The words of this novel start off musical, with descriptions of the ocean and the stars, and then grabs the reader, plunging them into a not-stop adventure under the sea. Anyone who reads this novel will actually believe these characters exist. Out there right now. For those of us who live near the sea or the ocean, this powerful, genius is out there. Mr.Carbajal has created a prize with this fairy tale of the great Captain Nemo. Here is a man with the power to rule the world and chooses not to. The love this captain has for the oceans is intense; you can feel the emotions down to your bones. The scenes where they are driving golf balls off the top of one of the submarines was a brilliant way to show how this Captain Nemo and his crew dared every navy in the world to come after them. The technology with the spikes changing the salinity of the ocean to create hurricanes was very well researched. The chapter called "Atoll" had me gasping for water. Uriah, Ari, Kronos and especially the sea creatures with their telepathic powers was just the kind of fresh idea books need nowadays. I eagerly await the next chapters of this fantastic Star Wars under the sea adventure, and all the many more novels to come.

Every little detail about this novel is fantastic. The chapter called "Captain Nemo" has created a dark lonely character out of what seems to be the Jules Verne 'Captain Nemo'. As this fairy tale of an adventure continues, the reader is literally submerged into landscapes of submarine worlds. Nightmares and daydreams flow throughout this beautiful tale of a man's journey to find room in his life to love his oceans, science and his wife, Sherry Lynn. Sailors from navy battles long forgotten are now part of Captain Nemo's crew. Sea creatures who think and communicate with the crew of the Nautilus, the Trinity and the Avenger give a dimension that I can not find in any other works of science fiction, fantasy or fiction. What a beautiful story, 'this' Captain Nemo is. A.T. Nelson

My friends and I loved the Captain Nemo novel and the Captain Nemo audiobook. Some of us had to start reading classic books last semester and alot of the boys in my class picked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It seemed kind of boring until we found this new Captain Nemo novel on the internet. A bunch of us think this story with giant sea creatures and powerful submarines is the 'cats meow'. (I have four cats). We like Star Wars and other books/movies/audiotapes that include a variety of characters. My girlfriends and I could really identify with Sonja, Captain Nemo's daughter. It was so great how she was so smart and mature and ran the Nautilus. Sonja as a scientist and part of Captain Nemo's crew was an important part of this story. My mom and dad let my sister and I pilot our boat (sometimes) and we always think that Sonja is out there in the Nautilus or the Avenger or the Trinity. We hope you come up with a picture book for Captain Nemo or they make a movie. We imagine Sonja to be both pretty and smart.

My friends and I used this audiobook to help us work on a paper on Edgar Allan Poe for our high school writing and poetry class. This is an amazing story. We never knew these things happened to Mr. Poe. We always thought he was rich and famous and everybody loved him. Is this a true story? We've started doing more research on his poems and stories (our papers aren't due until May 3rd). Whoever played Lenore was great. But what is this love story about? Did Edgar love Mrs. Shelton? Or Lenore? What about the Woman in Black? What about Edgar's mother?

I'm in my first year of college (...) and my friends and I are working on our team paper on Edgar Allan Poe. This audiobook is great! We never realized how interesting and wild Poes life was. This story is a bit sad, especially the love Edgar has for Lenore. This is also deep because it shows how Edgar struggled for his art. My little sister is going to use this tape for her high school project too. So, I guess its good for younger adults too.

Thank you for taking us to that 'other' place with this deep. dark account of Edgar Allan Poe. The obsession, love and betrail by those close to Edgar is pain-stakingly scripted. I had to go through other works about Edgar (The Marriage of Heaven and Earth by Randall Clack, Henry Cain's - The Poe Mangan Question, The Influence of Edgar Allan Poe in France by Pierre Cambiaire and Edgar Allan Poe by Joseph Krutch from a book published by Knopf out of New York City back in 1926). My friends and I were floored at the amount of rare information in this audiobook that would probably be lost forever. Everyone I have talked to who listened to this book-on-tape agree, these actors and writers put it all together to tell a grand tale of a darker horror Mr. Poe, himself, never could have imagined. I've already ordered extra copies of this great story

A sensitive and perceptive young college freshman from south Alabama, Eugene B. Sledge volunteered for Marine Corps officer training school during the middle of W.W. II. However, such was Sledge's desire to join the fighting before the war ended, he purposefully flunked out of school and promptly joined the ranks of the enlisted Marines.

Upon reporting to boot camp in San Diego, Sledge was introduced to his Drill Instructor with this eye-opening greeting: "If any of you idiots think you don't need to follow my orders, just step right out here and I'll beat your @ss right now. Your soul may belong to Jesus, but your @ss belongs to the Marines. You people are recruits. You're not Marines. You may not have what it takes to be Marines."

Fortunately, Sledge did indeed have what it took to be a Marine, and he has written WITH THE OLD BREED: AT PELELIU AND OKINAWA, an engaging personal chronicle of the horror of war as seen through the eyes of a young Marine grunt. Though this book is a personal account of historical events, it reads like a novel. Sledge is able to transform the course language of a salty Marine and the brutality of war into unembellished passages whose honesty have a lyrical beauty all their own:

"The situation was bad enough, but when the enemy artillery shells exploded in the area, the eruptions of soil and mud uncovered previously buried Japanese dead and scattered chunks of corpses. Like the area around our gun pits, the ridge was a stinking compost pile.

If a Marine slipped and slid down the back slope of the muddy ridge, he was apt to reach the bottom vomiting. I saw more than one man lose his footing and slip and slide all the way to the bottom only to stand up horror-stricken as he watched in disbelief while fat maggots tumbled out of his muddy dungaree pockets, cartridge belt, legging lacings, and the like. Then he and a buddy would shake or scrape them away with a piece of ammo box or a knife blade.

We didn't talk about such things. They were too horrible and obscene for even hardened veterans. The conditions taxed the toughest I knew almost to the point of screaming. Nor do authors normally write about such vileness; unless they have seen it with their own eyes, it is too preposterous to think that men could actually live and fight for days and nights under such terrible conditions and not be driven insane. But I saw much of it there on Okinawa and to the me the war was insanity."

WITH THE OLD BREED does not concern itself with a the strategic and tactical campaign of the Pacific Island hopping campaign. Rather, it is a a fascinating portrait of an sensitive young man's baptism under fire -- a first hand narrative of an ordinary young man's extraordinary bravery on a few remote Islands in the Pacific Ocean. No W.W.II library is complete without this book. Highly recommended.

Short, sweet and to the point. "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" is the very best personal memoir on World War II that I have ever read.

Sledge's book very thoroughly describes and covers the physical, mental, and emotional horrors of battle. Sledge's first-hand experience and understanding of youth lost during battle is truly frightening. He describes the gloomy environment, the ear pounding sounds, foul stench, bitter taste, and experience of men, or boys in combat. Sledge writes about their fears and trepidation, but also writes about the bravery and camaraderie, or brotherhood these men had towards one another. Soldiers that fought and some witnessed the death of their buddies.

All readers need do is read a chapter, put their head back, close their eyes, and visualize what the American soldier went through to protect America. If there was a Pulitzer Prize for a personal memoir it would surely go to Eugene B. Sledge for his book. "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa" should be required reading in all American History classes throughout our great land.

When reading about historical events, one must consider the source. Dr. Sledge is an excellent source on the subject of Marines in combat in WWII. Dr. Sledge was really there at Peleliu and Okinawa, and on the front lines. No post-war historian could possibly describe the realities of combat with the accuracy of one who was really there. This book is a treasure not only because of its accuracy, but because it is so rare. Bookstores today are full of first-person accounts of Vietnam War veterans, but similar writings by veterans of WWII are extremely rare. If you want to read a generalized, sanitzed version of combat in the Pacific war, pick up a typical history book. However, if you want a definitive description of young American Marines fighting the ghastly horrors of combat-the worst reality of war-then this book is a must read. In my opinion, books such as this should be mandatory reading for high school students, so that they might have some understanding of how many Americans have fought and died to preserve the freedoms they now enjoy.

Because of the Presidential Elections coming up, my history class at school asked the question "Why hasn't America had a woman president?" This Lady President novel got all of us talking. Although this is a fiction the true ideas of stereotypes were excellently written into this thriller of a story. I read lots of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club Books and the New York Times Best Sellers and my classmates and I agree this novel was gutsy and sensational. I hope when the time comes for us to have a woman president, she is as tough as President Marie Arcola. I am writing this only days after terrorist attacks in the Middle East, just like in this novel, we will need a woman of great character to help America solve these problems. Sylvia.

I had to pick a bunch of books to do my government paper. Lady President was one of the books. My teacher said it was great for a fiction but since there has not been an America woman president I could only use it for entertainment purposes. Still this book was the talk of my class. And I did my paper on other women in American politics. My older sister and my mom read Lady President and they loved it. They thought President Marie Arcola was a strong, tough character. We also liked Senator Ttrevor Thomas and the other characters. Someday this story might be true or a story like it. I will be going to college in two years and plan to go into education. I know for a fact there is politics in the field of education. I think this book educated a bunch of my friends and I about America with a woman president.

When my wife and daughter saw the news about Elizabeth Dole running for president, they both became interested in women leaders and politicians around our country and the world. My wife picked up a copy of Lady President for her and her book club, and all of them were very impressed. They said Lady President reads like a history lesson from the future. So, I read the book. This was not the kind of women studies textbook I thought it was going to be. This author has the ability to have you start feeling for President Marie Arcola and Senator Trevor Thomas. Then the suspense begins. The, in between, tales of the United States going to war with China and Russia, as well as the internet laws for gun control and the ground war in Kosovo are pure prophecy. How could this author have known these events before they happened? The accidental bombing of the Chinese Embassy is one of the key connections to this novel and the fact that we may have our first woman president by the next election. This story has no real beginning or end, but it does show how difficult a time President Dole will have with most other male dominated countries. My wife and her book club found about twenty clues leading to the sequel. This author, Mr. Xavier Joseph Carbajal, has a gift of being a clever writer. Keep up the great work. Donald.

I started writing perl around ten years ago, and at the time my perl looked a lot like the c code I wrote in 1990.. or the FORTRAN code I wrote in 1975! And so it was for many years.

But this book, more than any other, helped turn me into an actual perl programmer. It covers the basics- things like 'use "$_" implcitly whenever possible, but don't refer to it explicitly if you don't have to'. There's a good description of slurp mode. And it covers those neat little tricks, like using:

($a,$b)[$a<$b]

to return the greater of two scalars.

It's not a book for the absolute beginner. But once you've written a few programs and start wondering why your perl doesn't look like that written by the perl gurus, this is the book to get.

This is an excellent book. It runs through 60 items, through regular expressions, "map", and "grep". Each item describes a concepts and best usage of one of the core concepts of Perl. This may be one of the first technical books I read from start to finish (the very *best* way to read this book of progressive concept development). Reading this book changed my understanding of Perl programming, improved my code (by the first 50 pages), and reduced my programming mistakes.

This was also the single most fun technical book I have read. Not comedy, but true delight at finding new ways to use Perl. I can readily believe that Joseph Hall is a successful and popular instructor, if this is an example of his class design.

I've been using Perl casually for a few years now, but when I first got this book six months ago, I sort of skimmed through it and didn't find anything too interesting. But when I started doing a few Perl projects, I kept thinking, "Hey, didn't that book say something about a better way to do this?" So I'd look it up, and an elegant solution to my problem would be there. It's not that I couldn't have done it without the tip, because as all Perl programers know, "There's More Than One Way To Do It", but it taught me a cleaner way than I would have done otherwise.

Most tips are no longer than a few pages, and they are neatly organized by topic ("Regular Expressions", "Subroutines", etc.) in the index. Highly recommended for the semi-experienced Perl programmer who is looking to polish their programming skills.

Joe Jenkins is a great guy with a great message to spread. He wakes up his readers to the possibilities of a greatly overlooked resource. Many people, like myself, probably have thought about the use of humane manure for garden fertilizer, but it seemed too crazy. Jenkins EMPOWERS us to take advantage of our byproducts, and shows us that there's nothing to fear! Humanmanure composting makes SO much sense. It provides needed fertilizer, reduces pollution, and reduces the need for huge, dirty sewage infrastructure. It's a shame that so many toilets continue to flush every day.

I am currently doing grass-roots development work in rural Bolivia, and am hoping to implement humanure composting in the way Jenkins teaches it. This low-tech technology has SUCH tremendous potential in the developing world, where farmers ALWAYS need more fertilizer, and where there are often not even latrines, let alone sewage systems. Excrement usually just lies about, eaten by pigs and dogs, or leaking into water sources, thus continuing the viscous cycle of parasite diseases.

Joe Jenkins has empowered me to do what makes sense by nature and recycle precious organic nutrients. Everyone should read this book and wake up to these fecal realities. I read his book over a year ago, and am still so excited that I'm considering doing humanure research for my PhD! Read away...

One could be forgiven for thinking that this is just another "how-to" book, albeit a bit off the beaten path of woodworking manuals and the like. Not that "The Humanure Handbook" doesn't deliver practical information. On the contrary, the book empowers the reader to exploit a vital and overlooked resource, and to eliminate personal contribution to a chronic source of pollution, water and power waste in the bargain. (Trying doing *that* with a router.) The methods described are cheap and simple. And the author puts his money where his mouth is, espousing methods he has personally employed for over two decades, and backing this practical experience with impressive in-depth research.

This much easily justifies the purchase price, but there's much more here than "A Guide to Composting Human Manure".

The Humanure Handbook dispels some fallacies of commonly accepted and widely repeated composting techniques. Even if you're already an avid composter (and I was) chances are Jenkins has some surprises for you (and he did).

As social commentary, I can think of no other "how-to" book that tells such a compelling, frightening tale of blind assumption and culturally ingrained self-destructiveness. We see with startling clarity how the "civilized" world has combined ignorance, chemistry and technology to convert a needed resource into a nightmarish and wholly unnecessary problem. We are forced to confront the false assumptions each of us has unconsciously absorbed. And, by extension, we are forced to question how many other fundamentally bad ideas have become invisibly institutionalized in modern society.

Unlike many preachy indictments of modern life, however, The Humanure Handbook provides answers rather than merely posing questions. The solutions can be applied on any scale, from personal to global, in virtually any climate and economic environment.

If I have a quibble with the book, it is that key concepts are repeated extensively. I suspect some fierce editing could boil the book down by a fair chunk. To an extent, the repetition is by design; most of the book's chapters can be read in isolation, and it makes a superb reference volume. I suspect most readers who get through the introduction will end up reading it cover to cover, and a bit of repetition is a small price to pay for a message that is vital, practical, maddening, empowering, humorous, and inspiring.

*Everyone* should read this book.

I think the information contained in this book should be common knowledge and these methods used throughout the world. This would be one of the answers to help save our earth's precious drinking water, which we as a race so shamefully waste. The reading is light, informative, "can't put the book down" sort of book, plus hilarious too. If you are into self-sufficiency, back to basics, simplicity, homesteading the environment, and want to do something about water pollution, this has to be on your shelf, it will save you money and pay for it's self over and over.

I read this book during my 4th class of Espanol at the university level. This is not an introductory book, so don't bother to read it unless you have a solid understanding of Spanish basics, including basic conjugation, the subjunctive mood, etc.

This book has a lot of tips to sharpen your Spanish. Chapter 8 has "sentence starters" to help you start off your spoken Spanish; evidently these are the equivalent to English's "well..." or "the thing is..." Chapter 9 has "snappy answers" organised according to how you want to respond (e.g. in disbelief, with surprise, etc.) The answers for affirmation are quite useful (e.g. esta bien, claro, de acuerdo). Of course, you can easily get this information from any college-level textbook, but the distribution of these words into nicely organised categories is quite useful. There is also a chapter on how to swear effectively (evidently chingar is a strong word), which I never did in my classroom. An earlier chapter on how to use 64 key verbs was invaluable as well.

One particular chapter I loved was how to choose the correct Spanish word for particular English verbs. This can get tricky for some English infinitives like "to become" and "to happen." Another chapter on the history of the Spanish language was very interesting to read.

One thing I didn't like was the treatment of the subjunctive mood -- it left me a bit more confused, and my Spanish teacher actually told me that some information was incorrect. Finally, one glaring omission that I hope the author writes about in any later edition is the use of "por" vs. "para". To me, this trickiness is right up there with "ser" vs. "estar."

This book was so much fun and so useful I keep re-reading it, and learning something more each time. The author doesn't neglect grammar, but neither does he present grammar as a list of dull rules. Rather, he guides the reader through examples of how Spanish grammar and structure reflect how Spanish speakers think. It's practical, but not in the hackneyed "Can you direct me to the nearest bathroom?" mode. Rather, this book tries to help gringos learn how people really speak Spanish. There's much emphasis on traps which frequently snare native English speakers learning Spanish. The book is well organized, and written with a great sense of humor. My only minor quibble is the absence of an index. I agree with others: this isn't a book for those just starting out, pero cuando quieras aprender un poco más, ¡debes comprar este libro!

This book was required for a university class in Spanish conversation. There is so much information in this book that is invaluable to the Spanish student. It is written to show the intermediate student how to "break out" of the textbook Spanish into real, conversational Spanish. It tells you what aspects of the language are really used in common language and speaking, and it tells you what you should and should not say in order to sound more like a native speaker.

This is a book that can be read over and over again, and it is a very good reference tool. You should not expect to be able to remember everything, because there is so much information. It will tell you everything from how to vary your speech, to how to better learn and improve your Spanish, to how to recognize profanity. It gives you information that you cannot get anywhere else - information that they do not teach you in the classroom. I highly recommend it.

This book contains approximately three hundred one to three page entries on almost every aspect of Jewish culture, religion, and history. The entries are further subdivided into related chapters: the Torah, Biblical Judaism, the Roman Era, medieval european Judaism, American Jewery, Soviet Jewery, Antisemitism, Life Cycle events, Jewish Holidays, The State of Israel, and others.

J.L. is encyclopedic in scope, but the entries have a more familiar feel to them, in part due to Teluskin's own personal anecdotes that are found in many of the entries. This makes the reader feel like he is not reading an academic text, but rather listening to a friend or family member share his accumulated knowledge and wisdom.

I think most Jews will find a lot that they didn't know, or had forgotten, within these pages. For those who are considering conversion, this is a wonderful book to read cover to cover, because it exposes the reader to a full cross section of Judaism.

Rabbi Telushkin's ability to present Judaism is unsurpassed. Reading this book from cover to cover enabled me to re-learn things I forgot, to learn things I should have known, and to give me a sense of my roots, both religious and historical. The book is extremely readable; it is intelligent, easy to understand, and is done with a sense of humor.

I was so enthralled with this book that I have continued to study Jewish Wisdom and Biblical Literacy with Rabbi Telushkin's other books.

Rabbi Telushkin's format in writing this book is very well thought out. It's easy to "look up" what you want to know or even better yet, easy to read all the way through. The subjects he touches on are very interesting and insightful. If you're just starting to look into Judaism, this is one of the best books to start out on. It includes history , practices, and pretty much explains WHY. I recommend this book for anyone. Perfect for the Jewish family to add to their coffee table!!

Evan Connell has written a powerful book. It is a balanced presentation of George Armstrong Custer, the post-Civil War Indian Wars, Plains Indians and the myth of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Facts abound. I started this book thinking it would primarily focus on Gen. Custer and the fight. While those topics are the framework of the book, Connell spends quite a bit of time exploring various indian chiefs, indian practices, previous conflicts and the conditions that produced one of our country's most celebrated battles. First person quotes are abundent and the author usually produces two or more sides to every episode. These explorations underscore how difficult getting at a true history is, particulary when pride and ego rest on a particular telling of an event. He has done very good research.

This is a brutal book. American and indian savagry are laid bare. Warfare and existence on the frontier were not pretty. The "rules" of war were abandoned by both sides with regard to the taking of prisoners or the frequent butchering of women and children along with those unlucky enough to be in the path of maurading soldiers or indian bands. Connell's book leaves no doubt that American notions of racial superiority, mainfest destiny and economics created the situation in which the indians would fight in the extreme to protect their lands from white encroachment. However, the author also underscores that most of the indian tribes were brutal and ruthless when attacking other tribes, lone indians and in their own rituals and customs. Had America respected it's indian treaties, it can be argued that the indian lands still would have had atrocities visited upon them as various tribes concentrated their full time attentions on settling the wrongs each felt had been metted out by other red men. His refusal to treat the indian as a politically correct manifestation of mother nature is refreshing and allows for a very balanced telling of the story.

The author has a unique writing style. He doesn't come to a fork in the road without taking it. These side tracks and tangents allow him to explore in full the charactors and milieu attendent to The Last Stand. However, they are presented in no particular order or chronology. The author paints a strong impression rather than presenting an ordered and structured telling of a compelling tale. This incohesion is so pronounced that the end of a chapter has no meaning other than to allow one to catch one's breath before plunging into the next twenty pages of free associations.

My opinion of this book changed several times during my reading. In the beginning, I found it hard to get into because of it's meandering style. But the vignettes, characters, facts and writing are all compelling. His style will require some adjustment to the frequent reader of history. But, by the end the reader will know that they have immersed themselvs in a darn good story that fascinates.

We all have books like this in our personal arsenal of "will read and reread again" books. ("Catch 22," "Cat's Cradle," books like that.)

I've torn into "Son of the Morning Star" six times now. This book is responsible for my spending a total of some 13 days at the Montana battlefield just trying to find out what George Armstrong Custer was up to on his final horrible day on earth. Connell weaves a spell over you, dear reader, and you just hate to finish this book. (You have books like that in your arsenal, too, right?)

The book was a Christmas gift from #1 son. Prior to reading "Son," I just thought of Custer as that Civil War stereotype we study about in high school -- brave, vain and, ultimately, dumb. Of course the book reveals a much more accurate and layered portrayal of this long-haired Hotspur. Connell has researched his subject to a fare-thee-well and yet the writing never gets pedantic. This book is a time machine and you're going to be whisked back to a hot June day, 1876. Be prepared. And you'll get both sides of the complicated US Army/American Indian debate, too. (Can't beat that with a stick!)

What was GAC trying accomplish that morning and afternoon? Why, in the face of a large amount of Indian braves, did he split his command into three battalions? Why did he send an important "come quick" note to an officer he sent off away from the pack train? Why did Custer ignore Reno's plight in the valley and continue a foolhardy attempt to smash the "enemy" at his flank? Did Custer get his first bullet (left side) at Medicine Tail Coulee? Would that explain the slapdash rush away from the Little Big Horn river and up the hill to the now-famous "Last Stand Hill?" This book makes you think.

This book is contagious!

Connell has one of the most unorthodox writing styles of any history writer I've read but somehow it works brilliantly. A proper chronological order is completely disregarded and Connell jumps all over the place, yet somehow is able to keep the reader right along with him. It reminds me of listening to an old Vet tell war stories and finish half a story and skip to something completely unrelated again and again and again until you can't remember where he originally started the conversation from. Yet, just like listening to the proud hero tell his tales, it is completely fascinating and you will hang on every word.
A prime example of this is within the first ten pages of the book, Connell is writing about President Hayes' Court of Inquiry, three years AFTER the battle.
Another thing which Connell does masterfully is tell BOTH sides of the tale. The Dakota and 7th Cavalry are given equal weight throughout the book and the author pours pertinent information as well as trivial but entertaining facts at the reader. And along with giving biographies on Reno and Benteen, the reader learns just as much background information on Gall, Crazy Horse and Two Moon.
About the only person I suggest shy away from this book is a college student cramming for a paper because there's no way they'd be able to find the needed info with Connell's writing style. However, if they don't procrastinate and began reading at the beginning of the semester, I promise you won't find another book with more info on the subject.
-Warning-
If you do read "Son of the Morning Star," be prepared to take a trip out to the high plains of Montana to see the battlefield. Connell's book instilled a 'must-see' desire into me on having to see the Bighorn for myself and I plan to go next summer. See you there!

I have wanted to read Anne of Green Gables for so long and finally did. Why did I wait?? I wish I would have read this book years ago. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Whether you are a child or adult you won't be able to help falling in love with Anne of Green Gables. This young Orphan is mistakenly sent to the home of brother and sister Matthew and Marilla. What they wanted was a boy to help around the house as they were getting older. What they got was a delightful little girl who warmed their hearts and touched their souls. Anne gets into all kinds of hijinks throughout the novel that will make you laugh with her and cry with her. Her imagination is unmatched. She is so insightful that you will find it impossible not to relate to her. Follow Anne through her escapades of learning what it is like to be wanted and loved by parents, finding her place in a strange school, and finally getting to have a bosom buddy..someone she can truly call a friend and share life's ups and downs with. As Anne sets one ambition after another for herself, you'll be cheering for her success. This would be a great book to read on your own or along with a child. When you're finished, Anne will feel like your own personal bosum buddy. This book is one you'll adore long after it's over.

Anne Shirley is a redhaired, imaginative, orphan that wants a family of her own. By the time she is twelve, her imagination has grown and she thinks that she has finally found a family. Unfortunetly, the family that wanted her actually wanted a boy, not a girl. they decide to put her on trial to see if she would be teh right one for them. By having Anne stay just on trial, the family who was in the past very stern and straight, have fallen in love with her featherbrained ways. She often gets into scrapes, including falling off a ridgepool of a roof, smashing a slate on a boy's head, and even dying her "horrid" read hair away(only to make it a green color.) After reading this enrathing book, continue to get pulled into Anne's world by reading the rest of the 7 book theory and even the 3 movies that were made inher honor. This is a book that you will enjoy and cherish for years to come. *Note: this book is set in the late 1800's.*

first of all, let me begin with I LOVE THIS BOOK! I have read this book more times than I can remember...easily more than a dozen...thus, I am going to set my mind to write a glowing review of it.

This book portrays a stunning sketch of Canadian History and Culture in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The character personalities are so real and so amazingly "human" that one cannot help but fall in love with them. You really get a taste of PEI in its glory.

This story is set in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island (Canada), a fictional settlement which is really Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, the place where Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author grew up.

The main character is Anne Shirley...and eleven year old, enigmatic, imaginative, sparkling, highly intelligent orphan who is sent to Green Gables, a farmhouse in Avonlea, under the impression that she was to be adopted by a pair of elderly siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthburt. But, apon arrival to Green Gables, Anne discovers that there had been a horrible mistake...the Cuthburts never wanted a girl...they wanted a boy who could do the chores and help Matthew with the farm. Anne was was in the "depths of dispair". Matthew, on the drive home from the train station had taken a great shine to Anne and had his heart set on keeping her, regardless of any mistake. Marilla, however, was not so easily enchanted. She agreed to let Anne stay at Green Gables on trial, to see if she would behave herself and lend a helpful hand to Marilla. After the trial, Anne is welcomed to Green Gables and flourishes under the love of the Cuthburts and all Avonlea folk. Anne, however, has one big problem. Her Hair. It is a hopeless shade of carrotty red and Anne felt that it was the ugliest hair anyone could imagine. She was extremely sensitive about it and she was horribly embarrassed about it. On her first day of school, Anne's hair was made fun of by Gilbert Blythe, the smartest and handsomest boy in school. "Carrots! Carrots!" he said. Anne's temper got the better of her and she was so angry she broke a slate over his head. After that, for many years, she snubbed Gilbert every time he spoke to her and he developed a boyhood crush on her.

Ah, but to keep this review interesting and the book mysterious, I will stop telling you the story and begin reviewing. The characters in the book are so well-defined that it seems to you that you know every character personally, like an old friend or neighbour.

And by all means, don't let the age recommendation fool you either...this book can be read by all ages alike...and I have no doubt that this book will still be my avid favorite at the age of 85.

The book is not boring, contrary to many opinions of those who read the first chapter of small print and historical settings. The discriptions will place you right into the heart of the story and you find you will laugh and cry while reading this story. Every time I read it I cry at a certain part which I'm not sure if I should reveal to you for fear of spoiling the good parts in the story, but it is dreadfully sad. If you read the book, then you will know what part I am talking about. The one saddest part in the whole story.

Although this book has some old ideas and ways of expressing them, you will learn a great deal of Canadian history through them and there's no doubt in my mind that this book will still be popular decades and most likely even centuries to come.