Independent Books

This book contains excellent photos of one of the best sites in the world. The text is decent, but not that detailed.

Although this book did have some useful information regarding the steps required to start a restaurant, I was disappointed to find that a majority of the details centered around fine dining establishments. In fact, the author seems anti-children so if you are looking for a book about startng a small family friendly restaurant, look elsewhere. It has good, basic information on starting a small place. I would like to see an updated edition as the POS/Computer section was a little dated. This book was not what I was looking for, but if you want to open a small, classy cafe I'd give this book a shot. Overall it is a fairly quick read.

As the subtitle of Georgi Arbatov's memoir states, he was an insider of the Soviet political system from the Khrushchev through Gorbachev eras. Arbatov believes this is perhaps the most important period in Soviet history and dubs the years following the death of Joseph Stalin through the 1980's as a period leading up to the Second Russian Revolution. Arbatov tells us a gap exists in the present scholarship and that historians need to concentrate on this important chapter in Soviet history. Written with a great deal of hindsight and sprinkled with digressions and personal regrets, this work nonetheless offers the insightful recollections of a top political advisor to the pinnacle of Soviet leadership. Born in 1923, Arbatov's mother came from a peasant background, while his father, a Civil War veteran, worked in a factory in Odessa. During the purges of the 1930's, Arbatov's father was jailed for a period, but later released due to lack of concrete evidence that he was an enemy of the people. This incident began what Arbatov believed was a passive disillusionment with the Stalin regime that his father silently harbored. Arbatov regrets not fully communicating to his father about his disenchantment before he died in 1954. At eighteen years of age, Arbatov enrolled at the First Moscow Artillery College one day before the Nazi invasion of 21 June 1941. As a result, the usual two-year tenure period was reduced to a six-month crash course. As a young captain, Arbatov commanded a Katyusha rocket battery before being invalided out with a severe case of tuberculosis. Both his father and he had participated in the two climatic events in Soviet history (the Bolshevik Revolution and the Great Patriotic War) that would leave an indelible legacy upon the collective memory of Soviet society and, most importantly, according to Arbatov, hinder the willingness for that society to enter into the "recovery from Stalinism" (p. 4). After the war Arbatov became a student at Moscow University where he specialized in foreign political affairs. Arbatov and his fellow students were required to read "selected" works of Marx/Engels and Lenin, but academic policy stipulated that Stalin be quoted two-to-three times more than Lenin and five-to-six times more than Marx/Engels. Arbatov's first job upon graduation was translating significant American, British, and German political, economic, and philosophical literature. It was in this capacity that Arbatov became exposed to the more liberal aspects of social democratic ideology. Arbatov admits, however, that he never fell into the category of dissident or western democratic want-to-be. After Stalin's death, Arbatov worked on the staff of the academic journal "Problems of philosophy." This was the beginning of what Arbatov calls oasis of open thinking in the desert of totalitarian dogmatism. Arbatov's most influential work came as a result of his founding the Institute for the Study of USA and Canada in 1968. It was within this "oasis" that Arbatov would "Discover America" and gain essential influence to expunge jail sentences for dissident intellectuals. Arbatov believes the Stalin years was the darkest chapter in Soviet history. He writes: "Stalinism (more precisely, Stalin's cult of personality) had embedded itself in our society over a long period and by the most radical means." . . . "[A] great many people in the leadership adhered to the old Stalinist views, and it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for them to find a place in any other social or political structure; they were simply incapable of doing anything other than carrying out the will from above" (p. 137). Arbatov reminds his audience that the specter of Stalinism was in power for thirty-five years and it would take that long for the negative influences to wear off. Arbatov believes the seeds of reform were planted well before Khrushchev's secret speech denouncing Stalin, even while the dictator was still alive. Arbatov praises Khrushchev's courage but believes his motive were purely political, not only to denounce Stalin, but also the conservative hard-liners that were attempting to reinstate themselves into the system and oust him. Arbatov advised and had close relations with the succeeding Russian presidents as well. Arbatov admired Brezhnev in the beginning, however, the effects of old age, failing health, and an addiction to sleeping pills, forced him to bow to the hardliners within the party. Arbatov is against all of the Soviet Union's armed interventions in the Eastern bloc countries and especially Angola. Arbatov personally liked Andropov and praises him for raising Gorbachev out of relative obscurity. Arbatov points out that the two men did not always see eye-to-eye, and mentions some character flaws Andropov possessed, such as indecisiveness. Arbatov attributes these faults, not only in Andropov, but also in other key figures to the trauma that had been embedded in them as a result of working under the Stalin regime. Arbatov recalls this sense of foreboding, regarding the possibility of another totalitarian dictator like Stalin coming to power, permeated many of those, including himself that had worked so hard to pave the way for better relations with the west and internal reform. This fear would surface again in 1992-93 with Arbatov's disagreements over policies within the Yeltsin presidency. Arbatov admits that writing his memoirs while so many of the turbulent events were still taking place was difficult. Still, the mixture of hindsight and personal regrets are obvious. His remembrances are not overly self-serving, yet he shifts back and forth from participant to outside observer. The digressions within the chronological framework are a mild distraction, while some of the chapters are completely out of sequential order. The devastating affects of Stalinism and the dread of the Soviet Union returning to just such a totalitarian "system" are two of the prominent themes throughout the book. I recommend the work, however it should be read with care.

The sub-title "How to teach yourself anything" drew me in. The desire to simply play a guitar was quickly replaced with a vibrant understanding of 10 basic principles of learning. We, you and I, know of them, but often fail to utilize such simple guidlines. Art presents his lesson from a very relateable stance. I discovered I was freshly cognizant of, and in turn open to the many standard operating procedures successful people and businesses practice.

Thirty is generally considered the age where teenage girls no longer take an interest in you. Of course, compared to encountering forty, fifty or sixty, hitting thirty is much less of a speed bump on your road through life. This collection of jokes expressed as quiz questions about turning thirty are funny, but generally overstated. Some examples are:

True or False? The fairy tale character Cinderella was 30. False! If she'd been 30, the dancing would have made her feet swell and that glass slipper would have never come off.

What challenging sport is the 30-year-old most likely to engage in? a) Tennis b) Basketball c) Trying to fit in new jeans.

True or false? Most 30-year-olds are good in bed. True! They sleep later, snore louder and toss and turn more than just about anybody!

The overstatement is of course part of the joke. Even though I passed 30 some time ago, I still laughed at them and have begun looking for the books with higher numbers more appropriate to my current age.

I enjoyed the book and keep it at work as a reference. Takes a different perspective on Health Insurance regarding divorce and/or separation.

I like the book. It is simple, well written and makes Health Insurance a bit easier to understand. I would recommend the book for those who are suffering from divorce or separation and are not quite sure how to obtain/continue their Health Insurance Coverage and the options they have.

Solpix on the web is a place to get happily lost wandering through discussion halls of film and media criticism, then resurface to gauge your own reaction and experience of current cultural phenomenon. What brings me back there is finding well-written intelligent essays that do not simply tow the mainstream line. I have read a few of the essays published in this edition, and if the rest hold up, then it promises to be a great read for the movie and culture infatuated.

Simplistic book which offers very little that is new or valuable. If you already believe in Christian principles, you already know this stuff. If you don't believe, the book will does nothing to provide any basis for why you should.

This seem like just another "get rich" scheme on the part of the author, regurgitating quotes and scriptures.

If I had to give a new title to this book, I'd call it "Much Ado About Nothing" (but that title has already been taken by Mr. Shakespear). Actually, there's a lot of hoopla about this book that doesn't deserve that much attention. To be quite honest with you, this book doesn't represent the quality work of his other books. His book "Foundations" was a very clear, concise, and (more important) thorough book. It was a great book. Everything that's mentioned in this book is in the Bible (all translations), but there is a lot that is not included in this book that should be. This is more like a pre-primer for christians, but if this book brings people to a saving grace of God through Jesus Christ, then who am I to critisize it. If it brings people to Jesus, praise God.

I disagree with many reviews here. This book is not meant to be your bible or replace the bible. You cannot read this alone and expect to have all of the answers. If Rick Warren attempted to put every single point that is in the bible into this book, this book would have been overwhelming and very long
Rick touches on important points that many of us may miss while reading scripture. God made each of us for a purpose and I believe Ricks purpose was to solely touch on the points that he did in this book. It truly inspired me to look more beyond what my mind would read a scripture or passage to be.
We could read the bible and say Noah, Abraham, Paul or Joseph did these things, but that may be all we read it as. Simple as that. But God made certain people to understand these stories more in depth. While I am by no means stupid, my mind will not put together passages from the book of James and the book of Revelations and see a puzzle pieced together or see the relevance of 2 very different books, one from the old testament and one from the new, to be very much connected. Most of us cannot do that. But I know God created people specifically to do so.
That is what I believe Rick does here in this book. He gives it to us in laymans terms that any idiot cannot misunderstand. Do not let the very narrow minded reviews keep you from checking this book out yourself. It is very inspiring and will help get that fire burning under your behind. If you've felt yourself slipping away or backsliding a bit, then this book may be just what you need to get back on track with your relationship with Jesus.
ps. Shame on the people who would give this book a 1....or per a previous review that people would rate the Holy Bible a 1....You should be ashamed.

This is a book for everyone. It is not a book that you have to read quickly or in a short period of time. A chapter at a time is all it takes. I highly recommend this book!

My husband and I used this book to do an almost year long study with our house church group a few years ago. We did a chapter a week and had discussions and worked through the Points to Ponder and Questions together. Probably time to revisit this book I think! Definitely one you can do over and over again

I remember reading this book in seventh grade with my entire class. Perhaps I should have enjoyed it; it appears to be directed towards that age group exactly. Instead, I, an avid reader, struggled with this odd, rather poor book.

"The House on Mango Street" is recommended for girls in middle school, and point in fact, that's exactly when this teen read it, just a few years ago. Yet as I look back on those two months in English class, it occurs to me that perhaps the fault in this book lies there. It's written as though for young readers - simplistic, short, and pale - and yet the comments about the quality and importance are all things that even the smartest and brightest pre-teen readers would be entirely unable to appreciate and enjoy.

To me, these stories symbolized what was wrong with literature. This book is entirely disorganized, chaotic, and very difficult to follow. The writing style is stupid, simplistic, and simply confusing, providing no room for thought or even interesting analysis. Looking back on it, the stories probably have another level of meaning aside from the story themselves - symbolism or even just hard, cold facts. Yet this book, directed towards this specific age group (Amazon itself recommends this for pre-teens), simply fails to impress. The writing is the kind some might love and others hate. Most young readers will most likely hate it, as I did, failing to see how this could possibly mean something more.

I can see myself returning to this collection of random stories and appreciating it, understanding its literary worth and simplistic importance. And yet it is still a children's book masquerading as an adult book, or an adult book masquerading as a teen book. Either way, it fails to capture either audience.

I'd say absolutely NOT recommended to middle-school age kids, and for anyone else, do some extensive research before reading this loosely written, confusing collection of vignettes.

this is by far one of the worst books i have ever encountered. Cisneros is a horrible author who knows nothing about writing a well organized book that actually makes sense. I wouldn't reccommend it to my worst enemy

The House on Mango Street / 0-679-73477-5

The House on Mango Street is a touching collection of short vignettes centering around the author's childhood and childhood home. The vignettes take a long, hard look at the lives of these children and young women who find themselves lost in a poverty and a culture which makes them feel reduced in value. Basic services such as a home, clothing, and education are provided, but without love - the children feel intensely aware of the fact that they are unwanted, the designated dregs of society (the white children tell them that they are leaving the neighborhood because too many of the 'wrong types' of people are moving in.

The girl children are also introduced - sometimes violently - to the painful realities of womanhood in a poverty stricken culture. One girl is denied by her much-older husband any right to leave the house, ever, because he worries that she might find a life, interests, even love outside of him. She wastes away slowly, trapped in a life of unhappiness and monotony. Other girls are coerced into sexual activity by their peers, and the parents turn a blind eye, figuring that it has always been this way and always will.

The author's despair is evident in every word. She wants to escape, to get away, but she also feels guilty for hating so intensely her community and culture. She cannot separate the good parts of her culture from the bad parts which are less a matter of culture and more a matter of poverty, lack of education, and disease. In the end, she vows to leave, but to never forget - and, perhaps, someday to return, and help.

i had to read this in school and it was THE WORST book i've ever read in my life. i HATED IT!!! it was confusing, pointless, and a lame sob story that didn't gain my sympathy in any way. at the end of the book (if i can even call this piece of worthless garbage a book), esperanza gets raped.

....wait, what?
and then that's it. they don't even mention it again. i think sandra cisneros was on crack when she wrote this. it has no direction, no theme, bizarre characters, and stupid, stupid, poop-worthy vignettes that are so random and out there that i think esperanza's on crack too. =D

I like this book of vignettes about the Latino experience. My problem was that I didn't love it. Perhaps because my expectations were so high after reading some great reviews, seeing it on some lists of the best books in the last 25 years and several recommendations from friends.

Cisneros certainly has great command of language and several of the vignettes are deeply engaging. My main issue with the book is that I kept wanting more. I wanted more depth about Esperanza and the other characters Cisneros introduces us throughout the vignettes.

After I finished the book, I felt like I do after having a meal at a restaurant where the appetizer is delicious and then you get just an average entree. Cisneros whets your appetite but leaves you disappointment with your whole experience.

ok so I got this book as a freebie and I love the Stephanie Plum series. The thing is: this takes familiar characters out of the realm of reality and gives them a whimsical twist. Not together unpleasant, but not the Sephanie Plum series I adore. The familiarity gives it something to bond to, but I was afraid it would detract from the series when I went back to it. It didn't and for this reason alone I am saying it was a good little read. Fortunately it is brief and easy to read. The between series is 'cute', but I still think overall it detracts from the main series. That being said I also bought the next one before I started the between series. I do not completely regret them, however I would not go out of my way to buy them either after having read them. The Series is another story..those are well worth the laughs.

Diesel, the supernatural bounty hunter first introduced in "Visions of Sugar Plums", is back and this time he wants Stephanie Plum's help to track down Bernie Beaner, an "Unmentionable" with a rather unfortunate super power, and to fill in for relationship expert, Annie Hart (another "Unmentionable" with Cupid-like talents).

This is the second of Janet Evanovich's "Between the Numbers" novellas (chronologically, it comes between "Twelve Sharp" and "Lean Mean Thirteen") and although it is a lot shorter than the regular Stephanie Plum books (and consequently lacks a lot of the detail and depth of these), I liked this book and "Visions of Sugar Plums" very much. In these two books, Evanovich takes a side-step away from reality and moves into a parallel universe where ordinary people and "Unmentionables" (those with supernatural powers, although don't expect the sort of superhumans that you find in comic books) co-exist. Given the larger than life nature of the Stephanie Plum books, this works really well and both of these books are a lot of fun (you can tell that Evanovich had a great time writing these books). In fact, in many ways they are better than the regular Plum books. I have felt that, recently, the Plum books have been running out of steam a bit, but these books bring something new to the series. I now eagerly look forward to reading Evanovich's next novella.

This is a between books, novel. It may not be absolutely necessary to read this to complete the Stephanie Plum series, but it does give us insights into Stephanie's character as well as a deeper insight into other characters who are regulars in the series. It is a "stand alone" book, but I would recommend that it be read in the order in which it was witten.

The names are the same, but I don't recognize the characters. The writing of this "between the numbers" book is very different from the numbered books. The writing is immature. The characters are flat. The story is stupid. It lacks the flow and humor of the numbered books. Strike two.

I ended up reading this out of order--mostly because I forgot about it. Whoops.

But that's not that much of a problem, because these between-the-numbers books (meaning Visions of Sugar Plums and this one, though I suspect there'll be more forthcoming) are just a wee bit off the series' track. The cast balance is shifted--Ranger and Morelli, and even Grandma Mazur and Lula are relegated to the sidelines, and the focus shifts to mystery man Diesel (we learn in this book that he's an Unmentionable--it's been a while since I read Sugar Plums, but I don't remember that being... er... mentioned). It's also where most of the plot developments with Stephanie's sister Valerie occur. And it's got a touch of the supernatural.

So, I'm a wee bit confused by everybody who was screaming that Ranger and Morelli were missing, and why was Evanovich changing the series, etc., etc. It's really the same format as Sugar Plums, and it's obviously not a regular series book, or the title would have a number. I'm guessing it's short memories.

Anyway. Knowing what to expect, I wasn't disappointed.

Stephanie's job collides with Diesel's when her FTA, Annie Hart, turns out to be somebody Diesel is keeping under wraps. So they make a deal: Steph will help Diesel do Annie's job, then Diesel will turn her over to Steph.

The job: relationship expert. They have to ensure that Annie's three clients have happy Valentine's Days. Of course, this being a version of the Plum-verse, it's not all that easy. It gets more complicated, and more personal, when it turns out that the third client is none other than Albert Kloughn, who would be Stephanie's brother-in-law if marriage didn't terrify him. So now it's up to Steph and Diesel to get Albert to the altar with Valerie.

Lots of fun, lots of laughs, short quick read. Between-the-numbers. Remember that. You'll enjoy the book a lot more that way.