Margaret Wise Brown's "The Big Red Barn" epitomizes what books for very young children should be. With a rhythmic rhyme and wonderfully simple imagery, it takes you through a day in the lives of the animals that live together in a barn. Each animal is treated with equal importance, even the field mice. As the day comes to a close, the pictures get gradually darker, the text more sparse. The imagery conjured up by the words is wonderful, as are the illustrations. This is a perfect bed-time story book for young children.

Want to know everything and then some more on the Kennedy family. Well, then one should use/read this source in question, i.e., A bio-bibliography of the Kennedy family by Martin Howard Sable . The book is very easy to use and a a joy to read. Highly Recomended

The volume Black Colossus is part of the deluxe Conan series published by Donald m. Grant. It is a triumph of the bookmaker's art - beautifully made, sumptuous, with illustrations by Ned Dameron. The book contains two Conan tales, the title story and "Shadows in the Moonlight." Howard wrote these yarns in his mid-twenties (he would commit suicide at the age of 30) and they were first published in the legendary pulp magazine "Weird Tales" in 1933-34. These are excellent, typical Conan stories: colorful, blazing action, top-notch Howard, ignore the unholy legion of pallid imitators and rip-off artists that haunt us to this day. In Black Colossus, Conan is a captain of mercenary spearmen who fights to save the kingdom of Khoraja (and the lovely princess Yasmela) from the black magic of Natohk, the vieled one. As one character notes, "A short life and a merry one, say I, and with Conan the Throat-slitter in command, life is likely to be both merry and short." These are not my favorite Conan stories (see "People of the Black Circle"), but they are worthy nuggets from the Motherlode, the astonishing amount of good writing REH did in his few short years of productive life.

Little has been translated into English by Chinese writers whose novels are set in the 1990's. Liu Heng, author of the story which formed the basis for the film, Ju Dou, fills in much of that gap with Howard Goldblatt's excellent translation. A poignant, compelling novel of unrelenting realism, "Black Snow" portrays contemporary life in Beijing in stark and everyday terms. It is a masterpiece of insight into the neglected landscape of ordinary workers existing in extraordinary times. Somehow the mundane comes alive in Liu's writing. The characters are round and, therefore, believable, unlike so many we read in other novels by both exile Chinese and American writers. Nothing is predictable yet nothing is made sensational for its own sake to merely titillate the reader. My graduate students are reading it with keen interest here in Beijing and confirm its veracity. They even admit to having learned a thing or two about the lives of street peddlars in the process. The novel addresses the question of what happens when a disaffected youth attempts to redeem himself, not so much in the eyes of others, as in his own eyes. The finest novel available in English in this genre, in my opinion.

I bought and read it several years ago; somewhere in the 80's. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. A very good and interesting book. I would like to have it again!

The worm was a hideous creature summoned only by a harp when played by one of the characters. The story had a sad ending with Helvy getting killed, but Blood Star killed the worm in the end although he got killed too. They story was long but good from start to finish.

Great read. Howard Johnson is on to a great subject here. The characters are fun and the dialog is super. I read the nearly 500 pages in three days. Couldn't wait to get back to it each day. Could make a fine screenplay too.

This encyclopedia is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in blues and gospel recordings of the pre-WW2 era. Awe-inspiring labor has brought forth a volume of nearly 1500 pages listing, alphabetically by artist, recording data for every known African-American blues and gospel performer whose work was put on disk through 1943. It is not a jazz discography, though a few essentially jazz acts are included. As well as commercial recordings, it also attempts to catalog all known folklore field recordings of the same period, particularly those of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. Included are an index of artists, to help locate sideman appearances, and an index of song titles. The work involved here, which has occupied several writers for many years, is awe-inspiring, particularly since the book is specialized enough (and priced highly enough) that it will never break any sales records. A love for this wonderful music is evident on every page.

I bought a copy about 2 years ago and use it frequently, especially with my disk and tape collection. The kind of session data given so generously here was notoriously absent on LP reissues of early blues music. As an inveterate compiler and collator and list-maker, I can't imagine not having this info! The Oxford edition is a sturdy and well-made volume, and I consider the book worth every dime I paid for it, and then some.

One "improvement" I would like to see in a future edition is the addition of some symbol to designate records of which no copy is known to exist. Here and there the editors note that a particular recording has "never been found," but this should be done more consistently. Even with such a notoriously lost 78 as Pm 13096, only the absence of a master number indicates its status. Since 7 types of saxophone are differentiated in the instrumentation chart, I would also suggest that the Queen of Musical Instruments -- I mean, of course, the 12-string -- might be distinguished from the plain old 6-string guitar (perhaps as "12g").

The quibbles are quite minor. There is really nothing about this book that I don't like. Casual blues and gospel fans certainly don't need it, but it will be indispensable to those with a more serious interest.

An excellent war story relating to the Falklands campaign from a member of the Elite British S.A.S who was there.

As you would expect the detail and historical accurancy is first class and the story telling rates alongside any other thriller.

The question with this fictional account is just how close is it to the truth?

We now know that a British special forces helicopter was found abandoned and burnt out in Chile, not far from the Argentine border. We also know that an SAS officer was relieved in the field for questioning a "plan" to capture an Argentinian mainland airfield which he belived meant certain suicide for his men.

So the question is.....was there an SAS boat troop ashore in Argentina at that time or is it just a good story?

I love the Sharpe series, but the Bonaparte's Sons, Bonaparte's Invaders and Bonaparte's Conquerors are as exciting and more believable. The series follows the adventures of Alain Lausard a former criminal released during the later stages of the French revolution to fight for Napoleon. This the third book in the series includes Bonaparte's rise to power following his return from Egypt and his campaign in Italy which culminates in the brilliantly described battle of Marengo. Great characters, Lausards fellow troopers also ex-criminals, are brilliantly portrayed. Most of all I enjoyed the battle scenes. The novel also moves to scenes with Bonaparte, providing insights into Napoleon's thoughts at crucial moments. For those who love historical novels these are a must read!

Fans of military fiction will find Bonaparte's Horsemen an involving account of 1807 Poland, where Napoleon is facing a dangerous battle and Sergeant Lausard his most decisive battle. Add historical insights to a fast-paced plot of military fiction and you have a story which just doesn't quit.