This is a wonderful collection of the short fiction of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh is know best for her creation of the "handsome inspector," Roderick Alleyn. This volume presents previously unpublished works, "lost" works, and Marsh's own account of the creation of her famous detective. Marsh's wit really shines in this collection of work and you don't have to be a rabid Marsh fan to enjoy it. I recommend this book highly.

I can't find many preschool books about Jesus's death and resurrection. But this is it! The picures are cartoon. It does have one scene of Jesus on the cross but it is not graphic. No blood. The soldier has a hammer and the crowd looks mean. You could discuss it if you wanted to. The book starts out on Palm Sunday but the ending of the book is the main part -- Jesus Lives! The women visit the tomb & talk to angels. It is written in rhyme. I like it!

This book has extensive and accurate depictions of rodent anatomy. The verbal descriptions are very good and the diagrams are excellent. If one needs to locate nerves and blood vessels in a rat, this is where to look.

A useful popular overview of various aspects of Roman archæology which helps elucidate their production and trade. The book is divided into sections on transport, coinage, agriculture, regional surveys of settlement & agriculture, and metal, stone and pottery. The section on regional archæological surveys is probably the most interesting facet of the book. Bear in mind that this is a huge area of study and this book can only provide an overview. I only gave it four stars because it is now a decade out of date and needs to be updated to include the latest finds and analysis.

"Awakened China" is a well written first-hand account of China in the pre-1960 era. Greene visits several places around the county and offeres a very optimistic outlook about a country that is (and more so, was) misunderstood by Americans.

While I like others of Ms. Greene's books better, this one was fairly cute. I enjoy the fact that, in the books I've read so far, her women are as strong as the men and don't fold in the face of all that testosterone being flung around. I'm not sure how I felt about the baby. He seems to be pretty awful and I could sure sympathize with his mother for giving him to his dad! He's more out-of-control than a 1 year old ought to be. And I love babies/kids! I'm a mother of 7 and grandmother of 10. Maybe I've been around too many of this type of baby. This is a good beach book. Or, a good getting-snowed-in book. Not filling but fun.

Greene is a very knowlegeable historian of the Sioux Wars. In this work, he has edited and commented upon reports of Officers and others who were participants in this monumental struggle between the Sioux and their Cheyenne allies and the White soldiers of the frontier army. A great book to assist the historian in understanding the hardships of a winter campaign against hostiles on the northern plains.

I was introduced to this book back in '76 when I was 12! The cover alone, intrigued me and I never forgot it! But, being an adolescent back then, I was afraid to buy the book because I thought my parents would find it and have a heart-attack! So I waited until I grew older---not realizing that the book could be out of print! Once I did find it, I couldn't put it down! It lived up to all my expectations from my childhood and it was even a bit humorous!!! I would definitely recommend this book!

It's a remarkable set of stories. The author is in remission after decades of severe illness, and looks back at her own past. The stories, individually, range from the comical and embarassing to dark and disturbing. As a collection, they seem to form a research notebook, trying all the different ways to make sense of the facts of her life. There seems to be a lot of truth in each story and a lot of fiction. It's not always clear how much of each, but I don't think that really matters. If you have any empathy at all, it's not an easy read. It may well be worthwhile, though.

Carolyn Lieberg's tribute to the Midwest is a very enjoyable book. It is primarily a collection of quick facts -- no more than a couple of lines long each -- that will amaze even the life-long Midwesterner (such as myself). It is more than just a list of factoids, though. Liberally scattered throughout the book are letters from real-life Midwestern folks, describing their lives in the central part of the nation. Many times they reminisce about when they were children, often in the early parts of this century. Ms Lieberg also begins each chapter with glowing description and praise of that chapter's topic, and how it is uniquely Midwestern. After reading this book you'll be searching for a recipe for sauerkraut chocolate cake and telling everybody how many Nobel prize winners are from your state, or even your town (if you are lucky enough to live in one of the twelve states covered in the book). If you live outside of the Midwest and want to know more about it, or if you love the Midwest but have relatives who have never been here, or if you know people on "the coasts" who think Midwesterners are just a bunch of rubes, THIS IS THE BOOK TO BUY. The only reasons I didn't give the book a perfect ten (I gave it an 8) were because there are a few errors in the book, and Ms Lieberg's little quips at the end of many of the facts were slightly annoying. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this book!