Having enjoyed Doris Lehman's guide to the Riviera, I bought her latest travel guide and was not disappointed. I have been to London and I was interested in reading travel advice to this great city. I like her exhaustive review of hotels and restaurants. She also rates tourist attractions telling the reader which ones are must sees and which should be visited only if there is time. She even rates those which she feels are not worth visiting (well maybe they're OK for children). I disagree with her including Madame Toussaud's wax museum in this category. I visited it and thought it was great.. much better than the museum's copies on US resort boardwalks. But, such disagreements make for interesting reading. This book is very comprehensive yet very readable. I highly recommend it.

WE USED THIS BOOK ON A RECENT TRIP. IT IS EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND AND WELL ORGANIZED. WE LIKED THE ABUNDANCE OF INFORMATION ON EVERY TOPIC WE LOOKED FOR. WE ESPECIALLY LOVED THE DAY TRIP SECTION. ENJOY.....

I don't know of anyone who can make me feel more patriotic than Doris Kearns Goodwin. Her admiration for FDR flows from this speech. If you've read her outstanding 'No Ordinary Time' you've heard most of this before, but hearing her praise FDR in this atmosphere will stir your soul. A great speech about a great man. Oh, to have another President like that. No chance...

In a readable format this book tells how to plan and present a science project, and also gives a few avenues to explore. It is a good book for students in grade levels 4-6.

The water color paintings in this book invite you to enter into a place that we seldom slow down enough for. They inspire creative possibilities and motivate you to pick up what ever tool is your favorite for expression (pen, paintbrush, computer,needle work etc.). Doris Klein accompanies her paintings with poetic descriptions of the process in birthing the works. They are a window into the way this artist creates and an opportunity for new artists to explore their creativity.

Dori J. Maynard does an expectional job as co-author of Robert C. Maynard's book "Letters to My Children". It is the best of the late Tribune editor and publisher Maynard, with the sprinkles of love and empathy that only a daughter can reveal. It is timely, and a pleasure to read.

Events from the 60's, 70's and 80's that had been buried in the recesses of my mind, were gently awakened. The passions that ignited generations during these eras, were rekindled and put back on the burner. Writers who changed the course of journalistic history were again fresh and vibrant.

"Letters to My Children" is a book that reflects the genius of Mr. Maynard as a writer and the summation of pride and projection felt by a father and husband for his family. He makes reading about an exceptional, unique, intellectual family warm and real. There are no cold spots that leave you hanging for an explanation. Originality permeated the pages. Humor, respect, love and most of all truth went into every thought.

Mr. Maynard's view of life was through a clear open window. What he saw, felt and believed was reflected in his writings. He portrayed life as a livable adventure and he measured his success by the commitment and dedication of his family to one another.

"To preserve the family, we must learn to adjust to those changes and shape those to come as best we can," Mr. Maynard writes.

It is a simple statement, but so profound. Mr. Maynard acknowledged life, inspired the family unit and mastered journalism. Through his writings and beliefs came the wisdom that clearly guided his children to be successful adults.

"Letters to My Children" is a must read for those who treasure journalistic perfection, realism and most of all a humorous zest for life.

Nathan Hale was an interesting individual who seemed to be used as a scapegoat. He was willing to give his life for what he believed.

I am a huge "Everybody Loves Raymond" fan and was excited to read star Doris Roberts's autobiography, "Are You Hungry, Dear?" However, the book did not live up to my expectations and left me hungry for something else.

Instead of taking the reader on a chronological journey through her life, Roberts shares various bits and pieces that are linked by a common thread -- loss of people close to her, lessons learned in life, etc. While this approach is novel and somewhat interesting, it does make things immensely confusing. The book seems to be put together in no real apparent order and jumps around so much that it is difficult to follow.

Another irritating factor of the book was its preachiness. While Doris Roberts is definitely a very talented and respected actress, I felt like I was being lectured instead of being introduced into her life's journey. Instead of talking about lessons that she's learned throughout her struggle to become an actress, Roberts shares advice, more advice, and still more advice. There is so much advice in this book that it should be categorized under self-help, not biography.

"Are You Hungry, Dear?" is not a complete loss, however. There are several funny passages and stories throughout, and Roberts offers insights into her dealings with famous actors like Ray Romano, Pierce Brosnan, Cary Grant, Laurence Olivier, and many others. There is great information on the workings of both New York theater and the Hollywood film scene. Unfortunately, the jumpiness and onslaught of advice ruines what could have been a very interesting story to hear. Sorry, Doris. I'm hungry for something else.

Why do we read celebrity bios, anyway, if not to search for connections between the actor and his/her character? That's easy enough to do with Doris Roberts' life story, where shades of Marie Barone surface from time to time. By the end of the book, the reader has learned about Roberts' unusual Bronx childhood, her two marriages, her relationship with her son, her career move from New York to California, and some of the offscreen antics of the cast and crew of _Everybody Loves Raymond_ . There are enough facts to chew on without getting into too many intrusive personal details. Her extensive stage background is reflected in the structure of the book itself, for each chapter feels as though we're viewing a scene from her life. The presentation makes perfect sense even though the overall progression isn't chronological. The curtain call of each chapter is a recipe from Roberts' own files, a technique which has the effect of not only sharing a part of herself but also tying her even closer to her onscreen character. And who knows? Maybe she'll start a fad of throwing holiday Greed Parties! A natural sequel to Patricia Heaton's _Motherhood and Hollywood_. _Raymond_ fans will not be disappointed.

I don't watch "Raymond" regularly. I'm not fond of celebrity bios. But this book caught my eye and then I couldn't put it down.

Doris Roberts's journey from sad "Little Doris" to a full-blown diva in her 70s made me laugh: she had a varied career, and learned a lot about life as she learned about acting. Roberts even has her very own actress climbing-out-the-boardinghouse-window story! There's some pathos - handled graciously -- but most of the book reflects a courage and humor I admire. Even some of the recipes are funny!

This is a POWERFUL book. A good, quick read from some of our premier modern-day American historians. This collection of essays gives us an inside look at most of the presidencies of the second half of the 20th century. A must read for any history buff.

• Edmund Morris - Last fall, Morris published the controversial biography Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan. His book The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

• Ben Bradlee - Author of That Special Grace, a tribute to John F. Kennedy, Bradlee is a vice president at the Washington Post. He previously was the executive editor at the Post who oversaw reporting of the Watergate scandal.

• David Maraniss - A reporter at the Washington Post since 1977, Maraniss earned a Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his coverage of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. He subsequently wrote the Clinton biography, First in his Class. His latest book is When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi.

The "Power and the Presidency" series was created on behalf of the Montgomery Endowment by alumnus Robert A. Wilson of Dallas, a communications consultant who put together a similar series, "Character Above All" (dealing with the impact of character on presidential leadership) in 1994 at the University of Texas at Austin.

These well written essays provide vivid glimpses of varying Presidential personalities, with thoughtful discussion of individual strengths and weaknesses. To me, especially in an election year where character is a major issue, it was an enthralling read, with highlights of qualities such as "Reagan's voice, which was a large part of Reagan's power..." or the speaking style of TR, with plosive P sounds, which "would pop with Gatling-gun force. The effect of his oratory was to bury every word in the psyche of his listeners." or the political genius exhibited by FDR who talked "at a level at which very few people could follow him and understand what he was really saying" that FDR also recognized in a young congressmen, LBJ, as "he saw Johnson understood _everything_ he was talking about." I enjoyed reading these examples of behavior and the illuminating contrasts such as: "It is hard to imagine two more different men than Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy..." or "despite the major differences in their temperaments--indeed, I would argue, because of these differences--Eleanor and Franklin forged their historic partnership..." I would recommend to readers the book "Presidential Temperament" by Choiniere and Keirsey, another well researched volume which gives an explanation of "how each President's temperament inevitably expressed itself in his behavior, both in office and in his personal life."

This is another book that should be required and rigorously reviewed and taught at all levels of education, elementary, secondary, high school and first year college. One of the troubles with our society and our young people today is that the more we seem to try to spend on them and teach them the more we move aways from basic critical thinking and basic knowledge requirements for success, towards merely using them as social or political tools for our own ends. They need basic foundational knowledge to survive in the world and the school systems are not giving that due to purely partisan curriculums on many campuses. This basic knoweldge of how meetings and debates/government should work is essential to giving our children the skills necessary to be active, participating citizens in our ever shrinking world.

A great beginning book that even children can learn from.

I have already given out dozens to organizations for both adults and youth groups as a means to enlighten them on appropriate processes in getting involved in groups, clubs, government and other entities.

This is a short, easy-to-use and understand book about parliamentary procedure. It's well laid out, and the beginning of the book has a good explanation of how and why parliamentary procedure works. It was written with beginners in mind. The order of precedence for motions is painstakingly and clearly laid out for the reader, as well as an explanation of why one motion takes precedence over another. Explanations of exactly what a motion does and an example of its use are included as well. Chapters are also included explaining the responsibilities of the chair, secretary, and treasurer, as well as a guide to setting agendas. That said, this is not, nor was it intended to be, a comprehensive guide to parliamentary procedure. For small or somewhat informal meeting, this book is all you need. For a large, formal group with professional officers, however, a full copy of Robert's Rules is recommended. This book is a great intro to parliamentary procedure, and is all you need to run most meetings. Even with larger groups, this is a wonderful book to keep at your elbow at meetings to use as a reference.

This book is amazing for younger people who are starting out learning parliamentary procedure. I am involved in 4-H, and in our county, all officers of 4-H clubs are required to learn parliamentary procedure. I am going to incorporate this book into their training. It is very simple to read, very easy to understand, and the examples are concise and relevent. I would not recommend this book for someone who is older and is involved in serious meetings that require a more in depth knowledge of Robert's Rules, but it works perfectly for my purposes, which is to educate people who have never been exposed to this information before. It is an excellent book for the beginner who is interested in the basics without getting bogged down by the hefty rules and vocabulary of Robert's Rules Newly Revised.

Torricelli's compilation of what he considers to be the greatest speeches of the twentieth century is an impressive collection of famous oratory. No doubt, some of the speeches he chose to include rank as some of the finest and most influential in world history.

That having been said, I get the impression that Torricelli sat down with a textbook of 20th century American history (surely a "revisionist" one at that), picking and choosing speeches that reflected the liberal/progressive/feminist/environmentalist side of pretty much every argument that arose.

If a reader were to base his understanding of the American century solely on Torricelli's choice of important events and speeches, one would think the liberal viewpoint dominated this period, with conservatives providing knee-jerk, reactionary rants to an agenda framed and implemented by the Left with some exceptions. In reality, particularly during the latter half of this century, nothing could be further from the truth.

What particularly disappointed me was the editors' need to give commentary before and after many of the speeches, as if this book would be someone's first jaunt into American history. These editorials, which further display the editors' blatant political bias, add nothing to the book at all - in fact they take away from it.

As with so many things, the truth about this book is somewhere in between the Kirkus Review's denunciation of its liberal bias and the co-editor's apologia on behalf of its utter objectivity.

The chosen speeches, in total, reveal an inclination toward the inclusion of the progressive and liberal viewpoint. That is not to be argued, if you have merely even skimmed the table of contents. Equally true is that certain speeches that are in line with this inclination appear to have been included with wide latitude given as to their literary and historical merit. Would, indeed, a speech given by Hilary Rodham as a college student have attracted the slightest notice without the context of recent political history? I must say no.

That said--and a serious shortcoming it is--the book does, in sum, collect a large number of powerfully written and spoken words that constitute a brief sketch of many of the "big issues" of the century.

Read it with a critical eye, but read it.

Whether you are a political liberal, conservative, right-wing, left-wing, or any "wing" for that matter, this is a good book. It is a collection of speeches that were actually presented (and some that were revamped and thus not presented). All the speeches, however, are from this century. Thus, the book should be read for what it is, (and not as a political statement by the editors, which may not be the case) a collection of actual speeches. The speeches include Theodore Roosevelt condemnation speech of the "Muckrakers," the Rev. Dr. Donald Sage Mackey's speech titled, "Does God Care?" presented after the San Francisco earthquake that practically destroyed most of the city in the early 1900's, speeches from Mark Twain, anarchist Emma Goldman, car maker Henry Ford, President Woodrow Wilson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, George Patton, etc. The speeches go on and on for about 450 pages. The book is very informative and presents a history of words, so to speak. These are the famous words that have been herald throughout the 20th century. The book cajoles your senses, tweaks your intellect, and challenges your positions. It has been very fascinating reading for me and I highly recommend the book, esp. for those who love history.