"The Big Box" is a Level 1 book from the Real KidsReaders series. My son is a still a beginning reader, strugglingsomewhat, and is easily frustrated when he finds he cannot read many of the words in a book. I have tried other beginning reader series of books found that several of their Level 1 titles were too advanced for him. I introduced this book to him, and lo and behold, he read an entire book by himself! His confidence level was raised by accomplishing this and now, since I've introduced other books in this series to him, he has started taking more risks and his reading is improving steadily.

I was very pleased that the content is phonics based, includes rhyming words, and bright photographs of the main characters - children who appear to be around the same age as the reader it was intended for. It also includes a page at the end with phonics guidelines and helpful hints for parents to make reading a positive experience for their children.

If you have beginning readers who are ready to tackle their first book by themselves, I highly recommend this book, and the others in this series.

Since most studies of Russian industrialization tend to examine the capitalist system as a whole and downplay the role of individual firms, Jonathan Grant's Big Business in Russia fills an important niche. Originating from his Ph.D. dissertation (University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1995), this in-depth study of the St. Petersburg-based Putilov Company, Imperial Russia's largest arms manufacturer, advances our understanding of Russian industrial history at the micro level. The few specialists who have explored business activity in Imperial Russia have focused either on firms established by foreigners or non-industrial firms (e.g. banking, publishing, or insurance). Grant, now an assistant professor of modern Russian history at Florida State University in Tallahassee, poses the question: "Did Russian businessmen conduct their affairs in a unique way based on an essentially different understanding of the market and state, or did they pursue strategies for growth that would have been intelligible to their contemporaries in Britain, France, Germany, and the United States?" (p. 1). Grant concludes that Putilov's market behavior did not differ from that of the key Western arms manufacturers such as Krupp, Skoda, Vickers, and Scneider-Creusot. Thus, Grant maintains, Russian business behavior was not "deviant." The board of directors at the Putilov Company followed expansionist strategies as aggressive as any of its Western counterparts, hesitating neither to jettison old product lines, nor to invent new ones based on market forecasts. Hence Grant's study shows that the state's role in the Putilov Company-still extant today as the Kirovsky Zavod--has been exaggerated.
The book is divided into seven chronological chapters: 1) "The Rise and Fall of a Rail Manufacturing Giant: N. I. Putilov and the Putilov Company, 1868-1885;" 2) "Engineering Growth: Locomotives, Artillery, and Diversification Strategies, 1885-1900;" 3)"The Russian Krupp: Putilov and the Artillery Business, 1900-1907; 4) "Banks, Boards, and Naval Expansion: The Question of Bank Dominance, 1907-1914;" 5) "Putilov at War, 1914-1917; 6) "Conclusion: Between State and Market;" and 7) "Epilogue: Putilov's Successors." Grant's Introduction skillfully reviews the scholarly literature on Russian industrial history.
Because the Putilov factory had experiences typical of other industrial enterprises in Late Imperial Russia, Grant's choice of a case study is ideal. Originally purchased and owned by Nikolai Ivanovich Putilov (1817-1880), the factory was dependent on the tsarist state, then sold out to foreign investors whence it became a joint-stock company (p. 4).
Grant's wide use of foreign archival documents contributes to the book's uniqueness. He draws extensively on the Putilov factory's correspondence with banks and government offices from the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA) in St. Petersburg, as well as its correspondence with the tsarist army and navy from the Russian State Archive of the Navy in St. Petersburg and from the Russian State Military-Historical Archive in Moscow. For the discussion of Putilov's armaments production in Chapters Two and Three, Grant used the records of the Main Artillery Administration (Glavnoe Artilleriiskoe Upravleniye), as well as British Admiralty intelligence reports located in the British Public Record Office (Kew, Surrey, United Kingdom). In addition, he found the company's published annual account books, housed at the Moscow-based Lenin Library, to be largely reliable, despite rumors by a Soviet scholar that they may have been falsified (p. 15).
While Grant defends admirably his argument about the Putilov Company, one wishes he had extended it a bit farther. If "the image of Russia as fundamentally exceptional in its economic development should be discarded," and if Russian capitalists before the Bolshevik Revolution were just as astute as their Western counterparts, what made Soviet Russia so vulnerable to the mythology of Marxist economic and political theory?
In any case, serious graduate students interested in Russian and European business history should read Big Business in Russia: The Putilov Company in conjunction with other key works such as Susan McCaffray's The Politics of Industrialization in Tsarist Russia: The Association of Southern Coal and Steel Producers, 1874-1914 (Northern Illinois University Press, 1996); Thomas C. Owen's Entrepreneurship in the Russian Empire, 1861-1914 (M.E. Sharpe, 1996); and Ruth A. Roosa's and Thomas Owen's Russian Industrialists in an Era of Revolution: the Association of Industry and Trade, 1906-1917 (M.E. Sharpe, 1997).---Johanna Granville, Ph.D., Stanford University

I read this book in a single day. It deals with the way we (mostly women) use hair as a first step towards identifying ourselves and even identifying (or trying on) the self we are becomming. It was straightforward but lighthearted and kind. You could tell the author enjoyed the research. Hair as a window to the soul.

This book is a treasure. I used it several years ago as a sophomore in high school to prepare for the AP Examination in Biology. Wonderfully illustrated, exceptionally written, and very easy to use!

I got a "5" on the exam, which is the highest score attainable... I think that speaks for itself!

"The Blassiah" is an emotion-packed adventurous journey of life. You will experience the exhiliration of a child's birth, the pleasures of life's successes, the courage and strength in facing great diversities, and the genteel attributes of life in a small southern bayou town.

The Blassiah is an example of inspirational living, encompassing such theories as respect for elders, charitable assisting of others, and respecting all mankind. Its underlying theme emphasizes the positive attributes of living under difficult circumstances, and presents a pathway to question one's own ideas and prejudices. Whatever your source of inspiration, the Blassiah will supplement your most introspective moments with enlightened understanding.

Though fictional, the characters are representative of all of us; you will recognize someone you know and/or experiences we all have shared. Scenes are described in much detail, so that you can easily visualize the action as it occurs.

The Blassiah should be read by everyone who desires a fresh look on life. It is truly an uplifting journey that sets a guiding light for personal development.

I fined this book to be very useful. If you run in to problems
this book will help you. Another good reason, if your in to
cheating this book also shows you some very good cheats, that
do work. get one.

anyone interested in the bloomsbury group - vanessa bell & duncan grant should definitely add it to their collection

"The Blue Faience Hippopotamus" is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, a story for both children and adults. The writing is top notch, featuring what is almost a "hero's quest" for children, ending with an exquisite example of unselfishness and the true gift of love and life. While similar in many ways to "The Velveteen Rabbit," it is neither an imitator nor an homage; I cry each time I read the story. In addition to the excellent writing are the illustrations, featuring beautifully crafted images which bring the tale to life while utilizing numerous historically accurate artistic motifs of the ancient Egyptians. Although this book is currently out of print, I believe that a story of such lovliness should be reissued to entertain and enlighten those fortunate enough to read "The Blue Faience Hippopotamus."

Full of humor and glee, just an excellent work all around. Well done.

One of the best books I've read about how to help the American people... full of facts and well documented. If you are inspired by truth... it's a "must read."