I used this book for a graduate information science course. The book helped me to understand how to form online search strategies and evaluate the results of those searches. I also learned how NOT to form searches. However, the vocabulary used was more complex than it needed to be. The diagrams used to show the flow of information from person to person in an institution, plus the flow of information from print and online resources were hard to follow and understand sometimes. The authors did a good job of predicting trends in the field of library and information science for the end of the 1990s. Many of the predictions have come to pass even as I write this today. I understand that the book was published in 1993. But since technology changes so rapidly and people in the industry are always searching for something "faster, cheaper, better," I think the book requires an update with clearer diagrams, simpler language, and a continued analysis of how trends in the information technology industry afffect the search for that information.

In THE KEY, artist and schoolteacher Kristie Matthews yearns for a simpler life. The day she moves into her new apartment, she sustains a dog bite necessitating a trip to the emergency room. Jon Clarke Griffin, who is at the farm to visit his friend, Jake, takes her to the hospital. While she is in the Emergency Room, a stranger hands her a key telling her to keep it for him but to tell no one she has it. She ends up befriending the elderly stranger as he is hospitalized recovering from a heart attack. She has no idea she is putting herself in danger as well. Meanwhile Kristie breaks off the relationship with her lawyer boyfriend, Todd Reasoner and soon thereafter begins seeing Clarke Griffin. Soon a series of peculiar events including a break-ins, make Kristie wonder what she has gotten herself into.

The three books in this series, set on the Zook's Amish farm, each have an element of suspense in addition to the romance. Each story is told in first-person from the heroine's point of view. Gayle Roper is a master at storytelling! I also heartily recommend THE DOCUMENT and THE DECISION as well as THE KEY - it's been a long time since I read all three books in a series back-to-back, but I really couldn't put these down.

Sir Walter Maltravers is haunted by the memory of his failure during the fall of Constantinople, and by his failure at the Battle of Towton. Despite his wealth, his beautiful wife, and the holy Lacrima Christi--a ruby said to have been formed from the blood of Jesus--he lives in agony and in guilt. When he is found dead and his jewel is stolen, Kathryn Swinbrooke is called in to administer the King's justice.

Danger, more murder, and more locked room mysteries confront Kathryn as she investigates. Maltravers was killed in the middle of a maze to which only he knew the secret. The jewel was kept in a locked room in a guarded monastery. A thief vanishs from a locked church. It seems that perhaps the avenging angels truly have stepped in. Certainly all of the suspects have alibies that cannot be shaken. Yet Kathryn diagnoses murder, not God's justice. She's determined to unravel the maze of death and murder and find the killer hiding in its depths.

Author C. L. Grace makes the middle ages come alive. Set during the English War of the Roses, A MAZE OF MURDERS convincingly describes English justice of the time, the (mixed) role of women, contemporary medicine, and the ambiguous nature of justice in a time when patriotism and treason are distinguishable only after a battle is fought and lost. Kathryn's dogged determination to solve a host of locked room mysteries is admirable and sympathetic.

I would have preferred to see better motivation for the final murder--which seems to exist only to give Kathryn the final clues she needs to the solution. Also, I suspect that Kathryn's mild flirtation with her fiance, Colum Murtagh, is intended to humanize Kathryn. Instead, it seemed cloying, distracting from the murder without adding anything to the story. Notwithstanding these flaws, A MAZE OF MURDER makes enjoyable reading.

Sure, this book was designed to explain the origins of the Hans Herr House built near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1719. But it includes historical background about the Mennonites from their beginnings in Switzerland and the German Palatinate through their immigrations to North America in the early 1700s. Aspects of typical daily life are detailed as well, such as building construction techniques, farming, furnishings, foods and cooking procedures, tools, and religious practices. Even though the rooms can be imagined by reading the descriptions and studying the color photos, a floor plan would have helped those readers who haven't yet visited the house. Still, anyone with Mennonite or Pennsylvania German roots should probably read this slim volume someday.

One chapter follows the ownership of the property, which remained in the hands of Herr descendants until 1969, when the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society was able to acquire it. There was plenty of work to do; the structure had been unoccupied for more than a century. Restoration even included matching the existing mortar with a mixture of cow manure and yeast! Through the work of the society and many hours of volunteer labor, the site is now on the National Register and offers tours and educational programs. You can visit it on the web at ...

I found the book very humorous. It was contridictory to many of the current
standards, however quite insightful as to the nature of the cyclical patterns of the
"Upper Class". I would recommend it for anyone interested in
linguistics and the different subjective views of what is correct or incorrect.

Old Order Amish: Their Enduring Way of Life, explores the Amish in modern American in general, and the settlement of Amish people in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, in particular. This book not only has fascinating text which throws the reader right into the heart of what it means to be Amish, but also has breathtaking photographs of life in and around the village of Intercourse, just some 60 miles west of Philadelphia. The author explores many of the differeent aspects of Amish life, such as: farming, religion, courting, marriage, childbirth, business & industry, education & politics. This book is well worth the price; I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This beautifully photographed book provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the region, where to stay, where to eat and where to go and visit. This area is usually treated as an afterthought in travel guides, it was nice to see a book dedicated to the region and its people.

The information is a few years old - I believe the book was published in the late 90s - but we found it to be very accurate and reliable (in fairness, the region is not known for its rapid change.....). I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to spend a weekend, a few days, or even just take a quick trip through the area. The book takes less than two hours to read, and it is worth it just for things that you can tell your kids as you drive through!

I found this a great book to start learning piano. My college class uses this book and It is definately a great help.

This book is very good, though it wasn't a book that I raced through and couldn't put down I found it very interesting and enjoyed it immensely. "The Secret Road" is written about the secret service back in the time of George Washington. There are a group of people who feel so strongly for their country that they risk their lives every day. The best part about this book is that a lot of it is true. It is fascinating to know that that the characters were real. It was an interesting read and I suggest that if you like historical fiction, there are a lot of other GREAT books out there. But if your interested in how secret service started, this is the one for you.