Margaret O'Brien Books

I have an 8 y.o. son who is very inquisitive, but getting him to read voluntarily on his own is somewhat of a chore. I got him this book for Christmas, and he read it on his own,not wanting to put it down in the morning, before his carpool arrived.
After he finished the book, he asked,"Mom, can we get the one about John F. Kennedy?"
Enough said.

Whenever I see a new book in this series, I buy it. I have yet to be disappointed. The information is presented in an easy to read format and contains a wide variety of information as well as pictures. I once had a reluctant reader who became a reader after reading one of these for a project I had assigned in my classroom. His mother was forever grateful.

Great subject for a children book. I got this series of books for my daughter and she really enjoyes reading them. Great read and educational too.

Edison's contributions to modern society are impressive: the light bulb, phonograph, improvements to the telegraph, telephone and motion picture technology. Very enjoyable book!

This is a concise guide to creating syllabi that encourage students to engage in course content and take advantage of resources available to them. I have used suggestions from this book for several courses over the past six years. My students find that a syllabus based on suggestions in the book helps them organize their approach to the course and establish goals for learning. Administrative critiques of my syllabi routinely note clarity of purpose and thoroughness--important aspects for the age of learner-centered paradigms. Examples in the book cover a range of disciplines and course formats.

This is one of the best updated accounts on Asian Hornbills that I have seen lately. Taxonomy is reviewed briefly (but very accurately and explicit), with good and useful descriptions of the various genera and species, as well as current distribution, habitats, general biology of the group, ecology and their relevance as seed dispersers, foraging and other behaviour, and problems that the group faces for its survival. Additional information is provided in relation to the ecology of agaonid wasps, who co-evolved with figs, fruits that are an important food for hornbills. Interesting observations about biogeography and island biogeography of the different species is given as well. I really enjoyed it a lot!

Gorgeous illustrations, much like Anne Mortimer ("Pussycat's Christmas"), and absolutely hilarious. My two boys, aged 7 and 9 howl with laughter when we read it. I hope it comes back into print!

This is a great book to read if you study Economics or are in some way involved in public policy.

The authors do a great job of explaining the TRUE impacts of the minimum wage on workers. While it pertains primarily to California, the research is relavant to the United States in general.

I wish that EVERY policy maker would understand the Minimum Wage and poverty in the U.S. and this book would be a great way to help them understand.

For those of us who are not involved in public policy, understanding this issue is important because of its huge social relavancy and will help us make better decisions when we vote. We can also help to educate people around us because NOBODY seem to understand this stuff (i.e. Liberals think the Minimum wage is great and should be increased, Conservatives think it's bad and should be gotten rid of and neither of them are right).

If you compete in Speech and Debate, it will offer a great case/topic for you.

London detective John Bright is receiving threatening e-mails but they don't worry him because he believes they come from disgruntled police officers that are angry he took down some corrupt members of the department. When the e-mails start threatening his girlfriend Jude, he doesn't tell her but keeps a close watch on her. When she suggests they take a vacation together to France, he eventually succumbs to the pressure.

After a few fun-filled days they come to the Neufchatel village in the Jura region of France and book a room at the Hotel Sanglion. At dinner, the proprietor's girlfriend Mariela flirts with John but he ignores her. That night after Jude's asleep he takes a walk around the town and comes back to the room. The next day he is called in for questioning by the local authorities because Mariela is dead and someone saw him roaming the streets at night. The villagers, including the local police officers, would like nothing better than to pin this murder on a foreigner, but John teams up with an out of town official to find the real perpetrator and make him pay for what he did to him and Jude.

This is a very different but exciting police procedural because the crime takes place in France where the laws are much different than in the United States and the United Kingdom. One can't help but like and empathize with the protagonist who acts tough but has some vulnerable spots that make him appear endearing to the audience. This is a very gritty urban noir novel even though it takes place in a small rural village.

Harriet Klausner

This comes off as a fan magazine type publication; other than the Margaret O'Brien intro, there's really not much that is intimately Judy here. The photos are mainly poor quality; many are reproductions from newspaper type quality. Save your money and buy another Judy book; Scott Schecter, Gerold Frank, and many more that blow this one away.

A nice look at a great woman. Thank you. I've already read it twice.

I have read every Judy Garland bio out there. This is one of the top ones to read. Very well-done. Kudos.

Judy Garland has, of course, been greatly overdone, but this author manages to present the actress and singer in an entirely new light. It is an interesting, enjoyable read. There are many new things presented and many new facts and many new pictures. There is none of the sensantionalistic stupidty that marks other Judy Garland books.

This is squarely a terrific book on Judy Garland. I have been trying to get it for a while and finally succeeded. It was worth the wait. It is really, really good. It has more information than you could imagine. More photos, facts and lots of interesting material. Get it fast. You will love it.

This Is Baseball This is my 2-year-old grandson's favorite book. He especially likes the umpire. Whenever he watches a baseball game on TV, he get's most excited when he sees the ump, and yells, "Yea!! The umpire!!!" He understands so much about the game because of this book. Wonderful.

I really like the illustrations in this book. It is a bit simplistic, which can be a good way to introduce the various components or terms about baseball to a child. But if you're wanting a story, it leaves you wanting. You could, of course, embellish it by making up your own narrative to go along with the pictures. Probably best for younger kids (those learning how to talk).

We received this as a gift for my son. This is a great intro to baseball and a wonderful bonding book for baseball-loving parents and their toddler children. I have wonderful pictures of my husband and son enjoying the book together. While simple, the book can hold great emotion and also a great moral in 'tomorrow will be another game'.

An uplifting introduction to the best sport to watch with your kids. We have given this book as a baby gift to more than a few of our friends.

I bought this book for my two-year old because he'd taken a sudden interest in baseball "hats," and he now knows more about the game itself than a lot adults. Terrific illustrations and pithy copy that give a brief overview of the game.

Since it's short on words, I highly recommend it for toddlers, though it's apparently being marketed to the four- to eight-year old crowd.

Special bonus to Phillies fans: the illustrator is from South Jersey, and you'll recognize the "Home" team as our lovable Phils.

Remember "the films of" series of books on famous actors? Lotsa pictures? Every film listed in chronological order? That's the design of this much belated book (copyright 2000). And it comes with the direct assistance of Margaret O'Brien herself as she herself explains in the Forward.

After a brief biography, each of her films is presented, the cast and crew listed, the plot summarized with lots of behind-the-scenes revelations included. And talk about comprehensive! I was unaware (tho, hardly surprised) of the two or three movie shorts done during the war. But did you know she did a Japanese film when she was about 15 or 16? Much later, a couple films in Peru? A little-known Disney film (with Jenny Agutter)? And, fairly recently, a couple indie films (ones which I plan to avoid).

This book also includes abbreviated listings of her stage work and radio performances, and a pretty comprehensive listing of her television appearances.

Maybe because of Margaret's involvement, I felt the information was carefully sifted to avoid offending her. As an admirer, I didn't mind that. It's much more important that this compilation and updated biography become available.

Look at that face! How could you resist this book? I bet the movie critic of the 1940s James Agee couldn't have if he were alive today. And based on his reviews of Margaret's movies, he would have rested his copy of it against his copy of "The Films of Greta Garbo".

This book does exactly what it promises by providing a biography of O'Brien's life and a review of her career to date. For any fan of M.B., this is an enjoyable read. What is especially interesting is that this is not a lurid tale of a former child star descending into an ever darkening pit of pain and confusion. It is the story of a survivor who might have transitioned into adult superstardom had it not been for the ever changing tastes of the viewing public and the disintegration of the studio system. I was glad to see that someone cared enough to present an honest and fair picture of Margaret's career and life while a good number of her co-stars were alive and able to be interviewed.

Neatly organized book on the greatest of all child stars. Includes complete listing of all television appearances - she did a ton of them!! MOB comments on all her film rolls which is fasinating. Also some very rare photos from MOB'S private collection. Author is close friend of MOB which adds authenticity to this book

This book has everything about the wonderful little actress, Margaret O'Brien. Not only does it have a biographical section, but details every film she every made with a complete listing of cast, crew, synopis, a behind the scenes look at the making of the film and comments from costars and O'Brien herself. The author has put a lot of research into this book and it deserves to be read.

I enjoyed this book. It could be deeply thought provoking or just a great story. I simply liked the "what could happen if..." prospective.

"Offred" tells the tale of many characters and how they find their way. It shows everyone has their unhappiness is life, but there are slices of happiness too.

Set in current times it has the feel of history....and maybe that's what swept me in.

I have recommended this book to everyone around me. Though the story was only so-so, the beauty of how it was written made this a must-read.

What are you waiting for? Read it!!!

Handmaid's Tale / 0-385-49081-X

This dystopia masterpiece, set in a modern world that still rings eerily familiar, years after the publication date, describes the daily life and desperation of a woman caught up in a social struggle that she cannot influence.

A state of emergency has been declared, the national borders have clamped closed, and martial law rules the country - a country that had previously been open, democratic, and free. Who is the enemy? That isn't always clear. A religious group, perhaps, or terrorists, but - maybe - the government is lying about the war, who they are fighting, and how it is going. Like the fictional author, a prisoner in the country she once loved, we only she what she is allowed to see. In this time of despair, terror, and lower fertility caused by modern chemicals in the water and air, the majority of citizens are willing to give up their rights in exchange for a fleeting feeling of security and protection.

When the state of emergency is declared, a fundamentalist Christian-based sect of the government takes over, using Biblical passages wildly out of context to justify denying basic rights of citizenship to women. Women are no longer allowed to work, hold property, carry money, or read or write. The men - husbands, fathers, and brothers - are given the women's former belongings and are charged with their safety. The new "work" for women is bearing children, or (for older, infertile, upper-class women) being "good" wives. Divorce is retroactively criminalized, and women in second-marriages are rounded up as criminals and put to work as private sex slaves, making heirs for the privileged and politically connected. This is the story of one of these women. She tells of her loss of freedom, her sorrow at her husband's death, the pain at having her daughter torn away from her, and the slow mental decay as she sleepwalks through her new life - the endless waiting for nightfall, the humiliation of her "work" in trying to conceive a child.

The story is a work of art, and a masterpiece. The pacing is slow, leisurely, and even. We are gently and carefully walked through the life of a handmaid, we see the horrors and pain, and - like our heroine - we are numbed by it. Shocked, saddened, and pained, yes, but mostly numbed. We see the signs outside the grocery stores - with simple pictures, only, because reading is illegal for women. We see the slow crawl of days, stripped of freedom, monitored even while she is bathing, lest she attempt suicide. We see the other women, the ones who have accepted their fate and have come to adore their captors and the ones who have rebelled, fought back, and lost their lives dying for reclaim what was once there own.

Even the epilogue, which Atwood has attached without a word of explanation, is a dash of sharp irony. Against all hope, the diary which we have been reading, written by this abused woman, has been found by later historians. These wise and 'modern' men are entranced by the diary, but not because they care about the horrors this woman has lived through. No, they are not here to 'judge' history, they only want to read her innermost thoughts, open her up, place her in history, date her and sign her and then delegate her to a nice shelf somewhere to quietly rot. Even in death, our lost lady has no name, no identity, no worth in herself, not because she is unimportant, but because the people who have power over her cannot appreciate her worth. Their priorities are wrong, and they can only consume others, without contributing anything worthwhile to society.

I read this book expecting a lot more from Margaret Atwood; all I hear about her is high praise.
This book read like a boring diary. I think she intended it to be a allegory on loss of civil rights, esp for women but it's just boring.

I'm fascinated by the reviews that indicate this book is now assigned in English Lit classes. That alone is testament for reading this book. I read it for the first time nearly twenty years ago. As an avid reader, and a re-reader - it stills stands out for it's unique concept and characters - regardless of your political beliefs (and given when it was written - I'd encourage even younger readers to be a bit less skeptical about it's political agenda).Well-executed "what if" concepts with characters you care about can be hard to come by.

This is a book that intrigued me from beginning to end--- twice. Having seen the movie (a huge dissappointment - that reflects 1/1000th of the book) and read other Atwood books (thinking - way back when - that I'd discovered a great new writer) I unequivocably recommend this book - and urge you to avoid the movie and not have such great expectations for her other works.

If you find you like delving into a unique, character driven "what if" scenario (though these will probably not get recommended for English Lit class) ---- I also recommend Through Violet Eyes, The Time Traveler's Wife] and [[ASIN:0316068047 The Host: A Novel.