Big Books

The different rythyms and tempos of the songs in the books really make the playing exciting. I enjoy playing Star Wars songs becuase they are thrilling.

This is the ONLY Star Wars Piano Arrangement that does justice to the original score. It's the only STAR WARS piano score I've found that is challenging. And that is where the books strength lies. This arrangement is not merely a collection of themes from the movie. It is an exact reproduction of cues from the original soundtrack, though not necessarily in order. Note that this book ony contains cues from STAR WARS EPISODE IV. But considering that there is no other arrangements coming close to its caliber, I recommend it wholeheartedly to the enthusiastic intermediate or advanced pianist.

This is the ONLY Star Wars Piano Arrangement that does justice to the original score. It's the only STAR WARS piano score I've found that is challenging. And that is where the books strength lies. This arrangement is not merely a collection of themes from the movie. It is an exact reproduction of cues from the original soundtrack, though not necessarily in order. Note that this book contains only has cues from STAR WARS EPISODE IV. But considering that there is no other arrangements coming close to its caliber, I recommend it wholeheartedly to the enthusiastic intermediate or advanced pianist.

my mom always does the jumble in the paper so I got this for her. She was very pleased. In great condition.

I purchased this item as a Christmas gift for my sister who is a big Jumble fan. She loved it and claims that some of the jumbles are a bit of a challenge. The print is oversized for easy reading. A great gift for those hard to buy for also!!

...to play the JUMBLE, get this book! Bet you can't play just one. Good brain exercise. SKANTH (or THANKS, unjumbled)

This book from April, 1999, is the 3rd issue in a series either Ralph or Signet publishing calls the 'Big Iron series'. This book continues the ongoing saga of Arizona Ranger Sam Burrack and his trail partner, Maria.

Anyone having read books by Ralph in the long line of books he has issued since 1999 will be right at home with this one. The easy to read style of writing, usual cast of characters, bad and good, we have all come to expect, and the trials and trails that Sam endures to get his man.

Getting his men in this book as the title JUSTICE indicates means just that: justice as opposed to revenge. Ralph states that while justice satisfies, revenge leaves one with little satisfaction. And while the Half Moon Gang may be composed of little more than half wits, they are as fully mean and dangerous a group of craven killers one could ever run into on the trail.

The point is hammered home by a small child named Justice whose sad experience at the hands of the half wit, Half Moon Gang, represents a dramatic turning point in the story, as she is the daughter of a murdered mother by the Half Moon Gang. The murdered mother's father is a judge, with the judge playing a very vital role in the development of the story line. He has made a grevious error that his daughter's murder must cause him to correct.

So if you enjoy novels set in the 'west' you will certainly enjoy this one from Ralph Cotton. And yes he continues to write them with a new one due out around December, 2006, and another due out spring, 2007. We who enjoy his writings look forward to more entertaining novels from this prolific author.

Semper Fi.

I didn't think the Ranger series could get any better than "Badlands" or "Montana Red," but Ralph delivered one up that's the best to date. When Ralph writes of the hard times and harder men, you feel the thirst; taste the dust; smell the horse's sweat and know the pain of catching a bullet. I hope Ralph's around for a long time writing stories like this. He has outdone even the great Louis L'Amour.

If there is formula for writing a great novel, Ralph Cotton has knows the recipe. Justice is a fine piece of writing that gazes into human nature. Once again, Ralph Cotton is able to peer into the very souls of humankind. Both good and evil, while touching on good people who make mistakes. Page by page, he weaves continual twists and turns, holding the reader spell bound. The Ranger must try to understand why an old friend has been swayed to making a bad "judgment call". A judgment call that effects many lives. Highly recommended reading.

Poor Katie, whenever something goes wrong at home her older brother and sister say, "Katie Did it!" and Katie gets the blame. But at the end of the book Mom gets flowers and when she asks who they are from, Katie pipes up, "Katie did it!" So in the end, she triumphs over her older sibs. Good story, made better by the excellent illustrations for your young pre-schooler.

I like all the Rookie Reader books. They are just a great way to get a little pre-schooler started on his or her reading career. And an early start is so important in today's world. Children need every advantage they can get, so if you're a parent or guardian of a precious little one, I highly recommend Rookie Reader books. The dividends they will pay in the long run will be priceless.

I was the youngest of 4 children in my family and this was one of my favorite books as a child. I got this book for my daughter whom incidentally I named Katie!!

this book is the best. i love it. katie certainly did it all. she helped the firemen. she helped the pilot people. katie is definately my hero. buy this book.

We've loved ALL of the Katie Morag stories, and (more importantly) so have our children. They are smart and socially aware and beautifully written and illustrated.

Hedderwick is a master story teller with wonderful illustrations which delight children & adults. Katie Morag's home is so comfortably chaotic and the parents and grandmothers are characters. In this tale, there is an increased understanding between the "fancy-ways" Grannie mainland and her strong, competent counterpoint, Grannie Island. And the Scottish is wonderful!

I love the Katie Morag series of children's books. Little ginger haired Katie Morag is split between the traditional ways of Granny Island and the modern Granny Mainland. Granny Island works with her hands and isn't afraid to get dirty. Granny Mainland wears nice clothes and bothers about her appearance. Katie Morag loves them both, but they don't appreciate each other.

How to solve this? Why, with sheep of course. How perfectly Scottish.

I read this book with a student that I tutor who enjoys gynmastics. This book was perfect for for her because it was written at an appropriate age and gradelevel and it was a good story for her to relate to. This book is highly reccomneded for those who love gymnastics.

I have enjoyed this book because it teaches everyone to work harder. Katie is a girl in Jody's gymnastics class. One day, Coach Jody announces that her class is going on the balance beam. Her friends are very, very excited, but Katie is scared. Katie hates to do anything backwards (She reminds me of my friend who hates swimming). I did not like it when Katie wasn't working too hard, but I felt happy for her when she wanted to try the backover move.

Sometimes, Katie thinks about quitting gymnastics, but her friends always try to help her get better and better. My favorite part is when Katie has enough courage to try the beam. Lila Hanks, an older gymnast, also helps Katie practice because she is excellent at gymnastics. Katie tells Lila about what happened and why she wants to quit gymnastics. After that, Lila tells Katie a secret...???

Sometimes, I wonder why Katie would want to quit since gymnastics seems so fun to do. I think Katie is a very smart character and could do the backflip, but she's just terrified. If she's not scared or nervous, then I know she'll make it. Katie is my favorite third-grader and gymnast of all of the Junior Gymnast series books. After reading this book, I feel like I have a lot more courage to do everything and anything (and not feel scared). I feel braver, not frightened. This book gave me this feeling that everything will turn out great. All you need is just some courage. Plenty of it!!

This is a great book for girls with dreams. Will Katie ever learn how to get over her fear of backward flips or will she have to quit? Read the book and find out!

This is a good book fo r a gymnast with a fear! In this book it tells how katie got over the fear of doing a back walkover on the beam! So go on read it!

The Big Bend is a rugged, powerful, unforgiving, and beautiful country,that exists on a scale that most of civilized man never experiences. Most casual tourists who visit Big Bend are disappointed, as I was, in their pitiful efforts at capturing the essence of the experience both in words and 35mm photographs. This is a land that does not exist in standard format; it is truly a large-format landscape that requires exceptional verbal ability and skillful large-format photography to do it justice. Gentry Steele has done just that. His love and knowledge of the Big Bend country are clearly evident in his text and, especially in his striking black and white photographs. A hearty thumbs up for this spectacular book!

This is the kind of book you return to again and again. Steele has both consumate technical skill and the eye (and heart) of an artist. The composition of each photograph is striking, but it is the play of light and shadow -- across canyon walls, over abandoned adobe buildings, and the occasional plant -- that will delight and amaze the viewer. Steele used the intense desert light as his accomplice, creating art out of light, shade, rocks, and space. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief description of what you are seeing and where the photograph was taken. Steele's love and respect for the Big Bend region is evident on every page. This isn't the kind of book to be flipped through casually. I find myself lingering over each page, savoring the image, returning over and over to particular images, seeing some new each time. I plan to give this book to friends and relatives for Christmas this year. I confess to owning two D. Gentry Steele photographic prints, including the one chosen for the cover of this book. Highly recommended!!

Gentry Steele conveys the essence of the remarkable northern extension of the Great Chihuahuan Desert in his well-written text and supliments it admirably with supurb large format photographs. An excellent introduction to one of America's least explored regions.

You'll treasure this book for the truly outstanding and plentiful full-page photos of Bass and lures. No other Bass book like it in that respect. Makes a special gift for any occasion. Any level of bass fisherman,from beginner to expert, will be glad to receive this book as a gift.

Largemouth Bass by Don Oster is a book that tells it as you'll find it when you go after bass. This book provides information about where to find, what to use, how to use, and when to use. There are dozens of excellent photographs illustrating all the aspects of bass fishing. If you have never fished for bass or you are a veteran angler this book will get you started or validate your fishing knowledge and skill. As a practiced bass angler for three years I found this book contained excellent information that is easy to understand and use.

This book has good information and is very to the point. It is a very fast read with thorough and accurate information. There are no fish stories or anecdotal tales (which I liked). The photographs are spectacular. The photos alone are worth the price of the book.

American's should always applaud a book like this, speaking truth to power, the only purpose of which is to inform a duped public. But, of course, the public doesn't realize it's duped. While Plato's Cave is very relevant, there is a little too much time spent on the media itself. In addition to the mass suggestion of the government-controlled media, other techniques of subtle mind control are equally powerful, such as the establishment's rewriting of history (Oswald did it; Pearl Harbor was a suprise, etc.) and control of the language (surge, cut and run, if we don't fight them there we'll have to fight them here, etc). These tactics and George Orwell are emphasized in a similar book, Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept).

While people experience immediate "crimestop" at the word "dictatorship" to describe an American government, there simply is no better term for a political system where the president can execute signing statements (at will, to infinity). The ignorant public has no concept of this inherent subversion. Authors Cohen and Fraser do an excellent job explaining why dictatorship is a more appropriate term than democracy, and they are right on the money. They also provide great sources and analysis to support the stolen elections of the past several years (though they're very naive if they think a Gore presidency with neo-con handler, Joe Lieberman as Veep would have made any difference.

Their "illusion of freedom" sums it all up. That's what America has become in the 21st century.

The following review was recently posted on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-hoenig/are-we-in-the-last-days-o_b_52123.html:



There are those who take umbrage with the suggestion that President Bush's tactics are comparable to Hitler's. Yet, Elliot D. Cohen and Bruce W. Fraser show the similarities between the two men in their recent book aptly titled, The Last Days of Democracy: How Big Media and Power-Hungry Government Are Turning America into a Dictatorship. The authors write, "In Nazi Germany, there was a systematic program of indoctrination and brainwashing in place. Radio, newspapers, movies, and all other forms of media were carefully monitored by the government to make sure that the German people read, saw, and listened to only what the Nazis wanted the people to read, see, and hear. There was also an officer of disinformation (a "minister of propaganda")--not unlike our own Karl Rove--whose job it was to make sure journalists toed the Nazi line."



Cohen and Fraser do not pull any punches: The index cross-references the president with the word dictatorship. Over the top? Well, let's see: If he behaves like a dictator and rules like a dictator, well then...the cross reference is justified. What is just as culpable, though, is the media allowing the President's actions to go unchecked.



The book is not a liberal attempt to bash a conservative president. Instead, it's a warning for all Americans, and the title says as much. The reader is reminded that the media has "become a docile lapdog of government" while "failing at keeping Americans informed." Unfortunately, it's a matter of preaching to the choir here on the Huffington Post, especially since the appendix includes this site as one of the few independent online news sources. However, one wonders if those who stay tuned to Fox News, CNN or any other corporate-owned news source realize that the bottom line is what determines "newsworthy" without having the public's interest in mind.



Just a few decades ago, how we got our news was radically different. This was all the more apparent when I was watching a recent documentary in honor of Walter Cronkite's 90th birthday. One moment in history that the program recalled was when Cronkite reported on CBS Evening News that there wasn't a role for U.S. troops in Vietnam anymore. Former President Lyndon Johnson responded, "That's the end of the war."



Often, Cronkite is praised for his journalistic integrity. How sad that he has to be an anomaly. Yet, reporters today should remember that it wasn't so much the man, but the message he carried that made the difference. After all, "that's the way it is" meant simply that, rather than, "that's the way we want it to be."



Now when the mainstream media reports from Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere around the world, including here in the United States, it is in cooperation with the government. How different it was when Cronkite was reporting to how it is now where reporters kowtow to the administration without questioning its actions. Americans have to work especially hard to get to the truth in order to make informed decisions. We have to educate ourselves to see the difference between propaganda and real news. The question is, are we willing to do so? Or will we surrender, like A.J. Soprano, because it's just easier to do so?



Many people are still talking about the last episode of The Sopranos. For me, the scene that had the most impact was when A.J., who had begun to take a political interest in the world around him, reverted to his apathetic state. Slouched once again on the couch in front of the TV, he laughed at footage of rappin' Rove dancing with David Gregory. Like A.J., many Americans find that it's easier being entertained rather than investing ambition.



The Last Days of Democracy is an unsettling albeit informative book. Instead of cowering in hopeless fear of "what if," it provides ways to combat what could be the inevitable. In other words, independent journalists must do the work the mainstream media has abandoned, since the authors caution, "Without a functioning media, there is no stopping government from divesting us of our freedom."

THE LAST DAYS OF DEMOCRACY: HOW BIG MEDIA AND POWER-HUNGRY GOVERNMENT ARE TURNING AMERICA INTO A DICTATORSHIP surveys how Constitutional promises and premises are being eroded by both private and federal special interests. The author is director of the Institute of Critical Thinking: his title charts events and places a call to action for any who value democratic ideals, and is perfect for both high school and college-level debates and collections strong in American political and social issues.

This is a gem of a book and one to be savored. I recommend you read a story and put the book down for a day or two before you read the next story. Every one of these players is worth reflecting on for a while before you dig into the next one.

John Nogowski knows and loves baseball, and has created a keeper for any sports library.

Ned Foster

As a life long baseball fan who is relegated to watch major league baseball in a poorly constructed football stadium, where you lose sight of the ball the second the ball goes higher than the short stops head at the laughing stock of MLB, the Metrodome. I am naturally drawn towards reading baseball books reminiscing about a game where baseball was played outdoors on grass. The problem is there are just so many on the shelf it's hard to pick one to read. I came about finding this book by listening to the radio. One night, AM1500 talk show host TD Mischke conducted as usual another fantastic interview with that nights guest John Nogowski where he discussed this book. His knowledge, passion and insight about the game sparked my interest and I went out and picked this book up. It really is a fantastic book about the greats of the game, most of which I never got to see play.

It's really an interesting and unique look at the great players of the past where Nogowski focuses on their final games. Having always had an interest in Joe DiMaggio, because of his desire to have a perfect image, which made his final games difficult since he was not up to his usual standards of perfection. Also growing up watching Cal Ripken achieve so many accomplishments in the Metrodome when he came into town it really made a great read and interesting read. I can't recommend this book highly enough for fans of every age.

"Last Time Out" is a unique baseball book in that it captures some long forgotten moments in the magnificent career of baseball giants like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays and Ted Williams. Using newspaper accounts from the day, author John Nogowski finds a magical way to bring you back to those days of yesterday, so it seems as if you're sitting in a first base box seat as Joe DiMaggio rips a double off Larry Jansen or as Ty Cobb pinch-hits and pops out before a raucous Yankee Stadium crowd. Crammed with career statistics as well as the very last box score that carried the great players' name, "Last Time Out" offers 25 of baseball's greatest on the way out. Their very last time - out.