Brooks Books

This book comprehensively and completely covers all topics of advanced Algebra, and allows the reader to fully understand both the basics of Trigonometry, as well as enlighten him/her on some advanced topics in this field. It is well-written, with excellent example problems, (Called "Try-This" Problems), that allow the reader to test his/her knowledge of a topic or sub-topic before advancing to the actual problems. Overall, this is an excellent reference source, and one that I will continue to use throughout my life as an authoritative review of this subject. I would recommend it to anyone who has the will to learn!

I received this book aooner than expected. It came packaged well, and I am very happy with this seller.

There is a very specific feeling you get from a picture book when the combination of text and image is pitch perfect. It's a very hard thing to get, mind you. You might have a book where the words are lovely and the pictures exciting, but if the two don't work in tandem then your end product is going to end up a merely okay bit of indistinguishable dribble. A hint of what might have been will hover over the reading experience. I mention this because I'm trying to find a way to explain ...more There is a very specific feeling you get from a picture book when the combination of text and image is pitch perfect. It's a very hard thing to get, mind you. You might have a book where the words are lovely and the pictures exciting, but if the two don't work in tandem then your end product is going to end up a merely okay bit of indistinguishable dribble. A hint of what might have been will hover over the reading experience. I mention this because I'm trying to find a way to explain why Amandina by Sergio Ruzzier is as delicately miraculous as it is. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's a Neal Porter book and Mr. Porter is known for helping to bring perfect little books into the world (see: Dog and Bear). Maybe it has to do with author/illustrator Sergio Ruzzier, whose previous books and collaborations have played effectively with tone and story. Maybe it's the thickness of the paper or the shade of the watercolors. Maybe it's everything altogether or maybe it's none of this at all. Whatever the case, if you are looking for a story that is sweet but not saccharine and carries a lovely little message without beating you over the head with a didacticism stick, this is the book for you. A book designed to be the perfect gift for any 4-8 year old child.

Amandina Goldeneyes is "a wonderful little dog". She may be incredibly shy and not know a lot of people, but as a performer is the remarkable. One day Amandina decides to give a grand performance so that everyone will see her and she can stop being shy. She rents the theater, makes the costumes, creates the sets, puts up posters and when the curtain goes up . . . . nobody's there. Undeterred, Amandina proceeds to perform the show exactly as she planned. As she does so a small cockroach happens to see the performance. Stunned by how cool it is, he runs outside and tells his friends who tell their friends. By the end of the show Amandina, who was too wrapped up in her act to pay attention to the audience, is stunned and delighted when her finale meets with a roar of applause.

Sergio Ruzzier fans are not as common as Mem Fox fans or Mo Willems fans, but they are out there just the same. More than once have I had someone approach me saying, "You DO know Sergio Ruzzier's work don't you? Don't you?" causing me to sputter a surprised assent. The fact is that until a couple years ago I actually didn't know who Mr. Ruzzier was. Had you shown me his work I would have vaguely agreed that I'd seen his art before in Karla Kuskin's Moon, Have You Met My Mother?. But I feel like recently he's started to really come into his own. Whether creating a one-of-a-kind mole for Lore Segal's, Why Mole Shouted and Other Stories (and its sequel) or accompanying Emily Jenkins's fabulous Love You When You Whine, Ruzzier is a wonderful fellow to work with. But I think that the books he writes himself are the best of the lot. The Room of Wonders was along the right path, melding an affair of the heart with a personal journey. But Amandina really got me where I live. Not every book has that ability.

I'm a big fan of picture books that deliver a message in a subtle but obvious manner. I understand the necessity of teaching children through literature, sure. I just think that some methods are more interesting than others. Ruzzier could have written a story about a shy little dog that finds happiness by overcoming shyness by making it like the 150 billion other books out there with a pat message. Amandina would have gone on stage with a full house and learned courage through "being yourself" or something equally dull. Instead, this book is cleverer than that. Amandina's charm is that even when no one comes to her special performance she has the sheer gumption and spunk to perform it anyway. So maybe the moral of this story hasn't anything to do with shyness at all. Maybe it's about doing your own thing for your own sake. And if others happen to sit up and take notice then you've truly earned their applause. When Amandina puts on her show she pours her whole heart and soul into it. I've never really disagreed with a Library of Congress description at the front of a book, but the one for Amandina didn't sit well with me. Listen: "Amandina decides to overcome her shyness and show the town what a talented little dog she is, but when no one shows up for her performance, she finds that she also has a lot of perseverance." I guess. But it doesn't feel right when you say it like that. Not really.

For me, it all comes down to tone. Getting the right tone is probably the hardest thing to attain in a picture book. It didn't hurt matters any that Ruzzier was working with both the words and the images in this book. But listen to this description of what Amandina discovered when her curtain came up. "The theater was empty: nobody had come. Sometimes these things happen, and nobody can say why." I love that. Somehow the simplicity of these words reminds me of Arnold Lobel. They're just that nice. The choices the author made can be intriguing too. Why does Ruzzier wait until the very last sentence to tell us that Amandina's last name is Goldeneyes? I don't know why, but it works.

Using watercolors that range from a deep peach to a liquid cobalt blue, Ruzzier's palate here is a subdued but colorful collective. And from a visual perspective I was fond of the setting to this tale. Born in Milan, Ruzzier has set this book against an Italian backdrop. The theater she rents "in the old town" is called the "Teatro Ventura". Later her show seems to incorporate Harlequin elements. And for the record, Amandina's show really does look splendid. It would be one thing if we were told that Amandina was a special little dog with lots of talent, but to actually see the remarkable show in progress is a special treat. Without much explanation we see that the "fanciful prologue" (again, great turns of phrase here) involves a suitcase that explodes with a smoky column of flowers while Amandina floats above like a butterfly. And then there's the magic show, the dances from around the world, the acrobatics... who wouldn't want to see her perform all of this?

Charm is impossible to teach, ridiculously hard to learn on your own, and money in the bank. Amandina also happens to have it in spades (doggy puns unintended). I don't go for the whole "be yourself" motto unless you can sell the idea to me in a beautiful tale. Sergio Ruzzier has done just that. If you've never read one of his books before, this is an ideal place to start.

We all grew up in front of the television set and often wished we could trade in our own families and become members of The Cleavers, The Andersons, the Bradys and even, in some cases, The Munsters. Now that we're rational adults, the notion of having a Frankenstein father may not seem as appealing as it once did, but the memories live on.
The American Family on Television is more than just a reference book. It's a walk down memory lane, with fun facts and interesting stories about your favorite television families. There's even a section dealing with a large group of TV families that didn't make the grade. Remember The Charmings or The Pruitts of Southhampton?
If you're a fan of TV Land or of TV in general, I know you will enjoy my book.

Reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's Notebooks is a very different experience than reading those of Henry James, Steinbeck, Thomas Mann (Diaries), Robert Musil or even those published by Reynolds Price. The self mannered awareness that the future will prize their "private" thoughts and ideas is absent. These were truly private workbooks. Hawthorne writes in full voice as someone for whom communication is vital and difficult. Open this work anywhere and read what sounds like the inner voice of someone practiced at concealing his thoughts publicly. Expansive, suggestive, and illuminating for all those who would like to know more of the deep thought and artfullness that went into his major works. Some of his working ideas for stories sound absolutely modern. One story idea develops the possibility of having two men talking and discussing their difficulties while waiting and waiting for someone who never comes. They don't know what to do, so they continue to wait and discussing the one who never comes. Sound familar? A little like "Waiting for Godot"? If you love great literature and if you love Hawthorne, then dig deep and buy this expensive but magnificent book.

If the south will ever be treated fairly in history, then there must be a loss of the current stereotypes. Hoilifield ably demonstrates that the "old south" was not full of a bunch of racist rednecks, but learned men. People need to read good unbiased southern history in order appreciate our rich heritage.

The writer seems to understand the areas where students would have conceptual difficulties. For example, he states after a proof, you may not be comfortable with that proof because we used vectors. Lets show this again using elementary algebra. This allows the student to assure themselves that the proof is correct, and begin to be exposed to proofs using more unfamiliar methods such as with vectors. Soon they will find that their comfort zone widens, and they have more methods available to prove statements.

I find that students are actually ready for the exercises at the end of each section after covering that section of material. In other math books it all too often occurs that the material is elementary and yet the questions are pitched at a much more advanced level. If students can NOT answer the questions at the end of a subsection, it is not well taught. This writer seems to want to actually prepare students, so that they are successful by the time they reach the questions. These questions also serve as a review of algebra and geometry.

To read this book with understanding, students must have taken geometry. If this has not been done I suggest the geometry course available at www.teach12.com as well as a reputable geometry book such as that by Harold R. Jacobs. For an algebra background I suggest the math courses through www.thinkwell.com. For this text, you will need a knowledge of vectors such as can be found in the thinkwell or other standard precal text.

There is usually an attempt to cover the material in this book in Precalculus texts. Typically about 100 pages is allowed in a high school Precalculus text. This book allows over 400 pages. This gives room for more depth of coverage, more examples, and a bit slower progression. I would recommend this text strongly to bright Precalculus students wanting more challenge, as well as to students that just don't seem to be getting the concepts from the abridged version found in the one year high school or college Precalculus texts.

There seems to be an unfortunate gap between the knowledge necessary to do well in college and what students have as the come in the door. If you look at the grade curve, most of our children are making C or WORSE in college mathematics and physics. Is it time we admitted that some of the concepts that we throw at children are given out without adequate practice? Analytic Geometry is an area where skill improves with practice, just as does throwing a baseball or playing a piece of music. If you are a student in a school system that firmly believes that students need no more math practice, consider independent study of this text over a summer term prior to calculus.

If one wishes to produce Conformity for good or evil, the formula is clear. Manage to arouse a need or needs that are important to the individual or the group. Offer a goal which is appropriate to the need or needs. Make sure that Conformity is instrumental to the achievement of the goal and that the goal is as large and as certain as possible. Apply the goal or reward at every opportunity. Try to prevent the object of your efforts from obtaining an uncontrolled education. Choose a setting that is anbiguous. Do everything possible to see that the individual has little or no confidence in his own position. Do everything possible to make the norm which you set appear highly valued and attractive. Set it at a level not too far initially from the starting point of the individual or group and move it gradually toward the behavior you wish to produce. Be absolutely certain you know what you want and that you are willing to pay an enormous price in human quality, for whether the individual or the group is aware of it or not, the result will be CONFORMITY.
--- from book's back cover

Back cover reads:
Wedding vows were meant to be kept!
There was an old story about the Cade men: they only love once...but when they do, it's for eternity!
But where did that leave an ordinary working girl like Fabia? Alex Cade had made it clear that he needed her solely for business purposes. Yet, somehow, nothing could stop the pangs of jealousy that pierced Fabia'a heart whenever glamorous widow Susan latched on to Alex!
Fabia was determined not to give in to her feelings. She had made a vow, and it was one she didn't take lightly...that if she was foolish enough to fall in love, then she would wear black on her wedding day!

I loved this book. . . I thought that it had adventure and romance and everything you could ever want, although it is a long book once you get started you simply can't put it down. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a good read and and a great book.