This beautiful love story shows the consequences of closed-mindedness. it is a twisted tale that makes you laugh and cry and is an excellent play with a twisted ending.

It all started in the mountains. John the witch boy climbs up conjur mountain. Tired and out of breath, he beg's conjur man to change him to human. All for the love of of the the mountain gal Barbra Allen. He finally gets what he go's after.Althought there are a few catches. When John come into town durning a dance he finds his Barbra and her date Marvin, the town stud, he desides that he will cut in. Marvin doesn't like that too much, but john still has a little of dark power inside of him... While performing cut from this play, the charater loss all sense of acting and truely became there parts. Judges told us that they could not look away from the stage, to ever write comments down they had to wait untill it was complete. We enjoyed it so much that we'll never forget the love story of John the witch boy and his love for Barbra Allen.

This is a passionate yet tender look at love. The story of the Witch Boy (John) who gives up his magic for the love of Barbara Allen, and the consequences, points up predjudice and fear of the unknown. The play is well written for the characters and has many opportunites for cameo roles in the casting. It is an ideal play for small theatres to consider producing. There is a wonderful use of appalchian dialect in the characters and ample chance to add ballads and rousing dance to make it a musical as well. The Opera version doesn't yet do it justice. I have had the joy of doing several productions of this work (one with Mr. Richardson) and feel it is a great piece to represent American theatre.

The memeory of my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs Paula Neill, inspired me to research this tradegy and, in the end, find and read this book. I can still remember the day that I found out she had died.....i was only 8 years old at the time, a 3rd grader at Taylor Mill Elementary, and it really affected me. She was one of the most compassionate and dedicated teachers I have ever known. She made me realize that there was nothing out of my reach nor anthing that I couldn't achieve if I just put my mind to it. Today I credit her with my success....

being a 43 year old, and not yet born durring this period of history, I found that the life of this gentleman was exremely interesting to say the least. The personal letters home where by themselves worth reading this fine book. How fortunate for us all that he survived, and through his account of his experience, we can learn of a time that young men and women of his generation, stepped up and saved this country, and the world, from tryany.

This is the first book I have seen that encapsulates the entire history of the Beverly, as well as the fire itself. As a kid in Cincinnati at the time, I still remember reading the Cincinnati Enquirer in the days after the fire, reading the list of dead. The book is a must-read for anyone from Cincinnati and Northern KY; the fire was a pivotal moment in the area's history

We use this as the main text in my US History AP course. It's a good, fairly comprehensive, yet easy to read text.

I used this textbook as a junior in high school and recently purchased a later edition. Although the wonderful charts plotting the states and electoral numbers of the Presidential elections are long gone it is still a great reference book on our nations history.

My students really enjoyed this textbook because it was so inclusive of all American heritages. It is up-to-date with current trends in American history and has a little bit of everything your students might be interested in.

This is a well-written, well-organized field guide, like all other Peterson Field Guides. The book is divided into five parts: 1. About This Book, a very brief introduction of the book; 2. Collectin and Observing Fishes, again, a brief chapter, but very useful. The next three chapters are divided into: 3. Jawless Fishes; 4. Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras and 5. Bony fishes, which is where the bulk of the book is about. The book also contained an excellent glossary, and a limited number of references. Particularly useful are the detailed habitat information of each fish described, ways to identify them, and of course, the 48 pages of color and black and white drawings of the fishes. The book is an invaluable sources of information not only to ichthyologist, naturalist, but also to the comercial fisherman, professional anglers and recreational angler. The only complaint I had is that this field guide uses artists' drawing for the fishes instead of the actual picture of the fish. With the actual picture of the fish, it will make the identification of an unknown fishe much easier for the amateurs and weekend angler. Overall, an excellent book.

I bought this book in anticipation of a SCUBA trip down the west coast next year. Why? Because I have good luck with Peterson guides and know that they are concise, well written and all inclusive. So far, as I try to gain some familiarity with the fishes of the west coast before I go I have not been disappointed. I'm sure that this book is to the west coast what the Atlantic guide is to the east and gulf coast. I'll write another review after I finish my trip.

Having worked for America Online 6 years ago (right before that I worked at a restaurant by the murrah building in okc when it was blown up by mcveigh), I feel I have a pretty good perspective on this kind of stuff. Quoting Gasset "The mass crushes beneath it everything that is different, everything that is excellent, individual, qualified and select...anyone not like everybody runs the risk of being eliminated.."
The book in a sense tells about two types of people. Those who care about others, and those who care about themselves. Unfortunatly in a world where the competitive nature of man always leads to violence (be it physical, or of the subtle, mental sort) the bad will almost always win out. Having lost a number of friends (literally) due to the operant conditioned nature of life today, and through the media forcing kids to be "cool" to fit in (...)
Anyway, the issues presented in this book, which essentially are an argument against Skinner's promotion of "blank slate" minds that are to be conditioned through "experience", are good ones...however, if you truly understand that you can never, ever do enough to combat the hate and the evil that is so prevelant in the world today, you might want to not read this book...however, if you are aloof and like to buy products and watch movies that the critics agree are "explosive" and, if a sequal "twice as explosive as the first", you might find this book interesting...but probably a bit too academic, and will feel that it should be reserved for Intellectuals or whatever...(...), what do i know.

I was intrigued by the title of this book and really wanted to like it, but found myself struggling to stay focused while reading it.

The three contributing authors have impressive academic credentials and I suppose this work will be used in university classrooms throughout the country, but I think the people who really need to hear the message that technology, economics and ethics can (and should) co-exist will not be attracted to this format.

The authors define people who do good work as: "People who do good work, in our sense of the term, are clearly skilled in one or more professional realms. At the same time, rather than merely following money or fame alone, or choosing the path of least resistance when in conflict, they are thoughtful about their responsibilities and the implications of their work."

The authors spend a lot of time discussing Journalism and Genetics and how ethics and good work in these two arenas are under seige from a market-driven economy. They offer up solutions on how to restore good work to the world and they share their methods of studying good work and their interviewing protocols, but the subject matter is just too academic for the average worker who struggles with ethics v. economics.

Maybe the book will reach university professors...and they'll share it with their students...and they'll go out into the world and strive to do 'good work.'

Let's hope so.

I am a special education teacher and bought this book so I could better understand why some teachers refuse to give learning disabled a chance. I wanted to better understand how some teachers forget the commitment they have to the students they serve. Well, I wished I never read the book. I now understand why people are not commited to their jobs and why administrators asked teachers to "fake" paperwork. I felt lonely while reading this book, because I understand clearly that there are very few people willing to have ethics and excellence meet in their job performance. I am one of those few people and it is a lonely place. The book is a bit dry, much like a college text book. Read it slowly with a dictionary by your side.

Not out of print. Reprinted in 1991, 1998, and 2000 by Clearfield Company, Inc., by Genealogical Publishing CO., Inc., 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

Good resource if your family line is there. Found some information on Ninian Beall, his father and grandfather. They were weavers in Scotland! A confusing marriage date is listed in the book but no information on my line through Ninian's Rachel.

This book contains no fewer than five of my family lines and was so well researched, I found my own name and the names of my seven brothers and sisters, who were listed in the correct chronological order and with correct dates of birth, with only one very minor mispelling and one name reversal. I was already familiar with ancestral lines about five generations back and was able to determine Ms. Doliante was quite accurate and thorough in all details. The entire book is extremely well documented, citing land grant records, wills, Bible records, census records, birth, death, and marriage records, court records, and personal interviews to back up all lineages. I found photographs of my ancestors, both some that I had seen before and some that I had not seen, as well as photocopies of Bible records and wills. The book is an absolute gold mine of information for anyone whose family surnames are found within its pages. I was just thrilled to find it!

This book is not out of print. You people need to get yourselves updated. There is a new, 1998 version, in two volumes for sale and I can't seem to find a price for it. Please Update Yourselves!! You might make a sale!!!

I really enjoyed the content of this book.

This is an outstanding book for couples who want to succeed in their marriage and financial affairs. Not too many books out there that deal with relationship and finance, many couples today deal with the financial issues presented to them but never see the other issues in their relationships that also affect their financial situation. This is a must read book!!!!!

I was surprised to find this book not only an accessible read but also a highly informative volume. There are very few books on the market that deal with financial issues in relationships and how to deal with them. Strange, since money issues are one of the top problems people encounter in their relationships. This book is focused on turning finances into a solvable problem rather than an interminable argument in a relationship.

The book is set up in four parts. The first part walks you through all of the things that can affect a relationship: from hidden issues, to expectations, to gender differences. The second presents ideas and techniques to use in discussing difficult or emotional issues. The third part is the real financial section. It takes you step by step through the basics of financial planning: saving, spending, buying a house, investing, insurance, estate planning, taxes... The fourth part brings relationship tips and financial guidance together, showing you how this can form the groundwork of a strong and lasting partnership.

Most people do not receive an education in financial planning let alone how to work with that in a relationship. This book provides an easy way to deal with those issues. Not only does it provide you with the skills to discuss these matters, but it also gives you a good, basic understanding of how to deal with finances. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone in a relationship - you will get something out of this.

One of the things you can assume when you write about Shakespeare--given the hundreds of thousands of pages that have already been written about him in countless books, essays, theses and term papers--is that whatever you say will have been said before, and then denounced, defended , revised and denounced again, ad infinitum. So I'm certain I'm not breaking any new ground here. King Lear, though many, including David Denby (see Orrin's review of Great Books) and Harold Bloom consider it the pinnacle of English Literature, has just never done much for me. I appreciate the power of the basic plot--an aging King divides his realm among his ungrateful children with disastrous results--which has resurfaced in works as varied as Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Thousand Acres (see Orrin's review), and Akira Kurosawa's last great film, Ran. But I've always found the play to be too busy, the characters to be too unsympathetic, the speeches to be unmemorable and the tragedy to be too shallow. By shallow, I mean that by the time we meet Lear he is already a petulant old man, we have to accept his greatness from the word of others. Then his first action in the play, the division of the kingdom, is so boneheaded and his reaction to Cordelia so selfishly blind, that we're unwilling to credit their word.

Then there's the fact that Shakespeare essentially uses the action of the play as a springboard for an examination of madness. The play was written during the period when Shakespeare was experimenting with obscure meanings anyway; add in the demented babble of several of the central characters, including Lear, and you've got a drama whose language is just about impossible to follow. Plus you've got seemingly random occurrences like the disappearance of the Fool and Edgar's pretending to help his father commit suicide. I am as enamored of the Bard as anyone, but it's just too much work for an author to ask of his audience trying to figure out what the heck they are all saying and what their actions are supposed to convey. So I long ago gave up trying to decipher the whole thing and I simply group it with the series of non-tragic tragedies (along with MacBeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar), which I think taken together can be considered to make a unified political statement about the importance of the regular transfer of power in a state. Think about it for a moment; there's no real tragedy in what happens to Caesar, MacBeth, Hamlet or Lear; they've all proven themselves unfit for rule. Nor are the fates of those who usurp power from Caesar, Hamlet and Lear at all tragic, with the possible exception of Brutus, they pretty much get what they have coming to them. Instead, the real tragedy lies in the bloody chain of events that each illegitimate claiming of power unleashes. The implied message of these works, when considered as a unified whole, is that deviance from the orderly transfer of power leads to disaster for all concerned. (Of particular significance to this analysis in regards to King Lear is the fact that it was written in 1605, the year of the Gunpowder Plot.)

In fact, looking at Lear from this perspective offers some potential insight into several aspects of the play that have always bothered me. For instance, take the rapidity with which Lear slides into insanity. This transition has never made much sense to me. But now suppose that Lear is insane before the action of the play begins and that the clearest expression of his loss of reason is his decision to shatter his own kingdom. Seen in this light, there is no precipitous decline into madness; the very act of splitting up the central authority of his throne, of transferring power improperly, is shown to be a sign of craziness.

Next, consider the significance of Edgar's pretense of insanity and of Lear's genuine dementia. What is the possible meaning of their wanderings and their reduction to the status of common fools, stripped of luxury and station? And what does it tell us that it is after they are so reduced that Lear's reason (i.e. his fitness to rule) is restored and that Edgar ultimately takes the throne. It is probably too much to impute this meaning to Shakespeare, but the text will certainly bear the interpretation that they are made fit to rule by gaining an understanding of the lives of common folk. This is too democratic a reading for the time, but I like it, and it is emblematic of Shakespeare's genius that his plays will withstand even such idiosyncratic interpretations.

To me, the real saving grace of the play lies not in the portrayal of the fathers, Lear and Gloucester, nor of the daughters, but rather in that of the sons. First, Edmund, who ranks with Richard III and Iago in sheer joyous malevolence. Second, Edgar, whose ultimate ascent to the throne makes all that has gone before worthwhile. He strikes me as one of the truly heroic characters in all of Shakespeare, as exemplified by his loyalty to his father and to the King. I've said I don't consider the play to be particularly tragic; in good part this is because it seems the nation is better off with Edgar on the throne than with Lear or one of his vile daughters.

Even a disappointing, and often bewildering, tragedy by Shakespeare is better than the best of many other authors (though I'd not say the same of his comedies.) So of course I recommend it, but I don't think as highly of it as do many of the critics.

GRADE : B-

This star-rating system has one important flaw: you have to rank books only in relation to its peers, its genre. So you must put five stars in a great light-humor book, as compared to other ones of those. Well, I am giving this book four stars in relation to other Shakespeare's works and similar great books.

Of course, it's all in the writing. Shakespeare has this genius to come up with magnificent, superb sentences as well as wise utterings even if the plot is not that good.

This is the case with Lear. I would read it again only to recreate the pleasure of simply reading it, but quite frankly the story is very strange. It is hard to call it a tragedy when you foolishly bring it about on yourself. Here, Lear stupidly and unnecessarily divides his kingdom among his three daughters, at least two of them spectacularly treacherous and mean, and then behaves exactly in the way that will make them mad and give them an excuse to dispose of him. What follows is, of course, a mess, with people showing their worst, except for poor Edgar, who suffers a lot while being innocent.

Don't get me wrong: the play is excellent and the literary quality of Shakespeare is well beyond praise. If you have never read him, do it and you'll see that people do not praise him only because everybody else does, but because he was truly good.

The plot is well known: Lear divides the kingdom, then puts up a stupid contest to see which one of his daughters expresses more love for him, and when Cordelia refuses to play the game, a set of horrible treasons and violent acts begins, until in the end bad guys die and good guys get some prize, at a terrible cost.

As a reading experience, it's one of the strongest you may find, and the plot is just an excuse for great writing.

One of literature's classic dysfunctional families shows itself in King Lear by William Shakespeare. King Lear implicity trusts his three daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, but when the third wishes to marry for love rather than money, he banishes her. The two elder ones never felt Lear as a father; they simply did his bidding in an attempt to win his favor to get the kingdom upon his death. Cordelia, on the other hand, always cared for him, but tried to be honest, doing what she felt was right. As Lear realizes this through one betrayal after another, he loses his kingdom -- and what's more, his sanity...

The New Folger Library edition has to be among the best representations of Shakespeare I've seen. The text is printed as it should be on the right page of each two-page set, while footnotes, translations, and explanations are on the left page. Also, many drawings and illustrations from other period books help the reader to understand exactly what is meant with each word and hidden between each line.

Readers should note that this site does not distinguish between the various editions of Shakespeare, so the reviews you read may be for audiotapes, modern translations, etc. I am reviewing the Kenneth Branaugh BBC Radio recording of Hamlet. It is adequate, which I consider high praise for this challenging play. Like Branaugh's movie a few years later, it includes the entire text of the play, which is a nice way to remind yourself of some issues you may have forgotten.

The performances are pretty good, and include Branaugh (of course) as Hamlet and Derek Jacobi as Claudius, giving us a hint of the performances they would later give in the movie. No one's performance really blew me away, although Jacobi was excellent.

Ultimately, the play loses quite a bit when transferred to audio only. There's a lot to be conveyed with stage placement, physican action, expression, etc. Somehow, listening to the play limited my imagination on those issues, preventing my from using my "mind's eye" to the fullest.

Hamlet is considered, by many scholars, the pinnacle of Shakespeare's dramas. If you haven't read it yet this this Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism edition would be a great place to begin.

The text notes that are included with the play are very helpful to understand some of the more difficult language nuances that are inevitable with any Shakespeare. The structure is well laid out and conclusive. It complements the complexity of Hamlet very well.

Of course Hamlet is one of the great paradoxes and mysteries every written. The search of finding yourself and what it is that fuels the human spirit. Hamlet can be a very confusing play because of the depth of substance. However, the critical essays that suppliment the reading make it very accessable.

Each of the critical essays are of different schools of literary criticism: Feminist Criticism, psychoanalytic criticism, post-structuralist (deconstuctionist) criticism, Marxist critism, and finally a New Historicist criticism. Before each critism there is clearly written introduction to explain the motives and histories of that type of criticism.

This edition of Hamlet will not only introduce the reader to more Shakespeare, but also explain the play and help to familiarize the reader with literary criticism too. It is a beautiful volume that cannot be more recommended if you are wanting to buy a copy Hamlet.

Hamlet is, by far, the most complex of Shakespeare's many plays. Many of the themes covered are love vs hate, action vs non-action, revenge, and jealousy. Hamlet discovers that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" when he encounters the ghost of his father, the King, who has recently been killed in battle. From here, Hamlet goes on a search for the discovery of what happened to his father. However, Hamlet not only uncovers secrets of the past, but also the depths of his own being.

The Folger Edition of Hamlet is a great edition to buy, especially for those who are studying this play in high school or college, because it is relatively cheap in price and is very "reader-friendly" with side notes and footnotes that accompany each page of each scene. So, even if you aren't a Shakespeare lover or if Shakespeare is just a little intimidating (we all know how this feels), this version at least allows you to get the gist of what is going on. Also, there are summaries of each scene within each act, to let you know in layman's terms what is taking place. I highly recommend this edition.

The unnamed narrator of this book is a black boy, living in the south after the Civil War. The boy's father, a sharecropper, struggles to support his family, but can't always provide for their needs. When he comes home with an entire ham, the family is suspicious, and no one is surprised when the police come looking for him. The police lead away the father, in the process shooting and wounding his coon dog, Sounder.

Nobody expects that Sounder will survive, the same as most would doubt the boy's survival in such an existence of poverty and despair. Yet the dog does survive, and so does the boy. Both display a resilience made all the more amazing by the deprivation of their backgrounds.

The boy, who visits his father in prison, meets a kindly teacher who becomes a sort of foster father. The boy learns to read and write, tools he needs to become empowered and to escape his desperate situation. While Armstrong doesn't give any false hope -- we know that the boy will face many more difficulties -- he makes the book a testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome despair and, ultimately, to triumph.

The book i read was Sounder, by Willam H. Armstrong, is a great book for children ages ten and up. I like Sounder because it tells about how times used to be when blacks were treated poorly, and what the had to do for to get food on there table. It is a story that touches your heart, and you would feel sorry for what is going on in there lives. The book is about a black family, who are sharecroppers, and have a dog named Sounder who is loved very much by his family, and which they take care of. The father is forced to steal for his starving family but is caught and put in jail for what he has done. I recommend this book for a wonderful reading experience, and for kids that like reading novels or that would like to know what know how familys of the 19th century had to do to live like they wanted to. So enjoy the book!

This childrens book by William Howard Armstrong digs into the life of a young black boy, his father and their dog, Sounder. It is set in the old south and details the struggles of an African American family of this time. The usual struggles for this family are getting food and staying warm until one terriable night that changes the family forever. The father is taken to jail and Sounder is wounded in the struggle. From that night on the boys life is faced with even more struggles to survive, as he is hoisted to the head of the house. He worries about his fathers well being, which sends him onn many adventures looking for him. Through all of the bad the boy does manage to find the good in all occasions.
This would be a great read for fourth to eighth grade students. It is a truthful and detailed insight into the history of the African-American race.