E-mail Books

Waste of money. Waste of time. Only advertising book i've been inspired by has been "Hey Whipple Squeeze This." Save your money and skip this one.

I own the 5th edition. I haven't read earlier editions
which may contain more of Caple's original writing.

The 5th edition has modern ads for examples. It still
has a lot of old-fashioned, classic headlines.

There is a great deal of useful information in this
book. It's a fine reference to have on hand. Any
copywriter should own a copy and read it. As a
cover-to-cover read though it's pretty dry stuff.

I can't put my finger on why... Maybe the personality
was bled from the original text by the new editor's
additions and subtractions.

I'd like to read an older copy someday.

This book is a must read for learning fundamentals of ANY type of marketing. I am an online marketer and this book made ALL the difference to my sales. Best book on marketing as a foundation for all other marketing books. Seth Godins books are also fantastic for teaching you where to start and the "formula" for success no matter what you are selling. Another good read is Mark Joyners books!

This book is a classic. You need to have it in your library with sticky notes for easy access to frequently used parts of the book. This is not the only book you need on advertising, but it is one of the cornerstone books on advertising. The methods are tried and true (tested) and the content is usable, practical, and for the real world.

I have 47 books, at least as many audiobooks, and I read 23 newsletters and 12 bogs to learn about sales, marketing, and copywriting.

After my computer, this book is the most useful tool I own.

I refer to it daily, and it has saved me hours and hours of time and earned me gobs of money. It's dry, technical stuff but if you put it to use you'll get results. If you do any kind of marketing, selling, or persuading in your life, buy this book.

I have a small part time mail order / direct marketing business and was looking to go full time. This guide was a blessing in giving me the information quick and direct. With the information on this CD my sales are increasing rapidly!

Ugh, I am a marketer but definitely not a writer. I needed some help with my autoresponder and marketing emails, a guide of some sort. This was the guide I was looking for. My sales and response levels increased within a couple of weeks! Awesome!

One of the best ways to attract many costumers is to use internet email marketing campaigns. Internet marketing campaigns attract a lot of costumers from allover the world. Your sales increase rapidly after using this method and I assure you that it's nothing complicated about it.

Great for the aspiring internet maketer who does not know the way the internet maket operates. I used this to start a camaping a long time ago and it's still succesful, and no ISP toled me to stop doing it. The book has a friendly writing style and appeals to all ,even thos who don't know the industry terminology

Ever wondered how much money can you make only by using internet to promote your products? Well I am telling you that you can make millions!!!
This book will teach you a step by step procedure on how to attract more clients and sell with the help of the internet.

I picked up this book because I have always found e-mail to be an effective way to begin and develop relationships with interesting people I would never have otherwise met. That's one of the many reasons I like to write reviews on Amazon.com. Since most books about the Internet are extremely simple and out-of-date, I had low expectations. Imagine how pleased I was when I discovered that this book not only answered many of my questions (such as how to get started with e-mailing to opt-in lists of people who have given permission to be contacted with information in certain subject areas) but also provided information that I did not imagine existed (such as sites for posting e-mail press releases and statements of competency to reach the media). Best of all, the ideas here take little capital and expertise so most people who are active on the Internet can use them.

Here is the table of contents to give you a sense of how the book is organized:

Chapter 1: E-Mail Newsletters

Chapter 2: Discussion Lists

Chapter 3: Online Networking

Chapter 4: Signature Files

Chapter 5: Autoresponders

Chapter 6: Customer Relationship Management

Chapter 7: Promotions and Direct E-Mail

Chapter 8: Online Public Relations

Chapter 9: Advertising in E-Publications

Chapter 10: E-Mail Marketing Rulebook

Chapter 11: Technical Know-How

Chapter 12: Measuring Results

Chapter 13: Opt-In List Brokering

Chapter 14: Worksheets

Chapter 15: 20 Recommended E-Mail Publications

As a result of reading this book, I began to wonder if I should also offer a free e-mail newsletter of more analytical and detailed book reviews covering those books I like best, with the reviews organized to be easier to access. Your opinions on that subject are most welcome!

The technical support in the book can save you some money on implementing by allowing you to do more of the work yourself. You are also directed to examples and organizations that can help you. I wrote down more than 30 web sites I want to investigate as a result of reading this book. That's about 27 more than I got out of the last 400 books I have read.

Another positive feature of the book is that it is anti-Spam. If you are like me, you get about 40 Spam messages a day that have no connection to any interest you have and seem to be created by people with little talent. One reason I have been slow to use more e-mail marketing is because I am very anti-Spam and didn't want to become a Spammer even by accident.

The best advice from the book is to build your own lists from people who reply to you and give you permission to contact them again, and use those to establish and maintain mutually supportive relationships. That makes sense to me. My web designer has been urging me on with this idea for years, but I never quite got the point before. Now I see what I should be doing. Even though I have read and liked Permission Marketing, the idea just hadn't clicked before.

Even if you don't plan to do e-mail mass marketing, the ideas in here for online public relations will make the book valuable all by themselves.

The authors also offer you access to their web site for more information and help.

A revised edition is planned for a few weeks from now, and I suspect that it would be a good idea to see what is in that edition as well. I wouldn't wait for that one, however, to get started. You can make significant progress in the meantime with this edition.

After you have finished reading this book, ask yourself what is the one thing you could do today that would help get valuable knowledge out to those who need it most. Then take that action. I also urge you to make that question and action step a daily process thereafter. This book should make you very capable of doing this!

For anyone looking for an experienced and relaible method of managing opt-in email marketing this is for you.

Marketing With E-Mail is a quick reading that broadens your horizon by giving you a concise, to the point overview of the different tools available to market a company and its products/ services through e-mail. Permission marketing is the mantra of Marketing With E-Mail and her author, Shannon Kinnard. E-mail marketing, though important, is not a stand-alone communication channel. By offering your prospects and customers multiple response paths, you increase the probability that they will respond to your product offering. In addition, Marketing With E-Mail and the companion web site refer to many resources that you can explore to get additional insights into that new field of marketing. Shannon Kinnard, however, does not cover the economics of e-mail marketing thoroughly. Case studies are not usually backed up by any in-depth financial analysis that should definitely convince you that investing in e-mail marketing provides a sensible return on investment and positively influences customer lifetime value. Hopefully, Shannon Kinnard will further share her (financial) expertise with you in the second edition of Marketing With E-Mail that will be released soon.

I am a technoid (See my about me area) so when I first started reading this book and Kinnard described the tools I thought the book was going to be fairly boring. Later when I entered in the chapters on marketing I was thrilled with an entry level book.

I needed (and still need) good ideas to help me market my business. I used my highlighter a great deal in this book. In almost every one of the later chapters I found really good ideas. Also the structure of the book was wonderful. The beginning of every chapter is a series of descriptive or narrative paragraphs, case study, resources and a cheat sheet. The structure that Kinnard uses makes this a tool for reference as well as a good read.

Finally, I think Kinnard has an excellent style. I think one of the great tasks of writing a book like this one is that most of the audience really is not interested in reading the material. We just want to know it so that we can use it. So, time spent reading and learning about email is tiresome. Kinnard does a good job of making the paint dry quickly.

As a web designer for small businesses, the task of bringing visitors to a site often falls into my lap. It's a daunting task and with internet marketing still in it's infancy it's difficult to look to anyone as an expert. Ms. Kinnard is worth her weight in gold; demonstrating how to handle the new field of e-marketing and expertly giving how-to advice.

Many of my clients are regional shops and businesses that do not have the big business (big $$) marketing budgets. Not only do I often find myself referring to this book often, but I recommend it to all of my clients as well.

Business owners are often one of the biggest draws for a business; their personality, eye for detail, or craftsmanship is what attracts customers. By reading this book, my clients are able to market themselves, which my all accounts is a win-win scenario.

If you own a business or if you represent a business that is trying to increase their market share on the Internet, make this mandatory reading.

If you're looking for a guide on writing e-mails in a business setting, look no further. This book covers every aspect of writing e-mails and even some tips on how to organize your e-mail as well. The chapters take you through different topics regarding e-mail and at the end of each chapter are some activities that you can do to help build your awareness of your e-mail writing skills and how examining the messages you receive from others can help improve your awareness of writing skills. This book is perfectly designed for training courses, since each chapter could be completed in one training session. I recommend this if you are looking to write e-mails as professionally as you can.

Like it or not, we live in a world of electronic communication. E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide is a practical and helpful guide for those who aren't totally familiar or comfortable with the medium as well as for those who use it routinely, but perhaps not always effectively or appropriately. Most important, it urges people to take their e-mail communication as seriously as their other written communication - and tells them how.

This book is exactly what every e-mail should be (and so few are): clear, sensible and pointed. Compare the advice here to the emails you receive daily and you will agree that it is filled with uncommon good sense. You'll find yourself trying to figure out how to secretly get copies to your colleagues! Jim Knutsen, President, Boatz Knutsen Communications

Like it or not, all of us are up to our eyeballs in emails everyday. We feel pressed for time yet need to write coherent emails that effectively communicate important information. This guide is an excellent resource on how to write readable emails that come to the point quickly without leaving any of the important stuff out. After going through the material, I recognized a lot of mistakes that our company frequently commits in our frequent volleys of emails with clients. I wish I would have had this book sooner! Thanks for cutting through the jungle for us, Write it Well!
Thanks,
Mike O'Quin
PowerPointPartners.Com

As the author of an English reference guide/workbook, I think this book is exceptionally helpful to everyone needing to send out professional e-mails. E-mail has just about replaced informal memos and even reports. Therefore, we all need to learn how to convey the right tone, present a professional image, get our messages across clearly, learn the etiquette of e-mail, and avoid the pitfalls and hazards that e-mail technology poses. The author provides excellent, relevant examples and lays the material out in a logical, easy-to-understand fashion. I highly recommend it to individuals, HR departments, and training professionals.
Jane Straus
Author of The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
and
Enough Is Enough! Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life

The book arrived well within the promised delivery date. And the condition of the product surpassed the description given. Great quality and service. I'll not hesitate to use the service again. Thanks!

This book is like a workbook to the 1st Fools Crow book. It has changed my life and assisted on the spiritual path that I am walking. I am sure it will help anyone who reads it with an open spirit, heart, and mind.

For those who have read Fools Crow by Thomas E Mails should follow up with this book. If you have not read it I would sertainly do so as a companian to this book. Timeless Wisdom from the Old Lakota Holy Man that anyone can bennefit from the power of these teachings.

For a person interested in American Indian Medicine People, this Book, and it's companion book - Fools Crow, ISBN 0-8032-8174-9, will
read as a Treasure of insight, clarity, simplicity & wonder. This reviewer has been reading books on this subject for more than 40 years, and these 2 books are true Treasures of this world view. Fools Crow is magnificant.

Fools Crow Wisdom and Power is interesting in that the memoir is an account of a Sioux "holy" man. Yet, Fools Crow's holiness is not consistent. He has some good ideas about general spirituality but this is more of a plea for the Native American movement.
I read it for a graduate class in religion but was disappointed.

"The Complete Guide to E-mail Marketing: How to Create Successful, Spam-free Campaigns to Reach Your Target Audience and Increase Sales" was selected as a "Notable" finisher in the 2008 Competition in the "Business" Category.

The Eric Hoffer Award (formerly the Writers' Notes Award) for short prose and books was established at the start of the 21st century as a means of opening a door to writing of significant merit. It honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing. The winning stories and essays are awarded prizes and published annually in the anthology, Best New Writing, along with the results of the book awards.

Most books that promise to be the only manual you need to succeed, do one of two things; either deliver the goods or not. Brown's Email Marketing Guide delivers and more. While some authors make a point of burying valid information towards the back of the book, Brown makes a point of introducing the material in an orderly and logical manner. Brown has put together one of the most thorough and complete books on the vast subject of email marketing. I will definitely recommend it to my friends and business associates.

and it's 5 stars for this book, since here we get clear, easy to follow, and good advices to follow, and we have good selection of experts and good advices. If you plan buy a book on e-mail marketing this one will be good choice.

Also, I need to say, that as good was this book - same bad was another this author's book - The Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Marketing: Pay Per Click Advertising Secrets Revealed

in this book, advices are or outdated, or even wrong, experts so called "advices" are nothing else but sales letters, and it is clear enough, that Search Engine Marketing is not a thing what this author knows.

But this book e-mail marketing, is clearly one of the best till now written on the topic.

With the passing of the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003, it has grown more difficult to legitimately market through email. This book addresses this issue and many others with regard to email marketing. Mr. Brown provides a comprehensive guide to marketing your business or product through email, while navigating spam filters. This book is written for legitimate businesses with legitimate products and services to sell.

Mr. Brown describes how to grow your business through your website. Additional topics covered include how to write an effective sales email, search engine optimization (SEO), and to effectively target your emails. The book includes a glossary of terms and numerous case studies.

I liked this book. It is available for just about anyone. Whether you are an online merchant or a traditional retailer. There is something there for you.

We are given an in depth history of the internet. I never knew it was first used by the military. Then there are when the first emails were sent. Totally mind boggling.

Bruce gives us the low down on four major areas of online marketing:

Paid search advertisements (pay per click)
Banner adverts
Classified ads
Email marketing

Interweaved within all this are case studies that show how the best systems work. Chapter 15 is jam packed with them too.

The author, Bruce Brown teaches how to write an effective email. He starts with the subject line then gets around to the best day to send it. We all know why Mondays are not a good day and most of us can figure out why Fridays are not another good day.

Wait till you find out which is the best day and why. The best time for sending emails are 7am-10:30am. We also get a free treat. That is website optimization tools and some web design helps. The addresses are all in his book.

As usual Bruce gives us a glossary. But because this book is such an easy read you won't need it. I think it is there just in case.

What a special book! It appeals to both the head & the heart. I have always wondered what goes on inside of my dog's head & now I know. I love getting an idea about the parent's world through the eyes & experiences of Shilo, especially Halloween's "chicken feet"! I am also impressed with his writing abilities, recounting others stories, & observations of all things around him. A must read for any canine adorer!!!!!

a great read though not ment for someone who dos'nt like to pick up a dictionary. i enjoyed the book and learned some new words along the way.

Behind the amusing, touching and sometimes hilarious thoughts of golden retriever Shilo is a deep spirituality that makes one stop and think. This is a beautifully written book with lots of fun photos. I read it twice and will read it again.

This is a delightful read. Susan Lustig must have been a dog in her previous life. She is most insightful into a dog's mind. It is deeper than one thinks initially. It is humorous and elicits many chuckles. I highly recommend it to readers of all ages, from children to the elderly.
Enjoy!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. This book is a winner on multiple levels. It's short, sweet, has lots of priceless photos and makes for great reading, over and over again. The premise is very clever and laugh-out-loud funny. While this book is entertaining, I enjoyed it's softer, more poignant side as well. Hope to hear from this team again with more pet antics and adventures.

This book makes for some very compelling reading. It is not often that I read a book that delivers the goods... but these authors have nailed it. It uses both traditional and dot com companies to illustrate ways any company can leverage the Internet to gain customers at substantially reduced costs. This book has everything you need to implement a successful e-mail campaign. From how to identify good email lists to how to create the right message. Including dos and don'ts, front-end tips and back end response analysis. Has just the right balance of technical and practical information. I am a marketing manager working for a 'Fortune 500' company. The information in this book cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars to find out. Some things are so important, I wish I thought of them myself or discovered them sooner. I can't wait to try some of these techniques out and see the effect on my next campaign. I am recommending this book to everyone I know. Buy it!

These authors know their stuff. They've been very instrumental in helping Ancestry.com grow to over 320,000 paid subscribers over the past 18 months. Email Marketing is now one of our largest sources of subscriptions. I recommend this book for both beginner and expert alike.

I bought this book because I know the authors by reputation. My company was a traditional mail order company. We used to sell all of our products through our printed catalog. The Internet has changed all of that. Half our budget is now dedicated to e-mail marketing.

I applied the Author's recommendations and saw my e-mail response rates take off. On the most recent campaign, I saw a 247% lift in response resulting from the use of just one of their techniques.

The book is written in very clear and concise language. It's methodical and step-by-step method worked wonders for my company's program. I've read all the other books currently on the market, they just don't compare. If you're new to e-mail marketing or a serious pro, this book has information that you can put to use right away.

The tips and tricks in creating an e-mail program were dead on. I especially liked the chapters on the type of products that can be sold via the Internet and the characteristics of a successful Internet Buyer. The "Multi-Mailing" idea alone was worth the price of the book.

***** FIVE STARS***** Excellent..... If you are an executive looking for information on how email marketing will impact your business, you'll want to read this book.

If you want to know how the pros are using email marketing buy this book.

It details the differences between opt in permission based lists, and SPAM, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can literally kill your business. It comes complete with information on where you can find the best email lists and email marketing services in the business.

It identifies the different types of copy, formatting, text Vs HTML, rich media, etc, and provides insight into which may be best for your business. I've been asking everyone about timing of our messages. No one was able to give me a clear answer that made any sense. This book gave me great insight into the time and day that is best for me to do my email transmissions... and the auothor's information produced immediate positive results for us.

Aside from the practical knowledge, I also liked this book because the author's share the latest thinking about where this medium is going, and what steps to take today to make sure that your business reaps the rewards of the future.

This book is not just for dot comers. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone involved in the sales and marketing of their company's products and services.

This book is now the definitive resource on email marketing.

Any book that Bob Bly is associated with is bound to be good--no, great! And this one is no exception.

The author explores this new, exciting medium we call email and uncovers its powerful potential for direct response selling. It leads you through the basic techniques of marketing through email. What works and what doesn't. Most importantly, it steers you clear of potential pitfalls inherent in this new medium--like how to avoid spamming, etc..

A great book on email marketing that is thorough, timely, and bound to become a classic in its field.

La novela se dirige a una audiencia bicultural y, en especial, a lectores de raíces latinoamericanas viviendo en Estados Unidos. Conveniente sería si el lector de esta novela haya estado relacionado directamente con la cultura mexicana debido a algunos mexicanismos y palabras propias del país. La trama, eso sí, se puede extrapolar sin mayor esfuerzo a cualquier latinoamericana.

El personaje central de la novela es una mujer y los sentimientos que expresa son, creo yo, propios de una mujer. La lectura es amena y encantará a todo tipo de lector, aunque la audiencia femenina se identificará más con Mila, la protagonista de la novela.

El correo electrónico es la columna encargada de sostener y relacionar las subtramas de la obra. Esta joven tecnología es usada por Mila para comunicarse y permite a la autora manifestar una situación emocional describiendo la manera como el personaje central usa este medio.

Asombroso en esta novela son los detalles descritos y, especialmente, aquellos de la vida cotidiana. Es tal el prolijo en los pormenores que la ficción, de este tipo es la novela, se volatiliza dejando entrever una vida muy realista. Es difícil de no dejarse influír por los innumerables detalles presentados. Constante, eso sí, son los felinos domésticos con los cuales Mila tiene una relación casi de caracter erótico.

Leí la novela con mucho agrado varias veces. Una vez que se comienza la lectura no se deja de lado el libro hasta el final. El lector va a enriquecerse con una profunda experiencia de una vida bicultural. Es de desearle a la autora que encuentre la energía, no dudo que que tenga ideas y mas material idóneo, para dedicarse a la continuación de esta amena ficción.

Correo electrónico para amantes de Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf es una novela cuya atmósfera atrapa la atención del lector sin posibilidades de salida. Narrada en primera persona y en un estilo fluido y ameno, Mila, la narradora-personaje, nos envuelve en su drama de mujer que, en sus diversos roles, se nos muestra sencilla, natural, fresca y sincera. El uso de la narradora en primera persona adquiere un relieve especial al alternarse con una forma discursiva poco cultivada en la narrativa actual hasta el momento: el correo electrónico. Este recurso narrativo en su función de diálogo, adquiere una especial significación que no se advierte en otras modalidades narrativas de tipo autobiográfico como la del diario o la de la epístola. El correo electrónico en esta novela permite que lo acontecido lo vivamos más directamente a través de los ojos y la experiencia de la narradora-personaje. Al sumergirnos de esta manera en su mundo, los acontecimientos nos conmueven en razón de las repercusiones sentidas en el mundo interior de la protagonista. La historia es la historia de la interioridad de Mila, encantada o herida por la ilusión o la traición.
Las constantes digresiones hacia su pasado van configurando la personalidad de la protagonista, marcada por el entorno de una historia familiar que se le ha erigido como un espejo que le reafirma sus inseguridades, pero en el que constantemente se ve para liberarse de sus casuales dimensiones alienantes, mediante una búsqueda del conocimiento y la afirmación de sí misma.
La confluencia de las culturas latina y norteamericana se conjugan en Mila con asomos críticos y feministas frente a la tradición masculina, sin que esta convergencia de culturas menoscabe sus raíces mexicanas. Hábilmente la narradora va tensionando el relato : su lucha contra la rutina en que se le ha convertido el matrimonio es paralela a la emergencia de parsonajes y sucesos que van a afectar muy de cerca su vida.
El lenguaje ameno y el tono conversacional de un "yo" confesional hacen que el interés, el encanto y la emoción del lector se sostengan hasta el final de la trama. Para ser la primera experiencia narrativa de largo alcance de la autora, sus méritos y logros narrativos ya dicen mucho.

I enjoyed the book very much, specially the characters, the way they bring you in to play with their personas. I liked the way Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf connects the two worlds together. In any society where distinct ethnic subpopulations exist, the issue of ethnicity is a subject of debate and controversy; The way she lets you feel the struggles of a women assimilating her new world and embraces her bicultural world. Milagros let us undergo and recognize the enormous psychic costs she bears with a remarkable heroism.
Correo electrónico para Amantes plays with American Ethnicity; with the new technology of computers and Internet communication in our world today and makes you perceive the remarkable change women subject themselves to become a well round knowledge organism in our century.
Beatriz Salcedo-Strumpf is a solid mentor source for younger women, especially for Hispanic to fallow, witness and experience biculturalism in a new bilingual American today. Unlike Europeans immigrants who cut their ties with their homelands; Mexican Americans have had less incentive to abandon their native culture. We have strong need to fallow mentors that successfully brake away social differences like this remarkable piece of literary art to help us see the better world of today.

Played out against the background of today's instant communication via the internet, this is the story of a woman who comes face to face with emotional and cultural questions when a chance meeting with a lover from her past re-opens repressed feelings and exposes the scars of earlier wounds. Milagros, our heroine, is truly a "miracle" as her Spanish name implies, struggling to find her way in a world that is often alien and always gender-hostile. In an attempt to escape the machista environment of her native Mexico, she comes to the United States to study and eventually marries an American and settles down in Syracuse, New York. There, in the gloom of endless winters and bone-chilling cold, she is slowly divested of her complacent cocoon of wife, mother and professional woman as she recounts and analyzes her roles, aspirations, and experiences to her virtual lover. In the end she discovers that betrayal can come on many unexpected levels, but hope and renewal are as constant as the sun of her beloved Guadalajara. The novel is soon to be published in English under the title of "E-mail for Lovers."

Hay en la narración un perfecto equilibrio entre las "divagaciones" de Mila, los trozos de textos literarios intercalados, las letras de canciones, los diálogos y, por supuesto, los e-mails. Salcedo-Strumpf maneja con mucha destreza y acierto el tema de la traducción entre culturas: Mila es un personaje "puente" entre el mundo de México y la cultura americana, entre el inglés y el español, entre los comentarios machistas de Antonio y la mentalidad femenina, entre un pasado de injusticia y opresión familiar y un presente de mayor libertad y realización personal. Mila cumple la función no sólo de narradora y personaje central, sino de una especie de intérprete de su propia vida frente al lector. No sólo narra, sino que simultáneamente hace de "mediadora cultural" entre los eventos narrados y el lector, explicando, enumerando, analizando, comparando. Y esa función la cumple desde una posición de franqueza y simplicidad, con un lenguaje tan llano, tan auténtico, tan puro, que otorga a la narración una agilidad y una espontaneidad notables. La novela trata valientemente el tema del affaire de una mujer en su edad madura y el de la traición, así como las deficiencias afectivas asociadas al machismo. Los gatos de Mila representan todas las virtudes que Mila busca en los hombres: el deseo inextinguible (los permanentes ronroneos "eróticos"), la comprensión y aceptación incondicional, la entrega honesta. En suma, una novela exquisita que el lector devorará hasta la última página.

This was a great read.

Using an unusual but effective narrative style, Rosen captures, in a series of emails, his characters and settings perfectly. From the way people in the rural midwest wave by lifting one finger off the steering wheel to the sudden and shocking blast of a 12-guage shotgun, the details make this book engagingly real.

Having moved from the city to the country, Chase's entire world changes. Where he once had friends, he now has only thousands of ciacadas (the emoticon representing the cicadas is the worth the cost of the book in and of itself). But what bothers him most about his new life is the hunting that goes on, particularly after one of his dogs is shot. The hunting debate becomes the central issue of the story, and Rosen explores it with tremendous wit and heart, asking all the right questions and never offering easy answers.

With complex and charming characters, a fascinating issue explored with great sensitivity, and some of the funniest emoticons I've ever seen, this one will grab your interest--and keep it.

Here we are, Chase Riley (e-mail alias ChaseR), 14, moves 60 miles away from hometown Colombus to live hours from who-knows-where & five minutes from your neighbors (I'm five seconds away, if you're slow). His 90-acre land is being plagues by cicadias, mammoth bugs that come out once every 17 years. His e-mails to friends are often halarious, &, with Rosen's good writing skills, you, the reader, can easily dictate what life is like in the Riley house.

I have to admit, some of his newletters (letters in newspaper-like form to a wide selection of addresses) are HALARIOUS!!! I'm just wondering is that BEAVER CREEK BEACON stuff is true.

Although some of the stuff is funny, the actual plot isn't very exciting. I don't know how much more exciting it could get, given that the book was written in e-mails. That, however doesn't take away from the book's overall good-ness. (in my opinion)

Among other things, you can learn cool smileys.
Mouse: <: 3 )~~~~~~~

If you've ever looked at the "Snail-Mail No More" book(s, I think), & thought that it was a good idea, DON'T pick it up. Yeah, sure it LOOKS cool, but, to the males of this earth, MAKE THIS THE ALTERNATIVE! ( note: surere, girls can read this, too.

Whether you've read all of my blabber or not, BUY THIS BOOK!!!!

I too disagree with the Publisher's Weekly review of this book. I am a middle school educator. I know my students well, and this qualifies me to say that this book does a wonderful job of representing the adolescent mind. It is unfortunate that the reviewer from Publisher's Weekly disparages the impact of e-mail on young lives and fails to recognize its effectiveness in telling a unique story. E-mail is second only to verbalizing for communication (and in many cases, e-mail allows the expression of what cannot be communicated verbally). Therefore, the format of this novel WORKS. Young people will not only relate well to the novel's format, but they will enjoy reading the funny, brief, sometimes emotional chapters. This would be an especially effective book for resistant or struggling readers, as it is extremely engaging and easy to identify with.

The protagonist is endearing and his inner struggle is realistically portrayed. I believe that adolescents will relate to Chase's challenges, especially his feeling of isolation being so far from his friends and from what is familiar to him. I believe too that Chase's idealism is something that young readers will recognize as a quality that they share.

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is its brilliance in convincingly representing one side of the conflict (the anti-hunting side), then putting the reader "into the shoes" of someone on the other side (the pro-hunting side). This sets up a situation where readers must examine their own stance on the issue, then weigh and evaluate both sides, as Chase (the protagonist) does. This process is an important developmental step for young people, one that they will be faced with throughout their lives. It is important for adolescents to have experiences that develop their ability to look at both sides of an issue and make informed choices for their own actions. The engaging story will lead readers into this learning process, leaving them with a more fully developed ability to look at similar difficult issues from a variety of perspectives. This also sets up a great forum for classroom discussion.

I am 34 years old and a professional, yet I enjoyed this book greatly. I read it to consider its inclusion in a unit I am designing for my classroom. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my students in the fall, and I hope that many other educators will do the same.

I don't exactly agree with the Publisher's Weekly review of this book, I thought the email form worked great. It was an inventive and dynamic way to express the mindset of a city kid readjusting to a rural environment. I found a review of this book in The Horn Book and I thought they put it nicely: "The book's email format work well, emphasizing the isolation and loneliness of a contemporary computer kid transplanted into a rustic, old-fashioned setting." At the heart of the book, though, is the conflict between us and nature, raising questions about what rights we have to exploit our surroundings. It is for this reason that I think this is an important book for kids to read, both city-slicker and rural alike.

It is August 10th. Fourteen-year-old Chase Riley is online writing a heads-up newsletter to his old classmates in the big city of Columbus, Ohio. Chase is now living on a farm sixty miles away, so Chase's dad can have some peace and quiet to study and write after he comes home from his job at the lab. Peace and quiet are the buzzwords. Chase is feeling rebellious at having to be so far away from his friends, but his e-mails are still bright and funny.

It is not that quiet, Chase tells his buddies. The Cicadas in the daytime and the bullfrogs at night make ear-splitting noises. Is this what adults call "the joy of country living?" He knows that his two dogs are in heaven, free to run loose and chase anything that excites them. Unfortunately, they are also learning about skunks and tomato juice baths --- a bitter lesson. Even Chase smelled of skunk for awhile!

Then there is the matter of making new friends. Chase keeps to himself when school starts and spends his time writing e-mails to his newsletter group and his sister, Mallory, at Kent State. He doesn't seem to be settling in to his new school environment, and the school guidance counselor is becoming worried. For Chase, writing e-mails has taken the place of forming friendships.

I hope that most young readers will find the main character, Chase Riley, cool. He is an amazingly talented fourteen-year-old with obvious gifts in writing and computer literacy. His intelligence, fierce independence, and wry humor will help him to handle the adjustment of leaving the city for the country, making new friends, and coping with the other events in life's journey.

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