Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon teaches kids no matter what people say or how people treat you you should always believe in yourself. Molly Lou Melon faces many fears that everyday children must face and she conquers them which helps kids have faith and confidence that everything in there life will work out even if they are going through a hard time.

This is a wonderful book for children. The illustrations are whimsical and keeps their attention. It teaches children that being different can be wonderful when you feel good about yourself. My daughter is 3 and we read this book about 3 times a week.

I bought this book for my own Molly Lou Melon complete with buck teeth. What an uplifting book teaching great self esteem. I could read it over and over. The illustrations make the story even cuter. I read it to my daughters kindergarten class and they LOVED it. Brings a smile to everyones face. This book is a treasure.

This book has such an unexpected gut-level impact on everyone who reads it! I have read it aloud to people of all ages and there is never a dry eye in the room! Each of the short letters begins with a date which will be meaningful to anyone who lived through the depression. Oddly enough, disasters and hard times seem to bring out the best in people and this book sets out to show just how that is true. Lydia Grace Finch is such a universally loveable little character - she is unforgettable! The text and the illustrations are so perfectly suited to each other - they seem to have been created by the same person -but they aren't! (Just a "marriage of true minds" I guess.)The book gets at the heart of what a family can give a child even without money - what it means to be poor and what it means to be rich.
This is a lovely gift book for children or adults and I hope it stays in print for a long, long time!

Lydia Grace is not only a gardener, but a writer of letters. This lovely book is a collection of her precious letters to beloved family members, and through them her story unfolds. David Small's simple but powerful illustrations bring Sarah Stewart's story of this brave little girl to life. What a great combination of author and illustrator. Be sure to read "The Library", as well.

The Gardener is now our favorite book. My three sons love to look at the wonderful illustrations. I love to garden and I have enjoyed teaching them. My children love to hear the letters Lydia writes to her family, which tell the story. In today's world, letter writing is becoming a thing of the past. Most of all, we love the ending - showing the love Lydia and her uncle developed for each other. It makes me cry every time I read it.

Of course all teenagers feel alone and misunderstood some or perhaps much of the time, but as a child prodigy myself I found several books that resonated especially strongly with the feelings of my childhood and adolescence. Slan of course, Macroscope, and several Heinlein books, but the one that came out on top was Emergence. It appeared in shorter form in Analog magazine (if memory serves); I was told about it by a friend and wound up reading it on microfilm. Later I snatched the book from the bookstore shelves, and somewhat after that read the sequel Threshold. It is an honest and compelling book written with an incredibly clear, lucid viewpoint. Although I realize that everyone has felt alienated at one point or another, it is also enormously powerful to those of us who have felt alienated by our gifts or talents in childhood.

Meet Candidia Maria Smith-Foster, the most compelling female protagonist in modern science fiction since Friday Jones and Podkayne Fries (both Heinlein characters). Candy's unique outlook on life shines through in her journal which chronicles the aftermath of a bionuclear war, a war which has eliminated 99.4 percent of the people on Earth. The remaining .6 percent -- well, let's just say that they have very unique abilities. Candy is one of these, and as she sets off from her hometown in search of other survivors, the meaning of the book's title becomes clear -- Emergence, the emergence of a new species, a new society, and a new world.

Full of engaging characters, compelling scenes and a love-to-hate antagonist, this book rates in my top ten list, any day of the week.

Only a 9?! I couldn't agree more with the other reader/reviewers. The form of the narrative is not for everyone. I LOVED it (it is so refreshing, creative and unique), but I have read favorite passages to family members and friends, and though they rolled on the floor laughing (take that literally of my high school aged son), most said they couldn't read the entire book in its shorthand style ("it would drive them nuts"). Palmer very cleverly turns the narrative over to one of Candy's companion's in one chapter, or uses other devices to break into normal speech for occasional chapters, but then returns to Candy's special way of recording her story. He keeps the reader aware of the uniqueness of the book in hand. I have recommended this book to several students (I'm a high school librarian), especially girls. Some just can't get into its unique style (Palmer has done something TOTALLY different here), but those who do, LOVE the story, love Candy, and love Palmer's approach to conveying the story. I have one girl who has re-read the book every year because she loves it so much. This is one my all-time favorite reads and I can't recommend it highly enough. Maybe if we push the publisher we can get it printed again. It's one that should never be out of print. Try to get it from your library or through inter-library loan, or go ahead and ask Amazon to try to find you a copy. If you can enjoy the style, you won't regret it.

This book is the best book I've read in a very long time. It's for all of us who lose sight of what's important in our lives. It's about how to live life without regret, without fear, with inner peace, which, as someone currently going through a divorce and recently unemployed, I have to say, that's really tough sometimes. And, yet, this book helps us all see the true beauty in our everday lives, no matter how small. It helps you see that things happen for a reason, even if that reason is very difficult to figure out at times. So, if you think your life is good, this book will help you see that it's actually great; if you think your life is terrible, you hopefully will come away thinking that it's not so bad after all.

This is one of the most important books that I've read in the last 30 years. I purchased 22 copies of this book, so far. I am giving this book to everyone that I love or for whom I care. I find myself reading it over and over again. Each time that I read it, it holds some different meaning for me. The authors offer up the wisdom of those who have entered the zone of "dying soon". Each author in their own unique way urges the reader to listen to this wisdom now, while there is, hopefully, many more years to apply it. I love the brutal honesty of Kubler-Ross, who has in her later years, suffered a debilitating stroke. She is in recovery now but still angry about it. However, because the stroke did not kill her, she realizes that there are still many lessons for her to learn in this life. This book is not morbid but rather, uplifting. The advice and descriptions can suit anyone at any stage of their life. If you are fighting certain "battles" in your life, as we all are, you may find comfort knowing that you may not in this life learn all the lessons that you need to. As the authors put it so well, even the most terrible people in our lives can become our teachers.Whether you are just beginning your life experiences or you have had many, this book gives you so much to consider.

Heard the taped version of LIFE LESSONS by Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross and David Kessler . . . the authors, experts
on death and dying, use this book to help answer the
question: Is this really how I want to live my life?

It got me to think about what was important to me
and, also, how to go about obtaining it . . . as is the
case with some books on tape, this is one that I wish
I had also read because there were so many
quotable parts that I would have wanted to go back
to . . . for example:
Being there and caring is everything in love, in life and
in dying.

Whether you're married or not, if you want more romance
in your life, fall more in love with the life you have.

In any relationship, one person makes pancakes, the other
one eats them.

Everybody falls. Hopefully, they get up. That is life.

You have made being a mother a wonderful experience.
It was worth living just to be with you.

Remember that play is more than a light hearted moment
here and there. It's actual time devoted to play. You have
to get away from work, get away from life's seriousness.
There are a million ways to introduce play back into your life.
Instead of checking the stock market first thing in the morning,
read the comics, see a silly movie, buy a fun outfit, wear a
colorful tie. If you like, where work is conservative, wear fun
underwear. Practice saying yes to invitations, be more
spontaneous, do something silly. Anything can be play,
but beware, any form of play can also be turned
into productivity.

I just finished reading the wonderful story South Pacific Journal by David and Nancy French. I recently started reading Christian fiction as I am so sick of the filth in secular reading. This story made me smile and cry and praise the lord all at the same time. It was beautifully written and the characters all seemed alive to me. If more of our young people would read these kinds of books maybe the world wouldnt be going to hell the way it is!!. I hope these fine new authors will publish another story soon. I will rush to the bookstore to get it!! May God Bless all who reads this wonderful book.

South Pacific Journal was definitely worth the day I spent reading it. This story is about a brother and sister, Jacob & Sarah Levine. They are separated by unusual circumstances, but Jacob finds out about Sarah through a phone call, a fax and a trip half way around the world where Jacob finds a priceless treasure. The tale is skillfully woven and drew me in on the first page and release came too soon at the final sentence - so sweet was the journey from cover to cover. Rarely would I expect to find such a seamless story line and so strong a purpose in any book, especially by new authors. Believability, passion and God's loving mercies were echoed throughout this gripping tale. As page after page of masterful storytelling unfolded, I cried, I hoped, lost hope and found it again. Finally, if you've ever wanted to introduce someone to your dearest Friend -- let this book help you. They'll be glad that you did... Bernie Siegel said in one of his books, "Tell a story. No one is offended at a story." Thanks Nancy & David French. Your story will find it's way into the hands of some of my loved ones this year so that the Story will never die....

I don't believe I've read a more compelling book! It was purchased from a bargain table as something to read while recovering from a foot injury. The therapy for my soul and mind was worth far far more than the few dollars I paid.
So many times I've been disappointed in the quality of "Christian Fiction." Not so with "SOUTH PACIFIC JOURNAL." The characters are believable and very interesting. Descriptive passages place the reader on location in the South Pacific. I've never read such compelling "flash-back" passages. Even though the narrative left many unanswered questions about the characters (What happened to the lieutenant? How did Sarah try to contact her family? When and how did she return to Manila?) I feel as if I really know the characters personally. I hope David & Nancy French write a sequel.
My gratitude goes to the authors for such excellent writing and to the publisher for printing this book.

Another edition to the SW cross section books, I have the last book, and this is just as good, We love it and we are yet to see the movie here in our remote town in New Zealand. The Star Wars phenomonom has long lasting and reaching effects. The book shows all the vechiles including the Queens Ship, the fighters, thetransports ect.

A nine out of ten and I am sure that if you see the movie it will go through the roof to maybe 15/10

Paul Jackson

The artwork and detail in this book is mind blowing. However, since few of the Episode 1 vehicles are as intriguing as the ships in the original trilogy, this book is slightly less interesting, in my view. That is not to say it isn't essential if you're into technical artwork or Star Wars as a whole. It's probably best to get them both, the older book and this new one. I have one question to DK, however: Where's the Star Trek cross sections book?

Just like the first Incredible Cross Sections, this book amazes with page after page of intricate cutaways of almost every ship in Episode 1. The foldout of the Droid Control Ship, much like the foldout of the Death Star in the origionl, is great. Definitely recommeded, even if your not a Star Wars fantaic

Now that we are a decade removed from the fall of the Soviet Empire, it is a wonderful to look back and read a fabulous primary source about the events. Remnick, the Moscow correspondant for The Washington Post, during the late 80's and early 90's (and since the editor of the New Yorker, which was a well deserved honor for a fabulous journalist, if I may say so myself) was right on the scene when the incredible collapse of Communism took place. He interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of people who had lived through the Soviet regime and who played some role, regarldless of how small and seemingly insignificant, in the transformation of the nation, and this research paid huge dividends. He combines all these personal stories into one great book that explains and analyzes why and how this happened. It is very well written, and while being comprehensive remains comprehensible. It is a wonderful book and anyone who is interested in Russia (or would like to become so), likes history in general, or enjoys good semi-academic writing this book is for you.

David Remnick in "Lenin's Tomb" writes a fascinating book on the demise of the Soviet Union. Remnick manages to convey the views of the liberals who want to democratize the country and the neo-Stalinist conservatives who want to turn the clock back to the repression of life under Stalin.

The author has little sympathy for Mikhail Gorbachev who once he launched "perestroika" could not make the final commitment to democracy and republicanism and remained trapped in the dying and corrupt Communist Party. Yet, Gorbachev's half-hearted attempts at reform nearly ended in a disasterous rigt-wing coup. Only, the incompetence of the plotters and will of the people not to turn back to a corrupt failed system prevented the USSR in falling back into despotism.

Because of "glasnost and perestroika" Remnick was able to obtain candid views from everyone he interviewed during his stay in the Soviet Union. Miners, dissident and even communist party apparatchiks spoke freely about the good and bad of Russia. Nearly, 50 years after his death, Stalin's shadow still hovered over everything and everyone in the nation. Liberals such as Andrei Sakharov wanted the government and the party to fully acknowledge the heinous attrocities of mass murder and imprisonments committed during Stalin's reign, Khrukhschev made a tentative start at 20th party congress in denouncing Stalin but failed to follow through with real reform. During the Brezhnev years the country lurched backwards thast by the time Gorbachev came to power the Soviet Union was totally morally, politically and economically bankrupt.

Remnick also does a fine job showing the first hesitant steps toward capitalism yet evenn today 10 years after the Soviet Union collapsed Russia still refuses to make the fundamental changes to bring a market economy fully to fruition. Under the Communists there was "equity in poverty" today in Russia you see the extremes of rich and poor. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the demise of the Soviet Union, but it needs an update to encompass the last decade.

It's hard to imagine there was any dissention from the Pulitzer committee over "Lenin's Tomb". This book excellently combines top-notch journalism and fine, precise, descriptive writing for an increbidly enjoyable and informative read. Considering how most such "good for you" books are long slogs about as exciting as bran, "Lenin's Tomb" was a surprising pleasure.

I came to this book with minimal knowledge of Russia in general, let alone the Soviet transition, and disliking what I had encountered of Russia's culture and people. "Lenin's Tomb" manages to explain the basics to ignorant laypeople like myself without condescending or dragging through too much history. What you need to understand what was happening, Remnick provides, no more and no less.

"Lenin's Tomb" proved an eye opener about the Soviet experience, but it also reflects on the larger ramifications of Communist autocracy. So many of the explorations of the Soviet erosion of society and culture gave me a sense of Deja Vu compared with China, only China has perhaps been less scathed by the shorter span of its bureaucratic red terror. Also, while "Lenin's Tomb" did not make me like Russia or Russians any more, it did present the context of how and why people can be a certain way, so that I now hold it against them less.

"Lenin's Tomb" is almost novelesque in its readability, a page-turner and easily beach or plane fare. I doff my hat to Remnick's ability to carve dense political stuff into an involving, compelling narrative. Perhaps Russia scholars would find points to criticize, but from a journalistic perspective, "Lenin's Tomb" is the book all of us wish we could write.

The human condition head on! Finally psychological help is finding it's way to people! After forty years, cognitive therapy, and specifically, Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, are proving to be the most effective means to solve depression problems beyond par. Three Minute Therapy clearly teaches how to do it. Many other cognitive books have broken through, Three Minute Therapy takes off of their foundation. Only three minutes? Michael Edelstein clearly reemphacizes that repeated work is required. But not to be daunted! He shows three minute excercises that can be done by anyone, provided they are a person seeking the truth, with willingness to consistently perform the excersices on a daily basis. And they only take three minutes. The severest depression is lifted, the severest anxiety relieved, the most violent anger assuaged. I have been so depressed that I could not get out of a chair. Congitive therapy changed all of that. Now my life is filled with problems that are predominantly practical, which I enjoy addressing. Three Minute Therapy makes it crystal clear how to do it. As the years go by these methods will become recognized as the most efficient, effective and humane to employ in all people's emotional problems. More power to Edelstein for leading those who suffer away from the doldrums of psycho-babble, into the realm of practical and joyful living. Get it. Do it. Your world will be a better place. Mick Berry

One of things that I like the most about this book is it's simple approach to dealing with complex issues...like anxiety. As the title suggests, this type of work can be practiced in very short increments...say three minutes or so, and can be implemented almost immediately. Which is a lot more time and cost effective than spending months or years in therapy. Obviously, I didn't resolve my anxiety issues in three minutes, but after implementing the practices recommended in this book on a regular basis over a couple of months I was able to change the way I let situations affect me and ultimately reduce unnecessary anxiety. This book is an easy read and offers effective tools for anyone to deal with stressful and anxiety producing situations that occur in the course of everyday life. It's the best self-help book I've ever read!

THREE MINUTE THERAPY is a wonderful book! It has enabled me to overcome my lifelong bouts of anxiety and depression. Two psychotherapists failed to help (although they were warm, caring people). I'm so much more confidant at work, that sometimes I feel like an entirely different person than I was before discovering this book. It's like I've emerged from the dark ages. I do the "Three Minute Exercises" regularly--a small price to pay for the deep satisfaction I'm experiencing as a result.

The concepts are explained so clearly, make much sense, and are so effective, that I wonder how my previous therapists can get away with what they're doing. THREE MINUTE THERAPY is one of those books that you're bursting to tell everyone about. It has the ring of a tract that will be useful and in demand eternally.

I am extremely familiar with Windows & NT but not Macs. Last November I decided to buy a G4--and was very dismayed to find that virtually the only documentation I got with it was a flimsy small booklet. When I called Apple, the response was "Well it's online." Yes, the online help is outstanding but it doesn't do you much good in the event that the system won't boot up! (Fortunately I have not had that problem so far.) So I broke down and went out and I bought several OS 9 books that have given me alot of good info and helped me out, then last night at the bookstore I ran into this little gem and snapped it up. I by no means have finished it but what I've read is great--very matter of fact and helpful. I sure wish this book had come out when I first bought my G4 because it sure would have helped me in my efforts to learn to "think different"! I saw in the back of the book that Pogue will also bring out the same type book for Mac's upcoming OS X--and I'll be one of the first in line to get it.

I consider myself a Mac power user, having worked with Macs for ten years, and taking the time to look under the hood. Over the years, I never bought a single book describing the Mac System or OS - I always found that (in the old days) the doc was sufficient, or that I could learn enough from magazines and on the net.

I bought this book more out of curiosity, and am extremely glad that I did. While I half-expected it to be a really basic presentation of the Mac OS 9, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is it an excellent book for newcomers, but David Pogue presents all the tricks and shortcuts that you would be hard pressed to find in the help files. I learned so many useful things from this book, that I don't even regret the fact that the OS 9 doesn't come with a manual - David Pogue wrote a far better book than any manual Apple could write.

Although I have since switched to Mac OS X (aka OS 10), I actually used this book first. It was an invaluable tool in easing my transition from Windows user to Macintosh user. I would recommend all Mac users switch to OS X as soon as possible since it's a much more stable and reliable version, but if you have an older Macintosh then OS 9 is a fine Operating System.

If you need help learning how to operate your Macintosh with OS 9 (OS = operating system - the graphic user interface that you see when you turn the Mac on) then you can do no better than this book.

If you're completely new to computers you'll find this book immensely helpful as it holds your hand in the first few chapters and explains how to use the GUI (graphic user interface), the mouse, the keyboard and so on.

If you're new to Macs it will also serve as a primer to get you up to speed very quickly on how to use the Macintosh and learn the Mac way of doing things.

If you're someone who knows how to use Macs this book will also help in the later chapters by showing you how to become a "Power User". It will help increase your productivity, teach you all the great short-cuts and keyboard combinations and so on.

All the books in the "Missing Manual" series are very easy to read, with detailed step by step instructions along with a fantastic index for simple cross-reference and nice pictures to further simplify the process of learning.

Be sure to check out "Mac OS X: The Missing Manual" if you're looking for the best and easiest to read book on Apple's fantastic new Operating System.

Unfortunately I'm limited to two thumbs because otherwise I'd be tempted to give this twenty thumbs way up!

The book presents a richly interwoven series of stories with complex, mind boggling intertwinings. The novel resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle with each piece bringing more insight into the one master jigsaw puzzle which is life itself.

The novel describes the life of the residents of a Paris apartment building. It is densely packed with very fine details about the people and places, making it a slow reading. Also, it behooves the reader to remember as much as possible of whatever he reads so that he can correlate the various pieces of the puzzle (i.e., the novel). Which is also a reason to read the novel again and again (probably once every year) to enjoy it thoroughly. It resembles Tolstoy's War and Peace in this regard.

In short, one can rarely expect to come across another novel like this. A must read for everyone who wants to try new things.

Wonderful! I have come across a book that I can read and re-read every year and which will always delight, inspire and astound me.

I won't bother with the plot or scope of the novel, the details in the main Amazon page sum them up very well. What I will say is that this is one of the few experimental novels that actually works and is a joy to read.

Hundreds of stories within stories, every other page delights you with another tale, any one of which could be expanded to make a whole novel in themselves. A complex book which can be frustrating at times but which is ultimately rewarding as it actually delivers on its promise. Perec inticately weaves together the lives of many people into this wonderful novel in an attempt to show live how it really is - complicated, full of coincidence, multi-layered, sad, tragic, beautiful and ultimately futile.

Sometimes you read a book and it makes you realise how much you are wasting your life. If Perec could write something as wonderful as this I should get of my arse and try something too!

Please read this book, it is astounding.

I'd like to add a little comment to those of the 11 reviewers. I do share the rating of 5-stars with them.

Georges Perec became a revelation for me for I thought I was about to read a thriller (in the sense of suspense). Certainly, suspense is but one of so many ingredients in Life..., but there is much more in this book;it is impossible for me to classify it. In fact it doesn't need classification.

Perec's chapters, devised as pieces of a gigantic puzzle, are chapters of life itself. He has created a gallery of the most memorable characters ever found in a novella (he shares this with León Tostoy). Who can forget Mme Altamont, or Mr Bartlebooth, or Valene, or the concierge? They are extracted from life and one can only believe that there is a Mme Altamont around the corner.

The parisian apartment building acquires life by the life of its inhabitants. Perec is a ironic, cultivated, encyclopedic, amusing, and a semiotician of writers. He is a masterly story-teller. Life, in his view, is that reality which is sad, hopeless, absurd, with no essence at all. He is deeply rooted in French existentialism.

This book made me understand many things, but mainly not to lose time in non-value added activities. Life is so short, says Perec. Time is a constant and a systematic in the book. Time, time, time. Actually it ends: IT IS THE TWENTY-THIRD OF JUNE NINETEEN SEVENTY-FIVE AND IT IS EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE EVENING.

And then, one learns that he died at 46. Life was ephemeral for him as he forsaw it in his novella. I have the feeling that he wrote as a possesed, said to the world what he had to say and said good-bye