This is a complete work of fiction by a totally discredited author...it is hard to believe it is still on the market.

Don't waste your money

Is this still selling? It must be five years since the author's sources were checked out and shown to owe something to imagination. I checked one myself alleged to show Ziethen's line of comms - turned out to be an 1817 letter from the UK Foreign Secretary to Wellington in Paris about the locals getting restless. File it between Sharpe and any other fiction you might have - or the hamster might enjoy it. Better still, go to a library and check a few sources yourself. Shame on the publishers for putting this out.

I have enjoyed reading this fascinating book. There are many books written about this battle, but majority of them are so nationally biased. If you are bored with reading the 100th book from the British perspective of this battle, read Americans, Germans and the Dutch. Then and only then you will get the full truth of what really happened.

I recommed reading Hamilton-Williams.

This booklet is a common sense book and contained nothing that I did not already know. The "problem" I am having with my ficus, is not even discussed. I'm not sure what it is, I have small growths on the trunks and bark of one of my ficus trees. This was not talked about. Watering and lighting is a joke! I had one ficus near a window and according to this book the tree was supposed to adapt to it's new home. My ficus dropped every leaf it had. I purchased this book with the hope that I could find out what was wrong with my tree; wasted money.

I was a little surprised to see this book when it arrived. For $12.00, I got a small, "checkout-isle" book. I can't question the value of the information, however the book was created on an ink-jet printer, has several grammatical errors, and has an overall "self-published at Kinko's" feel.

I found it written in a very straightforward way, which is good. It tries to be a bigger book than it is, and seems to have a lot of word-filler and awkward, unnecessary formatting.

It's a handy book, but is a little over-priced for what it is. It wouldn't be as well received as a gift because of the overall poor production quality. It wasn't the best value, but I've done much worse.

I was genuinely surprised to open this book and find the answer to every question I had about the forest of ficus that I have to care for daily. I put the suggestions into practice and the trees stopped shedding leaves and are now beginning to grow strongly. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who needs help with these tempermental but beautiful trees.

This book is the result of the false premise that a concise history of Alabama can be accurately summarized in less than 200 pages. It simply cannot be done, and to even attempt such an endeavor does a disservice to pedestrian readers of Alabama history. It is inevitable that in producing what is essentially an abridged, Cliff Notes-style version of this state's history, the author possesses vast power. Much like an analytical chemist, Dr. Hamilton has crystallized Alabama history, utilizing only those elements she deems of paramount importance. Thus, the reader is presented with little more than a lengthy op-ed piece, rather than a scholarly, comprehensive study. While this reviewer fully realizes that this work was produced as part of a series of state histories, he nonetheless holds to the position that the absence of Alabama from such a series would have been of far more value than a book designed, much like an automobile, to precise specifications. Far more damaging, is the sad fact that portions of this "history" are often cited in other articles, thus satisfying the appetites of lazy writers and researchers who prefer their history in low-cal, microwavable form.

I loved this book and I can't let that one star review go by unchallenged. I came up through the Alabama public school system and graduated from the University of Alabama, so I took required Alabama history four times. Not all of it was fascinating. I thought this little book was riveting reading. Virginia Van Der Veer Hamilton wrote a concise history of our state. Any student of Alabama history will not stop with this book, but it is a good starting point. I recommend that serious students go on to read Dr. Wayne Flynt's excellent Alabama histories.

The Bells of Christmas had some parts that were interesting. I would have liked to learn more about the father's handicap. However, it seemed like most of the book passed with Jason sitting by the National Road. Learning about the Road seemed to evoke the most interest from my fifth-grade class. One year of that was enough.

I thought the was very interesting and heart-warming.My favorite part was when Jason and his father went and waited for thier cousins to celebrate Christmas along the National Road.It shows how much love the family shows for each other. By Cynthia Santagata

My recommendation would be to not buy this book. Unless you mostly want to read about how to hire a contractor. There are a few books out there much better for the weekend do it yourselfer then this.

Having just entered into home-owning (versus apartment-dwelling) I've embarked on a crash course in home improvement. So far, this book has been a good resource, especially in terms of =illustrating= what I'm supposed to do. I need the visual cues to understand how part A is supposed to fit into part B and so on. This is one book I think I will be referring to often.

This book is required for one of my classes. It is dry. The print is too small, there is so much content that it is a ton of tedious reading. The notes at the ends of the chapters are good though.. you can get most of what you need to know from them. After the first several chapters, I found that I could read the 2 review sections at the end of each chapter and go read the chapter content for anything I didn't understand.

If you need a lot of protracted explanation on topics, then this book may suit your needs well. I found my self thinking, "enough already"! Yawn!!

This book is a collection of information about learning including classical and operant conditioning, information processing theory, Piagetian theory, cognitive development, motivation, and social learning theory. It not only discusses the theory but gives you practical applications for leading a classroom. While there is more emphasis on teaching children, there is a good amount about adult learning as well. It is well written in understandable English. In short, it's a book worth reading!

The protagonist, Miss Seeton, is in the early stages of dementia, and so, apparently, is the plot. I kept stumbling through the book, trying in vain to make sense of her incoherent ramblings, vainly hoping that the loose strings would come together, that a clear plot would emerge. Alas, (and finally!), I came to the end, aware of several unrelated mysteries, some of which didn't have solutions or explanations.

Miss Seeton apparently solves mysteries by doodling, but of what, the author never really says, nor how this helps to solve the crime.

There were lucid scenes in the book, and even some humorous ones. I kept reading, mainly to see if a plot would emerge, if the effort put into reading the book would pay off. Alas, it didn't. Or, in the words of Miss Seeton herself: "Mementoes of his old ship, one imagines. A spendid display, indeed, though I had always supposed that one brought them down--the Girl Guides, you know--except that I believe the correct term is strike--like tents. Unless the gin pennant doesn't count. At sunset--or gongs, which could be most confusing if one was not careful, though he must be accustomed to them, I imagine, from the war. Sir George, that is, not the admiral. One could hardly use them at sea without considerable difficulty, and the idea that the navy would be unable to find an easier way...Tents, of course. Except that the term is used by members of Her Majesty's Forces to describe medals, is it not? Gongs, I mean, which of course they have, being all most gallant and courageous gentlemen--Sir George, and the admiral, and Colonel Windup, though I confess..." (pgs 183-4)

It's not any better in context.

Ms. Seeton adventures are the best reads that I have come across. I re-read these novels several times a year, I have them all. The unsinkbale Miss Seeton manages to do it again. I have to say that my favorite part of the novel is not the mystery itself per se, but the hysterical villagers. I re-read the books over and over just for them. They could have their own show that would be something like a cross between Keeping up Appearances and Fawlty Towers. They are the limit, esp. the busybodies, the "Nuts". The "Nuts" are in every book and just get crazier and crazier with each book, soemtimes I laugh so hard my sides hurt.

Hamilton argues that there are historically and spiritually significant links between the Great Serpent Mound (Ohio) and the Greek alphabet.

I say nothing here about non-linguistic issues in the book, but this should not be taken to mean that I see no problems on these fronts (I see many). I simply think it best to concentrate here on my own main relevant areas of expertise, namely general and historical linguistics and the history of the Greek language.

One problem which is shared with most amateur proposals in this area involves the use of outdated comparative linguistic methods in 'establishing' historical links between words. It is demonstrably unreliable to equate (even tentatively) forms (from pairs of languages, whether known to be related or not, or even within any one language) on the basis of superficial, unsystematic phonetic similarities between forms with related meanings - even more so if the semantic link is not at all obvious. Most such cases will involve accidental similarity. Eg, there is NO basis for suggesting a link between and (p 138). (This has been known for very many years, and now the statistics have been calculated.) In some cases it is actually clear that forms which are equated are NOT connected, because the etymologies are known; eg, is clearly NOT + ('god-lizard') (p 151). The known historical phonology of Greek excludes this: the vowels in and the position and type of the inherent accent on differ between the two cases, showing that the forms are unconnected. In other cases Hamilton accepts a standard etymology but offers a redundant reinterpretation involving a 'deeper' sense. Eg, the letter-names and (p 147) very clearly refer to the LENGTHS of the vowels named (short and long respectively). There is no basis for an interpretation in terms of 'spirit'.

The identifications of Greek letter-forms with parts of the Serpent Mound (pp 153-191) are essentially impressionistic and do not appear at all persuasive. One would need to see evidence that at least a high proportion of these identifications or the set as a whole should be preferred (eg on statistical grounds) to other possible interpretations and especially to the null hypothesis of there being no link between the Mound and the alphabet. The null hypothesis would appear to have the strength (in terms of Ockham's Razor) of a better fit with the lack of historical evidence of contact between the two entities. In addition, there are further specific worries here, eg confused comments about Etruscan and the origin of gamma on pp 156-157, inaccurate phonetics on p 191.

Other points in the linguistic section (pp 141-152): 1) The Greeks did NOT invent the alphabet (pp 141, 150) but rather (as Hamilton actually acknowledges) adapted a Semitic (probably Phoenician) abjad to Greek, using consonant symbols not needed for Greek to represent vowels (this does occur in Semitic scripts but became universal in Greek) and (naturally) adding symbols to represent additional consonants and clusters requiring their own characters. This was clever but does not demonstrate any superior facility with Semitic symbolism. (Naturally, the senses of the Semitic letter-names were not carried over into Greek with its very largely unrelated vocabulary. By the time of transfer, the pictographic element in many of the letters was no longer obvious, in any case.) 2) The ordering of the alphabet as recited and used in dictionaries was derived from the Semitic scripts. (p 141) I know of no evidence that the numerological values of the letters had any significance beyond numerology. 3) There is no link between the earlier syllabic Greek scripts and the alphabet; in all probability, most Greek communities went through a period of illiteracy in the interim. (p 141) 4) Language naturally flourished in Greece (as elsewhere) even in the absence of literacy. The Homeric poems were originally composed by illiterates. (p 143) 5) It is not clear what would count as evidence for or against various mystical-sound statements about language on pp 143-147, or even what some of them mean. They appear susceptible only to subjective/impressionistic confirmation or disconfirmation - which would naturally tend to involve unresolvable disagreements and thus could not carry much weight. 6) The counter-criticism of mainstream scholarly methods in these respects on p 151 is not adequately justified. 7) No good evidence is produced for the claims (p 144) that there is an important link between numerical symbology and the adoption of alphabetic writing and that the alphabet was very deliberately planned. 8) The choice and structure of the linguistic terminology is strange, eg (alpha), (gamma), (delta), beta described as the 'mean' of the mutes (plosives), beta described in terms of manner (plosive) but gamma and delta in terms of position (velar, dental), the non-technical term , etc (p 144-145). 9) It is quite possible that some parts of the Semitic abjad system were derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs (p 144), but this does not show that any specific cultural influence is even likely, still less that any such influence later penetrated to the Greeks. 10) No good evidence is produced for the claims about changes to the spellings of letter-names and their motivation and significance, made in general terms on pp 144-145 and later in more detail (eg on p 156 for ). 11) The minuscule forms of Greek letters are late developments only. (p 152).

Whether or not the general theory can be made to hold up (which one must doubt), Hamilton will need to address points such as those made above and to increase the sophistication of his linguistic discussion. Until he does this, he will struggle to attract the interest of experts in these matters.

This book is one of the most incredible books on the Serpent Mound I have read. Traditional archeologist, of course, will not accept the theories presented here because they contain numberology, spirituality, and most of all, the fact that the Greek alphabet is encrypted within the Serpent Mound. The author, however, doesn't notice that this aludes to the fact that builders of the Serpent Mound where aware of the Green Language of the Alchemist, also known as the Language of the Birds. These subjects are covered fully in William Henry's "Language of the Birds" and David Ovason's "The Secrets of Nostradamus".
One of the most important discoveries in this book is that the Great Serpent Mound is meant to mirror the constellation of Draco. This constellation is important to Eastern esoteric sciences such as Tao, among others.

I tried the Popover recipe in this book. If you are at 7,000 feet like I am, this recipe won't work. I've tried it several times and still had the same disgusting result; it's also too salty for my liking.

This cookbook is an excellent choice for anyone who lives in higher elevations like Denver, Santa Fe, Taos, etc. The atmosphere at those elevations makes cooking a challenge. This cookbook touches upon all of the possible pitfalls of cooking at high altitude. Two thumbs up

While I enjoy Virginia Hamilton's work I was disappointed by the way in which she presented this interracial character. Ultimately, the protagonist, Buhlaire Sims, lacks the vocabulary to discuss race because the people around her do not talk about it. She is aware of their discomfort. Hamilton's writing style does not offer the reader more substantial ways of discussing race. It instead reinforces stereotypes of the poor, lost mulatto who carries the burden of racelessness. Literature directed toward young audiences ought to be used as a tool in creating language to talk about the realities of mixed-race identity, not the myths. Hamilton somewhat shirks out of that responsibility. Feeling out of place in her world, Buhlaire spends a lot of time wandering about Plain City by herself, along the river and through the snow. She skips school whenever she feels like it and spends that time by herself because she is without friends. Buhlaire receives little guidance about how to deal with the complicated issues she faces. As she makes her way through the whiteness of a winter blizzard, the color white literally blinds her. A lot the misgivings and uncertainties that she experiences, she herself attributes to her own racial ambiguity, she is neither white nor black. I would like to see authors address the issue of mixed-race identity for young adults less hap-hazardly than this, as I am sure great authors such as Hamilton are capable of doing.

It's a book about a girl going through the akwardness of adolesences. This reminds me of my life. Teens and children alike should read this book to understand that they are not alone in this metamorphisis on life. It gets confusing at first but then you won't want to put it down.