Perhaps I didn't do my homework so I'll take responsibility, but I didn't realize that this book was so old when I purchased it. It was recommended to me by an acquaintance so I purchased it blindly. It is a very old edition therefore somewhat obsolete. I do, however, like the concept and it would be a good book should it be updated to include medications that have come into the picture in the last 5-10 years.

My Mother suffered several strokes, so was on all types of medicines. In many instances, we helped to keep her from further complications by asking the Doctors if this pill or that would interact and create problems. We never let on that we had been advised through Worst Pills, Best Pills that it could create problems. The Doctors then took the time to look up the crossing of drugs and concurred and prescribed something less invasive. They kept their "in charge" feeling and we were comfortable knowing we weren't allowing a bigger problem to take place through drug interaction. As the last update was 1993, do you anticipate a newer edition to keep pace with the new drugs on the market?

ITS GOOD TO HAVE INFORMATION AT HAND. BECAUSE DOCTORS DON'T ALWAYS TAKE THE TIME TO EXPLAIN TO YOU ABOUT THE MIDICATION YOU HAVE TO TAKE.

This is a wonderful selection of children's stories. I remember them from my childhood and own many of the individual books. Unfortunately, while the original little books had illustrations and a short text on each page, only a fraction of the pictures from each story have been retained for the treasury. In some extreme cases the text of 15-20 page picture books has been included all on one page with 1-2 small pictures. My 4 year old finds these somewhat boring, though she has loved the original books since before age 2. This book is worth buying if you don't have access to the originals, but it would be much better for young children if they had included more of the art which captures the imagination.

Looks like a good one but can be had for 2 dollars less at your local book store!

It amazes me how expensive children's books are these days! Well, here's a way to get more for your money... a collection of favorites from a respected children's book publisher, Golden Books, for a price that won't break the bank. Especially for 46 stories! So if you have kids who like to read (or you like to read to!), this is a great addition to any library. Also a great way for a grandparent to have several kids books without the mess of lots of individual books.

Every year, I purchase New Stories from the South, but I always buy last year's, in paperback, then I might take another few months to read it. So I've just finished the 2000 issue and will start on 2001 one of these days (I have it in my pile of books somewhere). I never regret having purchased or read these anthologies. They always include good writers, both new and familiar, and the stories are an interesting combination of themes, locales and styles. The South is a part, sometimes subtle, but always there, and the characters are seldom sterotypical, their stories never trite. Pick up any of these issues. The stories are timeless.

One wonders a bit at the subtitle: The Year's Best, 2000, and then one remembers this collection, the latest in a long line of such anthologies stretching back to the 1980's, was edited by Algonquin Books' Shannon Ravenel, and she knows more about these things probably than anybody else.

Nevertheless, I would call this a mixed bag of Southern storytelling. Allan Gurganus's "He's at the Office" has a clever premise, one familiar to anyone from a close-knit, aging family, and once again showcases Gurganus's sharp eye for detail and razzmatazz prose style, but the ending is silly and the story collapses because of it. R.H.W. Dillard's "Forgetting the End of the World" seems much ado about nothing and strains for a significance it most certainly does not achieve. These are two of the weaker links in the chain. Among the stronger ones are "Mr. Puniverse", a marvelous comedy of unrequited passion, Romulus Linney's "The Widow", which has the rhythm and cadence of a good Appalachian folk ballad, Melanie Sumner's "Good Hearted Woman", the book's longest piece and most obvious crowd pleaser, about a young woman's confrontations with work, love, and family, and Margie Rabb's "How to Tell a Story," my own favorite of the bunch, and an incisive, very moving, and all-too-true look at the dog eat dog world of university creative writing programs and one young writer's determination to tell stories despite what happens to her and the stories she tells.

This is an attractively designed paperback. Each story ends with an author biography, with the writer revealing why he/she wrote that particular story.

This is the first volume in what became Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, now in its fourteenth year.

Perhaps the best thing about these books is the introduction, containing overviews of publications in the fantasy (and now horror) industry and brief reviews as well as industry news. I found the stories to be a very mixed bag. The standout in this volume is Le Guin's striking, unsentimental, Native American mythology-inspired "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight". Shephard's "Delta Sly Honey" was a beautifully written, evocative Vietnam War story, though it weakened toward the conclusion. "Lake George in High August" and "The Maid on the Shore" also stood out. Too many of the other stories, as in other volumes, are pedestrian, silly, or devoid of plot structure. I didn't find any of the poetry to be worthwhile. Overall, I'd give the stories mentioned a 4, but the others perhaps a 2. This uneven quality plagues every volume in this series.

This is the first collection of Datlow and Windling's long-running annual of fantasy and horror; this edition being a selection of short stories and poetry from the year 1987. While this series often suffers from a certain amount of cronyism, the quality of stories selected is generally above average. High points: Ursula K LeGuin's "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight", a fantasy inspired by Native American folklore [and if you enjoyed this short story, I highly recommend picking up the picture book, illustrated by Susan Seddon Boulet]; Jonathan Carroll's "Friend's Best Man", competently written and quite amusing; Carol Emshwiller's "The Circular Library of Stones", a sad but wonderful magical realist story; Lucius Shepard's "Delta Sly Honey", a superb dark fantasy tale set in Vietnam; and Alan Moore's "A Hypothetical Lizard", a sometimes overwritten and awkward fantasy, but so, so good [Moore is better known in the fantasy and horror field for his work in comics/graphic novels]. Low points: Elizabeth S Helfman's "Voices in the Wind", which I found to be somewhat journalistic, simplistic and simple-minded; Jane Yolen's "Once Upon A Time, She Said", poetry [I've found Datlow and Windling to be much better judges of prose]; John Brunner's "The Fable of the Farmer and The Fox", about which I have very little good to say; and Craig Shaw Gardner's "Demon Luck", a "humorous" juvenile fantasy in the vein of Piers Anthony, et al. Windling's customary essay on the state of fantasy is, in this volume, more of an overview of the state of publishing, rather than fiction. Her list of recommended books for this year is also just that: a list, unaccompanied by reviews or synopses. Complete list of included authors and their works: Ursula K LeGuin, "Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight"; TM Wright, "A World Without Toys"; Joe Haldeman, "DX"; Jonathan Carroll, "Friend's Best Man"; Gweneth Jones, "The Snow Apples"; Susan Palwick, "Ever After"; William F Nolan, "My Name Is Dolly"; Joan Aiken, "The Moon's Revenge"; Edward Bryant, "Author's Notes"; John Robert Bensink, "Lake George in High August"; Steven Brust, "Csucskari"; Ramsey Campbell, "The Other Side"; David J Schow, "Pamela's Get"; Elizabeth S Helfman, "Voices in the Wind"; Jane Yolen, "Once Upon A Time, She Said"; Carol Emshwiller, "The Circular Library of Stones"; Harlan Ellison, "Soft Monkey"; Michael Shea, "Fat Face"; Charles DeLint, "Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair"; George RR Martin, "The Pear-shaped Man"; Lucius Shepard, "Delta Sly Honey"; M John Harrison, "Small Heirlooms"; Patrica C Wrede, "The Improper Princess"; John Brunner, "The Fable of the Farmer and the Fox"; Joyce Carol Oates, "Haunted"; Kathryn Ptacek, "Dead Possums"; Lucius Shepard, "Pictures Made Of Stones"; Douglas E Winter, "Splatter: A Cautionary Tale"; John Skipp & Craig Spector, "Gentlemen"; Graig Shaw Gardner, "Demon Luck"; Jane Yolen, "Words of Power"; Lisa Tuttle, "Jamie's Grave"; Delia Sherman, "The Maid on the Shore"; Michael McDowell, "Halley's Passing"; Lucius Shepard, "White Trains"; Natalie Babbitt, "Simple Sentences"; Alan Moore, "A Hypothetical Lizard".

Although I am unsure as to whether or not I passed the AP exam in May 1999, this book did have some value when I prepared for the actual exam. It is ok in giving strategies for the test, but I would recommend that you do as much reading and essay writing as you can during the summer prior to taking the exam. Like any other AP test, this is not an easy test unless you have a greater understanding in English, which is developed through many years of experience and practice. Although this was my first AP exam in English as a junior in high school, this book somewhat did help me during the months before the exam. I would recommend this book if you have enough time for preparation. Before closing this review, I would like to thank Erin Mooney who taught AP English Language to me as her first year.

This is a beautifully crafted book of verses

I purchased this book for my elderly mother as it typified her approach to life. She would be forever quoting sections from the book as her behaviour reflected a phrase or section from it. (and yes - she did wear purple!)

It is a gentle reflection on ageing and how too often in our younger years we are driven by fad and fashion. I would thouroughly recommend it to anyone who has elderly parents - and to the parents themselves.

For some reason, the folks at Amazon keep posting my reviews for this series in the wrong place, so expecting that to happen again this time, let me clarify: The review is covering the FOURTEENTH edition.

Years ago, I made the mistake of taking "The Year's Best" title seriously, and rushed out and bought all the books in the series I could get my hands on. That turned out to be a BIG mistake, as Editors Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling seem to have very different ideas from me about what makes a good story. Luckily, this is the last volume I was unfortunate enough to purchase.

I'll skip the usual complaints this time out. I won't rant about the overlong year-in-review segments. I won't mention the fact that Windling's Fantasy selections monopolixe the book. I won't utter a word about Windling's bizarre penchant for poetry and rehashed versions of older-than-dirt fairy-tales. I'll concentrate on the stories that were actually readable.

Charles de Lint contributes another Newford story, "Granny Weather"; As usual, it's a good read.
Ramsey Campbell offers up two creepy little gems, "No Strings", and "No Story In It".
Jack Dann's "Marilyn" turns a young boy's sexual fantasy into a waking nightmare.
Glen Hirschberg's "Mr. Dark's Carnival" is a great haunted house tale.
Ian Rodwell & Steve Duffy's "The Penny Drops" is waaayyy too long, but the knockout ending makes the suffering worthwhile.
Bret Lott's "The Train, The Lake, The Bridge" could almost be a true story, and it's all the creepier for that.
Jonathan Carroll's "The Heidelberg Cylinder" is a hilariously bizarre tale that needs to be read to be appreciated.
Jack Ketchum contributes "Gone", a short but excellent halloween tale.
Paul J. McAuley's "Bone Orchards" is a follow up to his tale from the previous Year's collection, "Naming The Dead"; It's a real treat, and I'd love to see more with the main character.

Search out the aforementioned Authors, by all means; Just don't waste your money on this stankass series....unless you have MUCH more patience than me.

Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, Third Edition; ISBN 031204450X

Third in the long-running annual series, the Third Edition is a collection of the "best" fantastical short stories published in 1989. The whole series is consistently high-quality [even if it deos suffer a bit from cronyism], and this edition is no exception. This volume also contains Windling's summation of fantasy in books and publishing, Datlow's summation of horror, and Edward Bryant's summation of fantasy and horror in film for the year 1989. Windling's customary synopses for her "baker's dozen" list of top fantasy novels are, in this edition, extremely short. My favorites from this year are Michael Swanwick's "The Edge of the World," and Steven Millhouser's "The Illusionist." The stinker for this year: "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said (Page 243)" by Chet Williamson. I found it to be wrongheaded, pointless, and in extremely poor taste. I understand that it was written in the style of an early 20th century pulp western, but a poorly-written story is still a poorly-written story, no matter how clever the writer thinks he's being. I also think had the protagonist been a woman, for example, instead of a homosexual man, this story would never have made it out of the editors' slush pile.

Complete list of included writers and their works: Michael Swanwick, "The Edge of the World"; Fred Chappell, "The Adder"; Nancy Etchemendy, "Cat in Glass"; Rory Harper, "Monsters, Tearing Off My Face"; Joyce Carol Oates, "Family"; James Powell, "A Dirge for Clowntown"; Delia Sherman, "Miss Carstairs and the Merman"; Reginald Bretnor, "Unknown Things"; Bruce Boston & Robert Frazier, "Return to the Mutant Rainforest"; Tatyana Tolstaya, "Date With A Bird"; Joseph A. Citro, "Them Bald-headed Snays"; Edward Bryant, "A Sad Last Love at the Diner of the Damned"; Michael Moorcock, "Hanging the Fool"; Leif Enger, "Hansel's Finger"; Garry Kilworth, "Dogfaerie"; Emma Bull, "A Bird That Whistles"; Lisa Tuttle, "The Walled Garden"; Scott Baker, "Varicose Worms"; Leszek Kolakowski, "The War with Things"; Jane Yolen, "The Faery Flag", Zhaxi Dawa, "Souls Tied to the Knots on a Leather Cord"; Steven Millhouser, "The Illusionist"; Charles DeLint, "Timeskip", Robert R. McCammon, "Something Passed By", Dan Daly, "Self Portrait, Mixed Media on Pavement, 1988"; Michael de Larrabeiti, "The Plane Tree and the Fountain"; Tanith Lee, "White as Sin, Now"; Pat Cadigan, "The Power and the Passion"; Midori Snyder, "Jack Straw"; J.N. Williamson, "The Sudd"; Jonathan Carroll, "Mr. Fiddlehead"; Dan Simmons, "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"; Andrew Stephenson, "Cinema Altere"; Gary A. Braunbeck, "Matters of Family"; Jane Yolen, "Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary"; Joan Aiken, "Find Me"; James P. Blaylock, "Unidentified Objects"; Ramsey Campbell, "Meeting the Author"; Gwyneth Jones, "The Lovers"; Chet Williamson, "Yore Skin's Jes's Soft'n Purty... He Said. (Page 243)"; Bruce Sterling, "Dori Bangs"; Joe R. Lansdale, "The Steel Valentine"; John Shirley, "Equilibrium"; Joe Haldeman, "Time Lapse"; Garry Kilworth, "White Noise"; Robley Wilson, "Terrible Kisses"; Greg Bear, "Sleepside Story"

The reader from Baltimore -- whose review appears on this page -- seems to have read a different book than the rest of us. I consider this volume the best one yet in this terrific series. But then -- since the Baltimore reader is complaining about inclusion of fiction originally published in the New Yorker -- I suppose he/she prefers fantasy and horror with a less literary bent. This is definitely not an anthology for those who aren't interested in savouring fine prose or exploring the unusual places where "genre" and "mainstream" fiction meet. If you want unchallenging, predictable horror and fantasy then give this volume a miss -- but if you love dazzling writing of all different sorts -- defying the very notion of what is "genre" and what is "mainstream" -- then this is the collection for you. There are brilliant stories and poems here -- in an incredibly ecclectic mix. I hope someone is paying Datlow and Windling very very well so that they continue to provide this amazing annual volume for years to come.

This is actually one of the better "Years Best" that I've read so far. Again, I skimmed right past Windling & Datlow's Summations- They go on waaayyyy too long, as usual. Also as usual, Fantasy Editor Terri Windling monopolizes the bulk of the book with her choices. Horror Editor Ellen Datlow does get some payback, though: One of her choices, Peter Straub's "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff", runs in excess of 50 pages. The titular duo is memorable, but the story goes on too long, and the style it's written in is difficult to stick with. The end is worth it, though.

The book opens with Kelly Link's "Travels With the Snow Queen" which I couldn't even finish; I hated it. Link appears again towards the end of the book with "The Specialist's Hat", an absolutely chilling ghost story with a drop-dead scary ending. I couldn't move on to the next story until the next day, because I was turning Link's story over in my mind all night. It was absolutely one of the spookiest stories I've ever read. Sara Douglass offers up the REAL secret behind those Gargoyles on Church roofs in "The Evil Within", a far-fetched but fun Horror tale, and Lisa Goldstein's "The Fantasma of Q____" is an interesting victorian tale with an neat twist at the end. Stephen King's contribution is pretty good; Not his best, but the end makes it worthwhile. One of the book's better tales is Terry Lamsley's "Suburban Blight", where an abandoned building hides a terrifying secret. "Inside the Cackle Factory", by Dennis Etchison, tells us just what happens to all of those washed-up stars we never see on TV anymore. John Kessel's "Every Angel is Terrifying" is a realistic story of escaped killers that takes a mildly fantastic twist at the end; It's extremely well-written, and creepy as hell. As always, there's a Dracula story (Sort of)- It's Mark W. Tiedmann's "Psyche", and it's a keeper. Drac himself is only peripherally involved, but his influence permeates the entire story. Jane Yolen, Norman Partridge, and Michael Blumlein all contribute interesting stories as well. I couldn't get through Christopher Harman's "Jackdaw Jack"- It was just awful. There's another Charles De Lint Newford story, which is excellent as usual, and Terry Dowling's story, "Jenny Come To Play" is just a nasty read; Although they're nothing alike, it has the same feel as "The Silence of the Lambs". And as usual, Terri Windling monopolizes the end of the book with dud stories that I can't get through. Windling tends to favor feminist fantasy stories that are all too much alike; I was actually offended by Carol Ann Duffy's ode to man-hating, "Mrs. Beast"; The less I say about this trash the better. If a man had written such an anti-female story, he'd be finished.

As I said, there are some GREAT stories here, but they're outweighed by the duds, and when one of these stories are bad, they're BAD. I'll read the other two volumes of "Year's Best" that I own, but I'll pass on buying new ones. Windling & Datlow's selections leave a lot to be desired, and I wish they would get a little more daring.....

Good collection of stories, though there seems to be a bit more horror than usual, and the inclusion of a couple of stories in which I was hard-pressed to find any fantastic or horrific elements at all. As usual, the poetry selections are the weakest in the bunch, with the delightful exception of Marisa de los Santos' "Wiglaf". My favorites from this collection: "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French" by Stephen King [I'm not a big King fan, but i was pleasantly surprised by this excellent little tale]; "The Faerie Cony-catcher" by Delia Sherman [its ending was not unexpected, but delightful all the same]; and "Cold" by A.S. Byatt [typical Byatt. for those unaquainted with A.S. Byatt, I can only say.. beautiful]. Terri Windling's Fantasy Summation for 1998 is useful as always.

The following is a complete listing of authors and their included works: Kelly Link, "Travels with the Snow Queen; Steve Duffy, "Running Dogs"; Marisa de los Santos, "Wiglaf"; Susanna Clarke, "Mrs Mabb"; Rick Kennett, "Due West"; Catharine Savage Brosman, "Kokopelli"; Bruce Glassco, "Taking Loup"; Sara Douglass, "The Evil Within"; Larry Fontenot, "Wile E. Coyote's Lament"; Mary Rosenblum, "The Rainmaker"; Michael Marshall Smith, "A Place to Stay"; Lisa Goldstein, "The Fantasma of Q___"; Ralph Salisbury, "Hoopa, the White Deer Dance"; Stephen King, "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French; Karen Joy Fowler, "The Travails"; Terry Lamsley, "Suburban Blight"; Dennis Etchison, "Inside the Cackle Factory"; Kurahashi Yumiko, "The House of the Black Cat"; John Kessel, "Every Angel is Terrifying"; Neil Gaiman, "Shoggoth's Old Peculiar"; Lawrence Osgood, "Great Sedna"; Sylvia Brownrigg, "The Bird Chick"; Mark W. Tiedmann, "Psyche"; Carol Ann Duffy, "Mrs. Beast"; Jane Yolen, "Become A Warrior"; Norman Partridge, "Blackbirds"; Nick DiChario, "Carp Man"; Delia Sherman, "The Faerie Cony-catcher"; Zan Ross, "At the River of Crocodiles"; Steven Millhauser, "Clair de Lune"; Jorge Luis Borges, "The Rose of Paracelsus"; Peter Straub, "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff"; Michael Blumlein, "Revenge"; Holly Prado, "The Tall, Upheaving One"; Patricia A. McKillip, "Oak Hill"; Christopher Harman, "Jackdaw Jack"; Sarah Corbett, "Dark Moon"; Ellen Kushner, "The Death of the Duke"; Judy Budnitz, "Hershel"; Ray Vukcevich, "By the Time We Get to Uranus"; Kelly Link, "The Specialist's Hat"; Charles de Lint, "Twa Corbies"; Terry Dowling, "Jenny Come to Play"; Ilan Stavans, "Blimunda"; Chana Bloch, "Mrs. Dumpty"; A. S. Byatt, "Cold".

In their twelfth annual survey, Datlow and Windling have assembled a rewarding collection of genre (and extra-genre) fiction from English language sources of all kinds from 1998, with a little poetry thrown in as well. In a format based on Dozois's science fiction anthologies, Datlow and Windling's series has become an annual "event" for lovers of nonrealistic short fiction. The editors are open to just about anything and everything, as long as it has significant fantasy or horror elements, but they are more likely to reprint material by women writers, or about female characters. As far as biases go, that's not a bad one to have: some of the best fantasists working today are women.

The editors look at mainstream magazines like "The New Yorker" and "Ms." -- both of which had strong stories chosen for this book. From "The New Yorker" they selected Stephen King's "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French," which in 20 tightly-written pages gives the reader the entire life of a woman who may be getting precognitive flashes about the crash of the plane she and her husband are on, or who may simply be fantasizing the crash as a death wish. I knew this woman completely by the end of the story (whose title refers to déjà vu). The "Ms." story was Lisa Goldstein's "The Phantasma of Q-----," with a moment of magic realism passing so quickly it's hard to catch. It is a strength of this series that it covers work in mainstream, genre and academic/small press sources.

A number of British and Australian magazines, anthologies and collections provide selections, with two superior tales well worth reading. The best thing in the book (and saved for last) is the superb modern fairy tale by A. S. Byatt, "Cold" -- sitting in a warm library, I was shivering at the frozen world depicted. A beautifully textured story, the best I've read in several years. It came from Byatt's collection, "Fire and Ice." Christopher Harman's "Jackdaw Jack" (from Ghosts and Scholars, a UK little magazine) is the best shocker in the anthology. Its pieces fall into place like a well-wrought jigsaw, and the end left me numb.

Among the other stories is an unclassifiable gem by Ray Vukcevich, "By the Time We Get to Uranus" (from the anthology, Imagination Fully Dilated). In the story's surreal world, a person's body slowly develops an astronaut's suit from the feet up, and eventually the person floats off into space. When this happens to a man's wife, he's concerned that his suit isn't developing as fast as hers, as they can't leave together. A metaphor for what separates the sexes these days, the story works and then some.

The stories I detailed here are my favorites, but others will find others they like as much or better. Some motifs of the book are hispanic magic realism, foreign fantasy in translation, and stories that are just very strange. I'm not a fast reader, and this long book took me a year and a half to finish. The extensive prefaces (in roman numerals) run over 100 pages before you even get to "page 1." Windling first documents fantasy for 1998; Datlow then does the same for horror, after which we get essays on the media, comics and obituaries for 1998. The prefaces are meant to be references more than essays, and I do use them as a reference, but they are slow going just to read (and some of the info is duplicated by approaching the genres separately). The shortlist of "honorable mention" stories at the end is also useful as a reference.

All in all, a class act by two dedicated anthologists who deeply care about the state of the contemporary nonrealistic story.

When I opened the book first, I expected a thrilling and gripping story, because I read the flaps. When I was reading the first 10 - 20 pages I got really disappointed by the style. I think it was really boring to read the whole book in that style. Then I was disappointed by the characters, because they don't act as if they were real. I think they are too simple. Every person has only one target to get to, and that's not enough for a good book , in my opinion.Oliver Russel doesn't look plausible to me, because of his affairs. But I liked Leslie Stewart. She's very intelligent and kind of evil. She uses her Intelligence and quallities very efficient.

I ran across this book accidently. I usually select by author. I was pleasantly surprised and would like to find another by this author. The characters were very clearly defined and stayed true to their characterization. I was sorry when I got to the end.

I thought this book was a very good book. I would recommend it for anyone to read. I have never read any of Sheldon's other books to compare this one to though.