The jokes fly fast and furious in this case where a suitcase containing a dummy is switched for one full of loot. The dummy, Charlie McShtick and the ventriloquist, Edgar Bergman are the central characters as Mathnet detectives George Frankly and Pat Tuesday use mathematics to solve a series of crimes. The mathematics used is that of a connected graph where the graph tour is used to prove innocence and point out the potentially guilty parties. Of course, the villain has the last name Snerd.
My oldest boy who is now ten enjoyed the book immensely. He liked the story line and how the mystery was solved. The only problem was that the jokes about Edgar Bergan and his ventriloquist dummies referenced events before his time.
This book is a true treasure in that children can solve a mystery, laugh at the jokes and learn mathematics all at the same time. I also laughed and groaned my way through it.

I am coordinating a Math Event at our school. I am very interested in presenting the Mathnet series books to our 3-4th grade readers and their parents. Is there any way these and books like them are available for parents to buy? I understand that they seem to be out of print. I think they are a fantastic way to have children who enjoy reading to encorporate math skills as well.

This book provides an excellent perspective on what has become an ever growing reality in our society. The cases presented covered a wide range of variations that exist in blending. It made me think about how many people I know and have worked with as an attorney who are a "blended family". I am definitely recommending this book as a must read to all of them.

"Oct. 22nd, 1837. 'What are you doing now?' he asked, 'Do you keep a journal?'-- So I make my first entry today." Thus begins Thoreau's Journal, made up of more then two million words and covering about twenty-five years of his life. No other work of Thoreau's better exhibits his discipline as a writer and his devotion to the natural world. In the Journal can be found the fragmented foundations of masterpieces such as Walden, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, The Maine Woods, and Cape Cod. But what is perhaps more interesting to a reader of Thoreau's Journal are his thoughts and insights on topics such as friendship, love, religion, nature, bravery, heroism, war, slavery, the art of writing, and, most important to Thoreau, the art of living. Anyone with any interest in Thoreau will find his Journal to be an invaluable aid in understanding and following the life of one of America's most profound prose writers

Charles Alexander's book, Self Recovery is particulary helpful because it includes many different experiences with recovering from drug abuse. In some, the recovery is simple and immediate with beginning the regular practice of TM. He also gives examples of more difficult cases where recovery is interrupted and regained several times before self recovery is achieved. The study imvolving alcoholics living on the street was especially important as it showed that by adding a stress management strategy to a traditional treatment program, some actual progress was made where progress is not usually seen.

That there is a stress management technique effective enough to break the grip of drug addiction is exciting. That it is sometimes challenging to keep people on the program is realistic. That it is sometimes incredibly easy and immediate is corroberated in the prioneering work on TM that Dr. Herbert Benson and Dr. Keith Wallace did at Harvard in the early 70's. It is described in Benson's book, The Relaxation Response.

Dr. Alexander's book is timely. The only real way to win the war on drugs is to reduce the demand for drugs. TM is a useful tool in establing self sufficiency, clear thinking and success in life.

The move 1...c5 in response to 1. e4 is baffling to beginners. It does nothing to aid the development of the minor pieces, fails to move out a center pawn and is often followed by even more non-developing pawn moves. Many must surely ask, "How is a defense that seems to flout all the opening priciples so often adopted by super-strong players?" They're right: Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Spassky, Tal and others have had the Sicilian figure prominently in their repertoires. Levy an O'Connell do an excellent job of outlining strategies for White and Black in this wide-ranging opening (As far as I can tell, only the c3 Sicilian and the odd gambits are ignored). For those rated 1400-1800, this is a good introduction to the opening. For "A" players, this will provide an excellent foundation for deeper research into the opening. Another fine effort from David Levy.* Highly recommended. (*Excepting his, An Opening Repertoire for the Attacking Player, co-authored with Raymond Keene, which is a clinker -- see my review under that title.)

The Sicilian is a bizarre animal: 1...c5 opens no lines for Bishops, prepares no pieces for development and fails to place a center pawn into play. Yet it is Black's most formidable defense to 1. e4. The authors do an excellent job of explaining why and provide ideas for both White and Black in a variety of settings: The Maraczy Bind, Sheveningen, "Little Center", Dragon, ...e5 systems and closed formations are all covered. Only the Morra-Smith gambit (and other lesser gambits) and the c3 Sicilian have been left out. If you are a 1400-1800 player and want to get a handle on the Sicilian, this is the place to start.

Cliches abound in this enchanting tale of mathematics used to examine crime. En route to a role playing mystery weekend, the two principles take a wrong turn and become involved in a real-life vendetta. Complete with a "dark and stormy night' backdrop, a Gothic style house with abundant secret passages and a proper English butler named Peeved, the action is sure to enchant adolescents of all ages.
The jokes are mostly puns of the groaner variety, but are sometimes subtle enough to require a second thought. The two leading characters are specialists in using mathematics to solve their cases and they move through several possible scenarios in an attempt to find the pattern to the crimes. The main point, that mathematics is more than just arithmetic, is well made and will spark an interest in the other areas that make up the field of mathematics.
This book belongs in every elementary school library and it will be given to my children to read in a few years.

O'Connell writes of Celine in a basic way, one without excessive appreciation or disregard...it's a good book to become acquainted with Louis Ferdinand Celine.

Mirror symmetry is something that can be used in the creation of many games. In this story, written for the early adolescent, the principles of mirror symmetry are used to solve a century-long mystery of lost treasure. However, the feature of the book that is most enjoyable is the dialog and the comic references. There is Rommel, the desert rat, Saddlesore Capone, and Mr. Mutard in the library.
The plot is that of a spoof of a bad western, which provides plenty of opportunities for jokes, some of which are obvious, but where many are very subtle and take a bit of thought before you get them. This is a good book for children, in that it teaches them mathematics while presenting a story that keeps their interest. It is a worthy addition to all middle school libraries.

I am frankly baffled beyond belief at this cultural phenomenon in the South US for attempting to find familial links to Ireland. Not only is it completely inane, but it also happens to be wrong; that is, if one, as I assume most people do, assumes 'Irish' to mean Irish and Catholic - the people people are talking about when they say Irish.

I have a bad feeling GWTW is the catalyst for southerners to jumpstart this cultural identity crisis. I also tend to think that GWTW unfairly slanders the Irish by presenting them as big players in the Slave-holding south.

Despite Mr. O'Connell's passion for his thesis, let me iterate two points: Scarlet and the fam worship with the rest of the Presbyterians, and then that her father is fixated to all hell on land-ownership ("Land is everything to and Irishman" or some such baloney). If land is everything to an Irishman, then there would have been alot of disappointed Irishman as 98% of the land in the colony belonged to the Crown and was administered to by landlords -- often (oops!) by PRESBYTERIAN Scoth-Irish, a group that compromised a huge portion of the immigrant populace to America early on, as many lost the 100-year leases on the land the crown had given them in Ireland. Its no secret by just about any set of records that Irish Catholics congregated virtual universally in cities.

Can we try and put the cooption of Irishness to a stop?

This book is great. Rarely have I come across a book that was so informative and so enjoyable. The author makes points about GWTW's origin and contextual meaning that I was totally unaware of. A great read!

Well, I thought I knew it all... This book, however, gave me a different perspective of Mitchell's famous novel. It's like discovering the New World again. And those photographs were amazing! A definite must have in any GWTW collection.