F Books

I bought this book sight-unseen as part of Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion. When it arrived, my first thought was that it was way too sweet... "Oh Gag!" came to mind. However, I pulled it out a few nights later and read it to my baby girl at bedtime and liked it. I pulled it out again the next night, and the next. It quickly became one of our favorites. It is an especially nice way to end a day that didn't go so well - too much whining, too much stress, too much everything - this is a nice little book to share at bedtime to calm down, slow down, and relax.

My son thinks he is the boy in this book. This might be in part because I like to insert his name in the title and question that is asked in the book: How do I love you ______? I like to end with I love you ____. We own the board book version and it is a bedtime favorite. Our family discovered P.K. Hallinan (who does his own illustrations) when we purchased a copy of A Rainbow of Friends. Hallinan has written and illustrated several children's books; another of his books, similar to How Do I Love You? (though not quite as good) is ABC I Love You - this book has a brother and sister in it, so I can read it to my son and daughter together, and they can both be in the story. :-)

Reinforces the unconditional love between a parent and a child in a cute little rhyme. There have been times when my own kids have gone through one of the same things this kiddo goes through, and I quote part of the poem to them---for example "I love the way you act so brave when you fall and hurt your knee" or "and even though it may not show, i love you when you're bad." My kids love it, and I mean every word when I read it to them.

This book is so sweet. It makes me stop and appreciate all the little things about our boys that can drive us crazy.
"Even when you lose your shoes, I love you just the same," she says, and the picture shows a little boy in his church clothes with his pants rolled up like he played in the creek. I love cuddling with my little boys and loving on them while we read it.

Our 4 kids absolutely love this book, so do I! :)- This is a frequent request! What a cozy book!

This is a great great book. If you are familiar with the authors' adversary cycle you will know this was the last book of the six. Let me say that he saved the best for last. This book is a horrific page turner from start to finish. Trust me when I say you will enjoy.

Wilson wrapped up his entire pantheon of characters from his horror novels in this one. I first read this without having read The Touch, Reborn, or Reprisal. Although I couldn't understand all the subplots, I got enough of it to sense the enormity of Wilson's undertaking -- he was essentially plunging into Hell the world he had created and included in all his novels. Now, years later (after having read the mentioned novels), I find the story even MORE enjoyable. I gave this 5 stars even when I was a little lost -- now I wish I could give it more.

Nightworld is a seriously scary book. Not personally scary but scary for the world as we know it. Nightworld completes the Nightworld series, which consists of six books, starting with The Keep. I've read all books and until the publication of Nightworld, it was called The Adversary Series, taken from the fact that the underlying element of this series is the ongoing confrontation through eternity and through the universe of two powerful forces.

These forces are not defined by good and evil for they are not. But one force, which is called the Other in the books, is brutal and caring nothing for humanity, tends to use evil means to achieve it's goal, while his adversary though not necessarily Good utilizes humanity to thwart His Adversary, The Other.

The Anti-Other, throughout history, has utilized a human champion to battle the Other. This champion is empowered with Godlike powers and made immortal for this purpose.

In the initial book, The Keep, which I've mentioned, the earthly agent of The Other, Rasalom, was weakened and imprisoned in a specially constructed prison by a champion of a long gone age, maybe a champion named Glaeken, whose subsequent job in The Keep was to keep tabs on The Other and make sure it didn't escape.

The Keep is a marvelous story wherein, Rasalom, because of some Nazi soldiers, almost escapes his incarceration. I won't go into the story but at the end, Rasalom is vanquished and ostensibly terminated but this is not to be and through the course of two more books, Reborn and Reprisal, Rasalom is rejuvenated, recuperated re-empowered and is set to take revenge upon troublesome humanity. The stage is set for Nightworld.

Nightworld
"If thou gaze into the abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee"

What in the world is going on! Sunrise was five plus minutes late! we're in early summer, surise should be later not earlier, and then another shocker, sunset was ten minutes early! This continues on the second day etc and then a bottomless hole 200 feet across and perfectly round opens up in New York's, Central Park.

The world's scientific community, though at a loss for these occurrences, downplay these episodes and insist there is a rational explanation for these phenomenons. However, there is one who knows what's going on and he has a birds eye view of the Central Park event from his apartment.

It is the ancient warrior Glaeken, who is now in his 80s (his immortality ended after his 1941 battle with Rasalom), living under a pseudonym, Mr. Veileur. Glaeken knows exactly what's going on and he immediately sets out to gather a group of individuals to try to effect some sort of resistance, admittedly an enormous longshot but the only shot humanity has.

Main Charactersin order of appearance

Rasalom [Evil agent of the Other]
Dr. Nicholas Guinn [Physicist and friend of Bill Ryan]
Glaeken/veileur [Aged champion of the Anti-Other]
(ex father) Bill Ryan [Friend and confidant of Glaeken]
Carol Teece [mother of the reborn Rasalom]
Repairman Jack [hero of "The Tomb", a resourceful replacement for the aged Glaeken]
Kolabati [an ancient Indian Priestess who has two artifacts Glaeken needs]
Ba Nyguen [a special forces trained Vietnamese body guard for the following]
Sylvia Nash [mother of the adopted boy Jeffery]
Dr Alan Bulmer [Sylvia's husabnd and Jeffery's father]
Jeffery [a boy who has a healing power called Dat-tay-vao which Glaekin needs in his battle]

Glaeken meets with his would be recruits and of course his story is met with some skepticism, however, as Glaeken predicts, on the second night, hoards of large flying killer insect like creatures(later named by Glaeken as Belly Flies and Chew Wasps descend on an unsuspecting population and kill hundreds of people, horses, dogs etc. Also thousands of these creatures make a beeline to the home of Jeffery and his parents, in an obvious effort to kill Jeffery.

These creatures and the even more deadly creatures that follow can't stand sunlight but of course, day by day, the sunlight is slowly disappearing. In addition thousands of new holes open up around the world and every effort to cap them has been futile, with additional casualties. Humanity is quickly being wiped out and the daylight is getting shorter and shorter!

Things indeed look bleak for humanity but at least the recent horrors have solidified our cadre. Repairman Jack, with Ba in tow is off to Maui and Bill Ryan is off to Rumania, all to retrieve the artifacts that Glaeken needs to have a chance to counteract the carnage.

Can Repairman Jack and Glaeken, along with his unlikely cadre save "life as we know it", or will Rasalom rule over an Unholy Nightmare World?

Author

If you've never read F.Paul Wilson, I recommend him heartily.
He has a nice easily readable writing style and he seems to always have unusual if not unique plots to his stories. This particular book is the culmination of a series that I'm sure did not start out as such. "The Keep" was the original book as I have mentioned and is the basis for the series and as mentioned "Reborn" and "Reprisal" were definitely created to make a series out of a single novel but the resourceful Wilson managed to tie two unrelated books "The Tomb" and "The Touch" into episodes in the series in this last book and it works very well for me.

I was also glad to see Wilson reprise the ever popular Repairman Jack. Wilson has gone on to write several more Repairman Jack novels.

Reviewers Note

Because of the nature of this story. this book tends to be fairly gory and graphic about it. If this is not your cup of tea, then do not read this book. Then again, what are you doing reading any horror books?

Rarely do you come across a horror novel that truly chills you to the bone. This is one of those books. The days get shorter and creepy crawlies come out of holes that pop up all around the world. The monsters and their need for flesh make this a difficult job for REPAIRMAN JACK. Will he make it out alive. You'll just have to read it for yourself. My only critisism of this book is I thought it was rushed at the end, and the loose ends were'nt tied-up.

I just finished the Adversary Cycle with Nightworld and have read all of the Repairman Jack novels that lead up to this final novel. Unfortunately I have to say that Nightwold was a disappointing end to Repairman Jack's world as created by F. Paul Wilson. I loved all of his previous books, even "The Touch", which at the time seemed completely unrelated to any of the rest. My main gripe with this book was the final confrontation, which seemed way too easy and was clumsily written. I found it difficult to understand the scene and exactly what was happening. It also seems silly that the antagonist, while powerful enough to remake the planet to his own liking could be so easily vanquished. And finally the antagonist seemed incredibly out of character in the end. I don't want to spoil it, so let's just say that he didn't go out the way he was written through out the Adversary cycle. Worst of all, the "support" the protagonist needed from the crowd of New Yorkers in order to defeat his enemy was worse than cheesy it was plain ridiculous.

My next gripe was with continuity and was more of an annoyance than a problem. If you haven't read any on the Repairman Jack novels, particularly the newest ones, this won't be an issue for you. In Nightworld, Jack learns a great many things that he has long since known about, and as a result needs to be convinced of what is happening to the world around him. My final issue is, unlike Reborn and Reprisal, Nightworld isn't very edgy, it just doesn't have that suspenseful feeling that wouldn't let me put down either of its two most recent predecessors. Sure there plenty of disgusting scenes such as a man being gouged by a 10-foot millipede which lays eggs in his abdomen that hatch and eat him alive. But that was more gross than scary, which is true of most of the book.

I would have liked to see more scares thrown at the population of Nightworld like the antagonists ability to control the dead, not just scary insects and killer winged beasts. What I was really hoping for was a greater explanation of the to eternal opposing forces, which are fighting for the planet. No luck there.

That said, I still enjoyed the book, as it brought back characters from all of the previous adversary cycle books and my favorite, Repairman Jack. And while it wasn't the best ending to an otherwise excellent series, it still was a somewhat satisfying ending to the story arc. I just think it could have been better, and wish Wilson had waited to write Nightworld after he decides (hopefully not soon) to end the RJ Series, that way the two story arcs could have merged and ended at the same time. But if you've read the previous books in the adversary cycle you'll of course have to read Nightworld and I would recommend doing so, albeit with low expectations so that you won't be too disappointed or if you completely disagree with my review you're pleasantly surprised.

This is my favorite book on autism, period. I adore it.

I am a 30-year-old mom with Asperger Syndrome, my 11-year-old daughter has Autism. As such, I have sought books to keep on hand to give to friends who may be interested in reading about autism. I wish I could afford a whole shelf full of this one!

Paul Collins writing is insightful and deep and it flows well - leading from one chapter into the next, it's a difficult book to put down. This book talks about the author's expolration of the history of autism, and individuals who have lived or are living their own unique lives. At the same time as he's following these leads to find out more about his autism, his own son is diagnosed. It's a beautiful story because of the twists and turns, and because of the lives of people it illuminates so graciously.

I was given an assignment in my graduate Humanities class to recommend one chapter of a book for the whole class to read. I knew immediately it would be this book, but had to think about which chapter. After much deliberation (there are many beautifully written stories that flow together in this volume), I selected Chapter 16. The passage where he sits on the steps of a church to cry after meeting the man with the painted lightbulbs illustrates how this book speaks on what it means to be human, it isn't just a book on autism.

Always eloquent, never condescending - if this is the first book you read on autism you'll start with a deeper understanding. Don't bother reading books that bog you down with those who "suffer from autism" - this book, instead, is about human beings.

You won't find the rage at autism that so many parents have experienced, or the accounts of scientific and medical detective work that other parents have undertaken. What you will find is a collection of stories of people in both relatively ancient (Peter the Wild Boy) and relatively recent (Henry Darger) history who might have been diagnosed somewhere along the autism spectrum, interspersed with his experiences of his son, Morgan.

Another way this book is different from a lot of books written by parents of children with autism, is that Collins uses this collection of stories to look at Morgan's life in its totality, thinking what Morgan might be like at age 40, or age 70, instead of focusing on today's trials and opportunities. Collins thinks a lot further into the future than most parents. On the other hand, using history to think about autism, may not be the best way to go, as quite a bit of research into autism and related disorders is currently under way.

If you've already read some books about autism, you might think "Been there, done that" as you read about important people in the autism community like Simon Baron-Cohen and Temple Grandin. On the other hand, this book is unusually free of the anger, drama and tragedy of many books on this topic. Another thing that is useful about this book is to reflect that autism has most likely been around for a long time.

The book is easy to read, and is extensively documented if you wish to go further along the path Collins is treading.

This book was difficult to put down so, even with a 4 year old to look after, I read it in 4 days. I haven't had that experience with a book in a long time! "Not Even Wrong" is extremely interesting and informative on the subject and history of autism and the author's own personal experience with his autistic son is a tender and heartfelt thread binding it all together. Not only did it give me a much better understanding of autism but it had a profound impact on my understanding and respect for the unique way my own mind works, as well as the minds of those around me. By taking a respectful look at the extreme differences of the autistic mind, it helps a person become more accepting of the subtle differences we all have between us that, if we work with what we've got instead of trying to fit a mold, make us so unique and interesting. Along with his talent for describing history, Paul Collins has put his heart and soul into this book.

This is not your typical book about autism, and I mean that as a compliment. As another reviewer said, it's difficult to characterize, but it's very interesting even for someone who doesn't know a lot about autism. Well done!

Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism was written by historian Paul Collins, the author of Sixpence House. Apparently Collins and his wife don't have enough sense to be devastated that their happy, healthy son Morgan is suffering with a tragic disease. The kid bounces around exuberantly playing verbal games with numbers and letters, banging on the piano, reading everything in sight, and interacting with his nanny and parents in his own way. He's as happy as Mandy West in Paul West's old classic Words for a Deaf Daughter and just as oblivious that he's actually living in a hellish prison and that there must be a real child in there struggling to get out, etc., etc., ad infinitum, while the parents think he's simply a bright kid with many interests. Who cares if he doesn't answer when you ask his name or play along with dumb "look at the funny monkey" games when there's a much more interesting talking computerized camera in the same room?

In short, the parents don't see anything wrong with the kid, because there isn't anything wrong with the kid. He's just more interested in music, math, reading, and audio equipment than people. A phalanx of experts try to convince Collins that Morgan's in need of vast amounts of therapy to bring him up to "normal", but Collins sensibly doesn't buy it even after he is made to understand that two-year-olds generally have more interest in the above social interactions.

Like Paul West citing stories of famous deaf people, Collins goes back in time to look at historical figures who may have had conditions similar to autism, which the shrinks finally talk him into believing his son is at least sort of, kind of, on the spectrum. He spends a lot of time on Peter the Wild Boy, gets into a bit of Henry Darger and others, and presents us with an endless array of fascinating trivia. Thirty years ago, the obviously devoted Collins would have been targeted as one of those too-intellectual "refrigerator parents" who forced their kids to withdraw into a shell of autism. He talks about Bruno Bettelheim, too -- the guy who faked a psychology degree and promoted the theory that all autism was caused by abusive parents. Bettelheim defrauded the psychiatric community and the public for years, while brutalizing hundreds of children at his Orthogenic School.

Collins looks for (and finds) a way to help Morgan communicate without murdering who he is, using techniques such as PECS picture cards. He also finds an autistic school where the kids are permitted to learn through their own ways and interests. The book ends in almost a parody of the old sunburst-through-clouds, ohmygod-it's a breakthrough fashion when Morgan notices Collins has left the room and yells "Daddy" to bring him back. So those who believe in the sickness/cure paradigm get a Reader's Digest condensed version of what they want, and Morgan remains jolly well autistic.

The book repeatedly and convincingly gives the message that it's a mistake to try to force we autistics to behave as something other than our true selves. Parents of other autistic kids tell Collins about how their kid went through the pink monkey routine when they were mainstreamed, but did fine in an autistic school where they were allowed to communicate in their own way. Simply letting autistic people be autistic is such a revolutionary idea! But I think it will be accepted, along with ideas such as autistic culture, in the very near future.

It is easy to forget that just a few years ago, autism was still being classified as a mental illness (in the DSM-IV, it still is). Part of this confusion is caused by the fact that some psychotic children (made that way by abuse or other toxic life circumstance) behave superficially similar to autistic (cf. Mira Rothenberg's Children with Emerald Eyes). The Journal of Autism used to be the Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia and the two conditions were constantly being mistaken for each other. Now it is generally acknowledged thanks to Bernard Rimland and others that autism has a biochemical and/or neurological basis and is not a response to child abuse. (I believe it is only a matter of time before multiple personality is similarly demystified.)

As of 2005, most mainstream services for autism are still dedicated to the propositions that autism can and must be cured, and that until that day, autistics must be trained to behave as close to non-autistic as possible. It'll take a while to change, but I believe it will change. And I will live to see it, and so will you. Thank you, Paul Collins, for bringing that day a little closer.

Maybe to that limited set of writers who thinak they are the Homers of today.

But a great american novel would be read by many people with differing levels of appreciation and determined to refelct the CURRENT and essence of America (oh what about south america) not just the mythical past.

THe words may flow as a poem, and cover or expound cleary or lyrically the points of life in this country but that alone does not make it a great story. Or a timeless one.

In preface to my review, I have to say that my favorite writers are Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Boll, Arthur Rimbaud, etc.
Many of the reviews here have bandied about the name of Thomas Wolfe (whose "Look Homeward, Angel" was brilliant); and the comparison is richly deserved; but the most insightful comparison came from the person who said it reminded him of an American version of Tolstoy's "War and Peace".
I've actually read "War and Peace". Lockridge's "Raintree County" rises to that level--and, in my estimation--surpasses it. I love the Russians--Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev. And I love Walt Whitman and Ross Lockridge for the same reason. They all have what the Spanish call "duende," what the American blacks clamor to express by the word "soul". These aren't weak, spineless, effete Victorians afraid of beauty, passion, shame and awkward emotions.
They cast light into the dark corners of the human soul and throw open man's collective experience for all to see--something rarely achieved in typically dryer Anglo-Saxon literature.
Ross Lockridge's "Raintree County" astounded me. It left me wondering how this great American genius has been ignored, neglected. The only thing I can think of is that Lockridge makes the fatal mistake of being honest, of writing too accurately about the time-period, of not lying and indulging in historical revisionism. As a result, spineless readers wince when the "N" word is used, or terms like "pickannies," "darkies" or various other period vulgarities are employed by despised side-characters.
For this reason geniuses like Booth Tarkington are banned and suppressed.
It's sad. They want to revise the past and make it "acceptable" for modern audiences. But if you sanitize, you gut, you neuter, you destroy the hard edges which give the time-period texture, verisimilitude. (I mean, if slaves were well-treated why did we fight the Civil War?) But modern hacks would have writers keep all profanities out of it, re-write it so that nothing crude or insensitive made its way in.
If you want lies, watch a Hollywood movie, read a trash novel; if you want genius, poetry, brilliant insights and literary talent, give "Raintree County" a try. Maybe, with enough of us protesting, the prude schoolmarms with tenure at universities will be nudged from their slumber and realize that they have neglected one of the titanic achievements of modern American literature.

Raintree County is the anatomy of a fall from Paradise-with all the Edenic metaphors placed in a fictional county in Indiana-and the process by which it is regained. The structure and scope of the book are extraordinary, a system of telling and suspension that turns one day into a hundred years, all hinged upon the American Civil War (and the allegorical death of the principal character). Like another great contemporary American novel, All The King's Men, Raintree County was built upon the wreckage of a failed epic prose poem. Also, like Robert Penn Warren's glittering classic, Ross Lockridge's best-selling masterpiece deals with a gifted primary character caught up in the vortex of human history (though Penn Warren was more interested in the problem of power than he was in the cataloging of the life of Huey Long).

Raintree County should be a standard of 20th Century American literature. It is perhaps the greatest novel ever written. I'm mystified as to why it doesn't make Random House's Top 100 Novels List. I think in all honesty that Raintree County is too straightforward, too compassionate, too wise, too loving, too optimistic, too gently humorous, and too accessible to please the moldy and myopic listmakers. Really "great" books, as everyone knows, are dry game puzzles, smug literary fogs, brutal crayon travelogues, or ancient misanthropic sphinxes that museum directors and tenured professors of the academies alike can dust off occasionally without fear of ever having to update their pamphlets.

The texture style and meter of this work is astoundingly lyrical yet clear. To wit: "The world is still full of divinity and strangeness, Mr. Shawnessy said. The scientist stops, where all men do, at the doors of birth and death. He knows no more than you and I why a seed remembers the oak of twenty million years ago, why dust acquires the form of a woman, why we behold the earth in space and time. He hasn't yet solved the secret of a single name upon the earth. We may pluck the nymph from the river, but we won't pluck the river from ourselves: this coiled divinity is still all murmurous and strange. There are sacred places everywhere. The world is still man's druid grove, where he wanders hunting for the Tree of Life."

As long as I have a mind, I won't forget this profound and wonderful book or the characters who inhabit it: Perfessor Stiles with his pince-nez and Malacca cane, the cigar-chewing bighearted phony senator from Indiana, Garwood Jones, sweet Nell Gaither, the dark lost and deranged Susannah Drake. Carefully researched (it took seven years to write), it is also an excellent freshener on historical events of the nineteenth century, especially the Civil War. Contained within, for all you philosophiles, is the added bonus of cogent and detailed arguments for free will over predetermination, the triumph of spirit over matter, a solution to the riddle of the Many and the One, an explanation of the Word, and many more.

Born four years before J.D. Salinger, who still breathes at this writing, Ross Lockridge Jr. ended his life by carbon monoxide poisoning March 6th, 1948, two months after the publication of his one and only novel. He was thirty-three. He left behind a wife and four children. His second son, Larry, five years old at the time of his father's death, has written a book (Shade of the Raintree) attempting to explain what he calls "the greatest single mystery in American letters." He largely blames success in combination with a "biological (possibly genetic) predisposition to depression" along with "suicide-personality disorder (narcissistic)." It's easy to see why a John Kennedy O'Toole battering his manuscript (Confederacy of Dunces) against the unbreachable ramparts of Harcourt Brace and Get Lost, might do himself in (and then of course win a Pulitzer). But to receive a Harvard scholarship, publish an immediately successfully and lavishly acclaimed book which wins several major prizes including an MGM contract, and then to take your life as a proclaimed lover of life and a protector of four children, is a riddle beyond the ken of my meager imagination.

You may have once wandered through an art gallery and
while walking between images both beautiful and banal
happened upon a painting unlike few you have ever seen before.
It was found placed in a more remote part of the exhibit
and poorly lit thus causing you to give it a brief glimpse.
At first glance, the quaint simplicity caused you to smile yet upon
a second look you noticed the unmistakable quality, the rich
shadings, the subtleties, the emotion upon the faces of the characters,
and within a short time you realized that the artist had captured the
very essence of humanity. Shades of life both light and dark and all
the hues in between, this is what Ross Lockridge has placed upon his canvass for
posterity. This is Raintree County.

Raintree County; a mythical place, a gentle and beautiful tale of an
age and culture that has long since been harrowed under and paved over.
A verdant and pastoral county whose heart is found at the crossroads of
two dirt roads, whose inhabitants are poised at the intersection between a young
and thriving republic and greatest wrong every allowed to fester within
its expanding frontiers. The sunny days of community existence intertwined
with the political complexities surrounding the greatest rift ever to divide a
nation. A portrait of the land and its people in the midst of life and the
trials and tribulations of life's inescapable vicissitudes.

Within the covers of this book are found the joys of love upon the banks of
a river, the excitement and pride of a community during the celebration of
Independence day, the pungent smells and prolific yet depraved lifestyle during
the last days of antebellum New Orleans, and the songs of the slaves in their
agony, joy, and uncertainty. An epic, a day in the life of a ordinary man and
how he came full circle-if that is indeed possible. A reminder of the nation and
her people who were deeply shattered by the violence of a Civil War.

Within the prose are whispers of Plato, Poe, and Shakespeare. Characters
of well developed intellect and humor coexist amid the turgid and the
unlearned. At its core is love, insanity, birth, death, family, war,
and a river that courses through the county to both nourish the smiles and
drain the bitterness. Indeed perhaps the "Great American Classic," and a
sadly overlooked book. Lockridge is of the same ilk as Wolfe, Faulkner,
and Emerson. It has been said that each of us contains a book. To have this
as your only book is a majestic feat. Raintree County can be analyzed at many
philosophical levels and I am sure subsequent readings will reveal a multitude
of lessons. To me, my first time just staying at the surface brought me
the great joy that a masterfully written novel must impart.

I have positioned this book as "The" Great American novel - in reccomending it to a dozen friends. Only one has disagreed. Nuff said.

Rebels and Redcoats is not the first book to read about the American Revolution.

I know this book has glowing reviews by others. But those readers already know the basic story. If you think you fit in that category, go for it. Fascinating as the first person accounts may be, the context of the war is sometimes lost.

The men who fought the War are not the most literate. Spelling and grammatical conventions of the late 18th century may be confusing to the modern reader.

A teacher or another reader to help with the story line would be good. Or read 1776: America and Britain at War, by David G. McCullough first. You'll get much more out of your reading.

The editor/authors do a good job weaving the tales told by various participants. The reader may find the differing styles confusing. An interesting alternative would be Joseph Plumb Martin's classic account as a teenage recruit during the Revolution.

What else can be said that has not already been posted? Scheer and Rankin nail this book! A must for anyone interested in our amazing revolution and the men / women involved in it. With actual written accounts from people who were there you could not get a more fact based account of what it must have been like. It is very rare that this book gets "dull" as some fear history must be. Written how all history should be - so that it touches you and makes you think of what it must have been like to live through such time, If you want to learn and enjoy history (esp. such an important part of history) get this book and "Angel in the Whirlwind" by Benson Bobrick = both are fantastic! A plus!

"Rebels and Redcoats" is a tremendously good read recommended for anyone interested in a history of the American Revolutionary War written by those that fought and lived it.

Authors George Scheer and Hugh F. Rankin have compiled, organized and edited a comprehensive collection of letters and papers that provide unparalleled insights into the war as it unfolds. Some of the participants, such as Paul Revere, are well known. Most, however, are not, including rank and file American and British soldiers.

The result is an extremely well written and compelling chronological history of the American war for independence through the eyes of those that won - and lost - it.

Lasting eight years, the Revolutionary War was both America's first long war and civil war. By it ends, four times more American had died (percentage wise) than in World War II. The war showed how hard it is for any nation, no matter how powerful and technologically advanced its military and economy, to defeat a people numerous, armed and far away, possessing strong allies, and fighting for their independence on ground of their own choosing.

Anyone interested in a first-hand account of a war that gave birth to the United States of America and changed the world should read this book.

Reads like a good novel. The first hand accounts woven into the narrative are well selected and perfectly integrated. A variety of perspectives was chosen and this is quite even-handed. There is enough detail to make it lively and interesting but not so much that it overpowers. Anyone wishing to pursue further personal study has broad cross section of topics, biographies and events to choose from. This is an excellent book and should be required reading for all high school and college students instead of the the race-gender-class dribble that is probably used today. 1000% better than Langguth's "Patriots".

This is a very good, readable history of the American Revolution. The book does a very good job of giving you the British side of the Revolution. I enjoyed the book, and so did my 13 year old son.

The only thing the book doesn't have is much material about the war at sea, but this is a minor shortcoming.

This book is so well written, funny, and has truly helped me to question my fear and dare again to be the person i most want to be. i yearn less for a partner to complete me and now am more curious about the ways i can draw out of myself the qualities i so often seek in others.

I enjoyed Tama's writing style and honesty. This story is inspirational to people who are stopped by 'shoulds' and judgment in their lives. She shows us how to trust our inner voice during times of change, how to remain constant and sacrifice the superfluous for what matters most. She is an example of making a difference in this world by having the courage to follow her true path.

Tama Kieves was a successful Harvard grad/lawyer who walked away from her office with a view and high paying job to do what she most wanted to do. When she made her choice to jump in with both feet, she lowered her expenses and took a waitress job to sustain herself while she followed her dream.

She believes that people can and should be able to make a living doing whatever they are naturally gifted at and love to do. She wrote this book and when it didn't get picked up by a publisher, she self published it and then a major company approached her and bought it.

I have read a lot of self help and "Do what you love.." type books and I have to say that this one is awesome. I couldn't put it down. There is so much good advice on just about every page, and the thing is, it's all stuff she knows because she's experienced it.

I wish I had known that the secret to life is doing what you love to do when I first started working. But then, how would we know what we love if we didn't do all those things that we didn't/don't love in the first place?

This is a great book that I highly recommend and would give as gifts.

I loved this book! I finished it feeling inspired to pursue my own dreams of creating a life that my heart is telling me I want to pursue. If you are trying to take a leap of faith into a career or path that scares you and excites you, and if you are tired of trying to figure it out with resources that ask you to endlessly list your interests, talents and abilities to no avail, I'd say buy this book! I'd also recommend Your Heart's Desire by Sonia Choquette if you are having trouble figuring out what it is exactly that you want.

Tama J. Kieves is more than an author. At heart, she is a poet. And it really shows in "This Time I Dance!" This book is not only informative, but it is also a pure pleasure to read. From start to finish, it is packed with lush descriptions and magical metaphors that elevate this work of non-fiction to a work of art. "This Time I Dance" will not only inspire you to discover your passion in life and give you some practical suggestions for living your dream, but the pure artistry of its words will start your heart dancing before you even put the book down! This is a book you are going to treasure!

Steven Lane Taylor, Author of Row, Row, Row Your Boat: A Guide For Living Life In The Divine Flow

This entire trilogy has captived my daughter who has never loved to read due to learning challenges. She has in just a short time read the entire trilogy twice.

Kate Constable has written yet another great book for young adults, as well as older adults. The Chanter of Tremaris is a great series.

Kate Constable has given us a magical world to explore in three remarkable texts. Through these books, the author joins the company of Lloyd Alexander ("the Prydain Chronicles"), Ursula Le Guin (see "Gifts" and the just published "Voices"), and Joy Chant ("Red Moon and Black Mountain", "The Grey Mane of Morning" and "When Voiha Wakes") in creating stories and characters of depth and beauty.

To some of the other reviewers here, my suggestion is that the way to enter the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy (and, really, any work) is to let go of your expectations (whatever we think it should look and sound like) and to surrender to the magic that lives in these stories. As readers, we can fall into the trap of always scanning the horizon for something new, something that we've never seen before. The downside of this is that we often miss the treasures that are sitting at our feet. Don't miss this outstanding fantasy series.

This book, The Waterless Sea, was the best book ever! I could never put it down!
Basically Calywn and here group are chanters. They can use their magic by singing. Heben (he's awesome!) searches for them to find his taken chanter siblings. So many adventures and so little time to explain!

I loved this book. I literally read it in the space of a few hours, it was such a page-turner I could /not/ put it down.
The characters are wonderfully painted; my favorite is Halassa, with Trout following close behind (I was dissapointed at his dissapearance in this book!).
I hate Darrow. In the first book, at the beginning, when he was all crazy in Ataris and then when he was cheerful on their way to Kalysons, he was fun. But he was simply a mentor then. Now he's all dark and depressed and in love with Calwyn. Their little drama is exciting, but I dislike it and it gets in the way of the action and the suspense (for instance; Halassa's dying and their talking about their feelings. Halassa should of been a more important part of this story; considering he almost died.)
Now, Heben. I loved meeting this character; just liked I loved meeting the other main charries in the first book; it was all part of the adventure. I really hope Heben stays around. The only thing I would changed is his relantionship with Calwyn. I would of liked a tiny bit of romance between the two. So Darrow didn't simply look like a crazy jealous idiot. And so it made sense. I mean, why not Halassa instead of Heben? Calwyn was closer to Halassa then Darrow, she says so herself.
Mica and Tonno. They were slightly annoying, but lovable all the same. I kept wanting to picture them in a lounge drinking Diet Cola and making fun of Calwyn and Darrow.
Overall, the book was good. What I'm waiting for (and hoping for) is that Trout learns to chant (LOL)!

Vacca's new book provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging wireless data technology. The book is geared toward experienced Internet professionals who need to learn how to install wireless networks quickly. It provides numerous hands-on examples, such as an access network protocol, and useful discussions about issues such as the implementation of homeland security (currently most available protocols and products have huge holes). A large portion of the book is devoted to the design of wireless networks, dealing with issues such as standards, robustness, ease of installation and use, and, of course, security. Detailed schematics demonstrate typical filter and uplink applications. The final chapter offers a series of recommendations to support Vacca's assertion that wireless technology is the key to the future of communications and concludes that future networks will require a new methodology that integrates all layers of network design. The book is organized to move from an overview of this emerging technology through the planning and design, installation and deployment, and configuration phases. It also supplies advanced solutions to wireless design problems and new directions of the technology. Altogether a must for those people who are charged with implementing this type of network in their organizations.

This is the practical stuff you can't ever learn by going to grad school.
Wonderfully comprehensive and chalk full of highly useful information for today's high tech world. Wireless Data hits every conceivable corner of wireless technology with a well balanced mix of overview, technical depth, and hands on applications. The diagrams and illustrations are very well done. Highly recommended for the spectrum of tech managers, network engineers, and technicians. This book will be a mainstay for my reference library.

Vacca provides a unique value in his books in allowing the reader to drill down to the technical level required. This one is certainly no exception. His top-level scenarios are enlightening and encourage you to leap onto the technological bandwagon, but I particularly appreciate his caveats - particularly where he indicates what standardisation or legislation is required within the industry, as well as his very specific cautions against over-design within your application. Subsequently, he proceeds into the technical rationale for such limitations, and where it can be bypassed or overcome.

As I have spent the majority of my applications career interfacing between management/marketing ideals (necessary for progress) and technical viability within the available staff (typically pessimistic after the first few confrontations with external technical reality), I sincerely appreciate Vacca's substantiated presentations of current viability, emergent solutions, and futures.

JohnVacca has again written a book about a subject that has great application in the near future. As notebook computers are fast replacing desktop computers and as flat screen monitors are replacing CRT monitors, wireless data is replacing data transmission via cables of different types. Several companies have already replaced their local networks with wireless networks at work place where their employees can move about the work place and be connected to not only the company's Intranet but also the Internet. This book provides a good explanation in the understanding of wireless data transmission and the challenges for companies that provide wireless transmission to improve this technology as more companies and organizations will soon depend on this application to conduct business.

I have added also this new book by John vacca to my Company library. Practically all of John books end up being used to train all of our employees . You did it again John!
Keep at it , you are the best

Tullio Bortoletto

I wanted to thank all of the folks who have taken the tie to review "First Art", a book of art projects and experiences for toddlers and two's. I've read every single review! How happy I am that this book is bringing great experiences to kids, and to their moms too. Thank you so very much to each of you for your wonderful reviews that remind me I am doing the right thing with my life!!!! ~ MaryAnn

I purchased this book so I could have more fun with my daughter, about a year and a half at the time of this review, and teach her a thing or two about creativity along the way. When I first got the book and read it, I LOVED it. There were tons of homemade recipes for saving money, ideas seemed relatively simple, yet fun, directions thorough... However, when I started implementing the ideas with my toddler, I slowly changed my mind.
I see a number of problems with this book:
Homemade recipes sound wonderful. You save money, you use ingredients you already have in your pantry, and you feel like such a handy supermom, what's not to love, right? Well, wrong...
First, the recipes often call for things I definitely don't have in my pantry, I was not even sure what some things were. For instance, cream of tartar. I wrote down a list of things I needed for a project and asked 3 employees at the store for it and all of them pointed me to tartar sauce. So, I had to go home empty-handed and do research online to find out what it was and why I needed it and where I could buy it, what I can substitute it for, etc. Most of the sources online seemed to indicate that it is something that used to be big in baking, but hardly ever needed now that we have baking powder. It'd be nice if the author provided some substitutions. I ended up using baking powder and it seemed to work alright. I later accidentally found cream of tartar in the spices section of my grocery store - and I looked in baking to no avail.
Another things is that a lot of recipes (80%, I'd say) call for tempera paint... If I'm going to buy paint, why buy tempera paint and mix it with stuff to make finger paints, might just as well buy finger paints - will probably end up cheaper. Same goes for, for example, a home-made blackboard. You need to buy the tape that has that chalkboard surface or chalkboard spray paint. Well, both are rather pricey, so it is almost as cheap to buy a ready-made chalkboard easel (not to mention much less trouble). Also, some recipes call for things like "an old grater you no longer use" (because you're going to be grating a bar of soap, for example) or "a big appliance box". I don't know if it's just me, but I think my Mom still uses the same grater she had when I was a year and a half and I don't buy big-screen TVs on a monthly basis... So, I don't really have all these lying around the house, nor is it always easy/cheap to find/buy one just when you want to try a project - often it really is easier and maybe even cheaper to just buy whatever it is you were going to make (case in point - beads).
Also, many recipes call for huge amounts of flour, salt, cornstarch, and food coloring. While those aren't that expensive in and of themselves (and food coloring CAN be), they add up! 4 cups of flour here, 4 cups of flour there, with a lot of these recipes not having the same shelf life as the store-bought equivalents. So, once again, the savings are questionable, even if we don't factor in the time we have to spend preparing stuff versus buying it ready-made.
The quality of projects.
My daughter is a pretty determined and focused toddler when she wants to be, but a lot of those projects are too contemplative to really keep her attention for more than 10 seconds. For instance, exploring the sounds and textures of a piece of foil or the much-favored by many feeley goop. My daughter was done exploring the sounds and textures of foil in 5 seconds and she did not want to explore the feeley goop at all after the initial try, so how was I supposed to make her realize that it has some unique qualities? The same goes for quite a number of projects that are meant to just "explore", but I realize that it is highly individual and there might be children out there who love those projects, just be aware that it is not automatic. Perhaps some of these activities would work well in a group, where children can feed off of each other's ideas and where interaction is already exciting enough, but for one child they can be a tad on a boring side and are over too quickly to be called an "activity".
Another thing in the projects I often have issues with is their messiness. The author does do a good job of outlining how to prep the working space, but with some projects, the colors will get splashed all over the place - it's toddlers we're talking about! I can cover a relatively large portion of the floor and the whole table, but I can't cover the walls and the ceiling... Not to mention that toddlers are known to run away in the middle of a project. So, unless you have a whole room you don't mind getting dirty and where you can contain your child (porch, sunroom, child-proof play room?), some of those projects will be just too much of a risky business to attempt in a nicer room. We live in a fully-carpeted apartment, and there is no way I'll be able to clean it up nicely if my child decides to have too much fun with one of the messier projects.
Finally, I find some "cooking" directions a little too sketchy. I have never made this thing before, I don't know what it should look and feel like, I actually ruined a couple of projects because I did something too soon or too late, even though I thought I was following the instructions religiously - there went 4 cups of flour and 2 cups of salt :-). Just so you don't think I'm a complete idiot, I do bake regularly and cook quite a bit too, and while sometimes my pizza dough made from scratch does turn out a little drier than I like, it is always edible, never a complete failure.
Overall, I'd say it's a good book with good ideas. If I were a kindergarten teacher, or had 2 or more kids of different ages, I'd probably rate this book better. But as a parent of only 1 child, I'd probably ever use only 1/3 of all the ideas of the book, with 2/3 being eliminated for one or several of the reasons mentioned above, which I find rather disappointing, since I am not paying only for the ideas I'm using...
Our favorite project so far? The bread. It did not taste spectacular (although was edible), but my daughter loved messing with the flour, watching it turn to dough, playing with the dough, etc.

I'm not very imaginative when it comes to "projects" for my kids (who are currently 3 and 1) so I love this book. I am thankful that there are people in the world with great ideas who share them in books. :P

First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and TwosI teach children 18 to 24 months great book with great ideas

My then 18 month old and I took "My First Art Class" at our local community center this past summer--it's a class created by the author's of the book. She had a great time with many of the activities and now that I'm back at work for the school year, I wanted to be able to continue her art experiences. This book is very easy to read, breaks down all the activities so you know how long it will take, if it's messy, etc. We made homemade playdough and have great plans for the other projects. Lots of neat ideas!

President Ford has not been the most prolific writer as far as Ex-Presidents go. This unique insight into one of the most important events in the last 50 years is an American treasure. Ford has forever been reluctant to discuss this topic, and used this unique forum to give what will likely be his "final" views on the topic. A must read for those interested in history. If you are a book collector you will be extremely impressed with the quality of this volume. The quality and workmanship should redefine what we come to expect in a leatherbound book.

First off, I am of an "age" where this Kennedy controversy was nothing but something folk argued about over the years. I was an infant when the assassination took place, so I have no emotional involvement in either side of the story. That having been said, let me say about this book:

From the "outside", this volume "oozes" quality, elegance and opulence.

On the inside, the "old" story of the Warren Commission, which I admittedly never really believed, is told again with additions that augment the original report. I have seen other documentaries, and one or two I saw "proved" to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that these folk from the 1960s knew what they were talking about.

To have such an elegant edition of a book, signed by the only surviving member of the Warren Commission, is a must-have for any collector, whether you "believe" what it says or not.

A wonderful book full of new thoughts on the assasination of JFK and even hand-signed by President Gerald Ford. A beautiful piece of art that has a living soul that you can not find in a book any more. This book is worth every penny that is spent and will only go up in value from here. I am glad I have been lucky enough to have come across this book before the big bang happens and prices skyrocket. I recommend this book for any collector. A truly great piece of American history!!!

It's often true that form is indeed content. This handsome leather volume is uniquely produced and the fact that it is signed by President Ford further enhances its desirability. This important publishing event is a credit to The Flatsigned Press. The new foreword by President Gerald Ford offers new material published here for the very first time. Wonderful. We're happy to have it in our collection.

This volume is nicely put together, beautiful leather, tight binding. Signed by President Ford! Brings back all those memories of Nov. 1963. Very worthwhile investment! Should last a long time and be handed down. Well done!