As a quilter I look for great quilt books. I bought this calendar in Boston and went to Amazon (we live in a place without book stores) to try and order more, and there it was!!! A great gift and so accessible with Amazon!

Cyril I. Nelson's Quilt Engagement calendar has been published for twenty-five years and consistently offers pictures of fine examples of both new and antique quilts. The definitions are concise with information about the quilt and often times the quilter. The quilts are beautifully photographed and clearly show detail. Year after year this calendar shows excellent examples of superb quilting - 1999 is no exception. The calendar pages offer plenty of space for tracking appointments a week at a time. The way this calendar is assembled, the reader, at the completion of the year can remove the dated (calendar) pages and have an album of fifty-two handsome quilts to use as inspiration or reference. These books can then be saved in one's library for years to come.

Nelson Reed's "Caste War of Yucatan" tells the story of an obscure Maya rebellion in Mexico in the 1840's with vigor and a style that makes this history come alive. This is a history that most Yucatecan ladinos didn't want told for many years. But in a masterful way, Reed has put life into one of the most interesting corners of the history of the Americas...the only successful native American rebellion...one that ended in disaster for all concerned.

The story covers the 53 year struggle of the communities of Yucatec Maya that rebelled against intolerable oppression in 1847 and whose events snowballed to an all out race war which raged on and off until its flame was finally extinguished due more to illness and exhaustion than to the resolve of the participants. This gripping tale of battles and desperation has enough horror and action to cause the reader to ponder who these Maya are that today greet the Cancun visitors with warm smiles and hospitality.

Mike Reed

I'm the author of books and articles about Mexico, Cancun and the Yucatan Peninsula. I've lived in Cancun since 1983 and I find the The Caste War of Yucatan by Nelson Reed the most useful and fascinating book about this area.

The modern history of the North American continent began here in Quintana Roo, the site of the first Spanish landing on the mainland. The story of Quintana Roo is the story of Mexico in miniature. Nelson Reed's book is by far the most authoritative history of Quintana Roo ever published in English.

Although closely focused on the Maya rebellion that began in 1847 and continued well into the 20th Century, The Caste War of Yucatan presents a sensitive, accurate and comprehensive picture of the entire history of the Yucatan Peninsula, with many important insights into the history of Mexico as well.

Meticulously researched but written in a gripping narrative style that reads like a popular novel, this book is entertaining, horrifying, sad and always profoundly fascinating. Very highly recommended.

jules_siegel@hotmail.com

In Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, amateur sleuth, Temple Barr, finds herself up to her high heels in pink Flamingos and one of the suspects in a murder. When philandering actor, Darren Cooke is murdered and Temple is one of the last people to see him alive, she must once again undergo questioning by her nemesis, Lt. Carmen Molina while trying to solve this murder with an unusual twist. The murder occurs while Temple is playing stage mother to Louie who is filming a cat food commercial with his lady love, the Divine Yvette at Gangsters Night Club. Whenever danger rears its ugly head, however, this feline sleuth drops what he is doing and springs to the side of his human companion to try to solve yet another murder. Louie not only helps Temple, but he must also contend with the murderous Maurice, a feline felon who threatens all of Louie's nine lives. Even if he solves the murder and dodges Mauriice, he must face the wrath of Yvette's human, Savannah Ashleigh! How much can one dude take? Fast paced and as captivating as a litter of kittens, Cat in a Flamingo Fedora gets two paws up!

Temple Barr, Las Vegas public relations specialist and part time sleuth, finds herself once again simultaneously working both careers. The local Chamber of Commerce has hired her to serve as a liaison between artist Domingo, and the movers and shakers of the town. They hope to obtain permission for the eccentric maestro to plaster their collective properties with about a million pink ceramic flamingos. While acting as stage mother to her cat, the renowned Midnight Louie, who is starring in a TV commercial, Temple meets Darren Cooke, a womanizer and famous comic, who needs her sleuthing help. ....... Darren is being stalked by a woman, through letters and vitriolic phone calls. The near hysterical woman claims to be his biological daughter. Darren wants Temple to find out if this woman is in deed a child of his that he knew nothing about or if she is a dangerous nut. After finishing his heartfelt plea, Darren makes a pass at Temple, who walks out on the aging Don Juan. However, when he is shot on the set, she begins to investigate the women in Darren's life. As Temple peels away the layers of deception, danger to her own life grows stronger, forcing her personal body guard, Midnight Louie, to protect her while looking over his own shoulders to insure he does not become a victim too. ......... Anytime Midnight Louie appears, readers know that they are in for a treat. With her latest entry in the fun series, CAT IN A FLAMINGO FEDORA, Carole Nelson Douglas continues to provide some of the most thrilling and humorous sleuthing west of the Mississippi. ........Harriet Klausner

Midnight Louie is at his best and most lovable in this romp through a murder at a cat show. How he is able to keep his excitable "Little Doll" under control and guide her to solving the mystery and other problems is quite engrossing. As always, Louie is the strong character and quite the inimitable tough private cat eye. A well plotted and well written book. Any cat lover and many a non-catlover mystery fan should love this book.

Midnight Louie, cat detective and tomcat about town (Las Vegas that is), and his "human," Temple Barr are on the prowl again after a mysterious happening at a cat show. Also, strange happenings occur at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church involving obscene phone calls, priestly secrets, and lots of cats. A good read which I couldn't put down. If you are a fan of Midnight Louis mysteries or any other Black Cat style mysteries, you'll enjoy this one. I couldn't put it down until I got to the very suspenseful ending. (And yes I do own a black cat!)

It occurs to me that Chamique Holdsclaw might be the Dan Gable of her generation. When Gable was an All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa the only match he ever lost was the NCAA finals as a senior. True, Holdsclaw lost more than one game when she was an All-American basketball player at the University of Tennessee, but after winning NCAA championships her first three years the Lady Vols lost to Duke in the Regional Final her senior year. Add to that the four consecutive state championships and one national title she won at Christ the King High School in NYC and you have a most impressive record before she became a pro.

But if you have to look to one achievement that really stands out, it has to be the fact that Holdsclaw was the first women's collegiate basketball player to win the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete; the only other men to do the same were Bill Bradley and Bill Walton, which is pretty good company. Kristi Nelson provides key stats from Holdsclaw's career, but the focus is more on her work ethic and how she grew as a basketball player. Young students will find it instructive that one of the greatest women ever to play basketball had problems to which they can relate. There is also a strong sense of Holdsclaw's family throughout the book. Consequently, you get a real sense of her as a person and not just as a superstar athlete.

This book is illustrated with mostly black & white photographs from throughout her playing career, including a full-color photo insert, all of Holdsclaw as a Washington Mystic in the WNBA. However, you will not find career stats total in the back of this excellent juvenile biography.

this book was one of the best books i have read in a long time. Even though it was only 80 pages it took me through Chamique's days playing at Christ The King High School, through her days playing in the WNBA for the Mystics. I love to watch her play and i recomend this book to everyone!

This book is very fascinating and informative.
My boyfriend are relocating to the Denver area, and this book really caught our eye. We found it VERY helpful to know what type of weather to expect in Colorado.
This book has beautiful pictures of the different types of weather which occurs in Colorado: lightning, hail, tornadoes, blizzards, avalanches, floods, and etc...
It even gives historical pictures of extreme weather phenomena which occured in Colorado's past.
The chapters are broken down into these categories:
Chapter 1: Colorado Spring
Chapter 2: Colorado Summer
Chapter 3: Colorado Autumn
Chapter 4: Colorado Winter
Chapter 5: Weather of the Century
Chapter 6: Storm Chasing
Chapter 7: Meteorology or Media-rology?
Chapter 8: Photographing weather
Chapter 9: The Fragile Planet

Every page features spectacular color photos of various weather patterns. In the back of the book are various weather-related websites.
I am originally from Kansas, which is part of "Tornado Alley" - and I amazed that Colorado also has tornadoes--which I never knew- (although they are more likely to occur on the far eastern plains).
I had no idea that the eastern plains of Colorado are also one of the hail capitols of the world.
This book is truly captivating for anyone who is fascinated by weather. I highly recommend it.

Colorado is known for its mountains, but it could be easily famous for its high-drama weather. This book explains the relationship between the mountains and weather phenomenon such as Colorado's wild hail storms and its towering thunder clouds. It offers scientific explanations that don't require a science degree to follow, as well as lots of history and great weather stories. It's topped off with truly awesome photography.

It's a great book for anyone whose curiousity about weather extends past tomorrows forcast.

This Bible is just the right size for those of you who like to love your books. It is not tiny, and yet it is just the right size to carry in your hand bag or brief case. There is a beautiful section in the front with pages to document sacraments received and other important family events. There is also a portrait of Pope John Paul II, who for all intents and purposes, is the greatest pope. There are explanations for each verse as well as color prints throughout depicting the important stories of Jesus. Like my dad always says, you can never have too many Marys or rosary beads. Now you can add bibles to this list. It's perfect for a gift, even if it's a present to yourself. It's a purchase you will cherish for the rest of your life, and a bible with family history pages becomes and heirloom.

The NAB is perhaps the best Bible to own for American Catholics. It is the Bible that is used for the Liturgy for the Church in the United States of America (Canada uses the NRSV). The imitation leather is durable, and is sturdy enough to place into a Bible cover. The binding is very strong, and allows Bible tabs (cords - the long flat strings that you then use as bookmarks) to be slipped down into the binding. The pages are of thin paper, which cuts down on the thickness of the Bible, but it is very crisp and does not bleed through if you use a highlighter or pen to take notes.

A bonus of the NAB is that is has a very exhaustive cross-direct quotations of another verse, or explain a particular verse. In addition, the NAB has very good footnotes which explain a lot of the more difficult verses. Of course it should be noted that the NAB is a Catholic Bible so the footnotes in places will have a Catholic "bias" to them. However most of the footnotes have to deal with cultural and historical information which may not be readily known by the reader. The final highlight of the NAB is that each book of the Bible comes with an opening summary of each book. Important information such as who wrote the book, when it was written, what audience was being address, what the central theme of the particular book is and what was happening during the times that the book was written is all contained in these summaries. The only drawback to the NAB is that it does not contain a concordance, however with the cross-referencing, this is not as much of a problem.

The durability of this book, the excellent construction and the beauty of the imitation leather make this an ideal "Gift Bible", perfect for first communions and confirmations, or any other occassion where one wishes to give the gift of the Word.

It's hard to say enough good things about Nelson's great little idea. Oxford has a compact KJV out that is nice, but now that we're almost 400 years out from when King James was published in 1611, nothing is lost with the New King James Version. In fact, it seems a more accurate read, since this version corrects some of the inaccuracies in the KJV that were inaccurately translated from the Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew back then.

Although it's a paperback, the cover is made of very thick cardstock and lightly laminated, so it should be both resilient and durable for a good number of years under heavy use. The translators for this version include their footnotes at the bottom of the page; the words of Christ are actually in maroon instead of red, so it's far easier to see, especially if you're an older reader; the chapters have in-text subject headings; and finally there is a select concordance and dictionary at the back - all this in a book that fits neatly into your hand or pocket and is only 1.1 inches thick! Men seem to like small Bibles and I would give this one as a gift and I'm sure you'd get a positive reaction.

This Compact Text edition of the NKJV is a marvel. With pages four-by-six, and its light weight, it is a very convenient and "carry-with-able" publication of the Scriptures.

Are there quibbles? The reviewer deplores the absence of the Apocrypha from most paperback mass-market Bibles, and finds two or three aspects of the translation less than pleasantly resonant ("compact" in Psalm 122; "weaned" in Psalm 131; "most assuredly, I say unto you" instead of "Amen, amen"). But the New King James Version -- theeless and thouless -- remains among the best of modern translations; it has fluent cadences that do not militate against the familiar and the traditional. It is comparable in its solemnity, in its seriousness, in its respectfully poetic renderings to the Revised Standard Version (RSV) and the New International Version (NIV). Readers who need the Jacobean pronouns and verb-forms may disagree.

The words of Christ are printed in red, or a kind of off-red, that is pleasantly emphatic without assaulting the eye. In the very back, there is a chart for daily readings, and a glossary of terms (both familiar and unfamiliar). Allow us to provide the NKJV version of Psalm 8, so that the prospective buyer might better discern if this be the aptest translation :

"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!

"Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

"When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.

"You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen -- even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.

"O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!"

[Note, however : the text of the Psalms in this NKJV is written as verse, not as prose.]

For students and commuters, for inveterate readers and frequent flyers, for travellers and contemplatives -- this edition is highly recommended : for its conscientious translation, and its convenient portability, and its gloriously unprohibitive cost! Something of a gem.

If you or a loved one is transgendered and you have felt in conflict with your Christian faith, help and enlightenment are finally here. Being transgendered and a Christian do not have to be in conflict. As a transgendered Christian, I wish this book had been written years ago. It provides biblically based information to educate those who are transgendered and those who are open to the truth. Churches that are open and affirming to all Christians would do well to include this in their library and to also circulate it amongst both clergy and lay leaders. The book offers many practical ways that Church communities can embrace our little known group.

Vanessa Sheridan has successfully tackled a very challenging topic that effects more of the population than most people realize. Being transgendered or gender variant is challenging enough in a society that has not yet begun to understand, much less accept, this fringe group. Now add to that equation being Christian and you have an appreciation for the difficult subject matter of Sheridan's book.

She does a good job of educating the reader who knows little about the transgender community, but her primary focus is to provide guidance to Christians on how to accept and welcome the gender variant into their faith community. She helps her readers to understand that acceptance versus persecution of transgender Christians is biblically rooted and consistent with the teachings of Jesus. Sheridan finishes her work with several suggestions on how to open a dialogue within the church family to address the needs of the gender variant. I would highly recommend this book to clergy and church administrators along with transgendered Christians who have felt alienated by their religious experiences.

As the disabilities host on BellaOnline, this book is a must for beginning teachers to learn how to formulate excellent lesson plans and activities.

I heartily recommend this book! As a school administrator, I can attest to the fact that it has made a world of difference for both new and experienced teachers alike in my school. Its approach to bridging the gap between theory and real-world examples is extremely useful in helping any teacher design more effective lesson plans.