I'm a teacher and I find the Eyewitness books highly educational. I like the way the concepts are presented in a form without backgrounds. This gives clear facts to the reader without over taxing the attention span. The books are highly informative, presenting difficult concepts in comprehendable chunks that stimulate interest. I have almost the whole collection for my own children and they LOVE them!

This would be a great book for use in elementary school science classes. It has a wonderful layout, with many beautiful photographs (if insects can be called beautiful). The text, mixed nicely with the pictures, covers basic information on insects as well as various interesting facts.

I checked this out of the new books section at our local library, and my 3-year-old really likes it. He is a child that loves the familiar and seems to empathize with both the grandfather's desire to go back to the country and Harry's desire to go back home to his mom in the city. The illustrations are really fabulous -- detailed, but with great whimsy, and a really extraordinary use of color. We had never read anything before by the Anholts, and Harry's Home led us to check out another five or so yesterday. Both my 2-year-old and 3-year-old loved Billy and the New School, one of the Anholts' previous books. Harry's Home is a great discovery. I recommend it.

This is a charming book with a clever story and appealing illustrations. The moral is that new things grow on you, as did this book. After checking it out several times at the library, we decided we must have it. Bravo.

"Jump Back, Honey: The Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar" combines several poems from this beloved African-American poet with illustrations from several different artists: Ashley Bryan, Faith Ringgold, and more. Dunbar (1872-1906) was an expert at writing poems in both a formal "literary" English and in a style that evoked African-American vernacular speech (this second type of poem was known as a "dialect" poem). This book includes excellent examples of both modes. A sample from a "dialect" poem: "Fiddlin' man jes' stop his fiddlin', / Lay his fiddle on de she'f."

I liked how several different visual artists contributed to this book; this gives the book a nice sense of variety. My favorite illustrations include Jerry Pinkney's pictures, which are vibrant with color and energy, and Carole Byard's delicate picture that accompanies "The Sparrow."

These are poems about nature, African-American culture, and the joys of love and family life. This book is an excellent choice for a multicultural children's book collection.

A versatile group of illustrators add flair to Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry. Faith Ringgold's portrait of Frederick Douglass gives additional power to "Douglass". Jerry Pinkney's illustrations capture the playfulness and sass of "A Negro Love Song"; and "The Colored Band". Both Carole Byard's and Jan Spivey Gilchrist's illustrations add contemporary color and meaning to this anthology. The notes list brief biographical information on Dunbar and some background data on the title of this book. Some facts about the illustrators are also included in this collection of poems. This book can be used for school and church performances and plays.

JUNE,2004 is a compellimg story that meets all the criteria of an excellent novel. It has a brisk pace and includes an array of believable characters. Britt adds to the intensity of the story by moving the reader through a variety of events condensed into a one week time frame. Using a chronological format, the author keeps the readers interest high amidst the fast paced detail essential to the story line. The format employed by Britt to conclude the novel may not please all readers but it provides for a gripping and fascinating conclusion. Overall, this is an important and insightful book that is eminently readible- a real page turner.It also compels the reader forward and forces one to think about issues that constantly need to be considered in a democratic society.

A novel of political intrigue set less than six years in the future. U.S. President John T. Reltin, a charasmatic figure supported by right wing groups was elected in 2000 as a reaction to the severe world wide depression. His actions to fight the depression are constitionally questionable but go unchallenged. The broadcast media, owned by a few large conglomerates favorable to Reltin, generally toes the party line. Only the print media, most notably the New York Times, has managed to remain above the political influence, but it is threatened by hostile takeovers. As the story opens, trouble is brewing in Cuba. Aided by U.S. troops, Cuban Nationals have assassinated Castro and have taken control, installing a pro-U.S. puppet government. In the meantime, a U.S. based committee to save democracyis is on trial for treason. A Justice Department defector comes to the New York Times with documents proving the bogus nature of the case. While under the care of the Times, a "Black Ops" attempt to assassinate the defector is made but is botched setting off a chain of events leading to overwhelming proof of criminality in the White House. Spearheading the move to inform the American people of government malfeasance is protagonist Ed Watson, a crack reporter and national affaris editor for the Times. In June, 2004, Britt handles the formula adeptly and keeps the plot moving and generates a healthy measure of suspense. To his credit, Britt gambles and wins with a finale that runs contrary to our expectations that things generaly work out in the end. In fact, he clearly indicates that things will not work out at all unless we finally take to heart the Jeffersonian ideal that democracy must be maintained by vigilance against those who would undermine it. June, 2004 is a worthy effort that provides the kind of page turning good read we expect. Its message will probably be deplored by those who love Rush Limbaugh, but if your a centrist or anywhere left of that, this alone could make it worth the purchase price.

Paul Ferguson, Syndicated News Service

As a beginning cattleman I found the book extremely helpful and one can use the philosophy in all aspects of ranching. Great book for all interested in cattle and land stewardship.

The Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising, by Laurence Lasater, is an outstanding basic guideline for economic selection of cattle that can used in either an extensive or management intensive grazing system based on sound environmental practices.

The Lasater Philosophy was developed by Tom Lasater, one of the founders of the Beefmaster breed; and a succesful cattleman in Texas. His philosophy has several basic principals that can make any livestock breeder succesful in profitable production. He covers topice like selecting animals that will be hardy and performance oriented in your environment. Basically, select those animals that will be coming from a harsher environment than the one that you will be putting them in. If they come from an easier climate, one can expect performance to drop. Lasater also covers the importance of the bull and the cow in making genetic decisions and how fertility should be measured.

Perhaps the hardest part of the philosophy to grasp is the rather strict cull policy. Any female animal is culled if they lose an offspring for any reason. That means predators, scours, or even lightning. Keeping the best of the best, should prove to produce consistency and quality over the long run.

I found this book to be excellent and recomend it to any breeders of any livestock who are interested in environmentally and grass based production methods. We currently use these principles in correlation with Linear Measurement to manage one hundred head of Belted Galloway cattle. Remeber, if you replace the words cattle raising with sheep, hog, or goat raising, the principals are still quite useful. Excellent photos of the Lasater type Beefmaster are included in all chapters and easily illustrate how these animals should appear in actual management conditions.

I was born in Radauti & fortunately left with my parents in 1959. It is a moving elegant book of a town that is usually not on the map. Wonderful pictures(Including my uncle & his family)Would love to have contact with auther as I am doing some reasearch on Radauti. I gave out all my copies of the book and would love to find a copy. Also would be interested in posters of Laurence's work.

I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN FINDING INFORMATION ON THE POSTERS OF LAURENCE SALZMANN. I BOUGHT " THE LAST JEWS OF RADAUTI " POSTER, IN A POSTER SHOP IN PHIL. PA IN 1984 more or less. I'D LIKE TO FIND OUT WERE I CAN SEE (and maybe buy ) HIS COLLECTION, REDEYE141@aol.com thank you

Laurence Gartel is a man ahead of his times.!! Anyone owning one of his pieces has an investment in the future. This book is absolutly awe inspiring !! A must have for anyone with digital art interests !!!!

laurence gartel is a genius. i just love his work

"Lyrics of Lowly Life," by Paul Laurence Dunbar, was first published in 1896. It was a milestone in the too-short life of Dunbar (1872-1906), a pioneering figure in African-American literature. In his introduction to "Lyrics," William Dean Howells notes that Dunbar portrays African-Americans "with humor, with sympathy, and yet with what the reader must instinctively feel to be entire truthfulness."

Dunbar's poetry generally falls into two groups: those written in a "high" literary English, and those which reproduce American vernacular speech (the "dialect pieces," as Howells calls them). Dunbar's gift is that he excels in both modes. He is adept at using a number of different meter and rhyme schemes; the best of his poems achieve a musicality and technical proficiency that compare favorably with the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.

Yes, some of his poems seem quite dated today. They are often excessively sentimental and sometimes tediously conventional. But "Lyrics" is also full of some really outstanding, thought-provoking pieces. Consider "Frederick Douglass," a stirring tribute to the great African-American writer and activist; Dunbar follows 9 stanzas of iambic pentameter in an ABABCC rhyme scheme with a concluding ABABCCDD stanza. (Indeed, I find half the fun of reading Dunbar to be analyzing his diverse poetic structures.)

In poems like "Song" and "Ode to Ethiopia," Dunbar shows a pride in the African-American people. And although some poems seem to present a romantic, sentimental view of slavery, consider the brilliant "An Ante-Bellum Sermon": this "dialect" poem satirically demonstrates how Black slave preachers managed to subvert the racist biblical interpretations of the slavemasters.

Other outstanding selections include "Religion," which envisions a humanistic faith; "The Spellin'-Bee," a longer narrative poem of small-town life; "The Colored Soldiers," a tribute to the "gallant colored soldiers / Who fought for Uncle Sam," and "When de Co'n Pone's Hot," a celebration of traditional soul food.

Dunbar's poetry can be seen as a forerunner for the work of such American poets as Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks. And for a fascinating complement to Dunbar's poetry, read the poetry of his American contemporary, Stephen Crane (1871-1900); "The Complete Poems of Stephen Crane" have been edited by Joseph Katz. To sum up, Dunbar is a poet whose life overlapped the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but I believe that he has something to say for contemporary readers and scholars.

I was first introduced to the works of this remarkable poet in my American Literature high school class . My favorite and first Paul Laurence Dunbar poem is We Wear the Mask, and I have found that the rest of his poetry is just as honest and as well as heartbreaking. I would recommend this book of poetry to anyone because it does not just show the tragedy of slavery and effects on the soul of racism, but also represents the feelings of ostracism found anywhere.

This is a marvelous work that one who loves poetry and appreciates the beauty of Mr. Dunbar's work must have!

Paul Laurence Dunbar is a rare gem. Something to be treasured for all time. His poetry is so honest and pure, so revealing that it is almost painful to read.

Poems of Cabin and Field moved me in ways hard to describe. I was hit from three intimate directions at once. I am a poet, this is the heart of poetry. I am an historian, this is living, breathing history. Lastly, but first by nature, I am a Southerner, and this is as Southern as it gets.

Dunbar's work is a masterpiece. My favorite was "The Deserted Plantation," which is the very kernel of Southern history itself, though it is hard to choose any single line over another in these wondrous gifts of soul. It is so refreshing to dip in this sparkling wellspring of the South.

May Dunbar and his Poems of Cabin and Field be remembered always.

This is the first play by noted film actor Laurence Fishburne, which, to no one's surprise, has had a critically successful run of performances in Los Angeles and New York in the past couple of years. The challenge of the play in book format was whether or not I could "see" the play as I read it. I could, and what a sight it was!

It is the story of two low-rent hustlers who try to outscore a local drug dealer and find themselves hiding out in an apartment waiting for the right time to make good their escape. After introducing one of of the hustler's childhood friends called in for help, the story quickly takes on more depth, solid characterization and moral study than its meager 50-odd pages conveys. Riff Raff is a solid piece of storytelling and you can tell that it's been written by an actor: its sweeping monologues would challenge the reserves of any county fair auctioneer, while its way of telling the life stories of the characters in such little time speaks to the more-than-capable abilities of the play's acting-minded autuer and not to any characters' lack of depth.

While it has a great deal of profanity, it doesn't push the reader away from the story. A must for anyone interested in theater, college students majoring in acting or creative writing, and writers of short stories of any stripe, as it spoke to me.

This is the first play by noted film actor Laurence Fishburne, which, to no one's surprise, has had a critically successful run of performances in Los Angeles and New York in the past couple of years. The challenge of the play in book format was whether or not I could "see" the play as I read it. I could, and what a sight it was!

It is the story of two low-rent hustlers who try to outscore a local drug dealer and find themselves hiding out in an apartment waiting for the right time to make good their escape. After introducing one of of the hustler's childhood friends called in for help, the story quickly takes on more depth, solid characterization and moral study than its meager 50-odd pages conveys. Riff Raff is a solid piece of storytelling and you can tell that it's been written by an actor: its sweeping monologues would challenge the reserves of any county fair auctioneer, while its way of telling the life stories of the characters in such little time speaks to the more-than-capable abilities of the play's acting-minded autuer and not to any characters' lack of depth.

While it has a great deal of profanity, it doesn't push the reader away from the story. A must for anyone interested in theater, college students majoring in acting or creative writing, and writers of short stories of any stripe, as it spoke to me.