Being a first time "mommy" to our new Yorky pup this book really puts us in touch with her traits, actions, and personality.

If you can't find a humourous anecdote here you can't find one anywhere. Perfect for the reference shelf of speakers and writers.

In this book, Handy gives readers an overview of a number of Old Testement and Apocrypha stories, not as facts, but as stories. He presents the archetypes, both in plots and in characters. He explains the probable origins of the stories, as well as what they can (and cannot!) teach us about God today. And, thankfully, he gives us a good overview of each of the stories. (I say thankfully because as a Protestant, I have almost no experience with the Apocrypha. Now I'm going to get myself a Catholic Bible!)

"The Essential Rousseau" is an edition of, as its name suggests, Rousseau's most essential works, including his "Discourse on the Arts and Letters" and "Discourse on the Origins of Inequality" in their entirity, as well as excerpts from other major works, including "The Social Contract" and "The Savoyard Priest". The translation is clear and accurate, the selection of tests is appropraite and accurately reflects what I would consider to be essential. There's a good brief sketch of Rousseau's life and work in the beginning, and a quick introduction to each work. All in all, this is a fine edition for assignment in the classroom and for students.

In this juicy, lively memoir of the Boston poetry scene in the 1950's, Davison dishes the dirt not only on himself but also on such luminaries as Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Robert Frost. The decade of the 1950's was a time of delirious creativity for these poets perched on the threshold of fame and notoriety, and at the center of the vortex sat Robert Lowell, brilliant teacher, mentor and model of the wounded artist. Davison's group portrait shows men dominating these mythologized poetic years with the women cajoling, wheedling and flirting to be noticed, and then, once they had the men's attention, stepping forward with fierce work to be taken seriously. As readers will see, Plath and Sexton were up to any challenge and left behind for posterity both their great works and tales of their wild vamping exploits. Although Davison makes no secret that everybody in the group drank like fish and acted out with impunity, he ultimately celebrates those years as the apex of his social and creative life, a time populated by people of immense charisma and talent. The book is simply a love letter to the difficult geniuses of one of the great moments in 20th century American literary history.

Family reunions have a close connection with genealogy. For many, that's where they were first bitten by the bug, and for others, organizing a reunion is an offshoot of years of identifying previously unknown cousins. Wagner, founder and editor of REUNIONS magazine, does a very good job here of posing and answering all the questions facing anyone who contemplates planning a reunion. Why have a reunion? One family meets annually at the state monument that commemorates an 1838 Indian massacre, where one of its pioneer branches was wiped out. Another pools its resources to bring distant relatives from Ireland. A family reunion can -- perhaps -- heal breaches, end feuds, solve childhood mysteries, and provide context for kids growing up away from the extended family. The descendants of Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne meet to celebrate their ancestor's colorful history. How do you decide who's "family"? How do you locate them? When do you meet, and where? Who's in charge? And who's going to manage the expenses? How do you keep all the small children occupied? Should you put out a newsletter between reunions? You'll find here considerable collected wisdom offered by experienced reunion organizers, ranging from visiting sites that were of importance to your forebears or hiring a bus to follow an ancestor's pioneer trek, to gathering relics and documents for a local museum or publishing a volume of the family's history. The venue might be a campground or a Caribbean cruise. The food can range from a hot dog picnic or chili cookout to a memorial spread of ethnic or frontier cooking. If you're even beginning to think about a family reunion, you should read this book -- and take notes.

This book offers, from my point of view, very easy explanation of all phenomena and gives very good hints to explain some effects in lectures. The practical approach gives a person who does not work with fiber-optics very good examples. Also the addition of real datasheet and their explanation is very useful.

Luck placed the author in Germany at the perfect time to chronicle an unprecedented historical event (German reunification), as well as the response of the German Labor Movement. Turner does an excellent job of synthesizing complex issues and events in a way that appeals to both a labor movement novice and an expert. A critical foundation for anyone who wants to understand the issues confronting the European Community, and Germany, today.

I hope my funeral turns out to be this much fun. Old friends come together at the funeral of Titanic Thompson and start telling stories. Titanic's life gives them plenty to laugh about as each story tops the one before it. If Thompson were a fictional character, the stories would be amusing. But the fact that he was a real person and the stories are real (though undoubtedly exaggerated as they have passed through the years) makes them hilarious. If Titanic were alive today, he would have a seven figure shoe contract with Nike. But in his day, he had to find creative ways to use his incredible athletic talents and intelligence to separate people from their money. This is a fun and quick read that will have you repeating the stories to your friends.

This was my first "geology" book, and found Paul's book to be well written, interesting, humorous at times, and has singularly sparked my own interest in paleontology, geology and the Anza Borrego Desert Region. In the two years since I read this, I've devoured many other books of similar vein, looking for the pleasure that this book brought. A great read and field guide.