Who is David Wood? "National Children's Dramatist" or not, I'd never heard of him. But I decided to give "Theatre for Children" a shot based on its subtitle (A Guide to Writing, Directing, and Acting) and positive reader reviews. I was looking for a book that would give me basic tips on getting started and avoiding the pitfalls of writing stage plays for children. There is that sort of information buried in "Theatre for Children", but unfortunately the reader has to wade through such a relentlessly pounding sea of personal anecdotes and name dropping (again, mostly of Mr. Wood's own works and of other people I'd never heard of) that one's ability to salvage such practical information is called into question. This is not a beginner's guide to children's theater, but rather a professional memoir thinly disguised as a "how to" book. The writing style is dense and stuffy -- not "highly readable" as claimed in the cover blurb.

If this book wasn't so darned expensive, I'd be tempted to let it slide. ...(!) I felt I had to give fair warning.

Excellent book! Gives real specifics about playwriting for children, i.e., must have lots of action, lots of "suddenlies", clearly defined characters, etc. Also, how to incorporate audience participation. I was so inspired by Wood's book that I ordered his musicals from Samuel French and directed "Hijack Over Hygenia" for our elementary school production. He is far and away better than most of the stuff you find for children's productions. Since he has experience in writing, directing and acting these plays and musicals (he's written 40!), he brings tons of examples into his book. He's good, he's funny, and children respond to his material. Good section on writing a play snopysis before you write any dialogue. Here's a little dialogue: Rupert: Hello, Squirrel. How are you? Squirrel: Fed up. Rupert: Fed up? Squirrel: Me nose is froze, me teeth are chatter-chattering, me paws are freezing and I keep sneezing. Atishoo! Rupert: (handing her a hanky) Use my hanky. Squirrel: A hanky! Thankee! (She plows loudly into the hanky held by Rupert).

I found the book to be essential to anyone who wants to go into playwriting whether or not Children's Theatre would be your major. It is clearly written, easy (and enjoyable) to read and just a great tool and reference.

While the bibliographical data is literally a life-long labor of love, I was disappointed by limited amount of images reproduced from the original artwork; the illustrations seem to be limited to photographs of the author's personal collection. The complete series of Graham Ingels' Old Witch paintings and sketches screams out for inclusion. I would have liked to see panel pages reproduced from the originals; full-color reproduction of line art reveals editorial changes, paste ups, blue pencil, and other subtleties undetectable in conventional reprints. A greater outreach to the art collector community could have yielded a definitive reference book/coffee table art book, but TALES OF TERROR fall short of this potential.

Customer, listen! This is a book full of wonderful pieces of art, covers in abundance etc. But there are definitely _no_ Tales of Terror, as I foolishly presumed....

WOW! Okeh, I'll use some more words. If you wanted to know about the history of EC Publications this is the book to own. Very well researched and a labor of love that comes shining through!

I had come to Lindsey Grant's "Too Many People: The Case for Reversing Growth" without preconceived notions regarding zero population growth efforts. I come from the book having the same undecided opinion.

However, what has been decided for me is that, if Mr Grant is indicative of the arguments put forth for and methods of obtaining zero growth, then I want no part of it. He uses unfounded pseudoscience to claim that humans are basically destroying the world and that, as we add more people, we will destroy it even further. What Mr Grant fails to mention though is that the Earth is actually environmentally healthier now than it was 100 years ago. We now have six times as many people than we did then. His argument that more people necessarily leads to a deteriorating environment is simply false.

However, Mr Grant's notions aside, his assumed methods for obtaining zero growth are far worse. On page 88 he says, "Take a nation with a self-image of immense freedom; let it practice that freedom for two centuries; confront it with the dangers that our behavior poses to our own health and survival; and watch what happens... A nation of 75 million, in 1900, could tolerate a good deal of that sort of thinking. Our mega-nation of 275 million in 2000 cannot."

What Mr Grant is saying here is that the American ideal of freedom and liberty is not only a false notion we have about our country, but that that very notion is endangering our existence. Mr Grant says everything we need to know about his views when he states that our nation could 'tolerate' our 'self-image of freedom' in 1900 but not now. In other words, we the elite should now take over thinking for you reckless, freedom-loving know-nothings.

While Mr Grant leaves unanswered the question of how he would accomplish his zero-growth Eden, I have a feeling that it would involve large amounts of government intrusion into the very private lives of the American people. We should all be aware that the most successful population growth turn around this century was accomplished by the People's Republic of China. I doubt that this is what Mr Grant has in mind to get our population under control; but, meddlesome government bureaucrats, once they get hold of an idea, have a way of imposing their will on a population whether the people like it or not.

In this modest little book, originally written as a handbook for Negative Population Growth, Inc., Lindsey Grant, a retired career U.S. government official and diplomat, explores the consequences of having six billion people on the planet, and how much worse things are going to get as our numbers increase.

Probably the two strongest arguments for reducing our population are those derived from pollution and from declining per capita food production. Up until recent years science and technology have always come up with innovations that increase food production so that it has kept up with our population growth. What Grant argues is that ability is now running up against some barriers that are not likely to be circumvented. We already see this in grain production with world per capita production peaking in 1984, as Grant shows in a chart on page 9. We are producing more grain in an absolute sense but the amount per person is falling. If this continues, first the eating habits of the richer countries will change from meat, fish and poultry to grains and beans; and after that the strong will take from the weak with of course horrific consequences. Furthermore all the best land for raising food has long been in production; indeed a lot of it is under concrete and asphalt for the mammoth numbers of humanity to live on in cities and towns. Add to this the fact that the effect of fertilizers and irrigation on much of our most productive cropland has run up against the law of diminishing returns; indeed some of the very best land is now of marginal value or worthless because of salinization and fertilizer burnout of the soil.

For those of us in the highly industrialized countries, the reduction in per capita food production is invisible. Because of our economic power we have no food shortage as a consequence of there being too many people in the world. But what we do feel is the crowding and the growing pollution of our environment. One answer to pollution is to spend the money to clean up the wastes. Corporations are reluctant to do this because that would adversely affect their bottom line. Indeed some companies, if they were made responsible for the costs of their pollution, would go out of business. So instead of recycling they continue to pump their wastes into the atmosphere, into rivers, into the oceans, into landfills, etc. Some just smear the stuff on the ground and hope it will blow away or leach out. Grant writes, "I would argue that the primary mission of technology today should be to undo the pollution and waste generated by earlier technologies." (p. 87)

The consequences of these short-sighted practices are leading not only to an impoverished environment but to further reductions in our ability to grow and produce food. So what is the answer? Grant's answer is to reduce our numbers. Sounds great, but just how do we do that? To this he has no real answer because the enemies of reduced population growth are many and powerful. It is not just the Catholic church and fundamentalist religions everywhere who are opposed to reductions in human populations, but just about everybody who benefits from economic growth. The feeling in some quarters is that if there is a decline in birth rates, demand would be adversely affected and labor itself would become expensive causing a reversal of the economic growth to which we have become addicted. What Grant asks is, is that a bad thing? He works hard to show that reducing our numbers would bring immeasurable benefits to both ourselves and the environment.

But there are other problems. For example, the end of population growth inevitably results in an older population (see page 76), a population that must be supported by a younger working population. The industrial nations of Europe and the US have solved this problem partly by allowing immigration so that there will be workers to support the retired. Grant shows that this "solution" if continued will result in places like Italy, for example, being populated mostly by people not of Italian descent. We already see this in the southwestern United States where the increase in the Spanish-speaking population is on target to surpass that of English-only speakers in the not too distant future. Is this a bad thing? It depends on your point of view. But even immigration will not solve the problem. It is only a stop gap (and of course there is all that crowding and all those mouths to feed and all of their wastes to dispose of).

Grant's convincing and readable book is a wake up call to humanity, and that is a step in the right direction. What we need now is a plan to reduce our numbers and means to implement it.

Population and public policy expert Lindsey Grant reflects on how the recent and explosive growth of human populations has imperiled national and international attempts to achieve economic prosperity, social justice, and political stability by placing enormous strains upon the natural support systems that we all depend upon. Too Many People: The Case For Reversing Growth examines the major issues involved with how uncontrolled population growth lies at the critical problems of food supply inadequacies, potable water shortages, debilitated land, polluted air, global warming based climate changes, and energy shortages. Grant uses Europe as an example of how these population growth based problems can be solved and offers a broad outline of policies that would enable the United States to help both itself and other nations achieve sustainable populations for the sake of planetary ecosystems and the very survival of the human race. Too Many People is very highly recommended, essential reading for students of environmental issues, population growth, and international relations.

This book is basically about Grant's ideals that he learned from his parents. It's a very quick read and if you like Grant Hill, then I would suggest you check this out. If you aren't much of a Grant Hill fan, then don't purchase this.

Overall I thought the book Change the Game was pretty good. One of the things I liked most about the book was that Grant never talked about all the money he made. I also liked how Grant expressed his feelings about problems kids face today. However, one thing I didn't like about the book was it was sort of short. Grant also moved from one topic to the next very quickly. Other than those things the book was good.

Grant Hill's book was very enjoyable, and it was very to-the-point. This was the best basketball biography I've read yet. The only problem was that it was over too soon. I finished this book way too quickly.

My pleasure in the book was minimized when I came to the sections on telemarketing, etc. . . not what I expected. The portions of the book that were helpful, were A-1.

Not only does this book offer real-life examples of letters for every conceivable fund-raising campaign and situation, it explains the structure of successful fund-raising letters. I refer to it frequently. 5 stars I reserve for anything written by Mal Warwick, who is in a class by himself. But 4 stars means I found Mr. Kuniholm's book well worth the money, repeatedly useful, practical, educational and wise.

Chapter 15, Obtaining Substantial Financial Support with the Foundation and Corporate Request Letter, is the most dog-eared chapter of my copy. Government and non-profit colleagues whose core job and expertise is not in the area of fund raising, love this book.

A story of a small Welsh village and two 'Englishmen' from the Ordinance Survey who have come to measure the height of the local high point, which they term a hill to the outrage of the villagers, who take extraordinary steps to upgrade their hill to a mountain and romance enters the life of the younger of the Englishmen. Altogether a gentle and entertaining read.

A funny, entertaining and heart warming story. An enjoyable book for those who loves stories with a slight touch of romance and humour.

This book will do more for your feel good factor than any amount of anything ingestible.

If you've seen the film then you will want to read the book -- if you read the book you will want to see the film -- simple as that.

Christopher Monger was born in Ffynnon Taf, Wales, where my grandparents (mothers side) lived, and there is a "mountain" with a "tump" on the top, just as in the book, and yes, the Mongers were, and for all I know as an emigrant, are a well known family in this part of Wales.

Good one Christopher!

regards,

martyn_jones@iniciativas.com

Most likely anyone who's been around the rooms on a regular basis for more than a few months has heard most of what is in here...And that which they haven't heard is otherwise predictable. Unfortunately, most "recovery humor" is best suited to the feeble and middle brow humor of 60's and 70's Readers Digest, and this book is no exception. It's just plain corny and it's really not very funny. Addiction and recovery can be so dark and edgy; it would be nice to see some of that reflected in the literature and humor.

A lot of funny items within the book.It is a really great way of carrying the AA message.

I just read this book and find it not only funny but thought provoking. It made me think of some of the things that were going through my head early in my recovery. As a recovering addict/alcoholic I find it refreshing that someone besides myself can find humor in some of the past (and sometimes present) behaviors. I would highly recommend this book to other people in recovery.

This book, while helpful and a good start is a little too simplistic to be really useful. I was just expecting more from the book than I really got. While it makes writing a grant look easy, unfortunately there is no real meat to the book. I was somewhat disappointed in the book when I received it the other day. However, it does have some great lists of words that are useful for writing; to better convey your meanings and it does have some good graphic organizers to help you plan.

Teachers and administrators around the country are using this book as their #1 source for grant writing. It really works. In the past few weeks, I have heard from teachers who got [$$$] for a teen mentoring program and [$$$] for classroom book sets and field trips. One elementary school got 12 grants totaling almost [$$$] using the strategies. The money is there and this book can take you there!

Teachers will find this book easy to use and full of hints for writing a first grant or refining subsequent grants. I have both grant books that this writer did and they have helped my school to get dollars that we needed. A must have!

This novel covers the last days of Ulysses S. Grant, interspersed with Grant's "flashbacks" to the Civil War. The author relies too heavily on exposition to tell his story (one chapter where Grant and his wife tell each other virtually his whole life story is particularly awkward,) and the ending somehow manages to be both flat and overly melodramatic. However, parts of the book (particularly the depiction of Shiloh) are genuinely moving. This is hardly a memorable novel--I doubt I'll read it twice--but it is not a complete waste of time, either.

All too often history is reduced to places, dates and endless names that we all recognize but have very little interest in what they accomplished. History is treated with an almost antiseptic approach that leaves a bad taste and kills any desire to explore a particular topic or person any further. "That Fateful Lightning" by Richard Parry gives a refreshing and entertaining look into the life of one of our sometimes forgotten presidents, Ulysses S Grant. It gives the reader a personal look into Grant's life, revealing his fears and frustrations. The book starts at the tail end of Grants life after his presidency. He is broke and ill from throat cancer but feels guilty that he will die and leave his wife Julia penniless with no means of support. Grant had long been swindled out of his money by unscrupulous business partners but desperately wanted to find a way to help his beloved wife before his approaching death. The famous Author, Mark Twain then offers to sell Grants memoirs and give Julia a large percentage of the royalties from the book.

I have read Grant's actual memoirs and found them to be suprisingly good. His book however is a little dry. It gives detailed troop movements, supply counts, descriptions of terrain and of course he discusses many of his battle strategies that any historian would find fascinating. The non-historian however, would find the book tedious and probably not get further than the first chapter. In contrast, Richard Parry reveals the more human side of Grant in "That fateful lightning". Grant is pictured as a dying man that is racing against time to finish his memoirs. As he is writing, he reflects on his experiences in the Civil war. He reveals his opinions of many of the civil wars' great generals and talks about his feelings of guilt at sending so many men to their deaths. Grant describes his great love for his wife Julia and talks about his loneliness when he is away from her. He turns to drinking to deal with some of his insecurities but in the end his dignity and integrity overcome any shortcomings in his character. His experiences with Lincoln, Sherman, Meade and Robert E. Lee are shown from his own personal point of view. Even though this is a work of fiction, it is not hard to imagine that Grant might have had these exact feelings and opinions. If you are a historian that is only interested in factual history, you might want to stay away from this book and stick to the mundane, cold and lengthy texts. If you are the type of person that is interested in historical figures from a personal and human perspective then I highly recommend this entertaining work of narrative history.

This is an excellent book of narrative history that brings Grant to life and puts him on your own front porch where you'd like to rock and have a conversation with him clear through to sunset.