I often wish I could find other books just like "Alife." We have a little boy who absolutely loves Alfie stories. There are several wonderful things about this book. First, the stories are delightful--gentle but realistic depictions of a boy who can figure things out and actually accomplish some little four-year old feats on his own. I love the interaction among the family members (although I guess the dad is a little removed for my taste...). The illustrations are so true. I agree with the earlier reviewer, I'm also comforted by the little daily messes in Alfie's house. We also love the format of this book. It's big and long (divided into several stories) and our little guy really feels like he's reading a "serious" book. He likes to consider which story to read and we've even had a chance to do some teaching about page numbers. I've bought this book for several kids in the 3-4 year old group and I've heard good things from all of them. This is one I can imagine saving for the grandkids.

My 2 and half year old asks to read this book and other Shirley Hughes' books repeatedly. They are endearing and engaging for both of us (and Dad & big brother too). These realistic and beautiful renderings of a toddler's everday dramas explore small but important truths about behavior... sharing (at a birthday party) , courage (overcoming fear of opening a door by oneself), thoughtfulness (helping a sister in need), and learning about and taking care of one's belongings. But I only came to recognize these subtle messages after several requested readings which is of course most important. In our house this book is highly requested as well as recommended.

These stories of Alfie and his little sister, Annie Rose, are truly endearing. Children and parents alike will find the illustrations to be utterly enchanting and the stories amusing and very real. This collection is a "must have" for fans of English illustrator/author, Shirley Hughes.

I think this is certainly one of the best Joe Grey books, if not THE best. Joe and Dulcie are joined by their new sidekick called "The Kit", a tortoiseshell kitten who has an insatiable craving for adventure and danger. There has been a murder of two women on a bridal path and the third rider, the cats' friend Dillon has disappeared, maybe murdered too or kidnapped. Joe's greatly admired friend, Max Harper, the Molina Point chief of police is the one and only suspect in the murders. Joe is spitting mad that people will believe his friend Max could do such a thing. Naturally, Joe "knows" that Max is innocent. The Kit has witnessed the end of the murders and been scared witless by all the violence but she was too scared to know what she saw or to recognise anyone. The three cats run afoul of Joe and Dulcie's old nemesis, Lee Wark who knows their secrets about understanding human language and having high intelligence. He would absolutely love to put a permanent damper on their crime solving shenanigans. He thrives on killing cats anyway. Kate Osborne, who can change to a cat and back to a human is back on the scene and terrified because three convicts have escaped, including Lee Wark who knows her secret also. She seems to have a "thing" for Joe's human housemate, Clyde Damen while Clyde's old girl friend, Charlie seems to be sweet on Max Harper now.

How Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit thread their way through this maze of tangles, car chases, and a haunted house that's home to a cougar makes a fine story. It's also amazing that three small cats could get through all the perils without losing one or more lives. Ms. Murphy only gets better! She adds more polish and finesse to the stories every time. I'm anxious to read "Cat Laughing Last"

This book was utterly delightful with Joe Grey's deep respect for the Chief of Police, Max. By proving Max's innocence, Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit all provided bits and pieces of the puzzle, including a daring rescue of the 13 year old girl who witnesses the murder. The story definitely kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen next...Now I wish the next book of Ms. Murphy's would come out even sooner than January so I can start reading it...

This Joe Grey mystery features Murphy's cat pair who can read, speak, and solve crimes. Here Joe can't keep his paws off his owner's latest case: murder which points to Harper himself. Joe knows his owner is innocent, but has to prove it in Cat Spitting Mad, an intriguing murder mystery approach.

"A Divorced Mother Talks to God," by impressive writer Shirley Priscilla Johnson is a non-fiction that reads better than a lot of fiction books I have read on this topic. I applaud this woman not just as a fabulous writer but for her strength as well. Ms. Johnson is a very impressive woman to be sure! To go through what she has gone through and survive is an amazing task in itself. Thank you so much for sharing your story. You are indeed a very brave woman and an inspiration to many. You have taken a few of life's stumbling blocks and turned them into stepping-stones! GOOD FOR YOU! Your story is both a real page turner and a tear-jerker and I would give your book "10" Stars if that were an option!

(A Highly Recommended True Story!)

Every so often I run across a book that stays in my mind and heart for weeks after reading it. This is just such a book. It was not what I expected in any way. Oh, I suspected it would be well worth reading, but the raw heart of this woman embedded in her prose was overwhelming. Her story made me cry until my nose ran and I couldn't see to read.

Shirley Johnson's non-fiction story is simply written, from a heart that manages to hope despite her struggles. How this young mother with small children found the strength to hope that her marriage would hold together is beyond my imagination. Years of physical and mental abuse, infidelity, and broken promises were all she had to show for her devotion. Despite it all, she still believed her marriage could be saved.

Hope finally dies on a long road trip south. With a callousness I found blood chilling, the author's husband puts on a loving masquerade to lure his wife and children far from home. He abandons his frightened wife and helpless babies, leaves them to fend for themselves. His parting shot is that he's found another woman and he wants a divorce. Reading of her shock and fear, her loneliness, almost broke my heart. In the wake of this abandonment, she turns to an always faithful God in her despair. Her painfully honest talks with God about every aspect of her life are recorded in stark detail. I imagined Shirley Johnson's tears on every page, in every prayer.

Don't expect closure or a happy ending to this first book of a continuing series. She will find her treasure with God's help before the series ends, I'm sure, and I look forward to future books with anticipation. The author's writing style is simple, effective, and her walk of faith is inspiring. I recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves in the throes of a divorce, or to those who need to understand the pain that comes of broken hearts and marriages....

This is by far the most heart wrenching story I've ever read. Any woman who has gone through a divorce could empathize with her, but she endured so much more. The lack of money and having 3 children, not knowing where her next meal was coming from or where she was going to live, dealing with cold, uncaring people had to have been almost unbearable. I can tell you that she is a better person than I am and her faith seems to be unshakable.

I can only pray that God blesses her for what she's been through.

Originally published in 1982 when Conran was 50 years old, this book is as great today as it was when first written.

The story chronicles the lives of five women, four of whom meet up at a Swiss Finishing School. It follows the their growth to maturity as each one carves a successful future for themselves. However, their lives are laced together by a shared secret!

Lavishly descriptive, you will be seduced by the glamour as well as the hard realities that the five women have to endure. Ultimately, it is a book about friendship and what it means to be a woman. Conran writes with heartfelt understanding and accuracy. She is first rate!

I believe a wealth of Conran's life experience (and cultural awareness) is evident in the development of the characters. And, I can honestly say as a man, that my understanding and empathy for women has changed for the better.

Shirley is a real woman and she writes from a real womans perspective. The intimacy, pain and passions of the characters are viewed from an intimately feminine standpoint. I feel I have shared something of what was in the authors mind and the minds of the characters in this magical book. Thankyou Shirley.

I am only 14 and this is so far the best book I have ever read. I thought it was very interesting and the end (I won't give it away) was great I have read it twice already and I will probably read it again if you like romance and plot twists read this book. You won't be sorry you did.

I think this is one of the most well-written books I have ever had the pleasure to read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to read a good book with an enthralling plot!

This is one of those books that once you start you can't stop. A Highly enjoyable reading experience.

What really makes Ms. Murphy's novels so much fun is the way she knows cats. Joe Gray, Dulcie and the tortoiseshell Kit are fun to spend a few hours with. They seem so "human" in their dialogues, and the way Murphy gets them to do the crimesolving continues to be clever, resourceful, and highly imaginative. Now, if that were only true of the humans! The Senior Survival Club is a nice gesture, but all five ladies are basically interchangeable and sometimes I found myself forgetting who was who. Vivi Traynor is such a caricature, derivative of any dumb blonde in any mystery novel. The real mystery is pretty easy to follow, and solve, IF you remember what goes on when Charlie sneaks peeks at the so-called great novelist's current work. I don't know why Murphy keeps Kate Osbourne's character---she's used very rarely and her connection to the cats, which is pretty awesome if you remember from previous books, is never fully utilized. Also, there is a little too much description of the areas, the houses, the women's dresses, etc. I am not trying to be a spoilsport or a nasty critic. I love cats...our 20 year old feline recently passed away, and we've acquired three new delightful kittens. I wish I could communicate with them! But, this book is definitely worth reading if you've followed the series. And thanks to Ms. Murphy for her knowledge of cats and sharing it with us feline lovers!

I think this is the best book of this series. There are 7 of them and each succeeding one has been better than the last. This series of books is about cats that are of a different sort than the usual pet cat. They are able to speak and read human language and are intelligent on a par with humans - at least. Ms. Murphy is a good writer and is obviously well acquainted with cats. The book's main charm is anyone who is well acquainted with cats should feel that if there were cats of this sort in the real world, they would act and perform in just the way the book's characters do. The cats have become interested in police work on the sly. They are able to go places and see things that human "cops" can't. They call in anonymous phone tips to put the police on the right trail and always ferret out things in an entertaining way. Molena Point, their town must be the best town in America except that it really has a lot of murders and other crimes for its size. It sounds like the ideal community and with such a wonderful "Feline Police Dept." to handle crime, why worry. The interaction between the cats and their human "house mates" is interesting and about what one would expect from sentient cats, if any did exist. The details of how the cats trail after clues and how they can go anywhere and do so many things is always entertaining and often humorous. The author has a finely tuned sense of humor.

..I think this is the best Joe Grey mystery so far.It kept you wanting to read on to the next page.You want to know how Joe and his female mate,Dulcie gets the bad guy.I like how you don't know who the bad guy(or gal) is till the end.And sometimes what you think isn't what really is.If you have read the others you really want to read this one.And if you haven't read the others,you will want to.I can hardly wait for the next Joe Grey Mystery.

Being the proud owner of three pesky kittens soon to be cats, the feline heroes (and heroines) in Shirley Murphy's series are all too realistic to imagine!!! Joe, Dulcie and Kit have such unique personalities that they seem almost human. Once again, the plot takes back seat to the many adventures the three cats have in solving the mysteries. This one has plenty: why is a ten year old boy involved in the bombing of the church where Charly and Max are to be married? Who is trying to frame Ryan for the murder of her estranged no-good husband? Where did the silver dog come from? These questions are answered rather leisurely, but you're so enraptured with the characters, everything flows smoothly. Another great entry in this enjoyable series!
RECOMMENDED.

I can not say enough about Shirley Rousseau Murhhy's ability to give us a great story. I have almost all of her books and have found them so well written that even the childrens books are totally enjoyable for me at well beyond my childhood years.
Joe Grey is the reason that people with cats now know that their beautiful cat friends are more intelligent than we will ever know....for sure!

Another great Joe Grey mystery! If you haven't read this entertaining series, you are missing a special treat. Get the list and start from the beginning, as the saga continues. Too bad Shirley only writes one new Joe Grey book each year, but it's ALWAYS worth the wait!

Pendragon is great. This book contains detailed data, written in a clear way, about life in Arthur's age, beginning in the year 510 after CHrist. THe only flaw is the combat system, which is too violent. Of course, a battle till death is a violent event, but after loosing so much time developing your character, you discover how easy is to be killed using this combat system. ANyway, the authors give you a perfect set-up to go aboard a journey of history, not only a journey of killing, earning gold or casting spells,like AD&D does, for exxample.

Now, part of the review guidelines for this forum is that one should not simply praise without giving good reason why: however, in this case there are so many good reasons for praise that i am overwhelmed.
So, to keep it simple: this is the Arthurian roleplaying game. You play a knight, or maybe a clecrk or lady, or maybe even (though i would not reccomend it) a magician.
Yes, that is about it for "character classes". You see, the game depends a lot more on your characters background and personality than his "powers". Do not worry though, there will be lots of fights anyway.
If you like medival stuff (but not so much that you let facts get inthe way of fun, wich the medivals themselves would find silly) you will like this game.
A lot.
The not - so - simple, pretentious version...
I suppose one way to start would be its base material, the most splendid cycle of legend in Britain, the chronicle of King Arthur Pendragon. Sadly, the legend in our time has been tainted by superficial sentimentality, dried out by cheap attempts at making it historical (often just an excuse to make it but another version of poor conan the barbarian), and mocked by new - age foolishness. The wonder of this game is that it takes all these limited approaches and simply lets them be absorbed by the origional noble medival tales, creating a setting of vibrant richness.
Another important point: this is a game that is much larger on the inside than the outside. There are mysteries in it that simply never will be solved, even though one feels a hint of their massive importance. But building on them is a clear, if complex, world of heroism and everyday responsibillities. But even if you try to stick to "normal" knightly deeds, you can still get caught up in the labyrinths of politics and romance.
Last but not least, this game does exactly what it was intended to: rules, mood, and setting are in perfect symbiosis. This becomes painfully clear when talented but lesser designers try to muck about with the basics: just look at fourth editions pathetic magic system. Still, at least they had the good sense to make it optional.
This is the best role - playing game in the world. Try to be worthy of it.

It's been a whlie since I've played this, or any other game.

This game lives up to it's title. While, perhaps, a bit more gritty than the "Once and Future King" stories, the rules do an excellent job of re-creating the world of King Arthur. I've been Role Playing for quite a while now... 14 years? And this is one of the best games out there, and a very refreshing change from the Monty Haul-ism of D&D and the like.

The emphasis here is on ROLE PLAYING. The rules focus on attempting to become a perfect knight, a paragon of virtue, and a knight of renoun. Unlike other games, this game incorporates a "winter season" that assumes downtime, and allows your character to age. Yes, aging is a part of this game, and perhaps your character's children will get to adventure as well.

The Traits operate on a balance scale of 20 points - The total of these two attributes add up to 20. So you have, perhaps, Merciful 17 - Cruel 3. Passions are things you feel strongly about, your Lord, hate of the Saxons, etc.

This is a sample of the way the rules are designed to help you Role Play rather than Roll Play.

Combat and Magic are taken much more seriously than in D&D. Your character's hit pionts are derived from their stats, and stay that way for the rest of the game (more or less). The most hit points you can have is 39. Armor absorbs damage. Now, what's the most damage our 39 hit point character can do with his sword? 7D6 - that's up to 42 points, with an average of 24/25.

Combat is to be taken seriously!

As for Magic, well. This isn't D&D. There's none of the flash-bang Magic that there is in D&D. In fact, Merlin would be impressed by the magic a 2nd level D&D wizard could do. Spells take a long time to cast. Holy Ground, High Holidays, group ceremonies, etc. have a great effect on the outcome of spells. This is a game where players will spend weeks or months preparing spells, to be cast in holy places, on high holy days. Then spending time resting and recuperating after spells have been cast.

I don't know how supplements handle magic, Faerie, etc. Notice again that the emphasis here is on Role Playing, Storytelling, not FLASH-BANG effects. This game gives you opportunities to describe events, tournaments, adventures, celebrations, not just hack-and-slash fighting.

This game isn't for everyone, even those who it is for may take a while to acclimate. Like Castle Falkenstein, and Amber, this game is designed to help you tell a story. The rules add to the drama, they aren't just a collection of rules on how to create powerful characters and how to fight with them. Role Playing came out of Wargaming, and it shows. This is one of the few games that elevates Role Playing to the status of art. This is a game that returns to us the lost art of Story Telling.

This was an extremely inspiring book. Pastor Caesar is beyond what you could imagine from a true woman of God. Her book makes you laugh,it makes you cry and above all makes you love her even more.

She was transparent and shared her life with you allowing you to come in and be close to her. She is a woman of much wisdom and full of love for her fellow man but above all for God and her beloved mama.

This book moved me so until I finished it in two sittings. It was powerful and let you see a real lady of God.

I'm so happy that living during this age allowed me to experience Shirley and she is truly a grand lady, yet so real almost like you could reach out and touch her. She draws you into her family so much so until you could almost see yourself at her home for dinner.

The book is a must read, you must own it to read and let Pastor Caesar know you love her by supporting her. God let her stay around a little longer.

evangelist caesar's book was what i have been waiting for i also grew up in a pentecostal church and had been told by prophets ministers teachers pastors that i had a calling on my life to sing and preach under the anoiting just like sis caesar and her book showed me how she overcame some of life's obstacles and even at a young age she was able to turn it all over to Jesus see i have been at death's door and over came it thru God's help and thru it all my mother had sis Caeser's music playing in my icu room to me she can't be touched she is truly the Queen of Gospel and very anoited she has inspired me to sing and preach the gospel which is the calling i also have on my life iam only 23 yrs old and i hope to one day record and bring people to christ sis caesar keep up the good work and may God continue to bless u and keep u

This is my Pastor in Raleigh, NC; and her book has really blessed me in my life. A Wonderful book to Read by Pastor Caesar. Continue to be blessed and write the vision!!! It will be made plain. Love You!! Curtis Dixon

COM is built on top of RPC. This book is a bit dated, but still a good guide for learning the technology that COM is based on. COM will make much more sense if you take a little time to learn RPC first.

using a microsoft rpc interfac

using a microsoft rpoc interfac

As the author of Desperately Seeking Snoozin', I am indebted to Dr. Hauri for his quote that I use on my front cover. Even more importantly, I will be eternally greatful to Dr. Hauri and the other great sleep researchers and clinicians that have developed the techniques that do offer hope for those with insomnia and other sleep problems. I incorporated techniques that he recommends to overcome my severe chronic insomnia problem. Additionally, I recently had the honor of meeting Dr. Hauri at an international sleep convention. In addition to his understanding of insomnia, he is a very nice man. His book should be required reading for anyone with sleep problems. He is the master.

The newest edition of the book is now available in paperback.The first edition was exceedingly helpful -- the new edition has even more material, including some newly developed techniques. By the way, the book has two authors: Dr. Peter Hauri, of Mayo Clinic, the world's leading expert on insomnia, and Shirley Linde, the well-known science writer and author of some 37 books, including No More Snoring.

I happened into this book in a bookstore several years ago. At the time, I was experiencing sleep difficulties that were interfering with my life and work. This book works methodically through possible causes of sleep disturbance, and provides exercises that the reader can follow to determine the causes of their own sleep problems and how to solve them. Using the book's methodologies, I was able to determine within a couple of weeks the surprising cause that I was trying to get more sleep than my body needed. Therefore I was never sleeping particularly well and always feeling tired. I began to cut down on my sleep time, and almost immediately began to feel better! The point, however, is that this book provides tools for anyone to determine the causes of their sleep difficulties and begin to resolve them. I highly recommend it.