The Jameson family is on their way back to Earth from a vacation on M Colony when they run out of fuel. They make an emergency landing on what they think is a desolate planet. But then a horrid sound starts coming out of their robot, Danny. He jumps out of the spaceship to save them, only to be taken below ground by a group of rocks. Naturally, this confuses his parents and brother Jack. What's going on? When Jack follows him below ground, he is shocked to discover what this planet's secret is.

I remembered these books fondly from childhood, and was thrilled to discover they hold the same interest for me now. The sci-fi storyline still holds up today, over 20 years after it was first written, and is interesting enough to keep kids reading. The characters are well crafted, and it's easy to care for Danny, Jack, and even Anne Two. Plus the story provides some interesting things to think about worthy of the best of Star Trek that I had completely forgotten were in this book.

This fun kid's book is well worth the effort to track down. Hopefully, someone will decide to republish it soon so another generation of kids can enjoy it.

C.O.L.A.R. is a magnificent book! I wasn't really into reading science fiction books, but when I read C.O.L.A.R. by Alfred Slote, I just had to read his other books.

So, to all of you out there who doesn't like reading science fiction books, read C.O.L.A.R. Once you start reading it, you wouldn't be able to put it down.

I read this book 16 years ago and remember every part of it. It was huge in third grade. Everyone wanted to read it and there was a long waiting list at the school library just to check it out.

This is one of the most rigorously produced management books I have ever read. The authors are meticulous in their approach, taking the reader carefully along with them as they build their argument in a series of logical steps. Each step is rigorously built: words are given precise meanings, no unqualified assumptions are made and there is no room at all for loose opinion. Inevitably their strictly logic approach leads the reader into some potentially difficult areas. For example, if you really want to understand how to create value, then you will need to know what this term actually means. Other books prefer to avoid the hassle of nailing down the meaning behind such fuzzy concepts (anyway, that's accounting not strategy, right?). This book takes these topics on because to do otherwise would be to fail to deliver the promise in the book's title.
On top of that, the book challenges current strategic thinking. It takes a (logically-reasoned) resource-based approach to business strategy and by doing so comes up with some very useful new frameworks that will help companies reveal market segments that may previously have been hidden to them. If it sounds like the book may be too heavy and scientific, then think again. The authors strive all the way through to use clear language and explanation. The book adds the rigour that is missing from the 'airport business book' genre without going too far into an academic style, which often tends to lose touch with readers' ability, or even reality itself.
The irony is that I bought it at an airport.

Very thought provoking and insightful, this captivating book forces you to re-think the rules of corporate and competitive strategy. It is becoming more essential for organisations to differentiate their offerings, everything from long distance telephone calls to soft drinks are turning into a commodity. The authors present various methods that organisations can use to differentiate their offerings, the very simple but powerful service/merchandise matrix is a good way to start thinking about product, service and brand positioning. I would thoroughly recommend this, sometimes controversial yet challenging customer focused book, it helps you to look beyond the constraints of conventional wisdom.

Unlike most strategy books, Creating Value does not simply fill the pages with what often appears to inconclusive discussion supported by case studies. This formula popular with what might be the 'Airport bookshop school of management is the antithesis of Creating Value. Mathur and Kenyon seek first to carlify terminology, and subsequently, establish a workable framework. Their views are quickly seductive and clear. The final impression is a well researched and and thoughtful book, that aims to address the real problems of strategy rather than simply debate them. I would heartily recommend it.

This book is very thrilling, and keeps you in suspense. You feel like you are really there, watching history unfold right before your own eyes. If you find it is hard to stay into this great book, press on! You will really love this adventurous book.

I read this book with my daughter who is 10 and we had a hard time putting it down. She is studying the Middle Ages this year in school and this story brought that time period to life. Not only did we learn about the historical events of the time of King Alfred and the Vikings, but we enjoyed reading about the culture of the 9th century. We have read other books by Henty and we were not disappointed with this one. There is something here for everyone, adventure, battles, romance, friendship, etc.

Henty is a wonderful author. I have read this book dozens of times and it is always fresh. The scenes are vivid, the plot is involving, and the characters are marvellous!

My copy of Bennett Cerf's, "Famous Ghost Stories," is old and yellowed and I would not part with it. I purchased it as a new hardback Modern Library Book in about 1959 and still take it off of the shelf to explore it's delightful scares every halloween. To me this book has come to symbolize ghost stories and dark fall evenings.
Within Cerf's anthology there are some standard such as W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw' and Saki's "The Open Window." The reader will also find some rarer treats in August Derleth's, "The Return of Andrew Bentley' and Ambrose Bierce's, "The Damned Thing." Cerf had fantastic taste in ghost stories and assembled 15 that range from pleasent to down-right horrifying. Modern Library has allowed this wonderful classic to go out of print which denies modern readers access to the best ghost story anthology every published and makes it virtually impossible for me to replace my old yellowed copy...
Though I may be telling the reader to go find Shangra-la, find a copy if you can. I beg modern library to re-introduce this great anthology to the public. Hwlloween is always coming you know.

this collection is indeed yet another example of a should-have-been bona fide classic all but languishing in bibliophile limbo; i naively lent my own first copy--the 1944 pb edition--out to a 'good friend' only to later discover that its $.25 thrift store price belied its actual rarity in light of its disappearance. behind cerf's editorial modesty is the brilliance reflected in his selections which represent the best of the genre with stories and authors both well-known and unfamiliar; though sourced from differing places, time periods and publications, all succeed as both literature and ghost stories--unsettling the reader with well-written, intelligent, and ultimately satisfying tales for neophyte and scholar alike.

This is far and away the finest collection of ghost stories I have ever read. This is not a book for those who dote on slasher stories or sex. Nothing here but bone-chilling tales of fear and horror in a classic mode.

"The Good Soldier" is the memoirs of Austrian WWII soldier Fred Novotny. The book's introduction starts off with the proverbial Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times!" Novotny certainly had his share of "interesting times" and it is a tribute to his resilience and fundamental goodness of character that he manages to come out all right in the end with his dignity, humanity and sense of humor intact. This is a story of overcoming great adversary with a happy ending.

Unlike most WWII memoirs, which begin suddenly in 1939 and end abruptly in 1945, "The Good Soldier" spans practically Novotny's entire lifetime. It begins with his childhood in Socialist Vienna, and continues without respite through the Anschluss, his service in the German Labor Service (RAD) and as a machine gunner with the elite
"GrossDeutschland" armored infantry division, his postwar years in a Soviet prison camp, his return to freedom and eventual emigration to the USA, where he ultimately finds peace and personal success.

The book isn't full of "combat erotica" but there are enough anecdotes to get a good sense of what life in the Third Reich was like and how terrible war and the postwar peace could be. The RAD experiences in particular are very interesting, since there is little information published in English about this German paramilitary organization.
Novotny's descriptions of life as a "GrossDeutschland" soldier and the Soviet penal system are fascinating as well. The reader will doubtless be amazed at Novotny's good fortune through some pretty grim situations - as he was himself!

Although only 150-odd pages, "The Good Soldier" is packed with photos, drawings and editor's notes that help the reader get a real sense of Novotny's experiences in the context of the general sweep of WWII history.

It's a fast but satisfying read. I quite enjoyed "The Good Soldier" and would recommend it to anyone interested in personal accounts of the Second World War.

There are probably few books in English that take the reader from everyday life in pre-WW II Austria, through the marching columns of the Third Reich's assault on Europe, the cruelty and deprivation of captivity in Stalin's Gulag, and finally to immigration and successful settlement in the United States. Alfred Novotny's readable and engaging biography takes the reader on a journey with an ordinary man who, like tens of millions of others, had their lives changed beyond recognition and endured profound traumas from 1939 to 1945.

Novotny's detailed description of his training with the Grossdeutschland Division and his stark, intense picture of battle on the Eastern Front make "The Good Soldier" a useful reference from a military-scholarship viewpoint. However, as a personal narrative, the book will also be a fascinating read for the general reader, because Novotny successfully blends into his narrative the story of his life from his working-class childhood home in politically unstable 1930s Vienna, and his early and hopeful employment in a famous Vienna hotel -- all of which was interrupted by the call to arms. ("The Good Soldier" will appeal to readers interested in English-language material about Austrians' experiences in the Wehrmacht.)

Millions of defeated German and German-allied soldiers were marched to Soviet prison camps in 1945; many never returned. Novotny's description of how they interacted with their captors and fellow prisoners from day to day -- in cruelty and, sometimes, with friendship -- illustrates this chapter of history without undue political polemic or judgement.

This book is as much about the love of friends and family as the calamities of nations at war. I would recommend it for the general reader of history; it would also fit well into a high-school honors or college course on twentieth-century history.

Besides upgrading my knowledge of the WWII German "Landser" (the German equiv. of a GI) "The Good Soldier" gave me a better grasp of the pre-war life of Austrians and how simple it was for the Nazi regime to manipulate minds in the primitive media situation of the 1930's.

Alfred Novotny ably describes his, and presumably many German soldiers' relationship to the enemy, to leadership and courage.

There are some fantastic scenes like the one where the author enters a Ukranian hut with mud floor to find a gramophone with one of his favorite records: "Stormy Weather"! The details on equipment should be of particular interest to anyone into militaria and reenacting.

Like the author I am amazed by his incredibly good fortune. One must be deeply affected when a bullet penetrates one's steel helmet, tearing off the helmet's rim but doesn't cause even a scratch on your scalp and later brand-new replacements are literally blown apart in front of you, again leaving you completely unscathed...at least physically...

Although this book is basically on the platoon-level the author makes it clear in which ways his division, "Grossdeutschland", differed from others.

I found Novotny's recollections of the effect of Soviet front-line propagaganda units particularly valuable.

Novotny is equally convincing when he recounts his years as a slave-miner in Soviet Georgia. What does surprise me is that he is not turned into a hateful person by this experience.

It is nice to find not only photographs of the author and mentioned equipment but also well-reproduced documents like the author's badge certificates.

I originaly read this poem in a book of collected childrens stories and poems (which I am still trying to find again; there in a series of red-bound books), and to see it resurface again, from both Loreena McKennitt's song to this book, is fantastic! A wonderfull poem that has so many sides to it. I am glad I found it again and I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

This book offered a wonderful protrail of the classic by alfred noyes. The pictures within 'the highwayman' are great, they have been wonderfuly drawn by Charles Keeping to portray the fantasic poem that has won the hearts of so many.

Interesting visual interpretation of a classic. I remember being introduced to this poem in junior high (over 20 years ago!) as an example of the "anti-hero". Readers may also be interested in Loreena McKennitt's musical version of this poem on her "Book of Secrets" CD.

Spectacular dreamy/nightmarish visions of aging, youth, beauty and timeless images.

I am not an expert in critiquing photography, but I know what I like, so know this: Joyce Tenneson's work is incredible! If only more of her books were still in print...

But if you don't believe me, see for yourself.

Black and white photos may be all the rage for people who want poetic images, but Illuminations contains some of the most surreal, breathtakingly beautiful images I've ever seen. From the haunted old woman to the progression of the pregnant girl to the androgynous figures, every image in this book carries a power that reminds me of the cinematic.

"Dawn's first light crested the eastern hills and gave the earth a rosy glow. Flying on such a day was pure joy. Smooth, dense, misty morning air slowly released its grip as light emerged from the countryside, fulfilling the promise of another day. Our fears vanished as we soared above the sleeping ground. We were immortal. From our perch above the commotion, we watched the world come to life to begin another day of killing."

Normally I'm turned off by the High Literary Style, but the way that passage ends with the knife-twist--"another day of killing"--redeems it with room to spare. Time and again in Schultz's book, he and his collaborator pull off that neat trick: loving memories entangled with the ordinariness of war.

(Like the time Schultz lands Janey in a vineyard that turns out to be a German minefield. He's full of morning coffee, and one of his great hopes on landing was to empty his bladder. There's nothing for it! He just has to piss his pants.)

Schultz and Janey fly and fight with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division through North Africa, Sicily, the Anzio beachhead and the advance to Rome, and finally the invasion of southern France. They both survive--quite an accomplishment, not only for the pilot but especially for the Piper Cub. Among other tricks, they take off from an LST "aircraft carrier" whose tiny plywood deck is greatly supplemented by 24 knots of wind over the bow:

Of course I am sappy about Piper Cubs. But I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it highly.

My father was an infantry man in WW2, and never had the war seemed so real to me as when I read this book. The characters are young and sometimes cocky, brave, funny and touching. Schultz makes you see battles from a whole different perpective--the skies above the action. He takes you from beautiful contrysides to the stench of battle. All the time you realize how vulnerable he was in a plane made of wood and canvas. As he says, "You never see the one that gets you." I laughed many times and cried more, but I couldn't put it down. It woke up all my senses!

Little did I realize that the plane "Janey" was featured in an exciting book. Imagine my delight when I put a picture of my Dad, Combat Photographer, S/Sgt. Bill Heller, standing beside the Piper Cub "Janey" on my website [World War II Memoirs-3rd Infantry Division]. The bravery described in the book is understated but richly deserved. I recently saw a replica of the plane "Janey" which was built by Harold Miller and his son at Leland, Illinois. One doesn't realize the fraility and size of the plane until standing next to it. "Dutch" Schultz weaves a spellbinding and fantastic story!

The Jewish Book of Why is among the best Jewish books ever published. The book gives insight to Jewish customs like marriage, birth, divorce, holidays, and a lot of Jewish history. Whether reading the book or just leaving it on the coffe table to peruse through, The Jewish Book of Why will be great for a jew, a person that is interested in Judaism, and yourself. I highly reccomend this book. For more jewish reading I reccomend the second Jewish Book Of Why. This is a great book that you will definitley enjoy.

HAPPY READING!

This book was originally published nearly 20 years ago so the fact that it is still a popular seller is a testament to how good a volume this is. A lot of ground is covered in an easy to understand question and answer format. The first few chapters cover Jewish life cycle events such as birth and childhood, marriage and divorce, and finally the end of life itself .. death and mourning. Then the book covers other areas of Jewish life such as rituals, holidays, etc. Obviously a basic book on Judaism written in this format cannot be exhaustive (of course there is now a Second Jewish Book of Why). However, in a very understandable manner, this book explains a lot. This book is very informative but I recommend that it not be considered the last word, ie, it is not authorative. If there is an argument as to what Jewish law requires, this book is a valuable guide but the authority would be original sources.

This book makes an excellent reference because it answers many important questions about Jewish beliefs. Whether its customs related to holidays, marriage, death, clothing, food or otherwise each questions is answered in ane asy to read manner. The authortakes an open minded stance which further adds to the book's value. I frequently look back at this book and learn something new each time I pick it up. Just timeless!

This is absolutely one of the wildest biographies I have ever read. If it wasn't true it would make great fiction, right up there with the sexy potboilers and confessionals I so love to read. This is the story of Vicki Morgan, longtime mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale, and the loved they shared, a strange and crazy kind of love that would lead to their mutual destruction. Here he was, scion of Bloomingdales Department Store, industrial magnate and member of Ronald Reagan's kitchen cabinet; and here she was a naive but gorgeous small town girl come to the big city.

This book has an epic sweep as Vicki Morgan, in a vain attempt to escape the married Bloomingdale, encounters a series of adventures with some of the world's most wealthy and powerful men. And women. It is not a tale for the faint hearted, but there are strong moral lessons--mainly there is a steep price for the glamour and the money men give for sexual favors.

The story is told from the author's point of view. He spent nine months with Vicki Morgan and was one of the last people to see her alive. The author, Gordon Basichis, gives us intimate insight into the making of a wordly rich girl who knows how to manipulate men for money, only to be trapped in the game she has profited by for so many years. Through the seventies and into the eighties she was getting at least a quarter millon dollars from these different lovers.

It's rare that I find a book so compelling. I love how the story describes the high life of power and money while showing, also, how this glitzy path leads to destruction and, in this case, murder. This was truly one of a kind.

Power, Sex and Money
I was totally caught up in this true tale of a naive and beautiful young woman, trapped in a world where power, sex and money reign. As the mistress to Alfred Bloomingdale, the department store heir and member of the kitchen cabinet, Vicki Morgan lived a life that few can imagine...a wild and ultimately tragic journey that ended in her brutal murder. What I loved about this book was its unwillingness to rely on predictable cliche. The author's insight sheds new light on a very old subject -- sex and power. The writing is personal, intimate, at times humorous and always engaging. If this book were published today, it would be a bestseller

this book was very moving. the story of a mistress, who never can seem to find her way, but found love in a married man. the author got to knew vicki before her murder and this gives us great insight into her thoughts and feelings. i highly recommend this book, a great read from beginning to end.