Bats Books

I liked this book because it is short sweet and funny and it was a quick read. I think it was for 7th and 8th graders because they talk about going to the bamboo field and they make out and stuff, and
that's the only reason that it would be not good for all ages.
When I started reading this I thought that it was going to be about something else, but I was not sure what it was going to be about. I would recommend this for people who like chick-flick book and they talk about the boy having girlfriends a lot and that's why I like this book, but it talks about baseball a little, too.
Like when the boy gets mono at the beginning he gets mono and has to stay home from school and likes to write poems when he is home.
That's why I recommend this book to people.

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is a super cute book. A young boy realizes it's okay to enjoy what he truely loves. I reccomend it to all ages. It is very short and easy to comprehend. YAY for reading SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP!!!

This book follows the life of a kid at the age of fourteen. He is diagnosed with Mono and is but in bed for the remainder of the school year. He finds a poetry book in his Fathers collection and starts testing his own skills out. He tries Pastoral, using couplets, a sestina, and blank verse to name a few. Koertge formed his character through different kinds of poetry and I believe does and amazing job. After the first few poems you really start seeing this character come to life. I would recommend this book to any reader.

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is a funny, breezy, cute book. I don't think it relies as much on the themes of baseball, or even poetry, as it does on the theme of young love. Occasionally this theme becomes inappropriate as he writes poems about making out with girls in the bamboo forest and, in a sick metaphor, reaching Home Base.

Nevertheless, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup will cast a sort of spell over you. Well worth a read.

I liked this book alot it reminded me of my of my bestfriend with mono. Its a really bad sickness. That the main character in the book get. He also tells tha story of how his momie dies. Its a kinda sad and cheerfull book!!!

Who edited this thing? The cover blurb is riddled with grammatical errors, and the book isn't any better. My eyes watered. Save your money.

The collaborative effort of sailing buffs Betty McElhatten and Jane Knipe Gubelin, Stringer And The Blue Bat Mystery is a thoroughly entertaining novel written for young adults. Stringer And The Blue Bat Mystery is the story of Stringer Watts and Hank Phillips, two adventurous twelve-year-olds whose love for sailing gets them into a sticky situation. When Stringer and Hank observe a hijacker at work, they must escape and alert the police before he spots them - sailing into a cave at low tide is a much simpler matter than getting away as the tide rises! Stringer And The Blue Bat Mystery is an enjoyable saga of wind, waves, danger, and fun.

For most teenage boys, the summer can prove to be long and boring. That was not the case in, "Stringer and the Blue Bat Mystery" by Betty Mcelhatten and Jane Knipe Gubelin. These 2 authors are no strangers to the seas themselves, which makes this book both educational and factual. This book is about two 12-year-old boys living on Long Island Sound, who quickly become best friends and immersed in danger, while embarking on a tale of suspense and intrigue that will change their lives. The tale begins when Stringer and Hank inadvertently thwart a lobster poacher's work while in their boat the Blue Bat, never knowing they are stumbling upon a bigger crime. The author's work at telling a tale of mystery, and intrigue suspenseful enough to keep a teenage boy interested in reading it, is no easy task. Although, it is a task they master quite eloquently. As an avid reader, who is easily distracted I wasn't sure if this book could keep me engrossed. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself on the edge of my seat, silently urging the boys on. The nautical illustrations, at the onset of each chapter are well done, and help to enforce the nautical theme of the book. These authors also use their knowledge of boating to create a glossary of terms in the back. This is a great way, to not only entertain, but educate young boys about boating as well. I can't wait to pass this book onto an even tougher critic them myself, a 12 year old boy.

If you are ten years old and up... and you happen to pick up this book,you are in for a surprise!! It is the most exciting and suspenseful book ever! You won't be able to put it down... especially when the hijackers have captured Hank and Stringer and are holding them prisoner... dangling them from the ceiling... they'll NEVER get loose! But just in time Hank and Stringer foil the crooks and the adventure continues. Read on!!! Disney... where are you???

If you enjoy(ed) (and have read ALL of) the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew mysteries, then this book might be for you. This is due to the fact that it "borrows" so relentlessly from those sources.
In answer to the question posed by another reviewer, the reason that Disney does not "snap this book up" is that they'd already optioned "The Moon Spinners" (Mary Stewart) back in the 1960s and made it into a first rate adventure starring Hayley Mills.
My advice is to stick to the original teenaged sleuths and read then rent "The Moon Spinners".

Although it drags in places, especially the over-coverage of obscenely expensive keep-up-with-the-Cohens parties, it's mostly well written, interesting and thought provoking. One under-reported aspect, in my experience, is the role played by b'nai mitzvah in bringing together and maintaining the bonds of far-flung families. With 'living together' as common as marriage, and with low key ceremonies and elopements the frequent follow-through to 'living together', family get-togethers could be decades apart without the b'nai mitzvah events.

As a Jew who did not celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, I learned a vast amount from this visit to 10 Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrants, their families, friends and neighbors. There are truly wonderful human interest stories of Jews, non-Jews, erstwhile Jews, and Jewish converts from New York to Alaska, from youths to late middle-agers preparing for the big day. This volume reminded me of another recently published totally absorbing memoir (Shanda, the Making and Breaking of a Self-loathing Jew) by Neal Karlen; both authors tell of belatedly embracing their Jewish roots and finding inestimable rewards in Jewish culture and in devotion to religious observance. Extremely heart-warming and inspiring for those who have wandered away and are considering re-examining what Judaism has to offer.

Even though it's nominally about bar mitzvah celebrations, this book really uses them as a taking-off point to look at the state of Judaism in America today, from Temple Emanu-El to the Lubavitchers, with numerous stops in between. I had actually expected (with a mixture of anticipation and dread) that the book would be mostly about the over-the-top parties of the type we see in the recent movie Keeping Up With The Steins. Oppenheimer does discuss these affairs, but most of the book is about the personal Jewish experience in a variety of places around the country: I found the most interesting part to be the study of a tiny congregation in St. Charles, Louisiana. Highly readable, highly recommended.

This is a first-rate survey of an established custom. The book goes through many varieties of bar and bat mitzvat, demonstrating that they are not all alike. It focuses on values and choices, so that a person planning a bar or bat mitzvah can reflect on the values that he or she wishes to convey to the bar or bat mitzvah and to the congregation at large. While it is highly readable -- and not at all boring -- it has a significant depth that educates and challenges preconceived notions. It should be read by all parents who contemplate a bar or bat mitzvah for their child. I have otdered additiional copies for other family members for this reason.

This wonderful book charts a double journey. It is a journalist's voyage through Jewish America, with Oppenheimer serving as a kind of traveling anthropologist who is examining an important religious ritual in its various manifestations. But it is also an autobiography, a coming-to-grips with roots, with the possibilities for religious belief, and a quasi-Oedipal rebellion against the author's frankly secular, modern, atheistic, non-observant, left-wing Jewish parents, who came of age in the 60s. Young Oppenheimer, a product of the 90s, came to look at the Jewish religion first in an academic way, and then was gradually drawn in to the mysteries and the doctrines of his people. By looking at the practice of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah in expected places (New York City) as well as unexpected ones (Alaska, Arkansas), Oppenheimer presents a full and generous (as well as a funny and informative) account of why people worship and believe as they do. The book makes sense for anyone involved in a similar personal quest, or for anyone interested in fine writing.

I loved Delano's unique characterization of Batman. This series is one of the prizes of my 15,000+ comic collection. Get a copy, if you can.

I read this five years ago and was absolutely blown away by the graphics. Every page looks like a realistic and perfected painting. There is even a short section at the beginning of the book that has pictures of the artist (I don't remember his name, sorry) working in a studio. Apparently he takes photos and face casts of friends, family and models and draws from those so that he can draw the same face from several angles and have it come out perfect. The art here is amazing and it gets the high quality printing it deserves.

The actual story here was OK. Not terrible to finish, but not worth hunting down either. Batman goes to an island where genetic engineers have been trying to combine human DNA with bat DNA to make their own version of Batman. They have succeeded and their creation is the Manbat. Batman soon aquires a cute female reporter as a side kick. He and Manbat fight. Batman saves the reporter from Manbat and she gets a secret crush on him. Manbat is strong. What will Batman do? They fight some more. Batman wins. Yay! OK, the story was really not so bad. The layouts are good, and the story kept me reading. I am just not so into superheros fighting, but if I was then I would have liked this more.

In many ways the comic is a good representation of the larger pulp sci-fi genre in 1995. The story about genetic engineering is not totally dated, but was a bigger newer concern then. Also the graphics, done by hand (I think also touched with a bit of Photoshop magic) and looking like oil paintings are a product of the times. I think that in many ways the particular beauty here is a product of finding the point where hands on paper stop and computer aided illustration begins.

If you are at all interested in drawing for comic books then find yourself a copy of this. As you turn the pages and see more and more extremely well done illustrations you will alternately drool and experience fits of jealousy. The story here is nothing worth mentioning, but the art is worth some effort to find.

This graphic novel had some good art in it at times, but sadly the way they depicted batman didn't appeal to me. The story to this graphice novel was all wrong. Through out the story they made Batman think he was above the law, made him look like a fool, and he went against his morals at one point and time. ... I do not recomend purchasing this graphic novel. If you are a true Batman fan it would just be a waste of your money. Obviously the authors of this book didn't know enough about batman and were more interested in the art than the story.

This is the only graphic novel I've seen where the artwork on the inside is just as good as the cover artwork.

Purchasing this book by cover only, I was prepared for a typical "child" reading of a comic book favorite. I was WRONG. This mature reading and graphic art by Jamie Delano and John Bolton, kept me in utter suspense and shock. This truly adult depiction of Manbat is a "Real life encounter with the way Manbat would really be if he existed today." The art work is truly dark and in-depth, while being stunning...totally complimenting the solid story. Any Batman fan or Manbat fan should not pass this Dark story up.

Religious awakening as the basis of a memoir presents certain difficulties, particularly in our New Age world corrupted by trendy enlightenment and celebrity seers. But Robin Chotzinoff avoids any touchy-feely riffs in this witty, engaging account of how she, the product of a quirky and privileged yet ultimately dysfunctional upbringing in New York, embraced the spirituality underpinning her Jewish heritage. Her journey, punctuated by forays into sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll (not to mention binging on Oreos and the occasional obsessive romance), brings her to a synagogue in a Colorado mountain town, where first her daughter and then she adopt Judaism at their respective bat mitzvahs. Guided in her training by fellow author and congregant Joanne Greenberg ("I Never Promised You a Rose Garden"), whose practical wisdom is neatly juxtaposed with the wisecracks of Chotzinoff's ailing father (a onetime journalist and lifelong atheist and bon vivant), Chotzinoff delivers her tale of conversion in a funny, self-deprecating, yet thoroughly self-aware manner that takes faith off a pedestal and puts it -- where else? -- on the Sabbath table, in the conjugal bed, and, finally and triumphantly, in the author's weary yet resilient heart.

Nobody plans to stumble across God in an unexpected place, least of all someone who doesn't believe in God at all.

But when writer Robin Chotzinoff realized 40 years into her life that she simply wasn't a very convincing atheist, there were no thunderclaps, just a warm winter rain, no cyclone but a soft Chinook wind. God was inside her, where she least expected to find him.

Chotzinoff's "Holy Unexpected: My New Life as a Jew" is one woman's religious journey, but without the proselytizing or solemn moralizing. In fact, it's just about what you might expect from the daughter of a Catholic mother and a Jewish father who didn't put much stock in God: Not irreverent, but certainly not somber. It's a story about a journey as much as a destination.

Chotzinoff's mid-life spiritual awakening is alternately tender and surprisingly funny. A gifted writer, reporter and dreamer with two previous nonfiction books and numerous articles, she gracefully draws meaning from simple moments. A childhood debate over the relative importance of being Hercules vs. Jesus. The propriety of praying while snowboarding. How to observe the Sabbath on Saturday but still go to Wal-Mart for duct tape. Resting her head on her dead father's arm moments after his last breath. You needn't speak Yiddish to understand exactly what's in her heart.

"Holy Unexpected" is also populated with unique characters from the author's life who illustrate the kaleidoscopic spectrum of religious exploration, from faithless to faithful. It's a memoir, but there's little arrogance or ego on display. The sensitivity of this memoir is in its cast as much as its poetic rendering of an ancient faith, race, culture or whatever you believe Judaism to be.

And at a time when Jewishness lies deep in the heart of the heart of a great conflict that's not-so-casually been labeled World War III, "Holy Unexpected" slices through the frustrating dialectics, obscure and misinterpreted ideologies, the wailing walls of prejudice, and fanatic manifestos fired like Katyushas from an increasingly radicalized Middle East. Chotzinoff's personal story is a different kind of exodus, a journey from rootlessness to belonging that many of us - Jewish, Christian or Muslim - make in our lives.

If you have not yet read any of Chotzinoff's books, you should. She tells a serious story (religious transformation) with wit and makes any reader comfortable to read it. My father, like Robin's, is a 'devout atheist." I connected with this book. She writes about tracing her Jewish ancestry, watching her daughters and husband become Jewish, and watching her father die, all the while letting us in on her inner thoughts of why she is converting. She's humble about this journey and doesn't make the reader feel like they have to conform. But, by the end of it, you'll be leaning more towards Judaism than you were before.
Great book and smooth read.

I disagree with the "tad tedious" review. I just finished this book and felt uplifted by Robin's honesty about her transitions through life. The book is well-written -- her ability to intertwine her struggle with her own identity and religous hunger with her dad's illness is amazing. I hope to read more books by her.

This is a book that, at times, was of some interest, but, overall, I found it to be a tad tedious. The author, who is half Jewish, as her father was Jewish while her mother was Christian, had a mid-life crisis that manifested itself in the desire to find her Jewish roots and lead a life with a religious bent. What she seemed to have done was simply substitute religion for the place that drugs used to have in her life, as religion seems to provide for her the panacea that makes her life worth living.

It is, however, the cultural aspects of Judaism that seem more of interest to her, rather than the actual religious ones. She forged ahead to discover her religious roots, and along her journey she carved out a niche for herself and her family, as they embraced Judaism. It strikes a note of irony that her teenage daughter, whom the author has inculcated in Judaism, seems interested in leading an othodox lifestyle. Yet, by the truly orthodox, she would not even be considered Jewish, as such a legacy is matrilineal, and the author's mother was not Jewish.

Some of the book is humorous, and the family member who is the most interesting is the author's father, as he was was quite a character. Those portions of the book in which he appears lack the tedium that occasionally plagues the author's writing. While the author writes reasonably well, her story is not a particularly compelling one. Consequently, the book tends to flatline a bit, leaving one to surmise that this book is much ado about nothing.

This is a tender, heart-rending tale of a new-born bat whose mother does not return to him. He is eventually adopted by another mother bat who cannot find her own baby. Much information about the Mexican free-tailed bat is presented, beautifully illustrated in subdued watercolors, pen and pencil. This is not a story to share in a large group - sad and intense for the young listeners. For instance, we see that the mother is taken by an owl. We are also informed that babies who drop to the floor of the cave are devoured by beetles. But there is a hopeful element, too. An author's note at the end of the book explains that as many as ten percent of bat mothers nurse babies that are not their own. There is also a list of additional resources and some facts about bats at the end as well. Hold your child and share this amazing story.

It says that this book is recommended for children Grades 2-4. I would think that the older kids would be the ones to truly 'get' it and it could fluster if not scare off the younger children if only because the story deals with a mother bat that is killed by an owl whilst her baby bat waits and waits in vain for its mother...until another mother finds it and keeps it safe. It is a very sad story, and needs delicacy in handling the subject matter, but children will need to learn about death/loss eventually and this is as good as any a book to discuss it, though I would recommend it to older kids. The illustrations [watercolor and ink] are beautiful. Also includes facts and numbers about bats, as well as annotated resources.

As an adoptive mother, I think this story beautifully tells the story of loss and healing in adoption. It was a little over the head of my 2 year old, but my 7 year old understood and was able to see how the story relates to our family.

While bats are not usually thought of as endearing creatures, they are as painted in watercolors by artist Alan Marks. A winner of the Carnegie Medal he does not resort to anthropomorphism but rather depicts the bats realistically with their wings a luminous violet hue and their claws sharply on the ready. His full-page illustrations will be enjoyed over and over again.

Sandra Markle has created a touching story of a tiny Mexican free-tailed bat who is born in Bracken Cave in central Texas. He is as small "as a peanut in its shell," and the minute he is born at the roof of the cave his mother folds up her tail membrane to keep him from falling to the hungry beetles on the cave floor.

This particular mother bat does not have a partner to help her so she must leave the cave to hunt for food for herself and her baby. She returns to the cave often to let her baby nurse and within a week he is beginning to grow fur. However, one night when she is out hunting she is caught by a barn owl.

How a week old bat survives without his mother is at the center of this sad and hopeful story.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

I don't think of myself as a particularly protectionist sort of mother, but I would recommend thinking twice before buying this book for younger children. Both my boys, who have made it through traditional tear-jerkers like Charlotte's Web, were very upset when we first read this picture book. (Even after we returned it to the library it still lives on in memory in our household as "The Bad Bat Book.") This book is not so much about a little lost bat as it is about an orphaned bat. There is never any doubt about where the baby bat is--it is the mother who is lost.

I agree with other reviewers who find the art work and the real natural science portrayed in this book as valuable. It simply isn't going to be appropriate for most younger children who still have a strong maternal attachment. Save it for readers who are perhaps 8 and older.

I couldn't get past the first few chapters--Davis's writing is a clunky, dull, infodumping example of why "show, don't tell" is one of the first rules of good writing. I found the sheer genius of the main characters kind of ridiculous, and the dialogue implausible, and the portrait of university research life to be nearly unrecognizable (but I think that's because actual university researchers are generally too busy researching to write novels or screenplays, so David is no worse in this respect than any number of other authors out there).

I was really disappointed, since I was hoping for a good story with science nicely woven in, and instead got a not-very-well-written science book with a story buried in it somewhere. There are better adventure books and better science books out there.

Two stars instead of one because at least the science is fairly well-researched.

This is a great adventure story for kids, about ages 12-14, in the tradition of The Happy Hollisters and Hardy Boys. But it has a wonderous twist- science. The text is profuse with highly interesting science, from biology to geology, from computer engineering to anthropology. In studying the island of Suqutra, I found Pirates, Bats, and Dragons to be very accurate. Davis has done his research, including the bibliography for source citing, and with the up-to-date information, like the airstrip installed the same year as the writing of the book.

And this was the best part of the book for me. Even though it's intended for kids, this is the only fictional work I've ever come across based on the mystical land of Suqutra. It's one thing to learn from a non-fiction book; something about seeing the same in a fictional work puts the ideas more deeply in your head, as it leaves the fact and enters the land of myth. The island is amazing enough on it's own- for the sake of adventure Davis enfleshes reality on some of the more promiment myths of the island. But only slightly so- most of what you find in this book is by-the-book fact.

This was a great page-turning adventure as well. The culture and people of Suqutra are highly valued, and integral to the storyline. For parents, the sexuality in the book is minimal- a brief hug and a girl in a bathing suit. The one aspect I was disappointed with was the shark attack. Attacks by sharks are so rare (4 deadly per year worldwide), especially compared to the number of sharks killed by humans (70 million), or the number of those dying from Coke machines (2 per year in the US alone). In an otherwise scientifically accurate fictional work, such a story only contributes the Jaws mentality that sharks are evil and need to be destroyed.

On the plus side, this book goes beyond science and culture to the realm of politics, in a fictional manner exposing the lie behind the American so-called War on Terrorism. You don't often get an author bold enough to confront the Powers That Be, in writing something that the majority of the world might agree with, but could get him run out on a rail within the US. Kudos to Davis, for excellent writing, copious research, and real bravery.

Mike Davis has written another wonderful volume in his science adventure series. Like its predecessor, Land of the Lost Mammoths, Pirates, Bats, and Dragons takes readers on a fabulous adventure with Jack, Conor, and Julia, who have grown up into intriguiging and brilliant young adults. While the events of the novel will leave you on your seat, Davis' extraordinary research--on Socotra, on giant salamanders, on modern piracy, and more--is head-spinning. Finally, the evident camaraderie among the three main characters and the meaningful messages about the environment and world affairs make this novel an important addition to everyone's library. I only wish my son was older than nine months so we could have read it together!

I felt Mike Davis's latest book was not only educational, but exciting as well ( a frequently attempted, rarely achieved balance in children's books) yet I have some problems with it. The educational aspect of the novel would be greatly improved with a glossary of some sort- there are SAT words in the book even I am unfamiliar with, and several esoteric scientific concepts which are not clearly explained in the context. Many kids will become frustrated with the book and abandon it- they're not going to research every little detail they don't understand. It seems like Mike Davis is only interested in privelaged gifted students reading his books. Quality education brings lower students higher- it doesn't just entertain the already blessed.
Furthermore, I thought the anti-American troop sentiment was a bit pretentious and very annoying. Naming the villainous Special Forces officer "Robert E. Lee Strong" was as transperant as naming a character "Alfonso Hitlero." I know not all troops are angels, but my uncle is in Special Forces and much of his time in Afghanistan was spent clearing the land mines around schools that creeps of various purposes had planted. He is not some cowboy with a bent for shooting dark-skinned people as Davis would have it.
That said, I think the book really is spectacular in other respects- kids can learn about countries most have never heard of, and will be interested in learning more. I say to Mr. Davis for his next installment in the series: include a glossary and helpful websites, can the political whining (if I don't take it from Fox News I'm not going to take it from you either) and try to appeal to the underprivelaged kids who really need to be inspired.

We are off once more! Pirates, Bats, and Dragons is the latest offering from Mike Davis and Perceval Press that continues the scientific travels and adventures of the three young friends, now college students, who we first met in Davis' The Land of the Lost Mammoths.

In this new adventure however, we leave pre-history and mammoths far behind and we are transported at breakneck speed, headlong into the 21st century, complete with its inherent global issues. Our three young heroes, Jack, Connor, and Julia, are once again remarkably savvy and resourceful as they search out their pirates, bats, and dragons...and ultimately get a whole lot more than they bargained for.

Despite its natural references to current world affairs and conflicts (the locale for Pirates, Bats, and Dragons is Socotra, off the coast of Yemen in the Indian Ocean)... this remains, first and foremost, another magical Davis tale of high adventure. He does not dodge today's controversies, however, but instead faces them head on through the actions of his three key characters. This story is gloriously about truth and honor...and overwhelmingly, the power of friendship. The stakes are much higher in this second installment, but both the author and his champions are refreshingly up to the task

Davis has given us another treat...high adventure at its best.

Building Bat Houses is a good on how-to information on building bat houses. This book is filled with good helpful information,photos,and more.

This is a really good book. Great for those who really care on protection,and preserving bats.

I am very impressed at how comprehensive this small booklet is. Using readable English and clear diagrams, Building Bat Houses provides interesting bat information, bat house location and construction details (including tool and materials lists), and explicit plans for bat houses of 3 different sizes. Major Disclaimer: We haven't actually built the house yet!

When I first saw this book, I was pretty excited. It looked like a very inexpensive way to introduce folks to my bat house hobby. I purchased the book, and read it immediately. I was a little bit disappointed. It seems like this book covers all of the main points about building successful bat house, but it was much harder to follow than the "Bat House Builder's Handbook." I also felt that the plans looked much less detailed, and the pictures were lacking in general.

This book did have a ton of information about exluding bats, and I think that it is probably an exellent referance for people who are looking to get bats out of their attic.

While this book is a decent bat house book, I would recomend that folks interested in building bat houses shell out the extra few dollars and get the "Bat House builder's handbook" instead.

Great first book on bathouses,and what they need.Shows almost all you will ever need to build and have Bats live there soon after it is put up.Also very easy reading and good pictures to follow.So good I got another for a friend of ours.

The writing is good and the story is gripping. But one should not forget that the author was given the task of writing this war novel by Poincaré, who was French president in the years leading up to the first world war. This novel was designed as a partisan, pro-French, anti-German novel right from the start. And indeed, its analysis of the responsibilities for the first world war are black-and-white: the phillistine and war-mongering Germans on the one hand, the peace-loving French on the other. Such a depiction might have been right for the second world war but it wasn't for the first. In 1914 France was eager to wage war to recover the two provinces it had lost in the 1870 war. For a non-biased impression of the first world war I recommend Verdun, The Prelude, The Battle by the French writer Jules Romains.

This novel with the famous title is a historical adventure fiction from the early 20th century. It is an adventure on a level akin to the Count of Monte Cristo. A good read for the adventure reader looking for new (old) territory to learn about.

This novel concerns the Desnoyers family, who move from Argentina to France just before the start of World War I. Desnoyers is a Frenchman, his wife is Argentinian and his brother-in-law is German. When tensions between Germany and France mount at the beginning of the war, the already difficult family relationships are strained. Sisters cannot understand their differing loyalties. Desnoyers cannot accept the laid-back lifestyle of his son, who prefers to tango and does not jump to enlist in the army. This son, Julio, is later devestated by a broken romance and joins the army in an attempt to heal himself. The war changes everyone. As the conflict goes on, the ideaology of the time is examined in great detail, as is the mind-set of each of the primary characters. While it takes a while to really get involved in the story, the conclusion of the book is ultimately very moving and the novel seems to make an important point about the nature of war and the bonds that tie fathers to sons. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is clearly an important piece of historical fiction which is still relevant today.

This book depicts in great detail a way of life that is so changed from the present that it might as well be science fiction. The story begins in South America and moves to France and both places are described in loving detail. The father had first left Europe to avoid serving in the military and he returns, unknowingly, in time for his son to become involved in World War I. The description of the changing opinions and moods in Paris were fascinating. How many times have people thought a war would be over in a matter of weeks? The insight into pre World War I Germany was very educational. Many of the characteristics that I had assumed arose with the Nazis prior to WWII were clearly present much earlier. This book should not be missed by anyone interested in history or human nature.

This book's writing is based on data from the end of the previous century (late 1800's into around 1920). Crummy pictures and drawings..all black n white. Just because they have recently reprinted a book, doesnt mean it is a recently written book by recent researchers or photography. But if you like to read ancient old data, this is the book for you.

This book is an excellent introduction to Bats. Also, as far as books on the biology of Bats go this is a very well priced book a good value.

For anyone interested in Bats or for those requiring further reading regarding Bats I recommend visiting this site www.batconservation.org/ They mention a number of books which can be bought through http://www.amazon.com

There are very few books written about bats, let alone one as informative and easy to read as this one. Neuweiler delivers an exceptional reference book for professionals, students, and anyone who wishes to learn more about these fascinating flying mammals. If you are looking for pretty pictures, this is not the book to buy. If you want a comprehensive presentation about bats, then this is a book that should find its way into your library.