4 stars because only God gets 5 stars. This is the quintessential reference for native Hawaiian history, ethnobotany, culture, language, and lifestyle. It doesn't just cover what is what. It covers the who, what, when, where, why, and how. The depth of the coverage goes all the way to the migration routes. Unfortunately, a hard-back edition was never made. The book is worth every penny and is guaranteed to go up in value - CK

The book Old John by Elizabeth D. Crawford is a fasinating and cool book. Some of the parts where sad and other were happy. The book is a bout a family that wanted their grandfather to come visit them. The only problem was that insted of visiting he comes into the Schirmers yard with a moving van to live with them. The Schirmers are the main family. They where sort of mad at John came but they calmed down. Father was upset at Old John because one he only wanted him to stay for a while and plus the house was way to small to fit five people. The kids Jacob and Laura love their grandfather becuase he tells them stories about his past. This book is for anyone who just loves to read.

I hate reading but this book made me want to get to the end to see what happens!

I would reccomend it to anyone!

The Old Curiosity Shop certainly displays the hallmarks of the unstructured, free-flowing make-it-up-as-you-go-along type of story characteristic of Dickens's early novels. Indeed, it is rather generous to call it a story, and it's difficult now to understand the sensation it caused when it was first published. However, if a page-turning plot was all there was to it, very few of Dickens's novels would be readable at all. As ever with Dickens, the pleasure in reading this book comes from the comedy, diversity and richness of the characters, as well as the sheer mastery of the English language which came so naturally to him.

The central characters are old Trent, his granddaughter Nell, the moneylender Daniel Quilp, young Kit and the wonderful Richard Swiveller. Of these, the spotlessly pure Nell and the irredeemably evil Quilp are the moral opposites around which the book revolves, old Trent is rather a pathetic figure, while Kit's sturdy progress from poverty to respectability makes for happier reading. However, it is the moral journey of Swiveller, which perhaps reflects the geographic journey undertaken by Nell and her grandfather, which is the real joy of this book. He enters the book in the guise of a rogue, involved in dubious intrigues with Nell's no-good brother and also with the repulsive Quilp. However, from the time that Quilp gets him a job as a clerk in the office of Samson Brass and his sister, the awful Miss Brass, Swiveller's basic decency and natural good humour begin to reveal themselves, and his soliloquies and dialogue provide many hilarious moments from that point on. The Dick Swiveller who subsequently meets up with the hapless young girl kept prisoner by Miss Brass is funny, considerate, charming and kind, and a long way from the doubtful type of character that he at first appears to be.

The book proceeds along two different narrative lines; one which charts the progress of Nell and her grandfather on their long journey, and the other revolving around Swiveller, Quilp and Kit, and to a lesser extent the families of these latter two, as well as "the single gentleman" and the little girl memorably christened "The Marchioness" by Swiveller. One of the big faults I found with this dual structure is that the characters of one plot line have no contact with those in the other plot line for most of the novel, and it is left to the Quilp, Swiveller and Kit to act out most of the drama. Nell and her grandfather spend most of their time journeying through various scenes of early nineteenth century life in England. Nonetheless these all make for enjoyable reading. One particular scene where Nell and her grandfather sleep beside a furnace in the company of a wretched man who watches the flames is particularly memorable.

All in all, it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is not a happy one. I would not recommend this book as an introduction to Dickens, and is best read by people, like myself, who have already decided that anything by Dickens is worth reading. Also it focuses less on London than many Dickens novels, and gives an interesting view of rural, village and town life outside London in those times.

The only pleasure greater than discovering a new book
is rediscovering an old friend you haven't read for a while.
Many years ago I read all of Charles Dickens novels, but I
recently had occasion to re-read The Old Curiosity Shop, and
it is just as good as I remembered it the first time.

The story, like most of his plots, depends a great deal
on coincidences, so you have to suspend your scepticism to
enjoy it. Dickens begins by introducing us to one of the
most innocent little girls in literature, Little Nell, and
to her most unhappy grand-father. Quickly we discover that
instead of the old man taking care of the child, she is the
one responsible. We then meet one of Dickens' great villains
- the evil, corrupt, mean, and nasty Quilp - a man, if that
term can be used, who has absolutely no redeeming qualities,
one who finds pleasure in inflicting pain on all he meets.

Thinking that the old man has secret riches, Quilp
advances him money to support his gambling habit.
Unfortunately Nell's grandfather never wins, and the debt
grows ever larger. Finally Quilp forecloses on the curiosity
shop that the old man owns (thus the name of the book) and
tries to keep the two captive in order to discover the money
that he still believes is hidden somewhere. While the
household is asleep, however, Nell and her grandfather
escape and begin wandering across England in a search for
sanctuary.

On that journey, Dickens introduces us to a series of
minor characters who either befriend or try to take
advantage of our heroine. He's in no hurry to continue the
main story, so just sit back and enjoy the vivid
characterizations that are typical of any good Dickens
novel.

In the meantime, we follow the adventures of young Kit,
a boy who was one of Nell's best friends until Quilp turned
her grandfather against him. Here we find one of Dickens'
favorite sub-plots, the poor but honest boy who supports his
widowed mother and younger brother. Thanks to his honesty,
Kit finds a good position, but then evil Quilp enters the
picture and has him arrested as a thief!

Of course, we have the kind and mysterious elderly
gentlemen who take an interest in Kit and Nell for reasons
that we don't fully understand until the end of the book. We
are certain, however, that they will help ensure that
justice prevails in the end.

This is not a book for those in a hurry. Dickens tells
his stories in a meandering fashion, and the stops along the
way are just as important for your enjoyment as the journey itself. That can be frustrating at time, especially as you enter the second half and are anxious to see how things turn out. I try never to cheat by reading the end of a book before I finish, but it is tempting with Dickens. At times I wanted to tell him, "I don't want to meet anyone else; tell me what happens to Nell and Kit!" But I know the side journeys will prove rewarding, so I just have to be patient. Anyway, I am in better shape than his first readers; he wrote in weekly installments, so
they had to wait!

If you have and enjoyed other Dickens' novels, you will enjoy this one as well. If this is your first time (or perhaps the first time since you were in high school), you are in for a treat.

This edition of the Old Curiosity Shop is outstanding. It contains all the original illustrations drawn for the book, very helpful footnotes, a chronology of Dickens's life, etc. The book takes the reader on a wild journey through the English countryside with Little Nell, an angelic girl, and her troublesome grandfather, and features a host of amusing characters as only Dickens can draw them. While it was being written in serial form, it was so popular that sailors returning to port in England were known to shout to people on shore to ask what was going on with Little Nell. Today, however, you can miss some of Dickens's nuance and humor if you don't have good footnotes to turn to. The notes in this book explain obscure terms, references to contemporary popular culture, places where the action occurs, etc. If you are going to read this book, this is the edition to buy.

This large picture book had some interesting photos of true cowgirls, but mostly it was just old 1950's artists' reditions. Not really what you might hope for. Like the cover? That is pretty much the entire book. Really no inforamtion about true American cowgirls, just some over used pictures.

Full of great pictures and stories of rebel girls and women who wanted to go where their interests and talents took them. Brave and daring with remarkable athletic skills these "gals" were not only pioneer athletes, but genuine living liberated women.
Wish this was taught in the public school system.

I was very surprised when I ordered this book and found out that yes, indeed, it was merely a very tiny portion of what I had expected. I suppose I should have known from the price, but the description (at least at that time) did not make it clear that it wasn't the entire dictionary.

While this may be a very thorough source for the words it covers, it should be noted in the basic information that this is ONLY 128 pages of a 15,000 page work. The description above is very misleading.

itz a dictionary. what more can i say

I was very excited to read this book, then wondered why I bothered. It is shallow; a mere summary of the Old Testament with the supposed reason of showing how the New Testament builds on the Old. They call much of the Old Testament "ancient legends" and "incomplete myths." They seem to be suprised that Abraham is a historical character. Then they proceed to say that the Church has replaced Israel. This book will probably end up in my trash can; paper shouldn't have been wasted on it.

The Old Testament -- or rather, the Hebrew Bible -- is an ancient text written by ancient people. Over the years, much has been discovered about it through various means, such as archaeology, form criticism, source criticism, etc. There is now a vast array of information, going from one extreme to another. This book, written by the Achtemeier's, does a great job condensing this information into a readable, understandable, yet controversial book. It makes people think about things such as the Hebrews had NO concept of history per se. They didn't write the Scriptures for history sake. They did it for faith's sake, with God working through the events that occured. As a result, these very faith Scriptures were the very ones our own Jesus of Nazareth used. Great presentation and great source for teaching an introductory course on the Old Testament!

Riveting it is not; mesmerizing it is not; interesting and worth your time, it is.

Thus, readers who journey down the Elizabethan roads of Leonard Tourney's "Old Saxon Blood" are hereby notified. In this, the sixth Matthew and Joan Stock novel, we find this venerable duo from Chelmsford all set to venture out on yet another quest for Crown and Country.

The aging Queen Elizabeth I (after all, it is 1601 and her days are numbered!) summons the Stocks for an audience and reveals to them the mysterious death of Sir John Challoner, found drowned on his estate. She fears it is more than accidental and requests that the Stocks investigate. After their arrival at Thorncombe, the Challoner estate in Derbyshire, the Stocks soon find that other murders quickly follow (they have 30 days to settle the issue). And Tourney leads the reader to a swift--albeit easy--conclusion. For readers of historical fiction, this book is worth the time and effort, although any

suspense is less that compelling! Still, it's a good read (although perhaps the author should select another editor, as the book has a plethora of typographical miscues and-- horror or horrors--even a grammatical error or two to spoil the Queen's English!). In addition, it appears a bit too pedantic at times ("Outdoors, the effulgent moon sufficed."). However, Tourney does provide us with a realistic view of some of the lifestyles and accommodations of the period, as well. (Another interesting note is his treatment of Sir Robert Cecil, one of the Queen's top advisers and quite the positive character in this book. Judith Cooke, in her "A Slicing Edge of Death," portrays him as an odious chief of spies, and a character we readily despise.)

As in the other episodes of this series, the author is quite in command of his subject matter and is a delight to read.

Billyjhobbs@tyler.net

To me, Libbie Custer is the attractive young woman beside George Armstrong Custer in all those old pictures. Beyond that, she has little historical significance. She spent much of her long life conducting a personal public relations campaign to save her husband's reputation, and refute criticisms of his actions at the Little Big Horn. She also needed to support herself. Part of this effort were three books of their life together on the plains. As a dutiful wife, Libbie Custer is fine. As an historian, she leaves something to be desired. Inevitably, her biased memoir does not qualify as either good history or as effective biography. Surprisingly, George Custer stays mostly on the sidelines. When he is mentioned, she ascribes only exemplary traits to him. The information she conveys of the struggle of army wives to make a home livable under primitive conditions is worthwhile. There is also tales of buffalo hunts and other recreations. People such as California Joe and Wild Bill Hickok make brief appearances in her narrative. In her politely restrained Victorian manner, Libbie laments the fate of white women suffering Indian captivity. This book, published in 1890, reflects its age in its portrayal of minorities. Native Americans are described sympathetically when they are prisoners living in the army corral. Otherwise, they are disparaged as wily and vicious savages. Considering her husband's death at the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne, some personal prejudice can be forgiven. The descriptions of her black servant, Eliza, is blatantly stereotypical. Ultimately, Mrs. Custer's book is more a curiosity and a footnote than a meaningful history. History buffs that will read anything about the Custer saga may find it valuable. Others beware. ;-)