What remains in my mind after reading Meadow Boy to our children is the light in John Roberts' illustrations. They radiate with a magic and meaning that need no words. The brief text, written on two levels (you must read one or the other to fully appreciate its flow), is delightful in its own way. But the illustrtations remain after the book is closed. We would love to mount them on the walls of our children's rooms as lullabies for the eyes.

I can't give you a wordy, erudite critique of this book. I just know what I like. This is it! The pictures are beautiful to look at. And, if you want enjoyable reading for a child, or an adult for that matter, that doesn't 'talk down' to them, get this book.

Meadow Boy once again revs up the promise for family books that fall outside the cookie cutter standards of big publishing houses. This first offering from Pentultimate Publishing neither panders to kids' cartoon mentality nor to adults' harried expectations. Author Reed Parsley and illustrator John Roberts defy conventional children's book wisdom on many levels. Parsley's text is divided on each page into poetic headlines that flow naturally from page one to conclusion. And beside each of the illustrations, narrative poems ease you into the soul of the artwork, which by any measure, is wonderful. For a quick bedtime read, the headlines take you from the kernel of a daydream to its fully popped possiblities within us all. For those joyous, pokey family interludes, the poems both stand alone and add layers to the rapturous artwork. The illustrations offer an art gallery-like opportunity for your children to experience provocative art. Nature as story teller, messenger of beauty, background comfort, psychic shelter and pre-eminent friend, Roberts' pictures transport on many different levels. Overall, Meadow Boy is tinged with a sense of pervading melancholy, perhaps for the time we no longer have to savor such published beauty as evidenced here.

Those of us who have known about the eloquent and shattering Holocaust testimonies collected at the Fortunoff Video Archive at Yale University have long wondered how we might begin to introduce and guide our students through this powerful memorial source. After reading Robert Kraft's _Memory Perceived_, I believe we need no longer wonder. A close reading of over 200
hours of testimony, Kraft's book frames many of the decisive issues at the heart of our teaching of the Holocaust. To do this, he often takes us directly to the heart of some riveting testimony. On virtually every page, Kraft reproduces a sentence or image or gesture that seems for a moment to encapsulate the entirety of the horror. (The book's chapter devoted to
survivors recalling their childhood is especially replete with such moments.) Kraft refers to himself at one point as a kind of scribe, and the results of his transcriptions are genuinely educational. Not only are we given a fuller sense of what happened, we learn also about how the survivors try--and often fail--to make sense of what they lost. The book's language is
clear and free of jargon, and would be a nice fit in an undergraduate course devoted to the Holocaust. My only quibble is with Praeger (the book's publisher), who must find a way to release the book in paperback in order for students to gain the benefit of Kraft's work.

Those of us who have known about the eloquent and shattering Holocaust testimonies collected at the Fortunoff Video Archive at Yale University have long wondered how we might begin to introduce and guide our students through this powerful memorial source. After reading Robert Kraft's "Memory Perceived," I believe we need no longer wonder. A close reading of over 200 hours of testimony, Kraft's book frames many of the decisive issues at the heart of our teaching of the Holocaust. To do this, he often takes us directly to the heart of some riveting testimony. On virtually every page, Kraft reproduces a sentence or image or gesture that seems for a moment to encapsulate the entirety of the horror. (The book's chapter devoted to
survivors recalling their childhood is especially replete with such moments.) Kraft refers to himself at one point as a kind of scribe, and the results of his transcriptions are genuinely educational. Not only are we given a fuller sense of what happened, we learn also about how the survivors try--and often fail--to make sense of what they lost. The book's language is
clear and free of jargon, and would be a nice fit in an undergraduate course devoted to the Holocaust. My only quibble is with Praeger (the book's publisher), who must find a way to release the book in paperback in order for students to gain the benefit of Kraft's work.

Robert Kraft's Memory Perceived is a book of the first order-an elegant and poignant analysis of the content and structure of the memories of those who survived the Holocaust. What Kraft has done is to pay careful attention to 129 testimonies housed at the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University, and to begin to lend some order to the words and voices and gestures of individuals who still carry around the events they witnessed over fifty years ago. As Kraft himself points out, videotaped oral testimony is a vitally new and different source of information about memory. Those of us who teach the Holocaust, of course, are at pains to make this source of information accessible to our students. Kraft's book goes a long way toward remedying this problem: it presents five or six clear categories into which to sort the testimonies, and it describes again and again what viewers would actually be seeing and hearing if they were gazing at the testimonies under discussion. Many of the descriptions Kraft quotes are as vivid as those which appear in the novels and memoirs routinely taught in courses devoted to remembering the Holocaust. Memory Perceived would, I believe, function perfectly as a supplemental text in such classes. It would alert students both to a new and urgent method of recalling the past, and would catalyze their own confrontation with the implications of what it means to bear witness to a traumatic history.

Mr. Wright's book should be considered required reading for anyone seeking insight into human (and animal) behavior. The Moral Animal begins with the increasingly popular theory that human evolution and behavior can be explained at the quantum level as well as, if not better than the macro-definable explanations with which we are all familiar. Additionally, the author provides excellent argument to support assertions that human behavior can be explained by evolutionary (or rather, co-evolutionary) forces.

The neo-Darwinian model presented accounts for differences in general gender behavior and provides a format for policies that could work to solve some of our social problems. The explanations of "sex" wars, and why males and females have different life strategies are clear and strongly argued. The book offers an understandable explanation of where we came from, an insight on where we might be heading and reasons for why we are (historically) where we are now.

Always tell a good book by the unavailability. Find it and keep it. Anthropology at its best... plus a little philosophy. Full of the sexual animal and his ultimate motivations...he understands Darwin and the human experience...few books do.

Having a real weakness for broad inter-disciplinary sweeps that leave a lot of conventional thinking whimpering in the dust (as one finds in the work of Camille Paglia and John Ralston Saul), I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I must admit that my ignorance of a lot of the scientific material dealt with in this book leaves me vulnerable to an ornate argument. Still, Wright's pitch is aimed at the non-expert and I never felt in over my head. His back and forth between thesis and Darwin's life functions both to iluminate his argument and provide a breather between bouts of research and speculation. Stylistically, Wright is diligent and at times wry. I was initially attracted to the book by a blurb by Steven Pinker author of The Language Instinct. Philosophically, one can see their attraction but stylistically, Wright lacks Pinker's glee. A bit of term-paper drudgery seeps through the prose. As for the argument itself, Wright is General Grant, winning by dogged force and determination. At times, he squeezes a lot of juice from simple primate studies, but he has the wisdom to label specualtion as such. The seemingly circular logic of evolutionary psychology in which everything is interpreted through that paradigm and what doesn't fit awaits future clarification smells a bit of dogma and faith, but, again, Wright senses the objection and makes a good faith effort to explain it away, appealing to the difficulties inherent in asking for an evolutionary hypothesis capable of interpreting every bit of anthropoligical, archeological and genetic evidence. In any case, much of his argument seems quite availbale for disproof. Finally, Wright should be congratulated for going the whole route. Clearly, this new paradigm has profound political and philosophical implications which are not shied away from. Wright is not a philosopher but he lives up to the obligations of his argument and provides a utilitarian framework for us to ponder ethics for the newly self-aware species.

I was thrilled to find that genius paper engineer Sabuda was tackling these classic rhymes, and the book lives up to expectations. The artist's work is, as always, creative and fun.

There are six two-page spreads, each with a large central figure (one of Bo-peep's sheep, Miss Muffet's spider, a peacock, the hickory dickory clock, Mr. and Mrs. Sprat, and a pie bursting with blackbirds) and several smaller rhyme fold-outs. This set-up makes the book a little "busy" in my opinion, but our two-year old adores it, so what's my aesthetic sensibility matter? The material is heavy paper, and it's held up well to our toddler's exploration. Some of the mechanisms are a little confusing and/or delicate, but nothing especially difficult. Nice, bright colors are employed for the animal characters used to illustrate these tales, usually to comic effect.

This is a lovely book for children, and would likely make a good first pop-up.

This book was a gift to my daughter when she was born. We have read it to her ever since then and she adores it! If she is cranky, she will get quiet when she sees us reach for the book. The illustrations are captivating, to say the least.

I recently purchased this book for my grandchildren after seeing a friend's copy. They absolutely love it and have to "read" the "book" at least twice a day. It is wonderfully done and my 2 year old grandson's eyes grow big as he watches they pages pop up. I plan to purchase another and hope Mr. Sabuda continues his art.

This is the follow-up to 1989's Medjugorje: the Message. I loved the book. It is a personal account of what Mr. Weible has endeavored in his mission to spread the gracious news of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Weible takes the reader from the end of his Protestant days into his full communion in with the Catholic Church. He chronicles the happenings in Medjugorje and gives updates on the lives of the visionaries. He has committed himself fully to MAry's message of peace and gives the reader a most exotic and exciting trip around the world documenting the fruits of his work and Mary's call. I couldn't put it down.

This book and others from Mr Weible have changed my life forever. It truely has brought me closer to GOD thru the Blessed Virgin Mary. What better way to come closer to our savior than tru his holy mother. And for all people who may not quite believe or have a doubt because of what the bible says, I just have to say that why would it be kinda weird for bad angels bringing people closer to the Son. Open your heart to God and dont let your mind get in the way. God will not let you go astray!! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL THE WORLD!

yes the spirit being calling herself the virgin mary is doing signs and wonders. purchase the bible (here on amazon of course) it warns of angels of light doing signs and wonders in the end times but these miracles are not from the god of the bible.catholic teachings on MARY are in direct conflict with the bible...

I have this book and also the Felicity doll and I really enjoy the American Girl books and found this to be my favorite out of them all. The story shows that back in the 1700's girls had the same problems and adventures that they do today.I reccommend this book to any young girl.

This is the first in the American Girls Short Stories series about Felicity Merriman, a nine-year-old girl living in the America of 1774. In this book, Felicity is bored with her constrained "girl's" world, where her time is spent wearing cumbersome dresses and making small, uniform stitches. Excitement enters, when she meets the knacker's new horse. The knacker, Jiggy Nye, is a cruel man who mistreats the horse. Here Felicity learns that sometime you must work for what you love, and sometimes you must give it up.

The final chapter is a fascinating and highly informative look into life in 1774. This book lives up to the excellence that characterizes most American Girls books. My daughter and I greatly enjoyed it, and we recommend it to you.

Felicity loves horses and hates having to sit still and straight. Then she hears that cruel old Jiggy Nye has a new horse and just about worked her to death. When she sees the horse she instantly falls in love with her and gives her the name of Penny. She decides if she doesn't do anything about Penny being beaten no one will. Will she be able to save Penny in time?

Its a must have book

This book builds on a basic understanding of SQL Server, showing real-world scenarios and advice on what to look for to make database application perform optimally.

This is, by far, on of the most usefull books on Microsoft SQL Server I have seen. It covers important information about optimizing queries, indexes and the database itself. A must read for SQL developers and administrators.

This book does a great job of bringing in view, issues of tolerance and morality, that really get u thinking. I am a teenager who was first attracted to this book by the cover art. I then noticed who the book was written by and had to buy it. I'm glad I did! The book is about eight teens who go on some kind of diversity experiment on a houseboat over spring break. They're teacher Mrs. Meyer, is a real person who believes in tolerance and that everyone has their chance to voice their opinion. The teens have daily sessions to discuss real life issues of tolerance and truths. The group concludes that real truth is whatever you want it to be and that anything intolerant to your rights is okay because it's your own truth. Amongst all this, Jodi, a Christian tries to stand up for her faith by bringing issues of morality and how the Bible clearly states right and wrong... The only thing disappointing in this book was that it didn't really rap up the end for the other characters. I wanted to know what the others characters would end up doing. This books was still great. Probably one of the best I've ever read and Tim LaHaye and Bob Demoss bring a great thriller to teens and adults. The whole issue of tolerance, morality, right and wrong, really got me thinking!

I read the Mind Siege Project and thought it was incredible!!...I found it very realistic. The way Bob DeMoss and Tim LaHaye portray how people have problems with others who are differnt opened my eyes to all of the wickedness in this world. ...I enjoyed it very much. I would definetly recomend this book and the other two books in the Soul Survivor Series for any teen and adult! It's a great gift!...

Although I think this book was probably meant for teens, I am 22 and loved it. I read it in one day and it really kept my attention. There are messages that high schoolers and middle schoolers need to hear, as well as scenarios they can relate to.

This wonderful book absolutely made our recent vacation to Hawaii. It was our first trip to Hawaii, and our whole itinerary was devised from reading the Moon handbook. The handbook is completely comprehensive, giving everything from the history of each place, to where to get your photos processed. It provides detailed descriptions of every single hotel (or so it seemed), not just the selection of a few that most guidebooks provide. The detail of the hotel information encouraged me to make some nontraditional choices (a bed and breakfast, a condo) that turned out to be very pleasant and exactly as described. The book also got us to some corners of Hawaii that I would have never contemplated otherwise. The advice given to travelers goes the extra mile to identify many options for visitors to enjoy their stay in Hawaii. Its only drawbacks are no color pictures and it is a bit heavy to lug around in your suitcase (but don't leave home without it).

We lived in Hawaii for a year and used this book to find every nook and cranny on 4 of the islands. I had no idea what a WONDERFUL job this book did until we moved to Brazil and there was no Moon Handbook. Other guides just don't compare.

I got this book for Christmas from my son the month before we went to Hawaii. I would never have purchased such a (very) thick stodgy looking guide if I saw it in the bookstore. I devoured it during the thirteen hour flight to Hawaii and must say it was by far the very best travel guide that I have ever read and used to any destination. (And I have read them all.) It is so comprehensive and the writing is so well done that reading all of the information was almost like reading a page turner novel for me. I could not get enough. Once we were in Hawaii (three islands) we found it totally indispensible. We traveled with three other guides but with all of their color photograpy and fancy maps eventually this heavy one was the only one we eventually felt was worthwhile. After touring extensively on the islands I read it with even more interest on the long flight home. We plan to return to see more Hawaiian islands and this is the one we will bring. It is not glitzy it is the real thing. Enjoy.

I must admit that Most Favored Nation is now my favorite book. The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is because now I am overcome with anticipation hoping that the author, Robert Betancourt will follow it up with a sequel soon. Where has he been hiding?! The author transported me from the battlefields of WW II France and Korea, putting me inside the heart and mind of Smith W., a British Army chaplain and missionary, letting me feel his hurts and passions in a desperate cause. I can still see the star crossed newlywed lovers in New York, Nelson and Sophy, their love for each other and the adventures they share as they unlock hidden bible secrets.
I can't think of another author who understands human nature better. Throughout my reading, Sophy and the other characters would feel or think something I believed only I could feel or think. I hope the sequel comes out soon.

Along the lines of Clancy, this book provides an action packed story line. It gives the reader a look into what might be considered a futuristic world. As the story progresses, you are drawn into the text and into the lives of the main characters. While they live their new lives under government rule, we see it unfold into a fabulous tale of disclosure among the man and wife and their reaction to it.

Filled with actual facts and details, this book draws you into each page. The tale combines real life drama and facts from today's headlines. It shows why we need to study, read, and memorize the Bible, for one day it may be taken away from us.

This book is for everyone who wants to read a good fiction novel. Although not thick in pages, it is definitely thick in story. The book provides for those having short bursts of reading time with short powerful chapters. I look forward to more books written in this style and will be first in line to get a copy.

If you're looking for an adventure, a story of hope and suspense, then Most Favored Nation is for you. It is a romantic thriller that will put you on the edge of your seat as you consume every page. Robert Betancourt is an author in the spirit of Tom Clancy, he captivates you in every scene and makes you experience it as if you were there, from the battlefields of World War II and Korea to the urban streets of a futuristic New York. I became so emotionally invested in his main characters, Nelson and Sophy Cervantes that I cried.
I don't think anyone's life will ever be the same after they read this novel. After I read it, I found out my mom was depressed. I started reading passages of the book to her, her spirit lifted and her situation changed completely.