Ms. Park presents us with a dark future where the elite control the general population with technology, and later addictive drugs. The people revolt and murder most, but not all. Eve and her campanions are some of those surviving elite, living now as drug dealers. They must flee when pursued and discover a new world with its own intelligent beings. And from there it gets truely strange. I highly recommend this novel.

The Annunciate is really an exceptional book because it combines a fascinating and original SF universe with complex characterizations that are problematic in our own world. Although I'm a fan of Nicole Griffith and other writers who emphasize gender issues, Severna Park assumes most of these issues as a starting point and doesn't shrink from the honest appraisal of the most anguished and perhaps insoluable dilemmas in personal relationships among any gender. While this book is well worth reading simply for the surface fiction, I find its underlying psychological aspect to be its most fascinating aspect.

Humans have traveled throughout the galaxy, but in spite of some incredible technical achievements, Homo Sapiens live in a caste system consisting of the Meshed, Jacked, and Jackless. Technology is the divisor. The Meshed uses nanomachines to link with the sensory and information Net. The Jacked works with a simple computer. The Jackless has no access.

The Meshed is the most powerful and envied of the triad. However, many of the Meshed selfishly and malevolently flaunt their powers by using them for personal gain regardless of the cost to others. The other groups use computer viruses to hunt down the Meshed. Three of the more evil Meshed (Eve, Corey, and AnnMarie) flee to the ThreeSys where they begin to peddle an elixir to end aggressive actions. They actually sell the addictive drug Staze that leaves the user inside an euphoric dream state. The trio finally heads to the planet Paradise where THE ANNUNCIATE and the original Mesh live. Awaiting their arrival is an essence that does not require mechanical means to break down the barrier between reality and virtual reality.

THE ANNUNCIATE is a dark look at the future of humanity and in the fertile mind of Severna Park it appears very bleak. The story line is fast-paced yet thought provoking. The main characters are unappealing including Eve even after she breaks away from Corey and Annmarie. However, that characterization is essential to the overall theme of galaxy growing gloomier wherever mankind is. Not for everyone, Ms. Park is one of the new talents that have energized the SF genre with this novel and the HAND OF PROPHECY.

I love this book but for the rank amateur it is lacking in one very important area, reading and writing Hangul. To learn to read and write Hangul from this book you would need a Phd in linguistics. However, if you can already read and write in Hangul then this book is for you. It has tons of useful vocabulary and grammar structures which are explained very clearly. Each unit also provides numerous examples and drills which help you master each concept. It is more expenive than other books but it contains more information than any other three books I've seen. After finishing this book, you should be able to express yourself in Korean quite well. If you can't read and write Hangul, I recommend you start with Korean Through English 1 and then come back to this book.

I'm using this textbook to learn Korean now. I suspect there must be better ones around. I find the drills completely useless. There are a few structural problems as well. The explanations of grammar are usually pretty good.

Here in Korea I found a book called "Basic Sentence Patterns in Korean." I can't find it on Amazon. If you know the basics about Korean verbs and have a vocabulary of a couple hundred words, that book is the best one I know about.

I try to own every Korean language learning text there is, but this one is absolutely the best for learning Korean without professional guidance and it assumes you know nothing. It saved me from ignorance when I lived in the Korean countryside 16 years ago and there were no classes, a difficult situation for Korean because it takes a while just to learn how to learn it. The book always shows numerous examples, good for Americans who like to "understand" instead of just being told what the rules are, the kind a teacher would give you if s/he were trying to help things sink in. Other books are more "scientific" (Koreans love this word) in terms of current (= "ever changing") methodology, but this one just shows you what to do in very simple terms so you can talk your head off. Eventually you will graduate to more complicated approaches, but this is your best point of departure when you're all by your lonesome.

I knew people like this growing up. And I grew up in South Dakota. It's a story of poor people who could be anywhere. Characters are great -- I like a book where I don't necessarily like the characters -- they're just real. This is a "must read" just for the exposure to the Trailer Trash side of life.

This book is so much like the people that I know and have grown up with during my entire life. It was as if Patrick was writing about people that live up the street or around the corner that I have know since childhood. It was an excellent true to life accomplishment for him. He should definantly write us something new and as entertaining as this book. Sincerely, Sabra

From the moment you read the first chapters, you will be able to feel, hear, smell and see this story unfolding in your mind's eye. The characters are either family members or someone you know. It's as if Randal Patrick was raised in your neighborhood and he knows everyone you do and how they talk. You will recognize everyone in this book. As you are reading you will catch yourself smiling and wondering how Randal Patrick heard that conversation from your past. The book is most entertaining. Enjoy!!!!

There is so much information crammed into this book - I love it. The current events (year in review) sections of the almanac are quite up to date (through 10/10/2001), the horror of 9/11 is covered substantively. It includes all kinds of statistical information culled from the 2000 census. The best thing about this kind of almanac is the wealth and variety of information included. I found the brief historical sketches of the nations of the world to be particularly interesting and useful.

This is without a doubt the best reference book on the market. I've had other almanacs, but none provide a more wide-ranging topic field in tight-knit organization. From governments to sports to entertainment to financial to sociological, The World Alamanac covers every miniature detail. Need to find the GDP of Argentina or the what day your birthday falls on in, say, 2023. It's all in there.

It makes for a great companion to any writer, student or a pair trying to settle a bet.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2002 is definitely one of my favorite all time reference books. I highly recommend it for detailed information about a wide range of subject areas, including the following: Features, Year in Review; Economy & Business; Noted Personalities; US Cities & States; Census 2000, US Population; Science, Computers, Astronomy; Consumer Information, Health, Travel; Nations of the World; and Sports.

Other similar almanacs include The New York Times Almanac 2002 and Time Almanac 2002; however, I prefer the World Almanac and Book of Facts 2002.

This almanac comes in both a paperback and a hardcover version - the hardcover edition "provides exactly the same content as the familiar paperback edition, but with bigger print, a larger page size, and deluxe, durable binding." In years past, I've gone for the paperback edition, but this year I splurged on the hardcover version - it is much easier to read, and I recommend it unless you're on a tight budget.

Her name is Junie B. Jones. The B. stands for Beatrice. Except, Junie doesn't like Beatrice. She just likes B. That's all.
In this Junie B. Jones story, one of a "million bizillon," Junie and Grace are invited over to Lucille's rich grandmother's house for a sleep over. Junie is beyond excited. She humorously packs her bags and passes the time, just waiting for Lucille's Nana's Cattle Act to come pick her up.
Once she is at Lucille's house, hyper-active Junie doesn't know what to do with herself. She wants to have fun, yet obey her parent's rules for spending the night as a guest.
At dinner, Junie seems to do everything possible to upset Lucille's Nana. Junie's excuses and cover-ups are simply hilarious.
In the end, everything comes to a comic conclusion. A-OK!
To me, the Junie B. Jones series is annoyingly adorable. I think that children from ages 6-10 would enjoy the silly adventures that Junie puts her friends, Lucille and "that" Grace through. I loved this book. I recommend it to any one. I guarantee that they will find Junie a witty, lovable character.

This is the first Junie B. Jones I read (when I was 6).
I have now read all of them,but the most I like was this book.
This book is funny,because Junie B and her friends always did some funny things.You just cannot imagine.
All kids will like it.

My grandaughter and I read this together out loud and her grandpa and brother started listening and enjoyed it as much as we did. I am going to print out the rules for "staying over" to give to all my nieces and nephews and their parents...we laughed and laughed and read them over and over. It is a good enforcement for the "grass is always greener" and Olivia looks at this nanna in a new light. Lucille's nanna ended up scaring Olivia when she was so picky about everything in her house. We are ordering several more of the books and have called the library asking them to order them for their readers.

Junie B. Jones is Captain Field Day is a cute book. Similar to the other Junie B. books. My daughter thought this was sadder than the others. Room 9 lost ALL of the events. But before Field Day came, Junie B thought that they would "cream Room 8". Junie B. is a crazy as ever. Still a fun book for young readers.

Barbara Park does it again! Another fantastic book about Kindergarten student Junie B. Jones. Ms. Parks books are written from the perspective of a child. This allows her books to be both well-written and funny. To date there are a total of 21 Junie B books. I recommended purchasing all of them and enjoying them with your children.

This story is about a little girl named Junie B. Jones. The B is for Beatrice,but she only likes B. for her middle name. In this book Junie wants to be in charge of her favorite day,and that is Field Day. Junie`s favorite event is the dash and she doesn`t like when Cry-Baby-William is up for an event. My favorite part is when Cry-Baby-William won the pull-up competition. I liked this book because it has a big lesson about judging people when you don't know their talents. I recommend this book to others because they will learn not to judge other people. Read this book to see what happens next.

'To Swim Across the World' is the story of two young Koreans during a difficult time, the late 1940's and early 1950's. We meet Sei-Young, a poor boy who decides to try to lift his family out of poverty by performing demanding work for a Japanese farmer. Sei-Young's father drinks away the family's money while the mother takes care of Kwan-Young, Sei-Young's little brother. Life is quite different for Heisook, a young girl with an unusual family: Her father, although a Christian minister, is somewhat prosperous due to the fact that church offering money buys his family protection from the ruling Japanese authorities. Heisook's brother is a rebellious, wheels-off teenager, and her mother seems to have more love for the children in the local orphanage than for her own. Heisook believes that she has faith in God until Communist forces in North Korea change their lives forever.

'To Swim Across the World' offers alternating chapters from both Sei-Young and Heisook from childhood until adulthood. The book is a fictionalized biography of the Park sisters' parents. I enjoyed the book very much. Like other reviewers, I found the book to be a page-turner. Reading about another culture in a time of distress during our current time of distress was encouraging and soothing. This is a story about having faith, losing it, and finding it again. The book can be read by adults and young adults alike. I think the book could be very valuable especially now for young readers who can discover how other people in other places handle adversity and seemingly overwhelming odds. A good book for our times and for our faith.

One reviewer from Korea blasted this book, accusing it of being historically inaccurate. I don't know much about Korean history, but I do know that when I want to learn about it, I'll go to a history book, not a novel. Good novels are about people and the things they think and feel. It doesn't have to be historically accurate. (That's why it's called 'fiction!') If you want to learn about history, pick up a history book. If you want an enjoyable, touching story, pick up 'To Swim Across the World.'

Wonderfully written story detailing the lives of two people from Korea. One was raised in North Korea, the other in South Korea. One pheasant, the other privilaged. When war breaks out our storyline characters are fraught with struggling to find a better life, and in the end they keep the faith that they almost lost...and learn a great lesson. Highly recommend *****

To Swim Across the World is a book which will offer insights and rewards to a variety of readers in a variety of contexts. The story itself presents a concise review of the upheavals experienced by the Korean peoples during the midpoint of the 20th century. It presents some serious lessons in history as a backdrop to the lives of two quite different Korean families. The journey of self-discovery taken by its authors Frances and Ginger Park will unquestionably enkindle similar quests on the part of Korean-American readers who will wish to learn more of their own family and its reaction to these times.

The book presents a story in which personal losses through the blind processes of war and occupation are countered through a deepened understanding of the possibilities of redemption. One of the most touching episodes in the book gently and realistically depicts the healing of the emotional scar tissue of a Korean woman by the quiet courage of a Japanese farmer who extends support and then physical protection to a hunted Korean family. The book is wonderful in its shaded nuances where people are drawn in a variety of hues rather than simply pure good or pure evil.

The writing draws the reader into the story and invokes the terror of the flight from North Korea which marks a pivotal point in the story.

I found in this novel glimmers of a personal history which could connect to Frances Park's earlier book When My Sister was Cleopatra Moon. This book takes place in America and addresses the lives of two complex Korean American sisters. It is a masterful exploration of the complexity of sibling relationships and provides a poetic journey towards a reconciliation with the images and conflicting memories of a deceased father which will reward the serious reader. Its insights into the Korean world and its affects upon the "second generation" will be appreciated by all who enjoyed To Swim Across the World.

First of all id like to say the book is NOT 96 pages long. It has 10 real south park episode scenes. It comes with 4 sheets of south park window stickers. The stickers offer a wide variety of south park characters but may be missing some of your favorite obscure characters. Its fun when you first get it to put the stickers in different spots on the scenes but it gets boring after awhile. They make good stickers to put up on your car window, or home windows for fun when your done with the book. Its a great book for a die hard south park fan to have. If you've seen practically all the south park episodes i recommend it to you, if you've only seen a few or half of them and don't know much about the show you won't understand the book as well, and its not worth the money for you.

If you like/love South Park then this is a book that you will have to put on you wish list or get. You can make Kenny die anyway you want. You can even make Stan and Wendy kiss! There are ten diffrent backgrounds that you can put them in. Even on each background there are little clips taken from that episode of South Park. This is a awesome book that the whole family will love....maybe.

I bought this about a year ago , and when I first opend it, I new it would be ohers of fun. I spent 3 ohers on it. Thers 130 pesses of your favorite South Park charecters, or most of them. About a year later I lost most of the pesses. But I still have alote of fun with it. You can make you very own South Park episodes. They dont have as much cursing in it as the show. They only have 5 curse words. You can choose from 10 different South park backgrounds from the show. Like the classroom, the cafeteria, and Starks pond. You can make Kenny die over and over. For some people it can get boring, but for big South Park fans like me, even without most of the pesses its still fun! Well, Irecommend it for South Park fans. It can be hard to understand for some people who arnt farmiliar with alot of the South Park charecters. Well I got to go play with it right now!

this book leaves you beleieving in the powers of the fear family, starting with nicholas fear and continuing with his son robin fear. It is very realistic and although a little gory at times it is not overdone

Mostly I liked the never ending violence. The part where they started chopping up each other was in such great detail. I thought it was really funny when that guy pounded the stake through his foot and when that guy scratched himsef to death. A great series of books for people who love graphic violence.

though this book is kinda gruesome, it's really cool and i recommend it to all R.L. Stine fans!

If you have a huge Disney book library, this should be in it, but it will leave you wanting more. There are tons of great photos in heare, but it is not a coffee table book by any means. Nice stories from their meories of how it was back in the day... They worked on nearly everything that had ride vehicles. Disney designed and built alot of stuff right at the studiomachine shop, but these guys built a lot of ride vehicles and tracks as well. Pirates of the Caribbean boat vehicle, flying saucers, small world boats, mine train cars, Autopia cars. They built stuff for other parks you rarely hear about anymore, like Freedomland.

(Be forewarned that these guys do not give enough credit to the great Bob Gurr, a Disney Imagineer at WED who did tons of engineering, design, and drafting for most of the great ride vehicles that Arrow built for Disney. They do have some nice stuff about him on page 81, but just not enough. They tend to omit other people as well.)

No index to look things up as a reference. The writing style kind of ambles around with no clear direction. BUT having said all this, it is still an interesting book if you are consumed with the subject of amusment ride construction, especially Disney's. I would not give my copy away, I just wish it were a little better.

This book was a very good one. It focuses on a small company called Arrow. They designed rides for amusement parks. Walt hired them to build some wonderful rides for Disneyland though. This is all about the cars you ride in at the park, and how they move, on what type of track ETC. All the special effects were done by the Disney Company. It's very interesting that a park like Disneyland had this company push the limits with ride design. But unfortunately, as all you Disney Park enthusiasts know, that with Eisner's penny-pinching methods, and the new California Adventure next to Disneyland, most all the rides are 100% off the shelf carnival style rides. A good book! Especially if you want a look in the old days when the Disney Company actually spent money and cared!

The book chronicles the professional lives of the masterminds behind Arrow Development. They worked closely with Walt Disney while Disneyland was being built, and designed many of the ride-systems. The book tells many tales of those days. From semi-technical discussions of the operations of the Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more (all made easily understandable) to backstage tales of Disneyland and Walt Disney, this book is fantastic. Other topics in the theme/amusement park industry are covered as well, and are just as fascinating. This book truly does deliver a credible behind the scenes look at Disneyland and the industry. Well done!