Missouri Books

The book describes how the Republcians in the late forties and early fifties used the accusations of treason and appeasement of the Soviet Union at Yalta by FDR to discredit the New Deal and to claim that no negotiations with the Soviet Union was possible. However, Yalta only recognized the facts on the ground in Eastern Europe since the Red Army had already liberated and occupied Eastern Europe including Poland and the only way the U.S. would have been able to drive back the Soviets would be through another World War.

Yalta is still blamed by many conservatives for the creation of a Communist bloc in Europe and even today those who advocate negotiations with hostile states are accused of appeasement.

Maney holds nothing back in this devilish tale of the man we love to hate, Young Bob La Follette. Although Maney could have praised him, he totally ripped him a new one, and I thought it was totally awesome. Ultimate Warrior rules!

This is a good book about Dr. Galahad. It has a medical atmosphere. Tony is a doctor and finds a wife. This is a wonderful book if you like books about doctors.

I enjoyed this book. It was deep and well-written. I am happy that Ms. Seifert won a $10,000 prize for it. (Probably about the same as $100,000 in today's money.) I know that the book took a lot of skill, concentration, talent, and patience to write, so she did deserve the prize. The book was an in-depth and interesting story of a loyal, dedicated, and extremely good doctor who took his "doctor vows" serious. In this novel, Ms. Seifert, takes us inside the hospital and gives us a vivid view of "hospital and doctor works". I was saddened that Tony did not get to marry Marietta, but married Carolyn instead (but I guess that's one of the things that makes the book so good). This book was soul- and heart-touching. It was powerful on the senses. It felt real, it was tingling, it was moving. It was great. This was a great first novel. It showed that Ms. Seifert has talent. I'm sure it was a great start for her writing career. I enjoyed this ! novel and finished the last page feeling moved and touched. I was glad I read it.

Zagat always does a great job of pulling together reviewers information on great restaurants... this one is small, but very useful. This is a great guide on where to eat--even locals can find some great new places to try. A few restaurants are missing here, but the information that is here is very reliable. Well worth purchasing!

I somehow tragically managed to make my way to adulthood with never reading anything but the kiddie version of this book. When I found this book for super-cheap in the teachers' lounge book sale and I figured "hey, why not?" And thus I picked it up and immediately fell in love with the sheer Old-South charm that only Twain can deliver. Really, people, it is no wonder that this book is such a classic! It may not have the soulful human reflections of "Huckleberry Finn", but in the solemn concern for the pleasures of boyhood it certainly makes its own mark.

Mark Twain tells the story purely from a storyteller's view. No deep analysis of character that takes you right inside of Tom Sawyer's psyche, nothing blatantly philosophical. It is as if Mr. Twain lives to simply tells us into what trouble Tom is getting. He does not go out of his way to give lengthy, dull descriptions or even fully flesh out the details of just what Tom and his friends are doing. It gives it a charming, folksy style that allows for plenty of plot and action. Even, so the writing is unparalleled.

And it truly is a great story. It's fun! I don't know how many poor students have been tricked into believing it is not. It has all the great elements of a good boy story, what with the murders and buried treasure and faked deaths and hoodoo--not to mention the delight taken away by discovery of bacteria.

I'm also a huge fan of this Whole Story edition. It's beautiful, easy to carry around, and I guess I'm a sucker for the documentary feature.

Fantastic, fun story. Everyone should read it.

These audio books help children that are having trouble with the written word. I also use them in the car, so each trip we hear more of the story. The kids love them and I think it makes them interested in reading.

To understand America in the nineteenth century, you must understand Tom Sawyer. His life, so full of adventure set amidst the bustle of a changing nation, is in many ways the dream of nearly all male children. To spend your time swimming in the creek, gathering "treasures" and eating goodies is truly the good life. Tom's romance with Becky is also the way it is with most boys. Girls are universally considered to have some kind of contagious disease, when I was young, they had cooties, until you see that one perfect girl that you will share everything with.
The wonder and mischief of Tom and Huck are captured in this book, superbly illustrated by Michael Ploog. Tom is wide-eyed, freckled and has bulbous cheeks. Huck has a pointed nose, bright eyes and a suitably scruffy demeanor. With the exception of Sundays, the boy's clothes consist of a series of patches sewn over rags. This book is an excellent introduction to what is the tale of American youth of the nineteenth century, very appropriate for classes in English. Of course, after covering this book, the students should be required to read the original.

This book is a great example of what makes Twain one of America's most belvoed writers. Twain's unique sense of humor and his keen insights into human nature shine through in this book. Twain's style is wonderful, the characters are dynamic and the plot never hits a snag. Twain has created a novel here that is light enough on the surface to entertain young readers yet contatins enough substance to speak volumes to an adult audience. You are sure to love this one is you have read any of Twain's other works. If you haven't read Twain, delay no further--this book is the perfect starting point.

Ever since my dad first read this timeless classic to my sister & me as kids, while camping in our trailer during the summer, it has left its indelible impression upon my imagination. How I too wanted to shove off from shore on my "skiff" and have my own adventures down the Mississippi! I know of no other book that so wonderfully captures the essence and joy of carefree boyhood.

When I say "carefree", however, I am not forgetting the grim and serious elements of the novel. But these work just as well as the sunnier and funnier parts. In fact, just when the narrative needs it, a murder comes along which boosts the plot most effectively, giving it a shot in the arm. And speaking of the darker aspects, does not Injun Joe have to rank highly on the list of greatest villains in the history of literature? I can assure you that as a boy listening to the cave chapters, his menace was palpable and unforgettable.

Unfortunately, literary snobs have often found it fashionable to belittle Tom Sawyer as inconsequential and a 'lightweight' seen against the towering greatness of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". I couldn't disagree more. (I love Huckleberry Finn dearly and plan to review it soon as well). I read a quote in a foreword that I thought was very insightful: "Huckleberry Finn is a greater book, but not a better one." I think this is exactly so. Extol the greatness of HF by all means, but don't make the mistake of downgrading Twain's other masterpiece, just because its theme is not so weighty and grave. In fact, the episodic nature of the telling of Tom Sawyer fit Twain's particular brand of genius perfectly (whereas there were some sub par stretches in Huck Finn).

Loved it as a boy, love it no less as a man. Thank you, dad, for imparting such an enduring gift.

This is my favorite edition of this book. I am so much more satisfied with Dr. Murphy's words, rather than the rewritten version that the other publisher has. I don't understand why you'd want to rewrite such a wonderful and well written book. The original is almost always the best, certainly it is in this case. The power of positive thinking is alive and well!

The revised edition has a pleasant writing style that that made it easy for me to apply what's taught in the book. It also uses the word "prayer" for the technique we're encouraged to employ. I find this helpful because it assists me to avoid my biggest pitfall when I use mind techniques: I push too hard and try to force outcomes. I find the style of this book promotes humility while still enabling me to be positive towards a specific outcome or goal. What I'm calling "humility" is actually getting my conscious mind and ego out of the way by aligning my intention with the transcendent power of a loving God. There are specific examples of the types of "prayers" that have been used successfully. I find that when I apply these principles my mood is better, my health is better and my life is better.

This is an old book which is excellent for taking control of your life. The author is well known and well educated in metaphysics, religion and the understanding of True Religion. He is a very SAFE writer for any age desiring to improve their lives. I was very, very disappointed by the publisher's statement that the book was racist, and so many other negative terms. The publisher stated that it was a book of "his" time and should be carefully checked if children were to read this book. Truth is eternal. No book that Joseph Murphy ever wrote was racist or harmful. I pray that there will be a different publisher of Dr. Murphy's book. I met him when he was alive, attended many of his seminars and found him to be a deep thinker, honest, always in integrity and a very gentle individual. Too bad the publisher never got to meet him.
Rev. Dr. Pat., STAMFORD, CT

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share my experience with this book. I applied it once to pass my exams (and I passed 2 of my biggest exams in one month, which was amazing, and it was based on "luck" because after I prepared approx. 30-40% of my exams, I got the right questions - I used to repeat, repeat, repeat "I order to the power of my subconscious mind to make me pass these exams" and it happened. I strongly believe you ought to be positive about the outcome because I also saw the opposite happen to people - they would prepare 149 questions and skip one, and get that one on the exam!!

Well, it's been a while since then.. once I got a job I wanted because I really concentrated on that.. I also like The Secret, but the Subconscious Mind communicates better with my "logical" mind, because it gives more explanations on "how it works"..

Thanks for reading this!

Do yourself a big favor (BEFORE you shell out your money for any particular edition of THE POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND) by taking note of the fact that SOME editions (such as the circa 2007/08 edition from Wilder Publications) feature Joseph Murphy's original text as it first appeared in 1963, while still other editions feature text that (thankfully) has been thoroughly, expertly REVISED by Ian McMahan, Ph.D.

Mind, NORMALLY I myself would tend to prize and prefer any famous author's own, original prose; however, here's a case where the REVISED edition's text is MUCH to be preferred over that of the original. The revised text judiciously retains Murphy's original thrust; it simply amounts to a much better draft. In fact, if you'll simply compare and contrast analogous passages of the respective editions, you're bound to agree that the REVISED edition is akin to what the original SHOULD have been from the get-go; indeed, it's as though Dr. Murphy finally managed to get himself a first-rate EDITOR to clarify and modernize his worthy prose.

The REVISED edition is much more consonant with the spirit of TODAY; by contrast, the original edition's prose seems somewhat quaint even by 1963 standards. [BTW, not that you're likely to care a hoot, but I'm a retired secondary/college English instructor, and I have an M.A. in English.]

I suggest that you don't just take my word. Instead, click on Amazon's handy "Search Inside the book" feature to peruse, at least, the first page of Chapter 1, "The Treasure House Within You." Do so not just for one or the other edition; nay, do it successively for BOTH the "Wilder" edition (ISBN: 160459201X) AND the Bantam Revised edition (ISBN: 0553583182). You can open up two respective windows on your computer monitor and view both editions side-by-side. That way, you'll have a much better idea of what you'll be getting BEFORE you place your order.

Finally, be sure to check out the enjoyable (but now-obscure) AUDIO adaptation: ISBN: 0136870139. That edition comprised three audiocassettes with a collective duration of about 140 minutes. If you can't find a copy to purchase via Amazon, perhaps borrow it via your public library's interlibrary-loan department. [Note: I've noticed that more recent audio editions have appeared as CD and MP3 editions, but I'm not sure that their content is even remotely comparable to that of the 1989 3-audiocassette edition from Prentice Hall. (I doubt it!)]

May the power be with you! :-)

Easy to read and a very sweet story. I am a busy Mom of 2 little ones and I was able to read this and enjoy it between diapers and bottles and choo-choo's. It is an easy read with a nice story.

Lifeline Online: A Memoir
Joy School

So simply written, yet so full of knowledge. Katie, a young girl wants to grow up, fall in love and be noticed by her peers. She learns and grows the hard way through rejection and trying to be a circle that doesn't quite fit the square. Like most of us at the age of thirteen, she's awkward and full of questions. With each hurt and sorrow, Katie learns life's lessons, the hard way. She learns of herself.

Berg, not only speaks to the young adult in this story, but to the adult. Her philosophy on life is insightful and speaks straight from the heart. The world would be a better place if we all did this. What a wonderful way to pass on what you believe and Berg has done just that.

Katie, a lonely 13-year-old living alone with an emotionally distant father, longs for friendships which just don't seem to be happening. Just having moved from Texas to Missouri, Katie waits for sporadic letters from Cherylanne, her former "best friend" who isn't much of a friend at all; and without any provocation, the twins across the street leave nasty notes in Katie's yard.

Then one fateful winter afternoon, Katie decides to ice skate in a small pond behind a gas station. She falls through the ice, and nearly succumbs to the cold wetness when she is helped by Jimmy, the 23-year-old station manager.

Katie immediately falls in love, although there is over a decade between them, and she knows that Jimmy is married with a young son. All that matters, she decides, is that she loves him and he must love her back in the same way.

As the months progress, Katie continues to visit the gas station. She tells both Cherylanne and her new friends Cynthia and Taylor about him, and it's obvious that Katie truly believes she has a chance at a future with Jimmy. He is, as she dubs it, her "joy school," her opportunity to finally learn to be happy for once.

There comes a time, of course, when Katie is forced to realize what's really happening -- and as painful as it is, she realizes that the experience has caused her to mature, just as all the other people in her life have been slowly changing all the while, without her noticing.

While Katie's story is simple (and, one might say, fairly predictable) it's still poignant and engrossing. Who among us can't relate to being thirteen and feeling the pangs of first love, of being surrounded by others yet lonely? Berg is a talented storyteller.

When one is 13, every feeling and emotion is utterly and deeply heightened. The world becomes wrapped around one person and that person happens to be the 13 year old narrator. In this case, the teenager is Katie, whom falls madly in love with a 23 year old Paul Newman look-a-like, whom happens to be married.

But love is only one segment of the story. Katie moves to a new state and is meeting new friends--one who is strange and awkward--and one who is beautiful and 13 going on 30. Of course, being a girl, one knows three is a bad mix, so Katie juggles between the two.

Berg, once again, creates irresistable characters, such as Nona, the weird old Italian grandma "When you-a-come over again. Bring-a-me-a- some whiskey, no?"

And the priest who listens to Katie's concerns about coming of age. He is absolutely lovely and I want him as my preist, only I'm Baptist! Katie describes him as bent over and old, but seeing everything, looking you in the eye,really listening.

"Joy School" is deliciously delightful. Berg's insights and wisdom is continually right on, witty, and thought provoking. I love this woman. I understand her. She is a true woman's author. "Joy School" and most of her other books make one feel as if they are eating a sweet bowl of chocolate ice cream--savoring the sugar upon their tongues until they turn the last page.

We first met Katie in Durable Goods, now she's back.
It's the late 1950s, and Katie is living with her father and a housekeeper in a small suburban home.

Her teenager neighbors love to tease Katie by leaving her mean notes in the hedges beside her window. The kids at school also tease Katie, and her father is still strict and mean.

One day Katie decides to go iceskating behind the Mobile station. She gets a little to far to the thin ice and falls through. Somehow she managers to pull herself out of the water, and walks freezing cold into the Mobile station where she meets the twenty five year old manager, Jimmy. Katie developes a crush on Jimmy, despite the fact that he is married.

With her new secret crush Katie begins to have more confidence in herself, and begins to stand up to her neighbors, the kids at school, as well as her father.

I honestly think this is a great book. Written in the usual Elizabeth Berg fashion. If you have ever read an Elizabeth Berg book you will know what I mean.

As one reviewer has noted, this is not a typical addition to the true crime genre. It shares much in common with Strange Piece of Paradise in that both are attempts by a victim/family member to depict the aftermath of a crime. Where Terri Jentz had to confront years of not knowing who her attacker was, Jeanine Cummins and family had to face having a beloved family member being accused of killing two other beloved family members.

It's hard to review a book such as this without a certain amount of sympathy entering into one's judgment. It is for me, at least. This is not the best written non-fiction book you'll ever read, nor is the prose in it the most fluid. It is also, because of Cummins' decision to tell this in the third-person, the most emotionally wrought. But it is better written than most first person accounts I've read. Cummins takes considerable pains to bring Julie and Robin Kerry to life, to make the reader feel the loss Cummins and her family felt. The horror of their deaths (and the nature of their deaths) is compounded when Cummins' brother is accused of their murders.

This is the story of the death of innocence, both literal and figurative. By the time the murders are caught, turn on each other and three are sentenced to death there little sense of justice for the family. Two girls have been gang-raped and murdered, one of the bodies has never been found. The survivor of the attacks has been first branded the likely suspect by the press then must relive the events over and over, in the trials and the subsequent parole hearings. As if this isn't enough agony, they must endure having the convicted murderers still claim their innocence and blame one of the victims. The question of Why? remains unanswered by the perpetrators and possibly unanswerable.

I had this book on my book shelf for a while and hesitated to read it because I knew that it would be painful and depressing. This is the first book that I have read regarding true crime where you really feel to the core the effects and aftermath on the living. This book is excellent, well written, and one of the few books you read that will stay with you and effect how you process stories that you read and watch in the future. After reading this, you truly comprehend the pain and lasting effects that violence has on everyone left behind.

I have little to add to the other reviewers here. But as one who has written about victims myself, I believe this is the best account I've ever read of the devastation criminals leave in their wake.

Read this not merely to learn about a heinous crime or evil men. Read it to meet two wonderful young women, or maybe three -- Julie and Robin, the victims, and Jeanine Cummins, the author.

I went to high school with Robin and Julie. I can't drive over the Mississippi River without thinking about them. The newspaper articles, and TV interviews in St Louis were mainly focused on Tom's (the cousin) guilt, and these "mystery 4 men". I was glad to hear a book had been written from "their" point of view. When I say "their" I mean Robin and Julie. Robin and Julie are gone, and no longer have a voice for themselves, so Jeanine did the best she could to capture this horrible moment in time, and the aftermath it caused.

I feel that as much hatred that she COULD have to the four men that murdered her cousins, and let her brother be blamed for the crimes, Jeanine was fair, and kind to the men. She did not make excuses for their actions, but she did explain how a fun night out, a decision to rob, could turn so dangerous and deadly in minutes.

Although this is a true crime book and heartbreaking, it is also a heartwarming story. The love and concern Ms. Cummins had for her brother and cousins radiated from the pages as she told the story of the death of her cousins and near death of her brother. I was so moved by the story that I sent Ms. Cummins an email to let her know how she touched me and that I wished her a great future as an author. I was so surprised a few months later to receive an answer back, thanking me for my email. What a class act and her family should be so proud. May her cousins rest in peace and her brother have a wonderful life.

From the minute I opened this book, I loved it. I love books about women who live in the country and master the land in which they live. This is a beautifully written book about Sue's long-term marriage that has ended and she lives in a cabin in the Ozark's. The book captures the spirit of the Ozarks with all its beauty and poverty. She focuses on her life during a single year period where she delicately outlines the seasons, her thoughts, her struggles and what it is like to live in the country. The book is well written, articulate and when the book ended I was left wanting more. I wish she would write a sequel. An excellent read.

"A Country Year" is an absorbing bucolic, understated tale of life as a rural beekeeper in the Ozarks. Sue Hubbell offers naturalist lessons without a whiff of pedantic as a shrewd observer of animal and plant life. Her story of the hard work needed to farm undercuts any idyllic fantasies of rural life, though there are compensations. "Green Acres" this aint!!

Hers is a tale of plucky self-reliance as an (aging) but still spry single woman. Sweet honey in the rock, indeed.

Hubbell's description of nature at times is so lyrical that it soars to the threshold of poetry.

Worth reading and savoring for its understated charms.

Sue Hubbell's voice is true. She shares great sadness so matter-of-factly that whole years are communicated in short paragraphs. 'Lyrical' almost applies, but does not, which in this case is a beautiful thing.

I came upon this book belated, more than 20 years after it was published, in the discard bin at my library. That is a shame, because this book is a gift, both in the pleasure it provides the reader and the way it so effortlessly connects us to the natural world.

Half way through, I googled Sue Hubbell to see if some lucky man had found her, and sure enough, he had. I hope he deserves her and has made her blissfully happy.

Then I googled 'farms for sale' and 'dogs for adoption'. I will probably continue my urban life, but when I surrender to sweet dreams of farm and country, Sue Hubbell's voice will be telling the story.

Everyone should read this book. It's lovely, and at the end, you will know some Latin names for plants and animals you did not know before. (You may interrupt your spouse to ask if he knew that some snakes are so evolutionarily advanced they do not lay eggs but give live birth to their young.)

This is solely for the pedantic review by "Urban Naturalist". This book is simply a look at a person who is making observations of the world around her. It does not need an over analyses or pretentious display of book learned education. It is a book written by an individual about simple things that make up her life and the feelings she receives from this experience. It is a nice read. You do not have to memorize the scientific name (genus species) of a critter for it to give you a unique memory. I write this as a field biologist working in Alaska who sees daily the awe in recent college grad eyes when they witness nature in person. There is nothing analytical about it, just visceral. This is what Sue writes about. For those interested in nature, I would recommend a search for the book "The Abstract Wild". Urban is Urban and this recommendation may give insight to that. Enjoy your reading time.

Sue Hubbell writes in a very easy to read fashion. I enjoyed this book. I thought it read like a diary, as it details the authors life in the Ozarks in Missouri on a daily basis. I grew up on 500 acres in the Ozark mountains and I found myself relating to many of her experiences.

In 'Living the Questions' the author literally takes time out to smell the roses and journals what she observes. She takes time to watch nature around her & notices how God made everything to work in conjunction with everything else. Usually, I find scientific talk dull, but Ms. Hubbell made it interesting. The drawings made it feel like a well-read personal nature journal. This is a book you will enjoy it's an easy take on life and nature.

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say at the outset that I'm a lifelong admirer of the subject of this lively, witty biography. Born and raised in Missouri, Clemens' home state, I, like many country boys of my generation, dreamed of floating down the Mississippi on a raft. I even tried to build one; it sank, which was likely for the best. But I digress.

Ron Powers evidences great sympathy for his subject without coddling or sugar-coating the crusty curmudgeon with the wild white mane. His prose is appropriately tongue-in-cheek at times--as Twain would have wished, I think--and his research is scrupulously thorough without adopting the plodding pace that plagues so many scholarly biographies. He allows the reader to marvel at the Sage of Hannibal as he glitters in all his brilliance... and as he curdles in his own self-centered blindness.

Best of all, Powers illuminates to great advantage Mark Twain's pointed social satire and political commentary, uncovering what was, for me at least, the important and previously unknown record of Twain's scathing critiques of U.S. expansionism and colonialist exploitation in places like the Philippines during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Steaming upriver against the popular currents of the day, Twain anticipates by decades--and, in some ways, lays the groundwork for--the rhetoric of dissent that would become prominent in the 1960s.

For Twain junkies like me, or for anyone interested in the rise of the uniquely American literary voice before and during the Gilded Age, MARK TWAIN: A LIFE is a better find than the loot stashed in Injun Joe's cave.

I was disappointed by this biography of one of the most interesting and popular figures in American history and letters. Unlike so many of the other reviewers I found this biography to be excruciatingly long and boring. It takes quite an effort by a writer to make as fascinating a person as Mark Twain dull, but the author succeeds. The writer kept throwing in his personal asides in an effort to be clever, but instead was merely annoying. The writing style is awkward and stilted and it takes a real effort to push through to the end. The author seems to be trying to direct attention to himself as much as the subject. This style makes the 722 pages seem twice as long.

This biography is a well written, comprehensive account of Twain's life. What is missing is a coherent, compelling life story or insightful interpretation of Twain's creative process.

I've read several biographies of Twain over the years, none more beautifully written than this book. It reads like a cultural history of the US during Twain's lifetime. I highly recommend this book to any serious student of Twain's work.

Powers gives us a terrific chronology, densely packed information, charming and insightful prose, plenty of great Twain quotes and anecdotes, empathy for the tragedies of Twain's life and twitting of his oddities when called for. I found it quite remarkable that the book could be so factual and also so readable. There's an excellent index, solid background references, and many laugh-out-loud moments. Adding to the pleasaure of this reading experience are some delightful and - new to me - photographs. Strongly recommend this outstanding biography.