Martin Luther King was a man of BIG words. When others said "hate", Martin said "love." When others said "separate", he said "together." And when he heard others say "war", Martin said "peace." "Sooner or later, all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together." Martin always went where he was needed in the struggle for equality. He shared his dreams and filled people with hope. "He walked with them and talked with them and sang with them and prayed with them." Doreen Rappaport has written a simple and inspirational picture-book biography that combines her quiet, yet powerful prose, with Dr King's own "big words." Her text emphasises his courage and strong committment to non-violence, equal rights, and the civil rights movement. "White ministers told them to stop. Mayors and governors and police chiefs and judges ordered them to stop. But they kept on marching." Bryan Collier's watercolor and cut paper collage illustrations are stunning and evocative, and together word and art create a passionate and powerful tribute to a great man of peace. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, Martin's Big Words is an engaging and elegant introduction to a man who stood up and struggled to change America and the world, and includes a marvelous timeline of important dates and additional books and web sites to explore. "His big words are alive for us today."

...I was very impressed with how the book was written. I was able to learn something myself that I didn't know. I think the pictures bring out the picture of Martin standing tall as an activist in those days. i enjoyd reading things that Martin said himself, things that was quoted in the book.

A mavelous book. Well written and beautiful art work. With simple words and simple style, will bring you to tears by the end. A wonderful way to introduce teachings of peace, justice, and a belief in God that leads to change to children. We read this book every year on MLK Day and my young sons talk about MLK all the time.

Some years ago, during an annual pilgrimage to Branford, CT to pay my respects to a lost loved-one, I noticed a gravestone adorned with shell offerings in St. Agnes Cemetery. Knowing of my Branford connection, an old friend recommended this book, which reveals that these shells were left by the author, Julia Mary Collins, at the grave of her father, Jeremiah Collins.

The author evokes the deep roots of her family in Branford, a coastal New England town that was in the autumn of its economic prime, yet still suffused with the natural beauties of sea and shore, and sustained by family trees and traditions. Despite a childhood tempered by the Great Depression and fading family fortunes, Jeremiah Collins nonetheless believed in a brighter future and a share of the American Dream.

His aspirations, along with his innocence and idealism, perished in the fiery crucible of the battle for the Pacific Island of Okinawa, in which over 250,000 soldiers and civilians perished. Cast adrift with his altered worldview and survivor's guilt in his unchanged hometown of Branford, Corporal Collins existed in a tenuous state of suspension between the still living and the dead.

The author, who became her father's confidante, perceptively and movingly captures his physical anguish and psychic pain, as well as its lasting impact on her family. Her book serves as a deeply human counterweight to the sea of books that celebrate the triumphs of WWII, but assiduously avoid the incalculable costs for "the greatest generation."

Julia Collins writes "let me bring back my dad, the way he was when I was seven, just before I began to lose him for good." She has not only resurrected her father, she has delivered the eloquent eulogy he deserves, and has gently and lovingly laid him and his anguish to rest, finally at peace in the earth of his native Branford.

The sunbleached shells she leaves at her father's grave, washed ashore from the Atlantic ocean of Jeremiah Collins's childhood, but resonant with the Pacific ocean where he fought his greatest battles, bear silent witness to her enduring love.

At first, I could only read this book in bits at bedtime, but by the time I hit chapter four, I could no longer put it down and finished it in the middle of the night. I wept long and hard. Sadness and overwhelming joy. Ms. Collins - no, Julia - thank you for having the courage to share your story with us and for telling it so even-handedly. I felt like my grandfather, a storyteller whose quiet voice used to gather amazingly large crowds, was telling a tale of that Great Generation, of the tribulations faced not just a war but at home. And I feel sorry for anyone who has not heard this tale of yours and had the chance to share its epiphanies. Thank you again.

Without 20:20 hindsight or wishful thinking, Julia Collins has written a graceful and moving work that stares straight into the failings of her father as a war hero, husband, breadwinner and parent and somehow manages to elevate and dignify the person her dad was. This challenge made all the more difficult by having Jeremiah Collins pose for a portrait that in life, he would never have held.

“My Father’s War” is not the retelling of one ex-Marine’s pointless miseries but wisdom collected from the perspective of the point-blank battles that raged on the homefront long after the formal surrender of any proclaimed American enemy.

This book tells the story of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia which resulted in the writing of the U.S. Constitution. It starts by describing the dissatisfaction that some states had with the Articles of Confederation. Then, it goes through the issues important to the framers one at a time, describing the conflicts involved and how they were resolved.

Two issues are discussed at some length. First, the authors detail the battle over proportional representation versus equal representation for the states in the (new) Congress, which pitted the smaller states against an alliance between the biggest states and the Deep South states. Next, they discuss all the issues regarding slavery. The last several chapters of the book describe the ideas and compromises about how the government functions -- the role of the president, the method of choosing the president, the presence of a bill of rights, etc...

The book was well written and in most parts a joy to read. It left me wanting to read biographies of several of the men involved in creating the Constitution.

Last summer, before attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, I read this work to get a perspective on the city's past and present. Although I am a lawyer, I was unaware of all of the compromises and contentions that went into the forming of the US Constitution. Fortunately, the book is not written chronologically. Rather, the authors deal with their topics issue-by-issue: the separation of powers, the role of the House and the Senate, etc. This provides an even, uninterrupted flow to the narrative. It also helped in December when I reread the sections on the electoral college. Anyone interested in the framers' intent during last year's political circus should buy this book.

The Collier brothers are an amazing act. Authors of the classic children's novel, "My Brother Sam is Dead," they also carry on careers individually as a history professor and writer on jazz respectively. "Decision in Philadelphia" is the story of the Constitutional Convention from start to finish. Told with novel-like drama and narrative flow, this is the first choice for any general reader who wants to know more about the issues driving our country's second national government (the first, the Articles of Confederation, had failed miserably). Very readable, and very interesting, "Decision in Philadelphia" is a book I have my own AP US History students read for its depth of knowledge and ease of reading (although I wouldn't recommend it for anybody lower than high school, unless exceptionally precocious and obsessed with history). All in all, one of the great popular histories available on any subject.

The 1957 EYE IN THE SKY is one of the first Philip K. Dick's books you should read if you still don't know this american writer. If I'm not mistaken, it was the first time that Philip K. Dick, in a novel, was treating the theme of the virtual realities.

Eight persons, while visiting the Bevatron, the only pure science-fiction element of the novel, are trapped in a time hole after having accidentally been hit by the Bevatron ray. They wake up in a world that at first is pretty much the same than the one they have just left but they soon realize that they are caught in a world entirely created by the phantasms of one of them.

One can like THE EYE OF THE SKY for numerous good reasons such, for instance, as the slight favour of Agatha Christie's " and then they were none " in it, the reader waiting anxiously for the next imaginary world to appear and the clues that will lead him to the identity of the new dreamer's name. One can also appreciate this book for its critique of the late fifties's american society : The Mc Carthy syndrome, the anti-communism paranoïa or the wave of the evangelism don't have the slightest chance under Philip K. Dick's cruel pen.

With this book, PKD revealed himself as the first class writer he will be during the sixties.

A book for a future PKD fan.

Eye In The Sky is Philip K. Dick attempting genius early in his career, and succeeding. Another early entry by Dick--The World Jones Made--is a minor muddle done in flat style, and I was a bit nervous about reading another book by this author that pre-dates the marvellous Time Out Of Joint of 1959 (sometimes cited as Dick's leap-off into greatness). Lo and behold, anyone who says there are no masterly PKD novels before Time Out Of Joint is wrong. Eye In The Sky is actually PKD's first, quiet exercise in genius (assuming that Solar Lottery is not equally clever--who knows: once I finally read that one, I may have to eat my words).

When a Bevatron malfunctions, eight diverse personalities are catapulted into a strange, off-kilter version of reality, where a strange cult has blossomed into the dominant faith. The lead character, Jack Hamilton, is the one most concerned with getting the group free of their situation, even though a return to the known universe is no bargain for him either--he had just lost his Top-Secret government job when his wife was discovered to have Communist leanings. More and more, Jack comes to understand that he is trapped in some kind of dreamworld, produced by the paranoid mind of one of the victims of the Bevatron disaster. But shattering a universe where prayer-wishes are instantly granted, for better or worse, while the Sun naively revolves around a Ptolemy-style Earth, only leads to an even more bizarre, horribly mutable, altered reality, concocted by an even more paranoid psyche.

This compelling look at whole worlds created by not much more than the hidden tics festering in a series of small minds should appeal to fans of the following: The Lathe of Heaven, by Le Guin; Mysterium, by Robert Charles Wilson; Hotel de Dream, by Emma Tennant; 'It's a Good Life!', by Jerome Bixby; Job: A Comedy of Justice, by Heinlein; and of course any other brilliant PKD novels. The PKD trademarks are all delightfully rife--peeks at paranoia, pokes at what's wrong with reality as we've designed it, jabs at those who think they are in authority over the foolish but heroic everyman determined to find the absurd truth. Also, PKD experiments with elements of horror and mystery to spice up his plot; witness a house that eats people (that is, if you escape the thing in the cellar first!), and a bit of trickery when it comes to who is responsible for the final, unpalatable, unreal reality.

Shockingly satisfying PKD antics, just as brilliantly tic-ridden as some of the must-read later stuff.

The first few pages of the book set the tone: since Marsha Hamilton challenges the 'reality' as considered by the official authorities (she seems to have ties with communists), she is deemed 'dangerous'. Meanwhile, the main ideas behind the plot clearly make 'Eye in the Sky' a variation on Plato's allegory of the cave: after an explosion at the Belmont bevatron, eight people are knocked uncounscious; as each person slowly regains consciousness, they all experience his/her world of opinions and preconceptions. The first is the fanatical, manichean world of an old soldier. The eight characters are akin to Plato's prisoners, both physically (they lie down in the bevatron, numb and motionless) and mentally (they go through successive worlds of unstable appearances). But most of them are prisoners who hope to free themselves from their chains: although some don't mind these subjective worlds at first, they frequently acknowledge the urgent need to wake up and escape this unpredictable cycle. Reading the book, some might come to the conclusion that Dick's point of view is relativist, and that 'reality' seems to take the form of our varying perceptions and thus can't be pinpointed in absolute terms, but I'd argue that he's not satisfied with such an easy way out. Some of the characters certainly aren't: after escaping these subjective worlds of fantasms, they aren't perfectly comfortable with the physical world either and want to change it. In the end, Dick doesn't provide definitive answers as to what reality is, but by challenging preconceived - and mainly physical - notions of reality, this book acts as a detoxifying antidote; the exact same way he described his own work in his Exegesis.

This is a "must read" for anyone who smelled a rat in the 2000 presidential election. Written eight years before the fact, the authors accurately predict Janet Reno's inaction and Justice Scalia's brazen decision, which effectively shut down the couting process. Not just theory, the Collier brothers personally discovered and present hard evidence of decades of Florida vote fraud.

The clues point to a systematic corruption of our voting system by the heads of the major mass media corporations. It's no surprise that Bush's cousin at the Fox news decision desk triggered the stampede of "BUSH WINS" graphics. And its no surprise that searching every mass media website will yield no hits on the word "votescam".

This book does not lean towards either major political party. It simply champions democracy, freedom of information and the need to enforce our voting laws. Buy it. Read it. Take action to revive our right to vote.

Don't let the claimed 4-6 week wait dissuade you. I got my copy after a wait of only four days on December 10th, 2000.)

"Votescam", by Collier & Collier, 1992, a documentary book about Florida vote fraud. Details include the witnessing of double-punching vote cards to disqualify ballots, whiich occurs at hand cleaning of the vote cards with tweezers before the first machine counting on election day. The investigation of this federal election fraud was sent to the Reagan Bush Department of Justice, but this investigation was stopped by US Attorney Antonin Scalia. G H W Bush then appointed Scalia to the USA Supreme Court. 12/24/92 Bush pardons mark the first time in USA history that an investigation was stopped by presidential pardons. "Firewall" Lawrence Walsh,the Iran-Contra special Prosecutor, and "The Iran-Contra Report" 1993, over 100 convictions. Also 12/24/92 G H W Bush pardons a convicted by a jury of his peers two ton cocaine felon multi-millionaire in Florida who also gave Jeb Bush 700,000 dollars in campaign contributions, Public Record. The technology for fair , honest and open elections exists and it includes hard copy ballots with the candidates photos and electronic oversight and recording for the Public record. "Votescam" documents the means and methods of fraud. Please read and inform yourself, or as in the words of Aung San Suu Kyi, mother , Oxford teacher, winner of the Nobel Peace prize, author, "Freedom From Fear", and prisoner in Burma of SLORC and USA/FRANCE big oil.... "Use your Liberty to help us attain ours." Godspeed America

Google for it. Victoria House is still publishing this book. There are several partial and complete archives of the book online , too.

Except for some poorly-researched and carelessly strewn late stone age details, this depressing fable could be set in the reconstruction South, the Rust-belt or a coal mining town in Wales, wherever a seam occurs between two eras, any time of transition from one mode of life to another. In fact, the most potentially interesting aspect of the story, exactly this monumental transition from stone to metal, is given exceedingly short shrift, only getting a cursory mention in the later chapters.

The core of the story seems to be that most hoary of modern tales, the "good woman gone bad" in this case, neo-lithic matron turned into the sort of pathetic whore who more closely resembles a crack addict than a pre-modern. Sort of a cross between Wilma Flintstone and Sharon Stone (stone-age matron turned addled vamp)! The only difference being the fact that chickens and fetid, fermented pre-beer constitute the medium of exchange rather than crack or money.

All in all, a disappointing, overated book.

"The Gift Of Stones", is the second novel written by Jim Crace. He tells this story through a storyteller he created from the notes of Sir Henry Penn Butler in, "Memoirs of an Excavationist circa 1927". Evidently while pursuing old stone implements they came upon the bones from a lower arm of a child. Mr. Crace has done as they did the evening of their find when they sat around their fire and spun tales of why the bones were there, and where the balance of the bones were to be found. Mr. Crace took the same bit of information and created a remarkable work that is about change. The change is this book is not unlike the changes faced today. A fundamental shift in knowledge can have dramatic and even catastrophic effects on a people. And this is the tale of, The Gift Of Stones".

At some point most have read about the implements of The Stone Age, and also the dramatic changes that were brought about by the advent of bronze. Many have perhaps learned of this change through textbooks and classes in history. Jim Crace has told the same story of change as it might have been seen through the eyes of those who were dependent upon stone for their way of life. From the mention of the bones from a child's lower arm, he recreates history as he creates a wonderful novel.

The community of stoneworkers is recreated with marvelous detail about the methods used in creating stone implements. The descriptions go far beyond the crude instruments hacked from the blows of another stone. The author illustrates the artisans these people were with a stoneworker nicknamed, "the Leaf". Here was an artisan who would keep on his workbench a leaf as produced by nature, and use it both as inspiration and an item of beauty he would seek to emulate in his work. The craftsmen in this book are treated more like skilled sculptors/artists, than the makers of crude tools.

The author creates a circle with the flight of an arrow creating the basis for his story, and yet another arrow that brings everything to an end. The second arrow is of course fashioned from bronze, and it is an arrow that can kill much more than an animal or a man. It brings complete destruction to a way of life, to what is also referred to as an age. As he has done before Jim Crace is able to take a subject that is not unfamiliar, and recast the ideas to create a read that is new and unique.

This short novel ruminates on a number of very interesting themes in an unusual way. It is a book about the nature of stories, the nature of people, and the ways that we think about ancient peoples. Most of all, though, it makes the reader think about how change affects individuals and groups ... all through the story of a young man and his daughter.

If a book about the stone age conjures images of The Clan of the Cave Bear for you, then wipe it from your mind before starting this. The Gift of Stones starts from a simple premise: an archaeologist has found the amputated arm bone of a young boy, and he and his colleagues imagine what must have been his life. This young man also imagines lives, and tells those stories, much to the delight of his village. His daughter carries on the tradition as the true narrative voice of the book.

I had never read any of Crace's work before this slim volume, but I've already gone out to buy all of them. He is a wonderful writer without over-writing or involving himself in senseless wordplay. If you are looking for a thought-provoking story with memorable characters, then this book is definitely for you.

Having had more than a few experiences with shape-shifting "inhuman" demons, (and written about them in my most recent novel, REFLECTIONS OF A VAMIRE) I feel compelled to warn the unwary reader that this book is for real.

I am a little hesitant to encourage the reading of Ralph Sarchie's BEWARE THE NIGHT for those who are prone to be highly suggestive. You might find yourself getting paranoid about the paranormal. As well we all should be.

Be that as it may, BEWARE THE NIGHT is one of the best books I've read on Demonology written by a demonologist to date.

Along with Malachi Martin's HOSTAGE TO THE DEVIL, Ralph Sarchie's book is one of the most informative, cautionary and helpful sources for protecting those who are dealing with the misfortune of being under demonic attack, or know someone who might be... for there are signs of evil infestation. There are stages of diabolic possession. There are incremental degrees of insidious bodily attack and overt physical take-over, including irreversible total possession, where the demon has lured one to willingly give their soul over to the devil.

If these things are of interest to you and you'd like to read the candid experiences of a professional demonologist who also happens to be a NYC cop, pick up this book. Then curl up under the covers in bed and pray if things go bump in the night.

I highly recommend BEWARE THE NIGHT. It accurately represents the dangers inflicted upon us by the invisible dark powers all around us. Read it... and perhaps you too will beware the night!

Whether you believe in them or not, demons are at work in this world and they are all around you. The evidence is everywhere, and I knew that before I read this book. Ralph Sarchie is not trying to convert anyone to christianity through his book, but merely explain to you that you need to consider your sprirtial side because anyone and everyone will face encounters with evil at some time or other. Although I question some of the people in this book (not Mr. Sarchie himself, who is obviously credible), this book deserves a note a tremendous praise! It will definitely make you think twice about the forces of evil and how they can work against you in your life, and what you can do to battle them... I personally found this book to be well written and highly informative. I appreciate Sarchie's strength to make these cases of the demonic public, but most of all his courage to reveal his own beliefs and faith despite the fact that when a book like this is written there will inevitably be public criticism. It's unavoidable. Nevertheless, this book is great and I hope he writes more of them pertaining to this subject matter in the future. Five stars absolutley!

Mr. Sarchie has done an outstanding job describing the torment that evil entities can inflict on unsuspecting, innocent people. What makes this book an invaluable resource, however, is he candidly defines the problem then outlines the solutions, giving hope to those who suffer under such unfortunate, extraordinary circumstances. Scary, yes; but also powerful for all the right reasons.

Trying to be positive, the best thing about this book is the exposure to some useful areas of concern and companies that I didn't know existed to serve eBay sellers (such as auction management sites and software, as well as the names of several payment service vendors). That, and the occasional nugget of useful information.
When I bought this book, I thought that Marsha Collier was going to reveal some powerful secrets behind eBay business success. Instead what I found was a high level overview of the various aspects of starting a business and of the eBay site. Even though she states upfront that the book is for people who already are familiar with eBay, at least 50% of the book details eBay services and options -- nothing that you can't easily discover from eBay online help for free. Why didn't she just recommend her other book, "eBay for Dummies" for that stuff! Also, several of the "Tips" that she gave online were pretty much common sense. Coming from a marketing background, I had hoped that she would apply some serious marketing strategies to selling online and share useful marketing statistics. I guess that was asking too much from a book geared for "dummies." Even worse, I felt that Marsha was often trying to sell her secrets and promote her own website rather than really help readers. An example is the "Ebay Sellers Lighting Kit" which Marsha will be happy to sell you (don't waste your money -- build it yourself)! This reader definitely got tired of the self-promotion and commercial feel of the book.

As a novice ebay buyer,the "selling" bug bit me. It takes some of us longer then others,haha I knew I would need more info besides the tutorials supplied on ebay. So I did my research and bought this book and ebay for dummies before I started selling to get the full picture. Thank goodness! This book in particular is LOADED with great time and cost saving tips for a start up business. Her writing style and humor is very comforting along the ebay learning curve. ebay is an overwhelming but vastly entertaining animal. She has done her homework, is brutally honest and frankly, gives you the "real deal". Hats off to Marsha!!Great job to a savvy business lady!

I started reading the book "Starting an eBay Business for Dummies" yesterday. I read half the book before I fell asleep at 3 am! I found it to be very informative, and even an inspiration! I've toyed with ebay for a while now, but I'm now going to make a serious go at it. The book was packed with a lot of "nuts and bolts" type information that will directly improve my business. Thanks to Ms. Collier for taking the time to consolidate her knowledge and experience, and for writing it in a format that even I can understand. :)

It's an interesting book for someone who aspires to write a novel. But I did not find nearly as much practical advice and instruction as I hoped. For example, there are only a few pages on plotting your novel. Evan Marshall's book on novel-writing, on the other hand, has about 60 pages.

This book is more of a pep talk, a "you can do it" kind of thing. If that's what you're looking for, this is it. But for something to help you get a novel written, I'd look elsewhere. Marshall's, which I mentioned, is a favorite of mine, but there are others, too.

This is not the best writing book for those who have already read such books and for those who are already somewhat expiereinced at writing; That, however, is not who it is targeted at or who it is best for (as the title suggests). It is for people who are interested inwriting but have probably not started--or just not been at it long--who are new to writing books. It is great at providing the basic and practical advice every writer needs in the beginning, and it provides a very important asset for the beginner: motivation.

I've read more than a few good books on writing; several are quite inspirational. The difference here is that this book is practical. I wrote my first novel following the guidelines set forth in Collier and Leighton's book, and I sold it to a major publishing company. Inspiration is great; inspiration plus methodology is better.

I've been selling on Ebay for a while and I picked up this book hoping to find some help with making my selling work better. That is really not the focus of this book so I can't fault it for not finding what I wanted. However, if you're a newbie to Ebay and want to find out what's going on without actually logging on and clicking all of the buttons, then this is a good starting place. Like all "Dummies" books it covers the basics but doesn't go very deeply into anything. And truthfully, you can learn 98% of what's in this book just by logging onto Ebay and clicking around. Ebay really is pretty easy to use. Oh yes, like most Dummies books they load it down with lame jokes. I just wish they'd leave that ... out. In summary, not an outstanding book but good at what it's designed to do.

Ebay is great for buying things and I have been selling a few items. This book covers all the little details that are easy to forget. I find myself jumping around from chapter to chapter, looking up things I need to clarify. The answers are all there, and I keep the book next to my computer. I'm selling more on ebay now, and the tips I got from the book are helping me get higher prices for my items then I did before. Even though ebay is constantly changing - this edition is updated with all the new features.

As an eBay beginner I found this book extremely useful. It's written by three eBay experts, and has something for everyone, whether you are a beginner like me, or a pro. It's full of tips that teach you how to spot the really good stuff, bid to win, and complete smooth sales transactions. You'll learn how to time an auction for maximum exposure, create persuasive sale pages, spot trends, and research buying and selling advice. I am a fan of all the Dummies books I have purchased and this is no exception.