Cats Books

Cal's book, "Pets' Peeves" is a delight to read, and her love of animals shines through every page! If you really love your cat(s) as I do, buy this book and get a real education from your cat's point of view!

What a great book!
When I first heard about it I thought that the author may have padded the numbers by making up a lot of bogus pet peeves. The fact of the matter is that every one of these peeves is legitimate, and in some cases eye-opening.
And although much of the book is written in a light and humorous tone, there are also some items in it, (giving them cheap food, neglecting vet visits, dental health, etc.) that are quite serious.
If you've had pets all your life and you're looking for an insight into their little minds, then you really should not only get this book, but refer to it often.
If you're thinking about getting your first dog or cat, then you should get this book first, and avoid all the little mistakes first before turning your pet into a neurotic basket case.

A delightful and must read book for anyone who is, has, or is considering sharing their lives with an animal companion. Written with humor and intelligence, 202 Pets' Peeves gives you all you need to know to be a respectful and responsible guardian to your animal companions, ensuring a long and happy life for you and your beloved dogs and cats.

Elliot M. Katz, DVM
President, In Defense of Animals

The book is great...I am having a hard time getting it away from my 12 year old who insists on reading it first. Last night she stayed up late finishing the cat peeves...and called me into her room to read several to me.

My 9 year old has claimed second read! They love reading it to me though so I might just get the book read by listening to them read it to me!

For anyone who owns a pet-our beloved friends-this book is a must have!

Ask not what your pets can do for you; ask what you can do for your pets! If our cats and dogs could talk, you can bet they'd have more than a few complaints about us to get off their chests.

Veteran magazine writer and "self-proclaimed pet expert" Cal Orey has channeled her dog Dylan's and cat Kerouac's biggest issues into a briskly readable, amusingly useful catalog of all the things they wish we knew. Researched with animal behaviorists, trainers, and veterinarians, 202 Pets' Peeves is a refresher course for knowledgeable pet lovers and a checklist for humans just starting out with their very first "fur child."

When it comes to pet nutrition, Orey thinks outside the can. Chuck that yucky generic budget kibble and share a little of that raw hamburger you're cooking for dinner with your cat. Give your dog an occasional slice of your whole-wheat crust veggie pizza. Dylan begs, "As a pack animal, I would share my prey with you." You take vitamin supplements. Don't your pets deserve their own?

Orey's sage warnings might help prevent a world of woe. With vet bills skyrocketing, pet medical insurance is becoming vital to avoid a possible heart-wrenching conflict between an unbearable financial burden and your pet's survival. Cats should be kept indoors during the Fourth of July and Halloween when they're most subject to malicious cruelty. You should have a disaster plan in place in case your pet needs to be evacuated when you aren't home.

Empathy and communication are two areas where humans need work. Dylan requires "quality hugging time" and gets depressed when he's scolded, suffering "bad dog day afternoons." Kerouac urges humans to respond when he has invited interaction, but to respect his privacy when he's busy doing his own thing.

Some of Orey's recommendations are debatable. Kerouac craves a hooded litter box for privacy, but some vets warn that enclosed boxes concentrate the dust that cats kick up around their mouths and noses. And it's hard not to raise an eyebrow at: "To experience an after-life dog reunion, contact a pet psychic who specializes in contacting deceased pets."

But 202 Pets' Peeves' strength lies in its rich diversity of pet-related topics, its provocative get-you-thinking style, and its creative solutions. How bout fitting your dog with a pair of kids' swimming goggles to protect its eyes during head-out-the-window car rides? Or, rather than declawing, fitting your cat with Soft Paws nail caps? Or installing a fish-tank screensaver for kittie's diversion? (Oddly, Kerouac fails to demand the greatest cat toy around: the laser pointer, which allows humans to run their felines all over the house while reclining in a strategically located easy chair.) Copious resource references help you find everything from animal behaviorists to doggie daycare to the Alley Cat Rescue website.

So listen to Dylan and Kerouac, two of the savviest "spokespets" around, and they'll help you make everybody's life smoother, safer, and more satisfying.

This is a very easy read and certainly illuminates the life of a vet! It's so interesting to hear the story behind the person. My wife and I both read this book in our spare moments each day. We always looked forward to to our opportunities to read about the next 'adventure', often sharing a chuckle between us! After the last chapter, we found ourselves wanting to read still further!

"A breath of fresh air" applies to Jeff Wells' collection of stories that demonstrate "why veterinary medicine is a true calling." Sure, he's sloshed through a lot of poop, been rained on by vomit, and reached into the abyss of numerous cows and horses, but he's also treated a leather clad chihuahua named Megadeath, released puppies stuck in their father's? birth canal, and experienced a lifetime of opportunities to laugh at himself. Read ALL MY PATIENTS HAVE TALES. Inhale deeply.

This book is so well written, and truly IS a modern-day James Herriot book, like I read in the other review. If you love animals, this is a MUST read. You will have a new appreciation for what veterinarians do on a daily basis, and the people that they come across, too. I highly recommend this book!

The title of this book is what first caught my attention; I loved the "play on words" with tales and the picture of those wagging tails on the cover!

Being an animal lover, I enjoy reading stories of people sharing their experiences with pets. My husband and I joke that our two cats are cheap entertainment as we watch them slide across our floor to bat at a toy, chase their tails or chirp at the birds outside. When I began reading Jeff's stories about his experiences with animals and their owners, I found I could not put the book down until I reached the last tale. Jeff is a wonderful story-teller; one moment, you experience the emotional heartache of owners and Jeff as a vet tending to a sick or injured pet, and the next, you are roaring with laughter at the antics of the pets - and owners!

A great read and wonderful book to take with you when traveling.

Kelly Johnson
Cornerstone Virtual Assistance, LLC

Dr. Wells has brought the world and challenges of being a Veterinarian into your home in this wonderful and well written book about his experiences. I bought the book for my niece, but had to read it before she ever got it. She is in Vet school and bought more for her friends. My brother, a M.D., enjoyed it immensely. We ordered more for other members of the family and friends. It is not only stories about dogs (as the cover indicates) but animals - large and small - that Dr. Wells has helped. It is touching, warm, educational, interesting, intriguing and a most enjoyable read! Any Vet wannabes or just people loving animals will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.

I read this book before the US invasion of Iraq after reading an article in 2002 by Philip Gold, a Seattle-area conservative, who spoke highly of it. He believed the US was going to end up repeating its mistakes in Vietnam, for similar reasons. He was right.

I'll list just one example: the myth that technology is a panacea, and a substitute for troops on the ground. Donald Rumsfeld appeared to believe that he had discovered a revolutionary breakthrough that would allow for an easy victory in Iraq, one no one had ever thought of before. In fact, he'd just fallen for the same exact myth as the planners of the Vietnam War, for the same reasons.

Numerous other comparisons can be made reading this book. It's not a moral critique of the war, but rather a chronicle of bureaucratic disaster, and a blueprint for what was to come.

Every politician should read Loren Baritz's analysis of the delusional thinking that got us into the Vietnam quaqmire. It bears directly on how we got ourselves into the Iraq War.

Loren Baritz describes the complete ignorance of foreign cultures, the complete inability to predict consequences, of the presidents, politicians, and military commanders who dragged us into a no-win war with "north" Vietnam. In his preface Baritz says:

"The war presidents beieved in what they were doing. I have no doubt they were sincere. Victims of Cold War jitters, they meant to curtail the spread of communism. With deep-seated American idealism, they intended to engineer a more sanitary and more democratic Vietnam. LBJ desperately wanted to "win their hearts and minds," and Nixon described the war as a "noble cause." They wanted to save the Vietnamese, sometimes from themselves, always from their ideologically crazed brothers. Our sense of moral superiority to the rest of the world, our missionary compulsion, is a story as old as the settlement of America. . . Our commanders lusted for a massive conventional battle . . . [but] There was never a front line -- never any line at all -- and no territory to be won and held. The Vietcong looked exactly like our allies in South Vietnam, never appearing in uniform and easily blending into the village life of the countryside. . . . For the GI grunts in the field, it was a grisly nightmare. Think of the soldier "lucky" enough to have his laundry done by a sweet old woman who, after dark, changed into a Vietcong guerrilla, laying mines on the path to the mess hall."

Nothing has changed. We are still putting our GI's at unnecessary risk due to presidential delusions. We are still labeling our real enemies (Iraqi's, Saudi's, Pakistani's) as friends -- just to keep that oil flowing. And soon we will be importing thousands of so-called Green Zone Iraqi "friends" into the US when we cut and run.

It's fifty years after the Vietnam debacle, and Repubs and Dems are just as clueless as they ever were about the dangers implicit in anti-Western, anti-rule-of-law, cultures and value systems. Now our democracy-sloganeering president has put our soldiers into Iraq, as Nixon said about Vietnam, to "win their hearts and minds." But for the GI grunts, it's a nightmare even more surreal than Vietnam was: This time our clueless military commanders are not only inviting the enemy Shia into the Green Zone to do the GI's laundry and translation, this time they are forcing the naive, young GI's go on patrol with Shia gunmen, who could easily shoot them -- the infidels -- in the back at any moment and in good Islamic conscience. This time the oil-blinded leadership is TRAINING the enemy.

I can't add to the description of the book, except to say that it's too bad more people haven't read it. Especially our leadership. It's horrendously important to recognize the failures that we're repeating in Iraq.

John Sweet
Book review #3

Baritz, Loren. Back Fire: A History of How American Culture Led Us into Vietnam and Made Us Fight the Way We Did. Baltimore: The John's Hopkins University Press, 1985.

Loren Baritz takes a look at the Vietnam War in a way that lets us understand why we decided to fight and why we fought the way we did. Unlike most surveys of the war that focus on the logistical elements and command decisions which explain what the war was Baritz explains why it was. "To understand our present role in the world" Baritz explains, "we must understand the Vietnam debacle." (p.9) Indeed, if we are to learn anything from our mistakes, and virtually everyone now agrees that Vietnam was a mistake, it is essential to know why something happened and not just what happened. To explain why Vietnam happened the way it did Baritz proposes that there is "an inherent connection between war and culture [that is] present in all nations." In our case, Vietnam was fought the way it was because our culture left us no other way to fight it.
Baritz divides the book up into three parts. The first part, Tinder, explains why America decided to fight in Vietnam and the myths that forced us to make war half way around the globe with a people that we did not understand. The second part, Fire, explains how we fell into an ever deeper war in Vietnam and how our means of fighting determined how we fought and why we were unable to effectively combat a vastly inferior military force. The third part, Backfire, is the most telling part of the book for it presents an explanation of how our culture forced us to fight the way we did, why we ultimately lost, and why we are still making the same mistakes today.
In Tinder, Baritz convinces us that Americans firmly believe that we are the best. We are a "chosen people" inhabiting a "city on a hill" doing "Gods work" bringing a "Great Society to Asia." Such blatant solipsism is part of our entrenched American dogma. So ingrained is this self righteousness that we truly can not comprehend someone who does not wish to be like us. One GI put it simply "The Vietnamese are so stupid that they can't understand a great people were trying to help a weak people." So it was, as Baritz explains, that Gods Country went to Vietnam to save them.
Our almost total ignorance of the Vietnamese culture is now legendary but at the time it did not seem important. Our sense of righteousness and invincibility was so complete that we never even considered the possibility that we were the real enemy to the South Vietnamese. One of the greatest blunders of the Vietnam War was the refusal to see the indigenous forces of the South as the main target. Instead, we assumed that the North was behind our failures to win the hearts and minds of the "backwards" South Vietnamese. Baritz is careful to explain that all nations have myths about their own greatness, but it is when these myths of inherent superiority are combined with power that terrible things happen. As was the case for us in Vietnam. Indeed, Baritz's book is now routinely quoted to expose the similarities between Vietnam and Iraq in an attempt to put the brakes on what is turning out to be a similar debacle.
Our moral superiority has often been derived by our technical superiority according to Baritz. Our obsession with the power of technology is absolute. It has been, and is today, the firm belief of most Americans that technology is the answer for most problems. This dependency on technological solutions, according to Baritz, blinded us to the proper response in Vietnam which was counterinsurgency. To truly win the hearts and minds of the South Vietnamese, intelligence and human interaction, practiced on a national scale might have handed the US a victory. But such a strategy offered no stage to display our superior technology. Even when our use of technology was obviously not working the Army responded in a typically American way. "When something failed to work we did more of it."(p.233) While such insanity is self-evident today, at the time it was perversely logical to the American generals who were so caught up in their own myths that to do otherwise would be tantamount to admitting the entire American way of life was wrong. After reading Backfire the belief in American military strategy as an extension of what is essential about America is not such a slippery slope. Baritz is very convincing connecting American culture to the way we fight. We are a technological nation and, more than anyone, dream of winning wars by the push of a button. "Shock and Awe," "smart bombs," and "stealth" are all extensions of our desire to separate us from harm and have the wonders of American ingenuity save the day. In Vietnam, as well as in the war on terror, where there is no front line intelligence gained from good foot soldiers and not bigger and better missiles are the deciding factors in achieving victory.
If all of this is so clear now why do we continue to make the same mistakes? In the third part, Backfire, Baritz explains that we have no choice. We fight the way we do because our culture defines who we are and how we fight. As long as our culture remains the same we will continue to be more efficient in our fighting but no more effective. This is because we are prisoners of our faith in technology. In order to maintain a high tech society the functioning of government, business, and the military must reside in a bureaucracy. As Baritz explains "when the technological mind is turned to the problem of organizing human activity, the result is bureaucracy." (p.48)
Baritz demonetization of the effects of bureaucracy on the military is total. With clarity and logic he explains how the fighting of such a technological war necessitated the bureaucisation of the military and its tragic consequences. The most damning of the outcomes is the development of careerism within the officer corps. The shift of officers from "leaders to managers" created such hazards as a drop in morale, insubordination, lack of responsibility, lack of experience, and unimaginative tactics. When officers are working to "get ahead" the job takes precedence over the mission and the mission suffers as it did in Vietnam.
The combination of bureaucracy and technology in Vietnam led to the eventual, extreme conclusion in strategy, that of having no strategy; the body count. When killing becomes and end unto itself the morality of war breaks down quickly. War becomes cold and passionless. Baritz correctly finds fault with such thinking claiming that "passion is an appropriate response to war." Without passion and debate the bureaucratic ship will be on autopilot. Incidences such as My Lai are the tragic results.
Did we learn from Vietnam? Baritz claims that "one antidote for folly is experience" and the experiences of Vietnam should have cast our invincibility myth into the ashcan as well as our reliance on technology as a panacea. Yet, it seems that the lessons of history are nothing in comparison to the American Myth that we are a city on a hill. Ronald Reagan against the Soviets, Clinton against the third world and the Bush Doctrine of preventive strikes and the forced spread of democracy all have repeated some of the mistakes that we made in Vietnam.
Baritz concludes that "our power, complacency, rigidity, and ignorance have kept us from incorporating our Vietnam experience into the way we think about ourselves and the world." (p.349) To fight a different, more humane, more effective war, will require more than a change in the military structure but a change in American cultural thinking. Looking at the current global policy of the United States, this does seem likely to happen any time soon and so we will continue to fight the way we do: with a national myth that shows us that we are good, with technology that makes us strong, and a bureaucracy that gives us standard operating procedures. Unfortunately, it has proven not to be a winning combination.

This is a remarkable book that I found very hard to put down. If you are interested in discovering why we went to war, and how we lost it, Backfire if for you. The author avoids the usual mantra of both the left and the right and gives us what may be the most comprehensive analysis of this war written to date. Although I will take issue with some of the authors assumptions, this book should be must reading for the politicians and military who wage war, and for parents who send their children to fight wars.

It is difficult to find fault with the author's contentions that we fought the wrong war. Our enemy fought a political and psychological war, a war against American culture; whereas we fought a conventional war and were trapped by our own cultural assumptions of American invincibility. It is the author premise that American foreign policy was, and is, driven by our cultural myth of America as the City on a Hill. Baritz observes that as Americans we see ourselves as the new Israel, God's chosen people. The author contends that because of this myth the American people see themselves as a moral example to the world, Baritz wrote: It means that we are a Chosen People, each of whom, because of Gods favor and presence, can smite one hundred of our heathen enemies hip and thigh. . . . We believe that the people of the world really want to be like us, regardless of what they or their political leaders say. So Baritz takes the Ugly American approach to our foreign policy.

In a sense, he is right. Our belief in our own invincibility, and that the Vietnamese people wanted to be like us and welcome us drove the war. It was inconceivable to us that they would not share our values, applaud our intentions or embrace our presence. It led us to trust in our guns and to our failure to state our national objectives for this war.

Here are a few of the remarkable insights the author gives us:
There was a tendency for American war planners and policy makers to think the job was done when their plans and policies were approved, leaving no one to monitor whether or not what they decided was effective. He points out that we supported a regime that had little popular support and our conventional military tactics made the problem worse because bombing, artillery, napalm and Agent Orange would wound and kill the very people whose support we needed. After Tet, the Viet Cong insurgency was defeated and the Phoenix program of the assassination of Viet Cong leaders had decimated the leadership of the Viet Cong. By 1970 General Giap had concluded the only way the North could win the war was through regular war, the very kind of big-unit engagement American Generals had hoped for. But by this time, the political war at home was lost. Yes, the press was partially to blame for our defeat. The constant stream of defeatism by the Press, especially during and after the Tet offensive cannot be underestimated in turning American opinion against the war.

Baritz takes issue with the claim that the war could have been won if the military had been allowed to fight it differently. Not because we could not win, but because the American culture at the time precluded such a victory. Vietnam was not perceived as a  threat to American, there was no anger in the American public to support such a war.  In the end, the North Vietnamese understood American culture, they believed they could win if they did not lose. All they had to do was to outlast American patience. The Americans war leaders believed that they would lose if they did not win. The failure to achieve quick and decisive victory doomed the American war effort.

Has the America changed? Are we now willing to do what we were incapable of doing in the 1960's? that is to wage an effective war? Or has the American public, like that of ancient Rome as the barbarians gathered on their frontiers, grown tired of defending its freedom? Only time will tell.  

I highly recommend the Black Dog opera books. They're the perfect way to learn about an opera: They include cd's of the opera by outstanding singers, photos of performances, historical and critical commentary, a scene-by-scene summary of the plot, and the complete libretto in both English and the original language, so you can play around with the translation if you're interested. They can't be beat.

This is a wonderful study score to Rossini's wonderful masterpiece. The story of a Barber named Figaro, who is the person that everyone comes to seeking advice.
It's easy to read and the size is standard (9in x 12in). It lies easily on a music stand or desk. It's low price is great for the starving music student. I highly reccommend this for professionals and opera-goers alike.

Be aware that the book shown when you take a "Look Inside" is NOT the book you get. What they show is a bound copy of the musical score with the libretto added. What you get is the libretto described in the written review, no musical score. That having been said, the book you get is useful and of interest, and the CD is a great recording.

One of Rossini's best operas, the Barber of Seville, is immortalized here in another one of Dover's fine scores. From the fast-paced overture to the "Figaro" aria (both made famous in old Bugs Bunny cartoons), this opera is nonstop greatness.

As usual, Dover has provided us with a book of the highest quality: they sew their books instead of gluing them so as for them to stay bound and be flexible, and they print legibly. Unfortunately, legible print is becoming disappointingly rare in modern scores, but Dover is the exception.

For a great score of a great opera at a great price, you can't go wrong with Rossini's Barber of Seville.

This book and CD set are the perfect combination for those who are new to the world of opera and not fluent in foreign language. Better than just a synopsis, the libretto in English lets you read every word so you won't miss the humor or pathos. As a homeschooling mom, I really appreciated this set as a teaching tool. I hope to increase my collection of The Black Dog Opera Library series.

This is a great "opposites" book. The young-cat, old-cat transition is facinating to me, but my son loves the cat that leaps out at you (out-cat, in-cat). He laughed really hard as I had that cat pop out about 10 times in a row.

Now, if I want to get him to go into his room, I say "Black cat, white cat", and he heads straight for this book. He can barely say anything yet, but he loves this book!

Do you want a book that will captivate your youngster or one you know? This book will do it. The pop up demonstrating "High Cat Low Cat" are some of the best I have seen in the last 12 years. Not only do they open & fold with ease, you can turn the page quickly and not worry about the pop-ups getting caught or torn. The fold out sections of the book are equally as wonderful; "Black Cat White Cat" goes from a serene black cat looking at you to a surprised expression on the black cat as the white cat jumps out to chase a red ball. The pull tabs are easy to operate (a minor miracle in it's self), and yield a round of giggles as the "Young Cat" becomes "Old Cat" with the widening of the face, and the jowls of the cat poof out. Delightful way to approach opposites!.

I bought this book for my nephew, and I almost kept it for myself.

The illustrations are very clear, and well thought out. The pop up dynamics are just precious. This should not be a book that would get rough-housed around. Some of the pop ups are quite delicate.

My nephew is 4 and enjoyed it immensely.

I saw this book in an educational toy store several years ago. I had no children at the time and put it back on the shelf; a few weeks later I returned to buy it just for me, but it was gone. Since then I've actually had a child who is now 18 months old, and I have seached many a book store shelf and even looked here on amazon before with no sucess. One bookstore recently told me it was out of print and could take several months to get. Now that I've found it here I'm ordering it immerdiately! And I urge anyone else reading this review to the same. It is an amazing little book!! You won't be sorry!

"Black cat, white cat. Day cat, night cat .... "

Chuck Murphy has done it again, giving children and parents a little work of art disguised as a pop-up book.

Three manipulatives are fold-out, four are operated by tabs, and three automatically pop up with the turning of a page in this fun and creative introduction to opposites, each concept illustrated by felines. A delight for children and adults.

The first thing that strikes you about this collection is the breathtaking cover by Thomas Floyd. This is simply a masterpiece of mood and color. But the cover is only the beginning of an incredible journey.

The stories comprising BROTHER GRIM are as varied as the golden age of pulp fiction itself:

"The Brothers Grim" is a captivating origin tale for one of the most unusual heroes to come out of modern day pulp. This sin to salvation story keeps you turning the pages and sets up the stories which follow.

"The Shield And The Claw" is a great werewolf tale with an ironic ending worth the price of admission. And this harrowing tales gives a gore-soaked nod to the glory days of the bloody pulps.

"The Scales Of Terror" ventures into Lovecraft's corner of Hell with terrific effect. Grim going toe to toe with a demon worshiping cult? This is the stuff of pulp Heaven.

"See Spot Kill" is another horror tale dealing with Voodoo and the undead. Not to be missed!

"The Root Of Evil" also strays into horror's back alleys with a morality tale about the misuse of ultimate power mixed with oriental mysticism. A winner.

"Gorilla Dreams" is pure pulp excitement. A gangster's mind transplanted into the body of a gorilla. Who could ask for more? But this tale is not a gimmick yarn. There is a deft touch of tragedy mixed with the humor.

As you can see, quite a pulp buffet. So no matter where your pulp tastes take you, BROTHER GRIM has what you're looking for.

With the second coming of pulp we rabid fans are enjoying, Ron Fortier leads the way with as good a pulp anthology as one is likely to find. BROTHER GRIM does not disappoint.

When I sat down to read Fortier's Brother Grimm I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the robust pacing and exciting prose found in this collection of short tales of the enigmatic Brother Grimm. I highly recommend this book.

Fans of classic pulp characters like The Shadow and The Spider will find a lot to like in "Brother Grim." Fortier makes good use a lot of pulp archtypes including a dark avenger of evil; a gentleman adventurer and talking gorilla (yes, really, a talking gorilla). These stories play out against a common background, the shadowy city of Port Nocturne, which allows the characters to interact in different ways. (BTW, other Port Nocturne stories, by Fortier and others, can be found on the website www.supernaturalcrime. com.) I particularly liked "Gorilla Dreams" and "The Scales of Terror."

Ron Fortier ("The Green Hornet" comic series) delivers again with no frills pulp action. Undead vigilante Brother Grim (formerly a vicious pair of mobsmen - just read Fortier's origin tale, it all makes sense) metes out justice to all those who deserve it, as penance for past crimes. These stories are contemporary, but evoke the feeling of the `30s and `40s pulp mags quite well, combining elements of hardboiled detective fiction, the maniacal vigilante The Spider, mad scientists from serials of the day, and hints of the occult from the pages of Weird Tales. Highly recommended.

Imagine a sweet mix of Eerie's Uncle Creepy, 50's pulp fiction, and film noir classics. Oh, and let's throw in an origins tale worthy of some bizarro Lone Ranger. This will begin to give you an idea of the warped joys that await you in Ron Fortier's BROTHER GRIM. This book has come into my life on the companionate heels of the Hard Case Crime series of pulp reprints and originals in a pulpish vein. If you like non-stop action, clearly delineated heroes and villains, and the occasional escapist slay-ride, you will be well served by these half dozen tales of one grim, whacked-out brother indeed!

The Garfield Day- to Day Calendar is a great thing to look forward to every morning because it gives you a laugh and wakes you up.

Garfield is the best cartoon in the world im his #1 fan. I have been since i was born. they should have a lot more of garfield.......one more thing...GOD BLESS AMERICA......

The pictures are cute,after you read you must be a Garfield fans

This book is hillarious, and if your not a morning person the comic strips featured in it will wake you up with laughter. I definatly recommend this book to all Garfield fans!

The Garfield Day- to Day Calendar is a great thing to look forward to every morning because it gives you a laugh and wakes you up.

I love this book! I may buy more for friends. It arrived on time in excellent condition.

Alas, Bernard "Hap" Kliban is gone, but his genius lives on in "Cat", a book of cartoons that captures the personality of the cat as seen by cat lovers. Strangely enough, Kliban was a cartoonist for "Playboy", contributing cartoons for that publication until his death. The cat cartoons were discovered by a "Playboy" editor and the 1975 book "Cat" was born.

Kliban's cats are rotund bug-eyed creatures with a smile on their faces that says the joke is on you. The cartoons include the cats doing nonsensical things as well as performing deeds that you always suspected they might be guilty of as they interact with dogs, mice, people, and in some cases impersonate people. Included among the cartoons is a cat playing a banjo singing a tune of his own making with the lyrics "Love to eat them mousies. Mousie's what I love to eat...". For those that can remember the days when a television was a heat emanating device that invariably attracted napping cats there is a cartoon of a couple sitting in front of a television with a transparent cat standing in front of the screen. Their comments: "We enjoy the television set now that we got ourselves a transparent cat!". Interspersed among the "Kliban cats" are truly beautiful and elegant drawings of Kliban's own real-life cats, to whom he dedicated this book.

If you enjoyed Gary Larson's "Far Side" series and you are a cat lover I'm sure you'll enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.

ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR
"Get ready for a year of Cat gluttony and sloth, mayhem and misadventure, and--as always--a fine disregard for the law. (Laws governing physics and animal behavior come in for especially vigorous abuse from these feckless felines, as well as the law Thou Shalt Not Swipe Thy Neighbor's Sushi and that other law, Don't Juggle With Kittens.) ¶ Now in their third decade of worldwide popularity, the Cats show not the slightest sign of starting to behave like adults. Or like small-c cats, either. They will do whatever it takes to send you through 2006 with a smile on your face. Even if it means hugging a big, smug fish. Even if it means taking a bath. Even if it means missing a meal. Well, perhaps not that last one. ¶ 112 page, spiral-bound weekly engagement calendar with 53 reproductions, and clear plastic covers. Size: 6 5/8 by 8". Calendar features 53 weekly grids and full-page 2006 and 2007 yearly grids. Includes international holidays and a page for notes. ISBN 0-7649-3049-4 . . . Other calendars: wall, mini-wall, and 365-day. Additional publications available in our Kliban Gallery."--© Pomegranate

WALL CALENDAR
"The debauch continues. Cats have a go at Abstract Expressionism (and simultaneous inadvertent body art), feed a wild variety of birds from a park bench with nary a thought to their own nominally predatory nature, doze in the soporific vapors of a plate of pasta, and pop furtively and in sizeable numbers from the tall grass at the rustle of a sandwich being unwrapped. Other hi- and low-jinx take place as well. ¶ 13 x 12" wall calendar (opens to 13 x 24") with twelve full-color reproductions. ISBN: 0-7649-3053-2 . . . Other calendars: weekly engagement, mini-wall, and 365-day.Related items available in Kliban Cat Gallery."--© Pomegranate

I bought this book by accident. Well, not really, but I allowed another reviewer to seduce me into buying the new Kliban Cat Calendar and I saw this book listed as well on the calendar's detail page. I saw the words 'anniversary edition' and decided to order it. It was only after I received it that I discovered that seventeenth anniversary of "Cat" was in 1992, two years after Kliban's death. So 2002 is really the 27th anniversary. All that being said, I want to state that this little book would be fantastic no matter what it's age is, or what the age of it's reader is either. I love this book.

There, I've said it, this crusty old man goes all soft hearted when he leafs through a 25 year old book of cat cartoons. As well he should! Kliban captures something entirely different from other feline cartoonists. They aren't kitten cute, nor are they wicked Garfields, as Art Spiegelman points out in his introduction. Instead they are the light hearted chubby denizens of a world of whimsical, good natured self-interest. They relax at the beach, dream of the stars, and steal cheese sandwiched with equal aplomb. They exchange traditional concepts of cat beauty for an enticing comfyness which only a cat lover could understand.

Love is an important and operative word in this little volume. Not one of Kliban's cartoons is made at the expense of cats. Instead, each opens a door to the essential nature of our furry friends, and the non-judgmental affection that they display to those in their circle of trust. A snarl turns into a lick, a meow into a purr and then all is well. Kliban is the only artist I know who has managed to really capture the feline Mona Lisa smile. You know, the one that cats use to melt their owners. Cats forgive with a grace from which us humans could learn a great deal. And Kliban captures it all. Many of the cartoons are not really cartoons, but innocent studies of the artists own cats, drawn with genuine affection.

Art Spiegelmann, artist and author of MAUS, provides a short and delightful introduction to the anniversary edition, and there are 16 pages of Kliban's color work for our further delectation. Everyone who likes cats needs to have this book around. Placed somewhere so that it will fall to hand in those irritating moments when we need to look at cats in order to remember what it is to be human.

This book is my absolute favorite, I have recently decided. My B. Kliban legacy goes back, way back, to my grandmother (we call her "Darling") who fell in love with the Qats back in the seventies (now keep in mind this is not some frumpy old lady. At the time she was the coolest little activist hippie this side of South Street.) Then there's my mother, who, out in San Fransisco around the same time used to roll with laughter at the Cat cartoons with her zany friend.
Enter me. As a kid, I never really understood Kliban--I also didn't have a cat yet. Then I did--first came Serena, then Zubi, and finally Torquil Hevoir James (AKA Booboo Kitty.) And so I loved B. Kliban. And this book is the most hilarious thing I've ever seen. Now that I'm going off to college, I think I'll frame some pages for my dorm room. And place them randomly around the campus. Most people I know who don't have cats really don't get it, but that's okay. I mean, the drawings are beautiful and whacky enough to get anyone. And the concepts--what was this guy on? Catnip, I believe. Whatever the inspiration, Cat is definitely the besties and the greaties.
P.S. I don't actually have this particular edition of the book; I didn't even know it was still in print. I have Darling's hardcover copy from 1976, and I love the cover: "Cat" in huge red letters with two of Kliban's pen-and-ink cats looking at it from below. Beautiful, beautiful.

It all starts with a series of burglaries. Joe Grey and his female paramour Dulcie are doing their normal prowling when they notice a big black cat helping a human in robbing a local store. This is repeated, and then done again leading to a total of three robberies. The local police are baffled, but Joe and Dulcie find out that the black cat is just like them: he can speak English.

There is a lot of tension between Joe and Azrael (as the black cat calls himself) and even Dulcie rakes her clues across Azrael as we find out that the black cat is one of those sadists who enjoy creating pain and suffering among those smaller or less capable than themselves. While engaged in a lot of cat bickering, Azrael seems to go into a trance and predicts three human deaths.

Now, this is something for the gumshoe duo to look into! Simple robberies are just ho hum, but Murder! Ah, now there is a good choice morsel!

As it turns out, Azrael is really in love with his human companion and does everything he can to help him out. Unfortunately, Azrael's human keeper is involved with the three people who get killed as do a whole host of newcomers and visitors to the town. Add to the mix a librarian who hates cats; a golddigger; an unusual cleaning lady; and you get quite a mix with the locals who we've learned about over the previous three books. All make appearances here.

There is actually very little mystery here as the bok's plot is ponderously unraveled. When you get to the part where the murder takes place, you already have enough clues to figure out who the murderer is and even enough clues to know how he story will progress. That is why I took off one star from this rating - a mystery book should have a mystery and I did not find one here.

On all the other attributes of this series, I like what I read. About the only other negative comment I can make is that there seem to be an awful lot of cats with the ability to speak, understand, and read English in one small town in California. If that was only true I would be having a civilized conversation with at least one of my own cats! Maybe it's time to stop introducing so many cats who can speak; or humans who can turn into cats, and focus instead on the mystery aspects of the plotting?

The people in the town are likable. The romantic involvement of the main principals are believable for the most part and you really care about these folks after a while. So, those parts of the books are highly rated and should hopefully continue unabated.

This is a great series. The books continually get better as the series goes on, so keep reading the Joe Grey mysteries! So far, I've read the first 6 books, and I'd have to say that this one is by far my favorite. Definitely a recommendation!

As the lone human in a household that includes cats, I can't help but appreciate Joe and Dulcie. If my cats could speak (and solve mysteries), this is just the way they'd behave. The books in this series are great for an entertaining, light read. Ms. Murphy does an excellent job in developing her characters, and the reader comes to know them as friends. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

I just discovered the series and have really enjoyed all I've read so far. Each one is a "just can't put it down" book. Great weekend read!

This is the fourth book in the "Joe Grey" series. I think the author has refined her technique a lot since the first book, "Cat On the Edge". I think she has improved her stories to the point where they are truly ready to be included among the best of Fantasy or Whodunit books. The main theme is about two cats who have become able to understand and speak English. The cats pull off all kinds of coups in solving crimes. Coups that would be impossible for humans. The cats are most loveable and likeable. The cat characters are the most vivid, but the human characters that the cats "own" or interact with are now also quite likeable. The plots are well done and there is quite a bit of suspense.

Really Great Stories! My kids loved them. Gertrude McFuzz is fabulous and John Lithgow was superb as the reader. In fact all of the cast were excellent in their roles.

The Big Brag, Thidwick, How Lucky You Are are easily perpetual favorites. We played these over and over.

A not to be missed collection for young listeners.... ages 1 to 100!

The cat in the hat on this CD, with perfect piano accompaniments at key moments, is just perfect. Could not do better.
I don't like the other stories as much, but that one in itself is worth the purchase.

My kids love Dr. Seuss, I love not having to read to them in the car! Great for trips when you just can't take another row row row your boat. These are all read by actors that Mom and Dad know so it's great for us to hear them reading childrens books.

These stories are really well read! I play them in the car for my 4 and 3 year olds and I even enjoy listening along. I like that they don't have the page turn dings.

My son listens to these over and over with or without the book. He enjoys the narrators and has almost memorized the books.