The stories were sincere. I was looking for more transracial adoption stories on older child adoption but only found one inside this book. The black children that were adopted were adopted as infants, so it wasn't of much interest to my situation. I found that each parental story was very honest and will help those of you who have adopted internationally.

Reading this book was like joining an adoption support group! The author deftly tells the stories of several adoptive parents in different circumstances, describing their joys, frustrations, hopes and fears with such sensitivity that I found I couldn't put the book down. I was also surprised to find that I am now open to other, less-traditional forms of adoption.

I recommend it highly.

My husband and I are just starting on our own adoption journey. I just finished reading Carole's book last week and now my husband is now reading it. I cried tears of joy throughout the entire book! I cannot thank the author enough for writing this book; Reading everyone's story gives us the understanding that though we are in for our own roller coaster, there will be pure joy in the end. The stories also answered so many questions that other books fail to address and gave me greater insight into other issues such as the heartache birthmothers go through. We, too, believe that God will lead us to our child, but the couples' words in this book reinforced and strengthened our instinct.

This is a bold attempt by the author to weave magic and history, and it ultimately fails, although it was probably worth the effort. Doesn't quite get where he wants us to go, but it's a fun trip, anyhow.
Much of the book is based on Michael Lesy's "Wisconsin Death Trip," an historical record of life, death, and madness in Northern Wisconsin at the end of the 19th century. Lesy's book succeeds where Jones fails, simply by letting the events and Schaik's remarkable photographs stand on their own. There is no need to resort to the supernatural-reality is more than bizarre enough.

I found this book a little confusing to begin with but if you just concentrate you will find so many meanings to the words. The characters are vivid and precise, a great combination of personality traits and strengths. Definately worth the reading for all those who believe in any kind of spiritual being and its influences on their lives.

I am very selective with what I read and like very unconventional novels Billy Sunday surpassed everything I believed possible from an author. I mean this compltely literally the book is magic. Read Rod Jones other novel Julia Paradise it to is complete brilliance

This is an okay book. I don't know why this is a separate book from "Badges and Insignias of the Third Reich." I didn't like the format. I was disappointed.

This book is pretty useful for all those interested on German militaria and that want to reproduce or customize German World War II uniforms. The second section of the book explains the uniforms depicted.

None one book can be the be-all end-all on any subject. However Brian Leigh Davis and Pierre turner did a good job of narrowing this down to just German uniforms between 1933 and 1945.They do a good job of describing the person that would be warring the uniform. This book describes 240 uniforms and has a Chart of Comparative Ranks at the end.

This book's description and title gives the impression that there are detailed procedures illustrated in the book however it is VERY high level with no detail whatsoever. If you're only looking for mod ideas, this book is fine but if you're wanting down and dirty details, go elsewhere.

This book is the best available on SN95 in addition to Fox Body. I've read Mustang 5.0 Projects and Mustang Performance Handbook, and they very rarely talk about SN95's.

On the other hand, we have this book (How to tune & mondify your Ford Mustang 5.0): your best choice if you are looking for a good guide on what to put on your SN95 (94-95 Mustang GT & Cobra), what are the advantages and disadvantages of popular aftermarket products, mentioned brand names and part numbers.

Again, this is my favorite book of all the 3 Mustang performance books I've purchased. Don't get fooled by other book authors who tell you their books cover 1979 to 1995 Mustangs because they DON'T in fact tell you Anything about 94-95 Mustangs except putting a single photo of SN95 in the preface.

As a loyal fan to the 5.0 Mustang; I found this book to be highly educational. Steve Turner gives you the facts; what works and what doesn't, for the small and big budgeted 5.0 enthusiast. I read this book four times over in the first three weeks I owned it. This is an excellent book for anybody who loves 5.0 Mustangs; giving you a brief overview of their history before unleashing you to the masses of useful information it holds. I appreciate how it kept the driveway mechanic in mind. It's the type of book that if you put it down it's because you're running to your Stang; wrench in hand! You won't be disappointed.

If you're planning on buying just one Houdini book, go with Kenneth Silverman. Although there are parts of Brandon's book which are excellent, I grew tired of her opinions and psycho-babble. Ultimately, I got the feeling that the author simply didn't like Houdini. Perhaps I should have been warned when reading Brandon's bio: "She likes to think of biography as a framework within which to look at cultural history." Houdini was a complex person, to say the least. Personally, I'd rather be presented with the facts so I could form my own opinion.

I've read every biography on Harry Houdini and this one is good...but it isn't the best. (The best is Ken Silverman's Houdini! The Career of Ehrich Weiss.) Ruth Brandon seems to have read several old Houdini bios and, well, borrowed the information. Even her much publicized (and much maligned) "psycho-babble" comes right out of Bernard C. Meyer's Houdini A Mind in Chains (1976). Indeed, this excellent long out-of-print book seems to be Ms. Brandon's Deep Throat. Her chapter relating the events leading up to Houdini's death is taken almost paragraph for paragraph from the Meyer book. And do we really need to hear about the author's own childhood experiences with magic? Still, it's a good read, but for a serious and truly revealing Houdini bio go with the Silverman book.

This book is good. It has many interesting facts about Houdini. It explains his life and career. I strongly suggest it.

The subtitle here says it all -- this is truly a history of the Falls, beginning back with the Ice Age, although that pre-history is dispensed with quickly. Berton is an easy, if not compelling read. I learned a whole lot more than necessary about the machinations of the power players in the early hydroelectric industry in Niagara. Amidst all that detail, however, Berton properly highlights the importance of the Falls to industrial development in both the United States and Canada, a fact easily overlooked in the popular image of Niagara. My own Falls memories include being thirteen and reading in 1960 the next day's Buffalo newspapers about the boy who accidentally went over the Falls in his bathing suit and survived, the only person ever to do so. The history Berton draws of the man's life after that miracle made interesting reading, as did the reasons the first person to survive going over in a barrel had for doing so. There is a full panoply here of fools, stoic rescuers (and body retrievers), and shysters, but I found Berton's efforts to be exhaustive sometimes obscured the lure and power that makes Niagara the popular fascination it has always been. That said, I know much more about Niagara than I did before and would recommend this as a quick summer read to anyone with curiosity about this natural, and -- Berton makes clear -- ever-changing wonder.

"Niagara" is a nice little book, stringing together a series of anecdotes about Niagara Falls and its immediate region, especially from the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century. As histories go, it is fairly light (the author does not cite his facts, although he does include an extensive bibliography), but Pierre Berton is adept at telling stories, especially human stories.

The stories mostly develop along one of two themes - daredevil encounters with the Falls, and human manipulation, either for the purpose of exploitation or protection of the Falls. Berton is best with the small stories of explorers, tightrope walkers, barrel riders, a family of "rivermen" (the Hills), and their ilk. The small becomes large with what is perhaps the best-crafted story, that of Lois Gibbs and the toxic tragedy of Love Canal, with which Berton ends the book.

Although the story of the Falls did not end in 1980, Love Canal is a fitting final story. Despite the occasional preservationist triumphs, the story of the Falls really culminates in Love Canal. The natural wonder of the Falls became framed by hucksters, factories, power stations, tacky museums, homes, roads, manicured parks and everything else unnatural. Engineers even managed to stop the falls in an attempt to clear out fallen rocks (they wisely chose not to once they realized that the rocks propped up the rock face behind the falls). A visit to the Falls today is a jarring reminder of what a mess we humans have made of the natural world. It is an obscene juxtaposition of nature's best and humanity's chintziest.

Berton is less skilled at relaying scientific stories about the formation of the falls, and the energy and chemical industries. He also seems less than passionate when writing about big business deals - his treatment of power-mavens Adam Beck and Robert Moses palls beside his treatment of activist Lois Gibbs or "riverman" Red Hill. As a result, the book is somewhat inconsistent and (ironically, considering the subject matter) does not always flow.

Conspicuously missing from "Niagara" is ancient Native American history and the eventful history of the last 20 years. The former may not be possible to write for lack of information, but the latter (which includes the establishment of a gambling casino overlooking the Falls) warrants an update. Also lacking is some of the political history surrounding the Falls. For all these reasons, this is more a three-and-a-half star book than a full four star book. But I'm givivng it four because it was fun to read and provided me, as a native of Western New York, with some history of my home region. I'm not sure how interesting all this will be for those with no personal experience of the Falls, but for those of us who do, its worth reading.

If you're curious about Niagara Falls, and want to know more about its geological and social history told in an highly engaging narrative style, this book is highly recommended. All aspects of the area and the natural phenomenon known as Niagara Falls is covered, with detailed stories about both the New York and Canadian sides. Interesting illustrations complement the text. Included are a wide range of topics, including the stories of the daredevils who tried to conquer the Falls to the more serious subject of Love Canal.

Sorry there is not a zero stars selection. The reader of this book has to be dauntless to waste time reading this drivel. My grade school reading "I see Spot" was deeper and better written. His style (?) is like: "My mother asked me to go to the store. I went to the store. I bought a loaf of bread. My mother made sandwiches. I ate one." Wow is that exciting or what! And the Publishers should get a new proof reader. There was an error on almost every page. I got tired of marking up the book. The real problem is that I also bought the second and third Stan Turner stories (?). I guess I'll just throw them away unless I can find somebody stupid enough to buy them from me. I read about 100 books a year and this is the worst I have ever read. I post this as anonymously only to avoid reprecussions.

UNDAUNTED is the first Stan Turner Mystery followed by the second, BRASH ENDEAVOR and the third, SECOND CHAIR.

Stan decides at a very early age that he wants to be a lawyer, but while he is at the Ventura county fair Stan and his friend Steve wanted to have their future read by a Univac Computer which analyzes a persons handwriting and tells their the future. Stan's card came back saying.

'STRUGGLING IN A HOSTILE WORLD, PURSUING YOUR DESTINY, YOU WILL STAND RESOLUTE AGAINST ADVERSITY, UNDAUNTED'

Stan did not understand the meaning then, but as he became an adult, he would understand all to well.

While Stan was at UCLA he met Rebekah whom he loves very much, they are married Oct 18, 1968. On the way to getting a law degree, things get rough for Stan. The Army drafts him in 1970; to avoid the Army he signs with the Marines. While in boot camp, he unwittingly befriends a serial killer and soon finds himself charged with the murder of his drill sergeant. Stan desperately searches for the real killer. Helping him is nurse Rita Andrews, who wants Stan for herself, and Virginia Stone, a journalist looking for a story.

Undaunted is a sensual chiller, involving white supremacists, a serial killer, and the Marines all rolled up into a startling package that will keep you clinging to every word.

Undaunted proves it to me; William Manchee is a master at story telling. He has a way of spinning a tale that will leave you breathless every time.

This is the first William Manchee book I have read but will not be the last. The story centers around Stan Turner, a law student who must enlist in the marines so as to hopefully prevent being sent to Vietnam. When he is accused of murder, his friends leap into action to prove his innocence. The ending was totally unexpected and as such gave the book much more of a thrill. It is a book you will not be able to put down.

Re-read this book for an online English class. I had forgotten how well London was able to convey the message of how you should listen to those who are only trying to look out for your best interests. I even went so far as to turn up the heat in my house after reading this book!

Although at times this book becomes slightly boring, the overall effect makes it well worth reading. A multitude of stories are told throughout time, yet few truly well-told tales exist among them. These well-told tales are not only memorable, they also exhibit exceptional grammatical ingenuity. The extreme setting and vivid, descriptive adjectives, by a notable author, make this a remarkable piece of literature. A lone, rather unlikable man and his dog are portrayed throughout the story. This inhumane man, in ingnoring his elders, does himself great damage. As the temperature in the story lowers, the suspense rises considerably. The reader may find themself at the edge of their seat while reading, as the man, oblivious to the cold, continues to trudge on. This book ought to be read by everyone, for the theme of the story appears to be that oftentimes an animal's instincts prove to be far better than one human's supposed intellegence

I remember reading this in grammar school over and over, and recently reread it. I usually find this author boring but this one's a classic!

I found this very disappointing ... It was filled with very crude language, and the plot seemed ridiculously contrived. The character was very interesting, and this could be the beginning of a great series if the language were not so foul, and the plot were a little more believable.

When you read Maid in the Shade you'll feel like Ruby is a real person. Her observations, feelings and reactions make perfect sense. There is nothing artificial about this character (including a few mild curse words that are appropriate for the their context) and I can't wait for Jacqueline Turner Banks to write a sequel. More Ruby please!

This book is a must read. I love Ruby's humor and can hardly wait for her next mystery. It was my pleasure to meet Ms. Banks at the Detroit Poet & Writer's Conference and receive an autographed copy of "Maid In The Shade."