Attorney Jessica MacAllister has a busy life practicing law and helping run the Peaceful Dove's Woman Shelter in Ventura, California. Though her social life is zero, Jessica loves what she is doing. However, her time at the shelter is disturbed when abusive spouse Sonny comes around, carrying a gun and making threats demanding his wife and son leave with him or else. The cops arrive and arrest Sonny, but police Lieutenant Daniel Quinn yells at Jessica for not having any security. She tells him no money is available, but she is asking for a grant. He agrees to help her write out the application.

When Daniel and Jessica meet at his home to fill out the grant request, she meets the seven month old baby girl living with him. He refuses to explain who the child is, but asks for her help in finding him a nanny. Both are attracted to one another, but she rejects his efforts until Sonny returns seeking to carry out his original threat.

Joan Elliot Pickard starts a new generation of her popular "Baby Bet" series with a warm tale that has a serious undertone. PARTY OF THREE focuses on the relationship between the lead couple as well as with the infant, but also provides insight into the importance of shelters. Fans of the original miniseries will want to read this novel and newcomers will want to obtain the original stories, as all are entertaining and well written.

Harriet Klausner

PARTY OF THREE launches the first of the new miniseries featuring the next generation of the MacAllisters. This book is Jessica's story, one of the Jillian and Forrest MacAllister's triplet girls. Those who have read the other MacAllister books will remember when Jillian was pregnant with the triplets, then met the three girls in a later book when they were about six years old. Now the triplets are thirty and are out on their own. I hope you enjoy PARTY OF THREE and getting to know Jessica and others as adults. Emily and Alice, the other two of the triplets, will each have their own story coming from Silhouette Special Edition and Desire. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful and loyal support. Joan Elliott Pickart

"Bamboo and Butterflies" is a biography and an oral history. In a series of vignettes written in "first person" format, it tells the story of the daughters and extended family of Ean Bun, and their fleeing from Cambodia to America. Part one of the story begins in 1979 with 11 year old Tevi. She tells of her memories about the flight out of Cambodia to California with her mother, Mearadey Ngak, her father, Keang (Ken) Ngak, and her two younger sisters, Sampwa Moni (Sam) and Chenda Peach.Tevi relates that "Everything seemed alien: unfamiliar surroundings, weird noises, peculiar smells." The narrative frequently switches back and forth between these first family members to arrive in The States.The narrative also frequently changes the frame of reference back and forth from the present to the past. There is some repetition from story story, but the format works well. All of the family share their relief at finally being safe after several years of slave labor under the Khmer Rouge regime. Sampwa/Sam relates "...I learned fear. Being forced from our home and from the city was a shock...then the Khmer Rouge took my grandfather away." They all tell of the problems involved in being forced to take refuge in a country without knowing the language. There are humorous tales of the misconceptions they have about American culture and society. When Chenda Poong first arrives in the States she can't figure out how to stand on an American toilet to "perform her duty." After several days of doing the best she can, she mentions it to her cousin, who explains the "American way" to her. "My opinion of American bathrooms improvedmarkedly after that" she said! There are many stories of triumphs small and large. As new family members are brought over from Southeast Asia their stories are added.We eventually meet all of Ean Bun's daughters and Son-in-Laws and grandchildren. The courage and tenacity with which all the members of this exceptional extended family work is told with a humble "matter-of fact-ness."! They are not bitter at the past, they are grateful to be alive and have a second chance! Forced to clean houses to make ends meet, A task they had servants for in Cambodia, the women confront the "fantasy versus the reality" of their new lives. "That cleaning business proved to be a valuable experience. It taught me that in America your worth is measured by the person you are, not the work you do." "The gap you perceive between your experience and ours (refugees) is not a gap - it's the Grand Canyon," Teeda Mam says at one point. But they are not hopelessly distressed about the gap they must cross to fit in in America, they are motivated! This families' experiences are extreme by our standards; and so is the courage and goodwill with which they chose to cope.

I teach English to immigrants and their stories of immigration always fascinate me. The extended family in this biography is from Cambodia, and they were desperate to leave, as families such as this one were especially at risk of persecution and death for having been part of the more Ã'privilegedÃ" middle class.

It took a massive effort on the part of Ean BunÕs family to escape, but it also required great effort and commitment on the part of the American sponsors who persevered in not only getting them here, but in nurturing them once they arrived. Without the sponsors, these immigrants wouldnÕt have adapted to the culture and reached their dreams, at least not as quickly or as well. The sponsors provided housing, furniture, clothes. They helped them sign up for classes and find jobs, and counseled them on taxes, education, jobs, and even in dealing with problems in relationships. The sponsors played a critical role in Americanizing these immigrants, and serve as a model for those who wonder how they can help.

This is a fascinating account of Ã'east meets westÃ", with humorous and poignant stories of how members of the family interpreted our western holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, their misundersandings of our idioms, and encountering contraptions such as toilets and toilet paper so soft it should not be used for its intended purpose. When the American sponsors spent time instructing the family in Christianity, they assumed the familyÕs conversion was real, based on an understanding of the doctrine, but much later discovered that the Cambodians attended church to please their sponsors, and to mingle with people who spoke English. The Cambodians considered themselves both Christians and Buddhists at the same time, and after years of acquiring English and cultural understanding, they realized they didnÕt understand either religion very well.

This book also makes us see a little of what we take for granted in the U.S., our ability to speak freely, to live comfortably and without fear, and to be surrounded by a wealth of possessions. One Cambodian is shocked and outraged, when attending school, she sees the students talking loudly, throwing a football across the room, and the worst horror... sitting on a stack of books and treating them like trash. She had owned one book in Cambodia, and protected it as a special treasure. She saw how American students didnÕt seem to want to learn as much as they wanted the school day to end, whereas she wanted to devour her education, learning as much as she could.

Yet there are ways that our culture shines in the CambodiansÕ eyes, and if we take some time to look at our culture from their perspective, it can make us more thoughtful, more appreciative, and more productive citizens.

Wonderful book to get graphic design ideas. Not many words, but lots of visual fluff. This is one of the better club flyers books out there.

This is a nice little volume to have lying around if you're a designer... not sure how informative it would be to someone looking for more than page after page of eyecandy - There is a minimum of text, apart from an intro essay and "designer/date/client/printing.method/size" and in a book such as this, i find that to be a good thing. overall: portable (printed on heavyish paper with a no-frills cover that doesn't ask for much care), packed, fun, and at this price, DEFINITELY worth it.

NB: that picture up there isn't of the cover. look at the dimensions listed instead.

Excellent book for beginners & intermediates to video shooting. Covers all basics such as lighting, composition, audio, panning, shooting for different specific situations etc. Lots of diagrams and pictures that author uses to illustrate points.

However the editing section is only aimed at analog devices. There is no information on digital video cameras or frame rates and fields etc for PC based DV editing.

I found this to be a terific manual for using your camcorder and editing your videos. The only drawback is that there isn't a sequel in print at this time! More! I film, produce, host and edit a local access television show and this book helped tremendously. It is written to address the beginners questions as well as the "imtermediate" level. The local access television station is ordering more for manuals. Deborah Goodell, Critter Connection

To me this book gives well then enough evidence that Joan was not too good of a mother. The interviewer ask her about the allegations of child abuse, even though she denies it first hand she admits that she as well as other star should not have become parents. To me that's a admission that she some things wrong with the raising of her children. This book is further proof that Joan should have never became a mom.

Conversations w/ Joan Crawford is a superb book w/ Joan speaking for herself in a question/answer "interview" type arena. Roy Newquist is a great interviewer who asks the right questions & got very frank & honest answers from Joan about her life, her films, her co-stars, Mr. Mayer & her philosophies on how she's lived. She was near the end of her life at the time the book was written & little high on the sauce at moments (acording to Roy Newquist) but Joan just lets it fly. this book is Excellent & a must for any Crawford fan.

This book was rather scary, and it continues in the fantastical tradition of The Stolen Lake. This does nothing to diminish its excellence, though. Perhaps very young children shouldn't read it, because it only really gets into the fun, rollicking Aiken tradition towards the end, before which point the reader has been thoroughly freaked out and learned to trust no-one. I should say that this is best enjoyed as a die-hard fan, but probably only a fan would read this far ahead in the series, so I do highly recommend this book. Witches, smugglers, hallucinogenic nuts and a small town whose folk all seem to be decidedly untrustworthy set the initial flavour of this book. When reading it, I saw the parts where Dido was with Mr. Firkin as the "safe" parts, because I knew nothing would happen to her, but whenever she left his company I started worrying INSANELY. This was the first book where I wasn't sure that everything would be all right in the end. I mean, obviously it would for Dido - but what about Captain Hughes?

But once Dido, Cris and Tobit team up with the Wineberry boys (who are totally loveable) things get back to normal, or relatively so, and it becomes a fun romp to the end. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has read and liked the other books, but I don't think that someone who just picks it up randomly would enjoy it as much, because the style of writing needs to be accustomed to. For all fans - READ THIS ONE TOO!!!

This is one of my favourite books by Joan Aiken, fitting well into the 'Dido' series. Wild humour and a twisting plot involving witchcraft, murder and hypnotism sets the scene in the unexpected location of London. The enemies to the crown are up to their usual tricks again this time aided by the dark presence of Mrs Lubbage and Tante Sannie from the tropics, can Dido and friends save the day? A plot to roll St James' cathedral into the Thames using giant roller-skates is just one example of Joan Aiken's imagination in this Novel. If you're a fan, don't hesitate to buy!

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The first third and some of the last few chapters contain a good deal of "Software Methodologies for Dummies" content, which is certainly NOT what I purchased this book for. There are chapters on Design (application, not database), Analysis, User Interface Issues, Object Orientation, etc. Since the book is about 490 pages (less index, etc.) maybe the author just added such content for filler.

That having been said, this book is a VERY good overview of Database technology on Linux. In covers all the major DBMS options including installation tutorials for each, admin and GUI interface tools, and programming against those databases in a variety of Linux languages (C, C++, Java, Perl, Tk, Gnome/Glade, etc.)

The book include LOTS of super links to tools and products (both free (Open Source) and commercial. It includes lots of tips and hints that would take weeks to find in the documentation and I especially appreciated the special points of reference offered by the author for those of us who are more famaliar with Windows Database products than Linux products.

This subject matter gets little coverage and this book makes for a great quick start. At $45 it's a little pricey, but there are few alternatives that deal directly with this subject.

The primary author's web site is published in the book, you can download the source code from the book examples and there is a message board for book related discussions (in which the author answers questions) and there is an errata section as well !!

Overall a good buy.

Joe@ASPGurus.com -

I'm a Master student in information Systems,currently taking Software Engineering and Database Concepts courses at the Univeristy. This is a great book which contains book subjects with good examples. The Good thing is I don't waste my time to study the courses twice. This book Contains usefull relations between the two subject with a open source approach. One last to say Every Thing I want, I found.

This is a simple, powerful, and incredibly useful book for those who are helping a loved one through the final stages. Written with compassion, the book manages to explain certain painful issues with clarity. The "practical wisdom" offered helped me greatly when I needed to figure out how I could help a loved one whose condition was beyond helping medically.

As one who was one of my Dad's caregivers at home for 5 1/2 months prior to his death June 5, 1998, I found this book to offer very good advice. I especially liked the "guidelines for visitors"...

Extremely well-written, using vocabulary evoking the period, the author takes an event with little historical documentation and creates a story that is both plausible and a little fantastic. There is a good feeling for daily life, the difficulty of living with the elements, climate and struggle to survive. Characters are well developed if not entirely believable. I found the ending quite good, bringing all the pieces to their possible historical end.

This book is very involving. It details the third expedition to Vinland (Newfoundland- north America ot the Geographically challenged) by Freydis Eiriksdottir, bastard child of Erik the Red, and half-sister to Leif Eriksson. It's a fantastic tale, showing how women lived some 11 centuries ago, a detailed examination of events leading to a disasterous, bloody climax. (the plot. NOt the book. The book is great) Buy it!!!