wonderfull book, full of information and details. i flew in right seat as plane captain/aircrew in Navy JD-1 '51-53 towing targets for Navy
fighters, F4U Corsairs, F9F panther jets and PB4Y-2 Privateer bombers and Navy ships at sea. Greatest time in my life. I have been collecting Invader books, photos and details for a long time and this book is a welcome addition. Sadly none of the 140 JD-1 Navy invaders survived the scrappers torch. But, i have my books and memories.

Having flown and owned an On Mark executive conversion A-26B, I found Scott Thompson's book to be very accurate and informative. A great historical and insightful work about a truly significant aircraft.

These 11 songs (One for each commandment and a very fun theme song) are real eyes openers for children and thier parents. A great way to learn not only the 10 Commandments, but to internalize thier meanings. Lots of fun and a perfect companion to DVD. (Highly recommended if you can find it anywhere.) I look forward to seeing more of this kind of product soon.

Hosted by well-known radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger (a.k.a., Dr. Laura), God's Top 10 is a superbly designed and presented video presentation of the Biblical ten commandments for young people, bringing to life the crucial moral guidelines with a variety of fun characters such as Delaura the butterfly, Benny the bunny, Roscoe the raccoon, and more. Divided into ten segments, one for each commandment, God's Top 10 is a video meant for adults and children to watch together, to better teach and understand God's laws. A portion of the proceeds of God's Top 10 will benefit the Dr. Laura Schlessinger Foundation for Children, which supports young survivors of abuse or neglect. Total Running Time: 75 minutes.

Of course it is very ironic that "The Dred Scott Decision" is one of the volumes in the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series because the 1857 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding slavery is one of the darker moments in the nation's history. Brendan January does an excellent job of presenting this infamous decision in its historical context. This is an extremely informative book that covers every stage of the case, culminating in not only the major arguments in Chief Justice Roger Taney's majority decision but the dissenting opinion offered by Justice Benjamin Curtis. January makes it clear that the decision was based more on the prejudices of the justices than Constitutional principles. The only omission of any significance I can see is that January does not talk about the geographical limitations that were stopping the spread of cotton into the southwest, which threatened the precarious balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. This was what forced the slavery issue to a head as much as anything else, but given the comprehensive presentation of the issues and personalities involved in this case, this is a minor quibble (besides, I love the aside January provides that Missouri supreme court justice Judge William Scott was not related to Dred Scott). High school students will be hard pressed to find a comparable volume for their own age group that provides as much information about the Dred Scott decision as this volume. I have found the "Cornerstones of Freedom" series to be very good across the board.

I had to write a paper on the Dred Scott Decision. Although I am not of the age group group that this book is geared towards, it explained the very complicated subject in a simple way that was very informal. It was quite useful in writing the paper and I would recommend it to children as well as adults interested in important rulings of the supreme court and history.

Plant growth habit and culture notes are all too rare in succulent and cacti volumes. This expertly assembled book captures the succulent plants at their optimum phase and accurately records botanical names and growth requirements. I also utilize to accurately identify plants that I use to create living succulent wreaths. The section of 'Bringing the Desert Indoors' is a welcome invitation to indoor gardeners every where to enjoy these sculptural beauties year around.

One of few books dealing with gardening in the dry southwestern climates. Most of the book is devoted to "Plant Selector" which describes the plants, hardiness, cultivation needs, etc. Other sections deal with "Garden Design", "Techniques" (cultivation etc.), and, " Special Conditions." If you have one book on succulent gardening, this should be it.

One of the best compilations of new writers I have ever experienced. Scott Davis is really onto something here. Cunepress may have just creamed the writing world by bringing together the voices we will all read in the future under one title.

This collection of essays is one of the more important publications to escape the creative confines of Cune Press and burst into the literary world. In an era of diminishing expectations, both of culture and the publishing world, my hope is that it has arrived in time.

For those who will read this book and hopefully those that have proceeded it and those that will follow, I want you to know that Scott is not just my father (in-law) but my strength to carry on after my husband Joe died. Scott, my husband Joe and myself all served in VP-16, the War Eagles. Joe and I during the 80's and early 90's. We have lived through the cold war with much time spent in the air or on a rock, protecting the U.S. and her interests. We have been there and done that. When I finally do get my hands on a finished copy (I have to wait for it just like everyone else), I gobble it up in a day or two. This is a feat in its self, I have five kids 4 to 18. I can here Scott reading the story to me. His speech patterns, and having intimate knowledge of key people and his mannerisms. He brings the story to life and it is so tough to put down. I just wish a forth book was ready - I would probably be half way through it already. The excitement in his books just pours out of him in real life. He is who and what he writes about. That is what makes his books so wonderful and a joy to read. Even his dog Max makes it in the book, all 110 pounds of puppy.

Here's a recipe for a Cold War espionage thriller: Take one Naval Aviator (now a retired Admiral), another retired Admiral who specializes in covert operations, add a devout anti-communist atomic scientist and lecturer, and then mix thoroughly with a Russian scientist trying to defect to the West with alarming Soviet secrets.

Cook on medium heat while folding in an assortment of various and sundry shady characters, and a liberal body count, while passing through Scandinavia, Washington DC and Moscow. Then rise to high heat with a Learjet escaping to freedom while chased by Swedish fighter planes.

That's the recipe for "Earthbound Eagle," by Scott Lucas, former Cold War naval anti-submarine warfare flier, and author of two previous cold war international espionage thrillers, "The Not-So-Good Shepherd" and "The Zakopane Dilemma." I liked the previous two novels, but I liked this one even more. The characters are sharply defined, the dialog is realistic, the story's twists and turns are not predictable, the descriptions are vivid without being overly detailed, and the reader is treated to a tour of much of Europe for the price of the book!

Producers note: This could easily be the basis for the next James Bond movie.

'Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Everyone', by Joseph and Lenore Scott, is perhaps the perfect book for the basic amateur who wants a fast introduction to this ancient language. In 76 pages, a great deal is covered in an interesting and systematic way. This small book contains basic vocabulary and grammar, interestingly arranged by theme as well as grammar principle (chapters on calendar and time-language, cartouches, the gods, etc.). They do not use the transliteration system much (save for basic pronunciation).

The authors introduce the basic steps to study, which include the following:

- learning the basic alphabet
- recognising the direction of writing
- learning special linguistic items (bilaterals, determinatives)
- pronunciation
- basic vocabulary
- beginning grammar and basic sentences

One note about pronunciation -- ancient Egyptian languages are 'dead' languages, and have been for thousands of years. Hence, no one really knows how words were pronounced. The best guesses scholars have are introduced here, but don't expect to be easily understood if you travel back in a time machine!

There are pictures of sites and artifacts in this book that show hieroglyphs in their original settings and forms.

This book is intended to whet the appetite, rather than provide a thorough education. The purpose the authors have is to motivate the reader on to more study, and for most, that will probably prove to be the case. To this end, they mention several sources, including the great 'Egyptian Grammar' by Gardiner, used in university courses in Egyptology.

This book is a wonderful introduction to the hieroglyphic writing of Ancient Egypt. It includes the alphabet, a few pictographs, in which direction to read the writing, vocabulary, sentences, numbers, etc. It also recommends some literature to further your knowledge. The best thing about this book is that it conveys the information in an easy to read manner, so that you don't have to be a scholar to understand.

I don't know what it is about Orson Scott Card -- Before I ever read him, I was prepared to not like him. I'd heard that he was a science fiction writer and that genre isn't a favorite of mine. However, my opinion now is that Card ranks as one of the absolute best and most skillful authors alive today. He has an amazing ability to get inside the person or circumstance he is writing about and make it into something that anyone could understand and be proundly moved by.

In addition, he comes up with some of the most fascinating ideas for a story. The title piece, 'The Elephants of Posnan', is one example. Although there is no doubt that Card wasn't suggesting that the premise of this story is truth, it still left me mulling the entire piece over and over again. He makes such a moving and brilliant case for something entirely bizarre, and insightfully comments on the nature of man in the process. 'The Elephants of Posnan' was positively spellbinding, beginning to end.

I love this collection. Orson Scott Card is a true master of his craft.

In this collection not only are you exposed to Orson Scott's Card's mastery of fiction, but you gain some insight into his creative process as well, thanks to the author's commentary on certain pieces.
The various storys are a joy to listen to and range from science fiction to fantasy, from psychological thriller to love story.
Whether you're a die hard Ender Series fan, a general fan of Card's, or a first time listener to the whole audiobook genre, there's something here you'll cherish.

Writing a "book" review on a play that one has not read may seem a bit presumptuous. However, my wife and I saw the US premier of this play at Houston's Stages Theater a few weeks ago and can attest that it is some of the finest entertainment we have seen in many a day. I hope that many people will read it, that college English classes will study it, and, most importantly, that numerous theater groups will stage it.

Historical. Hilarious. Poignant. An exhaustive list of appropriate adjectives would exceed Amazon's page limitations.

The play has a large cast of memorable characters including a semi-blind theater seamstress and a bear. The scene is a barn in England in 1601, and Queen Elizabeth seeks diversion from the impending beheading of her lover in the company of William Shakespeare and his band of actors. The dialogue is both scholarly and witty, with many echoes from Shakespeare's plays.

But the driving force for the drama is the point/counterpoint exchanges between "King" Elizabeth, who feels compelled to shirk her womanly feelings for the good of her country and the actor Ned, a 17th century drag-Queen. More than that I will not tell.

See it if you can, but, until it plays in your area, read the book.

In 1601, Queen Elizabeth I was forced by duty to condemn to death a man widely believed to be her former lover. On the night before the execution, she demanded that William Shakespeare's acting troup, The Lord Chamberlain's Men, perform a play to distract her from the heartbreak that would occur in the morning. This much is truth. Timothy Findley takes these historical facts, blends in a few "what if's?" and creates a powerhouse play about men, women, fantasy, death, and ultimately, love.

After a performance of Much Ado About Nothing, Queen Elizabeth goes backstage to talk with the actors, and finds them all mourning the iminent death of the Beatrice of the evening, their terminally ill leading "lady," Ned. Ned has lived all his life as a woman, and does not know how to face his upcoming death with the courage of a man. Elizabeth, by contrast, has had to destroy her feminine side in order to rule England successfully. Realising this, the two strike a bargain: Ned will teach Elizabeth how to be a woman, if she can teach him how to be a man. What follows is a heartbreaking journey of self-discovery in which Elizabeth learns how to mourn, Ned learns how to die with grace and how to live with love, and William Shakespeare finds the greatest play never written.

This is an excellent choice for any Shakespeare fan, and for any lover of theatre. Powerful, enlightening, heartbreaking and uplifting, Elizabeth Rex is an exquisite journey for the heart, with beautiful dialogue, strong characters, and fascinating arguments. A must-read.

Well, wait a minute, let me qualify that title: Unfamiliar to the vast majority of Americans (me included), for whom the world west of Monaco and south of Munich is pretty much unknown territory. Malcolmson divides his book into four sections: Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. They're more or less independent of each other, but bound together by a common theme: how different groups of people see, think about, and define themselves.

Each of the four sections is a patchwork of smaller segments, some pages long and others only a few sentences. Some of the segments are Malcolmson's sketching-in of history, some records of his own reactions to things he saw or heard, some records of what other people said to him. It can be dizzying and disorienting at the beginning of a section, like looking at two square inches out of the middle of an impressionist painting, but as you read on the details resolve themselves into a coherent picture. By the end of a section, you feel like you understand--a little anyway--how the Romanians or Turks or Uzbeks think about the world and its inhabitants (themselves and others).

This is *not* a conventional travel narrative *or* a conventional history book. Its historical scope is too sweeping for the one, and its focus too personal for the other. As a portrait of the places and people Malcolmson visited, however, it may contain more Truth than either would alone.

Highly recommended.

(I hate to use superlatives but) this was by far the most interesting book on the subject. It does a good job of conveying to the reader, what makes the people on the Steppe's of Central Asia and Anatolya tick. Do not expect a Lonely planet style "Guide Book".