!!

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Church Signs Across America

2008-12-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

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Church Signs Across America
By Steve Paulson, Pam Paulson

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2091 in Books
Published on: 2007-03-15
Format: Illustrated
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
176 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
Church Signs Across America celebrates the wit, charm, and poetry of church signs from every state in the U.S. At the same time reverent and witty, these signs offer fascinating glimpses into American life that are variously humorous, inspirational, kitschy, backward, and kind--and occasionally all those things at once. After finding their inspiration for the book during a road trip from Florida to Alaska, husband and wife team Steve and Pam Paulson traveled through all fifty states photographing the signs of churches large and small, and of every denomination.
Among the gems uncovered over the course of the journey are puns, "Seven days without prayer makes one weak"; admonishments, "The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice"; family advice, "Families are like Fudge...mostly sweet with a few nuts"; and sales pitches, "Looking for a lifeguard? Ours walks on water."
Every page of Church Signs Across America includes beautiful photographs of an American church and a church sign, and each is remarkable for its display of the diversity of ecclesiastic architecture displayed in the churches as it is for the variety of humor and inspiration displayed in the signs. Appealing to churchgoers and other appreciators of this uniquely American form of wit and wisdom, this inimitable book is certain to become an uplifting and amusing classic.
About the Author
Steve Paulson and Pam Paulson, a husband and wife team, lived in Southern California for ten years before moving to Florida. Pam and Steve drove cross-country for three summers taking the photographs for Church Signs Across America, their first book.

Customer Reviews

Appropriate for all faiths and ages!!
It's sometimes a challenge to find gifts for mu husband's 87 year old mother, a devout charismatic Catholic with few material needs. Some are funny, some are thought provoking - a perfect gift to produce smiles to all.
Great Book
This is a wonderful "coffee table" book and quite the conversation piece, too. It makes you smile and laugh right out loud at the different church signs across the United States of America. It was a wonderful Christmas gift and arrived in a very timely manner.
Great Gift
I bought this as a gift for my conservative grandparents. I thought it was hilarious, but they took it seriously! They loved it! I think it would be a great coffee table book. Each sign is pictured along with the church and below is the city and state. Very interesting when comparing the sign with the state. Would definitely recommend this.

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Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia

2008-12-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

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Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia
By Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2362 in Books
Published on: 2000-10-02
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
346 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The Mekong region, which extends south from China through Laos and Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam, offers extraordinary food. Hot Sour Salty Sweet, which takes its name from the principal taste sensations of the region's cooking, provides an unparalleled culinary journey through this fertile land. Though the book contains a wealth of anecdotal material, its great strength lies in its 175 recipes, explicit formulas for the likes of Shrimp in Hot Lime Leaf Broth, Lao Yellow Rice and Duck, and Hui Beef Stew with Chick Peas and Anise. The breadth and substance of this authentic yet approachable collection is truly exciting; readers who cook from the book (not difficult to do once ingredients are assembled and techniques understood), as well as those searching for the best kind of armchair travel, will be delighted.
Beginning with a discussion of the Mekong region, its people (a complicated mix, among them the Kai, Akha, and Cham), and their characteristic foods, the book then provides recipes organized by ingredients, dish types, and topics such as "Everyday Dependable," "One-Dish Meals," "Kids Like It," and "Vegetarian Options." This latter style of division helps define and "domesticate" a vast array of cooking, often enjoyed at times and places foreign to Westerners. Chapters devoted to such sweets as Tapioca and Corn Pudding with Coconut Cream, grilled specialties, and fare for adventurous cooks, such as Aromatic Steamed Fish Curry (more painstaking technically, though not truly difficult) further widen the book's scope. Illustrated throughout with 150 color photos and containing a comprehensive ingredient glossary, the book is a definitive point of entry to a mostly unexplored culinary port of call. --Arthur Boehm
From Publishers Weekly
With their usual ?lan, Alford and Duguid (Flatbreads and Flavors; Seductions of Rice) follow the Mekong River through southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and the Chinese Yunnan region) to bring home a trove of delicious, unusual recipes. Fans of their earlier books may be disappointed to see that their latest volume often revisits earlier themes. Still, there are enough uncommon recipes here to keep even the most inveterate cookbook reader discovering new flavor combinations. (Consider Vietnamese Baked Cinnamon P?t? and Smoked Fish and Green Mango.) As in their other books, the authors display a specificity and a knowledge of this part of the world that is staggering, as well as a heartfelt reverence for the foods that "real" people eat. Vietnamese Beef Ball Soup, for example, is commonly sold by street vendors, and Shan Salad with Cellophane Noodles was picked up from an acquaintance who lives on the Shan State-Thai border. The provenance of each recipe is provided so that readers may clearly distinguish between multifaceted Thai cuisine and French-influenced Vietnamese foods such as Saigon Subs on baguettes. One-page mini-essays on the pair's travel experiences are truly a treat; they cover topics such as fermented fish and the city of Vientiane. With this third book, Alford and Duguid prove that they are fast producing a body of work that commands serious admiration. The hypnotic black-and-white cover photo of a teapot in soft focus will have book buyers lingering in the aisles.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From The Washington Post
"A must for anyone who aspires to visit Asia or simply revisit it in their kitchen."

Customer Reviews

Wonderful
This was given to me by a good friend. I love to cook, and over the years have struggled with South East asian, Thai in particular, cooking. But this book lays it all out in such a way, and has such clear instructions that, in combination with an asian grocery store, it is foolproof. As a bonus, the travelogues and side bars are wonderfully interesting. Even if you don't cook, you will be taken away on a wonderful culinary journey through the region.
Some issues with book
Pondering on whether to return book or not. Purchased for Cambodian recipes, having a hard time finding a Cambodian cookbook, this was the best bet = and it does have dishes for things we ate like Khmer soup, pumpkin curry and a similar version to Amok. (oddly i have the amok recipe in my New York Cookbook, a favorite standby)

But as an avid photographer and traveler and cookbook collector, i have to say the travel writing is amateurish, the photos are not great (a mini picture of Angkor wat and i don't think i saw many pictures of places i'd been to in thailand or vietnam - just street scenes - what kind of travelogue is this?) and never seem to match the right page (you would think there would be a photo of what you are reading about next to it) and the pictures of dishes are far and few between. For the huge irregular book format of the book there are not that many recipes. Compare for example "the Cook's Book" for the same heft has 685 recipes.. Compare with Nobu Now for the difference in food photography capability..

if many of these reviews didn't say the recipes are good they are part of daily repetoire, i'm tempted to return. it really is way to big for the content inside.
Very Good Coffee Table Book. Good recipes, but expensive
`Hot Sour Salty Sweet' by husband and wife team, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid is a troublesome book to evaluate. Its biggest problem is its relatively high list price ($45) for no more than average culinary content. Much of that inflated price is based on its oversized heft and the fact that it mixes cooking content with comments on culinary regionalism and pure travelogue in text and pictures.

I confess that this is a very attractive book, very similar in appearance to their later volume, `Home Baking' that I enjoyed and very favorably reviewed. And, since the authors have just come out with a new book with similar heft, price, and subject, I figured it was time to attend to reviewing this volume.

Aside from the price, I have one major problem with this book. While its focus is the culinary world of Southeast Asia, the text is far more anecdotal and personal than it is analytical. After reviewing many excellent books on the regional cooking of France, Italy, and other parts of the Mediterranean, I really find this book very thin on substance. Part of the problem for me may be that it tries to cover far too great an area. In 324 pages of material, they cover Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Yunnan Province of China. Thailand alone has required a 675 page book (`Thai Food') from David Thompson. And, on the ingredients of Asia, you can get a far more comprehensive coverage in Bruce Cost's classic `Asian Ingredients'.

In contrast, the books on Italy's regions all include great insights on the origins of culinary mores in these relatively small venues. And, while Arthur Schwartz' book on Naples may include 50 detailed recipes for pasta in Campania, this book gives but 10 for a much larger region. On the other hand, I give the authors extra credit for providing a recipe for fresh, homemade rice noodles. You may have a bit of a problem wrangling this big book around your kitchen and making a decent photocopy of the oversized page, but it is still a good recipe.

If you have no interest whatsoever in acquiring any OTHER books on Southeast Asian cuisine and you have the budget for it, this is a very nice book. I just think that if you are serious about learning about food, you look for books with greater depth and less fluff.

I find it very interesting that none of the blurbs on the back of the book refer to this volume and none are from culinary notables. All refer to the authors' earlier book on flatbreads and most come from general publications such as `The New York Times' and `The Globe and Mail'.

I can really appreciate all the nice things other reviewers have said about this book, as I was impressed with it when I first looked at it 300 cookbook recipes ago. Since then, I find it just a bit too light for the price.

Recommended as a good coffee table book. Look for it at a steep discount!

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Streetwise Paris Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Paris, France - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map including lines & stations

2008-12-08T01:29:00.000-08:00

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Streetwise Paris Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Paris, France - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map including lines & stations
By Streetwise Maps

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2519 in Books
Published on: 2008-01-02
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Map

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Don't leave home without STREETWISE." -- New York Times

"In a strange city, your sense of direction is only as good as the map in your hands. The best maps to carry are published by STREETWISE." -- Chicago Daily Herald

"STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential." -- Travel & Leisure

'Don't leave home without STREETWISE.' --The New York Times

'STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential.' --Travel + Leisure Magazine
About the Author
STREETWISEÂ® is the first map to be designed with modern graphics and is the originator of the laminated, accordion-fold map format. We've set the standard that every map company has imitated but never duplicated. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel safe in a place where you've never been before and to enable you to experience a familiar place more fully.
The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Brown, who had been in international publishing for many years, setting up subsidiaries for textbook publishers. In the 1970's, Brown traveled extensively throughout Africa, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Brown would take a large paper map, cut out the city center, folded it up and slip it into his pocket, thus preventing him from looking like a tourist in areas where discretion is the better part of travel. This was his tool for surviving.
After many years on the road, Brown settled back in New York and decided to start his own business, based on the adaptations he had made to maps in his travels. His goal was to give someone the ability to navigate easily in unfamiliar terrain.
He started with a new map format: the accordion fold. Such a simple idea, but at the time it was revolutionary. No more struggling to fold an awkward, oversized paper map. This new format would enable the user to blend in like a native, instead of stick out like a tourist. Brown then added lamination to ensure that the map would be a lasting tool.
More important than the format was the design of the map itself. It had to be a map that not only succeeded above and beyond any map he had used, but was esthetically appealing as well. The look of it had to be as striking as the functionality. Color was introduced in a way that was never seen before in a map - vivid purple for water, soothing gray for the background of street grids, gold to highlight elements of the map. Clarity, conciseness and convenience in a very stylish package.
Building the business was a 24 hour job. Brown sold the maps during the day, zipping around Manhattan making deliveries on his Harley Davidson. At night he packed the orders and did the design work. More titles were added, each title requiring months of research and design.
Today, STREETWISEÂ® produces over 130 titles for major destinations, regions and countries throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. We have grown from the back of a motorcycle to selling millions of maps around the world.
Yet each title is still painstakingly researched and updated. STREETWISEÂ® is one of the only, if not THE only map company that conducts research by walking or driving an area to ensure accuracy. After all, what good is the map if what you hold in your hands doesn't match what you see on the street sign? This lengthy fact checking results in superior accuracy; in effect, we've done the work, now you have the adventure.
In the end, it's not about the map, it's about getting out and finding your own authentic experience wherever you go. It's about being in a city or a region and discovering things that you never thought you would find. You can do this if you have confidence and you have confidence if you have a great map. STREETWISEÂ® is the great map that you need.

Customer Reviews

Worth the money...a great map
The Streetwise Paris map is great. My friends and I just returned from a four-night stay in Paris and the map was always with us. All of the main sights and streets are clearly listed. The metro map is accurate and very useful. Also- this map features side-streets that the generic paper maps given to us by our hotel did not have. The map,which is brochure-sized,fit well in the deep front pockets of my cargo pants. Persons with difficulty reading smaller text may encounter some slight difficulty reading the names of streets,etc. on the map. (My eyes are pretty bad and I had no significant problems.) Persons complaining that this map is somehow "bad" must have mental issues of some ilk. Every rock,ridge and blade of grass in the city is not listed. For that- you will need an up-to-date detailed geological survey map superimposed onto an accurate street map and some kind of infared goggles. For the "normal" non-Parisian traveler,this map is unsurpassed. English speaking Parisians will find it very useful as well. Buy it.
Great tour map of Paris!
One of the most helpful items we had during our vacation in Paris. Pair it up with Rick Steves-Paris and/or Paris-Eyewitness-Travel-Guide, and you're good to go!
Best Map of Paris
We have several of the Street Wise maps for different cities. They have a terrific index of streets--makes it easy to find any place in Paris (or other big cities) quickly. The maps are laminated softly and can be folded and carried in a purse or pocket. It also includes a metro map and shows major attractions on the map. It's the absolute best map for travel in Paris.

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Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations

2008-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

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Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations
By National Geographic

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #706 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-21
Released on: 2008-10-21
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
400 pages

Customer Reviews

Beautiful - Outstanding Gift
Beautiful book, outstanding to give as a gift too - provided you order two so you can keep one on your own coffee table.
Interesting and Educational!
"Sacred Places of a Lifetime" provides easy visits to the most powerful, evocative, and magical sites on the planet - sacred places where humans have reached out over the millenia to find their gods.

The book is divided into ten sections, each with a brief introduction. Each of the featured sites includes an attractive photo, background and highlight information (eg. the best time to go), and associated websites for more information.

A few of the photos are disappointing - eg. Notre-Dame Cathedral is depicted by a close-up of two gargoyles, rather than the entire edifice. Regardless, the book will definitely motivate readers to make their own pilgrimages.

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Egyptology

2008-12-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

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Egyptology
By Ian Andrew, Dugald Steer

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2705 in Books
Published on: 2004-11-04
Released on: 2004-11-04
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
32 pages

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9–This oversized novelty book has a gold cover with red, plastic, "jewel" inlays to add to the drama. Written as an amateur Egyptologist's travel journal from 1926, each spread covers a distinct area of antiquity and is mainly factual in content, except for the author's chatty asides. The type resembles that of an old manual typewriter and the photos, reproductions, and sketches make the journal seem more realistic. There are papyrus pull-outs, pop-up art, minibooks, and fold-out maps and an envelope in the back with period postcards, ticket stubs, etc. Libraries will find the book useful for teaching journal writing, but difficult to keep together.–Carol Wichman, formerly at Northridge Local Schools, Dayton, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 3-6. Bound in gold and embellished with ruby-red "jewels," this follow-up to Dr. Ernest Drake's Dragonology (2003)--which, like Dragonology, credits a fictional character as its author, leaving those responsible for its written content unacknowledged--purports to be the scrapbook of an amateur archaeologist gone missing during the height of 1920s Egyptomania. As in Dragonology, pull-out documents, sundry flaps, and other novelty elements (including a "sample of mummy cloth" and a game of Egyptian checkers) will have children breathlessly anticipating each page turn. Even so, this seems to lack the cohesive artistic purpose that distinguished its predecessor. The images often appear overly slick, compromising the notion that they have been sketched on the fly by members of the expedition, and a fantastical frame story about the "lost tomb of Osiris" undermines the informational content, despite an awkward concluding attempt to separate fact from fiction. Dragonology's broad crossover success probably won't be reincarnated here, but the allure of the subject matter and the luxe packaging is likely to be considerable. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Fun, Intriguing Book
This is a great book for kids who enjoy interactive creative reads. The extras are always nice to accompany these books. The Egyptology book was snapped up by my students and they loved it. It was quite enjoyable to them and they read more than they often do in books. The big eye was really interesting to them.
good book
lots of good information for the younger reader. Also a good segway into more involved books.
Not as good as I expected
I was actually disappointed in this Ology book. I have two others and the way the information is presented in them plus the little extras were just better in those. There weren't as many exciting extras in this one as I expected and the "mummy cloth" example was a bit disappointing. I bought this for my daughter and she became bored quickly due to the confusing way the pages were written and presented. I am hoping the next Ology I choose will be more like the first two I have.

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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

2008-12-07T16:29:00.000-08:00

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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
By Candice Millard

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #1512 in Books
Published on: 2006-10-10
Released on: 2006-10-10
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
432 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In a gripping account, Millard focuses on an episode in Teddy Roosevelt's search for adventure that nearly came to a disastrous end. A year after Roosevelt lost a third-party bid for the White House in 1912, he decided to chase away his blues by accepting an invitation for a South American trip that quickly evolved into an ill-prepared journey down an unexplored tributary of the Amazon known as the River of Doubt. The small group, including T.R.'s son Kermit, was hampered by the failure to pack enough supplies and the absence of canoes sturdy enough for the river's rapids. An injury Roosevelt sustained became infected with flesh-eating bacteria and left the ex-president so weak that, at his lowest moment, he told Kermit to leave him to die in the rainforest. Millard, a former staff writer for National Geographic, nails the suspense element of this story perfectly, but equally important to her success is the marvelous amount of detail she provides on the wildlife that Roosevelt and his fellow explorers encountered on their journey, as well as the cannibalistic indigenous tribe that stalked them much of the way.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From The Washington Post
Just try to imagine it: George W. Bush loses re-election by a landslide and, undeterred by the humiliation of it all, sets off on a journey of unspeakable danger and hardship into the darkest depths of the Amazon jungle. There would be a media circus the likes of which the world has never seen. Picture the TV crews following in his wake, tripping over chemical toilets, generators and satellite phones. In these times of media gurus and spin-doctoring, we would write off the expedition as a stunt, a way of stealing the limelight from his rival's victory.
Rewind almost a century, to November 1912. Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most popular presidents in American history, is crushed at the polls by Woodrow Wilson after two terms in office (this was before the two-term rule). Roosevelt is 54 years of age, 5'5" tall, weighs more than 200 pounds and when speaking sounds "as if he had just taken a sip of helium." He's shunned by his high-society Republican friends for having run as a third-party candidate, and is generally lampooned by everyone else for losing by such a wide margin. What does he do? Sets off into the Brazilian jungle to venture up an uncharted tributary of the Amazon, known as "The River of Doubt," which has given Candice Millard the title of her fine account of the expedition.
For the indefatigable Roosevelt, the adventure was not a media stunt, nor the start to a long comeback campaign. It was a form of self-imposed therapy. Roosevelt had been a pallid, sickly child. He had overcome asthma and early illness by throwing himself headlong into physical challenge. Whenever hit by despair, he collected himself and embarked on what he termed "the strenuous life." There was no question about Roosevelt's stamina. While campaigning for the 1912 election, he had been shot in the chest by a Bavarian immigrant. Although wounded (one bullet was five inches inside him), Roosevelt insisted on delivering the address. Holding up his text so that the terrified audience could glimpse the holes in it, he shouted, "It takes more than that to kill a bull moose!" As far as he was concerned, a resounding political whipping called for a fabulous feat. He was invited to Latin America to deliver a series of political speeches. It was a mildly uninteresting proposition, for he claimed to detest public speaking, but the thought of jungle adventure was a potent incentive. That his third son, Kermit, was living in Brazil at the time made the idea of South America all the more enticing.
The expedition was to be led jointly by Roosevelt and Brazil's most celebrated explorer, Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon. Kermit was invited to participate, too, and he readily accepted despite his recent engagement. Another leading member was the naturalist George Cherrie, who had spent 30 years exploring the Amazon.
A journey of 400 miles took them across the Brazilian Highlands to the Amazon basin. Three years earlier, while exploring the region, Rondon had discovered a twisting, foaming waterway. With no clue as to where it went -- or if it went anywhere at all -- he christened it Rio da Duvida, "The River of Doubt."
From the outset the name must have seemed inappropriate; "The River of Execution" would have been more fitting. The stream was a surging passage of rapids and boiling white water, the banks of which hid enraged Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows. As one who has endured months of adversity in the Amazon, I can vouch that jungle hardship strips a man of his defenses. The enemy is all around: anacondas, piranhas, caimans, sweat bees, disease, hunger, fever and -- worst of all -- the uncertainty of knowing when, how or if it will come to an end.
But for Roosevelt, the jungle also provided the therapy he sought, making his usual world of American politics seem distant and trivial. The endless succession of calamities (resulting from ill-planning and sheer bad luck) would have been enough to distract the most disciplined mind. Notable setbacks included terrible illness and the loss of canoes and supplies to the perfidious rapids. By the end of it, the party was so worn down that even the slowest advance was an ordeal. The team members were emaciated, crippled by disease and fatigue and trapped by rapids -- Roosevelt as much as anyone else. One night George Cherrie, the naturalist and Amazonian expert, took a good look at the sweat-soaked figure before him. He had little hope, he confided in his diary, that Theodore Roosevelt would survive until morning. The specter of death hovered over a man who faded in and out of delirium, reciting over and over a couplet from Coleridge: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree."
Roosevelt pulled through, and The River of Doubt reminds one of the man himself -- thorough, robust, extremely knowledgeable and triumphant. There are far too many books in which a travel writer follows in the footsteps of his or her hero -- and there are far too few books like this, in which an author who has spent time and energy ferreting out material from archival sources weaves it into a truly gripping tale.
Reviewed by Tahir Shah
Copyright 2005, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Every critic enjoyed Millard’s yarn about an ex-president’s fervent desire for adventure and self-acceptance. By focusing on the vivid details of Roosevelt’s journey to the Amazon as well as his relationship with his son, Millard creates much more than your typical ho-hum adventure. The beauty of this story is not just that Roosevelt’s rich history could spawn a thousand adventure stories, but that Millard’s experience with National Geographic is evident in her beautiful scenic descriptions and grisly depictions of the Amazon’s man-eating catfish, ferocious piranhas, white-water rapids, and prospect of starvation. A story deep in symbolism and thick with research, Millard succeeds where many have not; she has managed to contain a little bit of Teddy Roosevelt’s energy and warm interactions between the covers of her wonderful new book.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Roosevelts on the River
This is a tremendous book, retelling a significant voyage of discovery in the early 20th century involving the former president; his son Kermit and Brazil's foremost explorer Candido Rondon.

Following his resounding defeat in the election of 1912, when he ran as a third party candidate, and badly splintered the Republican Party, Roosevelt decided, as was his habit, to recuperate by throwing himself into a vigorous physical challenge.

Initially intended as a combination speaking tour/excursion, Theodore Roosevelt's impulsive decision to expand the trip to include exploring the uncharted River of Doubt, turned the journey into a life threatening experience. First time author Candice Millard does a great job of building suspense and defining the characters.

Brazil's Col. Rondon, who had devoted his life to exploring the Amazon, and whose committment to the native population was such that he expected his men to die rather than fight back if they were attacked, comes across as a fascinating character in his own right, and obviously, there are conflicts with his co commander, the hero of San Juan Hill. Roosevelt's, dutiful son Kermit is also a finely drawn character, with his quiet acceptance of his father's demands, until the ex-president finally asks too much of him and the son over rules the old man and basically takes command of the operation.

Mallard's background as an editor for National Geographic comes into play here as she describes the difficulties of jungle exploration, and sets the scene in the Amazon wonderfully.

I read this after reading two parts of the projected three volumne biography of Roosevelt by Edmond Morris, and was actually a little fearful this would suffer by comparison. But Mallard tells this slice of the Teddy Roosevelt story exceptionally well and brings other characters, places and events into the story.

River of Doubt
The story of T. Roosevelt's trip down this perilous river was interesting and exciting. It certainly increased my knowledge of this adventuresome man. I would highly recommend it.
River Of Doubt
We thought this was an outstanding book. I read it outloud to my husband.
Each evening, after work, we would have a glass of wine and enjoy "The River of Doubt". It is a non-fiction, but it reads just like a fiction novel. If only our high school history books could read half as well, all of our children would be in love with history!
Although a professional writer for National Geographic, it is hard to believe that this is Candice Millards first book. Her research is unbelievable. Both my husband and I learned many things about the Amazon and Teddy Roosevelt. Three cheers to Ms. Millard ! Don't miss this one !
Betty CampThe River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

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The Americans

2008-12-07T13:28:00.000-08:00

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The Americans
From Steidl/National Gallery of Art, Washington

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2024 in Books
Published on: 2008-06-01
Released on: 2008-05-30
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
180 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Armed with a camera and a fresh cache of film and bankrolled by a Guggenheim Foundation grant, Robert Frank crisscrossed the United States during 1955 and 1956. The photographs he brought back form a portrait of the country at the time and hint at its future. He saw the hope of the future in the faces of a couple at city hall in Reno, Nevada, and the despair of the present in a grimy roofscape. He saw the roiling racial tension, glamour, and beauty, and, perhaps because Frank himself was on the road, he was particularly attuned to Americans' love for cars. Funeral-goers lean against a shiny sedan, lovers kiss on a beach blanket in front of their parked car, young boys perch in the back seat at a drive-in movie. A sports car under a drop cloth is framed by two California palm trees; on the next page, a blanket is draped over a car accident victim's body in Arizona.
Robert Frank's Americans reappear 40 years after they were initially published in this exquisite volume by Scalo. Each photograph (there are more than 80 of them) stands alone on a page, while the caption information is included at the back of the book, allowing viewers an unfettered look at the images. Jack Kerouac's original introduction, commissioned when the photographer showed the writer his work while sitting on a sidewalk one night outside of a party, provides the only accompanying text. Kerouac's words add narrative dimension to Frank's imagery while in turn the photographs themselves perfectly illustrate the writer's own work.
From Publishers Weekly
In this 50th anniversary reissue, celebrated photographer Frank maintains the format (left page: brief caption, right page: photo) and introduction (Jack Kerouac: "with the agility, mystery, genius, sadness and strange secrecy of a shadow Frank photographed scenes that have never been seen before on film"), the images themselves have been re-scanned, re-cropped by Frank and, in two cases, changed. Frank's images, taken all across the country, leave the viewer with a solemn impression of American life. From funerals to drug store cafeterias to parks, Frank recorded every shade of everyday life he encountered: the lower and upper classes, the living and dead, the hopeful and destitute, all the while experimenting with angle, focus and grain to increase impact. Preceding an exhibition that will tour U.S. galleries in 2009, this volume will no doubt introduce new generations to Frank's inimitable record of daily life fifty years ago. Kerouac says, fittingly, that "after seeing these pictures you end up finally not knowing any more whether a jukebox is sadder than a coffin"; those who don't comprehend Kerouac's comment have yet to experience this classic collection. 83 tri-tone plates.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
There is undoubtedly no book that has packed a greater punch in modern photography thank Frank's The Americans. -Charlie LeDuff -- Vanity Fair, April 2008

Customer Reviews

Robert Frank, not Jack Kerouac
contrary to what is listed, The Americans is by Robert Frank, the photographer. the photos are timeless and i still use them to teach photography to college students
jack kerouac only wrote the forward.
set the record straight for non-photographers.
thank you.
iNTERESTING
Excellent print quality.. A glance at common people in random daily-life shots. It's a book worth a place in your hands
It's not by Jack K.
This book was not by Jack Kerouac. It's by Robert Frank. It's one of the seminal books in the history of photography. Many see it as a hate letter to America, but that's a shallow reading of the book. It's some of the best documentary done by a non-documentarian of the American culture of the period. If you really want to see great photography with a point of view, this is a good start.

I find lots of listings get authorship wrong when the book is about a photographer's work. Amazon needs to fix this basic flaw in their system.

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Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Hawaii the Big Island Revealed)

2008-12-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

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Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Hawaii the Big Island Revealed)
By Andrew Doughty

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #3538 in Books
Published on: 2008-05-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
308 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In this second of their series of guides to the islands of Hawaii, Doughty and Friedman (The Ultimate Kaua'i Guidebook, Wizard, 1994) have succeeded in telling us everything there is to know about traveling on the island of Hawaii (the "big island" only, not the entire state). They include basic facts about the history and geology, language and pronunciation, sights, beaches, activities, adventures, dining, and lodging. Each of these topics is discussed in detail for each of seven divisions of the big island. The authors relate not only where to go but how to get there and whether or not the place is a must or a skip, offering candid evaluations of each view, beach, and restaurant. Written in clear and lively language, with abundant color illustrations, many excellent maps, a good table of contents, and a complete index, this book is essential reading for those traveling to the island. Recommended for public libraries.?Julia Stump, Voorheesville P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A colorful book--covers it all. I was pleased by the numerous little tips that can make a trip more pleasant." The San Diego Union-Tribune

"Succeeded in telling us everything there is to know about traveling on the island of Hawaii...this book is essential reading..." Library Journal

This all-new fifth edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the Big Island to plan your best vacation--ever. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so vast and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, an active volcano and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes the Big Island so exciting.

• The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website

• Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best…and which to avoid--no advertisements

• Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 120 spectacular color photographs

• 38 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers—so you’ll always know where you are on the island

• Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted black sand beaches, tropical rain forests, hidden waterfalls, the most dramatic part of the erupting volcano, freshwater lava pools (some volcanically heated) and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else

• 28 pages on Big Island’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety

• Exciting chapters on adventures, hiking and activities

• Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends

• Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 80 resort reviews complete with aerial photos--so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront

"Hawaii The Big Island Revealed" covers it all--from the snow-covered top of Mauna Kea, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Big Island visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about the Big Island from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "Hawaii The Big Island Revealed."

Review
"Superbly researched and easy-to-read reference... It's jammed with details and maps." Houston Chronicle

Customer Reviews

Big Island
This is an informative book. The book gives good advice and interesting places to visit that are not on the average tourist's radar. Restaurant reviews have helped my husband and I find just what we are looking for. The writing is great. You won't feel you are being weighed down with facts and figures, but you get entertaining stories with a history lesson.
Great book
The other reviews pretty much say it - best guide book I've read, well, to anywhere at all.
excellent
I just returned from the Big Island with a large group. We used this book extensively and there were no surprises - it was very accurate and enhanced our first trip to the Big Island, which is so beautiful. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone traveling to the Big Island!

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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir

2008-12-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
By Bill Bryson

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #1227 in Books
Published on: 2007-09-25
Released on: 2007-09-25
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
288 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bill Bryson’s laugh-out-loud pilgrimage through his Fifties childhood in heartland America is a national treasure. It’s full of insights, wit, and wicked adolescent fantasies.”
—Tom Brokaw
“Bryson is unparalleled in his ability to cut a culture off at the knees in a way that is so humorous and so affectionate that those being ridiculed are laughing too hard to take offense.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“A cross between de Tocqueville and Dave Barry, Bryson writes about…America in a way that’s both trenchantly observant and pound-on-the-floor, snort-root-beer-out-of-your-nose funny.”
—San Franciso Examiner

“Bill Bryson could write an essay about dryer lint or fever reducers and still make us laugh out loud.”
—Chicago Sun-Times

“Bryson is…great company…a lumbering, droll, neatnik intellectual who comes off as equal parts Garrison Keillor, Michael Kinsley, and…Dave Barry.”
—New York Times Book Review
About the Author

Bill Bryson's bestselling books include A Walk in the Woods, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, and A Short of History of Nearly Everything, which earned him the 2004 Aventis Prize. Bryson lives in England with his wife and children.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
HOMETOWN

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (AP)—The State Senate of Illinois yesterday disbanded its Committee on Efficiency and Economy “for reasons of efficiency and economy.”
—Des Moines Tribune, February 6, 1955

IN THE LATE 1950s, the Royal Canadian Air Force produced a booklet on isometrics, a form of exercise that enjoyed a short but devoted vogue with my father. The idea of isometrics was that you used any unyielding object, like a tree or a wall, and pressed against it with all your might from various positions to tone and strengthen different groups of muscles. Since everybody already has access to trees and walls, you didn't need to invest in a lot of costly equipment, which I expect was what attracted my dad.

What made it unfortunate in my father’s case is that he would do his isometrics on airplanes. At some point in every flight, he would stroll back to the galley area or the space by the emergency exit and, taking up the posture of someone trying to budge a very heavy piece of machinery, he would begin to push with his back or shoulder against the outer wall of the plane, pausing occasionally to take deep breaths before returning with quiet grunts to the task.

Since it looked uncannily, if unfathomably, as if he were trying to force a hole in the side of the plane, this naturally drew attention. Businessmen in nearby seats would stare over the tops of their glasses. A stewardess would pop her head out of the galley and likewise stare, but with a certain hard caution, as if remembering some aspect of her training that she had not previously been called upon to implement.

Seeing that he had observers, my father would straighten up and smile genially and begin to outline the engaging principles behind isometrics. Then he would give a demonstration to an audience that swiftly consisted of no one. He seemed curiously incapable of feeling embarrassment in such situations, but that was all right because I felt enough for both of us—indeed, enough for us and all the other passengers, the airline and its employees, and the whole of whatever state we were flying over.

Two things made these undertakings tolerable. The first was that back on solid ground my dad wasn’t half as foolish most of the time. The second was that the purpose of these trips was always to go to a Major League city, stay in a big downtown hotel, and attend ball games, and that excused a great deal—well, everything, in fact. My dad was a sportswriter for The Des Moines Register, which in those days was one of the country’s best papers, and often took me along on trips through the Midwest. Sometimes these were car trips to places like Sioux City or Burlington, but at least once a summer we boarded a big silver plane—a huge event in those days—and lumbered through the summery skies, up among the fleecy clouds, to St. Louis or Chicago or Detroit to take in a home stand. It was a kind of working holiday for my dad.

Baseball, like everything else, was part of a simpler world in those days, and I was allowed to go with him into the clubhouse and dugout and onto the field before games. I have had my hair tousled by Stan Musial. I have handed Willie Mays a ball that had skittered past him as he played catch. I have lent my binoculars to Harvey Kuenn (or possibly it was Billy Hoeft) so that he could scope some busty blonde in the upper deck. Once on a hot July afternoon I sat in a nearly airless clubhouse under the left–field grandstand at Wrigley Field beside Ernie Banks, the Cubs’ great shortstop, as he autographed boxes of new white baseballs (which are, incidentally, one of the most pleasurably aromatic things on earth, and worth spending time around anyway). Unbidden, I took it upon myself to sit beside him and pass him each new ball. This slowed the process considerably, but he gave a little smile each time and said thank you as if I had done him quite a favor. He was the nicest human being I have ever met. It was like being friends with God.

I CAN'T IMAGINE there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to be alive than America in the 1950s. No country had ever known such prosperity. When the war ended the United States had $26 billion worth of factories that hadn't existed before the war, $140 billion in savings and war bonds just waiting to be spent, no bomb damage, and practically no competition. All that American companies had to do was stop making tanks and battleships and start making Buicks and Frigidaires—and boy did they.

By 1951, when I came sliding down the chute, almost 90 percent of American families had refrigerators, and nearly three-quarters had washing machines, telephones, vacuum cleaners, and gas or electric stoves—things that most of the rest of the world could still only fantasize about. Americans owned 80 percent of the world's electrical goods, controlled two–thirds of the world’s productive capacity, produced more than 40 percent of its electricity, 60 percent of its oil, and 66 percent of its steel. The 5 percent of people on Earth who were Americans had more wealth than the other 95 percent combined.

Remarkably, almost all this wealth was American made. Of the 7.5 million new cars sold in America in 1954, for instance, 99.93 percent were made in America by Americans. We became the richest country in the world without needing the rest of the world.

I don’t know of anything that better conveys the happy bounty of the age than a photograph (reproduced in this volume in the frontmatter of the book) that ran in Life magazine two weeks before my birth. It shows the Czekalinski family of Cleveland, Ohio—Steve, Stephanie, and two sons, Stephen and Henry—surrounded by the two and a half tons of food that a typical blue–collar family ate in a year. Among the items they were shown with were 450 pounds of flour, 72 pounds of shortening, 56 pounds of butter, 31 chickens, 300 pounds of beef, 25 pounds of carp, 144 pounds of ham, 39 pounds of coffee, 690 pounds of potatoes, 698 quarts of milk, 131 dozen eggs, 180 loaves of bread, and 8 1/2 gallons of ice cream, all purchased on a budget of $25 a week. (Mr. Czekalinski made $1.96 an hour as a shipping clerk in a DuPont factory.) In 1951, the average American ate 50 percent more than the average European.

No wonder people were happy. Suddenly they were able to have things they had never dreamed of having, and they couldn't believe their luck. There was, too, a wonderful simplicity of desire. It was the last time that people would be thrilled to own a toaster or waffle iron. If you bought a major appliance, you invited the neighbors around to have a look at it. When I was about four my parents bought an Amana Stor–Mor refrigerator and for at least six months it was like an honored guest in our kitchen. I’m sure they’d have drawn it up to the table at dinner if it hadn’t been so heavy. When visitors dropped by unexpectedly, my father would say: “Oh, Mary, is there any iced tea in the Amana?” Then to the guests he’d add significantly: “There usually is. It’s a Stor–Mor.”

“Oh, a Stor–Mor,” the male visitor would say and elevate his eyebrows in the manner of someone who appreciates quality cooling. “We thought about getting a Stor–Mor ourselves, but in the end we went for a Philco Shur–Kool. Alice loved the EZ-Glide vegetable drawer and you can get a full quart of ice cream in the freezer box. That was a big selling point for Wendell Junior, as you can imagine!”

They’d all have a good laugh at that and then sit around drinking iced tea and talking appliances for an hour or so. No human beings had ever been quite this happy before.

People looked forward to the future, too, in ways they never would again. Soon, according to every magazine, we were going to have underwater cities off every coast, space colonies inside giant spheres of glass, atomic trains and airliners, personal jet packs, a gyrocopter in every driveway, cars that turned into boats or even submarines, moving sidewalks to whisk us effortlessly to schools and offices, dome–roofed automobiles that drove themselves along sleek superhighways allowing Mom, Dad, and the two boys (Chip and Bud or Skip and Scooter) to play a board game or wave to a neighbor in a passing gyrocopter or just sit back and enjoy saying some of those splendid words that existed in the fifties and are no longer heard: mimeograph, rotisserie, stenographer, icebox, dime store, rutabaga, Studebaker, panty raid, bobby socks, Sputnik, beatnik, canasta, Cinerama, Moose Lodge, pinochle, daddy–o.

For those who couldn’t wait for underwater cities and self–driving cars, thousands of smaller enrichments were available right now. If you were to avail yourself of all that was on offer from advertisers in a single issue of, let's say, Popular Science from, let's say, December 1956, you could, among much else, teach yourself ventriloquism, learn to cut meat (by correspondence or in person at the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo, Ohio), embark on a lucrative career sharpening skates door to door, arrange to sell fire extinguishers from home, end rupture troubles once and for all, build radios, repair radios, perform on radio, talk on radio to people in different countries and possibly on different planets, improve your personality, get a personality, acquire a manly physique, learn to dance, create personalized stationery for profit, or “make big $$$$” in your spare time at home building lawn figures and other novelty ornaments.

My brother, who was normally quite an intelligent human being, once invested in a booklet that promised to teach him how to throw his voice. He would say something unintelligible through rigid lips, then quickly step aside and say, “That sounded like it came from over there, didn’t it?” He also saw an...

Customer Reviews

Maybe its not quite my era
I do enjoy Bryson's writing, and have thoroughly enjoyed his other work. And I do enjoy the writing in this book. However...why am I not laughing so hard at this book? My boyhood in the 60s was just under ten years removed from the world Bryson describes. Yet so much of what he describes was real about my world, too. I, like him, feel keenly the passing of a world and a way of life that was decent and enjoyable. Perhaps it is that bittersweet aspect of it all that makes this book less of a laugher for me. I have to say that the book brought back many fond memories for me, and evoked a time when we all rode bicycles without helmets, collected pop bottles for cash, avidly read comic books, etc. Granted, there are darker aspects of that era that we are better for leaving behind, but what have we lost from the middle part of the twentieth century, and what will we lose from the current era? So, I put this book down and sigh, and reflect on this and other questions, and I don't laugh as hard as I did with his other books.
a book to savor, but...
this book chokes me up. I seem to recall some rich times in my childhood, only I find it hard to think about my childhood because of the many violent episodes visited upon me by my hard-drinking parents. I guess I've spent the last 40 years forgetting the first ten. It literally hurts me to read of someone's normal and happy childhood. I finished the book today, came home and got drunk.. thanks mom and dad. In a way I wish I never read the book,..I have this irrational fantasy that everyone else got beat up all time by their drunk parents, and now it's going to take me awhile to get that back.
the book is finely written, though some of the gags were predictable and detracted from the reading. for example: burning the bald uncle's head with a magnifying glass,..c'mon. dropping peanut M&M's that shatter into a thousand shiny pieces,..I'm sure everyone else loves that stuff, but to me the "sight gags" mar the overall quality of the book. Still, 5 stars for an extraordinary reading experience.
The always funny Bill Bryson
I have to say that I love Bill Bryson's work. He never fails to make me laugh out loud. His work is funny, witty, smart, and he always seems to find the irony in life. I actually tend to get his audio books, because his stories seem best told orally. However, I did buy the paperback of his Thunderbolt Kid. This book did not fail me.

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The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Ultimate Kauai Guidebook)

2008-12-07T04:19:00.000-08:00

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The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Ultimate Kauai Guidebook)
By Andrew Doughty

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #3253 in Books
Published on: 2008-10-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
260 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Best Guidebook: Ultimate Kauai Guidebook…You can trust it…Actually lives up to its title.” -- Islands Magazine

“Best guide to Kauai…Ultimate Kauai Guidebook.” -- National Geographic Adventure

“The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook is terrific—It’s like having a savvy local resident with you.” -- Dave Barry, nationally syndicated columnist & humorist
Review
The finest guidebook ever written for Kaua’i. Now you can plan your best vacation-ever. This all new seventh edition is a candid, humorous guide to everything there is to see and do on the island. Best-selling author and longtime Hawai'i resident, Andrew Doughty, unlocks the secrets of an island so lush and diverse that many visitors never realize all that it has to offer. Explore with him as he reveals breathtaking trails, secluded beaches, pristine reefs, delicious places to dine, relaxing resorts, exciting waterfalls, colorful canyons and so much more. Every restaurant, activity provider, business and resort is reviewed personally and anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Kaua'i so exciting.

The most up-to-date and accurate information available anyplace with up-to-the-minute changes posted to our website

Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best...and which to avoid-no advertisements

Driving tours let you structure your trip your way, point out sights not to be missed along the way and are complemented by 100 spectacular color photographs

15 specially-created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers-so you’ll always know where you are on the island

Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted beaches, tropical jungles, hidden waterfalls, rugged scenic coastlines, freshwater lava pools and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else

Exclusive chapter on Kaua'i’s beaches with detailed descriptions including ocean safety

Unique Adventures chapter and over 60 pages of exciting activities from ATVs to ziplines

Fascinating sections on Hawai'i's history, culture, language and legends

Companion website with links to every business, events calendar, over 70 resort reviews complete with aerial photos-so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront

"The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook" covers it all-from the mile-high summit of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Kaua'i visit. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a longtime kama'aina, you will find out more about Kaua'i from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with "The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook."

From the Publisher
The finest guidebook ever written for Kauai. This brand new fourth edition has more useful information, the most up to date maps and scores of hidden gems listed nowhere else. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes the Garden Island so special.
Maps include beach access to even the most remote beaches, mile markers so you always know where you are, hiking trails and numerous details in an easy to follow format.
Symbols quickly identify recommended sights and companies. We identify which companies really are the best…and which to avoid.
Special expanded sections on Hiking and Adventures.
Clear, concise directions to get to those hard to find places.
Web site with links to every business, last minute updates and more. Plus Web pages available exclusively to our readers that expand on all accommodation reviews with aerial photos of all the resorts (so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront).
Written by Kauai residents who know the island.
Frank, honest opinions from anonymous reviews—No advertisements.
We’ve covered it all—from the top of Wai‘ale‘ale to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your trip to Kauai. Whether you are a first time visitor, or a long time kama‘aina, you will find out more about the Garden Island from this book than from any other source.

Customer Reviews

This book is a MUST if going to Kauai!
There is nothing bad to say about this book. If you are heading to Kauai and want to make the most out of your trip, you have to buy this book. Details about every aspect of the island, including beaches, activities, adventures, hotels, restaurants, etc. Without this book you would miss so much. Just use the book to plan your whole trip. The other islands editions are just as good. Love it!
Great book, add coordinates!
You can tell the book was written by a local guy. It is a great book, I highly recommend going through all of it before planning. I would also recommend adding coordinates for GPS ease of navigation. Some place are hard enough to find even with the detailed book explanation.
Add some rainy day activities if possible. Many hiking trails are closed if it rains, as it's never a "light rain" here :-).Kauai
The Ultimate Guidebook
This book was bang on with its recommendations and tips for what to do in Kauai. I couldn't recommend it more. The local restaurant suggestions were perfect, and the traffic ins and outs were also quite helpful.

We'll look to use these guys again when heading to Maui!

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Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Maui Revealed)

2008-12-07T01:18:00.000-08:00

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Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Maui Revealed)
By Andrew Doughty

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2870 in Books
Published on: 2007-09-21
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
312 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Authors, Andrew Doughy and Harriett Friedman, give straight forward advice in a no-holds-barred approach. -- Hawaii Magazine
Review
This all new fourth edition is the most comprehensive guidebook ever written for Maui. Hawai’i resident and best-selling author, Andrew Doughty, actually hikes all the trails, rides the boats, scuba dives the reefs, dines in the restaurants, reviews all the resorts, snorkels the coastline, explores the hidden waterfalls and shares all the secrets that he finds. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Maui so exciting.

• Easy-to-use; no thumbing through every page looking for what you want

• Driving tours of the island let you structure your trip your way

• Fascinating sections on Hawaii’s history, culture, language and legends

• 22 specially created maps in an easy-to-follow format with mile markers—so you’ll always know where you are on the island

• Clear, concise directions to those hard-to-find places such as deserted beaches, hidden waterfalls, pristine rain forests, spectacular coastlines, natural lava pools and scores of other hidden gems listed nowhere else

• 24 pages dedicated to Maui’s beaches with detailed descriptions including water safety

• Unique Adventures chapter and over 60 pages of exciting activities from ATVs to ziplines

• More than 100 spectacular color photographs

• Revealing chapter on hidden sights along the Hana Highway

• Includes information on the offshore islands of Lana‘i, Moloka‘i and Kaho‘olawe

• Frank, brutally honest reviews of restaurants, hotels and activities show you which companies really are the best…and which to avoid—no advertisements

• Web site with links to every business, last minute updates, nearly 150 resort reviews complete with aerial photos—so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront

Maui Revealed covers it all—from the wind-swept top of Haleakala to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Maui vacation. Whether you’re a first time visitor or a long time kama'aina, you’ll find out more about Maui from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with Maui Revealed.

“An authoritative and in-depth look at all that the island offers.” —Josh Roberts, USA Today
From the Publisher
Finally, there’s a guide to Maui that covers the island right! The most comprehensive yet easy to use guidebook ever written for Maui. In this book, the authors actually hike all the trails, ride the boats, scuba dive the reefs, dine in the restaurants, review all the resorts, snorkel the coastline, explore the hidden waterfalls and share all the secrets that they find. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Maui so exciting.
Our 23 specially created maps include beach access to even the most remote beaches, mile markers (so you always know where you are), hiking trails and numerous details in an easy-to-follow format.
Deserted beaches, hidden waterfalls, pristine rain forests, spectacular coastlines, natural lava pools and scores of hidden gems listed nowhere else.
Web site with links to every business, last minute updates and more. Plus web pages exclusively available to readers that expand on all accommodation reviews with aerial photos of all the resorts (so you’ll know if oceanfront really means oceanfront) and our trademark “brutally honest reviews.”
Driving tours of the island let you structure your trip your way.
Clear, concise directions to get to those hard to find places.
Special section on Adventures.
Symbols quickly identify recommended sights and companies. We identify which companies really are the best…and which to avoid.
Easy to use; no thumbing through every page looking for what you want.
Written by island residents who know the island.
Actual prices for restaurants, hotels and activities. (Not vague symbols such as three forks to indicate meal prices or general terms such as moderately priced.) Frank, honest opinions throughout—No Advertisements.
Fascinating stories and legends from all around the island.
We’ve covered it all—from the windswept top of Haleakala to the sparkling underwater reefs. This is the best investment you can make for your Maui vacation. Whether you are a first time visitor or a long time kama‘aina, you will find out more about Maui from this book than from any other source. Discover the island of your dreams with Maui Revealed.

Customer Reviews

Hand down favorite
An absolute great job. Well written, concise, sprinkled with humor and common sense advise. Actually bought an extra copy for my daughter since I refused to give mine up. I've read many Maui guide books and this one is by far the best of the bunch. Love it.
As good as the Bible
This book is so good that we followed it with blind faith to plan our trip. The book is very well-written, accurate and gives sufficient background to prepare for the trip. Ideal if you're driving around because the book gives excellent directions on where to stop.
Fantastic!
I love this book, it has really helped us to plan our trip. There is a section on where to stay. We would have stayed in a nasty beach area without this guide. I'm using it to plan our Hana Hwy stops. The pictures are fantastic! I really like the aerial pictures of the beaches and the condos and resort areas. I like the detailed descriptions. I don't think they left anything out of this book. They even have a web site for more information and reviews. I highly recommend this book.

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In a Sunburned Country

2008-12-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

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In a Sunburned Country
By Bill Bryson

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #1438 in Books
Published on: 2001-05-15
Released on: 2001-05-15
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
352 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Bill Bryson follows his Appalachian amble, A Walk in the Woods, with the story of his exploits in Australia, where A-bombs go off unnoticed, prime ministers disappear into the surf, and cheery citizens coexist with the world's deadliest creatures: toxic caterpillars, aggressive seashells, crocodiles, sharks, snakes, and the deadliest of them all, the dreaded box jellyfish. And that's just the beginning, as Bryson treks through sunbaked deserts and up endless coastlines, crisscrossing the "under-discovered" Down Under in search of all things interesting.
Bryson, who could make a pile of dirt compelling--and yes, Australia is mostly dirt--finds no shortage of curiosities. When he isn't dodging Portuguese man-of-wars or considering the virtues of the remarkable platypus, he visits southwest Gippsland, home of the world's largest earthworms (up to 12 feet in length). He discovers that Australia, which began nationhood as a prison, contains the longest straight stretch of railroad track in the world (297 miles), as well as the world's largest monolith (the majestic Uluru) and largest living thing (the Great Barrier Reef). He finds ridiculous place names: "Mullumbimby Ewylamartup, Jiggalong, and the supremely satisfying Tittybong," and manages to catch a cricket game on the radio, which is like

listening to two men sitting in a rowboat on a large, placid lake on a day when the fish aren't biting; it's like having a nap without losing consciousness. It actually helps not to know quite what's going on. In such a rarefied world of contentment and inactivity, comprehension would become a distraction.

"You see," Bryson observes, "Australia is an interesting place. It truly is. And that really is all I'm saying." Of course, Bryson--who is as much a travel writer here as a humorist, naturalist, and historian--says much more, and does so with generous amounts of wit and hilarity. Australia may be "mostly empty and a long way away," but it's a little closer now. --Rob McDonald
From Publishers Weekly
With the Olympics approaching, books on Australia abound. Still, Bryson's lively take is a welcome recess from packaged, staid guides. The author of A Walk in the Woods draws readers in campfire-style, relating wacky anecdotes and random facts gathered on multiple trips down under, all the while lightening the statistics with infusions of whimsical humor. Arranged loosely by region, the book bounces between Canberra and Melbourne, the Outback and the Gold Coast, showing Bryson alone and with partners in tow. His unrelenting insistence that Australia is the most dangerous place on earth ("If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback") spins off dozens of tales involving jellyfish, spiders and the world's 10 most poisonous snakes. Pitfalls aside, Bryson revels in the beauty of this country, home to ravishing beaches and countless unique species ("80% of all that lives in Australia, plant and animal, lives nowhere else"). He glorifies the country, alternating between awe, reverence and fear, and he expresses these sentiments with frankness and candor, via truly funny prose and a conversational pace that is at once unhurried and captivating. Peppered with seemingly irrelevant (albeit amusing) yarns, this work is a delight to read, whether or not a trip to the continent is planned. First serial to Outside magazine; BOMC selection. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Bryson toughs it out in Australia.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Another good one from Bryson
I read this book right before a trip to Australia, finished on the first leg of the flight. The whole time traveling around the country (great place by the way), I found myself seeing and hearing things right off the pages. My wife got so tired of listening to my chuckle and me trying to explain what was so funny that she read it on a train trip we did in our second week of the trip. If you've got a trip to Oz in your future, get the usual travel guides but also get this book.
Informative, Funny, and Just Plain Enjoyable
I've read this book three times and I'm sure I will read it many more. Bill's insightful commentary on his travels through Australia is fascinating. His prose is easy to read, making this a great bathroom or late night reader.

You will learn facts about Australia you never knew all the while laughing out loud at Bill's perspective on his experiences. You will feel like the author brought you along for the journey!
Fell in love with this cd book and authors style.
I ran into this audio book on a used mp3 player I bought,,hmm hmm on ebay. Rather than just delete everything, I thought should check things out. I don't get time to read books, though I would like to. I have audio books, but never have time to listen to them either. One title was Bill Bryson. Never heard of him, but I had a few hours to listen to my mp3 payer. So I may as well check out the books that were on there. The author had kind of a British accent. I don't like british accents that much. They annoy me., alot. (crippes, now im writting like him))) After a short listen to this book not even starting from the beginning of the book, I could not put this down. The intelligents and style of writting/speaking was informitive, clear and humorous along with the vivid immagination of views of what he was talking about. Yes, several laughs out loud with the ear-bud mp3 player headphones on. I recommend this to anyone who appriciates some history,humor,life and a chance to get away from it all. If you like travel or just basic human behavior, you should love it. I would love for my family to hear this book.

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Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar

2008-12-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

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Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
By Paul Theroux

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #2029 in Books
Published on: 2008-08-18
Original language: English
Number of items: 1
Binding: Hardcover
512 pages

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, August 2008: Way back in the dark pre-Internet, limited-air-travel world of 1975, the way to get from Europe to Asia was by train. A young and ambitious writer named Paul Theroux made his literary mark by taking the 28,000-mile intercontinental journey via rail from London to Tokyo and back home again. His book, The Great Railway Bazaar, became a travel-lit classic. Thirty years later, an older, wiser, and even less sanguine Theroux decided to retrace his steps. The result is Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, a fascinating account of the places you vaguely knew existed (Tbilisi), probably won't ever go to (Bangalore), but definitely should know something about (Mandalay). Get on board Theroux's fast-moving travelogue, which features some of the most astute commentary on our distorted notions of time, space, and each other in the age of jet speed, broadband connections, and cultural extinction. --Lauren Nemroff
From Bookmarks Magazine
Paul Theroux has polarized critics with his latest travelogue. His sense of adventure, candid descriptions, and evocative prose notwithstanding, some critics took issue with the unbridled narcissism suffusing the narrative. Others lavished praise on the best-selling author, and the Los Angeles Times, summarizing the two sides neatly, called Theroux “a compelling writer who is essentially unlikable.” Despite this opinion and complaints of unimaginative generalizations and a tendency towards repetition, Theroux immerses readers in the alleys and shadowy corners of squalid cities that many are unlikely to see for themselves. He is a close observer of the unfamiliar and the strange while charting the simultaneous evolution and degeneration of the world itself. “Theroux’s real work is not about travel,” reveals the Rocky Mountain News, “it’s about the progress of the soul.”
Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC
Review
.readers will find his usual wonderfully evocative landscapes and piquant character sketches...No matter where his journey takes him, Theroux always sends back dazzling post cards." (Publishers Weekly, Starred )

"Theroux wanders to places that scarcely cross other travel writers' minds, among tham Vientiane ('a sleepy town on the banks of the muddy river, famous for its cheap beer') and Phnom Penh ('scruffy, rather beaten-up...like a scarred human face in which its violent past was evident'). He also keeps up a running argument with the books he reads along the way, to say nothing of his contemporaries )Chatwin never traveled alone, he harumphs, and neither does his bete noire Naipaul." (Kirkus Reviews )

"As thoughtful and observant as ever…this trip finds Theroux reflecting not only on changes to the landscape but also to himself…a wonderful book infused with the insights of maturity…it's a reminder that in this age of increasingly homogenous urban centers and easy air travel, those who really want to discern national differences should stay on the ground." (Booklist, ALA, Starred Review )

"Brilliant. No one writes with theroux's head-on intensity and raptness, and his descriptions made me want to jump on the next plane to Istanbul (and also, of course, to many of the other places he evokes). I particularly loved the spectral motif, the ghosts and shadows and underground presences that flit through the narrative, giving the whole a half-seen and haunting dimension that no book of travels I've ever read conjures up." --Pico Iyer

Customer Reviews

Quite a constitution and quite a writer.
Considering the number of trips on marginal trains through poor 3rd world countries Paul Theroux has taken it seems to me a tribute to his cast-iron gut that he has even survived this long, and miraculous that he has the stamina to continue going on these journeys. I really thought "Dark Star Safari" would be his last trip, although I'm glad it was not, because I've enjoyed his travel writing through the years. I enjoyed this book, although the original "Great Railway Bazaar" is in some places more amusing because the younger Paul Theroux wasn't as rich or well-connected as he is now so he had to settle for very lowly conditions sometimes, which he always wrote about entertainingly. Also the U.S.S.R. was there when he took his first trip, and that dismal place often brought out the blackly humorous best in travel writers. Some of the countries he travels through in this follow-up (for instance Uzbekistan,) don't seem to have interested him enough to do his best writing, and he is almost fulsome at times when it comes to describing Turkey, but he is amusing when it comes to describing Turkmenistan and its awful dictator the (happily) late Saparmyrat Niyazov. He is probably best when it comes to describing his travels through India, a place the he seems to like very much. He is good at describing the over-crowded although energetic Bombay, and his fame gets him an entrance into one of Bangalore's many call centers where he gently grills the managers on how much they underpay their employees. He also writes entertainingly about the sanitized speed and efficiency of Japan (although I don't think as many amusing things happened to him this time around,) and Russia. (Which sounds much nicer to travel through but isn't as much fun to read about.)

The Older the Violin, The Sweeter the Music
I have been reading Theroux's travel books for more than 30 years, and I have to say that they and he get better all the time.

This latest book is the funniest, wisest, kindest, most beautifully written of the books. What the author has lost in endurance (he goes to sleep much earlier than ever before) and appetite (he stays pretty much away from the bars), he makes up for in humanness.

Like all the great writers, he's a man on a mission, and the mission is to tell us that there are people in the world who deserve our love and admiration and there are people in the world who don't deserve anything because they are here to hurt us. He tells us this in such a way that we realize that the world isn't such a bad place and that it's a good thing to stick around a little longer.

John Guzlowski
Lightning and Ashes
Fast service - good book
The book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, is an excellent travel book. It does go even further, however, in his many conversations with the people he meets along the way. It is informative and well as entertaining.

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