We got copies for all of our friends because kids really seem to like it--the coloring part is really, really well done, and they like having the history stuff read to them (unless they're old enough to read it, themselves).

Highly recommended.

Even though I have lived in New England for years, I learned a great deal about Rhode Island from RIAtoZ. The illustrations are charming, and the text makes this much more than a typical kids book. It's written from the perspective of someone who knows and truly loves Little Rhody. There should be a book like this for every state in the Union!!

We had Adam come to perform his Acme Miniature Circus at our Theatre in Brookline MA. He brought some books to sell, and I wanted to comment on how great the books are. Our patrons really loved them. We get a lot of kids and parents as patrons, and they all thought the book was fabulous. We are not even in Rhode Island! The book is entertaining, informative, and well worth getting.

I was one of the men mentioned in the book, I thought it was an excellent book and very factual...it really did bring me back to a time so long ago. The best part was that Frank Grzyb wrote about everyone...if you were there it will bring you back. If you were not there it will give you a true insight into how it really was there at that time. Thank you Frank!

In reading these stories, you can feel what these young men and woman felt,how scared they must have felt yet their friends and loved ones didn't know. I felt like I was there with them, they will never forget what they went thru nor should we !

I found the simple style a compelling and true account of the memories and feelings of ordinary american boys, who served at one of the most difficult times in american history. Very little BS or false glory, just a real account of real Americans, when less sacrificing refused to serve.

"A Guide to Newport's Cliff Walk" by Ed Morris, is an excellent work by a renowned and respected journalist. Join Ed as he guides you along the magnificent Cliff Walk of Newport, R,I, where you relive its glorious past. From the pages of his book, the gilded world of the Vanderbilt's, Astors, Belmonts, and all of their "400" society friends, comes alive again! This book is a must for all those interested in a by-gone era of unsurpassed brillance, which we shall never see the likes of again.

Anyone walking along this gorgeous path has wondered about the families,this book tells about the people and the history in a most interesting manner. A very well written book.

This book is informative,interesting,and juicy. Very Well written and a must read if you are interested in the behind scenes of the homes along this famous walk.

A selection of recommended inns, delightful restaurants, resorts, festivals, the best places to stroll together under the stars or have a secluded champagne picnic - the most romantic places. This book visits special spots in in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont. Each place has been carefully selected, making sure that it offers something special - in-room fireplaces, four-poster beds, Jacuzzis, enchanting gardens, five-star cuisine.

"... a great pleasure to read, even if you're not looking for a place to stay. You can feel the authors were bent on romance... not just filling up the book. Accommodations are described in charming detail, also meals, with the occasional recipe. If you contemplate a getaway in new England, this is the book to take along." Travel Writer Marketletter

"[The] captivating prose invokes the spirit and visual appeal of the places described. [The book] provides perfect fodder for couples [and is] an indispensable planning assistant." About.com

After the other reviews in this column piqued my interest, I picked this CDrom up in one of the Mansions stores a couple of weeks ago,and boy, am I glad I did! Great insight to the construction of the mansions including, the materials used, styles used, builders etc.. There is a brief narration for each one that gives dates & facts , along with 8 classical tunes that play at random as you wander about. The only constructive criticism is that you don't get narration for each room as you enter, just at the beginning of each VR tour. I'm sure it would've been too costly and time consuming to do that anyway. But, you can even do an auto tour where you sit back and relax, while the camera pans to different rooms, or you can do the manual tour at your own pace. Great quality! Runs smoothly with no popping or skipping, and the picture quality is terrific! You can zoom, spin, look down, up, to get a closer look at that special vase, or to look at the gilded ceiling tiles. Great for those who have never been to get an inside look, or a great momento for those who have visited the 10 mansions from the preservation society. You'll feel like you've wandered back in time to the Victorian age on Bellevue Ave.......................

This is a very cool CD showing you the various Newport mansions. You can pan around inside the rooms, looking at all the walls, even the floor and ceiling.

I like it because when you visit the mansions there isn't time enough to see them all, and with this CD I can see them all. Also, I can go back to the rooms that I like and study the details in that room. It is very interesting.

Anyway, I would recommend this CD. It makes great use of new technology and is fun and easy to use.

I just love the Newport Mansions. This CD is great because I can never remember all the details when I visit the mansions, and this CD lets you pan around and up to the ceiling and down to the carpet, also zooming in. You can see all the details that give the rooms their luxurious feel.

Also, it's great because I haven't been to all the mansions and through the virtual tours I can see which one I most want to visit next.

Now, if they could just figure out a way to get the CD to give you that musty dusty smell of the actual mansions...

Seriously, this is very cool and if you are only visiting Newport for a short time, it's worth it to see which mansions you really want to see in person.

Jilla

This beautifully written book brings to light, in an understated but poetic way, the genius and greatness of the man who, as Gaustad says, "was out to do nothing less than alter the institutional structure of the Western world." It is a measure of our time that many people-especially young people educated pursuant to the fashionable bromides of contemporary social science education-have never heard of this first founder of liberty of conscience and disestablishment of religion in America. In our epoch of attempted "faith-based" governmental initiatives, Gaustad's book reminds us, by constant reference to the writings of Roger Williams, of those principles that, after a bitter struggle of more than a century, came to distinguish this nation from the government-controlled religion and thought of the rest of the world. The life of Roger Williams shows that deeply held religious belief necessarily implies an unwavering commitment to the principle of absolute separation of church and state. Williams' life also demonstrates that at least one colonial leader tried, unsuccessfully, to overcome the tendency of the Puritans to treat Native Americans as less than human or as mere subjects for conversion to Christianity. The tragedy of Williams' life consisted solely in the failure of his decades-long effort to resolve the conflict between rapacious, religiously hypocritical English settlers and the Native Americans. The triumph of his life was his original pronouncement, in this country, of the enduring but often threatened principle that government should be restricted to civil, not religious, tasks. More than a century later, Jefferson and Madison built on the foundation that Roger Williams so nobly established in his writings and in the constitutional documents of Rhode Island.

Gaustad did an excellent job of portraying not only Williams' beliefs, politic and theology but the state of the world that led to their development and need. Very readable, never boring, practical and insightful to William's America as it is to ours. WE could learn a great deal from Williams, even so mamy years later. Gaustad truly brought him to life.

Gaustad's Liberty of Conscience is the second biography of Roger Williams I have read this summer. Perhaps because the first, Covey's The Gentle Radical, was so prolix, I loved Gaustad's work. His selection of historical data, his clear sequencing, and his explication of Williams's own writings make this a delight to read. Seventeenth-century Britain and colonial America and all those names one vaguely remembers are vividly described. The prose is clear and attractive. I came away with a new appreciation of Williams. Gaustad sees him as the first to set forth those principles of religious liberty that were picked up after him by Locke, Penn, Jefferson, and others and which we take for granted today. Toleration is a subject of current conversation within the United States. This biography depicts someone who fought for toleration in a time when people were being banished and even executed for not believing what the political powers said they must believe. It really gives a healthy perspective on our times. I recommend it highly.

These books are REALLY good. Alice Turner Curtis has the remarkable ability to be able to blend delightful, historically accurate plots with an old fashioned charm and morality.

I read this series as a child, and I was very happy to see them reprinted, and keeping the all the lovely illustrations intact, too. Now I can buy them when I have children, continuing the tradition.

I read the complete set of books as a young girl. Fifty years ago, I found them in the Warwick Public Library, yellowed, loose-leafed, dog-earred, but very interesting. Imagine my delight when I learned they were being reprinted. Presently, I am buying them for my granddaughter. Having performed some genealogical research, I find that Colonel Barton, who captured General Preston in this story, was a distant relative of mine. I went to church in the meeting house at Warwick. It still stands. I have no reason but to believe that Alice Turner Curtis, the author, researched her books well, and that her writtings have historic happenings supporting them. Give to all the female 9-10-year-olds and enjoy them yourself. They may lack sophistication for many 11-12 year-old girls of today, but read them to your child or grandchild and establish a bond. These make excellent gifts to "young maids."

This book told about the Revolutionary War through the story of 11 year old Penelope Balfourd, who lives on a farm on Rhode Island with her mother and older brother Ted while her father fights in the American army. Penelope is determined to do something for her country. She manages to deliver a message to the American army. Because of her message a British officer is captured. I really enjoyed this book.

A friend bawt it as a goin away gift - Notfawnuttin but its been wicked awesome fa helpin these Midwestern people undastand wat I'm sayin. You guys got a bubbla around here or wat?

I had this book sent from home when my new friends in ohio said I had a accent, I never thought I did. I showed them the book that I never thought was comleptly true, they laughed and relized it wasn't just my speaking funny or making up stuff. I can't help it if they don't know what qauhogs, cherrystones, or steamers are. This book is fun to read as a rhode island resident but even better when you move out of state.

My family and I have recently moved to western PA. What a culture shock to learn that I have an ACCENT! Your book tells the story of that accent better than I can explain it, so we are buying it by the gross and handing it out as a translation tool to all our new neighbors. It has gone over really well. It turns even the most "slow" PA parties into a laughing riot. Thanks so much for putting the humor in our "RI vernacular"

"Fade to Black" is the firsrt book I have read by Wendy Corsi Staub and it was marvelous! So thrilling, believable, and grabbing. Cliff-hanger chapters with a perfectly delighting and surprise ending. Of course, you'll have to find out the end for yourself. The Main character, Elizabeth Baxter, used to be the famous actress, Mallory Eden, until a stalker forced her to fake her own death and begin a new lif in Windmere Cove, Rhode Island. A man she thought she couldn't trust might have some connection to Mallory Eden's past... Wonderful, don't miss it!!!!

A famous actress disappears. Believed to have committed sucide. But in reality she has assumed a new identity to escape the stalker that had made her life a nightmare. On her own for five years in a small town Elizabeth is starting to feel safe until she receives a note in the mail saying I know who you are. All of sudden her new sense of security is ripped out from underneth her. This story brings a lot of different characters who all have a reason it seems to see Elizabeth aka Mallory dead. This book will keep you guessing until the final act.

Mallory Eden, a famous actress, disappears to a sleepy village in Windmere Cove, Rhode Island, where she becomes Elizabeth Baxter, a loner who keeps to herself for fear that the stalker that made her run away 5-years ago would find her. One day Elizabeth finds a pink envelope in her mailbox that turns her world upside down; the note inside says "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE ". Elizabeth finds solace in the arms of Harper Smith, the only person she has allowed to get close to her, but can Harper be trusted?

FADE TO BLACK is a great mystery that is well written, filled with suspense, wondering, and heart racing excitement that keeps you guessing until the climatic final act. The characters are very thought out and a wee bit strange, except Elizabeth, who I found to be an interesting and sympathetic character whose only desire is to have her life bank and feel safe in it.

Having spent a lot of time looking for information on imaginative & fun (and sometimes luxury) travel with kids, I can tell you that this is a really unique book. It is comprehensive, carefully researched and well written with loads of practical tips. Some 'travel with kids' books might as well just be bland advertising copy, this one really provides good editorial content, with positive and critical comments. It is a pleasure to read and we will use it for a long time. Fodor's should publish more of these for other parts of the US/world.

I loved this book and would recommend it to any family wanting to travel in the northeastern United States. The writers offer tips and reviews on places of interest, resorts, and campgrounds in a wide range of prices. In fact, we have visited some of those places and found a brand new vacation prospect in Lake George which we will be trying out this summer! Definitely one of the most informative travel books on the market today -- entertaining even if you do not go to these places.

I've been searching for a book like this for several years and haven't found one that fit the bill until now! I had a great time reading it - so well written - and got more useful information than I'll ever be able to use in one lifetime! Thanks so much to the writers and publishers!