We borrowed this book from the library and I must buy a copy for my 3yr old. He loves it. The illustrations are unique and so pleasing to the eye. They are a little abstract but not too much so you can't see what is being conveyed.

Henry builds a cabin but his friends doesn't think it's big enough. Henry says it's big enough for all kinds of things. In the end, you find out what the cabin is perfect for.

Delightful read and a sure bet for a Baby Shower Gift!

I'm 12 but I really like this picture book. I learned a lot about what Henry Thoreau was trying to do when he built a cabin by Walden Pond, and it was fun learning it through this book. The illustrations are funny and I like how Henry solves his problems. I also like Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, which is even funnier because Henry makes his friend learn a lesson in a funny way. I also recommend another great book about Henrey Thoreau, that especially girls of all ages will like, Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute. It talks about how Henrey Thoreau helped Louisa May Alcott learn to like the outdoors and learn to like writing. Henry's funny in that book too so I think readers will like it too.

Henry, a sturdy looking bear wearing a large hat and workclothes, is building a cabin in the woods. He borrows an ax and cuts down twelve trees for framing, buys an old shed, takes it apart and uses the wood for the walls and floor. He builds a front door, finds two used windows and some old shingles for the roof. As he's building, friends stop by to look at the cabin and check on his progress. Emerson comments that it seems too small to eat in. "It's bigger than it looks," replies Henry and shows him his garden out back. "When it's finished, this will be my dining room." Friend, Alcott thinks the cabin will be too dark to read in, but Henry shows him a sunny spot right outside. "This will be my library." And when Miss Lydia shows concern that there won't be room for dancing, Henry shows her the pathway down to the pond, his grand stairway to the ballroom. On July 4th, Henry's cabin is finished and he moves in. He eats in the "dining room", reads in the "library" and dances in his "ballroom". When it begins to rain, he hurries back to his cabin, where in a very wise and amusing way he shows us that his new home is just perfect..... D.B. Johnson is back with a marvelous sequel to his award winning first picture book, Henry Hikes To Fitchburg, based on the life of Henry David Thoreau. His simple and inspiring text is sure to be a springboard to interesting and thoughtful discussions. What does a home really need, and how big does it have to be? Mr Johnson's creative and expressive, light-filled illustrations enhance the story beautifully, and capture the imagination. With an author's note at the end "About Henry's Cabin", to help fill in the details of how and why Thoreau built his cabin, its cost, and his two years living at Waldens Pond, Henry Builds A Cabin is an engaging and unique little treasure youngsters 4-8 shouldn't miss. "Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think they must have such a one as their neighbors have."

In simple language and illustrated with lovely pictures of a mother talking to her little son, children are told the story of how God made each one of us. The language is simple and the pictures help one understand God's handiwork. A nice book to read to children especially if a new baby will be joing the family.

The conversational style of the mother answering her childs questions was easy for my 4 year old to relate to. The combination of the drawn characters that the story is about and real pictures of babies in the mommy's tummy made it less like a textbook. Does not address sex or gender differences, but does address sperm and egg being needed. I ordered several in this catagory and this was by far the best one.

This book has several merits. The information is scientifically accurate, and presented at a very appropriate level for its audience. The dialogue format between mother and child fits well with how children ask about this difficult topic. God's role in the process is stated but not pushed. The first-rate photos of the developing child (by Lennart Nilson, A Child is Born), really complement the text and drawings. It's a great jumping-off point for these discussions with young children. My 3 year-old related the material to her experience when she was in utero and to her new sibling-to-be, so she clearly got the connection between the book and real life.

Another excellent Missing Manual product. There is more to iPhoto than meets the eye, and this book covers every detail in a conversational and user-friendly tone, without being cute or obtuse. You'll learn not only how to use iPhoto, but how to overcome some of its limitations, such as creating additional photo libraries after the first one fills up. The layout is attractive and legible. The detailed coverage of digital photography basics - buying a camera and taking good pictures - is another bonus.

As I've said of other Missing Manuals, if I were to write a guide, I'd want it to read like this one. Highly recommended.

This is a must have for any digital photographer planning to use iPhoto. Many books of this sort aren't much more than an explanded version of what should be in the program's help files. This book goes way beyond. One of the co-authors is a professional photographer; the first quarter of the book is his well written explanation of the essentials of composition and (digital) photography. The bulk of the book describes not just how you can use iPhoto, but how you ought to use it and why. I found the advice provided practical and non obvious; it has made me much more productive in my use of this software. As well, the authors provide pointers to some downloadable plug ins that make iPhoto much more useful - I can't imagine going without the iPhoto library manager and the betterhtml plug in. The only downside of the book is that it will be much less useful in a year or two after Apple has updated their product - but in the meantime, but it, use it, and enjoy it.

Collaboratively written by David Pogue (computer columnist for the New York Times); Joseph Schorr (software product manager and Macworld contributor); and Derrick Story (professional photographer and manager of the O'Reilly Network), iPhoto: The Missing Manual is a straightforward, comprehensive, authoritative, and thoroughly user-friendly guide to the free iPhoto 1.1.1. software for the Macintosh OS X. iPhoto: The Missing Manual is a superbly written and presented introduction to making the best use of iPhoto ability to create works of art from the footage of a digital camera. From setting up slide shows; to designing pages in a photography book; to file management, lighting techniques, and more, iPhoto: The Missing Manual is a "must-have" instructional reference for anyone seeking to make the most of their iPhoto software.

Craig Russell, at Sun Microsystems, is the specification lead for JDO and David Jordan, at Object Identity, has been an active member of the JDO expert group since its inception.

Java Data Objects provides a thorough coverage of JDO and explains how it can be used in various architectures. The reader is expected to be familiar with Java but needs only a limited knowledge of databases. In brief, Java Data Objects (JDO) insulates you from needing to know a lot about databases. JDO permits you to develop applications using your preferred Java object-oriented model, without you having to write code to translate between Java objects and how the data is stored in the database--JDO takes care of all of that for you.

The first three chapters provide a high level overview of JDO by walking through a small application, exploring each of its interfaces at a high level, and introducing the architectures it might be used in. Even if you have been away from code for a while you will be able to follow most of the code example. You can stop here if you just want to understand what JDO is all about and where it can be used. These are recommended reading for a manager.

Chapters 4 through 9 are required reading if you want to start developing JDO applications. They really get you into JDO, so you can understand it and start using it. The first three of these cover how to define persistent classes and fields, how they can be mapped to various databases (done for you) and the class enhancement process (which makes a lot of JDO transparent to you). The next three (chapter 7 through 9) bring home the power of JDO. These cover how to connect with a database, establish a transaction context and create, read, query, update and delete database objects. The material is made concrete by illustrating it with a detailed and intuitive example application. This example is carried throughout the book with sections of it explained as the concepts are covered.

Each remaining chapter covers a different JDO concept or feature (including optional features) that were introduced earlier but not covered in detail to keep the earlier chapters more understandable. These remaining topics are identity, lifecycle states & transitions, field management, cache management, nontransactional access and optimistic transactions. You can read these chapters as you feel the need for a more in-depth understanding of these concepts.

The last two chapters explain how to use JDO in an application-server environment and an Enterprise Java Beans environment. These two chapters assume you are already familiar with these environments, but I think a lot of it is understandable even if you are not.

There are five appendices with everything from the lifecycle state transitions to the collected source code for many of the classes used in the example application.

JDO has recently gained popularity as a Java data access alternative to the lower-level JDBC interface and the more complex CMP (container-managed persistence) that works only with EJBs (Enterprise Java Beans). JDO's popularity is not surprising, it provides a lot of benefits over those APIs. And I should know, I was an architect of both JDBC and J2EE...

This book provides a good introduction to JDO, as well as depth on the specifics. The authors are arguably the world's most knowledgable experts on JDO, since Craig Russell is the specification lead and Dave Jordan one of the biggest contributors to the JDO expert group.

Java Data Objects by David Jordan and Craig Russell succeeds in giving a good introduction to JDO and providing a very good overview of the standard. The book covers all the relevant aspects of managing persistent Java objects, such as creating and deleting persistent objects, identity, queries, and transaction handling.

More importantly, the authors describe how to use JDO in practice, meaning how to use JDO to write a Java application that accesses persistent data transparently. There are lots of detailed, but easy to understand code examples explaining the concepts of JDO. I like the idea that the entire book uses a single application scenario. The source code is included in the appendix.

The descriptions do not depend on a particular JDO implementation. Instead, it focuses on how to write an application in a manner that is portable among different JDO implementations. Where necessary, it explains JDO's optional features and areas where JDO implementations may differ. JDO does not specify a standard for the mapping of persistent classes to specific datastores; but this is an important aspect of developing an application with JDO. There is a chapter about datastore mappings, with the focus on relational databases.

There are chapters about defining persistent classes, enhancing them, and setting up the JDO runtime environment. It is easy to transfer the provided examples to your own application environment. I like the chapter on JDOQL; it provides a good and in-depth description of the JDO query language. There are extra chapters about the identity and lifecycle of persistent instances, as well as nontransactional access of persistent data. The last two chapters describe how JDO integrates into web- and application-server environment, especially J2EE application servers.

This is a very well written book on advertising. It is nice for a change to have heard of the authors! Usually when I read a review in another publication, such as Adweek, I am curious about the book but never buy it-this time I went ahead and bought it and I am most pleased. I am looking even more forward to the publisher's book entitled Inside the Minds: Leading Marketers - with the Chief Marketing Officers from Coke, GE, FedEx, American Express and other big names. It will be a very interesting contrast to the advertising side of the business.

This book is a must read for every advertiser-fantastic insight into the future of the advertising world. Adweek was right-this is a must read.

I have read close to 50 books on advertising throughout my career and this was by far the most innovative and thought provoking book I have read to date. I especially liked the chapter by Tim Love at Saatchi & Saatchi-but the entire book is full of insightful thoughts on where the future of the advertising industry is going. This is THE book to read if you are in the advertising, marketing or public relations industries.

Excellent well woven plot twists and suspense. A real page turner. David Ellis has jumped to the top of my list of favorite suspense authors.

Jon Soliday serves as legal counsel to state Senator Grant Tully, who is running for governor in which the polls indicate his employer trailing against Langdon Trotter. However, Jon uncovers that Trotter submitted an invalid petition that, if revealed, would force the front runner out of the contest. Shockingly Tully tells Jon to not go public with the information because he says he fears a public backlash. Instead he prefers Jon let lawyer Dale Garrison use the fake petition to blackmail Trotter into throwing the race.

Surprisingly, Jon receives an anonymous blackmail note that demands he pays $250,000 to keep quiet about "the secret that nobody knows". He wonders if someone knows about the incident in 1979 when he had sex with a woman who died not long afterward. Still Jon goes about his job and though he detests the deceitfulness, he meets with Garrison anyway. Not long after their discussion, someone kills Garrison leaving Jon as the prime suspect as the last known person to have seen the victim and he wondering about the link back to his previous worst nightmare from two decades ago.

LIFE SENTENCE is an exciting legal thriller that provides so many twists and turns that readers will read in one sitting. The story line enables the audience to observe the relativity of information based on a person's LINE OF VISION as reasonably intelligent individuals interpret facts to fit their need and theory of the crime. The key charcaters including Jon are developed enough to enhance the who-done-it as it is the interpretation not just the facts that will make David Ellis' second legal thriller a fan favorite.

Harriet Klausner

Ellis' second novel is better than his first, and that was good. The novel is narrated by Jon Soliday, a longtime friend and now employee of Senator Grant Tully, son of retired Senator Tully. Twenty years ago in 1979, when he and Grant Tully were kids, they along with other juveniles (young men) were involved in a situation where a woman ended up dead.

Although Jon never had any specific recollection of what happened that night (drugs,sex,rock and roll), he becomes the focus of the investigation into the death of Gina Mason. Lawyers are hired, favors are called in, stories are constructed, magic is worked and the investigation into the death is closed. However, Jon Soliday never forgets and although he believes that he could not have been involved in her murder, there is so much about that night that he does not remember.

Present day, Soliday is helping Senator Grant Tully with his campaign bid for state governor. During the course of the campaign, Soliday is framed for the murder of another Tully aid. Soliday is arrested, charged and faces trial. He is represented by Bennett Carey who is a friend of sorts but much more. At the conclusion of the "trial" everyone comes out a loser.

It is hard to say more without spoiling this utterly magnificant, detailed and finely constructed piece of fiction. The surprises are endless, the writing is tight, the plot is well thought out and everything flows together in such a way that all the reader can say at the end is WOW!!!

If you care about the history of Chicago and/or American architecture, you will be blown away by this photographic treasure trove of the Windy City's lost legacy. Through fire, ignorance and greed many of the country's most beautiful buildings have been lost. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the merchant princes and the stockyards, George Pullman and Hull House's Jane Addams, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, the Columbian Exposition. These people and events shaped what few would neglect to identify as one of America's architectural centers.

This beautiful book is filled with more than 200 black-and-white photographs of buildings, bridges and other structures tragically allowed to fall into disrepair, destroyed by natural disaster, or bulldozed for parking lots and malls, repeated testaments to the Gordon Curve, predicting that a building is valued most when it is new, that it is least valued and most likely to be razed at approximately 70 years of age, and that if it makes it past that nadir it will begin to rise again in value as a relic and monument.

Each chapter is preceded by several well-written and accessible pages, and each photograph is accompanied by informative paragraphs and quotes. The author delves into Chicago's beginnings as a frontier fort and its rapid growth into a bustling mercantile hive, along the way outlining the history of the peoples and policies of various times from 1803 to the 1970s, organized into ten conceptual and functional groups such as residences, hotels, railway stations, churches, arthouses, The Fire and the fairs.

The photographs are wonderful, many I've never seen before, and each is described well, though the book would benefit by containing more maps. The book is constructed of good heavyweight paper and concludes with picture sources and notes, and a good index. It should be of interest to those with some connection to Chicago, architecture or American history, particularly of the 18th and 19th century.

In Lost Chicago, historian David Lowe explores the architectural and cultural history of America's great "heartland" city. This is a community who architectural heritage was all to often squandered during the last five decades of its growth and evolution. Lowe's elegant, and informative text is wonderfully enhanced with more than 270 rare, period photos and prints (many of them published here for the first time). Lost Chicago is a celebration of the age of Gustavus Swift and Philip D. Armour and the greatest stockyards in the world; when Cyrus McCormick, Potter Palmer, George Pullman, and Marshall Field were the national barons of business and industry; when Prairie Avenue and State streets rivaled New York's Fifth Avenue; when architectural giants ranging from Louis Sullivan to Frank Lloyd Wright were designing buildings of incomparable excellence and innovation. Lost Chicago is a "must" for students of Chicago history, architecture, and personalities.

First issued in 1975, this book captures the magnitude and the magnificence of Chicago's architectural legacy that has been destroyed (by nature and man). Today Chicago is widely regarded as an architectural jewel (and it is, I live there!) but after reading this book you won't be able to stop imagining how much more amazing the city might be if the Urban Renewal movement of the 1960s and early 1970s had never happened. If you are interested in architechture, Chicago history or urban design and planning, read this book!

On the last couple of patent applications I submitted, I ended up doing 90% of the drawings myself because it turned out to be easier than continuously having to correct the mistakes of the draftsman. My attorney said that my drawings just needed to be shaded and cleaned up a bit, and have the legends applied, but otherwise what ended up going into the applications was essentially my drawings with a few more bells and whistles. His draftsman had just put them on a light table and copied them as is. But I still had to pay for the drawings!

This book was able to get me the rest of the way there by detailing the regulations that the USPTO puts on drawings. They're not really difficult, but they ARE specific. Don't be intimidated by them. The very simple drawing style specified by the USPTO is to allow clear reproduction and printing. My attorney charges $295 per figure, and one page can have 2 or 3 figures on it! The last application we submitted had about a dozen figures total. Some of the expense is the work of integrating and describing the drawings, but it is guaranteed to save you money if you do your own drawings. Besides, this ensures that you will be satisfied with the quality and accuracy. Don't forget you can also have the draftsman do the difficult 3-D "Figure 1" bit, and you do the simpler stuff. Like me, I'll bet you'll find it easier than you thought!

I have all of David Pressman's books on patenting, you know why? Because I filed my own patent using these books. That's how good they are. They really do have step by step instructions. He also has software that helps you prepare the docs. I sort of used that as well. Again, reasonable priced, and useful. I strongly recommend these books for anyone that wants to File a Patent. They will allow you to do it yourself without an attorney.

Where can you find other book like this that explains you everthing about the subject in really plain english.

Alex

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!

Okay. I first bought this book for a quarter at a thrift store. I had found that day at least twenty other books, and I can't remember why I got High Stakes. Embarrassingly enough, I read the book at the age of 14. I realize that it is a children's book, but I was bored.

It was, is, great. I love it. I have read the book so many times that it is literally falling apart. I'm serious. It is no longer bound. The thing is over one hundred individual pages.

The thing is I am 18 now. During finals week at college, I stumbled onto the book in my closet. I was so frazzed out and needed some mind candy, so I reread it. It is still great. I think it might be one of the greatest children's books ever. I want the other five books badly, but cannot find them.

I consider it a tragedy. Anyone with children, or an active inner child, should move heaven and earth to get this book. It is well-written, and never underestimates the intelligence of the reader, unlike many children's books.

I remember when I was real little. Two of my friends and my brother got this one book called "Photon: High Stakes" from a book giveaway at school. My brother read it emediatly and never said a word about it. My two friends never got around to reading it ever. A couple of years later, My mom started to read the book to us, I was little so I thought it was boring and stopped listening...she stopped reading it too. Anyways, in 5th grade, I picked the book up from my brothers room and began to read it. I absolutely LOVED it! It was one of the best books I had ever read. After I finished it, I found out that there were more of them. I was so excited to get them, but I couldn't find them anywhere. The publisher had stopped printing them! I went crazy. I told my friend about it and he decided to pull the old book out from the library and read it. He loved it too. He said he thought he saw the first book down at the town library, so I went. there it was, the first one! . I read it but found it wasn't as good as the first. "Oh well," I thought. Ever since then, I have made it my "quest" to find the rest of those books and to find out where I can get the cartoon. I STRONGLY suggest this book to anyone who likes Sci-Fi.

When I was about 9, I noticed this book my brother and sister kept reading. It had this awful cover of this dumb wimp in a life-vest fighting some monster. However, some years later, I was so bored that I picked up any book and lo and behold, it was that book. I opened it anyway.
The first line was typical. "A Hush fell on the crowd." I thought that this guy doesn't even know his grammar. Then, at the next line, "It wasn't a particularly large Hush (or something like that, hard to remember). That was when I realized this was a special book. (look, I was bored, ok?)
I read about the laser game and how it's really a test for beings (aliens and humans alike). It contains everything: romance, adventure and best of all humour. The characters are all really different and you just wish that you could be one of them.
After reading that book a gazillion times, I wanted to find the rest in the series. I decided that I should write to the publisher but I (get ready for this) LOST THE BOOK!!!
So now, here I am, just lost, trying to remember that disgusting (yes, I do still think it's disgusting) cover of that really cool sci-fi book.
One more point. I hate science fiction.
Go figure