I have just finished reading Barbara Leigh's book for the second time. As the other reviews stated, it is hard to put down once you start reading, it is just so absorbing. One of the comments I would like to add to the other fine reviews is the fact that I, as a woman who has had many struggle in life, found great triumph in Barbara's story. Here is a woman from a sad childhood who made it through modeling, Hollywood, movies and powerful men without ever turning to crutches like Alcohol or drugs, much like many of her peers. This is a true story of a women's survival in a preliminary mans world. And I would like to point out, that while Barbara is still strikingly beautiful and still has a successful career...Elvis, Jim Aubrey and Steve McQueen are gone...two from either drugs or alcohol, and McQueen sadly from cancer. So here's to you Barbara. A life of beauty, fame, fun and sorrow all exquisitely told and elegantly lived...

As an avid reader of autobiographies & biographies of all things Hollywood, I found this book to be one of the best ever written by a Hollywood actress. Barbara Leigh is not only a physically beautiful woman, but she is also one heck of a classy lady for candidly speaking about her relationships with Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen and Jim Aubrey, without maliciously destroying their reputations as powerful men & in Elvis and Steve's cases Hollywood Icons. Ms. Leigh has a delicious sense of class for "dishing the dirt" in such a "clean" way! How lucky these men have been to have had her in their lives and to see her respect their memories together. She writes with a knack for vivid details and in such an honest, real way. You just can't put the book down. I read this one in about a day and a half turning each page with enthusiasm. The only bad thing about this book is that it came to an end! Give us another one Barbara! Somewhere in the heavens Elvis & McQueen are smiling, pleased that their paths crossed with hers! This book is a keeper and a definite must read! Buy it, sit back & Enjoy!

This book is a smooth reading, fast paced, energetic romance adventure leaving female readers green with envy and male readers "champing at the bit" to trade places with one of Ms. Leigh's three love interests showcased. A majority of the book's content is devoted to the "on-again", "off-again", mostly "on-again" love affairs of the young and beautiful actress/model Barbara Leigh as she delicately balances the advances of three of Hollywoods most powerful, influential and desirable men---all at the same time!

Ms. Leigh gives the reader a rare and honest glimpse of her heart and heartaches as she strives to strike a balance between her magnetic attraction to each of these dynamic personalities as well as groom and advance her own professional and personal growth.

Barbara describes, with remarkable recall, some of the high points with each lover. Through her eyes we see aspects of these men otherwise hidden from the public. But alas, not all was "fun and games". Ms. Leigh, just as clearly, recalls some of the stresses and strains associated with each relationship, documenting tragic circumstances that eventually brought each to an end.

A portion of her writing is dedicated to her childhood. We see fragmented relationships, abandonment and a lack of stability that leaves the reader believing that miracles do happen...for out of this turbulent childhood emerged a lady who holds few ill feelings, loves people and has carved her own distinctive niche, achieving the well-earned status of celebrity.

I have now read this book 3 times and enjoyed more each time. The book starts with the Scottish throne sitting empty and Edward of England ruling Scotland. The young Earl of Carrick, Robert Bruce and his younger brothers are enjoying the attentions of Edward and living a care free life.

Two events change all this, the Battle of Stirling Bridge, which unites the common Scots people behind a commoner called William Wallace, and the slaying of the Red Comyn at Berwick, on holy church ground. Robert immediately declares himself King of Scots.

What follows is a marvellous account and insight into a remarkable period of Scottish history. The way Tranter protrays Bruce's internal turmoil, of being excomincated from Mother church, worrying over his diseased body and the consist struggle to free Scotland ; the obsession that Edward Plantagent has with crushing Scotland and the hounding of Bruce, keeps the reader's fullest attention.

This book is a must. Superb, excellent, buy it.

I had much pleasure reading "The Bruce Trilogy" and "The Wallace" both by Nigel Tranter, and both at the same time, as events were concurrent. I have read nearly all of this author's books and these are two of my favorites. Not the most favorite but perhaps 3rd and 4th.
The film director of "Braveheart" should have done a little more research as he would have discovered that Robert the Bruce would have, according to the legend, been the true Braveheart. When you read the book, witness what it was that Jamie Douglas cried out as he made his fatal charge against all odds, and find out why........here is the Brave Heart.

If you have seen the movie 'Braveheart' and want to know more, but have time only to read one book, then this is the one for you (OK - it's three books in one!) Read the truly amazing story of Robert the Bruce and his 30-year struggle for Scotland, told with Nigel Tranter's trademark mix of excellent research and good storytelling. (MacBraveHeart, May 1999)

If you are a quilter, or even if you aren't, this is a beautiful book about the value of giving. The book is well-written, if not very subtle. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the tie in to quilts makes for an interesting story.

My children, age 7 and 9, both love this book just to look through and read to themselves. I like to look through and match up the quilting patterns. -- Oh, an added extra is a search and find in the middle ... younger kids will love this.

For quilters, there is a tie in with fabric still available in some stores and you can make a quilt to go with the story line. Altogether, a keeper.

Though my children are grown, I still enjoy brousing the children's book section of the local bookstore. I was drawn to remove The Quiltmakers Gift from it's resting place on the shelf because of the beautifully rendered, inviting illustrations on it's cover. And what a pleasant surprise when I opened the book to find a wealth of the same along with a most touching and tenderly written story about a king living in unhappy greed amongst the finest of splendor. Yet this same greed allows his path to cross with that of a loving, giving soul who has the gift to help the king learn how to find his own happiness. It is apparent that both author and illustrator have a deep understanding of the gift of giving, and have given us a wonderful story to share with our loved ones. I found myself sitting in the bookstore wiping away the tears from my eyes and I knew this book was a must even though I may save it for years before having grandchildren to read it to.

my children love this book. the story is about a king that collects beautiful things and demands a blanket from a mountain woman who makes amazing quilts but she refuses...she only gives her handmade quilts for those in need. the king is not considered a needy person. he demands a quilt and even though he tries to do mean things to her like leave her in a bear's cave to get his way, but she always comes out with a new friend because she has helped those she was left with. she finally tells him to give away all his things to get a quilt. for every item he gives away she'll sew another square. it has a great moral about helping those in need. the ending is great! the book has inspired my children to help make baby blankets for newborns in need as a christmas service project. we plan on sending the books to all our relatives on our christmas list while donating blankets in their honor. if you're looking for the perfect book for someone with a caring heart....this is it! also perfect for the quiltmaker in your life.

In his epic account of America during the Civil Rights Era, Taylor Branch provides a compelling portrait of the rise to prominence of Martin Luther King, Jr. This Pulitzer Prize winning book is historical narrative at its finest. Branch focuses on the life of King, the African American politics of the era, as well as the local, state, and national politics affecting the civil rights movement.

Michael Luther King, Jr., was born to an elite African-American family on January 15, 1929. At the age of five, his father would change his and his son's names to Martin Luther King, in honor of Martin Luther after the elder King traveled to Germany. The younger King was raised with the highest of expectations. Highly unusual in his time, the King family had the means, through their powerful position as a leading Atlanta black family and through the enterprising and industrious ways of MLK, Sr., to put MLK, Jr. through college up to the level of earning a P.H.D. from Boston University. This education both shaped the younger King in the traditional ways of learning, as well as through the social contacts he gained, and through the experience of living in the relatively liberal north.

In 1954 at the age of 25, two weeks after the Warren Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Brown, et al., v. Board of Education of Topeka, King gave his first sermon as pastor-designate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In taking this job, King was defying his father who wanted his son to eventually take over at his own church, Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Moving into the deep south, and away from the elite black community of Atlanta, King was in for a rude awakening as he was exposed to the depths and strengths of entrenched racism.

King soon rose to national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). With the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man, the MIA mobilized the black community in Montgomery into what became the largest act of civil disobedience among blacks up to that time. Branch's account of the Montgomery bus boycott, like the entire book, is riveting. Through great bravery, hardship, and persecution, the blacks triumphed and the Montgomery buses were finally integrated. King was just one of many blacks who provided leadership and showed courage through this ordeal, but because of his skills as an orator and his position as the leader of the MIA, he found himself thrust into the national spotlight.

The book culminates with the march on Washington in 1963, and the assassination of President Kennedy that same year. Throughout, King is portrayed as a brilliant leader, a fiery orator, a man willing to go to jail for what he believes in, and a man who is successfully and brilliantly riding the tides and changing currents of his times. However, Branch does not portray King as a solo operator. The events of the Civil Rights Era, starting roughly with the Brown decision, and going through the assassination of King in 1968, are a series of events with multiple personalities and acts of bravery against institutionalized persecution and entrenched bigotry. The southern mayors, governors, police chiefs, policemen, firemen, and the angry white southern mobs are shown as the villains of a racist society. President Eisenhower and to a lesser degree President Kennedy were reluctant participants in the inflammatory racial politics of their time. Attorney General Robert Kennedy took a more active role in civil rights than any of his predecessors at the Department of Justice, but he too was hemmed in by the politics of his own party. Richard Nixon, Ike's vice president and the Republican candidate in 1960, was more in tune with the plight of blacks than Eisenhower was, but Branch portrays Nixon, along with the other leading politicians of both parties as always acting out of political calculation. The most sinister man on the national level was J. Edgar Hoover, the entrenched FBI chief who would stop at nothing in his sick plots of snooping into the private lives of anyone he deemed of interest. King ranked high on that list.

"Parting the Waters" is a long book, but it is an easy and quick read. Branch brilliantly gives the reader a taste of America during the years of 1954 to 1963 from the perspective of the civil rights issue. He also portrays Martin Luther King, Jr., now a national martyr and hero to blacks and whites alike, as an extraordinary human being who rose to the challenges of his times and helped lead all Americans closer to the promised land of equal opportunity.

This book - the first in a projected series of three volumes - begins a comprehensive history of the civil rights movement, focusing on the role played by Martin Luther King. It is not a biography of King per se but Taylor Branch has a lot to say about how King, through personal effort, became a great leader. King was, of course, a great orator, and Branch is pretty adept at analyzing his methods. But almost anyone who has heard King or read him knows that he was channeling something greater than himself.

What King wanted for himself was a life of scholarship. Yet, as Jesus said on the Mount of Olives, "not my will, but yours be done." In a brilliant anecdote, Branch relates how King was elected, almost accidentally, to head the Montgomery Bus Boycott. At a mass meeting that evening, King gave an inspired speech. At the end of the speech, the audience sat, stunned. People reached out to touch him as he left the building. "[King] would work on his timing, but his oratory had just made him forever a public person. . . . He was twenty-six, and had not quite twelve years and four months to live." The obstacles in Montgomery in 1955 were many, and only a few weeks passed before King sat in despair, his face buried in his hands. He prayed, saying "I've come to the point where I can't face it alone." As he spoke these words, he experienced a transcendent religious experience that gave him the strength to continue his struggle. No man is perfect, but King knew his duty, and did it.

Beyond its insights into King's character, this book offers readers a survey of our country at a critical juncture. When the civil rights movement began, the balance of interests in the United States had left the South in the grip of the great evil of segregation. King himself shifted the balance. At the same time, thousands of ordinary Americans, devoted to nonviolent struggle, suffered tremendous privation, loss of livelihood, beatings, and sometimes death, making it impossible for the federal government to ignore the plight of Southern blacks.

Finally, through Branch's history, we meet a large number of what could almost be called interesting minor figures except that they were not minor at all. One of these is Vernon Johns, a brilliant farmer-preacher who preached the social gospel. In a memorable scene, Johns is asked to address a group of white and black preachers who are meeting to discuss the role of the church during a time of racial tension. He says, "The thing that disappoints me about the Southern white church is that it spends all of its time dealing with Jesus after the cross, instead of dealing with Jesus before the cross. . . . If that were the heart of Christianity, all God had to do was drop him down on Friday, let them kill him, and then yank him up again on Easter Sunday. That's all you hear. You don't hear so much about his three years of teaching that man's religion is revealed in the love of his fellow man. He who says he loves God and hates his fellow man is a liar, and the truth is not in him. That is what offended the leaders of Jesus's own established religion as well as the colonial authorities from Rome. That's why they put him up there. . . . I want to deal with Jesus before the cross. I don't give a damn what happened to him after the cross." At this point, no one's too happy that they invited Johns to speak. Lest we think that Johns was just an eccentric, though, Branch also refers us to Johns' "Transfigured Moments," which can be found on the web and shows Johns to be a serious man of considerable understanding and imagination.

In addition to its merit as history, Parting the Waters is a great read, and deserves to be read slowly. If you can do this, the time you spend with this 900-plus-page book will be extremely rewarding.

Presenting an authentic and comprehensive picture of the mammoth civil rights movement in the United States in the post WWII era is a daunting task, yet noted author and journalist Taylor Branch has succeeded masterfully with this, the first of a two-volume history of the struggle of blacks in America to find justice, equality and parity with the mainstream white society. Tracing the rise of the singular leader personified in the young Rev. Martin Luther King, Branch sets the stage for a wide range of events, personalities, and public issues. This is truly a wonderful read, fascinating, entertaining, and endlessly detailed in its description of people and events, and quite insightful in its chronicling of the fortune of those social forces that created, sustained, and accomplished the single most momentous feat of meaningful social action in our nation's contemporary history.

His range of subjects is necessarily wide and deep, and we find coverage of every aspect of the tumultuous struggle beginning in the deep South, and gradually working its way north and west until most of the urban northeast also surrendered to the battle cry for civil rights and justice under the law. In many respects this borders on being a biography of Martin Luther King and his times, yet Branch so extends his coverage of the eddies and currents of the movement itself that it appears to be by far the most comprehensive and fair-minded treatment of the civil rights movement published to date. Whether covering the issue of Martin Luther King's own personal life, his internal philosophical concerns, or his appetite for young white women, the reader is engaged with every element of this and a thousand other personalities, issues, and events that carved out the history of our country for almost twenty years.

One finds a very detailed of the Kennedy involvement in the movement, first as a purely political ploy to help to win the black vote in the extremely tight race for the Presidency in 1960, and then as an administration struggling to do what was right in the face of enormous social, political, and even economic opposition. Here too we find an absorbing account of how the FBI attempted to infiltrate and influence the movement, with J. Edgar Hoover's adroit political savvy and deep-seated racism causing great difficulty and a number of tribulations for the civil rights cause. The names and places and events described here are legion, and one gets the sense that anyone who had a conscience was involved, and many of the names mentioned later went on to greater accomplishment and further noteworthy contribution in their public lives and careers.

This, then, is a stupendous first volume of a wonderful two-volume history of the civil rights movement in the United States, and covers the period from the late 1950s when the first rumblings of the movement were sounded until just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in November of 1963. The second volume picks up the thread thereafter, extending out through the Johnson years and including aspects of the coalescence of the movement with the Vietnam anti-war protest. This is a wonderful book, and one I would consider essential reading for anyone with an interest in American history in the 20th century. I highly recommend both books, and I hope you appreciate reading them as much as I did. Enjoy!

As a story, this is cute and enjoyable. As a potty-training helper, not very effective.

The princess won't use any of the special royal potties until she is tempted by a pair of pantalettes. Maybe that's a good reminder to us parents to be patient, but it doesn't encourage potty usage for my child.

The book discusses using the potty in very generic terms, nothing specific. No potty words (like pee or poop) are used. I view it as another book in the bookcase, which is OK.

My daughter likes for me to read this book to her, and enjoys calling her diaper "the royal diaper". Sometimes she likes to discuss pantalettes, but she has not expressed any interest in using the "royal potty".

I prefer "The Potty Book For Girls" as a potty-learning tool.

As I began reading this book about a little girl whose royal parents buy her every color and pattern potty imaginable to get her to potty train, I was a bit worried my child would begin demanding her own 'pink potty'. However, as you read you discover none of these bribes work with the little girl-she simply doesn't want to (sound familiar? It did for me). Anyway, only the thought of soiling the princess' pretty, new undies gives her the desire to run to the potty in the end. And it is then that she discovers she doesn't need any of those fancy potties, the closest potty will do(which is the plain, old potty)! Now, my daughter couldn't care less about pretty panties when we began to suggest potty training. ... This was her favorite book and it is so cute she actually continued choosing it in her nightly read selections for some time after potty training. ... Anyway, would reccomend this Princess and the Potty to keep the task at hand foremost in their little minds and then one other for more specific step-by-step instructional which can tend to be not as attractive for them to want to read. Good luck! If you stick to it and let them feel the few messes and help clean up, you'll succeed!

I read this book many times over at a camp where I worked with children with disabilities. A goal of one child was for them to become independently potty trained and she was my "kid" for the summer. She was struggling a lot with the independence of it and we had just gotten her a new specialized toilet which coincided with the one she now had at home. She would not even sit on it at first. The Princess and the Potty became routine for her to listen to. I think this book models independence, yet also stresses the idea that the child knows when they are ready.

My husband received the first installment of the Green Mile as a gift. We drive alot of miles back and forth to work every day and listen to tapes to make the time pass more quickly. We were not familiar with Stephen Kings work, because we don't like "Horror." We were totally suprised and pleased that this was not what we thought of as horror. We were totally hooked by the first 15 minutes of the tape. Paul Edgecomb, John Coffee and the other characters on the mile are brought to life by King and the terrific reading of Frank Muller. If you want a tape that will make you want to sit in your car and listen even after you get home, this series is a must. I have not found another author and reader that keep you wanting MORE! MORE! MORE! like King and Muller. You will laugh, cry, and curse and be totally absorbed from from beginning to end.

I wonder if there are more books like the Green Mile by Stephen King. First book I have ever listened to that was written by him. I thought he wrote about strange events. I was spellbound. I was transported into the story and couldn't wait until the next tape. What a great writer. Any suggestions on which one I should read next?

In the Green Mile Serial Thriller I love how Stephen King takes so many little stories about love and friendships and adds a twist of evilness and darkness with in each of the characters. From how he builds up the plot not just for the main characters but for everyone of the characters in the novel from the talented Mr. Jingles to the most focused character John Coffey. King kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time while he was building up to the final part, is Coffey gonna live or die and I really loved that but didn't like the outcome. But because of the time period it was set in I can understand reasons for the ending King gave The Green Mile. The book was really great and to any Stephen King fan if I were you I would read it.

Willow King by Chris Platt is the most exciting and entertaining horse book I have yet read. Katie Durham's struggles in raising the crippled Willow King into a quality racehorse teaches the young girl something about herself as well. Gifted with such a strong spirit, King never gives up in the process of straightening his legs; Katie, possibly short on self-confidence in certain areas of her life, learns from her horse that one must never fall in the face of defeat. Dealing with a snobby neighbor girl and a handsome ninth-grader only adds to the excitement of the tale. Will Willow King be able to correct his crooked leg problem, and be able to go on and win such races as the Kentucky Derby as Katie dreams? Willow King is definitely a must-read, far outshining other novels in its class.

This a awesome book that I absolutly have to reccomend. It is about a girl named Katie who saves a foal who is about to be put down because he has crooked legs. She feels a strong bond between her and the foal because she was born with one leg shorter than the other, similar to the foal. Katie trains Willow King, the foal, and straightens his legs. Along the way, ahe has to deal with her enemy, Cindy because Cindy is using Katie's beloved show horse, Jester so Katie can train Willow. She also has to deal with a boy named Jason, whom she befriends. I strongly recomend this book to anyone who would like a good read. Even if you are not a horse fanatic like me, I think you will like it.

This book was one of the best books I've ever read and if you read about horses and haven't read this book, you're missing out on something special. This girl Katie is born with one leg shorter than the other, so she's imeadiately touched by Willow King who was born with crooked legs. When the owner decides he should be put down, Katie begs to be the one to own him. Finally, Willow King is hers! Together Katie feels that they will be able to reach the top. But there are more bumps on the way then she expected including, teaching this foal. I absolutely loved this book and Chris Platt is at her best when she writes!

Dr. Walter Lillehei's last name is atually easy to pronounce. When reading G. Wayne Miller's newest non-fiction thriller, "The King of Hearts," just read his name as 'Lilla - High.' Almost like the name of a high school . . . Lilla High.

But Miller's quest for the truth about 'Lilla High" turns into a reader's quest for the true story about the almost unbelievable account of how heart surgery began on this planet. Most of us remember or have heard about the Dr. Christiaan Barnards's headlining heart transplant in 1967. Maybe the recipient's name - Louis Washkansky- would be a good trivia question on 'Who Want's to be a Millionaire?' or 'Jeopardy.' But it might be better to learn about or remember the name of this maveric medical pioneer by the name of Dr. Walt Lillehei (prounounced like the high school!) who began the heart surgery revolution.

This book is a suspensiful portrait of a fascinating man and his incredible determination, at any cost, to forge ahead where no doctor had before. We take for granted that our relative, friend, neighbor, even ourselves! can now go through a simple open heart surgery procedure and recover gracefully to enjoy a long life. But do you remember history just 30 or 40 years ago when heart disease at any age meant almost instant death? Do you know how many children just died from what we know demand from doctors to routinely fix?

G.Wayne Miller answered so many questions for us through an amazing eight year project which is now titled "King of Hearts." Miller's project has become this 245 pages of reading that one WANTS to read all at once. Filled with suspense, drama, intrigue and the always-present element of actual human life and events that makes for a non-fiction, the reader is torn between what makes this book such a page-turner. Is it because it reads like a literary 'E.R.' or 'Chicago Hope,' or is it the because it is a fascinating medical story of real life with all the suspensful parts? Motivated, almost possessed doctors. Desperate people and parents of dying children. A doctor on an emotional roller coaster who pushed life to its fullest - both personally and professionally.

This is the story of one of life's greatest accomplishments by a pioneer doctor, who like most pioneeers of anything - took great risks, pushed the limit, and believed in breaking the rules. He was the doctor who began what we all now call heart surgery. He was the doctor whose student, Christiaan Barnard, made worldwide headlines by performing a heart transplant - something we now take almost for granted, but what is it really?

Doctor Walt "Lilly High" deserves more than 245 pages of drama and suspense. He dared where no others would - both professionally and personally. But the chances he took, the new opportunity he pioneered for all of us, and the personal life he led gave author Miller more than he needed.

Miller's ability to chronical his eight year study of Walt Lillehei's life into this page-burner that you'll want to reread to catch all those facts again is why I recommend "King of Hearts" to all readers. Whether a thriller reader, non-fiction master, medical fan, or Miller follower, you'll find a great read about trail-blazers who made a real difference in this life.

Enjoy it!

Being an adult patient with a congenital heart defect, I was looking for some kind of hope that surgery would be promising for me. After reading "King of Hearts" not only was I amazed at how far surgery had came and how much safer it is now than then. I could not put the book down for wanting to know more about the peoples lives that went through the surgeries and the young Dr.s that performed them. Looking at the faces of the people in the photo's in the book made me feel even more like a part of that history. But what astounded me most was the determination of Dr. Lillihei to continue with reasearch after all his set backs. I can honestly say that G. Wayne Miller has made what some would consider to be an educational history book so interesting that I wasn't able to put it down.

"King of Hearts" is an engaging adventure into the world of heart repair 50 years ago. Mr. Miller tells the story of Walt Lilihei, one of the pioneers of open-heart surgery, with spirit, accuracy and compassion. He is ever sensitive to both the goals that Dr. Lilihei had and the lives that were lost in the process. Instead of viewing these lives as just statistics, we see how they were people, loved and valued by their families, who had no alternative but to try surgery. Their deaths are respected and honored, as they went before the world knew what it knows now about open-heart surgery. But they were instrumental, as was Dr. Lilihei in teaching the world what it knows now about repairing the heart.

Although some stay away from biographies, "King of Hearts" stands alone. It is a fast-paced, exciting exploration of one man's search to radically alter the surgical options for heart disease. Once one picks up this book, it is difficult to put down. I confess to reading it straight through the moment I received it. The reader wants so very much for Dr. Lilihei to triumph, to find a way to save his patients. And Mr. Miller's style of writing is enough to keep any reader engaged. He writes with energy and with a no-nonsense portrayal of this great man. He skillfully avoids the overtly technical and instead writes for the layman reader, though I have no doubt that those in the medical field will also enjoy reading the story behind the facts they learned about Walt Lilihei.

I am reminded of Grisham and Turow in the reading of this text, yet Miller stands quite by himself as well, marking out an aggressive and fast-paced style of writing which tells both the facts and the emotions but never dips into pathos or excessive sentimentality.

As Mr. Miller points out, Lilihei was essentially as human as any of us. His faults and virtues are both explored in this excellent text. He is in essence the quintessential hero, and his story could easily be taken from the great Greek tragedies. As portrayed by Mr. Miller, Dr. Lilihei is man against nature, sometimes trapped by his own failings, and sometimes triumphant in his earnest attempt to better the human race.

And the fact that Dr. Lilihei succeeded in his efforts makes this book both triumphant and glorious. As with the modern day film "Rocky," one gets to cheer the accomplishments of someone who fought against the odds, while at the same time recognizing that these accomplishments were sometimes overshadowed by a questionable personal life.

"King of Hearts" stands as a contribution to the wonderful texts which tell of the indomitable human spirit, of the need for man to reach out and better man. It is as much a study of human nature as it is a retelling of the field of cardiology in the early days and the frustrations which doctors encountered when they had to let their patients die because no surgical options existed. This book surpasses a mere retelling or biography and instead becomes an example by which other biographies should be judged. In other hands, this subject might be dry and overly technical, but in Miller's telling it comes alive and teaches us all a little bit about ourselves and the human condition. Bravo to G. Wayne Miller for his extraordinary talent and for this extraordinary book!

I've never had the experience of meeting a person like Horse Badorties. Coming form a culture like mine.. I read almost half of the book to get an idea of what's going on, I read all the reviews too. I enjoyed reading it. And what amazed me most is Kotzwinkle's ability to register all this confusion in a person's mind. I thought it funny, interesting, new to me.. the confusion puzzled me

Apparently this book was a cult hit when it was published, but I only know one person my age who's ever heard of it (and it's his absolute favorite book of all time, which should tell you something). Horse Badorties is a crazy ex-hippie who got so high on organic seminola in the 60's that he just never came down. His first-person narration of his hapless, paranoid, chaotic, unsanitary life is a real trip that kept me in perpetual stitches. Warning: despite the rest of Kotzwinkle's track record (he's most famous for writing E.T.) this is not a kid's book. There's some sexual language and situations and a girl gets raped in it (to which Badorties is utterly indifferent).

This is one of the greatest books ever written. Every word, line, page, image hits true. I read it back when it first came out & have since given away a couple dozen copies. Like so many others in this thread when I reread it I am hit anew by the force of its humor & pure writing. Horse Badorties LIVES, MAN!!! He is a TRUE ORIGINAL right up there with Huck & Ahab (& you & me, man). Wow!!

Things change for a young Goose Girl when an old hag gives her a few gifts: she becomes as fair as the dawn, her hair is filled with gold dust which comes out upon brushing, and whenever she cries, diamonds fall to the ground rather than tears. Alexandria is then placed in a tower by a dim-witted prince who wants her hand in marriage, and she is then forced to choose between an evil king and the prince. She makes a deal that she will choose when she finishes her wedding gown, which is to be crafted from gold thread created from the gold dust from her hair. However, she undoes her stitches every night when no one looks, and sews very, very, very slowly, to buy time. Then one day, the servents forget to lock her door, and everything changes when she climbs to the top of the tower and her geese carry her away on a featherbed. She must face ogresses, armies, castles, impossibly long hair, and the return of the stupid prince. Will she ever survive this escape to freedom? Find out in this hilarious book. Recommended for fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, Finnegan Zwake Mysteries by Michael Dahl, fairy tales, and all hilarious books.

Setting- Fairy tale, magical, medieval times with princes and muskets, castles and dungeons
Characters- Goose Girl, a.k.a.. Alexandria Fortunato, a girl who watches twelve geese as a legacy of her dead mother. She is enchanted with golden hair that produces gold dust when brushed and crystal tears when she cries. Prince of Dorloo- wishes for the Goose Girl to marry him. King of Gilboa- a usurper who also wishes to marry Goose Girl (more for her gold and diamonds than for her)
Plot- Goose Girl is captured and placed in a tower until she decides whether to marry the Prince of Dorloo or the King of Gilboa. Her twelve geese help her escape and deposit her near the home of three ogresses who tie her hair to the doorpost while she cooks for them. The Prince comes after her and is captured by the ogresses. They escape together procuring a beautiful ruby necklace. Goose Girl and the Prince are captured by the King's soldiers and put in a dungeon. Goose Girl's hair helps them escape but they are recaptured by the King. It is discovered the Goose Girl and the twelve geese are really the genuine heirs of the kingdom and the King is turned into a buzzard by the ugly fairy godmother. The geese are restored to human form and Alexandria will eventually marry the prince who is now King of Dorloo because his father dies.
Author eval.- This well written humorous expansion of a little known fairy tale is delightful. It is mostly the language that is used. It is very tongue in cheek and punny. I enjoyed it!
Audience- 9th grade and up would enjoy this tale.

The story of a goose girl who seems to be living in a fairy tale. An old hag gives her special gifts of great beauty, bewitched hair, and the ability to cry diamonds. All this wealth attracts a cruel King and a young Prince who seems to be a little simple. She has to come up with a way to hold off the two suitors, and plan an escape from her tower.

Her geese help her escape the tower, but then she gets caught by three ogresses. The Prince comes after her, gets caught too, so together they have to save each other. Together they go from peril to peril.

It is fun to pick out all the plot twists based on familiar old fairy tales. Even the geese are enchanted. I got so involved with the great characters that I didn't want the story to end.