The beautiful photograph on the front cover is only the first of many that appear throughout this delightful book. I originally purchased it as a resource for a school report on Louisa May Alcott, but soon found myself engrossed in reading every detail. The book contains information on various events and people in LMA's life, as well as her novels. In addition to a chronology of her life, it has an illustrated map of New England in the back that highlights the many places where she lived.

If I were to take any books along with me on a LIW journey, it would be this one. The reason for a lower rating is because I was disappointed in a rehash of what to find at the Little House sites that was already published in another of Anderson's titles.

William Anderson has done a fabulous job in painstakingly documenting everything there is to see from New York to South Dakota that has anything to do with Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series. Ever wondered what happened to Pa's fiddle? Or if the house dug out from the banks of Plum Creek is still intact? This book has the answers. Complete with color photographs, addresses, phone numbers and maps, as well as ample background information, The Little House Guidebook is a must have for Little House fans everywhere. Even if you never get to visit these places, this book will take you there.

Laura!

Biographical essays of well-known as well as fairly obscure musicians and industry types. Escott has made a career out of telling outrageous, sometimes salacious, tales -- he gets to the rawer, visceral side of the story pretty quickly, which is relatively easy when you're talking to folks who worked in the scraggly, scruffy early years of country, rock and blues. He's an engaging, consersational writer, and this latest collection is a delight. Includes essays on artists such as Dale Hawkins, Don Everly, Johnny Horton, Tim Hardin and a particularly cruel skewering of Pat Boone. In one of the most fascinating sections, Escott profiles the founders of record labels such as Decca, King, Starday and Hi -- a fascinating and very illuminating appoach to presenting the history of popular music. Beautifully laid out, well written and highly recommended.

This groundbreaking work offers the reader insight to the world of Stax in the sixties and seventies. It allows the reader to understand the forces behind the ascension and eventual decline of one of the greatest recording labels in the history of modern music. In the course of absorbing this wonderful book, the humble reader is able to gain an understanding of the societal, cultural, and racial catalysts for the music produced. In the latter part of the book, the reader sees the painful decline of Stax from their pinnacle to their nadir in the course of only a few short years.

Extremely highly recommended -- the best musical history book I have read.

Also recommended: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, Volumes I, II, and III (box sets with excellent liner notes by Rob Bowman)

Also -- It Came from Memphis' for a good background on the lesser known, but nonetheless important musicians who originated in Memphis.

This Book was all that.Staxx is as Important as Motown.It's a Incredible Story.especially when A Black Label Blows up Down South in the 60's.you only ever here about Sun Records &Sam Phillips and his discovery of Elvis Presley.so this is Very Important on a Social Front.The Many Great Artists on Staxx.this Book is strong from start to Finish.

This book is an excellent source of information on multivariate analysis techniques. I especially like the flowcharts used for determining which analysis method to use as well as the flowcharts showing what steps to take for the analysis method chosen. If you have a good basic knowledge of statistics and a good head on your shoulders, you will have no problem understanding the methods presented.

This is the best applied book on multivariate analysis I know. It clearly explains how to do statistical analyses and how to interpret the output. Clear examples throughout. Syntax supplied for each type of multivariate analysis in both SPSS and SAS, with LISREL notation for CFA. In addition to specific techniques (factor analysis, multiple regression, multiple discriminant analysis, MANOVA, conjoint analysis, canonical correlation, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, structural equation modeling/CFA) excellent sections on structuring data, cleaning data, and handling missing data. While mathematical sophistication always helps in stat, this book doesn't require it. No knowledge of matrix algebra needed to understand this book. Few if any formulas. Emphasis is on logic rather than math.

The book helped me get through the different statistical options for my dissertation- and understand them!

Ostensibly, this book is a comprehensive history of the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War in America) and its affects upon the British Empire in North America. In fact, the focus of this book is on the triangular relationship between the American colonists, the Indian tribes struggling to maintain a balance between the warring European empires, and the power struggles of British parliamentarians, rather than the war itself.

Fred Anderson, a university professor, writes well and he avoids a narrow, parochial viewpoint in favor of a broad canvas that depicts the struggle as a multi-dimensional global conflict. Unfortunately, Anderson often only scrapes the surface and fails to provide real detail on important issues, like what was the actual balance of power between New France and the British colonies (figures on population, economic productivity and military potential would have been useful). Instead, Anderson spends many tedious pages detailing various treaties with Indian tribes, inter-colonial bickering and the land interests of the Penn family. The real weakness of the book is that Anderson fails to properly address the meat and potatoes of this subject: the military campaigns fought between 1755 and 1760 for the control of Canada. Anderson eschews details such as order of battle, casualties or analysis in favor of selected eyewitness accounts, which add little. Major military operations are glossed over quickly: the siege of Louisburg gets only four pages but the post-war land squabbles between Connecticut and Pennsylvania get six. Only eight pages are spent on the Battle of Ticonderoga in 1758, but more than thirty pages are spent on the Stamp Act. The only exception to this is the climatic Battle on the Plains of Abraham, which Anderson dismisses as a "dubious battle" that was neither decisive nor brilliantly fought. In his most controversial interpretation, Anderson claims that the British General Wolfe blundered into the battle without a plan, as part of a suicidal death wish. No evidence is presented to support this revisionist accusation, nor does Anderson disclose how he knows what was going on in Wolfe's mind. This leads to a second weakness of the book, which is that while many historical characters parade through the chapters, they remain ciphers because the author makes little effort to detail their backgrounds or pre-war experience.

This book desperately needs several appendices, covering topics such as a list of the British regular units that served in America during the war, a list of colonial units raised and war-expenses of each colony, and capsule biographies of all the major participants. Anderson does provide some additional detail in the 85 pages of endnotes, but he often finds it sufficient to cite a source without telling the reader what additional information it contains. To be sure, Anderson's book is impeccably researched. Yet the book is sadly lacking in detail on many important topics, including Britain's naval superiority and economic mobilization, both of which were crucial to the outcome. Interesting topics, such as the creation of Roger's Rangers and the British condoning of scalping are glossed over. In order to make sense of Anderson's sketchy detail, I frequently had to consult other books on the war. A 746-page volume should not force a reader to conduct so much extra legwork. French perspectives are also given short shrift, and their strategic objectives are never explained (what did France hope to gain?). After the fall of Montreal in 1760, France drops out of Anderson's account and we hear no more of them - which is pretty ridiculous given that the effect of losing Canada upon France is never discussed. In another area, Anderson's use of colonial-era maps, while quaint, was a poor choice since they are very difficult to read and hence constitute only useless eyewash.

Finally, the real crux of this book comes down to one issue: Anderson wants to break from standard historical accounts that depict the war as merely a prelude to the American Revolution and instead, to portray it as a stand-alone event that did not inevitably lead to revolution. However much his intent, Anderson actually does tend to use foreshadowing of future British-American friction throughout his narrative. At heart, Anderson is a colonial-era historian and his main interest is in the political and emotional ramifications of the war. Indeed, less than half of the book is actually devoted to the war and the last 180 pages are pre-occupied with post-war taxation policies. Nowhere does Anderson summarize the war's human and financial costs, which are certainly more germane than the antics of various colonials in frustrating British customs policies. Contrary to what other reviewers might claim, Fred Anderson has not written the definitive account of the Seven Years War or even come close; most of his work covers well-trodden ground with few new revelations. If you want to learn a lot about the Stamp Act, read this book. If you want to learn a lot about the Seven Years War, keep looking...

Prof. Anderson set high goals for this book. He aimed to produce a book that is attractive to general readers and a significant scholarly contribution. To accomplish the latter, he aimed at writing a history of the Seven Years War in North America that avoids the anachronistic pitfall of viewing it from the prespective of the American Revolution. Similarly, he aimed at giving just coverage to the imperial dimension of the War and all combatants; French, Canadians, Colonial Americans, British, and Native Americans. In addition to these ambitious goals, simply writing a substantial book on the Seven Years War requires some courage. This topic was covered masterfully by the pioneering scholar, Francis Parkman, in one of the peaks of 19th century American literature, and is analyzed in depth by the great 20th century scholar, Lawrence Gipson. Anderson accomplishes all his aims in a smoothly written and comprehensive volume. This is simply an excellent book. Prof. Anderson is remarkably erudite, as comfortable describing British politics as he is in analyzing the activity of Native Americans. Because of a lively writing style, this book is never ponderous. Several points deserve specific mention. Drawing on a wealth of recent scholarship, he emphasizes the role of Native Americans as independent and important actors in this conflict. He is particularly good at setting the North American conflict in the appropriate global perspective. To Anderson, the Seven Years War was an epochal event that formed the basis for Britain's subsequent Empire and set stage for the American and consequently, the French Revolutions. While he avoids seeing the Seven Years War through the prism of the American Revolution, he is very good at showing the ways that the experience of the Seven Years, both as experienced by the British and by the Colonials, set the stage for later conflicts. Interestingly, his conclusions on this topic are very similar to those reached by scholars who work backwards from the Revolution, for example, Robert Middlekauf in The Glorious Cause, part of the excellent Oxford History of the United States. This book required over 15 years of effort and it was time well spent.

...most of us would agree, was the American Revolution. After reading this excellent book by Fred Anderson don't be surprised to find yourself thinking otherwise. Certainly you will come away with a new appreciation for the Seven Years War or the French and Indian War as our forefathers called it. The book begins in 1754 in western Pennsylvania with a skirmish between French troops and land hungry colonists led by a young Virginian named George Washington. It is a story about five cultures (English, English colonials, French, French settlers and Native Americans) and the war they fought for control of the vast territory of the Ohio Valley. Anderson tells us it is "a story of violent imperial competition that resulted first in a decisive victory and then in a troubled attempt by metropolitan authorities to construct a new British empire along lines that would permit them to exercise effective control over colonies and conquests alike. It is not, therefore, a story that has the birth of the an American republic anywhere in view." Anderson brings his narrative to a close in 1766, long before the revolution. There are 2 areas where the book shines, bringing new insight into our pre-revolutionary history.

1. HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. One of the cultures Anderson focuses on - Native Americans - we all know, is not one homogenous culture at all. The author is brilliant in showing how the internecine history of the eastern tribes brought about the emergence of the Iroquois nation as the dominant tribe in the northern Ohio Valley area. Tribes such as Mingos, Delaware, and Shawnee were almost subservient client states of the Iroquois and this made it very difficult for both the English and the French to negotiate alliances with the Indians. Also, what becomes very clear is that the use of Indians as scouts, mercenaries, and troops was a contributing cause to the atmosphere of "fear and misunderstanding, miscalculation and mischance". This was due to the totally different norms under which Indians fought; rules of battle that neither French nor British practiced nor understood. Anderson explains the massacre following the surrender of Fort William Henry in this light. "The only rewards that the Indians -whether Christian or heathen- had expected were plunder, trophies to prove their prowess in battle, and captives to adopt or sacrifice as replacements for dead warriors or perhaps hold for ransom. When it became clear that the man whom they had called 'Father' [Montcalm] intended to do what no real father would and deprive them of of the reward they had earned, most of the warriors decided merely to take what they had come for, and then to leave". Misunderstanding leading to butchery; the immediate consequences of it being that the English and colonials would never again trust Montcalm. It was not only the French though; such incidents had happened before with Indians in the service of the English. The Indians themselves saw Montcalm's interference in their plundering as cause for concern; "never again would Indian allies flock to the French colors". The circle of mistrust was now complete.

2. NO LINK WITH THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Perhaps the greater contribution of the book is the 'not quite revisionist' but certainly an alternative view of the events of the period. In the years 1758-1760, following an English victory and with the demise of New France, Anderson sees a change in the relationship between Britain and her colonies. The British government he says became convinced "that the only rational way to deal with the American colonists was to exert control from Whitehall." Anderson portrays the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act and even the Tea Act as means by Britain to exert local control. He is convincing with his argument that the reactions by the colonists to these acts "did not reflect a movement toward revolution so much as an effort to define the nature of the imperial relationship". Despite the focus of the book on the period between 1754-1766, Anderson makes one of the most powerful statements of the whole book regarding the decade prior to the revolution. "Between 1766 and 1775 lay a decade-long effort to deal with the legacies of a great war and a prodigal victory - an effort that instead of solutions generated a constitutional stalemate. Until the shots rang out on that bright spring morning [April 19, 1775 at Concord, Massachusetts], the Britsh empire had remained a transatlantic political community made up of subjects who, despite their differences, questioned neither their common allegiance to the Crown nor their common British identity".

Treat yourself to this thoroughly enjoyable and well written history; it is sure to be a work that is referred to for some time to come.

This book is a sweet little slice of Americana, set in the heart of the pioneer days. If you have never read the series I highly recommend it for anyone. It is wonderfully written and highly descriptive of the days when the country was wild and free.
Laura Ingalls tells the story of her life, wild and free on the beautiful wind swept prairie. She gives us vivid pictures of just what it was like to be a homesteader living off the land. When Charles Ingalls decides the big woods of Wisconsin are getting too crowded, he gets an itchy feeling to head out and homestead in the "Indian Territory" of the midwest. Laura tells the story of this adventurous move with the wide eyed innocence of a little girl. This is especially remarkable since Laura wrote these stories while she was beyond the age of 60!
This account of her life, lived under the billowing top of a covered wagon, reads just as freshly, as if it happened yesterday! You can't help but get swept up in the lush reality of it all. Laura Ingalls Wilder lived these experiences and brings them into sharp focus for us today. Some of her most vivid and gripping recollections come in reference to the wolves and Native Americans surrounding her little cabin. Laura is full of spunk and always ready to face whatever challenge comes along. She is a wonderful role model for young children, even if she is a little impulsive at times.
If you've seen the television show and haven't read the books, please take the time to enjoy them! The TV show was good but dramatized quite a bit. These books read as a historical record told in stark honesty. They dispense with the hollywood melodrama and the present a story in a straight forward way.
But as I said before they are vivid and rich in their portrayal of life on the prairie. This particular book is well worth your time!

I've recently started reading the Little House books to my seven-year-old daughter and I'm thrilled to discover that I love them just as much now as I did when I was her age. There are a lot of reasons for that. Laura Ingalls Wilder was a wonderful writer. She's simple and always crystal clear, but at the same time, she uses so much detail and has such a great sense of the rhythm of language that her writing is beautifully poetic and always a joy to read aloud. And the characters, of course, are among the most beautifully drawn characters in literature: the feisty Laura who has such a hard time doing what she's supposed to do, her frustratingly perfect sister Mary, her strict but kind parents. Even the animals in the book come across as interesting characters. No matter how tired I am in the evening, I always look forward to getting out Little House and reading a chapter or two.

Those were the things I loved about it as a child, and still love now. But as an adult I've also come to appreciate how quintessentially American this book is. It's the kind of book that makes you think about our heritage, and makes you proud to be American. In these books, Laura and her family keep facing hardships and meeting them head on. When necessary, they pick themselves up and move on to a new place, starting from scratch. They don't expect anything from anybody, and yet they care about their community and their neighbors. You often hear the words "pioneer spirit" used to describe America's best values, but after you read Little House that's not an empty phrase. You, and the child you read it to, understand it in your heart.

Little House on the Prairie was a very good book, I thought. This book was written in the 1930s, while Mrs. Wilder was in her 60s. Laura Ingalls Wilder's describes her beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family in her Little House books series. They have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America's frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story. I really enjoyed hearing about the way she grew up in the Midwest going through hardships, but always pulling through because of the close bond she had with her family. In this book Little House on the Prairie the Ingalls family decide to move from Wisconsin to Kansas and build a new home on the prairie. Which this was only one of the moves of many more to come. They face many hardships while traveling, build a new little cabin, encounter the very few settlers in the area (which was Indian Territory at the time), sickness, prairie fire, good and bad Indians, and finally realize the heartbreak of losing their new farm. Here they meet Mr. Edwards, who becomes a very special family friend, and Dr. Tann, a black doctor to the Indians. This book hasa been banned in many libraries for racial content, it actually shows how settlers fo the time felt. Some were prejudiced, some weren't. Even within the same family there were often differences of opinion. Overall, I thought the book was very interesting and enjoyable to read. I enjoyed it because it showed that life is not always easy and you have to work really hard sometimes to pull through those difficult times. I think that this is a good way of showing younger children reading these books that sometimes in life, you just have to push yourself really hard towards something that you want.

For those of us that are interested in life beyond the original "Little House" series, this is a great book to own/read. I think that it captures the character of Laura and Rose because the stories and articles are by their own hand.

I really enjoyed the photos throughout this book because while Garth Williams' representation of the Ingalls family is lovely, it is nice to see what they really looked like. Even though they are in black and white you can imagine Pa's eyes twinkling.

Rose and Laura have very different styles, but both styles are very good. I especially liked Laura's articles because they paint a picture of farm life. The sections range in length so if you one have a few moments of reading time here and there it isn't necessary to worry about reading it in one sitting (though you may want to!).

Other things I recommend are the Little House series (of course!), and the series about Rose that was published recently (it has its slow parts but it was written by someone close to the family so there is a lot of accuracy). If you want to read more of Laura and Rose's writing this book is the perfect solution even considering the high price.

I loved the short stories by Rose Wilder Lane, (especially "Innocence") and Laura's pieces are also touching & well-written -- definitely recommended for the die-hard Ingalls-Wilder fan and for anyone interested in good short stories. Rose Wilder Lane will really impress those people who haven't read anything by her before.

This was the book 10 years ago that introduced me to the fact there was more out there beyond the Little House books written by my favorite author and her daughter. After reading her "Missouri Ruralist" writings, it puts the theories of Laura not really writing the Little House books to rest. It also introduced me to the thrilling storytelling of Rose; so much so, I broke my cardinal "no lending of Little House books" rule to disasterous results. I'm glad to finally have a replacement.

Rose's interview with her father drives me nuts! You will find yourself wishing, after reading this and other snippets on "the man of the place" that Laura and Rose would have spent more time writing about him.

Trash literature for young adults, most appropriate for middle school kids. While this book may appeal to "reluctant readers" because of its fast-paced action, it has little to recommend it. The two main characters are fairly uninteresting. There are very clear-cut good guys and bad guys, with no shadings of gray. That will make it appealing to some young readers, but the characters seem flat. Lots of sexual innuendo and undertones...the young virginal girl is in danger of being molested by the sicko leader of the aliens. Philbrook has written some other books with good character development and interesting themes, but this book doesn't measure up.

Abduction is very well written.The Suspence bookis about 2 teens being abducted and then finding out and stopping their captors. The best book I have ever read. Descriptive, well written, suspenceful and enticing. I recemmend this book to everyone looking for a good read.

This book is so awesome, words cannot describe this. I read it when I was in sixth grade and it was so intresting. I read it every study hall at the end of the day for 5 months! I could not put it down! Here is basically what it is about:

A loser named Quentin starts a Skin-Head gang where they are all goth and have to get certain tatooes and piercings. Soon Matt, Luke's younger brother becomes adapted and a member of the Skin-Head gang. Soon after that, Quentin, an unknown alien/extratrestrial gets mind control of Luke and Mandy, and they always disappear betweeen 10 pm and 2 am. But when they come back, they do not remember a thing. They soon talk it over and things start adding up. Quentin spyes on them in a library and everything goes wacky...trust me it is not a playful alien book...it is realistic, and probably for ages 14+...i mean it it is so awesome...get it now. Cheers to Rodman Philbrick!

Young Rhoda Penmark (the author chooses names which offer clues as to his characters' agendas) is not a typical elementary schoolgirl: too well behaved, fastidious in her habits, and outwardly obedient, she covets the penmanship award--and her privacy. When a boy dies on a school picnic, some folks begin to be suspicious of the perfect but cold little lady. This dark tale of transmitted evil and intergenerational guilt gradually reveals Rhoda's callous activities when younger, as well as her amoral attitude. Harried by the nasty janitor who proves too smart for his own good, this child can be driven too far, as she experiences the only human emotion in her repertoire: Terror of discovery.

On another level this novella-noir is also the story of Rhoda's gentle, naive mother. Unaware of her own tragic past (foster-parented), Christine's memory returns in disjointed but terrifying dreams, as her repressed childhood painfully forces itself into the light of adult cognizance. She begins to study True Crime, but the book she claims to be writing is merely a smokescreen to hide her shocking research. How will she end her "novel"--in ink and in blood? Will March choose criminal Irony or pathetic Justice? This gripping thriller is definitely not for elementary children. This horror classic is one chilling mystery, probing the dark recesses of human aberration. Must the children pay for the crimes of the parents--or grandparents? Should one generation play the scapegoat for familial guilt? Is there any way to end the spread of the bad seed?

"The Bad Seed" is packed with symbols. Rhoda is a murderous child who will stop at nothing to get what she desires.

Her braids were looped back like "hangman nooses." Hangman nooses are the ropes over which a hanged person dies. The hangma itself is the pillory upon which people were hanged.

"Penmark" is a nod to the mark of the pen; the "penmanship improvement medal" is yet another nod to the author's fascination with handwriting. Various references are made to character and penmanship. Rhoda is described as having very neat, precise handwriting.

The vegetation, e.g. the types of trees, plants and flowers mentioned cause one to believe that the Baltimore Penmarks have been relocated to a southern locale.

The movie adaptation of this story (the passable 1956 original and the dreadful 1985 remake) portray Leroy as Caucasian. Yet, in the book, upon reading his dialect and his grumblings about his "sharecropper boyhood," makes one wonder if Leroy is black. The names "Leroy" and "Thelma," his wife have traditionally, but not exclusively been used by black families; their speech patterns also create the impression that possibly they are black. 1950s prejudice often prevailed, so black characters more often than not were peripheral characters at best, stereotypes or villians at worst. Leroy fell into the latter category.

Lastly, Leroy's neighborhood on "General Jackson Street." It is described as a decaying, crumbling neighborhood where "nobody had nothing nice," and Leroy himself didn't have a car, not even something you "couldn't give to the junkman." General Jackson Street sounds like it could be a dividing line among the races in this genteel southern town; it could just simply be a less than satisfactory neighborhood where these characters reside. Leroy has to walk two miles to work at the apartment building where Rhoda lives. "Rich people's children," his wife Thelma calls them. She tells Leroy not to "mess with" these children; she tells him he'll be dragged down to the station house where the police will "kick his teeth in." Although Leroy is never racially identified in the book, the overall description of his character does raise the question of whether or not he was black.

Females, minorities, psychiatry, homosexuality, pedophilia = all of these are powerful themes that are woven into the fabric of this story. Leroy is a pedophile (the author, on the other hand was a pedophobe), Mrs. Breedlove and the Fern Sisters are described in hostile terms; Bessie Denker, Rhoda's maternal grandmother as well as Rhoda herself are the darkest characters in this line up. Hortense Daigle, the mother of Rhoda's slain classmate is portrayed in an unflattering light. Her behavior is quite understandable given the fact that her only child was killed, but I didn't like the way the author described her. She was one of the few sympathetic characters.

Mrs. Breedlove's brother is described as being gay; the Fern Sisters as repressed Victorian women who repressed their sexuality by remaining single and running that school. Freudian themes emerge here -- the sisters repressed sexuality, Emory's repressed homosexuality, Leroy's obsession with Rhoda and Mrs. Breedlove's antics. A bawdy, outspoken woman, Mrs. Breedlove is actually quite funny.

This book is quite a read!

It's a shame this book has become all but unknown behind the enormously successful movie with its God-awful copout ending (although Patty McCormick's deliciously chilling perfomance of its anti-heroine is a gem in itself), because the book is infinitely better than the movie (I can't speak for the Broadway production because I never saw it). In fact, most people who saw or heard of 'The Bad Seed' as a play or a movie never knew it was derived from William March's terrific book. March tells the story of Rhoda Penmark, eight years old, a devil lurking inside an angel's facade. To her adult neighbors, she's every parent's dream: obedient, unassuming, compliant, always neat and well-groomed, quiet, polite to her elders. She does her homework without being prodded and she gets all the answers correct on her Sunday school quiz. Those who know her more intimately suspect there's something ugly underneath all the surface charm; her peers can't stand her, her teachers see a disturbing lack of feeling or sensitivity in her, and her parents, who dote on her, wonder if she is capable of love, affection, remorse, or any of the characteristics that make us human. For Rhoda goes after what she wants with a single-minded purposefulness and anybody who gets in her way better watch out. Rhoda's father is absent throughout all but the last few pages of the book (he's away on a business trip that is important to his career advancement), so Christine, her mother, is left to deal with Rhoda on her own. Christine is a fasinating character, one of the most tragic in contemporary fiction, a decent, compliant, earnest woman, whose identity is totally bound up in being a good wife and a devoted mother; what she learns about her own history shatters her world, especially when she realizes that her daughter is the 'bad seed' she unwittingly transmitted from her own diabolical mother. And as Christine cannot accept that she is blameless in this transmission, that she did not cause her daughter's criminal behavior any more than she caused her own mother's, so she feels she must not drag anyone else, even her husband, into her private hell; she created it, so she must deal with it alone, and it undoes her. How else could Christine have acted, is left to the reader to speculate. I'm not going to tell how the book ended, except to say that it's a much more satisfying (because more realistic) ending than in the movie. But it's a spooky little gem of a horror story that deserves a much wider readership. It's well written, well plotted, and a great read. I loved it!

This is no book for people who want to learn ASP. They should first read some other book, but after that, they need this book. This is the most complete ASP reference I have seen, loads of components are documented in a way people can understand and there is lots of functional sample code. All code is done in both VBscript and Jscript. Pittfalls, do's and don't are very clearly noted in the text and pages about win-nt configuration have screenshots. Yes, this book has made my life a lot easier. The only reason I am not giving it 5 stars is the fact there's no 2 small chapters on VBscript and Jscript, so I still need to pick up the beginnersbook. Like all wrox-books no paper is wasted, and every page (1200+) is filled with small fonts and margins as small as the printer would allow, which makes the pagecount even more impressive.

As an ASP programmer, I use this reference almost every day on the job. It covers the API's of ASP, ADO and other related MS technologies very thoroughly indeed. Examples are plenty, and useful. Looking up for something takes me a few seconds, and the text is quite to the point.

For beginnning programmers, or those new to ASP, you might need another book before this one...got this reference, so I could find information quickly during my time-sensitive job...So make sure you know the script language well enough before you use it for ASP...In fact, the book shows examples in both VBScript and JScript, unlike most other books which just mention VBScript...I found ALL the specific details of ASP, and saved precious time on the job.

Generally, I buy Wrox books to get an overview of the terrain, then buy an O'Reilly nutshell book for reference purposes. ASP 3.0 Programmer's Reference is the exception that proves the rule. It's excellently put together, easy to navigate, and unusually broad in scope. You get a lot for your money.

One more thing: since ASP programmers tend to be less steeped in technology than, say, C++ programmers, it's especially important to have a reference that's easy to use and clear on every point. That's the best part about ASP 3.0 Programmer's Reference -- you never feel like you're lost (unless you're totally unfamiliar with the language, like the gentleman below.)