Hall Reviews

Mastering Commodity Futures & Options: A Step-by-Step Guide to Successful Trading (FT)

Published in Paperback by Financial Times/Prentice Hall (1998-05-25)

Author: George Kleinman

List price: $55.00

Used price: $98.00

Average review score:

Masterly.

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-01

Very well written and even entertaining in places, this book has lots of nuts and bolts you won't find in other primers, like the best explanation of First Notice Day and Last Trading Day I've seen anywhere. The section on choosing a broker is not very useful, but everything else is. You get a good treatment of Fundamental Analysis in addition to Technical Analysis, and two chapters on moving average systems, which Kleinman considers THE most valuable trading tools. If you're looking to start trading futures (mastery takes 5-10 years), make this one of the first five books you read.

Excellent strategies- definitely worth picking up

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-04

Having read more than 50 books on trading and the markets, it took me by surprise to find so much fresh material in this one. The strategy overviews were great- like the flexibility value of synthetic calls and puts, the use of backspreads to profit from volatile moves, or the correct way to pyramid, to give just a few examples. I've found that a majority of books on trading are either largely autobiographical or else they only cover the same old ground in some form or another (cut your losses, let your profits run, don't get emotional, yada yada yada)- but this one actually offers fresh, workable strategies and valuable insights. If you trade, or are thinking about trading, definitely pick this one up.

Loved it

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-22

Kleinman takes the mystery out of the commodities market. I wish I would have had this book before I attempted my series 3! It would have made the process much easier. The NFA should make this required reading.

Enhancing ones chances for winning trades.

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-08-03

An extremely well written primer for the novice and polisher for the expert. An absolute plethora of information and advice for those at any stage of commodity trading. The "bible" for traders.

A must read

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-30

WOW. What a powerful, easy to understand book about the whole ball of wax. If you are looking for THE book on Futures and Options, how they work, the reason behind price changes and an easy to understand system to trading look no further! A heart felt thanks Mr. Kleinman on a real work of art.

The memoirs of Barry Lyndon Esq

Published in Unknown Binding by G.K. Hall & Co (1998)

Author: William Makepeace Thackeray

List price:

Average review score:

Barry Lyndon

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-11

this book was made into a movie by stanley kubrick that won 4 academy awards. it relates the amazing adventures of the most dishonest man in history, redmond barry. it chronicles his unlikely rise to the top and subsequent comeuppance. he is fond of fighting, lying and ripping people off. despite his love of dishonesty and treachery, and his total lack of compassion for other people, he sees himself as a good person because he only hit his wife when he was drunk, at least for the first three years of their marriage.

A Satirical novel about a rascal's rise and fall.

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-08

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

A Victorian faces the XVIIIth. Century.

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 28 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-02

When one is about to take the big plunge and give oneself the trouble of making what is always -in our age of lighter reading, of course - the strenuous effort of reading a XIXth. Century novelist, one - at least me - must make the following question: What was this author's particular attitude, as a man (or woman) of the most bourgeois of all centuries, towards his/her preceding century, the most aristocratic and un-bourgeois XVIIIth. Century? If s/he scorns the XVIIIth. Century, or is indifferent to it, it's quite likely that the author in question is a bourgeois philistine regarding Victorian times as the undisputed acme of human civilization. If s/he is an admirer, than s/he is obviously starting out of a clear sense of alienation from his/her own society, and one should expect at least for this XIXth. Century _avis rara_, genuine sense of humor. Thackeray was one of such Victorians who realized the philisteism of his own society;Eça de Queiroz, his Portuguese disciple (who seems to have learned a lot from reading him) was another. Therefore: Read this book, QED.

A Satirical novel about a rascal's rise and fall.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1998-12-08

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

An excellent book on one man's rise and fall.

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 1997-03-19

Here, in this relatively obscure work, Thackeray is at his ironic and satiric best. Modern critics lightly dismiss the book as a piece of journalistic hack work, but it is much more than that. Redmond Barry, later Barry Lyndon, chronicles in a fairly sophistocated and always lighthearted manner his rise from a poor Irish country boy to the astral heights of polite English society from 1750-1820. Mr. Barry is always Machievellian in his way, and is quick and efficient with his sword. He is Odysseus, Holden Caulfield, Don Juan, and Nabokov's Humbert Humbert merged. In a word, he is very, very entertaining and very, very good. The book's only glaring flaw is it's belabored and uninspired ending. But it is much worth reading to watch Redmond Barry when young

Method of Organ Playing

Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (1987-10-01)

Author: Harold Gleason

List price: $58.67

Used price: $41.79

Average review score:

Gleason Method

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28

I used this same book when I was taking lessons in high school, went on to college as an organ major, and now use for teaching my own students. This is a great way of teaching classical organ technique, if followed correctly.
It especially builds a sound pedal technique and strong fingers.
Lots of good pieces too.

A sound and very helpful guide for organ students and pianists being used as organists

Helpful Votes: 13 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-05

I am an experienced pianist and have been tapped to play the organ at church for years, but I play it without pedals and while I have learned to choose and combine stops according to my own taste, I wanted to learn more about how stops are put together on organs. And I want to learn how to use pedals more than the occasional dominant and tonic uses I now when the music allows my time to find them.

This book is just what I wanted. Harold and Catharine Crozier Gleason have kept this method relevant through eight editions since it first appeared many decades ago. The book has explanatory text, illustrations, progressive exercises, and a nice selection of graduated pieces. The book assumes that you begin with a level of keyboard skill (piano, they say) of the level where you can handle the Bach 2 and 3 part Inventions.

Part 1 provides text that introduce you to organs, how they work, classes of pipes, mixing stops, and registration. Part 2 is just two pages providing an outline of this method. Part 3 introduces you to playing the organ on just the manuals. It begins with very simple exercises and soon provides a mixture of held and moving notes and combined touch. Finger substitution is an absolute requirement of organ technique and is taught quite well and its cousin, the finger glissando (sliding to neighboring notes). The section on how to play multi-voiced works and articulating the different voices so they are heard clearly is quite helpful. Part 4 introduces some practical issues of technique for playing pieces rather than exercises and provides more than 40 useful short pieces that give you experience in a variety of techniques and require you to use everything you have learned so far. I also enjoyed that the authors provide a few samples of the pieces in original notation along with the modern notation so you can see how different they are.

Part 5 introduces the pedal from how to sit at the console, very simple exercises including step-wise, small intervals, heel and toe, foot substitution, alternate toes, wide intervals, broken cords, harmonic intervals (playing two notes at the same time), and chords. Part 6 provides exercises and pieces for manuals and pedals together and begins very simply.

Part 7 provides some perspectives on performance practice from various periods and places including ornamentation. A table of ornaments is provided. Other issues such embellishment, notes inegales, fingering, touch, phrasing, articulation, the doctrine of affects, rubato, style, and interpretation. Part 8 covers the practical issues of playing for sacred services.

Part 9 provides scales for manuals and pedals. The appendices provide interesting material about organs around the world from various periods, information about composers of organ music of the Renaissance and the Baroque, a bibliography for further reading and a glossary.

The book is bound in a very sturdy way that will stand up to long use. However, you will have to work to get it to lay flat at the organ (at first) or use other books to keep it open to the pages you are working on.

A very useful text for pianists being used as organists, organ students, and anyone interested in developing beginning organ skills.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Harold Gleason's Method: Still a Classic

Helpful Votes: 33 out of 35 total.
Review Date: 2000-08-03

Since the first appearance of Harold Gleason's Method of Organ Playing in 1937 it has been the most comprehensive and complete tool on the market for training first-class organists. The Gleason method is unique among books of its kind in that it has been in a continual state of evolution throughout its eight editions. The vast practical and pedagogical knowledge of Harold Gleason and his wife, concert organist Catharine Crozier Gleason is presented in the most up-to-date fashion in the current eighth edition. Every page of the book reflects both first-rate and recent scholarship as well as tried and true materials for beginning players. The lists of organ literature, the bibliography and the historical information that supplements the pedagogical portion of the book makes it a worthwhile investment for organists at all performing levels. As a beginning player I was reared at the organ with the fifth and sixth editions of the method and have returned to it often thoughout my career as a performer and teacher. Method of Organ Playing should be a must in the library of every serious organist and is a model for any kind of method or instruction book.

A Gleason treasure trove:

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-08

I have known since I was sixteen that Gleason is the only way to go in terms of technique. (My high school and college teachers were both Mildred Andrews' students.)I found a second edition and several fourth editions here at Amazon.com in reasonable conditions, and most of them are very affordably priced. These are wonderful collector's items at real life prices - something not often found. I have seen a fourth edition before: it is in manuscript. I look forward to seeing my second edition!

Worth the Money

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-12

My organ instructor insisted I find this pricey book for my studies. I reluctantly ordered it, and I'm really glad I did. It is a comprehensive learning tool for any organist, useful exercises and great pieces are included.

I called every music store in my area and no one had this book, but Amazon did! I could have hunted for this book in stores forever. Save yourself the trouble and order it here.

This book is not for pianists who want a quick transition to the organ, but for serious students of the instrument. There are plenty of cheaper organ method books out there, but the Gleason is the best.

Microsoft SQL Server: Planning and Building a High Performance Database

Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall (1996-12-16)

Author: Robert D. Schneider

List price: $39.95

New price: $29.95
Used price: $0.02

Average review score:

Simply Excellent and NO NONSENSE BOOK

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 1999-04-06

Its a must have book

Great book for getting under the hood of MS SQL Server 6.5

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1998-09-23

This book builds on a basic understanding of SQL Server, showing real-world scenarios and advice on what to look for to make database application perform optimally.

Best book I've found on SQL/Server

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1997-12-19

I've read at least a half dozen books on MSC Sql/Server at this point, and this was by far the most useful. It's both a good guide to general DB development practices and a tutorial on SQL/Server. This book and the MSC manuals is enough to get someone started on SQL/Server. I took the time to write this review in the hopes of saving someone else all the effort I expended buying and reading the useless books.

A must SQL Developers and Administrators

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1998-01-02

This is, by far, on of the most usefull books on Microsoft SQL Server I have seen. It covers important information about optimizing queries, indexes and the database itself. A must read for SQL developers and administrators.

Very good book

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1997-12-22

Really covers SQL tunning well. Gets a little too much into general DBA stuff in the end. I would recommend the Ken England book over this one, simply because it is more concise.

The Mirror of the Artist: Art of Northern Renaissance, Perspectives Series

Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall (1995-09-29)

Author: Craig Harbison

List price: $32.40

New price: $15.50
Used price: $6.90

Average review score:

Must have for art historians!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-28

Art historian and art history student must hav. The book contains fabulous images and amazing insight into the period in which the images were created.

PERFECT!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-08

THIS BOOK ARRIVED WITH PERFECT TIMING AND CONDITION!
I WAS VERY PLEASED!

An exciting survey

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-17

I've loved the art of this period for years, but had little academic grounding in it. This book lets me return to old favorites with new eyes.

This, in common with other volumes in the "Perspectives" series, offers high quality (though small) reproductions of important works, up-to-date analysis and discussion of the art and the contexts in which it was created. Harbison's tone is informative, if ocasionally a little too sententious. But it's a very small price to pay, given the overall excellence of his work in this volume. It's obvious that Harbison loves this period, and he transmits his excitement for these works to the reader in concise language that is accessible to a lay audience.

Of particular interest is the discussion of how the Northern Rennaisance related to and differed from what was going on in Italy at the time. The only major weakness: not enough of a focus on Durer. But it's hard to get sufficient focus on any artist in a book this condensed.

An excellent book for those familiar with the period, or those wanting to get acquainted with a school of art often unjustly overshadowed by its southern contemporary.

Art of the Northern Renaissance in historical context

Helpful Votes: 17 out of 17 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-31

Informative, smart and well-written, Craig Harbison's "The Mirror of the Artist" provides an excellent, brief introduction to the sensibility, historical context, and practice of art in the North. From the attitude toward realism, to patronage among the growing class of government bureaucrats, to the market for art or the influence of the Reformation, the book offers an enhanced understanding of artistic interest and social situations in which the paintings were made -- without ever forgetting their aesthetic dimension. The best tribute I can offer is that I immediately went back to Amazon to order Harbison's "Jan Van Eyck: The Play of Realism", a $35 large format paperback. Minor quibble: Although well-illustrated for a paperback this size, with the book just about 6.25" x 9.5", more details should have been illustrated when details were discussed in larger works. (I'm still looking for the barely visible figure of the devil above the cow in the "Portinari Altarpiece".) But this is a rare problem.

Good introduction

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-04

Overall, this is a good introduction to Northern Renaissance art and the cultural mindset that produced it.

Like many works of revisionist history, this book is a bit heavy-handed at times in its effort to prove that Northern art is as worthy of study as Italian Renaissance art. But overall, the contrast between the two different artistic traditions is effective.

Month-by-Month Phonics for Upper Grades: A Second Chance for Struggling Readers and Students Learning English

Published in Paperback by Four Blocks (a Division of Carson-Dellosa) (1998-01-01)

Authors: Patricia Cunningham, Dorothy P. Hall, and Gene Shanks

List price: $19.99

New price: $11.98
Used price: $8.75

Average review score:

Word Work surpasses Spelling!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-28

I purchased this after a literacy workshop in our district. After reading the introduction and the first month of lessons, I'm hooked! It's the first "spelling" approach I've seen in my 10 years teaching that makes sense and shows how to teach students to look at words in a whole different light than traditional, ineffective workbook programs. It provides words and structured instructional lessons for TEACHING word work rather than assigning words to memorize for a week, then forget.

Great for students of all ability levels!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-06

I have had great success with the activities in this book. The students enjoy the activities. It has helped my students spell better and it is great for my ESL students. Students of all ability levels benefit from these activities.

Second Chance for Upper Grade Readers

Helpful Votes: 128 out of 129 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-03

This is an excellent choice for teachers who wish to implement a phonics program that can really work for upper grades. The book is divided into months. Each month there are activities ready to be used. The activities are categorized into four specific goals. Once you learn how to teach the four goals for the first month, you will be prepared to teach the same lessons again the next month, of course, using different words.

The phonics activities help students notice spelling patterns in words through clever activities that the older kids will enjoy. For instance, there are phonics lessons based on brand names! I highly recommend this program because it will give upper grade students the chance to learn how to spell high frequency words, to identify spelling patterns in big and small words, to monitor their spelling, and to use root/prefix/suffix parts of words to define and spell words.

This book is suitable for 4-8 grades. It includes lessons that will last for nine months of the school year. Teachers on year round schooling will also be able to use this book. Each lesson should take between 15-30 minutes, depending on the teacher's scehdule. This is an excellent book for upper grade teachers!

Added Practice

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-09

This has been a great supplement for my high school English classes. The kids love it and they get a chance to work and look at words differently. They are using skills they don't use on a regular basis. It's quite a challenge for most!

FINALLY! A BOOK THAT WORKS FOR UPPER EL

Helpful Votes: 66 out of 67 total.
Review Date: 2002-01-23

This book is by far the most beneficial I have found for my upper elementary students struggling to improve their reading skills. It gives simple, step by step instructions for each of the activities and requires very little planning time for the teacher. EVERY child can succeed at improving reading skills, and the activities are appropriate for older students. They do not feel like they are doing 'baby' lessons- an issue I have dealt with when using other phonics books.

Moongame

Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (1987-04)

Author: Frank Asch

List price: $4.95

Used price: $0.11

Average review score:

Frank Asch Does It Again! (A review of "Moongame")

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-11

Frank Asch is on my entering kindergartener's Summer Reading List and I (we) can certainly understand why. His stories are gentle and cute and wonderfully illustrated.

In Moongame, Bear learns how to play hide and seek. And when Little Bird goes home, he continues playing with the moon. At first, the moon finds him hiding in a hollow tree trunk. The moon then 'hides' behind a cloud, and when Bear cannot find him, he asks for Little Birds and the forest creatures help.

They look everywhere but cannot find the moon! Perplexed and a little sad, Bear suddenly thinks to say, "Okay, Moon, I give up. You win!". At which point, a breeze blows the clouds away and there is the moon. Hurray!

Five Stars. A lovely book for toddlers on up.

Great book for toddlers

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-16

Of all Frank Asch's books, this is our four year old daughter's favorite. She responds very well to the humor of the situation and loves the idea of playing with the moon.

Back when we first started reading to our daughter as a baby, she was very impatient and wouldn't sit for long stories. We were limited to board books that were very short and direct. Frank Asch's titles helped us show her that sitting for a whole story was worthwhile. Now she'll sit for much longer titles, but the whole Moon Bear series are still favorite re-reads!

A delightful game of "hide and seek"

Helpful Votes: 11 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-23

Little Bird teaches Bear how to play "hide and seek," complete with covering his eyes, counting to ten, and, most importantly, taking turns. Later, when Little Bird is not around, Bear asks the moon to play. When it's Bear's turn to count, the moon "hides" behind a cloud. But when Bear can't find the moon, he first enlists the help of Little Bird, then all of the animals in the forest to help search for the moon.

This delightful book teaches toddlers and preschoolers several important lessons. First, they learn the rules of hide and seek, a quintessential childhood game. They can count to ten along with Bear and practice taking turns. And they learn the importance of cooperation and asking for help when you need it. Many books for children attempt to teach such life lessons in heavy-handed ways, but this one maintains its gentle tone throughout.

More Moonbear

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-25

Moonbear and Little Bird spend a day playing hide and seek. When Little Bird leaves, Moonbear doesn't want to stop, so he asks the Moon to play with him. In a quiet, great-for-right-before-bed book, kids can learn about playing with friends, playing on their own and cooperation. This is a gentle book and thoroughly enjoyable for my whole family.

Hide-and-seek bedtime story

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-11

This book tells the story of a young bear who learns to play hide-and-seek from his friend the bird. He spends all day taking turns hiding or counting to 10 before searching for his friend. At night he decides to play the same game with the moon. The natural world of the moon and the clouds astounds him. The animals of the forest come out and help. The book is charming, and a good short read before bed, with about 700 words.

Moscow Rules (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1985-11)

Author: Robert Moss

List price: $19.95

Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

Prescient look at how USSR could change with new leadership.

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-09-08

One inaccuracy that I caught in this book (stating that hashish comes from poppies in Afghanistan) made me wonder what other inaccuracies existed in this book. Despite that, this is an entertaining tale that has proved to be decided prescient in what good and bad could come from a liberalized leadership in USSR. The book used a military coup rather than political change to get this change, but the rest is right on.

All elements and more

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1999-06-28

Never before have I read a spy novel with such political and human depth.The themes and ideas are universal and celebrate the triumphant spirit of mankind that makes freedom always triumph over tyranny.I wrote down quotes from the book and have kept them forever.A must for all lovers of intrigue about events that could have come to pass if it had not been for the foresight of Mikhail Gorbachev.Of course all the other elements of a succesful spy novel are there:adventure,intrigue,action and excitement

Dated now, but an excellent novel of international espionage

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2004-04-15

This is an excellent novel set in the late stage of the Cold War. It essentially paints a very plausible scenario (that turned out wrong, as it happens) of how the old USSR might have changed governmental systems.

The novel is centered around a Soviet GRU agent stationed in the United States ("Sasha"). Sasha has an agenda, even as he becomes a competent agent working for the Soviet regime as an intelligence officer in the United States. The novel crackles with authenticity. Moss plainly did his homework, and draws heavily on other works including the well-known "Inside the GRU" by Victor Suvorov. The writing is excellent, the storyline moves briskly, and the key characters have depth and plausibility.

This is one of my favorite spy novels and remains so, even if it is the case that the old USSR imploded under a scenario somewhat different than that set forth here. Moss's speculation along these lines was intelligent and insightful, and better than most.

Overall, a great read and an intelligent look at international espionage in the context of the bad old days of the Cold War.

An Effortless Read

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-09

Great book, it is not often that an author can come up with such a comprehensive book as this on his first try. This had it all, a great story, good characters, wonderful action and a quick pace. This is an exciting book. It really made me happy reading the book; it was like a great game of treasure hunt where you find everything. Each time I was ready for a plot twist, action of drama it was there. The characters just explode in your memory - you do not get them out of your head. Overall great effort.

All elements and more

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-04

Never before have I read a spy novel with such political and human depth. The themes and ideas are universal, and celebrate the triumphant spirit of mankind, that makes freedom always triumph over tyranny. I wrote down quotes from the book and have kept them forever. A must read for all lovers of intrigue, about events that could have come to pass, if it had not been for the foresight of Mikhail Gorbachev. Of course all the other elements of a successful spy novel are there: adventure, intrigue, action and excitement .

Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession

Published in Hardcover by G K Hall & Co (1984-03)

Author: Erma Bombeck

List price: $13.95

Used price: $1.00

Average review score:

laugh it all away

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-31

This one is guaranteed to make you feel great about your chosen profession. As you laugh away the Purgatorial moments you realize how much you love your kids.

Wonderful, hilarious and insightful ~~ a must read!

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-16

If it wasn't for someone raving about Erma's books ~~ and her insights, I would have never thought of picking her books up again. I remember very vividly reading her columns in my hometown newspaper every day till I moved to college. She is what I consider to be part of the American scene, Mom, Apple Pie and Erma Bombeck.

This book, which I read in one day over this past weekend, is just as wonderful as her other books. It made me laugh and roll my eyes (I don't have teenagers yet) and cry. The one chapter that made me cry the hardest is the letter from a mom whose son is a criminal. I had studied a little bit of criminals and their families in sociology in college, and that letter hit home. I love the letter from a teenager asking how did moms get their bionic and super powers. I love her insights on traveling and coming home. Let's face it, I just love Erma. She really is a woman who has her finger on the pulse of the nation's heart.

This is a wonderful must-read for all moms and their children. This is a book to read in different stages of your life too. I plan to read it again in several years when my two are tweens and again when they're teenagers. I am sure her insights will still help me grow through rocky patches. This is a timeless book. And one that I plan to share with the new moms in my life.

5-15-06

the wonderful, hilarious and insightful Erma Bombeck.....

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-20

The title, alone, says it all about this book. As long as there has been creation, there have been mothers. The combination of rich humor and sensitive insight keep you entertained, all the while, shedding new light on the joy and rapture of motherhood.

Bombeck leaves a wonderful legacy behind, with this, one of her most well-loved books. Other Bombeck books I would definitely reccomend include: The Grass is Greener Over the Septic Tank, Just Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own!, When You Begin to Look Like Your Passport It's Time To Go Home, and Family: The Ties That Bind (And Gag).

Required reading for Mothers Day and everyday

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2003-02-25

Erma Bombeck was the best humorist of the domestic American scene. This book, focused on her best subject - mothers, is a gem. Both humorous and wise at the same time, it will give you valuable insights one minute and have you rolling with laughter the next. If you are a mother, planning to become one, or want to gain some insight into your own mother, this is the book for you.

While reading this book, I heard two people quote from it. One was a radio food guru and the other was one of those heart-warming emails that someone I know decided to forward to everybody in their online address book. Read this book and you may find yourself quoting from it someday.

MOTHERHOOD & ERMA BOMBECK - This says it ALL!!

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 1998-08-30

Erma Bombeck is as far as I'm concerned the best writer of this century!! I love ALL her books, but I especially love, MOTHERHOOD: The Second Oldest Profession", the best!

It is in my opinion HER VERY BEST WORK!! And should be considered a classic!!

This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you think, and above all else it will make you take a second look at your life...and rejoice in it!

Erma Bombeck's book, "Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession", is a MUST for all parents, guardians, and care-takers of children to read!!! It is not only heart-warming - it is about life itself.

Erma Bombeck had a very unique and talented knack of getting right to the heart of any matter - and making people see it in a whole new perspecitive...and to see it through the eyes of laughter and love...

Erma Bombeck - IS - the best writer of this century, and all her books [and especially this one] simply ARE the best stories and articles you will ever read! And all her work should be considered as classics...

VERY Sincerely - Kathyrn L.M. Reynolds

The Mountain Valley War (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

Published in Hardcover by G. K. Hall & Company (1998-06)

Author: Louis L'Amour

List price: $27.95

Used price: $24.91

Average review score:

Another Well written Kilkenny novel

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-04

The second of the three novels about Lance Kilkenny, a man with an unwanted reputation as a gunfighter, now he's got himself a small piece of land, a few head of cattle and has hung up his guns. A good novel, though personally I favour the other two Kilkenny novels ("The Rider of Lost Creek" and "Kilkenny") but this one is not far behind. It's obvious that L'Amour knows his characters well, like all good writers for any medium should. Here Kilkenny finds he has to defend his land, and organise his neighbours, in a small war against a power mad cattle baron.

Good read, a bit humourless - 2nd of the three Kilkenny/Trent

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-30

I am reading L'amour for the first time and all in a mix depending on which books I get hold of first. I was a bit disappointed with this one. I like the funny wry novels better than the serious/gunfighter ones - and this falls into the serious gunfighter genre, it seems.

IN this second book Kilkenny has drifted to Idaho into the mountains and properly filed for some land himself. Unfortunately he and his fellow 'nesters' have aroused the ire of the local land baron, 'King' Hale. Hale hadn't been interested in the land until the nesters came along, now he is ruthlessly driving them out aided by his violent son 'cub' and the tacit help of some of the locals including a shop owner who refuses to sell them any goods.

Kilkenny now calls himself Trent and doesn't want to be drawn into anything he doesn't have to, but unfortunately it is brought to his door, his neighbour is ruthlessly murdered and his children hunted. They escape to Trent's cabin and then Trent himself is threatened. He refuses to budge but joins up with the other nesters and fights for what is his.

What I liked about this book and other L'amours is that people are generally not simply black and white. Some of Hale's men are actually good men and they recognise in Trent a similar spirit which makes the action more complicated and richer for it. Also within the nesters there is Cain Brockman, whose brother Abel was killed by Kilkenny/Trent and has sworn revenge. Cain is a good man who fell in with a bad lot now trent has to use his persuasive powers to convince Cain of this.

Like I said this is a rich and complex novel, a good easy read to take up an afternoon.

Top Gun and Boxing expert!!

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-07

Trent thought he could settle down quietly and avoid his old reputation as a gun fighter, but deep down he knew it was only a matter of time before trouble came to him. Sure enough, he found himself in a Mountain Valley War on the side of the minority. The minority is a majority when they find out who Trent really is! He is non other than Kilkenny, the fastest gun around and the greatest fighter too. Before it is over, he'll have to prove it. Check this book out. L'Amour is especially good at describing the fight scene and he does it expertly in this saga of old west fiction.

A Long Time Ago

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-03

The Mountain Valley War was first published (paper) back in 5/78. I bought my copy published 2/79. As always I read the book with-in the next day or so. so it's been about 23 yrs. gone by. I always write a short note in the book describing my opinions. It seems as if I was overjoyed with the book as I wrote "what a fabulous story", or was it, I'd been dreaming and placing myself in the lead character's shoes, something I do often. Louis's books are fabulous. If you don't find that to be so you might not like any westerns.

ANOTHER LOUIS L'AMOUR MASTERPIECE!!

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 1999-06-12

I have read over 80 of L'Amour's books, and this one was terrific! If you've read (and liked) Kilkenny, then you'll love this one, too. Kilkenny is a fascinating character in this book, and L'Amour has given him quite the brain to defeat the Hale gang. A must read!!!

Hall Books