"This is pretty good" from two middle school boys is a terrific review for a foreign language book. It's best with the cassette tape so you can practice correct pronunciation. Packed full of useful vocabulary and phrases, this book's cartoon drawings and mystery story glide you easily yet thoroughly through French grammar. Great for middle school through adult - best we've found.

This book is the greatest book for childern and teenagers. It helps you learn the word by looking at the picture and you can use it any time you want. Even if you are in your second year of High School. Even the teachers like it for its creativity.

This book really helped me. What I like is that you follow a storyline and at the same time you learn a lot of French. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to speak French.

This is a very handsome book - of great interest for architectural buffs or historians. It pairs two great architects - Robert Venturi and Irving Gill - in a unique, engaging, and informative way. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (in La Jolla, California)is one of the finest small museums in the country, well worth a visit to see outstanding architecture as well as cutting-edge contemporary art.

This is an outstanding book for anyone interested in the work of two great architects - Robert Venturi and Irving Gill. The combination of their work at the museum in La Jolla is masterful, and this book gives a fascinating look into the museum's history and Venturi's thought processes as he sought to restore the historic "Scripps House" while expanding and modernizing the Museum of Contemporary Art. A great find - makes me want to visit La Jolla and see it for myself!

Buy this book even if you've never been to the La Jolla museum it describes. If you've been to the museum, it's worth buying to give you pause to reflect on what you've seen. This book offers both the history and theory behind Venturi's reshaping of a wonderful museum in an attractive location. Those of us who remember the museum in the old days have got to be impressed with what Venturi has done. Although this text is all too brief, it provides the illumination needed to appreciate more fully this California classic.

I've used this book so much over the years I wore it out. It makes for great conversation at parties etc. It has become a classic!

I have had this book for many years and still love to pick it up every once in a while and go through it. It has great bits and pieces of history that is fascinating, funny and informative. I still recollect facts that I'd learned from the book years later and surprise people with bits of history that they never knew.

Unbelievable in the amount of information presented, it's been on my bedside table for just over 10 years now and I still have not come across every page. It is not just a type of encyclopedia, rather it comes across as a sort of dictionary about certain aspects of history that is actually fun to read. And that is in part of what I must stress to the future reader; it is immense, and enjoyable reading.

This is one of those books to keep in the car and, when you have to wait in a doctor's office, dine alone, or wait in line for something, this book will entertain you over and over again with its fascinating (and often amusing) facts. Yes, it is a book you can pick up and put down, but you'll always enjoy it when you open it and read. As an example that made me laugh out loud... one of the ten songs with outrageous titles that were actually published is one titled, "It's Hard To Say I Love You, When You're Sitting On My Face!" I'd have bought it for that one alone.

Before people had the Internet as a source of trivia, this book was the next best thing. The lists, a masterpiece of compilation, are still a delight: they include a summary of Creasy's Most Decisive Battles, the world's greatest libel suits, the biggest recipients of cold war military aid, and famous virgins. The sequel was somewhat racier than the original but just as good. This book - if you can get hold of it - still has the power to keep you happy during down-time in your summer hammock or your winter chalet.

This book is amazingly interesting, it shows the unbelievable origin of ordinary events and names through history. It is great to share with friends and for readings at parties. It's also very easy to read since you can pick any piece of the book without loosing meaning or context. I saw this book first when I was in high school, some 13 years ago. I liked it so much that I bought it for my dad then, though we lost it on a moving about 8 years ago. I've tried to find the Spanish edition ever since with no success, now I'm eager to find it whether in Spanish or English. It's a great gift for any kind of reader!

PLACES OF GRACE consists of a series of stunning photographs by Gary Irving and an essay by Michal Strutin. The book covers states in the upper central plains--Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Indiana, although as Strutin notes, some would include other areas.

Strutin asks--what is the American Midwest? She outlines what she thinks comprises the area and discusses the forests, wetlands, huge fresh water lakes, and prairie that can still be found throughout the region. She imagines what the first European explorers must have seen when they arrived. She says, for example, the word prairie is French for meadow. French explorers were the first Europeans to travel extensively through the American plains. They saw the amazing wide open spaces where grass grew 10 feet tall and lacking any other word, likened it to their own grass meadows back home. The French named many places from Des Moines to Des Plains.

Strutin says conservationists are working to restore parts of the prairie to their natural state. She explains some of the research involved in determining the correct proportions of Asclepia (Butterfly Weed); Echinacea; Daisy; and other flora in a region that contains one of the three major U.S. flyways for birds, butterflies and other migratory animals.

PLACES also contains photos and text about non-prairie areas in upper Michigan and Wisconsin where hugh forests once existed as anyone who has ever read Laura Ingalls Wilder's LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS or heard of Paul Bunyun knows. Even today this area is a source of timber and home to many paper mills, though a good deal of the timber is being recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan where it landed a century ago.

Irving and Strutin could have called their book HIDDEN PLACES OF GRACE. There are many wonderful nooks and crannies that somehow escaped the developer's axe, and today are protected in one way or another. This is an interesting and beautiful book.

A very well composed book featuring fabulous photographs with vivid colors and composition- enjoyable page after page. Books like this succeed for me when I desire to visit these locations. Well done!

Good production values overall make this a nice addition to other landscape photography books. Highly recommended.

Mr.Irving has had some wonderful books in the past,but "Places of Grace"is not only his finest,but is the best collection of landscapes i've seen in a long time!This book is a must for anyone interested in the finest of landscape photography!

Home sweet home: a place of love, refuge, and memories. For Helen Martin's it was also her life, her work and her Mecca. In the play "The Road to Mecca" Athol Fugard explores the question: Should we leave our Mecca, our spiritual fountainhead, when we can no longer take care of ourselves? The conflict between the three strong willed characters Helen, Elsa and Pastor Marius explores the question in the light of different religions, cultures, genders, ages and environments. Fugard said the play was suggested by the life and work of Helen Martins of New Bathesda, South Africa. The real Helen from age 50 to 75 transformed her house into a personal universe that enters the realm of archetype, symbol and metaphor. The house, furniture, windows and walls became a kaleidoscope of colored glass. In her garden she constructed over 200 figures: owls, Biblical figures, Buddhas, and ancient gods and goddesses. One South African scholar described her work as one of the most stirring experiences of his life and another called her one of South Africa's artistic geniuses. Fugard in his play shows Helen's creations as a glorious, makeshift oasis of creativity and life force and Elsa, his character, sees Helen as an example of freedom and transcendence. One powerful scene is when Helen, seated in her Mecca with dozens of candles playing off glittered walls and mirrors, tells Pastor Marius "I can't reduce my world to a few ornaments in a small room in an old-age home." The effect is stunning. The play is thought provoking and gives few answers. Helen is alive when it ends. Sadly, in 1975, the real Helen committed suicide. She drank caustic soda and died after three days I solitary agony. Her will included complex instructions listing in detail the ritual disposal of each of her sculptures. But today her home, known as "The Owl House" has been proclaimed a national monument and is a mecca for artists and tourists.

A reclusive elderly widow (based on the late Helen Martins, whose South African home is now a museum) has created her own "Mecca" by decorating the inside of her home with candles and mirrors and by surrounding the house with an assortment of personally-sculpted mermaids, wisemen, peacocks and pyramids. Although her neighbors view Miss Helen as a crazy old woman, she has made friends with Elsa Barlow, a young teacher who has returned for a surprise visit. On that same day, clergyman Marius Byleveld has come to help Helen apply to a nursing home. Marius is fond of Helen and fears for her safety. Elsa is in opposition to a move as it would take Helen away from her art.

I was originally concerned that a drama focusing on an old woman's artwork would not translate well to a listening experience. How could I care as deeply about Miss Helen if I was not able to see the oddball sculptures she had created? Surely the vision of "a city of light and color more splendid than anything I had ever imagined" could not be adequately transmitted through the speakers of my tape player. I need not have worried. One of my favorite parts of the entirely wonderful listen remains the moment when Helen lights her room with candles -- music comes up and there is absolutely no problem seeing a room aglow in a growing light of imagination and art. Adding to the experience is a superb cast performing a well-written examination of what it means to be an artist, what it means to be older, and what it means to be shunned. Fabulous!

Excellent recording quality, an interesting listen.

Outstanding book, for anybody who has ever loved and lost a beloved companion animal. Will put a lump in your throat, a tear in your eye, and a feeling of warmth deep within your heart. Arlene Millman, author of BOOMERANG - A MIRACLE TRILOGY (The tale of a remarkable Boston Terrier).

I have been in the veterinary industry for over 15 years. Sadly, we often send condolence cards to owners when their pets pass away. Many years ago I started seeing a particular quote by Irving Townsend on these cards. It read, "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necesssary plan." It took over 15 years to stumble across the book that contains this quote, but it was worth the wait. I recommend it from the heart. A truly memorable experience.

Irving Townsend revisits the lives of some of his favorite animals and the ways they have touched him. Read about Prince, the horse saved from an auction, who blossomed and came into his own; the cat without a name who shared his life for a few months to recover from an injury. These are the characters, but he tells their stories as they affect him. It is his sense of loss that we feel and understand. An excellent book for anyone who has ever loved or lost a pet or companion animal.

Since this book was written, many books have been published
along similar lines. This book is unique because it offers
readers a new way to think about their world. It has a system
and a theory -- not just a collection of tips.

If you liked Lynn Grabhorn's book, Excuse Me Your Life is
Waiting, you'll probably like this one too.

No matter what is happening to you be it a health problem, life changes, work or relationships problems this simple, yet deep and fun book can lead you to a surprisingly wonderful outcome - usually better than you ever thought possible. Dr Oyle develped a method of communicating with your higher mind . Through this integration and communication of the your conscious and unconscious mind some very powerful and surprising results will occur. Imagine if you will - some one who knows you better than you know your self and they help you become more of who you really are - and the results not only bring you joy but also peace and fulfillment - You have heard of a book that can change your life - Dr Oyle did it here - I have also had the pleasure of knowing him and learning from him. A true classic!

Have you ever wanted to step away from your life and examine just what is going on with you and your life? This book can help you rotate the focus on your life so that you can probe your health not only on a physical level but also on emotional and spiritual levels. The authors also discuss how employment and lifestyle choices can affect your well being. It is well written book and the authors use personal stories of some of their clients to powerfully highlight the points they are trying to convey.

This is a concise, well-written paperback (it's also orange =P) book that's easy to carry and user-friendly. Lacks the fluff and "entertaining" anecdotes; it very straightforward... Even so, this book accomplishes what it should accomplish, tells you everything that you need to learn, from the Greeks and beyond, all in outline format. It's accesible, and comprehensive. It even has quizzes at the end of each section to test yourself on. It's an entirely worthwhile buy for anyone serious about learning history.

I'm using this book for an advance placement European history class and it is great. The book covers the facts-plain and simple, from the Greeks to the present. Every sentence in this book is useful-not just boring bable as in other text books (i.e. A History of The Modern World). Great study guide for any history class-recommmended for all historians! And the best part: it's small and it's paper back.

This bok really helps a lot whether you are in an AP European History class as I am or if you are in a reglar World History Class. It takes difficult concepts and documents and greatly simplifies them making understanding tough material a breeze. It really helps doing homework or studying for a test. A great book for anyone that has a tough time with history concepts.