Non-fiction Books

Very well written book. Enjoyed reading it, and finished it in two days. John Wood has done a tremendous service to Nepal and Cambodia (two countries in which I used to live and work). Amazing work that needed to be done. Great reading also in the book about some of the inner workings of Microsoft as well. Read this book!

This book had me bawling from the pictures and the vivid description, but more importantly, it inspired me to action. John has a way of resonating with his audience, expressing the importance of the cause, and showing you how your money can help directly. From the first page I didn't want the book to end, and on the last page I wanted to throw a fundraiser to build a library. If you're looking for a motivational and inspiring story, you should read this book. If you're looking to make a difference, you should take action after you finish this book.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in making a difference in the world or wants to get off the corporate treadmill. This is the story of one man who did both. He is obviously passionate about Room to Read, and the reader can't help but feel his passion. The only downside is that it reads too much like a lightly-edited journal at times--it gets a bit repetitive toward the end (I heard a lot about his "insane schedule").

I am amazed how inspiring this book is. To go from a high level global job at Microsoft, to something that truely makes you want to get out of bed in the morning is awesome. I am not a big reader, but finished this in 2 days.

This is a great book for anyone...John Woods story of leaving a great career, a girlfriend, and a life of luxury to help make the world a better place is a fun and inspirational read. A great tone of "this isn't for everyone, but was right for me" helps the reader enjoy the story without feeling like they should change the world in the same way. It gives you perspective and food for thought...absolutely fascinating.

Ratha's creature opens up a whole new world of cats. Long before the Warrior cat series, lived Ratha and her tribe. This book is full of adventure and suspense for any age. I couldn't put it down. Make sure to buy this one first and while you are at it, order the other three so you won't have to stop in the middle of this great adventure. If you love the Warrior Series you will love Ratha's Creature!

The Named Series is a collection that has survived in the hearts of readers for decades, inspiring fanart, fanfiction, and more. Here is the book that started it all - Ratha's Creature, an epic, memorable tale of strife, forgiveness, and triumph. This novel resurrects an ancient world and delivers in full detail, the savage brutality endured by those of arcane laws, a code of claws and fangs - while thrusting into harsh, honest light, what it means to question and discover the meaning of 'Self Awareness'.
Lion King worshipers, Warriors devotees, Animal enthusiasts - you have not stalked the feline path, until you have unearthed these treasures.

For more information, copy and paste the following links:

Clare Bell's official domain:
www.rathascourage.com
For an exclusive look including fanart, fanfiction, and more visit Trails Of Conquest:
www.trailsofconquest.webs.com
For Named (Ratha) Series Cat Role Play (rp) stop by Into The Mist:
www.intothemistrp.webs.com

I am a huge cat fan and I can't believe that this book has existed for so long without my knowledge! I loved it from the very beginning and the story drew me in. I quickly ordered the other books to read. Any adventure or cat fan should read this book. If you do not love cats or do not have a fasination with animals you will soon. The book, while fictional is very realisitic and the characters are very wild and "animal-like." I cannot wait to read more. I genuinely feel the loss of one character in particular...sigh. Read this book! It is a great escape. Welcome to Ratha's world.

I never write reviews, but Ratha's Creature is the exception. I came upon this book as a 7th grader back in the early 90's and it was out of print even then. This book is fantastic, with it's prehistoric world and it's memorable characters. I am thrilled to see it released again so children can have the same experience that I had at their age in reading this wonderful story. This is a must read! In a world where the Harry Potter series is over and kids are left wondering what to read next, this one is a fun series and you will not regret your time in reading it, only regret that there is not more. Read it, you won't be sorry.

Clare Bell is a great author who's works have been too long out of print. I read this story when I was a kid, and am enjoying it just as much now that I am older. A really imaginative, fun tale.

I read a professional review on this story from several decades ago, back when this book was originally published, that, while certainly much celebrating the story, suggested that it was almost stereotypical! I beg to disagree. What admittedly could have easily become a flat commentary on folks of differing races in a typical Alaskan setting actually touched my heart and even had me at times understanding the mindset of those we would have considered to be racist. This is an honest sample of what life was like in the Alaskan frontier and what those who lived there felt and thought as well as a beautiful pastoral.

Annie Hobbes is a young teacher from Oregon who falls in love with the romantic idea of teaching in the adventurous and beautiful Alaskan wilderness. Her fun romp turns serious as the ideas with which she was raised are challenged by the citizens of the little town Chicken who demonstrate negativity toward the local Native Americans. This girl, who begins the story as less than a tenderfoot, eventually earns the respect of the same people that want to run her out of town for her ideals.

And yet, fortunately, Annie is never portrayed as a perfect Saint. She is quirky and likeable and, heck, I could sometimes see why everyone was annoyed by her--thus is the magic of the writing.

This story also appealed to me on the level of teacher to teacher. I read this book at the end of my first year of teaching when I was all drained out--this reinspired me to do everything for my students.

The characters are wonderful as well as the plot. The gorgeous descriptions are quick as not to slow down the necessary fast pacing. This is both a story of prejudice and a delightful and fun Alaskan adventure.

I don't know how much of this is actual fact, but goodness me, the author did very well!

THIS IS THE MOST BORING BOOK AND ANYONE WHO SAYS IT IS GOOD IS OLD AND PERSONALLY IT IS THE MOST BORING BOOK!

This is a delightful story about a young woman teaching in the Alaskan interior. Since I love books about life in Alaska, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read. If you loved this book, you might also enjoy a new release by author Cheryl Schuermann.


When the Water Runs: Growing Up with Alaska

This book is a keeper. I really enjoyed this story and each
time I have recommanded it they have come away loving this
story also.

this is a book you won't be able to put down. I loved it and was sad when it was finished..........it's fabulous. Best book since "waltz with me Alaska'

I gave this to my best friend, who is pregnant with her first baby. I had been looking at other journals and this one looked more on the fun and cute side opposed to all serious. When I got it it was so nice, bright colors and the pages were high quality. The book has alot of fun questions in it and even some for the dad to be! Also has a format that would help someone still to it, sometimes journals can be hard to continue. Where there are questions and then space for the answers...and not questions that would involve pages and pages of answerws. Some of the questions may seem silly to fill in now, maybe a bit on the corny side, but these answers to these questions are going to be exactly what you are going to reread and remember for years to come!

I loved this! So many fill in the blanks so that you can remeber after you forget! I should have just jotted more down, but i still am glad i used it!

This journal asks the questions you'd love to see your responses to when your children are much older. I really like this journal. Someone gave me one when I had my first child. And I ended up buying one for my second pregnancy. If you enjoy guided journals (where they ask tons of questions throughout the entire 9 months), you'll be pleased with this one.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

I wanted a "pregnancy" journal to document key events during my pregnancy and found exactly what I was looking for in Butterflies & Hiccups. Initially, I considered a "daily" journal but in reviewing some of the pregnancy journals online, I was impressed with Butterflies & Hiccups. It is a "monthly" journal, which really turned out to be perfect... daily would have been overkill, especially since there are many days that pass where there's really nothing to document. This journal has excellent preprinted questions as well a blank page for each month for documenting additional information, perhaps not covered by the preprinted questions. Each month, the journal covers topics such as changes/symptoms, doctor visits, and has a page for placing a photo to track pregnancy progress (and more). It goes up to nine months then continues on to the "Birth" with a checklist of what to pack in the hospital bag, preprinted birth questions, a photo page for picture with baby, a page for baby info (name, date/time of birth, height/length, etc). It also contains a section to document the Baby Shower. The journal contains a 'Baby Keepsake' pocket, perfect for holding ultrasound pictures. There's also an attached ribbon bookmarker so that you can go straight to the page where you left without having to flip through the journal... and it's spiral bound. Highly recommended PREGNANCY journal... this is NOT a BABY journal.

I thought this might be cheesy. It was fantastic! After having loved Ian Fleming, this was a great substitute. I look foward to reading the rest of the series.

Bored and in excellent health for a woman who is retired with nothing more to look forward to than her gardening meetings, Mrs. Pollifax decides that there are only two choices in her life. Take one giant step off the roof of her building in New Brunswick, New Jersey or pursue a dream that she has had since childhood. With the decision made she boards a bus for Langley, Virginia and decides to be a spy for the CIA. Taking place during the cold war, Emily Pollifax is sent to Mexico to retrieve important documents, that doesn't seem difficult until she is forced to outsmart Red Chinese military men with nothing more than a pocketknife and a Christmas tree. This woman could definitely give MacGyver and Forrest Gump a run for their money.

This is the second Mrs. Pollifax book I have now finished and I adore them. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax is a delight in her adventures and this one is full of thrilling adventures. I am now hooked and will be reading every Mrs. Pollifax book there is. They are thoroughly enjoyable...

I've read this book many times as well as listened to the version narrated by Barbara Rosnblatt. I highly recommend both. This book is what whodunit mysteries should all have; a likeable character, strong storyline, suspense, humor and good pacing. All the characters in the book are quite real. Even when the storyline seems hard to believe, you believe it because Mrs. Pollifax says it is so. Emily Pollifax also develops as a character not only within this book but within the whole series.

This book isn't as much a mystery as an adventure/suspense. It's also lighthearted, because Mrs. Pollifax sees this it as an adventure. She was willing to give her life to her country but isn't willing to give in easily!

Though I'm far from retirement age, I felt a kinship with Mrs. P. I think that's the feeling most people get from reading these books. She's the woman next door, the lovable grandmother/aunt figure who also can surprise you. In fact, a lady I talked to said she wanted to be Mrs. Pollifax. My only disappointment is that this book is so short. But then, Dorothy Gilman is a writer who knows when to quit, which only adds to her writing.

If you're new to the Mrs. Pollifax series of mystery books - this is the very first. As such, it's a great place to begin. You'll be completely entertained learning how this grandmother goes to work - undercover - for the United States government. She really is unexpected, as the title declares. She's everything you would wish a grandmother to be - but she's extraordinarily clever, notices details on the fly and incredibly resourceful. If you enjoy Miss Marple from Agatha Christie - you'll also love Mrs. Pollifax. (Although I'd never say the two are interchangeable - they seem to go at detection in entirely different ways). We get into the characters thoughts often - rather than just being pulled through a story's actions blindly. It makes her escapades all the more harrowing when you develop such a feeling for what each side is thinking. Very entertaining. A great bed time read.

I have not received this book at this time. I hope someone will contact me about this. I have e-mailed back I have not received it. Thank you.
Bobby Thompson

Enjoyed this book and bought a copy to send to my mother an avid reader.

One of many wonderful books Taylor Caldwell wrote. This one makes you wonder who's really in charge of things.

If I could recommend only one book, it would be Taylor Caldwell's "Captains and the Kings." Here are three reasons.

Caldwell's fascinating tale is filled with ironic, powerful, and unique insight into human nature and behavior. She will entice you into turning page after page without rest, until you reach the end of her story. Then you'll sit wondering if you really read all that, tempted to go back to read it again. Craftsmanship and story-weaving earns "Captains and the Kings" a place among the world's ten best books.

Caldwell writes historical fiction with intimate knowledge and perception. Her readers often wonder if she actually lived through the times she depicts with her pen. It's been said that she believed that herself; many of her other books tend to encourage this idea. "Captains and the Kings" offers a vivid and unsettling view of an earlier and much different America, in a time that was more free and open than our modern age, but also more dangerous and a great deal more heartless. If you've always wondered what the term "nitty gritty" means, read this novel! So saying, I boost the book into my top-five list!

Finally, this book has defined my experience with personal computers, the Internet, and Reality (tm) itself! After purchasing an Amiga 1000 almost twenty years ago, I found my way onto a BBS that feaured FidoNet forums. I began reading and posting on the "Issues" board. One poster commented cryptically that "Taylor Caldwell's 'Captains and the Kings' exposes how the Council on Foreign Relations rules the world." I was driven (as if by an invisible hand) to the public library, seeking out Taylor Caldwell's book. I found a captivating, often dark story that gripped my interest in sinuous coils as its weaving, bobbing head rose up to mess with my memes. With her right hand, Caldwell uses her suburb writer's skill to dazzle and entertain, but the whole time, her Left hand is busy imparting knowledge and understanding of how things really work in this world. She administers her synergistic potion in just the right strength, proportion, and rhythm to assure that most of us who might never otherwise read about a "Conspiracy" lap this up like mother's milk. During the ensuing decades, I used the 'Net to verify what I'd read; and I learned a whole lot more.

In retrospect, speaking as someone who has "earned a Ph.D. in Conspiracy Theory," it's necessary to add a small disclaimer: Caldwell does not tell all. There are things she could not or would not divulge. But don't fret! If you've had your eyes on the news the past few years - and especially the last few weeks - you'll certainly discern the missing part. The late Sufi, Idries Shah, claimed there are times when long-hidden knowledge suddenly becomes available to one and all. We are living through such a time!

Summarizing, Captains and the Kings is a remarkably well-written and captivating piece of historical fiction that will carry you back to an earlier and intriguing America at the same time it fuels you with subtle insight and knowledge and kick starts your thinking machine, proving once and for all that willful ignorance is the only real sin.

I visited Amazon this evening to buy a used copy of this book for a workplace friend. So I dedicate this review of Taylor Caldwell's "Captains and the Kings" to Ernestine.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It was so good that I recently read it again. It's the classic rags to riches story. The main character is Joseph Armaugh, who grew up poor in Ireland and is finally able to go to America. His mother dies onboard ship. Joseph is determined to be rich, and of course America is the place for a determined, young, ambitious immigrant to acquire vast riches and power. It's also the story of how a few powerful men run the economic strata of the world. I also got the impression that this book is loosely based on the life of Joseph Kennedy.

This is one of my favorite children's book and I love to give it as a gift.
As a Kindergarten teacher it is my pick!

My family loves this book. My husband reads it to my children, ages 13, 5, and 1. They love it, he does the voices of the characters, which is great fun for everyone. My oldest says this is her favorite book from when she was little. I'm buying copies for my toddler aged neice and nephew.

This fractured folktale is about a witch that is craving some `Piggie Pie.' She goes through her pantry and finds she has everything she needs except for that all important ingredient--PIGGIES! At first she is outraged but eventually composes herself and devises a plan. Where can she find a piggy? The zoo? The circus? She finally decides that the best place to secure some pigs would be on a farm. After looking through the yellow pages, she travels to Old MacDonald's farm to grab the missing ingredient. She gives her victims a warning as she writes in the clouds, "Surrender Piggies!" The pigs devise their own plan; they plot to outsmart the witch by dressing up as other farm animals. They fool her by disguising themselves as ducks, cows, chickens, and even old MacDonald. When the big bad wolf happens to come along, he offers advice to the witch and tells her to give up--after all, he remembers those 3 pig brothers! Now, her taste changes from piggie to wolf and she graciously invites him over for `lunch'...
Piggie Pie is a delightful story that incorporates several classic folktales including The Three Little Pigs, Old MacDonald nursery rhyme, the traditional evil witch as the villain, and the famous three little pigs. Due to the structure of this book, students will improve their understanding of the different subcategories of traditional literature. The author includes descriptive language such as repetition, alliteration, expressive language, and affective adjectives that highlight the text and bring the story to life. Such examples include the witch describing her tasty meal options with phrases like "boiled, black, buzzed feet" and "plump, juicy, pink piggies." This whimsical, witty story will capture student's attention and can be used as a model to enhance their understanding of what it means to read like a writer.
Throughout the book, Palatini's text enhances student's vocabulary and contains repetitive phonemes that enrich their growth as a reader. As Cunningham describes, tongue twisters, like ones found in the text, play a crucial role in developing students' phonemic awareness. For example, "eight plump piggies for piggie pie" is a silly and fun phrase that the students will enjoy saying and simultaneously will develop their oral language. Students will be exposed to new vocabulary words, such as curdle, passel, and muttered. Encourage students to use elements of Palatini's writing and transfer her techniques over when creating their own literature.

Gritch the Witch was pining for some special snacks. Piggie Pie is all that would do! The problem was the main ingredient was 8 plump piggies and she had none at hand. Off to Old MacDonald's farm on her broom to find them, to no avail!

Howard Fine's great illustrations of all the piggies disguised as other animals and even Old MacDonald, himself, will make young children laugh out loud! This book is lots of fun and will be requested over and over again. And, there's plenty of sly humor that adults will tremendously enjoy.

This is a great book for kids 5 and up.

Though Palatini's books are billed as read-alouds for a younger audience, my fourth graders can't get enough! The books are simple enough for even my lowest readers to tackle independently, yet clever enough that my high readers choose them as well. The humor appeals to all ages. In fact, there are many things my kids "get" that younger children don't. My students recommend Palatini books to each other all the time, and I can't keep them on my shelves. I am on my third copy of Piggie Pie and currently need to replace my worn-out copy of Moosetache. They've simply been "read to death". There is no higher praise for a children's book!

Japan. 1912. Japanese society is divided, or at least complex. Still with most of it's body and soul in the ancient tradition of the East, but with ever increasing impulses towards the "Western culture" (In the unsemitically correct reality, we of the "West" have infinitely more in common with the traditional culture of the East than we do the current world-wide Weimar Republic, but oh well). Mishima, the author, was more or less a Japanese representative of the "conservative revolution", and appears to have been quite well read. His life reminds me in many ways of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola. His well-known dramatic ritual suicide as a protest against the betrayal of tradition in Japan, and the Japanese submission to American rule, followed him and his radical "right wing" organization's (The Shield Society) failure to arouse the Japanese Defence Force into rebelling.

The book is the first in a tetralogy, and follows Kiyoaki Matsugae, a young student from a family of the lower nobility in his relationship with Satoko Ayakura, the daughter of one of the 28 families of the higher nobility, her being the daughter of a count. The book in many ways actually reminded me of the excellent "Victoria" by Knut Hamsun, with the constant back and forth in the interaction between the characters, sometimes they love each other dearly, and at other times torment each other. Such is the nature of difficult relationships, I guess! The book paints a very vivid picture of the end of a noble era, and the translation I read was excellently done. The moral teaching of this period, and it's sometimes less noble effects is excellently portrayed.

Through certain misunderstandings, Satoko ends up being future wife of one of the royal princes, and Kiyoaki is driven to despair. Long story short, as all the books in the series, there is no happy ending, but that is basically the ending of all our lives. This is a book I highly recommend, and apart from a few minor flaws, it is all in all an excellent tale, and I look very much forward to reading the rest of the series. 4,5 stars.

(I read a different edition)

Maybe it was a bad transalation. Maybe I could not relate as a westerner to an old Japanese story, but I really did not enjoy this book. It was maudlin and unbelievable. Story was boring. Character development was terrible and it was poorly written/transalated. I recommend Murakami's Norwegian Wood for those who want to read books by Japanese authors.

Mishima's Spring Snow is a coming-of-age tale for nouveau riche Kiyoaki, whose naive childhood crush on the more mature Satoko grows into something much more powerful, beautiful and, ultimately, destructive. Kiyoaki's failings are human and familiar; acting on rash impulses, immaturity, a failure to realise what he wants till he has lost it. Mishima's characterisation is finely drawn and accurate. The scheming Tadeshina turns out to have her own secret heartbreak, enervated Ayakura lacks guile but not luck, the ancient loyalties of the Abessess make her a formidable eminence grice. The characters are at once individually drawn and representative of a unique and fascinating era of flux and change in Japan, as ancient modes of behaviour gave way to modernising forces. Mishima's novel is both of its time and timeless. A true masterpiece.

Just finished reading an excellent book, just a few minutes ago, and I feel compelled to write a review, while ideas are still fresh in my mind.

This is the first book I've finished reading for my Summer Reading. The book is called Snow Spring (Haru no Yuki) by Mishima Yukio and its the first book in his masterpiece, The Sea of Fertility or Hojou no Umi. The Sea of Fertility is a series of four novels by one of Japan's greatest authors. The book I have is the Vintage International edition, translated by Michael Gallagher.

This novel really moved me. In the last 100 pages, I couldn't do anything but finish it. Just like a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, where the reader hangs onto every word until the truth and mystery is finally revealed in the last word, so does this novel grip the reader.

On the surface is a conventional tale of the Japanese idea of unrequited love, a theme that is done over and over again in Japanese fiction. What sets this piece apart from others, is Mishima narrative drive and richly detailed characters and the psychological insight into every major and minor character involved.

Kiyoaki begins his ill fated relationship with the beautiful Satoko, whom he has known all his life. At first he disregards her and then he is on fire to obtain her love after she is engaged to a Prince. Wealthy families are invovled in making the Wedding ceremony a success and any type of scandal leaking out to the press must be avoided at all costs. But Kioyaki single minded determination to pursure Satoko, despite such obstacles, causes the reader to want him to succeed.

On the one hand, Kiyoaki lets his desires and emotions rage out of control and on the other all those emotions put him into action. He used to sit around in his room all day, lonely and depressed, until he just decided to pusure love. Its his drive to obtain love and his selfish quest for Satoko's heavenly beauty that pushes him along page after page. These type of overly romantic novels can quickly turn unwittingly comical in lesser writer. But Mishima combines the richness of Japanese traditional and culture with romantic ideas of love and realistic views, based in concrete reality, that prevent the work from becoming a low form of soap opera.

The novel is both realistic novel and emotional charged romantic that causes the entire work to be a cleverly crafted paradox. For example, Honda is Kiyoaki's best friend in high school. Honda has a revelation that he must prevent Kiyoaki from pursuing Satoko becomes of his friend's harmful obession. The fact that Honda can't bring himself to hurt his friend by giving him a cold rational arguement, shows love between friends that isn't distorted by irrational love. Kiyoaki's love for Satoko is more based on his own selfish fantasy. It is this fantastic love that wins out between Satoko and over Honda, who had good intentions but failed to act on them. Irrational love wins out over the gloom of reality.

Without giving away any more of the story, let me just end with how this book took over my imagination and wouldn't let it go for 2 whole days. All day Saturday and all Sunday afternoon, I cared more about the characters in this story then my own family. I couldn't do anything else except finish reading it.

It starts out slow but builds to a breakneck speed in the end. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an excellent novel this Summer. Forget about it being Japanese and look past all that exoticism and you will see the novel for all its beauty.

Today I will start on the second novel in the series, called Runaway Horses.

I can't wait.

In "Spring Snow," Yukio Mishima has chosen the perfect title for his novel. The narrative is as gentle and as beautiful as wet snow on spring blossoms, and indeed there is a poignant scene where two lovers have a tryst in a rickshaw under such conditions. It was my first foray into the world of Mishima -- indeed, of Japanese literature -- and will not be my last.

The story of a young and handsome aristocrat, Kiyoaki Matsugae, and the beautiful and mysterious Ayakura Satoko, comes from the same time-honored tradition of as more familiar star-crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. Set just after the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, the novel offers intriguing insights into a Japanese culture that is at once in flux and clinging to traditions.

If you love a writer whose strength is description of nature, Mishima is not to be missed. His words are as fit as any Nature Channel special on the wonders of Japan and he is equally adept at describing the contours of his young lovers' bodies. In addition to the sensual and sensuous wonders, the inner psychology of passion-plagued minds is a point of expertise for this writer. He deftly avoids sentimentalism while walking the thin line between hatred and love, between passion and pain.

Symbolism, description, psychology, and a gentle narrative pace. What's not to love? Readers looking for a fast-paced plot might not be overwhelmed, but those who love it when they stumble upon a "writer's writer" will be glad they tried Yukio Mishima. It is the first book of the tetralogy, "The Sea of Fertility."

Team Yankee is quite an interesting book. Harold Coyle describes a war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO in 1985 in great detail. But don't expect this to be like Red Storm Rising, this book focuses entirely on small unit tactics with zero politics. The action starts immediately at the beginning of the second chapter, and it never stops.

The battles are realistic and the tactics are described in great detail in the text as well as the maps that are in the book. The maps really help you figure what's going on and what platoons are moving where, etc.

The story focuses on Captain Sean Bannon of Team Yankee, a military unit deployed in Germany during the Cold War. When war breaks out in 1985, he must lead his unit to victory. There are several other main characters including several other tankers, and an infantry sergeant. This is definetly a book you don't want to miss.

This book is, IMHO, the finest of the cold-war era military novels, and one of the finest military novels ever written, includng the writing of Patrick O'Brian and C.S. Forester.

The only book that can compare is Clancy's "Hunt for Red October", and it does not give as good a feeling as being there as does Team Yankee.

If you like military novels, or just good writing, read this book.

This was the second Coyle book I read (the first being "God's Children") and once again I was compelled by his gripping battle scenes and poignant view of today's combat environment. The story flows well and was generally enjoyable and engaging.

However, by the end of the book I became disappointed because of the constant, repeated stupidity of the opposing forces. I felt cheated because it never seemed that the U.S. forces won due to good strategy & tactics as much as because the enemy used tactics a learned high school student would shun. Don't get me wrong, the book is a good read. I only wish Coyle would create an antagonist with some brains to serve as a challenging foil for our heroes.

Setting aside all the geo-political baggage of the day, Coyle finds his real strength with one tank platoons story in WW III. It's a shame he never went back to this style. A real shame, as this is terrific, exciting stuff you wont find else where.

Harold Coyle's Team Yankee: A Novel of World War III (Presidio Press, 1987) was published a year after Red Storm Rising's triumphant debut in hardcover, and although it is thematically similar (Soviet forces invade West Germany after a series of crises escalate into an all out conventional war), Coyle's approach is very different from Clancy's. Instead of creating his own possible scenario for a NATO vs. Warsaw Pact confrontation, he asked for, and received, permission from British author (and retired General) Sir John Hackett to set Team Yankee within the scenario created in Hackett's two
"speculative fiction" books The Third World War: August 1985 and The Third World War: The Untold Story.

Team Yankee takes place within a two-week period in an August in the late 1980s. Since late July, a series of crises precipitated by the Iran-Iraq war has morphed into a clash between U.S. and Soviet naval forces in the Persian Gulf region. By August 1, word comes that NATO is mobilizing and ordering their armed forces, including Bannon and Team Yankee, to their wartime positions. Soon, the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact "allies" cross the Inner German Border in force. Team Yankee and the rest of NATO's forces in West Germany must then fight the invaders and stop them before the Red Army reaches the Rhine River. After that, assuming the Soviet attack bogs down, the mission will change from merely defending territory to taking offensive operations and pushing the invaders back. The question Coyle poses is, can American soldiers, using their weapons and tactics against superior numbers of Soviet and Warsaw Pact soldiers, defeat Russian weapons and tactics?

Readers familiar with Hackett's macrocosmic World War III will know the big picture, but first-time readers will be turning the pages to see who wins, who loses, who dies...and who survives in this outstanding first novel by a true master of the military fiction genre.

The only flaw, and this is not Coyle's fault, is that reality -- in the shape of the fall of communism and the end of the Cold War -- has made the novel's setting extremely outdated. Some of the then-modern weapons, such as the M1 main battle tank, have been since updated to M1-A2 standard, older weapons have been retired, and obviously there's no more Warsaw Pact.


All in all, it's an entertaining read.

Outstanding look at new palaeontology and dinosaur work. Taking the various papers that Bakker wrote for scientific journals and converting them to a book that is slightly more understandable to the public. The basic premise is that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded lizards, but warmer blooded and quite fast at times. See Jurassic Park for an example of the theories in action. Really great work.

Bob Bakker book describes so brilliantly why Dinosaurs were so successful and ruled the Earth for 150 million years. The Dinosaurs were so successful that mammals throughout this time never grew larger than 1 meter long and many were rat sized. If it wasn't for a giant asteroid that hit 65 million years ago, they would be still around and we would not.

Bakker in this book describes how the Dinosaur's warm blooded metabolism was integral to their success and how cold blooded animals like reptiles back then as now were limited. He also goes to show us how Dinosaurs were fast growing, dynamic animals that were constantly changing, how bird evolved from dinosauts and how dinosaurs were key the spread of flowering plants.

A book you must read before you die.

In the second half of the twentieth century the current thinking about dinosaurs completely changed, so that they are now accepted as warm blooded, vigorous alternatives to the mammals, and in fact the ancestors of birds (though not all that bright, whereas birds can be). Bakker was a major player in this change of views, and offers some fascinating anecdotes on how various experiences led to insights which permitted proper interpretation of the fossil evidence. The reader comes away not only with an understanding of the dinosaurs, but with many insights into evolution in general, and all the types of reasoning and analysis necessary to glean the truth from fossil evidence. Bakker has a lively style, giving detail without getting bogged down (well, I occasionally skimmed a bit, but that is because I have little interest in anatomy). There are many illustrations, but I was not always happy with them. Some illustrations serve as hand drawn alternatives to Power Point slides, and are very good. However, the drawings to illustrate anatomy were often not simplified enough for me to better understand the point. I do wish Bakker had speculated why, in the world of the dinosaurs, it was the mammals who apparently occupied all the really small ecological niches, comparable to current day mice and squirrels. Also, his final chapter on the demise of the dinosaurs was stimulating, but not as well thought out as the rest of the book. He points to the development of land bridges (as water levels dropped) which permitted worldwide migration of larger animals, and the consequent extinction of many species which could not compete, and also the spread of pathogens and parasites. Interesting, but competition would not eliminate all species, and no arguments are presented as to why small animals, e.g. mammals, would be more likely to survive than large animals (great numbers?). While this book was published in 1986, I read it based on Richard Dawkin's recent recommendation, and I do not believe it is outdated.

This book talks about new theories(at the time) of dinosaurs and their extinction, ranging from warm-bloodedness all the way to dinosaurs evolving into birds. There are five parts to this story.

Part I:The Conquering Cold-Bloods: A Conondum
Basically this part describes reptiles and their advantages/disadvantages when it comes to either cold blooded or warm blooded animals. It even compares mammals to reptiles. It talks about how cold blooded and warm blooded reptiles/mammals how active and how their eating habits are different. Also talks about dinosaurs if they were warm or cold blooded. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Ornitholestes was an impressive little dinosaur, and even the diehard defenders of orthodoxy yield a little to admit that perhaps Ornitholestes and its kin might have had high metabolism. Such a concession, however, would lead to yet another incosistency in the theory of mass homeothermy. Big dinosaurs, all of them, evolved from small-dinosaur ancestors. The idea that little ancestors had high metabolism and their bigger descendants didn't, would be tantamount to arguing that evolution reversed itself"(Bakker 98).

Part II:The Habitat of the Dinosaurs
This section discusses dinosaurs with their habitat and how their diet/body features adapt to their environment. It discusses dinosaurs who helped use gastroliths for digestion. Also talks about the evolution of plants in relation to dinosaurs. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Brontosaur teeth, moreover, confirm the heretical idea that they ate a tough vegetable diet. If the brontosaurs dined only on soft water plants, then very little wear would appear on their teeth. But infact the teeth of Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus and their kin manifest very severe wear, which could only have been produced by tough or gritty food"(Bakker 136).

Part III:Defense, Locomotion, and the Case For Warm-Blooded Dinosaurs
The third section discusses the locomotion of dinosaurs in comparison to lizards,crocodiles,etc. Discusses dinosaur defense, like Triceratops' horns and the "boneheads" of the Pachycephalosaurs. Also talks about Pterosaurs. Discusses Archeaopteryx and it's feathers helping to support warm-bloodedness.
Here is a short excerpt from this part. "Anchisaurs' tails were stoutly muscled and they could easily have reared up, foreclaws at the ready, to face their enemies. Anchisaur hind claws, especially the one located on the large inner toe, could lash out with even more powerful blows than the foreclaws"(Bakker 256).

Part IV:The Warm-Blooded Metronome of Evolution
Talks about dinosaur sex, with threat displays of intimidation. Discusses growth in dinosaurs who were probably warm blooded. Talks about dinosaur lungs, heart, and large brains. Here is a short excerpt from this part.
"How can the dinosaurs' growth be measured? An accurate estimate can be derived from the texture of the fossil bone. A thin slice can be cut from a fossil-bone chip and glued to a glass plate"(Bakker 350).

Part V:Dynastic Frailty and the Pulses of Animal History
This final section discusses the Kazanian Revolution. During the Kazanian Revolution, warm blooded animals exploded in population. Discusses the dinosaur extinction and the animals who died along with them. Talks about the evolution of the Dinosauria and that they should be in their own class. Here is a short excerpt from this part. "A truly scientific skeptic would start assuming neither cold-bloodedness nor warm-bloodedness, and then reevaluate the evidence without prior terminological bias. So long as the DInosauria remain stuck in the class Reptilia, this type of analysis is impossible. Let dinosaurs be dinosaurs. Let the Dinosauria stand proudly alone, a Class by itself. They merit it"(Bakker 462).

Overall, this book is excellent. Bakker did all his own illustrations(which are very artistic) and even assumed dinosaurs were feathered even before they were discovered. Even though some of his theories may be outdated now, I still recommend this book to anyone. I read it back in seventh grade and it took me a while, but reading this book is surely worth the time!

Incredibly compelling book about the possible evolution of velociraptors into birds.

Dinosaur Heresies goes beyond mere dinosaur evolution, however. As an enthusiastic gardener, I was bemused and delighted to learn of the powerful link between Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs and the rise of flowering plants, how it was BECAUSE of these saurian herbivores that we have flowering plants instead of a world of gymnosperms (aka pines, cycads, ginko, etc.).

It was a FUN read!