I first read this book in 5th grade and it had all of the elements I wanted at that age: mystery, popularity, boys and drama. It is a great book that teaches how to tell who your friends really are without being preachy. It can be a little serious, but I enjoyed that. I don't think kids need everything sugar coated and easily solved. It encourages the reader to be strong enough to be who they really are. This is a book that my sister and I still talk about.

I just purchased the DVD and It was worth the money. The only thing was they didn't have any interviews with their mother.
The story of Richard In Shreveport Louisana being held down
and having something nailed in his leg sent Chills down my spine
I am originally from Louisiana myself. The footage with the girls on the carasel was too cute Venus helping Serena even then
to be safe was cute. Man they have a heavy workout routine to prepare for tournaments. Richard is really the man to manage to come from where he did to make it to the place he is now.
So all in all this was a pretty good story I loved the footage with each grand slam they won. I was really nice to see them at home just relaxing in between their workouts. Go out and bye the tape it's worth it once again.

Do you have a toddler that loves to explore? Then the colorful Sesame Street Lift-And-Peek Party might be just what you're looking for. Packed with playful illustrations of favorite Sesame Street characters, the big board book not only features several flaps on every page, but also includes a different activity on each page.

For instance, on one page, Bert and Ernie have a list of several small items and ask readers to help find them on the page. On another, kids are asked by the Count to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar.

Educational and fun, the book also includes lots of peek-a-boo windows that allow the characters to appear in different scenes on two pages. Toddlers will have fun discovering their favorite Sesame Street friends and may even learn a thing or two in the process.

This is one of the clearest introductions I could imagine to the field of sexuality studies--Bristow does a fine job giving an overview of a very dense and crowded theoretical field. The chapters on sexology and on Foucault and his influence on [homosexual] studies are the best; I think the section on postmodern theory was probably not a good choice. Most of the models Bristow proposes here--Lyotard, Baudrillard, Deleuze & Guattari--really don't fit into the rest of the discussion, which is mostly about the desirtes of individuals rather than of "culture," and thus seem like a sop to critical fashion. The space this section took up (half a chapter) could have been used to speak more in depth about Freud or Lacan, or to give a fuller account of newer psychological insights into sexuality. But otherwise, this is a great introduction for students.

The New York Review of Books called this book "a singularly valuable social document."

We've all heard about the Cuban Missile Crisis, or at least we think we have. This book gives us an informative in-depth study of what really went on. It also allows the reader to see the rethinking of policies between the nations involved in the Cold war, the US, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. I recomend you read it!

This is actually a highly readable, somewhat academic (re)discovery of gender script-building in the Doyle stories. It systematically tours the Canon & does not reduce (as almost every other book on the topic does) to fandom fallout. Anyone challenged by the originals & depressed by pastiche will be rewarded.

The references & bibliography are valuable. Baden-Powell is the departure point--which was promising enough to get me to buy the book itself. Either a lot of people are thinking about this stuff, or almost no one is; but the author makes a case, out of both his own thoughts & the writings of others, which makes it seem like a lively & inspiring debate has formed.

I found Shiatsu Way to Health Relief and Vitality at a Touch to be the best book I have read on the subject. From it's layout and ease of reading I couldn't put it down. The examples are great and to the point! A must have in any home or office.

I bought this book a couple of years ago because my husband and I have a recurring fantasy of building a shingle style house and this was one of the few books I could find on the topic at the time. At first, I was a little intimidated by the book because it looks very dry and scholarly. Once I got over my intimidation and actually started reading, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while it is indeed scholarly, it is extremely readable and even witty. Scully manages to weave together a fascinating range of influences and expressions of shingle styles, from Italian palazzos to very modern architecture. The only reason I don't give this book a higher rating is that I wish it had color pictures and more of them, but I am probably just being peevish. The truth is, when I bought the book, I really wanted a glossy picture book but none were available (this was before the 1999 publication of "Shingle Styles"). The book's small black and white photographs will not be satisfying to someone who wants to drool over rich photographs of this gorgeous architectural style, as I did. Nonetheless, the book itself will be quite satisfying to someone who wants to immerse themselves in the history and theory of this unique American style and who is willing to exert a little brain power to do it.

I have just finished reading 'The Ship that would not Die' by Julian Becton. The book tells the story of the USS LAFFEY and the men who served on her during the Second World War. The book tells the story from the perspective of her commanding officer, Julian Becton, and covers the period from the USS LAFFEY's commissioning in 1943 till its de-commissioning in 1975.

The main part of the story is of course the account of the USS LAFFEY's role fighting off twenty-two Japanese Kamikaze aircraft during the Okinawa campaign. However the book offers more than that, it starts with a short account of the first USS LAFFEY in World War Two which was lost during the fighting off Guadalcanal against the Japanese Battleship Hiei. An action that the author participated in while serving on the USS Aaron Ward.

The author then takes us through the building of the new USS LAFFEY (DD724) , the assembly of its crew and officers, its commissioning and subsequent role in the Normandy campaign of 1944. The story then follows the USS LAFFEY to the Pacific where it took part in the campaign to liberate the Philippines. From there we follow the LAFFEY and crew to Iwo Jima and then to Okinawa where the USS LAFFEY was subsequently assigned a role in the Destroyer picket line.

This picket line was a system designed to provide an early warning of approaching Japanese forces to the American fleet and assault troops fighting around Okinawa. The ships in this picket line also served as a lightning rod to the Japanese Kamikaze planes. For most part the destroyers and other ships were isolated from the main fleet and as such appeared to be easy targets for the Japanese. As the narrative unfolds in this book it shows that this was not always the case.

On April 16th, 1945 whilst at radar picket station number 1 the USS LAFFEY was attacked by twenty-two Japanese aircraft. The destroyer took a hell of a beating but managed to stay afloat after massive damage and the loss of 32 men killed and 71 wounded, some with horrific injuries.

I found that I managed to feel a deep respect not only for the crew, that's expected of course, but also for the Japanese flyers. I don't know if that was the author's intention but occasionally he would describe something that allowed you to visualize the young Japanese pilot in his cockpit as his plane is closing in for the final plunge into eternity. Then it hits you that these poor pilots were young men just doing their duty for their country just as much as the young American's trying to shoot them down.

The narrative at times may come across a bit "corny" to some readers but the book was first published in 1980 and I believe the author is just conveying the feelings of those who served at that time. The story moves along at a quick pace and you really feel for some of the men, the silent heroes in this terrible incident, who died at their posts or in trying to save their ship mates. This is a good book and a great story of one ship and its brave crew during the Second World War. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who enjoys accounts of naval combat or stories of the fighting during WW2.