'Silk Hats' is a very readable and fun book about cowboys, stockmen and ranchers and the struggle to establish ranches in Cochise County, Arizona in the 1880's.

The author is very sympathetic towards the men from back east that created the large corporate ranching operations, based in Tombstone, that dominated the cow business in much of Southeast Arizona during this period.He also delves into the basic conflict between these men, supported by Texas John Slaughter,Wyatt Earp and his brothers,and the local small ranchers, who are characterised in the book as nothing more than low-life rustlers.

Once Cochise County had been given a "good housecleaning" by Slaughter, Earp and company, the big boys were able to expand the herds quickly. Too quickly. The failure of the range due to overgrazing and other poor range management practices in just a few years collapsed the cow business and degraded the pristine high desert grassland. Much of this range still has not recovered 100-plus years later.

When the ranchers fail due to thier own greedy actions, the author laments the passing of an "era" that somehow rings hollow. Every stockman knows, when you exceed the carrying capacity of the range, bad things happen.

This is a good readable book that does a good job of explaining how the unique topography of Southern California affects the weather there. Also covers the weather by region and season. Overall a decent weather book, especially for the weather enthusiast, novice, and potential resident of Southern California.

A well bound book, quality paper, and reasonable fonts ... all contributing to a solid feel ... with quite good picture illustrations ...

It's written very much with the new doggie owner in mind.

The author takes the reader through all the basic issues commonly faced new owners: how to start basic training (sit, heel, stay), how to cope with jumping & barking dogs, dogs who pulling on the leash, or are slightly nervous or overactive, issues of separation anxiety etc.

The author's training methods are operant based (using treats and positive encouragement), no physical punishment, and generally follow the training trend that is increasingly prevalent today.

The book also offers some insight on why dogs behave the way they do, making mention of pack behaviour and basic forms of doggie communication ... But all explanations are fairly basic and general ...

A good book to get with your first dog, but not quite suitable for the experienced dog owner, who would probably already have acquired most of the information provided in the book ...

An average book, reasonably informative, without being outstanding ... closer to 3 1/2 stars rather than 4.

The information on decoding your kitty's body langauge is quite interesting. But most of the information be known to seasoned cat owners. Will be a useful read for first time cat owners though. The pictures are great too.

This is the story of a King who refuses to take a bath. As a result, he constantly has flies buzzing around him. He tires of the flies and orders his wizard to get rid of the them. What he does not realize is how in granting that wish, a chain reaction is started with animals and then people leaving his kingdom as a result of the flies being gone. The spiders left because they need flies to survive. The swallows left because they like spiders, and so on. The King realizes that he has no kingdom without the flies as everything is so connected. It starts children thinking about that connection in nature, which is an important message told in a fun way. My kids enjoyed the book, as well! I highly recommend it.

Bailey has written an excellent book. It demonstrates the reasons why Wilson's attempt to create a lasting peace failed, and then the author gives quality support that not only supports his view, but knocks down opposition to his standpoint. He also includes political cartoons from newpapers that allow you to see public opinion and they support his own opinion. I enjoyed the book for these reasons and because the way it was written helped me to remember what I had read. I would especially recomend this book to any student studying American History. Bailey's writing is clear and concise and will be an eye opener.

Many English Bible versions are reviewed, but the best article in my view is Appendix 1: Zeal to Promote the Common Good (The King James Version) by Roger A. Bullard. Bullard suggests that the use of charity instead of love in 1 Corinthians 13 "might be the influence of the dogmatic Andrew Downes, who had come over from the Apocrypha committee and joined the group doing the Epistles" (p. 190). Also helpful is Appendix 2, A Comparison of Versions by Lloyd R. Bailey, Sr. Under "accuracy of translation," it ranks by percentage of correctness among ten versions, including the KJB, NASB, and NIV, on Isaiah 7:14.

This is an excellent selection of older Beetle Bailey strips that should appeal to the ardent fan.

This book handles its subject very well. It was the basic text for my 11th Grade history course, where it provided a good balance of mildly amusing wit and genuinely useful information.

The main advantage of "The American Pageant" is that the author is not trying to push a major political agenda. It lacks the patriotic drivel for which "traditional" history texts are often denounced. However, it also lacks the negative, depressing Socialist philosophy which makes Zinn's "People's History of the United States" so difficult to read.

The end result is a history text which does a history text's job: telling what happened. The book covers politics, economics, and major events in a style which is sometimes amusing and usually informative. Although not overly political, it also pays due attention to such important issues as race and gender.

Not a particularly "specialized" book, but an excellent survey text.

I teach Advanced Placement American History at a Catholic High School. We have been using Bailey's ninth edition since its publication in 1991. I truly feel it is the best book out there for my purposes, and believe me I have read alot of other Texts.

Bailey and Kennedy are extremely entertaining, and informative. I and all of my students from the past enjoy their short but funny anecdotes and sayings. I always tell my students that I am not here to defend Bailey but to give his point of view along with other historians.

I read this book first in high school several years ago as part of an advanced placement U.S. History course. I hated it then - but love it now. Bailey captures the depth of the issues the nation faced in each step of its development. His accuracy and profound insight keep the subject matter from becoming too dry. What I loved most about the text is that it never over-simplifies the significant historical events such as the political struggles of the 1st and 2nd continental congresses, secession issues and America's position in both World Wars. He digs deep beneath the surface to paint a thorough understanding of what the root causes were of historic events. The 10th addition adds interesting subsections that profile the various immigrant cultures that influenced American history. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the nation's history and the people who made it.

With releases of each subsequent historical romance by Catherine
Coulter, I feel as though I'm in a smaller and smaller minority - I
still like her! Though The Scottish Bride won't go down as my favorite
Coulter by a long shot, it earns a respectable B- from me - I liked it
somewhat less than last year's The Courtship, but it's still a
recommended read.

This is the fourth and final book in her
regency-set historicals about the Sherbrooke family. The hero goes
against type. Tysen Sherbrooke is a dour vicar, a widower with three
children who travels to Scotland after he inherits a barony and
castle. He is not like his rakish brothers and brother-in-law, who
starred in the previous titles in this series.

Tysen rescues Mary
Rose Fordyce, the local bastard, from the clutches of a local man who,
with the blessing of her uncle, will do anything, including rape,
apparently, to force her into marriage with him. Tysen is outraged at
this turn of events, and is surprised as well to discover he has
feelings for Mary Rose, feelings that don't conform to his
piousness.

It's one thing to read a romance where the heroine
reforms a rake, it's another altogether to read a romance where the
heroine brings chaotic light into the ordered presence of a prudish
and seemingly humorless hero. As impressive as Mary Rose is in light
of her Untouchable status, Tysen's wavering between what he sees as
his religious duty and the joy he experiences with Mary Rose is
terrific. And, to Coulter's credit, the appearance of characters from
the earlier books in this series did not detract from this book's
stars - they provided both comic relief and a kick in the pants to
Tysen when necessary. Not all the secondary characters are as
well-drawn, however; Mary Rose's mother is particularly problematic,
but I found Tysen's daughter Meggie engaging, though some may find her
irritating.

There are some wonderfully funny scenes..., and some
with a strong emotional charge. Still, this is Tysen's book, and those
readers looking for a different kind of hero should enjoy it.

TTFN,
Laurie Likes Books

Publisher, All About Romance

In this "last" novel on the Sherbrooke siblings, Catherine Coulter does a wonderful job on relating the romance between the "priggish" vicar, Tysen, and the scottish lass, Mary Rose. As always, Coulter's writing is elegant and vivid. But to my utter suprise, the love story is sweet and humbling. In my opinion, which is one of many, I found this story to be one of Coulter's best; maybe not in the sense of excitement and intrigue by the reader. Coulter takes a secondary character, whom I'm sure most thought would never be featured in a book all of his own, and breathed new life and reason into him. It was an insightful read and a joy to me to know that any character I might run across in the pages of one of her books, may one day have a story all of their own! But is this the end of Sherbrookes? In one of the chapters where Ryder is featured, you will notice a musing he has about his daughter and her feelings of Oliver...or Jeremy...he wonders? Hummm....another great Sherbrooke tale in the making. I sure hope so. The only thing I feel is missing from this story is the appearance of the horrid Sherbrooke mother. Where is she? I would like to know how Coulter would have her feel about the "new" Tysen. That would have been a hoot. But all in all, it was a great read! Please don't let the many reviews placed here sway you. If you are a Coulter fan, this is a must read!

I always read the other reviews before posting my own and after reading some of the reviews I thought I must have been reading a differant book. In my opinion this book was brilliant and definitely the best of the Bride series. I will not go into the storyline because this has been done at length by other reviewers. All I can say is that I thought Tysen a wonderful hero, it was great to see his character change as he became enchanted with Mary Rose. For me Mary Rose was the perfect heroine, not in the least insipid as has been suggested and her love for Tysen just flowed through the pages of this beautifully written book. Lighthearted yes, not terribly complicated yes, an easy read yes, but this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book in the least. And Meggie, what to say about Meggie, she was an absolute joy. For me she made a good book into a great one. Her dialogue was brilliant a tribute to Ms Coulter's penmanship. I dont always like children in books because the authors have a tendency to make them seem either too old or too young for their years. But I think Catherine got it exactly right. The ending had me crying buckets, I think it was a glorious book. I can only hope that Catherine relents and gives us another Bride story. Meggie at eighteen would make a wonderful heroine, if only Catherine could find a hero good enough for her.

Thanks for a wonderful book