This book documents the friendship and political careers of two of the Confederacy's most important statesmen. Davis does a nice job of providing historical detail while also weaving a readable story. However, at times, the prose is too informal and almost needlessly dramatic. Moreover, much of the history is quite derivative, as I learned very little new information about the men in question or the political tenets of the Confederacy. His previous book, "A Government of Our Own," is a much better historical treatment.

Toombs and Stephen examplify the problems within the Confederate
government. These incredibly close friends of the strong Georgia delegation were powerful national political figures whose bitterness over personal issues, Toombs, and Stephens' strict constitutional views undermined the Davis administration. Stephens never seriously worked with the dominating Davis and was later opposed to the administration over constitutional issues in the face of bigger war emergencies. Toombs loses the opportunity to become the first President by his bellicose enthusiams for the office coupled with drink which lowers his place in the new government and raises Stephens' star. Excellent description of both men including Toombs rise as Secretary of State, his anti-Davis stance and his mercurial and short military career. The author also covers the end of the era of both men including Stephens' attempts to rewite history in a light more favorable to him then his actions were in reality. These two powerful men and closest of friends could not see the big picture of the war seeking their narrow views in spite of the war effort. Together with Governor Brown of Georgia, they represented a crisis of independence within the Confederacy that no doubt contributed to the fall of the Confederate government.

What a delightful little book! And frankly, I don't often use the term "delightful" in a book review. *The Union That Shaped the Confederacy* is a swiftly-paced, lightly written work that details the friendship of a pair of Georgians - Robert Toombs and "Little Alec," Alexander Stephens.

It is very important to know exactly what you are not getting with this book. You will not get a standard biographical treatment of Stephens and Toombs, and author Davis makes this abundantly clear from the outset. You will not receive great insights into the minds and thinking of these two men, but will come to appreciate the antebellum, war-time, and post-bellum periods of American history as these two men saw it.

William C. Davis does not attempt to make his subjects either heroes or villains on the Confederacy's stage. They were what they were - friends who for the most part held similar political beliefs, worked for the same ends, and became, as the war progressed, more and more bitterly opposed to the administration of Jefferson F. Davis.

Because of the nature of the work, the reader receives a slice of Civil War-era history from a perspective he or she would not likely get. Along the way, one receives insights into the functioning (and dysfunction) of the Confederacy's Executive Branch, as well as the building of the "loyal opposition" to Davis's administration. We see the strengths and weaknesses of these two prominent Georgians, as they struggled to establish a new nation out of the old.

Davis's writing style is loose and fast, and almost reads as if a good friend is telling a story of another pair of friends. To some, this may be distracting, but I found it to be just part of the story. *The Union That Shaped the Confederacy* can be read quickly, with a great sense of satisfaction. This book comes highly recommended.

This is the best book that I have ever read that was written by a celebrity. It was written many years before it became the fashion for Star Trek stars to write science fiction books. I have read many of the other ones that have come out over the years and Mirror Friend Mirror Foe is the best so far. Of course with a co-author as good as Robert Asprin it would be hard to go wrong. The is a very good science fiction book to read even if you don't consider who the authors are.

I have just finished the book. I could feel how Takei was writing himself into Hosato (the protagonist).

Good action ,the ninja part was cool ,and the charecters were fine. What made the book a 4* instead of 5 ,is that it felt a bit clumsy when compared to books writen at about the same stage of sci-fi development ,a bit naive.

It was cute ,with Lucy ,Hosato's robot side-kick ,being his best friend.

Worth the read.

I'm impressed with this book every time I pick it up and read it. And I've read it several times. It has all the elements of a great Sci-Fi story. I'm still waiting for a sequel from the two authors.

We received On the Road Again with Man's Best Friend as a gift and just used it to take a driving trip from New York to Florida with our Golden Retriever. We followed the book's advice and always called ahead. Either we were fortunate or selected well, but most of the places in the book welcomed our big dog and made us all feel comfortable. We even discovered that many of the hotels with "small dog only" policies were more than happy to accept a larger dog. I like the detail and the number of choices this book offered. We've used other books, but most don't even include pet size restrictions. I don't blame the authors for the fact that many places prefer small dogs, they're just reporting the facts. We do find fault with hotels that severely restrict size limits - we've found it's not the size of the dog that is the problem, but the personality of the pet that can make things difficult.

This is the most well-researched and in-depth pet travel book that I have come across. For years I have looked long and hard for a great resource on pet-friendly accommodations. I've called chambers of commerce, travel associations, and looked through books that promise detailed information but don't deliver. I like to stay in B&Bs and small inns - there are more to choose from here than I will ever have time to visit. I relied on this book during a recent trip to Florida and Georgia. One of the author recommended inns had treats for my dog, as well as bottled water, a bowl, and bed. (I was also given lots of special attention). I give On the Road Again with Man's Best Friend the five-star Amazon rating as well as a five paw rating to match.

I've looked at all of the pet travel guides but found most to be too limiting and without enough information. AAA and Mobil guides merely excerpt information from their main series of travel guides and don't discuss the thousands of other great places to stay with a pet. The others limit me to name, address, and telephone number. I've owned On the Road Again with Man's Best Friend for six months, have taken over a dozen trips using it, and would not plan one without it. The web site information is great and allows me to see most of the hotels and inns before I ever make a reservation or put down a deposit. I also like the authors' descriptions of the better accommodations. Thanks for an indispensible resource!

Alfie Atkins or Alfons Åberg is a deeply loved boy in Sweden, you will probably never enter any childs room there that doesn't have Alfie in the bookshelf. These books are about the very ordinary and not so goodlooking boy and his experiences of everyday life. This book descibes very well how a child experiences the world and how he handles the problems that he sees in it. It is nice to see books about ordinary kids that don't look like handsome superheros with special forces. Does any of your kids have superforces? Mine don't! They are more like Alfie, and I want them to feel good about beeing themselves not beeing superhumans, therfore I read Alfie for them. And for you that wonders where Alfies mum is I can tell you that she never existed and was never planned for! Alfie have existed in over 20 years and the illustrator still keeps the pichures in good 70'ies style, keep up the good work!

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has ever wondered what to make for dinner. The recipes are delicious and range from family dinners to upscale meals for entertaining, emphasizing French cuisine.

The book starts out with an explanation of ingredients, & terms as well as some helpful tips. Over 50 complete dinners follow with detailed step-by-step instructions. A variety of sauces are also listed separately.

Most meals contain a main dish, vegetable, bread, & dessert. Conveniently, all recipes list preparation & cooking time. Whether the recipe can be doubled, halved, or frozen is also mentioned.

Some of my favorite recipes include spinach-filled crepes & baked red snapper fillet. The rum crème pie, cherries jubilee, & chilled lemon soufflé are simply divine & make great desserts for dinner parties.

Anthologies, especially of translation, require a stable voice or principle to unite the choices made, to even disparate voices to the pitch of the whole and make that chorus sing in unison. A selection like this, made by a friend of the dying translator by rifling of his life's filing cabinet of occasional translations, could easily fail. What Levin notes, however, in his introduction and selections, was a lonely tone which the translator Friend responded to and echoed in some Hebrew poets: "The simple talk of my home...would never be a simple matter - a position Friend knew all too well." These translations succeed where the Brooklyn born Friend, in Israel for "fifty years in a language and culture that were never quite his own", reflected Hebrew poets' tones of dislocation and loss. Failure arose from the same source, when his dislocation from a living English idiom lent a stiltedness to some colloquial Hebrew poets.

His Bialik translations, though he didn't care for Bialik, withstand examination by other Bialik lovers: "Once again, dreaming a giant dream/men hasten to their little sins." A crisp, elegant rendering. Likewise his versions of Rachel: "A true pact is ours, a tie time cannot dissever/Only what I have lost is what I possess forever." He can make these modern Hebrew poets sound like eighteenth century London wits. But with the colloquial and contemporary Amichai he stumbles: "All the generations that preceded me contributed me/in small amounts..." Here "contributed me" echoes the Hebrew locution in a way not possible in English and the chattiness of the original stiffens to alien brocade. Friend succeeds where a not quite twentieth century "poetic" English is appropriate, fails where conversational tone is required.

No small part of this book's appeal and usefulness as a general introduction are Levin's laconic, evocative biographical notes: Gabriel Preil, born in Estonia, settled to write Hebrew poetry in the United States and "died while on a visit to Jerusalem, awaiting the publication of his Collected Poems". Lonely souls translated by a lonely voice, far in time and spirit from contemporary English and its streetsmart verse.

Jack and Anna Kilpatrick do a wonderful job translating selected folktales of the Cherokee nation. This book is broken down into several user friendly sections and also includes a breif section on the Storytellers and biographical information on some of the contributors. The tales are very easy to read and there does not seem to be much lost in translation. There is a great selection throughout this book, including animal, humor, and historical stories. A very good read and a great educational tool. This book is an eye-opening experience into the ways and beliefs of a people who were, and are, a very important part of our American Nation.

This book is an astoundingly in-depth index of mineral occurances in Colorado. It has more than a few eye-opening revelations. Looking up the radioactive minerals is especially provacative. By bringing together so much information, the stupefying magnitude of efforts to find and identify minerals in Colorado can start to be appreciated.

The books organization should be explained: Individual mineral "chapters" are arranged aphabetically. Within each mineral chapter, occurances are listed aphabetically by county. This format makes looking for particular minerals fairly straightforward--it tells you which counties have the mineral and basically where to find them. As could be expected, publicly accessible occurances are described in more detail than private sites (mines are usually only named).

On the other hand, if you want to find out what minerals are found in particular county, only a short mineral highlights section at the beginning of the book is helpful. County information is parceled out to the individual mineral chapters. Regrouping the information by county would require another book--or a searchable CD.

This book begs to be in database-on-CD form.

Pretty good book with the best facts on Kipling's life I can find so far. Has quite a bit of information on rather obscure parts of his life and his personal life. I found this book very useful in writing a reasearch report on Kipling's life.

I liked this book because it was a very interesting story about Squanto and his journeys with the English in the New World and in England. I found it sad the way he was put on display and mistreated by Captain Weymouth. In the end it was wonderful that he found a home in the New World with the pilgrims.

You need to read this book ! Squanto goes to London. When he comes back his village is gone. Every one ...! It had many sad parts. Because a ... .

Squanto is very good book.It is about an Indian who lives in a little village. He is going to the new world to see the white men. To see what they do. on the ship most of the people died on the ship.