We bought this book for our son when he was about six months old. Ever since, it's a lock to hold his attention. The text is brief with simple rhyming lines. The illustrations are bright and clear, but not too detailed. It doesn't really tell a story. More accurately, it highlights some key elements of train travel (whistles, the dining car, a caboose). It's a cute book, but frankly, I'm not sure I "get" what is so interesting to my son. Regardless, when I'm putting him to bed and we choose a book to read, he will usually reach for this one. And as any parent knows, when you find something that works, don't question it.

My two toddlers love this colorful rhyming boardbook and its companion masterpiece Hooray For Truckmice. These computer generated illustrations scream with vibrant colors that will inflame the imagination of even the most jaded toddler reader. The simple rhymes are charming. You can't buy a better book for your youngsters for less money than this high quality, small boardbook.

I wish it was available in a larger format, as the limited space does just so much justice to the vibrant colors, moods, and designs of India. But it is a fantastic introduction, and is packed with some of the best quotes you can find on the topic....

This is a wonderful, landmark book. Ypma successfully reinterprets traditional Indian design for modern contemporary living. The book provides knowledgeable updates on various Indian craft traditions (sectioned cleanly into distinct chapters)and traces the historical roots from which these traditions have evolved. Perfectly straddles the ancient and the contemporary without stereotyping India. The pictures are great but what really sets this book apart is the accompanying text which is nothing short of illuminating. A great introduction for those interested in Indian design as it is practiced today.

In a world of 500, 600, or even more pages, the folks at Two Crows have held to the premise that an introduction should be just that, an introduction. Well written, thorough, and concise without being terse. Emphatically points out that you don't need one, two, or several 50 to 70 dollar books to provide an introduction. Thank you. John M.

This concise overview of data mining provides a great introduction to the field. If someone I work with comes up and asks me to describe data mining, I usually just loan them my copy. Herb is one of the leading proponents of making data mining useful in real world situations.

Definiteley one of the more educated storytellers out there. Herbert Pleiman unfolds a fast paced story so concievably real that you can believe it can happen! A fushion of high tech hazards and low tech havoc keep four Key West inhabitants working to save their land (and lives) against all odds.

Nothing absorbs a reader more than and exciting novel full of suspense and awash with humor. If this is what you're looking for, then Itch of an Islander certainly delivers. Complex characters step unknowingly forward into an even more complex plot that leaves one wondering what the fate of an entire population of care free island people will be! A definite keeper in my collection.

Well-written, fast paced action biographical novel.
Would make a different kind of Western movie.
Reads quickly.
Well researched.

Jane Long of Texas is a must for those who love biographical history. Jane Long was an important American pioneer and her story is captivating. This book is an exciting version of the founding of Texas from the perspective of a strong and fearless woman. Learn factual history and enjoy a good read filled with culture, adventure, war, politics, betrayal, passion, love and tradgedy.

There are several categories of programming books. There are design books like "Design Patterns", by Gamma & co; specialized books like "JDBC Database access with Java", by Hamilton. I think the best core Java language book is: "The Java Programming Language", by Gosling. This book is in a different category.

"Java Programmer's Reference" is the perfect quick reference for the general, non-graphic, standard class libraries. Strings, Files, Collections - I find this book a handy source of brief explanations. It is not just a re-written set of javadocs, and it is not much larger than the javadocs either.

I think this book will be most useful for the experienced programmer who has trouble remembering all 6 trillion standard class interfaces, and who wants a reminder when the standard documentation is too vague. Beginning programmers might prefer a book with more examples, but as a reference I think it is much more useful without them. The awt library is covered by this book, but I find for most graphics questions I need a more detailed answer.

It is very useful for daily use and convinient to look up a keyword or a class. Very user-friendly!

An authoritative, if somewhat dry, presentation of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition from a Tibetan perspective. I have instigated the use of this book in a study group setting, in which people agreed to read a particular chapter and topic ahead of time. It was very useful in giving people an opportunity to bring their understanding and misunderstandings to the surface, to be clarified (or at least narrowed!) by discussion with others.

This is an excellent book presenting the stages of the Mahayana path to all those interested in Buddhism. Written in the 1100's by Gampopa, a great Kagyu scholar, it is invaluable to all beginners and especially to those on the path. This book never gets old, and you can always use it as you proceed on the path. A wonderful achievement in spiritual literature, and a great gift to the English reader who does not have the ability to read the original Tibetan text.

H.L.A. Hart is perhaps the 20th century's greatest legal philosopher, and this small book is a powerful expression of his views on the relationship between law and morality. Simply put, Hart takes the side of John Stuart Mill on the issue of legal regulation of vice. The arguments are straightforward, and Hart gives opposing viewpoints a fair hearing before offering his rebutalls.

I first read the 1963 edition in a course called "Philosophy of Law" at Stanford in '66, and it's one of the few texts from then that I know I have in the attic, and have read at least five times since. It's just a little book, but invaluable.

He organizes the arguments around the issue of the legalization of prostitution, but the specific arguments are made to carry the water of all the similar issues. It is dense, but beautifully written and beautifully argued, you just have to read it a bit slowly to let each paragraph soak in.

I thought that this was a very assured and informative biography of Thomas Wolfe, not only shedding light on his development and work as an author, but also bringing the reader close to getting a feel of what Wolfe the human being must have been like.

I felt that Donald, whilst being a fan of Wolfe's work, maintained a balanced assessment of him: Wolfe had highly unattractive traits - a heavy drinker, untidy and unkempt, intolerant (especially of Jews, which was ironic given the fact that he had a long relationship with Mrs Aline Bernstein, who was herself Jewish) and frequently overbearing.

Wolfe's early struggles to establish himself as a playwright and his emergence as a novelist are described in detail. Wolfe was essentially a "prose machine" unable to control the flows of words and thus the length and structure of his novels. I found the accounts of Wolfe's relationship with his editors, Maxwell E Perkins and latterly Edward C Aswell, fascinating.

A must for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this interesting novelist.

Did you know that F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway all had the same editor at Charles Scribner's and Sons: Maxwell Perkins. Some critics have said that Perkins basically wrote Tom Wolfe's last novel because it was a too-long mess that needed to be edited into a cohesive whole. I read halfway through "Look HomeWard Angel" and "Of Time and the River". Both read like a hot day in Asheville, North Carolina. When I have time I plan to go back and reread these novels because Shelby Foote and Walker Percy spoke highly of them.

This is a neat book, telling of the author's life on and off an Iowa farm from his birth on Sept 22, 1892, till he finished college in 1917. I was surprised how I was moved by it, tho he is a generation before me. Some of the farming practices he describes (such as threshing from stacks) I only heard about, but others were not too different from when I was a boy in a different part of Iowa. Any one who grew up on a farm or has rural roots will be affected by this book, maybe not as powerfully as was I but it is a very pleasant book to read. The author's few poems (which were published in papers at times) are in the book, and they while not great poetry have a charm which surprises. This volume is a worthy component of Iowa State University Press' Iowa Heritage Collection.

Wilkinson's book was beyound astounding, it was magnificent! The book went beyond normal standards and it reached a higher level of apexes. This book should not only be read in every classroom throughout the U.S., but it should be momrized, analyzed, and loved, because it is truly worth all of that. Wilkinson truly knows how to write and for that, everyone should at least read a chapter.