This book was recommeded to me by a friend. I am glad that I took the time to read it. It was quite enjoyable. Most books have loose ends. This book has nothing hanging, to make you wonder wat happened to a certain character. It was a real page turner. I couldn't put it down, I had to know what happened next.

The following was sent to me before the book was ever even queried for publication:

"...As a general comment, your book is extremely well written. I was more than a little surprised that (name left out) knew anyone with such literary talent. It was a pleasant surprise.

You are obviously a very observant individual with a wonderful eye for detail. Your descriptions have an almost photographic quality--they can be read and re-read much as one would browse a family album which captured a great deal of one's youth. Your images are vivid--they provoke thought and trigger memories.

Your cast of characters is diverse and interesting. Their number is more than adequate to variegate the story yet not so large that a reader would become confused. You provide enough depth to fairly represent their individual natures. This makes the reader feel there's sufficient material to gain accurate personal insight into the players.

Pacing is very good. The story flows along at a fast enough rate to sustain interest but not so fast as to lose the reader. The rate you've chosen is perfect for creating and sustaining the mysterious mood you were after.

Great dialogue. It is what moves the story along so well. Too often writers overdo the exposition and make their stories sound preachy. While your book has its preachy moments they are offset by the quantity of pertinent dialogue. This is an especially good trait of your writing.

Excellent vocabulary and use thereof. You exhibit a strong mastery of the language.

In summary, you've got something that should sell and you ought to try to move it as soon as you can. I think you may well have a winner here.

Bob Wojtyna

P.S. This assessment assumes, of course, that the reader buys into the premise of angelic existences. I myself do not. However, it is your good fortune that the vast majority of the world's readers do ascribe to these entities. That may well translate into very rewarding sales.

The Alaska-Klondike Diary of Elizabeth Robins is a refreshing look at life at the end of the American Frontier. The feminist view that Robins carries to the gold rush of 1900 offers the reader not only a glimpse into the life of women at the time, but offers an in depth look at the struggles and hardships faced by men and women alike as they fight for survival in the Klondike. Just as Gates promises in the introduction, "At times the reader may forget that it is a day-to-day account of events as they unfold and think it instead a novel," the diary flows with the practiced ease of thinking to oneself. In addition, Gates' careful editing is complimented well with augmenting photos that lend to the flow. The Alaska-Klondike Diary of Elizabeth Robins exemplifies the literary spirit and zest for life for which popular culture has acquired a taste. Gates' novel is carrying on the spirited tradition Jack London Style.

This excellent bibliography is a must for any Elizabeth Robins scholar or reader. Author Sue Thomas has meticulously listed every Robins-authored works in several convenient categories and documented hundreds of print reviews of her books. She has examined archival material on three continents. And for any work she has not personally examined, she provides a cross listing to the source of her information by item number. Both those somewhat familiar with Robins' careers as actress and writer and those who need a thumbnail introduction to Robins and her works will benefit from the biographical sketch. Thomas gives a succinct overview of each of ER's major novels and provides a rationale for why her reputation went into decline in the 1920s, when modernist trends made her dated. She hints at forthcoming biographies, now in print, that have restored the writer's status as an early twentieth-century feminist, both in her fiction and with her social activism. (Robins was the first Hedda Gabler on the London stage. Her women's suffrage play, Votes for Women, captures the mood of the early 1907 political campaign in Britain.) The volume is a valuable addition to every woman's library.

I frequently look for positive ways to talk about my son's special needs with his sister. She sometimes has a tough time accepting his differences. "Way to Go, Alex" is a great way to open the conversation about trying to do our best, and being proud of what we can achieve. This story helps my daughter understand that feelings of frustration can be turned around to a more positive approach to the challenges she faces having a brother with learning and physical disabilities. The story accurately depicts how difficult it is for a child to understand and cope with a sibling's disabilities. It is a wonderful introduction to Special Olympics. I hope many parents share the story with their children and discuss how important an encouraging, supportive, and accepting community is for people of all abilities.

When I found out that Roy and Dale Evans had so much heartache in their marriage and child rearing, I was most anxious to read this book, Angel Unawares. I first read the book immediately after I had found out that I too was the Mom of a very special little girl, so this book as told by Dale was a great source of strength and encouragement to me. I would certainly hope every new parent of a special child could have this book for reference. It really helped me! Not only did I realize that challenges face movie stars as well as common folks, but I realized that I certainly was not alone and this book was a real spiritual and emotional blessing to me!

I read this book as a little girl blind to what troubles that others had. Thanks to this inspiring heartfelt portrait told through Robin's eyes, I became aware of the world beyond my small circle. I hold it and Helen Keller's story highest in my wide range of past reading. I bought both for my two daughters in hopes that it might teach them the compassion and acceptance I value so deeply. Now at 30 I have been diagnosed with MS and I feel that the experience of these books have truly helped me to endure the drastic changes in my life. Every child should read this book. They might see things a little clearer if they did. Thank you Mrs. Evans for sharing your beautiful ANGEL with the rest of us!

I read Angel Unaware as a senior in high school in 1966. It stayed in my book collection as I moved to various states throughout my adult life. Then, thirty-one years later (8/26/1981) to the day of Robin's birth (8/26/1950), my "Angel" was born. I knew I had the book somewhere stored away. When Julie was 2 months old, I found the courage to look for it and stood right there in the basement by the open box of books and reread and cried as I realized that she and Robin shared the same day for their birthdays. We have come a long way, both in medical and personal support for persons with Down syndrome. But through the years, I have gone back and read the book again feeling a connectedness of Robin's "Angel spirit" to that of my daughter.

As a novice teacher, I read this book with vigor during my first break. It contains valuable information that I wish I'd known before I started. I'm sure all teachers eventually figure out what works for them, but it would be great if every new teacher could carry this book in his pocket during those first trying months. It's nice to know that most teachers experienced frustrations, questioned their choice of profession, and wondered if they would ever be able to juggle the tasks required of them. Unfortunately, this book tries to answer all the questions at once, leaving the reader with reassurance that they're not alone, some good general suggestions, but few specific solutions to common problems. It's good--but I wish it had gone further. Also, my editon contained many typos and seemed tied to specific local school policies and procedures.

This book is like having your own mentor. You get practical information on classroom management, discipline, lesson planning and recordkeeping. I wish I had this help when I started teaching...

Experienced and practicing classroom teachers, Chris Niebrand, Elizabeth Horn, and Robina Holmes collaborate to offer the reader strategies for dealing with other teachers, school administrators, specialists, aides, substitutes, parents, intruders, and (above all) their students. The Pocket Mentor offers sound, easy-to-follow advice on managing time, avoiding or coping with stress, and handling the wide ranges of duties, responsibilities, and concerns every K-12 teacher faces. The Pocket Mentor is packed with helpful hints on subjects ranging from wardrobe choice and record-keeping, to where to safely store everyone's "stuff". The Pocket Mentor is an absolute necessity for all novice teachers and has much of value to offer even experienced classroom instructors.

I read The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory and loved it, so I chose this as a follow up and was very disappointed. It lacked any interest or excitement.

This book is amazing. It gives a wonderful description of an area of Elizabeth's life that few have ever explored. You really get a good sense of the times as well as the characters. A MUST READ!!

Robin Maxwell has it almost exactly right, but not quite. The detail of her book is astounding and fills in the period with the appropriate characters in her usual high level of style and wit.

However, truth in this case is stranger than fiction: Elizabeth was sent to Cheshunt in May 1548, after her well recorded encounter with her step-father, Thomas Seymour. Conventional historians portray this as Katherine Parr taken precautions and separating the two.

A closer look at the situation reveals a deeper motive, Princess Elizabeth was already pregnant. She gave birth on July 21, 1548 to a son, who was taken and placed in the home of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford. John de Vere was forced into a marriage with Margery Golding by Edward Seymour (Lord Protector) and his secretary William Cecil. The bond between William Cecil and the young Princess was to last the remainder of Cecil's life, because he was the one who solved her pregnancy problem. Thomas Seymour never knew he was the father. The young boy was raised as Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. He was a known poet, author, theatrical producer in the court of Elizabeth. He is best known by his works under the pen name William Shakespeare.

Elizabeth eventually had five more children. Four by Robert Dudley. The last was Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the young man to whom Shakespeare dedicates Venus and Adonis and Lucrece.

This work fills in the imaginative details of the period. But leaves out the critical one, Elizabeth had a child in 1548. Truth is stranger than fiction. The book is almost right on.

Paul Streitz
Author
Oxford: Son of Queen Elizabeth I

I am an Aussie living in Georgia and have found this book to be a valuable tool when finding the Australian way of eating. The recipes are Quite easy to understand and the ingredients are American friendly, unfortunately there are no pictures which takes a bit of the fun out of it. But all in all YUM YUM.

This charming book is about food, among the upper classes, a century ago. It is written by Elizabeth Pennell (1855-1936) who was a food writer and an avid collector of cookbooks. It is a series is essays about various topics -- On salads, or The magnificent mushroom. Pennell does not write full recipies, but refers to them in prose. About a salad to accompany a light breakfast:

"...Make it of tomatoes, scarlet and stirring, like some strange tropical blossoms decking the shrine of the sun. Just a suspicion of shallot in the bowl; the perfect dressing of vinegar and oil, pepper and salt; and the luxuriant tropics could not yield a richer and more fragrant offering. It is a salad that vies with Cleopatra in its defiance to custom. Love for it grows stronger with experience. The oftener it is enjoyed the greater the desire to enjoy it again."

Needless to say, the writing is sometimes a bit over the top. The book is devoted, as the title says, to the delights of delicate eating.

Of all of the guidebooks to Spain I've read, this is the worst. It is a condescending anthropological study of Spaniards and the visitor to Spain.

Just listen to this example of the "advice" given:

"Nowadays there is a system of numbers at some of the supermarket counters, particularly the butcher's. You take a number from a roll fixed on the counter and wait for it to be called. If there are lots of numbers ahead of your own, this leaves you free to carry on with other shopping until your turn draws near. But make sure you are available when your number is called. Otherwise you will be made to draw a new number and made to wait over again."

If this is the type of advice you need, you may need more than just this guidebook to help you through Spain.

Besides being written for idiots, the book has another assumption which is purely annoying: Spaniards are good and all others are evil. For example when describing the recent increase in crime, the book implies that all crime is commited by either gypsies or foreigners.

The simplicity of this book is only necessary if you are a stereotypical tourist who needs help understanding anything basic about a country other than the US. If you are actually curious about Spanish culture, however, a better choice is "Discovering Spain, An Uncommon Guide" by Penelope Casas.

If you know absolutely nothing about Spain, this could be a nice book to very lightly acquaint you with the Spainish culture. It definitely does not live up to it's description. It touches on (one paragraph) many different topics, many of which I would have liked to know more about but just read about what I already know. It's not horrible, just basic. It most definetly does not prepare one for a trip to Spain or if you plan to move there(as I am doing). For example, it tells you there are comprehensive bus and train systems...I need to know their names and how to use them.(of course they have them, anyone would assume that) For me this was a waste of time and money.

This is a book of advice for folks planning to settle in Spain, particularly in the foreign retirement enclaves along the Mediterranean coast. It is heavily oriented toward the British, as the Culture Shock books are a British series. For the rest of us, it has a lot of interesting and potentially useful information that you do not find in tourist guidebooks, written in a pleasant, chatty, though sort of repetitive English nanny style. It is fairly unorganized. But if you're even thinking of moving to Spain, it's good to read whatever good advice you can get your hands on, and this book has plenty of it. Somebody mentioned that Penelope Casas is better: Penelope Casas is a great read, but my impression is that she travels mostly with The Well To Do, which is definitely what I am not one of.