I'm an avid reader of books about books, especially other people's annotated lists of books to read, and this is one of the very best I've seen. It's subtitled "A Critical Guide to the Complete Works of 110 Authors," and it's an excellent introduction for even the most serious reader of modern literary fiction to those authors and books one inevitably misses. Some of my favorites are here, including Steven Milhauser, David Lodge, and Jane Smiley, but I was also made to think again about Mian Kundera, Barbara Kingsolver, and a few others by whom I had not been particularly impressed. The biographical notes will also give you some clues to where an author's work comes from, and the annotations on individual books are uniformly excellent -- even when I disagree with them. This is one for making marginal notes in!

A fantastic resource whether you are looking for book club suggestions or ideas for your own reading. I have just begun on the journey to increase my knowledge of contemporary authors and their novels by reading the starred books --the ones the editor considers to be "the best" by each author included. I'm sure anyone will "discover" unfamiliar authors or novels not yet read. It makes a terrific gift for the book lovers on your list.

This book is great if you are a fan of contemporary fiction. This book is a helpful guide to finding out about different authors you've heard about but don't know what book to read first. Rubel gives brief intros to each author and their individual works. He also provides his picks as to the best book to read first, which are the author's best works, and who else you might enjoy reading if you like a particular author. For authors I had already read that were listed in the book, I felt he gave a pretty accurate ratings for good first books by an author, and was quite pleased with the resulting recommendations.

Despite its diminutive size, this book packs a powerful punch and is probably unlike anything you have read before. Although it is well-written and entertaining, it is by no means a comfortable or easy read. Be prepared to be taken in different directions and to be confronted with unaccustomed perspectives. There is a passage from the book which gives an indication of its effect: "A pungent thought is a corrective to deterioration of the thinking: like cold water helping slack muscles to work again..." This book is full of such pungent thoughts...

Aptly titled, "Reflections," is a collection of fables, aphorisms, and statements that challenge the conditioned, assumptive manner we use when thinking of and interacting with others and ourselves. These reflections-whose effect is similar to being shaken out of sleep-offer insight on many levels.

The most insightful comment about this collection appears in the book's forward, written by Idries Shah: "Do you imagine that fables exist only to amuse or to instruct, and are based upon fiction? The best ones are delineations of what happens in real life, in the community and in the individual's mental processes."

In its own quiet way, this pocket-size gem of a book offers something that's often claimed but rarely found: a true means of rousing the sluggish brain from its customary, comfortable state of automatic-pilot torpor. Comprised of bite-size sayings and stories, it avoids the emotional, the obvious and the sententious in favor of an entirely different approach that nudges the attentive reader in new and unexpected directions, chipping away at assumptions and habitual thought-patterns that screen us from seeing things the way they really are. I found it thought-provoking, bracing and a pleasure to read as well as a real eye-opener. Its size and format also make it an ideal gift.

This book makes my top-ten list of best computing books of the decade of the eighties. It certainly changed my outlook on how to write programs. The incorporation of logic into the code to mathematically prove that it works correctly was an ideal in the eighties and to some extent it remains an ideal. Nevertheless, that is not a reflection of the value of program correctness, but a consequence of the slow changes that sometimes take place in computing. Programmers may change their languages easily, but often not their styles.
At the time this book came out, I was in the process of designing and adding a course in computation theory with an emphasis on program correctness at Mount Mercy College. Before I encountered this book, I was having a difficult time pressing my case. However, after this book came out and I could use some of the comments regarding the significance of its' content, the course was easily approved. I also used the book in the class and the student comments were overwhelmingly positive. Ten years later, the book is still used in the class, something that is rare in computing.
The quality of the writing and explanations of the examples in the book are outstanding. Most of the students had no experience in formal logic, and yet they had little difficulty understanding and applying the concepts. The examples of proving the code correct were well chosen and I rarely heard any of the traditional complaints from math students regarding their frustrations over having to work through proofs.
The quality of programs would be dramatically increased if the principles of program correctness in this book were widely adopted. I continue to push for it every chance I get, and this review is one part of that push.

The book provides an excellent introduction to logic and then shows how by using the language of logic and mathematics to specify pre-conditions and post-conditions one can develop provably correct programs from these pre-conditions and post-conditions.

I have used the methods in this book to develop advanced algorithms in Computer Graphics which could not have been developed in any other way.

The book is both a tutorial and reference. It is clearly written and organized.

When I first read this book, it was as though a bolt of lightning had struck me. Applying its methods, I became a much better programmer. I went from someone who struggled to get the code right to someone who always got the code right. For the first time I understood what programming was all about. I read the book on vacation while my wife and I were staying at my father's home in Sag Harbor New York and it was one of the most incredible intellectual adventures of my life. I'll never forget the smell of the sea and the sand and the logic going off like lightning flashes inside my brain.

Simply put, a book that re-introduces the idea of program correctness over all else. An excellent source on program design & analysis, checking for correctness using a logic-based approach. A book that builds from the fundamentals. Not for those who are looking for quick fixes.

I found this book to be very refreshing and uplifting as well as erotic. He uses eroticism just enough to get you to the edge without KNOCKING you over. My favorite by far was Check One, because of its simplicity. Love it!

There is no other way to decribe Mr. Williams except for Da Bomb. He definitely has it goin' on with his book Simple Love. The fact that it's so simple is what makes it so extraordinary. He is so expressive that by the end of the poem you feel every emotion that he was feeling as he was writing it. Keep it up Mr. Williams. I am definitely feelin' you (Especially on that --If I Could Hear Some Saxaphone--) I am awaiting the next release of your great works.

Ondrea Nicole Lewis

Simple Love is a misnomer. According to the brutally honest poetry of David Brian Williams, there is nothing simple about love. Williams has treated us to an unusally candid perspective of the often masked pain felt by men in love. His touches of eroticism reveal his desire to please, and his plea heard in "Check One" begs for an easier approach to dating and mating. There is nothing in "Simple Love" that any of us can not relate to. This man wants to love and be loved. Don't we all?

I chose The Threee Billy Goats Gruff by Stephen Carpenter because it was my Mom's favorite story book growing up. The day I brought it home she sat down and read it to me and my sister. My favorite characters are the three billy goats because there funny and can play tricks on the troll. The troll was foolish to let the small and middle size billy goats go across the bridge, and then have to fight with the big billy goat. He ended up falling off the bridge and all three billy goats enjoyed the grass on the other side of the bridge. Now they will be able to come and go whenever they want. There is a lesson to be learned in this book. Don't let someone influence you by saying that something is bigger and better if you wait for awhile. Overall the book is alot of fun to read. I would definitely share this story with my children.

Many of the reviews listed here are for other versions of this story. I have checked out all seven versions of Three Billy Goats Grufff available from our library just to see which was best for a three year old. This one by Stephen Carpenter has large, clever, uncluttered pictures and tells the story in simple language. The troll is not too scary and, all in all, this one seems just right for little ones. Another version, the elaborately illustrated one by Janet Stevens, uses a colorful, imaginative vocabulary and would have more appeal to adults and older children (5 or 6 and up?).

This book has brought great joy to my daughters life. She is 2 1/2 years old and she just loves this story. I highly recomend this book to any parent who enjoys seeing their children envolved with a book.

I checked this book out of the library prior to a trip to London, and now I'm going to buy a copy for my library. This is such a well laid out book, and the perfect size for the field. The information on the covers is particularly nice, with black and white illustrations of members of all the families so that you can quickly determine where in the guide to look for details. This is very helpful because there are many unfamiliar birds there that don't fit into the categories of birds we're used to in the states. And right inside the front cover is a color-coded index to help you quickly get to the section you need. I also liked the interesting facts about the birds that you don't see in many field guides. If you need a guide to birds for this area, this is definitely the one to have!

I ordered this book for a trip to Northern Germany and really lucked out. I read previous reviews, liked the format and size and gave it a shot. It was perfect for my needs. I recommend it highly.

Before our vacation in Denmark this month, I purchased this guide and based my selection on the 2 previous reviews and its small size. Boy, did I get lucky! This is one great field guide! Not only is all the pertinent information for each species located on one page, but that one page is also full of all sorts of interesting items (such as behaviors and flight patterns), written and/or pictured. If the authors would compile a similar guide for our North American species, it would surely replace my almost-worn-out National Geographic (my previous favorite)!

This is a great reference for people wanting to cook a little healthier. There are a host of suggestions on how to convert existing recipes to a lower fat menu and there are many illustrations to support the many tips and charts. You will learn how to substitute lower fat ingredients for butter and oil without compromising the taste of your food. The authors discuss the many types of rice, flour, grains, herbs, spices etc. and guide you in selecting the appropriate one for your particular needs. In short, this book is a cooking class in healthy living. Buy this one...you will use it often!

P.S. Weight Watchers' clients will particularly like this book. The nutritional information necessary for calculating Winning Points is included with every recipe and you will have a huge number of dishes that you may prepare within your program.

This book is fantastic. Everything tastes like gourmet cooking.
Some of the recipes are fairly simple while others are not. This book is great for people who love to cook and want low-fat alternatives that taste great. Fair warning though this isn't one of those quickie meal recipe books. It is the best cookbook I own, regardless of the low-fat. It gives tons of information on exotic as well as common ingredients. It is a great gourment recipe book as well as instructional cooking book.

This cookbook takes recipes ever one likes-- and makes it healthy-- I love this cookbook-- use it every day.. the baking , main meals and desserts are good-- the fat has been cut but still there is lots of favor in the food. You feel like you are doing something right for your family. Highly recommend for beginner cooks also--has lots of helpful hints..

Very well written, includes lots of interesting information, excellent resource. Highly recommended and I'd definitely buy it again. I've learned a lot about our fox neighbots.

Unlike most animal books I have read this one is on the top of my list for best information. David goes into great detail about foxes, his experiments to test hypotheses and the complete follow up of results. David is not like most animal researchers in that he tells about his private thoughts and times out in the field, and makes an emphaze on how he wants other researches to test his theories and hypotheses. This book is great and very inspiring to get out, watch wildlife and observe.

This is an excellent short revision of a Smithsonian publication from ten years hence, which was also highly acclaimed. The text and illustrations are excellent for those intending to understand or study the fox in it's natural environment. While a short 140 pages of text, the book is crammed with exccellent insights and just enough human empathy to explain how the fox conducts it's life.

I remember this book from when I was little and liked the details of how Sam tricked his sister with the sandwich. I once wrote in all the answers to the words(giving away all the answers) that before I gave the book away I had to cross the written-in answers out.
That story was long, but I used to have it all memorized.

Sam's makes his sister a special sandwich by slipping in little surprises such as snails and caterpillars. The book is shaped like a sandwich and each page is an ingredient (lettuce, tomatoes, eggs....) which open with flaps to show the surprise. My first graders think this book is hilarious and want me to read it practically on a daily basis.

This book is an absolute delight to children. They scream with laughter even at the 100th reading.

Mason's work in Shadow is an excellent beginning to an author that possesses such a deep understanding of military manuvers, lingo, etc. The details are what captured me in this book, particularly the story of the team's sniper. I felt a little lost towards the middle of the book, but I suppose most book are that way. Overall, he is NO Clancy, however, his next book is still something I would like to take a look at.

GOOD JOB!

-Sunil James

Mason was good at making this premise work, even though he was working with the handicap that came with setting this a few years back. We know the history of the Gulf War aftermath, so where's the suspense in reading about this crack team headed to take Mr. Hussein down? It's there all right. Obviously this is the work of a sharp intelligence. If Mr. Mason were to write another novel, I'd be sure to at least take a look at it.

Shadow over Babylon was given to me by a friend, he said that the book was impossible to put down. I thought that this might be a bit of an exageration, so i decided to read it. I ended up reading the book in 4 days while during my summer holidays. I can honestly say that this is the best book that i have ever read. My favourite author may be Wilbur Smith but this book eclipses anything that he has ever written. David Mason's second book Little Brother is also worth reading.