Dr Freed is a brilliant fellow. Thank you.

Dr Gelbe

This book is excellent. It has helped me learn and apply techniques about how to work with people who have HIV. There are numerous clinical examples and suggestions on how to counsel many different groups of people.

As a man it's easy to feel like you're the only one feeling what you're feeling, like no-one will fully understand. This book shows how the forming of connections between men in the form of close friendships can provide a bridge to an understanding many of us are lacking. This book brought me to tears many a time as I realised the far-reaching implications of what it said. I now see that the closeness of childhood with others should be continued in adult life with those of the same sex. I think the ideas in this book are the antidote for the suffering we feel caused by the expectations of society to be something we deep down know is wrong. I think this is a very fine book and Bob and Buddy have a lot to be proud of, I am extremely grateful to them for writing it and hope they will write more.

This story is about a little girl who lives in an old house where her parents are the caretakers and tourguides. One day, while trying to escape a horde of tourists, she accidentally wakes the mischievous ghost of Wild Robert.

This was another great story by an author I truly admire. Read it! The illustrations are great, too.

This is the ultimate reference tool for the IT Professional required to work with NT Server. It covers the trickiest issues, and gives you simple solution options. A must have!

I can't say enough good things about this book. I've been keeping my own journals (cheat sheets)for years that I referance all the time. Now, (finally)a publisher has learned just what I (we, et el)need in our day to day work. I hate having to sift through, what is basicly a teaching guide, to get to what I need to know. This book is the "Motors Manual" of the NT Server. Joe Friday said it best,"Just the facts , madam".

Truly wonderful "high end" scholarship in the book of Mark. Redactional and source criticism doesn't get any better (in my humble accessment). It is truly sad that Guelich passed away and won't be giving us the second volume, although I expect Evans (who will author the follow up) will do an excellent job. Anyone who wants to know where scholarship is at regarding this gospel, should check this out. Highly recommended by other NT scholars, such as RE Brown, Pheme Perkins.

I have been getting this book for years. This issue is just a great as ever. The World Alamanc is easier to use and has much more information that similar books. I highly recommend this book.

...but not the worst.

After reading all the angsty and angry reviews of this book and series (the esp. nasty ones from people who've read most of the series really had me scratching my head), I decided to pick up just the 1st book and see for myself how good/bad it really was (and it was last minute decision, picked up while on vacation).

IMHO, not too bad of a decision.

I've read LOTR and The Hobbit several times over the years, plus I've read 2 of Eddings' series (The Belgariad and The Mallorean, both hilarious reads) as well as other fantasy series, so I'm no newbie to the fantasy genre.

Yes, it's a bit overlong, and towards the end I kept saying to myself, "Get on with it!" However, there were many passages where reviewers got bored and I didn't: Rand and Mat going from town to town and finding Darkfriends in them (and they DID start trying to sneak into towns after awhile; Moiraine describing Manetheren to the Emonds Field people; Perrin understanding wolves (bias: I *love* anything to do with wolves); Perrin, Egwene, and Elyas coming into contact with the Traveling People; the meeting of the Green Man. You get the idea.

Now the characters themselves.

Mat annoyed me no end, although once he got that dagger, I felt he started to get interesting (in a dark way). Rand seemed bewildered by it all, making him too goofy; humorous characters are fine, but he was too bumbling until some passages near the end of the book. Perrin was interesting from the beginning, and I thought his dealings with the wolves was one of the most interesting parts of the book. Thom Merrilin had me chuckling, and I was sorry to see him disappear (hopefully he's not dead). Lan was almost too distant for me, and I found him even more annoying than Mat (and much more boring).

The women are a mixed bag. I liked the way Moiraine used her powers and her stoic stance in the face of danger (at least that's what I got out of it). Nynaeve was too whiny and full of herself, and I have to agree with the one reviewer who wondered where the feelings for Lan came from: There weren't even any hints suggesting it! As for Egwene - what Rand sees in her is beyond me. She's petty, a tease, and stuck up, and I couldn't stand her. Maybe if there were more passages where we saw things from her p.o.v. I might have looked at her in a more positive light.

As to another reviewer saying that Egwene "lusted" after Perrin - I just don't see where this happens. She flirts with a young Traveler while Perrin is beginning to wonder about his wolfish abilities, but I don't remember reading anything about Egwene going after Perrin. Maybe that reviewer hadn't read this book in awhile.

So...all in all...a good read, and yes, I love detailed descriptions (although even I have to admit I skipped over some of it). Some of the characters were good, others were not, but overall, it's a decent story. I've already purchased the 2nd paperback, The Great Hunt.

I don't think this is something I'll read too often (unlike Tolkien), but it makes for an enjoyable read.

I decided that I would submit a review of The Eye of the World only, instead of spending the next 6 months or more trying to explain why I love this series. Simply put, it is the most amazing thing I have ever read. Yes, this first book is a little slow. I have always cautioned people to make yourself get through it, and by the time you are two thirds of the way through, you're hooked. The best thing about this series is that each book gets better by a factor of at least 10! The characters in this story have become my dear friends and my mortal enemies. I have read and re-read them all so many times I've lost count. Please believe me when I tell you that all of the seemingly useless information that Mr Jordan includes in the first volume is CRUCIAL to the storyline. Never think that just because a character goes out of the picture that they will stay gone. I have spent the last 7 years trying to figure out all the twists and turns that the author has thrown into the plot. If you love mysteries, read this book. If you love adventures, read this book. If you love romances, read this book. If you love storytelling at it's best, OWN this book. Trust me, you will re-live it over and over again.

The plot and characters are so detailed that every time I reread this series (and I must reread them all before starting the next new book), I find fresh nuances.

The basic storyline is a fairly common theme: young unwilling hero with no option but to leave home to save the world from total destruction while being pursued and persecuted by Evil Minions and sometimes by Trusted Friends, too.

What elevates this book, and the series as a whole, from being just another good read to being one of the very best reads is the intricacy and detail. There is an overall BIG PICTURE, several large plots, and many smaller ones. Characters separate (individually and in small groups) from the main hero and each other for varying lengths of time, all the while developing and growing in their own rights, then coming back together for stronger interaction and more realism.

What's the most fun part? The glossary! Worth reading in each book because the descriptions change as the characters and plot develop. You can occasionally get a little more information from it to supplement what's in the text.

Definitely looking forward to the next book, and to the eventual unraveling of some mysteries and curiosities.