I was disappointed in this book. As an earlier review notes, it _appears_ to be "thoroughly researched," but it's full of errors. Just leafing through the book, with no further research, a number of mistakes jump out.
Among the mistakes - the authors say "the US Air Force" dropped the bomb on Hiroshima; the US Air Force wasn't in existence yet - it was the Army Air Forces that dropped the bomb. The authors twice say the atomic bomb was "tested at Los Alamos"; no - the atomic bomb was developed at Los Alamos, but tested 175 miles away near Carrizozo NM. The authors twice, again, report that Nero was "the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned (in 37 AD)" - a neat trick, considering the violin wasn't invented for another 1500 years or so. The authors twice tell us that Tenzing Norkay accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on Everest; the name is Norgay. The authors tell us that Edmund Hillary said he climbed "because it's there"; it wasn't Hillary, but George Mallory, some 35 years earlier, who gave that response.
Many of the entries gloss over, or over-simplify, the facts. For instance, the authors truthfully attribute "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" to Admiral Farragut; however, they don't tell us that the "torpedoes" of that day were not self-propelled, but what we would call mines. Whitely's _The Teacher's Calendar_ fills in the missing relevant information.
On historical events such as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, Whitely gives more background than these authors.
On other events, such as the seizing of the Amistad, _This Day in History_ is silent, while Whitely's book gives a detailed discussion.
Another example of gloss is the authors' report that Galileo "created a telescope so he could observe the heavens." Galileo certainly improved the telescope, but he didn't invent it.
The unwarranted, even "cutesy," conclusions the authors frequently draw hamper the usefulness of this book. The authors tell us that at Hiroshima "we learned that man had no control over the terrible might of the microscopic atom." In fact, man showed his ability to control atomic forces at Hiroshima, and you can't see atoms through a microscope anyway.
The authors say that the USSR/Nazi Germany non-aggression pact was "the fuse that ignited the Second World War." Elsewhere the authors tell us that WWII "was ignited when Germany invaded Poland." The statements are contradictory and simplistic.
Of course, the book does have its moments - there are a number of stories which appear to be detailed, correct, and interesting. Yet these have limited use, since the reader has to verify every part of the story, in view of the authors' frequent errors on other entries. Am I being too picky? I don't think so - not with a book which certainly intends to be used as an accurate source of history.
You might consider this book for the limited use of knowing a few events that happened on each day, accepting that the book's facts may be wrong and its conclusions unmerited. This book could certainly use some good editing and fact-checking.
A _much_ better book for the classroom, or parent, is Sandy Whiteley's _The Teacher's Calendar: School Year 2001-2002_. Not only is Whitely much more accurate, but she includes many more events per day, and frequently more information on each event than these authors do.

I've never posted a review before, but when I noticed the errors in the previous review, I felt compelled to come to the defense of one of my favorite books. I found this book to be remarkably insightful, engaging, and accurate. Its day-by-day is a fresh way to look at history. Now, as for those errors:

According to Gregory Titelman's, "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" 'Nero fiddled while Rome burned' refers to "...heedless and irresponsible behavior in the midst of a crisis." Legend has it that in A.D. 64 the emperor Nero (A.D. 37 - A.D. 68), last of the Caesars, set fire to Rome to see 'how Troy would look when it was in flames' and to serve as suitable background for a recitation of his poetry while accompanying himself on the lyre..." For the sake of acuracy, should all disctionaries of popular sayings be amended to: Nero lyred while Rome burned?

Norkay is not incorrect. If the writer were familiar with the differences between Wade-Giles and pinyin translations into English, he'd know that Norkay is Wade-Giles, Norgay is pinyin, and both are simply alternative translations from Nepalese which does not use the western alphabet.

As for the nuclear testing not occuring at Los Alamos, virtually every text on the subject correctly cites the tests as having occurred at Los Alamos. Of course they didn't do them in the lab. Of course they took them out into their back yard (way out into their back yard). However, the point is, the tests were conducted from the Los Alamos lab. They were analyzed in the Los Alamos lab. They we conducted by the Los Alamos Lab. Is it such a crucial piece of history that the actual explosion took place far enough away that it didn't obliterate the lab? Or is it simply a point of pride to the critic that he's aware of this inconsequential and obvious historical footnote. If every detail of every event were included in this book, you'd need a forklift to open it.

As for the US Air Force being the US Army Air Force prior to 1947, he's right. However, at that time, it was commonly referred to as the US Air Force.

According to the back cover, there are over 10,000 entries in this book. If those are the most glaring points this armchair critic could cite, it seems like he should have given the book five stars, as I did. I love this book.

As a home-educating mom, I am constantly on the lookout for non-textbook, non-traditional ways to introduce my children to historical events and people. This book fits the bill to a T! It is a simple and painless way to learn a little bit about a lot of things and has sparked some great discussions in the short time that we have been reading it. A must for all home educators!

Interesting, but poorly edited: too many misspellings and grammatical errors detract from admirable account of author's travails in getting the movie made; her clear dislike of the film's director amounts to "telling tales out of school."

The film was successful; she would have been better off forgiving the director's derelictions and hiring a decent manuscript editor.

I think that this book should not have been rated on the basis of grammatical errors. It seems condescending and arrogant. It seems especially irrelevant when very good writers, including Jefferson, would occasionally mispell a few words.

I read the book and saw the movie, and I thought the first part of it, particulary the part relating to the alleged time spent in France, was excellent. I think she did a good job in completing what must have seemed an impossible task which could not have been easy from start to finish.

My only complaint, however, is that in relasing the movie within the desired time frame, there seemed to have been more of an allowance for the misrepresentation or elaboration of many of the facts.

While I do believe that Jefferson fathered these children, I think, the part of the movie depicting the alleged events upon the return to America was entertaining, but should have been researched more for accuracy with regard to the actual depiction of time, dates, and events.

Tina Andrews, in her book gives many reasons for her elaboration in dealing with various matters. But in depicting the life of such an important man as Thomas Jefferson, and especially in how he will be consequently viewed by young and impressionable minds from having watched the movie, I think respectfully, more time should have been devoted for a more accurate depiction.

I vaugely remembered Tina Andrews from her acting days. How she goes from being a contract performer on a soap opera to a movie writer and producer is a fascianting story. I'd buy the book for this alone. The struggle to make the Sally Hemmings mini-series is another remarkable tale. Although I think the actress playing Sally was miscast,(I collect books on Sally Hemmings and the actress looks nothing like the description given by both whites and former slaves of Sally) and the addition of the beating scene was unnecessary I enjoyed the mini-series. Ms. Andrews overcame huge odds to bring this story to the public. If you are interested in Sally Hemmings or if you are interested in how movies get made or if you want a glimpse of what it's really like to be black in Hollywood then check this book out.

While Thelma Newman wrote a books on a variety of crafts, her book on Creative Candlemaking was one of the first to explore the many types of candles possible. She touched on dipping tapers, rolling beeswax candles, and pouring molded pillars, as well as basic container candles.
A variety of decorating techniques were explored, giving the creative mind a basis on which to build.

Some of the information regarding the names and condition of roads leading to the ghost towns is out of date, hence a check on current conditions is advised before traveling to these sites. However the background info and personal experiences of the author make interesting reading

I found this book to give me a better understanding of the movement of a dog in the show ring. It describes quite well the parts of the skeleton and how they relate to this movement. The full impact of the information is probably best used in a class where examples can be shown. Even with this shortcoming I found I increased my understanding and knowlege of conformation show movement.

Upon its publication, this was the most complete volume on Kara Walker that I had come across. The essays are well written and informative, and delve deeper into various aspects of the artist's work than had previous reviews which often focus solely on the racial controversy of Walker's work. The interview with Thelma Golden provides some insight into possible future directions that Walker contemplates with her work. The images and color plates included in the book are of high quality and are representative of much of Walker's work, not only her installation at the University of Michigan.

I found this book at a thriftstore. And the first recipe I tried, Poet Shelley's Chicken Soup, was so delicious. The first soup recipe that my husband actually liked and met his approval. A delightful, delicious find.

A Stranger Here is not the type of book I usually read, I grabbed it at the library on an impulse. I was pleasantly suprised with the way Mrs.Wyss wove Jada's intricate personality and her relationship with everyone -including Starr Freeman's ghost- around her. Jada and Starr represent the things we can learn from those who lived, and died, before us; and they teach each other to appreciate the beauty around them. "Oh, Beauty are you not enough? Why then do I cry after Love?"

Sturken's "Thelma & Louise" is an excellent addition to BFI's Modern Classics book series. This analysis of the popular and conroversial film covers several important topics including: the hype and various reactions/criticisms of the film upon its theatrical release, how the film fits into feminist film theory, whether the violence in Thelma & Louise is worse than other films that were NOT criticized for their violence, what genre the film belongs in, Ridley Scott's directorial vision for the film and various motifs, how the characters change and why, what options these women have in a male dominated world, and what the ending signifies. Sturken includes quotes from several articles and interviews.

I found this book to be easy to follow and really quite simple. Preparations are easy, as the title indicates, and the results are quite impressive.