This book is outstanding. The characters come to life immediately, and you get more and more attached to them as they mature. You get the opportunity to follow the main character all through her life. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read. It takes place in the 20th century...a memorable time for us all. Thank you Dorothy E. Lee!

This is a must read book. You feel you are there in that time. The detail, the "must keep reading" aspect, is all there. The characters are important in what they have to say and you keep wanting to know more about them. Ms. Lee has "painted" a realistic and enjoyable portrait. It's a gift! Thank you!

The beginning of this book is actually the end -- so for people like me who need to read the end of the book before I get there -- it was a perfect novel! The book revolves around Eleanor. Her life holds many of the same challenges, joys, despairs, and celebrations we all encounter. Yet while reading this one realizes that each of us is extraordinary and the sum of many events, encounters and experiences. I laughed with El, cried with her, shared her life and felt it represented a real life experience. Ms. Lee does a remarkable job of telling a life story that everyone can identify with and feel a part of. A great read!

This is a great book. The instructions are clear, the photos are good. I especailly liked the author's comments on how to choose colors. They inspired me to try new combinations.

A great way to easily make an award winning quilt. Instructions are easy to follow and the design ideas leave you breathless.

Alex is a wonderful teacher in person...this book came out of classes she taught so the lessons really work!!! The diagrams & explanations are very clear and the book is organized with the easy stars in the beginning...toughies at the end!

All freshman enter the world of college dazed and confused, and usually quite hungry. After years of mom preparing hearty meals, freshman are helpless, lost in the real world.... now they are no longer lost. Josh Lambert's book is a must for all freshman entering college. How else can an 18 year old learn how to cook and win over the hearts of many young women. In fact this book is fundamental to the growth and learning experience of all incoming freshman. Buy this book for all freshman you know, even sophomores... teach them to cook!!

What a delicious (ha!) book! Josh Lambert is an exceedingly talented writer who has truly harnessed the mysteries of cooking. Before I read his book, my friends and family chastised me for my inability to cook (I even earned the nickname "Bad Cook"!). Now I am a cooking whiz. With the delicacy of a fine Pinot Noir, Lambert has created a subtle yet useful cooking bible that will be appreciated by anyone who has been scared by the kitchen.

I discovered this book by accident and read it out of curiosity. Now I've ordered copies for all the young people I know who are going to be living on their own this year for the first time. The humorous tone should go over well with the 20-something set. I think the book is an invaluable source of basic information about shopping and cooking for yourself -- I wish it had been available when I first moved out on my own twenty years ago!

Useful propaganda; but in reality to come to such definitive conclusions you need to have an army of PhD biologists doing huge statistical sample tests.

But don't let that deter you from the nice graphics and the fact that fish sustainability is a serious topic.

"One size does not fit all" in the areas where food choice and environmental responsibility collide, though this book nonetheless offers an overview of the choices we can make as individuals that are important and can make a significant difference. This book was a gentle, persuasive, thorough and (to me) entertaining overview of a subject that had concerned me for a while. The book (and a downloadable "pocket guide" available on the book's website) is useful for both shopping and eating out, and I have learned alot about tastes and preferences I didn't know I had! This is a good one.

Carl Safina has long been an advocate of fish preservation, and an eloquent one at that. There is scandalously little information about fish for consumers; many do not know which fish are members of perilously depleted stocks. Safina et al manage to impart information about the state of fisheries without making a fish-eater feel bad about him or herself. We need more books that can educate, not condescend, and not reprimand about the effects of human consumption, existence, and behavior. These authors take a smart route: teaching readers to become more informed and concerned about fish just by learning about them.

Subtitled "High fashion techniqus for creating great-looking clothes" the illustrations and instructions are thorough. There are two drawbacks: a substantial amount of decorative stitching described is not available on the average serger. In fact, one of the more attractive decorative stitches in the book was for a Bernina serger that wasn't yet on the market at the time of publication. There are a lot of creative suggestions anyone can use, but you may feel "left-out" because much is geared to coverlockers that also do chainstitching and a lot of the decorative work is chainstitch-based. After reading it, I felt like I needed a new serger and the one I have is less than a year old! Second, the "Garment Gallery" is too long, my opinion. The seamstresses are rightly proud of their work, but it was more than I wanted to see. That said, if you are well acquainted with your serger's basic stitching, and want to explore its creative potential, this is a great book full of tips and ideas.

Truly excellent, I refer to it all the time for creative ideas. Just like other books on sewing, some ideas are a little cheesy for my taste. Having said that, I still think this is the best creative serging guide out there. I love the serged toggle buttons, flatlocked zipper, chain stiched details, serged French seam and the keyhole back placket serging guide. My clothes have never looked better! As for the machine, they have suggestions on how to adapt sergers with fewer stitches. I bought my machine used & factory serviced--it was a much better buy than paying the same money for a new machine with fewer options.

Serger Secrets has been one of the best books on this issue that I have ever read. I loved the full color illistrations on the different stitches the serger can do. It helps the mind to use it's imagination and create anything it wants. I found so many helpful ideas throughout the book . It was just one great book.

"A Silent Cry" really moved me. It is amazing how one can tell their memories of life, along with the trials and tribulations that one go through.

I found this book to be interesting, since I, myself, had to go through a lot. Who would have thought that reading this book would heal some wounds. Now I know that I was not the only one who has been down a rough road of life.

Charles Lee really told it like it was. I could hardly put the book down!

I have recommended this book to several people. As a matter of fact, my copy is now missing from my library!

It has always been my opinion that if a book is good it should be able to transport the reader to another time and place. "A Silent Cry" by Mr. Lee did that for me. Uncomfortable at times while reading this, one walks briefly into a life of poverty, pain and rejection.

Charles Lee's book is a slice of Americana - Black Americana, that I found hard to put down. With each page you feel the frustration and despair of Mr. Lee, only to watch him rise later to yet another challenge. And the way Mr. Lee understates the painful events of his life, one begins to understand why his is a "Silent Cry".

I was very impressed with a "Silent Cry" by Charles Lee. The book captivated me with it's depiction of Mr. Lee's life situations. It was also very motivating to see someone who was faced with so many obstacles throughout his life, but never gave in to defeat but rather arose to each battle that life dealt him.

I particularly enjoyed chapter 7 when Mr. Lee finally meets his soul mate. It was enlightening to see love prevail in the end. I would definitely recommend a "Silent Cry" by Charles Lee to all of my friends and family.

... I set out to read one of his earlier novels - a touching piece entitled The Song of Daniel. It was a very heartfelt and sincere story about a young man named Daniel Mitchell, living in a world of his own. It was a peaceful life - an escape from reality that he created for himself, after he had been exposed to unspeakable violence in his early childhood. This realm of Daniel's remains untouched, until he meets worldly and somewhat cynical Rebecca. As a result, they learn much from each other. In this masterpiece, Williams has conveyed Daniel's thoughts, vulnerabilities, and deepest fears with such an indescribable intricacy that puts us in his shoes. Finally Daniel deals with the uprising of his past in his own way. I really enjoyed this book.

I read Song of Daniel some years ago, and I still think of it with wonder. The plot is moving, the characters unforgettable, and the writing tender and loving. In fact, the book is the best sort of "southern" novel. To a southerner, that does not mean that the book is about the South, although Williams' evocations of the southern setting are loving and poetic. Rather, the southern novel seems to distinguish itself by the author's love of language. Williams' voice is gentle, beautiful, and touching--sometimes to the point that it evokes tears. But don't think that the book is maudlin. The tenderness is genuine, authentic. Of special interest to those familiar with the marvelous (and largely forgotten) Georgia poet, Byron Herbert Reece, a subplot involves the research of a University of Georgia professor into just such a Georgia mountain poet. Song of Daniel gripped and moved me as few books ever have. Its power over the imagination and the emotions is so great that I have not reread it yet: after perhaps ten years, it is still too strong in my memory. But it holds a special place among those books that I _will_ reread. Although they are very different writers, the only southern novelist I would compare with Williams (based on this book) is Walker Percy, and that's the highest praise I can offer. Buy this book and take it to a quiet place.

I love the song of daniel. when you read it, you feel like you are sitting next to daniel in the cemetary, the details are so vivid. it's the first book I've ever read that I literally couldn't put down. I read it in one day, and would recommend it to anyone who needs to read a book they will never forget.

The illustrations are beautiful! This is an authentic presentation of the ancient folk ballad of Mu Lan. The translation adheres closely to the original Chinese text. This is simultaneously the great merit and the great fault of this translation, since the original text is allusive and elliptical in its phrasing. For example, the ancient text appears to have several speakers, but it is not always clear who is speaking at any moment. Because of this, the English translation is at times unclear. The imagery of Jeanne Lim's lean interpretation of this poem is nevertheless powerful and rich, comparable to Han Frankel's translation of this poem, and quite a relief from the excesses of Arthur Waley. I recommend it highly.

In the US, most people came to the legend of Mu Lan via or following the Disney version, which was, for a change, amazingly close to the source material. In China, this story is as well known as George Washington and his cherry tree is in America. I was quite taken with the Disney movie, and went looking for books of the story. Many books later, in both English and Chinese, I have come to regard this version as the best of all. The translation is excellent, the drawings nothing short of captivating. My children, now four to fourteen, all enjoy hearing me read this book aloud, and I have not grown tired of reading it. There are many small true things in this book which may not be readily striking to the casual Western reader, but to those who have studied or lived in China, the story makes a great deal of sense, both in the details and in the broad message of the story.. I can't heap enough praise on this book. It is perfect in every way, all the details are just right.

The story of Mu Lan is the chinese woman warrier fairy tale that describes a young girl that is capable and courageous. Her father has no elder son, so she disguises herself as a boy and joins up when they call her father's name. The original fairy tale poem is reproduced in poetry, both in chinese and english. The calligraphy is artfully done and the story rings genuine. The words are faithfully reproduced to convey the original meaning. It is a book you can display on your coffee table or read over and over to your children. The beautiful illustrations are done in watercolor on silk and are lush and expressive. Because of her service to the emperor, she is rewarded. But she only asked to go home after 10 years of valor. They welcome her like a lost child and hold a feast in her honor where she surprises family and comrades alike with her real identity. This is a wonderful book to teach girls that they can be anything they want and not lose their identity. And it is humerous when she reveals herself. The chinese proverb at the end states that when two rabbits run together, no one can tell which is male or female. The original text was written in AD 420-589, and it can be considered one of the first statements of female independence in a society that is proud of sons over daughters. I know it gave me and my daughters pride to be Chinese women and the sense that we can be both beautiful and strong. The book is a good teaching tool but it can also be enjoyed purely for the artwork and calligraphy. I would recommend this book highly to all girls everywhere and the action and surprise will surely delight young boys as well. It is no wonder that Disney chose this book.

When I first read this book I didn't exactly know what it meant. After I finished I did. It is really sad that kids my age or older or younger have to do more work than I could do in two years. It's not fair that they are being denied a childhood. They never will have the chance to fall out of a tree, or get grass stains on the new pair of jeans that they will never have. If you don't find this sad you need to find a heart, picutre yourself doing all the work. I don't think we could do it.

It was a stuinning book that truly opened my eyes

I saw a story about the man who wrote and photographed this book on 60 Minutes. It was so intersting, I bought the book. The book opens your eyes to child slave labor in third world countries. It's heart breaking to see these children being abused in this manner. The photos are a reality check, and the text will make you weep.

Strictly Business is a book I suggest anyone read. I read this book and I really enjoyed it although the beginning starts off very slowly. There is a lot if information to take in in the first 3 chapters, but it really helps for buetter underdstanding in the conclusion. I recommend anyone who is a skeptic of romance novels read this one because after I forced myself through the first few chapters I could not put it down.

Strictly Business by Leigh Michaels is a wonderful book, I read it back in 1992 and I think it is such a sweet story, it's about a woman named Gianna West and a man named Blake Whittaker who have been best friends since childhood and now senior partners in the cosmetics company that both their fathers started and when Gianna suggests naming their new perfume after a famous model it seemed like a great idea until Blake started dating the beautiful model named Meghan, but really both Gianna and Blake like each other but are both to stubborn to admit it. This book is a KEEPER! Definitely a 5 star book but I wish I could give it more.

Lovely book about Blake and Gianna who work together in a perfume and makeup company. Book is recommended.