I remember the Adventures of the Black Hand Gang very fondly. The characters were fun and easy for me to relate to as a ten year old when I first read the book. A group of kids solving mysteries -- it's a formula that's worked in many other children's books, but the Black Hand Gang is unique in its method. You read the story, and then look at the detailed illustrations searching for clues to solve each page's riddle. Then you flip the page for the answer and the adventure continues. I've been reading the Harry Potter series and it made me think about all the great books that sparked my imagination growing up -- and the Adventures of the Black Hand Gang was definitely one of them. I'm sorry to see it out of print. I was also hoping that maybe there were further adventures of the Gang. Maybe someone will wise up and continue their stories for a whole new generation.

god, how can i describe my love for this book? i wish they would reissue it so i could buy a new copy.

i bought this book when i was 10 and i still have it (i am 30 now) and it's tattered and yellow from age and use but whenever i want to have a fun, quick read, i pick this book up. i love the visual clues and the four stories are great. the illustrations are fantastic! i think my favorite story is the third one involving the jewelry.

i tried to set up a black-hand gang when i was a child but to avail. i wish that there were more volumes of their adventures, but alas, we'll have to make do with this one.

pure brilliance!

A wonderful book - why is it that this is out of print? My son loved this book. He is only six years old and I had to read it to him cover to cover. Bedtime became and event to look forward to.

I tell you if I were not in between jobs (gotta save my pennies for the rent) I would have ran out to the nearest art supply store and purchased some "sculpey" clay to begin my new hobby as a sculptor.

That's how easy Dottie Erdmann, the author, makes sculpture look. Erdman, a self-taught sculptor, echoed my sentiments exactly when she explained she had an interest in sculpture but didn't know where to begin. Armed with a little information she had gathered about sculpting she headed to her art supply store to purchase some clay and tools. A sculptress was born.

The book is an easy step-by-step guide complete with black and white photos and drawings. She starts off with super easy small objects: a lemon, followed by an apple, etc. She builds your skills and confidence with the smaller objects while advancing you to the more difficult projects in the book.

The only disappointment I had with the book were the tools she used to put the lines and detail in the clay. I couldn't tell which ones were being used for which project. But, as I read through the book, I began to learn the sculptor developes a feeling (comes with experience - trial and error) for which tool to use to make certain impressions in the clay. Besides that, the book was EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!

As a provessional who works with patients who are recovering from physical and mental challenges I found Hands On Sculpting an enormously useful book. It doesn't "talk down" to the patients, but "talks with" them encouraging them to work with their hands and use their creativity while sculpting anything from very, very simple projects to projects of more complexity. The feeling of accomplishment, which builds self-esteem, is magnificent therapy during the recovery period.

I enjoy Mrs. Erdmann's sculpting techniques very much. She came to my school and taught our class a lot of really neat stuff! Thanks to Mrs. Erdmann I am really having fun with sculpting.

Eric Martin

This book is beyond words to review it properly. MFR treatment with the John Barnes, PT system, and the wisdom in this book have literally given me a new life, taken me from being almost wheelchair bound, to being mobile, no longer housebound, and to now live with what pain has not YET been eliminated. I would not have believed the book, but I really DO, it has happened to me. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It will help you find peace, comfort and the path to a new life.

This is the most profound book that I have ever read. It will "over and beyond" meet the needs of medical professionals, as well as the needs of their patients, regarding fascia constrictions and the affects those constrictions have on the body. Also, it goes into great depth regarding the correlation of how all wounds encountered in life affect our bodies and not just our minds...an extension of fixing the complete self in gains of becoming a whole self. You will not be able to lay this book down if you truly have a fascia problem, as story after story illustrate the healing powers of Myofascial Release. I contacted the John Barnes facilities for information on healing for myself before I even finished reading the book. I look forward to meeting this outstanding Physical Therapist and author and hopefully becoming a part of his next book...but most of all becoming pain free.

I bought this book, intending to read it slowly and digest all the wisdom it encompassed. Instead, I found myself voractiously attacking the book, unable to slow down. I'm in my second reading now. But if you've taken any of John Barnes' seminars, you'll feel like you've come home, and if you've never taken any seminars or experienced being a patient of MFR, its a wonderful introduction to the heart and soul of myofasical release. I can't recommend it highly enough!

WOW! What a read! This is an important story told beautifully. Some of the narrative is lyrical. Other parts will chill you to the bone. It is a story that will stick with me for a long, long time. Told from the point of view of a young girl in 1951 Florida, it takes the reader into the civil rights movement with heartbreaking intimacy. Compared, on the cover, to To Kill a Mockingbird (something that's almost inevitable when the story deals with a pre-pubescent narrator talking about racism in the South), I found it a "different bird" altogether. It stands on its own as a fine piece of literature. Book discussion groups, take note! And all others simply looking for a book that will provoke thought and feeling - look no further.

I don't see the rating that I put on this book for the last time so maybe I didn't rate it at all. Why? I don't know. This book was one of the most excellent and intriguing books I've ever read in my life. It was so interesting to hear about a white person's perspective on the KKK and the plot was fabulous. Although I wish she wouldn't have had reason to write this story, I really did appreciate it. Thanks again!

Several of the reviews outline the plot...it is the powerful feeling and emotion that can be shared with the characters. I believe it is truly a lesson in the feeling of humiliation and shame for having this be a piece of our history. The inability to relate comes with upbringing and the joy that you cannot relate to the KKK. It is suprising how our author weaves this tension and builds and builds. You really want some sort of resolution to spare pain for the family and the reader. WOW.

I was sure this book would get a Lammy nomination and I can't believe it didn't. It's the best piece of lesbian-written lesbian-centered fantasy I've read in years. The story is flawless, the writing exceptional and greatly moving. ...

This isn't a scary book in the least, but the emotions and powers at work raised the hair on the back of my neck at times! This was a fascinating read with fresh characters beyond Xena, Gabrielle, or Elves and the other common types in fantasy novels or series. Women,lesbians all, and profoundly human most of the time. There were a couple of stomach-punching plot twists all in all just a thought providing and intriguing and entertaining novel. Like everyone else, it seems, I want book two and I want it now!

It's mythic, it's poignant, it's tragic, it's magical. Those are the elements I love in Mercedes Lackey's work. Sleight of Hand is better, because it's also passionately, unreservedly, openly about lesbians. No teasing, no subtext. The writing is first rate -- lyrical and timeless in the parts placed in the distant past, contemporary and fitting for those parts in the present time. This is a great book, and engrossing. I want book 2, and I want it now!

Ray Elliott has written the definitive book about growing up in a small, rural post WWII community. From hanging out at the general store and pouring peanuts in your bottle of pop to playing in the "cricks," woods and old barns, going to one-room schools or spending summers baling hay and growing up ... it is all there, exactly like it really was. And by telling the story through the eyes of a boy who lost his father in the war Elliott gives us valuable insight to the psychological damage of war on the home front. If you grew up in a small town during this time, read this book and remember. If you did not, read this book and learn what it was like. Ray, John Walter is at the crossroads. Please, continue.

I was simply fascinated with this story. I am just a few years older than the author and I grew up in the very same area of southern Illinois which is described in the book. Mr. Elliot captures the essence of the era and the area so well and the characters are very real. The young boy's thoughts, actions and yearnings are beautifully described. I couldn't put the book down.

Wild Hands Toward the Sky is a beautiful piece of work, both in form and substance. Elliot captures the poetry of rural Illinois -- simple and honest, like wash on the clothesline. Against the backdrop of hog farms, cornfields, and family cemeteries, John Walter craves the stories of the war from those who have come home, in an effort to know the father who didn't. He emulates the manhood he sees, marathon days of hard work, grabbing smokes off cigarette butts dropped by his elders, brawling, risk-taking, longing for the day when he, too, can be a marine, "standing proud and tall." John Walter's coming of age is the story of the Viet Nam generation, and how a "good" war led a generation to a "bad" war. As we battle to the close of yet another war, the novel takes on special significance -- the tree will grow as the twig is bent.

The Handplane Book is a beautiful book. It's an excellent introduction to the aesthetic pleasures of handplanes (if you liked Sandor Nagyszanczy's Art of Fine Tools, I expect you will like this book, too).

There's more to this book than aesthetics. Garrett Hack provides an excellent introduction to the practical side of handplanes. There are a few areas where other experts disagree with Mr. Hack (e.g., whether one must lap the sole of a plane flat, or whether one should snug up the depth adjustment to "take out the slack").

As another reviewer commented, this makes a great coffe table book--but it also makes an excellent and inspiring workshop book. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

A great reference book!! This book is thoughtfully organized and starts with the history/evolution of the handplane. Each following chapter builds upon the previous one. Illustrations and pictures accompany technical information leaving nothing to the imagination. The book is full of picture examples representing the type of plane being discussed, and it's use.

Garrett Hack stears clear of personnal opinions. Although he will let you know which planes he owns/likes. He has a thorough knowlege of his subject, and covers a broad range of topics while keeping the book short in lenght.

This book is filled with encyclopedic information about planes, their history, their use, and their mechanics.

Included is information about different kinds of planes that are used for joining, truing, surfacing, shaping, and specialty planes such as those used by violin makers and others, as well as information on how to select, maintain, and tune a plane. I really liked the way the author gives due consideration to wooden planes, information one can use to help make their own. There are wonderful photographs and illustrations used throughout the book that accompany the professionally written text.

The author has defintely performed an excellent job compiling and presenting the information. Even as a coffee table book, those who peruse it will find it hard to put down. For the woodworker at any skill level this is a must have for the shop.

This book shows in great detail how aikido empty hand techniques related to techniques with weapons.

I found the book very good, useful and interesting. It shows that even though Aikido is gracful it is also dangerous.

Every martial artist will need to at least examine this book, and every serious student of every art must have a copy. Aikido's devestating power is clearly exhibited, with no excuses or apolgies, demonstrating total mastery of combat, and soaring above virtually any other fighting system.

If you can tolerate all the touchy-feely psychobabble, the boasting, self-promotion and pretentiousness, you will find some genuinely worthwhile and (to me anyway) original ideas on a variety of topics -- how to memorize, how to strike a balance between staying loose and obtaining a "big sound", hmmm, I might be able to come up with one or two more. So basically, you're looking at a high noise-to-signal ratio here. On the other hand, if you hate to practice and you're looking for a motivational book, this may be just the thing.

An honest confession: I am an angry practicer. My practices usually sound more like a hockey game than a quiet session, complete with book-throwing and all. But this book has truly changed the way i practiced. Because of my bad habits, i injured my tendons and hand. But now i see that practicing is osmething much deeper than just " learning the music". For any musician, pianist or not,t his book is a true gem and a resource that will be a favorite for many years.

I originally ordered this book for my niece who is experiencing much pain when she plays the piano. Since she is a music major and piano is her primary instrument, finding help has become a priority. When the book arrived, I browsed through it to see if it seemed to have helpful advice. I saw plenty to interest me that I decided to buy a second copy for myself. As a professional horn player, I found the first part of the book (A Reason For Practicing: Why Do You Practice, Why Don't You Practice and Concentration) captivating. He looks at the reasons people practice and don't practice. He is sensitive to the psychological and human values that greatly influence one's approach to music. His approach to concentration and feeling is one that is worth studying. In the second part of the book (The Disciplines:Tempo-Rhythm-Pulse, Listening, You and the Piano and Choreography), his analysis of various aspects of playing is both lucid and perceptive. I also felt that his section on the mechanics of playing looked as though it could be quite helpful to my niece as she struggles to overcome the pain she experiences when playing (I'll look forward to hearing if she feels the same). The final section of the book (Fulfillment through Performing: Performing, Memory, Nervousness and Finale) brings this work to a logical conclusion. I consider this book essential for reading and study.

Monica Dickens, the great-grandaughter of Charles Dickens, fits into the "good sport" type of memoirist, recalling life experiences for which she was quite unprepared. I think of Betty MacDonald's "The Egg and I." Apparently well-to-do, Ms. Dickens decided to work as a Cook General for a couple years during the 1930's. The book is a chronicle of her relationships and experiences with various employers. I fully expected that the various households would blend into each other but was delighted to discover how vividly the personalities were portrayed, and so they remained distinct. Most memorable was the clothing designer with a constant finger on the call button, a mistrust of her spending habits and a penchant for draping her in fabrics to envision his newest creations. Some may have a problem with the fact that Ms. Dickens took on the job as a lark and could return to her comfortable life at any time, but the fact is that she really was up to her elbows in the muck of a 1930's kitchen. All in all, I found it a delightful read, although the final chapter which recounts a lecture on "The Problem of the Servant Today" is tedious and merely restates in an arid manner the "problems" so well-documented in the rest of the book.

This was one of the most delightful books I have read in ages. Monica Dickens (great-granddaughter of Charles), despite her privileged upbringing, despite being presented at Court as a debutante, is bored and has little desire to do the rounds of social events expected of a young upper class girl in the mid 1930s. And so she decides to try her hand at domestic service. If you have ever enjoyed watching the wonderful "Upstairs Downstairs" series or reading other tales which reflect the upstairs downstairs lives of the British class system, this is for you. It is light, entertaining and the author writes so fluidly, it has inspired me to begin reading more of her works.

Looking for a light but well-written book? This is it. Absolutely charming.