As one who studied ballet for 5 years, I really enjoyed the ballet stories. There are so many ballet series that have come and gone, but most of them have been aimed at little kids. This is the only one I ever found that treated ballet as something a serious teenager would want to do.

Leah and her friends make it fun to read. I found my first book in a used book store and have found three more. I hope to find more.

I have only read TO BE A DANCER, and unfortunately, all the books in this series is out of print. TO BE A DANCER is about Leah, a girl who wants to be a famous dancer someday. She auditions for this world-famous ballet school, and she does make it. Along the way, she makes two friends: Kay and Alexandra. She also makes an enemy: Pam. Plus, she meets James, a total hunk, who seems to like her. This book is totally radical. I REALLY want to read the other books in this series. Qian L.

Unlike most other books written on the Beecher-Tilton scandal, Trials of Intimacy doesn't assume that Rev. Beecher is guilty of adultery. Fox attempts to get at the truth of the scandal, rather than the myth. He demonstrates the possibility of Beecher's innocence as well as guilt. He skillfully presents not just both sides of the story, but every side of the story. He concludes, rightfully, that we may never know what actually happened.

Trials of Intimacy would make an ideal college text for a study of Victorian social life and mores. This book is a must read for anyone researching the scandal. The bibliography contains an excellent synopsis of the material available.

The only complaint I have to make is that Fox practically brands Victoria Woodhull a liar. He also wrote that Victoria Woodhull was the only person jailed in connection to the scandal. He forgot Victoria Woodhull's soon-to-be ex-husband, Col. James Harvey Blood, and Victoria's sister, Tennie C. Claflin. Both were arrested, along with Victoria Woodhull, approximately eight times in connection with the scandal. I doubt that Victoria, Tennie C., and Colonel Blood (who was married to my great-great-grandmother Isabell Blood) would've gone to jail eight times for something they knew was a lie. If Beecher was innocent, Theodore Tilton put one over on Victoria, Tennie C., Col. Blood, and the American people.

There are more "secrets" to be uncovered about the scandal, which Fox didn't mention--like the rape and the insanity case. His book, though, will put you hot on the trail that Beecher and Tilton tried to cover up 125 years ago. You can decide for yourself who is the arch-fiend in this debacle: Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore Tilton, or the media who covered the story with a vengeance.

This book could be the basis for several studies all arising out of the facts of the then scandalous "affair" which is the subject matter of the book...it could be a sociological study, an historical study, a legal study, a psychological study, or even a study in communications...the author tries valiantly to do all of these things and for the most part succeeds...obviously, the lines of reasonable brevity have to be drawn somewhere....All in all this is a thoroughly fascinating account well described in its many facets. The only criticism I would have of this book is the authors use of a reverse chronology in organizing the material...being used to stories being told "from the beginning", the chosen sequence is a little disconcerting...given the many ramifications of the subject matter, however, I can certainly understand why the author chose to set out the events in the manner in which he did. An excellent study in the strange idiosyncracies of human and social nature!

Professor Fox does a fantastic job in this deeply introspective work of late nineteenth-century American culture, society, and religion. The Beecher-Tilton episode, now virtually forgotten, deserves retelling. With unusual deftness, Fox treats perpetually relevant questions regarding the nature of love and reworks them in this incredible story. Fox recounts the scandal in a refreshingly new perspective that captures the essence of American social, cultural, and religious life in the 1870s. A high-quality work in the historiography of American cultural history.

If you are into tropical architecture, this sure is the book for you! Not much text which makes it of "worth" + great photography! Before planning a house, this sure is a must-have! Houses featured here has its owne individuality and character! Dont miss it!...

This is a beautifully photographed and well-organized showcase of wonderful Philippine homes. The range of houses covered is amazing and you're sure to get inspiration from one of the many fine examples of East meets West design as well as the seamless blend of Spanish, Malay, and Western heritage that the Philippines has. The homes are fabulous and even if you aren't thinking of redecorating, you will be after you finish it. One of the things that I particularly like about this is that unlike many books on Asian homes which focus only on either architectural design OR the interiors, this one gives a good balance of both. I just wish that the book had more pages.

This was truly a feast for my senses. The Filipino elite is a highly sophisticated, well travelled, cosmopolitan, tropical, and casually elegant group who have developed a blended taste and style of their own. This book could be renamed "Tropical Dream Homes of the Philippines Rich and Famous". What is truly visible in this book is the rich diversity and fusion of the different cultures - Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, Malaysian, and American - creating a Philippine cosmo-Asian blend. I highly recommend this book.

The TWO GARDENERS in question are Katherine White of New Yorker fame and Elizabeth Lawrence who wrote a garden column for years for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. White's columns on gardening written for the New Yorker magazine were compiled by her husband E. B. White (CHARLOTTE'S WEB, STUART LITTLE) and published after her death in 1977 in the book entitled ONWARD AND UPWARD IN THE GARDEN. Lawrence wrote a number of books, including THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE and THE LITTLE BULBS. Her book THE MARKET BULLETINS was completed by the New Jersey gardener Alan Lacy. The market bulletins were wonderful publications farm women in the South used to communicate information about seeds, plants, animals, receipts (what they called recipes), and other items they for sale or being sought. Elizabeth shared a good deal of information about the market bulletins which were not published north of Virginia with Katherine whose one interests lay with garden catalogues when their friendship began.

Lawrence and White corresponded for several decades. The two women discussed their gardens, their columns, their books, and their lives. In the early part of their correspondence, they often wrote each other by return mail. Toward the end of Katherine's life, the letters were few and far between as illness began to affect her movement and ability to see. In spite of their suffering, they continued to observe the world around them and relay how things were going in the garden-the latest blooms, the ravenous mice, the unexpected cold snap, the new greenhouse. Their words remind me of the hope and comfort women have long experienced when a letter from a loved one arrives. As my 87-year old aunt with whom I still correspond says, it doesn't matter what you write, the smallest thing matters.

The editor of this collection of letters Emily Wilson, quotes a librarian who remarked after having read the letters Elizabeth and Katherine wrote to each other, "I got a feeling of moral interdependence on a creative level. Somehow I had viewed the creativity of successful people as a strong force that perhaps needed channeling but not encouragement. Now, on this new-to-me-plane, I see again that no man is an island."

As the editor of TWO GARDENERS/KATHARINE S. WHITE AND ELIZABETH LAWRENCE, I welcome hearing from readers. I am now writing the biography of Elizabeth Lawrence and would benefit from hearing others' understanding of her, both in these letters and in her books. Emily Herring Wilson

Delightful! The correspondence of 19 years between White and Lawrence is insightful, informative and elegant! Their letterse (far more elegant than e-mail) give us glimpses into life in the 60's and 70's and beyond. This book, which is expertly edited by Emily Herring Wilson has inspired a perennial garden at our Wisconsin home and a renewed interest in the writings of E.B. White, not to mention the writings of Katharine White and Elizabeth Lawrence. These two career women and ladie were supportive and encouraging of one another for 19 years!

This book was not what I normally read...it was recommended by a friend of mine for spicing up marraige. It was totally hot and erotic....but nothing in it really shocked me. I guess it was the way the words and images were used with such taste that it somehow seemed much better than the porno movies that my husband sometimes watches with his friends. (Must be a guy thing...) I found the sexual awakening of Alice not that different than my own learning experiences with my husband....not to get too personal and not saying that I have done all those things that Alice talks about (lets be real, who could), but I will admit that it was a turn on...especially reading a loud to my husband....it made for some really interesting nights.....my best wishes for you and your nights when you read this book.

This is a really great book my husband and i read it together at night in bed it filled with wonderful ideas for a couple to do together

Velvet Whispers, Joan Elizabeth Lloyd's latest novel, is a story about Alice Waterman, a rather unglamourous 32 year old dental receptionist with a flare for story telling. Because of her mother's need for nursing home care and a friend's candid admission that she moonlights providing "phone sex," Alice becomes interested in doing so, too.

From here on the story could have easily become a tired recital of sex-on-the-phone. Lurid exchanges leading nowhere could have soon bored the reader. But happily, this story doesn't. The plot development, the protagonist's transformations in her new role,and the book's other characters are all deftly sketched--and believable.

This book is respectful of its characters,and,of you, the reader's intelligence as well. It's also delightfully erotic. The characters who could have so easily become 2-dimensional libidinal stereotypes, achieve a realism that's quite rare in books of this genre. In short, Velvet Whispers is an engaging tale, very well told by a skilled story teller about a modern Sheherazade(Alice's "nom de phone"). The sex, while deliciously described, is just one part of the story. Like her other books, Lloyd's latest is erotica with flare. It resists the temptation to provide a glib denouement and is engaging to the end. Its author deserves accolades for her literary skill and for her humanism as well. I can't think of anyone who does this type of novel better. I liked it--very much--and think you will, too! A fun read.

From the beginning I might as well say that I also was once diagnosed as a schizophrenic, even for a few days as a paranoid schizophrenic, and so the subject of this particular book strikes close to my heart, although I must add that I never had the experience of hearing voices. This book is an absolutely realistic recreation of the mind of a person who experiences schizophrenia. I have never come across a book that has done this so effectively. Through Robby's voice the author, Elizabeth Kytle, presents some of the prime features of life with schizophrenia; for example, 1. the extreme sense of social anxiety; 2 the social immaturity; 3. the confusion over sexual identity and fear of sexual contact; 4.the deep and profound, though constantly thwarted, need to belong; 5. the awareness that what you are doing and thinking is somehow extremely inappropriate combined with the need to spend intense energy disguising that inappropriateness; and finally, 6. the establishment of a barricade to protect yourself from other people, which eventually becomes a prison. One of the most effective techniques Elizabeth Kytle uses in this book is to have Robby narrate a portion of his life, and then have another friend, relative, teacher, colleague or employer then narrate a parallel section covering the same period of time, yet reflecting a different perspective on the same events. Research has shown that shizophrenia is caused by a complicated interaction between genetic and environmental influences--40% is probably genetic while the environment contributes the remaining 60%. This book does an excellent job of showing the interaction between these two elements to the point where Robby ended up in a psychiatric hospital with a full fledged case of schizophrenia. Overall, at the end of this book, I was wholly impressed with Robby's courage and ingenuity in facing an extremely destructive mental illness. We are also called to examine our own attitudes towards what those who have serious mental illness can and cannot do. It was clear that Robby, despite the severity of his illness, was a far more capable employee than others who weren't mentally ill. If only employers had been willing to work with his diability, he could have ended his life with some self-respect and dignity. In conclusion, I've read many books on mental illness, particularly in the area of memoir, and this is pretty well the best I've read thus far.

I am writing a paper on Paranoid Schizophrenia and found this to be an excellent story. I didn't know a lot about Schizophrenia before I read this book and it helped me to understand the diagnoses and the various hardships that Schizophrenics have to face, both mentally and socially. Much better than any textbook on mental disorders, this story is not only entertaining but educational as well. Highly recommended!

This is a thought provoking true story about Mental Illness.. Robby was handsome, charming, bright, friendly and hard working, yet angry,desolate, alone in a crowd. No one could save this wonderful man. Mental Illness is an illness of the brain, just as heart trouble is an illness of the heart. We need to accept it more.

Awesome plot and I have never read anything like i; well, except of course, the Harry Potter Series which is 1000 times better than this but that's besides the point. However, overall it is a good read.

This Book was exactly like the tv show! When ever i can't see the eposode,(they cancled the show)i just read the book. They still show some eposode's but they still show some but not this one.

This is the best book in the wold and there is nothing to describe it. So, go and buy it and you will be amased

Whaley and Wongs updated bible for paediatric nurses is essential reading now it has gone in to its seventh edition, Those who had the 1995 version will already be familiar with the fully comprehensive care plans and evidence based practice rigorously detailed within the book, but 2002's new edition not only updates knowledge but also improves clarity using excellent illustrations, and also includes an entire new chapter regarding community care- an issue at the forefront of modern nursing. This is a core text for all students and qualified nurses alike.

I have a hard time reading some books that are required in nursing school. However this book is exceptional! I loved this reader friendly textbook. It is very easy to understand. I wish more of my books were like this one. Thank you Donna Wong.

The 6th edition of this textbook is the best ever. Wong as usual provides the latest research with every topic covered. The color-coded chapters make it easy to use. The CD-ROM is very useful as a study aid and to view clips of nursing procedures. Highly recommended for nursing students and practicing pediatric nurses.

Elizabeth Daniels Squire's new Peaches Dann mystery, Where There's a Will, has everything: the beauty and danger of a high mountain setting in western North Carolina; a hazardous trans-Atlantic voyage on the fictional British luxury liner, the Ocean Queen; and a motley cast of newly made multimillionaires, one of whom may be out to murder the others. To this mixture is added a baffling plot with more twists and turns than a DNA helix. The result is an exciting adventure in mystery reading, especially the climactic scene in which Peaches, at the risk of her own life, solves the murder of handsome, charming Wingate Scott. When you start reading Where There's a Will, be prepared to read it straight through to the end, because you won't be able to put it down.

If you haven't met Peaches Dann, an amateur detective with a memory problem, you are in for a real treat. I would, of course, suggest that you pick up the first books in this series as well. When an reclusive multi-millionaire dies and leaves his fortune to various members of the family to the tune of fifteen million each. Deaths begin to occur even though it seems each member of the family is satisfied with the portion received. A friend of Peaches asks for her help in uncovering the killer. The family must make a joint trip to England to satisfy the terms of the will. When Peaches' friend is almost killed, Peaches flies to England to come back with them on the ship. This is no "Love Boat" cruise. Attempted poisonings, near misses on pushing members of the party overboard and a most humiliating, but hilarious, attempt on Peaches' life add to the non-stop excitement and fun of "Where There's a Will." This is a must-read for all cozy fans.

Suffering from a terrible memory, Peaches Dan takes lessons to learn a few tricks that will help her survive in the everyday world. She writes a book, How To Survive Without A Memory, to help others with similar afflictions recall critical things. Surprisingly, Peaches also solves murder mysteries by using her tricks to help her recall the clues.

Marietta, a high school friend, asks Peaches to investigate the death of her brother Winston, who allegedly jumped off a cliff. Marietta insists her sibling would never venture near an overhang because he deeply feared heights. Money could be a motive as Winston and his relatives recently came into a $15 million inheritance each. On a trip to England, someone tries to kill Marietta, who immediately persuades Peaches to join her. On the luxurious return trip by sea, several other murder attempts occur, including one on the sleuth. Peaches knows she must identify the culprit rather quickly before someone else dies at the hands of the unknown assailant.

Elizabeth Daniels Squire has created a near perfect sleuth in Peaches. The middle aged person with a faulty memory refuses to allow her ailment to stop her activities. WHERE THERE'S A WILL is a who-done-it loaded with misdirection cleverly executed by the author. Anyone who reads this novel will search for the previous five books in this humorous series with a deep message.

Harriet Klausner

I look forward to reading this book every year because the children always love it so. It is a sweet, simple, and yet engrossing tale of a little girl who lived many years ago. She was going out West with her family on a wagon train, when she is separated from them with only her horse, Anna, for company. Anna wants to go off with a white stallion and his wild mares, but she is torn between her desire for freedom and her loyalty to the Gretchen. The white stallion ends up saving the girl's life, and she is happily reunited with her family.

The White Stallion is just right for 7-9 year olds who want something longer than a picture book that is still easy to read. They will also like learning a little about wagon trains and the love between a girl and her horse. It is well-written and illustrated, and I happily recommend it.

a wonderful book, when you read it you know it must be true because of it being so unusual. I wonder if anyone out there has any historical information on this horse, because somewhere I read about this amazing horse in history in the Nebraska, Utah early days, he was talked about by the oldtimers, almost mythical, the stories were passed around the territory, by native americans, settlers . thank you

This book brings back so many memories. When I was a girl, my mother bought this book for me. It's about a girl, Rachel, who gets separated from her wagon train on her horse. Her horse wanders into the woods, with the sleeping girl on her back. The girl is very afraid, but a white stallion appears and leads them back. It is really a magical story, intricately illustrated. I highly recommend it for everyone.