In England, it was required of us to read Stig of the Dump at school. I am very glad of this because if it had not been required reading, I may not have had the pleasure of reading such a great story. Being a girl I always wanted to read typical girl books, and this book(at least from the title) would seem more for boys, but let me assure you it is a wonderful book for children of all ages. I am now reading it to my 6 year old daughter and she is loving it.

I first read this book as a seven year old in 1960. Through 20 years of teaching primary age pupils (7-11 years of age) I have read this to my class every year. It never fails to please. Easily split up into 'bedtime' or 'classtime' chunks, Stig, and his friend Barney will hold reader, and 'read-to' spellbound. Although English in style, it is translatable into other cultures easily...and the last chapter is truly magical. I give it 10 out of 10.!!

My 9 year old son is a good reader but doesn't usually choose books over sport. However, he loved Stig of the Dump and spent every possible minute reading. He finished it in a week. It's a classic from my childhood and I've now re-read it. We both recommend it to your children.

I finished reading the Sundered a couple of days ago and wanted to say WOW!.
I truly enjoyed that book. It was like coming home again. The character interactions were phenomenal. It was revisiting the past. It sucked you right into the world of Star Trek. The characters are as you remember them, only all grown up. The authors write with a passion that shows they love the series as much as you do. Great job, Fun read. Cannot wait for the next one.

This book is further proof that Captain Sulu is a viable property for book series. The characters have a good relationship and harkens back to the events in the TV show. It refers to Kirk without having to depend on his tactics. Sulu has a few tricks of his own to solve problems and his command style is much different than Kirk's. I hope to see more of this crew. For all intents and purposes Sulu should have had his own TV show. It would have brought back a lot of original series fans back home again.

The Sundered by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin is an incredible story in so many different ways. Whatever way you add it up it still comes out the same way-this is one great novel. The first of the much-touted Lost Era novels, this book does more than live up to its promise, it surpasses it.

The Sundered is an amazing and compelling book, one that should have great appeal, on a number of levels for a wide variety of readers. Utilizing both familiar and unique characters, the authors paint a picture with their prose of three distinct societies: the Federation of that era, the Tholian Assembly and the Neyel Hegemony. The authors take the time to introduce the characters. Instead of rushing the plot, they patiently allow the characters to become 'real'.

Martin and Mangels depiction of the Excelsior crew is of a group of individuals who have developed deep and lasting relationships over a long period. There is a real comfort level in the way they interact. The Tholian society portrayed in The Sundered may not meet every reader's preconceived notions of that alien species, but I thought the author's depiction of the Tholians was incredible. Building on what little is known about the physical appearance of the non-humanoid Tholians, Martin and Mangels skillfully illuminate an intricate and fascinating species and provide our first real look at their unique civilization. The Tholian characters are as fully realized as any of the other characters in this story.

The plot makes use of the classic story within a story framework. As the scenes shift from the current events to the past, we are gradually able to understand how the Neyel became who they are. How all they had gone through shaped their beliefs and how those beliefs shaped their actions. They went from being creepy to sympathetic by the end and it would be wonderful to find out some day if their hopes and dreams come true.

One of the great things about The Sundered was how the story would often raise questions in your mind, you would begin to wonder about something and then within a chapter or two all was made clear. It was actually more satisfying than if it had all been laid out to begin with. Additionally, the way the authors were able to cleverly explain previous inconsistencies while at the same time adhering to established continuity was very impressive.

Whatever way you look at it, Star Trek novels don't get much better than The Sundered. It is a true science fiction tale that amply demonstrates that the Star Trek universe is still a wonderful place to explore the human condition.

I just ate at Josselin's restaturant at Ceasar's in Las Vegas, 808 (Hawaii's area code). It bills itself as a Hawaiian/French fusion restaurant. It was the best food I've ever had. I did not realize that I had his cookbook until I went to the restaurant. The huli-huli chicken is great, as is the pineapple-maccadamia nut rice. The only problem with the book is that many of the ingredients are difficult/impossible to find outside of Hawaii.

When I lived in Maui, this was my favorite restaurant (A Pacific Café, on South Kihei Road, in Kihei.) This stunning cookbook, leaves me longing to be back, just so I can dine their once again.

Perhaps when I get a bigger apartment, I may try some of these adventurous recipes. Jean Marie Josselin is one of the founders of this kind of cuisine. Classically trained as a French chef, he was one of the first pioneers of "Hawaiian Regional Cuisine". He moved to Kauai and opened his first restaurant there. He used the fresh ingredients that the island provided. When he opened his first restaurant in Maui, it was an experience just to dine there. The architecture of the inside of the restaurant was rumored to cost around $250k. After a hot day out in the sun, you'd come in and sit at the bar, for a glass of wine and an appetizer while waiting for a table (since you were foolish and didn't make reservations.) The service was so good at the bar, that you decided to stay there and watch the surroundings. Across from the bar, was the line. The appetizers were being prepared, followed by the two or three chefs working on the main courses followed by the person making desserts.

Occasionally, you'd see Arnold Schwarrzennegger and his wife come in, or Helen Hunt, and maybe Dustin Hoffman would sit next to you at the bar. The food was so good, he knew you wouldn't talk to him because you'd be eating the entire time.

All of these memories come back, when flipping through this recipe book... Since I'm not in Maui anymore, I'll just have to settle for Roy's or Kaspars'. (Not a bad thing, just not quite Jean Marie's & George Gomes' masterpieces...)

Jean-Marie has created a comprehensive guide to better eating. His creations aren't for the faint of heart in the kitchen, but if you have the patience, it pays beautifully. I have always been more of a "presentation person" and found his recipies were easy to dress and enjoy equally.

I'm impressed with the author's use of authentic as well as contemporary ingredients and techniques. And I was quite taken by the vast coverage of the topic - appetizers, gumbos, salads, sides, entrees, desserts, lovely book!!

Absolutely fantastic!!!! Some could ask for pictures to go along with it. However, I feel as though part of utilizing recipes is unwrapping the mystery of it's visual beauty. As a culinary student I find that not having pictures allows me to add my own touches to the dishes without visual bias.

I love this book. So far every recipe I have tried has turned out excellent. The recipes are easy to read and well written for the home chef. To date I have tried the Oven Roasted Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with Corn Bread Dressing, The Rustic Macaroni and Cheese and the Potato Salad to name a few. I just tried the Sweet Potato Pie and everyone loved it. The Authors did a wonderful job, and I have recommended it to my friends and plan on giving the book as gifts.

This is truly the best overall book I have read on the industry. The technical material is unsurpassed! Great job to the authors!!

CISCO this time it publishes a book from the most basic thing analyzing the digital analogical conversion and the digital conversion to analogical in a concrete way.
Excellent the content of ISDN and ATM.
Although the term Telecommunications is generally associated to the telephony, maybe the book suffers of covering the Telephony IP. The book invites to publish a more advanced edition where it covers aspects of digital coding and digital criptography, SSL and SET; however the book is excellent to take it like fundamental reference in the telecommunications.
What should be established, is the necessity to create a standard or pattern among the topics that it should cover a book of telecommunications and CISCO guessed right in this point.
Other topics that they deserve attention in the book they are the cutleries for the protocol Frame Relay and the technology DSL.

Every time the name Cisco comes up in technical certification talk most people automatically think routers and switches but the company has a whole lot more including telecommunications.

In this book you'll find the most detailed explanation of the telecommunications I have seen thus far. The authors are extremely knowledgeable in this subject matter and the end result is this 600 plus page reference manual, that would be a must have for anyone who is working with data communication or high end networks.

Their breakdown of analog to digital conversion is well organized and technically accurate. I also was impressed by the amount of information included on the T, E and R carriers. Also included is discussion about ISDN, both BRI and PRI, frame relay, ATM, DSL, CABLE, SONET and for the first time I have ever seen SMDS.

Throughout the entire text you'll find helpful hints and tips, screen shots of actual routers or other equipment as well as a number of diagrams and figures, which give a visual aide to learning. The material is written to a higher level of understanding and you need to understand certain concepts before proceeding, but overall just about anyone in the industry will be able to benefit from this book.

Finally I found this book to be a useful add-on to study for several exams, some outside of the Cisco arena, including Network+, CCNA, CCDA, Server+ and Security+. Cisco Press is a proven leader in the high end networking.

I believe this story happened and I believe the writer has been in some sort of intelligence service. Cobblers, shoes, dead babies and etc.: I know for a fact these are terms used by a intel agency. The story is very well written, and it's believable. His descriptions make you want to visit Buenos Aries. Roberts laid out a fast moving well thought out plot. I liked his terms like, 'a policy of night and fog.' The pyrotechnics in the Andes was so realistic that I could actually see it. What really struck me was the part about the interrupters during the ride to the airport. As far as I know this problem has never been address before in another book. I like William wondered how many times has this happened before, and will it happen again?
I highly recommend this book to any one.
Buy it You'll love it!
I went to his home page, which was hard to find. ... There I saw where his next novel will be released in December. Can't wait to get it. I love the name "Bona fides, Lies & Spies"

Normally, I wouldn't review fiction. I'm more comfortable reviewing computer books. However, I thought I'd give it a go after reading a book called "A Terrorist or Patriot" by Martin Roberts.

I really had no expectations when I began reading it. It looked like something to keep me occupied for a few hours while my car was being serviced. In fact, the cover looked like a romance book but I figured what the hell and began killing time.

Well, I read...and read...and read...and didn't want to quit reading it. I got hooked pretty quickly. When my car was ready, I wound up taking this book home from the Zippy Lube (sorry guys, I'll bring it back!).

I don't know a lot about Argentina, its politics or even much of its recent history. But I got the feeling that this Martin Roberts guy who wrote this book did. He wrote it like he actually lived there or was there when all the events in the book were taking place. It was easy to imagine the Argentine secret police/Army enforcers chasing him through the streets of Buenos Aires. It was an interesting look at one man's fight against a corrupt system which is something all too common these days of shadow governments here in the United States.

Roberts did a more than decent job of weaving the plot so that the reader is kept guessing but doesn't feel like an idiot at the end of the book. The characters are identifiable and draw the reader into their struggles.

I finished the book the day I began it. Once I had started it, I just had to finish it that same day.

Also, I looked at the guy's Web site. His picture looks like Leon Redbone. I don't know whether he can sing or not but he writes entertaining fiction. My only gripe is that I wished it would have contained more history about Argentina but that's a minor point and really doesn't detract from the book's purpose.

In summary, a quick read, a fun read and at times a compelling read. The book is entertaining and that's what fiction is for so I give it 5 stars. It kept me entertained and I recommend it highly.

Roberts kept me on the edge of my seat, from the first page to the last. When's the next one coming out?

A fine collection of early (1971 - 1974) fiction from a much underrated master of the short story. Although George R.R. Martin has attained a great degree of success as a novelist, his most memorable work has been in the short story/novella format. A SONG FOR LYA was the author's very first book, published initially in February of 1976 in an Avon paperback edition, and while it may not be his finest collection, the stories presented here have the invigorating freshness and energy of a dazzlingly talented then-young writer first making his mark in the world.

The most notable of the stories, "A Song For Lya" arguably still ranks as Martin's finest work. "Lya" is a beautifully sad meditation on love and loss, telling a moving tale of a young, vital woman who is willingly absorbed into The Greeshka, a strange collective "religion" that ultimately sucks the individuality out of those who choose to join it. It deservedly won the Hugo Award as best novella of 1973. "With Morning Comes Mistfall" is an equally powerful story, a melancholic examination of what happens when the cold pursuit of knowledge ultimately leads to the destruction of an important, beautiful myth.

Other stories include: "Override", in which animated corpses are used as cheap labor in a mining colony, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels", a claustrophobic horror tale about a devolved worm-like man who makes disastrous contact with humans exploring his deep underground home turf, and "The Second Kind of Loneliness", a Poe-like tale of isolation, loneliness and madness in a remote space outpost.

This is a nice, oversized paperback repackaging of one of George R.R. Martin's best short story collections. The simple fact that it's the only such collection currently available by this fine writer makes it an absolute must-buy.

A fine collection of early (1971 - 1974) fiction from a much underrated master of the short story. Although George R.R. Martin has attained a great degree of success as a novelist, his most memorable work has been in the short story/novella format. A SONG FOR LYA was the author's very first book, published initially in February of 1976 in an Avon paperback edition, and while it may not be his finest collection, the stories presented here have the invigorating freshness and energy of a dazzlingly talented then-young writer first making his mark in the world.

The most notable of the stories, "A Song For Lya" arguably still ranks as Martin's finest work. "Lya" is a beautifully sad meditation on love and loss, telling a moving tale of a young, vital woman who is willingly absorbed into The Greeshka, a strange collective "religion" that ultimately sucks the individuality out of those who choose to join it. It deservedly won the Hugo Award as best novella of 1973. "With Morning Comes Mistfall" is an equally powerful story, a melancholic examination of what happens when the cold pursuit of knowledge ultimately leads to the destruction of an important, beautiful myth.

Other stories include: "Override", in which animated corpses are used as cheap labor in a mining colony, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels", a claustrophobic horror tale about a devolved worm-like man who makes disastrous contact with humans exploring his deep underground home turf, and "The Second Kind of Loneliness", a Poe-like tale of isolation, loneliness and madness in a remote space outpost.

This is a nice, oversized paperback repackaging of one of George R.R. Martin's best short story collections. The simple fact that it's the only such collection currently available by this fine writer makes it an absolute must-buy.

This is certainly not the best GRRM collection, but it is the best one currently available. Well, I believe it's the only one available. Yes, you read that right. GRRM is one of the best shorter stories writers-alive today {certainly in SF/F/H} and he has only one of his collections in print -a lesser collection?
Welcome to the world of SF: most of the goodies are o.o.p.
This book has the tremendous "With Morning Comes Mistfall," "A Song For Lya," "Dark, Dark were the Tunnels," and "Override."
The others are fun {most notably "Second Kind of..."} too, but pale a bit in comparison with the above mentioned. You always have that with collections and such.
If you are new to this writer this will be a fine starting collection. You could dive in his multi-volume ASOIAF, but I advice you to invest a bit of money in this book first. Just to sample his themes and writing. Keep in mind that the series ASOIAF is however written by the "older" GRRM -with all respect- and therefore different than this collection. Nonetheless, this will give you some insight in this writer/author.
You could label this as SF and the series as Fantasy, but people who like a bit of everything {SF,F and H} will the more like this writer's writings. GRRM's writings always lays some stress on the darker aspects of life. That's visible in some of these stories, but even more in recent o.o.p. collections.
I recently asked this writer -E-Mail communication- if any more reprints are in the making. He replied with saying yes, but I believe he aimed at "Tuf Voyaging." It should come out this year and like most his writings is a classic.
It is only to be hoped that his best collection "Songs the Dead Men Sing" will one day be reprinted.
Best of luck. Keep your GRRM books nice and clean. They deserve it.

What is this?
The contents of this book are mind-stunning.
If you have a taste for Horror combined with SF elements then this will be something for you.
I do however hope that you have a lot of money because this collection of stories is o.o.p. and desired by many, and treasured by many.
Contents follow:
• The Monkey Treatment
• "...for a single yesterday"
• The Needle Men
• Meathouse Man
• Sandkings
• Nightflyers
• Remembering Melody
• In the House of the Worm
• This Tower of Ashes
Got that?
Many classics in this book. Very rare. Very good.
Sandkings is still readily available. But the others are just as good -some even better!
This has got to be reprinted!
I know there isn't much money to be made with SF collections, but I honestly think that with a bit of marketing, and with GRRM's name splashed on the cover -underlined with "Author of A Song of Ice and Fire" this book will be a bestseller. All the right ingredients are there.
Ah, I should have become an editor, or maybe even a publisher.
This is a goldmine just waiting to get discovered.
Killing a healthy lion with your bare hands is easier than finding this book.

If you can find this book, buy it! The price is high because everyone who has it knows its too good to give it up.
This book has some of the best stories ever written...

Monkey Treatment and Needle Man were awesome and terrifying...
For a single yesterday, and Remembering Melody, were Gems that tug at ones heart strings..

And of course Sandkings is simply amazing..

Buy This book, Whatever the cost!!!

This early collection of Martin's stories contains some of his best. Even at just over two hundred pages there are two award winners in here. Sandkings and Nightflyers are two of the best pieces of contemporary short SF and should be read by anyone who is a fan of the genre. The other stories in the collection are mainly horror pieces, but with an SF edge to them. They are all good, and most are excellent. Hopefully Martin will return to this sort of work when he gets done trying his hand at High Fantasy.

Are you looking for a book about talking with kids? Deb has truly captured the way to reach them. Communication! A must read for Parents, Grandparents and Educators.

This book is an excellent example of coaching...the process, the skills, and the succeses. It is clear that the author knows this subject well. She is able to give us a straightforward method for engaging in coaching conversations. Don't be turned-off by the focus on children. The story-line and process outlined can be truly powerful for adults.

I have recommended this book to parents and teachers.

It is a "must read" for anyone seeking to improve conversations and create impactful helping relationships.

This is a wonderful book. It is not just great for parents but gives us ways we can all communicate better. Debrah has taken coaching and made it easy,practical and natural. This is a must read.

This is a great book. I got so wrapped up in the story line that I cried when they cried. I love to read a story that affects me this deeply. As usual, Kat Martin has done it again.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would do so.

Kat Martin gives us an amazing story full of romance, passion, mystery, and intrigue. The main characters, Rayne and Jocelyn, are so well written. Kat Martin at her best in this novel.

Kat is definitely my favorite romance writer and I loved this book tremendously. At times it was hard to read, because of some of the tragedies these 2 face, but their love is deep enough to pull them through. I found the story very compelling, the characters wonderful, and the depth of the emotions rich and rewarding. I had read Devil's Prize first, so knew of the characters from that, and I'm so glad I finally found this one to find out how their story came about. Kat always writes in such a way that I absorb the characters into my life while I am reading the book and for days after.