Dr. Pueschel is well known as an advocate for people with Down syndrome, a leading expert in the field, and a father of a child with Down syndrome. A noted speaker at Down syndrome conferences across the country, Dr. Pueschel has revised his popular book with the latest information. The book covers a range of topics from prenatal diagnosis to stimulating your child's gross motor, fine motor and speech skills to pre-school to adolesence and on to adulthood. It also covers vital information about the most current legislation including IDEA 1997. This is one of the books that should be on every new parent's bookshelf.

New parents should be aware of Siegmund Pueschel's reputation in the community of families affected by Down syndrome. As both a doctor and father of a child with Down syndrome this book is a compassionate, accurate, and thorough introduction to Down syndrome for the new parent. It is among the first 5 books I acquired when my son was born and remains one that I look back to and appreciate for its quality.

Mr. Sabor's historical commentary, list of leitmotiven and their appearances in the operas, and side comments cannot be equaled. This elegant set of books -- one for historical analysis, overview and performance practice of the entire cycle and one for each opera in the cycle -- is especially useful for Wagner beginners as well as seasoned musicologists. The translation of the libretti is beautifully poetic -- retaining much of Wagner's original alliteration and meter -- although it is not the most literal. (It could be used for singing if one was so inclined, and is a good deal better than most translations done for this purpose). I have used this set of books for a good deal of research on The Ring and usually need no others, although I do like to compare any translations with a more literal version, like the type usually found along with a recording. The discography/videography of the Ring is useful if not the most insightful. The substance, though, is most satisfactory, and at a reasonable price, too.

Listening to the Ring with Sabor's translations and comments is very pleasant. His English is beautiful and leitmotifs are all pointed out when they occur in the libretto. (of course the German is there to see as well.) Helpful comments about orchestration and interpretion enhance the experience. Summaries of plot and explanations of leitmotifs are presented at the beginning of each act as well as expanded within the text. A great way to get to know the Ring.

The story of one of Wagner's timeless operas, adapted here into comic form. I do not know the original, but this version makes me wish to find out more. It is comprised of 4 parts collected into two books, corresponding to the original 4 operas, which were independant but held together in a loose confederation to make on complete whole.

This is continued from Vol. 1.

Siegmund's son, Siegfried, is raised by Alberich's ambitious brother, who wants the ring held by Fafnir the giant, now a dragon. Siegfriend reforges his father's sword, and with it he slays first Fafnir and then the dwarf who would kill him for the ring. Alberich, in the meantime, is watching mirthfully. Voton looks for advice from the first goddess, then meets Siegfriend on his way to win Brunhildé He shatters Voton's spear and climbs through the river of fire, and at the top wins love in the former Valkyrie.

The series wraps up in Gotterdammerung, twilight of the gods. Siegfried sails out to find his fortune, and meets a kingdom run by several characters out to ensnare the power of the ring. With a powder they make the hero fall in love with a princess, and pledge to retrieve Brunhilde for the king -- and the ring for his advisor. After a blood-oath he sails away to do this. The valkyrie is visited by one of her fellow maidens-at-arms, demanding Brunhilde throw the ring into the Rhine, but she refuses, claiming it as a symbol of her love. Siegfriend, in guise of the king, finds her and wins her again, this time for another. It is seen that the advisor is Alberich's son, thus his interest in the ring. A marvelous feast is prepared for a double-marriage on the king's return, when Brunhilde finds out she was tricked; she then helps this advisor and the king to devise a way to kill him. Siegfried is warned by mermaids, but refuses to grant them back the ring. He is later tricked into talking with longing of the king's new wife, and the king's advisor promptly slays the warrior; later that night, in a duel, he also kills his brother the king. Brunhilde demands a funeral pyre built, and in the end, everyone dies and everything burns.

Even such a long summation can barely do this dense and powerful opera justice. Rather than the standard practice of rewriting or removing speech in parts, nearly everything is kept, translated directly from the original words of Wagner. The translation itself is very nice, keeping an archaic and formal syntax, while remaining accessible to modern readers. It is similar to Shakespeare or any contemporary, high without pretnetion. While the music cannot be included, the songs remain, to be fleshed out instead by lush art. The parallel goes deeper, in fact; as mentioned in the introduction, where Wagner's music has its lietmotifs, quickly recognizable strains that pull the whole together, so does the art include its own repeated motifs.

The story is classic, and told as well as befits a master. The politics between the gods is as fierce or more than that between men, and between them battles and intrigue rage. No major point is left unexplored, nothing forgotten and left to the wayside. Each character introduced comes back to play at least once, most exiting only through death. So much goes on that it is dizzying to keep up, but the intention is never to leave the reader behind, so it isn't overly difficult to follow. Even the reintroductions that catch the reader up on the events of each previous part are handled deftly. The art is vivid and colorful, very detailed and realistically shaded and textured. At times it seems more like acrylic paint than simple color press. The scenery is well detailed, matched by the people, whose actions and expressions are each striking and individual. While characters are seen from many angles and perspectives, anatomy of each is still proper. The story is very visual and cinematic; some places are very dense and wordy, while sometimes pages go by with no words needed. The fights in particular flow this way, becoming very abstract, yet the action clearly laid out. Russel is very comfortable with his ability to tell a tale however it needs to be told, certainly.

This is a beautifully illustrated and translated two-book comic adaption of Wagner's Ring cycle. P. Craig Russell's defends his belief that he could translate the opera music into images and create a powerful fantasy saga. The art is fantastic: Russell draws beautiful panels - the covers of these two books are a great example of the art inside. The translation into English is melodramatic (well, it's opera) and powerful. I can't praise these books enough. This is my favorite graphic story since I read, and re-read, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, and these two volumes will be accompanying me on all my future moves.

Reminds me a little of Emily Dickinson, a little of her contemporary, Thérèse de Lisieux. I was surprised to see that Jessica Powers was an elderly nun-so uninhibited in expressing how in love she was with God!

This book has poetry that describes the experiences we all have felt at some time in our Spiritual lives. As I read some of the poems it expressed what I had felt or was feeling so accurately I felt I was reading my own soul. Her poems lend themselves to be used for prayer & meditation with ease and they truly uplift the soul.

Great book - a definite if you're a fan. There are lots of photos, but lots of text to really follow their journey with them - Read it and you'll appreciate the hopefulness they bring us all - can't wait to go see the show again. Would buy this book again - I bought one for me, one for a gift - it's super!

This is wonderful book that describes the high's and low's in the lives of Siegfried and Roy. It is a very heartwarming book. It shows to others that dreams can come true if you just hold on to your beliefs. The road to fame and fortune had been a very hard and long road for these really special people. They show over and over again that not compromising your values does pay off. The book is great for all. We read it with our kids and they liked it very much. Just as their show it is appropriate for all ages. Especially read it before you see their show and you will appreciate it all the more. Read the book and experience the magic!!

I do not read much poetry, but for various reasons I wanted to read some of the British WWI poets because I knew they didn't mince words about the horror of infantry combat. Sassoon does not disappoint. His poems drip with bite, sarcasm, and some bitterness, but at the same time they are elegantly rhymed and the images are powerful. War is nasty business, not glorious, and it is also stupid. WWI was the end of innocence and the poets who wrote of their war experiences brought home the irony of that innocence in the face of the devastation that was wrought. A sample will help.

Stand-to: Good Friday Morning

I'd been on duty from two till four. I went and stared at the dug-out door. Down in the frowst I heard them snore. "Stand to!" Somebody grunted and swore. Dawn was misty; the skies were still' Larks were singing, discordant, shrill; They seemed happy; but I felt ill. Deep in water I splashed my way Up the trench to our bogged front line. Rain had fallen the whole damned night. O Jesus, send me a wound to-day, And I'll believe in Your bread and wine, And get my bloody old sins washed white!

This collection includes the notes that Sassoon added as commentary on some of his poems. On the above poem Sassoon notes: "I haven't shown this to any clergyman. But soldiers say they feel like that sometimes."

This is poetry that grabs you and moves you, but it is a particular genre, not for everyone's taste. If one purpose of poetry is to allow us to see through some of life's darker experiences, then this collection is well worth your reading and reflection.

Poetry is one of my literary loves: but in this slim volume it is put to the task of exposing the soul of a young man who fights his nation's war because his honor demands that he do so while he simultaneously deplores and decries both the necessity of doing so and the method forced on him of carrying out his honorable charge.

A good friend once asked me what to read to properly understand the history of World War I and while I recommended several critical histories (Churchill's, Keegan's and B.H. Liddell-Hart) I also emphasized the necessity of reading All Quiet on the Western Front, Goodbye to All That, and the combined war poetry of Graves, Owen and, of necessity, Sassoon.

The poetry of WWI brings to life the soul of the experience in a way no history, no matter how talented the historian, can do. It translates you into Sassoon's body and mind as he experiences the horror and shock of absolute and directionless (to his view-point, not necessarily in reality) war. These poems bring the sounds and smells of violent death and horrendous suffering - massive destruction and heroic effort - into your ears and nostrils. Indispensible.

Kelly Whiting

I am a history buff and have always enjoyed World War II stories that are somewhat out of the mainstream. "WEHRMACHT DIARY," written by Wolfgang Cooper, ends up being one of those stories. The book follows the exploits of Major Siegfried Knappe, who fought for the German Army in virtually every major campaign during the conflict - was wounded numerous times - ended up in the Fuhrer bunker with Adolf Hitler near the end of the war where he served as a communications expert, shuttling back and forth between the front lines and the final German defenses - spent five years in various Soviet prison camps after the war - and finally made his way to East Germany, where he helped his family escape to the west. The amazing Major Knappe finally made his way to the United States. This is a very good book about a good soldier and a good family man. Similar to the movies "Das Boat" and "Cross Of Iron," I found myself pulling for Knappe and his comrades to get out of their perilous situations. Fascinating and easy to read. Not to technical. I loved it - and so did my father.

I am a history buff, and "WEHRMACHT DIARY" is without question one of the best books in recent years that I have read dealing with World War II. It's not often you get a chance to look at the war through the eyes of a German soldier, but "WEHRMACHT DIARY" gives the reader that opportunity. Similar to the films "Cross Of Iron" and "Das Boat," you almost - but not quite - start rooting for the Germans near the end of the book. The author, Wolfgang Cooper, has done a superb job of chronicling the life of Major Siegfried Knappe, who fought on every major battle front save for the North Afrikan campaign, met Hitler face to face three times, and was in the bunker near the end of the war when the Russians were storming the gates of Berlin. Knappe's detailed accounts of the five years he spent in Russian captivity are also fascinating. The fact that this man survived numerous injuries and personal set-backs, and survived to eventually bring his family to the United States, is truly a remarkable story. I also enjoyed the section near the end of the book where Cooper gives a reasoned and intelligent view on the difference between Nazis and party ideology and regular German soldiers who were ordinary men fighting for their country. Unlike many history books that lose the reader after the first chapter, "WEHRMACHT DIARY" is written in a straightforward, easy to understand style. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about World War II and world history.

I decided to read this book for a class I'm taking on the psychology of exceptional children. The book met all of the requirements made by my professor, and was written on a subject that I am very interested in. After reading the book and writing a review for my class, I can say that this book is a wonderful book for parents, educators, and professionals to read. I gained so much knowledge about working with adolescents who have Down syndrome as well as adolescents who do not have disabilities. I am currently in college working on my B.A. in special education, and I have four children. Three of my children are adolescents, and two of them have learning disabilities. Due to my experience as a parent and a student majoring in special education, I can say that I learned more than I thought I would just from reading the title of this book. Before I read the book, I thought I would finish school and work with young children who have mental retardation, now I know that I want to work with children of all ages. I would also like to have my home open to individuals who have Down syndrome and would like to live away from their parents home. I would like to set up an apartment within my home, so a person with Down syndrome could live there and be able to receive help from me if and when they need it. By reading this book, I now know of so many different ways in which I can help individuals with Down syndrome. I am very excited to get started with my career, but more than that, I am ready to be involved in the lives of individuals who have Down syndrome. I checked this book out from the library, but I want to buy it for myself, so I can go back to it as a reference when I need it. I encourage anyone who is interested in working with adolescents with Down syndrome, parents who have children with Down syndrome, educators (both regular and special), and health care professionals to read this book. You will be glad that you took the time to find out more about these special individuals.

This is a great book that helps in understanding the horror of Nazi Germany. Siegfried's father was killed in a Nazi concentration camp as an anti-Nazi. I grew up in the US and the same time as Siegfried and the contrast between our boyhoods is interesting. There are many stories about the Allied bombing and strafing. He helped protect his parents while they listened to the BBC which was a capital offense. Siegfried also goes into the post-war occupation by the British. This book is very readable and gives a great insight into what Nazi Germany was really like for the civilians trapped in a police state.

It is most unfortunate if you were too late to acquire a copy of this out-of-print classic when it was published. After more than 25 years, it is still my favorite book on the subject, and the only title in my collection for which I own 2 copies. Although it has been surpassed by later works in depth of detail, it is, in my opinion, the finest overall book in its class. The format is unique; no photographs; superb line drawings in constant scale; a uniform format for data and symbolic abbreviations; ship-by-ship histories; and much more. It is a purists delight of detail, and yet contains syntheses and conclusions drawn from the facts presented. Translated from German, the author covers all battleships and battlecruisers built or projected since HMS Dreadnought into all their offshoots -- if they were converted into carriers, the book details the carrier. The only flaw with the book is an arguable bias toward German ship designs although it is hard to dispute that the WW1 Lutzow and WW2 Bismarck classes were indeed "among the best ever built". The same thing could easily be said about the Queen Elizabeth or New Jersey classes but wasn't. However, that's a trifle; if you don't have a copy, put it down as number one on your search list.