Z Books

Oliver's "A To Z" joins Michael Reynolds' "Hemingway, The Final Years," as one of the two or three really valuable books to be issued or reissued in this, the centennial year of Hemingway's birth. As a Hemingway scholar, former editor of "The Hemingway Review" and a dealer in collectible Hemingway editions, Oliver is eminently suited to the task of preparing what amounts to a Hemingway encyclopedia. Casual readers of Hemingway's work and Papa aficionados will find equal value in this book. It is particularly refreshing to have a volume such as this one that confines itself to the facts of the life and the (reasonable) scholarly conjectures regarding the text and subtext of Hemingway's books and short stories. To his credit, Oliver doesn't feel compelled to include listings for Duff Twysden or Harold Loeb, citing them as "obvious" inspirations for certain fictional characters who crop up in a certain Hemingway novel released in the mid-Twenties. One caveat: Given the fact that this book is intended as a reference volume - and therefore a book to be consulted more than once - it is lamentable such a thin grade of paper was chosen (blame the publisher, not Oliver). Therefore, take durability where you can find it and buy the hardback edition.

Concordance like in nature, Oliver's "Ernest Hemingway: A to Z" is one of those books that should always be within arm's reach. It contains detailed plot summaries not only for all of Hemingway's novels, but also his short stories, nearly 50 b&w photos of Ernest in all his glory, a Hemingway family tree, an extensive bibliography of works by and about Hemingway, a list of film, stage, television, and radio adaptations of Hemingway's work, and a Hemingway chronology. Oliver deserves great praise for this invaluable contribution to Hemingway scholarship.

Charles M. Oliver. Ernest Hemingway A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Life and Work.

Facts on File. Jun. 1999. c.411p. illus. index. ISBN 0-8160-3467-2. $50. LIT

All things Hemingway here are dissected and rearranged alphabetically, from that magic elixir "absinthe" to bullfighter "Zurito"-2500 cross-referenced entries in all, although oddly the phrase "the true gen" is absent. The book also includes several top-notch appendixes of maps, a Hemingway family tree, a chronology and dateline, a bibliography, a complete list of his writings with publication history, and an index. An absolute gold mine for Hemingway aficionados that is long overdue.--Michael Rogers, "Library Journal"

Charles Oliver has put together a remarkable reference book for both Hemingway fans and scholars alike. As the title suggests, this is a truly "essential" book for the serious student studying Hemingway's life or his work. It includes summaries of all the novels, all the stories, many of his newspaper and magazine articles and a wealth of biographical and historical information. The book also has one of the finest bibliographies of Hemingway and Hemingway-related works available. On top of all this is a wonderul, easy-to-read timeline of Hemingway's life and the important events which helped shape the work of this century's most enduring author.

Isn't it true that every time you go on vacation, you forget something? As a child, it did seem I would also remember everything except my pajamas. That is what happens to a giggly little girl who goes to her Grandpa's house for a sleepover.

"First some Apples we can share with Bunny and my fuzzy Bear. They cry whenever I'm not home. I couldn't leave them all alone."

The A in Apples and B in Bunny are colorful letters. In fact, this book is an alphabet type story. There is also a cute cat that makes an appearance. Doing naughty things like walking away with puzzle pieces.

Of course when it is time for bed, she starts to be a silly head and wants to hide under the bed or do headstands. By the time she starts looking for her pj's it is late and she is yawning. The last page ends with the little girl putting on her Grandpa's big pj's. Such a cute little book.

~The Rebecca Review

What an excellent book to give to a new grandfather. Well illustrated, colorful about the warm relationship of a grandfather and his granddaughter. The alphabetical items she packs leads one into a great adventure for an evening with grandpa.

I can't help but grin when I read this book. Text and art work wonderfully well together to creative a delightful and funny look at a warm and loving relationship between a grandfather and a young girl. This book would make a terrific gift for a grandfather on Father's Day! Don't miss it!

This book captures the pure love a child feels for her grandfather in wanting to share all her enthusiasm for life in one night at a sleepover with this special man. The grandfather is a good sport and trys to play along with all her little games that she had planned for the sleepover. He trys to humor her, but at the same time he thoroughly enjoys this wonderful little person sporting a zest for life. There aren't enough hours in the day for this child. There is a heartwarming ending with bonding memories. A wonderful book!

Having been to London twice in 2001, I can say that I relied heavily on my Fodor's. It gives you clear concise, and most importantly, accurate information on almost any topic or question. For example, I did not believe them when they said you should reserve ahead for Buckingham Palace. Sadly, they were right, and I could not get tickets. They also told me that I would probably not be able to visit the Millenium Dome as it was closed and up for sale. London is arranged by neighborhoods, so the first part of the book dealing with sightseeing is arranged accordingly. There is a large foldout map in a back pocket, but also each section gives you small maps, which are arranged so that you can do a self-guided walking tour. I found these quite invaluable. I did look at the restaurant section for a general impression, but did not rely on the restaurant or hotel section, although one could. This forms the second half of the book. However, in the back there is also information about shopping, outdoor life, activities for kids, and at the very back an index of vital information, everything from how to use buy a London Travel Card, how to change money, or make an international call.

..........I carried this book with me around London each day and found it priceless! Comes complete with a maps, guide to all the sites major and minor (with descriptions of each, hours and days open, and even tube stops), as well as guides to lodgings, restaurants, nightspots and day trips outside of London, etc. At the same time the book is fairly compact so is easy to carry around with you. Using this book, it was very simple to plan an itinerary and to find my way around the streets of London! Very recommended!

I've taken Fodor's guides with me on many trips and have found them to always be a reliable and ready companion. Their suggested sightseeing tours and ample lists of museums, lodging, and restaruants have helped me find efficient outings into new cities and countries. It's often intimidating to travel to a foreign destination, but the competency of Fodor's guides with their well constructed presentation have often made me the most confident of travelers.

I just got back from spending spring break in London. This book, which stayed in my backpack, and the Lonely Planet's Condensed Guide, which stayed in my pocket, helped my mother and I have an incredible time. Rather than sticking to a rigid itinerary, we planned our day the night before, with a rough to-do list of places we wanted to see and things we had to do. Substantial background information is given for main attractions and contact information and the nearest tube stop are given for all attractions. The pull-out map provided, however, was pretty useless.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

In addition to the great art work, this book provides positive self images and personal development traits to children and parents. The character, Dottie crosses ethnic and cultural barriers that challenge most book illustrators. When I read this to children, they are mesmerized and enthusiastic. My grandchildren sing along now (to the ABC song) and are learning new words in the process.

All of the "illustrations" in this book are done with clay--it's an amazing book to look at as an adult! The time it must have taken to make each page is mind-boggling. Both of my kids (6 and 2) LOVE this book. Each page is about a virtue Dottie is practicing, and they're really cute! And as the previous reviewer wrote, you can sing the whole book to the tune of the the ABC's. We love Dottie!!

This book is great for little hands since it is a board book, and also enjoyable for new readers. The whole book can be sung to the ABC song which makes it fun to read and listen. I especially like the fact that this is an ABC book that speaks to qualities... Instead of naming objects that a child may or may not have, it names positive emotions and attributes that exist within a child. The book even provides an conversation or activity for the child and reader at the end!

Any rainy day, sunny day or boring day is a good time to use this book. My kids, especially my son, love to sit down with a pile of paper and scissors and see how many of these patterns they can cut out. When they are done with the patterns they try making some of their own. A good boredom buster, however as a storyteller I find it is a great way to recap the story I tell by cutting out the pattern that goes with the story. When I am done the kids are fascinated when I unfold the pattern and I get lots of oohs and aahs.

The book is an introduction to paper cutting. While some of the templates are more advanced, most are not. Good place to start to learn about paper cutting and realize you can do it. Not such a good book to help you continue learning paper cutting

Grandma's Magic Scissors is a wondrous book, chock full of ideas for children to create all sorts of cutouts with just a pair of scissors. Easy reading and enjoyable for adults who watch as their children become creative and use their imaginations.

Grandma's Magic Scissors: Paper Cut-ting From A-Z by Linda S. Day (a.k.a. Grandma) is a fun and creative instructional compendium of do-it-yourself projects for creating intricate, beautiful pieces of art with just a sheet of paper, a pencil, and a pair of scissors. Providing young (and not so young!) readers with a "user friendly" introduction to the inexpensive, fun and artistic pastime of fancy paper cutting, Grandma's Magic Scissors carefully guides the reader through cutting out such designs as The Monkeys and the Crocodile; Praying Parents; and Little Red Hen and Chicks, to Mice; Three Billy Goats Gruff; and Hearts with Bunnies. A wonderful resource for rainy days and other homebound occasions (with a bit of judicious adult supervision), Grandma's Magic Scissors is very strongly recommended for all children, but most especially those with an artistic interest searching for an entertaining and creatively inspiring guide through the decorative art of paper cutting and design.

Unavailable for a long time, it is wonderful to see this book offered by Amazon.com. Anyone interested in the subject should put this first on their reading list - a comprehensive and unprejudiced review of the subject; something we badly need in today's hysterical and prejudicial atmosphere.

J.Z. Eglinton, also known as Walter H. Breen, coauthored "Greek Love" with my mother, Marion Zimmer Bradley. He felt deeply of the rightness of his position, and used arguments from the book to try to convince the judge at his two trials for child molesting. A few of Marion Bradley's books have pedophilic themes; among them "The Catch Trap" and it is interesting to read her works with awareness of her involvement in these issues. It is sad that Walter Breen was so unaware of the pain he caused to his many victims. He was afflicted with paranoid schizophrenia which meant he had a fixed system of delusions which were unresponsive to conflicting data (like the objections of his child-victims!!) When he was sentenced to thirteen years in San Quentin, for the forcible rape of a seven-year-old child, among other charges, he had already been diagnosed with terminal cancer and given only a month to live. He was considered too dangerous to even be allowed into a hospice to die! He was so charismatic in life that his friends were widely in favor of finding a way to discredit his victims, and many were loyal to him to the end, even the ones who knew the truth about his crimes.

Greek Love is the first literary, historical, psychological and sociological study of boy-love ever to appear.

Up to now, specialists in sexology have been either too confused to say anything of relevance, or too scared to commit it to print! Such authorities as Stekel, Krafft-Ebing, Bergler, George W. Henry, Ulrichs, Carpenter, Haverlock Ellis, and Freud managed to write volumes about other sexual practices, but they betrayed no real understanding of what makes a man love a boy.

The author of Greek Love believes that boy-love is a potential social force for good. In Ancient Greece, it was closely bound up with the highest ethical and philosophical ideals. Therefore, we must seriously consider the possibility that boy-love can be a forece for good right now, in our own country.

Greek Love is refreshing to read. The author does not affect the modern pseudo-objectivity that is so often a coverup for moral vacillation. Though he treats the subject fairly, he makes no attempt to conceal his pro-sexual orientation.

Following is the table of contents:

I. Theory and Practice

1. Objectives

2. Some common Objections Answered

3. Greek Love as a Social Problem

4. Greek Love as a Solution to a Social Problem

5. The Theory and Practice of Love

6. Sexual Aspects of Greek Love

7. Some uncomplicated Greek Love Affairs

8. Some Difficult Greek Love Affairs

II. History and Literature

9. Historical Synopsis

10. Boy-love in Ancient Greece

11. Boy-love in Ancient Rome

12. Boy-love in the Middle Ages

13. Boy-love in the Renaissance

14. Boy-love in the Restoration, Enlightement, Romantic Period

15. Boy-love in the 19th Century

16. The 20th Century -- Divergent Traditions

Postscript by Dr. Albert Ellis

Rebuttal by J. Z. Eglinton 15. Boy-love in Ancient

I merely wanted to state that J. Z. Eglinton was the pseudonym of the late Walter Breen, a numismatist (coin expert) who was married to Marion Zimmer Bradley. He died in prison and I hardly need say what the charge was.

This is the best grilling book I've run across. The helpful tips and detail descriptions really make it a must for anyone that is just starting to grill.

Being new at grilling, I needed a complete guide and this book, The Grilling Encyclopedia, just fit the bill. Perfect! SO much information and laid out beautifully - very easy to use!

This is the best grill reference out there. It's concise, accurate, and comprehensive. Includes recipes for excellent dry rubs, marinades, and side dishes. More than a reference, it's easy and fun to read. I've used this book for the past four years as a guide to grill everything from steaks and burgers to corn-on-the-cob, bananas, pizza - even Thanksgiving dinner!

From a weekend barbecue warrior:

This is really an excellent reference for ingredients, tips and techniques on grilling and barbecuing. Very practical and useful since the information is well organized, with cross-references to related topics, recipes, equipment and ingredients.

But be aware, this reference includes a few recipes, but it isn't a complete collection of recipes, if that is what you are looking for, you might want to try "The Barbecue Bible" or "The Gas Grilling Gourmet".

And as I always say: always enjoy the experience of barbecuing and grilling at home, with or without this book. With your own recipes or with borrowed recipes. Just enjoy the moment and have a lot of fun with family and friends around the grill.

Honestly ... out of all the computer books I've purchased (and I've purchased a lot) this is by far the most useful ... I know my way around HTML pretty well and I still use it constantly. This book is great for those starting out and advanced users as well. Excellent!

I use this book quite a bit. In fact, I'm on my second copy (my first having fallen apart). My brother, who is also an HTML programmer, is on his fifth copy. This book never fails to teach me something new just by browsing through it. I love the fact that it is just a straight reference, and not a how-to book.

Outstanding reference guide. Everything in one place, and easy to find.

I use this book constantly while I'm working on HTML. I recommend it for all HTML users from beginners to experts. I'm a self-taught HTML author and I've learned as much from this reference as from actual tutorials. I particularly like that it has an "index" of HTML tags printed on the inside covers, because usually I just need to check the syntax for a specific tag and this list makes it very convenient to find what I'm looking for. For each tag, the book provides a definition of how it's used, a list of the attributes with brief descriptions, context (other tags within which the tag can be used), suggested usage, and -- best of all -- examples.

If you're looking for an easy home handbook of natural remedies simpler than most yet filled with the essentials, here's a handbook of nearly two hundred illnesses, injuries, and physical conditions ranging from flu and headache to food poisoning remedies and tick bites. Symptoms outlines are followed by prevention tips, then natural remedies in a book very simple to follow and perfect for newcomers to the subject.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I was totally blown away with all of the material that this book offers. After reading the whole book, I was amazed with all of the information that I had attained; moreover, followed that knowledge and healed myself and a few people! I take my hat off to the author! Thanks Mr. Alan Schmukler, for a remarkable job well done!!!

L. P., LMT

I have purchased many herbal and homeopathic books, but this one is my new favorite. It's very easy to understand. The author explains how to choose the right remedy and gives real-life situations which is great for moms like me who's kids are constantly bumping or scraping themselves! Thank you Mr. Schmukler! You've made my job as a mom a lot easier! Arnica is a wonderful thing to know about with little ones!

Finally. An uncomplicated yet comprehensive tool for us lay folks.This book is easy to negotiate and so chock-full of simple to obtain and use remedies that it will no doubt find its way to most everyone's home library. The author's clarity of vision and empathetic approach to the reader is welcome and most refreshing.

It is an instructional book with common sense with a little bit of a twist and a playful attitude. A must read for everyone. I loved reading it!!

Don't let the title fool you, while the book is aimed towards men who want help in landing a millionaire$$, these 26 chapters are full of great tips for any man who wants to treat his lady right.

The writing is quick and humorous and presents the info in a way that any guy can digest. From common sense advice like "make time for your millionaire$$" to the more risqué tips on ways to use ice (or ice cream, even o.O!), there's something in the book for every guy.

Overall, I recommend this title because it puts a unique slant on the usual genre of dating up the economic scale. "How to Date a Millionaire$$" is about teaching men the things that women want, no matter what their net worth is.

What a fun work, I immediately detected the sexiness of this guide. It was quite a read from that standpoint. It kept you turning the pages to get to the next HOT tip. I laughed out loud countless times with the vivid pictures in my mind of how silly certain things might appear. I thought the tips for these guys were outstanding advice and certainly a go to little black book for those looking to get the down-low on how to date a woman on the rise!

This charming book, an A to Z guide for men who want to know how to date a millionairess, had me laughing aloud! The advice is presented in such a clear and enthusiastic way. It's entertaining and it's tremendously helpful to men and to women who want to learn how to have an even more joyous, loving relationship. I've been around the block a few times, and these smart, sexy authors have come up with ideas that had never occurred to me. I've been having a great time since I started sharing their exciting advice with my husband. And so has my husband!