First, this is catagorized wrong. I would put it for ages 9 and up, probably. The reading level is fairly easy, but the content is rather dark.

The world created is wonderful, excellently detailed and very believeable. The illustrations are great too! I would definitely recommend this book for any lover of fantasy novels.

Provocative essays, never-before-published photographs, Robeson-inspired artwork, and a comprehensive chronology are the pleasures of this first-rate text. Developed as a companion to a multimedia exhibition celebrating Robeson's centennial birthday, _Artist and Citizen_ is a must-read. Curator and editor Jeffrey Stewart has succeeded in providing a careful, comprehensive, sophisticated, yet accessible view of one of the major figures of the 20th century. Essayists include those whom we readily associate with Robeson and his era: Lloyd L. Brown, Martin Duberman, David Levering Lewis, and John Hope Franklin. The reader also learns from those who bring the unique perspectives of their fields such as economist Julianne Malveaux, film scholars Ed Guerrero and Mark A. Reid, legal scholar and social critic Derrick Bell, and photography historian Deborah Willis among others. The essayists explore Robeson's upbringing, athletic exploits, political philosophies and alliances, artistic career, and commitment to social justice with an eye on understanding Robeson's challenges and legacies, his life as a "work of art and politics," and the meaning of this hero and icon. In the introduction, Stewart stakes out his claims for the book. "We see ourselves as heirs to Robeson not in following any particular ideology that he espoused, but in practicing the intellectual integrity he lived...Hence, in this volume is a chorus of diverse voices, not all of whom sing Robeson's praises, but which rather raise the kinds of concerns that he himself voiced during his long and fruitful life." _Paul Robeson: Artist and Citizen_ lives up to Stewart's claims. It is an essential text for anyone interested in Robeson, race and class matters, art and politics, or the remarkable life lived.

The Birthday Presents is such a wonderful book. Poor Hedgehog and Rabbit don't know when their birthdays are. They decide they will celebrate them together and go about choosing a gift for each. Each of them chooses a gift with love and care. You can almost feel how much thought they put into their gift. This book focuses on the act of giving, not just the gift itself. A great book for any age!

This is a dear, sweet book about being happy with what you have. "The Birthday Presents" is Paul Stewart's short but sweet tale about two pals, a rabbit and a hedgehog, and how they go about trying their darndest to pick the most wonderful possible birthday gifts for each other.

Deciding that Rabbit's hole is just a mite dark, Hedgehog bottles up a bunch of moonlight. Simultaneously, Rabbit worries that Hedgehog might be bothered by the sunlight while sleeping out in the open--so he packs up a mossy box of darkness. Of course the pals are disappointed when they open their gifts, but they later figure out on their own the good wishes behind each gift--and the best way to put the gifts to real, everyday use.

Any small child can begin to learn from this book the secret of choosing to be happy with what you have, instead of worrying about what you don't have, and parents and kids alike will get a kick out of Chris Riddell's vivid illustrations.

when i read this book, i though it was really good. helen went through a hard but good life.

I love this book Helen Keller? Downstairs Helen's mother and father ate their supper sadly because their daughter acted up on their birthday? It is a good book.

This is one of those books that makes you wonder if anyone attempted to proof or edit it before publication. A couple of the exercises referred to in the workouts cannot be found in the exercise descriptions. Sometimes, the written descriptions of the exercises contradict the accompanying photographs. Don't get me wrong, the routines provide tough and credible workouts. But reading the book requires some interpretation and assumptions.

This book gives a simple but effective way to get in shape, using calisthetics, weights, running and boxing to achieve it. It offers three levels of training, all basically the same format but with different intensity levels.
I have used this book several times over the last 2 years and enjoy the workouts. I break up the daily routines into 3 segments-the calisthetic part in the morning, the weights in the afternoon and the ad work in the evening. On running days, a similar pattern-running in the morning, weights at lunch and ab work in the evening. The routines don't take long that way but adds to fat-burning and muscle-building without exhaustion.
There are some negative points: they show exercises that they don't use and suggest exercises that they don't show.
But overall, I recommend this book to everyone who wants to get in shape without joining a gym.

I bought this book 2 years ago and still use the routines. This is a good book for beginner to intermediate trainers who want variety. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get in shape quickly and effectively.

This is a fair effort by one of Ireland's preeminant Marxist historians. A concise history which covers the generalities, but errs in the minor details. Bew swallows hook, line and sinker the oft-repeated, but now discredited story about Parnell forcing Isaac Butt from the leadership of the HRCGB

British authors Ferris and Bassett make sophomoric remarks and observations while traveling through several European countries. This is supposed to be humorous (and if you don't 'get' their juvenile brand of humor, why, that must be because you are American). The book is filled with little jabs at Americans, and one can only be left wondering why these Brits feel themselves to be so superior to the Americans and others they encounter on their travels. Surely it can't be due to their sense of humor or writing ability, which is junior-high level at best.

Then they would be writing books like this ! It is a great account of the highs and lows of being young and free, wondering through popular European cities. It is a must for any young person coming to Europe and if you just want a laugh, well that to. It will make you look at buskers in a different light ! And it's brilliant continuation to "Don't Lean Out of the Window!". Enjoy.

Hell, the only bad thing I can think of is that it's too short. I could have gone on reading this for weeks. I've never read anything quite as brave as Don't Mention the War. These guys deserve a medal for pushing the boundaries of humorous travel writing out so far. It's certainly not going to be appreciated by anyone who takes themselves too seriously, but for the rest of us, including the authors, there's a lot of fun to be had by causing chaos across Europe. Sure, they take some swipes as us Americans, but gee, don't we deserve it sometimes? Their humor is never vicious towards us, and is often more self-deprecating than offensive. If you can handle travel writing flavored with a heavy dollop of irony, sandwiched between hilarious incidents and cheeky attitudes, you guys will enjoy this incredible book.

He was a quack Dr. born in 1833, which was old enough to make him Jack The Ripper's father. He was strange to say the least. He was was wrongfully arrested in the plot to [destroy] President Lincoln, and later wrote a booklet stating how upset that had made him, since he had been, a Lincoln supporter. It's also probably true that he was at least bisexual, and had a low opinion of women. He pretty much traveled all over the world. He got into trouble in 1888 in London for having [relations] with men, and was arrested for that. While in jail, the police grasping at straws considered him a possible Ripper suspect, like many others arrested during this time period. However, when Mary Jane Kelly was murdered and Tumblety was in jail at he time, there case fell apart and he was let out on bail, in which he left town (do you blame him). This poor man dressed [differently], and had strange habits. However, to say he was Jack the Ripper is an injustice to him as he cannot defend himself, and with the evidence provided, no court on earth would convict him. Sorry this is not the man. The only thing that let me down was the ending, in which he died in 1903 under the care of nuns. I was hoping that he had been a passenger on the Titanic, and had celebrated his 104th birthday (and sadly) died while on the Hindenburg. I also like how the writers state that George Chapman could not be the killer - Well it was at least proved that Chapman murdered 3 women. As for Tumblety being the Ripper, nice fairy tale

I have read most of the well-known books on Jack the Ripper and I think this is probably my favorite. I found this in my school's library (I teach high school English) and thought the author did a very good job pointing out the problems with the suspects generally believed to have been the Ripper and painting a good case for Dr. T. An excellent read. Also, if you're intested in books about serial killers, check out "Zodiac" by Robert Graysmith. An incredibly interesting case (and still unsolved).

Don't listen to reviewer #2. The book goes into great detail about Tumblety's connection to England, and furthermore, proves he was in England during the time of the murders. Also, the last reviewer is mistaken. Tumblety was arrested AFTER the murder of Mary Kelly. The only break in the chain that would irrefutably tie Tumblety to the murders is the 'Large Dossier' the Scotland Yard suppposedly had, that has not yet been located. Everything else points to him as THE most likely suspect yet considered.

this book... well... it waz ok... alot of imagery, symbolisim, irony, and stuff... it also reflected our society today. like the clinton's naughty thing. but religion was stronger then. it was not a good book nor a bad book. perfect for a AP english classs.... but don't think it's a good book to read only just for fun... sometimes u have to read a page over and over before u fully understand the point Hawthorne was trying to make.

If anyone is going to read this book, they should first like reading or they will not like this book. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn goes into a lot of detail about well...everything! Most of my class mates did not like this book because they said the descriptions were too long and he should just get to the point. But that is what really gets you into the story. There are never any questions about a relationship between two people or how the father is tormented with guilt. I recomend this book for open minded readers who will apreciate how he gets you into the story. It really makes you want to keep reading. There are a couple of chapters near the beginning that are hard to get through but when you finish the book, there is that much more understanding about what the characters represtented in the story and all the lessons that can be learned.

The Scarlet Letter is a literary masterpiece. It is a classic, and therefore, though the language and setting are old-fashioned, the plot is wonderfully simple and symbolic while at the same time the characters are intertwined and complex. If you read the book you will understand that the language and setting do not detract in any way from the story and symbolism. The themes of isolation, sin, and society's hypocritical contempt for sin can be translated even to this day. As a result, The Scarlet Letter remains a timeless and beautiful romance.

I saw this book at a local bookstore and picked it up, hoping to find an impartial look at cryptography in the new global marketplace. What I found instead was a somewhat Orwellian perspective on information control seasoned with a generous amount of hubris. Baker envisions a future where the plutocrats conduct their business in utmost security, where only those with worthy causes are allowed access to strong cryptography. The first question that comes to my mind is: who will determine which individuals and corporations have "worthy" causes? The government? Lawyers, perhaps? Baker seems much more concerned with the money such a system would put in his pocket than with personal privacy, and it shows.

Mr Baker seeks to justify a policy which will arbitrarily restrict your access to information and privacy. Quite an unpleasant surprise! Combine that with his patronizing tone, and you have a thoroughly unpleasant book.

I returned my copy.

While reading through other reviews of this book I noticed not only that they were negative as a whole but also that they were all written prior to the (WTC and Pentagon among suspected others) terrorist attacks in the US on 9/11/2001.

In light of the fact that we can see much more clearly now how "ultimate" privacy can be a "not so perfect" thing, and how complete privacy may actually hinder our own safety and security, I imagine this book and the ones to follow will get more balanced reviews.

I also imagine that this book and other works by this author or those with similar backgrounds and views might aid or even guide the many people and organizations that will have to now deal with the true issues of "privacy" in this electronic age.

I thought the author was in his element, though an under appreciated element at the time. Looking at the book again, I certainly still recall my own feeling that this author was on a different side of the proverbial fence than I have ever been. However, his insight is invaluable and in retrospect, even somewhat balanced, and the issues he brings to light are pertinent.

The evolution of thoughts, facts, and opinions similar to the ones found in this book will (imo) be a driving force behind the development of an acceptable solution to the strained relationship between privacy and security which we have all been feeling in one way or another. Not bad in retrospect...