This book should be called "white girl culture"... there is hardly an ethnic looking girl in the book! Lots of suburban teen-age girls looking like they are trying to be fit in. Nothing really insightful, new or surprising. Some photos are a bit interesting but most are overly self-conscious from subject and photographer... sorry but these images are easy to forget,(and border on teasing male viewers)... save your money and wait for the video!

I was walking through a local bookstore when the cover of this book caught my eye, and I was impacted immediately. The cover photo alone evoked a huge number of emotions within me, and I just had to buy the book, though I have never purchased a book of photographs before. I took down the title and author, and ordered this book from Amazon.

I am not surprised that this book evoked such strong emotions from the reviewers I've read on here so far. This is an astonishingly powerful book, and I've never seen anything like it. The incredibly evocative photographs are often coupled with a monologue by girls/young women. Both the photos and the monologues are exceptional looks deep into the psyches of girls and young women. There are average girls, popular girls, Latina girls, African American girls, girls at weight loss camp, girls at an eating disorder clinic, nude girls lap dancing....every kind of young woman imaginable. The photos hit me right in the gut....and I am shocked that I've never before heard of this author. Sometimes, the photos were disturbing, but only because they probably hit "too close to home." Sometimes, the photos were lovely and peaceful. Sometimes, the photos were shocking and beautiful at the same time.

I don't like to "tell the whole story" in my reviews; I think that completely spoils the surprise element for someone reading a book such as this for the first time. So...let me just say that this book of photos is well worth the money; I'd recommend it to any woman who is well beyond her "young woman" years.

This book visualises "The Beauty Myth" (by Naomi Wolfe).
I want to be beautiful, who doesn't? But why? Why do women (and increasingly men aswell) have to be beautiful?

The pictures presented are both disturbing - in their context - and insightful. For some reason they leave a grim image of women not liking themselves and wanting to be someone else. On the other hand the book also contains pictures and stories of women and girls who are happy to be who they are.

Read this book along with "The beauty Myth" and you'll never look at another 'beauty'-commercial for clothes or cosmetics the same way you did before. Both books are true 'eye-openers'.

I first read this book while riding the bus to work and laughed so hard and long people were looking at me. I saw a lot of myself and my family in this book. I'd give it 5 stars if it were just a little longer.

Sckraight from the Ghetto : You Know You're Ghetto If... is a hilarious comedic parody/test in which you can analyse in depth weather you are ghetto or not. Weather you take the test or not the book is hiarious telling truths about you knowing your ghetto because only ghetto people would... and it would say things that black people have done to save money.

This is a really hilarious book and I reccommend it to anyone who knows how to laugh.

ooooh, I laughed so hard at this book! It makes you remember things you probably long forgot or just chose to block out of your mind. Whatta hoot! I think my favorite one was the one about the woman with the halter top on and her stomach hanging out thinking that she is da domb! I seen this lady in a resturant just the other day! I couldn't stop laughing thinking about her and this book. Don't get all deep with this book, it's meant to be lighthearted and funny, not a jab at black folk! Read it for what is was meant to be...hella funny!!

The basic premise of this book is that you should create a stimulating environment in which your child will enjoy learning. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, I thought so. I was very excited to read this book. As it turns out, I've never been so disappointed in a book. Since the title is "How to Raise a Brighter Child" I had expected that it would be a "how to" book. The author does give a handful of examples of activities and games to engage in with your child. However, in most of the book she simply regurgitates other people's experimentation and data attempting to prove that it is advantageous to teach your child at a young age. Well, I wouldn't have bought this book if I didn't believe that! I don't think the author had a single unique idea of her own. The 38 pages of references and bibliography speaks for itself! I did read the entire book while continually hoping that it would get better, which it did not. Save yourself the cost of this book. As I said, the basic premise is wonderful. Take that and use your own imagination to make it work. You'll be much better served!

Many of the ideas expressed in this book ring true regarding children's learning process. However, be wary of such subtleties as suggesting as fact to your child that this world or things in it have been around for myriads of years. That is not fact, but theory, no matter how widely accepted. The book also advises against corporal discipline, with insignificant substantiation and a single footnoted reference. In place of the wisdom of Solomon, this book suggests mere time outs and moral explications, but relegates the chastening of tough love to archaic obscurity, despite admitting its use by 90% of parents. Perhaps some children of the remaining 10% will become the future intelligent leaders of tomorrow, of companies like Enron and Worldcom.

28 years ago, when I used ideas from the first edition of this book to teach my daughter to read, mainstream educators thought it was harmful to "push" a child to read before age 6. Her own reactions of interest and delight in the suggested activities told me otherwise. She was reading Dr. Suess by age 3 and chapter books without pictures by 4 1/2. Her Montessori teachers were totally amazed. Of course, I kept reading to her myself until she was 8 or so, because we both enjoyed that activity. Today she is an avid reader and the mother of a 10 month old daughter. She recently asked me how I taught her to read, and I remembered this book and came looking for it here. Now I remember that it had many, many other good suggestions for encouraging a child's natural curiousity. It was, by far, the best child development book I've ever read.

... come on, you can tell that the reviews are written by the author or the publisher or friends thereof.

This book is pretty much a hastily put together collection of stuff you can find in the Yellow Pages or boring informational websites. Waste of money.

I recently decided to relocate to L.A. from the Midwest, and of the three or four books I bought on the area, this was the one I kept referring back to. The neighborhood descriptions are invaluable, and unlike "Relocating to Los Angeles and Orange County," the book provides helpful tips that are specific to L.A. ("Relocating to..." has a huge section that's generic moving information repeated verbatim in the other books in their series.) The authors of the Newcomer's Handbook tell you what you need to know. They also list a service I didn't see listed anywhere else -- Personalized Relocation Management (...) which helped me find a great place in Santa Monica within 24 hours of landing at LAX. I highly recommend both the book and the service they list. Armed with both of these tools, and a Thomas Guide, you're sure to find what you're looking for with ease.

Wow, this book was helpful. I'd only been to LA a handful of times before making the big move, so needless to say I was totally stressed out about the whole thing. A friend recommended the Newcomer's Handbook and said it would give me all the info I needed to get settled, and she was right! This book had everything--how to get my phone and cable set up, where to buy household items, even what the local radio stations are (very important to know, especially in LA traffic). The best part, though, is that there's a map for each area (which even directionally challenged people like me can figure out), and a detailed description of practically every neighborhood in the whole city, which was really helpful for figuring out where to live and how to get around. And now that I'm here, I still use it. I've discovered some really cool things that I never knew existed, like Silent Movie (the last remaining silent movie theatre in the country). Anyhow, suffice it to say that I can't recommend the book enough. I feel like an LA native now (minus the big hair)!

The sections from Jack Benny's draft of an autobiography, which make up a little less than half of this book, are well worth reading by any Benny fan.

Joan Benny, Jack's daughter, is to be commended for rescuing that draft from obscurity. Alas, the balance of this book suffers from Joan's poorly edited writing. Expecting to read about Jack, the reader discovers that "The Jack Benny Story" is mostly about Joan, though there are frequent references to "Daddy," as Jack is called throughout the book.

Jack Benny's unpublished memoirs finally have a book to nest in. In his own words, things flow, they mean something, they're warm, witty, and genuine like the man was himself. Jack Benny holds a very special place in my heart as a comedian with brilliant and unique timing; and as a true gentlemen. All this comes through in how own words.
His daughter's contribution is not as great, which is what keeps me from adding the fifth star to this rating. She's ok, but not essential to this book. She's obviously filled with great admiration, respect, and love for her father and his place in the world of comedy; but she is kind of intrusive. She gets in the way of Jack Benny's own words, that prove to be far more interesting and enjoyable than her's. You should read it just the same, because it's well worth it.

Jack Benny is the father of modern comedy, popularizing (and perhaps originating) the self-referential and self-conscious comedy practiced in the last 20 years by comedians such as Andy Kaufman, Steve Martin, and Bill Murray. He may have also begun the modern media-related "show within a show" concept, exemplified to some extent by "Seinfeld," and in the past by the shows of George Burns, Danny Thomas, and Lucy and Desi. Perhaps it is more accurate to describe him as the father of post-modern comedy, where every occurrence, sound effect, and the idea of comedy itself is the object of Benny's gentle yet piercingly funny humor. But enough intellectualizing, above all perhaps, he was an extraordinarily talented, funny, and well-loved man.

Mr. Benny's daughter found this unfinished biographical material and we are grateful for the insights to his character, his humor (beginning with his days in vaudeville), and his wide-ranging, generally liberal thoughts on celebrity, comedy, and race. These sections of the book justify its purchase and are the primary source of its enjoyment.

As others have noted, Joan's sections of the book can drag and one eagerly waits for the bolded font which is her father's own words. I do think she provides some valuable insights into Mr. Benny's domestic life and routine, as well as some humorous and interesting glimpse into growing up as the daughter of one of our most popular and well-respected entertainers. Unfortunately, some of this seems fairly generic to that culture, especially her early years. Her criticisms of her mother, however well founded, seem discordant with the prevailing tone of the book. The book would have been better with more pruning of Joan's autobiographical comments.

Still, the other material is a treasure for his millions of fans, and I recommend the book to fans. Joan's part does not detract from her father's; after all, the book was never finished and gives an incomplete picture anyway. Mr. Benny seems a modest man and I believe his biographies would complement the wonderful material here. If you're new to the subject, perhaps you should begin with the biographies and then proceed here, if you're a confirmed fan, the order won't matter, and you will want this in your collection.

Prof. Bonnie Wheeler of the International Joan of Arc Society has labeled this book "dead wrong" (a position which she rarely takes), and other researchers, myself included, tend to agree. More precisely: certain subjects are handled in an entirely fraudulent manner, as the author had a talent for misquoting or selectively citing the evidence, misinterpreting the original language to reflect her theories, and taking things out of context in order to make "hints" about Joan which happen to suit the author's inclinations (some of these will be dealt with in detail below). Even worse, more recent (and less honest) authors have taken some of the above innuendoes and extrapolated claims which Vita herself knew better than to make, and this has further muddled the subject.
In fairness, at least the author genuinely read a wide selection of the documents, and was honest enough to refrain from the more outrageous claims. But the numerous distortions in this book include:
- A persistent effort to remake Joan into a large, masculine, "sexually-unappealing" androgyne (in direct contradiction to eyewitness accounts describing her as "beautiful and shapely", "short", with "beautiful eyes", a "sweet girl's voice", etc). The author often manipulates such testimony until it becomes the opposite of what the eyewitnesses actually said. This is especially true with regards to the comments made by some of the men who had served in her army: what these fellows actually said (in summary) is that although they did find her attractive, they were amazed to find that their normal sexual desire (for all women) was suppressed when she was around. At no point did they say that they found her ugly or unappealing (as the author sometimes claims about this testimony), but precisely the reverse. The author admits that this was the case with the testimony from the Duke of Alencon, but characteristically sensationalizes it into something which the Duke never said, and which would be at odds with the other sources who are all agreed that Joan always slept in full clothing when with the army and never "undressed" in front of the troops, for heaven's sake. Alencon never claimed otherwise.
- Worse, the author cites - sometimes out of context - some of the testimony given by a group of women (namely Charlotte Boucher (who had been only 9 years old when she "slept with" Joan at Orleans), Hauviette de Sionne (apparently under 13 at the time), and Marguerite La Touroulde) who described a common medieval practice whereby whenever Joan and the men in her group were billeted for the night in a house in which there weren't enough beds for everyone, they placed Joan with the little girls of the house or the hostess rather than the men (her male bodyguard, Jean d'Aulon, frequently slept in the same room with her, and so the hostess or a little girl was also placed in the room for propriety's sake, and sometimes in the same bed if there weren't enough to go around). The author admits that this was "the custom", and at least never goes so far as to claim that Joan was having sex with these women (which would contradict their own testimony that she was "chaste"), but nevertheless makes enough innuendoes to prompt a few modern playwrights and others to cite this book as alleged "proof" that such was the case. An author should not make careless comments on such a subject when she knows full well what the facts of the matter were.
- Aside from the above, there are frequent misinterpretations: just to pick one random example, the author claims that Martin Ladvenu testified that Joan was raped, which is false: he said that there had been an _attempted_ rape after she agreed to give up her soldiers' clothing (which had "laces and points" by which the pants and tunic could be securely fastened together, thereby providing some protection against such assaults), and Ladvenu cites this attempted assault as one of the reasons she resumed her soldiers' clothing after the above-mentioned incident, to try to prevent another attempt from going even farther.
- There are some anachronisms, such as when the author interprets Joan as a "feminist" while ignoring certain of her recorded statements which sound like precisely the opposite (such as the comment: "I would rather stay home with my poor mother and spin wool [rather than lead an army]", or her statement to Catherine de la Rochelle to "go home to your husband and tend your household", etc). Feminism is a modern movement which really had no counterpart in the 15th century.
On the plus side, however, the author has faithfully mentioned many of the eyewitness accounts which are so often ignored, such as the testimony regarding the other reason for her return to "male clothing" (i.e., Massieu's statement that her guards had finally left her nothing else to wear, as a way to entrap her into a "relapse"); and most of the basic material on other subjects is generally accurate enough and detailed. The writing style is often engaging, and Vita Sackville-West, an aristocrat in early-20th century England, brings an almost Victorian-style flavor to the subject (which is a bit odd, but a welcome departure from most other modern books on this topic). Nevertheless, it's still a little sad to see this book in yet another reprint. Its previous popularity seems to have been due entirely to the fact that it was well-written (if not always factual), and the author did enough research to give it the illusion of being authoritative despite the fact that historians have rejected so many of the author's interpretations. The only accepted authority on Joan during the last half-century was the great French medievalist Regine Pernoud (founder of the Centre Jeanne d'Arc at Orleans, France); two of her books can be purchased here at Amazon.com.

Michell Westrick
March 7, 2003
Book Review of Saint Joan of Arc
I enjoyed the book as far as overall content goes. The author had a lot of information that many people may or may not have known about Joan of Arc. He had also brought up many interesting questions. Many of them were on what her physical appearance was really like and also some of whether God or the Devil sent her.
Unfortunately there were several things I disliked. For one, throughout the whole book he would occasionally slip in his own personal opinion, I didn't like that. Two, in some of the chapters he wouldn't even mention Joan of Arc, or her relevance to the chapter, till the very end. Third, he would have a lot of French words and sentences in the book. He never would write in English what they meant or said. For some people who didn't take French, in school, would become very confused as I did. Fourth, throughout the book, he would jump around in years a lot and I would get confused on which year he was talking about. Lastly, the author would also add in or mention quit a few people. When mentioning them, he wouldn't say, on some cases, their relevancy to Joan of Arc or why they were so important to mention in the first place.
I did enjoy reading about Joan of Arc and her, seemingly, fascinating life. I wish I were able to fully understand it all. As I had said earlier, I feel that if the author had skipped around so much on the dates it would be a little more understandable. There were a couple of parts, in the book, where he mentioned another book for getting his information instead of saying, "through my research." Reading this book makes me want to go out and read other books about Joan of Arc to see if they have the same information or if I would learn something new.

Joan of Arc (or Jeanne d'Arc, in French) was an interesting person, a female soldier in an age when women didn't fight, a visionary in an age of backwardness, a prophetess who wasn't believed in her day, and a valuable asset for the French nation, betrayed to France's enemies by Frenchmen. This book about her, written in the thirties, covers as much of her life as was known at the time (there haven't been many changes to the record since) in beautiful prose, with sympathy and understanding. Vita Sackville-West was a prominent member of society in Britain, and Catholic, so she understood some of the things that were going on in Joan's head as history unfolded around this strange young woman.

Sackville-West's book is very literary, and if there's one flaw it's that it doesn't show, sufficiently, how successful and revolutionary a soldier Joan was. She was much more aggressive than other French soldiers of the day, who had been conditioned to defend cautiously by the advent of the English longbow. How Joan overcame this isn't discussed (I suspect in part because this remains a mystery of sorts) though the remarkable fact of her becoming a soldier in this era where women didn't fight is commented on at great length. Joan's abilities as a prophet are also examined at great length, and analyzed carefully.

This book is a good starting point for anyone wishing to know more about Joan of Arc. There's nothing on the market since (at least not that I'm aware of) as well-written, and the scholarship is good, as far as it goes.

This book should be renamed "Don't expect any deals unless your over 60." There were very few deals for anyone younger than 60 and those that were offered were basically common sense. Ask and you'll get discounts, you don't need to spend money on this book to find the bargains.

For bargain hunters of a "mature age", this is a very complete guide.

This book does three things that make it a valuable present for people 50, 62, 65 and between and above. It lists all the kinds of things you can get a discount on, from travel onward, and tells you what age the discount is available for; it provides contact numbers so you can easily get more information; and it reminds you of things you might not have thought about, like ASKING for a discount on golf, volunteering to be a foster grandparent, or going to a summer tap dancing camp (among other choices) for elders.

I love her flavor combinations.

Some of her recipes have worked for me. Others I have had to adjust: they are too thick (too much pectin?) and / or the sugar doesn't completely dissolve (too much sugar?). It's an idea book and a trial and error book for me. I am so relieved to read the other reviews regarding the amount of sugar and pectin.

This isn't a book for a brand new jam maker -- in my opinion,the recipes are too 'hit or miss.'

I first saw one of Ms. Hassol's recipes in the New York Times and made it immediately - it was the peach ginger marmalade. It was so successful, I immediately bought the book. Most of her combinations are quite inspired - although there are too many that rely on ginger - that I was inspired to try some of my own new concoctions. However, I agree with other reviewers that the 1.5 packets of pectin she recommends is too much. One is usually fine. Also, her sugar content is quite high. Comparing her recipes with others, they seem to be 1 and sometimes 2 cups too much. This results in the jam being so sweet that it hides the fruit flavors. I've cut back on both of these with great success.

I tried the recipe on page 43 (Cran-Raspberry Jam) and it turned out
beautifully, maybe it's because I'm an experienced jammer. This was
my first summer at the Farmer's Market as a vendor of jams and
jellies, baked goods, flowers and berries, and I found her
observations and musings on her experiences there very similar to my
own. Well worth the read and inspirational for the beginning jam
cook....

enjoyed reading this book. felt like joan rivers was talking directly to me. my only regret: wish there had been more examples for guys. (it is written, it seems, mostly for women--though it is applicable to either sex.)

Joan Rivers has her fans. And she has her detractors as well. Yet not even her detractors can deny that she is an honest, gutsy lady who doesn't miss a trick, who took every lemon that life tossed at her and squeezed it until it became a delicious lemonade.

As with her earlier books, DON'T COUNT THE CANDLES is written in her typical breezy style, with plenty of laughs thrown in for no extra charge. That's what this book is, too: a charge. Rare will be the reader who fails to be both enlightened and refreshed by Joan's entertaining outlook on life. For her fans, this one's a must.

Reading "Don't Count the Candles. . ." is like having Joan Rivers talking directly to the reader--as an old (but fighting it every step of the way) friend. Her honest, shoot from the hip (liposuctioned, of course) game plan and advice is well-written and is done so with Joan's typical humor and wit. I'm buying a copy for all my friends and even my ex-mother-in-law! Go Joan! Keep up the great fight!

It seems the Orphan Train shares alot of titles with Sweet Valley Twins!!!LOL.I am reviewing Sweet Valley..Jessica and Elizabeth,twins,learn a secret language called Ithig.Their dad has taught it to them,as something he can share with his special twin daughters.They promise not to teach the language to anyone,but this makes their friends at school very cross!!!!!!

Mr.Ned Wakefield teaches Jessica and Elizabeth,his twin daughters,a secret language called Ithig(The ..word?..ithig is placed between syllables).The two do their best to keep the language a secret but their friends start acting like brats,feeling hapless that the secret will not be shared with them.Soon,the language is all around school!!Uh-oh!

In "Keeping Secrets", the Wakefield twins learn a secret new language called Ithig, which is similar to pig Latin, except the word "ithig" is placed between the syllables of each word, lithigike thithigis. It sounds pretty complicated, but Elizabeth and Jessica pick up on it within minutes--even featherbrained Jessica.

Elizabeth and Jessica promise to keep it a secret with their father as a fun game, but their loyalty is tried when the girls' best friends (Amy Sutton and Lila Fowler) demand to know their secret or else. The reaction to the twins' secrecy is a little over dramatic and immature, but then again this is middle school.

Lila even refuses to invite the twins to a big star-studded party unless they tell her everything. Jessica, of course, is the first to break her promise. Soon everybody at Sweet Valley Middle School starts talking "Ithig", mainly as a way to confuse their new teacher Ms. McDonald.

"Keeping Secrets" certainly isn't the best Sweet Valley Twins book I've read so far, but if you're into secret languages, you might like this one.