This book is by far the worst Vietnam War novel I have ever read. It is historically inaccurate. It portrays the Vietnamese as being compliant with the Geneva Convention, but as American prisoners were considered criminals rather than POWs, the Vietnamese did not follow the Geneva Convention. Nothing really happens in this book. It's more of an odd philosophy that has nothing to do with the war. There is little to no action in the book. Nothing really happens.

I thought the book and the movie were great. One of the best war stories I've ever read/and watched. Keep up the good work Bill.

"The Christmas Story", Text selected by Linn Howard and Mary Jane Pool, with Photographs by Elliott Erwitt. Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, New York, 2001.

This is an elegantly bound book, with spectacular photos of the 18th century crib created by the leading artists of the then Kingdom of Naples. This small book will make an excellent stocking stuffer. The Photographer, Elliot Erwitt, has done a wonderful job of catching all the miniature details of the multitude of figurines used in the crib (or crèche, as the book calls it).

Although you are told that the figures are "...no more than twenty inches high", it is not until you reach the last photo of the book, displaying the crèche on a table top, that you fully realize how small the entire scene is. Then, you begin to get an inkling of the amount of work the photographer has done to capture the exquisite beauty of each tiny piece.

For me, the overall book is marred by the choice of Gospel texts from the King James Version. For members of the largest Christian church in the United States, the King James Version is not acceptable. Further, the King James Version has blatant errors, such as (see page 19 in this tiny book), Luke 2.13,14, which reads, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". Various Protestant bible societies have come around to, ".. peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests" This is close enough to the Douay-Rheims, "...peace on earth to men of good will". So, five stars for the excellent photography, one star for the choice of bible version, yields an average of three stars.

There is not much substance in this book for anyone really interested in thrills or chills. Might be good to passify your very young child for a few days, but that's about it. It leaves you wanting more information and more facts.

Well it's no wonder this book is out of print. It has got to be the single worst book on microscopy I have ever seen. For people who are supposed to be experts on microscopy, the pictures in this book are sloppy. Presumably, English is the first language of the authors, though you'd never know if from reading the book. The book by Goldstein et. al is much better.