When I describe this novel as "juvenile", I have to make sure I'm being clear. I don't mean it's like one of Robert A. Heinlein's "juveniles", geared for young readers and still appealing to older fans too; No no...I mean the book is rather hackneyed, trite, and, especially, immature in its depiction of women. If, after reading the above, you are still interested in the plot of this forgotten and forgettable bit of minor 70s SF, then just know it's about Idris Hamilton, whose spaceship is blown out from under him thanks to sabotage, and is left to float, alive but frozen, in space, until he ends up on the tenth planet of our ever-surprising solar system--a planet called Minerva. Hamilton does not fit in well with the Minervans' advanced, peaceful culture...not surprising since he slept in space for five thousand years, making him, in the Minervans' eyes, a barbarian-flavoured popsicle, one that many of them would just have soon seen not thawed out. Yes, Idris becomes a problem within his new society on a new world. He courts two women, but that's okay, that's normal on the tenth planet; but punching out rival suitors is not. Neither is linking his lot with underground rebel troublemakers (who operate in groups that could contain government spies anyway). The more Idris fights to change what he sees as a repressive, stagnant world, the more enemies he racks up. He dreams of fleeing back to distant, abandoned Earth, where once upon a time at least humans had chutzpah, gumption, all that.

This book is halfway engaging and somehow fun during the reading of it. But Idris and his plight are not original. This is Thomas More's Utopia for Dummies meets Cheesy Nudie SF Late Night Movie, where women strip on command for Science's sake ("so I'll humour the barbarian; maybe I'll learn some valuable psychological information--oops, now I want to sleep with him"). It's a shame that The Tenth Planet is such a routine stop, because I have enjoyed an Edmund Cooper effort, called Five To Twelve, much more than this. But then, it actually had something to say.

I read this book when I was still in high school, and what struck me was the vibrant image the author painted of a world that had lost its humanity, viewed through the eyes of Earthman who very well could be your neighbor today. Definitely a worthwhile read if you can find it.

Allow your children to read these stories with parental discretion. Current day authors like the ones mentioned in the review are liberals with an agenda that is both immoral and anti-traditional family. I can't vouch for all the stories listed because I have not read them. However, I have read works by quite of few of the authors listed and they do not support conservative ideology. "Scout's Honor" by Avi is in my child's 6th grade "literature" textbook. The so-called comedy is about three arrogant Boy Scouts that earn a badge by lying, cheating and stealing. This story not only depicts the Boy Scouts in a bad light - has anyone heard about their pro-traditional family stand which they took recently - but it promotes the path of the ends justifying the means.

The original tales presented in this book are actual memories of childhood penned by notable children's book authors. Although most of the stories have 8-10 year-olds as their protagnonists, they deal with emotions and predicaments more easily understood, I think, by slightly older children.

Pre-teenage can be such an awkward time; these tales can be healing/instructive to those in this time of life. The authors all have written beautiful stories which really should not be missed. And, as an extra special "gift" to the reader, each story is followed by a one-page explanation/note written by the tale's author. It's a relief to realize that each author not only survived growing up, but also flourished. And I loved being allowed to share private memories of these marvelous authors.

As a great fan of Katherine Paterson, I was especially touched by her story, which involved her older, prettier sister. Perhaps even more revealing, however, is the note she wrote to accompany this story. I am sure that the feelings here expressed were the souce of her poignantly beautiful novel "Jacob Have I Loved." (Great for girls age 12 and up.)

This book also provided an introduction (at least for me) to several authors with whom I was not familiar; I look forward to reading more by them.

I am a 40-something, well-educated mom. I bought this book for my own family, but I will be purchasing more copies to give as gifts. And I look forward to the sequel to this book, already in print!

This book was very informative and full of wonderfully painted pictures. It has much information on many of the main countries in Africa including music, religion, etc... Great book for reports for the kids in school.

Alan Cooper's book, 'Air Battle of the Ruhr' offers the reader, in 137 pages of narrative, a concise account of the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command campaign against German industry situated in the Ruhr during 1943. This is by no means an in-depth account of this terrible air campaign but it is a good book to get an overview of the battle and an idea of what those who fought it went through. The book is 228 pages in length with numerous Appendixes and some illustrations.

The author provides accounts of each major mission flown by Bomber Command against targets in the Ruhr from March to July in 1943. He outlines the mission target, the number of bombers allocated to the mission, the role of each formation and the results of the bombing. Intermingled with these are numerous first-hand accounts by pilots and aircrew involved on the missions with a few accounts from their German night fighter opponents.

At times it appears that the story is some what disorganised, you get a short account that does not seem to fit in with the narrative, this is only on one or two occasions but is still slightly off-putting. However the story is interesting and you get a very good feel for what the aircrew of the British bombers went through. The stories provided by the survivors are at times harrowing, sad and occasionally amusing. The numerous accounts of planes and their crews never being seen again or being found many years after the war are quite sad.

One major section of this book that makes it worth buying and gives you a better understanding of how deadly this campaign was is Appendix 2. Here the author has listed every single aircraft lost during this campaign. He provides details of the Squadron, aircraft type and identity, and what happened to it (crashed, hit by flak, shot down by night fighter, etc). Further, the author lists the names of the crew for each aircraft lost and what happened to them. It's quite depressing to read the number that were killed or 'washed up' later.

This alone makes this book worth having in my library and it gave me a better understanding of the terrible losses suffered by these young men, some as young as eighteen, who volunteered to fly in Bomber Command and who came from all around the Commonwealth. It may not be the best book covering the subject but it's one of the few currently available and well worth the time to read.

by attempting to be everything to everyone, this book missed the mark. although useful in a few cases, the illustrations were mostly black and white, and the author list too long to provide good specifics. since most collectors choose to focus on a handful of writers this book may not suffice for them. As a general book, i think the cooper and pike book - collectors guide to detective fiction - is far superior.

Have only looked at the pictures. They are beautiful and inspirational.

I happened to purchase this novel and the author's previous Holmes effort, CHRONICLES OF THE MISSING YEARS, simultaneously. That was fortunate, because if I had purchased and read COTMY first, I would never have purchased another novel by this author, and so would have missed out on this one.

In short, this pastiche has everything that the first novel lacked: plot, vivid characters and characterizations, continual new developments and unexpected incidents. There's a good, scenery-chewing villain, Von Stein, and plenty of frantic action, as various secret agents practice the double- and triple-cross. As in any novel which mixes Holmes into WWI, there's not a lot of opportunity for Holmes to be Holmes--- instead, he's a rather elderly, but still spry action hero.

The novel's only liability is the return of a preposterous character from CHRONICLES, among whose many absurdly exaggerated abilities is that of being in two widely-separated locations at what is apparently the same instant, both timewise and plotwise. It is also a bit disappointing not to have Watson around, and further to be left at novel's end with no clear indication as to the current status of Mycroft Holmes.

If you don't mind some bending of the willow, you'll probably enjoy this adventure of Holmes in the middle East during the height of WWI.

This passable story of a serial killer in London's West End is rather undermined by the incredibly silly motive for the killings. Told by weaving together the storylines of the killer, the head policeman investigating the murders, and the reporter covering the story, there's not a whole lot of mystery to the tale, as the author gives the reader all the information and lets the story play itself out. In and of itself, it's a decent police procedural, as plodding door-to-door investigation tightens the noose around the killer, who is both arrogant, and unable to control his need to kill. He's a well-drawn character, a pimply-faced motorcycle courier with few friends and a disproportionate hatred for tourists. It's kind of a pulpy story, with an overly dramatic ending, but solid and sordid enough in its own way to entertain one for two hours.

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This is the book of lists. It lists countless way s to enhance classroom communication. It is a relatively common sense book with creative names for common concepts. I liked the book, however, it was overpriced for the value.