Margaret Walker Books

If you value field guides, you will love this Time-Life edition of "The Walker's Companion" from The Nature Company. Several highly respected nature writers, including David Rains Wallace and Ann Zwinger, make contributions to this well-illustrated and highly informative text. Those names should give you a clue to the excellent combination of literary and scientific writing that makes this text a must-have reference for anyone who is interested in the environment.

This is a field guide that powerfully combines content with context in a way that makes the information about nature and the environment not only highly accessible, but intrinsically linked to the key social topics that are central issues in both science and social studies. Topics include the history of nature writing and in America, hiking tips, the study of nature throughout the ages, field identification and sketching outdoors. Ecological concepts such as food chains and pollination are concisely described and illustrated in a section titled, "Understanding Nature". Information about every ecosystem from forests, mountains and deserts to farmland and vacant lots is included in the "Guide to Habitats" section. This kind of comprehensive perspective about environment helps the reader to think about and see ecology in very relevant ways.

The format of double-facing pages per topic gives concise environmental information, making it easy to read, index and apply to the reader's world. The guide is an essential home or travel reference as well as a valuable classroom text that would be interesting and accessible for audiences from 10 to 100. The text is so versatile that I have a copy for myself and have ordered a class set for my middle school students for a wide range of class use including nature drawing, research, gardening and environmental education.

I am surprised that a book published in 1995 has had only one review posted on Amazon.It is a hard book to review,but I'll give it a try.
I rated it 5* because of the wide coverage,quality of the pictures,sketches,maps,paper,printing and binding.It is very well constructed and fairly priced.
As an avid Birder with a wide interest in all areas of nature I have spent a lot of time walking the states of the US and provinces of Canada.This book covers just about everything;but in very scant detail.There are 288 pages,a pletora of pictures,sketches,maps,and photos;but every 2 pages is a different topic.For instance,pages 154 and 155 cover Southeastern Subtropical Forests;way too big a subject for 2 pages,including half of which consists of about 8 picturss and sketches..This book is so broad and tries to cover so much,that I wonder what value it has.One would certainly not carry it in the field as a "Companion".It's too big,too heavy and no detail for any area.It is more of a catalogue than a FIELD GUIDE.
As to what this book might be useful for;I can go along with Margo,who felt it might be useful in the classroom.Even then it's use would be more appropriate at the lower grade level.It's certainly constructed to take a lot of wear and tear.
I would not recommend its use as a field guide or as a gift for someone who does walk and enjoys nature.
While the book covered so many things;I can't remembering one of the most important things about nature walking,namely the issue of trespassing;either knowingly or unintentionally.This is particularly important in areas one is not familiar with.
Here are a few signs one might encounter:

NO TRESSPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION

IF THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER THE ROAD IS IMPASSIBLE

THIS PROPERTY IS PROTECTED BY SMITH & WESSON

TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT,SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN

THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE,
BUT THE BULL CHARGES

As you can see,some of these signs might seem funny,but anytime you go on private property,it's a serious matter.If in doubt,check first.

As a young writer, Janet Sternburg searched for a book about woman writers: how they came to be, how they viewed their lives, how they treated their work. It was the seventies and none existed, so she put together The Writer on Her Work and it was published in 1981 - a book featuring women writing about writing. This year marks its anniversary (thus, the new edition) with a touching preface by Julia Alvarez, plus an updated introduction and bios of the 17 women who contributed to the landmark collection. Established, unknown and up-and-coming writers of the time - including Maxine Hong Kingston, Joan Didion and Alice Walker - reflect on writing and lives as writers, through heartfelt and sometimes hilarious commentary. The value of this book is reading how these women, writing in different genres, pursued their passion in the face of opposition. Whether that opposition took on the form of household responsibilities, writer's block, dissenting peers or a male-dominated marketplace, it's interesting tackling the dilemma through their eyes and in that time; making a place for themselves, and their work, discovering in that world, she dominates. This speaks to the heart of the book, a community of women's voices, whether alive or deceased, writing because they had to, sharing profound experiences and reflections on being a woman creating. The Writer on Her Work offers diverse personalities expressing their romance with words, also acknowledging the ups and downs that come with that relationship. Each essay is an inspiring testament to the continuing struggle and undeniable beauty of the female spirit in print.

I've loved this book since 1980, when I bought a copy and read it and lent it and recommended it many times over since then. This new edition is even better. The pieces, personal and trenchant, ingeniously selected by Sternburg over twenty years ago, have withstood the test of time.

There is deep feeling, variety, astonishing articulation of complex things, and warmth and humor in these essays. Many of the writers fight to write, and show us their battle plans. It's inspiring and encouraging, and sometimes it's sad. Some - I am thinking of young writer Michele Murray, who struggled against terrible odds - are heartbreaking. Anne Tyler's darkly humorous recitation of her typical working day, "Still Just Writing," is a classic. Alice Walker's essay, "One Child of One's Own" speaks to motherhood, and its fragile but undeniable relationship to a writing life.

The new Preface, by Dominican-born Vermonter Julia Alvarez, is touching and insightful and very personal - in keeping with the rest of the book - and speaks to the concerns of the essays. Sternberg has also edited her orignal Introduction, and updated the contributors' notes at the book's end.

Without question I'd recommend this wonderful book to anyone interested in reading women on the process of writing, the art of memoir, and the considered and considerably interesting opinions of a group of very wonderful writers.

I'm not a history buff per se but I found the James family collection of letters fascinating because it tells the story of an African-American family that was solidly middle class in the late 1800s at a time in America's history when most people were poor or struggling. Though historically rich, the book is told through the original voices of family members through their letters to one another so the reading is engaging and fast-paced. I wish I had read more like it when I was in school.

Edmund Emil Kemper III, 6 foot 9" giant, sadistic necrophile, convicted in a string of brutal mutilation murders around California's Santa Cruz area in the 1970's.
Typical child disturbed behaviours such as, hurting and killing animals, the mutilation of his sister's dolls and finally progressing to murder.
He murdered his maternal grandparents when he was only 14.
Remanded to a state hospital for treatment, Kemper was paroled in 1969 to the one person his psychiatrists recommended him never see. His mother.
Between May 1972 and February 1973, he murdered five co-eds from the local university. He mutilated their bodies, decapitated their heads and had sex with their headless bodies. He took the heads with him and buried them up in the mountains where he resided with his mother.
In April 1973, he killed his mother and one of her friends that were visiting.
He killed her with such fury, he cut off her head and hands, raped her lifeless corpse and placed her head on a mantle piece and threw darts at her severed head.
He tore her larynx out placing it down the garbage disposal. He stated that even then she never stopped bitching at him due to the fact that the garbage disposal unit jammed and spat her larynx back out.
He finally decided to give himself up and voluntarily surrendered to police and subsequently received a life sentence, which he is still currently serving.
Margaret Cheney's book is the best and most detailed account of Kemper's case.
Chasing up the first printing is a very expensive and difficult experience but a must for the true-crime collector. Chasing up a near fine copy with a clean dust-jacket is an even harder one.
A cheaper alternative is a revised, updated and re-titled edition from the original 1976 Walker Publishing book `The Co-Ed Killer' titled: `WHY- The Serial Killer In America'

Excellent book (very difficult to find) sold at a very reasonable price. Fast delivery and receipt of item.

This book focuses on a young girl name Vyry who has to face many choices in life. First the death of her mother. Then this mean old 18th century devil Selina. She experiences many people like her first love Randall Ware, and Innis Brown. She has to make a choice between these men.

U.F.O.'s Fact Or Fiction
By,
Anne Canadeo
Do aliens exist that is a question that has boggled the human race for centuries dating back to the 1600's. I believe in aliens and I don't think that there aren't aliens scouting the universe in high-tech space ships. Underneath this it tells about Anne Canadeo's book u.f.o.'s fact or fiction.
U.f.o.'s fact or fiction Is a good book. It shows good arguments from both sides (believers and non-believers). This book is a great book to read even if you don't believe in aliens. All together this is a great book to read. It is a interesting book to read that tells stories from believers who say that they have seen a u.f.o. or have been abducted by them. This book is one of the best book around to read that is on the subject of u.f.o.'s. The book has two sides. Really it has two sides so after you read a side you turn the book over and you go to the back cover, open it up, and start reading. All in all this is a great book to read. I recommend this book to people 7-7777 who like to read about u.f.o.'s and alien abductions.

This book is definately one of all-time favorite reads. I could not put it down, and when I did, I almost wanted to cry because it was over. It was as if I had grown with this woman, experienced everything with her, and the ending of the book put a direct end to our relationship. Not very many books move me in such a way.
I think it was well-written...had it not been I wouldn't have been so emotionally-tied to the characters.
I recommend this book to everyone-hopefully it will move you as much as it has moved myself.

A tremendous story of one woman's determination to survive. This is a no-glory novel, with deep emotions and awe inspiring human spirit. The dignity with which Vyry lives her life is as relevant today as the time period depicted. There is more than one lesson to learn in this classic novel.

This book was assigned reading for my daughters college literature class. She kept her copy, I read it and wanted a copy for myself. It is excellent.

This is a beautiful piece of literature taken from the history books. It takes you on a journey from slavery through reconstruction into the start of what would become Jim Crow. The characters are vivid and this could easily be the story of any number of African American families.

I was 13 years old when I read *Jubilee* for the first time. I found it in the library and spent a rainy Saturday devouring the story. After the last page was turned, I ran immediately to my grandmother (who was born in 1906, and therefore an expert in all things old) and asked her how any of this could possibly be true. I knew about slavery from history books, but slave masters having children with slaves! What followed was an eye-opening conversation about what our history REALLY was - and who the people of the south really were. I never forgot the experience, and I never forgot the book.

Now, I am 18 years older, and once again, on a rainy Saturday, I picked up a copy of *Jubillee* (this time from Square Books in Oxford) and read the whole book again. The story was still as powerful, and I understood so much more than I could back then. I understood the mastery of Walker's writing, the power of her story, and the incredible fairness and depth with which Walker crafted her novel. So many voices of the South speak to us . . .

The chief voice is of course Vyry's - it's her story. She is the voice of forgiveness, compassion, fairness, and spirituality that reaches to so many. She is also a voice that triumphs over the horrible suffering and injustice of the pre-Civil War South. She endures Emancipation and Reconstruction - not quite the panacea of those history books that led me astray so young - and ultimately triumphs over hate in all its forms. Her words concerning misunderstanding and reconciliation in the closing 4 chapters of the novel are some of the most powerful words in literature. She is a heroine among heroines - a beautiful example of what it means for humanity to triumph over prejudice and adversity. Alone, it would be a great tale, but the voices don't stop with Vyry alone . . .

Each of the characters speaks for a class of those who grew up in the South: the angry poor-whites (Grimes, the people who burn Vyry and Innis out of their home), the angry black men (Randall Ware, Jim to an extent), the privileged and cruel white upper class (Big Missy Salina), those among the white upper class who felt the injustice and yet were too cowardly to enact change (Marster Dutton and Miss Lillian), the freedom fighters that worked diligently to bring freedom (Brother Zeke), those who suffered before they saw the promised land (Mammy Sukey, Aunt Sally), and those who wanted to turn the labor that had been stolen for so long into proof of their worth (Innis Brown). Not only are all these voices present, but they are treated with equal sympathy and truth. Even the most evil of characters, like Grimes, is presented with compassion. Even the most heroic of characters, like Randall Ware, is portrayed with human frailties in tact. This is what makes *Jubilee* not just another slave novel, but a novel that really makes history alive.

I am a descendant of the poor white class. What *Jubilee* proved to me as a child was simple: I shared more with people of color than I thought. What it proves to me now is no less profound: Our history and our heritage are bound together by threads that we may not understand, and yet they are undeniable. Perhaps Vyry said it best: we all need each other. Only when we as a nation and a people realize that truth can true healing take place.

This book has a very good test bed of questions for the PMP. It has a large variety of test questions and covers each area with good test questions.

I would recommend this book as one of the better resources in preparing for the PMP test.

It is a usefull tool ,and the CD attached is directing one's vision to the key issues in the PMBOK.it is well versed and organised and gives a great help in cracking the PMBOK difficulties.

This is an interesting book. A good companion for PMP certification. I warmly recommend it

This book was a tremendous asset and an excellent supplement to the mediocre PMP prep course I took. I'd highly recommend it for that purpose. It's not really designed as a stand-alone course.

The exam prep questions are excellent.

If you are planning on sitting for the PMP exam, this is the prep guide for you! I've reviewed four or five other books, and this one stands out. The format is easy to follow; the nine knowledge areas are set up in a manner that makes the information easy to follow; the "Notes" area next to the Sample Assessment Exam makes it easy for the student to record their areas of weakness, so you can go back over those areas; and the authors even took the time to explain how long each section of the exam allows, the number of questions in each area, and the passing score.

This is a must have for any individual wanting to study and sit for the PMP exam. It's a great resource, and lays out the information in a manner to provide the student the added advantage for "PMP Exam Success".

A completely lifechanging book.
You really grow with the characters.
And if you're not a fan of poetry, you will still love it.
So very sad, though.
I'd cry on one page, get over it, turn to the next page, and then start crying all over again.
Absolutely wonderful, though.
Very touching.

The book "Jinx" is and awesome book. This book is about a girls named Jen that gets the nickname Jinx. She gets this nickname because of really bad situations she has with a series of boyfriends. Jen starts hanging out with a bad crowd and starts doing more bad things. But in the end of this book she ends up happy. The author Margaret Wild is an really good witer. She keeps you from putting down the book with the exiting events in it. If you are a person who likes the kind of books that are dramatic and keep you exited then this is the book you want to read! Trust me it is GREAT!!

This book had so many feelings to it. It's an easy read book with only a short paragraph on each page. If you like books that have to deal with relationships ending or books that make you cry sometimes or laugh, then you should read this book!!!
This book was just so great that I could just read this over and over again.

Jinx (formerly Jen) has really bad luck with relationships - to say the least!

Her first boyfriend dies and she gets upset but eventually gets over it. Then her second boyfriend dies and now she is Jinx, not Jen. Her teachers, friends, and her parents all call her Jinx. She says that if you go out with her you will die.

Before she started dating, she was boring old Jen who never stayed out late and always turned her homework in on time. Now she is all alone, boyfriend-less and depressed.

Towards the end of the book we find her trying to find her way back to being Jen, and no longer Jinx.

Written in poetry style, JINX is kind of depressing, even the end of the book. You feel sorry for Jen/Jinx, but at the same time I felt that I couldn't get to know her enough as a character to really care about her. This is a super-fast read, at times interesting, but I wish there had been more to the story.

Reviewed by: Taylor Rector

Jen is different from other teenagers. Unlike other teenagers, Jen is absolutely perfect in every way. She always hands in her homework on time, she can always be counted on, she never stays out late, she's boring, dull, safe, etc. That is, until Jen's very first boyfriend dies. To Jen, it's just a streak of bad luck. Until her second boyfriend dies as well. Jen, now referring to herself as Jinx, for that's what she now is, a jinx, is alone, angry, and a curse. Forced to live her life now in what could almost be classified in seclusion, Jinx begins fighting her way back to Jen, where she will now happily return to being dull, safe, boring, Jen.

When I first began reading this book, I was shocked to see that it was a novel written in verse, as the back cover almost led you to believe that it was an actual novel. And, even though I have never read a novel written in verse, I was quite pleased with this one. JINX is a poignant look at a teenage girl who goes from being unhappy with her life for being perfect, to being unhappy with her life for being unlucky. During the tremendous turn of events, Jinx realizes that her life was great before tragedy struck, and wishes that she had never been unhappy with being known as perfect Jen. Margaret Wild has created a wonderful verse novel filled with the emotions that teenagers, both male and female, feel everyday in their lives. A wonderful book for all, especially those going through what they believe is turmoil.

Erika Sorocco