This book is an absolutely heart rending description of a comparatively rare form of autism involving degeneration. Craig Schulze captures one of the most painful experiences that a parent can go through, and encourages parents to remember that a parent's love and understanding are the most important parts of any therapy. Also, the book provides a useful foil to the raft of miracle cure books that are flooding the market; sometimes kids with Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) do not recover, but parents need to be prepared for this. However, I would caution parents who, like me, decide to pick up the book after learning that their child has problems that fit under the PDD category. I initially worried that, like Jordan, my child would slowly slide away from me since so many of his symptoms sounded familiar. After further reading, I learned that the type of degenerative disorder described here is not typical of PDD, and that many parents do find some success with the methods described in the book. It does prevent a moving account of a worst case scenario, but approach with caution and remember that there is often hope.

Shortly after reading "When Snow Turns to Rain", I had the privilege and pleasure of meeting Craig Schulze and his autistic son Jordan, and my respect and admiration for Craig grew even further. I am the mother of an autistic 12-year old, and have experienced many of the same wild hopes and crushing disappointments that Craig describes so well in his book. I found this book extremely well written, informative, and inspiring. It certainly describes the bizarre and sometimes frightening behaviors of some children with autism in vivid detail. What I want to know is, how did Craig find the time to keep a journal and write down all this as it was happening? I have trouble keeping track of my son's current-year IEP (individualized education plan)! I do have to caution, however, that some people may be saddened and depressed (my mother, for one). There is no "happy ending"; Jordan's autism is not cured, and he doesn't develop a fantastic savant skill that somehow balance things out. But Jordan is a real person, who is loved fiercely and well. His story deserves to be told, and is told well, in "When Snow Turns to Rain."

A painfully honest, witty and intelligent account of the author's son Jordan, who developed symptoms of autism after several years of apparently normal development (a rare pattern somtimes known as Childhood Disintegrative Disorder).

The book chronicles Jordan's development, regression and diagnosis, and his parents' desperate search for a cure as they struggle to come to terms with their son's condition. In contrast to some other popular accounts of autism, the book tells the story of a child for whom no treatment produces a "miracle cure" or "amazing recovery" (in other words, a child typical of the overwhelming majority of those with autism). Some treatments or methods of education seem to help; others are ineffective; none produce a "cure". At the book's end, life goes on, though radically altered.

A further account of Jordan's life features in "When Autism Strikes: Families Cope with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder" edited by Robert A. Catalano.

This is one of these children's books that the adult reading it can enjoy as well. This was the first book about Angelina Ballerina that we read, and it sent us off to find all the other one's as well. Delightful illustrations.

That's exactly what this book is. Cute. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and the story is enjoyable. Angelina and Alice are both mice. One day they meet each other and become friends because they both like the same things. When other kids (mice) at school begin making fun of Angelina, Alice joins in. Angelina is left with no friends, and no partner in gym. I won't tell you what happens in the end. You'll have to find out for yourself.

I recommend this book to children and adults alike.

Angelina is given the opportunity to donate things that she has outgrown to a charity box for second hand items. She includes Polka, her rag doll from her early years as a ballerina, as one of the toys she feels that she has outgrown. When Grandpa comes for a visit, he reminds Angelina of the fond memories that she had with Polka, and she desparately wants the doll back. Is it too late to find the doll again? Angelina learns that growing up is not always easy, but charity has grown up feelings to replace the things you give away.

This is another of the wonderful Angelina Ballerina storybook series. In this book, Angelina gets the good news that she has been chosen to help Miss Lilly with the new beginners' class. But, tragedy strikes when Angelina gives some old things to charity, and finds that she has accidentally given away a treasured item. In the end, Angelina learns that giving can have rewards beyond anything she might have expected!

As with all of the Angelina Ballerina books, this book is a wonderful mix of entertaining stories and picture, and an excellent lesson. My eleven-year-old daughter loves this book, and so do I. We both recommend this book to you!

In this next book in the Angelina Ballerina series, Angelina prepares for the New Year's Eve Ice Dance. It's a lovely pageant, but she repeatedly finds her practice interrupted by Spike and Sammy, two boys from the school. When she complains to her mother, Mrs. Mouseling explains that the two boys just want her attention. And so, Angelina forms a plan to include the two boys...

Once again, I must say that Katherine Holabird sure knows how to write a wonderful story. I liked the lesson of the book, and my daughter and I both loved Helen Craig's illustrations. We highly recommend this book to you.

I fell in love with Angelina when I was young and the first book came out. I recently read Angelina Ice Skates and loved it as I did all the others. The Angelina books all teach a lesson, yet put the characters in situations that real children could end up in. In Angelina Ice Skates, Angelina and her friends are having trouble with some of the boys at the rink. Her mother gives her some advice and all works out in the end. The perfect length for a bedtime story, I would recommend this book for all children's libraries, especially little girls who want to be ballerinas.

You can purchase this identical book NEW ! It has been retitled "Angelina's Birthday". The two books are identical in every way except the title! Don't purchase both (like I did) thinking you're going to get two different stories!

It is a cute book, with another nice moral: Angelina has a bicycling accident which ruins her old bike, then spends the week working to earn money to purchase a new one. All her friends and family see how hard she has worked and pitch in to buy the bike and give it to her as a birthday surprise.

My 3 year old twins adore anything to do with birthday parties and presents and this charming book supplies that along with the virtues of hard work - a wonderful book for young children.

This book was the "first edition" that Craig wrote which later became titled "Reasonable Faith." While the contents are basically the same between the two it must be pointed out that "Reasonable Faith" contains some minor updated material that is not included in this volume. However, this volume is designed in a more technical format that includes bibliographic information (recommended reading) at the beginning of each chapter. "Reasonable Faith" is formatted in a more common publishing style. If you are wanting to collect all of Craig's works then you will want this book (even though it is simply the earlier copy of "Reasonable."). Some of the differences between the two works are: 1) the chapters in the older text carry a Latin title; De Fide, De Homine, De Deo, De Creatione, and De Christo, 2) The cover, of course, 3) The format of the text, 4) the positioning of the bibliography, and 5) the older version (this one I'm reviewing) has an analytic outline at the beginning of the book that is very helpful. Other than that, the books are the same.

Structured, well thought and presented intro to the field of apologetics. This respected philosopher and debater of the Christian worldview presents in technical, detailed outline form, what he terms "analytic outline."

Topices are Faith and Reason, The Absurdity of life without God, the existence of God, the problem of miracles and historical knowledge, the claims of Christ and the Resurrection.

Each topic is presented with thorough bibliography. Pleased to learn that this volume has been replaced and updated in newer volume in another review. Must obtain and see the differences. As solid a place to delve into the fascinating field of apologetics there is.

This book helped us understand the diverse views of the different arthritis treatments and offered good advice. My elderly aunt has been plagued with arthritis for years and hasn't always been willing to try alternative treatments. As her pain progressed we convinced her to try the glucosamine and condroitan blends. She is seeing substantial improvements! Our daughter is taking it as a way to heal her back injuries due to an accident. She no longer needs those heavy duty pain killers. An additional site that offers more documentation as well as these (and others) supplements is iHerb. They do a wonderful job at documenting the diverse nutritional supplements they supply and their service is reliable. In fact, I think I first read about Theodosakis' books on their site. Treat arthritis naturally and see how much better you feel without those pain killers that make your mind fuzzy.

This is an excellent, concise, highly usable book about ALL reasonable treatments that show merit and promise for treating arthritis, both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Though the coverage of each treatment is remarkably brief and to-the-point, it avoids being just a "shopping list" of what to take; and manages to prioritize, in well-reasoned arguments, what makes the most sense to try and why.

Don't expect a flimsy health food store brochure filled with questionable claims, or some pamphlet telling you what you already know. This is a VERY well-written, SUPERBLY organized, thorough and comprehensive book--a model of how to cover conventional and alternative treatments of ANY disease. If you buy just one book on dealing with arthritis, this should be it. (And given how common arthritis is, it might make a thoughtful gift for someone else you know as well.)

This collector's edition is worth getting for any Powerpuff fans - the story is cute, and the rougher cut illustrations by series creator Craig McCracken are colorful and downright funky. The book could have used an editorial revision, though - some of the writing is hurried and doesn't make sense, and the final scene with the Mayor has a picture that left my daughter thinking that the Powerpuff Girls were dead rather than merely dumbfounded. So if you're reading to a small child, you may have to do a lot of explaining and ad-libbing.

Fans of the show and fans of cool artwork will agree this is a must have for the powerpuff girl collector. Craig McCracken (the creator of the power puff girls) did all the illustrations. Go buy the book now!

In the reviews I've read, this book has received nothing but praise. In many ways, this is an excellent work of academic research. The authors show sensitivity and a deep understanding of the institutional framework within which archbishop Hovius could operate. Most emphasis is put on the human and local particularities controlling the relations between an archbishop and the man and women manning the diverse strata of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The preponderance on the human side of archbishop's dealings with the people surrounding him lead to excellent small stories which are impressively placed in the wider context of the political and religious strife of early 17th century Europe. Moreover, the book is very well written. It was an easy read.

Yet, despite all the book's cleverness, I grew increasingly uncomfortable while reading. Harline and Put have written a book on religious life in late 16th/early 17th century Europe. Still, I have not read much about religion. In fact, in this book, religion comes out as a very mechanical thing. We read about cardinals, nuncios, priests, rituals, processions, pilgrimages etc. But we do not get a glimpse of what it could have meant to *be* a Christian in this particular time in history. We do not read how Hovius (could have) *lived* his religion. We get no sense at all of a religious feeling which - unlike today - must have been overly present everywhere. Instead, the narrative is littered with much misplaced irony on the nature of christianity or even religion. Harline and Put consider the Catholic Church as nothing more than a big bureaucracy. Hovius, travelling around his bishopric, is portrayed as the 16/17th century version of a district area manager of Coca Cola, trying to reach his production quota for next year, and fighting to protect his market share against competitors. The book is a product of the 21st century. It might easily be used as a leadership guideline, to be read by management consultants and managers.

As a layman who likes to study history, I enthusiastically give this book a rating of five stars. Many history books give broad descriptions and interpretations of trends and events. Others attempt to popularize or modernize history by interpreting old events from the perspective of the late 20th century. "The Bishop's Tale" does none of this. Instead, it virtually transports the reader back to Flanders in the late 1500s and early 1600s, treating him to a small but rich slice of history in a small but fascinating corner of Europe. The authors -- who were fortunate enough to have found one volume of an extensive journal kept by the Archbishop of Mechelen during this period -- provide us with a series of wonderfully detailed pictures of religious life in what was then known as the Spanish Netherlands. Each chapter forms a separate window through time that provides the reader with a close-up view of the goings-on surrounding a specific issue, event, or person. The common thread running through all sixteen chapters is the archbishop and his efforts to build a stable Catholic community in a turbulent time and place. The authors don't try to overly interpret events or force them to fit into some sort of grand theoretical framework, as do many academic historians. Instead, it seems that Craig Harline and Eddy Put want to directly expose the reader to history in a way that enables him to develop a good "feel" for what it must have been like to be Catholic and Flemish around 1600. I found myself wanting to read the book slowly, so that I could savor every page.

This time Mitchel Gant flies an antiquated Mil-24 deep INTO Russia for an extraction. Firefox fans should like this if only to read more of Gant's exploits. It is slightly outdated but should still prove entertaining.

If I remember correctly, this would be the third Gant book. People who have read or seen Firefox should like this if only to complete Gant's story. Not so much on the "techno" part of the techno-thriller genre but pretty interesting from the logistical point of view.

In "Winterhawk", the Americans are desperate to pluck from deep within Soviet territory a Russian scientist offering the west proof that the Soviets will launch a laser satellite, an orbiting battlestation, on the eve of a major new arms treaty. Too late to back out of the treaty, the Americans face the prospect of Soviet military supremacy established in orbit and working its way down to the surface. Their only way-out: use a captured Russian helicopter flown by a crack CIA pilot deep into the Soviet military-industrial spaceflight complex near baikonour and rescue the man and his photographic proof.

Were "Winterhawk" the work of any other writer, the CIA pilot would be some handsome but rule-flouting ace hotshot who doesn't let politicians or bureaucrats get in the way of mission he just knows he can pull-off. But "Winterhawk" is the baby of Craig Thomas, and the maverick is none other than Mitchell Gant, the burnt-out Vietnam air-war vet who barely survived "Firefox" and "Firefox Down". Almost saturated with a mentality of defeat, Gant remains ready to thrown in the towel, almost begging for the missile or bullet or karate chop that will end the mission...and his misery.

Reuniting with KGB Col. Priabin from "Firefox Down", "Winterhawk" becomes someting of a sequel to that book and the final leg in a loose trilogy begun with "Firefox". Thomas usually arranges his books into loose arcs (like those involving the Russian, Petrunin, and Babbington, the British turncoat of "Lion's Run", "Wildcat" and "Last Raven"), but there's an insistence on linking the books in time ("Winterhawk" is meant to occur within two years of "Firefox Down", though the earlier book occurred no later than 1983 when Andropov was still KGB chief, and the events of latter book - including CD's and the Russian space shuttle are clearly late 1980's) and in meaning - with the bloodlust that Gant unwittingly inspired in Priabin in the last book is too great a factor in this one.

Yet Thomas knows better than to write incomplete books, and "Winterhawk" remains absorbing on its own terms. His writing remains crisp, his prose fast paced and his perspectives delightfully claustrophobic. Nobody knows what's about to hit them. Thomas' charachters drive this book, perhaps more than those of "Firefox" and ist sequel - while Gant ruled those books, there isn't a charachter in "Winterhawk" who doesn't threaten to conquer the rest and impose his stamp on the bulk of the novel. When the brutish, almost simian Red Army Col. Serov meets his fate, I almost cried at the possibilities of his appearance in another Thomas epic that will now never be. Bringing the crew together not only creates a perfectly spaced and timed plot, but creates perhaps the most cinematographic of Thomas' novels. Instead of building a tale around the hero's sitting in a chair (admittedly an ejector seat within a high-performance jet, but sitting all the same), we have Gant racing through the industrial space complex with parallel subplots involving Priabin and the turncoat Russian scientist, the Red Army General and his son, and a female KGB aid of whom Priabin is "fond of" , all working with each other and against each other, switching sides at a maddening pace building up to a deafening climax.

Get this book11