Schools Books

I love Leo Lioni and this is one of his prettiest books and is a favorite of my children. The artwork is beautiful and the story touching. I just bought a second copy because our original one is getting worn out!

This is a great book for people who want more than childish drivel to read to their infants.

OK, a lizard can't come up with a consistent color, but when he meets up with an older lizard, they decide to live the rainbow life together. All good and well, except
- goldfish are freaking ORANGE, not red!
There needs to be a reprint...

Very simple story of the search for self-identity and how it relates to friendship. Interesting water-color artwork and a clear, effective storyline make this a quick, five-minute read for an adult to his or her child.

Leo Lionni does good work and this offering is no different than in the past. A little Chameleon finds that all the animals, i.e. pigs, fish, elephants and more, all have their own color. He then finds that he does not seem to have one of his own, as each time he moves to a different location, his color changes. This is a charming tale of a little creature in search of himself, much like a small child might be. The art work in this little book is great and quite eye catching to the little ones. The art work and simple text make the story interesting and easy to read and I have noted that even with miltiple readings, I don't seem to get as bored as I often do with children's books after about fifty or so goes at it. The book of course has a happy ending, but you will have to read that for yourself. Highly recommened this one.

My kids and i loved this book. The illustrations are great, the rhyming is fun, and the story is adorable. You'll love it.

A bored emu named Edward in a zoo envies his seal neighbours and decides life would be a lot more exciting as one of them. He hops the fences of both enclosures in this poorly designed zoo and lives life as a seal. The customers and staff at the zoo aren't the brightest and don't notice any difference between him or the other animals let alone return him to his own enclosure so he's all set being a seal. Only he overhears a member of the public say that his favourite animal is a lion so Edward decides to hop the fence again. Hanging out with the lions (who don't eat him for some reason) someone else mentions snakes are their favourite so he decides to become a snake. Is it really a desire to be different Edward is after or is it something else. Read this book and find out!

The illustrations are very well done with minute attention to detail resulting in very realistic colour sketches. My only criticism is that it would be nice if Edward had visited a few more animals but that's the only bad thing I have to say about this book.

There's also a sequel available called Edwina the Emu.

Edward the Emu is sick of being an Emu, so he tries out being a few other animals at the zoo, only to discover that the visitors have many favourite animals.
The story is told in a lovely verse and the illustrations are one of the best I have seen in any children's book. Edward The Emu is funny and engaging with a simple message of valuing oneself.
Highly recommended.

Edward the Emu is just a precious story with the funniest illustrations! My kindergarten students love this book! It is one we keep out all year and read lots of times. Edward makes us all laugh, especially when he is trying to be a snake, they think that is a really funny thing for an Emu to be a snake! You will enjoy this book.

Although this book has been in print for over 20 years, its still enjoyable. The story is told in rhyme about Edward the Emu who lives in a zoo. He's not happy being an emu so he visits the other animals pretending he's one of them. The book's moral is be happy with who you are. I used this as part of my character eduation in the First Grade. The children had fun finding the rhyming words too. Nice story with a moral.

One of the best books on advice for entrepreneurs.

It doesn't matter if you are planning to start a new business or managing a critical department in the company you work for - This book describes in simple language, the creation of a mindset that will help you run a successful business in both bull and bear markets.

This book describes the application of various ideas using case studies and ways to harvest them by building an opportunity register.

"The Entrepreneurial Mindset" offers thought-provoking strategies to be successfull in a universe of constant change and high uncertainty. Using lessons from the entrepreneurial world, the authors presents a set of "best practises" that are insightful and quickly applicable to any businesses. Specific advice is given to reframe your product offering and come up with blockbuster extensions, or to build unique business competences and differentiate from competitors. I highly recommend this book.

McGrath and MacMillan have achieved what dozens of authors have only hoped for - written a book that contains strategies and tactics that are powerful and immediately actionable.

The Entrepreneurial Mindset is packed with tools that can be used by CEOs, Division Managers, Product Managers and anyone responsible for driving profitable company growth. Many of the techniques in the book appear deceptively straightforward - yet are powerful and immediately practical.

Concepts like Attribute Mapping and Consumption Chain analysis, for example, can serve as a core framework for developing - or repositioning - existing products and services. The goal is to move away from selling commodities, and creating valueable (and profitable) offerings that customers absolutely must have.

I have used these concepts numerous times and with great success.

You like to learn the entrepreneurial mindsets from this book. The authors teach this course, at the Executive MBA program, of Columbia Univeristy (only $15,000 for five days). Of course your company pays for it. If not, reading this book is a good alternative ($20 is not bad). The problem with the book, is generality. It does not provide examples of any individual or firm that has been successful with the use of the entrepreneurial mindset. It is like teaching you all the theory to be successful, but no examples on how these theories can be put into action. I stronly disagree with most of the reviewers here that this is a useful book to start a business. It is not. However if you wish to learn the theory, this is the book for you. I would like to find out if the authors themselves, started any business of their own by using these theories.

"The Entrepreneurial Mindset" is one of the best books on entrepreneurship on the market. It will help you to in discover new opportunities for a new or existing product or service or in validating your current product offerings. The invaluable insight it brings will be of assistance in gaining a better grasp of not only your products and services but also your business as well.

The book is based on extensive research of habitual entrepreneurs, that is, those people who started and natured several successful businesses and thus brings out some unique and interesting insights and handy tips and advice that should help you in your business or work. The book is packed with ideas and insights that will assist any manager excel in turbulent and uncertain times.

This is a well written book that will help you avoid making costly errors and propel your business to new heights. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to establish a well thought out strategy to ensure future success and open their eyes to new possibilities.

I just got a FREE copy with my Cheerios box! I LOVE this book! I laughed with my 10 year old as we read it, and I will make my 13 year old son read it and we shall reflect on our rock hunting days of old in our beloved Tennessee creeks... :) I want a hardback of this book!

Thank You Byrd Baylor. I teach a class of adults in recovery. This book has a wonderful message. Everybody in the class chose a rock that appealed to them, a discussion presented inspiring feedback, that was meaningful. Nature has a way of touching our hearts. Nature has a way of growing our spirit.

Under the guise of giving ten rules for choosing one's "special rock", the author advises kids (and adults who read to them), to connect with nature and to act with deliberation. The line drawings are muted in color yet evocative and filled with imagination, and will be of interest to kids who have seen only traditional artwork.

I bought this book for use in an early childhood classroom for 3 to 5 year old children, and the children and I just love it! It's a relaxing story to use and lends itself well to a variety of themes and activities. I wish I had this one when my own children were small. They would have LOVED it!

I teach 6th grade and one of the things we learn about is rocks. I bought this book based on the reviews, but after reading it I felt compelled to write one too. I try to get my students excited about rock collecting. This book is so simple, yet so inspiring. It begins by saying "I'm sorry for kids who only have tricycles, bicycles, horses, elephants, goldfish, three-room playhouses, fire engines, wind-up dragons and things like that - if they don't have a rock for a friend." It then goes on to list 10 simple rules for finding your rock...not just any rock. A rock that you will keep forever. The rules include where to find your rock and remember "You should choose your rock when everything is quiet. Don't let dogs bark at you or bees buzz at you." The book concedes, "Don't get a rock that is too big. You'll always be sorry. It won't fit in your right hand and it won't fit in your pocket. A rock as big as an apple is too big. A rock as big as a horse is MUCH too big." This is the perfect book to get your rock collectors started and excited about geology.

I read at least hundred books a year on business and this one as provided some incredibly coherent thinking on the nature of strategy and systems thinking! We use the concepts in the Stanford Advanced Project Management program and managers really begin to understand the nature of what good planning looks like!

“This book develops a set of concepts that allow you to design business models where the risk can be reduced to practical proportions. The risks in any business come from not knowing the demand, threat from competition, and not having the appropriate capabilities. The basic theme repeated over and over again is that to reduce risk, you need to have clarity regarding where the risks are and create choice, or options, in tackling those risks. We use numerous examples of business strategies to illustrate the concepts. But more to the point, the concepts developed in this book enable you to quickly visualize successful strategies as well as avoid the common pitfalls. However, by no means are we claiming that the strategies we use as examples were developed using our frameworks. We are very aware of academic ‘after the fact’ analysis of famous strategies that in no way portrays the reality of how those strategies were developed. Notable examples are Honda, Wal-Mart, and Southwest. This is where our book differs. Rather than looking backward to try to understand these famous strategies, which is often the case with academic analysis, we use these examples as ‘exercises’ to help you re-create these strategies using our framework and methodology – a process that should help you internalize our concepts faster (from the Introduction).”

In this context, Sayan Chatterjee divides this excellent book into two broad sections-ten chapters and an Appendix. He briefly summarizes each of them as following:

I. THE FIRST SECTION develops concepts that allow a firm to clearly understand the nature of the risks in a given business.

1. In the first chapter, we explore the choice dimensions when designing a strategy – how to identify multiple business models. By identifying multiple business models, you will be able to minimize competitive risks by essentially changing the rules of the game.

2. This brings us to the final concept, which you will explore further in Chapter 2. Even if you manage to reduce competitive risks by identifying a competitive logic that is distinctly different from competitors, you are still vulnerable to capability risks.

3. In Chapter 3, we revisit the choice dimensions that allows you to consider different capability configurations that can deliver the same core objectives without making the mistakes made by Continental CALite. This will help you understand how elements of a successful strategy from one business can be applied to just about any business without undue capability risks.

4. In Chapter 4, we will review the different options to reduce capability risks that we have seen so far with some more examples. These options are using an existing or off-the-shelf capability and investment in capabilities that affect part of the value chain, sometimes in order to outsource the risky capabilities. Thus Lilly, Cisco, FedEx Custom Critical, and Sony PlayStation have outsourced the critical parts of their value chains contrary to conventional wisdom.

5. In Chapter 5, you will consider some techniques for reducing capability risks at the operational level.

6. In Chapter 6, we describe the characteristics of organizations that are the best suited to benefit from the types of frameworks described in this book.

II. THE SECOND SECTION expands the framework developed in the first section to growth and diversification strategies.

7. In Chapter 7, we look at generic strategies for adapting to a market.

8. In Chapter 8, you will consider entry strategies based on low price. You also will consider the market characteristics that reduce the risks of such a strategy. In particular, you examine one of the foremost proponents of the low-price strategies, Dell Computer, and how it has leveraged its low-cost operations into many markets by under pricing incumbents. Firms contemplating a low-price entry strategy can learn some important lessons from Dell.

9. In Chapter 9, you will look at the risk factors in shaping a market from scratch. These strategies take a long time to come to fruition, involve much bigger bets, and are inherently more risky. The strategies are usually also the most profitable and most long-lasting.

10. In Chapter 10, you look at managing these risks in a more dynamic context. You will see how to identify choices not only when designing a strategy, but how to keep the options open and defer commitments. By keeping options open, you will be able to commit resources when you have the best understanding of the risks.

III. THE APPENDIX presents a detailed analysis of the rise and fall of Enron using the risk management lens.

Finally, S. Chatterjee says that “Most management books use examples of past successes and failures to justify their frameworks. Of course, this is necessary, and we have also done that to a large extent. However, we have also gone out on a limb and made predictions about the strategies of the best companies in the world. Some of these predictions are not favorable, but if we believe in our frameworks, the true test will have to come in their predictive ability and not by looking in the rearview mirror. Imagine if someone had predicted Enron’s problems in 1999!”

Strongly recommended.

No strategy is failsafe, of course, but there is much we can do to take better risks and avoid mistakes. "The whole reason business exists is to take risks; otherwise we should be keeping our money in treasury bills," writes Sayan Chatterjee, a professor of management policy at Case Western Reserve University. To mitigate risk, he continues, executives need both clarity and choice, and to that end his guide offers expert case studies and a practical framework. Chatterjee's ideas are broad enough to encompass products and services as diverse as computer games, cars, printers, airline travel, medical imaging, and more.

Section one focuses on designing a strategy that anticipates and avoids risk. The point he makes, through discussion and examples of companies such as Dell, Microsoft, Continental, Southwest, Sony, Nintendo, and others, is that the design of a strategy needs to be flexible and replicable, as well as clearly understood by all employees and easy to talk about at the water cooler.

Section two explores risk in the context of growth and diversification strategies, and Chatterjee's detailed analysis uses some of the same companies. Comparing Dell and Microsoft, for example, he suggests that Dell tends to adapt to existing markets by leveraging the capabilities it already possesses, while Microsoft is proving itself more the market shaper.

No framework should operate as a template or checklist. But if this one is considered in a thoughtful way, Chatterjee says, it might help a company devise a strategy tailored to its own opportunities and risks.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Understanding risk: the real key to competitive strategy
Section I: Designing strategies for avoiding risk

1. How to see gold where others see risk: identify more choices to get the gold
2. Three steps to design a low risk strategy
3. Identifying multiple capability configurations
4. Designing strategies with low capability risks
5. Lowering capability risks with visible and invisible outputs
6. Organizations that can benefit from the outcome to objectives framework

Section II: The risks in growth and diversification strategy

1. When and how to use differentiation entry strategy
2. When and how to use a low-price entry strategy
3. Strategies to shape markets: products, process and platform
4. Develop multiple migration paths

Appendix: Enron's incremental descent into bankruptcy: a strategic and organizational analysis
Epilogue

Everything in life has risk. The advantage that the entrepreneurial business model has is that it encourages risk taking. The entrepreneur is willing to risk his time, his investment in a venture that the established companies are unwilling to undertake. The bigger the company, and perhaps the older, the more risk adverse it becomes. Perhaps I should say organization rather than company, because bigger organizations like our Federal Government cannot afford risk, the price of failure is too high when the '60 Minutes' reporters show up.

In this book Dr. Chatterjee attempts to define business risk in ways that a corporation might use to understand, minimize and work around failure in a proposed venture. As he puts it in Chapter 1, 'How to See Gold Where Others See Risk: Identify More Choices to Get the Gold.' While you have to accept that any risk at all means that sometime you will fail. It is also axiomatic that the higher the risk, the higher the potential for return.

This book gives a framework for identifying high risk/high return opportunities, and first evaluating the risk and then finding ways to minimize the loss in the case of failure.

Business is a specialized extension of life, so the reality is that there is no failsafe. However, that is what makes the game so interesting. For if you could not fail, business, like life, would be very dull and uninteresting. In the modern world, jobs are being created and destroyed at a rate faster than at any time in history. There is also no doubt that the pace of change will continue to accelerate. Furthermore, the physical location of jobs is also changing at a rapid rate. However, the rate of change of job movement will slow and eventually flatten out. As countries such as India and China develop, the wage differential will narrow. Finally, at some point most of the jobs that can be outsourced will have been outsourced.
In this environment, the challenges can be overwhelming. The sensible person explores every possible advantage and there is a great deal of sense in this book. Overall business strategy, rather than operational aspects, is the focus. While new technologies are continuously being developed and are creating new business opportunities, the strategies examined here are applications requiring very little new technology.
There are two key points, the first is how to identify a new market that can be exploited and the second is how to manage your growth. Two aspects of markets are described. The first is as a white space, which is a market niche that is currently unexploited. While these are market opportunities, there is a danger in being the first mover. With no history to examine, it is easy to be a trailblazer for others who will avoid your mistakes and be in a better position to exploit the market. The second is the sweet spot, which is a location that will allow you to maintain your advantage and defend it against others who might want to challenge your position.
Several case histories are presented, including an extensive one about Enron in an appendix. Companies such as Dell computer, Southwest airlines and Jet Blue are examined, including their strategies for entering markets and how they manage to maintain their position and profits, even through difficult times. However, I found the case history of Enron to be the most interesting. Their initial business strategy was a brilliant one, but when Enron branched out into other areas without performing the due diligence of research, they began to experience failures. It was the attempt to maintain the façade of unrelenting success that led to their downfall. Rather than admit to the failures, managers at Enron began to engage in account manipulation that snowballed as failures grew in magnitude and number.
As the world changes rapidly, market niches are created and destroyed and are not always evident. Entering these niches requires forethought, courage and determination to succeed. If even one is missing, failure is likely. The information in this book will help you to identify new niches and ask the right questions concerning whether you should enter one. You must supply the courage and determination.

Great intro to the concept of home education with a heavy emphasis on the Charlotte Mason method. I re-read this little treasure regularly to keep myself on track. Loving books as much as I do tempts me to compile quite a list of Books We Must Have for School. The CM way of thinking ensures I stick only with the best, the essentials. I highly recommend it!

I first read this book because it was written by Susan, one of Francis and Edith Schaeffer's daughters. Little did I know that it would become the foundational book to becoming a homeschool parent when I decided to take my youngest child out of the public schools.

One doesn't need to be homeschooling their children to appreciate this book. Susan writes in the same warm and friendly way as her mother. However, if one is homeschooling and using the Charlotte Mason "method", this book is an essential volume to have in your library.

If you're a Charlotte Mason fan, you can't pass this one up. It is my favorite book on Charlotte Mason & is full of wonderful parenting advice. Really, all parents are teachers, not just homeschooling parents. This book offers great insight for all who spend time caring for children.

As one preparing to homeschool, this book was this kind of thing that has been spurring me on to ponder, philosophize and dream about both the general approach I will take, and the beginnings of many specific ideas.

For those who are disenchanted with the high pressure standardized-testing mentality prevalent in classrooms today, this book explains the educational philosphy of Charlotte Mason. It is God-focused (Susan is the daughter of Christian apologtic Francis Shaeffer), natural, and relaxed. It is a must-read for any classroom teacher, homeschool parent, or school administrator.

We bought this book to accompany the Butterfly Pavilion from amazon.com. This book was a little above her level of understanding, she is only 2 after all. She did get the gist of it. Great illustrations and concise.

Excellent book- my 3 & 5 yr. olds loved it, and it was easy enough for them to understand, yet descriptive enough that they were intrigued. We bought it in preparation for buying a butterfly habitat to watch the process ourselves. Great learning experience.

I am very much impressed with this series of books, as I have ordered 4 of them. Your service is great and I continue to enjoy doing business with you.

I bought this book with the butterfly graden and we gave it as a birthday present. By the time the caterpillars came in the mail she was so excited and she new everything that was going to happen. This was propbably the best birthday gift I could have given an animal loving child. I will give this gift over and over again.

I bought this book for my friend's three-year old, who has been facinated recently with butterflies. I can see that he'll be interested now - and he'll be able to grow into the more detailed information later.

Really, there isn't a better way to describe this series (especially this volume). The characters are cute, the situations (minus the dramatic parts) are cute, and their reactions... CUTE! While that may not be enough for some readers, it's enough for many of us. And to be honest... the ones who aren't into cute really would never get into this series in the first place.

In this volume we meet a rather persistent admirer of Kyo & get a little more of his background before Tohru. It's great development & is sure to please fans of the series.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

Yes, the "Best Manga Ever According to Me" award goes to.. FRUITS BASKET!! It's absolutely WONDERFUL!!!! I loved it so much, I've read it 5 times already!
I must admit, sometimes I love Kyo so much it scares me, and this book didn't help.. now I feel bad for him too! This book has lots of character development for Kyo. It was good timing on the writer's behalf. I find myself drawn to the pages where Tohru encounters Kyo in the forest, it's such a perfect scene for him and Tohru.... oh, it makes me want to swoon.....

Alright, now i've been reading manga for about 2 years now and i haven't been hooked on one as much as Fruits Basket! It's amazing, it combines romance with comedy, it's a definate page turner! This one may in fact be my favorite one out of the series so far...it's absolutely amazing! You get to see a side of Kyo you haven't seen yet and this particular manga has alot of character developement in it. It's a definate buy for anyone that wants a good romance/comedy! Not only do you get to see an emotional side of Kyo you haven't seen before, but you also get to see his "true form." Overall, the 6th volume of Fruits Basket is a must read! Kyo is personally my favorite character and you really get to see a side of him you don't normally see and you get to see the relationship between Kyo and Tohru deepen and become alot stronger! Definatly a 10/10!
~alexis~

I'm continuing with Fruits Basket since I have been enjoying the character interaction. Now that I've gotten to volume 6 it's getting easier to recognize the characters, but there's still a lot of cross-cultural stuff that eludes me. The most irritating part to me is...I don't even know how to explain this, but here goes:

Someone (usually a Sohma) is thinking about something. So the words are on the page, not inside thought bubbles or anything, just words on the page. But the pictures are of other people (usually Tohru, or Tohru plus other Sohmas). The thinking person is not always present at the scene being shown. For example, the book has Hatori and Shigure in a conversation. Then we have a few pages of this "someone's thinking" with pictures of Tohru et al. having a fun time. Then at the end of these 5-6 pages, we find that it was Hatori doing the thinking. So I have to go back and reread from the point where he and Shigure were talking, so that I understand what is intended. These books really are a lot of mental work to process at times.

I have picked up the first volume of Ouran High School Host Club to see if it's a problem with me, or a problem with manga in general, or a problem with Fruits Basket. I'll report back after a few more volumes of Fruits Basket!

I love fairy tales, and this story is a most excellent example of the genre. It follows two children on their journeys through Fairyland and their interactions with various fantastic people and creatures. I loved the pure innocence of the story and found it very captivating. The narration was also very excellent and energetic, making this story a very good listen.

While The Golden Key may not be my all-time favorite book, it certainly has a strong connection to the book that I treasure most of all (well, second to the Bible). You see, George MacDonald, author of The Golden Key, was in fact the mentor of Lewis Carroll, who wrote my favorite non-Biblical book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. That's a very powerful and indeed shocking connection if you ask me. But you can kind of see it if you look closely. I mean, the kids in the Golden Key grow both old and young. Alice in Wonderland grows big and small. Kinda similar there.

Yet, I did not know about the relationship between the two books until AFTER I had finished The Golden Key and decided to do some research on its origin. I simply read The Golden Key like I would any other book, and developed some commentary on the work as a whole that I would now like to communicate:

First, the book is very short. I finished it in two days. And because its so short, events move incredibly fast to make room for heavy amounts of whimsical feeling and fantastical description.

But again I have to go back to the Alice thing. I noticed how SO many sentences in the story turned the reader upside down and made him say, "huh?" It was as if the Fairy World did everything it could to stay all out of whack. Whether it was to make speech that could be heard without ears, or to make the oldest people in the world look like little kids, the topsy-turvy nature of everything couldn't help but instill an amazing sense of awe. Truly, The Golden Key opens eyes to such incredible abstract possibilities of the imagination, and perhaps even life itself.

The out of whack sense of awe, while wonderful in this book, developed into full maturity in the Alice books. While The Golden Key merely mentions things that make no sense, the Alice books actually attempt to explain the senselessness of senseless things.

I hope I will always have a special place in my heart for MacDonald's prototype of Alice in Wonderland. Oh, if we only knew how much the imagination behind The Golden Key has really changed the world. I think we would all be very surprised.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my 20-year-old daughter. It was one of her favorite books as a child and she frequently checked it out of our local library until it disappeared from the shelf there, never to be seen again. She was very excited when she saw that she had her own copy and she took the book back to college with her after Christmas break. Although I haven't actually read the book myself, I can tell you that my daughter thinks it is great!

This book is like a drink of the freshest, clearest water on the brightest, bluest spring day you can imagine. It was lovely every step of the way, somehow beautifully sad and wonderful at the same time. With the aid of the creatures of fairyland, mistreated Tangle and adventuresome Mossy go on an enchanting journey which takes them straight through to a wisdom and sense of wonderment that is somehow greater than that found in adulthood (or childhood). George MacDonald truly had an eye for the worlds of fairy, and an unsurpassed talent for expressing beauty in all things. The stories are not always meant to be understood, but deep in that inner place in one's heart, they make sense.

An earlier reviewer mentioned the difficulty of understanding the imagery of the story and another suggested (perhaps rightly) that the golden key represents Christ. C.S. Lewis believed it represented "the talent for loving", and having read the book numerous times, especially to nephews and nieces, I agree. Without giving away too much, notice the differences between Mossy's and Tangle's journey after their separation (physical death), especially how they saw the Old Man of the Sea. One might need to have read more of MacDonald's works (especially Unspoken Sermons) to get at his view of how love affects our ability to "see". His "At the Back of the North Wind" contains another wonderful example when North Wind explains to Diamond why she had to appear as a dreadful wolf to an old woman.

The young Hal and his instructor in the art of living the good life , Falstaff cavort through the first half of Henry IV as if life were going to be one long , irresponsible entertainment. The dramatic transformation of all of this , and Hal's casting off of Falstaff, and moving to kingly responsibility will come in the Henry IV Part II.
What is present here throughout is the tremendous richness of Shakespeare's imagination in his creation of character, and inventiveness in language , in his ability to create so many different moods and feelings.
'Falstaff' is one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, and one of the great figures in the Comedy of world literature.
Enjoy.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles-like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

I am actually reviewing both Parts One and Two with this since they should be read together.The reason why I enjoyed these plays so much is because we see Falstaff in both of them. He is my favourite Shakespearean character - big, bawdy, rough, a liar and a cheat, but again we know what he is right from the beginning, and Shakespeare keeps him so true to character. These plays are a bit different from some of the other histories. There are more comedic parts in them for one thing. The plays are certainly used as a medium for introducing young Hal (who will become King Henry V). We see him as a young man, and watch him grow and see the influences that his society and the people in it have on his development. He doesn't appear to be growing up well according to his father because he is so irresponsible. King Henry IV was not England's strongest ruler. He was haunted by his guilt over the death of his predecessor, King Richard II. In Part Two, comedy still plays a big role, and we still see Falstaff's influence on young Hal until the shocking moment of Falstaff's death. The best part about Part Two though is the deathbed scene between old King Henry IV and his son Prince Henry. The play leads us to "King Henry V". Prince Hal does finally grow up and he becomes a very strong leader. Actually King Henry Iv, Parts one and two should be read before King Henry V. It is the correct sequence and we see Prince Hal grow and mature.

Henry IV remains one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, even though the tragedies and comedies get far more attention and seeming appreciation than do the histories. As an English major, I examined Henry's (Hal's) character, and I focused on his development from a somewhat foolhardy young man into a self-assured, even manipulative prince. It is hard to say which of these Hal truly is, or if he is a little bit of both.

At the beginning of the play, Hal spends his free time cavorting around with his friend Falstaff (who provides all of the laughs in the play and is cited as one of the best comic characters in all literature). In the first act we already see hints in Hal's sololiquy that he may not be as carefree as we are led to believe, and that he might betray friends like Falstaff to be the prince that he is expected to be. Read on in "Henry V" to see just how much of a polished politician Hal becomes--his battle cries and his "once more unto the breech, dear friends" is masterful in its persuasiveness and ability to induce his countrymen to fight.

Hotspur serves as a nice counterpoint to Hal in "Henry IV." Hotspur is the hothead and Hal makes his decisions calmly and rationally. This almost inhuman rationality comes into play again in "Henry V" and makes you long for the seemingly carefree Hal.

All in all, "Henry IV" is a great read and quite an interesting character study--I highly recommend it!

In Part One of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," the titular king tries to defend his throne from a rebel army led by the hotheaded Hotspur, who has a long list of grievances about the king's treatment of his family, the Percys. Hotspur has allied himself with several principal figures including his uncle the Earl of Worcester, his brother-in-law Mortimer the Earl of March, Lord Douglas the Scot, and Owen Glendower, a Welsh chieftain with a vivid mystical imagination -- he is so egotistical that he insists an earthquake that occurred the day of his birth was a divine proclamation of his importance -- and a desire to usurp all of Wales from the king.

While he is preparing for war against the rebels, Henry IV laments that his own son Henry (Hal), the Prince of Wales, is a shameful libertine living the high life in London and consorting with a gang of scurrilous miscreants. Indeed, Prince Hal's idea of fun is robbing people, and his best friend and accomplice in this activity is Sir John Falstaff, who turns out to be not Hal's peer but a middle-aged man. In a character transformation of an abruptness that can only be described as magical, Hal becomes a serious young man determined loyally to defend his father's kingship from Hotspur's assault after he receives an earnest lecture from his father about the dangers of acting irresponsibly as a public figure.

Not enough can be said about Falstaff, who is undoubtedly one of the most richly realized characters in literature. He is fat, lazy, cowardly, yet boastful, but not in the same way Owen Glendower is -- Owen really believes what he says; Falstaff is just trying to make himself look better than he actually is, but fools nobody because he prevaricates and embellishes without bothering to remember his previous lies for the sake of consistency. You probably know somebody like this in real life -- especially if you're ten years old. Falstaff's piquancy, in fact, so outweighs the stature of the other characters that his absence is sorely felt in the scenes in which he does not appear.

Most of all, Part One of "Henry IV" is a play of contrasts personified by Prince Hal and Hotspur, who incidentally is also named Henry. In their confrontation on the battlefield, it seems unlikely that Hal, who wasted many of his best days living as a rake, could conquer a seasoned warrior like Hotspur in a swordfight. But there wouldn't be much of a tale to tell if not to show Hal triumphing after his resolution to change his weak habits, and the play ends with the conviction that, despite his past mistakes, he would make a noble king himself.