Warner Books

R.T. Stevens has done an absolutely wonderful job of this fictional novel of the Imperial Family! The main characters are John Kirby, a British officer, and Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaevna, the eldest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. The Summer Day Is Done is such a charming book and so difficult to put down - it makes you want to smile, and yet at the same time, so tragic that it is quite easy to find yourself in tears. The portrayal of the Imperial Family in this book, I find, is much better than a lot of other books on the family (fiction or non-fiction).

Overall, The Summer Day Is Done is definitely worth a read and one to treasure for a lifetime.

I just finished this book, and although I knew the hero and heroine would not end up together, I couldn't but the book down. The description of the characters are vivid and makes you love them dearly. Many things have been written about the Romanovs, and this book give us a glimps of what could very well have been.

The Summer Day is Done is one of three superb books I have read in my lifetime. It moved me to tears, an unusual response from me while reading. I read it over twenty years ago and only two other books since then have touched me so deeply: The Clan of the Cavebear, and The Time Traveler's Wife. There are "must-reads" that I purchase and enjoy, such as the Harry Potter books and James Patterson books. But this book has stayed with me for a lifetime.

This is my favourite book ever! The love between Grand Duchess Olga and Mr. Kirby is very sweet and touching, even though it is a very unlikely match. I also loved the Imperial Family because they were all so united and loving. The end is very sad though, because we know that the Romanovs were murdered in 1918. But still, the love continues in the heart, even though Olga's life ended so early and tragically. But overall, this book is excellent and I recommend it for EVERYONE.

This is a historical novel. Granted. But it is much more.
The author, Robert Tyler Stevens, grasps the heart of what REAL Russian people are about, as well as the classic British persona with its keen, clever humour.
But there is more afoot in this novel. Stevens gives the reader a highly believable peek into the very english-speaking and english-living lives of the Nicholas Romanov family--even though they were technically Russian. The children: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and Aleksey all make the reader laugh and cry with equal intensity. This is a huge work with very very reslistic glimpses of a wonderful family, who were totally devoted to themselves and to Russia. Utterly Superb!

This one was as good as Last Son of Krypton, even if in a different way. The characterisations of Luthor and Superman were done in the same way, even if, due to the nature of the antagonist here, there was not the same amount of byplay between the two old foes. The plot centres around a time travelling post graduate history student, coming back to find out the events surrounding what they call Miracle Monday.

Forget what Byrne and the others have done for/to Superman. THIS is the real Superman and Lex Luthor. In this, Lex Luthor is not a maniacally-laughing, hand-wringing super-villain trying to "take over the world." He's a man with emotions and motivations--in other words, he's believable. In this novel, and Maggin's other great novel Superman: Last Son of Krypton, both characters are real people with real emotions and you will grow to love them both in different ways. Pick this book up and I promise you will not be disappointed in the versions of Superman and Lex you find here.

This was one of the best prose adaptions of Superman. I haven t even read it in years but I remeber it fondly. I really wish todays comic writers would all read it and focus on quality not quantity. If you are interested in Superman as a comics fan or for his mainstream sell this book is a great read (although some things about Mork and Mindy date it a bit).

...and find the only two books (that I know of) that Mr. Maggin wrote in this series. I remember reading them nearly twenty years ago and loved them then.

Time has only made me appreciate the writing even more. Not only are the characters drawn with a finer hand than in the movies, but you really get a feel of the heroic dimensions of Superman. The personalities, the history, the sheer scope of what it means to be a superman are all made as realistic as you could imagine.

The synopsis has been written about in earlier reviews. I'll just say that of the two, I preferred Miracle Monday somewhat more because of the intergalactic scope. But the first book was great as well.

If only there had been more in the series. These books are on my shelf of "oldies but goodies" and I when I'm looking for a great read, Mr. Maggin's books never fail.

Since the popularity of Kingdom Come, a lot has been made of 'that' version of Superman. His influence is felt throughout Superman comics and on the Smallville TV show on the WB. But even the story's creators, Mark Waid and Alex Ross, acknowledge the debt they owe to Elliot S! Maggin. While Chris Reeve was making us believe a man could fly in the cinemas, Maggin was turning out these masterpieces of writing based on, of all things, comic book characters. In this, the second of his two novels (check out Last Son of Krypton also!) Superman must undergo a truly neverending battle, as C. W. Saturn, Hell's agent on Earth, harries the hero twenty-four seven: upending buildings, causing plagues of frogs, exposing Supes' secret identity, and for a big finish (and this is just a terrifying moment) setting off every nuclear weapon on the planet simultaneously, which, by the way, is handled MUCH better than the anti-nuke issue in Superman 4. Maybe they should have read this thing. Superman must circle the globe over and over again trying to head off the fiend's multiple menaces. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is carrying on in one of the subplots with the style and humor that make Maggin's interpretation of these characters the best ever. This book is a real companion piece to the first, but can be enjoyed alone. People who prefer a little more darkness to their superheroes can also get something from this. Particularly disconcerting is the flashback to when Pa Kent realizes that his adopted son's absolute power could make him a champion of all mankind - or Earth's greatest tyrant. The scene where Jonathan Kent is diggng for the buried fragment of Kryptonite and Superboy comes out of the ground to confront him is chilling to the bone. To those who only see the Pre-Crisis Superman as the child-oriented humerous comics of the 50's and 60's, this book would be a real eye-opener, and maybe broaden a few horizons back to a time when the larger than life affectations of comic book characters were treated thoughtfully and used to tell mature and entertaining stories, rather than today's tendency to lock them away from sight like a mad relative in a period romance. Check this one out.

By Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God

Anyone unfamiliar with the work of H.G. Wells (1866-1946) should take a ride with his 1895 bestselling sensation, The Time Machine. This is the perfect introduction into the work of an amazing author. Relatively short and easy to follow, this story has the power to make a dead man dream. Who hasn't imagined what the future might be like? Well's shows us. Who hasn't worried that we may destroy civilization one day? Well's warns us. Have you ever wondered what the Earth will be like long after we are gone and the sun dies? Wells takes us there.

The Time Machine launched a remarkable career for Wells who went on to write several brilliant books, including: The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), and The First Men in the Moon (1901). His greatness as a writer is not found so much in the specific words he chose or the way he structured sentences as it is in the originality and power of his ideas. Many of his works, like The Time Machine, remain relevant and entertaining because the ideas are as provocative today as they were 100 years ago--if not more so thanks to advances in science. The Island of Dr. Moreau, for example, is an astonishing preview of the issues we now face with genetic engineering and cloning. The Time Machine is amplified today thanks to astonishing developments in theoretical physics.

There are many fine versions of The Time Machine available today. One of the best I've seen is the Signet Classic edition (2002). It's an inexpensive paperback and includes an excellent introduction by science-fiction author Greg Bear. Even more valuable, it includes an extended version of the chapter in which the time traveler visits Earth's extreme future. It's a thrilling mental trip. Seeing what becomes of our civilization several thousand years from now is one thing. Glimpsing a future so far ahead that humans are extinct and the sun is dead takes it to an entirely new level. Why the two films based on the book (1960 and 2002) chose to omit this portion of the story is a mystery to me. I believe it would have been a highpoint of the films. Imagine Europe, Africa, North America or the Cayman Islands a few billion years from now. Imagine all buildings, roads, and every other human creation erased by time.

A final point about The Time Machine is that this idea of time travel may turn out to be far more relevant than most readers imagine. In my lifetime I have seen the idea of time travel move from purely science fiction to respectable science. Believe it or not, time travel is no longer far-fetched nonsense in the minds of real scientists. Very serious thought is now given to the possibility that something--or someone--might be sent on a trip through time. A few years ago, for example, I interviewed Dr. Ronald Mallet, a University of Connecticut physics professor who hopes to send a sub-atomic particle back in time. If he pulls that off, launching a human on a similar voyage will likely be nothing more than a matter of time.

A dinner party is set in an uproar, when the host, a brilliant inventor, unveils his latest invention, a time machine. The next week's party is even more upset when the inventor stumbles in, dirty and damaged, telling the story of a trip some 800,800 years into the future. There he met a world inhabited by two degenerated races of human beings: the Eloi, beautiful and childlike in intelligence, and the Morlocks, vicious and bestial.

Having seen the movie, I had thought that I knew this story, and that there would be no surprises. I was very wrong! This book is masterfully written, and fascinating to read. The political satire of this work is somewhat out of date, but does not damage the story. Overall, I did enjoy this story, and recommend it to everyone!

The first use of a Time Machine in literature, H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" is also the first of his scientific romances. After a careful setup, the never-named "Time Traveler" narrates his journey 800,000 years into the future. The bulk of the novel follows this one journey - his time in a far-future where the human race has split in two, which he calls the "Eloi" and "Morlocks".

Wells' setup and narration are effective, and the adventure tale keeps the story moving, but it's heavily flawed. The problem is the "Eloi" and "Morlocks" themselves; the former are the descendants of the aristocratic upper class, and the latter are the descendants of the lower class. And they're unconvincing. The Eloi are weak, unintelligent waifs; the Morlocks are nothing more than monsters that prey on them. This simply doesn't work; both are far too exaggerated to give Wells' point about class and culture a good impact.

H. G. Wells in one of the great originators of sf. HIs novels have inspired writers from Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke, to , most recently, Ronald Write.
Wells is meticulous about the sentific background and this, together with his pithy, understated narration, makes his fantastic tales entirely convincing. Well's meachanis may have dated since he wrote "The Time Machine," but the issue of time travel remains a central one for sf writer. And Wells's social analysis has been at least as influential as his scientific concepts.
In the Time Machine his future world is divided into two classes, the subterranean workers, called morlocks, and the decadent Eloi. Here, as elsewhere, his critique of sexual relationships is also highly provocative.

An unnamed time traveler sees the future of man (802,701 A.D.) and then the inevitable future of the world. He tells his tale in detail.

I grew up on the Rod Taylor /George Pal movie. When I started the book I expected it to be slightly different with a tad more complexity as with most book/movie relationships. I was surprised to find the reason for the breakup of species (Morlock and Eloi) was class Vs atomic (in later movie versions it was political). I could live with that but to find that some little pink thing replaced Yvette Mimieux was too munch.

After all the surprises we can look at the story as unique in its time, first published in 1895, yet the message is timeless. The writing and timing could not have been better. And the ending was certainly appropriate for the world that he describes. Possibly if the story were written today the species division would be based on eugenics.

The Time Machine Starring: Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux

As the mother of an intact 3-year old, I am shocked and saddened that so far all his playmates were circed. When I dare to ask their moms why, they say things like, "So he'll look like his father. Because its hygenic. It looks better. So he won't have to go through it later."

These women clearly were not given the facts by their doctors. If only they had read this book. I don't see how anyone could allow their child to be circed after reading this comprehensive, referenced, and easy-to-read book.

If you are pregnant, you need to read this book. If you know someone who is pregnant, you need to give them a copy. If you are a medical professional, you need to read this yourself and recommend it to your pregnant patients. If you are an OB, you need to put copies of this book in your waiting room. If you are Oprah, you need to invite Dr. Fleiss on your show and possibly, in one hour, change the fate of millions of unborn baby boys.

Dr. Fleiss has done an incredible service in writing and publishing this book. We Americans need to stop circing our boys, and this book can help accelerate the turning of the tide.

Just look at the table of contents and you will see that this very readable book is a reference gem. Full of facts that are generally not taught in medical school, yet presented in layman's terminology that is easily accessible to everyone, Drs. Fleiss and Hodges have provided invaluable information for health care professionals and the general public alike.

For too long, open and rational discussions of circumcision have been taboo within our society. This book sheds light on virtually every aspect of the topic, illuminating a vast array of issues, uncovering medical myths, and providing practical answers to misunderstood questions.

In the same way that Dr. Benjamin Spock's handbook was utilized by generations of parents and their doctors as a guide for child care, I hope this book will grace the bedside of new parents, and be mandatory reading for all physicians in training.

This book provides solid data with plenty of sources about the dangers and misunderstanding surrounding circumcision. The author writes in a way that is poignant, yet easy to understand, and addresses common questions such as "Is there any good reason to circumcise?" "Does circumcision prevent AIDS?" and "Isn't circumcising healthier?"

I have probably read every book on the subject of male infant circumcision. So, in Fleiss' and Hodges' book I was expecting a repeat of the usual information. I am delighted to say I was wrong; and, I learned a lot, too.

This book presents the truth about non-therapeutic circumcision in a straight forward and easy to read fashion. Whether you are a parent questioning circumcision, a survivor wanting to know more about your body, or a human rights activist needing a solid background of information, I highly recommend this book. It has become the first book I suggest people read on the subject. Dan Bollinger, Executive Director, International Coalition for Genital Integrity www.icgi.org

All children -- boys and girls alike -- deserve to keep their genitalia the way nature intended. I have the utmost respect and praise for Dr. Fleiss and this book. He clearly outlines the history and hysteria behind this unnecessary, painful surgery, and details the numerous reasons to leave your sons whole, intact, and uncircumcised. We've all heard the "myths" of why circumcision should be performed; now it is time to hear the truth of why it shouldn't. If you only read one book while pregnant, this should be it.

I love anything by Joyce Meyer. She's the best, especially for new Christians. She makes everything so simple and easy to do and understand.

This book was sent to me from a good friend who knows I don't have a lot of time to read with a four year old under foot all the time. But when I opened up the pages it ministered to my heart immediately. I can open any page. I don't have to read it like a story from front to back. I can open up any page and it feeds my spirit and gives me peace and understanding to life's little "how comes" and "why me's". I had to send it to another friend and she said when she got it she cried because she felt like help was on the way when she opened it up also.

This book has brought allot of peace and reassurance through difficult times. Joyce Meyers is an inspiration to every woman.

Joyce Meyer does a great service to us all. Through any of her books, tv and radio ministry she tells it like it is no fluff and always makes me think and to make the needed changes in my life. I am deeply grateful for her ministry.

Easy to read, sounds like common sense that you knew all along, but it's put to you in candid way. So good, I recommend it to all of my girlfriends and I have even given it as a gift! I loooooove Joyce Meyers. I think I would buy anything with her name on it!

This was the very first book ive read by D.G. and i adored every thing about this book. I love her humor, and the way she wrote the characters, and they way she described things. sometimes i felt like i was sitting right in the book with her. beautifully done.

I liked this fast reading book about a wagon train after the Civil War. It's about a mother's struggle after she got word that her no-good husband got killed on his way back after the war involving her boy, two orphans and a young friend. I recommend this book for an enjoyable read.

This was a good little romance novel. It wasn't steamy by any means, but it had lovable characters. This has Colin Tallman from The Listening Sky when he was a boy, so I wish I would have read this one first.

This story highlights that not all of the heros that arose during the war were in uniform. I laughed so hard at times I had to take a break from reading to compose myself. The author does an outstanding job of weaving the element of humor is the midst of horrible difficulty in a way that makes Addie, Trisha and the children real and dear to the reader. This story is a must read!

Recently most of the historical romance novels published have a serious problem -- they feel contemporary! Although the stories draw around a historical theme, the setting is never truly felt! This is not a problem with the 1995 Dorothy Garlock classic YESTERDAY; here the reader arrives, lingers, and never leaves the historical setting. Ms. Garlock smoothly shows off her characteristic, wonderful talent -- her wonderful talent to cast a setting and her extraordinary ability to write romance.

Her husband was dead, but the news did not produce one moment of shattering grief for Addie Hyde. Her love for Confederate, soldier Kirby Hyde was long gone -- she didn't have time to recall the man who went away and left her -- alone and pregnant. Now Kirby Hyde was but a fleeting memory and the love she once felt for him -- dead! In any case, Addie was far too busy to grieve; she had other important things on her mind - her small-assorted family -- her dear family that embodied three children and one very dear friend. No Addie Hyde was far too busy to grieve over the man who had seduced her, then reluctantly married her, and finally left her . . .

John Tallman was in Freepoint, Arkansas on his way west to New Mexico Territory. The unexpected sight of Addie Hyde staggered him. For the first time in his life, John Tallman's feelings stunned him. Addie stunned him. Her fiery character, her bright mind, her intense spirit stunned him. But more important, his desire stunned him. John Tallman needed Addie Hyde -- he needed her to be his wife, his lover, his friend.

John Tallman is a reading HERO - in every sense of the word, Dorothy Garlock successfully delivers John Tallman into her reader's mind as a 'man's man'. Rest a sure, this 'man's man' will not let Addie Hyde nor her children down! Calmly, Garlock's brings her reader into her macho web of brilliance and the reward: reading bliss. YESTERYEAR is a great book -- from its setting -- to its lead characters -- to its splendid secondary cast -- unquestionably, Dorothy Garlock delivers a dazzling story!
Grade: A+

MaryGrace Meloche.

It's a very good book. I'm reading this to my children who are 7 and 8. I'm learning things myself. It also reminds me thing I forgot, since I have to be an example for my kids. My husband read this book when I first received it and he likes it very much. Recommeded as a tool to help your kids stay on the right pad!

We have read many children's versions of the Bible and some of them are over simplified and some a bit to difficult for kids. However, this book breaks down several concepts that kids of this age need in order to fight the spiritual battle and to take their faith to the next level. Although the book is written to grab the attention of children from a large age group, it is very well written. The book is based on scripture and applies concepts in such a way that kids are bale to understand them. I love this book. So much so, thatmy children (ages 3-12) and I read it together just about every night. We read sections and discuss how it applies to them and their situations. Quite often you can see the light bulbs going off over their heads, as they are finally able to understand the bible scriptures that we read together, as well. This book has helped my kids to see how important their thoughts really are. The great thing is that they are enjoying the journey.

I truly recommend this book for kids from the ages of about 7 to 13.

I have Joyce Meyer's book for adults. Now I'm ready for the kids! She's a terrific Christian writer/speaker/person. This book would make a great gift as well.

Excellent book written on a childs level and presenting material in a way that children can understand and apply. We use it in a small class setting and it is a must for those wishing to handle the coming teen age years. YES, BUT THIS BOOK FOR YOUR CHILDREN.

The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, makes clear that our minds are indeed a battlefield in the (unseen) spiritual warfare that rages from age to age. Throughout all this conflict, the Lord Most High is unchanging, unchangeable, His mercies endure forever, and the holy scriptures promise peace to those whose minds are stayed on Jehovah [e.g. "Thou wilt keep (him) in perfect peace, (whose) mind (is) stayed (on thee): because he trusteth in thee." Isa. 26:3]. It is from this general scriptural premise that authors Joyce Meyer and Karen Moore have written this book BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND FOR KIDS.

This book seems to me to be geared toward children in the 9 to 14 age range. I started using the book in read-aloud/discussion format about seven or eight months ago during Bible time with my homeschooled grandchildren, currently 11, 8 and 6.

The book presents at least two significant challenges to homeschooling families with children whose ages cover such a span. First, the chapters are long, almost too long to keep the younger children engaged for the length of time that it takes to get through the chapter; yet, the language is simple enough that particularly if the older child or children are good leaders among their sibling group, periodic pauses for discussion can help to overcome this problem. Second, the chapters are oriented toward children who are attending a school, probably a public school, and the examples given may not be as relevant for homeschooled children, particularly those who have never attended school outside the home.

At the time I purchased the book, I was attending weekly staff meetings at our former church, and as did the other staff members, I brought my homeschooled (grand-)children with me to these meetings. I had some thought of using the book there in a group setting with all the children, but that did not happen.

Several months ago, the Lord removed my family and me from that place and soon thereafter re-established us at a different church where I sometimes teach Sunday School; I may decide to use the book there, and if so, I believe it will work well in that setting, where we all -- following the example and teaching of our domata (pastor, teacher, gift sent from God) Leslie Hale -- treat the Word of God with reverence. In fact, upon entering the building to worship, we walk under these words, ornately painted on the lintel of the entrance: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). It is our freedom, after all, that is a major part of what is at stake in the battlefield of the mind.

I believe this book can provide a useful framework for godly adults to guide children in learning more about the battlefield within their own minds, an approach I would favor over having children read the book on their own.

Given our situation as a homeschooling family with a wide age range of children, I probably would not purchase this book again unless I had use for it somewhere outside the home, as indicated above. Given that I did purchase it, however, I have made effective enough use of it in the home setting that I do not consider the investment to have been a waste.

This middle volume in her "Gothic Trilogy" is set in the last third of the 19th century and concludes with its main character's death at the last stroke of midnight on December 31, 1899. It is about the four daughters of an eccentric New England existentialist and inventor, whose lifelong quest is the discovery of a perpetual motion machine, even though, as he readily confesses, he has no idea what use such a thing would be, except for its ability to "keep going". Along the way, this man, a pacifist, invents the electric chair in response to the cruelty of hanging, sees one daughter kidnapped by a black-clad man who descends from the sky in a black hot air balloon, only to take the girl off to become the most celebrated medium in New York City; has his oldest daughter escape a sure-to-be unhappy marriage on her wedding morning and go west to begin living life as a hired gun; witnesses his most beautiful daughter go to the stage, gain fame and rape Mark Twain; and sees his most eccentric daughter secretly become the finest inventor alive at that time. Wow...what can I say...this is SOME book!

Taken at its face value, A Bloodsmoor Romance can be looked upon as a domestic romance where issues relating to marriage and securing husbands upon the part of the female species populating the novel occupy centre stage. However, events over the course of "600 pages of anti-romance" prove that there is more to the novel than being a mere replica of Austin's Pride and Prejudice or Suzan Warner's The Wide Wide World. Faithful to the romantic conventions, the novel introduces five marriageable girls but unlike a typical romance three of these five girls spurn marriage "... in their frenzied quest for their own fortunes in the wide world". Far from being "a reiteration of a more or less euphoric or depressed romanticism" (Women's time, Kristeva 43), A Bloodsmoor Romance is more of a critique of the conditions of women in the nineteenth century, conditions Oates sees lingering and spiraling into the modern day. Only the instruments of oppression are different this time.

This book provides about as much fun as you can ask for in a novel. Without being at all like him in style or story--this book reminds me of a Vonnegut romp: The dry wit; The ludicrous behavior of the characters; The lampooning of our society's absurdities, especially as they apply to attitudes toward and treatment of women. It keeps you smirking, smiling and from time-to-time breaking out in full belly laughs-and these are laughs that do not leave you for days-because there is plenty to think about along with the laughs. Oates has merged a variety of literary styles; the romance, the 19th century classic, the woman's novel, etc and she brews up a broadside that is beyond amusing: It is in fact social commentary and it is social commentary at it best. There is no preaching, nothing every gets too serious. But you would have to be as dumb as a rock to miss the points that are being made. For instance, there are some of the most amazingly funny sex scenes that you can imagine in this book--and while no one could read them and not howl--it is also mighty serious stuff that anyone's sexuality could be so distorted in the name of being proper. Oates employs the technique of a having a narrator who, in her capacity as being responsible for chronicling a family's history, tells the reader what proper folks ought to think about the goings-on--and exactly when and where we ought to be shocked and alarmed. Meanwhile, there is the story itself, which reveals as much lunacy about our culture as does the narrator. Plus there is the actual story, which is a kick, full of cameo appearances of famous people acting like themselves as if we were reading a historical biography. Stir it all up, adding heaping doses of tongue-in cheek and riotous activity, and you find the book is a regular page-turner. Get this book. Read it. You will be glad you did and you will be looking for copies to give to your best friends...the ones who understand the worth and power and the fun that can be had in a great novel. Thanks you Ms. Oates-what a job you did, what a gift you gave with this one!

I am actually rereading this book currently...it is so impressive; the kind of book i read while i burn candles and listen to gothic music. b/c i am a dork. but it is pretty thrilling and evocative and though Oates' vernacular gets a little heavy, sometimes, I keep thinking about what a great movie it would make, if it was in the right hands. And I don't see it so much as a parody, myself. I mean parts of it are definitely very ironic, but I think there's a lot more to it than that. Though I do read it and think about how, when I read Little Women and like books when I was younger, i wondered if sex wasn't some modern invention.

It's popular in some circles to turn up noses at "romance" novels. If you're in one of those, don't turn up your nose at this one! In it Oates has captured the style of the 19th Century Gothic Romance novel down the the last crossed t and dotted i. It's also a beautifully researched picture of how women lived in the late-1800s, written in the language of the time -- or at least a very good simulation of it. 20th century feminism in 19th century guise.

It's about women's roles in society and the rules they lived by. A fast-moving tale full of imaginative twists -- there's a wedding night scene that's the funniest and the most surprising I've read.

The story begins with the introduction to a surly Cinderella-type with step sisters who definitely are not Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. It's September, 1879. All five girls are spoiled and privileged, living lives of ease in the white-columned splendor of Kiddemaster Hall, near the Bloodsmoor River in Pennsylvania.

The girls are relaxing in the gazebo after a grueling party. Deirdre (did they really name girls Deirdre in those days?), who is our Cinderella, becomes angry and stalks down the path to the river. Suddenly a giant black balloon dips from the sky and carries her away. The book describes the fates of the girls for the next 20 years in rich and lively prose.

Oates takes the romance novel and skewers it with social satire. Her volume of work is prodigious -- she has probably written more in a wider variety of style and genres than any other contemporary author. Whether romance, horror, science fiction, mainstream, mystery, short story collection, essays, criticism or poetry, her work excels. Joyce Carol Oates is the Renaissance Woman on the modern American literary scene and A BLOODSMOOR ROMANCE eclipses the genre.

Larson released this collection in 1993 and it has more than stood the comedy test of time. The Chickens are Restless is about 2/3rds the height of an A4 bit of paper, all Far Sides are in black and white and are either full page or two to a page. Classic Far Sides inside include the classics Ernie getting a wrong number call from God then for the rest of his life telling his friends he had talked with God, Popeye on the Dating Scene, Death seeing his girlfriend in the movie theatre with Dr Jack Kevorkian, dumb painter in hell holding the work order upside down, Edna being forced to sell her brussel sprouts house, Hookhand telling the tale of "The Two Evil Teenagers", testimony against Mr Pumpkineater being given by his sister Jeannie Jeannie Eatszucchini and the cow sitting on the electric fence saying to the others, "Look if it was electric could I do this" as the angry farmer is about to flick the switch.

Every Far Side Collection is a must own but if you are strapped for cash the better value for money option is usually the larger Far Side Galleries which are a collection of three of these smaller books.

Gary Larson knows how to add humor to any creature on any planet

My Grandpa has this book and every time I visit his house, I read it. If I get finished with it and his other Far Side book, I read them all over again! This book is awesome!

This 1993 compilation collects about 361 Far Side illustrations. I found this collection to be a bit less riotous than some others of Larson's collections, and in many cases I had to think more to understand the joke.

For example, there is an illustration showing workers in a chicken processing factory. It took me a moment to realize that there was a basket on the wall with a "GIZZARDS" bucket below the basket. There is another illustration of the famous "Larry of the Lemurs," who was significantly less famous than his African counterpart, Tarzan.

I also thought there were a number of illustrations that were very funny. Adam calls Eve to ask her out on a date and the first thing she thinks is that she doesn't have a thing to wear. Another good one is the lady walking through the sinister woods with a vacuum cleaner and the caution that nature abhors a vacuum.

A few illustrations failed to tickle my funny bone. The image showing a dog hallucinating about cat mirages went no where with me. Another one about shortening Dodge Ball City to Dodge City after the arrival of the Earp brothers fell flat for me as well.

Gary Larson always offers an "outside the box" view of the world. Often his images offer a new twist on a cliché, either reinterpreting the cliché with an image, such as two robots sitting side-by-side, noting that each knew how to push the other's buttons. Sometimes Larson changes one word to achieve a new variation on an old phrase, such as when Jeannie Jeannie Eatszuchinni testifies against her brother, Mr. Pumpkineater. Regardless of how well each image or caption works, you can be assured that this book will stretch your mental muscles, and perhaps you will be able to look at the world in different and more humorous way.

Mutinous canines, alien-spotting rednecks, dung beetles, and all the assorted occupants of the spaced-out mind of Gary Larson are here in this fun-filled compilation.

Larson is one "acquired taste" that I am glad to have developed.

Dr Robert Ballard will forever remain the man who found the Titanic. In so doing, he became the world's most famous ocean explorer who found the world's most famous ship.

It is not for me to inform readers of the story of the Titanic. Almost everyone grew up knowing something about that ship - even if the finer points of information they thought they knew were inaccurate.

Having then achieved the outstanding feat of finding this elusive shipwreck, Bob Ballard has put together the most complete - and yet again "outstanding," tale of search, discovery and finally success, coupled with an accurate portrayal of the life and death of the ship itself. All the facts and historic photographs are there - and, speaking as a professional shipwreck historian, he really has done the most thorough job of work here.

Finally, he has put together the most (and I deliberately use that word again) "outstanding" collection of artwork created by Ken Marschall. I may be wrong, but it seems to me nobody had heard of this artist until the first editions of this book appeared - now he is a household name amongst those in the know.

From thousands of photographic images taken far below the surface, Bob Ballard created montage after montage of the various sections and profiles of the wreck (i.e. big photographs made up of thousands of little photographs) so that Mr Marschall was able to provide us with paintings which look like single colour photographs of this and that section which go together to make up the entire wreck.

I congratulate Dr Ballard on an excellent and professional job of work. Altogether, the most outstanding book for which 5 stars are not enough.

NM

Dr Robert Ballard will forever remain the man who found the Titanic. In so doing, he became the world's most famous ocean explorer who found the world's most famous ship.

It is not for me to inform readers of the story of the Titanic. Almost everyone grew up knowing something about that ship - even if the finer points of information they thought they knew were inaccurate.

Having then achieved the outstanding feat of finding this elusive shipwreck, Bob Ballard has put together the most complete - and yet again "outstanding," tale of search, discovery and finally success, coupled with an accurate portrayal of the life and death of the ship itself. All the facts and historic photographs are there - and, speaking as a professional shipwreck historian, he really has done the most thorough job of work here.

Finally, he has put together the most (and I deliberately use that word again) "outstanding" collection of artwork created by Ken Marschall. I may be wrong, but it seems to me nobody had heard of this artist until the first editions of this book appeared - now he is a household name amongst those in the know.

From thousands of photographic images taken far below the surface, Bob Ballard created montage after montage of the various sections and profiles of the wreck (i.e. big photographs made up of thousands of little photographs) so that Mr Marschall was able to provide us with paintings which look like single colour photographs of this and that section which go together to make up the entire wreck.

I congratulate Dr Ballard on an excellent and professional job of work. Altogether, the most outstanding book for which 5 stars are not enough.

NM

This is a sensational book.I have read this one quite a bit.
I love the bit where they find the boiler on the bottom of the ocean.
It talks about the trials they went through trying to find the elusive Titanic.Nobody had seen that ship since it sunk in 1912.
I have always loved reading about that ship,something about the whole story has fascinated me.
I think the era it all happened in,as well as the beauty of the ship itself.It certainly had a mystique of its own.
To look at the pictures of the ship how it has deteriorated over time is very ghostly.To see objects such as dolls heads and boots realy shows you the tragedy that once happened on a very cold night.
The stupidity to push the ship full speed through an iceberg field maked the mind boggle.Playing dice with all those lives,and to top it all off the lack of life boats on board.
Dr.Robert D. Ballard became a legend himself after the discovery of the most famous ship to ever hit the waves.

This is a sensational book.I have read this one quite a bit.
I love the bit where they find the boiler on the bottom of the ocean.
It talks about the trials they went through trying to find the elusive Titanic.Nobody had seen that ship since it sunk in 1912.
I have always loved reading about that ship,something about the whole story has fascinated me.
I think the era it all happened in,as well as the beauty of the ship itself.It certainly had a mystique of its own.
To look at the pictures of the ship how it has deteriorated over time is very ghostly.To see objects such as dolls heads and boots realy shows you the tragedy that once happened on a very cold night.
The stupidity to push the ship full speed through an iceberg field maked the mind boggle.Playing dice with all those lives,and to top it all off the lack of life boats on board.
Dr.Robert D. Ballard became a legend himself after the discovery of the most famous ship to ever hit the waves.

Ballard's book takes us from his early days at Woods Hole, where he dreamed of finding Titanic, to the discovery in '85, and finally to the 1986 expedition, that examined the wreck thoroughly. It is written well, and illustrated beautifully, with pictures of the wreck site set alongside ones showing the ship in 1912.

Ballard's honesty in writing this book is striking. He makes no attempt to portray himself as a great hero, finding Titanic like an oceanic cowboy, but rather lays out his strengths and weaknesses for others to judge. He is clearly proud of his accomplishment, yet regrets some of his actions, if only for the meaning others might take from it. Few authors have ever been so modest.

I was also pleased that the book dealt with the sinking itself as much as it did. The bulk deals with the discovery of course, but the last chapter sheds light on Titanic mysteries based on the wreckage. One never feels the chilly, star lit night of 1912 to be very far away.