I loved this dictionary when I bought it. It appeared the best in my quick comparison in the bookstore. It does do a good job of quickly identifying root words. However when you start to use it more extensively such as looking up more specific usages of a word, the conciseness becomes an annoyance as you try to interpret the cryptically displayed definitions. I'm personally searching for a replacement.

I got this book before school started; I'm taking Spanish III. So I needed a dictionary. I opted for this one because it looked hefty enough.

I wasn't disappointed. This dictionary has enough words for any Spanish student. It even has modern words like "digital TV", "internet", and "MTV". It has easy to read print and is durable.

Whether you want to browse or seriously study this dictionary is great. Aside from defining the word, examples are given in context.

This dictionary also has a very extensive grammar section. This is a very important note. This section has everything you need to know Spanish grammar, which will help you in class much. It has all the common verbs, like hacer, ir, ser, dormir, etc. It also has sections devoted to translation problems, spelling, adjectives, pronouns, etc.

I carry this dictionary to class every day. It is invaluable in the moment when you forgot the meaning of a word. And if you know the meaning in English only, you can flip quickly to the English-Spanish section.

Some precautionary notes: This dictionary was made in Britain. Some English words are spelled differently from the American way (honour, colour, etc.). It also differs from most American dictionaries in that it contains vulgar words (I won't enumerate them, though). Also, this is a dictionary for Castillian Spanish. It probably won't have some Latin American terms.

In conclusion, this dictionary is my new amigo. I was thinking of getting an electronic spanish dictionary, but now I know that this is better. I get to actually see the words and see surrounding ones too. It's an interesting, pithy, concise dictionary. If you need a Spanish dictionary this one won't let you down.

This is a very good dictionary. I love the Harper Colllins dictionaries but this is the smallest one that I would recomend. Any dictionary with less words that this one is just to limited. The grammar section is good.(I an sure not the best judge on grammar) and the verb tables are priceless.

Good book, new author to me, but needs to tighten up that plot line, and the "what about Daddy" ending was just a bit too much. Great beginning, a lot of extraneous information, and too many incidental stuff going on, but basically well done. Will buy the next one, hope it's just a bit better.

As a mystery author, I read THE LAW OF THE DEAD as preparation for an author panel I was moderating at a recent Left Coast Crime mystery convention. Written by Tess Collins, a coal miner's granddaughter, THE LAW OF THE DEAD gives the reader a taste of life in Appalachia. Set in Contrary Kentucky, the book features a strong female lead. Alma Bashears was born and raised in Contrary, yet she relocated to California. Now she is home in Appalachia, relearning her old turf, and dealing with a series of seemingly random acts of violence. This novel succeeds on many levels. Terrific plot. Memorable characters. Excellent capturing of the locale. Tess Collins has written an excellent book. Read it!

Contrary, Kentucky, the setting of this novel, is by no means Mayberry RFD. This Appalachian town is brought to life in appearance and smell and feeling--in atmosphere. It's a good-sized modern-day hill town, with strikes at the factory, corruption in government, social manipulation, and murder. The characters in the novel are as flawed and human as those in your own home town. Am eager to find out where the next book takes Alma Bashears, a protagonist so real I sometimes wanted to shake her for being so single-minded.

Thumbelina is not normal girl she is about the size of your thumb, but don't let her height mistake you she can do alot of things other people can't do. Like she can fit into small spaces that you can't. So if you like books that are about people doing extremely different things that you don't think that can do then this is the book right for you to read. This book will amaze your eyes with the colorful pictures inside, and with the amazing things Thumbelina can do.

Hans Christian Andersen's story of Thumbeline is so endearing that it's no wonder that so many authors have written their own versions of it and so many illustrators have had a go at making tiny Thumbeline come to life. This version, translated by Anthea Bell and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger is brimming with charm, rustic folk sensibilities, kindness and compassion spiked with just the right amount of perilous adventure to make it interesting, and a lovely magical feel. The story is well told in satisfyingly descriptive language. The illustrations are superb! Zwerger does a wonderful job with all of the animal characters that Thumbeline encounters and manages to infuse them with emotion and intelligence as well as country charm. Little red-haired Thumbeline is delicate and sweet in several lovely costumes with a peasant feel to them. You know the tale...a woman tells a witch that she wants a "tiny child" and the magic gives her exactly what she wishes for, a tiny child no bigger than her thumb. Thumbeline is born from the heart of a tulip. She's so beautiful and sweet that every small suitor in the neighborhood wants her hand in marriage, including a toad, a mole and a June beetle. They are not interested in the fact that she does not want to marry them! She gets help from other wee folk in the woodland community and makes a good friend when she saves the life of a swallow. The story ends happily for Thumbeline. It may be desirable to point out to your young ones that not every unattached female needs to find a husband, especially very young ones like Thumbeline, and that kidnapping and force are not true ways to get a girl to marry you! Children are smart enough to know that but it's still a good idea to talk over the odd concepts that a child may be thinking about after you read this story. I love this old-fashioned story and this re-telling adds beautifully to its charm and therefore justifies its conception.

The familiar Hans Christian Andersen story of Thumbelina has received the royal treatment from Susan Jeffers. Her large, lovely pictures make this seem like you are stepping into the story for the first time. Thumbelina is so dainty and sweet that it's no wonder the toad wishes to marry her but poor Thumbelina has a harrowing time escaping from her warty suitor. Share a trumpet vine blossom with Thumbelina, a pair of hummingbirds and a fat bumble bee or take a ride with her on the back of a gallant swallow. This whole story is enchanting from start to finish and the pictures are a delight!

A richly drawn journey through the World of Two Moons, this collection of stories spanning thousands of years is a fine addition to the ever unfolding ElfQuest saga. "The Blood of Ten Chiefs" gives us an all too brief glimpse into the lives of the wolfriders before the familiar days of Cutter and his family. Like the best of the ElfQuest tales, these stories are well written, beautifully drawn and easily capture emotions without the need for excess dialogue and narration. The change in styles from story to story, artist to artist, can be distracting at first, but after the first few pages the reader is fully involved and captivated by each artist's unique vision of these wonderful elves and their magical world. Wendi Pini's creative absence, so terribly and painfully obvious in many of the other recent entries in the series, in no way diminishes this collection which features some of the finest work of the "guest" artists I have yet seen.

The stories are varied in style and scope, ranging from the visually stunning "Colors" which tells the epic tale of Timmorn and his struggle to reconcile his elfin and wolf heritage, to the whimsical and innocent "At the Oak's Root" which tells of a young Tanner and his misfit "wolf"-friend who is not a wolf at all.

Taken together the stories serve as an engaging glimpse at the legendary Ten Chiefs. Newcomers to ElfQuest should probably save this collection for last, as the stories assume that the reader comes to them with a full and comfortable command of World of Two Moons and its inhabitants.

In the twenty-one years since Wendy and Richard Pini introduced the graphic series "Elfquest", many readers have been curious about the background of Cutter and his Wolfrider tribe. The Pinis took a first step toward answering these questions by endorsing a fantasy-novel series, "The Blood of Ten Chiefs", which appeared throughout the 1980s; this collection of short prose stories brought to light major events in the lives of the chieftains who lived in the 10,000 years before we meet the elves for the first time. From 1993 to 1995, the spirit - and some of the substance - of these tales was brought into a new EQ graphic serial, "Blood of Ten Chiefs"; the first nine issues retold stories from the prose-books, the last eleven were original tales created specially for this new series. Book 9b reprints issues 1 to 7, and 10-11 (a two-part story).

In these episodes published here the storytelling is always of quality, and two of the tales - "Colors" (issue 1) and "The Broken Circle" (issues 10-11) are among the most memorable and significant in the series. "Colors" is the visual version of Richard Pini's tale about the struggle of the half-wolf Timmorn, the first Wolfrider chieftain, to reconcile the elfin and lupine sides of his soul. The difficulty of illustrating states of mind is handled beautifully here; profound as the prose is, the drawing is even more eloquent, particularly in the last few pages. Even the coloring-work, though reprinted only in black-and-white, yet adds to the total effect (a pleasant surprise in almost all the issues here is the graceful transfer of these originally colorized drawings). No issue in BoTC was less than solid, but this debut issue remains the best of the series.

Other stories include another carryover from the novels, "The Phantom of the Berry Patch" - a tale about the young Bearclaw (the father of Cutter); the grim, disturbing "Swift-Spear", an account of Two-Spear's madness and his resulting campaign against the humans; and the last story in this volume, "The Broken Circle", about young Skywise's discovery of a great relic of the High Ones, ancestors of the elves - and the havoc it wreaks with him and his tribe. Drawn in a completely different style from that of "Colors", it too is ambitious, far-reaching and thought-provoking - with a more unsettling conclusion.

The series - and this book - are, by design, a literary and artistic grab-bag, with contributions from several different artists, but the level of inspiration is high all around; about the only flaw is a certain blockiness of pencil-work in two of the stories ("Swift-Spear" admittedly being one of those two). As I have said, the art has transferred very well to this lower-price format (not always the case with other volumes in the EQ Reader's Collection).

To summarize: if the "Blood of Ten Chiefs" book had been a mere history of a tribe of elves, it would have been much less interesting. But because it focuses on the major events in the chiefs' lives - and, through them, illuminates their characters and times - these stories will bear repeated reading. Recommended.

I really enjoy Elf Quest comics, but they don't tell you much about what life was like before Cutter's tribe. This book provides you with exelent, well written background information, and detailed drawings of the elves and the incredible world of two moons. It tells you different stories about all the ten cheiftens that came before cutter.

This book reads like a bunch of used Madlib books stapled together. I think someone was hitting the old cannibis supply just a LITTLE too hard when they sat down at the keyboard to write this tale. Come to think of it, maybe that's what was lacking when I began turning the pages. If you ARE afraid of voodoo pins, I suggest you consult your local drug dealer PRIOR to purchasing this little jem.

This is an amazing work of fiction. The lyrical quality and sheer imagination in the writing of Flamma reveals an author who is at once tremendously skilled and equally disturbed. The outrageous character names and mystical worlds brought to life by Mr. Collins are facinating and mind-boggling. A story that goes nowhere and everywhere all at once keeps you guessing and turning pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates great writing and fun-loving madness.

I once stepped in some Flamma at Dog Beach. It's tough to get off , but doesn't smell as bad as they say. I've heard the author lives out of a locker, but I find that hard to believe. Someone told me he once lived with his Mother, now that I can believe... Buy this book, you'll be pleased in an "Boy, I'm glad I wasn't on that plane." sort of way.

John Bloomfield did a great job capturing the out island Bahamian Experience. His descriptions of Briland (Harbour Island) and her people were on the money. I have to say that the first half of the book was super, as he succeeded in taking me away to the islands. He did a great job in developing the main characters. As a boat person, I understood the frustration of Cap'n Bo in having some unruly guest on board. The slow but honest way of Bahamian life was truly reflected.

John lost me though later in the book after the "discovery". I felt that from that point on, the book struggled through the "chop" and without the same attention to detail and belief as was evident in the beginning. It appeared that the author struggled to find a good close to an otherwise great book. The reader was left with a few questions such as what ever happened to the group on ONROP after their "goons" failed. Then suddenly Bo's financial dilemma was fixed from a character that walked on the pages too quickly. As far as the ending, well let's just say that you saw that coming all the way from South Florida.

All in all, I enjoyed the book because of my fond memories of a past visit to the Pink Sands of Habour Island. The people are truly wonderful and it is a great place to get lost.

It is too bad that it appears that some of the important pages of this book were also lost in paradise.

I thought the book Flip Flop was spectacular! What a great story. The language is so vivid in a way that makes you feel as if you were experiencing everyday adventures with the characters. John Bloomfield has the ability to capture the readers imagination and never let it go until the last sentence of the book has been read!! If you want to take a fascinating journey with a crew of dynamic, intriguing characters to an island in Paradise with out ever leaving your seat, then read the book. The story line will draw you in and you will never want the book to end! This is a great book for anyone who needs a little adventure, romance, humor and self-discovery all rolled into one!! I loved this book and I know you would too!

After living in Harbour Island, the setting of the book, I can full-heartedly relate to the book. The characters are inspired by residents and visitors of Harbour Island. Once you ahve been there, you will know excactly who he used for insiration.

I'm glad I have this book to refer to. No matter where we consider traveling, I have this handy book to know what's "out" there for us.

I bought this book back in 2001 for a trip to New York. Not knowing anything about "the city", I needed some help. Along with this one, I purchased a few other guides focusing on gay oriented places in the U.S. and New York, but this one was far better. With it's insightful mini reviews of places shown in the guide, I got ALOT from this book. From places to stay, to places to see, it'll give you a great base to start with when trying to find nightlife, or otherwise, in ANY new city. I'm taking it back with me again to New York and to Seattle this time. But, be weary, as with any guide, places change, and what you read might not be as bad as it says it is, or it could be worse! Thanks for reading.

Just looking over my hometowns review I found them correct in substance but wrong in form. Cleveland has a neighborhood called "WEST PARK" that the book names WEST EDGE>. While not devastating to the overall value of the text it would leave a visitor here asking for a place that residents wouldn't recognize. I'm not sure if the other cities reviewed suffer from similar mistakes. Going to Orlando 8/24 and San Francisco 9/3 so I'll note any discrepancies.

Yes, the title speaks for itself. Collected here are good poems. Good, bland, middle-of-the-road conservative poems for people who like their poetry straighforward and unchallenging. I ordered this collection with great anticipation. I was sorely disappointed. Maybe it was the monotone droning of Keillor's readings (I bought the audio CD) punctuated by one female author's breathy renditions. Maybe it was all the God-themed poems included for good measure. If I'd done my homework on Keillor's radio show I might have known better. I want poetry to rock me and give me goosebumps, especially when it's spoken word. I never thought Bukowski, Moore, Bishop, Thomas, and their like would have their unique voices so efficiently muted. I gave this work three stars because, after all, it is full of good poems. If "good" is good enough for you, enjoy.

These kinds of major-press anthologies (especially when put together by a celebrity) tend to be worthless: either heartwarming sop (i.e. "Poems that have Inspired Me") or the same English-class warhorses trotted out again. So I thumbed through "Good Poems" and was surprised to find...good poems; a mix of the standards (Frost, Dickinson, Shakespeare), modern academics (Oliver, Simic), and poets who seldom appear in these kinds of anthologies (Carver, Ferlinghetti, Bukowski.) Well-selected, thoughtfully placed, and (thank God) fun to read, this collection is a real jewel; a perfect gift for someone who thinks they could never like poetry.

Even if the poetry was less than stellar, this book would be worth buying just for Keillor's introduction. Instead of gushing empty platitudes, he takes a hard look at what makes a poem good (as opposed to just technically proficient.) Anyone interested in writing poetry should do themselves a favor and read it (Personally, I'm thrilled that someone else thinks Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, and Allen Ginsberg are overrated, though I have to admit T.S. Eliot is growing on me...)

this is a wonderful read of well-organized poetic gems. there's a poem to suit your every thought or mood, and it makes a great introduction to those poets with whom you may not be familiar. a great value, edited by one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

I am not like the others here who seem to know a lot about reviewing dictionaries. I just know and love Portuguese, and have found this book to contain about 96% percent of the words I look up (I look up a lot of computing technology words that still aren't there). My Brazilian friends have been impressed with the accuracy of the definitions in it, if that counts for anything.

I've been using this dictionary for about 6 months and have found it invaluable in my communications with friends in Brasil. It's very rare that a word cannot be found, or its meaning be off the mark. It's even rather up-to-date with common technical terms. I agree with other reviews that the quality of the binding is poor. I'm not hard on the book and already the binding is breaking apart in two or three places. Although it's not a grammar study book, some of the basic verb conjugations are given in a list in the front of the book. Every dictionary editor seems to have their own proprietary scheme of showing how a word should be pronounced. It always takes a bit of study to figure this out with a new dictionary. This book is no exception. All in all, I think it's an excellent resource and I recommend it highly. I'm even going to take a copy to Brasil with me as a gift to my friend there who wants to improve her English.

A great dictionary but like most Portuguese reference books, it is behind its French and Spanish counterparts. True to its cover, it does have a lot of contemporary words and meanings. It's easy to use but lacks the grammar sections the Harper Collins Spanish and French Concise dictionaries have. My dicionary fell apart at the binding too. The adhesive isn't very durable. I also wonder why the English-Portuguese section comes first while in the Harper Collins Spanish and French dictionaries the Spanish-English and French-English sections come first respectively. This dictionary is worth the money but future editions should be better.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so interesting to hear the stories behind all the Christmas songs. The only reason I rated it a four is that not all the song lyrics are included. Even when it is a song I know by heart, I liked reading through the words, especially songs that have several verses that we don't always sing. Very sweet, easy to read, and interesting.

This was perfect for my needs. It had accounts of all the tradition carols that my congregation sings on Christmas eve. Those in search of the history of non religious songs and spirituals should look at Christmas Songs in America, another excellent collection of stories.

I heard about this book by listening to WMBI in Chicago the week before Christmas. They had the author on, telling one Christmas carol song per day. Immediately I purchased the book, and am thoroughly enjoying it!

Ace tells the stories of 31 favorite Christmas songs. They aren't all traditional carols, but include "Mary Did You Know", and a couple of secular-based Christmas songs such as "Silver Bells" and "Rudolph". I would love to know where Mr. Collins got all his information - there is no Bibliography.

The book itself is very attractive - you can see what the cover is like above, but inside, the print is a deep blue, and there are simple drawings and borders using the same blue. This makes it very visually appealing.

The best way to read "Stories Behind the Best-Love Songs of Christmas" would probably be to read one chapter per day for the 31 days before Christmas. But you can also read it straight through, or dip into the chapter that talks about YOUR favorite Christmas song.

As a perfect companion to Ace Collins' book, I recommend "Christ in the Carols" by Christopher and Melodie Lane. In this book, the emphasis is on finding Christ in the carols and how these carols express so beautifully the glorious and mysterious incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Take the time out this Christmas to enjoy the history and meaning of these beloved songs of Christmas! This book would make a wonderful gift!

You might be interested in checking out my other reviews of Christian books adn music.