Schools Books

Really good book even if you are not a football fan.

I was at Baylor when Doak Walker starred for SMU. I am glad to learn much from this book about the reasons for Doak's success.

The book shows what one man can do to change the lives of others by learning to use what he has to the best of his--and their--abilities.

The book was fantastic. I had no idea that the Masonic Home was so tough. Miller, Cecil and Dot were my grandmother's sisters children. I knew about their situation when I was growing up but I had never even thought that Miller and Cecil were on one of the best highschool football teams ever.
It was so interesting that I read the whole book in the space of 2 days.

A must read for the truth about high school football in texas. Anyone that loves kids will fall in love with the orphans and the game that shaped their lives outside the walls. A historical picture of the passion for high scholl football that is still shared by Texans today. Read it and go watch a game because you will be hooked on high school football in texas.

I purchased this book for my father for Christmas--he's a huge football fan, played high school ball in Texas years after the depression. He'd never heard of the Mighty Mites, and, were it not for a review I heard on the radio, we may never have. Turns out, he has a lot of ties to the people in the book.

The book itself is well-written, easy to read historical and personal account of the coach, the home and the boys who lived there. We get background on some families, a real history of the coach and the real-life look at the way life was in the home. IT was not pretty, it was hard indeed, but these boys were given a chance to do something beyond the school's fence. Their coach taught them how to play football, but more importantly, how to be a team and how to be men. His love for the game and the boys jumps off the page and you can feel it in every move he makes, every sacrifice he makes for the school. It follows several years of the "Mighty Mites" team, from their inception to their ultimate conclusion.

This is a wonderful story of the human condition, of overcoming odds and expectations, and how one person can make a huge difference in the lives of others when he is truly committed. Football fan or not, this is a wonderful telling of the lives of some special kids and the man who led them.

This is the kind of book, once you start reading you can't put it down. Jim Dent is great writer. Don't miss this one.

Gaia doesn't know what to think as soon as she agrees with one of the Moore twins that the other is Loki, the other retracts it and gives her evidence of the contrary. So when Oliver once again puts evidence against her father Gaia just accepts it. So when Oliver offers her a fear treatment to reverse the 'fear serum' her father gave her as a child Gaia is all for it. Only she isn't just feeling fear she is terrified and going crazy. Ed doesn't know what to think of her. Her father rescues her from Loki and leaves her with Natasha and Titiana whom Gaia doesn't trust at all so she leaves and wonders around New York City like a mad woman having visions of all the people she's seen die being killed again. The one vision that gives her the most trouble is Josh. She saw him die and now in her visions there are three of him and it is inconsistent with her other visions. Now they are terrifying her and she doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's not.

ok, i always knew that ed and gaia were meant for each other...and now i am just overwelmed with the connection between them. ed was always there for her. so, if you love ed and gaia together as much as i do...you will absolutely LOVE this book. #19 is definately the best i have read of this series so far and it will leave you completely satisfied. although, there is a little bit of a cliffhanger. hehehe.

I have just finished the number 19 book and have immediatley started to read 20 but i can't understand how Gaia can change her feelings like that so quickly. I mean Gaia was suppose to be in love with Sam... rite. I just think that it is a bit to quick a change, Sam and Gaia were meant to be together and although he was killed it still think Ed cant change those feelings very easily. Email me ClaireLouise504@msn.com if u wana talk about this. I an a bit confused on this subject.

Even though her father and uncle are twins, Gaia has always had the ability to tell the two of them apart. Not anymore. For her father and uncle are no longer different people. They've finally morphed into one evil person. Both of them have the same plan: to destroy Gaia, and use her as nothing but a lab experiment. Fine, well they can have each other, because Gaia isn't taking this lying down. But when Loki injects a powerful medicine into Gaia's system, that's the exact way she must take it, because now she's plagued with psychotic episodes. Ones that are making her see dead people, and bringing back her friends who have passed away, making her suffer through their torturous deaths over and over again. Gaia can't seem to figure out what's wrong with her. All she knows, is that she must put her finger on it quickly, otherwise she'll be in a padded room wearing a straight-jacket, and she'll never get to reveal her true feelings for Ed, or figure out what the two new strangers in her life: Natasha and Tatiana - people claiming that they are related to her mother, but Gaia doesn't trust them.

Francine Pascal has come up with many twists and turns throughout the FEARLESS series, but none have keept my attention as much as the sickness in TWINS. Pascal has woven psychotic episodes into this tale, making Gaia even stranger than before, and even makes her have a few moments where she actually has "fear." However, it is the developing relationship between Ed and Gaia that is sure to please longtime readers. Yes, TWINS features a lot of one-on-one interaction between the two "friends," and adds quite a cliff-hanger at the end to see where their relationship will go. Without a doubt, TWINS is one of the most enjoyable FEARLESS book in the series thus far, complete with clones, psychotic episodes, and a dash of romance, that will keep readers reading long into the night.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

gaia has grown up not knowing fear. so when her uncle loki gives
her the opportunity to learn fear through an injection that his
scientists have been working on, she jumps at the opportunity. my
will gaia never learn not to trust everything at face value? uncle loki has his own sinister plans and they are as usual no good for gaia. this book is not one of the better ones of the series. i think pascal has run out of ideals and keeps going around in circles. this series needs some new life to it desperately.

Sophie feels pretty awful about things. Actually, she's felt pretty awful for three years, ever since her younger brother Erhart died. He was seven and she was twelve. Since then, she has tried hard to keep his memory alive inside of her, specifically thinking of him a couple of times a day so he doesn't fade completely from her mind.

Making things even worse in Sophie's life is the fact that she can't seem to get along with her father, who had an affair shortly before Erhart's death and was thrown out of their house.

Then Sophie lost her best friend, Justin, who wanted to date her and stopped liking her when she refused to be his girlfriend. Now he circulates with a group Sophie refers to as the Wolf Pack, mindless guys who only care about impressing frivolous girls. Sophie feels pretty alone in the world.

The stops feeling so alone when she meets Francis, a guy whose mother died years ago. He seems to understand a little of what she feels about Erhart, and he is the first person in a long time she has enjoyed spending time with. He even respects that she isn't interested in dating anyone. But is she really not interested in dating anyone? Or would she maybe like to date Francis?

I really liked Francis' character and the way he related to and respected Sophie, although I found it a bit unrealistic that he would have stuck around so long when Sophie gave him so little encouragement. I liked that Sophie's family didn't completely break down after her brother died; she and her mother and sister were still pretty much okay. The character of Justin was lousy--it was hard to believe someone would be so insensitive to drop his friendship with a girl so easily when she refused to date him.

This book was interesting--at times. I found the main character quite boring, but Francis seemed complex, and I found his tear tattoo fascinating. This is a rather typical "coming-of-age" story and did not do much to capture my interest. I basically struggled through the story, but I didn't find it unbearable. It was well-written, but simply wasn't attention-grabbing for me. I gave it three stars as it just didn't have what it takes to make a wonderful novel.

This is one of my favorite books. The characters felt so real and were very memorable, especially Francis. I liked the plot and felt satisfaction when it endded. It was an easy read, but was also well written.

"Her brother is gone-but she is still here", says the cover. Sophie's younger brother died of leukemia when he was eight. That was two years ago. Day by day, Sophie finds herself forgetting him. She's scared of letting go of what little memories she has of him; until she meets Francis. Can she let go but still hold on of the memories she has? This was a very good book, very vivid of what Sophie goes through. She's someone that you could easily relate to if someone close to you died. At times though, she sounds very fake and un-caring. She's somewhat of a snob though that judges people by what she's heard about them. Francis teaches her that's not a wise idea and little by little, she finds herself falling in love with him. Yet part of her holds back. Plus, there's her complicated relationship with her father. Her parents are divorced and he was having an affair while her brother was dying. In a way she blames him for his death. Can Sophie give herself permission to be what she wants to be? To grow up?

When I was Older by Garret Freymann-Weyr is one of my favorite books. It is a fictional story about a Girl learning to cope her life. I loved this book, and i would recommend it to any teenage girl. It is a must read.
Sophie is a 13 year old girl growing up in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Her brother died when she was very young, and She doesnt take it well. She still can't talk about him, or bring it up in a conversation with anyone. In a way, Earheart (her brother) is keeping her from growing up. Her thoughts are still on days when she was younger when she'd play with him before he got sick. Sophie must learn that Highschool changes people, and sometimes you have to accept that change.
I liked this book alot becuase I myself, can relate to how Sophie feels. Her brother is diagnosed with Lukemia and When he dies it breaks her heart. My mother had cancer, so i know how Sophie feels through the book.
Also, Garret Freymann Weyr is an amazing author. He tells this story with the use of Strong Diction, and great dialouge. his knack for writing really shines through. I never once wanted to put this book down, and i read it in 2 days. This book Not only shows the hardships of growing up, but learning how tocope with your problems. I recomend it for everyone.

The two greatest strengths of Michael A. Roberto's book are its honesty and clarity. He admits that most people are uncomfortable with conflict and that many well-intentioned leaders shut down dissent. He's also honest about how likely it is that things will go wrong along the way, at least temporarily. Fortunately, he's also very clear about steps you can take to guide conflict in a productive direction, and why this matters. Roberto analyzes several well-known examples of bad decision making and shows how the absence of dissent or institutional mechanisms that insulated decision makers from essential - though not necessarily positive - information created serious problems. The list is long and chilling: President John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vietnam, NASA and the Columbia shuttle explosion. His discussions will give you a powerful desire to review your organization's decision-making processes and, more generally, its culture. As Roberto himself readily admits, his techniques are not cure-alls, nor easy, but they will lead to improvements. We recommend this book to managers with decision-making responsibilities and to anyone who is committed to improving organizational functioning.

This is a great book. I highly recommend it to any CEO. It will make you stop and think how you interact with your staff and whether you are getting the answers you want to hear and need to make good decisions.

Michael Roberto provides a book that can help not only managers, but employees at all levels. Yes-men and Yes-women not only promote (self-promote), and perpetuate their self-interests and its negative effects by what they say, but also by what they *don't* say. This is often as much as or more detrimental. Most of of us have witnessed this no matter where we work, no matter how big or small our organization is.

The 1986 NASA Space Shuttle disaster noted in this book was a prime example. Several investigations and studies examined the thought and decision-making process that caused this debacle. What led to this unnecessary and horrific tragedy? The decision-making process (along with its machismo). This calamity was one-hundred percent avoidable. Launching the Challenger in the first place is considered a criminal act by many.

Roberto uses variety in this exploration and in-depth study of the decision-making process. Appropriate coverage of MLB General Managers is also examined. Sport GMs have to make difficult decisions based upon current market value and and the collective needs, yet also assess what the potential in the near, mid, and long-term future will be. Other critical
examples cited are decision made by politicians. These individuals make decisions that affect the lives and death, of up to hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions, of people. Author Roberto's classic example was LBJ, and how he stifled and belittled those who dissented and raised questions to his disastrous and failed policies in South East Asia in the 1960s.

There are four parts in this book with nine chapters.


Assumptions:

We all make them. No matter who we are, or what situation we're in, we make assumptions. There is an old saying: "assumptions are the mother of all f-ups." Our assumptions need to be tested and checked by others. In today's world - organizations - make many of the major decisions: collective decision making. Providing the proper quality of environment (local to larger corporate culture and management style) that leads to *how* these decisions are made is the focus.

Roberto lists the five myths of decision-making, which are followed up by the "truths" about how decisions are made. Appropriate dissent and debate is needed and critical in today's rapidly changing environment. People who will ultimately make the decision need to ask themselves: "how honest are folks being with me?" Especially when debating, negotiating, and attempting to build a consensus for making the best decision and executing it.

This is one of the many reasons this book can help employees,
team-leaders, project managers, lower, mid, and upper level managers. Those who participate, question, and seek the best solutions get kicked upstairs. Yes-men don't get kicked upstairs, and for good reason.

Those with control should leave their egos at home and focus not necessarily on the "what" but the "how." This books will be helpful and provide results if one wants it to.

Years ago, George Reedy wrote a book, The Imperial Presidency, about his association with President Lyndon Johnson. As I read that book, I was reminded of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Emperor's New Clothes." Recently, as I read Michael Roberto's book, I was again reminded of Anderson's tale as well as Reedy's book. Emperors, presidents, CEOs, etc. who discourage, indeed punish dissent deny themselves access to information, perspectives, opinions, and suggestions which they may need when making difficult decisions. As a result, they as well as those for whom they are responsible are vulnerable to the consequences of bad decisions which can include making no decision whatsoever.

I forget the source but I once learned of a group discussion during which a CEO turned to one of his executives and observed, "You agree completely with me. One of us is useless." (Sounds like Jack Welch.) According to Roberto, the most effective leaders are those who "cultivate constructive conflict so as to enhance the level of critical and divergent thinking, while simultaneously building consensus so as to facilitate the timely and efficient implementation of the choices that they make." Roberto goes on to assert that "effective leaders can and should spend time `deciding how to decide.' In short, creating high-quality decision-making processes necessitates a good deal of forethought."

Roberto carefully organizes his material within four Parts. In Chapters 1 and 2, he provides "a conceptual framework for thinking about how to diagnose, evaluate, and improve strategic decision-making processes. Then in Chapters 3-5, Roberto focuses on the task of managing conflict (e.g. factors that can inhibit candid dialogue and debate). Next, in Chapters 6-8, he concentrates on how managers can "create consensus within their organizations without compromising the level of divergent and creative thinking." In Part IV (Chapter 9), Roberto shares his thoughts about how this book's philosophy of leadership and decision-making differs from conventional views held by many managers. "Specifically, I distinguish between two different approaches to `taking charge' when confronted with a difficult decision." He devotes an entire chapter to differentiating between the two approaches.

Throughout Roberto's lively narrative, there is a strong recurring theme: "leaders must strive for a delicate balance of assertiveness and restraint." One challenge is to be able to do either effectively. Another, greater challenge is to know when each approach should be taken. In this context, Roberto has much of value to say about great leaders as great teachers: "They prepare to decide just as teachers prepare to teach. They have a plan, but they adapt as the decision-making process unfolds. Great leaders do not have all the answers, but they remain firmly in control of the process through which their organizations discover the best answers to the toughest problems."

One final observation of my own. It would be a serious mistake to assume that Roberto wrote this book primarily for senior-level executives. All organizations (regardless of size or nature) urgently need effective leadership in all areas and at all levels. They need people who can make the right decisions, notably when the given problems are especially serious. For these and other reasons, I highly recommend this book to individuals who must make informed and correct decisions about almost any business situation as well as to others who must collaborate on them.

As Roberto well realizes, there are specific reasons why Dante reserves the last (and worst) ring in hell for those who, in a moral crisis, preserve their neutrality. Some decisions require courage, others require judgment, still others must be made quickly and often with insufficient information. How and why are great leaders able to make such decisions, either alone or in consultation with others? In essence, that is what Roberto's book is really all about.

Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Jason Jennings' THINK BIG, Act Small, Michael Hammer's The Agenda and Robert Mittelstaedt's Will Your Next Mistake Be Fatal?

Boy, if I had a buck for every time I heard that from someone sheltering the boss at the top from the truth, I'd be a lot wealthier than I am now. "Yes" is what flunkies always tell the boss. "No" is what they often need to hear. "No, this project isn't going to pan out." "No, we can't achieve that goal, no matter how much money we throw at it." "No, it isn't going well at all." Problem is, who is going to bell the cat, as the Aesop fable asks.

The book "Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer" discusses behavior of leaders who realize that getting to the truth is more important that getting what they want to hear. And there are plentiful examples from real life situations that show us the tragedies that unfold when this isn't the case (The Challenger disaster for one.)

HOW a question is framed can result in getting answers, not fluff or outright obfuscation. The author lists five good alternatives:

1. Instead of "Why"--"Help me to understand why you believe"
2. Instead of "Why not" "Why not pursue other options"
3. Instead of "What if" "What if we found this assumption to be false"
4. Instead of "What would you do" "What would you do if you were in my shoes"
5. Instead of "What makes that optimal" "You must have good reason for thinking it's an optimal solution. I'd like to hear them."

There's a lot more in this book, but this is a modestly-looking book that packs a huge punch. If you seen projects flame down millions of dollars while the bad news is squelched, if you were a top manager who found out too late that something was heading south when you were told time and again it was heading north, you should read this. Excellent book, and really essential to any manager's reading list.

Agnes Pflumm and The Stonecreek Science Fair is a phenomonal book! This book helped me learn the scientific method through a rap. After I learned the scientific method, my science fair project became a lot easier. This book also gave me some ideas for another science fair project. I think this book also helped my other classmates with their science fair projects. Everyone on the earth should read this book!

Agnes Pflumm made me like science so much more! I had already loved ELA --it's my favorite subject! It helped me improve on my science fair. It helped me feel myself with more confedince than I already had! I am a very friendly person, but it helped to improve my friendship so much more!!I loved the Agnes Pflumm and The Stonecreek Science Fair Book!!!

When I read that book it made me think of a real science fair. Your book is unbelievable to read because it has so much figurative language. You use so much feeling in all of your books. I want to know what the next book is going to be called by you? This book is so funny and it makes me laugh. I hope you have a great time reading my review. The book has a great title and a great cover. I have another question to ask you: Did you have any help writing this book?

Agnes Pflumm helped me appreciate science because it made it seem fun. It also helped me with my science project because it went through the steps of the scientific method in an easy and fun way. This is a great book if you love science and even if you don't. This book also helped me get along with others by sharing ideas. I would suggest this book to anyone, it's the greatest book ever.

Agnes Pflumm helped me appreciate science because it made it seem fun. It also helped me with my science project because it went through the steps of the scientific method in an easy and fun way. This is a great book if you love science and even if you don't. This book also helped me get along with others by sharing ideas. I would suggest this book to anyone, it's the greatest book ever.

Naylor's style of writing is much like Judy Blume, in which it draws you in and you ache, laugh and sympthasize with the character. With every "Alice" book, it feels like you get to know a friend. I'm sure every girl can relate to the everyday things she has to go to. Because the Alice series is so realistic, each time a new installment is realeased, you get the feeling that you're just learning new stuff about an old friend.

This insallment of the series is a little less chirpy, like past might have been. Gone are the silly 6th grade "what will I wear?!" chrisis that everyone can probably relate to. Now, it's about becoming woman of the house, and dealing with deeper problems. For example, Alice encounters a loner. She invites her to her dad's party and they start a bond. Well, just a few days later [I haven't read the book in 2+ years so forgive me!], the friend commits suicide, and in comes the feelings of "I could've done this...It's my fault".

A solid book for kids of most ages.

This book is about how Alice gets used to being the woman of the house. When she finds out that a man docter is going to examin her she starts to freak out but then reilizes that it isn't so bad. The boys are naming girls after states according to how big their breasts are.

About to turn 13, Alice McKinley is preoccupied with her aunt's statement about needing to be the "Woman of the House" for her widowed father and older brother Lester. Her best efforts, however, usually turn to disaster...

To make matters worse, the seventh-grade boys are naming the girls after various states...depending on the size of their chests! Alice lives in terror, uncertain which would be worse: getting dubbed the name of a flat state, or being overlooked altogether.

Readers will enjoy hearing about Alice, who is just an ordinary girl going through ordinary things, but in such a humorous and interesting way, they can't help wanting things to turn out okay...

Alice in April is about a girl who is having trouble with boys giving the girls at school nicknames of a state by it's geography, in other words ,"hills or no hills". If you like books that are funny, maybe even true life, Alice in April is the book for you.

I just read this a few days ago, and I started reading it at 9:30 p.m. that night and it was done the next day at about 1:30 p.m.!! I love this book, it is so believeable I think Alice IS ME!!(except for my mom didn't die). I love this book and all the other books in the series!!

Wonderful book if you like vintage stories, especially of large innovative families.

There are a number of books related to this one, as well as movies connected as remakes of the books.

Belles on Their Toes, Cheaper by the Dozen, etc. are refreshing insights of life in the early 1900's.

especially for a sequel!

I found this book a couple years after I came across the first one as a teenager. It's a good continuation of the story and lets you know what happened, and how this amazing family all chipped in to make things work after their terrible tragedy.

This book continues the true story of the Gilbreth children or the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.
The story continues after the father died. The mother is now the soul supporter of her family. There is a graet saying in the book that says,"Mother wasn't afraid anymore because the worst had happend."
The mother carried on her husbands works. She held conferences and taught the scince of time saving. She became a very strong woman.
It was a long hard haul but ahe successfully continued her husbands work. The children successfully ran the household.
This story is humorus and very touching. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I can't believe I didn't know this book existed till very recently; I would have bought and read it a whole lot sooner had I known, having read the first book about five or six times. It's in the same funny spirit as the first, though the focus has shifted from the antics of the entire family to the mother's struggle to take care of her eleven children after her husband died. And the funny moments aren't as frequent as in the first book, since the children are older. It also seems like the younger children got the short end of the stick--less time was given to writing about their own humourous childhood anecdotes and stories, since time passes really quickly after Anne gets married. The only other thing in this book I wasn't keen on was how some of it was dated. Some of it, like Mrs. Gilbreth trying to find reasons for the oldest two not to smoke and then instantly retracting each reason, or the youngest boys teaching Jane how to be popular and get dates by not being her true self, is to be expected, given not only the era in which that happened but also when the book was published, but there are a few slang words and references that the modern reader might not understand or find as funny or relevant as someone who was a contemporary of the family might. We all know what a sheik is, but who uses the term "wet smack" anymore, for example? Still, overall it's a sweet fun way to wrap up the story of this funny family.

Never fails to delight. Enjoyable reading. Mayhem in an antique shop is no match for the feline with more than the usual amount of whiskers.

With the third installement in The Cat Who...series this is by far the funniest.

With his new assignment in junktown, learning all about antiques and the dealers that come with it Qwill stumbbles onto what looks like another odd murder mystery. Once his mustache starts twiching and his partners, KoKo and Yum, start their usual shenanigans Qwill knows for sure he is right. The only thing left for him to do is to figure out which of the colorful characters of junktown could be the culprit.
With even more colorful, fun and way out there characters this book will definitely leave you wanting more and more of Qwill and his furry gang of friends. Next on the list is The Cat Who Saw Red.

Always great listening to a Braun mystery narrated by the talented George Guidall.

In the 3rd book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran (aka "Qwill"), is working on assignment in the features department as a newsman for the Daily Fluxion. Returning to writing for a paper after an absence of several years, he has gotten his life back together and sobered up. In the previous book, he had been assigned to writing a weekly magazine style insert titled "Gracious Abodes" that focused on the world of interior design. Having survived that assignment, Qwill is back writing features, and is excited about the prospect of winning a prize in the Fluxion's annual writing contest. He hears about a nearby town called Junktown from a cabbie, and decides to write a piece about what he assumes is a crime-ridden area. Instead, he finds that Junktown is a hotbed of antique dealers, and he quickly finds a room to rent in the town while writing a story about antiques. He learns that the tenant who occupied his room previously had died in a suspicious manner, and Qwill begins to investigate the curious characters in Junktown. Qwill meets Iris Cobb in this installment, starting a lengthy friendship that will last long into future books set in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. More of Qwill's background is explained, and it was interesting to revisit how Qwill met Mrs. Cobb, and her son, Dennis who later renovates the apple barn he lives in. For those that have not read the series, I do recommend reading the first several first. Many others can be intermixed, but this book offers good insight to some of the characters that show up later in the series. This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

In this, the third offering in this series we find that our hero Jim Qwilleran has a new assignment with the Daily Fluxion. In the second book we saw him change assignments but for some reason there is no explanation for this change. Whatever the reason, Qwilleran is now a feature writer and has decided to do all that he can to win a writing contest sponsored by the Fluxion because he could really use the prize money to move out of the third-rate hotel he and his cats are occupying. A taxi driver mentions an area called Junktown to the writer who assumes that it is a high traffic narcotics area. That is just the kind of story that an old crime reporter can sink his teeth in to but alas, Qwilleran finds out that Junktown is really an antiquing area filled with junk stores.

Reluctantly Qwilleran heads out for Junktown and quickly finds himself intrigued with the area and it's colorful collection of characters. The development of quirky and fun characters is an area in which this author excels and she may have outdone herself with this group. He also finds that a prominent Junker recently died in what the police have called an accident but the veteran reporter's mustache tells him that it was no accident. Soon, Qwilleran is not only involved with the people of Junktown but he rents an apartment from one of the junk dealers and he and the cats move right in. The stories that he is generating from Junktown please his editor and he thinks that there is a good chance he will win the paper's prize money. But all the while he is still working to solve the mystery of the junk dealer's death.

Shortly after his arrival in Junktown, Qwilleran's landlord is killed in an apparent fall while scrounging for goodies in an abandoned house that is about to be torn down. Again the police call it an accident and again Qwilleran is not so sure that it was accidental. Finally the cats do their thing and the whole case is cleared up but not before the cats once again save Qwilleran's life.

This book, unlike it's predecessors is a little light on the mystery angle until the end of the book but as before, the clues are there all through the story. The reporter and the readers just seem to let them slip right by. Finally however, the reporter and the reader will began to put two and two together and figure out that there is definitely something fishy in Junktown.

Once again Lilian Jackson Braun has produced a delightfully lighthearted mystery that I suspect any mystery lover will fall in love with. If you don't fall in love with the story you will assuredly fall in love with Koko and Yum Yum, super cats par excellence.

While I'm sure there are a few teens out there who are interested in cooking a turkey or baking bread, the book is doing itself a disservice by suggesting it is for teens. It's a very good book for the more adventurous of young cooks, but more probably for the 30-something set who loves spending time and money in the kitchen. Most teens and those leaving home for the first time more closely fit the profile illustrated in 50 Ways to Leave Your Mother, and are more likely to subsist on ramen noodles and popcorn. That said, this book is a wealth of information for the more adventurous cook of any age. The style is warm and a bit humorous, never a bad thing when tackling your first pot roast. So, while I do recommend this book, I have to add that I would not buy it for any inexperienced cooks, especially teens.

Everyone knows someone that can't cook or doesn't cook. This book is different from other cookbooks in that it explains much more than just recipes. Its rough to make time to cook a decent meal and many people have grown up on microwaves with the occasional homemade food. This book starts from scratch, explaining things your parents forgot to mention. Like how to defrost the freezer? You won't find that in an everyday cookbook. Its written for a teenager but I found it to be for all ages. It was a fun book to give to my nameless chef. I did look through it before wrapping it and found several recipes I would enjoy making myself. I might be borrowing it more than the chef will use it. I also purchased the baking book by the same author. Once again it gives a concise explanation on how to bake from scratch and keeping it simple. I only hope my nameless chef will use it well and maybe will invite me over for dinner. Its perfect for a new home/apartment gift, or that someone for christmas that always burns their food. And its enjoyable to read through.

This book is fantastic for anyone who has little or no experience in cooking. I have purchased four or five of these books because I keep giving them away. I first gave one to my teenage daughter, who set out to amaze her parents with her culinary skills! The Desperate for Cheesecake recipe is great. Most of these recipes are "basic" types of recipes which I often use as a springboard for my own cooking creativity. I finally bought a copy for myself!

This is a fabulous cookbook. I bought my first two at a library book fair and gave one away to the daughter of a friend. Since then I have bought more and recommended it a number of times.

My four boys don't like the way the author talks to teens, but ignore that, and what you have is a tremendous collection of from-scratch recipes that are very do-able. My favorite is the stuffed bell peppers. I had never before seen a recipe that called for simmering the stuffed peppers in a pot of tomato juice. They come out beautifully tender, and then the remaining liquid makes a terrific soup, with or without additions.

So, buy this book and you'll be glad you did.

This book is great for teenagers, and also for people like me: the ones that just never learned. It is simple and easy to use. My guests are so happy that I can now whip them up something for breakfast or dinner. Also, this is a really great gift for those people going off to college. It even includes a complete list of what to get for a starter kitchen.

One of the very special merits of Dr. Newton's "Complete Conduct Principles for the 21st Century" is strict logic, being revealed throughout the whole book. This merit makes the sentences of the book reasonable and precise.

I especially like the Principle of "Lasting" (# 103): "A real friendship should not fade as time passes, and should not weaken because of space separation." What a beautiful and respectable mind! Few friendships have ever attained that. I hope our human beings will be improved by this great book.

Reading the book increases my hope of a better world in this century, which sadly begins with a dark side. May more people read it!

How nice it is! If one wishes to make his or her
life smoother and happier and do whatever he or
she likes without making others unpleasant, this
is a book he or she needs to read.

I agree:
How to make the world peaceful and better --
The solution can be found in Dr. John Newton's "Complete Conduct Principles for the 21st Century". This is what people in the whole world need, especially now.