Washington's New Poor Law: Welfare "Reform" And The Roads Not Taken, 1935 To The Present is a comprehensive study of the consequences of the "welfare reform" legislation of 1996, which repealed entitlement to welfare, yet was not especially successful in creating an entitlement to work. The new poor law still has major problems with perpetuating poverty. The history of this pivotal 1996 legislation is meticulously traced, as are its modern-day consequences, and a final chapter regards the nature of what real welfare reform should be. A powerful and fascinating work, Washington's New Poor Law is strongly highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in or responsibility for combating poverty in America.

This book is odd, but very lovely. It is quite in the stream-of-consciousness vein, very modernist. I am not sure how much sense it would actually make to a child, but I found it to be particularly good.

This old book has funny jokes about school, tramps, history, toungh twisters, limericks,cars,and more. Here's a school joke on this book.

Father: well son how's your grades?
Son: ther'e underwater
Father: what do you mean underwater?
Son:Below C level!
Your own joke book is the best?

Yours Brett was the book I picked for my book report in 5Th grade everyone thought the book was very sad but when they all asked if it was a true story. I told them it wasn't they were really suprised.Thanks for writing the book Gertrude samuels.

This is the story of four orphaned siblings who are on their own, wandering from town to town. They find an abandoned boxcar in the woods, and set up housekeeping in it. They live quite happily on berries, water, and a little meat bought with the oldest boy's gardening pay. Life is good until one of the girls gets very sick and they must tell an adult about how they live.

If your child would like a very easy-to-read chapter book that moves verrrrry slowly to a happy ending, this is it. However, modern kids may not be able to relate to the Boxcar Childrens' delight in scavenging at a dump or sharing a loaf of dry bread. It was written in 1942 and so has no modern references. The children never mention their parents, never complain about being on their own or penniless. They are always blissfully happy with whatever life brings them. The boxcar children aren't cool, but they are relentlessly cheerful!! I found this book tedious and way too long to be interesting.

I think I must have been in about the third grade when I read this book for the first time. I will always remember how I felt so connected to these children as I am the last of seven children myself and we did not have very much money and my mom and dad were older and at any time something could have happened to them and my older brothers and sisters would had to take care of me. I loved this book so much that when my son who is now 23 was in grade school I had him check it our and we read it together and I once again cried like a baby! I plan to buy this book for my two year old granddaughter and I will read it to her and tell her how very much I love this book. I would hope that every child out there will take the time to read this wonderful story. I'm also very excited to learn that there is a series of books as I was not aware of that. You guessed it, I'll be getting the series for my granddaughter as well!

Wow! I think The Boxcar Children is the best book I ever read. It was about four chldren that run away from their grandfather. They think that their grandfather is mean. Henry the oldest works for a doctor in town. Jessie the third loves to cook. Violet the second oldest loves to sew. Benny the youngest loves to make stuff.They tell about the characters and why they are homeless. I'm in love with Jessie's foods. I like when they create their own things. I recommend this book to fourth and fifth graders. I would love to read the next book. I give this book 5 stars.

The Boxcar Children #2 Suprise Island is a great book for kids and others 15 and under. My favorite part was when the kids found Indian Point and all the artifacts hidden there. After they found all the artifacts they made there own museum. My other favorite part was when the dogs raced each other. When they had to leave they weren't very disspointed because they knew that they were going to come back.The author is such a realistic writer that when you read this book you think that you are there with them.

I still enjoy these books even though the real thrill of reading them only happens when you're still a child. I remember not liking this one much the first time through, actually, but then a year later or so re-reading it and liking it.

Basically it's a summer of re-living the survival skills of the first book, except they are in a barn on their grandfather's island. A captain and his so-called handyman live close by to help if anything should happen. But the handyman seems to know a lot, and the children find it hard to believe that he's only a handyman.

This book also marks the first appearance of Benny's friend Mike, who plays a pretty important role in some of the books to come. It also hints at the yellow house, which was what spurred the story of the third book (the first real mystery in the series).

Definitely should be read as part of the real Boxcar Children experience - not the foundationless fluff written by various authors of today.

If you like adventure this is the book for you! This book takes you on a quest to a new land. The Box Car Children always find a way to kepp that book in your hand!!I reccomend this to anybody who like discoveies

I liked the book. I liked when Benny fond the treasure. I also liked when Mr. walker tried to pay them a iot of money.

It's about four children Henry, Benny, Violet, Jessie, who was in the breach and try to find something. Benny, who was the youngest one find a map. And it was belong to John Finney. Many people think if they got all four map and they find that place, they will be rich. Then there were a man, who got three already ask Benny to sell it to him. Benny said no, but the man keep try to do something to get that map. What will happen to Benny?
To find out what will happen to Benny, read it!

We liked the book and thought the bad guy was mean! It was a fun book to read.

I'm a devout Christian, and when I first heard on a Christian talk radio show that I listen to that Amazon.com was peddling child pornography, it raised my ire. I went home, and, as instructed by the radio talk show host, began to write an angry threatening letter to Amazon.com. My teenage daughter who I love and cherish in spite of our admit generational gap issues, asked me why I was writing a critical letter about a title I had never read. Well -- sometimes us older folks need to listen to our children. I put the letter on hold, and agreed to take a look at the book. While I didn't go out of my way to find it, I happened upon it at a bookstore the following day. And I have to admit -- this is NOT pornography at all. The poses of these beautiful young women is not at all provocative or seductive or arousing. This is art that shows the beautiful body that the Lord created. I don't understand the criticism, and am truly sorry that I nearly sent off an ignorant letter. If you're considering criticizing this book, I suggest that you READ it first! Though you may not like it, you may very well decide that this is NOT as bad as some of those organizing letter-writing campaigns are saying.

Hamilton wonderfully captures the beauty of the young nude female. Make no mistake, these pictures are erotic and very compelling. Hamilton has a knack for capturing the essence of young teenage and pre-teen girls precisely at their "Age of Innocence." The photos are very alluring and sensuous. The book does have drawbacks, however. The text is, for the most part, pure drivel (but let's face it, no one buys a Hamilton book to read the words!). Also, I feel Hamilton should have included a few more full-nudes. But other than that, this is an excellent book and one well worth picking up. I can hardly wait for the next Hamilton book!

I ordered this book because I love art that depicts young girls. I have two daughters, and I consider them to be the most perfect works of art that ever existed. It is my life's goal to try and capture their perfection with a camera. I look for every new look, gesture, attitude as they grow and develop. I have read much about Hamilton's work. Some of what has been written has been viscously against it, and some vehemently for it. It seems that no one who ever bothered to write a review was able to look at it dispassionately. That is why I bought the book. Hamilton has apparently done what I want to do, in that he has produced images that fire the viewer's passions.

In this book I found many, many fine images of young girls depicted exactly as I see them. The vast majority of them are posed so we can admire some aspect of their physical person, such as the curve of a jaw, the bud of a developing breast, or the sinewy young muscles beneath the skin of a thigh. At the same time, these pictures seem to expose some aspect of the model's spiritual self. I can't explain that further, except to say that I see something beyond the girl's body. I don't know how Hamilton did that, but to me, these are excellent works of art. The highest complement I can think of to give is that I would be proud to see my own daughters depicted as most of the girls in the book are.

On the other hand, some of the photos show these young girls posing to purposely display their sexuality. This is exciting in a picture of a full-grown woman, but disturbing in this book. It is difficult for me to look at some of these girls, posed so provocatively, and not feel a sexual longing. As the father of two young girls, this bothers me a lot. If Hamilton took these pictures specifically to be disturb the viewer, then he succeeded.

I also own "Radiant Identities" by Jock Sturges. Sturges also uses young female models as subjects. However, at no time does he ever pose his models in a sexually suggestive manner. With! out exception I would be proud to see my own children pose for him, as I know that they would be treated with respect and dignity. Which is not to say that Hamilton's models weren't. It's just that I was very disturbed by some of what I saw.

In conclusion, this is a great book for those who appreciate the female form as an objet d'art. Hamilton's sense of form and composition is as good as I have ever seen. But the few pictures in this book that don't fit my idea of high art make it difficult to recommend it to a general audience. The viewer would have to be very mature and in control of his or her own primal urges. I always thought that I was a very mature aficionado of art, and yet began to doubt myself when I was moved as I was by a few of this images.

Artists often purposely challenge us to move beyond complacency. Hamilton has produced a work with images that are both beautiful and disturbing, and as such, I believe he achieved his objective.

This elegant and beautiful story is one of Hermann Hesse's very early novellas and is told in a simple, first-person narrator style.

It is the story of a man possessed by two passions: music and love. In the uncomplicated and lovely language that marks all of his works, Hesse describes with wonderful accuracy the heights and depths of romantic love and the bonds of true friendship. He falls a little short, in this book, at giving us a truly emotional look at the protagonist's passion for his music. It is in this area that the character of Kuhn, as well as that of Muoth, rings just a little false.

The pivotal character of Gertrude is beautifully drawn, but she is introduced far too late in the story for the reader to develop any sort of emotional bond with either her or her dilemma, a mistake Hesse did not repeat in his later works.

Readers who are familiar with the works of Hesse will recognize the early development of his themes of isolation and uniqueness in Gertrude in the character of Kuhn.

Like all of Hesse's works, this book is understated and restrained, yet full of emotion. The prose often feels as though there are undercurrents just about to break through the surface. Hesse, though, writes with his usual restraint and, although the book is one of obsession and tragedy, the author completely resists the temptation to let the story desolve into melodrama.

Gertrude is not Hesse's very best work, but it is certainly a lovely one and one that anyone interested in Hermann Hesse cannot afford to miss.

After reading, "Demian," "Narcissus and Goldmund", "Siddharta," and "Beneath The Wheel," it was a pleasant surprise to read something "light" from Hermann Hesse. Don't get me wrong. Even with the simple plot and autobigraphical narration of Kuhn, Hesse's philosophies pervade, especially on love, wisdom and growing old.

"Gertrude" is a story about desires. Kuhn's desires to have his leg back, to live without loneliness, even a desire to change fate itself. All of these desires become centered in Gertrude Imothor whom he befriends and falls in love with as Kuhn was slowly rising in prominence as a composer. While Kuhn works on his opera, his friends, Muoth and Gertrude, fall in love. Finding about the affair, Kuhn becomes devastated but was soon distracted by a telegram sent about his ailing father. His father's death brings Kuhn back to the advice that he gave him the past summer. With renewed vigor, he accepts his fate and even composes a prelude for Muoth and Gertrude's wedding. Kuhn's opera becomes a success while Muoth and Gertrude's marriage crumbles. Gertrude, Muoth and Kuhn's desires interweave and create the tragic results to which all of them learn from.

In the end, Kuhn learns from his experiences and even comes to accept his fate, as he relates in this passage:
"Fate was not kind, life was capricious and terrible, and there was no good or reason with nature. But there is good and reason in us, in human beings, with whom fortune plays, and we can be stronger than nature and fate, if only for a few hours. And we can draw close to one another in times of need, understand and love one another and live to comfort each other."

It is all too easy to come away from Gertrude, Hesse's earliest fictional memoir, unchanged. Although all will undoubtedly be touched on some level by at least a few of the poignant, youthful anecdotes with which the novel abounds, one should nevertheless resist the temptation to write it off as another "touching story of humanity."* Beneath the heavy sentimentality and beyond the short-winded elations of men, at the heart of the novel, is the idea that pleasure and pain arise from the same source and are aspects of the same force. With this view, the story of a crippled composer, Kuhn, and his unrequited love for Gertrude takes on an expository tone, delving at points into the very nature of pleasure and pain themselves. With that in mind, enjoy the novel and the experience and take full advantage of the multitude of opportunities Hesse affords you to contemplate the nature of these basic, human concepts.

* I quote reviewer "Savygal007" (who apparently maintains the interpretation I caution against)

This book is the perfect way to spice up your German vocabulary with slang, curse words, insults, ect. Everything is in this book from talking about body parts (you know which body parts), to how to call someone a dirty old man. This book is divided into many sections such as sex, general profanity, ect. If you're interested in learning some new words that they'll probably never teach you in a class this book is for you. The only problem with this book is that some things are missing due to regional differences in the language. Some slang that I've heard for some foreign exchange students I met couldn't be found in this book. Still this book is funny, and you will definently learn some new words.

I first read this book several years ago, prior to a trip to Northern Bavaria. It was a great and easy read, and gave me enough to sound much more native in my skills.

But I have also learned that swearing or cursing is not so tolerated in German culture, especially in front of kids, so be careful with what you learn here.

It is a great assist for those times you are sitting in a beer hall and need to fit in a little better.

Yes, there are dialetical differences, but I have found that people in Germany really enjoy it when Americans make a concerted effort to speak the language. This book really helps.

I remember my high school German teacher, and I wouldn't try too much of this book out on him, another warning for school age readers. The title word alone got me in deep Scheisse when I used it in class!

Until I read this book, I thought I knew every nasty thing you could possibly say in German. I was quickly proven wrong. This is a great reference for dirty words and insults you can't find in even some medium-sized German-English dictionaries. It is assumed that you have a basic knowledge of pronunciations and other mechanics of the German language, so I'd recommend it to someone with at least a year of formal instruction under his/her belt. Other than that, watch what you say and to whom you say it; your Oma would turn green at the mere mention of some of these words, but the boys in the Biergarten probably wouldn't mind too much. (However, there is an adequate effort made at pointing out some of the worst words and phrases.) The illustrations put the book over the top; they're relevant to the chapter in question, in a somewhat literal and very amusing way. A great read, and the best money you'll ever spend in learning German!