This is a really fun book. The accumulated information about royal pets is staggering. I'm a dog lover/owner and I really had a good time with this book. It's also beautifully illustrated and worth it for the pictures alone. If you have pets and an interest in history, this is the book for you. It would make a great gift for a dog, cat, bird,(whatever!) owner.

No one knows more about money problems than Honore de Balzac. He lived most of his life one step from his creditors: his house in Paris even had a special exit for avoiding them. CESAR BIROTTEAU is the story of an honest perfumer who is done in by the smarmy du Tillet, a former employee whom he had fired for embezzlement, who works in secret to take his revenge.

Birotteau is lured into overextending himself and falls hard. True to his fascination with money and its epedemiology, Balzac delves into the guts of this bankruptcy and shows you all the forces at work to destroy an innocent man.

This time, the innocent man prevails. Thanks to the help of Anselme Popinot, a brilliant young marketer in love with his daughter, Birotteau is able to pay back every cent, winning honor for himself after his life appeared to be all but over.

This is one of Balzac's greatest novels. Birotteau is an honorable gentleman of the old school, a bit obtuse perhaps, but out of his depth among the wild speculations of the reign of Charles X. Watching these processes ensnare him is repellingly fascinating -- and Balzac spares us nothing.

this does not go into theology or dogma of any religion It is a history of the beginnings of each of the worlds religions in a detailed way, with the politics of the where ,when and how. A very easy to follow and interesting read. I was surprised at how much information I really enjoyed getting in such a clear concise book...

My father served in WWII in India. I had never before read anything devoted to this angle of the war. Van Hogendorp's story is all the more special as it is written by a brave woman living in challenging circumstances. She was one a small number of women to take on this challenge, and she holds fast to her high spirited sense of humor throughout.

As we turn the page on this century, I would love to hear more voices like hers sharing such stories.

Book brings in technical case-study of the Maori culture and
mixes it with easier-to-follow aspects in the life of a cherished elder. It surprised me to learn how cruel and degrading the Maori men treated women, as a practice of culture. Sisters, my sisters, we still have a long way to go. Also, the book discusses how the church influenced changes. I found it shocking that a women was traded off to the church in a bargain of peace? Piece of what?!

I am giving copies of this wonderful guide to reflection and private devotion to several friends and family members. A beautifully published collection of almost 90 great sermons -- some familiar, others not so -- it ranges from the Sermon on the Mount to words of John Paul II, Desmond Tutu, Billy Graham, and Peter Gomes. Extremely helpful are the excellent introductions by the editors and the thorough index, which allows finding readings for special seasons and occasions like Advent, Lent, and marriage.

Garson does a great job showing off Tracy and Hepburn in this delightful book. You get to take a look inside Kate's life from a good friend of hers. Garson passed away in March of this year and he left many wonderful things behind. This book just being one. He also wrote several of the screenplays that Tracy and Hepburn stared in. This book is a must for all.

This summer I am working at the university daycare and I am in charge of working with the younger children ages three and four. We pick names for our groups and this year we are the Fireflies. I picked up this book because I thought that the children would enjoy a story about fireflies. I never imagined it would become their favorite. In the first four days of school I read it four times. They love to tell me why they think the firefly will not twinkle and the answers are as varied as the children. They LOVED this book and I know it'll become one of their favorites as well as mine.