J Books

I bought this book when I decided it was time to get back to some of my needlework projects after many, many years. The book is very helpful, showing detailed, clear drawings of stitches. There are also color photos of completed work so you can see what the stitches look like in color, etc. Highly recommend this book.

What everyone says here is TRUE! Mary Thomas wrote the first classic encyclopedia of stitches and it has been lovingly updated. It is the PERFECT embroidery overview ever created for both total beginners and advanced. Clearly written with illustrated instructions, expect to be inspired and prepare to succeed!!

I was trying to find a good basic embroidery book and had no luck. Though found all kinds of needlepoint, or machine embroidery books or expensive software but it was really hard to find a good hand-embroidery book. I couldn't believe my good fortune when I found this. It is a total treasure! If the publishers could come up with a spiral bound version, that would be even better.

Have fun!!

This is simply the best embroidery stitch book I have ever read. An excellent buy. The pictures, instructions and phots all correlate with colour to make learning a new stitch a breeze. I have found the instructions straight forward and clear. Recommend this book to anybody working in textiles.

I hadn't touched embroidery for about 40 years and this book is so detailed with TONS of photos that I had no trouble learning lots of new stitches. I took it to work and shared it with two very experienced embroiders and both were very impressed with the variety of stitches presented and the detailed images.

This book shows you how to do every stitch you ever dreamed of and some that you have never thought of before. You will want to try them all.

I needed this book right away for a Summer school class, and I received the book less than a week after ordering it!

In my view, this book (which looks like a collection of articles gathered up under several rubrics) shares typical achievements and flaws of all popular-math literature; namely, it's enjoyable and enlightening as far as historical and philosophical aspects of the material presented, yet when they authors actually get to mathematics, it becomes fragmeted, jerky, and confused. Symptomatic of this is the chapter on nonstandard calculus: the historical narrative is very interesting, yet the math proper is confused and incomprehensible. Perhaps that is because it's impossible to express it fully and right in a popularizing context; perhaps it is so because I'm too obtuse to have understood it (but then the most of the target audience is probably no better); or maybe it's because the authors didn't do a terribly good job of it. The next chapter (Fourier analysis) suffers from the same.

Overall, I say, it's a good, although overrated, book. Read it, get what you can out of it and don't fret about the rest: the book is really a collection of articles, apparently written for different purposes, at different times, and for different publications; the quality of writing varies from section to section, although the overall structure and topicality are unquestionably very good. The book has an extensive and diverse bibliography along with a rather mediocre (close to names-only) index. Well, no book is perfect, including this one: overall it's solid four stars -- recommended.

This is the wonderful first edition of The Mathematical Experience written by Philip J. Davis and Reuben Hersh. However it is NOT the study edition which was designed for use in the classroom. The ISBN number for the Study edition is: 0-8176-3739-7.
The authors are Davis, Hersh, and Marchisotto

The authors deal with various important aspects of mathematics and about practising mathematics. They also deal with the philosophy of mathematics. By and large, they do it engagingly. Specifically, they tackle why mathematics seems to 'work'; how a mathematician actually goes about doing mathematics; they offer some light treatment of a few mathematical topics, and they illustrate mathematical thinking as well.

This book is best read by students thinking about choosing mathematics as a career, or even just as a field of study. Although, any layperson will come off with a greater appreciation of what mathematics is, and what mathematicians do.

The Mathematical Experience by Philip J. Davis and Reuben Hersh
1981 Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston

Is all of pure mathematics a meaningless game? What are the contradictions that upset the very foundations of mathematics? If a can of tuna cost $1.05 how much does two cans of tuna cost (Pg. 71)? If you think you know the answer, don't be so sure. How old are the oldest mathematical tables? What is mathematics anyway, and why does it work? Can anyone prove that 1 + 1 = 2?
This is a book about the history and philosophy of mathematics. I'm certainly not a mathematician, and there are parts of the book I will never understand, yet the balance of it made the experience well worth while. The authors presented the material so that it is interesting and (mostly) easily understood. They have a creative way of making a difficult subject exciting. They do this by giving us insights into how mathematicians work and create. They live up to the title making mathematics a human experience by adding fascinating history. Frankly I was shocked when they pointing out how even mathematicians have made questionable assumptions and taken some basic "truths" on faith. They show the beauty of math in the "Aesthetic Component" chapter. Ultimately the question that comes up again and again is the question of whether or not we can really know anything about time and space independent of our own experience to make an adequate foundation for a complete system in mathematics. If you have ever wondered about the world of mathematics and the personalities involved you might consider this book. If you are a mathematics teacher you should read this book. If you are a mathematician you could find it quite unsettling.
It contains eight chapters, each one broken up into many subtitles so if you do get bogged down in the mathematics it isn't for long. There are 440 pages. I'd like to see a much more complete glossary for people like me who need it.

This book and its corresponding tapes are great to read and listen to the actual dialogue of the Supreme Court. I used the Tinker (student expression) and the Abington (Bible reading) cases in my School Law class. These cases enable students to listen to a primary source.

Great buy. Excellent recording quality. Makes an excellent gift for any attorney or anyone else interested in learning about the workings of the US Supreme Court and its inner workings. Highly recommend.

These recordings are a great resources for anyone intersted in the US supreme court. This is probably doubly true as the nomination and approval process is upon us again. The records reveal much that is lost in a purely written transcript, which is the source of one of my misgivings of the packaging -- the companion book is nothing more than a literal transcription of the tapes. The book could have provided more background, or in-depth analysis, or a copy of the constitution, or the full text of the opinions. Sadly, it provides none of these.

It is remarkable how the personal experiences of the various justices seem to color their opinions. Most interesting is when future Supremes appear before the court as attorneys.

Finally, I find it interesting that the quality of the arguments seems to be independent of the decisions of the courts -- some of the weakest orators yielded winning arguments.

Still, despite these misgivings, this provides a wonderful ear to the wall of the highest court in the land. Perhaps the best thing about these arguments is that they are completely accessible to the layman -- there is little legalisms, just big issues understandable by all, even if they are controversial.

I teach a course at a local community college and use this book as my text. The book is relatively cheap, especially for college books, and very well written. It describes some of our most influential Supreme Court cases in the past half century. The style that it is written in is ideal for learning and keeping the reader interested.

First it gives a short one page synopsis of the case that sets out the basis facts. It then quotes the actual Supreme Court oral argument but edits the transcript to give it a more narrative style. The editting is great for explaining the background legal principle while setting out the facts to make the read more enjoyable. After the editted transcript of the oral argument, a short editted version of the Court's opinion is printed. This opinion is nicely editted so as to keep readers interested, unlike the full text of most of the cases that would scare lawyers away.

In summation, the book is organized very well and suitable for those wanting to learn about history, those wanting to learn legal principles, or even those just wanting a fun read.

I fully enjoyed this series and own each set. The first series has additional charm because of the nice packaging, which decreased in charm as later sets came out. The plastic display holder and hard cover companion book, including a transcript of each tape, is a nice touch.

The sets does have a liberal slant, though not excessive, which reflects the author. [Justice Marshall gets some play a lot, but then again, his questions often tend to be entertaining.] This doesn't hurt too much, since the commentary is relatively brief, and centers largely on the facts of the case. And, the cases are generally landmark, not leaning one way or the other per se. Anyway, the first tape's "introduction to the Supreme Court" is well done.

I don't find it too troubling that the book doesn't have the whole opinion. The book uses a typical "casebook" approach and prints important excerpts. The book would be much larger if the full opinions were printed. Nor do the excerpt style hurt too much, again it would take much more space to do so. For those interested, Jerry Goldman has a CD-ROM with complete orals of some cases. Also, Oyez.com provides many.

I must, however, note that Irons et. al. provided some sloppy editing, which he admitted to some degree later on. He has the "Reagan Administration" involved in a case before Reagan came to office. He has "Justice Marshall" asking a question in a case before he came to the Court. And, some substantive facts and explanations contain some errors. I'm not sure how some of these things were missed in editing.

Nonetheless, overall, it is a very educational series. It further suggests why we should be able to hear these things on C-SPAN.

I was getting to know a song by Charles Trenet, one about a rained-out fairground populated by semi-human monsters, and it flashed on me that it reminded me of one of the Moomintroll stories that had made a fine, somewhat creepy, impression in childhood. Turned out I was remembering "The Hemulen Who Loved Silence" from "Tales from Moomin Valley". That story, proved to have indeed featured a rained-out fairground -- well, not just rained out but spectacularly destroyed by flooding, something that happens frequently in Tove Jansson's books. that story proved to be just as great as I'd remembered, and maybe better as it had psychological insight and satirical wit that I suspect I didn't entirely grasp as a kid. I soon found myself reading one Moomin book after another.

They all have wickedly funny moments, they're all fanciful, they're all subtle in some way. But some of them are really aimed at kids and, despite their considerable charms, can wear thin at times.

Moominpappa at Sea is a really great one for the adult reader. Yes, it has all the fancy and fun of a children's book, but....good lord! it is wonderfully complex. very funny, psychologically perceptive, at times very creepy. Where, say, Moominvalley Midwinter is a series of loosely connected episodes, everything in Moominpappa at Sea fits together very cleverly, from the first sentence to the last.

the plot hinges on Moominpappa's vain, poignant quest to have his family feel like they still need him. Moomintroll on the other hand is making some kind of adolescent transition, getting away from the family, bonding in the dark on the beach with a strange creature.

Jansson is one of the only authors I've ever read, for either child or adult, who can so deftly put her fingers on life as we experience it - the mood shifts, the disappointments and inner worlds and longings, the quirks and kindnesses, the tangible atmosphere of the seasons and the weather and the seaside... by God, she's got it, and with a few flicks of the pen, she can realize them fully and make us feel them too (even when her protagonists are fictional, round little "Moomintrolls" off for a month on a mysterious windswept lighthouse island.) Astonishing. A book to read and reread by anyone in grade 4 and up, especially in August and September (though anytime will do.)

My parents used to read the Moominbooks when to us when we were young, and they made a lasting impression on me. For me, Moominpappa at Sea was probably my favourite, along with Comet in Moominland.

Given that the books were originally written in Finnish the translator has done a fantastic job to make the stories incredibly readable and finely nuanced in English. It's possible that the books appealed to us kids so much because they come out of a European culture quite distinctly different from most of the English and American stories we were used to.

The chapters are the right length to read aloud one at a time to kids. (Good for bedtime stories in the summer holidays, I seem to recall!)

I was fortunate enough a couple of years ago to take a ferry across the Gulf of Finland from Stockholm in Sweden to Turku in Finland, and the little rocky islands in the Gulf are almost exactly as I imagined them from the book...

I first discovered this book at the age of about 12 or 13, already older than the average moomin reader, but having read most of the others. It was obvious that this was no ordinary moomin book, and neither was it strictly a children's book. In fact it is a masterly observation of family dynamics, mid life crises and the human condition, but mixed with a mysterious and fantastic magic that leads to spine tingling excitement and making one question how we know what is real.

Every psychology student has something to analyse in every character, and anyone who ever had a moment of doubt about the meaning of their life has something to ponder. What father with a teenage family would not relate to Moominpappa's melancholy, feeling that his life is without purpose now his family appear to be independent, his urge to be needed, to be able to protect them? What homesick traveller could not understand Moominmamma's longing for her garden, (and its magical transformation which you will have to read for yourselves). The description of her homesickness brings tears to the eyes. And what put-upon mother could not identify with her delight in being able to disappear from her family just long enough to stop them taking her for granted? The glimpses of the fond, but no longer passionate relationship between Moominmamma and Moominpappa, and Moominmamma's endless patience for Pappa's foibles, their need for their own roles, and his inability to understand her own needs says more about the maried state than plenty of far more learned texts. We will all be able to identify the same dynamics in our own families and relationships.

Meanwhile Moomintroll's adolescent emotional awakening must bring nostalgic memories of first love to we adult readers, but must surely mystify the average 8 year old. Younger children do not usually have a developed enough sense of other people's individuality to understand the complexities of what is driving the Moomin family to their peculiar dispersal.

The allegory of the frozen Groke could represent so much - I feel a thesis coming on - but I think represents how people get into a vicious cycle;cut off emotionally because no one interacts with them, and becoming ever more reclusive and antisocialin a vicious cycle. She makes us think about how we subconciously excuse ourselves for avoiding the lonely, scared, mentally ill, etc among us, for fear we may be "tainted" them.

Although I'm sure children will enjoy it at one level I recommend it highly to everyone, particularly if you are in a life crisis. I have lent it to nearly all my close friends and no one has yet not enjoyed it thoroughly.

Anyone who enjoyed this book should also enjoy Moominvalley in November with a similar selection of odd characters who we will all recognize among our own aquaintance.

The good news is you don't have to be a child to be enchanted by the Moomins. The bad news (for me) is missing out on these delightful stories when a child. I always try to begin the Moomin tales in the middle of the day because I know I won't stop until the end of the story.

Moominpappa decides they all need an adventure, and he is most desirous of "taking care" of everyone so Moominmamma can rest and all can be safe and protected. They set sail on an evening in late August to a small island in the Gulf of Finland planning to live in a wonderful lighthouse. The island is strange, bleak and barren. The lighthouse appears abandoned and is locked. The Moomin family consisting of Mamma, Papa, little son Troll, and Little My all go about practical tasks of settling in, first a search to locate a key. The living quarters in the lighthouse are at the very top only to be reached by a rickety spiral staircase. Much to Pappa's dismay, the light is out, and he cannot make it work. The fall storms begin (Pappa never explains why he didn't begin his adventure in the spring) and the life on the island becomes terrifying as well as bleak.

Though the Moomins get angry at one another, they are unfailingly polite and cooperative with the exception of Little My who is a cheerful, cynical pragmatist. Mamma & Pappa are very permissive parents, but always interested in what Troll and Little My are thinking and doing. The author very gently shows how perhaps there is a downside to sleeping and eating when you want, sleeping where your fancy takes you, and going on any adventure that occurs to you. There is delightful comedy where the Moomins throw a birthday party for The Fisherman, and he discovers all his "presents" belonged to him in the first place.

Come, enter the world of the Moomins! You might want to stay!

I was given an earlier printing of this book when I first learned to read, and I think it has something to do with my childhood nickname of "Dictionary Breath." It has remained among my most treasured possessions!

While some of the words don't really seem to merit an entry in this book over its a delightful collection. There are some words such as "grassation" (to lie in wait to attack) which are so incredibly useful I don't know why they aren't in more common circulation.

I would like to see the etymology included, but speculating about a word's etymology and then looking it up elsewhere has become part of the game for me and my friends.

I own two worn-out copies, because I enjoy this book too much to be without. Before buying my first copy of Mrs. Byrnes Dictionary, I couldn't use the word cephalonamancy in a sentence. Can you imagine?

Get a copy!

The book, which I love, was in excellent condition. I was surprised by the speed of delivery. Thanx.

Etymology is a guilty pleasure of mine-- and this book is the guiltiest of them all! Deliciously obscure words all at my fingertips...what more could i ask for. This copy was hard to come by... i think it's out of print now and so if you happen to see a used copy somewhere, no matter how dog-earred, grab it! You won't be disappointed. It's a gem.

I bought this for my son when he was 10. He wore it to tatters, so I am here on Amazon to replace it for him. He's now 15, and has been bemoaning it's loss for about a year. He used to carry this around and use it as an ice breaker, and other kids his age thought it was really cool. He's gone on to Shakespeare, Plato, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Keys to the Kingdom etc.but Mrs. Byrnes remains his all time favorite book.

Dictionaries are rarely considered pleasure reading, but this one definately fits that bill. An advantage for a young reader is that they can get a lot of knowledge without reading a lot. Yup - Intellectual fast food. Could be addictive.

Excellent. Having come from the 'nat.' horsemanship clinicianss, I found I was ready to know even more. Through the help of a new instructor who is 4th generation N. Calif. ranch (used to the vaquero ways) and who became appreciative of the Masters, I am starting a whole new exposure. It is wonderful! She rec'd this book and will add more as I go along. I am halfway into this book and already am realizing how much we can learn from our horses if we just slow down and pay attention to them and each one of their particular personalities and behaviours. It is teaching me even more respect. This instructor appreciates Ray Hunt but also the Masters and I'm not sure but I think she considers Ray Hunt up there in that category as well as Tom Dorrance (who was a neighbor when she was younger and a person whom she learned from as well.). I reccommend this book to every horse lover and rider. It to me is right up there in the classics for an adult just like the Black Stallion, Walter Farley books were right up there when I was a child. It is not as exciting as the Walter Farley books because it is not fiction, but it is a very worthy read. ~ Copperhorse 4 Fun

This is Colonel Podhajsky's story of his life, told in context of his relationships with his horses. Sometimes people tend to think that some of the currently popular "natural horsemandship" principles are either new, or apply only to western riding. However, Colonel Podhajsky talks in terms of true partnership and understanding with your horse from the perspective of classical European Dressage, and of course pre-dates the current popular "methods." Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Pat and Linda Parelli, and feel that they, and others who are popular today, have done a lot to improve the lot of horses. They have also found a way to help the rest of us learn how to achieve the sort of relationships with our horses that Colonel Podhajsky describes in this book. This book is the story of a true master in every sense of the word. Don't miss it!!

This inspirational book is truly a classic, as are all of Podhajsky's writings. A timeless, enlightening book which should be read not only by dressage enthusiasts, but by all who are interested in the partnership between horse and rider.

Confused by all the hoopla around the "Natural Horsemanship" gurus these days? Find out what is the real thing by reading Alois Podhajsky's "My Horses, My Teachers." In fact, this book could be a sourcebook in Human Relationship, or Self-Help categories as well as any equine category. AP writes passionately about his relationships with his own gurus, the many horses who were lucky enough to cross paths with this kind, gentle, patient master of horsemanship. Reading this book one feels as if these stories are being told face to face with this beacon of horsemasters, sitting in his living room on comfortable couches. This is a must read for ANY horse enthusiast!

This is a intriguing book. An insight into to the man who managed to keep the Spanish Riding School going during World War II and convinve Patton to save the breeder stock at the end of the war. He speaks of the horses that he has riden and trained and what they have taught him! I have enjoyed the book, but some may find it a bit too intellectual. Those who ride, love horses or are interested in the behavior of horses will find this an most intersting and entertaining read!

Have you read any of R.L Stines books before? Such as Baby Sitter Two, Lights Out, the New Girl, & The Step Sister and more? If you haven't, you need to. I did, it was called The New Boy it is a scary book about a couple of murders. The reason I picked this book is because it is so mysterious. Such as in different paragraphs it leaves you in suspense until the next paragraph ends. Picture at: www.amazon.com
When I read this book I could picture the Characters in my mind.
Also I would not go outside of my house because I live near the woods so now you know that it takes place in the woods.
Over all it was good because it is one of my favorite books. I love to read but mostly R.L
Stine's books.
Mostly girls would like it more than boys would because the main character is a. Even though a boy in my class named Lucas said "It was splendid". So boy's if you like scary, passionate books read this. In the story there is a girl, and the new boy likes her. He came from a school where there were a lot of murders. Its rating is 5 stars.

Book: The New Boy
Author: R.L Stine
# of pages:
Publisher: parachute press Inc.
Ibsn: 0-671-73869-0
Price: $3.99




Have you read any of R.L Stines books before? Such as Baby Sitter Two, Lights Out, The New Girl, & The Step Sister and more? If you haven't you need to. I did it was called The New Boy it is a scary book about a couple of murders.
The reason I picked this book is because it is so mysterious. Such as in different paragraphs it leaves you in suspense until the next paragraph ends.

When I read this book I could picture the characters in my mind. Also I would not go out side of my house because I live near the woods so now you now that it takes place in the woods.

Over all it was good because it is one of my favorite books. I love to read but mostly R.L Stine's books.

Mostly girls would like it more than boys would because the main character is a girl. Even though a boy in my class named Lucas said "It was awesome". So boy's if you like scary, romantic books read this. Its rating is 5 stars.

I thought this was an excellent book! when all 3 girls all fall for the new guy in town they soon regret their feelings for him. Are there lives really in danger... to find out read this book!

Book title: New Boy
Author: R.L.STINE
Number of pages: 150
Price: 3.99softback
Publication date and publisher: 1994, rainbow arts
ISBN: 0671738690
What would you do if your best friend got murdered? Would you solve the mystery? Would you hide? Because in this book Janie's best friend gets murdered! So solve the mystery of the new boy!

It's a perfect mystery book for you to read! My proof is that it has murders in it and no body knows who it is till the very end of the book! Janie's best friend gets murdered and she doesn't know any thing about the first one till she gets a phone call!
Don't let little kids read it! It will scare them to death because they will probably think there best friends will get murdered! They will get night mares! So don't let kids read this book if they are under the age of 9 and don't read it to them either!
Don't always trust your best friend! They might just betray you right when you turn around! They probably will act like your best friend still! Because one of Janies best friends murders her other best friends! So don't tell your secrets to them unless there good things about you!

So now what would you do if your friends get murdered? Not talk to your best friend for a while? Blame it on your friend? I know I wouldn't id just be a little afraid when I'm around them!

The New Boy by R.L.Stine is one of the best books I have ever read. I would definetly recomend this book to anyone who loves mystery books. This book is filled with thrills and suspense. The book starts of talking about a mysterious boy named Ross coming to ShadyHigh. But when he catches the eye of Jannie and her friends the soon try to go out with him. When Jannie hears about an incident that happened with Ross and his ex-girlfriend Jannie decides to do some investigating.

This is the best book available if you want to understand the petroleum industry without all of the techy details (or the engineering that comes with it). An excellent overview & reference.

The book is in excellent condition and it was delivered in only several days. I am very satisfied with this purchase.

I'm an investor studying the oil and gas industry. I found this book extremely informative and very easy to read. For anyone who wants to understand the oil industry, this is a great book to start. I wish the book had newer and better graphics, not to look nicer, but to give readers a more realistic "feel" what some of the fascinating technologies are like.

This book is a good source of information about the oil industry if you are working in a different field, and curious to learn about the oil industry.

In attempting to get quickly up to speed on the oil business for the purpose of participating in a few wells as a (very) small investor, I bought about ten books of various sorts. This is one of them, and has turned out to be the one I refer to the most.

First, let me say that there are two different types of books on drilling for oil/gas. Broadly, they are books that concentrate mainly on the financial and legal structure of oil deals and books that concentrate on where it is and how to get it out of the ground. This book is of the second sort.

The "nontechnical" part of the title is only partly true. Some of the descriptions are sufficiently technical to impart a working understanding of the operations in the field. I, for instance, have been going to our rig (now drilling) and asking questions ("What's that blue thing?"), then coming home and reading about what I was told ("The jar is a section of pipe that either mechanically....").

Same with the drilling reports I receive.... I can look up that part of the drilling operation (ie, "sliding") and get a much better understanding of what's happening. A book comes in handy, after all, the tool pushers out on the rigs seem to be men of few words.

There is also a pretty good basic course in petroleum geology in the first thirteen chapters. And, the science (art?) of geophysics gets a good once-over, too, though I confess I've not paid much attention to it yet.

There are chapters on reservoirs, completion, offshore, production, workover, and more, all of which is written at the same level, and much of which I've not read in depth, only scanned. I'll read it as we get there out in the field.

This is a sufficiently information-dense book that actually sitting and reading it from cover to cover won't realistically happen for most folks, no matter how involved. It's more of a textbook and reference resource.

There are lots of diagrams and drawings and pictures (probably three hundred) and they help a lot. The lengthy glossary is OK, though I've not found a petroleum business glossary that seems to be truly comprehensive. (That was written before I found, and ordered, the comprehensive "Dictionary of Petroleum Exploration, Drilling & Production" by who else but Norman J. Hyne, Ph.D.,.... and nope, I have no axe to grind here; and yes, I have noticed that Norman seems to favor long titles). The folks in the oil business rely very heavily on their own language that is a combination of truly technical terminology, oilman slang and everything in between. A glossary is handy. Also be forewarned that the business uses lots of abbreviations, and they seem to change somewhat from company to company, so that a glossary won't ever have all of the abbreviations in use in the field.

There are some other books that do a pretty good job on a more basic level, including "Money In The Ground" by John Orban, III (which also includes deal structure), but, if you are looking for a book that is deep enough to give you a good understanding of the many various aspects of drilling for oil, this is the book.

What a powerful memoir! I couldn't put this book down--but I found myself needing to just so I could keep breathing. This memoir brought to mind another memoir that I read called "In the Shadow of Polio" by Katheryn Black" I don't want to give away too much about either memoir only to say I was deeply moved by both of these books..and I will share this one with my Mother.

It is clear that Don Snyder had to write this book, if only for himself. That he chose to dedicate it to his father and share it with the reading public is a great gift indeed. In 1950, the year that Don and his twin brother Jack were born, many family secrets were still kept closely guarded in a way that wasn't truly in anyone's best interests. It was customary in many American families to obliterate any evidence of painful family incidents and tragedies. Adults did themselves no favors in maintaining these fictions. Even such ordinary things as second marriages after the death of a spouse were often kept secret from children. When they stumbled upon evidence of such secrets, or were at last told of such matters as adults, they naturally felt betrayed.

Don Snyder's family kept some secrets like that, and he addresses all of them and postulates the reasons why certain truths were withheld for so long. The death of a healthy, normal 19-year old girl 16 days after giving birth just didn't make sense. "Toxemia" and "pre-eclampsia," medical terms used to describe the cause of death of Peggy Snyder, were not meaningful to most of the lay public at that time. And so Peggy's tragic death was not so much "hushed up" as it was put away on a high shelf where no one could get to it, because it was just too painful to recall.

That Snyder was able to track down so many friends, acquaintances, and most especially medical personnel who played a part in Peggy's diagnosis, delivery and treatment -- such as was available -- is amazing. In Peggy's case, it seems that even in the late 40s and early 50s she left a paper trail almost as effective as the one computer databases, cell phone towers and GPS devices would provide today.

I came to really love Peggy, as her son makes her come alive -- most especially in black and white photographs that are described, not seen. (This technique does not always work.) Reading this lovely and sad memoir reminded me of Clarence's observation to George in "It's A Wonderful Life:" each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole...".

It is amazing that Snyder had the ability to put this story on paper and go through what was necessary to do so. His writing is extraordinary, and I do not use that word lightly. It has been about 3 years since I read this book and it is easily one of the few that will stick with me forever. It reads like a love story, a mystery, and the memoir that it is. Bravo, Mr. Snyder.

This is a beautifully written book. Very moving and also very sad, but gratifying as well. Recently I was discussing this novel with someone. When I related the basic gist of the story, this person said, "Oh, sounds like the same idea as in The Notebook, a novel by Nicholas Sparks." There is a slight similarity, but this is real. The story is real and the writing is real, not just sentimental, contrived fiction. I just listened to the audio book and loved it. I would recommend this to anyone.

To me, this was a masterpiece--something I didn't expect. I had read his previous book "The Cliff Walk" and found out later that he was doing a reading that summer of "Of Time and Memory" at a local bookstore. At that reading, I told him that The Cliff Walk was incredibly written and that I'd recommendeded it to many people. He then told me that that book was 'practice' for this book, the book he always meant to write. I found that hard to believe, but the comment alone prompted me to let the book sit on a shelf FOR FOUR YEARS. I was waiting for a good time to read it AND afraid of being disappointed, both at the same time.
Not only was it better than I thought, it would be SIX STARS versus the previous book's 5! Snyder's ability to write not like he's telling you but almost like you're overhearing him tell someone else puts you right there, right in the conversation, right in the middle of the thought as it grows. I was always taught to write in a linear way, to go from this to this to this. Don Snyder knows how to not just take you there, but to carry you, to help you feel the doubts and insecurities along the way. In today's world where flaws are edited out and smoothed over Snyder shows them all--including his own as they pop up like stray dandelions. (This again sounds less like a story he polished to show others and more like that which he'd tell to only his closest friends.) In the end I struggled, not so much with putting it down as with facing the fact that this book would have to end--the greatest compliment I can think of giving any book. His look at the human condition helped give me a new definition of what good writing is really about.

I love Disney world and I love love The Pirates Of The Carribbean! Great if you like both!

I really enjoed the first chapter on how the concept translated into the final product of a ride. Amazing how these things come together. The second chapter comparing the ride throughs between the four parks I found a bit frustrating - hard to really picture it unless you're there (for me). I was more interested in the ride portion than the movie chapter myself. Worth the buy (though I bought it used).

My daughter just loves all the background information. She's very happy with it.

Know this first: I'm a huge fan of all things Disney, especially POTC the ride.

Imagineer Surrell's book is very well-done. This is one of those (along with his earlier work on the Haunted Mansion) that I go to again and again, like watching a favorite movie or listening to a favorite album. Maybe I'll notice on the 50th reading ONE MORE DETAIL I somehow missed...
I especially enjoyed the look at the other parks' version of the ride. Rock on, Jason!

Con: Woulda liked it in HARDCOVER.

Now, as with any OTHER topical subject, some of the info goes out of date the day the book is published, and will continue to "go stale". The 2nd, 3rd, and even talked-about 4th movies are, of course, not included. The much-publicized ride rehabs are not either. This is the same with Jason's earlier Disney's Haunted Mansion book (a good companion piece, by the way). That said, the HM book goes off into a hopeful description of the actually-miserable HM movie, touting it as the best thing since Bela Lugosi. This was written well in advance of the actual public release of the HM movie, I guess, so they were gambling the public would love what turned out to be a huge embarrasment. ( When I need cheering up, I sometimes imagine HM Director Minkoff at what I hope is his new day job, asking people if they want to add a cherry turnover to their order for just 50 cents more ). Okay, here's your soapbox back.

They shouldn't have pushed the HM movie so hard in THAT book.

Not so in THIS book: Because they "got burned" on the HM movie, there's a decidedly less-throat-cramming push for Curse of the Black Pearl, which, of course, in hindsight, they could have laid on thicker, now that the movie has generated some kind of Star-Wars-level cultural shift.

Buy the book. You know you want it.

I know I want more books on CLASSIC Disney attractions, and I only want 'em writ by Jason Surrell. Amen.

As of November, 2006, a newer, updated version of Mr. Surrell's book is now available! Look for the version with the compass rose in the upper right corner of the cover.

Cheers!

Beck