Titles Books

This was an excellent, intense account of a unique king's biography. I read this book to get more info on William the Conqueror, but now I'm obsessed with Harold II. A must-read for history buffs.

In terms of English history,not much is ever really said about Harold. Those who are looking for an informative and surprisingly entertaining work on the Monarch should look no further.

Ian Walker has left no stone unturned in the telling of Harold Godwineson and his family. Starting from his grandfather and father and ending with his grandson becoming the prince of Kiev.
After reading the book, you come away with a sense of the time that he lived in and more importantly a sense of the man. Walker is also very good at surmising how certain decisions and choices that were made having an effect on the people at the time. Case in point the effect of how Harold's contemporaries veiwed his oath breaking to William. Few historians are able to do this.

The author does love his dates and locations, but he is very thorough when it comes to extended family. Also and most importantly, he writes with a point. Instead of going off on a half page tangent, Walker writes in brief and consise paragraphs. When a major player such as William, Tosti or Harald Hardrada comes along, he writes a full chapter.

I have been looking for a book on this king for long time and this has surpassed my expectations. A definite "must-have" for English Monarch and Anglo-Saxon enthusiasts.

Everyone who takes English history probably remembers 1066, William of Normandy, the Battle of Hastings, and King Harold; essentially the date, the location and the leaders of the combatant armies. Some may remember that the fight was over the right of succession to the throne of England after the heirless death of King Edward the Confessor. A few may even remember that Edmond Halley's famous comet made an appearance just beforehand, creating great consternation that was immortalized in the Bayeux tapestry. For most, Harold's reign seems almost a foot note, hardly more than an intermission before the main event of the Norman conquest. With William and his successors come castle building, classic knighthood, feudal society, all the "romance" of the middle ages. Harold is so often treated as a cipher to all of this that the true drama of this transitional age is often lost on the student. Harold is just "the loser."

Ian Walker's book brings this period more into focus. He approaches his subject by examining, not only Harold's own life and career, but that of his grandfather and father, creating a sense of the venue for the events of the Conquest. Harold is no longer just "the loser." He is a powerful and intelligent warrior, dealing as often in diplomacy as in bloodshed, able to play the chess game of power politics in a very turbulent time. He was in fact "the last Anglo Saxon king," and his time, like the withdrawal of the elves from Tolkien's Middle Earth, is the end of an era. His predecessor Edward was the last of the line of Alfred the Great, the king who had wielded the tiny Anglo Saxon kingdoms into the one kingdom of England. William and his successors would turn the island into a developing nation state striving for a place in a world among other rising nation states.

I found particularly interesting the author's approach to the period as one of a family biography. Harold was not just a famous figure in history, he was a member of an ambitious extended family. Like the Borgias in a later time and place, Harold's father and his grandfather played major roles in English political life during the years preceding the Conquest, as did he and his brothers in their own time. Walker follows these careers, because it is the net created by their liaisons that defined the period. Pull out any of these lynch pins, and the history of the era would have been vastly different. Interesting too were the careers of Harold's children, who went on to carry the family into succeeding generations of international leaders. I have often wondered what the fates of descendants of famous people have been. What did happen to Cleopatra's surviving children for instance? At least in this instance, more is documented about Harold's children which gives a sense of closure to Walker's book.

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative study.

This book has enough detail and judicious use of sources to be of great use to the academic historian, while the author's lucid writing style and the sensible structure of the book will no doubt make it accesible to the interested layperson. Well done!

This is a great book for anyone interested in the mysterious and obscure events of England in the year 1066. Walker does a great job, trying to bring Harold Godwinson to life.

Yet again, J Ridley takes the reader on a remarkable journey, guiding you through the maze of factual background without ever letting your hand go. His mastery of the English language and notable training as a barrister make him the best narrator of the century.

Ridley is brilliant as ever. In his masterly style, he portrays both historic detail and periodic insight in such manner that the reader is captivated from the first page onwards. The ongoing battle with Lady Antonia Frazer's biography is a delight (especially when historical inaccuracies in her biography are condemned to footnotes). A book one cannot put down for a single moment.

Ridley paints a picture of a King who is as ruthless a tyrant as any 20th Century dictator. Henry VIII is shown as a ruler who forced his ministers to do his bidding and then executed them to satisfy public opinion, once his policies began to loose popular support. He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, including breaking with the Pope in Rome and reforming the Church in England with him as the head, when the Pope refused to grant him an annulment from his wife, who could not give him a male heir. Thereafter, Henry played Protestant and Catholic factions against each other, so that he could remain in complete control as an arbiter; alternatively burning influential Protestants as heretics and Catholics who refused to recognize him as Supreme head of the Church of England as traitors. Ridley's picture shows us a king who would stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wanted, including turning society and 1000 years of religion completely upside down! A fascinating look at the Stalin of the 1500s!

Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. When I first received this book and saw how HUGE it was (and in small print, yet), I thought I was in for a long, tedious and boring read. In other words, the kind of book that you start but it becomes harder and harder to keep reading until you finally give up way before the ending.

To my surprise, this book engrossed my attention from day one and became impossible to put down. Jasper Ridley has done a masterful job of giving us a very detailed biography of one of the most memorable kings in history. Unlike so many other books about Henry, Ridley refuses to monopolize the subject matter with sensationalistic details revolving around Henry's wives. Instead, he concentrates on the much more important religious, political and social aspects of his reign.

I think this book captures the true essence of Henry VIII--a tyrant, selfish, arrogant, and demanding. A person who in almost every instance was able to manipulate people into doing his dirty work for him. An individual who could play tennis with a subject he considered a "friend", such as Thomas More, and then easily have this bosom companion executed without nary a shred of remorse whenever it would serve Henry's advantage to do so. One of Henry's most popular practices was to sail the Thames surrounded by women and fawning courtiers while a former close advisor, friend etc. was being executed. This king was a master of disguise, making it appear that he had little or nothing to do with distasteful events and absenting himself from the controversy at hand.

The author mentions early on that, in effect, while gazing at the famous Holbein portrait of Henry VIII in all his glory, people were mesmerized by the majesty as portrayed in the painting. What they did not notice were the hard, unfeeling and pig-like eyes that were barely visible in the already bloated face. If the eyes indeed are the "windows of the soul", Henry was a very cruel individual indeed.

Although his reign was extremely productive in many ways, such as his interest in solidifying England as a naval power, the most striking aspect is, of course, the religious break with Rome. Here too, Henry waffles back and forth as the winds blow. To say this was an achievement is merely subjective; it began a period of intense religious misunderstandings which resulted in the deaths of untold innocent people who refused to accept this or that form of religious belief and worship. As such, I cannot classify Henry's break with Rome as a positive issue. I am not religious, and therefore perhaps not qualified to judge this. But the results of this action are being felt well into modern times. It is a subjective issue as to whether this extreme action on his part set his country and Europe on the right course.

As initially stated, do not be put off by the size of this book. It will engage your attention and provide a picture of Henry (essentially minus the much touted wife leaping) that probably comes closest to what this famous monarch was actually like.

Jasper Ridley's bio of Henry VIII, if nothing else, suggests to me that executioners must have had a steady employment during early 16th-century England. In Ridley's biography, England's formative king is essentially a psychopath, and the country became Protestant, not because of any doctrinal attachment to the Reformation, but as a consequence of political machinations and goals on Henry's part. This, in fact, is one of the book's great strengths; Ridley is rare among biographers in his thorough attention to and excellent summary of the thicket of political events surrounding Tudor England, and this book does an excellent job of explaining these intricacies. Especially fascinating was the depiction of the conflict between Henry and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Henry would have probably gotten the papal annulment that he wanted to dissolve his marriage to Katharine of Aragon, if only Charles had not effectively controlled the pope and been such a bitter enemy of Henry's; then Henry would have found no need to break from the Catholic Church, and history would be entirely different! For a Renaissance monarch, Henry seems more to resemble one of the 20th century's bloodthirsty dictators in this book. While the depiction initially surprised me, Ridley backs up his claims with such excellent documentation and use of primary sources (which I was able to check), that he definitely has a point! A fascinating bio.

This book is exactly what I was looking for. Perfect condition and rapid delivery. Great service.

Since the movie The Secret came out, there is a renewed interest in what I like to call "Mind Stuff". People want to find out how they can use this Power so that they might experience a better and more fulfilling life. I've been a licensed Religious Science Practitioner for almost a decade and I get a lot of new clients and people attending my classes who want to know how they can start using "Mind Power" to create the life they want.

What I tell them usually shocks them. I tell them that they are already using this Power. And they look at me with a scowl on their face, "No I'm not. My life is a mess. I'm in a bad relationship. I hate my job. I drive a 1973 AMC Gremlin and I have .73 cents in my 401k..."

And I just smile at them, "Wow. You're really powerful. Look at all these things you created. You're amazing. Why don't you create some more garbage while you're at it..."

"Huh?"

What I am trying to tell these people (and you) is that we are always using this thing we call, for lack of a better term, Mind Power. In Truth, all there is, is Mind. What we want to do is to learn how to use this Power consciously and deliberately and this wonderful little book by Ernest Holmes can really cut through a lot of the misconceptions that people have about the Law of Attraction.

It's not about holding thoughts or trying to get this Power to work. It is recognizing that the Law of Mind knows how to create. You don't need to know how, just like you don't need to know how an acorn becomes an oak tree, you just need to know that it works and it works every time.

The thing I really like about Ernest Holmes is that he just throws out these amazing thoughts that almost leave you breathless because they are not only so philosophically sound but they are also quite beautiful. He says,

"One practicing this science (the Law of Attraction) is always endeavoring to conform his thinking to a spiritual ideal. He must train himself to be aware of the Divine Spirit at the center of his life. His arguments, statements, affirmations or denials are arranged to disclose the reality of this Spiritual Presence, to make It real, to feel It. There is a Spiritual logic higher than the intellect. Every person has an intuition about this and unconsciously senses its reality. In practice one consciously guides the intellect to this spiritual perception..."

That just blows me away and that's just one of the many paragraphs that I have underlined four times. Every time I read this book or even look at it briefly before a meditation or before I start my prayerwork, I am blown away by how closely Ernest Holmes listened to Inner Self...his Higher Self...his God Self.

I believe that the Law of Attraction is not to just be used for material things, but for a deeper understanding that we are Spiritual Beings now. It's one thing to manifest an unexpected $100 or get a new car, but it's quite another thing to know that you are an inlet as well as an outlet to all there is in God. And once you know that, feel that, be that you will always attract abundant situations and experiences because you will no longer be praying for abundance, YOU WILL BE ABUNDANCE, which, by the way, is who you already are on a Spiritual Level of things.

This book reminds us that we are never praying to God to change as much as we are praying to change our own minds about who and what we truly are.
We really don't need anything. I know you are saying, "But...but...but..." and believe me, I, too, have at times, a serious case of the "big buts", but when I really am clear and aligned with my Source (God) I can fully appreciate and understand what Jesus meant when he said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things will be added unto you..."

Not a Kingdom that's in the afterlife, but a Kingdom that is within you now...that place within you that knows Its Eternal Nature now and isn't now the accepted time to live an abundant and joyful life in EVERY aspect of your being?

This is a book full of great reminders that Life is good and the only thing that stands in our way is our thought about it and what thought has done, thought can undo. You have the Power now to change because you are the Power made beautifully manifest.

Peace and Blessings,
john "the Light Coach"

I found the textbook "Science of Mind" to be not so clear in it's concepts, but this little book helps to clarify things, and helps to give a better understanding of practicing Mind Science. The philosophies and practices outlines make for a major improvement in one's life.

I have had and used this book for 30 years. To say it helped change my life would be an understatement. I have given away many of these books over the years, this one is for my granddaughter.
Ken Ingerson

My interest in the pursuit of spiritual knowledge began long ago.
My first taste of the truth or "Good Orderly Direction" came from Emett
fox. Ernest Holmes is his apparent mentor. Knowledge always comes to the seeker and Holmes is simplicity at its best. A simple and direct map to the right road to follow. Ask and you shall recieve.

The best review of this book comes from my grandchildren who insist I read this with them every time they overnight with Nana and Boppy and are all freshly tubbied and jammied up. Theyu love this book time and time again. It's humor remains fresh and fun and I hope Big Puddlepot (what kid doesn't love that name!) add to the Jimmy Johnny Brownie saga with more hilarious episodes. Buy it now ... you will be glad you did.

I have had this book for awhile now and it has been really fun to read recently with my two small children during our "Three books before bedtime" daily ritual. They are getting to the point where it is difficult for them to go to sleep and Jimmy Jonny has initiated some wonderful conversations about the things we do and what can happen afterwards. A well written, well illustrated delight!

Jimmy Jonny Brownie doesn't like to go to bed. And with the approval of his parents, he stays up all night. What he discovers the next day as a consequence of not going to be the night before instills in him (and young readers everywhere) the parental wisdom of bedtime for even the most energetic of kids. Beautifully enhanced with the lively artwork of Sherwin Schwartzrock, Bing Puddlepot's Jimmy Jonny Brownie Stays Up All Night is a unique, entertaining, and highly recommended picturebook story that has a true moral to the tale.

What a wonderful way to combat those "I don't want to go to bed" noises every parent hears when bedtime nears! This book explores the consequences of not going to bed in a creative and very amusing way that captures the attention of children--and those adults who are young at heart! The story and the illustrations combine to create a bedtime adventure to enjoy with your child.

Who doesn't know a kid who comes alive when the rest of the world is turning out the lights? Little Jimmy Jonny Brownie is darling... and his adventures are not only fun to read, they are fun for kids to learn from. A great book by a terrific writer and terrific illustrator. A+.

You laugh, you cry. It is so wonderful. I started reading it to my olderst child when she was three.
Now it is on all 3 kids most wanted list.
A book to cherish for ever. Each have one to take home when they are grown up to read to their kids.

This is a wonderful book for the whole family. It's hard these days to find a picture book where the narrative is as compelling as the illustrations. This is one of those rare books. The folk tale is refreshingly new and unfamiliar, and teaches a lesson not often heard in children's books. And Kristen Balouch's brilliant sense of color and design have a warmth and humor that is really appealing. I wish I could decorate my home with these pages!

I look forward to more books from this talented illustrator.

What's great about this book is that it's not the usual children's fare. The story of the Persian king and the three thieves who help him to learn tolerance and generosity is told in clear simple language that children of all ages can understand. The illustrations are just gorgeous--they're done in subtle and rich color, with bold graphic patterns, and in a style that reflect the origins of the tale. My kids love it! I hope this author comes out with another book soon.

What's great about this book is that it's not the usual children's fare. The story of the Persian king and the three thieves who help him to learn tolerance and generosity is told in clear simple language that children of all ages can understand. The illustrations are just gorgeous--they're done in subtle and rich color, with bold graphic patterns, and in a style that reflect the origins of the tale. My kids love it! I hope this author comes out with another book soon.

My kids loved it and enjoyed having it read to them. The illustrations are fun and I recommend this book to all parents.

Kristin Sorra's vibrant drawings bring an old English folk story to life in Aaron Shepard's engaging King O The Cats. What kind of intelligence can cats have? Young Peter Black has noticed some strange things happening among the local cats lately; but nobody will believe his wild tale. His investigation of what is affecting all the cats in town reveals a changing world brought on by a single leader.

Aunt Mary read _King o' the Cats_ to niece Robin, age 8, who really loves cats. She liked it all, especially the coronation scene. Robin is involved in Renaissance Faire activities and is attuned to the rituals of royalty. Aunt Mary liked the irony of Father Allen gaining a reputation for telling tall tales. Also, the illustrations were lovely, dark and appropriately spooky.

I read "The King O' the Cats" to a group of children ranging in age from kindergarten through 5th grade. After hearing the story, all the children thought this was a good book to read to kids, but that it might be too scary for the younger ones. They all like cat stories and liked how the cats helped prove Peter's "stories" to be true. They thought it had to be something important to get the cats to talk to people, though.
The illustrations lead to discussions on how the pictures were used to bring out the most important parts of the story, such as how the King of the cats stood out from the crowd as he was being crowned and thought it was interesting that the priest looked angry but spoke kindly to Peter.
There was the one child who prefered books with non-talking cats, though.

Our class really liked the book King O' the Cats. Kelly enjoyed the crowning of the cats, and all the cats going meow, meow. Mary enjoyed the details, which made her want to read more and more. Cheyenne liked how in the beginning Peter was making up stories, and at the end, the priest does the same things. Marissa feels that the book was "fantastic and funny." She especially liked when Tom jumped up and shouted "Then I'm the king o' the cats!" Diana enjoyed reading about Peter's shortcut. Shannon liked it when the cat hit his head! Alex B. liked the cats on the foxes chasing the dog. Brittany's favorite part was the cats in the church. Alex C. made a text-to-self connection, since he has cats, and he felt bad when his cat died. Daniel H. made a text-to-text connection-it reminded him of The Secret Shortcut. Destin also made a text-to-text connection, with The Boy Who Cried Wolf. (He also feels this book should get a medal!) Efren liked when the cats cried for the dead king cat. Morgan liked the whole book, but especially when the cats were speaking. Preston says, "I love your book, oh yes I do!" Ty liked when Tom went up the fireplace chimney, and he liked the title, too. Michelle wants Aaron Shepard to write a King O' the Cats part 2!

First the disclaimer: I am the author's wife. BUT...Wait...Before you decide to skip this review, let me add something.

I've never reviewed any of his other books.

So why this one?

King o' the Cats is a very special book. It's a slightly spooky story with twists and surprises in both the plot and the characters. It dramatizes truth and imagination, creativity and conformity.

But mostly, it's a delight. A special book, a special gift--for children, grownups, cat lovers, and anyone at all who enjoys a good story.

By the way, Aaron has a reader's theater script of this book available online at www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE36.html

. Informative book which is easy for all ages to follow wether reading it themselves or being read to. My children used it for projects and i myself took it into school to show children the system the English have as many think the Queen is voted in. I also enjoyed this book as i enjoy my country's history.

My bible of Royal British successions for almost 20 years, I keep it at my elbow for constant reference. A wonderful thumbnail sketch of each King and Queen, as well as a snapshot of the times in which they lived and the causes of their sucesseses and failures. Great reading--beautifully illustrated.

I bought this book many years ago, and I still pick it up at least once a month. The book gives you the most important information of every king and queen who has ever ruled England or Scotland.

As I turn the pages, I can see that there is something interesting about every regent, and by the way; this book makes you realize that royal scandals are not a new invention.

I have now read through this book twice - once before each of my trips to Great Britain - and have found this book to be immensely helpful in understanding Britain's past and present. The book purports to be about the British monarchy, but in addition to thoroughly covering royalty, this book also covers a fair amount of history so the reader has some feel for the cultural setting of the monarchs as well. There are numerous color illustrations and photographs throughout the text, finely placed, and quite instructive. Each monarch has typically 2-4 pages devoted to their reign, with important dates and events set out in an easy to consult style. Some attempt is made to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each ruler and to assess how the British peoples fared under their guidance. In general, the presentation is fair-minded, following Shakespeare's dictum to comment on each ruler as s/he appeared, "nothing extenuant, nor aught set down in malice."

There are periodically pages devoted to related topics such as the origins of Parliament, the Magna Carta, Chivalrous Orders (such as the Order of the Garter), War of the Roses, coronation of the Prince of Wales, castle construction (explaining terms like motte and bailey), or Empire Building. Events such as the 1381 Peasants Revolt, the 1666 Fire of London, or the Great Exhibition of 1851 (sharing scientific advancements from the Industrial Revolution) are richly illustrated, with commentary provided to explain their significance.

The Kings of Scotland are discussed separately, with historical figures like Robert the Bruce or William Wallace being treated in the narratives. Eventually, the Scottish and English/Welch monarchies converged with with the coronation of James I in 1603.

In all, Plantagenet Somerset Fry has done an absolutely first rate job of creating an introductory book on the British Monarchy. I found it quite helpful in keeping things straight in my mind (e.g. keeping all the Edward's and Henry's and George's distinct.) It is an excellent book to read either for pleasure, for instruction, or for historical guidance while touring the British Isles.

I read this book cover to cover just prior to my trip to England (along with Antonia Fraser's "The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England"). This was a fun and easy read with nice pitcures. It is nice for anyone looking for a brief overview about the English Monarchy and also for anyone who just wants to have a handy reference.

I have wanted to get this book for many years now. I read it while going to college. It is a story that has been in my memory for a very long time. It was a shock for me to see (after I read it) that it is much longer than I remember it to be, even though it is short as books go. It is a sad story. Let's hope that things don't work out the way that Mr. Thurber tells us they will. But maybe that's the whole idea: for us to read THE LAST FLOWER, then make sure that its ending doesn't happen. So, everyone, buy the book, and you can help out.

This book had the most impact on my 1940s and '50s childhood. I grew up with it, looked at it time after time, pondered it, felt it. Who said "A picture speaks a thousand words"? James Thurber had a wonderful silent way of reaching the heart. I recommend this book to all parents with children, and to all grown-ups. Of everything I have ever read or seen, this is my #1 book of all time! Please have it out on your table always!

This treasure of humanity was practically a Bible and also a constant "coffee table" book in our household when I was growing up in the late 50's and 60's. This is one of those rarest of books that will simultaneously break your heart and make your spirit soar. It only offers (see Thurber's dedication to his daughter) "a wistful hope" - but it will inspire you to nurture every ounce of genuine hopefulness you can muster.

This book had the most impact on my 1940s and '50s childhood. I grew up with it, looked at it time after time, pondered it, felt it. Who said "A picture speaks a thousand words"? James Thurber had a wonderful silent way of reaching the heart. I recommend this book to all parents with children, and to all grown-ups. Of everything I have ever read or seen, this is my #1 book of all time! Please have it out on your table always!

E. B. White thought this was Thurber's best book I agree that it is among the best. Written for his young daughter, it is an anti-war book of the right sort, emphasizing both the inescapability of war hostility and the devastation war causes. It is a perfect book for an adult to read to a thoughtful child--or for any adult to read in any circumstance. The line drawings (cartoons is not quite the word for Thurber's unique visions) are simple and eloquent throughout. The book was prescient when it appeared just at the outset of WWII. The story ends with hope symolized by the one surviving flower that may restore happiness and beauty to the world. It is the flower we still enjoy contemplating, sixty years after Thurber drew it.

I am a middle school English and Social Studies teacher, and I just finished reading this book. I think it's a must read for any middle school or high school age girl. It's a bit dry in parts, but has a good explanation of how our government actually works with respect to a topic that has certainly affected their lives (whether they know it or not!) There are some more interesting side bars, and I really enjoyed the charts of statistics showing how the numbers of girls and women in different areas of sports and education increased every year following passage of the law. I think current teens will be surprised to find out how little was allowed for (or expected of) girls even at the time that their moms were entering school.

I consider myself quite well informed about current women's issues, but had always wondered what the impetus was behind Title IX. I had no idea that the law we hear about that applies to women's equal access to sports, was aimed at equal access to college admissions and financial assistance. I cried several time while reading this book; I was mad at the earlier treatment of women, I was saddened by the personal stories of disappointment suffered by the women who were shut out of playing games they loved only because they were girls. I was also proud of the triumphs of the recent past, but mostly I was moved to buy another copy and pass it around to as many women as I can. ANY WOMAN WHO HAS PLAYED SPORTS OR GONE TO COLLEGE IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, OWES IT TO THEMSELVES TO READ, APPRECIATE, AND SHARE THIS BOOK WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF GIRLS. Laurie in Utah

Let Me Play puts a passionate perspective on the plight of women in the fight to obtain simple civil liberties and human equalities. Author Karen Blumenthal presents her work in a format targeted to a young audience, making this easily manageable book appealing to people of all ages that appreciate the continuing battle for equal rights.

Let Me Play is not simply the history of Title IX, part of the 1972 education amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but an outline of the ongoing fight women have endured in demanding equal treatment. It tells the stories of women all over the country fighting for recognition as something more than homemakers. Let Me Play fervently depicts, through narration, anecdotes, pictures and cartoons, the ways women fought, and still fight, for status as equal humans of equal worth.

In her book, Blumenthal vividly profiles the lives of many empowered women from soccer superstar Mia Hamm, who grew up playing on boys' soccer and American football teams, to 1993 University of Louisville Medical School graduate Dot Richardson, Olympic softball gold medalist and orthopedic surgeon. The stories of these women are heartening and relatable. No matter their field or occupation, each of them was once a girl growing up in a boy's world.

Let Me Play is a powerful addition to the unique genre of children's books adopted by Blumenthal, celebrated author and Wall Street Journal reporter. She has a way of capturing the meaning and relative application of a major historical event and conveying it in a way that is straightforward and dynamic, educational and entertaining.

Let Me Play is, essentially, the very recent, very true and very shocking story of girls being denied the right to not only participate in school-sanctioned sports and activities but also to take top-level math and science classes and be admitted to top universities, solely because of their gender.

The underlying message of Let Me Play is this: Know the words of Title IX and remember that, by law, no one can deny you the right to play, learn, advance and win.

A fiery and well examined recounting of the road to equality for women peppered with fun political cartoons and unforgettable quotes, this book is a necessity for any girl who plays ball in a once strictly male park.

I'm so glad to see a history for today's young women about what it was like before Title 9 - which, while it wasn't that long ago, seems unreal to my daughter's generation. I remember The Days Before, when the boys got the gym and were formed into athletic teams while the girls got WHAT PASSED for PE - calisthenics in the cafeteria! (and instructional time was used to move the tables and chairs aside)

In a day when feminism is facing a hostile backlash, Ms. Blumenthal's book is a valuable reminder that "what used to be" wasn't as rosy as some claim, a reminder of the gains made in sports by talented girls, and of what we DON'T want to return to! Five stars!

"Female admissions to colleges and graduate programs picked up speed, driven by female ambition, the law, and a growing acceptance that it was simply wrong to reject someone just for being a girl. Between 1971 and 1976 the number of women attending college jumped 40 percent. By the fall of 1976 one in every four law students was a woman, up from fewer than one in ten in 1971; likewise, a quarter of first-year medical students were female, up from about one in seven just five years before."

Recently at this year's Book Expo in New York City, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Patricia Macias. At publishing conventions, Patricia is known as the wife of author Ben Saenz. But back home in El Paso, she is more frequently referred to as "Your Honor."

As I wandered the exhibition halls at Book Expo, I frequently got the chance to catch up with old friends in the publishing industry. Many of the women I've known for years who are employed by the large publishing houses now have titles like "President & Publisher" or "Vice President and Associate Publisher." They not only have the positions; they have the power that accompanies those titles.

I also had the opportunity at Book Expo to chat briefly with my favorite member of the United States Senate. I feel so fortunate to be represented by Barbara Boxer who, like me, grew up in New York and moved westward. When we first elected Barbara to the US Senate in 1992, having her join Diane Feinstein there in representing California, it was the first time in US history that two women Senators were representing the same state at the same time.

Myra Bradwell would have though that it was long past time.

"In 1869, Mrs. Bradwell passed the Illinois bar exam with high honors and turned in her application to practice law. Though she easily qualified, she was turned down because she was a married woman. She filed a lawsuit, but the Illinois Supreme Court turned her down too, saying that her sex was 'a sufficient reason for not granting this license.'
"In one of the nation's first sex discrimination cases she appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. But America's top court had a different view than she did. 'Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender,' the Court wrote in 1873. 'The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life.' It concluded: 'The paramount destiny and mission of woman [is] to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.' "

It does not require looking back a hundred and something years to the life of Myra Bradwell (who, we learn, persevered to become America's first female lawyer) in order to recall when things were really unfair for women in America. I grew up a youngster not all THAT long ago, in a world where women didn't have the same opportunities as men to go to college, didn't have the same opportunities as men to work in many fields, to attain the highest positions in business, government, or education, to get paid the same money for the same work, and sure as heck didn't have the same athletic opportunities as their male counterparts.

As recalled in LET ME PLAY by Karen Blumenthal, it was in 1964 (when I turned nine, the same year the Beatles first came to America), that a Southern segregationist in Congress unintentionally played an important role in promoting women's rights when he "proposed adding the word 'sex' to the section [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964], so that it would forbid job discrimination against women as well as blacks." Congressman Howard W. Smith of Virginia was figuring that adding such an amendment would cause the male-dominated Congress to quickly sink the entire Act including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the historic Civil Rights legislation would create. That Smith's plan backfired and the legislation passed meant for the first time in our history that it was illegal to pay a woman differently than a man employed in the same position as she.

"State universities in Virginia had turned away 21,000 women in the early 1960s; during the same time not a single man was turned away."

While the author takes us back to the 1800s and forward to the 1960s in setting the stage, the overwhelming focus of her fascinating and important book about women in America is on the fight for passage of and subsequent fights over enforcement of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the far-reaching changes in our country that resulted from that landmark legislation.

Blumenthal's well-documented story of Title IX is interspersed with illuminating profiles and photos of notable twentieth century female athletes who got badly cheated by being born in the backward days of the earlier 1900s, along with great profiles of the federal legislative heroes responsible for Title IX passage, and a terrific assortment of strips from Doonsbury, Tank McNamara, Peanuts and other daily comics and political cartoons that shed light on the legislation and the issues behind it.

"At the University of Georgia the budget for women's sports grew to $120,000 in 1978 from $1,000 in 1973, but the men received $2.5 million. Among the differences: The men on the golf team got all the golf balls they needed. Women golfers got one for each competitive round they played."

If the words of the "stupid white men" on the Supreme Court in the 1870s seem like something from the Dark Ages, readers will discover that the ignorance of those words is easily matched by what Ronald Reagan and his minions did to try and destroy Title IX in the 1980s. I can't imagine any woman who's aware of what Reagan and Bush One carried out in those years not gagging over the current President's recent words that "We are blessed to live in a Nation, and a world, that have been shaped by the will, the leadership, and the vision of Ronald Reagan." I'd say there's a serious lack of vision when you've got your head in the place that Reagan obviously had his when it came to women's rights.

But now the question is, is the battle finally won?

When we consider what portion of Congress and Senate seats are currently filled by the majority gender in America, when we look at what portion of the CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations are female, or when we look at the gender of the Presidents of the nation's most distinguished universities, we must conclude that there is a long way to go.

A report released by the AAUW back when this week's high school graduates were in kindergarten found that "boys' expectations were built up while girls' were whittled back." That's THIS generation, not mine or a previous generation.

And lest anyone suggest the glass half-filled attitude, I'd hasten to suggest that they consider trading places and then claim that things are moving along quickly enough.

Edith Green, a major figure in the story, was fond of the saying: "The trouble with every generation is that they haven't read the minutes of the last meeting." Thanks to Karen Blumenthal, we now have an accurate set of minutes available from a pivotal episode in recent American history.

Originally purchased this book for the illustrator (Sowa), whose work is remarkable. When the book arrived, I intended to scan the text and set the volume aside: and every time since, the same thing has happened...I read it through.
A delightful parable for any age, I was surprised to see how amenable it was to a thoughtful consideration of old age.
A graceful, witty and thoroughly surprising way to revisit every grownup's "boogeman": we don't die, we just get little!

Michael Sowa's illustrations, as usual, are superb. And each time I read Little King December new layers of meaning are revealed. It is a book I'll keep always. Looks like a children's book, and I suppose children will enjoy it, but it is also for adults. Somehow it speaks directly to your imagination and just resonates there.

A few years ago a German relative sent me an audio tape of "Der Kleine Koenig Dezember". I enjoyed it immensely and wished I could share the story with my nieces and nephews. I did search for an English version at that time and was disappointed.

This year somehow I came across an English translation of the story on the Amazon website quite by accident and quickly ordered six copies. The translation does not quite do justice to the original and is somewhat abbreviated, but the spirit of the tale is there and will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

I mainly bought this book because of the illustrator; michael sowa, but i read through the book anyway. this is a GREAT book. very creative, and makes you laugh and think at times. short but enlightling book!

I bought this book last year for myself. It's so ponderous and mysterious, and is full of truths in hiding. The character who sees King December is a dull man with a dull job, and it's never clear if the King is part of his imagination. There is a lingering sadness throughout the book, but it's so beautiful that I cry everytime I read it.