Readers of this little autrobiography will experience the charm of a delightful piece of Americana. Bernell Smith had no earth shaking experiences in her life, but those experiences she did have, she tells us about in a manner that makes the reader want to keep on reading. Her humor and evocative style will enchant readers young and old. A "must-have" for your bookshelf.

Bernell Warren Smith writes with a lyrical, wide eyed beauty that will enchant the reader while causing both laughter and tears. With very simple direct language she puts you immediately into her world -- and what a world it is! Don't miss this charming autobiography of the America that used to be, the America we all wish it still was.

Bernell Warren Smith's delightful "Brownie On The Orange Crate" gives us a snapshot of life during the period 1915-1990, much as Laura Ingalls Wilder's book, "Little House on the Prairie," gives us a snapshot of life during the period 1870-1889. Bernell was born in a small house in Los Angeles, lived in the desert and the mountains of California, moved from a tarpaper shack to a tent to a cabin, and attended school in a bunkhouse. There was hard work, the tragic death of an 8 year old friend, the depression and a devastating earthquake. But there were also times of laughter and joy. The images she paints with her words will draw you into her world, poor in material things, but rich in love. You will cry and laugh as you read this wonderful book.

In a private waiting room in the prestigious Hotel Chancellor in New York City we encounter a dead man, a victim of a bizarre murder. The man's identity is unknown, even the labels from his clothing has been removed. The victim was completely undressed and then re-dressed in his clothes, but backwards. The furniture, paintings, lamps, and other items in the room has been inverted or reversed. The peeling and seeds of a tangerine (then known as a Chinese Orange) are found in a fruit bowl.

The full title of this Ellery Queen Mystery (April, 1934) is The Chinese Orange Mystery, A Problem in Deduction. I made little progress toward resolving the mystery. I repeat a hint offered by an earlier reviewer, a hint that might marginally benefit the modern reader: those familiar with some knowledge of men's fashions a century ago might remember that men often used removable stiff collars that could be washed and starched separately, and even discarded and replaced, allowing longer use of the dress shirt itself.

The Chinese Orange Murder is good, and would make a good starting point for the reader new to Ellery Queen. While it makes good reading, like a good John Dickson Carr mystery of the same period, the solution may be beyond most mortals. But with the hint above, you might unravel a few more threads than I did.

In recent months I have read and reviewed several Ellery Queen classic mysteries from the 1930s. Ellery Queen today is unfamiliar to many contemporary readers, but I prophesize that these remarkable deductive mysteries will again become as popular as they were in the 1930s through the 1960s. It may not be easy to locate one of the earlier (1930s) Ellery Queen mysteries, but whatever sleuthing is required, I assure you that the effort will be rewarded.

This is one of my favorite all time mystery stories by Ellery Queen or any other author..

It's unfortunate that too many people think that the only worthwhile mystery books from the 1930's are by British writers. Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee wrote many outstanding mysteries under the name "Ellery Queen". Many of Queen's books are puzzles and one of the best is The Chinese Orange Mystery: an unknown man is found murdered in a hotel with all his clothes and the furniture reversed. The only clue I can fairly give is that in the 1930's, men wore *removable* collars as opposed to fixed collars today. Here's hoping this book gets reprinted soon!

I remember checking this book out of the public library when I was five, My mom read it to me and my brother and we loved it! It is a wonderful story about a monster living in a little boy's closet. The little boy is very afraid of the monster in his closet but what he doesn't know is that the monster is just as scared of him! What a wonderful way to help dispell some of the fear that children experience at bed time, when they think that something big and scary lurks behind their closet door. This book is also of great sentimental value to me because I named my orange kitten after the monster in the book! He has since passed away and I wish I had a copy of the book as a memento. Hopefully your children will enjoy this story as much as my brother and I did!

This book is my husband's favorite childhood story. I searched for this book for MONTHS! I finally got lucky and was able to buy it used, here. This a charming story about a little boy and the little monster (that lives in his closet) that becomes his friend -- I recorded myself reading it and sent the tape to my nephews along with another copy of the book I managed to locate. It has already become a favorite of the next generation in my house.

This has always been my favorite book, and to date, I have only seen 3 copies of it. It is a remarkable book about a boy who is scared of a monster, and the monster is also afraid of the boy. Once they meet, they realize they have more in common than they thought and become friends. It is an excellent book for teaching kids about dealing with fear and character judgment. I understand that it was originally published as a library edition, making it hard to find, but it is definitely worth the read and the pictures are fabulous! I highly recommend this book!

There is a certain poetic fusion connecting the five novellas found in this fine book of short stories that is like a disconnected dream you might experience upon waking. Carlos Fuentes delivers his verbal barrage and assault upon everything that has created the modern Mexican. He delves into his historical replays with witty insight, carefully ripping apart the sacred past with tongue in cheek imagery that is funny and thought provoking at once. After reading some passages you will go back and read them again for the sheer eloquence and beauty of the masterful use of language. Fuentes says things in such a way that even things that should offend you are so profound in their simplistic articulation that you have to chuckle. Fuentes delivers his message in suttle ways but with an impact that gets under your skin, enveloping and seducing you in his recreations that are colorful and walk off the pages taking you on a wonderful journey as only he can. Even tough the stories are unrelated they somehow feel like the greater part of the whole. I found all the stories to be different, completly entertaining with the exception of one. This is probably my own personal taste but I had trouble getting into "The Two Numantias," quite possibly because of my not being as familiar with the subjects. However, when Fuentes is talking about La Malinche, Cortes, Chapultepec, Cortes , the Spanish conquerors and the Aztecs, often in hyterically hyped imagery, the results are as familiar as frijoles and tortillas. Carlos Fuentes often writes in a hyper sexual mode as is evident in "Apollo and the Whores" where the sexual escapades are rated xxx but have an erotic texture that somehow make them less raw; besides his hilarious and outrageous narrative dominates and makes you laugh at the outlandsih scenarios. This book of five short stories is definitely recommended for someone not familiar with Carlos Fuentes. As one of Mexico's most brilliant and prolific writers, Fuentes demonstrates why he is one of the best Latin American writers. If you are unfamiliar with Fuentes this might be a good place to start since the stories are short and give a good indication of his writing style; if you don't like a particular novella you can always skip it. However if you do like Fuentes and want to read more than I would recommend "Christopher Unborn," "The Death of Artemio Cruz, " "The Good Conscience," or more recently the epic books "The years With Laura Diaz" or "The Buried Mirror." I'll end this review or suggestive prodding of you to read Carlos Fuentes by borrowing verse from a Fuentes scene involving two singers, one singing in Nahuatl another in Castilian."We've only come to dream, and the words flow far from the valley, into a distant sea where the silent rivers of life come to a halt. The narrative continues and the singing ends without ending: "My flowers will never end,
My songs will never end.
I raise them up,
I am only the singer......."

Something magical connects the five distinct stories which comprise 'The Orange Tree'. They read like the jumbled fragments of a beautiful, disorienting dream. Fuentes offers glimpses of remarkable events - the firey fall of the Aztecs, the sexual death of a fading film star, a Roman siege - and makes their ugliness beautiful. All the while, he weaves a delicate web of connective tissue, turning 'The Orange Tree' into a remarkably cohesive tapestry of Latin American history and culture. Surreal, haunting and elegant, this book reads like a vision.

The Orange Tree is a book of unusual beauty. Fuentes, once again playing the historian, presents a reiteration of Latin American history which is utterly convincing as a piece of pure mythology. This perhaps lies in Fuentes' uncanny ability to assign either perfect charm or horrifying ugliness to so much of what he describes: the spectacular fall of the Aztec Empire; the complex seige of a Spanish city by the Romans; the dreamlike arrival of Columbus to a ambivilant paradise.

The five novellas of The Orange Tree offer the reader voices which seem to speak from beyond life and history. We are presented tales of death and suffering in a context so huge, so ambitious, that Fuentes has destroyed the barriers of history and constructed a reality all his own. The lavishness of his vision is hypnotic.

Read this book with abandon; allow its mythology to consume you.

The free materials from the transportation companies may be fine for the casual traveler, but if you're serious about rail transportation in Southern California, this is an excellent reference.

Excellent information on rail transit in the five county (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura) Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Includes the Metrolink commuter rail lines between Los Angeles and cities such as Oceanside, and the heavy rail Los Angeles Metro Rail subway system. I highly recommended this book for rail transit fans, like me.

Mr. Simburger has written an outstanding book. I do want to correct a couple of points in the main review. the book does not cover all of Southern California rail. In particular, it has relatively little information about the Coaster [Oceanside- San Diego] or the San Diego Trolley. It also does not talk much about intercity Amtrak in the Inland Empire and the Mojave Desert. The bus maps are a little hard to read, and Mr. Simburger could use an editor to correct some typos but this is an outstanding well researched reference. I never travel anywhere on the Metrolink without reading up the relevant chapters in this book first.

Jan Clausen wrote a very intellectual and profound moving book especially for this very book, Apples & Oranges. I am very moved by the depth of feelings in which Jan Clausen described herself and her experiences. The character development is a real suspense and this book gave me thrill and also could have helped people who are in search of their sexuality. Moreover, I really could not get my hands of the book, and if I could, I would read it from dawn till dusk. A real life experience full of colours of life which brought an aspect in my real life. Very Good !

Jan Clausen has been walking on the wild side of sexual preference all her life. First she came out as a lesbian, in a world that is not particularly friendly to the sexually deviant. Then she left her 12-year partnership to be with a man, a decision which alienated her from the lesbian community she had been so instrumental in building. In this book, she tries to make sense of it all, for herself and for the reader, exploring what it means to be a lesbian or not.

The central idea of the book is that either/or sexuality is too confining, that women's eroticism flows in a way that makes all labels into prisons. This summing-up misses a great deal, however, as she covers the ground of her own intense life experience, the ways in which the lesian community deals with sexual outlaws, and the ways in which our principles sometimes get in the way of living authentic lives.

This is a great book, just because of the ideas discussed. However, the author is also a poet, and so the prose is dense and lovely, with a rhythm that supports the philosophical discussion in a profound way.

I enjoyed reading the book. It has some very creative examples and very humorous section titles. Everything You Need To Know About Economics is a great review of economics in general and I recommend it to anyone who would like to have a learn more or brush up on economic principles.

When I first picked it up I was very unsure of what I was getting in to. I wasn't sure if this would just another dry all-in-one type book with loads of info. Rather this book by Fike and Stebben, puts Economics in real life terms! Easy read and very easy to follow, makes Econ. and enjoyable subject, unlike those college classes.

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I found Leonard Rivkin's book, "May It Please The Court!" to be very entertaining, interesting, and very easy to read. My trepidation of picking up and reading a book written by a lawyer were totally unfounded.

I expected to be bored by legal mumbo jumbo and boring statistics. It was quite a pleasant surprise to find the book reading more like a novel. My principle purpose was to read the chapters on Agent Orange. Mr.Rivkin's accounting of the "behind the scenes" activities and proceedings truly opened my eyes to many obscure, but highly pertinent details and facts. I have come away with a new attitude toward the subject.

My assessment of this book, and Mr. Rivkin's ability to shed light on Agent Orange where it has not been shown before, gets my "two thumbs up".

Capt Patrick McCrary

This is a fascinating review of a very interesting life. The "greatest generation" didn't always lead to such incredible success, but in this case Rivkin took his GI money to law school, a one person practice and built it into a big law firm despite incredible odds, some real setbacks and a lot of determination. The inside story on the Agent Orange case was a real eye opener even for another lawyer but would be just as interesting (maybe even more so) for lay people. Highly recommend.

I first read this book in elementary school.I'm an adult now and have never forgotten how this book filled me with anticipation for Halloween! This book doesn't focus on the 'trick-or-treat, get all the candy you can!' part of Halloween, but instead builds up Halloween, for kids, as a season.

...Steve Kellogg's charming little Halloween tale starts in the spring when Brian, Ellis and Joan buy pumpkin seeds to grow a Halloween jack-o'-lantern. Their friend and neighbor Mr. Bramble lets them plant the seeds in his garden and another neighbor, Mrs. Wilkins, helps the kids take care of the pumpkin vine that starts growing. When a small pumpkin appears Mrs. Wilkins paints a smile on its face and they decide to name the pumpkin Patterson. This is how the Patterns Pumpkin Club came to be formed (they have neat t-shirts with their names on them). However, dreams of Halloween are dashed when at the end of the summer Mr. Bramble had to move away and Mr. Klug, the new owner, decides he would rather make Patterson into a pumpkin pie than a jack-o'-lantern. More importantly, Mr. Klug does not want kids running around his yard (even though Joan asked for permission to water Patterson Pumpkin). A meeting of the club is called and Mrs. Wilkins suggests that maybe some Halloween tricks and treats will solve the problem.

The solution is certainly creative and what I like is that Mr. Klug pretty much stays true to character right until the bitter end. Young children will like the way the kids not only take care of Patterson Pumpkin but also manage to create a happy ending (with lots of help from Mrs. Wilkins). Their parents will like the tricks and treats as well, not to mention the sense of a real neighborhood Kellogg's tale provides. "The Mystery of the Flying Orange Pumpkin" is illustrated by Kellogg with detailed black & white drawings in which orange coloring is strategically provided. This is simply a short and sweet Halloween tale.

First, few clarifications regarding earlier reviews: Be advised that the editorial review covers both books in this series, and that they have nearly identical titles. The first is 'Building Ohio: A Traveler's Guide to Ohio's Urban Architecture'. The second title is identical if you substitute "Rural" for "Urban". The word "Rural" is a little misleading, as the second book covers small-to-medium-sized cities as well as the countryside.

Regarding walking directions, the books do provide walking directions for small groups of closely-spaced sites. If you want to construct a longer walking tour, then you easily can plan it using the supplied addresses and directions with a city map.

The writing is very well researched, informative, and a pleasure to read. I've driven past many of the Cincinnati landmarks described here without knowing what they were, and it's a pleasure to be able to associate them not only with names and dates, but with stories. It's fascinating to know that modern airport taxi and bus routing, concourses, and baggage handling were pioneered in the design of a grand train station, Cincinnati's Union Terminal. Or, that landscaped cemeteries such as Adolph Strauch's Spring Grove Cemetery used to be popular picnic and party venues before cities started building parks to divert the load. In reading about our architecture, there is much to learn about ourselves. I'm still reading.

Photographs are in black and white. There are many sketches used judiciously to show how a building appeared in the past, or to present city-planning layouts. Not every entry is accompanied by an illustration, which was sometimes disappointing. The author defines her area of interest broadly to cover not just buildings, but landscaping and city design as well.

Building Ohio is a unique book in that it looks at Ohio's architecture from a state wide perspective. Ohio's best architecture can be found in Cincinnati and Cleveland and this book covers both of these cities. However, Building Ohio is the only book I know of that also covers Columbus', Dayton's, Toledo's, Canton's, and Akron's often underrated urban architecture. This alone makes it a valuable and original resource. What I also like about this book is it sometimes gets off the beaten path. This is not just a highlight book of downtown architecture. Jane Ware also explores city neighborhoods and suburbs in search of interesting architecture.

I have lived in Cincinnati for the past twenty years and I found Jane Ware's opinions and writings informed and correct. I would think the one problem with writing a book on Ohio architecture are all the buildings that have to be left out because of space limitations. There are many buildings and neighborhoods in Cincinnati alone that are unfortunately not covered. If, after reading this book, you are interested in a more in-depth analysis of Cincinnati and its architecture, I would recommend Cincinnati Observed.

The one complaint I have with this book is that it is hard to use it as a walking tour since there are no directions between each highlighted building. For example, when I was in Columbus, and walking in the downtown area, I found it hard to follow from building to building since I am not too familiar with downtown Columbus.

Overall, I found this book to be a good buy and a much needed reminder on Ohio's often overlooked architectural legacy.

Building Ohio: A Traveler's Guide To Ohio's Urban Architecture by Jane Ware is an impressive and unique guidebook of Ohio urban architecture. Showcasing the buildings of Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown, Building Ohio is enhanced with a four page listing of credits, an extensive bibliography, and a comprehensive index. Black-and-white photographs coupled with succinct information about historical buildings, great landmarks, distinctive features and much more completely fill the pages of this useful and highly recommended resource for travelers interested in seeing some of the finest architectural constructions Ohio has to offer.