Hall Books

We don't expect anything less than top notch from Eleanor Taylor Bland and she hasn't let us down!

"Bland tightens the suspense with realistic details and subplot twists before wrapping the narrative up in a satisfying solution."

"The story is particularly engaging for its character and situations, but Bland doesn't scrimp on suspense, building through tragedy, wasted lives and hope to a breath-catching climax. A well-written standout series."

"Bland has succeeded here in producing her most sophisticated, complex, and successful work yet ... the unexpected denouement is as satisfying as it is surprising, giving Marti new evidence as to the quality of her parenting. With this compelling page-turner, Bland firmly establishes her credentials as one of today's most talented mystery writers."

He comes into your home, goes through your things and plots your family's death. Yet detective Marti MacAlister is totally oblivious to this evil presence in her own home. Will her blindness and that of her friend Sharon cost them their lives and that of their family?

In this sixth case of the Marti MacAlister series we find the detective consumed by the murder of a woman and the disappearance of her snitch's best friend. Marti's room mate is consumed by her inability to say no to "Mr Wonderful" thus compromising her self esteem and neglecting the children. Throw in a kid trying to become a gang member, a flasher and people who refuse to report what they see and you have quite a mess going on the job.

This is an intriguing story as we see the intertwining of Marti's personal life with that of her job. We see the budding sexuality of her daughter and the courageness of Ben, her fiance. Marti's consuming time on the job interferes with what is so plainly before her as she begins a new step in her life. Follow her along this track of evil. See if she awakes before it is too late.

Even if you don't agree with the conclusions of the authors, this book is a 'must-read'! The authors lay out a very convincing argument for the validity of their 'Simplicity' approach to marketing, and the recommendations they make to encorporate the simplicity message in your own marketing, (or otherwise) plans are straightforward and well thought out. I have found the material to be compelling and easy to read, with just enough graphics to add value without clutter. (It seems that even while writing the book, the authors to care to embody the message through the medium!) The materials in the book can be applied to a number of areas in both business and personal life to increase your 'value', and I highly recommend this!

"Simplicity Marketing" rings particularly true in the most developed economies around the world. Businesses and consumers are often overwhelmed with the complexity of choosing goods and services available to them, many products are full of functions and features that only a small minority of users will ever utilize. To end the prevalent brand complexity, clutter, and confusion denounced above, Steven M. Cristol and Peter Sealey offer their audience four strategies called the 4 R's: Replace, Repackage, Reposition, and Replenish. Cristol and Sealey apply each of the 4R's to a multitude of situations in which the life of businesses and consumers can be made it easier at the profit of marketers cognizant of the importance of stress reduction, simplicity, and convenience. Cristol and Sealey correctly point out that only few companies are ultimately insulated from the 4 R's imperative. Cristol and Sealey also rightly draw the attention of their readers to the fact that the 4R's must be integrated into the brand and product strategy so that the product offered is perceived as part of the solution to the growing complexity of people's lives.

Even if you don't agree with the conclusions of the authors, this book is a 'must-read'! The authors lay out a very convincing argument for the validity of their 'Simplicity' approach to marketing, and the recommendations they make to encorporate the simplicity message in your own marketing, (or otherwise) plans are straightforward and well thought out. I have found the material to be compelling and easy to read, with just enough graphics to add value without clutter. (It seems that even while writing the book, the authors to care to embody the message through the medium!) The materials in the book can be applied to a number of areas in both business and personal life to increase your 'value', and I highly recommend this!

There have been a lot of bad books written about marketing especially for technologists. This is the one shinning light in the category.

It is as much a thesis for life as it is for the way you run your marketing and sales worlds. Having read the book twice, once for practical and once for pleasure the book is an excellent combination of examples, ripe for metaphor and theory.

As a head of strategy for a leading e services company this book was well worth my time and the time of all our senior managers. The four "R's" are the best way to simplify a horribly complicated world.

If I could give six stars I would

An excellent resource for anyone deeply interested in marketing, considering a new business model, or developing a new product.

Finally, marketing professionals who will intelligently embrace and (with ease) outline "repackaging" and "replenishing" strategies. These sections made the book worth the price for me.

The only drawback(s) with the book (though I gave it a full 5 stars), are the case studies. Too many of the online grocers are performing poorly in the marketplace to rely on them as standards, whether or not their marketing strategies are exciting and workable.

This book is perfect for a first six sigma book.
There are no negative points.

It is amazing book for study six sigma. Good explanations and practical examples in combination with Minitab software. For those who are dedicated in learning six sigma, this book can offer enough information and practice.

I was surprised by the well balanced and complete coverage of the Six Sigma methodology from DMAIC, including managerial steps, all the way to statistics up through Design of Experiments. The all inclusive topics seem to parallel full Black Belt training. I would expect green belts to be offered selections from the book in a standard course. I would say no other book has this "textbooky" look and feel (that is not meant as a criticism). At the end of chapters find Minitab instructions including screen shots. The material is well written, hence understandable, hence I think this is one of the best overall introductions to the subject without slamming the reader with high levels of mathematical theory.

I think this book is an excellent resource for experienced Six Sima managers. However, if you want to buy this book as a study guide for the SSGB certification test, or as an introduction to Six Sigma, it isn't going to help you out much. I guess my lowered rating is due to the fact that the book didn't meet my expectations as it was described on the Amazon site.

This book was well worth my time and money! Being a Six Sigma beginer, I found this book to be easy to follow and comprehend.

Explained is the DMAIC process model, Voice of Customer (VOC), Voice of Process (VOP)and Design of Experements (DOE) in clarifying detail. Best of all, it includes step-by-step explanations of project experiments and the statistical analyses from the expereiments using Minitab 14!

Whether you want to learn the basics of the Six Sigma process (Chapters 1-8) and / or basic Six Sigma statistical tools and methods (Chapters 9-15), I highly recommend this book!

Note: Minitab 14 (Statistical software)is free for 30 days and the associated minitab-formatted excercise worksheets are down-loadable from the publisher's website.

True to the topic, it transports you right there. Historical and old, but still current.

I thought this book was one of the best books Ive ever read it describes how people feel and view the world from inside themselves but can never express this externally or even realise they are thinking these things themselves.

For me It depicts how inadequate we all are men and women, when it comes to Love, and expressing it and sharing it. it flumoxes us all, Its too big for us, "the chickens had more sense"....pass the worms please.

Written about a South African farm. this book depicts the story of a family and how they interact throughout the book. The most striking dynamic in the book is the relationships of the women in it. It portrays female existence in a realistic light even for today. The story has a lot of character to it, and I would recommend it highly for teachers who want to teach about feminism.

Although I had to read this book for a college class, I would read it again in a second, I feel that I can only gain more and more from this book through rereadings. Its plot is at times disjointed to the style of the author and the message she is attempting to convey, so for those who are looking for a strongly Dickensian or "feel good" read, this is most likely not the book for you right now. But for me, from an analytical and heartfelt standpoint, the subtlety of the book and its beauty and its truth made me tear up a little bit. I'm currently writing a paper on Waldo and his artistic and personal growth throughout the novel, so maybe I'm a little biased, but although Lyndall is an incredibly interesting and advanced character, I think Waldo is often glossed over as merely suffering from a religious crisis of faith, and, being a man, not deserving of attention in this novel of the "New Woman". But Waldo ultimately reaches a place of amazing peace and understanding, and the lives of Waldo and Lyndall intertwined together is truly beautiful.

"Story of an African Farm" is a difficult work to describe. It must be read several times, and carefully pondered before all of its secrets are unlocked.

Ostensibly, the book revolves around the lives of three children (and, later, adults) who live in the Karroo plains of South Africa. The main focus, however, is on two of the characters - Waldo, the earnest and deeply curious son of the German farmkeeper, and Lyndall, the beautiful, outspoken and rebellious orphan who suffers all her life for her ideals.

The book itself is semi-autobiographical. Waldo represents Schreiner's journey from fanatical, childlike faith to bitter skepticism, who reaches a watershed of sorts when he hisses to Lyndall 'There is no God - none!'. Lyndall, on the other hand, embodies Schreiner's frustation with her station as a woman - barred from the upper echelons of society, and her inability to find a mate who is both her intellectual match and willing to accept her as an equal. "I want to love", she whispers to the grave of Waldo's father, "I want something great and pure to lift me to itself."

There are many other themes that flesh out the subtext of this extraordinary book - the tragedy of solitude, that ultimately, all humans are alone in the cosmos. "Dear eyes", the dying Lyndall whispers to her mirror, "they will never part us."

Readers who expect a narrative will be dissapointed. What narrative there is serves only to undersore the book's many themes. Often, the flow of the story is out of sequence, or devoid of context, and deliberately so. Roughly, the book is divided into three sections - the first introduces us to the characters as children, and reveals their innermost thoughts. The second, and shortest section is entitled "Times and Seasons". It is somewhat of a summary of what has gone before, dealing mostly with Waldo's journey from Christian fanaticism to dispairing atheism, and foreshadows some of what is to come. The third, and longest section, covers the lives of the characters as adults, and is by far the most powerful, and moving piece of the book.

The reader who is looking for mindless action is advised to pick up the latest Tom Clancy novel, or whatever passes for literature these days. Those who are willing to put aside all preconceived notions, and have their cherished beliefs challenged are invited to read this book. The search for truth is endless. But this book is a perfect place to begin.

One of the first book written on structured systems analysis and still, after 20 years, one of the best. The techniques has stood the test of time.

I read this book over 20 years ago. It is still the best. I keep it right on my desk.

I was introduced to Data Flow Diagraming in college with this book. Since then I have seen many other books describing DFD's. All fail to explain them as clearly as this book does. I highly recommend it!

This is an EXCELLENT text and workbook. I was searching for a current publication. I have a very old copy but I find it still extremely relevant. I Took a graduate course in structured systems analysis in 1997 and the text the professor/ school ordered for the students was horrible and absolutely no help. I took out my old copy and was able to follow along very well. (I would bet the professor was also using this text as his guide :-) THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE KEPT IN CIRCULATION!!!!

As a business process consultant and information systems designer, I am constantly looking for effective techniques for capturing business details and new system requirements. I have looked at every new tool and method to come along, but this is STILL the best one there is. A testament to this book and it's methods is that many of the latest software tools, using the latest technology, still build on the methods and diagrams used in this book. And it's all still valid. Every consultant, business analyst, and systems designer MUST have a copy of this book in their library!

After reading Before Women had Wings, I hungered for more from Connie May Fowler. I found Sugar Cage to be a deeply satisfying follow-up. The novel, told in many different voices, takes us on the unforgettable journeys of a diverse cast of characters, all of whom reel the reader into an intricate tapestry woven by Fowler. Startling descriptions of Hatian voodoo rituals were among the most vivid scenes from the book, whose magical conclusion leaves the reader spellbound. A mesmerizing novel, Sugar Cage, like Fowler's other work, has left me hungry for more!

SUGAR CAGE weaves the story of such disparate people as Inez Temple, black maid to rich folks, Patrick Lackley, finicky mortician, and Charlie Loonie, front-man schmoozer for a local band. The women in this book will steal your heart -- especially the dear-hearted Inez, Charlie's loyal wife, Rose, and the magical Soleil Marie Beauvoir. The story is often dark and sad, but the mystical ending will inspire and uplift you.

For a first novel, I found the writing astonishing. Anyone who can make you care about so many contrasting characters (and make it easy to follow the thread) is a born writer. I adore a novel that pulls you in from the very first sentence . . . SUGAR CAGE does that.

Inez Temple is working as a maid in a cheap tourist hotel on the South Florida coast when she meets Rose Looney. A Haitian woman with an ability to "see' the outlines of peoples lives, Inez sees in the sugar crystals in the bottom of a glass Rose has drunk from the outlines of a cage and knows early on that Rose and her new husband, Charlie, and their friends Junior and Eudora, and their children, are destined to be trapped in many ways in the years to come.

15 years later, Rose knows this as well. How she struggles to find her way through her broken marriage and try to save her only son from the same fate in the midst of all the "bars of the cages" society and life confine her within--poverty, racism, sexism, cultural snobbery and so on, is at the core of this unusual tale of life in the melting pot that is South Florida.

The mysticism gets a bit out of hand at times-and stretches credulity it the process, but this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent novel.

This was the type of book that you can never put down. I read it all in one night. The best part about the book is the way the author displayed each character individually. It then ended up showing how each of the characters were uniquely linked togeather. It's a book that I will always love to read again and again. I would most definitly reccomend it.

Connie May Fowler creates intimacy for the reader and all of the books characters. By bringing first person to all the characters we get to know more about how people choose the decisions they made and what motivates each one towards the life they choose. I really enjoyed the way she was able to keep the story progressing thorugh time but also using other's perspective on what occured or is occuring at the moment. Also the influences of Haitian voo-doo help add new depth to Florida southern culture. And gives new information to the reader about pagean religion and the intellegence and beauty it brings to the characters of this book. I felt her pride or her willingness to explore and place in a positive light Haitian voo-doo. I think the main essence of the book for me was that everyone needed to listen to thier own voice. And once they steered away from that is when thier lives turned towards unhappiness. The realness of coming to terms with our demons and releasing ourselves into our own strengths was what I felt Fowler was trying to get across. The beauty of how she used everyones perspective instead of one main character and narrator is what I enjoyed the most. I enjoyed being able to be sypathetic to everyone's life and the way they had/have chosen to live it.

I have no words to explain this book but alwsome

I read this book back in 8th or 9th grade and did a paper on it for my English class. I choose this book because the writer is my great aunt, and back then, I thought it was cool to have someone kind of famous in the family. It wasn't until I reread the book again several years later, that I was truly impacted by my great aunt's life story. This is definitely a book that is hard to put down once you start reading it. I'm so glad I had the chance to know Anne and experience her great talent for writing. I definitely recommend this book!

This is one of my very favorite books. It is one that I have read, at least, once a year for the past 10 years. The story of three orphans thrown about from foster home to foster home makes you cry for their unhappiness, but then makes you cry even harder at the end when their luck seems to finally change. I tell eveyone I know to read it, and have lent it out several times. It will soon fall apart because it has been loved so much...I hope that I can find another copy when it does. : )

I read this book for the first time when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade. That was back in 1982 or 83. The author, Anne Hall Whitt came to my school in Silver Spring, MD to talk about her experiences growing up. This is a touching story and I highly recommend it.

I thought that this book was the best book ever and Ann Hall Whitt did a wonderful job on her autobiography I thought it was wonderful. I even cried at the end. I thought it was so sad but I figured the book would be good and trust me it sure was. I had been wanting it all year at my school library and I finally got it and read very quickly because I just couldn't put it down! I think u should read this book because it is just wonderful, I give it 5 stars and 2 thumbs up

Mm, this is a beautiful, wonderful little book! It is a collection of little stories of a very small girl and her small grandmother going adventures on their little island in Sweden. So full of green things and little bites of happiness. The grandmother is oh so clever and says so many poignants to the girl. The girl is wise too. So full of joy.

Based very much upon the late (and yes, great) Tove Jansson`s own family experiences on an island in the Finnish archipelago, this magical, elegiac, very funny, yet - despite its title - autumnal book, subtly draws the reader into the seemingly mundane lives of six-year old Sophia, whose mother has recently died, and `Grandmother` (who could almost be a humanised character from one of Jansson`s immortal Moomin books), as they potter and squabble around their small, idyllic island summer home.
Sophia`s `Papa` never speaks (never? Hm...) but is a silent, prosaic presence throughout, while Sophia is (as her name implies) wise, as well as temperamental, and Grandmother dispenses brief, ironic snippets of wisdom and can be just as prickly. They are a double-act; and, like all the best double-acts, rely on each other - at least for the grateful reader - to each `complete` the other. One feels Grandmother learns from her granddaughter as well as vice versa.
This is a beautiful, thoughtful, unsentimental, deceptively straightforward meander through the summer months with three generations of a grieving family each determined to hang on to their individuality. There are also the occasional - and rarely welcome - visitors.
If I make The Summer Book sound more than simply a light read, it is because even Tove Jansson`s children`s books (of which this can hardly be said to be one) have a tough melancholy strain to them, and a `message` of independence and personal integrity as the sanest way to be.
In its modest, breezy way, this is a great little book. One to treasure.

This book was given to me by an uncommon friend and I enjoyed it very much. It is about the friendship between a grandmother and her young grandaughter who live on a bit of an island in Finland (?). The beauty and treasures discovered in the quiet lives they lead, finding joy in simple things and loving each other besides those petty annoyances of personality (they are very much alike). There are many "huggable" humorous moments. I think of one in which they trade cats--their cat is indifferent to the grandaughter's overtures and the one traded was much more warm and cuddly, but then (and I quote from the book).

"Hunt! Do something! Be like a cat!" And then she started to cry and ran to the guest room and banged on the door.
"What's wrong now?" Grandmother said.
"I want Moppy back!" Sophia screamed.
"But you know how it will be," Grandmother said.
"It'll be awful," said Sophia gravely. "But it's Moppy I love."

As a child, Tove Jansson lived in summer on islands in the Gulf of Finland, and later she and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä lived on a small island called Klovharu. Jansson wrote many children books, including the Moomin series, and ten books for adults.

The plot of the most famous of her adult novels is very simple; an elderly artist and her six-year-old granddaughter Sophia spend the summer on a tiny island exploring and talking about everything but Sophia's mother's death and their love for each other. They wander, pick flowers, watch storms, take an occasional trip in a rowboat. The 22 short episodes make a remarkable whole; "On an island," thinks the grandmother, "everything is complete."

Sophia has a nightmare of luggage floating away in moonlight, "all the suitcases were open and full of darkness and moss". The loss of Sophia's mother haunts them both. Their comments make the book come alive.

"'When are you going to die? ... will they dig a hole?' the child asked amiably."

"Sometimes people never saw things clearly until it was too late and they no longer had the strength to start again."

"No well-bred person goes ashore on someone else's island when there's no one home. But if they put up a [No Trespassing] sign, then you do it anyway, because it's a slap in the face."

"Only farmers and summer guests walk on the moss ... The second time it doesn't rise back up. And the third time you step on moss, it dies."

Sophia wants to go swimming. "She waited for opposition, but none came. So she took off her clothes, slowly and nervously. She glanced at her grandmother - you can't depend on people who just let things happen. It's deep, Sophia thought. She forgets I've never swum in deep water unless someone was with me. And she climbed out again and sat down on the rock." Her grandmother notes that Sophia is afraid of deep water.

The interaction between Sophia and her grandmother is a clash of wills, Sophia stubborn, impetuous and supportive; her grandmother wise, unsentimental, on the edge of exhaustion, dizzy, fearful of losing her balance "the balance between survival and extinction was so delicate that even the smallest change was unthinkable".

Nonetheless, "It was just the same long summer always, and everything lived and grew at its own pace."

The book has been a major best seller in Scandinavia since it was first published in 1972. Thomas Teal has produced a wonderful English translation. This new edition from NYRB Classics is beautifully printed and bound. This novel captures a summer growing "at its own pace."

Robert C. Ross 2008

I rejoice that this short work has come into print again, though it's rather sad that it took the author's recent death to prompt the publishers into action. I'd read an extract in a guide to the top 100 books of the twentieth century and was surprised and disappointed not to be able to get my hands on the full edition.

Jansson has an inate understanding of the wisdom and skewed world-view of children, and manages to capture the fragile - and ephemeral - friendship which can exist between the very old and the very young. There is a freshness about her style which never teeters into whimsy. A rare achievement indeed.

That was my 4 year old niece's reaction after I read her this book. I
got it for her on a whim, since she's interested in Bigfoot and the
Loch Ness Monster. She absolutely loved it. Recommended.

Tales of the Cryptids has all the elements that children find irresistible: intriguing jacket design; vivid illustrations--some downright creepy; and lively, engaging text. The book poses questions that will keep kids reading to find the answers. . ."Why haven't we ever found a Bigfoot body?" It's chock full of weird stuff--a sure kid pleaser!

I bought this book for my 10 year old nephew, who, despite all the super electronic gizmos competing for attention at Christmas, took this one up to bed Christmas Eve, and couldn't put it down. Neither could his father, or his 8 year old brother. And I read it before I gave it to him. Very well-researched and balanced with an enquiring approach to the whole subject of Cryptids. Many thanks to the authors for another excellent book that gets kids to unplug from the computer, read a book and get their brains in gear.

This book is a gem for anyone interested in cryptozoology. And what kid isn't fascinated by tales of Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster and other such creatures that are shrouded in mystery and legend? In TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS, Halls, Spears and Young have done a fine job of presenting the stories of various cryptids. A fun read!

I am always on the prowl for books that will excite my eight-year-old sons, particularly if they don't have to do with underpants or wizards. With apologies to Dav Pilkey and J.K. Rowling, both of whom write fantastic books, I need a little variety. And so I was ecstatic to find TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS on the new non-fiction shelf in the library children's room. So ecstatic, in fact, that I kept the book hidden in my office until I had a chance to sit down and read it myself. It is fabulous, fabulous, fabulous (that's one for each of the book's three co-creators).

This meaty middle-grade non-fiction title takes readers on an adventure in cryptozoology. "Crypto-What?" asks the opening chapter title. Cryptozoology, "the study of and searching for legendary animals--called cryptids--to find out if there's any possibility that these mysterious animals people say they've seen really exist." From Bigfoot to the Loch Ness Monster to prehistoric cryptids you may never have heard of, this book tells readers what is true, what is not, and what scientists just can't be sure about.

In addition to being plain interesting, the book is designed well and is illustrated with a nice blend of photographs and drawings. The authors include a "Reality Index" to help readers tease hoaxes from reality as well as a thorough bibliography of books, articles and web sites for readers who want to continue their cryptid studies. I love that the authors had the courage to turn an objective eye to a fabulously interesting topic that happens to be fraught with doubt and disbelief. The result is a book that helps young readers to realize that all scientific investigation, cryptozoology included, requires a careful balance of skepticism and open-mindedness.

I am very happy!!! I got an additional $12.00 savings by the time the book arrived. My university wanted $98.00 for the book & that is not including tax. I was able to save $38.00, NOT TO MENTION THE TAX i SAVED.
Thank you Amazon & nward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

Great book, great shipper. Came fast and I am happy with the whole purchase.

I had to buy this textbook last year, as I was getting my teaching endorsement in Special Education. It is a good text, although mostly only useful if you are studying this for ceritification (I haven't used since I've been teaching).

This book is an excellent resource for all special education teachers. I especially recomment it for new teachers because it basically covers, in depth, the information that a first year teacher needs to organize their classroom, implement programs for facilitating teaching (e.g. peer tutoring,setting up reading and math programs, etc.).
It is a very challenging because of the amount of information covered. It teaches approaches to language arts and math (e.g. a concrete, representational, abstract approach to teaching math). It encourages and discusses ways to make teaching a more hands on approach to learning. I love it!

I have always used Cecil's book in my own research in developing materials. It is written clearly, is regularly updated, and presents sound thinking for special educators. If you work with students with learning and/or behavioral problems, this book is essential.