My daughter recently read this book and liked it, like me she is a cat lover. I found the story charming, and of course it has a happy ending, being wrote for 4-8 year olds, however, I thought it should have been a couple of pages longer, at least. But overall, this book is worth the money. If you want another book of cats and Christmas, check out CHRISTMAS CATS, by Lesley Anne Ivory, this is a book of her paintings combined with little stories about cats and Christmas, for older children and adults.

This is one of those books that, after picking it up at a friend's house, I had to have. I'm a longtime fan of Tasha Tudor's heartwarming illustrations, and here she does what she does best: animals, children and Christmas. Her daughter Efner, born to the tradition, gives us a charming tale of a little gray cat, lost and abandoned in a blizzard, and the Christmas magic that brings him into the lives of two children. A terrific book for children of any age, or adult cat-lovers like me!

The Conquest of Constantinople Robert of Clari Trans. Edgar Holmes McNeal

Robert of Clari's The Conquest of Constantinople as a chronicle of the fourth crusade presents an interesting perspective to the modern reader of the men who were responsible for the sack of Constantinople in 11th century Clari's account gives us a view of events taken from a different angle than that with which we are most familiar in a variety of ways. First, and perhaps most valuable to a broader view of history is Clari's position as a lesser knight. He is neither a leader of the events at hand nor a heroic or active individual involved with them. Clari is instead a follower, who's brother, a cleric displays more of the cinematic bravery that the present day appreciates. Clari's view however is valuable for this very reason. He is not wraped up in the glorification or even the justification of the seemingly random sacking of Constantinople in the name of the cause of saving the Holy Land. Rather, Clari's account concentrates more one revealing the events that led up to that point, his text covers the facts of the journey to the Holy Land and takes stock of the hardships that the crusaders had to overcome - the finegaling in Italy over ships ( the sack or near sack of Venice), the general headaches caused by dealing with Doge. The Excommunication of the entire body of the Crusaders, hunger, battle, and other terrors. Clari's account is also reflective of the mindset of the crusader involved in the greatest journey of his generation. We are provided through his account with pictorial desciptions of the sights and sounds of Constantinople, one of the greatest cities on Earth at the time. His recollections of the things that he saw while he was there give the impression that even long after his return from the East, this was the greatest event of his life. It probably, we can assume from the lists of the treasures he brought back and enterred in the Church, provided him with some degree of added status, to have made the journey of a thousand miles, and returned enriched. Clari account also stands to represent as McNeals' brief history of the chronicle points out, the accidental nature of the survival of this manuscript. That such an account was nearly lost through desintigration and age make it important that the most is made from what we are provided with in this chronicle, and was deemed only just

barely important enough to be copied out. Clari's words ar important because he chose to have them set down. Obviously he felt that the events of his time on Crusade was important enough to be put down on paper, and as probably the high point of his life shows the prominence of the Crusading ideal in the mind of the middle ages. A good first hand account for anyone interested in studying the fourth crusade.

In the year 1204 the Crusaders launched their fourth expedition to the Holy Land. The Crusaders never made it that far, instead, turning towards Constantinople and sacking the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This tramatic event sealed the rift between the Eastern and Western churches, as well as forever tainting relations between Venitians and Greeks which would later prove critical in 1453.

Hitherto, the only primary source that I had consulted for information on 1204 is that of Niketas Choniates (O City of Byzantium). He was a Greek present during the siege of 1204. His history begins in 1118 (where Anna Comnena leaves off) and goes through 1208. However, his chapters on the siege itself are outstanding in their descriptions of the destruction that ensued once the Crusaders had taken the city. The most well known Western history of 1204 is by Geoffrey of Villehardouin. As for Robert of Clari, he was but a humble knight who otherwise is obscure to history. His history should not be taken lightly however. His descriptions are often just as vivid as Choniates', and remarkably honost. However, as one might expect, he is unfair in his treatment of the Greeks.

If you are interested at all in Byzantian History, or the Crusades in general, this is a must read. It is a fresh perspective on a often overlooked event.

matt

As Americans we have heard many tales, true and false, of tales of, and about, those brave souls who migrated across the country in wagons and on foot in the 19th century. Beverly's LTD has recorded The personal diary of one such woman, Margaret A. Frink.

Mrs. Frink, along with her husband, whose first name we never know, and a boy named Robert leave their nice home in Martinsburg, Indiana, for the riches of the California territories. It's not only the promise of gold that spurs this couple on, but of the riches available to those who make the arduous trip.

Mrs. Frink keeps a detailed diary of the daily distances traveled (how did they m ark this?), the price of provisions along the way, the weather, the many people they run into, and an acute observation of the fashions on the trail. I found that quite interesting, those detailed descriptions of fashion, in clothing, transportation, and supplies, and the daily traveling distance. I also found myself amazed at the mileage the wagons were able to make each day and the price of provisions along the way. In 1851, one onion costs the Frink's one dollar, which is astronomically even in the 2002 market.

Susan Baxter, an actress at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado, gives life to Margaret. By the tone of voice she uses, I suspect that Margaret is a bit of a snob, but she handles the travails of the trail with remarkable good humor.

It is particularly interesting that the diary does not end with their arrival in Sacramento, but gives a hurried account of life for their life as hotel owners and diary farmers. It is also interesting that the home they dismantled in Indiana and ship by boat, arrived in the new state at almost the same time they did.

Thanks to the publication of this diary, I have a whole new appreciation of the Old West!

The second in the series is as interesting as the first.The immigrants now have a bit more knowledge as many have gone before them.There are still many misshaps, disease, lack of water and feed. We now are starting to see many oppertunists who prey on the people. It is interesting to note that the women and Indians seemed to get along quite well and shared hints about many things. We also see the diffrence in the trip for diffrent income levels.This is also where we start to see pollution,as the animals were allowed in the creeks and anything not needed was just left .These books show what life was really like on the trail and what the women went through each day.

I actually sought out and bought this book after finding and reading it from the Library. I have a top-quality gardening library. But none is near as good for design work as this: it provides a *PICTURE!*-and a good one, of nearly all entries, plus, rather than trying to be extensive, it lists a nice collection of widely applicable plants under such groupings as "low water" "ground-cover" "herb" "light foot trafic"...etc.
Its a book well worth adding even to a fairly good garden design collection.

Lavishly illustrated with more than 400 beautiful color photographs, Creating Good Gardens offers clear, reader friendly, step-by-step instructions for creating floral combinations, foliage textures, and seasonal colors and blooms for gardens that are both pleasing to the eye and easy to maintain. Creating Good Gardens covers garden design, getting started, garden care, annuals and perennials, roses, flowering bulbs, herbs, ground covers, trees and shrubs, specialty gardens, and vegetable gardens. Ideal for the neophyte gardener, Creating Good Gardens also has much of value to offer the experienced horticulturist as well.

I have read the first several chapters of this book. It is very good. The way it was written is much more interesting than the traditional way of writing physics books. Although it was somewhat difficult to understand in places, I could usually figure them out after I read them again. Also provides some of the history of physics. A good book for beginners.

Serious Sherlock Holmes fans may be offended by the use of their favorite characters, but the characters are well done and make the subject vastly more accessible. I've been reading this aloud to my ten-year-old, with only occasional asides explaining an unfamiliar word or pointing out an anachronism, and he now knows more about relativity than most adults. The explanation of how an atomic bomb works is wonderfully clear. The plots and characters retain my son's interest, keeping this firmly among the ranks of "fun" rather than "improving" books, while explaining important material in an easily understood way.

I thought it was a great book although I read this book for a humor bookreport and I did not think it was that funny. But other than that it really was a great book!

I thought that this book was great, I liked the begining, the road to Bealah's, and the ending. I found interesting twists as well as funny moments. I really think that if you read this book you will like it. I have read other Hank the Cowdog books and this one is just as good. For you boys out there this book isn't about love except for very little in the end. The only thing I didn't like was the song at the end that Hank and Bealah sang. Overall I enjoyed this book. I hope you consider buying it.

This is another great book from The Hank The Cowdog series!
Little Alfred, has gotten himself lost IN THE DARK UNCHANTED FOREST!! Little Alfred thinks that his mother (Sally May) likes his new sister Molly better then him. He decides to run away, to the forest. Hank sees him so he dose what a blue ribbon Head of Ranch Security dog dose and follows him. But hank gets lost and is in trouble with Rip and Snort the two coyote brothers. Can Hank pull this one off? Will he be lost to fate? Well read the book!

Hank finds that he is unwanted or so he thinks and leaves the ranch. Only to come back andbe a hero.

Hank, the Head of Ranch Security, is troubled by Eddy the Rac. Eddy is the newest addition at the ranch. Hank always seems to end up on the bad end of "moonlight madness". Will this cowdog and strange acting racoon ever see eye to eye? This is a very entertaining story; it will make you giggle and laugh out loud.

This Hank adventure introduces Eddie the Rac, a racoon who seems to have had a little too much coffee! He and Hank are a great pair, as Eddie gets Hank in constant trouble despite Hank's best efforts. A very enjoyable story.

An unexpected yet successful association. This sequel to An Old Friend of the Family is even better than the original. It gives interesting informations about how vampires are made and gives a hint to those who always wondered how Holmes manage to be so good at investigating. For those who like detective and vampire novels.

In this phenomenal hybridization, Dracula makes his 2nd visit to Victorian London (his 1st being the original Stoker novel). Here he becomes embroiled in an unpublished Sherlock Holmes adventure featuring the heretofore unseen "giant rat of Sumatra." Saberhagen stays faithful to the original characterizations of both Doyle and Stoker, and intermixes the two in a fascinating adventure which, after reading the first several chapters, you will not be able to put down. A real page turner.

This book is a great compilation about this ledgendary war machine. It gives a good background to the making of arguably the best fighter aircraft of the day. Hurricane also goes in depth about the special features involved in this plane, as well as some of the highs and lows of fighting in these sleek machines, often with thrilling battles against ME109's, the Hawker Hurricane's nemisis.

If you're looking for a book about the Hawker Hurricane and you like colour photographs this is definitly the book you'r looking for. All colour illustrations are new, most of them of the few surviving Hurricanes, of which this book gives an excellent overview. The black and white ones are all of the best quality and together they give you a thorough look both around and in the airplane itself. I'm dumbfolded about it being out of print.