King Books

Reading this wonderful book gave me the vicarious pleasure of wandering the globe in the company of skilled writers who know just how to crystallize their experiences for the reader. I recommend it to any armchair traveler! (And it's a great book to take on a plane.)

What a refreshing, beautiful book. The essays within are full of powerful and rich personality, which serves to give a full sensory perception of the places of which they write. There is an abandon and adventurous spirit that blows through the pages and inspires the reader not just to travel, but to really experience the places one goes, even close to home.

This book was perfectly conceived and executed. These 24 smart stories by 12 smart women cover the whole tonal range -- funny, poignant, gut-wrenching, beautiful, thoughtful, irreverant, wonderfully sappy... And the publishing concept itself was brilliant, a clever way to crack a difficult market: strength in numbers, taking power into their own hands...in retrospect it seems so obvious, but I'm sure that two years ago these women had little idea how brilliant they were being... I'm 50 years old now, and anyone who has reached my stage of geezerhood knows the value of having even one good solid friend. I attended a salon event these women put on in San Francisco recently, and I mentioned to one of them just how great I thought it would be to have twelve friends as tight as they seem to be. Her response: "Well, now you do!" And that is the feeling that one comes away with after reading their book: Twelve new friends.

This book exhilarated me and ignited my passion for travel to an even higher level than before. The courage (and insanity!) of some of these women; their appreciation for travel, culture and their unrelenting desire to soak up every bit of their experiences, inspired me to - not only travel to every destination listed in the book - but to truly appreciate the journey, with all its flaws. Because, who knows, it might make for a great story someday!

I love this book.
So great to hear all the adventures these women have.
They are all so independent. They go off to see the world in so many different ways. Each one has their own personality and way of traveling.
They go out and do all the things I wish I could do.
Way to go Ladies ...........
Thanks for the inspiration
p.s. I also love their monthly news-letters

A must read for all women. This could happen to you. Be very careful who you marry and with whom you have children. Look behind that charming exterior before you even allow him a date.

"All but my Soul, Abuse Beyond Control" is a powerful and gut wrenching account of the family of a wife and child abuser, and of the United States court system that sided with him and gave him full permission to continue abusing to his heart's content. We are so taught that we can rely on our justice system to be just, that it's hard to fathom that one judge and lawyer after another could so use their power to further abuse a wife and her sons.

Yet, I too was in a similar situation and the judge gave my ex-husband his blessing, his stamp of approval, allowing him to continue to control us and make us into prisoners in our own houses by frequently denying us contact with one another. As with Dr. King, I too could see the damage my ex was inflicting on our daughter, and I was powerless to stop it. After 8 years of being controlled by him through custody, my daughter came to live with me when she was nearly 15 and has been living with me for nearly 6 years now. She still cries when she recalls those horrible years. Yet in our case there was no physical abuse like Dr. King records. It was mostly non-physical. I assumed the lack of physical evidence was why the judge decided against me. But there was plenty of physical evidence in Dr. King's family, and the judge still put those boys with their abuser.

I am amazed at how well Dr. King kept it together. I didn't do nearly as well and the judge decided my ex was the more stable--after he'd made an emotional wreck of me. (anxiety; I needed Dr. King's professional services.) So he put our daughter with her dad, so he could make an emotional wreck of her, too. I have absolutely no confidence in our legal system. As a result, I continued to pay child support after my daughter came to live with me and her dad refused to sign a paper releasing me of that responsibility, lest her dad destroy her or the court order her to live with her dad again and/or see me even less than before, or the lawyers take more money than the remaining child support.

I have heard that it is the abusive men who are more likely to fight for custody of their children, and it is the abusive men who are more likely to win.

As Dr. King did, I also realized I was helpless to change our situation and felt driven to write "Behind the Hedge, A novel" to make a difference for others. [...]

Ms. King tells her story with profound truth while relating the further progressions of control when seeking help from the justice system. Ms. King will stir emotions you never realized existed, as her story relates the commonalities found in many abusive relationships. When there are children involved as with the author's situations, the pain and mental stress that fills a mother's daily life and sleepless nights, is unimaginable. A mother's heart is ripped to shreads when the abuser, as the author relates, attempts to control and turn the children away from their mother. This emotional disaster is beyond the choicest words yet this book penetrates the heart and soul like no other I've read. Ms. King has created an autobiography that, having lived the near nightmare she pens with all but the broken bones and legalities, I can only on say what Jeanne has told is only a small part of the tormenting suffering that only fades, but never really goes away. It is a pain that a mother only learns to deal with, with a lifetime of prayers that the children will one day understand, as the author writes. Jeanne found me sobbing, and yet I applaud her dedication to restoring others and the informative contents within. If you are in an abusive situation or know anyone that is, or are thinking about tieing the knot where signs of abuse exist, this book is pricless and may well change your thinking...if not your life. Author of: VOWS BETRAYED: A Story of Abuse, A Transformational Message

Excellent Book. This book gives documented accounts of personal history of domestic violence, teaches about the cycle of domestic abuse and gives an excellent overview of how the court system can keep a family in legal domestic abuse.

Would highly recommend it to anyone who might be in an abusive relationship.

Having spent most of my adult life in one abusive situation after another I couldn't imagine that there was anything that could shock me or make me feel more drawn to take action. Although I already knew the ending before I began reading I couldn't put the book down I was so drawn into the passion and authenticity of Dr Kings' writing about the continual cycles of abuse that she and her children had endured. At some points I got so wrapped up in what happened to Dr. King and her children that I felt as though I became a part of the story and wanted to help her and her children in any way I could. Although I have always known from my own experience that lawyers, doctors, and the courts could all be bought off I couldn't imagine that anyone could turn their heads for politics and money while ignoring such outrageous abuse and devastation. Additionally, the numbers of people who turned their back on this situation is far beyond any reasonable persons' imagination. I find it amazing that she was able to survive the torture of her relationship only to be continually tortured even more by those who were supposed to be there to help and protect her and her children. Finally after surviving such horrific abuse to be able to pour her energy into writing such detail about `what really happens in the abuse cycle' must have been painful as she relived every event of the previous few years in order to make a difference. I applaud Dr. King for her courage and I pray that when her children are old enough to read this book and understand the real dynamics of the abuse cycle perpetrated on their mother and themselves that they will be able to draw from her strength and courage to forgive their abuser and stop the abuse cycle from continuing into the next generation of Blumenthal's. Dr. King has obviously put her heart and soul into this book with the clear intention of making a difference in someone else's life, I can't imagine anyone coming away from reading this book without being changed in some positive way. Thank you Dr. King for you commitment to making a difference and for your courage in coming forward to help others who are trapped in this same cycle of abuse. This book has changed my life forever.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted by this book--not by the actions of her wretched ex-husband Les, but by the continual abuse of the LEGAL system funded by his mindless, destructive pathology. I, too, was married to an abusive physician, more emotional than physical. A rude, ranting power-monger. When I finally gathered the strength to make a move (and it took YEARS), the legal system was there for me. Aside from the longevity of the proceedings (2 1/2 years SO FAR) my children and I have been protected by the judges. My attorney and his staff have never wavered in their support and have been a source of strength for me. Having an attorney you can trust, along with the support of family and countless friends gets you through even the most frightening days.
If you are in an abusive situation, Dr. King's book may scare you from taking action against your abuser. Don't let it. Read her book, educate yourself, and get ready for battle. You cannot be weak. I hope that her situation is not the norm and if you are considering a divorce, then be ready for a long and bloody dog-fight. These men don't give up--and worse, they deny any wrong-doing or responsibility and place all the blame on anyone who happens to be walking by. Unreal. Because they are charming and appear piteous, people actually believe them. The attitude of unethical attorneys is just as much or more loathsome: "Hey, if those kids get hungry enough, she'll settle", and they will use and do anything to win. These people will not stand up for the simplest of human decencies like children not huddling together in fear listening to their father shriek in fury at their mother. They will, in fact, take those children and put their very lives and emotional well-being at risk if it will line their pockets with silver. My daughter used to grab her little sister, put cotton in her ears, lock the bedroom door and crawl under the bedcovers with her during his irrational meltdowns. Read this book, read other books, get on the internet and research laws for your state and state Supreme Court rulings, find a loyal, GOOD attorney who is appalled at misogynous behavior, get dormant and grow strong roots. Keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone your business. Lose as much emotion as you can. Think like they think and try to stay one step ahead. Once you make a decision, you cannot feel sorry for them or guilty and go back into that life. Maintain your dignity, don't grovel, try not to show fear, and stay on the right side of right. Forget future planning and live for today and take care of those children. If you don't protect them, you can't expect anyone else to. My turning point was when my daughter turned and looked at me after yet another mealtime rampage and quietly said: "Mom, I can't live like this anymore. You have got to do something." Her eyes were just dull.
Be smart, educate yourself and remember you know more about your case than anyone in that courtroom. And hope that the legal system is ethical and doesn't prey on your children. Where are the Congressmen? the Senators? Greenpeace? Jesse Jackson? Where's the Village Hillary wrote about? Is the spotted owl more important than Dr. King's three sons? At this very moment, while you are reading this, one of her children is being punched, kicked, screamed at, humiliated. How Judge Timothy Evans sleeps at night is beyond me. Surely those children's cries haunt him every moment. All of that pain---for lousy money and political gain. What an unforgivable American tragedy.

Lots of unique puzzles to jumpstart your lateral thinking skills. Tons of fun, too!

How does one invoke an "Aha" moment? How do you lead people from bewilderment to clarity with simple drawings, letters, and numbers? Lloyd King has perfected the art of puzzles, packing them with a triple punch of outright satisfaction, humor, and surprise.

If you are a trainer or workshop leader, these puzzles can be adapted for your use. The puzzles are great for ice breakers for any group or topic or could be used as exercises to support topics such as creativity, humor, or even change management.

I have been a trainer and/or workshop leader for over twenty years and am always looking for new ideas and ways to adapt existing materials to my training needs. Let me give an example how you can adapt Lloyd's puzzles as an ice breaker.

* Find out the number of participants in your workshop or session.
* Prior to your workshop pick out some puzzles from Lloyd King's book.
* You can simply redraw the puzzle on paper for each group.
* Consider dividing the workshop participants into small groups of 5-6 people.
* Offer participants an overview of the exercise. "Each group will be given a puzzle to solve. You have five minutes to work together and solve it. You will need to pick a representative who will describe your process to the entire group."
* Allow participants 5 minutes to collaboratively solve the puzzle.
* At the end of the time period have the representative from each group come forward one at a time, show the puzzle to the entire group, and describe how they reached the solution. If the group did not solve the puzzle - open the challenge up to the entire group. Provide guidance if necessary.

Liz Lowe

I like Lloyd King's puzzles! They are challenging, creative, often very amusing, and great fun. For me, this is a 5 star puzzle collection, indeed Lloyd is a 5 star puzzler, and has been for the 20 or so years that I have known him.

This genial book is one of three books written by the master of puzzles Lloyd King. This one is his latest and maybe the best one, even if it would be rather unfair to draw that conclusion, because every one of his books is very different and unique in it's own way. Lloyd's book "Test Your Creative Thinking" is the one that made me love puzzles.

"Amazing AHA Puzzles" contains over 300 puzzles. The remarkable and amazing thing is that every single puzzle is very unique and doesn't resemble any other puzzle in the book. That shows the writers colorful and versatile imagination and creativity.

English is not my native language, so in the beginning, I found some of the wordy puzzles rather difficult. The fine thing is that these puzzles will even make you think English and learn English in quite an unique way. Therefore, I would recommend Lloyd King's books even to those who want to learn English and be better at English.

The book's wonderful illustrations show us that an amazing amount of energy and time has been invested into every page of this work of genius.

Coming from a relatively puzzle-less background, I am a recent convert to the imaginative puzzle world presented by Lloyd King's special brand of AHA! creative magic. This beautifully presented book contains puzzles ranging from the relatively simple to the almost impossible. Fortunately all the answers, with full and elaborate explanations, are available in the book so the reader is not only able to obtain emotional release if the need arises (as assuredly it will!) but is also able to gain a real insight into the mechanics of a truly creative and imaginative mind and in so doing improve his/her own creative and lateral thinking. This is a highly recommended book.

Given that this is a debut novel, the prose is remarkable, the voice unique, the insights into human behaviour and relationship profound. Mother-daughter relationships are always complicated, oft times ridden with confusing expectations, dreams of the future/reminiscences of the past, and always always the burden of aging - whether it be of youth blossoming or the prospect of death. This writer captures the emotional complexity of the relationship with great dexterity and compassion. We only hope that she continues to write yet again and again and again, many novels, many works, of which I'm sure she is entirely capable.

Any woman who has ever had a love-hate relationship with their mother will love this book. It's a beautiful and touching story about how different we see a mother's "good" intentions from when we are children to when we become adults. No matter how painful the journey, in the end we see that we all do the best that we can whether we're the mother or the daughter. It brought tears to my eyes.

Mimi never tires of telling her daughter, Silvie that she is named for the king, Elvis. She once dated the king. Mimi has big ideas and intentions, but finds herself stuck in the role of mother and housewife. This is not where she wanted to be. She loves the spotlight, dressing up in her high heels and swirling around in dresses.

Silvie is dowdy by Mimi's comparison, comfortable hiding from the spotlight. Mimi is disappointed that Silvie is not more 'out there', not more like her.

Silvie moves town to get out from under Mimi's shoes, but is driven back to her mother's side when she discovers that she has cancer. It is truly heartbreaking for Silvie to see her mother who was larger than life, slowly disintegrating before her eyes.

This is a good book about mother-daughter relationships, but it was really nothing new. It's all about people finding each other before they are separated forever.

Her mother's blue suede shoes always caused a problem for young Silvie. She wants a traditional, conservative mother, but ended up with Mimi - a headstrong, independant woman whose claim to fame is her dates with Elvis. Silvie believes that she has finally gotten away from her mother's indominable clutches when she moves to New York, but when Mimi is diagnosed with terminal cancer she goes home to help her die.

Through this time together, Silvie embraces her mother. She comes to learn the important elements of her family history. Through this time, Silvie gives and recieves the important elements of her mother's life, and finally comes to accept both her childhood and her future. She learns how to move beyond her mother, yet how to more fully embrace her special qualities.

The book is an excellent read for women. It gives a remarkable portrayal of the mother-daughter bond, with all of its pain and promise. Overall, highly recommended.

With compassion, insight and elegance, Kathryn Stern's wonderful debut novel, "Another Song about the King," traces the tensions and fissures between a repressed but talented mother and her daughter, whose own life's experiences sadly reflect the disappointments, resentments and fears felt by her mother. Stern paints a vivid picture of Simone, whose mothering skills mirror the venomous pressures and arid emotional wasteland of her own childhood. Simone is so repressive and begruding of her daughter's right to a life that, at times, it appears that she could not be more deliberate in her emotional abuse. Silvie, in turn, at a very early age, deliberately withdraws from her mother and builds such an anguished anger and sense of disappointment with her circumstances that she refuses to call her mother any other name than Mimi.

The central conceit of the novel turns around Simone's teen-age "relationship" with Elvis Presley, a "date" whose scope is never completely determined but whose impact on the dissatisfied Simone grows and distorts her own ability to live as a functional adult. Simone's discontent is the central fact of her life. "For a long time, I liked being married, the routine, the security. But then it was the late sixties...and there I was in the suburbs, just planning a week of dinner and making them." The adult daughter, Silvie (whose own name, incidentally, is a semi-anagram of Elvis), understood "her discontent, the discontent of all women caught between the work of staying home and raising children and the larger work of the world."

Stern's masterful talent of characterization reveals itself fully through Silvie, a sensitive and inquisitive child who bears the brunt of her mother's smoldering fury. How should a child respond to a parent who insists the child develop her talents, but once expressed, elicits a competitive anger from the very adult she yearns to please? Silvie decides to withdraw, to finish in second place, to acquiesce to her mother. This tremendously affecting character pushes her sadness "down into that tight little bead no one could see, filling the space with emptiness, nothingness...I feared I lacked a self."

"Another Song" is not just about the evolving relationship between a mother and her daughter. This deeply reflective novel also treats the issues of insanity, suicide, depression, divorce, existential anguish and terminal illness. Never forgotten is the humanity of the central characters, and that compassion animates Stern's ability to make even a Simone a character about whom we care. This author, with a sure and sensitive hand, understands the quest all children, regardless of age, have to understand and forgive their parents.

I want to echo T.C. Humphery in praising this study Bible. It is the BEST!!!! Nelson--PLEASE BRING IT BACK! P. Rasberry College Station, Texas.

Mine is old and worn out- wish I knew how to order it, nowhere to be found in print.

The Believer's Study Bible is the best Study Bible that I have ever had the privilege to use. The book introductions, study notes, and charts are most helpful in clarifying things that might otherwise be difficult to understand. I've shared information from this Bible with students in my Sunday Bible Study Class. I've given this Bible as gifts to friends and to my husband, who is a pastor. All agree that this book contains a wealth of good, useful information that is normally found only in reference books. I have used other Study Bibles, but always return to The Believer's Study Bible. In fact, my own Bible is well worn and in need of a new binding.

I strongly urge Nelson to bring back this Bible. There is none that can compare to its quality in information anywhere!

I have almost every Study Bible made and this one is one of the best. It is as good as any of the other ones on my short list of the best. The others I would recommend are the King James Study Bible by Nelson, The Ryrie Study Bible by Moody, The MacArthur Study Bible by Nelson, and The Geneva Study Bible by Nelson. Nelson please republish.

I've found this Bible to be very useful in study of the
Holy Bible, particularly the explanatory footnotes and
cross referencing.

FYI - This Bible has been re-titled "The Holy Bible - Baptist
Study Edition" and is in current publication by Thomas
Nelson publishers.

BLOOD EVIDENCE is the second book in Mel Odom's NCIS Series. Once again, we follow the investigative team under the leadership of Commander Will Coburn. When their current case is linked to the death of a Marine captain's daughter who was murdered 17-years-ago, they follow their leads all the way to Washington D.C.

BLOOD EVIDENCE allows us a closer look at some of the members that make of Will's team, seeing both the personal and professional struggles that these strategic players deal with.

A great thriller with twist and turns that keep you turning page after page. Again, not a romance book by far, but a great read for those of you who like suspense.

I checked out Paid in Blood, the first NCIS book by Mel Odom, and really enjoyed it. So I stuck it out for part 2.

Plot:
Will Coburn and team intervene on a girl's kidnapping. This leads to the discovery of a whole lot of drugs and a 17 year-old corpse of a Marine with the charm of a teenaged girl who was kidnapped and murdered about the same time. As the team digs deeper, they learn that the two mysteries (the girl's murder had never been completely closed) may in fact be intertwined.
Also, Nita is feeling overwhelmed with being a mother and a wife. She longs for the simplicity of life before marriage and tugs away from her husband, Joe, and her daughter, Celia.

Good:
Again, excellent mystery! I am impressed with how Mel Odom is able to take a particular incident (a teenaged girl's kidnapping) and have it lead to the real mystery (the 17 year-old corpse of a Marine). You certainly won't be board, trekking through North Carolina in pursuit of Bryce Ketchem or digging through the archives on Haskins or seeing through the eyes of Congressman Ben Swanson.
Also, the characters are diverse and real. You can feel Will's pain at his divorce and Nita's longing to get out of her trapped marriage (more in a bit). Shel, Remy, Maggie, Estrella...they are all people, not just names thrown in just because. They all serve a purpose--and if they aren't needed at a particular time, Mel Odom doesn't feel like he has to bring them up constantly (something many authors should take a hint from).
When I first started writing this just a little past the half-way point, I had some serious issues with Nita's marital problems. First, in this time, Joe was far too perfect. He really doesn't come off as a character, merely as a litmus test to show how bad Nita was being. Nita is full of rage; Joe is perfect, understanding, continually loving, always forgiving and wanting to work things out. However, I had to highly amend this review after I finally finished the book. He starts getting peeved at how Nita is being so selfish and even says so when she asks him not to let Celia, her daughter, call her. He is not afraid to be blunt and tells her to leave them alone. This change from perfect being to human being was great.
Lastly, Nita's reuniting with her mother was absolutely awesome. I won't spill the details, but the whole exchange was an ultimate climax for Nita and a turning point as well.

Bad:
If the first one gave you the heebie-jeebies at the forensics, don't expect this one to be better. In fact, it may be worse. Several people die rather violent deaths. One man receives a glancing blow to the head. A dead man is found in the lake. A woman's injuries from a hit-and-run accident are brought up. Mention is made to what happens when someone is shot point blank in the base of the head (and this is rather disgusting, in my opinion). These rather graphic descriptions made me cringe and almost gag as I was reading.
Other things that bugged me:
1. Will's children bug me. First, Wren, Will's seven-year-old daughter, knows way too much about baseball. I don't care if she watches it on television. There is no way that someone that young knows maneuvers and call outs as well as she does in the book. It's cute, but unrealistic. Second, Steven falls into the stereotypical teen category. I wish for once that people could write teens not as moody, rude beings but as actual humans with feelings and concerns (especially in favor of parents). I mean, Will was constantly surprised that Steven seemed to care about him. Duh! What teen doesn't!
2. Mel Odom's editor should be fired. He missed or glossed over several huge mistakes. "Maggie" is referred to when it should have been "Nita" (page 80). It is unclear whether the "husband" Laura is talking about is her ex-husband, Ben, or someone else (i.e. Chloe's dad or whichever husband she is currently married to) (page 160). He has Nita telling a cowboy "Merry Christmas" then mention something about Spring (May or June, I believe) while I think there is another reference to March (or at least snow)! What time of the year is it? Just decide and keep to it! My last beef is a major one: Will is talking with Haskins' widow and says, "You mentioned Mason" (Page 415). First off, I poured over the entire previous exchange. "Mason" wasn't mentioned once between Will and Cindy (widow). Mel Odom probably made a change and his dumb editor never saw the gap. It was very confusing and ruined the whole effect that the scene was trying to play on.
3. The whole David Horton almost-affair thing went from understandable to weird. I was okay with it until his wife approaches Nita. First off, this guy is an absolute jerk. Mrs. Horton should have left him in the dust years ago--kids and all. Second, this husband is fooling around--and he doesn't even bother to hide the fact he's fooling around by telling Mrs. Horton about Nita? "Honey, I was trying to cheat on you and this lady decided not to and hurt me. Wah!" Please. And then to make matters even weirder, Mrs. Horton goes to the same church Joe does. Please cue "It's a Small World". Lastly, this whole thing explodes into NCIS--but how? Does David run to his superior officers and say, "You got to punish Nita because she wouldn't sleep with me and I tried to make her and she hit me?" Does Mrs. Horton call Nita's boss, Larkin, and say, "You got to watch out for that ME of yours--she steals husbands"? I wish Mel Odom had left the whole stupid thing to be only between Joe and Nita. The incident (and her wanting to leave) could still have impacted NCIS without the whole "It's a Small World" thing playing in the background.
4. Practically everyone in the book is described as being fit for their age with the exception of the creepy politician, Ben Swanson. What's up with that? Not like I don't expect Will, Shel, Remy, and Maggie to be fit, but why must the lawyer, Wardell, Estrella, Nita, Joe, and practically every other character be described in this way? Take a look on the street, and you will notice far more people that are not fit than are.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Alluded to or non-existent. A woman is almost raped. Other times, sexual situations are alluded to (Congressman Ben Swanson has had extramarital affairs, Chloe's dad is not mentioned to have ever been married to Laura Ivers, etc.). Violence is pretty extreme (as mentioned in the beginning of "Bad") and ranges from shoot-outs (typical fare) to attempted rapes to hand or gun fights or hit-and-runs. If you are even the slightest bit squeamish, do not read this.

Overall:
When I first started writing this, the bad was outweighing the good. The editing was bad and Nita's home situation got in the way. After finishing the entire thing, I was very impressed. I loved the mystery and was moved to almost-tears during the Nita and her mother scenes (and I am not a crying person!). The plot was a little confusing (but is mostly explained in the end), the editor should have been fired, Nita's home life was a little overdramatic in the beginning, and the descriptions of autopsies and injuries was disgusting, but this was a fun way to spend the time. What makes this better than many other action stories is that this has character--real people doing real things. A good follow up.

This is the second book in Mel Odom's series on the Naval Criminal Investigative Services. The head of the team, Will Coburn, is separated from his wife, and he is trying to spend more time with his children. But he is called away to rescue a teenage girl who has been kidnapped. In the course of the rescue, they stumble on the corpse of a Marine who has been missing for 17 years. Inside the pants cuff of this Marine, they find a charm from a girl who had been murdered 17 years ago, supposedly by a serial killer. How did the charm get there? Is there a connection to the serial killer? The investigation leads the team into twists and turns in the plot that made this story a page turner that I could not put down.

The medical examiner on the team, Nita Tomlinson, has become an expert in forensics, but she finds the roles of wife and mom to be stifling. She grew up without a father and with a promiscuous mother who drank too much and often abandoned her, and Nita has no feel for how to act as a wife and mom. She feels compelled to visit her mother, with whom she has not talked in fourteen years. Though hurt feelings remain and the relationship is strained, Nita and her mother move one step closer to understanding one another.

The pacing of this novel is excellent, and the characters are so real they come to life. I also enjoyed the many details about how the criminal investigation and forensics jobs are conducted. This is the work of a master story-teller who seems to get better with each novel.

I enjoy the NCIS Novels by Mel Odom. His characters are human...forgiven but not perfect...at least as long as they're on this earth.

NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) Commander Will Coburn lost his marriage due to the demands of his job. Now, he hopes he won't become estranged from his teenage children as well, but his job puts a huge responsibility on him. He must first lead his team to track down an apparent kidnap victim--a teenage girl with problems of her own. While investigating the kidnapping, though, Will and his NCIS team finds evidence of another crime--a long-ago murder of a marine. Since the marine was still in the service when he was killed, this is definitely NCIS business.

The more Will pushes the investigation, the more layers he peels back. But there's political pressure for him to back off, especially when the Will turns up evidence that a long-solved crime might not have been solved after all. The victim's step-father is now a congressman who's very much in a position to make life miserable for Will and the entire NCIS. Meanwhile, one of Will's most important team members, pathologist Nita Tomlinson, is desperately trying to protect herself from pain--in the worst way possible.

Will has his faith to turn to, but Nita long before rejected faith. In fact, it's her inability to live up to the trust her husband puts in her that frustrates Nita most.

Author Mel Odom delivers a high-quality thriller. Although we can guess the identity of the criminal at the heart of Will's troubles fairly quickly, Odom delivers plenty of twists and turns as Will searches for the evidence that will let him go after even the most powerful. Odom's experience in criminal investigations shows through clearly, allowing him to involve us as readers in the case--without ever sounding like he's giving us lectures.

BLOOD EVIDENCE is published by Tyndale, a religious publisher, and faith is an important element in the story. Odom walks the balance carefully, however, making the story enjoyable as a pure thriller for those who may not be as firmly rooted in faith as Tyndale's normal audience. Resolution of the Nita subplot does, however, sometimes get a bit heavy on the faith side. I appreciated, however, that Odom was careful to let us know that the powerful congressman was a member of the conservative party--evil lies in men, not in particular institutions.

Excellent book for travel to BC. We have used other Moon Books on travel and have been very pleased with all of them

This was the first of the Moon books I'd ever used and I was very impressed. There was a ton of useful information on general Canadian travel, but the bulk of the book is devoted to the various regions and the best of what there is to see and do. In places like Vancouver, where there are lots of museums, he discusses these; on Vancouver Island he tells all you'll need to know about water activities; in the Okanagan Valley he chooses his favorite wineries, etc. I'd been to BC previously, but visited a few great spots that I wouldn't have found without this book. The author concentrates on 3 or 4 places to stay and a similiar number of restaurants in each town and he has obviously done his research well as I couldn't find fault with the recommendations that cover all price ranges.

Also importantly, the book is very well organized and the maps were very helpful. I also liked the thorough bibliography.

I know of no better book to my home province of British Columbia than this Moon guide. On my travels as a semi-retired geologist, I also carry copies of the Lonely Planet and Frommer's book and have reviewed both of them and others at Amazon.com, but Moon Handbooks British Columbia stands alone for its usefulness. The other books have their good points, but this one encapsulates everything one needs to enjoy the wonders of the province, whether it's their first trip or they live here. It covers every single corner of BC and is thorough and up to date.

The Moon guide is cleverly written and arranged to appeal to all budgets. The bulk of the text relates to towns and parks of BC, with informative coverage of everything from museums to fishing opportunities and wildlife viewing. Each section ends with details of the best places to stay and recommendations for dining. If you're camping out or RVing I'd suggest also getting a campground guide, but the Moon book suggests at least one campground in each town, each of which the author has obviously visited. Motels are also detailed, and over previous editions I'm yet to find fault with the author's choices. Ditto for bed and breakfasts and restaurants.

In my opinion, thois is definitely the best allround guidebook for British Columbia

This is indeed a terrific guidebook for B.C. Previous editions, however, included Banff and Jasper National Parks, which admittedly are in Alberta, not B.C., but are usually included in Canadian Rockies travel itineraries. There's no excuse including Yoho (which is just over the border) but not Banff and Jasper, except to sell more books. So this is not an improvement.

I've used Moon Handbooks for years and they are simply the best! I have the Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Alberta, and now the British Columbia book, and I've never been disappointed. These books include the usual stuff, such as lodging, restaurants, and recreation, but they also include local history and cultural information that makes them far superior to most guides. Buy a Moon Handbook that covers the state you live in--you will be surprised at how much you can learn. If you're going traveling, they are indispensable.

I buy one of these for all my new puppy families. It's complete, updated, lots of photos and very helpful information about the breed and dogs in general. A must for every first time Cavalier owner!

D. Woods's Amazon Review describes this book very well.

We've lived with Clive, our black and tan Cavalier, for two and a half years, and haven't found one error in the book. The author is clearly an experience breeder, and describes this type of dog very well in easy to understand language.

I'm writing this Review to emphasize a point the author makes; this breed gains weight very easily, particularly if the dog is castrated or spayed. It's partly the pleading eyes and loving personality, but it must also be in the genes. It must be terrible to be so hungry all the time. Clive and I take three to five mile walks a couple of times a week, and yet he can put on two pounds in a week.

Our vet suggested that slowing Clive's eating would help him maintain a healthy weight. We tried putting rocks and later tennis balls in his food bowl, but he quickly learned to extract the impediments and scarf down his food. The Brake-Fast Dog Food Bowls - Small Red looked like a joke gift, but in fact it is amazingly effective.

Clive has to work for at least a minute to work around the prongs and finish every last morsel. The bowl can be put on a mat so it won't move, but it takes him even longer to eat when he pushes the bowl around our kitchen floor. We sometimes a bit of egg white and microwave the bowl for a few seconds to "glue" the food in place. The result:

Brake-Fast Small Dog Food Bowl: $[___]

King Charles Cavalier Spaniel: $[___]

Watching Clive growling with frustration as he pushes his bowl around the floor: Priceless

Robert C. Ross 2007 2008

Great book to have before purchasing this breed of dog. There are alot of things people need to know before finding a breeder for Cavalier King Charles.

This book by Norma Moffat is excellent! I decided to buy another Cavalier puppy as a result!

This is an excellent well rounded book written by someone who really knows and loves the breed. It is a hardcover with 144 pages of good information and great photos. If you are new to the breed and are getting only one book, this is the one to buy. It covers almost everything you can think of, although doesn't cover breeding much because serious breeders and exhibitors discourage people from breeding dogs, which they believe is best left to the people who know the breed standards and health concerns.

Buddy Levy's work on Cortes has to be among the pinnacle of available historical literature on the subject of America's conquest and the key personality that shaped that chapter of history. What's even better is the way Mr. Levy delivers the tale--you'll find it impossible to put down. Whether you are a history buff or a casual reader of historical non-fiction, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Unlike what one may expect with such a scholarly piece, the book is not dense because the author is not pedantic or boorish in his approach. This is not to say that the work lacks historical integrity or that its not thoroughly researched, rather, its because of Levy's writing style that you feel you are watching an epic cinematic work rather than reading a book. Mr. Levy makes it simple and refreshing.

I have read quite a bit about the conquest of the Aztec and the destruction of Tenochtitlan, to include Hernan Cortes' Conquest of Mexico.
This is the easiest and most compelling description I've read to date. Levy makes you feel as if you there as part of Conquest. His description of the smallpox plaque and how that helped Cortes is one of the best analysis of factors that I've read to date. If you want to understand the Conquest, this is the book you need to read.

Conquistador is a masterpiece of well researched historical knowledge balanced with a swift narrative. The book reads like a wikipedia article, trimming down decades of conflict into some 350 short pages. The book covers one of the greatest conflicts in history, and is truly on a greater scale than the most epic fiction such as Lord of the Rings. Read it. You will not be disappointed.

A brilliant synthesis. I thought i knew this subject well but Mr. Levy heightened my experience of it. Wonderfully nuanced descriptions and the characters come to life. Very well done and hard to put down.

A terrific book, full of action. Amazingly, this is not a complete biography of Hernan Cortes. The book concentrates on his conquest of the Aztec empire. While you may not support what the spanish did to those peoples they conquered, one must be impressed by Cortez's accomplishments. The story is an amzing adventure. If you saw this in a movie, you would think they fabricated this story to make it more exciting. There is no need to. A must read.

I got this as a text for a college ceramics course, but it is far more than an ordinary text book. Not only is it informative on a variety of ceramic styles and techniques, but features lovely color illustrations of ceramics from a variety of times, places and artistic traditions. It is as much a coffee table book as a text.

I am really enjoying this book. It is full of information and covers just about every aspect of ceramics you can think of. I am teaching a youth ceramics class this summer and am looking forward to having this as a reference!

This is a large book chock full of information, and provides an in-depth survey of ceramics. There are many photographs about techniques and many illustrations of beautiful artistic ceramics pieces. Also it contains lots of technical information, tables, etc.

Since other reviews have covered the merits of this book quite well, I'll mention a few issues:

First, there are lots of sample photos of different clay bodies under different firings and different glaze colors and combinations, etc., but they are all *way too small* to really see the characteristics of each sample. Also sometimes there is a series of photos, e.g. throwing a pot, building a kiln, and when they are all arranged on the page, each one is too small (and many are b&w, from previous editions?) Otherwise the book is very well illustrated with a wide variety of work.

The glaze discussion does not cover the properties of glaze bases and coloring oxides much at all, which is something I would expect in a book of this comprehensiveness. It does spent some time on commercial fritted stains and Mayco glazes, which other books don't, and can be useful to some, especially for low-temp work. But if you really want to get into glazes, this is not the book.

For many advanced topics, she has just a mention that leaves me hungry for more. E.g. lusters she briefly mentions using and making, but Rhodes has a much more thorough discussion of making lusters. Paperclay is mentioned briefly but not enough to really tell me how to make it or use it. For many of the topics in the book, more detailed discussions are possible and likely available elsewhere. However she has assembled lots of brief mentions of different and experimental work that you might not encounter in other ceramics survey books, so it is useful for knowing what else I want to look into.

[This review pertains to the 4th edition, 2003.]

This book is an excellent reference for different levels of clay/ceramics work. It is a beautiful "coffee table book" as well.
It came in perfect condition.

If you are just learning, or are stuck in a rut, this book is a great reference for potters of all skill levels.