One The Books

Superbly illustrated with black/white photography and "user friendly" maps, One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy showcases 52 Florida-based adventures that can, quite literally, be taken with one tank of gas in the car, van, truck, or motorhome. From the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City to the Mote Marine Aquarium in Sarasota, a wealth of relevant information and "how to" advice make One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy a strongly recommended planning aid for anyone seeking fun in the Florida sun! Also very highly recommended is the new sequel, More One Tank Trips With Bill Murphy (0942084276, ...) which follows the same superbly presented composition of the first book and offers the vacationer with 52 additional fun-filled Florida excursions based on the "one tank of gas to get there and back) that ranges from the San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine to the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum in Parrish. If you are planning an outing anywhere in Florida, begin by browsing through these two excellent travel idea guidebooks by Bill Murphy.

I got this book because I was new to the area - Am I glad I did! It has lots of wonderful places to visit including nature parks that locals didn't even know existed. I have given a copy of this book to all my overseas & out of state guests and they have enjoyed exploring the wonderful area we live in. Does not contain the big theme parks - we all know where they are - but all the hidden and interesting places that are suitable for all ages. A great book!!!!

I've lived in the Tampa area for a year now, and I was under the impression that besides Busch Gardens, there wasn't much to do. Boy was I wrong! This book not only gives great attractions to see in the area, including Pasco & other counties, but it also details things like great restaurants and stores that have been here forever. (Try Pete's Famous Smoked Fish in Clearwater, if you like smoked fish. The mackeral is to die for!) If you just want to get out of the house one weekend, this is the book for you!

I like Bill Murphy's choices for downhome, uniquely Floridian trips to a variety of sights. But if you would like more of the same painted on a bigger canvas, give Real Florida: A Travel Guide for the Passionate Yet Practical (The Budget Romance Traveler series) a try. This friendly book has a great "budget-romance" attitude and spans the state from Apalachicola to the upper Keys. (The author is a Tampa native, too.)

THIS GREAT TRAVEL BOOKS BY WELL KNOWN TV ANCHOR BILL MURPHY HAS SOLD 75,000 COPIES SINCE November. It is well written with 52 great trips to take on just one tank of gas. You will be surprised how many other interesting places has besides Walt Disneyworld!!!!

I have been doing my own research on numbers for years but there were so many missing piece. This book is so complete that any numerologist should have this as a part of their collection.

A rating of my appreciation of Bill Clinton over the past eight years, on a scale of 0 to 10? No, just an excellent book on the history of the concept of numbers and mathematical structures. Really nicely done and lavishly illustrated (by the author, no less)--and generally quite understandable to the layman. I'll always remember its point about the human brain not being able to recognize more than about four items at a glance. It got a little sprawly and opaque towards the end, but anything that makes base-20 systems comprehensible to me is a miracle.--J.Ruch

This may be the best book ever written on numbers (covering whatever "numbers" recall to you). An alternative, cross-cultural study that easly substitudes for any book on number theory and history of mathematics. Full of descriptive examples from up to thousands of centuries past and any place you can imagine on earth. The publication company I work for prepared a Turkish edition of this book which is already one of the bestsellers in Turkey only a few weeks after its publication date. Ozgur Kurtulus (ozgur@tubitak.gov.tr)

The Universal History of Numbers is the most comprehensive book I have come across on the subject by quite some way, and I have probably read over 100. The style of writing makes the book easy to read, and it assumes almost no prior knowledge. Having said that the book is not exactly light bed time reading, there are nearly 650 large pages of quite small writing. It would take a *very* dedicated or interested reader to tackle the book from cover to cover. In my opinion it is best to read the introduction and first one or two chapters, and then to dip into the bits of the book you are particularly interested in. Because of this the book would not be the first I would recomend as an introduction to the subject, try Graham Flegg - Numbers: Their history and meaning, although I would not discourage anyone from buying the book either.

As a resource for Teachers of mathematics the book is excellent. It covers the number system of almost every concievable culture and any teacher with the slightest imagination could use the information in an interesting way in the classroom.

The book covers a lot of information which is not dealt with by the standard english language history of mathematics books, and as such is an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in the subject.

One thing I particularly liked about the book was that it gave various different theories for each question, for instance 'What is the origin of 'our' numerals?', and the reasons for and against each. This was very interesting, as well as helping to explain why historians belive what they believe.

The only criticism of this book I have is to do with its physical contruction. The pages are thin, and so is the cover, so it is very bendy, I would have prefered a hardback edition. However if it keeps the price down.

To sum up this is an excellent book, and an invaluable addition to the collection of anyone with an interest in mathematics, it's history or it's teaching.

The best book on history of numbers - ever! It traces the roots of our modern decimal system to India and provides details on how the symbols for all the current digits came from the original devanagari script ...

Got this for my 4 year old and she is completely in love with it. She can look at the pictures and know what the creatures are called and we have only read it about 5 or 6 times. Her daddy also likes to call her the names of the creatures like Neenel-Nonnel, Venemous Vritt and her favorite to call daddy a Krigglebink! Wonderful illustrations too!

Any book that teaches while having fun, is an A+ in my book. Fabulous illustrations and very funny! A hit!

We love all of Tony DiTerlizzi's books. He does fantastic illustrations and has a great sense of humor.

My 7-year-old daughter and I discovered this book over the weekend, and it's become a new favorite for us both. We've read it over and over, and that is something that rarely happens these days. We both laughed until our sides ached. Very cleverly written and illustrated. Very Seussian. Excellent book!

G Is For One Gzonk!, written and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, is a delightful book of fantasy directed to those who may think they are getting another alphabet book.

It IS an alphabet book. That is, is DOES contain references, however vague, to all 26 letters in the English language. It just doesn't beat you over the head with "B is for a blue bouncing ball on the beach that is bound to blow to Boston."

This book is much, much more than that.

It engages the creative mind. The creatures ("creachlings") are bizarre and riveting enough to give the reader the opportunity to discuss and compare with other creachlings. They are complicated, and in a neat style twist, you may see some of them more than once throughout the book. The narrator just happens to have a Harry Potter look, but only because Harry Potter was designed to look "bookish."

DiTerlizzi works letters and numbers into the text, and makes them entertaining. You will spend more time on each page than you would with a Dr. Seuss book, but Dr. Seuss is designed to have the reader (or listener) memorize the text ("One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish..." and I haven't read this one in years). G Is For One Gzonk! is not for memorizing. It can, however, be used to help with numbers and letters ("Now what is the next letter?").

The illustrations really are nicely done. Tony DiTerlizzi clearly is talented!

This book is a great gift for readers (and those who are read to) from ages 4-8.

This is the fascinating true story of a little boy who through no fault of his own is incarcerated in one of the appalling Irish industrial schools in existence in Ireland until 1970. He suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse and as if this were not enough, he was then taken by the nuns of the industrial school and left to spend years of his precious life in different hospitals where he appears to have been no more than a guinea pig and was left with a permanent disability. Up to this day, no-one within the system has accounted for the brain operations, his eventual disability or any reason why he was in the different hospitals.
The book is very well written and although it describes the horrors inflicted on a small child, the sadistic treatment he received in the hands of the nuns, one can sense a healthy resignation which comes across every page thus making the unbearably sad story a little easier to read.
I found the book an inspiration, an ode to life, for after the total deprivation of affection, protection, a simple toy even, and having had his life taken away from him and practicaly destroyed, he not only survives with sanity but he wins in a superhuman way as he tells with such dignity about the perverse system under which he and so many other children were detained.
It must have been very difficult to relive the horrors whilst writing this very informative book. And for such an effort, I am indebted.

When The God Squad was first published in Ireland in 1988, the Irish public were confronted with the reality of life behind the walls of religious-run orphanages and industrial schools. However, perhaps because it was seen as just one unfortunate boy's story, there was no general sense of outrage directed at the perpetrators or at the system which allowed supposedly 'religious' men and women to ill-treat children entrusted to their care. That had to wait until another expose by the journalist Mary Raftery eight years later.

But Paddy Doyle broke the silence and for that we must all be grateful. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the real Ireland of the recent past. Paddy tells his story eloquently and without self-pity. The God Squad will break your heart. Read it.

I know this book is not out of print because I ordered it and read it in one day. Any intelligent reader knows that the mark of a good writer is the ability to write masterful, engaging narrative, and Paddy Doyle tells the story of his young life honestly and directly. It is this straightforward essential truthfulness which will keep your attention from page 1 through the epilogue. Of particular import in this literary journey is the challenge to see that the beauty of life is not there because of or in spite of what one survives, but because the human spirit, so brilliantly demonstrated in the Irish spirit of Paddy Doyle, is a fire that cannot be damped down. It's also a fine example of what happens when the church and state relationship gets too cozy; something we Yanks take for granted won't happen. Point and click your way to owning this book, it *is* available!

Excellent and a very good read. I have read a few books about Ireland's Industrial Schools and saw the movie "The Magdeline (sp?)Sisters." All are helpful in understanding what the children Of Ireland's Industrial Schools went thru. Although Paddy only wrote about his experiences in "The God Squad," I feel great love and compassion and sadness for these children as well as a sense of great strength coming from them as adults to have the courage to tell their tales. God Bless every one of them and hope that they can find a sense of release and closure from the pain by letting the rest of the world know their stories.

"The God Squad" by: Paddy Doyle is an extremely well written book that took me through the whole range of human emotion. I laughed, cryed, was angry and happy as the author led me through his life from 4 1/2 years old through the epilogue. It is a book that I could not cast aside to finish later.....the 236 pages were rapidly devoured in a few hours. I recommend it very highly to everyone. The education, alone, is very well worth the price that one would pay for ANY book!....No wonder that it was a best seller in the United Kingdom. It will hit the USA in a big storm too!

We borrowed this book from the library and it was SO good, we HAD to buy it. My two-year old now brings it to me and says, "Read, Mommy. Night-night." when he wants to go to sleep. It has become his favorite book (and this kid is quite the literary man for 2). It's so wonderfully written it makes Mommy tear up when she reads it and makes us both feel better. Falling asleep with thoughts of God in your head is ideal. We also pray for every type of "animal" (person) in the book. It's a wonderful story. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

I think this is one of the best children's books around. I have a 6 yr old and a 2 yr old - and we have MANY books - but this is my favorite, and my 2 yr old's favorite too. It is a wonderful part of a bedtime ritual!

Children and parents will both be soothed at bedtime with these gentle rhymes about God's loving care for each baby animal. A number of little animals were forgiven by God for less than perfect behavior that day. As a counselor, I welcome these messages that help both parents and kids feel better about themselves after a hard day. This is great for single parents as all illustrations show just one parent.

This book is just great! My husband and I were looking for a way to introduce God to our toddler, and I came across this book. My one-year old loves the rhymes and the pictures, and asks me to read it over and over again. Each page shows a different characteristic of our loving God, in ways that a tiny child can understand. I am buying several copies to give to friends and family with small children. It is just exactly what I need!

This book is so popular with my 3 year old, that we are still reading it daily after 6 months. She has it memorized and can "read" it to me. The illustrations are wonderful, and the text is simple but meaningful. Even older kids will appreciate the messages in this book. This is a book that you will keep and hand down for your grandchildren.

To read a book numbering 945 pages of fine print is a luxury these days. It took me such a long time to read the Fourth Edition of Paul Horgan's wonderful, Pulitzer-Prize-winning "Great River: The Rio Grande In North American History" that sometimes I felt as if I were experiencing 10,000 years worth of history in real time. At the tail end of the epic, when President Wilson hesitates to send troops across the river to pursue bandits, citing his personal shame regarding the United States' "invasion" of Mexico during the Nineteenth Century, I felt able to "remember how it actually happened" - how U.S. fear concerning France's courtship of then independent Texas coupled with its distaste for Mexico's ethical transgressions (e.g., mistreatment of Texan prisoners of war) made U.S. annexation of Texas, Arizona, California, and New Mexico seem almost righteous.

The Preface to the Fourth Edition is dated 1984. But the book, initially authored in the Forties, reflects the philosophies of its times. Written well before the feminist era, the book, whether dealing with Pueblo peoples, Spanish Conquistadors, Mexican revolutionaries, or American generals, mostly follows the pursuits of men and ignores women. In Pueblo times, one glimpses Pueblo women washing garments in the river. Centuries later, several pages focus on Maud Wright, an American frontierswomen who must have been ferociously brave to have endured unspeakable horrors at the hands of bandits yet survived to provide U.S. troops with knowledge that was "valuable to know." And yet, passive adjectives describe her - "helpless" or "thankful to be busy" - before the narrative again turns its attention to colorful male warriors, raiders, politicians, navigators, or thieves.

Similarly, the book displays a Forties-style awe of "machine technics." Technology, it explains, had a positive effect on river cultures, liquidating "all indigenous aspects of the river's three [Indian, Spanish, Mexican] societies." Half-a-century later, it seems a day doesn't pass when "you Rio" isn't in the news, whether sporting a new, angry-looking border fence (to hold back hordes, who wish to ford the river and flee a still troubled Mexico) or failing to reach the Gulf thanks to global warming. Alas, technology, as Henry Adams feared, is proving to be the river's enemy.

One can't reverse the course of a river, but one can reverse the course of policies made in the heat of whatever political moment. This book should be required reading on both sides of the border.

The level of detail amassed by Horgan for this book is nothing short of incredible. Roughly half the book is dedicated to historical events; the other half covers culture, the role of religion, native living conditions, and a hundred other nuances of day-to-day living by peoples (both native and the later Spanish/American cultures) along the Rio Grande.

Readers who want a VERY in-depth history of the Rio Grande can't do any better than this book. However, readers looking for a more general overview of events might want to consider other sources.

I probably fell into the latter category; I found myself skipping 2-5 pages at a time because I just wasn't that interested in knowing every single detail of (for example) how the Indians dressed and meticulously prepared bits of food for a ceremony to welcome the growing season. Or details covering 5 pages of how Spanish missionaries held a typical mass in the settlements in 1650.

That said, I recognize that this book is about as complete a works as could be published. I'd much rather skip over detail than have an account which isn't thorough.

This book is the best ever written on the history of the southwest along the Rio Grande. Horgan manages to capture the shared history of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico as no other historian/writer has ever done. This one will be around as long as readers want to understand history in the borderlands.

This two-volume series was my inroduction to Paul Horgan who became one of my favorite authors. It is interesting to note he and Frank Waters ('the Man who Killed the Deer') died recently just two weeks apart. They were both 92, and among the greatest authors who dealt with the Rio Grande. Mr. Hogan's dedication to detail set him apart from Willa Cather whose fame rests upon her book 'Death comes to the Archbishop,' using Lamy as her subject. She rejected the aproach of Paul Horgan who at the time was writing his own history, 'Lamy of Santa Fe.' Willa Cather was a novelist; Paul Horgan an historian, and of the two I prefer the truth. Anyone interested in the history of the Rio Grande will be delighted with Paul Horgan's two-volume introduction to it.

One of the major materpieces of American historical writing. The two volumes are a continuing delight, far better than any historical novel. Scene succeds scene, filled with movement, passion and unbelievable heroism. Won the Pulitzer and Bancroft Prizes for History, and is considered the greatest history of the Rio Grande from pre-Columbian time to mid 20th century.

My AP American History teacher in Miami took the rest of the time after the AP exam to teach us this book. The analysis by Haga on bureaucracy and the evil of breakloops is great. The humor is worthwhile and i look at the world in a completely different light. This year was this teacher's last teaching year. She is now retired and will no longer take time to teach this amazing book. Another reviewer above has also written about her, she is amazing. From all of your students at Dr. Michael Krop High School in Miami WE LOVE YOU MRS. GIBBS!!!

I read this book while a graduate student of Dr. James Haga's at Monterey CA in 1979. While tongue-in-cheek, the book is an amazingly accurate analysis of bureaucracy. As a 26 year alumnus of the US Navy and 6 year employee at the Pentagon, I consider myself an expert on bureaucracy, and I have never found a flaw in Dr. Haga's thesis. Jim Haga is a remarkable professor in management. Reading his book is the next best thing to experiencing him in the classroom. You'll love it. And that's just a fact.

My A.P. history teacher in highschool down in Miami took a month off of the curriculim to teach out of this book. It changed my life and how I interact with soical groups and indiviudals. Since I left highschool in 98 I was never able to obtain a copy of this book. Until now. I owe my success at college to this book. IF YOU ARE READING THIS THAN YOU MUST PURCHASE THIS BOOK! DO NOT HESITATE.THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

I was given a galley proof of this work when I left college. I owe much of my success as a product engineer to these principles. It taught me a babancing consideration before I am compulsively driven to offer an operational fix to a minor problem. This ought to be part of any social science curriculum.

Haga's Law spells out what we have all observed in organizations, especially Government and Political Parties. It explains how and WHY human nature drives ordinary oganizations like the PTA into becoming oppressive thought police agencies.

Consider this book essential reading before you are tempted to start an organization you can't kill. You never know when that harmless stamp collecting club you started might grow to the point of lobbying the state government to license and regulate the hobby!

I got this book for my husband for Father's Day. He has been on a little search of his own for the best burgers around. He loves the book and we can't wait to try some of these on our travels this summer.

this book was really fun to read and so much information about the best hamburger places in the country. Makes you hungry the minute you start flipping through it. The DVD that came with it was a great bonus and very entertaining. This is a great buy.

I love this book! I've been obsessed with Hamburger America since I saw the documentary on the Sundance Channel. The documentary makes most of the content tackling similar subjects on the Travel Channel, Food Network, History Channel, etc., seem like insipid, dumbed-down crap. It is beautiful to watch the small-time, low-key purveyors of American tradition talk about the simplicity of what they do. The book is a great read, with beautiful photographs and loving tributes to a vanishing America that's rapidly becoming standardized, corporate-ized,bland-ized, Wal-Martized, Starbucksized, Bush-ized, and stupid-ized. I keep it on my bedside.

I am tempted to take off a star because this sampling of American tradition was actually printed IN CHINA! Nothing against the Chinese, but this seems sad, in a way.

Reading the book and watching the video makes me hungry, but if you eat enough of this stuff, it will probably kill you.

More American than Pizza and the Hot Dog, is the Hamburger. "Hamburger America: A State-by-State Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints" is a guide to finding the simply the best burger one could find in any corner of the country in any state of the union. Covering these burger joints who have stood strong against the juggernauts of McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's, on the sheer quality of their food alone. Enhanced with a full color map reflecting the locations of these burger joints across the nation and a accompanying DVD, "Hamburger America: A State-by-State Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints" is highly recommended for any lover of the hamburger who also loves traveling.

I first saw Motz's documentary Hamburger America (which is included with the book) and was amazed on how he captured more than just places that serve a mean hamburger. Every place he went in the film gave you a look at different types of Americans, their history, their future and all held together by the love of America's favorite food. The book builds upon that. Each entry is written with admiration for the burger, the restaurant and the people that cook them. By visiting different cities, cultures, races, and histories of the many burger joints in this book, Motz is able to bring them altogether on one theme: they all make a great burger. And isn't that what America is about? This hodgepodge of cultures in one place looking for the dream, can all be united by ground beef in a bun. Forget the mass produced fast food chains. It's the local mom and pops, diners, decades old places that Americans hold true to their heart. It was written that if you don't claim your hometown greasy spoon as serving the best burger, then you're a wimp. Well this book covers many of those hometown favorites. Even if you do not especially like hamburgers, this book is essential for reading on American folk-life and its wonderful people.

Gloria Stargel's "The Healing" is as much needed now as it was when she first wrote it some years ago. Anyone facing the agony of cancer will find encouragement in reading it. Even better, anyone having to stand by while a loved one is suffering with life-changing circumstances will easiy find a friend in Gloria as she walks alongside her husband. And best of all, "The Healing" will turn the reader to the source of all peace, encouragement and ultimate healing, the Lord Himself. Highly recommended.

The Healing is an inspiration for anyone who has experienced a family illness and needs to find hope and faith for the future. The family photos create a feeling of friendship and closeness that adds to the uniqueness of this book. Ms. Stargel's journey of faith and trust can help all of us to prepare for such a jouney now and in the future.

This wonderful book is an inspiration to those faced with this challenge and also helps others to relate better to those who are. We are pleased to have Gloria's work under consideration for our book-in-progress, Chicken Soup for the Volunteer's Soul.

Cancer has affected nearly every family in some way, including mine. What you need when the doctor says cancer is a friend who has gone through it. Someone who can offer hope. The Healing is the story of Gloria Stargel's cancer journey and how she found hope for her husband (the cancer victim) and herself.

But it was a pilgrimage full of denial, defeat, and anger. Gloria's book reads like a diary of these emotions. Emotions experienced by everyone touched by cancer. At one point she wrote, "I felt as though we lived in a phantom `world between'---that we had been sentenced to a world inhabited only by those not fully alive and not fully dead."

Yet interspersed with the despair, it is obvious that God began ministering to her...almost without her realizing it at first. Tidbits of scripture and other quotes throughout the book show the roller coaster she was riding, and the hope offered at every turn. When Gloria surrendered their situation and herself to God, an internal healing began that was no less miraculous than the physical healing experienced by her husband.

If cancer is a part of your life, especially in the here-and-now, you need to read The Healing. You'll feel that you have a friend, someone who's been this way, holding your hand. And like Gloria, you'll know that whatever may come, there is one Hand that will never let you go.

In this fast-paced, high-tech day and age, a terminal diagnosis for a loved one can bring "the world" to a screeching halt. Perspectives change. Time and disease become antagonists. Where can one turn for help...for hope? Twenty-six years ago Gloria and Joe Stargel faced this situation. Joe's surgeon told them that "medically speaking, nothing can be done for Joe." A rare and deadly cancer had its grip on his body. THE HEALING tells of the Stargels' journey in Faith. The surgeon and oncologist only provided a protocol that might give Joe a bit more time, but no cure. So Gloria turned to the Divine Physician. God answered her prayers. Gloria has written a beautiful, sensitive account of the most difficult time in her life. She has sprinkled poetry and inspirational quotes throughout her story. She has demonstrated her deep faith...without being "preachy". I recommend THE HEALING to anyone who seeks a "Second Opinion", to anyone who seeks reassurance that God still heals today.

I love this book. I'm a dancer,too, and I'd love to go to a school like dance tech. Do they also go a regular school and have classes? It would be cool if they just had regular classes for everything at dance tech so they would have more time to dance (I wish I went to a schhol like that!) I am wating for the next book to come in to my bookstore, can't wait to see SOphy and Carlos hook up I hope they do!

what a great idea for a ya book (this is the first of a series), combining the worlds of ballet and salsa, with all the issues teens struggle with --friendship, love, self-regard. Rees has the gift of creating an entirely believable world and characters. Her hero and heroine are terrific--the smolderingly sexy salsa king Carlos and the lovely ballerina Sophie and then making their very different worlds collide. Rees has the wonderful gift of reaching into the hearts of her characters, making their feelings come so honestly alive. In their real lives, all the kids who make up dance tech live at dizzying pace--making mistakes and picking up their lives, breaking up and finding new partners. But the author in creating this world of kids we care about never loses her balance. With the same poise, she balances all the steamy emotions with a real knowledge of the world of dance to book. Readers will adore this book. I know I would have at that age.

I'm not really one that is into ballet or any dance, but once i read this i couldn't put it down. not just because of the dancing, but because of the romance between Sophy and Carlos, and the other characters. i've already finished the second one. can't wait to finish it. but i think when i am done reading all of it i will kinda miss reading about the characters and see what else could happen...

I just read this book and I can't wait to read the next one in the series. The dance schools merging is a great plot, because it throws all these different people together. What I really like is everyone in the book has faults--for all their likeable qualities, there's some way that they mess up or aren't perfect. In other words, it's all about real people, like my friends. I like the stuff with Sophy's family--but the dance sections are even better!

I love this book. I couldn't put it down. I was dying to know what happened next. Carlos and Sophy are two of the most intriguing characters I have ever encountered in a young adult novel. They actually have depth and souls. I cared about their problems and about them. I love all the dangling plot threads that will keep me moving through the other books just as quickly. I can't wait to see how everything turns out.