D Books

I have read the book twice and feel that anybody who reads this book will find that these two poor souls were wronged and used as an excape goat. There are many people with whom I have spoken about with this case and many feel that the truth will never be know. The story goes to heart and all but it is up the read themself. I believe this two young people did not do this crime I followed this trail and all from the beginning and was shocked when they were found guilty 9this believe I still have). In this book it does leave questions unanswered in some way. I enjoyed the book since it is a page turned and keeps you wanting more and one sees that juice has gone wrong somewhere along the line in this case.

NO WAY WAS JUSTICE DONE! THEY KILLED THEIR OWN FATHER BECAUSE THEY WANTED TOO.. NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS ABOUT IT!SAD THING IS I WORK IN THE CORRECTIONS SYSTEM AND WITH THESE KIDS, AND ONE DAY THEY WILL BE SET FREE TO KILL AGAIN! THEY CAN NOT BE REFORMED!

ENOUGH SAID....

This book was very interesting, it sucked me in from the beginning. After reading the book and watching the documentary on A&E about the King brothers I'd have to say that I still don't think they did it. I think it was all Rick Chaves. I don't think the kids were in the right state of mind either. They were brain washed into thinking they're father (terry) didn't love them and was abusing them. I also dont think it was fair that Rick got off as lightly as he did. I know that were his sentence he wont be getting out anyway, but still I think there was enough evidence to convict him for murder.

For three days every time I had a free moment i was reading this book trying to understand just how our justice sytem has sustained for so long when everything that is wrong with it is exposed through the Terry King murder trial. I remember hearing about this case on the news a few years ago and all I ever really got from the media was how distirubed these children must have been to have committed these crimes and what was wrong with the children in the world these days. Little did I know that all the faults in this case were do to people simply not doing their job and just trying to put this case to an end and get a convition the easiest way possible. But even though most of the media just portrayed these kids as uncaring terrible children, Mollye, a news reporter genuinely wanted to find the truth..........something my be our justice system should have been interested in as well. VERY VERY VERY good and thought-provoking book!

A Perversion of Justice hit the nail on the head. Great work Mollye and Kathryn! The book explains through a child's eye the horrors of today's juvenile injustice system. I hope the book is bought by every American family and read by every parent. The tough on juvenile crime political bandwagon parading in this country has been misinterpreted by parents who really have no concept of what they are voting for when they elect politicians with this stance.

This book is a definite wake up call. Parents only find out the terrible reality when their own child gets caught up in the barbed web of the system, and they learn the hard way that their children really aren't under their protection. When prosecutors are given the right to prosecute any age child as an adult, as is the case in Florida, in essence, no child is safe and all children belong to the state instead of their parents.

Ever since a "tough-on-juvenile-crime" political response to a media-hyped juvenile crime wave in the early 90s, the United States Juvenile Justice System has increasingly become a nightmare for America's children. Children caught up in the justice system are no longer recognized as children, yet aren't afforded the rights granted adults. Florida leads the nation in belief that children should be locked away for life.

Society should never respond to children who have committed crimes as though they are somehow equal to adults, fully formed in conscience and fully aware of their actions. Placing children in adult jails is a sign of failure, not a solution. In many instances, such terrible behavior points to societies own negligence in raising children with a respect for life, providing a nurturing and loving environment, or addressing serious mental or emotional illnesses.

Scientific studies have proven that the adolescent brain is not fully formed. Therefore, children should not be held equally culpable as adults. The Legislature needs to come out of the dark ages and listen to experts on child psychiatry and scientific data on human growth and development.

The draconian laws of the past two decades need to be re-evaluated and changed. An easy first step to juvenile justice reform in Florida would be for the Legislature to remove juveniles tried as adults from mandatory sentencing schemes and restore to juvenile judges discretion of deciding whether a child is to be tried in juvenile or adult court, instead of letting prosecutors decide.

There should be defined lines of age distinction drawn between child and adult. If visual difference isn't enough to convince, logic and common sense should recognize that children aren't allowed to drive, sign contracts or vote among other things, because society doesn't believe they are mentally mature enough to do these things competently. Therefore, why is it that if a child commits a crime they are suddenly classified by the courts as an adult?

Any competent adult should know better.

Children are this county's most precious commodity, because they are our future. If a society is judged by how well it treats its most vulnerable, the past two decades of America's juvenile justice system will be recorded as barbaric.

Read this book and you will want to change the juvenile justice system. Laws can be changed, one vote at a time.

As I read this book I could almost feel the track clicking below the engine, hear the chuffing of the engine as it labored to pull the cars, listen to the lonesome sound of the whistle as the engineer arrived at the crossing and feel the power as the fireman put the coal to the firebox and the engineer pulled the Johnson bar. All in all a great read and a book that anyone interested in the steam era would read with relish.

One of the most compelling railroad books I've read - the narrative is compelling because of Orr's consistent, insightful commitment to doing his job well and discovering the most efficient way to get his train over the road. Of course hardcore railfans will enjoy this book, but I think students of industrial history and those interested in the way people go about their jobs (a la Studs Terkel/working) will get something out of this book as well.

The detailed descriptions in "Set Up Running" will have you smelling coal smoke. Even though I have been a rail fan for all of my 65 years, was an NYC-PC employee, and I'm a native of Pennsylvania, I learned something new on nearly every page and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Although "Set Up Running" deals almost exclusively with operations on a PRR branch line, ferroequinologists (students of the iron horse) everywhere will love this book. It has the unique quality of making you wish it would go on forever.

When I read a book or article about railroads it is easy to tell when the writer is over his head. Not here. This book is authentic.

The time covers a great period of growth of steam locomotive development. PRR classes from the old class R through the M1a are run and evaluated. Which one is the engineer's favorite? You might be surprised.

The book is a labor of love. It is human as well as technological. Here you find the enthusiasm of the young man, the confidence of the mature man, and the feelings of being squeezed out of the retiring man. As I finished the book I sat and thought about the family for a long time.

Set Up Running is simply the VERY BEST railroad related book which I have EVER read! If you don't have it GET IT! PERIOD! (PS: I have NO financial interest in this book or any organization/company which sells it). I'm doing YOU a favor by rating this book and advising YOU to get it!)

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Standish is not "stand-out-ish," but it's a pretty good story, though often black and dark beyond redemption. The characters, especially Rafe, Ambrose and Fleury, are well-drawn, unique and interesting. The settings are diverse (England, Paris, Venice and a horrible British prison), and probably are accurate and mostly believable. Erastes' take on history seems passable. Isn't it interesting that our basic view of these overwhelmingly important eras in history are almost always exclusively brought to us from the perspective of the rich and privileged? Really, it's only during the prison scenes in this sotry where we gain a truer picture of real life in the 1820 in Europe.

This is a gay story with lots of gay male sex, gay male talk, gay male musings, and gay male dilemmas. For the most part, the author gets the sexual episodes nearly right, if a bit overdone. This soft male porn isn't always a realistic rendition of what sex really looks/sounds/smells/feels like. But the love, the intimacy, the closeness and the need for physical attention and affection are indeed well-portrayed. The sex really does spice up the story.

The story itself is less believable, frankly, than the sex, but it is an engaging tale. Too bad so may people are so badly damaged and so badly damage each other throughout. Sometimes, in reading stories like this, I yearn for the normal people who actually populate my life. They are every bit as interesting as these fictional ones and never quite so tragic. This story follows one disastrous episode after another in the lives of these sometimes pitiful but interesting characters.

Make no mistake. This is not literature. It is a soft porn romantic tale, a snapshot into the lives of some seriously flawed homosexual men trying to live "normally" in a hateful, repressive time in Europe.

My one complaint is this: For the life of me, I could not, and cannot figure out the ending. As a voracious reader of all kinds of novels, I detest the cute "style" employed here by Erastes of demanding that you conclude for yourself what happened at the end -- not a satisfying conclusion at all!! I thought I deserved better after wading through the whole book.

If you don't want to read graphic, detailed, several-pages-long episodes of erotic sexual encounters between men (some midly brutal, I might add), then don't read this story. If that's all you want, don't read it either. But if you want a mix of an 1820's man-to-man romance with gay sex and a good view of the life of the privileged class at the time, then by all means read it.

I really enjoyed this take for its unusual subject matter. A gay Regency romance! I say more, more, more! Both the leads were extremely well-drawn and three-dimensional, and the prison scenes were fascinating. Very well-written in the style of the period, too--no anachronisms like you so often see. A minor quibble with the confusing POV shifts didn't detract from the enjoyment of this unusual romance. The research Erastes did shines through.

I just wanted to say that I loved Standish. Two friends have also ordered Standish from Amazon and loved it. Your writing style is really special. We can't wait to read more from you!

Standish
By Erastes
P.D. Publishing
Reviewer: Ruth Sims, author of The Phoenix

One of the characters in Standish does nothing--doesn't move, doesn't speak, doesn't think. And yet this character controls emotions and actions and passions just by existing. It is a house called Standish. Like the Rochester mansion in "Jane Eyre" or the cliffs in "Wuthering Heights" Standish is a place so important to the story that it almost takes on life.

Standish is the vanished patrimony of Ambrose Standish, impoverished grandson of the man who lost the place to Gordian Goshawk in a gambling game and lost his life in a duel soon after. Ambrose is studious, intelligent, and bitter at a fate which has him toiling as a tutor to support himself and his two spinster sisters. The house, Standish, is his obsession, his dream, his torment.

When Rafe Goshawk, who inherited Standish from his father, returns from many years abroad to take up residence there his life is set on a collision course with Ambrose. The Goshawk family's reputation is that of "venal, predatory raptors" and Rafe himself is a cold-eyed man, as bitter as Ambrose but for a different reason. He was born in Paris, raised as an aristocrat, and was a young boy when the Terror sent his mother to the guillotine, destroyed his world, and sent him and his father fleeing to England.

Ambrose hates the Goshawks without ever having seen one of the infamous breed who ruined his family. And then through circumstances or fate, he finds himself hired as tutor for Rafe's son; for the first time he sees the house he has obsessed about, up close. It is everything he dreamed it would be. It's a given that Rafe and Ambrose will end up in each other's arms but if you expect roses and violins and a predictable ending...surprise!

I won't go further with the story because it has so many twists and turns and I don't want to write a spoiler. The writing--descriptions, dialogue, everything about it--feels real and authentic. Erastes is an author who must research and research and research. And yet the research never overwhelms the story. It never intrudes. The author handles violence and sex with equal ease and knows the fine line at which to stop.

It's superb, well-crafted storytelling at its best.

Poised to hate the man whose father made off with the title to his ancestral home, the young Ambrose Standish gets in over his head when his loathing gives way to first love and naive passion. Rafe Goshawk, a rake of a man, comes to claim more than the prized estate. He wagers a secret bid to win and eventually possess Ambrose. Without a prayer of hope in resisting, Ambrose is overtaken by the wealthy and sophisticated Rafe, and by tragic circumstances that spin them wildly out of control. Set in Georgian England, Standish brilliantly delivers in the quite eloquent language of the era a story of love between two men, their tale built upon the innate peril of opposites joined and the grave threat of social prejudice against homosexuals.

Ambrose is set to be a delicious sacrificial lamb from the beginning, his innocence and humility glittering jewels in the eyes of a cad like Rafe. Ambrose's fall is inevitable. That foreshadowing drives the plot well, though the pace moves slowly in some places. Author Erastes still manages to sustain the expected sympathy for Ambrose, also revealing hidden heart-soreness in Rafe along the way. Unraveling the complex tangle of Rafe's feelings and Ambrose's insecurities Erastes shows how Rafe's wounds fuel his utter lack of self control, which precludes his ability to confide in Ambrose about his tormented past or to root honestly into their bond. Feeling sympathy for Rafe is unexpected though it is a significant facet of his character and nuance of their journey together. Factor in an unlikely foil to both Ambrose and Rafe, and Erastes creates tangible tension through the novel's end.

Despite it's familiar arrangement of romantic archetypes this story is no boy bodice ripper. No one begins defiantly pinned on his back only to end up clawing at buttocks and begging for more. There is no mixed intent in the hearts of these men. No, these characters are genuinely madly in love from beginning to end. Theirs is the lesson that abiding love does not conquer all, particularly in such a sexually stifling culture, where they are left to repeatedly assess how to move on.

What can I say!!!Another great Dear America Book!!Their becoming addicting.As Kathleen Bowen lives with a topsy-turvy life you can see the real life features of Life in Washington D.C. 1917.Great book for anyone who is as addicted to the Dear America Series as I am!!

Kat Bowen is living in Washington D.C. during the woman's fight for the vote. Her own mother is among the woman picketing outside the White House Kat writes down her own views and opinions during this time. She supports her mother but at the same time worries about her mother. Especially after Kat sees how women picketing are being treated. She also witnesses trouble in her family when her uncle is so against the picketing and noting of women voting to the point it almost ruins the marriage of her aunt and uncle. Its amazing how badly picketers were treated and at the same time the women who did picket and go through the hunger strikes and horrible time in jail they were all so brave. An excellent book.

I have read many books in the dear America series and this one is one of my favorites. I liked it because in addition to being well written it's also exciting. Not only does Kathleen Bowen's mother Join the picket line and get arrested, but America also joins the first World War. Kathleen's sister and cousin leave to become nurses in Europe on the front. So not only was the book fun to read, but I also learned a lot about the suffrage movement.

Kat Bowen is a thirteen year old Washingtonian girl. Her family is generally wealthy, and she has a s many friends as she could need. Her cousin is her best friend, Alma, and her father is a well known and widely respected physician. But when the first World War and the women sufferage in her own home city begin to take the spotlight in her life, Kat finds herself being pulled deeper in with each day. Her mother decides to become a sufferagete, and her father supports her.
But Kat's uncle, Alma's father, is outraged, and refuses to allow the womenin her family to participate. Kat decides to help her mother sew banners for the suffragete movement, and do other deeds to help the women.
Real characters are incorperated into the book, which is one of the reasons as to why it is such a good historical reference. Another success in the Dear America Series.

A Time for Courage by Kathryn Lasky is one of my all-time favorite books in the Dear America historical fiction series. It is not particularly my favorite era of American history, but it is so well-written and interesting you just fall right in.
Kathleen Bowen's mother, aunt, older sister, and best friend's mother are all deeply involved in women's suffrage and equality rights, living in Washington D.C., 1917. Kathleen's father does not approve only because he worries for his wife's safety---many women have been arrested and beaten by police for protesting outside the White House. Yet Kathleen's friend's father disapproves of his wife's antics because he is a bit of a sexist. Soon, Kathleen becomes involved with the rights of women everywhere, just like her sisters and mother.
This timeless addition in Dear America will please all, and I promise you shall not be able to put it down. All the protagonists are extremely likable, and this book is just indescribably great. I just can't put it to words. READ IT!

Ron "Ragen" Ross is THE MAN!
This book is packed full of useful and easy to understand information for absolutely EVERYONE! I have read many similar books by other authors and they fail in comparison. If you use MONEY, and we all do, you would be doing yourself a huge disservice by not buying this book ASAP!
Go Ron and Reno! You did it again!

This is the most eloquent, most entertaining, and most convincing attack on "beating the market" that I have ever read. The author has a PhD in economics but writes with a journalist's skill. His prose is fluent, readable. I thought the most interesting part of the book was the chart comparing the performance records of golf pros to the performance records of mutual funds -- an extremely effective presentation. Do I think any of his arguments can be refuted? Yes...a few. But on the whole this book is a balloon-bursting attack on active investing.

Very solid book, a great beginner to intermediate education on the market. Not for the novice, but for the fairly familiar person who knows how to do there own investing you would very much enjoy this. If you are a complete novice this would not be the place to start. Check out Suze Ormans book "The road to wealth" and learn the basics on stocks, mutual funds and bonds. Then read this...

This is the best book I have seen regarding investing for retirement. Don't waste your time or money trying to beat the market, just understand Dr. Ross' basic principles for dealing with a volatile market. Forget the "get rich quick" models and come down to earth and use common sense and indexing. The first 2 chapters alone are worth the price of the book.

My career as a retail stockbroker for six years, then for twenty-seven years as an institutional stockbroker selling portfolio analytics and investment research to professional asset managers (pension plan managers, mutual fund managers, and hedge fund managers) has provided me with the opportunity to explore modern portfolio theory, market efficiency, and the investment returns of active managers. I have read many of the books and academic papers Professor Ross uses as resources in this very coherent and thorough explanation of why the attempt to "beat the market" is futile, and fraught with risk.

Professor Ross uses his deep understanding of statistics, economics, and behavioral finance to explain market efficiency. He weaves a tight, coherent, and entertaining explanation of why the statistical evidence (manager performance databases) demonstrate most active managers cannot sustain above market performance for any significant time period. And he explains the risks of believing that the few active managers who have "outperformed" will continue to do so.

Professor Ross' book is the drawstring that pulls the elements of the Efficient Market Theory into a focused, concise, entertaining, and very readable format. I give Professor Ross' book my highest recommendation.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to set up formal ABA programming for their child or for anyone who wants to understand the steps of development in specific areas such as making conversation, understanding the difference between yes/no and learning how to read. I found the checklists at the back of the book to be the most helpful. I have had extensive training (as a parent) in ABA principles and Discrete Trial Training procedures and I found that this book was accurate and gave the right amount of detail when I wanted to set up my own programs to be implemented in my home.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in behaviorism or anyone who knows a child on the Austic Spectrum.
If this topic isn't your cup of tea, then there's no reason for you to be interested in this book, but if you are into this sort of thing, it's amazing.

This book has great strategies and are all in layman terms for easy understanding. The programs in this book are great for beginners, I just wish they offered more programs. I am hoping that they are going to put out another book with more programs and curriculum for children with severe disabilities. I think this book is helpful for the new special education teacher, as it is very informational. It tells you what materials to use for each program(lesson), and gives advice on substitutions. Overall I think it is worth the money.

Right after I got the autism diagnosis for my son I realized that behavioral therapy would be our main focus of treatment and due to financial constraints, I would be the primary therapist.

After reading some really heady and intellectual literature on behavioral therapy I just wanted to scream, "Yes, I know, but tell me what to do!!"

A Work in Progress does just that. It is simply written and easy to use. Look up the behavior you wish to address in the table of contents, turn to the indicated page, and there, clearly written is a step-by-step plan. Brilliant. Just what we needed.

This book is an excellent resource which gives easy to read, step-by-step instructions on how to teach many basic language concepts including grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. As a busy Speech-Pathologist working in a school system, I have found that I consistently pick this book up. It gives me immediate access to planning therapy sessions that are extremely effective! Initially, it was bought for my students with autism. However, I find that I use this resource with all of my language students. This book is a MUST HAVE for any SLP or Special Education teacher!

I bought this for my girlfriend and she loved it! I read it and I love it. A very interesting read which will definitely change your perspective on your relationships.

I just read a sample of the book from my Kindle, but that brief excerpt was enough. This book would probably be better titled, "how to resuscitate a dieing relationship," and marketed to those with relationships already on the decline. Even in that situation, I'd find his writing hard to take. He constantly is trying to sell you on his be-all, end-all acronym, CREATE. Though the relationship examples from his practice were excellent, the analogies were weakly uninspiring.

In my experience, this has got to be the single most useful book on the subject of lasting romantic relatinships. Dr. Goulston examines the six pillars of relationship success - Chemistry, Respect, Enjoyment, Acceptance, Trust, Empathy.

Together the first letters of each word spell CREATE. Together, the essence of each word define LOVE.

THis book nailed it with the 6 pillars of a relationship, however, the content was very, basic.

This book can literally save your marriage or committed relationship. Dr. Goulston uses simple, yet clever analogies to help readers understand the true foundation of a solid relationship. His CREATE approach is direct and easy to understand. The advice is wonderful and it's obvious that Dr. Goulston genuinely cares about helping people grow and solidify their intimate relationships. This should be required reading for all couples or anyone contemplating a romantic relationship.

All Aunt Hagar's Children is a collection of short stories by Washington D.C. native Edward P. Jones, it is his third book and the first since winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Known World (2003). The stories are about black Americans in Washington D.C. during the 20th century. Each story revolves around family, society and self, detailing experiences emblematic of southern blacks who migrated to northern cities from rural roots: some found salvation and others a living hell. In all the stories there are transformative turning points in peoples lives. As Jones shows, they are often not conscious of what happened - life-altering events can happen in the course of the banal every-day, setting in motion life patterns that can be hard to break when it's forgotten or not noticed how it started. In some cases the patterns are passed down unconsciously generation to generation - like the devil, cycles of violence, poverty, addiction, sickness and ignorance stalk many of the characters for seemingly mysterious reasons, bordering on the mystic in some stories.

The stories are beautifully original, Jones employs authentic southern expressions creating a time capsule reverberating with fading folkways. Like the characters he writes about, Jones grew up poor in Washington. He had a strong mother - whom he dedicates the book too - and it contains many of her colloquial sayings. This is not a book to be read quickly, like the pace of southern culture, each sentence demands respect for plot structure, character development and the unique southern way of putting words together. I read this hoping to learn more about the black culture of Washington (and Baltimore up the road) and was not disappointed, but what an extra treat to have a world-class writer with a deep sense of humanity, empathy (and sometimes sly humor) show the way.

This author has done it again with brilliant illustrations of a city and families that touch the core of our compassion. No wonder he won the Pulitzer-he is amazing, and this is an amazing piece of work with suspenseful endings quite similar to Toni Morrison.

In his highly-acclaimed volume of 14 stories, "All Aunt Hagar's Children", Edward P. Jones draws portraits of African Americans who have migrated from the South to Washington D.C. The stories are set from around the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day. The stories describe many types of people from young children to old men and women and from the poor and illiterate to the highly educated. They speak of loneliness and change, of the frustration, sexual and otherwise, that results from moving to a new urban place, of criminality and drugs, and of education. The stories are short but deeply textured, as in tapestries(the title of the final story). Characters, histories and sub-themes are realized in brief spaces.

The writing style in these stories is a major factor in their success. All but two of the stories are told in the third person by an all-knowing narrator. (The exceptions are "Spanish in the Morning" told in the voice of a precocious young girl and the title story "All Aunt Hagar's Children told in the voice of a young Korean War veteran who hopes to move to Alaska in search of fortune and women.) The writing is full of Biblical allusions. Hagar, of course, was the concubine of the patriarch Abraham who was sent into the desert after she mocked the childlesness of Sarah who then became jealous of her. God spared Hagar and her childen. The figure of Hagar is used her for the outsider and the outcast -- symbolizing the lives of the African American characters of the stories. The language of the stories in its richness, difficulty, and frequent elliptical character, particularly in its repetition and in its use of names, also owes a great deal to the Old Testament. There is also much in the stories that reminds me of the African American preacher of Jame's Weldon Johnson's poem "God's Trombones". The rich, narrative voice of the stories is complemented by the contrasting voice of many of the characters with its slang, dialect, and frequent use of obscenity.

The stories develop character and place. Jones shows the reader a Washington D.C separate from the world of national politics familiar to most Americans. I have lived in Washington D.C. for many years. Jones's depictions of neighborhoods, streets, landmarks, stores, and people had a deep sense of familiarity. They also helped me see the familiar aspects of my city in a new way. The characters are true and believable in their many responses to living in Washington.

The stories I especially enjoyed included the first story "In the Blink of God's Eye" and the final story "Tapestries". Both these stories are set both in the rural South and in Washington, D.C., the former at the turn of the 20th Century and the latter in the 1930s. They both show the difficulties young married couples encounter with the change of place.

The story "Old Boys Old Girls" describes the life of a young man who spends years in Lorton prison and his attempt to make a life for himself when he is released. Jones contrasts the life of his down-and-out protagonist with the lives of his wealthy and successful family. "A Poor Guatamalean Dreams of a Downtown in Peru" tells of a young poor girl who achieves great academic success but whose life has otherwise been filled with catastrophe and loss. "All Aunt Hagar's Children" is a complex story filled with themes of womanizing, murder, family, and wanderlust. It is a compelling portrait of African American life in the Washington D.C. of the early 1950s and it touches briefly as well upon African American -- Jewish relations.

My two favorite stories were "Root Worker" and "Bad Neighbors" both of which explore themes of the search for love and finding it in unexpected places. The main character in "Root Worker" is a young successful woman doctor who gives up a planned vacation to travel South to consult a root doctor for what ails her mother. In the process, she learns a great deal about herself. "Bad Neighbors" tells the story of a large, poor family that rents a home in a middle-class black neighborhood where they are shunned and feared by their more successful neighbors. There are many turns as the story progresses, as the main character, a young woman who has become a nurse, gains a deeper understanding of people, status, and love.

Jones' stories depict African American life in a loving, involved manner but without polemicizing or blatant social criticism. They are rooted in African American life but, in their treatment of love, sexuality, change, and character speak universally as well. The stories are dense and thoughtful and will reward careful reading. I am pleased that many of my fellow Amazon reviewers have enjoyed this outstanding book and written insightfully about it.

Robin Friedman

In his second book of short stories, Edward P. Jones does a wonderful job of chronicling the African-American experience in All Aunt Hagar' Children. Just as Lost in the City did, Jones brings to life a city that is hardly ever written about, Washington, D.C., and uses fourteen tales to describe circumstances that include life inside of homes full of love, and those without and those that are wealthy and those that are struggling.

Jones' depictions are as real as it gets, thoroughly describing life for Blacks fleeing an angry South to a new beginning in their first experience of living an "urban" American life from the early 1900's all the way to the mid-twentieth century and the loneliness it may sometimes bring. For example, "In the Blink of God's Eye" is about a newlywed couple that moves from Virginia to Washington, D.C. From the way Jones writes, the reader would assume that the couple traveled all the way to Washington State, because that is just how much home was missed for the young bride and how far away it seemed to her. In the title story, "All Aunt Hagar's Children", a hopeless young man aspires to go to Alaska to hunt for gold but in the meantime, spends his days helping a neighbor solve the mystery of how her son was murdered while also dodging an ex-girlfriend that he perceives to be angry.

Overall, this reader really enjoyed Jones' ability to tell a story but at times, wanted it to be longer and did not feel that the short story version could give these stories justice. At other times, the story was just long enough to get to know the characters and get a meaning out of the story that could resonate. Avid readers of Edward P. Jones will definitely want to add this collection to their libraries and will pick their favorites within All Aunt Hagar's Children.

Reviewed by Lena Willis
APOOO BookClub

In All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward Jones once again showers us with prose that is both concise and metaphoric. He is truly one of the great writers of our new century. His stories capture the intricacies of living in our complex and strife-torn world with true humanity and humility. For me, his strongest metaphor comes from the last story - the metaphor of a tapestry. It takes many years to create and is full of innumerable details, yet it produces a work that last for many years and enlightens many other lives. What a wonderful image and a challenge for us to live into. In All Aunt Hagar's Children, Jones has surely presented us with a tapestry that will live for years and enlighten lives.

A young boy wanders from one vivid experience to another to another, just like kids do. His childhood had unique exposures to Nazi terror and horror, to be sure. But throughout those grim days, there remained that irrepressible insouciance of youth. There was even hero worship when he became involved with the French underground. He brings us right along with him as he becomes a man.

This author described what was, more than anything else, a normal, adventuresome boyhood. Although I was expecting something more like "The Diary of Anne Frank", this book was more reminiscent of "Huckleberry Finn".

Seeped into the depths of war and dispair of mankind, Dr. Burnell takes us on a journey through Nazi-occupied France during WWII. As opposed to the atrocities of holocaust victims in that same era, we are instead introduced into the lives of the common citizenry as they struggle through each day not knowing who is friend or foe. Dr. Burnell's family must decide when to run and when to stay; while knowing their decisions set them at risk to lose everything, including their lives. Balanced with historical facts, Dr. Burnell tells a tale that has us turning the pages, immersing us into the joys and sorrows of a family that in the end prevails despite their losses and succeeds in spite of the tragedy brought by war.

Dr. Burnell tells a story of fear, brutality, resourcefulness, courage, and sensitivity. These emotions are the backdrop to his autobiographical tale of growing from just-past-childhood to near-adulthood in Nazi-occupied France during WW 2. Burnell describes how he and his mother survived the relentless threat of the Nazis as they fled from city to city in France just barely ahead of the Nazi persecution. From Strasbourg in the eastern part of the country to Paris to Bordeaux and finally to Lyon in the south. Along the way his stepfather was consumed by the Holocaust and by the end Burnell was fighting back by working for the French Resistance. The writing is clear, personal, and carries the read along swiftly. I could barely put it down- thus I read it in just a few nights.

This is a well written, interesting memoir of a Holocaust survivor in France. The sections on political events are well placed and provide appropriate historic background to contents of the book.
Myself a Holocaust survivor, I learned from it a lot about life in France during those years and enjoyed reading it.

"Beating the Odds" by George Burnell is the exciting autobiography of a youngster growing up in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. In 369 action packed pages, the author traces his journey from Strasbourg, France in 1939 until the end of WWII in May, 1945. "Beating the Odds" is a real page turner that reads like a novel full of twists and turns. As an adolescent French Jew, George with his family lived in constant fear of discovery by the Nazis and moved frequently to ellude them. Despite these risks, he manages to join his Uncle David, a Dentist, and others in the French Resistance and narrowly escapes with his life. This fascinating memoir gives the reader an interesting and unique perspective on WWII in France and I highly recommend it to you.

The Bedford Handbook
I was satisfied with my order, and was delivered as it said

i ordered it and got it in a very good condition and in time. customer service is awesome. my blessings. keep up the good work.

this book is good for when you're writing essays and you can't remember a certain format or something and you can flip through the book real quick for examples of essays, outlines and thesis statements, although I wish i had the cd version of it so i can always have it with me instead of toting around the book. they could have made the format of the book better.

for instance i remember seeing a book called "A Writers reference" both are MLA format and one came from my community college and just the way its put together is better over all than this one.

The Bedford Handbook is an excellent guide for anyone enrolled in a college English course. The book gives details on correct grammar usage, as well as descriptions of different essay styles. The book is very helpful to me with my English class.

Diana Hacker has an English comp book for any possible usage, she grinds them out every few years. My college requires me to use this book as a handbook. That is unfortunate.

Of course, this book provides a basic explanation of English composition, grammar, documentation, and document design and critical reading. However, the attempt in this case is to present something that is lighter than Rules for Writers, a full scale manual that is sufficient to use as the only text for a college composition course or as a full writers reference, and her Writers Reference, which is a good handy handbook that is inadequate as a full course book, but is great as a rule book to be used by students taking a course using another text.

Usuing this book, I have had to create supplements from web material for issues that I expect to be covered fully in a college handbook such as the requirements of formal writing.

To be sure there are interesting illustrations and graphics and like her other books, the text is intimately linked with the enormous online network that Hacker and her publishers have created. It is not an awful book to use, but I would prefer Rules for Writers, Jane E. Aaron's Litte Brown Handbook, or Writer's reference.