K Books

For those of us who live in tourist towns and see how the incredible number of visitors changes them, this is the book! It looks at a large number of places -- from Santa Fe to Maui, from Las Vegas to Aspen -- and shows in great detail how they change. It reads well too, on a par with better known authors like Robert D. Kaplan and Tim Egan. I heard the author speak here in town--I guess he lives here-- and it made me buy the book. I came away extremely impressed. This is not my usual reading. I'm more a John Grisham type. But this one rang bells for me. After I read this book, I was in Thailand on business and I found myself using Devil's Bargains as a lens for what I was seeing. The comparisons were striking and I wondered if this book might apply to more than the West. Well written and snappy, showing a lot of research, this one is a real winner, especially for anyone in city planning or tourist development.

For discerning travelers planning a western vacation this summer, or for that matter, for anyone curious about the popular allure of the West, Hal K. Rothman's "Devil's Bargains" is a must read. Rothman, a professor of western and environmental history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, provides a richly detailed assessment and critique of the development of tourism as it has evolved from the late nineteenth century to the present in the inter-mountain West. Synthesizing the existing scholarship on tourism, enhanced by wide ranging primary research, Rothman reveals a fascinating, yet disturbing, underside to the glitz and glamour of the tourist economies firmly established in western resort towns from Santa Fe to Las Vegas.

"Devil's Bargains" presents a series of provocative histories recounting the development of resort towns and tourist sites across the inter-mountain West including the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, Carlsbad Caverns, Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Vail, Sun Valley, and Las Vegas, among others. The book also codifies the history of tourism under a new interpretative framework which divides the development of tourism into three phases: cultural and heritage tourism, recreational tourism, and entertainment tourism. Beginning at the turn of the century with cultural and heritage tourism spawned by the transcontinental railroads seeking to expand passenger traffic, tourism evolved into recreational tourism made possible by the automobile and a growing fascination with exercise and the outdoors in the aftermath of World War I, and culminated after World War II with entertainment tourism dependent on the Jet airplane and the dramatic expansion of widespread prosperity, a leisure ethic, and a pervasive consumer culture. Rothman focuses on the Grand Canyon and Santa Fe to illustrate cultural and heritage tourism; various western ski resorts define recreational tourism; and Las Vegas embodies entertainment tourism. These three phases of tourist development reflect the historical transformation of tourism from an elite pastime to a more individualized, democratic experience, to a mass culture phenomena. They also reveal a process of economic development, reflecting the evolving strategies adopted by western communities to replace tapped out extractive economies.

Defining tourism as the quintessential service economy, the pinnacle of post-industrial capitalism, Rothman argues that the promises of tourist industries have been embraced as a panacea for economic decline in towns throughout the West. However, as his research reveals, locals and even "neonatives" have found tourism to be a bitter pill to swallow. Although the advent of tourist economies in places such as Jackson Hole, Steamboat Springs, and Sun Valley has resulted in phenomenal economic growth, prosperity has come with a price. As the book's title suggests, in the process of reviving the economy, tourism displaces locals with outside capital and corporate control, sapping a place of its soul, and leaving in its stead a facade of hollow images and a service economy manipulated by distant corporations whose only interest is the bottom line. What has emerged in places like Vail and Santa Fe is a two-tiered class system where workers who are predominantly people of color (Hispanic, African, or Filipino) hold low-paying, menial jobs providing for the comfort and amusement of wealthy second home owners and visitors. There is little room for an established community of year-round residents when the bottom line centers on the paying visitor. Las Vegas is the exception. In defining itself as the ultimate themed destination resort constantly reinventing itself to satisfy visitors' desires, Las Vegas remains one of the last places where unskilled workers can earn a middle-class income replete with benefits and job security. Las Vegas alone, according to Rothman, has succeeded at perfecting the service economy, becoming a model of sorts for the rest of the country. "The colony became the colonizer," he writes, exporting a model of entertainment tourism for a nation entranced by the spectacles of multi-media consumer culture.

In detailing the ways in which western communities reinvented themselves as tourist resorts, marketing an idealized western ambiance and a scripted history, and in the process losing control of the very community they sought to promote and preserve, Rothman provides a rich assessment of the social and political impact of tourist-based economies as they evolved from local ventures to corporate productions. But more than that, he presents a thoughtful and disturbing critique of the promises and realities of post-industrial, post modern capitalism as manifested in the twentieth-century tourist's West.

Marguerite S. Shaffer, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

I read the book as part of a course I took, and I found the book to be too long, and somewhat dry. However, Dr. Rothman, a UNLV history professor, does make a very clear point: that tourists towns or places are dealt a "devil's bargain" in which they lose the authenticity of the place for the funds or profit that is brought in by tourists.

Overall, Dr. ROthman does drive his point home. But the same point is made in 20 different ways.

At once extremely learned and passionately engaged, DEVIL'S BARGAINS puts forward a startling analysis of Western tourism. From Rothman we learn about skiing and much else: the economic and historical forces shaping our sense of place, our connections to nature, and our troubled relationships to one another. A travel book of another sort, it takes the reader to a vantage point from which our Western landscapes can be seen most clearly.

I was born into the park service and lived the tourist experience. This book really helped me form a perspective about my early years growing up in western tourist and resort environments. Western history is fascinating, but this angle on western history really gives another intriguing dimension to america's perception of the mythic frontier.

I've read a lot of diarys and this one is the BEST 'cause it sounds like a kid who has lived today. Only you really feel what it's like to live on a plantation and get bossed around and slapped. But you also have fun with your best friends, Emily and Taleteler Frank. The book makes you cry but you laugh more. Or at least giggle. I also recommend THE JOURNAL OF LEROY JONES, A FUGITIVE SLAVE.

This is a great book for teacher to share with their young students and show them how to keep a diary. It is also a great book for learning in a way that is different with the childrens voices instead of the adult. It is told from a childs point of view and is very funny with the dialogue. The photos give a real feeling of the period. It is a great read aloud book too. I have bought it for my grandchildren.

Love, duty, fear, tragedy, fun and frolic, KJ McWilliams hits all the adventure buttons, in her wonderful tale, "The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo."

The story begins at Jasmine Manor, a rice plantation in early 1700's South Carolina, where Ruby Jo, who could've been whipped for knowing how to write, keeps a journal. While the story is fictional, McWilliams drops in a few pearls of history, adding color and interest to the adventures of Ruby and her friends, Emily, Missy Linda, and "Taleteller Frank."

At the end of the book are references and prints of original sources from the era, adding appeal to anyone remotely interested in American history from that period.

KJ has created a fun and believable children's tale, writing the story in 1700's slave vernacular, making it even more entertaining to read aloud.

This was the perfect book to read over the Christmas holidays. It is vividly well-written and inspirational, especially the scenes depicting Christmas on the plantation when slaves were given time off to visit friends and relatives and pray and "frolic" (eat, drink, dance, sing, and generally have fun). I also recommend THE JOURNAL OF DARIEN DEXTER DUFF, AN EMANCIPATED SLAVE that takes place in Louisiana with plenty of African American music and THE JOURNAL OF LEROY JEREMIAH JONES, A FUGITIVE SLAVE. The photos of actual slaves are very interesting.

This book is about a girl named Ruby Jo wholives on a rice plantation in South Carolina. During the week she takes care of her mistress' two daughters, the nice sweet Missy Linda and Dat Ole Snooty One, Latitia Belle, who has temper tantrums and SINGS LIKE A FROG! At that time it's against the law for slaves to read and write, so Ruby Jo sneaks out at night to Mas Chester's secret Pit School, and she learns how to read and write. At Pit School she befriends Taleteller Frank who entertains folks with his tales about that Ole Speckledy Spider Bill. She also makes friends with the light-skinned gal, Emily. The three friends have adventures together on the plantation, and then the mistress moves her family and slaves to the city of Charles Town for the summer. There they witness Blackbeard and his piraty men hold the city hostage. You will not be able to PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!! I recommend it to EVERYONE!

Brilliant idea, brilliant execution. This book is so good that bookstores will surely have trouble keeping it in stock even beyond Valentine's Day. Feel the love, folks.

Witty, sophisticated, exquisitely designed and at times downright hilarious. My vocabulary of "love and lust" has grown exponentially. Who would have known that lovers do the 'upa 'upa in Tahiti??
A must buy for yourself and the love of your life. And a great gift for your friends.
I LOVED this book!

A breezy and steamy romp trhough the world of love. Thousands of entries, lavishly illustrated, and a hany carry along size. A must have for anyone in an amourous relationship.

The Dictionary of Love
This small (maybe 5x5) book is PACKED with goodness. Here's a sample of the witty writing:

"Beast: a ferocious, aggressive, untamed animal that dwells in the wild and in the heart of even the mousiest of CPAs when sexually aroused"

The book's design and illustrations are a fitting match for the text -- at once elegant and flirtatious. And you can tell the materials are top-notch; for example, the cover feels as smooth as a young lover's skin, and the red tabs that mark where each letter of the alphabet begins are varnished, adding to the expensive look.

I highly recommend The Dictionary of Love as a gift for your current amour!

I bought this book as part of a welcome home goody bag for my boyfriend and it just arrived--I love it! Witty, well-designed, perfect size. I've marked my favorite entries in the book with post-it arrows, and I'll trust he'll get the hints. I'm also pairing it with a stack of oversized cookies (the divine oatmeal/chocolate/candied ginger ones off of epicurious), which will fit perfectly on top of the book.

As others have mentioned, this book covers complex topics in detail, but it still covers the basics (in deep detail). My old DSP books stop at FIR and IIR filtering design, but this book has in depth chapters about multirate DSP, linear prediction, adaptive filtering, and power spectrum estimation. The power spectrum estimation has sections on filter banks, noise correction, and signal classification algorithms.

For anyone with sufficient understanding of mathematics, this book can be used as introductory DSP reading, but I would only recommend this book for someone who has at least had moderate exposure to DSP. It covers the basics in a way that helps you further your understanding, then it goes further into the more complex topics. Most chapters have a healthy balance of charts, graphs and equations, all with reasonably reader-friendly explanations.

The only thing missing is examples in C or C++! Oh well, I guess I can't have it all. I should also note here that this book seems to directly target students (undergrad and grad) more so than professionals. The information is broadly useful though.

I bought it as an undergrad. Easy to read and much more easy to implement its algorithms. It's hard to compare it to Schafer's book Discrete-Time Signal Processing (2nd Edition) (Prentice-Hall Signal Processing Series), they are both very good. The competition has worked and both author teams have done amazing job in renewing the content. If you need a reference book just buy it, it's worth its price

I have read many DSP books, this turns out to be the best one. The other good DSP book to mention is the "Understanding Digital Signal Processing" (Lyons) which is written in favor of beginners. The Proakis book not only explains the basic idea as clear as the Lyons's book but it covers deeper materials.

This book is comprehensive. It covers not only the basics for the beginning student but the second-half covers advanced subjects whereas other books do not, or at least not with the same clean organization and thoroughness. Some authors tend to be sparse in their explanations and helping you understand derivations. Others put in too many lengthy details and you get lost. Here, Proakis has a way of getting to the point and reiterating it. He also provides you with the critical concepts mathematically as well as in worded descriptions. Best overall DSP text/reference I have found in one volume...

I just got it the other day, and saw much more changes than was originally reported.

Most of the deletions are in the earlier chapters dealing with basic concepts of DSP (something usually dealt with in a senior undergraduate class on DSP), while the additions are mostly in the later chapters dealing with more advanced concepts - stuff usually dealt with in an advanced/graduate level course.

Topics on LTI systems and their state space representation have been dropped en masse, while Adaptive filtering has been added as a new chapter.

Some of the deletions are (Section #s are from the IIIrd ed.:

2.6.4 - Computation of Autocorrelation Sequences

3.6.7 - Schür-Cohn Stability Test

4.2.12 - Physical and Mathematical Duality

4.4 - Freuqnecy domain characteristics of LTI systems

4.5 - LTI systems as frequency selective filters

4.6 - Inverse systems and deconvolution

7.4 - State space analysis and structures

8.3.4 - Matched-z transformation

8.5 - Design of Digital Filters based on Least-Squares method

10.5 - The Direct Form FIR filter part of this section

10.5.3 - Time variant filter structures

Some additions:

Chapter 4 - Frequency domain and time domain signal properties

Chapter 7 - The Discrete Cosine Transform

4 new subsections on Polyphase filter structures and sampling rate conversion added

Section on Digital Filter Banks and Quadrature Mirror Filters (previously part of 'Applications of Multirate Signal Processing') considerably expanded (in new subsection)

Section on M-channel QMF banks added

Section on Random Signals, Correlation Functions and Power Spectra (formaerly in Appendix A) added

A whole new chapter on Adaptive Filters added

Section on Minimum Variance Spectral Estimation expanded

Some other changes include:

Section on 'Response of Pole-Zero systems with non-zero initial conditions' has been combined with other topics. Topics on 'Sampling and Reconstruction of Signals' have been completely revamped and reworked; Outlying topics dealing with this material have all been brought together in one place.

Topic covering 'Oversampling A/D and D/A converters' has been moved to the Sampling chapter.

In a few words, the new version has moved away from its DSP basics background to give space more advanced topics - in this respect, it has begun resembling, to an extent, the initial parts of Manolakis' other book (with Ingle and Kogon).

Although still relevant to undergraduate students or relative newcomers to DSP, many of the topics are now best handled at the graduate level, which already has a slew of good tomes on the vast subject (including one by Manolakis himself).

Moreover, if you need to study LTI and time variant systems, this edition is no longer of any use - stick to ed. III or look for Signals and Systems by either Haykin and Van Veen or Ziemer, Tranter and Fannin.

This is great for bedtime reading, as lots of stories and you can read a few everynight, over and over again.

I ordered it when my son was 20 months old, then I divorced and left the states, and it took my ex 1.5 yrs to send the books over. They arrived yestarday morning and I read first story to him last night. Stories are short in terms of text, but illustrations are large and colorful and spread over 50 or so pages each. Loads of pictures to keep the child's attention, and loads of details for him to notice - bunnies, birds, trees. I re-told the stories in Croatian as we have not yet started english with him :(( but I am hoping he would be reading from these books for years to come, in English as well. My son seems to like them, and I am very happy to have gotten them for him..

Both this book and Volume 1 have provided hours of reading for my niece. They are enjoyable classic Disney stories, with beautiful illustrations. An excellent addition to any child's library.

Along with the first volume of this set, this book has provided my 2 year old son with hours of bedtime story enjoyment. Although the first volume covers more conventional Disney stories (Cinderella, Lion King etc.), this volume covers what I would consider Disney adventures (Toy Stories 1 and 2, Tarzan) and animal stories (101 Dalmations, Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound). They seem a strange compination but, taken individually, all of the tales are perfectly presented.
The cover featuring characters from each story allows the child to decide which story they want before the book is even opened. Once inside each story takes around 64 pages and is fully illustrated in striking full colour and to the standard expected from Disney. Bizarrely, Toy Story 2 is illustrated while the original Toy Story is accompanied by stills from the film. The text is large and simple without sacrificing the general plot of the film and each story is divided into three chapters to create 'bite-sized' reading sessions.
I was very impressed with the introduction for parents that covers beautifully how these books (and books in general) can be best used as a tool for learning. Not preachy, just helpful!

First, if you look closely at the cover of book, you can see the cartoon pics on it don't match the description. That's because this is Volume 2, which actually has the stories for 101 Dalmatians, Toy Story, Tarzan, Lady & the Tramp, Toy Story 2, and Fox & the Hound.

That said, both this version (this is Volume 2 being sold, according to the ISBN#) and Volume 1 are great books for your Disney-lovin' kids. The stories are told concisely (but don't sacrifice plot) and match the movies' storylines, are each about 65 pages long (with a lot of the original dialogue from the movies) and the pics are fabulous: there are several pages with full page pictures of scenes from the movies, and I don't think there is a page in the book without a picture on it. My young children love looking through these books and having them read to them. And the text is a nice, big size to make it easy for those fairly new to reading.

While the stories themselves may be too long for very young children (and they do contain the darker elements that some of the Disney movies have), the pictures are large and brightly colored enough to entertain even the youngest child. The book is a large size (8.5x10) and the hardcover is sturdy; just watch out for those little fingers ripping the pages!

All-in-all a great buy for those wanting to get their young ones into reading and away from the TV. Get Volume 1 if you can, too!

I love romance, spiced with hot eroticism. This book has it all. The two main characters are so strongly drawn together that pertsonal idiosyncracies, time and space all give way to "true" love. If you still believe in the kismet of matched souls, you'll really get off on this one. I read it twice, before consigning it to my Kindle library.

The first time, everyone remembers. There can only be one and I think this was what initially drew me into the story. The first time for Noah and Cam is so hot and real. And, it was not all candies, hearts and flowers. You could understand where Noah was at. That whole scary out of control feeling he has that comes with having sex and being that close to another person. He wants it so badly but he is nervous and does not want to give that away and scare Cam off. OH. So. Good!

Noah has always had a crush on Cam who is his older brothers best friend. He finally gets his wish during a family wedding. But Cam leaves the next day and it is not until years later that they meet again. The chemistry is still there and Noah is determined this time not to immediately fall to his knees in front of Cam in the first hour. He is kinda successful!! I loved how Noah still seems to retain this core of determination, he just loves Cam and always has. It appealed to my inner romantic geek. Not to say that he is a pushover because Cam totally needed a boot in the behind at times. But as a character he was very appealing.

The road to happiness does not always run smoothly for the boys though. There are the complications of family, friendships, distance and Cam's fear of vulnerability. Cam was not always likable, due to his obtuseness but you felt for him. Maybe he needed soup?

This is the 2nd book of K. A. Michell's that I've read and I liked it. A lot! It's a hot, sexy read and well worth checking out. And, there's swimming, you know... mens+swimsuits=merow. How could you not want to read it?

Cameron is Adam's best friend, and Adam's brother, Noah, first crush. Cam manged to refuse Noah's advances when the boy was 15 yd and Cameron a freshman in college, but when the boy turned 19 yd, they spent a night of passion after Adam's wedding. But the morning after Noah woke up in an empty room with a second hand message that Cam had to take a fly early. Seven years later, Noah has had two serious relationship, but still when he has the chance to meet again Cam, he is ready to jump at the possibility.

Cam has a work that makes him travel a lot all around the USA and for most part of the year. He is used to fucking around without problem, but lately, turning 30 yd created an hollow in him that he couldn't understand. But he is an adult thinking man, and he can deal with his emotions and feelings. Something that Noah seems not able to do. Of the two, who is willing to talk and make compromise, is Cam. He knows he has some issues in his life, but he is willing to share and try to straighten them. And he is able to see when Noah has something on his mind that he has not the courage to spill out.

Cam makes some big mistakes in this book: first leaving without a word after taking Noah's virginity (and doesn't matter if Noah likes all the time) and second continuing to fucking around even if he has met again Noah and more or less has started a relationship with him (and doesn't matter if Noah has not asked him to be exclusive and that luckily, we didn't read about it in the book but only knew about it by Cam's word). But still, strangely, of the two men in the book, who seems to me more ready to start a steady relationship is Cam. Cam makes some mistakes, but he is ready to admit them; instead Noah maybe doesn't do nothing wrong, but with his silence and his attitude to hide when he is hurt, he risks to ruin everything even before everything is started.

Diving in Deep is a pretty much erotic novel. Seldom the two men are out of a bedroom doing something else than making love, but there are also some pretty involving confrontation scenes, and I think this is a good romance of two men who manage to start a relationship not from a love at first sight but with some solid basis for it. It's pretty true what Cam asks to himself, how can he knows if he is fallen in love?
he always thought that he would woke up one morning in love, but love can grow slowly but inexorably over the time.

Another very good read from a new author I will look forward to.

When he comes to Florida to do a safety training seminar, the last person Cameron Lewis expects to see is Noah Winthrop. His best friend's little brother is all grown up and sexier than ever, but Cameron's not sure if he should be pleased to see him. After all, Noah's longtime crush on him led to their one night together after his friend's wedding, and he isn't exactly proud of the way he handled himself the next morning.

Noah is more than pleased when he meets Cameron again, and he's never forgotten his first real crush--or the way he felt when Cam disappeared on him after their night together. Cam is still attracted to him as well, and they end up in bed. Unfortunately, Noah begins to realize that he wants more from Cam than just one night. Will this be a repeat of the last time they were together? Or can they get it right this time?

This clinches it. I am now officially a KA Mitchell fangirl. I liked her stuff before, but she's proven she's more than a one-hit wonder with Diving in Deep! I loved Noah, who was, by turns, confident and insecure. The slow maturing of his feelings from youthful crush to adult love was sweet to read. Despite Cameron's commitment-phobia, I liked and sympathized with him as well. The love scenes were well-written and hot, and the emotions developing between Noah and Cam made them even more enjoyable to read. I went through bouts of happiness, sadness, and anger right along with the characters as they struggled their way from a weekend to a relationship. If you're in the mood for a read with two hot men, great love scenes, and lots of emotion, don't hesitate to pick up Diving in Deep, but be warned--you won't want to put it down!

Cassie
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Noah has had a crush on his older brother's best friend since his teenage years. They had one brief encounter when Noah was a teen, and one steamy night at a wedding six years ago. When Noah finds out Cameron will be his instructor in a training seminar for work, he decides to make Cameron notice him. When Cameron sees the gorgeous man at the front of the classroom, he can hardly believe the man is Noah, his best friend's kid brother. Sparks fly, and the men can't resist their attraction for one another. Is their passionate encounter just the result of Noah's teenage crush and Cameron's loneliness, or will their affair develop into something more?

This book is absolutely incredible! First of all, this is indescribably sexy. "Hot" doesn't even begin to describe the love scenes in DIVING IN DEEP. This author is an absolute master of sexual chemistry. I'm surprised the electricity these boys generated didn't fry my hard drive! The heat level in this book is off the charts. Jeez, even the phone sex in this book is incredible.

Cameron is a brooding tough guy with a dominant alpha personality. He always gets what he wants. Noah is an alpha male as well and was always the dominant partner in his previous relationships, but something about Cameron brings out his needy, submissive side. I don't know about you, but I get hot thinking about an alpha bottom. Noah is SO sexy. You just have no idea. Cameron occasionally got on my nerves with his caveman alpha mindset and commitment phobia, but his sexual compatibility with Noah made up for it. Noah always seemed to need exactly what Cameron was willing to give him.

There are no scary bad guys in this book, no phony drama, and there are very few supporting characters. This is Cameron and Noah's story, and there's very little interference from outside forces. Cameron is afraid of long-term relationships and Noah spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to make Cameron see him as a man and not the kid with a crush, but somehow the author addresses these issues without creating a stupid Big Misunderstanding like you see so often in M/F romance. The men have issues, and they work on them like men--not like teenaged girls.

The book description on the publisher's site warns that there is "mild dominant/submissive behavior". The key word is "mild"...as in basically nonexistent. It's so mild that I think the warning was completely unnecessary, and even slightly misleading to those who actually look for hardcore BDSM themes.

This is a great e-book by a great author. I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed The divorce Express very much. When Phoebe's parents got divorced, she was forced to ride a bus which was nick-named the Divorce Express because of all of the children riding to and from their seperated parent's homes. On the bus, Phoebe met a girl named Rosie Wison. The two girls became good friends not only on the Divorce Express, but in school also. After living with her mother, Phoebe moved in with her father, Jim. Jim lived in Woodstock and Phoebe didn't like the idea of moving in with him. Yet after a while of getting used to it, she didn't seem to mind it one bit. She participated when her school decided to take action when they could no longer stand the lunches they were being served in the cafeteria, she made a lot of frineds, and really began to fit in. Rosie helped a lot. Phoebe was also very fond of Rosie's mother Mindy. Jim and Mindy had met several times and also got along very well. Then, just when everything was in her life was going just right, Phoebe's mother announced thar she was going to get married to a man that Phoebe didn't like at all. I have to stop here and not give away the ending. The divorce Express was a very good book. It only took me a week to read it and i just couldn't put it down. I hope you will enjoy this book just as much as I did.

I thought this was a really great book. If you're parents are divorced this is a must read for you. It is also very comical and also very sad at times. Enjoy!!!

This title may seem a little weird for you but I'm going to explain why it's called Divorce-Express-Reading Marathon... Well, when I started reading this book I thought it would be kind of boring, but when I read about Phoebe's story I couldn't stop reading! Instead of taking a week to read this book I took 2 to 3 days, and I was traveling! Imagine if I wasn't... Well, there are a few reasons that made me love this book so much. First of all, I loved the story. It is about a girl named Phoebe that has divorced parents and lives with her father in Woodstock while her mother lives in New York. She makes lots of new friends in Woodstock, and together they organize a protest to improve the cafeteria food of their school. She also has to confront lots of problems during the story, including her mother getting married to another guy... Well, I think I already told too much of the story, and to know the rest you'll just have to read this awesome book!! Enjoy!

I read this book during the summer and it was one of my favorite books I read that summer. The sequel: It's an Aardvark Eat Turtle World is a great too

The book I read was called The Divorce Express. It's about a girl name Pheobe whose parents didn't start getting along until they got a divorce when she was thirteen. Now that she's fourteen she spends the weekend with her father in woodstock New York ,and commutes on the bus called the ''Divorce Express'' for weekends with her mother in New York city.

It seems to me that joint custody means alot to Phoebe, because her parents are not together. Phoebe hates the fact that she has to deal with all the crisesin both of her parents lives. Phoebe's life improves when she meet a girl name Rosie who becomes her friend. Phoebe meets Rosie in Woodstock where her dad lives. Also her life changes when a boy named Dave that she had a crush on for years while going to visit her dad ask to date her. Just when phoebe thinks she got everything under control ,her mother announces that she's getting married.

Yes, I would recommand this book to other readers, because it's helping others who want to learn about marriage in the future.

My baby is now 10 1/2 months old and this is one of his most favorite books! The illustrations captivated him months ago, especially the owl eyes! He loves when I make the animal noises and make the bee (my finger) buzz around his head, on his nose and in his ear. We've read some of Melanie Walsh's other books together and he thoroughly enjoyed them as well, but this one is great because, being a board book, he can page through it himself. I've given this as a gift to other new parents and will soon have to get another copy to replace my son's, as it is getting rather worn. I know we will continue to enjoy it as his language skills develop! It's eye candy and lots of fun!

My six year old niece is absolutely obsessed with Melanie Walsh! She calls her "my favourite arthur". She is just beginning to read, and enjoys the colourful pictures. She has even gone so far as to reproduce the artwork from Do Donkeys Dance. These books keep her involved and interested with a series of questions. (Do chickens swim underwater? No! Fish swim underwater.) It is very difficult to maintain her attention, however, these books work marvelously! They have brought her hours of enjoyment. A must for children on the brink of independent reading!

This is a great book to read aloud. It shows a picture of an animal with a nonsenical question (eg "do monkeys tweet?" "do lambs go bzzz"?). Then overleaf you see the animal that DOES make that noise. My two year old son loves making the noises that go with the animals and calling "No!" at the top of his lungs in response to each question.

Melanie Walsh has written three similar books but this is the best one for younger readers because the animals are shown in full on both the question and answer pages. Thus it's a great book for building vocabularies and explaining what noises different animals actually make.

It's also a great book to read aloud to a group of kids because the pictures and words are large and clear.

I'd unhesitatingly recommend it for children 18 months and up.

Melanie Walsh's artwork is simple but yummy to look at--and there's some subtle humor going on in the drawings as well (a horse with a bone in his mouth--"Do horses bark?"). Each question posed elicits a chuckle and if you make the correct animal sounds when you turn the page, it can inspire more laughter. My 1-year-old son fell in love with this book immediately--usually it takes several readings before he warms up to a title. Walsh has done an excellent job for an early baby book, and I'm planning to look for the others she has done--I think her ability to capture a 1-year-old's attention immediately makes her work a worthwhile purchase.

A highly recommended book.

My son loves this book. We have to read over and over again. He loves the bright vivid pictures and the animal sounds. He also loves saying "no" to questions like "Do monkey's tweet?" as he has gotten older he also loves the fact that he knows what does tweet and he can say "No, a bird does."

(...)

After reading Lazaris' Dragonman: The Adventures of Luke Starr, I anticipated that we'd soon hear from our morphing protagonist, Luke, and the tenacious team of Starr Investigations once again. In this sophomore creation, Lazaris utilizes his crafty skill of piecing together sequenced ambiguities and mysteries and revealing their significance to the reader at precise moments, which signifies creative and structural mastery of a writer over his abilities and work, like a concert pianist who can perform Chopin in his sleep. We witnessed this exemplary technique in the first born Dragonman: The Adventures of Luke Starr, but Lazaris' second spawn Dragonman and the Poseidon Encounter showcases this artistic foresight at a discernable level.
Now realizing the extent and implications of his powers, Luke battles with the conflict of how his gifts will affect his future, his endeavors, and even the lives of his offspring, were he to have children. Each intriguing chapter possesses imagination that is authentic and events that are unpredictable. Lazaris has conjured many memorable tales, combining elements of mystery, science fiction, and even allusions to mythology. After a climactic encounter with the God of the Seas in search for the Trident, Luke is reunited with his Grandmother, an incident that propels the novel to its dramatic conclusion-a conclusion that leaves readers thirsting for Lazaris' hopeful hat trick.

New York Times best-selling author
Ellen Tanner Marsh
Dragonman and the Poseidon Encounter

In Ted Lazaris's first fantasy adventure novel, Dragonman, the Adventures of Luke Starr, the reader was introduced to the likeable Luke and his seemingly normal way of life growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Luke was portrayed as a quiet, average kid plagued by all the inherent problems of the typical American teen: dealing with a crush on a girl he's too shy to approach,
pesky sisters constantlypoking their noses into his business, bullies at school and exams to study
for. But Luke, readers soondiscovered, was burdened by a far greater weight than any of his peers, as he struggled to come to terms with his birthright as The Chosen One, savior of the distant world
of Spellville. Not only that, but, like hapless Peter Parker forced to juggle his complex life as Spider-Man while pursuing his love interest and his not-always-easy career, Luke had to learn to harness the enormous powers of Dragonman, his super alter-ego, a persona that regrettably did not come with an instruction manual. In this second, action comic-like installment, Dragonman and the Poseidon Encounter, Luke seems to have come to terms with his legacy and appears well in control of his super powers--which he will be called upon to use this time around to save the world from an evil demon who seeks to claim the souls of every human being on earth.
The mood of impending danger is set from the very first page, when author Ted Lazaris takes off his gloves to delivering a knock-out of an opening scene: Five-year-old Bobby Blakely, running downstairs on the morning of his birthday, finds not the hoped for brand new bicycle as a gift, but rather an enormous blue whale that has somehow "washed up" in the small lake on his parent's isolated farm. While many consider the whale's appearance a hoax, others believe it to be a sign of impending Biblical doom. And it is enough to rouse Luke's suspicions that worse is about to happen--which it does.
In a pace that never flags, Poseidon Encounter unfolds in a complex thread of differing tales, from an old-fashioned detective murder mystery to a science fiction fantasy, all neatly stitched together by an intriguing cast of characters, both good and evil and not-exactly-as-they-seem. An imaginative writer, Lazaris blends magic, mysticism, religion and the fast-paced action of the comic book world into a book that fans of the first Dragonman tale will find hard to put down.

The Future of Fantasy: A Book Review of Ted Lazaris' Dragonman: The Adventures of Luke Starr
by Jason Rodriguez (Editor) www.edit911.com

Fantasy and science fiction have maintained their rebirth stage in recent years. Not since Star Wars and Star Trek have fantasy aficionados and rookies alike been on such an orbital high. With the emergence of Harry Potter and the resurgence of Lord of the Rings, the new generation of Trekkies and Tolkienites are rekindling fantasy's fire. While these giants have reached the best-selling bookshelves and mainstream matinees, what is next for this growing genre? Although still working its way through the underground, Ted Lazaris' Dragonman: The Adventures of Luke Starr will inevitably unleash its ground-breaking tale into the fantasy/science fiction arena with undeniable force. Lazaris and his work have the potential to take this genre of literature from the initial stage of rebirth to the full-blown development of a renaissance.
This masterwork fuses elements of neo-fantasy with enchanting escapades of a mythical hero's journey. The phenom Luke Starr carries the blessing and curse of being anointed "The Chosen One." Through the guise of the heroic Dragonman, Luke breeds righteousness and counteracts the infections of evil with his superhuman abilities and capacity for generating miracles. Lazaris intertwines the tale of Luke's prodigious path with connecting plot allusions and links that give the novel symmetry and composition. He skillfully balances these storyline strategies with the benevolent, witty dialogues between Luke, Jessica, and Crystal, which masterfully merges orchestration, thematic implications, and the idiosyncrasies of the adolescent characters' innocence, curiosity, ambition, and compassion. Within this human element of the novel, Lazaris also incorporates unforgettable and imaginative episodes involving a blood brother bond between dragon and human, puzzling serial murder mysteries, an alien invasion, and encounters with the devil in the form of a plausible psychic. Although this work has been paralleled with the revered creations of Rowling, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other fantasy virtuosos, Dragonman: The Adventures of Luke Starr possesses a creative and inventive authenticity that is incomparable.

New York Times best-selling author
Ellen Tanner Marsh
DragonMan The Adventures Of Luke Starr

Question: What do C.S. Lewis, L. Frank Baum, J.K. Rawlings, J.R.R. Tolkien and Stan Lee have in common?

Answer: In some way, shape or form their magical characters find a presence in Ted Lazaris's Dragonman, the Adventures of Luke Starr. The similarities are irreverent and fun; Dorothy's adventures in Oz (in Baum's outstanding series of books, not the 1939 MGM movie) are no more strange and fantastical than young Luke Starr's trek through the mythical world of Spellville in search of his kidnapped friends. J.R.R. Tolkien's evil orcs and wizards are equally well represented by Lazaris's hag demons and gruelbores, and Luke falls afoul of as many odd creatures in Spellville as Harry Potter does at Hogwarts.
But the journey for Luke is not so much a mission of mercy as one of self-discovery. For despite his humble Midwest origins, Luke is no ordinary teenager. Imbued with super powers following a ritualistic exchange of blood with a dragon, Luke soon discovers the awesome legacy of his birthright and must learn to accept the fact that he is known in this other world as the Chosen One. Still, in the tradition of Marvel Comics' Stan Lee, creator of modern superheroes like Spider-Man and Silver Surfer, Lazaris's Dragonman is unquestionably human, grappling with his doubts and fears even as he sets off to save Planet Earth from alien beings hell-bent on destruction.
"My book is about good fun and a means of escaping your daily routine," Lazaris tells his readers, and keeps his promise by delivering a fast-paced fantasy in which the epic struggle between good and evil rests squarely on a likeable hero's young shoulders.
"You were bound by destiny," a being of light tells Luke, "and will embark on a life of great adventure and mystery, with the power of unlocking the doorway to any world."
And as if that weren't enough, Lazaris offers up an eye-popping array of intertwined subplots linking Luke's fantasy world to his real one, wherein unsolved murders, a mysterious psychic and an ominous stranger keep the action rolling until the satisfyingly climactic conclusion.

I admire your efforts, through writing adventure stories, to encourage people of all ages to enjoy reading. I send my best wishes for your success.

Sincerely,
Laura Bush
First Lady

The author is a wonderful stoy teller. I was most impressed by his knowledge of the timber industry along with the environmental issues that involved the characters in his book. If you want a book that you can't put down, this is it.

This book is definitely a page turner and holds your interest from beginning to end. The weaving of the timber industry and environmental issues with "what is going to happen next" is very well done. The author did his research into the background of the the issues very thoroughly. His characters were well developed and you could identify with the story line. I recommend this book highly.

Loved this book!! It was a "page turner" with great characters, an exciting and informative plot. I am greatly anticipating K.B.'s next book!

This was a fabulous book from beginning to end. Very well written and the characters were so real, I felt as if I was in their world while reading the book. The author did excellent research of all the environmental issues and timber production which made the book even more true to life. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for all the things a great novel has: mystery, romance, thrill and danger!

This book has all of the elements readers will love---compassion, greed, power, sex and love. It definitely was a page turner from beginning to end. Characters are so real, one can relate to them. Author did alot of research on the forests of Oregon. I loved it!!!!!!!!!!! Both men and women can relate to it.