You cannot read this book! Not if you've read 1-9 before it! It was wonderful, filled with nail biting tension and great racing action, I recommend this book to all horse loving teenagers!

After the A pocalypse the Emerald Isle was brown and blasted. Humans lived in small groups. Lost was much of the old ways. Only fables spoke of a green Ireland-but young Flynn and Joanna treasured those tales of myth and magic, of bold kings and terrible giants. When Joanna is betrothed to an ignorant pig farmer, she fled into the Glowing Lands. But there the fabric of time itself was torn: Joanna pluged in to the distand past-and into the lair of Cormac the Wolking. Joanna falls under the Wolking's enchantments....and joins a war to free and crown the Wolking. Flynn dared the Glowing Lands in search of his love Joanna. The Irish folk lore is great. The story holds you. All the charaters are will thought out, and intresting. I enjoyed this book. If you like werewolfs, giants and magic, you will like this story.

Mr. Magner is a resident at a Hospice in Ohio.To all his friends and fellow authors,please pray for him.

I just received this colorful, well photographed, cute as can be, 16 mos. calendar from Amazon.com. See those baby Emperor Penguins on the cover? They begin the 2001 parade! Along with Snow Monkeys, Leopards, and on my birth month, May, an exquisite portrait of a White Tail Deer fawn--these animals truly capture your heart. There are Hippos, Wolves, and Bears--oh my! Each month includes; the picture of a baby animal (sometimes with mom), an interesting history of the animal, most global holidays, and each date gives you plenty of room for personal notations.

I am extremely choosy about my yearly calendars and searched extensively before choosing this charming wall enhancer. What better way to start the New Year--keeping track of your days while contributing to the World Wildlife Fund? Buy it--the animals will thank you for it!

This book not only contains wonderful poems with cute rhymes, but also several bedtime stories. Each bedtime story contains life lessons which are important for children to learn. Life lessons like sharing and thoughtfulness. My daughter and I have spent hours reading these delightful tales.

A collector's item for those who love the history of yachting and beautiful ships. Ship photography is outstanding and gives detailed history of many famous individually owned yachts. One of the best collections of yachting history and photograpy I have found published. I was able to trace the history and a picture of a model ship I own, which is a replica of one of J.P.Morgan's fleet of yachts. I looked for a long time for a yachting book with this much information. A wonderful gift for the collector!

I love this book and have taken it to heart. It's a wonderful compendium of stories about people who married for the first time after 40. By providing "models" of experience the authors show how it really is possible to have what you want in your life, even if you're at an age where most people think there must be something wrong with you if you're not married yet. This book helps you move through the mental blocks or internalized projections that may be in the way of having the relationship you really want. I'm 44 and only recently have begun to feel that I'm really "ready" to be married, and I really could identify with those in the book who delayed marriage but woke up to how much they really wanted it in their 40s. I must also comment on how sensitively this book is written; it's free of psychological jargon and the authors clearly feel deeply about this subject. A very soulful and inspiring book. I highly recommend the first chapter on Choice vs. Chance for anyone who feels stalled in their "search" for the relationship they really want and needs to be reminded of the magic of synchronicity.

This is an excellent book for toddlers. It is filled with fun word and wonderful illustrations. It takes you through a day with Elmo as he ventures out in the world and uses fun words to describe the events throughout his day. My daughter loves repeating the fun words and looking at the illustrations of her favorite characters Elmo, Zoe, and Slimy. This book is fun to read for both the parent and the child. I highly recommend it.

This is one of the most evocative, magical books I have ever read in my life. It tells the story of a young girl named Lyra Belacqua who goes out in search for a particle called Dust, which can reveal the answers to amazing mysteries. Along the way, more questions are posed that keep you wanting to turn the pages to find the answers. This book is like no other I have ever read. The plot twists keep on coming, and the similarities and differences between the world Lyra lives in and our world provide endless fascination. I don't know what other way to say it. This book is beautiful, but most certainly not for young children. Christians may take offense at some of the undertones that Pullman writes of in his book, such as the Christian church being portrayed as evil. But what everyone must remember with The Golden Compass, as with any fantasy novel, is that it is just that, a fantasy. Fantasies are only true in our dreams, and then only if we allow them to be. A young adult or adult can discern between fantasy and reality, and know they are different, though sometimes I wish with all my heart that they are not...

My 10 year old sister has been bugging me to read "The Golden Compass" for ages. I finally got around to reading it and I'm dumbstruck. This book belongs on a shelf with Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." It is at times amusing, thought-provoking, frightening, spell-binding, gripping, and fascinating. The ideas are unique and original. I especially like the panserbjorne, armored polar bear mercenaries who are anything but cute and cuddly. And the idea of daemons, animal manifestations of your soul, is captivating. I found myself wishing I had a daemon. Pullman manages to keep the story exciting, enthralling, rich with vivid prose and ideas. I have to say, this is the third best fantasy book I've read (and I've read quite a few). The top five are 1)"The Lord of the Rings" 2) "The Amber Spyglass" (the third book of the trilogy of which the Golden Compass is the first book) 3)"The Golden Compass" 4)"The Subtle Knife", the sequel to "The Golden Compass" and "The Hobbit"I highly recommend "The Golden Compass" to anyone who can read them and is ten and up (some of the ideas are too frightening and complex for anyone who is younger). The same goes for "The Subtle Knife." I wouldn't recommend "The Amber Spyglass" for anyone under 12, because the plot is more complicated than the first two books. Five stars.

I have listened to The Golden Compass for the second time, and it has lost none of its spellbinding nature the second time around. The production is superb, and the characterizations by the readers full of drama, enhancing a book that already stands on its own. Lyra, the main character, is a strong female protagonist, like Sally Lockhart of Pullman's other trilogy, The Sally Lockhart Trilogy, although younger. Ideas such as "dust" and the creation of "daemons" keep you intrigued. One character I tho't was weak, however, was Lee Scoresby, the Texan aeronaut. I think Pullman created him after John Wayne,of whom I'm not fond. There are so many interesting characters (e.g. Mrs. Coulter, Iorek Byrneson (sp?) the armored bear, the gyptians, etc), however, that we can forgive Pullman one less than stellar creation.

I think this is a series that teens 14 and up would enjoy. It has some violence and a dark tone to it, but it's far more benign than many books for that age group, yet enough to keep a teen's interest. Pullman's writing has a lot of depth, and I personally encouraged my 14 yr old son to read it (and he has expressed an interest when he heard part of the audio production.).

But please don't compare it to JK Rowling's books--yes, they both have witches, but the tone is very different and the stories appeal to a much older crowd.

Although I have to admit that I felt the story heading was often more than a little predictable, this book has a extraordinarily well-structured storyline and the information on Japanese history & Geisha life is spectacularly enlightening! (I actually had little interest or knowledge in Japanese lifestyle before this book, but am now fairly intrigued by the country & cultural mentality.) Some invented details were even difficult to tell from fact [the existence of artist Uchida Kosaburo, is the example I know of], the story was so well interwoven!
I rate this book with four stars because I found I greatly enjoyed the comprehensable structure of the story & the very well-explained details of the culture. However, I must personally deny the final star mostly because of either one of the following two reasons: I was often disappointed in many simple/cliche descriptions in which I believe--though fine to do in everyday speech I guess (as this story was being told, I do realize)--a 5-star rated book should not have done so. AND/OR I may someday read this book again for the information, but if I should read it later in my life--As I've done with many books I've read in the past.--I don't feel I will learn anything new or perceive it any differently.

In the end: It's a rather good book to read(!), but I know I'll re-read many other books of mine before desiring to read it again.

This book deserves all of the wonderful reaction it has received. An enlightening yet engrossing look into the world of geisha and the Japanese culture. As a student of Oriental philosophy, I believe this book is written in language as simple as haiku and as image laden. The unique metaphors and the desciptions of the physical aspects of deep emotions were particularly poignant. As a lover of classical literature it is rare that I am so moved by anything written today. I believe this book is an instant classic ( and I do not say this lightly). As a woman however, I am dubious of its author's gender. Other reviewers have hinted at this, may I just come out and say that I don't believe this was written solely by a male. Perhaps the women Mr. Golden thanks had more than a little hand in this book? Otherwise, in my opinion Mr. Golden has achieved what all male writers before him have found impossible and that is to write a woman who is completely convincing to women. I can't wait for his next book.

Where to begin? I got this book after several recommendations from friends. I only regret not getting it earlier. One of the ways I like to rate books is how much I miss them when I'm finished and I feel as though I've lost a good friend. Towards the end of the book, I found myself slowing down, a measure of my attachment to Sayuri and her tales. This book is an incredibly well thought-out and beautifully written piece that is so endearing and passionate. The main reason I picked up the book was to learn and gain insights into the secretive life of Geisha -- what I got was so much more than I ever expected.

Holden has an amazing ability to make the writing appear so effortless and yet, each word seems so carefully crafted and deliberate. Memoirs is written in 1st person narrative and convincingly so; many other people have commented on his extraordinary ability to sound like a female author. For me, there is just the right amount of dialog -- my preference is for an economy of words, and Holden gets it right.

All in all, a fantastic read and finding another comparable book to read has been tough. I'm going to try Snow Falling on Cedars and Angela's Ashes.