Shreve does a good job of portraying strong female characters from several eras in America's history. They are different from most of our average ancestors, yet are just barely believable as people who could have been real. I especially enjoyed the theme that character traits often skip generations; that a woman who sees no resemblance to herself in her mother can often look at her grandmother as if into a mirror. Although I felt at times that I was being swept through history at a pace too rapid to comprehend, I realize that this correlates to a human life - how time seems to move ever more swiftly the older we become. Not a quick read, nor a brainless one. Pick this up if you enjoy character development and the roles we all play in the history of our families and our nation. (Recently aired as TV movie called "A Will of Their Own")

I have not read the book and I might plan to. I cannot seem to find this movie on home video for it appeared as a t.v. movie on NBC. The movie was terrific. Eleanor's name was changed to Susan and Anna's name was changed to Annie. The movie is about four hours, that includes commercials. Amanda is the storyteller of her family's history and throughout the whole movie each woman will defy their point in history. From the 1890s to the 1990s, " A Will of Their Own" once again shows that we women are the true equals of men and that we have just as much influence on the world like men. I recommend that you watch the movie and read the book.

This is a great book that held my attention throughout the whole novel. The author gives a true description of how women in the past century have had to overcome oppresion to do what made them happy, even if it went against society's norms. It may not be a "feel good" novel, but then again, oppresion is not a "feel good" subject for those that have lived and perhaps overcome it.

Josh is always in trouble.Even if he moves.I got it beter.I never get in trouble.^_^. It was a good book when i mean got it was good..... well c ya

In this 1998 sequel to The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates (written last but chronicling Joshua's life between Susan Shreve's two earlier Joshua T. Bates volumes) Joshua had rejoined his fourth grade class after Thanksgiving.

As in the first two books, he found himself tangling again with the class bully, Tommy Wilhelm, who would do anything to make Joshua and his friends look bad.

Like always, Joshua learned some valuable lessons, not least of all that taking things--even from your parents--is always a bad idea.

My two children each raced through all three Joshua T. Bates books.

Parents take note: This series is perfect for second and third graders who want chapter books that are challenging but not too hard. The characters are realistic, the dialogue exactly duplicates that of children this age, and the stories are compelling enough to keep kids turning these pages. Alyssa A. Lappen

I liked the book because it was funny and you could learn a lesson from it. My favorite part was when Joshua's sister dyed her hair purple. I recommend other kids read this book because it's good to read.

I can learn the basic of the psychology from this book since this is the textbook of my college!

We used this textbook for my AP Psychology class, and it served its purpose well. The book does an excellent job at covering everything and giving an introduction to the field. Plenty of good examples, as well as diagrams and such to help explain, are given. My only complaint is that the text is often incredibly dry, making reading difficult; but if you can look past that, it provides a very good "introduction to psychology", as the title says it will.

Just as the authors said, 'The Tradition Continues', this work explains every aspects and perspective of Psychology to me in depth. I think this is a 'must-have' for all beginning Psychology students.

As Americans we have heard many tales, true and false, of tales of, and about, those brave souls who migrated across the country in wagons and on foot in the 19th century. Beverly's LTD has recorded The personal diary of one such woman, Margaret A. Frink.

Mrs. Frink, along with her husband, whose first name we never know, and a boy named Robert leave their nice home in Martinsburg, Indiana, for the riches of the California territories. It's not only the promise of gold that spurs this couple on, but of the riches available to those who make the arduous trip.

Mrs. Frink keeps a detailed diary of the daily distances traveled (how did they m ark this?), the price of provisions along the way, the weather, the many people they run into, and an acute observation of the fashions on the trail. I found that quite interesting, those detailed descriptions of fashion, in clothing, transportation, and supplies, and the daily traveling distance. I also found myself amazed at the mileage the wagons were able to make each day and the price of provisions along the way. In 1851, one onion costs the Frink's one dollar, which is astronomically even in the 2002 market.

Susan Baxter, an actress at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Colorado, gives life to Margaret. By the tone of voice she uses, I suspect that Margaret is a bit of a snob, but she handles the travails of the trail with remarkable good humor.

It is particularly interesting that the diary does not end with their arrival in Sacramento, but gives a hurried account of life for their life as hotel owners and diary farmers. It is also interesting that the home they dismantled in Indiana and ship by boat, arrived in the new state at almost the same time they did.

Thanks to the publication of this diary, I have a whole new appreciation of the Old West!

The second in the series is as interesting as the first.The immigrants now have a bit more knowledge as many have gone before them.There are still many misshaps, disease, lack of water and feed. We now are starting to see many oppertunists who prey on the people. It is interesting to note that the women and Indians seemed to get along quite well and shared hints about many things. We also see the diffrence in the trip for diffrent income levels.This is also where we start to see pollution,as the animals were allowed in the creeks and anything not needed was just left .These books show what life was really like on the trail and what the women went through each day.

This book is about this girl named Eliza, which thinks she looks fat and ugly when she looks at herself on the mirror. Then one day, she met the girl who could not hear and only read people's lips to understand them. They both wanted to play on a play, so they sign up and both were accepted on a play.
I would rate this book a 4 (****), because it seems boring but interesting to read. I like the book, even though it is not the setting that makes me like the book, it is about the story. I like both of the characters, and they are okay. I am just wondering how did Eliza's friend learn how to read people's lips, so she could understand what they are saying. The book is just so-so, I mean okay, and the author didn't really use a lot of descriptive languages.

I think that this is a wonderful heart-warming story that is suitible for all ages and should be givin an award for it's great details and creativity!

This short story collection is a worthwhile read, and I will be looking up some of the authors featured. In particular, Andrew Sean Greer's story is heartbreaking; William J. Cyr's story has an interesting conversational, matter-of-fact tone; and the curiously named author "wormser" has a short but sweet entry. The best part of this collection, for me, is the interview with author Richard Bausch. I found it thoroughly inspiring, as it touches upon such problems as writer's block and having the confidence and determination to live a writer's life. The best part about Glimmer Train collections as a whole is that they give unpublished writers their first break, in addition to publishing established writers. More literary magazines of this caliber and spirit of inclusiveness are sorely needed!

This is an enjoyable collection of short stories; although, as with other collections, there are a couple of weak links in the chain. Nevertheless, it's worth buying for Andrew Greer's story alone. Others are also quite good, such as Karen Outen's fictional debate on whether to have a baby, Wormser's story about a childhood friend, and William Cyr's original and witty (and, at the same time, chilling) story of a bad stepfather. I also enjoyed the whole presentation--with baby photos of the authors (as well as current shots) and their personal comments. Established author Richard Bausch talks about writing, racism, and life in general in an engaging interview. Definitely worth a read!

in this book of short essays, cioran uses irony and paradox to achieve an absolute black humor. life is described as mind looking at itself and finding no significant content. death, the final exit, is a betrayer in that contemplating it leads one to wish to affirm life once more, yet without knowledge of what in life can be affirmed. many key words in the book begin with "a": abulia, aporia, askesis, ataraxia, and acedia define cioran's mood. perhaps the most brilliant essay, "beyond the novel," informs us that the novel is either dead or dying, in any case in agony, since both "character" and "meaning" no longer signify anything. here art mirrors life, where certitudes are merely functioning lies and the only goal is a futility achieved by severing oneself from those lies. the curious thing is that humor shines through all this, and while i don't find this book as funny as others of cioran's, particulary his books of very short aphorisms, there were still some laughs: "...at any price we must keep those who have too clear a conscience from living and dying in peace," for example.

Contorted at the end of a struggle, like a slovenly cat no longer able to fight her revolutions, it is an indication of Cioran's aspiration to diffuse sound upon silence, that a philosophy where existence disgruntles consciousness into submission is its most prevailing feature. What must be done? Cioran, that final seer unable to dislodge his lucidity: knowing indeed that lucidity is a gift available to those whose lives have already ended, and like Diogenes in his tub, he winces at the absent sky above him. Desertion, the epigram of self-consciousness and the incipient dawn that is reason: Cioran is symptomatic of a resignation in regard to reason's vacuity - a distant light in the façade of reasonable progress. What must be done? Furrowing the fortunes for ruin, we owe him our spirits. But apocalypse that is breathing, perhaps we have not done enough to oblige Cioran's task - is there not a sediment of reason still left in your goblet human! Exile, the fortune of the vagabond, for him reason is trace of nostalgia. No, it is all together too clear: it will be the task of our present generation to dissolve gradually until the sediment of spurious aspirations has been exhausted. We are no longer engaged in a struggle with reason, for such ends are absent. To regard reason as an anathema, to scorn it as an obsolete tradition adhered to by either servile conservatives or pious harlequins, and to embrace decline as an antidote to such retrospective tendencies - that will be our progression. Decline and its organic counterpart decay are virtues into which we ought to submit. Nietzsche is right about the ruinous: like an orchestra at the edge of a precipice, we need to finally be pushed into the void. But you wince, unable to sacrifice yourself for a future generation founded in the hallucinogenics of the nocturnal reverie. Very well! But know in advance that existence, the trace of sulphur in an otherwise familiar metropolis, is a tincture only available to those who have gargled on their own negation - had Cioran tasted it? Unable to answer this question, we perform an exegesis on the text, hoping the hermeneutics of hopelessness will exhume gold, hoping the allusions written in sand will reveal a hidden hieroglyphic. But such elusive ideals, such pewter-encased goblets, are only to be found in dissolution and to that we must revere before timidity beckons.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a great insight into the world of Lampworking. Packed full of beautiful color pictures of glass beads, the artists that make them and examples of what you can do with these treasures. Each artist shares their background and examples of their work.

This is a great addition to any "bead-a-holic's" library!

This is a terrific book for anyone who appreciates the art of lampworking, especially for those of us who collect these beautiful beads. There are short bios of the featured artists, along with examples of their work and tips for other lampwork artists. Being a collector of fine lampwork beads, I was delighted to see the faces and read the stories of so many talented artists I have come to "know" over the years. This book is a "must have" for bead lovers, jewelry designers, and lampwork connoisseurs, and would make a wonderful gift for anyone who appreciates glass artistry!
I HIGHLY recommend this book!

If you have ever admired art glass beads and wanted to learn to string them, The Art and Soul of Glass Beads will certainly get you started. Sixteen amazing lampwork artists talk about their own creativity, what got them started and share a few tips and advise on where to go to find proper equipment, glass and get help along the way. Many of these artists pour out their "souls" and share their beads as well as their experiences as they struggled to learn methods to this ancient craft as well as how to buy their beads for use in your own work. The book also has lots of projects for art bead jewelry makers. The book has easy to follow jewelry directions, illustrations, glossaries and how-tos. The photography is very high quality. I would say that anyone interested in art glass beads as a craft would find the book helpful. I enjoyed each artist's own narrative. It was a very personal look at glass bead jewelry: art and soul.

I think The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates was an okay book. Joshua, the main character, was very humorous. Joshua just ended the summer after a year of third grade. He is shocked and embarassed when he learns he has to repeat third grade over. Josh wasn't happy about the situation at first, but then Mrs. Goodwin came in. Mrs. Goodwin tutored Josh after school and during school she made him feel beeter about himself. Josh takes the test to fourth grade. Did he make it or did he not? Read The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates to find out the ending and all the hysterical details.

This book is about Joshua T. Bates who spent all summer having fun...that is until Labor Day when his mom gave him the devastating news ---he had to repeat third grade !

He thought his year would be terrible and that everyone would make fun of him because he flunked third grade.

But his teacher cared and gave him the extra help he needed to succeed. Joshua made new friends and learned that with hard work and and practice he could make it into fourth grade where he belonged.

Kids our age will like this book because it is a page turner and it teaches you that no matter how bad things may seem, if you believe in yourself, you can do anything!

I would highly recommend this book for any age. It begins with Joshua having the best
summer. Then his mother told him that he had to repeat the 3rd grade. Joshua was
very embarrassed, mad, and said he was moving to East Africa. He called his teacher a
tank. Then Joshua gets teased about repeating 3rd grade. Mrs. goodwind helps Joshua
get better grades. Joshua took a test to see if he could be promoted to 4th grade.
Read the book to find out if Joshua passed.