It's been a while since I've come across a book that mychildren ask for every night. And for once I haven't tired of thestory. Even my 8-year-old begs for me to read it to him. Amazing, endearing illustrations. I've never seen such love in a monster's eyes--all three of them. I just want to be THAT mama who loves her little monster that much. It's a gentle nudge to remember what's important. Your kids know it, you know it. My boys go to sleep with the biggest hugs, knowing that their monster mama loves them too.

I originaly bought this book through a book club at my daughter's school, but it became very worn and I had to seek out another copy. I actually bought two new copies. One to read to my two year old son and one to put away and pass on to his children. It's a wonderful book to read to any child about the love of a mother and a child. The illustrations are amazing. I highly recommend this book to anybody with a child in their life or as a gift to a soon to be mother. Enjoy!

It's about time! I'm so glad there are books out there like this to help children see that monsters don't have to be scary! (Now parents all over the world can sleep better knowing their child won't wake them up at 2:00 am saying "there's a monster in the closet; I'm scared!" Well hey, one less thing!)

Bravo to Laura Leuck and Mark Buehner! The story and the illustrations are both hiliariously entertaining! Plus I think it helps kids relate to the fact that there are lots of different and yes even unusual types of people and families but hopefully they all love each other the way THE MONSTER MAMA loves her little monster! Also it reminds me as a parent that spending QUALITY TIME with my child is what lets her know I love her! It is truly all the countless "little things" you do for your child that add up. So go bake some cookies (but hold the bugs please!)

I highly recommend this book for adults as well as children! You'll both enjoy MY MONSTER MAMA LOVES ME SO, I guarantee it. Childrens' books have come a long way since I was a child! Adults can get a laugh and moral out of them too! After all, that is what books are for--to entertain and to teach.

The Aladdin Factor has changed my life! Now I know why I have lived a life of mediocrity and low self esteem. This book can open your eyes to what is truly possible in your life. Regardless of your station in life, I believe this book will have a profound effect on how you relate to yourself and others.

I have been reading self-help books for 17 years now. In fact, I read this one about 5 years ago, but felt SO strong about it that I had to come here and express my feelings so others could feel comfortable with buying this book. IT'S A GREAT BOOK! You should get two copies of this book. One to read and hold on to for the rest of your life and another to lend out to people.

The book talks about asking questions in your life. If you're not happy with the way things are ask questions to get to where you want to be. It shows that people aren't used to you asking questions and that's a lot of the reason things happen in our lives.

I saw my life take a new and completely different direction after reading this book. It wasn't that hard to implament either. Well, at first it was. But then, I remembered the book and what it was saying. IT's okay to ask questions... so I would push forward in a business situation and it amazed me how many doors open when I pushed a little harder!

I guess also since it was told in story form it helped making it a faster and more enjoyable read. That's why I've always enjoyed the Once Minute Manager stories and Ken's newest ones about Raving Fans, et al.

This book along with Feel the Fear and do it Anyway, The Richest Man in Babylon and the Wealthy Barber are the books that I would recommend to anyone asking me: How should I start my OWN personal library.

An excellent, easy to read and understand book about asking for what you want. A little instruction coupled with very many samples of real life stories shared by readers who got what they want out of life by doing something that anybody can do - ask! A real eye opener to how simple it can be to unleash the power that lies within us all. I highly recommend this book to anybody and everybody

I got the book as a Christmas gift and found myself transported to warm memories of pets, past, present and future. I found the book to be like looking in someone's emotional diary; sharing their most intimate, special moments of sharing their lives fully with a beloved pet. I bought ten copies of the book and gave it as a new millennium gift to all the pet lover's in my life and I'm prould to report that the praises, thank you's and high-fives keep coming my way. If you love your pets like family, and are tired of fiction or stories of gloom and doom, add this book to your shopping cart!

I loved this book, the stories truly captured the special bond and joy that animals bring to peope's life.I laughed,cried and will never look at my cats the same way again.For those people who ae owned by their pets we are truly blessed and this book contain stories that will remind us of this. For the many people without a four-legged friend in their life they should read this book and find out what they ar missing.

I love this book! I found myself laughing and crying through out the book. Two of my favorite stories were, "15 Minutes of Fame" and "Bedroom Secrets of Pets Revealed". I have 2 large dogs and 1 cat and can relate to both of these stories. It's nice to know that there are so many people in the world that give the gift of life and love to their animals. If you too are an animal lover, this is the book for you. I am sure you will relate to at least one of its many well written stories.

Some books I have read will put you to sleep when talking about Group Policy. Not this one!! The author has a way of making everything clear as well as keeping your interest. Highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with Group Policy and Windows 2000.

Being in the Industry for 3 years, self taught Windows 2000 and Certified in NT4 and 2000, I never really understood how to utilize GPO's. Mark goes into great details in his examples and provides the fundamentals of GPO. He takes you step by step how to prepare, create and assign the GPO and explains the effects of each. I am now able to Deploy Office XP to our Firm and provide updates to the managed install whenever necessary by the click of a button. GPO is not something that is easy to learn without experience, but this book provides a lot of help and making sure you are successful with your first deployment.

If you what to learn about windows 2000 group policy this book is a MUST HAVE. I had the pleasure of meeting Jeremy at the TechMentor conferance in Orlando and got a small sample of what is in his book. When it comes to group policy this book is the bible. Learn how to create your own Group Policy Admin Templates and much much more. I use this book as a guidline for teaching the other techs in the office windows 2000 Group Policy.

After reading the other reviews on this website, I am glad to learn that I am not the only reader who was eagerly anticipating a sequel to this series. I finished the first two books in a few hours and have been searching for the third one for years. Unfortunately, it is not available as it seems the author only wrote two books. Rarely have I read such engrossing battle scenes in a fantasy novel. Mr. Perry is adept at providing vivid and, at times gory, depictions of battlefield action. This is matched by his ability to create fantastic characters complete with human flaws and shortcomings (even the Gods in the story). The conflict within the Morigu; the nobility of Dammuth, the Dwarves, and Elves; the duplicity of Fealoth and Arianrood; and the might of the Demon Lords and Apkieran (who is wicked!) make for an amazing story. I would rank this up with the best of Feist and Eddings, despite the obscurity of the author. I only hope that all the raves and support on this website may somehow reach the author or publisher and convince him/them to finish the series.

Perry has written an excellent series. It has a wonderful story line and excellent characters. No one character is perfect. All have their fatal flaws. For example, Margawt may be driven to destroy the world because the ground itself is evil. Cucullin may be driven to his doom in his quest for revenge with Apkieren. This dark side of the characters is refreshing and it gets away from the typical fantasy hero. Although war is common in fantasy books, it is this type of war that is intriguing. A war fought to bring the beast back is a scary thought indeed. A criticism: Armies of Earth's middle ages never reached the size that they do in this book. It would be unbelievably difficult on logistics alone for an army to have 40,000 or more in it. But the armies here are sometimes larger. Also, the attempt at the feminist aspect with Tara Brightblade and Gwenyth is not needed. They are great characters but they dont have to feminist. When is the next book coming out? I've been searching for many years. Does anyone know??????

Mark C Perry, despite reports to the contrary, is alive and well, having changed his name to Mark Leahy. He heard about our reviews and commentary and posted a reply at http://www.writerpunk.com/novels.html. The long and short of it is he is considering writing and publishing the remainder of the series (he is guessing 2 books) but asks us to keep saying nice things about him and his books to spur him along. All of I've got to say is HOORAY! I have loved his books from the opening pages and look forward to him writing and completing the series. I believe the Mark Perry who wrote to this page has info on a publisher interested in the book, please get that to Mr. Leahy if at all possible.

Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips, Jr. in Contempt of Court look at the case of Ed Johnson, a black man given a stay of exection by Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan after he was tried and convicted for rape in a misguided and injudicial trial. The Supreme Court was ignored and the poor man was lynched which provoked the Supreme Court to the unusual action of becoming involved. This is a well written and exciting telling of the events and will carry the reader along on a wave of outrage. It is sure to be turned into an exciting film. It does not, unfortunately, tell the whole story of lynching, nor is to trying to. This one action by the Supreme Court belies the inactivity of the court and the justice system to stem the tide of lynching and racial injustice. But that story is told in other books and the reader will find this particular book a fascinating footnote on legal and racial history in America, both good and bad.

Black man accused of raping a white woman. Shakey identification. All white judge, jury, police, sheriff, and all lawyers on both sides. A death penalty case. A jury in the midst of trial jumps up and threatens to rip the defendant's heart out on the spot. He is found guilty. From date of crime to guilty verdict--one week. Defendant advised by his own lawyers after trial: you have two choices, waive appeal and let the State execute you, or appeal and let the mob lynch you.

Then two Black lawyers take up the case. The Supreme Court is horrified at the gross miscarriage of justice, and issues a stay. But the mob, with the Sheriff's apparent approval, decides the legal process is just taking too long, and lynches the defendant.

Contempt of Court tells this story in great detail, bringing all of the characters to life. A fascinating history of the role racism played in the courts at the turn of the century.

But the heart of the book is what followed the lynching. Unlike most cases which were quickly forgotten, the Supreme Court itself instituted contempt charges against the Sheriff for failing to carry out its stay of execution. This is the one and only contempt proceeding ever tried in the Supreme Court itself. It also marked the first time the federal courts had ever sought to review a state court criminal proceeding--setting the stage for such well known rules as "Miranda" and the exclusionary rule.

I completely agree with the blurb on the book's cover. This volume belongs on the shelf next to Simple Justice and Gideon's Trumpet.

Contempt of Court presents a history of a long-ago legal proceeding, an important one now nearly forgotten. Curriden and Phillips keep it engaging from start to finish. They've done a wonderful job of recreating the passions and pressures of a southern city in the Jim Crow era. Readers get more than an understanding of the law. They get to know the people who participated in a landmark case -- from Noah Parden, a black lawyer who battled overwhelming odds to take a poor man's case to the Supreme Court, to Sheriff Joseph Schipp, who let a lynch mob subvert the rule of law. The book offers many well-drawn scenes, such as the crime against Nevada Taylor, Parden's audience with Justice John Marshall Harlan and the lynching itself. All are sketched in great detail. And there's the jail-house prayer service the African-American community held for Ed Johnson, an innocent man, who facing death, found dignity and faith in God. Contempt of Court proves that American law isn't only about legal arguments. It's also abou living, breathing human beings, with their capacities for heroism and evil.

'Ella Minnow Pea' is a delightfully diverting novel filled with wit and imagination. Its lovingly crafted structure is a real breath of fresh air -- one would be hard pressed to find another book like it out there. One must admire Mark Dunn not only for his lively imagination but for his awe-inspiring power over words. It is fun to see how he manages to continue telling his story while avoiding use of a growing number of letters in the alphabet. Never once does his prose sound forced or simple, even after he must resort to using his remaining letters to phonetically sound out his words. The plot (citizens on an island off the coast of the US rebel after their government begins restricting their use of the alphabet) could have easily been silly, cliched and like a poor man's 'Animal Farm' but instead forges out its own solid identity and endears itself to the reader through its inventiveness and wit. One can't help but enjoy 'Ella Minnow Pea'. I read it in one afternoon and my only complaint is that it had to end.

This epistolary novel is probably not for everyone. But if you enjoy sophisticated language and language manipulation (read: English majors), this is a wonderfully creative book.

Dunn creates an idyllic island nation, Nollopton (formerly Utopiana), that quickly descends to a military state reminiscent of Orwell's 1984, with neighbor turning in neighbor and students reporting teachers when letters from that famous panagram, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog," start falling off the statue to honor the sentence and the man who created it, Nevin Nollop. The High Council, politicians elected for life, take this as a sign from Nollop himself, disregarding the fact that the glue that holds the letters on is over 100 years old.

And so, the people of Nollop, who because of inconsistent phone service are a letter-writing people, must, one by one, eliminate letters from their lives or face serious punishment, including banishment for the third offense. The letters become truly hilarious as more of the alphabet disappears--just imagine a world with no "D"! Dunn manages, despite all of this alphabetical mayhem, to build in love interests for the two young cousins who most consistently write to one another. A completely enjoyable afternoon read that I think has found a place as one of my favorite books.

ELLA MINNOW PEA is the masterpiece of a very creative mind. I approached this story thinking that perhaps the book was meant mostly for English majors or those individuals who just love words. I was right and also wrong. This is a very clever story filled with interesting word play that everyone can enjoy. It's also an imaginative fable that is told in the form of letters that are written in lovely prose.

The story takes place on the fictional island of Nollop that was named after Nevin Nollop, the author of a very famous pangram sentence. Mr. Nollop is revered by the islanders and most especially by the officials who are members of the town council. On the island there's a monument to honor Mr. Nollop and beneath it the famous pangram is printed. THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG. One day the letter Z falls of the word LAZY and as time passes more letters continue to fall from the monument. The council members decide that the voice of Nevin Nollop is speaking to them from the grave and telling them to discontinue the usage of the fallen letters. Severe penalties are issued to the islanders if they use any of the forbidden letters in dialog or in print.

Most of the residents think that taking letters out of the alphabet is ridiculous, but since the penalties are harsh; they try to obey the new laws. As time passes, the people become desperate and begin to look for a way out of the miserable repression that had become their lives.

This book was very entertaining and it was also amusing to see the various words that people would come up with in their messages to one another. For instance, when many of the letters that would be used to spell chicken were forbidden, a man wrote a note to his friend thanking her for "the thermos of pullet soup" that she had sent to him.

BUY THIS BOOK!!! "Why?", you may ask. Well, aside from being the definitive book on space toys, BLAST
OFF! gives you more color photos of incredible space toys than you have ever seen at one time and in one place.
We all have fond memories of some space toy from our childhood. Trying to recapture our past, we may even
buy back one or two of these toys at a swap meet or toy show.
Going one step further, we now start buying books, magazines, or auction catalogues featuring space toys. All
these serve as our mental guide to what's "out there".
Initially, this method succeeds; eventually, however, it fails because the photos we've assembled are in black and
white while our memory of these toys is in true, living color.
Enter S. Mark Young with his book, BLAST OFF! Any space toy you ever had or read about, along with others you've never seen before, is photographed here in color so real that you can almost reach into the page and take out whatever wind-up rocket, disintegrator pistol, or bubble helmet your heart desires.
And, for those fans starved for information, wait until you read the chapter on Archer Plastics! Did you know that
the first Archer space playset and the first Marx space playset debuted at the same time? The year was 1952.
So, don't wait, don't hesitate, order your copy now. Be the first kid on your block to own a copy of S. Mark
Young's BLAST OFF!

Blast Off! is a fun and fascinating read for any fan of science fiction, space toys, or comic books. It's a beautiful coffee table-sized book with sexy images of robots, ray guns, and toys of all types that make you feel nostalgic even if you don't remember these toys from the first time around.

This book offers a history of "in the know" type stories about specific toys and the personalities who created and purchased them. There's the Buck Rogers XZ-31 rocket pistol that led Macy's and Gimbels into their most vicious price war ever, dropping prices by the hour to support the most successful toy promotion the world had ever seen. And there's the collector Bob Lesser who pays double the sticker price to win dealer loyalty. And there's a never-been-published story of the untimely death of Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond. Plus the authors offer insight into how toys have affected history, entertainment, and the space program.

If you're a fan of Buck Rogers like I am, you should also check out Blast Off! author S. Mark Young's interviews with Erin Grey in Filmfax (Oct/Nov 2002 and Feb/Mar 2003) for a sensitive rendering of a sensational story.

BLAST OFF is not only a beautiful book to behold it is researched by and with the help of fans who love the space toys of the 30's, 40's and 50's. The team at Dark Horse has given space toy fans a bookmark in the history of childhood toys.

BLAST OFF includes photos and information on toys inspired from the space heroes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to the Space Opera heroes of Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, Rocky Jones and other role models of the 1950's. There are chapters on the English toys and the robots from Japan along with well-researched sections and chapters on the makers of the space toys of our childhood, Archer, Marx and Pyro. Many of the toys displayed in this book are rare and hard to find items that have not been seen before now.

However, the backbone of the book is the interviews with collectors and fans of space toys. Why we remember and kept these playthings of our childhood is as interesting as the fantastic photos and ads that are generously spread throughout the book.

I found that I would move back and forth between chapters, reading about the toys that I remembered but had not seen in many years. It brought back many good memories along with information and research that should be saved and shared with future generations.

A must have book for any science fiction or space toy collector. Thank you Dark Horse Books and the creative team of Mark, Steve and Mike for bringing us this fantastic slice of childhood back to life. I hope BLAST OFF stays in print for many years to come as a reference point in the history of not just toys but SPACE TOYS!!!!

I found this book in the library after my second miscarriage. I read as much as I could right there and when my own emerging feelings of grief overwhelmed me, I headed home to read the rest. I felt remarkably reassured to be able to label my emotion, "grief", rather than thinking I was crazy.

The format allowed me to skim areas that I didn't identify with ("a need to name the baby", for instance) and delve into more deeply those emotions I was feeling ("grief").

I rushed to get it again after my third miscarriage. It helped me once again. I feel so grateful to the authors for their help - they saved my sanity! Now that I've had two successful pregnancies, I still think back on what a difference this book made to me at my darkest hours.

I highly recommend it to anyone who is dealing with this tragedy.

I searched everything available on this subject after my miscarriage. Finally I came upon this book. Thank God I did. It was helpful to me in a way that all of the others combined were not. The book helped me to understand my feelings and to deal with them in a way which honored my baby and brought comfort. It brought my husband and me closer together again. My doctor learned how to handle women in the future in a manner more helpful. This is a book in which women help women to find comfort for a soul wound of women. Need I say more? --Marianne in California

I don't know if I would ever have described a book as supportive before reading this. A friend of mine (who lost a pregancy in week 16) sent this to me right after I lost my baby. It really helped me during my grieving process, which lasted about 5-6 months. By reading this book, I realized that I was not alone, nor was I crazy or overreacting to what was a devastating loss for me. I read it, cried, scribbled notes in the margins, and grieved (and grieved and grieved). It felt like a support group in a book!

The book was also useful in helping my husband understand what it was I was going through. I was too angry, sad and exhausted to be able to explain myself to him and it helped me to be able to simply underline passages and have him read them.

It's important to note that this book deals almost exclusivley with the emotional side of miscarriage. It does not attempt to explain the physical components of loss. It is for that reason that I think it is so valuable. After all, most of us are fine physically after losing a pregnancy. It's the emotional scars that take so long to heal.

Sadly, I have bought four more copies of this to give to friends of mine who have also suffered miscarriages. While I am grateful that this resource exists, I wish so much that none of us needed it.

I am what I call a "casual vegetarian."

By my definition (I get to do the defining because I made it up!) that is someone who rarely cooks-- veggie or otherwise-and someone who merely removes a piece of beef floating in her soup with as little fanfare as possible so I can eat what is left. No gasps of disbelief. No chastising the chef. No gagging reactions. Combined, these two aspects of my commitment to a vegetarian diet are why I haven't bothered learning to cook the vegan way.

The Vegan Cookbook may change that.

The author, Mark W. Rasmussen, weaves basic recipes (like how to make meats and sauces of all kinds) with his more advanced recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What he comes up with is a plaited basket of unboring vegetarian cuisine.

Rasmussen's approach to cooking is presented in a manner so easy to understand that even I am ready to make my Taco-Style Ground "Beef" so I can add it to the Mucho Mexican Quesadilla made with healthy stuff like beans, vegetables and soy cheddar cheese. The beauty of recipes like this is that the're so good meat-eaters at my table won't know they're eating vegan.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of "This is the Place"

This is by far the absolute best vegan cookbook on the market. A must have for every home. Easy to read and follow recipes, and I've tried several and amazed myself ( and my family ). Even if you are'nt a vegetarian, you'll love this book. I'm having a great time with it!!!

This has to be the best Vegan cookbook ever written, Its simple, easy to read and most of the recipes are good old down home comfort foods that I would enjoy cooking for my family daily yet some of the dishes are creative and artfull not to mention delicious to serve to some of my most sophisticated guests.
I have a 10 year old who has tried cooking a few things from Veggie Works Vegan cookbook which she found simple enough to follow.
Once again, for the average person seeking to eat a more healfull diet but not quite sure how to go about preparing a vegan meal, this book is the best Ive yet to find!