i made a few teddy bears and still don't have enough. so many great ideas and possibilities and patterns for clothing. i can only recommend it. you will see that teddies are easy to make.

This is a richly rewarding, unforgettable book that will fascinate not only students of Jewish or German history, but anyone interested in modern history in general. Of the book's many virtues, the one I appreciate most is the justice it does to the extraordinary role of German-Jewish women in the development of social welfare and women's rights organizations in pre-1933 Germany. After I read this treasure, I reflected on another book I read entitled Great Jewish Women; unforgivably it profiled Goldie Hawn and Ann Landers but had nary a mention of truly towering figures like Alice Salomon, the founder of modern social work in Germany, and "Soup Kitchen Lina" Morgenstern, whose herculean, selfless and pioneering efforts on behalf of veterans, children and women were all the more admirable given the anti-Semitism of the times. Kaplan's book provides a sorely needed perspective on what really astonishing achievements are all about.

Marion Montgomery is a national treasure. He is consistently the most trenchant critic of literary and philosophical thought at work today.

Gerhart Niemeyer once wrote a piece called (if I remember correctly) "Why Marion Montgomery Has To Ramble", and he does (!) but what delightful places he rambles to.

If you want to see how "Thomism" can be a living philosophy, then you can do no better than begin with Montgomery's writings.

This book is one of those undiscovered treasures that really should have been more popular than it was. A lot of us know that Washington D.C.'s mayor was arrested for crack cocaine, but we really never got the inside story just from reading the papers. Agronsky dug deeper, and presents his findings in such a way that it makes for fascinating reading.

Marion Barry's behavior is presented in a non-judgmental manner, I thought. Indeed, Barry's actions spoke for themselves. We all saw the surveillance tape of Barry smoking the crack pipe, but Agronsky gives us the full story of what went on behind the scenes. Yes, it was disturbing to see the mayor of this country's capital city smoking crack cocaine; however, as Agronsky reveals, Barry at first resisted smoking the crack, because he wanted to lay off the pipe. It was only after a lot of prodding that Barry finally took a few hits.

...Was he set up? Judge for yourself.

To me, it was interesting how nobody was blameless in the whole Barry crack scandal. To be sure, Barry himself was a scumbag. (He went up to the hotel room to cheat on his wife, which itself is bad enough.) But the feds who busted him did not strike me as being much higher in character than Barry.

My only gripe with the book is that it was not long enough. Agronsky relates the story of the sting operation in rich detail, but by the end of the book, he fast-forwards through time, squeezing months into each chapter.

Agronsky is a superb investigative reporter, and I wish he would write more books!

I recently discovered the plays of Daniel MacIvor, a Canadian actor-playwright I'd seen on the series "Twitch City." He has one of the most original theatrical visions I've encountered, tempered with an amazing generosity in the depiction of character. "Marion Bridge" is about three sisters--a nun, a failed actress and the one who stayed in their small-town home--coming together to care for their dying mother. Unlike most men writing about women, he does not define the women in terms of their relationships with men, nor does he put the women at each other's throats for two acts. Instead, they react like real family members. Sometimes they work together; sometimes they fight. And it's always little things that mark the transition from one stage to another.

I've taken scenes from this play to some acting workshops and all involved have been very impressed with the flow of the dialogue and the effective, totally believable use of humor. I'm surprised nobody has done Mr. MacIvor's plays down here. I hope to do a production of this in the fall. Order this book. You won't be dissappointed.

This cookbook from the early '50s holds up remarkably well given changes in taste and diet over the years.

We particularly like the stuffing recipe but there's a wealth of palatable dishes here.

It's quite strange that this book, of all Trollope, is so hard to find. Reviewers didn't like it when it was originally published in the late 1800s, and it never shook its reputation as ultra-tedious. This mystifies me. The melodrama between politically radical Lord Jack Hampton and Marion Fay, a non-aristocratic young Quaker woman who's more of a lady than several of the "ladies" in the book, is flirtatious, accessible and fun (Hampton repeatedly teases Marion that he fell for her when she "poked his fire," i.e. tended his fireplace with a poker--a bolder play with innuendo than Trollope usually engages in). It then turns passionate when Marion won't marry Jack because of a secret trouble involving life-threatening illness. T. uses the situation to examine with great depth and sensitivity the desire to consummate the spiritual union of two souls via marriage. This is the most careful look at what marriage means in T.'s ideal world that I have read in his work yet. He makes it exciting and suspenseful, since we're waiting to see if Marion will really get to poke Jack's fire--or if an unthinkable separation will occur. As in all T., there is a hilarious cast of characters who toe the line that separates the comically pathetic from the dangerously antisocial--for example, will Jack's archetypical evil stepmom just grumble her way through life, or will she scheme to kill Jack? The multiple marriage and family plots are very well integrated, unlike in some other T. novels.

A must-have if you have ever spent time in Marion, or plan to do so. The text outlines the interesting historical aspects of Marion while 'walking you through' this beautiful village by use of photos and captions describing 200 historic houses in this small seafaring town.

The best vegetarian book I have found so far! The recipes are simple and totally yummie.

The author makes good use of herbs and spices and uses only natural ingredients.

Recipes range from sweet to savoury to snacks and store cupboard goodies... there's even a recipe for soya milk in there.

The writer offers suggestions on when to serve each dish (i.e.buffets,dinner parties etc.) and gives variations regularly.

Definitely worth buying!

This book was very helpful and informative, even though I used a regular doctor and gave birth at a hospital. I think any book that informs and empowers a woman to help her make the choices that are right for her throughout pregnancy and childbirth is a good book. I have referred to it over and over again, and this is my third pregnancy! My copy is pretty beat up because I have loaned it out several times. Some of the things I liked best about this book:

*The section that helps you know what questions to ask and what to look for in a potential caregiver. It is more in depth than most pregnancy books. This section really helps you find out if the doctor or midwife you are considering is really the right one for you.

*The section that deals with nausea and other aches and pains in pregnancy. The author doesn't belittle or patronize you or try to make you think "it's not as bad as you think" or "it's common in pregnancy". Instead, REAL advice is given as to how to remedy these problems in a natural way.

*The section on dealing with labor. This author knows and acknowledges that labor hurts! She gives many choices on how to deal with different labor situations and what to do when something isn't working. There are a lot of options given here that I think many women are not aware of.

This is a great book for a woman who realizes she is in charge of her body and wants to make informed choices during her pregnancy and birth. Information is given about medication and epidurals, pros and cons. The author does not try to persuade you to do it her way, but wants you to make informed decisions so that everything will go YOUR way!