This book has truly inspired me. To read about the sacrifices Brother Andrew made has made me know I can do so much more for God. This is a must read for anyone who is working for God. This is a thrilling, edge of your seat, page turner. You will not be able to put it down.

If self-sacrifice is the mark of true heroism, then Brother Andrew is in a class with the most valient. This book tells his story from birth and youth in WWII poverty, to the agnosticysm of a young man to the realization that God is REAL and part of his life. It will challenge your faith to rely on God as if he were a king leading his troops into battle. He is. Brother Andrew's story is one of the most involving STORIES I have read. But it isn't just a story, it is the life of a real man who has given everything for the mission to spread light to a dark land. Just because the Iron Curtin has fallen, dosen't mean that this book is any less relevant today. It will change your faith. Gaurenteed.

This book can change your life and how you see God. Brother Andrew gave his life totally to God, and God remained faithful to him. you cannot read this book and come away with the same view on God. I read this book, and could not put it down. Sure to strengthen your Christian experience. As thrilling as any spy novel. Not one to be missed by any christian. What one person can do when they give themselves totally to God. If you thought the result would be a dull life, you're dead wrong! Read the book!
IF YOU LIKED THIS, I HAVE ANOTHER TO RECCOMEND. It's called "A Thousand Shall Fall" But you must be sure to get the right one. The full title is "A thousand shall Fall: The electrifying story of a soldier and his family that dared to practice their faith in Hitler's Germany." Written by Suzy Hazel Mundy. It's as much of a page turner as this book and will also change your life.

Happy reading!

Enjoy the earth through literature, poetry and meditations with this guide. If you love the feel of dirt beneath you, the wind in your hair, or water on your feet, this is a book you must carry with you.

This is a fantastic book. It has a lot of beautiful poetry in it that celebrates the earth. If you are thinking of buying it, then I would highly recommend it. It is something I plan to use to share with others. I am one of those "treehugger" people, and I suppose that is why I like this book so well. There are several passages in the book that were so moving it brought me to tears.

Thank you Elizabeth and Elias for compiling this wonderful book of earth honoring prayers. I've used it many times to find an appropriate opening or closing to classes or other gatherings where a moment of earth gratitude and awareness was called for. In fact, I've used it so much that I lost it and need to buy another one! It is also a rich source of prayers to use for personal spiritual work, prayers that help slow me down enough to remember the sacredness of the natural world. Even if I'm hard at work in the city and can't be physically present in some of nature's more healing places, at least I can remember to feel the earth beneath my feet, and to honor her. It is a great book just to pick up and browse through, and contains prayers that are ancient and full of the energy of thousands of our ancestors, and prayers that represent a new awakening to our lost heritage. An earth bible for earth lovers! By the way, I've heard rumors of a Volume II. Is it true and can I purchase it here, or elsewhere?

This concise blend of inspiration and practical resources can guide your family to educational success . . .and fun too!

Linda Dobson, author of Homeschooling: The First Year

This is a splendid and valuable work in the expanding field of homeschooling, which the authors have rendered an attractive, exciting, and eminently practical adventure of the mind--I congratulate them! I sat down, intending to read a couple of chapters, and ended up reading the entire book

Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of "Magical Child" and "Evolution's End: Claiming the Potential of Our Intelligence"

"Homeschooling For Success" is a fact-filled, useful introduction to homeschooling that will help many parents decide whether home education is the right choice for their family.

Dr. William Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, former U.S. Secretary of Education, and President of K12 Incorporated.

In a world full of hate, violence, and selfishness, this book helps us remember each other in the best of ways. It helped found the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation and is responsible of Random Acts of Kindness week. The publishers at Conari Press have truly created a timeless work of inspiration and beauty. Go out and commit a random act of kindness yourself!

I listened to this book on tape on my morning walk. I've listened to it many times and it always starts my day off with a positive feeling. It inspired me to do kind things for people - like giving 10 hamburgers to a homeless man with my son. He told his class and many children went out that week and did more kind things so that they could share their kind acts with the class. It had a great ripple effect.

Random Acts of Kindness got me thinking more deeply about my actions and how I influence young people. It inspired me to write a children's book, THE KING OF KINDNESS.

I have not yet read the book, but I too love the movie, although I keep missing the beginning. I just wanted to reassure the person posting the question that the book definitely precedes the film, and that yes they are the same story. You can doublecheck me by just looking at the books on zstores and auctions-- same author, same title, and one has a banner that says "now a Hollywood film!" The book was published in 1960, the movie came out in 1962.

After spending six months in Florene, Italy, I saw the movie Light in the Piazza on a late night television movie channel. I fell in love with the movie as it gave me great memories of Italy. I have never been able to find the movie on video as it has not been released. So instead I read the book. The story is a true romance between a naive mentally-challenged woman and an Italian man. Very quick, easy reading. A must for anyone going to or having been in Italy.

Unfortunately, you don't give a synopsis of Light in the Piazza and I want to know was it made into a movie -or was the title borrowed from the movie with Olivia de Havilland, Rossano Brassi, George Hamilton and Yvette Mimieux? Since I can't find a video of the movie I would like to read the book as I loved the movie.

We LOVE this book!
The world of quality science books for very young children is sadly lacking. Mudpies to Magnets definitely fills a huge void. The book is detailed, clear, accurate, and age appropriate. Don't think this book is strictly for young children, older ones enjoy it as well. It really helped reinforce concepts in a real, fun way. If your kids are struggling with science or think its 'boring' you definitely need this book.

I love this book! It is a great introduction to science for young kids, beginning with pre-school age. Sensible focus on asking questions, observing and measuring phenomena. Uses a child's natural curiosity about the world all around and harnesses it to encourage the systematic thought on which science is based. I will be teaching a science class for my daughter's Montessori class every two weeks and will take many (most?) of my lessons from this book!

This book and the original Mudpies to Magnets are my best choices for simple, one-page science activities. These science books and experiments were clearly written with the parent or teacher in mind. Although the books contain a wealth of knowledge and experiments, none of the material is overwhelming for the adult participant. The experiments themselves require only inexpensive, household materials. And each of the experiments that we have tried are fun. One caveat: Ignore the age rankings as a wide variety of children (up to age 10) can enjoy all the experiments in these books...from The Science Spiders(TM) Newsletter.

Elisabeth Murray writes a wonderful and highly detailed biography of her grandfather, James Murray. Simon Winchester reintroduced many in this country to Mr. Murray in his book The Professor and the Madman, which told the story of Murray and an American living in an English asylum named W. C. Minor. This book was highly readable, but not comprehensive as a true biography of Murray.

James Murray, the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, was a gentle man of words who dedicated his life to the study of the English Language. His efforts are best understood in this book by the descriptions Elisabeth gives of his scriptorum, where Murray spent the majority of his life, and where Elisabeth worked as a young lady.

In reading about this man's life and the effort that was required to undertake the construction of this dictionary, one really gets a sense of the vastness and complexity of the English Language, the historical richness and the regional diversity. One also sees in florid detail the life of one of the great late-Victorian pedants.

This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray, who was the chief editor of the huge Oxford English Dictionary on which every serious scholar of English continues to depend, has written an excellent biography of the greatest English lexicographer, and done more: she has also given an insight into his personality, and, yet more importantly, into the whole scholarly world of philology, lexicography etc. in Victorian England, and the difficulties which beset the creators of the dictionary. I recommend the biography most highly, and feel that all fans of *The Surgeon of Crowthorne* (chiefly on Dr W.C. Minor) should read this - preferably BEFORE that book (so as to get a sense of context), but otherwise after. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (see "More about me')

"Eight American Poets," edited by Joel Conarroe, is a fine anthology. The introduction notes that this book was "designed as a companion volume to 'Six American Poets,'" also edited by Conarroe. "Eight" follows the same plan as "Six": rather than anthologize a huge company of poets who are represented by only a few pieces each, each of Conarroe's books focuses on a relatively small group of poets, each of whom is represented by a substantial selection. Conarroe's approach allows the reader to get a fuller feel of each poet in the anthology format.

The poets of "Eight" are Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Berryman, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Allen Ginsburg, and James Merrill. Each poet's work is prefaced by a substantial individual introduction.

There are many masterpieces in this book. Curiously, I found the most compelling poems to be those that focus on nature: Roethke's "The Meadow Mouse," Bishop's "The Fish," Plath's "Mushrooms," and Merrill's "The Octopus." Poems like these combine skillfully used language with keen insight, and reveal these poets to be true heirs of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson (two of the featured artists in "Six American Poets").

Overall, I felt that "Eight" was not as strong as its sister volume, "Six." Although there are many poetic masterpieces in "Eight," there is also much material which, in my opinion, hasn't aged well. The so-called "confessional poetry" of some of these writers strikes me as overwrought. Some of the longer poems failed to resonate with me. I was particularly disappointed by Berryman's "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet," especially since I am an admirer of Anne Bradtreet's own work. Admittedly, this criticism may merely reflect my own personal tastes, but I submit it for the reader's consideration.

The fact that so many of these poets either wrote about each other, or pop up in the editor's introductions to each others' work, sometimes gives the book as a whole a creepy, incestuous feel. And the fact that so many of these poets committed suicide, had long-term mental health problems, and/or suffered from addictions further gives the book as a whole a rather morbid feel. On second thought, maybe this group of eight is a bit problematic!

Still, editor Conarroe has assembled an impressive anthology that I would recommend for students and teachers, as well as to a general readership. Although a mixed bag, "Eight American Poets" contains some truly enduring work by an octet whose legacy is secure.

.........the best known and loved poetry of eight well-known twentieth century American poets. Includes well known poems such as Bishop's "The Fish", Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz", Berryman's "Dream Songs", Merrill's "Lost in Translation", Sexton's "Ringing the Bells", and many others.

Like Conarroe's "Six American Poets", the anthology introduces us to each poet with a short biography that is presented before the poet's work. We learn about their lives and come to understand some of the primary forces that have shaped their poetry. I have found that this greatly enriches the experience of reading poetry because I better see the struggles that lead to each individual creation. After each collection, Conarroe offers a list of books and anthologies where each poet has been published so that we, should we wish, can come to know the work of a given poet much better.

This anthology is a wonderful starting place for someone who, like me, desires an introduction to some of the greatest American poetry ever produced. Personally, I feel, after reading this anthology that I have come to truly appreciate the work of Elizabeth Bishop and Theodore Roethke, in particular. I had never known their work well, but suddenly each jumped off the page at me, Bishop for her wonderfully vivid descriptions and Roethke for his intensely moving subjects. Plath and Sexton also really spoke to me, their work so reflecting their lives. Overall, this anthology is superbly worthwhile reading!

Ah, a fine comparison and contrast in studies on the eight best American confessional poets ever. Kudos to the editor on a fine choice of poems, and candid biographies on each poet. Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Allen Ginsberg, John Berryman, Theodore Roethke, Elizabeth Bishop and the other guy, here's to you.

I planned a trip to Ireland for my Mother, 4 sisters and Myself.
I started with "Ireland for Dummies" then read "Frommer's Ireland 2001" and crossed referenced with "Ireland from $60 a Day". I learned more from these books in 2 weeks than in all of my years as a Travel Agent and Airline staff!! Their detailed in-sight and straight-forward advice was right on target. They give prices,times, phones numbers and payment information. They tell you where to go, what to do and who to talk to. I loved their list of on-line addressess for information. Only two things were wrong with my copy. They quoted every price in Irish pounds that were useless after February 2002. I realize that they had to go to print before this change and were unable to adapt in time. The other was lack of detailed mapping. A free map was included inside "Ireland 2001" but only had some of the streets shown for Dublin. I know these will be corrected in future printings. I would recommend these Frommer's books to anyone!! They are written in plain English, yet don't talk down to you(even the "Dummies" book. It was quite humorous)

My family used Frommer's Ireland 12th Ed. extensively before, during ,and after our trip to Ireland in July of 2002. The first two chapters Best of..., and Planning your Trip... were worth the purchase price alone. All of the Best of tips we followed were excellent choices.
The large fold out map that was included served very well during our driving tour of Ireland. Using the county and town maps that were included in the local sections kept us right on track. Distances are deceptive however. It takes longer to get anywhere you go than it would appear from reading the map. The Irish road system is not built for speed ( nor comfort for that matter) so plan accordingly. It takes a long time to drive across the country, or from county to county. More could have been made of this issue in the guide. Our biggest mistake was trying to do too much.
The up to date information on Dublin was very helpful, as were the frequent tips throughout the guide on ways to avoid the summer crowds. I used the web addresses that were included for lodging and found them very helpful for checking availability and booking our rooms quickly. Don't go without it!

My wife and I traveled around Ireland for two weeks this summer, and Frommer's Ireland was an amazingly helpful tool.

Realizing this would probably be the last time we'd be traveling abroad for a while, we decided to mix it up a bit --"inexpensive" to "moderate" accommodations and restaurants in most places, with a few dabbles in the "expensive" (and even one "very expensive") splurges along the way. Across the board, the recommendations in this book were outstanding. What to see and do, where to stay, where to eat and shop.....all were presented in a very down-to-Earth way. The eye for small detail and nuances throughout the book made us feel we were getting advice from a local expert who REALLY knows her stuff.

I can't say enough about how helpful this guide was to us -- it really made our trip a memorable one. The fold-out map got us around most of the country with no trouble....once a nice gentleman in a petrol station showed me how to get my rental car into reverse.

All in all, a terrific book.

It is easy to think of a novella as being a longer short story (with the usual short story limitations) and in this case, that thinking would be appropriate. When reading a novella anthology, one has to understand that character development will be more limited than in the traditional novel or mystery. There simply isn't the time to set up detailed and complex characters due to the restrictions in length a novella places on the work. Therefore, the author has to pack as much character development in his or her work as possible, while setting up the scene, the mystery problem (in this case) and plenty of action to move the story along. It is a difficult task and all four of these authors, with very different themes and writing styles, pull it off wonderfully.

At the same time, it makes reviewing the work rather difficult. One does not want to give away too many of the details and with each novella coming in around 100 pages on average (a couple are a little shorter and conversely a couple are a bit longer) it would be easy to reveal too much. The reviewer also has to take into account his or her particular interests and a couple of these were not exactly what I look for in a novel to read. Having said that, though some of the works were not my thing (as it were) it has to be admitted that those were as well written as the others in the collection, which I did really like.

The collection is opened by the offering from Mr. Robert L. Iles, titled 'The Ten-Spot Murders.' Set in a small town deep in West Texas, the work revolves around a dead man found murdered at the local motel. Instead of being found in his room, he is found behind the building. How he got there and why becomes an intriguing case for Sheriff Okie Bliss and his small department.

'Pangs of Prophecy' by Christine Spindler follows next in the reading order. In this work, April is tormented by the fact that she can see death for those she knows. She knows in excruciating graphic detail how they will die'she just doesn't know when. Trying to prevent a murder she knows is going to happen, she becomes deeply involved in the resulting case when the murder does occur.

The third work is titled 'Buyer's Remorse' by Elizabeth Dearl. Taylor is a writer living out in West Texas and is asked by her friend, Paula, to help her move. Paula has bought an old house and needs help, not only in moving, but restoring the house to livable condition. The problem, beyond the fact that the house is old and in disrepair, is the fact that it might also be haunted.

Rounding off the book is Dan Sontup's work, titled 'the Santa Switch.' While you may have secretly wished death on the mall Santa when he went ahead and promised a toy you know your child could not have in his wildest dreams, in this story, a mall Santa is killed at the mall in a back way hall. Now, Mall Security Chief Matt Ridley has to clean up the problem as well as find out who did it when the Police can't solve the case. At the same time, he has his own internal political problems and a dead Santa does not help things one bit.

In each work, the case is interesting and the approach each writer takes in developing his or her story is tremendously different. With such differences in writing styles, themes, etc., it makes this anthology an interesting and enjoyable read. There is something each reader will like and this is the perfect bag to fling in the tote for a day at the beach.

Avid Press recently released a collection of mysteries featuring four investigators certain to send readers in quest of longer works.

"The Ten-Spot Murders" by Robert L. Iles: The desperate secrets of a salesman come to light when his body's found outside his motel room. Set in Cass County, Ohio, the Sheriff's Department is crippled by a lack of budget and an overabundance of testosterone. Gritty and tense, the triangle formed by traveler, the motel handyman, a part-time prostitute, and the family of a prominent judge will hold the reader's attention riveted.

"Pangs of Prophesy" by Christine Spindler: When April comes to see Inspector Terry, she impresses him: "She was all muted gestures and self-effacing smiles, but she had a mind on the brink of another dimension." All to true, since she has visions of violent and tragic deaths. Inspector Terry is a wonderful creation, always cheering the underdog and even befriending attack cats. Indeed, this novella is startling and skillfully rendered.

"Buyer's Remorse" by Elizabeth Dearl: When the new owner realizes the dilapidated of her bargain, she soon comes to regret her new purchase. While the old house has marvelous carpentry and incredible light for a studio, it also comes complete with its own mystery. Part ghost story and part thriller, this novella will keep readers up past their bedtimes. Believable characterizations, a haunted house, and a precocious and charming ferret create a fascinating and gripping narrative.

"The Santa Switch" by Dan Sontup: Two days before Christmas a Santa is found stabbed to death with scissors in the ladies' room of a shopping mall. The unlikely hero is a security chief with an associate's degree and a background as a New York City police officer. With an unusual cast of characters and a fast paced plot, the merry red of the holiday season carries whole new meaning.

A remarkable collection, BLOOD, THREAT & FEARS is a must read. Each exhibits the powerful writing that makes these authors favorites of mystery fans. Very highly recommended.

I'm giving this book to friends and relatives for Christmas. In one 337-page book are four superb novelettes that should please all mystery-lovers. "Pangs Of Prophecy" was certainly an enjoyable read, an intriguing combination of precognition, rape and murder. "The Ten-Spot Murders" is about a killing in the Ten-Spot Motel. A good, solid mystery. I liked it very much. "The Santa Switch" concerns the death of a shopping mall Santa - death by scissors - and has a very satisfying and unexpected ending. "Buyer's Remorse" (my favorite) introduced two characters I want to get to know better - Taylor Madison and her ferret, Hazel. (Taylor and Hazel are in two other full-length mystery novels, and I'll order them, too.)