Burnett Books

I read this book many years ago, as a 10 year old, but still haven't forgotten the excitement and sense of adventure it conveyed. My recollection of it is as a fast-paced and superbly narrated suspense thriller.

We read this book aloud and the kids would beg for one more chapter, and I loved it so much it was hard not to read on into the night. If you've read A Little Princess and loved it, you'll love this, and it's more a boy's novel than that one. Here's a summary, without giving anything away:
Twelve-year-old Marco Loristan has been carefully trained by his loving father--trained to be silent about their secretive travels and country of origin, trained to speak many languages fluently, trained to be strong and gentlemanly--but for what purpose? Marco doesn't know exactly, because "silence is the order", but he knows he is being trained to aid his beleagured native country, Samavia. Samavia has been bloodily fought over since 500 years ago when the one person who could bring peace, Prince Ivor, mysteriously dissappeared. Now it is rumored that a descendant of the lost prince has been found. Is now the time when Samavia's suffering can finally be brought to an end? What will Marco's part be?

I remember my mom reading The Lost Prince aloud to my brother and me, when I was around 13 (and home schooled). I absolutely loved the story. Ten years later I became a teacher, and wanted to share all the best parts of my education with my students. I read many books to them, including The Lost Prince, and they loved it as well. (I taught third through seventh grades, in one room.) I did need to explain/define a fair amount of the text since it was written at a time when children were expected to have better than a sit-com vocabulary. This provided great teaching moments because my students were already engaged in the story and had the desire to understand it.
The Lost Prince is not just the adventures of two boys, it's really about the best things in life-- loyalty to family and country, commitment to friends, being true to oneself, honoring one's heritage...
It could be a bit of a 'culture shock' experience for people who are accustomed to think of 12 year olds as children, as we do in modern day America. It's much more understandable if a little context is given, along the lines that adulthood and marriage used to be entered into in the early teen years, so 12 was the cusp of adulthood.
Thus, the expectations of the story's time period are quite different than the experiences of most modern teens. The absolute, unwavering respect Marco shows for his father was clearly something his father had both earned and cultivated. The devotion of Lazarus is also clearly voluntary, and quite justified when you finally learn exactly who Loristan is and what he has accomplished in his life of secrecy. As for the Rat, it's a great thing to see how Loristan is able to help him into manhood. The Rat's prospects are pretty grim at the beginning, yet by the end you can't help but feel pride in his transformation.
This book is a great stroy for anyone who seeks the best things in life, or for anyone who hopes to inspire children with good character.

I am a 13 year old who loves to read, and so when I saw that this book was by the author of "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess", I was thrilled. However, it would probably have been a lot better for me if I had gone into reading it with different expectations. The main fault of this book (in my opinion), is the authors confusing attempt to go back and forth between two genres: fantasy and mystery. I thought this would be more of a mystery, but trying to see clues and peice together answers is NOT the way to read this book. If you take it as a fantasy, it might be better.

"The Lost prince" begins with a very "real" setting, a grungy street in London. The story is centered around Marco, a boy who is very obedient to his father what he has taught his to do. Too obedient/perfect, in my opinion. Part of what makes a story interesting is characters who change throughout... however Marco was just too good the whole time! And eveything he said, did, or thought, was something his father taught him to say, think, or do. Then there's Loristan, Marco's father who is always talking about Samavia, his war-torn country and the lost prince that could save it. Lazarus is the last in the house, the extremly loyal servant who is obedient to Loristan to the point of being dog-like. the most interesting character in the story is The Rat, a boy Marco meets on the street. Together, they go on a quest to find clues to the lost Prince story.

However, after the first few chapters "The Lost Prince" went from a semi-realistic mysterious story to a fantasy fairytale that spiral into something totally unreal. For example, two 12-year old boys traveling all over Europe alone? Another pont I found very interesting was that even when Marco and The Rat were off traveling, they kept referring to what they were doing as "a game". Even when they were doing all these dangerous things and acting like spies they still called it a game. And when they finally get to Samavia, this place that they have been dreaming about (and talking about nothing else besides it!) they don't go into much discription about it. by that point, I was practically dying of curiosity but once they got there it didn't seem as important.

I did like the description in this book, which is very like Frances Hodgson Burnett. The scenes describing the country side were very well written too.

All in all, I think that this is a good book to read, especially if you like the writing style of this author (which I do, I promise!) Keeping in mind that it is a fantasy book, I think this is a book people of almost any age can enjoy.

Here's a good afternoon read that involves mystery, intrigue, and adventure. Passin' Through is a high country dweller with intentions to stay out of the way of people. Unfortunately, Mr. Passin can't seem to do so.

This is the classic L'AMOUR with an interesting difference. Passin' is very earthy, I mean, he is really backwoods. As much as the Sackets are backwoods Tennessee folk they still have a general refinement about them. This Passin' character jumps off the pages of the book as a generally simple guy. Like many L'Amour characters, he exhibits great humility. Unlike other characters, he seems not to put all of the pieces together.

Various clues are dropped here and there throughout the story. Passin' seems impervious to many of them. It's nice to see a character that reminds me of me and not as 'Sherlock' as some of the author's others.

I like Passin' through! He's vulnerable and gets hurt easily. He's not always at the top of his game; so like I said, he's more like all of the rest of us and what great fun that is as he struggles to keep Murphy's Law from overriding the day.

If you like the Sackett novels, and anyone reading this will be a fan, then you will like this novel for sure. The main character never gives his name in the book, but enough clues are in there (especially at the end) that everyone should recognize the main character as a Sackett. At any rate, this is a good one and should be on everyone's list.

A man who came to be called, Passin' Through escapes from a lynching on a horse that nobody wants, a horse named Robin, known as "The Death Horse" , with the skull and crossbone brand, because all who owned or rode him died soon after. Not being superstisious Passin' comes to like the horse, for Robin is, after all, a good horse. A special relationship developes between man and horse but when Robin takes Passin' to a ranch where two ex-actresses live, he rides straight into trouble and a mystery he has to solve, even though his sences tell him It's none of his business. After all, he was just passin' through. I found this to be a good and entertaining novel, my biggest regret being that Robin, "The Death Horse" did not have a bigger part in the story. It's still a well above avarage Louis L'Amour novel, and well worth it.

I have read more than 30 Louis L'Amour books and I rank this one in the top 5. It is a bit more involved than most, combining the western story with a mystery plot. And as always, I love to read the descriptions of the landscape and the people of the South West. Life is full of choices but you could do worse than chosing to spend an evening with "Passin' Through"

"Sara Crewe" is a condensed version of the wonderful classic, "The Little Princess." Although the text is written for younger readers, it is no match for the original.

SARA CREWE IS A VERY GOOD BOOK. THERE ARE ALOT OF THINGS THAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK.FRANCES HODGSON BURNET WRITES VERY GOOD BOOKS. ...ITHINK THAT SARA CREWE IS A BOOK THAT EVERY LITTLE KID SHOULD READ.

Sara Crewe is a penniless orphan who endures cold, heartless conditions with spirit and dignity. While shorter than "A Little Princess", this book retains the essence of the main character and theme. Her dreams protect her from the harsh reality until one day they magically come true. This is a perfect book for 4-6 graders, combining a compelling story, interesting vocabulary, and great values.

I first read Sara Crewe in an old St. Nicholas Magazine for Children book from 1888 when I was 11 years old. It was serialized in three parts. Not as well known or as long as Frances Hodgson Burnett's later The Little Princess, I still prefer this version. Sara is enchanting, more believable than in the later version. I was later abused from the time I was about 12 to maybe 15 years of age,and Sara helped me get through those awful years. I used to pretend that I was a princess, too, that although there was misery and loneliness in my life I could, like Sara, rise above it. I'm nearly 37 now, and I still consider Sara Crewe my favorite fictional character. Every child should read this.

This is a lovely edition. I plan to keep it in my collection for the children as the get older. A more compelling story than I remember from my childhood.

The Secret Garden opens up with a spoiled girl name Mary Lennox who gets everything she wants. She is always somehow ill in one way or another. She loves no one and no one loves her. Her parents never paid attention to her and her mother wants nothing to do with her. She was taken care of by native servants and they did everything that Mary told them to do because Mary's mom did not want to deal with crying or yelling.
Mary's life changed completely when an outbreak of cholera happens in the Lennox's household. Everyone dies, leaving Mary all alone in her room crying and wondering where everyone went. Later, she is found by two soldiers who send her to her maternal uncle. Her uncle's house is a huge mansion with one hundred rooms in it; most of the rooms are locked up. Everyone describes her uncle as a "miserable hunchback". Mary is not too exited about going to live with him.
When Mary arrives at his house, she finds that staying inside is not to fun. So she starts to play outside, running all through the gardens. She meets all sorts of friends. She becomes more engaged in the world, less ill, and stronger.
Mary Lennox begins her adventure when she finds a hidden door to a secret garden. She wanders all through it and is so amazed. She then meets a new friend, Dickens, and they meet in the garden together everyday. They plant flowers and just hang out together. They spend the rest of the summer together.
This book was awesome! Quite amazing, I thought. It was very interesting all through it. I would rate this as a four star book. You should defiantly read it as soon as possible!

The Secret Garden opens up with a spoiled girl name Mary Lennox who gets everything she wants. She is always somehow ill in one way or another. She loves no one and no one loves her. Her parents never paid attention to her and her mother wants nothing to do with her. She was taken care of by native servants and they did everything that Mary told them to do because Mary's mom did not want to deal with crying or yelling.
Mary's life changed completely when an outbreak of cholera happens in the Lennox's household. Everyone dies, leaving Mary all alone in her room crying and wondering where everyone went. Later, she is found by two soldiers who send her to her maternal uncle. Her uncle's house is a huge mansion with one hundred rooms in it; most of the rooms are locked up. Everyone describes her uncle as a "miserable hunchback". Mary is not too exited about going to live with him.
When Mary arrives at his house, she finds that staying inside is not to fun. So she starts to play outside, running all through the gardens. She meets all sorts of friends. She becomes more engaged in the world, less ill, and stronger.
Mary Lennox begins her adventure when she finds a hidden door to a secret garden. She wanders all through it and is so amazed. She then meets a new friend, Dickens, and they meet in the garden together everyday. They plant flowers and just hang out together. They spend the rest of the summer together.
This book was awesome! Quite amazing, I thought. It was very interesting all through it. I would rate this as a four star book. You should defiantly read it as soon as possible!

Five generations of my family have adored The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, albeit in different editions. It was first published over 100 years ago, but when I read it as a child I was transported to that place and time and I was Mary Lennox. My great grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter all had the same experience when they each discovered this book around 6-10 years old.

It is about a little girl orphaned in India and sent to live with an uncle/guardian in a big house in England. I don't want to spoil the story for you, but it is a book about discovery, growth and so much more.

Discoveries include a cousin, a young gardener, the glories and coming to life of a secret garden and relationships.

A book is the best way to experience "The Secret Garden" because the pictures you paint in your mind are much stronger than those on the screen, however there was also a brilliant BBC series. If you can get this on DVD, maybe from Amazon in the UK or ebay, do get it.

Buy and read the book first, it is something you will treasure for life. I still love reading "The Secret Garden" every few years.

I had this book for the Techincal Writing Class.

I do think that this book really does good job on giving guidelines and advices.

I give 3 stars out of 5.

This book provides a solid foundation for technical communication. It covers all the basics from audience analysis, to outlines, to document design, to technical writing essentials.

This is a definite must read for anyone starting out in the Technical Writing industry.

I have been a teacher of technical and scientific writing for over 15 years. I feel I have to write a review of this new edition because I truly think it is the best textbook on technical communication on the market. This is a truly superior learning and teaching resource not only because of the range of topics it covers, but also because of the very interesting examples it uses throughout. It also is very up to date; this new edition draws on current research on reading and writing, not old stuff, as some of the other popular text books do. The teacher's guide also makes this text easy to use, and provides lots of material useful in class preparation.

I am using this book for my technical communication course and I am very impressed. Being an engineer, I am usually weary of English classes, but a good teacher and this book have made my tech com class very worth my while. The book does a very good job of providing outlines for various types of documents without just providing a fill in the blanks form. It even addresses internet issues such as web site analysis and email etiquette.

Perhaps the best testimony for this book is that the author practices what she teaches. The book uses the ideas taught by the book and this makes it an easy read.

I will be keeping this book after my course is over. I anticipate it being a useful reference after I graduate.

Poyer handles his characters growth well. Much action is off screen. As it would be given the character's position. The author's insights are always interesting and sometimes enlightening.

As is expected, Pyron has all of the military and technical details spot on. However, I found some of the plot to be a wee bit unbelievable and the ending extremely abrupt. In sum, though, it was still a true page-turner and as difficult to put down as the other Dan Lenson tales. Pyron is truly spell-binding in his yarns!

I am a fan of David Poyer. The long-suffering Dan Lenson feels like my friend. But, in his early books Poyer had what I call his "Crazy Captain" theme. Seemingly every Captain that Dan served under was a nut case. I can only assume that David had some "Crazy Captain" experience of his own that makes the theme so real for him.

I was thrilled when he left that theme behind in "The Command" for example.

But in "The Threat" the theme of the psychologically tortured mind makes my friend Dan into a bumbling jerk who screws up every good thing in his life.

David, your readers don't buy your books in order to read about screw-up heroes with performance problems. We have enough problems of our own.

Stick with the great settings and high adventure. Drop the mental angst.

Buy the book and read it. But, don't be surprised if you come away angry at Poyer over what he does to our friend Dan.

This is easily the best Lenson story in the entire saga. I got the book and read it in a day and a half. I was riveted. The action was
great, moving along constantly. It literally had me on the edge of my seat. Character development was super. As was the descriptiveness of it. I could see myself there. I also developed an extreme dislike for some of the characters. If that is what it is like in DC, I want nooooooo part of
politics.
I could see this one being made into a movie pretty easily. I think it
would play well on the screen and would be pretty easy to do I think.
Get this book. If you haven't read the rest of the series, or Mr Poyer's other series' get them to.
I'm retired Navy, and this author has it down pat. Almost feel like I'm still in when I read them. Great Read!

The Boys and all their friends cain't wait for a new book. They love to read them.

With nearly 200 hours we prefer the good stories and insight to the television and so my wife and I look forward to the new tapes as they become available. His writing style leaves us able to recognize landmarks in our southwestern travels.
William Tel is one of my favorite L.L. charactors, so when he travels to Louisiana to find his missing brother Orin the reader is in for a great story. The listener will come to realise that no one messes with "family."
I admittedly perfer the longer books which enable the listener to become more involved with the charactors. None of the books will dissapoint.

In Treasure Mountain, Orrin and Tell Sackett set off to find their father, who has been missing for twenty years. Their mother is near the end of her life and wants to know if he'll be waiting for her at the end of the road.

During their search, the brothers split up and both run into the Baston family--who are just about as nasty as the Higginses--who seem to have information about their father, but who aren't about to let it be known. Andre is the seemingly more dangerous due to his bulk, but sister Fanny is the more insidious, using her charming ways to lure both Orrin and Tell into trouble.

Eventually Tell finds the daybook left behind by his father that tells that side of the story. This lends a level of suspense to Treasure Mountain that isn't usually present in other Sackett novels. We, as well as Tell, want to know what happened and the knowledge is revealed piece by piece. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tell has to face the final showdown on his own, which shows both him and us what he is truly made of.

Treasure Mountain is likely the best Sackett novel I have read since Sackett's Land. William Tell Sackett is definitely my favorite Sackett and I look forward to reading more in this later part of the series featuring the brothers.

(Trivia: Flagan and Galloway Sackett from the previous novel in the series, Galloway, also make a short appearance here.)

Treasure Mountain by Louis L'Amour is easily the best western I have ever read. It is a very adventurous story and has much suspense to it. Treasure Mountain is a story about two brothers who set out to search for the reamains of their father. He went on a journey twenty years earlier and never returned. These boys felt it their responsibility to find out what happened to their father.
On their journey to uncover the mystery they have many encounters with different people which causes some problems. In this book it shows the love of a family and how a family works together. It'ds hard to put this book down because you don't want to be left hanging.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mysteries and suspense. If you want that excitement while reading I would recommend that you read Treasure Mountain by Louis L'Amour. I'm not a big western fan but I absolutely loved this book.

This was the first book I've ever read by Louis L'amour and now I am hooked on his novels. This book is totally complete with references to history, a great plot, and humor also. Once you start reading this book, I can guarantee you wont be able to set it down. An all around pleasure to read!

This book wasn't what I expected, but it was interesting. It's more organized into groupings of quotes or excerpts from welcoming rituals.

It had some lovely things that we used for my daughter's welcoming, though I wish it would have given citations for where these excerpts came from. I found a few that I was fascinated by and wanted to read the rest of it, but could not find where it came from.

If you are looking for ideas or quotes to get you started creating your own welcoming, this book will help a little. If you are curious about the history behind the quotes used...this book won't help at all.

This is an amazing book that is beautifully written and packed with ideas. It has several sample welcoming ceremonies that you can do, but it also provides enough information for you to make up your own using different elements of each. I loved the cultural information and the suggestions for creating altars. I think this would make a great baby shower gift and is a must read for all pregnant women.

So Welcoming Ways quotes Thomas Moore, in introducing one of its beautiful rituals to introduce children into the world.

This book is a fantastic collection of traditions and ideas for welcoming our newborns into our lives and homes. While I plan to have a traditional Catholic baptism when my baby is born, this book gave me several additional ideas to help honor my child before this date. All family members are incorporated into the ceremonies, to give the child a sense of becoming part of a whole, who is eager to have them join into the family.

World customs are mentioned, and it was a treat to read what other countries do to celebrate their babies. We have become disconnected with the rituals that make up life, and this book is a wonderful way to help new parents develop a way to mark the huge step of welcoming a new child into the home.

This is a book that needs to be on the shelf of every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, god-parent, parent educator, OB-GYN, Midwife, NICU nurse,adoption agency, and anyone else who has contact with infants & families.

I am a parent of two daughters, ages 4 & 6, and I am saddened that I did not have this book when they were born. Yet, I am also a parent educator, and hope to provide many pre-natal families information about this book and the value of traditions. I also plan to give this book as a gift to all of my friends & family who are or will be expecting a child---I feel that it is as important to them as the prenatal information they receive.

The illustrations are beautiful, the text and content inspiring, and the cost exceptional for a book that will/should be passed down generationally.

If you are involved with any organization that interacts with clients, The Zen of Fundraising: 89 Timeless Ideas to Strengthen and Develop Your Donor Relationships should be required reading for all your administrators, front-line personnel (they can remind Administration how to not muck up) serious contributors, board members and fundraisers. For start-ups, a little creative adaption can bring its larger messages to your aid. That is, if you want to become more effective and responsive so you can become a larger entity.

A "must read" is not too high praise. Neither is "essential". Get this book. Read it. Memorize large parts of it. It will be handy when you want to quote really wise concepts at parties, with friends and with clients.

Plus, Burnett's brilliant and personal style (reminds me of how Mark Twain might right a letter to a friend) is a joy to behold.

GregRobin.

This book is a snap shot of everything that works in donor relationships - and some good advice about things that don't. It's about building a relationship that really means something to the donor as well as the charity they are donating to. And it's also about being proud to be a fundraiser - stand up and be counted!!

Through a writing style, which stays light right to the last few pages, Ken manages to capture the essence of a lot of jargonese which penetrates the fundraising world. This is a simple book - but not for simple minds. If you like the snap shot style of American quick fixes then this is a great introduction to relationship fundraising and a whole lot more. At the end Ken makes some personal points and a bit of a plea for better customer service - well made and if only half the advice in this little book is put into practice, there would definitely be a shift.

Just try one simple thing which Ken outlines - I would suggest a fundraiser working on their own would really benefit from number 17. Really understand your donors - no amount of consultancy and research by other people can ever replace that one!

If you are new to fundraising, then take advice from number 71 - Be proud to be a fundraiser - and number 76 - `Be respectful of your donors, and show that respect even when they're not present' - and lastly number 78, which gives the ultimate in reading lists for fundraisers, both old and new.

The fact that Ken points us in the direction of best practice from a great variety of sources - big household names from Britain such as the RNLI but also from across the globe. Reading this on the tube was ideal, it is possible to dip in and out and I enjoyed creating my own `fundraising menu'. Recommended is a number 78, 72, 48, 22 and 17. Oh and definitely 87, the outlawing of killer phrases such as `'That won't work' and `There isn't time'. But then again...

Ken Burnett has been a friend since I was given the privilege of introducing him at the PBS Development Conference years ago. He wrote the book on donor relationships --Relationship Fundraising: A Donor Based Approach to the Business of Raising Money and here he's written the book on gift stewardship.

With all due respect to my many other published friends in the fundraising arena, if you have this book, Jim Greenfield's Fundraising Fundamentals: A Guide to Annual Giving for Professionals and Volunteers, and Kay Sprinkel Grace's Beyond Fundraising: New Strategies for Nonprofit Innovation and Investment, 2nd Edition, there's not much more you need to know.

Ken's book is an easy, breeze read--the whole message is delivered in less than 160 pages. But there's a depth of wisdom and experience here that belies the size. A great handbook from a terrific fundraiser.

I was hoping that this book would provide an overview of working smarter, not harder -- for example focus on understanding your own message in order to be more effective. Instead, it is a "to do" list (which the title states)that only the largest and best established organizations would have time/resources/or history to do. I'm a start-up, and for me, I can only hope to get to the point where most of the ideas in this book are useful -- or even possible.

It's good in that the underlying theme is: It's the customer, stupid. But that is something that all good salespeople/strategic marketing know: take care of your own customers first, keep communication channels open, listen more than you talk, find out why they do business with you. etc.

So: my biggest problem is the title: It should be: Maintaing Funding for Charitable Organizations: A checklist for focusing on your donor relationships. If you are in that situation you should probably read this book. But don't look for the zen.

This is as a nice reference for the blues guitarist. It's nice to have so many new ideas in one place. The only downside (more so for the beginner), is most of the turnarounds are in the key of C which means you'll need to transcribe them to different keys. This is not a bad thing as it is helps develop a better knowledge of how the blues scales are put together. It is a good investment as it is a reference and a learning tool.

(101 Razor-Sharp Blues Guitar Fill-In Licks)


Leading Book of Its Type

This is undoubtedly the leading book of its type on the market today. 101 authentic urban blues guitar fill-ins in the Chicago blues style, each accurately transcribed in notation and tablature. Each lick is recorded note-for-note on the companion CD and accompanied by a professional blues band (complete with singer Charles Atkins), and wonderfully engineered by Fred Chester, a well-known engineer in the Southeast who has recorded albums for jazz piano great Marcus Roberts and persons of similar caliber.

As a professional music teacher of many years, I have found Larry McCabe's music instruction books to be of consistently high quality, popular with students, focused and effective in accomplishing the particular objective.

Small wonder. Larry has one of the most reputable names in the music publishing industry. His resume lists over eighty published books for Mel Bay, Centerstream, and other big names in the industry. Two of his books were written for none other than Roy Clark. And he was the guitar writer for Living Blues Magazine for three years, and a member of the W.C. Nominating Committee for many years. This is a teacher who knows how to play and teach the blues.

The author, Larry McCabe, is a well-known and respected author of many instruction books and he has a strong background in the blues. I recall that in the 1990s Larry authored a popular blues guitar column for Living Blues Magazine.

Against the backdrop of a live band complete with singer Charles Atkins, each fill-in lick is played exactly as you would play it on stage or in a jam session. The licks are tasteful and performed in the authentic Chicago style-the licks are the real thing, played by a guitarist who knows how to play the blues and write blues instruction.

I would recommend this book to an early intermediate guitarist whose ambition is to play in the urban blues style. The incredible thing about this set is that the user is actually sitting in with a live blues band that includes a singer.

In the rush to play solos, fill-in are sometimes overlooked. This book is unique and unlike any other book on electric blues guitar. And in fact, Red Dog Music Books entire series of 101 Razor-Sharp Blues Books are enthusiastically recommended to all electric guitar teachers who have students who want to learn to play the blues.