Language Arts Books

There comes a point in most writer's careers when things don't look so great. Maybe it when you get your first shockingly low royalty check or perhaps it when you realize that your publisher sees you as just another one of their writers. That's when you should reach for this book. Reading Ms. Tedder's experiences and the solid advice she offers gave me the inspiration to cheer up and get back to the sheer joy of writing.

I'd never tried an electronic book before--what a way to start! I kept thinking omigod, this is me she's talking about. Great book, in any format.

I was afraid to talk of these things with members of my writers' group--or anyone else. I thought I was the only writer experiencing difficulties of writing under the stress of illness and, later, grief. I began doubting my ability. Then I read Ms. Tedder's book, and just knowing other writers go through these things, too, took off a lot of pressure. Now I'm enjoying writing again. Thanks for the gift, Ms. Tedder!

Normally I'd be skeptical of an author who gives so many examples from her own life and writing career, but for this book, it works extremely well. Her examples of harrowing career problems with big time editors and publishing houses are not a solitary experience. How she made it through the muck and her advice should not be solitary either. I'm glad to know someone has survived with their creativity intact. It gives me hope to overcome my own past and to write again--finally.

I picked up my critique partner's copy. I didn't really plan to read it because my career is going good right now, but I couldn't put it down. Now my critique partner has it back and has dog-eared it to death and won't let me borrow it. Mr. Publisher, please hurry and get some more in stock!

I was first introduced to Kris Jamsa's books when I first took DOS Programming. When I saw it was written by Kris Jamsa, I bought it on the spot! It is very step-by-step. I used this book instead of the book assigned in my JAVA class. It also comes with software and shows you how to install JBuilder on your computer which I found out is a thousand times better for code writing than Microsoft Visual J++. More raw coding and less Microsoft's invasive code. I highly recommend this for the first time JAVA programmer.

I'm just starting JAVA programming and this is by far the best book I've read on the subject. It mainly deals with programming applets but explains the logic of JAVA programming well enough to extend what you have learned into more complex applications. The problem I've had with other books is that they don't teach the basics and by the third chapter you're completely lost. Short chapters make concepts easy to remember and refer back to. Examples are cogent and apply the material directly related to the current chapter. After I'm done with this book I will have a good working knowledge of JAVA and will finally be able to understand the more difficult books.

After scouring bookstores for a Java book that was to the point, didn't weigh 25 pounds, and best of all made immediate sense, I was pleased to find this book by K. Jamsa.

Each chapter is concise, tells you what you're going to learn, tells you about it, then tells you what you just learned. The ideal model for education!

The chapters are paced well, with little fluff, just well-explained examples. All the graphics are laid out quite well, all in all, a well designed book!

The CD that comes with it has everythng that you need to get up and running, no extra downloads necessary.

Hope that they come out with "Rescued Again by Java", covering advanced topics.

5 out of 5

Kris Jamsa has written some excellent C/C++ tutorials, so its no surprise that this beginners guide to Java is just as clearly written and explained. In this volume, Kris is giving you just enough of everything you need to know to get started in the right direction. You'll likely need a more comprehensive reference book (I recommend Ivor Horton's Beginning Java 2) if you want to turn 'pro'. But here's the best thing about this edition -- you get a fully functioning copy of Borland's JBuilder 2 Pro edition on the CD-ROM. That's a pretty nice bargain considering the price of the book. The latest version of JBuilder would costs many, many times that. I would recommend any book on programming written by Jamsa, and this one is no exception.

I was lost in reading on-line tutorials and Java books that claimed to be for beginners. "Rescued by Java" truly came to rescue. It allowed me to built a solid foundations of the language concepts and syntax. I can see it now possible to reach for more advanced books. The book is written in a very thorough way. The examples are simple but so well thought out that all the language concepts are easy to grasp page by page upon reading for the first time. By the way I'm a COBOL programmer with many years of industry experience.

As I played the CD-ROM entitled REV IT UP READING by Abby Marks-Beale, I appreciated the fact that the information was presented in an easy-to-follow format that made the learning experience a positive one. The music and graphics proved to be very effective enhancements to the overall presentation of this accelerated reading program. I found myself intrigued by the simplicity of the learning strategies and how they ultimately proved to make a significant difference in my own reading speed.

As a former publisher, present-day author and book reviewer, efficient reading is the basic foundation for success in my business. The first time I used this program I proved, though my personal reading progress chart, that I more than doubled my reading speed. It is my opinion that, as I put the suggested reading strategies for expanding my peripheral vision into practice on a regular basis, I will see even more improvement. This is a wonderful investment for individuals and businesses; it isn't expensive and it yields immediate benefits. By taking advantage of REV IT UP READING, individuals will be able, among other things, to keep up-to-date with the reading of current events, have more confidence in school, and read the fine print faster. There will ultimately be less reading stress in all areas.

One of the objectives of this reading program is to provide three different options-learning strategies-for students to choose from. After learning and practicing all three, I found the one that was most effective for me; however, since everyone is unique, preferences will differ. This program is concerned, not only with the speed of reading, but also with concentration, comprehension and retention. As students continue to work the program and practice the exercises, most will see improved results in all areas.

I found it interesting that putting in the CD and starting the reading program was compared to putting a key into the ignition of a sporty roadster and starting up the engine. There are five gears or categories that equate to a person's reading speed-words per minute. At the beginning of the CD, when I tested my reading speed, I was in the average category; I was reading in second gear. After applying the learning strategies, doing the exercises, and even taking advantage of a special bonus section, I moved up to the above average category-this was fourth gear. When a person goes into fifth gear, they are in overdrive. This is my future objective-to be in overdrive as far as the speed of my reading.

Although this is designated as a thirty-minute learning program, I deliberately took longer to complete it. When it came to practicing the exercises, I found myself repeating them over and over, competing with myself in a way that was fun as well as effective. It is my hope and recommendation that individuals will take advantage of this entertaining and effective CD-ROM that has been made available to them.

I'm a college student and I just started taking accelerated classes. I can't even explain how this has helped me. They say that you learn as fast as you read and I see that I'm picking things up faster. It worked for me I read things faster and retain more info. Good for anybody

This is a simple way to increase your reading speed. Within twenty minutes I had more than doubled my speed. The draw back to speed reading for me; I always feel hurried and I have not mastered the retention section. So I've read it all but I still don't remember it all.

I bought this program for my son but thought that I would try it ( I am already a fast reader).

I spend one hour on this program and improved my speed by 15%!!

I totally recommend this program to everyone who wants to improve their reading speed.

I sat down at the computer yesterday and gave it a try. I had no idea what to expect and was really surprised at how easy it was to increase my reading speed! I really raced through the cd and even as quickly as I went my reading speed went up from 243 wpm to 414! I am sure if I spent just a little more time with it I would really benefit from your innovative techniques. This is the perfect cd for busy people who want to read more rapidly and more effectively. The production quality is also first-rate - crisp, clean graphics and easy-to-follow directions make this a breeze to use.
I am sure our patrons will benefit from "Rev it up Reading."


Susan Smayda
Head of Community Services
Wallingford Public Library

This is another excellent book from Georgia Heard. As always, Georgia has provided ideas that can be applied immediately to one's own classroom. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is focused on improving writing in their classroom.

I have used this book so many times with my third graders. Heard has some fresh, creative ideas on the different types of revisions that come up in Writers Workshop. If you love writers workshop this is a great addition to your library!

This book is a valuable tool for any teacher of writing. It gives a number of ways for teaching writers to look at revision with leads, voice, setting, character and much more dealing with the craft of writing. Each activity is easy to implement and can be utilized to fit any teacher's classroom situation.

Georgia Heard communicates clearly - in her poetry, in her writing. This book is a helpful collection of strategies and reminders that are straightforward and clearly expressed. For example, it addresses the importance of verbs, as the driving force of sentences, and of using specifics when naming nouns and then provides simple techniques and examples for practice. My middle school students and I find it valuable.

I took many courses with Georgia Heard when I was a graduate student at Columbia University. She changed my life as a teacher and writer. I cannot stop writing poetry and fiction because of her. Nor can I squelch my desire to work with students (primary school through adult ed) on their own poems.

The products of my students' writing and my own writing knock the pants off practically anyone who has a heart. Thank you, Georgia, for helping so much fantastic stuff to blossom.

All of her books are jewels. This book in particular is a steamer trunk packed with a zillion ways one can look at the revision process.

Buy the book and use it. See Georgia in person when she speaks at conferences. Write your hearts out, then re-read this book and write some more.

It's why we're here on earth.

I have used "Rhetorical Criticism" in my classes for over two years. The book is a great resource for all students of rhetoric, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The organization of the book is it greatest asset for students of human communciation: a clear explanation of the method, followed by sample essays both by undergraduate students and expert scholars of rhetoric.

Bassically, if you have to learn about Rhetorical Criticism, this is the best book. It makes even some of the hardest methodologies such as FTA, postmodern abnd more seem easy to understand. What is even better, this bbok will show you how to apply these theories to an artifact. Good Luck.

I have used Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a textbook for my Rhetorical Criticism class in the past three consecutive years. Among many other choices of textbooks, I find this one to have more strength and most suited for my students and my teaching style. First, the layout of the book is very easy for students to approach. It proceeds from traditional to current modes of rhetorical criticism, which gives the reader a sense of theoretical development in the field of rhetoric and communication. It covers both the mainstream as well as marginalized ideologies and frameworks in rhetorical formulations. Second, for each mode of rhetorical criticism, Sonja Foss offers a lucid explanation of the rhetorical concepts, the purpose of the critiques, and steps to follow in writing a critical essay. While the procedure tends to be prescriptive, it also allows great flexibility in the writing process. Students like this approach, for it gives them a sense of direction as to how to analyze sysmbols and rhetorical acts as well as allowing them to be more critical and creative. Third, what students and I like most are the sample articles following each mode of criticism. These articles, written by scholars as well as Foss' former students, help the reader understand in depth rhetorical concepts and apply theoretical models to symbolic practices and real life situations. Finally, this textbook does not only teach our students rhetorical concepts and modes of critical inquiry, it also allows students to make a close connection between rhetoric and their real life experiences. By the time we finish each mode of criticism, students are all eager to write their own essays and find the process very meaningful and illuminating. In sum, I highly recommend Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a college textbook for rhetorical crititcism class. I am sure once you start using the book, you do not want to change to another one.

Foss entices the reader to explore a variety of dimensions of the analytic activity known as rhetorical criticism. She captures the ingenity and imagination of seeing the world through a rhetorical prism of interacting symbols. Ranging from the analysis of images to music to language instrumental in shaping political discourse, the text provides an extraordinary guide to viewing the symbols that compel our public and private interests. The strength of her approach is exemplified in the sytematic procedures she offers to begin the practice and appreciation of criticism. Novices are given clear steps to follow and veterans can find new ways of examining artifacts and generating questions based on the goals of their inquiry. I give this text my highest recommendation; Foss'examination of artifacts and reseach questions continues to generate lively classroom discussions and ignites the imaginations of students who may not be eager initially to undertake the tasks of rhetorical criticism.

I have used Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a textbook for my Rhetorical Criticism class in the past three consecutive years. Among many other choices of textbooks, I find this one to have more strength and most suited for my students and my teaching style. First, the layout of the book is very easy for students to approach. It proceeds from traditional to current modes of rhetorical criticism, which gives the reader a sense of theoretical development in the field of rhetoric and communication. It covers both the mainstream as well as marginalized ideologies and frameworks in rhetorical formulations. Second, for each mode of rhetorical criticism, Sonja Foss offers a lucid explanation of the rhetorical concepts, the purpose of the critiques, and steps to follow in writing a critical essay. While the procedure tends to be prescriptive, it also allows great flexibility in the writing process. Students like this approach, for it gives them a sense of direction as to how to analyze sysmbols and rhetorical acts as well as allowing them to be more critical and creative. Third, what students and I like most are the sample articles following each mode of criticism. These articles, written by scholars as well as Foss' former students, help the reader understand in depth rhetorical concepts and apply theoretical models to symbolic practices and real life situations. Finally, this textbook does not only teach our students rhetorical concepts and modes of critical inquiry, it also allows students to make a close connection between rhetoric and their real life experiences. By the time we finish each mode of criticism, students are all eager to write their own essays and find the process very meaningful and illuminating. In sum, I highly recommend Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a college textbook for rhetorical crititcism class. I am sure once you start using the book, you do not want to change to another one.

My 3 yr old loves this book. It's a great introduction towards learning Spanish.

A librarian friend recommended this; the bright blue cover with a bull and red cape intrigued me. There are clever illustrations that go along with the Spanish words (I needed to use the glossary in the back for some words). This is a great introductory book for children, but also for someone who is beginning to learn Spanish. Adios!

This was an entertaining follow-up to the first "Hola to Spanish." The illustrations are charming, but the "flow" of the story was not as good as the first. Perhaps it bothered me more than my spouse since I'm the one fluent in both languages. He's the one learning Spanish and it doesn't bother him.

Although the Spanish word is bold and in a different font, I still found it a bit hard to read since there are no quotation marks around the word as you would expect with correct grammar. This also affected the flow when reading it to my daughter.

The pronunciation guide in back is very nice and my spouse found it easy to understand. It would be nice if the word was also on the story pages so the non-Spanish speaking reader could know how to pronounce it when reading it instead of having to flip back.

I would recc. this book to anyone wanting something akin to the rhyming Dr. Seuess books, or to anyone wanting a fun way to pick up some Spanish vocabulary.

Susan Middleton Elya has done it again! "Say Hola! to Spanish" was delight to read - aloud; "Say Hola to Spanish, Otra Vez" does not disappoint! On the contrary, students from kindergarten all the way through grade 8 delighted in Ms. Elya's catchy rhymes and plays on words. If you loved "Say Hola! to Spanish" the first time around, "Otra Vez" delivers... again and again!

My four year old daughter would not have anything to do with a Spanish book until I got this one. It's mostly in English, but mixes in over 70 Spanish words in rhyming sentences. The pictures are cute and amusing, which always helps to keep a child's interest. If you are learning Spanish yourself like I am, you'll probably pick up some new vocabulary (juala is cage and tijeras are scissors). But best of all, your child will definitely learn some Spanish. The other day I asked my daughter if she wants to go to the biblioteca and she said, "Oh, the library - sure!".

Fantastic book which should be taught in college. It's all about keeping meetings, presentations, and other things down to 6 minutes. You can keep that audience for 6 minutes, but often times not longer- even when the topic is interesting. This is a must for anyone who works in a company that loves meetings and wants to cut that drivel down. A true 5 star, no nonsense, business book that means bizness.

As a speaker and writer I am always interested in new ways of thinking and speaking and making things crisp and clear. This guy does it. And for those of you who attend way too many meetings, and especially for those like I used to be holding and attending way too many meetings ... this book is for you. It is a simple process the author lays out and anyone can do it f they will. Great advice and it is actionable the minute you read it. Worth the price and then some.

I teach a seminar on reaching the Motorcoach Travel Industry, and I make it a point to hold up a copy of Ron's most excellent book at every session, and encourage every attendee to purchase a copy for themselves. I can't endorse this book enough...in an industry populated with the "seven minute appointment" format for conventions, "Say It In Six" is just about flawless for proper preparation to sell in this marketplace. Highest possible recommendation!

I love this book. I am a college speech instructor, and this book is a great adjunct to my college speech text. The students have to give a number of speeches that must be short, and Say it in Six gives excellent justification for the short and to the point speech. This book speaks to the real world of public speaking. There is a great idea about the short speech to save your job. This is very practical in the world of down sizing. I have this book on my recommended list of speech books to purchase, and from time to time I quote from it. I tell my students to seek out the experts when they give a talk even if they think they know much about their topic. I may know much about speech, but Ron Hoff is my expert.
Jessica Kelpine

Mr. Hoff make's the point that most meetings are a waste of time and they are a waste because people don't come to the point.

Further, you can say almost anything worth saying in 6 minutes. And he proves it by timing how long it takes to recite his first chapter and coming in at 6 minutes and a couple of seconds, while clearly making his point.

If you can get your point across, clearly and forcefully, succinctly then you should. The amount of time wasted in excessive verbiage is staggering.

Step one to improving productivity by saving time in meetings and presentations is realizing there's a problem. Step two is figuring out how to shorten a presentation to make it more effect (not just shorter). Step three is motivating people to apply step 2.

This is a concise book on how to give a concise, effective, presentation.

Words are key to everyday living and an average person spends the day immersed in using them but how many think about usage and its evolution? THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS offers a history of the English language and vocabulary changes over the decades but goes a step beyond competing books in analyzing how word choices observe and record history, reflect social change, and document or change the past. From word originals and their cultural connections to the evolving meaning of everyday expressions, THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS is packed with insights and offers a lively tone appropriate not just for high school to college-level libraries, but for general-interest lending libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

And the right words can make us stronger. Hitchings expands the promise glimpsed in his previous book on Samuel Johnson. This latest offering is a word lover's dream.

Hitchings examines how the English language has developed over time. He covers thousands of words and myriad circumstances and historical events. Simply fabulous!

Our language keeps changing and adapting. Is it getting stronger? Perhaps. And if you say the word VIAGRA they will think you are speaking Sanskrit. Simply marvelous! Accessible and absorbing.

Excellent for any person who enjoys exploring the extremely varied and often suprising sources of English language words and phrases.

With deep knowledge and a bright style, Henry Hitchens brings the reader along from earliest times in England to the present while explaining outside influences on English, such as French loan words introduced after the Norman Conquest and the impact of the Internet. Multiple examples are given throughout the text, almost to a fault.

While I spotted a few minor errors, I am still convinced that the fact-checker at Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this fact rich book deserves a bonus.

Language is simply the way we transmit ideas to others, but it is never so simple. Because it is involved in almost everything we do, it reflects and affects history, culture, fashion, cooking, politics and more. You could study English, for instance, and learn aspects of all these spheres, because, as Henry Hitchings says, "Studying language enables an archaeology of human experience: words contain the fossils of past dreams and traumas." It is just the sort of study he has undertaken in _The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), a big, amazing compilation about where words came from and what such histories show about world history and customs. Thousands of everyday and recondite words are herein traced and taken apart to see what made them tick and how time has changed them. Hitchings, previously known for an impressive history of Dr. Johnson's compilation of his dictionary, has a huge command of facts, but his erudition, plain on every page, is lightly expressed and his enthusiasm for his task is contagious.

Fewer than a quarter of English words reflect a Germanic origin; the rest have been imposed on Britain by being conquered nearly a thousand years ago, or by conquering or visiting all those centuries thereafter, or by sponsoring successful daughter nations. Our "cheese" is related to the Latin "caseus", for instance, but the Normans gave us plenty of food terms like "gravy" or "mustard". New imports needed new words; walnuts were new to Britain ages ago, and the name is a version of the Old English "walhnutu" which means "foreign nut"; it was from Italy, and the name distinguished it from the native hazelnut. Wherever Britons went, they ate, and they traded foods just as surely as they traded words for them. The Aztecs gave us words for guacamole, for instance, and for the tomato. Initially tomatoes were called "love apples" because of their supposed aphrodisiac qualities; perhaps this is also the reason the humble tomato is called "pomodoro" in Italian, "apple of gold". Another native Nahuatl word we got from Spanish is "avocado", which takes its name from the Nahuatl term for a testicle, because of its shape. Borrowings have to be practical; the native speakers of Nahuatl may have easily been able to say "tlilxochitl", but the pronunciation was indigestible to the Spanish, so a doctor serving in Brazil renamed it "vanilla" meaning "little sheath". That had to do with the shape of the bean's enclosure, but "coriander" comes from its particular scent. You see, it smells just like crushed bedbugs, and "koris" is Greek for bedbug. Not all the words for foods in new lands get adopted; the Hawaiian fish humuhumunukunukuapuaa may be tasty, but no one refers to it.

Words bustled among each other for acceptance. The author of a 1588 memoir of traveling in the New World and noting Algonquin terms could not have predicted that "canoe" and "tobacco" would prosper while "seekanauk", a tasty shellfish, would be forgotten. England had no tradition comparable to the vampire legends of other parts of Europe. When "vampire" was brought into English, in a magazine article in 1732, it filled a need; not only were the vampire legends adapted and expanded, the word was quickly applied to moneylenders or bloodsucking bats. Hitchings produces surprising mini-histories of words on every page here, and increases our wonder at the complexity of the borrowings we have made. France has an Académie Française to try to protect the purity of French against aggressive English terms, but there is no comparable academy to do the same for English. Hitchings shows that there have been many who were disgusted that English was taking so many words from other languages. Doctor Johnson was one; he fretted that there were so many Gallicisms coming into English that his countrymen would soon "babble a dialect of French." He would not include "bouquet" in his dictionary, and groused that "finesse" was "an unnecessary word which is creeping into the language." For once, Johnson missed the point, and Hitchings's book, bursting with etymologies and funny stories about words and word-users, illustrates how rich and complex English is for all its borrowings. Or, as a teacher quoted here wrote in 1582, "Our tung doth serve to so manie uses because it is conversant with so manie people, and so well acquainted with so manie manners, in so sundrie kindes of dealing."

Many self-confessed bibliomaniacs and word junkies first discovered Henry Hitchings on the publication of his first book, a creative look at Samuel Johnson and his great Dictionary, some two years ago. Now Hitchings delivers a second book targeted at the same crowd, one with a far greater scope and thus a massive challenge for even the most talented non-fiction writer: nothing less than the evolution of the English language.
Thankfully, what could have been a dry and overly-academic narrative is transformed by his style into a journey of discovery. We are at Hitchings' side as he almost literally revels in the discovery of the ways in which military and cultural invasions transformed English (not new or surprising material) to what was, to me, the fresher and more intriguing topic of how English explorers "repatriated" words from other languages they encountered, from the Americas to Japan. That thematic approach avoids another potential trap: the epoch by epoch survey, which also could have transformed this into a tedious read that none but scholars and the most dutiful or stubborn of readers would have completed. Instead, anyone reading this spend hours engrossed in an absorbing book -- and will never look at words and how he or she uses them in the same way again. Hitchings may not write for a scholarly audience, but this is far and away the best book I have read for the curious layperson on the topic, especially as our language is again being transformed by new technology (not just the vocabulary, but usage & popularity) in the same ways that it was reshaped by the advent of the printing press.

Self-Help For Writers, Winners Show You How, written by Erna Holyer, a successful author of children's books who has signed her name to thousands of articles as well, offers sure-fire methods and examples to motivate and inspire either professional writers or students of writing. This book will interest anyone wishing to transfer their stories, beautiful thoughts or practical advice into salable material, as her students, who pocket thousands of dollars each year, will attest.

This book is written by a teacher who overcame great obstacles on her road to success and is an inspiration to her students. A native of Germany, Mrs. Holyer moved to the United States with her American husband. With unflinching determination and courage the would-be writer set out to conquer the english language. She pursued her studies in spite of physical handicaps due to a heart condition which had caused her to endure one of the first open-heart surgeries in Germany. Along this writer's journey, she endured a second, nearly fatal, heart surgery, a later cancer surgery, and the death of a spouse.

This book includes hundreds of examples taken from the files of this popular and successful teacher. An important facet in the early career of Erna Holyer was the study under the tutelage of successful, selling writers who shared their skills and techniques, which she now passes onto her students. This hard-earned education ultimately brought success as sales began to trickle, then flow in abundance in the form of hundreds of articles and at least one children's book per year.

Self Help For Writers, the culmination of a life-time of service to the writing community, is a memorial to the hundreds of students who have attended the classes of Mrs. Holyer and is a testament to her courage. Filled with remarkable insight, this book contains 116 pages of power-packed, technical details and hundreds of motivational examples. These remarkable nuggets of information will be a valued addition to the library of any college or writer.

This book is very enjoyable. It gives you courage to think about writing,sharing your ideas and experiences with others, and to experiment with your thoughts. I am no longer afraid of putting my thoughts into writing, I just write what I feel. For me, this book gave me a lot of confidence because of the fact that english is not my native language. I also liked the fact that the author brought up different people with different experiences, and how they overcame their personal fears of writing. I recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a writer or improving their skills.

This book is very enjoyable. It gives you courage to think about writing,sharing your ideas and experiences with others, and to experiment with your thoughts. I am no longer afraid of putting my thoughts into writing, I just write what I feel. For me, this book gave me a lot of confidence because of the fact that english is not my native language. I also liked the fact that the author brought up different people with different experiences, and how they overcame their personal fears of writing. I recommend this book to anyone interested in becoming a writter or improving their skills.

I greatly enjoyed the many examples of writing success by "regular people," and how they achieved it.
A must read for writers who need encouragement, inspiration, and the prodding to persevere.

The author, Erna Holyer, is herself the epitome of perseverance, first overcoming her scant knowledge of the English language, then pressing on to follow her heart's desire to become a published author.

Five stars, for sure.

Erna Holyer's book, "Self Help for Writers: Winners Show You How", uses real life experiences from her students to motivate authors and instruct them in the craft of writing. Some of her topics are: Opportunities in your daily life, Write about your adventures, and Don't let handicaps stop you. Each of these topics help you see opportunities for stories or articles in the events of your daily life.
Other chapters encourage a professional approach to writing. Holyer inspires you to persevere in your writing and to do market research.
Holyer teaches with anecdotes, which makes her book easy to read and the points she make memorable.
This book is a useful tool for writers.

I've been studying Old Irish, with varying degrees of diligence, for over two years and I find this textbook to be the most helpful of all. Not only does David Stifter present the material in a logical manner, building gradually and explaining each step thorough, but he explains each of the rather esoteric grammatical terms commonly used for this complex language, a great help for someone not an accomplished scholar of linguistics.

A few things that I particularly appreciate: early introduction of a few bits of poetry to give a sense of the rewards of studying this beautiful language, the easy to read layout of the book, and the bits of humor contained in the small drawings of sheep, especially the one with a grimace subtitled "A sheep after having tried to master Old Irish orthography."

Old Irish is never going to be an easy subject and taking it one piece at a time, learning each one thoroughly before going on to the next, is the best method I've come up with. "Sengoidelc" is of great help on the journey.

An well explained and methodical book about the old irish language. Easy to study and very complete study.

Best resource available for an amateur, but explanations are sometimes lacking. Still, you can't do any better.

I'm writing this as someone with a lay (but serious) interest in Old Irish, who learned Modern Irish as a child, and has a reasonable fluency. I've also studied several languages over the years, ranging from Breton to Arabic. I've read the Lehmanns' book too, and compared to this, it feels like it's from another century. Oh wait, it IS from another century!

Seriously, this is a modern approach to Old Irish. I found it generally accessible, and the charts showing reconstructions all the way back to proto-IndoEuropean were interesting too. Where Lehmann provides a numbered list of sentences to be parsed or translated, during which the grammar is apparently expected to be assimilated by osmosis, Stifter provides actual prose describing the grammar.

The main shortcoming in my view, is that there's little comparison with modern Irish. What amazed me was how much of the structure has been preserved over the centuries, from VSO word-order to mutations to personal prepositions; even much of vocabulary has changed relatively little. Although students who are completely new to any form of Irish will find it strange in its grammar and orthography, much of that strangeness hasn't changed all that much over time, and will be perfectly familiar to anyone acquainted with modern Irish.

Personally I would have found it helpful to highlight the aspects that have REALLY changed or disappeared over the intervening millennium (e.g., deponent forms, dual forms, etc.) After all, as fascinating a link as Old Irish is to our ancient European roots, it's also the relative of modern Irish, which is still a living spoken language. I realise that this would satisfy a minor fraction of the readership, but it's so comprehensive, Stifter might have included it. Maybe in a future edition?

This is THE book for learning Old Irish, period. Old Irish is a notoriously forbidding language, probably the most difficult of all the older Indo-European languages. Stifter makes it come alive, through his mix of detailed yet clear grammatical explanations, translation exercises, and quirky humor (gotta love those sheep cartoons!) As an Indo-Europeanist, I wish I had had such a textbook when I first studied Old Irish, instead of having to slog my way through Quin's workbook like the last three generations of students ("The hero hit the two birds in the two trees with his sword"...)
Perfect for those interested in Celtic and Indo-European languages or medieval Irish literature!