I work next to a street in St. Augustine Fl. named Hypolita, and so enjoyed learning about Herecles and Hypolita's girdle, (and many other neat things). It's amazing how many names of familiar things will leap out at you as you read this book. I found the author's treatment of the complexities of Greek Myths clear and informative. If you don't know your Greek classics, and I'm afraid I didn't, this is a good place to start

it had a lot of myths. It is a great book for parents to read to kids. it is also good if you are intrested in greek myths

This book provides excellent background, particularly of the various developments of the prior century which bear on the character of the Internet's founding. As a reference book, the style of summaries to open each chapter and italicsized summaries at the head of each year may be fine, but they result in unnecessary repetition for the reader who intends to read the whole book as a history.

The editors' decision to use present-perfect tense on past events seemed, at times, disconcerting; as did the decision to handle events on a straight chronological basis rather than to follow a specific development through a multi-year transistion in a single section.

The book has an excellent bibliography at the end for further reading on key points of interest. It is good to be aware of this from the start, since the book does not use footnotes and, when read as a whole, there were times when I wanted that "hyperlink to more details."

Even though I have only used the internet for the last seven years of my life, I find it hard to imagine my life without this handy tool. This book and title in question, i.e., History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843 to the Present by Christos J. P. Moschovitis, et al does an excellent job in that it explains the history of this now taken for granted tool. Recommended.

Wasn't sure in the beginning if I even wanted to finish this story, but it was a rainy day and I hung in there and I'm glad I did. IF NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE SKY starts off a little slow but the momentum picks up when FLORA and the gang finally get to Florence. Then you can't put the book down. It isn't real mushy but it's very moving. Maybe I enjoyed the book because I'm Italian. I found so much of myself in FLORA. I'm fortysomething, come from a big family and have a summer cottage in Michigan. Stellini's book is full of all those good things and more! Stellini's characters are very real, especially DOLLY. And PAOLO, what can I say besides, NON DIMENTICARE, I WILL NEVER FORGET HIM! The settings in Florence and the Fillipi summer cottage are very descriptive and made me want to book a flight to Florence even before I finished the book! So, big surprise! I'd recommend this book to anyone who believes in magic and the power of true love!!! Can't really tell you how much I enjoyed it! And please, if you decide to read this book, please let me know what you thought about it...I'd love to hear. CIAO! Mary Terra

Yup, I was visiting my favorite Aunt in Wisconsin when I picked up Stellini's book, IF NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE SKY. And, was I glad I decided to take a peek inside.

It's a story about a family who goes to Italy to redecorate a hotel. It's a very romantic lovestory between FLORA and PAOLO. It made me long for my own "big" family who have a cottage in Michigan(this is where the story begins) and my mother's homemeade Italian cooking.

It was just a wonderful story. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is hungry for a family adventure to the land of love, and more love. Amore, amore, amore...

Longing for another Stellini book! Ella H.

P.S. If Terry Stellini reads this, I just want to say again, "I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This novel is about two people that once met as runaway teens and who meet again and fall in love. It's a sweet story about how the past haunts you and how love can heal you.

Do not confuse this novel with P.S. I Love You by Barbara Conklin.

I happen to love this book. I read it years ago and it actually stuck with me. I searched tons of websites to find it. it was such a sweet but sad love story. I would recommend to girls of all ages.

Faust's writing style is easy to pick up and hard to put down! He offers a contemporary apologetic for the Christian faith. He sets out to wrestle with some common questions people might have about Christianity like: Why does God allow good people to suffer, Is the Bible Really True, and other interesting but tough questions to handle. He uses a narrative style that simply tells the stories of ordinary people who have not so ordinary questions. For anyone who wants to investigate the claims of Christ and the Bible, Faust takes a simple and non-threatening approach. It's well worth the read!

Dave Faust has hit a home run with this terrific book on seeking answers to honest questions. As a new Christian, this book not only helps me to answer some of my own questions, but also helps me to answer others' as well. I also appreciate Dave Faust's ability to address issues in a non-confrontational, loving way. A must read for Christians and Non-Christians.

Bravo! There are not many books out now that tell what it is like for a Christian Teenager growing up in todays world anymore. Teresa Kelly has captured it perfectl in her book!

This book is really good and you should read it! The whole series is good.I don't want to ruin the book for you but unexpected things happen. You definately have to read it!

This book contains two reprints of hard to find 19th century books. The first, Reed's -Six Months in a Convent-, is a factual if unsympathetic account by a former student and novice at an Ursuline convent school in Charlestown, Massachussetts. The convent was burnt to the ground by a mob shortly before the book was published, after one of the nuns attempted to escape and was persuaded to return, and a rumour was started that she was being held against her will. Reed died shortly after its publication, of tuberculosis that was said to be the result of the austerities she practised.

The second and more interesting of the two books is the more well known -Awful Disclosures of the Hotel-Dieu Nunnery- by Maria Monk. This is a fictitious libel, but its seriousness is undermined by the fantastic story told. A warren of secret passages and other Gothic trappings honeycomb the convent. The nuns are there basically to serve as a harem for Roman Catholic priests. Bizarre religious justifications are urged on the sisters for this practise. Any children they beget are first baptised, then slaughtered, and buried in a secret cemetery in the convent. This lurid tale is better told than Reed's; Monk, or her amanuenses, were better writers than Reed's.

Monk's tale, of course, was a deliberate hoax, made to capitalise on the fame and market for anti-Catholic horror stories. Since Reed's book became a best-seller, an even more extravagant story had every good prospect of making money. Unfortunately, not for Maria Monk, who made little from her tale. She had apparently suffered a brain injury in her childhood that left her unable to distinguish fact from fantasy, and as such was a perfect and convincing patsy for her collaborators in creating this tale. She also died young in distressing circumstances.

Roman Catholics were an exotic species in early 19th century America. They were the subject of more or less traditional hostility from Protestant Americans. The secrecy of the cloister, and the exotic rituals and language of the Roman Church, made the Gothic literary style a good fit to write anti-Catholic fictions. Maria Monk's book is in fact largely in the tradition of -The Monk-, Matthew Lewis's lurid fictional tale of a priest who made a bargain with the Devil for carnal pleasure.

At this distance, when the right of Roman Catholics to practice their faith stands on a firmer foundation than it did in the early 19th century, those who take pleasure in lurid Gothic tales may also take pleasure in these as well. They are not great literature. They are, however, historically significant. And if you can put aside indignation --- excited either by the tales they tell, or the fact that they were ever published --- they are simultaneously sad, exciting, and ironically amusing, just like the best Gothic fiction.

The editor's introduction, unfortunately, seems to advance airy academic notions that are unlikely, but all too familiar. The hypothesis is ventured that the destroyed convent was a threat to Bostonians and their "patriarchy" because it represented a community of sexually independent and educated women. Toni Morrison is invoked to support this notion. Reading her introduction, you could almost forget that she's talking about nuns bound by oaths of obedience to a male hierarchy. Rebecca Reed's indignant descriptions of debasing penances seem more informed by a spirit of liberation than the introduction.

These tales aren't great literature, but they are an interesting read--fast-paced and determined to be sensational. Reed's tale led to the 1834 burning of the Ursuline convent near Boston, and Monk's highly fictionalized tale cashes in the interest surrounding the event. Both stories provide a fascinating look into the morass of nineteenth-century anti-Catholic prejudices and anti-immigrant xenophobia. The excellent introduction provides some much-needed context.

We've all done things we didn't want to do just to make other people happy. In the book, Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojiechowska, a young boy named Manolo Oliver has a dream of becoming a doctor, but that dream is quickly shattered when his hometown of Arcangel, Spain, look to him to bring the spirit of bullfighting back to the small town since the death of his father. Six men, friends of his father's, take Manolo to many bullfights and teach him everything there is to know about the sport. Manolo knows what the whole town wants from him. He just doesn't know if he is capable to give it to them. But in the end, his dream comes true in a way that pleases both him and the town when he becomes the doctor he wanted to be. The suspense and drama you feel while reading this book is all due to the great descriptions that Maia Wojiechowska uses. She describes the pressure that Manolo feels of following in his father's footsteps. You become very interested in the story and you don't want to put it down.

Shadow of a BULL is one of the greatest books i have read. It's easy to see why this book recieved a Newberry award. Manolo Olivar is the son of Juan Olivar the greatest bullfighter in all of Spain. Young Manolo is expected to do the same. Manolo thinks he is a coward and really doesn't want to fight the bull on his 12 birthday. Six men train Manolo for the fight. He was trained well and thought he could do it. Secretly Manolo wanted to be doctor. When Manolo went to see the doctor, he said he could help around the clinic. When Manolo was forced to fight the bull, he did well at the begining of the fight but, when it came time for the bull to be killed, Manolo choked and couldn't do it. After that, he went to work for the doctor. This book is a great book and i recomend it to anyone who wants to read a good book!!

Manolo is a young teen age boy who finds himself in a very difficult position in his life. He is the son of one of the greatest Toreros(bullfighters) in Spain. He lives in the small village of Archangel, and his father's memory(he was killed by a bull in the ring) is held sacred by the town people. Of course, the town people expect, and even more, deeply hope that Manolo will follow in his father's footsteps and bring fame once again to the village. This is a great read-aloud book for teachers, and it is a very introspective book for upper elementary school students. Read of Manolo's struggles with his own future and with the hopes of the village. Read of Jose, his close friend, who really wants to be a bullfighter. Top Ten on this teachers read aloud list!!!!!!!written by Bob Townsen

I didn't like the main character. She was a product of a dysfunctional family with a tragic sexual abuse background. Every response she had in the storyline came from a totally unconvincing response to her childhood rape. All of this is glossed over with "down-home, back to your roots" platitudes. I found nothing quaint or folksy about any of the plot. Alma compromised what integrity she had in order to gain approval from her Appalacian kin. She was a victim and responded in kind which is all too typical of victims. This novel leads us to believe if one returns to their dysfunctional past, somehow it is freeing and we become better in the process. This book does prove that being a victim of rape does not make one noble.

This book offered an easy to read, enjoyable view of a stagnant culture. The author was able to paint a picture of a culture unchanging over time, where the members repeatedly relied on their culturally specific morals and values that are not congruent with the morals and values of the mainstream American culture. A wonderful insight into a mostly unexplored culture. Being Applachian and living in the area, I enjoyed the book very much. I look forward to more insights from Ms. Collins!

I love to read legal dramas and this one is one of my favorites. You can tell the author researched the legal system but didn't feel the need the drown the reader in legal jargon to prove it. The character developement is great, and I think Alma is a deep character with many facets and a well develooped personlity, not the sterotypical business woman coming back to the small town after being in the big city. Overall this book is interesting and envolved from cover to cover with an interesting twist at the end. I can't wait to read Collins' next novel.

I had very little time to study for Step 2 and this book was GOLD. I did also use Crush the Boards for Step 2 which is also excellent. Advanced Life Support has all the crucial little tid bits of info that you need. It could be in a little bit more of a clinical context but with its extremely short length and highly crammable format, it probably shouldn't change a thing. Its definitely a review and if you're learning the stuff for the first time, you should try a different book. BUT, if you have about 2-4 hours to go cover to cover through this book, then get it!!!

I think that this ("Advanced Life Support for the USMLE Step 2") is an
excellent text for last minute review. It is not intense enough to study
for subject area boards, but is still useful when you don't have enough time
for a more expansive text. I used this and "Prescription for the Boards" as
my study resources and was able to increase my Step 2 score more than 20
points over my Step 1 score.
The pictorial discussions of disease processes is the best memory aid I have
found in texts like this one. I highly recommend this book for anyone about
to take the step. I can't find anything that compares to this book for
board
review. I give it 5 stars and 2 thumbs up.

A very high yield review for Step 2. Certainly not suitable as a sole review book, but as far as step 2 books go, definitely worth the investment.