Chicken Soups are books written by readers of real life stories about either their life or someone else's. There are many Chicken Soup books directed to certain people, mostly by ages. Some of them are Chicken Soup for anyone to read, Chicken Soup for kids, for mothers, for fathers, for parents for Christians, teenagers and many others. This particular book is the second version of the Chicken Soups for Teenagers. It has one hundred and one more stories about the life of teenagers. The writers of stories have written about the following topics: Relationships, Friendship, Love and Kindness, Tough Stuff, Family, Learning Lessons, Making a Difference and Growing Up. All these are topics, which teenagers can relate to as they all experience things connected to the topics. The authors of the topics vary, most of them are written by teenagers. Some of the stories are even written by parents who have teenagers and sometimes celebrities write in a story. In this particular book actress Jennifer Love Hewitt wrote a story about friendship. In addition not only are there stories but there are also poems.
Chicken Soup Teenage Soul II has a story written by Jennifer Love Hewitt, which is known to have attracted many people to read this edition. Her particular story is on the topic of friendship. The title of the story is "A Friend For Life." This story is about Jennifer Love Hewitt meeting a young girl named Nicole who is suffering from cancer. Jennifer Love Hewitt was asked by an organization to help young people with sickness have their dream come true. Nicole's dream was to meet the actress. The story explains the kind of personality Nicole had towards life, even though she was suffering from cancer. Jennifer Love Hewitt explains about her full-of-energy life, how she didn't want anyone to pity her, she just wanted to live a normal life, she was just so positive about everything. Jennifer Love Hewitt mentions that her experience with Nicole is a day she'll never forget and that would affect her forever. Nicole was and always will her inspiration.
This is a book, which teenagers can connect with. By reading it they can realize that they aren't alone when it comes to certain conflicts or struggles in common daily life a teenager could experience. Every story and poem all have life lessons and morals to learn from, take notice of and understand. It is classified as an inspirational book and is very uplifting.

In the Relationship Section, I related to a story about a girl who had just had her first heartbreak over a crush. It reminded me of my first crush and the knowledge and growth I experienced because of that. Even though you never really get over your first crush, you learn what it's like to love and what pain is. The friendship section talks about the good times and bad between friends. No matter how bad the struggle we face our friends and families with always be there for us. In the section about families, stories were told about what it's like to have someone always there for you.

Stories of how love will always prevail through the worst of times are shared in the power of love chapter. Lessons are the hardest thing to learn in life, as one girl learns that just because her mom has a thick foreign accent, doesn't mean that she's going to be judged by it. Another lesson learned in the lessons section was that you should always tell somebody you love them before it's too late. Tough Stuff happens in life, in this chapter stories are told about the tragedy of Columbine and how to cope with the death of a love one.

Obstacles can be overcome. Even through cancer and anorexia, those you never give up will survive. Self-Discovery talks about how through events and people you will and do discover your true self. The chapter on growing up talks about how we can all face our fears and "grow up."

I thought this was an excellent book and highly recommend it to every teenager. Each person who reads this book will somehow be touched by a story. I have every Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and cannot wait for the next one to come out.

The story of a South African family and their life living through Apartheid was very deep and put my emotions into the pages I read. It covers the issues of Apartheid, laws against blacks and the personal story of a boy growing up embedded in these horrors. The boy, Mark, is a strong character with a great deal of determination to get out of South Africa and make something of himself. He sees his parents give in to the police and not stand up for themselves. He refuses to get sucked into the dismay of Apartheid and the atrocities the authorities have put them through.

Mark's grandmother helps mark through school by teaching him the things she has learned on her own and arranges for him to get the money for school supplies, books and appropriate clothing. She arranged for him to meet the family of her employers, where he eventually learned to play tennis and meets Stan Smith. Through this connection, he is able to go to America and go to college on a tennis scholarship.

This story is much more complex than the outlying shape of the plot. It leaves a scar on every reader who experiences the horrible phenomenon of Apartheid. It gives a real sense of the constant terror these people live with, the atrocities they face every day of their life and the undying dream of freedom they all share.

Mark Mathabane grew up in Alexandra, a black ghetto, under the name of Johannes Mathabane. In Alexandra, there were constant police raids, gang wars, and far less than acceptable living conditions. Tiny rented shacks provided homes for families living in this area. Since his family had very little money, Mark and his siblings were forced to sleep on the concrete floor of one of these shacks and often became ill. Early in Mark's life, he had to learn about the terror of police raids. Some of these raids against blacks are described in graphic detail throughout the book. People were arrested, beaten, or even killed, just because of their race. Although fear lived with the people of Alexandra, they had to continue to live their lives. Mark's father, a person who he would have many conflicts with in life, held a low paying job which often did not pay enough money to keep the entire family fed. There would be many times where it did not seem that life would continue for Mark. Luckily, his mother and grandmother were able to find and hold jobs, which put Mark through school. Here, he accelerated in his studies and in tennis. These two things would eventually help Mark rise above his street life.

A person can be described as a hero for many reasons. Mark Mathabane, without a doubt, displayed heroism at many times throughout his life. As a young child, Mark often cared for his younger siblings when his parents could not. He accepted responsibility and did everything he could for them. He often put his brothers and sister before himself. This act shows his selflessness and willingness to help people. When Mark goes to school, he works at his studies extremely hard. He came to love reading, and wanted to learn all that he could. Even with difficult times, Mark worked his hardest at school and was always at the top of his class. Not only was this a major accomplishment for Mark, it also gave his siblings a person to look up to, and an example to follow. When there was not enough money to continue sending he and all of his siblings to school, Mark took a job and helped to pay for his family's expenses. Mark also displays his heroism at many points during his life. His selflessness, hard work, and generosity are just a few of his traits to be admired.

This novel is very well written and difficult to put down. Although at times, mostly in the beginning of the book, the descriptions of police raids and fights are extremely graphic, the words can only describe the situation - not make one live it. Living in a society where all people are equal, it is nearly impossible to comprehend the treatment bestowed upon those who lived under the apartheid in South Africa. What happened there is history, and cannot be changed or ignored. While language and description are graphic, is it important to know what happened to these people so nothing like this can ever happen again. Mark Mathabane has a gift for writing and it is very well demonstrated in his story.

Overall, this book is definitely a worthwhile read. It is one that stirs emotion and provokes thought. Mark Mathabane's life was undoubtedly difficult, but there is an immense feeling of satisfaction when closing the book. This autobiography is not only well-written and able to hold the reader's attention, it is also truly inspiring.

I don't care what Fuhrman did, said or wrote in a screen play lined with racial ephitats 15 years earlier. Two people are dead and the a miriad of evidence points to only one suspect. Clearly the American justice system has failed Nicole and Ron. So has the media, so has the LAPD. But they all also failed Mark Fuhrman. Hang tough, Mr. Fuhrman, you have been vindicated in my book!

Whatever you think of Mark Furhman, after reading this book you will have no doubt of Simpson's guilt. You will also begin to wonder if Simpson would have even been prosecuted if Furhman and his partner, Brad Roberts had not shown up at the crime scene.

While the technical evidence is interesting,the most revealing part of the book is how Furhman desribes the emotional and psychological toll the trial took on him and his family.

Skeptics may believe Furhman's account of events are self serving or an attempt to illict pity. His accounts of isolation and his attempt to rebuild his life make one wonder if the "crime" fit the punishment.

Unlike Simpson and the rest of the people involved in this case,Fuhrman has seemed to be the only one th accept any responsibility. "My personal and professional reputation is beyond repair. Few people seem to realize that I'm not the rogue cop they wanted me to be. I'll have to live with this my entire life. I think about it all of the time. I spend hours asking myself, what if...? " The reader may spend hours asking whose trial was this and why Mark Furhman was the only one who had to apologize

As with all the Holmes stories, his assistant Dr. Watson is charged with telling the tale of the bloody Baskerville curse. Sir Charles Baskerville, who was the charge of the family estate, has recently been gored to death by some sort of animal, and Sir Henry, the new heir to the household and the family fortune, fears that the mythic curse of a hellhound stalking the family grounds is true.

A strange twist occurs in this investigation, though, for it's not Holmes who goes to investigate the house. It's Watson, who studies the suspicious neighbors and staff, keeps close watch over Sir Henry and begins to notice that some very odd things are lurking about the moor.

Is the curse behind this killing, or is it a villain of flesh and blood?

The lead characters are defined well, and, though this is my first Holmes story, I understood the basics and the rhythm almost immediately. The narrative structure that Doyle is famous for is, as expected, charming, and the characters are well-defined. The mystery is properly twisted, and I didn't really guess the middle or the ending.

The best twist, to me, wasn't the reveal of any villain or method. It was the twist involving the shadowy figure on the moor. I didn't see it coming at all, and, when I read it, I realized that this old novel still had the narrative tools to surprise me.

It's a classic for a reason.

This novel has one of the most complex plots of any mystery, with many unexpected twists, and is one that will keep you reading until its suspenseful, engrossing climax. The setting is also well put together, and the danger of the foggy moor only adds to the drama.

This story had huge appeal for me, largely because of the believability of the characters. Holmes, Watson, and Henry are very realistic - and people that I would want to know. Holmes was so real to many readers, that they actually wrote to 221 Baker Street, his fictional address!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was not only a great mystery writer, but a wonderful novelist as well. This novel is proof that he really deserved the title of knight!

The great storm scene alone will thunder forever in your memories. You will encounter with Copperfield:
• the evil, chilling Uriah Heep,
• the mental and physical destruction of his mother by a Puritanical,untilitarian step-father,
• the always in-debt Mr. Mawcawber who somehow transcends his economic and egocentric needs into something noble,
• the betrayal of Copperfield by his best friend and Copperfield's shattered emotions by this betrayal,
• the ruination of another close friend's reputation, and her step-by-step climb back out of the mire,
• Copperfield's own passionate step into marriage while too young with an irresponsible, yet innocent child-woman, her death,
• Copperfield's own rise from poverty and orphanhood into worldly success but empty life until mature love rescues him.

Dickens has a real gift for creating people that irritate you, yet gradually you come to love them - just like folks in real life. If you never have read Dickens, come meet David Copperfield. You'll find that your impressions of David from the brief snippets by critics, teachers, reviewers, professors and know-it-alls completely different than the Real Thing.

The story is simple enough to start. David's mother marries a man, Murdstone, who makes life hell for her and young David. David has the courage to rebel against the tyrant and is sent off to boarding school and later to a blacking factory. For readers who want to compare childhood rebellion to authority in the movies, Alexander's defiance of the Bishop in Ingmar Bergman's great movie, Fanny and Alexander, is equally dramatic and sad.

David runs away and finds his Aunt Betsey Trotwood, who takes him in and supports him, with a little help from her wise/fool companion Mr. Dick. This is story enough for many novelists, but it is only the beginning for Dickens. David has yet to meet one of the great villains in literature, that "Heap of infamy" Uriah Heep. Uriah's villainy is terrible because it is hidden under a false pretense of humilty and service to others. The final confrontation between Heap and Micawber is one of the great scenes in literature.

None of what I have said answers the question, Why read this book more than once? The most important answer to this question for the nonacademic reader is "for the fun of it." From cover to cover this novel gives so much pleasure that it begs to be read again. We want to revisit David's childhood and his confrontation with the terrible Mr. Murdstone. Mr. Micawber is one of Dickens's great creations and anytime he is part of the action we can expect to be entertained. When we pair Micawber with Heap we have the explosive combination which results in the confrontation mentioned earlier in this review.

These brief examples only scratch the surface of the early 19th century English world Dickens recreates for the reader. Some other of Dickens' novels like Bleak House may be concerned with more serious subjects, but none lay claim to our interest more than Dickens' personal favorite "of all his children," that is, David Copperfield. Turn off the television, pick a comfortable chair, and be prepared to travel along with David Copperfield as he tells us the story of his life.

This book offers a very comprehensive guide to the world of JavaServer programming, covering both theory and practical JavaServer programming in great detail. While the book is filled with many small practical examples, it also has a larger project which shows you how to create an FAQ management system. However, it was slightly disappointing not to see other large scale projects which would benefit the reader by seeing JSP in action.

Web Development with JavaServer Pages covers all the fundamentals of JSP programming while providing easy to understand and concise examples. While the lack of several large-scale projects may detract from the usefulness of the book for some developers, it is nonetheless a fine guide to JSP that competes well with other similarly titled books. - Michael Reilly, for the Java Coffee Break.

Beside the deep and throughout coverage of JavaServer Pages are covered, I specially appreciate the designing and architecting issues that the authors focuss on: The JSPs is best suited for Web presentation and Servlets and JavaBeans are for logic implementation. Other JSP books mainly illustrated the good sides of the technology by mainly implementing JSP codes into HTML codes, and that created messy and hard maintainable programs. That's not good OOD and OOP practices!

With this book, you will have a clear idea and technique of how to separate the Web content presentation and program implementation. The results are manageable and maintainable software and good OOD and OOP practices. Thanks the authors for writing such a best book.

We like the 'Architecting JSP' applications chapter the best (8).
This also covers Servlets and EJBs. This is really an introduction to architecting J2EE server side projects. You will need an EJB book to go with this. We would like to see more about using server side Design Patterns. (The 'Command Pattern' is used as a good example.)

Chapter 9 presents an example JSP project (FAQ list application). For someone who already understands JSP, this chapter is worth reading. It discusses the application decisions in detail and covers a complete FAQ application.
Chapter 10 is dedicated to explaining how to use WAR files. This is an important part of deploying a JSP application and goes into sufficient detail.
Chapter 11 covers useful JSP coding snippets that the reader/developer would find useful. Many of these are examples of how to use the implicit objects and are interesting to read. Chapter 12 has some cool examples that can be used on your own projects: Rotating banner ads, random quotes, tell a friend, Accessing Whois database, Generating index files, viewing raw JSP.

The last two chapters deal with Creating Custom Tags. This coverage is very good and goes into detail explaining some advanced techniques.

This book does an excellent job of explaining JSP and giving lots of source code examples. It is well written and does not overload the reader with endless pages of source code printouts.
We would recommend this as one of the best books for beginner and intermediate JSP developers. If you are getting into JSP, buy this book, you won't be disappointed!

The SOE was created by direct authorization from PM Winston Churchill to wage "an ungentlemanly war." The SOE established webs of networks throughout Nazi-occupied Europe to run clandestine agents both recruited in place and dropped in by air from England. The networks communicated by wireless for London to hear. But, as all knew, the Nazis were listening as well and had the power of crack cryptographic units to break the cyphers and direction-finding equipment in the field to route out the wireless operators. Most agents were ultimately captured.

Marks, in the Signals division of the SOE, became a practical cryptographer. The SOE had inherited the well-established poem code where a message is encrypted through a unique key poem that the agent puts to memory. There were several fatal drawbacks to this code. After sufficient traffic passed on the same poem, a Nazi cryptoanalysist could mathematically reconstruct the poem itself, opening all back and future traffic to direct reading. More commonly, the Nazis would torture the poems out of agents. To counter the torture of agents, and reduce the risk of capture in the first place, Marks invented worked-out keys (WOKs), letter one-top pads (LOPs), memory one-top pads (MOPs), and host of new codes to enable agents to never remember their cypher keys due to their randomness and to transmit messages with very short length. These cyphers were ultimately adopted through the SOE and later most all clandestine agencies.

The power of Marks' account derives from his personal contacts with the SOE agents he briefed on codes before they were dropped onto the Continent. Being the head of codes, and the undisputed master of breaking "indecipherables", Marks found himself in the position of reading top-secret traffic on the progress and/or capture of these brave agents. He discovered on his own through cryptographic methods that nearly all Holland agents had been captured by 1943. He followed the progress of the heroic Yeo-Thomas through Paris and the fateful Noor Inayat Kahn and Violette Szabo. And he learned the tragedies many agents met.

One overwhelming trait of this book is its hilarity. No doubt that Marks has had time to bring out the absurdity of so many of the events that he recounts which a lesser author would suppress. Certainly much of this book reads like a screen play. However, I caution the reader to errantly consider this book a Catch-22 because the facts relating to the disposition of various agents import the full horror of the War and the barbarianism of the Nazis. Marks held the key to protecting the life of the SOE agents in particular and later clandestine agents throughout the globe by creating new, fast, fault-free, and unbreakable codes which enabled the agents to remain in contact but not be routed out by easedroppers and enemy cryptographic resources. In this position he excelled beyond measure, but his narrative never presumes to reward himself for his brilliance. I thank him for providing us with his remarkable account.

While the entire code operation story was fascinating, and will serve as a record of this most remarkable group (almost all records of SOE from this time no longer exist), the real service of this book is to the memory of those who served in silence, of those who came of age in war, and those who never lived to see beyond it.

Not being a totally devout/religious person, this was a new experience for me. I was glad to have read it to learn about faith and how others viewed it, especially from someone as "extreme" as a nun. There was no sex, no violence, no action. Just a great simple story about the trials and tribulations in a convent. I had expected more drama and conflict as Sister John wrestled with her past and considered her future, but unfortunately didn't get that. Thankfully, the writer's prose was enjoyable enough, and I recommend this book for anyone wanting a break from fast-paced life.

I admit that I was a little apprehensive when I found out that Lying Awake was written by Mark Salzman, who first gained attention many years back for his account of travel in China, called Iron and Silk. While it was hailed by many non- Asians ( ie. White) readers, the Asian sister and brotherhood dismissed it as Orientalist shlock.

But I have to say that I largely enjoyed this book. Through the story of Sister John, Salzman did a commendable job of exploring the role of faith in our lives. As she deals with her devesting medical condition, we are drawn into the wonder, joy, lonliness and frustration of religious life. It is an interesting look into the life of nuns in a monastary outside of LA and I was left feeling like I wanted to research this life more. Many of the supporting chracter are fellow Carmilite nuns who turn out to be memorable in their own sweet ways.

The ending felt a little pat and abrupt, but I suspect that it was just because I wanted the story to continue.

In general, this was a great summer read.

This short, elegant novel set in a monastery in Los Angeles presents us with the crisis of faith faced by Sister John, an otherwise unextraordinary nun who, in early middle age, is suddenly blessed with a gift of divine insight. After struggling for years with a nagging crisis of faith, she quite unexpectedly begins experiencing bursts of insight during which she writes religious poetry of such depth and clarity that she becomes a minor phenomenon in the Catholic Church. Alarmingly, these moments of revelation are followed by severe migraines and occasional blackouts. As it turns out, Sister John has a neurological condition that, it is speculated, also afflicted such visionaries as Dostoevsky and St. Theresa of Avila.

So what does she do? Does she consent to the operation that might save her life but end her visions? Or does she embrace the divine gift that helped her rise above her doubt?

Well, I'm not going to spill the beans -- read the book and find out!

Salzman performs a minor miracle of his own in writing this book. Imagine if you will a novel set in a nunnery that seeks neither to romanticize nor to scandalize. Moreover, I found myself wondering how a non-religious, and a man at that, could have written such a compelling and seemingly realistic book about a world that he couldn't possibly have experienced.

My only complaint is that Salzman gives us no substantial exmaples of Sister John's divinely inspired (or delusional) poetry. But, then again, that might have been the greatest challenge of the whole enterprise for Salzman. After all, it's one thing to assert that a character is blessed with an extraordinary gift and another to show us that gift. If the sampling the author provides falls short of the mark the character's credibility might be shot.

This is a beautiful, painstakingly crafted novel that bespeaks wisdom and humility. Salzman respects his characters and respects our intelligence by making the story believable, by avoiding the mystical and the lurid, and by reminding us that we all have the capacity for faith, but should not expect that having made that proverbial leap that our struggle will be over.

I have read this play curiously as a child, excitedly as a teenager, passionately as a college student, and lovingly as a graduate student and adult. Like all of Shakespeare's writing, it is still as fresh, and foreboding, and marvelous as ever. As a play it is first meant to be heard (cf. Hamlet says "we shall hear a play"), secondarily to be seen (which it must be), but, ah, the rich rewards of reading it at one's own pace are hard to surpass. Shakespeare is far more than just an entertainer: he is the supreme artist of the English language. The Arden edition of MACBETH is an excellent scholarly presentation, offering a bounty of helpful notes and information for both the serious and casual reader.

Which version of "Macbeth" to buy? Definitely this one. The right pages provide the original play, while the left page provides definitions for old or hard vocabulary. There are also plot summaries before each scene. In addition to page numbers, each page also indicates act and scene, making the search for certain passages extremely easy. The lines are, of course, numbered, for easy reference (if you're reading this as a school assignment.) And of course, the stage directions are included too. A very helpful edition of Shakespeare's work.

Nothing and no one intimidates Macbeth. He murders all who oppose him, including Banquo, who had been a close friend. But the witches predict doom, for Macbeth, there will be no heirs and his authority over Scotland will come to an end. Slowly as the play progresses, we discover that Macbeth's time is running up. True to the classic stylings of Shakespeare tragedy, Lady Macbeth goes insane, sleepwalking at night and ranting about bloodstained hands. For Macbeth, the honor of being a king comes with a price for his murder. He sees Banquo's ghost at a dinner and breaks down in hysteria in front of his guests, he associates with three witches who broil "eye of newt and tongue of worm", and who conjure ghotsly images among them of a bloody child. Macbeth is Shakespeare's darkest drama, tinged with foreboding, mystery and Gothic suspense. But, nevertheless, it is full of great lines, among them the soliloquy of Macbeth, "Out, out, brief candle" in which he contemplates the brevity of human life, confronting his own mortality. Macbeth has been made into films, the most striking being Roman Polansky's horrific, gruesome, R-rated movie in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in the nude and the three witches are dried-up, grey-haired naked women, and Macbeth's head is devilishly beheaded and stuck at the end of a pole. But even more striking in the film is that at the end, the victor, Malcolm, who has defeated Macbeth, sees the witches for advise. This says something: the cycle of murder and violenc will begin again, which is what Macbeth's grim drama seems to be saying about powerhungry men who stop at nothing to get what they want.