I loved this book. I loved the characters names. Brought back a lot of memories. A great family story you can relate to their struggle and triumph.

All of the characters all stick in your mind a long time after you have finished the book. Sometimes I still find myself wondering what Edith or one of the other characters would say in reference to a current event that has happened in today's world. The dialogue used was realistic and true to the period of time. It was very refreshing to read language that was so descriptive and vibrant. The reader was allowed to feel as though they were present during the conversations between the characters. I read the last few chapters slower than the rest of the book to make it last longer. I didn't want it to end.

The characters were so real and the story written in a way so easy to read. I lived through the depression, so I can tell you that this author knows how to take you back in time with his words. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

no hype. i couldn't stop laughing as i was reading this. and i mean laughing out loud. in a cafe. with everyone staring at me. but i didn't care. and i couldn't help it if i did. it's just too hilarious.

There is at least one author who may remind you of Stephen Leacock, namely Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame, but Leacock should be recognized as the ultimate master of quaint, bucolic humor. Leacock, who died in 1944, became arguably the most prominent Canadian humorist of his day (and probably of all time). What is ironic about that claim is that Leacock worked for most of his life as a professor of economics. We do not usually equate economics with humor, preferring to think of that profession as one of bow ties and supply and demand charts. Throw that presumption out the window and pick up a copy of "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town," Leacock's best known work available through the New Canadian Library series.

For me, one of the funniest sections of the book was the introduction written by Leacock, where he gives you some background about himself and his profession. This short piece of writing quickly gives you an idea of the type of humor you will find in the actual sketches: a very sly, very quiet and clever type of humor that often takes a while to sink in. Leacock does not rely on rim shot jokes or manic posturing in his writings. Instead, he creates the fictional Canadian town of Mariposa and populates it with small town archetypes that are wonders to behold.

All of the characters are hilarious in their own way: Mr. Smith, the proprietor of the local hotel and bar, full of schemes to earn money while trying to get his liquor license back. Then there is Jefferson Thorpe, the barber involved in financial schemes that may put him on the level of the Morgans and the Rockefellers. The Reverend Mr. Drone presides over the local Church of England in Mariposa, a man who reads Greek as easy as can be but laments his lack of knowledge about logarithms and balancing the financial books of the church. Peter Pupkin, the teller at the local bank, has a secret he wants no one to know about, but which eventually comes out while he is courting the daughter of the town judge. All of these characters, and several others, interact throughout the sketches.

Leacock has the ability to turn a story, to make it take a crazy, unexpected twist even when you are looking for such a maneuver. That he accomplishes this in stories that rarely run longer than twenty pages is certainly a sign of great talent. By the time you reach the end of the book, you know these people as though you lived in the town yourself, and you know what makes them tick.

Despite all of the crazy antics in Mariposa, Leacock never lets the reader lose sight of the fact that these are basically good people living good lives. There seems to be a lot of feeling for the citizens of Mariposa on the part of Leacock, which comes to a head in the final sketch in the collection, "L'Envoi. The Train to Mariposa," where he recounts traveling back to the town after being away for years, with all of the attendant emotions that brings as recognizable landmarks come into view and the traveler realizes that his little town is the same as when he left it years before.

I suspect there is a historical importance to "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town." These writings first appeared in 1912, a time when many people living in the bigger Canadian cities still remembered life in a small town. In addition to the humorous aspects of the book, the author includes many descriptive passages concerning the atmosphere and layout of Mariposa, something instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up in such a place. Nostalgia for the simpler life of the small town probably played a significant role in the book's success.

I look forward to reading more Stephen Leacock. While much of the humor in the book is not belly laugh funny, it does provide one with a deep satisfaction of reading clever humor from an author who knows how to tickle the funny bone. You do not need to be Canadian to enjoy this wonderful book.

Perhaps the finest comment about Stephen Leacock in the last half century is that "he is a
Will Rogers for the 90's."

Rogers, of course, is one of the most beloved of American humorists -- he was killed in
1935 when his plane crashed near Point Barrow, Alaska. Leacock died on March 28, 1944.
Like Rogers, he had been Canada's favorite humorist for decades.

Sunshine Sketches is about Orillia, Ontario, Canada, where Leacock had his summer home
on Brewery Bay (he once wrote, "I have known that name, the old Brewery Bay, to make
people feel thirsty by correspondence as far away as Nevada.") His home is now maintained
as a historic site by the town of Orillia. I lived there for almost 30 years, and the people of Orillia are still much the same as Leacock portrayed them in 1912.

These stories about various personalities in town were printed in the local newspaper in the
1910 - 1912 era, before being compiled into this book which established Leacock's literary
fame. The people portrayed really lived, though some are composites; the events are of a
kindly humorist looking at the foibles of small town life. Once they came out in book form
and soared to national popularity, everyone in town figured the rest of the country was
laughing at them because of Leacock's book and he was royally hated in Orillia to the end
of his life.

Gradually, and this took decades, Orillians came to recognize that genius had walked
amongst them for several decades. (It's hard to recognize genius when your own ego is so
inflated.) Orillia now awards the annual "Leacock Medal for Humor" -- Canada's top literary
prize for the best book of humour for the preceding year.

Leacock died when I was six, but I did know his son, who still lived in town. I delivered
papers to the editor of the "Newspacket," Leacock's name for the Orillia Packet and Times
(where I worked) and the rival Newsletter. The Packet had the same editor in the 1940's as
when Leacock wrote about him in 1910.

But the book is more than Orillia; it is a wonderfully kind and humorous description of life in
many small towns. The American artist Norman Rockwell painted the same kinds of scenes;
it is the type of idyllic urban life so many of us keep longing to find again in our hectic
urban world.

Leacock realized the book was universal in its description of small towns, and in the preface
he wrote "Mariposa is not a real town. On the contrary, it is about seventy or eighty of
them. You may find them all the way from Lake Superior to the sea, with the same square
streets and the same maple trees and the same churches and hotels, and everywhere the
sunshine of the land of hope."

True enough, which gives this book continuing appeal nearly a century after it was written.
All great writing is about topics you know, and as a longtime resident Leacock knew Orillia
well. As for Leacock himself, he wrote, "I was born at Swanmoor, Hants., England, on Dec.
30, 1869. I am not aware that there was any particular conjunction of the planets at the
time, but should think it extremely likely."

He says of his education, "I survived until I took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
1903. The meaning of this degree is that the recipient of instruction is examined for the last
time in his life, and is pronounced completely full. After this, no new ideas can be imparted
to him."

In reviewing Charles Dickens' works in 1934, Leacock wrote what could well be his own
epitaph: "Transitory popularity is not proof of genius. But permanent popularity is." The fact
his writings are still current illustrates the nature of his writing.

In contrast to the sometimes sardonic humor of modern times, Sunshine Sketches reflects
Leacock's idea that "the essence of humor is human kindness." Or, in the same vein, "Humor
may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic
expression thereof."

Granted, this book is not what he recognized to have widespread appeal to modern readers.
In his own words, "There are only two subjects that appeal nowadays to the general public,
murder and sex; and, for people of culture, sex-murder." Yet, anyone reading this will
remember scenes from it for much longer than anything from a murder mystery.

In today's world, where newspapers almost daily track Prime Minister Tony Blair's dash to
the political right, Leacock wrote, "Socialism won't work except in Heaven where they don't
need it and in Hell where they already have it."

He described his own home as follows, "I have a large country house -- a sort of farm
which I carry on as a hobby . . . . Ten years ago the deficit on my farm was about a
hundred dollars; but by well-designed capital expenditure and by greater attention to
details, I have got it into the thousands." Sounds familiar to today's farm policies ?

It's what I mean by this being a timeless work.

Leacock himself noted, when talking about good literature, "Personally, I would sooner have
written 'Alice in Wonderland' than the whole of the 'Encyclopedia Britannica'." This is his
'Alice' and it well deserves to be favorably compared to Lewis Carroll's work.

By all measures, it is still the finest Canadian book ever written.

We have a very active 6 year old, and we feel he is active alert, his biggest issue is social interaction, since he has been around mostly adults his life. This book has common sense ideas to help a sometimes painful problem. Our son has done better in first grade. The summer using this book has helped alot! ... I am so glad I found this book!

I have a now 6 year old son whom is very active. (I started with the book, The Active Alert Child by Linda Budd.) This book has wonderfully simple and overlooked ideas to a uneasy problem. I had much advancement with my son over the summer. It can be done. Ist grade is going great so far! I feel this was a key to his bettering in his social world. My son has been around adults most of his life and has a hard time relating to other children. This book made a difference.

I am a school social worker and after buying several disappointing books on the topic I was delighted to find this. The format is laid out in an easy to read manner and thank goodness for the real photographs they use. (I also cut out pictures from magazines to talk about non-verbal cues and body language...then have the kids make a collage.)

Separating the areas of non-verbal communication into chapters allows me to focus on one area per session. The speech and language pathologist at my school is doing a group with me called "social communications" and we intend to squeeze everything we can out of this book.

Parents-you don't need to rely on the professionals to teach your child social skills! Have fun with it, make a date with your child weekly to practice these skills. Just don't put me out of business with this book!

This is one of the best books I have ever seen for young children who have either been abused or could be. It alerts young children of the dangers of "secrets" that are hallmarks of child abuse either about to happen or having already occurred. It also provides encouragement to those children who have already been abused to start talking about the abuse with an adult who can do something to help them. I have even see this story provide assistance for adults who have abuse issues to deal with.

I enjoy this stories at the age of 60 plus almost as much as my grandchildren have over the years. Each one of the Serendipity Series has beautiful and imaginative illustrations to go along with tales that always have an important lesson to teach.

Squeekers is an excellent way to start a conversation withchildren about abuse and saying no to peer pressure. It makes iteasier for parents to talk to their kids about a very tough topic.

A survivor of abuse myself I wanted a way to teach my children that I want them to learn to say "no" if they have to. I also wanted to teach them we would support them no matter what. This book is such a beautiful way to do that. The art and story are written for just them. All of the Serendipity Books deal with issues that face children in a way that they can feel safe and stronger for reading them. I strongly urge anyone interested in buying these books to do so. You will not be dissapointed.

A beautifully written book -- Sansweet is the reigning expert on Star Wars (have all of his book, with the Scrapbook and Encyclopedia being my favorites). I just had some quibbles with some of the design elements in it but it's a wonderful edition to my library nevertheless.

Arguably, the most significant impact of Star Wars on popular culture was the merchandising of the movie into toys and collectibles with product far outgrossing the record levels the saga achieved in box office sales. Movie merchandise, and toys in particular, with long development times and short public attention spans were rarely seen as lucrative ventures throughout movie history. But in 1977, Star Wars changed all that. Steve Sansweet's book traces the development of the film into the most lucrative movie license in history, showing rare and unproduced toy concepts that were considered but abandoned. With beautiful photos from Steve's personal collection and rare photography from the Kenner archives, the reader sees and learns about the development of the property. When this book was released in 1992, it shook the Star Wars collecting world and still remains timeless today. I keep referring to and pouring through Steve's "Concept" book over and over again. Every Star Wars collector needs to own this book.

This book by Sansweet is not only a good reference book, but also a good read. Informative write-ups on Star Wars from its inception to its popularity. Displaying sketches from the film and models. From there it also discusses all the merchandising that came with the immense popularity that Star Wars recieved from its debut. Fun to look at all the pictures and old stuff and foreign artifacts from everywhere. Reccomended for the Star Wars fan and toy lover alike.

This excellent Greenleaf novel opens with Tanner recovering from a gunshot wound in a hospital. He meets a young woman there who has many more problems than himself. She gets him back into "life". But later she is found murdered. Tanner has made promises to her and intends to carry them out. Villains had better beware. Great stuff!

Strawberry Sunday, by Stephen Greenleaf, was nominated for an Edgar Award, 2000 -- and reading it, it's not difficult to see why. This is a mystery novel with a social conscience and a wry sense of wit. It begins with the hero, P.I. John Marshall Tanner in a hospital recovering from a gut shot and mourning the death of his close (cop) friend Charley Sleet, but most of the action takes place in the California Salinas agricultural community. Tanner has resolved to find out who murdered Rita Lombardi, a fellow hospital patient who wants to better the life of farm workers.

There are lots of red herrings, wonderful characters, and witty and often hilarious dialogues with them (and with himself). Tanner often reaches wrong conclusions and gets plenty of egg on his face, but in the end he prevails; he's a tough guy with loads of grace. Strawberry Sunday is a punchy, funny, touching novel. Read it.

As a long time fan of Greenleaf and Marsh Tanner, I thoroughly enjoyed Strawberry Sunday. I love books that inform and challenge me as well as entertain, and can always count on this author to accomplish that.

A rumor has been circulating that Greenleaf planned to retire the Tanner series, and with the last book seemed to have done so, in a most excruciating way. With this book, Marsh has been returned to me and I can imagine him, one of the rare really good people, continuing to do what he does best.

In this round of Swamp Thing installments from Alan Moore (original issues #43-50, which includes the double-size anniversary issue), plot elements that had been developing for a year or more finally come to fruition. That would be a battle even bigger than good vs. evil in the final story of this collection, fittingly titled "The End." Here we see the full apotheosis of Alan Moore's groundbreaking work with comic horror writing, a defunct style that he courageously made hip again at the time. And although the Swamp Thing series was thematically unlike anything else DC was doing at the time, Moore still ties Swampy's saga into the greater DC universe. John Constantine and a collection of minor and obscure characters associated with magic and sorcery help in the great battle for the universe. Meanwhile Swamp Thing allies himself with the heaviest hitters in DC's stable of occult characters, including Spectre, Etrigan (The Demon), Phantom Stranger, Dr. Fate, and the very suave Deadman. There is also a flawless crossover with the then-current Crisis on Infinite Earths epic, surely one of the great endeavors ever undertaken by a comics company.

One very interesting aspect of Moore's plotlines during this period is how Swamp Thing himself often falls into the background of the stories, as the focus is on the horrors around him, and he makes dramatic Lone Ranger-like appearances to save the day. Even in "The End" Swampy is a minor presence, action-wise, then defeats the force of darkness simply by reasoning with it rather than fighting. In this collection's first tale, "Windfall," Swamp Thing only appears on one page, and the focus of the story is a psychedelic fruit that grew on his back. During this period of the series, things were changing artistically, as regular artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben were often overworked or unavailable. Here Stan Woch and Ron Randall really make their presence felt, especially in the most tremendous story of this stretch, "The Parliament of Trees." This concept is surely inspired by Tolkein, and in turn I bet that Woch and Randall's visual creations were an influence on the producers of the recent "Two Towers" film. By the end of this collection Moore and his great team of artistic collaborators continue to teach us about the deep roots of the Swamp Thing character, and he's not yet done learning himself.

Lets face it, Alan Moore is God's gift to the comic book reader. His stories are so intense, so cerebral, so completely real that I guarantee if you give any of his books to a non-comic fan they will never look at you like you're a childish freak again.
Swamp Thing was his first real American hit and its easy to see why: the tales age like a fine wine and you can use any issue as a jumping on point without becoming the least bit confused.

A Murder of Crows lures you in gently with three stand-alone stories that are reminiscent of Tales From the Crypt, but scarier because they are the quiet kind of horror that gradually build to frightening heights. From there you're launched headfirst into the muck of the massive 'Crisis' crossover DC used in the '80s to clean out its proverbial junk room of convoluted plots and multiple Supermans (There were somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 at the time), only your mind is not in the least bit boggled. Moore keeps things tidy (Plotwise anyway, some of this stuff is not for the squeamish) and the characters to a minimum so you always know what's going on with who and where. The depth he is able to go into as he bounces you from South American cults to British seances to Under-World War III will amaze you. For those Hellblazer fans out there, John Constantine's presence provides some serious magic of the non-Harry Potter variety as well as some wonderfully snarky commentary to lift the gloom a little.

You'll smirk, you'll cringe, you'll shudder and squirm.

You won't have a read you'll have an experience.

In "Murder of Crows", the Swamp Thing graduates from one dimensional 'monster that was once a man' to a world-saving elemental with Alan Moore's signature mix of horror and mysticism. This is the climax to the Swamp Thing's quest for truth and who and what he really is. Along the way he crosses tormented ghosts, a serial killer, a crossover from 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' and most of the magical heavyweights in the DC Universe. I would recommend starting earlier in the run (beginning w/ 'Saga of the Swamp Thing'), but if you want only one peak, this is the one to get. Even if horror is not your bag, if you enjoyed 'Crisis' this is a must have. The ending may leave you wondering if you crossed over into 'Crisis', but the journey is vintage Moore. Outstanding!

I wouldn't recommend this book as your first translation of the Tao Te Ching, hence the 4 stars, but I absolutely would recommend it as a second copy if you finish reading a translation and are craving more Tao, more depth.

The authors do an excellent job of describing their approach to this translation - a more literal and less interpretive approach than most. It allows someone familiar with the Tao Te Ching a more flexible look at what Lao Tzu had to say. A glossary includes the direct translation of several of the characters, and the authors have left in one line of the original Chinese characters in each section.

Because the translation is so literal, the intrinsic underlying points of the Tao Te Ching seem more obscured to me, rather than less, and if I did not already have some history with the Tao Te Ching, I would lose interest in this before I found my way through this book.

I am by no means a scholar of Chinese. Much as I'd like to, grasping the vagaries of classical Chinese characters is still beyond me. I'm just a philosophy student looking for understanding and inspiration.

However, bar none, this is the best translation of the Tao Te Ching I've ever read (I own 2 and have browsed 6 or 7 more.). It strikes the perfect balance between literalism and interpretation. Anyone who's looked at the original Chinese characters knows that it's tough to literally translate into English - many connectives we use to make things flow are just not present in the Chinese. Addiss and Lombardo don't overdo it, though, in making the verses comprehensible - they add only enough in the way of connectives to allow the verses to register in an English speaking mind.

If I were to recommend any edition of the Tao Te Ching to someone, this would be it. It is the best English approximation of the simplicity of the original epigrams and phrases. Where other translations can be bogged down with frilly adjectives and add-ons, this one strips itself down to the bare essentials - not only approaching the spareness of the original, but also the theme - 'ten thousand things' are 19,999 too many!

Addiss and Lombardo's translation is simply the best translation of the standard (Wang Bi edition) of the Daode jing. It's also one of the cheapest, and is beautifully illustrated. The translation is terse, crisp and rhythmic, like the original Classical Chinese. This doesn't make it easy for you to understand but instead you have to do the work to make sense out of it yourself. I use it in all my classes.

Dependent on it's moody likable Inspector Montalbano whose Sicilian mannerisms and bohemian lifestyle carry and lie at the heart of this mystery, "The Terra-Cotta Dog" is a leisurely and fascinating journey through the streets and countryside of Sicily as the Inspector solves a mystery of preserved corpses found in a cave. It's the Inspector's love of art and music, his disdain and attraction to modern media, and his commitment to fine Italian cuisine which keeps these pages turning as the mystery itself brews as tempting as a slow cooked pasta sauce. The excitement wanes a bit as the book propels into climax which amounts to a conversation resolving all issues, but it's the time spent with the reserved yet crusty and good-hearted Inspector which makes "The Terra-Cotta Dog" so enjoyable.

The second Inspector Montalbano book to appear in English (following The Shape of Water) begins with a high-level Mafia figure arranging for his own arrest by Montalbano and a seemingly innocuous nighttime heist from a grocery store. However nothing is simple in Sicilian underworld, and soon Montalbano's curiosity has him looking into the heist as he desperately avoids getting a promotion for his high-profile arrest. When this leads to the discovery of bodies sealed up fifty years ago in a strange tableau, the Inspector becomes determined to unravel the mystery of their death.

As in the first book, the main pleasure comes from watching him elegantly glide through this old crime, digging up the dirt from WWII, when the Allies drove the German and Italian forces off the island. Camilleri is old enough to recall those times, and his firsthand knowledge seeps through the voices of the old-timers Montalbano interviews. Meanwhile, he's also dealing with his long-distance girlfriend who just wants to go on vacation with him, and the troubles of his beautiful Swedish friend. He's an entertaining hero, realistic about what he can do within the constraints of the highly political and corrupt system, and willing to bend rules himself, but always tempered with compassion and empathy. Another deftly translated and beautifully understated mystery that gives a very tangible sense of Sicily.

Note: Throughout the book, the Inspector is reading one of Spanish author Manuel Vasquez Montalban's Pepe Carvalho mysteries.

After reading Camilleri's "The Shape of Water" I was eager to read this one. Camilleri topped himself. The food, the characters, the plot, the food, the history and mythology, the food, the language, oh yes, did I mention the food. I couldn't help thinking what a pleasure it would be to meet Signor Camilleri, preferrably in Siclia, at dinner. Bravissimo.

This is my first analysis book. So, I have no basis for camparing it as an analysis book. But, as a math book, it is honestly the most readable and enjoyable I have ever read.

Understanding Analysis is an excellent textbook for anyone wanting to learn more about mathematics beyond the high school and calculus levels. It shows how mathematics is more than simply multiplying numbers or solving integrals. Elementary analysis rigorously builds the foundations of calculus starting from first principles. If you ever had trouble understanding limits, sequences, series, derivatives, or integrals and want to really learn them, I strongly recommend this book.

The book provides a lucid introduction to proof writing and non-computational mathematics best suited to students who have just completed calculus. In the author's own words, "The proofs in Understanding Analysis are written with the introductory student firmly in mind. Brevity and other stylistic concerns are postponed in favor of including a significant level of detail." When contrasted with many other mathematics books that are terse presentations of theorems, the textbook is remarkably readable, focusing on teaching material and developing students.

As an engineering student trying to specialize in sigal processing, I found my mathematics background filled with holes. I embarked upon a journey to try to fill these holes and discovered what disservice my engineering education had done to me in terms of dealing with abstract notions like probability theory, etc. This book has been indispensible in re-engaging not only my anlytical skills but also continue on my path to a better understanding of the mathematics required to succeed professionally. Thank you, Prof. Abbott!