Yes, thank you SO much for writing this book! I literally keep it on hand. It has helped my relationship with my daughter in ways I never thought possible. And the answer is SO simple! It made me feel so much better about myself, too, because even though I will continue to make mistakes, as long as I love my child and let her know EVERY day that I love her, the mistakes just won't seem so bad. Something else I appreciated, is that none of the chapters are especially lengthy. Not having much time to read with a precocious 4 year old, I was able to read snippets here and there and still get a LOT out of what I was reading at the time! I got a lot of helpful information that I didn't expect. Ms Adams is a good writer in that I laughed and I cried. With her being the mother of children older than mine, I know that I will be keeping this book of hers close at hand for quite a few years to come. Thank you Debbie Adams wherever you are!!!

Adam Hall (a pseudonym of Elleston Trevor-- did he really NEED one??) has written a wonderful-- and apparently OUT OF PRINT!! AAAAHHH!! I HATE THAT!!-- chess-like novel. The main character, Hugo Bishop, is neither a P.I. or a cop in London of the 50's, as the blurb on the book itself says, "he simply shows up to help."

This first work in the series (there are 4 other works, all involving chess, including "Bishop in Check" and "Pawn in Jeopardy"), involves Mr. B. in a bit of a love triangle in the theatre world of London. Nicole Pedley has a genius, animated-- and rather unlovable-- theatrical director husband. She also has a handsome young love who, mysteriously, disappears into nothingness, but seems to be writing Nichole letters... Is he REALLY writing them?? Has something happened to him and someone is extorting her?? And who is this OTHER actress who seems to know Ms. Pedley's lover sooo well...??

It's a cute book, reminiscent of "The Innocence of Father Brown" short stories. Quick of pace, swift of wit, and fully steeped in chess lore and thought. It comes recommended from THIS chessist to anyone else who enjoys the game...

Unlike some other recent Osprey Campaign series titles, Kolin 1757 follows the standard Osprey format faithfully and even attempts some analysis of why the battle turned out as it did. The Battle of Kolin was Frederick the Great's first defeat but it has not been covered well in recent historical writing and thus, this volume is something of a godsend to Prussian enthusiasts.

The book begins with a short section on the road to war and chronology of the campaign, then moves rapidly into sections on opposing commanders, opposing armies and a detailed order of battle. The section on commanders is quite good, and also discusses command and control in 18th Century warfare. The Spring 1757 Campaign and Battle of Prague in May 1757 are covered in eight pages. Unfortunately, the lack of a map for the Battle of Prague is a serious omission, since Frederick attempted similar maneuvers that should be compared at both Prague and Kolin. Frederick's invasion of Bohemia in the Spring of 1757 also demonstrated his tendency to disperse his army in unsupporting columns, lacking centralized coordination and a weighted main effort. The Spring Campaign also demonstrated the Austrian preference for unimaginative cordon defense tactics. While Frederick won the Battle of Prague, it was a costly victory due to the lack of effective Prussian terrain reconnaissance.

The Battle of Kolin itself, which resulted from an Austrian counteroffensive to relieve the besieged city of Prague, is well covered in forty pages of text. There are three 3-D "Bird's Eye View" maps which depict the battle in phases covering 1600-1730 hours, 1730-1830 hours and 1900-2100 hours. Also included are five 2-D maps which depict the approach march to battle, the initial dispositions and the retreat into Saxony. Three excellent battle scenes depict Field Marshal Daun atop Przerovsky Hill, the repulse of the Prussian Norman dragoons by IR Botta and Frederick leaving the field. Overall, the battle narrative is clear and well-supported by maps and illustrations, although the tangled nature of the charges and counter-charges atop Krzeczor Hill are difficult to follow. One minor criticism is that the author's reference to the "smell of cordite" over the battlefield is erroneous since cordite was not yet invented.

A welcome but unusual section in the aftermath of the battle attempts to analyze the action using the principles of war. Unfortunately, the author does not seem to fully grasp what the principle of war consist of, since he includes morale and flexibility - which are not principles - but excludes maneuver and unity of command. The author properly points out that the principle of objective was compromised by poor Prussian reconnaissance. The principles of surprise and security were also squandered, which contributed greatly to defeat. While the author properly pounds Frederick for lacking mass and wasting resources on secondary objectives, the criticisms only partly explain that the Prussians were attempting to attack at roughly 1:2 odds, instead of the recommended 3:1. Overall, Frederick attempted to use maneuver and the offensive by means of a turning movement to place his enemies in a position of peril, which in itself was a good idea. However, Frederick's turning movement was very clumsy and like his later famous "oblique order," represented little more than a cleverly executed frontal attack. Tactically, Frederick relied on the brawn of his infantry and cavalry to bash their way through a weak point in the enemy cordon, but Frederick was not very adept at finding those weak points. Poor reconnaissance and the lack of effective combined arms tactics that made integrated use of artillery, cavalry and infantry were the weak points of Frederick's method of warfare.

While the author addresses Frederick throughout the text, the portrait that emerges of Frederick in this campaign is far from "great." In particular, Frederick's contempt for the enemy severely degraded the quality of his operational planning; the author notes, "Frederick anticipated the Austrians accommodating his plan by doing nothing to interfere with the movement of his army." Frederick also had an unfortunate tendency to leave his army when things were going badly, which he did at Mollwitz, Lobositz and Kolin. Instead of rallying his defeated troops, Frederick hastened to the rear to sulk. Contrast Frederick's departure with Robert E. Lee's meeting the returning survivors of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg in 1863 and the disparity of styles in defeat are striking. When the Austrians pursued the defeated Prussians, Frederick turned over command to his brother while Frederick took to bed to mourn the death of his mother (apparently the death of thousands of his troops bothered him less). Yet when Frederick's brother was bested by the Austrians in a minor action, Frederick humiliatingly removed him from command. If anything is taught by the campaign of Kolin, it is that "greatness" is battlefield command is determined by exemplary leadership qualities, not the execution of fancy tactical maneuvers.

Cozzens' lesser novels are nevertheless enviably well-written. This one is the story of George Bull, the last of a dying breed of general practice physicians in New England in the 30s. Bull is extremely memorable -- a man living in the present, with few regrets, but coping with the cynicism that comes from watching patients die regardless of the level of care. When a public health crisis splits the town into factions, Bull's fate as a doctor hangs in the balance. This is an apt fictional counterpart to John McPhee's "Heirs of General Practice"

When your traveling around with your life on your back, it's important to have a guide that will keep you on the right track. Lets Go Europe helps the backpacker decide when to get off the buses, planes, trains, and automobiles. All at the same time, the book keeps you laughing with some fun comments from the young at heart editors. The bright yellow cover will make you friends on the train...but be aware of book hungry travelers who may borrow it without ever returning it!! A must buy for the young backpacker

This book is constructed in a format in which each chapter consists of a stridently feminist targum (translation and commentary) on a pericope and a conversation critiquing the targum by the woman offering the targum, a rabbi, and a stridently traditional/male chauvinist ... The support for the targum comes from traditional means of manipulating the original text, the offering of multiple alternative readings, and traditional support from targums, midrash, Philo, pseudepigrapha, kabbala ...

The two students were so broadly sterotyped that I came to not trust what they quoted or argued ... especially since the arguments were often personal and sexist rather than to the point of the targum. Therefore, I found what I'd expected to be the strength of the book - showing of the study partner relationship - to be rather its weakness.

The actual strength of the book is in the innovative interpretation of the original text - the garden as temple, the injunction to not eat of the fruit to apply only to Adam not to Eve ... For this, the book is sufficient to drive one to original source material - a sign of excellence in books such as this.

Having lived in the Los Angeles area, this was kind of a fun book for me. The stories were interesting and followed a loose kind of plot about demons interacting with humans following a disaster. Although each story had a different author (and some of the writing was a little uneven), they flowed into each other.. In general, I enjoyed this book and so did my teen-age daughter.

This is a great book for young readers. It is very comical as the battle between good and evil rages on as the bad witch tries to trick people into doing bad things, and then the good witch tries to get kids to do good things. It is a good book if you are trying to teach moral values to your children. It also would be a very good book for teachers to use in the classroom.

I believe there were only four 'Magic in Ithkar' volumes, which is a shame because Norton and Adams did a great job of soliciting (and editing?) these commonly-themed fantasy shorts. Each of the four collections has the same prologue by Robert Adams, which explains how the fair originated in Ithkar (a religious anniversary turned pilgrimage), the set-up (temple, campgrounds for the merchants, docks and canals for the riparian traffic, etc.), and the difficulties encountered on a pilgrimage or trading voyage to Ithkar (Death Swamp, dragons, outlaw wizards). All weapons must be surrendered before entering the fair and wizards are discouraged from glamorizing shoddy goods with their spells. Of course, as at any large festival, the fair at Ithkar has its share of rogues, piratical merchants, bravos, potion-makers and witches, troupes of entertainers (not a few of them turning tricks), and gullible pilgrims.

A sampling of stories:

"The Goblinry of Ais" by Lin Carter - a rather pedestrian story on the theme of 'be careful what you wish for,' especially if the genie in the rock happens to be a goblin.

"To Take a Thief" by C.J. Cherryh - A young apprentice-thief's master hangs from a gibbet down near the docks. How will he survive at a fair already overrun by thieves, and worse?

"Jezeri and her Beast Go to the Fair and Find more Excitement than They Want." by Jo Clayton - this story about a young girl and her mysterious telepathic pet is written like a chapter taken out of a novel. It's a 'day in the life of' rather than a story with a true ending. I checked Jo Clayton's bibliography to see if Jezeri and her Beast came whole-cloth out of a novel, but didn't find anything to indicate that it did.

"Fletcher Found" by Morgan Llywelyn - One of my favorites. A young fletcher is robbed of his wares on the way to Ithkar, but manages to replenish part of his stock of arrows with the help of a peculiar wild magic. His new arrows are not precisely saleable.

"Well Met in Ithkar" by Patricia Mathews - A blind jewelry maker is fighting long odds when she identifies a priest of Thotharn as the man who ruined her family.

When I first read it, I had my doubts because I had never heard of it before. But as I was reading it, I could not stop; I had to know what was going to happen to the characters in the next chapter.

Each author contributes a wonderful tale that is set in the magical place of Ithkar. Just when I think I know what will happen, the story takes an unexpected turn into a new avenue of adventure. This book makes me want to read all the other Magic in Ithkar books.