W Books

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

I have read "With Fire and Sword," "The Deluge," and "Pan Michael" ("Colonel Wolodyjowski") and I recommend all of them highly. The characters are memorable and well-developed, the heroes are likeable, and even the villains are understandable as people with very human motivations.

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

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

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

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

I've read Kuniczak's translation of the Trilogy and greatly enjoyed it. It was my introduction to Seinkiewicz. However, while reading it, it seemed somehow incoherent, like something was missing. It also seemed impossible that the companions of Zagloba would be so credulous of his boasting.

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

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

This was one of the most sweeping epics I've ever read. It's over 1,000 pages, but it takes little effort to finish the book. I found myself white knuckled and breathless through many of the battle scenes. This was truly a good read for both men and women.

this book is "MUST HAVE" Perl book!
It gives you great idea to simply your code and algorithm.

I'm fairly new to Perl (but not to programming) and this book is great. I really like the format of the code examples, and there's a lot of wisdom here on writing good, idiomatic Perl.

This book shows you some efficient and interesting ways of using Perl. It is very informative and I often use it when I want to see if there is a better way of doing something.

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

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

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

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

Well, even though I rate this book only 3 stars, I do think it belongs to the shelf of any serious Perl programmer. (Of course, don't just let it sit there; read it!) I think the emphasis here is it's useful only for the *serious* Perl person, as it contains lots of in-depth discussion on the nitty-gritty details of Perl's idiosyncratic personalities.

The reason I don't like the book as much as I thought I would is things are not explained clearly much of the time. Take the chapter on references for example. While the authors include lots of examples, the explanation of how nested references work is just confusing. Granted, this is a nasty concept to grasp, but I expected something clearer. Instead they just say "oh this looks ugly", which is not helpful. BTW, if you are pulling your hair out over references like I am, the Dumper pragma (not the dump function) is extremely helpful. (Unfortunately, it's not mentioned in this book, nor in the camel book).

I just reread this book, about ten years after my first reading. It definitely lives up to its subtitle. Most impressive is the placing of the battle in its full context militarily and socially. Can't recommend too highly for a readable but detailed history.

All but one of the other reviewers has given this book a four or five star rating. There is a reason. This is an exceptionally well-written book that covers a broad range of topics. Most military historians pick one type of warfare--ground, naval, or air combat--and focus on that area, even if they look at a number of different wars. Guadalcanal does not lend itself to such a focus. It was an air, land, and sea battle with each part influencing another. It was also an extremely important campaign. The one sided outcome of the World War II in the Pacific has blinded us to the fact that it was possible that the Japanese could have won this war had things gone a little differently. Guadalcanal was a tough series of battles in which the Japanese scored a number of victories.

Frank provides a subtle and nuanced account of this conflict, giving equal attention to the American and Japanese sides. He also avoids painting his pictures in black and white. Some wrong decisions did not necessarily seem like bad ideas when they were made and a number of leaders that faltered in the battle had legitimate reasons for their decision making process. The result, is a rich story that fully develops the human side of these engagements. Frank also explains what life was like for those down at the operational and tactical levels, discussing things that might easily escape the notice of other writers like the amount and type of food that people were getting and how this affected their morale and performance.

At the same time, it is a rousing read. The coverage of the naval battles is particularly engaging. The maps are quite clear and easy to follow. In short, this book is very, very, very good.

I concur with all the highest praises for this book but for two irksome faults. One, there is no decent overall map of Guadalcanal island. The whole island is only pictured on a 4" wide map covering Japan to California where it's a dot with a name, and on another map of the Solomons where Guadalcanal is only 3/8" across (obviously without any sites or beaches indicated). All the other maps are tight zoom-in's and often without any scale. On the plus side the author tracks troop movements meticulously, but you'd best have along side a war atlas or expert memory and visualization skills.

The second disappointment is more minor, and not all will think it a drawback - the author's painstaking detail on...everything. I, too, love detail, but with one or more excellent maps the author could've saved a fifty pages of "ninety-five yards north, then angled seventy yards northwest, then backtracked to the southwest one hundred fifty-seven yards until...". A GOOD map is worth a thousand directions.

Last word: still get this book, it is a remarkable work.

I have been a serious student of WWII military history for a few decades now. Even though I spent years in the US Navy, I have, until lately, concentrated on the war in Europe, the North Atlantic, Russia and North Africa. I have read Jones and Mailer and their South Pacific war novels and am passing familiar with Pearl Harbor. After reading "Shattered Sword" (Five+ stars from me)which brings modern history and recent fact to the still-misunderstood Battle of Midway, I was led deeper into the war in the South Pacific. After both of Lundstrom's "First Team" books recounting the Naval and Marine air war from Pearl through Guadalcanal, I turned to Frank's book for an overall history of this campaign.
This is a thoroughly well-researched book, well written and comprehensive. If you are at all interested in this most crucial of the battles in the Pacific, and, in fact, the one that turned the war against Japan.

Buy it. Read it.

WOW! An extremely well researched account of the battle of Guadalcanal that allowed me to grasp the events on land, and in particular the tragically catastrophic and sometimes confusing Naval engagements in this campaign.

I thoroughly recommend this account, which is written to allow for a chronological understanding of each significant battle. In particular the Naval engagements around Savo Island are dealt with in a mastery fashion with Cape Esperance, Santa Cruz and Guadalcanal battles brought to life in a fascinating descriptive. Rear Admiral Tanaka and other Japanese Naval commanders are given their dues and from a US perspective although victory ensued, it is illuminating to view the tactics and skill, or relative lack thereof, of the US Navy early in WW2. The author brings to life the tragic consequences of being ill prepared.

What's particularly impressive about this writer is that the Japanese perspective and is highlighted bring a rounded view of the campaign. This is more factual and perhaps could be considered 'dry' next to Sledge, Tregaskis & Bergerud yet I consider this to be the definitive Naval account of the decisive campaign. Those interested in the timeline of events around the historical battles around Guadalcanal in WW2 will not be disappointed.

I enjoyed this book. It's about the Animorphs' discovery of a chat-site about Yeerks. I thought that it was an okay book, but they don't seem to mention the people in the chat-site anywhere else in the series (I'd have thought that a whole site full of Yeerk-aware people would be a major thing, but that's just my opinion), so if you are just looking for important books in the series, you can skip this one.

The book does not have enough adventure for it to be a good book. It should have fighting against the Yeeks. I think that if there was more adventure, and it had more Controllers it would be alot better.

In this book, Jake discovers a web site about Yeerks. He shows it to the others and they see the chat room. They decide to pay a visit to Web Access America (not AOL, A reader from U S A). They go to the airport because WAA is too far to fly in bird morph. There they fight over wether to morph flies on a United or Northwest plane (they choose United). Marco eats some shareholder's first class lunch and Jake (?) wonders if there will be an in-flight movie, and Marco (?) says not a movie, the flight's 1 1/2 hours long, more like an in-flight cartoon! Tobias in fly morph is funny. When there in the WAA building, Jake, in tiger morph, Rachael, in Grizzly morph, Cassie, in wolf morph, and Tobias, in his natraul form (hawk), mop the floor. An employee says there crazy, why are they mopping the carpet? Ax and Marco sneak in to the computers (everyones distracted) and find out who MegMom, Fitey777, and Gump (screen names from the chatroom) really are. It turns out Fitey777 is Joe Bob Fenistre is the CEO of WAA. Jake gets a rhino morph and They go to Joe Bob Fenistre's house. I'll leave it at that

Jake has made an amazing discovery: a web site about the Yeerks. Should the Animorphs investigate? If they do, they might walk right into a trap. And if they don't, they'll never know if they're fighting their enemies alone.

Jake and the gang go on a yeerk web page track down fenstre. the find out the the yeerk in side him is a twin of the yeerk in visser three thats why he ordered his men to shoot a the birds (rachel an Ax in bird morph) because visser three is the only controller that has the morphing abillity

Various animals give appropriate comparisons as to how much they love their child, everybody goes awww, and the baby goes to sleep.

Really quite sweet, and beautiful artwork. A good gift for somebody's first mother's day, or for their baby shower.

This is a wonderful book about the love of a mother, all kinds of mothers, and their children. The illustrations are beautifully done and it's simple message is moving.

I am really surprised at how the one reviewer who gave it two starts took it. The idea is NOT that you love your child more than a warm summer breeze or even that the horse does. The idea is that a warm summer breeze is endless, and so is the horse's love for her child. The idea is that there are million grains in the mill, and the mama mouse loves her little one more than that. Each comparison is that a mother's love is infinite in comparison to what is relevent in that creatures life!

Please, if you have a little one in your life, buy this book for him or her. It is one you will treasure. I have been reading it to my daughter since she was about 3 months old and she still enjoys it (15 mos at the time of this review.

I received this book as a gift from my mother. It was in a pile of books my mom found at a yard sale and sent prior to the birth of our first baby. I never looked at the book until the first day that our son was home from the hospital. I picked up the book to read it to that sweet new little life. I wept tears of joy as I read each page. It is truly a beautiful and poetic book, and one I will treasure always. I've given this book now several times to expecting friends and family.

I wish I had read the description closer. I wanted a board book. Oh well - Great book!!

This is my favorite book to gift to new parents. Whether they've been blessed with a baby boy or girl, this is the perfect book to start off a life-time of reading. My other favorites are "Cookies Bite-Size Life Lessons" and "Jamberry"...there's just something so special about picture books, isn't there?

The Little House series are great read aloud books.

Our daughter is five and this series is perfectly age appropriate, even though an older child would enjoy them equally as well. For younger ones (three or so), there is a great picture book series called "My first little house books," or something like that. One of these is a story based of a chapter in this book and is called "Christmas in the Big Woods."

These CD's are great for long trips in the car. The narrator's voice is wonderful. The adults will find themselves enjoying listening themselves.

"One the Banks of Plum Creek" is the best of the series. It is the one where Mary and Laura go to school and where the character of Nellie Olson is introduced. Her brand of spoiled rotten meanness is nothing short of tantalizing to a five year old. Also, there are the wonderful Christmas chapters.

Just excellent, all around. I highly recommend the books to read alound and the CD's.

Whether you have read the Little House books or have never heard of them, this book on tape is wonderful for everyone from small children to adults. The narrator who reads it does an amazing job of capturing the childhood wonderment and emotions Laura was trying to convey. It is also so interesting to hear the way families lived back in the 1800's. I could listen to this book on tape over and over again.

Book review
I did my report on the book called On the Banks of Plum Creek.
The author of this novel is Laura Ingalls Wilders. It is also historical fiction.
This story is about a family that is very close. There is baby Carrie the littlest, the middle child was Laura but her nick name was Little Half Pint, and the oldest is named Mary. Mary was such a little lady she always did what her mother told her to do. But Laura was the rebel in the family she was always getting dirty or getting into trouble. But Carrie is too little to have a background. Pa traded his horses and bunny for a dugout from Mr. Nelson. There was a creek close to the house and they played there often but they must never go into the deep waters with out Pa or Ma (Laura learned that lesson fast).
I loved this book because I love the time period it was set in and I have read many stories by the same author like Little House in the Big Woods. It would suit some one who loves Family stories and the time period and his farm world it is more like a fun book to read but it is Historical fiction as well.

Laura Ingalls is now eight-years-old, her sister Mary is nine, and Carrie is still just a tiny tot. While they are all still quite young, they are expected to help out with the chores around the house - from sweeping to dusting, cooking and setting the table. But this year, the girls are in a strange new place. Looking to settle in an area where a school and church are close by, and the Ingalls' have a chance to grow a wonderful crop that will provide quite a profit, the family heads to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. Traveling by covered wagon, the family, along with all of their belongings, travels all the way through Indian Territory, across Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa, stopping at their destination in Minnesota. There, they are surrounded by Norwegian's who speak very little English. However, they are good neighbors who assist them in times of trouble. Trading their horses for a home located under the ground, Laura's family begins to call Minnesota their home. And, before long, Pa has built a lovely home by the banks of Plum Creek. He believes that his wheat crop will provide enough funds to pay off their debts when the time comes. But when locusts invade in cloud-like swarms, eating everything in their sight, the family must endure hardships that were unexpected.

But things are not all bad. Having never attended school before, Laura and Mary are finally near enough a schoolhouse where they can attend daily lessons that help them develop reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. It is at this particular school where the two older Ingalls girls are exposed to children - both male and female - who are close to their age. Some of whom title Mary and Laura "country girls." But the label does not affect how the two sisters view themselves, or their family; and only gives them the courage to befriend various girls who love to spend time with them. It is at school, however, that Laura encounters the spoiled, yet oh-so-pretty, Nellie Oleson, who goes out of her way to give both Laura and Mary a hard time. But Laura isn't having any of it, and resolves to get even with the vicious Nellie, even if it upsets her Ma and Pa. Luckily, with Ms. Beadle - the schoolteacher - around, Laura and Mary have the confidence to stand up for themselves, and receive the education that their Ma always wanted them to have; while getting the socialization they deserve. But even attending school doesn't excuse them from having to assist their family when the going gets tough.

Up until last year, I had been a diehard fan of the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE TV series, but had never had the opportunity to delve into the wonderful tales told by Laura Ingalls Wilder herself. Upon reading the introduction novel, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, I quickly fell in love with the Ingalls family all over again; and, since then, they have taken up residence in my heart, and kept me fascinated with the various adventures they experienced throughout their lives. Laura is such a lively, brave, fun-loving character; whose ambition, kindness, and, oft-times, naughtiness, make her appealing from start to finish. Her relationship with her family is hard to resist, as she manages to please and displease them on a daily basis, all to the jovial laughter of her father. I believe that Pa (Charles) is one of the most important characters in the series, as he is such a kind, loyal man; who rarely scolds, and spends his downtime entertaining his family with music from his fiddle, and stories that leave you chuckling. The family, as a whole, are the type of people you would absolutely love to have the chance to know. They are kind to strangers, helpful to neighbors, and both Ma and Pa are two of the most selfless people in literature. The information regarding Rocky Mountain locusts was both interesting, and frightening; but truly provides a wonderful history lesson for the young reader. While the introduction of the devilish Nellie Oleson provides quite a bit of humor, as she and Laura trade insults with one another at almost every meeting between the two. Ingalls did a marvelous job of penning such a cheerful addition to the series; and, thus far, ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK has become my favorite LITTLE HOUSE book yet. A can't-miss addition to the series!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK -- Who could forget the plague of grasshoppers, or spoiled Nellie's encounter with the crab, or Pa's sojourn in the blizzard, among other adventures?

We -- my three homeschooled grandchildren and I -- are going through the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books for the second time. We read them aloud during story time, and love every minute. These are books written about an American pioneer family in the 1800s with a strong moral compass. In an unsentimental style, the author writes simply of the day-to-day life she experienced firsthand growing up. As the title of this review suggests, a central theme, not only of this book, but the entire series, is that "Pa loves Ma, and Ma loves Pa, and all's right with the world," including in the face of all kinds of adversity and opportunity alike.

I enrich this time for my grandchildren by stopping occasionally to explain and discuss what we are reading about, be it an unusual word usage, a custom no longer practiced, how to do something by hand, historical facts... We have even stopped to do some research and measure out the height of a bear. Our family tradition is that the eldest grandchild (now 11) reads the last page of these books. Otherwise, I usually do the reading. We also try to get started right away on the next book in the series, the same day as we finish the one before, so as not to lose our momentum.

After going through the series the first time, we discovered (almost by accident at the local library) several other series of books, written by other authors, about Laura's great-grandmother Martha in Scotland, her grandmother Charlotte in Boston, and her mother Caroline in Wisconsin, so we decided to start over with the first of those books and carry on through. There is also a series about Laura's daughter Rose which we have not gotten to yet.

Reading through the other series in order has been time well invested. Like Laura, we have strong family roots in Scotland. We have four generations of our family living within close proximity, so my grandchildren know my father, their beloved great-grandfather, quite well, and this series helps them gain a feel of family and historical continuity, generation to generation. (Check for related book series under: Martha Years, Charlotte Years, Caroline Years, Rose Years).

I am investing in and building our own set of all these books in hardcover, having told my grandchildren that I plan to be around to read them to *their* grandchildren!

Why bother with Tarot? In the words of Anthony Louis, "The Tarot awakens our intuitive abilities." You will find nothing could be truer. Mr. Louis then explains that after a certain amount of experience with the cards, using intuition, the cards and their positions in a spread will suggest meanings outside the textbooks. This is what any good Tarot teacher wants his students to work toward. This book is a good place to begin that journey.

Mr. Louis uses the Robin Wood Tarot for illustrations, which is absolutely my favorite deck and number one reading deck. The Robin Wood is intuitively drawn, colorful, lively, and encourages unique interpretation for each individual. Mr. Louis has a fresh, new approach to presenting the cards, which I like very much. Rather than grouping all of a suit together, which most books do, he gathers all Aces, all twos, all threes, etc. It's a different way of looking at the cards, and is very insightful. He includes a short introduction to each group of numbers. If you get a disproportionate group of one number in your spread, this will give you a feel for what that particular number is telling you. Also, I like that he includes the "Fool's Journey," which will help you get acquainted with each of the major arcana.

Mr. Louis includes advice on how to spread the cards. I absolutely love his "theme and variations" spread, which I use to tell a story that will play out over time. This spread is a great place to start. It is simple enough for a beginner, but still detailed enough to receive helpful insight. Also, his suggestion to master the Celtic Cross, which I have found to be my most helpful spread, is good advice. This, I feel, is a natural progression from the "theme and variations." If you practice it, it will become second nature.

I would highly recommend you take his advice to keep a Tarot journal. I have devised a system of shorthand for each card so I can easily record the spreads. Looking back over past spreads, you may come to see how spreads played out over time, enabling you to gain an even deeper understanding of what each card means to you.

After you have been working with your deck for some time, go back and reread the beginning chapters and the fool's journey. You will find they have both deeper meaning and different advice for you. You will notice things that slipped by the first time. With this book, you will be well on your way into the world of Tarot!

This book is very easy to follow and informative for the beginner to advanced reader. This is my personal favorite book on the tarot cards. This book is divided in suits, as all 3's are placed together, etc. This makes it so easy to find the card info that you are looking for quick! When I do a reading and refer to it in this book, something in the reading of a particular card that I am searching the meaning to just jumps out and BINGO, this is what I need to hear at the time. Overall, this is a SUPERB BOOK that will get you started in this. I sometimes refer to the cards when I have a question. The cards just give me more advice and insight than anything else. The readings and answers given show me what MAY happen if I do nothing to change the situation. I do not look at this as a fortune telling but more of advice and getting my questions answered. This is why the cards help. Only I can work on my future!

I must say this is one of the best books on interpreting the Robin Wood deck that I have found. I have been reading with the Robin Wood deck for going on 12 years and the explanations that the author gives are great. His meaning of the cards has enhanced what I have learned from the book written by the author. So the only thing you really need besides this book is the one written by Robin Wood.

When I was gifted my first deck of cards 6 (almost 7) years ago, I purchased this book, as it was highly recommended. I haven't purchased another book about tarot in all this time. And even though I've been reading cards for awhile, I still check this book out on occasion. I think it's an excellent book if you're just starting out. Although I've never purchased any other books on tarot to compare it to, I've never had the need to. Personally, I think that says a lot for this book's perspective and content.

The only additional information I've really ever looked up was spreads. Although this book has a few, it doesn't have very many. (But google can take care of that matter with ease.)

As much as reading cards may be intuitive, I'd still recommend any beginner to have this book on hand. The books that come with tarot decks generally don't have information comparable to this one. And considering how inexpensive it is to buy this book used, you'll more than get your money's worth!

My beginning students were showing up to class with this book and I found that their instincts about it were right - it is clear and comprehensive. The author has some wonderfully keen insights, easy to understand card meanings, including reversals, and thought provoking exercises. He used the Robin Wood deck for illustrations, a deck that could be termed a Waite-based deck, and this is refreshing as it is a personal favorite of mine and is one of the most popular decks available -- even after all these years.

I read this book after my mother past it on to me. I have since gone back and read Indigo as well. This story burned into my soul. I have read and re-read for the last week and a half. Everytime I get a few minutes I go back and re-read a part the evoked stong emotion. I cried and I laughed. The characters were so real that I felt like I was there. This needs to be made into a movie. I would love to see Raimond, Sable, Galen, Hester, and the Brat come to life on the big screen! Beverly give somebody movie-rights!!!!

Beverly Jenkins is an amazing author. I love all of her historical romance novels. 'Through the Storm' is my favorite so far.

Every time I read a Beverly Jenkins novel I learn something new about African American history. She put her foot in this book.

I thought this book was a well written and wonderful book. I had to re-read this book with my book club. We all enjoyed the book, we all cried at different parts. Sable was strong and relied on her strength, Raimond was a bit spoiled, like most men. However, he was able to get over himself and love Sable. The part of being re-captured back into slavery was quite sad, but love prevailed and I am truly happy that Raimond found her. Great book, filled with so much history. Love th bibiliography as always.

After reading Indigo and learning about Raimond and his brothers, I was hoping to read more about them. I enjoyed reading about the budding romance and attraction between Sable and Raimond. I tell you Ms. Jenkins' really knows how to make a story come to life. She makes you feel like you're right there in the heat of all the action and the drama. She entertains as well as educates. I can't say I've ever enjoyed a history lesson so much as when I'm reading one of her historical fictions. Also while reading this particular story my heart ached for the characters. And the trials they had to go through in order to maintain their freedom. Once again, the worst thing about a Beverly Jenkins' book is that you never want them to end. Keep 'em coming, Ms. Jenkins!

After reading this I somehow felt changed. Written so well that you feel her emotions immensely throughout the book. I didn't want to put it down.

When Boken Glass Floats tells the story of a young girl and her experiences and life as she lives in Cambodia with the Khmer Rouge. It is very emotional as she weaves the story of her family in the labor camps and then the periods spent in the refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. I recommend it as a five star book.

A great book. A very sad account of a young girl that reflect the experiences of million Cambodian refugees. Also showed what perseverance and setting goals can achieve. If Miss Him can survive and succeed, so should everyone.
Highly recommend this book.

When Broken Glass Floats is the author's journey to find the magic of a world lost as a result of the Khmer Rouge. This book, as a personal account of the Khmer Rouge regime, is also my personal journey as a reader and a Khmer person. Through this magical journey, my own forgotten memories are awakened and many traditional beliefs that I have pushed to the back of my mind resurface.

I was too young to have memories of the Killing Fields, but I have heard enough stories to feel connected to it. There were gaps missing in my memory and this book filled those gaps. When Broken Glass Floats is poetic and touching, a book rooted in the author's desire to let the world know about the tragic death of her family. It begins when her memories are awakened as a result of her work as an interpreter and interviewer for the Khmer Adolescent Project, studying post-traumatic stress disorder among Cambodian survivors. This is a story of triumph, survival, and hope written from the Khmer soul of a Cambodian-American woman.

When Broken Glass Floats is a book with two moving and powerful purposes: one, as a therapeutic tool for the author, and, two, as a reminder of an event that should never have occurred. The author describes her book as a way "to use the power of words to caution the world, and in the process to heal myself" (p. 23). The process of writing the book became a trek to the Himalayas, "a search to recapture the long-lost magic in [her] life" (p. 23). My travels have taken me to the Himalayas. I have been seeking magic for my own healing like the author of When Broken Glass Floats. The process of reading her book and other autobiographies has provided much healing. I recommend this book for everyone who is interested in this subject, but in particular to Cambodian-Americans, because this book can take you on a journey into yourself, your soul, memories, and past.

This was an entirely good read. One of the amazing things I kept realizing as I read is Chanrithy Him has condensed a number of harrowing years of into just ~300 pages, so the reader only hears about some of her experiences - there's probably much more that didn't make it to the pages of this memoir. Also, Him's story is only one out of myriad others . . . thousands of thousands of Cambodian people who could tell a story even more devastating than Him's.

When Broken Glass Floats kept me interested from cover to cover, and I enjoyed Him's writing style. It's likely I can't say anything positive that hasn't already been said, so I'll pick out a couple of things I wonder if other readers noticed.

For one, the black and white family photos included in the book did not resemble the images I had of disease-stricken, starving children Him described. For instance - granted he is wearing a shirt in the photos, none of the pictures show Map (Him's youngest sibling) with a protruding belly - although towards the end of the book Him tells her readers Map fails to lose this effect of starvation even after his diet improves. Similarly, the photo of Ra on her wedding day shows a young woman who looks healthy (nice complexion, full cheeks, hair in an up-do, clean floral shirt), so I couldn't help but feel confused because this is far from how Him described her physically weak, skinny sister who was barely recognize at times. I realize the photo was taken during better times, but do people so sick and hungry recover to that degree so quickly? Also, the memoir chronicles countless dizzying days, months, and years of walking, working, and barely surviving from severe dehydration, starvation, infection, diarrhea, disease, and depression; personal belongings (books, valuables, etc.) were stolen, taken by the Khmer Rouge, and lost along the way. Under those conditions, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt as I read about the photos Him had "managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p. 330) and the "cream lace blouse from Phnom Penh, which she (Ra) managed to keep safe during the Khmer Rouge time" (p.286). Given the circumstances described, this just didn't seem plausible. But who knows . . . not a major problem for me, it just caught my attention - as did the typographical errors I found from time to time.

Great book . . . would have enjoyed a bit more of a history lesson. If that's what you're seeking you might look elsewhere, because this is a tale focused on a very strong and intelligent young girl's survival.

This book follows Tomorrow when the war began. It is Full of Adventure and romance, sharing real feeling, and the violence inside us all. it will be hard to let go of this book.

Ellie and company continue their fight to save their families and their homeland from foreign invaders. This part of the story shows just how creative, tough, and competent young people can be and that they are capable of doing well without adults. The encounter with Harvey's Heroes made me root even more for the teens hiding out in Hell. This book is as well written as the first one and makes the reader pine for the next volume in the series.

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitement. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. There is a war that has become very fierce and deadly which makes it hard for them. They try to fight back whenever they can so that the enemies are weakened.

In the first book Elie and her friends were surprised that there was a war going on and hid a lot. In the second book, though, they were more familiar with how to handle things in the war and they moved into action by doing things like blowing up a bridge so it would be harder for the enemies to transport their supplies. This caught me of guard because I didn't know that Elie and her friends would be able to do that.

If you like the Alex Rider series then you should like this series, too. It's one of my favorites because there is action and suspense that makes me want to keep reading on. Also the characters all have their special pros and cons which makes them seem more realistic. For instance, Elie is brave and a leader who can make decisions and Kevin depends on others to make decisions for him. The characters also change from the first book by taking different roles which makes it fun and exciting to read because new things happen. There is one major twist in the book which really surprised me but I don't want to give it away so you'll have to read the book to find out what it is!

The author ended the book by including the start of the third book in the series. This is an example of why you should read the first book in the series before this one because all the books tie together and you need to know the story lines to understand and enjoy the books better so be sure to read the entire series!

This book is great for readers that are interested in action and tons of excitment. Elie and her friends are some of the only people not captured in the small town they live in. The war has become very fierce and deadly which makes it har for them. They try to fight back when ever they can so that the enemies are weakened a little bit.

Elie and her friends are now familar with what they do and what they need to do so they don't hesitate any more; they just move into action. They make big advancements in this book which caught me off guard because I didn't know it could happen.

This is so far one of my favorite series because I like the action and thriller it has just like I think it has in the Alex Rider series. I would consider this a great follow up book to the first one because it starts off with what it ends with in the previous book. I like that because it reminds you of what happened last. The characters all have thier special prons and cons which makes the book more realistic. There is one major twist that suprised me deeply. I never thought of it happening which made the book take a different turn. The characters also change and take different roles which is fun and exciting because you get to learn more and have new things happen. The author does this in a way so that they change by doing different actions, leaderships, and bravery.

This is just the second book of the series so don't forget to check out the rest of the books!

I loved this series when I was younger and I love it now that I'm an adult. I re-read the entire series probably once a year. It is absolutely fantastic writing - Marsden deals with issues realistically and completely and somehow manages to make this scenario seem entirely real.

Every book in this series is on my favorite books list. If you are an avid reader, you MUST read this series.