An enjoyable book, nicely illustrated, which gives concise and interesting insights into some of the topics that exercised Americans in the 1920s and early 1930s: immigration, political radicalism, prohibition, crime and delinquent social behavior, the debate between creationism and science, and so on. I would have welcomed, in one or two chapters, slightly more detail from the trials themselves, and sometimes the overall historical context is a little thinly sketched. However, this is popular history, not some bone-dry academic thesis, and it works very well at that level.

This book manages to stay lively while giving both the social and historical context and details of the trials themselves. The narrative is informed but not ponderous, in fact, at times it almost conversational in tone. The trials selected encompass a broad array of issues from those times, ranging from sports scandles to organized crime to military heroes to xenophobia to science and creation. Each entry is long enough to give the reader a real good feel for the issues surrounding the case, but short enough to keep the pacing fast and enjoyable. I recommend it highly.

Robert Zimmerman's "Maximum Dollars: The 12 Rules of Fundraising" is written in a simple and entertaining style. Maximum Dollars addresses a fundamental component of all nonprofit organizattions: fundraising. This is an area that many find boring and difficult; Mr. Zimmerman makes it seem fun and exciting. He challenges many commonly held views. Rule 12, for example, states that people love to give money away! Each rule addresses an aspect of fundraising and provides key tips that a nonprofit can follow to fundraise successfully. Each rule is followed by an exercise that can be done by volunteers and staff to help learn to fundraise successfully. This book can help both new nonprofits that may not know how to go about fundraising correctly and established nonprofits to hone their fundraising skills, especially if they have board members and volunteers who are resistant. Maximum Dollars is one book that all nonprofit organizations should have.

This book gives a board great ideas and a pep-talk for how to get in shape for fundraising well. I particularly liked the several creative exercises to inspire board members to do their job with a positive attitude and a grounding in the basic strategies of fundraising. For a beginning nonprofit, this book is essential in getting a good start; for a more established nonprofit, it serves as a good "check-up" to note areas for improvement -- and how to go about making those improvements.

Robert Skimin's novel on the incredible life of Ulysses S. Grant is a fascinating read. Mr. Skimin has faithfully told Ulys's story from his early days at the hallowed grounds of West Point; his activities in the Mexican War; his struggles in pre-Civil War America; and his triumphs during that most turbulent time in our history. Grant in Skimin's eyes is neither smart or dumb...he is an everyman, trying to do what he feels is the right course he should follow. Skimin aptly illustrates Grant's struggle with the bottle...a lifelong battle that Ulysses sometimes won and sometimes lost. Many of us who have awoke with the effects of a night of drinking still fresh in our body, can appreciate Mr. Skimin's accurate description of the torment Grant went through. The major asset of the book deals with General Grant's long-standing friendship and partnership with John Rawlins....He describes their relationship in a very familial way...as that of two "brothers", who have found each other in Galena, Illinois just before the war, and who shared the highs and the lows of four years of brutal war that they shared together. Ulysses is a very interesting fictional account of this great man, U.S. Grant... For those of you who enjoy great historical fiction, you can not go wrong with Mr.Skimin's work....One can only hope for a companion novel on the life of W.T. Sherman!

Grant was a gentle character with self doubts that led to alcholism. Rawlins, friend from home town, becomes staff chief and insists bottle be banished. Grant blossoms inspite of his character flaws many past failures and becomes tremendous leader. Grant is an inspiration to all of us who battle the demons of self destructive behavior binding oneself with our unsolveable failures. Grant's virtues emerge in the crucible of war displaying that he is not an incompetent failure: an embarassment to family, friends, and Army reputation. Rawlings is the conscience for Grant, fanatically believing in Grant's greatness if alcohol and dishonest hanger-ons can be avoided. When Rawlings dies Grant is alone and betrayed by those in his circle. Sherman also give Grant blunt truth and stays away from the Washington political cess pool. Grant's love for wife Julia is rendered tenderly and gently. Grant dies having left her with his finished journal Mark Twain promises will earn enough to provide a life time income. Son Fred was involved in shameful, shocking and disgusting hazing of black cadets at West Point. Blame has never really been properly adjudged on Fred Grant for this terrible deed. The role Samuel Clemons plays in Grant's life is very important; writing as Mark Twain, he publishes and inspires Grant's autobiography and helps assure Julia be provided for, allowing Grant, dieing of throat and mouth cancer, to conquer the pain of his final days by finishing the final pages of his manuscript. I say that Grant died victorious, enduring terrible agony, discomfort and pain, to finish what he always wanted to do; prove himself and take care of his family.

This book reveals a side of Robert E. Lee that is not explored as much as it should be. The character and Christian testamony exhibited here should be an example to us all. I found the reading to be spell bounding and very hard to put down. Thanks to the authors for a non-bias view of this great American hero.

Three cheers for a great read AND a great life - once you've read this book, you'll understand why Gen. Robert E. Lee still stands today as the most beloved and respected military leader of all time. The simple truth is the man was motivated by honor, duty and most important of all, faith, and everything he did was premeditated by him with those ideas in mind. How refreshing a story after one has been bombarded today with stories of those our children look up to who are motivated by greed and ego and talk about somebody "disrespecting" them - it is very difficult to respect someone spouting obscenities, covered with tatoos, hair dyed eye-popping colors, and sporting metal earrings dangling from various parts of their face! They say "I'm not a role model." I think that is a cop-out spoken by someone who decided he wanted all the glory and money and fame without living up to the responsibility that goes along with it. It's too bad strong and moral leaders, men who stood up for what was right and were willing to pay whatever price that cost, who knew they were role models and did their utmost to be good ones, whose stories we've read about in history class about men down through the years from earliest history through the colonies and the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, seem also to be "Gone With the Wind".

Whether or not Mr. Wilkins is a "revisionist historian" or not, (is complete objectivity really possible?) this book depicts a man who stands head and shoulders above military professionals throughout U. S. history. Nowhere have I read about a man of such faith, honor, integrity and humility than Robert E. Lee. Lee's greatness cannot be separated from his faith, because his character flowed from his faith. Trying to understand such a man apart from his relationship with his creator is impossible. Mr. Wilkins need not apoligize for focusing on Lee's faith, for I believe General Lee would have wanted it no other way. I wish every newly commissioned officer in the U. S. military were required to read this book.

Scott of the Antarctic belongs in any complete collection of books on Antarctic exploration. It has a wealth of good, basic information on Scott's Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions.

But, having said that, the prospective reader must be warned that the book is a love letter to Scott, and has been utterly eclipsed by Roland Huntford's The Last Place on Earth, a far more scholarly and accurate account of the race to the South Pole.

A true classic of the genre, "Scott.."chronicles the exploration of the world's last frontier: the great polar ice caps. The reader is emersed in the expedition as the pair of explorers plod endlessly in the tractless permafrost, unaware of the gaping crevaces hidden beneath the snow, but painfully aware of the howling winds that pelt their faces with stinging ice, and numbing cold. This very well written book is indeed a fitting tribute to those intrepid scientists who brave hostile regions to further man's knowledge of the globe.

Huxley gives the background information on why and how the South Pole expedition of 1910 -1913 became a disaster. The author gives valuable information to understand the history of this endeavor and why Scott was chosen as a leader beginning in the 1880s. She gives an excellent insight on preparations of the expedition and Scott's rivalry with Shackleton. The analysis on why Scott chose ponies and motor sledges as auxillary means of transport over dogs is excellent. The mixture of amateurism and masochism that led to failure shown by the immense feeling of pride to do everything -especially man-hauling the sledges- the hard way has not been explained as well in any other book I have read on the subject. In the foreword the author states that Scott only became a hero because he died and led his four companions into death. After reading the book one can only wonder how muchbecoming a hero might have been a motive that led to self-destruction after having only been second to the Pole after Amundsen's Norwegian expedition.

Ulysses S. Grant was a complex, fascinating personality who led a dramatic, multi-faceted rollercoaster of a life. Why hasn't anyone been able to write a decent novel about the guy? "Ulysses" accomplishes a near-impossible feat: It succeeds in making Grant look dull. His life is presented as a series of brief, disconnected, uninvolving scenes, the personalities are as flat as my computer monitor, and Skimin's idea of plot and character development is to get Grant drunk on every other page, even at moments when not even his hostile biographers accuse him of getting plastered. Poor Ulys deserves better. Calling all talented dramatists--here is your next project!

When I first bought this book, I thought I was taking a chance. But from page one, Robert Skimin takes you on a wonderous journey of one of the most interesting men in US History. It starts out with a few stories from U.S. Grant's early childhood and moves to his years at Westpoint, to the Mexican War, to his life during peacetime. Obviously the main part of the book is dedicated to the Civil War, but that is to be expected. Skimin takes you to Fort Henry, Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and the Wilderness Campaign. You have Lee surrendering to Grant and the Grant's life after the Civil War, including his scandal-torn presidency. Skimin keeps the book interesting as you follow the life of Ulysses S. Grant. This book is a must read if the Civil War or this point of history is even of slight interest.

This book covers Grant's life from when he was young all the way though to his death. The book showed us what a complex and interesting person Grant was. I truly enjoyed reading this book and found it very hard to put down. The book draws you into Grant's life and lets you experience his life's triumphs and tribulations. Anybody who likes good historical fiction will enjoy this book. My brother also read this book and really enjoyed it.

R.M. Grant's edition of Theophilus' "Ad Autolycum" has become the standard volume for students of this patristic author. Presenting a critical edition of the Greek along with an English translation, Grant also offers a commentary on the text that, while somewhat slanted at times, yet serves as a helpful introduction to the author and his thought. Certainly an invaluable volume for students of the early patristic tradition.

I use Cases in Contemporary Strategy Analysis in my Capstone course (final course) for my MBA graduate students. It provides them with excellent insight into corporate decision making and strategic planning processes. The case studies are interesting and rich for discussion. My only criticism is the world of business is so fast paced. I would have like to see an internet site or CD ROM with more current information on the companies. Many of the organizational case studies were dated 1998. A myriad of financial, economic, marketing, and strategic changes occurred since the printing of the text. Overall, I recommend the book for textbook use.

This book (Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla) is about a girl named Sarah Ida that moved to Palmville to vist her Aunt Claudia. Sarah's parents sent her to Palmville because her parents could not take care of her over the summer. While she was on the train Sarah Ida wanted to start her life all over because her life was miserable. Sarah asked Aunt Claudia for money, but her mother said "No" because Sarah needed to learn the value of money! Sarah found a job. It was at a shoeshine store. Do you think Sarah learned a lesson in the ShoeShine Stand? So that's why the title is called the ShoeShine Girl. Do you think Sarah learned the value of money? What do you think Sarah spent her first day's pay on and why? How do you think Sarah feels working in the ShoeShine Stand?

We like this book because we can relate to Sarah at the begining of the book. One time one of us was on the train going to school, and we didn't feel like getting off. Similar to Sarah she didn't want to get off on the train because she wanted to change her life all over again.

Our opinion for this book is really good because every chapter tells you something new. For example in chapter 4 it was very suspenseful. We were thinking that she was going to steal the money and spend it. Maybe she would get caught and would have to look for another job instead of working at the ShoeSineStand.

So now you know about this girl named "Sarah Ida" who works at the ShoeSine Stand. We would like to recommend this book to people that like reading realistic fiction books!

The book is called Shoeshine Girl by Clycle Robert Bulla. This book started with a girl named Sarah Ida who was told to get on a train to Palmville but she didn't want to. She had no choice but to go. She planned on staying and did she get off? Well....read the book and find out. They got the title of the story when Sarah went to find a job and found one in a shoeshine stand and one day Al, her boss, went to buy some shoe polish. Do you know what happened afterwards? Al got hit by a car and was sent to the hospital. Sarah Ida kept the shoeshine stand open and polished people's shoes all by herself. Do you think it's good so far? Do you also think that Sarah Ida is a responsible person for taking care of the store?

We learn that if you want money, you need to earn money yourself. We like this book because it talks about character's feelings. For example, Sarah felt hurt when Sarah wanted money and Aunt Claudia didn't give her money because she said "Your mom told me not to give you any." We disliked the part when Al got hurt. We like this book because it was good and because it was talking about her life. Her life changed a lot throughout the story. She use to be with people that are so awful. It was awful because she had friends that would take things. What we think that changed her life was being with Al and her aunt because they taught her how to cook, the value of money, and how to polish a shoe.

We think that this book would be good for people who want to find a job. We also recommend this book to fourth and fifth graders.

I remember when I was in third grade, I would go to my grandmother's house and ask for her to read me The Shoeshine Girl over and over again. This book is great to help children understand the importance of unselfishness and responsibility with money. Sarah Ida's character in the book starts off being a cold and uncaring little girl, but through her experiences with living with Aunt Claudia and working for Al at the shoeshine stand, she becomes a responsible and loving child. I would highly recommend reading this book with children, it is a great story and they will learn the moral of responsibility from it too!

I find that Mr. Stevenson is a very talented writer because his story was described excellently and the suspense seemed very real.

Kidnapped is the story of a young man's adventures. This particular young man was named David Balfour. After his parents passed away David set off in search of his rich uncle, to find himself a new home. Little did he know that on his arrival that his uncle would try to chase him away with a gun, and would be the most miserly person David had ever met. For fear of having to feed David, the uncle had him kidnapped aboard a ship that would take him to America to work on the plantations. Due to an unexpected change in the weather, however, the ship was wrecked on the coast of Scotland, and there the adventure began.

On the back of the novel it says that this book has been enjoyed by generations and shall be enjoyed for generations to come. When I chose to read this novel I wasn't sure if that statement would be true. I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the story, I found it to be well written and exciting. I looked forward to the end because I was curious to see what would happen.

I'd say any book that is good enough to be deemed a classic has an importance all it's own. I have not read many classics but I find this book important because it holds a lot of information pertaining to the history and culture of Scotland and it's people.

In other words, this is a great story, read it!

Robert Louis Stevenson was without a doubt one of the greatest historical/adventure novelists that ever lived, and Kidnapped is unquestionably one of his best works. My only regret is that I waited so long to finally read it. It was a new and exciting change from Treasure Island, a book which I love, but have read approximately once every year since the second grade. Finally, longing for a little swashbuckle, and wishing for a way out of my Jim Hawkins rut, I picked up Kidnapped, and was immediately swept off on a thrilling, suspenseful and exhilarating adventure through the Scottish highlands. For days I sat rigid on the edge of my seat, eagerly following the young David Balfour as he was cheated of his inheritance by his wily uncle, kidnapped by pirates, and befriended by a cocky Jacobite outlaw. Breathlessly, I followed him and his companion as they were falsely accused of murder and forced to flee from British troops. Finally, I heaved a sigh of contented disappointment as the story ended, glad at the way things had ended, yet upset that it all had to end and that I would at last have to part from the two heroes of whom I had grown so fond. This is without a doubt a book that I will reread as many times as I have Treasure Island, and I envy the lucky reader who is picking it up for the first time. It is thrilling, exciting, suspenseful, unpredictable, and thoroughly intoxicating. After reading it, my thirst for such dashing adventure was so terrible that I immediately had to run to the library and lay my hands on every adventure novel I could find. I would highly reccommend it to every lover of adventure stories, particularly those with a historical base. I would suggest though that first time readers take a minute to read just a very little bit about the Jacobite rebellions, particularly the one of 1745. It will help greatly to clarify the story, and make it that much more enjoyable. (If indeed, it could get any better than it already is!)

Let me tell you now that 'Kidnapped' is my personal favourite, and I've already read it four times! You'll never get a moment to pause to take a yawn. R.L. Stevenson with his superb writing capabilities writes of a young man named David Balfour. When his father dies, he is told to go to his uncle's house. After several failed attempts to kill David the wicked uncle sells him off to a skipper of a ship. In the course of his stay on the ship David meets the Jacobite, Alan. I can't describe the novel in words you gotta read it to know what you are really in for! This is the greatest adventure novel I've ever read. If you have read Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' then you won't be disappionted with this one.