Published and updated for the year 2000,this book is nevertheless another stellar contribution by author Terrence Dickinson.Spiral-bound,it is easily transported and accessed while out "looking." Well-presented, and down-to-earth(pardon the reverse pun) for those of us who are newbies to this most wonderful adventure of amateur astronomy.Dark skies!

After perusing a number of books, I found this one to be the best. It is the easiest introduction into astronomy and star gazing that is offered. Many of the confusing explanations of other books are ommitted. Moreover, the essentials of finding the constellations are easily explained and easily followed. Lastly, the book had a great further reading and information section that was very helpful. I recommend this book to anyone with a budding astronomy interest.

This is the first book I've read explaining the universe that keeps it simple enough for a beginner to understand. I checked the book out at the public library and can not wait to get my own copy and a highlighter. Fantastic!

Any Emily Dickinson historian or student will want this book. It contains the lost puzzle pieces, released by Sue's family, to the mysterious Emily Dickinson. Sue wanted this story told at the right time. The sheer talent in these writings is amazing. Here was a girl who spent her days as a recluse doing laundry and dishes and writing letters and carrying them around in her pockets. The pen and paper, written word, was what connected the lone Emily to her outside world, her loves, her friends, and now to the rest of us. A must have for any writer who studies her.

This collection has historic significance in Dickinson studies not only because it highlights the interesting and complex relationship between Emily Dickinson and Susan Dickinson, her sister-in-law, but also because of the way the letter-poems appear here in print. Hart and Smith took pains to present as best they could in print the original line breaks and other features of Dickinson's manuscripts, and this causes the poems to run down the page in long narrow columns, in many cases. Like Johnson's restoration of the dashes did in 1955, this edition of letter-poems to one correspondent changes the way we "see" a Dickinson poem physically on the page. The form presented here is as equally fascinating as the content of the letter-poems themselves. Superb!

The best thing about this book is that it gives us Dickinson's poems to her best friend, Sue, in the form they actually appear on the page. For most people, seeing the manuscripts of her poems is something that will never happen so Smith and Hart do their best to give us an idea of what Sue would have seen when she opened the envelopes. The review from the reader in the desert southwest has not read this book as it was meant to be read--as another way of reading and seeing. Hart and Smith do not suggest that theirs is the only way to read the letters/poems, they suggest that there's another way to read them that has not been the tradtional way of reading. My graduate students loved this book, as do I, because it offers a fresh perspective. Few Dickinson books in the last 10 years have been truly original and different. Anyone with a true interest in Dickinson, not the passing interest some reviews here suggest, will read this book in conjunction with other Dickinson studies and will achieve her/his own perspective of the poet. Smith and Hart give us some wonderful ideas to ponder, whether or not we agree with them is not the point. The point is that we exercise our intellect and think.

Louise Dickinson Rich is a star! A truly wonderful and gifted writer. You can't put her books down.

Louise Rich is not what you might expect a person who has given up the "essentials" of life to be. She is not trying to escape, not trying to save the wilderness, prove a point or return to her roots. Her motivation, quite simply, is that she likes where she lives and is willing to put up with a fair amount of discomfort to stay there. Moreover, she is mightily amused by the questions she is frequently asked by friends and acquaintances, the most common being:
"How do you make a living?"
"But, you don't live here all the year round?"
"Isn't housekeeping difficult?"
"What do you do with all your spare time?"
"Don't you ever get bored?"
"Aren't you ever frightened?"
"Don't you get awfully out of touch?"
"Do you get out very often?"
and
"Is it worth-while?"
Rich's eminently practical, and amusing answers to these questions form the basis of this book and will keep you grinning from ear to ear for hours.

It is clear from the start that Louise and her husband Ralph are more than capable of taking care of and amusing one another, and things only get better with the addition of various family members. These include Gerrish, their friend and handyman, son Rufus, daughter Sally, postman Larry, a skunk, five huskies, a marten and an ongoing parade of visitors, neighbors and "sports" (that's backwoods for tourists).

You will be treated to Rich's opinions on a wide variety of subjects, including women's fashions (and why she couldn't care less what she wears in the woods), the futility of trying to do housework when you're married to a man who loves motors, how to plan meals that take the weather's idiosyncrasies into account, the best way avoid getting lost, cut with an axe or burned by a stove. Even better, you will be taken along on a whole series of hilarious escapades as Rich learns how to cope with life in the woods.

With wry amusement she tells of the day she and her husband delivered their son on their own, her trip to the "Outside" after not having left the woods for 4 years, and the afternoon she spent cooking dinner for a bunch of lumberjacks. Here too are entertaining stories of playing tag with a family of foxes, going berry picking, pulling porcupine quills out of dogs, learning to tie fishing flies and locating hunters who get lost.

The real gift of this book however, is the chance to spend time with Rich herself. Here is someone it would be worth a long hike through snowy woods to visit. You'll feel like you've made a friend by the time the book is finished.

This book is one of the most enjoyable to read you will ever find. It is written in such a clear, humorous and timeless style that you would swear it was written yesterday instead of in 1942. Each chapter answers a question that would arise upon hearing that one had decided to live in the deep woods of Maine---how you do school your children? How do you keep in touch with society? How do you keep house? There are pictures and the kind of nitty gritty details we all like to read! In addition to just being great to read, I think this book is a very important one. I would say it had a part in starting at least two trends. One is the back to the land movement. At the time it was written, you just simply didn't decide to get away from it all and live in the woods! I think this book, which was extremely popular when it came out, put some unique ideas in a lot of heads and may have had a big part in giving people ideas about alternative ways of living. Also, I think it's one of the first autobiograpical books of its type---written plainly but with humor about a unique way of living. I think this book, which in my knowledge has never been out of print, is really one of the key non-fiction works of the 20th century. But don't read it for that, read it because it's fun to read and you will love it!

Dickinson has done a skillful job of bringing twentieth century history alive through the life of an Oklahoma individual whose saga is fascinating. Well-written, I found this book to be a great way to enjoy popular history and learned many things I didn't know about the recent past and the people who moved through it.

Amazing true adventure story; a real page turner!

If your grandfather bet a Hollywood movie star cowboy that you could make a little ride to prove that real cowboys still existed and the ways of the old west were not dead, would you do it? Now imagine that in order to win you had to ride a horse 1500 miles from Oklahoma to Hollywood, CA in 50 days, would you? Oh yeah, and throw in barbwire fences, raging rivers, rattlesnakes, murderous robbers, a gunfight, suspicious police, Apaches, and getting lost in the Mojave Desert. Could you? Well, real life hero Jerry van Meter and his Osage indian pony, Fan, almost died doing it in 1946 as the old west was disappearing under post WWII development. He never profited by his adventure. In fact, his grandfather, cowboy legend Rolla Goodnight, never even told him what he bet!

Jerry was barely 20 years old when he made the ride. He is now 73 years old and lives in Kalispell, Montana. By chance, writer Patti Dickinson heard about Jerry when she stopped for a hamburger one day in Montana. It took her a year to track him down and verify his story. She tells it in a straight-ahead style that makes you feel that you are riding along with Jerry and Fan all the way. Thank you Ms. Dickinson for finding and preserving a fascinating part of our American history.

what a terrific read about a young man becoming an adult as he treks from oklahoma to hollywood just after world war II to win a bet made by his uncle. shades of the poingnacy we saw in "lonely are the brave" to be sure, but this book inspires the reader anew as the young man and his horse face complications, danger and exhaustion before their ultimate triumph. there is a wonderful built-in nostalgia given the twilight of the cowboy era depicted here but the story remains both accessible and relevant in today's complex technological world. even with its simplicity of story, you won't be able to put this book down. this is a sure-fire winner; don't miss it!

Okay, let's set the record straight here. "The Flight Of Dragons" _has no plot_. Some of these reviews are referring to the wonderful characters, amazing plot line, etc. Obviously, these people haven't read the book. This book is a scientific view on how dragons could have actually existed. It gives theories on how they breathed fire, flew, lived, etc., drawing on evidence from story lore and legend. Now, for those of you who are thinking of the _movie_ "The Flight Of Dragons", yes, the movie was based on this book. But it was only based on it in terms of how the dragons were designed. The (very) basic plot and the wonderful characters were taken from Gordon R. Dickson's amazing book "The Dragon And The George". But the book "The Flight Of Dragons" is much different from the movie. For one thing, Peter Dickenson views dragons as lethargic beasts with a dull intelligence. He included a chapter on dragon-slaying, which, to me, was something of the last straw. Also, some of the pictures done by Wayne Anderson are horrific. I especially "enjoyed" the photos in the back of art from around the world----one had a picture of a troll-like "dragon" eating a man's head! . . . Now, don't get me wrong. This is a good book. Some of the pictures are fantastic. And most of Peter Dickenson's theories----especially the one about why there are no fossils of dragons------were really neat. And I love his saying: "Remember. The dragons live. Inside us." It's a decent book. But I spent nearly a year trying desperately to get my hands on a copy, and while it is interesting and a valuable addition to my collection of dragon lore, I was disappointed. But maybe I shouldn't judge something on my own expectations (obviously). But I did want all to understand . . . the book and movie are very different. If you want to re-meet the characters of "The Flight Of Dragons" from the movie, read "The Dragon And The George", an excellent book. And give the book "The Flight Of Dragons" a try. Just don't set your expectations too high!

This book breathes new life into the world of fantasy. It is a compelling read, but backed with scientific evidence and explanation to make it credible. Also, it is a beautiful book with lots of full-color pictures and illustrations. Whether you believe in dragons or not, The Flight of Dragons is interesting and a wonderful conversation-piece. The book deserves more recognition than it has gotten in the U.S., and I consider myself extremely lucky for having found it in a second-hand bookstore and picking it up there. I had never heard of it before, and have never seen another copy, but I haven't been disappointed. And, by the way, I am NOT interested in selling mine!

This is a book for all of you out there who know that dragons are more than just fairytale creations to frighten small children. And for those of you who ARE convinced that dragons belong purely to fantasy, I invite you to come, read, and have your mind changed by this beautiful, engagingly written book. (It's science-friendly, too!) Peter Dickinson does a wonderful job of building up a theory by which dragons could once have truly roamed the skies and terrorized innocent villagers. His ideas are sound, his message clear, and through it all he maintains a tone which keeps the reader asking for more.

"I am a mouse, a white mouse. My name is Emmaline. Before I met Emily, the great poet of Amherst, I was nothing more than a crumb gatherer, a cheese nibbler, a mouse-of-little-purpose. There was an emptiness in my life that nothing seemed to fill. All that changed the day I moved into the Dickinson residence on Main Street..." Emmaline moves into the simple, quiet, sunny upstairs bedroom, and begins her new life in the wainscoting of Emily's room. She observes the Dickinson family, and is most fascinated by her new roommate, Emily. "She always wore white. She seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once, fluttering through the house like a ghost, stirring up a batch of gingerbread in the kitchen, or walking in the garden, lost in reverie..." Emily is always sitting at her little desk in deep concentration, writing and scribbling on small scraps of paper, and this intrigues the little mouse. When a small scrap finally lands on the floor near Emmaline's door, she snatches it up and begins reading. "Imagine my surprise when I realized I was holding a poem! The words spoke to me. These were my feelings exactly, but ones I had always kept hidden for fear the world would think me a sentimental fool..." Emmaline turns the paper over and words begin to pour out of her; a poem of her own. Then she returns the scrap with her new poem on the back to Emily's desk. That night while Emmaline slept, Emily read her poem and wrote back, slipping the note paper under her little mouse door. "I'm Nobody! Who are you?/Are you-Nobody-too/Then there's a pair of us!/Don't tell! they'd banish us-you know!..." And that, as they say, was the beginning of a beautiful friendship..... Elizabeth Spires has written an engaging, gentle, and evocative introduction to the great poet, Emily Dickinson. Her charming and creative story, told often in poems passed back and forth between mouse and Myth, is sometimes poignant, often humorous, and always enlightening. Claire Nivola's black and white sketches complement the text beautifully, and together word and art paint a lovely portrait of the elusive and reclusive Dickinson and her genius, with great insight. Perfect for youngsters 9-12, The Mouse Of Amherst makes an even better read aloud book the entire family can share, and includes an Author's note about Emily Dickinson's life and her poetry to augment and enhance the story and open interesting discussions. This sweet little treasure is sure to whet the appetite of both young and old, and send kids out looking for more. It works well as a companion book to Jeanette Winter's Emily Dickinson's Letters To The World, and Michael Bedard's Emily.

Emmaline is a mouse who lives in a house in Emily Dickinson's room. They become friends very quickly and write poems together.

This was an excellent book, and I recommend it to everyone.

Emmaline is a mouse who lives behind the wainscoting of Emily Dickinson's bedroom and is a small, but courageous writer. The Mouse Of Amherst is a unique and effective little story for young children that aptly introduces wonderful poetry woven into the warm and superbly crafted story. Illustrations by Claire A. Nivola are perfect augmentations to Elizabeth Spires's engaging and memorable tale.

I saw this book at a thrift store and passed it by. The next time I came to the store the book was still there. I picked it up and was hooked by the 3rd page. Being very close to my own sister I was given a glimpse of what our future would be like if we were in the same situation. The sister's journey is a wonderful one. I enjoyed every page and was sorry to get to the last one. I highly recommend this book.

The premise of two widowed sisters, one blind, one alcoholic making a cross country car trip to confront the son of the blind sister on his lack of contact with her sounds unbelievable at first, but the way Dickinson handles it, it all makes sense in the end. The movie, the Straight Story, which was a true story and came out after this book, also dealt with this drastic last ditch attempt by seniors to mend fences with relatives whom they had lost closeness with. In the Straight Story a farmer crosses the country on a tractor/lawn mower because he is visually unable to drive a car to see a long estranged brother. In Widows' Adventures the blind driving sister takes directions from her sighted sister from Chicago to California by taking back roads and driving no more than 20-30 miles an hour! Ultimately, it is not the driving itself that provides the treat of reading the book, although the sequence in which the ladies almost get caught by a police officer is hilarious, but the self discovery that occurs when they decide to go on the physical and emotional journey.

I absolutely loved this beautiful, touching, and very funny book about two sisters on the road trip of their lives. Two widowed sisters, one blind, the other a bit of an alcoholic, they are on a cross-country automobile ride. It sounds simple and trite, I know. There are mishaps along the way, many of which you might be able to guess at, yet this sweet pair of women is truly engaging and Charles Dickinson deserves more attention for the work he's done.

Having recently purchased a telescope, I've been reading lots of astronomy books. Even though this one is very basic, overall I've found it the most useful. No math, no equations, but tons of helpful advice that will have you up and finding stars right away. I like the fact that he emphasizes how much you can see with binocs too. The star charts are very helpful and are printed so that they can be read by a red light while you're out observing. Lots of great information on how to buy a telescope too. The bound version is perfect for carrying with you to find objects in the sky. Well written, easy to follow and informative -- if you only buy one book, this should be it (although I'd have to add my all time favorite, The Stars by H.A. Ray, the only book that draws the constellations so that they actually look like pictures).

This book was recommended to me by an avid backyard astronomer when I mentioned I was interested in learning more about astronomy. I was absolutely delighted with this book. The photos are beautiful, the diagrams are excellent. It makes star/planet identification easy, gives guidance on buying a telescope, has a nice introductory chapter on the universe, putting everything in perspective. The writing is clear, straightforward, understandable. I am extremely pleased with my purchase, as I feel that this single book contains everything I really want to know at this time. I would recommend it to anyone who wants an interesting, comprehensible introduction to the night sky.

A few months ago someone gave me a telescope for my birthday. I was eager to use it but felt I could get more out of it if I understood what I was pointing at in the night sky. In my quest for knowledge in this area I stumbled upon "NightWatch: a practical guide to the viewing the universe." It gave me a quick and thorough understanding of backyard astronomy field in a simple and easy to understand language free of all the technical jargon you may find in other sources (not that these are bad in themselves). I strongly recommend this book for the amateur astronomer, especially before going out to purchase a telescope or binoculars. The book gives some hefty and misery saving advise on equipment, its use and what to watch out for. To be honest, even wished the person who purchased the telescope had read this before doing so.

I read this bok about a month ago and I still can't get it off my mind. It's a wonderful story of seduction, fantasy and sex.

The story involves Katie, a pretty blond slim girl who wants to get away and she moves into her dead grandfathers house. Little does she know that there are already two men living there. One of the men(miguel) is tall, dark and extremely handsome, the other(eric) is very gorgeous, blond and heas green eyes.

Katie becomes involved with both handsome men(wow!)and as she tells her story, you can't help but become aroused, excited and join in on her sexual fantasies. To add to the the sexual tension, Katie's x-boyfriend arrives and also gets involved in this already crazed sexual affair.

This is a great erotica book, I enjoyed reading it.

I have enjoyed the book enormously. It has a very casual, conversation-like writing style to it, and it is mostly about day-to-day activities like cleaning house, going shopping, having lunch, going surfing etc, but somehow it has managed to be charming, captivating and even humorous at times. The story is interesting, and charactors are unique but realistic and very well developed. I could not put it down, and I started re-reading it as soon as I finished it the first time.

The level of erotism is just about right, nothing too perverted. And I love reading beautiful young people doing it. However, some sex scenes perhaps can be spiced up a little.

But all in all, it is an extremely satisfying read with a heavy dose of romance and love. More please Mandy!

to this very well written and masterfully crafted erotic fiction ..

Although the black lace series of books prides itself as being ' erotic fiction written by women for women' this book surpasses that goal in numerous respects. It's erotic writing at it's best, hands down !

From the beginning even the title of this book 'out of bounds ' is so appro pos and meaningfull one can't help but thinking of the author just sitting back and chuckling as she leads us down into a garden of delights to taste that forbidden fruit....

The plot sizzles, character development is complete concise and totally identifiable, and the location of a hidden cottage in the remote hills of France is just plain perfect.

Twenty seven year old Katie, after breaking up with Robert, her unfaithfull boyfriend, and travels from England to France to take posession of her grandfathers remote farm that had been unused for some time. She arrives only to find the house occupied by two squatters, Miguel and Eric, who have been living there for some time as a very happy and frisky couple.

It only takes a second for Eric to hate Katie and see her as a threat to the staus quo of things while Miguel is an immediate enigma to Katie that she finds irresistible...Katie having nowhere to run or call for help is forced to stay and the plot thickens ...

The book slowly takes us step by step down a wonderfull path to Katie working to take Miguel at least away from the 'dark side' when a goup of wandering gypsies and Miguels' sister appear on the scene. The mood changes from electric to nuclear as Miguels sister explores a side of Katie and takes her judgemental attitude of the boys down a notch or two. When the reader thinks that this is about as hot as it can get Katie's ex shows up and she finds herself being taken to the dark side of passion .. etc .. etc ..

The stereotypical concepts that we have about eroticism and sexuality are are twisted turned and exposed by the author in such a skilled fashion that we follow the story as if the reader was there as a player in a five part play.If it's every man's voyeuristic dream to see two women getting it on then this book takes that dream and and develops a womans dream and awakening ......

This is probably one of the best modern erotic book ever written, and i've read a lot of them, and it's a MUST HAVE for your erotic library! Well done Mandy Dickinson well done !

I prefer a book whose action flows, where events and characters do not bevome so convoluted that the sheer enjoyment wears thin. In many places in this book, I found myself having to really ponder what was happening and to whom it was happening. I also was not particularly fond of any of the characters.

Charles Dickinson is a wonderful writer who should have a much larger readership than he seems to. He employs his clear and winning prose to describe the lives of ordinary people living their daily lives, but there's always an interesting little kink in those lives. In "The Widows' Adventures," two elderly sisters leave their suburban Illinois homes for a trip to Los Angeles. One of the sisters is blind. She's the one who's driving. The sensitive protagonist of "Waltz in Marathon" is a loan shark. The artist hero of "A Shortcut in Time" lives in the town he was born and raised in, yet on a familiar neighborhood path he meets people slipping back and forth in time. For a man with many regrets, there is the temptation to try to tweek the past. Unfortunately, he is not the only person with this compulsion.

I recommend this novel highly, and I envy anyone picking up a Charles Dickinson book for the first time. A banquet awaits you.

Though the premise - time travel - is a sci-fi staple, Dickinson's latest ("Rumor Has It," "The Widows' Adventures") is more psychological than speculative. What speculation there is revolves around the role of fate in our lives and how small actions can have unforeseen consequences. But mostly this is the story of a man's mid-life self-assessment, the role grief and guilt have played in his life, and the man he might have been.

Shakily married to Flo, his childhood sweetheart and now a hard-working pediatrician, Josh Winkler is an unsuccessful artist beginning to face up to his mediocrity - by avoiding work as much as possible. It's a summer of storms in Euclid, Illinois, the only place either has ever lived, and their teenage daughter is making her first real break for independence. The marital tension, fueled by Josh's growing unreliability, goes back to the roots of their relationship - an "accident" that left Flo's brother dead and Josh's permanently brain damaged.

Then one day, running the path behind his house in a storm, Josh slips 15 minutes into the past. Which prepares him to believe and help the desperate young girl who claims to be from 1908 and whose plight becomes more desperate with every moment she's gone. As the town - and Josh's marriage - roils with believers and non-believers, Dickinson explores how a jolt out of the accustomed tracks of life can change a person in unanticipated ways.

Dickinson's complex characters reveal themselves in sometimes surprising, but reasonable ways. Examining the paradoxes of time travel and the inevitable consequent ripples, Dickinson also speculates on how circumstances may be shaped by chance, but the essential tenor of a life depends more on the nature of the person. A well-written, thoughtful, understated novel which should add to Dickinson's readership.