Brooks Books

Reading these essays which span more than two decades (early 50s to mid-70s), I am struck both by their craft and their antiquity. E.B. White wrote the book on writing, literally, with William Strunk; THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE remains the most useful and concise rule book for modern English exposition yet written, and White's CHARLOTTE'S WEB remains a childhood favorite for many. White was a master of the essay form, sparking a reader's interest in the subject at hand and cajoling further attention to the tangents and digressions which are an essayists stock in trade. He easily wends narratives which include broody geese, nuclear power stations, old dogs, oil tankers and mortality. His voice is plainspoken -- the viewpoint that of a person with deerhunters for neighbors, who enjoys the occasional venison steak, who roots for the deer in hunting season, and yet admits to shooting the foxes who kill his chickens. At the same time, his writing feels dated, rooted in an era when feelings were less admissible than ideas. His writing seems honest, but guarded, particularly after my recent immersion in Ann Lamott, a decidedly unguarded and modernist chronicler. Thus, I emerge from White's work impressed with his grace, language and fluidity, but disappointed in the gut. There are tales untold between these lines and I am left hungry. Old-school excellence, but aging fast.

What do you expect of tomorrow? "THE WORLD OF TOMORROW", perhaps the best known essay among his essay collactiond,"Essa of E.B. White". It contains thirty other essays organozed into seven sections.

The scene of "THE WORLD OF TOMORROW" is in New York in May 1939. White mentions "Tomorrow" remembering the World's Fair held there. The Fair's theme was also "THE WORLD OF TOMORROW", and there were the white ball and spire named the Tylon and Perisphere which were two landmark monumental buildings in the fair. Actually White had to visit there with a box of Kleenex...

At first, the road to the World's Fair is refered as the road to "Tomorrow". Through the street, he arrived at "the very threshold of Tomorrow". At the Fair, he made a few notes about what you may expext of tomorrow--In tomorrow, most sounds aren't these themselves, and we can't tallk back.

The New York World's Fair was filled with man's dream, and it's held 66 years ago! The more I read this book, the more I can be into White's world. His way to use metaphor is brilliant, and it makes me feel more comfortable. So, I really recommend you not only this essay but also his another collection.

I live on a small rural island in the Pacific Northwest, home to fewer than a thousand people in the winter, so I have a deep understanding of what E. B. White means when he writes: "Feeling ran so high that some people stopped speaking to each other--which is a form of discourse."

Lately, I felt the need for something calming in my life and, for the first time in years, I picked up a collection of E. B. White's essays. Reading him is like lighting a fire on a cold and windy evening. This man can write a sentence and create a sense of life as well as anyone I've ever read.

And no one ever wrote more heartfelt prose about barnyard geese.

This is such a marvelous book.

The sentences are simply perfect and the sense of wonder he creates makes this a text you will want to go back to over and over. A great gift for any literate person in your life.

Really great.

Twenty two of the essays appeared in THE NEW YORKER. White had candor. His piece on the death of his pig is masterful. He examined his own feelings and community reaction. The role of his dachshund, Fred, is described amusingly. It is no wonder White wrote so winningly for children.

In 1954 when he had no television he was looked upon as an eccentric. During Hurricane Edna radio worked people up to an incredible state of alarm. It seemed that no wick was available for the Whites' kerosene lamp. White has some gentle fun with mistakes of the exhausted radio announcers. Battered down was said instead of battened down, and unindated for inundated. There are two stages in the country of a storm. There is the period when phones and lights are still going, and then there is the stage when these cease to work. The storm itself did not seem long in comparison to the radio vigil.

He came to feel that living in New England in the winter was a full time job in itself. Another use of his time was having an enemy, the fox. Darkness was more insistent than the cold. Farming, even the kind pursued by the author, is infinitely complex. When the snow arrived early in 1971 White was cut short. The usual things were not done. It got so there was no place to put the snow after it was plowed.

In the city section of the essays it is noted that New York City bestows the gift of loneliness and privacy. In 1939 there were eight million people in the five boroughs. In Florida it appears that the sun and the lizard maintain the same schedule. The tiny spots of the fiddler crab's body enlarge during the daytime hours. To have a pointsettia plant at Christmastime in
Florida seems faintly ridiculous. Pointsettias bloom naturally in the yards. A small chameleon arrives with the Whites' tropical substitute for a Christmas tree much to Mrs. White's delight.

In 1923 the author kept a diary of his trip to Alaska. A ship, docking at Seattle, was to go on a journey for forty days. He had only forty dollars, enough to traverse the inner passage to Skagway, and so he went. The Buford, for some of the passengers, became a high class floating jail because although food and scenery were good, there was no escape. Youthful, White absorbed the vast scene of Alaska. This was a trip promoted by the Chamber of Commerce, but White's roommate was another odd man to the enterprise, a Laplander. He was a reindeer butcher, going to a job in Nome. When the boat reached Skagway White's ticket ran out. The captain came up with the idea of putting him on as a night saloonsman. His metamorphosis took the passengers by surprise.

WALDEN is not a well-liked book among White's acquaintances. Thoreau was torn by two desires, to enjoy the world and to set the world straight. He tended to write in sentences, and WALDEN is a collection of certified sentences. I have tried to give the prospective reader some notion of the enjoyment to be obtained from reading White's essays.

THis is a beautifullly designed book, with a very cute story. My Granddaughter loves books and unicorns, so it is just right for her. Actually I love it for myself!

This is Stephen J. Brooks's fifth published title and it's one your children will cherish and love. The illustrations are brilliantly done with what look like water color backgrounds that offset the vivid illustrations of the characters by Linda Crockett, who has received several awards and honors for her illustrations in children's books.

Unicorn Races takes children into the magical world of Abigail's imagination as she travels to a marvelous feast for a princess. Abigail watches the elves and fairies make preparations for the Unicorn Races as unicorns in every color of the rainbow come to compete before the royal princess Abigail. When the race begins, unicorns fly through the night sky, circle around the moon, dance on the stars, travel to the ocean, glide inches above the waves, and zip around a lighthouse before returning to the magical clearing where Princess Abigail waits to announce the winner. After the feast, Abigail rides home on one of the magical unicorns and falls fast asleep until the next Unicorn Races.

UNICORN RACES is the sweet story of young Abigail, princess to the elves, fairies, and unicorns.

After arriving amidst the dark woods, Princess Abigail presides over the Unicorn Races, in which six beautifully colored unicorns will participate. To the second bright star, around the moon, among the waves, to the lighthouse -- the unicorns race happily, and Blue is declared the winner.

All enjoy a feast of cookies, cakes, and sundaes, but it is soon time for Abigail to return home upon her unicorn steed, Lord William.

The story is one that will appeal to young girls, with it's magical creatures and a girl who yearns to be a princess. It's the wonderful illustrations by Linda Crockett, however, that make this a true winner, to be enjoyed by children and parents alike.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

This book is a wonderful story of a little girl whose imagination whisks her away to a fantasy land full of adventure and promise. The illistrations are terrific and full of detail. My grandaughters keep asking me to read it againg and again to them at night. The middle grandaughter,(5) "reads" it to her favorite stuffed animals. This book makes a wonderful present or just an anytime gift for your favorite princes.

Each page of this exceptional book is magic. Along with colorful unicorns, your child will love the elves, fairies, and the pixies. The story is enchanting; the illustrations are sprinkled with stardust.

As a fellow adoptee who searched for and found my birthfamily in my teens over 15 years ago, and experienced wonderful relationships, I found this book an accurate reflection in many ways of an adoptee experience. Thought provoking, moving and compassionate the author gives a wonderful voice to the story of adoption. It is a must read for all those touched by adoption and I highly recommend this book.

At age eleven, Thomas Brooks learned he was adopted and at first it shook his secure world. At age 25, while pursing his MBA, he decided to find his birth parents to complete the circle of his life. In A Wealth of Family, readers are treated to an international travel log and multicultural experience as we travel with Brooks in discovering his true roots.

Although Brooks was acclimated and culturally African American, he always suspected he might be of mixed heritage. When he received a document from the adoption agency, he was surprised to find that his mother was of Lithuanian Jewish background and his father was from Kenya. His parents had a brief affair while his mother was an undergraduate and his father was a graduate student at Penn State. After assuring his beloved adopted mother, Joan, that, no one would usurp her place in his life, he began to earnestly search for his birth parents.

Brooks grew up in a large extended family in the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania area surrounded by his mother's large family, the Lowrys. His parents divorced when he was four and he had little contact with his father. Brooks spent most of his growing years struggling with poverty because his mother was unable to work to support them. After a series of moves, they settled in Brighton, a white working/middle class suburb of Pittsburgh. After a rough start, Brooks began to excel in school, making excellent grades and was active in sports. He found himself fighting racism and stereotypes at time but preserved and was valedictorian of his high school class and going on to the University of Pittsburgh. Again, he applied himself to his studies and became immersed in a full college experience to include joining the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, a Greek Black organization and other clubs. He pursued engineering and then an MBA at the University of Maryland.

Because his birth mother, Dorothy, left contact information in his file at the adoption agency, he was able to quickly establish contact with her. Dorothy, who was living in England, flew to Houston, where Brooks was then working. They established a rapport and thereafter, Brooks flew to England and met his sister and three brothers. He was received with open arms and they slowly built a relationship, along with his grandmother, Maryan, Dorothy's mother, who was living in Pittsburgh. Dorothy wanted to meet Joan, but he realized it was a delicate situation and it would need more time for the two women, his birth mother and his adoptive mother to meet.

Brooks then took the steps to make contact with his father, Mboga Mageka Omwenga, which was much more difficult. In 1995, he and Dorothy made the trek to Kenya to make his paternal connection. First, they went on a safari to take in the beautiful country and then went on to Nairobi. All he had was a name and the fact that his father was of the Kisii tribe, according to a Kenyan friend in Houston. After a series of word-of-mouth connections, placing an announcement in the newspaper, and a few hits and misses, Brooks connected with his father's daughter, Margaret. She explained the father was out of the area but the two of them became acquainted. Brooks went back to Houston but thereafter started corresponding with his father. He went back to Kenya several months later finally met his father and was warmly received by the entire village and all his relatives, including his 100 year-old grandmother. He slowly established a relationship with his Kenyan family overcoming a few cultural challenges and miscommunications.

After his mother, Joan met Dorothy, the families seemed to blend and accept each other. Brooks came to love and appreciate having three families who all loved and supported him. His world travels served to broaden his understanding of different cultures and heightened his appreciation of his multiracial heritage. While he considers himself African American, he calls himself a world citizen. He learned to value the traits both his birth mother and father passed on to him, such as their intellectual ability.

Part memoir, part family history and genealogy, Brooks has written a memorable account of how race, culture, and family intersect while also recounting his own life lessons. He is a successful businessman living in Atlanta with his wife and family, mentoring inner-city youth and active in several social and civic organizations. There are many stories about bi-racial children but Brooks' story was unique in that it spanned three continents and melded three families to include a wealth of love, forgiveness and acceptance. This book is recommended for those interested in the topics of multiculturalism and adoptees seeking their roots.

Reviewed by Dera R. Williams
APOOO BookClub

A Wealth of Family is a gripping chronicle of Thomas Brooks quest to discover the true wealth of family as he reunites with his birth family and in turn discovers his true self. It is inspiring story that will encourage members of the adoption triad and "traditional" families as well. As an adoptive mother, I highly recommend this book. It will help give you a healthy view of open adoption and the reunion experience.

Brooks' captivating writing style coupled with his amazing life story and steadfast approach to life make this book both an entertainment and thought-triggering masterpiece that had me hooked right to the last page.

I thought this book was inspiring, especially for those seeking their roots. I felt as though I knew the author personally by the end of the story as I went along for the journey with him. It is a must read!

This is a lovely coffee table book with mostly spectacular color photos of most of Wrights houses, including many interior shots. There is not much historical information but this is covered in other books.

This book was a wonderful eye opener. It will appeal to the reader for crisp pictures in beautiful settings and landscapes as well as the various style phases Wright went through architecturally. For Wright aficionados, there is a detailed, but not too intense history of his style, works and personal history as he changes design elememts during his career. Grand interior shots only enhance the overall attraction. The book will add diversity to anyone's collection.

There are many different aspects to highlight when studying the work of one of Americas' greatest architects. The part of his work that is probably the most accesible, are his private houses. It was great to see all these houses together in one beautiful volume. The photographs are stunning, and it is great to see so much attention paid to the interior of these houses, as Wright was responsible for most interior design too.
As a professional or just a fan, when you love Wrights' work and want to visually enjoy it to the fullest, this book is a must have. The only thing better is to buy one of his houses...

One beautiful and well done book. Look, read and indulge yourself in Wright. Wonderful photography and ineresting writing by many authors that all to the lore of Wright.

A great gift for someone who has on interest in FLLW.

This is a necessary book for all who study architecture. Why? Because the photography conveys something close to the reality of Mr. Wright's works, especially so when it comes to the interiors.

When I was studying architecture in college in the 1970s, the BEST photography books about Wright's oeuvre were "In the Nature of Materials" and the very expensive Wendingen Edition. Both are presented in black and white and while that kind of pared-down quality may have suited the age in which the International Style was still in its ascendancy, it did nothing whatsoever to convey the true sense of a Wright space--specifically interior space. The intimately human scale of these spaces was missed.

And color is so much a part of Wright's aesthetic, and without it, one is in dreary Kansas instead of Oz.

Living in the northeast, it was not possible to see many Wright buildings first hand, until that trip to Chicago... and then what a revelation! These spaces were not cold grays but marvels of ochres and greens and wood tones and conveyed so much more serenity than those older photos could suggest.

Happily, future years placed me in conjunction with many of the Midwestern buildings, and a day trip could take me to Wisconsin or Michigan or other less-frequently visited residential and commercial works by F L W. Friendships with original Wright clients or owners of Wright houses opened other doors--I have experienced about one third of the places in this book, so--trust me--the photos do them justice and are almost as good as being there.

I would guess that anyone who has been in these places will tell you that this book gives a very fine representation of these spaces. And thankfully, more and more of these spaces are open on a regular or annual basis for the student or admirer of Wright to visit. Some residences are even now B&Bs. Wow!

The fine articles that accompany the photographs are also most helpful and enjoyable.

If you find this review helpful you might want to read some of my other reviews, including those on subjects ranging from biography to architecture, as well as religion and fiction.

This book is an expansive overview of the life of Louise Brooks and also of the early days of the movie industry. Very throughly researched, it gives a nuanced look and the beautiful, brilliant and maddeningly self-destructive icon. It also is a wonderful history of the entertainment world in the 1920's and the personalities who populated that world. A must-read from fans of Louise Brooks.

Several books have been written about Louise Brooks, but this book is probably the most concise and most thorough of them all. The book starts off with Louise's birth and it describes all the people that helped to make Louise so interesting and famous. There are many black-and-white photos of Louise, from the time she started in show-biz (at age 4) to Louise in her later years, just before her death.

Since Louise Brooks had such a fascinating life, it is not a surprise that this book is so long. Each Chapter basically covers a chunk of her life, and each Chapter describes (in detail) the characters that encountered & shaped Louise, and also all the Theatre and Movie productions that Louise was involved in.

This is what a biography should be: insightful, understanding, offering a measured & complex view of its beloved subject. And what a subject Barry Paris has in Louise Brooks! Her beauty, her intelligence, her compelling charisma all shine in these pages, giving us a multi-faceted view of this ravishing star. For someone who had never heard of Louise Brooks, this biography will send him or her in eager pursuit of her all-too-few films & her own writing -- and both are of the very highest standard.

It's clear that Brooks never did anything without wanting to give her all, to make true art out of it, a work of beauty & meaning that would stand the test of time. And the same could be said of this superb biography. While Paris clearly adores Brooks (and with good reason), he never succumbs to blind hagiography. Nor does he stumble in the opposite direction of pathography. His purpose is to explore the life of a fascinating woman, and to present it to the reader as thoroughly & lucidly as possible. He succeeds on every level. Louise Brooks emerges from these pages as both a flesh & blood woman, and as the dazzling, mysterious icon she became to countless admirers.

In short, the best book on Louise Brooks you'll ever find, most highly recommended!

I have not yet read this entire book, but just glancing through it when it arrived I would find that I have just read twenty pages or so whenever I openned it up. I can't wait until I read it cover to cover.

Barry Paris's bio is a wonderful read and in my opinion did more for the recent increase of interest in Brooks than anything other book.

At the time of it's publishing in the mid 90's the internet was a mere flicker of info, photos bios and trivia about obscure stars like Louise Brooks were very hard to come by. After this book was published, I was one of several people who started fledgling web sites in Brooks' honour. While I gave up, one of those websites carried on to become the Louise Brooks Society, the definitive website on her life. Paris' book is essential reading for anyone who is facinated by this beautiful starlet.

This book was a very good book. There are plenty of times when I got confused, like about who told on Emily. All of my questions were answered later in the book. It was a great suspense novel.

I first read this book as a child in elementary school. I have since then read it at least once a year. BTW I am 30 and still enjoy it. A must have for any child.

It is hard to overstate how much excitement Angela Lansbury brings to the reading of this mystery book for children. Suffice it to say that at age 52 I enjoyed listening to it as much as my daughter, and would have purchased twenty more had they been available. The text by Barbara Brooks Wallace is also very well done, and very accessible for children's vocabulary while remaining exciting enough for an adult to enjoy without becoming bored. I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook for parents of both good readers and readers who need something a little spicier to get them interested and involved in the story. It concerns a young girl who has lost her parents and goes to live with an aunt in San Francisco. The trials and tribulations to which Emily Lucock is subject make up the the plot of the story, but the author is able to build both mystery and suspense into the telling. The audiobook format is especially terrific because of Lansbury's wonderful technique for building drama and suspense.

When I first saw the cover of this book I thought it would be one of those trashy, dull mysteries (Who stole the peppermint candy from the christmas feast?!?) then I saw the sequal, with it's pretty, intresting cover, and began to reconsider buying the first one (if only so I could understand the sequal). I started to read it and was amazed. It has an amazing plot, and is definatly one of the best books I have ever read, and I've read a lot of books. It is completely Dickensian without the slow-moving plot, and hard to understand language that most children find boring and discouraging. It is a wonderful Victorian Melodrama! I LOVE THIS BOOK!

A bowl of lovely red and white peppermints waits on a table in the parlor . . . but the residents of Sugar Hill Hall are not allowed to touch them. That image sticks with me after finishing the final pages of Ms. Wallace's delightful adventure tale of a young orphan and the dire situation she finds herself in. This Victorian story of dramatic suspense is a perfect story for young readers just starting to break into longer fiction and craving something with adventure and intrigue.

Young Emily Luccock has recently lost her parents, and she is now going to live with her Aunt and Uncle Twice at Sugar Hill Hall, a fine mansion in San Francisco. Emily remembers her visits to see her Aunt and Uncle fondly and is looking forward to seeing them again. But something has gone terribly wrong. Aunt Twice has become a timid woman forced to be a servant in her own home, and Uncle Twice is nowhere to be found. The entirety of Sugar Hill appears to be under the thumb of the icy and forbidding Mrs. Meeching, and Emily is made a virtual slave, working in the kitchen and cleaning the rooms of the despairing old men and women who reside in the rooms of the house. But young Emily is not about to give up without a fight. She's determined to bring sunshine back to Sugar Hill and to discover what has happened to Uncle Twice. With the help of Kipper, a redheaded boy from town, Emily pits herself against the frightful Mrs. Meeching, and all the secrets hidden in Sugar Hill Hall. Ms. Wallace has provided a rousing adventure story that kicks off from the first page and never slows down until the satisfying ending. The story elements aren't particularly original, but the author uses them to good effect with engaging writing that makes us care about our heroes and hate the villains as the story progresses. Emily, for all her apparent fragility, proves herself to be tough in spirit, and to have a caring heart for the plight of others. She's likeable without being overly sweet or too plucky. Kipper adds to the flavor and fun with his cheerful commentary and use of street slang.

While the story has its dark elements: murder, betrayal, cruelty, Emily and Kipper's adventure doesn't become too frightening either. The story remains just scary and exciting enough for enjoyment of 9-12 year olds, but doesn't become gory or chilling. The book itself is a short read--those who enjoy such books as A Series of Unfortunate Events and want more of the type would probably find this title to their liking. It's also a good recommendation for young readers who want something with action and adventure, but require something without any fantasy or supernatural elements to it. If I have any complaints about the story, its that I felt the secrets unraveled a bit too quickly and all at once towards the end of the story. After wondering for so long what is going on and what happened to Uncle Twice, readers are provided the answers in short order--just in time for the final confrontations. Despite this, I found myself enjoying the entire story--and I particularly liked how the element of peppermints framed the tale. For those who enjoy this stand-alone adventure, Ms. Wallace has written a follow up story with the further adventures of Emily Luccock titled The Perils of the Peppermints. Readers might also want to check out The Half a Moon Inn by Paul Fleischman and the Illyrian Adventure by Lloyd Alexander.

Happy Reading! Shanshad ^_^

I must admit that I had never even heard of this series until a month or so ago (I'm nearly 45). I hate that I missed out on these as a kid, but the kid in me is greatly enjoying them now. They are a joy to read.

The only negative that I see is the fact that so much time has passed since these books were written, some of the vocabulary and vernacular present in the books will be unfamiliar or have a much different meaning to kids of today. However, the gentle humor and the life lessons present throughout the Freddy series are ageless, and well worth your money and your children's time. Highly recommended.

Originally published in 1928, this is the first of about a dozen children's books starring Freddy, a clever young pig with a taste for adventure. If you are looking for books for little kids that aren't too scary, too violent or laden with issues such as peer pressure,etc., this is a very good option. The story is a little slow-moving, but it's still clever and engaging, and other than a little bit of sexism (a barnyard rooster in henpecked by his wife) this holds up remarkably well for a story written before the Great Depression. Lots of different animals make up the cast, so if you are reading it aloud, there are good opportunities for doing different voices, etc. And, if you liked this first book, there are plenty more to follow. (Joe Sixpack)

In grammar school,"FREDDY" books were my favorites. I then graduated to Sherlock Holmes. I still love both "detectives"! Lucky you! All the books are available. I used to wait impatiently for each new one!

This is book 1 of the Freddy series (note that it was not originally published with this title, and Freddy is not as much the focus as in later books). These stories of the adventures of the intelligent and sociable animals on the Bean farm are beautifully written, and have some dramatic tension but nothing over the top (no Moms are killed in these stories, unlike Disney's favorite ploy...). The stories introduce some wonderfully adult concepts (like politics, banking, running a business) with well-crafted characters that will broaden a child's understanding of what makes people tick.

In 1955 I was eight, and the eldest of three brothers. My mother couldn't go to the grocery store with all of us so she'd drop me off at the children's room at the West Hartford, CT, public library, and pick me up on the way home. It was there that I discovered Freddy, and that pig spoke my language! It was Freddy, his wonderful compatriots on the Bean farm, and their fabulous adventures, that started me out right. Freddy Goes to Florida is the first of the series, and is where I recommend starting your own adventures with Freddy the Pig. Hats off to Overlook Press for re-publishing these books in their original look.

The book was used but looked brand new, came quickly and with it looking so clean, I should have no problems selling it back. Thanks!

If students plan to do well in class, this is definitely a got to have study guide for any student taking beginning Psychology.

I got this book very quickly and in great shape! I believe I did a great buy! I definately recommend buying from here.

This is a very interesting text!Chapters are a bit long & boring at times but overall great material. I just wish my professor didnt read the text word for word! Not the books fault! LOL

When asked to choose a book to use in my Introduction to Psychology class, I was somewhat unsure because there are armadas of books out there. For students, I think someone should take in price as a factor, look at what they are given in the way of student-aid and multimedia, and how good the book really happens to be. I initially chose this book because I knew someone that had used an older version of it and said that it was a good choice and, well, I couldn't be happier.

As far as the cost of the book, it really isn't bad for a new book. It keeps up with newer stuff, not really leaving you behind with outmoded material you really shouldn't learn anyhow. It also adds in newer elements to the study of the subject, allowing a student to feel out the subject without feeling like they've stepped onto the Intro bandwagon. This isn't to say that all the beginner's concepts aren't covered because they are - this is simply to say that the book takes the subjects and runs with them a lot more than most beginner material. Another thing to take into account if you are teaching a class are the number of chapters vs. the filler material. With classes becoming shorter now (many schools now have a 14 week series v. a 16 week one) the material needs to be able to sink in faster.
Happily for the students reading this, the material will do that AND the book will come with A LOT of help to making testing a positive experience.

One nice thing that comes with the book is the Concept Charts, making it east for people to see the ideas "come to life." It is easier to explain how a science goes from an idea to a modern approach by placing it in a nice graph, and the points that are added make it easier still to separate one person from another. The Chart book follows along with the book amazingly, too; I looked into it first off and saw that it took into account everything the Chapters were trying to say.

Running through the book, it covers: Evolution of Psychology, Researching, Biological Biases for Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Variations on Consciousness, Learning, Memory, Language and Thought, Intelligence and Testing, Motivation and Emotion, Development across the Life Span, Personality, Stress and Coping, Disorders, Treatment, and Social behavior. Combine this with the CD, web help, and you've got a full book of concepts.

If your teacher picked this out, MAKE SURE you get the concept charts with your book. It is good, will help you if you are going into any field dealing with psychology, and is a book that is worth keeping instead of recycling.

Delivered quickly and much cheaper than college book store. This was teacher's edition, which has answers the student edition does not.

I must say I felt bad with the price of the book - I felt it was much too high. But after reading the first few chapters of the book, and noting that it flows and is very easy to understand, I do not have to complain so much now. I am loving the book now.

There isn't much more to say. This book is concise -- it gets right to the point, every time. It is also thorough -- it covers everything you need to move on to advanced statistics. But, best of all, it presents the material in a way that is very easy to understand and allows students to apply their new knowledge to the behavioral sciences.

I have taught statistics for many years and this is the best stats book I have seen. It is clearly written, has easily understood formulas, and excellent examples. I highly recommend it!

[A review of the 7th Edition, that came out in 2006.]

The text starts off easily. With the elementary definitions of mean, median, percentiles etc. Things you probably should have dealt with in high school. Likewise with its treatment of probability theory. Though the latter goes directly to the normal or Gaussian distribution.

But the meat of the book really starts in part 3, which is about inferences of means and mean differences. For you, as a student or researcher, what is important is not a definition of terms and distributions, but how to test hypotheses. From this flows such ideas as the t statistic and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Part 4 builds on this, with nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The linear regression in one variable is simple. Then you get multiple regression with 2 variables. Tied in is the chi square test and various other tests.

The book also is a quick introduction to using SPSS as your basic statistical program. In your field, SPSS is likely to be the dominant such program, and you need an indepth acquaintance with it.

Of the many, many books I have read on this topic (which is one of my areas of interests) this is book is by far the best one I have read. This would be, in my opinion the most complete, informative and unbiased work on the subject.
The book covers just about everything most readers would like covered on Serial Murder. It covers fact, fiction, history, definitions, in fact everything you could imagine. I could not believe just how much is packed into the 380 odd pages.
Not only is the book a wealth of knowledge on the subject (and many related areas eg Stalking, Insanity Defences) but is also loaded with 'Profiles' of many individuals (and teams) to illustrate the area under discussion. Many tables also provide interesting reading.
The book also looks at the phenomina of Serial Murder in countries other than the USA.
Another thing I really like is the way Hickey presents various aspects and theories. Hickey discusses all the theories, views etc along with their apparent strenghts and weaknesses. For example, other authors I have read flatly dump the FBI Psychological Profiling Model. Hickly presents all the pros and cons on the topic in a very unbiased manner.
This book is not just a good book, it is a great book. It is a 'must have' in your collection, if this is your area of interest or you really want to learn about it. If someone asked me for just one book to read on Serial Murder, this would be the one. It covers so many topics within a topic, yet it is concise and very readable. The average person with no knowledge on this topic would walk away with a good 'working knowledge'.
I have read the book twice and have now been drawn back to a third read.
I will now be searching for other works by this author and congratulate him on a 'classic'.

This is an excellent reference book, but what really makes it stand out is the "Mind of a Killer" CD-ROM included with it.

The videos and searchable information on the CD-ROM really bring the subject vividly to life. There documentaries on about a dozen famous cases with footage I'd never seen before including confessions made to police, interviews and courtroom scenes.

I was also impressed with the mapping system that plots the locations of different cases or types of cases with all kinds of search options.

After reviewing and studying the material within this cover, you will see life in a different way. We all want to see the good in people; As any physical realm, there is the duality from good to evil. What exactly happens when what we see the destructive nature of man? What makes the destructive destructive? Who are they? What do they think? Where do they come from? and What will they do next?
This book helped me to breeze through my serial and mass murder class ... AND actually lock onto possible perpetrators in real world scenarios.
After reading this book and studying the nature of homocide, you'll be analyzing everything through rational choice. When you walk down the street, youll look at everyone as you notice their demeanor and watch their subtle actions. You'll look at the small and obscure nuacnes in nature as you enhance your deductive reasoning. Most of all, you will build a base in whch to combat becoming a victim.
I highly recommend the first piece you read in this book to be (pg 278) "An Interview with a Male Serial Murderer". This passage will restrain you to read and study this work to its end if not for learning, but to possibly stop a tragedy such as this from happening to someone you love.
You should supplement this book with TV: A&E, Biography, and History Channels will suffice.

Being one of the lucky people in this world to study from Dr. Hickey at Fresno State, I consider this book and the Dr. to be two of the most amaizing sources of knowledge in this dark field. If you begin reading this book knowing nothing about the topic, you walk away being a sudo-expert in the field and study of Serial Killers

I am a graduate student of Dr. Hickey's at California State University, Fresno. I came to this institution specifically as a matter of curricula, and I must say that after a review of the literature both broad and exhaustive Dr. Hickey's book is the closest thing we have to the reality of our special killers' doctrine. What is most compelling about this piece of literature is the open mentality that is greatly lacking in nearly every other book out there. We have relied to a great extent on the works of the FBI and, in a much more aniquated way, the works of Freud and the general positivists.

This text is certainly a sociological treatise, but even more so it underlines the issues inherent in both criminology and a general study of human nature. What should be garnered from this read is what we DON'T know as compared to what we do. One must applaud Dr. Hickey for his ability to admit that the evaporative quality of this field of study is prevalent and must be dealt with.

Of particular interest is the discussion of the mythology surrounding "serial killers" and the true affect with which they operate. Take these things for what they are worth and you are left with many questions. I have no doubt in my mind that this was the objective of Dr. Hickey, and is ideally the objective of any social scientist. Those who wish to comprehend the nature of serial killers will not find all their answers here, but they may find some questions that our humanity dearly needs to be addressed; the most important part.