This book is a charming the wise King Solomon, and how the Queen of Sheba came to trick him to prove that he was not wise, and shame him before the whole world. King Solomon's kindness to a bee is what ultimately saves him from the Queen of Sheba's manipulations.

I remember growing up with this story -- the story is charming, but the gorgeous illustrations by Anita Lobel are what have stuck with me the most through all these years. Those illustrations were part of what helped to excite my interest in art at a young age. Years and years have passed, but I've always remembered this story and it's lovely pictures, but I couldn't remember the title. I finally found the title, and have found a used copy so that I can introduce my children to it someday.

Clever, to include a CD to provide the musical background! It makes a nice, tidy stocking stuffer, and one, as I've already experienced, bound to bring home the holiday spirit. Illustrated in top fashion, Elkins' book easily catches one's attention, visually as well. This edition brings to exciting presentation the traditional (religious!) stories of the Bible that most of us know (and cherish) so well.

Having been reared in Clay County, Alabama, I have read the book more than once. Grundy has done an outstanding job of portraying varying perspectives of life in this rural county which remains filled with people who are genuinely concerned for one another's well-being. While times have changed, the book brings clearly into focus a treasured way of life which continues to exist today in this area. The book consists of interviews with people from a number of different walks of life who have, through their own experiences, a deep love and respect for life in Clay County, Alabama. This book is a heartwarming reminder of times past and present and of the important things in life.

My daughter at 4-1/2 was ready to move out of the Beginner's Bible, and I was looking for a more mature approach to Biblical knowledge. The book and audio set is beautifully produced and delivers on its promise to present the essence of the entire Bible as a read- and sing-a-long experience. It is ideal for the beginning reader to appreciate the "bookness" of the Bible instead of thinking of it as a bunch of "stories." Much better than my ancient Illustrated Children' Bible with its too-high reading level, which when I searched was still the only other whole Bible project that could be used with a pre-reader.

My daughter would certainly give it five stars. She sits and turns the pages with the text and enjoys the songs. Some of the songs are pretty nice, others don't wear well on adult ears; this is only to be expected. What drops my rating is the overly swooning style that many of the narrators chose to read their texts in. Everyone from Moses to Hosea to Jesus uses exaggerated, elongated vowels, "Goooooooood Waaaaaaants Youuuuu to Giiiiiive Up Your EEEEEEEEEvil Waaaaaaaaaays," which is *really, really* annoying, and I think gives kids a twisted example of "special Bible-style talk" that detracts from the real power and beauty of the words.
My tender, liberal ELCA Lutheran heart also cringed when I noticed "Jerry Falwell as Matthew" on the credits, but it's an unfortunate truth that this kind of project can only make money if it targets the conservative Christan community. And, let's face it, no one less conservative would dare to serve some of the un-gentle aspects of the Old Testament straight up (inevitable in the minor prophets). So if you're in the mainstream-to-left Christian community, be forewarned about this p.o.v. that's not entirely obvious from other reviews. All in all, though, it's an honest presentation of excerpts from all the books, and I don't want my daughter to grow up with a sugar-coated "children's stories" approach to her Judeo-Christian heritage.

This is a wonderful set of stories & songs. In fact, I'm tempted to give it the highest possible praise: its quality is comparable to "Baby Mozart." My daughter asks to hear the songs over & over. When the kids are restless in the car we say, "a few more stories & we'll be there!"

I am a Korean University student. It was really excellent.
I heard it as audio CD. I listen to it again and again.

Not being familiar with Elkin or his work, it was a pleasant surprise to read 'Dick Gibson.' Elkin has an amazing imagination, and a wonderful ear for wordplay. The 'guests' on Gibson's radio shows just can't help but reveal their deepest, darkest (usually sexual) secrets. And Gibson is too smart to step in their way. This book is amazingly prescient about the advent of 'entertainment' like Jerry Springer, "reality" programs, and all those radio shows people call just hear themselves think. It's a shame this programming has none of Elkin's sardonic wit - or his intelligence. I'm looking forward to reading more Elkin.

Elkin is not an easy read, but he's funny, brilliant, dazzling and dizzying, the kind of writer that might emerge if Proust were cloned with I.B. Singer, or maybe Damon Runyon. This book shows him at the top of his game. His sheer energy and love of language blasts through on every page. Forget about plot. Elkin is to writing what Cirque du Soleil is to entertainment. If you like well-plotted books that will leave you with a moral or a memorable story, Elkin may not be for you. If you like language for language's sake and appreciate sentences sculpted by a lingual Michelangelo and marvelous displays of craft, try this book. Elkin is a limited writer and an acquired taste, but within his limitations he was the best. I know of no other writer who could, for example, write a novel about terminally ill children (The Magic Kingdom) and make it funny and moving without ever getting anywhere near sentimentality or the kind of somber earnestness you'd expect. If you like this book, try Magic Kingdom and also Criers and Kibbitzers, a short story collection of his.

This is not quite Mrs. Ted Bliss but in some respects it is probably better. I don't know - I loved them both, but being a woman perhaps liked Mrs. Ted better. Still - Stanley Elkin is a man with a jumpin' mind! The twists and turns of this novel are magnificent - and what I love most is that his writing is not predictable. You keep reading just to see what new trick he'll pull.

I eagerly looked forward to this book after reading a review in the local paper. However, the title is very misleading. Although it is well done for what it is, it is not a book (right brain) about how to see, but rather is a (left brain) book about the rather interesting details of the object that you are seeing ...like what automobile forces have created the irregularities in pavement, or what the anatomy is behind a chest x-ray, or the geologic history of grains of sand... interesting, but not really a book about the process of seeing, and how to actually see objects. You may actually enjoy this book if you are interested in unusual facts and details about the world, but its not a book about the process of awakening your awareness...

How to Use Your Eyes by James Elkins invites us to look at -- and maybe to see for first time -- the world around us, with breathtaking results. Note, only a little of this book is about colors. Other chapters include things that everyone sees, but no one notices: cracks in pavement, culverts under highways, grass, sand. We appreciated sunsets much more after reading this book.

I love this book. I love the fussy little details. I took this book to school, and two eigth-graders were fighting over it. They were eager to show other students and me the gems they had found in it. Thanks to Marcia for giving it to me.

Stanley Elkin is one of the masters of twentieth century prose. His dialogue is completely believable and the language never comes across as pretentious. The characters in "The Living End" are both realistic and humorous, while the novel explores dark themes. Elkin's vision is a pessimistic one but he never comes across as too "preachy." All in all, an enjoyable read.

Wait, is that a compliment or a putdown?

Stanley Elkin's deceivingly short novel is not a quick read. I made the mistake of reading it to and fro my train rides to work and at lunch, and, I must say, the life around me was something of a distraction from Elkin's humurous and terrifying depiction of the afterlife. Imagine reading run-on sentences like the above over and over again, thinking to yourself, "It's short... it's short... just finish reading out of respect and move on to the next book." And then imagine sentences, unlike the aboves, fill'd with wacky words that make you wish you spent more time doing crossword puzzles and that little Quiz at the end of Reader's Digest.

I'm not saying that Elkin was laboriously thesauring away, trying hard to impress the reader with his vocabulary, or syntax, or ideas, but I am saying that this book requires something of a commitment.

So I gave it one.

I reread the novel, and I picked up on some of what I was missing before. "Oh, THAT'S who Lesefario was...".

And I looked down upon my finish'd book. And it was good.

My advice follows: keep reading 'till the end. The last few lines are killer. If you feel disheartened, imagine C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" and what a bore that was. Then imagine Woody Allen writing it, without slapstick, and get back to the novel at hand, my boy... And if you want to feel good about yourself for reading a book of some substance, remember that Oprah will never, EVER, recommend this one...

This is one of the best books ever written. Elkin hilariously dissects and explodes every tenant of Christianity by slamming the contradictions into one another with perfect timing and accuracy. He paints the dilemmas faced by all believers through the incredibly credible characters he creates : Ellerbee is a good man who didn't believe and so goes to hell, for that and some other petty omissions and indiscretions, while God, thoroughly imperfect as well as a pompous egotist, is a supreme being who likes to be idolized and entertained certain he does not have to defend his inhumanity to man. In Heaven, Joseph does not believe his son, the cripple, is the messiah. This and so many other contradictions and paradoxes roll lightly across the eyes in this little book leaving you to believe you just read a book bigger than any bible. It is a book that you can read in a sitting, but I guarantee you will sit again and again as you reread it finding something new and delightful every time you turn a page.

I always enjoy Gideon Oliver mysteries. The puzzles are always cleverly constructed and full of intriguing details. They also benefit from a nice touch of humor. "Twenty Blue Devils" is no exception. The mystery revolves around a family-run coffee business in Tahiti. Gideon has to figure out the meaning of some curious details on corpses and skeletons to prove that a murder has actually been committed, and then to figure out who's guilty of what. Followers of the Gideon Oliver series will remember that Gideon started as a bachelor, and his sidekick was John Lau, friend and local FBI agent. Then Gideon met and married Julie, and she has increasingly generally become the principal sidekick. John's role has diminished accordingly. This isn't a problem. Julie is a satisfactory character. Sometimes you might miss John, though. I did, anyway. In "Twenty Blue Devils" John makes a nice comeback. It is his family that owns the coffee business, and it is through him that Gideon gets involved in the case. Altogether, this is one of those books that keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. I always hesitate to give mysteries a five-star rating. In my opinion, few can match Christie and Doyle for plot and characterization. They are my standard. Among current writers, however, Elkins is one of my favorites. And "Twenty Blue Devils" is one of his better tales. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.

I always like a mystery book which is built the old-fashioned way. There's a corpse, and someone's got to figure out who it is and why they're dead. When you've got the Hugh Grant of dectives, Gideon Oliver, along for the ride, you know you're going to have more twists and turns then a a maze. I liked Twenty Blue Devils, because it was engaging and had some interesting characters. A lot of the questions brought up by the corpse's skeleton were fascintating, and of course, the coffee had appeal to a Seattlite. Elkins is a very intelligent and detailed writer, who plots out a phenomenal mysteries that you just don't want to put down.

Aaron Elkins writes superb mysteries the old fashioned way. He actually has a puzzle in each of his novels!! Along with his intriguing and well thought out puzzles, he also has nice characters, exotic locals and humorous quips. Read them all.

The Age of Federalism is a fascinating and in-depth review of the politics, ideas, personalities, controversies, and events that shaped the American nation during the Washington and Adams Administrations. From the character profiles of many key players in the 1790s to the carefully weighed and thoroughly presented analyses of the causes and outcomes of these events, this book shows you not just how our history was interesting, but why it is important to know. I came away hungry to see a similar treatment by McKitrick and Elkins of the years following the 1800 election. McKitrick and Elkins made me care about these events. This story and these compelling personalities held an almost soap opera level hold on my attention. Only it was a soap opera for smart people. It would be easy after reading this book to get into a heated argument over the policies of Hamilton and the methods of opposition to them chosen by Jefferson and Madison. It becomes clear that, had we had different leaders--or had they made different choices--the United States we know today could easily have turned out far differently. This book records the triumph of the great experiment, and the tragedy of the toll the founding exacted. To watch Madison and Hamilton slowly drift from true friends to bitter enemies was as painful as watching again the Zapruder film or the Challenger footage. In the end, the reader can look back and see that, despite the dour portraits our crumpled green currency presents, this was not time of boring dead white men, but an Age of Passion.

This superb book has to be one of the most memorable and thought-provoking works of modern history I have ever read. I bought my copy on a visit to the USA and read it immediately on my return home to New Zealand. I was riveted, not by the narrative so much, as by the sheer intelligence and reflectiveness of the authors. Rather than pile on a mountain of details, the book is constructed around a series of particular developments and problems, each of them analysed in a calm, lucid manner which is history-writing at its best. Best of all, I thought, was the authors' brilliant discussion of the foundation of Washington DC, which they seem to think was a colossal mistake. Had New York or Philadelphia been the capital, they suggest, then America would have possessed a culture of interchange between government, commerce and high culture; separation of the capital from other great centres of American civilization has had major implications for the cultural development of the United States. A provocative thought.

If you ever wondered how the USA developed after an 8 year revolution followed by 4 years of debate surrounding our constitution, then this is the book. Very well written, but filled with immense reference material, TAoF is a monumental, scholarly work that should become high school reading material and at the least read in every college. Culturally, economically and politically - the USA was not an assured thing. If you ever wondered what the founding fathers thought about political parties, read this book. Some of the partisan politics played during the 1790's make the our most recent presidential election look like child's play. And you may want to purchase this work due to the detail and style of writing.

After his last trip aboard, Gideon is back in his office being a professor. He is depressed over his latest birthday and wondering if his life has come to writing papers and teaching students. He wants to go back into the field and make discoveries on archaeological digs. Julie is trying to make him happier with an
decadent lunch when he gets a call From Abe. Back in 1982 they were both on a dig that was shut down due to dangerous conditions and a theft. He leaps at the chance to be back digging in dirt and discovering the lost secrets of the Maya Tribe. As the title suggest their is a curse on the place whether it is real or
someone is manipulating accidents to fit the clues only the reader can deduce that. Gideon is a character that
is easy to like and Elkins surrounds him with great settings and cast of characters that make the plot move forward without effort. Since these books take place in the 1980's it is interesting to see how they determine cause of death and identify bones without the modern technology of DNA and computers. I can't
wait to read more of this series as Elkins has Gideon keeping up with current trends in his field. Unlike Sue Grafton ( Kinsey Milhone series) who doesn't equip her with modern convinces like a cell phone, I can't wait until Gideon meets a computer.

A. Elkins is one of my all time favorite author's. He won the Edgar award a few years ago for a number of reasons. Any fan of Oliver's is sure to like this book. Once more our hero has to get out of a pickled mess and explore the jungle. Gideon is fast becoming a world traveller! The book is a lot of fun to read at the beach and is part of a good mystery collection!

I am beginning to think that the field of archaeology is a dangerous one. Gideon is called to the Yucatan by his mentor Abe to look at a skeleton found in the Priest's House at the dig there. Gideon and his wife Julie excitedly take the trip to the excavation, only to find more than just a skeleton there. Gideon has to dredge up memories of the previous dig at the site when a Mayan codex was stolen by the leader of the dig. A curse left by the Mayans in the Priest's House warns that horrible things will happen to any person who disturbs the site. Little by little the curses begin to happen to the group. Are the Gods of the Maya exacting their revenge, or is someone trying to cover something up?

Aaron Elkins is very good at spiriting the reader away to foreign lands and leading them on exciting quests and mysteries. You are sure to enjoy this one.