While this book didn't quite live up to Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, it surpassed Xenocide and I quite enjoyed it. It continues about where Xenocide left off, with Ender's mind/force thing or whatever now controlling second incarnations of his beloved older sister, Valentine, and Peter, his long dead older brother as well as himself. While Ender tries to join his wife in the convent place she fled to, Peter travels with a young chinese servent girl, Wang Mu, and they try to manipulate the Star Ways Congress into calling off the fleet sent to destroy Lusitania. In the meantime, Miro and "Young Val" work to try to save Jane, the dying computer intelligence that is the only thing that allows intelligent species faster than light travel. Anyway, the plot is incredibly complicated, so I won't even try to explain it all, but rest assured that this series is worth reading. The one thing that really annoyed me about this book in particular was something that several other reviewers have commented on as well. Not only does Ender's choice to remain with his wife no matter what "bore him to death" but it is also implied that all relationships are like that! I find that offensive! Anyway, before I get off on a rant I'll just say that this is a great series, if you ignore a lot of implied sexism, which I certainly hope bothers some of you as much as it does me. Happy reading!

I think, personally, people are being a little biased against this book.

The books Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind are basically seperate from Ender's Game. It's a different story, more or less, with Ender as the main character.

The major difference between these two "series" is that Ender's game is more brash and fast paced. The next three are more scientific, moral, and focus more on what the right thing is to do.

But more about this specific book:

While many readers are mad that Ender does die a while before the book ends, the title, "Children of the Mind" implies his "children" will fufill his quest; also , read the back of the book; he is not meant to be the main focus in this book.

The reason I don't think people really understand this book (Although they are entitled to their own opinions) is that you have to be really paying attention to it to understand it. At the beginning of Xenocide, they started talking about "philoites" and souls, and what keeps bodies and people who know eachother "twined together" so to speak. It may seem weird at first, but once you read through the series, this book works.

Just to be clear, the book is NOT as straightforward as Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead, but if you are willing to devote your undivided attention to Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead they are great reads.

Quite frankly, I don't think some people are smart enoguh to really understand Xenocide and Children of the Mind, but I can see how some people don't like the book. I respect their opinions. Although I hope you read this book regardless of whether you heard good reviews or bad reviews, because it is the conclusion to the series.

All in all, the book finished all the questions we had from the previous books and made some new ones come up that do not tie in to the story directly. Is another book coming? I hope so.

If you read the series up to Children of the Mind, don't stop there. It is a great read and a good conclusion. You'd be missing out if you didn't. It might turn out that you will hate it. But it's not a extremely long book anyway. I would dive right in.

While this is perhaps the weakest of the books in the Ender saga, that rating comes only in comparison to an awe-inspiring beginning. COTM perhaps didn't have the depth of the other novels, but Card did an excellent job of fleshing out some of the more minor characters from the previous stories.

Most of the criticism of COTM seems to concern Card's rambling style. This stylistic choice may be seen as a reflection of Ender himself in his final days, a skillful projection of the personality of the main character onto the frame of the work. Card's narrative didn't ramble all the time; observant reading relates Card's style to the "rambling" of Ender's soul. This book needs to be read with an open mind and an eye to the author's art as well as his tale.

Many of the "facts" in this book are clearly in dispute. Other historians and researchers have uncovered evidence that contradicts or even debunks some of the supposeded events. This book seems to try and make the 1921 Tulsa Race WAR look like a very one-sided affair, with whites being "guilty" and blacks being "innocent". The truth is that both sides were at fault. A war broke out, and the blacks lost.

Rarely do we have an instance when a teller of history valiantly attempts to remain objective. The author has done well in presenting a historical perspective that does not seek unconscionable blame nor claim illusionary vindication. These acts of historical literary balance, lay the foundations upon which great civilizations have risen. Having heard the oral traditions of Greenwood, it would have been very easy to paint all white people with a broad stroke of UNDENIABLE EVIL, as it would have been with providing all blacks with a halo of SAINTHOOD. By piecemilling together facts, reminants of what many have sought to destroy, along with balancing the personal interviews, the author has provided the impetus for how we should begin discussing our history. As a Black American, I feel slighted, as if I have just been walking in circles, having never learned of moments such as Greenwood, which helps us to better understand who we are. It is strange how we have never seen war as a viable option, but have been labeled as the most violent and retched. Thanks to the author and his supporters, who have finally began removing the veil of America's History. May others, who set themselves upon pedestals, possess enough courage to pursue such a task.

Regardless of whatever facts one can produce that might make the black people involved in this travesty look guilty, America had never bombed itself before this point. I see one review talking about, there was a war and the black people lost. Yes, we lost this war, and every other war against racism. And looking at this incident allows us all to see why black people will continue to lose for a while: we don't own the bombs and we don't run the government. I don't want to see any condemnations of the truth, and the truth is that the black people were the victims in this. To sum it all up: they were too successful to be in America. We need books like these that show us all of the things that the history books that school our children conveniently forget to include, and all of the odds against black people being successful in this country. I didn't read the book but I commend the author for taking one step towards raising the racial consciousness levels of citizens.

A Separate Peace is a novel by John Knowles about one man's fight to strengthen his character throughout his high school days. This story takes place at the Devon school, a prep school in New Hampshire during World War Two. This well - written book shows many great struggles in a relationship between two people. This is a good book in my point of view especially since I attend prep school and can relate to some of the same struggles as the main characters Phineas and Gene. Gene explains to his friend in the hospital after Finny has fallen from a tree and has broken his leg, " I jounced the limb. I caused it." "I deliberately jounced the limb so you would fall off." From this moment, this book becomes a battle of truth and conscience. A Separate Peace is a book worth reading for all ages. Any person could relate to Gene and Finny's common struggle between two friends.

This summer i was assigned to read A Separate Peace for outside reading. I have very busy summers and I don't like to read that much. I thought I would just bore my way through this book like I've always done before with other summer reading books. As I started this book though, I got more and more into it and really started to enjoy it. The main character of this book is Gene Forrester. He is telling us the story in his point of view which is first person. He has gone back to the school, Devon, after fifteen years to try to put what happened there behind him so he could go on with his life. Gene shows us that there is evil lurking every where because we see the potential of evil in the human heart through him. Finny is another very important character. Gene and him are best friends though two very different people. Finny has trouble in school but is excellent on any playing field and is almost too perfect. While we see evil and jealousy through Gene, all we see is honesty, innocense, and loyalty from Finny. The story takes place in the school Devon. Devon is an example of a small microcosm, which is a small world contained in itself. The war is going on outside the school while there is a small war going on under the surface at Devon. Gene is jealous of Finny and thinks Finny feels the same way but he finds out that he doesn't and that Finny is too good to be jealous. There is a tree which they jump from. This tree symbolizes the tree of knowledge and Gene's loss of innocense. As Gene and Finny were on the tree about to make the first double jump, Gene made Finny lose his balance and fall to the ground crushing his leg. Finny falls physically while Gene falls mentally and spiritually. Finny will never be able to play sports again or go to the war and he doesn't know that Gene caused the accident. Gene and Finny are still very good friends but there are many things throughout the story that foreshadows a trial that brings out the truth. Brinker sets up the trial and the truth wouldn't have come out except for Leper. Leper was a shy guy that kept mainly to himself. He had to gone to the war and became crazy. Leper was the only one that had seen Gene make Finny fall from the tree. When Leper was testifying Finny ran out of the room and fell down the stairs breaking his leg again. As Finny was in surgery, a piece of bone marrow got into his blood stream and stopped his heart which killed him. Gene feels like it is his funeral when he attends Finny's because he realizes that he caused Finny's death. I thought the author did a very good job writing this book. He shows us the potential of evil in the human heart and many other things. Many people can relate what has happened in this book to something that has happened to them. The author also did a very good job foreshadowing which keeps us reading and interested.

Like "Catcher in The Rye", "A Separate Peace" is very much a book about the adolescent experience, and I think part of the reason I enjoyed the book so much is my relation in age to the characters. Despite that, the book has wonderful character development. Gene and Phineas become real, to the point that I can remember small details or their idiosyncracies even though I read the book two years ago. Gene is the narrator of the book, which is set in a boys preparatory school in New England. The book has many themes, some people emphasis the theme of the war, which has presence, but this book is very much human. Maybe more about being young and envious. Or being young and dependent on close friends( young and insecure?).
I know, that I would most recommend this book to teens. There is something about reading it when you are going through it. About imagining your own friendship as that of Gene's and Finny. About your experiences (as they happen) put down in writing.

John Gilstrap knows to write, I know that and I liked most of all his books "Nathan's Run". This book was brilliant. But Mr. Gilstrap has never since found a similar voice and well arranged story. "Scott Free" is not much more than what you expect of, for example, the usual Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie. The characters are not much more developed, you read what you would see on the big screen if this book is ever made to a major motion picture. This book should have been a hundered pages longer. The characters are not as well developed as you possibly could in a book. Mr. Gilstrap's style of writing is absorbing, but he lacks the wit he put into the pages of "Nathan's Run" and the well thought ideas he came up with in his first novel. Now he is more mainstream. In this story would have been so much more to explore about any character in this book. Scott's mother would have been a great character if explored more in depth. The attemps are there. But as I said, he would have needed about a hundred pages more to do so. Now it is just a nice summer read for the beach, not much more. The story is so foreseeable, that some twists aren't that surprising at all. The story of the sniper is not too well explored either. You can't really connect to Scott either, he seems too much like a superhero and has knowlege of any surviving skills. Some ideas in this book are too hard to believe. Its a nice read though. But it doesn't touch the reader as "Nathan's Run" did.

When I read something special--a novel that keeps me awake and has me guessing on one page, openly encouraging the protagonist on the next, cursing the bad guys (including one self-centered mom)--I need to share that book with others. From my point of view, John Gilstrap, author of NATHAN'S RUN, EVEN STEVEN and AT ALL COSTS, pitched a perfect game with his latest thriller, SCOTT FREE. Characters we can actually embrace because they're believable, a unique story that literally grabs you by the throat and slowly squeezes the life out of you, and a writer who appears to really care about his craft. I encourage other readers to pick up Mr. Gilstrap's suspense thriller and kick the tires. YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. A fast-paced story with political intrigue, divorce at it's ugliness, the Western wilderness and a young teenager (Scott O'Toole) who has a few neat tricks up his sleeve. What more could you or I (the reader) possible ask for? Read SCOTT FREE and you'll certainly find out.

Steve Besecker
East Aurora, NY

I'll be honest with you. I first saw this book listed in the Book of the Month Club brochure and thought it sounded great. After reading some of the reviews here, though, I almost gave this terrific book a pass. Boy am I glad I changed my mind! Scott Free is fast-paced and scary as hell. Kept me up all night. I've always loved Gilstrap's characters. He's never let me down in the past, and he didn't let me down this time either. I loved Scott! I loved his spirit and his willingness to keep going even when he thought he didn't have the strength anymore, and I loved how he grew from the beginning of the book to the end. I guess when all is said and done it's just a matter of taste, but the people who didn't like this book just don't know good fiction when they see it.

I just got back from a month in Mexico. The book was probably quite impressive back in the early 90's. However, many of the hotels and restaurants listed in the book have gotten so much business that they have lost what good attributes they originally had. Also, many of the prices quoted in the book were way off. The book prices were frequently one-half what the concierge or waiter quoted. The peso has not changed enough for a 5 dollar hotel room to become 12 or 15. Perhaps that is the risk one finds with any guidebook.

Museum hours were consistently incorrect, especially for Mondays, weekends and evenings.

This book might keep you out of trouble, but it is not the guide for a budget traveler.

Lonely planet guides are absolutely invaluable for the independant adventurous budget-minded traveler, and LP Mexico is no exception. Included are informative sections on pre-departure info, cultural tips, etc. I travelled extensively throughout Mexico with the 5th edition last year, and it really got me to explore some of the remote places I otherwise wouldn't have found- such as the silver towns of Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Taxco. Plus, out of the way beaches, hard-to-find ruins, centotes, you name it. They're covered. Don't borrow you'r friend's old dog-eared copy of the 3rd of 4th edition. Spend the money on the latest edition, because price info is almost always out of date within months after printing, and an older edition is usually hopelessly out of date. I found myself disregarding their accommodations recommendations, because once a place finds its way into the LP Guide, their visitor traffic usually increases exponentially, the staff gets surly, and prices go up. If you're just going to Cancun, Mazatlan, etc, skip this book, but if you're not afraid to venture out into the 'real mexico', grab it.

I have just returned to Norway after backpacking around in Latin America for a year (of course accompanied by the Lonely Planet book). I do not claim to be an expert, but I do know what I am looking for in a travel guide.

The Mexico guide is a good, complete guide. Filled with information, history and beautiful pictures about almost every corner of this gorgeous country. Reading the whole book gives you a good update on your history and geography knowledge! (Something to do if you are trekking around by bus like I did!)

I have always been satisfied with the LP guides. The information given is good, just what you need to get around. The only negative with this book (and the reason I give it 4 and not 5 stars) is that it was completely outdated on prices etc. Another thing (that goes for most of the travel guides) is that many of the hotels that are listed in the book has gotten so much (too much?) business so that the service is down to a minimum. This we found especially in Isla Mujeres where the price was the double of what the book said, and really lousy customer service, if any.

Scott Cookman's book on the "tragic fate of Sir John Franklin's lost Polar expedition" of 1845 provides a fascinating account of the times, the British Admiralty's politics, and the incredible known facts which surround this failed voyage. Cookman cites in his preface the encouragement of his parents in changing a well-paid advertising career to "take up the dubious path of the pen". Let me be honest in saying that Mr. Cookman needs either to refine his style or find a better editor,if he had one, because I was continually frustrated by repeated facts, sometimes within the same chapter in exactly the same words, and repeated phrases throughout the book when trying to make a point. This criticism aside, I salute Mr. Cookman for the amount of research he has done into an expedition from which only one sheet of paper was retrieved with two brief and cryptic messages written eleven months apart. All of his facts were woven into into a fascinating tale of a voyage of discovery to the fabled Northwest Passage by 2 ships and 130 men, tracking the extremities of attempts at survival from accounts of rescue attempts and recent archaelogical discoveries. Cookman has, he feels, uncovered the prime reason for the mission's failure in the incredible fraud perpetrated on the Admiralty by the supplier of tinned food for the expedition, one Stephen Goldner. Cookman's research into Goldner's methods of preserving food are every bit as morbidly fascinating as Upton Sinclair's expose of meat processing in Chicago. Except for the stylistic eccentricities, Cookman's book is a fascinationg read, and adds to the growing library of voyages and explorations gone bad.

This is the story of a fateful 1845 polar expedition that went terribly wrong. This was a British enterprise led by Captain Sir John Franklin to find the Northwest Passage using the most advance ships and equipment at that time. Now I am a complete novice when it comes to this subject matter however I found this book very interesting and it offered a compelling story of misadventure, bravery, corruption, and suspense.

I found that the author, Scott Cookman, presented his story in such an easy manner that the narrative just raced along and I lost track of time reading about this terrible drama. It must be stated from the beginning that the author has no direct testimony of what actually happen to this expedition since all involved died.

However Cookman has utilised the accounts of many other polar explorers to support his theory of what may have happened and to give graphic examples of the conditions these men laboured under during this expedition. Overall I found it a gripping account and although he may not be 100% correct in his deductions I found that it was quite believable.

Cookman has used a wide range of sources including material from the Public Records Office and the Admiralty in London. He takes the time to fully explain the means and methods used at the time for polar exploration and I fully enjoyed his account of the men and ships involved. This is a great story and the book has prompted me to learn more about the brave men who charted the Arctic and Antarctic regions before modern technology made all too easy.

There has been a flurry of Polar exploration books published recently. (Personally, I recommend "The Ghosts of Cape Sabine" by Leonard Guttridge). "Ice Blink" isn't bad, but it could have used some more meat on its bones. There is a lot of speculation by the author, which figures given that there are no survivor accounts of the Franklin expedition. The book is well written, and particularly facinating is Cookman's descriptions of how botulism poison came to contaminate the expedition's canned food. Overall, I wish Cookman had gone into a bit more detail, but I still found the story fascinating.

As an introductory book its fine but as a 'Most Complete' you want it to expand beyond basic examples into e.g. interaction between the cartridge types, practical implementation advice etc.

I'd have used the money back guarantee if there was one as I expected a bit more from it.

Does a reasonable job of covering Oracle Web Application Server 3.0, but the Oracle Press book is better.

This book does a good job of providing an overview of the architecture surrounding OAS 3.0, but certainly does not hold to its claim as "The Most Complete Reference." Its biggest shortfall is its lack of detail concerning Inter-Cartridge Exchange (ICX). It mentions this topic at least a few times, and explains the premise behind ICX, but doesn't provide any examples of how ICX is accomplished from a PL/SQL cartridge to a C cartridge, for example. A good book for people who are just learning about OAS and want an introduction and then some.

I have been doing actionscripting in Flash 4 and it seems that since a lot of tags were deprecated (outdated) in Flash 5 so I have to learn new methods employing actionscript in Flash 5.

I am not a programmer but a web designer, employing programming knowledge in HTML including CSS and minimal javascript so my knowledge on the object-oriented model used in Flash 5 is minimal.

This book requires you to know javascript at least. It tells you to read the actionscript reference in case you don't know any, but even as I did read and tried to understand the reference so many times, the book wasn't as helpful. It leaves me in the dark because even though it explains what those custom functions are for, it does not explain why the order of the functions are in such a way such that you would require one to initialize first, etc. etc.

I'm thinking even if I'm an expert in javascript, I would not need this book because the methods employed would be the usual ones anyway.

So if you're a beginner in programming, you'll find that this book is not helpful at all, leaving you in the dark on the "whys" of the script. Or if you're expert programmer, you probably won't need this book because the methods employed are the usual stuff anyway.

I know the basic of Flash 5 and have been really wanting to learn the more complex areas but have had trouble finding a source that explained them well and most importantly gave solid, real life examples to back them up.

I umed and erd about buying this book, but from the moment i got it any reservations were dismissed. It if fantastically done, well laid out, colour is well used to make example text stand out. What is so good is that anything they try to teach you has a very solid, real life example to go with it, and you are given the start .fla files as well as finished ones, if you want/need to have a sneak peak at what it will look like. It is very usefull having the finished article available as if you don't quite understand what is meant from the text, being able to look at an finished example it helps it all fall into place.

Although there is something in this book for all levels of users it is more aimed at people who already know the basics and who want to leverage Flash more effectively in the production process. It covers basic to advanced levels of object-orientated scripting, Flash application development, client-server interaction, rich media content development and of course animation.

to quote,'It is built around projects and intergrated techniques, rather than individual techniques of Flash..'

ActionScript is the heart of Flash, and the power it has is the big reason why it destroys any of its competition, so if you are wanting to learn Flash, ActionScript is a must, and if you want to learn ActionScript you could so alot worse than this book. Well done to the authors, a brilliant example of what other books should be like!

I don't normally write book reviews, but when I saw all the bad reviews for this book, I had to speak up. I've gotta think that the majority of one star reviewers on this book are either from competing book authors or their friends. This book has been out and away the most valuable Flash 5 book I purchased this year. The code on the CD, alone, has paid for the book probably a dozen times for me. I did do differently than the authors intended though. Instead of starting each chapter with the unfinished or "start" files (I think), I just followed along with the chapters using the finished files because I usually didn't have time to do it the other way.

I've checked out most of the Flash 5 books available and with the exception of parts Colin Moock's book-which is more of a technical reference book, Flash 5 Magic is the only real world application book available. I don't know what I would have done for several of my jobs this year if I didn't have Flash 5 Magic.

Most popular books in search of the historical Arthur (and there are many such books and just about as many theories regarding who the "real" Arthur was) use the same classic sources (Gildas, Nennius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, and a few others) and, increasingly, archaeological data. Welsh literary sources, such as the "Brut Y Brenhinedd," the Triads, and bardic poetry, are generally relegated to the background and are often wholly ignored, despite the rather obvious fact the Welsh people are the primary cultural heirs of whatever society in which the historical Arthur existed. Blake and Lloyd reverse this approach in "The Keys to Avalon," giving their main focus to such Welsh literary sources. Their approach certainly is not without controversy. They follow the lead of a few earlier writers who contend that at least some versions of the "Brut Y Brenhinedd" derive independently from the same source used by Geoffrey of Monmouth to write his great "Historia Regum Britanniae" and are not, as most scholars contend, simply Welsh translations of Geoffrey's work. The difference is crucial since the "Brut" uses Welsh names for locations which differ greatly from the English names in Geoffrey's book. Blake and Lloyd contend that Geoffrey altered the Welsh originals to make his book better suited for an English audience and for political purposes. This is an important point and, if true, could mean that the historical Arthur operated on a smaller stage (North Wales, for the most part) than most popular accounts which have him ranging over large portions of present-day England and Scotland. I certainly am not qualified to absolutely judge the validity of what Blake and Lloyd have to say on the matter, but I do hope their book inspires others to take a serious look at this possibility, either to confirm their analysis or to disprove it.

I have little doubt that Blake and Lloyd in their enthusiam for their Welsh-oriented reconstruction of Arthurian fact have at least in a couple areas gone well beyond what the evidence can support. Specifically, I find their claim that Offa's Dyke (a mammoth earthwork almost universally credited to the Eighth Century Mercian King Offa) was built by the Third Century Roman Emperor Severius to be entirely unconvincing. (There is now archaeological evidence that Wat's Dyke may date from the Fifth Century and thus might explain accounts of a wall in northern Wales prior to Offa.) And secondly, I consider their re-writing of the history of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of much of Britain (moving events from their traditional locations to an exclusively Welsh context) to be very unlikely, as it seems to ignore non-Welsh and archaeological sources that bear upon the question.

Nonetheless, I think that "The Keys to Avalon" is worth reading, even if with a sceptical eye, for its intriguing analysis of the North Wales sites associated with a possible historical Arthur.

As someone very interested in Arthurian legends I bought this book not really expecting to read anything really new - especially as a work has recently appeared on Arthur in Wales. I was wrong!

O.K., you can argue about place names and whose source material is better than whose until doomsday, but nothing helps more to give a book that 'something extra' than a good dose of common-sense.

My initial reaction was one of sceptcism, especially when Geoffrey of Monmouth appeared on the scene, but I took a jump of faith and waded in. Once you have read the entire book - and not tried to nit pick on every individual piece of evidence - the overall picture is extremely convincing.

I may not agree with everything held within this books cover, but there is certainly enough here to warrant further study and debate. I take my hat off to the authors for an extremely well researched piece of work.

Suddenly, the Dark Ages make sense.

The Keys to Avalon explores fact, folklore, myths and legends and brings them together in a work which offers a stunningly simple,logical explanation for why so many 'academics' have struggled for so long to make sense of the Dark Ages.

Put simply, it is the survival of the ancient Welsh language and culture which provides the Key to this new understanding of the Dark Ages.

Until this book, Arthurian (and other) legends associated with the Dark Ages have been interpreted from the anglicised (as in Anglo Saxon) view, with errors having crept in through translations from Welsh to Latin and then to English.

The Keys to Avalon goes back to the original Welsh records of these times, and unlocks the door to a greater understanding of the period by considering the meaning of the original Ancient Welsh language, which differs from the current Welsh language in some critical ways.

In 'The Keys to Avalon' the authors seem to have compared the ancient Welsh accounts of the Dark Ages with the standard versions based on the Anglo-Saxon accounts. The authors give due regard to the fact that there is often a grain of truth in folklore, myths and legends passed down verbally through the generations. This seems particularly appropriate in Wales where even today, despite the celebration of the survival of the Welsh language in the various Eisteddfodau, the majority of fluent Welsh speakers have difficulty in reading and writing the Welsh language.

This book brings to life the Welsh countryside - looking at names and features on maps and showing how the Arthurian legends suddenly 'fit' into specific geographic areas of realistic extent.

Once in a while something comes along which is so blindingly obvious that you think 'why didn't anyone say this before?' I can imagine there are a lot of academics and authors out there who will be wishing now that they had made the same efforts that Steve Blake and Scott Lloydd have in their work, which literally does rewrite Dark Age history.

This is a superb book which will be enjoyed by anyone with an open, unprejudiced, mind.