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W Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

W
How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With
Published in Paperback by Alpine Publications (1992-07)
Authors: Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil
List price: $9.95
New price: $0.99
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

raising a puppy
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-02
This is a very solid, practical manual with good, specific guidance on raising a pup to be obedient, manageable and secure. The behavior or a dog can be a joy to itself and its owner or a disaster and this book will show you the steps to raising a pet you can love and enjoy and one that will be happy and safe with you.

A MUST for all new puppy owners!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-07
This book is a MUST for all new puppy owners! It will tell you when to do what with your puppy so you can raise a puppy that you will be happy to have around and proud to own. Also great for all breeders- it goes into the first 8 weeks as well and what should be done to raise well adjusted puppies.

easy and understandable
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-12
i thought this book was easy enough to read. it explained everything you needed... gets straight to the point and has good explanations of your puppy at a certain level or age. im planning to get a puppy and after reading this book, i know a lot more about how to take care of one. i feel ready.

A MUST READ for puppy owners!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-03
This book is invaluable in the way it describes each stage of the puppy's development (both physical and psychological). It eqips you to answer the age-old question: Why is my puppy behaving this way???

Also, after reading this book, you will understand why you should always purchase your pup from a breeder ... and NEVER from a pet store.

Best of Its Kind
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-16
This is the best book I've found on raising a puppy. Especially helpful is the week by week detailed description of what a new owner may expect developmentally from the puppy, and what the puppy needs for each stage of growing. I've given this book to every new puppy parent I've known!

W
A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex
Published in Hardcover by Grand Central Publishing (2007-10-25)
Author: Chris Jericho
List price: $25.99
New price: $10.40
Used price: $7.61
Collectible price: $25.99

Average review score:

Breaking down the walls
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-02
I had a great time reading this book as this was a book written by one of the "younger generation" of wrestlers - the ones that I grew up with and followed their careers from the mid 90's to today. Chris Jericho presented a funny and amusing account of his travels as a wrestler and the dues he had to pay along the way - probably one of the last wrestlers to go through the "territorial system" on his way to the WWE. In addition, he also presented a unique take on the turmoil that was WCW as an undercard wrestler being "held down" from breaking through. I also enjoyed reading about the hush hush double secret meeting Jericho had with Vince and co. Of course, with the ending of the book at his intro to WWE, I look forward to "part II" of the Lion's Tale.

Jericho is cool
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-28
I really enjoyed this book. I was not so sure of how it would keep me into the story since it's about most of his time before WWE, but it did. Very intresting way to fullfill your dreams and the measures you sometimes go through to get their.

Good read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-27
I've always been a fan of Jericho's in ring work (well "always" dating back to the late 90s in his WCW days anyway). This book is written in such a manner that you feel like you are sitting down with him over a bottle of rum and he is just telling you some really good stories (sometimes funny, sometimes weird, sometimes sad). I really didn't feel like I was reading as much as just listening to a guy (whom I admire) talk about his life.

As with any "wrestling" book you are going to limit the number of people who are going to be interested. I don't believe being a fan of the business is a must for reading this book (although there are some jokes that only fans will get), but I will say this book is not for everybody. Several topics are a bit off color and will offend some.

There are some problems with the book though (I'm actually surprised to see it getting as many 5 star reviews as it is). For one, almost every topic is dealt with in a "light-hearted" sort of way. This is fine for the majority of the book, but there are times when it this approach seems odd. For example, he discusses a situation were a bunch of wrestlers and himself go out bowling after taking prescription sleeping pills like it was nothing. Yet, some of the people who went out that night died very real drug related deaths. Second, he mentions that he is Christian yet openly discusses drug use, strip clubs, alcohol, sex, etc... I'm not even religious, and I found it strange.

Overall, it's a great book and well worth the cheap price.

A Lion's Tale - Chris Jericho
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-13
He's my favorite WWE wrestler (and the champ) since John Cena is out sick and this is an excellent book, I learned a lot about him from this book and I would rate this book a 10+!

The only wrestling book worth reading
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-19
If your a wrestling fan (more so from the late 90s) do yourself a favour and buy, borrow or steal a copy of this book, even if your not a big reader you won't want to put it down. I lent it to a couple of friends of mine who also watch wrestling and they too found it highly entertaining. If your not or have never been a wrestling fan then you may not care for it and lose interest at least thats the opinion I got from someone else I lent it to, however if you do fit this category what are you doing looking up jericho's autobiography?

W
Summer Promise
Published in Paperback by W Publishing Group (1988-06)
Author:
List price:
New price: $0.99
Used price: $0.01

Average review score:

BEST SERIES EVER WRITTEN!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-14
I could not find a series to stick to. I would pick up a book and then set it right back down, that is till I found this series, then i couldnt put it down! I totaly could relate to Christy, and she bacame like my best friend. I have read the series at least twice and Love it. I also enjoy the Sierra books. I cant wait to start on the college years and the Katie books. Also no one gives this book lower than 4 stars and honstly you cant they ARE amazing i wish i could give this book 5ooooo stars!!

Through Christy's struggles I learned a lot. I love these books, they are like a calm in the storm. Just read these books, I guarentee that they will change your life.

Love this series!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-31
The story of Christy Miller goes from her preteen years up through college and finally to her wedding. (This book is the first in the series.) It's a coming-of-age story of a Christian young woman. Themes include purity, relationships, romance, school stress, family issues, and negative influences.

Each story in the series has a moving ending, is uplifting, entertaining, and makes you feel as though you are friends with each person in the story. Well written and enjoyable - I highly recommend.

A Great Series
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-30
This series was is one of my favorite teen series. The first book really got me hooked, then the next three still kept me reading. I really liked Christy because she was kind of insecure and shy, but she blossoms throughout the books. Todd was such a sweet guy, but sometimes he was a little slow when it came to Christy. I really got involved with the characters, and I felt Robin Jones Gunn did an amazing job of making the characters. They were 3 dimensional and so realistic. I recommend this series!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ROBIN JONES GUNN!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-23
After many failed attempts during the past few years to find a book or series of books for her to read for pleasure, I gave this book to my 14 yr. old daughter, Amber, in June hoping she would enjoy reading it this summer...I am thrilled to say that she couldn't put it down!!! Not only have I also purchased Vols. II, III and IV for her (she is currently reading Vol. IV)...she has shared her love of the books with her friends and now they have the series and are reading them!!! This has made me so very happy...especially since these are Christian based books with valuable life lessons for our teens. What a wonderful gift to be able to give to our teenage daughters in this challenging & confusing world we live in~~~Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Robin Jones Gunn...from the bottom of my heart!!!!

A must-read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-07
The first three books in this series are great! It's really hard to put the book down once you've started reading. The three books are fresh, invigorating, very realistic and heartfelt. They really bring you closer to God. I love them!

W
Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book
Published in Paperback by On Target Publications (2001-01)
Author: Dave Draper
List price: $24.95
New price: $11.97
Used price: $9.55
Collectible price: $24.95

Average review score:

If you buy only one bodybuilding book....
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-28
this is the one. In my opinion, this is the only book you will need. Whether just starting out or a seasoned bodybuilder, this great book puts it all together. Sure there are hundreds of books out there all touting the latest routine or supplementation but Dave Draper plows through all that and gets down to the tried and true facts. His writing style is unique, refreshing, down to earth and motivational. The bodybuilding bug bit me at around age 15. I wish this book was around then as it would have saved me so much time and heartache. Not only is Dave Draper a great bodybuilder, (yup that's present tense for you yougins that think once one stops competing they aren't a bodybuilder anymore) but he's an all around great guy. I "met" Dave many years ago when I stumbled across his website, [...]. I was in a place in my life that needed some bodybuilding direction big time. Due to life circumstances, I let training take a back seat. Dave was kind (and wise) enough to teach me it was ok to get back on the horse after falling off. It's so easy to let life get in the way and make excuses. Buy the book, read it and get going!

Rick Fingerman, CFP(r)

BOMBER'S BLEND
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-31
Decades ago I saw on TV the movie Don't Make Waves, and I remembered Tony Curtis's foil the great beast of a man, blond and mostly mute, when the luminous James Wolcott linked to a literate and aging body builder in a blogpost this year.
And so they are the same. This warm and wise book is a great encouragement to those of us whose bodies need the stress of physical work to maintain health and joy.
Part technical guide, part moral guide, part memoir, the Bomber's book is still a whole work and for me it lifts the strange sport of body building, sans steroids, up on Dave's big back to a new level of respect. Highly recommended.

For the Bodybuilder's Library
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-10
Both informational and inspiring, this book from a veteran bodybuilder will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about the sport.

Excellent guide, Dave!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-16
The most useful part of this book is the advise about how to train around injury and over training. This is what happens when yer an old geezer and want the 18 year old body. I'm 59, and actually don't look like I'll be dead in 13 years. Thank you Dave.

For Every Bodybuilders Library
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-18
Draper has an odd writing style, but his stories are motivational and informational. Everyone who lifts should read this.

W
In the Grip of Grace
Published in Paperback by W Publishing Group (1997-01)
Author: Max Lucado
List price: $12.99
New price: $8.95
Used price: $2.88
Collectible price: $12.99

Average review score:

Love the paradigm
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-29
His opening paradigm (chapter 1) is remarkable. I remember it, even years later! And how he builds on that is excellent. One of his best.

Best Lucado
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-09
Like some other Christian authors, Lucado has such a large library of books that deciding on one can be daunting for a new comer.
So, if you've never read anything by Lucado before, I recommend you start right here.
"In the Grip of Grace" is by far my favorite work by Max.
Enjoy!

Also recommended: He Still Moves Stones and When God Whispers Your Name

Helped me in many ways...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-07-30
I was drifting from the church. I had (and continue to have) a different perspective on the church from certain issues. I was taking a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to homosexuality, basically saying, what they want to do is between them and God, and it's not the role of man to place judgment on them for that. And certainly not the role of man (or church) to LEGISLATE morality. But, before I get someone ripping my head off for that opinion, you can imagine that it isn't popular in the church.

When I read this book, I saw so many people in the Church in the role of the second brother in the parable of the river. The Fault-Finding Judgmentalist. And at that point I was instantly hooked into this book. I felt like this was someone who saw things from my perspective, whether he agreed with me or not. He could at least see what I was thinking, of this much I was assured. He doesn't mention any of those controversial topics explicitly, but I feel like the interpretation is valid.

Simply put, I came away feeling a greater love and appreciation for God, and feeling thankful for His grace that has saved me. I'm still more far from the Church than I would prefer. It will take awhile for me to find my way completely back. But guided by my re-growing faith, and books like this, I won't be gone forever.

Fault finding bridge builder
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-04
My review is not meant to be a beautiful write up for Max, I am sure he is a great guy, but hey, even his insurance company has problems with him. (I must be a the judgemental type) This book helped me realize that no matter how hard I try or how hard I think I am trying its not good enough. I cant jump to the moon, I cant make it up the river alone, and I cant place a value of a sin and try to "repay it with good". I am helpless. The book made me feel uncompfortable and small, but compared to God I think thats exactly how we have to feel to even accept his grace let alone understand it.

I reccomend this book to anyone who is desperate enough to listen. Dont read this for entertainment, Max is funny, but not that funny. Read it if you want to change. I know I did.

Thanks Max, for allowing God to use you as His megaphone.

Changed my life...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-27
I have been a church goer my whole life and just went with the flow, never really in touch with God...until I read this book. I read it, and it turned me right around. This book will make you embrace the grace of an awesome God. If your life is off track this book will show you what is being offered to you, and if you've already accepted your forgiveness, this book will make you smile when you think of what an awesome God you serve. I love this book because it shows me how much God truly loves me and it sparked me into reading my bible daily and leading a different life. I love the joy that this book portrays that we Christians need to remember and embrace daily.

W
Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets
Published in Paperback by Scholastic (1999-02-01)
Author:
List price: $5.99
New price: $0.01
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $10.00

Average review score:

Captain Underpants
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-10-21
Wonderful books for kids. My 7 yr old grandson loves them, and reads and laughs the entire time.

Thomas' Favorite Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-11
This is the best book I have ever read. It is mainly about a half-naked boy who is a hero. The part I like the best is when the toilet and him fought. This is very cool book.

Captain Underpants And The Attack Of The Talking Toilets
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-16
I love spending time with my grandson and this book is fun to read with him. I also love to hear my grandson laugh.He likes to read now and he takes the book to school for others to read.He likes all the Captain Underpants books.This is an excellent read...

Another Captain Underpants Novel
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-11-16
Captain Underpants is a great epic novel series by Dav Pilkey.With his new book Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking toilets we discover his power against talking, eating, mad toilets. He uses cafeteria food and his underware.This book also has more flip-o-ramas than ever.The flip-o-ramas are filled with even more juicy underware fighting.Captain Underpants beats the talking toilets with underware and his extreme power.
George and Harold,the main characters,try to help Captain Underpants but just stir up more trouble.Captain Underpants not only has to worry about the evil talking toilets but also freeing George and Harold.Captain Underpants ended up winning the battle and freed George and Harold.Over all,Captain Underpants is an awesome fighter and awesome warrior.

Silly as it gets
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-11-04
My eight-year-old loves this book, and I think it's hilarious myself. If fighting vicious toilets using underwear and cafeteria food sounds funny to you, you'll love this book.

This book does teach a certain amount of contempt for adults and suspicion of cafeteria food to children. In that sense maybe it's emblematic of our society. I have found it necessary to sit down with my son and explain that all of this is FICTION, and has nothing to do with the real world. Did that have any effect? I don't know. I suppose it's worth it to have him reading.

W
Murder boogies with Elvis: A Southern sisters mystery
Published in Unknown Binding by W. Morrow (2001)
Author: Anne George
List price:
New price: $22.50
Used price: $15.00

Average review score:

The Last ONE
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-13
Being an Elvis fan, the title caught my eye. Realizing it was a series I began with the first book - Murder on a Bad Hair Day. Yes, these are humorous mysteries. I'm reading at work in the breakroom and I just laugh out loud. Ms. George is funny, she creates a storyline and a plotline and her Alabama sisters are far from amateur sleuthes, they are just two retirees who are at the wrong place at the wrong time and making the most of it as they invite the police in for coffee and orange rolls. Sadly, it stops with this book as Ms. George, a retired schoolteacher has passed on. But I am eternally grateful to have joined her and "Vulcan" for the great ride, stepping over the dead bodies they happen upon.

not 'as common as pig's tracks'
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-06
This final book in the Southern Sisters mysteries was a delightful book as they all were. Bitter sweet in the reading as I continued to enjoy the antics of Mouse and Sister, all the while knowing there would be no more. The 8 book series was a delightful read and I so enjoyed sitting down to romp through the Birmingham area with an unlikely pair of sleuths. I will forever wonder what happens to them all and what other troubles the two sisters could have worked their way through Had Ms George continued with us. She and her delightful characters will be missed.

senior humor
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-05
I love Anne George. Too bad she didn't write more of these before she died. I truly enjoyed reading this book to the very end. In the back of the book it states that she is an award winning writer and poet. I suggest reading them all - they really are entertaining, especially if you are a senior!

Murder Makes Waves
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-30
If you like a mystery book that is light and does not go into gory details then Anne George is for you! I read all types of mystery stories but have enjoyed the Souther Sisters Mysteries emensely. It is a shame that Ms. George passed away in 2001.

Sisters Books by Anne George
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-17
I cannot go to my grave without sharing the delight I have found in Anne George's books about Murder...., starring the two sisters. I am happy to say that they bear a great resemblance to my sister and I! I have laughed so hard that, yes, I really did wet my pants. But that's not hard to do these days ( I am 64 and obviously not Southern 'cause I just told you my age!). Anyway, I have read ALL of the books. I know because I searched so hard for more that I found out Anne George had DIED! 'Course I was sorry - I mean, real sorry - because by that time, I had gotten addicted to those I have come to consider my true blood sisters! I am so sorry I didn't discover her books before her untimely demise. Maybe I could have convinced her that she owed it to her public to write some more. Anyway, you have a treat in store for you if you like to laugh like I do. Best readings from my house to yours! PRH

W
The Night before Christmas
Published in Hardcover by Putnam Juvenile (1998-10-05)
Author: Clement Clarke Moore
List price: $16.99
New price: $4.75
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $16.99

Average review score:

Jan Brett Night Before Christmas
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-06
I LOVE Jan Brett's books! I buy them anytime I see them whether on sale, old ones on Amazon as remainders, or new.. They make great gifts. I have a backup of many to give to children, particularly my granddaughters. The illustrations in this one are so beautiful it is really a keepsake to save as well as enjoy. Give it as a gift and you will make some child very happy and a parent happy,too.

Beautiful, large book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-29
Beautiful illustrations reprinted from over 40 sources. All illustrations are credited on last page. Book measures 9"X11.5" Only down side was that the price changes by the day. One day it's almost $11 another it's $8.97. But that's just the way Amazon works; something to be aware of. (It's worked in my favor often while shopping at midnight--price suddenly went down!)

Classic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-12
it's a classic, so of course you can't go wrong, but as far as the best one being out there... well, I'm sure there are much better illustrated ones out there than this one

It's Become a Tradition
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28
I bought this for my grandchildren last Christmas. The wording is traditional, and the illustrations are wonderful! This has become a part of the Christmas Eve tradition at my daughter's house.

This Book is Beautiful...!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-10
These illustrations are the best ever for The Night Before Christmas...Stunning even! A worthy heirloom Christmas Book. The illustrations cover both sides of the page for a large panoramic view seldom seen in other books...

W
With Fire and Sword
Published in Paperback by Collier Books (1993-09)
Author: Henryk Sienkiewicz
List price: $20.00
Used price: $21.00

Average review score:

Poland once ruled from Berlin to Moscow! Intrigued
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-21
The great Polish/Lithuanian empire ruled all of central europe at one point - from Berlin to Moscow. I'm betting most of you weren't even aware of that. I wasn't either until I started reading more of european history. In developing a friendship with some people of Polish descent they recommended this author and his nobel prize winning novels to me. I was daunted by its length and by the date of when it was originally written. However, I started reading and have been hooked on these books ever since. I have come to believe that Mr. Sienkiewicz is the father of the modern novel. This is not a stilted 18th century read!
It gives you history (from a polish perspective) with fictionalized characters and a compelling story behind the backdrop of the calamitous decline of a once proud and powerful empire. The characters are heroic, tragic, conflicted and wonderful to follow. You will love this book and the several sequels in this decades spanning story.
One doesn't win a Nobel prize in literature if they can't write and Mr. Sieniewicz earned his.

Outstanding literature
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-28
I have read "With Fire and Sword," "The Deluge," and "Pan Michael" ("Colonel Wolodyjowski") and I recommend all of them highly. The characters are memorable and well-developed, the heroes are likeable, and even the villains are understandable as people with very human motivations.

Restored Classic
Helpful Votes: 12 out of 14 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-23
Ask around a bit and you'll find no shortage of folks, men in particular, who became readers via their encounters in youth with class adventure tales: The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, Ivanhoe, the Lord of the Rings, etc. ask again and you'll find almost no one whose heard of half the Nobel Laureates in Literature, fewer who've read them, and none enjoyed many of them. All the more remarkable then that one of the great adventure authors of all time actually won a Nobel and somewhat tragic that so few have read him in recent decades. But Henryk Sienkiewicz has made something of a comeback and it could not be more welcome.

Sienkiewicz is the great author of Poland--indeed, to some extent his works are said to have created and helped to maintain the strong Polish identity that prevailed through the troubled 20th Century. When his books were first published -- mostly late in the 19th Century -- the English translations were done by Teddy Roosevelt's friend Jeremiah Curtin and, whether they were adequate for their time, they are are terribly dated now and have served to put off potential readers. Add in the fact that neither the Nazis nor the Communists had much interest in fostering Polish patriotism and you've the recipe for lost classics. But then, fittingly as the Iron Curtain was crumbling, Hippocrene Books commissioned a new translation of his greatest works, The Trilogy and Quo Vadis?, by the highly-regarded Polish novelist W. S. Kuniczak, and these eminently readable versions won Sienkiewicz a modern audience. New translations of other works followed, then a terrific film version of In Desert and Wilderness, and a massive Polish television adaptation of the Trilogy. Suddenly we've a surfeit of riches and some catching up to do.

If you're just starting out it might be wise to begin with Quo Vadis?, a stand alone tale of Christians in Rome that really deserves a fresh film treatment. But it's well worth your time to dive into the Trilogy, the first volume of which is the magnificent With Fire and Sword. Set in 1647, amidst a Cossack uprising against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it tells the story of a young Polish patriot and hero, Yan Skshetuski, and his love for the beautiful Helen, who is also coveted the brutal Bohun, who fights with the rebels. Pan Yan's twin tales give us epic history and grand romance, while his compatriots offer comic relief. There's his wily servant, Zjendjan, whose semi-faithful service somehow keeps lining his own pocket. There's the mopey giant Pan Longinus, who has sworn a vow of chastity until he lives up to the example of his forebears and takes off the heads of three enemy soldiers with one swing of his massive battle sword. There's Pan Michal Wolodyjowski, whose bravery and feistiness belie his diminutive stature. And, best of all, there's the Falstaffian Pan Zagloba, who makes up in drinking capacity, gluttony, and biting wit what he lacks in zeal for battle, as he keeps his one good eye peeled for threats to his corpulent frame.

It'll take you a hundred to a hundred and fifty pages to orient yourself and get used to the odd names and nicknames, but the subsequent thousand pages go by far too fast. It's one of those stories you don't ever want to end.

A great book, but the translation could be better
Helpful Votes: 18 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2003-12-22
I've read Kuniczak's translation of the Trilogy and greatly enjoyed it. It was my introduction to Seinkiewicz. However, while reading it, it seemed somehow incoherent, like something was missing. It also seemed impossible that the companions of Zagloba would be so credulous of his boasting.

I went and found a copy of the 1890 translation of the Trilogy by Jeremiah Curtin. What a difference! Though the language is somewhat archaic, the story flows so much better and the character of Zagloba is much more believeable. There is more context to his antics, and his companions are presented as far more skeptical of his boasting, making the story much more realistic.

Kuniczak seems to have omitted and simplified much that appears in the Curtin translation, to the detriment of the story. Many believe the Kuniczak version is superior, and maybe it is more accessible, but I recommend you find the old editon in the basement of the local library and read it first.

Beautiful Novel
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-19
This was one of the most sweeping epics I've ever read. It's over 1,000 pages, but it takes little effort to finish the book. I found myself white knuckled and breathless through many of the battle scenes. This was truly a good read for both men and women.

W
Effective Perl Programming: Writing Better Programs with Perl (A-W Developers Press)
Published in Paperback by Addison-Wesley Professional (1998-01-09)
Authors: Joseph N. Hall and Randal Schwartz
List price: $44.99
New price: $21.85
Used price: $6.40
Collectible price: $39.99

Average review score:

Right ways to write Perl
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-15
A language reference book that's a page-turner? Yes, it can happen, and Hall and Schwartz have done it. At least one right way to almost anything in Perl that you might want to do, and then some. Clear, concise, no-nonsense guidance and explanations. What else can I say -- I wish I had a book like this for C!

great book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-21
this book is "MUST HAVE" Perl book!
It gives you great idea to simply your code and algorithm.

Terrific Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-25
I'm fairly new to Perl (but not to programming) and this book is great. I really like the format of the code examples, and there's a lot of wisdom here on writing good, idiomatic Perl.

Great Perl Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-06
This book shows you some efficient and interesting ways of using Perl. It is very informative and I often use it when I want to see if there is a better way of doing something.

A fast track to idiomatic Perl
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-16
This is a good book for getting a handle on intermediate level Perl and its idiomatic uses, arranged as a series of 60 'items' -- the debt to Effective C++ is obvious. This is not a tutorial on Perl, you should at least be at the level of The Llama and ideally be somewhat acquainted with the material covered in The Alpaca, too. Although similar ground is covered in this book to the latter, I would treat this book as a way to shore up your previous knowledge, rather than learning it for the first time.

The content holds up surprisingly well for 1997. The opening chapters cover a lot of the oddities and gotchas of life with Perl, such as slicing, the various connotations of undef, a persuasive defence of $_ and where + is necessary to disambiguate. The final 'miscellany' chapter also contains useful information in a similar vein. And this also appears to be one of the first books to detail the now famous Schwartzian transform and the Orcish manoeuvre for sorting, so it has a certain historical appeal.

Equally, the chapters on debugging, references, regular expressions and object oriented programming are also pretty good. It's just that there are now several other books that cover these topics. If you only want one book in this style, Perl Best Practices bestrides the field like a colossus, being more comprehensive, and better written. Not that there's anything wrong with the writing here, it's never boring as such, but it does feel flat.

Nonetheless, Effective Perl Programming does the job it sets out to do fairly well, and I find you can never have too much help in explaining the nooks and crannies of idiomatic Perl, so this is still worth getting hold of, particularly because you can find it at an extremely reasonable price.


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