After the third story, Bill Shoemaker is still ahead of Dick Francis on my racetrack. He has had a lot of personal experience in the racing world and isn't a stranger to the things that happen behind the scenes of the track. In the stories, this quality shows and makes his stories really interesting to read.

Being a huge fan of Dick Francis, but not really knowing much about the racing world I hadn't a clue who the Bill Shoemaker was on the cover. But it looked good and sounded good and it had horses in it. So I checked it out of the library...and boy was I in for a surprise. Not only can Shoemaker ride, the man can write too. I have since read a lot of comparisons between him and Francis but I say that's unfair. Yes they both write about horses and races and yes they were both jockeys, but their style is different. They are each great in their own way. Shoemaker's Coley Killebrew series is definitely entertaining and it has quite a few thrills too. The main characters are well-defined and I found myself wishing I could meet them in person. Shoemaker's plots are always fun and take you along for a great ride. I wish he'd write some more. A trilogy is just not enough, I want some more fun.

When I first heard this book, I was brought to tears. I had to have it. You do too. This book does an excellent job of explaining Jim Crowe to young children. It is a must read during Black History month. All teachers should keep a copy for your library. It should be read it again and again.

This book is well written, beautifully illustrated, and thought provoking. I use it to teach about equal rights and letter writing to 3rd-6th graders. Check it out!

This is an excellent book. It tells the true story of a college football hero. This book exudes the inspiration, thoughtfullness, and love that Chucky shared with so many people before his passing.

A book really comes alive when it's about someone you knew. Mr. Woody did a wonderful job in bringing out Chucky's finest qualities: courage, determination, friendliness, and his ability to overcome lifes obstacles. And, since this book was about more than just Chucky and tells a wonderful life-story, it adds meaning and another dimension to the great person I went to high school with. This book should be required reading for all high school students, especially athletes. Thumbs Up, Mr. Woody!

Yet another great book. I enjoy the fact that as I parent I enjoy reading the story as much as my young sons love hearing it. Great story line with moral lesson.

I love this book! It's great. It's funny and something interesting is always happing.

I first read this in high school and I fell in love with her words and the power that she has in her writting. After going through a difficult break up... I re-read her poems and was filled again with her honesty and strenght and I can unclench my teeth long enough to tell him so.

Alice Walker not only writes astounding books, but her poetry is real, familiar, and powerful. This book was originally published in 1975, one of her earlier works, but rings with the same truth today as then. Soft-spoken, Walker nonetheless is sure of her truths, and diligent in communicating them. Love poems for her people, for all people, and for the men she has been accused of hating. Thanks, Alice, for your spirit.

This is the twin to his "Going Local" -- local topical cartoons about San Francisco. Even though I live near SF rather than in it, I find them hilarious and read them every day at sfgate.com. Thank you, Mr Frank for so much relief from all the troubles of the world!

Phil Frank has been drawing a daily cartoon for the San Francisco Chronicle for about 10 years or so. While I lived there his strip had always been the first thing I read in the morning, and I am rather happy that finally there is a collection of selected strips from '90 - '96. I guess I must have seen most of them before, but aside from a lot of fond memories I also got a lot of laughs out of this collection. But it certainly isn't one of the "you-had-to-be-there-to-get-it" things - I have loaned my copy to a couple of people her in Germany, and they also were rather amused by it. There is a fair amount of local politics that serves as a background for the jokes, but there are also many stories about the affairs of the heart of the hero of the strip, Farley, and his on-going realtionship with Irene the metermaid who makes parking such sweet sorrow for him, about the four bears who run the Fog City Dumpster for the four-legged gourmets of San Francisco, and ab! out Orwell T. Cat's carreer as a fall-cat in the White House. So just go ahead and buy it - it's really, really funny, and it's a lot cheaper than going to San Francisco yourself.

I read this book while sitting in a dentist office-and that day my life changed. Jolley's rare gift of verbal expression had me overwhelmed. After reading it, I made some drastic changes in my lifestyle. I realized it was up to me to change things about myself and I didn't need the approval of anyone else before I decided to do so. If anyone needs a boost with their self-esteem this book is a sure-fire winner. I bought the paperback version so that it would fit nicely inside my purse, anytime a needed a little "boost" while I am traveling.

Anyone who is discouraged with their present career or life in general and wants to change for the better, should read this book. Willie Jolley has a refreshing perspective on life that few people have. If you are discouraged, depressed, lonely, or just feel like you're in a rut, this book is definitely for you. After reading this book, you won't be the same. Want to get excited about life again? Read this book.

I first read this book at the age of 11. Ludell & Willie is a young adult love story that you will love forever. Ludell lives with her strict grandmother who hardly ever give her and Willie time along. Willie is the star athlete, so Ludell is alway worried that another girl will take him away since she's can't go out on dates, but Willie alway prove his love. I'm trying to find the sequal for this one, but it's a hard to find book.

I think this book was a great example of what children go through in life. It tells not only the bad things about growing up it also shows some of the problems that young adults face during the first years adolescents.

I ENCOURAGE ANY AND EVERYONE TO READ THIS BOOK. I LIKE TO READ THINGS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE WAY I WAS BROUGHT UP. ITS A VERY ENCOURAGING BOOK.

I HAVE BEEN READING THIS BOOK EVERYSINCE I WAS IN THE NINTH GRADE. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT GROWING UP POOR. AND WITH THE HELP OF HER GRANDMOTHER LUDELL WAS TAUGHT A LOT OF VALUES AND MORALS. IT ALSO HAS TO DO WITH LOVE AND FAITH. BECAUSE AFTER HER GRANDMOTHER DIED, SHE WAS FORCED TO GO LIVE IN NEWYORK WITH HER MOTHER. I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I LET SOMEONE BORROW IT AND IT WAS NEVER RETURNED IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN GO ABOUT OBTAINING ANOTHER ONE IF SO. PLEASE WRITE TO MICHELE JACKSON 2613 MCLELLAND STREET APT. 10 HATTIESBURG, MS. 39401

This heartwarming "book with a view" tells of another time in the USA through the eyes of Willie Snow Ethridge (1900-1982), the wife of prominent newspaper editor, Mark F. Ethridge.

According to Polly Powers Stramm for the Savannah Morning News (April 20, 2000), Willie Snow Ethridge "seemed to be the Erma Bombeck of her day. She wrote books with humorous titles...

From 1942-1962, Mark Ethridge served as Publisher & Editor of the Louisville Courier- Journal. In 1963 the news department he led won a Pulitzer.

Mark Ethridge also served as the U.S. delegate, U.N. Commission of Investigation to Study the Greek Border Disputes, 1947; as the U.S. Representative, U.N. Conciliation Commission for Palestine, 1949; and as Chairman, U.S. Advisory Commission on Information, 1948-50.

As Dear Abby noted upon hearing of his death in 1981, Mark Ethridge was one of the first journalists to speak out boldly against racism in the deep South. In a full page article, The New York Times toasted his career and the legacy he created as a journalist and diplomat.

This book, which I read several times some years ago is witty and full of incisive (and sometimes very funny) observations. Imagine a lighter prosed Jane Austen writing in the State of Georgia in the 1940s and 1950s.

Willie Snow Ethridge (1900-1983, born in Georgia, lived in N.C. and Kentucky), the author of this book and Mark Ethridge's wife, authored fifteen books, including several popular novels, primarily in the 1940s and 1950s.

Mark F. Ethridge (1996-1981), was my paternal great-uncle.

Although the premise seems flimsy (A woman writing a biography of her husband) it is so well written that after the first page, I had completely abandoned all of my skepticism. Even more impressive is Mark Ethridge's life. He deserves, more than most people, to have a biography written about him. He is fortunate to be married to such a supremely talented writer.