Dear Eve, I marvel that you were able first of all in establishing communication with your mother so that she would tell you in remarkable detail what she endured in those terrible years. Then as one who had tried to wrest from my own parents some account of their journey from Russia and Poland to America and failed to even glean the name of the village in which my father lived near Kiev, you have achieved something quite miraculous in being able to write the story of your parents in such rich detail. It is a story that engages the reader and grips us until Sal and Mia reach America and are reunited with their two older daughters. If I were the editor, I would have suggested that you conclude your story there, merely adding a brief epilogue or footnote regarding their life in America and another footnote about the OSE reunions. I would certainly have omitted the sentence, "I told her my story ...." on p. 402, because we do not need to be told this. It is understandable that one would want to include the information in this chapter, but the writing here is too much like a hasty cataloguing of facts. Still, the book was wondrous to this reader, as I was able to experience with Mia much that she suffered and can only admire her strength and resilience, uprooted and hounded time and time again by the Nazis. Interesting to have her story placed in the historical perspective, as the Nazis moved through Europe, so that I concluded with a better picture of what the war meant to the people of Germany and France.

Of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, one million were children. German-born, award-winning journalist, Eve Rosenzweig Kugler, who makes her home in London, England today escaped to America on a "kindertransport," the initiative of the late Eleanor Roosevelt and the Quaker Society. She was one of 200 children who made it safety from an OSE (Organization Pour Sante et L'Education) home in France.

Not knowing if she would ever see them again, her mother, Mia Kanner, had to make an agonizing decision to part with both Eve and her sister Ruth. Actually, it was Kugler's father,Sal Kanner, who made the life-saving decision for her. A younger sister, Lea, not yet six years of age, remained with her mother in Europe because she could not bear to send so young a child away.

The experience was so traumatic for Eve, who lived in three different foster homes in New York (Ruth lived in four), that she totally blanked out any remembrance of the years from Kristallnacht--when her father's store was destroyed--until the end of the war when she was reunited with her parents and Lea.

"Among Holocaust survivors, there are some who have no memory of their suffering," Eve writes in the Preface to Shattered Crystals. "Survivors do not choose to remember or not remember. This is beyond their control. In our family, the parents, Mia and Sal, and the oldest daughter, Ruth, remember. Lea and I, the two younger children recall nothing. It is as if we began our lives as nine and ten year olds."

But haunting fragments nagged her until, decades later, she persuaded her mother to tell the story of those six terrible years that followed Kristallnacht. Shattered Crystals is the result. Mother and daughter sat down and tape recorded the odyssey of survival. What emerges is the portrait of a woman who, coming from a sheltered and well-to-do orthodox environment in Leipzig [Germany], became a powerhouse of courage and resourcefulness.

Kugler's mother secured counterfeit documents to buy her husband out of Buchenwald concentration camp and fled from Germany to France with three young children. She secured her children by working as a cook for the OSE, a remarkable organization dedicated to saving the lives of young children, and by the connections she forged with the French Resistance in Occupied France.

Eve believes that the kindertransport children who were placed in orphanages in America had happier experiences than the ones who lived with foster families. "As foster children, we were almost universally unhappy,"she says. "We didn't feel we belonged."

Kugler also suffers from guilt because her place on the kindertransport originally belonged to another child whose papers were not in order. "I not only know I had got out when so many other children didn't, but that I wasn't even supposed to go. It was better not to remember." Among the kindertransport children, there was a "universal push to learn English quickly. We wanted to blend and not be German. I forgot most of my German by effort. When my mother came, she couldn't communicate with me."

In 1997, Kugler made a trip back to Leipzig to visit her grandmother's grave. She also found the house in which she had lived in Halle. "I know what happened," she muses, "but I still don't feel it."

In 1992, Kugler voyaged to Israel with her parents. "My father couldn't believe the changes that had taken place since 1935 when he made an exploratory trip there. . . ." Kugler recalls being at the Wailing Wall with her mother as the most moving experience of her life. In a way, it was a completion of Shattered Crystals before it was written.

Both of these vintage Jayne Krentz books are dated but interesting to read. When she first came out with these I think that she was one of the very few romance authors doing fantasy/sci-fi/futuristics of that type so she was definitely breaking new ground. The problem is she used the old bodice ripper model to do it and her males are a bit more alpha than the 21st century reader is used to. These two books are more in her Stephanie James style of writing than her Crystal, Quick or Krentz style of writing. So brace yourself. The heroes are of the "Me Tarzan you Jane --and you mine" and the heroines are of the "No. I mean yes. I mean no. I mean yessss .... (insert moan)" type. They are still fun to read -- just realize that it's been a few years since they were written and they're not exactly politically correct.

I've read a ton of Jayne Ann Krentz and even more scifi/romance crossovers and I have to say that this is one of the best.

The Heroine didn't tick me off, the Hero was just the right amount of arrogant and sensible. He actually explained things to the Heroine and she was no mental slouch either. They worked well together and were both admirably strong in the face of adversity--helping each other instead of doing stupid things to hinder like so many romance characters do.

The world was interesting, there was actual character development, and I really wanted to know about both the development of the romance AND about the secrets of the futuristic place Krentz created.

Crystal Flame, though not as good as Sweet Starfire, was still not bad. It didn't have as much of a lasting effect on me, though. Both are worth a read, and at least Sweet Starfire is worth owning.

Many canoeing guidebooks cater to the whitewater enthusiast. Here's one for the flatwater folks. Good descriptions of padding locations, with excellent maps and referrals to additional resources. Not a complete guidebook, but contains enough suggestions to keep the quietwater paddler busy for some time.

This book is perfect for beginner to intermediate canoers and kayakers in the Sacramento and Sierra Foothills. Although the lakes listed in this book are limited to only a handful though-out this area, the discription of those lakes are excellent. Included is trip length,(time and miles), directions to the lake, access, difficulty, size of area, and recomended maps to use. Also included are detailed hiking, camping, historical background and natural history along with some highlights of the area of each lake or river. Special waterfalls and sites to look for or hike to at some of the lakes and rivers are a treat to read about. My only regret is that more lakes in this area where not included.

I work with Visual Basic 6 and Crystal Reports for a Fortune 50 company library IT group. The author has answered all the questions I have had with Crystal Reports, Seagate Analysis, and the RDC for VB app integration. His examples are "real-life." I strongly recommend.

I bought this book a month after buying Crystal Reports (early 1999). I have used it constantly ever since and it has been my primary resource when I use the software on various consulting jobs. The book starts from the beginning and through a series of well defined chapters takes the reader up to an intermediate/expert stage. I taught myself the ActiveX (Visual Basic) module using the book as my primary reference. If you want a real "Bible" on the subject then it must be in your toolkit.

There are few technical books on the market that really provide useful information to a developer. This book is one of the few that are complete, organized, and very useful. It covers topics from the introductory level through the advanced level making it a great productivity partner. Clearly and consisely written, it paid for itself in the first hour of use. If you work with Crystal 7, get this for your library.

My first exposure to Scott Cunningham. Found the book very easy and enjoyable to read. I was able to read it in one sitting. He provides a great deal of information and presents it in a clear and easy to understand way. This book would make an excellent reference tool and I recommend it for anyone seeking such a resource. The only downer was (to me) the excess of "money making" spells, delivering a message the average wiccan is a very financially challanged or money centric individual. I would like to imagine there are more graceful things we can apply energy to than making money.

The late Scott Cunningham(may he rest in peace in the
Summerlands)really hit the mark with this book, and the
only sad thing is that he is not around to review some
newly used/discovered (or new in popularity, I mean)gems,
such as gaspeite, kyanite, labradorite, and spesserite.
I also wish he'd included a few pictures next to each stone,
(there are pictures included in a inset, but not for all
stones reveiwed), which would be difficult to due variations
in stones, but would give the reader some clue as to what to
look for for each, or, for example, that turquoise often has
black inclusions and jade can be lavender, of all colours! I
had thought I was seeing a fake, but now know I missed a rare
opportunity to buy a lavender jade. I also didn't know it came
in white, either. Other than that, given the time period it
was written, I use it as a reference constantly, and hold it as
a "gold standard" for other books of its ilk. A pity he (Scott)
has had to leave the Earth plane, for I am sure there is much
more he had to teach us. This book is a must-have for anyone
interested in gemology or new-age healing and properties of
stones, or even simply those who wear gems as jewelry just
because it looks good! Two thumbs up and as I said, this
book is indispensible to me./'Nuff said.

I read this book cover to cover and I learned virtually everything I could ever hope to know on the magic of stones and metals. It is an excelent beginner's guide or expert's reference. Very highly recommended (Along with anything by Scott Cunningham).

I was really debating whether or not to get this book. A, it was expensive, and B, it didn't look like their was a lot of reading in it. I decided to get it, and I'm glad I did. Since Moon is the most popular of the Sailors, this book is snatched up quickly. I was very happy with the book. It had facts on Serena and her alter-ego, Sailor Moon, 50 secrets (faves, stats, friends, etc.), A guide to the 5 best Sailor Moon epsodes, A Sailor Moon encyclopedia, A transformation gallery (many nice pics in it), A guide to friends and family, Her famous lines, famous battles, and two poems/illustrations. This book has tons and tons of colored pictures, many of them funny and cute. You get to know Sailor Moon according to Serena herself, so its funny. If you like Sailor Moon, you are sure to like this. Something else about this book: I didn't know a ton about Sailor Moon, so this book was very imformative.

I thought this book was the best Sailor Moon book published since they started publishing Sailor Moon manga comics. Reason being is that this book is full of bright colored and detailed pictures. It shows Sailor Moon at her best page by page. The only complaint that anyone could possibly have about the book is that it only covers 3 seasons it goes up to Sailor Moon S so it doesn't give you any info on the other seasons such as SuperS and Stars. Overall the book is still extremely fun to read and extremely informative ! It also makes a great collecter item or just a fun easy novel to read for any age group.

This is quite a book, with everything you want to know about Sailor Moon. It also introduces the Sailor Moon S series with the new characters like Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, and eh Sailor Mini moon. It has info on her profile, criteria, battle scenes, transformations, origin, secrets, friends, family, and her past, present, and future life.

I'm also surprised to see very unique and lovely pictures in it. It has different song lyrics at the end of the book like "Heart Moving" and "Tuxedo Mirage". It also tells a few other things the dubbed series didn't reveal.

In the book she is referred to as "Serena Tsukino".... hmmm... They go very into detail! Actually, Serena is the one one who plays herself when you read the book. She is telling her life to you.

Overall, this book is so worth it. I learned quite a bit of new things and it should be on evry collectors shelf. Facts.... just the facts...

Killashandra, Crystal Singer, returns for a third novel in the Crystal Series. I recommend you read these in order as the events in the first two lead up to this novel.

Killashandra is now a mature Crystal Singer. She enjoys the benefits of life on Ballybran as one of the rare and valuable miners of Crystal. The career of a Singer brings wealth, long life and a certain cachet in the Galaxy. But it comes at a heavy price; loss of memory and thus an inability to maintain any meaningful relationships. Singers are encouraged to document their lives with a recorded journal so they can pick up the pieces of their personality and not become shallow and venal.

Killashandra and Lars Dahl, her new-found love from the previous novel, face new challenges for the Heptite Guild. But their relationship is threatened by forces behind the scenes. Is Lars working for or against Killashandra?

This is a fine conclusion to the two previous novels and one of my favorite series.

This is one of the most beautiful sci-fi trilogy, I've ever had the pleasure to read (and boy was it a pleasure!). As an avid reader of both sci-fi and fantasy books, it is always wonderful to come across a book which is both imagintive and thought provoking. It took me two days to finish all three, I just could not put them down. Yes, may- be the story has an all to perfect ending, but I'm finding more and more these days that a good perfect ending gives you the reprieve you need from modern day stresses, and this book differently gives you that.

Anne McCaffrey, has created a world of excitment, intrigue and love; a world that has the reader feeling and experiencing everything the characters go through and feel. I very much recommend this book to any one who is a fan of the genre and a good ending.

I read McCaffrey when I want to be comforted by the presence of basically decent people. The plots don't matter to me much and the attempts at true sci-fi technology are something to skipped over as quickly as possible (eg. the workings of a Hive ship.) For that reason, I have also enjoyed McCaffrey's non-Sci-fi books, in particular "A Stitch in Snow".

The Crystal Singer series is my favorite sci-fi trilogy and Crystal Line is my favorite of the three books. In Crystal Singer, we have the usual angry and mis-treated teenager who strikes out on her own and is attracted to the domineering macho types. In Killashandra, we have a woman who has matured enough to change her taste in men. But in Crystal Line we have one of the very few "middle-aged" (I know she's actually several hundred years old according to the plot) heroines in sci-fi. Her decisions about what she will do with her life, and who she will do it with, are long over. But she still has decisions to make about how she will deal with both the choices that she has made and the things that life has done to her.

Crystal is easy from the get go, and can fool some non-technical people because they just plop some fields in the details section then summarize them and go "Wow, this thing's awesome!" But, they end up missing out on some of the more powerful things crystal can do, like running totals, variables and subreports as well as open themselves up for errors and mis-calculations. This book will give you a high-level overview of all of that plus just some nuts and bolts of the tool. Your best bet for any answers to VB, or C++ automation questions are.. the technical reference's that come with the CD, not this book. This is definitley the best beginners book out there and well worth the $35 if you need to develop some reports pretty quickly.

As a Crystal Info Administrator, I need to stay one step ahead of my hundreds of internal customers. When I have a problem or question about Crystal Reports, I look at George Peck's book first.
Not only does it provide the answer, it explains the solution.
Without "The Complete Reference", I would have to rely on Crystal Decisions documentation which can't compare to this great manual.
In fact, I recommend this book to my users at all levels.

I have been developing Visual Basic applications which incorporate Crystal Reports for about a year now. I had tremendous difficulty learning how to integrate reports into visual basic with user defined input. In a fit of desperation I bought this book and i must say that I have never been more pleasantly surprised by a refrence book. Mr. peck explained in detail the solution to my problem in 2 pages. I am now working on a new project which uses CR extensively and have had no problems that are not discussed in this book. If you are a Crystal Reports user follow these simple steps. 1) Throw out the Crystal Reports documentation that comes with the program. 2)Buy this book!

I have read this book several times and will definately read it again. Each time I start it with the same level of intrigue and excitement and when I begrudgingly turn the last page I come away with a sense that I 'get' something about life that I failed to see before.

Morton and Thomas take you on an epic journey of the past, present and, most importantly to this book, the future. The book reveals many aspects of the lives and prophecies of those from the ancient world in the authors quest to make some sense of the mysteries behind the skulls - concentrating on the indigenous Central Americans, but including everything from Atlantis to Egypt.

This is a book with something for everyone - history, philosophy, religion, and environment - but with all the trappings of a gripping suspense novel.

Although nothing definite is proved it achieves its aim to fascinate and leaves you wanting more. To revoke the authors for not reaching anything totally conclusive is to undermine their aim and miss the point of this book.

The story is urging us to look at the way we treat our planet and each other and captivates the imagination leaving you ultimately inspired. Read it !

Amazing. This book absorbede!

The knowledge(?) provided through this book is of great potential importantce to everyone - worldwide.

The style is easy and engrossing, and the author's take on a multi-angled view in their research. Looking at the science, archeology, and mythological evidence (as well as the many eye witnesses to the skulls mysterious powers) the book points towards invaluable insights, from the origins and forgotten histories of humankind, to the possiblilies and purposes of our future destiny.

After reading this book, my whole perception of the world shifted sideways - twenty foot that way! (he says pointing in both directions).

A real must read for anyone interested in the ancient mysterious, ancient wisdom and/or spiritual knowledge.

Take a look and decide for yourself.

NB. If you like/liked this book, take a look at 'The Scole Experiment' - I think you'll like that too.

I bought this book at the archeological museum at Uxmal in Mexico and couldn't put it down. Part mystery, part history, part metaphysics, and part science, it's a fascinating read.

Intelligent Crystal has spent most of her life living in a not so nice orphanage. She watched others get adopted before her and tried to sever all ties off from people her age. But one day everything changes when she's adopted by two very nice people Thelma and Kurt. Kurt lives his life by a constant schedual and is very organized. Thelma lives her life through the soap operas she watches on TV and the Romance novels she reads. Crystal feels slighlty out of place in this world but finds a friend in the smart boy down the street, Bernie. But when one single act shatters all that she has. She finds herself back where she started.

Like Raven and Butterfly, Crystal is a good read though a bit unrealistic. I'm looking foreward to read Brooke (the 3rd short book in the series) and Runaways (the full length novel staring all four girls.)

Crystl is the second book of 5 in the miniseries called THE ORPHANS.It is about a 15 year old girl who get adopted by a nice couple named Carl and Thelma.Carl is wprapped up in saving money and Thelma is wrapped up in soap operas.She is having a great life she has friends and a nice home.Her grandparents are wonderful.But soon her only grandmam would die and she would be left with two grandfathers.But that would all end very soon.About a month later Carl and Thelma had to go and sign some papers to put one of her grandfathers in a retiring home.Crystal was at her friends house.Her friends mother got a call and asked Crystal to go get her uncles number.Crystal had a bad feeling and her feelings were right Crystals parents had both died in a car accident.Crystal could not stay because her uncles didn't have enough money and her grandfather's were to disabled and soon Crystal would be back in the system and she would soon meet one of her three best friends named Janet(butterfly).

General Horse Spittle! If you dont like these books and you think these girls sre stupid im going to ask you not to put anymore things on here becauz if you think these charters are morons you shouldnt be readin vc andrews so get the BEEEEEEEP Out I dont want to say the bad word case smaller kids might get on here and I dont want to ruin their BRAINS LIKE YOU!