We have the 1998 edition, and find it an exceptional resource. Dr. Bartlett's choices of what to leave in, and how much detail to include, are well thought out. We are eagerly waiting for the 2000 edition.

This book, which has also been co-published simultaneously in the journal Social Thought (1999;19(2)), came out of a symposium at the St. Louis University School of Social Service at the sponsorship of the Doerr Center for Social Justice, Education and Research. The contributors to the six chapters with topics like Compassion, solidarity and empowerment; Welfare reform and foster care; Delinquency prevention; Collaborative practice in low income communities; Fostering resiliency in children and Ecumenical housing all came from authors within the field of social work. Data from the United States on poor children (The state of America's children yearbook, Washington, DC: Children's Defence Fund, 1998) has shown that three in five poor children are white, one in five live in suburban areas, one in three live in a family with married parents and two in three live in a working family. In 1973 14.4% of all children in America were poor, but in spite of a better economy that figure climbed to 20.5% in 1996. For young families in America the child poverty rate doubled from 20% in 1973 to 41% in 1994 and all these increases even though the federal government had implemented welfare reforms to prevent poverty. The chapter by Nancie Palmer from Wasburn University on "Fostering resiliency in children" based on her doctoral work from 1991 on exploring resiliency in adult children of alcoholics was interesting reading. She introduces the Differential Resiliency Model (DRM) as an alternative and non-pathological approach to the study of children and families, who are coping daily with adversity. She sees resilience as an evolving process and while one person can display one of four types of resilience (anomic survival, regenerative, adaptive and flourishing resilience) this person may develop growth through new challenges and through homeostasis, coping strategies, relationships to environment or the use of energy the person will be able to survive. This book is recommended for workers in social work or perofessionals working with poor or disorganized families.

Professor Joav Merrick... E-mail: jmerrick@aquanet.co.il

For $ 17.00, I expected more than 126 pages and some real information. I am very disappointed. What a poor product.

This book is an absolute waste of paper, time and money. There is no index nor cross reference of any sort. If you want to sit down and read selected quotes by various individuals listed in no particular order (not alphabetically nor chronologically), then go ahead- this is your book. I was looking for a paperback reference book of quotations and this "ain't it." I am not really sure what motivated Citadel Press to publish this rather worthless book.

Caveat Emptor!

I got hornswoggled by this one!

This is NOT *the* Bartlett's Familiar Quotations that you grew up with. It is, however, a facsimile reprint of the first edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. So, it is only good if you are 1) curious about the first edition, 2) a hard-core quote-ophile, or 3) cheap, like I was.

This book is not a complete waste, and I didn't return it, since it does have some uses, such as for casual browsing, a cheap gift to an ex or in-law, or even as a bathroom book.

(I can't believe that we have a word for such books!)

The draw backs to this book are that there is no order to the quotes. He starts out with obvious Shakespeare, but everything else is somewhere between haphazard and helter-skelter. Most of the sections are lines from long-forgotten poems that were old in Bartlett's day. There is also no index. Craziness! But probably industry standard in the 1800's.

The cover is very bland--white, with the the title in black and Brady Bunch Orange. Nice conservative colors, such as deep blues or greens, with a marble frame-border would help this book out.

So, if you want a cheap gift or a mediocre/next to useless quote-book, buy this book. But if you want the Bartlett's you grew up with, get the expensive hardbound.