Mary Lee Settle is an American writer who tells us of her experiences as a woman member of the RAF during WWII. Because of her wonderful literary ability, these stories are vivid and thought-provoking. They deal with the cultural differences, class differences, and wartime conditions she experienced. A memorable read - you'll never forget her confrontation with some of her fellow women RAF members or how she learned to understand them. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be completely enthralling. I could not put it down. I laughed out loud all the way through it. Lucas' character was my favorite as you never knew what he might say or do next. This is a book about two endearing old men that set out on a journey that they had dreamed about their whole lives and, in a way, live out their fantasy's. It's a great inside look at old age and how to cope with it, and circumstances surrounding it. A very, very, good read!

grea

Without giving away the very intriguing story line, I can say that this story was most unique. It will leave you rubbing your chin in contemplation. It contained a few stories within the story, and was dotted with a few guest appearances by ghosts the main character did not recognize. But it resolves itself in the end in a very charming way. No peeking!

In her first poetry collection, ALPHABET SKIN, Cassandra Sagan reveals a very broad and deep poetic capability. Many of her poems are amusing (such as "Don't Be My Valentine" and "Coyote Poem") while others are so astonishing in their spiritual perspective (such as "The Ropes," "My Mother's Face," and "Leave a Little Room for God") that we feel them deep in our belly and up our spine. At turns cracking jokes, telling folksy tales, or blowing our minds with unusual perceptions, these poems contain many surprises and live up to the poet's startling assertion in one, "I'm still spreading wild things/ with every breath." Here is a poet who is utterly original and generous, capable of silliness and wisdom, and never guilty of putting on airs.

I was very impressed with the Alpha-Kids Level 1 Readers. My son is gaining the confidence he needs to move on to Level 2 Alpha-Kids already. My 4 year old can even read them! Real photographs give clues and sentence repetition makes it easy for them to pick up on words they can easily recognize.

There are fans, and there are FANS. And after paying several thousand dollars at a London auction house, a couple of years back, for the Gibson 345 guitar used by Alvin Lee at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival, Massachusetts-based long-time Ten Years After fan, Herb Staehr, has most definitely earned his place in that latter category. But he didn't stop there. For during the last few years Staehr has been meticulously marshalling his extensive collection of TYA and Alvin Lee memorabilia into the production of this mightily impressive book - to the best of my knowledge, the first one ever written about either this seminal British band or its brilliant guitarist frontman. It is - as its title implies - primarily a photographic history of the development of TYA, from its early sixties roots as a three-piece teenage band known as The Jaybirds, to its evolution into the four-piece stadium supergroup of thirty years ago. And what astonishing photographs there are. Staehr has not only unearthed literally scores of rare and previously unseen photos of the band in its glory years, but also fascinating images of the aforementioned pre-TYA Jaybirds. Following the break-up of the band in the mid-seventies, he has produced here a comprehensive catalogue of pictures detailing the development of Alvin Lee's solo career right up to the present day. Photos of the various TYA comebacks and reformations are also included, as well as images relating to the solo careers of other band members. So, if its photos you want, there will never be a better place to come, or a better book to buy. They include not only the examples listed above, but concert posters, album sleeves, ticket stubs, magazine covers - you name it, it's here. But Staehr has also provided a wealth of literary information too. There is a band biography, an impressively researched and massively detailed "concert chronology", album and gig reviews, extracts from interviews with band members and associates, all concluding with a comprehensive discography, a listing of T.V., film and video appearances, and finally an extensive biography. It goes without saying that this superb book is a "must buy" for all fans of Ten Years After and Alvin Lee. Yet its appeal should go wider than that. Anyone who was a fan of late sixties and early seventies blues-rock, or who counts themselves a member of the "Woodstock generation", or who just likes a darn good rock and roll read, will find themselves glad they purchased this book. No band rocked the blues like Ten Years After. No-one has recorded and written about that fact as well as Herb Staehr has done here.

The Amazing Beginning Of You is a straightforward introduction to the young reader about the miracles of conception, pregnancy, and birth from a Christian perspective. Color photographs reveal the incredible process of maturing from a zygote to a baby about to be born. The act of insemination (and human sexuality per se), is not explained or detailed in The Amazing Beginning Of You, which only briefly alludes to the role of the father in providing sperm. The focus is on presenting the creation of human life as a wonder granted by God. The Amazing Beginning Of You is an excellent and recommended book for Christian parents to answer the question: "Where do babies come from?"

My review is strictly based on the included cards... extremely cute and child-appropriate, though only the Major Arcana are included. Too bad they are punch-out, from a quality perspective. But I really love the art!

Wendell Minor has been busy this year, having illustrated picture books documenting 2 American heroes, which were published only a few months apart. INTO THE WOODS and RACHEL tell the stories of patriots, John James Audubon and Rachel Carson, respectively, who struggled to preserve the beauty and health of their native land. Now Mr. Minor has produced another picture book of equal radiance, focusing on the country that those heroes, and he, obviously love. The author is, like Audubon and Carson, another American legend, Katharine Lee Bates. Although her name is not familiar to many people, the poem she wrote certainly is. Here the entire song--not just the first few lines that most Americans have memorized--is emblazoned above Mr. Minor's spectacular paintings. Were she alive today, Ms. Bates would surely find this book comparable to the beauty of the country she wrote about in the first place. AMERICA depicts not only the "purple mountains" and "amber waves of grain" of the first stanza, but breathtaking landscapes from every corner of the nation. The monumental natural landmarks--enormous cliffs of the West, Niagara Falls, the Grand Tetons--are shown as well as quieter, but equally striking, scenes of farmers harvesting wheat in Iowa and steamboats pushing across the mist-shrouded Mississippi River. Even the light beams in Manhattan where the World Trade Center once stood are captured forever in an elegant painting. AMERICA allows readers to visit the most far-flung and spectacular areas of the nation in only 5 minutes, so realistic and compelling are the illustrations. And seeing Bates's poem in its entirety will rekindle readers' feelings for our musical heritage, no matter how many patriotic tunes they've heard since 9/11. This book is a dignified and vibrant testimony to the greatness of this nation, worthy of being shared with all kinds of patriots, young and old, for years and years.