While Gentry's book has useful information it lacks some very basic information which is essential for the new user of WebTV. How about pictures of a keyboard and a remote indicating the function of all keys other than letters. For instance, wouldn't it be nice were there a discussion of the "option" button and what appears on the screen when the button is depressed.

I thought that this book was not very useful to me and i am a new owner of the web tv. almost everthing that is in the book is already been written by web tv for you. (how to use e mail, search, what lol means) come on now we are really not that dumb. save your self some money and get a diffrent book

If you own or are contemplating a WebTV, this book is a must. Answers questions you have and find out all that WebTV can do. This book will enrich your enjoyment of WebTV.

Jesse Owens' autobiography was written as something of a self-advertisement. Sadly, some of the more difficult aspects of his life were covered over or revised to make a happier life than he probably experienced. I tried to get to the bottom of some of the confusion around dates and events, which forced me to disagree with what Mr. Owens had written in some instances.

Having read Jesse Owens autobiography, Jesse, I am less impressed with this book than I was with the autobiography. His autobiography differs in the details--such as whether or not he got married before or after his first child was born, and also speculates about his opinions. It is opinionated in itself and doesn't give as objective a viewpoint as I would desire in a biography. However, the photographs are great, and let the viewer become acquainted with what the real Jesse Owens looked like, for those who were not acquainted with him while he lived. Not bad, but I don't recommend it too highly.

Richard Gentry's book is full of information, other researcher's information. I was disappointed in the constant use of other's ideas. I do find the benchmarks at the end to useful. I was hoping, however, for new ideas to add on to other leaders in educations research, instead it was just revisited again.

Richard Gentry's "Literacy Map" is a concise guide for the teaching of reading and writing in the primary classroom. He has included many excellent literacy assessments followed by clear examples of what to do with the results of these assessments. All his recommended teaching practices are easy to implement, require few "extra" materials, and are not program-specific. The book is divided by grade level, making it easy to locate what is appropriate for the reader's grade level. Gentry makes a clear case for the reciprocity of reading and writing, as well as acknowledging the importance of using assessment to guide instruction.

This is the first book for this author I have read. However, after 60 pages, I can't bear to read anymore. The reading level has to be about 2nd grade. She uses the same adjectives over and over. Often, they are used inappropriately. The father is described as a lion at least 10 times. The hero is described as a "brute" several times when we are not noticing his "wide shoulders". The heroine is murmuring "Damn". While in court, the prosecutor "rubbed his chin thoughtfully" several times while the heroine "gave an encouraging nod" which her brother give her later in the book. The heroine is supposedly devastated about her baby brother being charged with murder but yet she stands there dreaming about all the places she wants the hero to touch her. Her metaphors and analogies have been used 1000 time before. "She was as wet as a soaked kitten". Don't waste your time on this one unless you want to learn what not to do when you read a book! There are a lot of excellent books out there but this is not one of them.

Lusa is a strong willed and beautiful half breed. She is torn between the traditional Choctaw ways and the new white man ways. She will do anything to protect her brother who has been convicted of murder and is on the run. Talako is a strong willed lighthorseman (Indian lawman) bound by honor and duty to track down Lusa's brother to be sure he is executed for his crime. Talako has had a sad past and has learned not to trust woman. He has reason not to trust Lusa; but, is helpless to fight against his growing passion/desire for Lusa. Together they end up tracking Lusa's brother (Talako to bring him back for justice; Lusa to do whatever it takes to prove his innocence or save him from certain execution). This story is a battle of wills between Talako and Lusa on every page. It is about the struggle between Talako's honor and Lusa's loyalty to her brother. Love between them grows even in this struggle. This was a hard book to put down (I read it in a few evenings).

Georgina Gentry is the best at what she does! The research and notes to the reader in the back of each book are as enjoyable as the book itself!

When Sam Featherock, a Navajo deputy is called into a case involving unexplainable happenings he is hard pushed
to solve the crimes. First an old alcoholic Navajo is found dead in his cabin, his hands are missing, along with his mule.
Everything at the crime scene is covered in corn pollen. The superstitious are quick to shout witch or skin walker but Sam
is a rational man who goes in search of a blood and bones killer.

Soon after another Indian is killed, this time even in an even more mysterious way and Sam must try his best to
make a connection before more people die. The Navajo are calling for the hunt of a witch, most pointedly a young Hopi
woman who has been called a witch in the past. Now while Sam is hunting the killer he must also try to keep this young
woman safe.

As the mystery builds so does the body count. At one point a whole family is wiped out and Sam begins to doubt
weather his beliefs are strong as he once believed.

The book was well written, with the exception of a couple of passages that truly puzzled me. It was interesting to
learn how the old Trading Posts worked and are still in effect in many places today. I was surprised to see that there is a
type of racism from one Indian tribe to another. The book comes to a quick and satisfying ending although there is some
sadness to deal with along the way. Review by Susan Johnson

Gave up after 220 pages. Hidden plot, cardboard characters, disjointed storyline. Clarke must have had little to do with this yawner.

I had a very hard time with this book. I was quite confused, as I had read the whole Rama series as they came out. While perusing lists for something to read, I came across Cradle.

The beginning vignette about the "zoo craft" was, IMHO, written moderately well, but as soon as Carol comes on the scene, it gets very, well, amatuerish. I even went back and reviewed the Rama books, thinking that maybe I had read them so long ago that maybe they [were bad] then, but no, alas, they were (mostly) well constructed plots, with characters with whom I could relate, and relatively few confusing sections. Rama (original) did seem quite different from the others, but that made sense, since Clarke did the original in 1979 (or so, I think), and Lee came on with Rama II.

The opening vignette in Cradle seemed as if it were written by a totally different author, then shipped across the sea to another author who finished the rest of the book.

Then, it dawned on me, Cradle was either a) Written by an amateur author (Gentry Lee), with very little involvement with Clarke, or b) written by an entirely different author than the Rama series, again with little Clarke influence.

The constant switching "mindpoints" (where in one paragraph you hear what Carol is thinking, then the very next sentence you hear what Nick is thinking) is a typical early "learning writer" syndrome. There is a lot of "telling" instead of "showing". The plot points are haphazardly structured throughout, with interesting tidbits thrown in here and there without an uberpurpose. I felt throughout the whole novel that it might not go anywhere, and sho-nuff, it really didn't.

In the Rama II and beyond series, these problems are significantly improved, and show levels of improvement over the evolution of the series. My hypothesis supported conclusion "A" above.

I thought it might just be me, and I was too critical (since I am learning about crafting novels and writing, and checking how well-written novels are crafted), so I looked on Amazon to see what others had said. A majority didn't rate this book well either, for reasons I primarily agree with.

I then looked at when the books came out, and realized that Cradle came out in 1989, Rama II in 1990, Garden in 1992, and Revealed in 1995.

So, my conclusion is that this is the work of an early, learning writer. I gave it a mercy 2 stars, not 1, because it is an early work, and (presumably) Lee has improved significantly, but I've certainly read better.

I found it difficult to put this book down because I kept thinking that very soon I would read the information that would make the story crystal clear to me. That never happened but it was still an interesting story.

What really kept pulling my attention away from the flow of the story were the references to Troy's color (black) and his touching and/or kissing Carol. What for? Also, Carol's constant assertiveness became boring and overdone. The aliens were the only characters who were 'normal.'

This book is so bad its funny. I don't understand how it got published.

Logic would tell you that the first book in an adult western series would be carefully selected and carefully edited so that readers would come back for more. Logic would be wrong in the case of Rowan's Raiders, the first book in the Scout series. Our hero's actions defy logic as completely as the publisher's. The Scout sleeps soundly or daydreams while wolves, bears, Indians and outlaws approach withing striking distance. (The only times he is alert to approaching danger are the times when nymphomaniacal women approach his camp.) Fortunately, for the Scout, he escapes the wolves, bears, Indians and outlaws because he is equipped with magic matches which are able to start improbable fires under any circumstances, a magic knive which cures bulletholes and arrow wounds, and an immortal horse. It also helps that the bad guys keep forgetting to kill the Scout despite being presented with many opportunities. The height of absurdity is reached when the Scout stumbles upon the rough hewn log cabin of the filthy outlaws and finds it empty, even the bathroom. Our intrepid author doesn't explain what a bathroom is doing in an outlaw hideout in the Dakotas in the 1870's.

This was not informative and was misrepesented. The inside cover stated that it could be purchases for $19.15. Roofing Guidebook was sent. It consisted of 10 content pages all in upper case and 6 exact copies of the same sample contract. The illustrations consisted of the same sketch on each of the pages. Would not recommend this to anyone. Save your money!