Brooks Books

This is the best book that the United States of America has produced. America has failed to the extent that it has fallen beneath the level of these practical ideals. But it is never too late to put them into practice.

Thoreau masterfully analyzes his in its purest form, he does away his all superfluous details. He forces the read to question his own existence. He forces the reader to imagine life without technology, commotion and anything unnecessary. Besides his analysis in Walden, he takes a stand for the maverick, for the individual, for the non-conformist. Lastly his social commentary especially about slavery shows how wrong our coutry had been.

Delightfully illustrated by veteran children's artist Nathan Alberg with anthropomorphic characters, What Marion Taught Willis by Brook Berg is the picturebook story of a "Career Day" in Mr. Owne's class of young students. Each student has to choose a profession, learn as much as he or she can about it, and share his or her findings with the class. Marion the hedgehog decides to research being a librarian, and teaches her friend the basic categorizations of the Dewey Decimal System, and how to use it to look up books by subject! An educational picturebook excellent for helping very young people become familiar with libraries and how to use them.

I used this picture book with my 6th grade class and the kids were enthralled. After reading, we went down to the library and tested ourselves to see if the book was right : "It's easy to find information on anything if you know the Dewey Decimal System."
I have never seen kids so excited about browsing. From all over the library I heard things like "I'm going to look for grasshoppers...It should be in the 500's because they are in the natural word, then a few minutes later, "I found it! Grasshoppers!" MAgnify that success by 27 students and you have a picture of what it was like. I will use this book EVERY Year!
It was great!

This is the world's first book ever written on airline business pland development. The author outlines the true "elements" of an airline business plan versus the generic business plan. Anyone interested in starting a big or small company, airline or otherwise, must have this book. Every airline, airport, air cargo operator, consultant, entrepreneur, investor, and enthusiast must have this reference on hand. Excellent work!

I work in the airline business and was delighted to find a book that focuses on the fundamentals of airline strategic business plan development. The book captures the unique elements of airline business including the airline business environment, schedule, network and fleet planning, cost management and reduction and airline business models.

The book is well written in an easy to follow and understand format that should make it accessible to the various stakeholders of the air transport business. This is a must read book for all managers in airlines.

As a children's librarian, I have used "When a Monster Is Born" several times for storytime. Kids seem to really respond to the "two possibilities" concept, and I ALWAYS get lots of laughter when I get to the part about the monster falling in love. Teachers or librarians would do well to use this hilarious gem of a book for Halloween or monster themed story hours. It would also make an excellent do it yourself project for kids to create their own outrageous possibilities.

Reviewed by Three Silly Chicks - Readers, Writers, and Reviewers of funny books for kids.



When a monster is born, there are two possibilities-- Either it's a faraway-in-the-forests monster, or it's an under-your-bed monster. If it's a faraway-in-the-forests monster, that's that. But if it's an under-your-bed monster...

Well, you'll just have to see for yourself what an under-your-bed-monster does. All kinds of fascinating and silly things can happen when a monster is born.

For instance, it can go to school with you, eat your principal, dance the boogie-woogie, or fall in love with a kitchen girl. Yes, readers, those are some of the possibilities in Sean Taylor's new crazy-fun picture book. Each page explores a choice for a monster in modern-day life and then takes it to an absurd extreme.

We think this is a brilliant read aloud. Kids will have such fun guessing what that tricky monster will do next! Nick Sharratt cleverly uses a black background to reinforce the monster's more dastardly choices, reinforcing the "good choice, bad choice" theme. Bold, graphic and goofy, this book will bring a smile to little monsters everywhere!

Amazon does not have this and doesnt know if they can get it.

Mennolink books have all of Carrie Benders books available.

This was a really great series because it gives a full portrayal of Amish life. The author is Amish, and can speak from her own experience when she talks about Amish life, which makes it more realistic and enjoyable to read. All throughout the books the characters say some Pennsylvania German words here and there amongst the English words, and it's entertaining to see them translated. After I visited Lancaster, PA it was nice to read these books and be reminded of my trip. I'd recommend these books for anyone who's interested in the Amish and their way of life. These books are also exciting because the author is very good at portraying a character's exact emotions, which makes them easy to read.

First-person historical accounts can be a lot of fun for the frequent reader of history. Details that did not make their way into the books that summarize campaigns (or the entire war) pop up like Easter eggs. When you read a particularly outstanding account, like this one, there's also the pleasure in reading often-quoted descriptions in their original context.

This collection of a Union staff officer's letters to his wife is a primary source of detail about the Grant versus Lee period of the American Civil War (1864-5). The author, Theodore Lyman, was on Meade's staff for roughly the last 18 months of the war and his letters give us an insider's view from the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac.

A Civil War buff interested in this period of the war will find this book not only very interesting, but a fun read as well.

Lyman, a biologist, met Meade, an engineer, in Florida, where Lyman was collecting specimens and Meade was building a lighthouse. They remained friends and during the war, after one of Meade's promotions before Gettysburg, he offered Lyman a position on his staff. Lyman joined immediately before the Mine Run campaign. His letters comment on the period of the Army of the Potomac's impotency in the months after Gettysburg to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. He writes about Grant's arrival, the Wilderness campaign, Petersburg and the Appomattox campaign.

Lyman, well educated and well traveled, makes many interesting observations and passing references that add color to the reader's knowledge of the period. I was under the impression that "doughboy" originated in WWI, but Lyman uses it in 1863: "There was a piercing cold wind, the roads were frozen, and ice was on the pools; but the night was beautiful, with a lovely moon, that rose over the pine trees, and really seemed to me to be laughing derisively at our poor doughboys."

Lyman's extensive travels with his wife before the war led to his making many interesting comparisons. For example: "Our people are very different from the Europeans in their care for the dead, and mark each grave with its name; even in the heat of battle."

Most enjoyable for me is Lyman's clever and often amusing phrases, such as this reference to Shakespeare's MacBeth: "...so I was up at 4:30 - rain pitchforks! Dark as a box - everything but `enter three witches.'"

Lyman's letters are sprinkled with mentions of secondary Civil War figures such as this of the man who later teamed with his father to build the Brooklyn Bridge: "Captain Roebling, from General Warren's staff, galloped up. He is the most immovable of men, but had, at that moment, rather a troubled air. He handed a scrap of paper. General Meade opened it and his face changed. `My God!' he said, `General Warren has half my army!' Roebling shrugged his shoulders."

Lyman's descriptions give a lot of color to the war. Here are two more examples of what you can expect from this book:

"The houses that have not actually burnt usually look almost worse than those that have: so dreary are they with their windows without sashes, and their open doors, and their walls half stripped of boards."

"Headed by General Webb, we gave three cheers, and three more for General Meade. Then he mounted and rode through the 2d and 6th Corps. Such a scene followed as I can never see again. The soldiers rushed, perfectly crazy, to the roadside, and there crowding in dense masses, shouted, screamed, yelled, threw up their hats and hopped madly up and down! The batteries were run out and began firing, the bands played the flags waved. The noise of the cheering was such that my ears rang. And there was General Meade galloping about and waving his cap with the best of them! Poor old Robert Lee!"

Lyman's letters have been a gold mine for historians. Someone well read in civil war histories will recognize at least a few some of his descriptions, such as this one of Grant: "He habitually wears an expression as if he had determined to drive his head through a brick wall, and was about to do it." His description of Custer is also memorable: "This officer is one of the funniest looking beings you ever saw, and looks like a circus rider gone mad! He wears a huzzar jacket and tight trousers, of faded black velvet trimmed with tarnished gold lace."

Its very difficult to find the perfect gift for the fanatic. After all, what could you get a fanatic that he doesn't already have? When I am buying a gift for a Civil War buff who has not yet discovered first-person accounts, this is my first choice. I am writing this review in the hopes that someone will give this book (sections of which I've reread many times) to that hard-to-buy-for Civil War buff on their gift list.

petervtamas@mail.com

This is an outstanding book that details the service of Grant and Meade towards the end of the Civil War. The story is told by the right hand man for both Grand and Meade. Lyman served both generals as their closest assistant. Much of the story comes from letters Lyman sent to his wife during the course of the war. The author's insight on both men is great. Several times in the book, he tells the "real" story of what happened at a certain point in the war that differs from what history says happened. It's like getting the inside scoop on what really happened.

I am a voracious reader and it is one of my greatest pleasures...and this book is marvelous, a wee bit David Sedaris-esque, very honest insights about life on the land, marriage, being a mother..author has a great sense of humor and is at times so honest it makes you blush, a very intimate memoir about living, parenting and loving within an intentional, green community along the Rum River in rural Minnesota. Parents will love it, wives will love it, baby boomers will love it,naturalists will love it, the green community will...well you get my meaning..can't recommend it highly enough...your life will be richer for having read this book!!

World Gone Beautiful is what good memoir is to me - a walk down a road not taken lead by an intensely honest and insightful soul. I loved learning about Linda Buturain's experience creating a community with three other couples/families on 80 acres along the wild Rum River in Minnesota. World Gone Beautiful spoke to my heart about living on the land gently and preserving whenever possible large expanses of natural space. This book is a window into a beautiful soul, an author willing to expose her vulnerabilities, passions, and joys. Thank you Linda Buturain for World Gone Beautiful.

This book is an amazing resource for anyone interested in Shakespeare. It has fantastic pics and clear info on the man, his works, producing/acting/directing, and everything else a reader could ask for. It's terrific for young people ages 8 and above. A great reference for teachers, librarians, and theaters who have acotrs with limited knowledge of Shakespeare. Really beautifully done. Bravo!

Whether you are a Shakespeare fan, foe or student, THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE has something for you. As with most of the Usborne Publishing books, THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE features an all-encompassing look at many aspects of Shakespeare's life, works and world through wonderful pictures, photographs, and writings. For the Shakespeare foe or student, THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE lets you experience Shakespeare from a new perspective. Instead of deep, intellectual analyses, you will travel back to a different time and experience life in Elizabethan England: What was life like and what were the beliefs in Elizabethan England when Shakespeare lived and how did that affect his writings? What was life like in London at the time? What did the Globe Theatre look like, and what in the world was it, anyway? Was Shakespeare a feminist? For the Shakespeare fan, this book takes a look at areas you may not have considered: How has performance of Shakespeare plays changed through time? How does interpretation, acting and directing styles affect the performance? How does one begin to perform a Shakespeare play? It includes the expected short review of Shakespeare's life, but quickly goes on to more aspects of his works and culture than one would expect in such a short volume. Included at the end of the book are brief plots of all Shakespeare plays, a "Who's Who in the world of Shakespeare" guide, glossaries of terms & phrases, Shakespearean words, Shakespearean characters, Important dates, and even a Shakespeare quiz! When looking for a book for a high school Shakespeare Unit that would give a well-rounded look into Shakespeare's life, works and world , I found that this compact, sixty-four page THE WORLD OF SHAKESPEARE book won, hands down, as the best book to "experience" Shakespeare and hopefully dispel any negative attitudes already in the students' minds. The appealing layout, photographs and drawings on each of the pages, and the understandable (but not "dumbed-down") language causes the reader to not want to put the book down. With this book, even the Shakespeare foe would have to agree that Shakespeare is not so bad after all.

I bought this for my 12 year old and he has read it word for word twice already. If you have a kid who loves history or just a thirst for knowledge this is a great book.

My son saw this book at Books-A-Million and wanted it, but it was around $40, so I told him to wait and I would get it for him online. Obviously Amazon had it for less, with free s/h, so I bought it and my son loves it! He's really into history right now and this covers the world wars in a very informative way with lots of pictures.

It's a damn shame that this eight-part series published by Penguin and edited by George Plimpton and Malcolm Cowley is no long available. This series is truely one-of-a-kind, and the quality of the writers who participated will likely never be duplicated. These remarkable interviews by the Paris Review explore the motivations, habits, and techniques employed by some of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

This second work in the series includes interviews with Ezra Pound, Hemingway, Huxley, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot, Henry Miller, Boris Pasternak, and Katherin Anne Porter, just to name a few. The intelligence and imagination of both the interviewee and interviewers comes shining through, and the reader is kept continually entertained. If you can get your hands on a used copy, I heartily urge you to do so.

Long before the age of endless hype by multi- media means readers hungered for more details about the writing lives of their favorite writers. The Paris Review chose first- rate writers, and asked them intelligent questions about their own writing practice. As I understand it did not rely on the conversations alone, but enabled the writer to look at the transcript of the initial talk and rewrite. Thus what the reader was given was a really polished literary document. And the interviews supplied many fascinating details. One from this collection I particularly remember was with Hemingway who spoke about his famous sharpening of his pencils, and his rewriting thirty- nine times the ending of I believe ' A farewell to Arms' and his belief that what every writer needed is 'a good sh.. detector'.
A truly excellent series for all those who care about writing as ' craft' and as 'art'.