Shirley Hughes has charmingly illustrated her book of a preschooler who goes to his first birthday party.Unfortunately,the story is too long for the audience for which it was intended.Older readers may read it with memories of their first social function,but your four year old may squirm in their seat awaiting the conclusion.

Shirley Hughes created such a lovable character when she created Alfie! My children are in their late teens and early twenties and we still talk about these Alfie books! I am so sad to see that "Alfie Gives a Hand" seems to be out of print. If you can get a copy used here on Amazon, DO IT!

The illustrations are priceless - they depict REAL children and REAL life. One of the reviewers here said that she felt it was too long a story for a 2 year old and I probably agree. I think 3 to 6 year olds would understand the point more.

After all these years, I remember the story so well. Alfie is invited to his first birthday party. His mom gets him washed up and in clean clothes and off they go, with Annie Rose in her stroller. Alfie is a little scared of this new experience (and don't you have little ones in your house who can identify?!) and he takes his blanket with him for comfort.

The birthday boy turns out to be rather ill-mannered (that happens sometimes too!) and one present gets thrown all over, and he blows bubbles into his jello (my kids got a big kick out of that!). Then it comes time to play a game in a circle. There is a little girl who is even more scared than Alfie and she doesn't want to play. Alfie makes the courageous choice to put his precious blanket down hold this little girl's hand. It works - she happily plays the game because of Alfie's kindness. And Alfie discovers that it pays to help others, even if it means putting down your blanket for a time!

I highly recommend ALL the Alfie books!

...Alfie Gives a Hand is my two-year old's favorite Alfie story. We have read it over and over and over again and he delights in pointing out things in the illustrations. My daughter also loved these stories when she was two and three.

I'll put this simply: if you are what we in the art world call "artsy-fartsy," you will enjoy this book, as the writing is poetic and full of descriptive emotion. But if you're just looking for a good read, pass this one on by. It will confuse the living daylights out of you. But if you must, do some back ground work on the author and maybe a little on the subject herself. Good luck!

Atemisia Gentileschi, born in Rome in 1598, is one of the most fascinating figures in the history of art, though very little is known about her life. The daughter of a painter herself, Artemisia painted beautiful scenes of the women of Roman and biblical history even though she could neither read nor write.

Artemisia had, to put it mildly, a turbulent personal life. She was discredited in a rape trial, betrayed by her own father and abandoned by her husband. Her professional life, however, was far different. She was the first woman admitted to the prestigious Florentine Academy; she established a successful art school in Naples; she raised her daughter on her own and supported herself financially during a time when a woman's life was defined only by home, husband, children and the Church.

Although the above is about the sum total of all that's known about Artemisia Gentileschi's life, writer, Anna Banti, managed to flesh out these bare bones facts into one of the triumphs of 20th century Italian literature.

"Artemisia" is definitely not a biography or even a fictionalized one. It is not a historical work; in fact, the setting of this book is definitely ahistorical. It consists of an amazing dialogue between the author and Artemisia. There are, as way I see it, three levels in this book: the experiences of Artemisia, the experiences of the author and a blending of the two, to make a very fascinating third.

The very essence of this book consists of Artemisia's travels, all made for the sake of her art. Included are the young Artemisia's traumatic experiences in Rome, her marriage, her years of success in Naples, her long and undoubtedly arduous journey to England and back again to her native Italy.

One of the things that makes this book so powerful is Banti's constant authorial intrusion, a device that would weaken (or destroy) more conventional novels. Moving back and forth from the thrid to the first person, Banti holds fascinating conversations with Artemisia. This leads to a captivating, but very complex, narrative. As the dialogue between author and subject intensifies, Banti complicates matters even further.

In 1944, when the first version of "Artemisia" was nearly complete, events of the war caused it to be destroyed. The "Artemisia" of the first version constantly intrudes on the "Artemisia" of the second version, however. Confusing? No, not really. Banti is far too good a writer for that. Complex? Yes. And lyrical and skillful and fragile.

Despite the fact that this is not a historical novel, it is highly atmospheric. There are no detailed descriptions to weigh down the weightless quality of Banti's lyricism, but there are many vivid images of 17th century Rome, Naples, Florence, France.

No matter how fast you usually read, "Artemisia" is a novel that should be read slowly. This is a demanding book that requires much concentration on the part of the reader, but this concentration will be richly rewarded.

There is a vague, circular quality about this book and, in a sense, it ends where it began. In reality, however, nothing is known about Artemisia Gentileschi's life after her return to Italy from England.

This book is complex, intricate, self-reflective and extremely lyrical. Although it has an ephemeral, gossamer quality, it succeeds wonderfully in bringing Artemisia Gentileschi to life in a vivid and wonderful manner.

This is an extremely well-written and moving account of Artemisia. It is a modernist novel and is a dialogue between the the narrator and Artemisia. I highly recomend it.

Shirley Streshinsky, the author of "Audubon," makes several mistakes common to authors, especially authors of biographies. A good editor at The University of Georgia Press could have and should have helped the author overcome these problems.

The book--over 400 pages--is over-written. It would have been far more interesting and readable if the manuscript had been trimmed by a third. The author, having done extensive research to gather hard-won facts, succumbed to the comon temptation of using facts because she had them.

The result is that what should be the theme and focus of the book is often buried in tedious and repetitious detail about travel plans, for example.

Here is a man of amazing genius. Able to things with his pastels and paints and pens that no one has ever been able to match. A facinating, driven man. Arrogant. Egotistical. Tireless. Obsessed. Willing to suffer every hardship, and sacrifice himself, his wife and sons, financial security, friendships his comfort and health--everything to achieve the single-minded purpose of producing the best, most complete pictures and words about America's birds.

All of this is covered in this book, but it is often buried under a so much minutia that the reader may lose focus of this brilliant man who accomplished so much with so little.

Another mistake the author and publisher make is to assume the reader has knowledge which the average reader may or may not have. Much of the book is about Audubon's extensive travels in the U.S. and Europe to sell subscriptions. But as near as I can tell from my careful reading, we are never told exactly what it is Audubon is selling subscriptions to.

We are told repeatedly about double-elephant folios, apparetly an over-sized paper for presenting Audubons's illustrations, but nowhere is a double-elephant filio described or defined.

Same goes for subscriptions to "the new octavo edition." What exactly is an octavo edition?

There is lots of discussion of the work of engravers, colorists, lithographers. But specifically what are these craftsmen doing? We are never told exactly. Whatever it is it apparently involves dozens of craftsmen working full time for years. Are they copying by hand Audubon's drawings onto metal plates? If so, how much of what we see is the faithful work of Audubon, and how much the art of engravers, colorists, lithographers?

You had better have a good memory for names as you read this book, or else makes notes as each of the dozens of new characters in the story are introduced. People brought into the story early often appear later with no reminders of who it is being talked about. The author remembers; the readers may not.

There is a section of illustrations in the book, all in black and white, all but one of people and places. Amazingly there is only one example of Audubon's brilliant artwork--a black and white sketch, unquestionably originally in color, of "A Robin Perched on a Mossy Stone." How can a book be presented about Audubon without including color examples of his brilliant work?

I was seriously disappointed by this book.

I agree that this book is indeed over-written and reads at time like a class assignment; the author simply ticking off facts without much coherent thesis. However, this recital does bring off a charming story interesting enough to hold the attention of the casual historian with only a passing interest in wildlife. For anyone wishing to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the American wilderness and the struggles of the early settlers, it is a pleasure. Just skip over the boring bits!

For latest on ornithology- see her 8 page article in Apr. 2001 American Heritage Magazine...Shirley visited birds on Midway Island,now a refuge in Pacific. On the Wings of Victory..also memorial to sea battle won by US Navy.

I got the book and read it hoping that I might be able to glean something I hadn't already tried, and found out I was already doing everything the book recommended, and have been for a long time and I STILL have a major panic disorder with severe panic attacks. I've been a perfectionist about diet and exercise and trying to practice positive thinking, and while they may help people who have nothing else going on in their lives but unexplained anxiety with some minor physical reactions, it didn't even begin to touch on the problems that I'm faced with, not just because of the severity of my physical reactions, but because of the complexity of the circumstances in my life. This is really for the people who can manage their panic on their own, without the help of a qualified therapist. If you have severe panic problems, I would recommend a qualified therapist over reading this book. And by qualified, I mean someone who specializes in panic attacks, because the average therapist (and I've been to too many of those) doesn't even begin to know how to manage someone with panic attacks. It takes someone who can be very gentle, and patient, and non-condemning to work with people who suffer from severe panic attack disorders.

I was a sufferer of anxiety attacks. After reading shirley's book it taught me how to control myself physically and mentally when I have attacks. I also enlisted her over the counseling and have learned a great deal about panic and anxiety attacks and knowledge is have the battle. I can't put into words how thankful I am, I feel released from a long dark torment. Thanks Shirley.

I can't say enough great things about this book. I suffered from severe panic and anxiety through my sophomore year of college and just when I thought I would never get better I found this book and really began to feel a change within myself. This book is written in very clear, easy to understand, comforting language. Yet it is not condescending in any way. It offers practical, simple mind/body/soul solutions to overcoming panic attacks and anxiety.

Even after I began to get better I carried it around with me everywhere I went, almost like a little "good luck charm." It was that valuable to me!

I strongly recommend this book to anyone suffering from panic attacks or anxiety.

One must sometimes delve into the background of an author to acquire that person's worldview and how it molds their material, especially when the material being used for historical accounts for educational purposes. "Private Demons" a biography of Shirley Jackson by Judy Oppenheimer, reveals a plethora of information about the author, including that fact that she was an occultist and active occult writer. This book is written with a religiously unilateral, occcult/rationalistic view. Despite intense political & religious controversy surrounding this story, there was an enormous amount of literature concerning broader aspects of the trials which held alternate views not relayed in many of Ms. Jackson's often innaccurate and spiritually condescending renderings of the account.

Many believed the girls were commissioned by Satan to divide Christ's Kingdom through false accusations. Ms. Jackson mocks these Spiritual leaders by negating their position that the root of the dissention began with the afflicted girls and their occult involvement, and alludes that these leaders were vehicles of dissention in the community, by advocating that the colonists oppose Christian teachings. Spiritual leaders were trying to expose their belief that Satan's ploy was to sow seeds of division in the church. Ms. Jackson makes no tangential, historical reference to this fact, that spiritual leaders believed the root of the dissention began with occult involvement.

Ms. Jackson omits various aspects of the afflicted girl's involvement in occult practices, and substitutes a rationalistic world view to explain the occurences. Rationalism excludes Biblical interpretations and the value of conventions and dangers of popular superstitions. Ms. Jackson does not depict occult activities utilized by the afflicted women to avoid any inference as to the validity of an alternate power. Rather, she alleges that these girls merely "pretended" to be controlled by demons, ignoring the fact that many Christian leaders strongly believed in Satanic influence surrounding these issues.

You will notice that the bulk of the content provided by the author in the "afterword" section expresses her rationalistic viewpoint when she focuses heavily on demonology as a myth, and places blame for the witch trials on religious fervor and intolerance, boredom, psychological pressure, and possible physiological disorders. Ms. Jackson attempts to categorize spiritual leaders as zealots.

Ms. Jackson consistently negates to include accurate historical information throughout her book. Ms. Jackson could not include this information because it would not conform to her rationalistic view. It appears that Ms. Jackson selectively utilized facts she chose to paint the picture she wanted the reader to see by flavoring the historical rendering to that of her own world view. She does this by mocking the power of Satan, and accredits belief in his existence to ignorance. By enmeshing her view within her account of the actual events, Ms. Jackson emphatically and repeatedly negates the significance of a ubiquitous entity believed in by a multitude of religions still to this day. I would not recommend this material to be used in a primary or middle school setting as is has the potential to religiously sway an immature reader. It does not qualifies as a concise, historical rendering suitable to be contained as part of the curriculum in a public school setting based on the conjectural commentaries of religiously sensitive content espoused by Ms. Jackson. This material is more suitable to a mature reader who is readily equipped to separate true historical facts from biased conjecture. Please take notice as to the origin of where this book is listed in the Classified Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, under 100 PHILOSOPHY, PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND OCCULTISM, PSYCHOLOGY, 133.4 Demonology and witchcraft. The rendering is an edited account of history through a rationalistic world view, that is condescending and offensive to any aware Christian reader.

THE WITCHCRAFT OF SALEM VILLAGE WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN FROM THE AGES 10-13 WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS. I ESPECIALLY ENJOYED IT BECAUSE IT WAS A QUICK AND EASY READ BUT IT KEPT ME INTERESTED THE WHOLE TIME.IT WAS VERY DESCRIPTIVE AND IT HAD TRUE FACTS ABOUT THE WITCH TRIALS.IT WAS A GREAT BOOK AND I RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE!!!!

This book was an excellent educational book and an easy read for children to understand and learn from. It is clear that this Martha Nassaer has an egotistic issue (arrogance) and has filled her review with what she believes to be impressive words; however, all were meaningless and unimpressive to this reader. It is unfortunate that people would use such a forum to dissuade others from reading such a wonderful book. Obviously, she is not an educator. I highly recommend it for children 8 and up.

This book if fine if you have had the time and opportunity to put money aside for retirement.

It does not even touch upon those of us who are married for the second time, are basically just starting out all over again with nothing in the bank and no retirement packages at work and who are paying astronomical amounts in child support and will be until we are a hair away from retirement. How are we supposed to amass any money when the "ex" gets it all?

WE are the people who need the help. WE are the people who will be living on a very "fixed" income while the ex-wife will be living in security using the child support money for her retirement.

I'm totally disgusted.

Dr. Shirley's advice is realistic, practical, and useful. She covers a lot of ground, gives specific advice for different ages, different circumstances. She's ready to tell the truth, which for most of us is that we need to live less expensively, save money, and face facts about finances. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Others I have read are more general, repetitive, and don't give solid reasons for their advice. Dr. Shirley explains her advice, and, unique in this kind of book, names names.

I like the real world examples. I really felt as if I could apply the techniques to my life. I liked the author's personal interjections. It made her more credible.

Shirley's early novel "City Come A Walkin'" takes us on a surreal (and frequently brutal) jaunt through a near-future San Fransisco where the city's overmind has the ability to manifest as a mirrorshades-wearing techno-shaman with a marked dislike for bad guys. The brilliance and terror behind this straight-forward tale is Shirley's refreshing refusal to cling to genre conceits. "City Come A Walkin'" challenges the nature of identity as well as the parameters of urban morality.

This book really opens up your imagenation, because it's plot. You really need to look at the wording to understand a lot of it.The only thing I didn't like about this novel was it was a little slow at times.

This is probably the most unique concept I've come across. The idea of a the city's consciousness manifesting itself is fresh and interesting. It's hard to believe this title is as old as it is. It seems like recently written cyberpunk. Pretty obvious that instead, all other cyberpunk has taken from it.

I thought this book was terrible. There are only black & white pictures and few of them. The directions provided are very confusing and are not accompanied by any sort of map. It is full of information and places to go but VERY poorly organized.

I have not visited St. Croix (in the Virgin Islands), but I would want to have this guide with me if I did. It consists exclusively of milepost lists for all significant roads and trails on the island. The B+W photos are not too pretty, and the book does not provide any of the usual tourist info on hotels, food and travel, but it contains an exceptional density of data for hikers and auto explorers. I would use it as a supplement to some other mainstream tourist guide.

Great pictures and a real bargain at under $20! This is THE must-have book for anyone who wants to explore or know more about St. Croix -- whether visitor or island resident. The authors did extensive research, and have identified places and things that even many Cruzans don't know about. Impeccable details. Highly recommended.

I don't know why he would call this book really, really, really, really, weird stories. The stories are ok and the writing not so bad. But not worth reading.

Not Shirley's best work but worth the price of the purchase. Some of his stories seemed little more than pointless vignettes, drug or booze addled memories or simple nonsense. But when Shirley is on his game (more misses than hits) its the genuine stuff. I think a little more editing before a rush to publish may have payed dividends or at least discarding half of the stories in favor of quality over quantity.

This was my first John Shirley experience. It has left me both eager and afraid to track down more of his work. I'm eager to read more Shirley because he is master of stories. He can write in any genre. His stories are fascinating. I like them. I'm afraid to read more Shirley because the stories are so engrossing that I lose track of time. That, and the fact, that many of his stories are quite disturbing.

As other reviewers have noted, this collection is not made up of all winners. In any collection of nearly 40 stories, there will be some poorer stories. While this collection does not have any bad stories, there are several short vignettes that perhaps should have been left out of this collection.

Several of the stories in this collection left me reeling. 'Lot Five...' is a marvelous story that really defies description. There are several acolytes of a cult-like leader who are attempting to wend their way through a maze of doors, hallways, and security guards to reach the guru. I loved this story. It was weird and horrific at the same time.

Another of my favorites was '...And the Angel with Television Eyes', a story about a tele-screen actor who's been plagued with bizarre dreams. He wakes one morning to find an iron griffin on his balcony. The griffin tells him that he's being summoned by some sort of ethereal lords. Before the actor can act on the summons he's kidnapped by hideous harpies and taken to a rooftop balcony where a metal man, Lord Thanatos, tells him that the griffin is attempting to trick the actor. A large battle ensues in which the actor learns of his true identity and the large mystery behind the events of his morning. I am excited to hear that Mr. Shirley has recently completed a novel expansion of this story, due in 2002.

As the title of the collection indicates, many of the stories in this collection are very weird. In fact, the stories are organized by their weirdness. The first section is Really Weird Stories. The second is Really, Really Weird Stories...and so on.

Those of us who love weird fiction, and you know who you are, should pick up this collection. It's full of great weirdness. I should point out that many of the stories in this collection contain explicit sexual content, so if that's not your thing, stay away. On the whole, I found this collection to be a mind-blowing trip through the works of a brilliant author, John Shirley. Immediately after finishing this book, I jumped online and ordered several other Shirley titles. I fully expect to enjoy them as much as I did this one. Recommended.

I had high hopes for this novel, since it continues the story of the "ethical thief" created by Shirley Meier in Shadow's Daughter. Shadow's Daughter portrayed the development and maturation of Megan Whitlock, a girl making the best of her life when trapped by poverty and subject to the whims of uncaring royalty. However, Saber & Shadow takes a complex character and turns her into a typical moral-free warrior, gleefully maiming or murdering every innocent that crosses her path. This book creates an adventure story interchangeable with that of hundreds of others, composed primarily of bloody chases, "political maneuvering" notable only for its unreadability, and enemies who could have stepped right out of the pages of an "Encyclopedia of Fantasy bad guys." I would classify this book as yet another example of why talented writers should not turn their creations over to authors unable to measure up.

I first read this book when I was a teenager back in the early-mid nineties. I just recently read it again, and I found things that I didn't understand the first time. Things like plot details and names.

The fight scenes are really cool, in fact this book and books by author Elizabeth Moon has inspired me to write my own fantasy novels (not published, but in the process) I love reading fantasy stories where the female is a strong character who can hold her own. It gives girls a chance to fantasize about being a warrior for once and not just the boys.

However, the plot took me a while to digest, even the second time around. I found myself having to back track to find out what was going on. And even now there are still instances where I don't know the exact details of what is going on. For example, not to give away too much of the plot, the female general's plans for war. I don't know the exact details and it wasn't explained clearly in the book, so I just accepted the fact that she's declaring war, but not entirely for the reasons she claims. It's little things like these that tend to get in the way of the entire plot. So it's easier to just accept the gist of what's going on and try to figure out everything else. I'd give more examples, but that would give away too much of the plot.

Also when I first read this, I was a teenager in high school, and the idea of a love affair between two women was new to me. I fact the whole IDEA of sex was new to me. Now, about eight years later, I kinda understand it a little more, and find it interesting that the authors would take the relationship of the two main characters to this level. It's not easy to imagine that sort of relationship, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. I'm not shocked, just impressed that they did that.

On the whole, not a bad book, but be prepared to read it a few times if you want to get all the nitty gritty details to really understand stuff. But if you don't, there's enough basic info to give you the general idea

Saber and Shadow is remarkable in its plot and setting as well, but I found the characters to be its main strongpoint. Megan and Shkai'ra are very well-developed characters, and the authors did not give in to the trend of making the main characters disgustingly idealistic. This book, as someone once said of the Illiad, "embodies all the ethical untidiness of living people." Three cheers for realistic characterization!