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Lauren Baratz-Logsted writes a week-by-week young adult novel that chronicles the journey of a high school senior's pregnancy: from her decision to keep the baby to the obstacles she must overcome as she faces impending single motherhood.

After a few too many one night, high school senior, Angel Hansen, experiences her first time with a guy she hardly knows after her crush hooks up with someone else. Ironically, after he drops her off, he tosses Angel his phone number and sarcastically says, "Call me if you're pregnant". Two months later she makes the phone call. From difficult decisions to the consequences the decision presents to her family and friends, Angel's Choice is a brutally honest depiction of a teenage pregnancy.

A recommended read for both mothers and daughters. The dialogue is real, the voice is real, and the obstacles are real. For a frank peek into an expecting teen's world, without a pro-life or pro-choice hidden message, read Angel's Choice.

ANGEL'S CHOICE begins in typical teenage fashion. A girl, a boy, a party and a very bad decision. Angel Hansen is a senior in high school and her plans for the future included graduating, going to Yale, and becoming a novelist. She's always been the smart girl. But at the end-of-summer party, she has a lapse in judgement that will change her reputation and affect the rest of her life. With all options available to her, what choice will Angel make?

ANGEL'S CHOICE takes an honest look at teenage pregnancy and the decisions that go along with such a difficult situation. Taking a walk in Angel's shoes is not easy. But it is heartwarming and emotional and realistic.

Lauren Baratz-Logsted tackles a difficult topic without judgement. ANGEL'S CHOICE is heart-warming and sincere and a must read for any teenage girl.

Angel's Choice was the best book I've read in a long time! I'm so glad that Lauren has written this book. My best friend is currently pregnant at 16 and it really helped me to understand her pregnancy better. It even helped me of what I thought of myself and my future goals. I think that every teenager should read this book. My favorite character was Angel because she was a very strong person to keep her baby even though she got accepted in to the college of her dreams and her family had very high expectations of her. I read Angel's Choice in 2 days. I just couldn't put it down!
- Courtney Jelonek

Couldn't put this book down. I read it over the weekend. really well written and believable. I've read all of Lauren's books and I think this is her best. I really cared about Angel and wanted to know what her decision would be. Great job Lauren.

To me, the most important factor in any book is the characters and their voices. This book, judging by how much I love it, really delivered.

Angel Hansen finds herself pregnant in the middle of senior year, and while everyone else is worried about getting into college, their SATs, usual high school stuff, she's got much bigger things to worry about. Does she ever complain about it? No. Does she ever let herself wallow in self-pity? Again, no. She is, throughout the book, met with many conflicts that she does not wiggle herself out of--she combats them full-on. By no means is her pregnancy easy. Being a pregnant teen in today's society means you're constantly the object of judgment, ostracism and alienation. It takes its toll on a person. But, again, does Angel cower away? You guessed it--she doesn't.

The choice she makes has strong repercussions in very important relationships in her life--with her best friend, Karin, her parents, her aunt, and Danny, a guy from school who is more than a friend but less than a boyfriend. This is what makes this novel so, so authentic. Nothing comes without a certain weight.

And of course, Angel is a truly identifiable character. Sometimes while I read this book, in the many times I have read it, I was struck by how many introspective passages sounded like my own thoughts and my own reasoning. She's got her weaknesses, her fears, her imperfections, all of which perfectly shape an admirable heroine.

All in all, this book's got it all: superb writing, characters you can relate to, authenticity, and one great main character.

9/10!

I read this book for the first time when I was a horse-crazy little girl. I absolutely loved it then and I still enjoy re-reading it. It is a wonderful story, especially appealing to horse-crazy children.

Bill Wallace writes this book as though it's real life. Once you start, you an hardly put it down!
Luke, a young city boy, is the son of divorced parents. he lives with his mom on his grandfather's farm. because his mom lost her job. Luke never wants to do anything at the farm because his mom made him leave all of his friends when they moved.
After a long summer, Luke befriends an old horse called Beauty. They share a special bond with late summer walks and secrets. But when a terrible accident happens, Luke does something that may break that bond.
This book is great for children and adults. It has adventure, suspense, and funny, laugh-out-loud moments, too. It shows that when you have a bond with a clase friend, keep it for it will become one of your greatest treasures. I give this book a four out of five star rating.

This book is really sad, when the horse, Beauty died. Luke's horse, Beauty were best friends, and were really close. Until one night when Beauty escape from her pen and went outside into the stormy night. Then Beauty accidently went into a trap, that made her cried out loud. There was no chose for Luke. He had to kill Beauty. So he shoted Beauty in her head where her star was. At the end there was anther horse that looked like Beauty, with a star on her forehead. A memory of Beauty.

Beauty is a great book. Other than Harriet the Spy it's my favorite book. It teaches relationships. When I started this book I was crying and when I ended it I was crying. At first Luke and his Mother move to Oaklahoma to live with Luke's grandpa. Now at first Luke hates him, but grows to love him. Luke's favorite horse Beauty gets caught in a corral and... well you'll have to read it for the ending. But by how I read it I think you'll think the same "It's sad but Good"

This book is one of my favorites. I think that ever kid needs to read this book. It sounds kinda like the way I got my first horse. The book is very sad. I even cried at the end. This book is awesome. So Read It.

Blood of Angels is one of the best suspense novels I have read in quite some time. Set in Nashville it features Thomas Dennehy, a lead prosecutor who is known for his closing arguments and who has sent more than one criminal to death row. His new case, for which he plans to go for the maximum penalty, is against Moses Bol, a Sudanese immigrant accused of raping and murdering a white woman in a gritty part of town. As the case is contemplated a bombshell drops. An anti-death penalty professor claims he has incontrovertible proof that an executed convict that Dennehy put on death row, Wilson Owens, was innocent of the crime for which he was put to death. This throws the prosecutor's office into disarray, as well as the case against Bol, as an activist preacher claims Bol is innocent. In the meantime Dennehy thinks he's being stalked by someone, and acts directed at him get increasingly more frightening. He is soon visited, yet again, by his past, in a harrowing sequence of events.

This novel is definitely an intricate, well thought out work of suspense. The characters in this novel are very well drawn and Dennehy's relationship and interaction with them gives the novel a very personal touch.

Two thumbs up for this one.

The start was a bit misleading ( I thought I'd stumbled upon an anti-death penalty rant disguised as a novel ), but was pleasantly surprised to find myself in the middle of a fantastic thriller.

I recommend readers go through the bargain hardcover book section of their local bookstores and experiment with new authors on the cheap. That's how I found Reed Arvin and now I plan on reading all of his books.

Thomas Dennehy, Assistant District Attorney of Davidson County Tennessee, has his hands full in Blood of Angels.

The case of one Wilson Owens has come back to haunt the DA's office as new evidence has come to light that the State of Tennessee may have executed the wrong man two years ago.

Dennehy was the prosecutor in the case known at the Sunshine Grocery murders and has the singular notoriety of having convicted two men in separate trials and of separate crimes of killing the same woman. This in itself puts a tornadic twist into this book that would make it a brilliant story, but Arvin goes one-step further by hurling the racially charged murder of a local white-trash girl by a Sudanese immigrant into the mix.

Kwame Jamal Hale has come forward and delivered what may prove to be very damning evidence that he, not Owens, was the murderer at the Sunshine Grocery. His claim? He knows where the heretofore-undiscovered murder weapon can be found. Dennehy, his boss David Rayburn and soon-to-be retired fellow prosecutor Carl Becker, can only wait and watch as the circus rolls into downtown Nashville and the DA's office prepares to tender their resignations en toto, if it is proved that Wilson Owens was innocent and unlawfully executed.

Meanwhile the bond hearing of the suspected Sudanese murderer Moses Bol comes to court. The DA is dealt another blow when bail is set at $1.5 million and is paid by one Fiona Towns, a Presbyterian preacher of a dying central Nashville church that has less the dozen members.

These two stories together are not enough for Arvin. He tosses in the failing personal life of Dennehy, a cast of characters that make every page a thrill to turn and just enough action for you to gnaw your fingernails down to the cuticles. Dennehy has a wit and dark sense of humor that would be depressing if it were not written so well. Add his ex-wife, her wealthy doctor second husband, and a daughter that truly loves her daddy, and you have the full package in a legal thriller that you will be proud to recommend to every fellow fiction reader you know.

Armchair Interviews says: If you love legal thrillers, check this one out!

I loved "The Will" by Arvin and grabbed "Blood of Angels" as soon as it was released in hardcover. It is a book to own and I will read again one day. Great suspense, character developement and plot. This book has it all. It's one of those you can't put down once you start it.

As a former resident of Nashville and currently living in the city of Frankling (the hero's city) I was expecting to be somewhat familiar with the sites and locations. What I was not expecting was the absolutely riveting story - a police procedural of the first degree. I now know how residents of New York, DC, LA & Chicago feel when they read stories that take place in their city. The areas described are well-known and provide a reference point for the story.

This is the New South. Absent are evangelicals, the dominant Democrat party, close-knit generational families and a whites only landscape. Instead, Thomas Dehenny, the district attorney, is a driven, dedicated hard-drinking, divorced father who never attends church. One detects that the author (through Thomas) decries those who devote their lives to defending murderers and rapists. He asks, What about the victims? Who speaks for them?

In this case, there is a strong possiblity that the wrong man was executed. The crime involved two defendents - the shooter & the medic who actually killed the woman through negligance (he was on meth). At the same time, the city is rocked by the brutal murder of a Nationite woman by an African refugee. The struggle between low-class whites (The Nation) & the growing numbers of refugees and immigrants is real & depicted with accuracy. Into the fray steps Fiona Tonws, local Presbyterian minister/activist. Despite their positions, a romance breaks out between the two. The real villian is revealed midway through the book & he is as horrible and clever as they come. The ending was sheer perfection as was the entire story. I cannot say enough about this book! Buy it.

Breaking the Girl is a wonderfully romantic read. It is very well written. The sex scenes were a bit scant, but the lead ups and the plot will keep you reading this book.

My eyeballs were burning, cause I could not put this book down. It was so damn good. I'm a freaky gal in bed anyways and when I read this it struck a cord inside me. After I finished this book I sent it to my husband in Iraq and believe me, when he came home on R&R we had some fun. The book has HOT sex, great story, and it just flows. And I love Frank! I dream about that man, he loves her so much. At the end, I was just moved by the love between them. BUY THIS BOOK...NOW!

when i first looked at the book i thought neah this won't be good, but when i started reading it, it blew me away. if your into bondage, and the man taking all control of you, this is a book that will press your buttons. very good, it brought my imagination to life. I read this book over and over again. You'll love the different places. the domination that she doesn't really know is taking place. It is just one of those books that you can't put down when you start to get into it.

Received this book in the mail tonight and truely didn't mean to start reading it. I just started flipping through the pages, fully thinking it would be something I would read for this coming weekend. But no Kim Corum dragged me into this story from the first page and wouldn't let me go. There was only one scene I was truely uncomfortable with and that was the section titled Bad Girl. I feel it really crossed the line. A woman vomiting from a spanking definitely means stop. In fantasy land, fine. But in reality if your girl is doing all this to get away STOP. You could go to jail. Other than that, the rest of the book was riveting and thoroughly entertaining.

But I did! This was my first reading foray into BDSM and I must say that I liked it. I enjoyed it enough to plan to check out the other books by the author.

Definitely a hot read.

the broken sky series is the best series of books i have ever read. i mean ever! there are scenes that almost make me cry and then ones that make me smile and laugh to myself. if you want to try out a one of a kind fantasy action sci-fiction novel this one will beat all the others hands down. if you like this book you most likely will like the pendragon series

This is the best book in the world.It is so action packed and has alot of adventure.It is great. I have never read a book that I wanted to read 2 3 four tiomes over. Its the greatest.

If ever I thought this series was childish, those doubts are gone. Broken Sky deals with issues like racism, rebellion, and the redemptive power of love in a way that blows other supposedly child-oriented books out of the water. As a high schooler, I can sincerely say that age has nothing to do with the enjoyment of these books. Although Book 1 gets off to a slow start, by half way through I had been drawn deep into Kia and Ryushi's remarkable world. This series serves up humor and death in equal portions, making you smile and sob in the same chapter. The mind-blowing conclusion to Book 6 had me nearly in tears...and I can't wait to read the next installment. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a good, exciting, thoughtful read.

This is an amazing book with questions and actions surrounding each and every character. This book kicks off with Ryushi and Whist continuing their adventure toward Ryushi's double-crossing, tratior brother, Takami's, keep. However, Since Takami is the Thane of the province of Maar, he is well protected. The path is even more treacherous when Whist, who is extremely untrustworthy himself, betrays Ryushi and Ryushi ends up in a one-on-one duel with his brother. However, it seems as if Aurin, the Princess of Kirin Taq, does not paticularly like Takami, and Ryushi ends up in Aurin's clutches when he becomes prisoner in Fane Araq, the princesses fortress. Meanwhile, Kia, Hochi, Gerdi, Jaan, and Peliqua are waiting for a decison from the Koth Taraan. In the end, Kia is faced with a trial of will which if she wins, can begin to shift the balance of the battle. Hochi, however, is busy trying to discover the meaning of Tachaa's present, which mean Broken Sky, or "divison with the eventual hope of unity." Things become very hectic and bizarre as in this book you discover more of the strange land of Kirin Taq, Princess Aurin, the Koth Taraan and the Keriags. This book is the best and will make you get up and get the 6th as fast as you can.

This is one great book, but don't read it unless you've read 1-4, because you need the info from those books so your not too confused. Ryushi, along with Whist, continues his quest for revenge on his brother, Takami, for betraying Parakka and killing his father. Ryushi wants revenge, but he is not blinded by it, and he is being very careful, espesially since the untrustworthy and dangerous Whist is leading the way. But it turns out that Ryushi isn't careful enough, and he soon finds himself a prisoner of Takami. But, strangely enough, Ryushi gets what he wants: a one-on-one battle with Takami without either of them using spirit stones. But will Takami play fair? Meanwhile, in the unclaimed lands, Kia and the others await an answer from the Koth Taraan on if they will help, Hochi tries do discover the true meaning of broken sky. All the Koth Macquai told them was that it meant "divion with the eventual hope of unity." The Parakkans discover that one of them will have to take a test to find if the Koth Taraan will help or not. Kia rises to the challange immediatly. She is told soon after that it will be a challange of charactor, and that she will discover new information. But what does this mean...

When this book came out 30 years ago it raised the bar for pool and three cushion billiards instruction manuals. Earlier books, such as Ray Martin' 99 Critical Shots, were badly flawed by the gross inaccuracies of their diagrams. Byrne introduced large and accurate scale diagrams, even including parabolic paths for cue balls struck with draw or follow. The last half of the book covers the elegant game of 3-cushion, which is now enjoying a renaissance. It contains by far the best, and nearly the only, explanation of "the diamond system" for calculating multiple rail bank shots. Even a rudimentary familiarity with it should help virtually any pool player. The entire book is leavened with Byrne's characteristic dry wit. I've been recommending this book to students for decades.

Hey, it may be a good book, I don't own it. But looking at the cover page, should not the 8 ball be in place of the 10?

Bought this book used from amazon. It is an exceelent and easy read that will improve your game immediately. I am still plowing through it but already I see improvement. Some of the photos could be a little sharper but none are so bad that you can't determine what it depicts. Highly recommend it.

The Chilton Book of pool, Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards is a must have for anyone who plays pool.

I read the book page by page and practiced with it. My game is 300% better. This book is for every tipe of player.

I thought I was terrible at math until I picked up this book for a college calculus course. In contrast to virtually every other math textbook I'd ever been forced to use, this book explained concepts clearly and simply, providing examples that increased gradually in complexity. I happened to have a good professor that semester, but whenever I didn't understand something in class, I taught myself from this textbook. It was a rare pleasure to feel I could learn such a difficult subject independently. I ended up getting an A in the class - and more importantly, I learned I wasn't bad at math at all.

To add a bit more information to the raw data of these reviews, I've mapped the universe of all possible readers of this book onto a set of x-y axes. Let the x-axis run from "non-Math-types" up through "Math-types." Let they y-axis go from "non-geniuses" up through "geniuses:"

- Quadrant I: genius Math-types will probably be both irritated and bored with this book. Their irritation will spring from the fact that not all of the pure-math proofs they'll be looking for are here. The book focuses more on explaining and doing calculus than on proving it. Most of the material is proven (properly: no missing steps), but the proofs that would get in the way of doing calculus are omitted. Quadrant Is will be bored because the author does his best to pound on a topic until practically everyone can understand it. Genius math-types, since they're inherently capable of grasping this material from proofs alone, will not be pleased by this repetition. For Quadrant Is, some version of Tom M. Apostol's Calculus books (ISBNs 9686708103, 842915003X, 8429150013, 0471000051, 0471503037, 0471000078, or 0471000086) would be a better text.

- Quadrant II: genius non-Math-types will probably prefer the fact that the author skipped some proofs in favor of applications. However, like the Quadrant Is, they'll probably be somewhat bored by the author's "slowness" in moving on after he introduces a topic. This book will be OK for them, but they'd probably prefer a more "terse" presentation. Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations for such a book.

- Quadrant III: non-genius non-Math-types (i.e., "normal" people), will find this book just right. As noted above, the author's focus is on teaching and using calculus, not *necessarily* on proving it. If the proofs are complex enough that they'd distract from that mission, they're either relegated to Appendix G or omitted (though most proofs are present). Best of all, the author doesn't skip steps in his proofs: all the steps are there in their detailed glory. Later in the book, he will occasionally skip a simplification of an expression, but none of the "proof" material is missing. In the latter half of the book, he sometimes does the "proof is left as an exercise for the student" routine, but those are for non-essential proofs. After the author introduces a topic/theorem/method, he always gives multiple (at least three) examples. So, if the readers are having trouble with the equations and proofs, they'll have several chances to figure out what he means from the examples. Also, all the odd problems have answers in the back of the book. There are no steps included with the answers, but usually that's not a problem (since there are so many examples in the book). I also found the appendices giving explanations of pre-Calculus math facts very useful: it's been a long time since I've seen those things, so I needed the refresher.

- Quadrant IV: non-genius Math-types will join the Quadrant Is in disliking the skipping of several proofs, but, like the Quadrant IIIs, will be pleased with the thorough, step-by-step nature of the existing proofs. Not the best choice of a textbook for them, but for those who are having trouble with a "pure math" Calculus book, this is a good supplement.

Overall, this is an excellent book (I rate it 5 stars out of 5). The author did a wonderful job matching his material to his chosen audience (Quadrant III, "normal" people). For non-genius non-math-types, I highly recommend it. For genius non-math-types and non-genius math-types, it's OK. Genius math-types should avoid it and try something like Apostol's Calculus.

I'm learning Calculus with this book and I'm finding excellent!
My college changed Swokowski's book (it's out of print in Brazil!!!) by Anton's book. This book -together with Swokowski- is highly recommended for the beginners undergraduates. For me, Anton is very better Stewart's book -for instance-. Therefore, buy "Calculus a new horizont, 6th edition!

Well am trying to find out where can i get all answer sheet for the questions which is provided in the book.

I have found answers to odd-numbered exercies, But am looking for all answers. How can i get it please.
Thanks for helpping customers

This is a book mainly geared toward classes, possibly overcrowded, that have students from different disciplines (engineering, chemistry, physics, math, etc). This is the book for the Let's-get-this-over-with-quickly approach. I think that this book will probably disapoint physics or mathematics undergraduates - assuming, of course, they care about physics or maths.
The task of carefully choosing a balance between mathematical rigor and applications is the main one that falls upon an author of a calculus text at this level. Not dumbing down the mathematical notation and theorems too much, while being able to keep the dots between the abstractions and the applications, therein lies the art of writing. The more I look at this book, the less the author's choices seems to make sense. If you look at it, it's just an ordinary modern calculus text, nicely illustrated and all. That's the problem. Too many calculus text are copies of other calculus text, and have not put in the effort to connect the dots through the student's eye. Even little things...like defining a parabola as x^2 = -4py, instead of y = -(1/4p)x^2, because, after all, we're used to y=f(x)...Sure, all the theorems are there...So what? Wouldn't be a calculus book if it didn't have the theorems. I ask myself: if you give little boxes of theorems in nice typography, cool illustrations, together with scissors and glue, will little children put together a nice calculus book for you? Will a thousand monkeys with keyboards write mathematics textbooks?
The first book is better than the second. If you can avoid it, don't buy volume II (that is, don't buy the Combined edition). Even in volume I there are problems. For instance, there's omission of integration of algebraic functions resulting in the arctg, IIRC (there's just a formula thrown at you).
Volume II is below average (Multivariable Calculus). Don't expect to learn much along the lines of the /reasons/ behind what you are doing here. Why must you parametrize a curve? To transform a path integral in an ordinary integral in one variable, perhaps? Should you use a position vector or just autoparametrization? Did you see the relation between conservative fields, the gradient and potential energy? Do you think you can relate a map of the density of a population of a certain species to a double integral? All these are examples of issues that you'll not glimpse into using this book. It does not bring you *understanding*. Of course, if what you expect is learning by rote, than this book does that: trains students to calculate little numerical problems or perform algebraic manipulations. No doubt that's important, but that is not all. They performed as you expected. You measure them by that stick, fine. Everyone's happy. Goodbye. Next class. Calculus was invented to solve real problems, let's not loose sight of that. My experience with this book was that it made the explanations so disconected, so without grounding, that I had to look for other texts. Edwards and Penney, Thomas and Finney, Guidorizzi, Kaplan, Piskunov, until I settled for McCallum's Multivariable Calculus. I wasted a substantial time trying to fill in the gaps with other books.
Don't expect to read even a mildly reasonable explanation of partial differentiation. Not rigorous, not enough demonstrations. Some explanations are really bad, like Lagrange multipliers. Oversimplifying explanations is not adequate, IMHO. There's not enough geometric visualizations for the issue of gradients, for instance. Parametrization and the analytic geometry for the second half of the book is interpersed throughout the first half, and in a somewhat awkward order. I've seen better ordering of the material. Total differential and total increment are a little over a page in length.
I blame this book, in part, for the high "flunk rate" on Calculus II at my University. However, it seems the publisher is being very successful in marketing it all over the world. All it means to me is that the marketing department is competent.
In my ordeal through The Quest for Answers, I have found other books that I think are better, at this level. Look for Edwards & Penney, McCallum's Multivariable Calculus (this is probably the best choice) or Thomas and Finney. Anton does not succeed in making you achieve a reasonable working knowledge of the material in terms of comprehension.
On the bright side, the wealth of examples is nice (although your exam will probably be more like the exercises that start at number 40 or so, instead of the examples). The layout is good too. But there's absolutely nothing in it that justifies it as "different" ("New Horizon") or that makes it stand apart from the other books geared at the same audience, unless, that is, you compare it to a 1969 book.
Also nice is how the use of a CAS is blended in the book, so that if you do those CAS exercises, you will be on your way to become proficient in some CAS package wrt Calculus. A note here: I think the author should've mentioned open source CAS - there are at least 2 packages: Axiom and Maxima; they bear no cost to the student and have years of research behind them. Also, Scilab from INRIA (Institute National de Recherche et Information) replaces Matlab and is also open source (but both Scilab and Matlab are not for symbolic manipulations).
3 stars because it does its job of covering the basics. But no "classic", just average.
If you're having trouble with this book, see my review of McCallum's et al. Multivariable Calculus.

loved this book. my son is also bi-racial. i was born in 1956 and could really relate and re-read the book with my son. he never experienced most of the things in the book so it was an incredible sharing and bonding experience for us and it opened a whole new dialogue with his dad who's family originated in north carolina. great read for all parents and children. truly enlightening

This is such a good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It reminds me of so many strong women I know who raised their kids to the best of their ability regardless of their circumstances.

WOW! In addition to being a tribute to his mother, James McBride allows us to peek inside his incredible family history, his upbringing, and wrenching emotional conundrums. His extremely well-written and insightful book is a treasure trove of information. Words cannot express the positive impact that his story has had on me. The love of the parents for each other and the major contributions of both of the fathers was exceptional. When I got to the part about James's mother (who had hundreds of reasons to give up many times in her life) was enrolling in college, at age 65, to help others, I had to pause and send everyone involved a congratulatory mental-telepathy message of appreciation for all of their hard work, tenacity, abilities, and compassion for each other and the folks in their communities. I was delighted with the eventual world travels (of Mommy), huge family celebrations, and across-the-board positive - and extremely well deserved - outcomes for each of the 12 siblings. It's enough to encourage and uplift an entire nation, if not planet. Stunning!

This was the second copy of this book I purchased after the first disappeared into circulation among my friends. A timeless story interstingly structured and skillfully told. A worthwhile read.

Some reviews here say it all. This is indeed a remarkable biography/autobiography, so I would only add my praise for such a loving, touching homage to a very special lady and her remarkable family. I loved the forthright descriptions of this numerous mixed-race family and was touched by Mrs. McBride Jordan's personal tale, kept inside for so long. Her buried past and the author's own reminiscences entwine flawlessly, making this an emotion-stirring book. By writing it, James McBride is finally able to piece together his own past and that of his mother, thus quenching his desire to learn more about his origins.

The difference with the original edition is an interesting Afterword, summarizing the 10 years since its first publication (1996) and the impact its success had on the author himself, his family and, above all, his mother. I shall not disclose anything here, but it is worth to look into.

I truly think this is a standout among the various memoirs I have read so far, an inspiring and remarkable contribution to race-related literature.

This is a must have referance/gangster/outlaw book. If this subject or even this era of history intrests you at all this book is a goldmine.

If there's a bible to crime, this is it. There are hundreds of books out there that deal with Depression Era crime. You can buy them all and plow through them for information, but seldom know how accurate that information is. On the other hand, you can get this one volume and have it all at your fingertips. Researched in detail and written with a light finger, this well-laid out book is easy to read. You get the dates, times, details, photos and personnel that made America's Golden Age of Crime what it was. Get it; read it; refer to it. It's a winner on all levels.

Not much can be added to previous reviews. This updated edition has given my earlier dog-eared copy a rest. For anyone who does any kind of Prohibition era crime research, this book is a must have by two of the masters in this field. The most complete compendium of crime information from that period available today. Whether you research or just enjoy reading about crime, this book is tops.

For those of us interested in true-crime, particularly the Roaring Twenties and the Depression era, this is THE reference book. This hugely informative and significantly expanded version of the earlier Public Enemies Almanac by Helmer and Mattix has photos, timelines, biographies and lists galore. Not a book that is intended to be read cover-to-cover, this is a crime browser's dream. The bibliography, which is fully annotated,is worth the price.
Writer, researcher, crime aficionado, or whatever, this book should be at the top of your list.

Respected authors William Helmer and Rick Mattix have provided us with a reference book of nearly 900 pages relating to "the gangster and outlaw era: 1920--1940." The book is divided into seven sections dealing with all facets of crime during this turbulent era. Parts of this book can be read like any other book while criminal incidents from various years are listed chronologically. I feel this part of the book can be best used as a reference. The book contains numerous photos, several of which I have never seen before. The big shots of both Chicago and New York are all here as are the depression-era desperadoes. Depending on your interest level you may feel you are being told more than you care to know. However, as I said, much of this book can be used as a useful reference book to your crime library. If you do have such a library this book would be a worthy addition. Co-author Rick Mattix has reviewed numerous crime books on Amazon, and his opinion carries considerable weight with me in whether or not I decide to purchase a book.

I notice that nearly all of the other reviews of this book are written by individuals who have not reviewed any other books. That suggests to me that these are mostly "promotional" reviews written by acquaintances of the author. That isn't necessarily a negative about the book, just that the reviews aren't really objective.

I'm not quite sure how I ended up reading this book, but I did enjoy it in spite of some serious drawbacks. Based on its literary merit alone, it probably deserves more like three stars rather than the four I gave it, but it is just too good-hearted to get overly critical about. It is better than a lot of other "comtemporary chick lit" out there these days, though it fits squarely in that genre.

The author seems to be making some effort to keep her feminist biases under control -- there is no really "evil" male character, only clueless. As she puts it, men "think with their dicks and unfortunately their dicks aren't very smart". The male lead Alex is extremely capable when it comes to making money, but clueless in his personal affairs. He relies entirely on women to help him navigate his personal life. Women are the exclusive voices of wisdom, especially his sister Joan. Alex is basically good-hearted, whereas Joan is good-hearted nearly to the point of saintliness.

Fiona is charming in her innocence and purity. That she is also really, really pretty in a natural and unself-conscious way adds nicely to the plot line. She stands in vivid contrast to her Los Angeles schoolmates who are perfect stereotypes of contemporary teen decadence. Unfortunately, stereotypes are all too pervasive in this book. These include Alex, his girlfriend Mandy, and nearly everyone in the Los Angeles scene except Joan (who is also something of a stereotype, though a different one from the other Los Angeles characters). These characters all have a hard time breaking through their stereotypical images to come to life.

But our "politically correct" (or is it "culturally correct"?) author isn't too hard on anyone. Though girlfriend Mandy is not intended to be a sympathetic character, she is given plenty of excuses (dysfunctional family) for being a pretty but petty, superficial, scheming, manipulative, new-age twit. In the end one is meant to feel sorry for her more than dislike her.

I actually liked Mandy a lot because through her we get a humorous but exactly right-on picture of how it is that women, all women, know what's up with the dynamics of male-female relationships, regardless of personal motivation. Joan, with entirely different motives, also knows the score with infallible feminine intuition. Only Alex is in the dark, as usual.

I would have expected a little more life-wisdom to be embedded in a novel by Catherine Ingram, but while light in that department, this book does peripherally touch upon some thought-provoking themes, including death and loss. The characters are all impacted by dramatic events, but their responses are mostly in the realm of modifying their life situations (in generally benign and positive ways) rather than in deeply coming to grips with the fundamental dilemmas of life itself.

But for all its superficiality, this book was nevertheless quite charming and engaging and I don't regret the time I spent to read it. Though I comment on the book's weaknesses, I did give it four stars and I am passing the book on to a friend who likes chick lit. I think she'll like it.

My book club loved this book! It's sweet and well written. I read it in one sitting. The story line is engrossing, it's also inspirational, although not in a didactic, boring way. We became invested in the characters, their interactions and the final satisfying resolution of the plot. There's also some humor in its spoofing of yoga and "new age stuff," which, as a yoga teacher, I relished.

I am in the middle of reading this most INCREDIBLE novel - almost halfway through it. Truly the best I've ever read. Well crafted, riveting, cliff-hanging, and just about PERFECT in every way. Bravo, Catherine! She's really done it. Man, can she flesh out a story. And oh my God, how she captures the essence of every character and describes every scene so beautifully. You should have seen me wiping the tears from my eyes as I had to close the book quickly to get off at my subway stop. Everybody was looking at me weeping on the train!

So, needless to say, I'm really LOVING this book and want to cheer Catherine on to write more, and MORE. Thank you for this, Catherine.

This book is a delight to read. I didn't want to put it down, not only because the characters, their connections and the events in their lives moved along in a most compelling and engaging manner, but more because Catherine Ingram's wide objective and compassionate view of her characters and the world in general is
a world I loved being submerged in. Nuanced human characters in cinematic scenes are painted in clear concise language reminiscent of Hemingway's spare style, but with feminine insight. Ingram delves into the everyday texture of her characters' lives and reveals their incremental transformations. I think I breathe more fully having read this book.

A Crack in Everything features a swiftly moving plot combined with deft descriptions of its characters and their emotional worlds. Ingram succeeds in stirring deep feelings yet never allows the narrative to flag. I was always curious about what would happen next, and while the author sometimes surprised, she never disappointed.

The novel spans the globe from rural Ireland to fast-paced LA and even to Asia. Its emotional geography ranges from the heartbreak of loss and estrangement to the joy of returning to one's true home. Ingram paints emotional states with a few deft strokes and seamlessly blends them into her compelling plot.

We follow the young child violin prodigy Fiona as she is uprooted from Ireland and cast into the fast moving and shallow world of Hollywood. She is the offspring of a brief affair in India years ago, and her surprising entry into her father's life prompts him to reassess his life. She meanwhile, buffeted by loss, finds her own ground to stand on in the shifting social sands of Los Angeles.

To save the reader the plots many surprises I won't say more, other than to say you won't regret buying this book! It carries you along like a good beach novel, but has a resonance that echoes long after the last page is turned.