The "If They Mated" book by Conan O'Brien and staff is a colorful and humorous look at the answer to the question we've all been wondering "What if they mated?" Couples in the news, or even those rumored to be going out, and their "child", a morphed creature with the worst characteristics of the two, is shown. This book is a must!

Conan O'Brien is one of the funniest men alieve and this book proves that!This book evolved from a sketch on the show(one of the best, other than Pimpbot 5000). He and the Late Night Writers are amazing,they come up with so many diffrent sketches that its not even funny. If you have ever wondered what celebrities babies looked like this book is a must have.
HAIL CONAN!

heart,
ivy the barbarian

This is definately a must have for any Conan O'Brien fan. Late Night with Conan O'Brien is simply the best show ever. Conan O'Brien is the funniest man alive and he along with the Late Night writers have only shown that with this hillarious book. I can't wait until In the Year 2000 comes out. Conan O'Brien is truly a genius when it comes to truly hysterical, unique and orginal comedy, I give this book Five Stars. Read over and over again.

I THINK THIS BOOK WAS INTERESTING . ONCE I READ IT I DIDN'T WANT TO STOP. EVERYTIME IT GOT TO A SUSPENSE PART I GOT SO EXCITIED. IF I WERE ALL YOU BOOK READER'S I WOULD SUGGEST YOU BUY IT AND READ IT!!!

I think this book was interesting. Here's why,THIS book made me realize how it is in life when you lose someone you love so much.Also, everytime I read this book I did not want to stop to go to the next class!!!I suggest that everyone who didn't read this book better get this book!

I think it was a great book for me and class.It was fun to read and we didn't want to stop when we had to stop reading.we couldn't put down the book.

My husband and I are thinking about trying to conceive soon, and we thought this would be a great humorous view of the whole process. And, it is! As always Dave Barry brings such true humor to the process. I especially love the recounts of conversations he's had with his child, espeically the ones that revolve around the word "Why?".... (e.g., "That's a goat." "Why?") My only gripe is that there isn't more to this book, a lot of page space is dedicated to only mildly amusing pictures.

Overall though, a fun read which you can finish in one or two sittings.

My wife got me this as a gift, and my only complaint is that my youngest is now eight, and I could have used this a long time ago. Dave Barry hits the nail right on the head with this book.

In this book, Barry puts a very serious subject in a humorous tone, but he still speaks the truth. Yes, this book is intended as humor, but his reasoning and descriptions are pretty dead on true. I seriously could relate to a lot of the situations he described. This book was hysterical.

Jerry O'Brien's illustrations are hilarious, and, as always, the perfect compliment to Barry's book. For any new parents or expected parents, this book is definately for you. Not only will this book not pull any punches, and tell it like it is, but it is very enjoyable reading, and will help ease some of the axieties that you may already have. Yeah, it might add a few as well, but hey, at least you'll laugh so hard, you'll forget about labor pains.

Dave Barry is easily the king of comedy, and this short book even illustrates this even more. You won't be disappointed.

When I first read this, before I had (or even considered having) children, I assumed that it was intended as humor, and I laughed (a lot) at what I imagined were its comic exaggerations. Now that I have a child, I realize that this is in fact a no-nonsense, completely serious and accurate description of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing.

While other baby books mislead you with emotional descriptions of the joy and wonder your "little one" will bring, Dave Barry pulls no punches in his hard-hitting, gritty portrayal of baby behavior. There is a quiz early on whose purpose is to deter prospective parents who may be weak of heart or stomach, with questions such as "How many diapers will an average baby go through before it is toilet-trained?" or "What is the most repulsive thing a baby would put in its mouth?" Those of you who are parents will know the answers. Those of you who are not, be warned: you may think Dave Barry's answers are too outrageous to be true, but you're wrong!

Anyway, this book is an excellent source of information for anyone who is considering having children, or who is considering not having children. It is also useful for those who already have children, as it will reassure them that they are not alone -- though they may wish they had read (and heeded) it sooner.

A "must read" for any truly serious student of modern America! This book is an entertaining, brilliant analysis of the history, structure, and performance of an industry that affects every American. Although the editor should be criticized for the misleading subtitle, Mr. O'Brien's treatment of the subject is faultless, and represents a major contribution to the public debate on gambling. It is the best treatment available, and should be read by legislators, policy-makers, and academics. Indeed, the so-called "gaming industry" should view the book as a "wake-up call", lest it find itself subjected to the treatment recently recieved by Big Tobacco.

Mr. O'Brien does not moralize, although he has clear opinions. The book is well balanced, and presents a history and description of the industry that is entertaining and insightful. It is a great gift book for any gambler, government student, or public official on your holiday gift list.

Mr. O'Brien has written a thought-provoking book, the thesis of which is that casinos rely on a small percentage of problem gamblers for most of their profits. I was a little surprised that he didn't interview Frank Scoblete, the top gaming author in the world and my personal favorite because I would have liked to read Scoblete's opinions on O'Brien's thesis. But that is a minor quibble. The book is definitely worth reading. I tend to agree with O'Brien. Too many people are out of control when it comes to gambling.

This is the best book I've read in a long time. The mix of facts and "real life" stories are absolutely absorbing. While O'Brien provides the necessary statistics and facts regarding gambling and economic development, the tales of the gamblers are incredibly well written. This book reads like fiction and the fact that it isn't makes it hard to put down. I found it very difficult to keep myself from skipping ahead to read the stories of gamblers that are sandwiched between chapters. O'Brien's writing prowess and descriptive style are incredible. I highly reccommend this book to anyone whether they have gambled in Vegas or merely purchased a lottery ticket at the corner store.

Undoubtedly one of the finest books I have ever read, a sentiment echoed by the several people I distributed the book to after reading it myself. After a relatively straightforward opening chapter the plot just takes off, leaving you asking yourself what the hell is going on. The atomic theory, DeSelby, bicycles - it's hard to believe this book is a product of pre-war Ireland. And it ends well too. A book that you will want to tell your friends about in the pub. By the way, the Poor Mouth is great too, although it's aimed much more directly at an Irish audience.

I don't want to say anything about the story. It is best experienced by yourself. However I must urge you to read this book. You will love it if you like really good literature.
OK so what can I say without giving anything away....
I laughed a lot reading this book...and that says a lot since I'm kind of a bore.
It is very genuine story. Well-built and with a lot of different levels. It is intellectual litterature with humour.
This is one of those books were you can buy the best edition from the start. You will definately want to have it for a long time.
I remember reading that Flann O'Brien would probably have been a greater name if he had not been standing in the shadow of Joyce at the time.

There can be few more chilling discoveries in life than to be rambling around Amazon.com and find that there are 311 reviews of The Celestine Prophecy and only one, ONE!, of Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman.

This book, along with Gravity's Rainbow, The Recognitions, Auto da Fe, The Burn, and a small handful of others, is a masterpiece of the 20th century - a book people will be reading while they pilot their spaceships toward a hard day's work on Venus or some such thing a kajillion years into the future. It is also one of the few satire's that doesn't succeed by denigrating us and one of the few post-modern works that does succeed by making us howl with laughter.

I dare anyone to read the first line and then put this book down. Undoubtedly the best first line in English literature (though Garcia Marquez's first line in 100 Years of Solitude is probably the best first line in all of literature).

I won't go on about plot twists - only urge fans of literature that expands understanding while entertaining to pick up this book by the greatest of Irish writers (you read right, THE greatest).

this was recommended to me by an on-line friend who is serious about her catholic faith. im not catholic; frankly i dont know WHAT my religious beliefs are. this book tho is a whale of a good read by an author who clearly takes his beliefs to heart. father elijah is a warts & all protagonist, worthy of our interst and at times of our doubts -- much as he himself must confront his own questions before being finally affirmed in his faith. i would recommend this book to any who are willing to face their own spiritual questioning: something of which i appear to still be doing.

Father Elijah is perhaps my favorite book in apocalyptic literature. The world needs great Catholic writers like O'Brien to influence society and shed some Light on a dark and depressed globe. The Catholic undertone is remarkable. One may think this book has the main character of Father Elijah, but he is really merely an instrument of Christ. I grew in faith and respect for the Papacy and priests in general. This book even increased my prayer life and made me a pumped up Catholic ready to take on the world. It gave insight to the spiritual realm which needs to be known these days. This book is great for the faithful and for anybody who wants to see the power of prayer through a fiction novel. The EUCHARIST is life.

This book deserves placement in the pantheon of such great religious works as "The Shoes of the Fisherman." It is at the same time an utterly devastating commentary on modern times and a rousing defense of Catholic orthodoxy.

When I bought it, I was in the middle of another book at the time, so I thought I would read the first chapter to get a feel for the prose style. I never put it down. O'Brien draws you in and never lets go. I guarantee you will feel emotionally drained after completing "Father Elijah."

Those who have felt an uneasiness about the decline of religion in contemporary times, or those wishing to understand the philosophical roots of Catholicism are advised to get this fine book.

A review by Shannon
Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four children. Unfortunally, one is ill with a serious case of pneumonia. The family lives beneath a garden that is soon to be harvested and must be moved immediately or will face death. Timothy, the child with pneumonia and must not be moved. As time goes on she hears about the rats of Nimh. These weren't any ordinary rats but ones with an extraordinary breed of high indigents. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow and placing sleeping powder into a cat's dinner dish.

This was and exceptional book for all ages. This book is full of adventure and amusing humor. If you enjoy animal characters, this is a great book for you. I am now in High School and I think that this book is very exciting and will kept you motivated to read more. I really enjoyed the part where Mrs. Frisby slips a sleeping powder into the cats' dinner plate because you never know what is going to happen until it does. The part that really caught me off guard was when the author brought to conclusion what every thing looked like. He was very descriptive, for example" he was stocky, square and muscular, with bright, hard eyes. He looked efficient." This story is told in a third person perspective. I like it.
I would strongly recommend this to any reader that enjoys adventure and relationships that grow between the characters. This book has many positive out comes on life.

Mrs. Frisby, a widowed field mouse, is forced to take on a big adventure when her youngest son Timothy gets ill. Timothy's illness comes just before spring, and with spring comes moving day. Mrs. Frisby is forced to seek help, leading her to the all but ordinary Rats of NIMH. This fictional adventure is perfect for capturing the attention of any reader nine years of age or older. Although the story is written from the view of fictional farm animals the reader is pulled into the suspenseful plot and is easily drawn into the emotions of each character. Not only is the book enjoyable to read, it is good for the classroom teacher. It conveys lessons on qualities like friendship, bravery, and teamwork. These qualities let the book easily be integrated into the classroom. I recommend "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" to anyone who would enjoy a fun and rewarding text.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is one of the best books that I have ever read. It has now sold over 1 million copies as well as being extremley well regared by the critics. Why is this book so good? Well for starters, it has a perfect no holes plot with intelligent writing and believable characters. The book is also very imaginitive and suspensful. When I first read it in grade 3 I thought it was a great story and that was it. However now that I am older (17) I can tell it has much more depth. The author had a view that we should respect the environment and be hardworking, so he gave the Rats that quality. He also believed in interdependance; helping one another. For example, Mrs. Frisby helps the crow and then he helps her in return. Without the aid of several characters in this novel, Mrs. Frisby would never have been able to solve her dilema. And of course I love that line from Jenner, "people are our cows." I highly reccomend this Newbery Medal award winning book

I'm not a big fan of Tim O'Brien's writing: It's a stylistic thing. I believe that he is neither a natural raconteur nor a gifted observer, either of which is what turns a book into a great read. If you've read much at all about the Vietnam subjective experience you are bound to have come across bits of this book because in it O'Brien does show flashes of pure story telling talent and these bits have been excerpted and published as essays and short stories. The premise of this book is an autobiographical look at the author's life leading up to and including his tour of duty in Vietnam. In it he thoughtfully and sensitively addresses the plethora of social, martial and political elements whirling about the Vietnam theatre of war. Unfortunately, he gets a bit tripped up in his attempts to showcase his Liberal Arts education by interweaving quotations from Socrates through Plato, Homer and various poets into the narrative. I suppose that the point could be made that in doing so he is attempting to demonstrate on the one hand that war and its aftermath and injustice are inseparable and always have been and on the other hand that because of this the Vietnam war and its product is no more or less noble than any of the 'heroic' wars of legend. I'd rather not argue that point, expecially in the context of a memoir of one man's single year of experience of the Vietnam War. What I would argue is that O'Brien's attempts at literary flight fall flat, probably because they have the look and feel of a college essay, or mere highfalutin literary contrivance. In my opinion, O'Brien fails to bridge the gap between legend and the miserable year he spent working as a foot soldier and clerk typist in Vietnam. If you would like to experience examples from each of the two archetypes I refered to above try, for great observational skill the book by Tobias Wolff on his experience in Vietnam titled 'In Pharoah's Army,' and for great storytelling Phillip Caputo's book 'A Rumor of War.' You'll love them both, I'm sure. As for this one, I would only recommend it to fans of puerile sentimentality (altho' who could expect more from a 21 year old?), and those who, like myself, want to expose themselves to just about everything out there on the subject that shows literary promise. In the final analysis, this book promises much but delivers unevenly.

A thinking man in Vietnam was a dangerous thing. Being a soldier in Vietnam was a dangerous thing. Tim O'Brien was both and somehow he managed to live to survive it and tell his story. He ends up in Vietnam after unsuccessfully dealing with his conflict between doing the right thing and being a courageous man. He tells of his decision not to follow his well planned escape route and stay with his country and its proposal to send him to Viet Nam. O'Brien describes Vietnam as a place with nameless soldiers and Buddys, faceless enemies and endless minefields.

This is an excellent text for learning about the experience of the Vietnam war, the choices that young man were faced with at that time and basic dilemmas in making moral decisions. It is a well written book which makes for a quick, satisfying read.

This is an excellent piece of literature. O'Brien is at his finest as he transcribes his experiences during the vietnam war. If you read "The Things They Carried" (which he wrote after this) you'll definately love this book. It's also interesting to observe some of the similarities to the characters in this memoir to those in The Things They Carried. It's exceptional, honestly. You wont be disappointed.

"H.M.S. Surprise", the third installment in Patrick O'Brian's magnificient Aubrey/Maturin series is set aboard Aubrey's favorite ship, the slender ex-French frigate Surprise, during a mission to Indian waters. Here O'Brian demonstrates again his great affinity for natural history, portraying Maturin as a fictitious predecessor to the likes of Charles Darwin and Alfred R. Wallace. Meanwhile both he and Aubrey must ponder how they can thwart a French flotilla from seizing the China fleet. Readers will treasure O'Brian's elegant prose and mesmerizing descriptions of natural history and sea battles.

"H.M.S. Surprise" is Patrick O'Brian's third book in his epic 20-volume 19th-century maritime series. Captain Jack Aubrey, on blockade duty along France's southern coast, must extricate his friend, ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, from a delicate situation. Then, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise they sail to South America, India and beyond, weathering storms, battling enemies, and stewing over their respective romances.

Once again O'Brian delivers an excellent book, spare prose and nautical realism sweep the reader on deck. And, of course, the ending is a cliff-hanger, so you'll have to read the next book.

I read the first two in the Aubrey/Maturin series (Master and Commander and Post Captain) a few years ago and liked them. In an idle moment, I recently picked up HMS Surprise and glanced at the first page. Thirty minutes later I was still reading and within the week I had finished the book. Unfortunately my vocabulary cannot do justice to describing just how good this book is. The characterizations are sympathetic and acute, the descriptions of seafaring are hypnotic and the battle scenes are wonderful. These books are not pulp fiction, but finely wrought and accurate depictions of the world nearly two centuries ago. Some of O'Brian's observations are so good, I felt like applauding at times. These books require some patience and discipline, but the pay-off is immense. I'm only sorry that it looks like I'm on the slippery slope that will lead to reading the 17 or 18 other novels in the series. I'm just too busy to read them right now, but there may not be anything I can do about it. If you want books to truly transport you somewhere else, this is the series.