I discovered this book in my local library and my two daughters, my husband, and I all LOVED it so much we got our own copy. It has an engaging and humorous story, wonderful illustrations, and an excellent message. It is appropriate for a wide range of ages - my 3 year old loves it but it is about a girl in first grade so older children will relate to it. The message that what is inside a person is more important than what she looks like is something I want my daughters to believe. Molly Lou Melon is such a likeable and wonderful character that we all fell in love with her. It is truly an excellent book!

I bought this book for my own Molly Lou Melon complete with buck teeth. What an uplifting book teaching great self esteem. I could read it over and over. The illustrations make the story even cuter. I read it to my daughters kindergarten class and they LOVED it. Brings a smile to everyones face. This book is a treasure.

This is a great book to use to teach kids to believe in themselves. Molly Lou has a wise and wonderful Grandma who teaches her some very important life lessons. I love this story, it makes me smile

Lydia Grace Finch has been sent to to the city to live with her Uncle Jim while her family struggles with hard times. Uncle Jim does not smile and Lydia Grace finds the big city very, very big. Soon she is able to make friends with the workers at her uncle's bakery and the neiighbors in her building. With a child's enthusiasm and optimism, Lydia works to bring a little bit of the farm back home to her new city home. She also hopes to see a smile cross her Uncle Jim's face one day. Slowly, she is able to transform the roof of her apartment into a magical place and win that coveted smile. Sarah Stewart has written a delightful story of a child's optimism and the power of a smile. Davis Small's illustrations are garenteed to bring a smile to your face. A wonderful book to read aloud.

"April showers bring May flowers." Sarah Stewart's The Gardener brings us the winsome story of a young flower lover, Lydia Grace Finch. Forced by the hard times of the Depression, Lydia leaves her family to go to the unfamiliar city to stay with her Uncle Jim, an unsmiling baker. While traveling by train, Lydia writes to Uncle Jim, admitting she knows nothing about baking, but a lot about gardening. In Lydia's subsequent letters to her Mama, Papa, and Grandma we discover just what Lydia thinks of the city, subdued Uncle Jim, and learning to bake bread. David Small's pen and ink drawings with their softly hued watercolor washes fill the large pages with detailed views of Lydia's adventure. Where in the big gray city can Lydia ever grow all the seeds and bulbs her Grandma sends her? Will Lydia ever coax a smile from Uncle Jim? Read Lydia's charming letters to find out how one determined slip of a girl brightens her city corner of the grim 1930's world.

The Gardener is now our favorite book. My three sons love to look at the wonderful illustrations. I love to garden and I have enjoyed teaching them. My children love to hear the letters Lydia writes to her family, which tell the story. In today's world, letter writing is becoming a thing of the past. Most of all, we love the ending - showing the love Lydia and her uncle developed for each other. It makes me cry every time I read it.

I found a 1984 copy of this book in a local used book store in 1996. After reading it, I went back and bought two more copies. Each year since then, I go through it 2-3 times. Part for the story, part for the unique writing style (Especially Candy's journal). The book ranks as one of the 5 best SF sories I've ever read. Ender's Game, Dune, Childhood's End, Stranger in a Strange Land now have "Emergence" joining them in an honored spot on the bookcase.

I hope David R. Palmer will reconsider, and pick up the SF pen again. When a person writes page-turning hard SF, smoking all the way, with the chance of garnishing a screenplay or other media deal on pure merit - what a waste - if no new novels from him have their own "Emergence".

This story is about an 11 year old girl who is a member of the next step of human evolution - "homo post homineum". She possess great intelligence and physical strength which enables her to survive a bionuclear holocaust. The book is a text of her journal as she travels from the bomb shelter beneath her home to various areas around the U. S. trying to find others of her kind. Her short, choppy but very witty and to-the-point journal entries a joy to read. Her adventures border on the improbable when you're thinking of the average American 11 year old girl, but Candy Smith-Foster will quickly grow on you. This is a supremely excellent science fiction book for girls (empowerment and all that) but I feel it will delight everyone who has a chance to pick one up. They should really print another issue. Sincerly - Pat Gibbon

Of course all teenagers feel alone and misunderstood some or perhaps much of the time, but as a child prodigy myself I found several books that resonated especially strongly with the feelings of my childhood and adolescence. Slan of course, Macroscope, and several Heinlein books, but the one that came out on top was Emergence. It appeared in shorter form in Analog magazine (if memory serves); I was told about it by a friend and wound up reading it on microfilm. Later I snatched the book from the bookstore shelves, and somewhat after that read the sequel Threshold. It is an honest and compelling book written with an incredibly clear, lucid viewpoint. Although I realize that everyone has felt alienated at one point or another, it is also enormously powerful to those of us who have felt alienated by our gifts or talents in childhood.

This is one of the most important books that I've read in the last 30 years. I purchased 22 copies of this book, so far. I am giving this book to everyone that I love or for whom I care. I find myself reading it over and over again. Each time that I read it, it holds some different meaning for me. The authors offer up the wisdom of those who have entered the zone of "dying soon". Each author in their own unique way urges the reader to listen to this wisdom now, while there is, hopefully, many more years to apply it. I love the brutal honesty of Kubler-Ross, who has in her later years, suffered a debilitating stroke. She is in recovery now but still angry about it. However, because the stroke did not kill her, she realizes that there are still many lessons for her to learn in this life. This book is not morbid but rather, uplifting. The advice and descriptions can suit anyone at any stage of their life. If you are fighting certain "battles" in your life, as we all are, you may find comfort knowing that you may not in this life learn all the lessons that you need to. As the authors put it so well, even the most terrible people in our lives can become our teachers.Whether you are just beginning your life experiences or you have had many, this book gives you so much to consider.

Heard the taped version of LIFE LESSONS by Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross and David Kessler . . . the authors, experts
on death and dying, use this book to help answer the
question: Is this really how I want to live my life?

It got me to think about what was important to me
and, also, how to go about obtaining it . . . as is the
case with some books on tape, this is one that I wish
I had also read because there were so many
quotable parts that I would have wanted to go back
to . . . for example:
Being there and caring is everything in love, in life and
in dying.

Whether you're married or not, if you want more romance
in your life, fall more in love with the life you have.

In any relationship, one person makes pancakes, the other
one eats them.

Everybody falls. Hopefully, they get up. That is life.

You have made being a mother a wonderful experience.
It was worth living just to be with you.

Remember that play is more than a light hearted moment
here and there. It's actual time devoted to play. You have
to get away from work, get away from life's seriousness.
There are a million ways to introduce play back into your life.
Instead of checking the stock market first thing in the morning,
read the comics, see a silly movie, buy a fun outfit, wear a
colorful tie. If you like, where work is conservative, wear fun
underwear. Practice saying yes to invitations, be more
spontaneous, do something silly. Anything can be play,
but beware, any form of play can also be turned
into productivity.

I have been a big fan of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross for many years. I'm glad she hasn't passed on yet because she clearly has a lot to tell us still!! David Kessler's experiences add value to the book as well. The chapters are each written on a particular lesson: Time, Fear, Anger, Play, etc... and within each the authors "talk" about the lesson flowing back and forth between each other, presenting their own insights and personal accounts of friends, and patients.

This book is terrific if you are interested in learning about life. You will learn the key lessons from people who have been terribly sick or are terminally ill. They have much to teach, because as the book says.. They have nothing to lose anymore. Here is a quote from the section in the book on Patience...

"And remember that God and the universe are not ultimately just working on the situation: they're working on you. If you're wondering why the universe isn't soley focused on getting you the great job offer, it's because the universe isn't always concerned with which job you have. The picture is much bigger than your job. Neither is the universe always concerned whether or not you're married-it's more concerned with your experience of love than who is or is not in your life. And rather than focusing soley on your health, the universe is more concerned with your experience of life, whatever the conditions may be. The universe is concerned with who you are, and it will bring into your life, in whatever the situations, in whatever time, what you need to become the person you're supposed to be. The key lies in trusting-and having patience."

I don't believe I've read a more compelling book! It was purchased from a bargain table as something to read while recovering from a foot injury. The therapy for my soul and mind was worth far far more than the few dollars I paid.
So many times I've been disappointed in the quality of "Christian Fiction." Not so with "SOUTH PACIFIC JOURNAL." The characters are believable and very interesting. Descriptive passages place the reader on location in the South Pacific. I've never read such compelling "flash-back" passages. Even though the narrative left many unanswered questions about the characters (What happened to the lieutenant? How did Sarah try to contact her family? When and how did she return to Manila?) I feel as if I really know the characters personally. I hope David & Nancy French write a sequel.
My gratitude goes to the authors for such excellent writing and to the publisher for printing this book.

South Pacific Journal was definitely worth the day I spent reading it. This story is about a brother and sister, Jacob & Sarah Levine. They are separated by unusual circumstances, but Jacob finds out about Sarah through a phone call, a fax and a trip half way around the world where Jacob finds a priceless treasure. The tale is skillfully woven and drew me in on the first page and release came too soon at the final sentence - so sweet was the journey from cover to cover. Rarely would I expect to find such a seamless story line and so strong a purpose in any book, especially by new authors. Believability, passion and God's loving mercies were echoed throughout this gripping tale. As page after page of masterful storytelling unfolded, I cried, I hoped, lost hope and found it again. Finally, if you've ever wanted to introduce someone to your dearest Friend -- let this book help you. They'll be glad that you did... Bernie Siegel said in one of his books, "Tell a story. No one is offended at a story." Thanks Nancy & David French. Your story will find it's way into the hands of some of my loved ones this year so that the Story will never die....

I just finished reading the wonderful story South Pacific Journal by David and Nancy French. I recently started reading Christian fiction as I am so sick of the filth in secular reading. This story made me smile and cry and praise the lord all at the same time. It was beautifully written and the characters all seemed alive to me. If more of our young people would read these kinds of books maybe the world wouldnt be going to hell the way it is!!. I hope these fine new authors will publish another story soon. I will rush to the bookstore to get it!! May God Bless all who reads this wonderful book.

Another edition to the SW cross section books, I have the last book, and this is just as good, We love it and we are yet to see the movie here in our remote town in New Zealand. The Star Wars phenomonom has long lasting and reaching effects. The book shows all the vechiles including the Queens Ship, the fighters, thetransports ect.

A nine out of ten and I am sure that if you see the movie it will go through the roof to maybe 15/10

Paul Jackson

WOW! I was very surprised to see this book out so soon! I have the other cross section book and this is one is also FANTASTIC!!

Details, artwork, images of vehicles, droids, descriptions of how and why they work and move and what they do. The POD RACERS are all here too!! And of course my favorite - THE NABOO N-1 STARFIGHTER!!

A MUST HAVE BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION!!!!

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

The artwork and detail in this book is mind blowing. However, since few of the Episode 1 vehicles are as intriguing as the ships in the original trilogy, this book is slightly less interesting, in my view. That is not to say it isn't essential if you're into technical artwork or Star Wars as a whole. It's probably best to get them both, the older book and this new one. I have one question to DK, however: Where's the Star Trek cross sections book?

Remnick's frank, insightful analysis of the Soviet Union's final days filled me with inspiration and sadness. I'm inspired by the inhuman perseverance of the Russian and Soviet bloc people and saddened by the intense and lethal persecution of millions at the hands of their so-called leaders. Remnick shows a society led by decades of fear - citizens who feared persecution and leaders who feared the loss of power. The author flows easily from dissecting the Communist party and power brokers of Soviet society to eating cabbage with Siberian miners who don't expect to live past 35 to intense discussions with the Russian intelligentsia who fought the system quietly and desperately. It is a long book and at times I found myself needing a Russian history reference guide. But Remnick is not writing a history filled with facts and statistics. It is all about the people. Lenin's Tomb should be read by any journalist who feels the urge to go beyond 8 graphs. Truly wonderful.

Now that we are a decade removed from the fall of the Soviet Empire, it is a wonderful to look back and read a fabulous primary source about the events. Remnick, the Moscow correspondant for The Washington Post, during the late 80's and early 90's (and since the editor of the New Yorker, which was a well deserved honor for a fabulous journalist, if I may say so myself) was right on the scene when the incredible collapse of Communism took place. He interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of people who had lived through the Soviet regime and who played some role, regarldless of how small and seemingly insignificant, in the transformation of the nation, and this research paid huge dividends. He combines all these personal stories into one great book that explains and analyzes why and how this happened. It is very well written, and while being comprehensive remains comprehensible. It is a wonderful book and anyone who is interested in Russia (or would like to become so), likes history in general, or enjoys good semi-academic writing this book is for you.

David Remnick in "Lenin's Tomb" writes a fascinating book on the demise of the Soviet Union. Remnick manages to convey the views of the liberals who want to democratize the country and the neo-Stalinist conservatives who want to turn the clock back to the repression of life under Stalin.

The author has little sympathy for Mikhail Gorbachev who once he launched "perestroika" could not make the final commitment to democracy and republicanism and remained trapped in the dying and corrupt Communist Party. Yet, Gorbachev's half-hearted attempts at reform nearly ended in a disasterous rigt-wing coup. Only, the incompetence of the plotters and will of the people not to turn back to a corrupt failed system prevented the USSR in falling back into despotism.

Because of "glasnost and perestroika" Remnick was able to obtain candid views from everyone he interviewed during his stay in the Soviet Union. Miners, dissident and even communist party apparatchiks spoke freely about the good and bad of Russia. Nearly, 50 years after his death, Stalin's shadow still hovered over everything and everyone in the nation. Liberals such as Andrei Sakharov wanted the government and the party to fully acknowledge the heinous attrocities of mass murder and imprisonments committed during Stalin's reign, Khrukhschev made a tentative start at 20th party congress in denouncing Stalin but failed to follow through with real reform. During the Brezhnev years the country lurched backwards thast by the time Gorbachev came to power the Soviet Union was totally morally, politically and economically bankrupt.

Remnick also does a fine job showing the first hesitant steps toward capitalism yet evenn today 10 years after the Soviet Union collapsed Russia still refuses to make the fundamental changes to bring a market economy fully to fruition. Under the Communists there was "equity in poverty" today in Russia you see the extremes of rich and poor. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the demise of the Soviet Union, but it needs an update to encompass the last decade.

THREE MINUTE THERAPY is a wonderful book! It has enabled me to overcome my lifelong bouts of anxiety and depression. Two psychotherapists failed to help (although they were warm, caring people). I'm so much more confidant at work, that sometimes I feel like an entirely different person than I was before discovering this book. It's like I've emerged from the dark ages. I do the "Three Minute Exercises" regularly--a small price to pay for the deep satisfaction I'm experiencing as a result.

The concepts are explained so clearly, make much sense, and are so effective, that I wonder how my previous therapists can get away with what they're doing. THREE MINUTE THERAPY is one of those books that you're bursting to tell everyone about. It has the ring of a tract that will be useful and in demand eternally.

Dr. Edelstein has written a simple, straightforward and very helpful book here. REBT made easy. There's gold here folks! I recommend not only the book, but also Dr. Edelstein as a therapist.

One of the things I've learned from him and his wonderful book is how to get control of my unhealthy eating habits and to start exercising. I've lost 40lbs so far, and I am continuing to lose. To get help losing weight was the reason I started therapy with him, but I got so much more out of it. I only wish I had discovered this way of thinking 20 years ago. But as I have learned, it is never too late to turn your life around.

In addition to this book, I also highly recommend Albert Ellis's "A Guide To Rational Living".

Thanks Dr. E for all the help and for writing this book!

For economic reasons, I practice self help whenever I can, so self-help books appeal to me. I have lots of them, but not often do I read a book like Three Minute Therapy which began to help me from the first chapter. Reasonable thinking lies at the heart of this therapy. The simplicity of the author's technique fit right into my busy life in that I did not have to wait weeks or till midway the book to comprehend Dr. Edelstein's technique or start getting obvious results. I have compulsive shopping and anxiety, family disputes and job tensions. I started using Dr. Edelstein's simple, down to earth, rational therapy and already become aware of positive improvements in my life. I talk to my mother more affectionately now thanks to this book because I learned to accept her and not require she become my ideal. I find my work more enjoyable because of changed expectations and reduced anxiety about having to be perfect. I find play more fun, and started again on creating an office manual, now that I understand it need not be the ultimate, most perfect one. I like the new feelings I am still obtaining from this book. Socially, I feel less of a need to have absolute approval from friends, and this freedom has given me a great deal of comfort. I say feeling because my new reasonable thinking actually has benefited my emotions. These improvements I am sure came from contact with this Three Minute Therapy book. I would like to recommend it to everyone I know. Cliff Cin, San Francisco

I am extremely familiar with Windows & NT but not Macs. Last November I decided to buy a G4--and was very dismayed to find that virtually the only documentation I got with it was a flimsy small booklet. When I called Apple, the response was "Well it's online." Yes, the online help is outstanding but it doesn't do you much good in the event that the system won't boot up! (Fortunately I have not had that problem so far.) So I broke down and went out and I bought several OS 9 books that have given me alot of good info and helped me out, then last night at the bookstore I ran into this little gem and snapped it up. I by no means have finished it but what I've read is great--very matter of fact and helpful. I sure wish this book had come out when I first bought my G4 because it sure would have helped me in my efforts to learn to "think different"! I saw in the back of the book that Pogue will also bring out the same type book for Mac's upcoming OS X--and I'll be one of the first in line to get it.

Hunched over Mac OS 9 : The Missing Manual for 3 days, I laughed out loud when I closed the book. I had remembered what actual computer manuals used to look like in the Dark Ages of the mid-eighties when I had first attempted Microsoft Word. If memory serves, the book was horrendously thick (impossible to read comfortably), turgid as mud, and ultimately unhelpful. Manuals went the way of the dinosaur for a reason.

Now comes this wonderful new series. In the OS 9 book, David Pogue lays out the organization of the program while simultaneously teaching navigational tips and tricks. ( He knows our brains actually do better when they multi-task.) His ability to combine methods and analysis actually makes the whole system easier to understand. Chapter 2 may be my favorite in the book in this regard because he not only describes the ways in which applications work in OS 9, but he fills the reader in on how to cope with memory management issues at the same time. At a time when 'novice' use takes us into the world of digital photography, complexities of Internet, and even the realm of film-editing, at some level, the user must understand that memory in a computer is not simply passive storage. Pogue makes this abstraction clear by defining terms carefully and not overloading the reader with technical jargon.

As a somewhat long-term Mac user, I knew some details before this reading, but after it, I made adjustments on my computer that improved use and function visibly. Since finishing my first reading of the book, I've returned to it twice for references: once, to describe to a friend how to create a RAM disk, and once to see how I could disable keychain. I'm already planning to sit down again with the chapter on scripts and the one on file sharing. The good thing is, I know that the clear writing and the helpful illustrations will lead me to solutions and new ways of doing things. One quick example: in the book, Pogue reminded me of how to create a "screenshot," a feature I once played around with at a workshop but promptly forgot. This time, Pogue provided just the right fix on the feature to help me use it: I set up screenshots for each of my 24 zip drives, to show what each contains. (Labeling rarely helps because you take things off and put new ones on and who takes time to reach for a pen, but a new screenshot takes seconds and the process is actually fun). I now have a file at the top of my hard drive that lets me look into a zip before I dive for it. Finding files is no longer a giant nuisance; just a few keystrokes.

Keystrokes are one of Pogue's fixations...and I'm beginning to see why. Throughout the book, he injects shortcuts and keystrokes that help access material quickly-enable efficiency. He's going to have to be VERY efficient. I have already purchased and read two other titles, but I'll want more when I've digested iMovie and AppleWorks. Keep those fingers moving at warp speed, Mr. Pogue. Let's make the next one on Web-Design...please!

Mac OS 9 - The Missing Manual by David Pogue.

This book is an excellent approach from well known Mac author (and Guru) David Pogue in both content and the way it is presented to readers.

Pogue fairly and squarely hit the bull's eye of computer users disatisfaction about the lack of user manuals and the inadequacy of almost all user help files. As he points out Apple provides three unco-ordinated and disjointed help files in OS 9 which he states clearly fail to satisfy user needs.

Hooray! - don't we all feel this?

He quickly establishes a real empathy with us users and I believe his new book goes a long way to fill the void created by these less than adequate help files.

In reading through the book I felt that it consistently created a feeling of confidence about its content.

I believe that most of us underutilise the features of the Mac OS system; but here is a text that will allow us all to become smarter and more effective Mac Users if we wish and it is sensibly and effectively linked back to the Internet for dynamic appendix type information.

Apple should be very thankful!

Pogue and his publisher O'Reilly have also broken new ground in the publishing field with a simple and effective system of enlisting any reader to provide effective feedback information about any typo's or technique problems. They have a thousand or more proof readers!

In addition I believe confidence and proffesionalism is added through information as to how the book was crafted and by the Colophon.

As a long time Mac User and a reader of his other Mac publications, such as Macsecrets, I have now found in one place a reference repository of all the things I may need to know about Mac OS 9. Pogue avoids the problems of producing a purely weighty reference tome through his copious use of screen dumps and tips. Just as I felt the need for an illustration - to assist my understanding - there it was! Pogue also adopts the Mac style of not letting himself or his readers take themselves too seriously - but in such a way that it adds to readability and does not detract from the overall quality of its text or its message.

I submit that he clearly understands the needs of the Mac user and to an unusal extent satisfies them.

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears perhaps Pogue has gotten it "Just right"!

Without a doubt this book should be on the desk of every serious Mac user.

RK Melbourne Australia 20 May 00

Georges Perec loved language, and it shows. _Life_ is clearly a labor of love. There are times when maybe the descriptions ramble, and you may well find yourself into the fifth page of a description of some piece of furniture, but if you don't keep track, you'll never notice. This is a difficult book to describe simply because it is so dense. At one level, it's a logic game; at another, it's an exercise in linguistics; at another, it's simply poetry. The translator, too, deserves kudos. Although I haven't read the original, the translation, I suspect, has remained faithful to the spirit of the book. Please read this book.

I just wanted to move into this apartment complex here at Amazon and put my name on the list of roommates who love this book. I finished the book today and find myself exhilerated at it's genius. Perec, along with Queneau and Calvino, prove that Oulipo isn't just a gimmick but a viable workshop in which great art can be produced that is both equally humorous and emotionally moving. Perec's prose is rich. There's more than enough humor and pathos in the book for anyone who's willing to carefully read a book that's not just rushing to tell a story, but to occupy it with some beautiful philosophy. It's as great as anything else I've read, including Faulkner, Joyce, Calvino, Balzac, etc. Top-drawer!

The book presents a richly interwoven series of stories with complex, mind boggling intertwinings. The novel resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle with each piece bringing more insight into the one master jigsaw puzzle which is life itself.

The novel describes the life of the residents of a Paris apartment building. It is densely packed with very fine details about the people and places, making it a slow reading. Also, it behooves the reader to remember as much as possible of whatever he reads so that he can correlate the various pieces of the puzzle (i.e., the novel). Which is also a reason to read the novel again and again (probably once every year) to enjoy it thoroughly. It resembles Tolstoy's War and Peace in this regard.

In short, one can rarely expect to come across another novel like this. A must read for everyone who wants to try new things.