M Books

Awesome quick sale, product was just as stated. thanks for the sale ~ God bless ; )

This story will make you marvel at the way God used Bruce Olson in the jungles of the Amazon. I marveled at his story about his conversion and about the time he told his Lutheran pastor about it. His pastor was stunned, to say the least. His pastor had prayed over Bruce at his confirmation and did not see the need for "Conversion".

I had to marvel as Bruce tells how he learned the language of the Motilone people. He used the old fake trick of pulling his thumb off. He did not initially think much of it, but he noticed that they loved to watch him do this. They would laugh each time he did it. Bruce did this trick so many times that he started figuring out what some of their words were. As they watched, they would say "He is going to pull his thumb off", "Now he is going to put it back on". Over and over again, Bruce slowly picked up some of their language and verb tenses.

The other interesting story is about how he told the gospel to them so that they could understand. The native Indians he lived with had formed their houses into one large circle, with a big opening in the middle. Looking down from above, it resembled the shape of an ant hill. According to Indian legend, they learned how to do this from the ants. It seems one day one of the ants became a man and told them to build their homes in this fashion - like the ants do. When you look at an ant hill that is what you see - a hole with dirt all around it. Bruce used this illustration to tell how another Person wanted to tell us about God. And in order to do this, He became a man, told them the story of salvation, died for their sins, etc. What is so neat about the story is that Bruce realized that in order to relate the Gospel to them, he had to tell it in a way they could understand. This was the perfect illustration, the ant that became a man, so he could tell them about how to build their homes.

This story has many events that are just too incredible. I still cannot imagine the Yuko drink that they made and then drank it!!! This story is incredible from beginning to end.

It is truly one of the best missionary stories I have ever read. I have read this book twice now and used it in Sunday School lessons.

This is an exceptionally true story of how God used a young 19 year old man to transform a tribe of South American natives to Christians. Bruce Olson later became an interpretor to the United Nations representing these natives when Exxon oil was discovered in their land.

An amazing story that illustrates to a believer how wonderful God is and how often we miss seeing Him work because we don't step out in faith. Its a great book because its about a Great God.

Truly a wonderful book. Full of courage, selflessness, love and sacrifice. I've never read a better book outside the Bible. Unforgettable.

I can't praise this book enough! I highly recommend it. I'm just sorry all of this research got started so late.

This is an excellent book that gives you hope, not only through real experiences but through the new brain research developments. It is easy to understand and read. At first I thought it was just going to be about case studies but the author gives you research based information in laymen's terms so it's easy to follow and understand. It gives you hope that today brain injury is not the end of the world.
Love this book.

This book is a must have for anyone interested in real effective self change. Beautifully written with a style and an ease unmatched by other books of the same subject. Doidge re-introduces the concept of brain plasticity and furthur validates it's benefits to individuals as well as medical communities through the explanations of current research and pivitol case studies. BUY THIS BOOK.

This book is packed with concrete evidence that should convince anyone who believed they could not continue to grow mentally and physically that they were strongly mistaken.

The history of Sigmund Freud's approach to the mechanisms of the mind has exhibited some tumultuous changes over the past century. Norman Doidge reminds us that Freud developed a thesis about the mind's plasticity over time. Freud's psychotherapy - irrespective of some questionable methods - was designed to allow the mind to search within itself and change outward behaviour by identifying memories hidden or repressed. However, after Freud, researchers using diagnoses of stroke or brain-injury victims, "mapped" areas in the brain for function. The first of these was the speech-producing region now named Broca's Area, after Paul Broca, its discoverer in the mid-19th century. Brain modularity, or "localization" as Doidge deems it, became the norm in brain research for decades following Broca. In this fine account of the history or recent brain studies, Doidge addresses a new concept being used to both treat and train - brain "plasticity".

Rewiring of the brain isn't a new concept. Among the more famous examples of how the brain reacts to challenges from the rest of the body is the concept known as "phantom limbs". Patients suffering amputations have complained of itchiness or pain seeming to emanate from the lost limb. V.S. Ramachandran and his colleagues have described this phenomenon in detail. "Rama" is but one of the researchers Doidge parades in a receiving line of innovative cognitive specialists. One of his more noteworthy is Michael Merzenich, who Doidge declares is the "world's leading researcher in brain plasticity". Merzenich followed the work of Wilder Penfield at McGill University in Montreal. Penfield used electrical probes to map the regions of the brain to identify which areas produced specific reactions. Penfield's work reinforced the consensus regarding "localization". Doidge goes so far as to deem neuroscience as long dominated by "localizationism" - a form of dogma. Merzenich, on the other hand used more refined equipment than available to Penfield, has made vast strides with closer detail. His work also demonstrated that "lost areas" in the brain have their duties taken up in other regions. The brain, he demonstrated, can "re-wire" itself - and in more than one way. The brain, then, isn't dominated by genetically assigned "localizations". It's "plastic" and able to change, through training or even using its own resources. In a sense, Freud's original concept has been vindicated by recent research.

Doidge follows the work of dozens of researchers who have revealed examples of this re-mapping activity. They investigate how stroke patients can learn to use limbs rendered unresponsive. The treatment seems bizarre - restrain the good limb so it will not replace the useless one. In a short time, the unresponsive limb begins to respond as the brain is forced to seek new pathways. Patient recovery has been almost spectacular, according to Doidge. He stresses that the theme is "use it or lose it" throughout the book, but is especially true in stroke victims. Where traditional therapy enhanced the capabilities of the working limb, brain plasticity demonstrates that recovering use of an affected limb should be favoured. This new therapy can be successfully applied months, or even years, after the stroke event. In this author's hands, these accounts read like a script for a car-salesman sitcom. He may be correct in his views, but nothing in brain sciences is entirely positive, as history has demonstrated.

There's more than just therapy in brain plasticity achievements. In Asia, particularly Japan, babies are born with ability to form the sound for the letter "L". Since Japanese doesn't contain any words with that sound, children lose the capacity to pronounce it. A new programme, using slowly sounded words can actually recover the pronunciation in immigrants to North America. The technique is an indicator of what Doidge refers to as "plasticity competition". Although the brain appears to re-route signals throughout the brain simply during daily use, there is also the possibility of patterns settling in and resisting change. Doidge refers to this as the "plastic paradox", and sees it as the way habits are formed and retained - even against good sense.

While Doidge has provided a comprehensive look at how recent research has overthrown the notion of "one area - one behaviour", there are numerous questions remaining. How does the mechanism work? What triggers neurons to reach out to make new connections? Is anything already in place displaced, or are idle synapses or dendrites now put to work? Does the old notion of our using "only 10 per cent. of our brain" - an cliché long dismissed by neuroscientists - have some validity, after all? Although two Appendices enlarge greatly on this overview - one on culture and another on "Progress", brain mechanics in this process remain obscure. This shortcoming requires vast amounts of further research but in no way diminishes Doidge's accomplishment. This book will remain a major element in the history of brain studies for some time. Written for any reader who has a brain, the author deserves the fullest praise for his accomplishment. The five stars is given a bit grudgingly, but this book requires the widest exposure possible. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I have read the 5 books of the series at least 10 times each, in German and in English, I am so fascinated with the story. The characters are absolutely captivating, and there is so much suspense and drama, you seriously can't put the books down when you start reading them. In the very first book, the little girl Ayla will capture your heart, as you go on this journey with her when she is growing up, and she turns into this beautiful and intelligent woman - i bet about every male reader would love to be with her and get to know her, whereas female readers will envy her and want to be like her. But it's not just her, all the characters have so much depth to them, and it is so easy to picture them in your mind, as they come across as very real. I grew to love each and every one of them, including all the animals as well. This is a great story about love and friendships among people & animals, and a story about survival in harsh conditions and encountering and fighting enemies. A story about a time when great discoveries and inventions were made, a truly fascinating era.
This is my favorite story of all times, and I know I will read all the books again someday. So if you are just bored and are looking for something very good to read - this is it! Too bad the fourth and fifth books - The Plains of Passage & Shelters of Stone - aren't included with this package, but I guarantee most people who pick up those books and read them will probably read them as well, since it is an ongoing story, and you can't wait to see what is going to happen next. I can't wait for the last book to come out... hopefully that is going to happen soon.

Unfortunately, I read them so long ago, I'm not sure I would want to read the next one because I have lost track of the story lines by now.

Each book does as promised, stand alone, and also as part of the larger story it melds into a great whole. I waited impatiently for each book as it came out, and because of the many years wait for The Shelters Of Stone, I was somewhat dissappointed in the book, because in my opinion all it really did was do a further buildup for the final book in the series, and I am so afraid that there will be another extended waiting period and let-down, but over-all I have to give the series a huge thumbs up and say that this series is definately part of my "Keeper" and "Re-readable" list and is now part of my personal Library.

the clan of the cave bear lay around our house for several years. i passed it by many times thinking it would not be my kind of book. at last due to the urging of my wife i began to read clan of the cave bear! from that time until i had completed all five of the books in the earths children series,i absolutly could not put them down.i have read many book series. but never have i been carried away so by an author.the depth of auels research will pull at a very primitive and forgotin place in your being.however i must warn you! when you have completed the series thus far the knowledge of the as yet unwriten or at least unpublished climax to this series will leave you feeling incomplete!! so please Miss Auel finesh the series soon

The author planned to write six books in the Earth's Children series, and I hope she sticks with the plan. However, I wanted to answer the question about which everyone seems to be confused--the fifth book. Its title is **SHELTERS OF STONE** ... . Anyway, the first four books are not only completely absorbing plotwise, but Ms. Auel's obvious research into the history of the periods about which she writes adds to the value of reading her books. Don't wait! Read the first four as soon as possible--at least in time to get a copy of her unpublished paperback.

Andrea Immer Robinson's Great Wine Made Simple (2005) succeeds brilliantly in making sense of the complex worlds of wine. I have read several introductions to wine, including Michael Broadbent's Michael Broadbent's Wine Tasting (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides), Jancis Robinson's How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine, Mark Oldman's Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style, and Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course) and I recommend them all, but I learned the most from Andrea Robinson's book. Her original and easy-to-follow approach will greatly enhance the appreciation of wine for new and experienced wine drinkers alike.

There are dozens of wine grapes, but Robinson reduces this complexity by emphasizing the "Big Six." These are three white grapes (riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay) and three red grapes (pinot noir, merlot/cabernet sauvignon, syrah or shiraz) that provide most of the world's quality wines. Each group of three is listed in ascending order of body style, i.e., light, medium, or full. She clarifies these styles by comparing their weight, richness, and thickness in the mouth to skim milk, whole milk, and cream. Robinson then lays out tasting sequences with easily available wines that show the distinctive quality and body of each grape. You quickly get an idea of the world's primary wine styles.

In the succeeding chapters on taste, Robinson recommends that you taste wines side by side in carefully chosen pairs that will highlight key tastes. This method is far superior to tasting one wine at a sitting. Wines can generate a seemingly infinite number of tastes and here Robinson simplifies things by concentrating on pairs of wine that exemplify the major style terms of dry, crisp, oaky, tannic, buttery, grassy, spicy, floral, and Old World vs. New World.

In another great innovation, Robinson introduces flavor maps of the wine world combining where grapes are grown with climates. The maps are a bit hard to read at first, but well worth the effort, because they help you predict what a wine will taste like once you know where it's from. For example, white grapes grown in cool climates may produce light bodied wines with apple or pear flavors while white grapes grown in warm climates may produce full bodied wines with pineapple or mango flavors. I found the flavor maps to be the most valuable part of the book, because they help you organize the world's wines into a system that explains why they taste the way they do.

The remainder of the book is more conventional in its approach, with surveys of French, Italian, American regions and so on followed by such topics as shopping for wine, wine and food, and wine gear. In these sections, Robinson continues to communicate key information about wine without oversimplifying.

I think Great Wine Made Simple does make a few missteps. A major omission is that only the briefest mention is made of serving temperatures. She does note that whites tend to be served too cold and reds too warm. Robinson's 2008 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone, which I also highly recommend, does a satisfactory job explaining how to serve various types of wine; but I like Andrew Oldman's general rule that white wines should be chilled for several hours and then removed 15 minutes before serving while reds should be refrigerated for 15 minutes before serving. Robinson could have said more about how to analyze the finish of a wine. Here I like the approach of her mentor, Kevin Zraly at Windows of the World in New York City, who describes what you should expect at fifteen second intervals in the minute or so after you have swallowed the wine.

Robinson occasionally criticizes other wine writers for being too technical. In part she does this because she feels that beginners will lose interest when confronted with overly technical prose, but this assumes that readers don't know how to select a basic introduction to wine as opposed to a more advanced book. Robinson's ideas easily stand on their own and are not strengthened by disparagement of those who write at a more detailed level or use specialized wine terminology.

To end, my criticisms are minor compared to Robinson's substantial achievement. She has assembled an impressive apparatus for appreciating wine. My wine knowledge increased by several orders of magnitude after having read her book, and I know I will be returning to it for years to come.

This is the first wine book that does exactly what it promises.....you will be able to read a wine bottle label in the store or wine list in the restaurant and know what you are buying and buy what you want. That is a great boon to all wine drinkers out there, the majority of whom didn't have wine training in finishing school or a butler/sommelier at home. I have always know what taste I like but now I know how to read the label to find the type of wine that I want. This book will serve the experienced drinker as well with a system of classifying wine into groups for organizing your wine celler and advice about making those all important pairings with food. This book makes a fantastic gift as well.

This book came in the mail very quickly and will make a great Xmas gift for my husband.

This is simply the best introduction to wine and winetasting that I have found. Many wine books get bogged down in minutiae, without telling you why it is significant. For example, they will spend three pages telling you about the soil and climate in a small region of say, France, without telling you how it affects the flavor and quality of the wine (i.e., why you should care). Somewhere in there will be a vague one sentence statement about how the wines taste "fruity" or "fresh." Andrea Immer's book actually concentrates on how to taste wine, using all your senses, and what specifically to look for in the color, nose, and flavor. She gives you a list of wines to taste, and through a series of tasting exercises you learn to recognize different flavors and aromas in wine. Her flavor map is an ingenious way to explain what flavors to expect from wines of the same grape grown in different climate zones, and it works! One heads up though, be prepared to drop some change on these tastings. Many of the tastings in the earlier chapters are affordable, but in the later chapters (read France and Italy), we found some of the wines to be cost prohibitive. While the earlier tastings are absolutely essential to getting the most out of the book, we chose to dispense with some of the later ones (Maybe some day I'll buy that $80.00 Barolo). My suggestion: Buy the book, do the tastings in the first five chapters, and learn a heck of a lot about wine.

If you have room for only one wine book, this is the book to own. Andrea Robinson nee Immer is a master sommelier who started out with Kevin Zraly at Windows on the World, and has become one of the great wine teachers in the world. I met her in 2001 at the Wine Expo in Boston, attended a wine tasting of Australian wines, and took her intensive three day course on wine at the French Culinary Institute last fall. My initial impressions still stand [from my wine diary]:

It was a joy to watch Andrea Immer in action and to discuss her book for a few minutes afterwards. Her approach to learning about wine is superb, and I recommend this book strongly to anyone, beginner or more advanced. Her enthusiasm and knowledge is infectious.

The approach works; Robinson has taught her approach to thousands of people -- restaurant guests, sommeliers, chefs, waiters, bartenders, in a wide variety of restaurants and bars. "The light goes on every time."

Check the Comments for a summary of Andrea's approach to learning about wine.

This book gave a Shiloh owner insight into the intent of the breed founder. Tina has inspired us to do whatever we can to further her dream. She allowed us a brief look into her struggles that shows us how much sacrifice is necessary to live your dream. I am telling everyone I know about this book and letting them know it's a must have!

This is one of the most heartwarming stories I have read. I will be looking to get a shiloh shepherd in the future. A must read book.

This is a truly amazing book about a truly amazing breed! I am the proud owner of one of Tina's shilohs. I knew a little of the history of the shilohs in talking with Tina's daughter Lisa, but this book gives an in depth look at the breed and the nature of these dogs. Thank God for people such as Tina for her dedication and persistence concerning this breed. I have owned many dogs over the years and loved each and everyone of them. But my shiloh has been the best one yet. He is highly intellegent and his beauty is beyond compare. He is truly a "gentle giant." Thank you Tina, for caring so much about this breed and writing such a heartwarming book about them!

I wholeheartedly recommend this book! It was a quick-paced, honest account of a woman's quest to fulfill a dream against many obstacles. Her destiny just happened to be a beautiful, rare-breed dog called the Shiloh Shepherd. Her story is a true inspiration to anyone who has encountered resistance, offering hope that whatever your God-given purpose - stay the course!

As our family searched the web and library books for a dog to replace the two beloved "mutts" who had passed on after a good long life, we stumbled across references to the Shiloh Shepherd.

Without much effort we came across Tina's website as well as some of her licenced breeders. The brains, brawn and beauty of what we saw and read left nothing else but for us to buy the book, and learn as much as we could about the founder of this breed.

Needless to say, the story is motivating, at times heartbreaking, insightful, and a story that had to be told as the struggle to maintain and establish this reputable breed continues.

Critics with personal vendettas or self-ineterest aside, no one can argue that Tina, as Breed Founder, has not always put her blueprint and belief in the proper development and evolution of the Shiloh Shepherd at the top of her lifetime agenda.

This book details the 40+ years she has dedicated to the effort, and now as the proud owner of a Shiloh Shepherd pup that descended from her bloodlines through one of her Canadian breeders, here's hoping Tina (aka Ma Shiloh), and this breed, will eventually get the recognition and credit they deserves from the rest of the Dog World Community.

Although a bit confusing in his presentation of dozens of key characters unfamiliar to the reader, Lawrence paints an extraordinary sketch of a time and people otherwise just a footnote to World history. The richness of the text and word pictures were worth the time spent laboring through massive amounts of detailed narrative.

This is one of the great books of the 20th century. That it could be written at all is almost a miracle in itself. Take a brilliant Oxford student trained in the old classical tradition, place him in the Arabian desert as advisor to the wild Bedouin tribesmen during their revolt against the Turks and have him write with an acute sensitivity and unparalleld insight into what was transpiring before him and you may have some notion of what the book is like.
It's a long book. You will learn a great deal about blowing up a railroad bridge in the desert, about camel rides, thirst, and hunger and the heroism and brutality of war. The portraits of Sheik Auda, Sherrif Ali and Prince Faisal of the two Arab boys who Lawrence takes under his wing are masterpieces in and of themselves. The nobility and savagery of the desert tribesmen contrasted with the cold stoicism of the British and the inculcated cruelty of the Turks are just some of themes addressed during the course of the work. There are brilliant passing insights as to the Semitic inspiration for all the revealed religions and their relation to the desert beautiful descripitions of the terrain the weather and the obstacles encountered. When Lawrence says that from the beginning he believed the Arab revolt would succeed because it grew out of a sympathetic population was opposed by a modern army that could not garrison the territory occupied one wishes that President Bush had read it instead of just seeing the movie. Read it yourself.

TE Lawrence (1888-1935) the British soldier, poet and scholar wrote this insightful personal account of the Arab Revolt based on his war journals which is as confronting as it is poetic and beautiful. How could one not be enthralled by the writings and perspectives of a fine intellectual mind tormented by the reality of war and hypocrisy? What makes this book unique and powerful is Lawrence's sensibility as a poet and a soldier. Even if you are not into war history, this is a riveting book you can't afford to miss.

Mr. TE Lawrence was not only a gifted tactician/strategist but also a scholar of the highest order. His writing style is rich and descriptive avoiding the dry pitfalls sometimes associated with autobiographies. The story of the Arab revolt from the man who helped shape and guide it is an invaluable resource to have. TE Lawrence's thoughts on irregular/unconventional warfare are insightful and still lessons to be rememembered today. An enjoyable and insightful read- perfect for any military history collection.

The Hejaz War of 1917 was written by Colonel T.E. Lawrence at the Paris peace talks in 1920 -21. Lawrence understood the Arabs thay did not conquer territory but they brought the Arab tribes together to conquer the Ottoman Turkish Army whom they considered poor soldiers. The Hejaz is the Red Sea coast parallel to the extinct lava fields of the 3,000m high Hejaz mountains. The Hejaz railway, linking Damascus with Medina, was attacked by Lawrence's Hejaz army until the Turks could no longer repair it. The Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the bible of Guerilla Warfare and should be read by General Petraeus US Armed Forces Commander, Iraq.
The taking of Damascus intact in 1918 by the arab army before General Allenby's allied army at least ensured Sheikh Feisal became King of Iraq. The Sykes -Picot treaty of 1916 ensured the Middle East was divided up by Britain and France directly leading to the present Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

This book was received in excellent condition as it was listed on Amazon. Also, the book was received in a quick manor. Thanks!

I was VERY disappointed and, at first, pretty confused when I discovered the haphazard way this edition of the book is put together. Less than one quarter into the book, approximately 20 pages come up missing. Upon searching for them, I found other pages printed twice (some 20 pages), but the missing pages were NOT there. It was early into the story, and I was disappointed not to be able to get the whole story on such an admirable, loving, Christian family. The binding is new; pages were NOT torn out. It was actually bound this way!

When I was in fifth grade, I remember I was sitting in music class when the librarian stopped by to ask me to return this book. One of the teachers wanted to use it in class, and I'd had it out so long, no one else could get a shot at it!

I was an only child, very bookish and introverted. I read and reread this book. I married a guy who planned to become a Methodist minister (like Helen Doss) and we have four bio kids and two adopted from Haiti. I always wanted to adopt, which I'm sure came from this book. I was probably drawn to my husband at least partly because of the warm and fuzzy feeling about Methodist pastors that I had from this book.

Reading things as a kid, you pick up on the stuff you like and ignore the stuff you don't. The Dosses adopted most of their kids as babies (with some exceptions). They did have some difficult issues one summer when they took a Native American boy in for a vacation in their family. I ignored this part of the book, focusing on the wonderful and easy other kids. We adopted an older boy from Haiti and it's been rough for him and for us. I should have paid more attention when I was reading, maybe . . . We also adopted a baby girl, and that's been great.

One of my favorite books ever. I didn't know there was a new edition with updates on the family--I'll have to get it just for the updates, although I own an older copy. By the way, my parents never ever talked to me about racism. We had no friends of different races. I imagine I formed my beliefs that "we are all brothers" regardless of color, mostly from this book.

I read Helen Doss' heartwarming book in grade school and am thrilled to see it back in print. Carl and Helen Doss, a young couple struggling to get Carl through divinity school, adopt a baby boy. Without really planning it, they adopt eleven more children!

Mrs. Doss' book is more than just a memoir of her precious children; it's also an indictment of a social service system that, through prejudice, denied who-knows-how-many mixed-race children loving homes. So many couples could have known the joy of children and given loving homes to them in return. Her book helped raise awareness and open doors (and hearts) to the needs of "unadoptables." Thanks to families like hers, those policies are now dead.

I've thought of the twelve adoptees over the years, and wondered how their lives turned out. Mrs. Doss gives an update of sorts in this new, revised addition, but left out more detail for privacy concerns. I hope one of them decides to expand on mom's work someday. Five stars.

This book is very heartwarming and can touch anyones heart. This book talks about a couple that can't have children so then they go to another option which is adoption. First of all they are a very poor couple and can barely afford food. They go apply for adoption and get declined they then fix the problems with their financial needs and then apply again getting approved. They get their first baby boy, Donny. They have trouble taking care of him since their very afraid of 'breaking one of his bones'. But they get through after that they apply for MORE AND MORE children and go through troubles along the way. At the end they adopt 12 CHILDREN and get in an article in a magazine. This book was really nice and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a comforting story...

Great book...good quality...arrived in record time. I will highly recommend ordering this book for a Christmas present for any age.

This story will rank among my all time favorite Christmas stories! It is heartwarming and humorous, and conveys the true spirit of Christmas!

This book is a GREAT human interest story that uses a man's skill-carving, with a family need for a nativity. In the process of carving the characters and the friendliness of a woman and her son, Jonathan changes from a bitter, lonely man to a believer.

Each year I buy myself a new Christmas book, looking for something unique..Just ran up on this book at a company book sale and stood in awe as I read the story. I knew this was "the one" for this year. Not only is the story heartwarming but the illustrations are perfect. My children are grown as well as my granddaughters and I plan to buy copies for all of them.

A friend and I are often comparing notes on wonderful new and old books and stories for children (and adults), especially at Christmastime. When I saw this book, I knew it would fill the bill as a perfect gift to her to add to her wonderful collection of children's books. I was right--she loved it. I'd never heard of this story before, but, in my opinion, it should be much better known and read. It's so sweet. I'm certainly sharing it. It's perfect for reading aloud. Again, a real good experience with you folks.

This is book written for children but I have to tell you I loved this book as much as my 8 year did. I had to stop reading once or twice because I was so chocked up.

The writer did an amazing job of drawing you inside the mind of Squirrel the dog. I felt like I was the dog living this story at time. I tell you what, I look at our dog in a whole new light.

This is a classic must read for all.

This is such a wonderful and special book. You dont want to finish you just want it to keep going.

This book is a good book. Even though it was sad in parts, the happy moments that Squirrel experienced made up for it. The narration was so real that I felt like I was there, and Squirrel's voice was perfect. It allowed me to feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, and hope that everything would work out for her!I hoped that she would find Bone the whole way through the book. I recommend this book to all second graders and above. If you don't love dogs, you will after this book.

"I've known of dogs who were treated cruelly by human hands and dogs who were treated with the gentlest touch, dogs who starved and dogs who grew fat from too many treats. I've known all of these dogs and I've been all of these dogs."

This is a quote from Squirrel, the main character of the book A Dog's Life-An
Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. Squirrel is a female dog who has lost all of her family, thanks to humans. She lost her mom, her brother, and others who were really important to her, but Squirrel is a smart dog. She doesn't judge all humans as being cruel to dogs.
When Squirrel was a puppy she lived with her mom, Mother, and her brother, Bone. Squirrel originally had four siblings, but only her brother and she survived. Mother called her puppies Bone and Squirrel because for mother dogs it's a tradition to name their dogs after what they enjoy. One day Mother left to hunt for food. Bone and Squirrel waited calmly for her, but soon became anxious. Mother never came back. She had been shot by a hunter. Bone realized that their mom wasn't going to come back so one day he just decided to leave. He just trotted off toward the woods. Squirrel wasn't going to let her brother leave too. She ran after him. While traveling they came upon a bag. Their noses didn't lie to them; there was chicken in the bag. The bag was across the street, but Bone didn't care. He ran across the streets not caring about the big, speeding cars. Squirrel followed him and just when Bone was about to stick his head into the bag, two big, rough hands grabbed them. The hands belonged to a woman and a man. Bone and Squirrel were taken against their will by the couple, but after one night they found themselves being thrown out of a car window and smashing hardly on a cement parking lot. Squirrel and Bone had been too much nuisance to the man, so he had gotten rid if them while his wife was sleeping. Bone and Squirrel yelped with pain and licked at their injuries. Two women came by and scooped up Bone wiping his bleeding nose with a tissue, leaving poor Squirrel where she was. Squirrel didn't know what to do. Her mom was gone and her brother was leaving right now. She ran after Bone as fast as she could (not very fast because of her injured shoulder), but the women, with Bone, got into a car and drove away. Squirrel was alone in the world, but then Squirrel met another dog, Moon, and her adventures of looking for Bone and for the right home continued.
This book touches my heart, like no other book has. It's sad, adventurous, happy, and every other emotion you can think of. I would recommend this book to all the dog lovers and to people who like adventurous and heart touching books. This book is cool because the story is told by the point of view of Squirrel. I really like that about this book. It shows you that life is tough for every living thing, especially for homeless. This book also shows you how to be independent.
What will happen to Squirrel and Moon? Will they survive or will they die? If they survive, will they ever find the right home? What about her brother? Is he alive? Will they ever find the right human to live with? Read the book A Dog's Life-An Autobiography of a Stray to find out.

Whenever I find myself caring about stray dogs and cats, I feel guilty. How many stray children are out there, ones with homes and ones without? Then I have to concentrate on the issue at hand: stray dogs and cats. "A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray" is not an easy read.

Author of the Baby Sitter series, Ann M. Martin is apparently a proponent of humane treatment of animals and population control. This topic must be near and dear to her to go from the adventures of babysitting to tackle the topic of strays. The powerful and emotional message she delivers in this first person account of a stray dog is, quite frankly, heart-wrenching. After reading the book, I would not place it in the school library where I am librarian. Finally, I did but I warn students about its content.

The narrator is born stray with a brother. After Squirrel, as she calls herself, and Bone, her brother are old enough, they head out on their own. A couple stops and picks them up along a busy highway, takes them home without a clue in caring for young dogs. After Bone bites the man, he packs them up and dumps them on a busy street near a mall. During the rest of the story, Squirrel refers to this episode as "being thrown away."

Another couple stops to pick up the male and leaves our narrator to fend for herself. It is at this point in the story when I began crying and cried for the rest of the book. Squirrel is so confused in this strange place all alone. She learns to fend for herself and find food. It is one pitiful episode after another trying to find food, finding shelter, finding safety, avoiding humans, who always bring trouble and harm.

When Squirrel reaches her old age and is facing another long cold winter, she lucks into the yard of another aging being, a woman. In a long process the woman befriends the dog and invites her in, following the dictates of the dog--when to go out and return in. This woman finally gives Squirrel a real name--Addie. She has a warm bed beside the fire, she has the proper food to eat, the vet tends her, and the woman talks to her all the time in her own loneliness.

I won't relate the ending here. If you choose to read this book, you will have the absolute pleasure of the last few pages.

This book deals with theatre, and I was going into it thinking it would help me audition for movies. I did not learn anything from it. But...if you are into the theatre, you will find it very helpful.

This is a fantastic book with extremely helpful information to any young actor aspiring to become a professional actor. Every actor needs this book so they can improve their auditioning skills and get the part they want! Break a leg!

This is a really great acting book- definitely one of the best i've read. Not only for auditions but for rehearsal as well, (as it states in the book.)

you are probaly brilliant, original and on your way to superstardom BUT before you go out on an audition read this book and be prepared to reread it several times in your career..and when you move to NYC to LA then back again, you will probaly still have this book with you..it is indispensable in a straight forward, manner..it will teach you what mistakes to avoid, what to bring of yourself, what is expected of you..after being in thousands of auditions and conducting several and watching people, this book rings so true..people will make the same mistake so often..people will eliminate themselves just by the way they walk into the room..you think your audition starts when you begin your great acting or singing?..nope..it starts the moment you enter that room and come face to face with the casting people..and the most important thing...they want you to succeed almost as much as you want to..never forget that..they want you to succeed..they want you to make their decision for them..they want to discover that next superstar..

Considering the low price, I can't imagine a more valuable book for the actor. Michael Shurtleff is a luminary of theatre, and this book reads like a private class with him. Remember, this is a guy who basically launched the careers of DeNiro, Streisand, Redford, Vereen, Tomlin, Midler, and Hoffman. His wonderful career included both Broadway and film casting. He knows a lot, and in this book, he shares it with you.

This book may be called "Audition", but the discussions go way beyond the audition. Granted, the opening chapter (Practical Aspects of the Audition) contains sage advice applicable only to the audition. What follows in the book are the "12 Guideposts", the bible of scene study and character development. Following the very readable discussion of the "Guideposts", Shurtleff writes essays on topics such as musical theatre, comedy, pace, and monologues. I know that my copy will become well-worn as I refer back to it again and again.

I am currently in two shows, and I'm putting the "Guideposts" to work for me. I've not had an audition since buying the book, but I am looking forward to using Shurtleff's advice the next time I read for a part.

This is a must-read for actors and directors. Highly recommended.