I met Anne Hobbs Purdy in Junior High School. Her story captured my imagination and still does to this day. I have read Tisha many times and every reading captures my heart. Her courage to stand for what she believed to be right in the face of opposition, is a lesson that carries through almost 80 years later. Alaska, seen through her eyes, is a place of incredible beauty and harsh reality. Even though I wanted to crawl into the pages and do battle with some of the characters, they also earned my grudging respect. Anne's will power, strength of heart, and sheer determination to do what she knew was right, made her a formidable force. The book I own is a treasured possession, signed for my father. She writes, "Happy landings from the Land of the Midnite Sun, Yellow Gold, and Determined mosquitoes." A must read book!

This is a fictionalized true account of a young schoolteacher's experiences in the Alaskan frontier in 1927. This book has something for everyone: plenty of adventure, romance, and colorful personalities. My favorite thing about this book was reading how Anne (the teacher) and Fred's relationship - taboo due to prejudice - slowly blossomed from friendship into love. It is one of those books that you never forget reading. Anyone who has read "Mrs. Mike" or "Christy" would also love reading this book. This book is one of my favorite books of all time.

I really loved this book because it so vividly described the real joys and hardships of Alaskan life in its early settling days. The main character, Ann, was very easy to identify with, and I wanted to keep reading to see what happened to her next. This book is well written, easy to read, and very captivating. It really allows people to be transported to another time and place. If you've always dreamed of experiencing Alaska, you must read "Tisha".

If you've never been introduced to the 3 Investigators, you have no idea what you're missing. They make Nancy, Frank, and Joe look as exciting as an unbuttered piece of stale white bread. And parents, don't overlook these books for your daughters! I loved them as a child and I'm delighted to find my children are as enthralled today as I was then. I recommend starting here, with #1, to introduce readers to the 3 Investigators' start. As an added bonus, main character Jupiter Jones uses a vocabulary most English professors would be delighted with. It's nice to have a series of books that doesn't downplay its wording. Your kids can have a grand time reading, and actually learn at the same time! Most especially, I recommend Terror Castle and all the 3 Investigators books for any parent trying to find something to motivate their children to read more. These are genuine page turners. Exciting, thrilling, puzzling- everything a good mystery should be!

At one time I used to own the first 23 titles of AH & The Three Investigators. As I've grown older, I've lost titles until I recently realized I only had two left. I've lamented to my wife, after searching used book stores high and low for the other titles and not finding them, that this was a great blow against childhood reading. I was so glad that they are still being printed and read! The format may be different and Alfred Hitchcock is lamentably missing, but they are still as readable and enjoyable as they were when I was a child!

I highly recommend this series for young readers who dream of adventure and suspense. They invigorated my youth and helped interest me in reading and writing. I hope to God that there are more coming out!

And for those of us who remember Alfred Hitchcock, maybe Random House could put out a collectors series of the books as they were originally released - covers, illustrations and all. I would certainly snap them up!

Wow. I'm 33 years old and thought I am probably the only adult who would pick up a Three Investigator's book and read it. I am here looking for some of The Three Investigator's books for my girlfriend's son. I saved a few of the books I had as a child, a couple of them in hardback, with the intent of saving them for my children. Most of the books I read in the series I checked out at the library. Reading these books provided some of my fondest childhood memories. The young man I am buying these books for has just discovered a love for reading and I believe that these stories will hook them just like they did me. Amazon, please act upon the suggestions of others and release the entire series if possible.

Although one's search begins with an alphabetized listing, the main body of this thesaurus (its original concept) is organized by category. This means that to find a synonym for e.g., "trouble", you will not simply be presented a list all the possible meanings of the word but you can choose your search depending upon the sense you are looking for. If you mean "annoyance" you will be sent one place for synonyms (nouns, verbs, adj, adv); if your meaning is more "presume upon" you will be sent somewhere else. In the case of "trouble" there are about a dozen places to go in the thesaurus depending upon the subtlety of meaning you are looking for. If you are a writer, this reference work is a sine qua non. Look no further than here for the best thesaurus in the world.

These days it's tempting to believe that you can do without a printed thesaurus. Thesauri are available on the web and there are even thesauri built into word processors. But these are pale substitutes for Roget's sixth edition.

It is much more comprehensive than other Thesauri, but it is still very easy to use. The index in the back contains an alphabetical list of words, and with each, an associated list of finer-grained definitions. For example, suppose you want to describe someone as "mopey" but that word doesn't seem quite right. When you look it up in the index you'll find "sullen" "glum" and "unsociable." Obviously, these have somewhat different characters. Next to each there is a reference to an entry to synonyms organized by category (instead of alphabetically). These lists make up the bulk of the book. Thus, the entry for "sullen" will lead you to a list of words similar in meaning to "sullen," and so on.

What makes this thesaurus easy to use is that the index at the back of the book is complete, so you seldom if ever have the experience of trying to look up a word and then find that it's not there, so you have to try to think of a synonym yourself to gain entry to the thesaurus. Second, there are 330,000 words in the listing of synonyms by category. Considering that the average college student's vocabulary is 60-80,000 words, this thesaurus should satisfy you.

One final note: if you really hate to shell out the money for this book, at least consider getting a used copy of the 5th edition, which came out in the early 90's and it still servicable.

A dictionary of synonyms or a "thesaurus in dictionary form" (now that's phony titling) requires that you think of one of the words by which they sorted the language. A true thesaurus, though, while unfamiliar at first like any new and powerful tool, will let you find the word you are looking for when you can't think of ANY word to start. All you have to do is go to the area with the right sort of ideas and browse a bit. This book only gets better with time. Every writer of every sort needs a copy of this. (Oh, and the index makes a great spelling list for all the words science- and law-obsessed spellcheckers leave out.)

I recently rediscovered this favorite book from my childhood (which was 40+ years ago now), and fell in love all over again. Now my 4 year old daughter and I both get to experience the exquisite pleasure of Ferdinand on a regular (i.e. nightly) basis. The gorgeous illustrations and simple, powerful story of the biggest bull on the farm who would rather "sit just quietly and smell the flowers", is as moving today as it was when it was written more than 50 years ago. And I cannot think of a more important lesson to teach our children today: that it is o.k. to be yourself, even when everyone else thinks you should be something else. This is a sweet, lovely story for children and adults alike, and is one of the few books I look forward to reading over and over again. Luckily, my daughter agrees.

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and is now my two-year-old's favorite story. While bullfighting may seem to be an inappropriate topic for a toddler, the message of the story is that Ferdinand does not want to fight and that's just fine. The best aspect of the book, however, are the pictures and the wonderful expressions of all the characters, from the ladies with flowers in ther hair to poor Ferdinand after he is stung by the bee. This story is great for all ages.

Ferdinand is a pacifist who enjoys sitting under a tree smelling the flowers. He is completely uninterested in fighting and when the local bullfighters come out the field to find fighting bulls, they ignore Ferdinand....until Ferdinand is stung by a bee and puts on a show that impresses the matadors. Ferdinand is taken to the arena for a bullfight; however, he refuses to fight and is returned to the field. The matadors have all the gory swords which are not used in the book. My 3 year old son wanted to know why there were swords which presented an interesting dilemma. In my opinion, this book is not for children who are younger than 3. As stated above, 3 year olds need a lot of careful explanation about the story. They do not need to know why and how the swords are used. The violence of the bullfight is not central to this story. Ferndinand's character and his refusal to fight is. This is a beautiful story that your child will enjoy.

I was amazed also to see so many reviews on The Silver Crown. I read this book when I was in 5th or 6th grade, my cousin introduced me to this book. She was always reading something and she recommended this book to me. I have checked out this book periodically from the library to reread it. It has been about 30 years since I first read that book. I was reminded of it again when I started to read the Harry Potter books. The Silver Crown drew the reader in right away because it started off as a very normal story. The heroine, Ellen, is a very believable character. The author made the events in the book seem like it could really happen. I can still recall the chapter where Ellen escapes into the woods at night from the the seemingly friendly Mr. Gates. The story is ultimately about good versus evil and how this young girl, with the help of some very caring and courageous people, overcomes a particular force of evil. It would be wonderful to see this book in print again. This is one of the few books in my childhood that made such a lasting impression.

This book was read to our 5th grade class by...I wish she knew how today I am still affected by the different world of "reading for enjoyment" she opened for me. I, like many others reviewing this book, looked for it on several occasions and thought I had the title wrong or I had imagined the book; and am glad to know that I can easily obtain it now. (For years I looked for "Mystery of the Silver Crown")

Silver Crown is so well written, it's great for readers of all ages who are ready for adventure. It opens worlds of wonder, stimulating the imagination. I remember the anticipation and not being able to wait until the designated time the teacher would read the coming chapters. I wanted to get a copy for myself to go ahead and finish it, she was taking too long--a chapter or two at a time was not enough. How disappointed I was when the book ended...the entire class wanted more, and so will you. I think that's why if you have your own copy, you will read it time and time again...I've ordered and am waiting for my copy now!!

If you can obtain a copy, get it and share with the young ones in your life...read it together with the whole family or lend it to a teacher you know to share with his/her class...they will love you for it. Everyone you introduce to this classic will remember you fondly for years to come when they think of this book (and they WILL think of it time and time again!)...it's one they and you will never forget (IT'S BEEN 27 YEARS FOR ME!!). Get it and enjoy!!

Like many of you, I was in fifth grade (mid-1960s) when I discovered this book. Our school librarian knew I loved books, and she pressed this one into my hands as soon as she received it. :) Along with _The Phantom Tollbooth_, The Silver Crown is one of my most memorable childhood reads. I don't remember the plot so much as the imagery -- dark, tense, and electrifying. I looked it up today thinking it's something my 12-year-old might like to read while he waits for the next Harry Potter book. I'm so sorry to see it's out of print. I guess I'll read through the rest of the customer reviews to see if anyone else has been able to find it. Judging from the lasting impression it made on the pre-Gen X consciousness, it looks like the publisher would do well to re-release it!

This is my favorite book in the Anne series. Rilla is a fourteen year old, vain, carefree girl without any ambitions but to have fun and have many beaux when she is thrown into the relentless Hell known as War. It's a story of loss and love and growth. It's incredibly romantic. It's sad but the sad thing that happens is for the best (I see that now even though I tried to fight it for so long). In my opinion, out of all the L.M. Montgomery books that I've read, Rilla is the only main character with any sense when it comes to who she loves and knowing, at least having an inkling, that they love her back. It's a wonderful story that everyone should read. Even my friend who hates Montgomery books loved it.

hey, i have read every "Anne book" and the "Emily books", and I have recently re-read "Rilla of Ingleside". "Rilla of Ingleside" and "Anne of Green Gables" are my favorite LMM books I've read so far. Rilla goes through the difficulf times during WW1 that were the worst the world has seen until WW2. I cried the first time i read it and i cried the second time, too! One of the most touching things in this book is how Little Dog Monday stays at the train station the ENTIRE time that Jem is away at war and I think the chapter-LITTLE DOG MONDAY KNOWS- was very good(I won't say what he knows....read to find out!:) But it is SOOO sad!! ) This is VERY good, one of my ALL-time favorites(I have read alot) and I strongly urge you to read it, but if you haven't read the other ANNE books, read them first....each book refers back to previous ones ocassionally. Happy Reading!!! : )

Since Anne what not as much of a main character in this book, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I didn't think I would because she was not in it. However, I now think, that it is one of the best books in the series.( Since I can't choose just one book, thats the highest compliment I can give.) In the beginning Rilla a frivolous, nonambitious girl who only wants the most fun life can give her. She knows nothing of the sorrows or horrors of life, beyond her worries of who she'll dance with...This book tells the story of Rilla's life during the horrrible, "war to end all wars". During this time, faced with pain, sorrow, and duty she proves herself as a true woman and worthy of her handsome Kenneth Ford.

My aunt suprised me one day with the LOVE COMES SOFTLY series she had had for a couple years. I put off reading them for a couple years because I was only eight! I started the first book when I was 11 and just could not put it down! I read the whole series and it had a very big impact on me. I've read the first three books at least ten times each, never getting bored with them and the rest of the series at least three. Please consider these books. They are the bomb!

Imagine you1re living in the midst of the 19th century. You1re 19, far from friends and family, and to top it all off, your husband dies and you are two months pregnant with his child.........

Love Comes Softly is an eight book series written by Christian author Jannette Oke. I thought when my mother-in-law tried to get me to read her books, that I was in for another mushy Harlequin Romance novel, filled with people involved with three, four or five men, and definitely no sign of God in their lives. Boy, was I in for a VERY pleasant surprise. Mrs. Oke leads us through the life of a very young Marty Davis, who has just left her family in the east, to travel west with her new husband , Clem. Clem and Marty had been living out of their wagon, eating pancakes and drinking coffee EVERY day, because that1s all that Marty knew how to make. Unexpectedly, though, Clem dies, and Marty is left alone with child and no home, no money, and just what she has in her wagon.

The Love Comes Softly series then begins to take us through the struggles Marty has to overcome and Mrs. Oke guides us so beautifully, that we feel like we are right there with Marty. The eight books lead us through 40 years in Marty and her family1s lives. I enjoyed every minute of the readings. Never has a book so captured me like Mrs. Oke1s did.

I try to count my blessings every day, but after reading this group of books, I found more to be thankful for. I never stopped to realize what the generations before us went through. With Marty, I learned what is was like to bear a child with no husband and no doctor around--just a local lady that had delivered many babies. I learned what it was like to leave family behind, knowing that you will probably never see them again--or even hear from them again.

The funniest part of the series was in the very first book. Marty decides she will try to make her new husband a chicken and dumpling meal. Well........she goes to the chicken pen to try and catch one. After tearing apart then pen, she finally catches one of only two roosters (she didn1t know she was supposed to only kill the female). Once she gets him, she has no idea as to how to kill him, so she decides to tie him up and kill him--that didn1t work, and she wound up cutting off the beak of the prize rooster. When her husband, Clark comes home, he finds the pen in disarray, and sees his rooster with no beak and he comes to find out that Marty was just trying to cook him his first real meal. This part cracked me up, along with the part where she tries to fix biscuits and they turn out as hard as rocks.

You have to read the books in order. They just keep continuing with this saga. The best book in the series was book four. I can1t tell you why, for it would give the ending for the rest of the series, but it was the book that kept me the most fascinated. The hardest part about the series was the way she wrote it. She wrote it with the accents as they would have said things. It was hard at first, but I got used to it by the second book. I highly recommend her books, and am looking forward to the next series I am about to read. The new series is from the Canadian West. It involves new characters, and therefore new lives.

I would really appreciate hearing from others who have read her books--especially the Love Comes Softly series. It would be enjoyable to talk with others about Jannette Oke1s books. You can find her work at any Christian bookstore or even the library. They are expensive, between $9-13.00, but they are worth their price. I found twelve of her books at the library, though. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. It is definitely a series I would read again and again, and I look forward to my two daughters growing up and wanting to read them as well. They are written in the same manner as the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. ENJOY!!!!!!

This is a wonderful story about family life at a time when people did not possess much material things but instead loved and cared for one another unconditionally. The story begins with Clark and Marty and goes on to include the lives of their children. What drew me to read and reread this series of books is the way it is written with so much love and understanding. There are many moral issues dealing with the Christian God and how the righteous man would behave. It is therefore also a book of learning. I would highly recommend this series. This is one of the few series of books that I would consider to be worth spending money on. I know that I will reread it many more times. Janette Oke is an excellent storyteller.

I read this book a year ago in philosophy class when we were studying Thoreau. I must say, of all philosophers, Thoreau is one of my favorites. This play examines feilds such as family life, relationships, government, policy, and my favorite - education. After I read this play I had marvelous thoughts about how wonderful the education system would be if only Thoreau's ideas could be played upon! I strongly recomend this book to anyone who is sometimes accused of being an "idealist" or a "dreamer" - but also to those who hold a strict perspective on government and education. Keep an open mind and enjoy the thoughts that flow through Thoreau's mind!

"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail" is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, who also coauthored the classic "Inherit the Wind." "Night" is inspired by the life and writings of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), naturalist, political radical, and seminal American intellectual figure. The play was first performed in 1970.

"Night" takes place during a night when Thoreau was jailed for an act of civil disobedience: he refused to pay a tax in defiance of the Polk administration's Mexican War. The action of the play consists of a series of interconnected, dreamlike scenes that explore Thoreau's life, ideals, and relationships. We see his theory of education, his strong opposition to slavery, his family ties, and, quite strikingly, his problematic yet enduring relationship with fellow American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Particularly moving is Thoreau's encounter with an escaped slave.

"Night" is a moving, even inspiring, play. Thoreau is celebrated as not merely a crucial thinker and a great man, but as a truly transcendent figure: a prophet whose voice continues to resound. Highly recommended for literature classes, reading groups, and individual readers.

This is a great play to read before reading anything by Thoreau himself--it will help you to get a better understanding of him. Also great for Thoreau fans, or anyone who likes to read something worthwhile. This book is simply amazing, you will not regret reading it. I don't often cry when reading....but I'll admit that I did when reading this one. The authors of this play depicted Henry David Thoreau's life and philosophies so clearly yet with such an eloquent and touching manner. I loved this play 100% and I will definitely read it again!

The story of the last of the Romanovs is one that still keeps audiences interested, whether the focus is the revolution or the Mad Monk. This is the last gasp of old style royalty that the 20th Century was to experience and despite Massie's tendency to somewhat romanticize his subjects, the domestic tribulations of Nicholas and Alexandra make an interesting and illustrative foil for the civil strife that was going on outside the palace. It is fascinating to read some of the anecdotes recounted in this book that show the Tsar and his family to be, in many ways, an ordinary family, yet at the same time probably the wealththiest family in the world at the time. The dispair and extreme poverty of Russian peasantry is very lightly treated here, but then, this is the Romanov's story and like royalty everywhere and at all times, they were isolated from direct confrontation with unpleasant sights and sounds.

Whatever else, this is a great story - of love, family tragedy, political blundering, inepept military decisions, court intrigue, conspicuous consumption, religious meddling, hypocracy, self deception, and hope - all part of the opening act of the new century. The old world of Tsarist glitter passes and the new world of Bolshevik drabness begins - and Nicholas and Alexandra are, with their family, caught in the middle.

"Bloody Nicholas". "Alexandra the German". These and other epithets were used to descibe Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, the last Tsar and Tsarina of Imperial Russia. However, Massie brings to light and to life, the personal, human side of both Nicholas and Alexandra and their families.

With unusual and fascinating insight, the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra are explored in the context of their backgrounds, upbringings, experiences, and the very public role which birth had conferred upon them. The impact these influences had upon them personally and the resulting impact upon Russian and world history is laid out in a poignant, tragic tale which will leave only the most jaded reader unmoved.

Massie's writing style makes you feel as if you were actually there listening to and observing the Imperial family. His sources include the letters between Nicholas and Alexandra, letters from them to members of their families, and the memoirs of people who knew them personally and/or worked with them closely, such as tutors, close friends, ambassadors, and government officials.

The insights gleened from these sources portray not vicious, callous rulers concerned only with their selfish ends, but rather two well-meaning and personally kind people whose personalities, education and limited perspectives ill-suited them for the roles into which they were born. Add to this the impact of the then untreatable disease of hemophilia which afflicted their youngest child, their only son and heir to the Russian throne. This does not excuse them from the disastrous role they played in the fall of the Romanov dynasty, but rather helps us to understand why they acted as they did.

One cannot read this work and come away without a profound feeling of sadness. The "what if's" string on endlessly, most tragically in the contemplation of their five innocent, young children who were brutally murdered along with their parents by the Bolsheviks because of hatred for their parents, and a merciless political desire to ensure the monarchy never returned.

This work will appeal to many: to students of Russia, history, royalty, political science, public relations, and of course, those interested in a story of romance in a privileged, elite world.

The Author, Robert Massie, happened upon the writing of this book through his research to find out how others dealt with hemophilia. His son suffers from the disease as did the son of the last tsar of Russia. Wow...I happened upon this book by first seeing the english production of the film nicholas and alexandra. The movie was excellent but the book exceeds that of course. Read this book and obtain an understanding that people even in power are to be pitied. These poor souls were first the victims of their sons disease, Rasputin, the mystic but resourceful priest and the changes that Russia inevitably was to go through. This history of a country and a ruler, his wife and his family has often times made me wonder about their horrowful fate. These people did not deserve what they received in the end and I hope you draw this same conclusion after you read this novel. As the trailer notes state..."A larger than life drama, so bizarre, so heartrending, and above all, so apocalyptic that no novelist would have dared invent it"... Read it, you'll agree.

This is one of my two favorite Spenser books (The other is A Savage Place.) Early Autumn was the first Parker book I ever read and also the first suspense/mystery. My parents and brothers all read Spenser but I shunned them, preferring scifi. I was desparate for a read one summer night and my mother pressed this on me, saying "You'll like this if you just give it a chance" I was 15 and I read it that night, reporting back to her bedroom and saying, "Next Book! More! More!"

This book is about Spenser's surrogate fathering of a lost 15 year old boy named Paul who is a pawn in his own life. It is sort of a coming of age novel, but really not because it is told from Spenser's perspective like all the Spenser books.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it to any Spenser fan or to any one who remembers 15 and that lost in your own life feeling.

This is the seventh novel in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series and by now it is quite clear that whenever you start one of these stories the question is what is the new twist this time around. You can never call one of these novels an unconventional Spenser novel because they all tend to be unique in some key way. in "Early Autumn" our hero is hired by Patti Giacomin to find her son Paul, kidnapped by his father. Spenser finds Paul almost immediately and it quickly becomes clear that neither parent really cares about the boy, who is just a pawn in the wake of an ugly divorce. Paul needs someone to teach him, well, just about everything (except how to shrug; the kid does that really well in response to every question asked by Spenser). "Early Autumn," a metaphor for a 15-year old kid who has to grow up really fast, finds Spenser talking more than any of the previous books, although at the end his detective skills will again come into play. A large chunk of the book is Spenser and Paul talking about a whole bunch of different topics. In doing so, Spenser explains his view of the world, a task usually left to Susan Silverman. There is also an unforgettable twist as Hawk lends a hand at a key moment. As always, Parker's novels are quick reads, perfect for commuting or nice hot baths.

This is my first Spenser novel and my first Robert B. Parker novel. Parker's writing style is sparse, quick and fun. It's an easy read and so far, thoroughly enjoyable. Last night A&E aired Thin Air, a made for TV Spencer movie. I was going from watching spencer to reading spencer. Robert B. Parker now ranks up there with my other favorite authors, Trevanian, Conor Creggan and Donald E. Westlake. I'm glad that I discovered Parker so late as there is so many old books I can back and read!