The Boxcar Children #2 Suprise Island is a great book for kids and others 15 and under. My favorite part was when the kids found Indian Point and all the artifacts hidden there. After they found all the artifacts they made there own museum. My other favorite part was when the dogs raced each other. When they had to leave they weren't very disspointed because they knew that they were going to come back.The author is such a realistic writer that when you read this book you think that you are there with them.

I still enjoy these books even though the real thrill of reading them only happens when you're still a child. I remember not liking this one much the first time through, actually, but then a year later or so re-reading it and liking it.

Basically it's a summer of re-living the survival skills of the first book, except they are in a barn on their grandfather's island. A captain and his so-called handyman live close by to help if anything should happen. But the handyman seems to know a lot, and the children find it hard to believe that he's only a handyman.

This book also marks the first appearance of Benny's friend Mike, who plays a pretty important role in some of the books to come. It also hints at the yellow house, which was what spurred the story of the third book (the first real mystery in the series).

Definitely should be read as part of the real Boxcar Children experience - not the foundationless fluff written by various authors of today.

If you like adventure this is the book for you! This book takes you on a quest to a new land. The Box Car Children always find a way to kepp that book in your hand!!I reccomend this to anybody who like discoveies

I bought this book after reading all the reviews the other readers gave the book. All of the reviewers gave this book five stars, did I miss something??? I wouldn't call this book bad but it was more long winded chatter than romance....The romance in the book is good, but Lori Foster does not really focus on that, she goe's on and on about Cliff and his relationship to his sister, and well a bunch of other stuff that doesn't matter in a romance novel... I admit I was disappointed, but gave it three stars because it's a Lori Foster book...What the heck!!!!

I like all the Lori Foster books I have read. I like Taken! because the heroine is not a wispy little thing. She's overweight and conscience of that fact, but the hero is attracted to her just the way she is. Thanks Lori!

"Taken" is by far one of the sexiest book that I have ever read. Lori Foster is excellent!! I have yet to be dissapointed y one of her books. I highly recomend this book to all romance readers.

At classic auto shows today, you can see lots of old Chevys, Fords, and Chryslers. But it's hard to find any examples of independent automotive manufacturing. Not many people seem to care about Packard, Studebaker, Hudson, Nash, and, of course, American Motors or AMC. They seem to seen as junk, not worth the steel they're made of. Patrick R. Foster in "American Motors : The Last Independent" does a wonderful job of informing the public of what effort and talent went into creating these fine cars that were a good portion of time as good, if not better, as anything the Big Three put out. You learn that AMC's demise wasn't sudden, but gradual, starting in the early 1960's. There are detailed facts about the cars that were shipped out of the Kenosha, Wisconson factory. "American Motors : The Last Independent" is all in all a good read. One of the few things it lacks is an index which I miss dearly. Even though, I would recommend it to my friends.

....But I found this book to be fascinating.

AMC, over the years has produced some very unusual cars, some very UGLY cars and some very successful cars.

This book chronicles them all, and tells the story of the rising AMC under George Romney, its near death under Roy Abernethy, and all the ups and downs of the seventies and eighties. Even if you never felt compelled to buy an AMC car, you have to come away with a profound respect for the survival instinct of this underdog company.

I found this to be one of those books I could not put down. The book is a good mixture of history, inside stories and pictures. Ooooh the pictures. You get to see the 57 Rambler mock-ups wearing both a Nash and Hudson badge. Lots of other exclusive photos also. Great history of AMC mangement. Unique look into the different approachs taken to run the company and the mistakes made by each person in charge. Each time a mistake was made AMC bounced back, but a little weaker. You'll find youself wishing the ending was different.

Caught in the Act is about a boy, Mike Kelly, who is sent on the Orphan Train but, unfortunately he is left with the Friedrichs. This German family moved to the U.S. to flee from someone or something. This fled turns to turmoil which causes Mike head to spin which might lead to be beaten or be the last victim of three or least he thinks. If you like suspense, mysteries, conflicts, abrupt uproars,or just plain old horror/ questionable murder books you shoulid read this book.

Michael Patrick Kelly, age 11, is one of his five brothers and sisters who are being sent west on an orphan train by their Ma so they can live a better life than they've had working on the streets of New York City. While his brothers and sisters are placed in good homes, Mike finds life difficult with the family he has been adopted into, especially since he had been a pickpocket out of necessity in New York and going west had been his only other choice besides being sent to Tombs Prison. Mr Friedrich, the father, believes that Mike is nothing but trouble and beats him whenever his temper rises. Gunter, the 13 yr. old who hates Mike and would like to see him sent back to NY and Tombs Prison,tries everything he can to get him in trouble. Most of the time, he succeeds, but Mike remains determined and stays with them despite Gunter's efforts. Mrs.Friedrich is a motherly woman who gladly welcomes his placement in their family, and Mike finds a true friend in Reuben, the hired hand, and Marta, who is a housekeeper for the Friedrichs. While Mike is in the wagon on the way to his new home, he overhears a whispered conversation about a man named Ulrich that disappeared. Apparently, Mr.Friedrich thinks that Mike is just like Ulrich and that he should be "taken care of". As the days pass, Mike hears more tidbits of conversation and believes that Mr. Friedrich has killed Ulrich and that he is afraid someone is going to find his out secret. Mike tries to pry more information loose out of Marta, but she only hints that she knows something which does not need concern him. When Reuben disappears after a fight with Mr.Friedrich, Mike can only fear the worst, and later while in the woods he spies a freshly dug patch of dirt. And then on a trip to St. Joseph, Missouri, he openly tells the people at the general store that Reuben is gone and that he suspects Mr.Friedrich of his murder.What will happen next to Mike--Will he find Reuben?And who was Ulrich? Read this 2nd book in the Orphan Train Quartet by Joan Lowery Nixon to find out the happy ending to Mike's story.

A twelve year old boy named Mike kelly is sent west on the orphan train because he was a theif.He was adopted by the Friedrichs.Gunter a thirteen year old boy who hates Mike and lies to get him beaten and send back to New York.Will he succeed? Read this book to find out.

Captain Marryat's "THE CHILDREN OF THE NEW FOREST" is a wonderful tale in narrative, historically rich and quite fascinating. This story of adventure, treachery, and love takes place during the English Civil War, when fellow countrymen are found enemies, and are set against each other, Roundhead and Cavalier, Parliament and the King. Many hoped for the same thing: justice. But, for a long time, neither could find it. In the midst of all were the Beverlies, the family of a faithful Cavalier, who died in service of the king. His four children were left orphaned when their mother died of grief. Then, word came to them that the Roundheads were going to burn down their estate, Arnwood. Fate sent them into the hands of an old forester, Jacob Armitage, and they escaped to his cottage. From there, the story unfolds. It is a classic worthy of shelving in libraries, in private or in public collections, recommended by many educators, and by me, with all due praise.

The Children of the new forest is a brilliant insight into what england was like in the 15th century. It tells how four wealthy children are without warning suddenly plunged into poverty, when the roundheads fire their house looking for the king. It tells how the heir of the burnt house and his brother and sisters strive to become what they should have been without the roundheads. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get hooked on something, but is not too hard. It is an excellent book to learn from and look at carefully, and is gripping to the very end.

This is a unique book with a quality and style that is timeless. True classic that every child would greatly benefit from reading.

It is so nice to see a book written by a poly triad. The book itself is full of stories about historical figures and their "Ménages a Trois" and how they lived their lives, both successfully and not so successfully. The tragedies and victories are romantically told one after another. The history geek in me would have liked footnotes or endnotes so I could read additional information about each triad.

Not a book for voyeurs, but a genuine study of menages a troi in history, this has become one of my indispensable books. The most memorable part of the book involves the Bloomsbury Group, the complex dance of couplings and uncouplings (or should it be triplings and untriplings?) involving John Maynard Keynes, Virginia Woolfe, Dora Carrington, Lytton Strachy and others in the early part of the last century.

Like any good love story (or collection of love stories), this is an exploration of relationships, not a catalog of sexual exploits. Why are threesomes so popular throughout history? Are some people really better off in a triad than alone or in a duo, and why? What famous figures in art, literature and philosophy seemed to need to be in a triad to be creative? This book looks at these questions, and others.

Foster, Foster and Hadady write in a captivating, easy-going style that's more like story-telling than biography. The book is thoroughly enjoyable.

I recommend "Three In Love" to readers like myself. Readers intrigued by all caring and sharing ways to express love in life.
Three in Love is a who's who of menage history. Its a merry romp down menage a' trois lane with the rich and famous of history who lived and loved in threes.
From Adam and Eve and the Snake,to Dracula and Lucy's saviors, to Heinreid, Bergman, and Bogart, you will learn who shared their hearts,lives, and beds with two others.
Reading Three In Love I was entertained,stimulated,and enlightened on the subject.
If you enterain personal curiosity about famous people who shared both love and lives in threes. Your curiosity will be satisfied by reading Three In Love authored by Barbara and Michael Foster with their partner in love Letha Hadady, authors who have firsthand knowledge of the pleasure of love with two others.
Three In Love is a serious fun read, I heartily recommend it to the adventurous reader.
Three In Love makes loves in threes seem pleasurably plausible to me. What a happy way to be.

Alan Dean Foster's "novelization" of James Cameron's screenplay for "Aliens" is certainly above average as such things go. What is really interesting now is that with the complete director's cut of the film we discover that all of the "depth" Foster was providing, such as the scene where Newt's parents discover the wrecked ship, were in Cameron's original script. But that is fine, since you do not really want the person writing a novelization to go out and create too much new material. The true strength of this novelization is in fleshing out the scenes, not so much the action sequences but those between people trying to make the best out of a bad situation that is only getting worst. The story still maintains a pace consistent with the driving force of the film. Alan Dean Foster does so many of these novelizations that when he really nails one like he does with "Aliens," we need to stop and take notice.

Commentary

I usually am one to read relationship/unrealistic novels such as The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye, but after falling in love with the movie "Aliens" when I was seven I thought reading the book may be fun to. I have to admit, I have read this before, but not since the third grade so picking it up again was not a problem because I had lost all memory of the tale. The thing I like about reading books based on movies is that you get a whole new idea of what each character is feeling when something happens. For instance although Sigourney Weaver is a truly talented actress, when Ripley is trying to get Newt (AKA Rebecca Johnson) to drink the hot chocolate in the movie you don't get the same essence of her emotion towards the child as you do in the novel. I appreciate Alan Dean Foster because he has a tendency to go over what is expected and dive into the depths of a character, making them more distinguishable and easier to get to know. This book is truly one of the only books that makes reading it before or after you see the movie a fun ride. Plus there's a lot of swearing, that's always a plus.

Great book! Like the movie is was suspenseful, action packed, and scary. The first book wasn't as good as this one though. The best parts are the end, and the part where Ripley is trapped with the facehuggers, and without weapons!

I was tired of waiting for the next Lemony Snickett book for my boys and bought this. It's truly a disappointment. The humor isn't very good, the plot is boring in fact my children never asked me to keep on reading as they do with their other favorites. Save your $$ and buy something else.

Let me first say, that as I read Mr. Ardagh's work, I couldn't help but think that he was the British version of Lemony Snicket-similar topic and writing style, complete with asides explaining the origins of certain words and phrases.
Even the pencil illustrations by David Roberts look like the drawings in the Snicket book.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing.

In the preface of A House Called Awful End it is explained that the story came about as a series of letters written to cheer up Mr. Ardagh's nephew Ben while away at boarding school.

Eddie Dickens, 11 years old, has a mom and dad with a strange illness that makes them go yellow and all crinkly around the edges and smell like hot water bottles. Until they are well, he is sent to live with his mad uncle Jack and mad Aunt Maud (who, by chance, carries around a stuffed stoat). Eddie travels to an inn where Uncle Jack pays the people w/ dried fish, meets some traveling theatre people and eventually ends up being sent to an orphanage, which he leads in liberation.

This book is rather an enjoyable read. Fans of Lemony Snicket will love it

My dyslexic son bought this book and the sequel while we were in
Oxford, England and we absolutely loved them. We could readily picture all of the characters and the things they were involved in. My son was 11 at the time and loved having it read to him every night. We have just purchased our first Lemony Snicket book as we grew tired of waiting for the final book in this trilogy. Perhaps we found it so entertaining as I am an upper elementary teacher and his father a middle school teacher and we know these characters on a personal level. It is well worth exploring. I have also read it to my students and they beg for more.

The best chapters of 'The Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel:'
owe much to Alexandra's own account of her journey to Lhasa. Her own books are wonderful to read, all of them , but in particular her 'My Journey to Lhasa' Beacon Press republished it as a paperback in 1993, ISBN 0-8070-5903-X
I can guarantee you will have a most enjoyable read.

It is my great pleasure to let Amazon readers know about the exploits of Alexandra David-Neel, the explorer of Tibet, which the Fosters chronicle so vividly in the biography, THE SECRET LIVES OF ALEXANDRA DAVID-NEEL. This bio reads more like a novel or adventure tale due to the wonderfully-detailed scenes with such authentic touches I felt as if I were truly there, and often worried about David-Neel's ability to survive. Obviously the Fosters have done their research incredibly well and write graceful,lucid prose; I was captivated from the first sentence and actually resented having to put down the book to take care of chores. This is is one of the best biographies I have ever read. The story cries out to be told visually on the big screen.

Little known crossdressing Victorian Frenchwoman undertakes a dangerous journey of discovery in forbidden country disguised as a monk and lives to tell her tale to the world. Thoroughly well researched,and well crafted The Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel is the biography of a remarkable woman. A woman born to the mannered and circumscribed Victorian era who chose to strike out on her own initiative to explore the spiritual secrets and she was among the first Europeans to report about it from inside to the rest of the world.
I found it a fascinating read about a remarkable woman of whom I knew nothing, a woman who accomplished amazing things in her life. I recommend this biography by Barbara and Michael Foster to anyone interested in tales of high adventure in exploration, in the golden age of exploration and of unknown exotic lands. If the story of resolutely fearless woman pursuing her dream of exploring Forbidden Tibet whets your appetite I recommned you read this well crafted biography. I can recommend it without reservation. ZaneMason

Judging by the other reviews here I'm clearly missing something.

I came to this book expecting an easy to read Sci-Fi pulp story, hopefully entertaining, at best uplifting. I almost got what I was expecting, but not quite.

To it's credit, it held my interest enough to actually finish it, and the internal logic and scientific concept was consistant and well-thought out enough to be believable. That's about the most positive thing I can find to say about it.

As I began to read I was so stricken with the clumsiness of the dialogue and the two dimensional gimmickry of the characterisation that I assumed this must be a very brave (and lucky to be published) first novel. Not sure if that's the case, but my hopes that there might be a powerful or clever twist that had contributed to it's acceptance by the Publishing House were sadly not to be realised.

There is a sense throughout that it might all be worth it, but the ending is so weak as to leave me resenting the time spent ploughing through the final chapters, misprints and all. I was amazed to find on completion that the author has gone on to pen a whole series based on the characters found in this book, each of which can be reduced to one 'interesting' personality trait.

It is littered with the sort of literary rule-breaking that requires an artist of much greater stature than this for justification. For instance, I accept that his use of dialogue so clumsy as to be (literally) sometimes in fictional alien tongues was an attempt to give his conceptual hybrid human/alien language an exotic feel... unfortunately it succeeded, in my case, only to irritate.

Probably the most interesting character is introduced in detail early in the story, only to play no further role. The Sci-Fi cliches come thick and fast.

A strong ending could, perhaps, have excused the weakness of the prose, but this, unfortunately, was simply not forthcoming.

I don't normally find it useful to contribute such negative reviews, but amidst the shining praise found here, I really felt there needed to be at least one dissenting voice to warn to potential first time reader.

The first of the 7 Flinx of the Commonwealth books. I don't think the Flinx books are actually an ordered series, rather they are just stories of Flinx and his minidrag Pip (a minidrag is a kind of lethal flying snake). In The Tar-Aiym Krang we are introduced to Flinx, a mind-reading orphan who lives off of his street act (and a little crime). Through some believable coincidences, Flinx ends up helping two scientists and a trader as they search for an ancient artifact, the Tar-Aiym Krang. Although the fact of the Krang is a little bit of an anti-climax, this book is a fine story and is also notable as the introduction of the entire Humanx Commonweath that Foster has returned to over and over.

The book that started it all. It is a must have, if you plan on reading Mid-Flinx and Reunion, A Pip and Flinx Novel. I might add that Alan Dean Foster's Midworld should also be enjoyed prior to reading Mid-Flinx. In all four books, Alan paints a tapestry full of vivid characters, larger than life environments and surprise endings. I highly recommend them!