You know the poetry. The kind the older generation uses for birthdays and farewell luncheons ("We hope that God will bless// You with good health and happiness!"). You hate it, the forced rhymes and imperfect metrical structure (indeed, what metrical structure?). My mother-in-law used to write like that - volumes and volumes of such tripe. Sadly, she has departed from us, but not before leaving tons of this stuff all over the house, and a half-finished vanity press run of 100 copies (anybody want one?).

Now I know where she got the impetus for such poetry - Lord Byron! All of that generation's worst excesses of bad poetry come from Byron, I think. Embarrassingly forced rhymes, self-conscious commentary that frustratingly impedes the flow of the narrative, arch cuteness that threatens one's sanity - all there!! And he couldn't even finish it off properly.

Truly, a work only an academic could love - or find any value in. If you are attracted to this book, protect yourself: Try reading it aloud and making a stop at the end of every line (sing-song-like) so you can at least get the sense of the rhymes. I found the Penguin edition serviceable (as Penguins usually are). And don't bother with the footnotes, just let it flow. Now stop being so hard on the older generation.

I'm writing this to specifically respond to the remarks made by another reviewer condemning Byron for forced rhymes, self-conscious commentary, and the lack of a good finish.

WARNING: This poem is intended to be funny! Byron delighted in using the jangly sounds of feminine rhymes in the most outlandish fashion possible, and his digressions are what truly make this poem enjoyable; that voice is the center of the poem, not Don Juan's actions. As for the lack of a finish, I think I'll excuse any poet who dies mid-composition while training troops in the war for Greek independence.

I'm sorry to say it, but if you're looking for this poem to be a serious narrative in the traditional epic manner, you're bound to miss the boat. This poem is *designed* to be hilarious, and as far as that is concerned, it succeeds.

This has to be the longest poem I've ever finished, and yet it still wasn't long enough. It's compulsively entertaining, touching, funny, exciting, and life-affirming. You don't have to be an academic to appreciate it. And even if you don't finish it, you'll appreciate what you do finish for its own sake.

I listened to the Author's daughter explain about the making of this book and about some of the details in the paintings. It was remarkable! Ken Stark did a fabulous job researching the history and painting accurate pictures to go with the story. After listening to the speaker my Grandma and Mom talked for an hour easy about what it was like growing up in Illinois.
Great read for young and old alike!

Normally I do not read many children's books but the cover ofGrowing Seasons caught my eye as Susan unpacked [the] book...

Leafing through the book caused me to feel very nostalgic, reliving the time when I was a young boy on a small Pennsylvania farm in the late 1930's. Detailed artwork and attention to detail in all the illustrations make a person feel part of the activity being described.

Elsie Lee Splear must be congratulated on her factual portrayal of farm life in the 1900's and her choosing an outstanding artist who's attention to detail produced outstanding illustrations of family farm life in the 1900's.

This book should be read by people of all ages to better understanding what farm life was like in the 1900's.

Can anyone imagine not having an inside toilet and must use the little house out back many times referred to as the "outhouse" with only remnants of an old Sears catalogs which served the need at hand and also provided the patron some reading. Can one believe a life without Charmin?

I highly recommend the younger generations to buy this book, study the wonderful detailed paintings and enjoy reading the descriptions of how it used to be before television. I will always cherish this book and when I need a pick-me-up, I will browse through Growing Seasons and reminisce about the times that were.

GROWING SEASONS lets the reader in on farm life nearly 100 years ago: chores before dawn, life without electricity,refrigeration,or running water,and raising almost everything needed by the family. It also shows the simple joys to be found in rural life: picnics, Christmas services, Fourth of July celebrations,and reading while tending the cows. Ken Stark's realistic illustrations help the reader step back in time to more richly savor the various aspects of being a tenant farmer a century ago.

The story numerous everyday events: homework by the kitchen stove, homemade dresses for Christmas, perserving meat before refrigeration, cooking for days to feed a threshing crew, and hiding from tornadoes. This is an excellent children's book for learning about farm life in the early 1900's.

This informative book on Miami University is by no means a prolific body of literature, but merely relays factual information about the history of the university and important events. I would definitely recommend and encourage anyone interested in attending/working at Miami to read this book as it will give the reader a good impression of what the school is like.

Dr. Shriver has done an excellent job of bringing alive the history of this amazing university tucked away in the gorgeous midwestern countryside. If you attend Miami now, or are alumni, this book opens your mind to the people and events that shaped this historic and renowned university. You'll never walk down the slant walk again without thinking about those who have walked it before you! For me, I have always thought of the Civil War as a bloody and gruesome war, but have never thought about Miami men, just my own age, taken from Oxford, fighting against roomates, fraternity brothers and friends. This book is an excellent history of my school. Now, if only I can get into Dr. Shriver's lecture.....

As a Miami alum, I was thrilled to find this book. Dr. Shriver writes with the same mesmerizing style that kept his students fascinated in class (and I was one!). For anyone associated with Miami, this book is a treasure - it makes the state school burst with pride and recognize the importance it had in American history.

A very entertaining read that caught my eye and I couldn't put it down. Pratt weaves a unique story of love, life in the 50-60's and Vietnam. I found the story to be a real page turner and Pratt's simple but effective prose worked wonders. The life of Levi especially during the war was very well done and the characters were colorful and personable yet also innocent at times. The story itself is a compelling tale yet unrealistic at times the story reads extremely fast. I ploughed through it in a couple hours and I am not a fast reader. Each page kept me going. My only problem with the story was it's Hollywood style happy ending. Filled with grief, mourning, and hardships throughout I was shocked to see that in the end Pratt briefly wraps it all up in a simplistic manner and over the course of only a couple pages. had the ending been more realistic and thoroughly portrayed I would have given it a 5 star rating.

Absolutely a must read for those hopeless romantics that enjoy shedding a tear here and there. As always, James Michael Pratt touched my heart through his story of Paradise Bay. The characters in his stories are so life-like and portray deep emotional feelings, as real-life so often does. He creates his characters and shares their innermost thoughts so that by the time you are just pages into his story you can almost feel yourself as one of the characters themselves. I picked up his first book, The Last Valentine, in paperback at a local store several years ago. . .since then, I anxiously anticipate his next arrival! He goes on my "best reads" list with Nicholas Sparks, Kristin Hannah, and Debbie Macomber. His books are fit for anyone to read--very clean and heartful! Don't miss out!

When I saw this book, I did judge it by the cover, and I thought it would be a pretty good book. So checked it out from the local library and read it. I have to say, I couldn't keep it down, I kept reading till I was done. This book keept me reading from cover to cover. This is an amazingly written book, the idea and plot is unthinkable. This book is worth reading, infact it's worth owning. It would be a pleasure to read it over and over again, which is why I reccomend this book. Rating this book five stars was a mistake, it should be ratied ten stars or a hundred stars, or infinity stars. So if you are looking for a fantastically-great-full of adventure-never put down to stop type of book to read, I more than recommend this book.

I bought both of Van Cleave's "Best Science Fair Projects" books for my middle school child and was not impressed, in fact, I returned the first "Best Science Fair Projects" book as it was simply a waste of time and money. Readers should be advised that the majority of Van Cleave's projects are for very young children in early grammar school years, they are not for children who are planning for science fairs at the middle school or high school level, at least not on a competitive level. Many of Ms. Van Cleave's projects are demonstrations of certain basic science principles and that may be interesting for parents to try at home with their children in their spare time, but how does a child convert any of these into real projects that are supposed to ask a question, investigate the question, and proceed with an experiment to prove or disprove what the child is investigating. I cannot see where a book that contains projects such as "Can You Make a Diagram of an Insects Body" and where the materials required are cutting out the Head, Thorax and Abdomen out of construction paper to make a model insect, I cannot see where this is a project worthy to be called a "best science fair project," much less receive the praise that the other reviewers have given.

...This book is very thorough. It tells you how science fair projects should be presented. It had sample science fair projects. It gave outlines on abstracts, reports, etc.

My only problem with this book was that it was too complex for my daughter to understand on her own. I like my daughter to work on all her projects independently with only minimal guidance from me. There were concepts in this book that were difficult for her to understand, and I had to guide her through some of the ideas and explanations.

On a brighter side, she got an A on her project, and her teacher chose her project to display in the classroom as one of the teacher's favorite projects.

I think this book is great for science project ideas. I used an idea from this book for the 2001 science fair at MacArthur Middle, and I won first prize! My little brother who goes to Maryland City Elementary used a project and he, too, won first prize! I think that this book should be a must in every library and home. Thank-you Janice Vancleave!

I loved this book as a teenager, and read it several times. But ongoing reflection, as well as teaching and graduate study in history, leads me to offer a more qualified recommendation. Pratt's core idea, that warfare can decisively affect the course of history, is quite sound. But his rather offhand view of war outside the Western world is not supportable. Pratt asserts that truly decisive battles influencing history occurred only in the West; elsewhere, victories changed nothing, and usually victors were simply absorbed by the societies they subjected.

This notion sadly reinforces an ethnocentric view that non-Western peoples somehow stand outside history, and that nothing ever really changes for them. Like many specialists in US and European history glancing at the whole world, Pratt proceeds from ignorance and/or inattention in generalizing, even stereotyping, on topics beyond his expertise. Such an assertion plainly overlooks many examples of the decisive character of warfare in Asia and Africa, with or without European participation---the conquests of Jinghiz Khan and his successors, Japan's conquest of Singapore in 1942, the effects of slaving wars in Africa, etc.

Pratt renders persuasive accounts of decisive Western battles in clear, lively prose. But misjudging the miltary experience of the rest of the world weakens his case, which through fuller research could be extended fruitfully to encompass the globe. The whole subject requires further examination; there's plenty of work for numerous scholars to tackle, and this should ultimately show that Pratt's thesis is indeed applicable on a worldwide scale. Ultimately, military historians have moved beyond the Alexandrian/Napoleonic conception of decisive battlefield victory to an appreciation of the total process of war in winning conflicts.

For more on the nonhistorical "nature" of non-Western societies and the processes which integrated them into a European-dominated global system, read Eric Wolf, "Europe and the People Without History" and Chinweizu, "The West and the Rest of Us." For Asians' and Africans' encounter with Western military technology, strategy and tactics, see Geoffrey Parker, "The Military Revolution" and Daniel Headrick, "The Tools of Empire."

Like A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR, Pratt's BATTLES THAT CHANGED HISTORY is a terrific entry-level volume, especially for the young reader. He combines a snappy, thrilling writing style with a keen ability to explain complex historical situations and an original thesis about the role of military power in world history.

The key to this book is the phrase "Changed History" in the title. In his introduction, Pratt takes pains to distinguish his list of battles from those of the progenitor of the genre, Sir Edward Creasy, whose "Fifteen Decisive Battles" provided the inspiration for Pratt's work. Pratt notes that so many famous Western battles (e.g. Hastings or Tours) actually played a defensive or reinforcing role in history rather than "changing history." This insight leads Pratt to choose some battles that many might view as eccentric (e.g. Beneventum, the original "Pyrrhic victory", rather than, say, Zama, which ended the Second Punic War). It is Pratt's rationale for these choices, expressed in clear, crisp prose, that makes this book so valuable for younger readers in need of a boost in their motivation to read history.

Fletcher Pratt makes history come alive in these short, challenging chapters. He gives many counterintuitive explanations, which always makes it an exciting read. He explains how life would be much different if the outcomes were different.

Sorry to disagree but this volume has almost no figure works and has little if any explanation of the paintings and drawings. The next volume has figures and helpful explanations and background.

This is a nice small book: however, if readers have Best of Pastels and Pastels 2, it the same examples of pastels from these two books.

This is a richly illustrated book of some of the best contemporary pastelists working today. The introduction by Flora Giffuni (founder of the Pastel Society of America) re-affirms for the reader that pastel is, indeed, a glorious medium, as do the many fine examples illustrated throughout the book. The full color reproductions are of very good quality, nicely demonstrating the vivacious qualities of this fabulous yet often misunderstood medium. Each reproduction is accompanied by the title and dimensions of the work, the artist's name, and the support used. Future editions would benefit from artists' statements (as is the case in "The best of Pastel 2"), as well as the types of pastels used by each individual artist. One minor criticism is that there are often four reproductions to a spread, which of course can distract from each individual piece (the 2nd edition eliminates that problem by placing one image to a page). The directory of artists in the back of the book is also a nice addition. This book is highly recommended to both the devout pastelist and those who are unfamiliar with the medium.

I bought this cookbook for my 13 year old and we both like it. There are good recipes plus some information on saving the earth. Alot of the information is geared towards younger children but the recipes are really for older children.

I original bought this book for my own children, and now i am back to buy it as a gift. It is very easy for children to follow. The book contains many easy and different recipies. My children love it, it gets them excited about food

Hey Kids! You're Cookin' Now!: A Global Awareness Cooking Adventure is an outstanding, hands-on compendium of cooking and kitchen related projects for inquisitive young cooks. With these fun and nutritious recipes, kids can begin cooking their favorite recipes under adult supervision in the family kitchens as they prepare after-school snacks and even whole family meals. Along the way the youngsters become smart consumers as they learn fun ecology and earth facts, learn kitchen safety, and have a wonderful time following activities (making face paint, play clay, recycled paper and other kitchen crafts in addition to meal preparation) with the Hey Kids! You're Cookin' Now! animated characters. From Toasted Bagel Chips, Fruited Yogurt Dip, and Hawaiian stuffed Celery, to Sweet Potato Oven Fries, Chicken Stir-Fry, and No-Bake Zebra Cake, Hey Kids! You're Cookin' Now! offers step-by-step instructions accompanied with little "factoid" boxes. Non-food activities range from Super Soap Bubbles, Finger Paint, and Dog Biscuits, to Homemade Glue, Magic Mud, and Acid Rain Test Dip Sticks. Hey Kids! You're Cookin' Now! is a "must" for young culinary adventurers and is ideal for parents wanting to teach their children how to make nutritious meals in the family kitchen safely.

I purchased this book from a store in Yosemite and looked forward to reading a novel that took place in the Central Valley and Western Sierra towns. I always find the novel is enhanced when you are reading it where it supposedly took place. The novel cover is very appealing, catching the eye in a group of other lusciously displayed Yosemite book covers.

The novel is about Morgan Whittier and the disappearance of her beloved sister, Phoenix. In her search for Phoenix, Morgan moves into her sister's home probing for clues of her sister's mysterious absence. In this effort, Morgan discovers intriguing secrets about her family and clues to her sister's disappearance. In her research, she uncovers many truths about herself.

While several reviewers praise the book to 5 stars, I find the book is a rather unaspiring read. I found it predictable and simple. This was her first novel, and it is certainly a notable effort, but not one that I would go out of my way to read. The fact that I read it in the environment in which it was written certainly enhanced the experience, but other than that, I can not honestly say that it was more than that as a novel .

This is one of the best books I've read in ages. It gently draws the reader in with well-drawn characters and an amazing sense of place. In fact, the setting is a character in its own right. Soon after picking it up, I lost all track of time (appropriate given the theme of the book) and simply couldn't put it down until I knew what happened to these characters about whom I had come to care so much. Deep, languid, devastating and ultimately inspiring, the finite moments of our lives are made better by "The Idea of Forver".

I truly love the way this author writes. She gives the reader an interesting and unique relationship with her characters. She has the ability to engross the reader in the story line-giving detailed descriptions that are not overwhelming. This story is a mystery-yet it is not a mystery in the true sense of the word. The ending is unexpected and most readers would expect an entirely different one. Read and enjoy.

I just finished tutoring my high school sophmore grandaughter for a final exam using this text. I have a doctorate degree in environmental science and engineering and thus have had a solid background in the physical sciences. I have taught community college science for 36 years. I find this book to be good in the experiments presented, but poor in explanations of concepts illustrated by the experiments.

In reviewing for the exam, I found there is a desparate need for questions with which a student can test their knowledge with answers presented in the back of the book to see if they have properly solved the problems.

Without a really good teacher in the class to amplify the text materials, many students will be lost.

If this book is to be revised (since it is out of print), it needs much more explanation and more problems on which students can practice with answers provided. There is also a need to relate the concepts more to things students encounter in their daily lives.

It is simple, yet not dumbed down. The opening experiment of the book, the distillation of wood, sparks students' interest and provides a great open question that could be used by HS and College Chemistry students.

The lack of bursting colors keeps kids with slow reading skills from getting lost.

I personally enjoy that its experiments use laboratory equipment as opposed to knick knacks bought at dimestores--yes, you can do some neat experiments with household items, but kids get a psychological boost (feel "scientifically grown-up") when they use real test tubes.

Prentice Hall were mistaken to discontinue this book. Its value is incredible.

As a science teacher (everything grades 7-12) I'm always looking for better books. This year I decided to change my Physical Science from HRW's Modern Physical Science to this book. This was an excellent decision.

This book is excellent! If students only read the book, they will not learn enough. If they only listen to lecture, they will not learn enough. They must do both of these things as well as do the labs to learn the material.

Students are learning by doing, which is the essence of inquiry based learning. As a result, they learn the concepts better, they understand them, and they remember them.

So far, I'm noticing a huge difference. Although IPS is slimmer, has less pictures, and has less scary-looking science stuff, the students will learn everything that my previous book taught, and they will learn a number of additional, important, topics: solubility curves, phase change graphs, how electrochemistry actually works, and many other things.

This book does not try to intimidate. It teaches difficult concepts in a very simple way, and, so far, my students this year seem to have the same, or even better understanding of the concepts we learned last year!

The only drawbacks to this book are these: students must take an active role to learn (which can be good); this book may require quite an investment in lab equipment (depending on how your lab is equipped); it requires quite a bit of prep-time outside of class; also, your students who pulled good grades from memorizing will see their grades plummet if they can't switch to this new method of learning.

The other really major drawback I should mention is that this book doesn't have much applications and it doesn't get into some of the more advanced topics. This book also does not adequately cover the Physics component of Physical Science, although there is a companion volume available which does this. Since I have a degree in Physics, I've chosen to teach the physics myself, without a book. You may have difficulty if you are not comfortable in this area.