You'd be hard-pressed to tell a boring story about about a plucky country newspaper editor who had principles and stuck to 'em. But this author has done it. He says the book is an adaptation of his doctoral thesis. That fits. The book reads like a well-done, fully footnoted college paper, not like a dramatic novel. It strives to identify key historical facts at the expense of the reader's interest. With a modest amount of effort, it could have been reworked as a compelling autobiographical novel bolstered by its remarkable display of features of midwestern life during the first half of the 20th Century.

Though a scholarly biography, the book reveals much more about life in a small mid-west America town at the turn of the century than many other biographies or novels. Well worth reading for an insight into "news" that didn't make most newspapers but which was true in revealing life, the book is nicely crafted and the author writes with a knowing touch.One would wish for more intimate details of the subject's life, but he was a private man, kept no diary, and did not tell his innermost thoughts to his family. The book, however, succeeds, because it reveals the town, Lamar, MO (which happened to be President Truman's birthplace, and where Wyatt Earp had been Marshall and where the Earp kinfolk lived on) and some of the foibles and fancies of American life. I hope the author writes another book soon.

My first reaction upon completing this books was: What a great TV series this would make! It would be in the vein of "Medicine Woman," perhaps, although of more recent vintage. It would, however, chronicle the daily life of a small American town at a fascinating period of American history. As seen through the eyes of a newspaper editor who thought everything was, indeed, fit to print, the series could be a story of America's development. Its location is purely midwestern but allows us to travel to the metropolises of Kansas City, St. Louis, New York, San Francisco--to meet fascinating people from all walks of life and to take pride in what this nation has accomplished. Good reding? You bet!

Sorry. This is OK as a textook for students of Civil War battles, but wouldn't interest most people. Not for me.

This book gives a good insight in the military operations during the american civil war. The books helps a lot to get a clear understanding of the decisions wich where taken by the military and civil leaders. A strongly recommend to buy also the Atlas.

The West Point series consists of an excellent group of works, and "the American Civil War" is no exception. The text is easy enough for almost anyone to understand, which makes it ideal for students doing research. In fact, I first used this book in a high school class! However, the series also contains enough detail and information to be taken seriously by the experienced historian.

Overall it is an excellent resource as well as an enjoyable read.

(The only bad point is that because the text is such a large book for a softcover the pages have a regrettable tendancy to come loose and fall out if the book is used often. Be gentle and they should stay in place

This book deals with incest between Arthur and his sister Margawse which produces Mordred. I do not concider this subject appropriate for children! I am disappointed because if the sexual content had been left out of this book it would have be an excellent book. I am glad I took the time to read before I gave it to my son to read!

This book is the best I'll probably ever read.I think the illustrations are excellent, and it's made an old story come to life. My favourite thing about the story is how it keep's popping up with new ideas, and how it goes in and out of him telling the story and the boy actually being there in the cave. My favourite character is Bercelet,I like the idea of him being Merlin's eyes and ears. I think it's a shame about Lancelot and King Arthur fighting and that Lancelot took Arthur's wife.It's brilliant! I look forward to reading more books by Michael Morpurgo.

i loved this book to the point i could not put it down

"Arthur and the Best Coach Ever" is the fourth of six books in the 2001 Arthur Good Sports series. This is a great series that teaches kids about sportsmanship in an interesting as well as humorous way. However, this book, "Arthur and the Best Coach Ever," shows are startling lack of coordination between those working on the television show and those were developing the book series.

Both the television story and the book share a couple basic plot points. The soccer coach for Lakewood Elementary is no longer able to coach the team and Ed Crosswire is brought in as a replacement. In both versions, none of the kids are very happy, as they liked the old coach and Ed's coaching abilities are rather questionable.

The similarities stop about right there. In the book, Ed is presented as an inept coach who knows nothing about soccer and is always ignoring the team while he tries to run his automotive business from the sidelines. The team members begin to feel like they don't care about them, although really he's just caught in a pickle because he has no understanding of basic soccer concepts, or how to coach a team.

The exact opposite happens in the television episode. In the TV version, Ed seems to be quite knowledgable of soccer, even having played in the past, and tries to run the team like a machine, putting them through overly demanding drills.

Overall, "Arthur and the Best Coach Ever" is an okay story and in my opinion, somewhat better than the television version. Still, the lack of synergy between the TV show and the book causes confusion among followers of the seires and I'm not entirely certain what exactly this particular book teaches kids about good sportsmanship. Also, some of the humor found in the other "Arthur" books is missing. Pass on this one, and try one of the other, better, "Arthur" books instead.

Are you a cell-phone toting, work-a-holic parent? Busy cutting business deals on the soccer field? Then this book will leave you feeling a little sheepish. I know of quite a few sports parents who could stand to read this book for the lesson it teaches. As for the kids, maybe what they learn is that they should keep trying their best no matter how miserable their coach is!

I have watched the episode based on the book. It was a great episode and I'm sure that the book would be just as good.

Marc Brown's Arthur is very popular with young people. It is usually well written. However, I found Arthur's Christmas lacking. I thought at first a page was missing. The story did not flow well and felt like he was trying to cram everything about the winter holiday season into a 32 page book. I found it much too busy. It seemed rushed and not well thought out.

This is a great book about Christmas! In the book Arthur wanted everything to be
perfect. Arthur decorated the tree. He also got a present for his mom and
dad. Unfortunately, the present broke. Arthur learned what the best thing about
Christmas really is. Read this book to find out what the best thing about Christmas is!

Despite the useful lesson that Americans enjoy the holiday season differently, the true gem of this story is the soothing way things can work out, even when they are not going the way you had hoped. ARTHUR'S PERFECT CHRISTMAS is really a story about how all of us get wound up for this time of the year, fantasize about it and become crushed when it's not so picture perfect. Our children, ages 8 and almost 4, shuddered when Arthur accidently broke the beautiful gift he had chosen for his mom--only to be buoyed by his Uncle's surprise gesture. They also watched intently as the typically spoiled Muffy finds that despite having received many Christmas gifts, what she wants most is a resurrection of her fractured friendship with Francine.

This story spends much energy on getting kids to understand that different families celebrate the holiday in different ways, from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa. Because Arthur fans never knew before that Arthur was a Christian, Francine a Jew and the Brain an African-American, it at first seems "stretched-to-fit", a little forced. The lesson, however, is invaluable because human beings even in similiar faiths and cultures do not necessarily celebrate in similiar ways. While this is an vital lesson of its own, it is ultimately trumped by one that all us can recognize and share, that is friendship and compassion towards others can prevail. It can make any holiday disappointment seem "perfect."

This book opended up diffrent views on how the future will be. While reading it I kept on thinking that the future in the book was very realalistic. I would refer this book to any reader who likes a good Sci-Fi novel.

On something of a departure for Clarke, he explores the depths of earth's oceans in this book, rather than his usual space sagas. It succeeds remarkably well, and is better than his more well-known novel of the ocean (The Ghost From The Grand Banks). The plot is good, with several surprising mini-twists, and the characterization is better than on most of his works. Also, as with all his books, the ending is beautiful and poetic. A must read for the Clarke fan.

I don't think I've ever read a Clarke book that wasn't first-rate; this is no exception. It depicts the wardens who herd the giant whale groups that provide a substantial portion of the future earth with food. Like all his books, it flows effortlessly and ends beautifully.

I did not find this book any more helpful than the Charleston Area 2003 Official Visitors Guide that I ordered for free on the internet (I'd give you the url, but it's not allowed, so do a search). It did offer information on hotels, which the free guide did not. However, the free book gave more information on local events, tours, and sightseeing. This book is not worth the money, get the free one!

This little guide was very helpful in planing my trip to Savannah, Ga and Charleston, SC. Great companion to "The Best Little Map of Savannah, GA" and The Best Little Map of Charleston, SC", also, must haves for vactioning in these two cities.

This was a great portable guide for Savannah. We were only there for 3 days and we went to a number of the restaurants and sites listed. I had also bought Moon Guides' Savannah and Charleston book and it was not as well organized as this guide was. It fit perfect into my little bag also.

It may be that the publisher is relying on spell-check rather than real-alive editors. The reader is hauled up short and has to figure out which word is meant in a number of cases. In a rather funny description of a bizarre golf game, a player's ball has gone into both the "ruff" and the rough. An apartment is located in the "nastiness part of town," and a character is wearing a "waste-high" white apron.

One hopes Acropolis Books, Inc. will improve its attention to these editorial details in future Robbins books.

Witty and entertaining; a fine political satire that embraces many of the ills of the modern poltical process in a very funny format. I laughed out loud. I loved it.

If simple reading enjoyment and literary craftsmanship were the sole requisites for a best seller, I would say Greenfield for President has Primary Colors beaten by a mile.

This book, appearing to be written for children, is itself a quantum leap in the wrong direction. The authors treat many complex topics with inaccuracy and superficiality. For example, they state the Egyptian pyramids were made of "relatively soft limestone...(that)...could be quarried with hard stone tools". The interior of the Great pyramid at Giza is partially made of hard granite, too hard to be the work of either stone or copper tools, and that pyramid appears to have initially had 144,000 sixteen- to twenty-ton limestone casing stones made to an accuracy of flatness of ten thousandths of an inch, undoubtedly impossible to accomplish with "stone tools". They attempt to dismiss various psi phenomena by citing a few examples of fraud and instances where something failed to work, ignoring the large body of fine scientific work (Houck, Radin, Puthoff & Targ, Hasted and many others) clearly establishing the reality of many of the various phenomena discussed. Instead of relying on any scientific data, the authors rely on hypotheses, the views of a magician and ridicule by a cartoonist. The book is an unworthy attempt at treating its subject matter, lumping real scientific phenomena with obvious error, such as holocaust denial, and itself represents pseudoscience and yellow journalism.

Whew! Quite a lot is covered in this small book, but very little detail is given as references. As a skeptic myself these authors were 'preaching to the choir' with me. I think their idea that "people who disagree with them" will read and possibly change their opinions is a bit far-fetched. This book is perfect for those who dabble on the edge of pseudoscience, sometimes leaning one way then the other. This gives easy to understand examples, and some ammo to fight off unscientific beliefs.

I would really have liked to see the authors use footnotes throughout the book as an aid to researchers. I know that they were right on with their claims, but would like to see where they got their information. The glossary was very helpful, and can see using it in the future. If you have a friend or relitive who is always bothering you with pseudoscience claims, and you never quite know how to explain your skepticism, then this is the book for you. Carry it on your person, always!

When we're younger, and think we have the whole world figured out, we look for patterns while also looking for a means to be different. What we are too often led to is the subject matter of this book.

The authors cover a whole series of fads and pseudosciences by which we're frequently insulted, e.g., astrology, tarot cards and I Ching, and a host of others. The subjects are handled with a bit of wit, but not the cutesy angle of the "idiots guide to..." books.

I'm pretty well read on skeptical literature so for me there was little new. However, the silly fads covered in the book are often considered far more acceptable than critical analysis or thinking. Therefore, the book should be assigned to maybe high school seniors or college freshmen, those inclined to fall into such traps, i.e., into believing such nonsense. At least, then, when they get through their post adolescent turmoil, they'll have had a direction, a reference to put the foolishness in perspective. I'm not so naive to think that young people won't pass through such fads--most of us did at one point or another in our lives. But, again, seeds will be planted when most mature to a more complicated world in which we rely on evidence to come to conclusions.

And they DO cover what constitutes a scientific examinination of something, i.e., a contrast to the "intuitive," testimonial or anecdote-based, or merely "faith" angle they're trying to refute. That is a valuable contribution to the seed for future critical thinking.

The book does, however, have its weaknesses. One petty one, for instance is that the authors referred to the Greek gods for whom the planets are names. I believe their named for ROMAN gods (the biggest, gas giant, for example, being Jupiter, not Zeus). And, in retrospect, I wish they'd covered some of the trendy "therapies" which are draining the pockets of many, who, after these functionless raps still think for some reason that they're morally superior to the rest of us. But I suppose they make up a different genre of the stuff of which we need to be wisely informed.

The book is a fine primer for those thus far ill-informed of its subject matter. As such, that's not a criticism but a perspective. It's a wonderful, step-by-step primer for those new to skepticism, e.g., young people experimenting with it or their parents trying to reason their kids off of astrology kicks and so forth. But I wouldn't recommend it to those who've read far more sophisticated stuff on the subjects already.

Sure, raising kids in New York IS easy when you have the bucks these authors must have to shop at the stores they mention. This extremely yuppy guide smacks of elitism and left me feeling like an embittered "have-not" Additionally, there's not nearly enough information about the borroughs, not all of us are fortunate enough to live on the upper east side...

The title of this book is misleading. Thinking of Manhattan as "New York City" is a typically yuppie-provincial view--but in line with the voice of the authors. In addition, this book adds nothing you can't find in more reliable and complete sources such as Fodor's guides or the very many NYC web sites and news channels.

They fail to mention many of the exciting and educational attractions outside of Manhattan (to note are the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Prospect Park, and the zillions of Staten Island events). They often leave out vital bits of information such as directions or phone numbers (perhaps they take taxis everywhere?) They mentioned one book store that I know has been closed for some time.

It was particularly disturbing that the majority of the book is spent on shopping and eating, and less on the variety indivudual nuances of libraries, museums, and music centers.

On a personal note, I found the authors style to be grating. To me, some of their phrasing, "Food and Whine" as the title for the restaurant chapter and "Here comes the Bribe" for toy stores, are tell-tale as to how they view and interact with their children. It's not a pretty picture.

This is not a book I would recommend to anyone, especially to Native New Yorkers.

This is a great book for parents of toddlers. I found the writing funny, the locations mentioned of interest and great tidbits to make your shopping, eating or recreational experience better.

Fun Book!!