We have just listened to the audio book of "Stickeen" produced by Mara Purl and thoroughly enjoyed the story! I have already told my daughter and she is anxiously waiting for my next "care package," because I told her I would be sure to enclose the tape of "Stickeen" so she can enjoy it also. The story was wonderful and it was so beautifully produced with music and sound effects. I will look for some of Muir's other stories to enjoy, especially if Haven Books Audio does some more.

I found the audio tape to be a great source of entertainment. My imagination was captivated. It's a great source of family entertainment, personal journey and pure fun.

Our family loves to travel by car. In a huge state like Alaska, there's plenty to see, but not much to listen to on the radio, as stations are few and far between. One of the best things we listened to on our trip was "Stickeen," the remarkable dog story by John Muir. We loved Lee Salisbury's voice, and the beautiful music on the tape. This was an hour that flew by, and a few dollars well-spent. We're sending copies to all our relatives.

This true story of the downing of a US surveillance plane satisfies with technical details, suspense, and appropriate humor, but most importantly through the demonstration of the character of Shane Osborn and his crew. Although co-written, like most books of this type, his voice shines through with an excellently balanced acount of his life and experiences as well as the story of the headline news incident itself. This book should be required reading at all military academies.

I like the book because it was about planes and the heroic story of downed U.S. Navy piolt Lt. Shane Osborn. I liked the book because it is a true story Shane Osborn and his crew. I also liked it because of the heroic chapter 18 plot of when Shane and his crew were going down in an aircaft. Also because it is just an all around good book about the Navy. The best part in the book is when Shane and his crew pulled up from the nose dive. The settings were great. The characters were real people and it was about a kid who accomplished his goal. The settings were good because of the real truth of where the settings take place. Shane is a young kid that has always wanted to fly and he finally accomplished his lifetime goal.

This is a great story about the downed pilot from the US Navy! Michael French has done a great job on this book. Michale French is an excetional author!This is a great book for young people. I would recommend this book for the juvenile audience.

Reading this book challenged me in new ways to assess my customers from not only what my product or service could do for them, but HOW it could affect their bottom-line (thus increase my probability of success). A "must read" if you want to "play with the big boys".

"In selling, knowledge is value..." This book helps the reader to do the necessary prep work that allows a good salesperson to more fully understand their customer's needs; adding knowledge and ultimately value to the sales process. This book will elevate the sales person into a valued consultant for their clients which will ultimately produce breakthrough sales.

This book delivered exactly the information I needed to truly become a consultative sales person. You can't help solve your customer's business problems - if you don't really understand thier business. "Bottom-Line Selling" gives you a major competitive advantage.

Michael Kaplan has done a very impressive job using 3-D photography in exploring the wild Frank Lloyd Wright on acid exteriors/interiors of Bruce Goff homes. All the photos (seven per reel/home) exploit the simulated depth of the 3-D camera with a deep focus that allows a better insight on the construction of these unusual homes. The spiral staircase in the Bavinger House will almost make you gasp.

These make a great conversation piece for the home....

I live in Bartlesville, OK and so was lucky to visit Shin'enKan twice before it was tragicly destroyed. The second time was a long Christmas party several weeks before the fire, where we had a evening-long chance to get a feel for what a Price party might has been like - including a chance to lounge in Mr. Price's study. These views bring it all back and show the similarities between Shin'enKan and other Goff works.

This is a super cool idea and Goff is the perfect architect to start a series/craze such as this. If you don't buy these reels, at least check out some traditional publications on Bruce Goff.

Bought for a relative Christmas 2000. Cleverly done little picture book much appreciated!

Every once in a while a reviewer has to do something silly to keep from taking themselves too seriously. We get in the habit of waxing eloquent over the latest serial killer novel or thinking deep thought about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and we forget that folks like fun too.

So that explains why this reviewer is about to tell you about an out of print stocking stuffer entitled "Cat's Christmas." I received it as an early Xmas/Hanukkah present from a dear friend. Or rather, my cats did. For some reason they actually like the book and are hanging around now waiting for an opportunity to do their own version of reviewing.

I can tell you right now the book is unbearably saccharine, Starting right out with two sealpoint Siamese kissing under the mistletoe. From there, undaunted, it runs the gamut of silly cat jokes, menus, and sight gags. If your cat is one of the more philosophical kinds then he or she may find this booklet beneath them. I believe my female is making that comment when she sits on the volume.

But my male, the more softhearted of the two, is every bit as softhearted and sweet-tempered as are the cats in the book, so he is right here, helping me type this review. Hopefully we will all take the time this holiday to give little silly things as well as the big expensive toys. And not just to out cats.

Well, right on page 18, there are complete instructions for how to "spruce" up the litter box with snowy white litter peaks and fake fir trees.

Bruce Fogle is the author of The Encyclopedia of the Cat and realizes Christmas brings on a certain neglect of ones feline friends as we rush about buying gifts. So, to rectify this oversight, he and Malcolm Hillier created a sumptuous book reflecting the art of indulgence.

If you are looking for a hilarious stocking stuffer, look no further. For cat lovers, they will be amused to read:

Diary of Destruction: December 24

9:30 Taunted the dog from the safety of the garden fence 10:20 Created a crafty diversion and helped myself to the turkey from the kitchen table next door.....

and so on goes the frivolity....until pg. 29, where the cats sing "Peace on earth, goodwill to all dogs...for now."

Then don't miss out on New Year's Resolutions. "Pay attention to my owner at all times, not just before a meal." And then read up to 10 and see that they will NEVER happen.

A real sense of humor and cat paws clapping everywhere as their happy owners read them this feline Christmas fantasy. I love the "Cat-Tail Party" where you will find recipes for devilishly delectable paw dips, including "Salmon Supreme, Catnip Dip, Liver Mousse."

The book ends with an angelic looking cat with some nice fangs! All the still life photography is by Stephen Hayward and the cat photography is by Jane Burton, Dave King, and Marc Henrie.

Only Jingle Cats could complete the experience.

Europe and the Jews is the definitive description of the birth and growth of anti-semitism in Europe, leaving the reader with a deep and disturbing understanding how the world can sit by and allow the systematic murder of millions of innocent people. The book is written clearly and with a surprisingly appropriate touch of irony. This book is an excellent companion to the "Hinges of History" books written by Thomas Cahill. It is a scholarly work that is extensively documented -- it would have to be considering the material covered, but it never becomes dry or impersonal. Mr. Hay never lets the reader forget he is describing the fate of millions of souls over the centuries. The lessons in this book should give us the courage to expose and resist those that would commit genocide anywhere in our world.

I give this book five stars because it is an extreme form of honesty. For that it deserves to get as much credit as it can get from anyone who longs to have the opportunity to read the truth about anything. I find the book difficult to read, but people whose minds have absorbed the awesome responsibility assumed by the United States at the end of World War II for maintaining a peace which surpasses the decency of any former age ought to see if they can relate to the author's position on this work as a classic example of how historical ethics can subsequently be applied to anything which tended to favor the worst kinds of behavior.

There is something in this book, and in Isaiah, about an ox and something too absurd to relate in a review as an actual sermon that has been preserved for hundreds of years. ...The problem with reading this book (for those who would consider such an activity to be anything other than a distraction from the daily activities of our mundane world) is the problem that anyone who seeks a foundation for an honest society might still express: among whom would an honest society be more likely, or even possible?

This book reveals a number of truths about the relationship between Christianity and anti-semitism, the first being the exposure of the early Christian leaders roles in the shaping of the negative image the Jewish people have been burdened with for the last two centuries. The distortion of the Jews involvement in the death of Jesus is exposed with particular clarity, focusing on how the anger at the Jews unwillingness to accept Jesus as the son of God led to the myth that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for death of Jesus. The author's statement that " seventy-five percent of the Jews in the land" had never even heard of Jesus at the time of his death is a comment worth serious contemplation. The suggestion that the anti-semitism perpetrated by the church led to an apathetic attitude toward the victims of the Holocaust and thereby enabled Hitler to more effectively accomplish his goal is a revelation of immeasurable value. This book should be read by anyone who cares not only for the relationship between Jews and Christians, but who cares to any agree about history, truth and the fate of mankind.

How such a wonderfully heartwarming, funny, wacky book could be out of print, is beyond me. I have read all three books in the 'Corfu series' again and again. Like the reviewer before me, the description of the different wines stands out in my memory, as does the description of the entire birthday buffet for that matter. Gerald Durrel is an extremely gifted writer, and has an excellent sense of humor. His portrayal of his family is wildly funny, and one can't help but fall in love with them, even the irritating Larry! I highly recommend this book, but read 'My Family and other Animals' and 'Birds Beasts and Relatives' first. This is a deeply touching series, for adults and children alike, and there is a good laugh on practically every page. I hope someone comes to their senses and reprints this book.

A wonderfully funny book set in sunny Corfu replete with Durrell's hilarious family anecdotes, convoluted Greek imbroglios and enchanting descriptions. The description of different wines is scintillating.

"The Garden of the Gods" by Gerald Durrell is an immensely funny biographical work telling anecdotes from the author's childhood on the island of Corfu. More to the point, it is the third part of the trilogy which begins with "My Family and Other Animals" and continues with "Birds, Beasts and Relatives". Can anyone explain why the first part of this trilogy remains widely available, while the other two books, which are just as good, if not better, are now out of print?

One gets the impression both from this book and his previous work, 'The New Knighthood' that Malcom Barber rushed himself into print as a reponse to the current trend of explaining every Christian mystery through the Knights Templar. This volume concentrates on the last years of the order and its infamous destruction by Philip IV of France. It is a privilege for the reader to be granted access to such meticulous research, detail and scholarship for this is no vague account. Taking in every contemporary source he provides almost a day by day narrative, no mean feat when dealing with the early fourteenth century.

Barber's argument is that the Templars were suppressed as a result of the avarice and arrogance of Philip la Bel rather than in response to any nefarious pratices of their own. Philip, in successive revenue drives had set a precedent by attacking the Lombards and Jews, merchant communities made weak by their immigrant status. Philip expelled both groups under trumped up pretexes very similar to the formula that was used to rid himself of the Templars. And of course his motive in all three cases was to lay his hands on those communities' assets. The French crown was the main power in Western Christendom at the time and the Pope was entirely its pawn, particularly since his predecessor in trying to resist Philip's will had been violently siezed in Rome by his men. The Templars had had an ambiguous role since the loss of the Holy Land, their wealth and untouchable status was all very well under the justification of the Crusades, but rapidly began to provoke jealousy and discontent once back in Europe. Thus follows Barber's theory, that anxious to annexe their assets, Philip invented the outrageous charges of blaspehemy, sodomy etc, and with a succesful propaganda campaign, sustained pressure on the Pope and confessions wrought under torture, he was able to seal their fate. As Barber progresses we are shown the shocking inactivity of Grand Master Jaques de Molay and his naive faith in papal justice throughout the crisis until the fate of the Order was sealed and de Molay symbolically burnt. This is a famous story, and Barber provides us with the definitive version. An excellent account in all respects, grounded entirely in fact and a treasure for anyone geninely interested in the Knights Templar.

I own many books on the Templars, but very few deal primarily on their downfall on the Friday 13th, and the grueling, protracted trials afterward. The Templars have always fascinated me, an order founded on a vow of poverty that rose to become one of the richest and most powerful organisations of their time, a religious order, yet it was politics and money that sealed their fate and brought about their destruction.

Very well written, it is rich in detail, but in a witty narrative that keeps the reader enthralled and forgetting they are reading history, which is usally dry and stale. High Recommended. Anyone interested in the Templars needs to add this one to their collection.

When I was assigned a Humanities term-paper on the something having to do with the Medieval period, I chose to research the Templars, specifically their trial and destruction, I found a myriad of books on the subject, but most had to do with the history of the Order itself and only mentioned, in passing, generally how their destruction was brought about. Thus it was with great relief that I found such a detailed examination of the topic in Barber's "The Trial of the Templars." Furthermore, his writing is witty and concise. It was a refreshing change from the often dry, and verbose nature of several of the other texts I used in my research as well. Even if one is not researching for any particular report, I still recommend reading this book for its own sake. You won't be disappointed.

I eagerly read this after "My Family and Other Animals" (which I had enjoyed immensely). It contains stories which were omitted from "My Family" and while the offerings were still magical and wonderfully well-written and sometimes hilarious (especially the story about the turtle), it lacked the memorability of its predecessor. There was also no real structure in the order of the stories, this is more of a miscellaneous collection.

I read Gerald Durrell's books 10 years ago, while I was still living in Romania. I loved his books from the first page to the last and literally I couldn't put them down until I finished them. The best humour I ever met in books! His stile is unique. I am planning on reading all of them again in English. I would recommend them to anyone!

The second book on his family's 5 years in Corfu, it follows in the footsteps of My Family and Other Animals as a brilliantly funny and fascinating book. Mr. Durrell has kept me in stitches for over 16 years and with each reread, I find myself enjoying the book more

If you are a mystery person you need Clue. Clue is a book full of mini mysteries. In the beginning of the story Mr. Boddy put a note on their walls and it said, "Everyone will sign out for a weapon. This should end our crime problem." Mrs. Peacock did not like Mr. Boddy's silly sign up sheet for weapons. Colonel Mustard signed out the gun so he could make doughnut holes. In the end of story, they heard a scream from the Billiard Room. They found Mr. Green lying on the ground holding the knife. Mrs. Peacock said he was hit with a hard object. Mr. Boddy said he would go get the sign up sheet. Mrs. Peacock said, "Oh, there was no need to get the sign up sheet because she already knew who did it. I like the part when Mr. Green made doughnut holes with the gun, because it was funny. He made doughnut holes with the gun and that's weird kind of.

By the title, it sounds really good, but it's not as interesting as you'd think. I still would highly recommend it, but it may take you a little more time to read than the other ones. The last story was the best.

The sixth book in the exciting Clue series,Booby Trapped,was a very fun book to read.With Mr. Boddy installing a very expensive home security system we find his six guests are up to no good once again! I have always enjoyed reading Clue for the stories and not to solve the mysteries.If you do solve them you will have a fun time with Booby Trapped.