I just finished reading Barbara Leigh's autobiography, "The King, McQueen and The Love Machine" and found it highly enjoyable. What really amazed me was Barbara Leigh's impressive memory of events throughout her life. Down to the smallest details, Leigh creates for the reader a scene that they can fully visualize. Also very impressive were Leigh's encounters with Elvis, Steve McQueen and Jim Aubrey - three extremely powerful and popular men in Hollywood. I'm an Elvis fan myself, and was enthralled at Leigh's stories of meeting the King. There are many rare photos throughout the book, including Leigh as Vampirella, one of her most famous characters that unfortunately did not make it to the big screen. I highly recommend this book for fans of Leigh, Elvis or McQueen - you will not be dissapointed in getting it.

Barbara Leigh's book is an incredible read. Not only can you tell that the author is a beautiful,sweet and charming girl but she has the uncanny ability to write in such a fashion as to make the reader feel they are right in the bedroom with her and Elvis! Ms. Leigh's book has such a refreshing point of view...that being that the girlfriend of a major star was not all that it was cracked up to be. This is a remarkable perspective to keep ever present in one's mind when the most gorgeous, rich, powerful, creative men in the world are doing the full court press on you! And Barbara did. Genuine character is what Ms. Leigh has...Can't wait for her next book about her magical life. Her story telling abilities are right up there with the best of them.....yes her life should be a movie.

As an avid reader of autobiographies & biographies of all things Hollywood, I found this book to be one of the best ever written by a Hollywood actress. Barbara Leigh is not only a physically beautiful woman, but she is also one heck of a classy lady for candidly speaking about her relationships with Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen and Jim Aubrey, without maliciously destroying their reputations as powerful men & in Elvis and Steve's cases Hollywood Icons. Ms. Leigh has a delicious sense of class for "dishing the dirt" in such a "clean" way! How lucky these men have been to have had her in their lives and to see her respect their memories together. She writes with a knack for vivid details and in such an honest, real way. You just can't put the book down. I read this one in about a day and a half turning each page with enthusiasm. The only bad thing about this book is that it came to an end! Give us another one Barbara! Somewhere in the heavens Elvis & McQueen are smiling, pleased that their paths crossed with hers! This book is a keeper and a definite must read! Buy it, sit back & Enjoy!

This book is AMAZING!! The way Barbara writes is just unbelievable!!! The book totally changed me internally. The way I see onstacles, troubles, and negative events in general changed forever. I see the "big picture" now rather than feeling that life is unfair to me. I now know that I am meant to live through everything that live through -- positive or negative -- that there is a lesson to be learned in anything that happens to me.
I am recommending this book to absolutely everyone -- READ IT, you will not regret it!

I've always felt that Barbara De Angelis has an insightful, common sense approach to life. This current book is a wonderfully written compilation of life principles. Reading the book reminded me of my beliefs, and gave me an excellent perspective on life.

The title is misleading-- the book is not for women only, and the principles are definitely NOT secrets! I wish I would have had this book when I was in my early 20's!!

As a woman in my 40's i have experienced many trials, errors, and crises...As I look back on my life, I ask myself why did i handle things that way when faced with those difficult times.. This book has been so enlightening and reaffirming that I want to buy a copy for every one of my friends and to those women ( and men) who can relate as I did as to the WHY behind our behavior..This book has been a gift of growth for myself..for which I want to thank Barbara! thanks..barbara!

LucieRN@aol.com

I became acquainted with this compelling and moving story through an animation festival. Although the crowd of college students had been rowdy this film was the last shown and people all left the theater hushed. The story is not only about a man who plants trees, it is about how each of us can make a difference in the world by every small action of love. If we do not attach a need for recognition or money to our endeavors, they feed the spirit and health of the world. I have read this book over & over and seen the animated film 4 or 5 times, and I see and learn something different every time. What do you see?

This is a wonderful read. It makes a great bedtime story and it is also beautiful (the wood carvings) and inspiring. This is good for people tired of reading what is wrong with the environment. The Man Who Planted Trees is kind of like a sophisticated Lorax book. Anyway, buy this book and enjoy it!

The Man Who Planted Trees is the tale of Elzeard Bouffier, a man who, after his son and wife die, spends his life reforesting miles of barren land in southern France. Bouffier's planting of thousands and thousands of trees results in many wondrous things occurring, including water again flowing in brooks that had been dry for many years. The brooks are fed by rains and snows that are conserved by the forest that Bouffier planted. The harsh, barren land is now pleasant and full of life.

Written by Jean Giono, this popular story of inspiration and hope was originally published in 1954 in Vogue as "The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness." The story's opening paragraph is as follows:

"For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake."

The Man Who Planted Trees has left a "visible mark upon the earth" having been translated into several languages. In the "Afterword" of the Chelsea Green Publishing Company's edition, Norma L. Goodrich wrote that Giono donated his story. According to Goodrich, "Giono believed he left his mark on earth when he wrote Elzeard Bouffier's story because he gave it away for the good of others, heedless of payment: 'It was one of my stories of which I am the proudest. It does not bring me in one single penny and that is why it has accomplished what it was written for.'"

This special edition is very informative. Not only does it contain Giono's inspirational story, which is complemented beautifully by Michael McCurdy's wood engraving illustrations and Goodrich's informative "Afterword" about Giono, but it also contains considerable information about how wood and paper can be conserved in the section "The WoodWise Consumer." Goodrich writes about Giono's effort to have people respect trees.

"Giono later wrote an American admirer of the tale that his purpose in creating Bouffier 'was to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make them love planting trees.' Within a few years the story of Elzeard Bouffier swept around the world and was translated into at least a dozen languages. It has long since inspired reforestation efforts, worldwide."

The Man Who Planted Trees is not only a wonderful story, it will inspire you and your children to care for the natural world.

-Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett

Barbara (BK) Reeves has outdone herself with My Buffalo Soldier. Set in Post Civil War Texas, Sergeant Nick Balfours, a black man and buffalo soldier at the end of his military career, thinks he has his life after the service pretty much planned out until Enid Jamison, a white Confederate widow, arrives on the scene. The story carries them through their forbidden courtship. Eventually they ignore society's forbidden stigma, listen to their hearts and fall deeply in love. Impeccably researched, My Buffalo Soldier offers a taste of Texas history with a flavor of the cultures that made Texas what it is today - Mexican, Indian, African American and the frontier way of life. I commend the author for writing this story and the publisher for making it available to the world. I wholeheartedly recommend My Buffalo Soldier to anyone interested in romance stories or western historical fiction.

Ms. Reeves has crafted a gem of a historical romance novel featuring interesting characters-- particularly a hero and heroine the reader can't help but fall in love with.

Nick Balfours is black. Enid Jamison is white. And in post civil war Texas, any romantic relationship between the two is not only considered a social taboo -- but downright dangerous.

This is a very well-researched novel with historical detail so accurate it's like taking a step back in time. MY BUFFALO SOLDIER is an action-packed, fast paced read that kept me turning the pages until the very last. Simply put, it's one of the best novels I've read all year and definitely one for the keeper shelf.

I look forward to reading many more novels by this author.

I must admit that I didn't have any expectations when I read "My Buffalo Soldier". This is a story that will get you involved without knowing it. It's fun! And, it will knock you over with it's contrast of sensitivity and brutality set against a backdrop of life in West Texas after the Civil War. And, there is always an underlying tension that is pertinent to today's society because the main characters are a black, educated Union soldier and a white Confederate widow who try to avoid falling in love. This is a story about a dangerous relationship and love is the catalyst. As the story develops you will become absorbed in the characters, the times and the underlying anticipation of the inevitable battle between good and evil. Suddenly, and without realizing it, the story has snuck up on you and absorbed you. You can't turn the pages fast enough. You can't put the book down. If you are looking for a good time and great reading I highly recommend "My Buffalo Soldier".

I loved this book. David Leavitt writes with such feeling and sensitivity that you really feel you get to know the people in his stories. His portraits of the young gay man coming out, the middle-aged closet case, and the wife who gradually grasps the fact of her husband's secret life, are done with such depth and understanding that we feel for everyone involved. Leavitt does not take a noticeable stance in favor of either side; one of his gay men is a self-involved jerk who evokes little sympathy, though one does pity him, in a way. Leavitt's novel, in short, is about human beings, with all our faults and foibles. This one will stay with you long after you finish reading it. Lovely and heart-wrenching.

The Lost Language of Cranes is the only book I have ever read by this author. Still, its evocative style and powerful prose made a lasting impression. The author tells a story of two generations of gay men, a father and son in the same family, both in their own particular closets. The pain these characters suffer is both palpable and moving.

Most beautiful is the author's use of the allegory of linguistics and feral children, in particular people struggling to develop a language in which they can communicate. The image is poignant and made more powerful with repetition. Each example given is subtly different, yet telling about the life of gay men and lesbian struggling to find a language that they can call their own.

A wonderful read for any one, gay, straight or otherwise.

A wonderful, literary, entertaining and realistic book about the deceptions, heartaches, joys and secrets engendered in a family where homosexuality exists. Though this book is already nearly 10 years old (or older?) it still feels contemporary, and I think that is because the relationships smack of the truth. I simply love the novel's poetic metaphor, that of the lost language of the cranes. For that reason alone it is worth taking the emotional journey of reading Leavitt's first, and I think best, novel.

Simply put, this is the BEST vampire book I've ever read. The characters are well developed and "real", the plot is entertaining. I've read Rice's vampire chronicles and enjoyed them greatly. I've read (part of) Stoker's Dracula and found it much too dry. "Golden", "The Hunger" and countless outher novels and short stories are all well and good (for the most part), but in this book, Hambly has captured my heart. I found myself concerned about Simon and his "family", fearful for Asher and truly engrossed in the story. I can't wait to find the time to read the sequel and whatever else I can find my Ms. Hambly.

I usually don't read vampire stories (except for the Count St. Germain series)--the classic creepy, cold-hearted and cold-fleshed hunters of the night are too "alien" to relate to...but Don Simon Ysidro grows on you...He comes to James Asher (ostensibly a mild-mannered Oxford lecturer on folk tales and language) to investigate the "murders" of a series of fellow London vampires. Asher, a bitterly disillusioned former secret agent for British Intelligence, has his own past "ghosts" to deal with--murders, betrayals and lies done in the name of "King and Country." Despite being forced into the investigation by Ysidro's threat to his wife's life, James Asher slowly comes to understand, respect and even value Ysidro's "life" and its realities. It is this delicate development of friendship and understanding that elevate this book from merely a gripping horror novel to a memorable "keeper" book to be shared with friends. The other vampires of London, the details of their "lives" and history, and the final horrifying battle with the "murderer" will keep you reading into the night, but Don Simon Ysidro is who will linger in your mind.

Before I read this novel, I didn't care at all for vampire stories. Barbara Hambly managed to change that.

Dark and elegantly horrific, radiating the scent of old blood and the dust of time, _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is similar in many ways to Anita Blake's _Guilty Pleasures_, but is suited less to those who favor humor and urban fantasy than to those who are interested in darkness with feeling and depth. Hambly brings her vampires to life for you--you may not understand them, you may not empathize with them, but they will seem real. Ysidro in particular has the power to fascinate, drawing forth the interest of the reader without ever slipping into anything much like humanity.

James Asher is also an interesting character in his own right, even if he may end up playing second-fiddle to Ysidro by the story's end. Lydia Asher could be reckoned as a heroine strong in her own right--for whatever reason, though, she was one character who left me cold.

This book is well-worth reading, as is its sequel, _Traveling With the Dead_. _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is probably the better of the two; its dark and occasionally chilling atmosphere will linger with one for a long time after the final page has been turned.

I am a pediatrician with a 6 year old son with Asberger's. I have always been interested in Developmental Disabilities and consider myself a relative expert, but my son's condition continues to drive me to learn more and more.

This book provides a relatively unbiassed view of the most current information available. It is long but not long-winded. The chapters are appropriately divided and give excellent, practical advice for wading through the alphabet soup of IEP, OT, PT, SI, etc. that is so often a new world for parents.

I appreciated a fairly good overview of common conditions that often accompany Asberger's, such as OCD and ADHD. There's such overlap that a lot of families get confused when one begins and another ends, etc. Often the lines are simply too blurred to know, so this information is vital.

Most importantly, this book takes a hard look at the ripple effect this condition has on the family - coping is often a full time job. I appreciated that the book touches on what to tell siblings & the child him/herself, something I struggle with. It's a delicate balance that the book effectively discussed.

Often I found myself crying a bit because I again recognized my son in their descriptions. Although the diagnosis autism of any type is difficult to accept for your child, the assurance of a correct diagnosis is extremely powerful. The bulk of the book is spent on the "Now what?!" which is what parents crave - information on how to get to the next step and beyond. I have reread the book a 2nd time to glean even more from a 2nd reading.

This is "THE" Book!!!
The book We, as parents and caregivers of children with AS have been waiting for!
This is by far, the most comprehensive Guide on Asperger Syndrome available!
It is packed full of practical and technical information, insight, support and encouragement.
A true Treasure of a Resource, keeping in mind the "whole child" and family on every page.
I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. A real MUST HAVE!
Thank you Barb and Patty!

As a 25 year veteran elementary teacher and the mother of a AS son who was recently diagnosed, I have read every book I could get my hands on about High functioning austism and Asperger Syndrome. This book, by the co-owners of the excellent OASIS web site, is the best resource I've come across. The two authors draw upon their own experiences as parents of AS children, a great deal of research, and information gleaned from contributors to their web site's message boards to provide information about diagnosis, schooling, emotional life, medication, and growing up in the Aspie world. It is a well-written, comprehensive, and interesting book that should be read by every parent and educator who deals with these "Little Professors." I highly recommend it.

I bought this book as a complement to Couchman's Oracle 8i DBA Certification Guide (from Oracle Press), because the latter's networking coverage was clearly a rushed effort. The Exam Cram book does an admirable job covering the bases needed for the Oracle networking exam. In general, the material is explained well and concisely. Overall the test questions in the book matched the breadth of those on the real test. There are a couple of notable exceptions. My test had FOUR "fill in the blank with the name of the parameter or view" questions. (Giving V$SHARED_SERVERS instead of V$SHARED_SERVER is wrong). There are no questions of this type in the book. Additionally, the actual test generally asked more demanding questions regarding CMAN and MTS than are in this book (in my opinion).

If you're taking the 8i exam, be sure to look over the Oracle docs on load balancing, which is not fully covered in this volume (which is designated for 8).

This book loses a star due to the sheer volume of silly typos and cut-and-paste errors. A look at Coriolis's errata page (on their web site) for this book reveals over 50 reported errors. I found many more, about one every other page. And on the web site errata page the utility "lsnrctl" is spelled, in multiple places, as "1snrct1" (digit 1 instead of letter l)! Doesn't anyone proofread this stuff? (The author works at the Washington Post!)

I highly recommend this book for those people who are preparing OCP exam. The context arrangment is very well and just fit the exam requirenment. The sample questions (especially the final sample test) is a must for you which give you a sense that what will the exam questions look like. Although actual experience is important, the book enables me to pass the exam with flying color. Readers should always aware the typos.

Got this book 1 week ago. At that time i scored about 50 % on the Self Test software test. Today I passed the real thing, scoring 82 %, the only difference having read this book. In addition to covering everything you need to know about Oracle Networking to pass, it also contains invaluable hints about test-taking-strategies. Too many typos, though

Peter Pan is a good adventure/fantasy that kids and adults can enjoy alike. With much exaggeration, it is something kids can enjoy and read into. It's a page-turning book that once you started you can't stop.

Wow! What a great story this is! I picked it up on a whim years ago having enjoyed the Disney cartoon, and when I finally got around to reading it, I couldn't put the darn thing down. This is really exciting stuff! Peter is ten times as irrascible as he is in the toon. One line has always stuck in my head - its where Peter is faced with certain death (I forget exactly what). He thinks to himself that its quite possible he could die, and thinks `That would be the greatest adventure of all!' That line sums of the feel of this book. Imagine being a kid who can never grow up who has the power to fly through a world woven of dreams and fairytales....I learned later that this was probably the sincere wish of the author, James Barrie, who was afflicted with a disease which made it impossible for him to grow. Though an adult in mind, he was the stature and semblance of a child. The warmth of this story has a deep heartfelt resonance in the heart of any boy who has grown up having adventures in his mind. It can't really be described -it has to be read and appreciated. If you love fantasies in the vein of The Never Ending Story and The Wizard of Oz, you will love this book.

Driving with young children in the car quickly convinced me that it was unsafe to not give them something to listen to. After ten years I have collected a large (30+) bag of books-on-tape. I have also loaned them to others and asked for opinions. Peter Pan (read by Wendy Craig) is not only my favorite, but also the favorite of my wife and most of my friends. It is excellent for all ages (4 to 80) and even most hardened teenagers. Humour, presentation, ... a prefect 10.

Alex "Skinnybones" Frankovitch is a memerable character from one of my favorite books as a young adult. Barbra Park delivers a story about a young boy who feels out of place and uses humor as a defense. This book still makes me laugh out loud, and I think children of all ages can relate to Alex because he is the underdog that always see to get himself into some kind of trouble. I am studying to be an elementary teacher and I planning on reading this book to my class because I know I will enjoy it as much as they will!

This book was great! Everybody should read this book. My teacher read it to me in third grade. The whole class always laughed and always wanted the teacher to read more. The book is about a boy named Alex. He always lies, is a terrible baseball player, and always gets himself into terrible messes. Then, there is the jerk, T.J. who is a great baseball player. Everybody thinks he is all that and he is always picking on Alex about his size and what a bad baseball player he is. Read this book! I would reccomend it to anyone!

The first time I read this book I literally fell out of bed from laughing so hard. As a teacher, I read this book to my class nearly every year, and they love it! Alex is an endearing underdog who tries so hard to be what he is not: a size Large, knowledgeable baseball player. When he hears that a player is going to bunt he hasn't a clue what bunting means. He guesses it might mean to throw up, and this leads into the funniest scene I've ever read in children's literature. Every time I have to read it aloud I hardly can get through; I'm laughing so hard all my mascara runs. My class always gets an incredibly healthy, side-splitting, laugh from Alex's antics. He's also a very real character, with an inferiority complex, and a quirky way of viewing the world. He does find his strength in the end: comedy writing. This leads him into the sequel, Almost Starring Skinnybones, where his inferiorty complex turns into boasting bravado. One of the great qualitities of these books is Alex's depth of character, a real study in what can make "class clowns". I think the kids gain some understanding into the possiblity of sadness beneath the hilarity and the attention-seeking.