Peter Books

This book was given to me by a friend; I had her search everywhere for it. Upon a few days after receiving it, I knew her search had not been in vain. This is a marvelous book of poetry with some interesting aspects on life, love and the like.

The poetry in "Ain't I A Woman" presents a wide range of experience and emotion. This is not a book of pretty poems. It is a series of moans, cries and hurrahs from the heart. Jenny Joseph's wonderful "Warning" ("When I am an old woman I shall wear purple")suggests from page one that here will be poems with attitude. They do not disappoint. I like this book very much.

This is one of the best anthologies of poetry I've ever found. The purpose: Bring together words from women of all cultures, all ages, all corners of the world. Here are young women, old women, fat women, starving women, lives touched by peace, war, spiritual joy, physical abuse, passion, motherhood, loss. There are beautiful, haunting words here. There are cold, hard, brutal images here. If you're a woman who complains about feminists, please read this book and try to understand what women have had to go through so that you could be where you are today: free to complain. If only to have a copy of Sojourner Truth's immortal "Ain't I a Woman?" speech from 1852, this book would be worth the price. Read this book for the incredible messages here. You will be moved.

Ain't I a Woman was not a surprise to me. It is full of beautiful works of art. This book is full of voices of many different women, with different lives, different backgrounds but from their voices you can feel their strength and each voice in that book can add to your self-esteem and make you feel stronger about yourself as a women with every poem. Although some poems are not as powerful as others, their messages are still there: "I lived, I saw, I loved, I struggled, I died, but most importantly I felt, felt what life was like and from my words you might learn how it really is to be a woman". This book should be read by anyone who has time get lost in its poetry. I personally read a piece of the book everyday at work and I am glad that I made the time. There are many different writers in this book and I recommend reading different works from those authors as well.

This book obtains its title from Sojourner Truth's incomparable speech in 1851, and for the most part is brilliant and moving. My main complaint is that it focuses on the physical (sex, childbirth, etc.) so much that it could be classified as erotic poetry instead of a full exploration of womanhood. However, look for amazing cultural and chronological diversity in authors, and refreshing humor in poems like "Sho nuff." The development of the book is thematic, according to stages of life by also by subject. Series show different visions of famous women such as Jezebel, Cleopatra, and Medusa, which ends with a hilarious conversation between Medusa and Eve. The poems in this collection really strike - not everyone will like everything, but I'm sure everyone will find SOMETHING in here that really gets their attention. My personal favorite is "Witch." There are dozens of poems in here, enough to make the book seem very long, but since no poem is longer than two pages, I garantee you won't get bored.

Annie Kopchovshy decided to ride around the world on a bike. So she changed her name to Annie Londonderry, conned half the planet in helping her ride around the world, mostly on trains and steamboats, and made money while doing it. An interesting story? Why, yes. An amazing woman? Yes. Smart? Yes. Amoral? Sure. A con artist? Yes. Did she lie and cheat and act self centered? Yes. Did she leave behind her husband and kids during her travels? Yes.
Interesting, daring, and a great piece of history.

Instead of running to buy this book, bicycle there! I could not stop reading the story, and finished it over the weekend based upon my father's enthusiastic recommendation. What an amazing true story Peter Z. has discovered, digging from his family tree. This would make a blockbuster movie. It would secure at least an oscar nomination for the lucky actress who gets the role of Annie Londonberry, perhaps someone such as Natalie Portman?
Mr. Zheutlin is an erudite story teller and I can't wait to read his next book.
R. Bornstein, Ft Lauderdale, FL

"Around the World on Two Wheels" is the fascinating and highly amusing tale of how Annie Kopchovsky, a Jewish immigrant and mother of three living in Boston in the 1890s, singlehandedly reinvented herself as "Annie Londonderry," the subject of a high stakes wager over whether it was possible for a woman to cycle around the world. While the wager and much of Annie's recollection of her journey is apocryphal, she did succeed in circling the globe, all the time spinning fantastic travel tales to willing and gullible newspapermen.

Zheutlin has done a marvelous job in researching the tale of Annie, a distant relative, and also in separating the facts from the many fictions she put forward. He also puts Annie's groundbreaking journey in the proper historical/societal context.

A great read that will appeal to a large cross section of readers.

An extraordinary story! Peter Zheutlin, a descendant of Annie Londonderry's brother, has researched and written her incredible adventure. With all her claims, her outrageous self-promotion, her character flaws, Annie Londonderry has emerged again as one of modern women's most outstanding pioneers and role models. Her story--and this book--is inspiring, fun, and memorable. It is a stiring tale of one woman's incredible adventure, a provocative and thoughtful example of women's suffrage, and a tale of the Old West rarely investigated today. It is not only a must read, but a must have.

This true story of Annie (Kopchovsky)Londonderry is an exhilarating and fascinating romp through history with a companion the reader can't help but admire for her gumption, cleverness, and determination.

Annie was the first woman to ride her bicycle around the world, possibly as part of a contest. It's just as likely, however, that she fabricated an excuse to travel because she felt claustrophobic, trapped within the societal constraints placed on women during the Victorian era. The author, Peter Zheutlin, writes Annie's story with tenderness (he's a descendent of Annie's, but I suspect he would do so regardless), yet also with appropriate skepticism and rich historical detail. (Read the endnotes!)

While following in the wake of her fierce independence and almost reckless energy, the reader also explores the impact Annie's journey had on the advancement of women's rights, as well as uncomfortable questions it posed about traditional roles - including her own role as wife and mother.

I'm recommending "Around the World on Two Wheels" for my book club selection next month. We'll have plenty of issues to discuss, and we'll get to do so in the company of one incredibly memorable character -- Annie Londonderry.

I cut my outdoor teeth in the high peaks region back in the late 70s & early 80s. The beauty and unpredictability of the weather in this region are unmatched.
My spine tingled as I read the harrowing stories of people caught in the clutches of bad situations, and fighting to make the best of it.
I've been a Search & Rescue team member in Kern County Ca and Monterey county Ca, and been in some truely frightening situations, but none as scary as a severe thunder & lightning storm on the top of Giant Mountain. This book brought back the rememberance of my primal fear...feeling my hair stand up from the static building before the lightning strikes, the screaming of both me and my trailmates, as the thunder boomed, reminding us of how frail life really is.
What a great book!

I was born and raised in the Adirondacks, and I must admit that learning the details of some of these triumphs and tragedies was just riveting. Mr. Bronski has done an incredible job of bringing these stories to life and making you feel that you actually know the people involved and you are actually in the midst of all the drama, storms etc. I never looked at the Adirondacks as "dangerous", but the title says it all, "At the Mercy of the Mountains".

Could not put it down and did not want it to end. Gave me a greater appreciation for the Daks. Really inspired me to get out there and hike!

My mother is from this area, and I have gone up my whole life (mid 40s) and this is the BEST book I think I have ever read about this area of the Adirondacks. A wonderful book - cannot recommend enough!!

Peter Bronski's collection of survival stories is riveting. Beginning with an introduction discussing the unique history and characteristics that are the Adirondacks, Bronski sets the tone for some amazing and harrowing true stories.

The infamous 1995 `blowdown' (derecho) is witnessed by several campers, where tornado-like microburst combined with thousands of lightning strikes terrifies the region. The storm leaves campers stranded in a mix of tangled trees piled like matchsticks. Four young men on a winter hiking trip suddenly experience a fast regional thaw and watch as several feet of snow turn to slush, suddenly flooding their lean-to and leaving them to hike over treacherous lakes and rivers that can't hold their weight. An experienced pilot and his wife crash their small plane into a mountainside, barely surviving, only to find themselves miles from nowhere.

These are just some of the stories that the author brings to life, some old and some recent. The most striking aspect this collection is the emphasis on search and rescue (SAR) in conjunction with the survivors ordeals. There are numerous missing persons mentioned over the years, some found and some lost forever. Instead of dwelling on morbid or gory descriptions, Bronksi focuses on the survivors and those that risk their lives to save others. Sometimes remnants of a lost hiker are found years later. Sometimes the family never gives up the search. This book is an instant classic and a must read for any outdoor enthusiast, especially if they travel in the Adirondacks.

I read this in preparation for my own trip to southern Africa. Peter Stark is a wonderful writer with humble authenticity and believable emotional descriptions. He captured the insecurities of the community he traveled with and was quite honest about his own fears. I plan to read more of his work.

book in excellent condition

Pilots say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. The same might be said of "wilderness adventure". Peter Stark walked away from a trip down an untraversed African river, but it was a close thing. Dumped in the river, beset by crocodiles, hippos, a black mamba and a dodgy stomach, Stark lived to relate his tale. He tells it well, with all the passion of a survivor. A map and photographs, and even a bibliography provide visual accents to the narrative. With no small research flavouring the account, the story is an exciting read.

Stark was contacted by a lady in Botswana to be the "recorder" of a "first". Cherri Briggs, an "adventure company" owner, wanted to descend the Lugenda River in Mozambique. Briggs was assembling a kayaking team to make the first trip down an unknown tributary of the Rovumba which empties into the Indian Ocean. Having made a hasty survey flight, Briggs told Stark that there were rapids but their skill level was unknown. Although at forty-eight years old and with a family, Stark shed his misgivings to join the team. Four other men had been recruited for a journey that would prove the need for care in selecting exploration teams.

Travelling by canoe or kayak, even in company, offers opportunity for introspection and reflection. In company, perhaps such travel demands it. Stark, no stranger to wilderness travel, had years of canoe experience. Clashes with leaders of the expedition were inevitable. Wilderness travel in case such as this can mean many have "leadership" roles. In this case, Cherri was the expedition leader, but Clinton took the lead in finding the best kayak path. "Following the leader" in one instance led Stark to the edge of a ten-metre waterfall. Truly, one false move would have had him "at the mercy of the river". His experience got him and his partner out of difficulty, but it was a close thing. It eroded the relationship between Stark and Clinton. The breach was patched, however and the trip continued. Hardly, however, uneventfully.

Stark was a newcomer to Africa, most of his wilderness trips taking place in North America. He had much to learn, and tried earnestly to do so. The book is spiced with personalities and accounts of African exploration. From the fabled trips of Ibn Battuta to Dr Livingstone, Stark explains how outsiders entered the African scene over the centuries. "Discovery", conquest, wealth and religion all played their various roles, sometimes intermingled. Stark's use of these stories is unusual. Most of them are presented as if he's suddenly driven to remember them while otherwise unoccupied. They make wonderful reading, but their contribution to the Lugenda journey is nil. That's not really a flaw, since the purpose of the book is as much Stark's personal discoveries as is the river passage. The one map and many photographs add further sparkle to this lively account. It's worth your time for its information, its glance into the mind of an adventure journalist, and for its snippets of exploration history. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Peter Stark was invited to join a small expedition kayaking the Lugenda River in Mozambique: a river no white man had ever kayaked, still largely unmapped and wild. At The Mercy Of The River: An Exploration Of The Last African Wilderness tells of his adventure down the river, providing high adventure for armchair travelers with 'you are there' action. From croc-infested waters to reflections on great explorers who also explored the region, At The Mercy Of The River will have you on the edge of your seat, sharing fellow explorers' journeys in a fine blend of history and modern adventure.

For the price of the book, I got a great trip to Africa! Truly a wonderful read about a place that I may never actually be able to go to except for in this book. Thanks for the tour.

I bought this book when my son was 3 months old and he still loves it!!!

The pictures are quite endearing and detailed with lots of things to point out and talk about. The little latch is a hit. We must operate it at every page!

This is an enjoyable colorful bible for babies. The colors and the stories are a fantastic way to Introduce baby or toddler on the bible. This little beginning makes it fun and easy for mom and dad to explain further the stories that are told, too.

My daughter, Zoe is 21 months old & we both loved this book. She is learning to pray & the short, often rhyming words make prays easy to remember. But most of all the vibrant illustrations captivate the toddler's interest. This was a great buy!

The moment my 2 yr. old daughter saw the book, she never let go. Every night, we both cuddle up & look at the very colorful pictures with cutouts on each page. I make up stories on each page & also read to her the simple prayers that she could learn as she grows. Since the pages are made of hard board, they are perfect for tiny, experimenting hands which turn each page awkwardly with too much excitement. Furthermore, the lock at the side makes it easier for those tiny hands to carry. No more flapping pages! These little inquisitive kids will not only learn to read but also harness their motors/skills by opening/closing the lock. Another big plus is the handle which allows the children to hold/carry the book very conveninently wherever, whenever. I highly recommend this book to all your toddlers!

Here is the situation, you want to do some exploring and follow a certain dirt track and need to know the condition of it, length, and what you can expect for scenery, also, can your pick-up right from the factory handle the trail?

You swing into the "Poison Raven" shop and ask the senior manager, you have socks older than this kid but it's this or nothing, and you ask for info; Is the scenery worth it? " Yaahh, its awesome back there, Rad."
IS the trail passable , are there washes with mud or water in them, can a stock short bed make the trail, is there alot of scramble, boulder moving, or is it a trail an 'old man' of 40 can handle in an Escalade?

The answers are " Yaahh, its Rad. most is lame, but some is gnarly, no prob in your hummer dude, rock on and git er dun"

When you leave the manager turns to an employee and says, " Oh, Wait, was that old dude talking about the Yellow Cat or Hell's Backbone?...oh, dude, I screwed that up big time..." and they laugh and you end up screwed...big time..

Instead of that scenario buy this book and stop only for gas, water and a shovel, and "git er dun" on your own.

Even if you only have a stock SUV you will love this book, it will open up more areas to you than you will believe, even in places you think you already know.

Having explored canyon country in Utah for many years we bought this book and then went out and followed every track we always had wondered about.

It is not perfect in every way, but it gives you a great idea of what to expect, take the time to read the entire route description and then go out and follow one and see how things line up.This will also get you in line with how the authors are thinking and writing, understanding that things here change day by day, and year to year, but a trail that is a Difficulty 2 or 3 won't become a 6 and a scenery rating of a 10 doesn't become a 4 either.
Keep in mind this guide can not tell you it rained like hell yesterday and the washes are a foot of mud, or that there is bad trail damage from the ijits that went through ahead of you and tore hell outta the crossings and kept on going.
But , that said, it will tell you how long you will be in a wash, how many washes there are to cross, how many rivers or creeks, and gives a rough idea of the scenery you can expect and most importantly to us, the difficulty of the trail.

At 4 times the going price I'd still buy these gudies, they are a fantastic shortcut to exploring, and also takes the worry out of wondering where a track ends up, and if it does connect to another track how bad is that one?

Bottom line also-- this is NOT the beaches on D-Day----you don't HAVE to keep going, we can go back and call it a day.

Many of the trails that we decided from their rating were too much for our truck or suv we planned on hiking on foot, or mtn bike, without the guide we probably wouldn't have ever turned off onto these trails to begin with. Worth every penny and then some.

If you like to travel the back roads this is the book for you. It has excellent information, along with maps, GPS and history. Well worth the money.

I've got a lot of Utah guides but this one is the best by far. Very good maps at different scales. Trail diagrams with loads of point of interest. Detailed trail logs with turn by turn directions, scenic ratings, difficulty ratings. A great historical section about the people and places of Utah. This one has it all. We leave in one week!!

I have found this title to be very interesting, and very informative at the same time. It provides a great deal of background information and historical facts for each of the trails it details. The book also provides some historical and other information on the state of Utah, including info on the types of wildlife and plantlife that can be found in the different climate of Utah.

It includes many trails, all over the state. As the title suggests, mosts of the trails are ones that give you an alternate route, or backcountry route, to or through a city/town. The only reason that I didn't give it five stars is that I would like to see some more maps of the smaller, shorter off road trails in Utah.

Overall, this is an excellent resource to have, and I have found it very enjoyable. There are great trails and wonderful details in the book. I would say it is worth the buy.

Backcountry Adventures are the best guides of their kind out there. Odometer references, descriptive text, and (especially) GPS coordinates make these easy and foolproof to use. The map and index for the respective areas, Southeast, Central, etc., make planning your route easy as the different routes are color coded with their page numbers referenced. Good sampling of human interest content also, giving some history, flora and fauna, and geology information.

My only criticism is that these guides should be spiral bound, and pages removable. This would allow the book to lie flat and pages and/or sections could be removed to make it more concise for use on a motorcycle or bicycle. These guides are the size of a mid sized phone book and are too big and heavy for anything but automotive use.

This book ranks amongst the very best military history I have ever read. It incorporates a detailed account of Charles XII's campaign that led his army deep into Ukraine, the action at Poltava, clear portraits of the main actors and moving accounts of what happened to so many of the ordinary Swedish soldiers (the wealth of information that the writer has for such an old battle is really astonishing). As it says on the cover, it pulls no punches about fighting. It makes an excellent starting point for delving into warfare of the era. I was especially impressed by the descriptions of the artillery fire and its consequences, the terrible fate of the wounded, the sacrifices made by the Swedish soldiers in order to save their king and the paradox ethics of warfare at that time. The book is mainly focused on the Swedish side with the Russians mentioned in a general and not so analytical way. Thus the subtitle on the cover should rather be "Potlava and the Demise of the Swedish Empire".

Firstly it must be said that this narrative is told from a distinctly Swedish perspective. The Russian forces are largely faceless and there nowhere near the same degree of detail about the Russian forces of Peter the Great as there is those of Charles the XII.

Englund starts with detailed analysis of force organisation. How did such a small country with a combined population of a little over a Million become the major power in Northern Europe? Some clues are found in the revolutionary way of raising the Swedish Army and the skilful leadership of Charles XII. The Swedes were also not the lovable pastey-faced ideoluges of peace and understanding as we know them today; they were ruthless in their suppression of enemy popultions and their rapacious behaviour in cowing almost all of central Europe. Moreover they highly motivated by territorial incentives. Peter the Great's Russia was unfortunate enough to be the nearest and most logical enemy to attack with Sweden traditionally controlling almost all of the modern-day Baltic states as an advanced glacis to both protect and launch offensives against Russia.

Englund dwells very little on the political motives for war and plunges right in with the march of the Armies from Livonia and modern-day Poland into the heart of Russia. We follow this army as Russia eventually draws is deeper and deeper into Sweden trading land for time and letting the elements of Russia eat away at the invader. In the hot summer sun the Battle of Poltava is really the only military option that Charles had and although it may have been successful one is always amazed at the plan to battle through a line of heavily armed forts, reform on the other side and then wheel to attack the main Russian force, also heavily entrenched. But Englund gives us a breath of adventure and dash in the movements of the Swedes and we hope that they will somehow pull if off...

The fighting is as desperate and intense as in any war, but as with the Germans over 300 yrs later, there is a particularly frightening shadow of being isolated and cut off by the Russians with no hope of reuniting with your main force.... all the time being deep in the Russian hinterland.

We follow the army as it turns and tries its getaway. Compressed within the ends of the Dnieper it eventually gives way, but our redoubtable Charles XII escapes. Englund leaves us there, there is nothing more about the remarkable adventure of Charles from that point, or his further attempts to dominate Europe, all crushed eventually. Poltava ended a 100 year dominance of the Swedes as the greatest land army in Europe, unbeatable until Poltava, but never really challenging the heartland of Russia.

One word: excellent. Wish more books of that level of quality were written and published.

Englund has written a detailed history of a key battle fought between Sweden and Russia in 1709. Although an interesting book it often becomes bogged down in its detail, both in terms of statistics and in terms of its description of the battle. The book is also limited in that it's told exclusively from the Swedish standpoint. There is little, if any, information from the Russian perspective that may have given more insight into how and why the battle evolved as it did.

However, the book is not without merit. The description of the Swedish army preparing for battle and its later disintegration as attrition and the fog of war took over, is key in understanding why the Swedes lost and allows insight into the impact of the fog of war. It also allows insight into how quickly that factor becomes real once a battle has been joined. Englund does an excellent job of describing the events leading up to the battle especially as they apply to the condition of the Swedish army on the eve of Poltava and its impact on why the Swedish king chose to fight when and how he did.

Despite the book's subtitle, Englund does little to link Poltava to the rise of Russia. Although it appears this is a generally accepted truth, he does not put the battle in the context of the Great Northern War, which didn't end until 1721.

This book was originally published in 1988. Its success took everyone by surprise, including the author, then a freshly baked historian at Uppsala University, Sweden. It has retained its bestseller status in Sweden ever since. Now, this excellent book about an important, but comparatively unknown event in world history, has been reissued in the U.S.
Peter Englund follows in the footsteps of Edward Gibbon, who taught that good history should also be good literature. The direct inspiration for this book was John Prebble's 1963 classic book Culloden

Peter Henry provides a compassionate and provoking examination on the elements that comprise a productive educational system. He goes above and beyond the normal diatribes against the modern public school system and exposes the true flaws of the system-the lack of community support, the misuse of school resources, the reliance on read and repeat learning strategies, and the failure to honestly engage students with the complex ideas/issues they face. Henry manages to scrutinize and comment on the spectrum of issues faced by the educational system without falling prey to the easy, oversimplified answers put forth by so many critics and commentators.
But to simply categorize this work as a treatise on education would be unfair. Henry's writing is a sensitive narrative full of wit and precise observation, a narrative that effectively weaves his own experiences as both awkward teenager and tenured instructor. His writing contains the insight gained through years of creating and integrating challenging curricula while also accurately portraying the obstacles faced by the very youth he teaches.
If only lawmakers and lobbyists could get together and read this book, Americans may actually be able to send their children to school with the certainty that their kids were getting the rich and multifaceted education that has been promised in so many empty political speeches. If only they all could become Mr. Henry.

Becoming Mr. Henry captures the essence of how our upbringing influenced Peter's later decision to become a teacher and the kind of teacher he became. The kind of teacher I wish for my children who are both in public school. Teachers are so important in the lives of our children. Yet we do under pay many of them and over work most of them. At a time when civic groups, politicians and businesses alike are saying that public education is their top priority very few are putting their energy and money where their mouths are. Instead of No Child Left Behind we have Many Children Left Behind. Peter's combination of wit, humor, storytelling, philosophizing, being real and yet leaving the reader with optimism in this time of despair is quite an accomplishment. This small book packs a punch. As Peter says..."We are all students. We are all teachers." Peter strikes me as the kind of teacher that would inspire kids to want to learn. Isn't that what we all want for our children? I wish that members of Congress and the Bush administration would read this book so they could have a glimpse of the true nature of teaching and learning in today's world. Perhaps then those of us with kids in school would have more faith in the future of our educational policy. Peter and I (and our 7 other siblings) were very lucky to have such wonderful parents who truly understood the meaning of teaching and learning and community service. I only hope that my children will be as lucky! Now about airbrushing me out of the picture on the cover of your book...

I loved this book- plain and simple. The voice in here is intelligent and original, yet remains easy to relate to. When I was reading the about Henry's experiences and anxieties as a child, I felt like I was back in my own childhood, back in my high school. It was the same feeling I had reading Salinger for the first time-the character's uncertainty, the newness of every action and thought, the alienation, the search for truth.

As someone who is a teacher, I find the perspectives the author gives about his time in the classroom to be invaluable. It is refreshing to read about his focus on developing an environment that inspires students to think deeply, to exceed the normal and mundane. Henry's ideas regarding group dynamics in the classroom and how to assist students in taking ownership of their aspirations should be considered by all teachers. The analysis of education reminds me of the best Peter Elbow has to offer, but with more practicality and attention to detail. Highly recommended.

This is a unique book, a mix of story, philosophy and some almost political elements. Henry does a good job of reflecting on the job of teaching and the role of public education in this country. He is well-informed and tells engaging stories along the way.

Highly recommended.

Becoming Mr. Henry succinctly lays out the conundrum presented to anyone teaching in public education today: How does a teacher best serve his or her students in the current educational climate? Becoming Mr. Henry is one person's answer. I found the book thought provoking and inspiring.

To paraphrase Frank McCourt, the classroom teacher is the last person anyone consults when determining educational policy. Should that situation ever change, Mr. Henry would be an excellent person to start with.

Beginning Visual Basic 5.0 by Peter Wright was the first book on Visual Basic that I read. Peter Wright's easy to follow style and use of understandable real world examples made my transition from ACCESS database development to Visual Basic development a breeze. Recently I began to explore the world of Objects. I found that most of the texts used abstract, hard to follow language. Once again Peter Wright has produced a book that offers great coverage of the basics of his topic. Since reading this book, I have been able to go back to the other more advanced texts with no trouble. Well done Mr. Wright.

The actual information and teaching in this book could have been easily compressed into 200 pages. The other 449 pages are mostly comprised of Peter Wright boasting about how wonderful and robust a language vb5 is, and constantly making snide comments about how difficult, slow, and inadequate, C/C++ are. I found that insulting to my intelligence. Someone trying to learn Visual Basic does not need to be told that C/C++ are horrible languages. If they ever want to move beyond writing slow and inefficient VB database programs, they're going to need to learn C or C++ sooner or later. Nothing against Visual Basic, it's a great language for what it's meant to do. But I (and nobody else) needs to be told that it's the end all be all wonderful super language when it really isn't..

Aside from that I found that the book goes through creating interfaces fairly well, and actually discusses program structure and bites into code efficiency a bit. The main thing it doesn't do is tea! ch you how to write code, which is absolutely essential unless you're designing a database in Access, and even then you really should know how to code if you want to make anything good. I would steer clear of this book unless you want to pay $25 for a migraine headache.

I bought this book because I knew nothing of OOP or Active X components and was faced with the task of being responsible for enhancing an application written using those techniques. Furthermore, the developer that wrote the application was long gone and there was very little documentation. After reading the book and coding some of the examples I was able to figure out the application and how to effectively change it. Not only did this book help me to do my current job, but learning the OOP techniques has made me a better programmer. Needless to say, the skills I have learned from this $40 investment will benefit me in future earnings far and above. I also appreciated Peter Wrights "this is no big deal" humor throughout.

Being an experienced VB programmer, I like the way Peter laid out the way he explained it all. Before reading this book, I really didn't have much understanding of objects/classes....just that they were there and it had some code I could use elsewhere in my project. When I actually had a chance to work on it, I just felt so knowledgeable!!

One thing I thought was interesting.....most of the time when there is source code with the book, the examples are fully coded and functional. He tricked me this time and had a project with many classes and no code. (BTW, I downloaded it from the Wrox site). He leaves this open for you to work on it and get it right. I think that's the best way to learn.

Good Job Peter!!!

He non-chalantly covers what has been a very stick y subject.

His style is friendly ... a little wordy.

But when he puts nuts and bolts together .. the guy has quite a philosophy ...

I've been a VB programmer since v3. VB3 and VB4 didn't do objects .. so I went to Java.

Even though I am familiar with OO programming ... he was NOT boring ... and spelled things out simple stupid 123.

If you are Einstein or Forest Gump .. .you will get something out of this book .. if you do what he says .. and punch the keyboard through his examples.

He should (but probably won't) .. get a commission on my next programming project !!

I haven't read the book but I have seen excerpts. It's a shame that Peter Christopher passed away recently. He was my boyfriend's writing professor at Georgia Southern University.

Peter Christopher passed away last week. He was an inspiration to all and a writer with endless talent. He was a tremendous teacher and taught me just as much about life as he did writing.

An amazing writer and an even better person...

Professor Christopher was an outstanding and inspiring writer and teacher. He will missed for years to come.

To all aspiring readers and writers, he's say,

"Say something only you can say about living and dying."

The author of this book is no longer with us. He died recently; he taught me and many other students at Georgia Southern University. He was a great writer and an amazing teacher.

To all writers out there, he had a message for you:

Go for the jugular.

One of my favorite Lish student books, a one-hit wonder, where did this guy go...