Very appropriate language and amount of detail. Not as overwhelming as many texts while providing sufficient scientific fact. Not as many illustrations of skills as I would like to see - i.e. text explanation of how to make an occupied bed or take a blood pressure but depends on instructor or other resource for demonstration of the skill.

"Mookie's Secret" is a well written story that touches on some serious issues, namely "abandonment" AND "fear of being different".Upon reaching an orphanage, Mookie,the little beaver is warmly accepted but is afraid that the other critters will discover his embarrasing secret and will make fun of him. After hearing a joke, Mookie's secret is revealed - his laughter reveals his humongous teeth. Not knowing that he is a beaver and that he is SUPPOSED to have big teeth, he runs away only to find other beavers. His newly found friends help him to discover that his secret is really a blessing rather than something to be ashamed of. Mookie returns to the orphanage and uses his unique gift and newly found confidence to become part of the group in a new and exciting way. ILLUSTRATIONS ARE BEAUTIFUL!

A very nicely done story with a few minor flaws (the young beaver could've tried a couple more times before asking for help I suppose) but despite that it does reenforce the message that there is a place for old experienced folks to help young people starting out- now if only the young people would start to listen!

Beautifully illustrated too!

MY BOOK REPORT The pearl This book is writed about happiness and unhappines. There is a family they are very poor. Main charactor is Kino. Though they are poor and rich persons always look down on them, they were living peacefully.But one day they found a pearl. It is very big pearl. As soon as the neighbor have heard that news. They changed ther attitude to them. The familly knew they all envey. Every night they cant sleep, and they became that theycan not believe their neighbors. After all they threw it away to the sea. This book tought me that happiness is not a money. We cant buy a happiness by money.Sometimes too much wealth cause a trouble in human society. May be killed by your sweethoney.

Although this book didn't have a description of the card game I was looking for (Faro), I found myself rereading it just for fun. One of the nice things about this book is that the author took care to include only those games that require no special equipment or boards, you still have hope of finding the boards, or can be played with cards/household objects. There are games for children, for adults, and for the family. The back has a special section on fun forfeits for those who lose.

If you also remember long summer car trips to see relatives back when you were a child, I'm sure you remember being horribly bored -- and fighting with your brothers and sisters (if you had any). Today's parents should appreciate the fact that some of these games can be played in the car. Even better, none of them require batteries and the word games CAN'T be broken or lost!

The physical games can use of some of that unfair energy advantage children have. The word and [most] card games let the players exercise their wits. Some of them are very silly. With any luck, they'll make you forget your stress and start laughing.

If you love old books, as I do, this is a handy reference for looking up forgotten games mentioned in them. Sometimes you may have the fun of realizing that a "modern" game is just a slight variation or revival of a very old game.

Whether you're interested in how people entertained themselves before electronic entertainment was born, trying to find some inexpensive fun for the children that doesn't involve pretending to kill, or ideas for party games, I recommend trying to locate a copy.

Let's get real here folks. This book is a literary disaster. Does the reviewer above want to argue that with me? Well, than he or she can talk to Melville himself. Melville wrote this book for money. It doesn't have the literary charm that comes with Melville's books. Moby Dick was a literary masterpiece. Redburn is garbage. It is simply a journal of his travels to Liverpool and back. If journals interest you, than by all means this is an excellent book. But this book was not written by Melville, rather by his quest for money while he was in poverty. I would give it negative stars, but Amazon.com doesn't give that as an option.

There are those who read Moby-Dick and say they love it because they're supposed to, because it's marked as a classic American novel; and then there are those who love Moby-Dick because its miraculous prose, its Shakespearean characters and its spirit truly get inside them. Redburn is for the second group: any real fan of Melville's unique philosophy and thorough mastery of style will love this book. Redburn is, to be sure, no Moby-Dick -- it has none of the epic quality of that crowning jewel. But all of Melville's trademarks are here, in a plot which transcends its simple outline -- a boy from a formerly rich, now bankrupt family joins the crew of a merchant ship sailing to Liverpool and comes of age -- to reach the realm of genius. The poetically beautiful imagery and sparkling wit juxtaposed with profound melancholy jump out at the reader. But even more importantly, Redburn opens up a unique window on Herman Melville's soul. Elizabeth Hardwick, in her recent biography of Melville (which I also highly recommend), calls this his most personal work, and she's right -- where later works like Moby-Dick and Billy Budd hid Melville's real experiences behind an obscuring (if brilliant) curtain of fiction and the earliest novels like Typee and Omoo lacked depth in their rollickingly faithful accounts of Melville's sojourns among the Polynesians, Redburn has just the right balance of fact and fiction. It is in many ways a meditation on the author's once-illustrious father -- Allan Melville, who, just like Walter Redburn (the narrator's father) lost all his money and respect -- but it is equally a series of revelations about his youthful mind as he mulls over issues of time, the generational gap and social change. Read Redburn for a real glimpse of the man who would be the greatest American novelist.

"Redburn" is a fantastic story. It is complex, funny and mysterious. Using Wellingborough Redburn as his persona and narrator, Melville writes of his first voyage overseas, when as a young man of 19 he signs on as a common seaman on board the "Highlander", a merchant ship bount for Liverpool, England. In the first few chapters Redburn seems to be mocking himself, using a tongue-in-cheek tone as he describes his romantic notions of sailing to distant lands and his ineptitude as a sailor during his first weeks at sea. The crew mocks him because he is such a poor seaman; they humiliate and tease him. As the story evolves, Redburn becomes more objective and contemplative. He becomes an acute observer in recording the harshness of a sailor's life and in describing the individual characteristics of the Highlander's crew, especially one Jackson, a malignant and powerful sailor who dominates the crew with his relentless venom.

In Liverpool, Redburn meets Harry Bolton, a young man who attracts and fascinates him. Harry is obviously a gentleman, and although he is muscular and well built, he exudes a feminine charm. Harry is evasive about his past. Harry intrigues Redburn. Redburn admires Harry although he suspects him of an indefinable evil. Despite his misgivings about Harry, Redburn helps him get a job on the Highlander which, with 500 immigrants who board the ship in Liverpool embarks for America. Melville, through his alter ego, Redburn, tells of the harrowing problems on board the Highlander on the voyage back to America. He describes his strange, ongoing friendship with Harry who proves to be a terrible sailor. And he describes in penetrating detail the awful, slow death of Jackson and its effect on the crew.

Some Melville aficionados have implied that Melville reveals homosexual longings in describing Harry Bolton and his attraction to him. But I feel that Melville, like the poet he is, transcends gender when he focuses on the sensuous nature of form, whether ugly or beautiful. "Redburn" is an exalting story of a young man's first voyage. It involves the reader both physically and spiritually.

If your looking for anything on canine separation anxiety, this is not the book for you. It has a very limited amount of useful information However, if you are looking for the very basics of dog behavior such as barking, destructiveness, improper urination, etc.. this book may be helpful.

I work with foster and shelter dogs and found this book to be interesting, helpful and thought-provoking. The author assumes the reader will understand more than single syllable words, and as such provides a level of insight deeper than found in more "popular" titles. On the other hand, aside from a couple of veterinary lapses into chemistry and physiology, you don't need a masters degree or medical training to be able to appreciate the content.

While I found several immediately usable tips (i.e. how to get a dog over the fear of thunder) the biggest value for me was as a foundation to provide better insight into what a dog may be thinking, why they may be reacting the way they do and alternative training approaches to try if traditional methods are failing.

I read this book when I was in Kuwait. Sure it gives an interesting perspective on business, but the business principles mentioned aren't just harbored by the Kuwaiti's - they are held by all successful businesspeople around the world.

I was really disappointed at the poor quality of photographs, and the total lack of credit to the photographers or institutions the author and publisher stole them from. I expected a higher degree of professionalism in a "wealth enhancement" book.

Does this mean the Kuwaiti's condone stealing the works of others through the utter disregard of proprietary rights through the lack of proper attribution? I don't think so.

On the other hand, it was a good enough book to rate 2 stars because of the order in which the information was presented. However, I expected a lot more. I could have gone on to a web-site and found the same information without paying...

Buy at your own risk. You might find it an enjoyable read and it would be well-worth it. However, the author and publisher set a bad example for the above mentioned reasons.

well.....its good to know that there is an interest in arab gulf countries hope that will go on tell the world know us better ...... thanx.

This is not a detailed, engrossing novel. It is a very simple and short story of a man and woman who are married, almost out of convenience, who are secure and happy, but perhaps not "in love". It is apparent though, that they do love each other and find great comfort with each other.

They are country folk and the story surrounds their life together as the wife is dying of cancer. Although that sounds like a downer, her cancer and dying is not the focal point of the book as the story line dips back into the past and meanders about.

Many characters and stories and introduced, yet in a simple and short-storied way.

Very nice short read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love how it was narrated by both of the main characters. The way it went back and forth between them made you understand how they felt about each other. Kaye Gibbons beautifully depicted a rare kind of love between a husband and wife. I cannot understand some of the low ratings I have been reading, but everyone has their opinion. I loved the characters and I highly recommend this book.

I couldn't put this book down.

Love came to Ruby and Jack differently than it does to most of us in modern times. We are witness to the backgrounds of both Ruby and Jack as well as their perspective of their situations. I liked the way the author alternated the chapters between the wife's voice and the husbands.

The story reminds us that make our own choices in life and often we let our circumstances push us into unwise ones. Many relationships are built out of need due to loneliness, one of the person's lack of money, or gratefulness; none of which has anything to do with romantic love. Often both partners are aware of each others reasons and often they don't know. Ruby and Jacks choice was to be alone or with a friend who cares and hope that love comes later.

A woman who is dying knows the limitations of her husband. She knows he will be in pain after her passing. This is the first book that I have ever read that detailed the male's pain and struggle to get on with life after losing his wife. I kept wondering what my own husband would do. I know my husband would go for the jar of peanut butter every day rather than actually cook something. . .no dishes to do, something fast. I love him and would probably be concerned about how he will survive without me and do something similar to what Ruby did. . .prepare and freeze some meals for him.

The story also demonstrates how families come together in ways other than biology. We all reach out to others whom we feel good with, know we can count on and willingly seek our companionship; they become family.

I enjoyed reading this autobiography of Jerry Mathers. He not only discusses the period of time that he was doing Leave it to Beaver, but he also talks about his life before and after the show. I thought that my interest would wane once he started discussing his post-Leave it to Beaver years, but I found out that that wasn't the case at all. I learned about a lot of things I didn't know about the show, the other cast members, and Jerry Mathers. He talks very candidly and doesn't seem to hold back. This autobiography was better-than-good and wasn't too long (not that that really matters). Leave it to Beaver is one of the few sitcoms that I've actually had a lot of respect for. It's a show that is a complete classic in every aspect. I actually rate this book 3.5 stars. Well worth a read.

This book is excellent for people who enjoy the show "Leave It to Beaver" or who are interested in American popular culture and television. Jerry Mathers shows that he has kept a lot of common sense through the years of being a celebrity and the general turmoil in America during the past few decades. While he admits his own mistakes, he shines through as a decent person--just what we'd expect from "The Beav." In addition to his life story, the book has background on the show "Leave It to Beaver" and some interesting extended quotations from other members of the cast. The book shows how "Leave It to Beaver" was a top quality TV show and how it provided elements of realism that are missing from today's supposedly more realistic programs. It is written in a very down-to-earth way, and it is a refreshing read.

As a baby boomer, I grew up watching "Leave It To Beaver". Jerry Mathers does a great job of describing his life as "The Beaver" on the show and how it compared with his personal life away from the studio. He gives the reader a thorough description of the ups and downs of being a child actor and how it has affected his adult life. What a trip down memory lane!! If you ever wondered what happened to all those wonderful characters on the show, then I encourage you to buy this book. It's a "Where are they now?" readers dream. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I now look forward to reading Frank Banks book about his acting days on the set of "Leave It To Beaver".