Elliott Books

I don't know what it was about this book that made me want to read it over and over again. It didn't have any colosal {I don't know if I spelled that right} battles or anything. I guess it was just the amazing storyline! The adventure was fantastic, but I honestly like whats going on with the woodlanders better than Martin the warriors journy, more action happens with them. In all, this is one of the best Redwall books, complete with an awesome one on one battle at the end. Read this book!

This is about Martin the Warrior , a heroic mouse, the self-appointed Prince of Mousetheives (and best friend to Martin), Gonff, the totally evil wildcat Tsarmina, and sundry other animal characters. The plot is that (1) Martin is (after a sidetracked problem) questing for Salamandastron, (2) the woodlanders defending themselves from Tsarmina until Martin returns, and (3) what's happening in Kotir, the moldy, falling-down castle where Tsarmina and her horde of vermin (stoats, rats, foxes, weasels and so on). This is a good series because it never ends on a cliffhanger at the very end. Mr. Jacques is a wonderful author, and I've read all his books except Eulalia!, because it isn't out yet. :(

The Redwall series was recommended to me by my own readers, who recognized a similarity between the writing style, animorphism, and medieval setting of my own debut novel "The Other Side of Yore" and of Brian Jaques' famous books. As I learned more about the books, I was amazed that the books had escaped my attention for so long. Sure I had heard the name in passing, but I really didn't know what the books were about, and had probably passed them over as too child-oriented when I was a young blossoming fan of fantasy. Boy, had I been missing out!
Mossflower may be the best YA fantasy book I've read since "The Hobbit," maybe even surpassing "The Chronicles of Narnia" for imagination, superb writing skill, literary worth, and sheer reading enjoyment!
Far from being just a book for young adults, I am well over thirty and highly critical of most fiction books, and was unable to put the book down. Not only does Jaques write in an incredibly skillful and beautiful style, but his plots and subplots are nothing short of genious. The character developement of the animorphed creatures is far superior to even the average bestselling book of fiction starring realistic human characters. Jaques is a master of dialogue and dialect, and I especially enjoyed the strange coloquial mole-speech;
"Hurr, Oi be liken it moiself better'n any deeper-n'-ever pie oive et, stan' on moi hole!"
The triumphs, determinations, and gallant speeches of Martin the Warrior actually brought tears to my eyes a few times during the tale, and the antics and humorous songs and poems of Gonff made me laugh out loud more than once.
What's more, Jaques created a complex villian to be copied by fantasy authors for centuries to come in the characterization of the wicked cat Tsarmina, and painted a thoroughly believable array of personalities and attitudes in the various soldiers of her army.
Like Tolkien's work, Jaques has also done his homework thoroughly, and has created a vast history to support his tales, which I think is a trait missing from many of the more fly-by-night and commercial fantasies of today.
By the end of this novel, you will have forgotten that mice can't talk and that badgers don't wield swords, having become intimately familiar with some of the most realistic personalities ever to grace the pages of literature. I cannot recommend this book enough, and am sure that the others in the series will be equally delightful!
J. Lyon Layden
The Other Side of Yore

"Mossflower" is the epic prequel to "Redwall". Written by Brian Jacques, it is a book full of adventure and surprise.
The peaceful woodland creatures of Mossflower are forced to live under the tyrannical rule of the evil wildcat queen, Tsarmina. That is until the coming of Martin the Warrior. Martin brings hope and promise to the animals of Mossflower. With the help of a mighty weapon, the habitants of Mossflower will ban together to take back what is rightfully theirs and put an end to the evil reign of Tsarmina.
I highly recommend this book. It is full of action that draws the reader in and keeps him/her reading.

It is all you want in a good book.It has just the right amount of action,
peril,valor,and humor. If you want a book that is good for everyone, you just found one!

I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up half the night reading it. You become absorbed in the story, very well written.

All I can say is it's a good thing I didn't have much else to do. I could hardly put the book down. Great story, it flows and is easy to read. The story line was fun while intriguing and touching...Melissa Good is truly and artist with words. I have already purchased Hurricane Watch and am looking forward to starting it.

As the first Melissa Good novel that I have read. I found it to be engaging and the contemporary setting was refreshing.

While the relationship element was predictable, fortunately Goode stayed on the high road by not dipping to graphic details, leaving that to our own imagination.

The twists and turns of the actual story line were compelling and fairly true to life, in the 21st century. It was fun to to identify with the people and situations. It is apparent that Goode has more of this story to tell.

Kudos to whoever is making this novel into the movie. Cannot wait to see it!

An uber with a duo every bit as vibrant as those in her beloved X&G sagas. Whoda thunk the world of corporate computing could be so darn entertaining and compelling. With one of the best rescue scenes ever. Dar and Kerry are alive and living in Miami.

This was the first "uber" piece I had ever read and I was pleasantly surprised by what a good story it was. I didn't know what to expect in the beginning, and even had a hard time getting past the first chapter. But, I persisted and made it through. Boy was I glad that I did. Ms. Good has written about two very strong characters who are different as night and day. I found myself intrigued by their relationship and couldn't wait to read more. I have now read all of the DaK series and would still say that this one is my favorite. However....
What I didn't like was the large amount of inconsistency in the story. At first Kerry's siter's name is Susan, then it's Angela. Her father's name is Kevin, then Roger. Kerry's personnel file says she's 26, but she tells Dar she's 27 (okay, I can overlook a birthday). There are at least four or five other inconsistencies that I can't think of right now...but it bugged me...a lot. The grammar was fine, in my opinion, but there were some typos which should have been caught during editing. And I don't buy Dar working for ILS for 15 years when she's only 30 (I may be bleeding into some of the other books).
The point of the matter is....honestly I really did like this book. That's why I continued to keep reading the other stories. Yes, I wish the love scenes had just a little more "umph" to them and I wish Kerry wouldn't say things like "oh, poo." I gave this four stars, mainly for the continuity issues....but it is a good read and I would recommend it to my friends.

This book is HIGHLY recommended.Management really should pay attention to who is MOBBING who.The MOBBER S are UP TO SOMETHING and I am sure it is not in your companies best interest.People just trying to DO THEIR JOB and at first DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS TREATMENT GOES ON ?The Mobbers out to harm company. I think the companies have pretty much let them.You have let this go on for so many years.As a target I am telling you all TARGET"S WANT A SAFE WORKPLACE.People do not want to play games on the job.Go ruin your own reputation you gossiping liars.
NO TOXIC "OUT OF CONTROL "coworkers who mob.People just go to work to make a living, not a living hell.

Although a little dry at times, MOBBING: EMOTIONAL ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE is nonetheless an important book detailing a little-known phenomenon that has become rampant in companies and universities everywhere. The author explores the difference between mobbing and simply bullying, explaining that the former entails multiple coworkers ganging up on a single person in order to humiliate, discredit, and eventually dispel them from the workplace. Often the ringleader is a boss who finds the employee threatening. The author details the steps in the harassing process, and outlines the adverse effects on the workplace and the victim, explaining why the US needs to have legislation in place to prevent this common, but primarily unidentified, process. This is a very important book for HR professionals, as mobbing occurs in fifteen percent of all workplaces, yet is rarely recognized by the administrative employees called in to deal with the effects. Many times the situation is manipulated so that the victim appears emotionally unstable and paranoid. As someone who was herself the victim of a mobbing at a former job, I found this book a valuable tool in putting into perspective what had happened and why. If only I could get my ex HR director to read it!

One day soon workplace abuses like "mobbing" and "narcissistic abuse" will be as much within public awareness as sexual abuse/harassment/discrimination is today. I'm old enough to remember when sexual abuse in the workplace was "cutting edge." The questions during that time went something like this: is it really "abuse"? or is it just boys having fun and women just dressing too sexy? Why get all worked up about a little too much testosterone in the office? The problem is--it rarely had much to do with testosterone and more to do with abusing/using another human being.

I see that we are in a similar situation now with narcissistic abuse in the workplace. Not all organizational "mobbing" is caused by narcissism, but a whole lot of it is. In order to make a narcissistic organization "work" some people have to be designated as "second-rate." Ironically, the "second-rate" people most often have more on the ball than the "first-rate" people because they are too smart and emotionally healthy not to get involved in the narcissism of it all anyway. They just want to work.

One of these days, and I hope I live long enough to see it as much as Gloria Steinem ever wanted to live long enough to see laws against sexual abuse, I want to see laws against the emotional phenomenon of "mobbing" as other bellwether countries in the world have already done. What a great day that will be for the human race.

This is an excellent book. Well written. Well researched. As a recent victim of "mobbing" I can tell you that it does exist. Victims of sexual harassment/discrimination in the workplace years ago had to experience the phenomenon of either too few people believing them or too many people believing that it really wasn't that big of a deal. One great thing the authors do is to verify that "mobbing" is serious emotional abuse. That name it and call it for what it is: evil.

Why do we put up with "mobbing" today and why isn't it within the awareness of the average American yet? The author gives us some ideas why:
"One is that mobbing behaviors are ignored, tolerated, misinterpreted, or actually instigated by the company or the organizational management as a deliberate strategy." Been there, been a victim of that, got the T-shirt.
"The second reason is that this behavior has not yet been identified as workplace behavior clearly different from sexual harassment or discrimination"
"Thirdly, more often than not, the victims are worn down, feel destroyed and exhausted. They feel incapable of defending themselves, let alone initiating legal action." (page 20)

This is a super, comprehensive, competent book. I suppose that the only critique I would have of it is that the authors should have spent more than two modest pages on Narcissistic Personality Disorder. More often than not, this personality disorder is at work when "mobbing" is taking place. I really think a deeper discussion of this phenomenon could have added more psychological depth to the book. Furthermore, by doing so the authors could have helped "mobbing" victims by giving them definitive proof that the "mobbing" perpetrators, not the victim, are the ones who should be ashamed if anyone should be ashamed.

You know, now that I think about it, the authors should have focused more on "shame" as well. A huge part of the "mobbing" phenomenon is "shame dumping." The victim is supposed to be ashamed for not being "good enough" or whatever. The fact is that the "mobbing" perpetrators are probably highly motivated to avoid shame and thus dump their shame on a "not good enough" co-worker/employee. By spending more effort on unpacking the phenomenon of "shame", I believe the authors could have done a better job of helping "mobbing" victims put the shame that was dumped on them back on where it belongs--the perpetrators.

All in all, though, this is an excellent addition to the discussion of emotional abuse in the workplace. We're in denial as a country, in my opinion, to the severity of it in all areas of society. We need to follow the other European countries who call it for what it is and write laws against it.

But, one day...one day...we'll call it for what it is. I just pray I live that long and that my children won't have to fight that inevitable fight.

Let's win it soon.

This is an outstanding book. I highly recommend this book to any working professional, especially to anyone whose job requires him to deal with attorneys on a regular basis. The book defines the term mobbing - a group of employees ganging up on a fellow employee to force his resignation. It gives a description (personality type) of the likely perpetrator(s) or ringleader and breaks down the effect this abuse has on the employee. The book also provides a chapter about how to protect yourself legally. While most abuses I've seen in the legal field were one-on-one (I saw only one incident of actual mobbing against a secretary), the book provides a wealth of information to nonlawyer professionals, or anyone else for that matter, who may find themselves in a hostile environment at the job. This is a common, a daily of not hourly occurence, in many law firms. The personality types describe lawyers to a "T." This book is a must-have in the American workforce. I've seen too many legal secretaries' morale, self-esteem, and confidence go down the tubes because of harassment and abuse. This undoubtedly happens in other industries as well.

Before my experience of becoming a victim of "mobbing", I had never heard of this word. I've had to deal with a bully or two in the past, and the usual work pressures caused by demanding bosses and strict deadlines. But nothing prepared me for the experience of being mobbed. It was passive aggressive style mobbing. This book was a great resource for myself, though it made me sad that some friends and relatives couldn't believe such a thing could occur, or didn't want to admit such a thing could occur in this country. This experience has really changed my view of people. Of course, I could tell some of the participants would have caused me grief whether or not the mobbing environment existed. And it was easy to see that others were less enthusiastic about the mobbing and just did it to "fit in". Since managers were involved in my situation, the only recourse I had was to quit for the sake of my health. This book is written very clearly and will help you understand your situation, and the best way to respond.

But immediately after quitting, I then became a victim of "gang stalking", which has many similarities to mobbing, but takes place in the "community". I first encountered the word "gang stalking" during my research on "mobbing", and it sounded quite preposterous to be honest. However, now that it is happening to me, I'm finding that it isn't such a new phenomenon either. An example is the FBI's COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program). I keep asking myself "Why Me?. Its not like I'm a radical trying to bring down the government.

Could this have happened if it weren't for the so called "Patriot Act", creating opportunity for abuse of power and high technology? See "Opening Pandora's Box: How Technologies of Communication & Cognition May Be Shifting Towards a Psycho-Civilized Society" by Kingsley Dennis of Lancaster University. Another good paper is "The Mind Has No Firewall" by Timothy Thomas of the US Army War College.

I'm sure the number of people that experience "mobbing" is going to far outnumber the number of people who ever experience "gang stalking", but please believe that this is a reality in modern day America. So much for the 8th amendment about "cruel & unusual" punishments, not to mention all the other laws against this type of activity. With mobbing, I was afraid of losing a source of income & diminished health. With gang stalking, I'm afraid for my safety. I've received threats of bodily harm, threats of being framed for crimes, persecuted by the government and its extra legal "vigilantes" leaves no hope for justice, and imprisonment. Most interactions don't involve a major threat, but are just acts of harassment to let the victim know they are under surveillance. Anything to maintain a climate of fear and uncertainty. Hearing "directed conversations" (which repeat certain threatening themes, or relate to something personal in your life) at a restaurant or while walking, street theater, being tailgated or crossing paths with vehicles of various companies or government units (for instance, they all happen to appear at the intersections you stop at to condition the victim to start interpreting that type of vehicle as a threatening symbol), ect... after a while leave the victim realizing there are too many occurrences for all of them to be isolated random events, but are being coordinated by a government agency. Why would the government go to all of this trouble with our tax dollars? To quell dissent? Unify people by finding scapegoats for the vigilantes to persecute? Persecution on behalf of corporations?

This has been going on for quite a few months and I feel mobbing victims would be the most likely to understand or at least listen since the goals and methods are similar in many way. To Discredit & Destroy people in a way that leaves little evidence of the crime, and to provoke and blame the victim. And both mobbing and gang stalking are repetitive types of abuse that occur over a long period of time, so that the victim is always worried about "what will happen next?". They drain the person down emotionally since the fight or flight mechanism is on so much. Is that what happened to Gary Webb and Iris Chang?

Its depressing when so many people gang up on you, but I think the bright spot to remember is that these liars and cowards are forced to carry out their activities covertly, since most Americans would be outraged if the true facts were ever revealed. If you are in a mobbing situation, this book is well worth the money.


P.S. The following book "Stalking the Soul: Emotional Abuse & the Erosion of Identity" is interesting. Marie-France Hirigoyen's research helped establish the anti-mobbing laws in France. The following excerpt was interesting.

by Marie-France Hirigoyen, Helen Marx (Afterword), Thomas Moore (Translator)
"Often, emotional abuse builds over a long period of time until it becomes so unbearable that victims lash out in frustration and anger, only to appear unstable and aggressive themselves. This, according to Hirigoyen, is the intent of many abusers: to systematically "destabilize" and confuse their victims (with irrational, threatening behavior that preys on the victim's fears and self-doubts), to isolate and control them and ultimately to destroy their identity."

Hat's off to Mr. Elliott for putting together such a true to life story about young boys coming of age after WWII . He takes you back in time to when life was simple but harder . A story about an area and time not so much different from my own childhood in the midwest .Sedwick had me asking myself , why I hadn't talked to my own father more about his own WWII experiences when I had the chance The book is filled with elements of both joy and sadness .Along with some thoughts to live by.I found a lot of pleasure in reading this book, and I hope to find out how John Walters does in life as an adult .

I lived in Mr. Elliot's geographical and emotional era, and shared with many others his source of inspiration. The elders of our era greatly affected our lives, as they had fought the great wars, and lived through the great depression.

Ray does an excellent job of describing the feelings of those who lived through those times. His local descriptions are true to his early formative years, both in the people and the farms and small villages that surrounded him. Reading this book reveals an insight into the source of the values of people who live in mid-America.

As I read the book, I kept thinking about Thomas Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again", as the style of melding autobiography and fiction is similar. Not only is the style similar, the quality of descriptive passages and the expression of personal philosophy urges the reader to become personally involved in the book.

Ray shows us through this work that our lives today are not that much different from the 1950's, it was just that our lives now move at such a much faster pace and those threats that seemed so far away back then are now much closer and personal.

Just as the general store that is presented in this book is now torn down, and the bridges described are replaced by modern structures, this way of life is also gone. Read this book to learn what formed all of us into what we have become, and discover more about our common roots. The people that are described are the people that helped make America great, the people who helped secure our liberty in the past.

Ray Elliott's novel brought to life many characters and events from my roots and childhood experiences in a similar Midwest rural environment. Vivid characterizations made the storyline especially poignant for me. I heard the author speak in the fall of 2005 @ The Memphis Peabody Hotel on a panel with Larry Heinemann and Ron Kovic (who was connected via a conference phone line) during a James Jones Literary Society symposium. The author's empathetic and perceptive analysis of people, places and events from WWII through the Vietnam era were astounding. I highly recommend this novel and I look very forward to Mr. Elliott's next novel which I understand gives a treatment to the characters and drama of Iwo Jima.

With „Wild Hands Toward the Sky" Elliott closes the circle from Mailers „The Naked and the Dead" and James Jones` „The Thin Red Line". He shows us the fears, hopes, feelings and problems of those who stayed home and those who came back from WWII. For me, as a student of American Studies in Frankfurt, Germany, „Wild Hands Toward the Sky" also gave me an excellent insight to language of the Midwest.

Ray Elliot's novel is an interesting first work in very much the same way as James Jones's THEY SHALL INHERIT LAUGHTER. Although the style is more accomplished and even than his predecessor's first unpublished work, WILD HANDS TOWARD THE SKY perhaps contains too much descriptive detail rather than a distinctive voice the author should work towards. But, despite containing problems affecting every novelist's first work, WILD HANDS TOWARDS THE SKY remains memorable as a insightful chronicle of southern Illinois in the postwar period and a record of a lifestyle which will change as succeeding decades pass.

EllIot adopts a realistic style to narrate his own version of a touching "Bildungsroman" romance of a young boy who has has lost a father he never knew during World War Two and surrounded by a walking wounded community of survivors and bereaved relatives. Although one might see traces of Bobbie Ann Mason's IN COUNTRY, Elliot wisely avoids the "don't mean nothing" syndrome which can lead to ahistorical, postmodernist appropriation. The war has meant everything to its survivors who sympathize with the bereaved John Walter. Although they do not engage in "Phony War" stories, they act as moral guardians of a growing boy doing their utmost to deglamorize war using everyday, low key statements in the hope that he will learn indirectly from their experiences.

Southern Illinois is, of course, the home territory of James Jones whose influence casts a deep shadow over this novel both by reference to the man himself and the deep changes every character faces in the novel whether they have participated directly in the conflict or not. Ray Elliot charts his own direction but acknowledges indirectly the important role of his predecessor. WILD HANDS TOWARD THE SKY is an important novel of local history. Hopefully, it will represent the first in a series of works where the writer will explore themes more intuitively with the development of his own particular style which will come by constant practice over the years. This novel definitely represents a "first" and deserves acclaim as an important achievement in its own right. But a "first" often leads to much better things and this novel reveals a promise which the author will probably fulfil in his later works in the fullness of time.

Even though this book is geared for the 6th-8th grade student, it offers sound advice in a clear, easy-to-understand style. Who needs a grammar book that's full of long, linguistical answer that no one can understand. If I'm stumped by a grammar question, I don't hesitate to pick up this fun reference tool.
Karen Reddick, author of Grammar Done Right!

Before ordering this book I've read many reviews. Those reviews helped me a lot to make the right decision. This book is just amazing for sharping your English grammar skill. You polish your English by learning little details. I'm a Junior in High School. I thought that my level of English grammar is pretty high, but till I started reading ''Painless Grammar" with all these small, tiny detail. My dad, is educated 52 years old teacher, who is a bookworm! Even he found this book very exciting. So right now, when I start to read this book he is always next to me. The book is written with good humor and explanations to every aspect of the grammar. I read 10-15 min. per day, that's enough.

I think this book should be a "hand book" for every single person, no matter how old you are. Folks, don't even hesitate! Just go for it, buy it, and have pleaser by reading "Painless Grammar."

This is a wonderful book for anyone with questions regarding grammar. It explains the rules of grammar with humor and illustrations. This will definitely be an asset to most any classroom!!

Lisa

This book has given me such confidence in my writing. As a 40-something college student, it has helped me a lot!

If you told me that at the age of 72,I would be buying a book on Grammar,I would have thought you were kidding.My old,long since departed teacher would be flabbergasted.However; not more so, than that I would be writing Book Reviews;and voluntarily at that.He had convinced himself that my only interests were playing pool,chasing girls,eating and sleeping;though not necessarily in that order;but more likely all at the same time.
I can't say that the proper use of grammar and punctuation were the high points on my lists of things to perfect. I did know the difference between "principal" and "principle"(I remind myself that the Principal was my "pal").I remember to use "but also" when I use "not only" and a few other things. So,when I saw this book,I wondered if it could help me with sorting out the difference between "lie" and "lay". Sure enough; it was explained;and now I can see why it is so difficult. A half hour later,I was still thumbing through the book and finding all kinds of interesting stuff;so I bought it.I plan to keep it right beside my Dictionary and Thesaurus and expect I'll turn to it often.I suspect I will continue my loose ways with commas,semicolons,colons,dashes,hyphens dots(I didn't know they were called Ellipses) etc. ;but at least I'll have something to turn to when I want to find out what is "correct.
Each subject is followed with "Brain Ticklers" to help you see if you really understand the points.If you run out of exercises;you can alwys use my review for practice---the only problem is that you're on your own for answers.Feel free to e-mail me it corrected.
A great resource,or is that resourse,and long overdue,or is that over due.(or is this a question?)
It's not easy teaching old dogs new tricks!!
Don't forget ,English is a living language,and the rules keep changing all the time.Some live in the past,some are way ahead of the times;and then there are the rest of us---God knows where!!

Probably one of the best hip hop/rap books I've been able to find. They really go in depth with different genres and styles. The lists are amazing and you really must have a computer handy. You will find yourself looking up just about every song they list. Get ready to spend a fortune on itues as well as once you start to play the songs, you'll find that you just can't live without it. I bought one book for myself and one for a friend that works at an urban hip hop magazine in NY. He loves it as well.

this is a fantastic book! super informative and great trivia facts to stump your friends with. after all these years of owning it, i still go back to it to get a laugh or reminisce about the golden age of hiphop. a great book for any hip hop head.

Within this book is more information than any Hip Hop head or Rap music fan can handle. It Goes into forgotten beefs and incidents that have occured from 80 to 97. As well as a ton of other usefull information. I only have one problem... On page 236 "The House That Beef Built" #3 Goes on to say LL Cool J took out Kool Moe Dee in the infamous wax battle... But then on page 242 It states that during one of Kool Moe Dee's shows LL was in the crowd. Kool Moe Dee called him out but, LL refused. In my opinion that was a forfit. What do you think? Other than that... book is great!

Buy this! Great for laughs and serious topics alike, it is unputdownable. You will want to read it cover to cover then re read it. Excellent.

Pretty much everything that needs to be said has already been said here about this incredible book. Yes this book can rightly be considered the BIBLE of hip-hop history. Not only is it informative and entertaining, but it's done with tongue-in-cheek humor.
Now the reason why my review is biased is because I'm fortunate enough to be listed in this book. In 1983 I was part of the group Rickey G & the EverLOVING 5 MC's and we recorded the single "To The Max". Well... as far as I knew it was played a couple of times by Mr. Magic in New York, and that was about it. Yet lo and behold it's listed on the Holy Grail that is Hip Hop's Greatest Singles by Year (1983). The Editor's of this book have Exquisite Taste... but that's just my humble opinion. But in all seriousness, anyone who loves Hip Hop will thoroughly LOVE this book!

Recently, I have been fascinated by Alaska and the people that inhabit(ed) its interior. The life of Jim Huntington is to be admired by everyone. This book was a fast read and a real page turner. It is more adventurous than many fictional tails I have read. Excellent and should be read by everyone.

I think I bought the last eight copies, so please order more, Amazon. I teach high school in the Alaskan bush, and it is extremely difficult to find books that my non-readers enjoy reading that also have academic value. This book, and "Shadows on the Koyukuk" by Sidney Huntington, Jimmy's brother, have given my students insight into the transition between traditional Native culture and current native culture with its White influence and inclusion. My copies are going into the Alaska History tub of materials from our district resource center, to be shared by the other schools in our district. We will need more copies.

Jimmy Huntington wrote the best read I have seen in awhile--not too flowery, just basic truth. I loved it!!! Bonnie

Extremely captivating book. Well written and impossible to put down. I am constantly amazed at the willpower some of these people have to go through what they do.

First I kind of feel like apologizing for only giving this four stars. I really did like this book, and I really did find it well written, but five stars is kind of where I put Brothers Kharmazov. Having said that, this is a great story of life growing up in the wilds of northern Alaska. It begins with the 1,000 mile overland survival walk of the author's Indian mother across the tundra to return home after testifying in the trial of the murderer of her first husband. From there the hard fought life of her trapper son gets chronicled as he and his brother virtually raise themselves in the wilds of the frozen country. The beauty and wildness come through, but more than that the spirit of the author and his family in not only pulling themselves up with the own bootstraps, but doing it time and time again after losing everything to floods, fire, disease, and even peculiar laws.

There was so much territory to cover, fitting in a way for a book about Alaska, that some stories such as his dogsled races (Iditarod precursors) that the author won could've filled a whole book but get only enough ink here to leave the reader wanting more. In any case, it's a great book, and well worth your time. The story of a miner, trapper, dogsled racer, merchant and eventually politician. To use a cliche, among the last of a fading breed.

Even though this book is geared for the 6th-8th grade student, it offers sound advice in a clear, easy-to-understand style. Who needs a grammar book that's full of long, linguistical answer that no one can understand. If I'm stumped by a grammar question, I don't hesitate to pick up this fun reference tool.
Karen Reddick, author of Grammar Done Right!

Before ordering this book I've read many reviews. Those reviews helped me a lot to make the right decision. This book is just amazing for sharping your English grammar skill. You polish your English by learning little details. I'm a Junior in High School. I thought that my level of English grammar is pretty high, but till I started reading ''Painless Grammar" with all these small, tiny detail. My dad, is educated 52 years old teacher, who is a bookworm! Even he found this book very exciting. So right now, when I start to read this book he is always next to me. The book is written with good humor and explanations to every aspect of the grammar. I read 10-15 min. per day, that's enough.

I think this book should be a "hand book" for every single person, no matter how old you are. Folks, don't even hesitate! Just go for it, buy it, and have pleaser by reading "Painless Grammar."

This is a wonderful book for anyone with questions regarding grammar. It explains the rules of grammar with humor and illustrations. This will definitely be an asset to most any classroom!!

Lisa

This book has given me such confidence in my writing. As a 40-something college student, it has helped me a lot!

If you told me that at the age of 72,I would be buying a book on Grammar,I would have thought you were kidding.My old,long since departed teacher would be flabbergasted.However; not more so, than that I would be writing Book Reviews;and voluntarily at that.He had convinced himself that my only interests were playing pool,chasing girls,eating and sleeping;though not necessarily in that order;but more likely all at the same time.
I can't say that the proper use of grammar and punctuation were the high points on my lists of things to perfect. I did know the difference between "principal" and "principle"(I remind myself that the Principal was my "pal").I remember to use "but also" when I use "not only" and a few other things. So,when I saw this book,I wondered if it could help me with sorting out the difference between "lie" and "lay". Sure enough; it was explained;and now I can see why it is so difficult. A half hour later,I was still thumbing through the book and finding all kinds of interesting stuff;so I bought it.I plan to keep it right beside my Dictionary and Thesaurus and expect I'll turn to it often.I suspect I will continue my loose ways with commas,semicolons,colons,dashes,hyphens dots(I didn't know they were called Ellipses) etc. ;but at least I'll have something to turn to when I want to find out what is "correct.
Each subject is followed with "Brain Ticklers" to help you see if you really understand the points.If you run out of exercises;you can alwys use my review for practice---the only problem is that you're on your own for answers.Feel free to e-mail me it corrected.
A great resource,or is that resourse,and long overdue,or is that over due.(or is this a question?)
It's not easy teaching old dogs new tricks!!
Don't forget ,English is a living language,and the rules keep changing all the time.Some live in the past,some are way ahead of the times;and then there are the rest of us---God knows where!!

the book was great son and husband read it fast shipping and in good shape

this is a must read for the bill elliot fan and nascar fans

i am reading the book and so for i have enjoyed it very much and i am finding out what a hard time bill had in his racing career

It was very interesting to read Bill's own story on NASCAR racing and his career. He has not ordinarily been to loose with his words in the past, so it was refreshing to get his views and opinions first hand. He was generally very complimentary towards his fellow competitiors, but was quite critical of NASCAR concerning the safety issue and the death of Earnhardt. A good read from one of racings finest and classiest drivers.

All I can say is...AWESOME BOOK. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 15.

The beautiful designs in this book come in a wide range of difficulty levels, making it enjoyable for both the beginner and the advanced stitcher. It also provides several different types of projects, from towels to tablecloths, tapestries to framed designs. Directions for how to make these different projects appear in the back of the book as well as a helpful guide to stitches for those just starting out. I beautiful collection fit for any stitcher who enjoys Asian art.

This book is really terrific. Wonderful designs presented with excellent photos, directions and graphs. I look forward to stitching many projects from this fantastic book.

Great collection of Japan-inspired cross-stitch projects! Illustrations are in excellent color, stitching charts are very large, i.e. for those projects A4 or larger size, the stitching chart is split between 3-4 pages, each containing a quarter of the design. I spent about 2 days just enjoying the book itself and now I can't wait to start on my very first project. As an admirer of "everything Japanese" I also really liked that the author wrote up a sort of cultural intro to each design, explaining her choices of colors, etc. as it relates to Japanese tradition.

I bought this book at Borders, and my mom and I got so excited over it. Finally, a cross-stitch book devoted to just oriental patterns! Once I got it home, I couldn't wait to get started on one. The toughest decision was which one to start first!

The great thing about this book is that beginners and more advanced stitchers can find enjoyment in the designs. And thankfully, small patterns does not equal too-simplistic designs. Even the small ones, 2"x3" are beautiful. And the larger ones are detailed without being too difficult (no having to combine two colors for shading purposes). They even give you instructions in the back on how to turn the finished products into pillows, bags, and other little things. Because the small ones are all around the same size, the possibilities are numerous. I've had the book for about a year, and so far I have made one of the large designs and a small one, and I am currently working on the design featured on the front cover. A little tip: if your eyes can stand using 18 count fabric, the end result looks SO much better than 14 count. But either way, it's a spectacular book and is well worth the money. I couldn't recommend it more.

The designs are beautiful, but the recommended fabric is Rustico Aida by Zweigart. This fabric is very difficult to get, and not one I'd use for showcase stitching--which these could be. I would recommend stitching these on a linen evenweave.