The first in the series with Minogue still a sergeant. It's set in an Ireland that reminded me of John Le Carre's cold war Germany. The IRA and the British are involved and there are intricate double double-crosses. The bad guys lose but the good guys don't quite win and are not all good. I had to read it twice to get the plot straight but it was well worth it. Not much humor . Perhaps not the book to read if you're trying not think about September 11, although again that makes it all the more relevant.

In "Stone Palaces," Mr. Childs draws on portions of his fascinating past to create cohesive, inspiring vignettes. This book will keep climbers and non-climbers up all night on its own merits, but will hold a special attraction for anyone who has ever attempted to capture, on paper, the meaning of a personal experience.

This book is inspiring. First, the writing is clean and concise and keeps the reader "in the room." Second, the stories bring their settings alive, whether they take place in a Vietnamese jungle, on the sides of distant mountains, or in an abandoned church in the Eastern US. Third, and most importantly, "Stone Palaces" reminds us why Socrates said "the unexamined life is not worth living." Buy it, read it, give it to a friend and buy it again (it won't be returned to you any time soon).

i thought that this book was the best book ever if anyone wants to learn about stones and their spritual meanings to native people.

This is one of those books that I loved as a teen and continue to enjoy. It's a very sensitive portrayal of a shy, intellectual teenager who can't figure out how to deal with the death of her older sister. I love horses, which is what first drew me to this book, but it was JoBeth, the main character, who held my attention. Her pain, confusion, and anger are believably drawn, as is the difficulty she feels in expressing these emotions (or any others) to the people around her.

Feeling out of step with the world around you is probably common enough when you are JoBeth's age. (Or mine, come to think of it.) I like the ways in which Ms Calvert allows JoBeth to handle her feelings, and learn to deal with them.

This is a really touching book.

This book is full of information about the use of stones and gems in daily life. It details the powers of the stones as used by shamans and healers of many world religions. Also included are suggestions for metals for setting the stones to gain the full benefit of their powers, and suggested placements on the body.

The Stone River Assignment is an amazing book. Somehow riveting (no pun intended) even though the weight of the story is truly on the business of downsizing Stone River Metalworks, and the characters are in the service of that larger story. The way things work, and the way people don't always fit into the working scheme is a fascinating theme and certainly speaks to our experience. It's rare to get away with this kind of structure in a novel, and Wheeler has done it beautifully. There are two intertwined story-lines that play off each other. One is the corporate story, and the other is a love story. The idea that the hero is going to find himself in a really difficult position, when it comes to the interests of the corporation - because of his compassion and especially because of his love for the boss' daughter - makes the book incredibly compelling. The hero of this book, a moral and ethical person, is in a position of great power in the corporation. He has to deal with a terrible challenge. The story quietly and compellingly gathers dimension as it progresses. The book is interesting on many levels and has important things to say about the way we live. Wheeler has found a fine balance between characters and business matters and has worked it well throughtout the book. I greatly enjoyed reading this book. The pacing is flawless, the characters are idiosyncratic and sympathetic, and Wheeler makes us really care what happens.

a true story about yhe incredible odds of a small girl abandoned , captured and put in a japanese concentration camp surviving illnesses and grief, the use of homeopathy for her mental, emotional and physical pains a great book....

This poetry book rocks! Check out "tree"--the last poem. Full of folly, comedy and deceit, this book is a must for all aspiring poets.

Stone Soup is a popular folktale in many countries that has been told for centuries. The Author Heater Forest tells a contemporary version of the popular folktale. Her Stone Soup is an imaginatively creative story with colorfully descriptive pictures that bring the plot about sharing to life. The author's writing is so clear and vivid that reader's can see the characters even before looking at the pictures. The illustrations are realistically drawn and help kids follow along with the story. The author uses the illustrations to teach kids a lesson about sharing. In Stone Soup, two hungry travelers stumble into a village. The travelers go door to door asking for food. Because the villagers say there is no food, the travelers decide to help them by making their magical soup. In the process of making the soup, the village learnes that if everyone shares good things can come out of it. The language and concept is simple for kids. When the traveler talks to the villagers, he uses simple words. "Please ," said one of the travelers, "we are hungry. Do you care? Will you share? Do you have any food?" These simple sentences express many ideas about sharing. "Do you care?" says that if a person doesn't share it's because they don't care. "Do you have any food?" says that if a person has food they should share it. Stone Soup isn't just good reading that is imaginative and creative; it also tells a moral, which teaches kids a lesson but doesn't preach to them. The moral, that if everyone shares then the outcome is huge, comes across clearly in this imaginative story. The travelers said the magic ingredient to their stone soup is sharing; every contribution counts from the smallest to the largest when people share. This is a idea kids can use in their lives. The author tells a well-written story that, even without pictures, could put the characters vividly in one's mind. The author makes a vivid picture of the travelers hopelessness in the reader's mind: "...travelers came along. Their coats were tattered. Their hats were torn. Their dusty shoes had holes in their soles." Using these descriptive words helps everyone enjoy this story. Susan Gaber illustrated this book. She made the pictures so detailed that a person can see the hair on a man's beard and the buttons on a kid's top, but not so much detail that it takes away from the story. The pictures are realistically drawn and colored. There are no purple trees or orange-haired people. This adds to the realistic plot of the story. Gaber does a great job drawing difficult items, for example: a kernel of corn and a green bean. The colors that are used are bright. When characters talk there is a picture of the main topic in the bubble of what the person is saying. An example of this is when a man says he has a potato and the picture shows a bubble with a potato in it. This helps kids follow the story. From start to finish, Stone Soup is a page-turner, with colorfully detailed pictures to its descriptive wording, which bring alive the imaginative story. Stone Soup is well-written for its age group, using word and concepts kids will understand, while at the same time teaching them a moral and new ideas about sharing. This is definitely one book to check out. -Michele Jicha

This is a classic fable. My father used to tell it to me when I was young, and I was delighted to see it in book form. In this version, there is a fairly standard fairy-tale baddie - the wolf. In the version I knew as a child, it was a tramp, tricking a cook in a kitchen to prepare him a nourishing meal. I am sure there are other versions out there!

This one is nicely illustrated with bright, lively pictures. Although not a "favourite" book, it has found its place in the bedtime story repertoire.