Elizabeth Collins has captured my heart with her endearing love story, Secrets Unbecoming. I was completely captivated by her realistic characters.

Abbey Whitfield wanted nothing more in life than to save her deteriorating marriage to Kevin. Convinced that the isolated military base of Guantanamo Bay would be the tropical paradise they needed, Abbey was more than disheartened when she discovered the secrets of unbecoming acts that dwelled within the base. Adultery, domestic violence, rape, drugs, prostitution - all secrets that had been hidden from the United States Military, by top ranking officials.

The tempestuous Molly Everett would stop at nothing to distract Kevin from his wife. How could Abbey possibly compete with the love her husband was developing for Molly's child, Sara Ann, when she'd unable to give her husband the family he'd always dreamed of herself.

Jack Parker had become her only friend, the only person able to comprehend her breaking heart and desire to help her friend escape her abusive husband. Jack's a rebel, understood by most. But Abbey soon finds him to be the most compassionate man she's ever known, with a heart large enough to save the world, or at least try. His rough exterior a mere facade, disguising his broken heart.

I loved the way Elizabeth wrapped this story up with twists and turns. No one seemed to be who they appeared. The story ends with the malicious finding judgment and the wounded finding peace, in one way or another. Ironically, Kevin forfeits rights to his family - the one thing that destroyed his marriage - and Abbey rides away into the sunset, family in tow.

Secrets Unbecoming was by far, a romantic escape from reality.

What a great read; tasteful, romatic, and quite a thriller. Secrets Unbecoming is a brilliant and extremely well-written novel about love and duty in the American-owned corner of Cuba, Guantanamo Bay (now home to hundreds of former terrorists). Though set around modern day naval life, the characters of Secrets Unbecoming are fascinating and easy to relate to via Elizabeth Collin's use of imagery and gift for description. The story is centered around one woman trying to salvage her marriage, while trying to help another woman whose marriage is life-threatening. With more twists and turns than the movie "Wild Things" the reader is compelled by curiosity to find out what happens next, and Elizabeth Collin's writing style keeps the reader moving swiftly, yet afixed to every word. A+, and then some. This book has movie written all over it.

This book tells the story of the ability to dance on the ice for the children. The Shiny Skates teaches the young skater to follow her dreams. It also gives the skater the ability to gain self-esteem and confidence. The charms of the skates are also included in the book.

It is good reading for any age group. Our granddaughter, 8 years old, really likes the book.

This book features tells story of the ability to dance on the ice for the children. The Shiny Skates teachers the young skater to follow her dreams. It also gives the skater the ability to gain self-esteem and confidence. The charms of the skates are also included in the book.

It is good reading for any age group. Our granddaughter, 8 years old, really likes the book.

As an engineer I worked at the Navy's research, development and test center at China Lake for nearly 40 years. Of the many projects and programs carried on there the Sidewinder air-to-air missile was touted as the most successful tactical missile put into combat. The stories of its invention and early testing turned to legend. I often wondered what was fact and fiction in those intriguing accounts of innovation and shooting down aircraft. Elizabeth Babcock has done a great job of researching and documenting those early years. Her brief book is entertaining and to the point. And, is often the case, the facts turn out to be more amazing than the fiction.

Elizabeth Babcock is on the inside at China Lake and has written this fine short work on the Sidewinder missile. Highly recommended as an introduction to the subject, and very reliable on the historical details. As the author of a book on this subject, I should know!

I finally finished this book. I wanted to read it because I heard a review of the book on National Public Radio, and thought it would give me a little insight into writers and writing. Some of the essays are better than others. I still don't know what Margaret Fuller did, though apparently many who knew her were impressed.

Ms. Hardwick divides the American writers she reviews into several categories. Mrs. Wharton is in her "Old New York" section. She reviews her books, and the reviews written at the time her books were published. I loved the "Age of Innocence" but it was all down hill from there as far as I am concerned, though Ms. Hardwick defends a few of her other pieces.

Ms. Hardwick coves, Cheever, Didion and Roth in "Fictions of America." Since I was never jaded enough to fully appreciate these writers, I was happy to read Ms. Hardwick's views and discover the reasons why I found them off-putting. It's not that they couldn't write, but that I just didn't like what they wrote. On the other hand, I was jaded enough to read a couple of books by John Updike (not Rabbit) and Richard Ford (Independece Day) and though I find them both overgrown adolescents thought her coverage of them was fair. They write well, I'm just tired of men in mid-life crises.

She ends with Mary McCarthy and Nadine Gordimer. Gosh the 20th Century was sure awful.

Elizabeth Hardwick is one of the founders of The New York Review of Books, and most of the essays in this collection were first published there. The collection shows Hardwick's impressive range, as she shifts with great aplomb from Edith Wharton and Henry James to contemporary writers such as Joan Didion and Richard Ford.

Hardwick's style is unique amongst contemporary critics; dull exposition is nowhere in evidence. It might be said that she writes by flashes of lightning, with each sentence reaching -- sometimes straining -- for large effects worthy of the writer she is considering.

Almost all of the eighteen essays included are rewarding, and several, including a lengthy piece on Edith Wharton, are remarkable.

This book is highly recommended for those interested in ambitious criticism unfettered by academic jargon.

This book is like medicine. It is the kind of book you want when you come home after a busy day. When you begin to read it you will feel how you start to relax and forget the world around you. It is a quiet novel and the characters are quiet as well. The author thought about the plot and clearly loves her characters. A brilliant read.

I would like to thank Elizabeth Latham for this wonderful book. I read it at a time when I was experiencing a lot of strain and felt depressed and overworked. This book was better than any medicine you might want to take in such a situation. It is so soothing and makes you feel better immediately. You will become absorbed in the wonderful style very quickly and notice how your body starts to relax. Although the story may sometimes seem a little sad, the ending is great and you will want to go on and on forever. Simply a masterpiece and highly recommendable.

I was familiar with Elizabeth Cunningham's magnificent fiction when I picked up this book of poetry, but even despite my enjoyment of her prose work, I was stunned speechless by the simple and profound beauty of her words. I found myself emailing friends around the nation with various poems, and calling local friends to read special favorites. This book will never leave my shelf!

This poetry is fresh and strong as a good cup of coffee, powerful in its simplicity, sometimes very funny, always meaningful. Everyone will find something to treasure in Small Bird--it is a jewel of a book, with the power to move, to inspire, even to heal. Give it to all your friends: they will love it as much as mine do. All of us have discovered poems here that will be guides and talismans for us, lifelong. Beautiful!

In this collection of episodes in an ongoing life story, Hay uses her narrator "Bethie" to vent a vast store of anger and resentment. Each story relates encounters between Bethie and other women. Men flit in and out of some scenes, leaving no prolonged mark. Bethie's interactions with each of the women is related with deep introspection, but none of them, Beth included, exhibit any depth. Not that any of the characters fails a reality check. Hay is too fine a writer to foist implausible people on the reader. The characters are carefully, even exquisitely drawn. The exchanges are nearly uniformly superficial, but Bethie's reflections and self-assessments on them are intensely revealing. At the end, you will ask yourself "could this woman be my friend?"

It matters little whether an individual episode begins or ends darkly - the darkness is there, persistent throughout the collection. Bethie demands, in her mind, much from her friends. Failure to deliver, or stepping from a preconceived image, arouses her wrath quickly. That anger is expressed, but entirely in her mind. Few shouting matches. No clearing of issues. Simply drifting apart or, in a few cases, some prickly rebounds. Being a friend of Bethie's is a high-risk investment with few rewards. In fact, none of the relationships revealed here could be remotely called "friendships" no matter how frequently the word crops up.

Although a disturbing read, the nomination for many awards this book received is testimony to its value. Calling the writing "honed" is puny understatement. Yet, what the book accomplishes remains elusive. Hay has offered none of her characters as a role model. Perhaps the real challenge in this book is inherent in its "women's view." Is this book an example of why many women censure the right of male writers to assume their viewpoint? This book may be throwing down the gauntlet to male writers to delve this deeply into a woman's psyche. The vivid exposure of Bethie's inner thoughts so genuinely portrayed, show Hay's skills cannot be challenged. A valuable expression of inner thoughts, this book is a fine example of creative writing. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Small Change is a beautifully written, emotionally challenging book of linked stories about friendships between women. This book has been nominated for a number of significant literary awards, including being shortlisted for Canada's Governor General's Award for Fiction in 1997.

i've used this book in the classroom ... and the kids love the ideas ... and will try new food items because of the cute and interesting designs!

This book was shown by to us by one of the authors' sister. All of us at work are very eager to obtain a copy. We all feel that this will be very educational for children and fun for the adults to utilize for parties and those who are nutritionally challenged. Keep up the good work!

This book does a lot to shed light on this very important topic. Soldaderas played a very important role in the Mexican Revolution and in the Mexican military from the time of the MesoAmerican Indians up though the period of the Revolution and even afterwards. Their role has, unfortunately, been overlooked, except in some of the songs of the period of the Mexican Revolution, which focus on certain almost mythical soldaderas, such as "La Cucaracha" and "La Adelita". The author of this book, Ms. Salas, whom one gets the impression is a sort of a chicana activist, does not mix chicano politics with the historical treatment of this book, much to her credit, but rather she gives a very serious treatment to the subject, and the whole account is moving and interesting. It is both historically relevant and easy to read, and in my opinion, it is a really important book for anyone who is interested in history of Latin America - specifically of Mexico. Whereas it has been demonstrated that Pancho Villa is the most famous Mexican of all time, and the most intriguing considering the amount of attention he has gotten in print, then the background of the Mexican Revolution is indispensable for understanding his own saga. However, the other characters are almost of equal importance - at least - and the most overlooked but deserving of the same kind of attention that Villa and otehrs have gotten are the soldaderas, who were, frankly, in my own opinion, fascinating. The one soldadera that I am most intrigued with is "La Generala" Petra Herrera, who was actually a general, and she had an all woman troop, and had any men caught sneaking into her camp at night summarily shot! I recommend this book! I read it, and I loved it.

i feel that the book gives readers the ability to learn the history about the soldaderas.

What happens when a small-town police force runs up against a series of bizarre events? Science will out, if they understand their police procedures. In Seventh-Inning Stretch, you have two deaths that occur under gruesome and unimaginable circumstances. Finding out what brought it all on will leave you intrigued.

Jake Hines has recently become chief of detectives in Rutherford, Minnesota, and he's finding it hard to supervise rather than taking charge. In the process, he bends everyone a little out of shape and begins to back off . . . just a little.

As the book opens, things are looking up. There's been a temporary lull in serious crimes. So he directs everyone to work on cold cases. He even has time to hear about a series of Murphy and other con games being run by grifters in the small town and its environs. New offices are being constructed and the new furniture is being delivered.

At home, he's settling into the old farmhouse that Trudy Hansen and he have bought together. His only complaint is that her long hours of DNA training on Saturdays leave them with too little time together. He's slightly concerned about how to get the roof fixed, insulation put in and rewiring done . . . but that's what credit cards are for, isn't it? Trudy's not so sure.

Then, everything turns topsy-turvy when a body is found stuffed into a trash bin behind the Lotus Blossom restaurant downtown. But no one saw or heard anything. And what's that stuffed into the stiff's mouth?

Nothing turns out to be what it seems in this exciting story, but with careful research and thinking everything is pretty well sorted out.

I would have rated this book higher, but the modus operandi of the murder was exceedingly gruesome and disgusting. The story would have worked better for me with a more tasteful demise. If you have delicate tastes in your crime fiction, this book may not appeal to you.

After you finish this fine police procedural, think about where you may be assuming that things are one way . . . when they are actually quite different. How can you test your assumptions before you act on them?

What can I say? I just really love this series. I found Jake quite by accident on a bargain table and took a chance. This was really serendipity. I promptly bought all that were written and have kept up ever since. I am eagerly awaiting # 8 as I have gotten involved with these characters. MEMLINE

Jake Hines is a captain and the chief of Detectives in the Rutherford Police Department who loves his job only slightly less than he loves his significant other, Trudy Hanson. They live in a farmhouse that needs a lot of work but Jake isn't worried about such trivial thing since he finally has what he always wanted since being a foster child: a place to call home.

A group of grifters consisting of two men, two women and a child descend upon the citizens and merchants of Rutherford, conning them out of their hard-earned money. When two bodies are found in a home garbage can, the police believe that the two male drifters are involved in the crime. Jake and his teams try to solve a double homicide with very little evidence and no leads.

This is the fifth Jake Hines police procedural and it is definitely the best in the series. The police, a tight knit group, are truly baffled by the strange turns in the case and their collective and individual bewilderment humanizes the force. This allows the readers to empathize with and appreciate the hard, often unrewarding work cops do. The hero is a rarity as an person totally happy in his personal and professional life. Elizabeth Ginn continues to deliver an ingenious mystery.

Harriet Klausner