A Books

Without a doubt, the greatest narrative ever written on The War Between the States. Anything else is just fluff. 'The Longest Night' and 'Battle Cry of Freedom' don't even come close.

I was initially intimiated about the prospect of launching into just one volume of Foote's narrative and so I made the mistake of buying only the first book -- I should have bought all three volumes at the start! It takes about 50 - 100 pages to get into Foote's style of writing, and at times he turns a quirky phrase from the '60's (1860's), but this is enjoyable reading, bar none. If there was ever a way to learn the history of the American Civil War, this would be the way to do it.

I've spent nearly a year making my way through the three volumes, sometimes on airplanes, some of it as 5 - 6 pages before going to sleep. My biggest regret is there is no Vol. 4. I will miss Mr. Foote. The richness of detail and the descriptive character achieved by Foote makes you feel as though he lived in the period and knew many of the characters personally. You will come away with vivid and lasting impressions of Lincoln, Grant, Davis, Lee, Johnson, Jackson, McClelland, Custer, Semmes, Porter, Sherman, Sheridan, and countless others who defined these years. The series is not a dry recitation of facts and figures, but a storytelling of the war with enough statistics to provide a sense of scale.

Imagine the year is 1899 and you are a young man or lady of 12 or 13, sitting with your aging uncle who had lived and fought through the major battles of a war on the verge of being forgotten. He shares with you his remembrances and vast knowledge of what happened on the major battlefields and political stage (and behind it) during the war. He is a master story teller. You are enthralled and look forward to each evening's session. That's what Foote offers to the reader.

The books have some flaws -- a lack of maps, no program of players, ambiguous chapterization, shifting time lines and locations. While there are large scale maps inside the covers to convey the flow of the entire war, there are not enough maps for the individual battles. You must dog ear those map pages for reference. I'm not a history buff, so I constantly had to keep asking myself "who was that general?" as Foote leaves one theater of the war and then returns to it several chapters later. A suggestion -- get an index card and each time you meet a major player, write the name, side, title and use the card as a book mark. The problem with shifting time lines and locations is unavoidable in such a vast work. Foote generally does a good job to tying overlapping periods to each other, but you need to keep alert on our own.

There are few books I would ever consider reading again, but these will stay on my bookshelf for just that possibility.

I found this a very through account of a momentous part of American history full of detail and knowlegeable details.For any student or some like me curious about the history of the American Civil War I recommend these books.

I am about half way through and find these volumes excellent. They not only address the battles fought, but also address the political climate how people from the North and the South felt about the war, their leaders etc. It is interesting to be made aware of the annimosity that existed toward the "press." It is also interesting to hear how the press on either side was willing to print information that may prove detrimental to military activity and probably help to contribute to the many deaths experienced on both sides. And I mean the southern press printing about the movements of southern forces and the northern press printing about troop movements of the northern armies. Also, it comes across to me that Foote presents a relatively fair and unbaised narrative of both the North and the South. Excellent reading especailly for you history buffs. However, be ready to have fun trying to keep track of all the different generals etc. It is a little like alphabet soup.

I wanted an objective account of the civil war and an objective description of the battles, but Foote's three volume books is anything but objective. He is an engaging writer and, as another reviewer points out, brings the characters back to life, but Foote makes confederate thugs like Stonewall Jackson look like lovable, eccentric and courageous heroes. He portrays the confederate soldiers as poor, under-equipped soldiers full of valour, but then paints the union soldiers as over-equipped soldiers, lacking in courage and drive, who are there only for the experience and who pillage civilian homes when they go into southern towns (see the battle at Federicksburg for an example).

I note another reviewer commenting that Foote's view is not apparent in the books, but to me it is very clear he is rooting for the confederates. For example, on page 19 of the second volume, he writes "Texas was decontaminated" and the only bluecoats were Magruder's prisoner (this was about Magruder winning the battle at Galveston for the confederates). Only those in support of the confederate would say that Texas was decontaminated when Magruder won. If the writer was objective, that phrase "Texas was decontaminated" would not have been inserted. It's not even necessary!!

There is also a little too much detail. I can do without how many men are in each division and how many men were killed, wounded or captured.

I do not intend to read all three volumes because of his pro-confederate tone. It was a struggle to finish the first volume without wanting to throw the book at something (I am not pro-union, just anti-confederate). I am reading the second volume only so I can read about Stonewall Jackson's death. I am not sure how Foote has portrayed his death, but I'm sure with his pro-confederate feeling, it will be a glorious death!!! To me, Stonewall is a hypocritical thug and murderer and I will delight in reading about his death, however, glorious it might be to Foote.

I did not like the first part of remember me but I like part 2 and especially part 3 of remember me.

I couldn't put the book down and as soon as I got done I picked up the second one and so on... I finished all 3 in 2 days... this book had me second guessing every one all of the characters

I've read this book at least 4 times already...and I'm not sick of it at all. I first read it when I was about 14 and now I'm 19 and the book STILL interests me. The character development was good but not GREAT; there were some people who he could've expanded more on, but overall an excellent novel for not only teens, but adults as well.

This was one of the first Christopher Pike books I ever read and it is probably one of his best. The plotline is interesting, the characters are fun to read about, it's everything the back summary promises it to be and more.
First of all, let me say that Pike has a habit of writing about characters who are quite stereotypical. The characters in this book are no exception, though I feel like the stereotypes work better here than they would in other books of his. Shari's view of the world was always somewhat black and white, and, in some ways, it remains that way even after death. I suppose that is the way things are to many teenagers. This book won't enlighten anyone about the complexities of human nature (except in a somewhat cursory way) but it is still quite an interesting read for young teens who are looking for a simple, yet unique, murder mystery that is also quirky and intelligent (well, intelligent compared to many other books of its kind). The concept was somewhat different. I don't really know how original an idea it is but it certainly felt refreshing to a 13 year old me. And then there were the characters. Shari was just bursting with personality and I liked her. Some of the things she said were very witty. She admits that she can be a bit phony, and this makes her seem real in a world that often doesn't feel that way. Maybe this is why I didn't mind the stereotypical characters so much. Sometimes I felt like Shari was mocking the ways in which we can sometimes focus on the things that seem important at the time but really aren't. Anyway, the characters were never boring. They were certainly memorable, in my opinion.
The book also makes its own statement on the after-life and while it may or may not conflict with the reader's own religious views, I have to admit that it's an intriguing look at one of life's greatest mysteries---where we go when we die. Well, it was intriguing to me. I've read/heard of other books that dealt with the afterlife, and I have to say this one had the most interesting perspective, in my opinion. The fact remains that we'll never know exactly what it's like to die until we actually do so, in the meantime, all we can do is question.

Anyway, Remember Me does deal with some mature themes and, for that reason, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than 13.

A great book to start with if you're looking to venture into the world of Christopher Pike. But you don't really have to bother with the rest of the series unless you're interested in the spiritual questions the first one raises and want to read more on that. The other two have weaker storylines. They seem far more into the more complex questions of life and death and, I must admit, much of it went over my head.

First let me say that this book, in my opinion, is a 4 1/2 stars. This is by no means Christopher Pike's best book, which would be "The Last Vampire", no doubt.
Christopher Pike has an incredible talent and precision for details. I love the way he can make the smallest of detail into a major part of the plot, an excellent technique... especially in a murder mystery.
This book had everything in a good mystery, and more, when considering the fact that the main character was a ghost trying to solve her own murder.
As the book progresses, the storyline thickens and one cant help but be enthralled with it. I dont want to give anything away, but the end revelations are shocking, and you wont believe who the killer is. You wont be dissapointed!
The diolouge and characters are more than extraordinary, and all his books hold you captive and dont let go till the end, but I think there could have been some improvements.
During the novel, I felt little danger for the lives of the characters in "Remember Me", until the last 50 pages... where the story really takes off. Since they were ghosts, it wasnt like they could be harmed again.
Also, I was hoping for some more "spooky" interaction. Shari was a spirit, yet she couldnt do any of the cool things mosts ghosts are mythed to do, like fly, travel through doors and walls, and somehow communicate with the living. It was almost as if we were reading about an ordinary girl.
Although the story bagan a little slower than I'm used to with most Pike novels, I still loved it very much, and would reccommend it to people of all ages.

This book will open your mind on how to launch a bew business or innovative product or server. However the authors could write this book in a more simple way and not with a hard to read english text.

Before reading the book, “The Ultimate Competitive Advantage” it seemed to me that most management books were written for “big” business problems. Most authors quote one case after the other to make their own case. A collection of postmortem reports of different companies to tell you how they failed.

This is the first book that has taught me however small a business may be, its success depends on competitive edge it creates with its own resources. There are numerous ways that even limited resources can create an added benefit for the customers and increase my business. The example of “free cold water” on an off beat road is one such method in the book to remember as a simple but brilliant solution to attract customers and add value for the customers. The authors give a set of tools to help one think in a different manner. I recommend this book especially to young person trying to get their business started and also those seeking to break out of dead end situations. A great work!

Mitchell and Coles have done businesses a tremendous service in writing this excellent book. They have done so by providing a practical toolbox of ideas with which to stimulate entrepreneurs, business leaders and managers to enhance and improve their business prospects in today's very competitive marketplaces.

I must admit to having struggled with this book for a long time. Not because of difficulty in reading and understanding. To be sure this is a very lucid and comprehensible book and is accessible to all levels from a twelve year old bringing out his lemonade stall for the third year in a row and adding iced tea to his product range to the CEO of a major corporation.

My struggle was with trying to make overarching sense of what lessons the authors were trying to encourage readers to learn. It became clear to me after several periods of reflection upon completion of the text. The crucial significance of this book in a practical way lies in understanding how deep into national economic systems the process of globalisation has seeped. We see the reults in our everyday lives, how quickly new or improved products come into the marketplace. We see how quickly established businesses change or die, we see cheaper and better products come from remote parts of the world leaving us a greater part of our disposable income to spend on the things we would prefer to spend on them.

It is clear that in life and not just in business the process of change has quickened and that as individuals we must be more adaptable and more attune to the world around us to the opportunities that exist. It is as if we need to become our own business in ourselves.

Mitchell and Coles focus on but one part of this continuous change and that is on the business model. Their strong focus on this area has great strength but we must also learn the broader lesson from their well researched work. To survive in today's world we must not only accept change but we must embrace it as people, as workers, as entrepreneurs. It is as Schumpeter pointed out inherent in the nature of capitalism. But, to be sure it is inherent in the nature of all life, as Hayek observed. We must change or die.

I would heartily recommend this book to everyone, for there is much to be gained from within it's pages. Mitchell and Coles have produced an excellent book which far and away exceeds it's remit as a business book.

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage is a gold mine with a rich vein of unusual ideas from Mitchell and Coles' nimble minds. Its stated purpose is to help readers develop and implement a superior management process for continuous business model improvement. The book goes ahead to do just that.

The authors' approach make deliberate what used to be an accidental, hapazard, uncertain and hard to repeat process.

This book, like Mitchell and Coles' others, is best used as a workbook. After each chapter, several questions are posed to stimulate your thinking, and 95% of the value of the book will be unlocked for you when you take the time to think through them rigorously. Serious entrepreneurs looking for fresh ideas for getting out of the rut and improving their businesses will.

This is a practical book, but it is not a "how-to-book" instead, it deals with the what, when and why; with such tangibles as pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to stakeholders. The authors- Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles researched and found out that unsuccessful companies doggedly apply outdated business models while the successful ones improve their models every 2 to 4 years. The book provides a straightforwad and a systematic method which any company can use to review and improve its business model basing on its key components: pricing, cost of doing business and benefits to its shareholders.

I bought this book for my 2-year-old son and he loves it. He is into trucks and cars and wouldn't put this down. He now knows about all kinds of trucks. There isn't much of a story. He just likes looking at and saying all of the different trucks (such as a flatbed trailer).

My son loves Richard Scarry books and construction equipment so this book is a good match. He pores over the pictures looking for Goldbug and pointing out funny things like Hilda Hippo driving a loader.

We discovered Richard Scurry and this wonderful book by accident. A friend of ours went to a library sale and picked up this book for our daughter, because she knew that our daughter is very much interested in cars. We got it shortly before Anna turned 18 months, and we took this book with us on cross-country trip to Florida, since we hoped to keep her occupied. Well, this didn't quite work out, since Anna was already overwhelmed with novelty of everything around her, but she fell in love with this book on our return. For months Cars and Trucks and Things That Go was her must-read-before-bed book. Her vocabulary literally exploded with its help. And she blows me away with her ability to find Goldbug in each page pretty much instantaneously. First there is gleeful, "Hello Goldbug!" and then her chubby finger points to where he is hiding. It's a wonderful-wonderful book, and I am sure we will enjoy it for years to come.

Both our sons loved this book . I bought this for our grandson, who, I am sure, will have as much fun looking for Goldbug as his dad did some 30 years ago.

I purchased this for a grandson's 2nd birthday and he just loves it. He has it virtually memorized by now but it is still his first choice at bedtime.

This is the story of a church and a man who fulfill the purpose of showing God to a weary world. The emphasis on prayer is what is needed in a day when so many worship the minister or the program. If we prayed more, we would worship God more and would know how to present him to a needy world.

I was given this book to read by a friend at my church, and I reluctantly took it because I am not a huge reader. After the first chapter, I was hooked and couldn't put it down! There is a lot of good instruction, and the part I like most is Jim Cymbala backs up the instruction with real-life experiences and results. Granted, not all results will be similar to his, but he shows the foundation on which to build your life. I highly recommend this book (I bought one for my father, brother, and father-in-law).

You can't not believe this man. It is not the most impressive thing that he built up a huge Church starting with about 10 people in a dangerous area of New York.
It is not the most impressive thing that his wife, who has no training in music, helped to write, guide and direct, songs for one of the world's most loved groups, i.e. The Brooklyn Tablernacle Choir. What is a most impressive to me is that they have stayed right where they started about 25 years ago, continuing to be instrumental in thousands of changed lives of former drug addicts and pushers, prostitutes and pimps, gangs and gangsters, gays and lesbians in what is - except by the grace of the Holy Spirit - still in a dangerous area and with quite a few potentially very dangerous parishioners. People feel embraced by YHWH's welcoming Love in Cymbala's Church. And I believe it is His Love that protects them and moves them all.

With that background I knew I wanted to hear what this man has to say.
I wasn't disappointed. The message is simple as he would say himself:
Prayer, and lots of it, first. Everything else later.

Someone said, "Prayer is not preparation for the work. Prayer IS the work." Cymbala agrees.

One of the more inspiring books I've ever read. It makes you want to meet with Christ and see the power of what He can do. Read if you want to be humbled and empowered.

A few years ago, I wasn't just asked, I was TOLD to read a book called "Breakthrough Prayer," by Jim Cymbala. It didn't look like a brilliant title. But "Breakthrough Prayer" was simply amazing! Since then I've read "Fresh Power," and this book has simply been waiting on my shelf for me to pick it up. I finally did, and it is pretty awesome as well. Jim Cymbala is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and through the power of prayer, some awesome things have happened.

It had to start with a leap of faith. Asked by his father-in-law (and won't we do ANYTHING for the in-laws!?) was a question. Would Jim preach four Sunday nights at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, where things had hit an all-time low? Hmm! What would you do? Jim took a leap of faith. And there were times where he felt like quitting. But through it all, and still today, he is the witness of modern day miracles on the meanest streets.

Now, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" is considered a classic by some people. And not because it talks all about Jim, his wife, Carol, and what He did. This is about an awesome God who broke through, just like He did in the days of Moses, Elijah, David, the days we seem to think are over. He tells stories of people like Charles Finney, D.L. Moody, men without a college education, who stormed the gates for Jesus Christ!

Stepping out in faith, and trusting is all God asks us to do. Jim Cymbala did just that. He illustrates the power of prayer. And time after time, you don't see Superman tales. You see ordinary people in the service of an extraordinary God. That's what makes this special. God writes the story, and we live it out! That's awesome!!!

A really great story..something you can reread again and again..
Follows two relatives, who end up switching places in time, one goes to the past to be thrust into a plain time period filled with rough hard men, and the other into the future to find her way into the sensitive arm's of her granddaughter's fiance..and how they each deal with their alien surroundings and time periods..

I read this book about 25 years ago and have loved it ever since.

It took me years to track down a copy (this was well before Amazon and eBay).

This haunting tale will stay with you and leave you longing for the author to write a sequel.

I contacted the author and she said she still receives many letters about this book. She wrote in her letter that the picture on the front of the book shown above is the actual Gingerbread House in Colorado. Although the story is ficton, the house actually exists.

This book is perfect for a rainy Saturday, when you curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea.

Just a warning, don't read it before you plan on going to sleep!

No, you won't be too scared to sleep and it won't give you nightmares, but you will stay up all night, because you can't put it down!!

Anyone remember the song Brandy by Looking Glass? Well this is a girl named Brandy who goes through a looking glass. Very good read for a rainy day.

I loved this book!! It is so well written. I loved the way she handled the time paradoxs. Her characters are well developed and totally real. I wonder why I have'nt read it before but I definetly will read it again!!

Oh boy, I just know I will get the wrath of most reviewers but, I do recall at least a couple who will agree with me...but, it's my opinion and that's what this is all about.

now before you get the hacking at a response to me...I don't read any, as this is my turn. Next ...the book was intriguing for the first half, then got bogged down . where's was the editor was was it the author herself ? It could have been splendid . but, now this book will find it's way to the local library .

book goes into minute detail on some pages and goes on and on leaving you with the foolish notion there's a reason ( perhaps on the next few pages ? ) but, no, just for the sake of the author's desire . Like bout the scene with the candy store , over and over and yet, when a key character dies ...poof , maybe a small paragraph . one sentence they are here then the next it's like " oh by the way " my uncle dropped dead sort of thing .

If you truly like time travel to the past type books, as I do as well and do not mind reading detail all of which really matter to the story plot . May I suggest ............

" Time And Again " by Jack Finney , " Time After Time " also by Jack Finney . These books well thought out and done with care . I own old copies of those and " All About Time " short stories by Finney .

Also the book " Bid Time Return " by which the movie " Somewhere In Time " starring Jane seymour, Chris Reeve was somewhat losely taken from ...but,it is still a good read and now re-released under title of " Somewhere In Time " same as the movie , to attract new readers .
Give them a try .
Just my opinion after all, what sort of site would this be if every book had 5 stars ? what's the point ? most of you gave 5 stars which I based buying ' The Mirror ' ... I should have read the 3 star reviews a bit closer .

At one time, this was my favorite redwall book. It was also the first redwall book I read all of. In this book, the fearless badger lord Urthstripe the Strong leads his army of long patrol hares in a battle against the cruel Ferahgo the Assasin. Read this book, it's great!

While the book itself is very good (according to my 12 yr. old son), the size is different than the rest and he likes things orderly (especially since there are so many in this series) so we ended up going out and purchasing the same book, but by "Ace" publishers so they would all fit on his bed shelf.

The Book of Salamandstron



Salamandstron, written by Brian Jacques in 1992 and published in 1993, is the fifth book in the Redwall Series. Like all Redwall books, Salamandstron is an animal adventure saga, which picturesquely describes a stunning tale set in medieval times. Intently, because of the strength of the story line, the reader will continue on through the book, like a bookworm, to find out what happens in the end When finished the person who examines this book, will have perused 391 obsessive pages, which, as interpreted, would have taken the reader through the world of Redwall.



Since the book, at times, tells five different stories, there are several different main characters and several antagonists. The first main character to be introduced is Lord Uthstripe the Strong, the Badger lord of Salamandstron, a mountain fortress. The Badgers lords of this massive mountain are mysterious characters. They are fierce fighters and reckless worries, who at times can be possessed by the terrible blood wrath and kill all in sight. Uthstrip's adopted daughter Mara, at the beginning of the book, was not content with her life at Salamandstron. The military fortress was strict and forcible, and Mara did not like her restrictions. Samkin, a young squirrel, contentedly lived at Redwall Abbey. In the beginning he was very mischievous and many times because of his carelessness, almost caused serous injuries. Ferahgo was an evil, cruel, pain-causing tyrant, who was the assassin weasel and chieftain of the horde of corps makers. Cruelly he Murdered Urthstripes parents and caused Urthstripe and his albino brother to be separated. Ferahgo's son Klitch was just as evil and crafty as his father. Fighting against each other, both wanted control of Salamandstron. Another enemy (although not a living creature) gets introduced about half way through the book. A terrible sickness called Dryditch Fever takes hold of the Abbey. It almost wipes out all. Although the characters all have different story lines within the book, each one is tied together in the end.



Opening at Salamandstron, the story begins with gloom. From the first, as Urthstripe reveals his anxiety for Mara with the words "Any sign of Mara yet?" it tells of Mara's discontentedness with the strictly ruled life she is living. It opens with her gone on one of her frequent run-a-ways. When she returns after two days absence from the mountain she brings two vermin, one of them Klitch, who falsely befriended her. Urthstripe throws the weasel and his companion out of the mountain, and Mara becomes so angry that she runs away for good. Accidentally (at Redwall) Samkin finds the skillfully crafted sword of the Legendary Hero, Martin the Warrior, but two stoats evilly steal the magnificent sword. The vermin were part of Ferahgo's horde but deserted. Samkin and Arula (Samkin's mole friend) chase after the stoats because the sword, which they took, represents the spirit of Redwall and could not be lost. They met some peculiar friends. Back at the Abbey Dry Ditch Fever broke out. Everywhere, from Salamandstron to Redwall Abbey trouble seemed to be taking hold of the good guys.



As the book continues the troubles grow worse. Mara, after being chased by Ferahgo's horde, escapes, but was betrayed into the hands of King Glagweb, the head of a cannibal toad tribe. Unfortunately she and several shrews, which were also caught, were going to be served up at a special occasion. Back at Redwall Thrugg, a brave otter set out on a journey to the mountains of the north to try to find the Icetor Flowers, which will cure any sickness. Sadly, however he gets trapped. Attacking him, a horde of crows in a pine forest almost overwhelmed Thrugg and his little friend baby Dumble. Samkin and his mole friend Arula were still persistently chasing after the vermin who stole the sword, when, one died of Dryditch fever and the other was killed by Ferahgo's tracker rats. The head of the trackers took the sword and headed back to Ferahgo's horde, but Samking and Arula still followed. They followed to get back the sword, they followed for their friends at the abbey, and they followed to slay the takers of Martins legendary blade. At Redwall Abbey, as dry ditch fever took victim after victim, all but two or three animals were stricken. At Salamandstron there was great famine because Ferahgo who besieged the mountain somehow destroyed or poisoned all the mountains food. Will Redwall Abbey be wiped out, or will Thrugg get back in time with the Icetor flowers? Will Mara and her friends be eaten or will they find a way to escape? Will Samkin retrieve the great sword? Will Salamandstron hold out? To discover what happens, READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



If The book Salamandstron is amazing it is because it seizes and holds the readers attention. Having a good story line, this book is extremely well written. Undoutedly, another reason this book is so good is because Brian Jacques uses very descriptive adjectives and excellent verbs as illustrations for every scene. The story builds up suspense. Throughout, it never contradicts itself. The story is very vivid. Salamandstron is not just a book, which might be ok to glance over; it is a must-read saga.

What would you do if you were being attacked by an army of vermin, or your abbeys most prized possession, or if your abbey was being threatened by a deadly disease? Would you defend yourselves, find an antidote, or would you go after the possession? Well that is exactly what the charaters in this story did. This little world is filled with badgers, hares, vermin, mice, moles, shrews and squirrels. Also thisworld is also filled with a volcanoe, woods, seas, dunes, lakes, rivvers and enormous mountians.

In this fantasy a bagder named Mara left her home because her strict father was always punishing her. When she left, her friend ccame along with her. His name was Pikkle. On their journey they met two vermin who became frineds with them so they woild lead them to Salamandastron )(Mara's fathers fortress). There had been many rumors that there is a great fortune somewhere inside the volcanoe. So now the vermin were going to attack the fortress. Another two vermin acted as if they were lonely travelers (but they really weren't) and went to Redwall and the Red wallers accepted them. They tricked the Redwallers and stole the sword of Martin the Warrior also killing one of the Redwallers. When the vermin escaped one of them died of a deadly disease. He got the disease while at Redwall and now the Redwallers are at great risk.

What will happen to everyone? Will Salamandastron survive? Will the Redwallers perish? Will they get the sword back? This book was relly good and every time it would sound good, it would change to someone else. I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, action, and adventure. This is the fifth book of the 17 book series.

-Peyton

I like salamandastron for many reasons.0ne is the book has lots of action .the bookis writen by Brian Jacques.This book is fantasy because animals have human abiltys.brian writes many more books.

Lost a child. C. S. asks me to work very hard. I can't do it. Kushner gets to the heart of grief.

This book obviously already has plenty of praising views, but I read this book and found it so great that I can't live with myself if I don't write a review. Coming from a kid who grieved a traumatic death, this book *IS* the book to buy if you're grieving, want to understand death, or want to find a book to help out a confused friend (no matter what age) who's grieving. It's worth the price.

I am new to the genius of CS Lewis. I read the Narnia series as a kid, but have not read books for years, until recently. This book was deep, and full of the genius Lewis is known for. He expresses the pain of losing his wife, and the questions that those who mourn often work through, but are too guilty to express publically. The work is awesome, and may help some who are going through similar feelings of greif. Skip the aknowlegement at the beginning by Madeline Engle, I am not familiar with her writing, but have heard the name. I am surprised she was chosen to write the aknowlegement, but it is an amusing contrast to Lewis' intellect and spiritual understanding. The aknowlegement exudes an attitude of confidence in spiritual issues, yet reveals a cluelessness and spiritual blindess found largely in todays new age books. It does not belong in a CS Lewis book.

CS Lewis looks death into the face; he does not flinch and does not console himself with platitudes. He had lost the love of his life and his pain is palpable to the reader. This is a raw and honest book but it is not at all depressing: At the end of the book, Lewis begins to recover: his wish is simply that, on his own death bed, his lover will come back to him and give him the consolation of seeing her face again.

Although Lewis was, of course, a renowned and devout Christian, this book will speak to anyone who's lost someone with whom they shared real love. All of the questions, angers, and doubts that fill the mind during the numbing time following great loss are shared in the first person, generously, by Lewis. This is, I think, a beautiful, powerful, and deeply healing work.

The story is very unique. It allows your to explore a new and mysterious world yet also helps you think and try to understand more about life. Whether life could be simple or complicated, you feel like you are interacting in the voyage of the story. -by Sokhom Cheng

This was one of the most exciting tales I've read in recent years. I can't wait to read the whole thing!

In The Prospect of My Arrival Dwight Okita deftly lures the reader into thinking about whether freedom to choose one's parents would result in a happier human being and a society that is happier and better adjusted. Given the current state of our violent, mean spirited society, it is certainly an intriguing notion. Dwight's fast moving plot and interesting characters are reason enough to want to finish this reading. However, just as one settles into enjoying the vivid descriptions and dialogue, Dwight slips in an interesting thought or not so subtle critique of society. I already have visions of a blockbuster movie! Great job, Dwight

I've been a fan of Dwight Okita's writing for a long time -- in fact, I published his play THE RAINY SEASON in my anthology ASIAN AMERICAN DRAMA: NINE PLAYS. His novel, THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL, bears both the freshness and the consistency of Dwight's voice. Marked with a lyric humor and a realism about the world, a gentle wit and an honesty about sexuality, THE PROSPECT OF MY ARRIVAL doesn't just read smoothly -- it makes readers feel smoother over the course of the reading. PROSPECT affirms our common humanity even as it glories in how unique we all are.

Dwight Okita's story of Prospect whose pre-birth choice of family is a brilliant way of showing us the connection we so often miss which could lead to more pleasure , more hope- even love - in our lives. Dwight has a gift of creating an image with which one can almost merge and be lifted to a higher level of understanding.It is a great story!

Bravo,Dwight!

Ms. Diane Korhonen

You have read some newbie book like 'Thinking in C++' (as I did) or 'The C++ programming language', and wonder where to go next? 'Effective C++' book is your next step. Each item is a new world you might not know yet.

I'm glad I purchased this book in paper. After reading 1/3 of it I already knew that the book is worth all the time I would spend on it, so I purchased the other 2 books - 'More effective C++' and 'Effective C++' books by Scott Meyers immediatly.

This book is fantastic, I own three editions.

But the Kindle edition is a pale shadow of the print edition. Purchase the printed edition first, use the Kindle edition only as a portable reference. Expect your reading speed to be much slower on the Kindle edition than in the print edition.

The Kindle display is too narrow for the code, causing lines to wrap at inconvenient places. Code is mostly readable, but the line wraps render the code less readable than the print edition.

The Kindle edition uses the same serifed font for both code and prose, all in black. The printed edition uses a serif font for prose, and uses a sans-serif font to differentiate code. The print edition uses color to identifies important code.

Comparing the two editions gives you deeper appreciation for the art of typesetting.

Photos comparing Kindle and printed formatting at
http://gallery.mac.com/ziggr#100056

The Scott Meyers books were *the* reason I bought a Kindle: these books were in my backpack on the day I ordered my Kindle. "I could carry a 10oz Kindle instead of a stack of books? Sold!" Even with the Kindle's limited formatting capabilities, I'm glad to finally have them in a Kindle edition.

Is this a great book? I have been asking myself that question ever since I found out that Scott Meyers does not write (or has not written for a long time) production code in C++. With that said, book is a great theoretical treatise on how to make your C++ code better but it is not a "cookbook" which will be immediately useful in day to day tasks. This is not necessarily a bad thing; such approach will encourage deeper understanding of issues at hand and that will lead to better code.

A good book in an informal language to take a look at the most importance topics to avoid many common errors during the programming in C++. Widely used in the industry.

This book must be required reading for anyone developing in C++. I count this book as essential as Bjarne Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language"; these two books are a necessity.

Mr. Stroustrup's book could be considered a technical reference to the C++ language. This book I consider as a technical reference for how to use the C++ language.

The book was well written. I found the book to be easy to read and the index to be exhaustive enough for the book to be used as a quick reference.