English Books

The best part was the account of the expeditions to the Andes to collect blues, it brought a much-needed real world element to the book, to counter the strangely third person stance, and musty approach. The combination of taxonomy and a dead author's research just lacks much punch, though the authors make a valiant effort. One of the authors frequently refers to himself by surname, which seems odd; it happens maybe a hundred times or more in discussing the recent research into Blues, and how it intersects with Nabokov's work. The book is part primer on biodiversity, taxonomy, field biology, and part homage to Nabokov's genius. It must be unique in it's attempt to combine these elements. I love butterflies, South America, and am a biologist, but I found it overwritten, just too many words for what it was trying to get across. The style was also a problem, it needed to have more verve, less reserve.

At first blush this book appears to be a footnote to a writer who had an eccentric hobby. Since Professor Boyd's definitive biography some may consider that there was little else to explore. The scientific achievements of Vladimir Nabakov were not lost but perhaps overwhelmed in the literary story.
Nabakov's Blues does more than just dust off the lepidoptry papers. The book is in the final assessment a celebration of how science and research are never a sterile academic exercise but a reflection of greater issues of the beauty and elegance of intellect at work.
During the course of shedding light on the under recognized research we are reminded that the mundane work of classifying and sorting often underpins more glamorous tasks, but are also given insight into the many quiet achievers in science, who often take considerable personal risks to complete research which is part of a greater whole and leaves them only as a name in a arid catalogue.
We are too prone to identify the heros and not those who without clamor or boasting actually do the work.
Nabakov himself never "promoted" his science although he made it clear that his butterflies were an integral part of his life. We grow to specialise and those who can travel in literary circles as well as science are rare. The authors Johnson and Coates do themselves demonstrate that they too can travel the literary salons and the research laboratories, and write an elegant supplement to Professor Boyd that transcends that status to become a commentary on the man who was in many ways a true renaissance figure.

NABOKOV'S BLUES

Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius. Kurt Johnson, Steve Coates. Cambridge, MA: Zoland Books, 1999. Pp 372 $27.00

In his Field Guide to the Butterflies of North America Alexander Klots wrote of the genus Lycaeides that "the recent work of Nabokov has entirely rearranged the classification of this genus." The response of Vladimir Nabokov, the acclaimed author of Lolita, Pale Fire and Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle, was "That's real fame. That means more than anything a literary critic might say."

Nabokov was born in April 1899 and his reputation as a leading literary figure of the century he was almost born in seems secure; the Random House Modern Library proclaimed Lolita the fourth greatest novel of the century and the memoir Speak, Memory, the eighth greatest work of non-fiction, thus Nabokov was the only author to feature in the top ten of both lists. It is well known that Nabokov had a strong interest in lepidoptery. Often however it is dismissed as mere dilettantism, or seen by academics and critics as a source of Freudian symbolism. Nabokov himself detested such phenomena as the crass observation that "insect" and "incest" are anagrams, and attacked "the vulgar, shabby, fundamentally medieval world of Freud, with its crankish quest for sexual symbols." Full-time lepidopterists were either ignorant of Nabokov's work or regarded it as amateur dabblings; perhaps they also felt resentment at this part-timer who was nevertheless dubbed "the most famous lepidopterist in the world."

Kurt Johnson is a lepidopterist associated with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, while Steve Coates is an editor at The New York Times. This, their first book, fights on many fronts; it tries to restore Nabokov's scientific reputation and give some account of lepidoptery's place in his life and literary work; pleads for the oft-ignored discipline of taxonomy, more important now than ever in the light of the crisis in biodiversity; and is an exciting scientific adventure story ranging from the "incorrigible continent" of South America to the squabbles of the world of academia.

Nabokov's scientific work belongs in every sense in a different era; he represents one of the last of the gentleman naturalists. Lepidoptery was an interest inherited from his father, a prominent Russian liberal assassinated in Berlin in 1922. It remained constant throughout the upheaval of the Russian Revolution and exile in Cambridge, Germany and France. On coming to the United States in May 1940 he soon visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City with certain puzzling specimens from Europe. In Autumn 1941 he visited Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and found the collections in disarray, and first as a volunteer and then as a part-time research fellow in entomology he endeavoured to straighten it out. This was typical of the war years; considerable lacunae existed in academia and were filled with available workers with little regard for their professional training.

Nabokov's paper Notes on Neotropical Plebejinae is the key in the reassessment of his position in science. It was a pioneering classification of the Latin American Polyommatini, a diverse group of Blue butterflies with members from the tip of Chile to the Caribbean. This paper established a broad framework of genera for later researchers to insert new species. In 1948 he left the Museum of Comparative Zoology to become Professor of Russian and European Literature at Cornell University. This marked the end of Nabokov's formal association with the world of lepidoptery, and with the publication of Lolita Nabokov's fame became a two-edged sword as far as his scientific reputation was concerned.

In the 1980s a series of expeditions to Las Abejas, a jungle enclave near Dominican Republic's Haitian border, began to turn up new specimens of what were known as Blues. Over the next decade and a half, Johnson and other lepidopterists travelled all over South America, becoming increasingly aware of the crucial relevance of Nabokov's classification system to the multiplicity of new species they discovered. In these chapters the authors make us aware of the biodiversity crisis which means species are becoming extinct faster than science can ascertain their existence. The humble place of the taxonomist, seen by some as a drone of biology, is scarcely deserved, considering the importance of this work. The authors are also at pains not to judge Nabokov by the standards of today; some of his beliefs on mimicry and evolution appear scientifically unorthodox, but reflect that when he was working these issues were still being resolved.

This book will provide both enjoyment and enlightenment to any reader interested not only in Nabokov but in the relationship of the arts and sciences, the current state of natural science and the biodiversity crisis. The crucial question for Johnson and Coates is "Was Nabokov a true scholar of Lepidoptera, or merely a dilettante whose contributions were remarkable?" The casual observer might wonder how "mere" a dilettante would make "remarkable" contributions, but the question is deeper; seeing Nabokov as a scientist gives the understanding of his life and works a whole new dimension.

The authors seem to suggest that a healthy relation between CP Snow's "two cultures" requires not a facile "unity" but a deep appreciation of both the humanities and the sciences. Nabokov's quote "Does there not exist a high ridge where the mountainside of 'scientific' knowledge joins the opposite slope of 'artistic' imagination" is often quoted in this context. Far from an airy abstraction, this refers to a specific example; Nabokov's 1952 review of a book centred around the drawings of John James Audubon; Nabokov found Audobon's butterfly drawings inept, and wondered "can anyone draw something he knows nothing about?" Nabokov considered a knowledge of natural science indispensable for a truly cultured sensibility; he was shocked when his literature students at Cornell University were ignorant of the names of local trees and birds.

We see Chekhov and William Carlos Williams as doctors and as writers; we see Primo Levi as a chemist and as a writer. Johnson and Coates convincingly try to persuade us that Nabokov should be seen as a writer and as a lepidopterist. Nabokov himself said "whenever I allude to butterflies in my novels ... it remains pale and false and does not really express what I want it to express, what, indeed, it can only express in the special scientific language of my entomological papers."

This book is a fun read for anyone with an interest in the personal histories that shape authors, in biology and/or in the environment and ecology. It provides great insight into the scientific passion that moved one of the more interesting figures in literature, and nicely weaves the tale of Nabokov's first passion, lepidoptery, providing many interesting biographical details (including his wonderful sense of humor!), and the modern day story of the scientists who continued his work and discovered that his scientific legacy was truly as important and inventive as his literature. It discusses the science in a way that is interesting and easily understood by the non-scientist, but does not diminish the nature of the scientific information conveyed. In addition, it shows how the science impacted the literature. How interesting that a butterfly-gathering trip would provide the backdrop for Lolita! I found this book to be very interesting, informative and entertaining, and I highly recommend it.

I picked up the paperback of this book because I'd heard about it when it was in hardback. For anyone who is fascinated by science, literature, history, sociology and much more, they will find the blend of story, information and insight in this book satisfying and enlightening. Its never gets dull because you're reading about a historical literary figure, and his biography, tons of information about science and exploration, the scientists who completed the formative work Nabokov began at Harvard before becoming famous after Lolita, and how this all fits together in todays biodiversity crisis and squabbles over whether Nabokov was really a bona fide scientist or just an boyish aficionado. I felt I had learned a great deal from this book but also enjoyed it. It is a great blend of historical fact, new stories, and insight the into world's environmental dilemmas. I also had no idea of the complex ways in which Nabokov interwove butterflies and their images and symbols into his novels.

Sometimes, books are slow to draw readers into their world and their savvy characters but other times, the reader is lucky enough to be drawn in with the first line; for me, this was one of those books. From the very beginning, I was immersed in a world of kings, ghosts and nemesis, so much so, that I read the complete series before picking up another book. Louise Cooper is such a magnificent writer and weaves a tale like a master storyteller. As I finished each book and began another, I can tell you I was never disappointed. Louise Cooper's stories are as good as those of Brian Lumley, Terry Brooks and J.R.R. Tolkien. If you love fantasy, Ms. Cooper is a writer not to be missed.

Nemesis(Indigo, Book 1) is great! Once you get started you don't stop until you finish it, then you don't stop until get to read all the 7 remaining books of the Indigo saga!

The first in a series of seven, this book tells of a headstrong princess' rash action in the name of curiosity, and the consequences of that action. She no longer exists to her people, and must take on a new identity to begin her quest to right the great wrong that she has brought down onto the earth. She loses everyone and everything that she loves, and she must learn to face herself, as well as her fears.

This is a lovely book that is well-worth seeking out.

I found this at a used book store and picked it up because I thought it looked interesting. I asked the woman working at the counter if she anything about it. She told me it was a great book and that she had read the whole series; that it was a "women kick ...." book. It definetly is. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I read it in three days almost non-stop. You don't even have to be one those people who like the "women kick ...." fantasy books, or Xena, or anything like that. If you want a good read full battle, honor, and love, this is one of the best.

I read this book for the first time when it was released in 1989. It became one of my favorites and I read my way through the rest of the series. At the time that the book came out I was still in college and I identified very much with the character of Anghara. I understood that she had brought her problems on herself, but I still really sympathized with her anger and her passion and her sense of unfairness.

I recently ran across the book again and decided to give it another read. I still enjoyed it, but it is interesting as an older reader how my perception of the book has changed. I now find Anghara exasperating rather than sympathetic. I am amazed that she seems to get off as easily as she does after bringing doom on her lover and her family. I kept reading, but I was looking for some real repentence on her part and getting frustrated because I did not find it.

Cooper is and was a talented writer. The Indigo series was her third fantasy series outing (the first two were Blood Summer and the more famous Time-Master books). Nemesis is set in a semi-Celtic landscape and draws heavily on a variety of myth-based sources for its plot. Cooper does a good job of synthesizing myth in an original way so that it does not feel stale or like a retread of old ideas.

More modern readers will probably be frustrated by the relatively short book length-- I know that I felt like several episodes could have safely been packed into one book, even at the time that I first read them. This series should be a big hit with teenage readers (particularly teenage girls) and are recommended for any reader who enjoys this particular flavor of fantasy.

Have you ever considered the advantages to having your nose on your face? Or what life is like for a boneless chicken? Or lamented a night of homework? Then this book is for you! Jack Prelutsky's collection 107 poems are silly, catchy, and classic. Readers bounce from poem to poem, carried along by James Stevenson's squiggly illustrations. Though this is a fast read, Prelutsky's odd characters, like the Underwater Wibblies and Drumpp the Grump, will keep you giggling.

These quirky poems will entertain readers both young and old. Prelutsky's poems are made for reading aloud, and audiences will enjoy listening to the made-up names and punchlines. Stevenson's artwork, which can also be found in The New Yorker, fits perfectly with the singsong style of the poems. The black and white drawings wobble and flutter around the text, interacting with it. Prelutsky's work, combined with Shel Silverstein's, makes for an excellent introduction into the world of poetry for young readers.

My child came home from her gifted/talented school requesting the book. She loved it in her classroom and has already read most of it.

This is a great book to share with friends and families because it is funny and a lot of the poems seem true to what kids are thinking and feeling. Some of our favorites were, "An Alleycat with One Life Left," "Homework! Oh, Homework!," "The Nothing-Doings," and "I Wonder Why Dad is so Thoroughly Mad." This is a great book for everyone!

This book introduced my son to poetry at age eight and he became an avid fan. He became so enthralled with poetry that he began to write poetry himself. He even wrote a very insightful poem as one of his college entrance essays. Prelutsky retains his inner child and writes from a child's point of view--hard for children to resist. A must have for your home library.

I think that this a great way to introduce poetry to kids that may believe it to be boring or stuffy. My son would ask me to read these to him over and over. We did a lot of giggling over some of them.

Old Mother West Wind was a gift for grandmother, who read her children stories from this series when we were young. Happy stories and illustrations for young elementary children. Good entertainment, useful for K-3 school. Loved it!

These stories were first told to his own children by Thornton Burgess. Then they were read to me by my mother over 60 years ago. They were long out of print when my own children were of the right age but they are back for my grandchildren. They are highly recommended.

This book was a gift to my 6 year-old grandson. He loves it; both the stories and the pictures. This is a book my mother read to me when I was little boy. My favorite character was Bobby Coon.

Thornton Burgess was a naturalist and the stories of animals in Old Mother West Wind are wonderful. The characters attitudes and behaviors are true to the animal portrayed. A wonderful way to get acquainted with nature. Perfect book for an adult to read to a younger child.

A book of short stories about animals who talk, _Old Mother West Wind_ is enjoyable for a child of about five years to about eight as a read aloud (or older, if your child isn't terribly worldly.) These short tales often attempt to explain "how", as in how the skunk got his stripe, and have, in addition to the animals, characters such as Mother Nature and the Merry Little Breezes.

Many of these stories attempt to teach a moral, though often it is not obvious due to the author's skill. These are old stories and they reflect the values of the time they were written in. My ADHD eleven year old read the book himself and enjoyed it and is looking forward to the sequel.

Here are the stories included:

1) Mrs. Redwing's Speckled Egg - Mrs. Redwing has just laid a beautiful new egg and the Merry Little Breezes must help keep it safe from Tommy Brown.

2) How Reddy Fox Was Surprised - When Johnny Chuck wanders too far from home, Reddy Fox decides to play a trick on him. But the joke's on Reddy Fox.

3) Why Grandfather Frog Has No Tail - Grandfather Frog tells the Merry Little Breezes why Mother Nature took away all frogs' tails.

4) Why Jimmy Skunk Wears Stripes - When Mrs. Ruffed Grouse's eggs are destroyed by "a pair of eyes," the whole forest seeks the culprit. When Jimmy Skunk is found out, his days of night camouflage are over. (This was my son's favorite.)

5) The Willful Little Breeze - When one of the Merry Little Breezes stays in the Green Meadow after Old Mother West Wind has gone home behind the Purple Hills, he foils Hooty the Owl and Reddy Fox's plans to eat Mr. Bob White and his family.

6) Reddy Fox Goes Fishing - While Reddy Fox sleeps, he dreams he can fish as well as Billy Mink, but Reddy Fox just ends up all wet.

7) Jimmy Skunk Looks for Beetles - As Jimmy Skunk looks for beetles, he doesn't make any friends, but is rather selfish and destructive. However, the adventure really starts when Peter Rabbit decides to help.

8) Billy Mink's Swimming Party - Billy Mink invites Jerry Muskrat and Little Joe Otter to a swimming party at the Smiling Pool.

9) Peter Rabbit Plays a Joke - When Peter Rabbit tries to play a joke on Johnny Chuck and Reddy Fox, the joke back-fires.

10) How Sammy Jay Was Found Out - When Happy Jack's store of nuts disappears, Old Mother West Wind forms a committee of the whole to solve the mystery.

11) Jerry Muskrat's Party - When Jerry Muskrat throws a swim party, many of his guests aren't having any fun. Then, Little Joe Otter comes up with an idea that saves the party.

12) Johnny Chuck Finds the Best Thing in the World - When Striped Chipmunk hears Old Mother West Wind tell the Slender Fir Tree that she's found the Best Thing in the World, everyone starts to search for it--and everyone imagines it as something different.

13) Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox Play Tricks - When Bobby Coon and Reddy Fox trap Johnny Chuck inside his home, Jimmy Skunk helps Johnny Chuck surprise the two of them.

14) The Tale of Tommy Trout, Who Didn't Mind - Though Tommy Trout's mother tried to warn him of the dangers outside of their little pool, Tommy Trout didn't listen.

15) Little Joe Otter's Slippery Slide - When Little Joe Otter, Billy Mink, and Jerry Muskrat build a mud slide on the bank of the Smiling Pool, Peter Rabbit's curiosity gets the best of him.

16) Spotty the Turtle Wins a Race - When Peter Rabbit, Reddy Fox, and Billy Mink decide to race to see who's fastest, Peter Rabbit teases Spotty the Turtle that he should join. Spotty the Turtle does, and uses his mind to win the race.

This is my first ever James Bond novel, I can't remember if I saw the movie. This is a thinking person's spy story with few gimmicks but great finesse and ingenuity. Fleming fascinated millions with his suave 007 personality and his missions against villains who were larger than life and twice as nasty.
The pace is slow, a good armchair read with a briar pipe in hand. An entire new generation will find the foreshadowing deep and miss the absence of the now classic action adventure. But Fleming's astute writing style will continue to attack new fans who enjoy a good story well told.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

James Bond is still hunting for Blofeld. After a year Bond thinks he is useless, and wants to quit. In Italy he saves a girl who was trying to kill herself. This leads to a relationship, and Bond learns that she is the daughter of a high ranking Italian gangster.

He has info on Blofeld. He is in Switzerland running a finishing school type or organisation, after having undergone plastic surgery. It is really a brainwashing organisation to get women to basically be terrorist weapon carriers.

Bond infiltrates Blofeld's organisation, gets out of there, and here Tracy helps him out.

He asks her to marry him, and she agrees.

Bond, with some of Tracy's dads' men, assaults Blofeld's organisation, but the supervillain gets away again, and has a nasty surprise waiting at Bond's wedding.

This is definitely one of the better Bonds since, like CASINO ROYALE and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the more formulaic elements are so well integrated in the story.

What I loved about FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE was that the obligatory romance was the actual scheme of SMERSH to ensnare and kill 007. The characters were well-drawn and Bond doesn't come off as such an indestructible superman. His heart is broken in CASINO ROYALE, confused in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and then shattered in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. (It's also very cool that we learn that Bond annually visits the grave of Vesper Lynd as well as still checks into Casino Royale as well).

We meet Ernst Stavro Blofeld again, not because of some grandiose world-conquering plot, but because he wants the respect and nobility of a title. The College of Arms angle of the story should be the dullest part of the story but Fleming actually makes it interesting by revealing the desire of everyone--except James Bond--to be "somebody."

The biological warfare passages may seem dated but I like revisiting the 007 books while keeping them in context: they must have been fantastic reads in the 1950s and 1960s. These books really anticipated the very modern threat of what Fleming referred to as "the man with the suitcase"...which contains an atomic device. Blofeld's plot in this book to attack England through its livestock with a virus is certainly something to think about in this day of Mad Cow and Bird Flu epidemics.

Although I'm only quibbling, I wished there had been more development between Bond and Tracy, the only woman to ever become Mrs. James Bond. After reading the novel, I felt as if I saw more of her in the movie! (The movie version of OHMSS is also one of the best).

I recently started reading all of the Bond novels and overall have enjoyed them a lot. While Flemings writing style is consistently solid the plots and characters differ greatly. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (number 11 in the series) shares with Casino Royale the title of My Favorite Bond Novel.

The plot is interesting and not *too* far-fetched (for a bond book - some are very cheesy), the characters are very likable and Fleming really nails the mood of "European decadence". This book, like Casino Royale and a few others metes out a healthy serving of bond's classic vices laced with action.

If you like less-than-serious action novels, then I would highly recommend this. Perfect for a long flight or drive

Among the titles of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, I'd have to say that On Her Majesty's Secret Service is my least favorite, with neither the brevity of a Dr. No or Goldfinger nor the plot descriptive nature of The Man with the Golden Gun or From Russia with Love. Even if I dislike the title, however, this is one of Fleming's best Bond books.

The story opens around a year after the events of Thunderball (the intervening book, The Spy Who Loved Me, is not even mentioned). The villain in that book, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the mastermind behind SPECTRE, has been in hiding and James Bond is trying to seek him out. It is a more-or-less futile assignment and Bond is disillusioned enough to consider quitting. Before submitting his resignation letter, however, he takes a break at a casino. During this mini-vacation, he performs a chivalrous act to save a beautiful countess from embarrassment; she in turns, rewards him in her own special way.

This countess, familiarly named Tracy, is also the daughter of a genial but ruthless mob boss who Bond winds up (pardon the pun) bonding with. The boss, Marc-Ange, realizes that his daughter is troubled (in fact, suicidal), but that Bond may be able to help her by marrying her. Bond is not willing to do that, but is willing to see her again after she gets treatment. In the meanwhile, Marc-Ange gives Bond a lead on Blofeld.

Blofeld has holed himself up in the Swiss Alps, where extradition is nearly impossible. Bond goes undercover, hoping to lure Blofeld into Germany where he can be arrested. While there, he stumbles upon a strange plot that seems to involve young women seeking treatment for allergies. What Blofeld's scheme is goes beyond Bond's expertise, but the superspy will have more immediate problems as his cover is threatened.

Eventually, Tracy gets back into the mix, which adds another level to the story. Bond versus Blofeld is good, but at long last, Bond meets a woman who he can truly love. Since the first Bond book, Casino Royale, when Bond found himself betrayed by a lover, he has never been willing to truly risk emotional attachment. This time he does, and this adds an extra depth to this particular novel.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the middle part of what I think of as the Blofeld Trilogy, which started with Thunderball and concludes with You Only Live Twice, so it may not be the best Bond book to start with. For Bond fans, however, this book is a treat and one of the very best that Fleming wrote.

The recipient of the book ordered expressed gratitude in the quality of the book received.

I was particularly impressed with the Random House dictionary. I have looked through many other dictionaries that claim to be comprehensive, but none compare with the amount and type of words defined in your product. I based my purchase on a comparison with my husband's "old" Random House College Dictionary that he received in 1968 before enrolling in college. It has been the best reference work over the years, and this new one is even more comprehensive, yet in a reasonable size. I would recommend it for anyone heading to college or with an interest in words!!

My dictionary was 12 yrs. old and didn't contain some of the modern words in use today. So I figured that a new dictionary was in order. My old one was the same as this one and was perfectly satisfactory, so I stayed with the same kind. This dictionary would be good for students or for anyone out of school.
Remember: Update your dictionary occasionally!!!!! Many words are added every year so stay modern.

I wanted to give my niece, newly graduated from high school and on her way to college, a present, and decided on a college size dictionary. I found about 6 or 7 at the bookstore and spent some time reading each of them. I ended up choosing the Random House Webster College Dictionary. There were several features of this dictionary that I liked. It was easy on the eye: there was a little space between entries, which made words easier to find, and there was a minimum of abbreviations and symbols. Etymologies are placed at the end of an entry, rather than at the beginning. That means that what you see first are the definitions, not a line or two of technical information that most people don't read anyway. When a word has more than one meaning, the different senses are numbered 1,2,3...etc. I found this clearer and less confusing to the eye than 1a,b,c or circles and squares to categorize the various senses. I also liked that Random House lists the most common meanings first. Finally, and maybe most important, people look up words in a dictionary most often to find out what they mean. So any dictionary rises or falls on the quality of its definitions. With Random House, I found the definitions clear, straight forward and easy to read.
I would have given this dictionary five stars, but I found the paper quality, which looks a little like newsprint, to be less than top quality and likely to turn color with age. All in all, however, this was the one I liked the best.
As an added tip, you might want to check out the Random House thesausus, which I also gave my niece to complement the dictionary. It was an even clearer winner over its competition, in my mind, than the dictionary.

I have been using the Random House College dictionary since I received it as a gift in 1981. I found these reviews while I was looking for a newer edition. I have my original Random House College Dictionary(that's what it says on the dust jacket and the cover) sitting here on my desk, in its original RED dust jacket, although the rest of the book is falling to pieces from use. I really wonder about all this confusion. I chose this dictionary as a desired gift because of its superior, clear definitions and wonderfully organized entries, which put the etymological references right at the end where we educated folks like to find them. My final decision as to which dictionary to buy rested on the full definition given of the word "megalomania," which all the others merely listed as a psychiatric condition. I am thrilled to hear that the terminology of all the latest technological advances and vernacular language are included in the most recent edition. I will most certainly be picking up a copy.

I am getting my Master of Arts in Teaching and this book was recommended by my professor. It is amazing for anyone either looking into teaching or someone that's already been a teacher for years. Routman is down to earth about her methods. She gives you the comfort that is often times needed as a teacher.

This is a great resource to utilize for implementing a balance literacy program in your classroom.

I love how Regie Routman balances passion with dedication and inspires enthusiasm for even the most mundane routines. She understands that a happy teacher is a good teacher, and is one of the few who encourages educators to have a personal life and share important parts of themselves with students. "Reading Essentials" is not just a practical guide to literacy education: it's a call for teachers to fall in love with reading and inspire the same passion in their students. The children I've taught have learned to become authentic, purposeful, and enthusiastic readers in large part because of Regie Routman's ideas and strategies.

This is an awesome resource for beginning or student teachers and helps with the basics. Very clear, simple and direct.

This is unquestionably the best "how-to" book on teaching reading that I have come across. It is written from the standpoint of a classroom teacher, but there are plenty of essential ideas for homeschoolers, too. One way or another it covers every (as far as I can see) important point, and I agree with most of them. The best chapter is #8, Teaching Comprehension, where the first sidebar says "Teach Comprehension Right from the Start." Cool!

Routman moves most of the academic material to the end of the book, where there are many endnotes with references to research articles and a hefty index.

So what's not to like? The text is more of a collection of ideas and tips rather than an evolving education in teaching literacy (which I would love to see Routman take on). The many entry points to the text material (sidebars, bullet points, "Try it, Apply it" tabs, chapter heads, and subheadings) prevented me from finding a continuous, developing thread of instruction. The book is, as it sets out to be, a tune-up guide for trained teachers who are already dealing with classrooms of students. There is too little step-by-step guidance for homeschoolers who are new to teaching literacy. This is especially apparent in dealing with very early readers, where specific training, commercial materials lists, and informal assessments would be welcome (Routman seems to say that such would be infeasible). I missed recommended reading lists that might specifically tie in with coaching in the text, and striking the best balance of phonics to reading is brought out, but left up to the intuition of the teacher.

The thrust of most of the book is about 5th grade difficulties, but it seems to me that a solid K-3 program would head off most of those problems. I found K-3 to be the weakest component of the book.

Routman acknowledges the many demands on classroom teachers for their time and compassion, but I think she is unrealistic about what is achievable in a classroom-based school setting. Interestingly, though she never mentions homeschooling, her prescriptives are precisely what motivates homeschoolers (this one, at least) and homeschooling is a very sensible response to many of the ills she addresses.

Finally, I had the nagging feeling that the book could have benefited from being substantially shorter. Whatever shortcomings Reading Essentials may have for homeschoolers, it's still the best resource available, and it IS essential.

When someone sent me a copy of this book a year ago, I thought it was going to be light reading for a technologist's coffee table. Then I started to read it. This book truly runs the gamut of all the issues that customer service contact centers face today. The book provides a great introduction to contact centers, their technology and both the business and people issues that contact centers face in the 21st century.
People complain with increasing frequency about poor customer service. With great dissatisfaction about call center jobs moving overseas, and service suffering, this book examines all those issues and each chapter gives a list of helpful steps to take to overcome all the obstacles to good customer service.
This is a must read if you need to know about these issues or are working in any part of this exploding industry and need to do your job better.

The Real-Time Contact Center is easy to read, clearly based on real-world experience, and cutting-edge.

My initial intention when purchasing this book was as a reference for my Call Center Management Certification classes, but I found myself turning to it on a regular basis for practical advice on the challenges I face on a day-to-day basis in my Contact Center Operations career.

Donna Fluss has written a book that should be in the Library of every Contact Center. She offers a fun, practical, and leading-edge approach to the dynamic task of capitalizing on the strength of your human resources, operational processes, and targeted technology to achieve uncompromised Customer Service, Customer Loyalty, and Operational Efficiencies.

I consistently refer to her guidance when faced with the inevitable challenge of improving efficiency and productivity, while increasing revenue generating opportunities.

I recommend that you purchase the Real-Time Contact Center if you work at any level of a Contact Center. It will shed bright-light and clarity on the purpose of the Contact Center in the organization as a whole.

Corinne Valcourt
Director, J. Jill Contact Center Operations

This is a superb book offering an overview of how to engage with customers in real-time along with all the ins and outs of the contact center. It's a one-stop resource and I keep it on my desk as a handy reference. Every person involved in the biz needs to have it in their library - makes a great gift for your staff as well.
Debora Glennon, Enterprise Multimedia Applications Marketing

I have been either an executive or consultant in the call center industry for the last 10 years. My area of expertise is increasing sales performance. After reading various books, and periodicals, I unequivocally find this the best resource on the market. Ms. Fluss covers all the bases of how to transform your call center...or dramatically increase its sales and service performance. Her writing style is entertaining, and the checklists at the end of each chapter provide a road map for the transformation. This book should be mandatory reading for all call center executives and managers. I think 10 years from now the term call center will no longer exist, and the term real-time contact center will take its place. If you want to be on that train to the future...this is a must read.

This book clearly outlines the strategy to turn your contact center into a corporate asset. The writing is concise, the illustrations are many and useful. This book is stuffed with ROI models, strategy checklists, vendor lists, cost analysis and information you just can't find anywhere else.

Read it before you competitors do!

Guy Jones
President, Island Data Corp.

What a cliff hanger!!!!!! How you gonna keep me hanging like that??!!!
I can not WAIT to read the next book...Now I'm hooked...
PLEASE write fast so I can see what is going to happen next!!!!!
F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. This needs to be on audio books!!!!

Selena Montgomery hits another homerun with Reckless - sexy, exciting and a GREAT summer read! Can't wait for the next book from this fun author.

I can't put this book down. I highly recommend if you like mystery or romance novels!

Reckless is the first book I've read by Selena Montgomery and I'm hooked. I was absorbed by the story and style of writing from beginning to end and couldn't put the book down. As happy as I was for the characters and their happy ending, I was unhappy to have finished the book. In fact, I went out and bought Hiddens Sins which I also thoroughly enjoyed. I'll be reading all of the books Selena has written and am really looking forward to the second book in this trilogy.

Ms. Montgomery sets herself apart, oncemore, as an awesome writer. I've read every Montgomery novel and must say this is my favorite (so far). Readers can truly identify with these well developed characters. I felt like I was discovering the answers to the mystery right along with the guarded, sexy defense attorney and the chiselled, secretive police chief. I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the remaining two novels in what promises to be an outstanding trilogy!!

This book is great! Jack is so creative and gifted with words. I bought this book for my 4 year old daughter, and she loved every bit of it, except for the Mangorilla and Orangatangerine. She made me skip that part, because she said the picture gave her the creeps!
This book takes you on a bizarre journey through an amazingly creative place with a clever play on words, and wonderful poetic content. My daughter spent hours looking at this book and had fun figuring out the animal combinations that created each character. I was particularly grateful for the pronunciation guide for the animals!

I was intrigued and amused to see another reviewer say her children were obsessed with "Scranimals" -- because that's the same reaction we got with our kid!

Jack Prelutsky evidently knows the secret of how to captivate children, especially when teamed up with illustrators like Peter Sis. Nearly every Prelutsky book that enters our home gets the same treatment: fascination, amusement, and above all, lots of reading and re-reading.

One might say that this is not Prelutsky's most ingenious work, since it's basically a single concept stretched out into a series of variations, not all of which are equally clever. But there's more to it than that. The illustrations are compelling and fun. And much of the poetry is more highly-crafted than one might expect, given the silly first impression the book makes.

A great example is the description of the "Bananaconda" (that word alone always makes ME laugh!) in which the author slathers syballant syllables in silly sequences. I took the opportunity to point out to our first-grader how a poet describes things differently than other kinds of writers.

I then read it aloud to demonstrate that point, sssimply by exsstending each of the esses on the page. At that point, most kids can make the connection between the sound of the words, and their understanding of "S" as the sound made by a snake -- something many of them learn in preschool, if not earlier.

And of course those words were written ABOUT a snake. For a kid to learn that words can have multiple layers of meaning, and to learn that concept at such an early age... well, that's really something. And Prelutsky is one of the best at delivering that kind of depth, even when combined with utter silliness.

In short, Scranimals is definitely a worthy addition to any child's collection, at nearly any age.

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.

My daughter says: "This book is lovely and funny" ... "it makes me smile because it is fun. I love reading this book with my mum."

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.