blogmagic review

Check Out Best Friends Forever: A Novel for $5.00

2010-09-02T06:08:00.001-07:00

Best Friends Forever: A Novel Review

My best friend loaned me the novel Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.
I have been a fan of the author's work ever since I read her book Good In Bed a few years ago... This novel is slightly less predictable than Ms. Weiner's other novels. I enjoyed the story of Val and Addie- two best friends who encountered a teenage drama that tore them apart, only to be reunited with a stronger bond during their adulthood. I would recommend this book since the characters are well developed and there is an element of suspense to the plot. It will not disappoint! Make Best Friends Forever one the books on your summer vacation reading list.

Best Friends Forever: A Novel Feature

ISBN13: 9780743294300
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Best Friends Forever: A Novel Overview

Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That’s what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they’re both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school’s scapegoat.

Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents’ house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She’s just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you’re the only one who can help."

Best Friends Forever is a grand, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat adventure; a story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and small-town secrets. It’s about living through tragedy, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends together.

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Customer Reviews

didn't feel as real as her better work - cheryl1213 -
I was waivering between two and three stars...but some of "present day" Val's actions pushed me lower.

I like characters more than plot and I like characters with texture. I don't need to LIKE the character or relate directly to them, but I want to feel like they are real and understandable. I've felt that in some of Weiner's prior novels and it is why she's one of my picks when I'm in a chick-lit mood. I didn't feel that here and it detracted a lot from my enjoyment.

Lame. - S. Rippe - Dallas
In the past when I read Jennifer Weiner's books, I would read them slowly, trying to draw them out until the last possible second. I savored each phrase in her story telling and didn't want it to end. But this book? I can say there were parts of it I completely skimmed. I didn't even want to finish it, and when I did, I asked myself why I did.

Boring, depressing, gross (all I have to say is the redundant Nighty-Night show story line) this book wasn't worth my time OR my money.

And it made me wonder why I even bother with this author anymore.

What happened to the Jennifer Weiner of old? - QueenB - Middle Tennessee
I was highly disappointed in this book. I've loved just about everything I've read from Ms. Weiner so my dislike of this book was rather shocking.

The first few chapters were interesting so I continued to read, or rather I continued to trudge on. I did not like the character Valerie at all. Valerie's relationship with Addie was believable as children but as adults the relationship seemed forced and artificial. Nothing much was believable in any of the characters or the situations they were in. Do police officers *really* act the way Jordan did? What about Dan Swansea? It really seemed like the characters, most of them, lived in a disturbing parallel universe where things weren't quite normal or any semblance of normalcy.

I will continue to read books by Ms. Weiner only because she has a great track record save for this book. The only reason I gave this book 2 stars as opposed to 1 star is because I did finish it.

Would I recommend? Sadly, no.

Disappointing - Mrs. K - Washington
The description looked interesting, and it started out well, but then- I kept thinking, "...what is this, oh- a patiently crafted 'friends caught up in a crazy revenge-crime saga' that is really kind of just a fantasy world designed to carefully couch the reasons for cheating on a spouse in reasonable and forgivable circumstances." After further reading (I did finish it) I'm pretty sure that is at least a really large part of it. The same for other character flaws, all forgiven and coddled in the perky personality of the "best friend," or in the tragedy of the protagonist's so sad past. (She grew up fat and teased, finally decides to diet and exercise in her 30's and loses the weight- which also bothered me because it assumes that overweight people just need to buck up and exercise and dump the massive amounts of "cakes and pies" they eat apparently, and I've seen that this is definitely not often true! What an insult to people who struggle with weight.) Maybe her readers need reassurance that they are not so bad when they cheat on their spouse, cheat with someone else's spouse, or act like a selfish fool. Maybe also, they don't wish to subscribe to the thought that "two wrongs don't make a right" because conveniently, in this story, all turns out well for these two, despite extremely selfish behavior patterns. Ah, the tricks of fiction. Didn't ring true or real. It was not even original: crazy girl's road trip? I think that one might be getting old. It was disappointing, not heartwarming, not insightful, and boringly disturbing. I don't recommend it.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 02, 2010 20:24:31

Check Out A Kiss at Midnight for $2.95

2010-08-31T23:40:00.001-07:00

A Kiss at Midnight Review

After the "Duchess" series, I was ready to give up hope on another really great book by Eloisa James, but I simply could not put down "Kiss at Midnight". Kate and Gabe offer up a fantastic fairytale romance replete with castle, crazy family, a wicked stepmother, and a menagerie of animals. The dialog is crisp and entertaining, and the characters are endearing. I was truly disappointed when it ended. I hope that there is another great book coming soon!

A Kiss at Midnight Feature

ISBN13: 9780061626845
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

A Kiss at Midnight Overview

Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales . . . or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince . . . and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancÉe, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble . . .

Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune . . .

Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

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Customer Reviews

lovely characters, very entertaining, exciting fairy tale - Make it Funny - San Francisco, CA
I really enjoyed this book from cover to cover. It's also rare to read a book with a fresh plot and so original. The characters have a lot of dimension and you really feel for them. The characters are strong, no willy nilly weaklings. In the end, everyone wins, it truly is a fairy tale. Eloise James is now one of my favorite authors!!

3 and a 1/2 really ... may be a low 4 - Desperate Romance Reader -
I did enjoy this book ... don't get me wrong ... what I found most appealing about it was the refreshing humor ... It is not every day one reads a romance novel where the heroine is capable of discussing that she has padded (or shall I say wax increased) her breasts ... She is likable, sincere ... I liked both the characters ... the prince was not your typical rake who goes through women like tissues ... that too is different ... The part I did not enjoy was the ending ... with the prince building a pyre (although referencing the discussion of the mythological Dido held between the two characters in the novel) ... it was way over the top for me ... I like romance but something this dramatic just does not appeal to me ... The other aspect that I did not truly enjoy was that when the one or two sex scenes were taking place, the prince's intended bride was just down stairs ... What the two characters were doing felt like cheating to me simply because neither one of them was/is malicious in nature, and something of this sort would go against their morals ... however, if you are looking for a light romance novel to read and laugh along with this is it.

Eloisa does it again!!! - B. Johnson - New Jersey, USA
I love reading Eloisa James. She creates characters that are truly human with believable flaws. She also throws in little gems of sentences [cloven hoof, indeed!] that make you laugh out loud. Reading an Eloisa James novel is giving yourself a few hours of absolute joy! I always look forward to a good read when I pick up one of her books. Thanks, Eloisa, for such fun!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 01, 2010 13:56:10

Great Price for $46.99

2010-08-27T20:24:00.001-07:00

The Twilight Saga Collection Review

....I have had my KINDLE for just a couple of months....and reading the TWILIGHT SAGA on it has been like I cant put it down.....when I am on my pc I also can go to my novel and be right at the spot I left off!....so KINDLE for pc is awesome too....if you are an avid reader....dont miss out on KINDLE ...its like a prize for reading...GET ONE!

The Twilight Saga Collection Overview

This stunning set, complete with all four hardcover books as well as four collectible prints, makes the perfect gift for fans of the bestselling vampire love story.

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Customer Reviews

the Twilight Saga - M. Harvey - Canby, Oregon
I bought the Twilight Saga for my wife... She loved it... She has read all 4 books Twice in 3 weeks... Great saga...

Twilight Saga on car trips - S. Kapoun-Roof -
My daughter and I have enjoyed our long car trips more since we began listening to the Twilight Saga in the car. It gives us entertainment and easy conversations.

Awesome set of books! - Kathryn Stice -
This set of books was absolutely beautiful and came just as described. Super fast shipping too!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 28, 2010 10:40:37

Check Out A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) for $0.99

2010-08-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) Review

Every now and then a book comes along that completely changes your life or perspective if you let it, and this is the one. Tolle opens with a look at our own insanity and madness and and proposes that we are at a real crossroads in our existence. Evolve or die. I suggest that many more people sit for an hour or so and just contemplate how mad our society really is. The same minds that create technology to repair the human body also invent weapons to destroy it.

The whole premise of why we are the way we are in Tolle's mind is the ego present in all of us. He then gives a very long and detailed look into just what the ego is. Once we recognize it, we can stop its stranglehold on us.

This book was meant to be studied over a long period of time with a good teacher. Which is why many people say that its similar to Buddhist teachings. It would have been perfect if it offered a list of excercises to help people to free themselves of the ego, but I think he saved that for another book. After all, freeing from the ego can be a life's work, which is called enlightenment in Buddhism, and its no easy task. I read this book at least once a month and am glad I found it in my life.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) Feature

Paperback, wonderful condition.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) Overview

The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2,000,000 copy bestselling inspirational book, The Power of Now

With his bestselling spiritual guide The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle inspired millions of readers to discover the freedom and joy of a life lived "in the now." In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness, and shows readers how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence.

The Power of Now was a question-and-answer handbook. A New Earth has been written as a traditional narrative, offering anecdotes and philosophies in a way that is accessible to all. Illuminating, enlightening, and uplifting, A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual manifesto for a better way of life—and for building a better world.

About the Author

ECKHART TOLLE is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his writing and seminars, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters: There is a way out of suffering and into peace. Eckhart travels extensively, taking his teachings throughout the world.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) Specifications

Amazon.com Exclusive Content
Download "The One Thing," an exclusive essay by Eckhart Tolle. [pdf]

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Customer Reviews

Book Delivery - Larry C. Richardson - Auburn, CA
This was a replacement book (original loaned but not returned). Received in excellent condition, ahead of promised date.

fake plastic Buddhism - colton clay - iowa
If you have ever heard and caught the meaning of "fake plastic trees" by Radiohead, you get the point. It looks just like the real thing, feels just like the real thing....but its fake plastic. Meditate on that and skip this book.

Awakening is essential - George S. Thompson - Lawrence, KS, USA
Albert Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." In A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle describes and puts us in the feel of a shift in consciousness that can solve humanities' problems of intolerance, hatred, violence and competition. If you seek to make this shift yourself, Tolle's books will a valuable resource. Is this shift real? Yes. In my work as a psychiatrist and as a licensed Avatar Master, I see awakenings everyday. Some may be considered small, but none are insignificant. For example, as Tolle guides us to experience the "inner body," the mind quiets and senses heighten. This is a calmer yet more alert state of consciousness that will not react from fear but can act with wisdom and compassion. What a gift to yourself and those around you.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 26, 2010 12:11:23

Great Price for

2010-08-23T00:20:00.001-07:00

Dark Dream Review

One reviewer stated she could not understand how 2 people who just met could already be in love. Well they just met in the physical but she has known him in dreams since she was 15. She is his mate, he does not need a past with her to know his heart. You have to know and understand Feehans Dark world to understand how the males feel about their mates and the phychic connection they have seconds after meeting face to face. For a short story she packs alot of punch into it, one of my all time favorites and has been read many times. For any one reading Feehans series this is a must have for your collection as it gives info not in the others important to the Dark world. Highly recommend!

Dark Dream Overview

She’s known him since she was fifteen. Every night, he is with her: his face, his voice. Tonight, Sara Marten will meet the man who is both angel and demon, salvation and temptation: Falcon—the Carpathian, the banished hero. Tonight, Sara will meet the dark-eyed destroyer destined to be her mate.

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Customer Reviews

contrived at best - -
This book had no character development at all. I was amazed at how the characters, having just met, seemed to instantly fall in love. The plot was weak and was disrupted frequently by the characters long redundant speeches professing their love for each other. The sex scenes were subpar and also filled with professions of love from characters who just met. I had to fight to finish the book because I couldn't handle the unbelievable plot. I would not recommend this book and I regret spending even $.99 for it.

My all time favorite Carpathian Short story - S. weiler - Washington state
I have read all of Christine Feehan's books and Dark Dream has always been my favorite of all her short stories because of the characters Sara Marten and Falcon. I always have a hard time summarizing plots with out giving away the story line so will just say this one answers the question of why so many of the older carpathians disappeared right before Mikhail became prince.

Keep in mind it was originally published in an anthology with other authors so isn't as involved as most of her Carpathian books. If you have never read any of the other books in this series you can still enjoy this one as it is a standalone book that just happens to be part of the dark series.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 23, 2010 14:36:06

Great Price for $13.83

2010-08-21T05:15:00.001-07:00

The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition Review

I have read a number of leadership related books over the years and this one stands out positively. Even though the book has a lot of advice that most other leadership books have as well it will get you some great idea's that make it worth reading. If you invest a little more time and follow up on some of the questions the authors ask you will get even more value out of this book. The interesting part for me was that the authors have worked on the leadership topic for 25 years. If you want long term "scientific" evidence on how leadership works that's the book to read.

The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition Feature

ISBN13: 9780787984922
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition Overview

The most trusted resource on becoming a leader is now updated and revised for a new generation.

This leadership classic continues to be a bestseller after three editions and twenty years in print. It is the gold standard for research-based leadership, and the premier resource on becoming a leader. This new edition, with streamlined text, more international and business examples, and a graphic redesign, is more readable and accessible than ever before.

The Leadership Challenge, Fourth Edition, has been extensively updated with the latest research and case studies, and offers inspiring new stories of real people achieving extraordinary results. The authors' central theme remains the same and is more relevant today than ever: "Leadership is Everyone?s Business." Their "five practices" and "ten commitments" have been proven by hundreds of thousands of dedicated, successful leaders. This edition, with almost one-third new material, emphasizes the global community and refocuses on business leaders.

The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition Specifications

Guest Reviewer: Marshall Goldsmith
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized by almost every major business publication as one of America's leading executive educators and coaches. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There--a New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal #1 business book.

I consider Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner to be the best research-based book ever written in the field of leadership.

What I love about this book is that it is actually written for its readers!

Let's face it--very few readers of business books are CEO's of multi-billion corporations. Yet many business books follow the same over-used formula--interviewing CEOs--talking about what they are doing so well--and suggesting that you do the same thing.

Leadership Challenge is based upon learnings from leaders at all levels--and shows how "regular people" can make a huge, positive difference in their organizations. It is written in a way that can help executives, mid-managers, first-line supervisors, project leaders--and even individual contributors--better understand how they can lead--and be able to immediately apply what they have learned in their work.

My favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. Three of the movie's main characters are seekers: the scarecrow--who is searching for a brain--or wisdom, the tin man--who is searching for a heart--or compassion, and the lion--who is searching for the nerve--or courage. Leadership Challenge helps its readers, who are also seekers, find all three. It shows how real leaders can demonstrate the wisdom--needed to build a vision and show the way, the courage--needed to the challenge the system and do what is right, and the compassion--needed to care for and inspire others.

Although my Ph.D. is in Organizational Behavior, my undergraduate background is in mathematics. I respect people who gather real facts and don't just "shoot from the hip." Jim and Barry have developed the "Leadership Practices Inventory"--which is possibly the world's most widely-respected tool for 360° leadership feedback. They have thoroughly reviewed input from tens of thousands of respondents and used this data to form sound conclusions about what works--and what doesn’t work--in terms of leadership behavior.

My recent book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, talks about why it can be so challenging for successful people to make the changes that they need to "go to the next level." Jim and Barry have not fallen into the classic "successful author's trap." Given the tremendous success of the first edition of Leadership Challenge, they could have easily thought, "Why change this? It is a huge winner!" Instead they have put in countless hours to make each new edition of this classic better than the previous editions. They have worked to incorporate both what they have learned, through their ongoing research--and what they have observed, through their observations of the changing world of work--to make this edition the best--and most relevant--for today's readers.

My final comment for you as a reader: don't just learn from this book--do something with what you learn. This is a practical guide that can help you lead in a way that makes your organization a better place. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a positive difference in your own life--and in the lives of the people that you lead. --Marshall Goldsmith

More to Explore
This leadership classic continues to be a bestseller after three editions and 20 years in print. It is the gold standard for research-based leadership, and the premier resource on becoming a leader. This new edition, with streamlined text, more international and business examples, and a graphic redesign, is more readable and accessible to business readers than ever before, and will prove to be the best edition yet.

FAQs About the Five Practices Model from The Leadership Challenge

Learn More About The Leadership Challenge Approach

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Customer Reviews

Excellent book on Leadership - S. Schroyer - Hudson, Ohio USA
I've read many leadership books over the past few years as I've completed undergrad and now graduate course work. This book is a fantastic book on leadership. I recommend this book to all who want to improve their leadership skills.

Simply The Best - Charles Sawyer -
I am an avid reader and counselor to many adolescents and adults. I am a firm believer in modeling leadership to others and particularly to your children. This book says it all in a clear and concise manner. The principles of leadership are laid out nicely and the adaptation to one's life is on every page. No need to give away the rest. Read and enjoy.

A perfect guide book... - Burak - Turkey
This is a perfect guidebook on leadership, which will also guide the reader through many aspects of life and workplace, not limited to leadership.
What makes it unique is that the ideas are all supported by the authors' solid research findings from their academic studies of 25 years.
A must to read, for everyone taking the leadership challange...

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 21, 2010 19:31:36

Check Out Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home for $7.48

2010-08-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home Review

Rhoda's Sex in The City
The take-away of `Mennonite In A Little Black Dress', is the author's Opus magnum in clearly understanding Rhoda's series of insight(s) ... Of often hard times when Life hands you a lemon ... then, like the Geese flying South, you go home to re-discover your mother's favorite recipe for pink lemonade.
My warning here is that this memoir may be (mis)-interpreted by some readers to be a self-efacing open, honest, comedic examination of her life, or it could be viewed as a bi-polar dark account of a former Mennonite, who married the first guy she met that hailed from across the tracks, in order to get away from a somewhat strict and disciplined life ... just depends on which rose-colored glasses you are wearing for the day. So what I'm saying is that you can read it as being a good read by being Open, Funny, Revealing or you could be reading it as being Dark, Whiney & emotionally draining. It's got something for everybody.
I found the story line somewhat fragmented at times, sometimes humorous, especially about the Mennonite food, and at times a colorful rendition and raw examination of her Mennonite family's personal and traditional interactions.
It did evoke a past forgotten memory for myself, as someone that grew up close to a Mennonite community, as well as Amish & Quakers, was in her family's demonstration of their long-standing peace-loving, faithful & traditional core values, in and by embracing her return back into her family's fold, notwithstanding the family members interrogation's that ensued, of course.
I do hope that others see the gift in Rhoda bringing up the Mennonite's & other branches of these faithful few, who prefer Peace over war, Love over hate, Compassion over Indifference ... and live it daily, by example.
Openly examining any families and/or an individual's `skeleton's' is not exactly a painless exercise for anyone. It does take Courage ... for this I give her High marks!

Rhoda Janzen is a wonderful prose stylist and a fresh voice, with a personal story and seemingly described juxtaposition between her current life and her Mennonite upbringing are very interesting, especially, and the cause and effect of it all, if any for some, might be to take stock of your own warts, in a honest way.

There are times in everyone's lives, when you do need to go back to your beginnings, so that you may learn and hopefully obtain some wisdom about your future ... this is such a story.

A definitive life changing catharses and healing of her emotional and physical pain journey, of love lost and love won, ... of once lost and now found ...
I give it 4.5 Stars!

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home Feature

ISBN13: 9780805092257
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home Overview

"It is rare that I literally laugh out loud while I'm reading, but Janzen's voice—singular, deadpan, sharp-witted and honest—slayed me." —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Needing a place to rest and pick up the pieces of her life, Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda's good-natured mother suggested she get over her heartbreak by dating her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.)

Written with wry humor and huge personality—and tackling faith, love, family, and aging—Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing, certain to touch anyone who has ever had to look homeward in order to move ahead.

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Customer Reviews

Funny stories...great summer read. - book lover - Mission Viejo, CA United States
Picked up this book on a whim and loved it. It's a quick read and very fun. It is not a life-changing memoir or a serious lesson in the Mennonite culture - it is just plain fun and chock-full of human observation.

Rhoda obviously loves her parents a lot. Her insight into their lives is great - we have to laugh at things that otherwise might drive us nutty! They all remind me of an "I Love Lucy" episode in a way. We should all be so lucky to laugh at ourselves like she does.

Pick up this book to take to the beach or pool. Enjoy!

Tries too hard to be funny, not much depth - Jaylia3 - Silver Spring, MD United States
This is not without some interest and charm but, it's written like the memoir of a stand-up comic. I wasn't looking for jokes about moving back to a Mennonite community--I wanted to know more about the insights, thoughts and feelings of a person whose life straddled two very different worlds.

Excruciating in parts - J-Girl - Vancouver, BC
Picked up this book in an airport with the feeling the premise had a lot of potential but it fell way short. The author's account of going home to her Mennonite community is disjointed. There's no story arc, it's just really a collection of random thoughts and events assembled into chapters with no reference in time. So at the end, there's no real resolution or satisfaction for the reader. Also, Janzen often sounds like a bitter, mean woman so it's really difficult to get attached and care for her as a character. I don't recommend this book.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 17, 2010 23:56:41

Great Price for $4.28

2010-08-16T01:02:00.001-07:00

Path of the Assassin Review

Just finished "Path of the Assassin" Path of the Assassin and enjoyed it thoroughly. I've never read two books so fast in my life, 'Lions of Lucerne' The Lions of Lucerne being the first. I really like Brad's style of writing with plausible scenarios, fast paced action and plot turns and twists. It's so exciting to discover an author this knowledgeable about what he writes about. From locals around the world to weapons, and equipment, Brad has it all covered.

A superb book and a great read. Next!

Path of the Assassin Feature

ISBN13: 9780743436762
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Path of the Assassin Overview

Brad Thor's national best-selling debut, The Lions of Lucerne, was hailed as "high-voltage entertainment reminiscent of Robert Ludlum" (Literary Journal). Now, he again delivers a non-stop action as one man's quest for revenge thrusts him into a battle to save his country....

After rescuing the President from kidnappers, Navy SEAL turned Secret Service agent Scot Harvath shifts his attentions to rooting out, capturing, or killing all those responsible for the plot. As he prepares to close out his list, a bloody and twisted trail of clues points toward one man -- the world's most feared, most ruthless terrorist, Hashim Nidal. Having assembled an international league of Islamic terrorist networks in an ingenious plot to topple both Israel and America, Harvath and his CIA-led team must reach Nidal before it's too late. One problem remains -- they have no idea what the man looks like. With no alternative, Harvath is forced to recruit a civilian -- a woman who has survived a brutal hijacking and is now the only person who can positively identify their quarry.

From the burning deserts of North Africa to the winding streets of Rome, Harvath must brave a maelstrom of bloodshed and deception -- before a madman's twisted vision engulfs the world in the fires of all-out war....

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Customer Reviews

Sophomoric at best. - Iggy Toole - ny, ny United States
Scot's attempts at humor were so painful and the plot was so plain and predictable that I had to grab my copy of the Lions of Lucerne to make sure Thor really wrote that.

He must have been under-pressure to write his second book. The problem with that is, readers like me will absolutely not invest future money/time the next time he and his publishers have a new release. I somewhat felt embarrassed reading this book.

I will read the 3rd Thor book (I bought it at the same time I bought his 2nd book.. right after reading his 1st book) and I hope the author returns to form (I highly doubt it.)

This book makes the (early) Vince Flynn books seem like bonafide classics... not an easy thing to do.

I thought we have come to expect more - Eric Zeigler - Boston, MA United States
If you like, the Bruce Willis type movie with preposterous and over the top events then you will like the book. If you prefer the more serious type thriller then you will be disappointed. I was disappointed.

It should not be too much to ask for an author to do a little research to get some basic facts right. Like how the Secret Service really works. If he purposely writes incorrect facts then he must be writing for teenagers. Either way the book was not for me.

Brad Thor surpasses Clancy with this one IMHO - Walter L. Luffman - Medina, TN USA
Brad Thor and his character Scott Harvath caught my attention a couple of years ago, and I have been working my way through the entire series. Path Of The Assassin is, in my opinion, the best yet. Harvath, former Naval SEAL and Secret Service agent, is pretty much on his own this time as he chases down a terrorist leader through North Africa, Europe and the United States. Author Dan Brown likes Thor's writing; so do Nelson DeMille, Vince Flynn, Newt Gingrich and Glenn Beck. He's that good.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 16, 2010 15:20:30

Great Price for $6.70

2010-08-15T00:38:00.001-07:00

Tempted (House of Night, Book 6) Review

It was hard to accept the ending at first but after reading the last book I think the Author made the right decision. Tempted, keeps you on your toes with deciding who is better for Zoey. All three boys are hard for Zoey to juggle while trying to save the world. Heatlh (although a great guy) is always getting in the way and Erik (which I hate is now being portrayed as such a jerk) is a pain in the butt and is very needy. If I was Zoey, Stark would be my pick hands down! This story was very exciting. The House of Night books just keep getting better and better!

Tempted (House of Night, Book 6) Feature

ISBN13: 9780312567484
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Tempted (House of Night, Book 6) Overview

Soyou’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night Series, Tempted.

P.C. 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.

Her daughter, Kristin Cast, has won awards for her poetry and journalism. She also lives in Oklahoma, where she attends college in Tulsa.

A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Series

Dark secrets and unspoken suspicions come between Zoey and Stevie Rae, putting their friendshipand the House of Nightat risk.

After Zoey Redbird and her gang have banished Kalona and Neferet from Tulsa, you'd think they'd catch a break. But with Zoey and her sexy warrior Stark both recovering from a brush with death, and the fledglings struggling to deal with the fallout from Neferet's reign of terror, a break is just not in the forecast. Zoey is haunted by her confusing yet elemental connection with A-ya, the ancient Cherokee maiden who was the only human able to tempt Kalona's body and soul. How will A-ya's pull on her affect Zoey's ability to resist the dangerously seductive immortal?

Meanwhile, Stevie Rae, with her super redvamp powers, always thought she could handle the stuff she's been keeping from her BFF. But the mysterious, threatening force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading. Stevie Rae won't confide where she's been and what she's doing, and Zoey is beginning to wonder just how much she can trust the person she always thought would have her back.

Will their choices destroy them and will darkness consume the House of Night? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night Series, Tempted.

Cast and Cast pull out all the stops and take this story to shattering new heights with devastating consequences!”Romantic Times

Cast and Cast pull out all the stops and take this story to shattering new heights with devastating consequences!”Romantic Times (4 ½ stars)

P. C. and Kristin Cast have made an absolutely amazing [YA] series. The visuals offered by this fantastic duo are entertaining and imaginative, with nonstop action . . . This is easily a [YA] series that can entertain adults with action, hot Vampyres, true friendship, budding romance, a Loving Goddess, and a twist of the unexpected.”HowlingGoodBooks.com (5 stars)

I loved every one of the books in the [House of Night] series. Tempted is my definite favorite . . . This book had me ripping through the pages.”Teen review on Flamingnet.com

"'Passion, lust, need, hunger, and pain' fill the pages of this tale of Zoey Redbird, the new-and-still learning-the-ropes High Priestess of the House of Night. Zoey has her hands full coping with three guysHeath, friend since childhood and human blood bank; Stark, newly pledged as her Warrior, a guardian with a bond so tight he can sense her emotions; and possessive Eric who gets summarily dumped in the beginning pages. If that is not enough guy trouble, she is also trying to cope with the disturbingly strong feelings she has for the fallen angel Kalona with whom she had a relationship in a previous life. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is acting weird and secretive . . . with good reason. Stevie Rae is still hoping that the hidden red fledglings will find their humanity and choose good over evil. And, unimaginably, she has saved the life of a Raven Mocker, one of the mutant offspring of Kalona and the women he raped, and hidden him in the tunnels beneath Tulsa. Fans of the vampire genre will enjoy this sixth installment of the House of Night series."Children's Literature

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Customer Reviews

Will not read any further - Anakasha - Los Angeles
Let me preface this by saying I love the House of Night books and generally wait anxiously for the next one to come out. Unfortunately I will no longer be reading anything from either of these authors. Let me explain why.

A few days ago I posted a letter to Penguin publishing letting them know of my feelings toward their Kindle pricing. I mistakenly added PC and Kristin Cast as authors that I would not be reading any longer until they rethought their policies. The Casts are with Macmillan. I also forward the letter to the authors that I was a customer of in an effort to get them involved.

This morning I got a response from the Cast's Administrative Assistant Camden Clark that was so insulting that I couldn't believe someone had the audacity to actually hit the send button on. I was so hurt by it I thought I wold share it with the world so that everyone could see what kind of people they have working for them.

Nicci,

Kristin Cast is not published by Penguin.

Also, Kristin's name is not spelled with an "e".

A bit of information that may come in handy: The library is a fabulous institution that was created so everyone, regardless of their income, could have an opportunity to read or listen to the books they enjoy. I suggest doing some research on how to obtain a library card.

In the future, try not to criticize things you "don't understand".

Do your research and get your facts straight before sending ignorant, babbling emails.

Thank you for your support,
Camden Clark
Administrative Assistant
Cast, LLC

I know this isn't them, but as someone who deals with celebrity and talent agency assistants on a regular basis the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I very much hope I"m wrong in this case.

My email to Penguin might have been long, but I stated at the beginning that as a person who works in the film industry I'm not familiar with the publishing business model, but I did cite facts that I spent quite a bit of time researching in order to make an intelligent argument.

Even if it was an ignorant babbling email, this is not the way to respond. The best thing would have been to ignore it or write back and say don't boycott us we're not on Penguin.

BEMS Review - Barbara E. Madison - Petersburg,VA USA
A very good purchase...I received my boojk in a timely and efficient manner. I will do business again with this provider. Great story in this series of titles.

Tempted - Michael Smith - Linden, MI
There are some spoilers in this review. Sorry.

I really wanted to like this book. I completely loved the first four books in this series. But when the Casts decided to dig Kalona out of the ground at the end of book four, a huge mistake was made. Sure, it was amazing reading how he completely took over the House of Night at the end of book four, but the following two books have been nothing but filler. It seems like if you want to embark on a tale involving a completely evil fallen angel and his vampyre sidekick, you'd wrap up book five (or six...if you're crafty) with an explosive ending that involves the death of the two antagonists. STOP SPREADING IT OUT SO THIN. We heard about the seductive dreams and the temptation Zoey feels for Kalona all last book. We don't need 320 pages describing it all over again.

After finishing this book, I couldn't help but think "What actually happened here?" (except for the ending, which I'll get to later). The events of this book could be wrapped up in a few sentences: Zoey h...more I really wanted to like this book. I completely loved the first four books in this series. But when the Casts decided to dig Kalona out of the ground at the end of book four, a huge mistake was made. Sure, it was amazing reading how he completely took over the House of Night at the end of book four, but the following two books have been nothing but filler. It seems like if you want to embark on a tale involving a completely evil fallen angel and his vampyre sidekick, you'd wrap up book five (or six...if you're crafty) with an explosive ending that involves the death of the two antagonists. STOP SPREADING IT OUT SO THIN. We heard about the seductive dreams and the temptation Zoey feels for Kalona all last book. We don't need 320 pages describing it all over again.

After finishing this book, I couldn't help but think "What actually happened here?" (except for the ending, which I'll get to later). The events of this book could be wrapped up in a few sentences: Zoey has boy troubles. Zoey has dreams about Kalona. Zoey goes to Italy. "The End for Now." WTF? We spent .99 for that?

And seriously, what happened to all the great characters that were introduced at the beginning of this series? Remember crying over Stevie Rae back in book two? She's been reduced to an overall boring character that's off helping some bad guy for the whole book. Erin and Shaunee and Aphrodite have just become so annoying that when the Casts actually decide to give them dialogue you don't feel like reading it. Jack needs to be thrown off a cliff (does he do anything but cry?). Damien's still around, but he hardly said anything the whole book. Kalona used to be the cool fallen angel that you couldn't wait to die epically, but now he's either trying to put the moves on Zoey or moping around the roof of a castle.

And really, what was up with that ending? I'm all for killing of a character for the sake of the storyline, but it feels like Heath was killed off just for the sake of having a cliffhanger so we'll all want to come back in April when book seven comes out. And who knows, Zoey may get to be dream-stalked by Kalona AND Heath now. And if that doesn't keep her satisfied, she always has Stark on the side.

Yes, I'm coming back for Burned. Yes, I still love this series. But the Casts really need to consider wrapping up this Kalona thing, and fast, because I don't think anyone's interested in it anymore. And if they want to kill of Heath, keep him dead, and don't make Zoey run back and forth from the "Otherworld." Because I can totally see that happening.

And seriously, if I read "bullpoopie" one more time, I'm going to be joining Heath in the Otherworld.

slow slow slow and more slow - vickie -
A horrible series with alot of filler words .Could be condensed to a short story .Rediculous dialogue.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 15, 2010 14:56:36

Great Price for $8.23

2010-08-13T11:55:00.001-07:00

The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer Review

I bought this book after reading the reviews on Amazon and other sites. My infant was two months old and would not nap unless I was holding him! I was exhausted and desparate to find a way to get him to sleep and to keep him asleep during the day. This book was a lifesaver. A quick, and surprisingly interesting, read that gives you step-by-step instructions on calming a fussy baby, getting him/her to sleep, and keeping them asleep. Although my child did not have colic he was overtired and therefore very cranky most days, but once I mastered the cuddle cure I was able to get my child to nap during the day, which quickly led to sleeping through the night and our house became a much happier place for all of us.

The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer Feature

ISBN13: 9780553381467
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer Overview

In perhaps the most important parenting book of the decade, Dr. Harvey Karp reveals an extraordinary treasure sought by parents for centuries—an automatic “off-switch” for their baby’s crying.

No wonder pediatricians across the country are praising him and thousands of Los Angeles parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna and Pierce Brosnan, have turned to him to learn the secrets for making babies happy.

Never again will parents have to stand by helpless and frazzled while their poor baby cries and cries. Dr. Karp has found there IS a remedy for colic. “I share with parents techniques known only to the most gifted baby soothers throughout history …and I explain exactly how they work.”

In a innovative and thought-provoking reevaluation of early infancy, Dr. Karp blends modern science and ancient wisdom to prove that newborns are not fully ready for the world when they are born. Through his research and experience, he has developed four basic principles that are crucial for understanding babies as well as improving their sleep and soothing their senses:

The Missing Fourth Trimester: as odd as it may sound, one of the main reasons babies cry is because they are born three months too soon.

The Calming Reflex: the automatic reset switch to stop crying of any baby in the first few months of life.

The 5 “S’s”: the simple steps (swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging and sucking) that trigger the calming reflex. For centuries, parents have tried these methods only to fail because, as with a knee reflex, the calming reflex only works when it is triggered in precisely the right way. Unlike other books that merely list these techniques Dr. Karp teaches parents exactly how to do them, to guide cranky infants to calm and easy babies to serenity in minutes…and help them sleep longer too.

The Cuddle Cure: the perfect mix the 5 “S’s” that can soothe even the most colicky of infants.

In the book, Dr. Karp also explains:

What is colic?

Why do most babies get much more upset in the evening?

How can a parent calm a baby—in mere minutes?

Can babies be spoiled?

When should a parent of a crying baby call the doctor?

How can a parent get their baby to sleep a few hours longer?

Even the most loving moms and dads sometimes feel pushed to the breaking point by their infant’s persistent cries. Coming to the rescue, however, Dr. Karp places in the hands of parents, grandparents, and all childcare givers the tools they need to be able to calm their babies almost as easily as…turning off a light.

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Customer Reviews

Best Baby Book Out There - Jessica -
This is by far the best baby book out there. It explains why babys cry and how to calm them. I wish I would have read this book first.

Saw results in one day! - Lucky88 - WI, USA
We got this yesterday. I frantically read it, and we started implementing the tips last night. Already our 4-week-old daughter is sleeping more soundly and in longer stretches. Before, she was waking up every 45 minutes to an hour. Last night (our first night starting to implement some of the tips in this book), she slept a 4.5 hour stretch, followed by a 2 hour stretch, followed by a 3.5 hour stretch. This was a vast improvement for and made for happy parents!! I still need to read some of the book and I'm sure there is even more we can glean from it to make our baby even happier.

Excellent book - Lizb -
My daughter recently had a baby and the little one was going through a rough period. This book was an excellent guide in helping her to calm down her little guy.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 14, 2010 02:13:03

Great Price for $15.86

2010-08-12T04:20:00.001-07:00

Out of Water: From Abundance to Scarcity and How to Solve the World's Water Problems Review

We in the West, myself included, take water for granted - it falls free from the sky and it runs whenever we shower or run the faucet. With the potential for global population heading toward 9 billion by 2050, the authors delineate where the problem "hot" spots are for water, and what measures we can take right now from conservation, to better irrigation, to price-risk management.

Chartres and Varma have written a well-rounded book on the incongruence of water prices and its scarcity. Litre for litre, water is more expensive than gasoline.

Everyone and every industry is at risk of a scarcity of water. Whether you are Continental Grain trying to provide food to the world or an alternative energy firm trying to help ween us off hydrocarbons, you will find this book very pithy and full of resources. It's also insightful for CFAs, analysts, private equity, and venture capital professionals who are considering allocating funds and expertise to the water market.

Environmentalists will enjoy the thorough approach that the authors have taken in describing the effects of water on the environment, and the environment on water.

"All the water that will ever be, is right now." National Geographic, October 1993

There is a podcast with one of the authors, Colin Chartres, at [...]

Out of Water: From Abundance to Scarcity and How to Solve the World's Water Problems Feature

ISBN13: 9780131367265
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Out of Water: From Abundance to Scarcity and How to Solve the World's Water Problems Overview

The Indispensable Guide to the Next Global Crisis: Water

“No water, no life. Are you wondering how this planet can be ‘running out of water’ when it still rains and rivers flow? This book is your guide. Colin Chartres has lived his life to improve the management of the water that gives life to all. His lessons are worth learning.”

–Margaret Catley-Carlson, Member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board, Chair of the Global Water Partnership, and former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF

“Chartres and Varma ably combine sound science and intelligent writing to illuminate the enormous technical and managerial challenges inherent in meeting the world’s rapidly growing water needs. Wisely, Out of Water pays special attention to the complexities of managing water for agriculture, by far the largest consumer of water worldwide and the major contributor to water scarcity.”

–Roberto Lenton, Chair, Inspection Panel, The World Bank

“Ensuring that we use water more wisely, more productively, and less profligately will be one of the defining challenges...of this century. There are solutions, and while implementing these will not be easy, they are achievable, as pointed out in this book.”

–From the Foreword by Dr. Joachim von Braun, Director, Center for Development Research (ZEF)

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Customer Reviews

Out of Water:...... - J. S. Jackson Jr. - Waikoloa HI USA
For a terribly important issue that impacts mans ability to survive on this planet, it is a shame that the book is so repetitive. The information is there but hard to read because of the repetiveness.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 12, 2010 18:38:31

Check Out The Sea Wolf for $0.00

2010-08-11T03:52:00.001-07:00

The Sea Wolf Review

Great book! I had never read Jack London before but after visiting his burnt down estate in Northern California I became interested in his writing. This book is excellent, entertaining and fast paced. The kindle edition seems not to be missing any pages. Great Free Download.

The Sea Wolf Overview

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

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Customer Reviews

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 11, 2010 18:10:00

Great Price for $9.54

2010-08-09T04:50:00.001-07:00

Lowcountry Summer: A Plantation Novel Review

I really like this author and this book did not disappoint. My favorite of her books is still Sullivan's Island.
Lowcountry Summer was a little harder to get into, but after the first couple of chapters, I was hooked. I'm a Southern woman and love books about strong Southern women. Frank nails the dialect and old Southern values. If you like Southern novels with modern concerns, this is the book for you. It will make you 'LOL'!

Lowcountry Summer: A Plantation Novel Feature

ISBN13: 9780061961175
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Lowcountry Summer: A Plantation Novel Overview

Dorothea Benton Frank is a native of the South whose novels vividly capture the wild beauty, laid-back atmosphere, earthy characters, and charming eccentricities of life in South Carolina's Lowcountry. Written with compelling honesty and emotional depth, her stories have touched readers from coast to coast, and propelled her to the top ranks of bestsellerdom nationwide.

Now this remarkable writer revisits some of her most unforgettable characters in this enchanting new story sure to make you laugh and cry. Return with her to Tall Pines Plantation in this long-awaited sequel to her beloved bestseller Plantation. . . .

When Caroline Wimbley Levine returned to Tall Pines Plantation, she never expected to make peace with long-buried truths about herself and her family. The Queen of Tall Pines, her late mother, was a force of nature, but now she is gone, leaving Caroline and the rest of the family uncertain of who will take her place.

In the lush South Carolina countryside, old hurts, betrayals, and dark secrets will surface, and a new generation will rise along the banks of the mighty Edisto River.

Wonderfully evocative, infused with humor and poignancy, and rich with the lyrical cadences of the South, Lowcountry Summer is vintage Dorothea Benton Frank, a deeply moving novel you'll want to savor and share.

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Customer Reviews

Stop! Please return the real D.B.F. to us! - Sam - jhs - Tavares, Florida
Oh my, I know some alien has taken D.B.F.'S spirit. She couldn't have written this book. NO WAY. She said it was a favorite for her as far as writing it went but it doesn't sound like she wrote it at all. Did she use a 1st year student as a ghost writer? Wassup with this? How totally disappointing from page 1 and through to the end! This woman has been a favorite for years as I wait for the store to open to purchase her new book. The old books are lined up with reverence on my shelf and I'm ashamed to say I will not put Lowcountry Summer on the shelf next to them. Not worth the first read so I know I'll never pick it up to read again. Dorothea please rest, take a break, fall in love, something to bring back the spirit you've lost and then bring us another good book to read as summer won't be summer without your book to enjoy. This book was more like - well - torture as I tried hard to keep reading, hope upon hope that something would redeem it but it was not to be. Your fans just don't understand what has happened to you that has brought about this change in your writing style. This isn't you! Sorry to say that the first page had me questioning who actually wrote this book. Thumbs down and let's hope things improve!

Sorry Dorothea, Step Up Your Game - Taryn Angela Scherschel - Sparks, NV USA
I love reading Dorothea Benton Frank's book. That being said, I went back and re-read Plantation before reading this sequel. There is a huge difference is the main character's personality. In Plantation, the character was very warm and you could relate to her. In Lowcountry Summer, she was admittedly extremely bitter and self absorbed and didn't grow throughout the book. You couldn't relate to her at all. In fact, I was relating and feeling sympathy towards to antagonists instead. The "romances" were anything but. The ending left you with a "huh?" feeling. Sorry Dorothea, but please step up your game. I love your other books!

Not a true sequel - -
By a devoted reader
I liked "Plantation" and looked forward to the sequel just to find learn how "C's" love Jack Taylor would continue or not. much to my amazement there was no mention of Jack until the wedding of C he attends with his WIFE MIMI in the end of the book. Now I ask you Dorthea what kind of a writer does this sort of thing? I loved your two Sullivan Island books as they were true sequels and well written.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 09, 2010 19:07:42

Great Price for $9.23

2010-08-08T02:11:00.001-07:00

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs Review

I have had a few hypoglycemic episodes but am not diabetic. I saw Dr. Barnard on a PBS show and was very taken with his theories and approaches. I think everyone would do well to follow this eating program. He does an excellent job of explaining many digestive and health processes in lay terms. As for the references to diabetes drugs, yes, there are some, but I found it easy to skim over them. I've been on this diet for 3 weeks and feel super. I am losing weight, have much more energy, sleep better, and I will likely never go back to eating animal products. I am 63 years old and only mildly (15 lbs) over-weight.

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs Feature

ISBN13: 9781594868108
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs Overview

Until Dr. Barnard’s scientific breakthrough, most health professionals believed that once you developed diabetes, you were stuck with itand could anticipate one complication after another, from worsening eyesight and nerve symptoms to heart and kidney problems. But as this groundbreaking work reveals, this simply is not true. In a series of studiesthe most recent funded by the National Institutes of HealthDr. Barnard has shown that it is possible to repair insulin function and reverse type 2 diabetes. By following his scientifically proven, life-changing program, diabetics can control blood sugar three times more effectively than with the standard diet; and cut back on and in some cases eliminate medications while reducing the risk of diabetes complications.

"The long overdue epic scientific breakthrough in diabetes is herean obvious must-read for health professionals and for diabetic and potential diabetic patients." Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD, preventive cardiology consultant, Cleveland Clinic

"This is the approach to followthe clinically proven way to get your blood sugar under control and start living again."John McDougall, MD, founder and medical director of the McDougall program

"Dr. Barnard’s book is no exaggerationThe signs and symptoms of diabetes can be reversed, and he’s got the evidence to prove it."Jennie Brand-Miller, PhD, author of The New Glucose Revolution

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

My new eating program - ALCINE PERRYMAN-BUROW - LAS VEGAS, NV, US
I never would have thought I could give up meat but I have, and I don't miss it at all. I have recommended this book to friends and family.

I've been trying to loose weight for years and with this new eating program the weight is finally coming off.

Alcine

The Scientific Proven System for Reversing Diabetes . . . . - Don B' - California, USA
A great book with a detailed study of what foods will lower or raise one's glucose levels with many excellent recipes for a healthy diet. It might be somewhat an overstatement to title the book a "Proven System for Reversing Diabetes", but I would cut him some slack for all the great material it does provide.

Reversing Diabetes - Dawn Brooks -
I purchased it because my mother is a "brittle" diabetic and the insulin is making her gain weight. The book gives a different perspective on the disease than what you"d usually hear, especially when it comes to eating carbs. I have not implemented the plan yet but I intend to. If it works I'll definitely give it five stars

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 08, 2010 16:29:19

Great Price for $11.33

2010-08-05T18:13:00.001-07:00

Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! Review

I have found this book to be extremely useful. I carry it with me when I go baby shopping or when I am online looking for certain items. It rates different products and companies on safety and price, so it easily narrows down the choices for you. It also informs you of the many unnecessary items out there for sale for babies. There is so much stuff out there, it can be confusing and worrysome, but this book helps you weed out the things you won't need to waste your money on.

Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! Overview

Wow! A baby book that actually answers the big question about having a baby: How am I going to afford all this?

With the average cost of a baby topping 00 for just the first year alone, you need creative solutions and innovative ideas to navigate the consumer maze that confronts all parents-to-be. Baby Bargains is the answer! Inside, you'll discover:

The best WEB SITES that offer the biggest discounts!
NAME BRAND REVIEWS of car seats, bedding, strollers, high chairs, diapers and more!
FIVE wastes of money with baby clothes and the best outlet bargains.
NINE tips to saving money on cribs, plus in-depth reviews of crib brands.
THE TRUTH ABOUT STROLLERS--and which brands work best in the real world.
The SEVEN MOST RIDICULOUS BABY PRODUCTS.
Dozens of safety tips to affordably baby proof your home.
DETAILED CHARTS that compare brands of cribs, strollers, car seats and more!

Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! Specifications

Congratulations, you're expecting a baby! What you may not be expecting is all of the requisite gear you "need" to look after your dear bundle. Fear not. Denise and Alan Fields, authors of Bridal Bargains, are here to tell you what's super and what's silly, and how to find it at the best price. You'll learn all about how (and where) to shop for a crib and dresser (including how to get European styling at reasonable prices), what you need in bedding and what can be skipped (a hint: no baby requires the 0 quilt!), which clothing brands are safest and least expensive, and how to shop for monitors, toys, car seats, strollers, books, videos, and more. The authors have field-tested every major brand (and several of the minor ones), and they provide star ratings and annotations at the end of every chapter. A helpful feature in each chapter called "Wastes of Money" will steer you away from Baby Air Jordans and frilly diaper stackers that match your bedding. If that's not enough, they offer a money-back guarantee: If the book doesn't save you at least 0 in baby expenses, they'll refund the price of the book. Well researched and written in a witty and comfortable tone, Baby Bargains should be required reading for every safety- and money-conscious parent-to-be. --Rebecca A. Staffel

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Customer Reviews

Must have for 1st time parents - jgab -
This is a must have for first time parents. Advice of well meaning family and friends is great, but these authors have an ENTIRE industry knowledge to be able to tell you what the latest and greatest gadgets are and if you really need them. Not sure baby bargains is the appropriate name, it's more of a consumer report for baby buying. They review everything in detail and let you know if you should splurge or save.

Invaluable tool for new parents and grandparents - BRtaxpro -
Bought this book when my daughter was pregnant in 2007 and again this year when my daughter in law was pregnant. The book went with them when we registered for baby items - the higher the grade the more likely it made the list!

great resource.... - firsttimemom -
for helping you register. It really narrows things down and introduces you to options you didn't know were available. I would recommend this book to first time moms especially.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 06, 2010 08:30:25

Check Out City of Thieves: A Novel for $7.34

2010-08-03T11:51:00.001-07:00

City of Thieves: A Novel Review

Moby Dick was just a whale--

A number of years ago, my wife and I, to escape our uninsulated, freezing, Maine "summer camp," heated by a fireplace and two kerosene space heaters, escape to a heated library and sit in a discussion group led by a retired professor. After watching a film the professor would discourse on the film and the well known classic book underlying the film. In this case the subject was Moby Dick.

Following the film, with only slight prodding, the audience, would then engage in extrapolating the professors penetrating claptrap with further extrapolations until we had nonsense heaped upon nonsense----- a pyramid standing on it's head.

After one of the pseudo intellectual mental masturbation I decided to ask a simple question, "Did any one ever think that Moby Dick was just a whale and that Melville had simply written a wonderful story?"

That is my reaction to the pontificating critical reviews on "City of Thieves"

I considered the book to be excellent. A perfect literary connection of logic fitted into the horrible factual story of the tragedy of Leningrad in World War II. To be able to tell such a story with believable interjections of humor demonstrates a great gift.

After reading "City of Thieves" I ordered and read Mr. Benioff's earlier novel, " 25 hours" as well as Harrison Salisbury's overwhelming book, the non- fiction "900 days," that Mr. Benioff used and reccomended as source material for "City of Thieves."

My conclusion is that Mr. Benioff is a fine talent who we shall hopefully see a lot more of. Originality, with a strong foundation of fact and the ability to portray conflicting human emotions in a realistic manner is always in short supply.

City of Thieves: A Novel Feature

ISBN13: 9780452295292
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

City of Thieves: A Novel Overview

From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival—and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

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Customer Reviews

Wow - What a Good Read - Michael P. Lewis - Denver, CO
After reading a few reviews, i picked up the novel City of Thieves by David Benioff. Let me tell you, this book is really great - one of the best books i've read in a long time. I bought it for used on Amazon - do yourself a favor and get it.

The story starts with a screenwriter (the guy who wrote 25th Hour) talking to his grandfather about WWII. It's his grandfather's story that takes us to Leningrad in 1942 when he was 17. He gives us the core story but then leaves the interview session telling Benioff, "you're the writer, make it up." And he comes up with a fantastic tale

It's not that long but is still a great story of friends, war, snipers, girls, and a box of eggs. Read it

Good story, but fair warning - JLS -
I have to admit that this is a very unique plot with interesting characters. (The reader is sure to be immediately drawn to the narrator's friend, Kolya. The author created a truly unique, intriguing and likable character.) So 4 stars for the plot and characters.

However, fair warning--there is a LOT (near constant) swearing and very vulgar speech. There are also several graphic and potentially disturbing scenes. I don't doubt that in real life things were the way the author described. But if these things would bother you, this is definitely not a book you'd want to read.

Unique perspective on the Siege of Leningrad - Blaze -
What an awesome book! A blend of horror and humor without belittling the suffering and human tragedy of war.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 04, 2010 02:08:43

Great Price for $8.87

2010-08-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence Review

This is the 4th or 5th copy of this book I have ordered through Amazon. I give them out as gifts for loved friends and family members. For those of you who have daughters going off to college in the fall this book should be required summer reading! It is THAT important!

This copy is for my cousin who works in our state's crime lab as a forensic scientist. In her career she has seen too many women killed by husbands, lovers or boyfriends and it is not pretty. Wake up and pay attention to what Mr. de Becker has so graciously shared with us and LISTEN TO YOUR INSTINCTS!!

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence Feature

ISBN13: 9780440508830
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence Overview

True fear is often a signal that can save your life. Are you listening?

The baby-sitter you've just hired makes you uneasy--what should you do?
You sense you are being followed --do you confront the stranger...or run?
A fired employee says "You'll be sorry"--should you take him seriously?
A person in the elevator you are about to enter just doesn't look right--do you wait for the next car?

A date won't take "no" for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust--and act on--our gut instincts.

In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger--before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including...how to act when approached by a stranger...when you should fear someone close to you...what to do if you are being stalked...how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls...the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person...and more. Learn to spot the danger signals others miss. It might just save your life.

The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence Specifications

Each hour, 75 women are raped in the United States, and every few seconds, a woman is beaten. Each day, 400 Americans suffer shooting injuries, and another 1,100 face criminals armed with guns. Author Gavin de Becker says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. They may distrust the fear, or it may impel them to some action that saves their lives. A leading expert on predicting violent behavior, de Becker believes we can all learn to recognize these signals of the "universal code of violence," and use them as tools to help us survive. The book teaches how to identify the warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. The case studies are gripping and suspenseful, and include tactics for dealing with similar situations.

People don't just "snap" and become violent, says de Becker, whose clients include federal government agencies, celebrities, police departments, and shelters for battered women. "There is a process as observable, and often as predictable, as water coming to a boil." Learning to predict violence is the cornerstone to preventing it. De Becker is a master of the psychology of violence, and his advice may save your life. --Joan Price

A Q&A with Gavin de Becker

Question: In today’s world, where terror and tragedy seem omnipresent, the fear of violence never seems more heightened. Is the world a more violent place than it ever has been?

Gavin de Becker : Your question contains much of the answer: today’s world, "where terror and tragedy seem omnipresent..." The key word is "seem." When TV news coverage presents so much on these topics, it elevates the perception of terrorism and tragedy way beyond the reality. In every major city, TV news creates forty hours of original production every day, most of it composed and presented to get our attention with fear. Hence an incident on an airplane in which a man fails to do any damage is treated as if the make-shift bomb actually exploded. It didn’t. Imagine having a near miss in your car, avoiding what would have been a serious collision--and then talking about every hour for months after the fact. Welcome to TV news.

To the second part of your question, No, the world is not a more violent place than it has ever been, however we live as if it were. The U.S. is the most powerful nation in world history--and also the most afraid.

Question: Your bestselling book The Gift of Fear gives many examples to help readers recognize what you call pre-incident indicators (PINS) of violence. What role does intuition play in recognizing these signals?

Gavin de Becker: Like every creature on earth, we have an extraordinary defense resource: We don’t have the sharpest claws and strongest jaws--but we do have the biggest brains, and intuition is the most impressive process of these brains. It might be hard to accept its importance because intuition is often described as emotional, unreasonable, or inexplicable. Husbands chide their wives about "feminine intuition" and don’t take it seriously. If intuition is used by a woman to explain some choice she made or a concern she can’t let go of, men roll their eyes and write it off. We much prefer logic, the grounded, explainable, unemotional thought process that ends in a supportable conclusion. In fact, Americans worship logic, even when it’s wrong, and deny intuition, even when it’s right. Men, of course, have their own version of intuition, not so light and inconsequential, they tell themselves, as that feminine stuff. Theirs is more viscerally named a "gut feeling," but whatever name we use, it isn’t just a feeling. It is a process more extraordinary and ultimately more logical in the natural order than the most fantastic computer calculation. It is our most complex cognitive process and, at the same time, the simplest.

Intuition connects us to the natural world and to our nature. It carries us to predictions we will later marvel at. "Somehow I knew," we will say about the chance meeting we predicted, or about the unexpected phone call from a distant friend, or the unlikely turnaround in someone’s behavior, or about the violence we steered clear of, or, too often, the violence we elected not to steer clear of. The Gift of Fear offers strategies that help us recognize the signals of intuition--and helps us avoid denial, which is the enemy of safety.

Question: Your latest book, Just 2 Seconds, has been called a "masterpiece" of analysis on the art of preventing assassination. It contains an entire compendium of attacks on protected persons across the globe. What motivated you to put together such a definitive reference? What tenets can be applied to one’s everyday life?

Gavin de Becker: Most of all, we wrote the book we needed. My co-authors and I had long looked for an extensive collection of attack summaries from which important new insights could be harvested. Unable to find it, we committed to do the work ourselves, eventually collecting more than 1400 cases to analyze. Many new insights and concepts emerged from the study, and the one most applicable to day to day life, even for people who are not living with unusual risks, is to be in the present; pre-sent, as it were. Now is the only time anything ever happens--now is where the action is. All focus on anything outside the Now (the past, memory, the future, fantasy) detracts focus from what’s actually happening in your environment. Human being have the capacity to look right at something and not see it, and in studying such a crisp event--the few seconds during which assassinations have occurred--Just 2 Seconds aims to enhance the reader’s ability to see the value of the present moment.

(Photo © Avery Helm)

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Customer Reviews

Who knew - Jay - Arizona
I had to read this book for a class. I was amazed.

Excellent points that were easy to understand and relate to.

Highly recommend reading this book.

A MUST READ - M. King -
This book is so full of insight. When you read each chapter you can't help but reflect back on people you've met that "gave you the creeps" or situations that made you uncomfortable and how you did or did not follow your instincts. I passed this straight on to my mother. A must read for women.

a must read for females-be aware of your inner voice and trust it. - pascagoula -
It is a hard read, the book arrived in mint condition. It is a must read for women

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 02, 2010 22:26:43

Great Price for $2.00

2010-08-01T07:45:00.001-07:00

Speed Dating (Harlequin Nascar) Review

I really enjoyed this book. I am getting married this summer and I have had a lot of emotions go through my head. I really empathized with the main character. Its just what I needed to read.

Speed Dating (Harlequin Nascar) Overview

Dylan Hargreave thinks I'm an actress paid to pose as his girlfriend at a North Carolina society wedding. How did this happen to me, of all people? Kendall Clarke, award-winning actuary, the veritable shining star of number crunchers who, just hours ago, learned her responsible fiancé (sorry, ex-fiancé) called off our wedding because he'd gotten one of my colleagues pregnant. What are the odds?

Don't tell me you've never heard of Dylan Hargreave. Celebrity NASCAR driver? People magazine's Sexiest Man of the Year? Those eyes. That smile…

Forget sensible! I've assessed the risk…and I'm taking it! I usually keep the brakes on, but as of now I'm taking a vacation. From me.

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Customer Reviews

Not at all bad - Rosekeet - CA, USA
Downloaded this as a kindle freebie, which was the ONLY reason I downloaded it. I've always been highly amused by the fact that harlequin has a nascar line, so I thought, what the hell? It wasn't bad at all. Good enough to keep me interested, and I didn't feel like i'd wasted my time. The hero was a nice guy. The heroine was a little annoying, with all her self-esteem issues, but she gets over it pretty well.

It was VERY tame. Like PG rated. They have sex, but I don't think the word was ever used in the book. The heroine remembers them being "intimate." The scene that alludes to this was so vague I didn't realize what had happened. Kendall refers to being intimate, and I was like "wait, when did THAT happen?" I prefer my romances a little steamier.

That said, if you're bored, cheap, own a kindle and like romances, by all means read this book.

Interesting look into the world of Nascar - Cara -
It was an easy and enjoyable read. A bit far-fetched, but then again, a story about a serious actuary tumble into the fast, glitzy world of a Nascar race driver had to be out of this world.

Some parts and phrases were repetitive but overall, the pace was good and the build up of closeness between the two protagonists were quite believable.

OK read - O. SALIU - United Kingdom
Overall the story was good and I liked the fact that it was not sexually explicit in anyway. I did think some elements of the prose where just 'fillers' and where not needed to complete the story and more could have been done with some of the other characters. In terms of the 'chemistry', for me it seemed very one sided and not reciprocated in anyway and the end felt somewhat rushed and was a bit naff to be honest in a bid to compensate. Overall an OK if not mind blowing read.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 01, 2010 22:03:03

Great Price for $7.47

2010-07-30T00:45:00.001-07:00

The Secret Life of Bees Review

It's 1964 and Lily Owen is almost fourteen years old. She lives on a South Carolina peach farm with her violent and abusive father, who punishes her horribly if he thinks she's been bad, which is often. If she tries, she can kind of remember that horrible day ten years earlier when her mother died. Her mother had been putting clothes in a suitcase, her father had been there, their had been a gun, it had gone off.

Lily has a few of her mother's things buried in a box in the orchard, so her father can't find them, a pair of her mother's gloves and a picture of a wooden black Madonna, a black Virgin Mary, with the words "Tiburon, S.C." written on the back. Sometimes she digs up the box and contemplates her treasures.

Her only friend is Rosaleen, a black lady who used to work in the orchard, but who had been called to the house to take care of Lily after her mother had passed away. Rosaleen is a proud woman and Lily has bonded with her, so when on the fourth of July Rosaleen decides to exercise her new right and register to vote, Lily accompanies her to town. However, on the way they meet three harassing racists and Rosaleen, who doesn't suffer insults easily, pours snuff juice on their shoes. The racist bullies attack her and, as it was in the South back then, it is Rosaleen who is arrested.

Then Lily has an epiphany-like moment and decides she has to help Rosaleen escape from jail and she has to escape from her horrible father as well. She believes they have to go to Tiburon, the place written on the back of her mother's photo of the black Madonna. So she liberates Rosaleen from the hospital, where she was being held, and they go there, where they meet three black beekeeping sisters, May, June and August, who make and sell Black Madonna honey. The calendar sisters take them in.

The beekeeping sisters practice a unique kind of faith centered around the Virgin Mary that might seem odd to many church going folk, but Lily grows spiritually with the Daughters of Mary, who offer her so much, that she finally learns how to love.

This wonderful story is a sentimental coming of age novel set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in the 60s. But it's more than just that, "The Secret Life of Bees," is a book you can take to your heart. It's a story you'll never forget and it has a few little lessons in it that are good for us all.

The Secret Life of Bees Feature

ISBN13: 9780143114550
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Secret Life of Bees Overview

Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

The Secret Life of Bees Specifications

In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their South Carolina peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. These consoling fantasies are her heart's answer to the family story that as a child, in unclear circumstances, Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother. All Lily has left of Deborah is a strange image of a Black Madonna, with the words "Tiburon, South Carolina" scrawled on the back. The search for a mother, and the need to mother oneself, are crucial elements in this well-written coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. When Lily's beloved nanny, Rosaleen, manages to insult a group of angry white men on her way to register to vote and has to skip town, Lily takes the opportunity to go with her, fleeing to the only place she can think of--Tiburon, South Carolina--determined to find out more about her dead mother. Although the plot threads are too neatly trimmed, The Secret Life of Bees is a carefully crafted novel with an inspired depiction of character. The legend of the Black Madonna and the brave, kind, peculiar women who perpetuate Lily's story dominate the second half of the book, placing Kidd's debut novel squarely in the honored tradition of the Southern Gothic. --Regina Marler

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Customer Reviews

Loved this book! Could not put it down! - Kate - USA
The only reason I started reading this book was because it was a new addition to my school's summer reading list. My 8th graders now have the option of reading it, and I so naturally I had to read it myself.
I was immediately hooked right from the first chapter. Lily caught my attention and the burden she carried with her for 10 years (killing her mother by accident as a child) was something I had never read about before. As a fan of Mammy in "Gone with the Wind" and the characters of Aibileen and Minny in "The Help", naturally Rosaleen caught my interest as well, but it was August Boatwright that REALLY ended up being the character I got hooked on. Her character is so wise and gentle. Even when Lily is raging and grieving, August is understanding, and knows exactly what to say and do to help heal a shattered human soul. Her love saves Lily.
This is a wonderful story about women -- mothers, daughters, sisters, and even the ultimate mother, the Virgin Mary. It is a story about race, and the south in 1964. It's also a story about spirituality. Everything meshes together beautifully and I hope my students choose to read this marvelously written novel. I absolutely could not put it down.

Heartwarming Read - Donna Clemens - Scranton, PA USA
I saw the movie version of this several months ago, and felt underwhelmed, which was odd, considering I was a fan of most of the actresses in it. The book, however, blew me away. I felt the characters were much better developed and the descriptions that were needed were left out of the film. This, however, is not a book to movie comparison, so I'll get on with the review.

Lily Owens, although a good character, seemed whiny a lot of the time. She complained constantly when things didn't go a certain way. I know her mother died when she was young, and she is still grieving after her death as we often do when a loved one dies, but get a freaking grip.

The side characters, however, greatly made up for the lack of a great protaganist. Rosaleen Daise was a great 'sidekick' to Lily, or so we thought in the beginning. It turns out that she had more intelligence than was previously explained. We learn that she has her own morals and pride for herself and her heritage, and isn't afraid to speak her mind (that we had always known.) Next comes the three Boatwright sisters: August, June, and May. August is the heart and soul of the novel, while June plays a bit of antagonist (not as much as T-Ray, who will be talked about later.) May has the sweet innocence that Lily fails to come across with, which is surprising, but also not, considering the big age difference. August, the eldest sister, gives off a very motherly vibe, moreso than Rosaleen. June, the middle sister, is very much independent, usually voicing her prejudiced opinion or playing her cello. May, the youngest, is a little looney, as said in the book, and seems to always be at her personal Wailing Wall, where she goes when she's feeling depressed, which is often. (There is a reason for this, which you will find out in the book.)

T-Ray, the 'villain' of the novel, is none other than Lily's father. He blames Lily for the death of his wife, Deborah, and therefore holds a grudge with her. He's racist, sexist, rude, and just downright evil. He makes Lily kneel down on grits for hours, and taunts her almost daily for shooting her mother. He also denies giving out information on her mother when Lily bravely asks.

I thought the ending was appropriately, but it also kind of ended abruptly.
Still, I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Summer Reading - Renee B. Adams -
Son needed this book for summer reading for Honors English. Found it easily. Shipment very quick. Pleased.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 30, 2010 15:02:37

Check Out I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (movie tie-in): with 16 page photo insert for $8.90

2010-07-27T22:53:00.001-07:00

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (movie tie-in): with 16 page photo insert Review

I really hate to have to give this book a five star review, but I enjoyed it so much that I have no choice. I picked this up on a whim at an airport bookstore because I had nothing else to keep me occupied. I took a chance on it and I'm glad I did. I swear I thought the pilot of the airplane was going to have divert the flight and make an emergency landing I was laughing so hard. BUT, there is absolutely NO chance that the author's stories are factual, but I wasn't there so I suppose anything is possible. Most of it is really far-fetched, but I laughed my ass off throughout. I've given this book as a gift to numerous friends and they've all loved it.

What the author doesn't include in his book is how many times he got his a** kicked througout college. Maybe that will be the sequel?

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (movie tie-in): with 16 page photo insert Overview

My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole. I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead. But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way: I share my adventures with the world. —from the Introduction Actual reader feedback:

"I am completely baffled as to how you can congratulate yourself for being a womanizer and a raging drunk, or think anyone cares about an idiot like you. Do you really think that exploiting the insecurities of others while getting wasted is a legitimate thing to offer?"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you—for sharing with us your wonderful tales of drunken revelry, for teaching me what it means to be a man, for just existing so I know that there is another option; I too can say ‘screw the system’ and be myself and have fun. My life truly began when I finished reading your stories. Now, when faced with a quandary about what course of action I should take, I just ask myself, ‘What Would Tucker Do?’—and I do it, and I am a better man for it."

"I find it truly appalling that there are people in the world like you. You are a disgusting, vile, repulsive, repugnant, foul creature. Because of you, I don’t believe in God anymore. No just God would allow someone like you to exist."

"I’ll stay with God as my lord, but you are my savior. I just finished reading your brilliant stories, and I laughed so hard I almost vomited. I want to bring that kind of joy to people. You’re an artist of the highest order and a true humanitarian to boot. I'm in both shock and awe at how much I want to be you."

"You are the coolest person I can even imagine existing. If you slept with my girlfriend, it'd make me love her more."

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Customer Reviews

Read the first couple stories then don't bother - S. Mac -
I agree with the previous post by D. Muron. The first story had me laughing and crying. The second and third stories had me giggling and laughing as well. Then I lost interest in the frat-like stories. It almost became sad and pathetic. I didn't finish the book. I'm always up for a good laugh, and I think this book is definitely a "rental" aka read a few stories and then get rid of it.

IHTSBIH - J-fo -
great book, funny to read, arrived in a timely manner and was in great shape!

Funny - Jason Kidd -
I don't feel like taking the time to write a complete review, but this book is funny and witty... however, it's also disturbing that people like this exist. Anytime you have to make a conscious decision and the Angel and Devil side of you have to duke it out.. well Tucker Max is literally the Devil.. Luckily this Damian incarnate shares his stories to the world so we don't have to suffer through the shame of some his decisions.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 28, 2010 13:10:07

Great Price for $4.62

2010-07-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander) Review

Another lengthy installment by Gabaldon! While I enjoyed this book I didn't think it near up to standard as a few of her past books. The plot was there, the characters also, but some of it rang as somewhat unbelievable to me. I do give her great praise for her title though. "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" just sounds very poetic.

To recap (and possibly a spoiler for those who haven't read the series), Claire, a nurse, had traveled back in time from the 1940's to Scotland in the 1700's. There she meets Jamie and through a series of misadventure, becomes married and then falls in love with him. Pregnant with his child, she comes back to the future when a war approaches that she believes kills Jamie. 20 years later she finds that he lives and returns to the past to find him. Together they head to America where they are joined by their daughter and her betrothed. They have to cope with all the impending dangers of the War for Independence and their own problems as well.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes has many things that happen in it. So much that I can't go into near the detail the book deserves without writing a book myself. Suffice to say that there is numerous kidnappings, rape, pregnancies and the betrayal of Claire by someone she holds very dear. In addition to this, a bit of background and some action is done by Jamie in preparation for the upcoming war. There are some light hearted moments however. Bree develops several "new" inventions to make life easier, they celebrate with friends, and in general stay alive in harsh times.

My complaints on this book being unbelievable at times are just a few. One is the subject of rape. It seems that Gabaldon can't just leave her characters alone in this regard and nearly every character has experienced it now. I know times were rough but I have trouble believing that almost every woman had been raped in those days. Another would be some of Bree's inventions. While she is a smart resourceful person who studied to be an engineer, its seems strange that she should know how to create so many things. The only explanation I have is she looked up how to do these things before traveling back in time, but no mention of that course of action was ever in the books.

Gabladon's writing style is very descriptive. It is usually clear and easy to follow, however, I noticed with this novel that there were some parts that confused me. We'd be at one scene and then all of a sudden the next chapter its weeks? months? later and we are in the middle of some action without knowing how we got there. Eventually further on it would explain what was going on, but it was disorienting at first. The book is mostly from Claire's point of view but it does have some scenes in the third person when she is not present.

Overall I did enjoy this book. It wasn't as good as some of the others but still held my attention overall. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes
Copyright 2005
980 pages

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander) Overview

Eagerly anticipated by her legions of fans, this sixth novel in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling Outlander saga is a masterpiece of historical fiction from one of the most popular authors of our time.

Since the initial publication of Outlander fifteen years ago, Diana Gabaldon’s New York Times bestselling saga has won the hearts of readers the world over — and sold more than twelve million books. Now, A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire.

The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.

With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence — with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews

Another Great Book in The Outlander Series!! - Sondra M. Nunemaker - Elkhart, IN USA
This is yet another great novel in Gabaldon's Outlander series! She never fails to surprise you when you least expect it! Jamie and Claire continue their lives in pre-revolution America. Gabaldon has something for everyone in these books-romance, history, science fiction, drama, and humor! Can't wait to start An Echo in the Bone!

Are You Kidding Me? - A Reader - USA
The Frasers' collective inability to vanquish an enemy like the pirate Stephen Bonnet--a drunken criminal with impulse-control problems and middling-to-weak intelligence--went from being odd, to exasperating, to unintentionally comical. If you're going to have your whole group of protagonists individually and collectively menaced over and over by an arch-enemy for the space of three REALLY LONG novels... he should at least be someone WORTH fearing for that long and HARD to defeat in any less time. In this case, it was simply the Fraser's ineptitude and incompetence that ensured this tedious, mediocre villain kept returning again and again. And again.

And speaking of how unable to take care fo themselves the Frasers are... Good grief, how many more times can the members of this family manage to get themselves kidnapped? By now, they have collectively been abducted more times than most modern families go on vacation! It has ceased to be an exciting plot device and by now strongly suggests that they're all just unusually foolish and careless people.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Scot - California
This is the further adventures of Jamie and Claire and their families. Diana Gabaldon's attention to the details of life in Colonial America is amazing. The story unfolds just like watching a movie.

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Check Out Redeeming Love for $12.34

2010-07-25T17:46:00.001-07:00

Redeeming Love Review

Based on the story of Hosea, this is the woeful song of a beautiful child who became the victim of unspeakable abuse. The child grows into a beautiful woman who has no concept of freedom, independence or normalcy. It's also the story of a man with deep faith and seemingly unlimited love who's willing to follow God's will through rejection and pain. The tale itself was extremely satisfying but I took away something more...something special in the "prayer box" and I will keep that idea and use it always. This one is a keeper.

Redeeming Love Overview

Can God’s Love Save Anyone?

Best-selling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel’s life to draw her into the Savior’s redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold over a million copies globally and has been a fixture on the CBA bestsellers list for nearly a decade. A six-part reading guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this best-selling novel.

Story Behind the Book

“Writing Redeeming Love was a form of worship for me. Through it, I was able to thank God for loving me even when I was defiant, rebellious, contemptuous of what I thought being a Christian meant, and afraid to give my heart away. I had wanted to be my own god and have control of my life the way Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Now I know to be loved by Christ is the ultimate joy and fulfillment. Everything in Redeeming Love was a gift from the Lord: plot, characters, theme. None of it is mine to claim.”

Redeeming Love Specifications

In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God's unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this "soiled dove," he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best. --Cindy Crosby

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Customer Reviews

favorite book - Karalynn -
This is my all time favorite book. I read it once every year and God teaches me something new every time. Whatever kind of relationship you are in at the time you can learn so much from the bad and good relationships Angel finds herself in.

Why Did I Wait So Long To Read This? - Lara C. Kelso - St. Louis, MO
Once I started reading this book I could not put it down! It truly is one of the best books that I have read in a very long time.

WORTH IT! - Harriet -
What an awesome story line and cast of characters! I didn't want this book to end... I cried, I laughed, I understood and I related! Thank you Francine for bringing God's love to life through your brilliant writing and understanding of a true and real journey with Christ and those we love!! Favorite book ever!

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Check Out The War of the Worlds (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) for $0.01

2010-07-19T20:46:00.001-07:00

The War of the Worlds (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) Review

Unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the planet Mars is aging and nearing its exhaustion. The Martians, not even perceiving humans to be anything other than animals, decide that it is time to seize this lush, young planet. Landing in several locations in southeastern England they begin their conquest of the planet. Can man, with his most advanced technology hope to stop the Martians with their much more advanced technology?

You've seen the 1953 movie, War of the Worlds, and want to read it in book form? Well, then don't look here. Herbert George Wells wrote this book in 1898, a mere one year after The Invisible Man, and two years after The Island of Doctor Moreau. The moviemakers of the 1950s made a wonderful movie, but one that, alas, bears very little resemblance to the original!

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. It is a gripping story that masterfully combines horror and suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat until the final page.

The War of the Worlds (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) Overview

(Abridged). When four Martian space ships land in England, masses of people flee the cities, driven by an overwhelming fear of the alien creatures and their devastating weapons of death and destruction. Excellently adapted by Bob Blaisdell for youngsters, this easy-to-read version of the 19th-century science-fiction classic is enhanced with 6 original illustrations by John Green.

The War of the Worlds (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) Specifications

This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."

Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled. --Craig E. Engler

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Customer Reviews

the most amazing illustrations in my head - -
my mind went wild when i read this masterpiece. my imagination went wild with visions that could never be showed on television. none of the movies could ever do right by the book. a great staple for all aspiring high school and college writers.

Exciting beginning, then endless tedium. - Alan Edwards -
Funny, I remember reading and liking this as a young kid. I reviewed it then as a book report for school. But now I'm 46 and have read many well-structured books and watched many good movies and I want to "correct" the work I did in my youth. So here is my new "book report" for Mrs. Spratling's class:

The first quarter of the book was very interesting and exciting. The story progressed as the main character discovered more and more shocking things about the aliens and what they were capable of. I found myself wanting to know what happens next.

But I couldn't stand the book from then on. The problem was simply that the story wasn't moving along after the first quarter. It was simply details (excruciatingly drawn out details) that can be summed up in one sentence: "Then Martians proceeded to exterminate and drive out the people of London." There were no new discoveries and no character development.

After the interesting developments of the first part of the book, I did eagerly follow the character in his exodus--and the details were interesting. But it started feeling like an endless string of details. Nothing new was happening except the Martians started using a new weapon, the "black smoke". And that new development didn't really change the story at all, they were just using a different weapon to drive out the Londoners. A new character was introduced, the main character's brother, but he was just a pawn without depth of character--a tool to show the exodus from another location. I found myself caring less and less.

Geography was another problem for me. I don't think I was part of the intended audience of the book. Being an American, I know nothing about the geography of the suburbs and towns around London; but the author seems to assume that I do. After a while, the endless string of town names just wash over me and I get lost over what I assume was meant to show the advancement of the Martians.

I finally had to stop at about the two-thirds point as I found my self skimming and not caring about all that details because the story wasn't moving forward, and neither was the character development. Fortunately, I know the ending already and can easily put this one down.

Although I was hoping to finally get there, I wasn't really looking forward to the ending. I am a fan of science fiction, and I know that "deus ex machina" is an often used plot-ending tool. On occasion, it can be interesting to have the resolution jump out at you like that--especially in short stories that you haven't invested too much of yourself in. But most of the time I think it is lazy writing. To me, it is much more interesting to follow along with the main characters as they work toward the resolution, than to have the resolution come out of nowhere, having nothing to do with the progression of the story.

I think this book would have been much better had it been a lot shorter. The author should have used the litmus test that movie makers use now: if it's redundant, not moving the story along, or developing the characters, cut it out!

Maybe storytelling has changed after 112 years and I am expecting something different because I am conditioned to expect it. But I just couldn't get into it.

Good Quick Read of the Classic - Sean Knowes - Durham, NC
This must have made people back in the 19th century squeamish. Well written, moves right along. After seeing the recent W of the W movie, bought this classic book.

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Check Out Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable for $5.48

2010-07-18T05:28:00.001-07:00

Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable Review

Alison DiLaurentis, 13, was a bright leader of a girls' clique. The members of said clique were more like satellites than actual friends as Alison's approval tended to give her peers a social leg up. These girls bandy designer names about at the drop of a hat. Alison has been discovered murdered some 4 years after the summer she completed 7th grade in Rosewood Day, a private school on Philadephia's Main Line.

Spencer Hastings, along with the other satellites discovers she has good reason to want to dim the sun around which she revolves. In this installment, readers learn that she has had a history of blackouts. She also has a habit of sputtering. Her older sister, Melissa, favored to the point of excess and indulgence treats her like dog droppings. To make matters worse, the Hastings have ostracized Spencer in the past for bird-dogging Melissa's boyfriends. Spencer literally has to pay admission into the family. One price she pays is to plagiarize Melissa's economics paper, which is nominated for a Golden Orhid Award. Many is the time she wants to come clean and when she tells the Hastings what she has done, they insist she go along with the ceremony and possible award to make their family name look good.

Aria Montgomery had been having an affair with her English teacher, Ezra Fitz. Her theme song is Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher." Back in town after a 3-year stay in Iceland, Aria reluctantly re-enters Rosewood Day School and the consequences of her father's infidelity. Aria's mother ousts her from the house upon learning Aria knew about the affair even before the family left for Iceland. Aria moves in with her father and the girlfriend in question. She has a habit of reaching into her yak-fur bag, a security blanket she brought back from Iceland. Her 2-years younger brother Mike straddles the post on where he stands and who he is aligned with in the family.

Emily Fields, a reknowned swimmer has finally become open about her sexual orientation. She is back with her partner, Maya, who is now living in the DeLaurentis house. Her irate parents ship her off to her unloving aunt and uncle in Iowa. The Weavers suffer from such a paucity of love that they don't even inform Emily she has an infant and two toddler cousins, ages 2 and 4. These three little girls are staying with their grandmother. This is never explained. Once in the Weaver house, Emily's "uber conservative, uber chaste and proper" cousin Abby, 16 insists Emily sneak out with her and her 17-year-old twin brothers to a dance with other kids. Liquor is served and it is there Emily meets a potential girlfriend named Trista.

Upon returning to the Weaver home, Emily's emotionally bankrupt aunt and uncle blame her for corrupting Abby and the twins. Emily explains that Abby took HER out and that other than Abby and the twins and their toddler sisters, she doesn't even KNOW anybody in the area! Resolute, her emotionally bankrupt aunt and uncle tell her they will leave her at the airport, but they won't pay for her passage home. Emily wisely sneaks out and hops a Greyhound out of town. You have to cheer at her departure.

Hanna, the former fat girl now femme fatale has been lying in a coma after being struck by an SUV. While recovering, she tries to figure out what happened prior to being struck. Lucas, a kind boy who has stood by her and helped her when she needed it the most remains at her side.

Someone else is at Hanna's side too and that someone else may mean her grave harm. Whoever it is has been hounding and stalking the girls and sending them messages outlining the darkest moments of their lives. The mysterious shadow figure is only identified as A, which makes the girls wonder if somehow Alison can contact them from beyond her grave. Each one of the girls has been targeted for some kind of danger! Hanna clings to life in the hospital after she is run over by an SUV. Her brush with death is the most extreme the girls have encountered to date.

Masks play an important part in this story. Hanna wears one over her battered face; people who appear to be friends wear masks concealing their true motives and the girls think they have unmasked "A" at last! Have they? Or is A still in a mask, moving behind shadows? Keep reading. This series gets more and more spellbinding with each installment!

Pretty Little Liars #4: Unbelievable Overview

Four pretty little liars' charmed lives have turned into living nightmares.

Emily's been shipped off to Iowa to live with her überconservative cousins. Aria's boyfriend is behind bars—because of her. Spencer's afraid she was involved in Ali's murder. But Hanna's fate is far worse: She's clinging to life in the hospital because she knew too much.

If these girls don't start listening to me, Hanna's going to look like the lucky one.

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Customer Reviews

Finally, some answers! - Mint910 - USA
**Spoilers from previous books*

Finally, some damn answers! Not all of them of course because there are 4 more books in the series but enough to briefly satisfy. I love how in Unbelievable Emily is shipping off to live with relatives (because her family is basically appalled by her, nice ones they are). I wondered how that would work, how she could still be part of the story but she really still was. I think in the previous book and a bit in this one, the "Rosewood Stalker" is mentioned a lot and then fizzles out, I wish that plotline would have turned into something more. In the end it just got roped into something else.

The aftermath of Hanna's hit and run leaves her with some gaps in her memory. That plotline in Perfect was INSANE! I was freaking out when I was reading it. Along with Perfect, this book really ramps up the plot, you know you are so close to answers you just have to keep going and going!

A few red herrings were in place to help the revelation of A (yes we finally get to find out!) more surprising. But honestly my suspicions about who A was from earlier in the book were proven right so for me nothing too shocking, but I was glad to finally know and know WHY!

So while this book wraps up one mystery it leaves open another and there is far far more to come!

Not the end. - Reacher Creature - Rochester
Ah, yes. Another fine installment to this great series. We finally get to find out who A really, is and it was a complete surprise. I didn't know who A was, but I did figure out how A knew everything about the 4 girls.

This book picks up after A runs over Hanna with her car and is in the hospital. A is still pulling strings that make the 4 grirls jump. That being said, A offers one of the girls a choice: Help A, and they both can be A, or die. The choice is there.

Emily-Her parents don't like the choice with her sexuality, and ships her off to her aunt's and uncle's to live. While she's there, she does something, and when she moves back home, it come to bit her in the butt and could cause even more problems. Out of all the girls, Emily is my favorite.

Hanna- She has to deal with being hit by a car, and has a memory loss of all of it. She knew who A was, and for that, A ran her over with a car. When she's getting better, her once friend, then ex friend, Mona, is helping her. Hanna doesn't remember what Mona did to her. Lucas is trying to help Hanna, but soon Mona convinces Hanna to dump Lucas as a friend, because, Lucas isn't cool enough. Hanna is my second favorite, but she makes choices, and I feel that she has to live with those choices.

Spencer- She's up for a writing award for an essay she's written, but the only problem is that she didn't write it. She has to come to terms with that. Also, we get to know a little more about her past. We learn that she has memory gaps, She is still having problems with Melissa, her sister. They try to work things out, but is it to late for them? Spencer is one of my least favorites. She tends to make poor choices, then whines about them. She's made her bed, and now she has to lay in it. All of her problems she brought on herself.

Aria - She has to come to terms with her dad's affair and his love love. Her mom kicks her out of the house for something she does. Her mom and brother find out that she knew about her dad's affair and didn't tell them, so that doesn't maker her popular with them. Aria has to come to terms with the affair that she had with a teacher, and how it affects her new boyfriend. Aria is another character that I really don't like. She made a lot of poor choices and then wants people to feel sorry for her. Like Spence, she made her bed, now she has to take a big ole nap in it.

What I like about this series is that we don't know everything at once. We get small pieces here and there, then the small pieces make a big picture. We find out some things about Allie and her secrets that she was hiding. We also get some information on "The Jenna Thing" way back in the start of the series. Again, we see how Allie wasn't such a nice friend, and how she controlled everyone around her and how she used them.

There are a lot of things I left out, because I don't want to spoil anything.

Even though we find out who A is, and what happens to A, but the end of the book, we have a new A in town. I can't wait to see how the series plays out.

If you start the series, I can promise you'll be hooked.

WOW...... - SuzieQ -
This book was amazing. Sara shepard definitely knows how to keep you in suspense. I am so glad that there are four more books after this one. I can't get enough of this series. The ending was unexpected. Even with A being revealed, you still can't help but wonder who else may be involved. There are also many more secrets to be revealed. The characters also start dusting off memories that they have tried so hard to forget. They then start realizing that these memories are all part of A bigger puzzle. I highly recommend reading this book if you are into suspense. You might want to have book five on hand to get started immediately after you finish this book. I have been plowing through these books. I can't put them down.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 18, 2010 19:44:42

Great Price for $4.29

2010-07-17T03:00:00.001-07:00

No Mercy Review

It's far from a literary masterpiece, but it's a darn good read -- grabs you on page 1 and propels you through it. It reminds me of "First Blood" which did much the same.

The book is a fine escape, fun, fast-paced, and suspenseful. Liked the first half better than the last half, but the first half was more than sufficient to provide enough forward momentum to finish up.

Those who want a similar reading experience in a better-written book might well try or revisit Huckleberry Finn. All that they have in common is a good start and a reading adventure. But, the pleasures are remarkably similar -- which is, I know, an assertion that may generate either bemusement or scorn. So be it. I stand behind the assertion nevertheless.

Not every book has to be great literature, but there is no reason not to enjoy both. A double header or "No Mercy" and "Huckleberry Finn" might be an eye-opening experience for those who prefer to read just for pleasure.

No Mercy Overview

No names. No Feds. No trace evidence. That's how Jonathan Grave operates. As a freelance specialist in covert rescues, he has to work outside the law to get things done - especially in highly sensitive hostage situations. But when an Indiana college student is abducted, and Jonathan's meticulous plan explodes into a deadly shooting spree, the local authorities are out for blood - and they're not alone. Someone wants to control a devastating secret...Someone rich and powerful...Someone willing to capture, torture, an kill anyone to get it. Even the people Jonathan loves most...

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Customer Reviews

Rockin' pace - George Angus - Palmer, Alaska
I liked this one quite a bit. Good action, great story line. It was a pleasure to read. More typos than I would have liked and that surprised me a bit but overall I'm happy I Kindled the thing.

Be prepared for a few graphic violence scenes though none were gratuitous.

Get this one.

No Mercy - Lisa - Lebanon, OR United States
This was my first experience with John Gilstrap. He is a great writer. Although there were some editing errors, It did not take away from this book. The story line was great. Lots of twists and turns. I had a hard time putting it down! I look forward to reading more from John.

Great Read - Mickey Middaugh -
I am far from what you would call a reader. I just never can seem to find a book that I can read from cover to cover. However, this one was great! I highly recommend it and am looking forward to the next book in this series.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 17, 2010 17:16:59

Great Price for $4.95

2010-07-14T22:33:00.001-07:00

Life of Pi Review

Absolutely fantastic book! Captivating, hilarious in places, profoundly provocative. I really appreciated how the story, in many ways, ends up being about the act and process of writing itself.

Life of Pi Overview

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

Life of Pi Specifications

Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion."

An award winner in Canada, Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons

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Customer Reviews

Good, but not praisworthy. - Annie Kate Gervais - Houston, TX USA
Life of Pi is good, there is no debating that. I began this book and thought I would love it. During Part One, Pi Patel is a character describing his life. I enjoyed it. Thinking Part Two would be the same, I eagerly awaited what Martel had in store for us next. However, I thought the story began to drag. It was almost two hundred pages with next to no dialogue. You are placed in Pi's head, having him narrate the story as he experienced it. It was hard to push through those two hundred pages. It got old after a while.
Currently a high school junior, I got to the end of this book with one thought. Huh? I found it confusing. I am not sure if that is because I do not understand the deeper significance, but I found it hard to comprehend. I am unsure of all the praise this book has gotten, because I don't understand what people found so great about it. I thought it was good, but not praiseworthy. Although I enjoyed the ending, I thought it was very anti-climactic. It was a good book and the writing was very good, but it was just not the book for me.

Pointless - Jiang Xueqin - Toronto, Canada
You have to be really interested in zoos or really want to force yourself to believe in the literary judgement of the Man Booker Prize committee to like "Life of Pi."

The best part of the book is its prologue, where the author writes with sparkling prose a purely fictitious introduction to how he came to write the book "Life of Pi." From then on, while the prose stays clear and sometimes poignant, the story descends into absurdity. Absurdity is often amusing ("Family Guy" and "Fight Club" are both good examples), but it's not so amusing in "Life of Pi."

Praise be to God - make it end! - B. C. Guest - Chicago, IL
Like many, I found the beginning of the book to be engaging. A very good look at various religions, differences therein and how to tackle rejection of the various ideas. It is also a fascinating bit of delivery for animal behavior and information. This is where it falls apart.

You are vaguely aware that there is metaphor throughout but the story bogs down in massive detail for a story that matters very little in the end. Unfortunately you need to decide in the end if the desire was a religious introspection or animals as a metaphor for life.

Sadly the narrative at the end drops into simplistic sentence structure that kills any interest you may have had left.

When it is all done they wrap it up and let you know that events occurred and there are no concrete answers. Maybe that is what you are supposed to take from the whole experience. Mostly, I just pray to God I never have to read this again.

alozam - Raymond Mazola -
i love my kindle all most as much as this book.mr martel put on quite a show with this one .i read it and read it again.outstanding.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 15, 2010 12:49:53

Check Out The Elegance of the Hedgehog for $6.00

2010-07-12T19:11:00.001-07:00

The Elegance of the Hedgehog Review

I was excited to read Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog ever since I first read about it. For some reason that excitement did not translate into immediately putting it on hold at the library. But it got there eventually, and I loved it.

We are treated to the journals of Renée and Paloma. They both live in the same high-end apartment building in Paris. On the surface, this appears to be their only similarity. Renée is the lowly, 50-something concierge of the building. And Paloma is the 12-year-old daughter of well-to-do tenants. But neither of them is at all what she seems. There is nothing lowly about this concierge's tastes. And that rich kid has a bit of a dark side. And the eerie similarity of their philosophies transcends all of their outward differences.

The building where most of the novel takes place hosts an interesting cast of characters, and we get to read all about their ridiculousness. But what I really love are all of the rants about philosophy/art/literature/culture/life. I'm a fan of blatant philosophical discussions. I laughed and nodded in vigorous agreement when Renée complains about the philosopher Husserl. At her first encounter, she was dumb-founded by phenomenology. After she went through all the trouble of figuring it out, she discovers that it really wasn't worth the effort. I had the exact same experience when I took a class on phenomenology and hermeneutics.

I also found myself really caring about these characters. If I say more, I'm going to spoil it. I want to own a copy of this book.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog Overview

The enthralling international bestseller.

We are in the center of Paris, in an elegant apartment building inhabited by bourgeois families. RenÃ©e, the concierge, is witness to the lavish but vacuous lives of her numerous employers. Outwardly she conforms to every stereotype of the concierge: fat, cantankerous, addicted to television. Yet, unbeknownst to her employers, RenÃ©e is a cultured autodidact who adores art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture. With humor and intelligence she scrutinizes the lives of the buildingÂ’s tenants, who for their part are barely aware of her existence.

Then thereÂ’s Paloma, a twelve-year-old genius. She is the daughter of a tedious parliamentarian, a talented and startlingly lucid child who has decided to end her life on the sixteenth of June, her thirteenth birthday. Until then she will continue behaving as everyone expects her to behave: a mediocre pre-teen high on adolescent subculture, a good but not an outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter.

Paloma and RenÃ©e hide both their true talents and their finest qualities from a world they suspect cannot or will not appreciate them. They discover their kindred souls when a wealthy Japanese man named Ozu arrives in the building. Only he is able to gain PalomaÂ’s trust and to see through RenÃ©eÂ’s timeworn disguise to the secret that haunts her. This is a moving, funny, triumphant novel that exalts the quiet victories of the inconspicuous among us.

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Customer Reviews

A Slow Creeper full of Wisdom and Joy, I think... - Ian M. Acheson - Sydney, Australia
This isn't a novel I would typically read, but it was rated highly by someone I admire so I thought I'd give it a crack. Muriel Barbery is French and the novel was written in French, translated into English. It is set in a Paris block of expensive apartments and explores the lives of two residents; Renee, the fifty something widower of a concierge (the "Hedgehog" in the title) and Paloma, a twelve-year-old girl, who lives with her parents and older sister.

Look, I struggled with it and there were many times I contemplated putting it down. There is very little action whilst we listen to Renee and Paloma's observations of their respective lives. Both are great watchers of people: Renee, in particular, in her role of concierge, watches all the goings-on of the various residents and is frankly quite condescending and ungracious in her thoughts on most.

There is much philosophical posturing that is sometimes tiresome and the subtle satire actually reminded me of Jane Austen. Austen's strong female characters are also great observers of people and life, and often use acerbic wit to comment on the foibles of those they observe.

The story comes alive and, in my opinion develops a soul, when a new tenant takes up residence in a recently vacated apartment: a wealthy Japanese man, Mr Kakuro Ozu. He, like Renee and Paloma, is an observer and an outsider, a misfit. But in making connection with both ladies creates a bond that restores life to all three. It's a wonderful example of how powerful love and friendship are: they reinvigorate and in Paloma's case, changes her from living in her self-proclaimed death row, to choosing life.

I am glad I read it, principally for it's wonderful language and metaphors, (for example, I will always think differently about "camellias on the moss") but also it reminded me of the person who recommended it to me. They possess elements of all three of the key characters being tremendously elegant in their manner and style. I wonder if she thinks of herself as a hedgehog, not altogether fitting in, whilst possessing a wonderful alacrity of mind, soul and spirit.

The movie is out shortly and I'd love to see how it is brought to the screen.

Fun and intelligent - P. B. McCaffery - Notre Dame, IN
Barbery asks the right sort of questions and is both intelligent and ironic. I find most people who oppose The Elegance of the Hedgehog have either too serious or too superficial a view of life. Reading Barbery is like opening a window--refreshing. I didn't always agree with her conclusions, but she addresses the right ideas. I don't understand why people accuse Barbery of pretentiousness. Clearly she is intelligent (she need not try and be), but she is writing Renee's and Paloma's memoirs, not her own. The novel is one about two persons who are trying to fathom beauty but cannot; yet owing to the fact that they try, they prove to themselves (and their readers) that they appreciate art and beauty in a way many do not. Like so many who revere what they consider the sacred, both characters fall victim to the conviction that they have some special insight into it. This is a story about two such individuals who learn really how small they are in comparison to what is beautiful. In every way they are eclipsed by it, and are never more real to the reader than when this happens.

Stick with it - Isabella -
Had I not felt obliged to finish this for Book Club I would have quit reading
by page 100.

When the new character appeared he became an important part of the story and my whole feeling was different. It then became a lovely read with some very thought- provoking values.

If you're a Francophile you might not be happy. The book seemed to poke fun at the French culture and its unspoken caste system.
If you're stuck in your own self-perception this might be inspiring.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 13, 2010 09:27:39

Check Out Into the Wild for $7.50

2010-07-11T00:50:00.001-07:00

Into the Wild Review

A fascinating psychological portrait of solo wanderer Chris McCandless who died alone in Alaska in 1992. The author draws parallels between Chris's exploits and his own odyssey: climbing the Devil's Claw in Alaska--solo, after 3 nearly life-ending attempts. The account notes the conflict that sometimes occurs between fathers and sons, the derring-do of specific young men such as John Muir who shared characteristics with Chris; and in particular, connects McCandless to these threads. Time and perspective change continually in the tale which covers a period of about 4 years. Krakauer skillfully weaves in McCandless's journal notes, the underlinings in his books, and the letters he wrote friends he made on the road.
Krakauer wrote several articles for various outdoor magazines soon after McCandless's body was found in the Alaskan wilderness. Most interpreted the death as the result of poor planning and McCandless's having made key miscalculations. Later, Krakauer adopted a more sympathetic interpretation. McCandless had already demonstrated his ability to live off the land for extended periods of time.
I was struck by the tragic character of this story. Chris had adopted the name Alexander Supertramp when he began his travels shortly after graduating from Emory University. He left his parents without a word of his plans; he disappeared without leaving a trace. He wrote a check to Oxfam for the remainder of his education trust fund (a cool 24K) and adopted the life of a wanderer deeply critical of the system. Although they hired a private investigator, Walt and Billy McCandless were never able to locate their son. Krakauer believes Chris had learned some ugly family secrets a year or so before his graduation and was never able to forgive his father. The irony of the book is that a secret so ugly his parents never told it, is now available to the public in a book that was apparently written with the cooperation of the McCandlesses.

Into the Wild Overview

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given ,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter....

Into the Wild Specifications

"God, he was a smart kid..." So why did Christopher McCandless trade a bright future--a college education, material comfort, uncommon ability and charm--for death by starvation in an abandoned bus in the woods of Alaska? This is the question that Jon Krakauer's book tries to answer. While it doesn't—cannot—answer the question with certainty, Into the Wild does shed considerable light along the way. Not only about McCandless's "Alaskan odyssey," but also the forces that drive people to drop out of society and test themselves in other ways. Krakauer quotes Wallace Stegner's writing on a young man who similarly disappeared in the Utah desert in the 1930s: "At 18, in a dream, he saw himself ... wandering through the romantic waste places of the world. No man with any of the juices of boyhood in him has forgotten those dreams." Into the Wild shows that McCandless, while extreme, was hardly unique; the author makes the hermit into one of us, something McCandless himself could never pull off. By book's end, McCandless isn't merely a newspaper clipping, but a sympathetic, oddly magnetic personality. Whether he was "a courageous idealist, or a reckless idiot," you won't soon forget Christopher McCandless.

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Customer Reviews

Excellent service and great shape. - holly hurst - MIDLAND, OH, US
The movie was excellent and made me want to read the book to find out more details on Chris Macandless's journey and some of his entries in his journal. I am loveing the book because the author presents information about Chris and others who are inspired to minimalize thier existance and live more naturally without labeling or creating a martar of the person. Love all the facts and insight from other individuals in past who have a similar story.
Author does a great job getting his opinion across without trying to sway the reader to think one way or another. Thought the book might be to dark and sad because of excerpts from Chris and others personal Journals but it was not and was very interesting and made me want to know more of why and what was the emotion behind many of the decisions Chris had made. Excellent read and better than the movie!!

Gripping narrative of adventure and life, yet preachy in the end - dsdem -
Into The Wild is a gripping story about a man who shucks off modern convenience, money, family, and other relationships to commune with nature and its awesome power. Chris McCandless's journey ends with his death, which we are told about on the first page, yet the author infuses suspense, tension, and adventure throughout the story. The book is not a detailed account of a vagabond's life. It is more an examination of the soul, a glimpse into the spirit of wanderlust. Krakauer uses stories of discovery, of pain, and loss of other historical adventurers, to illustrate the deep draw that the mystery and majesty of the wild can have. He shares a personal near-death experience of mountaineering in Alaska that is visceral and terrifying. We get an idea of who Chris McCandless was, through short journal entries and rememberances of friends and family. Krakauer has crafted a special and haunting story of a young wanderer's fascinating yet short life. Despite this praise, there is one drawback. In the Author's Note, Krakauer invites the reader to form his or her own opinion of McCandless. Yet, the last two chapters stand as a campaign, by Krakauer, to paint McCandless as a hero, a romantic martyr of freewill and a superior spiritual being whose fate resulted from bad luck. This work would have been more effective had the merits of self-imposed exile and abandoment been left to the reader, some of whom might find the true joys of daily life far away from the remote backcountry.

A haunting tragedy - Daniel Estes - Kansas City, USA
It's too easy and lazy to label Chris McCandless as an ignorant young man who should have known better. His motivations were much more complex than that of youthful idealist, and don't forget that we wouldn't be reading the same story had he not made one or two mistakes right at the end which took his life.

I believe this story gets under our skin, or in my case kept me awake at nights, because many of us recognize a little bit of Chris in ourselves. To come of age trying to make sense of this contradictory world; to question why some people choose to live the way they do in obvious quiet desperation.

Furthermore, if you were moved by this book, then I definitely recommend the film of the same name. Some of the best cinematography I've ever seen!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 11, 2010 15:06:03

Check Out Messages: Signs, Visits, and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11 for $12.47

2010-07-10T00:15:00.001-07:00

Messages: Signs, Visits, and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11 Review

I recently purchased this book and finished it within 4 days. I had great difficulty putting it down and now almost wished I had read it slower. I have had an interest in wanting to know how anyone who lost a loved one in the 911 tragedy was doing. While the bible states not to contact anyone who has passed on, I don't know that I would personally seek out anyone who can make contact with a loved one who has passed on. By the same token if a person has come back in spirit form to let those still living know they are ok, who am I to doubt anyone who has had this experience? I felt comforted after reading the book in terms of not being afraid of death. It is comforting to know that the living relatives of those lost in 911 have picked up their lives and continued on living. I was especially interested in the Mass. family (McCourt) and recall seeing the pictures of the wife and 4 year old daughter who lost their lives shortly after 911 occurred. I hope that the writer was comforted by the stories that were shared with her by other victims families. I hope she might consider talking to other families (of lost loved ones from 911) and follow up with a book to this one. This book is not sad or depressing, but rather offers up hope and the possibility of one day seeing our loved ones who have gone over to the other side. I highly recommend this book.

Messages: Signs, Visits, and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11 Overview

When Bonnie McEneaney's husband, Eamon, died in the attacks on the World Trade Center, she thought she had lost him forever. And then something unexpected happened that would shake her to the core and reassure her that her husband was still with her. As Bonnie reveals in this groundbreaking book, she began to have experiences that convinced her that her husband, in spirit, was sending her signs, indeed messages, that he was still present and watching over his family.

A mother and former business executive, Bonnie was always the rational one, and quite skeptical of the spiritual world and all that it represents, but after talking to a number of other families and friends of loved ones lost on 9/11, she realized she was not alone.

Numerous others connected to the tragedy—from financial executives to stay-at-home moms—described their own experiences: premonitions, signs, dreams, visitations, and communications through mediums and psychics. Bonnie began recording their compelling stories in a groundbreaking four-year-long project, illuminating the power of love and the unbreakable bond love creates.

Now, in Messages, she shares these miraculous spiritual stories while weaving in her own heartfelt message of comfort and hope for all those who are searching for their own deeper connections, proving that love and relationships can continue after death.

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Customer Reviews

About 50 Pages Too Long..... - Eulogia - Cape Coral, FL USA
The first two-thirds of this book discusses the various experiences some survivors have shared after losing loved ones in the tragedy of 9/11. The premonitions, visitations, and signs were compelling and kept me fully engaged. Where the author floundered was toward the latter part of the book. Less solid evidence and examples were offered as "proof" of the "messages". While detailing some of the visits with mediums, I was surprised at the number of times a survivor actually provided information to the mediums, thus leaving me in absolute doubt of the validity of the readings. It seemed the bereaved grasped at any remote similarity between their loved ones and the vague connections some of the mediums provided. The apparent innocuousness of these readings was in direct contrast to the more believable stories in early chapters. In her effort to be convincing, the author stretched the bounds of reality way too thin.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with the loss of someone. I'm sure it is comforting to read these stories.

A good and enlightening read, but... - CS Pond - New England
I was touched by this book and read it in almost one sitting. However, I think it could have used better editing. Much of what was written in the last few chapters was redundant and not as convincing. What is much more compelling are the testimonies on actual visitations from loved ones after their tragic deaths. The psychic babble and coincidental occurrences (eg. change everywhere) were not as convincing or even interesting.

Also, as a liberal Christian I found that there were too many testimonies from Catholics and not enough, if any, from Jews or any other religious background (or atheists). It makes one wonder, as with the Rite of Exorcism, etc. in the Catholic church: are those who are practicing and devout Catholics more prone to visits and spiritual experiences from the light or the dark side because of the trappings and rituals of their faith?

I'm not a skeptic and have had many supernatural experiences of my own, especially in the natural world and in regards to strange clock activity. Also, I know of people who have experienced strange butterfly occurrences as were written about here. There is no doubt, as the Transcendentalists believed in the 19th century, that the natural (and supernatural) worlds have much to teach us.

I believe that this book would be of great comfort to survivors from 9-11, or any other unexpected tragedy, and also to those who have lost loved ones and friends without the ability to say goodbye. In that it has likely succeeded. However, for greater depth and further illumination on life after death, I highly recommend the writings of Elisabeth Kübler Ross and Raymond Moody.

Comfort for those left behind - Carole J. Cox - West Virginia
When I saw this book, I thought "Oh, no, another book taking advantage of lonely people". The fact that it focused on the 911 tragedy and the experience of those left behind drove me to give it a chance and I'm glad I did.

Perhaps this is not a book for everyone but I really think the true, individual stories of the families left behind will give great comfort to those who are grieving from the loss of a loved on.

Each chapter is another experience of premonition, life after death experiences of guardian angel, the author has interviewed many of the families and tastefully documented their experience.

I hope this author goes on to select other disasters or at a minimum chronicles othr random life after death or paranormal experiences. It is the most credible work of this type I have seen

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 10, 2010 14:31:14

Great Price for

2010-07-08T08:14:00.001-07:00

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Review

While I agree with Penny that this book is very creepy, I have to disagree about the rest. This book does describe the Scarecrow as a fool, but this is only to highlight that he is not. Every plan that they use to survive on their journey is devised by the Scarecrow. Throughout the book, he continues to be thw wisest of the four. It's one of the things that love about th book, the fact that in it, the Scarecrow is wiser, the Tin Woodsman is braver, andthe Lion is far more courageous than their movie counterparts.

Example: When the Woodsman weeps and rusts, Baum makes a point of the fact that Dorothy and the Lion are confused, whereas the Scarecrow just reaches for the oil can and solves the problem. These characteristics of the characters are still present in the book, even moreso than the movie, they are just more subtly done.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Overview

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

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Customer Reviews

Somewhat like the movie until the end - J. Olson -
I was expecting this book to be like the movie. I know it's difficult to include everything written into a movie. I was not expecting the end. For the 4 of them to go searching for Glenda the Good Witch to send Dorothy home was a real suprise. I wasn't disappointed at all. Just surprised.

the wizard of oz...classic

reviewer: $+@(3y - -
the wizard of oz is my favorire childhood movie. i still love it til this day. i tried readimg the book when i was younger and just never finished. altho the book is way different thna the movie... i think i would of enjoyed it more written like the movie. over all still a greta story every child should read or see.

Still a great children's book - D. Mckinzie - Atoka, OK
This book, which was old when I was a child, is still a great children's book. In some ways, I like it better than the famous movie made from it and starring Judy Garland. The movie was great, but time constraints caused them to leave out quite a lot. As a child, I whiled away many an hour reading this particular book. Still, if your child is an indifferent reader, you might have to think about it, since it's not written in today's style.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 08, 2010 22:30:28

Great Price for $15.15

2010-07-07T07:26:00.001-07:00

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains Review

This is an extension of Carr's influential article "Is Google making us stupid?", and is in many ways a fascinating look at the possibility that the medium of the internet changes our ability to process information deeply. Carr is at his absolute best when he brings up the issue, pointing out what is at stake and drawing our intuitions out.

Word for word, this is not as interesting or well-written as his original article. In many places it tends to be stretched a bit thin -- which seems odd for a book on this topic. For example, since he is essentially expanding on an originally limited argument, he feels obliged to include a lot of well-worn history to expand the scope of media. We really don't need to know about Sumerian cuneiform or wax tablets or Greek philosophers (beyond the very obvious point that there is a history of media) for the argument he's making, since they don't fundamentally affect his argument.

Another weak point about the book is the writing on the brain and neuroplasticity. Since Carr is not a scientist himself, he doesn't have the background to write about this in a really authoritative way. What he has done is to work mainly off secondary (and tertiary) sources; basically taking for granted what other people have said. This shows through in a few areas where he relies too heavily on books such as Doidge's "The Brain that Changes Itself", already a pretty diluted look at neuroscience written by a psychoanalyst. If you want to know how reading and writing have changed the organization of the brain, there is a much better book out there called "Reading and the Brain" by Stanislas Dehaene. (a little digression here -- reading/writing have changed our perceptual mechanisms in the brain, while the internet is probably changing something like attentional control and executive function, so there are some important caveats to the phrase that "the medium is the message")

However, the chapter on memory was excellent, and brought me back into his argument. He makes the very important point (and one that won't be as obvious to most readers) that memory doesn't function like a hard drive; that instead it forms a central part of the way that we think. So there is a fundamental error in trying to "offload" our memory onto the web -- by not internalizing information, and instead thinking that we can just look at it later -- and one that we are probably not aware of.

Overall, I can't help but thinking that, despite his argument, it's a better world with the internet. Carr points out that the strategy that he used in writing the book was to rely on the best of both systems -- the fast internet for preliminary thinking and gathering sources, and quiet contemplation away from the internet to gather his thoughts and write the book. To have that option is something that is useful to be aware of.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains Feature

ISBN13: 9780393072228
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains Overview

The best-selling author of The Big Switch returns with an explosive look at technology’s effect on the mind.“Is Google making us stupid?” When Nicholas Carr posed that question, in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?

Now, Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. As he describes how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by “tools of the mind”—from the alphabet to maps, to the printing press, the clock, and the computer—Carr interweaves a fascinating account of recent discoveries in neuroscience by such pioneers as Michael Merzenich and Eric Kandel. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store, and share information can literally reroute our neural pathways.

Building on the insights of thinkers from Plato to McLuhan, Carr makes a convincing case that every information technology carries an intellectual ethic—a set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge and intelligence. He explains how the printed book served to focus our attention, promoting deep and creative thought. In stark contrast, the Internet encourages the rapid, distracted sampling of small bits of information from many sources. Its ethic is that of the industrialist, an ethic of speed and efficiency, of optimized production and consumption—and now the Net is remaking us in its own image. We are becoming ever more adept at scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection.

Part intellectual history, part popular science, and part cultural criticism, The Shallows sparkles with memorable vignettes—Friedrich Nietzsche wrestling with a typewriter, Sigmund Freud dissecting the brains of sea creatures, Nathaniel Hawthorne contemplating the thunderous approach of a steam locomotive—even as it plumbs profound questions about the state of our modern psyche. This is a book that will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.

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Customer Reviews

Missed Opportunity - Serious Fun - New York, NY
The Shallows is an expansion of Carr's 2007 article in The Atlantic, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The question with a book of this derivation is always: does it achieve more than the article did, or is it just a puffed up excuse to gain from the notoriety of the original piece, now freely available on the Internet? To that question, I answer that it is indeed more than the original piece. It provides much greater depth of detail for the brain science research that centrally informs the book, and he also expands on the nature and history of deep reading, in a way that I (someone who is doing research in this field) think is quite deft and responsible. In a sense, the earlier magazine article was really a book masquerading as a magazine article, whereas these days most books are magazine articles masquerading as books.

That said, The Shallows is somewhat less than the original Atlantic article in that Carr, as he approaches the end, falls into the most predictable sort of romantic nostalgia. We're becoming machines. The machines are taking our souls away. The Internet is compromising our integrity as humans. Machines are colonizing our minds. Soon they will be more interesting than we are, just like Hal in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I've heard this all before! Certainly, a man as clever and as hard-working as Nicholas Carr could have thought a little harder.

(An aside: Perhaps he's proving his point that we've already lost our ability to think deeply. Or perhaps he's DISproving his point that going to country--Carr had to "get away from it all" to write this book--helps us to be contemplative whereas cities only distract us.)

We need people who care about the things books have done for us and continue to do for us who can *also* think beyond the nineteenth century. We can't leave this to the machine people. So, I end up in the middle on this book: 3 stars. The first 80% is good but it fails to deliver a "where we go from here..." Let the good parts inspire the rest of us to take up where Carr has left off.

teh internet is great - abettertomorrow -
i mean wtf, how culd u say something like this? teh internet is a wonderful tecnological advancement and it has connected every1 and made stuff easier. for instence u dont have to go out 2 shop nemore, u could do it from home. plus other stuff 2, like finding out info about stuff. any1 who says the internet makes us dumb is a moron and doesnt like tecnology. i mean, be4, u had 2 go to teh movies and sit for like 2 hours watching a movie but with utube u culd watch a 2-min movie and be just as entertained. and u had 2 go 2 the library and read books i mean, wtf? wikipedia is soooo much easier! neway this books suuuuuucks.

One of the most thought provoking books I've read - A. Dolan - Malden, MA USA
From the ancient Greek fears of what writing would do to mankind, to the 1600s complaint about too many books, to the present day distractions of the Internet, Carr pulled together a tapestry of how our mind works, and how it has changed over time (as well as how it changes day to day). I found myself pausing, or even stopping, many times to reflect on the personal impact of what he was describing. (I read books - and I spend a lot of work time and personal time on the Internet) Thankfully, this was not a rant for or against - rather it was an invitation to do the kind of deep reading he sees going the way of the dodo bird. I regret that I read a library book, and not a personal copy that I could have marked up.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 07, 2010 21:42:20

Great Price for $6.65

2010-07-03T11:40:00.001-07:00

Dead as a Doornail (Original MM Art): A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) Review

Now, how many different things can happen in one novel. Sookie, waitress at a bar, is a telepath, whose life used to be bedeviled by her hearing people's thoughts. Once she entered into the world of supernaturals--vampires, weres, shape-shifters, fairies--she came to use her power as a tool. This volume, # 5 in the series, sees her facing many challenges.

First, several would-be or past boyfriends are showing their interest in her, including ex-lovers Bill (a vampire) and Eric (another vampire--and a boss) and bar owner Sam and one-time pretend boyfriend Alcide. Second, someone is shooting shapeshifters and weres--including one person actually killed. Third, someone is out to get Sookie, half burning her home to the ground (she would have perished in the flames but for some luck). Then, she gets shot (because she heard someone's unusual thoughts, she ducked in time to take the bullet in her shoulder rather than someplace where the wound would have been mortal. Fourth, there is a challenge for packmaster, with Alcide's father competing against someone who turns out to be a cheater. The winner becomes packmaster. And the loser? Well, losing carries a high price here. Fifth, two detectives are investigating the death of Alcide's old girlfriend (whom Sookie happened to kill with a shotgun as the other woman tried to shoot her).

Sookie is an attractive and sympathetic character. The vampires and other supernatural creatures are portrayed in a manner that is oddly effective, although certainly not realistic. The plots of these books tend to be somewhat incredible, with many different strands playing out. But the ensemble of characters works pretty well together and the books are quick reads.

Dead as a Doornail (Original MM Art): A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) Feature

ISBN13: 9780441019359
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Dead as a Doornail (Original MM Art): A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) Overview

When Sookie's brother Jason's eyes start to change, she knows he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population-and Jason's new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks, unless the killer decides to find her first.

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Customer Reviews

Might Be a Transitional Sookie Book? - Rebekkah - Utah & Hawaii
Although I was pretty attached to the Bill & Sookie storyline early on, which had me ticked off when the stories progressed into different avenues and creatures, I can now see how the arc of the story might be coming together. In fact, I've begun to feel like I'm watching an episode of an exciting new show with each book, and each book gets me closer to the finale. I hope that's the case, and that I like the finale!

The writing in book five is catchy, and keeps you moving right along. Some of the day to day details of cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and personal hygiene can throw me off from the action, as they pop up and slow the story down, but I've come to expect these scenes and see them as some sort of reminder that Sookie really is a human being living her life. I'm not a huge fan of werewolves (nope, not even in that sparkly vampire series), so it didn't change much here. This installment really does center on Alcide and his clan, and while we do see Eric, Bill, and a few other well-known characters, it really is pretty much about the changes in clan dynamics going on for Alcide and his family.

I have to say that I do really enjoy reading the Sookie Stackhouse books. There is one part of me that gets frustrated by the "hot" female that every male notices and wants to protect (even though she plays off the victim, "freak who can read minds" card), but really I'm one tough broad act. It seems like such a cliche, and a bad one at that. I can't say that Sookie plays it off any better than any other lead female pitted against crazy males, but I do like her sass. Yes, the vixen damsel in distress annoys me, but I don't know how I would fix it if I were Charlaine Harris. In the end, Sookie really does need protection from some of these crazy characters, and in some sick way, you hope it's one of the hottie males you like at the moment. Sad, but true. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and can see that it might be a pretty pivotal story in moving us along to other books down the road.

Next please - Mercedes - Colorado, USA
It's been some time since I read the last Sookie book so when I started this one I had to remember what happened in the last book. After finishing this book, I know I liked the last one much better. Someone is shooting weres and shifters and has shot Sookie as well. During this book it seems like Sookie is spending the entire time avoiding men who want her. Like another reviewer this felt tedious and got a bit boring. Also, Eric is much more the likable vampire than Bill, I feel. Bill and Sookie just aren't what they were when this series started. Bill is just a thorn in the side now. This wasn't a great book, nor a bad book. I won't read it again as nothing really did happen in this book towards the series.

WONDERFUL!! - Heather L. Thomas -
The onset of this series in my life has been fantastic! In the past month I have read all ten of the Sookie Stackhouse series, and I do not regret one minute of it. All of these books bring intrigue, suspense, and drama into the reader's imagination. I am on the very last few pages of "Dead in the Family", and I am going to cry when it is over. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good series.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 04, 2010 01:55:34

Great Price for $7.42

2010-07-01T11:09:00.001-07:00

The Lovely Bones Review

I had heard the great review for this book but had also heard the poor reviews on the movie, so this was a great way to start reading the book in a neutral state. I've always been intrigued by serial killers (Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and perhaps now Joran van der Sloot), so that part was alternately fascinating and repulsive. The part that surprised me the most was the way I reacted to Susie looking down at everyone from heaven. Having lost my father less than two years ago, I wanted to see what someone who might be in Heaven feels and thinks and experiences -- and that's where the tears came in. As a married mother of two, I completely connected with Mr. and Mrs. Salmon and the way that the grief of losing a child tore the marriage apart. I agree with some of the other reviewers who felt the ending was a bit forced, and the demise of Mr. Harvey was something that left a lot to be deserved in terms of justice. The grandmother was a complete hoot and the school friends added layers and nuances that only added to the story. I wouldn't give the story an A+, but that fact that it was so different in terms of the storytelling angle puts it in at least the "A" range.

The Lovely Bones Feature

ISBN13: 9780316044936
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Lovely Bones Overview

Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. THE LOVELY BONES is such a book -- a #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its artistry, for its luminous clarity of emotion, and for its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, THE LOVELY BONES succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

The major motion picture version of THE LOVELY BONES, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Saoirse Ronan is scheduled for release on December 11, 2009.

The Lovely Bones Specifications

On her way home from school on a snowy December day in 1973, 14-year-old Susie Salmon ("like the fish") is lured into a makeshift underground den in a cornfield and brutally raped and murdered, the latest victim of a serial killer--the man she knew as her neighbor, Mr. Harvey.

Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones, unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue."

The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife. Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Look Inside the Motion Picture The Lovely Bones (Paramount, 2010)
(Click on each image below to see a larger view)

Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon

Mark Wahlberg as Jack Salmon

Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon and Director Peter Jackson

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Customer Reviews

Graceful and well-written fiction - dsdem -
The Lovely Bones is a beautifully written tale of grief, about how one tragedy can both tear apart and reconnect relationships. It is written in a graceful and sensitive sytle. Its tone is aching, sober, and vital. It's not a joyous story, but reading it was, for me, enjoyable. Sebold has a talent for telling a story through viseral feeling and memory, making the reader feel transported, if not to a finely-detail physcial fictional place, than a complex and mystical spiritual realm. Her characters are fragile and real and dynamic. A dark and horrific account of murder, around which this story is built, is hard to read. It's seldom thrilling and ending was not particularly my cup of tea, but I cannot find a reason for a less-than-five-star rating.

LOVELY - NorthShoreCanary - New York
I've owned this book for years but just got around to reading it. I don't believe in heaven, angels, spirits - none of it, but that didn't stop me from loving this book. Sebold creates an other worldly atmosphere that I did not resist because of the strength and beauty of her writing, which somehow avoids being overly sentimental and deals with very ugly subject matter with objective grace. Even the ending that many objected to was for me stunningly, not painfully over the top. Generally I'm ready to move on when a book is over but I did not want The Lovely Bones to end. What to follow it with was the problem. A heartbreaking work of art.

Best Book/Movie Sucks - A. Celayeta - Colorado
Alice Sebold's book Lovely Bones is an amazing book. How they could make such a horrible movie from it, I don't know. I didn't intend to see the movie but a friend wanted to go, she had read the book also. We both agreed that the book had a totally different outlook than the movie. I've read this book twice already and recommend it to everyone I know and many have read it and agree with me. Read it!

a good buy - P. witschi -
Read the book before viewing the movie and was so glad as the movie left a lot of gaps.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 02, 2010 01:25:02

Great Price for $7.97

2010-06-30T09:02:00.001-07:00

Brave New World Review

The dystopian society in Huxley's Brave New World combines the iron-clad totalitarian control of 1984 with the intellectually and emotionally stunted hedonism of Fahrenheit 451 for a uniquely unsettling effect. Set roughly 600 years into the future, Brave New World portrays a world ruled by a single totalitarian government. The society is organized in a strict caste system, with the physically perfect Alpha intellectuals ruling the world at the top and physically and mentally stunted Epsilon menial workers at the bottom. Families have been abolished and reproduction takes place in laboratories. The embryos are manipulated to produce predetermined mental and physical effects, and the resulting children are carefully psychologically conditioned to accept their lot. The story begins with Bernard Marx, an Alpha caste misfit who is wildly torn between his conflicting desires to rebel and to conform. Bernard makes a visit to a Native American reservation where he meets Linda, an English woman who had accidentally been abandoned on the reservation many years before, and her son John. Bernard offers to take them back to England, where John becomes an instant celebrity due to his "savage" ways. At this point the focus shifts to John, who challenges the society with his intense emotions and ideals.

The somewhat abrupt shift away from Bernard and towards John is symptomatic of the simple fact that Huxley is less interested in the characters and the plot than in describing his hypothetical society. Luckily, his vision is disturbing enough to be interesting on its own. In the brave new world consumerism, sociability, sexual promiscuity, and psychotropic drugs are all compulsory. Individuality and emotional passions of any kind are relentlessly squashed. The situation is all the more disturbing in that the control is so insidious that most of the people are simply unable to imagine a different life. BNW is about the limitations we accept because we don't realize that alternatives exist. Like many readers, I first encountered BNW as required reading in high school. One brief scene managed to stick with me in the many years between my readings: it is a scene where a group of low caste babies are given picture books and flowers, then exposed to loud sirens and electroshock to condition them against these undesirable interests. The brutal killing of innocent curiosity and the thought of all joy in books and nature being wiped out in infancy made a powerful impression on me. The descriptions of the intensive conditioning of the children and the adults' total acceptance of the forces that stunted them was and still remains for me one of the most chilling parts of the novel.

There are many criticisms that can be leveled at the novel. For myself, I found Huxley's prose rather uninspiring. More problematic to me was that although Huxley establishes stark contrasts between the "savages" and the "civilized" peoples in the story, neither society is an attractive place to live. John's reservation is cut off from the outside world by an electrified fence, and the people living there have no apparent access to modern science or technologies. Whereas the civilized world is overrun with mechanization and artifice, the reservation is overrun with disease and deprivation. John's society, like the civilized society, has no tolerance for non-conformists, and John's violent reactions to civilized society show his inability to step outside of his own cultural conditioning. The result is a depressing false choice between extremes. To be fair, Huxley himself admitted this weakness. My edition includes a forward where he notes the unrelenting pessimism of these alternatives and regrets that he did not include a third option. For all of its weaknesses, though, BNW remains a strikingly eerie novel, a gross exaggeration of trends that are a little too real to ignore.

Brave New World Feature

ISBN13: 9780060850524
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Brave New World Overview

Aldous Huxley's tour de force, Brave New World is a darkly satiric vision of a "utopian" future—where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying entertainment.

Brave New World Specifications

"Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today--let's hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren't yet to come.

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Customer Reviews

Works brilliantly as both a satire and as a serious futuristic work. - H. Jin - Melbourne, Australia
The thing I love about 'Brave New World' is how well it works both as a joke and as a serious futuristic novel.

At its heart, 'Brave New World' is a straight parody of the World State and utopian dream worlds of H G Wells and the like. Huxley takes the Wellsian Utopia to its most ridiculous extremes: Perfect People living their Perfect Lives in their Perfect World. In doing so, Huxley reveals something that Wells was unable or unwilling to admit: such a world is incredibly boring. He pulls to pieces the fantasy of such a Utopia by noting that, no matter how attractively it is packaged, such a sterile and regulated world is stupefyingly dull, with no free will, imagination, or even thought. This is reinforced most strongly by the character of Lenina, who comes up with a vapid pre-conditioned cliché to fit any situation ("A gramme in time saves nine"...."was and will make me ill"). Even the more melodramatic elements are narrated with a sardonic eye, such as John's beating of Lenina dissolving into a drug-fuelled mass orgy. And although more subtle and oblique than in some of his other books, there are also stabs at typical Huxley targets of ridicule; the British class system, colonialism, Americanisation, and contemporary social values.

Yet in other ways, the book makes some quite accurate predictions about the modern world. Although deliberately exaggerated, everything from test-tube babies to synthetic music was pretty close to the mark, and arrived much sooner than Huxley anticipated. He only had to wait thirty years for the Swinging Sixties to semi-legitimise his world of Free Love and recreational drug use, for example. He also had some distinctive and thoughtful takes on the utopian world. For example, Huxley does not pretend that all men are equal in his Perfect World, but instead hits upon the idea of a "benevolent" caste system, where people are unequal but conditioned to be perfectly satisfied with their lot.

The story itself is also a twist on the usual dystopian plot of the One Good Man in a repressive system. Huxley's utopia is not totalitarian in the conventional sense, and the motivation of Bernard Marx is not to escape persecution but simply to lead a more interesting life. And in the second part of the book, even that is put aside when Bernard thinks he can elbow his way into Society and gain respect and praise from fellow Alphas. John's story is sadder, but even this is less about brutal repression than the fact he simply doesn't fit in. Even the characters' eventual fates aren't regarded as punishment or persecution but as a tolerant accommodation of their "eccentricities".

From all this, it's clear that Huxley regards the biggest threat to society as not a repressive and evil regime, but a vapid and stupefying one, which in many ways gives `Brave New World' a greater relevance than many dystopian books. After all, it's unlikely the democratic world will collapse under totalitarianism....but can we be as confident that it won't collapse under public apathy and disconnection?

In summary, what may have started out as a satire has ended up becoming one of the greatest and most important works of its time, and is still essential reading today. Five stars.

distopia - Jack Merridew - New York City
in the 2 worlds of 1984 and brave new world i find myself liking brave new world much much more. In the two differing views of a disutopian society i find that using drugs and sex to keep the population happy while socially engineering a class system based on genetics is much more believable than using fear and misery.

Where Brave New World really prevails is the way in which are social controls are bred into our children and hailed as advances in the happiness of our people.

Pick it up, read it, love it.

Pleasently Surprised - Andrea Schaefer - OSHKOSH, WI, US
I picked this book up at a rummage sale to add to my little library of books. I didn't plan on reading it for quite awhile... until I learned that this book was banned when it was first published in 1932. This is scifi at it's best. There is a lot of scientific information, but not so much that the reader has to re-read every single paragraph to figure things out. There is a very easy to follow story with some great turns, interesting characters, and a picture that is built for the mind to see. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 17 due to the sexual nature of the book, but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a really interesting read.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 30, 2010 23:17:48

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2010-06-28T15:06:00.001-07:00

The Promise: President Obama, Year One Review

If Obama is the "philosopher-ruler" that some have suggested, here is a discussion of Plato's thoughts:
=========================
It is generally believed today that democracy, "government of the people by the people and for the people," is the best and only fully justifiable political system. The distinct features of democracy are freedom and equality. Democracy can be described as the rule of the free people who govern themselves, either directly or though their representatives, in their own interest*** [Yet, Plato] criticizes the direct and unchecked democracy*** Firstly, although freedom is for Plato a true value, democracy involves the danger of excessive freedom, of doing as one likes, which leads to anarchy. Secondly, equality, related to the belief that everyone has the right and equal capacity to rule, brings to politics all kinds of power-seeking individuals, motivated by personal gain rather than public good. Democracy is thus highly corruptible. It opens gates to demagogues, potential dictators, and can thus lead to tyranny. Hence, although it may not be applicable to modern liberal democracies, Plato's main charge against the democracy he knows from the ancient Greek political practice is that it is unstable, leading from anarchy to tyranny, and that it lacks leaders with proper skill and morals. Democracy depends on chance and must be mixed with competent leadership (501b). Without able and virtuous leaders, such as Solon or Pericles, who come and go by chance, it is not a good form of government*** [P]olitics needs expert rulers, and they cannot come to it merely by accident, but must be carefully selected and prepared in the course of extensive training. Making political decisions requires good judgment. Politics needs competence, at least in the form of today's civil servants*** Plato is not politically naive. He does not idealize, but is deeply pessimistic about human beings. Most people, corrupted as they are, are for him fundamentally irrational, driven by their appetites, egoistic passions, and informed by false beliefs. If they choose to be just and obey laws, it is only because they lack the power to act criminally and are afraid of punishment (Republic, 359a). Nevertheless, human beings are not vicious by nature. They are social animals, incapable of living alone (369a-b). Living in communities and exchanging products of their labor is natural for them, so that they have capacities for rationality and goodness. Plato, as later Rousseau, believes that once political society is properly ordered, it can contribute to the restoration of morals. A good political order, good education and upbringing can produce "good natures; and [these] useful natures, who are in turn well educated, grow up even better than their predecessors" (424a). Hence, there are in Plato such elements of the idealistic or liberal world view as the belief in education and progress, and a hope for a better future. The quality of human life can be improved if people learn to be rational and understand that their real interests lie in harmonious cooperation with one another, and not in war or partisan strife. However, unlike Rousseau, Plato does not see the best social and political order in a democratic republic. Opinions overcome truth in everyday life. Peoples' lives and the lives of communities are shaped by the prevailing beliefs *** [Philosopher-rulers] are required to counteract the destabilizing effects of false beliefs on society ***They can neither enjoy private property nor family life. Although they are the rulers, they receive only a modest remuneration from the state, dine in common dining halls, and have wives and children in common. These provisions are necessary, Plato believes, because if the philosopher-rulers were to acquire private land, luxurious homes, and money themselves, they would soon become hostile masters of other citizens*** [; when they] neglect music and physical exercise, and begin to gather wealth *** See [...]

The Promise: President Obama, Year One Feature

ISBN13: 9781439101193
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Promise: President Obama, Year One Overview

Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired the world. But the great promise of “Change We Can Believe In” was immediately tested by the threat of another Great Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrenched and deeply partisan system of business as usual in Washington. Despite all the coverage, the backstory of Obama’s historic first year in office has until now remained a mystery.

In The Promise: President Obama, Year One, Jonathan Alter, one of the country’s most respected journalists and historians, uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first inside look at Obama’s difficult debut.

What happened in 2009 inside the Oval Office? What worked and what failed? What is the president really like on the job and off-hours, using what his best friend called “a Rubik’s Cube in his brain?" These questions are answered here for the first time. We see how a surprisingly cunning Obama took effective charge in Washington several weeks before his election, made trillion-dollar decisions on the stimulus and budget before he was inaugurated, engineered colossally unpopular bailouts of the banking and auto sectors, and escalated a treacherous war not long after settling into office.

The Promise is a fast-paced and incisive narrative of a young risk-taking president carving his own path amid sky-high expectations and surging joblessness. Alter reveals that it was Obama alone—“feeling lucky”—who insisted on pushing major health care reform over the objections of his vice president and top advisors, including his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, who admitted that “I begged him not to do this.”

Alter takes the reader inside the room as Obama prevents a fistfight involving a congressman, coldly reprimands the military brass for insubordination, crashes the key meeting at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, and bounces back after a disastrous Massachusetts election to redeem a promise that had eluded presidents since FDR.

In Alter’s telling, the real Obama is an authentic, demanding, unsentimental, and sometimes overconfident leader. He adapted to the presidency with ease and put more “points on the board” than he is given credit for, but neglected to use his leverage over the banks and failed to connect well with an angry public. We see the famously calm president cursing leaks, playfully trash-talking his advisors, and joking about even the most taboo subjects, still intent on redeeming more of his promise as the problems mount.

This brilliant blend of journalism and history offers the freshest reporting and most acute perspective on the biggest story of our time. It will shape impressions of the Obama presidency and of the man himself for years to come.

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Customer Reviews

Obama's first year helped me appreciate my own life - R. A. Beldin - Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
As an academic and industrial statistician, I have found it difficult to gain proper perspective on my life. Alter's account of Obama's approach to his challenges have helped. I never could compare my life to that of other scientists and teachers, but using the President as a surrogate competitor, I got a glimpse of what makes a Nobel Laureate special, regardless of the discipline. The variety of issues and the President's ability to deal with each are as inspiring as daunting. I could never imagine myself dealing with the breadth of his agenda. I really appreciate the President's strength of intellect and personal character as revealed by Jonathan Alter, whose occasional appearances on MSNBC give me a sense of knowing the author.

very good historic record - W. Richardson - Illinois United States
A bit dry at times but a good history. I did not learn a lot new but it was interesting seeing everything tied together. I don't think the author was as biased as earlier reviews indicate. He does compliment President Obama for his good efforts but also points out where he has fallen short. The radical right just mindlessly criticizes everything that looks good for Obama and the bias comments appear to be just more of that. I sure wish they would use bigger fonts for us older readers though!

Dull..nothing new - Kevin P. Laman -
Dull..nothing new....wait till it appears at the library than pay for it. Not worth the money. I'm surprised
this author did not do a more interesting book.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 29, 2010 05:21:08

Check Out uncharted terriTORI for $10.89

2010-06-27T12:19:00.001-07:00

uncharted terriTORI Review

I'm going to (seemingly) go against most of the other reviews when I write that I enjoyed this book as much as the first two. Of course, the first book was set over a what--20 something year period and the second one was about just being married and then quickly having two kids. I really enjoy her books, as even though she does lead a completely different life than most of us, she works extremely hard and shows that it IS hard as a female to try to have that great balence between work and kids and husband. What you see in public is the perfect persona. What you read is that she is REAL--like us (okay, except that she had Aaron Spelling as a father!) with fears, faults and etc, which she is not afraid to admit or own up to. Family matters (ex-wife and step son), having 2 children and realizing that your life is now theirs)is hard enough. Having your life hung out for all to see, although for the most part, her choice,--this book is a "her side of the story" type of thing. She shows time and time again that she is human-- -for example, I flew for years, loving it, completely unafraid . .and later turned into a fearful flyer. Her description of what happens to her when she flies is perfect, as only another fearful flyer would know! Or when her son hit her, knocking off her hat and glasses . .hysterical to hear as only kids can embarass parents like that! Or when her husband told her that she had changed . .well yes .. after two kids and work and daily life.. it sometimes gets hard, and yes again, it does get in the way of sex at times. Sorry guys! We don't do it on purporse! Way to go Tori! Keep writing . .love you style!

uncharted terriTORI Feature

ISBN13: 9781439187715
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

uncharted terriTORI Overview

Welcome to Los Angeles, birthplace and residence of Tori Spelling.

It’s not every Hollywood starlet whose name greets you on a Virgin Airways flight into la-la land. But Tori Spelling has come to accept that her life is a spectacle. Her name is her brand, and business is booming. Too bad when your job is to be yourself, you can’t exactly take a break.

Tori finally has everything she thought she wanted—a loving family and a successful career—but trying to live a normal life in Hollywood is a little weird. With the irresistible wit, attitude, and humor that fans have come to love, the New York Times bestselling author of sTORI telling and Mommywood is back with more hilarious, heartwarming, and candid stories of juggling work, marriage, motherhood, and reality television cameras.

Tori comes clean about doing her time on jury duty, stalking herself on Twitter, discovering her former 90210 castmates’ "I Hate Tori" club, contracting swine flu, and contacting Farrah Fawcett from the dead. Like many mothers, she struggles to find balance (Stars, they’re just like us!)—only most women don’t have to battle it out with paparazzi at the grocery store. She talks openly about the darker side of life in the spotlight: media scrutiny over her weight and her marriage to Dean McDermott, her controversial relationship with Dean’s ex-wife, and her unfolding reconciliation with her mother.

Having it all isn’t always easy—especially when you’re a perfectionist—but with the help of her unconventional family and friends, an underwear-clad spiritual cleansing or two, and faith in herself, she’s learning to find her happy ending. Because when you’re Tori Spelling, every day brings uncharted terriTORI.***

Just when you thought sTORI time was over, the beloved Hollywood starlet has so much more to say. ***"My life has changed dramatically in the past several years. I married Dean; we moved several times; we had two children; we created a show that has gone into its fifth season on the air. I have love. I have a family. I have a home. I have work. It’s all I ever wished for. But trying to be a perfect wife, mother, and mini-mogul has its challenges, especially if, like me, you want to be perfect at all of them at the same time." —from uncharted terriTORI

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Customer Reviews

not the best... - D. R. MORRIS - Dallas, Texas
I've read her other 2 books. Loved them. This book was not as engaging. The best chapter was the story about her mom. I felt this book was a mere transcropt of her reality show.

Not Tori's best effort - Melissa Niksic - Chicago, IL United States
I love "Beverly Hills, 90210." I like Tori Spelling very much and enjoy her reality show. I also liked her two previous books, but for me, "Uncharted TerriTORI" just does not measure up. First of all, I don't think the book had a real theme like the previous ones did. It's supposed to be about Tori making herself sick by being such a workaholic, but I felt like all the chapters were a bit disjointed. Secondly, I watched Season 5 of "Tori and Dean," and I was disappointed that so many of the events covered on the show were also presented in this book. I already watched the episodes about the family's cross-country road trip and Mama Lola's visit to L.A.; I didn't need to read about them again, especially when the book didn't really offer any new information on these topics. Finally, I just don't think this book was as well-written as Tori's other memoirs. I get the feeling it was put together really quickly...it all felt a little rushed, which may account for some of the problems I've mentioned. I still love you, Tori, but if you choose to publish a fourth book, I hope you put a bit more effort into it.

duped - smokey - florida
I wish she didn't write about things that were already on her show. I feel kinda ripped off.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 28, 2010 02:34:19

Check Out Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition for $14.98

2010-06-24T19:08:00.001-07:00

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition Review

One of my coaching clients directed my attention to Mr. Weissman's book saying, "You could have written this book." He is only right in that the basic ideas of always talking to the audience, starting with their concerns or agenda is the way to go for any interview, email or pitch. I teach executives how to answer all questions with a story; an example with an outcome and to understand the objective of the question and the answer. Now I can direct their attention to "Presenting to Win" to add credibility to my point.

Hurray for Jerry Weissman because his advice is good for sales, internal sell, authors who need to make a pitch and certainly job seekers. Even if you get standing ovations (and job offers), you can still benefit from reading the book because it is an easy to read reminder to include your audience in your presentation.
Rita Ashley, Career and Job Search Coach
Author: Job Search Debugged (PDF download [...]

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition Feature

ISBN13: 9780137144174
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story, Updated and Expanded Edition Overview

Named by FORTUNE Magazine as a "Must-Read"

"Jerry Weissman makes the challenge of producing and delivering effective presentations delightfully simple. Read it and benefit!"

Tim Koogle,Founding CEO, Yahoo!

“A great read for all of us who have ever struggled with any aspect of our public speaking skills. Presenting to Win contains the same timeless techniques that helped me [18] years ago.”

Jeff Raikes, former President, Microsoft Business Division, Microsoft Corporation, and CEO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

“Jerry is The Man when it comes to making great pitches. If your pitch doesn’t get a whole lot better after reading this book, something is wrong with you.”

Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director and Chairman, Garage Technology Ventures, and bestselling author of The Art of the Start

“Presenting to Win is the shortest path to applause for any presenter. It will be your bible for the PowerPoint Age. It’s loaded with easy actions and real examples that really work. I’ve used them. I know.”

Scott Cook, Founder, Intuit

Thirty million presentations will be given today. Millions will fail. Millions more will be received with yawns. A rare few will establish the most profound connection, in which presenter and audience understand each other perfectly…discover common ground… and, together, decide to act.

In this fully updated edition, Jerry Weissman, the world’s #1 presentation consultant, shows how to connect with even the toughest, most high-level audiences...and move them to action! He teaches presenters of all kinds how to dump those PowerPoint templates once and for all and tell compelling stories that focus on what’s in it for the audience.

Weissman’s techniques have proven themselves with billions of dollars on the line. Thousands of his elite clients have already mastered them. Now it’s your turn!

• What you must do to tell your story

Focus before Flow: identifying your real goals and message

• The power of the WIIFY: What’s In It For You

Staying focused on what your audience really wants

• Capture your audience in 90 seconds… and never let go!

Opening Gambits and compelling linkages

• Master the art of online Web conferencing

Connecting with your invisible audience

• From brainstorming through delivery

Crafting the Power Presentation, one step at a time

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

Presenting to Win - Jennifer S. Fowler -
This book was surprisingly engaging and kept me reading, wanting to read further. It gives simple steps for success that can easily be applied to improve ALL communication, not only presentations.

Jennie

Used in adult classroom - Carol Readaway - Florida USA
It was great. I had to call his office and ask something about the hard cover (because I had the soft cover and used it before) and the office was very helpful. The adult audience liked the book. A success. Thanks!

On my "must read" list - System Engineer - Virginia, USA
I work in technical marketing. This book is on my "must read" list, and I have recommended it many times. It is short, easy to ready, to the point, and packed with useful information. Note that for engineers (like me), much of the information at first may seem couter-intuitive; however, after "correcting" and creating several successful presentations based on the precepts of this book, I am a complete fan.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 25, 2010 09:23:12

Check Out The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life for $4.15

2010-06-23T10:28:00.001-07:00

The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life Review

I was starting the South Beach Diet and my friends had the older book. I ordered this book to see what was super charged. The book includes exercise in each phase to enhance the weight loss. The book is step by step. I'm still on phase 1 but am getting ready for phase 2. Several of my friends, after seeing my new book, ordered one. They wanted to be super charged also.

The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life Feature

ISBN13: 9780312372064
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life Overview

Five years ago, with the publication of The South Beach Diet, renowned Miami cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston set out to change the way America eats. Now he has an even more ambitious goal: to change the way America lives by helping Americans become fitter as well as thinner and healthier . . . for life.

In the all-new The South Beach Diet Supercharged, Dr. Agatston shows you how to rev up your metabolism and lose weight faster while following the proven healthy eating principles of the original diet: choose good carbs, good fats, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Collaborating with Dr. Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Miami, Dr. Agatston presents a cutting-edge, three-phase workout that perfectly complements the three phases of the diet itself. Based on the latest exercise science, this ease-into-it fitness program combines low- and high-intensity interval exercise (with a focus on walking) and functional core body-toning exercises. The result: You'll look fitter and you'll burn more fat and calories all day—even at rest.

Also included is the latest nutritional research on how specific foods high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of phytonutrients help keep you healthy; new and expanded lists of Foods to Enjoy; taste-tempting Meal Plans for phases 1 and 2; and dozens of easy-to-prepare new recipes, including Eggs Frijoles, Chock-Full-of-Veggies Chili, Roasted Tomato Soup, Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf, and South Beach Diet Tiramisu. In every chapter you'll find inspiring success stories from real-life South Beach dieters and plenty of effective weight loss tips. And as an added bonus, Dr. Agatston answers the questions you've most often asked him about the diet since the original book was published.

The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life Specifications

Book Description
Five years ago, with the publication of The South Beach Diet, renowned Miami cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston set out to change the way America eats. Now he has an even more ambitious goal: to change the way America lives by helping Americans become fitter as well as thinner and healthier…for life. In the all-new The South Beach Diet Supercharged, Dr. Agatston shows you how to rev up your metabolism and lose weight faster while following the proven healthy eating principles of the original diet: choose good carbs, good fats, lean protein, and low-fat dairy. Collaborating with Dr. Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Miami, Dr. Agatston presents a cutting-edge, three-phase workout that perfectly complements the three phases of the diet itself. Based on the latest exercise science, this ease-into-it fitness program combines low- and high-intensity interval exercise (with a focus on walking) and functional core body-toning exercises. The result: you'll look fitter and you'll burn more fat and calories all day--even at rest. Also included is the latest nutritional research on how specific foods high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of phytonutrients help keep you healthy; new and expanded lists of Foods to Enjoy; taste-tempting Meal Plans for phases 1 and 2; and dozens of easy-to-prepare new recipes, including Eggs Frijoles, Chock-Full-of-Veggies Chili, Roasted Tomato Soup, Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf, and South Beach Diet Tiramisu. In every chapter you'll find inspiring success stories from real-life South Beach dieters and plenty of effective weight loss tips. And as an added bonus, Dr. Agatston answers the questions you've most often asked him about the diet since the original book was published.

Before and After The South Beach Diet Supercharged

After 6 weeks, Allison Brady, age 37, lost 12 pounds and 12 1/4 inches--6 inches in her belly alone! Allison also reduced her blood cholesterol levels by 45 points.
(Photos by Jeffrey Salter for Redux)

Before

After

Dr. Agatston Answers Frequently Asked Questions about South Beach Dieting

I'm doing so well on Phase 1. Why can't I stay on it indefinitely?

There are two types of people on the South Beach Diet: those who cannot wait to start Phase 2 and those who never want to see Phase 1 end.

Why are some people so enamored with Phase 1? The reason is that it's simple and to the point. You don't have to do a lot of thinking about food choices. You're basically eating lean protein, high-fiber legumes, low-fat dairy, good fats (including some nuts), and plenty of vegetables. Those highly processed refined carbs that were your downfall are out of sight and, within a few days, out of mind (at least for most people). You're encouraged to eat until you're full and snack before you get hungry. And every time you step on the scale, you get a big grin on your face because those unwanted pounds and fat are just melting away. So it's not surprising to me that Phase 1 fans often ask, "If I'm doing so well on Phase 1, why do I have to move on to Phase 2?" Phase 1 is not meant to be a long-term eating plan. Its dual goals are to jump-start weight loss for people who have 10 or more pounds to lose (thus providing immediate positive reinforcement) and to control swings in blood sugar and eliminate cravings for sugar and refined starches. Phase 1 can also have a positive effect on sugar in people with pre-diabetes. In just 2 weeks, you should have achieved these two goals and be ready to move on.

Once your sugar and cravings are under control, there's a key reason to go on to Phase 2: we don't want you to miss out on the myriad vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that come from reintroducing whole fruits and whole grains to your diet, not to mention the added fiber. These foods contain thousands of phytochemicals that protect your body against a host of diseases, including heart disease and cancer. If you were to continue indefinitely on Phase 1 and deny yourself these foods, you would not be learning how to make good food choices in the real world. More importantly, you'd be missing out on some of the best medicine nature has to offer.

In addition, if you were to continue with the smaller palette of foods recommended on Phase 1, your diet would get dull over the long haul. And once you're bored, you're much more likely to revert to your old eating habits. For the diet to truly become a lifestyle--one that allows you to sustain weight loss and garner all the related health benefits--there has to be variety and satisfaction in your eating plan. That's another reason why we move you on to Phase 2 so quickly.

Remember, it may take you longer to lose weight by following the three phases of our diet. But the chances of keeping that weight off are far better.

Can I still eat as much protein now that I'm eating more carbohydrates on Phase 2?

As you know, on the South Beach Diet, we don't expect you to count grams of protein or weigh your food on any phase. Now that you're gradually adding satisfying high-fiber whole grains and fruits to your diet on Phase 2, you'll naturally be less hungry, and the amount of lean protein you require to feel full will no doubt be less than you were eating on Phase 1. That said, I encourage you to eat some protein--fish or shellfish, lean beef or pork, white meat chicken or turkey, or soy protein, for example--along with these good carbs at most meals.

Protein helps slow down the digestion of carbohydrates, which means that your body will make less insulin, your sugar swings will be reduced, and you won't crave more food in between meals. I also urge you to eat slowly, savor your food, and really enjoy the variety of foods you'll introduce on Phase 2. If you do this, your focus will no longer be on how much protein you can have because you'll never be hungry. Another tip: Once you're satisfied, push your chair away from the table. It's fine to leave some food on your plate at the end of a meal.

Can I really eat anything I want on Phase 3?

If you're talking about dessert as an occasional treat, of course. On Phase 3, we don't regulate what you can eat. Yes, you can finally have that small bowl of ice cream or a small piece of chocolate cake or the white bagel that you couldn't have before. But you shouldn't do it too often, and you should continue to watch amounts on desserts. Phase 3 isn't about abandoning the good principles of the diet and suddenly resuming your old eating habits. It's about continuing to make smart, healthy food choices--for life. If you follow the principles of the diet most of the time, we expect you to enjoy anything you want now and then.

Six Ways to Succeed on South Beach

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet Cookbook

The South Beach Diet Supercharged Workout DVD

The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook

The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

The South Beach Diet Heart Program

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

"Super" Improved - S. Frazier - Liberty, TX
Very pleased, started on the original book and decided to invest in the new "Super Charged" addition, love it, great recipes and information on how to maximize your workout in less time. If you're serious about weight loss and a life change this is the book for you!

The South Beach Diet Supper Charged - Carole Eberhardt - USA
Book includes too many testimonials and not enough information. The recipes that are included all call for shopping for items that are not in the average pantry.
I did not need a lecture on what's wrong with American's diet I was looking for a list of eat this and don't eat this for a couple of weeks.

Great Shape - Convenience Crazy - South Dakota
This book was in great shape! It arrived quickly and is LOADED with great information

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 24, 2010 00:43:18

Check Out Goodnight Moon for $9.99

2010-06-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

Goodnight Moon Review

A companion to the 'Going to Bed Book' - this is another must have if you have, like me, a child who never wants to go to sleep. I don't think I'm alone there. While the former is great at prepping kids to do the things they need to do before bed, this is great to read to them (or with them as they try to find items throughout the book) as they drift off to sleep. I'm sure if you're reading this you have kids - or are looking for a gift for someone with kids - this is a must have!

Goodnight Moon Feature

ISBN13: 9780060775858
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Goodnight Moon Overview

In a great green room, tucked away in bed, is a little bunny. "Goodnight room, goodnight moon." And to all the familiar things in the softly lit room -- to the picture of the three little bears sitting on chairs, to the clocks and his socks, to themittens and the kittens, toeverything one by one -- the little bunny says goodnight.

In this classic of children's literature, beloved by generations of readers and listeners, the quiet poetry of the words and the gentle, lulling illustrations combine to make a perfect book for the end of the day.

Goodnight Moon Specifications

Perhaps the perfect children's bedtime book, Goodnight Moon is a short poem of goodnight wishes from a young rabbit preparing for--or attempting to postpone--his own slumber. He says goodnight to every object in sight and within earshot, including the "quiet old lady whispering hush." Clement Hurd's illustrations are simple and effective, alternating between small ink drawings and wide, brightly colored views of the little rabbit's room.

Finding all of the items mentioned throughout the book within the pictures is a good bedtime activity--a reappearing little mouse is particularly pesky. By the end of the little rabbit's goodnight poem, the story has quieted to a whisper, and the drawings have darkened with nightfall. As you turn the last page, you can expect a sleepy smile and at least a yawn or two. (Picture book)

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

Family Favorite - W. Abraham - Inland Empire, CA USA
A classic bedtime story loved by my daughters and, now, my granddaughter.
My most recent purchase was a copy for a friend who has trouble falling asleep. :o)

Cute book for night time routine, but NOT great reading... - Jarucia Jaycox Nirula - Seattle, WA, USA
This book was gifted to us and is one of those 'must haves' because just about everyone has it and it's read at just about every baby storytime in the libraries.

That said, it's a cute and easy addition to our infant son's bedtime routine, but I'm not sold on it's early 'literary' value.

A librarian said books like these are useful for early reading skills because of the repetition of a phrase "Goodnight" and the revisiting of all the things in the room.

I trust that.

What I don't like:

~In my version RED words on a dark background.
~Low contrast and cluttered images fill half the book.
~Clocks and socks weren't listed in the beginning (as were nobody, air and noises every where, but those aren't visible anyway), BUT they're given in the back end among the mush and mittens.

I like the idea that this was a children's book before there was much of any child specific literature, but in today's day and age of variety and more developmentally appropriate choices, I don't know that it still holds its outdated value.

Peace in the Night Sky - Shirley A. Renaud - Reinholds. PA
This is a "calm-me-down" book; a "getting ready for sleep" book. I have read this book countless times. Children find the text slow and comforting. They seem to find comfort in the clear,uncluttered illustrations. They have seen the same views from their own windows and seem to find peace as the text is read. There is no exciting story and no tremendous message or lesson, but what there is is a readiness for sleep and the assurance that all is well.

<3 - K. Guillot - Robins AFB, GA USA
Book was in almost perfect condition. It was shipped super fast, and I am extremely pleased with it. My daughter was so excited to get a new book and it will make a wonderful keepsake to pass down to her kids someday. Always a wonderful bedtime story and easy for younger children to further their growing interests in reading.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 22, 2010 07:17:15

Great Price for $14.25

2010-06-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition Review

I read this book several times! I was amazed at how the breathing techniques and muscle relaxation exercises, done several times a day...greatly improved my anxiety issues. Who knew that most of us do not know how to breathe correctly, from the abdomen, and accelerate our anxiety from breathing incorrectly? The explanations as to why we suffer for anxiety and panic attacks, helped to reinforce that there are real reasons why we arrive at this state.Understanding the reasons and help with it vastly improved my daily situation.A must read for those that spend each day worrying about when the next attack may happen....

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition Feature

ISBN13: 9781572244139
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, Fourth Edition Overview

Since its first edition in 1990, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook has sold more than 600,000 copies. Its engaging exercises and worksheets have helped millions of readers make real progress in overcoming problems with anxiety and phobic disorders. The Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health (Norcross, et al., 2003) gave the book its highest rating and praised it as "a highly regarded and widely known resource." Thousands of mental health and medical professionals recommend this book to their clients and patients every year. Simply put, it is the single finest source of self-help information on its topic available anywhere.

The text of this fourth edition has been fully revised and expanded and includes two new chapters: a discussion of physical conditions that can aggravate anxiety and an overview of the use of mindfulness practice in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and some forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. As in previous editions, the book offers the most up-to-date information on medications, natural supplements, and complementary strategies that can alleviate anxiety symptoms. The sections on relaxation, nutrition, and exercise have all been updated and broadened.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook - Joann Petrosky - PA
This book was very helpful; actually suggested by a doctor. He lent us the book, and we thought it was so helpful, we bought a copy. It is easy to understand--divided into different categories of anxiety; the causes of this problem, and helpful, easy to use suggestions to use every day.

Bad mix of psychology and self-help. - Alex569834 - Glen Oaks, NY
I have psychotherapist with whom I explore anxiety issues. I decided to buy this book to fill gap of anxiety books in my collection.
I start reading the book and my anxiety level raise.((( This book is a bad mix of self-help advice and psychology.
I will recommend it to people who are familiar with anxiety or under therapy.

Good book, but took longer than they originally said, to arrive. - Carolyn Wyler - Sacramento, Ca United States
I Love the book, a lot of good information, but if I had known that when they said it would arrive within a certain amount of days, regular shipping, they really meant another week or more later. Very disappointed cause I needed the book sooner than that and could have gotten it for about the same price at a local bookstore and wouldn't have had to pay for shipping costs.

just what the dr. ordered... - roebean - Aurora, IL
My counselor that i'm seeing due to my anxiety recommended this book. I really think its great. This book gives you a lot of tools and detailed explanations on different types of anxieties & phobias. If you can't afford to see a dr. or a counselor get this book, it's just as good! =)

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 20, 2010 22:50:04

Check Out His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage for $9.48

2010-06-19T01:04:00.001-07:00

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage Review

Where to begin? This book helped me know why I was so angry. I am recent empty-nester, and if any of you out there are too then you will understand how much the focuse was on the children. For years all I felt was angry, then it was hatred, angry, and numb. I didn't have time or the inclination to have a conversation about my feelings with my husband, it would just get twisted and turn into a fight. Now, without the focuse being on the children, these feelings became front and for most. And much harder to hide and deny.
After reading the book, I decide to do an experiment. So this weekend I dropped all of my feelings and played like we just started out. I focused on my husbands needs totally (not that I have not in the past). On our way home he made a comment, that normally would have put me into numb mode. Instead, I told him the order of things. His was Sex, food, movie. Mine was Food, sex, and movie. Basically I played the horny sex kitten that day. The sex was the best I had had in a very long time. So when he gave me some of the stuff that I needed (ex: stroking my back, snuggling, soft kisses, ect...) I coached him with wow, that feels great. You want to be carful, unless your ready again. He was like, wow I didn't know that work. I told him that it didn't make me ready to go again just seriously set the mood for it again.
I know this review was a little long and maybe too personal. But, I think this book is a winner and every marriage good or bad would benefit. I also think that it would help if both of you read it. It does not take long, since it is not boring, but informative. I did think that some of the chapters would be hard on the men, but what do I know since I am in a limp-a-long marriage. Maybe I need to be a little harder on the my man and make him back off of me some.

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage Feature

ISBN13: 9780800717889
Condition: USED - LIKE NEW
Notes:
Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage Overview

Marriage works only when each spouse takes the time to consider the other's needs and strives to meet them. In His Needs, Her Needs, Willard Harley identifies the ten most vital needs of men and women and shows husbands and wives how to satisfy those needs in their spouses. He provides guidance for becoming irresistible to your spouse and for loving more creatively and sensitively, thereby eliminating the problems that often lead to extramarital affairs. The revised anniversary edition of His Needs, Her Needs is a celebration of how the book has helped thousands of couples revitalize their marriages during the last fifteen years. This best-seller identifies the causes of marital difficulties and instructs couples on how to prevent them, guiding them to build a relationship that sustains romance and increases intimacy. With today's soaring divorce rate and prevalence of affairs, Harley's insights are needed more than ever before. An unabridged recording of His Needs, Her Needs, the 15th anniversary edition, is now available as an audio book.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

Customer Reviews

His Needs Her Needs, Fuzzy Fur Needs - Novel Stimuli - Raleigh, NC USA
OK, sorry about the title of my review. Every time I hear the title of this book, it reminds me of a line from Dr. Seuss' "The Foot Book." I couldn't resist. And by the way, "The Foot Book" is a better read than this archaic tripe.

The author presents men in a rather unflattering light. I believe a previous male reviewer aptly stated the author characterizes men as a bunch of knuckle draggers. According to the author, they require constant ego reassurance and a perpetually hot wife who is content with cleaning toilets. Oh, and his hot wife had better have his equally hot meals on the table when he gets home after a hard day making exorbitant amounts of money in the salt mine. Otherwise, he's gonna find a hotter babe with better cleaning skills.

Here is an example of his instructions to women. In the chapter regarding how "He needs an attractive spouse," the author recommends wives should pull out their wedding photos to compare their current appearance with that on their wedding day. He says wives should ask themselves...Have you changed? Gained weight? Maybe a diet or plastic surgery is in order. Yes, the author suggests going under the knife in order to maintain whatever your appearance was at age (fill in the blank). Otherwise, your husband is probably going to have an affair, and yes, it will be your own fault.

If it was not such a harmful message to send to wives everywhere, it would be hilarious. Anyone who has been married more than five years is going to change physically. Perhaps the author is unaware of the impact of gravity and giving birth to...um...WHOSE children??? Oh, yeah, right---the HUSBAND'S, presumably. Unless the husband doesn't make much money, in which case all bets on paternity are off.

I cannot imagine why this book is purported to be "Christian." My pastor recommended it during a series of marriage sermons which I find rather disturbing. Like many other Christian pop-psychology books, it will do more harm than good. There is none of the love, grace, compassion, or mercy that should characterize a Christian's approach to any relationship. If a Christian wants to read a book that will benefit his or her marriage, I would suggest...the Bible.

Liked it with some reservations... - P. Wiggins -
While I don't necessarily agree with everything Dr. Harley states in this book, I do think it makes some significant points. Sometimes especially in long term marriages, we do tend to get complacent and forget to try to meet our spouse's needs. He drives this point home in a very oonvincing manner. While I do think Christian marriage is more than this, the practical matter of how we treat our spouse does influence our relationship, I believe.

Good Book! - J. Helman - West Virginia
This book is wonderful...I would definatly reccomend it to EVERY couple to read,especially just starting into marriage! I have been married awhile, & I still learned a lot from it.I gave a copy to a young single friend and to my daughter..Love it!

His Needs Her Needs - J. Radloff - Tampa, FL
This is an excellent book on a much needed subject for couples of all ages!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 19, 2010 15:18:52

Great Price for $12.59

2010-06-17T22:50:00.001-07:00

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition) Review

I can't say enough about this book. I cried, I laughed and became overwhelmed with faith.It is just so real and the way God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are depicted are just how I think of them. This book is perfect for believers and non believers-it will give you inspiration when dealing with the tragedies that life sometimes contains.

Dani C.
[...]

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition) Feature

ISBN13: 9780964729247
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

The Shack (Special Hardcover Edition) Overview

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.
Against his better judgment he arrives as the shack on a wintry afternoon and walk back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.
In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Finding God in The Shack
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore
Finding God in the Shack: Seeking Truth in a Story of Evil and Redemption
Reflections on the Shack (Powder Room) (Powder Room Series)
He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection

Customer Reviews

Interesting and Kept My Attention - Pam in L.C. - Lincoln City, Oregon
My first audio cd book. I like to read so thought this would be a good way to have somebody read to me as I drive. The narrator did a great job and the book itself was easy to imagine as I kept my attention to the road....still I was able to imagine the story as you would when you are reading a book that you can't put down. Great story. Good feeling book.

Entertaining but unsound theology - Russell Spencer - Waterbury, CT. USA
The Shack is extremely well written and a real page turner. This book will not let you go as you are inextricably drawn into the soul of Mack as he experiences God in a way I never conceived of, and for that matter, ever read about in any book purporting to reveal the truths about divine forces at work in our lives. The Shack is captivating in that we learn how God is the quintessential force of love, always eager to help us, guide our decisions and lead us down the path of righteousness.

The reason I gave this book only three stars involves the anti religious attitude of Jesus and the following quotations spoken by Him in the text:

1. "As well intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew people up."
2. "I'm not too hot on religion Jesus said a little sarcastically and not very fond of politics or economics either."
3. "They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about."
4. "What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three?"
5. "Put simply these terrors are tools that many use to prop up their illusions of security and control. People are afraid of uncertainty, afraid of the future. These institutions, these structures and ideologies, are all a vain effort to create some sense of certainty and security where there isn't any."
6. "Systems cannot provide you security, only I can."

Jesus could never utter such words. He founded the church and commissioned the apostles to preach the Gospel, the Good News to all nations. The church was founded as the instrument and institution of salvation for all humankind.
"And so I say to you, you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16, 18-20)

The Shack is all about love and its power to reform and soften the hardest of hearts. Mack was indeed enlightened after experiencing God's love. The "great sadness" associated with the murder of his daughter literally vanished. He became a new man, expressing profound joy to all those he met.
"Beloved let us love one another because love is God; everyone who loves is begotten by God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love." (1John 4, 7-8)
"No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us." (1John 4, 12)

Sacred scripture is public revelation. It consoles, comforts, educates and leads us to God as no other means of written expression can. It also enlightens our minds to the truth. The Shack is a great book to read but it falls short of bringing to us the experience of God in our everyday lives. If you desire the "Real Presence" seek out the church. Go there and praise God in concert with your fellow worshippers. This book is indeed entertaining, but deceptively misleading in its presentation of whom and what God is. Beware of false prophets, especially in this day and age. Read the book for entertainment but do not become entrapped by its belief system.

Very much worth reading. - D. Calvert -
Even if you might have some different theological ideas from the author, this book is still worth reading. Most people don't really understand what true forgiveness is, and what it isn't. This book has the best explanation of what true forgiveness really is. Worth reading for this point alone.

Hokey - Carys -
This is not a literary book. I was looking forward to an enlightenment, something that would usher me further along my spiritual path, but the Shack is merely two people's perception of what is readily available in any Christian bible. I guess this book is for people who need biblical concepts explained to them in an "Alice in Wonderland" format that proposes to be someone's personal "experience." I do not have a problem with the presentation of "God" as an African woman, or with the "trinity for simpletons" approach, but if this guy actually had a child who was killed by a serial killer, who subsequently was captured and tried because he had a dream or a vision of where his child's body was...then who are these people? Why hasn't the case been in media? Most certainly this guy's amazing vision of where the body was would have kept the talk show circuit booked for months. If this guy just made up the killer part of the story to illustrate his own perceptions of Christian spirituality, that's a pretty sick way to make a buck. I just had to trudge through this thing, forcing myself to finish it. The trite dialog and the dumb it down version of how a person of Christian faith should think and feel make this book come off as another hokey money grub by people who went to bible college. At the end of the book, there are even several encouraging suggestions on how you should share this book with friends, family, customers and co-workers, by buying extra copies that you can give as gifts or even sell if you own a convenience store as well as helpful hints about starting a blog or other social networking forums about this ridiculous book. In addition, there are adverts and author recommendations for further reading of other books written by bible school preacher types from the same publisher. I am not even kidding! Sorry Windblown, you got all the money you are going to get out of this reader.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 18, 2010 13:04:10

Check Out Kill&Cure

2010-06-16T12:57:00.001-07:00

Kill&Cure Review

I cannot believe the last two reviewers. How can they be commenting on the formatting when the story is just so 'edge of your seat' reading. I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend it to anybody who wants a fast paced crime novel. I think I must have been reading a different book to the last two reviewers who maybe enjoy writing negative reviews to budding authors. Believe me, it's a great read and very good value for money. I'm looking forward to novel number 2. Bring it on!!!!

Kill&Cure Overview

David Stichell, a London Chiropractor, is an ordinary man plucked from the normality of his existence and thrown into hell. As a helpless witness to the brutal shooting of his fiancee he escapes her killer and alerts the police. They arrive expecting a murder scene but the place is clean and his fiancee has vanished... Kill & Cure is fast, furious and incredibly well plotted..Reading Matters

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Customer Reviews

Really? - L. Wilson -
No comments regarding formatting, I really could care less. And handcuffs on or not, whatever. What I can say is my reaction during and definitely at the end was.... dumb Dumb DUMB!

It's free so download it and read it for yourself, but prepare to be dismayed.

loved it - Nick - Virginia
fast paced interesting plot- yes there are formating problems and the scene with the handcuffs- happens in big blockbuster movies and to "established writer" too- did not bother me, I enjoyed it

Fine read at any price - P. B. Bower - OH, USA
I did enjoy this book. I loved the English idioms - I would much rather have an imunization jab than a shot. It was an easy and fast read. The plot was believable. My only problem was keeping track of the many characters that were introduced in the early pages of the book. I will certailny look for more works by this author. Please, Stephen Davidson, please keep them coming.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 17, 2010 03:11:28

Great Price for $8.99

2010-06-15T09:53:00.001-07:00

The Last Child Review

Last Child is a book that fits a strange new pattern for me in the past year. I accidentally happen across the title, read the blurbs, read the jacket flap and assume that despite the accolades, it is going to be as interesting as watching paint dry.

30 minutes into it, I remember that I have to breathe.

Since my expectations for novels are generally pretty low for the past few years, especially for an author I am not familiar with, I would have been satisfied with a cohesive, logical narrative thread with a few unexpected turns here and there. Last Child is yet another book by one more author who is restoring my faith in modern fiction, one page at a time. The characters are finely drawn, their interplay as real as life itself, and the story moves and flows with such effortless skill that you practically become a character in it, an observer of the events, a sympathizer, not a reader. Books like this, you could write many pages just describing the story and its excellence. The story itself is dark, startling, heartbreaking at times and wonderfully vivid. The characters have multiple dimensions and behave like real people behave, for better or worse. The suspense is so well executed it is almost a physical thing.

I am not going to write those pages, you are welcome, but I will just say that if you value your time and you love great stories by great writers, this one belongs on your short list. I am seriously unhappy that John Hart only has 2 other books in print for me to read. I am more unhappy that most authors can't write half as well as he can, but at least we have him and few other new names who are raising the bar again.

If anyone out there who has read this and shares my view, please turn me on to any other really strong books by current authors who write like they care about what they are doing. I am finding a few little known names who are doing great work, but not nearly as many as I would like. Share some recommendations and I will reciprocate with a decent list.

The Last Child Feature

ISBN13: 9780312642365
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Last Child Overview

Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Novel

John Hart’s New York Times bestselling debut, The King of Lies, announced the arrival of a major talent. With Down River, he surpassed his earlier success, transcending the barrier between thriller and literature and winning the 2008 Edgar Award for best novel. Now, with The Last Child, he achieves his most significant work to date, an intricate, powerful story of loss, hope, and courage in the face of evil.

Thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon had the perfect life: a warm home and loving parents; a twin sister, Alyssa, with whom he shared an irreplaceable bond. He knew nothing of loss, until the day Alyssa vanished from the side of a lonely street. Now, a year later, Johnny finds himself isolated and alone, failed by the people he’d been taught since birth to trust. No one else believes that Alyssa is still alive, but Johnny is certain that she is---confident in a way that he can never fully explain.

Determined to find his sister, Johnny risks everything to explore the dark side of his hometown. It is a desperate, terrifying search, but Johnny is not as alone as he might think. Detective Clyde Hunt has never stopped looking for Alyssa either, and he has a soft spot for Johnny. He watches over the boy and tries to keep him safe, but when Johnny uncovers a dangerous lead and vows to follow it, Hunt has no choice but to intervene.

Then a second child goes missing . . .

Undeterred by Hunt’s threats or his mother’s pleas, Johnny enlists the help of his last friend, and together they plunge into the wild, to a forgotten place with a history of violence that goes back more than a hundred years. There, they meet a giant of a man, an escaped convict on his own tragic quest. What they learn from him will shatter every notion Johnny had about the fate of his sister; it will lead them to another far place, to a truth that will test both boys to the limit.

Traveling the wilderness between innocence and hard wisdom, between hopelessness and faith, The Last Child leaves all categories behind and establishes John Hart as a writer of unique power.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Customer Reviews

A must read - Jeannine Nagel - Pittsburgh
I just finished this book last night with tears in my eyes. I have never read a book where I related and became involved with all the characters. I felt the pain of the mother, Jack and Johnny. The book also takes twists and turns that will leave you breathless. Well done.

Wow,I could not put this book down - Melodie - New Jersey
I just finished this book and I loved it. The characters were well developed and the story was told from 2 different points of view. I love the writing style of this author, I could see everything flow through my mind. The story line was well thought through, always a new twist and another piece of the puzzle.
I can not wait to read his other books!

It Won't Leave You With A Warm, Fuzzy Feeling - Franklin the Mouse - Gorham, ME USA
Mr. Hart's novel was very entertaining, but the book has some form of mulitple-personality disorder. At first, I assumed the work was a character piece about a boy dealing with the disappearance of his twin sister. Then, it morphed into a mystery. Then a surrealistic individual named Freemantle enters the picture. Trying to pigeonhole this sucker is like attempting to nail Jello to a wall. One reviewer on the book's cover likened it to a cross between Huck Finn and Lord of the Flies, which completely flummoxed me. Twain's and Golding's books are two of my favorite works and Mr. Hart's novel has very little in common with them. A few contrived events, such as an incident in a bridge, stretch credulity a little too far for my tastes. I rolled my eyes at a few of the coincidental gimmicks which took away from the suspense. The two main protagonists, Johnny and Officer Hunt, are fleshed out very well. The other characters, however, fall into typical stereotypes: wisecracking sidekick; evil businessman; distraught, ineffectual mother; lampoonish uncle...you get the picture. Even with these irksome qualities, I found Mr. Hart's book to be very entertaining. He is a very skilled writer. A enjoyable read if you are into film-noir kind of works, but this most certainly is NOT Huckleberry Finn or Lord of the Flies.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 16, 2010 00:07:18

Great Price for $9.99

2010-06-13T23:50:00.001-07:00

The Federalist Papers Review

This book may be boring to some, but I recommend picking this book up as it is the text that Hamiliton, Jay, and Madison wrote in favor of our Constitution. Each section describes the reasoning behind the outline and responsibilites of our federal government and the limited government they envisioned. A good book for political science students and/or American history buffs alike.

I would like to get a copy of the "Anti-Federalist" papers which is obviously the argument against the Constitution, just to get the other side's perspective during the transitioning times from The Articles of Confederation to our Constitution.

Nonetheless, I am glad the Founding Fathers ratified the Constitution, what are leaders are doing to the Consitution today is a crime.

This book includes a copy of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation

The Federalist Papers Overview

Paperback edition of the classic Federalist Papers. Also available as digital edition for Kindle: ASIN B0037HOQFS

The Federalist Papers Specifications

"This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren ... should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous, and alien sovereignties." So wrote John Jay, one of the revolutionary authors of The Federalist Papers, arguing that if the United States was truly to be a single nation, its leaders would have to agree on universally binding rules of governance--in short, a constitution. In a brilliant set of essays, Jay and his colleagues Alexander Hamilton and James Madison explored in minute detail the implications of establishing a kind of rule that would engage as many citizens as possible and that would include a system of checks and balances. Their arguments proved successful in the end, and The Federalist Papers stand as key documents in the founding of the United States.

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Samuel Adams: A Life

Customer Reviews

#15 Read this with the Anti Federalist! - T. Price - Jax Fl.
The Constitutional debates written by some of the participants and printed in the news papers at that time. After reading all of the books I have reviewed on amazon and the antifederalist you will be able to see clearly the mistakes made by the federalists that have lead to the disaster we find ourselves in now. But in this is all the knowledge to fix it all after the socialists have destroyed it for all to see clearly!

Our Founding Fathers knew. - R. Hoult - Michigan
This book has everything anyone needs to know on the direction this country should be heading in. From unification to armed forces this book covers it all.

Must read for patriots! - Christopher Clemens - OOB, ME USA
Learn your history before it gets erased. Freedom isn't free, put in the work and appreciate it.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 14, 2010 14:04:22

Great Price for $4.93

2010-06-12T01:11:00.001-07:00

Treason (Navy Justice, Book 1) Review

I downloaded this book because it was free for Kindle; I am not generally a fan of Christian lit. But I promise you, only about 5% of the book was about lovin' the lord. The book is very suspenseful and a pleasure to read. The character relationships are somewhat awkward (prude), but there is no preaching against pre-marital sex or randiness in general. The quality of writing isn't the best, and at times, it reads very much like a first novel, but the interesting story makes up for it. In fact, I liked it so much that I am (gasp) considering PAYING for the next three books in the series. I would say give this book a try if it's still free. It's a really easy read (something like 68 VERY short chapters), and, again, the prosthelytizing is really negligible.

Treason (Navy Justice, Book 1) Overview

When Muslim terrorists infiltrate the Navy Chaplain Corps, Lieutenant Zack Brewer, just three years out of law school, is pitted against the world’s greatest defense attorney in the court-martial of the century. Book One in a series.

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Customer Reviews

Brillliant and Foretelling - Gino DiAngelo - New York
This book may have started a bit slow, but quickly turned into a hot page turner after about the first chaper. If you like legal thrillers, military thrillers, and political thrillers, Don Brown wraps all this on one exciting package for your in Treason.

bounce, bounce - David A. Lawrence -
The author is clearly inspired and all that inspiration comes out in the form of a hodgepodge of characters and plot threads. I simply couldn't keep things straight and didn't finish the book.

A good premise, but just too jumbled. A good editing would help this book enormously.

Great book for free - J. Dickenson -
I downloaded the Don Brown books originally because they were free. Then I got hooked on them. If you would have asked me if I would be that interested in a military thriller, I would have said you were crazy! But I loved the entire series and am now a true fan. Thank you to Amazon for the freebies!!!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 12, 2010 15:24:49

Check Out Winter Garden for $8.99

2010-06-10T20:31:00.001-07:00

Winter Garden Review

Adult sisters Meredith and Nina Whitson couldn't be less alike. Meredith is the perfect daughter, the one who stayed near home to enter the family business, learning the patient art of raising apple trees from her father, using her own business sense to expand the orchards' sales from apples to grapes to local handicrafts. Younger sister Nina, on the other hand, was all too impatient to leave home. She is unpredictable and most often absent, flying to war zones all over the world as a prize-winning photojournalist. Reliable Meredith and passionate but unpredictable Nina have a single bond: their devotion to their beloved father and their shared distance from their emotionally cold mother.

But when their father suffers a serious heart attack and advises his daughters on his deathbed to listen to their mother --- to actually pay attention to the abstract fairy tales she's been trying to tell them since they were children --- the sisters are skeptical. Nina doesn't stick around to really hear her mother's stories, and Meredith fears her mother's frighteningly rapid mental decline, which she attributes to senility but that the family doctor ascribes to grief.

The two sisters clash over how to deal with their mother: Nina criticizes Meredith for quickly sending their mother to a nursing home, while Meredith resents Nina for being thousands of miles away during their family crisis. Without their father's strong presence, the glue holding the family together, they threaten to split apart and leave their mother alone in their wake: "Without her father, Meredith feared she would be like one of those dormant apple trees: bare, vulnerable, exposed." Both are also experiencing crises in their romantic lives, struggles that they can't even discuss with each other, leaving them feeling both angry and alone.

Anya, the girls' mother, is largely a mystery, even before her speech declines into seeming nonsense. Although she loves her husband deeply, she has never connected with either of her daughters. But when Nina finds herself drawn back to the family's farm, she encourages her mother to tell her stories --- from start to finish --- and tries her best to draw a reluctant Meredith into the story as well. Far from a mere fairy tale, Anya's story might hold the key not only to her elusive personality but also to her family's future well-being.

Anya's fairy tales, rich in Russian folklore and history, form the emotional core of WINTER GARDEN, as readers will find themselves drawn into her stories and, like the feuding sisters, come to understand the complex and profound background of a character who is largely unknowable (and in many ways unlikable) at the novel's opening. Through the unfolding power of story, readers come to know this character and to appreciate that family relationships can be salvaged --- or forged in the first place --- even in mid-life.

Although in many ways the situations and characters in WINTER GARDEN are extremes, sisters and daughters of all ages will recognize fundamental truths in Kristin Hannah's keenly observed portrayal of the Whitson family. This is the kind of book that will be discussed fervently and fondly among book groups and then passed hand to hand from sisters to mothers to daughters, all of whom --- like the family in the novel --- will recognize and appreciate the truth and power of a good story.

Winter Garden Feature

ISBN13: 9780312364120
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Winter Garden Overview

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?
From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past
Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

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Customer Reviews

Heartwrenching historical novel - Michael L. Mckimmey - Cape Cod, Massachusetts
This book is set in Leningrad in the early 1940's as Russia and Germany are fighting a territorial and ego battle of their leaders. It also floats to present day and the memory of a woman who lived and experienced the horrors of war. A haunting, unforgettable book about an embarrassing and shameful time in our history.

An intriguing and educational read - Donna Reynolds - Syracuse, NY United States
As others as written previously, Kristen Hannah's 'Winter Garden' was a little hard to get into at first, but once I was drawn in, I could not put this book down. I was impressed by the way Hannah interwove the story within a story, and how the story developed as Anya told it to her daughters.

I knew nothing of the siege of Leningrad, but after reading this book, did some research on the subject. Hannah's depiction of this horrible time in Russian history was vivid and gave the reader an insight into history from a personal perspective.

I have to say I didn't particularly "like" either Nina or Meredith, but perhaps that was the point. Both of these women's lives were shaped by the remote nature of their mother, after all, so I suppose it's no surprise they also became "observers" of life.

No spoilers here, but I will say the ending was a tad contrived (although I didn't see it coming). All in all, however, I was thoroughly satisfied with 'Winter Garden' and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good, solid summer read!

Winter Garden - Hawaii Jim - Honolulu Hawaii
I found this book to be a little contrived, melodramatic, and so-so written. During most of the book, I found it hard to understand and have compassion for the mother and 2 daughters in the story. It is only at the end that you learn that the Russian mother with 2 children lived through the terrible siege of Leningrad by the Germans during World War II. I have previously read a book entitled the Bronze Horseman about the Leningrad siege and it is unbelievable the tragedies and horrors that the people of Leningrad suffered. So at the end you can understand some of the suffering and feelings of the mother and her two daughters. During the siege, the mother, sister, and son die. Then the woman is evacuated and believes that her daughter also died. She remarries and has two daughters. Then I found it a little unbelievable that the mother learns that her first husband and daughter had survived the war but were never able to reunite with her. Through a number of events, the mother finds her first daughter and grave of her husband in Alaska. The mother, her first daughter, and her 2 daughters from the second marriage all meet and find happiness. The mother becomes compassionate and "all ends well." I would recommend reading the part on the Leningrad siege but I would not recommend the first 2/3rds and last part.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 11, 2010 10:44:44

Check Out The War of the Worlds for $1.10

2010-06-08T05:28:00.001-07:00

The War of the Worlds Review

Unknown to the inhabitants of Earth, the planet Mars is aging and nearing its exhaustion. The Martians, not even perceiving humans to be anything other than animals, decide that it is time to seize this lush, young planet. Landing in several locations in southeastern England they begin their conquest of the planet. Can man, with his most advanced technology hope to stop the Martians with their much more advanced technology?

You've seen the 1953 movie, War of the Worlds, and want to read it in book form? Well, then don't look here. Herbert George Wells wrote this book in 1898, a mere one year after The Invisible Man, and two years after The Island of Doctor Moreau. The moviemakers of the 1950s made a wonderful movie, but one that, alas, bears very little resemblance to the original!

This book is one of the crowning examples of nineteenth century fantastic fiction. It is a gripping story that masterfully combines horror and suspense, keeping you at the edge of your seat until the final page.

The War of the Worlds Overview

The War of the Worlds (1898) is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells describing an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians equipped with advanced weaponry. It is a seminal depiction of an alien invasion of Earth. The novel is narrated by an unnamed writer of scientific articles. Throughout the narrative he struggles to reunite with his wife, while witnessing the Martians rampaging through the southern English counties. The plot has been related to invasion literature of the time. The novel has been variously interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British imperialism, and generally Victorian fears and prejudices. At the time of publication it was classed as a scientific romance. Since then, it has influenced much literature and other media, spawning several films, radio dramas, comic book adaptations, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories by other authors.

The War of the Worlds Specifications

This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."
Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled. --Craig E. Engler

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Customer Reviews

Exciting beginning, then endless tedium. - Alan Edwards -
Funny, I remember reading and liking this as a young kid. I reviewed it then as a book report for school. But now I'm 46 and have read many well-structured books and watched many good movies and I want to "correct" the work I did in my youth. So here is my new "book report" for Mrs. Spratling's class:

The first quarter of the book was very interesting and exciting. The story progressed as the main character discovered more and more shocking things about the aliens and what they were capable of. I found myself wanting to know what happens next.

But I couldn't stand the book from then on. The problem was simply that the story wasn't moving along after the first quarter. It was simply details (excruciatingly drawn out details) that can be summed up in one sentence: "Then Martians proceeded to exterminate and drive out the people of London." There were no new discoveries and no character development.

After the interesting developments of the first part of the book, I did eagerly follow the character in his exodus--and the details were interesting. But it started feeling like an endless string of details. Nothing new was happening except the Martians started using a new weapon, the "black smoke". And that new development didn't really change the story at all, they were just using a different weapon to drive out the Londoners. A new character was introduced, the main character's brother, but he was just a pawn without depth of character--a tool to show the exodus from another location. I found myself caring less and less.

Geography was another problem for me. I don't think I was part of the intended audience of the book. Being an American, I know nothing about the geography of the suburbs and towns around London; but the author seems to assume that I do. After a while, the endless string of town names just wash over me and I get lost over what I assume was meant to show the advancement of the Martians.

I finally had to stop at about the two-thirds point as I found my self skimming and not caring about all that details because the story wasn't moving forward, and neither was the character development. Fortunately, I know the ending already and can easily put this one down.

Although I was hoping to finally get there, I wasn't really looking forward to the ending. I am a fan of science fiction, and I know that "deus ex machina" is an often used plot-ending tool. On occasion, it can be interesting to have the resolution jump out at you like that--especially in short stories that you haven't invested too much of yourself in. But most of the time I think it is lazy writing. To me, it is much more interesting to follow along with the main characters as they work toward the resolution, than to have the resolution come out of nowhere, having nothing to do with the progression of the story.

I think this book would have been much better had it been a lot shorter. The author should have used the litmus test that movie makers use now: if it's redundant, not moving the story along, or developing the characters, cut it out!

Maybe storytelling has changed after 112 years and I am expecting something different because I am conditioned to expect it. But I just couldn't get into it.

Good Quick Read of the Classic - Sean Knowes - Durham, NC
This must have made people back in the 19th century squeamish. Well written, moves right along. After seeing the recent W of the W movie, bought this classic book.

The best sci-fi - O. yasin - texas
This is no doubt the best science fiction book out there. If u like that genre, get it. Can't believe it's free.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 08, 2010 19:41:33

Great Price for $9.92

2010-06-07T03:05:00.001-07:00

A Short History of Nearly Everything Review

I originally bought this book searching for books on physics topics. I figured "A Short History of Nearly Everything" was a good place to start! It starts out with everything you could wish to know about physics from the big bang all the way through Einstein. I expected it to end there, figuring it was only a book about physics. It went on! I never actually liked reading about other sciences: geology, biology, etc. but this book made it worthwhile! It truly is "A Short History of Nearly Everything!"

A Short History of Nearly Everything Feature

ISBN13: 9780767908184
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

A Short History of Nearly Everything Overview

One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.

In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail -- well, most of it. In In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand -- and, if possible, answer -- the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everythingis the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining.

From the Hardcover edition.

A Short History of Nearly Everything Specifications

From primordial nothingness to this very moment, A Short History of Nearly Everything reports what happened and how humans figured it out. To accomplish this daunting literary task, Bill Bryson uses hundreds of sources, from popular science books to interviews with luminaries in various fields. His aim is to help people like him, who rejected stale school textbooks and dry explanations, to appreciate how we have used science to understand the smallest particles and the unimaginably vast expanses of space. With his distinctive prose style and wit, Bryson succeeds admirably. Though A Short History clocks in at a daunting 500-plus pages and covers the same material as every science book before it, it reads something like a particularly detailed novel (albeit without a plot). Each longish chapter is devoted to a topic like the age of our planet or how cells work, and these chapters are grouped into larger sections such as "The Size of the Earth" and "Life Itself." Bryson chats with experts like Richard Fortey (author of Life and Trilobite) and these interviews are charming. But it's when Bryson dives into some of science's best and most embarrassing fights--Cope vs. Marsh, Conway Morris vs. Gould--that he finds literary gold. --Therese Littleton

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Customer Reviews

Fascinating read - D. Findlay -
This book was such a delight. So much interesting info. I had to stop from time to time to reflect on what I just read. Well written with lots of humorous anecdotes sprinkled throughout. There's nothing worse than buying a book you think will be great and it turns out to be a dud. Not this one! One of my best purchases yet.

Amazing journey! - Prateek Kumar - San Diego, CA, USA
This book took me back to a period when I used to love science and wonder about things. With the breadth of knowledge this book has about science and scientists, it has a potential to influence career choices not only for only kids but for adults as well.

I'm amazed by Bill Bryson - Heon M. LIM - Daejon, Korea (S)
I'm impressed by the way the author of this book, Bill Bryson, has presented the progress or the history of natural science with such an plain explanation of the concept.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 07, 2010 17:18:23

Check Out Heart of Darkness (Arcturus Paperback Classics) for $5.99

2010-06-05T21:04:00.001-07:00

Heart of Darkness (Arcturus Paperback Classics) Review

"Heart of Darkness" is Joseph Conrad's most famous and arguably best work - not only one of the greatest short works ever but simply one of the greatest period. At once vividly realistic and profoundly symbolic, it on the one hand did much to expose the Belgian Congo's atrocities and on the other is a brilliant allegory whose precise meaning is still hotly debated over a century later. One would be very hard-pressed to find a text of such length with so many and various interpretations - nay, a text of any length; Shakespeare and a few other mainstays aside, hardly any other English language text has proven so malleable. It has been seen through lenses ranging from historical to psychoanalytic to seemingly everything between them - not least including biographical, as the scariest thing about the story is just how closely it is based on Conrad's experience. "Heart" is in many ways the culmination of early Conrad, which featured, among other focuses, a strong sea element and an emphasis on European colonialism in Africa and elsewhere. It fuses both into a dark masterpiece that works on many levels. Most simply and obviously, it can be appreciated as a sort of adventure story involving exploration and human endurance pushed to its limit; it has some fine suspense in this sense. Far more importantly, it is an unflinching look into the darkness of humanity's heart - a dramatization of just how low human nature can sink. This is most overt in the depiction of brutal inhumanity toward fellow human beings, but multiple symbolic layers make it all the more disturbing. Conrad shows that, for all civilization's supposed progress, the bestial instincts underlying humanity are only repressed - and quite weakly at that. It takes only an ostensibly primitive setting to bring them out, and when unleashed they can be at least as vicious as any wild animal's and worse in being malicious. The speaker Marlow's own harsh experience suggests all this, but it comes across most forcefully in the legendary character Kurtz. Like many ambitious but unethical Europeans of the era, Kurtz had no problem exploiting those in the Congo for personal gain, but the shocking conditions and enforced brutality eventually wear him down to the point where he snaps. It is debatable whether his days end in madness or some extreme guilt/shock combination, but his immortal final words - "The horror! The horror!" - sum up the whole story and all it symbolizes. The realization of just how bad things are hits Marlow so hard that he cannot bring himself to tell Kurtz's widow the truth, letting her think that his last words were her name, though he was so far gone that he had no time to even think of such things. As his final comment says, "It would have been too dark--too dark altogether..." Much the same may be said of the story itself, so realistically unflattering is its humanity depiction, which is a large part of the reason it is a masterwork. There are many others, not least Conrad's hauntingly beautiful and complex prose. Much of his reputation as a stylist comes from this, and it is simply incredible that he was not a native English speaker.

These factors among many others made "Heart" a standard of English curricula for decades, and its popularity shows no sign of lessening. However, it has been the focus of attention for another reason in the last few decades - racist accusations stemming from African writer Chinua Achebe's famous essay. Conrad was certainly prejudiced and ethnocentric, if not necessarily racist in today's sense, which is reflected in "Heart" and most of his other work. That said, for what it is worth, he was no more so than the average writer - much less the average person - of his day. Indeed, his experience as a Polish, initially non-English speaking outsider on ships around the world and in England gave him more empathy for those outside mainstream Western culture than nearly anyone else in it could have had. One can even argue that it is perverse to pick on "Heart" when racist overtones can be found in nearly every work from the Victorian era - nay, nearly everything right up until the last few decades - since it shows some empathy for Africans, is generally seen as anti-colonialist, and eventually helped lead to reform. Many also say that such a stance misses the story's larger point, racist or not. Yet there is much to Achebe's reading, and all serious fans should read it and make their own decision. Many editions include it, but all should seek it out.

"Heart" is one of the most anthologized works in English, available in many collections of both Conrad and general literature. It is possible to get it alone or with almost any number of other works by Conrad and others along with widely varying amounts of supplemental material. Cost of course varies along with this. Readers must decide what fits their needs, but anyone wanting an inexpensive "Heart" need look no further than this.

Heart of Darkness (Arcturus Paperback Classics) Overview

First published in 1902, Conrad's story describes intensely and in stark detail how greed can so easily drive civilised and enlightened men to revert to primitive savagery. Set against the background of the European ivory trade in Africa, Heart Of Darkness is narrator Marlow's account of his journey in search of the legendary and mystical Kurtz, the most successful trader of them all, who is now reported to be ill. Marlow's quest becomes both a harrowing journey of self-discovery and haunting description of the brutality of colonial exploitation; while Kurtz himself is one of the most memorable creations in modern fiction.

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Customer Reviews

Pseudointellectual myth - J. Luis Madrid - Lima Peru
Before reading this book I had just read Conrad's Outcast of the Islands. Which was really quite good...this book was horrible and yet gets all the praise? This book confirms my belief that most authors should retire at a certain point. Even more so that the world is full of pseudo-intellectuals who see "depth" in anything abstruse that we dummies can't appreciate. Conrad must have have had too much praise go to his head or alcohol or something. The story is hard to read you draw nothing deep from it, it has none of the beautiful nature descriptions his earlier books had. He must have needed rent money or tried some avant garde thing while drug addled. How utterly unbelievable that this book is famous. Thank God it was short.

Stumbles but Succeeds - Eric Wilson - Nashville, TN United States
Conrad, as a young man, dreamed of visiting the Congo. He carried out this wish as a steamboat captain, chugging deep into the heart of that still mysterious land. We are told that his experiences became fodder for this, his best known work.

"Heart of Darkness" is told primarily by a secondhand narrator. This seemed to be a favorite technique of writers in the late-1800s, though it creates a barrier between the fiction reader and the story itself. Perhaps that's a good thing, as we follow a captain's journey deeper into the jungle, further upriver. Along the way, we see disturbing glimpses of the racism and imperialism that was so predominant at the time. The English, Dutch, and Belgians were pillaging the Dark Continent for their own gain, looking down on the natives as uneducated savages. The captain is an impassive observer. He is a product of his time and social class. He is willing to work with the natives, to see them as equally human, but only in the most visceral sense.

Does Conrad promote racism, then? I think he does the opposite. Even as his captain becomes clouded in thinking, deluded by the near-mythic existence of a man named Kurtz, he discovers his own nearness to that heart of darkness. He empathizes with eating human flesh, and other atrocities--only to find that Kurtz has plunged forever into his own narcissistic evil.

In conclusion, Conrad seems to point fingers at any and all who would exalt themselves over other men and other races. If Kurtz is a microcosm of the gross imperialism of his age, then Conrad's criticisms are harsh, while also remaining immensely personal. Probably better understood in its day, and more jarring in contrast to other novels of its time, "Heart of Darkness" is one of the first English novels to tackle the psychological aspects of evil in the heart of man. For that reason alone, it stands as an important literary work, even if it stumbles somewhat in its ability to entertain the modern reader.

heart of darkness - -
there goes 5 hours of my life i will never get back
what a waste of time who the hech was kuntz anyway

low quality publishing - Kay Weeks - Georgia, USA
Heart of Darkness has "public domain" status, which means anyone can type it up and distribute it, which is exactly what happened in this case. The Filiquarian Publishing version was clearly just typed up in Word, hardly edited, if at all, printed, and bound. It's very irritating to me, because the text alignment, placement on page, and typing are all very strange and just overall unprofessional. My recommendation: find a cheaper copy (or read it for free on sites like Sparknotes!), and I can almost guarantee it will be worth more than this one.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 06, 2010 11:17:54

Check Out The Definitive Book of Body Language for $13.97

2010-06-04T20:05:00.001-07:00

The Definitive Book of Body Language Review

I would recommend this book to whoever wants to start learning body language. This is my first book ever to read on body language. When I picked up this book, I was particularly curious about how to read signals in social encounter. This book not only answered my questions but also helped me to understand the significance of body language in various situations such as business negotiations, job interviews and politics.

What I particularly like about this book is to come to understand that body language is a way to understand how we are feeling regardless of what we say. This understanding made me a better communicator who can be in touch with feelings. It is this usually unnoticed correlation between physical body and emotion that this book implicitly centers upon, providing a whole range of body language in various occasions that counts the most in our lives. Throughout the book, the author provides scientific explanations for why a certain type of body language is connected with a certain emotion. It not only drives his points home but also makes it hard for me to forget what I read.

"The Definitive Book of Body Language" is also full of illustrations and pictures. You would hardly miss a type of body language that the author refers to in his book.

Overall, I am very happy with the experience of reading this book. It is an easy and enjoyable read. "The Definitive Book of Body Language" is a comprehensive, yet practical guide for those who are interested in body language.

The Definitive Book of Body Language Feature

ISBN13: 9780553804720
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Definitive Book of Body Language Overview

Available for the first time in the United States, this international bestseller reveals the secrets of nonverbal communication to give you confidence and control in any face-to-face encounter–from making a great first impression and acing a job interview to finding the right partner.

It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions. Yet most of us don’t know how to read body language–and don’t realize how our own physical movements speak to others. Now the world’s foremost experts on the subject share their techniques for reading body language signals to achieve success in every area of life.

Drawing upon more than thirty years in the field, as well as cutting-edge research from evolutionary biology, psychology, and medical technologies that demonstrate what happens in the brain, the authors examine each component of body language and give you the basic vocabulary to read attitudes and emotions through behavior.

Discover:
• How palms and handshakes are used to gain control
• The most common gestures of liars
• How the legs reveal what the mind wants to do
• The most common male and female courtship gestures and signals
• The secret signals of cigarettes, glasses, and makeup
• The magic of smiles–including smiling advice for women
• How to use nonverbal cues and signals to communicate more effectively and get the reactions you want

Filled with fascinating insights, humorous observations, and simple strategies that you can apply to any situation, this intriguing book will enrich your communication with and understanding of others–as well as yourself.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

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Customer Reviews

The Definitive Book of Body Language - Gerald L. Matson - Seattle, WA
Book came in shape stated to be, timely manner (1 week through standard shipping), and came in a bubble-wrapped envelope for protection ;)

body language is sooo interesting - Marta Soler Lucas -
I really enjoyed reading it, it is very fresh and clarifying, I really recommend it, you will read people's body language and will be able to guess and understand other person's behaviour without talking much. It is really good to read if you work with people every day.

Body Language is your second language and this book teaches you how to read it. - Cleveland Student - Cleveland OH
Great, easy read.

Pictures assist with understanding the cues.

Good choice for learning body language.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 05, 2010 10:18:29

Great Price for $7.96

2010-06-03T08:45:00.001-07:00

Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby Review

I found this book to be wonderful. I already enjoy some other titles where I puree food to add to my husband's meals (he hates veggies). I was not sure how to proceed with baby food, and this title is an excellent beginners guide. It goes into detail about what types are good for baby, when to think about organic, and what can and cannot be frozen. There are a lot of tips that I might have forgotten about myself (like using unsalted butter). i recommend to anyone who is thinking about making their own baby food.

Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby Feature

ISBN13: 9780743289573
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby Overview

Babies grow more rapidly in their first year than at any other time in their lives, so how you feed your newborn will be one of the most important decisions you make for your new baby.
Making your own baby food is not only more economical than buying commercial brands, it also assures that your child consumes only the freshest, top-quality ingredients. British television personality and children's nutrition expert Annabel Karmel's essential collection of best-ever purees grants new parents their wish: one hundred quick and easy recipes that will make for a healthy and happy baby. From first tastes and weaning, right through to meals for older babies, all the recipes are suitable for children aged six months and older. And with all these fruit and vegetable favorites, and innovative fish, meat, and chicken purees, the dishes are so tasty you will want to eat them yourself!
In addition to easy and delicious recipes, Top 100 Baby Purees also includes information on:
Weaning your baby and transitioning to solid foods
Food allergies
Time-saving food preparation tips
Freezing and reheating your homemade baby food
Tricks on finding the hidden nutrition in everyday foods
Featuring a preface by Dr. Michel Cohen, New York pediatrician and author of The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent

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Customer Reviews

This is a MUST GET - L. Saldana - Ontario, CA
This has got to be the best money I have spent. The book is great, with easy to follow instructions for great tasting food for your infant. My baby enjoys every bite. Even my 8 and 5 year old like tasting the pureed food as I make it, the tastes are amazing, I definetely recommend this to anyone with infants. You and your baby will not be disappointed.

New Mom Trying New Recipes - Grant T. Thimsen - Germany
I got this cookbook because I wanted to make healthy food for my little man. So far I like the recipes. They are really easy to make and they make big portions. There isn't a great variety of foods for 6 month olds. I would say there are more recipes for older babies. I did like how there was information in the front of the book about making food, why make your own baby food, what to expect with your baby and so on. I would recommend this book.

Great book - Raina L. DeStefano - Philadelphia, PA
I am due in July with my first baby and I really wanted a book that could show me how to make homemade, healthy food. This book is really informative and seems very easy to follow. I can't wait to put it to use!

Pretty pictures, small portions - K. Turney -
The pictures were beautiful and the recipes tasty, but the portions were so small that it was discouraging to do all that work and have little to show for it. Often I had to quadruple the recipe so I had enough to freeze for later. I am grateful to have the book for ideas - but I didn't always have these ingredients on hand so it required a separate trip to the store. It took a few trips to remember to purchase 4x the amount.

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 03, 2010 22:58:53