S Books

My book of the latest coin values arrived in excellent condition and expeditiously. The book has proven to be a practical and user-friendly reference source and guide to the most current US coin values.

There is no better guide for the novice or professional coin collector. Reliable information and up to date pricing.

This is the first book a person should buy when entering into coin collecting. It gives a base to prices and where one might start.2008 Guide Book of Us Coins Redbook (Guide Book of United States Coins)

This is a very comprehensive, filled with pictures, easy to understand and follow guidebook for a beginner, as well as a serious collector.

I ordered this book for my son as he is beginning coin collecting. He took up that interest after seeing the collection that my grandfather handed down to me. The book was perfect for showing him what these coins are worth today.

This book humanizes the whole astronaut experience. Written with a deft touch, that goes beyond the pleathora of books that are out there concerning the experience of being an astronaut...I've read almost all the books there are on this subject... and this one is far more intimate, in that it tackles a very broad subject with a real glimplse into what it really took to be a "pioneer" in the unknown reaches of space...In essance it made me "feel" these guys..

I recently finished reading "Into that Silent Sea: Trail blazers of the Space Era 1961-1965". All I can say is this is one of the best books about the personal stories of those involved in the "Golden Age" of manned spaceflight. Well researched and very well written Colin Burgess and Francis French have done an incredible job writing an interesting and very informative book. Fresh, with a new take "Into that Silent Sea..." does an amazing job of telling the story of not just the astronauts, and the Soviet Cosmonauts, but also the lesser known but no less important stories of others involved in the space program. Of particular interest was the segment about Dee O'Hara the astronauts nurse, and the women of the Mercury 13, a, long forgot, but very important story. I also enjoyed the accounts of the Soviet Cosmonauts, a subject that does not recieve enough credit. You do not have to be interested in manned spaceflight to enjoy this book. If you are interested in the stories of how every day people can accomplish extra-ordinary things, read "Into that Silent Sea......" For those interested in the history of manned spaceflight, you have to add this book to your collection. "Into that Silent Sea ...." Is one of the best books ever written on the history of manned spaceflight.

This book is probably one of the best books i have ever read. Very rarely a book comes along that you just can't put down. This is one of those. There have been thousands of book about this era is spaceflight but only a handfull really stick out. At first i was skeptical as to what this book would be, but as soon as i started reading it i knew that i loved it. Get this book along with In the Shadow of the Moon. You will not be dissapointed.

A must read for anyone with a love of Space, Astronauts, etc. Very well written.

As the author of The All-American Boys, I never miss an opportunity to read space books by others. Into that Silent Sea takes you into the early years of human spaceflight and tells the story in a way that will appeal to both space buffs and the public at large. It is full of little-known facts about well-known Soviet and American space flyers along with new and interesting information about lesser-known astronauts, cosmonauts and behind the scenes players.

I found Into That Silent Sea extremely interesting, and written in such a readable style with so much new material that I hated to put it down. French and Burgess did a great job with the cosmonaut chapters. They are loaded with new and interesting material about Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov and Alexei Leonov's harrowing first spacewalk. The book is a rare opportunity for a behind the scenes look at the competition between the two superpowers as they raced to the Moon.

Into That Silent Sea humanizes the Russian program as well as our own. I highly recommend this excellent book.

The life and times of John Marshall (1755 - 1835) make for exceptional reading. Although detailed and carefully researched, this excellent biography/history book/study of early constitutional law is written in an enjoyable, non-academic style. In addition to its captivating treatment of the revolutionary war, the evolution of basic governmental structures, and the Nation's other critically important early leaders, the book weaves together a nearly first-hand account of the foundations of the U.S. Supreme Court and its earliest and most enduring decisions.

Marshall was the 4th and longest serving Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In his 34 years as Chief Justice, he personally shaped U.S. constitutional law, forged the Supreme Court into a strong and independent institution, and defined the powers of the federal government. He swore in presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Hamilton, Adams, and Jackson. And those were just the last 35 years of his life.

As a young man, he fought bravely in several key battles of the Revolutionary War, wintering at Valley Forge in 1777. He became acquainted with General George Washington and the two thereafter held each other in very high regard. On the state level, Marshall served in the Virginia House of Delegates and on the Virginia Counsel of State. Respected as a lawyer and state politician, he was appointed to serve as a delegate to the Virginia convention tasked with accepting or rejecting the United States Constitution and was instrumental in fighting for its ratification.

Marshall's pre-Supreme Court contributions to the Federal government were also significant and interesting. In 1797, President Adams appointed him to a three person delegation to negotiate with France, an unusual episode that came to be called the "XYZ Affair." French ministers spent the better part of a year trying to extort huge bribes from Marshall and his colleagues. News of Marshall's steadfast refusal to pay the bribes preceded his return from Paris and he was received home as an American hero. In 1799 he was appointed the Nation's 4th Secretary of State. That same year, he reluctantly ran for and won a seat in the House of Representatives in a district heavily favoring the other party.

Over the years, Marshall's dedication to his law practice (and need for income) caused him to graciously decline several appointments, including Minister to France, Attorney General of the United States, Secretary of War and even an earlier Supreme Court position. Despite his many other commitments, Marshall felt compelled to write the first biography of his hero George Washington - a well-received five volume set that today is condensed and marketed as a single volume. Marshall delivered the eulogy at Washington's massive memorial service. Lastly, but worth noting, the famous crack in the Liberty Bell occurred while ringing in honor of Marshall's passing.

Next to George Washington, he may be the most important and most admirable of all our founding fathers.

This is a full-length, 500 page biography of the fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Marshall. It is superb. It is very detailed, yet easy to read. Smith follows the conventional chronological format for a biography, starting with Marshall's birth, and then describing his life sequentially from his childhood, his education, his youthful service as a light infantry officer in the Revolution, his work as a lawyer, his early political career, his rise to national fame as an envoy to France during the time when the nation almost went to war with France during the Adams Administration, his service as Secretary of State to John Adams and finally his long service for 35 years as the Chief Justice who established the power and prestige of the Supreme Court.

What I find most admirable about this book is its balance. It gives you everything that you want in a biography. It is very scholarly, and very readable. It gives you a very good sense of John Marshall, the human being, but it also fully explains the significance of the events in which Marshall participated. As an example of the human side of Marshall, Smith gives us a very moving picture of Marshall's lifelong love affair with his wife, Polly, starting with the dramatic courtship by the penniless young officer and ending with the 80 year old Chief Justice walking twice a week to visit her grave. As an example of how Smith explains the significance of what Marshall did, not only did Smith explain the key decisions, but he gives the facts on what impact they had. In the steamship case, for example, Smith both explains the legal and political issues and gives the economic statistics on what effect the decision had on trade.

I highly recommend this book, both for the excellence of its writing and the importance of its subject matter. John Marshall is one of the most important people in American history. He was instrumentals in making real the balance of the Constitution envisioned by Madison and Hamilton in the Federalist Papers. He was critical in creating the pre-conditions needed for America to be a rich and prosperous nation, with great opportunity for the great majority. Marshall was also a wise and a good man, which shines through on every page of this book. The book is worth reading, finally, as a way to come to know such an extraordinary man.

Not all historians are fine, interesting writers. Fortunately, Jean Edward Smith is a superb writer, making Chief Justice Marshall's long life an interesting, even fun, read. Moreover, the writing paralells the substance contained in the Book. I wish all historical biographies were of this quality. Buy the Book.

This was one of those books I knew I SHOULD read, but its heft put me off for months. When I finally did pick it up, I couldn't put it down.

John Marshall doesn't have the cache or enduring fame that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or many others have - and it's a shame. He formed the institution of the Supreme Court, and in so doing, shaped many of the ways our country (tenuous at the time, mind you) began its journey, and perhaps why we've endured this long.

The author does a fantastic job of painting a picture of life in the day, John Marshall's life and contributions, and how he and others in his era related to each other and the world at large. The cases that came before the early SCourt were fascinating, if only to illustrate the thorny issues and perils of the time. The extent to which he was able to be brilliant, rationale, and to build consensus focused on the original intent and vision for this country is impressive, and sorely needed today.

Funny story - I finally DID start reading this book on the beach in Mexico. Not quite the fluff one typically carries to the beach. The first day, people remarked as such, and by about day 3 or 4, they are saying "wow, you are really making progress on that!" as the bookmark moved steadily towards the back.

Don't wait for the beach - get started!

.....though we can still debate whether he defined it correctly. John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was, and remains, one of the absolute giants of our history. Washington fought the battles, Jefferson and Madison composed the theories, but it remained for Marshall to elucidate what it all meant. This is, to my mind, the definitive biography of a titan.

John Marshall was born in what is now Northern Virginia in 1755, the child of a fairly well off family. On his mother's side, he was descended from the famous Randolphs; his father was a surveying associate of George Washington. His dad taught him a love of education and good books that continued all his days. Before embarking on a career in Law, Marshall was a soldier of the Revolution, serving with Washington in several major battles. After marriage to young Polly Ambler, he was a law student of the great George Wythe [also the law teacher of Jefferson, and of Spencer Roane] at William & Mary. Successful practice, and politics, soon followed...Marshall served on the Governor's Council, and was the leading advocate for Constitutional ratification in the Virginia convention; his battles with Patrick Henry are the stuff of legend [though they served as co-counsel in several cases]. He was a constant supporter of Washington, served as one of Adams' three ministers to France in the XYZ affair, and was briefly a Congressman and Secretary of State. He it was who said of Washington "First in War...", though he let Light Horse Harry Lee speak the words, and get the credit. In 1801, John Adams made a "midnight appointment" of Marshall to be Chief Justice, preventing the incoming President Jefferson from making his own choice...

For the next 34 years, Marshall solidified Federal power, freely interpreting the interstate commerce clause, and the clause which allows Congress to make enabling legislation. Marbury v. Madison asserted the right of judicial review, and further cases expanded it. He wrote the judicial opinions that remain the basis of Federal centrilization of power to this day. Smith gives great detail of individual cases.

One of Marshall's great strengths, and we shouldn't make light of it, was that he was a nice guy. A sociable host, his friends loved him, but even total strangers could find him thoroughly modest and charming. Quoits, and good Madiera were real passions. Even his enemies [with two profound exceptions] liked him. His basic decency certainly aided his consensus building.....

...the two exceptions were Spencer Roane and Thomas Jefferson. Roane was the son-in-law and political ally of Patrick Henry. A long time neighbor of Marshall, and Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, Judge Roane believed completely in States Rights and held the US Constitution to be a voluntary compact of free and independent states that could be broken at will. What Spencer Roane proposed, Jeff Davis disposed... Alas, where Marshall was a prince among men, Judge Roane was of such acid, unpleasant, temperment that even his friends and allies couldn't stand him...

....and then there was Mr. Jefferson. The feud between Marshall and Jefferson is one of the absolute central themes of American history. It was multidimensional...personal, familial, political, philosophical...for about 40 years, the conflict was one of cordial, respectful, dislike; after the Aaron Burr treason trial of 1807, it turned into blind, unreasoning hatred. Part of it was rivalry between branches of the Randolph family; part was Jefferson's civilian service during the revolution while Marshall was in the field; part was publication of a letter to Jefferson from his daughter stating "Mrs. Marshall is insane" [sadly, true]. Mostly, the problem was that Marshall and Jefferson had totally different theories of government and visions of America. [They agreed about religion, though Marshall was a founder of, and regular attender at, Monumental Church in Richmond]. In 1807, Aaron Burr was charged with treason, accused of wanting to set up his own empire. He was tried in Richmond, with Marshall sitting as trial judge. Marshall's friend, neighbor, and occasional law partner John Wickham served as defense counsel, along with the drunken genius, Luther Martin. In what is today generally considered a rigged trial, Burr was acquitted. During this trial, an incident occured that is the only evidence of improper conduct on John Marshall's part that I can find; while Burr was out on bail, Wickham threw a grand dinner party for him. Marshall was invited [not improper], went, and stayed the whole evening. You can well imagine the spin that sympathetic Jefferson biographers put on this; Smith doesn't mention it.

John Marshall was a great and brilliant man; he was also a good and decent man. He had his problems; Polly was an invalid with a combination of physical and mental problems for years...one of his sons was essentially worthless. Thru it all, John Marshall was faithful to both his public and private duties. Now, I'll get personal....my copy of this wonderful book was a Christmas present my wife bought me at the John Marshall House in Richmond. Located at 9th. and Marshall, near the Capitol, it is lovingly maintained by a fine staff of really nice people [the Director even helped me with research for a small biography I wrote of Spencer Roane]. The house, and Marshall's grave in Shockhoe Cemetery a few blocks away, are cared for as monuments to greatness, which they are. The house is nice, but not spectacular; Marshall was a modest, unassuming man [John Wickham's house, two blocks away, IS spectacular]. At the John Marshall House [yes, I contribute financially], and at his grave, I feel awe, intellectual interest, and profound respect; at Monticello, I feel reverence. Maybe I think Jefferson was right about the issues, but I can still look up to John Marshall. If you want to understand America, you need to read this book.

This is the best available biography of Marshall, maybe the best ever. If all you want is case histories, read Hobson; if you want a highly technical biography, read Newmyer; if you want to understand the great cases, AND the great man who decided them, start right here. Newmyer and Hobson wrote fine books, but any intelligent person [not just specialists] can read this one.....

I read this book when I was about 12 or 13, it was soo good that I actually read it 3 times. I highly recomend this book to anyone who likes adventure.

This book is about a dog named Kävik who gets in a air plane crash and survives but the crude doesn't and a boy named Andy finds this wolf-like dog abandon from the plane crash and saves him but Kävik is very badly injured with broken rids and his back left leg. The doctor of the town called Copper City fixes Kävik.

This book takes place in Alaska. Kävik gets taken away from is loving family. My favorite part of this book was when Kävik finds his way back to his way back up north through impossible Glaciers and rugged trine and had to travel 2000 miles to find his loving family in Copper City. In the book the Theme I personal think its never give up hope cause Kävik never gave up hope on finding his family even with a dislocated hip didn't stop Kävik . I liked all the hard ships Kävik had to go through like fighting another wolf to win his mate (who dies in the book) and traveling 2000 miles I would change nothing.

Hi Kavik

I am doing a report on Kavik The Wolf dog. Written by Walt Morey . It takes place in Alaska and Washington State ; the main characters are Kavik, Andy, and George Hunter

Bye Kavik

Kavik the Wolf dog is about a dog that just won a big sled dog race a rich man named George Hunter (who lives in Seattle) he wanted him because he won. A man named Smiley John came to pick up Kavik and put him on the plane. Kavik got put in a big cage. The plane ended up crashing. The men died. But Kavik was still alive, until Andy found him.

Do you like this book?

I like this book because it is full of action like shooting and dog fights. This book is very good. It is sad sometimes. There are parts were you feel like you are right with Kavik like when Kavik was very sick in the first part of the story. This book has a lot of heart jumping parts in it, like when Andy was going to shoot Kavik and Kavik was still alive. Also when Kavik got a girlfriend I think that Walt Morey did a very good job in the middle of the story I liked the middle of the story.

Recommend or not

I like this book because I like dogs and stories that keep your eyes glued to the pages. I would recommend this book to all my friends and give it a five star

This book is the most exciting book I have ever read. It had four things that I loved, the author uses colorful words, I was on the edge of my seat, I wanted to read more books of this author, and last but not least I always have a clear picture in view. I love this book and I hope you will too!

Kavik won the north american and George C. Hunter wated to buy him. So George bought him and put him on a plane. The plane crashed during a storm. The crash killed the pillot and threw Kavik from the plane. An almost dead dog lie there in an iron cage when Andy Evans found him. Andy took him home and nursed him back to health. Kavik was physicaly fit but not afraid of a lot off things.Grorge came back to Alaska for his dog. Andy didn't want to give him up. George took Kavik on a boat across the bay. Kavik was so sad.I enjoyed this book so much but the ending could be better. You dicide.

We got this for our four year old at the time. He is almost 7 now, and we all still enjoy choosing instructions from this book to work on together. I do think the pouch is a little small for all the pieces.

The zip line "robot" as my kids call it doesn't work so great, but otherwise, we've enjoyed all the projects - takes between 8 and 15 minutes to build one, if we don't stop to play together. I agree that if the child is 8 or older, this would be something they would need very little help with. Of course, you need to have a few legos already, as this one only has the specialized pieces inside. Oh - and a few rubberbands, as well. Ours broke rather quickly.

Sra. Gose
Mother of Five, Spanish Teacher, Author
Flip Flop Spanish

My son has a HUGE bin of Legos and enjoys building and rebuilding. This box/kit really challenges him. The best part is most of the contraptions have a function. He loves the candy dispenser made with Legos and rubber bands.
I highly recommend this for any Lego lover!

My ten year old loves legos ... and I love peace and quiet in the car! This product worked out great as a "trip treat", the bag was great so he could keep track of them. We use an aluminum cake pan with a plastic cover for a lego desk/holder in the car, but the book with a bag made it so he could take it into the hotel and restaurant with no fuss ... and isn't that what every mom really wants ??? no fuss??? GO LEGOS!!!!!!!!

This has many fun and challenging activities a child can do with Legos. The projects use the pieces that come with the book plus basic pieces most Lego fans will already own. Easy to follow directions with fun results. The child can use the basic ideas and expand upon them, so this kit isn't limited as some are. We got it for my son's 10th birthday and I think it would be appropriate for an 8 to 14 year old.

I asked for this before Christmas and got in January. I didn't check the contents of the bag until Saturday (February 2nd) when I had time to start building the models. Six pices were missing, two of them very important (24-tooth gear wheels). I got some extra-pieces, but some models I won't be able to build because of the missing gear wheels. I tried returning the item to Amazon but I had until January 31st so if anyone buys this please check it very soon, the models are fine, easy to do, BUT I WANT MY MISSING PIECES!!!

Reviewed by Anne Marie Medema (age 12) for Reader Views (7/08)

Mary O'Hara is an excellent author because she ties in real things that happen into a fictional family. The breeds of horses O'Hara writes about are real and it is obvious she is educated in each horse's individual characteristics. O'Hara writes using authentic western language terms. In "My Friend Flicka" the story comes alive to the reader as O'Hara writes with much description about the farm, the horses and life out West. O'Hara weaves into her story punishment and reward in real times -- the reward of a boy's joy when he finally receives his filly.

Can you tame a wild heart? The cover states it well. This question explains "My Friend Flicka" to the reader. It is a book about taming both a young boy and a horse. The storyline begins with Ken on a horse ride. While riding, Ken loses many different horse articles. Ken's father had been an army officer and thus raised Ken with firmness and strictness. He demanded respect. Ken has always been dreaming of a horse of his own.

Due to poor grades in school and a missed assignment about horses Ken must repeat a grade in school. His father requires Ken to complete an hour of homework a day throughout the entire summer. Ken's brother gets him in trouble by asking many questions that Ken must answer and tell the truth.

One day Ken scares his father's horses towards a landslide. One horse cuts the other horses off so none of them fall off and are saved. Ken's mother encourages his father to give his son a horse. Ken's father finally gives him a chance to care for a colt or filly. Ken chooses a colt that is a yearling. Since there are many yearlings to choose from, Ken anxiously awaits to make a choice.

The doctor arrives at their farm because four horses need to be gelded. Gelded means the horse can not reproduce and is done to the stallions. The procedure was so horrible and so much blood lost that one of the horses dies due to the gelding. The colts act sad after the gelding. Ken is greatly disturbed by it. This incident means Ken will choose a filly for his horse.

Rocket is a wild horse who has a filly named Flicka. Ken sees Flicka and falls in love with her and wants her. Flicka is caught for Ken. One day Flicka falls sick. After she is sick, Ken finds Flicka in a river lying down ill on a cold night. By the morning, Ken is sick and Flicka's fever is gone. Ken's father wants to kill Flicka but decides against it. Flicka turns into a well-bred horse and a companion for Ken. Flicka and Ken grow up together and learn life lessons from each other.

"My Friend Flicka" by Mary O'Hara is a great book I would recommend for young and old alike. Boys and girls who have a love for ranches, horses and the outdoors would particularly enjoy the storyline. I have read many books in my life time and I rank this one as one of the best. Break-in a book called "My Friend Flicka" and gallop away from the world.

I have to give this book 5 stars. Mary O'Hara wrote an incredibly beautiful story about a struggling family. Many of the details of the story are so true to life. As an adult reading this story, I found the details about the parents to be more interesting than the story of the horse and the boy. O'Hara really understands the concerns of a parent for a struggling child and it's very true to life in the book. Many important issues are touched upon in this book too; responsibility for our domestic animals, love for people and animals, doing our duty in our every day life are all there with out being mushy and sentimental. O'hara also paints a vivid picture of Wyoming and old-time ranch life. It makes me wish it was still like that, so I could visit it. This is another great book for a read aloud family time.

This is a very good book. My granddaughter really enjoyed it.

Although he made his audio book debut just two readings ago, stage, screen and television actor Michael Louis Wells is in full command of the metier with his narration of the classic My Friend Flicka. Many will remember the story as a film with Roddy McDowall, as a TV series or as a current film. Wells is on a par with all of the actors who have undertaken bringing this touching tale to life. The reason for the story's many incarnations is obvious - it is one of our best-loved books and well deserves its place among others that are enjoyed from generation to generation, such as Treasure Island and Mutiny on the Bounty.

Pivotal to O'Hara's story is Ken and his seeming laissez faire attitude. Where his mind is his father, Rob, certainly doesn't know. He's a young boy who would much rather just look out a window than study his arithmetic. He should have studied because his report card is so poor that he's doomed to repeat a grade. Rob undoubtedly wonders whether he'll even catch on the second time around.

Their home is Wyoming's Goose Bar Ranch and Rob is working hard to make a go of it. He doesn't need a son who seems given to daydreams. Then, along comes Flicka, a beautiful chestnut filly, with a wild streak inherited from her sire. Ken is certain he can tame Flicka, and so begins the unforgettable relationship between a boy and his horse.

O'Hara wrote a follow-up to her story, Thunderhead, but it never achieved the popularity of My Friend Flicka, a timeless story to be enjoyed over and over again.

- Gail Cooke

I am in the middle of lstening to this book. Its detailed descriptions of ranch life and horses are quite compelling. But what surprised me was the absolutely accurate description of a boy with ADD. This book was written some two decades before attention deficit disorder gained anyone's attention, but O'Hara's descriptions of Ken's behavior are absolutely consistent.

And then O'Hara answers the question of what to do about the condition: give the kid something he really wants to do and stand back. Of course, it helps that Ken has two wise and good-hearted parents; but then, maybe that is the start to solving most problems that children have.

A fine book on many levels, and a fine companion on the road for adult and child.

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright was first published in 1941, and though it was written many years ago, is as delightful now as it was then. It's a story about a family who loves each other, works hard and strives to do the right thing. How refreshing!

Mona (13), Rush (12), Miranda (10 ½), who is known as Randy, and Oliver (6) live in New Your City in a brownstone that is rather shabby, but has many floors and fits their lifestyle perfectly. The Melendy children's mother died, but their father and Cuffy, the beloved housekeeper, provide the love, attention and care the children need.

Each of the children has dreams and desires for their futures. Their interests are varied and they each are independent and inquisitive about life and their surroundings.

But while the Melendy children find life generally interesting, Saturdays can sometimes be just plain boring. The children form a club they call the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (I.S.A.A.C.). All of the children agree to pool their allowances and each child takes a Saturday with all the money to do something by themselves that they really want to do.

The Saturdays are exciting, not just because of the activities they choose, but because of the people they meet and the stories they hear. Well, Oliver does make one Saturday particularly memorable, but you'll have to read the book to learn about his adventure.

In the day of the novels that glamorize the worst society has to offer, The Saturdays is delightfully refreshing.

Armchair Interviews says: Read the series and enjoy!

This book is different in a good way. It is about 4 children who decide to put there allowences to a good use. Every Saturday the add up there allowence and one of the children gets to do any thing that they will always remember.
By,
Girl With A Plan

I had doubts for this book because it didn't sound very interesting but my Mom wanted me to read it so I did-I loved it. It's original and imaginative and above all easy to read for hours without getting bored. It's original and fun like the story of Mrs. Olifount being kidnapped by jypsies, or Isaac the dog saving the family from suffocating. It's a wonderful book I can't wait to read the sequils.

When I was nine years old I picked up a copy of Elizabeth Enright's "The Melendy Family" on sale for 25 cents at my school Christmas fair, donated by some eighth-grader who evidently felt she had "outgrown" it. I wonder, does anybody ever outgrow the Melendys? "The Melendy Family" was a three-in-one volume comprising "The Saturdays", "The Four Story Mistake", and "Then There were Five". Alas, "The Melendy Family" is no longer in print, but fifty years later, I still have my copy, read to shreds, patched and repatched with scotch tape, a book to be treasured forever and never thrown away. Fortunately, the books making up "The Melendy Family" have been reissued as individual volumes available to enchant yet another generation of young readers.

"The Saturdays", the first volume in the series, introduces us to the four Melendy children: Mona, age 13, Rush, age 12, Randy, who is ten-and-a-half, and Oliver, age 6. Each is given a distinct personality and Enright modeled them on children she had known in her own life, her own children or childhood friends. The result is four fictional characters so totally believable that for years after the books were published, Enright continued to get letters from readers wondering if the Melendys were "real".

The Melendy children's mother is deceased, but they are raised by a devoted, caring father and Cuffy, their beloved housekeeper, who stands in as nurse, cook, substitute mother, grandmother, and aunt, and generally rules the roost. The children are funny, refreshing and unspoiled. Mona has aspirations of being a famous actress and already at thirteen can recite "yards and yards of Shakespeare at the drop of a hat." Rush is the next to the oldest, a musical prodigy with a penchant for getting into and out of trouble. Randy at ten-and-a-half (the half is very important at that age) is an endearing mixture of grace and klutziness, a talented dancer and artist who keeps falling over her own feet when it comes to manual labor. And six-year-old Oliver is the baby of the family, placid and calm, very much his own person, as his story shows.

The story opens on a rainy Saturday which finds Randy and Rush monumentally bored with nothing to do. Randy wants to see a some French paintings. Rush wants to go to the opera. Mona wants to see a play. But in the early 1940s (the approximate time in which the story is set is revealed in the opening pages when Enright tells us that the long scars on the linoleum floor were made by Rush trying out a pair of ice skates on Christmas afternoon, 1939), fifty cents a week allowance was standard, and there wasn't a whole lot you could do with that. Randy has a brainstorm. Let's start a club, she says, and pool our allowances together each week so one of us can spend them on something we've always wanted to do. This idea is adopted enthusiastically by all the children (Oliver wants to contribute his ten cents, too), and thus the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club (ISAAC) is born.

Each following chapter describes an adventure that takes place on each child's Saturday. Randy goes to see an exhibition of French paintings, runs into an old family acquaintance, Mrs. Oliphant, and is treated to tea at the Plaza while she hears a delightful story of the time Mrs. Oliphant was kidnapped by gypsies during her childhood.

Rush goes to the opera, walks home in a snowstorm, and finds a lost puppy that becomes the family's devoted friend and companion from that day on.

Mona, tired of her long braids, goes to a beauty parlor and treats herself to a haircut and a manicure. The resulting uproar by her father and Cuffy seems a trifle overdone, but as Father later admits, it's hard for parents to realize that their children are growing up.

And Oliver, keeping his own counsel, sneaks out of the house when his Saturday comes and goes to the circus all by himself. An even greater adventure occurs when he is given a ride back home by a mounted policeman on a horse, after he gets lost leaving Madison Square Garden.

After Oliver's adventure the kids decide to spend their Saturdays as a group, but that doesn't stop them from having mishaps such as Randy falling overboard from a boat in Central Park, the family almost suffocating from coal gas when Rush forgets to shut the furnace door, and the storeroom catching fire. It all comes to an exciting conclusion when Mrs. Oliphant invites the children to spend the summer in her lighthouse in Long Island.

"The Saturdays" takes us back to a simpler time and to adventures that probably couldn't happen today (no parent in his right mind would allow a ten year old to go to a museum alone in the New York City nowadays), but kids are still kids, and the Melendys seem so real they could be anyone we knew when we were children, or wish we had known. The time frame may help children understand what a dollar could purchase back then (a wash, set and manicure, or admission to a museum with change to spare). The whole series is a gem for every child and every generation. I still marvel at the priceless find I picked up off a bookshelf at random fifty years ago for only twenty-five cents. It's paid me back a zillion-fold ever since.

Judy Lind

I wanted to respond to the reviews below that thought it was either implausible or dated for children aged 10-13 to wander around New York by themselves. I grew up in New York (in Manhattan, across the park from the Melendys) in the late 1980s. I turned 13, just Mona's age, in 1990. I started walking home from school alone in fourth grade (when I was nine, a year younger than Randy). Like Mr. Melendy and Cuffy, my parents' major worry was that I was careful crossing the street. (Reasonably enough, they feared that drivers would not be able to see a small child.) Many of my friends from elementary school walked or took the bus to school alone at the same age. By twelve (Rush's age), I was allowed to take the subway to visit friends from junior high school, and they took the subway to visit me. By fourteen our teachers assumed that we were competent to find the Metropolitan Museum of Art on our own for projects. None of these people were neglectful, and none of them were "horrified" at the idea of pre-adolescents wandering around the city alone. This was in the supposed "bad old days" when crime was theoretically much higher than it is now, and none of us ever suffered any accident. (Although a group of friends and I got lost coming back from the theater in eighth grade, and were pretty embarrassed that we looked like tourists.)

Anyone familiar with the geography of New York City knows that the Melendy children stay within a fairly small geographic area in THE SATURDAYS, and that the areas where most of their adventures take place are some of the richest and safest in the city. Most sensible New York parents would allow their children to wander there on Saturday afternoons with no more concern than the appropriate ones that Mr. Melendy shows. (Be careful of traffic, don't talk to strangers, and don't get lost.)

Ironically, this ties in with the review that says that Enright did not take enough "risks" with the book, by having her characters get kidnapped by gypsies or run away from home. The fact is, she wrote a fairly realistic description of the childhood of the middle and upper-middle classes of New York City....kids who come into CONTACT with a relatively diverse group of people who have had a variety of experiences, but who actually live in a fairly safe, and sheltered world.

As a New York City kid, I was thrilled to read a book that reflected MY real life experience, as opposed to yet another story about kids who lived in houses with back yards and rode a school bus, and generally had no relationship to my real life. I still love THE SATURDAYS for its loving description of a New York that has in some ways remained startingly the same, even though parts of it have disappeared (no more two way traffic on Fifth Avenue, and no double decker buses!). As other reviews have said, The Saturdays is a charming, well-written book for kids, that can also be enjoyed by adults. It's also one of the few accurate and positive stories about growing up in a great city. I would recommend it for all ages.

Richard S. Levick and Larry Smith have delivered the definitive book, at least for now, on crisis communications and litigation PR. (Brief disclosure: I have met and chatted with both of them, but this review is, I hope, unaffected by any personal contacts.)

Levick and Smith don't hold back in describing some disastrous public relations gaffes by major companies, and they also give credit to corporations that understood how important the "court of public opinion" can be. These authors also know how to write: the book is free from marketing and PR jargon, and is easy and even fun to read. As a media relations professional and former reporter and editor, I have put this book on my desk next to my computer.

The authors also recognize the importance of blogs - both as tools that a company or law firm's opponents can use and as tools that are well suited to defense as well.

The recommended use of "message points," though hardly original with Levick and Smith, reaches a high plateau here. Their recommendations for pharmaceutical companies, antitrust defendants, even asbestos makers, are not merely plausible but convincing.

Sometimes a firm needs to stand tough and fight the battle in the media. Sometimes it needs to stand down. Levick and Smith help explain the difference.

This would be a five-star review except that the authors' constant use of brief stories -- in a different and jarring typeface -- as sidebars in the text is off-putting and even a bit amateurish. Sometimes, it's even hard to follow. The fact that they must put "continued" lines into their book ("See page 147") should have been a tip-off that the typography here is not ideal.

Still, this is a terrific book.

Don't buy this book for your PR department. Buy it for your attorneys.

Levick bridges the gap between the need for an organization to speak publicly during a crisis and its legal department's desire to keep the corporate yap locked tight. An attorney himself, Levick understands perception trumps fact, and that at crisis time the real battle won't happen in a court of law; it's already happening in the court of public opinion.

Filled with insights and strategies for short-circuiting a media assault from newspapers still in print to online bloggers, "Stop the Presses" is a must-read for those who think they know crisis communications.

Levick also explains the critical need for advance preparation, on-going media awareness and outside legal and communications counsel in a crisis, three steps lacking in too many organizations.

A clear winner.

Dennis Dean
The Dean Group

It's rare that a book can serve as an "insurance policy," but Stop The Presses comes as close as any I have read. Nobody relishes the idea of a crisis situation befalling them or their business--but crises do strike--and by definition, they are unexpected. If a company's management has read, or even browsed those neat little gray "So Don't Forget" boxes at the end of each chapter of Stop The Presses, it will have taken the first step on the road to preparedness.

Ricard Levick and Larry Smith make this sometimes frightening topic eminently readable, and fill the pages with useful, do's, don't and "don't forgets." Their experience is evident all through the book. No book is a substitute for the right advisers and advice, but this one covers many of the crises and legal/regulatory troubles with just enough explanation to start readers on the path to the right kind of actions.

As I stated at the start: it isn't quite an insurance policy, but for $30, it might just save your reputation or your company. And that's probably the best $30 you could spend. Buy it; read it; and hope you never need it. You'll sleep better at night.

After having devoured this book, I can highly recommend reading it.

It is easy to read and offers lots of very practical advice on how to master or even prevent crisis. Richard and Larry have apparently broad experience in helping troubled companies in times of difficulties; and they share their knowledge with a good portion of humor, many real world references and examples, and very helpful appendixes.

Their emphasis on "prevention" made it clear to me how important it is for nearly every company's "survival" to anticipate the potential for crisis and to set up early the required structures. I liked in particular the reminder - or wake up call for many of us - on how important it is to become part of the blog community.

This book should be bed side lecture for everybody who manages communication on behalf of any size and type of company, in particular outside counsel, members of legal and PR departments. It is a great 1x1 on crisis management but also offers lots of depth.

I immediately thought of British Airways' management who should have read this book before opening Heathrow's new terminal and entering into disaster. They would most probably be better off today!

Stop the Presses (2nd Ed.) is a reference book, but it can only be considered a primer for anyone needing to respond to crisis and litigation. I especially like appendix. Most readers will find them helpful.

I think it is odd that there are no pictures in this book and it has a very manufactured feel to it, like advertising. People need to cast a more critical eye on 911 and it's propaganda. These "widows" (not ONE of their husband's is listed in the social security death index, which is necessary for them to collect life insurance, and none of them collected from the compensation fund, yet they all have very expensive houses.) I know they are portrayed as "truth seekers" but none of them really questions the basic premise of 911 (that it was done by terrorists). I think Breitweiser and the others are a propaganda campaign meant to mollify the public into believing that "something is being done" about 911, when in actuality it isn't.

Powerful, moving, honest. The best kind of writing is the kind that comes straight from the heart. You can feel the anger, pain and love flow over the pages. A story that takes you inside the heart of one who lost so much on that day and fought so hard to get to the truth of what happened and what culpability level of our government. Gripping, hard to put down, you know you should just read it. You won't regret it.

In "Wake Up Call", Kristin Breitweiser offers poignant, first-hand insight into the grave inadequecies, corrosive power struggles and chilling lack of democracy of our pre-9/11 government, as well as a piercing account of the blatant failures, deception, and exploitation of the Bush administration afterwards. Beautifully written with a generous, sensitive depiction of her personal life both before and after she lost her husband in the Tower 2 calamity (which she witnessed first-hand), Mrs. Breitweiser's thorough depiction of a country still frighteningly vulnerable to Al Quaida and other terrorists will make any reader sit up and take serious notice. The tenacity and determination of "The Jersey Girls" in the face of unspeakable personal tragedy and their ability to take on the enormous flaws of the Bush administration is an inspiration to all of us.

Although the author tends to be repetitive and her alternative energy source argument would bear much more weight if she were to drive something other than a huge SUV, this book is a must for every American citizen. It could easily become an important Political Science college textbook if it hasn't already.

K.V.D. San Jose, California

This lady is certainly to be commended for maintaining her stamina to accomplish what she did with so many things going wrong. Anyone who has the disgusting attribute to slam these ladies when they were working for others as well as themselves needs to sit down in front of a mirror. There are so many reasons and more all the time actually that there should be another REAL investigation into the whole terrible tragedy of 9-11. I fully agree with them and applaud all they have done and are still trying to do. They say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and "God doesn't give you anything you can't handle" and I guess that would seem to be true in this case, however, as I know from my own life, no matter what kind of battle you are fighting it does take its toll on one's body. Good going to all you ladies who participated in this and what a wonderful book that was. Well written to the point I could hardly lay it down!

Kristen Breitweiser gives us a compelling view of our government through the eyes of an average citizen. She takes us on a journey thorough her life with her husband before 9/11, through that awful day and then through the aftermath. Kristen and other 9/11 widows have been fighting for truth and accountability for the attacks since that tragic day and have had to overcome hurdles every step of the way. Kristen's strength and determination is inspiring.

Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip, originally a doctoral thesis, is one of the most touching, poetic, beautiful, harrowing, moving and dislocating works I have read. Basically a compendium of found glass plate negative photos taken by the (himself knock-knees odd) Charles Vam Schaik in and around the rural community of Black River Falls WI, and leavened by snippets taken from the Badger State Banner newspaper and the Mendota State Record Book (an insane asylum), as well as a few personal reminisces, the book instead is a commentary and an indictment of a brutal time of economic dislocation, social upheaval, religious confusion and obsession, and personal decay in a farming community. It is an endless repitition of suicide, madness, arson, children dying of disease, and of a mostly sternly religious people living the grimmest of lives of back breaking work in the country. The photos by their sheer repetition and some of the games played with them by the author, pound out a tattoo of strain, people only barely suppressing their madness, and a society truly on the edge of collapse. Hardly the bucolic paradise so often evoked in our time.

The afterword by the author provides some backstory and statistics backing the point up, and illustrating in numbers and facts what the pictures and excerpts made clear by anecdote, and is also well written.

This was something of a cult book in the mid 70s, a most unusual way of looking at local history, lifting up the rock under which society had crawled. It is haunting, tragic, striking. You will never forgot it.

Buying a classic again. This is the U of New Mexico Press version. The earlier publisher had the picture of the baby in a coffin on the cover. That was better, but the contents are the same.

This is an interesting and slightly macabre book which is strangely beautiful. My son, who is Sam Witt, the poet, told me about it because he had been so moved by it that he wrote a poem associated with it in his soon to be published book, SUNFLOWER BROTHER. The old photos are stunning from the horses to the dead children. I am hoping to get the dvd soon.

"Wisconsin death trip"is an accurate documentation,not only of "agrarian white"culture at the end of the 19th century but,in many ways,the whole of white culture in america at that time..Contrary to popular belief,the"good"old days were not really so good..Yes,they may well have been less complex,but infant mortality was very high,illnesses which today are highly treatable being killers not only of children but of adults as well,daily life being,for most,a drudgery,with little to show for one's efforts...There were few saftey nets,no antibiotics,no pensions to speak of,no recourse against the harshness life,or against a system that,like today,favors the wealthy..
Insanity was not understood,and "treatment"such as it was,often did little to help the afflicted...Wisconsin did not have a monopoly on such things,anymore than,say,los angles has a monopoly on street gangs,or newark has a monopoly on ghetto housing...
The novelty is perhaps in the seeing of the photographs and the documents all together in one volume,so that one can peruse the sorrowful aspects of that period as it affected one particular area...

I read this book over 16 years ago. It left a lasting impression that will stay with me forever. It may not have the same affect on others but reading some of the reviews posted here, I know that it has on most. You can't really ask somebody "did this really happen?" becuase they either died then or in the 100 years that have past. We have no perspective on these people, places and times other than to read books like this. If any of these folks were alive today and heard someone say, "those were the good old days." They might be inclined to give the speaker a quick education. This book will do it for them. I have pictures just like this in a family archive. You wonder how anybody lived into middle or old age. Disease, starvation, hypothermia, and farm accidents all took their toll. Winters are hard enough in the south. Why did these people decide to stop the wagon in Wisconsin or if they lived thru their first winter there, why didn't they head south? I went to a Brewers baseball game at the end of May some 25 years ago and wore a down parka and was cold. You can still see houses in small towns outside of Milwaukee that look like the houses in this book and you can feel the desolation, pain and suffering looking out at you thru 100 year old panes of glass.