This book is good only for very simple arts and crafts. I am a preschool teacher and this book basically does everything that we would do as "free art" and nothing more. If that's what you need help with - art for rainy days, for example - this is the book for you. I needed something more substantial.

I was instantly impressed with this book, because when I looked through it, all I saw being used for the arts and crafts were things that I have already laying around the house - mainly simple paper and markers. What a treat! Usually you have to make a special trip to the craft store to complete crafts found in other books or magazines, but this book has great ideas (some you wonder why you didn't think of yourself)for using your everyday tools to great effect!

It came as a surprise to me that Donald Hamilton, famous for the "Matt Helm" series of action thrillers, had written a book about sailing back in 1980. The book is unfortunately out of print but I was eventually able to find a used copy.

In "Cruises with Kathleen" Donald Hamilton describes various cruises that he has taken with his 27-foot sail boat Kathleen during the years 1976 to 1979. This includes:

- a shake-down cruise for the brand new boat from Vancouver, B.C. (where Kathleen was built) to Seattle, Washington and back to Vancouver.

- a 1000-mile offshore cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles, during which he was hit by three violent storms.

- sailing Kathleen from Houston, Texas (to where Kathleen had been moved by truck) to the Florida Keys via the Intracoastal Waterway and off the shore of Florida.

- a cruise to Miami and back, with and against the Gulf Stream.

- a cruise to Cuba together with a group of other boats, the first permitted for American yachtsmen in several decades.

- a cruise to the Bahamas, two weeks of island-hopping, and back to Florida.

A few of these cruises were done by Donald Hamilton alone, but most of them were done together with either his son Gordon or his wife Kay. There are a fair number of photographs illustrating the book, including several pictures of Donald Hamilton himself and one of his son Gordon.

Some of the material in this book had previously been published as articles in various boating magazines, and it shows, in that there is a lack of smooth flow from chapter to chapter.

At the time covered by the book Donald Hamilton was in his early sixties, and had not done any wind-powered sailing since his youth. However, he had become disenchanted with power boats (his previous boat had sported twin 115 hp. outboard motors!) and felt the urge to return to real sailing.

It is this situation, and the fact that Donald Hamilton is a very individualistic and opinionated person, that makes the book interesting. He describes why he wanted Kathleen to have certain attributes and how he went about finding a designer and ship yard with the proper basic boat design and willing to cater to his desires. He also writes eloquently about various other, sometimes controversial, positions on various topics.

I found one particular quote to be very interesting, on the subject of whether or not it was a good idea to visit Cuba considering the then-current American policy towards that country: "I won't argue the point beyond stating, speaking only for myself, that I've visited a number of foreign countries, and even some U.S. states and cities, whose politics turned my stomach, without ever feeling that I was showing approval of the governments involved."

This book is written by a sailor and the intended audience is other sailors. As a non-sailor I found myself both mystified and bored by a lot of the long descriptions of various kinds of equipment and sailing techniques.

So as a non-sailor I'm not really qualified to review this book, other than to say that I found it interesting and well written. But I felt that it gave some insights into the personality of Matt Helm's "father", and as such I'd recommend it to other hard-core Matt Helm fans who would like to know more about Donald Hamilton.

If you are a Donald Hamilton fan as I am, you will want to read this exciting non-fiction book as you join him on his sailing yacht, "Kathleen." The boat is named after his wife Kathleen Hamilton and the book gives you an insight into the intriqueing and often opinionated Mr. Hamilton. In this book, Hamilton shows the boat knowledge that is displayed in many of his Matt Helm books. This book is an interesting look into this wonderful author.

Victor Stater, the author of "Duke Hamilton is Dead," writes with a peppy affection for his subject, which is ostensibly, the legal calumnies of two peers of the realm, fighting it out over a hefty inheritence. But Mr. Stater goes beyond the legal intricacies by throwing in a wealth of rich social and anecedotal material about a period in British history that has always seemed a bit tame -- the later years of the Stuart dynasty. With merry Charles II gone, and his Catholic brother James II forced off the throne, the late 17th and early 18th century Britons were ruled by the rather dull William and Mary, and then Mary's unfortunate sister Anne (who bore over a dozen children, only one of whom survived, and that one, a severally handicapped child, died at 11). Mr. Stater makes this era come alive through the framework of the contentiousness of the Earl of Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton, both striving for political power, both intriguers and both dead set on paying for their political ambitions with a disputed inheritence. All in all, a lively look at the period with a wealth of juicy details. But the foremost lesson to be learned here is that, whether it be 1700 or 2000, politics is still a game reserved for the very wealthy.

This is a great story of a decades long feud that spans (and influences) events such as the Golden Revolution, the Union of Scotland and England and the Restoration. Using the conflict between Baron Mohun and Duke Hamilton as a base, the author explores the changing nature of the aristocratic lifestyle and the British social stucture. The political infighting between Tories and Whigs in the larger international context was particularly fascinating. While the narrative flow is generally solid, I was lost for a bit in the second chapter that covers the history of a property at the center of the feud. In addition, the numerous names an aristocrat could use made for some confusion. That being said, the book is overall readable and quite entertaining.

An okay book for little one's to be read to bed. It sure could put me to sleep.

It's a day of firsts at Merryhill Farm. Dumpy is off to his first construction job away from the farm, building the new school playground and Charlie is off to his very first day at school. New firsts are a little scary and Dumpy's radiator feels full of bubbles while Charlie's stomach has butterflies. Each feels a bit lost at the beginning of the day...Charlie, meeting a new teacher, Mrs Bundle and making new friends and Dumpy, feeling a bit overwhelmed by Buzz the Bulldozer as he works hard on the new playground. But both do very well. And, at the end of the day when Steady Gus the School Bus breaks down and Mrs Bundle doesn't know how the kids will get home, Dumpy and Charlie save the day..... Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Hamilton are back with a new and endearing Dumpy story, pre-schoolers will love. Their gentle text, full of true to life situations, little ones will identify with and silly sound effects is complimented by Tony Walton's wonderful expressive and colorful illustrations and together they let youngsters know in a very positive way, that firsts can be fun.

The loner policeman/detective has been a staple protagonist in crime fiction and film for the better part of a century, however here we find Dublin Garda (policeman) Pat Coyne not in this role, but rather as a portrait of a middle-aged man disintegrating. While his partner prattles on about golf, Coyne is pondering the bigger problems of the world, especially environmental ones. Unfortunately no one-not his colleagues, nor his wife and kids, or harridan mother in law-seem to understand him. His frustration manifests itself in increasingly rash acts on the job which earn his the nickname of "Mr. Suicide" as he goes to extreme lengths to clean up Dublin's streets of all its criminal trash.

Over the course of the book, his transformation from misunderstood family man to Dirty Harry starts veering more and more toward Travis Bickle territory as he encounters a criminal's girlfriend and is struck by the need to protect her. This pits him against the city's nastiest gangsters in a series of impulsive, clandestine, off the job actions with their own repercussions. Meanwhile, on the home front, his wife is throwing her self into painting, and possibly the arms of her instructor, which only ratchets up Coyne's breakdown. The climactic showdown brings all these threads together and resolves them with very symbolic actions.

Ultimately, the book, while an enjoyable quick read, is not the tour de force the cover would have you believe. It is refreshing to find an Irish novel that doesn't tread upon the topics of religion and sectarianism (although the jacket copy writer seemed to think otherwise) for once. There are enough unexplained elements though, to leave readers scratching their heads. For example, in the very beginning, there's a chase scene, and an axe is thrown at Coyne and his partner. There's no talk of taking the axe in as evidence, taking prints off it, using it to convict anyone, it's just like "Oh, well someone through an axe at us, hopefully we'll run across them some other time." Coyne has a sort of mentor/father figure who dispenses Obi-Wan type advice to him from time to time, who seems to exist only to point Coyne in the right direction (ie. keep the plot running). And finally, although Coyne is clearly self-destructing and not thinking through the consequences of his actions, it's hard to believe he'd so blithely put his family in the danger he does. It's hard not to compare Coyne (and the book), to Irvine Welsh's imploding Edinburgh police detective Bruce Robertson in the much more inventive and rewarding "Filth." Still minor problems aside, it's well worth reading if you're into modern Irish literature, plus, Coyne's story continues in "Sad Bastard."

When I ordered "Headbanger," I thought I would be reading a police procedural that takes place in Dublin. The only thing I got right is the locale.

Basically, "Headbanger" is the story of Pat Coyne, a police officer in Dublin who is determined to arrest some big-time criminals who have evaded the law for years. The problem is that Pat does not have the support of the Garda or his fellow police officers. In Pat, we meet the ultimate maverick police officer who takes it upon himself to bring these drug lords and murderers to justice single handedly. He employs methods that are not only are outside the system, but are downright illegal.

In the course of his single-minded determination to bring down these bad guys, Pat also manages to get himself involved in the lives of friends and strangers alike, none of whom welcome his attentions. This is a man who reacts without regard to the consequences of his actions. His rash behavior could prove dangerous not only to him and his beloved wife and children, but to anyone who comes in contact with him.

Pat thinks it is his responsibility to make things right for the whole world. Quite a tall order for one man. But, you see, Pat is on an endless search for the meaning of life and what role he can play in setting things right. You can't help but love this guy whose greatest joy is quoting inane statistics about everything in the world you didn't care one whit about to anyone who will listen...or pretend to listen...and spending time with his family.

"Animosity" has scenes of hard-boiled violence, sensitive character explorations and, at times, is just plain funny. The book has no chapters or quotation marks around the dialogue. At first, it was slow reading but once I got into the rhythm, the story flowed. For this reason, I am rating the book four stars instead of five. If I could, I would rate it 4-l/2 stars.

I can't wait to read the sequel to this book to see what kettle of fish this loveable loose cannon has gotten himself into.

Dr. Hamilton was my Preaching teacher in seminary. In fact I was a visiting student and I wanted to have a different academic experience. Thus I ended up sitting in his class. At first I was a little skeptical of the teacher that teaches out of his own book. Nonetheless, by the end of the semester my preaching improved considerably due to the "Homelitical Handbook." Five years after taking his class I find myself going back to his book for guidance. I find the "Homelitical Handbook" not only a reliable preaching guide, but also a clear and honest approach for the task of preaching to the avid homeletician. Its challenging simplicity helped me improve and polish my homelitical skills.

Donald Hamilton's Homiletical Handbook is one of a vast library of books which treat the subject of preaching. In his own introduction, Hamilton admits that although there is a virtual army of books on preaching, there are very few which are actually helpful in the task. Many handbooks are based on faulty views of scripture, weak hermeneutics, or a level of criticism which makes practical application impossible. Others offer valuable insight into theory and theology, but do not address the practical aspects of the preaching act. With this in mind, Hamilton honestly states that his handbook is not meant to address every aspect and detail of the "preaching task." It is also not meant to teach the art of sermon delivery. Instead, Homiletical Handbook is meant to deal with homiletics, or the science of preaching. An introductory treatment, this book is meant for beginning preaching students. Its intent is to spur both future and beginning preachers into an informed passion for the science of proper hermeneutics. He is brilliantly successful!!

This is a fascinating book that I read as a child and recently reread (and purchased) as an adult. This book was one of the first I read of the 'fantasy' genre. It really sparked my interest in these types of books. I highly recommend it.

This is an excelent book,after a while you get sucked into another world where Justice,Thomas and Levi live.But after a while you might get lost in the strange plot.

I loved this book when i came across it last summer. Mosly because it related to my own experince as a little girl -I put my little sister for sale! The story is interesting, funny and offers a valuable understanding at the end. It is easy to follow and suitable for young readers.

I loved this books when i came across it somewhere last summer. Mosly because it related to my own experince as a little girl -I put my little sister for sale! It is interesting, funny and offers a valuable understanding at the end -you learn to appreciate your little sister.

In the future, medical science has perfected organ transplantation to the point almost anything can (and is) transplanted, bringing up an interesting problem: where do you get the "spare parts"? The society's answer, make just about any crime, including J-walking, a capital crime and make the criminals organ donors. Niven brings us 3 short storries which probe the ethics and morals of a world we approach and did it 19 years ago. A clear example of yesterdays science fiction becoming todays science fact, ie. how the Chinese sell hearts, kidneys, corneas, etc. of executed criminals for transplants. His insight into this new world gives us an idea of issues we may soon be facing in the near future. Highly recommended.

Gil "the arm" Hamilton, named so because of his prosthetic arm, and the strange telekinetic ability he has that was developed after he lost his real arm and before the replacement, is a detective for ARM, the United Nations police force. The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton is a few stories of deduction and logic involving weird technologies, monstrous crimes as well as equally monstrous punishments in a world obsessed with staying young at the expense of everyone else. Very cool addendum to the Known Space Series.

7 years ago, Georgia slipped into Jason's room and they had one night of passion. 7 years later, they're reunited by the death of their stepfather. Georgia has grown up, she used to be this chubby teenager that had no cofidence and no self-esteem. Now she's a confident and beautiful woman. Jason is determined to find out what happened to their baby, because he knew Georgia was pregnant even if that meant following her everywhere and spending time with her everyday and night.

I didn't really enjoy MISTRESS FOR A NIGHT because there was too much miscommunication and there wasn't any happy moments throughout the book. It was really depressing until the very last moment but by that time it ruined my whole mood.

^_^ ~ Izzy

Diana Hamilton has penned another sexy romance featuring two forever lovers who rediscover one another and reckon that that old flame is still burning, despite loads of fights and arguments and misunderstandings which feature in their past. Hamilton is one of Presents best writers, for her books are sexy,engrossing and full of intrigue. It would be a shame to miss them!