I am an MBA student and I found this book extremely good for understanding the basics. It explains a lot of basics, terms and theories in simple words. A must have for anybody who has an interest in economics. In fact I would even recommend Susan Lee's "ACZ's of Money and Finance"

A good read about the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The book is a collection of short stories assembled by Mr. Reid that detail various aspects of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I expecially enjoyed the short stories and articles by Dan DeQuille, Bret Harte, and Mark Twain.

Mr. Reid preceeds each chapter with an introduction that explains some of the history regarding the author and the subsequent story.

Bill White Minden, Nevada

I thought that this book was a very excellent book, especially for young children. The story about the sweet, unhappy artist, becoming a happy-go-lucky guy because of this kitten, is the sweetest thing I ever read. This kitten is a special kitten with a white heart on his forehead. This lonely kitten finds a lonely yound man, and now they have each other to be happy with. The young man becomes happy again in this sweet, caring story. When the cat gets stolen, find out what happens when the young man is looking for his little, lost cat. This story is a very sweet story to have your children read, especially around Valentine's Day! The illustrations in this book were also neat, with only using four colors - white, black, red, and teal-green.

Before I get into talking about this novel, let me tell you a little bit about myself, my name is Jason Fisher, I am 17 years old, and unofrtunately I am not the kind of person who likes to read, unfortunately. When I was recomended to read this book by one of my teachers, I thought to myself, let me give it a try, so I did. I got the book and let it sit in my room for a few weeks. When I finally picked up the book to read the first few chapters I realized that I could not put the book down, it was an amazing book. I finished the book in one day, and for me that is VERY good. The book is about two men, Stick and Frank, who go in together on a bunch of armed roberies in Detroit to earn some extra cash. They meet some girls, and their lives get much better. When they do their biggest job of all, rob the Hudsons building in Detroit, they run into some trouble in their robbery. You will have to read the book to find out what happens. I would recomend this book to anybody who wants to read a greeat book, Elmore Leonard paints a perfect picture in your head. It is very easy to make the picture in your head if you are from Detriot because it talks about the actual cities, roads, and even some stores that are in the suburbs of Detroit. This was a great book and I am just about to start reading one of his other novels titled "Sitck." Thanks for writing a great book Elmore.

As a transplanted Detroiter, whenever I need a hometown fix, I read an Elmore Leonard or Loren Estleman novel. This particular Leonard gem, Swag, is especially satisfying. Leonard's characters cruise the streets you've cruised, and encounter people you've met. The premise: car salesman Frank Ryan teams up with Oklahoma cement worker and car thief Ernest Stickley ("Stick") to live the high life, via armed robbery. Frank is the one whose carefully crafted rules allow them to live in luxury, but it's Frank's deviation from the rules that brings about the duo's downfall. The book is a provocative portrait, warts and all, of pre-recession Detroit: before the auto industry collapsed entirely, when Hudson's still had its downtown flagship department store, and before crack infected the streets of the city.

After attempting PRONTO and GLITZ and not seeing what the Dutch Leonard hype was all about, I decided to give him one more chance with SWAG...and I was electrified to the point where it almost killed me. This book is incredible. Leonard creates such a glitzy, sleaze-filled atmosphere that you're there in Detroit, with Stick and Frank Ryan, feeling the rush and the tension of their risky escapades for that cold, green swag. The dialogue is right-on; the plot and characters are nothing less than brilliant. This is the book that turned me on to Leonard and his numerous crime-filled novels of shimmering heat and the excitement of being bad.

Anyone who loves Jane Coly's work or the famous Rats of NIMH *or both!* will want to read this book. I read it as a child and still find it a great diversion as an adult. The story is of an adolescent rat named Racso who meets Timmothy on his way to school with the rats of Thorn Valley. The plot thickens as Racso meets the rats of NIMH and finds that thier standards of country life and living are quite different than his old city life. Intent on finding a way to impress them and convince them to let him stay, Racso tries to hatch a plan to help the rats, and perhaps the whole Thorn Valley! This book is a bit more youth-oriented than Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, but it does contain an element of adventure and ethics that made the first book so popular. If you love anthropomorphic animals *particularly rodents*, this book will be well worth looking in to. There is another book in the series, FYI : R-T, Margaret, and the Rats of NIMH. I hope you enjoy this book, I sure did!

"Racso and the Rats of NIMH" is one of the best books I have ever read. It's about a rat named Racso who has always wanted to be a scientist. So Racso ran away from home in the city to try to learn to read and write. During this time a young mouse by the name of Timothy was going to school in Thorn Valley where the rats of NIMH lived. On his way to school he met Racso. Timothy invited Racso to come to school with him. When they got to Thorn Valley they were four days late because Timothy was usually flown by a crow named Jeremy. The rest is for you to read, and I definitely recommend you do. I really liked the way Jane Leslie Conly put the story together to get the book, and how Racso told tall tales, like his family was very rich and lived in the bottom of a mansion. I thought that was funny. What I didn't like was that the book was too long, way too long to read in two weeks. I read over 200 pages in about a week and on Tuesday I read over 100 pages. I recommend this book to people who like funny adventure stories like the first one, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". Review by Jacob Gilden, Duniway School, 4th grade.

This would be one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I am pretty picky about what I read. After reading Robert C'obrians "Mrs.Frisby and the rats of nimh" I was very inspiered and felt I wanted to read the next book. I like the charecter, Racso so much I bought a black birre (hat)to look like him. Jane Leslie Conly did such a good job on continuing the story, that I thought it was the same author. I started out thinking that Mrs.Frisby and the rats of nimh would be boring, and I ended up loving the book. I have started to read RT, Margaret and the rats of nimh and think I will enjoy it very much.

Good, engrossing read on the events surrounding the capture of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, and the discovery of the house of horrors of the Wilseyville Ranch. The book is well laid out and easy to follow and for that I give it high marks. However, I found it lacking in any true background information on Lake and Ng. There's no insight as to who they were, just what they did. Part of the reason I read such novels as this is to find out what happened to shape people into the beasts they become. There was none of that here. Also, the character of Tomasina Boyd Clancy, the reporter and the only fictional character in the book, just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was because I knew she didn't exist, and knowing that the authors discription of her being a knock out red head, and the unusual name made it all so obvious. She completely unnecessary and her thoughts during the hearings at the end just got in the way of the otherwise riviting speech of the lawyers. Finally, I was somewhat surprised in the Author's Note at the end the calls for the retirement of the Death Penalty not because it was inhumane, but because the fight to avoid it by the accused usually ends up in a long and costly trial. While the points certainly have their validity, reading them at the end of such a tale is almost unbelieveable. I had to reread the last paragraph several times to make sure I had read what I had read. And for those final points I had to mark down this book.

My sympathies go out to Mr. Bond and his family. I hope they can rest a little easier knowing that Ng has finally gone to trial.

Just as David Bond explained, I was also very surprised on the amount of information the authors had since even family members were "left in the dark". We found out that in 1995 the State of California had 95% identified the remains of my sister Sheryl Lynn Okoro but did not receive that news or her remains until after the trial started in November of 1999. And only then did we find out from a reporter who had been sitting in on the trial! She was finally brought home and laid to rest in December 1999, 14 years after her death. The book answered alot of the questions our family had and it shed some light on the monsters who took the lives of our loved ones. Once I started reading I could not put it down. Very engrossing. My heart extends to all families who have yet to endure our nightmare.

The jury just found Ng guilty on 11 counts of murder and are now hearing evidence for the penalty phase -- death or life without parole -- this is in response to prior reviewer's request for more current info. I prepared transcripts for the court reporter during four years Ng was in Calaveras County, and it is chilling to read the case in this format -- adds the drama that is not always evident from a transcript. Publisher needs to reprint, especially since it is back as front-page news and the saga of the appeals is about to start.

I bought this book because I read in Newsweek that it had a cult following. The cover of the book quotes reviews saying it is "impossible to leave alone until I finished" and that "the pages beg to be turned." Unfortunately, I didn't find it to be so exciting. The prologue reveals that the Hampden College students in the book will kill a fellow student named Bunny. Then, Richard Papen, the narrator, begins the story telling how he got to Hampden and how became one of the group of students studying Greek exclusively under a professor named Julian Morrow. The story of how the murder occurred and what happened in its aftermath unfolds. The narrator presents the turns and twists of the story unemotionally so that the driving force of the book is more the weirdness of the relationships that have developed between the students than it is actual events. I never felt emotionally attached to the characters, connected to any guilt they may have felt, or concerned about their fates. I experienced the novel with a complacency that allowed me to "leave [it] alone" numerous times. I will say that the narrator describes the New England surroundings and the college's atmosphere with a vividness. The word choices are more lyrical and intellectual than your typical pop-culture book. Despite this, I feel the writing style was less challenging than _Harper's Magazine_. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, but if you're interested in it, I suggest you read it for yourself to see if you agree with me.

"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt was more of an exercise in excellent English than a terrific story. Tartt has many interesting theories and philosophies to share, however, there was a lot to be desired on a platonic level, when the book came to an abrupt and unfulfilling end.

The characters in "The Secret History" were not your run-of-the-mill college students. I appreciated that these "children of privilege" were not of superior intellect or attending the most prestigious of institutions, but were still smart, unique, and interesting in their own way. Much of their intrigue is a credit to Donn Tartt's writing abilities. Unfortunately, Bunny, Henry, Charles, Francis, Camilla, and even Richard spent so much time analyzing one another's intimate details, that the story's true plot became something less than a mitigating circumstance. "The Secret History" is written in a similar style as "American Psycho," but it is more academic and less violent. Both Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis (of American Psycho), in their novels, write about sophisticated and self-centered individuals who only enjoy the finer points of life. "The Secret History" is suspenseful, comical, and believable but still begs the question; what really happened in the woods?

I have read "The Secret History" many times since its first publication in 1992, and, as an admitted literary snob who rarely makes forays outside of the 19th century, my allegiance to this contemporary novel is, in and of itself, a testament to its power. Tartt, who is evidently well-read herself, provides no shortage of fascinating allusions throughout this suspenseful work. Some critics have accused her of ostentatiously cramming everything she learned from her liberal arts education into one volume, but I think this literate approach is appropriate for the book, given its subject matter and the nature of its characters.

As I reread the book, I see that it is not flawless. Tartt tends to repeat herself, and her editor should have been vigilant over this. (For example, in one early scene, Henry tells Richard that Bunny's family "doesn't have a cent," and Richard is surprised. About a hundred pages later, Henry tells him this again, and Richard again seems surprised, saying he thought they were bluebloods. The book is rife with little redundancies of this kind.) Secondly, Tartt often lacks a tight wrap-up before her space breaks, and the dramatic pauses often fizzle out. There are also moments where Tartt, normally so lavish with her descriptions, "holds out" on the reader-- for example, when Henry (in regards to the Bacchanal) says that "there was a certain carnal element to the proceedings," and we never find out exactly what this "certain element" was, it strikes this reader as being an evasive cheat. And then there is Bunny's notorious letter to Julian, in which he reveals all that he knows; I felt that the text of this letter needed to be included in order for it to seem truly damning to the rest of the Greek scholars.

I also think, arguably, that Tartt made a mistake in killing off Bunny, who was one of the book's most singular characters. The story flattens out and loses a great deal of his charm after his demise. How she could have approached the book differently is hard to say, but the second half of "The Secret History" does suffer as a result of the actions taken by the surviving characters.

Aside from all that, "The Secret History" is a marvelous tangled web of a book, and the author-- who composed this novel when she was in her 20's-- is one of our most ambitious and promising scribes. I look forward to her new book, which I've heard is to be titled "Henry Darger," due out later in the year.

Leonard Downie and Robert Kaiser have written a book that describes what is wrong with American journalism. Those who have observed the media during the last 15 to 20 years have noted disturbing trends: 1. News that seems more like entertainment than real news; 2. A decline in the quality and quantity of real hard news stories in papers and t.v news.; 3. More stories about actors, sports figures, and celebrities; 4. News that seems more like a paid promotion by a corporation than news.

The authors tell us why this has occurred. Essentially, many newspapers, t.v. stations, and radio stations have been taken over by huge corporations like Gannett or AOL-Time Warner. These corporations are fixed upon obtaining a certain bottomline profit margin from each station year by year. To this end, they have limited space for hard news stories, laid off thousands of reporters, increased entertainment type features, and do little investigative reporting (which is expensive). They have also raised advertising rates and in some situations, involved themselves with inappropriate relationships with businesses who advertise in their mediums.

The authors point out through a number of examples, exactly why good journalism is important to a community. Solid news coverage on a state/national/international level has helped inform the American people of complex realities, enabling them to make sound decisions in the Representative Democracy in which we live. It has helped cracked scandals like Watergate wide open. It has helped states realize and rectify problems in their educational and social systems. It has explained much of the current problems with Muslims and Osama Bin Laden, so that we can understand what occurred on September 11, 2001 better.

The authors are wrong about some things. I noted that both Downie and Kaiser started in journalism in the sixties, before the advent of the computer age. Perhaps, this is what makes them hostile to presentation of news stories with fancy computer graphics, maps, and other audio/visual effects. I don't see this as a problem. I think an authoritative news cast could make use of both good reporting and the technologies of the information age that allow us to make better presentations and allow for more effective communication with an audience.

While I largely agree with the authors, I also note this problem. The term "news" and "newsworthy" is a very subjective term. Any two people may experience serious disagreement about what is a legitimate "news story" and what is not. For example, a president having sex with his intern may or not may not be a news story. Perhaps, the line is when you can show that his doing so is somehow interfering with his official duties. By arguing that the media needs to do a better job reporting news, and complaining about particular types of reporting,the authors in essence conclude that some matters are not "newsworthy". The authors opinion on this maybe no better or worse than our own.

What I found most discouraging about the book is that the solutions are going to be very difficult. Things have reached the point they have because of demands for profitability by huge multi-national corporations. Its a very involved process and will be difficult to rectify.

In the end, the authors simply make the point that if the American public wants good journalism it has the power to demand it, by refusing to watch or read poor journalism. That action will send the greatest message of all to those who are in charge.

Another book about how the quality of news is going down the tubes. Well-written and well researched, it blames the dumbing-down of news product on an ever-more-competitive scramble for high profits in the face of fragmenting readership.
Like other such books, it raises important questions that remain unanswered: Are people less interested in news because news is getting dumber... or is the news getting dumber because people have become less interested in news? Why don't news providers lose audience for dumbing down... and gain audience from raising the bar? Will we be empowered by new media and news-on-demand to demand (and get) good journalism, and avoid (and punish) bad journalism? Or will corporate consolidation continue to undermine standards for news in a race to the lowest common denominator? The authors detail the well-known condition of today's media. But what now?

If you read a newspaper, listen to the radio, or watch T.V. news, you MUST read this book. Kaiser and Downie, veterans journalists from the Washington Post, explain why our newspapers are the key to a vibrant, free press, and are the springboard for all other (read: electronic) types of journalism.

More importantly, the authors enlighten the readers to the deleterious effects of corporate ownership on newspapers. In an effort to maintain historically high profit margins - and therefore, stockholder equity - corporate influence causes newspapers large and small to trim news space, cut staff, and conform to cookie cutter reporting strategies. This book is a real eye-opener, and more than a little scary.

This is a very good guide to the hikes that it covers. All 50 hikes are rated and include a range of difficulties from easy to strenuous. Many are in some of the most beautiful parts of the North Carolina mountains. And topographic maps help show the routes well and clarify what one shoule expect. A chief drawback (only hinted at in the low-key extended part of the title after the colon), is that it is less than a comprehensive guide to North Carolina mountain trails. It covers nothing west of the central part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park or west of the Cashiers area to the south thereof. North Carolina extends more than a hundred miles west of those areas, and there are plenty more mountains that way. So if that western extremity of the state is where you're wanting to explore, this is not the guide for that. But for mountains to the east thereof, this book should serve you well. One irony is that, although omitting that vast area of westernmost North Carolina, it does have a
"Foothills" section that includes at least three hikes properly described as in the Piedmont, hardly foothills at all. Those are at Reed Gold Mine and Duke Power State Park (as the book still calls it). They can be pleasant and rewarding hikes, but if you go there expecting mountain or foothill vistas, you could be disappointed. By the way, Duke Power State Park has since been renamed Lake Norman State Park. You'll need to know that if you look for signs directing you there (like from Interstate 77).

Hamilton does what she does best, as always, makes us look at ourselves; our limitations, our own fears.
This is the second time I've read "Short History of a Prince"
It was better the second time, because, ofcourse, we see more detail.

The story unfolds back and forth from the 70s to the 90s...For some more inexperienced writers, this may not have worked, but for Hamilton, it did.
Walter is the main character, coming of age in some chapters, a thirty eight year old in others. I love how Hamilton does this, as in the "Book of Ruth" It really allows the reader to understand the characters more clearly.

I enjoy dance and adored Balanchine, so I found the story line centered around the dance world very interesting. I wonder if Hamilton danced once herself or just did her homework on this one.

The story has been woven with family situations, death, dreams, sexual desires (some we may never experience), youth, middle-age, and finally, in the end,
realizing that sometimes what we have is enough...

Love, love, love Hamilton, the messages she sends, Her tenderness, Her ability to allow hope to seep through all of her stories. She does not disappoint in this one either!

Jane Hamilton is one of the top American authors out there today. Hamilton achieved both critical and commercial success with her first two novels "The Book of Ruth" and "A Map of the World." Much to her credit, she does not rest on her laurels and re-hash the characters or plot in her third outing, "The Short History of a Prince." In "Ruth," Hamilton's narrative reads almost as a thriller reaching a shocking conclusion while in "Map" a tragic event early on sends readers on a downward spiral through the rest of the novel. While there is plenty of angst in "Prince," it is a much more quiet and reflective novel. The protagonist tells his story during a life-altering year as a teenager as well as a grown man in the present day. That too is a change from Hamilton's previous work. Perhaps tagged as a "woman's" writer to date, Hamilton for the first time has a male lead character in Walter McCloud.

There is a lot to savor in "Prince." It is a coming-of-age story as Walter must cope with a death in the family while coming to grips with his own homosexuality. While Walter may be one of the most well-realized gay characters put into print, one small quibble is that he seems to fall into so many stereotypes (ballet dancer, opera/theater lover, works in a dollhouse shop, literature teacher). Also, "Prince" asks the age-old question "Can one ever go home again?" as Walter returns to his Midwest roots as an adult. The novel is not only about the struggle to let go of the past, but perhaps even more painfully so letting go of the dreams of the future.

If you are looking for well-developed characters and beautiful prose, there is no need to go any further than a Jane Hamilton novel.

A riveting story that is a departure from her other female-centered novels, "The Short History of a Prince" may be Jane Hamilton's broadest work. While many readers and reviewers have noted Walter's sexuality as a central piece, I find the fact he is gay to be the least vital part of his character. This book winds together Walter's past and present to allow him to plot his course to the future. We the readers become aware of the components that make this man tick at the same time he reaches self-realization. We hate him for his flaws--his ego, his lust and his denial about his brother's illness. But we also grow through his awareness of these faults in himself. We feel his pain as he travels through life as an outsider. And we cheer his discovery of his rightful place in this world. While Jane Hamilton always has an underdog central character, Walter deviates from the norm. Other characters both pity and loathe him, as he does himself, but we see him grow. In my opinion, this is Jane Hamilton's finest work. Walter is flawed, but who isn't? The fact we seem him flawed and as a work in progress gives hope to all.