By relating famous hoaxes such as the radio broadcast of H.G. Well's War of the Worlds and discussing recent space probes to Mars, Mercury and Venus, Branley comes to the conclusion that there might be life beyond Earth... but not in our solar system. While he admits there may be possibilities of life in other galaxies, he claims there most likely isn't life in our solar system except for what exists on Earth. This is an outdated and inaccurate view. The goal of the series is to introduce basic science concepts to young children, but the only concept I came away with was very Earth-centric - none of our species could live on Mars, ergo, there is no life on Mars. Branley never defines life. In truth, we cannot assume "life" to be carbon based, requiring warm temperatures and sunlight. In fact, on our very own planet we have found species that do not require these things. Instead of writing "there is no life on Mars," Branley should have written, "There is no life as we know it today on Mars. If this idea is too scary for young children, perhaps there isn't a need for a low-level book on this topic. At the least, the book serves as a jumping off point for an interesting discussion. The authorial intrusion in the book ("People also say it's silly to believe there is life on them [other planets]. I don't think so.") is annoying and condescending. The writing is too simplified; children could handle more details than are given about the planets, the space program, and the various ways alien life has been envisioned in our culture. The illustrations are a bizarre mix of simple brightly colored collage style pictures and photographs. The diagram of the solar system is great, and whimsical aliens decorate the end papers and many pages. A page of further activities concludes the book. No works are cited, no resources for more information are listed. A glossary, index and timeline would have been appropriate inclusions. This book was originally published in 1984; it needs much more overhaul than it received.

This book talks in children's words about a subject that adults learned so long ago that they may have forgotten. The artistic side of the book keeps children entertained without taking away from the subject content. My five year old loves this book.

The author makes a noble attempt to present healing techniques in a collective, useful manner. While it has a decent introduction to Chinese medicine, I found the book to be confusing in its organization and poorly edited. Within one chapter, the author advises both against eating nuts and FOR eating walnuts. Descriptions of the techniques are sprinkled randomly throughout the pages instead of being presented in a cohesive manner. Measurements are only UK friendly. Too bad! It could be a valuable reference if it made any sense.

Easy to read but full of useable knowledge that helps even the unskilled practitioner understand why natural healing techniques really work. Jenni has pulled many threads together from Chinese medicine to meditation, flower remedies to the elements ... and on! The book was recommended to me. I now see why!

There are few more controversial premises for a book than the one that motivated the writing of this one. The author argues that the United States was under no severe threat from either Germany or Japan in the period of the late 1930's until the attack at Pearl Harbor. His first premise is that Germany had not been able to subdue Britain and was stalemated on the Soviet front in 1941, which would have eventually led to some form of negotiated truce. Germany then and in the near future would have possessed no capability to directly attack the United States. Japan was also bogged down in China and overextended in other areas, such as Southeast Asia. While an initial attack would be damaging, there was little chance that Japan could defeat the U.S. With these "facts" as a basis, Russett argues that Roosevelt's tactics of engaging in a naval shooting war with Germany in the Atlantic and embargoing goods essential to Japan, unnecessarily goaded them into a war that could have been avoided. He considers the goading unnecessary because neither nation presented any clear and present danger to the United States.
This is a case where the author is correct in the technical sense but wrong in the practical, and the degree to which he is correct is dependent on your definition of the phrase, 'clear and present danger." It is true that neither nation had the capability to do significant material damage to the territory of the United States. However, the invasion and/or wholesale killing of a nation's citizens is not the only danger that can exist.
Russett has the benefit of hindsight in knowing a great deal about the resources that Germany possessed in the period where Roosevelt was inching the nation toward war. At that time, Germany was still a very real threat to invade and conquer the British Isles, an event far more serious than the fall of the rest of Europe. No one in America at that time knew that Germany simply could not launch an invasion. One point he used as justification was that it took the US and Britain many years to complete the build up so that the cross channel invasion could be launched. While true it also misses the point. When the allies carried out the D-Day invasion, it was against a well-equipped enemy with years to prepare set defenses. After Dunkirk, there were many soldiers in Britain but they had almost no equipment or set defenses. Had the Germans been able to establish a solid beachhead, there really was very little to stop them.
Russett also seems to ignore the long-term dangers. If Japan had been able to execute their real plan, which was to control the resources of Indochina and the Dutch West Indies, the long-term consequences to the U.S. would have been severe. Japan would have controlled a strategic set of resources that would have made them a superpower, and given their militaristic nature at that time, a continuing threat to expand. The fall of the Phillipines into that set would have also been inevitable as they simply could not have been defended.
The same neglect also applies to the threat of Germany. Even if you ignore the appalling nature of the regime, a Europe controlled by Germany from Gibralter to the Soviet border would have been the most powerful "nation" in the world. At the time of Roosevelt's moves no one understood the power of resistance movements and he could only see a powerful empire that would be expansionist and ideologically incompatible with the United States. One only has to look at how the Soviet Union ruthlessly exploited the nations of Eastern Europe after the war to understand how valuable an asset they were.
Finally, Russett argues that the global power of the United States was not significantly altered by participation in the war. Which is nonsense. Before the war, Britain was the only global superpower and after it ended, the United States filled that role. Granted, it thrust the U.S. into situations where military force was inappropriately applied, but that is different in that is the application of power rather than the existence.
The premise of this book is one that must be presented for the sake of historical completeness. While true if you suffer from a lack of extended thought, it simply does not hold up if you consider the situation as it appeared to Roosevelt in 1940 when he faced two mighty empires allied with each other.

This is a very moderate book in regard to conjectures made by the author; Russett is not even an isolationist. He still points out very compelling reasons why US entry was forced by bad choices made by American leaders.

Another of her short post-war non-thriller phase. Friends And Lovers is set in the tense pre- WW2 era; Rest And Be Thankful is set in the tense pre- Cold War era.

While politics (of nations and of art) get discussed (and moralized upon), the plot is really a straight romance.

What makes it seem dated, surprisingly enough, is its non-thriller nature. Some of the relationships and most of the dialogue (as well as the setting) didn't ring true to me when I first read the book in the 80s. These days they seem even more divorced from the current world. Almost more like reading Jane Austin.

And the relationship betwen the cowboys and the Indians sometimes seems wonderfully human, while other times seems like something out of a bad Hollywood script.

After this book MacInnes started in with her Cold War thillers and never looked back.

Being a citizen of the west, Rest and Be Thankful lets me revisit the community celebrations and friendly, but schrewed folks that I have known throughout my life. The characters of the book are real, humourous, complex and occasionally surprising. The story is a delicious read. Also, I have listened to the audio of this book. Great companion for traveling, gardening, or repainting a room.

Storm Brewed in Other Men's worlds is quite a book. It is breathtaking in both size and scope, but it is not necessarily well written. In fact, it often strays far from its goal as a history of the early southwestern U.S. for the layman. The author did a ton of research with particular emphasis on Spanish archives, and the oral tradition of the Comanche, Pueblo, and Apache tribes. It chronicles just about everything that ever happened in the Spanish administration of the southwest, including all of the governors and other administrators. Yet all the exciting stuff going on is buried in the minutuia the author inists on using. Bottom line: this one is for academics only.

The famous Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes, said, in effect, that the Hispanic world did not come to America, America came to the Hispanic world. No book reveals this with more clarity and accuracey that this one. It represents 400 years of history of what is now the American Southwest. The author writes with the dramatic eloquence of a seasoned novelist creating a history book that is, of all things, a "page turner." It reveals epics, sagas, villans, and both noted and anonymous heroes. It is a shame so many of our educational systems do not teach this history becasue it is the story of millions of Amerians and fully one-third of United States territory. If anyone has ever looked at a map and wondered why so many mountains, cities, villages, rivers, plains, states, and people have Native American or Spanish names, this book will answer those questions and more, it will help them appreciate Mr. Fuentes' insight.

I don't know what all the fuss is about; Jean Rabe has penned a good Harpers book. There are no earth-shattering revelations and your not going to find any truisms here (which is the case with most fantasy novels).

The characters are constructed fairly well. The villians are truly the most developed characters. I found myself anticipating what would happen to the villians more than I did the heroes. In fact, if this weren't a Harpers book this could have made a nice starting point for a villians series.

To me the story reads like a good translation of a D&D module (unlike "Against the Giants"). The characters are vibrant and colorful.

I enjoyed this book and I most people would also enjoy it.

I thought the strongest point of this book was the villains and the treatment of magic. The story was relatively fast-paced, and the villains were complex. I recommend it.

As other reviewers have mentioned, this isn't quiet up to the standards of Elaine Cunningham's forgotton realms books, but I don't quiet think it is fair to use extraordinary great books as a standard for comparison for every book. This is a pretty good book- perhaps not a eternal classic, but so few are- and i find it a good read every so often. If you like forgotton realms books, you should immediately buy this. If you don't, than make your own choice. But no one should criticize this novel...

I got this guide after skimming it pretty extensively at a bookstore. I was impressed by the content, the nice user friendly format, and the graphics quality.

When I actually tried to use the information in the guide, however, I was deeply disappointed and angered, because (1) much of the information is hugely outdated even though the guide claims to be updated - for example, a restaurant that has been closed since 2001 is still highlighted in the guide in several places - tells you how dated the "best of" opinions written by local Napa luminaries are... and (2) the author and publisher didn't bother to verify that phone numbers were accurate, so I wound up calling wrong numbers, dead numbers, numbers for business offices of wineries only to find that I should have called the tasting room number, which these guys didn't bother to include...

in short, don't buy this book! judge this book by its "cover" and you will be fooled and disappointed.

This guide is very comprehensive-- great to help plan a trip to Wine Country. It gave us the scoop on activities, wineries, hotels, restaurants, etc. The maps are also good. The disappointment came when we tried to find dinner our first night in wine country. We literally went to 3 restaurants in a row that were recommended by the guide but were no longer in business. We wasted a lot of time driving around to find these places. In the end, we did find our 4th choice restaurant in town, and it was an excellent dinner. Moral of the story-- great guide, but can't hurt to call ahead!

Just returned from a trip to Sonoma and Mendocino counties. This book was an excellent guide and I really liked the maps detailing where everything was. Of course things change and places close or move - we only had one "surprise," when we went to Hidden Cellars and learned they'd been bought by Parducci and were now in that tasting room instead.

Otherwise, this book is terrific to have along. I recommend looking at websites on the internet before your trip - just type "Suffolk County wineries" (or whatever) in a search, and start studying! If a winery you want to visit is in the book, definitely read what they have to say. Just be aware that other wineries that are good (Gary Farrell) or great (the tiny but superb Nalle Winery) are not included in the book, and are really worth seeing. Use the guide to augment your research, but don't rely solely on this - or any other one - guide to give you complete info on a trip to the wine country.

This was the worst book I've ever attempted to read. So bad that I suspect the two preceding reviews to have been written by close friends of the author. My reasons for rating this book so low are: 1 - ...the price is much too high for 101 pages of print larger than usual. 2 - the editing is poor. Misspellings and odd punctuation abound. 3 - the writing is incredibly bad - cliche ridden and stilted - (another vampire who can't use contractions!) Most FAN fiction is better than this.

If you want to read a good vampire novel, choose something by Tanya Huff, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris. Even Christopher Golden's Buffy novels are better written than this. I've never bothered to enter a review before but I've never felt so ripped off before either. Save your [money]!

It is to be noted that this is the author's first try at writing a book, and that it is self published. Not that either of these two things are bad, but it says something about editing, etc. First, the bad things about the book, so that then I can finishe with the good on a positive note:

Bad Things:

-The book is too expensive. At [that price] for 103 pages that like one reviewer said are in large type, it is simply too expensive. I am not sure if the author has any control over the book's pricing but if she does, I would reccomend lowering it to increase sales.

-The editing is not horrendous but is lacking in quality. But I do agree with the reviewer who noted that for a beginning author, paying for professional editing is very expensive. Still, the editing is bad.

-The most annoying thing is that the author has an introduction that explains that in general, she does not feel she is a very good writer. While that is nice and sentimental, it is also a bad thing to start a book with. Confidence is more prized and will sell more books.

-The writing is in a less than mature style.

Now, the good things:

-Overall, this writer has raw talent. That talent needs to be honed. Skill needs to be focused, but there is talent.

-The writer also has drive, which is admirable. I predict that if she hones her skills, perhaps by working on short stories and publishing for a year or two in that market, that drive will lead to more skill which will make for a better sophmore attempt.

So, this book is not as bad as some reviewers say (in my humble opinion) but it is not great either.

I'm going to begin this opinion by saying that although reviews of this sort are sometimes necessary it is, however, unnecessary to use them to intentionally attack and humiliate another human being.

I've given this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is fair to say that it was poorly edited, but unfair to blame the author for this. Many publishers charge outrageous hourly rates for this service and if there's no advance given this must come out of the writer's pocket upfront. And for many writers just starting out that is too much of an expense for them to bear. The writer also has no input on how the book is to be priced.

Unlike the two previous readers have expressed, I found the characters and the storyline to be original and intriguing. When attempting to write about a subject that has saturated the market it's rare to find a storyline with originality and I believe this writer has succeeded in that. There were some similarities to other books but I believe once this writer finds her way with the help of experience, and trusting her own intuitions, those characters will become more evolved and the storylines more solid.

I sincerely hope she continues to write because I believe she will have something to offer. Telling someone to stop expressing themselves creatively is a crime and I shudder to think where society would be without those who try.

I really don't like it, as someone has pointed out, it's pretty much just a big map with the location of where the X-Files has once taken place. It's kind of pointless, and I felt that I wasted a lot of money on it. I thought it would be better, but I was disappointed.

the book was even worse than the sho

This was probobly one the best items in the X-Filean library. It is also a great reference source for older episodes!

Belva Plain has made another story worthy of being made into a mini series. I can only hope it happens someday! In this one, Robb MacDaniel's life changes when he goes to law school. He leaves behind his home town, as well as, "the girl next door". He marries another generous woman named Ellie. As time goes by, Robb's career bring enormous successes and money is no longer a concern. However, soon money is all that matters. Robb never understands that cash in the bank is not the same as owning as much as possible.

Belva Plain also shows the effects all this has on Ellie, his two children, as well as the the girl he left behind all those years ago. Surprise ending! The thing I love best about Belva Plain's writing is that she can create a wonderful and realistic story, without using all the harsh language so many other authors use. Highly recommended reading!

At one time, Belva Plain was one of my favorite authors and I'd read each book she wrote on the day it hit the stores. Now I'm finding myself in no rush to do so and while she still writes a good book, they don't seem to be "great" any longer.

This is the story of how Robb McDaniel allowed "fortune" to ruin his life. When his parents are killed in an accident, he inherits enough money to go to law school and leaves his high-school sweetheart behind with promises to return and marry her -- mistake #1. While at law school, he meets Ellen whose father is the senior partner in a big-time law firm -- mistake #2. The ensuing story tells how Robb's fortune allows him to make mistake #3, #4, #5, etc.

At the beginning of this story, you have great hope for Robb. Lady Luck has shined down on this hometown boy enabling him to make something out of his life. Unfortunately, Lady Luck didn't stay around long enough. You'll have to read this book to find out about the rest of Robb's life and the very dramatic, always Belva Plain-like dramatic ending of this book.

Belva Plain has made another story worthy of being made into a mini series. I can only hope it happens someday! In this one, Robb MacDaniel's life changes when he goes to law school. He leaves behind his home town, as well as, "the girl next door". He marries another generous woman named Ellie. As time goes by, Robb's career bring enormous successes and money is no longer a concern. However, soon money is all that matters. Robb never understands that cash in the bank is not the same as owning as much as possible.

Belva Plain also shows the effects all this has on Ellie, his two children, as well as the the girl he left behind all those years ago. Surprise ending! The thing I love best about Belva Plain's writing is that she can create a wonderful and realistic story, without using all the harsh language so many other authors use. Highly recommended reading!