I love this series and have several of them -- all bought in the UK while visiting. All the books have creative ideas for display, most with colour photographs of actual displays in actual classrooms. This one takes a collection of stories (most of which I believe are published in the UK) and gives thematic lesson ideas for each one, along with a display or two to accompany the theme. Although several of the Belair books belong in my library of favourites, I found this one to be a little less useful. The ideas weren't terribly well-developed or comprehensive, although they do serve as a beginning point for creating thematic units. I have used display ideas, though and even one or two of the suggested activities from this book. A fair resource, with great display ideas, but Belair has several other books I would choose before this one.

This is a British anthology on lesbians of color. The lack of Latina and Native American voices in this book is a sign of its Britishness. If you liked the "Piece of My Heart" anthology, you should like this. It reminds me of "This Bridge Called My Back" in some ways as well. The context is different from America's and this may frustrate some readers. Still, those interested in books about lesbians of color should add this to their collection.

I was pleased to recent find Paul Ekman's book _Why Kids Lie_ given my interest in the virtue of honesty. The book proved to be an easy read, as the writing style was clear, engaging, and even friendly. But like many psychology books written in such a breezy tone, Eckman's book fell a bit short in the substance department.

However, the book was certainly not entirely lacking. Eckman summarizes some psychological studies that I have not seen elsewhere, such as those that investigating the factors influencing children's choices to cheat and lie. Of particular use to parents is his discussion of the evolution of children's attitudes towards lying throughout childhood. Most children start off with the view that lying is always wrong, then slowly allow more exceptions until dishonesty is pretty much okay whenever as a teenager. And he does offer practical advice to parents of lying children.

But two failings did stand out:

First, Eckman's understanding of the justification for honesty as a virtue is entirely limited to the argument that dishonesty destroys trust in relationships. No other reasons for honesty are given explicit attention. However, since so many lies go undetected, this argument from trust is one of the weakest arguments for honesty available. Additionally, trust works in strange and muted ways in family relationships, because the option of scaling back or terminating a relationship is simply not available as in adult relationships. Members of a family are, for the most part, stuck with each other for better or worse for many, many years. If a child betrays a parent's trust, that parent cannot trade in their child for a new and better one. But the (limited) power of the appeal to trust comes from exactly this possibility: that our relationships might be severely hampered or even destroyed by the discovery of a lie. As a result, where children are concerned, the argument from trust really boils down to the fact that kids avoid lying for fear of being caught and punished. This sad fact certainly highlights the need for a more complete view of why honesty is a virtue.

Second, Eckman hops, skips, and jumps through important moral arguments concerning the scope of honesty as a virtue. He asserts (without much argument) that certain types of lies are acceptable, such as those told to be polite or to protect oneself from danger. Unfortunately, Eckman's moral distinctions are fuzzy and unclear, and thus prone to expansion. We see such expansion in his teenage son Tom's views on morally acceptable lies, as laid out rather well in Chapter Four by Tom himself. Tom argues that any lie "told for good purpose" is acceptable, including lies to "avoid getting in trouble" (109). We also see the failure of altruism to establish honesty as a virtue in his question: "As long as [a lie] doesn't hurt anybody, what is so wrong about it?" (109). Unlike Eckman, parents do need to demarcate clear moral lines with clear reasons if they wish their kids to adhere to moral principles.

For any parent trying to cope with a deceitful child, _Why Kids Lie_ may prove useful. But don't get your hopes up.

This story takes place around the fall of 1854 in an isolated part of the middle part of America, from Iowa to Oregon. Of course, most of the land there was farmland and not very nice. The weather was cloudy, rainy or sometimes sunny and there was a lot of open space. At that time many people were traveling west to Oregon because they could get 300 acres of farmland to cultivate for their own. Because of the harsh conditions in that part of the country the trip was very dangerous for people to attempt. Many people could not get to their destination and many people died trying. I don't think we can understand their difficulties because we never saw places that were so difficult to travel through. The main characters of this story were Mr. Meeker, Eliza Jane and her husband Ezra, Margaret and Williams who was Ezra's friend and partner. Mr. Meeker was very immature, but he was brave and dedicated and was a good leader. Margaret, the schoolteacher, was very smart and encouraged Mr. Meeker during the trip. Eliza Jane was a good wife for Ezra, and she was a perfectionist. Unfortunately, she slowed down the trip and was usually in the last wagon. Williams kept strange formulas that he tried to give the travelers when they were sick. He did not really help very much. I liked the characters, but I didn't really see any changes in them during the story. They kept the same roles all along. I think that Margaret is a little like Mrs. Bycer because she was so caring and intelligent. No characters surprised me, and they basically were good people who helped one another. They were hard workers and fair people who struggled hard to survive. Mr. Meeker even gave away his childhood rattle to an Indian who would not let them cross his land without a payment.

The plot of the story was interesting because it involved people struggling to get to Oregon for a better life. They faced many difficulties including a harsh winter, crossing dangerous rivers, and a rattlesnake, which tried to bite Mr. Meeker. I did not know if these travelers would survive and many others did not. I was happy they succeeded. Any of the many challenges they faced could have ended their journey or even their lives. Chapter 16 was the most important chapter because if the Indian border guard would not let them through they would be stuck, with nowhere to go. Luckily, the Indian thought Mr. Meeker's rattle had magical powers and he accepted this as toll. They were then able to continue their journey.

The author, Miriam E. Mason, wrote 8 other books, but they are all out of print. I do not know if she won any awards, and I think she is no longer living. I looked on the Internet and could not find information about her. I have a list of her other books on the next page.

I liked the book and found it exciting, and I would recommend it to a friend if he were interested in nature and adventure. I felt scared for the characters and was happy when they succeeded. I did not learn much from the book, but found it inspiring because the characters overcame many obstacles. It was a lesson in faith.

All of the characters in all four stories are bland, one-dimensional, simple, and really just pathetic. (However, two of these short stories were just scanned.) The main characters do not seem to understand their own feelings and motives for anything they do.

Much of the writing is redundant, and therefore, unnecessary. Poor Ms. Aimee Fisher, on several pages, (paraphrased) "just can't understand the emotions she has for Leland."

In another story the characters are so unrealistic that it is ridiculous. John's mother, a sixty-something year old woman, needs Toni, the main character, to help her tell her son that "she wants to go home!" Ple-e-e-a-se!! There is no literary aplomb in any of these short stories. Well, I really just glanced through Ms. Mason's and Ms. King-Gamble's works because I was really too "afraid" to read them.

Some of the novellas were ok. Ms. Alers story was good. I like reading that one.

"From the Heart" by Rochelle Alers. Leland lives in an antebellum mansion on Georgia's St. Simons Island where he finds historic documents. Curator Aimee visits Leland to catalogue the discovery. They fall in love, but he lives on an ocean island while she resides in inland Atlanta, making a relationship seem impossible. Though the excuse seems feeble in this world of commuter marriages, fans will enjoy this well written contemporary.

"An Officer and A Hero" by Marcia King-Gamble. Reticent Kitt goes on a Caribbean cruise where she cannot compete with the women participating in the Miss Black Universe contest for the attention of cruise ship employer Jared. Still they fall in love, but several contestants want him too. This is an amusing fairy tale.

"Our Secret Affair" by Carmen Green. Though they work for the same company, Toni and John are competitors. Toni is the top salesperson while John is second. During the company's annual retreat, they fall in love, but they compete for a promotion that will lead to the lay off of the other. Though the premise of firing your top guns seems improbable when there are lesser talents available for downsizing, readers will like this dueling duo.

"Heart's Desire" by Felicia Mason. Single father David takes his three children on a Bahamas vacation where he meets Lucia. They are attracted to one another, but she played the role of stepmother once before and vowed never again. Though matchmaking children have become trite, the two adults make for a fine reading experience.

Some of the premises are weak, but the stories entertain and are fun to read so kick off your shoes and enjoy ISLAND BLISS.

Harriet Klausner

I get the sense that this book was published one draft too early. I would be embarassed to have my name as editor stamped on the cover. The book utilizes a Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc. structure and this fits the subject matter well. However, IOS router and PIX IPSEC/IKE configurations are similar and in the chapters detailing these subjects the layout in areas takes on a "cut and paste" feel ( Ex: cut pg 108-110, paste pg 186-188 ). In this case it leads to a glaring error. Chapter 7, PIX firewall for CA Site-to-Site, pg 186 "The PIX Firewall supports either preshared keys, RSA encrypted nonces....."
Oops. I'm almost sure the PIX DOESN'T support nonces. It is obvious that this was a cut, paste then edit oversight.

Chapter 4, explaining IOS Router for CA Site-to-Site, starts out with an example of two routers (RouterA, RouterB ) and a CA server but on Step 6 mystery router R1 makes an appearance. At this point the subject matter becomes confusing, examples of output from R1 are shown, is this router really RouterA? I'm not sure if we're using general keys or specialkeys? You flip back and forth through the chapters pages trying to overcome the confusion. Eventually you glean enough, ignoring the inconsistancies and move on.

The screen snap shots in the later chapters are of poor quality ( blurry ).

So, buyer beware. There are other errors but these annoyed me the most.

Presumably you would consider buying this book to help you pass the CSVPN test as I did. A good part of this material is available on CCO but it is fragmented among many separate documents. The one redeaming quality of this book is that it condenses that material into a portable, organized book form and , like or dislike, leaves out material that is not likely to be on the test.

I found this book to be useful for simply learning the commands to troubleshoot and setup a VPN on a PIX firewall. It was basr bones and dry (as are most vender sanctioned books are). It was lacking in detailed and real world examples. It tells you the commands for troubleshooting ipsec or isakmp, but does not really give you a lot of good information on deciphering the output of these commands.
If you simply need to know the commands and how-to of setting up a VPN, then this should work ok.

Note: My review was based of of the PIX sections of the book only.

I read this book before I saw the reviews on this site. I must say that the book is excellent. It covers the VPN technology overview in chapter 1 really good before going into the various configuration chapters. As a security engineer going through their CSS1, this book is invaluable and about the best IPSec resource on the market.

Buy it!

If you are a new reader to the Perry Mason series do not make this your starting point. I haven't read a Perry Mason mystery in more years than I care to count but I am still familiar with them. Looking for a good Mason case to read I was intrigued by the description provided for the book here. Don't be fooled! This is one of the most annoying books I have suffered through in some time. The plot begins well but too soon the characters all become sources of painful irritation. The normally lively banter between Mason and Tragg seems draggy and lifeless; the mystery is incredibly contrived and has too many plot conveniences; an ever astute Perry makes a simply unbelievable sighting of a key witness. Then, near the end of the book, two of the characters exhibit exasperating behavior that Gardner seems to believe adds to the readers enjoyment. It doesn't - it aggravates all the more! And finally the payoff isn't at all acceptable. I may return here to buy another Perry Mason book sometime in the future, but I won't be holding my breath until then.

The title means a scarf printed with three monkeys, "see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil". It may not be a great Mason story, but a good, enjoyable Mason story. A very complicated story, involved with a organized crime and a secret investigation. Mason and a reader can't see what is all about until the near end. When Mason catches a glimpse of Lady Luck, he quickly grabs her hair to turn to him. I admire his vitality.

I have been trying to find flintstones book for my kids--this one is ok--they lost interest in it--they are 2 and 4--and at first its fun but then there are things they do not understand---but I am not sure if this book would hold the interest of most kids--and it is definitely nit for adults

I really liked this book. It was kinda neat to read it after I saw the movie. It wasn't that good of a book though, the movie was Better!

The title and painting on the cover are misleading as this is not a book about the Curtiss F9C-2 or the Macon's aircraft. It is a book about the Macon, people, blimps, the future of LTA etc. There are 9 photos of the author and only 11 of the F9C-2. The bibliography doesn't mention a single periodical and ignores the AAHS Journal (v3, n2) with 40 pages and 22 photos of the F9C-2.

Spurred on by the title I was somewhat disappointed by its contents. Mr. Hook provides excellent coverage of the how, where, and why the USS Macon crashed but very little as to the day to day operations. You will not find any details of the hanger where the Sparrowhawks were kept or how and what kind of aircraft maintenance could be performed there. There is no step-by-step description of aircraft recovery or launch.

The story and details of the Macon are intertwined with biographies of the most notable LTA crewmen. I said LTA crewmen because the book starts out talking about Mr. Moody Erwin a crewmember on the Akron only (never on the Macon). Unfortunately little is said of their days on the Macon (or Akron), instead Mr. Hook concentrates on their WWII and post WWII or pre Macon careers. This makes for the most unsatisfying reading imaginable when you're after information on the Macon's HTA unit.

There is also an abundance of filler type material. Is a biographical chapter on Ernie Pyle really necessary? There is also a chapter on the Japanese balloon bombs of WWII and the future of lighter than air vehicles.

The book is acceptable if you are after information on the crash of the USS Macon and general information regarding lighter than air vehicles. There is also a very decent bibliography and a detailed crew list. However, if you're like me, thinking that this book is just about the Sparrowhawks you'll be greatly disappointed.

This book rates nowhere near as good as all the others she has written. I found Tony's character to be selfish and very cruel to Amanda. She even bears his child early on and he's still his cruel self to her and her baby. His mistress is even worse! She treats Amanda horribly while Tony does nothing. If you ask me Lety the mistress should not have been in this story as long as she is. She worse than Tony by orchestrating Amanda's rape. Speaking of which there are too many of those in this book. I'm surprised Amanda didn't shoot Lety AND Tony, it would have been fitting. Come on. I read this in 1993 and its still not Connie Mason's best. Don't waste your time.

Well I haven't read this book in many years and I was very glad I reread it today. This is one of my favorite books by Connie Mason because I love the heroine in this book. She goes through hell, and I do mean, hell to have happiness. The hero in this story I don't really like. He puts her through most of the hell but in the end love conquers all.

This story starts out in London in 1759. the heroine, Amanda, has been sent off to get lace to finish a dress her mother is making for a very rich woman. On the way back she is mistaken as a prostitute and ends up being bedded by our hero, Tony. Tony is leaving for the colonies the next moring so she is his goodbye gift from his friends. He never realizes that she is a virgin. After he leaves the next day things go from bad to worse for Amanda. She now must steal so that her and her dying mother can eat. She is caught and soon finds herself on her way to the colonies as an indentured servant. Tony sees her and buys her and on the way home he can't help himself and takes her. She can't really help herself either because Tony does make her burn with passion. She becomes his housekeeper and he treats her very roughly. Finally they realize they love each other but there are a multitude of horrible things that will try and stop them from marrying. All throughout the book Amanda remains strong and I did like Tony some of the time. He got better. This book has very hot love scenes that could burn paper. You won't want to put this down until you've finished it.

I'm not sure what the bad reviews were about other than the herione's tortured life (which I must admit was pretty bad.) However, one must remember that this is a book, a beautifully written book, by the way, and not take it to heart.

As I have said in other reviews, if the book is all roses...how boring.