Preservation Books

I read this book 20 years ago as part of a parenting class. I have a strongwilled, intelligent, high energy child who is now 25. We were struggling with how to keep 'the good' things and help her control the 'out of control' things... This book set the foundation for everything we did. Natural consequences work. Respect for her 'right's works. Teaching her that we have 'rights' too works.

Today, she's working productively, has a master's degree, is a caring, wonderful friend (and daughter)... and... we give this book to all of our young friends with their 'first babies'.... or second if we meet them later.. So I've bought MANY of them over the years .. and I always get a 'thank you SOOO much' after they've read the book.

I first purchased this book 21 years ago when my oldest daughter was 9 months old. I didn't want to be the same type of parent as my parents with yelling and spanking. With the help of Children: The Challenge, my husband and I have raised two beautiful daughters with many compliments on how well-mannered and polite they are. People often joke that if they could be guaranteed a child exactly as my oldest, they would not hesitate to have children. I now purchase this book to give to friends that are expecting their first child.

I raised my children on this philosophy, a few things I disagreed with but most of his basic principles were extremely beneficial, considering there were 2 children and my husband was an only child and my sister was 14 years older, so we had no idea about sibling interactions. The 2 children are now 37 & 39 and decent, responsible human beings, and they are very close as brother and sister. Interestingly enough, my daughter now has a child and seems to have the same kind of philosophy as I, much of it Dreikur's based. I highly recommend for it places responsibility where it belongs in raising and living life with your children and entire family.

I was given this book when my daughter was young and found it excellent and easy to read after a long day dealing with children. The examples are a bit dated but it is easy to get over that with such good practical advice on raising responsable children. I now share it with all parents to be that I know.

This is a very good book.
Dreikurs is the second master in the history of Individual Psychology.
Go look for him on wikipedia!

He shares with us some of his wisdom.
The adlerian principles are clearly described and Dreikurs uses them to make the differences between what is useful and what is not useful in children behaviour. Also he gives solution and discusses a lot of cases.
I consider this book like a referential one to understand the adlerian psychology.
In the meantime this book is gold for those who work with children!
Have a good reading!

I love a good ghost story and really enjoyed this book but that said: sometimes it seemed like Domine forgot that he wasn't actually writing his "Kentucky Peasant" cookbook. Overly italicized, lavish descriptions of food, wine and KY bourbon often overpowered the true spirits of the story. And as much as I love all of these elements personally, I sometimes wondered where his true interests lay when publishing the finished product.

But highfalutin' language aside, as a former Old Louisvillian I am glad to see someone dedicating such time and research to the history of this decidedly spooky area. If you are into creepy stories then this book, as well as its Phantoms sequel, is definitely worth a read. Be advised there is a also a strange foreword, (somewhat creepy in its own right), perhaps best viewed as a form of comic relief if you find yourself getting too frightened halfway through.

Whatever its idiosyncrasies I do recommend this book to lovers of a good scary story, especially those who live or have lived in the Old Louisville Area.

Ghosts of Old Louisville by David Domine presents the haunted past of America's largest Victorian neighborhood in an entertaining and informative format. His unopinionated, objective way of fleshing out the stories of those residents who haven't quite yet vacated their former abodes in the magnificent historic preservation district known as Old Louisville makes this a unique and spellbinding collection of true ghost stories. When so many writers of ghost stories today simply rehash stories that have been around for generations, Domine has taken it upon himself to track down dozens of stories of true cases of hauntings in his adopted neighborhood that have previously remained hidden. What I like most about this book is the fact that the author kept my attention throughout the entire book. Each story is fascinating because of the paranormal aspect to it, but also because it brings in a large amount of local history, appetizing bits of architecture and colorful characters. Although I have never been to Old Louisville before, I feel as if I know this area intimately, and I cannot wait to 'return' to it. Domine includes a chapter about the interesting haunting in his own home, the Widmer House, which was built around 1895. This lends an extra bit of credibility to the book and adds a nice personal touch as well. If you like history and ghost stories, you can rest assured that this book will satisfy your cravings for both. The good news is that this book is only the first in a series of five that will some day document the extensive haunted history of Old Louisville. Volume II, Phantoms of Old Louisville: Ghostly Tales from America's Most Haunted Neighborhood, carries on the tradition of ghosty goings-on in this unique area and is just as captivating as the first.

Ghosts of Old Louisville is an excellent book from an author who has a highly entertaining writing style. Full of history and paranormal tales.

Rose Pressey
Author of "My Haunted Family"

I just finished reading this book last night. I felt that I needed to come express my opinion before it got pushed back into that recess of my brain that causes memory loss.

I must say that Mr. Domine's literary style is astute and never fails to keep the reader immersed in its depths at all times.

*begin spoiler*

Him sharing his story of having the hardwood floors in his home redone was one of my favorites. The way he described his thoughts and feelings while Lucy crept around his bed made me examine my own as I lay there reading (in the bed). He is blessed with the skill to give a description that shares his world to the reader for a short time.

*end spolier*

Not only is Mr. Domine an excellent writer, but he also seems a very likeable person. From his description of those days during, leading to, and after his encounters I found myself thinking "Wow, this would be a cool friend to have!".

Whilst reading this novel I imagined that the only things he loved more than the idea of the supernatural was his friends, animals, Louisville, fine drink and food. Probably in that order.

This piece of work has been very enjoyable. If you have any curiosity concerning the supernatural you need this book. I can't wait to aquire the rest of his novels and gobble them up!

I've also included a link to another one of David Domine's books that I intend to make my very next read.
Phantoms of Old Louisville: Ghostly Tales from America's Most Haunted Neighborhood

I live in Old Louisville and David Domine gives not only ghost stories, but what appears to be some researched history for this area which I found very interesting. One night when driving past the First Church of Christ, Scientist, I looked up at the stairs and could have sworn I saw "The Lady on the Stairs". I tried to pull over, but because of the traffic and the fact that it is a one-way street, by the time I got back around, she was gone. I loved the book and also read the next book, Phantoms of Old Louisville. I am awaiting the next book that I've heard rumor of.

This is part of a (3?) volume set of corrected Lovecraft texts from Arkham House. Either this, or del rey's "tales of horror and death" is a good way to start if you've never read Lovecraft, although Dunwich Horror primary focuses on one side of his writing (poe-ish) and the other on the dunsday-ish. As far as the book iself, it looks like the publisher picked the best of materials, texts, and fonts, and then did a slapdash job of gluing it together :(

This is the ultimate book by Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937), being part 1 in a 4-volume series completing the editing and publishing of his entire known prose work, not including his poems. All you really need to know about this book is the names of a few of the tales included, we're talking the best of the best of horror, sci-fi & weird tales here, in my opinion; "The Colour out of Space", "The Music of Erich Zann", "The Call of Cthulhu", "The Dunwich Horror", "The Whisperer in the Darkness", "The Shadow over Innsmouth" and "The Shadow out of Time" among others. These tales represent some of my decidedly favourite literature, and I've been returning to these tales again and again for more than 10 years now. It is kind of hard to summarize the book, since it is mostly shorter stories, but Lovecraft takes you on a journey from the deepest bottom of the ocean to the highest mountainpeak, from distant planets and solarsystems to remote, dark valleys and towns, from the darkest parts of the inner earth to the fringes of the human mind, among other places.

Lovecraft is really experiencing a renaissance these days, and it is well deserved. Never really acknowledged in his living days, he is finally taking his place among the ranks of the great US authors. The tales are not dated at all, but paint a very vivid picture of Lovecraft's own period of time. Though you often "see" the ending coming before you finish a tale of his, you still get pulled into the tale, unable to close it before finding out the terrible and magnificent end you have in store for you. As I said, these tales are really the prime of his writing, although his two longer tales are to be found in one of the other 4 volumes, also sold here on Amazon, which I'll review in due time.

Film-versions of some of his tales have started popping up from time to time, recently some of them of quite well-made quality, which makes me recommend readers to read the tales, and then watch the films, a lovely experience. Joshi has done a great job editing the tales into what I assume will be the standard edition of the texts, as close to Lovecraft's original intent as possible. The introduction to the book by the liberal Jewish author Robert Bloch I found to be a worthless introduction that twists Lovecraft's mode of thought into something quite different from what he would have enjoyed. Yes, Lovecraft was a staunch racialist and conservative, but so what? Who can say he was wrong today, with the direction the West is taking, well on its way to its own death, as he foresaw.

To summarize; one of my decidedly favourite books, in a sturdy hardcover with glossy quality dustjacket written well before the madness of "political correctness". Give Lovecraft a spot on your shelf, you won't regret it. Highly recommended!

If you are a real lovecraftian fanatic buy this book ! It 's hard cover not cheap paper back

This book is without question an astounding piece of horror literature. With such classics as The Dunwich Horror, The Call of the Cthulhu and other shuddersome stories, H.P. Lovecraft creates a world in which the supernatural ingress the real world and makes its hideous presence felt.

No other author can adequately replicate H.P. Lovecraft except during the times when they're trying (often with great disappointment) to be like Lovecraft. They, at best, plummet in their endeavors as a feeble simulacrum of the real master of horror. If you like horror and have never read Lovecraft, you either don't like horror as much as you think you do, or you have been missing out on a formidable force who has influenced just about every horror writer alive today.

I will not try to write a complete review, since I see that there are already 17 reviews available here, several of fine quality.

This edition is of great interest because it issues from Arkham House. Arkham House publishing was founded by August Derleth, a protege of H.P. Lovecraft who himself wrote a rather large volume of pastiche material using the Cthulhu mythos of Lovecraft. One motive of Derleth's in founding Arkham House publishing was to find a medium to reissue all the writings of Lovecraft, since many were confined to the pulps like Weird Tales that had first printed them.

I recently purchased this book. The quality of the book is excellent. The print is clear and easy to read. The bookbinding quality is just excellent. This may explain why the book is not particularly cheap.

As for the contents, readers may be glad to know that this book contains much of the very finest writing Lovecraft produced. The short novels were written following Lovecraft's return from his years living in New York, and follow the breakup of his marriage. This "period" of about a decade marked the finest of Lovecraft's writings. In my opinion -- arguably -- "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" are the best works in the Lovecraft canon. A few other words might come up to them, but nothing's better.

Those who find Lovecraft interesting should also check out the writings of August Derleth that incorporate Lovecraft's "Cthulhu mythos." There is also a board game entitled "Arkham Horror" which attempts to recreate the scary Lovecraft universe on your card table. Whacky as this sounds, the game is fun to play.

So have at it! Scare yourselves silly! I love this sort of material myself.

I have some real mixed feelings about this book. On the one hands I really like how Mr. Whyte used such unconventional ways to get his point across (he uses poetry to point out the flaws in the corporate world), but on the other hand, a lot of the points in the book made me scratch my head and go 'huh?!'.
The material is very deep and even where there is supposed to be just a small, simple message, Whyte seems to make it complicated so that the meaning looks to be more profound.

How much of our corporate productivity is impeded by pettiness and posturing in the workplace? Seems a corporate healer like David Whyte is needed to stand for finding and reminding folks of a different bottom line.

Whyte has a unique capacity to make powerful connections between the inner core that fills us with emotion and caring and the places we do our work, sometimes even at the place where our job is located, though not often. His observation that we leave as much as 55% of our true self "in the car" each day when we go in our office to work is so powerfully true. I dare say there are few among us who cannot relate to that feeling. And yet, it is the 55% of ourselves that the company we work for really wants and needs but rarely gets. Unfortunately because of the patriarchal environments that many organizations (not always corporations or even private sector businesses) create we all too often find no real fulfillment in the workplace. That is sad because I never have read any mission statements that pronounce "We ABSOLUTELY are not going to have fun or like one another around here." That makes me think that the realized, oppressives outcome are not intentional. However, we often find ourselves working in and hating very dysfunctional cultures, even if not by design. Whyte introduces the concept of hope in a effort to replace the all-too-present doubt and hegemony of the workplace. We may not be able to express ourselves freely at work but Whyte allows us some freedom to dream of that possibility during our reading of this book.

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant! If you have a soul, buy this book. If you are not sure....buy this book. This book is an excellent exploration into the meaning of life + my job the incubus = a poetic awakening. David Whyte is a wonderful philosopher.

David Whyte writes in a truly inspiring way. When I worked at the Monterey Bay Aquarium many of us read this book as we struggled to grow better as an organization. This book was the catalyst to many personal "AH HA!" moments. Not just for me, but for many of my colleagues as well. From there I found myself in love with poetry again too. David's poetry is powerful and meaningful. The heart aroused is your own, and worth coming back to.

This is a book everyone who does any food preservation should have. I bought one for myself and one for a gift.

I wore out my old copy, was happy to see that it is still avalable in a updated version with all the old information still included.

Absolutely excellent and comprehensive, but if you're new to canning--a city girl like me or simply afraid of killing someone with your canned goods--start with something less scary.

This book is a must have for anyone with the slightest interest of canning, drying or freezing food. Only problem is my book is missing pages 155 through 186. It looks like a binder error, so there may be more out there with the same problem. Check as soon as it arrives.

The value in this book is its coverage of techniques. That's very unlike, say, the Ball preservation book, which focuses on water bath and pressure canning. Putting Food By is as close to a preservation Bible as you will find. It's a staple among natural food folks, gardeners, home preparedness advocates, even survivalists. Please note that it is a technique book primarily, not a cookbook for canning, as so many food preserving books are. (There is, of course, extensive coverage of canning techniques.) That said, one reason I like Putting Food By so much is that there is detailed food item by food item advice as it relates to preservation you don't typically find in other books.

I found this book at the local library and kept renewing it because it was so helpful. I have elements 6 (the book is for elements 5) but this is by far the best book on elements photoshop that I have found. I have used it many times on my photos. If you are a beginner with elements like me then you will love this book! In case you are wondering, I have also purchased 3 other elements 6 photoshop books before I purchased this book. The first was 'Photoshop Elements 6 for Dummies', then 'Teach Yourself Visually Adobe Photoshop Elements 6' and last 'Photoshop Elements 6 in easy steps'. Now I can stop!

I love this book. It makes my life easier. What more could you ask for. This was just what i needed.

In one word WOW! You have to have this book, Matt explains things in simple terms and makes using PSE easy to use.

Bill

MATT KLOSKOWSKI DOES AND EXCELLENT JOB. VERY EASY TO FOLLOW! MATT'S HUMOR IS A DELIGHT. THE EXAMPLES MAKE IT EASY TO LEARN.

THE ONLY NEGATIVE IS THE BINDING ON THE BOOK. IT IS OK SO FAR. BUT I USE A BOOK HARD, I AM CAREFUL. BUT MYEXPERIENCE WITH THIS TYPE OF BINDING IS NOT GOOD. THEY SHOULD USE A SPIRAL BINDING.

This is a wonderful book. I have had it now for almost a year and use it constantly. It reads like a recipe book, which makes it extremely user friendly. I use it alone and in conjunction with "Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual".

I have owned a copy of this for years, such a good reference book I bought two more copies for my friends son's who are starting to make their sausage.

Very informative and great explanations! No pictures, but very good book for the beginner.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME! (Please note: I am only ¾ of the way through the book so I can't give it full accounting.)

This book should be called, `The Bible of Cured Meat!' It contains or reaffirms or explains in-depth everything I have ever read or heard about dry curing meat. (Not to mention every other curing method known to man.) It not only tells you what you need to do, it lets you know what your results will be if you stray either way on a temperature or ingredient; very helpful for trouble shooting, or keeping you out of trouble if you are trying a new cure.

I like the brief history behind each of the curing methods and their places of origin. I also appreciated the FDA discussion and where cured meats are at in the U.S. and abroad.

As always, I find that the cover jackets of these books look like you are going to find a national geographic photo essay inside and then when you open them you only find a few pages of glossies. This book is no exception; it's lacking in actually production photos which I find almost as helpful as the written text.

I think it would be safe to say that Rytek Kutas' book is the authority on meat curing. I think every other book I have is just suplimentary.

As a beginner I was very worried about making venison sausage. This book took all the fears away. Everything is explained in great detail while maintaining an easy to read style. This book mixes the right amount of technical knowledge, personal stories, and personal experience to make the book very interesting to people of all skill levels. This is a must buy for the beginner to the professional. The huge bonus is that I bought this book for the sausage making but it really encompasses the full breadth meat curing to include drying, smoking, pickling, etc. If you only want to buy 1 book, buy this one. It will be a long while before I make it though all the recipes in this book.

I am just getting started in sausage making and was looking for a guide for making sausage at home. After reading all the reviews here, I purchased this book. It is a fairly large volume and includes a lot of detail on equipment, meat selection, meat handling, spices, recipes and techniques. There are many recipes for most of the types of sausages that readers would be interested in. The batch sizes are pretty large for the home sausage maker but can be scaled. There is a lot of detail on smoking and smoking equipment. The reason that I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that in my opinion, it is a bit too detailed for the average home sausage maker. Much of the book deals with details that a meat processor may need to know but not needed for the average home sausage maker that is only going to process a couple of pounds of meat at a time. That being said, the recipes are straightforward and should be easy enough for anyone to follow.

I only heard of this book when it was referenced in Daniel Pinchbeck's superb and equally enjoyable "Breaking Open The Head." It clearly was a major inspiration for Pinchbeck's book, and the two make a great set for anyone seriously interested in Shamanism. It's true as noted in another review that some of the author's data is outdated and inaccurate. A revised edition is clearly in order, particularly regarding salvia divinorum, which is indeed one of the most potent entheogens thus discovered. "Sally" is a fickle sacrament, however, and DeKorne can be forgiven; he may have had a dud experience as many do. Despite the fact that there are several good web resources (and some great ones) with information regarding this subject, PSYCHEDELIC SHAMANISM is truly a classic in the genre, written from the standpoint of an intelligent and sophisticated "old head." It is entertaining and informative, offering insights and advice which shed important light on a multitude of shamanistic practices. DeKorne has a cool sense of humor and natural storytelling ability which make for great reading. I would put this book and Pinchbeck's at the TOP of any shamanic reading list and would read them both, starting with this one.

This book is a bona fide classic of psychedelic literature. It separates its subject into two parts: The Shamanic Hypothesis, and Psychedelic Catalysts. The first part focuses on experience; the second on the plants, their psychedelic chemicals, and how to grow and ingest them. The writing is calm, clear and vivid; and the various warnings and advice given should be taken very seriously indeed. If this book really is out of print it is a great loss. I recommend anyone interested in the subject of psychedelics to seek this book out and buy it.

I love this book! Finally someone who has a complete grasp on the subject and understands the imaginal realms as they might exist. It is obvious from the reading that Dekorne has done his homework and reveals to the readers the potentiality of specific psychedelics and what entity or belief system you may be subject to once you crossover into 'hyperspace'. As a mushroom user myself, I have definitely experienced 'voices' and other ancient mystified arenas that were very unknown to my space/mind reality, and so it was refreshing to read about other experiences that were to similar to my own.

Aside from the catalyst and dosage information, I absolutely loved Jim's stories at the beginning! They were funny and interesting to read, and revealed Dekorne as a very thoughtful
human being. It was nice to get such a great personality up front, and then enjoy the information thereafter. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in psychedelics!!! Dekorne will unravel some of the mystery of what you've been thinking about all along in your mind but never had a resource to really underline it for you.

This book is a bona fide classic of psychedelic literature. It separates its subject into two parts: The Shamanic Hypothesis, and Psychedelic Catalysts. The first part focuses on experience; the second on the plants, their psychedelic chemicals, and how to grow and ingest them. The writing is calm, clear and vivid; and the various warnings and advice given should be taken very seriously indeed. I recommend anyone interested in the subject of psychedelics to seek this book out and buy it.

DeKorne's _Psychedelic Shamanism_ continues to be a Must Read for anyone who considers entheogens and psychedelics to be indispensable allies in their spiritual quest. I can, however, only give the book three stars at the present time. There are several reasons for this:

- His advice on extraction of DMT from familiar grasses is, he admits, flawed. Instead of extracting n,n-DMT, he extracted 5-meo-dmt. This is an enormously different psychoactive material with very different dosing guidelines and effects. Any search on the experience vault at erowid will demonstrate that 5-meo-dmt is a powerful and possibly dangerous (if dosed incorrectly) material and qualitatively vastly different from n,n-dmt. But the fact that he is extracting 5-meo-dmt instead of n,n-dmt is presented almost as a footnote. I really feel that whole chapter should be stricken.

- His remarks that Salvia Divinorum is a weak psychoactive omits all of Daniel Siebert's work on the subject. We now know that Salvia Divinorum is one of the most powerful and spiritually useful of the entheogenic allies. Any book on psychedelic shamanism that omits most of what we know about S.D. must at this time be considered quite dated.

The information in this book is so dated that about anything deKorne writes should be confirmed by Erowid and other sources first.

The lack of a detailed treatment of Set, Setting and Sitter is troubling in a book so many use as a working reference. Dosing guidelines are also not dealt with extensively. There is so much missing in this book.

Mr. deKorne's comments on entities and the imaginal realm are right on target. But observing that noetic space is populated, and that not all that we encounter is trustworthy, tells us very little about how to proceed in psychedelic space, and how to regard these entities and deal with these impressions. Psychonauts need better guidance at this point. Psychedelic Shamanism is a good, albeit dated, travelogue. That is a given. But we need much more than that at this point. We need methodology. We need true shamanic guidance.

A really great monograph on psychedelic methodology can be found on the Internet by searching on the phrase "Comments on the Psilocybin Mushroom." I can also recommend many of the books of Eckhart Tolle, Stanislav Grof, and the works of Ralph Metzner. Many of the ideas in Michael Harner's _Way of the Shaman_ can also be adapted to psychedelic work by the imaginative reader.

Unfortunately, there really is not any one good source of information on navigating the psychedelic realm. Start with deKorne, and use his bibliography to read the many other excellent books on the topic. Read everything you can at Erowid. At this point we all have to piece it together for ourselves. Trust nothing you read until you have confirmed it again, and again.

Finally! A book that is intelligent, naughtily funny, utterly readable, and absolutely entertaining. Thank you Jane! There are sentences in it that filled me with envy...how could she think of that? And how did she find the perfect way to express it? If I had the financial wherewithal and connections, it would now be on its way to becoming a movie...why not?

I lived in France for three years, have a French partner, and have read countless fiction and nonfiction books about France, American expatriates in France, etc. This one is hands-down my favorite. Very, very funny and reflective of how France is. It is a real mystery to me why this book has not had the same commercial success as the many inferior France-themed books out there.

This book is actually not Jane Smith's first work of fiction. In 1980, she wrote a wonderful novel titled Jacoby's First Case, and in 1984, she published Nightcap, both under the pseudonym J.C.S. Smith (now that's DEEP cover!)

So if you're looking for more enjoyable novels from this author, there's no need to wait -- they've already been written!

This is the funniest book I've read in ages. It made me laugh out loud so often, I had to stop reading it on the subway for fear of embarrassing myself in public. Jane S. Smith brilliantly lampoons the pseudo-academic and -artistic Americans who flock to Provence in search of career-making inspiration, and the natives who prey on them. But she also has a deep affection for her characters (well, most of them, anyway) that makes this book a thoroughly satisfying novel, not just a chilly satire. She skillfully interweaves the actions of a large cast of characters, and brings them all together at the end in a conclusion worthy of a Victorian novelist. Even the title is clever, in retrospect. It's hard to believe this is a first novel. Please, Ms. Smith -- may we have some more?

I would have put it in the academic satire category but strictly speaking it doesn't belong there because the only character to hold a college teaching job gets fired on the first page (two characters go back to graduate school on the last page). Then she goes off to the South of France with her family to write a book. Her children discover a pre-Roman Celtic treasure. Her daughter gets abducted by a child molester. Her husband enters a bicycle race.
It is brilliantly witty about such subjects as eco-feminism and intellectual francophilia but alo carried along by a strong intriguing plot. Wonderful light but intelligent enertainment.

We got this book for our 10 year bi-racial son and LOVE it! It really gives a good look and perspective into what it is like to be a child and have to deal the daily struggles of being bi-racial. It touches on things that parents don't think about on a daily basis! I read this book prior to giving it to our son so I could quiz him on each chapter and had a hard time putting it down myself! A great read for any age!

Sundee T. Frazier's BRENDAN BUCKLEY'S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT tells of a ten-year-old Tae Kwon Do blue belt and rock hound who discovers a grandfather he's never met - who is an expert mineral collector who even lives nearby! Brandan sneaks off to visit his grandfather - and makes discoveries he'll come to regret in this warm story of family secrets.

Disclaimer: I am personally aquainted with the author.

This is a well-written book that accurately targets its age level. Everything wraps up tidily, though not easily. Sundee has an amazing ability to get into the head of a young boy. If I didn't know better, from reading this, I'd think she'd been a young boy. Her characterization is that good, and that accurate.

All pervading the scene is an underlying theme of lies and truth, connected to the healing of racial divisions. In Brendan Buckley's universe, lies lead to more lies; truth and openness lead to healing. This is clear even as Brendan relates the scientific method (another strong and laudable underlying theme). Brendan details every point of the method- accepting the final one, reporting the results in a peer-reviewed journal. The lack of this final step is telling; it is the truth-telling and sharing of science, by which the scientific community is sustained and information shared and confirmed. At that point in the story Brendan has not yet realized the importance of this final step, though he pursues everything else in science as the foundation of his life.

Sundee writes for her audience with depth and insight. Children, especially boys, ages 10-13 should in particular enjoy this book, and those biracial or bicultural will particularly learn more about how to approach life and relationships in a healthy and loving manner.

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It is a good book. It is a really good story because it is funny, it has exciting things happen and it is suspensful. My favorite part of the story is one of his experiments. I tried it. You should read it and try it too. It also made me want to do Tae Kwon Do.

I just finished reading this book. I loved it! I felt like I was in the characters' world. It's like they are people I now know. I miss them already. Frazier does a great job developing her characters. My favorite characters are Brendan and Gladys, his grandmother.

I can't wait to read it with my sons or have them read it themselves. I look forward to the good discussions we'll have about it. I could see it being read in a 4th/5th grade classroom to open a discussion about prejudice and racism, which I think is very important to do. Frazier handles the fragile issues of racism and family in a way that you have sympathy for all who are involved.

To balance out the more serious issues, there are many humorous moments that kids would relate to and laugh outloud about. I highly recommend tis book!