Leave it to David Lander to show you the funny side of a chronic condition. I read this book mainly on the subway to and from work and the passengers probably thought I was mad laughing at a book were the title contained the word "Multiple Sclerosis". If they only knew how he presented MS in this book, they'd be laughing too.

This book was better than I expected. Most biographies I read about people with illness starts in adult hood and doesn't really build up their character. David started in way before he became "Squiggy". I liked this approach because it made him seem more 'common' as opposed to the non-attainable celebrity type.

At the point in time I was yet undiagnosed with any illness. It turned out I had another illness, although the one I do have may develop into MS one day. This book made me feel better about whatever I was about to face.

It was real, heartfelt and honest. David is inspiring and sharing his story in the way he did makes him even more loveable. Thanks David.

The book came in on a Friday, I started it at 11 at night, finished it at 3 in the morning. I couldn't put it down. Being diagnosed in November with Ms, I've been depressed, moody, not sure what to look forward to. Now I've seen someone else with the same progression of symptoms, and I realized, it won't be too bad. I just have to remember that I can laugh at it. Squiggy did. I hope he reads these reviews every now and then, 'cause he really changed my whole outlook on the disease. Thanks David.

Finally, a book that deals with MS that makes you laugh! I started reading this book recently during a bad MS flare-up. Although I thought I'd start feeling even worse for and about myself, David's candid humor was probably the best medicine I could've asked for!! Even though my husband's dealing with my MS (and the stresses of being a caregiver)and sees my daily struggles, he had some well-deserved and well-earned laughs from this book! Thanks, David - we MSers need some more comic like yours!!

This well written book gives the beginner investor the information needed to understand investing in stocks.

The book goes through setting your goals, assesing your risks and rewards. It teaches you about common and preferred stocks and the basics of buying and selling stocks.

There is a chapter on different investment strategies and then the book takes you into fundamental and technical analysis of a stock.

Finally the book touches on mutual funds, rights, warrants, and options.

All in all this is an excellent book and is one that any beginner investor will learn a lot from.

I had no idea that there where more than one stock exchanges before reading the book. Now I know how to hedge investments using options. The book covers every aspect of the stock market that the novice should know about. I read the book in 2 days because it was written in a format that I could comprehend. I can now amaze my friends with my knowledge of stocks.

This book is written well enough to be used in a college course on the stock market. I cant say its helped me make money in the market with all the problems that have come about recently. This book will teach you enough about the technical side of stock trading, but not about managing a portfolio of stocks and mutual funds.

This is a wonderful, often amazingly well written book. Laura Winslow moves through many colorful worlds that I knew nothing about. The plot doesn't just plod relentlessly from A to B (like Hollywood action movies), but has many subplots and very different and unusual characters. I thought I'd read enough books about serial killers, but David Cole writes about missing girls from traditional Hopi villages, and the usual mystery novel concepts of "police" and "crime" just don't result here in perfect solutions. Also, Laura's computer-hacking and bounty-hunting experiences are vivid. I didn't know how much personal information was available on the Internet, and how easily a hacker could get to and use that information. I've never been to a rodeo, but Cole makes bullriding so terrifyingly alive that I got excited at the thought of visiting a rodeo. My husband and I ride Harleys and follow Nascar racing, so rodeo excitement sounds like a natural for us. The best part of the book is Cole's exploration of what it's like to be part Indian and wanting to stay on the reservation after leaving for big-city life. I've always enjoyed Tony Hillerman's Walk in Beauty style, but Cole adds a gritty dimension to the poverty of reservation life. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

David Cole breaks with the mold in this fascinating first mystery. It includes a dark, unromantic, and completely unexpected view of the contemporary American Southwest. Where else could you find a central character who is a half-Hopi, Ritalin abusing, computer hacker, living on the run while battling the demons behind her own anxiety disorder. Laura inhabits social, psychological, and geographic borderlands, where the reader learns to appreciate and ponder the ambiguities of Native/non-Native identity, the ties and terrors of personal commitments, and the seedy backstreet life of the US/Mexican border region. The author manages to evoke complex worlds of sense and character with an economy of verbiage, and had me puzzling over the mystery and its personalities at odd moments during the day until I had finished it. Butterfly Lost is also an unusual mystery in that the pieces never all fit back together -- the bodies are not necessarily found and accounted for, there is unfinished business -- this feels disturbingly like reality, rather than a typical work of fiction. I am looking forward to his next book, while bracing for another wild ride.

David Cole's Butterfly Lost is an interesting, very well-written, novel about how the main character, Laura Winslow, navigates the vagaries of where life on and off the 'Rez' meet. A half-Hopi cyber hacker, Winslow uses a combination of modern computer skills and knowledge of ancient traditions to track the disappearance of a Hopi teenage girl. David Cole's use of rich and authentic detail weaves an intricate web of deception and intrigue that is enhanced with each succeeding chapter. Butterfly Lost captures and holds the attention of the reader through the last page. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery of any stripe. It is an especially good find for those who like novels about the southwest and Native American culture. I look forward to reading David Cole's next book, The Killing Maze.

A book on the cooking of Rome was long overdue. Hooray for David Downie and his meticulous research into the myriad secrets of Rome's great culinary traditions! I was enchanted to find a recipe for Vignarola, that incomparable Roman spring vegetable stew, and to discover delicious new pasta dishes such as a mouth-watering concoction of spaghetti with fresh favas, lettuce hearts and pancetta. Not to mention the sublime sweet peppers stuffed with mozzarella and anchovies and the delectable fried artichokes - Roman-style. David Downie vividly brings alive the day-to-day, season-to-season, rich kaleidoscope of the eternal city's trattorias, open-air markets, butchers, bakers and grocers galore.This beautiful book is richly illustrated by Alison Harris's marvellous photographs which admirably capture the essence of Rome and the Romans. Bravo Downie and Harris for an indispensable addition to any food lover or serious cook's library. Cooking the Roman Way certainly tops my Christmas gift list!

The recipes are great. I especially loved the carbonara and the spicy Amatriciana tomato sauce. Finally I have a cookbook with my favorite recipes! I own many Italian cookbooks but I wasn't aware that some of the classics I love are from Rome. A friend gave this book to me as a gift. It's a beautiful book with lavish color photos. I like it so much I'm going to give it to everyone on my Christmas list.

A friend sent me a review of Cooking the Roman Way. The reviewer made it sound too good to be true, so I ordered a copy to find out. Even for a passionate but untrained foodie like me, I've got to say that this is a great piece of work -- it's funny and articulate -- a literate cookbook that reads like a cross between fine travel writing and memoir. I have also found a bunch of classic Roman recipes that anyone can do -- bruschetta, spaghetti with garlic and hot pepper, Carbonara, Amatriciana, crostini with anchovies (my girlfriend loved that one in particular). I have been to Rome a couple of times and everything in the book rang true -- the atmosphere, the cooking style, the sites, the sensuality. Now I'm recommending the book to everyone I know, both for their own use and as gifts. What a find. Kudos (or however you say it in Italian) to the the author and photographer!

I've read a good number of books about homeschooling and was surprised and delighted to find this book discusses some topics I've not seen covered in other books. The jacket and chapter titles are not very clear about the content of the book so I will give an overview of what the book contains.

The introduction is one of the best pieces in the book! Guterson's theories on why American's hold public education so near and dear to their hearts, despite knowing the fallbacks and shortcomings. To ponder the notion of not sending our children to school is seen by many as un-American. Guterson feels we are unable to objectively examine schools for what they are because we are blinded by our memories.

Chapter one discusses standardized tests and in the end he states they are "unsound measurements of learning". School tests, quizzes, essays and assignments don't measure learning so much as they measure the child's "approximate degree of adjustment to life at school". Despite the many differences in homeschooling reason and method, the one central theme is the parent delivering an education that is custom designed to the child. Guterson states, "Teaching method and content in abstract are not relevant to academic success". This is refreshing because even amongst homeschoolers we usually encounter opinions of one teaching method or curriculum being superior to another.

Chapter two is a debate the author has with a father who does not support homeschooling and is a devout public school supporter. Debates about public schools as democracies, and the notion that homeschoolers should stay in schools and work to reform them and other topics are covered.

Chapter three discusses socialization and what it is that non-homeschoolers worry about regarding homeschooled children and socialization. Counter arguments are made for common misconceptions and the value that homeschooled children get from forming relationships with people of all ages throughout the community. An interesting idea that schooled students are so far disconnected from their own parents and their parents work lives that some students seek a close relationship with a teacher, to form a relationship with an adult mentor since their own parents are away from them the majority of their lives. Guterson feels that the social lives of schooled children is both dangerous and unhealthy, and that homeschooled children do have peer pressure but are less peer obsessed.

Chapter four is a dialogue between the teacher and his students about homeschooling and why he homeschools. To answer the question about "is homeschooling legal and should it be" the author brings his father, an attorney, in to the class for a lecture on the topic. Of note is that his father is opposed to homeschooling but supports the freedom Americans have and should continue to have to homeschool their children if that is their desire.

Chapter five is a history of childhood and formal education, a good broad overview, albeit dry.

Chapter six delves into the educational philosophies of Plato, Rousseau, Dewey, and the child-centered learning enthusiasts: Steiner, Montessori, Neill, Pestaluzzi and Froebel (although all still advocate mass institutionalized schooling as the delivery method). Then Illich and Holt are reviewed as the philosophers who advocate that learning can take place outside of a school building. This chapter gives a good overview and if the reader wants to learn more, he can research these educational philosophers.

Chapter seven is a dialogue with an acquaintance that opposes homeschooling. This chapter focuses on the notion that in our modern day America, to maintain our lifestyle requires dual income families and therefore schools must be used as babysitters. There is no discussion here about successful homeschoolers of single income families or single parent families. Interesting dialogue about the role the Federal Government and private businesses affect parents' abilities to be available to care for and homeschool their children. The author feels the real educational problems are rooted in the breakdown of families but doesn't spend too much time on this subject (despite the title of the book).

Chapter eight discusses childhood and education and learning before formal schooling. Traditional peoples are discussed and looked to for information about how children learn what they need to know to live, learning various skills and values from different people in the community (rather than inside of a schoolhouse). Guterson states that in creating schools we've removed learning from life and believe that learning can only take place inside of a school building.

Chapter nine covers learning theory and the notation that educational psychology and learning theory were developed after schooling was created 150 years ago. Despite knowing this information, schools have not changed their ways, which is a scary thought. Discusses Skinner, Piaget, and Bruner as having important ideas about how education should be changed.

Chapter ten discusses educational reform. Guterson feels that educational reform should be through strengthening families. Ideas for ways to public schools and homeschoolers to work together as a team are explored.

Chapter eleven is a discourse about what it is like for a homeschooling parent to be grilled by non-homeschoolers about the why's and wherefores of homeschooling. A rant about people assuming the father doesn't play a part in the education of the children is in this chapter along with a discussion of the men's movement. Guterson reminds us that parents have always been teachers and that it is only recently that teaching has become a salaried profession. Discussions about parents that can't wait for summer vacation to end so they can be rid of spending time with their children and about sports as the only link between disconnected fathers and schooled children is reviewed.

These are the meaty topics that are discussed in detail in this book. As I stated earlier, it is not a dry volume, it is quick to get to the point and studies and examples are given when appropriate. This is a great read if you are interested in the philosophy of homeschooling and schooling rather than "how to homeschool".

After reading many, many homeschooling books, I can honestly say this is the one that is well marked, underlined and has it's own place on the shelf. David Guterson is a masterful writer who describes both sides of the education coin - public verse home education. His chapter on socialization is thoughtful and interesting. I appreciate his non-emotional writing style that is educated and well balanced. If I had read this book before my eldest entered kindergarten, we would have started homeschooling years ago. The Family DOES Matter - and that is why education at home makes sense. I wish more politicians would read this book and stop giving lip service to the family - and help Americans educate their children with more ease - be it in public schools, homeschools or a mixture of both. Well written!!

Forget HOW to homeschool -- what really matters is this beautifully articulated argument for WHY to homeschool. Institutional school is inflicted on generations of Americans in large part because we assume it's necessary to our cultural identity. Guterson makes a cogent, complete, and compelling case that children learn best when their own families take charge, and that the cold war between public schools and everyone else must finally yield to a more integrated, cooperative focus on each child's learning (wherever it may take place). Like Guterson, I am both a homeschooling parent and a public school professional -- this is the book I would have written someday if he hadn't already said it all so well. END

Enough delightful silliness to give both kids and grownups the giggles! Many of the references - Calvin Klein, Richard Nixon, Kramden and Norton - will only make sense to the grownups. Still, the rhythm of the text, the intricate and colorful illustrations, and the comforting message of even the naughty youngsters receiving Christmas presents make this a new holiday book that kids and their parents will want to read many times.

"How Murray Saved Christmas" is a truly hilarious kids' book (that adults will love, too.) We actually cracked up while we were reading it to our kids! The story is really entertaining and full of great jokes! That's not surprising, since the guy who wrote it used to write for The Simpsons. But the story of Murray is also very sweet and heartwarming - it's a great modern Christmas tale. We got a copy for our kids and will probably buy a bunch more to give as gifts.

This book is funny. And you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it. But, alas, ultimately my 5 year old daughter loves this book. So much so, as cute as it is, it's starting to get annoying "Daddy, can you read 'How Murry Saved Christmas' again?". I swear I get that like 10 times a day now. Ugh. But, if I was to read a book over and over again, it would be this one. Also, my 13 year old daughter recommends the book "The Little Guide To Happiness". She says it's the best book for teens ever. I read it and it's a sweet little book. You can't go wrong with these.

How can David Darling's wonderful new book "Life Everywhere" appeal to both beginners who know nothing about astrobiology and seasoned veterans who have already read many books about extraterrestrial life? The key is a massive amount of fresh, up-to-date material coupled with superb organization, an exceptionally clear writing style, and the lavish use of anecdotes and examples that make otherwise difficult material fun and understandable. Get a headache thinking about planets or moons in orbit? Visualize a spinning dinner plate with a helping of mashed potatoes in the center and a used stick of chewing gum at the rim! Among other things, David explains how rather than narrowing the search for the origin of life astrobiologists keep finding interesting new ways that life may begin. He describes the formidable survival skills of such lifeforms as "Conan the Bacterium," and he explains emerging technology that will allow us to identify Earth-like planets in other solar systems and then monitor chemical processes would be highly suggestive of life. I particularly enjoyed his sure-to-be controversial analysis of the "Rare Earth" Hypothesis", and his chance discovery of how pre-Copernican thinking may influence science today. Finding Jupiter-sized planets and mashing-up Martian meteorites are important and worthwhile scientific activites, but if you think that astrobiology is little more than this, read David Darling's "Life Everywhere" and think again!

Astrobiology is one of the most exciting and fast-developing sciences in our time, and David Darling's Life Everywhere is a must-read, bang-up-to-date introduction to it. There's real meat in the treatment: this is no lightweight, gee-whiz overview. In fact, compared with other works on the subject, this is very much a "second generation" astrobiology book. It goes beyond pure speculation about whether there's life out there and the weirder forms it may take, to looking more scientifically at what a truly universal biology might be like. Darling explains, for example, that there are good reasons to suspect cells may be a general feature of life and that multicellularity and even intelligence may be convergent properties. He goes into depth about the Martian "fossils" and ocean-on-Europa controversies, and provides one of the clearest treatments of habitable zones to appear in print. Darling paints an optimistic future for this young science. However, the book isn't about *his* theories or opinions but those of the astrobiological community at large. The "Oh please" reader obviously didn't have the benefit of the book when he wrote his review. One of the points Darling makes is that the "goal posts" may have to move as we start to collect biological data beyond the Earth. That's what science is all about: making adjustments and refining our ideas - or throwing them out altogether if necessary - as new information becomes available. The alternative is to be stuck with some dogmatic viewpoint that closes your mind to the possibility of other living worlds.

Astrobiology is THE science of the future... and the science of the past... and encompasses the study of genetics, microbiology, astronomy, evolution... and of course... the search for extra-terrestrial life. There is a diverse community of astrobiologists, experts one and all, each of whom brings their own unique perspectives and expertise to this most exciting, pioneering field of study. Certainly, like every community, there are heated discussions and heated disagreements, jealousies and incriminations, and contrary points of view--all of which add to the excitement that is Astrobiology. These are heady times for the field of Astrobiology, witnessed by the recent publication of a new journal, Astrobiology, and the recent and almost simultaneous publication of 3 unique Astrobiology texts, each of which is causing a stir and controvery in their own right --which can only mean that each would be worthwhile to read. Darling's text is well researched, up to date, and unique in its own right, and provides an excellent introductory overview that would be of interest and value to anyone interested in discovering more about this exciting field and the search for extra-terrestrial life. -Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D., author of Astrobiology, the Origin of Life, and the Death of Darwinism

This is an extremely fascinating and well-written book. It tells the story of not just the horrible massacre of Jews and other "undesireables" by the Nazis in WWII occupied Kyiv, but also of life in Kyiv under Nazi occupation. Equally fascinating is the account of Babyn Yar (its Ukrainian name) long AFTER the Germans had been pushed out. It is the personal, first-hand account of the author who is a 12-year old boy at the time of the German entrance into Kyiv. One correction to a previous review here - according to the editions I have seen of this book, the author is not Jewish, but half-Ukrainian and half-Russian. This is of minor importance other than for those who might be inclined to reject this book as "Jewish Propoganda". It is a very honest work, portraying everyone involved as all-too-human; sharing all characteristics from the noble to the obscence.

I have been looking for a copy of "Babi Yar" by Anatoly Kuznetsov for several years. I'm not sure this is the same book, but the fact that both books describe the occupation of Kiev during World War II from the eyes of a 12-year-old, including the horrible massacre of Jews and Ukrainians at Babi Yar, lead me to believe that this might be a rewrite of my copy of "Babi Yar" I have been unable to find in circulation. In my copy, printed by Dell in 1966, the protagonist is not Jewish, but Ukrainian-Russian, although many of his friends at the time were Jewish as were many of the survivors the author interviewed after the war whose stories were included in the documentary. Having lived in Kiev for five years in the early 90s, Babi Yar is not only a book of the atrocities that took place in Ukraine during the war, but a glimpse at the survival skills by ordinary Kievites during the occupation. In this way, it chronicles the plight of all citizens of Nazi occupation, not just those of the Jewish residents of this wonderful city. It also describes the way in which the Nazis rounded up young Ukrainians for shipment to farms and factories in Germany, which is the prelude to the stories of thousands of Ukrainians, many of whom returned home after the war and became Soviet citizens I met in Kiev fifty years later. But many of these young Ukrainains who found themselves in the West upon the German defeat immigrated all over the world, comprising the Ukrainian diaspora, who also returned to Kiev after independence to help build this new nation. If anyone knows whether these are the same stories or if the original has been rewritten and expanded, please post this information at this site. In any event, it is unfortunate that both copies of this book are out-of-print because the story of the citizens of Kiev and the atrocities of Babi Yar need to be told.

This is an important book which I hope will be put back in print soon. The story of the Ukrainian occupation during WWII, as well as Babi Yar death camp are fascinating, if also horrifying. The book covers a theatre of the war that is seldom covered in such detail.

The honesty is the most interesting part. The author, a 12-year-old boy at the time, (and NOT Jewish), had no reason to fabricate, and with an innocence that makes it clear he isn't trying to propogandize, just reports the horrors he sees. The book also includes some later gathered (when the author was grown up) interviews with survivors of Babi Yar death camp which are even more harrowing.

The most fascinating part of the copy that I have is that it BOLDs the portions of the book that were edited out by the Russian censors, before the book was published in the Soviet Union. It is interesting to notice what the censors chose to cut out, as much as what they chose to leave in!

Well worth finding in a used book store, if you can.

When one of my Shimer students saw Mr. Erdman's alternate arrangement of "Auguries of Innocence" he threw his book at a bush. Some of my students think that "Auguries" is one of Blake's greatest poems and I agree with them. Its structure is a key to Blake's vast mythic system. Without that key there's little hope of passing through Jerusalem's wall to the places where heaven and earth coalesce in a cosmic orgasm of intellectual joy.

Mr. Erdman is a marvelous scholar, dedicated to Blake. Mr. Bloom is as inspiring as he is informative. But for Blake in its most pure form I prefer Sir Geoffrey Keynes' edition. He was not a professional scholar, but a learned amatuer in the finest sense of the word. When he wasn't busy with his medical practice he was lovingly creating the best complete edition of Blake's poetry and prose...

There's not much more I can say after reading the reviews below, except to agree that this is _the_ book to own if you're wanting to add William Blake to your library.

This is a large book, clocking in at around nine hundred pages. Within you'll find all the great poetry that makes Blake, well, Blake. The "Songs of Innocence and Experience" are truly wonderful, as is "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell".

Lots to read here beyond than the known works, including miscellaneous poems, songs and verses and sataric verses and epigrams, even letters that Blake himself wrote.

The book is neatly organized and easy to navigate, making the section you're looking for a snap to find. At the back of the book are sections with textual notes (a small "t" is marked throughout Blake's works), and commentary (a small "c"), also marked. Invaluable resources to help understand and navigate the complexity of Blake's poems and prose. An index of titles and first lines is also included in the back.

All in all a wonderful collection for any Blake fan to own and for the curious to lose themselves in the majesty that is William Blake.

This book is marvelous! With every poem and prose work done by Blake, including letters, commentary, and textual notes, this is ~the~ book for all Blake fans. This book even shows the stages of Blake's writing in the textual notes, such as the various versions of his poems. Highly recommended!

Erik Estrada's book is the best Hollywood bio I have ever read. He holds nothing back and is very honest about rough times and regrets in his life (i.e. failed marriages, his shaky relationship with Larry Wilcox). He seems like such a terrific person and great friend, too. God bless him, Nanette, and his two boys.

Also, wasn't Mr. Estrada so much fun to watch in "CHiPS '99:? :)

I bought this book because I consider myself a big fan of "TV Trash." I loved CHiPs because it was goofy, overblown, and representative of lame 70's TV. I must say that I was stunned by the quality of this book. From the first page, this biography is interesting, insightfull, and honest. Erik is very up-front about his home and family life, and his career ups and downs. He acknowledges his mistakes with an honesty and openness that is truly refreshing. It was also obvious from the beginning of the book that Erik Estrada is a very intelligent man, not at all the disco boy we saw weekly on the small screen.

I came away with the impression that Erik Estrada is not so much the kind of guy I would enjoy poking fun at, but rather a good and decent man that I would be proud to call a friend. I wish him and his family the best. I also highly recommend this book.

This book is extremely good. If you are a fan of 70's TV and CHIPS, you will want to read this deeply honest portrayal of the trials and tribulations of Erik Estrada. With so much working against him, he was (and still is) perhaps one of the most principled, sincere and honest actors in Hollywood today. With this book, he is a role model to many and I wish we would hear and see more of him today. Wherever he is, my family and I wish him the best. Erik, thanks for many years of entertainment and a really good book full of values, morals and lessons.