Elliott Books

Louisa Elliott was a good historical romance with more of a focus on romance than history. The story focus is on the romance of an illegitimate woman, Louisa Elliott with a Royal Dragoon captain, Robert Duncannon. Louisa's cousin (also illegitimate) is secretly in love with Louisa as well.

I enjoyed the characters, but I thought that Robert was the most richly drawn character. I thought that Louisa's cousin Edward wasn't very believable as a real person--seemed very flat. Louisa's choices through out the novel are not believable at times. Charlotte wasn't a very believable character, either. I also had a problem with the first cousins in love.

I would have enjoyed more background information on the Royal Dragoons, and some of the military conflicts going on in the background becoming more of a focus of the story.

I would recommend this to someone who enjoys historical romances, not historical fiction with a bit of romance.

This has got to be one of my favorite books of all time! A great deal is set in York, England (love that city!) and Ms. Roberts' excellent descriptions can make you see what it must have been like in the 19th century. Her characters come to life! By the time you've finished the book, you feel like you've made new friends!

I read both Louisa Elliott and Mornings Gate, the sequal and just loved them both! The dual time line in Mornings Gate was done in such a way, that you just wanted to cry when the time line shifted. Then, you get so engrossed in the other time line, you have to cry again when that ends. I loved Liam, and almost burned our Thanksgiving turkey in the oven: I was too upset and involved in the story! Both are fantastic reads, and MUST reading!

This has got to be one of my favorite books of all time! A great deal is set in York, England (love that city!) and Ms. Roberts' excellent descriptions can make you see what it must have been like in the 19th century. Her characters come to life! By the time you've finished the book, you feel like you've made new friends!

I have just finished reading Louisa Elliott and Mornings Gate for the second time (within a period of 3 years). Mornings Gate is the continuation of the story about the Elliott family, with the children growing up, maturing and going into war. Each time I did not want the story to end. I love the Elliott family and especially Liam. The love story of Liam and Georgina was beautiful, and Ms. Robert's description of the battlefields and fighting in "the war to end all wars," World War I, was so real, it could be happening now.

These books were very powerful and real to me. I am filled with sadness that there is no more to tell about this family -- unless the modern-day romance of Zoe and Stephen and their search of their Elliott family roots could develop into another book!

I was transfixed by this well-written account of a Mount Hermon legend. I attended the school in 1951-52 and remember it fondly. Reading about people and buildings and locations with which I am, even after all these years, familiar, the story was very real to me. I found the experience compelling and commend it to others.

Murder At Mount Hermon: The Unsolved Killing Of Headmaster Elliott Speer is a true crime story concerning the 1934 murder of a thirty-five-year old school administrator, whose efforts to bring progressive reform to the tradition-bound Christian prep school earned the good graces of many students and faculty. A shotgun blast through his study window killed him, and the murder was front-page news nationwide, yet no criminal was ever charged. Veteran attorney Craig Walley pieces together the clues of history and dares even to indicate the most likely killer. A fascinating, fact-filled study of murder and the shortcomings of a 1930's homicide investigation.

Love this revisit to the unsolved murder case of Elliott Speer. The author's distinction voice and detailed descriptions truly bring the case and the characters alive.

As a student at Northfield Mount Hermon in the early 1970s, little was said about the unsolved murder of former Headmaster Elliott Speer. I recall a rumor that the gun used in the killing was somewhere on the bottom of the school's Shadow Lake. Craig Walley's well-researched and -written book examines that rumor and many more in an absorbing murder mystery. Murder at Mount Hermon captures the school's history and religious roots, and how the forward-thinking Speer's efforts to break from the past and move the school and its students into a new era sealed his fate. While the murder remains unsolved, Walley's book comes closer than ever before to finding the "smoking gun."

The 1934 murder of Mount Hermon School for Boys Headmaster Elliott Speer remains unsolved today, legally speaking. What youngster could resist such a mystery's allure? Not Craig Walley, a Mount Hermon student from 1957 through 1961. During the years afterward, throughout his career as an attorney, Walley thought about it often. In 2001 he decided to research the case and write this book.

MURDER AT MOUNT HERMON tells the story, provides its background, and analyzes the available evidence with an attorney's precision. I think it's safe to say that you'll come away from it certain you know the murderer's name and understand his motives. More case study than murder mystery, the book reaches for broader relevance - and for a connection to our 21st Century present - by speaking of another time when "Fundamentalism" and "Modernism" clashed. Did that clash at Northfield and Mount Hermon, sister schools founded by the great 19th Century evangelist D.L. Moody, lay the groundwork for Elliott Speer's murder? To answer this intriguing question for yourself, you'll have to read the book.

This book is fantastic for planning your trip between countries and used in conjunction with other travel books detailing the countries you're going to. I found myself relying more and more on it alone as a reference guide as I became more comfortable traveling, as it highlights the things to see / how to get there, and leaves the details to the traveler. I also found people fascinated by its hand-drawn maps (beware trying to get the book back from a crowd- including other travelers!). Now that I'm back, it's the only book that completed my journey with me, and resides in a place of honor on my bookshelf, tattered, dog-eared and stained.

I have read and perused many a travel book in my time and I have to say this one is a model for which others should be judged by. I have used travel books extensively through the 100 or so countries I have been to and I wish more travel tomes could match the authors love, maps and general details in their work as these two young fellas have....

I have known Mark Elliott for seven years and can honestly say that the man knows what he's talking about. He is, in short, a "professional traveler", making his way from Brighton to Bishkek and back with little more than a cheap backpack, a harmonica, and a sure sense of how to find his way among the labyrinths of the Asian hinterlands. He always returns with several nights' worth of good stories (to be told over a pint or three) and a collection of painstakingly accurate notes and maps of his travels. I have used the materials he sent me through private correspondence and found them to be unfailingly helpful, pointing out cheapskate tips and sightseeing suggestions that I hadn't found anywhere else. If you're interested in being a modern-day traveler of the Old Silk Road, then by all means get this book. It will point your feet in the right direction and open your eyes to cultures far removed from anything you could imagine while logged on to a computer, shopping for books. My copy also doubled as a pillow after a night of beers and Dixie dancing in a little outdoor bar along the streets of Turfan (but that's another story ...)

I used Asia Overland for the first 8 months of a 13 month trip and found it to be excellent. It is written by two guys who are just travellers themselves and have an excellent idea of what is essential when arriving to a strange new place where you do not speak the language.

At the core of the book are simple schematic maps of each country/area with notes written on them which rate and describe destinations, give travel times and costs, and even give recommendations of guesthouses or restaurants. More detailed maps are provided for large cities or areas particularily dense with things of interest. The format is very easy to understand and allows planning at a glance rather than by reading through pages of cross-referenced text. Again their grasp of what information is essential was nothing short of incredible. The book also contains a dirth of border-crossing info and tells you which visas you will need and where you can acquire them. From their own accounts they understood the border rules better than the border guards did on a few occasions.

More than the information it provides Asia Overland is a well written quidebook. Mark and Wil are extremely upbeat writers. Their senses of humor and personal accounts really made me want to go to all the places they wrote about. In summary the book is informative, accurate, entertaining and inspirational. If you are planning a trip to Asia, one country in Asia, or just trying to think of some destinations to visit, I highly recommend reading this book.

This book is excellent and essential reading for those of us who want to do an epic journey but also like to have help overcoming transport and beauracratic obstacles. I think the optimal would be to use this book in concert with a lonely planet style book as they cover different topics. This book is mainly a transport and visa stratgy guide with some helpful hints on routing. The LP books get the finer details on the budget accomodation for more cities.

This book has everything I look for in a novel, and then some! It is thought provoking, witty, intelligent, and leaves you feeling inspired to do something to help. The author has done some superb research into the severe treatment of animals in laboratory environments, but you don't have to be a crusader to empathize with these wonderful creatures as described in this this book. I could NOT put it down. This is a must read.

Elliott Light's second book in the SmallTown Mystery Series, CHAIN THINKING, is a quick and easy read that leaves you with plenty to chew on long after you put the book down.

Elliot Light's second book in the SmallTown Mystery Series is a quick and easy read that leaves you with plenty of thoughts to chew on long after you put the book down. I can't wait to see what the next book holds for Shep circumstantially (as things just seem to fall into his lap) and personally.

Elliott Light's CHAIN THINKING was the perfect tapestry of mystery, drama, animal rights, and the law. The story begins with a 'big bang' and doesn't stop running from there. I was drawn to his protagonist Shep Harrington, the reluctant hero/detective/lawyer, through whose eyes and voice we are reminded of the injustices our society imposes upon chimpanzees and other animals for our own selfish purposes. Mr. Light is able to convey a strong message without being preachy. I also enjoyed Shep's dry sense of humor. I promise you'll pick up the book and finish it in one read.

One reason that society's ethics advance so slowly is that the reasons for advance are hidden behind the facts and figures of dry scientific papers and textbooks that remain unread by anyone but scientists and a few geeks like me. The facts and figures generated by the African slave trade were ample cause to end such an abomination, but it was not until Uncle Tom's Cabin came along that people actually sat up and took notice.

Elliott Light's new mystery novel, Chain Thinking, has the potential to awaken the public to the plight of chimpanzees being used in biomedical research in a way that scholarly publications simply have not done. In this story, the newest addition to his Shep Harrington Smalltown Mystery series, Light introduces his readers to a world of corporate greed that has little concern for the suffering it leaves in its wake.

Like all good mysteries, Chain Thinking compels the reader to turn yet another page and follow the story through its unexpected twists and turns. Whether you are a mystery aficionado, a Shep Harrington fan, or someone interested in the animal research industry's darker secrets and devious behavior, you will surely find Chain Thinking an eye-opening and surprising story. Shep Harrington is a hero for our times.

For the animal rights crowd, Chain Thinking will make a great gift for friends and family members who refuse to read a graphic expose. Before they know it, they will be cheering for the animals. Go Shep!

This is one of the better books about Old South/New South questions I've read. It's also timely and prescient in its ecological conceit--a father son team tear down and basically recycle cluster mansions in an attempt to return the land to its natural state. The attempt is financed by money earned from an investment in a computer company. The book does an excellent job of raising big questions in elegant prose. It's also filled with wonderful, complex characters (including a cameo from a snapping turtle named Eddie) and some fantastically drawn female characters. The book passes with flying colors the important (for me) literary test of evoking a wide range of complex emotions in almost every scene. In some ways the book reminds me of Gatsby but it also calls to mind some of the work of really good "Southern" writers like Walker Percy, Peter Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. I could see this being a great addition to a survey of Southern Literature. One of the better contemporary novels I've read (Southern or just American) in some time.

I knew nothing about this book until I saw it featured in a book review of our Sunday newspaper. I am very glad that I purchased and read this book.

This new author has not published some "spy or mystery" novel as so many other authors need to do; rather, he has purlished a wonderful book about conflicts of people, young and old, parents and children, children and children, and man and woman. His descriptons of the places and characters of his book are detailed and wonderful and keep the reader in "visual" contact with the story. The emotions of the characters and the subtle twists of fate are very believable by the reader.

This is a wonderful read. It is a great change from the standard and mostly predictable books that are now being published and affords the reader with an enjoyable story and time spent with the characters.

It is unfortunate that this novel is a first time book by an unknown author. If it was published by a more famous author it would receive the attention it deserves. I just hope that Mr. Elliott does not attempt to revert to standard story lines in his next book, one that I will be anticipating.

"Coiled in the Heart" sweeps the reader along with its melancholy nostalgia -- the Big E's lyrical passages are worth revisiting again and again. Elliott builds his wonderfully poignant story of loss and penance to an ending that is both hopeful yet enigmatic; we hope for the best for our hero, yet we can't help fearing the worst.

Told in a series of flashbacks from the present day to events in the distant and not-too-distant past, Tobia's story is one of struggling to overcome several obstacles -- the weight of family history, the adoration lavished on a sports hero who doesn't feel the same love for the game, the hurdle of his own potential, and, worst of all, the crushing guilt of a dirty trick gone horribly, horribly wrong. At times almost paralyzed by fear and self-doubt, Tobia seeks for his true calling and is always asking the deep question -- is this what I am meant to do? Fortunately for the reader, Tobia is suffuciently opaque that what often appears to be the easy answer just isn't enough.

"Coiled in the Heart" would have received five stars, but Elliott made two of his less-than-admirable characters, the Goodhopes, Carolina and Duke grads, and as any Southerner knows, some things are just unforgiveable.

Elliott's characters are rich with emotion and detail without being overwrought. Not only is this an entertaining read, but it has something important to say about being human. A must read!

The pivotal scene at the river, to name but one highlight, is unforgettable. Elliott is a fine writer.

I found Mr. Lewis's approach to exploring multiracial issues down-to-earth and mindful of historical context, and this sets his book apart from some of the other works addressing the same subject matter. I used an entire pack of Post-Its marking pages containing uncommon insights and/or useful information. Thanks for a great read! -Louie Gong, MAVIN Foundation

This book covers the shared experiences, both historical and psychological, of multiracial individuals.

This book is about what every multiracial person knows. This book is also teaches the reader the things every teacher, parent and partner of a multiracial person needs to know.

This was a wonderful and lively work touching on a very timely topic in the ever shifting demographic make up of our country. Elliott provides fresh views in a personable way that helped me with discussions with my own children in accepting those that may come from bi-racial families. Wonderfully eye opening and very touching. It's a great read!

I found this to be a very illuminating read. Elliott Lewis looks at multiple facets of the lives of mixed-race persons in America, and the book will be an eye-opener especially for readers who have little exposure to the subject. This is no dry sociology text: the style is lively and loaded with anecdotes and interviews that bring the topic to life. Lewis' observations on the formation of racial identities in children - and the unique challenges for multiracial kids who find themselves forced to "choose" - are of particular interest. This is a timely subject and Lewis is an engaging writer - definitely give this one a try!

Elliott Lewis travels the country, but mostly the West Coast, and talks to biracial people about their experiences and activism. He gets the point across that mixed-race people are seen by different people differently in different settings. He also does a great job in showing how they want to be recognized in their wholeness.
Mr. Lewis has a unique positionality. Like Lisa Bonet's and Lenny Kravitz's daughter, he is mixed on both sides. His status as a second-generation biracial person is fascinating and fresh.
The late legal scholar Trina Grillo, who was also biracial and wrote on biracial persons, once stated, "It used to be that biracial issues never came up, now you can't turn on the TV without hearing about it." I was worried that this book would just rehash what other books have already stated. I was pleased to be proven incorrect. This had interesting topical chapters. I think both experts and novices can enjoy this book.
Near the end of the book, the author admits the text's most serious flaw: it almost entirely covers black-white mixed people like himself. He gives all this focus on black-white individuals, yet lists numbers that prove there are more white-Latino, white-Asian, and white-Native people than there are white-blacks. I think people from these groups will be gravely disappointed. This book shamelessly falls into "the black-white paradigm" that Latino and Asian-American scholars have lamented.
When he does mention others besides Eurafricans, he focuses on Eurasians. However, the most common interracial couple in the United States is made up of one Latino spouse and one white spouse. The children of couples like Ricky and Lucy make up the majority of mixed folks, yet they are virtually ignored. Lewis never mentions Bill Richardson, Christina Aguilera, Raquel Welch, Benjamin Bratt and numerous other Anglo-Latins. Latinos are now the most numerous group of color in the US, yet they get no attention here. Further, those mixed-race people who are fully of color, like Tiger Woods, get ignored just like they did in Rachel Moran's interracial text. The black and white colors on the front of the book signify the black-white focus here. "Fade" does not just refer to diminishing colors, but also a hairstyle popular among African-American men in the late 1980s.
While the author quotes many male biracial writers, most of his interviewees are female. My Spidey sense tells me that biracial issues may be more salient to women than men. This book seems to hint at that during its discussion on exoticization.
Mr. Lewis mentions that there are more biracials on the West Coast than in the East. Again, I think this can be explained by the heavy white-brown and white-yellow mixing over there compared to the rare black-white mixing east of the Mississippi River.
In a similar fashion that Spike Lee often creates characters in the arts like himself, Mr. Lewis paid especial attention to biracial people working in the media and from Washington State.
I think the author may have fudged a fact in the book. He says that the late NAACP head Walter White was only 1/64th Black. However, Wikipedia says Walter White had 5 great-grandparents and 17 white ones; that's about a quarter Black.
The author has a photo of himself on the back cover. This is similar to the photos in Maria Root's multiracial books. I guess visuality is important in this area. Whatever the cause, one gets to see that Mr. Lewis is incredibly cute.
This book would be good for people of all ages. It has good quotes for students writing papers in college or high school.

This book is a wonderful book for beginning hibernate. It has the right balance of theory and practice, and it is always right to the point and concise. I used it to get up to speed on hibernate 3 after not touching hibernate for two and a half years, and it was exactly what I needed. The paper quality is pretty bad, like some others have noted. However, I have read through about 70% of it (the only 70% I am going to read) and the paper/binding has shown no sign of deterioration, so do not let that keep you from reading it.

'Harnessing Hibernate' is a great resource for learning more about and how to use the Hibernate technology to map Java code to relational databases and vice versa. In today's programming world you want to be able to create object that directly map to database tables and fields. Not only does this allow for persistence and good scalability, it hides the SQL stuff that can otherwise make for difficult programming and puts them into familiar classes instead. Before this book there really wasn't great resources out on the market for learning about this technology but that is no longer the case. With 350+ pages spread over 14 chapters, good writing and separation of content this is a must have for all seasoned Java database and Hibernate developers.

***** RECOMMENDED

While I was at work one day, I decided to write the persistence layer of an application that my team was working on. I had minimal experience with Hibernate because I had worked on another project where a coworker implemented the persistence layer and used Hibernate. I got to see a bit of the magic that Hibernate provides, and I thought it would be excellent for my current project. My problem was that I did not really know how to set everything up.

I searched on Amazon for books about Hibernate, and I wanted to make sure I bought one that was fairly current so that I could see how to use it with the latest technologies. I came upon Harnessing Hibernate which is only a few months old. Even though there were only two reviews, after reading them, I decided to take a chance on this book. Wow, these reviewers were exactly right!

The authors take you through a music cataloging project. Their progression through the concepts is nothing short of amazing. They seem to give the perfect amount of detail and explanation at each step, and then you begin to form questions in your mind. They seem to anticipate them, because these questions always seem to be answered in the next section.

I should inform you that I often dislike reading books on computer technologies. I find that most authors tend to make the books as dry as possible, going on and on, ad nauseam, about every detail and idiosyncrasy of the topic. The authors of Harnessing Hibernate, however, make the book completely enjoyable to read. Their style is conversational, and they do not try to talk over anyone's head. They give you plenty of useful information that you can use immediately, and inform you of other sources to investigate if you want more information on a particular aspect of the material.

Anyway, if you want to learn Hibernate in a clear and concise manner, then you will not be disappointed if you buy this book. It will keep you reading, and you won't fall asleep while doing so. And hey, you'll understand all of the material and you will even learn a lot about Hibernate! I do not give complements lightly, but this is indeed a perfect book.

I just got this book in the mail last week, as it was just recently released. From reaing it, I can tell you that it carries on the tradition of high quality editing and content that we expect from O'Riely books.

There has been a real lack of good, up to date, READABLE books about Hibernate on the market. You only have to scan amazon to see some of the horrible reviews many books have received. But this book is excellent, and I can assure you that many five star reviews will follow this one.

Harnessing Hibernate is a fine book, which uses the most efficient ways to achieve its goal. Though focusing on Hibernate, the book enlists the usage of various frameworks such as Spring Framework, Stripes and Maven.


Part I: Hibernate in a hurry: The core

Build:
The book starts with how you should build which used to be a dread. The authors choose to use Ant - Maven task, which is cool. I use Maven directly, but that's beside the point. Both approaches are better than finding the JARs on the web.

Database:
HSQLDB is what the book recommends and for some reason it makes sense . It really is the best way to go. I am not suggesting to format your Oracle DB server and install HSQLDB; but I am suggesting you stay focused and worry about the big DB later; the book goes back to a larger DB; so don't worry too much right now.

The Project Hierarchy:
This one, I must admit, I do not care for; I think Maven directory structure is better and one should not have to create this manually, but that's probably personal. This is later reviewed in Chapter 12: Maven in More Depth.

Core hibernate:
The book doesn't mess around too much. It explains how to configure hibernate and before long you find your hands in hibernate mapping. From chapter 2 through chapter 9 you'll find yourself in the core of Hibernate: mapping, hibernate configuration, persistent objects (creating and finding), collections and associations, richer associations, custom value types, annotations, criteria queries and a look at HQL.

Part II: Playing nice with others: beyond the core

MySQL - a nice short intro to MySQL is shown.

Hibernate and Eclipse - yes, this is in here too (and up to date Eclipse v3.3). And just in time for you to get ready for a later chapter, Spring and Hibernate, which is the way J2EE is going anyway (lightweight).

Maven in more depth - Maven does not have many books out there and this is a very nice in depth explanation. If you think you've gotten short changed, take a look at Java Power Tools (you'll love that book too). The chapter is enough to get you moving with Maven, and if your Maven experience is anything like mine, you'll never go back to Ant.

Hibernate and Spring - this book could not have gotten any better than this. Spring, is like a dream. Rod Johnson, Colin Sampaleanu and team have done it well. Unlike the other monolithic approach, Spring takes advantage of already existing frameworks and offers this invisible layer to allow you to focus on what's important; your business code... and, of course, the book delivers. It shows you how Spring simplifies Hibernate development. If you're new to layered development a la separation of concerns (SoC) the book first introduces you to the DAO pattern. It then continues with the reason so many of us like the Spring framework: HibernateDAOSupport and the HibernateTemplate. Although I prefer to use the HibernateTemplate directly and avoid loosing my one chance at inheritance, I agree with the book examples. The authors are tying to help you understand what kind of support Spring offers.

Stripes with Spring and Hibernate - Now, the book could just end here and be done with it, but no, it continues with the web app. I mean, wow. The book ends with style. It uses Tomcat - and I think it does it to prove a point. You don't need a fancy big server to get J2EE running these days. Stripes is a cool project to work with and I thank the authors for introducing me to a framework I was clueless about.

This book is truly amazing. If you're looking for an in-depth approach to Hibernate take a look at Java Persistence with Hibernate. If, however, you're an impatient developer this is the book for you. I think it offers just enough in-depth theory and it keeps you awake with frequent easy to understand code.

James Elliott, Timothy M. O'Brien and Ryan Fowler; I thank you all for writing this book.

/.Will

Once you understand and assimilate the discoveries about human capability that Jaques & Cason presents in this book a whole new world of understanding people will open up. And from that, there is no return. Your understanding of behaviour, past, present and future, hasn't been added to as adding just one more piece. You will instead have the foundation without which no people-puzzles may be completed.

The Fundation for understand Mental Processing Capability and Handling Complexity. Very simple and powerfull application in everyday situations. Like 'THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE' [Peter M. Senge] this is a great book about HUMAN PRESENT AND FUTURE possibilities ... JUST READ THIS!

Dr. Jaques is re-writing our understanding of the human mind and how to use it best. Forget IQ, Meyers-Briggs, and the other flim-flam out there. This book offers us the hope that we can work to our potential without overload, balance our task output and spiritual needs at work, and organize our companies as effectively as possible, without sacrificing our humanity. So far every criticism I've seen leveled at Jaques has proven baseless. High level writing may put off some, but this is great research work.

Elliott Jaques devised a system for analyzing executive ability based upon an individual's time horizon--the maximum period of time in the future toward which his/her work activities were aimed in their performance. He reached this conclusion during extensive, longitudinal, empirical studies in England. His series of books reflect his elaboration and extension of this finding. He worked, for a time, with Dr. Owen Jacobs of the U.S. Army (and then the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, ICAF). Jaques prior, groundbreaking book, "Requisite Organization" is more pictorial than "Executive Leadership" or this volume. While the present work may be oriented more towards human resource personnel, it is also useful to practicing executives. After reading it, I bought a copy (and of "Executive Leadership" too) and loaned it to my boss! I wish more bosses would read Jaques' works--and carefully at that. The charts provided are engaging and thought-provoking. The more extensive, "Executive Leadership" preceded this book in sequence. Jaques wrote "Human Capability" with is wife and publisher: Kathryn Cason. It is a fine sequel to "Executive Leadership", adding some additional perspectives on the ways people perceive and think and it completes the time-horizon charts that Jaques developed over time and published in this fine series. These books are most strongly recommended for serious students and practitioners of management as well as human resource professionals. They go far in attempting to move management into management science.

This book presents the results of a three year study by Jaques and Cason, providing a major breakthrough in understanding human capability, intelligence, and development. An outcome of this study is further development of managerial practices to match people with roles and develop training and development programs. This is a highly interesting and informative volume that will be of significant value to all HR professionals whose agenda includes HRD and the cultivation of an organization's human capital. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates and HRconsultant.com InfoCenter.

My daughter will be 3 in April and we discovered this book at the library while picking out books after story time. She wants to read this one every night at bedtime, so I plan to buy it for her for her birthday. I echo all the other reviews, and agree that I think it is one that should be in every child's library! Even though the situations in the book happen to "raccoon children" they are real life situations that could happen to any "human child". Great job!

I bought this book for my nephew who is named Hunter!
It's a great story--with a message, but not in a pushy way.
Peer pressure is a difficult subject to address; this book handles it superbly!!

Ms. Elliot has followed up her acclaimed book for young adults, "Under a War-Torn Sky", with a charming new book for 2-6 year olds. My children love to hear about the little racoon's dilemma about following along with his best pal's naughty antics versus trying to inspire his friend to behave as his "best self." The story is wonderfully entertaining (my son walks around quoting his favorite characters' lines!), the illustrations are adorable, and the book teaches a valuable message for kids of all ages. Hunter has become my children's favorite book -- I highly recommend it!

This is an adorable book which will grab a child's attention from the beginning. I think this must become a staple for every kindergarten classroom. I was in public education at the kindergarten level. The lesson taught here on "peer" pressure, is a lesson that cannot be taught too early in a child's school career. The illustrations are wonderful too! Ms. Elliott and Ms. Munsinger, congratulations! You have done it again!

As an educator of young children for over twenty-five years, I find Hunter's Best Friend at School by Laura Elliott to be one of the best books I have ever read, dealing with being true to one's self. All children want to be liked and often do things that they would not otherwise do, just to be accepted. Hunter and Stripe are such friends, yet with the help of his mother and his teacher, Hunter is able to set an example that encourages Stripe to be "his best self." This book is absolutely delightful and entertaining. The words, the illustrations, the message of being true to oneself is certainly needed in today's world. I read it to a Kindergarten class that was spellbound by the second page. The school librarian is going to order one copy for each of the primary classes at our school. My own grandsons, age five and seven, were touched by Hunter's example, with the five-year-old saying, "my eyes are getting wet from hearing that story" and the seven-year-old saying, "I have that problem with my friend." Out of the mouth of babes is a telling review of this wonderful book and I would encourage every parent and grandparent to include it in their children's library as soon as possible.

For those of you who know the expression "The Bible" when referring to lonely planet guides you know that this book is a must have when heading into distant lands. It is a great source of information both historically and on a day to day use. In its own, it is a great traveling companion. The format of this guide is less appealing than the older versions where they separated sections of main importance, transportation (internal flights and how much they may cost), money and weather as examples. Before it was easier to obtain this important information.

Indonesia is amazingly diverse. Their national motto, "Bhinneka tunggal ika" ("Unity in diversity") is a testament to that. As such, writing a guidebook encompassing the whole is a feat in and of itself. This guide provides a historical overview, potential itineraries based on your time availability and interests, and lots of useful practical information. The section on each province provides more detailed background.

See this as an initial guidebook to help plan your trip. If you know where you're going - say, Bali and Lombok - you may be better off finding a specific guidebook. But if one is not available, this is a great choice.

Although I'm not a fan of Lonely Planet,this guide is exemplary!I have used it during my 3-month journey around Indonesia and it turned out to be my Bible. It is accurate,informative (on culture included), with deep knowledge of all aspects of this incredible and diverse part of the world,and exudes,throughout,true love for the country and people.It is more than obvious that the writers have been to the places they write about,did a lot of on-the-spot research and have missed very few things,usually details (e.g the procession of the Sultan of Ternate on the 15th day of the Ramadan,which,because of that,I had missed!).

This is by far the best book of the Lonely Planet series I have come across until now(of more than 30 LP books I have consulted,wholly or in part,over a period of years)and I dare claim that it is one of the top-5 guidebooks(of any publisher)I have ever used--fullstop...or rather...exclamation!

Just received this brand new 8th edition of Lonely Planet's Indonesia. In one word: perfect! I read some chapters about Bali and Moluccan islands and every page is really filled with recent information, completely rewritten in the second part of 2006 by a professional team of specialized authors. Besides the wealth of practical travel information, much effort is taken to write about political en geographical backgrounds. Short paragraphs deal with the dramatic developments of the last few years, like those in the Moluccan and North-Sumatran regions and disasters like tsunami in the west and earthquakes on Java. The people who wrote this fine edition of Lonely Planet's Indonesia did their job with enthusiasm and give the best up-to-date travel information you can get!

This is currently by default both the best overall guide to Indonesia for independent travellers, and the only one that is remotely up to date.
The competition (Moon, Footprint, Rough Guides) seems to have given up covering this vast archipelago years ago. For this reason alone, the book still gets 4 stars from me, despite some shortcomings and amusingly striking errors outlined later.
It definitely covers enough attractions to keep people occupied for months, and is more than enough for those with an average interest in the country.
As usual with this series, it covers practical details like prices, public transport and city maps, though unusually for Lonely Planet, many prices in this book (especially for public transport and guiding services) seem to be the result of guesswork by the authors, and even a year after the book was published, I found that they were actually considerably LOWER than those listed here!
There is also more than enough background information about culture and history for most readers, although unfortunately some useful things that were still present in the previous edition, like an overview of national parks and the longer lists of recommended books about various aspects and regions of the country have now been removed. Many less frequented islands, towns and areas that were still described in several previous editions have now been omitted, too.
On a brighter note, there is realistic, up to date assesment of the much-improved security situation in formerly strife-torn regions like Aceh and Maluku, encouraging tourists to return there.

Unfortunately, coverage of the remoter, less-visited regions remains poor.
The chapter on Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) has finally seen some long overdue changes, with non-existing attractions removed and real ones added, but info on almost anything outside the big, boring, modern coastal cities (which are covered in masochistic detail) is so vague that it makes one wonder if the author has ever left the urban jungles at all. My impression is that if she did, she certainly didn't get far!
That is still better than the chapter on Papua (Indonesian New Guinea).
Long the weakest, nearly useless part of this guide, one gets the impression that the Japanese lady "updating" it for this edition has never set foot there, and thus simply lifted all content over from the previous guides, updating hotel and transport prices with the aid of her telephone. Her information about how to cross the border with Papua New Guinea is spectacularly wrong, and there is almost nothing in that chapter that hadn't been there in the previous editions.

There are also some striking errors in the general sections dealing with the whole country.
As in the previous edition, the color section on "Indonesian" fauna proudly includes a shot of a Green Iguana from South America, this time with the added caption "Iguanas can be found in parks such as Taman Nasional Bali Barat" - in reality there are no iguanas anywhere in Asia. Similarly, the "Beguiling Beasties" itinerary recommended for wildlife fans says "you can try spotting the rare bird of paradise on the islands around Pulau Biak". Ironically, Biak and its neighbouring islands happen to be the ONLY part of Papua where there are NO birds of paradise! ;-) Plus covering that entire itinerary would take you several months (which your visa won't allow), and even then you would still have to skip the Foja Mountains of Papua (highly recommended by the author based on news reports) which are in reality so remote and inaccessible that even well-supported scientific expeditions have only made it there a few times.
But my favourite blunder is in the Getting there & Away chapter at the back of the book, listing international border crossings, where the author says "...there are two boats a week between Dili in East Timor and Oecussi in [Indonesian] West Timor." A boat on that route does exist, the only slight difference being that both of those towns are in independent East Timor, outside the borders of Indonesia!
Couldn't LP get authors who at least know where Indonesia ends and its neighbours start this time??? :-)

So those with a deeper interest in Indonesia, or with an interest in a particular region, might prefer more detailed, regional guides to those areas - there are several covering Bali & Lombok to choose from, Lonely Planet has great (if ageing) guides to Java and Nusa Tenggara, while Periplus has eight separate ones to all parts of the country, though the Periplus ones are best backed up with this book for practical details.

Those who have already been to Indonesia and own the previous edition of this book, might as well just keep it instead of investing into this new effort. Most of the content is exactly the same (or missing), with only the layout and prices changed - and the prices will have changed again by the time you get to Indonesia anyway.

For first-timers, this remains the best single-volume guide to buy though - even if only by default.