This book was put together really well. Everything had an order and only once or twice did you feel like you were jumping back and forth between years(which is what I think is the problem with most books on history). I really enjoyed the time the author took to describe things like the sidesaddles themselves or all the stages of syphlis. The Whitmans were portrayed in a completely different light than what most children are taught in school. In a time when the women were all but ignored; I find it amazing that this author could find so much information about them so that we could finally read about who they were beyond the wives of missionaries. Thank you Laurie Carlson for all the hard work you put into this one. It was worth your time and dedication.

Carlson has written an absorbing and poignant account of these brave ladies. In addition to giving readers a good sense of these women as real people--not simply stoic helpmates in a great historical drama perpetuated by their missionary husbands--Carlson provides many telling details about aspects of frontier life, such as feminine hygiene, childbearing and sanitary practices, that previous historical accounts have overlooked. This book is a wonderful example of history from a woman's point of view, and it does a fine job of bringing the past vividly to life. Highly recommended.--Paul Slimak, in The Bookcase, Victorian Decorating & Lifestyles, February, 1999.

The characters seemed quite real. I was drawn to them in spite of their obvious human frailties. They were much like modern peace corps workers, idealistic but not very practical. Dedication to their individual faiths gave them both motivation and courage. The depictions of the characters lives in New England before their journey were disturbing. The severity of their lives made it easy to understand why they would choose such a dangerous path. Depictions of the Indian tribes concerned were historically accurate, but possibly not politically correct. I greatly enjoyed this example of Mrs Carlson's work. I look forward to seeing further work by this author.

I've been using this handbook for about 25 years, and recently realized that my edition was the 3rd, published in the 1970s! So I ordered the latest edition (14th edition), and was so pleased with my purchase. This is a handbook that lives in our office, and gets used to death (we do graphic design, copywriting, editing). Any new employee on our staff is required to at least become familiar with the table of contents (in case of emergency!), and very soon they too are heading for Harbrace's to look up something. We love it.

It never ceases to amaze me how many times some anal grammarian tries to correct my writing only to review my Harbrace College Handbook to see they're wrong and I'm right. This is the definitive guide to American English grammar. Easy to read, plenty of examples, and more importantly it even covers those gray areas of usage letting the ready know this non-standard without simply cutting you off without explanation. I have purchased the latest edition ever since I purchased my first copy as text to Advanced Composition during my undergraduate days at the University of Maryland University Collage. Harbrace as served me very well ever since helping me obtain a high GPA in regards to my written assignments. I have a lot of other grammar books that I look at now and then, but Harbrace remains the standard.

This is an exemplary work. It is absolutely essential to the high school level and above as a general and specific guideline to writing. I strongly recommend this book for those interested in perfecting their grammar and writing styles.

-Jonah Sampson Boyarin hehe

I have read this book to my daughters so many times I've lost track. They want to hear it over and over and over again. And my daughter's classmate even dressed up for Purim as Kind Little Rivka. This is a book that is a MUST for every little Jewish girl's bookshelf.

Kind Little Rivka is an absolutely charming picturebook story based on the Biblical account in the Book of Genesis on the early life of Rivka (Rebecca). Details taken from the Midrash provide additional background to the story of a little girl living in ancient Israel. Illene Winn-Lederer's entertaining illustrations are a perfect complement delightful showcase Diana Rosenfeld's superb retelling of this classic tale.

Question: How many times have I read "Kind Little Rivka?" to my daughters?

Answer: I lost count years ago...

And somehow life would not have been the same without it. My kids request this one over and over and over again.

This has got to be THE classic little girls' story for ANY Jewish home.

Jiri Weil has here a masterpiece, a series of events involving a host of characters. Children hiding in a closet, German soldiers of high and low rank, elderly Jewish council members and scholars. What really chills me was my visit to the Holocaust museum days after finishing this book. The identification papers you draw upon entering that I received were for a man in the exact region of my Slovak grandparents. Before leaving much later that day, I viewed newsreels in the library. They provided actual background for the description of Reinhard Heydrich's assassination, told in detail in Weil's book. I highly recommend this excellent book.

In short vignettes, the author explores the difficult choices faced by the people of World War II Prague, from Reinhard Heydrich (never named by name) to individual soldiers, civil servants and Czechs and Jews of all stripes. Some episodes are absurd and full of humor, particularly the moment when the workers try to identify which statue on the roof is actually Mendelssohn's (they choose the one with the largest nose and are about to make the maximum possible error when they are stopped in the nick of time). Others are almost painful to read, such as the choices of a Jewish scholar hired to work on the museum built to illustrate the lives of his people; he realizes the purpose is to describe a people who are to be eliminated from the face of the earth.

Unlike many Holocaust novels, this book presents its points in a subtle and wonderful manner. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This book opens with a black humor scene: how to remove the statue of Mendelssohn from the Prague concert hall during the Nazi occupation? From there, it shifts to short portraits of the gestapo, guards, ghetto residents, children, etc., all living in Pragu and trying to succeed/survive. It has been a long time since I have read a book so moving as this, and I highly recommend it

This is a fish of a good book! The information that has come out in the last ten years about photonic band-gap materiels can be confusing and offputting. This book enables any astute reader a comprehension of the various properties that come into play when dealing with and controlling the propogation of light. I recommend it highly for use in the classroom as well as for the bedstand.

Graduate students (or advanced physics undergrads) will appreciate the beautiful analogy this book makes between solid state physics, which gave us semiconductor devices, and the newer field of photonics, which promises a revolution in optical devices. The writing is clear and consise, and the many colorful illustrations aid the reader in formulating a picture of how it all works. Just plain WELL DONE -- more physics texts should read like this one.

With help of this new theory,we can turn so many things into realities which can't even be imagined several years ago. This theory urges us to look on things in a brand new way! I think miracles will come forth after our studying.

This book fit into our color scheme so well. I like the fact that it is more rare to find. It makes me feel like my wedding is unique. I highly recommend it.

I love this book! You can record all the stages of your relationship from courtship, engagement to your wedding. The book has beautiful pictures and plenty of space to record your memories and add your own pictures. Definitely a book you'll want to show off!

Buffalo Jones had to deal with horrible weather, a pack of wolves, and other difficulties in his quest to capture buffalo calves. The clever way he outwitted the wolves adds a surprising twist to an exciting story. Especially good for readers 8 to 12 who like true adventure, but older readers (including adults) will enjoy it, too.

Fast-paced and colorful, this book describes one of Jones' expeditions in which he captured buffalo calves to create a captive herd and preserve the species. The difficulties Jones had to overcome make exciting reading, especially the ingenious way he protected the calves from wolves. Great for ages 7 to 10, but older and younger folks will enjoy it, too.

I have used the Harbrace College Handbook for 31 years. My first was the 5th Edition, which I keep on the top in one of my desk drawers. I used it throughout college. I bought this edition for my father, who gave me the first one, and seems to have lost his own copy (he's 86!). This edition is much thicker than the 5th one -- these books are not exactly "reading material," but a reference guide; so I haven't read it from cover to cover. This book comes with a computer CD to install the entire book on your computer.

Excellent reference if it is necessary to constantly bibliograph infomation off the internet and other electronic sources

Excellent. A must read for parents of kids of all ages.It is really well written and should make a responsible parent a believer. Kill the TV before it kills your kids brains or at least be very selective as to what they watch.

For a long time I have been discouraged in my efforts to establish two-way communication with children. I would bring books, toys, and games to social functions and share them with children. Once one activity was over, the children would stare at me, waiting for me to start another activity. Why won't they provide any input of their own? Am I overpowering them without realizing it?

This book explained everything: the children think I'm a television!

This book is about the effects of television on children and families.The use of television starts innocently enough.Too often TV is used as a child minder so that parents can get some peace and quiet: to prepare meals, so that Mom and Dad can sleep in at week-ends, etc.But dangers lurk in this innocent scenario.Before long, the kids are hooked on watching, and parents are hooked on a device for having the kids out of the way.Marie Winn aptly calls TV a drug.Many parents are aware of the dilemma, but often they are and the kids too hooked to break the habit.Winn explores the process of this addiction and the harm done to vibrant human living.For example, excessive TV viewing hampers the personal and social development of the child, so some mothers get a job to escape from their maladjusted kids!Winn offers helpful advice to families trying to cope with TV.She gives examples of the benefits families have experienced when they went without TV, such as increased family interaction, more creative and satisfying activities,doing various things that had been put of, and so on.Marie Winn gives many examples from family life which add great interest to this thoughtful and helpful book.

This was one of the best books I have read this year. I'm not a bird watcher by any means, and, despite the drama that I'm obviously missing, do not intend to become one. Nevertheless, I was captivated and moved by the story of Pale Male, a red-tailed hawk who builds a nest in Central Park, and then builds another, and then builds yet another. I thought the writing and story-telling were superb. The way Winn intertwined the story of the hawks with the story of the people watching the hawks, complete with celebrity references (if you blink you'll miss Glenn Close), was excellent. (It did not occur to me until the acknowledgments that one of the reasons the story-telling was so good is that the author is married to a film-maker, who offered advice on how to keep the story moving.)

Perhaps because I'm just not into birds generally, I was less interested in those parts of the book that did not relate to the hawks. Of these sections, the more memorable birds were the saw-whet owls and the woodpeckers. But the prose about these birds is not as moving as the prose about the hawks. Or, perhaps the hawk story is just so well-done it makes the other birds seem, if I can resort to anthropomorphism, pedestrian.

The book is obviously a labor of love, and it was a pleasure to read.

Ms Winn presents the story of red-tailed hawks that appeared in New York City and their unlikely selection of a posh condo building to locate their nest. She does a tremendous job of weaving birds, birders, and others who played key parts in putting this story together. This is not a book just for serious birdwatchers; I keep an eye on my birdfeeders, but have no great interest in doing more than watching. The book does address the adaptability of wildlife to urban areas (nesting in skyscapers, dining on pigeons and rats) with the availability of parkland nearby. Red-Tails in Love is quite readable, with brief encounters with the likes of Woody Allen, Mary Tyler Moore, and an astronomer key in the vital process of reading bird bands from afar. The book would be an excellent choice for anyone who wants a good read, nonfiction, with an element of suspence and lots of humor.

This book achieves what every thoughtful instructor strives for: to teach without letting the student know they are being taught-to make learning a seemingly effortless pleasure. Winn teaches the reader about Red-Tailed Hawks, as well as a good deal of observation practices, behaviors and helpful tips for making wildlife notations; all in the context of a thoroughly enjoyable story. The world of Central Park opens up and becomes an inviting (and ironic) man-made natural habitat.

Best of all, Winn shows us how the wildlife in Central Park united a village of caring people in the heart of a vast city.

I recommend "Red-Tails In Love" to anyone who likes entertaining and informative reading, but especially to those who also love nature.