United States Books

This book was excellent in giving us advice for which rides to ride, which rides to skip, which places to eat at, and which places to skip (because of the cost, haha). It even has fold out maps so we didn't have to get them separately and tote them all around, and they were very helpful--we used them every day. It also tells you the costs of all the hotels, if you're looking for that, as well. We especially enjoyed Port Orleans French Quarter. This book even has a special place for character autographs for your children so you don't have to buy one for $10! Buy this book and enjoy your trip even more!

I received my copy today of the Passporter 2005. This will be our first trip to WDW and now we are even more excited after reading through this book!!! I love that it is so compact, yet FULL of helpful information. Also, I like that the book can be closed so nothing will fall out. It is perfect to take into the Parks. It is like the Walt Disney World "Bible". A must for first time travelers to WDW!!!!

This is a wonderful book. It is cleverly written and organized with lots of ample room for the reader to journal, take notes and store paper momentos. I can hardly wait to take this with me on our Walt Disney World Vacation in a few short weeks. The authors have provided AWESOME information to make sure that my family has a great vacation. If you are looking for the perfect tour guide to WDW this is it!

I LOVE this book!!! I live in FL but hadn't been to Disney in years, so I decided to buy a planning book before our big trip. Well, I sure got more than I bargained for with this book. It has useful information about every resort, restaurant and ride...and more! The passporter pockets make it convenient to store your hotel confirmations, priority seating confirmations and tickets prior to your trip. The fold-out maps are great too!

In addition to the wealth of information provided in the book, Jennifer and Dave have a wonderful website that I highly recommend for more information about Disney, including updates to the book. If you are planning a Disney trip OR if you just love WDW, GET THIS BOOK. I can't say enough about it.

If you have read any of the other reviews you already know this series inspires strong praise and I agree with all of it. I'd like to add one more reason to appreciate this book- there is NO approximation of the WDW LOGO! you may be wondering why that would be a good thing so I'll tell you. We have a 4year old who can not read yet but has the brand recognition skills of a savant- I have had this book for a few days and not a shread of curiosity about it yet. Which translates into PEACEFUL planning. We won't be tackling the mouse till Dec. and I don't think I can stand almost 3 months of "IS IT TIME YET?????"

This book is by far the best test prep book for the SAT. No one else gives you the tricks and strategies that Adam gives. This book raised my score by over 300 points to over a 2300. You have to buy this book. Seriously. Don't listen to the crazy lady who gave this book one star. Together with the College Board's 10 Real SATs, you'll be set.

This is one of the best book I've ever read. It contains lots of tips and strategies that help your master the SAT. It also points out some quandaries that some people usually got stuck in the SAT and provides the solutions. Because this book focus mainly on strategies and tips, you may need to buy other SAT prep book to practice yourself.

When I began teaching SAT courses I couldn't answer all the multiple choices for the reading or math questions myself so I read 13 books on the SAT to see if I could understand why the right answers were right so I could help my students (and keep from being embarrassed from not being able to answer their questions). After reading his book and doing the exercises I finally understood the basic principles and I was able to teach them to my students. I understood how the math questions were constructed and the best strategies for maximizing a student's score. I understood how the Critical Reading questions were set up and I taught this to my students and the results were amazing! This is definitely the best book on the SAT.

This book is by far the best I have seen. Adam Robinson knows what he is talking about- if you are going buy only one book, no doubt it is this.

I have tried everything--$1000 SAT prep classes (no help, they are only for students who have no idea what the SAT is), doing constant practice from the Official Study guide by College Board (kind of helped but there aren't any explanations for the answers!), funny vocabulary books to help memorize vocab, etc.

None of those really worked.

Until I stumbled upon RocketReview. Everything in this book was SO USEFUL and fun to read too (it reads like a story that the author is narrating, not a boring textbook), with practice problems along the way, crucial tips, and an interactive CD.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK...if you are skeptical, just look for it at the library or something and read a chapter. The study tips are strange at first, but once you read his explanations into why they work--BAM. You understand how to not only take a test, but do math problems the easy way without all those complex calculations, save A LOT OF TIME on those long boring reading passages, etc.

I spent about 8 months trying to raise my SAT and took many practice tests. I had reached a plateau at around 2050-2070, and my parents were disappointed. I googled SAT prep books and bought this book and in just a month of studying over the summer (just reading the book, about an hour each day and doing everything it told me too--not very difficult), I raised my SAT score which I took in October by ***100 points*** which puts me in the range of all the colleges I am applying to as a senior now (Ivy Leage-level, etc). Before, I thought the Critical Reading section was IMPOSSIBLE. After reading this book, I found it to be really straightforward, pretty easy, and sometimes fun.

Get this book--it is a MIRACLE worker

What an unrelentingly gripping series of stories -- life, death, animals, boys, girls, men, women, horses, snakes, water, wind, earth, blood, fire and sky. Mark Spragg's style is a bit like David Hockney doing his photograph collages. He doesn't show you everything, just bits and pieces to make the whole. He lets you put some of the pieces in place. What a style. It's shot through with his own strong character and some compelling scenes of raw Wyoming life. The stories follow an amazing arc that you don't see coming until the last chapter and then you just kind of want to start all over again, and meet the boy that became the man. Beautiful stuff. Look, I'm not really out here trying to sell my book at every corner but the people who told me about Mark Spragg are readers of my book, "Antler Dust." I had three recommendations from "Antler Dust" readers to check out Mark Spragg, mostly because, I believe, of the detailed outdoors action and the fact that my book takes place in a neighboring state, Colorado. I am going to read more Mark Spragg but for others who like him, please also consider Antler Dust.

Mark Spragg writes beautifully, even poetically, of teenage life in a Wyoming family struggling to make ends meet by catering to "dudes" come West for the seasonal fishing and hunting. His collection of stories is varied, but all are tied to the splendor of unshod love for the land and for the horses he rides through a journey that will steal your heart.

These are two feelings I got from reading this memoir. Life in NW Wyoming is not easy. Days are spent with horses and one's life is taken by horses. In fact, if you love horses this is a great book.

One thing that kept creeping into this book is the distance the author had toward his parents, especially his father. Little but dialogue is written about the father, but he comes across as callous and more worried of turning the boy into a real man. The boy, in turn, writes about his concerns about the man he will become. At times that dragged on too much.

Still, it's wonderful prose written in a manly tone. For rugged cowboys and ranchers it's a perfect read.

I'd worry about peope who don't hurt themselves laughing while reading Wapiti School. My goodness, these stories are terrific, sometimes tough and bitter, sometimes perfect poetry. Just wonderful.

The author writes excellent prose with innumerable well turned phrases and descriptions. The subject matter is primarily his adolescence on a Wyoming dude ranch and hunting guide service that his family, Pennsylvania expatriates, operated in the 1960s, some vignettes from his adult life and descriptions of friends and conditions in windswept Wyoming. The chapters are actually a series of essays rather than a progressive narrative with the ones about life and work on and around his father's ranch, where he essentially lived as a hired hand in the bunkhouse with hardened wranglers from about the age of fourteen, being the most interesting.

I enjoyed the book principally due to the excellent writing and colorful recounting of the author's experiences as a real "cowboy" in an era when most of us male baby boomers only experienced the same thing through ubiquitous western TV shows and movies of the 50s and 60s. It was a life in another era when so many of us grew up in boring suburbia. I recommend it for these reasons.

But maybe I missed something because I never came across any explanation for the author's seeming sense of hurt, isolation, melancholy and general unhappiness that begins, for unstated reasons, during his college years.

I am an occupational therapist that works in the school system and this book has
GREAT ideas from the beginning of the book to the end. It's a "Must have"
book for anyone who works with kids with autism. Great ideas!!! Mariann

I absolutely love this book! The ideas in this book are clear and concise. There is no technical jargon. Everything is in laymen's terms. No unnecessary wordage throughout the book It's exactly what it says it is. Strictly ideas, laid out in an easy to read format.

This book is a must have for a person who has someone anywhere on the spectrum. Not only will this book stay on my bookshelf for a long time, I bought copies for my family members.

Full of practical information. A must have. Another book I've found helpful is He's Not Autistic But...: How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss

Of all the books I've purchased on the subject of Autism, this one is by far the best one. I was so tired of all the clinical, academic, despairing accounts of ASD in other books, that I stopped reading any material on Autism altogether.

But, this book is completely packed with not only great ideas for teaching and raising our child with ASD, but for ENJOYING our child with ASD!! Finally! The authors bring a sense of sweet humor to daily life, with a real-life sensibility that is missing from every piece of Autism literature I've seen. Instead of focusing on the "differences" we face every moment of every day, the authors just dig in and get to the business of enjoying each "challenge". For instance, the idea that "You Don't Have To Brush ALL Of Your Teeth" was so simple yet so freeing! Every idea offers several different variations, which I found to be very helpful.

This is a must read for anyone working with or parenting an Autistic child. Full of useful ideas.

This is the last chapter, but very loving tribute to the cat we have all gotten to know so well. NORTON It describes the friends he has met in his travels how much HIS story here can help us all when it's our time to grieve. He says his goodbyes, but it also tells us about new things that happen to him. It's wonderful to listen to.

I love Scottish Fold Cats and of course had to read the adventures of Norton, a very intelligent cat! I anxiously awaited the final book about Norton's last days. Very touching but of course sad. Mr. Gethers is quite a nice author as I wrote to him and got a personal reply back. (As my Scottish Fold looks like Norton, I even sent Mr. Gethers a photo my my cat.)

The book itself is in excellent physical edition; only the end pages with library info have been removed.
I was overcome by the depth and intensity of the love shown for Norton by his friend Peter. Heartbreaking--but also heartwarming to read of such a strong bond between man and cat. Not sure if I could be so attentive to my adopted 14-year old cat if she were to encounter severe medical problems. Hats off and hugs to you, Peter.

A Hallmark card disguised as a book. If you like your cliches syrupy, I guess you might like this drivel.

I was given the first two Norton books as a gift. A Cat in Paris, and A Cat Abroad. What I discovered is the magic of Peter Gethers. My friends, these are more than just "cat books". Peter Gethers is an a gifted writer who writes about his interesting life, and the adventures Norton has with him. This book is the final Chapter of Norton stories. It's a heart-wrenching story of the final adventures of the friends we've known to love, whether abroad or home. Our rough around the edges Peter has no boundaries when it comes to sweet Norton. One thing that has always stuck with me is Gethers, a grown man, who would move over in bed so as not to disturb Norton sleeping on his pillow. It's painful to read, especially if you've read the others. But, Gethers brings us to Norton's end in peace. It's a great book for an animal lover, but Gether's adventures make this book a fit for anyone.

What a tribute to the fallen, and those charged with the duties of notifying next of kin.

The most life altering book I have ever read. No one can read this book without being changed forever. A part of the military function that most people do not think about, but it is the part that truly defines all of us. Required reading for all thinking persons.

It took me two weeks to read this book, not because it is a difficult read but because every page caused me to cry my heart out. Sharing these stories honors all who have served our nation (families included) with the sacrifices they have made. No matter your personal politics this is a book that every American should read. Just make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you do!

I remember looking out the window as the flight I was on unloaded the flag draped box containing the coffin of a fallen soldier. The young man who had accompanied his fellow soldier qiuetly walked off the plane, stopping only for a hug from a fellow passenger. I was stunned by this visual reminder of the battles fought half a world away. Not a sound was heard in the previously harried cabin, cell phones were quieted, voices hushed, tears shed as we gathered around the windows and watched as a solemn honor guard assist the transfer into the awaiting hearse and then leave for an unknown funeral home. At that moment we were joined in reverence.

During the first part of the hostilities in the Middle East the bodies of dead soldiers were often shipped back to their hometowns in the bellies of commercial airliners. Accompanied by a fellow soldier all the way to the funeral home, and often watched over by a guard detail until the services. Eventually the military arranged for the dead to be flown in the holds of chartered planes.

Final Salute A Story of Unfinished Lives follows casualty assistance officer Major Steve Beck as he notifies the families of Marines who have been killed in Iraq. From the first moments, the major and his associate receive notice that a family must be contacted to the funeral and beyond Major Beck and others like him assist the family of the fallen through the funeral planning, the logistics of shipping the body home, the insurance questions, retrieval of personal effects left in Iraq.....countless things that can overwhelm and mystify. More important, by spending time and making personal contact with families the major is acknowledging the debt the country owes to these men and women and their families. With the US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan the will be continued need for men and women of Major Beck's committment.

Jim Sheeler has written a book that will cause the reader to stop and wipe away tears and regain composure again and again. He doesn't allow himself to drift into the maudlin and never looses sight of the reason he began to craft the stories of the fallen for The Rocky Mountain News. He opens a window into the lives of families that have opened their doors to find casualty officers on their doorsteps. Fellow Marines standing guard by the coffin of a fallen comrade as his wife sleeps on the floor in a bed they have improvised in order to honor her request to" sleep by his side for one last night". The Lakota tribe in the Black Hills holding a wake to assist the spirit of the fallen into the afterlife. The cemetary worker, himself a vetern, who tends to the graves of the fallen. Their stories are different but they are forever linked by their loss. The humanity of these families are forever etched on the reader's memory and I suspect many will want to know how Doyla Lundstrom, Rick and Debra Anderson are doing, how Carson, Dakota and Melissa Givens and Caroline and little Jimmy Cathey are doing as time passes. No matter how the reader may feel about the US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan , this book serves as a reminder that the losses are real and that families are trying to navigate an unknown path.

Final Salute looks deep into the inner part of grief and sorrow experienced by families affected by the war in Iraq. The numbers of people lost in the war reverberate and ripple through numerous lives both on the battle field and the home front. The thousands of lives lost represent tens of thousands of those who loved them and are affected by their deaths.

The book gives the reader a sense of intense sadness and loss but you don't want to stop reading it the way you don't want to stop listening to a sad song. It touches a nerve which gives a far deeper grasp of and sympathy for those who are directly affected. It helps put a face on the numerous fallen heroes.

Jim Sheeler tells each family's story genuinely and without a hidden agenda. When finished, the reader is left with a strong sense of the tremendous sacrifice given. The story is told from a variety of viewpoints including the wives and children, parents and siblings, fellow soldiers as well as casualty assistance officers who notify and provide support to the families once the news is shared with them.

Included in the book are striking photographs capturing moments throughout the families ordeals which provides an additional element of realness. Sheeler first wrote the stories for a newspaper which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing.

Those who make flippant comment about the military would do well to read the deeply personal stories of these families and how the soldiers they loved willing volunteered and served their country. Politicians would also do well to read this book and put a face on the people and families they are sending into battle. If you want an understanding of the impact and loss experienced by countless families as a result of the war, read this book.

A special hotel/flight deal came up on Expedia that we couldn't pass up. We saw all of the Big Island in 7 days with this Trailblazer guide leading us from amazing site, to awesome stretches of beach and way up to the top of Mauna Kea. We liked the good driving directions following the highway milepost markers. Their freebie tips and Best Of lists were also appreciated.

I'd say if you're flying this far, adding a handy guide like this to show you around is a slamdunk.

Amazon carries it for the lowest price and it only took 3 days to reach us.

Two years ago we took a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Unfortunately we were in port too short a time and only went on a few packaged bus tours. We returned to the island we liked the best (the Big Island) last month and fortunately had the Trailblazer along as our prime guide. We hiked to and swam in the Blue Lagoon which is on the cover: the highpoint of our vacation.

In the back of the book are hotel and restaurant suggestions from which we made our reservations and were quite pleased. For accuracy and good practical advice it's right on target.

This guide gave our vacation itinerary a real boost. It has wonderful timeless images of places and people which simply exude calm, chill, beach culture latitude attitudes.

Photography is top notch and the information is partioned into sections so you can chew off each piece to explore at your leisure depending on how much time you've allowed for your vacation. Trailblazers do it good.

Great book, I bought it after having figured out which islands to visit using the book by the same authors, no worries Hawaii, which is a must buy if you don't know where to go and what you want to do. Following input from the first book we picked 1 day Honlolu, 5 days big Island and 9 days Kauai.
The big island trailblazer is unique in that the information on trailheads and how to find them is really really accurate, if you have to follow a dirt road for 2 miles and then stop next to a hidden bridge then that information is there. You rarely spend hours searching for stuff, the detail on where to look for something once you get to the end of the trail is less good, but that is because in the islands appear not to go in for signposts in a big way, so we were often looking at something and wondering whether or not this is it. Best ofs were generally good, didn't understand focus on Hilo, we went there on a Sunday and it felt like a run down sad little town, but maybe on a weekday there is a different vibe. The only negative is that restaurants mentioned a little more information on them to help you chose would help unless you like the sticky table-top ketchup bottle and drip coffee atmosphere and generic grub, this is fine if it is what you want, but you don't need a guidebook to discover such places, of course to be fair the book doesn't target the foodie population nevertheless a little more selectivity would help though or just a little more text on the restaurants. From personal experience if you are staying in Kapaa on Big Island try the restaurant Rapanui, a small hole in the wall joint run by a saturnine chef from New Zealand and his partner, its location is not attractive (in a mall when you enter Kapaa on the coastal road from the north on the left after the bend in the first mall), and it is BYOB but the food is really, really well cooked, from a European stand point, fresh, flavourful, beef melts in your mouth, rice/coconut nuttily satisfying, great, cooked but crunchy veggies, freshly made sauces, not a bottle or deep fryer in sight. Another great place to eat is Jays on the road towards southpoint, before the turn-off to Puuhoonuau (I forget the spelling) national park, two step snorkeling and the painted church from Kappaa, it is described in the guidebook, really spectacular and don't be put off by the appearance of the kitchen/living area. Oh and for sandwiches, a satisfying stop is Choicemart on the Highway 19 approximately in the area of the Manago Hotel, Choicemart is on the left, there is a great Vegan Cafe next to Choicemart and the sandwiches sold there and in Choicemart are spectacular. The locals recommend Choicemarts plate lunch especially on Lau Lau Friday. We tried to get it on Sat and it was all sold out. And the snorkeling at two step was the best we had on the island. Ok after all that digressing: if it is culture/food you are after then you need an additional book or to do some food research ahead of time online, for hiking, biking, walking and general reliable information then the trailblazer is a great book. Another option is to get the No worries Hawaii that has almost all information on all islands best ofs etc and then supplement that with a more foodie cultural guide for the islands depending on what you want. We did this for Kauai, although Fodors Kauai while better on culture etc really did badly for hiking and trails and was way less reliable than the Sprouts books.

YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. We have traveled to the big island many times, but still have not discovered or seen everything. This book reaches beyond of the general guide books and one of the other more popular reads about the island. Great for those who are into hiking and especailly for driving tours. Snorkelers will like some of the off the beaten path places to go.

This would be a beautiful coffee table book. It is even more helpful in planning plces to visit and reliving favorite memories from past trips.

Looking for a combination of Drives to get the best out of a Touring Holiday in the USA - you need this book! It is easy to link together many of the "120 Spectacular Road Trips" to form a fantastic itinerary to see the best scenery and sights the USA has to offer. It's better than the more specialised "Route 66" and "Lincoln Highway" drives for visitors to the USA who are wanting to experience a broader cross section of US history and its stunning geography. Maps are clear, colour photography whets the appetite and cultural and scenic highlights are picked out in the commentary. Combined with the use of a simple Tom Tom style GPS system the book would provide the solution for visitors planning a Touring experience of the USA - from the smallest local scale to an epic journey covering the best of the nation.

This book is a great help to make beautiful trips trough the country! Good descriptions and maps of the drives. You can search tours in all 50 states. Beautiful pictures!

I love to travel and this book will be a welcome reference for your road trips. Beautifully bound with gorgeous pictures, this book will please you for years to come.

This one is favorite travel book. Being an amateur photographer, I like to drive along the scenic drives, enjoy the spectacular views and capture them in my camera.

This book will provide you:
- The scenic drives and the key places on the route.
- Tell the facts & specialties of the places.
- What time of year is good to go.
- Awesome pictures of the drives to motivate you to go there.
- Contact numbers and information websites.
- Information about side-trips.

I will recommend to map out your route on Google Maps and do some search online for the side-trips before leaving. Some side-trips are not worth missing, so information-at-hand will help you to get there, w/o stopping anywhere to get local directions.

I read this book in one evening, flopped on my bed, and didn't want to leave this "world" til I had to...a "world" where diversity in power and responsibility is valued, one where people look to help others along, where women are respected as much as men, and where a vision of the future as a better day is sustaining in difficult times. It was absolutely an inspiration and a breath of fresh air. It is easy to become discouraged by so many things that don't really matter.

I particularly liked the way the author tells you about these amazing, incredible women with such a light touch, making them seem accessible. I'll read this again and refer to it often.

I usually read fiction, but I read this book because it was given to me for law school graduation. The independent stories complement each other so much and build on each other effectively enough that I found myself thinking it could have even been done as a novel. I didn't expect it to be as enjoyable of a read. I knew I would learn something from it, but I didn't expect to really like it as much as I do.

Please don't start reading this book with expectations of knowing each of these wonderful women's life details. It is an vague exploration of the paths that each woman's life took.

I have to say I was inspired to start a monthly bruncheon with local women leaders and young women. It starts next month and am very excited about what I got out of the book to make things happen in my own area.

This book leads you to make a difference in your community!

I found some mentors in this terrific book. I learned about the book when I was buying a couple videos and saw a cross-reference to this book, which was a great idea (to lead me to this book) because I had not heard about it. SO this book found me, and I'm glad it did. I can't imagine a woman not liking this book and taking away from it something that you can use. Very entertaining and upbeat. I don't consider myself to be a "feminist," but I wouldn't call this a feminism book--that sounds too political for what this is. The Counselors is stories from impressive people who just happen to be women who are the first or second person to do the job they do, what they have to say about it, what they wish they knew sooner, that sort of thing. If you think you might want to read it, I'd say give it a chance and read it. It won me over.

There's an old classic how-to book, "Think and Grow Rich," in which the author (a man) interviews a number of the leading industrialists of the day (all men), including Andrew Carnegie, for their advice in succeeding in business and growing rich. How fitting in this world where women have started to play a role as leading citizens to gather their advice on how to get to where they are. It's an old recipe, but it works.

Simply and directly written, Steve's experience is one that every busy or driven person should read. Steve does not dwell on how he died so much as how we should live, more fully and personally, slower and deeper.

This is an inside look into eternity, first hand. It helped me understand many facets of my own spiritual journey and experiences.

The title should be a better match for the book's content. I bought the book expecting to read about the author's death experience only to find that topic touched on very briefly. Most of the time is devoted to lessons he learned as a result of that occurrence. He gives some very solid, practical advice about putting one's house in order before death. It is a great kindness to surviving family members. I also like the advice he gives on writing out goals in a prayerful way.

One common epiphany people going through such experiences usually share is a focus on doing things to please God. Building a name for one's self in this life or accumulating wealth lose their attraction. Another realization than comes about is the need to invest time in relationships.

Sjogren talks about filling his mind with positive motivational material. People tried to tempt him to have a bad attitude toward medical people whose negligence and lack of professionalism resulted in permanent negative consequences for him, but he refused to do so. An additional lesson he said he learned was to be a receiver. He notes, "Generous people are creative and energetic."

This is an excellant book about the meaning of life, and the encouragement to live a life to the fullest. I was not disappointed in the quality of the book; it's a fine read for those not already acquanted with "life after life" experiences. However, the title and Jacket suggest the book will be primarily about the dying and the immediate recovering experience. Instead, I found this book to be more of an evangelical inspiration book. If that's what the reader wants, this is a good one.

I can relate to a lot of this book. We don't always know why things happen, bad things that is, and god doesn't always take away the pain. I guess part of me wanted to see the opposite. I felt somewhat disappointed in the end, but also encouraged ,that this man marches on and now cherishes every moment of life.